Week 6 Saturday: Cereal; Tater-Tot Fish Bake and Jello Popcorn Balls

It's Saturday morning of Week Six.

  

Saturday is the only day of the week I don't cook something for breakfast. I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons - and cereal goes so well with that!

For dinner I am making something I have never made before I actually think it is a Pampered Chef recipe (?). It is Tater-Tot Fish Bake. Some of my kids love fish and one HATES fish. I am on the fence - and so is my husband - it's not something either of us like often. So I try to do a seafood dish occasionally. And so they pop up here and there on the 40 weeks of menus I created that I am blogging through. I think this one will be acceptable if only because of the tater tots (LOVE them - I don't know why) - and cheese with vegetables. I love cheese sauce on broccoli and cauliflower and so does my husband. So it should go over pretty well - even though it's fish.

For dessert I am making jello popcorn. I freaking love jello popcorn. It's so, so easy, fun to eat and so good! Plus there are so many flavors of jello that I always make 2 flavors at a time to test them out. (There are even jolly rancher flavored jello flavors out there.) Today I am making lime and red raspberry. The only downside - the kids will eat it as they walk around the house so I will be vacuuming it up for the next couple of days. But still totally worth it.

Tater-Tot Fish Bake and Jello Popcorn Balls

 

 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook vegetable mix according to package directions. I just poured them into the glass casserole dish I am going to bake this dish in - poured a little water in, covered it with plastic wrap and cooked them in the microwave until they were unfrozen and tender. Then I drained the water out.

2. While the vegetables are cooking, pour the cream of mushroom soup and milk into a bowl.

3. Pepper the mixture and add the cheese. Stir well.

4. Arrange fish filets over cooked veggies. I used Tilapia instead of orange roughy.

5. Spread the soup mixture over the fish.

6. Pour tater tots over the mixture. Add a little cheese to the top.

 

7. Bake until heated through. I used frozen fish so I cooked mine for more than twice the time called for by the recipe. I cooked it until the center of the pan was warm and bubbly - and the fish was all white and flaky.

8. ENJOY!       

 

 

 

 1. Pop 3 bags of microwave popcorn for each flavor of jello popcorn you want to make. Today I am making raspberry and lime jello popcorn - so I am popping 6 bags. I poured 3 bags of butter flavor popcorn into each bowl. I sifted through to make sure all the unpopped kernals were removed.

2. Pour the sugar and corn syrup into a medium size saucepan. Heat over medium heat- stirring occasionally - until it boils.

 3. Pour in a small package of jello. Stir until combined. I did lime in one pan and raspberry in the other.

 

4. Immediately pour the hot jello mixture over a bowl of popcorn - stir quickly with a large spoon to coat all of the popcorn. You can then butter your hands and form it into popcorn balls. I don't bother. I just let everyone grab what they want when they want it until it's gone! ENJOY!   

 

 

 

Week 6 Friday: Brown Sugar Oatmeal and Marshmallow Rolls; Pollo Colorado on Tostadas, Mexicali Corn and Chocolate Cream Pie

 It's Friday morning of Week Six.



 On today's breakfast menu is brown sugar oatmeal and with gooey sweet marshmallow rolls. I LOVE marshmallow rolls - they are a childhood favorite - and my kids love them too. (As a kid I used to love when some of the cinnamon sugar coated marshmallow leaked out of the rolls while they baked and turned into this crunchy flat gooey candy that I peeled off the cookie sheet and ate. Okay, maybe I still do that !)

 

For dinner we are having Pollo Colorado on Tostado Shells. I love this chicken - it's so easy and so satisfying. It totally feeds my love of enchilada sauce. The chicken slow roasts in the sauce all day -soaking in the flavor. If you have never fried your own tostada shells, you are missing out. They are so good! You can top them with just about anything - beans, meats or even just salsa. They are like big salty warm tortilla chips. 

 For dessert, I am making Chocolate Cream Pie. Yum! It's airy, creamy deep chocolate pie with a deep chocolate crumb crust. Topped with vanilla whipped and it's heaven.

Brown Sugar Oatmeal and Marshmallow Rolls

Pollo Colorado on Tostadas, Mexicali Corn and Chocolate Cream Pie

BREAKFAST:

 

 

 

 Marshmallow Rolls

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a small bowl.

2. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.

 

 

3. Grease a cookie sheet (or muffin tin).

4. Open, unroll the crescent rolls and separate into the triangles.

 5. Set up the butter, cinnamon sugar, marshmallows and crescent rolls all near each other. Dip a marshmallow into the butter, coating it completely.

6. Roll the butter coated marshmallow in the cinnamon-sugar, making sure the marshmallow has a nice coating of butter and cinnamon-sugar - no bare spots!

7. Place the coated marshmallow on the large end of a crescent triangle. Do one marshmallow for each crescent roll.

 

 

8. Take the two corners of the large side and overlap them over the marshmallow.

 9. Bring the third corner over, wrapping the marshmallow completely. Squeeze and pinch the dough all over to make a smooth ball with the marshmallow completely enveloped inside.

 10. Do this with each marshmallow and crescent. Then lightly brush the tops of the balls with the remaining melted butter.

 

 

11. Bake for  7-9 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool a minute and then put a dab of frosting on each and let it start to melt, then use a knife to guide the melted frosting so that it covers each roll.

12. ENJOY!!

 

 

DINNER:

 

1. Place chicken in bottom of crock pot. Turn on LOW.

2. Chop onions and bell peppers and put in with chicken.

 

 

3. Pour enchilada sauce over. Cook on LOW for 6 hours or so. (Longer is fine).

4. After chicken is cooked, shred chicken and stir up to coat all pieces with sauce as much as possible.

 5. Heat oil in frying pan over medium to medium-high heat - until oil sizzles when you drop a drop of cool water in it.

6. Place corn tortillas in the hot oil. Cook until begins to puff and brown, flip over and cook on other side until crisp.

 7. Remove from oil and place on platter with paper towels on it (to soak up oil). Salt.

 

8. Place shredded meat on top of tortillas.

 

 

 9. Top with cheese, sour cream, hot sauce and other desired toppings.

10. ENJOY!         

  

DESSERT:

 

1. Place dream whipped packages and one cup of milk in bowl of stand mixer.

 

2. Mix with wire whisk attachment on medium for  6 minutes. Add vanilla.

 

3. Add pudding mixes and remaining milk. Mix on low until mixed. Then mix on high for two minutes.

 

4. Pour into Oreo crust.

 

5. Refrigerate until set- at least  hours. ENJOY!