July 31, 2010

Grannny Jordan's Chicken Casserole/Salad



I found this recipe on the Three on Food Blog.

Ingredients
1 cooked, cut up chicken
1/2 cup mayo
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 boiled eggs, cut up
3/4 cup celery, diced
onion, diced (I used half of an onion)
1/3 cup cracker crumbs
Potato Chips- I left this out, as I did not have any.

Ritz Crackers,Lettuce Leaves. or Toast for serving.

Mix chicken, mayo, soup, eggs, celery, onion, and cracker crumbs in a bowl. Spread into an 8×8 pan. Top with crushed potato chips. Bake at 350 for twenty minutes. Serve hot or cold. If cold, serve over bed of lettuce with Ritz crackers.

*I served this hot on toasted bread.

Rate It!
Jen:6.5
Kile:6
Kiley:6.5
Madee:6.5
Destrie:good

July 29, 2010

Strawberry Cashew Salad


*Recipe from Our Family Treat blog

Ingredients:
Salad:
1 package of spinach
1 package of spring mix salad
2 chicken breasts, shredded
10 strawberries, sliced
1 avocado, cut into chunks
(I forgot to buy avocado so mine was missing this.)
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Mix together the spinach and spring mix. Then layer chicken, strawberries, avocado and cheese.

Candied Cashews:
8 oz can of cashews
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar

Melt the butter and sugar. Then add cashews. Coat well and pour onto wax paper to let cool. Then top on your salad.

Dressing:
2/3 cup rice vinegar
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons onion flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Mix together well. Dress salad right before serving.

Rate It!
Jen: 9
Kile: 7
Kiley: 7
(Kiley has never liked salad and said this is the best she has ever had!)
Madee: 7.5
Destrie: good-
(He ate all ingredients except the lettuce-he says he's allergic to lettuce!)

July 26, 2010

Menu Planning Monday

Monday: Hamburgers and Hot Dogs on the grill- Tonight is our 6th annual block party. We grill the burgers, my neighbors do hot dogs and people bring potluck items to share.

The rest of this week is going to be all about salads- the perfect meal for those hot summer nights.

Tuesday: Strawberry Cashew Salad
Wednesday: Watermelon Feta Salad
Thursday: Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad

July 25, 2010

Corn Bread and Honey Butter


Recipe from Our Best Bites Blog

Ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix
2 Jiffy cornbread mixes
Oil, milk, and eggs according to package (replace all water with milk)

Preheat oven according to directions on cake mix box.
Combine cake mix and cornbread mixes in a large bowl.
Add eggs, oil, and milk according to package directions (replace all water with milk).
Mix together according to cake mix directions. Bake according to cake mix directions

Honey Butter

2 cubes real butter, (close to room temp- works best when slightly chilled still.)
2/3 C honey
¾ C powdered sugar

***If your butter is too soft, you'll end up with a gooey mess, leave it out on the counter for about 20 minutes or so before beating and it turns out nice and fluffy

Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric hand-mixer for about 30 seconds.

Rate It!!
Jen: 8
Kile: 7
Kiley: 6
Madee: didn't have any
Destrie: Good

July 22, 2010

Green Beans


Recipe from Allrecipes.com
As I was getting ready to make dinner last night, I realized that the veggies I had planned on steaming had gone bad- I hate it when that happens. Anyway, I had a bag of frozen beans in the freezer and hoped I could somehow use them. I went to my Allrecipes.com recipe box and found this recipe that I had saved several years ago and never made. These are officially called Airport Bob's Green Beans. I don't know who Airport Bob is but these beans are delicious!
I did adapt the recipe slightly,it called for 6 strips of Bacon but I used Hormel Real Bacon Bits (as I always do!)

Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup (or more) Hormel Real Bacon bits
* 1 (16 ounce) package frozen cut green beans
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Directions

1. Melt butter and brown sugar in a pan. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved; remove from the heat and set aside.




