Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

For all of you who have been hounding me to post some recipes on my blog, here you go. Now, LEAVE ME ALONE!! Just kidding. I'm flattered by the hounding. I'm glad that many of you use this blog for recipes. I can't believe that it has been two years since I lasted posted! That is craziness. A lot has happened in the last two years! Life has been a little crazy. But I do enjoy keeping this blog and I am recommitting myself to post recipes!

I have to give warning, that I don't have great pictures. Over the last two years, I have snapped a lot of pictures of food to add to the blog, but most of them have been taken on my phone. So, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit! And please don't mind the 90's bowl in the above picture. That was the stoneware I got for my wedding. Shorty after this picture was taken, ya know- almost 2 years ago, I replaced all my stoneware with cute and very plain white ones! Yippee!

This is a recipe that I make very often. I love this soup. It is a perfect soup to make a big batch of and take some to a new mommy, or a sick friend. It is perfect because it is warm and comforting, yet doesn't have any strong or overbearing flavors. It really is the perfect soup. You should make it before it gets too warm outside!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 large onion, diced
1 cup carrots, sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
8 cups chicken broth
3 cups cooked wild rice
1-2 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can evaporated milk

In a large pot, saute onion, carrots and celery in the butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add broth. Stir in rice, chicken, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and stir until slightly thickened. Add milk. Cook for 3-4 more minutes. Serve.

Asian Flank Steak

This is one of our new favorite dinners around here. The husband absolutely loves it. I like it because it is super easy, and doesn't require a lot of time to prep and make. The first time I made it, Steve said "you should make this for company".  I haven't done that yet, but I am sure that I will before too long.
I have made this with flank steak, london broil, and some sirloin steaks that I got on sale. I think that any inexpensive type of steak is fine, the trick is just to slice it like you would a flank steak.

Asian Flank Steak

1 Tbsp canola (or veg) oil
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp water (omit water if using low sodium soy sauce)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 flank steak
Thinly sliced green onions
Hot cooked white rice

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic, and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, or about 3 minutes. Add soy sauce, water and brown sugar. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Preheat oven on Broil while sauce is simmering, and cut small slits into both sides of the steak. Place steaks on a broiler pan (I put my wire rack on top of a foil covered cookie sheet) Brush or spoon a little bit of the sauce onto the top of the steaks, then place under the broiler for about 4 minutes. Flip the steaks and spoon or brush more sauce on the other side, and broil for about 4 more minutes, for medium rare. Leave it in longer if you want it more well done.
Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak, against the grain, and diagonal. Place the slices of steak on a platter, and spoon a little more sauce over the top, then sprinkle with the sliced green onions. Serve with hot rice and the rest of the sauce for drizzling over the rice.

Salisbury Steak?

I really have no idea if this is like Salisbury Steak or not. Any opinions? I came up with this little diddy 9 or 10 years ago, but have never known what to call it. I am hesitant to call it this though, because when I hear the name Salisbury Steak I automatically think of TV dinners. As a child, I would have a TV dinner about once a month, on the evening that my parents went to the temple. I never liked the Salisbury Steak ones, so I have a hard time referring to this recipe as that same thing. I would like to assure you that it tastes nothing like the frozen little "meat" patty covered in brown "gravy" that is found in a TV dinner.

Salisbury Steak?

6 cubed steaks
flour seasoned with salt and pepper
vegetable or canola oil
1 onion
2 packets of brown gravy mix
water

Cut onion into thin wedges and place half of them in the bottom of a crock pot along with about 1 to1 1/2 cups water. Set aside.

Dredge each of the cubed steaks in flour mixture. Cover the bottom of a saute pan with vegetable oil, and heat on medium heat on stove top. When oil is hot, brown each of the flour coated steaks in the oil.

 Once each one is browned on both sides, move it to the crock pot, placing it on top of the onions. When all of the steaks are browned and in the crock pot, place the  rest of the onions on top.

