Mexican Street Corn Casserole

Mexican Street Corn Casserole

24 ounces frozen corn, thawed (if you use canned corn, please ensure you drain well)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (don't use that Miracle stuff...it's gross)
1/3 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon chili powder (or more if you are like us and like a little more spice to your life)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or more if you are like us)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
4 ounces of cojita cheese (if I can find it in Walmart in the middle of Missouri, I think everyone else can find it, but if you can't, you can use queso fresco or as a last resort, feta, but try to find cojita)
2 Tablespoons of cilantro (if you are one of those people who like, it, I don't like it, so we leave it out)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease a 2-3 quart casserole dish.

In a large bowl, mix together corn, mayonnaise, sour cream and lime juice.  Add chili powder, garlic salt, cayenne and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in half of the cheese.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, making sure it's heated through and bubbly.  Before serving sprinkle with the remaining cheese and sprinkle with a little more chili powder and if you want to make it pretty and like cilantro you can throw some on there too.

Yummy Asian Chicken Wing Marinade

Everyone needs a good chicken wing marinade and this is a family favorite.  I always try to keep chicken wings in the freezer for a quick dinner.  Obviously with any marinade the longer you leave your chicken in the better but this marinade is so flavorful that if it's a last minute thing, it's still yummy!

Asian Chicken Wing Marinade

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup chili garlic sauce
juice of 1 lime
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 lbs chicken wings

Mix in a large bowl, set aside 1/2 cup of mixture.  Add chicken wings, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 and place a wire rack if you have one over a baking sheet.  Remove wings from marinade and place on wire rack.  Bake until golden and crispy from 45-60 minutes, flipping wings halfway through.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add reserved marinade.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until thickened, 10 minutes.

Turn oven on broil.  Brush sauce over wings and broil until caramelized, 2-3 minutes.

Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup

This quickly became a family favorite after a sweet friend had me over for lunch and served this soup.  It's quick and easy.  This is a recipe that can be put together in an afternoon and still be full of flavor by dinner time.  (I don't have the link to the site I got this recipe from as I wrote it down on a note card, so I can't give credit but I will put this disclaimer that this is not my original recipe.)

Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound ground Italian sausage (we like to use hot)

24 ounces of spaghetti or marinara sauce

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

8 ounces cream cheese

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

16 ounces frozen cheese tortellini

2 ounces fresh spinach leaves

Instructions:

1.  Brown and crumble sausage until cooked through.  Drain fat.  Place cooked sausage in slow cooker.

2.  Add spaghetti/marinara sauce, broth, cream cheese and mushrooms in the slow cooker.  You can just drop the whole block of cream cheese in, no need to worry about stirring or cutting it up.

3.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 2-3 hours

4.  20 minutes before serving turn heat to HIGH if not already done so and stir in frozen tortellini and spinach.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until tortellini is tender and hot.

5.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

 

Pear Jam

Pear Jam

Ingredients:

4 cups pears, peeled, cored and diced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 box or 6 tablespoons fruit pectin, (I use powered pectin)
4-5 cups of granulated sugar*
1/2 teaspoon butter

Steps

1. Prepare water bath canner, sterilize jars, lids and rings.

2.  Using a heavy 6-8 quart sauce pan add pears, lemon juice and pectin.  Add butter to reduce foaming.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Add sugar.  *if your pears are very ripe, you may need less sugar.  Bring to a rolling boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Skim any foam off.

3.  Pour into prepared jars, ensuring the rims are clean and place lids.  Process for 10 minutes and let rest.

Banana Bread

 

 Banana bread is glorious.  Whenever bananas get a little too ripe, we throw them in the freezer.  I love that I have a freezer full so that when I need to whip something up (like at 5 a.m. this morning as a thank you for someone), I can pull some out and create these beautiful loaves.  I don't often make regular size loaves of any sweet bread.  I typically use my mini loaf pans or my square brownie pan to make smaller versions that I can give out or freeze for my boys.  

This recipe is my favorite for just regular banana bread, I have a different one for one with chocolate chips.  I don't enjoy nuts in my sweet breads but you could add any type of nut if that's what you like.

I think the key for this recipe is super ripe bananas and actually whisking the wet ingredients together to get a good mixture of all the sweetness from the sugar and bananas.  Oh..yeah...its not the healthiest of recipes with 1.5 cups of sugar!

I typically double this recipe.
 
