New Foodie Site!

I just found the MOST FUN site--it is my new fave because not only does it have amazingly tempting recipes (I want to try them ALL!), but it has a recipe for the Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette at Cafe Rio!

Seriously, JACKPOT!

We go through this stuff like water . . . I did ask a worker at the famed restaurant if he could sell me the recipe without being shot, and he was a little more than hesitant.  He said they use three different recipes to make this one, so it wasn't really give-out-able.  I think he was just worried about being shot.

Anyway, go check it out!

New Favorite Dinner!

These turned out SOOOOO good!  Rave reviews from eldest son and husband, and trainer too.  (yes, I try to bribe them but it hasn't worked out very well thus far.)  They are even good the next day when they're are not so crispy, although I'm sure if you warmed them in the oven they'd be crispier than microwave-warming . . . . just sayin'.  Anyway, this is a recipe from one of my favorite websites.  I had a couple necessary changes, so those are in blue.  Seriously yummy. Enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken Flautas

1/2 c sour cream

1/2 c Lawry's Mexican Chile & Lime Marinade with Lime Juice, divided (I couldn't find this, so I used one of those powder mix envelopes that sounded similar--it was for a Baja Lime marinade for fish or chicken.  I mixed it up like the package directed, then used it for the sauce inside the flauta, some with the chicken, and some with more sour cream for dipping)

1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded

flour tortillas

1/2 t cumin

salt and pepper

1 c cheddar jack cheese, grated

1.  Mix sour cream and 2 T of the marinade in a small bowl.  Mix chicken and the remainder of the marinade in another bowl.  Set aside.

2.  Microwave tortillas until softened (usually only 10-20 seconds.  I actually didn't do this as I used them right out of the bag and they were fine.) : )

3.  Spoon about 2 T sour cream mix on tortilla, spreading across center.  Top with chicken, then about 2 T cheese.  Roll up tightly and place seam-side down on a baking sheet. (I used about 12 of the smaller-size tortillas and filled a cookie sheet.)

4.  Spray with cooking oil so they get crispy and bake at 425 for about 15 minutes or until they are crispy and brown.  Serve with more of the sour cream sauce and/or guac and salsa.  Yum!

: )

Yummy-licious Post-Workout Smoothie

Today I ran.  And ran.  And then was made to do nasty ab exercises on top of it all.

Again.

It really is my fault, I keep going back.  As one of my trainers was leaving today, he said, "Don't you just love Sean?" (my other trainer) "Of course!" I replied "He's your best . . . torture device."

OK, so that last part was probably not-so-under-my-breath, but needless to say, they get results, and that's why I go, right?  And they're really great guys, funny, and fun to talk to, which helps ; )

So today, craving some fruity goodness and not having any cash (or time to drive to the smoothie-makers), I decided to make one, so here you go:

Peach-Mango Love

1 1/4 c Pina Colada Crystal Light from Uraguay (ok, I realize that not all of you have this precious commodity, so you can use apple juice instead.  Pineapple juice would be yummy too.)

1/2 c frozen mango chunks

1/2 c frozen peach chunks

1 coconut sorbet from Costco's box mix of frozen love

1 T protein powder

Yum.  Satisfying and totally delicious, and something I don't have to share.  (Mostly because no one else likes the pina colada thing, but hey, their loss!)

Now if it would just help me not be sore tomorrow . . .

; )

4:00 Cravings

are best answered with this:

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

1 c sugar
1 c corn syrup

mix in a pot, and bring to boil.

add 1 c peanut butter and remove from heat, stir until smooth.  Pour over

6 c rice krispies

spread in a 9x13 pan (I greased mine with pam, but am not sure if that was necessary--they were perfectly easy to get out, though!)

melt 1 c choc chips and 1 c butterscotch chips in microwave, stir until thoroughly combined and pour over top of rice krispies.  Cool, cut, and satisfy! ; )

Citrus Lemonade

1 container of frozen limeade
1 container of frozen lemonade
8 servings worth of strawberry lemonade mix (like Countrytime)
1 two liter container of Sprite
sliced fruit (as desired--lemons, limes, strawberries without tops)

Mix and serve!

White Cake with Strawberry Topping

1 white cake mix
1-8 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1, 8 oz cool whip (I actually prefer to use the "real" stuff, so I get a pint of whipped cream and make it myself)
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 box Danish Dessert, strawberry flavor
4 cups sliced or chopped strawberries

Cake – Mix according to directions on the box. Pour batter into flat jellyroll pan and spread evenly. Bake at temp. indicated on box. Cake should be done after about 25 minutes. Check by inserting a toothpick in the middle. Let it cool.

White Topping – Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, cool whip, and lemon juice with electric mixer. Beat until well mixed and fluffy.

Strawberry Topping – Cook Danish Dessert according to “pie glaze” directions on back of box.

When you are ready to eat, spread white topping on top of cake and then put Strawberry topping on top of white topping.

from this fun site!

Barbeque Sausage Bites

This one looks good too--would you serve it over rice?  Noodles?  Ideas?

