Christi's Cheesy Potato Soup

Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

Carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

Celery, cut up

Onion, cut up

Canned corn

Bacon

Butter

Flour

Milk

Sharp cheddar cheese

Seasonings: chicken boullion, salt, pepper, and parsley

Boil a large pot ¾ full of water and add chicken boullion (usually 1 cube per cup of water). When it is boiling add the vegetables (minus the corn) and salt and pepper to taste and let them cook until they are starting to soften (I pretty much have the vegetables fill the pot until they are just below the water level). Cook the bacon while the veggies soften

When the veggies start to get soft, start the white sauce. Use whatever bacon grease is left from cooking the bacon and add butter to it (for the amount I made at the Halloween party I used two sticks of butter) and melt the butter over medium heat. Then add the flour- generally it is the same amount of flour as butter, so two sticks of butter and one cup of flour, but if you like it thick, add more flour, I added one and a half cups to mine, but when there are leftovers they aren’t very soupy, more solid, so you end up adding water to the leftovers, so if you don’t like how thick that is, then only do 1 to1 ratio of butter and flour. Using a whisk mix together the flour and butter until it is almost a paste. Then add milk, I used about 1/3 of a gallon. Add a few cubes of boullion to this as well (I love the chicken stock base flavoring…) and grate cheddar into it- the amount on this depends on how cheesy you like it- I used a little more than half of a 8oz block…- mix on medium until cheese is all melted and there are no clumps to be seen anywhere.

Pour the vegetables into a large crock pot, then add the white sauce mix and the bacon broken into pieces and canned corn. Then sprinkle on some parsley and, if needed, more salt and pepper. Stir until well mixed and you are pretty much ready to go! This, like most of the stuff out of my head, is a very to-taste kind of recipe- sorry that there aren’t many measurements, but if you like a certain thing more than another, it is easy to tweak!

I made this recipe for a family Halloween party a couple of weeks ago and my Aunt asked for the recipe, so I wrote it up for her and thought I might as well just post it on here as well! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in pumpkin puree, eggs, and lemon juice. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Spread the mixture evenly.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 minutes.
Lay a damp linen towel on the counter, sprinkle it with confectioner's sugar, and turn the cake onto the towel. Carefully roll the towel up (lengthwise) with the cake in it. Place the cake-in-towel on a cooling rack and let it cool for 20 minutes.
Make the icing: In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and sugar with a wooden spoon or electric mixer.
When the cake has cooled 20 minutes, unroll it and spread icing onto it. Immediately re-roll (not in the towel this time), and wrap it with plastic wrap. Keep the cake refrigerated or freeze it for up to 2 weeks in aluminum foil. Cut the cake in slices just before serving.

Personal Note: I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and it was really well reviewed, so I made it for a bake off that we went to last night and won 2nd place and got tons of compliments!!!

Ranch Mashed Potatoes

Just a simple and quick change up to your everyday mashed spuds. I decided to do it differently one night and it was a hit!

Boil your potatoes as you normally would. When they are to your desired softness, drain. There is no real measurements for this, but the most important thing is go easy on the ranch seasoning.

For mine, one of the smallest containers of butter milk was just the right amount. Add that, a big scoop of sour cream ( I used half the container ) About one cup, and then sprinkle in some of the ranch dip mix from the packet. You can easily over load on this because it is so concentrated.

So, start with that, taste and add more of whatever it needs. If you need to, add some regular milk to get it to the right consistency.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ravioli

I am a die hard lover of nutella! I haven't even tried these, but it looked so yum that I had to post it. If you make these before I do, let me know how they turned out!

Ingredients

• 16 wonton wrappers
• 1 egg, beaten to blend
• 1 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 16 fresh mint leaves
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• Granulated sugar, for dredging
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Place 1 wonton wrapper on the work surface. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with egg. Spoon 1 tablespoon of chocolate-hazelnut spread into the center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper diagonally in half over the filling and press the edges of the wrapper to seal. Place the ravioli on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers, egg, and chocolate-hazelnut spread.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Add enough oil to a heavy large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat to 350 degrees F.

