Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

The world of Pinterest has opened up tons of new recipes and websites for me. It's the pictures that draw me in. There is some amazing photography of food happening. Which you will probably not see happening here. This recipe comes from penniesonaplatter.com via pinterest. And I basically didn't want to stop eating them.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
3 oz cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1 T lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C cheese- you can use Mexican blend or I just used cheddar
small flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic until smooth. Add the cilantro and green onion and then add the chicken and cheese. Mix it thoroughly.
Spoon 2-3 T of the mix into a tortilla rolling it up tightly.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden.

Baked Fried Chicken

Words can't describe how in love with this chicken I am. Make it and you can be in love too!

Baked Fried Chicken-
3 large chicken breasts, cut in small pieces

Place thawed chicken breast tenderloin strips in a bowl of milk. Let soak for 20-30 min. 

In a gallon sized ziploc bag mix:

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 T Season All

3/4 tsp Pepper

1 c. Flour

2 tsp. Paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1/3 stick of butter into a few pieces and place in a 9x13 pan or a large jelly roll pan. Melt butter in pre-heated oven.

Spread melted butter around the bottom of the pan.

Shake excess milk off of chicken and completely coat each piece with the seasoning mix. You can either shake the chicken in the bag, until coated, or dip each piece in the bowl until coated.

Place each piece of chicken in the pan.

Cook for 15 min. Turn each piece of chicken and continue cooking for 15 more minutes, or until cooked through.

Rice-a- Roni Mix

Most of my kids have never even tasted that boxed creation called Rice-a-Roni. And those who have don't even remember. I am pretty anti-processed foods. But I remember liking the ease of grabbing a box to throw a meal together. When I saw a link to a mix for rice-a-roni I thought I would give it a try. I am so glad I did. I made this the other night with the Baked Fried Chicken and dinner was such a hit I thought I was a award winning culinary chef. And let me tell you, that is hard to come by in this house. But EVERYONE loved it! Hooray! 

Rice-a-Roni Mix

Ingredients:
3/4 cup rice (white or brown- regular)
1/4 cup broken spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 

1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon powder or 3 cubes smashed into powder form
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Label a ziplock storage bag and attach cooking directions (listed below). Pour Rice-a-roni mix into bag and seal. Store in pantry.

In saucepan mix together 2 Tablespoons Margarine, 2 1/2 cups water , and rice-a-roni mix.  Stir together
Heat to boiling. Put lid on pan and reduce heat to simmer. Let simmer 20 minutes for white rice and up to 45 minutes for brown.  Serve hot.

Overnight Oats

Our breakfast of choice the last week has been this recipe for overnight oats. It is packed with healthy goodness. I tried it first with jsut regular rolled oats and it tasted a little gritty to me so I got the thickest rolled oats I could find. They were in the bulk section at our grocery store. And it solved the problem. We have tried this lots of ways and every way has been really good. My favorite so far is the Almond Mango.

Overnight Oats
1/2 C thick rolled oats
1/2 C plain yogurt
2/3 C milk- we used almond milk
1 T chia seeds

Mix all ingredients in a wide mouth pint sized jar and put in the fridge overnight. You can also put the extras in the night before or the morning.

Variations-
Almond mango- Add 1/2 c fresh mango, dash of almond extract, 1 tsp honey
Vanilla triple berry- 1/2 c frozen triple berries, contents of 1/2 vanilla bean scraped, 1 tsp honey
Blueberry cream- 1/2 C blueberries, 1 tsp agave
Banana maple nut granola- 1/4 c maple nut granola, 1/2 banana, chopped, 1 tsp agave

The possibilities are endless!

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Because it is JUST THAT GOOD!!! Go HERE!

Nutella Cheesecake

YUM!!!!

Nutella Cheesecake-

8oz. cream cheese

2/3 C nutella

8 oz of Cool whip or 2/3 C heavy whipping cream and 2 T sugar whipped

Graham cracker or Oreo crust

Cream the nutella and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Put in crust and chill for two hours. Then eat and watch your thighs expand immediately.

