Hawaiian Chicken

I think that it's kind of funny that as I'm cooking things, my kids always ask if what I'm making is for us.  I hope that's a sign that I'm teaching my kids how to help others.

In this chapter of my life, I can't really go and help someone move or help to take care of a new baby.  Bringing all five of my kids as I go to help would more of a hindrance than a help.

So what can I do to help others out?  I cook for them.  That's something I can do from home with all of the kids around me and still be able to help someone in need.

Today's dish is a great one for that!  My friend, Emma, is due to have her first baby any time now and you all probably know how much I love freezer meals when I have a new baby.  So, in hopes to help her out when the new bundle of joy arrives, I've been making freezer meals for her.

This is the one that I made for her today...

The recipe comes from one of my favorite sources for freezer meals, Deanna Buxton's "Dinner Is Ready."  It's very similar to her Cranberry Chicken, but my family likes this dish even more.

Here's what you'll need:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can cut these into tenders if preferred)

salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste

1 C. Apricot Pineapple preserves

1 C. Russian salad dressing

1 envelope onion soup mix, dry

Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

  

Place in a greased 9x13-inch pan.  

In a medium sized bowl, combine the preserves, salad dressing, and dry onion soup mix. 

Pour over the chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  

At this point, you can serve warm over rice OR you can let it cool, then place it in a gallon ziploc bag that's been labeled, and freeze.

If you freeze this dish, just let it thaw then heat it up when you're ready to eat it.

Skor Bar Cake a.k.a. Better Than Anything Cake

I'm one lucky girl.  

I have a mother-in-law who loves and supports me in all of my cooking, baking, catering, and selling ventures.

She recently had a birthday and can you guess what I like to do for birthdays?

That's right.  I bake.

She and my father-in-law are empty nesters and he still works full-time on their potato farm.

I worried she might not get a birthday cake, so I took care of that for her.

This cake is very special to me.  First of all, I'd never had this cake until I'd married into the family.  My wonderful mother-in-law so kindly introduced me to it.

I'm forever grateful!  It's so absolutely delicious and simple to make!!

Here's what you'll need:

Your favorite chocolate cake (I made mine from scratch)

Caramel ice cream topping (I like Mrs. Richardson's the best)

Cool Whip

1 Skor Bar or 1 Heath Bar (any chocolate covered toffee bar really), chopped

Since I was making this for my mother-in-law, I wanted to make her cake a mini one, hence the smaller size. But you can make this any way you want.  I usually see this just as a single layer in a 9x13-inch pan.

If you're making a larger size, you'll need more than one Skor Bar.

Poke holes into the top of your chocolate cake to help the caramel soak into the cake better.

Cover with caramel topping.

Add some chopped Skor Bar.

Place another layer of chocolate cake on next.  Poke with holes (I used a wooden kabob skewer) and top again with caramel topping.

Let it drip down the sides a little.  Yum.

Dollop some Cool Whip on and drizzle with more caramel topping.

Then finish it off with more chopped Skor Bar.

Doesn't that just look amazing?

This flavor combination is fantastic, thus earning it's title of "Better Than Anything Cake."

It is that good.