Pies, Pies, Pies!

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is all the pies! At Enrichment meeting a few weeks ago, the wife of one of the members of the Bishopric of my ward taught us how to make homemade pie crust and apple pie! It really made me want to contribute to my family's Thanksgiving feast with pie! I asked my mom if I could make my favorite pie ever, a Carmel Apple Pie, and she said that would be great. In the end, I actually ended up making three pies, all of which turned out pretty well! I thought it was a nice assortment; there was something for everyone! I think even the pickiest eater would enjoy eating! I discovered the Carmel Apple Pie last October when I was trying to find a recipe for a ward party. It was in the Taste of Home magazine, but it called for pears. I was a little hesitant about that, so I switched it out for apples! My mom said she thought it was absolutely delicious! I also made a chocolate pie, using my mom's recipe, and a traditional pumpkin pie! We refrigerated them over night, but I'm sure they would be delicious right out of the oven as well!




CARMEL APPLE PIE

• 3 cups sliced peeled ripe pears (about 6 medium)
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
• 18 caramels
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, combine pears and lemon juice. In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add to pears; stir gently. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Pour into pastry shell. In a bowl, combine the oats, flour and remaining sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over pears. Bake at 400° for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan over low heat, melt caramels with milk. Stir until smooth; add pecans. Drizzle over pie. Cool on a wire rack.



Chocolate Pie

1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding (small)
1 pint of vanilla ice cream
1 cup milk
Pie crust (graham cracker or shortbread)

Mix in a medium size bowl vanilla ice cream and pudding until smooth. Stir in milk until everything is smooth and well blended. Pour into a pie crust. Refrigerate over night so it can set up! Enjoy!




Pumpkin Pie

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can Libby's Pumpkin
• 1 can evaporate milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
• Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:
Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.
Bake in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Apricot Chicken

Who says that a fancy meal has to take forever to make and use a ton of ingredients! One of my very favorite meals is way simple, but it definitely could qualify as something you could order at a restaurant! I discovered this recipe about a year or so ago when I had some apricot jam in the fridge that I wanted to try and use for dinner. I came across this delicious, but simple, recipe for apricot chicken, and it has become a family favorite ever since. I made this a few weeks ago for my roommates, on the night of the Election, and they all seemed to love it! I recommend serving it with garlic bread or garlic knots

APRICOT CHICKEN

6 chicken breasts
3/4 cup Apricot Jam
1 pkg. French Onion Soup Mix
1/2 bottle French or Catalina Dressing
Linguini (or rice...I like Linguini the best though!)

Mix together jam, french onion soup mix, and dressing in a medium size bowl until well combined. Place chicken breasts in an oven safe container. Pour jam mixture over the chicken. Cook in over at 325 degrees F for about an hour. Serve over Linguini or rice. I like to put parmesan cheese on top.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Another item on the menu for the BYU versus U of U football game party was my mom's delicious Chicken Salad Sandwiches! For as long as I can remember, my mom would make these delicious sandwiches for our long road trips, and all of us always loved them! I have made them a few times while at college, and enjoy them everytime! They only take a few ingredients and are extremely simple to make! They are great to make for a bridal or baby shower, or to bring to someone for lunch or dinner when they aren't feeling well!




CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES

2 cans of canned chicken
Mayonaise
Garlic Powder
Lemon Pepper
Grapes, Apples, Celery, etc.
Croissaints (or another kind of bread to put the salad on)
Cashews

Mix together 2 cans of canned chicken and a spoonful or two of mayonaise. Just play it by ear how much you should put in; you just want enough to blend it. Put in about a teaspoon of garlic powder and lemon pepper and mix. If you desire, put in cut up apples, grapes, and/or celery. Putting cashews in is a nice touch as well! Spoon onto croissants and serve. Put in refrigerator if you won't be serving for awhile.

Mint Chocolate Brownies

A few weeks ago when I was visiting Colorado, my mom welcome my brother and me with a huge plate of the most delicious brownies I have ever had (well, they are tied with my roommate, Christie's, moms carmel brownies..I still need that recipe!). They were this delicious mint brownies. The Creamery grocery store by my apartment has similar brownies, but the recipe my mom has definitely takes the cake (or perhaps...the Brownie!! haha). I have been craving them since I have gotten back to school, and today was the perfect occasion to make them! It was the BYU versus University of Utah game, and my brother, Daniel, and I were having a little party! The Brownies turned out great! Just as a forewarning, they are extremely rich!!!!! Definitely a thicker consistency than your every day Betty Crocker mix. The recipe I have says it makes 9 brownies, but I got like 30 out of it. I guess it just depends on how big you cut them! I really recommend making this as a dessert when you want to bring something somewhat fancy and pretty looking, but rather simple to make. Enjoy!

