Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas. . .

I made these enchiladas last night and they were so good!
I loved the sweet, yet spicy flavor.
The best news was that Isaac and Seth liked them too. :-)


Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
adapted from The Sisters' Cafe

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 4 large chicken breasts)

6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
2 10oz cans green enchilada sauce


Cook and shred chicken and set aside.
Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder till blended, then toss with shredded chicken and let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour.
Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.
Top with shredded lettuce, diced onions, diced tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole etc. or just eat them as is.

Apple Crisp

This is such a yummy Fall Dessert!

Apple Crisp:

-4 medium tart cooking apples (like rome or granny smith),
when sliced it should be 4 cups
-3/4 cup packed brown sugar
-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup quick-cooking or old fashioned oats
-1/3 cup butter, softened
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-cream or vanilla ice cream

1. Heat oven to 375. Grease bottom and sides of a 8 by 8 by 2 pan with butter.
2. Peel apples, then slice them (I like mine sliced thinly)
3. Spread apples in pan.
4. Mix the remaining ingredients (except cream) with a fork, until crumbly. Pour mixture over the apples.
5. bake for 30 minutes (you don't want to bake it for longer, or the apples will be mushy)
6. cool for about 15 minutes then serve with cream or Vanilla Ice Cream.

creamy chicken soup

I really debated on whether or not to even put the picture...I always forget to take it the night of, so here it is in my tupperware container, straight out of the fridge...but I promise, this soup is delicious!CREAMY CHICKEN SOUP:

3 cups chicken (cubed or shredded)*

3 carrots sliced

1 1/2 cups celery, diced

2 onions, chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

3 cups milk

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

*My mom usually just plops a small chicken in, but as a time factor, I usually just cut mine up)

Combine uncooked chicken, carrots, celery, onions, parsley, salt and pepper in large pot. Cover with water and boil apprx. 20 min, or until chicken is cooked and veggies are tender. Drain liquid, reserving 3 cups. Set chicken and vegetables aside. Combine reserved liquid and milk into large pot and bring to a boil. In a different pan, melt butter and stir in flour. Mix until smooth. Add to boiling liquid. Boil until thick. Add chicken and veggies.

When I made this last night I decided to add homemade noodles to it, which tasted amazing!

NOODLES:

1 egg beaten

1 Tbl. milk

pinch of salt

flour

Mix egg, milk and salt together. Add flour unti you have a stiff ball. Knead until it is mixed well. Roll out with rolling pin until pretty thin. Once you have it rolled out, (I use a pizza cutter) cut the noodles into thin strips, or whatever shape you want them! Let sit for 20 minutes.

(I added my noodles to the chicken/milk liquid, while I was waiting for it to boil.)

If you are going to add noodles, I would recommend adding a little more liquid. I added about 3 cups of chicken broth and dumped a little powdered milk in at the end. (Just kinda make it up as you go!)

BYU Mint Brownies

I am usually not a big fan of brownies, but I love the BYU Mint Brownies! I got the recipe from one of my mom's friends. I hope you enjoy!



MAKES ONE 9-BY-13 PAN OF BROWNIES.
PREP AND COOK: 90 min. COOL: 1 hr.

- Brownies:

• 1 c. margarine
  1/2 c. cocoa
  2 Tbsp. honey
  4 eggs
  2 c. sugar
  1 3/4 c. flour
  1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
  1/2 tsp. salt
  1 c. chopped walnuts12 oz (optional)

- Chocolate Icing: (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)

- Mint Icing:

• Dash of salt
• 5 Tbsp. Margarine
  3 Tbsp. milk
  1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
  2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
  1/2 tsp. mint extract
  1-2 drops green food coloring

1.Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.
2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Cooking/Photography Website

I found this really great website. It has some great recipes and I like that it shows EVERY step (with nice pictures!) Also the photography part is pretty great too. There are some basic photo-taking tips and tricks and details about cameras. There is also alot of information about photoshop stuff and how to jazz up your photos. Check it out when you have time! http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes

These are very similar to the Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes at The Cheesecake Factory. They take some prep work, but are well worth it in the end!!!