1 pkg. (1 lb.) miniature smoked sausages
3/4 lb. fully cooked bratwurst
3/4 lb. smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage
1 bottle (18 oz.) barbecue sauce
2/3 C. orange marmalade
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained

In a 3 qt. slow cooker, combine the sausages. In a small bowl, whisk the BBQ sauce, marmalade, mustard and allspice. Pour over sausages and stir to coat. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until heated through. Stir in pineapple a few minutes before serving. (Yield 12-14 servings)

Recipe by: Heather D. White

Eclair Cake

another one I need to try from this fun site!

You’ll need: 

-  Two  packages instant vanilla pudding mix (3.5 ounce)
- 1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed (8 oz.)
- 3 cups of milk
- 1 package of graham cracker squares (16 oz.)
- 1 container prepared chocolate frosting (16 oz.)

1. In a bowl, blend the pudding mix, whipped topping and milk.
   2. Arrange a single layer of graham cracker squares in the bottom of a 13×9 inch baking pan. Evenly spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top with another layer of crackers and the remaining pudding mixture. Top with a final layer of graham crackers.
   3. Spread the frosting over the whole cake up to the edges of the pan. Cover, and chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Easy Peasy Chocolate Mint Cookies

1 Devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 c oil
1 box Andes Mints

Mix first three ingredients together and drop in spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and lightly flatten, then place an Andes mint on top of each cookie.  As it starts to melt, spread over the top with a spatula.  Eat warm or cooled--YUM!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

SOUP:

4 c. chicken broth (which is two cans of chicken broth)1 c. water1 c. half and half4 or 5 slices cheddar cheese1/2 c. all-purpose flour1/2 tsp. dried minced onion1/4 tsp. ground black pepper4 c. broccoli florets (bite-size)

GARNISH:

1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese2 tsp. minced fresh parsley

Combine chicken broth, water, half and half, cheese, flour, onion and pepper in a large saucepan. Whisk to combine and to break up any lumps of flour.  Set heat on medium. Stir constantly.  Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Add broccoli to soup and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until broccoli is tender, but not soft.  For each serving spoon soup into a bowl and garnish with a tablespoon of shredded cheese and a pinch of parsley.  Mmmmm.  It is soooo good.

Baked Beans

I stumbled across some fun new recipes I want to try, so thought I'd put them here for easy finding afterwards!  Here is the original site, if any of you want to stumble across it too : )

 2 cans (16 oz. each) baked beans (I use Bush’s ORIGINAL Baked Beans)
 1/2 medium onion, chopped
 8-10 pieces of crumbled bacon
 1/2 cup ketchup
 1/2 cup mustard
 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
 1/4 cup Worchestire sauce

Mix all ingredients in crock-pot. Cover and cook on low setting.  My crockpot only takes a few hours before it is done.  Make sure to stir it every now and then.

Favorite Chicken Soup

Well, to be honest, this is my second-favorite chicken soup recipe.  The first goes something like this:  put a rotisserie chicken in the crock pot and cover with water.  Let it sit on low for a long time, then pull it out and shred the chicken.  Add salt, seasonings, sliced carrots, and noodles to the broth with the shredded chicken.  (if you're using the thick, homemade noodles.  If you're using regular ones, whatever the shape or size, wait until just before the celery so they don't overcook.)  Cook until the carrots are soft (this totally depends on your cooker and the heat), add the celery and in about 1/2 to one hour, serve and enjoy!

My second-favorite is a chicken and wild rice crock pot from "101 Things To Do With A Slow Cooker".  Here you go:

1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c cooked chicken (or if you're in a hurry, 2 cans cooked chicken)
1 c carrots, shredded or sliced
1 c celery, sliced or diced
2 pkgs long grain and wild rice mix, with seasoning packets (i.e. Rice-A-Roni)
5 c chicken broth
5 c water

Now honestly, that seems like a lot of liquid to me, so I'm not sure I've ever used all 10 cups.  I just fill up the crock pot to about 2/3 - 3/4 full, and figure if it's thick I'll add more later.  You do need quite a bit for the rice to soak up and still be a soup, but I figure you can adjust that to taste.

Serve with warm bread and whatever comfort happiness you like best.

Enjoy!

Flashes of Brilliance

They're rare, but they do come occasionally.  Like the other night, as I was trying to find some frozen chicken to quickly thaw and make enchiladas out of, I had a stroke of genius.  It went like this:  we have a ton of leftover Super Seven Layer Dip from Sunday, which includes things like small chunks of chicken, ground beef, refried beans, cheese . . . all the requirements for enchiladas already cooked, already seasoned, ready to enjoy!  And so, Super Bowl Enchiladas were born!  I put the filling in the tortillas, wrapped them up, covered them with enchilada sauce and more cheese, and voila!  Insta-dinner!  I was so impressed at my brilliance . . . my picky eaters weren't so much, but hey--they never are.

Gotta love it! : )

Cinnamon Nutmeg Waffles

These sound too good to be true . . . I'll let you know tomorrow morning!


2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugars and spices. In another bowl beat together the eggs and melted butter, then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the iron according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Close iron top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron.
Based on the Basic Waffle Recipe from Alton Brown.