Honey Lime Enchiladas

Before

After Another great one from here.

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Honey Lime Enchiladas

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1/4 lbs. pork or chicken, cooked and shredded

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Sauce:

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. lime juice

1 Tbs. chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

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2 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce

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equal parts mixed together of:

shredded mozzarella cheese

shredded cheddar cheese

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flour tortillas

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Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded meat. Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes.

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Lightly spray 2 pans with non-stick baking spray. Pour green enchilada sauce into pans to coat the entire bottom. Fill tortillas with shredded meat and desired amount of cheese. Roll and place in dish.

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Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle more cheese on top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn on broiler and place enchiladas nearer the top of oven. Let it broil until cheese is slightly brown and crispy.

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I served it tonight with spanish rice and black bean salsa.

Kalua Pork and Cabbage

(not my picture, from google images)

This was our favorite thing to order when we were in Kauai. When we got home and I was missing the Hawaiian sun, I found this recipe to comfort me. :) It's soooo good, and soooo easy. And my husband loves it when I make this for him. Serve with a big scoop of sticky rice. Yum!

Ingredients:

3-4 lb. pork butt or shoulder

1/4 c. of liquid smoke

1/4 c. sea salt

1 small head of green cabbage

Directions:

Rub the sea salt and liquid smoke all over the pork butt in your crock pot. Fill with enough water to cover the pork and let cook in crock pot until you can easily shred the pork. Reserve about 1-2 cups of the liquid in the crock pot.

Julienne the cabbage into 1/8 inch strips. Saute the cabbage and pork for about 5 minutes (don't brown the cabbage.) Add the reserved liquid and cover to cook on low until the cabbage is wilted but still green. Serves 8-10.

Alternate cooking method: Sometimes instead of cooking it in the crock pot I roast it in the oven (double wrapped in tin foil) at 250 for 5-6 hours.

Chicken Amandine

From Mique's Tried and Trues. If you haven't been to her site, you should check it out. I love her recipes.

Ingredients

3 cups cubed, cooked chicken

1 can cream of chicken, celery, or mushroom soup

1 can water chestnuts, sliced and drained

1/4 c. chopped green onions

2/3 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. sour cream

1 pkg. crescent roll dough

2/3 c. shredded Swiss cheese

1/2 c. slivered almonds

2-4 Tbs. melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Combine the first eight ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until hot and bubbly. Pour into an ungreased 12 x 8 baking dish. Unroll the crescent roll dough into long rectangles. Place over the hot chicken mixture. Combine remaining ingredients and spread over the dough. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serves 4-6.

My favorite lasagna

(image from google images)

1 1/2 lb. ground beef, browned

28 oz. Prego Sauce-traditional (of course you can use any kind, but this is my favorite)

8 lasagna noodles, cooked

1 c. sour cream

3 heaping Tbs. ricotta cheese (I use way more than this, I love it so I just keep throwing more on!)

1 lb. grated Jack cheese

Layer-

sauce/meat (1/2 of it)

4 noodles

Sour cream and ricotta cheese

1/2 jack cheese

Repeat.

Bake at 350 for 48-50 minutes.

Israeli Inspired Pita Sandwich with Yogurt Sauce

From Christine Hansen

We had this served to us at beautiful visiting teaching conference about the Ten Virgins. I think this will be fun to make around Christmas time. We have a tradition on Christmas Eve where we dress up and have a shepherd's dinner.

Yogurt Sauce (make first, to allow flavors to blend)

1 cup plain yogurt
1/3 c. finely chopped, seeded cucumber (I just shredded it)
2 T. finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. sugar

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate. Best if made at least an hour ahead to allow flavors to blend.

Pita Filling

1 lb. lean ground beef, browned with onion, salt and pepper
2 cups cooked barley (or whatever ratio you like).
1 cup beef broth
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin

Barley is a great meat stretcher! Use pearl barley, available in bags near the dried beans. Cook it like rice, using 2 cups of water for 1 cup barley. I used my rice cooker but the stove top will work well too. Can freeze any leftovers--add to soup, etc.

