Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 onion, chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce 1/2
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 small can diced green chiles
1 clove garlic, minced
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1 (12 ounce) jar salsa
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a medium, non-stick skillet over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear. Drain excess fat. Cube the chicken and return it to the skillet. Add the onion, sour cream, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano and ground black pepper. Heat until cheese melts. Stir in salt, enchilada sauce, chili powder, green chiles and garlic.

3. Roll even amounts of the mixture in the tortillas. Arrange in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with salsa and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Yummiest Chicken Salad

Ingredients

4 cups cubed, cooked chicken breast
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
A few dashes poultry seasoning
A few dashes garlic powder
1 cups dried cranberries
1 cup chopped celery
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup toasted chopped pecans
ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise with paprika, seasoned salt, poultry seasoning, and garlic powder. Blend in dried cranberries, celery, green onion, and nuts. Add chopped chicken, and mix well. Season with black pepper to taste. Chill 1 hour.

I love this with Whole Wheat Ritz!

Watergate Salad

My Grandma used to make this and I love it.  Just made it for us for dessert tonight!

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, in juice, undrained
1 package (3.4 oz) pistachio instant pudding
1 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients.
Refrigerate one hour.

Then enjoy!!

Crunchy Mac & Cheese

8 ounces elbow maccaroni

4 cups shredded cheddar (i use 2% milk cheese)

8 ounces sour cream (i use light or non fat)

1 cup light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chopped onions

1 cup crushed cheese crackers (we use cheez-its)

Bring water to a boil in a large dutch oven; stir in maccaroni. Cook until tender; dran. Rinse with cold water.

combine macaroni and next four ingredients. Spoon into a lightly greased 11x7 baking dish. Sprinkle with crackers.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Enjoy! It's a must have in our house!

Meaty Biscuit Cups

(Serves 10 - 2 biscuits cups each)

INGREDIENTS

1 pound 90 % lean hamburger- cooked

1/3 C finely chopped onion

1/3 C barbecue sauce

½ C corn

1 (10 count) can flaky biscuits

Muffin Tin

½ C shredded cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

Brown hamburger and onions - drain

Divide each biscuit in half by pulling apart the layers.

Press each half into non-stick muffin tins coated with non-stick spray

Combine Hamburger, Corn and BBQ sauce

Divide the meat mixture evenly into the muffin tins

 Double wrap and attach serving label (If freezing)

SERVING INSTRUCTIONS:

THAW Completely!

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes

Remove from oven and sprinkle each cup with cheese. Return to oven and bake an additional few minutes until cheese is melted.

Rigatoni Bolognese

This is SO GOOD. If you make it, you will look like a culinary master! :)

This recipe is adapted from the Wei.ght Watch.ers Pure Com.fort cookbook. It's a favorite of ours - a must-make at least once a month. It's a really flexible recipe - you can leave out the veggies if you don't like them (we never add the carrots), or add in others for a new taste.

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/2 lb ground lean beef (5% fat or less) or ground turkey
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 T dried parsley
1/4 C beef broth or dry red wine
1/4 tsp salt
ground black pepper
2 C rigatoni
1/4 C Parmesan cheese

optional ingredients (we usually add these in, but the points value given below doesn't include them so you'll have to adjust the points value accordingly)
1/2 lb bulk Italian sausage
small can mushrooms, drained
small can sliced or chopped olives, drained
dried basil

1) Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beef (and sausage if you choose to have it) and cook until brown, about 5 minutes, breaking it apart as it cooks. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, wine/broth, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 45 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni according to package directions. Drain and add pasta to sauce mixture. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes until sauce cooks into the pasta a bit. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve.

Point info (does not include optional ingredients):
6 points per serving
serving = 1 1/2 C with 1 T cheese

You can also make the sauce portion ahead of time and freeze it and it's ready to go when you reheat and add the cooked pasta.

Mac & Cheese Soup

Who doesn't love Mac & Cheese and this was so freaking easy! Recipe from Food Network with a few changes.