 Banana Bread

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large), if it's a little more or less it's fine...I tend to use a little more
• ¾ cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat loaf pans with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pans and smooth top.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center of bread comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan to release the bread. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely.

If you want to just bake one big loaf (9x5x3), spray pan and bake for 60-70 minutes.

I can get 8 mini loaves with this recipe.

Fair warning, this bread is delicious and addicting!!!

Stove Top Mac & Cheese

 

 

My kids really enjoy mac and cheese  Me...not so much.   I have tried a few different recipes but my boys were never really impressed by all the fancy cheeses I used to upgrade a childhood favorite.  Yesterday after my husband and middle son were stuck in traffic for hours because of bad weather and accidents, I wanted to have something for them that was comforting and warm.  Alton Brown has rarely let me down and he didn't yesterday.  This was surprisingly easy and delicious.  Even I ate some and that is saying a lot!  Of course, like most of my recipes, I had to double this.  It was very cheesy and delicious.

 

Stove Top Mac & Cheese

 

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
6 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded  (It's always best to shred your own cheese as it melts much better than the already shredded cheese in the bag)

n a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

Zucchini Bread

This is my favorite Zucchini recipe.  I make lots of mini loaves and freeze them for my kids.  It's not the healthiest recipe but it's sure yummy!


Zucchini Bread

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup of vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups of grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans or coat with cooking spray. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and mix thoroughly. Beat together, oil, eggs,white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Add flour mixture to the creamy mixture and mix well. Gently add the zucchini and walnuts until well combined. Pour into greased bread pans and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife is inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for a few minutes moving to a rack. Enjoy.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I found a good deal on Strawberries at our commissary last week and then ended up getting a container of strawberries in our weekly produce box which meant I was being overrun by strawberries.  My boys eat a lot but we  had a lot of fruits and vegetables in our house and I did not want these wonderful treats to go to waste.  I decided to make some freezer jam.  It's so simple and you end up with a delightful, fresh tasting treat.  I had enough strawberries to make this recipe twice.

My boys think the jam is a bit sweet (they said it tastes like strawberry soda).  I guess it would be sweet given it has 4 cups of sugar!  This jam takes about 30 minutes to make and then you let it sit for 24 hours.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

 

4 cups strawberries, washed and cut in half

4 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

1 package (1 3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin 

 

• Mash strawberries with potato masher or in food processor until slightly chunky (not pureed) to make 2 cups crushed strawberries. Mix strawberries and sugar in large bowl. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Mix water and pectin in 1-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour hot pectin mixture over strawberry mixture; stir constantly 3 minutes.
• Immediately spoon mixture into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe rims of containers; seal. Let stand at room temperature about 24 hours or until set.
• Store in freezer up to 6 months or in refrigerator up to 3 weeks. Thaw frozen jam and stir before serving.

 

Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

I will have to make this again soon and add a picture but today one of my friends was asking about what to feed 10 teenage boys and after a bit of discussion this popped into my mind and I figured I'd share the recipe here.

I got this recipe from one of the ladies I went to church with in Texas and now it's one of our go to casseroles when I need to take a breakfast dish to an event.  I love that you can prep it ahead of time and bake the morning of.

Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

1 pkg tater tots or frozen hashbrowns.
8 eggs
1 (15 oz) can evaporated milk
1 small package sausage/ham/bacon
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped green pepper

Brown sausage (or any other meat you are using), drain and remove grease.  Butter or spray a 9x13 casserole dish.  Set aside.  Place tator tots in large skillet with about 1 Tablespoon of oil.  Heat the tots all the way through and break the apart with a spatula.  (You don't have to heat them up but I like the consistency better when I do).  Distribute the evenly on the bottom of your casserole dish.  Sprinkle meat with onions and peppers  over potatoes.  In a separate bowl, crack the eggs and whisk until blended.  Add the milk, salt, pepper and dry mustard; beat well.  Pour over potatoes.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes until eggs are set.  Leave uncovered for last 10-15 minutes of baking.

*You can add whatever you want, mushrooms would add a nice taste.  Serve with salsa or ketchup.

Turkey Pot Pie

 We're a week out from Thanksgiving and we still have a bit of turkey left in the fridge.  Time to use it up with this delicious dish.  It's also a cold, snowy day so what better to warm up with?  It's simple, makes your house smell good and is so tasty!

