BBQ Sanwiches

One 3lb beef brisket
1/2 c. water
3 tbs white vinegar
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground cumin or chili powder
1 c. bottled bbq sauce

Cut meat, if necessary, to fit into crock pot. Mix together water, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cumin or chili powder, pour over meat in cooker. Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours or on high 4-5 hours.

About 1 hour before serving, remove meat from cooker and cool to touch. Shred meat, and discard fat.

Discard liquid from crock pot. Set crockpot on high and return shredded meat to crockpot, stir in bbq sauce, cook for 30-45 minutes. Serve on buns. Serves 10.

Honey Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:
3 lbs broiler/fryer chicken (use breasts, thighs, and legs)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. veg. oil
1/4 c. honey
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 egg yolk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Wash chicken, remove skin, pat dry. Place chicken in large casserole dish, salt and pepper to taste. Mix next 8 ingredients in a bowl, drizzle over chicken. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Baste occasionally during cooking. Serves 4-6.

This is a perfect potluck! You can easily double or triple the ingredients to accommodate a large crowd.

Serve with buttered noodles and steamed broccoli.

Beer Burgers

1 lb ground beef, 1 package dry ranch dressing mix, 3/8 cup (3oz) beer. Mix all ingredients. Form into patties.

(I cook them on the George Foreman, works great!)

I like to top mine with a squirt of bbq sauce, a strip of bacon, provolone cheese, tomato and avocado

Baked Ziti ( My Way )

Baked Ziti, my way.

I dont know where I got this recipe. I dont remember, its been so long. But I altered it to the way we like it. You can do so much with baked ziti. If it werent for my picky husband I would add in all kinds of veggies...like fresh sliced mushrooms! Mmmmm! Or even pepperoni slices

This makes a lot of ziti, but I like to freeze it in small containers and break it out when Kayla and I need a quick lunch.

1 pound ziti pasta (penne works too), 1 chopped onion, 1 pound ground beef (I use ground turkey, a little healthier for you) 2 26-oz jars pasta sauce, 6 oz provolone cheese slices, 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese or sour cream, 6 oz shredded mozzarella (I use more, I'm generous with cheese!) 2 tbs grated Parmesan cheese (Again, I use more)

Cook pasta al dente, about 10 minutes. Brown beef (or turkey) and onion. Add sauce. Simmer 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Butter (I use Pam) baking dish. Layer half of ziti pasta, all provolone, Ricotta (or sour cream),(pepperoni or veggies if you have it) half of the sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella, and remaining sauce.
Top with Parmesan. Bake 30 minutes.

Key Lime Pie

This is easiest Key Lime Pie, ever. I decided to make this for a BBQ we are going to tonight. Kayla had a blast licking the spatula. Check out the seriousness on her face in the picture above. I got this recipe out of a cook book that was a gift to me from our friends, Tammy and Mark. Its their church cook book celebrating 140 years, Trade Lake Baptist Church and we all know churches have the best food! Tammy- I love this book!

Key Lime Pie

1 (6-oz) can frozen lemonade, 2-3 T. lime juice, 1 (5-oz) can evaporated milk, 1 (8-oz) ctn. whipped topping, 1 Graham cracker Pie crust

Mix lemonade, lime juice, and milk. Add whipped topping and mix well. Pour into graham cracker crust. If desired garnish with lime slices. Freeze. Serve direct from the freezer as it thaws quickly.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

This is incredibly good. This is the 2nd time Im making this in about a month. So delish! So easy!

4 frozen ( or not) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided
1/2 (1 ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix

1. Place the frozen chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on Low for 5-7 hours. ( depending on frozen or not)
2. Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with two forks. sump the rest of the sauces on it. Then pile it onto buns, or hoagie rolls and add whatever you like!
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Salsa

Here a recipe for a homemade salsa. I took a recipe I found on the internet and altered it a bit to make my own. Its very yummy. I cant stay away from it!
It made a great salsa for the scoops chips and this morning I may try to make an egg omelet with it.

3 tbs finely chopped onion ( I think it could use more)
2 small cloves of garlic minced ( again I think more would be better)
about 8 plum tomatoes ( I guess you can use any kind )
1 jalapeno finely chopped ( I removed seeds so its not too hot for the little ones, If it were for all adults I would use a couple more of these )
as much minced cilantro as you want ( Im generous here )
juice of 1 and a half limes
salt and pepper to taste ( Im generous here too)
1 can of drained red kidney beans ( I suppose any bean you want would be ok here)
1/2 a can drained sweet whole kernel corn

Put chopped onion and garlic in a strainer; pour 2 cups boiling water over them then let drain throughly. Discard water. Cool.

