Cafe Rio Chicken

I really miss Cafe Rio. Wish we had one around here. But until we get one, here's a knock off recipe that's currently brewing in my crock pot. Yum!!!!!

Happy Weekend!


Cafe Rio Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. CHICKEN BREAST
• 1 cup ZESTY ITALIAN DRESSING
• 1/2 Tablespoon MINCED GARLIC
• 1 packet RANCH DRESSING MIX
• 1/2 cup WATER
• 1/2 Tablespoon GROUND CUMIN
• 1/2 Tablespoon CHILI POWDER

Instructions

Place all ingredients in the crockpot.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Shred and serve how ever you like - as filling for tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas or burrito bowls, etc.

It is easy to double or triple this recipe and freeze the extras.

Pineapple Pepper Chicken (crockpot)

I didn't realize how far off the radar i've become!!! My sincerest apologies!

I've been cooking and eating and forgetting to do anything about it! Guess it's a big case of the lazies!!

So recently I made this fab dish. I originally found it on FabulesslyFrugal.com. I love reading about all her freezer cooking. I'll be using several of her dishes when we get closer to having this baby! The newest one I've tried was a HUGE hit. I didn't make it as a freezer meal, just made it on the night I had it set on my menu.

Pineapple Pepper Chicken (in the crockpot)
2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice-the juice leftover in the cans I used came up just short, you might want to buy 1 extra can of pineapples to make up the difference
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 whole chicken-cut up or left whole, I left mine whole
1 can (8 oz.) pineapple chunks, undrained - *see above note*
1 medium green pepper (or red as the case may be-they are on a super sale at our store so I substituted those-use what you like)

Place thawed chicken and other ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. 30 minute before it is finished add pineapple and green pepper, cook an additional 30 minutes. Serve over rice (we had noodles with ours).

OR: Place chicken in a 13x 9 pan. Heat sauce on stove until it starts to thicken. Pour sauce over chicken. DO NOT over fill the pan. There will be extra sauce. Pour sauce in a container and freeze so you can make this dish again later! Place pan in oven at 350° and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven place peppers and pineapple on top and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

I recommend using the crockpot, but by all means if you don't have the time then use the oven. I like any excuse to NOT turn on my oven in the heat of an AZ summer. Plus in the crockpot you get to smell it's citrusy awesomeness all day long!! I HIGHLY recommend this dish. It was sssssooooooo good. And like me if you use a whole chicken, save the bones for making stock and add whatever juices you have leftover. I did and the stock it made was heaven for sure!!

Thanks Fabulessly Frugal for another FAB recipe!!

Carribean Chicken

I do need to apologize for lack of pictures. My computer isn't recognizing the pictures from my camera so I can't download any. I guess until I can get it fixed you'll just have to use your imagination!! :)

So here is what's for dinner tonight. This is making my house smell so good right now. This is glorious! I hope you enjoy it too!!

Caribbean Chicken

1/4 C freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
1 tbsp veg oil
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
2 tsp ginger (or 1 tsp minced fresh ginger)
2 cloves of garlic, whole
1/2 tsp fresh oregano
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, thighs or tenderloins (i'm using tenderloins this time around)

In a small food processor or a blender, combine all ingredients except chicken. Blend into a marinade, making sure that the garlic is in small bits.

Place chicken in a ziptop baggie (gallon sized) and put marinade on top of it. Refrigerate for 2-24 hours. The longer the better.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade at this point) and cook chicken for 10 minutes on each side or until no longer pink (ovens may vary-you can adjust heat as you see fit).

Serve with favorite sides. We are having this with a four cheese alfredo and a veggie. This would be awesome grilled too!!

Thai for Dinner

Thai for Dinner Tonight!

My mom and dad sent me this little box set of Rachael Ray recipes a while ago and I've just never gotten around to cooking anything in them until now. Here's the one we did last night! Itw as really good and the kids gobbled this up (well they DID eat all the chicken, weren't so crazy about the lettuce underneath....)

