Hassleback Potatoes

I made these little numbers (from foodnetwork again) on Valentines and they were so good! They had a lot of flavor to them. I dolopped a little sour cream on mine and it made it even better. They take about an hour to bake and you have to baste them the entire time with the sauce but its worth it if you have the time. I wonder what they would be like in the crock pot??? Can you do that with potatoes? I think I'll try it .... If I do I'll let you know how it goes :)

Ingredients
2 small baking potatoes, about 3/4-pound total
2 tablespoons melted butter1/3 cup chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
11/2 tablespoons finely grated hard cheese, such as Parmesan
1 tablespoon fine dry bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Peel potatoes. Cut each potato not quite through in a series of crosswise slices about 1/4-inch apart or closer so that they are still joined together at the bottom. Brush the potatoes with the melted butter and place in a small baking pan. Pour the chicken stock around the potatoes and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast until the potatoes are half cooked, 25 to 30 minutes, basting every 5 minutes with the butter-chicken stock mixture.
In a small bowl combine the grated cheese and bread crumbs and divide the mixture evenly between the tops of the 2 potatoes. Continue roasting without any further basting until the potatoes are crispy on the outside and cooked through, about 30 minutes.
*Note: Exact cooking time will depend on the size of the potatoes. (Mine took a little longer)

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Burritos

Pictureless again!

3-4 pound boneless pork loin roast
1 1/2 cups Coke or Dr. Pepper
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup taco sauce (I use medium)
Place pork in crockpot and add just a little bit of water. Cook on low for 6 hours. Remove pork to cutting board. Drain water and clean out any fat in crockpot. Mix Coke, brown sugar and taco sauce in crockpot. Shred pork, add to sauce, cook on low for another 2 hours. *If my roast is more on the 4 pound side, I do 2 cups sugar and coke and an extra squeeze of taco sauce.

Green Sauce
1 small can diced green chilies
1 TBS sugar
1 small can of green enchilada sauce
Puree chilies with sugar. In small pot, combine with enchilada sauce. Heat through.

Easy Pico de Gallo
Chopped tomatoes
Chopped green onions
Chopped cilantro
Splash of lime juice
Sprinkle of salt
This all depends on personal taste. I go easy on the onions and heavy on the cilantro.

1 box of Zatarains Black Beans and Rice, cooked according to directions on back.

You have to use the uncooked tortillas from Costco for this, they are the best! Spread some beans and rice on tortilla, drizzle with green sauce, add some pork, sprinkle on a little bit of cheese, roll up, pour on more green sauce and top with fresh pico.

All of the other copy cat Cafe Rio recipes I found called for making all the burritos, then baking them, but I didn't see a point in doing that. This makes a ton. We eat leftovers for like 3 days. Yum!

*Update* The last time I made this, I froze half of it. I pulled it out of the freezer, it had been like 2 months, thawed it in the fridge and then just let it simmer on the stove for a little while. I did add an extra squeeze of taco sauce and a tablespoon of brown sugar and it still tasted yummy!

Cookie Sundaes

I didn't take a picture, oh well! They are yummy though, trust me! I made these a few nights ago when we had friends over. So easy to throw together on short notice!

1 tube of chocolate chip cookie dough (or if you have time, make some!)
Ice cream
Ice cream toppings, optional

Fill ramekins half way with cookie dough. Bake at 350 for 12-14 mins, just until the tops are starting to brown. Let cool 5 mins. Place a big scoop of ice cream on top and any other toppings you want! Yummy!

Then I just baked the rest of the cookie dough for the kids. Super easy, super fast!

Chicken Fajitas

You may have seen this one over on My Kitchen Cafe. I made them for dinner last night and they were so yummy!!

Marinade:
¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 3-4 limes)
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons apple cider or red wine vinegar
2 easpoons soy sauce
½ teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon liquid smoke
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder

Fajitas:
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (about 3 large chicken breasts)
1 yellow onion, cut into thin strips
1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red (or orange) pepper, cut into thin strips
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon fresh lime juice (a quick squeeze of a cut lime)
dash of salt and pepper

Combine all marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour the marinade ingredients over the top. Seal the bag and place in the refrigerator and let marinate for 2-3 hours.

After marinading, take chicken out of the bag and discard the marinade. Grill or broil the chicken 4-5 minutes per side (I use my indoor grill pan usually). Remove from pan and tent with foil to keep warm.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat and add the onion, mushrooms and peppers. Stir fry until softened but still crisp tender. Add soy sauce, water, lime juice and salt and pepper. Cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Slice chicken thinly on the diagonal and toss with the vegetables in the skillet. Serve immediately with flour tortillas and top with tomatoes, lettuce, guacamole, cheese, sour cream...the options are endless!

*So I was short on time and my chicken was frozen, so I sliced it into really thin strips and marinaded it for about an hour, hour and a half. I cooked the chicken first in the skillet and there was enough juice and marinade that dripped in from when I put the chicken in, so I skipped the last step of adding more lime juice and soy sauce. Yummy!!!

