Crock Pot Potato Soup

Sometimes I make dinner and I wish there were more people around to eat it because I can't believe how amazing it tastes. And it always seems to be the simplest meals that I feel this way.  Makes me wonder, why do I always think the long, complicated recipes will be the best tasting?  

Simple really is better.  

The proof is in this soup!

**And on a side note:  This is similar to "Funeral Potatoes" or as my family calls them, "Heavenly Potatoes" only in a soup version, so if you are a fan of these type of potatoes (you know you are) then you'll LOVE this soup. 

Crock Pot Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 bag of cubed frozen hash browns

1 can of cream of chicken soup

2 cans of chicken broth

1 package of cream cheese

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix together the cream of chicken and chicken broth and put in crock pot.  Add onions and potatoes and season with some pepper. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. 

 Cut the cream cheese into small pieces first and allow to soften, then add to the crock pot and turn to high.  Cook until the cream cheese is melted and can be stirred into the soup smoothly. 

Season with salt and pepper and top with shredded cheese.

Or, my favorite, spice it up with some Tabasco sauce!

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

This is so easy and so good!  I love how it had the tomatoes added in, but then again, everything with tomatoes tastes better, doesn't it?

This makes a large portion, so I'm keeping it in mind next time I sign up for a potluck.

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of rigatoni

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 (10 oz) package of frozen spinach, thawed

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced into small pieces

1 (14oz) can of Italian-style diced tomatoes, do not drain

1 (8oz) package of chive and onion cream cheese, softened

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375º

Cook the rigatoni according to the packaging directions. 

In a frying pan, saute the onions in oil until soft and tender. Set aside. 

Drain the spinach well by wrapping it in a towel and squeezing out the excess water. 

Mix pasta, spinach, chicken, tomatoes, cream cheese, cheese and salt and pepper.  Stir until well combined. Spread evenly in the casserole dish and sprinkle with extra mozzarella cheese. 

Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake another 15 minutes or until bubbly. 

Source: Saving Money Living Life

Spinach Artichoke Pizza

I could probably eat an entire bowl of spinach artichoke dip by myself.  The problem is, I can't justify doing that as "dinner".  But slap it on a pizza crust and my problem is solved! 

Yea!

  

It's the little things.

Spinach Artichoke Pizza

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup butter

2 Tbsp cream cheese

 3/4 Parmesan cheese, grated

1 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

6 oz fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed and squeezed dry, roughly chopped

2 pizza crusts (unless you want the topping to extra heavy)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425º (or follow the directions on container)

In a medium saucepan over low heat, stir together the cream, butter and cream cheese until melted.  Combine well. 

Stir in the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes. 

Place the spinach in a frying pan with a tablespoon of water and cook over medium high heat until wilted. Then place on a clean towel and wring out all the liquid.  Then add the spinach to the sauce and stir to combine. 

Spread the sauce over the crust. 

Spread the artichoke pieces over the sauce and top with mozzarella cheese. 

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown. 

Source The Two Bite Club

Cream Cheese Enchiladas

Can't every night be enchilada night?  I wish!  Although cream cheese isn't a regular ingredient in enchiladas, it adds such a creamy flavor to these and helps make this recipe one of my favorites!

Cream Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients:

5 oz of cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

10 oz can of red enchilada sauce

 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

2 cups chicken, cooked, shredded

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

4 oz diced green chilies

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to season

1 package tortillas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325º.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. 

In your stand mixer, combine cream cheese, sour cream and 1/2 of the enchilada sauce.  Stir in 1/2 cup of each cheese. 

In another bowl, combine the chicken, corn, green chilies, cumin and chili powder.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken mixture to the cream cheese mixture and combine well. 

Spread 1/2 of the remaining sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. 

Fill  the tortillas with the mixture and roll up.  Place seam side down in the pan.  Repeat for as many as you can fill.  

Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Source: The Spiffy Cookie

4th Of July Strawberries

I'm aware that Thanksgiving is next week and I'm posting a 4th of July treat.  Not backwards at all!  Somehow this post has been hiding at the bottom of my "drafts" and today, it surfaced!  So, here they are.... a sweet, cool, summer treat you can enjoy.... in 6-7 months from now!

4th of July Strawberries

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs of fresh strawberries, tops cut off

1 bag/box of melting white chocolate

blue sprinkles

Directions:

Melt the chocolate and dip the strawberries' tips in.

Pour the sprinkles into a shallow bowl and roll the chocolate tip of the strawberry in the sprinkles. 

Devour!