Combine beef and barley, warm on the stove with 1 cup beef broth (or more if it seems dry). You can use bouillion and water as well. This will help moisten it and allow the spices to permeate the mixture. Add oregano, garlic powder, cumin. Simmer 30 minutes or so.

Serve with:

pita bread (best price and quality at costco)
chopped cucumbers
fresh chopped tomatoes
sliced onions or green onions
yogurt sauce
hummus

Side of red grapes.

Navajo Tacos

This recipe serves 10

Navajo Fry Bread

4-5 cups flour

3 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup instant milk

2 cups water

Mix dry ingredients. Stir in water. Knead dough lightly, cover and let rest 15 minutes. Heat 1 " vegetable oil in a 10 " skillet. Pinch off dough in small amounts and pat dough into thin 8" circles. In the hot oil, quickly brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

Filling

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

3/4 tsp. garlic salt

1 can pinto beans

Brown ground beef and onion, drain. Add beans and garlic salt. Simmer 10-15 minutes.

Toppings

grated cheese

salsa

lettuce

tomato

onion

sour cream

green onion

Salsa Chicken Tacos

1 lb. chicken, cooked and diced
salsa

Stir in salsa picante to cover chicken. Simmer 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Fill warmed tortillas and put whatever you like in it; cheese, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, lettuce, etc.

From Karen Hunt

Kauai Chicken

8 small chicken breasts (I used one package of tenderloins)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs. hoisin sauce (in the oriental section in grocery store in a jar)
1 clove garlic, minced

1. Rinse and dry chicken. Arrange slightly apart in a shallow-rimmed baking pan or casserole dish.

2. Stir sauce ingredients together and pour 1/2 over chicken.

3. Bake @400 degrees for 20 min. Turn chicken over and top with remaining sauce. Return to over and continue to bake until meat is done (Approximately 15 minutes.) (If cooking larger pieces of meat, turn heat down and cook for longer).

4. Serve with rice. Pour drippings from pan over the rice for flavor.

Taco Ring

I think I got this recipe from a Pampered Chef party many years ago. I only used one package of crescent rolls because my kids are being picky and I knew they wouldn't eat very much of it. Usually I use 2 packages and the ring is twice as big. Oh well, this is the basic idea anyway.

Take 1 package of Pilsbury cresent rolls, remove from package, and separate the pieces. Then lay them out on a baking stone so that the points face outward.

Top with refried beans, pre-cooked ground beef, and grated cheddar cheese. Fold the dough over and seal.

Bake at 375 for 12 minutes until golden brown.

I serve this with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, and sour cream. Whatever you usually put on a taco works. When I am feeding adults and don't have picky children that cry about sour cream, I take the sour cream and put it in a tube with a fluted end, and squeeze a pretty dollop onto each section of the cresent so it has little white "flowers" all around the ring.

But since I had lots of picky crying children tonight, I made it extra plain and we just added what we wanted afterwards.

Ham and Cheese Dinner Braid

From my class at Pantry Secrets

Using basic bread recipe, use one of the bread loaf doughs (1/4 of recipe).

Roll the dough out into a rectangle the size of a cookie sheet, place in pan and roll to edges. Cut 1 inch strips all down both sides of the pan. Put filling along center (ham and swiss). I've also made this with turkey. Fold strips over, alternating sides, press ends closed so it is sealed. Spray with Pam or brush with melted butter to keep the lines in the bread. Allow to rise for 25 minutes. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

I like to serve it with a cream sauce over the top made of 1/2 cream of chicken soup, 1/2 sour cream.

Alfredo Baskets

1 pkg. Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry shells 1/2 lb. diced cooked chicken (or 1/2 lb. medium shrimp, shelled and diveined) Alfredo sauce, purchased and warmed or make your own
Alfredo sauce:
1/2 c. butter
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed (low-fat neutchetal)
1 c. milk
1/2-1 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 t. garlic powder

Mix over low heat until smooth.

