3 Bean Salad

Submitted by Courtney Steadman Mix together:  1 can Red Beans - drained 1 can Black Beans - drained 1 can White Beans – drained 1 can of sweet corn and 1 can of chick peas 1 green pepper chopped 1 red pepper chopped 1 small onion chopped Add Paul Newman's Family Recipe Italian Dressing. Yum!!  I also added some pasta noodles to make it a cold pasta salad.

Super Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Submitted by Zette Stanger

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed OR already cooked rotisserie chicken pulled apart
• 1/2 bag of combined frozen veggies (which ever veggies you like)
• 1/3 cup of butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 garlic powder
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2/3 cup of milk
• 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)

In a saucepan, combine chicken and veggies. Add water and cover and boil for 15 minutes. If you are using rotisserie chicken then just boil veggies and mix with chicken after cooked. Add chicken broth to boiling veggies for added flavor. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

BBQ Chicken

Submitted by Paige Archer

Ingredients
3/4 c ketchup
1/2 c salsa
1/4 c honey
1 Tbsp dijon
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Directions
Mix all together and coat chicken pieces well.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes for thighs, or 30 minutes for breasts or drumsticks.

Irish Potato Casserole

Submitted by Courtney Steadman

Super easy recipe - makes a lot too so good when having company.

Ingredients

8-10 medium potatoes, peeled

1 (8 oz) container sour cream

1 (8 oz) container cream cheese

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup chopped chives

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp salt

Paprika

Directions

Cook potatoes in boiling water until soft.  Drain potatoes and mash.  Beat in all other ingredients except paprika using an electric mixer.   Spoon mixture into a buttered casserole dish.  Sprinkle Paprika over the top.   Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Remove from fridge 15 minutes before baking.  Uncover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or so.  Yum!!

Graduation Snacks

Submitted by Stefanie Moore

I'm not sure if these little snacks even deserve to be called recipes. I found them on different websites. They're fun and easy and would be something you could put together with your kids. Phil's had a couple of work related dinners this week and is on call tonight (hooray! jk) so we were looking for an activity.

We made diplomas using tortillas and fruit by the foot. Makena loves plain tortillas so that's what she got. But I'm sure you could fill yours with peanut butter, hummus, ham and cheese.....you get the idea.

We also made little graduation caps! We used a mini Reeses peanut butter cup and chocolate covered graham crackers. I cut a piece of fruit by the foot left over from our diplomas to use as our tassels. We made it all stick together with a little chocolate icing.

 

Congratulations to all of the preschool graduates!!

Strawberry Jello Pretzel Dessert

Submitted by Tiffany Deonanan

Layer #1:

2c. crushed pretzels (grate in food processor)
3/4 c. butter, melted
3 tbsp. sugar

Mix above ingredients into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Press flat onto bottom of pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Let cool.

Layer #2:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip

Mix together until smooth. Spoon over pretzel layer.

Layer #3:

2 (3 oz.) pkg. strawberry jello
2 c. boiling water
2 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries

Mix strawberry jello and boiling water together. Add sliced strawberries. Refrigerate for about 1 hour until slightly jelled. Pour carefully over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate.

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Submitted by Carla Winter

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons sliced K. olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place spaghetti squash cut sides down on the prepared baking sheet, and bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a sharp knife can be inserted with only a little resistance. Remove squash from oven, and set aside to cool enough to be easily handled.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook only until tomatoes are warm.
4. Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash, and place in a medium bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Serve warm.

PW Tres Leches Cake

Submitted by Stefanie Moore

This recipe is from the Pioneer Woman. I made this for Cinco de Mayo and it was so good. It was one of those cakes that you could just keep eating and eating and eating. I'm getting excited just thinking about it! :)

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 12....although I probably would have said 6 :)

Ingredients

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 5 whole Eggs
• 1 cup Sugar, Divided
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ⅓ cups Milk
• 1 can Evaporated Milk
• 1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
• ¼ cups Heavy Cream
• _____
• FOR THE ICING:
• 1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs.

Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.

Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can. (I found that I needed to poke and pour at the same time to really get the milk to soak in. Kind of tricky but doable.)

 

Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable. (I let my cake sit in the fridge while we were at dance, a little over an hour.)

Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped maraschino cherries. Cut into squares and serve

Chicken Tetrazzini

Submitted by Stefanie Moore

This is a very yummy recipe by Giada de Laurentiis. And don't let the long list of ingredients fool you, the recipe is pretty easy. I followed the recipe but I'm sure it could also be adapted to use a cooked rotisserie chicken instead. I took this to Carla when she had Mason. I split it between us and we had leftovers. So this would be a good recipe if you wanted to freeze some for later or needed to make dinner for a crowd. This is also an alternative to the tetrazzinis that just call for dumping cans of soup in to a dish. Don't get me wrong I like those recipes, too! But sometimes I'm in a make it from scratch, cooking mood.

Cook Time: 1 hour
Level: Intermediate
Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 9 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a white wine we already had open)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk, room temperature
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 12 ounces linguine
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup dried Italian-style breadcrumbs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and into a large bowl.


Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the chicken.


Melt 3 more tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.


Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.