Caramelized Onion, Walnut and Cilantro Chicken Salad Sandwich

I found this recipe at bhg.com. It is SO yummy!! You could use any left-over chicken, just shred or chop it . I used some canned chicken that I bottled a couple of months ago. The entire family loved this sandwich!! I can't wait to make it again.

Caramelized Onion, Walnut and Cilantro Chicken Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion (1 large)
• 2 cups Shredded Chicken
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion (2)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp. snipped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• Salt and ground black pepper (optional)
• 10 slices sourdough bread, toasted (I used leftover oatmeal bread)
• 10 slices tomato
• 3/4 cup baby spinach leaves
• Pimiento-stuffed green olives (optional for garnish, I didn't use)

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion. Cook, covered, for 13 to 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Uncover; cook and stir over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes more or until golden.

2. In a large bowl, combine onion, chicken, walnuts, and green onion. Add mayonnaise, cilantro, and lime juice; toss to coat. If desired, season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Place about 1/2 cup chicken salad on each of five bread slices. Top each with two slices tomato and some of the spinach. Top sandwiches with the remaining bread slices. If desired, secure each sandwich with a skewer and garnish with an olive. Makes 5 servings.

Blueberry Peach Crisp

I made this for dessert last night and it was a huge hit....and SO simple!! My 8 year old stuffed himself with dinner, so much that he had to go lay down for awhile. When this came out of the oven he came back for more. He actually ate two helpings of this. We all LOVED this! The peaches and blueberries were so good together.

Blueberry Peach Crisp

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh, rinsed blueberries
• 4 peaches peeled and chopped (~2 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 T cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar
• zest and juice of one lemon

For Topping

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 sugar
• 1/4 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 stick room temp butter
  

Directions: Mix the blueberries, peaches, cornstarch, sugar, lemon zest and juice together in a 1 1/2 qt. baking dish. Mix topping ingredients together until crumbly and pour it onto the blueberry and peach mixture, make sure you cover all of the fruit. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Serve ice cream or cool whip.

Ranch-Style Steak Kabobs

Wow!! It has been a fun and busy summer so far. We just got home from a fun 2 week trip to Utah. My boys and I LOVE to go 'home' to visit family and friends:)

Now that we are home and vacation is over at least for a couple of weeks, I'm getting back to cooking and blogging. This is another recipe that I got from Kraft Foods. My family REALLY enjoyed this one.

Ranch-Style Steak Kabobs

Ingredients:

• 4 new potatoes, cut in half **
• 1/4 cup KRAFT Ranch Dressing, divided
• 1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 8 cherry tomatoes

Directions: HEAT grill to medium-high heat. Cook potatoes in saucepan of boiling water 12 to 14 min. or until tender; drain. Cool slightly. RESERVE half of dressing. Thread meat, accordion style onto 4 skewers, alternating potatoes and tomatoes between folds of meat; brush with remaining dressing. GRILL 10 to 12 min. or until meat is done, brushing with reserved dressing the last 2 min.

**I used red potatoes that were a little large, so my son cut them into smaller pieces. Then, we had more potatoes than would fit our skewers....so we just tossed the extra potatoes on the grill, brushed them with some extra ranch dressing and they were DELICIOUS!!

Frosty Orange Creme Layered Dessert

I love it when I receive my Kraft foods magazine. It is full of wonderful recipes and meal ideas. When I saw this recipe, I knew I'd be making it soon! My family and I LOVED this treat!! When I made mine I used a silicone bread pan instead of the regular bread pan. It worked great!! After the dessert froze I just 'peeled' the silicone pan away.

I am currently away from home and my pictures of this yummy dessert are on my computer at home, so I'm going to post the picture from Kraft Foods.

Frosty Orange Creme Layered Dessert
(From Kraftfoods.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups orange sherbet or sorbet, softened
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

Directions:

LINE 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil. Spread sherbet onto bottom of prepared pan to form even layer. Freeze 10 min.

MEANWHILE, beat cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually add condensed milk and juice, beating until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP. Spread over sherbet in pan.

FREEZE 3 hours. To unmold, invert pan onto plate; remove foil.

Swiss Mushroom Burger

This burger is SO yummy and perfect for summer grilling! I was in a hurry when I made these and didn't get a very good picture. It was a paper plate night, my favorite kind of nights:)

Swiss Mushroom Burger

Ingredients for the burgers:

• 1 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 T McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 2 T Worcestershire Sauce
• slice Swiss cheese (I used Tillamook Cheese)

Ingredients for the mushrooms:

• 12-16 oz. mushrooms
• 2 T butter
• 2 t Worcestershire Sauce
• ~1 t McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning

Directions: Mix all ingredients for burgers together, except for the cheese. Form into six 1/4 lb. patties. Grill until cooked through. Top with Swiss cheese during the last minute or two of grilling(I just added the cheese after they were finished grilling).

Saute mushrooms in butter and Worcestershire Sauce. When the mushrooms start to turn brown add your steak seasoning.

Place burger on bun and top with sauteed mushrooms. Enjoy!

Super quick and easy lunch or dinner

My sister told me about this wonderful and simple meal!

Bagels with cream cheese and ham

Ingredients:

• bagels
• cream cheese
• ham

Directions: Spread bagel with cream cheese and cover with ham. Usually we put these under the broiler until warm, BUT my oven is still broken(got the part today), so I put them on the grill and they were wonderful! I cooked them for a couple minutes per side. If you grill them or broil them, watch them carefully so they don't burn.

Cafe Rio Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

Here is the tomatillo dressing recipe that I said I was going to share with you on Monday. I am SLOW, but this is SO yummy!! Thanks to my neighbor for sharing it with me!!

I just finished eating this as a mid-morning snack. I LOVE to dip fresh warm tortillas into the dressing!! It is, of course, WONDERFUL with the Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad too:)

Cafe Rio Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

Ingredients:

• 3 tomatillos, peeled and cut into 1/4's
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1/2 c. mayo
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1 pkg. dry ranch buttermilk dressing
• 1 c. fresh chopped cilantro
• 6 green onions, with ends
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 3 t. sugar
• 1 jalapeno, sliced thin

Directions: Mix well in blender(I used my food processor). Refrigerate for at least one hour.

*Note: When buying tomatillos, peel the skin back to the top of the tomatillo to make sure it is good. I have found some that look good until I peel the skin all the way back.