Denise Wright’s Chocolate Mint Brownies
1. In a large bowl, cream together: 1 C sugar, 1 C packed brown sugar, 1 C butter or margarine (softened) until fluffy.
2. Beat in 4 eggs until well blended
3. Set Aside.
4. In a small bowl, microwave 4 one-ounce squares baking chocolate for one minute. Stir and continue to heat at ten-second intervals just until melted.
5. Add melted chocolate to the sugar and butter mixture
6. Add 2 tsps vanilla
7. In a separate bowl, stir together 2 C flour and ¼ tsp baking powder; add to creamed mixture and mix well.
8. Spread batter into a greased 9by13-inch baking dish.
9. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few fudgy crumbs.
10. When brownies are cool, frost with Mint Frosting (see recipe below) and refrigerate for an hour.
11. Drizzle chocolate glaze over frosting. (see recipe below)
12. Refrigerate another hour. Makes about 15 brownies.

MINT FROSTING:

½ C butter or margarine, softened

¼ C milk

1 tsp peppermint extract

5 drops red or green food coloring

4 C powdered sugar

Mix first four ingredients. Add powdered sugar and mix well.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

3 T butter or margarine

½ C semi sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Microwave butter and chocolate chips together on high power for one minute.

Add vanilla and stir.

Randomly drizzle glaze over frosted brownies

Pumpkin Cookies

With Halloween over and Thanksgiving quickly approaching, there is pumpkin ever! Whether you are disposing of old pumpkins, or stoking up on canned pumpkin, there is a plethora of delicious recipes out there. A few weekends ago I went to my sister, Cindy's, house for the weekend for my birthday. Upon arriving she pulled out freshly baked pumpkin cookies. They were so delicious! Probably some of the best I've ever had. I kept forgetting to ask her for the recipe, so today when I got the sudden urge to make some, I googled it, and lo and behold, I'm pretty sure I found the exact recipe. They turned out really good, so I thought I would share the recipe. I give credit to Cindy to this recipe; she always has the best ones! She changed a couple things from the original recipe, like adding chocolate chips, but it only made it better!

PUMPKIN COOKIES

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 cup Libby's Pumpkin

1 Large Egg

1 Tsp. Vanilla extract

Preheat over to 350 degrees F and grease baking sheets.  Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. beat in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until edges are firm. Let Cool. 

Easy Cheesy Chicken Alfredo and Wheat Garlic Toast

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I usually love making most of my meals from scratch, but it seems as if lately, I don't have all the time that I used to before college to devote to making lengthy, homemade meals. Because of this, I have been eating far too many microwaveable foods. Don't get me wrong, I love Lean Cuisines, but nothing beats a good home cooked meal! The past few weeks, however, I have decided to make more of an effort to making my dinners, and not just nuking it for a few minutes in the microwave. Mondays are usually a pretty tight day for me, so I prefer to go the “semi-homemade” way.

I discovered this “Cheesy Ragu Roasted Garlic Parmesan” sauce,

and I just had to get it! I hadn't tried it out til yesterday, when I wanted something yummy to eat, but also quick enough to be made and eaten before Family Home Evening.

This recipe is really simple and basically anyone can do it! It's super tasty and I'm sure it will satisfy just about anyone. The only downside about the sauce is that it separated a little bit after I had it simmering on the stove while the noodles cooked, but this did not affect the flavor. I added a few spices to the sauce, just to give it a little more of a zing. I didn't have any on hand when I made this, but to make it a little healthier and get your daily dose of vegetables in, you could add some onions, red peppers, or virtually any kind of veggie you like to the chicken/sauce mixture! As I do with most of my Italian recipes, I had to add some sort of garlicy

bread. Last night the choice was wheat garlic toast! It takes literally minutes to cook. However, I accidently slightly burnt it, so it doesn't look as appetizing in this picture, but trust me, it is delicious and simple, which is something I am always searching for!