I made a few modifications and that's what I'm sharing with you here.

And by the way did I mention that it's good for you too????

Ginger-Soy Chicken on Shredded Lettuce
3 tbsp veg oil
1 1/4 pounds chicken breasts, cut into strips
salt and pepper
ground ginger (I didn't measure, just dumped in until I thought it looked right)
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp curry powder
6 scallions, cut into 2 in lengths, then cut again lengthwise into thin matchsticks
1/4C tamari (soy sauce)
3 tbsp honey
1 head of iceberg lettuce, core removed, shredded (or just use bagged lettuce-i had it on hand so that's what I used)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat.

Add the veg oil. it should smoke up a bit

Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Stir fry for a minute to sear the meat at the edges, then add the ginger, garlic, and curry powder and cook for 2 minutes more.

Add the scallions and stir fry for another minute, then add the tamari and honey to form a sauce and glaze the chicken. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover a platter with shredded lettuce, top with the chicken, and serve.

picture courtesy of rachael ray's recipe

Broccoli, Cheddar, Chicken and Spaghetti Casserole

Broccoli, Cheddar, Chicken and Spaghetti Casserole

2 small cans cream of chicken soup

2 small cans cheddar cheese soup

1 1/2 Cups milk

8-10 Cups broccoli florets

4-5 large chicken breasts, diced and cooked in pan. Season liberally (as Emril says...."I don't know where you get your chicken, but mine doesn't come seasoned at the store!")

8oz spaghetti noodles

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook spaghetti until slightly al dente (it will continue cooking in the oven).

Place soup and milk into a large pot over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and heated through, about 5 minutes.

Stir in broccoli and cook for 5 additional minutes to soften slightly. Stir in chicken, salt, pepper and garlic seasoning.

Pour spaghetti into the bottom of 11X7 baking dish that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Pour soup mixture over spaghetti. Top evenly with cheese; bake for 20 minutes then cover with foil. Bake for an additional 15 minutes with dish covered with foil. Remove from oven and serve.

This makes a TON, so I would half the recipe unless you want leftovers. This would also be great to make and then freeze the leftovers for another meal. That's what I plan on doing with ours!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Chicken Bouillabaisse

My dad's birthday is January 1. We were lucky enough to have them here over the holidays so we got to celebrate it with him. So for the occassion I wanted to do something special for dinner. Around here the birthday person gets to choose their dinner. Whatever they want. Well I did it a little differently this time, I chose for him. Sort of a surprise. I did ask him for his dessert and so he knew about that (peach pie....yum!). So I decided to make him bouillabaisse. He loves it and hasn't had it in ssssooooo long. However, not everyone in my house is a traditional bouillabaisse fan so I planned on something a little different. I'm a HUGE fan of Barefoot Contessa on food network. And one particular day I saw her making a chicken bouillabaisse. PERFECT!!!!!! So I had it all planned. And I made it and we loved it and we ate it all!!! I made some minor changes from the original recipe to suit our taste buds. It was sssooo good. We walked away feeling very full and very satisfied. This one is going into my archives to do again!!!
Sorry no picture.......

Chicken Bouillabaisse

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 (4 to 5-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves
• 4-5 garlic cloves, peeled
  
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato puree
• 2 1/2 cups good chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
  

Directions

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it generously with salt, pepper, ground mustard and the rosemary. Place chicken in crock pot.

Place heat on low and add other ingredients except potatoes and carrots. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, checking periodically.

With about 1 hour left add potatoes and carrots to pot.

Cover the pot and let finish cooking until chicken is tender and falling off bone and the potatoes aren't too mushy. Nothing worse than mushy potatoes when they aren't supposed to be mushy! bleh!!

Serve with favorite crusty bread or favorite homemade loaf!!

