Nutter Butter Balls

1 pkg. Nutter Butter cookies (Crushed)

1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)

chocolate bark (Melted)

Crush cookies using electric cheese grater. Mix in cream cheese and roll into balls. Dip in chocolate and place on wax paper to set up.

Eclair Dessert

This is one of those amazing recipes that you are almost embarrassed to admit how easy it is.  I'm not one for mixing weird ingredients (like saltines and pudding), but don't let that turn you off.  You'll never know you are eating crackers!  Christy Moulton makes it at least once or twice a year to celebrate teacher's birthdays. 

Ingredients:

Unsalted Saltine Crackers (it takes about 2 sleeves)

2 (3.4 oz) pkgs instant French vanilla pudding (I live in SJ, so plain 'ole vanilla works as well)

4 c. milk

1 (12oz) tub Cool Whip

1 (16oz) tub chocolate frosting

Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan with a layer of crackers.

Mix the pudding and milk in a bowl as directed on the package.  Stir in the Cool Whip.  Pour half of the pudding mixture over the crackers.

Add another layer of Saltines.

Add the remaining pudding, and finish off with a final layer of Saltines.

Microwave the frosting slightly to a spreadable consistency.  Spread over the final layer of Saltines.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.  This lets the crackers turn into a SUPRISING eclair-like crust.  AMAZING, I am telling you.  Cut into squares and enjoy! 

Red Velvet Cake Balls

Ingredients:

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)

1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)

wax paper

Directions:

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)

4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)

5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.

6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

Grape Salad

There is a lady here in town who makes this all the time. Everyone always loves it. So I searched the recipe online and found it. It is sooooo good and easy to make.

8 oz. Cream Cheese
¾ C. Sugar
8 oz. Sour Cream
1 tsp. Vanilla
4 pounds of red grapes
1 C. Brown Sugar
1 C. Pecans, toasted & chopped

Cream first 4 ingredients together; then mix in the grapes. Place in a pan. Top with brown sugar and pecans. ( Don’t place on top until ready to serve)Refrigerate for at least 4 hours

When I made it, I didn't have enough pecans, so I replaced the remaining with chopped peanuts and it was just as good.

Louisiana Corn Dip

I first tasted this recipe at a football banquet. The woman who brought it moved here from Louisiana about five years ago. Thank goodness for new people and new recipes! (She made gumbo for us one year).

2 cans Mexicorn, drained
7 or 8 green onions. chopped (keep white and green parts)
1/2 c mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
1 lb. pepper jack cheese, grated
Frito's or crackers

Sorry-my pictures are terrible-but you can get the general idea...
First, drain the Mexicorn.

Chop the green onions.

Place corn, onions and mayo in a bowl. Normally, I am a Miracle Whip girl. But in this recipe, I've tried both-and the mayonnaise seems to be my favorite. Mix well. Add the cheese.

The dip should be fairly firm. If it is too thick, add a little mayo, if it is too thin, add a little cheese until you have the consistency you prefer. I like mine with Frito's, so I make a fairly thick dip. Crackers would require a thinner dip.

*I don't have a very brave family when it comes to new dishes, so I try to keep things simple. (Translation: I might be wasting my money if I served this for dinner.) But I think this would work well as a sort of sandwich spread. Maybe with some chicken,wrapped up in a tortilla....

Peanut Butter Monster Cookies

These are soooo good and easy. And NO there is not any flour in them. The chocolate and peanut butter chips can be bought in a bag that is pre-mixed. Also the mini M&M's are in the baking isle a bag.

1/2 C. Butter
1 1/4 C. Brown Sugar
1 C. Sugar
3 Eggs
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 C. Peanut Butter
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Baking Soda
4 1/2 C. Quick Oats
1/2 C. Mini M&M's
1/2 C. Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chips
1/4 C. Choppedd Walnuts

Heat oven to 350º. Mix butter and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, peanut butter, salt, baking soda and quick oats. Mix well. Fold in peanut butter & Chocolate chips, M&M's and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. After removing from oven, let stand on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool.

Pineapple Mango Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups Pineapple Mango Chipotle salsa*
2/3 C. Brown Sugar
1 TBSP Salt

Put Chicken in the crock pot. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6. Shred chicken. Use in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, ect.

