Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

These are my family's favorite enchiladas!  The first time we had this meal was a few years ago when the boys and I were all totally sick with the flu.  I didn't have the energy to cook, and so at night we would have a can of Campbell's soup, or one night I just warmed up some Country Crock Mashed Potatoes that we had in the refrigerator, because I didn't have the energy to do anything else.  My sister, Angie, offered to bring dinner one night.  I was so thankful to have a warm meal that had been prepared for me!!!  This is one of those times I really should have called the Relief Society President and told her I was in need...but just like most of you women, I didn't want to put anyone out (naughty me!).  These were just amazing!!!  I have made these for dinner when we have had company over, and everyone wants the recipe.  They are unique and are one of those few recipes that tastes better as it sits in the fridge and is great for lunch or dinner for the next day (if you have any leftover).

I usually make a pan of these once a week to put in a tupperware container in the fridge.  I have kids, and a husband who are constantly coming and going.  If I have some on hand, they can grab some good, homemade food as they run home from school and head to work, or other activities.  The entire family rates these enchiladas a 9.5 or a 10.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Marinade:
1/2 C.. honey
 6 TBLS. lime juice ( 2 large limes)
 1 TBLS. chili powder
3/4  tsp. garlic powder.

1 lb. cooked shredded chicken breast (or 2 cans chicken)

16 oz. Monterey Jack and Colby Cheese  (I suppose you could use whatever you have on hand and it would be good)

Enchilada Sauce:

1 small can Green Chile Enchilada Sauce ( I prefer mild)
1/3 C. sour cream

 You cook 1 lb. chicken breast and shred it (I actually use 2 cans of chicken. It is way faster and just as good). Put the shredded chicken in the marinade and marinate it for at least half an hour.  Lightly grease a 9 x13  pan. When you are ready to assemble the enchiladas, make the enchilada sauce.  Fill flour tortillas with the chicken and about a tablespoon of cheese. Place the tortillas seam side down in pan. When the chicken is gone, keep the leftover marinade and add to it the enchilada sauce and sour cream.  Mix together and then pour all of that over the enchiladas. Sprinkle cheese on top of the sauce covered enchiladas. Bake at  350* for half an hour. ( I like to make a little extra marinade...it is really good.) This makes about 10-11 enchiladas! 



Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Cutler's Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies




These Cutler's Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies look divine!  They are one of the first things I pinned when I started Pinterest.  They are SWEET, almost too sweet.  They are good, but not out of this world.  They are a little time consuming since you have to frost them twice.  My family compares all cookies to my chocolate chip cookies, which they give a 10.  These cookies one gave a 7 and the others an 8.  Don't get me wrong, these aren't horrible cookies, just not one of their favorites.

Cutler's Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies
Curt Cutler

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 1/4 cups cake flour ( he uses cake flour in all of Cutler's cookies) (only 2 1/4 C flour if you use All-Purpose flour)
1- 12 oz bag Reese's Peanut Butter chips (no substitutions)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in center of oven.
Cream together butter, sugars, salt, baking soda and powder.  Add vanilla and eggs. Mix well.

Add flour and peanut butter chips. Mix just until flour and chips are blended together.
Using a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, or just a large spoon, scoop into 2 inch balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet about 4 inches apart.  I bake about 8 cookies per sheet.
Bake for about 12 minutes, or until set.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter, soft-room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (not natural)
milk to thin to proper consistency (whole milk is best)

Cream together room-temperature butter and powdered sugar. Add peanut butter and beat until smooth. Add milk a tablespoon at time, just until frosting is smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Chocolate Frosting
1 cup butter or 1/2 and 1/2 blend butter/margarine
5-6 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (or less if you like a lighter cocoa frosting)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 to 1/3 cup milk

Cream butter and 5 cups powdered sugar. Add cocoa and vanilla. Add milk a tablespoon at a time until frosting is smooth. If needed, add more powdered sugar.

After cookies are cooled, frost with peanut butter frosting. Then frost on top of the peanut butter frosting with the chocolate frosting. When spreading the chocolate frosting on top of the peanut butter frosting, be very gentle and leave a small space between the edge of the peanut butter frosting and the chocolate frosting for a layered frosting look .