Combine onions and garlic with remaining ingredients. Refrigerate foe 2-4 hours before serving.

Apple and Sage Pork Chops

This is a Mc.Cormick recipe that requires 5 different seasonings but its so good!
Serves 4
1 1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 paprika
1 tbs flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 red apples, thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tbs brown sugar

1. Mix flour, all of the spices and salt into a small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with tbs of the seasoned flour.

2. Cook chops in hot oil in large skillet on med-high heat until browned on both sides. Remove from skillet. Ad onion, cook and stir 3 minutes or until tender. Add apples, cook and stir 2 minutes.

3. Stir in juice, sugar and remaining seasoned flour until well mixed. Return chops to skillet. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 5 minutes or until desired doneness.

Key Lime Poke Cake- Altered + Fondant recipe

For a Cinco De Mayo party we were invited to, I decided to bake a Key Lime Poke Cake. The recipe is from Betty.Crocker.com. I did alter the recipe quite a bit.

I wanted to practice making and playing with fondant for Kayla's 2nd birthday so this gave me a good reason to.

Nick came up with the idea to make the cake into a Sombrero. I will share the altered recipe and non-altered recipe here along with pictures of the cake and how we put it together. To make it easy...my altered recipe will be in italics.

But of course, you can take this recipe and just make a plain round or square cake, or cupcakes.
Cake:
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 eggs

Filling:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup Key lime juice or regular lime juice
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
4 drops yellow food color
1 drop green food color

My altered filling:
All of the above ingredients mixed with 1 container of whipped vanilla frosting and then flour and powered sugar as needed to make the filling thicker to use it as icing for the fondant to stick to.

Heat oven to 350. Spray and flour 2 small 8x8 EZ foil cake pans, or 13x9 pan.

In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan. During this step I added in some grated lime zest and green food coloring.

Now here is the directions for the normal cake:
Bake 26 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. With handle of wooden spoon (1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter), poke holes almost to bottom of cake every 1/2 inch, wiping spoon handle occasionally to reduce sticking.

My directions:
Bake 26 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Turn pans upside down so the cakes can fall out and place on wire cookie rack to cool completely. Cut off corners of both square cakes to make into round cakes. Put one square cake on cake base (I used a cookie sheet with foil for easier transport to party) and top with generous layer of cake filling. Top with 2nd cake and then coat top and sides with generous amount of filling.

Top with fondant and shape into Sombrero! And store it in the fridge until ready to serve. We decorated it with jelly beans and sour spaghetti candies.

Fondant recipe:
1 16oz bag of mini marshmallows
3 tablespoons of water
2 lbs. powdered sugar and optional flavoring (I used lemon flavor and yellow color)
Put the marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl, add the water, and put it into the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted completely and mixing well after each zap.
Stir marshmallows making sure it’s all melted, then add your flavoring and powdered sugar to your liking. Knead dough on a powdered sugar surface and keep adding powdered sugar to make dough less sticky and more workable.(I used a whole 2 lb bag plus a little extra to use to powder the counter and my hands) There you have it!
Allow your fondant to set up overnight covered. Before you use, microwave for 30 seconds and knead until smooth and pliable.


Kitchen Tips
Key lime pie is not green in color unless food color is added. If you'd prefer a greener filling in this cake, add a couple drops of green food color to the filling before pouring it over the cake.
If Key limes aren't available in your grocery store, look for bottled Key lime juice near the other bottled lime juices.

I used both real limes for the zest in the cake batter and then bottled lime juice for the 1/2 cup filling.

No Bake Cookies

I mean it when I say these cookies are EVIL. I dont make them but once a year because I will eat every single one.

No Bake Cookies

4 oz butter, 1/2 cup milk, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, 3 tbs peanut butter, 3 cups old fashioned or quick oats, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Place Ch. chips, oats, vanilla in bowl. Combine sugar, butter, milk in saucepan. Bring to rolling boil for 1 minute. Combine hot mixture with oat mixture. Stir well. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. I added in just a tiny bit of crushed walnuts too. You can add just about anything into these cookies. Coconut, dried fruit, raisins, nuts, etc.

New recipes are coming soon. Im just a little behind due to some tragic news of a friend.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Kraft picture about, not mine.

Sooo yummy! WILL make this one again, and again and again! The recipe calls for sour cream...I lost my grocery list on the way to the store so I forgot to buy the sour cream. I made the enchiladas without the sour cream and it still turned out really good. Next time, I will make sure not to forget though. Also, the hubby doesn't eat salsa, so I didn't add that either. Next time, I will.

