Easy Cheesy Lasagna

This is the lasagna my mom always makes. Try as I might, I have never found a tastier recipe (especially for how simple it is) It's great for kids because it doesn't use ricotta cheese and if your kids are picky (like I was/am) you can make it without chunks of tomatoes or onions depending on the sauce you like. This isn't your usual blog-worthy recipe. It's really easy and simple...basically combining store bought items and baking...but you Facebook fans asked for it so here it is!

Ingredients:
About 12 lasagna noodles (UNCOOKED: one of the major selling points of this recipe)
Meat sauce: either homemade, if you have it, or get 2 jars of store-bought and mix it with 1 lb. of cooked meat.
1 big tub of cottage cheese (I use 2% low fat, don't got fat free...no bueno)
2-3 cups shredded mozarella cheese
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top...or throughout if you're me.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a 9x13 casserole dish put a thin layer of meat sauce, then 4 or so uncooked noodles, just however many fit, then more meat sauce, cottage cheese, a healthy sprinkling of mozarella, and repeat until the dish is full (mine fits about 3 layers). Sprinkle the parmesan on top of the mozarella on the last layer, cover with foil and bake for 1 hour, taking the tin foil off for the last 15 minutes. Remove when bubbling and let sit for 10 minutes to solidify a bit, unless you like lasagna soup. Done!

The Fastest Beef Stroganoff

I admit, beef stroganoff is not one of my favorite dishes on earth but every once in a great while, it sounds delicious. The recipe I've used for years takes a couple hours and even then, is tricky to get get to reduce so often you are left with beef stroganoff inspired soup. I saw this recipe in my Our Best Bites Cookbook and was surprised how quick the instructions made it sound. I gave it a shot and had dinner done (start to finish) in less than a half hour. Seriously. My husband ate it up and said it was better than my stand by recipe! This one's a keeper for sure.

Ingredients:
1 pound top sirloin steak (I buy the thin-cut, it saves work)
salt and pepper
3/4 cup diced onion (about one small onion)
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
4 cloves minced garlic
3 tbsp. butter (divided)
3/4 cup water
1 tsp. beef boullion (1 cube)
2 tsp. worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Slice steak into strips that are approx. 2" long and 1/4" thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.
Melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat in a large skillet and saute the onions, mushrooms, and garlic for 4-5 minutes until the onions are soft and transparent. Empty out of the skillet onto a plate and set aside. Melt the remaining tbsp. butter in the skillet and cook the beef for about 5 minutes until it's no longer pink. While the meat is cooking, whisk together the water, boullion, worchestershire sauce and flour. Pour into the cooked beef and add the onion/mushroom mixture back in. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Serve over egg noodles or rice!

Pan-Seared Chicken with Lemon Chive Reduction

Now, now, I know what you're thinking. Yikes, that sounds hard. No, it is not. And yes, it IS fancy. Fancy enough that you could serve it to company and they will marvel at your skills but only YOU will know how easy it is. The problem with pan-seared anything but ESPECIALLY chicken is that it tends to be dry, chewy, and tough given the heat of the pan needed to brown it. It usually overcooks way too fast. Not so with this method. I got this off of my FAVORITE show and cookbook, America's Test Kitchen. Seriously, I'm addicted like a housewife is addicted to Soap Operas. Husband even calls it my "stories". That aside, here's the recipe.

***One important note before we begin, you MUST have a stainless steel pan to make this work. Non-stick WILL NOT WORK. I always get blasted by people who swear by how great their non-stick cookware is. Please, bear with my soapbox. Having grown up in a strictly non-stick household, I prefer aluminum/stainless clad for several reasons. Hippie stuff like, "The teflon will kill you!" aside, here they are: 1. You don't have to treat it like fine china. I scratch the heck out of mine almost every day, throw them in a cupboard, let them rub against each other and they are still working like champs. 2. In my experience, they tend to heat more evenly and retain heat more consistently. 3. They really aren't a pain to clean. Put a little dishsoap in it and let it soak and almost everything wipes right off. For charred marks, a sprinkling of Barkeeper's Friend cleanser makes them look like new. 4. And the most important reason, meat browns BEAUTIFULLY and gives off a glorious fond to make the most delicious pan sauces. You don't need to go out and buy an entire set of stainless on my word, but honestly, one good-quality large skillet, in my opinion, is a must-have. Stepping down from soapbox. Thank you.