Easy Cheesy Chicken Alfredo

One Jar of Cheesy Ragu Roasted Garlic Parmesan Sauce

1 Package of uncooked Linguini

Precooked Grilled Chicken strips (as many as you think you'll need..You could make your own chicken if you like, I think it's just easier to use the precooked!)

Garlic Powder

Italian Seasoning

Parsley

Various veggies (onions, red peppers, etc.)

Bring a pot of water to a roaring boil and cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Add salt to the water to flavor the Pasta. Put the chicken strips into a sauce pan and cook until they look tender. Pour the Ragu sauce into the pan and mix the chicken around in it until it is fully covered. Add the seasonings (just a few shakes of each) and mix the mixture around. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve the chicken sauce over the noodles.

Wheat Garlic Toast

Wheat Bread--as many pieces as you think you'd like (I use Sara Lee, but any kind will do)

Butter

Garlic Powder

Parmesan Cheese

Grated Cheese (optional)

Lay the bread onto a oven safe cooking dish. Spread a light layer of butter on each piece. Sprinkle garlic powder, then parmesan cheese, and then a little more garlic powder on top of the buttered bread. If you want a little more cheesy of a flavor, sprinkly the grated cheese on top. Cook in the oven on broil for 2-4 minutes, checking periodically because it will burn easily! Serve with any type of pasta, salad, etc.

Yummy Quesadilla!

So this is obviously a really simple recipe, but for a college student on the go, or anyone else that is in need of a quick, but yummy, meal, it's perfect! One of my roommates brought a Quesadilla maker, and needless to say, it has been a huge hit!! Last night I was craving one, so I put a little bit of a twist on a typical cheese quesadilla. I thought it was yummy, so I thought i'd share it with you all!

(I only used one tortilla, but just double it for a full quesadilla)

1 flour tortilla
1 spoonful of TOSTITOS® Creamy Southwestern Ranch Dip (SO yummy!)
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used the mexican blend from Kraft..I think)
About 6 pieces of grilled chicken strips
Salsa

Cut flour tortilla in half. On one half, put the grilled chicken strips across it, and sprinkle cheese over chicken (more or less depending on what you like). One the other half of the tortilla, spread the spoonful of the Ranch Dip evenly. Put this part of the tortilla on top of the one with the chicken and cheese, and place carefully on Quesadilla maker (or whatever device you use to make quesadillas), and cook until nice and crunchy! Enjoy!

Cindy's Yummy Banana Bread

I love banana bread! I'd say it's one of my favorite baked goods. So when I tried Cindy's banana bread, I couldn't resist asking for the recipe! She gave us some when I came back down from visiting her and AJ once, and my roommates all LOVED it! I made some the other day, and although I don't think it was as good as when Cindy made it, but it seemed to be a hit. It was baking during ward prayer, which is done in the lobby of my building, and some of the boys from my FHE group stampeded (no exaggeration) in, to get some! Unfortunately it wasn't done so they had to wait, but it turned out yummy! I give Cindy all credit for this delicious bread :)

3 eggs
1 C. Oil (veg)
2 1\2 C. Sugar
1 TBS. vanilla (I put about 1.5 because I like lot)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1\4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon (more or less depending how much you want it to be cinnamony)
3 C. flour
3-4 bananas (they don't have to be really old, but they are easier to mix in
when they are softer)
1 1\2 cups chocolate chips if desired, that was my first time using chocolate
chips, if you don't want it to be so sugary then you can leave them out, the
bread is good without it, too!

or if you want it to be zucchini bread, shred 2-3 zucchini's and omit the
bananas

Put all ingredients in a bowl in that order, and mix with kitchen aid mixer, hand mixer
or spoon. Bake at 325 and 60-70 minutes.

Note: The batter will either fit into one regular sized bunt pan, or two bread pans.
Plan accordingly!

Enjoy!

Mom's Famous Lasagna!

By far one of my favorite meals that my mom makes his her lasagna! Honestly, it's probably the best I've ever had, and I'm totally not being biased! I made it for my friends the other day, and my friend Cortney, who doesn't ever like lasagna, loved it! I figured I'd post this on my blog so I can have it handy someday (Once I get enough recipes on here, I'm gonna turn it into a blog book recipe book!). This lasagna is the best you'll probably ever have, so I recommend making it!

