Ham Chowder

The Relief Society called me last minute and asked me if I could take a meal into a family, thank goodness I already had this on the menu for the day, because this recipe serves a lot of people. I made my homemade rolls, from last weeks recipe, to go along with this soup...yum!

4 large potatoes
1/2 cup green onion
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
2 cups milk
2 cups diced cooked ham
2 Tbsp. margarine
2 cups water
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. flour
1 15oz can whole kernal corn

Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Dice potatoes, add to the 2 cups of water and add all the seasonings and sauted onions. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. Make a paste of the flour and 1/2 cup of water. Add to potatoes. Add milk, cook until slightly thick. Stir in undrained corn and ham. Heat through.

The Best Homemade Rolls Ever

My husband was in HEAVEN all weekend because I made him one of his favorite meals, turkey sandwiches on homemade rolls with chips and clam dip.....I can't even tell you how excited he was when he came home to this meal. I just bought a turkey breast and roasted it the oven for a couple hours, and then made Chris's mom's yummy homemade rolls, they are to die for: here's the recipe:

-1/2 cup melted butter (I used salted)
-2 eggs
-2 packages of active dry yeast (or 2 Tbsp. of active dry yeast if it's in a jar)
-6 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
-1 tsp. salt
-2 cups warm water
-extra butter for dipping

I use my Kitchen Aid for this, it makes it so easy, but you can do it by hand mixer too. In a bowl add warm water, yeast and sugar, combine until all mixed. Add butter. Add eggs, flour, and salt, mix well. Stir in extra flour until it forms a soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 4 min's. Place in a bowl sprayed with non stick spray..let rise 45-60 min's. Punch down and roll out on floured surface. This is a guess, but I rolled it out probably 1/4" thick, you want it pretty thick. I used the biggest circle shaped cutter that I had (the size of a large glass)....cut out, dip one side into melted butter, place on greased sheet and fold top over. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 350 for 15 min's, and then continue to check every minute until light golden brown.

I wish I would have taken a picture, but we chowed these down too fast!
Enjoy, these are heavenly!!

Loaded Cream Cheese Quesadillas

My kids love quesadillas, and I always wished they were just a little more filling so I could make them for a quick supper....so, I invented this recipe this week, and we LOVED these. They ended up being so filling that I couldn't even finish a whole one by myself. That's not like me!!!!

-2 chicken breasts (boiled and ran through chop mode on food processor) or you can use canned chicken
-1 8oz. cream cheese (fat free or 1/3 less fat) at room temp.
-1/2 cup of homemade Ranch (I use fat free mayo to make my ranch)....you can use store bought ranch but it's not as good.
-2 green onions, chopped
-cheddar cheese and montery jack, shredded and mixed together
-dash of salt
-dash of fresh ground pepper
-flour tortillas
-cooking spray

-Blend together cream cheese, ranch, salt, pepper. Mix in onions and shredded chicken, and stir well. On a tortilla spoon chicken spread to cover entire tortilla (don't spread it on thick, just coat a thin layer on tortilla)....top with the cheese, cover with another tortilla. Spray a hot griddle with cooking spray and cook until both sides are light brown and lightly crisp and cheese is gooey.

Enjoy!

Pasta Fagioli Soup

Well, I'm not much for jumping on the band wagon and dieting at the beginning of the new year, but I do love recipes that call for lots of yummy healthy ingredients. And, since my hubby is trying to eat better, I made this recipe this week. He doesn't usually like soups unless it's a HEARTY soup...and this soup has sooo much yummy goodness in it! Loaded with veggies! Enjoy on a cold night

1 lb. ground beef (I bought a lean beef to make it healthier)
1 small onion, diced
1 large carrot, cut
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14.5) cans diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz.) kidney beans with liquid
1 (15 oz.) Great northern beans with liquid
1 (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 (64 oz.) V-8 juice
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. thyme
Ditalini pasta

Brown ground beef; drain and add onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute about 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except the pasta and simmer for 1 hour. Fifty minutes into the simmer, boil the pasta until al dente. Drain and add to soup.

Recipe taken from: Neighbors-cooking with class cook book

Lion House Caramels

This recipe is almost exact to my microwave caramels, the only difference is that this recipe takes a little more time and patience, but in the end is a little better than my microwave caramels because the consistency of the caramels are perfect. I take these caramels to all our Christmas parties, and everyone always asks for the recipe, this is for you uncle Dave. The recipe calls for 2 cubes of butter, but I have found that a little margarine makes caramels so much richer and yummier!

