Mexican Hot Pockets

I know, another recipe from our competition, Just That Good, but isn't it nice that someone else tried it out for you so you know that it is good. And it is, although mine were not triangular, they were squarish (see their picture for pretty example)... still tasty!

You will need:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cooked and shredded
1 cup salsa
1 package taco seasoning
1 package puff pastry (not phyllo)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg

To do:
1. Thaw pastry at room temperature for 40 minutes
2. Place chicken, salsa, seasoning, and 1/2 cup water in skillet. Heat through.
3. Cool chicken mixture completely.
4. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
5. Stir the egg and water together in a little bowl, for an egg wash.
6. Unfold puff pastry on floured surface and roll into 14 inch square. Cut into 4 (7 inch) squares. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet.
7. Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture onto half of square, top with 2 T of cheese.
8. Brush the edges of the pastry with water, fold plain half over, seal edges with fork, so you have a pocket of chickeny goodness.
9. Place pockets on baking sheets, brush with egg wash.
10. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve with extra salsa and sour cream.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Tara and Jeff have both stated this is good with Costco Taquitos... I serve it with tortilla chips and celery sticks.

20 oz canned chicken (or boil fresh chicken, about 1 pound, and shred)
1 cup ranch dressing
3/4 cup hot sauce (Franks Buffalo Sauce works the best)
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients, reserving about 1/2 the shredded cheese to top dish.
Bake at 350 degrees until heated through and cheese on top has melted.

Cashew-Pear Tossed Salad

This salad is pictured below. The dressing was fantastic and is what made the taste blend.

1 bunch romaince, torn
1 cup (4 oz) shredded swiss cheese
1 cup salted cashews
1 medium pear, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries

POPPYSEED VINAIGRETTE:
2/3 cup salad oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 TSP poppyseeds
2 TSP finely minced red onion
1 TSP ground mustard
1/2 TSP salt

In large salad bowl, combine the romaince, cheese, cashews, pear and cranberries. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the vinaigrette ingredients; shake well. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately. YIELD: 12 servings.

Thai Chicken with Pear Salsa

I got a fantastic cook book for Christmas from my sister in law. It is a compilation of recipes that a woman in her ward, who is a phenomenal cook, passed around. I have been trying them out over the past couple of weeks. This one is so easy and good. It can be made with or without the fruity salsa. I also added one of the cookbook's salads (also pictured) to the meal.

1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp. vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
4 frozen boneless chicken breasts

Combine the first 8 ingredients. Put chicken in crock pot and add the sauce. Cook over low heat for 4-5 hours, shredding chicken with a fork when it is tender. Serve over rice or noddles with pear salsa.

PEAR SALSA:
1 cup chopped fresh fruit (pears, peaches or mangos)
1 cup chopped, seeded cucumber
2 TBSP sliced green onion
2 TBSP snipped cilantro
1 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP salad oil
1 TBSP vinegar

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

Chicken Pot Flies

I saw this recipe on Just That Good... and had to try it. Once again, it was for the sake of my picky husband. I love chicken pot pie, but he does not like the soupy runny insides. So this seemed perfect, and it was. All the goodies of chicken pot pies, little personal sizes, no soupy insides. I changed the recipe a little bit, to clarify it, also known as me-making-up-some-stuff. I also had a ton more insides than filled the 1 can of rolls (I used jumbo crescents, less bread, more stuffing), you could probably make 2 cans of rolls with all the insides I made, if you are little less generous and then the fillings wouldn't spill out everywhere.

You will need:
1 can crescent rolls (once again, I think you could make 2 cans with these insides)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 small onion, diced
1-2 Tablespoons flour
2/3 cup milk
1 chicken bullion cube
garlic salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

To make:
Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in skillet until hot. Add chicken breasts and diced onion to hot skillet. Garlic salt and pepper them. Cook 5-10 minutes, or until brown. Remove chicken from skillet and allow to rest in a bowl, or on cutting board.
Add chicken bullion cube to skillet with olive oil remains. Add flour to the pan and combine with a whisk. Have the milk ready.
Add milk, while whisking, to create a roux, the sauce will thicken quickly.
Add potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. If the sauce gets too thick, add a little more milk.
Add peas & carrots and "rested" chicken to skillet with potato mixture. Heat throughout, about 5 more minutes.
Unroll crescent rolls. Spoon mixture onto the roll and bring the top over to "close" the roll. (There is a good picture of this on the other website).
Brush the tops with an egg wash and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have found. It does make a lot but freezes well and is great if you just want to eat the dough with a glass of milk.