Mom's Famous Lasagna

Brown together: one pound lean ground beef, one pound Italian sausage

Add dried onions or real chopped onions if desired

Drain meat if necessary

Add one can spaghetti sauce, one large can tomato sauce, one large can water

Add Italian seasoning, lemon pepper, garlic powder, seasoning salt (a couple shakes of each)

Bring to a low boil, turn down heat and simmer as long as you want, but about half an hour is right

Bring large pot to a rolling boil, add about 12 lasagna noodles, cook until tender (see box to find out how long)

When noodles are done, drain in colander and rinse in cool water.

Spray 8 1/2 by 11 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Place a layer of noodles in bottom of dish.

Sprinkle parmesan cheese over noodles

Cover noodles with a layer of sauce

Cover with grated cheese (I use a colby/mozzarella mixture)

Repeat two times

Layer two additional, shorter noodles across top

Cover with parmesan cheese, and then mozzarella cheese if you have it, combo cheese if that's all your have

Cover with alumninum foil.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

Remove aluminum foil and bake 10 minutes longer

Let cool about ten or fifteen minutes.

Cut and serve. Enjoy! Yum--it sounds so good!!

Quesochunga!

Everyone loves a nice, fried, chimichanga! This recipe came from a few different sources. The base for it is from someone in my ward at Church from a cookbook that was put together. I asked daniel if he would make them, because I really hate frying things (I'm not gonna lie, sparking grease freaks me out!), so he put his own twist on them, styling them semi-after a Queso Chimichanga at Hacienda Colorado. These were absolutely delicious!! They were nice and crispy on the outside, and the insides were blended just perfectly. Daniel made half beef, half chicken, but if you want just chicken or just beef, just double the amount of the meat you wantI took some pictures of Daniel making them, so I'll put those after the recipe!

QUESOCHUNGA

1 can canned chicken

1 lb. beef, browned and drained

8 large tortillas (if you want smaller chimichangas, you would probably use about 16 tortillas, give or take)

About a cup of shredded cheese

1 jar salsa

1 jar of queso (your favorite brand works!) (warm it up)

1/2 can green chili sauce

1 pot of oil about 1 1/2 inches deep, heated.

Brown beef and cook chicken (in seperate pans). Mix in about 1 cup salsa with each meat. Add a couple spoonfuls of green chili sauce into chicken and beef. Put 1/4 cup of the queso into the beef, and about a tablespoon of queso into the chicken. Set aside. Heat oil. Warm tortillas in microwave. Put some of the mixture (chicken or beef) into center of tortilla, a spoon ful of queso and a little bit of green chili sauce, and a little bit of shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla so it is secure (use toothpick if needed). Place chimichanga fold down into the oil for about 10 seconds (or until brown), flip it, and repeat. Remove from oil and place on paper towel to drain and let cool BUT put slather top of chimichanga with queso immediately after putting on paper towel. Repeat steps until all meat mixtures are gone. Serve with sour cream and salsa! Enjoy!

Yummy Wheat Bread!

I really love to bake! Cookies, breads, anything...It's just so fun! Recently, I have started making this excellent recipe for wheat bread! My little brother, Michael, made the recipe at school last year on Colonial day, and we found the recipe a few weeks ago. This is some of the easiest bread I have ever made, and it doesn't take much time at all to make! I love eating it with raspberry jam..yummy! Definitely try this one out!

WHEAT BREAD
2 C. warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/4 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 C. vegetable oil
1 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
About 4 C. white flour (I actually only end up using about 3 cups)

Dissolve yeast in the warm water. Stir in sugar until dissolved, let stand 3 minutes. Add salt and vegetable oil. Stir in wheat flour. Beat 1 cup whtie flour. Add flour 1/4 c. at a time until dough is stiff enough to knead (but not flaky). Turn dough onto floured surface. Knead a couple of times. When dough springs back after lightly touched, shape into ball and place in well greased pan to raise until about double in size (it took about 15 minutes for me!). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from pan and cool

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies!

So i'm sure everyone has a cookie recipe that they think is the BEST...but well, this really is the best :-) My mom got it from an Enrichment Night at Church, and they are definitely often made in our home! I definitely can't get enough of them, which is definitely not good! he he. They are really simple, but VERY delicious!

BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1 cup butter flavor Crisco
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. soda
1-12 oz. milk chocolate chips

Cream first 5 ingredients until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix into creamed mixture. Add milk chocolate chips. Drop from ice-cream scoop 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Baket at 345 for 11 minutes. Cool before serving.