Ingredients:

4 (6-8 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts. Trust me on the weight thing, the bigger they are the (way) longer they take to cook)

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil (I have tried olive in the past and prefer canola for this recipe)

2 tbsp. butter, melted

1 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. corn starch

1/2 tsp. pepper

Pan sauce:

3 tbsp. shallot minced (I usually just use an onion because I never have shallots)

1 tsp. flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp fresh chives (psh. I rarely use fresh. Dried works fine but if you are substituting dried, only use 1-1/2 tsps.

1 tbsp. butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Use a fork and poke the thick side of the chicken breast 5-6 times. Sprinkle each with 1/4 tsp. salt. Place in a 9x13" dish, skinned (smooth) side down, cover tightly with foil, and bake 30-40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145-150 degrees. Remove from the dish, put on a paper-towel lined plate and pat dry.

Heat oil in a large stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke (this is key. If the oil isn't hot enough, the meat will not brown)

While heating you are going to make a "velvet" which is basically just a coating over the chicken to protect it from getting tough. Whisk together the butter, flour, cornstarch and pepper. Brush tops with it. Cook, coated side down, for 3-4 minutes. While cooking, brush the top of the chicken with the remaining coating. Flip them over and marvel at your skills. They will be GORGEOUS. Cook another 3-4 minutes until the internal temp is 160-165 (or you can just cut it open and make sure it's done but only a tiny slit, you don't want all the juice running out!) Place the chicken on plate to rest while you make the sauce. If you aren't making the sauce, let the chicken rest 5 minutes before serving.

Now the sauce. See all those browned bits on the bottom of the pan? That's called a fond and it's all the juices from the meat that have thickened and carmelized and it tastes DELICIOUS. Reduce your heat to medium, put in your onion or shallot and stir around for about 2 minutes. Add, the flour and stir for another 30 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth and scrap the bottom of the pan to loosen the fond. Increase heat to medium-high again and bring to a vigorous boil for 3-5 minutes to let the sauce reduce to about 3/4 of a cup. Remove from heat, pour in the juices the chicken has released on the plate, add the lemon juice and chives, stir for 30 seconds, pour over chicken and impress everyone!!!

Pecan Bars

I made these for game day and I have to say...I don't think my family will ever be able to cope with a pecan pie ever again. Even my husband who NEVER eats dessert (marital point of contention) ate a bar and later told his mom how delicious they were. Whoa. Now you KNOW you'll have to try them. These are from the Our Best Bites Official Cookbook from the blog. I highly HIGHLY recommend you spring for the book. I didn't think I needed it because, ya know, all the recipes are on the internet! Not so, friends. This little gem isn't on the blog and I'm here to tell ya, I'm the favorite kid right now because of this recipe. So go get the book at Costco, or Deseret Book, or if you do nothing else, follow their blog...then make these bars.

Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. Butter
6 Tbsp. Shortening
3/4 Cup Powdered sugar
1 1/2 Cups plus 2 Tbsp flour divided
2 eggs
1 Cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 Cup chopped pecans

Glaze:
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. Orange juice
1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter, shortening and sugar.
Add 1 1/2 cups flour and mix until combined
Press evenly in bottom of 9x13" pan. Bake crust 13-14.
Mix remaining flour and rest of ingredients and spread over hot crust. Bake another 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and spread with glaze while warm. Cool completely and cut into bars.

