Pasta Salad

I don't even know how I found this website and recipe, but it was good!

There aren't too many amounts given for the ingredients, you just have to balance it how you want it -- I did use a whole package of bacon instead of just a handful of pieces and more sundried tomatoes and pesto than it said to and it was delicious. Also, the recipe says it's better served cold, but I liked it warm and even reheated a bowl of it for my lunch today.

PASTA SALAD

About 500grams spiral pasta
Olive Oil
Sundried Tomatoes
Crumbled Feta
Bacon pieces
Basil Pesto

Cook the pasta and drain (in advance if you have time, it’s better served cold), sprinkle with olive oil.

Cook about a handful of bacon pieces, so they are nice and crispy, add to pasta with any oil in pan.

Cut about a tablespoon of sundried tomato into little pieces, add to pasta with some of the oil from the sundried tomatoes jar.

Stir about 2 tablespoons of pesto into the pasta.

Sprinkle with a small handful of crumbled feta cheese.

Toss everything together, and you’re done!

Apricot Chicken

I know many of you have Apricot Chicken recipes that you love.

I love this one. It takes less than 30 minutes to make, and when I get home from work that is the type of recipe I need. I got this out of the Taste of Home: Simple & Delicious Cookbook I got for my wedding. Enjoy!

Apricot Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. butter
1 can (15 oz) apricot halves
3 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 C. apricot preserves
2 TBSP white wine vinegar
4 green onions chopped (optional: Jereld doesn't like green onions...so we don't buy them at my house)

Hot cooked rice (optional)

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, cook chicken in butter over medium heat for turning occassionally until cooked through and the juices run clear. Remove and keep warm.

Drain apricots, reserving juice. Cut apricots into 1/2 in. slices; set aside. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and reserved juice until smooth. Stir in preserves and vinegar until combined; pour into skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add apricots and chicken; heat through. Sprinkle with onions (if you want). Serve with rice if desired.


YUMMY!

Enjoy the picture:

Ice Cream Toppings!

Jen and 3 kids came over tonight so we ended up having an impromptu ice cream party! I already had 2 ice cream toppings here that Jen had made and sent home with me last Sunday, and I also had some leftover Coconut Syrup that I had made for breakfast when Amy was here. We tried the Coconut Syrup on some vanilla ice cream tonight and it was DELICIOUS! So here are 3 links for some really yummy ice cream toppings.

Hot Fudge Sauce, by Your Home Based Mom

Butterscotch Sauce (which tastes like a saltier caramel), by Smitten Kitchen

Coconut Syrup - great for breakfast or ice cream!, by The Sisters' Cafe

Swedish Cocktail Meatballs

This is grandma finally posting a recipe on the blog (okay it's not really Grandma, but Shara helping her post this). She got this recipe from her friend Sarah Beus. They are delicious - not kidding, she served me one today.

Swedish Cocktail Meatballs

1 1/2 lb. ground beed
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 c. minced onion
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. snipped parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 ts. Worcestershire Sauce

Mix above ingredients and shap into 1 inch balls. Brown meat balls in 1/2 cup oil in large skillet, drain well.

Sauce
1-12 ounce bottle Heinz chili sauce.
1 - 10 ounce bottle grape jelly.

In sauce pan combine chili sauce and grape jelly. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer for 30 minutes, serve hot.

Now, Sarah serves these as appetizers so there is not enough sauce for a main dish. Grandma doubled the sauce recipe, but when doubling the grape jelly she added the whole 32 ounch jar of grape jelly. It turned out perfectly. They served it over rice.

Oreo Sundae Pie

This picture looks a little messy. We should have cut it with a knife instead of just scooping it with a spoon for a fancier picture. Oh, well. It tasted delicious still.


I LOVE this dessert. In fact, this weekend, I took it to Marsha's and one morning while I was there, we snuck the leftovers and two spoons into the bedroom while the kids were watching a movie and we had a feast.

1 package Oreos, crushed
1 cube butter, melted
1 large cool whip
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 Cup powdered sugar
1 large box chocolate instant pudding
2 2/3 cup milk

Put 2/3 of the crushed Oreos in the bottom of a 9X13 pan. Pour melted butter over the top and press to make a crust. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1/2 of the cool whip and spread on crust. Make pudding with 2 2/3 cup of milk, instead of following the box directions. Spread on top of cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining cool whip . Sprinkle on the remaining crushed Oreos. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (I even froze it so it would make the trip to Marsha's and it worked fine).

She's Still Got It!

Our grandma still has some groove in her! Abby told her she was starting tap dance, so grandma got up and did a little dance for her.

Enjoy!

Spanish Rice (Aunt Jeanie style) and Baked Chicken Taquitos

The chicken taquitos come from My Kitchen Cafe. They are yummy. I've made them twice now. My kids love them and they are even good as leftovers. But as a side note, use a good brand of tortillas or they will crumble as you are rolling them. My mom and I started making them once with Great Value brand and she ended up making a quick run for Mi Casa's.

This Spanish Rice has always been a favorite of mine. My mom got the recipe from Aunt Jeanie a long time ago and now I make it occassionally, too. It's yummy.

The salsa is Jen's Award Winning Salsa. The guacamole is my mom's yummy yummy treat.

Aunt Jeanie’s Spanish Rice

In a 10 inch skillet cook 8 slices of bacon until crisp. Cook 1 onion (1 C.), chopped fine and ¼ C. bell pepper until tender, not brown, in drippings.
Add:
1 lb. crushed tomatoes

1 ½ c. water
¾ C. uncooked long grain rice

½ C. salsa
1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. worchestershire sauce
dash pepper

Cover and simmer 35 to 40 minutes.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I had my first bite of Chicken Cordon Bleu about a month ago, and I liked it. I never dared tasted it because it has the word 'bleu' in it..which I figured meant bleu cheese! I never knew all that was in it was ham and cheese rolled up in a chicken breast!! I set out to make my own and came up with this recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 slices cooked ham
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 7x11 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness.
3. Sprinkle each piece of chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on top of each breast. Roll up each breast, and secure with a toothpick. Place in baking dish, and sprinkle chicken evenly with bread crumbs.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from oven, and place 1/2 cheese slice on top of each breast. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Remove toothpicks, and serve immediately.

I also made this sauce to go on top..
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
Mix together in a saucepan until warm.

I served the chicken over some rice and had steamed veggies on the side. We loved it!