SALSA VERDE
2 tomatillos
1 4-ounce can green chilies
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon cilantro (you can use fresh, I use the flakes because I always have them on hand)
1 1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon sale
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Combine all ingredients in food processor/blender on high speed. Cover and chill. It will be pretty runny, but it sets up when it chills.

TOMATO SALSA
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 tablespoon cilantro
1/2 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 small jalapeno, minced
dash salt and black pepper
Mix all ingredients together and chill. You really could use any salsa for this part, but fresh is the best!

SOUTHWESTERN SAUCE
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon chlil powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
dash of salt
dash of garlic powder
Mix and chill. This sauce is meant to be drizzled over the top, so it works best if it is in some sort of squirty bottle. I use an old mustard bottle.

SWEET CORN CAKES
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup corn flour
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Chop 1 cup frozen corn in food processor/blender until coarsely pureed. Combine pureed corn with softened butter, sugar and salt in medium bowl. Blend until smooth. Add corn flour and flour and mix well. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup frozen corn. (I think it is easier to mix it all together with my hands. The frozen corn makes the butter hard to mix in.) Form 3-4 patties with the mixture and arrange on un-greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cakes are browned a little on the bottom. Flip cakes over and bake for another 5 minutes.

To serve: spoon SALSA VERDE onto plate or platter (I heat this up a little in the microwave after I put in on the plate.) Arrange cakes on top of sauce. Spoon a dollop of sour cream onto each cake then drizzle entire plate with SOUTHWESTERN SAUCE. Spoon some TOMATO SALSA over cakes then add some chopped avacado. Wala...all done!

Olive Garden Alfredo

8 oz cream cheese (not reduced fat)
½ cup butter
1 pt cream (2 cups)
melt for 30 minutes on low heat
add 1 tsp garlic powder
½ cup parmesan cheese

melt and stir another 20 minutes

Spaghetti & Meatballs

4 T olive oil
1 tsp. instant minced garlic
½ cup chopped onion (sauté garlic and onion with oil)
2 quarts tomato juice
2 - 6 oz. cans tomato paste
1 tsp salt
½ tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. leaf oregano
1 tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. garlic salt

Meat Balls:
Beat together
2 eggs
½ cup milk
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp onion salt
3 – 4 slices white bread broken and soaked in above mixture.
Mix in 2 lbs hamburger, and form in nice large meat balls.

Drop meat balls in simmering sauce and let steam cook on low heat with lid on pan for 1 hour. Simmer with lid ajar for another 2 hours to thicken the sauce.

BBQ Pulled Pork and BBQ Baked beans:

Andy and I just threw a big BBQ Party for his work!
Here are a couple of the recipes we used:

BBQ Pulled Pork

-1 medium onion, finely chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
-1, 4-ounce can of green chilies
-1/3 c. cider vinegar
-1/3 c. apple juice
-3/4 c. prepared BBQ sauce
-1 tsp. liquid smoke
-1, 41/2 -5 lb pork roast
-salt and pepper
-buns or rolls

-In a 4 qt or larger slow cooker, combine onion, garlic, and chilies. Place pork on top, drizzle with liquid smoke. Pour in vinegar, juice, and BBQ sauce. Cover and cook on low settings until pork is so tender it falls into shreds when prodded with a fork(about 9 hours). Carefully lift pork from cooker, discard all left over juice in the crockpot. Using two forks, separate pork into shreds. Add a bottle of BBQ sauce and warm in the crockpot or a casserole dish.
Serve with rolls or buns.


