Banana Orange Icee

1 banana
1 1/2 cups orange juice
tray of ice cubes

Mix well in blender. Yum!

* This is what I make for the boys instead of giving them popsicles on hot days - its just a little bit healthier.

Easy Greek Salad

Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Yellow Peppers
Orange Peppers
-Chop into bite size pieces. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle with Italian dressing or olive oil. Mix well.

Optional:
Feta Cheese
Kalmata Olives

I make this almost every night. We love it!

Sweet and Spicy Crockpot Chicken

Sweet and Spicy Slow-Cooker Chicken

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I used 1/4 teaspoon)

Coat the inside of your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in the crockpot. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, or until chicken shreds very easily with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Chicken will absorb liquid after it is shredded.)

* I found this on My Kitchen Cafe a while ago and made it a few times, but I had forgotten about it until I saw it again on Sisters Cafe. Simple and easy! If you wanted to give it more flavor, you could probably use one of the many different types of diced tomatoes. I use it for chicken tacos and quesedillas. The first time I made it, the chicken absorbed all the water, but today it was really watery. Go figure. We like it best in just plain old chicken and cheese quesedillas, dipped in your Cafe Rio Creamy Cilantro Dressing.

Home Made Granola

This is absolutely delicious with yogurt and fresh fruit (raspberries, strawberries, even peaches). I have had it almost every day for breakfast. I have eated 2 batches ALL BY MYSELF!

Mix and set aside
- 4 cups oats
- 1 cup sunflower seeds (can add other nuts or leave out entirely)
- 1 cup wheat germ
- ½ cup wheat bran or blend up All Bran)
- 1/3 cup powdered milk
- ½ t salt
- 3 t cinnamon

Over medium heat, mix until sugar dissolves and boil for 2 minutes*.
- ¾ cup oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla

1. Poor the mixture over the dry ingredients and place in a 9 x 13 pan.
2. Cook at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Stir and cook an additional 15 minutes. Feel free to add raisins and dried banana chips after the first 10 minutes

*if you want crunchier granola in larger clumps boil the sugar mixture longer.

Haggen's Chicken Panini Sandwich

When we lived in Portland, there was a grocery store down the street from us called Haggen. Best store ever! We loved it. They always had the best sandwiches in their deli and this was one of our favorites. I have been craving it lately, but couldn't remember what was in it, so I emailed the store and they sent me the recipe. I was too hungry and excited that I forgot to take a picture!

Pesto Mayonnaise
-1 Lb Best Foods Mayonnaise
-2 Ounces Pesto
*Obviously I didn't do this much, I just mixed a small part of each.

CHICKEN PANINI
1 ea Soft Hoagie Roll
Pesto Mayonnaise
Shaved Asiago (I splurged and bought Asiago and it was worth it!)
Avocado sliced
Red Onion, sliced
Chicken Breast (from the deli counter)
sprinkle Kosher Salt
sprinkle Black Pepper, ground
Pesto Mayonnaise

Layer ingredients in order given. Super yummy!

*Maybe I'll remember to take a picture tomorrow when I make these again for lunch!

Emeril's Kicked-Up Tuna Melts

From Everyday Food

Serves 4

* 4 cans (5 ounces each) solid white tuna packed in water, drained
* 1/3 cup mayonnaise, plus more for spreading
* 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
* 4 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
* 1 teaspoon ground pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled between your fingers
* 4 slices crusty bread
* 8 thin slices tomato
* 4 slices provolone

Directions

1. Heat broiler, with rack in highest position. In a medium bowl, combine tuna, mayonnaise, onion, capers, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano and stir until thoroughly combined.
2. Arrange bread on a baking sheet and spread a little mayonnaise on each slice. Divide tuna salad evenly among slices, then top each with 2 slices tomato and 1 slice cheese. Broil until cheese is golden brown and bubbling, 3 to 4 minutes.

~Simple, yummy, and perfect for a fast summer night dinner!

~I halved it, only using 2 cans of tuna and omitted the capers, yuck!, and I got 6 sandwiches out of it. I just used a small loaf of sourdough bread - next time I will toast the bread a little first. It would probably be good with canned chicken too.

Easy "Ice Cream"

From "Our Best Bites" (Click for better for instructions)

Ingredients:
Frozen Bananas

Pulse in food processor until resembles crumbs.

Watermelon Lemonade - Part II

So after having that watermelon juice at Jan's house, I was thinking....

-Cubed watermelon
-1 or 2 TBS frozen lemonade concentrate
-Splash of Watermelon Juice (Do you remember the brand, Tropicana?)
Ice cubes (Or make ice cubes out of the juice)

Blend well!

Anywho, I have yet to try it. Chime in with your thoughts!

Jan's Barbecue Sauce for Chicken

Mmm, the best sauce ever!

Brown a few chicken breasts; set aside.

Saute in 2 TBSP of butter:
1/2 c celery, finely chopped
1/2 c onions, finely chopped

Then add:
2 TBSP vinegar
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c lemon juice
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp salt
Bring to a simmer then pour over browned chicken breasts. Cook on low, covered, for about 2 hours.

-OR-

Crock Pot Instructions:
I place about 7-8 frozen chicken tenders in the bottom of my crock pot. I follow the sauce recipe, except I reduce the water to 1/4 cup, but I think it would be okay without any at all. Cook on low for 6 hours. I always serve mashed potatoes on the side cause we like to put the extra sauce on them.

~Yum! I made this on Sunday and my mouth is watering just thinking about it again! Definitely one of our favorites.

Peach Spritzer

(Not the best picture, oh well!)