Working in batches, carefully add the ravioli to the hot oil and cook until they are golden brown, about 45 seconds per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ravioli to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Then, transfer the cooked ravioli to another baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while frying the remaining ravioli. (The fried ravioli can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool them completely, then cover and refrigerate. Before serving, place them on a baking sheet and rewarm in a preheated 375 degrees F oven just until they are heated through, about 7 minutes.)

Spray the top side of the mint leaves very lightly with nonstick spray. Working with 1 leaf at a time, dredge the coated side of the leaves in sugar to coat lightly.

Arrange 2 fried ravioli on each plate. Dust the ravioli with powdered sugar. Garnish with the sugared mint leaves and serve.

White Chili with Ground Turkey

K - I'm gonna give you the recipe as I found it and then tell you how I actually made it.

Johnny Carino's Chicken Scallopini

I know I already have a Chicken Scallopini recipe, but this one is very different; we had this at a friends house and I LOVED it, so we love both and have both on here!

Ingredients:

Lemon butter:
1/2 lb butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons white wine (I use white grape juice)
1/2 teaspoon garlic , minced

Chicken :
4 tablespoons butter , melted
2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup roma tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup cooked bacon , chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
10 ounces spaghetti or any kind of noodles
8 ounces heavy whipping cream
Optional: Artichoke hearts (not the kind that are marinated- just the kind canned in water)

Directions:
Combine Lemon Butter ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat at a medium speed until a smooth consistency in the batter is formed. Once combined, keep refrigerated until needed.
Put Spaghetti on to boil & prepare as you usually would.

While it is cooking cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces (the recipe I got this from calls for only cutting a large breast into 4 pieces, but I found myself having to cut the chicken on my plate then, so I like making it bite sized before hand…).
In a warm saute pan, combine melted butter & chicken breast pieces. Saute until chicken is browned & just about done.
Add tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, and spice mixture. Simmer until tomatoes begin to dissolve & chicken is done. Add heavy cream and allow to boil to the middle of pan (When my friend made this she thickened it with some cornstarch, which helped a lot because it is a pretty runny sauce…).
Remove from heat, add one cup lemon butter, and fold together to make sauce. Serve over spaghetti.

Liege Waffles

I got this recipe from my cousin's cooking blog and it was Delicious!

3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup pearl sugar
1 cup very soft/melted butter
2 eggs
1 (1/4 ounce) package yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
2 tablespoons sugar (add some vanilla sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt


1. Take the lukewarm milk and mix in yeast, 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar and salt. Let the yeast develop for 15 minutes. In the meanwhile you can soften the butter.

2. Now take a large bowl and put in the flour, make a hole in the middle, pour in the yeast that you made in step one. Also add eggs and melted butter and knead until you get nice and even dough. I had to add a little extra flour until it was moist but not sticky. Then let it rest so the yeast does it's magic and the dough doubles. About 30 minutes.

3. Now take pearl sugar and gently mix it in.

4. Again, let it rest for 10 minutes, in the meanwhile you can turn on the waffle maker so its nice and hot.

5. All there is left is to pull the waffle dough into 4 oz patties and place in the waffle maker and bake for 3-5 minutes. Because we mixed in the sugar late in the process it will melt and caramelize and give that special Liege waffle taste. Just be careful when you take them out of the waffle maker, caramelized sugar can make them sticky.

6. Serve with fresh whipped cream, cut berries, and or melted chocolate or caramel.

Artichoke Dip

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c Mayo
1 small can diced green chilies
1 can non-marinated artichokes (drained and chopped)
1 T lemon juice
3/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
garlic salt to taste

Cream cream cheese; add mayo and lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into casserole dish sprayed with oil or non-stick spray. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Becca's Cheese Ball

3 8oz cream cheeses (softened)
4-5 green onions sliced
2 oz each of deli sliced turkey, pastrami, and ham chopped
2 T Worchestershire Sauce
1 T Accent salt

Mix together and shape into balls.