Turkey Pot Pie
2 pie crusts
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1/2 cup finely diced celery
2 small russet potatoes, diced
2 cups leftover turkey
1/4 cup flour
3 cups low- chicken or turkey broth (more if needed!)
3/4 cup heavy cream
Thyme, fresh or dry, to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Melt butter in a skillet . Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until translucent (a couple of minutes.)
Add turkey and stir. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
Pour in chicken or turkey broth, stirring constantly. Add potatoes.  Pour in cream. Bring to a slow boil and allow mixture to cook and thicken for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and thyme to taste.

This is where you have to decide if you want pie crust on both the bottom and top or just the top.  I personally like to have it on top and bottom.  If you want both as well, then be sure to roll out your crust and place in the bottom of your pan.
 Pour mixture into a casserole dish or deep pie pan.
Roll out other crust so that it’s about 1 inch larger than the pan you’re using.
Place the crust on top of the pot pie mixture, and press crust into the sides of the dish. Cut vents in the top of the crust.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until very golden and bubbly and the crust is done.
Allow to cool for a little bit before serving.

Buttermilk Pancakes

It's a snow day here in Missouri!  No school for the kids and no work for my husband.  My wonderful husband decided he was in the mood for some pancakes so he whipped some up.  The roads are pretty bad and our commissary is closed and we had no buttermilk...so we made our own!  These pancakes are so delicious!  

Buttermilk Pancakes

2 eggs2 cups buttermilk (to make your own buttermilk, take just under 1 cup of milk and add 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for 5 minutes).
4 tablespoons butter, melted
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
oil or cooking spray (for cooking)

Step 1: In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until smooth and let batter set for a few minutes.
Step 2: Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Brush lightly with oil or spray with cooking spray. You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water, if  or when the drops start to dance its hot enough.  
Step 3: Pour ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone.

Sinfully Delicous Chex Mix

One of my sweet girls that was in my young women group in Texas posted this delicious recipe the other day. I'm not a fan of the name because I think it's dumb. So I changed it...because I can. Because it's ridiculously rich with sweetness, I decided to call it sinfully delicious...because it is.  Of course, I had to change it up due to unavailability to the exact ingredients but it's all good, because that's the fun of baking/cooking.  You can make whatever you want, however you want.  Have fun, go crazy and remember this isn't diet friendly, it's sinful...I mentioned that before, remember?

This was teenager tested and approved, enjoy and don't think about the calories or you won't eat it and you'll be missing out and that will be sad. 

Sinfully Delicious Chex Mix
original recipe found here

8 cups Chocolate Chex® cereal (I used vanilla chex, because that's what the commissary had)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

6 tablespoons butter or margarine

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped

1 cup MINIATURE marshmallows (I used some fun ice cream flavor marshmallows I found and chopped into smaller pieces)

1/2 cup caramel bits (found by the chocolate chips in the baking aisle -- or chop up regular caramels)

1 Tbsp heavy cream

1/2 cup milk chocolate baking chips 

1/2 cup white chocolate baking chips

1 tsp coarse sea salt

Directions

• Into large microwavable bowl, measure cereal; set aside. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper or foil.
• In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour caramel mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Microwave on High 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on cookie sheet. Cool 10 minutes. Break into bite-sized pieces.
• Make sure Chex mixture is cool to the touch (so candy doesn't melt.) Evenly sprinkle  peanut butter cups candy and miniature marshmallows over Chex mixture.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave caramel baking bits and cream uncovered on High about 1 minute or until chips can be stirred smooth. Use a spoon or fork to drizzle over snack. Microwave the milk chocolate baking chips next (adding a teaspoon of oil will help it melt better and make it smoother), starting with 20-seconds and stirring, then at 20 second intervals until the mixture is completely smooth (microwave temps vary, so watch the chocolate and stir frequently until it's of drizzling consistency). Drizzle over the snack mixture. Then microwave the white baking chips in 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth, and drizzle that over the snack mixture. Quickly sprinkle coarse salt over all while candy drizzles are still wet.
• Refrigerate until set. Break apart and store in tightly covered container.

Copy Cat Zuppa Toscana

You may have heard that we live in place that some like to call "Lost in the Woods".  That name usually bothers me because I really love this place, however there are moments when I'm reminded that some of the creature comforts are a bit further away from us than we'd like.  Places like big name restaurants like Olive Garden.  I don't usually miss restaurants since the boys are perfectly content eating whatever Kevin or I come up with but every now and again we miss some of our favorites...like this soup.  Thankfully I found this recipe years ago on the internet and it's been a family favorite on cold days like today.  Like most recipes, we doubled it to feed our growing family of boys.

