Main Dishes

Chicken & Wild Rice Pilaf

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Chicken & Wild Rice Pilaf

I am all about quick and easy and this recipe is, as well.  I used one of our Thrive Life Express Meals–Wild Rice Pilaf–and added chicken to give it a little protein boost.  So delicious, so easy, so quick, so also goes well in a flour tortilla.  You could use your own pilaf recipe or boxed rice pilaf and leftover chopped chicken.  I tend to go to my Thrive Foods because I like to find ways to incorporate these items from my Home Store on a regular basis.  Either way, this is yummy and your family will enjoy it, especially if it keeps your kitchen time down during a laid back or busy summer.  Well, any season for that matter.

Chicken & Wild Rice Pilaf
Quick & easy side or main dish!
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Ingredients
  1. 1 pkg. Thrive Life Wild Rice Pilaf Express Meal (or your choice of pilaf)
  2. 1 - 2 cups Thrive Chopped Chicken, rehydrated
  3. Butter
Instructions
  1. Mix contents of package with 2 1/2 cups boiling water.
  2. Add 2 T. butter to the rice. Simmer for 5 minutes, covered.
  3. Let stand for 5 minutes, then add the chicken. Stir to mix well.
  4. Serve.
Adapted from Thrive Life Express Meals
Adapted from Thrive Life Express Meals
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

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sweet and sour meatballs

Sometimes I like to share recipes that help me use my Thrive foods from my Home Store.  It is always a good idea to “store what you eat and eat what you store.”  I threw together this meal in record time thanks to the cooked ground beef and some other Thrive ingredients that I had on hand.  This recipe was a huge hit.  I had one serving left, only because I had taken some out to get a picture for the blog.  I didn’t use that one and used my filled plate instead.  

Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Quick and delicious version of a classic recipe.
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Ingredients
  1. 2 cups THRIVE Cooked Beef, Ground
  2. 1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
  3. 1/4 cup THRIVE Instant Milk, re-hydrated (3/4 T. powder + 1/4 cup water)
  4. 2 T. THRIVE Chopped Onions (FD--freeze-dried)
  5. 1 t. THRIVE Iodized Salt
  6. 1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
  7. 1 THRIVE Whole Egg, re-hydrated (1 T. powder + 2 T. water)
  8. 1/2 cup THRIVE Brown Sugar, packed (I just used brown sugar from the store)
  9. 1 T. cornstarch
  10. 1 20-oz. can pineapple tidbits with juice
  11. 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  12. 1 T. soy sauce
  13. 1/8 cup THRIVE Mixed Bell Peppers
  14. 5 cups THRIVE White Rice, prepared (I used rice from the store)
Instructions
  1. Re-hydrate freeze-dried meat by bringing 4 cups water to a boil. Add beef and boil for 5 minutes. Drain excess water.
  2. Mix meat, dry bread crumbs, milk, onions, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and egg together; shape into twenty 1 1/2 inch sized balls.*
  3. Place in skillet and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally until brown (about 20 minutes) OR (and this is what I did, so I could be working on something else like setting the table) Bake in an ungreased 9 X 13 pan at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, until light brown.
  4. Mix brown sugar and cornstarch in a skillet. stir in pineapple with juice, vinegar, and soy sauce.
  5. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, then add meatballs and peppers.
  6. Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes. Serve over cooked rice.
Notes
  1. I made my meatballs ahead of time, put them in the fridge, and then baked them when I got home from work. They are quick to come together anyway, because the ground beef comes precooked, but any little thing I can do ahead of time is good when you work until 5:00 and your guests are coming at 6:00, you know?
Adapted from Thrive Cookbook
Adapted from Thrive Cookbook
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Oriental Chicken Salad with Crunchy Noodles

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Oriental Chicken Salad with Crunchy Noodles

Ramen!  I don’t think they had this when I was a poor college student, but it sure has become popular over the years.  My first experience with it was in a delicious salad a friend shared at a church dinner.  I was mesmerized and asked for the recipe.  Which I could not find this week, so I googled and found this recipe.  It’s a little different than my friend’s but it’s a variation on the same theme.  I made some changes to this recipe and it proved to be delish!

