Pistachio Salad

Liz can't have this because of her allergies, but I'm thinking of making it for Thanksgiving anyway, because it sounds good. :)

• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1/2 (10.5 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
• 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix

In a large bowl, combine the pineapple and pistachio pudding mix. Fold in thawed whipped topping and marshmallows until well mixed. Refrigerate until chilled and serve.

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Favorite Chicken Marinade

This marinade makes a delicious tasting chicken, and it is super easy. Literally the hardest part is just remembering to mix it the night before so that it has plenty of time to flavor the chicken. Then all you have to do is grill it. (I use a George Foreman, but you could use an outdoor BBQ grill or probably even bake it in the oven.)

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (10 ounce) bottle Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 tablespoons italian seasoning
• 3 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white pepper

Directions:

1. Put the amount of chicken that you want to grill in the bottom of a big bowl.
2. In another bowl put all above ingredients in and whisk together.
3. Then pour the prepared marinade over the chicken, and refrigerate overnight, or for 4-5 hours.

I like to serve it with a fruit and nut salad (spring mix lettuce, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, feta cheese or substitute, and balsamic vinegar dressing). But you can pair it with any side you like. Yum!

Scary Easy Pumpkin Cookies

My VT comp shared this recipe with me this week. I plan to make them with vegan chocolate chips so Liz can have them.

Ingredients:

• 15 oz can of pumpkin
• Duncan Hines spice cake mix 
• 12 oz bag of Chocolate Chips OR Craisins OR Nuts, etc.

Mix all the ingredients together. Drop on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees. (I'm not sure for how long, but I'm guessing 8 to 10 minutes.

Empanadas

I've been in an experimenting mood lately. Last week I made up my own chicken chimichanga recipe, and it was pretty amazing. This week, I plan to experiment with empanadas. (Empanadas were one of my favorite foods on my mission.) Here's the recipe I plan to use. (It's a combination of a taco recipe that I got from LeiLani's mom year's ago, plus an easy empanada recipe that I found online.)

PREP: 3 or 4 hours before you plan to start cooking, put out Rhodes rolls to rise.

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 large potato
• 1 small onion
• 1 can green beans, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• crushed chili
• salt
• 1 1/2 t. chili powder

Directions:

• To prepare the filling: Brown meat. Add garlic and onions. Add carrots and potatoes. Add about 1/8 c. water and lots of salt. Add chili powder. Stir and let cook on low-medium for about 10 minutes. Add green beans. Stir and let cook on medium 5-7 minutes. Add crushed chili.
• To prepare the empanadas: Take your Rhodes rolls that have raised and roll them out paper thin. Put taco filling on half of each piece of dough, and fold over. Use a fork to close up the edges (like you would with a pie crust). Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.

I will let you know how it turns out! It probably won't be very authentic, but it's bound to taste good--I hope. :)

Note: If you're unfamiliar with empanadas, they look something like this:

On my mission, I usually ate them stuffed with cheese, but you can also get them filled with meat and veggies (which is what I'm attempting here), or they make special sweet empanadas that are filled with manjar (kind of like caramel).

Another Note: This concept could also be adapted to make calzones. Instead of stuffing with the taco filling, you could try pizza sauce, mozarella cheese, and pizza toppings (diced pepperoni, sausage, diced peppers, etc.). If the empanadas work out, I'll try the calzones variation next week. :)

Creamy Lentil Soup

Since Nori's going vegan, :) here's my favorite vegan recipe. We ate lentils a lot on my mission, so maybe that's why I like it so much.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into small dice
• 5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
• 4 ribs celery, cut into small dice
• 2 cups lentils, rinsed
• 7 c. vegetable broth
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 T. Herbes de Provence (I have a hard time finding this seasoning here, so lately I've just been leaving it out of my recipes)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 1/2 c. dry brown rice
• Corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a soup pot over medium heat and add in oil. Once oil is hot, add the onions, half the carrots & half the celery. Sweat the vegetables with a sprinkle of salt until they are soft and the onion is translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add in lentils and stir to combine with the oil. Pour in 4 cups broth and add in garlic, Herbes, and salt & pepper.
3. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until lentils are soft and tender.