Zuppa Toscana

1 lb spicy Italian sausage - browned, drained & crumbled (I like to use a mix of hot and mild)
1/2 lb smoked bacon - cooked & chopped (bacon bits work well too!)
1 quart water
(2) 14.5 oz cans chicken broth 

 2 large russet potatoes - scrubbed clean and cut into small cubes with skin still on (I've used red potatoes and they were just fine)

 2 garlic cloves - peeled, crushed
1 med. onion - peeled, chopped
2 cups chopped kale 

1 cup heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper - to taste

•  Place water, broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion in a pot; simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender.

•  Add sausage and bacon to pot; simmer for 10 minutes.

•  Add kale and cream to pot; season with salt and pepper; heat through.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

This was another recipe that came across my Facebook news feed and I thought they looked absolutely delightful.  I recently purchased a big bag of dried cranberries from some local Mennonites and have been wondering what I was going to do with them.  This was just the perfect recipe to throw some in to!  One of the things I loved the most about this recipe was that you didn't need two bowls like you often do when you make cookies, it all got thrown into my kitchen-aid. 
I baked these for our local group of missionaries, I hope they enjoy them.  I'd like to say I tasted them but my husband greedily took the one I had left for myself with him when he went to work.  I will have to make another batch soon and take better pictures and stash a few for myself!

 

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Original recipe found here:

Ingredients

• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp ground ginger
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup (5 oz) dried cranberries
• 1 (12-oz) bag white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with an electric mixer) combine sugars and butter. Beat ingredients until they are light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Leave mixer on and add eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, salt and slowly sprinkle baking soda in. Once ingredients are well combined, turn mixer to low and add flour. Mix until just combined. Add dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Mix to combine (or fold in if you prefer).
3. Using a 1 tablespoon scooper or heaping teaspoon full drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets.
4. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Dutch Oven Chicken and Dumplings

 

 We are a huge Boy Scout family and one of the things we love the most about being in Scouting for over a decade now is the opportunity we have had to learn how to cook in a dutch oven.  Kevin recently went on a road trip to Georgia and along the way stumbled across the huge Lodge Factory Store and called me giddy like a young school boy.  He came back with a few more cast iron pieces to add to our already growing collection and also the desire to cook more with the dutch ovens.  Since he's been back (two weeks) we have cooked a lot with dutch ovens.  It's so easy and fun and what's better than the smell of charcoal and amazing food on a crisp, fall evening?  Here is one of our favorite dishes to make.

 Dutch Oven Chicken & Dumplings


Ingredients

• 3 cans chicken broth (about 6 cups)
• 3 celery stalks
• 6 carrots
• 1 medium onion
• 2 tbsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp pepper
• 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken (sometimes I use rotisserie chicken you can buy at grocery stores, I just caution that you may need to use low sodium broth if you do, otherwise you may have a very salty dish).
• 2 cups flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Prepare your charcoal, you will need 18-25 depending on the size of your dutch oven.
2. Put the broth in the dutch oven.
3. Add the vegetables.
4. Add the chicken, parsley, and pepper.
5. Place the dutch oven on approximately15 charcoal brickets, placing 10 or so on the lid and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
6. Simmer for at least 30 minutes.
7. Put the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
8. Add the milk and oil to the dry ingredients and stir until a stiff dough forms.
9. Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto the broth mixture. Don’t stir.
10. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Try not to peek too often!
11. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Creamy and Spicy Corn Soup

I should have pulled out my good camera and taken a pic but I didn't, sorry!

Facebook is apparently the place to share recipes.  My feed is constantly flooded with recipes and occasionally I'll try one.  Our weather here in Missouri is finally cooling off and today actually felt like fall!  I saw this recipe yesterday and decided today would be a good day to try it out.  I had everything at my house and whipped it up.  I have to say I was quite pleased with it.  Because it's a "healthy" recipe, it isn't heavy and it has a very refreshing taste.  It's so simple to make.  I didn't fancy it up with any garnishes and still enjoyed it!

Creamy and Spicy Corn Soup
(original recipe posted here)

Ingredients

• 5 ears fresh sweet corn
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 a medium yukon gold potato, chopped
• 2-3 cups vegetable stock (the more stock you add, the thinner your soup will be) I actually used half vegetable stock and half chicken stock
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Cut the onion, potato, and trim the corn kernels off the 5 ears of corn.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, saute for 5 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the potato and broth, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are very soft – about 10 minutes. Then add the fresh corn and cook through for a couple minutes more.