Oriental Chicken Salad with Crunchy Noodles
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Ingredients
  1. 2-3 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts (I used Thrive chicken)
  2. 1 head of cabbage, shredded or chopped (I opted for Broccoli slaw, 2 12-oz. pkgs.)
  3. 1 bunch green onion, finely chopped (Thrive chopped green onion)
  4. 2 2.5-oz. pkgs. slivered almonds
  5. 3 T. sunflower seeds, shelled of course
  6. 1 can Mandarin oranges, drained well
  7. 2 pkgs. Ramen noodles
  8. 3 T. vegetable oil
Dressing
  1. 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
  2. 4 1/2 T. seasoned rice vinegar
  3. 4 1/2 T. sugar
  4. 2 t. salt
  5. 1 t. pepper
Instructions
  1. Prepare dressing and set aside.
  2. Smash Ramen noodles, removing seasoning packets (save to flavor something else sometime) and brown over medium heat in 3 T. oil--I used olive oil here because I had used all of my canola oil in the dressing.
  3. Once noodles are slightly browned, add the almonds. Brown until noodles are a dark golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. Combine cabbage, green onions, chicken, oranges, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
  5. Add ramen/almond mixture and stir well.
  6. Add dressing and stir to coat.
Notes
  1. Don't overcook the Ramen noodles and almonds, and stir continuously until the are golden. They will continue to cook when you remove them from the heat.
Adapted from Tulip at Food.com
Adapted from Tulip at Food.com
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Fish Tacos with Lime Sauce

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fish tacos with lime sauce

 

Who doesn’t love a good fish taco?  They can be hard to find–can’t stand when they are too fishy.  The tilapia in this recipe is so mild you will swear you are eating chicken.  I kept snatching nuggets and snacking on them while I was frying up the other batches.  A nice healthy alternative to fast food tacos.  Now, authentic Mexican tacos…that’s another thing all together.

Fish Tacos with Lime Sauce
Que rico!
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Ingredients
  1. 1 lb. fresh tilapia fillets
  2. 3 limes (I used Thrive Limeade powder instead--a tsp. or so should be enough.)
  3. 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  4. 1 t. chili powder
  5. 2 T. olive oil
  6. 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  7. 1/2 t. salt
  8. 8 6-inch flour tortillas
  9. 1 cup shredded angel hair cabbage (I prefer it thin)
  10. 1/4 cup shredded carrots
  11. 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, thinly sliced
Instructions
  1. Rinse fish and pat dry. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
  2. For lime sauce, juice two of the limes into a bowl (cut your 3rd lime into wedges for serving). Stir mayonnaise and chili powder into juice. Transfer 1/3 cup of the sauce to another bowl; toss fish in this. Set remaining sauce aside.
  3. In a medium to large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Combine flour and salt in a shallow dish. Work with about 1/3 of the fish chunks at a time, toss them in the flour and add to hot oil. Cook for 2-4 minutes or until fish flakes easily, turning to brown evenly. Add more oil as needed. Drain fish on paper towels.
  4. Wrap tortillas in paper towels (loved this. worked great!); heat in microwave oven for 30 seconds. Top tortillas with fish, cabbage, carrots and jalapeno. Drizzle with Lime Sauce. Serve with lime wedges.
Notes
  1. Add lime juice to mayo gradually and to taste.
  2. Thrive Limeade powder is available seasonally, so may not be listed on my consultant site.
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Shawarma-jo Tacos

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 shawarmajo tacos labeled

 

Thank you, Disney Cruise Line!

Why?  Well, it was there–by the pool deck–that I had my first taste of shawarma.  I thoroughly enjoyed the shaved, slow-roasted chicken with its unusual spice set.  The fresh fixins and delicious garlic aioli made it a special treat.

