Marinade for Chicken

Maybe I should just copy and paste all of allrecipes.com over here because I consistantly find great recipes over there. And this one is NO exception. My husband said it was the best chicken he ever had. And if you ever come for dinner, it's what you'll probably have.:)

*It makes a good amount. We marinated about 8 chicken breasts and it was still too much, so adjust accordingly.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Stir in mustard powder, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use to marinate chicken before cooking as desired. The longer you marinate, the more flavor it will have.
2. Then throw it on the grill. At least that's what we did!
   

Blueberry Cream Muffins

I was looking for a good keeper of a blueberry muffin recipe and I believe I've found it over at allrecipes. Yum-my.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 cups blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In large bowl beat eggs, gradually add sugar while beating. Continue beating while slowly pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Gently fold in blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

** I sprinkled some raw sugar on the top before I baked them!

Creamy Broccoli Ham & Potato Soup

Occasionally, and I mean the very rare occasion, I create something myself that turns out pretty good. If you like broccoli and comfort food, this soup's for you! Of course, since I kind of made it up I don't have exact measurements for some things so you'll just have to do it to your own tastes.

Creamy Broccoli Ham & Potato Soup (creative name, I know:))

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
chopped onions
minced garlic
chopped celery
sliced carrots
5 cups boiling water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
4 cups cubed red potatoes
3 cups chopped broccoli
diced precooked ham
1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese

~Saute onions, garlic, celery and carrots in the butter in a large pot on the stove until soft.

~Add the boiling water, bouillon cubes and potatoes.

~Bring to a boil. Then add the broccoli. Cook till tender.

~If you have a hand blender stick it in and blend it up some. Or if you don't (like me!) pour about half of it in the blender and blend it up and pour it back into pot.

~Add the diced ham and the cheese. Heat until cheese is melted and ham is heated through.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This recipe comes from my bloggin' buddy, Mer. I make this....ALOT. This is GOOD stuff.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3-5 lb boneless pork shoulder
hamburger buns or hoagie rolls
barbeque sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is our favorite!!!)
coleslaw (optional)

In the crock-pot, mix ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, sage, oregano, salt and pepper. Trim fat from pork and cut in half. Add meat to crock-pot and turn to coat all sides with ketchup mixture. Cover and cook on low until very, very tender. About 8 hours on low; 6 hours on high. Transfer pork to a large bowl. Using two forks, pull meat apart until shredded. Pour juices from crock-pot over pork to moisten. Spoon onto buns or rolls. Add barbeque sauce and/or coleslaw if you're from the South. So delicious.

Mac & Cheese a la Paula Deen

How can you go wrong with Paula Deen?

I took her base recipe from here and tweaked it just a smidgen. And, BOY, was it good!

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (this will be more than an 8oz box)
4 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
Panko breadcrumbs

~Boil macaroni in plenty of water about 7 min (you still want it be slightly firm). Drain.

~In lg saucepan heat butter, cheese and milk until cheese melts.

~Add sour cream, soup, salt, pepper and dry mustard stirring on low heat until hot.

~Mix with cooked pasta and pour into a buttered baking dish. (I used a 9x13)

~Sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs to taste.

~Bake at 4oo until bubbly and brown.

**I'm going to experiment with different cheese next time! Can you say "chipotle cheddar"?! Or I might add bacon and garlic...the possibilities are endless!

Chicken Fettucine

This came from my friend, Rhonda. It is sinfully amazing and you'll see why Paula Deen would approve.

Ingredients

2/3-1 cup butter depending on taste (but truthfully I'm pretty sure I use 2 whole sticks:))
1 onion sliced
2 Tbsp Basil
1 tsp fresh garlic
salt & pepper

~combine in a large casserole dish (bigger than a 9x13) & melt in a 350 degree oven until onions are brown (about 15-20 mins)

~Add
1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube

~Place 4-6 chicken breasts (I like to use the frozen chicken tenders from Costco (use more than 4-6) since they cook faster.) in dish and cook at 375 degrees for about 45 mins turning 2-3x.

~Cook 1 pound of fettucine noodles seperately. Drain & mix into dish with the finished chicken (cut up).

*Most times I add a can of drained corn as well.

Guacamole

We LOVE Mexican food. We LOVE guacamole. And my husband LOVED it when I threw together this guacamole on the fly.

2 avocados - mashed w/ a fork.
Nature's Sweet Cocktail Tomatoes - cored, seeds squeezed out, and chopped up fine. (No specific amounts here, just eyeballed it)
Finely Chopped Onion - just enough to give the flava
Minced Garlic - aprox. 2 cloves
1/2 lemon - squeeze the juice in (but not the seeds. Almost made that mistake.)
Chopped green onion - to taste.
Salt - to taste, of course:)

Now watch it disappear.

Lasagna

The ONLY lasgana I'll make. The women in my family just keep handing it down and if somethin' ain't broke don't fix it.:)

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
chopped onion
1 small can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1 can diced or stewed tomatoes
1 1/2 Tbsp oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder (I use more, of course.)
1 pt. small curd cottage cheese
1/2 lb. jack cheese - grated
sm package of grated parmesan cheese
9 wide lasagna noodles

Directions

1) Brown meat with onions. Drain. Add tomato sauce, paste, diced tomatoes, and seasonings. Simmer 30 min. to an hour.

2) Prepare noodles according to package directions. Place 3 noodles in bottom of glass 9 x 13 pan. Alternate layers of noodles, sauce, cottage cheese, parmesan and jack cheese.

3) Bake for about 45 min. at 350 degrees uncovered until heated through and edges are a little crunchy. YUM!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This blog wouldn't be complete without this recipe. I got it from Pampered Chef and have added a few things to it. It has become our all time FAVORITE soup to make.

