Chicken Stuffing Casserole

One of my boys loves stuffing so I decided to make a casserole for him last night.  He told me that it smelled so good that he just wanted to stuff his face right in it.  I'll take that as a compliment.

1 box of chicken stuffing (prepared as on box)
1 can of cream of chicken soup (undiluted)
1 can of Costco chicken (drained)
Tiny bit of milk if needed

Mix the prepared stuffing, soup and chicken together and add a little milk if it looks too dry.  Bake for 20-30 minutes until warmed all the way through.

Next time I make this, I will probably add sauteed diced celery, onions, and other veggies but I was in a hurry last night and this sufficed.  This would be something easy for the kids to make at college or on missions.

Lion House Banana Bread

I got this recipe from a friend of a friend and made it last night - YUMMO!  The only thing I need to figure out is exactly how long to bake it since I think I slightly overcooked it.  This is a picture of how the bread is supposed to look.  My bread looked darker.

This recipe made 2 large loaves of bread and 5 tiny ones.

6 large very ripe bananas or 8 medium ones
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil (I used canola)
4 cups flour
1 t baking soda
2 t salt (I left this out because we are watching salt intake)
2 t baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I left these out because we don't like nuts in banana bread)

Mix bananas, eggs, sugar and oil together.  Add flour, baking soda, and baking powder and mix.  Don't overmix.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes (this was too long of a bake time in my glass bread pans, adjust your bake time depending on your oven, bakeware, altitude, etc.).

Banana Bread Delight

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Put butter (or use Pam spray) on a loaf or muffin pan or 9x13 pan.  With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, then add bananas, sour cream and vanilla and mix well.  Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix.  Stir in nuts as desired.  Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 325 degrees.  Baking time will vary depending on size of pan used.  Just keep an eye on it and pull out when it is looks cooked.

Costco Salsa Chicken Mexican

I went to Costco a few months ago and sampled a yummy Mexican mouthful.  Super tasty, super easy, super fun.  They only put the salsa, chicken and cheese together and served it with tortilla chips.  I added a few extra ingredients and served it in a tortilla (burrito style).  In true "Pam Style," I don't really measure except when baking.  So just add these ingredients to suit your personal taste.

Ingredients:

1 jar Costco organic salsa (you can use another kind)
2 cans Costco chicken pieces (you could use chicken you cooked and chopped yourself)
Grated cheese to taste
Brown rice
Black Beans

Put all ingredients into a pot and heat until warmed.  Serve in a tortilla or with chips.

My friend said she may try adding corn kernels too.

Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

 

Ingredients:

½ cup of butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
½ cup of pure pumpkin (like Libby's canned pumpkin)
¼ cup of molasses
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth. Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days.
3. When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Place sugar in a small bowl. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in sugar until well coated and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. The cookies will still be soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Crock-Pot Teriyaki Chicken

INGREDIENTS:
12 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 3 lb)
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

Hot cooked long grain rice

DIRECTION: Place chicken in a 4 qt. slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, cider 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 a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking liquid. Place liquid in a saucepan and bring to boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into liquid and stir until sauce is thickened. Serve with chicken and rice. Note: I halved the recipe and it still worked fine in my crock pot. It might not need the full 4 hours time.

Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Frosting

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Yield: 12 Cinnamon Rolls 

Dough:
1 C scalded milk
3/4 C warm water
1 T yeast
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 C sugar
4 T butter
2 eggs
5-6 C flour

