Mango Crockpot Chicken

This is definitely a new favorite recipe! It is easy, delicious and cheap, so it is forevermore a regular on our menu! We all loved it over quinoa with a little sour cream, and a little shredded cheese.

Mango Crockpot Chicken

Spray your crockpot (any kind of cooking spray)
Fill with whole chicken (boneless) breasts
Cover with ½ container of Costco’s Mango Salsa (any salsa works, but this particular kind is the best!)
Cook on LOW all day long – do not stir

It’s time to eat!! Shred the chicken with two forks (do not drain off any juices), salt lightly, and your chicken is ready to go!

--serve with your choice of additions: shredded lettuce, cheese, cut up onions, olives, tomatoes and cilantro, sour cream, etc – on tortillas.

http://www.reluctantentertainer.com/2008/01/crockpot-kids-mango-chicken.html

Gigi's Corn Pudding

No holiday meal would be complete without my grandmother's corn pudding. This is sweet enough to be a dessert, but we eat it as a side :)

Ingredients:
2 cans creamed corn
5 slightly beaten eggs
5 Tbs. flour
4 Tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups milk

Directions: Mix corn, flour, salt, and sugar together. Add eggs, milk, butter. P:our into a greased baking dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour til inserted knife comes out clean.

Mom's Acorn Squash with Sweet Cranberry Sauce

This is a family tradition and happens to be the only way that I like acorn squash :)

Ingredients:

Several small acorn squash

1 cup cranberry sauce

¼ cup pineapple juice

½ cup brown sugar

3 Tbs. butter

2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions: Cut squash in half, place face down in dish with a little bit of water. Microwave on high for about 15 minutes or bake ½ hour at 375. Put rest of ingredients in small pot on stove and cook 20-30 min over low heat. Pour sauce over squash halves before serving.

Gigi's Stuffed Zucchini

Another favorite from my grandmother and I daresay that even if you don't like zucchini normally, you will like this recipe :)

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb. Zucchini (med. Size)

½ cup soft bread crumbs

2 oz. grated American or cheddar cheese

¼ cup minced onion

2 T. minced parsley

1 ¼ t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

2 eggs, beaten

2 T. butter

¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions: Clean zucchini, cut off ends, don’t pare. Cook until tender in 1 inch of boiling water with 1 tsp. salt in covered kettle (5-7 min.) Remove insides with a spoon. Mash and combine with bread crumbs and next 6 ingredients. Spoon mixture lightly into zucchini shell. Dot with butter and top with shredded cheese. Put shells in pan and bake at 350 for about 30 min.

This post is a part of Kelly's SUYL side dishes!

Mom's Quick 5-cups Salad

This is so easy and so yummy!

Ingredients:
1 cup sour cream
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup coconut
1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions: Mix all ingredients together; chill.
**I also use chopped apples or grapes – any kind of fruit you like will work great!

Grandma Connie's Pound Cake

This was my brother's favorite dessert growing up and its one of Mark's favorites now (especially of you put some strawberries and whipped cream on it!!!) Actually, my husband will even choose this as breakfast over anything else whenever its available :) I've never met a better pound cake!

Ingredients:
½ lb butter (at room temperature)
½ cup shortening (at room temp.)
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups plus 5 tbs. sifted flour (Swans cake flour works best!)
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla (can use 1 tsp almond extract if desired)
1 tsp orange extract
½ tsp. baking powder

Directions: Do NOT preheat oven! Grease a tube pan with Crisco completely, flour pan. Cream butter, shortening, and sugar; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately. Add flavoring and baking powder; beat well. Bake in tube pan at 300 for 1 hour 35min.

Grandma Connie's Holiday Scalloped Potatoes

Oh, I love these! Mark thinks eggs in your potatoes are a little weird, but we ate these at every holiday growing up and they were my favorite :)

Ingredients:
4 cups boiled, sliced potatoes
2 Tbs. margarine
1 ½ Tbs. flour
1 cup milk
½ tsp. salt
3 hard boiled eggs
½ cup cubed cheddar cheese
2 Tbs. chopped pimento if desired
¼ cup shredded cheese

Directions: Prepare cream sauce from margarine, flour, milk, salt. Butter casserole dish. Layer potatoes, eggs, cheese, and white sauce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with shredded cheese. Cook for 30 to 40 min at 350.

