Key Lime Bars

This is a recipe I found in the February/March 2012 Taste of Home Magazine.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this one!

Crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
30 vanilla wafers, broken into pieces
1/2 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. chopped pecans
3/4 C. cold butter, cubed

Cream Cheese Layer:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/4 C. sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Key Lime Layer:
1 1/2 C. sugar
1/4 C. flour
4 eggs
1/2 C. key lime juice

1)  In a food processor, combine the flour, wafers, powdered sugar and pecans;  cover and process until nuts are fine.  Add butter; cover and pulse until crumbly.

2) Press crust mixture into an ungreased 13 X 9 pan.  Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on a wire rack

3)  In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, milk and vanilla until blended; spread over crust to edges of pan.  In another small bowl, combine sugar and flour; whisk in eggs and lime juice.  Gently pour over cream cheese layer.

4)  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until filling is set.  Cool on a wire rack.  Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.  Cut into bars.  Before serving, sprinkle with additional powdered sugar.

Cinnamon Rolls

I took this recipe from the blog of a friend of mine.  Her blog is http://girlplusfood.blogspot.com  Be warned, nothing on her blog is low-fat but it is all amazingly good!

Cinnamon Rolls
9 3/4 oz warm milk
1 egg
6 T butter, melted
4 1/2 cups flour
4 1/2 T sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp rapid rise yeast (or 3 tsp active dry yeast)

extra milk to brush on rolls after they come out of the oven

In bread machine:  Add all wet ingredients, then dry, make a well in dry ingredients and add yeast.  Turn on dough cycle.

In mixer:  add milk, butter, egg, sugar, salt and yeast to bowl (if using active dry yeast, wait 5 minutes until it's foamy) add 1 1/2 cups flour and mix with paddle on low 30 seconds then medium for 2 minutes.  Change to dough hook and gradually add remaining flour.  Cover and let rise until double (about 1 hour)

When dough has risen, or bread maker is done, dump dough onto lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 15-30 minutes.  While dough is resting, mix filling.

Filling:
1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 T cinnamon
2 T flour
I would also put some chocolate chips in the filling too since that's the way my mom always did it!
Cream all ingredients together until fluffy and smooth (about 2 minutes)

1) Roll dough into a rectangle about 8 inches wide and 14 inches long.

2) Spread filling over surface of dough.

3) Roll up, cut off end and then cut into about 1 inch pieces or 12 equal pieces.

4) Place in greased 9 x 13 inch pan. 

5) Let raise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.

6) Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 15-20 minutes.

7) Remove rolls from oven and use a pastry brush to brush the tops of rolls with milk.

Make icing

Regular icing

3 T butter, softened

4 T milk

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla.

Cream all together in mixer.  Icing should be pouring consistency but not too runny.  Add more milk or powdered sugar to get the consistency you like.

Cream Cheese Icing

4 T butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened

3 1/2 T milk

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Cream all together in mixer, should be pouring consistency but not too runny.  Add more milk or powdered sugar to get the consistency you like.

While rolls are still warm, pour desired icing over the top.  Icing should cover the outside of the roll and run down into the cinnamon areas.  If it's not running down, the icing is too thick or rolls are not warm enough still.

Enjoy!

Fruity Palm Tree Snack

It seems like my family has gotten into a bad habit of eating unhealthy snacks after school.  So I've decided to try and put forth a little more effort to provide my children with better snacking options.  This is one I found on Pinterest and had to give it a try.  The kids thought it was really fantastic! 

I used one banana, cut in half lengthwise, two kiwis, and two Cuties. 

Copycat Wingers Sticky Fingers

Here's another fabulous and really easy recipe I found here from Pinterest.

For the chicken just buy a package of Tyson’s frozen breaded chicken strips and bake them according to their conventional oven directions. **If you wish to fry them, go for it! Or if you have your own breaded chicken recipe and you feel up to the challenge, then try it! Tyson’s frozen breaded chicken is already done (just bake according to package's directions)and is way easy for the meal in a crunch.**  

SPECIAL Wingers Sauce 1 and ½ cups brown sugar 6 Tbsp FRANKS hot sauce (*It has to be FRANKS! I use the buffalo flavor and it is delicious, but the original would taste good too!*) 4 Tbsp water Heat sauce until sugar is dissolved, then pour over chicken! Enjoy! Serves about 2 with a little left over….so 2 for the price of 1!