Filling:
4 T butter, softened
2 t cinnamon
1/2 C brown sugar

Maple Frosting:
4 T butter, softened
5 C powdered sugar
3 T maple syrup
1 t vanilla dash of salt
1/4-1/3 C milk
1. Heat the milk in the microwave for 1 minute. Carefully place the butter into the hot milk. Let it sit for a minute or two, or until the butter starts to melt.
2. Into your stand mixer place 2 C flour, salt, sugar and eggs. Let it mix for just a few seconds. Just long enough for the egg to get a bit covered up. Pour in the hot water.
3. Add the milk/butter mixture. Mix for 30 seconds.
4. Add the yeast, mix until combined.
5. With the mixer on low, begin to add the rest of your flour. Add the flour until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Once you have the right amount of flour, mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.
6. Spray your counter with cooking spray, form the dough into a ball and let it rest on your counter for 5 minutes. Don't skip this step, okay? Letting the dough rest at this stage allows it to be rolled out with ease and grace. If it doesn't rest you will be pulling out your hair trying to get it to stretch to the size you'd like it to be. And we don't want your pulled out hair in these Cinnamon Rolls. :)
7. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
 8. Spread butter over the top of the dough. Sprinkle the dough with brown sugar. Then just spread the sugar out over the dough with your hand. Don't worry about getting too messy. I'm pretty sure you have a kitchen sink, yes?
9. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the sugar. Use your hand to spread it out evenly.
10. Roll the dough up from short side to short side.
11. Spray a sharp knife with cooking spray and cut the roll in half. Cut each half in two...giving you four equal quarters. Cut each quarter into three pieces. giving you a total of 12 rolls.
12. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Set each roll onto the sheet.
13. Place your rolls into a warm 170 degree oven. Close the door and let them rise until doubled in size. Should take about 30 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your oven.
14. Turn your oven up to 350 degrees. LEAVE THE ROLLS IN THE OVEN. They will continue to rise as the temperature rises.
15. Bake the rolls until golden brown, about 15 minutes once your oven has reached 350, and depending upon how long it takes to heat up.
16. While your rolls are baking, make the maple frosting! Place your softened butter in your stand mixer. Beat for about 1 minute, or until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and dash of salt. Mix for 10 seconds. Keep your mixer running and begin to add the milk, just a little at a time. When you have the desired consistency beat the frosting for about 1 minute.
17. When the cinnamon rolls have cooled just a bit, spread the frosting over the tops.

Taco Soup

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 20 minutes prep + 5 hours in the crock or 1 hour on the stove
Yield: 10 servings

1 pound ground beef
1 onion salt and pepper
3 14.5 oz cans Mexican Stewed Tomatoes
2 15 oz cans black beans
2 15 oz cans kidney beans
2 15 oz cans corn
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 fajita, or taco seasoning packet
1 lime, juiced
4 T maple syrup
2 C water

TOPPINGS: Tortilla chips, sour cream and cheddar cheese

1. Grab your ground beef, chop up your onion and put them into a hot skillet. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over the top and let the meat brown up and the onions get nice and soft.
2. Place your canned tomatoes in a blender and blend them up, nice and pretty like.
3. Add all ingredients (but the toppings) to your crock pot, or to a large soup pot if you are planning on letting it simmer on the stove. Stir all ingredients to combine.
4. For the crock pot cook on high for 5 hours, for the stove top let it come to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and let it simmer for 1 hour.

Balsalmic and Brown Sugar Glazed Pork Roast

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 10 minutes prep + 4-6 hours cooking
Yield: 6 serving

1 2 pound pork loin
1 t sage
1/2 t salt
1/4/ t pepper
1 t garlic
1/2 C water

Glaze:
1/2 C brown sugar
1 T cornstarch
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
1/2 C water
2 T soy sauce

1. Place your pork roast on a pan, or plate.
2. In a small bowl combine the salt, pepper, rubbed sage, and garlic. Press the seasonings into the pork roast. Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray. Place the seasoned pork roast inside and pour the water along the edges of the roast.
3. Cover and cook on low for 4-6, depending on how hot your crock pot cooks things. You are looking for an internal temperature of 180 degrees.
4. In a small sauce pan, combine the glaze ingredients. Bring it to a boil while stirring and let the sauce thicken. (Should only take a couple of minutes.)
5. Drizzle some of the glaze over the top of the roast and let it cook for another 30 minutes.
 6. Remove the roast from the crock pot and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Slice it thinly, drizzle the remaining sauce over the top and your are ready to eat. It's fabulous served with rice and a green veggie...or with roasted vegetables.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

 www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 10 min. hands on + 4-6 hours crock pot cooking
Yield: 8 servings