Slow Cooker Pudding Cake

I had a busy day on Saturday. I'm talking, leave the house at 8:30 and don't get home until late at night busy. One of my engagements was a BBQ at a friend's house where I volunteered to bring dessert. On Saturday morning it hit me that I wasn't going to be home to make anything....that's where my trusty slow cooker came in! This recipe is out of my Official Crock Pot Cookbook. The only reason I chose it was because I happened to have all the ingredients. It was HUGE hit at the BBQ. People I didn't know where asking me for the recipe. And what could be easier than cake in a crock pot?!

Slow Cooker Pudding Cake
Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 Cup Flour
1/8 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/3 Cup sugar
1 Cup (2 sticks) melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 Cup whipping cream
Vanilla ice cream for serving

Directions:
Coat your slow cooker with cooking spray and preheat to LOW.
Blend cocoa, flour, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Beat eggs with an electric mixer on medium-high until thickened. Graudually add sugar, beat 5 minutes until mixture becomes very thick and pale yellow.
Mix in butter and vanilla. Once incorporated, add the cocoa mixture and blend well. Add cream. and mix until blended.
Pour in crock pot and cover opening with a paper towel to catch the condensation (unless you like soggy cake). Put lid on and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. Serve warm with ice cream.

Honey Oat Bread and Honey Butter

Don't be intimidated by this bread. The instructions are really specific and I know you can do it! This is my favorite bread recipe because it always turns out well and since we have a bee hive, I take special pleasure in using our own honey for the recipes. It's not 100% whole wheat so it bakes up fluffy and everyone loves the taste. I just love making bread for Mike and other loved ones. The house is filled with such a wonderful smell and EVERYONE appreciates a homemade loaf of bread. Making this bread does take a few hours but it's not difficult and the results are well worth the effort. Of course you don't need a stan mixer to do this, our Grandmas had no trouble whipping up bread with a wooden spoon but if you are lucky enough to have a stand mixer, this recipe will be almost effortless. The honey butter recipe is to die for. Every time I make it I get asked for the recipe - one friend always tells me he must resist the urge to eat it with a spoon!

A couple tips before we begin - the key to bread success is to make sure your kitchen is free of any drafts and relatively warm. Shut the kitchen window, turn the thermostat up to 72 degrees if you keep your house cooler than that (I don't know who does!). Just to be safe, you can always put bread in an unheated oven with a pan of warm water on the rack below it and shut the oven door.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. yeast (if you buy the packets, it's about 1 and half packets)

2 1/4 cup warm/hot water (105-115 degrees: if you don't have a candy thermometer like me, drop some water on the inside of you wrist, you should feel it as very warm but not scalding)

3 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp honey

1 egg

5 tbsp oats (quick or old fashioned work)

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp salt

2 1/2-3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Combine yeast and water, cover with a towel and let sit for 10 minutes, until it gets bubbly

In a large mixing bowl combine the oil, honey, egg, oats, wheat flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture.

Mix until a spongey wet dough is form. Cover with a towl and let rise for 20 minutes until bubbly and about double in size.

If you have a stand mixer gradually add in the all-purpose flour until a moderately soft dough forms, about 5 minutes. No mixer? Turn the sponge out on the counter and knead the flour in for about 5 minutes. Trust me, it's not scary. Depending on your flour, you will add between 2 and 3 cups. For me, 2 1/2 cups is usually about right. Return to the mixing bowl, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap coated in cooking spray and let rise 30-45 minutes until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough to remove excess air. Divide the dough in half and grease two loaf pans. Form a loaf (there is no scientific way to do this, just pay it with your hands until it forms a little log) and sprinkle with oats. Cover with a towl and let rise another 45-60 minutes until you can poke the corner with your finger and the dimple stays. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for 35 minutes. For a soft crust, remove immediately onto a clean kitchen towel to cool. For a crunchy crust cool on wire racks.

Honey Butter

1 stick of softened butter

1/2 cup honey

1/4 tsp. vanilla

a couple shakes of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Chex Lemon Buddies

I made these for a craft class I went to on Saturday and everyone demanded the recipe. They were a huge hit and a nice, refreshing summer departure from Muddy Buddies I usually make. The best part? They are really easy and QUICK. Make them for a get together and you will be the most popular one there!