Personal note: I don't normally keep Accent salt around, I only use it so far in this recipe, but I loved it so much that I bought some just to make this with!!!

Shelley's Chicken Pot Pie

Pie crust from Better Homes Cookbook (double pie recipie)
2 T Butter
1 diced small onion
2-3 stalks celery
2 cooked chicken breasts diced
1/4 c parsley (use less)
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/4 t black pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c water
frozen corn and peas (about 1/2 a bag of each)
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

make pie crust as directed. Roll out 3/4 of it in medium sized casserole dish to cover bottom and sides. Cook 5-10 min at 400. In skillet saute onion and celery in heater butter until onion is tender. Stir in parsley, chicken, wor sauce, pepper, soup, and water. Spread in baking pan with vegetables. Sprinkle cheese over filling. Bake at 400 for 25-30 min.

Oreo Dessert

1 pkg Oreo cookies, crushed
4 T butter or margarine
2 small packages instant vanilla pudding
1 c powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese
3 c milk
12 oz whipped topping

Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Mix in powdered sugar, pudding and milk. Continue beating until mixture is thick and creamy. Stir in whipped topping. Place half the pudding mixture in a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with half of the Oreos. Repeat and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Quick Apple Crisp

8 Granny Smith Apples (or any sweet apple, I like it with Gala) peeled and cut small
3/4 C sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1 small box (9 oz) yellow cake mix
1/2-3/4 c butter or margerine

Preheat oven to 375. Place apples in large pie dish or quiche dish. Combine sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg- sprinkle over apples. Sprinkle dry cake mix on top and drizzle butter evenly over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top if lightly browned. Cool slightly before serving.

Shelley's Focaccia Bread

2 3/4 c all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white sugar
1 Tbs active dry yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Cup water

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbls grated Parmesan cheese
1 Cup mozzarella

1. In a large bowl, stir together the four, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper. Mix in the vegetable oil and water.
2. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly fourned surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 in. thick rectangle. Brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

My favorite Zucchini Bread

3 eggs well beaten

1 c cooking oil

2 c sugar

2 c peeled and grated zucchini

3 tsp vanilla

Combine these and mix well.

Sift:

3 c flour

1 t baking soda

3 t cinnamon

1/4 t baking powder

1/2 c nuts (optional)

Add to mixture, mix well- stir in the chopped nuts at the end. Bake at 350 for one hour, makes two loaves.

Banana Bread

1/2 c shortening 1/2 t salt

1 c sugar 2 t baking powder

2 eggs 2 c flour

4 large ripe bananas 1/2 nuts (0ptional)

Cream shortening, sugar, and eggs. Add bananas in pieces, cream again. Add dry ingredients. Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes, makes one large loaf or 2-3 small loaves, depending on pan size.

Easy garlic noodles

Cooked noodles
butter
garlic seasoning (we like the stuff you get at Costco)

Just throw them all together, take it easy on the garlic seasoning as it is easy to over season these. Enjoy!

Chicken Scallopini

4 chicken cutlets
2 T olive oil
2/3 c flour
2/3 c white grape juice (dry white wine substitute)
2/3 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c dived tomatoes (14 oz can)
6 T chopped olives
1/2 T sugar
salt
pepper
basil

Pound the cutlets with a tenderizer and season with some salt and pepper. Heat oil in a skillet over medium. Dip the chicken in flour. Cook chicken in the oil until light brown and cooked through. Set aside.
Pour the white grape juice into the pan that the chicken was cooked in (don't remove oil or clean the pan). Whisk and reduce until about 4 T remains. Add broth, tomatoes, olives, and sugar- simmer, whisking occasionally until slightly thickened (3-5 min). Season with salt and pepper and basil.
Spoon sauce over chicken and serve!