1 (14.5 ounce) can Mexican Style Stewed Tomatoes
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans
2 (15 ounce) cans corn
1/2 C onion, chopped
1/2 C red or green pepper, chopped
2 chicken breasts (I used frozen)
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 C milk 4 bullion cubes (or 4 t bullion granules)
1/2 t lime juice (can be bottled)
1/3 C sour cream
2 T butter

Toppings: Tortilla Chips cheddar cheese cilantro avocado

1. Pour the whole can of stewed tomatoes into your crock pot, juice included. Diced tomatoes work best...but if you only have whole stewed tomatoes, like me :)...then stick some kitchen scissors into the pot and cut up your tomatoes.
2. Drain and rinse the black beans and add them to the pot.
3. Drain the corn and add them as well.
4. Roughly chop up 1/2 C onion and 1/2 C of red or green pepper and toss them in.
5. Pour the enchilada sauce into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the cream of chicken soup, 2 1/2 C milk and then crumble the bullion cubes over the top.
6. Whisk it all together until nice and smooth.
7. Place two chicken breasts over the vegetables in your crock pot. (I used frozen)
8. Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken.
9. Cover your crock and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7-8, depending on how fast your crock pot cooks things.
10. Remove the chicken and place it on a plate. Shred it with a fork.
11. Add the 1/2 t lime juice, 1/3 C sour cream and 2 T butter to the soup. Whisk it in until the butter has melted and the sour cream is well combined.
12. Toss your chicken back into the pot, give it a stir and you are ready to eat. Serve with tortilla chips and cheddar cheese. Cilantro and avocado are also fabulous. Enjoy!

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 15 min. prep + 4 1/2 or 7 1/2 hours cooking time
Yield: 6-8 servings

***NOTE: This recipe also works wonderfully served over white rice, instead of pasta.***

1 (.07 ounce) package Good Seasons Zesty Italian Salad Dressing Mix
1/2 C butter, melted
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used frozen with no trouble at all)
 4 ounces cream cheese
2 (10.5 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
1 (12 ounce) package fettuccine noodles

1. Grab your self one package of Zesty Italian Salad Dressing Mix. Melt 1/2 cup butter in the microwave and then add the dressing packet to the butter. Stir it around a bit to combine.
2. Place 4 chicken breasts in your crock pot and pour the butter/seasoning mixture over the top of the chicken. Cover the crock pot of wonder and let the old girl cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 7. Your crock pot may cook a little bit slower or faster than mine...adjust accordingly.
3. When your chicken is no longer pink in the center, remove it to a plate and shred it up with two forks.
4. To the crock pot and it's wonderful juices, add 4 ounces of cream cheese and 2 cans of cream of chicken soup.
5. Pop a fork into the pot and stir it all together until smooth.
6. Place the shredded chicken back into the crock pot, give it a nice stir, cover it and let it cook on high for about 20 minutes, or until the soup and cream cheese are heated through.
7. Boil yourself some nice water and cook the fettuccine according to package directions. Serve the pasta with the yummy chicken mixture on top. Enjoy!

Creamy Ranch Chicken with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Time: 20 min. prep + 4-6 hours crock pot cooking
Yield: 6 servings

Creamy Ranch Chicken:
5-6 chicken breasts (I used frozen)
2 (14 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
 4 T butter, melted 2 (1 ounce) packages Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
4-5 cloves garlic

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes:
7 large russet potatoes
4 T butter milk salt and pepper

1. Find yourself a nice crock pot. Spray the inside with cooking spray and place 5-6 chicken breasts in it. (I used frozen)
2. In a small bowl combine 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 2 packages ranch mix and 4 tablespoons melted butter. Spread it over the top of your chicken.
3. Peel your garlic and place the cloves on top of a sheet of tin foil.
4. Wrap the foil around the cloves and up into a nice little package.
5. Place the garlic package in the crock pot on top of the chicken. Cover the crock and let the old girl cook away on low for 6 hours, or on high for 4 hours.
 6. When your chicken has cooked through carefully take the tin foil package out of the crock pot and set it on a plate.
7. Peel your potatoes and chop them into chunks. Boil them for about 15 minutes, or until fork tender and then drain the water out of the pan.
8. Mash up some of the roasted garlic and add it to the potatoes. Just start with a small amount of garlic, maybe 1-2 teaspoons. You can always add more, if you want it really garlicky...but you don't want to overpower it.
9. Add 4 tablespoons of butter, salt and pepper and a bit of milk. Beat the potatoes until light and fluffy, tasting along the way and adding more salt and pepper or butter or milk or garlic to your own very personal liking and desire. Serve the potatoes with the gravy from the crock pot and the heavenly Creamy Ranch Chicken. Enjoy!

