Chicken in the crock pot

I only have a minute...but I just wanted to share with you my new favorite way to cook chicken! Chicken is a lot cheaper if you buy it whole, but I use this method with a whole chicken, bone-in chicken breasts, or even boneless chicken. It is easy and makes some yummy, juicy chicken and you get some wonderful chicken broth too:) Just be careful when you take it out of the crock pot. It is so tender, it just falls apart.





Directions: Put your chicken in the crock pot and season as desired. I just sprinkle it with some salt and pepper. Add 1-2 cups of water. Let it cook 3-4 hours on high for 6-7 on low, until cooked through(this will vary, depending on the amount of chicken you are cooking). When it is done, I shred the chicken and use it for different meal throughout the week. I put the skin and bones back in the crock pot and add a couple stalks of celery, a couple carrots, half an onion, more salt and pepper and some thyme. Also add ~4 cups of water and continue to cook for an hour or two. Strain and you have yummy broth for later.

I will be posting a chicken enchilada casserole that I made with half of this chicken, probably next week:), but maybe later today.

BYU Mint Brownies

I bookmarked this recipe a few years ago, knowing that I would want to try them. I am glad that I FINALLY got around to making these!! The other days my boys wanted to make some brownies, so decided to try these. They were SO yummy!! I am looking forward to making them again soon.

I had my 6 year old and 3 year old helping me with these. While we were making the mint icing, my 6 year old said, "Mom, you are making gum." My 3 year old smelled and said, "mmm, really good gum." :)

BYU Mint Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup margarine
• 1/2 c. cocoa
• 2 T. honey
• 4 eggs
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 c. chopped walnuts (I left these out)
• 12 oz. chocolate icing (I used my favorite butter cream frosting(from my mother-in-law) w/a couple T of cocoa added, I'll include the recipe at the end of this post)

Mint Icing

Ingredients:

• 5 T. margarine
• dash of salt
• 3 T. milk
• 1 T. light corn syrup
• 2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 t. mint extract
• 1-2 drops green food coloring (I used 2)

Directions: Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cube margarine (softened)
• 1/4 c. evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla

Directions: Beat margarine until soft and creamy. Add powdered sugar and salt, mix. Add milk a little at a time so it doesn't get too thin. If necessary, add a little more milk to thin or powdered sugar to thicken. Add vanilla.

*I added 2-3 T of cocoa to the powdered sugar before mixing it with the margarine.

Beef Fajita Quesadillas

This is how we used up our leftover beef fajita meat, peppers and onions. These were SO good! I think the boys enjoyed these more than the fajitas, since the peppers and onions weren't so noticeable:)

Beef Fajita Quesadillas

Ingredients:

• Beef fajita leftovers, chopped
• pinto beans
• cheese
• lime
• tortillas
• salsa
• sour cream

Directions: Place tortilla on griddle. Layer with beans, fajita meat, lime juice(squeeze a lime wedge over meat and beans), cheese and top with another tortilla. Cook until the bottom tortilla starts to brown. Flip over and finish cooking until heated through. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Beef Fajitas

We loved these fajitas!! I found the marinade recipe here at the Culinary Cafe. The meat was very flavorful. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of this. I find it hard to get a good picture of dinner when my 5 boys(including my husband) are starving and in NO mood to wait for the pictures. I saved a little of the marinade to saute with the peppers and onions.

Beef Fajitas

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. skirt steak
• marinade(below)
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• tortillas

Directions: Marinade beef for at least 4 hours. Grill or broil until cooked through. Saute peppers and onions in oil. Add a little of the reserved marinade to the vegetables and cook until heated through. Slice steak and add to the vegetables. Serve in warm tortillas with cheese, cilantro, salsa, sour cream and a squeeze of lime juice.

Marinade

Ingredients:

• 4-5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 t salt
• 1 T chili powder
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 T dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped roughly

Directions: Mix everything above together. Let beef marinade in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and chicken for at least 2 hours. Then grill over charcoal for best results but it is also good in the broiler.

Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup

My Mom sent me this recipe a few years ago. I love this soup because it uses things that I almost always have on hand! This is Top Secret Recipes version of Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup, by Todd Wilbur. I have not tried Tony Roma's soup, but this is SO good!!