We had it in Burritos... VERY good.

*The Salsa is tomato based and found at Wal-Mart in the salsa section.

Honey Grilled Salmon

4~ 8 ounce salmon fillets, skinless

Honey Pepper Sauce:
3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup pineapple juice
juice of 1 lemon, about 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Make the sauce by combining all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until sauce begins to boil, then simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or until syrupy. Watch the sauce closely to be sure it doesn't bubble over. Preheat barbecue grill to medium heat. Rub each salmon filet with vegetable oil, then add a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Grill the salmon for 4 to 7 minutes per side or until done. Serve salmon with a small cup of the honey pepper sauce on the side. ~ We just drizzled it over the top of the Salmon.

**It's all about the sauce with this one. This sweet, tangy and slightly spicy sauce goes perfectly with salmon, but can also be used on chicken or ribs. Just be sure to watch the sauce closely as it cooks in case it starts to bubble over. It's gonna get thicker as it cools, so be sure not to overcook it. If it becomes too thick, just add a bit of water to thin it out.

We are going to try this on Trout this summer.

Andes Mint Cookies

Have you seen these?!

I saw these Andes Baking Chips in Walmart the other day and had to get them. The only thing I like more than Chocolate & Peanut Butter is Chocolate & Mint. I made the cookie recipe (on the package) tonight and they are DELICIOUS! The only thing I changed was 2 1/3 c. flour instead of 2 2/3 c. Also, I don't think you need to chill the dough (I didn't). Here's the recipe:

Andes Crème de Menthe Cookies:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter - softened

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 package (10 oz.) Andes® Crème de Menthe Baking Chips

2-2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until mixed. Stir in Andes Baking Chips and then flour. Chill approximately one hour in the refrigerator. Measure out approximately 1 oz. of dough. Form a ball and slightly flatten. Raise oven rack one level above the middle and bake on non-stick baking pans. Bake at 350° F for approximately 8 - 10 minutes. Cool on pans for two minutes before removing.

On another note- have you seen this ingenious way of dunking Oreos?!!

Middle Oven Rack?

OK, so I have a question for you more experienced chefs- when a recipe instructs you to use the middle oven rack (particularly when baking), do you use the 2nd from the bottom or the 3rd from the bottom (all of the ovens I've ever used have had 4 racks)?

I usually arbitrarily use one or the other and it seems to work out, but I was wondering if there is a "right" rack to use in this circumstance.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

Mark and I pick a lot of cranberries (they're actually small low-bush cranberries called lingonberries) during the summer. I freeze them and use them throughout the winter for a nice treat. This is one our favorite recipes. The recipe is from the Everyday Food cookbook (Martha Stewart Co.), which is a great cookbook with lots of good pictures (I always like to see what the end product should look like). In the recipe it looks like they use the larger Ocean Spray type cranberries you can get in the supermarket.

Note: I usually have to cook my cake about 45 minutes (or until I jiggle the cake and the middle is set).

My Cake


Martha's Cake

Ingredients

Serves 8

8 T. butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. allspice
1 3/4 c. cranberries
1 large egg
1 t. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; with rack in center. Rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons butter. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon and allspice. Sprinkle mixture evenly over bottom of pan; arrange cranberries in a single layer on top.

2. With an electric mixer, cream remaining 6 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, until well combined.

3. Spoon batter over cranberries in pan, and smooth top. Place pan on a baking sheet; bake cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake; invert onto a rimmed platter.

My Bread Recipe

My mom taught me how to make bread when I was fourteen years old. I needed money for the summer, so I used her bread recipe to make cinnamon rolls which my dad sold out at the plant. It was a pretty good gig. I use the recipe for bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, and even fry bread.

2 c warm water
2 Tbsp yeast
1 c milk
1/2 c sugar
1 cube margarine
1 Tbsp salt
3 eggs
8-9 c flour

Dissolve yeast in a large bowl. (I have kitchen aid, so I use that). In the meantime, put milk, sugar margarine and salt in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for three minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and add the three eggs. Stir to combine. Add to yeast mixture and stir. Stir in 8 cups of flour. Knead until smooth. Add more flour if mixture is too sticky. (The stickier the dough, the softer the bread-I like my rolls to be softer than my bread). Turn out into a greased bowl and let rise until double. Punch down and form into three loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and let rise. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven and bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn out of the pans. Butter the tops of the loafs.