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 4 ounces elbow macaroni (1 cup)
• Cooking spray
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3 shallots (I used green onions)
• 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 3/4 cups fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cups 2% milk
• 6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook macaroni as directed. Drain and set aside. (I had this cooking at the same time as the broth)

Mince the shallots, carrot and celery in a food processor. Mist a saucepan with cooking spray.

Add the vegetables and cook over medium-high heat until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

Gradually stir in the broth and bring to a boil; cook, stirring, until thickened, 6 to 7 minutes.

Remove from the heat.

Add the milk, cheeses and macaroni and stir until the cheeses melt. Season with pepper.

Per serving: Calories 476; Fat 20 g (Saturated 12 g); Cholesterol 84 mg; Sodium 636 mg; Carbohydrate 46 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 27 g

*This was REALLY yummy - it could use more of a "kick" though - some kind of spice, even just crushed red pepper, could really liven it up!
I served it with home-made chicken fingers and fruit.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Ingredients:
Devil’s food cake mix
1 8oz brick of cream cheese Softened
1 egg
1/3 cup of sugar
Dash of salt
6 oz mini chocolate chips


Use a standard Devil’s food cake mix ( follow directions on mix to make a cake)
Fill cupcake liners half full
Add one tablespoon of cupcake filling
Bake according to directions for cupcakes

Cupcake Filling:
1 8oz brick of cream cheese Softened
1 egg
1/3 cup of sugar
Dash of salt
Mix all ingredients together with a mixer
Stir in 6 oz mini chocolate chips


I made these for Super Bowl Sunday and they were delicious!

French Fry Seasoning

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

Mix seasonings together, pour into shaker, sprinkle generously onto french fries as soon as they're done cooking. Enjoy!

lasagna

This is a family favorite recipe, it's so good and completely easy to make. I so don't know exact measurements on most of this stuff, but it's fool-proof I promise.

*Note: I use 1 lb of ground beef for my little fam, but if we're making it for company, I'll use 2 lbs. It's easy to add a bit more of the additional ingredients to stretch it.

What you need:
1 lb. uncooked ground beef
1/4 C chopped onion
1 normal size jar spaghetti sauce
uncooked lasagna noodles - 6 is usually fine for the smaller version, I'll use 9 noodles for a 9x13 pan
1 (ish) C Cottage Cheese (I suppose you could use Ricotta, I never have)
2 (ish) C shredded mozzarella, divided

Optional (chopped):
mushrooms
green peppers
black olives

What you'll do:
Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet. Meanwhile, cook lasagna according to package directions. You can take it out a couple minutes early if you want, the noodles will finish cooking in the oven. In a small bowl, combine the cottage cheese with about 1 cup of the mozzarella. Obviously, increase or decrease the cheeses to your own liking, but it should be mixed well and not too wet/not too dry. When the meat is browned, drain the grease and add in your spaghetti sauce and any of your optional veggie mix-ins.

Spray an 8x8" pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spread a spoonful of the meat mixture in the pan. Place one layer of noodles in the pan (you will need to cut 4ish inches off the noodles so they fit an 8x8). Spread 1/2 the cheese mixture on top of the noodles. Spread 1/2 the meat mixture on the cheese. Repeat the noodle, cheese, meat process once more. You will have the meat mixture as your top layer. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top of the meat mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the edges are bubbly.

Cheesy Chicken Tortolleni Bake

Ingredients
Pasta Mixture:1/2 cup Chopped onion
1 tsp Olive oil
1 Garlic clove, pressed
1 jar White Alfredo pasta sauce (16 oz.)
2 Pkgs refrigerated cheese-filled regular or spinach tortellini (9 oz each pkg)
1 1/2 cups Cubed cooked chicken
1 cup Milk
1 cup Water
1 cup Frozen peas
1/4 tsp Ground black pepper
2 tbsp Snipped fresh basil leaves or 1 tsp dried basil leaves

Crumb Topping:1/4 cup Grated fresh Parmesan cheese (1 oz)
2 tbsp Butter or margarine
1 cup Fresh bread crumbs