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake

Oops!  I did it again.  I got sucked in by ANOTHER buffalo chicken recipe.  Help me. I can't stop eating buffalo chicken themed food!  On second thought, I don't need help.  I'm helping YOU!  This is amazing and filling and it combines two of my favorite things, pasta and buffalo sauce!  It's a dream come true!

Buffalo Chicken Pasta 

Ingredients:

1 16 oz box of Penne pasta, cooked and drained

2-3 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into small pieces

1/2-1 cup of Franks Buffalo Sauce

3/4 -1 cup Ranch dressing

1-2 cups Colby Jack or Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350º

Mix together buffalo sauce and dressing.  In a seperate bowl, mix chicken, pasta and cheese.  Mix with sauce and stir until combined. 

Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle with cheese. 

Bake about 20-25 minutes. 

Source:  Lentzed Life

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't usually enjoy baking.  Cookies are the worst!  Everytime I make them, they turn out flat and crispy. When I stumbled across this recipe, and all the ingredients were in my pantry, I thought I'd give it a whirl.  I'm not sure why, but they turned out fat and soft and pretty tasty too!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingrediets:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º

Sift flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Mix in egg and vanilla until completely incorporated.  Add flour mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.  Mix in chocloate chips. 

On a baking stone, or a greased cookie sheet drop 1 Tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the baking stone about 2 inches apart.  

Bake 8-10 minutes.  Don't bake too long of your cookies will get crispy!

Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Source: American Heritage Cooking

White Chicken Enchiladas

If it's cheesy and has a tortilla wrapped around it, chances are I'll eat it.  I just can't resist any kind of enchilada.  These were so simple to make and it reminded me of the chicken enchiladas my mom used to make while we were growing up. 

White Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
10-12 flour tortillas
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp. butter
 3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 small can diced green chilies

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º.  Grease a 9x13 pan.

In a bowl, mix chicken and 1 cup of the cheese. Roll up in the tortillas and place in the pan side by side.

In a sauce pan, melt the butter and stir in the flour.  Cook for about 1 minute.  Add the broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until think and bubbly. Add the sour cream and chilies to the sauce pan.  Do not boil.

Pour sauce over the tortialls and top with remaining cheese.

Bake for about 20-15 minutes and then under the broiler for about 3 minutes to brown the cheese.

Source: JoyfulMomma

Buffalo Chicken and Potato Casserole

This could become labeled as an obsession, but I've sorta been on a buffalo chicken kick....for the last 10 years.  I blame it on Buffalo Wild Wings.  Eating there for the first time 10 years ago changed my life.  That sounds dramatic, but I couldn't believe I had lived so long without realizing that buffalo sauce even existed!  So, I've been making up for it lately by making tons of dinners that have buffalo chicken incorporated into it somehow. I like this one because of the added potatoes.  Makes it feel like less of a dip trying to be a meal and more like an actual meal. 

Buffalo Chicken and Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup Franks Buffalo Sauce

5 cups of red potatoes, cut into small pieces

1 cup ranch dresssing

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 (10 oz) can Cream of Chicken soup

1/2 breadcrumbs

Directions:

Heat oven to 350º.  Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. 

In a medium bowl, stir together the chicken and buffalo sauce.  Spoon in the casserole dish covering the entire bottom. 

In the same bowl, stir together potatoes, dressing, cheese and soup.  Spread over chicken.  Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top. 

Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake another 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. 

Source: Holy Cannoli Recipes

Breakfast Casserole

Near the end of the school year, all the teachers hosted a Parent Appreciation breakfast.  I signed up to bring a breakfast casserole.  Since I'd never made one before, I made my family one on Saturday to test out the recipe.  I'm so glad I did, because it turned out great! 

I added mushrooms to the "real" casserole and that version was my favorite.  Green peppers definetly deserve a spot in this recipe too.  

I have to make this again because the picture is sad, but don't be fooled.....this casserole was really tasty! 

**This is a make-the-night-before dish, so plan ahead!  It's perfect for feeding company. 

Ingredients:

1 lb spicy pork sausage

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped (optional)

1/4 cup green peppers, chopped (optional)

2 1/2 cups frozen diced hash brown potatoes

5 eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

1 cup Original Bisquick mix

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Spray a 13x9 glass casserole dish with cooking spray.  

In a skillet, cook sausage, green peppers, mushrooms and onion over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Stir in potatoes.  Cook another 5-7 minutes, until the sausage is cooked through and the potatoes are slightly browned. 

Drain the mixture onto paper towels, then spoon into the casserole dish. 