Vanilla Pudding Sauce

I found this recipe pinnned on Pinterest- as with most of the recipes that I have tried lately. It was so good over waffles but we also tried it layered with graham crackers and then chilled for a few hours and that was heavenly!
Vanilla Pudding Sauce-
2 T cornstarch
1/3 C sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 C milk
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 T butter
2 tsp vanilla

Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Whisk together the milk and egg and gradually stir in. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a boiul. Boil for 1 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm or chilled.

Banana Ice cream

We are trying to eat healthy in this neck of the woods lately. Avoiding refined sugar and all that jazz. The other day I just needed something sweet and decided to whip up some banana ice cream. I have made this two different ways but the possibilities are endless.

I also mix it in my Kitchenaid. The banana is frozen so it has to be mixed for a while before it gets all creamy but it is so worth the few minutes of wait time at the end.

Strawberry Banana Ice cream
1 frozen banana
1 C frozen strawberries(slightly thawed)
a dash of vanilla or actual scrapings from a vanilla bean(which is divine!)
1 tsp agave nectar or honey

Put ingredients in the mixer and mix until creamy. It is thick and delicious.

Chocolate Peanut butter Banana Ice Cream
1 frozen banana
1 T cocoa pwd
1 T peanut butter
1 tsp agave

Put in mixer and mix until smooth. You may need to scrap the sides a few times. If it is too bitter from the cocoa reduce the amount of cocoa.

Fried Rice

I don't have a picture of this. It got eaten so quickly that there was no hope. I hope this will become a staple in our home. We always have left over rice so this is perfect.

Fried Rice

2 T sesame oil
1/2 C each celery, carrot, red, orange, yellow peppers, green onion
1 C chopped ham
abt 4 C rice, cooked
2 eggs, whisked
1/4 C soy sauce

In a frying pan heat the sesame oil and then saute the vegetables until cooked. Add the ham and rice mixing all of it together well. Create a well in the center of the rice mixture and add the eggs. Cook them, stirring often and then incorporate them in to the rice mixture. Add the soy sauce in and enjoy. It's really good as leftovers too!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups!

What is it with combining chocolate and peanut butter that makes magic ensue? Last night was girl's night and we were all supposed to bring desserts. I decided on these. They take a little time, are easy to put together and are so incredibly rich that they don't disappear too quickly.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate cups:
9 oz semi sweet chocolate, melted (We decided that milk chocolate might be even better!)

Peanut Butter mousse:
One 8 oz pkg of cream cheese
1 C creamy peanut butter
1/4 c sugar
2/3 C heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 C semi sweet mini chocolate chips

For the cups- I just put the melted chocolate into a piping bag and using a mini muffin tin squirt the chocolate into the cups and then spread thin with a spoon. Although last night as I was thinking about it I thought it might be more effective to turn the muffin baking pan upside down and make chocolate lattice patterns on the cups and then freeze. I use the plastic muffin baking pan for this so they come off really easy after frozen.

For the Mousse- Blend together the cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar until smooth. In another bowl whip the whipping cream with the vanilla until stiff peaks form. Then fold the whipping cream into the peanut butter mixture. After that fold in the mini chocolate chips.

You can either put the mousse in a piping bag to squeeze into the cups or you can spoon it in to the chocolate cups. Chill for 30 minutes before serving. This makes about 24 mini peanut butter cups.

Basic Waffles and Homemade Syrup

Back lots of years ago, I made a cookbook for all of my siblings and parents. That cookbook has seen incredible use and so many pages are missing from it. I have the original and really do want to make news ones but have just not had the time to do it. This morning I grabbed a page from the book that has been ripped out and is yellow with wear and food stains to make the basic waffle recipe. It is a good one and quick and easy!

Basic Waffles
1 3/4 C flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 C milk
1/2 C oil

Throw all the ingredients in a blender and blend. Cook on a waffle iron!


Homemade Pancake Syrup
1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
1 C water
1/2 tsp mapleine flavoring

In a saucepan bring to a boil the sugars and water for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the mapleine. Cool to thicken and keep in the refrigerator.

Peanut Butter Popcorn!

This is so good that I am thinking I will make a huge batch of it and give it for gifts to teachers and friends. Basically I ate it for dinner tonight! Yum!