Tony Roma's Bake Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups chopped)
• 3 T butter
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 2 T flour
• 4 c chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes
• 1 t salt
• 3/4 t pepper
• 1/2 t basil
• 1/8 t thyme
• 1 cup half and half (I always use 1% milk)

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes for 1 hour or until done. When potatoes have cooked, remove them from the oven to cool.

As potatoes cool prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan, and saute onion until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux.

Add the stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin. Chop baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about 1/2-inch in size.

Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for another 15 minutes or until it is thick.

Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese, a half tablespoon of crumbled bacon and a teaspoon or so of chopped green onion.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

I LOVE these cookies!! I got this recipe from a high school friend MANY years ago. I forgot to take a picture of the cookies before I packaged them up to deliver to friends. OOPS!! I did have one cookie left out. Sorry these aren't the best pictures:( I was afraid I'd run out of filling, because I was short on cream cheese and made 3/4 of the recipe, but I had plenty. Since I thought I'd run out I rolled part of the cookies in powdered sugar before baking so they would at least look pretty even without the filling. Since I had enough filling, I just filled those too. YUM!! So Good!!

Homemade Oreo Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 devil's food cake mixes
• 2 cubes/sticks butter
• 4 eggs

Directions: Mix ingredients together. Roll into small balls(about 1 T). Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. When cookies are cool spread filling on one cookie and sandwich with another.

Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cube of butter
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 t vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions: Beat ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

Cinnamon Dots

During college football season, our family used to LOVE to order Domino's pizza and dots and sit down to watch the BYU Cougars. Unfortunately, we don't live near a Domino's anymore and they don't sale the dots anymore. BUT...anytime I have extra yeast dough, we make our own. I use bread dough, pizza dough, roll dough, etc. These are super simple and simply yummy!! Sometimes, I put the frosting in bowls to dip the 'dots' into but in this picture I have just poured the butter cream frosting on them while in the pan.

Cinnamon Dots

Ingredients:

• yeast dough
• butter
• cinnamon sugar
• butter cream frosting or cream cheese frosting

Directions: Form yeast dough into small balls. Dip in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar. Place in a greased baking dish. Bake at 375 for approx. 20 minutes. You can frost while the dots are in the pan or take them out and dip them in frosting as you eat them.

Creamy Turkey Soup and Italian Bread Bowls

I saw this recipe for the Italian bread bowls here at Real Mom Kitchen. She got them from here at My Kitchen Cafe. I knew when I saw these I would have to try them. I love soup in bread bowls. I had some turkey in the fridge that needed to be used up and I made this creamy soup that was SO yummy!! Dinner was a Big hit last night:) My husband went on and on about the bread bowls, they really are that good!! He could hardly believe that I made them. I made six, but I think next time I will make 8, they were really big! This soup is a GREAT way to use up your leftover Thanksgiving turkey when everyone gets tired of sandwiches:)

Italian Bread Bowls

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions: In a large bowl (or bowl of an electric mixer), dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture; beat well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at medium speed after each addition until a soft but not sticky dough is formed (you may not need to use all 7 cups).

When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes (or let knead in an electric mixer). Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Punch dough down, and divide into 6-8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a round ball. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal (or use silpat liners or parchment paper). Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, beat together egg white and 1 tablespoon water; lightly brush the loaves with half of this egg wash. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Creamy Turkey Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 T Canola Oil
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 T butter
• 3 T flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups cooked turkey, chopped or shredded
• 2 baked potatoes, shredded
• 1 t salt
• 1 t fresh ground black pepper
• 1 t oregano
• 1/4 t ground thyme
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• Parmesan cheese

Directions: Saute onions, carrots, celery and garlic in canola oil for approx. 10 minutes or until the onions begin to brown. Add butter, when butter is melted, add flour to make a roux. Stir in chicken broth, milk, turkey, potatoes, and spices. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for approx. 20 minutes until vegetables are soft. Add cream cheese and cook until cheese has melted. Serve with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Grape Salad

Grapes went on sale again! I had bought everything to make this salad last time grapes were on sale, but the kids got into the grapes and they were gone before I got the chance. This is something that my husband's family has every year for Thanksgiving. It is SO yummy!! When I started to make this I realized that my family had eaten the slivered almonds that I had bought to make this the first time. Oh well, I made it anyway without them. With four young boys, I decided the battle at the grocery store was not going to be worth going back for the almonds!!