Cinnamon Sugar Pancakes

Buttermilk Pancake mix

Water

Vanilla

Cinnamon sugar

Make pancake mix according to the directions on the package. Add a dash of vanilla. Sprinkle in some cinnamon sugar. Cook as normal. Delicious with syrup.

Personal Note: I am not really much of a food inventor, I will happily tweak stuff, though! I am sure I am not the first person who thought of this, but to be honest, I hadn't, so I was taking a risk trying it out. I was pretty proud, they turned out delicious and they were super simple! Shawn said they were the best pancakes he has ever had, but he likes to praise me! Enjoy them!

Cheesecake

2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened

3/4 c white sugar

1 1/2 T vanilla

1 egg

1/4 c flour

1/2 c milk

1 (9 in) graham cracker crust

Preheat over to 350

Mix together cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Add in egg by hand (don't overbeat the egg, that is the secret to a good cheesecake). Gradually mix in flour. Stir in vanilla. Blend in milk until smooth; add more liquid if batter is too thick to pour. Pour into graham or pastry shell.

Bake for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown. Refridgerate overnight.

Mango Mousse and Berry Parfait

4 Cups Fresh Mangoes



1 teaspoon Vanilla


Zest of one small lime


Juice of one small lime


1/2 Cup Agave or Pure Maple Syrup


Pinch of Salt


4 T Melted Coconut Oil

1 Cup Berries (I used strawberries can use any mixture of fresh berries you want)

Blend all ingredients except for the Berries and a cup of the mango in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy. I slowly added the melted coconut oil while blender was running so it would mix in well before it started setting up. After it is all mixed and creamy, transfer to a bowl and then Chill it in the fridge for at least 1-2hrs or overnight. Fill the cups with a layer of the mousse, a layer of fresh sliced mango, then another layer of the mousse, then a layer of fresh berries and so on until full. Top with a layer of fruit and fresh mint leaves if desired.

Sweet Peppered Bacon

Bacon

Brown Sugar

Fresh ground pepper

This is simple and yummy- just coat the bacon in the brown sugar, then grind some fresh pepper over it and bake it in the oven for as long as you want to your desired crispiness. This works best if you put the bacon on a rack and have a drip pan underneath- at first I wasn't sure how I felt about it and then I found myself craving it!!!

Stuffed French toast

Eggs
Milk
cinnamon
dash vanilla
dash nutmeg
cinnamon bread
cream cheese

Make your french toast dip the way you like it, personally I like to add that dash of vanilla and the dash of nutmeg, in addition to sprinkling the french toast with some more cinnamon while it is cooking...
Take two peices of cinnamon bread (I have found really good bread at Smith's for $1.25 that works really well and makes quite a bit) and spread some cream cheese pretty thickly on one of them and then put them together like a sandwich. Dip them in the french toast dip and cook like french toast, just be careful when flipping it not to let the bread separate! Also, don't cook above medium so that it can cook through!!!
You can serve this by itself or with fresh fruit and fruit syrup on it- Shawn loves to do it with strawberries or raspberries and the same flavored syrup on top!
Enjoy!!!

Coconut Shrimp

• Canola or safflower oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, eyeball it in palm of hand
• 2 pinches ground cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder, available on spice aisle
• 1 lime
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 2 egg whites
• 1 pound large fantail shrimp, de-veined and peeled
  

Directions

Heat 2 inches oil over medium high heat. A cube of bread should brown in a 10 count when oil is ready.

Season bread crumbs with salt, cayenne pepper and five-spice powder. Cut the lime into wedges and reserve.

Toss coconut with seasoned bread crumbs to combine. Lightly beat the egg whites. Dip shrimp in the egg whites, then coat with the coconut breading. Fry shrimp 5 minutes in hot oil until evenly golden and crispy. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

TIMING: To serve all of the courses together, a mix-n-match, family-style presentation, you can bread the shrimp and wait to heat oil and fry when you are ready to put the chicken stir-fry in the pan. Or, for separate courses, serve the shrimp with the salad, have your rice cooking and your ingredients prepped for the stir-fry, then stir-fry the chicken only when guests are ready for it.