Chocolate Toffee Trifle

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 30 minutes prep, 40 minutes baking, 1 hour cooling, 3 hours chilling
Yield: 12 servings

1 devils food cake mix + ingredients to make the cake
1 large (6 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding
3 C milk
1 8 ounce bag toffee pieces
1 12 ounce container cool whip Hershey syrup

1. Bake the cake according to package directions. Let it cool completely.
2. While your cake is cooling, beat the pudding with 3 C of milk until thick, should take about 3 minutes.
3. Chop up your cake into crumbs with a spatula.
4. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cake crumbs in the bottom of a trifle dish.
5. Spread 1/3 of the pudding over the top of the cake.
6. Sprinkle 1/3 of the toffee over the pudding.
7. Spread 1/3 of the cool whip over the toffee and drizzle some Hershey's syrup over the top.
 8. Repeat the layers twice more.
 9. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and up to twelve. Enjoy!!!

Black and White Cupcakes

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 90 minutes
Yield: 30 cupcakes

***NOTE: The cupcake portion of these tasty treats can be made in advance. However, they don't freeze well once they are completely assembled with the frosting and ganache. Once the cupcakes have been baked and are completely cool, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them. On the day you are ready to serve them make the frosting and ganache and apply them to the cupcakes.

CUPCAKES:
1 devils food cake mix
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
1/3 C flour
1/3 C oil
1 1/2 C water
1 t vanilla
1/3 C sour cream
4 eggs
1 C mini chocolate chips

FROSTING:
1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 C butter, softened
1 t vanilla
4 C powdered sugar

GANACHE:
1 C semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 C whipping cream
1/2 t vanilla dash salt

Orange Sesame Chicken

 www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 30 minutes start to finish...gotta love that.
Yield: 6 servings Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

4 chicken breasts
1/2 C flour
1/8 t salt
2 T olive oil

Sauce:
1/2 C fresh orange juice (you'll 2 large oranges)
1/4 C soy sauce
3 T rice vinegar
4 T sugar
1 T orange peel (loosely packed)
1/4 C cold water
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t sesame oil
1/4 t ginger
1 T cornstarch
1 T toasted sesame seeds

1. Pour 1/2 cup flour into a medium sized bowl and sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon of salt into it. Toss it together with a fork to combine.
2. Cut your chicken into large chunks and dip them each into the flour, making sure all sides are coated.
3. Heat a large skillet up over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, pour 2-3 tablespoons olive oil into the pan.
4. Once the oil has gotten hot, place your chicken into the pan. Let the chicken get nice and golden brown. Then turn each piece over and let it get golden brown on the other side.
5. While your chicken is getting lovely and golden, zest one orange.
6. Squeeze the juice from 2-3 oranges. You need 1/2 a cup.
7. Pour your orange juice, and 1 tablespoon (loosely packed) orange zest into a small mixing bowl. Add 1/4 C soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 4 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 cup cold water and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Stir it all together until the cornstarch has dissolved and everything is mixed well.
8. Once your chicken is golden on both sides pour the heavenly orange sauce over the chicken. Bring the sauce to a simmer, cover and let it cook for 10-15 minutes over medium low heat stirring occasionally.
9. When the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbly pour 1 tablespoon sesame seeds over the top of the chicken. Stir it around to combine and you are good to go. Serve over a bed of white or brown rice. Enjoy!