1 pound butter (or margarine, I use Imperial)
1 1/2 c. White sugar
2 c. brown sugar

Cream for 10 minutes. It is important that you cream these 3 ingredients for at least 10 minutes. (I usually use my kitchen aid and do a load of laundry after I get this part going)

3 eggs

Cream for another 2 minutes

2 Tbsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
6 c. flour
3-6 c. chocolate chip cookies(depending on how chocolaty you like your cookies)
2 c. chopped nuts(optional)

Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Use and ice cream scooper to drop on an UN- greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350*F for 12-15 minutes. Let sit on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes to cool. Then remove to cooling rack. Enjoy with a big glass of milk!

Molten Chocolate Cakes

1/4 c. semi-sweet (or milk) chocolate chips
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3 Tbsp. flour

Preheat oven to 450*F. Butter two custard cups. Place on baking sheet. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in egg and egg yolk. Stir in flour. Divide batter between custard cups. Bake 13-14 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute. Carefully run a small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

Butternut Squash Soup

2 large butternut squash, sliced in half and seeds removed
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 c. Chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 c. Chicken broth or stock
¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. curry powder
1/8 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 400* F. Place squash pieces in a flat baking pan. Pour about 1 c. water around squash. Bake until soft, about 1 hour. Remove to a plate and cool. When cool enough to handle, scoop out pulp. Set aside.
In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add squash pulp and about 1 cup of broth to pot and mix well. Transfer to a food processor or blender in batches and process until smooth. Return to pan and add the remaining 4 cups broth and seasonings. Simmer, uncovered, until flavors are blended, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle into bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives.

Potato-Skins Pizza

Found this in Folsom and recreated it so we could have it more often.

I have made the homemade pizza dough in my bread machine but found that if I go to Papa Murphy's and get a pizza with no sauce but has dough, cheese, green onions, and bacon it makes it so much easier. So...

1 Papa Murphy's pizza with cheese, bacon, and green onions (NO SAUCE)
2 cups of mashed potatoes (with a little bit of ranch dressing mixed in)
1 c. ranch dressing

Bring home your pizza and strip everything off of the dough and put the toppings into a bowl; reserve. (It is okay if the ingredients mix). Spread ranch dressing over the dough. This is your sauce. Top with mashed potatoes. Then sprinkle your reserve of cheese, onions, and bacon on top of the potatoes. Bake at 375*F for about 20 mins or until cheese is melted and crust on the bottom is golden brown. (We always have a request for this specialty pizza whenever the missionaries come over for dinner.)

Snickers Salad

This is a favorite that is so easy and could pass for a side salad or dessert.

3 red apples
3 green apples
(I usually use about 5-6 Fuji apples)
1 tub cool whip
2 large or 10 mini snickers bars, frozen.

Chop all of the apples into diced chunks. Toss in a bowl with cool whip. Smash the snickers bars in a Ziploc bag cover with a towel. Mix the snickers in with the apples and cool whip. Refrigerate until serving. Enjoy!!

Tex Mex Baked Ravioli

Don't be turned off by the name. It really is good and a good fast version for a substitute for enchiladas.

1 jar (16oz.) taco sauce
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 pkg. (26 oz.) frozen large cheese ravioli, thawed
2 c. shredded cooked chicken
1 can (11oz.) mexicorn, drained
1 pkg. (8 oz) Mexican style shredded cheese blend (2 cups)
1 avocado
1/2 c. sour cream
cilantro sprigs, optional

Preheat oven 350*F. Coat 13x9" baking dish with cooking spray. Combine Taco sauce with 1 cup water, cilantro and cumin; reserve. Layer half of ravioli in baking dish. Top with 1 c. chicken and half of mexicorn. Sprinkle with half of sauce mixture and 1 c. cheese. Repeat with remaining ravioli, chicken, mexicorn, sauce mixture and cheese. Lightly cover baking dish with foil. Bake 20 mins. Increase temp to 375*F. Remove foil; bake until cheese is golden, about 10 mins. Let stand 5-10 mins.before serving. Slice avocados. Top casserole with sour cream, avocado slices, and if desired, cilantro sprigs.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

For Tara...
I was telling Tara how Jeff does not like sour cream, so his mom always dished out his portion of stroganoff before she mixed in the sour cream. Then I found this recipe... no sour cream, just cream cheese! Fabulous, as I happen to believe stroganoff is better creamy, and now Jeff agrees.

You will need:
1 pound stew meat
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed golden mushroom soup (I have used cream of mushroom)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
4 ounces cream cheese

1. In a slow cooker, combine meat, soup, onion, water and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Cook on law setting 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours
3. Stir in cream cheese just before serving.

Serve over egg noodles.