Cover crock pot and cook on low for about 6 hours or on high for about 3-4 hours. About 20-30 minutes before you are ready to serve it, mix both gravy packets with 1 cup of water. Pour mixture over the steaks in the crock pot, gently turning/folding to sorta mix the gravy mixture with the liquid that is already in the crock pot, and coat the steaks in the gravy. When you are ready to serve, if the gravy is to thick, gently fold in a little water. Serve over hot mashed potatoes.

Asparagus and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Have I mentioned how much I love asparagus? The other day I was searching on allrecipes.com for something new to do with asparagus and I came across this recipe. I was excited to try it. I changed a few things from the original recipe, mostly because some of the reviews of the recipe said it turned out a little dry. So I added a little bit of mayo to the outside of each roll, and they ended up super moist and very flavorful. My husband made some kind of statement about it being something like you would see in a pricey restaurant. I will definitely take that as a compliment! And I will definitely be making this again!

Asparagus and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
16 asparagus spears, bottom 1-2 inches cut off
about 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
about 1/4 cup mayonnaise
bread crumbs (regular or panko. I used panko, but the original recipe calls for regular)
garlic salt

Place each chicken breast between two sheet of parchment paper, or in a large ziplock baggie. Pound the chicken with the smooth side of a meat mallet or rolling pin until it is all at an even thickness, and about 1/4 of an inch thick. Salt and pepper the chicken, then place 4 spears of asparagus and about 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese down the center of each chicken breast. Roll up chicken around the asparagus tightly. Place each chicken breast, seam side down, on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam (or equivalent). Spread a thin layer of mayo all over the top and sides of each piece of chicken. Then sprinkle garlic salt on each piece. Finish by sprinkling a good amount of bread crumbs on each piece. Place in the oven and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until chicken is completely done.

Beef Stroganoff in the Crock Pot

This is one of those super easy throw-it-in-the-crock-pot-and-forget-about-it recipes that I really like. No prep needed. The original recipe came from Allrecipes.com, but, as usual, I added a few things to this. It was a hit with the family and will be made again! Make sure when you make this that you get the Golden Mushroom soup... which is very different from Cream of Mushroom soup. Don't substitute!

Beef Stroganoff

2 pounds cubed beef (stew meat)
1 can Golden Mushroom soup
1 can French Onion Soup
1 cup water
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 8oz. brick of cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream

Mix all ingredients, except cream cheese and sour cream, in crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. About 30 minutes before serving place cream cheese and sour cream in crock pot. Stir to mix in before serving. Serve over hot, cooked egg noodles.

Pizza Pinwheels

This was a fun and easy dinner that everyone enjoyed. The best way to explain these is that they are like cinnamon rolls, but pizza instead. I had great intentions of making my own pizza dough for these, but when I was grocery shopping a little voice in my head told me that buying the cans of Pillsbury Pizza Dough would be a whole lot easier, and that is what I did. I had never bought that kind of pizza dough before, and wasn't too surprised when it tasted just like the canned biscuits. Next time I make these I will make the dough, however, for a quick meal, the canned dough worked out great.
A big thanks to my friend and neighbor Sasha who saved my hide with a jar of spaghetti sauce. While these were in the oven, I ran down to my storage room to grab a jar, only to realize that I didn't have any! Guh! Thanks again Sasha!
FYI, I had no idea how much to make. I used three cans of pizza dough. Each can made about 12 rolls. That was obviously WAY too much for my family of six. Two cans would have been plenty! Also, I used the "thin crust" cans of dough.

Pizza Pinwheels

Pizza Dough
Cheese
Pizza toppings
Marinara sauce for dipping

Roll out dough into a triangle. Top the dough with cheese and whatever pizza toppings you would like. Starting with the long side of the rectangle, roll up the dough into a long log. Use a sharp knife to slice the log into about 1 inch slices. Place slices on a cookie sheet that has either been sprayed, has parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the pinwheels start to turn golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce (and for my family, Ranch dressing) for dipping.

Some Kind of Asian Something

So, I have been looking in my local grocery stores for a long time to find Pad Thai Rice Noodles, and couldn't find them anywhere. Well, I finally found them at a store that I rarely ever shop at. I was really excited to cook with them, but couldn't find a recipe that sounded fantastic to me. So I ended up just doing my own thing and throwing stuff in that I thought would be good... and it was! After we ate, and loved it, I hurried to write down everything I put in it so that it could be recreated. I just don't know what to call it though.....