From Kraft.Foods.com

what you need!
2-1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese, divided
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream, divided
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
12 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1-1/2 cups TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
make it!
HEAT oven to 350°F.

MIX chicken, soup, 1 cup cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream and 3 Tbsp. cilantro until well blended. Spoon down centers of tortillas, adding about 1/4 cup to each; roll up.

PLACE, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with salsa and remaining cheese.

BAKE 25 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining sour cream and cilantro.

TACO BELL® and HOME ORIGINALS® are trademarks owned and licensed by Taco Bell Corp. kraft kitchens tipsSERVING SUGGESTIONServe with a mixed green salad and your favorite fresh fruit to round out the meal. SHORTCUTSubstitute 2 pkg. (6 oz. each) OSCAR MAYER Deli Fresh Oven Roasted Chicken Breast Cuts for the chopped cooked fresh chicken. Or, use 2 pkg. (6 oz. each) OSCAR MAYER Southwestern Seasoned or Grilled Chicken Breast Strips, cut into bite-sized pieces. NOTETortillas can be warmed before use for easier handling. Just stack tortillas, then wrap in foil. Bake at 350ºF for 10 to 15 min. or just until warmed. Or, wrap tortillas loosely in wax paper and microwave on HIGH 1 min. or just until warmed.

Tater Tot Casserole

This comes from Campbell's Kitchen .com.

And easy and tasty one. Not too healthy but not terribly unhealthy either.
Ive done French Fry Casserole, but this is my first time for this one.

1lb gr. beef, 1 medium onion chopped, 1 can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (I used the one with roasted garlic) 1 tbs ketchup (I doubled the ketchup) 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce (I omitted this simply because I don't have it on hand and I'm trying to cut grocery costs down) 3 cups frozen tater tots
I also added tons of minced garlic in my ground beef, and hamburger seasoning, Mc.Kormic brand.

Cook beef and onion in skillet over med high heat until beef is brown, stirring to break up the meat. Pour off fat. I used lean meat so I didn't have any fat to pour off. I wonder how good ground turkey would be in this recipe?
Stir soup, ketchup and Worcestershire into skillet. Spoon mixture into 12x8 shallow baking dish. Arrange tots around edges of casserole. (I added some all over, not just on the edges) Bake at 425 for 25 minutes or until tots are done.

Deep Dish Sausage Pizza Bread

I got this recipe from K.raftFoods.com and let me just say this was just awesome! I WILL make this again! This isn't the best food to eat on my quest to eat healthier, but it wasn't terrible either and it was oh so delish.

what you need!
1 loaf (1 lb.) French bread ( I used 2 small baguettes, I didn't have an option)
3/4 lb. thawed frozen LOUIS RICH Turkey Sausage (I used a whole lb and reserved the extra meat and spinach mixture for an omelet the next morning!)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese


make it!
HEAT oven to 375ºF.

CUT off top 1/3 of bread; scoop out insides, leaving 1/2-inch-thick shell. Reserve top and insides of bread for another use. Place bread shell on baking sheet.

COOK sausage in large skillet on medium-high heat 10 min. or until lightly browned, stirring frequently to break sausage into small pieces. Stir in spinach and Parmesan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella onto bottom of bread shell; cover with sausage mixture and remaining mozzarella.

BAKE 20 min. or until mozzarella is melted and lightly browned.

I topped them both off with a little spaghetti meat sauce. Without the sauce I think it would be a little too dry.

This was sooooooo fricken yummy!

Nick and I also come up with the genius idea that you could use so many different stuffings with this...such as chicken and bbq sauce. Or a Philly Cheesesteak type.

SERVING SUGGESTIONServe with a crisp mixed green salad tossed with your favorite KRAFT Light Dressing.SPECIAL EXTRAFor added flavor, sprinkle lightly with Italian seasoning before baking as directed. Then, drizzle with warmed pizza sauce just before serving.COOKING KNOW-HOWFor best results, use a serrated knife to cut the bread.


So here is MY picture: The one in the front is the one with spinach, the one Kayla and I ate. And the one in the back is just plain sausage, for Nick.


Here is the picture from K.raft.

Bacon, Cheddar and Potato Salad

Bacon, Cheddar and Potato Salad

2 lbs red potatoes, cut into cubes, 1 cup mayo, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup sliced green onion, 8 slics of bacon crisp cooked, crumbled, 2 tbs milk, 1 tbs apple cider vinegar.

Cover potatoes with water, boil, simmer uncovered 10 minutes until tender. Drain and cool slightly.

In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients. Add potatoes, toss to coat. Serve chilled or at room temp.

This is delish. I made it for a group of people at a BBQ and everyone was asking who made it!