For rolls, after the dough rises, form into rolls and let them rise again. Bake at 350 degrees until browned. (About 25-30 minutes).

For cinnamon rolls, after the dough rises, split the dough into two portions. Roll one portion out. Combine 1 cube margarine, about 1/4 c brown sugar and 1-2 Tbsp cinnamon. Spread evenly onto the dough and roll up. Cut into 1 inch rolls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, or until light golden. Frost with vanilla or cream cheese frosting. (I'm lazy and just buy a container of the packaged cake frosting).

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I don't have a picture, but I'll post one soon (I'm actually making it tomorrow for a dinner party). This is such a good and easy cake to make. If you've tried other chocolate zucchini cakes, give this recipe a try- I think the cinnamon and cloves give it a nice flavor. Don't let the zucchini scare you off- it gives the cake a nice and moist texture.

1/2 c. butter (room temp)
1/2 c. oil (I use vegetable)
1 3/4 c. sugar
2 whole eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 c. pecans (chopped) (personally, I use about a cup)
2 c. zucchini (grated)
1/2 c. chocolate chips (I like milk chocolate)
1/2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter, oil, and sugar. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk. Sift dry ingredients together. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Fold in pecans, zucchini, and chocolate chips. Pour batter into 9x13 lightly greased pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Pesto Chicken Strombolli~

I made this the other day and forgot to take pictures, so I snagged the one off the site I got the recipe from. It was SOOOO good. It's easy too.

1 Rhodes Rolls Frozen bread Loaf
1/2 cup Pesto Sauce
2 cups Spinach
2 cups Cooked Shredded Chicken
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella
1/2 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1 tsp. Garlic Salt
1 egg, lightly beaten

Thaw bread according to package. On greased counter roll out to a rectangle about the size of a cookie sheet. Spread Pesto all over leaving a 1 inch space from edge. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Parmesan on top of pesto. Sprinkle Mozzarella the layer of spinach, last your shredded Chicken. Now roll, jelly roll style, starting at the long end. Roll it all the way so it makes a long tube. Place on a greased cookie sheet, make sure seam is on the bottom. Tuck ends under. Brush with egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan and Garlic Salt. Cut slits along the top to vent. Let Rise 30 minutes. Bake @350º until golden brown, 20-30 minutes.

*I rolled mine out on a floured countertop not greased. I also used frozen spinach.

White Chicken Chili

(I do the ward RS newsletter and they wanted this recipe that was served before the RS broadcast in September published, so I thought you might like it too. It is easy, easy, good and takes no time for those of you who have to cook after you've worked out of the home all day.)

2 cans Great White Northern beans (15.5 oz. cans)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (or one 12.5 oz. can of white chicken meat)
3 cups chicken stock or broth (can use bouillon cubes or granules)
1 T. olive oil
1/2 cup shopped onion (can use dried minced or chopped onion)
2 garlic cloves minced (can use dried minced garlic)
1 small can diced green chiles(4 oz.)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or you can leave this out)
3 T. lime juice if you want
1 1/2 cups grated montery jack cheese
sour cream

Saute onions in olive oil, add garlic, chiles, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Saute 2 minuntes. Add undrained beans, chicken stock, chicken and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with grated cheese and sour cream.

Tina's Sloppy Joe's

Recipe Name: Tina's Sloppy Joe's for baked potatoes

(Tina is my brother's wife. )

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger
1/2 c water
1/2 c ketchup
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp mustard from the bottle
1 tsp worcestershire sauce

Instructions:
Bake potatoes, open them and butter them and then put this over the top. Add grated cheese. This is good over hamburger buns, also.

Clone of a Cinnabun

Recipe Name: Clone of a Cinnabon

Ingredients:
1 c warm milk
2 eggs
1/3 c margarine, melted
4 1/2 c bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1 c brown sugar
2 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/3 c butter
1 3 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Instructions:
1. Place the first 7 ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press start.

2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. IN a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

3. Roll dough into a 16 by 21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhlle, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

4. Bake rolls in preheated 375 oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.
Posted by Barb at 8:42 PM

Honey Wheat Rolls

Here you go Lori!