Some Kind of Asian Something

1 1/2 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 8oz. package Pad Thai Rice Noodles
1/2 cup carrots, matchstick sliced
1 cup zucchini, quartered then sliced
2 cups fresh broccoli flowerettes

1/3 cup soy sauce

3-4 tbsp pure sesame oil

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 tsp garlic powder (I was out of garlic cloves or I would have used 3 or 4 minced cloves instead)

4 Tbsp water

Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, garlic powder, and water, set aside. Place noodles in a bowl of hot water to soak for 7 or 8 minutes. Meanwhile, stir-fry the chicken in a little oil,  for a few minutes, then add carrots. After a couple more minutes add the broccoli and zucchini. Continue to cook these until chicken is done and veggies are crisp-tender. Drain noodles and add them to the pan, stirring them into the chicken/veggies. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes, then add the soy sauce mixture to the pan. Continue to stir-fry until all of the noodles, chicken, and veggies are coated in the sauce. Serve.

Pork Chop and Potato Skillet

A few weeks ago I had some pork chops that I had thawed (not unthawed...) but had no idea what I was going to do with them. I racked my brain all day long as to what to do with these pork chops. At about 5:00pm  I realized that I really needed to figure something out and get making it. I had some potatoes, and decided I wanted to use them, but realized that at this point I was a little short on time. Well, I came up with a beauty of a dinner that everyone loved, and it was easy and quick. There was a ton of flavor with very little effort. You should try it!

Pork Chop and Potato Skillet

4-6 pork chops (I used boneless pork loin chops, but any kind will work)
6 or so medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1 1/2 -2 cups whipping cream
1-2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil

Drizzle a little olive oil into a large skillet. Heat over med-hi heat. Salt and pepper the chops. Add chops to pan and brown chops on each side, but don't cook through. Remove chops to a plate, then add the garlic to the drippings left in the pan. Cook and stir the garlic for 1-2 minutes, then whisk in the whipping cream and mustard. Next add the potatoes. Gently fold and stir the potatoes into the cream sauce. When potatoes are coated, place pork chops on top of the potatoes and cover with a lid. Reduce heat to about medium and cook for 15-25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and chops are cooked through.

Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein

As soon as I saw this recipe on Family Fun, I knew everyone in my family was going to love it. This recipe will definitely be a regular visitor at our house because everyone really liked it. I bought sesame oil for the first time to use in this recipe, and I can't believe I have never used it before. I have seriously been missing out. When I mixed the sesame oil with the noodles I seriously thought I was going to die. Ya know, die in a totally good way. It smelled so good. It made me miss my BFF DeAnn and my all-time favorite restaurant, HuHot. She and I used to go there when I lived in Iowa. But now I live here in Utah where there are no HuHot restaurants, (and nothing that can even closely compare!) and she lives all the way in Iowa. So, I will just make this lo mein, and imagine as I am pouring sesame oil on my noodles that she and I are chatting and eating yummy food at HuHot.
Just a little FYI, The cooking of this is goes pretty fast and you are going to want to have everything ready to throw in as it is time. You won't really be able to stop and chop anything up once you have started the process.

Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein

8 oz. thin spaghetti, broken in half
1 tsp. sesame oil (I may or may not have used 2-3 tsp)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 cups chopped broccoli
1 onion, sliced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
about 12 oz of sirloin, cut into thin strips
3 Tbsp beef broth
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp oyster sauce (I used fish sauce, because that is what I had)

Cook spaghetti according to package directions in slightly salted water. Drain noodles well, then return them to the pot and toss them with the sesame oil.
Meanwhile, cook the sirloin slices in a large skillet. Remove from skillet, add the vegetable oil, when oil is hot, add the broccoli and onions. Stir-fry these for about 3 minutes, then add the ginger and garlic. Continue to stir-fry for a couple more minutes, then add the beef back in and continue to stir and cook for about 5 more minutes.
In a small bowl, mix together the broth, soy sauce, brown sugar and oyster sauce. Add this mixture and the noodles to the skillet with the broccoli/beef mixture. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, until everything is heated through.