 These are a bit spicy, so I made them for my husband and myself and our two oldest children, but the younger boys got regular chicken nuggets. More Sticky Fingers for the rest of us!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these cookies with my son Zac today. It was fun bonding time! I need to remind myself to do more one on one activities with my children. He actually chose to spend time cooking with me today rather than find a friend to play with. This recipe is great for anyone with an egg allergy but who still wants to enjoy a cookie now and then.
Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
INGREDIENTS:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment or silpat liners. In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese, melted butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until mostly incorporated by a few dry streaks remain. Add the chocolate chips and mix until combined and no dry streaks remain.
Roll the dough into 1 to 1 1/2-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand (just barely press, you don’t need to flatten it all the way). Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes until the edges are just barely golden brown. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. *Makes about 2-3 dozen cookies

Homemade Frosty's

I recently bought an ice cream maker.  I've used it probably a lot more than I should.  But I found this recipe on Pinterest and it was so good.  The Pinterest recipe makes tons more than what my machine will hold so I had to adapt it some.  Here's what worked for my 2 QT. ice cream maker.

1/2 of a small tub of cool whip
1/2 of a can of sweetened condensed milk
5-6 cups of chocolate milk

Put mixture in your ice cream maker and in about 15 minutes you'll have Frosty's just as good as the ones you get at Wendy's!

White Chicken Enchiladas

White Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

*These are seriously so so good*

10 soft taco shells

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken  (I think I'll use a rotisserie chicken next time)

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

I also found this recipe via Pinterest at  http://joyful-mommas-kitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/white-chicken-enchiladas.html  I tell ya, Pinterest is an awesome site for finding the best recipes!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

1 envelope Taco Seasoning
6 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 jar Salsa (16 oz)

Dump everything into a crock pot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.

For tacos, serve the chicken with soft flour tortillas, lettuce, shredded cheese, guacamole, salsa,sour cream etc. I couldn't believe how soft and moist this chicken was and it tasted so good.  I made fresh Guacamole and Blender Salsa to go with ours and it was amazing!

French Bread

French Bread

2 1/2 c. warm water
2 T. yeast
3 T. sugar
2 T. white vinegar Add these ingredients together and let sit until bubbly
1 T. salt
1/3 c. oil (I use Canola)
6 -7 c. flour (or a little more if it's too soft)

Knead for 2-5 mintues and then put in the oven with a small pot of boiling water. The water will keep the dough moist. Watch the dough and punch it down when it gets to the top of the mixing bowl. Do this every time it gets to the top of the bowl, as long as you have time to babysit it (2-5 times). Put the dough on a greased counter top and divide into 2 sections. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal on the bottom of the sheet. Roll the dough balls into rectangle/long French bread shapes. Slash tops of bread diagonally 3-5 times and cover with a beaten egg. Let rise 30 minutes (or until doubled)on the counter, or you can put them in your oven at 170 and wait until they are the size you want to cook them at. Once they are to the right size, turn up your stove to 375 (without opening the door!) and let them bake until done. Or, just raise on the counter and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Makes 2 Large Loaves -- Now I need to buy me some of those awesome French Bread Loaf Pans that make your bread look so nice and evenly shaped!

I found this recipe via Pinterest from this website http://www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post_09.html  I did increase the amount of flour by about a cup and I think it was much better that way.  This bread tastes so incredible!!!  I don't think I'll ever be able to buy french bread from the store again!

Guacamole #2

I've already posted one Guacamole recipe on this blog, but I think I liked this one even more. 

Ingredients:
2 ripe Avocados, peeled and pitted
1 1/2 Tablespoon of Lime Juice
1/4 Cup minced Red Onion
2 Tablespoons minced Cilantro
1 small clove Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt or 1/2 teaspoon Table Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
Half of one Jalapeño, minced

Directions:
Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Remove the avocado from the skin by scooping it out with a spoon. Place the avocado in a bowl and mash it gently with a fork. Mix in the remaining ingredients.
Serve immediately. The recipe also says you can cover and chill for up to 3 hours.
Makes 3-4 servings (but it will go so fast you should double it! I did.).

I found this recipe at  http://forfood.rezimo.com/2008/07/the-best-guacamole-ive-ever-made-recipe/ but I did alter it some.  I used less lime juice than the original recipe called for and it was plenty for my tastes.

Easy Blender Salsa

 

 I recently joined Pinterest and have been trying lots of new recipes that I've found on there.  There are so many that look amazing and so far almost everything I've tried has been excellent!  I'm not trying to take credit for any of the recipes on this blog, in fact, I think I'm the only person who reads this blog (maybe my mother-in-law too?).  So I'm really just trying to keep track of all the recipes I like in one central location so I don't forget about them!  I'll try and cite where I found them so credit can be given to the right source, assuming of course that there is anyone else who ever tries these recipes. 

Easy Blender Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1- 10 oz can original Rotel
• 1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/2-1 jalapeno, seeded or not (depends on how spicy you like it)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• small to medium size handful of cilantro, washed
• juice of 1 lime

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in the base of a food processor or good blender and pulse to combine for 30 seconds or so until all the ingredients are finely chopped and salsa is desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste. Serve with chips or over tacos.

This recipe can be found at  http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/2012/01/quick-and-easy-salsa/