BBQ Baked Beans:

-5 slices of bacon
-2 cans (16 oz each) baked beans, drained(it is best if you use Bush's ORIGINAL baked beans)
-1/2 of a green pepper seeded and finely chopped
-1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
-1 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard
-1/2 cup HICKORY SMOKE BBQ sauce
-1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

-Mix all ingredients in a crock-pot. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8-12 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. Make sure you stir often, scarping the bottom of crock-pot.
Makes about 6-8 servings

Spicy Chicken Quesidillas with Fiesta Rice

Q u e s a d i l l a s

1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1/2 cup salsa
7 -10 flour tortillas
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook chicken until done and juices evaporate, stirring often. Add soup and salsa and heat through. Mix well. Spread about 1/3 cup soup mixture on half of each tortilla to within 1/2" of edge. Moisten edge with water. Fold over and seal. Place on 2 baking sheets. Bake 5 minutes or until hot. Serve with Fiesta Rice. Serves about 5 People.

F i e s t a R i c e

Heat one can of condensed chicken broth, 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 cup salsa in a saucepan then bring to a boil. Stir in 2 cups uncooked Minute Rice. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

Under The Garden Moon

There is a great quilting store in Orem, UT called American Quilting.
They now have a great web site where you can buy patterns for lots of fun seasonal decorations.
The prices are pretty reasonable, the web site is
Under The Garden Moon.
Here are a few pictures of some of there 4th of July patterns.
Thought I would share this with all of you quilters.

Smothered Pork Burritos......from Craft Night!

To make the tortillas:

5 cups of flour
1/2 cup shortening
1 Tbs. salt
1/8 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2-1 3/4 cups water

Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients, add water. Roll into balls (about the size of clementine oranges). Using rolling pin, roll out each tortilla as thin as you can. Put on griddle at about 425 degrees. This only takes a few minutes, cook on each side.

To make the pork:

Put a pork roast in the crockpot (whatever size you'd like; I find pretty much all sizes turn out great)
Add 1/2 can coke
Sprinkle in brown sugar (start with about 1 Tbs, and add more if needed)
Cook for 10-12 hours on low

Take roast out, put on plate
Throw away the juice from the crockpot
Shred pork, put back in crockpot
Add one small can of enchilada sauce (green)
Add brown sugar (1 cup to start)
Cook in crockpot on low for another 1-2 hours

You can add whatever you'd like inside the burrito. What I usually do is put black beans, pork, mozzarella cheese, and 1 or 2 spoonfuls of enchilada sauce inside the burrito. Then once all the burritos have been made, add another layer of mozzarella cheese, and more enchilada sauce. Cover the burritos entirely with sauce (otherwise the edges get crunchy).

Serve with sour cream, salsa and whatever else you think sounds good! I don't have a picture of this dish, but for those of you who came to craft night when I did it, this is the recipe I used.

Baptism Shadow Box

I made these for a couple of kids that were getting baptized this past month. This frame was for my little neice, Milan, and I made it these colors to match her bedroom. Obviously, you could choose any color of papers and add whatever embellishments you want. I also think these would be darling for a blessing day and hung in a baby nursery. I did have a hard time finding a white shadow box though(the only craft store with white was JoAnns). Well, I hope you are all doing well in Ohio! Miss you all!

Chicken Salad Sandwich

This is Courtney Peacock's recipe as well - I know there were some other people that wanted these recipes so that is why I am posting them. This one is really yummy as well!

4 c. cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 8 oz. cream cheese
1 1/4 c. crushed pineapple, drained
2 Tbsp sugar, optional (if needed)
1 c. diced celery
1/3 c. yellow onion, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. mayonnaise
pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients well and serve.

Banana Bread

This is Courtney Peacock's AWESOME!!! Banana Bread Recipe:

1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter or margarine
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp soda
2 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
shake of salt (I do about 10 shakes with my salt shaker)
1 c. chopped walnuts, optional

Grease and flour (or use cooking spray) 4-5 small or 2 large loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except nuts. Beat well. Add nuts. Pour into pans and bake small pans 40 minutes, large pans 45 minutes. (Better to overcook a few minutes than to undercook).