Unbelievable Chicken

I am always on the hunt for a good chicken recipe that my husband will be willing to eat. He claims to hate chicken so it is one of my life's goals to show him that chicken can taste awesome too! Usually when I think I'm successful with a chicken marinade my husband will say it's good, but will still only eat half of his chicken. This recipe he flat out told me should be a keeper and he cleared his whole plate. Success is right around the corner!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 T. prepared coarse-ground mustard
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
ground black pepper to taste
6 T. olive oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS
In a large glass bowl, mix the cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover, and marinate 8 hours, or overnight. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on the prepared grill, and cook 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear. Discard marinade.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This will forever be one of my favorite salads. Fresh strawberries + a homemade dressing = delicious!

INGREDIENTS
2 T. Sesame Seeds
1 T. Poppy Seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover and chill for one hour. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Freezer Crescent Rolls

This is a great roll recipe that not only uses ingredients from your long term food storage but you can whip up several batches at a time and keep the roll dough in your freezer until you're ready to bake up some fresh rolls. YUM!

INGREDIENTS
3 tsp. yeast
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup non-fat dry milk powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup mashed potato flakes
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add butter, milk powder, sugar, potato flakes, eggs, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Continue to slowly add remaining flour. Divide dough in 2 equal parts. Form each part into a round then roll out into a circle on a lightly floured surface. Cut each circle into 16 pie shaped pieces. Form into crescent rolls. Place a sheet of wax paper on jelly roll pan. Arrange rolls on wax paper, cover and freeze for several hours. Remove rolls from freezer and place in a Ziploc freezer bag. Store in freezer. May be frozen up to 4 weeks.

To use: Arrange rolls on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with Pam. Allow to thaw and raise for 10 hours. Easy to do overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Lightly butter tops immediately after baking. Makes 32 rolls.

Citrus Cream Cheese Pull Apart Rolls

My mom found this recipe on Your Home Based Mom and has been telling me I should really try it. I love anything with lemon and adding cream cheese just makes the whole thing sweet and yummy.

INGREDIENTS
1 package frozen roll dough — (25-ounce)
(LA Note: I used 10 rolls for one pan full and cut everything in half since I was only making one pan.)
Cooking spray
1/4 cup butter or margarine — melted
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries — (such as Craisins)
OR 1/2 cup dried apricots — chopped
1 cup granulated sugar — divided
2/3 cup 1/3-less-fat cream cheese — (6 ounces) softened (I would use the whole 8 ounces)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 cup powdered sugar
5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
Thaw roll dough at room temperature 30 minutes. (It usually takes longer for them to be soft enough to cut.)

Cut rolls in half. Place 24 halves, cut sides down, in bottom of each of 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray. Brush butter evenly over rolls. Cover; let rise in a warm place (85º), free from drafts, 30 minutes. Sprinkle with dried cranberries. Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cream cheese, orange juice, and egg; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Pour cream cheese mixture evenly over rolls. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and rinds. Sprinkle evenly over rolls. Cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size. (It usually takes longer to double in size.)

Preheat oven to 350º.Bake at 350º for 20 minutes. Cover with foil. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until rolls in center are done. Remove from oven; cool 15 minutes. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over rolls.

OVERNIGHT VARIATION: After pouring the cream cheese mixture over rolls, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 12 hours. Gently remove plastic wrap from rolls; sprinkle with rind mixture. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. (Depending on the temperature of your kitchen it may take longer to double in size.) Proceed with recipe as directed.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Make a sauce of the following:
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cans chicken broth
5 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken
Curry Powder (Optional)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Prepare 4 cups cooked rice

Serve the sauce over rice and top with the following:
Chow Mein Noodles
Diced Tomatoes
Chopped Celery
Chopped Green Pepper
Chopped Green Onion
Grated Cheese
Pineapple Chunks
Coconut
Slivered Almonds
Maraschino Cherries

Habanero Jelly

Ham Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS

1 T. butter

4 eggs, beaten

3 T. canola oil

2 large carrots, peeled and diced into small cubes

1 small white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2/3 c. ham, diced (we sometimes use spam)

4 1/2 c. cooked rice

1 c. peas

1/4 c. soy sauce, or more to taste

2 tsp. sesame oil

4 green onions, sliced

DIRECTIONS

Preheat skillet to medium heat. Add butter and melt. Add beaten eggs to the pan, stir and cook until scrambled. Don't over cook. Set eggs aside in a bowl. 