Pumpkin Bead Pudding

Bread Pudding used to be one of my favorite holiday desserts, along with Pumpkin Pie. So I thought this recipe that puts them both together was just awesome!

Ingredients:
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 1 yolk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread
• 3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Whisk together cream, pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, yolk, salt, and spices in a bowl.
Toss bread cubes with butter in another bowl, then add pumpkin mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish and bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.

Homemade Taco Meat

I was excited to find this recipe for home-made taco meat. Its cheaper and better for ya than the packaged stuff :) It was a little too spicy for my family, though, so I cut the chili powder in half and did away with the cayenne pepper completely :)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oi
1 onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced (I use a tablespoon of the bottled minced garlic)
2 tablespoons chili powder (adjust to your personal taste)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt
1 pound (90 percent lean) ground beef (or use a higher fat beef and rinse the meat)
1/2 cup smooth canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
8 taco shells

Directions: Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened, about five minutes. Stir in the garlic, spices, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until fragrant about thirty seconds. Stir in the ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until no longer pink, about five minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, broth, vinegar, and sugar until thickened, about ten minutes. Season with salt to taste. Divide the filling evenly among the taco shells and serve passing any desired accompaniments separately.

Make-Ahead Version: The filling can be fully prepared, cooled, covered tightly and refrigerated for up to three days. Reheat over medium-low heat, adding additional water to adjust the consistency. I also froze half of it for later use :)

recipe found at: http://www.momadvice.com/blog/2008/11/best-taco-meat-in-world.htm

Hawaiin Turtle Cups

Even though I try really hard to mainly cook healthy food, I do make some exceptions for the holidays :) And I absolutely love to find candy recipes different from what everyone else is bringing to the parties! My husband loves macadamia nuts, so I thought these were a great idea:) I will probably grease the pans with coconut oil, because I think the flavor will mix nicely. I got the recipe from Simple and Delicious magazine.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups vanilla or white chips
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
18 caramels
2 tsp. heavy whipping cream
12 dried pineapple pieces, chopped

Directions: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt vanilla chips; stir until smooth. Pour by teaspoonfuls into greased miniature muffin cups; set aside the remaining melted chips. Sprinkle the center of each muffin cup with nuts. In another micro-safe bowl, melt caramels and cream; stir until smooth. Pour over nuts Reheat reserved chips if necessary; pour over caramel mixture. Top each with pineapple. Chill for 30 min. or until set. Carefully run a knife around the edge of each muffin cup to loosen candy.

Terra's Mini - Meatloaves

To be honest, my husband is not a big fan of meatloaf. The concept of a loaf of meat bothers him somehow :) So I thought I would try these different mini-meatloaves to see if he liked them better. Meatloaf is a quick and easy meal, as well as a great freeze-ahead meal, so I am trying to find a recipe that my husband will approve of :) He still didn't like these so much, but Karis sure did, so I am going to keep them as an option.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing
1 cup water

Then you have 4 options:

1. The Italian Option - Seasoning - 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning; Add-In - 3/4 cup Spaghetti Sauce; Cheese - 3/4 cup shredded Mozzarella

2. The Fiesta Option - Seasoning - 2 tsp. Chili Powder; Add-In - 3/4 cup salsa; Cheese - 3/4 cup Shredded Mexican

3. The Mediterranean Option - Seasoning - 1 tsp. dried Oregano leaves; Add-In - 3/4 cup roasted red peppers; Cheese - 3/4 cup feta cheese

4. The BBQ Option - Seasoning - 1 tsp. Garlic powder; Add-In - 3/4 cup BBQ sauce; Cheese - 3/4 cup shredded cheddar

Pick which option you’d like then -

Preheat oven to 375. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and the Seasoning until well blended. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray. Press meat mixture into muffin cups (not the paper kind, but you know, the metal muffin pan, lol) & make an indentation in center of each with back of spoon.

