7-Up Chicken

My mom gave me this chicken recipe and it is fantastic. If we're ever in the mood to throw some chicken on the grill, this is the marinade recipe I like to use.

INGREDIENTS
Marinade:
2 c. 7-Up
1 c. soy sauce
1 c. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

4 chicken breasts

DIRECTIONS
Combine ingredients for the marinade into a gallon zip-lock bag. I like to butterfly the chicken breasts and then cut them in half so you have a thinner cut of meat to soak up the marinade. Add chicken to the zip-lock bag and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hr. Grill chicken on medium low heat.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

I had a friend in college who was always super good at cooking up meatloaf. I always tried to copy her meatloaf and it never quite came out right. When I asked her for the recipe she would just tell me she never measured anything and just threw whatever ingredients into the bowl that sounded good at the time. ARgghhhh! So finally I fished around on Allrecipes.com and found a meatloaf recipe that Jason and I both loved.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan (I usually just use an 8x8).

Press brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the ketchup over the sugar.

In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the ketchup.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices run clear.

Pickle Dip

This is a Barnhart family recipe. Thanks to my sister and DJ for sharing it with us and always bringing this tasty appetizer to our parties!

INGREDIENTS
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
16 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup chopped dill pickles

Lays Wavy Original Potato Chips

DIRECTIONS
Bring cream cheese to room temperature. This is very important, otherwise your dip will be lumpy! Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until creamy. Add sour cream and chopped dill pickles. Sometimes if we are eating the dip right away we add a little pickle juice for additional flavor.

Serve with Potato chips.

Cake Pops

A good friend of mine brought us the cutest bouquet of cake pops for Valentine's Day this year. She was in a hurry so as she was climbing in her car I yelled out the door, "how did you come up with these creations?" She said, "BAKERELLA!!!" So immediatly I went to my computer to look up this Bakerella. So cute!!! Of course my balls didn't turn out nearly as perfect as hers do, but I love the idea and there's so many ways you could decorate.

I made these cake pops for London's first bday. She got a little cake of her own and then the rest of us enjoyed these little tasty treats. The recipe is really very simple, but the entire process is a little time consuming. I think it's completely worth it!

Sloppy Joes

This is my mom's Sloppy Joe recipe; it's the best! I love to chop the veggies a little on the chunky side and sometimes saute them aside from the ground beef so they don't become overcooked. I like that little extra crunch in my sandwich.

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 bottle (12 oz.) chili sauce
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
3 T. brown sugar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. pepper
Hamburger buns

DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet, cook ground beef, onions, celery and bell pepper over medium heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.

In 3 to 4 quart slow cooker, combine ground beef mixture and all remaining ingredients except buns. Mix well.

Cover; cook on low setting 4 to 6 hours.

Stir; spoon beef mixture into buns.

(If I'm in a hurry I just skip the slow cooker section and after browning my beef and veggies in a skillet, add the remaining ingredients to the skillet and simmer on low until thoroughly heated.)

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Sandwich

In the summer we like to grill up chicken on the grill and make this yummy chicken sandwich. My mom mixed things up a little by cooking the chicken in a crock-pot, shredding it and adding the bbq sauce. We love it this way a whole lot better! More sauce for your chicken :)

INGREDIENTS
3 Chicken Breasts
1 bottle favorite BBQ sauce (we like sweet and spicy)
Hamburger buns
red onion, thinly sliced
fresh pineapple sliced in rings (canned pineapple works too)
favorite sliced cheese (we like pepperjack or mozzerella)

DIRECTIONS
Place chicken breasts in a crock pot and cook on high 4-5 hrs or low 7-8 hrs. Using a fork pull chicken apart until it is loosely shredded. Add bottle of bbq sauce and mix well. Continue heating chicken until warmed.

Lightly butter hamburger buns and broil in oven until browned. We like to fire up the grill to heat up our pineapple and get those nice little grill marks on each side but warming them up in the microwave is OK too. Assemble your chicken burger and enjoy!