Honey Mustard Chicken with Vegetables

This is a recipe from "Great Taste-Low Fat" cook book. There are a lot of tasty recipes in here that you wouldn't even guess were low in fat! This is one of my very favorites. I recommend serving it over rice.

HONEY MUSTARD CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp. olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks (the recipe calls for green peppers, but i like red better!)
1 large red onion, cut in 1-inch chunks
2 gloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest (i left this out cuz we didn't have it, but i'm sure it would make the dish even more delicious!
1/2 tsp. dried sage
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp. honey dijon mustard
1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsps. cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp. water

Cut the chicken into 2-inch pieces. On a sheet of waxed paper, combine the flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. of the black pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil until hot but not smoking over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate. Add to the pan the bell pepper, onion, garlic, lemon zest, sage, remaining 1/4 tsp. salt, and remaining 1/4 tsp. black pepper to the skillet, stirring to coat. Add the broth, mustard, and honey and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the pan, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the chicken is cooked through. Return to boil, stir in lemon juice and the cornstarch mixture, and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thickened, about one minute.

Grilled Bacon Chicken

So i found this recipe awhile back when trying to find something a little different to make for dinner. It was pretty tasty and extremely easy to make!

GRILLED BACON CHICKEN

6 slices bacon
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil (or vegetable oil if your like my family and don't really want to spend all that money on olive oil..even if it is healthier :-D)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or chicken tenders work just as well, just plan on about 3 for each person)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


Cook bacon in a pan until crisp. Crumble and set aside. Pour the bacon grease out of the pan, but don't wipe out the pan. Add butter and oil to the pan. Saute the chicken in pan, turning once, until the chicken is cooked and not pink in the middle (5-10 minutes on each side). Put the chicken into an ungreased 12x8 cooking dish. Cook onion and garlic in the skillet until the onion is softened. Add in salt and pepper and crumbled bacon. Spoon over the top of the chicken, and then put shredded cheese on top of the chicken and bacon mixture. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes (or until cheese is melted)

Spaghetti Pizza

So, at first glance this recipe might sound slightly strange...But it's actually quite good. I found a similiar recipe on the back of a Hunts spaghetti sauce can, Macaroni Pizza, but my doesn't like macaroni so we changed it a little bit. I made this when my Grandma and Grandpa Park were visiting, and they liked it too :) I served it with garlic knots (see the recipe for these delicious items at the beginning of this blog).

SPAGHETTI PIZZA
1 package of linguni (my favorite type of pasta!)
1 package of sausage (or ground turkey if you wanted a healtheir rendition)
1 package lean ground beef
25 pepporonis cut into 1/4's
About 2 cups of shredded cheese
1 can of hunts spaghetti sauce (whatever flavor you want)
1 can of tomato sauce
2 tsp. sage
1 tbsp. bbq sauce
2 tsp. italian seasoning
2 tsp. cilantro
Parmesan Cheese (to top)

MAKE SURE TO HAVE A LARGE PAN WHEN COOKING THIS
Cook linguni according to package until tender and drain. Set aside. Cook the sausage and ground beef and drain if there is excess grease. After meat is cooked, combine with spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce and mix. Then put in the spices and bar b que sauce and let simmer. After simmering for a few minutes, put the linguini and the pan and mix around until all of this is well combined. Sprinkle half the cheese and all the pepporonis into the mixture and stir. After letting the cheese melt throughout the dish, put the remainder of the cheese on top and let it melt. When I cooked it on the stove, it didn't completely melt so i stuck it in the oven for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve!

BTS Cake

So seriously, this is definitely the BEST cake I have ever had. A friend of mine gave me the recipe after he had it at a Church activity, and I tried it out on my family, and i think it was a unanimous agreement that it was delicous. Brandon even requested that Diana make it for his birthday :-) I definitely recommend this delicious dessert for any occasion.