Bake pastry shells according to directions. Make alfredo sauce. Warm chicken or shrimp in sauce. Spoon into prepared shells. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese.
From Lori Bennett, Thanksgiving Point cooking class

Honey Pecan Chicken

Baked Honey Pecan Chicken

3 - 4 lb split chicken breasts

Basting sauce:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. water
1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Honey-Pecan Sauce:
3 T. honey
2 T. butter or margarine, melted
2 T. chopped pecans, toasted
2 t. lemon juice

Prepare Honey Pecan Sauce by mixing all ingredients together.

Spray bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with vegetable oil. Preheat oven to 275°F. Mix all basting sauce ingredients together in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place chicken in baking dish, skin sides up, and mop or brush basting sauce over chicken. Bake chicken 25 to 35 minutes; mop with basting sauce. Cover and bake 35 to 45 minutes longer, mopping 2 or 3 times with basting sauce until juices are clear. Discard any remaining basting sauce.

Serve chicken with Honey-Pecan Sauce.

Chicken Baskets

1 box long grain and wild rice mix (rice-a-roni or uncle ben's)
2 c. cooked chicken, canned, leftover, or rotisserie
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup (or all)
1/3 c. chopped green onions
1/3 c. diced red bell pepper
1/3 c. diced celery
1/3 c. chopped fresh parsley
1/3 c. chopped slivered almonds
1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)
1/4 c. milk (maybe add a little more)

Prepare puff pastry shells, thawed and baked according to directions.

On stove: prepare rice according to package, add mushrooms, nuts
In side bowl: mix chicken, green onion, cream of mushroom, add remaining ingredients, then add it all to the pan on stove. Mix well and heat through. Fill pastry shells with rice mix. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and grated swiss or parmesan cheese.

From Lori Bennett, Thanksgiving Point cooking class

Hawaiian Haystacks

This is a great one for entertaining because it makes a lot, is not expensive, and picky eaters can put what they like on it.

Start with a big scoop of rice, then top with your favorite sauce. We like a chicken gravy (cream of chicken, sour cream, and diced chicken, dilluted with a little milk), but my mom and dad always like a sweet and sour sauce on theirs. When cooking for a crowd, I usually have both so there is an option.

Topping ideas:

• Diced meat (chicken, ham)
• grated cheese
• chow mein noodles
• shelled sunflower seeds
• hard boiled egg slices
• pineapple tidbits
• green onion
• corn
• peas
• sliced almonds
• tomato
• green pepper
• water chestnuts

This a great "food storage" meal, because I always have rice in the pantry, and at least several of the above ingredients. It's also a good way to use up leftovers.

Poppy Seed Chicken

One of our all time favorite recipes. I went to make it tonight and looked for the recipe on my blog. I can't believe I haven't posted this one yet! I've been cooking this one since we were newlyweds. You can make it with bread crumbs or ritz crackers, but I definitely recommend the crackers. Fattening, buttery goodness!

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Poppy Seed Chicken:

5-6 chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken

8 oz. sour cream

1 square margarine

1 1/2 tubes Ritz crackers (or bread crumbs)

2 Tbs. poppy seeds

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Mix: one square margarine, 1 1/2 tubes Ritz crackers, 2 Tbs. poppy seeds

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Mix: soup and sour cream together.

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Place chicken in a pan and cover with soup mixture. Top with crumb topping. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350.

Kentucky Hot Brown

Kentucky Hot Brown

8 slices of bacon

4 slices of turkey breast

4 slices of toast

4 slices of tomato

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup millk

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese, swiss cheese, parmesan cheese combination (I just use whatever I have on hand)

extra Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

• Cook the bacon until crisp.
• To make the mornay sauce, in a saucepan, melt butter and add flour to make a paste. Add milk and stir constantly over medium high heat until sauce thickens. Add cheese and stir until well blended.
• Place toast in a baking pan placing a slice of turkey on each piece of toast.
• Pour cheese sauce over turkey and place a tomato slice in the center of each sandwich.
• Then put a piece of bacon on either side of the tomato.
• Place under the broiler until the cheese starts to bubble and begin to turn slightly brown.