Since Colby is gone most of the day on Sundays, the boys and I have started our own little Sunday activity. It is making bread. The boys get to grind the wheat and do most of the measuring. This has been very challenging for me to see flower dumped on the floor and the measuring not exact. I have to just keep telling myself that we are doing this to have fun with each other.

This recipe makes a dozen rolls. I usually triple it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water
2 cups bread flour, divided
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbs. honey
2 1/2 tbs. butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 1 1/2 cups bread flour, whole wheat flour, honey, butter, and salt to yeast mixture; stir until well blended. Add 1/4 cup bread flour; stir until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining bread flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Make rolls however you want. Cover and let rise 25 minutes or until doubled in size.

Uncover dough. Combine 1 tablespoon water and egg; brush over rolls. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes of until lightly browned. Serve warm

Sorry there are no pictures.

Wedding Shower Dip

This one is an old "classic" from my mom. It seemed she was always making it for something special-like bridal showers or baby showers-and we kids couldn't have any of it. Now that I'm in charge, we make some whenever we want!

2 8oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
1 can of crushed pineapple, drained
2 c. finely chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 - 1/2 c. chopped green bell pepper (or to suit or tastes)
1/2 c finely chopped onion (again, start with a half of a cup, and add more if you want)
1 tsp salt.

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Leave in the bowl, or form into two balls and roll in additional chopped nuts. Serve with crackers-preferably Wheat Thins.

Potato Cheddar Soup

Ryan and I love soup. Lauren enjoys it, Syd likes it and Cade swears we are trying to starve him with it. Here is one of my favorite potato soups.

1/4 lb. bacon cut into small pieces

1 onion (diced)

1 cube butter

7 to 8 c. diced potatoes (peeled or unpeeled)

1 tsp mustard (just the regular 'ole sandwich kind will work)

1 tsp sage

4 c. chicken broth (I use bullion cubes)

2 c grated Cheddar cheese

1 1/2 c. cream (I actually just use half and half or milk)

1 dash of hot sauce (like Tabasco sauce)

salt and pepper

In a large soup pot, cook bacon until crisp. Drain off all but 1 Tbsp of the fat. Add butter, onion and sage to the soup pot with the bacon and drippings. (Such a better word than "fat"). Simmer until onion is soft. Add mustard and cook for one more minute. Pour in the broth and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are soft (about 12-15 minutes). Take off the heat. Gradually stir in the cream and then the cheese, stirring constantly until the cheese melts. Add the hot sauce. Serve. It will need salt and pepper-but I let everyone season their own bowl.

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup

With all of the picky eaters at my house it is hard to find a meal that everyone likes. This is one of those meals. I had this at a friend of mines house and just thought is was so good I asked her for the recipe. It is pretty hearty and has lots of noodles like Carols recipe. I make my own chicken broth but you can use whatever.

4 chicken breast
5 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 quarts water
4 chicken bouillon cubes (or 4tsp chicken bouillon granules or 2 quarts of chicken broth)

Boil veggies, bouillon and water together for 15-20 min. Add cut up chicken.

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 tsp basil
pepper to taste
1 c frozen peas (optional - I usually leave these out)
1/2 of (11 oz) package Grandma's Frozen Homemade Noodles, thawed (I just use any brand of frozen egg noodles)

Add cream of chicken soup, basil and pepper and bring to a boil again before adding defrosted noodles and peas. Cook for an additional 5 min (I cook it a little longer - probably more like 25-30 min. so the noodles aren't chewy).

Chocolate Berry Dessert

This is super easy and yummy. I made it twice in one week. Once for Quinn's office potluck and then for Christmas Eve. It calls for fresh raspberries, but those are impossible to find this time of year, so I used frozen and it was still good. The picture that came with the recipe looks better because of the fresh raspberries. But I used more chocolate over the top.

Chocolate Berry Dessert

1/2 of 1 pkg. (10-3/4 oz.) marble pound cake, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2-1/2 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
2 cups raspberries
1 pkg. Milk Chocolate Chips; mealted

LINE bottom of 9-inch square pan with cake slices; set aside.

POUR milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.)

Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread over cake slices in pan.

REFRIGERATE 2 hours or until set.

Top with the raspberries and drizzle with the melted chocolate just before serving.

Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

Jalapeno Poppers

If you made me list my favorite recipes, this one would be right at the top. It, along with the wonton wrap recipe, are a "must" at our Christmas Eve festivities.

Ingredients:
12 jalapenos
1 pkg cream cheese
1 lb bacon

Obviously, they aren't exactly heart friendly, and to make them even less so, 1/2 fat and fat free cream cheese don't work well in the recipe. They just melt and run out of the popper.

Directions:
Cut the stem off each jalapeno, then slice in half. I would suggest using gloves when handling the jalapenos. In the past, I thought "Heck, I'm tough, I can handle it", and then wondered why my hands burnt all night long. Now I use gloves. My hands thank me.

Next, remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeno. This will remove the "heat" from the pepper. I've found that a a grapefruit spoon works really well. (I never knew what a grapefruit spoon was until I married Ryan. It's a spoon with serrated edges.) But a regular spoon will work as well. A little hint-I try to scrape away from me so that the juice doesn't pop me in the face. See, I've had lots of experience with these things. Wash out the jalapenos if you want to make sure you got all of the seeds. Cover a large cookie sheet (with sides) with tinfoil. Very important for clean up!

Next, cut the cream cheese into 24 pieces. This isn't necessary (at all) but that way I get a fairly even amount of cream cheese in each popper. Again, it's not necessary, a "spoonful" is as good a measurement. Spread the cream cheese inside the jalapeno. It doesn't have to look pretty. Place on the cookie sheet.

Take your pound of bacon and cut in half. I should have taken a picture of this. . .but cut them in half so they aren't as long. Hope that makes sense... Take one piece of bacon and wrap around the jalapeno. I've found that if you start at the bottom of the fat side of the popper, it works better. Wrap the bacon so that it covers as much of the jalapeno as possible. Try to end with the wrap on the bottom as well. That way, it won't flip up when cooked. The bacon will stretch quite nicely. I have seen people secure the bacon with toothpicks. Personally, that is more work than I need. Return to the cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. The bacon should be crisp and the jalapenos should be soft and fully cooked. It's better that they be overcooked than undercooked. Trust me on this one. The cream cheese will kind of squirt out a bit, but that's OK. Remove from the cookie sheet and serve. My mouth is watering just thinking of them. . .

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Tacos

This is a new recipe that I got from Kellie. I actually heard some women at church raving about it-and was pleased to find out it was my own sister's recipe! It's an unusual combination of flavors, but my family found it irresistible. It's kind of one of those not-exact-measurement-recipes. But it's so easy, I don't think you can go wrong.

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts ( I used 5)
1/2 bottle of green salsa
1/4 c. brown sugar
ingredients to make tacos (tortillas, cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc).

Cook chicken. I boiled mine, but I'm guessing you could grill it, pan fry it, etc. Shred or dice the chicken. In a pan, combine cooked chicken, salsa and sugar. Cook and stir until combined and heated through.

I have a firm philosophy that everything tastes better with onions, (much to Ryan's dismay) so I sauteed onions and bell peppers.

Layer your taco with the chicken and fillings in whatever manner makes you happy. Enjoy!

PS. Cade ate the leftover meat the next day with tortillas. Not quite as tasty to me, but good enough for a 16 year old boy.

Chocolate Cake in Jars

Ok with my obession for getting my food supply stocked up, this is what I did today. I even remembered to take pictures. :) You can use ANY cake recipe.. Box or from scratch. I hardly ever buy cake mixes because from scratch is so much better. ANYWAY~ Just make the cake batter according to the directions. Then bake it in jars instead. Here is what I did...

3 c. flour

2 c. sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. cocoa

Mix dry ingredients well

2 tbsp. vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. cooking oil

2 c. cold water

add liquid ingredients and beat by hand

* Take 3 WIDE mouth QUART jars….. Or 6 WIDE mouth PINT jars. Grease and flour. Fill jars almost half full of cake batter.

Place in a pan and bake @ 350º for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. * I used the Quart jars and it took approximately 40 minutes or so. Remove the jars from the oven ONE at a time, wipe the rim, and then cap with simmered canning lid and secure the ring. Cool the jars on a towel until they "ping" and seal. Store on a dark, cool shelf. It didn’t take very long at all to hear the jars ping.