CHICKEN BROCCOLI VEGGIE SAUTE

3 TB spoons butter
4 skinless,boneless chicken breasts ( cut in ½ length wise )
1 cup chopped broccoli
½ cup very thinly sliced carrots
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 can cream of broccoli soup
1/3 cup milk
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp. cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
Dash of red pepper

Cook chicken in 2 TB spoons of butter until lightly browned
Remove , set a side
Cook broccoli , carrots , & mushrooms in 1 Tb spoon butter approx 5 min.
(I put the carrots in by themselves for about 5-10 before the other veggies so they wouldn’t be too crunchy!)
Mix soup , milk & seasonings, stir into vegetables , add chicken
Heat to boiling and simmer 5 min .

Yogurt Cake

White cake mix - prepare according to directions and fold in a container of any flavor yogurt. (I substituted applesauce for the oil for a low fat option and you can't tell at all.)

Frost with a tub of cool whip mixed with a container of the same kind of yogurt.

Simple and Delicious!

Alfredo Chicken Bake

1 box penne pasta (cooked & drained)
Cubed, cooked chicken breast, grilled or fried
Sliced mushrooms (about 1 carton)

Combine above ingredients in a large baking dish. Pour Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce over pasta mixture. (I used two jars of Great Value Alfredo Sauce).

Seeded, Diced Tomatoes (about 4 romas)
Monterey Jack Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Top with Monterey Jack cheese, diced tomatoes parmesan cheese. Bake @ 350º for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese starts to brown. (I broiled mine at the end to crisp up the cheese.) :)

Mint Grape Beverage

Ingredients

o 1 cup granulated sugar
o 1 1/2 cups water
o 1 cup fresh mint leaves, bruised
o 1 cup lemon juice
o 2 cups grape juice
o 1 (12 ounce) bottles ginger ale

Directions

1. Combine water and sugar and heat until sugar has dissolved, stirring, about 5 minutes.
2. Let cool slightly, and then pour over mint leaves.
3. Add lemon juice, cover and steep for 1 hour.
4. Strain, discarding solids, then add grape juice.
5. Chill well.
6. Just before serving, add chilled ginger ale to mint mixture.
7. Garnish with additional mint leaves and lemon slices (if desired) and serve over ice.

Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes
from Taste of Home

8 med red potatoes, quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 T butter
½ c milk, warmed
½ tsp salt
¼ c grated Parmesan

Cover potatoes and garlic with water in a large saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are very tender. Drain well, but leave garlic in potatoes. Add butter, milk and salt. Mash with a hand mixer. Stir in Parmesan. Serves 3-4.

Spinach Dip

1 package (10 oz.) baby spinach, chopped, or 1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze dried.

1 container (16 oz.) sour cream

1 cup Mayonnaise

1 package Knorr Vegetable recipe mix

1 (8 oz.) can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped (optional)

3 green onions, chopped (optional)

Serve with fresh veggies, or bread. YUM.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 Tb butter at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk

Combine all ingredients but milk in a bowl of electric mixer. Mix on med-low until creamy; scraping down sides occasionally. Add milk gradually with mixer in high speed until frosting is smooth and desired consistency. Frost your cupcakes and refrigerate. The butter in the frosting will melt and ruin the smooth texture of the frosting if you leave it at room temperature. If you need to bring them to a function where they will be out for more than 2 hours, I would go so far as to partially freeze them before going so they stay cold.

Smashed Potato

Red Potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper and other seasonings

Boil whole potatoes until fork tender. Drizzle cookie sheet with olive oil (don't skimp) Place potatoes on cookie sheet and mash down. Brush potatoes with olive oil, sprinkle with salt (don't skimp) and pepper. You can add other spices like rosemary, basil, sage etc. Bake at 450 for 20 - 25 minutes.

This time the seasonings I added were fresh rosemary, a tiny bit of garlic powder, red pepper, and cumin to each potato, then I added plenty of salt and pepper.

Black and Blueberry dump cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
4 cups fresh or frozen *blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter cut in little pieces
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Mix berries, sugar, and cinnamon in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Cover berries with dry cake mix. Place butter pieces over cake mix, do not stir.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, or until light brown. Serve warm or cold. top with ice cream.