Spoon in Add-Ins into indentations

Bake 30 minutes (or until meatloaves are cooked through)

Top evenly with cheese; bake another 5 minutes (or until cheese is melted)

Let stand 10 minutes before serving

**Jazz it up a little - add 2 tbsp. of A-1 sauce to meat mixture.**

Pumpkin Pie Fudge

I hope someone else enjoys pumpkin as much as I do, because I keep finding yummy recipes that I just have to post so I won't lose them :) I'm always looking for holiday goodies that are different from the norm and was excited to stumble across this recipe for yummy pumpkin fudge!

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar

¾ cup unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

2 tbsp. corn syrup

2 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

9 oz. white chocolate, chopped

7 oz. jar marshmallow crème

1 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Stir together first six ingredients in a 3 ½ - quart saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 234° (soft-ball stage).

Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour into a greased aluminum foil-lined 8-inch square pan. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.

Grilled Monte Cristo Sandwiches

I had a fried Monte Cristo sandwich at a restaurant and LOVED it, so I decided to try to make my own healthier version :) I plan to make these to go with our broccoli soup next week.

Ingredients:
Sliced Bread of your choice (and if you happened to have leftover French Toast, that makes it even better :)
Sliced ham
Sliced turkey
Swiss or Monteray Jack cheese
Oil for frying -- Coconut oil makes these sooo sweet and yummy and is good for you too!
Raspberry jam
Optional Confectioners sugar for dusting :)

Directions: Dump several spoonfuls of coconut oil in frying pan, heat on medium heat til melted. Make a simple ham, turkey, and cheese sandwich, spreading raspberry jam on insides of bread if desired (my husband would rather just dip it in the jam afterwards :) Grill sandwich in coconut oil on both sides til golden and crispy. Dust with confectioners sugar if desired. Have jam available for dipping :)

Easy Broccoli Soup

We love broccoli soup and this one is sure easy! I added carrots to it just to add some more nutrients in the mix and a couple of handfuls of cheddar cheese because we just love cheesy soup :) And I didn't puree it too much because we like our soups chunky :)

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP butter
• 1 medium onion - sliced
• 1 medium potato - diced
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups broccoli (florets and stems) - chopped
• 1 cup half and half
• salt and pepper to taste
• pinch of nutmeg (optional)
  

Directions: Melt the butter over medium high heat in a pot (at least 3qt in size). Add the sliced onion and cook until soft.

Add the diced potato. In a microwave safe bowl heat the broth. I use my 4 cup glass measuring cup and heat half at a time. While it’s heating don’t forget to stir your potatoes and onions.

Pour the broth into the pot and add the broccoli. Cook until the broccoli is soft, stirring occasionally.

Using a standard or immersion blender puree the soup until smooth. If you use a standard blender just return it to the pot when you are through.

Add the half and half, salt and pepper to taste, and stir until heated through

Mom's Taco Bake

My mom started making this frequently whenever my brother came home to visit because he liked it so much. Its very easy, and yummy, too! I only put the chips on top, though, because my husband is very particular about his chips and does not want them getting soggy!

Ingredients:

1 tube of crescent rolls
2 cups (divided) corn chips
1 ½ lb. ground beef
1 can tomato sauce
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded mexican cheese

Directions: Unroll crescent rolls into 9×13 inch greased dish, seal seams by pressing together
Sprinkle with 1 cup corn chips
Brown beef, drain, stir in tomato sauce and taco seasoning
Bring to boil, simmer about 5 minutes
Spoon over chips
Add sour cream, cheese & chips
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

Chicken Monteray

I made up this simple recipe because of a dish Mark always used to get at Outback. Its super easy to put together in a hurry and he always appreciates it when I make it!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
BarBQ sauce
4 slices of bacon, cooked crisply
Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions: Put chicken breasts in a greased baking dish. Cover with barbq sauce. Top with a slice of bacon on each chicken breast (I usually break the bacon into pieces). Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until bubbly and chicken is no longer pink.