Creamy Chicken Italiano

This recipe is from my friend Amanda. I love that its so easy and fast and yet yummy enough for guests.

1/4 Cup water
1 pkg dry Italian Seasoning (It will be by the dry packets of ranch)
1-8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 boneless chicken breasts

Put the chicken in Crock pot. Mix together dressing and water and pour it over the chicken. Cook on low for 2-3 hours. Add soup and cream cheese and let warm and then stir. Cook another 1-2 hours or until its all nice and creamy. We eat it over noodles.

Caramel Dumplings

Two of my favorite things combined! This yummy recipe came from our good friends the Brinkerhoffs. It is amazing and the best part is that the ingredients are things you almost always have around!

Sift together:
1 1/4 c flour
1/3 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Then cut 2 Tbsp butter into the flour mixture until it becomes fine particles.

Combine :
1/3 c + 1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
Add that to the dry ingredients all at once and stir until the dough clings together.

In a dutch oven or large saucepan combine:
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c water
1/8 tsp salt

Bring this to a boil, stirring constantly and then reduce heat to low. Drop dough by tablespoons into simmering sauce. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

Perfect Pie Crust

I got this recipe from Tyece too. It really is a perfect pie crust! The trick is to not handle the dough to much!

2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 c shortening
1/4 c ice water

Mix flour and salt. Cut shortening in with a pastry knife until crumbly. Stir in water with a fork until mixed. Divide in half and roll out half out on a floured surface until it is about an inch larger than your pie pan. Roll over your rolling pin and then unroll over your pie pan and form to pan. Cut off excess. Add filling and repeat with top. Flute pie edges together and cut 4 slits in the top to vent.

Apple pie bakes at 400 for an hour.

The extra dough is really yummy cut into shapes and baked with cinnamon and sugar on top. My kiddos love it!

Asparagus Rolls

This recipe is from my friend Pam. They are yummmmmmy and so pretty!

4-6 Tortilla Wraps (depending on the size of the tortilla)
18 asparagus
Chicken (You could do fresh, but I use 1 can of the Chicken Salad from Costco)
1/2 c. nuts (optional)
1/2 c. Craisens
4 oz. regular cream cheese
1/2-1/3 of container of Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese (judge this to taste)
1/4 c. Mayo
Garlic Powder

Mix the Chicken on down all in bowl. Judge to your liking in taste. I usually use closer to 1/3 container of the Garden Vegetable Cream cheese, but I like it with a stronger taste.

Spread the mixture on a tortilla. Roll the already cooked asparagus into the tortilla. I usually use about 4 or 5 per tortilla. Cover the rolled tortilla in Press N' Seal and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Cut tortilla into inch thick pinwheels and serve.

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

3 cans peaches
1 can crushed pineapple
1 butter recipe cake mix
1/2 - 1 cube butter

Drain the peach juice into a bowl and add all 3 cans of peaches into dutch oven. You don't have to be real picky about completely draining it. I drain off most of the juice with the lid and then dump them. Add the crushed pineapple without draining it. Mix with a spoon and spread evenly over the bottom.

Sprinkle cake mix over the fruit evenly. Take the cube of butter and cut little slices off of it and spread over cake mix. You can use as little as 1/2 of the cube to as much as the whole thing depending on your tastes. Then drizzle the peach juice over the whole thing as evenly as possible. Place the lid on and then set in the coals and add a few to the top of the dutch oven to cook the top.

I would check it after about 15 minutes to see how quickly your coals are cooking it. If its burning, they are too hot. If it looks the same you might want to add more.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese Soup

I don't love cauliflower but this soup is to die for! Its from my friend Pam and we all loved it. Best part you can freeze it!

1 can chicken broth (13 oz - so a little less then 2 cups. 2 cups is 16 oz)
1 small onion, diced
1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
Pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
2 c. milk (I wanted it super creamy, so I did 1 1/2 cups 2% milk and 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream)
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (the sharper the better for flavor)
1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese
Steamed chopped cauliflower
Steamed chopped broccoli
Optional: Chopped Onion, Carrots, and any other veggie!

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.

Apple Crisp

I had an apple crisp recipe that was good but we have replaced it with this one which we love! We use apples I have canned in a light fruit syrup and then drained most of the juice off.