I’ve been wanting to figure out how to recreate it but, doggone it, I don’t have a roasting spit or the patience for all-day roasting!  And ever since I started using Thrive Life foods, I’m been a little spoiled in the quick meal prep department.  I want it.  And I want it now.  

So I combed the internet, looking for just the right recipe to “Thrive-alize”.  After a less than stellar attempt, I found a recipe that fit just right.  Thrive’s Seasoned Chicken Slices make it super fast.  They are freeze dried and reconstistute quickly.  Once the spices have been added to them, they really only need to heat through!  

Why the funky name?  Well, I thought I’d use my Thrive dough mix to try and simulate naan bread.  Didn’t work.  But what happened was a scone-like bread circle that my family has previously used for Navajo Tacos.  So I thought, well…..let’s mix the two.  Add a little garlic sauce, and there you go!

If you don’t want to try this recipe with Thrive foods (why wouldn’t you, though?  It’s so super fast!) then I encourage you to visit the recipe site that I used as a springboard for my Thrive-alized version, Jo Cooks.  And if you don’t have time to do the bread, pick up some naan bread in your grocery store.

Give shawarma a try.  Your hunger will be AVENGED!  

Shawarma-jo Tacos
Serves 8
Deliciously unusual spiced chicken piled with fresh fixins and garlic sauce atop a circle of bread.
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Prep Time
1 hr 10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
Prep Time
1 hr 10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
Taco Bread
  1. 2 1/4 tsp. THRIVE Instant Dry Yeast
  2. 1 tsp. THRIVE Iodized Salt
  3. 4 c. THRIVE Honey Whole Wheat Dough Mix
Chicken Shawarma
  1. 4 c. THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices - Freeze Dried
  2. 2 c. hot water
  3. 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
  4. 1/2 c. Olive Oil
  5. 2 tsp. Paprika
  6. 1/2 tsp. Ground Turmeric
  7. 2 tsp. cumin
  8. 1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
  9. 2 tsp. ground black pepper
  10. 1 tsp. THRIVE Iodized Salt
  11. 4 clv. Garlic, minced
Garlic Yogurt Sauce
  1. 1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
  2. 1 c. Vegetable Oil
  3. 1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
  4. 6 clv. Garlic, peeled
  5. 1 tsp. THRIVE Iodized Salt
  6. 1 tbsp. THRIVE Parsley
Toppings
  1. diced hothouse cucumbers
  2. halved grape tomatoes
  3. iceberg lettuce, sliced thinly
Taco Bread
  1. Dissolve yeast in hot water (hot from the tap). Add salt. Whisk. Stir in Thrive dough mix.
  2. Knead for 5 minutes. Lightly cover dough with a little vegetable oil, place in bowl, cover with towel, and allow to rise until dough has doubled in size.
  3. Punch dough down. Divide into 8 equal pieces.
  4. Place nonstick or cast iron skillet on stove on medium heat.
  5. Take one piece of dough, roll into ball, then flatten as thin as possible with your hands. Place on skillet and cook on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
  6. Repeat with remaining dough pieces. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
Chicken Shawarma
  1. Put the chicken into a bowl and add the 2 cups of water. Toss with a spoon every few minutes while you let it reconstitute (about 15 minutes).
  2. Put remaining shawarma ingredients into a small bowl, whisk well, and pour over the chicken (after the chicken has sat for 15 minutes). Toss to coat the chicken well.
  3. Drizzle a little vegetable or olive oil in a large skillet and heat to medium high on the stove. Pour in the chicken and allow it to heat through for about 5 minutes.
Garlic Yogurt Sauce
  1. Place all sauce ingredients in a blender and process for 1-2 minutes. Allow to rest while you prepare the toppings.
Assembling the Taco
  1. Place a bread circle on a plate and top with some chicken.
  2. Add toppings and drizzle with sauce.
Notes
  1. This recipe is highly customizable; reduce or increase the shawarma spices as you see fit.
  2. Too much garlic? Simply reduce.
  3. Want a creamier sauce? Increase yogurt and decrease oil.
  4. Play around with it and make it your own!
Adapted from Jo Cooks
Adapted from Jo Cooks
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Spaghetti Pie

