Creamy Southwest Chicken Alfredo

This one has become a family favorite!

Creamy Southwest Chicken Alfredo

Ingredients:

·         3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

·         1 Tbsp taco seasoning

·         1 Tbsp olive oil

·         1 Tbsp butter

·         1 cup heavy cream

·         ½ cup shredded Mexican cheese

·         1 can mild Rotel (reserve 2 Tbsp for garnish)

·         8 oz Penne Pasta cooked

·         2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (garnish)

Directions:

Pat chicken dry with paper towel.  Sprinkle with the taco seasoning on all sides.  Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat.  Add the seasoned chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add butter to the pan chicken was cooked in.  Melt over medium heat.  Slowly add cream, whisking continually for about 2 min to incorporate all the seasoning and browned bits left behind from cooking  chicken. Add cheese and Rotel and continue to stir until thickened and cheese is melted.  

Stir in cooked pasta.  Remove from heat and top with chicken sliced into strips.  Top with cilantro and reserved Rotel.

Honey Garlic Chicken and Veggies

I have been finally trying new recipes and found a couple of really tasty meals. 
So easy and DELICIOUS!

Honey Garlic Chicken and Veggies 

Ingredients:

·         4-6 chicken breasts
·         16 oz baby red potatoes, halved
·         16 oz baby carrots
·         16 oz green beans
·         2 Tbsp parsley
·         ½ cup soy sauce
·         ½ cup honey
·         ¼ cup ketchup
·         2 cloves minced garlic
·         1 tsp dried basil
·         ½ tsp dried oregano
·         ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
·         ¼ tsp black pepper

Directions:

Combine soy sauce, honey, ketchup, garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and pepper.  Place chicken, potatoes, and carrots in slow cooker.  Cover with sauce mixture.  Cook on low  heat for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.  Add green beans last 30 min of cooking. Garnish with parsley.

Copycat Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have made these cookies a couple times now. They are seriously SOOO good! The first time I started out making them as big as the recipe called for but quickly realized we would never be able to eat such a rich cookie that was so massively huge. So I made them about half that size and they were still amazing. And gooey. And super chocolatey. (My daughter actually said I might have put too many chocolate chips in! What!? No way!) Anyway, tons of people were asking for the recipe, so here it is.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats

2 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 TBS vanilla

1/2 tsp lemon juice

2 large eggs

3 cups chocolate chips, any flavor (I used semi-sweet)

1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Grind oats in food processor until powdery. (They don't have to be too fine.) Place them in large bowl and whisk in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Melt butter in microwave bowl or on the stove. Add in sugars and stir until smooth. Add in vanilla, lemon juice, and eggs. Stir again until smooth. Pour into flour mixture and stir until all combined. 

Add walnuts and chocolate chips.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment (or wax) paper. Scoop 1/4 cupfuls of dough and form into balls. (I did about 1/8 cupfuls.) Place them close together on cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours or even overnight before baking.

Preheat oven to 350F. Place cookies well spaced on parchment-lined cookie sheet. (I used a silicone mat.) Bake for 12-17 minutes. Do not over bake! If you do them smaller like I did you will want to check them at 12 minutes. If you do the bigger ones, it might be closer to 14 or 15 minutes.

Recipe Source

Lemon Brownies

 LEMON BROWNIES (LEMONIES)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Lemon Glaze (recipe follows)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease an 8-inch square pan or line pan with non-stick foil.
2. Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and zest together using a wire whisk.
3. Add melted butter, lemon juice, eggs and vanilla and stir until completely combined.
4. Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tester inserted in center comes clean.
5. Remove from oven and cool.
6. Pour glaze over the lemonies and allow to set before cutting into bars.

Lemon Glaze
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions:
1. sift sugar into a medium bowl. Add lemon juice and zest and stir until combined and smooth.


 https://isinginthekitchen.com/2014/06/08/lemonies-lemony-brownies-awesome-new-music-from-lime-cordiale/

Protein Balls

We made these delicious little bites at our youth girls camp.  So good I could eat them all in one sitting.  Probably defeats the purpose. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal
• 2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes or slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup peanut butter.
• 1/2 cup ground flax seeds.
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and form into 1’ balls

Freeze and eat when you have a craving.

Snickerdoodle Apple Pie Bites

These little apple pie bites are super easy to make, don't take very many ingredients, and they are soooo good! I made them back in September and kept meaning to post the recipe before Thanksgiving. I made them again during Thanksgiving break & everyone really loved them. They are still yummy a couple days later after sitting out on the counter too. :)

Ingredients:

1 pkg snickerdoodle cookie mix 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 can apple pie filling

caramel ice cream topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. 

Stir together cookie mix, butter, and egg in large bowl, until a soft dough forms.

Scoop out the dough into small balls and roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture that came in the cookie mix package.

Place each ball into a greased mini muffin pan.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to turn golden brown. Immediately after removing from oven, make an indentation in the top of each cookie. 

I used a little wooden Pampered Chef tart shaper that looks like this but you can use the back of a spoon if you want.

After cooling for a couple minutes, gently pop out each cookie cup and place on a wire rack to cool completley.
Chop apples in the apple pie filling and scoop into each cookie.
Drizzle caramel topping over cookies and top with a sprinkle of the remaining cinnamon/sugar.

Enjoy!!

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This has got to be one of the easiest recipes I've ever made! At first, we wondered if it was going to be very good because it seemed really liquid-y. But after you add in the tortillas and cheese, it thickens up quite a bit. It really tastes just like chicken enchiladas. Delicious!!

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
2 (10 oz) cans of red enchilada sauce
10 corn tortillas
2-3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (divided)
1 (3.8 oz) can olives, sliced (divided)

Directions:
Add chicken and enchilada sauce to slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours.
Shred chicken using forks. (I shredded them right in the slow cooker - easy!)
Slice tortillas into strips - a pizza cutter works great - and add to chicken and sauce. Stir.
Add 1 cup cheese, half the olives, and stir again.
Top with remaining cheese and olives. Continue to cook 30-60 minutes longer or until cheese is all melted and bubbly.

Serve with lettuce, sour cream, or any other toppings you would like. Enjoy!

                  

These pictures do not do it justice at all. It looks like a sloppy mess but tastes amazing! We only have 2 kids left at home now, so we had tons of leftovers. I just pulled the dish out of the cooker and stuck it in the refrigerator. Then, a couple days later I popped it back in and heated it up. I thought the tortillas would be all soggy and gross but it was almost better the second time. We will definitely be making this again!