1/2 c oats
1/2 c brown sugar
1/3 c flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c butter softened
1/4 c flaked sweetened coconut

Mix the first 4 ingredients. Add softened butter and cut it in with a fork until it is evenly crumbly. Add coconut and mix well. Pour over apples and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Waffles

This recipe is from All recipes. It caught my eye because the batter can be saved and used the next day. Super yummy!

2 eggs
1 3/4 c milk
1/2 c oil
2 c flour
1 Tbsp white sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat waffle iron. Mix ingredients in a mixer starting with the eggs and let them beat for a minute before you add the other ingredients. Ladle into your waffle iron.

Chicken Ranch Quesadilla

Super easy and fast and my kids liked them minus the green onions. These were even easier because we have been watching at the end of the day for rotisserie chickens to go half off and then shredding the chicken and freezing it. Its been so great to be able to go outside and grab a bag of already shredded chicken!

1 c chicken shredded
1 c Monterrey jack cheese, grated
1/2 c ranch
1 green onion, sliced
tortillas

Mix all ingredients expect tortillas. Spread mixture over tortilla and cook on both sides until the cheese is melted and the tortilla nice and toasted.

Yummy and fast! Not a great hyperphe recipe :)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

We had a pineapple that was starting to go bad and it was Cooking with Caleb night so we decided to make a cake with our pineapple. It was so yummy!

1/2 c butter
2/3 c packed brown sugar
1 small pineapple or 1 can pineapple chunks
1 yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 c water
1/4 c oil
1 c sour cream

We made our cake in a large stoneware pie dish. Its was larger than your normal pie baking dish and this cake fit it perfectly. Preheat oven to 350 and add butter to dish and place in preheating oven so that it melts while you are making the cake. Cut pineapple into chunks and place in a bowl. Add cake mix and all ingredients except the pineapple and brown sugar. Mix until the lumps are gone. When butter is melted sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter evenly. Then spread the pineapple evenly and top with the cake mixture. Cook on 350 for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Invert onto a serving dish immediately.

Salsa Verde/Enchilada Sauce

This recipe has been updated since I first posted it. It is delicious! We use it to give burritos and tacos a different and more yummy flavor! We also use this to make our own Enchilada sauce. It makes 4 cups total. We freeze them in 2 Ziploc freezer bags quart size bags with 2 cups each. To make enchiladas I use shredded chicken, a cup of cheese, 1/2 cup salsa verde, 1 cup sour cream and mix. Roll sauce into tortillas and then pour remaining 1 1/2 cups of salsa verde over the top.

6 cups tomatillos cut in half
1/2 c onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 Anaheim pepper, chopped
3 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c water
olive oil
1 lime

In a saute pan add tomatillos, onion, garlic, and peppers. Drizzle with olive oil and saute for a few minutes on med-hi. Add water, cilantro, cumin, and salt. Cover and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. When the tomatillos are soft add everything to a food processor and process until its smooth. I did two batches since my food processor would not take it all. You can probably use a blender too. When its smooth cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice into the salsa. Stir and serve.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

2-4 chicken breasts
4 slices good thick ham
Swiss cheese slices
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c sour cream
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c breadcrumbs
2-4 Tbsp butter

Cut chicken and ham up into bite size pieces. Mix and place half of the chicken and ham in a 9x9 baking dish. Cover with swiss chesse slices and then place remaining chicken and ham over the top. Combine soup, sour cream, and Worcesershire sauce in a bowl. Pour over top of chicken and ham. Top with a layer of breadcrumbs and melt 2-4 Tbsp butter in a dish and drizzle over break crumbs.

Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

Jeannie's Homemade Bread

This bread recipe is the BEST. You can make it in 1 hour from start to finish. I use it for everything now. Cinnamon rolls, rolls, scones, pizza...everything! The yeast and soy lecithin might be something you can only get in Utah at stores but it can be ordered off the Internet. Best part is it costs 25 cents a loaf to make this. We only eat homemade bread in our house now! I make a half recipe on Sunday and we eat a warm loaf of bread with dinner and use the other loaf for sandwiches and toast during the week. When we do Movie night on Friday I make a second half batch and use half for pizza dough and make another loaf of bread. Pantry Secrets has classes on how to make this bread and perfect it.