Grape Salad

Ingredients:

• 2-3 pounds Grapes
• 8 oz. softened cream cheese
• 1 jar marshmallow cream
• 1 cup cool whip
• 1 small package of slivered almonds

Directions: Beat together the cream cheese, marshmallow cream and cool whip until creamy. Stir in grapes and almonds. The amount of grapes you use will depend on the grape to cream mixture you want. I like lots of cream mixture per grape:)

Apple Burritos

My neighbor gave me this super yummy recipe (Thanks Tara!). I made one little change when I made them, instead of putting them back in the microwave after I had rolled them up, I fried them in a little butter. YUM!

This is the serving I gave my husband.

Below is my serving, that's right, TWO. They were SO delicious!!

Apple Burritos

Ingredients:

• 3 large Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, sliced)
• 2 T sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t margarine
• 1/2 t orange zest
• 6 (6in.) tortillas
• caramel sauce

Directions: Place apples, sugar, cinnamon and margarine in a microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 3-4 minutes until apples are crisp-tender.

Add orange zest to mixture; mix gently. Spread about 1/3 cup of apple mixture down the center of each tortilla; roll up tightly. Place them seam down in a 9x9 inch microwave safe baking dish and cook on high for another 3-4 minutes or until heated through.

To serve place a burrito on a plate, drizzle with caramel sauce, and finish with a scoop of ice cream and a little cinnamon.

**Instead of putting mine back in the microwave after rolling, I melted a couple of tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and placed the burrito in the butter and rolled it with some tongs until it was browned all the way around and warm in the center.

Shredded Beef Taquitos

I made these with my leftovers from the crock pot roast, any shredded beef will work. These were SO simple and SO yummy!!

Shredded Beef Taquitos

Ingredients:

• Shredded beef
• Corn tortillas
• Canola oil
• Cheese

Directions: Fry corn tortillas in a little canola oil for a few seconds on each side. Let drain on paper towel until all tortillas are done. Place shredded cheese in the corn tortilla, place shredded beef on top and roll up. I place the rolled tortillas in a small amount of oil and turn them as the bottoms brown. Place finished taquitos on a paper towel to drain. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

I'm BACK...w/ Roast and Carrots

We had an 'issue' with our laptop and it has been gone for awhile getting fixed. I am SO happy to have it back!! I thought I'd share with you my FAVORITE way to cook roast and carrots!! My kids don't like cooked carrots and I never have either, but we all love these. The recipe for the roast is SO yummy!! It is great for French dip sandwiches or use the liquid to make gravy.

Crock pot Roast

Ingredients:

• 5 lb. boneless rump roast (pretty much any cut of meat will work)
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1/2 t seasoned salt
• 1/2 t cayenne pepper
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
• 2 cups beef broth

Directions: Put everything together in the crock pot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

To make gravy: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan. Mix in 2 tablespoons flour. Whisk in 2 cups of the liquid from the roast. Cook until it thickens to desired consistency.

This is also great for French dip sandwiches. Shred your meat, place in on bread of your choice and dip in the juice. We like to butter crusty rolls, sprinkle on some parmesan cheese and place under the broiler for a couple of minutes(until the cheese melts) before we put our meat on them and then dip. YUM!!

Sweet Carrots

Ingredients:

• 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 T butter
• 1 T sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Place everything together in a small saucepan. Bring to boil and cook until carrots are tender.

Mini Candy Apples

My sister, Heather, sent me this from Family Fun to try. They were fun and yummy!!

Ingredients:
4-inch lollipop sticks (I used tooth pics)
Melon baller
Granny Smith apples (one apple makes about 8 mini apples)
Butterscotch or peanut butter chips
Chopped nuts, nonpareils, sprinkles, shredded coconut (optional)
Small paper candy cups

1. First, cut the lollipop sticks in half at an angle (the pointy end will go into the apple pieces easier). With the melon baller, scoop little balls out of the apple. Each ball should have a section of apple peel. Push half of a lollipop stick into the peel of each ball. Pat the apple pieces dry.