Chicken with Dijon Cream Sauce

This picture didn't turn out so well. I spooned the sauce over the chicken, right off the stove. I was a little disappointed with how thin the sauce was and the way that it presented. Well, after the camera was put away, and the family was around the table, I noticed that the sauce had thickened up quite a bit. It was now the perfect time to make a "picture plate", but it just didn't happen again with 4 hungry kids and a hungry husband sitting at the table. So just imagine in the picture above that the chicken is covered in a thick and creamy sauce!
The sauce on this chicken has a really mild flavor. The sauce was really good over the rice pilaf that I served with it. My kiddos really liked this chicken, even the ones that don't like mustard. The hubby was a big fan.

Chicken with Dijon Cream Sauce

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
3-4 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and Pepper the chicken breasts.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet on med-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and saute until chicken is cooked through, turning once. When chicken is cooked thoroughly, remove from skillet to serving dish and keep warm by covering with foil. Pour chicken broth into the skillet. Whisk in the cream and mustard. (The original recipe called for adding a tsp of dried tarragon or oregano at this point, but I didn't do that). Cook and stir cream mixture for about 2 minutes. Pour sauce over the chicken and serve.

Sour Cream Chicken

I love easy chicken recipes. This is an easy and delicious recipe for chicken. My whole family really likes this. So far I have just used regular ol' bread crumbs when making this. But in the future, I would like to try different flavored bread crumbs, or coarsely ground croutons, or something like that. The original recipe calls for putting little pats of butter on top of the croutons. It is good with or without the butter on top...

Sour Cream Chicken

4-6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
about 1 cup bread crumbs
about 1 cup sour cream
salt
pepper
garlic powder (or any other spices you prefer)
butter (optional)

Place chicken breasts close together in a baking pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Smear a good amount of sour cream over the top of all the chicken, then sprinkle a good layer of bread crumbs over the sour cream. If desired, top the bread crumbs with little pats of butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-60 minutes, or until all chicken is cooked through.

Ranch Style Chicken

This chicken is sooooo good. It is easy enough for a quick weeknight meal, but also looks and tastes great enough that you could serve it to company. All of the flavors in this are a perfect union. So yummy! The original recipe came from The Pioneer Woman, but as usual, I made a few changes.

Ranch Style Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8-12 strips thick cut bacon
cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
juice from1/2 a lemon
1/2 tsp salt

Make a marinade by mixing mustard, honey, lemon juice, and salt together in a large bowl. Pound chicken between two sheets of wax paper or in a large ziplock bag until chicken is about 3/4 inch thick. Place chicken in bowl with marinade, making sure each piece is covered. Cover bowl with lid or plastic wrap and  refrigerate for 1-3 hours. While chicken marinates, cook the bacon. When the bacon is done, reserve and set aside about 1/4 cup of the bacon grease. Clean out the skillet,  When chicken is done marinating, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the bacon grease in the skillet with a little canola oil added to it. When it is hot, remove the chicken from the marinade and cook until it is browned on each side, probably just a couple of minutes on each side. Remove chicken from skillet and put on a baking sheet (covered in foil if you want less mess to clean up).  Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is pretty much done. Remove from oven and place 2 pieces of bacon on each piece of chicken. Sprinkle a little bit of cheddar cheese over the bacon and place back in oven until bacon is sizzling and cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Lettuce Wraps

I love, love, love lettuce wraps. I have wanted to try making them for a long time, but most of the recipes that I have found in the past had a lot of complicated ingredients and just didn't seem like they were worth the effort. I found a more simple recipe recently, and then kinda adjusted it to my style and tried it out. They didn't disappoint. I think that this recipe could be pretty versatile and fun to play around with and try different flavors and adding different things.

Lettuce Wraps

1 lb ground chicken breast
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
about 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1/2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp and 1 tsp rice vinegar
2-3 Tbsp sliced green onions
about 1/2 can sliced water chestnuts, diced
Large iceberg lettuce leaves



Cook chicken in non-stick skillet. Breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. Add garlic and ginger to chicken when it is almost done. Continue cooking. Mix together olive oil, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, honey and vinegar. Add this mixture to the chicken when chicken is completely cooked. Continue cooking for a few minutes, then add green onions and water chestnuts. Continue cooking for 3-4 more minutes. Serve in lettuce leaves.