Grilled Chicken Adobo

Grilled Chicken Adobo

1/2 C chopped onion
1/3C lime juice (fresh squeezed if you can and add the zest from the limes)
6 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
6 boneless chicken breasts (I used thighs)
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Combine onion, lime juice, zest, and garlic in food processor. Blend until minced.
Put in ziploc bad. Add spices (except cilantro). Add chicken, turn to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes to 4 hours (the longer the better).

Grill 5-7 minutes on each side. (I put them in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes-we were out of charcoal).

Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with favorite sides.

HAPPY EATING!!!!

crock pot chicken cordon bleu

This is our dinner for tonight. My camera is acting all funky so no pictures!! Sorry! I will say that my house currently smells good. I can't wait to try this recipe. Enjoy!!


Crock Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu

4 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
4 oz sliced ham
4 oz sliced Swiss cheese
1 (8 oz) package herbed dry bread stuffing mix
¼ cup melted butter


Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour enough of the soup into a slow cooker to cover the bottom. Layer chicken breasts over the sauce. Cover with slices of ham and then Swiss cheese. Pour the remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers. Sprinkle the stuffing on top, and drizzle butter over stuffing. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or 2 to 3 hours on high.

HAPPY EATING!!!

Chicken and Stuffing with a Creamy Sauce

Another one of those comforting dinners. It just can't go wrong and everyone always devours it! At least that's how it is here. Comfort foods always make for the perfect meal. I should really make more of them! haha!

Chicken and Stuffing with a Creamy Sauce
1 box chicken flavored stuffing mix
1 1/2C water
1/4C butter, melted
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs or as many chicken tenders needed to feed your family
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/3C sour cream

make stuffing mix with hot water and butter, set aside. In another pan add a pat of butter and brown the chicken. It doesn't need to be cooked through, just browned.
In a small bowl, mix soup and sour cream. Pour over chicken. Top with stuffing and cook for 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce is bubbly! Serve with your favorite veggie and homemade rolls or bread! YUM!!!!!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Quesadilla Chicken Burgers

To say i've been out of it lately would be an understatement. I just haven't felt like doing much when it comes to food blogging. I have been cooking and taking pictures, but that's about it. So i'm going to try to make up for it!!

For my daughter's birthday we went out to dinner. I got a quesadilla burger and it was really good. So I came home and thought about how I could do it. This is what I came up with (it's a little different from I what I had at the restaurant because of what I had on hand. Otherwise it was really good!!!

Quesadilla Chicken Burgers

1 pkg chicken burgers (pre made)- can use hamburger but like I said this is what I already had
corn tortillas (about 12 depending on how many your family will eat)
cilantro
2C shredded sharp cheddar
favorite salsa

Cook chicken patties per package directions.

For assembly:
place tortilla on pan, top with a little bit of cheese, chicken patty, salsa, cilantro and more cheese. Top with another tortilla. Continue until all are made.

Bake in oven until cheese is gooey and melted and tortillas are crisp.
Serve with favorite side.

These weren't quite restaurant quality, but they were good.

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches in the Crock Pot

So Happy Blogiversary to me.......only several days late!! Guess I wasn't paying attention. Oh well. Here's something yummy to tempt you and make your mouth water all day while it cooks. This originally is done with a pork roast but whole chickens were on sale the day I went to the store so we used that instead. It turned out perfectly.

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches in the Crock Pot
1-3lb whole chicken
2 tbsp honey
salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
1/4 C brown sugar
1 bottle honey brown sugar bbq sauce

place chicken in chicken in crock pot. pat dry and sprinkle spices on as liberally as you wish. add brown sugar and honey. turn pot to high and cook for about 5 hours.

once cooked pull chicken away from bones and place in separate bowl. shredded with 2 forks and add bbq sauce as thickly as you like.

eat on hamburger buns (or sliced bread) and top with cole slaw (recipe found here). we ate this with corn on the cob.

this was so good. made me think of being back home in NC with my family who are known for their yummy bbq's. ok, now i'm homesick, think i'll go find a hole and cry for a bit.

my kiddos enjoying their southern dinner.

