Chicken Brocoli Bake/ Chicken Dijon

One of our favorites from a recipe in the Heritage cookbook, I double it for my family and serve with rice or if I am taking a meal to someone or freezing it, I add 2-4 cups cooked rice on the bottom of pan. 

4 Chicken Breast, cooked and cut up in strips*
Fresh broccoli spears,  cooked till tender or use 1 10oz pkg frozen, cooked an drained.
1 cup  milk
1 8oz pkg cream cheese , can use low fat
1/2 teas salt
1/4 teas garlic powder
1/2 c Parmesan cheese

In a sauce pan, mix milk, soft cream cheese, slat and garlic and 1/2 parmesan cheese.  Stir and cook till thick.
In bottom of 9x9 greased with butter pan, 9x 13 if doubled,  Put (rice then ) broccoli then chicken breast and pour sauce over.  Sprinkle with rest of parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  4 servings



 *I use the breast meat off a Costco chicken cut up or 3- 4 boneless skinless breast, thawed and grilled or bake in the oven at 400 till brown, usually 15 minutes. Recipes calls for 3-4 chicken breast with skins and bones, simmer for 45 minutes in 2 cups water and 1 teas celery salt, discard liquid, cool and skin and bone chicken.

Chicken Dijon- very simiar, but tastier, my kids don't like it but I do!
4 large chicken breast or whole chicken, cooked and diced
2 packages of frozen broccoli, 10 oz , cooked,  I use fresh...
Make sauce :
2 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup  mayo
1 lemon, juiced
1t curry
Layer chicken and broccoli and pour sauce over and top with
1/2c cheese, grated
Bake a 350 for 25-30 minutes
Serve with rice

4 large

Potato Cheese Soup

This has been a staple in our home for years.  My friend Shelley Kruger brought this for dinner one night in Las Vegas and everyone loved it.  Seem like a lot of steps, they are easy and worth it. 

3-4 large Potatos  (5-6 small)
1/4-12c diced onions ( I use dried 1-2T )
3-4 cups Chicken Broth
1/2 c butter ( I have used 1/4c- just add 1/2 of the flour with the cream cheese)
1/2 c flour
1 brick of low fat cream cheese- fat free doesn't work as well
2-4 cups of Milk
1-2 c shredded cheese
bacon bits  or fresh bacon crumbled
 

-Peel and dice 4 large potatos and place in large pot with  diced onions
-Cover with Chicken Broth 3-4 cups ( I always use homemade or 1-2 cans swanson) and boil till tender.
-In a smaller pan melt butter and add flour to make roux.  Add cream cheese brick and slighty melt adding 2 cups of milk blending till becomes thick. 
-Immediately add to potatos and stir with wisk till blended. Let heat till thick, do not boil, add salt and pepper to taste, amont of salt depends on your broth
-Add 1-2 more cups of milk if needed to thin out

Serve with Shredded cheese, diced bacon or even coooked brocoli/ carrots.

Casey's Coconut Cake/ homemade condensed milk

Over spring break, Megan had a friend from Texas come visit to go on College tours in Colorado.   They have a tradition of breaking a coconut and making a cake with it.  I found this recipe and it was a big hit- alot like tres leches cake... of course we used freshly grated coconut! Ingredients:
1 white cake prepared- use egg whites only
1 13 oz can coconut milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk- see recipe below or use ff
1 cup milk- I left this out so  and was glad I did-
1 bag of shredded coconut
butter
Whipped Topping
fruit toppings
Instructions:
1.  Prepare your white cake
2.  While it is baking, mix the 3 milks together and set aside
3.  When the cake comes out of the oven, pierce it all over with a fork to create holes for the liquid to seep into
4.  Slowly pour the milk all over the cake
5.  Refrigerate the cake until chilled through
6.  Mix 1 small container of whipped topping with 1 cup of shredded coconut.  Spread over top of cake.
7.  In a pan, melt 1 T butter.  Add remaining coconut and stay close, stirring frequently, while the coconut toasts.  Remove when you have a light toast and sprinkle all over the top of the cake.
8.  Top with your fruit of choice.