1 cube salted butter
1 cube margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
Dash of salt (and since I use salted butter, I literally mean a dash, just a tiny tiny bit barely in the palm of your hand)...then throw it in.

Butter a 13x9 pan....I use at least 2 or 3 Tbsp to butter the pan really good, this will prevent any sticking. Combine butter, margarine, sugar, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, and salt in a heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil over MEDIUM heat STIRRING CONSTANTLY to firm ball stage 245 degrees. Mixture forms a ball when dropped into cold water and won't flatten when removed). This will take 15 to 20 minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Cool, then cut into squares and wrap each piece in waxed paper.

Recipe taken from Lion House Cookbook

Melt away cookies

I went to a Girls Night Out a couple of nights ago and my friend Janelle made these insanely cute and yummy cookies. I don't have a picture to post on my blog, she e-mailed me the recipe so I can make them.....let me just tell you that as soon as these cookies hit your tongue, they instantly melt....they are sooooo good. These would be a cute little cookie to put on a decorative plate during a holiday party for people to munch on...Enjoy!

Melt-away Cookies *

1 cup butter

3/4 cup corn starch

1/3 cup powdered sugar

*Beat then add:

1 cup flour

*Flour your hands and roll dough into balls slightly larger then marbles. Place onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Top cookies with frosting when cool.


Frosting:

4 oz cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

*Beat together until smooth

Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con Pollo......or chicken and rice to all you gringos. This is one of my favorite recipes, and it's soooo healthy. You will never want to order this at a Mexican resteraunt after tasting the homemade version!

1 chicken (Two options......I either buy a rotisserie chicken, or when Lee's put's their whole 3-4 Lb. chickens on sale. for 3.99 each, I pick a few up and freeze them. Either will work. But if you cook a whole chicken I season it with a little salt and pepper and garlic salt and cumin)

1 cup frozen peas

1 tsp. salt and pepper

1/2 tsp. dried leaf oregano, crushed

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 of an onion, chopped

1 cup uncooked long grain rice (non instant rice or brown rice.)

10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes (this is a can with tomatoes and jalepenos)

2 Cups Chicken Broth

Shred chicken with fingers. Add peas, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, garlic, and onion. Mix.

Coat a non stick pan with non stick cooking spray, add the rice and saute until light golden brown. Add the Rotel tomatoes-undrained. Press into rice and let simmer 3-5 mins. (I added 1 couple Tbsp. of water so it didn't get too dry). Pour into 13x9 pan. Add the chicken and gently toss to mix. Pour 2 cups of chicken broth to cover the rice and chicken. Add more if necessary to complete cover the mixture. Cover and bake 1 hour on 350 degrees.

Note:When you pour the mixture into the pan, it won't look like a lot of food, but once that rice soaks up all the broth, it will fill the entire pan.

Serve with warm corn tortillas.....salt the arroz con pollo and corn tortillas well before eating....enjoy!

Scared Shrekless Popcorn

Tonight is the premier of Scared Shrekless, and we are so excited to watch it. My 3 yr old and I whipped up some Shrek popcorn for the big event...we are going to have so much fun.


4 quarts popped corn (go through and pick out the unpopped kernals)
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup light corn syrup
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
green food coloring (Use alot, because when you add the baking soda afterwards, it will lighten up the color...so go overboard!)

In heavy saucepan on medium heat melt butter then add sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt. Increase temperature to medium high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Once mixture boils, add in food coloring and stop stirring. Boil for 5 minutes (Do not stir). Mixture should be about 250-260 degrees. Remove from heat and carefully stir in vanilla and baking soda. Working quickly and while mixture is foamy, pour mixture over popped corn and gently stir to coat popcorn. Place popcorn into a large roaster or rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray) and bake at 200° F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Recipe from: Skip to my Lou.org

Caramel Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

I have 3 words for this recipe.....OH MY GOSH!!!
Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon, Ground

3/4 teaspoon Ginger, Ground

1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg, Ground

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

7 ounces (1/2 of 14-ounce package) caramels, unwrapped

2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, oats, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices in large bowl. Add butter; stir until mixture is well blended and forms coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/2 (about 2 1/4 cups) for the topping. Add pumpkin and vanilla to remaining mixture in bowl; stir until well blended. Press evenly into bottom of greased foil-lined 13x9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

2. Microwave caramels and milk in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 to 3 minutes or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after every minute. Let stand 1 minute. Pour over pumpkin mixture in pan, spreading to within 1/2-inch of edges. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Lift from pan. Cut into bars.