Smore Cookies

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: about 90 minutes
Yield: 48 cookies

1 package graham crackers (9 full sized graham crackers)
6 T butter, melted
1 T sugar dash salt
1 C butter, softened
2 C brown sugar
2 eggs
2 T milk
2 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 1/2 C flour
2 1/2 C milk chocolate chips
24 large marshmallows
4 small 1.55 oz Hershey bars

1. Break the graham cracker crumbs up into pieces. Place them in a small food processor and grind them into crumbs. No food processor? Do not dismay. You can crush your crackers into crumbs by placing them in a gallon sized zip loc bag, sealing the bag securely and then smashing the crumbs with a rolling pin.
2. To your crumbs add 6 T melted butter,1 T sugar and a dash of salt. Let the food processor grind all of the ingredients together nicely. Set the crumbly mixture aside.
3. Place your softened butter and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until the ingredients are nicely creamed together, about 2 minutes.
4. Add your eggs, milk and vanilla and mix for another 2 minutes.
5. In a separate bowl combine your baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Add it to your creamed mixture and mix until combined. Toss in your chocolate chips and mix yet again, just until the chips are evenly distributed.
 6. Grab your graham cracker crumbs and pour them into the cookie dough. Using a wooden spoon, or your hands :) smash them into the cookie dough. You don't want the graham cracker crumb mixture to be totally lost in the dough, just....well....just smashed into it a bit. Boy, you have really come to an eloquently written blog now haven't you. Fancy lingo just dripping from every corner. :)
7. Roll the dough into 2 inch balls, place them on a lightly sprayed cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 6 minutes, or just until the cookies begin to crack.
 8. While your cookies are in the oven, cut the large marshmallows in half.
9. Press a marshmallow piece into the center of each hot cookie. Return the sheet to the oven and bake for about 1 1/2 more minutes allowing the marshmallows to puff up and get all wonderful and delicious.
10. Remove the sheet from the oven. Let the cookies sit for about 2 minutes, then press one Hershey bar piece into the center of the marshmallow.
11. Remove the cookies from the sheet and allow them to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Who doesn't love Cafe Rio or Costa Vida?

This recipe is a great option for feeding a crowd,  because there's something for everyone. Don't like meat? Have a meatless salad. Don't like meat or salads? Have a tortilla with cheese, rice, dressing, pico  and beans.  Everyone builds their own.

To Build a Cafe Rio style Sweet Pork salad:

Cafe Rio style Sweet Pork- find it here
Cafe Rio style Black Beans-find it here
Mexican Rice with Cilantro Dressing - find it here
Cafe Rio style Cilantro Dressing- find it here
Pico de Gallo - find it here
Our favorite Chunky Guacamole- find it here

Other items you will  need/want to make a Cafe Rio style salad:
Romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
Cheese, Mexican blend and/or Cotija (Mexican cheese) for sprinkling on top, if desired
Flour Tortillas, we like the type found in Costco in the refrigerated section, grill for a few minutes on each side at home, or you may use grilled corn or regular grocery store flour tortillas, warmed
corn tortillas and vegetable oil- cut the corn tortillas into strips, fry over medium high heat, drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt
Sour cream for topping salad
Fresh cilantro to top salad
lime slices, to top each salad
8 or 9" disposable foil tins found in baking section of grocery or the dollar store, or plates work too

Assembly:
Place all items on serving table in this order:
Tins or plates, tortillas, beans, rice, meat, lettuce, cheese, pico, guacamole, dressing, sour cream, tortilla strips, cilantro and lime slices.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork for a crowd
A Bountiful Kitchen

For roasting meat:
13.5 lb Pork Shoulder* (yield approx 6 1/2 lbs cooked, fat removed, shredded pork)
2 teaspoon onion salt
fresh ground pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine or crushed
1 can or approx 12 oz Coke or Dr. Pepper, not Diet (see reader comment below by Bonnie)

For sauce after roasting:
3- 4 oz cans diced (mild to medium) green chilies
1-28 oz can red enchilada sauce
2 cups light brown sugar
2 cans or 24 oz Coke or Dr. Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place rack in bottom third of oven.