1 boxed german chocolate cake mix (or devils food cake works just as well)
1 jar of caramel topping
1 tub of whipped cream
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
About 2 cups of crushed heathe bars (or any other candy you might like more)

Bake the cake as directed in a 9x13 cooking dish and let cool. After it is cool, poke many holes across the top of the cake (make sure hte hole goes all the to the bottom of the pan). Pour the jar of caramel topping evenly over the top of the cake, making sure to let the caramel seap into all the holes. After this, pour the sweetened condensed milk over the cake in the same matter as the caramel, letting it seep into the cake. Spread one tub of whipped cream over the top of the cake,a nd then sprinkle with the crushed candy bars. Refrigerate till ready to serve

Chicken Enchilada Soup

My sister Diana gave me this delicious recipe that one of her friends gave to her because Alexis loved it so much. I have made this several times and it's usually quite the hit! I changed it up a little bit (just because we had different spices than it called for, and cuz we didn't have green chilis) but its a really great meal. I defintely recommend it. I served it with garlic bread! its yummy!

CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
2 cans Great Northern White Beans
2 cans Chicken Broth
25 ounces canned chicken
2 can cream chicken soup
2 can green chili enchilada sauce
Dump all these cans into a large pot
Then add:
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cilantro
1 tsp. sage
1/2 cup of dried onion (brown these)

Cook on high until it boils, and then bring it down to a light simmer. 30 minutes before serving, add 1 can of evaporated milk. Serve with shredded cheese and tortilla chips!

Italian Chicken Breast with noodles

On the back of the parmesan cheese container, there was this recipe for Italian chicken and it sounded really good. Of course, I always have to change things around in a recipe, or make it a little different, so I decided to add some Hunts Three Cheese spaghetti sauce to the chicken and serve it over linguini. It turned out really yummy! Earlier that day, me and my mom were watching Rachel Ray, and that inspired me to make some garlic bread...unfortunately my mom threw away the garlic clove I bought a little while ago, so i had to settle with using garlic powder and margarine (even though ever since AJ informed us it is one molecule away from plastic i've not eaten it...I decided a little bit wouldn't hurt), but it turned out just as good. My mom asked me to put this recipe on here so she can have it next year while i'm at college. It's pretty simple, so hopefully you all like it too :)

Italian Chicken Breasts and noodles
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 tsp. Parsley
1/4 tsp. Paprika
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
2 Tbsp. melted butter
5-6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 large can of Hunts three cheese spaghetti sauce (or any flavor you like)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the paremesan cheese, bread crumbs, and seasonings together in a bowl. Dip chicken into melted butter, and then coat with the parmesan cheese mixture. Put chicken in a sprayed glass cooking dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes (or until chicken is done). After the chicken is cooked, place in a large pan on the stove. Pour over the top the spaghetti sauce, making sure it covers all the chicken. Just cook until the sauce is warmed, about 10 minutes. Serve over linguini, or any other type of noodles.

Garlic Bread
French bread, cut in half
Softened Margarine or Butter
Garlic Powder
Parmesan Cheese

Place bread onto cooking sheet. Cut into slices. Spread a light layer of margarine (or butter) on the bread and put about a tsp or so of garlic powder on each slice of bread. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top. Put under the broiler for about 5 minutes, but watch closely because it will burn easily!

Oh, and we also had a really yummy salad with this meal. It was just lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers. We discovered a really cool type of cucumber while watching Rachel Ray. It is seedless, and the skin on the outside is so thin, you don't have to peel it. It's great. They are called English Cucumbers and are at any store.

Ramen Chicken Salad and Dreamsicle Salad

This is for you Diana :-)

Starting around...last...october maybe, my Laurels class at Church decided that we would try, once a month, to have a cooking/recipe trading night. Each month would have a different theme, and all of us could bring a dish if we wanted, or just a recipe, and then our leaders would bring the materials to make a dish together. Needless to say, it's been pretty fun! We've had casserole night (of course..since we ARE Mormon), soups/salads, breads, etc. This last January was soup and salad (I brought Chicken Enchilada Soup..I'll have to post that later). Sister Stevens, the Young Women's President for my ward, had us make a delicious Ramen Chicken Salad. Let me tell ya, it's probably one of the best of its kind. We've had it a couple of times at my house since and we all really like it. It's really simple and quick to make, and served with garlic toast, makes a great meal. Also probably a really good idea for a potluck. It makes A LOT. I'm also putting a recipe up that my friend Heather brought for a desert salad. It was SO good, and I definitely recommend it do anyone with a sweet tooth :-D

Ramen Chicken Salad
3 Tbsp. Margarine or Butter 1 pkg. oriental-flavor ramen noodles
2 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. white vinegar 1 T. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. pepper 2 c. cut up cooked chicken
1/2 c. dry roasted peanuts 1/2 c. sliced green onion
16 oz. bag coleslaw mix

Melt margarine (or butter) in skillet over medium heat. Stir in seasoning from noodles. Break block of noodles into bite-size pieces over skillet; stir noodles into margarine mixture. Cook two minutes, stirring constantly; stir in sesame seed. Cook about two more minutes, stirring constantly, until noodles are golden brown.