Add a bit more vegetable broth if your soup mixture looks too thick. Add all of your spices (cumin, chili powder, cayenne, black pepper). Then puree with an immersion/hand blender, or with a regular blender/food processor.

Top with a variety of toppings: cilantro, tomatoes, fresh corn, crushed corn chips, avocado, or anything else you can think of! Enjoy!

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

Buffalo Chicken lettuce wraps with pineapple fried rice

This is seriously the easiest recipe ever!  It's probably why I never blogged it before.  All of my boys love this and so do many of their friends!


Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

1 bag of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or whatever other piece you want, my husband used chicken thighs in Korea)
1 bottle of Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce
2 T butter

Place breasts in crockpot (I usually just throw them in frozen), pour bottle of wing sauce over chicken, turn crockpot on low and cook for 6-8 hours.  The chicken will be so tender it shouldn't take much to shred, we usually do it right in the crockpot.  During last 30 minutes to hour of cooking, throw in the butter to create creaminess. 

That's it!  Sometimes we serve on a bun and have chicken sandwiches.  Sometimes we just eat it alone or turn it in to lettuce wraps.  This can be eaten warm or cold. 

Enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

This recipe was a Pinterest find from months ago and I finally got around to making it today for lunch.  It was delicious!  We will definitely be making this again.  It didn't take much time at all and I love that I didn't have to double the recipe, it made plenty for the family and we still had leftovers.  The original recipe was posted here.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA PASTA

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 {4 oz.} can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 {10 oz.} cans green chili enchilada sauce

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese (use whatever you like, mozzarella or cheddar & jack, whatever makes you happy!)

1 cup sour cream

Penne pasta

Cook chicken, drain, and shred.  Meanwhile boil pasta according to package and chop the veggies. Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for about 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauces.  Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through.  Remove pan from heat and toss in the sour cream.  Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through (you do not need to put back on heat, the sauce is warm enough that it will heat up the sour cream without curdling and still stay warm enough to serve).

Drain pasta & return to pot.  Pour sauce over pasta and mix well.   

You can garnish it with whatever you want or eat it alone, it's still delicious!

The boys gave it a big thumbs up!

Shrimp & Garlic Pasta

 Back when we were getting ready to move from Fort Knox, KY to Fort Hood, TX one of our friends from our church ward invited us to dinner at his house.  He fed us a fabulous meal that looked somewhat complex.  When I asked him for the recipe, I was amazed at how remarkably simple it was.

*Note, it's not really an exact science with this recipe, adjust as needed for the amount of people you are feeding.

Shrimp and Garlic Pasta

2 packages (one package serves about two people) - Creamy Garlic Shells (Knorr Italian Sides)  
Large or Jumbo - deveined, uncooked shrimp (about 6 per person)
*1/2 cup fresh cilantro
*1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

Prepare garlic shells according to package.  While that is cooking, soak shrimp in warm water to thaw if frozen or simply rinse and drain.  Chop cilantro and tomatoes, set aside.

When shells are done cooking, put in microwave safe bowl, add shrimp, cilantro and tomatoes.  Cook in microwave for about 5 minutes, being careful to not overcook shrimp so they become rubbery.

*you can adjust the measurement of cilantro and tomatoes depending on how much you like of either.  I tend to add more tomato and less cilantro since I'm not a big cilantro fan.  I also usually use 4 packages of the shells for my family and maybe adjust the cilantro and tomatoes by 1/4 to 1/3 cup, not exactly doubling and the flavor is still there.

Serve with salad and garlic bread!  This meal takes about 30 minutes total to make and it is delicious!

Caramel Toffee Dip

I forgot to take a picture of the dip BEFORE I let a group of teen girls attack!

 I am pretty sure that this is the recipe one of my sweet friend's gave me a couple years ago after she brought it to one of our Army unit events.  It was SOOOO good.  Tonight I was in charge of an activity for a small group of girls in our youth group at church.  I wanted to bring them a treat and wanted it to be somewhat healthy.  I decided to cut up apples and then canceled out the healthy with this AMAZING dip.  It's so easy to make and so yummy!

Caramel Toffee Dip

• 1 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup heath toffee bits

Combine the cream cheese and brown sugar.  Add vanilla and mix until smooth.  Mix in toffee bits.  Serve with apple wedges!