2. Melt the chips according to the package directions. Dip and swirl the mini apples in the melted chips, then roll the apples in nuts, sprinkles, nonpareils, or coconut, if desired. Place the mini apples in paper candy cups to set.

I dipped the apples in caramel and then put mini-m&ms on them.

Shredded Pork Sandwiches

These were easy and yummy!! I was short on time and didn't get to make french bread, so I picked up a loaf between the two soccer practices. The pork was cooked in the crock pot and ready when we got home. Just had to throw it all together.

Shredded Pork Sandwiches

I'm not quite sure how to write this up. When I buy pork tenderloin, I usually cut it into 3 or 4 large pieces and then package them individually to freeze. I made this sandwich with one of those portions. My husband LOVES the hot cauliflower and the little hot yellow peppers that you buy in jars. I used some of the juice from the bottle to cook the pork in.

Directions: (sort of:)) Defrost pork. Salt and pepper pork and place in crock pot. Add juice from a jar of hot cauliflower or hot peppers. I add enough to come about 1/3 to 1/2 up the pork. Cook on low for 4-6 hours until the pork is cooked through. Shred pork in the crock pot. Slice a loaf of French bread in half(see pic above). I pull some of the bread out of the top and bottom of the bread to make room for the meat and toppings. My kids LOVE to snack on the yummy 'middle' bread while I finish the sandwiches. Butter both pieces of bread. Place them on a baking sheet in the oven under the broiler until they start to brown. Spread the pork on the bottom piece of the french bread, cover with shredded Monterrey jack cheese and place back under the broiler until the cheese melts. Add your favorite toppings and slice into individual servings. ENJOY!! --I hope this makes sense:)

Skeleton Veggie Tray

Just thought I'd share a picture of a veggie tray I made for my son's birthday a few years ago.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

We just had the most WONDERFUL weekend!! My sister and her family came to visit from Utah. They all left this morning and I MISS them already!!

A friend of mine gave me this recipe several years ago and I LOVE it!! We had this for dinner last night. Unfortunately, I got busy visiting and didn't have time to get rolls made before we decided dinner needed to be made. This soup is SO yummy in a nice crusty bread bowl or with crusty rolls on the side.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

• 10 oz broccoli
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 cans chicken broth(14 1/2 ounce), ~6 cups
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 t. oregano
• 1/2 t. basil
• 9 oz package cheese tortellini(fresh in the clear plastic box in the cheese section)
• grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

Directions: In a large pot combine chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, chicken, onions, carrots, water, garlic, basil and oregano. Bring to boil. Add tortellini. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add broccoli and simmer and additional 5-10 minutes. or until broccoli is tender. Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Fruit Dip

I LOVE this fruit dip!! Quick, easy and DELICIOUS!! Now I wish I would have bought more grapes while they were on sale last week!!

Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2-3 T maple syrup

Directions: In a medium bowl combine all ingredients. Beat until smooth.

Quesadillas

We eat tacos and bean burritos quite often at our house. These are two inexpensive and easy meals. This past week I have tried to make the beans and taco meat into something that looks like a whole different meal:) So hear you go. Next time you make taco meat or cook a pot of beans try serving them up this way:)

Taco Quesadilla Rolls

Ingredients:

• Prepared Taco Meat
• Tortillas
• Cheese
• Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Lettuce

Directions: Warm tortilla on a griddle or a large frying pan. Add cheese and taco meat to the top of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla up and let sit on the griddle/frying pan. Roll until all sides of the tortilla are warm and getting crunchy. Serve with salsa, sour cream and shredded lettuce.

Layered Bean and Cheese Quesadillas

Ingredients:

• Refried beans, or prepared beans(see below)
• Tortillas (I used 5 large tortillas)
• Cheese
• Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Cilantro

Directions: Warm tortilla on griddle or large frying pan and spread with beans and cheese. Top with another tortilla. When the bottom tortilla is warm and getting crispy, flip the 'stack'. Top the crispy tortilla with beans and cheese and another tortilla. When the bottom tortilla is warm and getting crispy flip again. Repeat for desired number of layers. I did 5 tortillas with 4 layers of beans and cheese. These were SO yummy!! We loved the crispy tortilla layers!! For the beans: I cooked a pot of beans and put them in the food processor to make them smooth.