HAPPY EATING!!!!!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Who doesn't love a pizza? I don't really know anyone who doesn't. Especially the folks in my house! It's our favorite night of the week. So here's another one to add to the pizza arsenal!!!
BBQ Chicken Pizza
4 chicken thighs, cut up
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 bottle favorite BBQ sauce (I used cattleman's original flavor)
2C cheddar. Monterrey cheddar blend, shredded cheese
1C dehydrated onions, reconstituted (or 1 whole onion, chopped)
1 pre-made pizza crust (or use your favorite recipe for one - I used trader Joe's pre-made whole wheat pizza crust)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook chicken until no longer pink. Add bell pepper and cook until tender. Roll out dough and place in large pizza pan or on a pizza stone. Top with BBQ sauce.
Then top with onions, chicken mixture and cheese (and anything else you want on top of it). Bake in oven for about 30-45 minutes until crust is done in the middle and not too browned on edges and cheese is super gooey.

This was a HIT! I mean really??? It was pizza so of course everyone dove right into it! As they say on YO GABBA GABBA- "There's a party in my tummy-oh yeah, oh yeah!"

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!!!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

I guess I'm a little behind in posts. I found these pictures lurking in my camera, thinking I had already posted about them. Shame on me I know!!!

This is one of our family's favorites. One of mine and the hubbie's favorite appetizer's to get is bruschetta. I could eat an entire loaf of it. The tomatoey-cheesy goodness of it just makes me want to scream!!! This dish is similar to that. It's really good and depending on how much cheese you add, it's ooey and gooey. Perfection!!! Really good for potluck at church or taking to a friend in need. Hope you enjoy!!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake
1 box stove top chicken flavored stuffing
4 chicken thighs chopped
2C mozzerrella cheese
1 can diced tomatoes, italian style, drained
italian seasoning, as much as you like

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook chicken in italian seasoning until no longer pink.
While chicken is cooking, mix stuffing according to package directions.
Once cooked place chicken and tomatoes in greased 8 1/2 X 11 dish. Top with cheese and then stuffing.
Bake in oven for 3o minutes or until cheese is ooey and melted.
Serve with favorite crusty bread and salad!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Chicken Taco Pie

A couple of years ago I was part of a food swap. I may have mentioned it before, but basically you make X-amount of one meal and then pass it out to however many are in your group. The group I was in had 5 people participating. So we actually would make 5 each of 2 meals. It was really nice! This was one of the meals I came up with for the swap. Easy and it's really yummy. Might even help with that Mexican craving. ;O)

Chicken Taco Pie (quiche)
1 deep dish pre-made pie crust (baked according to package directions)
3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 bell pepper, chopped
4-6 eggs (depending on size of crust)
splash of milk
2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided


In medium skillet brown chicken. Add 1/2 pkg of taco seasoning to chicken while cooking. DO NOT ADD WATER. Add bell pepper and cook until tender and chicken is browned.

In a bowl mix eggs with milk. Add rest of taco seasoning. Add 1C of cheese.

Once pie shell is baked, put chicken mixture into pie shell. Top with egg mixture.


Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. After 15 minutes, put foil around edge of pie crust to prevent burning. Cook remaining 30 minutes adding the last cup of cheese the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Serve with salsa, ranch, or sour cream. This was yummy! Perfect for making more than one and freezing for later. If freezing, go through all steps and bake, then when ready to use thaw to room temperature before baking. Then bake to heat through about 30 minutes.

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!

Take out at home

Anyone who knows me knows I love Asian food. Anytime we got eat at the food court in the mall (now I know it's not true Asian cuisine) I always want to go to the Asian places. Just something about it. Anyway...I've had a great need for sweet and sour chicken lately. HungryMan has a really good meal and whenever the mood strikes i'll grab it (or more likely when it's on sale and I have a coupon-those are pricey). So I decided to try my hand at making it for once. I have to warn you-this recipe makes a TON of food. I would recommend halving it unless you plan to feed a crowd. This will feed at least 8 people. There were only 5 of us and we have enough left over for days. Which doesn't bother me a bit!!!! Here you go!

be prepared for lots of pans on this one!