Saucy Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 ounces each)
1 teaspoon each onion powder, paprika, dried basil, oregano and thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine or additional chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Mashed potatoes, optional

Directions
Flatten chicken to 1/2-in. thickness. In a small bowl, combine the seasonings; sprinkle over both sides of chicken. *Don't use all the seasoning on the chicken, you need the rest for later.*
In a large skillet, cook chicken in 1 tablespoon oil in batches over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.
In the same skillet, saute mushrooms and remaining seasoning mixture in remaining oil until mushrooms are tender. Add garlic; stir 1 minute longer. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in broth and wine or additional broth and cream. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Return chicken to the pan; heat through. Serve with mashed potatoes if desired. Yield: 6 servings

* I halved it and used 8 chicken tenders so I didn't have to flatten them. There was plenty of sauce to go around. So yummy! I've had this recipe for a while but kept putting it off cause nobody likes mushrooms but me, but it turned out really good and the boys loved it!

Easy Stir Fry

I make this twice a week, once with chicken and once with beef.

Red pepper
Orange pepper
Yellow pepper
1-2 Carrots
Little bit of onion
1-2 stalks of Celery
Broccoli
Whole Grain Spaghetti
Chicken or Beef, cut into thin strips
Sauce

Get your noodles going. In large non-stick skillet, cook meat. While that is going, cut up your veggies. I cut a side or section from each pepper and slice it into thin strips. When meat is cooked, remove from skillet and keep warm. Add veggies and just saute a little bit. I usually add just a bit of butter. Add meat back into veggies, pour half the sauce in. During the last 2 mins of cook time for your noodles, add broccoli and sliced carrots. When noodles are done, drain, add meat and veggies and finish off with more sauce. YUM!

This is nice because Carter only eats meat, Braden only eats noodles, and its an easy way to eat "all the colors of the rainbow" and get your veggies in! I buy the big package of stir fry beef when they go on sale at the grocery store and then just freeze them in smaller portions.

We buy our peppers at Costco and those are the colors that come together in a bag, but you could really use whatever you have.

I usually splash in some of the Lawrys Teriyaki marinade with the meat and veggies and then at the end I add House of Tsang Stir Fry Sauce or Kikkoman Teriyaki, the thick one, or whatever I have in the fridge!

Honey Butter

I wrote this down on some paper so I'm not sure where it came from!

2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

Whip together. (I guess, I didn't write down any instructions!) I did grease my measuring cup and spatulas and spoons so the honey and marshmallow fluff wouldn't stick as bad.

My sister makes one that she gives out at Christmas time with a loaf of her wonderful homemade bread.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Must be a Stevens thing, both of our husbands love honey butter!

Chess Cake

I got this recipe from a co-worker. I tasted a bite this morning and knew I would probably loose the paper with the recipe on it so, I'm putting it on here to prevent myself from loosing the recipe :)

Ingredients*
3 Eggs
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 Yellow cake mix
4 cups Powdered sugar
1/2 c butter softened

*Directions
Preheat oven to 350
Grease a 9x13 in cake pan
In a large bowl mix together cake mix, butter and 1 egg
Pat batter into greased 9x13 in pan
In a medium mixing bowl mix together cream cheese, 2 eggs, and sugar
Pour the cream cheese mixture over the cake mix batter
Bake for 35 min or until golden brown
Let cool and cut into bars
Enjoy!

She said they also freeze really well! Cut them up and put in storage bags or tupperware and freeze and then you can take out a little at a time when you want them! YUM!

Cheesy Chili Rice

From foodnetwork mag... AGAIN! (I Just love that magazine!)
Sorry, No picture!

*Ingredients
2 Cups cooked rice
1/2 cup sour cream
1 4 oz can diced green chilies
1 cup chopped green onions (I think I used a little less)
1 cup cheddar cheese (I eyeballed it. I think I used less of this too. I didn't want it to be too greasy and cheesy)
Salt and Pepper
Grated parmasean cheese for top and bottom

*Directions
*Mix all ingredients EXCEPT for parmasean in a bowl.
*Coat a casserole dish with cooking spray or butter and sprinkle half of the parmasean cheese.
*Pour in rice mixture and sprinkle remaining parmasean on top.
*Bake at 450 for 20 min.

This was SOO good. I wasn't sure if Kyle would like it considering the green chili taste but he loved it!! I will be making it again for sure!

Chicken Schitzel with Mustard Sauce

Again, from my foodnetwork mag.

*Ingredients
1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
5 slices white bread torn
3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
4 chicken cutlets, about 1/8 inch thick (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
Vegetable oil, for frying

*Directions
Whisk the yogurt and mustard in a bowl until smooth; set aside.
Pulse the bread in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a shallow dish and add the marjoram, and salt and pepper to taste. In another shallow dish, season the flour with the paprika and nutmeg. Beat the eggs in a third dish. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Dredge each cutlet in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip in the eggs and then in the breadcrumbs, pressing to coat both sides. Place on parchment paper until ready to fry.
Heat 1/8 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add 2 cutlets, gently swirling the skillet so the oil washes over them, and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and season with salt. Repeat with the remaining chicken, adjusting the heat as needed. Serve the schnitzel with the mustard sauce and applesauce, if desired.

