Almost Too Easy Cookies

1 Box French Vanilla Cake Mix
1/4 Cup Flour
1/4 Cup Water
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Oil
1/2 bag peanut butter M&Ms (family sized bag)
1/2 bag Milk Chocolate & Carmel Chips
Mix cake mix, flour, water, egg, and oil. Add in the candy and the chocolate chips. Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes. Cool on racks. These make REALLY soft cookies. ***You can also experiment with different kinds of cake mixes, candies, and baking chips.*** Note, the cookies pictured do not have the M&Ms added. Yields 2 dozen cookies.

Creamy Chicken And Mushroom Soup Sauce

4 Chicken Breasts
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
Pappy's Seasoning
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Parmesan cheese
1/3 soup can of Milk or Water (milk will make sauce creamier)
Salt
Pepper

Mix favored amount of Pappy's, garlic powder and onion powder in bowl. Cut up chicken and cover in bowl of seasonings. Bake chicken at 350 for 45 minutes. Once chicken is done mix soup, milk/water, and favored amount of garlic powder, onion powder, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. While sauce is warming up cut chicken up into bite size pieces. Mix chicken in with sauce. Serve over rice.

Green Chicken Curry

1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk
½ -1 can water (can from coconut milk)
1-1 ½ Tbs of Green curry paste (the more paste the hotter it will be)
4 Tb. Sugar
2 chicken breasts cut in small, flat pieces
1 small eggplant, sliced like a banana
½ can bamboo shoots
3-4 bay leaves

In a deep frying pan (or wok) mix together coconut milk, water, curry paste, and sugar. Cook on medium heat. When it begins to boil, add the chicken, eggplant, and bamboo shoots. Boil until chicken is done. Turn off heat and add basil leaves. Let sit 5 minutes and then serve over rice.

Parmesan Chicken With Sour Cream Chicken Sauce

Parmesan Chicken:

2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons garlic salt
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain yogurt
1 recipe Sour Cream Chicken Sauce

Combine cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Dip each piece of chicken in yogurt to coat and then in crumb mixture. Arrange in greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Serve with Sour Cream Chicken Sauce. Serves 8.

Sour Cream Chicken Sauce:

2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans Cream of Chicken Soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream

In a small saucepan heat soup and sour cream together over low heat, stirring frequently.

Kneaders Chicken Salad

1/4 cup white vinegar
salt
pepper
1 1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/4 cup sour cream
About 4 stocks celery
About 1 small bunch green onion
Cooked chicken (6 half skinless/boneless breasts. Bake, shredded)

*Mix vinegar, salt, pepper, mayonnaise and sour cream together.
*Mix celery, green onion and chicken in separate bowl. Mix all ingredients together and taste. Let set overnight for best flavor.

Hot Artichoke Dip

13 oz. can of artichoke hearts
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
Box of Wheat Thins

Chop Artichoke hearts into fine pieces. Place in microwave bowl.
Fold in mayonnaise. Mix in parmesan cheese.
Heat in mirowave stirring occassionally until hot and cheese is all melted.
About 5-8 minutes.
Serve hot with wheat thins

Spinach Poppy Seed Salad

1 bag washed & prepared spinach
1/4 cup green onion chopped
8 ounces mushrooms sliced
3/4 lb. Swiss cheese grated
1/2 lb. bacon cooked & crumbled
1 large can mangarine oranges
1 bottle of Briannas Poppy Seed Dressing

Mix all ingredients together and pour bottle of dressing over salad. Mix well and serve.

Add Rotisserie Chicken in your salad to create a meal!

If you like Cafe Rio, you will love this!

I am so excited! My first recipe post. Since it is my first one I had to make it a good one. I love Cafe Rio, but indulging just isn't in the budget sometimes so here are some recipes that make it seem like you have just stepped into a Cafe Rio (minus the waiting in line forever while you are hungry.) You can either cook the chicken or the pork (depending what you like or are in the mood for.) You can use the meat of your choice on a salad or tortilla with black beans, salsa, guacamole, cheese, tomatoes, and some fresh lime juice. Enjoy!


Tomatillo Dressing
1 pkg of Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing dry mix
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tomatillos, peel (can get them fresh in the produce section or canned in the Mexican food section)
½ clove garlic, minced
½ bunched cilantro, chopped
½ tsp lime juice
½ small Jalapeno, seeds removed

Blend ingredients together in a blender. Add additional mayonnaise if dressing is too thin. Keep refrigerated.

Chicken
5 lbs Chicken Breast – boneless, skinless
1 small bottle Zesty Italian Dressing
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred with fork. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken to keep moist. Keep warm.

Pork
Pork Roast
1 bottle of honey barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 liter of Coke

Place all ingredients in large crock pot and cook on low all night. In the morning take the roast out leaving the juice in the crock pot, shred the roast. Then place the shredded roast back in the crock pot and leave it on low.