Note: You can stop at this point and serve the lentils as a side with roasted salmon or chicken. OR

1. Add remaining 3 cups of broth. Blend in the blender until smooth. Return to pot.
2. Add in rice and remaining carrots and celery; simmer until vegetables and rice are tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with warm corn tortillas.

Makes about 8 servings.

Oriental Chicken Salad

Have I posted this already? Scott really likes it, and it's egg- and dairy-free. :) It's Mom's recipe.

Oriental Chicken Salad

                                                                                                     

1 small head or ½ large head cabbage                                            

½ bag chow mien noodles                                                              

2 chicken breasts (boiled, grilled, or however you like it) cubed       

3 green onions chopped                                                                      

2 TBS sesame seeds                                                                      

1-cup almonds (roasted 5 minutes in a hot buttery frying pan)          

2 pkgs ramen noodles                                                                         

Dressing:

2 TBS sugar                                                                                  

½ tsp salt                                                                                      

½ tsp pepper                                                                                

½ c salad oil                                                                                 

3 TBS red wine vinegar                                                                

Make dressing first.  Pour dressing over cooked chicken and let it “marinate” while you are putting the rest of the salad together.

Dice cabbage and put in a large bowl.  Add all the other ingredients except the dressing and chicken.  Add chicken and dressing right before serving.  Serves 10 if it is the main course.  If it is being served with other salads it will probably serve 15-20 people. 

*Mom's tip: Double (or even triple) the dressing part (depending on the amount of cabbage you have).  

Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup

This recipe is from my sister in law Michelle. I've tried lots of broccoli cheese soups and this one was the best. I made it before rushing to the church for a meeting and I forgot to add the cheese at the end.  The boys seemed to still like it and there was only a little leftover for me to have when I got home. Luckily I remembered to add the cheese to mine. :) Serve with homemade rolls.

 I would recommend doubling this if you want leftovers. it made just barely enough for us.

1T butter
1/2 onion
1/4 c butter
2 c milk
1/4 c flour
2 c chicken stock
1.5 c chopped broccoli
1 c. matchstick carrots
1 celery stalk, chopped
2.5 c grated cheese
salt and pepper

Saute onion and butter until tender. Set aside. Whisk melted butter and flour in pot, add milk if needed for 3-4 minutes. Add milk and stock and cook about 20 minutes. Add veggies and cook for about another 20 minutes. Stir in cheese and salt nad pepper.

Tomato Coconut Curry

This has been our favorite vegan meal so far.  We will definitely add this one to our meal rotation.  We didn't have turmeric though, but I it was still good.  I also loved how fast and easy it was to make.

Tomato Coconut Curry 

INGREDIENTS

15 cherry tomatoes

1 14-oz can coconut milk (you can substitute with light coconut milk but the end result will be more acidic, although still delicious)

1 can of chickpeas

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp canola oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oil in a saucepan.

Add the cumin seeds.

When the cumin sputters, add the tomatoes, chili powder and turmeric.

Let the tomatoes cook on medium heat about 5-7 minutes until most of the tomatoes have broken down.

Add the coconut milk, chickpeas and salt.

Let simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve hot with rice.

Potato Fajitas

So randomly, I decided to try an all vegan dinner week.  And let me tell you, it is kicking my trash!  I have to tell you, Em, that I am seriously impressed that you do this all day, everyday.  But hopefully you can use some of these recipes for Lizzy. 

Potato Fajitas

INGREDIENTS

3 medium potatoes

1/2 medium onion

1/2 large green bell pepper

1 TBS garlic

1/2 TBS cumin

1/2 TBS chili powder

Dash of red pepper flakes

2 TBS vegetable oil 

Salt to taste

Honestly, I do all of the spices to taste. 

1. Boil the potatoes whole until nearly tender in the middle. Take off stove and rinse with cold to stop the cooking. When cool, cube potatoes. 

