blonde rocky road

I stumbled across this recipe in the blog-o-sphere and knew it was something I had to try. Check out the original recipe HERE.

I modified it slightly to fit my preferences. To me it tastes like those yummy peanut butter butterscotch chocolate rice crispy squares... minus those pesky rice crispies!

Here is my SLIGHTLY modified recipe

makes 25 pieces

1 12-oz. bag butterscotch chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
2/3 cup salted peanuts (chopped)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 Tablespoon milk

2-3 tablespoons of butter (cut into chunks)

Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with foil. Set aside.

In a large microwavable bowl, combine the butterscotch chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave on 50% power until melted, about 3 minutes, stopping to stir every minute. Stir until smooth.

Stir in the vanilla, salt ( I omitted the salt because my butter was salted and so were the peanuts), marshmallows and peanuts. Pour out into the prepared pan.

Then in a new bowl melt the chocolate chips, butter, and milk. I just used the microwave and watched it VERY carefully since the first batch I burned. Pour over the butterscotch mixture.

Chill until set - 15 minutes in the freezer or about an hour in the fridge.

Turn out onto a cutting board and cut into 25 pieces. (HAHAHAHAHA....more like 15...maybe)

This is amazing. I stored it in my fridge and I snuck a piece every single time I went into the kitchen. Very dangerous. Very addictive :)

red hot applesauce

This pink applesauce is one of my FAVORITES! It is super simple and easy and reminds me of home. My mom and grandma made it for me growing up, so when I need comfort food, this is what I make...

One regular size jar of applesauce (I use unsweetened)
1 cup of mini marshmallows
1/8-1/4 cup of red hot candies (to taste)

combine all of these over medium to low heat until the marshmallows and candy are melted. Enjoy hot or cold. And share with your kidlets, they will thank you for it.

new mama meal

My favorite thing to take to a new mommy and her family is ritz poppy seed chicken. Easy, creamy, and delicious. I always make a double batch so that I have a meal for my family too! This goes great with a green or fruit salad, some bread, and my favorite dessert...some of mommy's favorite ice cream to take the edge off of those crazy hormone fueled first few days. So make this yummy dish for a new mommy you know!

Ritz Poppy Seed Chicken

pre heat oven to 350

2 cups cooked and diced/shredded chicken
1 and 1/2 cups of sour cream ( use low fat)
1 can cream of chicken soup ( use low fat)

mix in a bowl and set aside

crush 2 sleeves of ritz crackers in a gallon size ziploc
add 1 tablespoon of poppyseeds
add 1/2 cup melted butter

mix approx 1/2 the cracker mixture into the chicken mixture. Place chicken mixture in a greased pan, then top with remaining cracker mixture and bake for about 30 minutes.

This may not be fancy, but it is popular with young kidlets and especially with nursing mothers. And my hubby loves it too.

not yo mama's nachos

I saw this nacho recipe on Taste and Tell today and knew I had to try it...


Quick Chicken Enchilada Nachos
From Real Mom Kitchen

Serves 6-8

Total time: 15 minutes

1 (15-oz) can corn, drained
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (12.5-oz) can Swanson Premium Chunk Chicken, drained and broken up
1 (10-oz) can enchilada sauce
1 (10.75-oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (4-oz) can green chiles
tortilla chips
cheese
any other additional topping you desire, such as fresh chopped cilantro, diced avocado, diced green onion, sliced olives, etc.

In a large sauce pan, combine corn, beans, chicken, enchilada sauce, mushroom soup, and green chiles. Cook over medium heat while stirring. Cook until heat through.

Serve over tortillas chips and top with any desired toppings.


OH MY HECK!

So good.
So easy.

I followed the recipe exactly, but let it simmer for abour 35 minutes (waiting for Christian to come home since he had to stop and pick up cheese for the nachos) which I think helped all the flavors blend together.

We threw some chips on a plate, then a little cheese, then some of the mix, then a little more cheese, microwaved them for 30 seconds to melt the cheese, then topped with yummy sour cream, salsa, and avocado. Yum. I think we each ate 2 servings worth. I wasn't really expecting much, but it was just a fabulous weeknight dinner.

(For Mason I took out some beans, corn, and chicken and made a quesadilla. But he ended up stealing nachos off my plate and loved them)

Hope you get a chance to try this, it was really yummy!

i'm still cooking...Thai Peanut Chicken

It has been a busy few months and I have been neglecting my cooking blog (mainly because I assumed no one actually reads it) but I have some new recipes that I want to post and not forget :)

Here is one of my most recent finds...Thai Peanut Chicken

Christian was skeptical, but I combined a few recipes I found on the Internet to come up with one that we both really like, (in fact he actually used his finger to get the last bit of sauce)so here it goes...

Thai Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup water

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar

5 minced garlic cloves

The juice of one large lime

2-3 Tablespoons brown sugar (to taste to balance out the acidity)

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (depending on how hot you want it)

Combine everything in a small saucepan and cook, stirring continuously, over medium heat until well combined.

Taste.

Adjust seasoning as needed. Sometimes I feel like it is too thick or too "peanuty" so I add a few more shakes of rice vinegar and soy sauce. Or it is too acidic, so I add a little more brown sugar. Or it doesn't have enough kick...add some more crushed red pepper.