Brazilian Chicken Lasagna

6-8 chicken breasts-cooked & shredded
9 cooked lasagna noodles
Mozzarella cheese (most of a large pkg of grated)
Parmesan cheese (grated 2-3 tbs + 3/4 to one cup)
an 8 oz nestles canned table cream (in Mexican section of store)
1 small onion (chopped)
2-3 tbs butter
salt to taste
about 8 slices luncheon ham (it comes sliced and stacked in pkg)
2-3 tbs cornstarch
4 cups milk
Italian seasoning
3 chicken bullion cubes

1. Cook chicken in water with 3 bullion cubes. When cool, shred. This can be done the day before.
2. Cook the 9 lasagna noodles. Spread out on acrylic cutting board to cool.
3. Saute onions, salt and grated Parmesan cheese in the 2-3 tbs of butter.
4. In a different pan, mix the milk & cornstarch. Cook until slightly thickened then pour into the satueed mixture. Now add the canned table cream.

Putting it in the pan:

• Lightly coast a 9x13 inch pan with a little olive oil.
• Put in 3 cooked lasagna noodles.
• Put in a layer of chicken.
• Put in a layer of white creamy mixture.
• Put in 4 slices of luncheon ham.
• Put in a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Repeat this a second time making sure there is enough white mix on the chicken so it will not be dry. Repeat this a third time with noodles, a little white sauce, and about 3/4 to 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning only. The white sauce layer will be very thin. Spread it with the back of the spoon. Spread on the parmesan cheese and sprinkle on the Italian seasoning.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes-until cheese is browned.

Sticky Chicken

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken (cut in strips)
1 c apricot all fruit jam
1 c Catalina salad dressing or barbecue sauce
1 envelope Lipton dry onion soup mix

Saute chicken strips until lightly browned. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Stir to mix and pour over chicken. Bring to a boil, turn the heat to low, partially cover (open vent in lid or slightly angle lid on pan). Simmer 15-20 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Raspberry Jelly Roll

3 eggs Filling:
1 c sugar 2 envelopes-unflavored gelatin
1 c flour 1 c cream (whip)
1 t vanilla 10 oz pkg of raspberries
1/3 c hot water
1 t baking powder
pinch of salt

Beat eggs until lemon froth color. Add dry ingredients and mix. Fold in hot water. Cook on greased cookie sheet at 350 for 12 minutes. Cool with powder sugar on paper towel, roll up and cool down.

Filling-Thaw raspberries, mix juice and gelatin, warm until gelatin melts. Mix cream until whipped. Fold in raspberries. Unroll cake roll and add filling inside and out. Roll back up and serve!

Funeral Potatoes

2-lb pkg of frozen shredded hash browns
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can milk
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup crumbs*
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

· Heat oven to 350 deg.
· Thaw frozen potatoes
· Place potatoes in a greased 2-3 quart casserole dish or a 9x13 cake pan.
· Combine soup, milk, sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. For a creamier dish, add 2-3 tablespoons additional milk. Mix well. Spread sauce over potato/onion mixture.
· Melt butter and combine with crumbs. Sprinkle crumbs over mixture.
· Sprinkle cheese over mixture.
· Bake uncovered at 325 deg F for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly throughout.
· This recipe serves approximately 8, and is often served with ham and green beans.
*Many things can be used for crumbs, such as corn flakes or Chex cereal, bread crumbs, French's fried onions, or potato chips).

Easy Jello Salad

1 large box Orange jello
1 large tub cottage cheese
1 medium container cool whip
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 large can mangarian oranges

Mix Dry Jello package and cottage cheese in large mixing bowl. Place in fridge.
Drain crushed pineapple and mangarian oranges.
Place fruit in bowl leaving a few oranges out for decoration on the top. Mix well.
Mix cool whip into mixture. Place oranges on top. Enjoy!

Chicken Crepes

6 tbsp butter
¼ lb. Mushrooms (chopped)
6 med scallions (chopped) –I omit
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 ½ tsp. Salt
4 tbsp. Flour
2 cups milk
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup grated swiss cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
¾ cup light cream
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Pre-heat oven to 350

Make your favorite crepe recipe or use wonton skins as I do.

Melt 2 tbsp butter over med heat. Add mushrooms, scallions, and parsley. Sauté till tender. Mix in chicken and ¾ tsp. Salt. Set Aside.
Melt 6 tbsp butter over med heat. Stir in flour till smooth. Use wire whisk and slowly pour in milk. Cook over Med. Heat till it boils and thickens. Add salt & pepper. Add cheeses till completely melted. Add 1 cup of sauce to chicken mixture. Then add cream to sauce.
Spoon ¼ cup filling on each crepe. Fold or Roll. Place in 9x13 pan. Pour sauce over crepes. Sprinkle bread crumbs. Bake 350, 20-30 minutes.
Serves 6