Fried Rice

• enough brown rice for 8 servings made according to pkg directions
  
• 2/3 cup chopped baby carrots
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• soy sauce to taste
• sesame oil, to taste (optional)

In a small saucepan, boil carrots in water about 3 to 5 minutes. Drop peas into boiling water, and drain.
Heat wok over high heat. Pour in oil, then stir in carrots and peas; cook about 30 seconds. Crack in eggs, stirring quickly to scramble eggs with vegetables. Stir in cooked rice. Shake in soy sauce, and toss rice to coat. Drizzle with sesame oil, and toss again (I used dehyradted carrots in mine and it was really good. I also added the green peppers from the chicken part of the recipe into the rice)

Sweet and Sour Chicken

• 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained (juice reserved)
• 2 green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 5 drops red food coloring, 3 drops yellow food coloring
  
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 C buttermilk
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 egg
• 2 cups water
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying

In a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, vinegar, reserved pineapple juice, and orange food coloring. Heat to boiling. Turn off heat. Combine 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; slowly stir into saucepan. Continue stirring until mixture thickens.

Combine flour, 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, salt, white pepper, and egg. Add buttermilk and 1 1/2 cups water gradually to make a thick batter. Stir to blend thoroughly. Add chicken pieces, and stir until chicken is well coated. Let sit about 15 minutes.

Heat oil in skillet or wok to 360 degrees F (180 degrees C). Fry chicken pieces in hot oil until golden. Remove chicken, and drain on paper towels.

When ready to serve, layer green peppers, pineapple chunks, and cooked chicken pieces on a platter. Pour hot sweet and sour sauce over top. (like I mentioned earlier, I put the green pepper into the fried rice and then added the pineapple chunks into the sauce just before serving)

Hawaiian Haystacks

This is one of my favorite dinners. My mom would make this all the time growing up whenever we had a crowd to feed. Usually this fed missionaries, but sometimes she would make it just for us. All the different textures and hot and cold in this just make it super. I really can't explain it all. I hope you'll find as much enjoyment in it as I did. I LOVE IT!!!!!

HAWAIIAN HAYSTACKS

2- 10 3/4 OZ cans cream of chicken soup (any creamed soup would work)
1 C chicken broth (I used milk since I didn't have any broth on hand and it just came out thicker-so either would work as well)
2 C cooked, shredded chicken
8oz frozen peas and carrots
4 C brown rice
1 -9 1/2 oz can chow mein noodles
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 C chopped bell pepper
1/2 C chopped celery (I omitted this)
3 green onions, chopped
1- 20oz can pineapple chunks
1C grated cheddar cheese

Combine soup and chicken broth in a medium saucepan to make gravy. Stir to blend. Once heated through add frozen veggies. Add chicken to gravy and stir to heat through.

Place cooked rice and chicken gravy on plate. Then layer rest of the ingredients as you like.

This is how we did it:






This is really yummy and good. Really good as leftovers too. Hope you enjoy!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!

Because I'm all about something easy on a Saturday night, this was perfect. I saw this on my friend's family blog. She mentioned how someone brought it over for dinner and how yummy it was. The part that got me was the EASY part. Hello......you had me at easy.

Mexican Dip in the Crock pot
4-5 thawed chicken thighs
1 jar salsa
2 cans corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 pkg cream cheese
chips
shredded cheese
green onions
sour cream or ranch dressing


Add first 4 ingredients to crock pot. Simmer for 6-8 hours on low or 4 hours on high (personally, the longer the better).
Right before you are ready to eat, take the chicken out and shred it. Add it back to the pot and add cream cheese, let it melt.
Serve with chips, cheese, onions, sour cream or ranch. This is hearty and sooooo good.