2. Thinly slice the onion and pepper. 

3. Heat oil in pan and then put onion, garlic and peppers in.  After onion and peppers cook 1 minute, add cumin, chili powder, salt and red pepper flakes. Cook on high heat for 7 - 10 minutes. Veggies will be soft looking but not carmelized. 

4. Add potatoes (more salt of needed) and cook another 5 minutes. 

Teriyaki Chicken Stir- fry

Love this Teriyaki Chicken Stir- Fry recipe. Yum and simple. From Melskitchencafe.com

• 20-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained (juice reserved)
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon oil, plus more as needed (I use coconut oil but canola, vegetable or olive oil would work also)
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped or sliced
• 1/4 cup of reserved pineapple juice
Sauce:
• 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 clove garlic finely minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger or 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

DIRECTIONS

1. Thinly slice the chicken breasts and toss them in a medium bowl with the cornstarch and salt and pepper (about a teaspoon of each). Let the chicken sit for about 10-15 minutes while whisking the sauce and prepping vegetables.
2. For the sauce, combine all the ingredients together in a bowl or liquid measuring cup and whisk until smooth.
3. Heat the oil in a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until rippling and hot. Add half of the chicken to the skillet in a single layer without overlapping and let it cook until nicely browned, about 30-45 seconds. Flip the chicken and let it cook through on the other side, 1-2 minutes. If your chicken is sliced super thin, it won't take long to cook through. Remove the chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.
4. Add another teaspoon or so of oil to the pan if needed and heat again until hot and rippling. Add all of the vegetables and pineapple to the hot skillet and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are bright in color and barely tender. Add about 1/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice to the skillet and cover (you can add water here instead of the juice, if desired). Cook, letting the vegetables steam for 2-3 minutes until crisp-tender (add more liquid, if needed, if it dries up).
5. Add the chicken back to the skillet. Whisk the sauce to recombine and then stir the sauce into the skillet and simmer for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened. Serve immediately over hot, cooked rice, if desired.

Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Cheddar Biscuits

I haven't made these in years because of Lizzie's dairy allergy, but they are SOOO good! They are similar to the biscuits that Red Lobster serves.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Bisquick mix

• 2/3 cup milk

• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)

• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Stir Bisquick mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 9 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

Crock Pot Taco Soup

Taco soup isn't my favorite meal in the world. (I mean, I like it, but it's just not something that I crave, if that makes sense.) But the big draw of taco soup is that it's just so easy to make--and it's dairy free (as long as you have taco seasoning without whey in it; I just make my own). 

This recipe supposedly makes 8 servings, but I feel like it's more than that. It always fills my crock pot to the very top. We ALWAYS have leftovers. So this is a good, easy meal for when you have the missionaries over. Or like tonight, I'm taking a meal to a single sister, so I'm just going to set aside a couple servings for her. Bottom line: It's good for if you have to feed a bunch of people.

This isn't exactly like Mom's recipe. I think hers has salsa in it and a few other variations. I just like this one because it's crock pot-style, so I can just dump it all together in the morning and not have to think about it till dinner time.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes (I like "petite dice" best)
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

Note: I think you can use any kind of beans. I usually get kidney beans and black beans. I think Mom uses pinto beans. So whatever floats your boat. 

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until browned over medium heat. Drain, and set aside.
2. Place the ground beef, onion, chili beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, diced tomatoes, green chile peppers and taco seasoning mix in a slow cooker. Mix to blend, and cook on "LOW" setting for 8 hours.

Serve over tortilla chips, Fritos, Doritos, or cornbread. Toppings can include sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced olives, etc.

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

This is a recipe that I got from LeiLani back in high school / college. They're kind of fun and cute.

• 12 vanilla wafers
• 2 8-oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• Cherry pie filling
• Muffin tin and 12 liners

Place one wafer in the bottom of each of the 12 muffin tins. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. Spoon filling into muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Top with pie filling. Refrigerate one hour.