Per serving: Calories 629; Fat 35 g (Saturated 5 g); Cholesterol 192 mg; Sodium 953 mg; Carbohydrate 34 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 45 g

Kyle surprisingly really liked this!! So did I. It was Pretty dang good. Although we used chicken breasts and cut it into smaller strips so there was more breading on each bite :)

I served it with the Cheesy Chili Rice above.

White Chocolate Bark

Courtesy of Food Network (Ina Garten) Adapted Slightly

*Ingredients

White chocolate

Chopped Dried Apriocots

Dried Cranberries (Craisins)

Chopped Almonds

*Directions

Melt white Chocolate and spread into a square on parchment paper.

Sprinkle apricots, craisins and almonds on top and let cool.

Jan's Toffee

I don't know if you have this recipe, but I posted a link on my blog for the recipes of the Christmas candy I made... so I'm putting it on here anyway. haha

*Ingredients
2 cups Butter
2 cups Sugar
Melted Chocolate
Chopped almonds

Combine butter and Sugar in a medium sauce pan on Med to Med-High heat. Stirring CONSTANTLY. When it starts to boil turn the heat down to Med-low and keep stirring. The mixture will separate for a while and as soon as the butter absorbs back in and the mixture is a light golden brown, pour onto a large baking sheet. Immediately pour melted chocolate ontop and follow with chopped almonds.

This recipe is tricky!! So if you mess up the first time, dont feel bad!

Bon Bons

*Ingredients
1 boxed cake mix of any flavor
1 can of coordinating frosting
Dipping chocolate

*Directions
*Prepare cake mix according to directions (baking included).
*Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes and then crumble into a large bowl.
*Pour in the frosting and mix until all the cake is moist (I put the frosting in the microwave for a few seconds so it would pour and mix more evenly). Cool in the fridge for 10-20 minutes.
*Form the mixture into balls of desired size and put on wax paper. Freeze for about an hour.
* Melt desired chocolate and dip balls into it. (It took us a while to find a method that worked but we left the ball on the wax paper and would pour about a tablespoon of chocolate over top of the ball and spread it around with our spoon. It was a lot less messy!!)

Some of the flavor combinations we did:
Lemon Cake with Lemon Frosting dipped in White chocolate (YUMM! This was a favorite)
Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting dipped in Milk Chocolate or melted Mint chips.

We did't do this but thought it would be yummy to dip the chocolate cake balls in those reeces chips.... Yum! The combinations are endless!!

WORD TO THE WISE: we tried to dye our white chocolate red with my water based food coloring... NOT a good idea! You must use the paste form of food coloring or the chocolate will sieze up.

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes
2 oz cream cheese
2 TBS milk
1 TBS brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup pecan pieces

Preheat oven to 425. Cut potatoes in half, lengthwise. Place cut sides down on cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake 30 mins or until tender. Scoop out centers into a bowl. Add cream cheese, milk, sugar, and cinnamon. Mash until well blended. Spoon mixture back into potato shells. Top with nuts. Bake 8 mins or until heated through and nuts are toasted.

*So yummy! I think I might make them again tonight! The sweet potatoes I bought were a little small so I did 3 of them and only cooked them for about 25 mins.

Lemon & Garlic Chicken Pasta

This is one of my go-to recipes. I always have the stuff on hand, it's SUPER easy and tastes exceptional! The original recipe calls for shrimp in stead of chicken, but I always have chicken on hand and Kyle prefers it so we sub it for the shirimp. But either is tasty! I was going to take a picture last night when I made it but my camera was dead. Sad.
I don't measure... I will give you ingredients and a rough amount but feel free to alter to your liking :)

*Ingredients
Angel hair or Spaghetti Pasta
1-2 Chicken breasts
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
2-3 Tbs Lemon Juice
1 tsp Minced Garlic (I buy in the jar)
1 tsp chopped fresh Parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmasean Cheese (you may want more... this stuff is good in this dish!)
1 tsp Butter (optional)

*Directions
Get your pasta boiling.. however much you need for howmany you are feeding, I just guess :)

Slice chicken into bitesize pieces salt and pepper them and put in a saute pan with enough olive oil to coat the pan. Add Lemon Juice and cook until chicken is done and browned on the outside.
Drain pasta and put back in the pan you cooked it in. Add chicken, chopped parsley, garlic, salt and pepper, and grated parmasean cheese. Toss together and if it's still a little dry (which it usually is) I like to add a little more lemon juice, some butter, a dash of olive oil and toss again. I used to cook the Garlic with the chicken but then it always ended up burning. I resorted to adding it after and it still tastes just as good!
The cheese melts and give this dish the perfect consistency! And the parsley makes it taste fresh! We absolutely love it. And the best part is... it doesn't get any easier than this recipe!