Dad's Chicken Marinade

My dad actually always marinated turkey breast fillets in this marinade. When I was a teenager, my parents had a catering business.We catered a whole lot of wedding receptions, and wedding dinners.We used to serve the grilled, marinated turkey breasts all the time. I loved them then, and I love chicken marinated this way now. Definitely my favorite way to eat grilled chicken. I am kinda guessing on the measurements with this, because this is one of those things that I just dump everything in.

Chicken/Turkey Marinade

4-6 boneless/skinless chicken or turkey breasts
1/2 cup veg oil
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 can lemon-lime soda

Put oil, soy sauce and soda in large ziplock bag, or container with a lid. Add chicken. Marinate in fridge for several hours, then grill.

Assembling the Perfect Tin Foil Dinner

Tin foil dinners are a favorite of both mine and my husband's. We actually had tin foil dinners on our first date. Our first date was a double date with our 2 friends that lined us up. We went up Farmington Canyon and ate tin foil dinners that were burnt beyond recognition. Well that first date was a little over 13 years ago, and our tin foil dinners have come a long way since then. We love to camp and cook outdoors, so we have practiced these a lot. So, here is my tutorial...

1. Start with a double layer of tin foil, probably about 18-24 inches long. Spray the foil generously with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Your first layer should be thinly sliced potatoes. (Potatoes are probably the least expensive ingredient you are putting into the foil dinners, so the reason you are putting them on the bottom, is so that if anything gets burned, it will be those.) Place a single layer of potatoes down on the sprayed foil, then salt/pepper them.

3. Place your hamburger patty (or chicken or whatever) on top of the potatoes. Salt your meat, then pour and spread 1-2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce over the meat. (don't put more BBQ sauce on then this or it will make the whole dinner really soupy. If you want more BBQ sauce, just serve it with the foil dinner after)

4. Onions should go on next so that they can flavor the meat.

5. Layer the rest of your veggies, such as carrots, zucchini,and mushrooms then salt them.

6. Finish with another layer of potatoes on top, again salting them, and spraying the top of them with a little more cooking spray.

7. Wrap dinners up tightly so that no juice will leak out during cooking.

8. Wrap dinners in two more layers of foil, making a total of 4 layers of foil. (the 4 layers are very important if cooking in coals, but not as important if cooking in the oven.

9. If cooking in the oven, place a cookie sheet or sheet of foil on the rack under where you are cooking the dinners in case some of the liquid leaks.

10. I wish I could tell you exactly how long to cook the foil dinner. It is so subjective to how big it is, the temperature of the coals, etc... Last time I made them in the oven I baked them at 400 degrees for about an hour and 15 minutes. The ones pictures above were made in a fire pit, and I cooked them for about 50 minutes, flipping them over after 30 minutes. This part is kind of just a trial and error thing.

11. I recently heard about a method where you put a layer of wet newspaper in between the two layers of foil to keep the food from burning. I haven't tried this, but it sounds like a good idea?

Happy Camping!

Coconut Chicken Curry

I have never classified my self as a "curry fan".... until I tried this. My friend Rachel brought it to a Church Activity, and I loved  it after the first bite. I was really excited to get the recipe and make it for my curry-lovin' husband.  Yep, he loved it too. I later found out from Rachel that her Brother-in-law came up with this recipe... pretty impressive.

Coconut Chicken Curry

2 chicken breasts, cubed
Fresh green beans (you don't need very many)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 can coconut milk (14 oz)
1 Tbsp. fish oil (fish sauce)
1 Tbsp. green curry (can add more if you like it spicier)
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

Boil green beans with water and a dash of salt in a large saucepan, just for a couple of minutes, you still want them to be crunchy. Drain and return to the sauce pan with some butter and the red pepper. Stir fry the green beans and red pepper, then remove and set veggies aside. Add chicken to the pan and cook until done.  Remove and set aside.  Rinse the pan out with cold water to cool it down so that the coconut milk doesn't scorch. Put back on burner on low setting. Add can of coconut milk, fish sauce, green curry and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Add chicken and vegetables to milk mixture. Simmer until it thickens... although it doesn't really thicken too much.  Serve with rice.

