Cargile Family Favorite Recipes (2024)

Are you ready for this one? Looks so pretty on Kelsey's hot pink plate, doesn't it? It tastes just as good as it looks!!
Ingredients:
Chicken (cooked, cooled and shredded)
4 yellow onions (I used 2 bags of frozen diced onions)
2 cans diced tomatoes (I only used one can)
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I used 2 peppers, add more for more heat)
sour cream
cotija cheese or feta cheese (I used feta, similar tastes)
tostada shells (I scored when I found baked tostada shells WOO HOO!)
cilantro
fresh avocado
lime

Directions:
Boil chicken. I used chicken tenders for this because they cook faster and are easier to shred. While chicken is cooking, put all onions in pan and cook until translucent (20-30 mins). Shred cooked chicken. Blend/puree diced tomatoes with chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. When onions are thoroughly cooked, add tomato sauce and simmer for 20 min. I was in a time crunch and didn't wait the 20 minutes. I just threw the chicken in it, too! Let cook together for 20 minutes and I added a little of the chicken broth/water (from the pot I boiled my chicken in) to thin it out a little.
While this is cooking, I prepped my tostadas.

Prep tostadas: spread sour cream on tostada, add chicken sauce mixture, top with cheese and cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime on top! Mommy and Daddy had a slice of avocado, too! Kiddos don't love avocados like we do which is fine by us--more for me! :)
My husband had THREE tostadas. Yep, I'd say it was a successful dinner. It also created a lot of leftovers for us, too. Is 9am too early for a tostada? :)

Source

Spaghetti Crescent Roll Casserole

Our whole family really enjoyed this for dinner tonight and I couldn't wait to post it! I love that this recipe can be so versatile.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey)

Your favorite jar of spaghetti sauce or homemade :)

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 can crescent rolls (I used reduced fat)

Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Brown hamburger meat and add spaghetti sauce. Simmer.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix mozzarella cheese and sour cream in separate bowl

Pour spaghetti meat into 9x13 baking dish.

Spread mozzarella cheese/sour cream mixture on top of meat sauce.

Top with crescent rolls and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

This is what my kid's plate looked like after her second helping!

This was surprisingly delicious! Putting all the ingredients together, I kept thinking to myself "this doesn't look like much of anything." We really enjoyed this one.
I love how you can easily tweak it to make it healthy by simply using fat free or reduced fat cheese.
I can't stop thinking about those cherry tomatoes growing in my garden this summer. I love finding recipes like this!
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter (I omitted)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice (short-grain)
1/2 small onion,
diced 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped deli-roasted chicken
1 (8-oz.) package fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1/4 cup
shredded fresh basil
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Place butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish; bake 5 minutes or until melted. Stir in broth and next 3 ingredients.
2. Bake, covered, at 400° for 35 minutes. Remove from oven. Fluff rice with a fork. Stir in chicken, mozzarella, and tomatoes; sprinkle with shredded basil.
Serve immediately.
My friend, Margaret, introduced me to this recipe found here!

I found this recipe from my friend's blog. It is a delicious, easy and HEALTHY recipe that our whole family loves. No kidding, I've made it three times in the past month. It really is that good. I should've known because it is adapted from a Barefoot Contessa recipe.

Panko-Crusted Salmon
adapted just slightly from Barefoot Contessa, How Easy is That? by Ina Garten

2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
grated zest of 1 lemon (I have even sub'd lemon juice and it's great. However, zest is best!)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 (6-8 oz) salmon fillets, skin on (I always take the skin off and it's delish!)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon canola (or vegetable) oil
lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine the panko, parsley, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl. Add the olive oil to the bowl and stir until all of the crumb mixture is evenly coated with the oil.

With the salmon fillets skin side down on a work surface, use a pastry brush (or spoon, ha!) to spread the mustard generously over the tops of the fillets. I never would've thought to use mustard on salmon but trust me, it is AMAZING!

Season the fillets with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, then distribute the crumb mixture evenly over the fillets and press to adhere.
Heat the canola oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and sear for 3-4 minutes to brown the skin. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for about 5-7 minutes, or until the salmon is just about cooked through, and the panko mixture has browned. Remove the skillet from the oven, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve with the lemon wedges (or just drizzle w/ lemon juice).
My notes: I did not cook these in the skillet. I have covered them in foil and grilled them-YUM! I have covered them in foil and baked them in the oven--YUM! I have also dumped everything in a baking dish and baked them in the oven all together. I loved this because we had enough bread mixture for every bite-YUM! My point is, it doesn't matter how you cook it. It turns out amazing every time!