Magic in the Middle Cookies

from King Arthur Flour Blog

Chocolate Dough
1 1/2 cups (6 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar (plus extra for dredging)
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ) brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

Peanut butter filling
3/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth, your choice
3/4 cup (3 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
2. To make the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
3. In another medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg, beating to combine, then stir in the dry ingredients, blending well.
5. To make the filling: In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and confectioners sugar until smooth.
6. With floured hands or a teaspoon scoop, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls.
7. To shape the cookies: Scoop 1 tablespoon of the dough (a lump about the size of a walnut), make an indentation in the center with your finger and place one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation.
8. Bring the cookie dough up and over the filling, pressing the edges together cover the center; roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
10. Roll each rounded cookie in granulated sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
11. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass, and use it to flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch thick.
12. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they’re set and you can smell chocolate. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Shabbat Challah (traditional Jewish Sabath Bread)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 6 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar, or vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water. Let stand for about 5 minutes to dissolve the yeast. Stir in the salt, sugar, oil and 2 eggs until well blended. Gradually mix in the flour. When the dough becomes too stiff to stir, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Place dough underneath the bowl to rise until double. Or, you can place the dough in the bowl, and cover with a towel.
2. Punch down the dough, and divide into 6 or 8 even pieces depending on what shape you want. Roll the pieces into ropes. Braid into two loaves, or one really big 6 piece braid - but only if your oven is large enough. Or, you can make the spiral shape challahs out of each rope. Tuck the ends under, and place on a baking sheet to rise until your finger leaves a small dent when you gently poke the bread.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Whisk together the remaining egg, water and vanilla sugar. Brush over the tops of the loaves. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bread is deep golden brown.

Personal note: I have been craving Shabbat Bread ever since I did a semester in Israel- This is very close to what I remember getting there- very good- and I was proud of how pretty my braided bread came out- I did a four piece braid, but I think next time I will split it and do two three piece braids and freeze one of them- it sure makes a lot of bread!

Stuffed Feta Burgers

2 lbs. lean ground beef (ground turkey would also work great)
Montreal Steak Seasoning (good amount!)
2-3 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. garlic powder
2 t. dried parsley
1 egg
1/4 c. breadcrumbs
Large chunk of feta cheese (I prefer the Greek Feta that is sold at Costco in a large square block--it is softer and has better flavor. Feta freezes well if you won't use up the whole package).
1 package hamburger buns (or homemade) Brush each side with a little olive oil or butter and broil for 30 seconds to a minute until golden brown.

Mix all together (minus the feta) and form half of the mixture into 7 patties. Put a large chunk of feta cheese on top of each half of the patties. Put the remaining beef mixture flattened on top of each patty, covering the feta cheese. Grill burgers until cooked through on the grill (dust off the snow on your outdoor grill, it will be worth the effort to have the yummy charcoal flavor!)

Serve burgers on a whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber sauce (below):

Cucumber Sauce (this is what makes these burgers)
1/4-1/3 c. mayonnaise (not low fat, you don't want a sweet flavor--sorry!)
1/4 c. sour cream
2 t. dried dill weed
1/2 t. garlic salt
Dash of lemon juice
1 small cucumber, peeled and shredded
Ground pepper
1/2 t. parsley
Salt to taste (it should be salty and tangy with the lemon juice)

Mix together and chill until ready to serve with burgers.

Enjoy!