Preparation1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. For pasta mixture, chop onion with Food Chopper
3. In 4 qt. Casserole, heat oil over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic pressed with Garlic Press. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender.
4. Stir in pasta sauce, tortellini, chicken, milk, water, peas, and black pepper. Heat until mixture just comes to a boil; remove from heat.
5. Stir basil into pasta mixture
6. For crumb topping, grate Parmesan cheese. Place butter in microwave on HIGH 30-45 seconds or until melted. Stir in bread crumbs and cheese; mix well.
7. Spoon pasta mixture into Square Baker; spinkle with crumb topping. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are bubbly and topping is golden brown

My changes:
*I made this w/o chicken - it was still FAB!
*I used packaged bertolli tortolleni that I had to boil first, I just boiled it for 1/2 the time (like 5min) and then went ahead with the directions.
*I also left onions out because I didn't have any and used garlic powder instead of pressed garlic, am lazy!
* This is REALLY good and not as rich as you might think

Amazing Pork Tenderloin

INGREDIENTS
1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
3/4 cup red wine
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons lite soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker with the contents of the soup packet. Pour water, wine, and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat. Carefully spread garlic over the pork, leaving as much on top of the roast during cooking as possible. Sprinkle with pepper, cover, and cook on low setting for 4 hours. Serve with cooking liquid on the side as au jus.

Cream Cheese Chicken

This is one of my new favorite things to make - it is SO easy and SO yummy!

Cream Cheese Chicken
Makes: 6 servings Total Time: 6 hr
what you need:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I usually just buy like a package that equals 1.5 lbs or so)
1 stick butter
1 package Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 bar cream cheese
1 pound gemelli pasta (this is the type I use but you can really use any pasta or rice)

make it:
In your slow cooker place the chicken, put stick of butter on top and pour package of Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing onto it all. Cook on low for 5 hours.
Take out chicken and shred/cut up.
Add can of cream of chicken soup and bar of cream cheese into crockpot seasoning/butter mixture and stir. Add shredded chicken back in and stir. Cook on low for one more hour.
Serve over pasta (or rice).

*I usually add 3/4 chardonay after hour 4 or 5
*I only use 1/2 or 1/4c of butter (it really does not need it!)
*I used cream of mushroom instead of cream of chicken.  Cream of celery would probably be yummy too!

White Chicken Chili

This is one of my favorite go-to dishes in the winter!  It's from Bush's Beans.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 (16 ounce) cans BUSH'S® Great Northern Beans

1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth 1 1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken breast Shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional) Sour cream (optional) Salsa (optional)

Directions:

1	In large skillet, cook onion in oil for 4 minutes or until transparent. Add chilies, flour and cumin; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add beans and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken; cook until hot.
2	Garnish with cheese, sour cream and salsa, if desired.

Copyright © Bush Brothers & Company, 2011

puppy chow

Seriously addicting!

You'll need:

• 1 12 oz box of Chex cereal (12 Cups)
• 1 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 C peanut butter
• 1.5+ C powdered sugar

What you'll do:

In a large sauce pan (I use a stock pot) over low heat, melt the chocolate chips. Stir in the peanut butter. Once smooth, remove from heat and add the cereal. Gently stir the cereal to coat it with the chocolate/peanut butter mixture. After it's coated, dump half of the powdered sugar into a gallon ziploc bag. Dump the cereal into the ziploc bag, and then dump the rest of the powdered sugar on top. Seal the bag and shake it to coat the cereal with powdered sugar. You may have to add more powdered sugar. At some point, it's usually easier to dump the cereal into a plastic container that you'll store it in - save room in the container to shake it up some more. You'll want to use a spoon to break up any huge chunks of cereal so it can all be coated evenly. That's it!

cream cheese pickles

Yes, really. These are perfect for the holidays since they're red and green, but they're great all year too! I'm not sure the first time I had these, they're very 80s to me, kind of like Porcupine Balls.

Anyway, the recipe!