Recipe found here

Linking up to Designs by Gollum

I promise, it really does taste as good as it looks. You know this one is a keeper if your husband tells you "honey you can make this ANYTIME you want." HA!

Ingredients:

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Oh yeah! Watch that cheese melt yummmmmm!

Linked up: Designs by Gollum

Yes, I'm not even kidding. Now, I wouldn't say this is something I will make all the time but when I need something the kids will get googly-eyed for that is also fast, cheap and easy...this is my meal!

I generally have all the ingredients on-hand all the time anyways. Think about it: milk, sharp cheese, elbow macaroni and...are you ready for it? BACON! Oh and guess what else?!?! I totally weight watcher'd it. HA! It still isn't healthy for you but hey, I at least softened the blow. :)

Ingredients:

10 strips of bacon (I used turkey bacon)

1 onion, minced (I used frozen chopped onions)

2 cloves garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup flour

14oz can chicken broth

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp chili powder (I kinda scratched my head on this one but I promise, it tastes good!)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni noodles

3 cups milk (I used 2%)

4 cups of grated sharp cheddar cheese

(*I totally snuck in veggies, too! I added carrots and celery to it. The kids didn't even bat an eye!If you think your kids would notice, I would suggest pureeing carrots and I guarantee you can't taste it!*)

Directions:

Cook bacon until crisp, set aside.

Saute the onion in the bacon grease (about 3 tbsp--if more, drain)

When onion becomes translucent, add garlic and continue to cook until browned. Stir in flour and stir frequently.

Slowly add chicken broth while stirring. Add dry mustard, black pepper and chili powder. Stir while it simmers.

Add milk and macaroni noodles, bring to a simmer and continue to stir frequently.

Once macaroni is done, add cheese and bacon. Stir until the cheese melts.

Be prepared to become very full! My kids cheered at the dinner table for this meal. You would have thought I spent hours cooking a gourmet meal the way they acted. Pretty funny.

Recipe found here

Linked up to Designs by Gollum , Debbi Does Dinner and Presto Pasta Nights

There was this little Greek restaurant I used to frequent with my co-workers in downtown Nashville. They made the best chicken soup and the homemade pita was heavenly. Every time I tasted the soup, I thought that I could totally recreate it. Well, the little restaurant closed and after not having my favorite soup in such a long time, I just had to make some! Boy, did I ever! It was DELICIOUS!!!!

I actually looked forward to eating the leftovers and I wasn't sharing them either!!!

So, in an effort to not lose my new favorite recipe, I am posting it here!

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

8 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
6 tablespoons chicken soup base
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cooked white rice
1 cup diced, cooked chicken meat
16 slices lemon
8 egg yolks

Directions:
1.In a large pot, combine the chicken broth, lemon juice, carrots, onions, celery, soup base, and white pepper. Bring to a boil on high, then simmer for 20 minutes.
2.Blend the butter and the flour together. Then gradually add it to the soup mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes more, stirring frequently
3.Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks until light in color. Gradually add some of the hot soup to the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Return the egg mixture to the soup pot and heat through. Add the rice and chicken. Ladle hot soup into bowls and garnish with lemon slices.

My notes: I used a frozen mirepoix blend of veggies, black pepper (didn't have white) and brown rice. It was perfection!

I actually have this in my crock pot for dinner tonight. Here's to hoping I found a new crock pot meal! :) I'll report back and let you know.

Recipe was found HERE!

This is to die for!!! Simply AMAZING and one of the best parts about making it: besides the pork, I had everything at home to make it! YAY!