Ingredients:

9 cups rice Chex cereal

1 1/4 cups vanilla (white chocolate) chips

1/4 cup butter
4 tsp. lemon zest

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Measure cereal into a large bowl and set aside.

Combine the white chocolate chips, butter, lemon zest and juice into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minutes. Stir and repeat in 30 second intervals until it can be stirred smooth. Pour over cereal and stir to combine. Place cereal in a gallon size Ziploc bag, pour in powdered sugar and shake to coat.

Enchiladas

Sigh...I realize that if you were to click the link for Mexican food on this blog, it would literally be the same as clicking on the link to my posts. I promise we don't eat Mexican food every night....but it's pretty close.

This is a recipe I got from my new guilty-pleasure show, "The Food Nanny". While I will NEVER admit to watching ANYTHING on BYU's channel, I may or may not tune into this show ahem*religiously*ahem. You can go to the show's website and have a look around at the free menu planning and recipe software they have on there. It's actually pretty helpful. These are the tastiest enchiladas I have ever made at home. I don't usually like canned enchilada sauce - it always ends up tasting bitter to me. This recipe simply builds on top of a canned enchilada sauce and boy is it yummy! I didn't follow the recipe exactly and made a few helpful adjustments which I will be sure to note.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. butter

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

2 cups tomato juice, divided (I used 1 cup tomato SAUCE and one cup water)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. cider vinegar

1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce (I but the 28 oz. can and ended up needing all of it, because i make the enchiladas a bit differently than the recipes says to...read on)

3 cups cheddar cheese (we use Mexican blend)

corn or flour tortillas

3 cups diced or shredded chicken (optional, these can just be cheese enchiladas)

2.25 oz can of sliced olives

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter and saute over medium high heat the onion and pepper about 5 minutes, or until the onions begin to become transluscent. Pour this mixture into a blender and add 1 cup of tomato juice (or tomato sauce) and blend until smooth. Return to sauce pan and bring to a low bowl. Add the enchilada sauce (10 oz. can if you are sticking the recipe, the whole 28 oz can if you do it my way), salt, cinnamon, other cup of tomato of juice or if you used the tomato sauce, add a cup of water instead. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Now, here is where I differ from the recipe, the recipe says to dip the tortillas in the sauce, lay on a cookie sheet, fill with cheese (and chicken), roll up, put in a 9x13 casserole dish, cover with the sauce. That just seems like a giant mess to me. A Mexican friend of mine once told me that she skips the rolling up process entirely when making enchiladas and just makes them casserole style. So much easier. So this is what I do: (if you do it my way, you will need the whole 28 oz. can, if you do it the above way, you only need a 10 oz can)

In a 9x13 casserole dish, spread a bit of the sauce on the bottom. Rip up tortillas and lay them in the pan so they cover it. Pour a layer of enchilada sauce, sprinkle a layer of cheese, add some chicken and repeat this process (like lasagna) until the dish is full. Top with cheese and olives and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Oatmeal Scotchies

I'm going to say it. These cookies are my favorite cookie and I'm a cookie monster. Sometimes I get the biggest craving for them and have to make a batch. I've seen other recipes similar to this that float around but they never turn out as well as my mom's recipe. Be aware though, these guys are finicky with baking times. 7 to 8 minutes leaves them chewy, 9-10 makes them crispy...11 burns them. So make sure you pull them out quickly!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 (11 oz.) package of butterscotch chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Combine flour baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat butter, both sugars, eggs, and vanilla in large mixing bowl until creamed together. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stire in oats and butterscotch chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 7-10 minutes. Cool on sheets for 2 minutes before removing to baking racks to cool completely.

Yields about 4 dozen.

Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing

So you might just remember when I posted my last recipe for Pulled BBQ Chicken that I mentioned it might be pretty tasty in a salad? Well, tonight I tried a recipe for a dressing that mimics Cafe Rio's tomatillo dressing and guess what? It might not have been exact but it was DARN close. Husband asked to drink it. Maybe the best part is that I can pretty much guarantee mine's a whole lot lighter than the restaurant version. When I tasted it, I knew I was going to have to make a HUGE salad to eat it with. What did I have? BBQ chicken, black beans, tortillas and lettuce. Taco salad night!!! I literally threw this together in about 15 minutes with stuff I had on hand. Since I don't think anyone is interested in me telling them how to put together a salad, I will just post the recipe for the dressing. I got the recipe from those genius girls over at Our Best Bites. Check it out!

Ingredients:

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix

1 cup mayo (I used reduced fat) (sidebar, NEVER use fat free mayo in ANYTHING. It's wretched....Anyway, where was I?)

1/2 cup milk (I used skim)

1 lime

2 cloves garlic roughly chopped

1/2 cup cilantro leaves. Just rip the leaves off the stems, don't bother chopping them.

1/4 cup green salsa (Salsa Verde)

hot sauce (optional - mine didn't need it)

Directions:

Put it all in the blender....blend until smooth. Try not to drink it.

Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

I was really torn about putting this up. I found it in a cookbook and was actually a little offended it actually made it into a cookbook because of how simple and common-sense it is. In fact, I wanted a dime back from the makers of the cookbook because I shouldn't have to PAY for such a recipe. But, here I am, using up internet space to post it here. Here's why: Even though everyone probably already knows to do this, it was the first time I actually tried it and it is actually in my top 10 recipes now because of the response it got! My brother came over last night and tried one, then between he and Husband, they went through 1 and a half loaves of bread making sandwiches. My brother thought I slaved away in the kitchen for hours and said it tasted just like something you would get in a restaurant. Music to my ears. Anyway, here it is. Don't judge me for posting it!

Ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts (mine were still partially frozen)
1 (18 oz. or larger) bottle of BBQ sauce. You might have one you prefer but if not, I HIGHLY recommend Bull's Eye Original by Kraft.
My own addition: 1-2 onions, chopped

Ingredients for sandwiches:
Bread or rolls, provolone or mozzarella cheese, jalapeno peppers (from a jar) if you like it spicy! (husband and brother's creation)

Directions:
Put chicken in slow cooker.
Put onions on top of chicken, if using.
Dump BBQ sauce over the top.
Cook on LOW 8-9 hours.
About 30 minutes before serving, shred chicken with two forks.

Serve as sandwiches. I also thought after the meat is chilled, you could make a DELICIOUS BBQ chopped salad? Hmm.....

Beef Taco Meat

No, I didn't take this picture. It's out of the America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook. But it IS a picture of what I made tonight for dinner! And this is exactly what it looks like (except with homemade soft flour tortillas). If you don't know what America's Test Kitchen is, you are in for a treat. It's on Sundays at 11:00 am on "Create" (Channel 11-3 for those of us without cable). I'm sure it's on other times too but that's the only time I watch. Basically, it's a show where they rigorously test recipes, kitchen gadgets, and ingredients to tell you the best of the best. I'm addicted! I tried this beef taco recipe and it was awesome and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. I don't like taco meat (ground beef) but I now stand corrected. This has such a great flavor and I promise you will never want to use that packaged taco seasoning again!

Ingredients:

2 tsp. vegetable oil

1 small onion, minced

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt

1 lb. 90% lean ground beef

1/2 cup canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tsp. vinegar, preferably cider vinegar

1 tsp. brown sugar

Ground black pepper

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 4 minutes.

Add the garlic, spices, and 1/2 tsp. salt; cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. (When I do this again, I will premeasure all the those spices into a bowl and add them all at once since you only have to cook them for 30 seconds before adding other ingredients)

Add the ground beef and cook, breaking the meat up into small pieces, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent scorching until the beef is no long pink.