French Bread

INGREDIENTS
2 T. active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110 degrees- 115 degrees)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
4 1/2 to 5 cups bread flour
1 tsp. cornmeal

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the salt, sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape into 12-inch long loaves.

Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cornmeal. With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across the top of each loaf. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Side note: I use my bread machine (dough setting) to form the dough. I tend to have better luck with my dough rising in the bread machine.

All-American Chili

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 4 oz. can diced green chilis
2 T. chili powder
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. ground cumin
3 T. tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
2 bay leaves
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes with juice
2 15 oz. cans kidney beans, drained
1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup water

DIRECTIONS
Brown ground beef in skillet adding onion, green bell pepper, and garlic halfway through cooking. When beef is completely browned, put in a large crock pot with all remaining ingredients. Cook on Hi or 4 hours or Low 8-9 hours. Before serving discard bay leaves. Ladle chili into individual bowls. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

This recipe can be made in a large stock pot on the stove top. After browning ground beef with onion, green bell pepper, and garlic, put in a large stock pot with all remaining ingredients and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Uncover and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves and serve.

Kookaburra dipped licorice

I have a serious addiction to these. And that's all I have to say about that!

INGREDIENTS
Red Kookaburra licorice
White chocolate, for melting
Sprinkles, for garnishing

DIRECTIONS
1. Line baking sheets with wax paper.

2. Slowly melt white chocolate over low heat. (I usually melt mine in the microwave in 20-30 sec. intervals). 3. Dip licorice pieces into chocolate and set on baking sheet. Garnish with sprinkles. Cool until chocolate has dried.

Caramels

INGREDIENTS
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup light Karo syrup
1/2 cup butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Combine sugars, syrup, butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil and slowly add sweetened condensed milk; constantly stirring. Bring to a soft ball stage. Take pan off heat and add vanilla. Pour into a buttered 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Cool and cut. Can top with coarse sea salt or pecans.

*Keep heat on a low boil. Cooking too fast will not allow caramels to set up correctly. Also, everyones candy thermometers and elevations where you live are different. It really can have an affect on how your candy will turn out. You can test by dropping some of the caramel into a glass of cold water to see how it is setting up. If you candy is still too runny, keep cooking while watching the temperature gauge.

Pecan Caramels

INGREDIENTS
2 tsp. plus 1 cup butter, divided
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1 /4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
2 lbs. chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
1. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil; grease the foil with 2 tsp. butter and set aside.

2. In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugars, corn syrup, 1 cup cream and the remaining butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil. Slowly stir in the remaining cream. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 245 degrees (firm-ball stage).

3. Remove from the heat; stir in pecans and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan (do not scrape saucepan). Let stand until firm. Using foil, lift candy out of pan. Discard foil; cut candy into 1 inch squares. Wrap individually in waxed paper; twist ends.

Homemade Marshmallows

INGREDIENTS
2 tsp. butter
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. clear vanilla extract

Optional Toppings: melted chocolate, hot fudge and/or caramel ice cream toppings

Optional garnishes: baking cocoa, confectioners' sugar, crushed candies, chopped nuts, colored sugars and/or sprinkles.

DIRECTIONS
1. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and grease the foil with butter; set aside.

2. In a large metal bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup water; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and remaining water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 240 degrees (soft ball stage).

3. Remove from the heat and gradually add to gelatin. Beat on high speed until mixture is thick and the volume is doubled, about 15 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Spread into prepared pan. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight.


4. Using foil, lift marshmallows out of pan. With a knife or pizza cutter coated with cooking spray, cut into 1-in. squares. Dip or drizzle marshmallows with toppings if desired; coat with garnishes as desired. Roll other marshmallows in the garnishes of your choice. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.

Creamy Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Line an 8x8 inch pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine marshmallow cream, sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

3. Remove from heat and pour in semisweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts and vanilla.

4. Pour into prepared pan. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.