Here are the changes I made: Since I use salted butter, I only put in 1/4 tsp. of salt. I used 3/4 package of caramels instead of 1/2 bag (you can never have to much caramel....since I used 3/4 bag of caramels I used more mile and I used 3 Tbsp. milk. Instead of using the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, I used 1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice. Another tip I have is I never use imitation vanilla, I use PURE vanilla-you can find this in the mexican isle at the grocery store, it makes the biggest difference in your cooking.


Recipe taken from Mccormick Website

Donuts

This weekend was our annual Halloween party, and I wanted to make something really fun for the kids. So, I got this recipe in my Better Homes and Garden Magazine a couple month ago and tried em' out! They were a hit!

Ingredients
3 -1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sugar
Vegetable oil for deep-fat frying
Cinnamon-Sugar or sifted powdered sugar
Directions
1. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; set aside. In another bowl combine milk and melted butter. In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, and sugar; beat with electric mixer until thick (about 5 minutes). Add milk mixture; stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Add flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cover dough; chill at least 2 hours (dough will remain slightly sticky).

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut dough with a floured 2-1/2-inch round cutter. Use a 1-1/4-inch cutter to cut the hole for the doughnut. (You can also use a standard doughnut cutter.)

3. Fry 2 or 3 doughnuts at a time in deep hot fat (375 degrees F) for 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until brown, turning halfway through cooking with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and doughnut holes. Makes about 15 doughnuts and doughnut holes

4. Shake warm doughnuts in a bag with Cinnamon-Sugar or powdered sugar. Serve warm (or reheat each doughnut 8 to 10 seconds in microwave on high).

Cinnamon-Sugar: Stir together 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon.

Homemade Chicken Noodle

There's nothing better on a cold fall night than a hot bowl of soup....I have tried a bunch of different recipes and I took the best parts of all the recipes I have tried, and I concocted this ...enjoy! I served a side of breadsticks with this soup, and you can also get the breadstick recipe here.

2 large chicken breasts

2 Chicken Bouillion cubes

3-4 stalks celery, chopped

3 large carrots, chopped

1 onion

parsley

2 Bay leaves

2-3, 32 oz. containers chicken broth

1 Bag of Country Pasta (At Wal-mart I buy the Extra Wide Homestyle Amish noodles)

1 can 98% Fat Freed Cream of Chicken Soup

Salt and Fresh ground Pepper to Taste

-Fill a large pot with water, throw in 2 chicken bouillion cubes and add chicken. Cook until center is no longer pink. Cool. Run chicken through food processor on chop mode...it makes the perfect consistency for soup.

-Drain pot, and add 2, 32 oz.containers of chicken broth to pot. Add carrots, celery, onion, 2 bay leaves, and parsley (I don't measure my parsley, I just throw in enough to make it look pretty...it's atleast a Tbsp. or two...I use dried, but you can use fresh or dried). Add salt and fresh ground pepper. Add a little at a time and taste.

-Before the vegetables are completely tender, throw in the noodles to start cooking. Cook until noddles are tender. If the soup looks like it's getting dry, add a little bit of the 3rd container of Broth, I usually don't need to.... but, I don't like to add water, I like to keep the rich flavor of the chicken broth. Right before serving add a can of cream of chicken...it will thicken it a little and make it rich.

Remove bay leaves and serve.

Crispy Bean and Cheese Burrito

I got this recipe from my family circle magazine, and it was a really tasty dinner that my kids loved! And for those of you cutting back on meats...this was a meatless dinner.



Ingredients

1 bag (3-1/2 ounces) boil-in-bag brown rice (I just used brown rice from a box and cooked up enough to stuff 6 burritos....the instructions for 4 servings is plenty).
1 cup salsa
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 ripe avocado, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon lime juice
6 soft taco-size flour tortillas
1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
Directions
Prepare rice according to package directions, about 10 minutes. Drain and place in a medium-size bowl. Stir in salsa and cilantro; set aside. In a small bowl, gently stir together avocado pieces with lime juice; set aside.

Place tortillas on work surface and sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese in center of each, from left to right. Top cheese with a heaping 1/4 cup black beans. Place a heaping 1/3 cup rice mixture over beans then divide avocado pieces among tortillas. Fold up like an envelope; repeat with remaining tortillas.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat top and bottom of burritos with nonstick cooking spray. Place 3 burritos in skillet, seam-side down; cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Turn burritos over and cook another 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining burritos, reducing heat if they get too browned.

Recipe taken from:Family Circle Magazine

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Sorry, I have no picture, we devoured this for Chris's birthday cake last night. He hates cake, but LOVES this pie...it's not your traditional pumpkin pie...it's fluffy and.....beyond delic!