*for dinner group I used 3 cups frozen blueberries and 1 cup frozen blackberries, but have made this with peaches and half peach half blueberry...every time it's really yummy! I bet you could use apples as well.

Chocolate chip cookie dough dip

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Vanilla wafer cookies, graham crackers, or fruit for dipping

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Stir continuously, until the brown sugar dissolves.

2. Remove from heat, whisk in the vanilla and set aside to cool.

3. Beat the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar for 1 minute.

4. Slowly beat in the cooled butter mixture and beat again for another minute.

5. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts, if using.

6. Pour into a serving bowl and refrigerate. Garnish with additional chocolate chips or nuts, if you choose.

Refreshing Lime Drink

1 can frozen Limeade concentrate
1 bottle Sprite Zero
1 bottle Fresca

Put the frozen Limeade in a gallon size pitcher; add Sprite and Fresca until pitcher is full. Mix together and enjoy.

Smooth Jello Salad

1 sm. box strawberry jello
1 sm. box cook n serve vanilla pudding
1 sm. box cook n serve tapioca pudding

Mix with 2 2/3 cups water, bring to boil, stirring, boil for 1 minute.
Pour into container, let cool room temp 1-2 hours, then refrigerate overnight.

Before serving, stir in

1 8 oz. cool whip
1 pint strawberries

**You can mix up the recipe to make different flavors if you want: orange jello with mandarin oranges, raspberry jello with frozen raspberries, or even double the recipe and mix jellos.

Family BBQ

Hi Ladies, As most of you know we will be having a BBQ our our house for our families. So bring your hubbies and kiddos. Emily since you just brought a dessert do you want to bring a side dish? Marlana I am just going to do water or lemonade so do you want to bring a dessert? Erin I don't think we will need a bread since we may be doing hamburgers and hot dogs so do you want to do a salad? Monica will you bring a dessert as well? Nicki can you bring a side dish? With these changes it should help with us having enough food. Make sure to maybe double your recipe so we have enough for everyone. Thanks Ladies!

strawberry sheet cake

STRAWBERRY SHEET CAKE

* 12 oz fresh strawberries, stems removed and chopped (about 3 cups)
* 2 cups of sugar plus 2 teaspoons
* 2 cups of flour
* 2 sticks of butter (1 cup)
* 2 eggs lightly beaten
* 1/2 cup of buttermilk
* 1 teaspoon of baking soda
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Over the chopped strawberries, sprinkle 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1/4 cup of water. Let them sit for an hour at room temperature so they can release some of their juices. The berries should reduce to about 1 1/2 cups. In a blender of food processor, crush the berries on a low speed for a few seconds—you want them juicy but still with some texture. Take 1/2 cup of the strawberry mixture for the frosting and leave the remaining crushed strawberries for the cake.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sift the sugar and flour together in a bowl.

Melt the butter on low in a saucepan and then whisk it with the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and baking soda. Add the liquid to the flour and then stir in one cup of the crushed strawberries.

Pour batter into greased cookie sheet pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cake is done when a knife comes out clean from the center. Let it cool and then frost with the strawberry cream cheese frosting (recipe below).

Note: The cake will be a little brown. This, I hear, is because of the alkaline reaction of the ingredients. Do not be alarmed!

STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

* 1/4 pound of butter (1 stick) at room temperature
* 8 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature
* 3 cups of powdered sugar
* 1/2 cup crushed strawberries
* 2 teaspoons of lime juice (about half a lime)
* 1/4 teaspoon lime zest
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar until blended. Add the strawberries, lime juice, lime zest and vanilla. Spread over cooled cake.

Creamy Potatoes and Peas

Usually use about 2 baby red potatoes/person. Usually 6-7 to have a few leftovers for 2-3 people. Quarter/halve the potatoes and boil to cook them. Toss in about ¼ cup peas for 2 minutes before potatoes are done cooking to cook the peas.

Make a white sauce:
½ c. butter (melt in saucepan)
Add flour until pasty
Add milk slowly until correct thickness
Add salt to taste and just a bit of garlic powder.

Oreo Brownies

1 bag double stuff oreos
1/2 bag milk chocolate chips
1/2 bag white chocolate chips
1/4 bag mini marshmallows
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350. Crush whole bag of oreos (I put them in my food processer). Grease a 9x13 pan and push down one half the crushed oreos. Then layer chocolate chips and marshmallows. Add the rest of the oreos to the top and drizzle the whole can of sweetened condensed milk. Cook in oven for 28-32 min. the marshmallows should be golden brown. Cool through before cutting.