You'll need:
2 - 32oz jars whole dill pickles (or so - it depends how many you want to end up with) (it works better if you don't get the super gigantic pickles)
1 - 8oz brick cream cheese
3 - 2oz packages thiny sliced lunch meat (I use those 80 cent packages of Carl Budding)

What you'll do:

Let the cream cheese come to room temperature so it is spreadable. Drain 1 jar of pickles and lay them between a few layers of paper towels to absorb the surface moisture. On a cutting board, place two slices of meat side by side, overlapping a few inches. Spread the meat with a layer of cream cheese (don't be too thin with the cream cheese, but don't go overboard either or the pickle will fall out). Place the pickle on one end of the meat and roll it up. Slice off the ends of the rolled pickles (you can eat those yourself, you deserve it) and then slice the remaining pickle and place them on a serving tray.

1 pickle makes approximate 5 half inch slices.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 boxes of Kraft Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner (original/Cheddar)
• 1 16 oz block of sharp cheddar cheese
• 3 eggs, lightly beat
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 sticks of butter, melted
• milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Boil the macaroni for 6 minutes. It will not be completely tender. Grate the cheddar cheese into a large bowl.  Add the cheese from the box mix, the eggs, salt, pepper, and butter to the bowl.  With a large spoon, mix the cheese mixture with the noodles and pour into a large baking dish. Slowly mix in milk until the mixture is slightly soupy.  Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes until the top is golden brown and a fork comes out clean.

Tim loves this reheated the next day with milk added to it (blech)!

Vanilla Cream Pie

Vanilla Cream Pie

Ingredients
Pie

• 2 deep dish pie crusts (baked according to manufacturers directions)
• 2 boxes cook & serve vanilla pudding
• 1 small can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 1/2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Meringue

• 3 egg whites
• 6 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Mix all ingredients except pie shells. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Pour into completely cooled cooked pie crusts. Allow to cool completely.

Beat the eggs whites until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar two tablespoons at a time. Continue to beat and add vanilla extract.

Pour meringue over the pies. Bake at 350 degrees until the meringue is golden brown.

Cool & serve!

Quick and Easy Chicken and Rice

Quick and Easy Chicken and Rice
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
3 chicken bouillon cubes, crumbled
2 cups milk
3 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms sliced (We liked more than this)
3 cups cooked rice
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated


Directions:
Melt butter in medium sauce pan. Blend in flour and chicken bouillon cubes. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken and mushrooms. Spread cooked rice in a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Spoon chicken mixture over rice. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, covered @ 350 for 30 minutes or until casserole and bubbly.

taco pizza

We have a regional chain here, Godfather's Pizza, who makes our favorite pizza, which just happens to be taco pizza. The best part about this taco pizza is that there's no refried beans to be found - something that my picky husband refuses to eat. Sparked by a craving, I concocted my own taco pizza and think it rivals the original!

What you'll need:
dough:

• 10 fluid ounces warm water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

topping:

• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 Cup taco sauce, approx. (spiciness depending on your taste, we used mild)
• 1+ T chili powder
• 2+ tsp ground cumin
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 small can chopped green chilies, optional
• 2+ C monterey jack or Mexican combo cheese, divided
• 1+ C cheddar cheese, optional
• shredded lettuce, optional
• chopped tomatoes, optional
• sliced black olives, optional
• sour cream, optional
• additional taco sauce, optional

What you'll do:

Making the dough in a bread machine is easiest, but you could do it by hand also. Into the bread machine, dump in this order: water, salt, oil, flour, and yeast. Meanwhile, combine the tomato paste, 1 C taco sauce, chili powder, and ground cumin. You can add more sauce if you want the sauce thinner or spicier; you can add additional chili powder for more spiciness, and more cumin for a more robust flavor.

Add the ground beef, onion, and green chilies to a skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook until beef is brown. Drain the beef mixture.

When the dough finishes, pat it out on your greased pan(s) (if it's sticky, use some flour on your fingers). I used a rimmed 15x10 cookie sheet for a deeper dish crust, but you could spread it out more thinly and do two pizza rounds. Spread with the taco sauce mixture to your liking (you may have extra sauce). Sprinkle sauce with 1/4 C monterey jack cheese. Top with beef mixture. Add remaining monterey jack cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25min for a thicker crust, 15-20 min for two thin crusts. Pizza will be done when the edges are golden brown.

Serve with sour cream and sprinkled with cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, olives, and additional taco sauce, if desired.