Add the tomato sauce, broth, and vinegar, and brown sugar, bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently until the liquid has reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes (the mixture shouldn't be dry).

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with taco supplies!

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I came across this recipe when my office threw me a wonderful pot luck bridal shower. One of the ladies brought this dish and literally everyone there asked for the recipe. Including me. (that's like 30 people!) When she emailed it to me, I couldn't believe the ingredients! Two things you would never think go together but so so so delicious- and it's easy peasy too!

Ingredients:
1 14oz bag of Armour Original Meatballs (about 28 meatballs per bag), they can go right in the slow cooker from the freezer!
1 cup bbq sauce (my co-worker recommends using Famous Dave's Original Flavor)
1 12oz. jar of currant or grape jelly (I think the currant gives the best flavor but both are good)

Directions:
Put all ingredients in the slow cooker and heat on low for 5 hours or high for 2.

Easy Slow Cooker Pork Chops

Pork chops are something I refused to eat as child....into adulthood. My poor mother would try to make them and I would throw a fit (sorry, Mom!) One day my husband made me a delicious dinner of stuffed pork chops and guess what? I devoured it. I know, I can hear my mom in my head, "How do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it?!" Ugh. Guilt for being an awful kid...Anyway, a friend of mine shared this recipe with me for slow cooker pork chops and it turns out the most delicious, flavorful, tender, cut-with-a-fork pork chops you will ever eat.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

Dashes of salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

4-6 pork chops

2 cans chicken and wild rice soup, undiluted

Rice or noodles for serving

Directions:

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a ziploc bag, put pork chops in one at a time and shake to coat.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and brown pork chops on each side (you just want to brown the outsides for looks, not cook them through)

Place pork chops in slow cooker, pour in both cans of soup, and cook on low 6 hours (Mine usually go 8 hours while I am at work and they are fine).

Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing...kind of.

I have created a food snob. In an attempt to get Michael to eat salad (yes, he's like my child) I started making my own salad dressing knowing that it's often tastier than the bottled stuff. Sigh....Now he insists I have at least homemade ranch in the fridge at all times and refuses to eat anything bottled. What have I done? I guess it worked, he eats lettuce almost every night with dinner. So, since I've done this I'm always on the look for new salad dressings. I found this one in a book called "America's Most Wanted Recipes: Favorite Restaurants" that I got for Christmas one year. It's supposedly the dressing recipe that Olive Garden uses. While I don't think it is, it does have a similar taste and it is quite tasty. This recipe does use a little bit of raw egg. The lemon juice and vinegar should kill any yucky bacteria that may be present but if you are the paranoid type, you can use pasteurized egg (Egg Beaters) and that will work fine.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup corn syrup

3 tbsp grated parmesan or romano cheese

2 tablespoons pectin (optional but preserves it a bit longer)

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp dry Italian seasoning (or just add a few shots of any Italian-ish dried herbs you like)

Directions:

Mix the whole shebang in a blender. Chill for at least an hour. Serve over salad!

Amazing Green Salad

My friend Brooke threw me the most amazing shower I've ever seen over the weekend. I swear that girl could overthrow Martha Stewart as the quintessential domestic goddess. She served a delicious lunch including this salad. I had to have the recipe. It has such a good taste with such a light and fresh dressing that it's perfect for a summer luncheon. It was a huge hit with all the guests.

Ingredients:

1 head romaine

1 head green leaf lettuce

1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved

2/3 c. slivered almonds, toasted

1/3 c. fresh parmesan, grated

3/4 c. swiss cheese

Dressing Ingredients:

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

3/4 c. salad oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients for the salad. In a blender, blend the ingredients for the dressing. Pour over the salad and toss to coat.

Chicken Enchiladas

My mother has never been modest about the fact that she doesn't cook. She hates it and with cooking, practice makes perfect so if you don't practice...it's not going to be perfect. :) I love my mom's openness about the fact she has no desire to be a traditional housewife. She does, however, have 2 recipes I made sure to get when I flew from the nest. This is one of them. These are chicken enchiladas for people who hate cooking. Though they seem pretty fatty at the outset, you can use the fat free cream of chicken and low fat/fat free sour cream and it lightens this dish considerably with no sacrifice on the taste. Quick and very easy and you can even make them in the microwave....