If making a full recipe and using a piece of meat larger than 6 lbs, cut the meat into at least two or more pieces to insure meat will be cooked through.

Season the pork with onion salt and ground pepper on all sides.  Rub the top of the pork with crushed garlic cloves.

Place the pork in a large heavy roasting pan or crock pot.  Pour Coke around the sides of roast.
Cover tightly with foil, so no steam escapes. Roast at 350 for 2 1/2 hours. Do not open oven. Turn oven to 200 roast for 2 more hours. Alternately, Place the pork into two large crock pots. Follow directions, except cook on low for about 10-12 hours.

After roasting, remove meat. Let cool for about 15 minutes, or cool enough to handle. Pull meat apart with hands, removing any visible fat remaining on meat. Discard fat and drain remaining liquid from pan.
Place meat back into roasting pan, shred with forks.

Prepare sauce by placing green chilies, enchilada sauce and brown sugar into a blender.  Blend until smooth. Add the Coke, stir with spoon. Pour the sauce over the meat, and heat the meat again before serving. Do not stir too much, this makes the meat a mushy mess. Visualize the icky barbecued meat in the frozen section at the grocery. I prefer to pour sauce on top and leave the meat alone :) Using tongs helps tremendously.
Yield: about 35 servings.

Tater Tot Casserole

Recipe: Tater Tot Casserole ©
From the Kitchen of Michelle Walton
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min

Ingredients:
•1 (10-ounce ) can cream of mushroom soup
•1 (10-ounce ) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup milk
•1 packet onion soup mix
•1 pound of ground beef or ground turkey
•2 cup of shredded cheese (1 cup of yellow and one cup of white
•1 pound package of frozen tater tots

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray; set aside. Cook your meat and then drain. Whisk together the cream soup,milk and the onion soup to the meat. Mix well and pour into pan. Add half of the cheese of both yellow and white. Then add the tater tots with the remainder of cheese. Cook for 45 minutes. Serve immediately with a green vegetable or a mixed garden salad.

Tuna Tapenade

Here's another recipe I saw on the Food Network.

I don't have exact quantities.  Do it according to your own taste.

Green olives
Black olives
Capers
Tuna
Olive oil

Chop the olives in a food processor or blender.  Don't make it smooth.  Be sure to leave it a little chunky.  Drain the tuna and add the flaky tuna to the olive mixture.  Add some capers and a little olive oil.  Put in the fridge to let the flavors blend.  Serve with crackers, chips, etc.

Butternut Squash Soup

I was watching the Food Network and was inspired to make this soup.

Cubed butternut squash (I bought mine at Costco in cubes but you could cook it and cube it on your own)
Green Apples, peeled
Yellow Onion
Chicken Broth
Curry

I cut the squash, apples and onion into cubes and roasted at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes on a cookie sheet.  Then I pureed the fruit/veggies in a blender, adding chicken broth for liquid.  I warmed the mixture on the stove and added curry for flavor.

My family hated this soup, but I loved it.  Guess you have to like squash to appreciate it.  My family would rather eat meat.

Carrot Zucchini Oat Muffins

3 cups wheat or white flour (or mix of both)
2 cup Coach's oatmeal (or regular oatmeal)
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 or 2 cups shredded carrots
1 1/2 or 2 cups shredded zucchini
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup skim milk
2 eggs
4 tablespoons Canola oil

Frosting: (I don't measure, I just guess on quantities until I get the texture and taste I like)
Cream Cheese
Greek Yogurt
Honey
Powdered Sugar

Directions:
 1 Preheat oven to 350.
2 Mix all wet ingredients including veggies and oats in a bowl and let sit for a while.
3 Add all dry ingredients.
4 Spray a 12 hole muffin pan with cooking spray.
5 Fill muffins 3/4 full and place in oven for 12-13 minutes or until not gooey.

They aren't a super sweet muffin so if you want more sweetness, add more sugar or I may try adding some applesauce next time.  Makes about 24 muffins.