My Favorite Cookies

These are probably my favorite cookies, so if you ever want to get on my good side... ;)

Peanut Butter Blossoms

• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. shortening
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 T. milk
• 1 t. baking soda
• ~42 Hershey's kisses

Combine all the ingredients except for the kisses. Roll into small balls. Bake for 8 minutes at 375 degrees. (I can usually fit 15 on one cookie sheet.) Add one kiss to the top of each cookie, then bake for 2 more minutes. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Chicken and Rice

This is one of my favorite childhood meals, so it's a comfort food for me. Liz can't have it (TONS of dairy), but maybe once a year I'll make it just to indulge myself. Scott really likes it too. One of the exciting things about Liz being in kindergarten is that now I can make some of my favorite comfort foods for lunch while she's gone during the day. Last week we had stroganoff (yum!) and the week before it was tuna casserole (heaven!). This week I'm making this...

Ingredients:

• 3/4 square of butter
• 1 1/3 c. uncooked rice
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• Chicken (bone-in is best because it's more moist, but I'm not a huge fan of bone-in so I use boneless breasts)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika

(Note: You can use any combination of cream soups.)

Directions:

1. Melt butter in skillet. 
2. Mix in rice.
3. Add the soups, undiluted, and mix everything together.
4. Spread in a greased casserole or dripper pan.
5. Place chicken pieces on top.
6. And salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.
7. Cover with foil.
8. Bake at 300 degrees for 2 1/2 hours.

Award Winning Cornbread

http://dailydishrecipes.com/moist-sweet-cornbread-recipe/

I won a prize for this cornbread at a chili cook-off.  It's one of my favorite dinners to make with chili or taco soup or something.

The Best Peanut Butter Cookies

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/the-best-peanut-butter-cookies/

I will vouch for these cookies.  I usually don't like peanut butter cookies but these are pretty amazing!

My Genius Idea

I hate meal planning. I'm not sure why I hate it so much--maybe because I miss dairy-rich comfort foods or maybe because it reminds me of being pregnant and the misery of having to prepare 20 meals a week while exhausted and while everything just sounds gross. Bottom line: I always drag my feet when it gets to be that time of the week.

So anyway, I had this genius idea a while back to start a rotating menu. Just make a long-term meal plan (for a month or more), and then use it over and over again. Voila! No more meal planning. :) So I finally got around to making it, and yesterday was my first day on the rotating menu plan. We'll see how it goes.

I also had the idea to make a shopping list template for each week on the rotating menu plan, and then it saves me from having to do that each week too. Now if only I didn't have to go to the grocery store... ;)

Tamale Pie

(Note:  I made some changes to the amounts from when I first posted this.  I was going on memory before.)

Brown and drain 1-1 1/2 lbs. of hamburger and some diced onion (1/2 c. or more).

Add:
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can corn (drained)
2 Tb. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic (I use fresh; 2-3 gloves)
1 Tbl. hot sauce
1/2 c. grated cheese

Simmer above while making the crust below (about 20 minutes).

In a sauce pan, mix 2 1/2 c. water and 1 1/4 c. of cornmeal. Add 1 tsp. of chili powder and 1 tsp. salt.

Stir constantly over medium heat until it thickens.  Line the bottom and sides of a greased 9x13 pan with the cornmeal mixture to make a crust.  Pour in the meat mixture and top the middle with 1/2 c. of grated cheese. (I like to spread a small amount of the crust over the top in each corner for those who like more crust.)

Bake for 40 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Krispy Kreme Copycat Recipe

We've made these a few times and really like them. I finally bought a cookie-cutter type donut cutter online  (What did we do before amazon?) which makes them a little prettier, but you can use a cup and a little lid to cut them too.

One thing that I found that helps is to only cut out the donuts you are about to fry. When I tried to cut a bunch at once they ended up being harder to get out, and I had to re-roll the dough. Re-rolling the dough made it tough and hard to work with and much less pretty. It still tasted fine though. Just if you can, try to get as much from the first time you roll the dough out. 

-Good luck! 