In a medium bowl, stir eggs, milk, Bisquick and salt and pepper until well blended.  Stir in cheese. 

Pour over the sasuage mixture and mix well.  

Cover with foil and refrigerate for 8 hours. 

Heat oven to 350º and bake casserole for 45 minutes.  Uncover and make another 10 or 15 minutes (until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean)

Serve with your favorite hot sauce, salsa and sour cream. 

Source: bettycrocker.com

Chicken Bacon and Cream Cheese Taquitos

Ever in the mood for some good 'fried food?  These are fun because they are small and fun to eat.  The star of this dish is the avacado dipping sauce! Pass me a spoon!  I could eat it alone! (But I didn't)

Chicken, Bacon and Cream Cheese Taquitos

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, chopped

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cans of chicken (yes, cans)

Water

Tortillas

Vegetable Oil (Canola oil works too)

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and cut up

1/4 cup mayonaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon milk

1 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

dash of dried dill weed

dash of Garlic powder

dash of black pepper

Directions: 

TAQUITOS

Cook bacon until crisp.  Drain and chop.

Combine bacon, cream cheese and chicken in a small bowl. 

Cut each tortilla to smaller circles that are about 3 inches in diameter.  Spoon some of the filling of the chicken mixture into the center of each tortilla.  

Roll and secure closed with a toothpick. 

Heat oil in a heay saucepan to a depth of about 3 inches to 350º

Add the taquitos to the oil in batches and cook until well browned on all sides.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

AVOCADO SAUCE

Mash avocado.  Mix with mayonaise, sour cream, milk, vinegar, salt, parsley, onion powder, dill, garlic and pepper. 

Serve with taquitos for dipping. 

Source: Mommy I'm Hungry

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

My new favorite thing to do is to cook chicken in the crock pot.  Usually, I'll throw in a few chicken breasts with some chicken broth and let it do its thing until it's ready to shred.  This recipe was right along the same idea, only there are yummy flavors added!

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 limes, juiced (depending on how lime-y you want it.  Consider added only 1 lime or 1 1/2)

1/2 cup cilantro

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 teaspoon onion salt

1/2 cup of water

Directions:

Put all of the ingredients into the crockpot.  Cooke on low for 4-6 hours.  Once the chicken is cooked, shred with a fork.  Stir to combine. 

Serve on taco sized tortillas and top with your favorites (cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes...)

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

This turned out so yummy.  I love crock pot cooking.  I just wish my crock took longer to cook so I could use it during the week to cook dinner while I'm at work.  Usually, I reserve my crockpot meals for the weekends.  Now, I'm looking forward to a nice cool Saturday evening when I can try this again!

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used bone-in thighs and pulled the meat off, I didn't realize that you could buy thighs without the bones!)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

6 Tablespoons cider vinegar

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

4 1/2 teaspoons cold water

rice, cooked

Directions:

Place chicken in crockpot.  In a bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is tender. 

Remove chicken to platter and cover with foil.  Skim fat from liquid and pour the  remaining liquid into a saucepan and bring to a boil.  

Combine water and cornstarch until smooth.  Gradually stir into the liquid and stir until sauce is thickened. 

Serve over veggies, chicken and rice.

Source: Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Cream Cheese Cinammon Rollies

Nothing makes me happier then when I make a dish for someone and later they ask me to make it again!  This weekend, my family went to Park City for a reunion and I made these for breakfast one morning.  Two days later, my older brother asked if I'd make them again.  Honestly, I didn't exactly want to get up before everyone again and make breakfast (it was MY vacation too, ya know!).  But how could I say no?  My eagerness to please dominated my desire to sleep in a bit longer. 

It seems like these are meant to be a breakfast item, but I see no reason why they can't be made as a dessert.  They are similar to a Churro, but smaller and the insides are a cream cheese filling. 

Cream Cheese Cinammon Rollies

Ingredients:

1 loaf of white bread

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 container cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, melted

Cinammon and Sugar mixed together to sprinkle over the top

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350º

In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar and soft cream cheese until smooth. 

Using a knife, cut the crusts off each slice of bread. Then with a rolling pin, flatten the bread.  (I like to do a few at a time, so the bread doesn't dry out)

Scoop a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture onto each piece of flattened bread, and spread it over the surface area of the bread.   Then roll up the bread, removing any excess cream from the seam. 

Brush melted butter over all sides of each roll and then sprinkle all sides with the cinammon/sugar mixture. 

Bake about 20 minutes until the rollies are nice and toasted. 

**My mom suggested adding some orange zest to the filling.  BRILLIANT!  I will be trying that added ingredient next time!