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken (my mom uses canned chicken and it tastes great)

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz. sour cream

1 small can diced green chilis

2 cups shredded cheese

4-6 tortillas

Canned enchilada sauce (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 or don't if you want to microwave. Mix together all ingredients, reserving about half the cheese, fill and roll tortillas. Now, this part is like a Choose Your Own Adventure Book, remember those?! Loved them. If you want to top them with some of the filling, reserve about 1 cup of it and you'll get about 2 less enchiladas. I particularly like pouring store-bought enchilada sauce over the top. Whatever you choose, top with the remaining cup of cheese and bake for about 20-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly. If you would rather microwave them, microwave on high for about 10-12 minutes until heated through. The microwave technique tastes just fine and is great if you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, I know everyone has a recipe for chocolate chip cookies and I know a lot of people can make them by scratch but this recipe is REALLY good. Don't believe me? Every single time I make these cookies at least one person asks me for the recipe. Seriously! People say, "I've never had such a good chocolate chip cookie!" I got this out of ward cookbook. Beware, it makes a TON! I usually do make the whole recipe and freeze half the dough. Half this recipe yields about 2 dozen cookies, a full recipe 4-5 dozen depending on how big your cookies are.

Ingredients:

1 lb. butter (no substitutes!!!)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups brown sugar

4 tbsp. vanilla

3 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp baking soda

6 cups flour

4 c. chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars, add vanilla, eggs and soda. Gradually add flour in and blend well. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes.

Taco Chicken

This here is a little something I invented last night. That's right. I INVENTED it. I'm pretty proud of myself and it turned out REALLY yummy. If you haven't noticed by my posts, we eat A LOT of Mexican food in my house. Like, a lot, a lot. My other half literally eats a burrito every day so I always try to keep beans, rice, and taco meat in the fridge for when he needs a snack.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
3-4 chicken breast halves, cut up into bite-size pieces
1 cup salsa
1 cup water
4-5 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp sugar (probably not necessary but it did add a bit of sweetness that was a nice compliment to the citrus from the lemons and limes)
2 small limes
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. cumin

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke, just a few minutes. Add the chicken and saute a few minutes until the outside looks cooked.
Add the salsa, water, lemon juice, sugar, squeeze the juice out of the limes, the garlic salt and the cumin. Bring to a boil and let simmer, covered, until cooked through - about 15-20 minutes.

May I suggest serving with Brittney's Refried Beans?

Mexican Casserole

This is another recipe I put together when I got creative in the kitchen one day. It uses stuff you likely already have...at least if you are Mexican food junkies like we are at my house. It's sooo fast and easy, you will have dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. I promise. I make this a couple times a month now and I love it! Easy. Fast. Cheap. Delicious.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 a medium onion chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained with a couple of tbsp's of the liquid reserved.
1 small can (11 oz-ish) of corn drained, again reserving a bit of the liquid
1/2 cup or more of your favorite salsa
1/2 packet taco seasoning
3/4 lb. diced or shredded chicken - I usually use about half of one of those GIGANTRONIC rotisserrie chickens from...you guessed it, my favorite place on earth, Costco.
1 1/2 coarsely crushed tortilla chips
1 cup shredded mexican blend cheese

Directions:
In a large skillet or better yet, a wok, melt the butter over med-high heat and sautee the onions for a few minutes until they become transparent. Add the liquid from the beans and corn, the beans and corn, salsa, taco seasoning and chicken. Let simmer for about 10 min. until the meat absorbs that deliciousness.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. When the mixture is done simmering, pour it into a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Top with half the cheese and crushed up tortilla chips. Bake for about 15 minutes. Take it out, top it with the rest of the cheese and bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Done!!!