BBQ Root Beer Crockpot Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

I made BBQ Root Beer Shredded Chicken Sandwiches for dinner last night.  They were a hit!  I love dinners where you can just throw everything in the crockpot and let it cook.  This is definitely a meal I will make again.  Rating: 8.5


Crockpot BBQ Root Beer Chicken - serves 8-10
Ingredients
6 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 pounds)
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
16 oz. Root Beer
32 oz. barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ)
8 – 10 sandwich rolls
8-10 Slices of Monterey Jack/Colby Cheese (or your favorite cheese)
caramelized onions

Directions
In a small bowl, combine onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Spread seasoning mix generously on each chicken breast and place in crockpot.
Pour in Root Beer.
Add barbecue sauce.
Cook on low for 8 hours, stirring a few times during the day.
After 8 hours, remove the chicken and shred with two forks.
Return chicken to crockpot.
Mix it thoroughly with the barbecue sauce, and cook for another 15-30 minutes until sauce is more absorbed.
Place chicken on rolls, cover with a slice of cheese, add caramelized onions. Or, don't add the caramelized onions yet, but place under a broiler and melt the cheese, then add the onions.  When I served it, I served it like a French Dip Sandwich.  I gave everyone a small bowl of the bbq/rootbeer sauce to dip their sandwiches in...so good!!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Sweet Potato Pie

See this beautiful pie???  My 15 year old, Ryan made it!  Homemade crust and all.  It was his first time making a pie, and I think he did a pretty great job!!

So, none of us in my family had ever had Sweet Potato Pie.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we don't live in the South?  Who knows? .... but our son's friend, Jacob, said we were really missing out so over the holidays he baked us a Sweet Potato Pie.  It was incredible!!  It is similar to a Pumpkin Pie, but believe it or not, we all agreed we actually like this a little better than Pumpkin Pie, and we love Pumpkin Pie. It also grows on you.  We found we liked it best a day after baking (it gets better as it sits) and has been refrigerated.  A little bit of whipping cream on top and you are in heaven!  Rating: 9.5


SWEET POTATO PIE

INGREDIENTS

8 tbsp. melted and cooled butter
1 tsp.  salt
2 cups boiled, peeled, and mashed sweet potatoes (really mash them!)
1 cup sugar
½ cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS

 Heat oven to 375°. In a bowl, whisk together  melted butter and salt, sweet potatoes, sugar, milk, vanilla, and eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth.  Pour into prepared pie crust and smooth with a rubber spatula.  Bake until crust is lightly browned and filling is set, about 1 hour. Let cool completely before serving.

Butternut Squash Soup



If you have every been to the Blue Lemon and tried their Butternut Squash Soup, you know it is to die for!!!! I was craving their soup, so I tried to find a recipe that was close to Blue Lemon's.  This Butternut Souprecipe comes pretty darn close (minus the delicious cinnamon crouton things).   I added 1/4 C. of sugar to sweeten it up and I skipped the onion.  I also used half and half instead of the heavy cream.  I got this recipe off of Allrecipes.com.  Rating: 8.0

Ingredients Edit and Save

Original recipe makes 6 serving
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Directions

  1. In a large microwave safe dish combine squash, onions and butter. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Peel squash. Stir in broth and cook on high for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until squash is tender. Puree squash, onions and broth in a food processor or blender. Add cream, salt and pepper, and microwave on high for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until heated through. Flavor with nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon to taste.
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Creamy Confetti Corn with Bacon


This recipe, Creamy Confetti Corn with Bacon I tried at my sister, Angie's, when she had us over for dinner.  It was such a hit, I had to make it myself.  It is a great side to a meal and is delicious!!!  Everyone in our family loves it.  I don't make it too often, as it is a little caloric, but I do use the 1/3 less fat cream cheese, and you can't even tell.  My rating for this is a 9.5!!  You can get to all of the recipes I post by clicking on the link, but I've decided to also add it at the bottom so you can get to it easily.  This was from Mel's Kitchen Cafe adapted from Southern Living.

Creamy Confetti Corn with Bacon
YIELD: SERVES 6-8 AS A SIDE DISH
INGREDIENTS
  • 8 slices bacon, chopped
  • 2 12-ounce packages frozen corn kernels, white or yellow
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion, white, yellow or red
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, light or regular, cubed
  • 1-2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 green onions, green parts finely chopped (white parts discarded)
DIRECTIONS
  1. In a large nonstick skillet, cook the chopped bacon until golden and crisp. Scoop the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and discard all the bacon grease except for a thin coating on the pan, maybe a teaspoon or so.
  2. Add the corn, onion, and red pepper, and cook over medium heat, stirring every so often, until the vegetables are tender and the corn is heated through, 6-8 minutes. Add the cream cheese and milk, stirring until the cream cheese melts and the mixture is evenly combined.
  3. Stir in the sugar, salt and pepper. Add more salt to taste if needed. Stir in the green onions.
  4. Serve warm topped with the reserved bacon.
  5. This dish can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. Scoop the creamy corn mixture into an oven-safe dish, sprinkle with the bacon and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator. When ready to eat, heat the corn dish in a 325 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
Recipe Source: adapted from MyRecipes by way of Southern Living (I decreased salt, omitted half-and-half and used a splash of milk, omitted green pepper and used sliced green onions,