Crust: Use your favorite crust recipe, or even easier, buy a frozen pie crust at the store.

1 baked 9" pastry shell
1 1/2 c. mashed pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar, packed
dash of salt
2 eggs yolks
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup cold water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 egg whites (We use the "just whites" dry egg whites that you buy in a can...so you don't have to use raw eggs, on the can it tells you how many Tbsp to water=2 egg whites).
8 oz. carton of light cool whip

Combine pumpkin, beaten egg yolks, sugar, spices and salt in top of double boiler. (NOTE: I don't have a double boiler, I just boil water in a saucepan and place a glass bowl on top of saucepan and make sure the glass b0wl isn't touching the boiling water...just steaming it.).....cook stirring often over hot water for 10 minutes. Soften gelatin in cold water, blend into hot mixture, stir until dissolved. Pour into bowl, and chill until it thickens and starts to set (this will take about 2 hours....stir it about 4 times during that 2 hour period). Beat egg whites until stiff, carefully fold into chilled mixture. Fold cool whip into mixture. Pour into pie crust. Chill several hours...serve with more whipped cream. Store leftovers in fridge.

Easy Breadsticks and Scones

I thought I would share a couple more of my favorite ways to use Rhodes Rolls. This week I made homemade Chilli, you can get my chilli con carne recipe here. But I like to make breadsticks or scones with my chilli.


To make these breadsticks, defrost your Rhodes rolls, turn the rolls over half way through defrosting so they get evenly defrosted. Make sure you pay close attention to the defrosting, you want them to still be pretty cold, but pliable, anything more than that they get a weird consitency.

Roll the rolls into little long snakes. I used a 13x9 pan, and did 2 rows of 6.
Preheat the oven to 350 and cook for 15 minutes or until light golden brown.
Remove from oven. Using a pastry brush, brush butter over the tops of the breadsticks and sprinkle with parmesan, or your other favorite topping (garlic salt, oregano...anything!)


For the scones, I heat my deep fryer. I flatten my Rhodes Rolls so they look like a mini pizza. Once the oil is hot enough I drop a couple in, I turn them over every 30 seconds to make sure they don't overcook. Remove from oil once golden brown on both sides and serve with butter and honey..yum!

Caramel Apple Empanadas

I think I may add an "Ode to Rhodes" seciton in my cooking blog, because I use Rhodes Rolls ALL the time for so many things. I have already put the mini pizza, the cinnamon pull aparts, and sticky bun recipes on this blog, which all use Rhodes Rolls. I will post a few more Rhodes recipes in the near future. I ALWAYS have a bag of Rhodes in my freezer, it's a staple at my house! Here's another good one....

Servings: 12
Skills: Intermediate
Prep Time: 15 min (not including thaw time)
Bake Time: 15 min
Ingredients

12 Rhodes™ Dinner rolls, thawed to room temperature (I use the defrost option on the
microwave, and watch the closely so they are barely thawed, otherwise it starts
to cook them and they are ruined)
10 caramels, cut into 6 pieces each
1/3 cup flour
2 cups peeled, chopped Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
melted butter
cinnamon/sugar or powdered sugar

Instructions

Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Flatten each roll into a 4-5 inch circle. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest while preparing filling. In a medium bowl, combine caramels, flour, apples, pecans, ice cream topping and lemon juice. Remove wrap from dough and place 1-2 tablespoons of filling on each dough circle. Brush edges of dough with milk and fold in half. Seal edges with a fork. Place on a sprayed baking sheet and bake at 350°F 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar or powdered sugar.

Recipe taken from Rhodes website

Single Serving Peach Crisp

Last month in my Better Homes and Garden magazine, there was an article that had 50 ways to use peaches. The reipes were simple and quick. I tried one tonight, and it was so yummy!!!

-Remove skin from peaches

-Cut peach in half and remove core

-Mix some instant oatmeal, butter and brown sugar and sprinkle on each slice of peach

-I added some cinnamon to the top

-Bake at 375 until brown and bubbly

-If you want you can add some topping, like whip cream, ice cream, or vanilla frozen yogurt

Cheesy Chicken noodle skillet

I just love comfort foods, and Mac N'Cheese is just one of those foods. I like to try homemade mac n cheese recipes, and I think a lot of them bomb because they can just end up tasting too weird. I really liked this one, it's super quick and easy for those nights you need a quick fix, and bonus...there is a green veggie in it!