The Hot Brown is a hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt in 1926. When Tara came out to visit, she stayed at the Brown Hotel, and it was really fun to hear all about the history of this hotel and the creation of the Kentucky Hot Brown.

I first had this at Lynn's Paradise Cafe, one of our favorite restaurants while we lived in KY. Here's a couple of pictures of us the last time we were there (we flew out in 2005 just for Thunder Over Louisville). Will was only 4 months old. What a cutie pie!

I usually make these open face sandwiches (they're called sandwiches, but there's no way you want to eat this without utensils) every year after Thanksgiving time with our leftover turkey. Yummy, cheesy goodness! And it always reminds us of the good old KY days.

Farmhouse Chicken Dinner

Farmhouse Chicken Dinner

1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 small bone-in chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), skin removed
1/4 cup KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
2 cups baby carrots
1 onion, cut into wedges
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

MIX flour and pepper in shallow dish. Add chicken; turn to evenly coat both sides with flour mixture. Shake off excess flour mixture. Heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken, meat-side down; cook 5 to 6 min. or until golden brown. Turn chicken over; add carrots, onions and 1 cup of the broth. Cover. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 20 min. or until carrots are tender and chicken is cooked through.

MEANWHILE, cook rice as directed on package. Spoon onto serving platter. Use slotted spoon to remove chicken and vegetables from skillet; place over rice. Cover to keep warm.

ADD Neufchatel cheese and remaining broth to skillet; increase heat to high. Cook until cheese is melted and sauce is well blended, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 3 to 5 min. or until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Spoon over chicken and vegetables; sprinkle with parsley.

Cubed Steak and Potatoes in Onion Gravy

Cubed Steak and Potatoes in Onion Gravy

4-6 pieces of cubed steak

1 package onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 cups water

5 potatoes

Brown steak pieces in small amount of oil in large skillet. Mix onion soup mix with cream of mushroom soup and water. Pour over cubed steak, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Scrub potatoes and quarter them. Add to skillet and cook for another 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

To do this in the crock pot, cook on high for 5 hours or low for 7 hours.

Crystal brought this to me for dinner tonight, and it was delicious. It felt so warm and good on my sick stomach and throat. I didn't think to take a picture until it was almost gone, but it was really good, and I'll definitely make this another time. The kids liked it too, which is always a bonus.

Chicken and Lemon/Capers

I kind of experimented and made this recipe up to copy a dish I loved from a restaurant. I served it with a simple side dish of pasta and steamed vegetables.

4 chicken breast tenderloins
parsley
capers
lemon juice
chicken stock

Season chicken with salt and pepper, and heat in oil in skillet coated with cooking spray. Cook chicken until done. Remove from skill, set aside and keep warm. Add 1/8 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, 1/3 c. chicken stock, lemon juice, and capers to skillet. Scrape the skilllet to loosen all chicken bits. Cook until it has reduced to about 1/4 cup (about 2 minutes). Stir in parsley, then pour sauce over chicken.

Ravioli with Pine Nut Sage-butter sauce

1 lb. ravioli with cheese
1 stick butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup pinenuts (could also use walnuts)
1 cup fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. chicken or vegetable broth
grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Cook ravioli in slightly salted water, drain. (Once they come to the top, they are pretty much done, about 3 min.)
In a large skillet, heat the butter over med. heat until golden brown. Add garlic and pinenuts. Saute for 1 minute. Stir in the sage leaves, salt, and broth. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Stir the ravioli in the sauce, and cook just long enough to heat through. Place on serving platter; sprinkle with cheese and serve at once.

Recipe came from Marguerite Henderson, Thanksgiving Point cooking class "When Company Comes"