2. Place the green beans into a Ziploc Zip and Steam Bag. Follow directions on the bag for the amount of beans you are cooking. Let beans sit for 1 minute after cooking as it says on steamer bag. Add to mixture in the pan and serve immediately.

Rate It!
Jen: 8.5
Kile: 9 and he is not a fan of beans!
Kiley: 7.5
Madee: 7.5
Destrie: good- once I forced him to try them!

July 21, 2010

Gooey Marshmallow brownies


Prep Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:
1 box Ghirardelli brownie mix
+ ingredients to make brownies

2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Make brownies according to package instructions. Remove from oven and sprinkle top first with marshmallows and then chocolate chips. Return to oven for 2 to 5 minutes or until marshmallows just start to melt and brown. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Rate it!
Jen: 7 - These are really sweet.
Kile: 7
Kiley: 7
Madee: 7.5
Destrie: good

Watermelon Salsa


I found this recipe at www.RecipeGirl.com

3 cups finely diced seedless watermelon
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup finely minced red onion
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste

1. In a medium bowl, toss watermelon, jalapeno, cilantro, and onion with lime juice. Season with salt. Serve at room temperature (or chilled).

Tips:
*Be sure to take out the seeds and the inside membrane from the pepper… that’s the extra-hot stuff.
*It’s okay to make this early in the day and let it chill until serving.
*Serve with tortilla chips.
Rate It!
* My family does not like cilantro, so I will not have them rate this recipe. I do like cilantro and I thought this was good. It was light and refreshing and I loved that it used watermelon.

July 18, 2010

Menu Planning Monday

Monday: Dinner @ our friends house. I think we are having Mexican food. I am so excited. I could eat Mexican food every day. It is my favorite.

Tuesday: Sandwiches and Watermelon Salsa
Wednesday: Egg Rolls/Rice/Steamed Veggies
Thursday: Tacos

Tortilla Roll Ups


Ingredients:
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 1 oz package dry fiesta style ranch dressing mix
1 cup chunky salsa
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 flour tortillas

In a bowl mix cream cheese, sour cream, dressing mix, salsa, and cheese.
Spread evenly on tortillas. Roll and refrigerate.
To serve, cut tortillas in to 3/4 inch slices.

Rate It!
Jen: 5
Kile: 4
Kiley: not home
Madee: 6
Destrie: not good

Bacon Cheese Dip


Ingredients

* 4 slices bacon- we used Hormel Real Bacon Bits about 1/2 a cup.
* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 8 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
* 2 green onions, finely chopped
* 4 buttery round crackers, crushed

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese with mayonnaise until smooth. Stir in Swiss cheese, onions, and bacon. Place bowl in microwave, and cook 2 minutes. Remove, and stir well. Return to microwave, and cook 2 to 4 minutes more. Sprinkle crushed crackers on top. Serve warm with crackers.

Rate It!
Jen: 7.5
Kile: 7
Kiley: 6
Madee: 8
Destrie: did not try

July 12, 2010

Chicken and Bacon Salad



6 cups lettuce
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 cans white chunk chicken
5 slices Bacon cooked and crumbled-we used real hormel bacon bits
1/2 cup fat free red wine vinaigrette

*We also added peas and cauliflower from our garden, along with some shredded parmesan cheese

Toss all ingredients (except dressing). When ready to serve add dressing and lightly toss.

Rate It!
Jen:8
Kile:7
Kiley:5(does not like lettuce)
Madee:9
Destrie:ok

July 11, 2010

Menu Planning Monday

This week our menu comes from my daughter, Madee. She was looking through my recipe box and I asked her if she wanted to do this week's menu, and she said yes. I am very excited to try the recipes she picked.

Monday: Chicken and Bacon Salad with French Bread
Tuesday: Tortilla Roll Ups
Wednesday: Bacon Cheese Dip/ Ramen Noodles
Thursday:Cereal Night