** I re-made these a few months later and experimented with nutella and strawberries for the filling rather than the cream cheese mix.  The possibilities are endless!

Carnita Roll Ups

You know how when you think of certain meals you've eaten your mouth literally starts to water.  That's the reaction I get when I think about this meal.  

So easy and so so good!  

It calls for salsa so I knew my husband wouldn't eat it.  

Lucky me!  

I ate half of what I made over the course of a few days and the rest of the meat is in my freezer patiently waiting for me.  I'm thinking about pulling it out tonight so it can thaw in time for lunch tomorrow.

 Carnita Roll Ups

Ingredients

4 lb pork tenderloin roast

1 cup salsa

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup Coke (NOT DIET)

salt and pepper to taste

7- inch tortillas

2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Directions

In a crock pot, place pork.  Season with pepper.  Add salsa, brown sugar and coke.  Cook on LOW for 4-5 hours (or until cooked)

Once pork is cooked, remove from the crock pot and shred.  Remove half of the sauce in the crock pot and return the shredded pork. Mix together so all the meat is covered in sauce. 

On a cookie sheet, spray lightly or use a baking mat.  

Preheat oven 375º

Lay out a tortilla and fill with 1/4 cup of pork.  Roll tight. Repeat with as many as you can. 

Sprinkle the tops of the tortillas with cheese and bake about 10 minutes. 

Remove from oven and let cook

Serve with ranch, sour cream or any type of dipping sauce. 

Source:  Sugar N Spicegals

Spinach and Ricotta Pasta Shells

I love easy cooking.  

This dish grabbed my attention at first because I realized that all I had to do was spread the filling over the shells.  That means I didn't have to stir (wow, that makes me sound really lazy)

Talk about easy cooking.   

Spinach and Ricotta Pasta Shells

Ingredients:

1 box of pasta (your choice, but I used shells)

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 of a 10oz package frozen chopped spinach: thawed and drained of excess liquid

nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 bottle of marinara sauce

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º.  Spray at 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.  Cook the pasta according to directions; drain and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan and egg.  Stir until smooth.  Add the garlic, spinach, nutmeg, basil, red pepper and salt and pepper. 

Pour half of the pasta into the baking dish and top with half of the marinara sauce.  Spoon the spinach mixture over the sauce in and even layer.  Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese over the mixture.  Cover with the remaining pasta and sauce.  Top with remaining mozzarella cheese. 

Cover wtih foil and bake for about 25 miniutes.  Remove foil and bake another 5 or 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and edges are slightly browned.  

**You can prepare this a day ahead.  Cover with foil and place in fridge until you are ready to cook.

  

**Freeze the leftovers too!

Buffalo Chicken Bake

This is incredible. 

 I wish I had made two.  

If you are someone who loves the  Buffalo Chicken Dip that is all the rage right now, then you will L.O.V.E this dinner.  I was secretly hoping my husband and kids wouldn't like it so I could have eaten more.  Being able to have this for leftover lunch the next day was the highlight of the day!  Sooo good!

Buffalo Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Olive Oil

1 pizza dough (I bought my from the store, but you are welcome to make your own)

8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

3 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup Franks Buffalo Sauce

1/3 cup Ranch (or Bleu Cheese) dressing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425º (or whatever the dough packages says...)

Cut chicken into cubes and season with your favorite seasonsings.  I usually go to THIS style of seasoning for basic chicken dishes .  Heat oil in a skillet and add chicken when hot.  Cook chicken completely then add 1/4 cup of the wing sauce.  Stir to coat the chicken and let simmer for a minute or two.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Flour a flat surface and roll the dough into a rectangular shape. 

Mix the dressing and remaining wing sauce and spread across the dough.  Top with chicken (make sure it's cooled) and top with mozzarella and cheddar cheese.  Go crazy and add some more wing sauce over the top of the cheese if you want. 

Begin at one end of the dough and roll, but tuck in the ends so none of that gooey, goodness escapes during cooking.

Place on a greased cookie sheet or a baking stone and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into it (if you can wait). 

Pizza Cups

When I made this I became totally frusterated with the dough.  I was trying to get the dough to make a cup-like formation so I could fill it with cheese and sauce.  It kept shrinking back into the muffin tin like a scared little turtle.  No amount of stretching and pressing would keep it in place.

Halfway through I had decided that this was a fail recipe and that I wasn't going to repeat.  Then they came out of the oven and it dawned on me that I didn't need to try to form it so much.  It would have worked great if I just rolled the dough some more and put the dough in and let it be a pedestool for the cheese and toppings.