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spaghetti pie 2

 

You get home from work at 5:15 pm.  Guests are coming for dinner at 6:00 and you are trying yet another new recipe, hoping it’s a hit and your guests will come back.  Score!  Back in the 80’s my good friend Jill used to make spaghetti pie and I used to have the recipe.  Well, do you think I could find it these many years later?  Google is my best friend and this entry isn’t exactly like Jill’s, but it is a yummy second.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day, by the way, and notice the green lettuce in the salad.  There you go.

 

Spaghetti Pie
Quick, cheesy and easy.
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Ingredients
  1. 6 oz. spaghetti, cooked (I used thin)
  2. 2 T. olive oil
  3. 2 eggs, well-beaten
  4. 3/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
  5. 1 c. whole milk Ricotta cheese (yes you can use skim, but why?)
  6. 1 c. pasta sauce
  7. 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
  1. Drain spaghetti well, then put in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil. Stir in eggs and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
  2. Pour mixture into greased 10-inch pie plate; form into a "crust" by pushing spaghetti up the sides of the plate and forming an indentation in the center.
  3. Spoon Ricotta cheese over the crust. Top with pasta sauce. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 25 minutes.
  4. Top with Mozzarella and remaining Parmesan and bake another 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Cool 10 minutes before cutting.
Notes
  1. You can also add veggies to this dish. I used shredded zucchini that I sauteed with a little onion and put it on top of the Ricotta cheese layer. Spinach would also be good.
Adapted from Sargento Recipes
Adapted from Sargento Recipes
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Broccolini with Chicken

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broccolini with chicken 2

This recipe originally posted on November 7, 2013.  I am cheating today, but now that I look at this dish, I am inspired to make it again really soon!

This started out as someone else’s recipe but when I couldn’t find a key ingredient, I just changed it into my own with a different sauce.  Hope you enjoy it.  It’s quick and easy and has some healthiness to it.

Ingredients:

1 13-oz. package frozen cheese tortellini, about 3 cups
1 10-oz. package frozen broccoli florets, about 3 cups
2 T. butter
1 1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used the tenders) cut into 1-inch cubes
Creamy Cauliflower Sauce. 

1.  Cook tortellini and broccoli in large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender.  Drain well.

2.  Melt butter in large skillet on medium-high heat.  Add chicken and stir fry for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.

3.  Add chicken to tortellini and broccoli mixture. Gently mix well until chicken is distributed evenly. 

4.  To serve, spoon desired amount of tortellini mixture onto plate and top with the Creamy Cauliflower Sauce or your favorite Marinara.

Broccolini with Chicken
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Ingredients
  1. 1 13-oz. package frozen cheese tortellini, about 3 cups
  2. 1 10-oz. package frozen broccoli florets, about 3 cups
  3. 2 T. butter
  4. 1 1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used the tenders) cut into 1-inch cubes
  5. Creamy Cauliflower Sauce.
Instructions
  1. 1. Cook tortellini and broccoli in large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain well.
  2. 2. Melt butter in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and stir fry for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
  3. 3. Add chicken to tortellini and broccoli mixture. Gently mix well until chicken is distributed evenly.
  4. 4. To serve, spoon desired amount of tortellini mixture onto plate and top with the Creamy Cauliflower Sauce or your favorite Marinara.
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Sunday Night Stir Fry

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Sunday Night Stir Fry
 
I was really craving something quick and healthy to eat on Sunday evening–and something that I could just create from what I had on hand.  Fortunately, I had some cut up rotisserie chicken left over from making chopped salad (heaven in a bowl) and several veggies in the fridge that desperately needed to be used before they were unrecognizable.  You know what I’m talking about–those things you buy at the store when you think you are finally going to cook at home and fix all healthy dishes and then life happens, other agendas take over, and there is not time to do anything but go out to eat.  Happens too often at my house, although I do enjoy eating out.  Alas, sometimes even that gets old.  Anyway, here is what I came up with.  I am adding this to my recently-started list of definite menu winners.  I have just got to get organized with a 2 week list of “we will definitely eat this and love it” so that we CAN eat at home more often. 
 

