APPLE CINNAMON CHEX MIX

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My boys went on a fishing trip for their spring break and I sent this treat along with them.

5 c. Wheat Chex® cereal
1 c. whole almonds
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 T. light corn syrup
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. chopped dried apples
1/2 c. vanilla yogurt-covered raisins

In large microwavable bowl, mix cereal and almonds. *In 2 a cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and cinnamon uncovered on high about 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until mixture is boiling; stir. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated. Microwave uncovered on high 3 minutes, stirring and scraping bowl after every minute. Stir in apples and microwave uncovered on high about 2 minutes more or until apples just begin to brown on edges. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool, about 5 minutes. When almost cool, place in serving bowl. Stir in raisins. When completely cooled, store in airtight container.
*I chose to boil my butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a saucepan instead of the microwave. I poured it over the cereal, almonds, and apples, and then I spread it out on a foil lined baking sheet. I baked it at 350 for about 5-8 minutes until apples started to brown on the edges.

ALASKAN DESSERT

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My Mom affectionately named this dessert after Alaska because that is where she was the first time she tasted it. We always go with chocolate pudding, but butterscotch, pistachio, lemon, coconut, or banana would be just as good!

1 c. flour
1/2 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped
1/2 c. butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the flour, nuts and butter. Press mixture into a 9 X 13 inch pan. Bake 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. While crust is cooling, beat together:

8 ozs. softened cream cheese

1 c. powdered sugar

1 c. Cool Whip (reserve the rest for the top)

When the crust is cool, spread cream mixture over crust. Chill in refrigerator until set.

Mix together:

2 (3 1/2 oz.) packages instant pudding mix

3 c. milk

When the cream cheese layer is set, top with pudding. Chill until set. Spread with remaining Cool Whip.

KRAFT SANTA FE CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP

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This soup also uses the Cooking Creme that was in the Santa Fe Chicken Casserole. It is really creamy and tasty, even when I substituted chicken broth for the milk.

4 corn tortillas (6 inch), cut into strips+
1 tsp. oil OR buy these
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chunked or shredded
1 tub (10 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme
1 c. milk
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed
1 can (11 oz.) corn with red and green bell peppers, drained
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

If making your own tortilla strips, preheat oven to 400°F. Toss tortilla strips with oil then spread into a single layer on baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. In a pot, heat milk (or broth), beans, corn, and tomatoes. Simmer on medium-low heat until heated through, stirring frequently. Stir in cooking creme and warm through. Add chicken. Serve soup topped with tortilla strips and cilantro.

SANTE FE CHICKEN CASSEROLE

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I wanted to try this new Cooking Creme product from Kraft and there was a high value coupon floating around for it. It really adds alot of flavor and creaminess to the dish.

3 c. cooked chicken breast halves, shredded
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz.) no salt added diced tomatoes, drained
2 green onions, chopped
1 tub (10 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme, divided
3 flour tortillas (6 inch)
3/4 c. shredded cheese, divided (I used cheddar)

*optional: I crushed some tortilla chips and sprinkled them on top after I uncovered the casserole for some crunch.

Preheat oven to 375º F. Combine chicken, beans, tomatoes, and green onions. Stir ¾ cup of cooking creme into mixture. Spoon 1/3 of the chicken mixture into 9-inch pie plate. Top with 1 tortilla, half the remaining chicken mixture ,and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Cover with second tortilla, remaining chicken mixture, 1/4 cup shredded cheese and remaining tortilla. Top with remaining ¼ cup cooking creme and shredded cheese; cover. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through then uncover. Add crushed chips, if desired. Bake 5 additional minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Serve with sour cream if desired.

SPINACH STRAWBERRY SALAD

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Who is ready for spring?! I know we are. I am loving all the fresh new strawberries popping up in stores for reasonable prices. This is a great way to use those.

Spinach
Lettuce (optional)
Sliced Strawberries
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
Sliced Almonds I like these

Dressing:
1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk (I use water)
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. sliced strawberries
2 tsp. poppy seeds
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Blend the mayo, sugar, milk or water, vinegar, strawberries, poppy seeds, onion powder, and salt. I like to let the dressing chill for a few hours to let the flavors blend. Dress and top with strawberries, cheese, and almonds.

CARROT CAKE

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My Mom makes this for my sister's birthday in April every year. It is really the only time of year we have it, which I'm not sure why that is because it's so good!

2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. crushed pineapple, drained
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. carrots, shredded
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 325. Mix sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and pineapple. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, soda, and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture. Finally, add carrots, walnuts, and raisins. Pour into greased 9 X 13 pan (or desired pan/pans) and bake for 1 hour. Cool, then frost with cream cheese frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar

Combine butter, cream cheese, milk, and vanilla. Beat well with a hand mixer. Add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Frost cake. Devour!

RACHAEL RAY'S SLOW COOKER

HONEY LEMON CHICKEN & POTATOES
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This was a recipe on Rachael's Top 10 Most Downloaded Recipes of 2010 show. Doesn't it just sound like comfort?