INGREDIENTS

YIELD24 doughnuts

• Doughnuts

• 2(1/4 ounce) packages yeast
• 1⁄4cup water (105-115)
• 1 1⁄2cups lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled)
• 1⁄2cup sugar
• 1teaspoon salt
• 2eggs
• 1⁄3cup shortening
• 5cups all-purpose flour
• canola oil

• Creamy Glaze

• 1⁄3cup butter
• 2cups powdered sugar
• 1 1⁄2teaspoons vanilla
• 4 -6tablespoons hot water

• Chocolate frosting

• 1⁄3cup butter
• 2cups powdered sugar
• 1 1⁄2teaspoons vanilla
• 4 -6tablespoons hot water
• 4ounces milk chocolate chips or 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2-quart bowl.
2. Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups flour.
3. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
4. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
5. Stir in remaining flour until smooth.
6. Cover and let rise until double, 50-60 minutes.
7. (Dough is ready when indentation remains when touched.) Turn dough onto floured surface; roll around lightly to coat with flour.
8. Gently roll dough 1/2-inch thick with floured rolling pin.
9. Cut with floured doughnut cutter.
10. Cover and let rise until double, 30-40 minutes.
11. Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 350°.
12. Slide doughnuts into hot oil with wide spatula.
13. Turn doughnuts as they rise to the surface.
14. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side.
15. Remove carefully from oil (do not prick surface); drain.
16. Dip the doughnuts into creamy glaze set on rack then when slightly cooled spread chocolate frosting on top.
17. Dip in sprinkles or other toppings after chocolate if desired.
18. Creamy Glaze: Heat butter until melted.
19. Remove from heat.
20. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
21. Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.
22. Chocolate Frosting: Heat butter and chocolate over low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.
23. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
24. Stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.

Tamale pie?

Does anyone have the recipe for tamale pie?  I've been dying to eat that for a long time!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

My kids aren't big fans of anything with celery or onions (and Liz can't have it because of the mayo), but Scott and I like this recipe. It also might be nice for a Relief Society luncheon or a shower or something like that:

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups diced chicken
• 8 to 12 red or green seedless grapes, halved
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1 green onion, with about 2 inches of green, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• dash curry powder, or to taste, optional

Preparation:

Combine ingredients until blended. Spread on bread for sandwiches or arrange on lettuce leaves. (It tastes best on croissants!)

Serves 4.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound Dutch baby potatoes (white or red), washed and cut in half
• 6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, removed from the stems and finely chopped (I just used dried)
• 1 pound of chicken breast, about 2 whole breasts, sliced in half lengthwise for a total of 4 pieces
• 1 teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves removed from the stems and finely chopped (again, I used dried)
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

For roasted carrots and potatoes
 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and lay out potatoes and carrots – set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, salt & pepper, and 1 T. rosemary.
4. Toss potatoes and carrots with olive oil mixture and spread out into an even layer on baking sheet. Leave a space on the edge of the pan for the chicken (see directions below).
5. Place into the preheated oven and roast until golden and tender, 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, for lemon rosemary chicken
1. Line a baking sheet with foil and lay out all the chicken pieces.
2. In a small bowl, combine salt & pepper, paprika, lemon zest, and 2 T. rosemary.
3. Season chicken on both sides.
4. Heat a large, nonstick sauté pan over medium heat and add in oil. Once oil is hot, sear the chicken until golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes per side. Place chicken on the baking sheet with the potatoes and carrots for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Chicken is done when juices run clear and center is no longer pink.

**We had this for dinner two nights ago. Scott and I loved it, but the kids couldn't get past the rosemary. (They kinda look like little green sticks, so the kids wouldn't try it. Maybe next time I'll leave the rosemary off half of of everything for the kids?)

Oh, and even though some of my recipes call for olive oil, I just use regular oil (usually canola oil) and it turns out just fine. Olive oil is probably healthier, but it's also a lot more expensive.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

We tried this for the first time this week, and it was delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 corn tortillas
• 1 +1 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
• 3 medium tomatoes, cored and
• loosely chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
• 1 lime, juiced
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 cups shredded chicken
• 1 avocado, pit removed and sliced
• 4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (optional, if you want to go dairy-free)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place fresh tortillas on a baking sheet and put them in the oven at 200°F for15 minutes to dry them out. Cut into 1” x 1/2” strips.
2. In a medium stockpot, heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic until soft, about 4 minutes.
3. Stir in salt, chili powder, oregano, and tomatoes. Break up tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add broth, lime juice, fresh parsley, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Drop half of the tortillas into the soup to thicken. Stir well.  