In the same skillet add the canola oil and heat up for 1 minute. Add carrots and diced white onion and sauté until soft and translucent. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add diced ham and cook for another couple of minutes until heated through. 

Add peas and eggs and cooked rice. Continue to cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add soy sauce and sesame oil and stir until combined. Add green onions and stir. Take off heat and cover until read to serve.

Corn Chowder with Chilies

I came across this recipe on The Pioneer Woman's website. I have yet to make a recipe from Ree that I didn't like. This soup is wonderful on a cold winter day and will warm you right up...literally...depending on the heat you add to it. My husband says the more the better!

INGREDIENTS
2 slices Bacon, Cut Into 1/2-inch Pieces (or Smaller)
2 T. Butter
1-½ whole Yellow Onion, Diced
5 ears Corn, Shucked (about 4 Cups)
2 whole Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce, Finely Diced
1 whole 4-ounce Can Diced Green Chilies
32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1-½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
½ tsp. Kosher Salt (more To Taste)
3 T. Corn Meal OR Masa
¼ cups Water

DIRECTIONS
(Carefully) slice the corn kernels off the cob. Set aside.

Add bacon pieces to a pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Cook for a couple of minutes. Throw in diced onion and stir, cooking the onion for 3 to 4 minutes. Add butter and melt. Add corn. Stir and cook for one minute. Add both kinds of chilies and stir.

Pour in chicken broth and cream. Add salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.

Combine cornmeal (or masa) with water. Stir to combine, then pour into the chowder. Cover and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. If chowder needs more thickening, add another tablespoon of cornmeal mixed with water. Cook for another ten minutes.

Serve with crusty sourdough bread or in a bread bowl. Absolutely yummy!

Pasta Salad

Microwave Caramel Popcorn

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 T. light Karo syrup or Molasses
1/4 tsp. salt, optional

Melt butter and add next 3 ingredients. Cook on Hi for 1 minute. Take out of microwave and stir in:

1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda

Cook on Hi for 2 1/2 minutes. Stop and stir every minute. (Watch carefully so it doesn't overflow). Immediately pour over 1 gallon popped corn. Stir until evenly coated with caramel.

Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

Tres Leches

This is our favorite dessert for our annual Cinco de Mayo celebration!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
5 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups whole milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional:
cinnamon for dusting on top
sliced strawberries for garnish

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside. Cream butter and 1 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Beat well. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 2 T. at a time; mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes. Pierce cake many times with a fork. Combine the whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.

Whip whipping cream until it starts to get thick. Add 3/4 cup of sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Spread over the top of the cake. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated!

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

I found this cookie recipe in a Martha Stewart magazine several years ago, tried it, and have been making it ever since. I tend to get a little intimidated by Martha Stewart and the ingredient quantities look a little crazy but whoever concocted this recipe must've really taken the time to work out all the quirks and get every ingredient just right. I love brown butter icing, really makes this cookie worth it. *Side note: I don't pipe my cookies therefore mine are not perfectly round like Martha's :)

INGREDIENTS
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (14 ounces)
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

ICING
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon evaporated milk,
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract



DIRECTIONS
Make cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.
Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add pumpkin, evaporated milk, and vanilla; mix until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture; mix until combined.
Transfer 1 1/2 cups batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (such as Ateco #806). Pipe 1 1/2-inch rounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until tops spring back, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.
Make icing: Put confectioners' sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Immediately add butter to confectioners' sugar, scraping any browned bits from sides and bottom of pan. Add evaporated milk and vanilla; stir until smooth. Spread about 1 teaspoon icing onto each cookie. If icing stiffens, stir in more evaporated milk, a little at a time. Cookies can be stored in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Makes about 6 dozen