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked or grilled chicken, cut in bite-size chunks
1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 2 or 3 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut up
Carrots (mine were already julienned)
Snow peas, cut in half
Red onion, about 1/8 cup, chopped coarsely
Sesame seeds
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt to taste
All-purpose seasoning, to taste
1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil

 
1.  Heat olive oil in large skillet.  Add all ingredients and stir fry until veggies are just tender and chicken is heated through.
 
2. Serve with rice.
 
Makes 2-3 servings.

 

Sunday Night Stir Fry
Serves 2
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Ingredients
  1. 1 cup cooked or grilled chicken, cut in bite-size chunks
  2. 1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 2 or 3 inch pieces
  3. 1 red bell pepper, cut up
  4. Carrots (mine were already julienned)
  5. Snow peas, cut in half
  6. Red onion, about 1/8 cup, chopped coarsely
  7. Sesame seeds
  8. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  9. Salt to taste
  10. All-purpose seasoning, to taste
  11. 1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add all ingredients and stir fry until veggies are just tender and chicken is heated through.
  2. Serve with rice.
  3. Makes 2-3 servings.
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Slow Cooker Roast Beef

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I could not tell you how many times I have prepared a roast this way.  I learned it from a roommate in college, and have used it ever since.  Everyone loves it and I rarely fix it any other way.  So easy, so delish.  This is my favorite roast beef dish.  It’s actually cooking in my CrockPot, as we speak.

Ingredients:
3-4 lb. chuck roast (cheaper cuts are fine, because the slow cooker tenderizes everything)
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1 10-oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup (Golden Mushroom is great, as well)

1.  Place roast in slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle onion soup mix over roast.
3.  Spread condensed soup over top of roast.
4.  Cook on HIGH 4-6 hours (you can cook this on low; just make the time adjustment.  I usually only have time to cook on HIGH!)

Low Country Beef & Rice

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Have I ever told you how much I love one dish meals?  Seriously.  They just find me and I love to make them.  I found this one in a great cookbook that I have already shared.  It’s called Saving Dinner.  So Sunday was a good day to throw this one together since I had been on church assignment 1 1/2 hours away for half the day.  And just a little note, I left out the fresh, chopped tomatoes when I first made this.  They were right there in the dish drain but we were in such a hurry to eat, I forgot about them.  I added them in the next day and reheated the dish for my supper and believe me it was even better!
Ingredients:
3/4 lb. extra-lean ground beef (I used a whole pound and it was fine.)
1 stalk celery, chopped fine (used my re-hydrated Thrive celery, already chopped.)
1 large onion, chopped (or re-hydrate some Thrive chopped onion, no tears.)
1 small green pepper, chopped (what do you think?  Yep, freeze-dried green peppers)
1 t. Cajun seasoning
1 cup oats (recipe did not specify, so I used quick oats)
3 cups brown rice (I had some Sushi rice to use up)
3 medium tomatoes, chopped–don’t forget!!
2 11.5-oz. cans V-8 juice


1.  In a skillet, over medium-high heat, cook beef, celery, onion, bell pepper, and Cajun seasoning about 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is brown and vegetables are tender.
2.  Blot any excess grease with a paper towel.  I didn’t have any grease.
3.  Stir in oats and mix well.  Add remaining ingredients.
4.  Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes.
Source:  Leanne Ely, “Saving Dinner: The Menus, Recipes, and Shopping Lists to Bring Your Family Back to the Table,” p. 148.