Crock pot Chicken w/ Black Beans and Cream Cheese

4-5 boneless chicken breasts

1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans

1 (15 ounce) can corn

1 (15 ounce) jar salsa, any kind

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1. Take 4-5 frozen, yes, frozen, boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot.
2. add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained.
3. Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.
4. Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.
5. All done and enjoy!

Crock Pot Tortilla Casserole

2 lbs of chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of green chillis
1 can diced tomatoes (can be flavoured)
put all ingredients in crock pot cook all day on low or 4 hours on high.
30 minutes before serving use a fork and shred chicken
add 1 can sliced olives, 6 corn tortillas ripped up, 1 cup grated cheese.
cook 30 more minutes serve with chips.

Creamy Italian Chicken

You will need:
3-4 chicken breasts
1/4 Cup of water (or more if you like)
1 packet of dry Italian dressing mix (or ranch)
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 (regular size, not family size) cream of chicken or mushroom.
Rice or noodles prepared to package directions

Here is what you do:
Put the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.
Mix the water with the dressing mix and pour over chicken.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours
Mix cream cheese with cream soup, and add to the chicken mixture.
Cook an additional 2-3 hours on low.
Serve over rice or noodles!

Lemonade Cookies

Got this from a cookbook done by our Med/Surg department at work. These sound YUM!

3 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1-6oz can frozen lemonade

Cream the eggs, butter and sugar with 1/2 of the lemonade in mixer. Add other ingredients, leaving 1/4 of the lemonade out. Drop onto baking sheet and bake 8 minutes at 400 degrees. Brush cookies with remaining lemonade and sprinkle with sugar (wonder if maybe it's powered sugar?)

If you try it, let me know what you think!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe on the web, and did a little mod to it so it's like our family likes :) If you want the original recipe, check out www.allrecipes.com under Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce.

Before you begin, read all the instrutions. And have all the sour cream, chicken broth, chile drained etc. Once you begin cooking the sauce, it goes fast and you don't have time to measure it all out once its on the stove. I know this might sound funny, but it's such a help to have it all measured out and at your fingertips.

Ingredients:

12 flour tortillas, or about 6 of the Bountiful Basket xl wrap sized ones

3 cooked boneless chicken breast, cut or shredded

10 oz (or more) Montery Jack cheese, the preshred blend with Colby works well too.

3/4 cup minced onion, or about 1/4 cup dehydrated minced.

*If you are using the dried minced onion, I put it in with the chicken and gave it a good shake to distribute.*

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour, all purpose

2 cups Chicken broth (or a 14.5 oz can with about 1.5oz water to make 16oz - cause I hate leftover chicken broth sitting in the frigde looking to spill)

1 cup sour cream (reduced fat works well too)

4oz can chopped green chilies, drained

Green onion and chopped fresh cilantro if desired.

Steps:

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

2.To help make your tortilla more pliable, I nuked them inbetween moist paper towels for about 20-30 seconds. Just enough to warm them, not cook em dry.

3.Divide chicken, 10 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese, and onion among the 12 tortillas. Roll up each tortilla and place seam side down in a greased baking pan (a spray of non stick spray works fine too, or if you us PC cookware that has been seasoned you won't need anything). If you are using the BB tortilla, then you will only need 6 of the xl ones. I rolled them up with the cheese and chicken/onion mixture and laid them lengthwise in the pan. Then when I served them, I just made a cut down the middle so it made 12 smaller servings.

4.Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until mixture begins to boil. Slowly add the broth, stirring with a whisk until thickened. Honestly, I did not whisk this all the time once the broth was added. Just kept an eye on it and stirred it occasionally. It cooks up pretty quickly. Mix in the sour cream and chiles, heat thoroughly but do not boil, I just needed to stir it all up fairly well and it was hot. Pour mixture over the enchiladas.

5.Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining Monterey Jack cheese and bake for 5 more minutes. Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro if you like.

We love this recipe, and it makes cooking satisfying for me since you make the sauce and aren't just tossing in preprepared cream of something soup. You can control what goes in, a little or a lot, and how much flavor you like.

Enjoy!

Water Punch

Water Punch
• 5 quarts of chilled water
• 3 cups of sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon extract
• 1 Tbsp. citric acid (I have only been able to find this at Orson Gygi's)
• fresh lemon, lime, or orange slices (optional)

In a punch bowl or large container combine water, sugar, lemon extract, and citric acid. Stir until sugar is all dissolved. Then add citrus slices to float in the punch and make it look pretty.

Scones and Honey Butter

These are really easy and YuMmY!!

For the scones I just bought the cheap biscuit dough that comes in a four pack in the refrigerated section. Fill a pan 1/2-3/4 full of oil, heat on stove. When oil is hot, flatten each biscuit by hand then carefully place in oil (they cook fast).

Honey Butter
1 stick Butter-softened
1/4 cup Marshmallow Creme
1/4 cup Honey

Beat ingredients together until well mixed. Serve on hot scones!