1 liter Peach flavored Sparkling Water
1 can Peach Nectar
Fresh Mint for garnish, optional

Chill both (or serve over ice); Mix 1/4 peach nectar and 3/4 sparkling water, stir well. Enjoy! For a little stronger flavor and thicker drink, mix half and half.

Nothing fancy, but sooo yummy! I love peach ANYTHING and this tastes especially yummy on a hot day. You can usually find the nectar in the Mexican aisle.

Toasted Artichoke Sandwiches

Another recipe from Simple and Delicious

• 4 Servings
• Prep/Total Time: 20 min.

Ingredients

• 1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and chopped
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil (I used olive oil)
  
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
• 8 slices Italian bread (1/2 inch thick)
• 8 spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions

• In a large skillet, saute the artichokes, pepper and onion in oil until tender; stir in cheese. Remove from the heat.
• In a food processor, combine mayonnaise and tomatoes; cover and process until finely chopped.
• Spread four bread slices with half of the mayonnaise mixture; layer with a spinach leaf, artichoke mixture and remaining spinach. Spread remaining bread with mayonnaise mixture; place on top. Butter outsides of sandwiches.
• On a griddle, toast sandwiches for 2-3 minutes on each side or until bread is lightly browned. Yield: 4 servings.

*I used a yellow pepper cause that's all I had, I'm sure it doesn't matter either way, I wonder if roasted red peppers from a jar would be good in this. I didn't stir the cheese into the veggies, I waited until I put the veggies on the sandwich and then sprinkled the cheese on top of that. I got 3 sandwiches out of this and I think I have enough leftover for 2 more for lunch tomorrow. I bought a loaf of Italian bread already pre-sliced at the store so the slices would be super thin and then I skipped the butter part and just grilled these on my panini grill. I couldn't find sun dried tomatoes packed in water, so I just bought the ones packed in oil and rinsed them off.
*Dall was skeptical when I was making them, but he loved them and said this recipe is definetely a keeper! I loved them too, by the way.... :)

Chicken Taquitos

From Our Best Bites (link)

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated Mexican blend cheese

small flour tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

*I cannot say enough good things about this, we loved loved loved them! Even Carter ate them! I didn't have kosher salt so I just used regular salt. I made the whole batch of filling and just made enough taquitos for us then the next day I used the leftover as filling in quesedillas.

She included a dipping sauce recipe, but its pretty much the same as your Cafe Rio dressing recipe.

*For easy shredded chicken, I put 3 frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot with 1 cup chicken broth and sprinkled some McCormick Montreal Chicken Seasoning on them, just cook on low all day or until chicken is done. This made about 3 cups so I had some leftover. So now I have leftover to use for BBQ Chicken Pizza!

Taco Macaroni

From Simple and Delicious

* 6 Servings
* Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients

* 1 package (16 ounces) elbow macaroni
* 1 pound ground beef
* 3/4 cup chopped onion
* 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
* 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
* 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
* 1 envelope taco seasoning
* Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

* Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
* Stir in the tomatoes, soup, tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until thickened.
* Drain macaroni; stir into meat mixture and heat through. Sprinkle with cheese. Yield: 6 servings.

I know it sounds kinda weird, but we love this. It makes a lot for just the 4 of us, so I will make the whole batch of sauce and freeze half of it, and then just make enough noodles for us.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

From my Simple and Delicious magazine...

Shrimp and Avocado Salad
-Serves 4

1 lb uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp olive oil
5 cups of heart of romaine salad mix
1 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and thinly sliced

Cilantro Vinaigrette:
7 TBSP olive oil
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In a large skillet, cook the shrimp, garlic, chili powder, salt and cumin in oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until shrimp turn pink; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine romaine, corn, peas, and red pepper; divide among 4 serving plates. Top each with shrimp and avocado. In a small bowl (or my Magic Bullet) combine vinaigrette ingredient and drizzle over salads.

*I halved it for us. I already had frozen cooked shrimp in the freezer so I just thawed it a bit and then warmed it up in the skillet with the spices.

EASY Peasy Muffins

This is a pretty crappy picture... but I guess its all you get. :)

This recipe was in my Taste of Home Magazine. It was meant to make blueberry muffins with plain ol pancake mix (bisquick or something) and fresh blueberries. I on the other hand had the tasty Raspberry Sour Cream Pancake mix from Prepared Pantry in my cupboard and NO fresh blueberries so I opted to use the above pancake mix and give it a try. YUM. They turned out good. Although I may use a little less pancake mix than it calls for (or add a little extra water) becuase the original recipe calls for fresh blueberries which add a little moisture, which I lacked becuase I didnt use fresh fruit so they could have been a little more moist. ALSO the recipe says to add muffin liners and bake at 400 degrees for 14-16 min. I chose to use mini muffin tins without muffin liners so I bumped down the temperature to 350 and only baked them for 10-12 min. I also added a glaze, just for fun. Anywho - heres the recipe. Give it a try! Its SUPER GOOD and just as fast.

*Ingredients

2 1/2 C. Pancake Mix

1/2 C. Sugar

1 Egg

2/3 C. Water

1/4 C. Canola Oil

1 1/2 C. Fresh or Frozen Blueberries (if frozen dont thaw, or they will turn the batter blue).

*Directions

Whisk egg, water and oil. Then stiry in sifted try ingredients just until moistened. Fold in fruit.

Regular sized muffins (with muffin liners) Bake 400 for 14-16 min

Mini Muffins Bake 350 for 10-12 min.

If you want to put a glaze on... I just mixed milk, vanilla and powdered sugar to make a thin frosting and put on after the muffins cooled a bit. Nothing too exciting, but it sure was good :)