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk (like Eagle Brand)...never buy it again!

1/2 cup cold water,

1-1/3 cups nonfat dry milk powder,

3/4 cup sugar,

1 teaspoon vanilla.

Directions: Stir milk into cold water.

Microwave on high 45 seconds to 1 minute until steaming, stir in sugar & vanilla. Refrigerate till cool before using...makes 1-1/3 cups (1 can).

Lemon Bars

1/2 c soft butter
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 c flour

Cream butter and sugar; add four.
Spread into 8x8 pan
Bake at 325 for 15-20 min

While crust is baking, prepare next layer:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 T flour
2 T lemon juice
grated lemon rind ( 1/2 lemon)
Beat eggs slightly & add sugar, flour & lemon rind.
Mix well. Pour over the hot crust

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 325
Remove and sprinkle with powdered sugar
Cool before cutting into finger cookies

pumpkin spice cookies

Katie first made these for us one year in Rockville, couldn't believe how Delicious and EASY!!

1 sm can of pumpkin
1 box of Spice Cake mix
1/3 Cup water
1/2 bag of chocolate chips

Add all ingredients and mix!
Cook at 350* about 8-11 minutes.

***You can drop them onto a cookie sheet for cookies or into muffin papers for muffins.
Make them into whoopie pies:

for the cookies:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 package spice cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

for the marshmallow spice filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
half of a 7-oz. jar marshmallow cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil (grease foil, if using).

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat pumpkin and butter on medium until smooth. Add cake mix, eggs, and milk; beat on low speed until combined, and then on medium speed for one minute.

3. By the heaping tablespoon, drop mounds of batter on cookie sheet; keep remaining batter chilled. Bake 15 minutes or until set and lightly browned around edges. Carefully remove from parchment or foil; cool on wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, using new parchment paper for each batch.

If desired, place cookies in a covered storage container with waxed paper between layers to prevent sticking. Store cookies at room temperature for 24 hours. Prepare marshmallow spice filling up to 2 hours before serving.

4. To make marshmallow spice filling, beat 1/2 cup softened butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar, marshmallow cream, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat until well combined.

5. Spread about 2 1/2 tablespoons filling on flat side of one cookie; top with a second cookie. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 2 hours.

Makes 15 whoopies.

peanut butter cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies Preheat Oven to 350 degree

Megan's class did a geneology cook book and this was in it. I quess it is now old fashion to cook with a cake mix...

1 pkg Yellow cake Mix

1 cup Peanut Butter

½ c oil

2 T Water

2 eggs

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Drop from teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Press crisscross on with fork dipped in water or sugar.

Bake 10-12 minutes

Peanut Butter Cups: make dough and place a ball in a mini muffin tin. Cook for 8 minutes Remove and press an unwrapped Reeses PB cup into each cookie and bake another 2-4 minutes

Coleslaw for fish tacos

We fell in love with Rudy's coleslaw in Texas and we always had it on our fish tacos.  This recipes is just as good and cheap!  We even grew our own cabbage this year. 

To make fish tacos: 

Bake tortilla crusted Talapia from Costco and wrap a filet in a homestyle corn tortilla,warmed up and top with coleslaw and green chili sauce if you like it spicier.  YUMM!!

8 c. cabbage, finely chopped
1/4 c. shredded carrot
(or you can use a couple bags of the pre-chopped cabbage-carrot mixture)
1/3 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 Tbsp. white vinegar
2 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. mustard (optional, but adds a nice flavor)

Chop up the cabbage and carrots into fine pieces. In a large bowl, combine sugar, salt, pepper, milk, mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar, lemon juice and mustard, and whisk until smooth. Add the cabbage and carrots. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Drain excess liquid and stir well before serving.