Blog Award

We recently got our SECOND blog award! We are SO excited. Thanks to Real Mom Kitchen!! Laura has a wonderful blog, check it out!!

Here are the rules for this award. Please find at least 10 more blogs, of any kind that you love to read. Write a post about the blogs you picked, linking back to me and to them. Once you’ve posted, return here to let me know your post is done and be sure to let them know too!!! (If you don't come up with 10, that's fine too!)

Here are the 10 blogs that we are passing this award on to. Check them out they are all wonderful!!

Crazy Crafty Cousins

Homemade Goodness

Smoky Mountain Cafe

Gather Round Our Table

Food Friends and Fun

Crafty Chicks

Tender Crumb

A Corner of My Kitchen

Mommy's Kitchen

Cookies with Boys

Hot, Crusty French Bread

The other day I was looking for a recipe for a fast and EASY french bread recipe and found the perfect one! I found this recipe at Chickens in the Road. This recipe is very easy and the bread tastes GREAT!

Hot, Crusty French Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package yeast (rapid-rise recommended)
• 1 cup warm water
• salt to taste (~3/4 teaspoon)

Directions: In a large bowl, combine water with yeast and salt. Let sit for five minutes. Stir in flour until the dough is stiff enough to knead. (Add flour a little at a time. Three cups flour is approximate; exact amount may vary.) Knead dough until smooth and elastic–a few minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl; cover. Let rise until doubled. Form dough into a french-style loaf and place on greased baking sheet. (Dust baking sheet with cornmeal first if desired.) Place immediately in oven (unpreheated!)–bread will rise as oven heats up. Set oven at 375-degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Makes one loaf. Recipe can be doubled, tripled, and so on.

PB and Chocolate Banana muffins

I love banana bread and I love mini-muffins!! I love being able to grab a quick one-bite(I have a big mouth:)) bit of goodness. I have a little guy here that wanted some "nuffins" for his birthday breakfast. The peanut butter is very subtle in this recipe. If you want a big peanut butter taste, add more:)

PB and Chocolate Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Crisco Shortening
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (you can make your own 1/2 T. vinegar, milk to make 1 cup)
• 2 mashed bananas
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. salt
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
• 1/3 cup unprocessed bran
• 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions: Cream shortening, peanut butter, sugar and eggs together. Mix in buttermilk and bananas. Add soda, salt, flour, oatmeal and bran. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill mini-muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake at 375 degrees for 16-18 minutes. Makes ~40 mini-muffins.

This is the bran that I used. I didn't notice until I downloaded that picture that my 8 year old has turned this into unprocessed Brain. Haha...we do have a few of those around here:)

Here is the birthday boy showing off a couple of his new books from Grandma. Thanks MOM!! ....and yes, the messy chin is permanent. It seems to be anyway:)

Baked Omelet Roll

I found this recipe in an old issue of Taste of home. I made it for breakfast Sunday morning and it was a big hit!! We really enjoyed it. I don't have a 9x13" pan. Can you believe that? Me neither. I have a 9.5x13.5". I used a smaller pan and it still worked well, but I would recommend the 9x13" if you have one.

Baked Omelet Roll

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• other toppings of choice, I added green chili and Canadian Bacon

Directions: Place eggs and milk in a blender. Add flour, sat and pepper; cover and process until smooth. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9 in. x 2 in. baking pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until eggs are set. Sprinkle with cheese and other toppings. Roll up omelet in pan, starting with short side. Place seam side down on a serving platter. Cut into slices.

Win a FREE handbag

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BBQ Chicken Pizza with Alfredo Sauce

This pizza is SO yummy!! This is super easy, unless you want to make each ingredient from scratch. My family LOVES this!! I made mine with a homemade pizza dough, but I have also made it with pizza dough that I have purchased from the bakery at my grocery store. I have made it with homemade Alfredo sauce, and I have made it with store bought sauce.

BBQ Chicken Pizza with Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 12" round pizza crust
• 1 cup Alfredo sauce
• 1 cup shredded chicken in BBQ sauce
• 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions: Roll out pizza crust. Put oil on pizza pan and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place pizza crust on pan. Top with Alfredo sauce, BBQ chicken and cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and starts to brown. All ingredients are depending on taste, add more or less, whatever you like.