Mix sugar, vinegar, oil, and pepper in large bowl (large enough for the rest of the ingredients). Add noodle mixture and remaining ingredients, and toss well.

Dreamsicle Salad
1 3 oz. package tapioca pudding mix
1 3 oz. package vanilla pudding mix
1 3 oz. package orange gelatin
3 cups water
1 11 oz. can mandarin oragnes, drained
1 8 oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Combine tapioca pudding, vanilla pudding, and orange gelatin mixes with water in cooking pan. Cook until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove fromheat and cool. When cooled, fold in oragnes and whipped topping. Refrigerate overnight.

ENJOY!

Cheesy Baked Potato Soup

Here is a recipe for a really good Baked Potato soup that I just tried out for dinner tonight. I found the recipe on some website, so i tweaked it a little bit, and it turned out really good! Probably the best recipe I've had for this kind of soup. It served my mom, dad, and me, and we had about half left over! Oh, and it calls for vinegar, but you can't taste it, so don't let that throw you off!

Cheesy Baked Potato Soup

4 cups Chicken Broth (two cans)
6 med. potatos-peeled and cut up into medium-small pieces (boil beforehand)
4 green onions-sliced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
4 tsp. distilled white vinegar
2 tsp. salt
3 cups milk with 2 Tbsp. of all-purpose flour (mix before putting in)
2 cups of shredded cheese (the white/yellow combination)
6 strips of crumbled up bacon (1 cup of bacon bits works as well!!)
2 tsp. Worchestire Sauce

Put the first six into a soup pan and bring to a boil. After boiling, cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, whisk in the milk and flour mixture. Then stir in cheese and bacon. Add more or less, depending on what you want. Let simmer for about 10 minutes (or until thick), stirring the whole time.

Chicken Pesto Pasta and Garlic Knots

The other day, I was really wanting some Chicken Pesto Pasta, so I started searching for a good, tasty recipe. I came across one that not only looked like it would taste delicious, but it was a bit healthier than most of the recipes. Don't let the use of fat free half and half throw you off, you can't even tell its fat free. My dad and I really liked this..my mom not so much a fan. My sister Diana came over the next day, had some of the leftovers, and really liked it too. I think its a keeper! And of course, I made some garlic knots, my family's personal favorite. They are really simple and very delicious. The dough I used is also really low calorie. Enjoy!! (We doubled the recipe below, and we had plenty of leftovers!)

Chicken Pesto Pasta
1 Tbsp olive oil
About 10-15 pieces of grilled chicken strips (or about 3 cooked chicken breasts)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Butter of margarine
1 1/2 tsp flour
1 1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half
2 Tbsp pesto
1/2 lb Farfalle, cooked and drained
2 tsp. basil

Cook chicken in a pan with oil until well done. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside for later. Add butter, garlic, and flour, mixing until bubbly. Add half-and-half and stir until combined. Whisk in the pesto and bring to a boil, cooking until thickened. Add basil, or other spices if you please. Add chicken and cooked farfalle to the pan and toss to coat well.

**Note** I noticed that when I was making the mixture, it wasn't white and kind of had a brownish look to it (probably from some of the debris from cooking the chicken). If this happens, don't worry. It will end up being white after your done.

Garlic Knots
1 tube of pillsbury breadsticks
1 cube butter or margarine
1 Tbsp. garlic salt
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
1/4 grated cheese
Parmesan Cheese (for topping)

Place breadsticks on greased cookie sheet. Cut each stick in half (unless you want larger knots). Tie each piece into a knot. Bake in over according to package (I believe its 375 for 10-12 minutes). While baking, put butter, garlic salt, italian seasoning, and grated cheese, into small sauce pan and melt. The cheese doesn't really melt, but it adds a nice flavor. Continue stirring once melted and put on low heat. When knots are done, dip into butter mixture and cover. Sprinkle knots with parmesan cheese.