Peanut Butter Popcorn

2 (3.5 oz) pkgs of microwave popcorn, popped (I just light butter, but plain would be good as well)
1/2 C butter
3/4 C brown sugar
1/2 bag of small marshmallows
1/4 C peanut butter

Place popped corn in a large bowl.
In a saucepan combine the butter, brown sugar and small marshmallows. Cook until smooth. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, stirring until melted.
Pour the peanut butter mixture over the popcorn slowly, stirring to coat.
Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Soup

The weather here has been basically parallel to Antarctica. The winds have lowered the temps below the negative mark day after day. The best way to battle that is to make soup. Yummy soup that warms you from the inside out. I found this recipe and made it last night. It was so good I had leftovers for lunch. If your weather is anything like ours this may be the ticket to warming up from the inside out!

Cheeseburger Soup
1 lb ground beef
3/4 C chopped onion
3/4 C chopped carrots
3/4 C chopped celery
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
4 T butter, divided
3 C chicken broth
4 C peeled and diced potatoes
1/4 C flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 C milk
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 C sour cream

In your large soup pot brown the ground beef and then remove it from the pot setting aside. In the samepot saute the onion, carrot, celery, basil and parsley with 1 T butter until the vegetables are tender. Add the broth, potatoes and beef and bring to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes are tender.

In a small saucepan. Melt the remaining 3 T butter and then add the flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until bubbly about 3-5 minutes. Then add the milk slowly stirring it in with a whisk. Simmer until it thickens and then add to the large soup pot with the vegetables and beef. Simmer soup or about 5-10 more minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the cheese and sour cream and stir until completely melted. Serve!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream

I'm not sure what to say here about these other than I made them for family dinner and my husband has eaten at least 3 in less than a half hour. I am not sure there are going to be any left for the dinner! These are so good! I got the recipe off of Pinterest and am not sure where it originated.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the  brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Beat on medium speed until well combined.  Add dry ingredients, and mix on low until smooth. Fold in pumpkin puree.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
Makes ~ 18 cupcakes.

Salted Caramel Buttercream

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 stick salted butter
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar

In a saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cook without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color.  Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring until very smooth.  Let caramel cool for about 20 minutes, until it is just barely warm and still pourable.

In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and salt together until lightened and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar.  Mix until thoroughly combined.

Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the caramel.  Beat on medium high speed until light and airy, and completely mixed (about 2 minutes).  Mixture should be ready to use without refrigeration.  If your caramel was too hot when added, it will cause your icing to be runny.  If this happens refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops!

Yum. I don't know what else to say. Except you might want to try these. Seriously!
The original recipe can be found HERE.

Chocolate Dipped Peanut butter Cheesecake Pops
Cheesecake:

• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups creamy peanut butter

Chocolate:

• 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions

Wooden pop sticks

For the cheesecake: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line a 8 by 8-inch baking pan with foil letting long flaps overlap on each side. Spray foil with nonstick spray.

Break up the brown sugar to remove all lumps. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until very smooth. Add the cream and beat slowly; then add the yolks and vanilla mixing until just combined. Gently stir in peanut butter. Take care not to over beat the mixture; this incorporates too much air and causes the cheesecake to crack.

Pour and evenly spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Open the oven to release some heat, then lower the temperature to 200 degrees F. Continue to bake the cheesecake until the outside is set but the center is still loose, for about 45 minutes. Turn off the oven, and cool cheesecake in the oven for 45 more minutes. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Lift cheesecake from the pan by lifting up the foil. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut into
1 1/2-inch cubes. Stick a wooden pop stick halfway into each bar and freeze for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, put the shortening and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue to heat until completely melted, about 1 minute more.)

Dip the pops into the chocolate mixture, and stand on waxed paper to set, about 5 minutes. Serve cold (straight from the fridge), or freeze up to 2 weeks. Frozen pops make a cool summer treat, or can be allowed to temper for 10 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Upgrade: Coat the pops with chopped nuts or candies for a really decadent finish. To do this let the dipped pops drip over a bowl for 15 seconds before rolling them.

