Crockpot Catalina Chicken

Merry Chirstmas...last week! We love Christmas so much at our house. It's such a wonderful time of year when we can celebrate the greatest gift that Christ offers to us. What a blessing. I love everything about the Christmas season. I especially love the yummy food that we all share. But let's face it, after the business of this season, sometimes I need a meal that is quick and simple. Well if you feel the same way then here you go! :) I got this recipe from the Kraft website and but I decided to cook it in the crockpot instead of the oven. It turned out so good and it's already a new favorite at our house. You'll never believe how simple this is!

Crockpot Catalina Chicken

5-6 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 c. catalina salad dressing

1/2 c. peach or apricot jam

2 T. dry onion soup mix (about 1/2 the packet)

For the sauce, stir together dressing, jam, and onion soup.

Place frozen chicken in crockpot and pour sauce over the top.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours and tada:

The most tender chicken you've ever seen. So delicious! Serve chicken over rice with sauce poured on top. This recipe serves about 5 but if your family isn't quite that big it makes wonderful leftovers. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Pancakes

Some of my favorite recipes are the ones that have been handed down from generation to generation. I got this recipe from my mom who got it from her mom. It is by far my all time favorite pancake recipe. It originally calls for 2 c. of all purpose flour (and it's very yummy) but I decided to use a little whole wheat flour. Either way is sooooo good!

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 c. all purpose flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

2 T. sugar

1 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 eggs

2 T. oil

2 c. buttermilk

1/2 milk (if needed)

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together.

Add wet ingredients and mix well. Add milk to thin the batter, if needed.

Cook on a hot, greased griddle.

This recipe makes about 18 pancakes. I hope you love them as much as I do!

Enjoy!

Lemon Tarragon Chicken Salad

I my goodness I've been absent for a while. We were out of town for three weeks and this time of year is a little busy, but I'm back! I made this recipe today for lunch and it was delicious. I know it's not really a typical winter meal, but it's perfect for that leftover turkey or chicken.

Lemon Tarragon Chicken Salad

1 (12 oz.) can chicken

1 c. celery, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

1 T. tarragon, minced

2 T. mayonnaise

pinch garlic powder

pinch lemon zest

salt and pepper

In a bowl, combine all ingredients.

I rarely have fresh lemons on hand so I used this:

It works great. Anyway, mix well.

I put this salad in my new favorite whole grain tortilla (I'll elaborate below) with some spinach and sunflower seeds.

It was yummy and it served about 3 people. But I've got to tell you about these wonderful tortillas that I found at Sam's Club.

They are delightful and I've been eating them all week. The other day I made this:

A whole grain tortilla with 2 scrambled eggs, cheese, and pepper jelly. I highly recommend it! Well, enjoy!

Enchilada Lasagna

This recipe was inspired by these Chicken Enchiladas. But instead of using flour tortillas, this recipe calls for corn tortillas. It only makes a 9x9" pan so double the recipe and use a 9x13" pan if you're cooking for a crowd or large family.

Enchilada Lasagna
9 corn tortillas
1 (12 oz.) can chicken breast meat, drained
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles
2/3 c. sour cream
3 T. tomato sauce
garlic salt
pepper
1 lb. shredded cheese

Combine chicken, green chiles, sour cream, and tomato sauce in a mixing bowl.

Mix well and season with garlic salt and pepper.
Spread a spoonful of tomato sauce in the bottom of a GREASED 9x9" pan.

Tear up three tortillas and spread them in the bottom of the pan.

Spread 1/3 of the chicken mixture over the tortillas.

Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over the chicken.

Repeat layers twice more (I didn't put tomato sauce on every layer but you can if you want.) The end result is a three layered casserole.

Bake at 350 F for about 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and melty.

This dish would be great with a side salad or topped with fresh salsa. Enjoy!

Cherry Crumb Cake

Baking is one of my favorite hobbies. And as much as I try to make healthy food, it's way more fun for me to make the unhealthy stuff! This is one of those recipes. But hey, moderation in all things, right? :)

Cherry Crumb Cake

Cake:
2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 T.) butter, softened
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 t. almond extract
1 1/4 c. sour cream
2 c. frozen dark sweet cherries, mostly thawed
Crumb Topping:
3 c. flour
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. salt
2 3/4 sticks butter, softened

For cake, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar together for about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.Mix in almond extract and sour cream. Add the flour mixture and mix just until everything is moistened. Spread cake batter into a greased 9x13" pan.Sprinkle cherries on cake batter, making sure to avoid the sides of the pan (otherwise they will stick to the pan.) For crumb topping, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. Add butter. (Do you think the 1 pound of butter could be the reason this cake is so good?) Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or the side of a fork. Keep cutting until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle crumb mixture over cherries until it's all covered. Bake at 350 F for 40-50 minutes.This cake is best when it is completely cool (in my opinion.) Before serving, you could sprinkle some powdered sugar on top for a more formal appearance.
Enjoy!

Corn Quesadilla

This is such a simple recipe. Actually, I don't know if it would be considered a recipe, really, it's just a different type of quesadilla. Instead of using flour tortillas I used large corn tortillas. They were very tasty!

Corn Quesadilla
corn tortillas
cheese
guacamole (optional)
salsa (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Melt cheese between two tortillas and top with guacamole, salsa, or sour cream. These would also be fantastic with meat or beans along with the cheese. Enjoy!

Sneaky Halloween Deviled Eggs

Flipping through cookbooks is very relaxing for me. Make fun if you will, but I love it. So I went to the library the other day and checked out some cookbooks. Among them was Deceptively Delicious (which I referred to in this post.) Anywho, the whole concept is trying to get kids to eat more nutritious food by sneaking veggies into recipes! It's very intriguing. I saw a recipe in the book for deviled eggs and I thought I'd give it a try, but I tweaked it a little. These deviled eggs are "sneaky" because hidden inside are veggies! Sweet potatoes to be exact so it makes them festive and orange.

Sneaky Halloween Deviled Eggs
6-8 boiled eggs
1 medium baked sweet potato
couple spoonfuls mayonnaise
drizzle of mustard
salt

Peel boiled eggs and cut them in half. Remove yolks and put them in a bowl and place whites on a plate.

To the yolks, add sweet potato, mayonnaise, mustard, and a bit of salt. Mix well until smooth and creamy.

Place a spoonful of yolk mixture into each egg white. Serve with paprika on top if you want it to look more fancy. Keep leftovers in the fridge so that you can make a Halloween egg salad sandwich the next day!

I mashed 2 deviled eggs and spread it onto warm, buttered sour dough bread. Mmmmmmm! I think the idea of sneaking veggies in recipes is a brilliant idea. I might share some more "sneaky" recipes in the future. Enjoy!

Shortcut Pumpkin Cookies

This is the easiest cookie recipe I have ever made! It makes a TON of cookies so I usually freeze them or give them away.

This time I actually bought pie pumpkins and baked them, but it's easier to use a can of pumpkin.

Shortcut Pumpkin Cookies

1 package white cake mix

1 package spice cake mix

1 (28 oz.) can pumpkin

chocolate chips

You don't have to use any certain brand of cake mixes. I've used several varieties and they always turn out the same.

Combine the cake mixes and pumpkin. It takes a while, but just keep on mixing until it forms a dough.
Then add as many chocolate chips as you like. I usually use about a cup (give or take a little.) Mix again.

Scoop onto a greased cookie sheet with a cookie scoop.

Bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes.

This recipe is great for this time of year. It reminds me of fall weather and Halloween. Enjoy!