I'll give this recipe one more try. If it's another fail...I'll remove it from the blog.

Pizza Cups

Ingredients:

Pizza dough

Pizza sauce

Mozzerella cheese

Favorite pizza toppings

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.  

Roll the pizza dough out on a floured surface and divide into 12 sections.  Take one section at a time and line each muffin space in the muffin tin.  Add cheese, sauce and toppings.  Repeat for the rest. Bake 10-12 minutes or until crust is a light golden brown.  

Beef Teriyaki

Sometimes you are just in the mood for some beef! To me, this is a very lady-like approach to eating beef.  The pieces are small and the flavor is powerful.  Serve it with some veggies and rice and it's a complete meal! 

Beef Teriyaki 

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can pinapple chunks with juice

1 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger, minced

1 lb skirt steak, sliced thin (or carne asada)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together (except beef).  Set aside about 1/2 cup of the sauce; cover and refrigerate.  

Place beef in a plastic bag and pour remaining marinade over beef.  Press out the air and seal the bag.  Marinate for 6 hours or overnight. 

On a grill, preheat to a medium-high heat.  Grill the steak on each side until cooked to desired doneness.  

In a large bowl, pour reserved marinade over the cooked beef and stir until it is well coated.  Serve with rice or fresh grilled pineapple. 

Great to use as shish kababobs too!

Thank you Family Favorite Recipies cookbook!

Chicken Salad

When I was growing up, a friend of my mom would bring over chicken salad occasionally.  It was basically canned chicken, mayo, poultry seasoning and some celery.  I devored it everytime she brought it over.  So I always knew I liked "chicken salad"  

It wasn't until I was older and started going to my friends' baby showers, that I learned Chicken Salad is not the basic meal I had devoured as a kid.  Chicken Salad is a meal that can take on many different personalities with many different ingredients.  Even though no one has ever repeated the chicken salad recipe my mom's friend made, I have yet to find a Chicken Salad that I don't like!

I especially liked this recipe because of the cashews and cucumbers.  The salty nuts mixed with the cool crisp cucumbers....(MmMmm!)  And adding a pita instead of plain white bread gives it a fresh new approach.  

So good!

Chicken Salad Pitas

Ingredients:

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 sour cream

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 ginger

2 cups cubed chicken, cooked

1 cup red grapes, halved

1/2 cup cashews

1/2 cup dice cucumbers

pita pockets

Romaine lettuce

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix all the dressing ingredients together.  Fold in the chicken, grapes, cashews and cucumbers. 

Stuff each pita wiht a leaf of lettuce and the salad. 

Thank you Family Favorite Recipes cookbook!

BBQ Ribs

I never order ribs when I go out to eat.  I don't know why.  I LOVE RIBS.  Maybe it's because they are so messy and I don't need to be all "self-consious" about ribby sauce all over my face when I'm out in public.  

The first time I ate ribs was when my uncle made the most amazing dutch-oven ribs once at Girls Camp when I was a youth.  I clearly remember eating ribs for the first time and being surprised at how delicious they were.  I was actually amazed at the taste.  YUM.

These ribs are pretty tasty, but next time I'll get more.  The meat shrank during the cooking process so there wasn't much there to enjoy. 

BBQ Crockpot Ribs

Ingredients:

1 rack baby back pork ribs

2 cups water

bbq seasonings (you can purchase a bottle or just season with your favorites from your spice rack)

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

2/3 packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Rub ribs with seasonings and place in your slow-cooker.  Cut to fit, if necessary.  Pour in water, cover and cook for 6-8 hours, until the ribs are cooked through and are starting to fall of the bone.  

In a medium bowl, combine BBQ sauce, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.  

Heat grill to a medium-high heat and cook 2-3 sections of ribs at a time on the grill.  Coat with the sauce.  Cook 2-3 minutes on each side.  Allow the sauce to get cooked onto the meat. 

If you are using an outdoor grill, place the finished ribs on the upper rack to stay warm and get a smokey flavor.  If you are grilling indoors, cover with foil until ready to serve. 

Thank you Family Favorite Recipes Cookbook!

Grilled Chicken

Gone are the days where I would sprinkle my chicken with some seasoning salt.  When I discovered this combo of seasonings, I never looked back.  Now it's my go-to seasoning recipe and I use it practically EVERY time a dish calls for chicken.

It's divine!

Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

Equal Parts (I usually use about a Tablespoon of each)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder 

Sugar

Directions

Mix and rub on raw chicken.  Grill to perfection and enjoy!