Mock Cafe Rio Rice

For those of you that love Cafe Rio inspired recipes...

Ingredients

- 4 tbls butter
- 2 1/2 cups rice
- 4 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- juice of 4 small limes or 4 tbls lime juice
- 4 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1/2 tsp cumin


Instructions


Mix all in rice cooker or pot until done. Enjoy!

I have to confess, I have not tried this yet but its on the menu for tonight!

Easy Raspberry Sauce

Simple, with a few ingredients. Make sure you have a fine strainer/sieve before you begin as you will need it if you want your sauce to be seedless.

1 Pint fresh raspberries (or 2 cups)
1/4 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
2 Tablespoons corn starch
1 cup cold water

Combine the raspberries, sugar and OJ in a saucepan. Mix the cornstarch in the water until it is all dissolved. (Be sure to use cold water, it will just lump up if you put it into any kind of warm water). Add the mix to the saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until it thickens. It will also thicken slightly more as it cools.

Puree the sauce in a blender and then strain it through a fine sieve. Serve it warm or cold. Sauce will keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

Eclair cake

I wish I'd taken pictures but you will have to try it on your own!

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Melt the butter, water and salt in a sauce pan on the stove. While still on the stove, add the flour. Remove from heat and add in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended. The mix will be super sticky and look fairly shiny.

Grease a half pan and your hands. Pat the batter down into the pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. The crust will be brown and puffy. Pat down while warm and allow to cool.

Mix together:
1 package of softened cream cheese
2 small packages of instant vanilla pudding (I have often thought chocolate would be good too!)
3 cups of milk
Mix unti smooth. Spread over the pastry when cool.

Top with 12oz cool whip. Drizzle with Hersheys chocolate syrup when ready to serve.

Super easy and YUM! I also did some with the raspberry sauce and it was awesome :)

Easy Chocolate Ice Cream

This is the partner to the easy vanilla...have not tried it but before I lose the recipe :)

2 Cups half and half
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whipping cream

Combine half and half, sugar, cocoa and vanilla in a blender until cocoa is uniform in the mix and the sugar has dissolved. Add that plus the cream in your ice cream maker cannister and freeze as directed.

Super and Easy Vanilla Ice Cream

I found this in my recipe box and had not tried it...so we did this weekend and it was awesome! Super easy and small list of ingredients.

In your ice cream maker cannister mix:
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups half and half
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Put it in your ice cream maker, layer as directed and freeze. YUM!

If you want some additions...

10 crushed oreos for Cookies and Cream
2/3 of a cup of mini choco chips after its done for chocolate chip
1/ cup chocolate sauce for one revolution of the mixing paddle for Fudge Ripple

Perfect Lemon Cupcakes...for Diane

Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding
Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Use a strong mixer, this batter is thick. For cupcakes, bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (I was able to get 24 very full cupcakes from the recipe). For regular cake, pour into a greased 9×11 pan or two round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Don’t over bake or the cake will be too dry! The toothpick test works to check to see if they’re done.
The original recipe said that the cupcakes will fall after they come out of the oven, but this is normal and to just fill up the indentation with more frosting. I didn’t have this problem at all!
Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I added 6 cups total). Use and store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)
Garnish with berries, if desired right before serving

Amb's Super Green Spinach Smoothie

I got this recipe from a neighbor of mine and I've been making them and meaning to share but haven't yet so here I go. I love it and they are a perfect breakfast for me. I happened to have all the ingredients in the house when she sent the recipe. Here ya go-

In a blender add water and spinach (the kind that comes out of the big Costco bag - pre-washed). For water put about 3/4 cup, for spinach fill the blender up about 3/4 of the way full. Blend. (It will look very green.)

Then I add:

1 Banana

1 container of peach yogurt, Fat Free (6 or 8 oz)* or any flavor you have in the house.

Orange juice 1 cup or you can do 4-6 oz of the concentrate because there is so much water with the spinach.

About 2 cupfuls of frozen mixed berries. (Costco has a big bag for about $10). I've been using blueberries and it makes it really yummy. I'm sure any type of berries work.

Ice cubes (about 4-5) but use more if you use fresh berries instead of frozen.

I found the trick is to blend everything then add the frozen berries. That way they don't the stick together and make it hard to blend. With blueberries it's really dark so beware of possible stains. LOL

I divide it into 2 1/2 servings, but the whole blender is full and the full amount is about 470 calories. But I only end up drinking 230 calories.

I figure I should be eating lots of both spinach and berries anyway. Also I was having a yogurt for breakfast anyway so it works for me. Enjoy!

Crepes

1 c all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
1/4 tsp salt
2 T butter or margerine, melted

Place ingredients in blender in order given. Blend 30 seconds, stop and stir down sides, Blend 30-60 seconds until smooth. Makes about 16 crepes.

I have a crepe maker that I got at Bed Bath and Beyond. It makes great crepes. Otherwise, I have heard you can make them in a pan over the stove.

Fill with whatever you want!