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped onion
3 chicken breasts
1/4 tsp chili powder*
1/4 tsp ground cumin*
1 clove of garlic (pressed)
2 cans chicken broth
1 can diced tomato undrained
1 can (4oz) green chilies undrained
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can corn (drained)

Directions

1) Cook onion and cut up chicken in pot w/ olive oil spray. Add garlic & spices, cook until chicken is done.

2) Add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 mins or more. (I like to do step 1 and then throw everything in the crockpot for several hours.

3) Serve w/ grated cheese, sour cream, and Fritos (my favorite part!). (optional)

*I always end up adding more seasonings. I really don't measure anymore. Just add to taste.

~I almost always double this recipe! It freezes great too!

Topsy-Turvy Apple Pie

I'm no Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart so this recipe was taken directly from www.pillsbury.com and it is mmm mmm good.


INGREDIENTS

Glaze and Crust
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon LAND O LAKES® Butter, melted
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 cup Fisher® Chef's Naturals® pecan halves
1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons Pillsbury BEST® all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples (4 medium)

Topping
Whipped cream, if desired

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 425°F. In 9-inch glass pie plate, mix brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Spread evenly in bottom of pie plate. Arrange pecans over mixture. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie, placing bottom crust over mixture in pan.
2. In small bowl, mix granulated sugar, flour and cinnamon. Arrange half of apple slices in crust-lined pie plate. Sprinkle with half of sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining apple slices and sugar mixture. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.
3. Place pie on sheet of foil on middle oven rack in oven; bake 8 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake 35 to 45 minutes longer or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Immediately run knife around edge of pie to loosen. Place serving plate upside down over pie; turn serving plate and pie plate over. Remove pie plate. Serve warm or cool with whipped cream.

Creamy Beef Enchiladas

I have to be honest I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and then changed so many things about it that I may not have remembered to write down everything. Oops. But I'm pretty sure this is what I did and it was delicious!


Ingredients

* 1 pound lean ground beef
* 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
* 1 can diced green chilis
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
* 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or colby jack)
* 6-8 (6 inch) corn tortillas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef, green onion, until the beef is evenly brown. Stir in water, green chilis and taco seasoning. Simmer until water has evaporated.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together sourcream, condensed soup, and cheese.

4. Divide the meat mixture evenly between tortillas. Place a couple of tablespoons of cheese mixture over meat, and roll up. Place in a 7x11 inch baking dish. Repeat for each tortilla. Spoon remaining cheese mixture over the top of the tortillas.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes.

Amish Breakfast Casserole

Another keeper from allrecipes.com!!


Ingredients

* 1 pound sliced bacon, diced (Haven't tried w/ bacon yet. I used precooked diced ham)
* 1 medium sweet onion, chopped (Did NOT use a whole onion!)
* 6 eggs, lightly beaten
* 4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
* 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese
* 1 1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese (Didn't have on hand so I just used more cheddar.)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion until bacon is crisp; drain. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; stir in bacon mixture. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.

2. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until set and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Black Bean Tortilla Casserole

This comes from Cara's Cravings Blog. I have no.idea. how I found it but I'm so glad I did. It is so yummy and would also be excellent with shredded chicken added to it.

Ingredients
1 cup diced onion
2-3, cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, diced (my husband doesn't prefer zucchini/squash, so I replaced those two things with an orange bell pepper and 1 cup of frozen corn)
1 medium summer squash, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
freshly ground salt & pepper
1 tsp cumin (I replaced all the seasonings with a half a packet of taco seasoning only because I had run out of chili powder.)
2 tsp chili powder (or, to taste)
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles*
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
8 6" corn tortillas
1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray with nonstick olive oil cooking spray. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook for about 5 minutes more, stirring. Add zucchini and garlic, and cook for about 8 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Season with salt & pepper, cumin, chili powder, and oregano and stir to coat.

Add the black beans and diced tomatoes with green chiles.(and frozen corn) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cut the cream cheese into cubes and scatter over the vegetable mixture, and stir until all of it is melted in and nicely combined. Finally, mix in the chopped cilantro. Remove from heat.

Lightly spray your casserole dish (I used a 7 x 11) with nonstick cooking spray. Place some of the vegetable mixture in the bottom of the dish, and top with four of the tortillas. Top with about 2/3 or the remaining vegetable mixture and half of the shredded cheese. Add another layer of tortillas and the remaining vegetable mixture.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Top the casserole(s) with the remaining cheese and bake for about 5-7 minutes more, until cheese is melted.

Notes:
* I used 1 can of Original Rotel and 1 can of Hot Rotel and it was smokin!! If you (or the kids) don't like spice I would use the Mild Rotel.

Greek Pizza

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com and then tweaked it to our likings....but go here to see the original.

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup mayonnaise (this seemed like just a smidge to much to me. I might try slightly less next time)
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
* 1 (12 inch) pre-baked Italian pizza crust
* 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped (We didn't have these so I used jarred fire-roasted red peppers.)
* 1 tablespoon oil from the sun-dried tomatoes
* 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 2 cups baby spinach leaves
* 1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced (I left these off.)

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix mayonnaise, garlic and 1/2 cup feta in a small bowl. Place pizza crust on a cookie sheet; spread mayonnaise mixture over pizza, then top with tomatoes, olives and oregano. Toss spinach and onion with the 1 Tb. sun-dried tomato oil. Top pizza with spinach mixture and remaining 1/2 cup feta cheese.Bake until heated through and crisp, about 10-12 minutes.

Black Bean Soup

This comes from my friend Jessica. Simple but YUMMY and with a bit of kick!

2 cans black beans - drained
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 cup cilantro (didn't have fresh once when I made it so I used dried (not a 1/2 cup though!) & it was still good!)

Blend all ingredients in a blender.
Heat on stove and serve!