Hot Buttered Pretzels

* 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
* 1 cup warm water

Topping:

* 1/2 cup warm water
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* Coarse, kosher or pretzel salt
* 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted

Place all the dough ingredients in a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or mixer, for about 5 minutes, until it's soft, smooth, and quite slack. Dust the dough with flour (to keep from sticking) and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving enough room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray or lining them with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface and divide it into eight equal pieces. Let the pieces rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Roll each piece of dough into a long thin rope (around 28 inches) and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip the pretzels in the warm water mixed with 1 teaspoon sugar, and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with the salt. Let them rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8-9 minutes, until they're golden brown, reversing the baking sheets halfway through.

Remove the pretzels from the oven and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Garlicky Baked Butternut Squash

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
* 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the parsley, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Add squash and toss to coat.
2. Transfer to an ungreased shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until squash is just tender.

Cilantro Turkey Burgers

About 1 lb. ground turkey

1 T. montreal grill seasoning

2 T. worchestershire sauce

1 T. garlic powder

A hand full of cilantro, chopped finely

Mix all together. Form into patties. Grill about 7 minutes on each side and enjoy!

These go really good with whole wheat buns, swiss cheese and avacado.

Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Two 8 oz. cream cheese bricks

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch mix

4 oz. can of green chilis

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup chopped pimento (I used fresh red pepper)

Two 4 oz cans of chopped black olives

One package Homestyle tortillas

Mix everything (except tortillas, obviously) together and spread on tortilla fairly thin.  Roll tightly and refrigerate overnight.  

*Note:  I halved the recipe and it still made a lot - I think about 8 tortillas worth.  Also, I only refrigerated them for an hour or 2, and they were just fine.  

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients
    •    1 large head fresh broccoli
    •    1 large head cauliflower
    •    2 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
    •    1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
    •    1/3 cup sunflower seeds
    •    1 (16 ounce) bottle Catalina salad dressing

Directions
    1.    Cut broccoli and cauliflower into small to medium florets; combine with apples and oranges.
    2.    Pour enough dressing over ingredients to coat; toss and sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Serve immediately or allow to chill and flavors to blend.

Serves 6

Chicken Enchiladas

Boil 3-4 chicken breasts and shred

Cook chopped onion (I use about 1/2 medium-large onion, just according to taste)

Add chicken

Add can of green chilis and enough enchilada sauce to make mixture wet

In each tortilla, add a little enchilada sauce, chicken mixture, and shredded cheese

Roll and put into a 9x13 pan

I always put a layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan before putting them in to make them more saucy and make sure they get wet all over.

Pour enchilada sauce liberally over the top and add a layer of shredded cheese.

Bake @375* for about 10 minutes with foil over the top, and 10 minutes without foil, until bubbly.

Ginger Snaps

2½ c. flour ¾ c. butter
2-3 tsp. ginger 1 c. sugar
2 tsp. soda 1 egg
½ tsp. salt ¼ c. molasses
1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter & sugar until fluffy. Add egg and molasses and mix well. Add dry ingredients, blend well. Form into balls and roll in sugar. Bake @ 350º for 8-10 minutes.

Cheddar Spoon Bread

1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack (8 oz)
1 T. butter or margarine
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs

1. In a large saucepan combine milk and cornmeal. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly; remove from heat. Add cheese, butter, baking powder, sugar, and salt; stir until cheese melts.

2. Separate eggs. Add yolks one at a time, to cornmeal mixture, stirring after each addition just until combined (mixture will be thick).

3. In a large mixing bowl beat egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight).

4. Stir about one-third of the beaten egg whites into the cornmeal mixture. Gently fold remaining beaten egg whites into cornmeal mixture until combined. Spoon into an ungreased 2-quart casserole or souffle dish.

5. Bake in a 325* oven for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve immediately.

"Peanutbutter Cup" Cakes

1 box devils food cake
24 mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Make Cake mix according to package. Pour each cupcake cup 1/4 way full. Place a mini peanut butter cup in it and then over with more cake batter. Bake according to box directions. Frost with favorite frosting.