Shawn's Favorite Stroganoff

1 lb. ground beef or steaks cubed
1 large can cream of mushroom soup *or*
1 can cream of mush soup and 1 can crm of chicken soup
1 c sour cream
1 can sliced mushrooms, or a cup of fresh ones
garlic salt
dried onions
Worchestershire Sauce

Cook the meat in a large pan, season with garlic salt and onions. Add the cream of mushroom soup, the sour cream, and the mushrooms. Season with the worchestershire sauce- let it cook for 5 minutes until slightly bubbly. Taste- see if you want to add more garlic salt, onions or worch. sauce. I don't measure with these- I just season until it tastes good to me.

Simmer for maybe 5 more minutes once you have it seasoned to your liking- cook for longer if you are using steak as it is tough unless you cook it long enough.

Serve over egg noodles.


Seriously- this is one of Shawn's favorites- he asks for it bi-monthly and somehow still isn't sick of it (although, sometimes I am...)

365: No Repeats

Just wanted to let you know that I have been trying out more new recipes, so far I have liked all of them and a couple I have totally LOVED, but I don't think that I can publish them here as they are copy-right protected. But I have gotten them from the book 365: No Repeats by Rachel Ray. So that I don't get in trouble for posting her recipes here, I will just tell you the numbers of the ones that I have LOVED and will make again, if you have the book, or want to check it out from the library to try those same recipes, you are free to! I am not doing a new one every day, but I am trying at least one a week, usually two and I am not doing them in order...
LOVED #1, 11, 27
I also thought that #29 was okay, Shawn liked it more and I also tried #157 and it was very different than what I usually do and I didn't love it, but my Dad really did, which is good since he was the one who picked that one out!
I will keep you updated as to the ones I love, but sorry, I don't think that I can post them here!

Gourmet Chicken Sandwiches

Chicken:
2 T minced Garlic
2 T olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
pounded to 1/4 in thick
pepper

Roast garlic in olive oil until brown. Grind fresh pepper over one side of chicken and place chicken pepper side down in the oil/garlic and cook through (approx 12 minutes)

Rosemary Mayo:
4 T Mayo
4 tsp digon ustard
1 T fresh rosemary finely chopped (I used dry and it worked fine)

Mix together.

Baguette bread
Swiss cheese

Place Rosemary Mayo over Baguette Bread. Lay chicken on top of Mayo. Lay 1 slice swiss cheese on top of chicken. Wrap in foil and bake at 275 for 10-15 minutes.

Stuffed Chicken Croissants

2 C cubed cooked chicken
16 oz. soft cream cheese
4 cans crescent rolls
6 T melted butter
4 T soft butter
1/2 t pepper
1 can drained mushrooms
2/3 c Stove Top Chicken stuffing mix
Large can Cream of Chicken Soup (Campbell's is the best)

Combine chicken, soft butter, pepper, mushrooms, and cream cheese in mixing bowl. Spoon this mixture into the center of an open crescent roll and roll up, sealing it up into the shape of a dough covered ball. Drop into melted butter and roll in stuffing mix.

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Use cream of chicken soup for the gravy.

Chickien With Peanut Curry Sauce

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, cut in 1-inch pieces
* Salt and pepper
* 8 ounces frozen cut green beans, thawed (recommended: C&W)
* 8 ounces frozen pepper strips, thawed (recommended: C&W)

For sauce:

* 1 1/2 cups light coconut milk
* 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth,
* 1 tablespoon red curry paste
* 1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons lime juice, plus wedges for garnishing
* Coconut Rice, recipe follows
* Cilantro sprigs for garnishing

Directions

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add cut up chicken, season and saute until cooked through stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add green beans and pepper strips and continue cooking for 3 minutes.

While chicken cooks, start the peanut curry sauce. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the sauce. Pour sauce into a frying pan over the chicken and vegetables, stir to combine. Turn heat up to high and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 6 to 8 minutes. Serve over Coconut Rice or plain steamed rice.

Coconut Rice:

3/4 cup light coconut milk (recommended: A Taste of Thai)

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 lime, juiced

2 cups instant rice

1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted

In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, chicken broth, lime juice, and instant rice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and cover for 7 to 9 minutes. Fluff rice with fork and stir in toasted coconut. Serve.