AND, just in case you don't have rice vinegar, you can most definitely use all soy sauce and it tastes just fine. In fact you can barely tell a difference.

From here, things can get pretty versatile. We have always made this with chicken tenders or chicken breasts sliced into tender size pieces. Here are a few ideas we have tried...

- make this sauce the night before and marinate your chicken in half the sauce, then grill

-grill chicken on grill pan and baste with sauce until cooked through

-cook chicken in a frying pan or grill pan, then put in a pyrex with some sauce in a 250 degree oven to keep warm until ready to serve

-make chicken skewers and serve with sauce as a dipping sauce

Last night I grilled the chicken and threw it in the oven with some sauce, it turned out great, and it was way easier to get everything hot and to the table at the same time.

If you want to serve the chicken over something, you have a lot of options...

-rice noodles

-angle hair pasta

-rice

or our personal (CHEAP) favorite...

- ramen noodles!

Here is how I usually make the ramen...

boil water, throw in ramen. As soon as the ramen is almost done, I throw in a handful or too of shredded veggies (usually carrots, but you could do broccoli spears or zucchini shredded). Then I strain everything as soon as I stir in the veggies (they cook quickly and you want them pretty crisp) and throw it all back in the pot to stay warm.

To serve, throw the noodle/veggie mix in a bowl and top with chicken and sauce. Then serve with some (or all) of the following toppings...

- fresh chopped cilantro

- a slice of lime (to squeeze on top)

- bean sprouts

- thinly sliced green onions (green part too)

- chopped salted peanuts

- shredded cabbage

- extra red pepper flakes

My personal favorite combo is cilantro, fresh lime, and peanuts. Christian likes his plain with no add ins. So you can go all out or just basic and still have a great meal.

And did I mention it is even better the next day?!?

I hope you enjoy this adventure in "Thai" food as much as we do. I make it at least once a month, and my mouth is already watering anxious for leftovers today for lunch.

Cafe Rio Chicken

I went to Cafe Rio last month and remembered how much I LOOOOOVE eating there. Mmmmm. So good.

Ok, back to reality, I can't fly to CA or UT everytime I want some of that goodness, so I have my stand by recipes that I love (click here) and I recently found this one for the shredded chicken...


Café Rio Chicken

1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 lbs. Chicken breast-rinsed and fat cut off

Cook all in crock pot for 4-5 hours on low. Shred meat and cook an additional hour.


**MANDY'S NOTES**

I thought that a whole tablespoon of each of these seemed like, well, a lot. SO, i modified it slightly and added a scant 1/2 tablespoon each of cumin and even less of chili powder and then added a tablespoon of taco seasoning. It turned out so fabulous. That extra last hour is really important, it lets the chicken soak up all the yummy juices and flavors.

We love this wrapped in tortillas with rice and beans, in quesadillas, or over nachos. I made Martha's cilantro lime rice and my favorite black beans to serve along with this, but I think it would also be yummy in a salad or in enchiladas or just about anything else!

brinner...creme brulee french toast

I LOVE to make breakfast for dinner. Sometimes it just fills in the "what should I make tonight?" gap, and other times you have missionaries who request it! Although good old fashioned pancakes or waffles are fine, sometimes you need something extra special and extra easy. I love that you make this in advance and that you can have french toast for a crowd ready all at the SAME time! This recipe is delicious and impressive and will make people love you.


CREME BRULEE FRENCH TOAST

1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoon corn syrup
1 loaf Texas (*woot woot*) toast or any extra thick bread slices (about 12-15)
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 recipe syrup better

In a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup over medium heat until smooth, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture onto large, greased jelly roll pan (18x13x1). Spread to cover surface. Place 12 slices (or however many you can fit) in a single layer to cover the pan.

Mix together eggs, cream, salt, and vanilla. Spoon mixture over each piece of bread until all the mixture is gone. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove from pan and serve. If not serving IMMEDIATELY, turn each slice over (this will prevent bread from sticking). Serve with syrup butter.

Makes 12 servings (hahaha....yeah right)


**MANDY'S NOTES**

First off, this does NOT serve twelve. I think six, is probably a more reasonable estimate. I fed this to the missionaries and between the two of them and the three of us there was half a piece of toast left.

Second...I didn't have cream OR corn syrup OR karo syrup. So I used whole milk in the egg mixture and used a little more butter and a little bit of water in the sugar/butter mixture.

Thirdly...I didn't think about this until the day off, so I made it about 4 or 5 hours in advance and then just put it in the fridge until it was time to bake. Still turned out delish.

And last but not least...I like this the best if you turn it over immediately after it comes out of the oven. This way the yummy yummy sugary goodness gets on both sides and you are not scraping toast off your pan. Oh yes, and PAM the heck out of the pan or else you will be sorry.

and now for reals last...make the syrup butter. Just do it, it really takes this dessert up a level.



SYRUP BETTER

1 1/2 cups butter
3 cups maple syrup

Melt together and serve over toast

(I halved this recipe and it was plenty for the batch)



*****both recipes from The Essential Mormon Cookbook by Julie Badger Jensen*****