Crock Pot Chicken Nachos

This is such a versatile recipe that you could do so many things with.  I really liked it as nachos with a little cheddar cheese melted on top, and sour cream. Any of your favorite nacho toppings would be great on these nachos.  The next day I used some of the left-overs and made a chimichanga for my husband, which he really liked.  You could use this for burritos, an enchilada filler or even serve it over rice. A bonus to this recipe is how super easy it is! I got this recipe from my friend Liz, whom I  love and adore. She is the same friend that also gave me this stuffing recipe.

Crock Pot Chicken Nachos

4-5 frozen, boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 15oz jar of Salsa
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
8 oz cream cheese

Place frozen chicken breasts in crock-pot. Pour salsa over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until chicken can be easily shredded. Shred chicken and place back in crock pot with with the salsa (I was actually able to just shred mine right in the crock-pot). Add the black beans and corn, and stir together. Place the cream cheese on top of the mixture, then cover and let sit for 1 hour.  The cream cheese will then be soft and you will be able to stir it into the chicken mixture. Serve with tortilla chips and your favorite nacho toppings.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

This is MA's Cafe's 100th post! 

I am very excited about that.  I have loved creating and keeping this blog. I am so glad that people enjoy the blog and are always giving me such kind feedback. THANK YOU to my followers! I hope that you will like the next hundred posts as much as the previous hundred! 

After seeing versions of this recipe here, here, and here, I decided it was high time I try it out. It didn't disappoint and I realized why everyone was blogging about it.  My husband loved them and even ate the leftovers for lunch two days in a row... which is a sure sign that he liked them.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

about 5 or 6 Tbsp. honey
Juice from 1 large lime (or about 1/4 cup)
1 T. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded 

8-10 flour tortillas
1 lb. colby jack cheese, shredded
2 10 oz cans green enchilada sauce
1 c. sour cream 

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. It says to let that marinate for at least a 1/2 hour, but I actually didn't, because I was running short on time.  Pour 1 can of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Remove the chicken from the marinade and fill the tortillas with the chicken and some shredded cheese.(save some cheese to put on top of the enchiladas). Mix the other can of enchilada sauce with the sour cream, and, if desired also mix in any leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until enchiladas are hot and bubbly.

Hootenanny Pancake

When I made this for breakfast, my 7 year old informed us that it was her second favorite breakfast, her first being Fruit Loops. She is my pickiest eater, so when she likes something, you know it's good! I thought this was a great recipe because of how yummy and easy it was. We love to have a big breakfast all together on Saturday mornings, and this is going to become a regular guest at those breakfasts (and maybe even at dinner once in a while).

Hootenanny Pancake

4-8 Tbsp. butter
6 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 cup flour

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put butter in a 9x13 pan, and place pan in the oven to melt. Mix eggs, salt, milk and flour in a blender. When butter is completely melted, pour egg mixture into pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with syrup, jam, fresh fruit, or whatever toppings you would like.

Chicken Salad

My husband and I both love a good Chicken Salad Croissant, but I had never attempted to make my own chicken salad. There are so many recipes out there. I looked at about 6 different recipes, and decided what I wanted mine to be like, and came up with my own little recipe.  It turned out pretty good, and was actually better the second day.  I added walnuts to a portion of it for my husband, but not to all of it, because I am not a walnut fan.  I think that I may add either almonds or water chestnuts next time.

Chicken Salad

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 ribs of celery, sliced
1 cup of seedless red grapes, cut in half
1/2 cup mayo (I used light)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
dash of pepper
salt to taste
walnuts (optional)
almonds (optional)
water chestnuts (optional)

Mix together Mayo, sour cream, mustard, vinegar, and soy sauce.  Fold in chicken, celery, grapes, and nuts if you are adding them.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve on croissants (or just eat it if  you want!).