Peanut butter chocolate chip chewy granola bars

The other day, while picking up my high school daughter and some of her friends one of those friends gave her a chewy granola bar. She took a bite and declared that it tasted 'chemical' but she was hungry and ate it anyway. When she said that I remembered that I had copied off several chewy granola bar recipes from a website and there determined I would make her some. I made them last night and I am pretty sure I dreamed about them. :) She found them this morning and has eaten three already. I can honestly declare that these granola bars are rub-all-over-your-face good! I am going to have to double the recipe next time.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars

4 T butter
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C honey
1/4 C peanut butter
2 C old fashioned oats
1 C crisp rice cereal
1/4 C semisweet mini chocolate chips

Line an 8x8 pan with foil.
Combine honey and butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in the brown sugar when the butter starts to melt and bring mixture to a boil. Boil and then lower the hear and simmer for about 2 minutes.
Add the peanut butter and mix in until smooth. Remove from the heat.
Add the oats and crisp rice cereal and fold them in until evenly coated.
Quickly fold in the chocolate chips and then press into the pan.
Let sit for 15-20 minutes to set and then cut. If you need it to hurry along put them in the fridge for about 5-10 minutes to cool down.

Cashew Chicken with cabbage

It's been about two weeks since I made this dish but I keep thinking about it. It may be time to make it again and soon! I LOVE chicken and I ADORE cashews so this was perfect!

Cashew Chicken and Cabbage-
1 T rice vinegar
1 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
1 T olive oil
2 chicken breast, diced
1 C green onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C cashews
1/2 head cabbage

Combine the rice vinegar, brown sugar, chili powder, ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce until sugar is dissolved.
Heat oil in pan and add chicken to brown about 5 minutes. Add green onions and garlic until cooked. Then add the sauce, cabbage and cashews. Heating until the cabbage has wilted. Enjoy!

Glazed Donut Muffins

These.are.amazing!!!

Glazed Doughnut Muffins
Printer Friendly Version

For the Muffins:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk

For the Glaze:

• 3 tablespoons butter; melted
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons hot water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla until just combined. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
3. Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups, and smooth tops. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing.
4. To make the glaze, In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.
5. When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time  and allow to harden then serve.

Yields: 12 muffins

Sweet Zucchini Relish

My older girls discovered sometime ago that they both had a love for sweet relish. I am not a fan, but they are. They would put it in tuna and just 'ooh' and 'ahh' about how much they loved it. Our garden has been producing zucchini pretty well this year. We've already had zucchini fries, zucchini bread, and fried zucchini. I decided to try some relish and they LOVED it! Whew! I had all the ingredients on hand and made the first batch small- just 2 pints. Once I knew it was going to get eaten I made more- 4 pints. They really like to eat it with our fresh canned salmon.

Sweet Zucchini Relish
Makes 2 pints

2 C chopped zucchini
1 C chopped onion
1 C sweet green pepper, chopped
2 T salt
1 3/4 C sugar
2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mustard seed
1 C cider vinegar

Combine zucchini, onion, and pepper in bowl. Cover with water and sprinkle salt over the top. Let sit for two hours. Drain off the water and rinse well. In a saucepan combine the remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Add vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes. You can pack in hot jars and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes or you can just put in a jar in your fridge to use immediately.

Butterfinger Cheesecake

This post is in honor of National Cheesecake Day which is TODAY!!! Yum! If you are not a butterfinger fan just omit them and you have the most perfect plain cheesecake ever!

Butterfinger Cheesecake

2 Lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
1 C white cugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 T cornstarch
1 C sour cream
4 large butterfinger bars, broken into pieces

Crust:
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
6 T melted butter
1/4 C white sugar

Preheat ove to 400 degrees
Mi graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar in a food processor and then press into a 9 or 10 in spring form pan. Put in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Cream sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Blend in eggs, vanilla, and cornstarch just until mixed. Stir in sour cream until blended and then fold in butterfingers.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Lower temperature to 225 degrees and bake for another 35-40 minutes. DO NOT OPEN the oven door and turn off the heat. Let it set for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Remove from pan and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.