Creamy Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

The other day I had ONE chicken breast in my fridge. I also had some left-over homemade cream of mushroom soup that needed to be used. This turned out to be a great way to stretch one chicken breast. SO yummy, you won't be sorry if you try these!!

Creamy Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast(I used one with bone-in and skin-on)
• 1 4 oz. can green chili
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 T Ranch dressing mix, separated
• 1/4 t. ground cumin
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• 1 cup prepared cream of mushroom(1/2 can, 1/2 cup milk)
• 1 can cream of chicken
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 1/2 cups cheese, separated(I used half cheddar and 1/2 Monterrey Jack)
• 1/4 t. oregano
• 7 small flour tortillas

Directions: Cook chicken, green chili, chicken broth, and 1 T. ranch dressing mix in crock pot on low for ~3 hours. Remove skin and bones from chicken. Shred chicken and return to the cock pot. Add cumin, cream cheese and cream of mushroom soup. Cook until crock pot until the cream cheese is melted. In a separate bowl mix the cream of chicken soup, milk,1 T. ranch dressing mix, 1 cup of cheese and oregano. Spread ~1 T of the chicken mixture and the soup/cheese mixture in the middle of the tortilla. Roll and place in a greased baking dish. I had a little of the chicken mixture left, so I added it to the soup/cheese mixture. Spread the soup/cheese mixture over the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until cheese just starts to bubble and brown. Serve with sliced olives, sour cream and lots of salsa.

Carmel Popcorn

This has to be one of my favorite treats!! Unfortunately I can and have eaten an entire batch in one sitting:) I got this recipe from my Aunt Betty several years ago. This makes a soft and chewy carmel popcorn. Seriously you have to try this!! I almost forgot to get a picture of the popcorn and I'm sorry this is not the best picture. The carmel corn was almost gone before I remembered to take the picture.

Carmel Popcorn

Ingredients:

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup karo syrup
• 1 cube butter
• 1 T. water
• dash salt
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 t. baking soda
• 12-16 cups of popped popcorn

Directions: Bring everything except baking soda, vanilla and popcorn to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. Stir over popcorn.

Chicken Strips served 2 ways & Blog Award

I can't believe that it has been a week since I posted last, I have lots of great excuses:). Here are a couple quick and easy dinner ideas for you.

Cajun Chicken Strips

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 T. Cajun seasoning
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-2 t. hot pepper sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot)
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 T. canola oil
• 3 T. butter

Directions: Rinse and dry chicken. Place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap on a cutting board. Pound chicken breast until about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Cut chicken into strips. Mix chicken with Cajun seasoning until coated. Heat oil and butter in large skillet. Dip chicken strips into the eggs beaten with the hot pepper sauce. Coat the chicken with bread crumbs. Cook chicken in the hot oil and butter until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per side. Remove chicken and continue to the next recipes.

Pasta with Cajun Chicken Strips and Grape Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• Half of chicken from recipe above (1 chicken breast)
• drippings from cooking the chicken
• 1 pound angel hair spaghetti noodles
• 1/2 cup cooking liquid, reserve when you drain the pasta
• 3 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• Mozzarella cheese to grate on top

Directions: Cook pasta according to directions. Add tomatoes to the drippings from the chicken and cook until the tomatoes are soft and beginning to brown. Add pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water. Add Parmesan cheese and heat through. Serve with the chicken and grated mozzarella cheese.

Cajun Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 head of your favorite lettuce (I used green leaf)
• leftover Cajun chicken strips, chopped and warm
• 1 pint strawberries, washed and sliced
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (almonds would also be great)
• grated mozzarella cheese
• your favorite dressing (I love this salad with Brianna's Home Style Poppy Seed Dressing)

Directions: Wash, dry and chop(or tear) lettuce. Top with the other ingredients.

One last thing we want to pass along the blog award that we got from Lisa last week! Thanks again Lisa!!

We are passing it on to the following blogs:

Candy at The Courageous Cook

AND

Aggie at Aggie's Kitchen

Check these blogs out for some delicious food:)!!