Note: To toast coconut, place in dry frying pan over medium-low heat stirring occasionally until golden brown.

The result:
Oh, my gosh!!! This was so good that I broke my weight-loss rule and took seconds! The thing is, I still want even more! I loved this so much Shawn and Lucas are still eating it for dinner and I had to blog about it! The only thing I *might* do differently would be to make it more like 1/2 c to 3/4 c peanut butter, to make it peanutbutterier! This was so good- by the end, it was almost like eating candy! Good times!!!

Junior Mints Mini's No Bake Cheesecake

Junior Mints Mini's No Bake cheese cake:
1 oreo pie crust
1 pkg cream cheese
1/3 c sugar
1/2 pkg whipped topping (4 0z)
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 pkg Junior Mints Mini's (divided)

On High speed whip cheam cheese, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Blend in whipped topping until fully incorporated. Fold in 3 oz of Junior Mints Mini's. Spread mixture over pie crust. cover and chill if refrigerator 4 hours. sprinkle top with rest of Jr Mint's mini's just before serving.

The result: actually this is halved from what it called for. It called to make your own crust, but I just don't have time for that, and it is actually cheaper to buy the crust than it is to make it when you consider what you pay for the ingredients! So, my sister made this for me (shelley and her kids have been visiting over the past week, it has been TONS of fun!) while I was working on other things- I think it turned out pretty darn good, I love mint, chocolate and cheese cake, which this satisfied all of these cravings!!!

Chicken Chimi in the Oven

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups salsa
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pound cooked, shredded chicken breast meat
• 1 cup refried beans
• 6 (10 inch) flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in salsa and water. Season with chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Return mixture to the saucepan, stir in the chicken, and cook until heated through.
3. Spoon an equal amount of refried beans down center of each tortilla, and top with equal amounts of the chicken mixture. Fold tortillas over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Arrange seam-side down in the prepared baking dish, and brush with the remaining olive oil.
4. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, turning every 5 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

Our result: we liked this, I have to admit, I was a little leary of the cinnamon, but it made for an interesting new flavor that was a fun variation on what normal chicken Chimichunga's taste like. All, in all, good stuff!

P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup water chestnut
• 2/3 cup mushroom
• 3 tablespoons chopped onions
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 4-5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon hot mustard
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1-2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions

1. Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.

2. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.

3. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.

4. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well.

5. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.

6. Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.

7. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.

8. Remove chicken from the pan and cool.

9. Keep oil in the pan, keep hot.

10. As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.

11. Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.

12. When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are.

13. With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.

14. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.

15. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups".

16. Top with"Special Sauce".

The result: We really liked this- although we have done Chicken lettuce wraps a slightly different way before and when we did those we used boston, or Butter lettuce, and I liked the way that rolled better- and the other wraps we had used some peanut sauce (you can buy it at the store in the asian food section) which we LOVED on this as well- all in all, I think we will do this again!

Marshmallow Peppermint Popcorn

1/2 c finely crushed peppermint candy canes
1 c mini marshmallows
1/4 t salt
1/4 c popcorn, 1/4 c oil, 1/4 c sugar

Mix the first 3 ingredients and set aside. Make the popcorn and pour the marshallow and candy cane mixture over the popcorn and stir well- the marshmallows will melt into the popcorn and be yummy!

Zuppa Toscana (Tuscan Soup)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
• 1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 6 potato, thinly sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

The result: We really liked this soup, although we didn't even bother trying to give some to the kids- if there aren't noodles in a soup, they inherently don't like it. Plus I got a *little* bit heavy handed with the red pepper flakes, so it was a bit spicy. Also, we did the spinach thing, but it didn't really add to the soup, nor have a strong flavor, so when I had leftovers, I didn't bother with it and they came out wonderfully. Will we ever have this again- you bet!!!