• 10 ½ cups White unbleached bread flour (NOT all purpose- they do not have enough gluten)

• ½ Cup Sugar (white or brown or you can use 1/3 honey or molasses but it will not freeze well)
  

• 3 rounded/heaping tablespoons Saf-instant yeast (Macey’s sells it, keep in freezer and add to the recipe directly from the freezer, it does not have to warm up)

• 1 Tbsp Salt
  

• 3 tablespoons liquid Lecithin* (use instead of oil, it’s made of soy, it cleans arteries has a 4 year shelf life and you can buy it at Kitchen Kneads, Bosch or any health food store and buy the liquid in squeeze bottles not the granules)

• 4 cups hot tap water (you can use powdered milk and for Wheat flour you add 1 cup applesauce in place of hot tap water) mix for 10 minutes.

Mix dry ingredients. Add lecithin and water. To add the lecithin, squeeze or pour approximately 3 tablespoons of lecithin directly into the bowl. Do not measure, it’s too sticky. (An amount about the size of a quarter equals 1 Tablespoon)

Mix for 1 minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry, add more water a little at a time but only 2-4 Tbsp. If dough is too moist, add more flour (You want nice soft dough). It’s better to be on the sticky side than to be too dry and hard. The stickier dough will stretch out better when you roll it. Mix for 5 minutes in mixer or knead by hand for 10 minutes. Do not add water or flour to the dough after it has finished mixing or it will be unstable.

Spray counter and pans with Pam (do not put flour on counter; it will dry out your bread, the gluten doesn’t develop in the extra flour and the dough won’t stretch as well and the breads will crack. Get a little Pam on your hands. Cut; don’t pull the dough into four pieces, shape loves and cover with a dish towel to keep the dough moist. Let raise 25 minutes.

Bake at 350º for 25 minutes on the middle rack in the oven. This recipe makes four loaves of bread. You can half the recipe for 2 loaves of bread.

For a year’s worth of bread (4 loaves a week)
6-25 bags of flour
6 pkgs of Saf-instant yeast
4-6 bottles of lecithin

You can keep a loaf of dough overnight in the fridge. Spray the inside of a bread sack with Pam. Put dough in and tie loosely. Put in Fridge. You might have to punch down the dough before you work with it. Great for pizza, scones, braids, etc. Might not form a pretty loaf of bread though.

Tater Tot Casserole

I got this recipe from Pam. This makes the kiddos happy and its yummy for Mom and Dad too. The best part is that if you keep the a spare bag of tots in the freezer its a great meal when you don't know what else to make. I like to make it early in the day and leave in the fridge until about an hour before we are ready to eat.

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1/2 lg onion diced in processor

1 pkg or 1/4 c taco seasoning
2 cans of cream of chicken

1 can evaporated milk

1 bag frozen tater tots

Cheese

Brown meat, onion, and taco seasoning. Combine cream of chicken and evaporated milk and stir until smooth. Layer tots in a 9 x 13 pan, cover with meat, a layer of cheese, and then pour sauce over the top. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Spinach, Caramelized Pecans, and Parmesan Salad with Pepper Jelly Dressing

Pepper Jelly Dressing:
3 Tbsp Pepper Jelly
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/8 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Dijon Mustard

In a small bowl whisk together ingredients. Microwave for 30 seconds and allow to cool.

Toss 6 cups Spinach, 1 cup Caramelized Pecans, and shredded Parmesan cheese. Toss with dressing and serve.

Caramelized Pecans

1/2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup pecans

Add butter to a med sauce pan and allow to melt on low. Add sugar and pecans and cook over med heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar caramelizes. It will start to turn brown and the sugar will lose the appearance of the grains. It takes about 5 minutes.

When it is done spread out onto a cookie sheet with foil.

Alfredo Sauce

Got this off All recipes from the Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce. The original recipe used garlic powder but I prefer the real thing. Its wonderful with Roasted Red Peppers or Sun Dried tomatoes added in!

1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 garlic cloves minced
2 cups whole milk
6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic, stirring with whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.