Delicious Raw Broccoli Salad

2 heads broccoli, cut into small chunks

1 cup craisins
1 cup sunflower seeds or cashews

1/2 cup red onion finely chopped

Dressing: mix together then stir into above
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup light mayo
2 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar

Low-Fat Strawberry Banana Oat Muffins

1 1/2 cups wheat or white flour (or mix of both)
1 cup Coach's oatmeal (or regular oatmeal)
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup egg substitute or 1 egg or 2 egg whites
2 tablespoons Canola oil
1 cup strawberry, diced

Directions:
 1 Preheat oven to 350.
2 Mix all wet ingredients and oats in a bowl and let sit for a while.
3 Add all dry ingredients.
4 Spray a 12 hole muffin pan with cooking spray.
5 Fill muffins 3/4 full and place in oven for 12-13 minutes or until not gooey.

Everyone LOVED these muffins, even my picky eater.  They are moist because of the bananas and strawberries.

Mexican Salsa Chicken Mix

6 cans of Costco Chicken
38 oz jar of Salsa
Grated Cheese to taste

I sampled a delicious mixture at Costco the other day.  They put canned chicken, salsa from a jar, and grated cheese into a skillet and warmed it up.  It was delicious!  Then they put it over refried beans and served it with tortilla chips. I made it at home and served it in a tortilla.

The recipe above will serve a large group of people.  You could make a much smaller batch.

(By the way, I didn't take that picture, I found it on the internet.  But it looks similar to what my mixture looks like and I was too lazy to take a picture.)

Strawberry Muesli Muffins

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups oats (I used Coach's steel cut oatmeal from Costco)
2 Fage individual Greek yogurts with the fruit on the side (I buy mine at Costco)
2 eggs
2/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups diced strawberries

Grind up oats to a powder.  I did this in my Vitamix blender.  Dump into a bowl and add in the yogurts (including fruit that comes on the side), eggs, sugar, baking soda and strawberries and blend well until mixed.  Put into muffin tins lined with foil liners (not paper ones) or use silicone muffin tins or liners.  Since there isn't flour in the recipe the muffin mixture may be sticky so don't bake in paper liners or directly in muffin tin.  I chopped up more strawberries and placed them on top of the muffins before baking so that they would look cute.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-17 minutes.  Make approximately 16 muffins.  The muffins are quite dense but very tasty.  Not that sweet.  My entire family liked them.

I was inspired by a recipe on Pinterest and then made some changes to it and made it my own.  I called them Strawberry Muesli Muffins because when I was little we ate a lot of muesli.  Muesli is mainly made of raw oats and then we added yogurt and fresh fruit to make it a yummy breakfast.  So since these muffins have oats, yogurt and fruit, I chose to name them this way.

Notice that there is no flour or added fat in these muffins (no butter, oil, crisco, etc).

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (frozen is fine)

1 cup salsa (I used homemade salsa but could use jar)

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 packet taco seasoning (I used a scoop or two from a large Costco jar)

1/2 cup sour cream (I used greek yogurt instead)

tortillas

Place chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker. Sprinkle taco seasoning on chicken. In a bowl, combine soup and salsa. Pour over chicken. Cook on high 4 hours. Shred chicken with two forks and stir in sour cream. Serve on tortillas or as desired.

Almond Joyfuls

From Lorretta Derr

1 3/4 c. powdered sugar

1 3/4 c. flaked coconut

1 c. chopped almonds

1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk

Combine and shape into 1 in. balls. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 min.

In microwave bowl melt 12 oz. semi-sweet chips and 2 Tbl. butter on high for about a minute.  Stir.  Microwave @ 10 - 20 second intervals, stirring until smooth.  Dip balls in chocolate.  Delish!!

Toffee Dip with Fruit

My friend made a simply delicious fruit dip for our Super Bowl party tonight.

Ingredients:
1 block of cream cheese (light is okay but not fat free)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag toffee pieces (you can find them by the chocolate chips)

Fresh fruit (in slices or chunks)

Directions:
Mix together and serve with sliced fruit.  She served it with apple slices, strawberries, and pineapple chunks.  When we ran out of fruit I put out some graham crackers with it and that was yummy too.

It is addictive so watch out.