What You Need:

3 cups Egg noodles, uncooked

1 lb. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

2 cups Frozen chopped broccoli

1/2 cup Fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed

1/4 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

BRING large saucepan of water to boil on high heat. Add noodles and chicken. Cook 8 min. or until chicken is cooked through and noodles are tender, adding broccoli to saucepan after 6 min. Drain noodle mixture; return to saucepan.

ADD broth, cream cheese and mayo. Heat just to simmer on medium-low heat. Simmer 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is melted and sauce is well blended, stirring constantly. (Note: I would have the cream cheese at room temp, that way you don't have to keep stirring the cream cheese into the noodles, eventually the noodles get a little starchy and start sticking together, so this will help to avoid that!)

ADD shredded cheese; stir 1 min. or until melted. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

Wheat banana bread with Streusel-Nut Topping

Okay, so last week you may remember that I posted a banana bread recipe, and I mentioned that next time I wanted to try it with a crunch topping? Weirdly enough a few days later I was looking through my BHG magazine and there was a recipe for banana bread with a streusel topping...it was a must try....and it was a definately yummy recipe. I have been wanting to try banana bread with wheat flour and it turned out really good with this recipe, enjoy!!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup whole wheat)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 cups mashed banana (4-5 medium)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter or margarine (I used 1/4 a cup of butter which is a 1/2 cube butter and 1/4 cup applesauce instead)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts ( I ommited the walnuts in the bread and left it for the topping)
1 recipe Streusel-Nut Topping

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of one 9x5x3-inch or two 7-1/2x3-1/2x2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, banana, sugar, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). If desired, sprinkle Streusel Topping over batter.

3. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes for 9x5x3-inch pan or 40 to 45 minutes for 7-1/2x3-1/2x2-inch pans or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

4. Makes 1 loaf

5. Streusel-Nut Topping: In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/3 cup chopped walnuts.

Chicken Tacos

Forget going out to a a fancy Mexican resteraunt, these are killer and really easy. If you are intimidated to make Mexican food, don't be, this is a great one to try! Funny little story to go along with this recipe. Every time Chris's aunt comes to town, she begs Chris's mom to make these, and because she only gets a chance to eat these when she comes to town, she consumes like 12 of these babies, they are that good!!

1 garlic clove

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. oil, vegetable or canola

3 1/2-4 cups shredded chicken (I just boil 4 chicken breasts, and then run them through my food processor, so easy!(

12-15 corn tortillas (I just buy a big bag of corn tortillas-I will tell you what to do with them below)

Pinch of pepper

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 onion, chopped

2 (10 oz.) cans Rotel tomatoes (I drain one of the cans, and not the other)

grated cheese

shredded lettuce

Sour Cream

If you want, homemade guacamole, click here for recipe.

Mash garlic with salt to make a paste. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic paste. Cook unitl onion is tender. Add tomatoes, pepper and cumin. Stir in chicken. Cook uncovered, sitrring occasionally until liquid is obsorbed into meat. Taste and add more salt and cumin if needed.

For corn shells, get a skillet (or I use fajita skillet), and place a corn tortilla on it, cook 20 seconds on each side...this will make the corn shells sorft. Once cooked place in between 2 paper towels to keep warm and soft. Enjoy!!!

Cinnamon Banana Bread

I apologize if you want something besides bread recipes, but I have been on a bread kick lately. I don't know if it's because Fall is quickly approaching, and the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg cooking in my kitchen gets me real giddy for the fall. I don't know, either way, here's another recipe for ya!

By the way, this recipe called for 2 cubes of butter, yes, 2 cubes. But, I couldn't bring myself to cook with that much fat. So I used 1 cube of butter and 1/2 a cup of applesauce, and this cake was soooo moist! You are going to love it!

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup of butter (1 cube)

1/2 cup of applesauce (next time I am going to by the cinnamon applesauce to give it even more spice.)

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I didn't add this, but it would be yum!)

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup flour (next time I am going to try half of it using whole wheat flour)

2 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Cream sugars and butter. Add bananas and egg, mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake 350 for 30-35 minutes, or when toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Cool in pan.

PS-when I dumped my batter into the pans, it looked like it wasn't going to be enough batter, don't worry, it bakes fine, it's not a HUGE fluffy bread, but it will rise a little.

EXTRA options:

-Next time I bake this, I am going to try combining some cinnamon, sugar and br. sugar and lightly sprinkling it on top of the bread, and then baking it, to kind of give it a coffee cake crunch

OR

frosting the bread with a cream cheese drizze.......either sounds like heaven

ENJOY!!