1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil
8 chicken thighs
salt and black pepper
1 1/2 lbs. baby potatoes
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic
4-5 sprigs thyme, leaves picked and chopped (I didn't use)
2 lemons, thinly sliced
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. chicken stock or water

Optional: Fancy Schmancy Topping: (I didn't use)
zest of 1 lemon, cut into strips
1/2 c. flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 c. pine nuts, toasted
balsamic vinegar

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown on both sides. Add the potatoes, onion, garlic, thyme and lemon slices into the crock pot. Season with salt and pepper. Lay the browned chicken over the veggies and drizzle with honey. Add the stock or water, cover and cook, undisturbed, for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
If desired, serve each portion topped with a combination of the lemon zest, parsley, toasted nuts and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

CORNED BEEF BRISKET WITH CABBAGE

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This recipe takes about 5 hours from start to finish to get tender, flavorful meat. It's nice for St Patrick's Month though! These might be the perfect ending to the meal.

3 lb. corned beef brisket
1/2 c. onion
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 c. maple flavored pancake syrup
1/2 c. yellow mustard
1 T. prepared Horseradish
1 head green cabbage, sliced into wedges

Place meat in a large pot. Cover with onions, garlic and bay leaves. Add enough water to cover all ingredients. Cover and bring to boil. Simmer on medium-low heat for 1 hour. Drain, reserving meat in pan. Remove and discard bay leaves. Add enough fresh water to pot to cover meat. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer on medium-low heat 2 to 3 hours or until meat is tender.

Heat oven to 350ºF. Remove meat from pan, reserving liquid in the pan. Place meat in shallow baking pan. Mix syrup, mustard and horseradish. Spoon half over meat. Reserve remaining syrup mixture for brushing onto cooked meat. Bake for 20 min. Meanwhile, add cabbage to reserved liquid in saucepan. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until desired tenderness.

FAST PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

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The texture of these are similar to Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies. Great for a quick sweet fix! Found at The Girl Who Ate Everything.

1 c. creamy peanut butter

1 c. lightly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. baking soda

½ c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, and baking soda.. When blended, mix in the chocolate chips. Dough will be very wet and sticky. Scoop onto cookie sheet in small balls. Bake for about 8 minutes. Let the cookies sit on the cookies sheet for 2 minutes before letting cool on a wire rack. Makes around 2 dozen small cookies.

BUFFALO CHICKEN NACHOS

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I found another fun cooking blog and this was the first recipe I tried from there. If you like spicy buffalo sauce, this is a great take on chicken wings.

8 cups ranch flavored tortilla chips (I used Cool Ranch Doritos)
4 c. cooked chicken shredded
1 1/2 cups Frank's Buffalo Wing sauce
1/2 c. water
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
4 ozs. blue cheese crumbles
1 c. chopped celery

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread tortilla chips on a large rimmed baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray. Bring wing sauce and water to a simmer. Add shredded cooked chicken and heat through. Strain the chicken (reserving the sauce) and spread over ranch-flavored tortilla chips. Top with shredded cheddar. Bake in the upper partof the oven until cheese is melted-about 10 minutes. After nachos are baked, top with blue cheese, chopped celery and the reserved wing sauce (if desired). (I topped with blue cheese and celery and put back in the overn for about 3 minutes to warm them a bit).

LEMON COOL WHIP CRINKLES

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These are really simple and a nice treat to welcome Spring!
Original recipe found at Allrecipes, but my new favorite recipe blog tipped me off to them.

1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 eggs
1 (18.25 oz.) package lemon cake mix
1/2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Beat together the whipped topping and eggs. Add the cake mix and mix until combined. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes-1 hour. Lightly spray baking sheets. Drop by teaspoonfuls into a bowl of powdered sugar and roll around to coat. Bake for for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned. Allow to sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before cooling on wire racks.

BLUEBERRY BREAKFAST CAKES

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We had to rename this Allrecipes recipe from pancakes to just cakes because they are not like the traditional pancake you might be used to. These call for no flour, and are dense, hearty, and chewy. They remind me of an oatmeal cookie! This recipe calls for coconut oil which is the new "superfood" I am trying, (You can read the health benefits of coconut oil here. You could easily replace it with regular cooking oil.

2 cups oatmeal (I used old fashioned but it originally calls for quick cooking)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. honey
4 egg whites
1/4 c. milk

1/4 c. coconut oil, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries

Combine oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Mix honey, egg whites, milk, coconut oil, vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Stir the oat mixture into the egg mixture and mix to combine.

Heat a lightly sprayed griddle over medium high heat. Drop batter by 1/4 cups full onto the griddle and top with blueberries. Cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

This is extra yummy served with Warm Buttermilk Syrup!

CHICKEN GYROS

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This is a light and yummy meal that will remind you summer is coming! Eventually!

Marinade:
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 T. olive oil
1/2 tsp. minced garlic, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips
Tzatziki sauce:
1/2 c. chopped peeled cucumber
1/3 c. plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)
1/2 tsp. garlic (I used powder, you can also use fresh)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dill weed
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. honey
2 whole pita breads
Optional toppings:
feta cheese
sliced red onion
sliced tomato
shredded lettuce

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the lemon juice, oil, garlic, mustard and oregano. Add chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. In a food processor, combine the cucumber, yogurt, garlic, salt, dill, vinegar, and honey. Pulse until desired texture. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Drain and discard marinade. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the chicken for 7-8 minutes or until juices run clear. Spoon onto each pita bread. Top with yogurt mixture and desired toppings; fold in half.