For tortilla crisps:
6. In medium pan, heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat.
7. Fry remaining tortilla strips in oil until light brown and crisp. Remove from pan; drain on paper towels.  

To serve:Ladle soup into 4 individual serving bowls. Top with remaining tortilla strips, avocado slices, and cheese.

*This recipe is for a family of 4. I used 6 tortillas, 5 cups of broth, and 2 avocados to make it stretch a little further. We didn't have any leftovers! Super yummy!

Oh--and I was a hurry when I made this the other day so I used canned chicken instead of shredded chicken. So that's an option if you're in a rush.

Funeral Potatoes

Funeral Potatoes

• 6 c. frozen diced potatoes, thawed
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 c. sour cream
• 2 c. cheddar cheese, grated, divided
• 1/4 c. grated onion (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Topping (optional):

• 3 tablespoons butter 
• 3/4 cup crushed corn flakes  

Directions:

• Combine soup, butter, sour cream, 1 c. cheese, onion, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Add the diced potatoes and stir gently until combined.
• Place potato mixture in a 2-3 quart casserole dish or 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Top with the remaining 1 c. cheese.
• Mix 3 tablespoons butter with 3/4 cup crushed corn flakes and sprinkle over the potato mixture. (This step is optional.)
• Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Note: To make reduced fat funeral potatoes, replace the melted butter with 1/2 soup can milk. Use reduced fat sour cream, or replace the sour cream with nonfat, plain Greek yogurt. Reduced fat cheddar cheese also works well.

Best Brownies Ever

A friend of mine from Relief Society gave me this brownie recipe. It is SO good. :)

• 2 cubes butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 c. cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, mix butter, sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla together. Stir in flour and cocoa just until combined. Spread the batter in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for about 24 min. (Mine always take longer than that.)

 

You can mix in 1 1/2 cups of dark chocolate chunks, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or any other ingredient if you wish. If you do this, the baking time will increase a little bit.

Slow Cooker Potato Soup

This is probably similar to Sherry's baked potato soup recipe. Liz can't have it, but I love it. So I make it whenever there's a Relief Society Souper Saturday-type activity:

Ingredients:

• 1 (30 oz.) bag frozen hash-brown potatoes (southern style)
• 2 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth
• 1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1/3 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese (softened)
• Garnish: minced green onion and/or shredded cheddar

Directions:

1. In a slow cooker, combine potatoes, broth, soup, onion, and pepper. 
2. Cover, and cook on low for 5 hours.
3. Stir in cream cheese, cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until combined. 
4. Garnish with green onion and/or shredded cheddar.

Porcupine Meatballs

Heidi Baker introduced me to this recipe about a year ago. My kids LOVE them. Most meatballs have egg in them, so Liz can't have them. But these are allergy friendly. :)

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup rice, uncooked
• 1/2 cup water
• Scant 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic 
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 large can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Mix ground beef with rice, 1/2 cup of water, chopped onion, seasoned salt, garlic, and pepper. Shape porcupine ground beef mixture by tablespoon into 1 1/2-inch balls.Place the porcupine meatballs in an ungreased 2-quart shallow baking dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the porcupine meatballs. Cover and bake at 350° F. oven for about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake porcupine meatballs 15 to 20 minutes longer. Serve over rice and with a veggie on the side.

 

Serve 4 to 6.

Mini Crescent Dogs

I made these "little mummies" for a youth Halloween party last year, but they're great appetizers anytime. And the really good news is that they're dairy- and egg-free. And super yummy. :)

• 1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
• 24 cocktail-size smoked link sausages

Heat oven to 375°F. Unroll both cans of the dough; separate into 16 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 narrow triangles.

Place sausage on shortest side of each triangle. Roll up each, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite point; place point side down on 2 ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown, switching position of cookie sheets halfway through baking. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.