It will calm the nacho craving you'll have and this makes a ton, you'll definitely have leftovers to quench your hunger at 11o'clock at night. Me likey, a lot!!!!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Easy dinner and Dessert

How about this for a super easy weeknight dinner and dessert!!!!

Chicken Stuffing Bake

1pkg stuffing mix
1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs cut up
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/3 C sour cream
1 (16 oz) bag mixed veggies
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Make stuffing according to package directions, set aside.
Meanwhile, mix, soup, sour cream and veggies together with chicken. Pour into 9X13in baking dish. Top with stuffing mix.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked (it took 45 minutes in my oven). Serve with side salad or rolls.

This was super yummy. I could've eaten just the stuffing. It's definitely my favorite part!! The whole mixture though was really creamy and good. Perfect for a cold night when you are craving comfort food. It's easy to make and doesn't take a long time. Rachael Ray would be proud! This would also be perfect as a make ahead meal. Just mix the soup, veggies and sour cream and freeze. When you are ready to heat it, make the stuffing, top it and bake it.



And because no meal is perfect without something chocolaty for dessert, here's a yummy brownie recipe. This recipe is one that my mom used to make for me growing up. Until I learned to cook and then this was always to weekend treat. It's my FAVORITE brownie recipe because you can customize it so many ways. I used to add some mint extract instead of all the vanilla and these were a hit! This time I made the recipe as listed and on half of the batter added Andes thin mint baking pieces. The other half I left plain. My mom always put pecans on top. But since my family aren't really into nuts, I felt mint would be a better option! Enjoy and share the ways you customize these!!!.

This was originally in my mom's HERSHEY cookbook. I only have a copy of it.

Easy Fudge Brownies
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda. Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water. Mix until well blended and thickened. Stir in the sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup oil. Finally, add the flour, vanilla and salt, mix just until all of the flour is absorbed. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

These are so rich and gooey. Really are my favorites. Takes me back to when I was little. I hope you enjoy them!!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!

Honey Chicken Stir Fry

This is a really easy stir fry to make and it's really good. Try to use local honey. I've heard that if you have allergies, eating honey that's local is a good way to help alleviate the allergies. So we tried this tonight with some local honey. Honestly I couldn't tell a difference in taste. It's really good though and I hope you'll forgive the lack of photos. My mind was elsewhere tonight (in la-la land probably) and I completely forgot to grab my camera. So you'll have to use your imagination!

HONEY CHICKEN STIR FRY
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed (I used thighs)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp canola oil
1 tsp sesame oil (if you don't have it use all canola oil)
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 (16 oz) pkg stir fry veggies (i used a broccoli and pepper mix)
2tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water
hot cooked brown rice

In a large skillet or wok, cook chicken and garlic in 2 tsps oil. Add the honey, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the chicken is lightly browned. Remove and keep warm.

In the same pan, stir fry the veggies in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes or until heated through. Return chicken to pan and mix well. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth, stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Serve over rice.

For our family I usually double this recipe. This is best for left overs.

HAPPY EATING!!!!

BBQ Chicken in the CrockPot

I've been using my crock pot a lot more lately. I'm falling in love all over again.
This time I decided to throw some veggies, chicken and bbq sauce and in the crock and let it cook all day while we cleaned out the garage and ran errands. I love the ease of this, I really do!!!

So here's what I did.

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 bottle favorite bbq sauce
1 bag frozen corn
generous handful of baby carrots
2 med zucchini's, chopped
1 C dehydrated onions (from food storage YAY!)

It's ok if your chicken is still frozen. Mine was and it turned out great.

Dump all ingredients into your crock and cook on low for about 6 hours. The chicken will be super tender and the veggies will be yummy. Serve with brown rice or mashed potatoes. We did brown rice and added cheddar corn muffins (from the box mix-top with a handful of cheddar cheese before tossing into the oven).