Marinated Pork Tenderloin

4-6 lbs pork tenderloin
1 1/2 cup oil (canola or olive oil) **I would omit this all together if putting in crock pot
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt **I would omit the salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 garlic cloves, minced)

Combine all ingredients and whisk gently. Pour marinade into gallon bag with pork tenderloin. Let marinate over night or no less than 4 hours. The longer you marinade, the better this tastes!
Heat grill to medium high heat. Sit pork out and let it get to room temperature, this will allow the meat to cook more evenly.
Remove pork from marinade, and reserve marinade. Cook pork for around 25-35 minutes or use a meat thermometer and pull once it reaches 145 -150 degrees for medium.
Let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting, this locks all the juices in. Cut into 1-2 inch medallions.
Heat reserved marinade in a small sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil for about 5 minutes. DO NOT use the marinade without first cooking it! It was sitting in raw meat, so you don’t want to do that!
Serve pork medallions with marinade as a sauce, and I even serve the sauce over mashed potatoes!

*My CROCK POT notes: I threw all the ingredients in the crock pot and cooked it ALL DAY LONG (10 hours on low). I served it over brown rice. It just fell apart and was so delicious. I would forgo the oil and salt --unnecessary, in my opinion.

Most importantly, my 5 year old daughter ate TWO helpings. This recipe is a total keeper and will become a regular in my rotation. :)

Original recipe found HERE!

Oh my heavens!

2.Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with tortilla strips to serve.

My notes: I bought the lime tortilla chips to go with this and it's awesome. The 1st time I made this, I made the mistake of not using fresh lime juice and I couldn't really taste the lime. Very disappointing! I highly recommend squeezing fresh limes in it and also on top before you serve it. :) It makes all the difference in the world. I also sprinkle cilantro on top, too. I love love LOVE all things avocado so I used TWO last time and it was amazing! I also snuck in some carrots just because I could. :) Could be served with or without long grain rice.

This recipe is adapted from HERE! I just simplified it to our tastes.

Linking up: 33 shades of green, Blessed with Grace, Dr. Laura , Real Sustenance, Designs by Gollum

Crock pot Chicken & Dumplings --very easy!!!

I use fat-free soups, so besides the biscuits, it's really not that bad for you. Also, I sometimes only let the biscuits cook for 20-30 min --b/c we are in such a hurry to eat. I know it says to cook for 5-6 hours on high but obviously that doesn't work for me (full-time working momma)! So, I cook it on low all day long then crank it up to high when I put the biscuits in. I usually forgo the seasoning and just do a few shakes of Italian seasoning and add a little chicken broth. You really can't screw it up. No matter how I make it, it always taste the same lol.

The kids gobble this one up and they frequently request this one, too! Speaking of the kids, this is one of those recipes I can sneak vegetables in without hearing any complaining. I typically add carrots and mushrooms. YUM!

I would give credit to where I found this awesome recipe but, honestly, I've been making this for so many years that I have no idea where the recipe came from. I've also tweaked it so many times to our liking, I'm not sure how similar it is to the original anyways. :)

Linking up to Tasty Tuesdays and Dr. Laura's Tasty Tuesdays. Blessed with Grace, Balancing Beauty & Bedlam and A Stroll Thru Life, Fudge Ripple, These Creative Juices, All the Small Stuff

This chicken is perfect for either tacos, burritos or nachos which means leftovers are awesome because you can have burritos one night and nachos the next! :) I love it when that happens!!!

My friend, Meghan, gave me this awesome recipe. I could not get over how EASY it was and anyone who knows me well, knows that when the crock pot is involved then I am ALL OVER IT!

Cafe Rio Chicken Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (I use fat free and works great!)
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic—minced
5 lbs chicken breast

and whatever toppings you like for tacos/burritos/nachos!

Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.

Credit: Recipe came from here.

Meghan also makes the rice but added this note: I usually do 3 cups water to 2 cups rice because when you add all the additional liquid from the blender it equals about a cup. I also use a full small onion and a bouillon cube, and I add juice from 1 lime to the blended stuff too. I've never tried the salad dressing recipe, but it sounds good too!

This salad is SO easy to make and incredibly healthy and delicious! There's no right way to do it --just get to chopping. If you're making it for yourself, chop about 1/2 cup of each thing. If you're making it for a group --go up to 2 or 3 cups of each ingredient.

Ingredients:

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Spinach leaves

Yellow Bell Pepper

Tomato

Corn (raw from the cob)

Avocado

Egg Whites Only (Hard Boiled)

Ham (deli sliced)

Turkey (deli sliced)

Salami (deli sliced)

Chop everything into bite sized pieces and mix! Add pepper to taste. I drizzled a teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil after it was plated. I suggest doing so, in case you have leftovers. This way it won't get soggy in the fridge.