Still in awe- all my kids devoured this!

Better-Than-Takeout Chicken Fried Rice

(rachelschultz.com)

Serves 5-6

• 4 cups rice, prepared
• 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked (I put mine in the crock pot with Yoshida's Original Gourmet sauce, or any teriyaki sauce would do, if desired)
• 1 cup peas & carrots, frozen (or what you like - I added steamed broccoli)
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

Prepare rice according to package instructions to yield 4 cups cooked rice. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, peas, and carrots.  Stir fry until tender. Crack eggs into pan and scramble, mixing throughout vegetables.  Add rice, chicken, and soy sauce to pan.Mix soy sauce throughout and remove from heat.  

It's true!  My kids all had seconds, and thirds.  Some liked adding the Yoshida's sauce on top of the fried rice (Russell and I did- added a lot of teriyaki flavor) but most liked the fried rice as is.  They even at the veggies.  I'm still in shock!  It is a great recipe, and I am replacing my old recipe I had on this blog with this one.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes- decadent!

Cinnamon roll pancakes

(from recipegirl.com)

Yield: 4 servings (4 pancakes)

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 10 min

PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

CINNAMON FILLING:
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Prepare pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, just until batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).

2. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. You don't want this to remain super-liquidy. It's best if it becomes a consistency similar to toothpaste.

3. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl- heat butter and cream cheese until melted. Whisk together until smooth; whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla extract; set aside.

4. Heat large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the skillet. Snip the corner of your baggie of filling and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.

5. When ready to serve, spoon warmed glaze onto the top of each pancake.

Tips:

*Keep the heat low or your pancakes might cook up too quickly. Don't flip them until you see those bubbles starting to pop on top. Flip them with a wide spatula so you can grasp the whole thing without batter and filling dripping all over the place!
*It's best if you pour the batter onto your skillet, wait a minute or so and then swirl the cinnamon onto the batter. That'll give it a chance to set a little before you add the swirl.
*If your baggie of filling begins to get too thick, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up again. On that same note, it shouldn't be too runny. The consistency of soft toothpaste is perfect. If it's melty and runny, it will tend to run all over your pancakes. Once you micro it, let it sit on the counter at room temp for a while until it thickens slightly.

Ok, these are a little more time-consuming than Krusteaz but they are so good!  Great for a birthday breakfast or other special occasion.  Be forewarned- the cinnamon filling is quite tricky to add to the batter on the griddle.  It tends to want to spill outside the pancake and sizzle everywhere.  It still tastes great this way, but not as pretty!  I also didn't wait for the filling to set; mine was too runny.  Don't do that.  I also skipped the cream cheese glaze because i thought the kids would be satisfied with pancakes as is plain or with maple syrup.  And they were.  But the cream cheese glaze would definitely be awesome!   

Marshmallow Chocolate Cookies- Winners!

Marshmallow Brownie Cookies

(from realmomkitchen.com)

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• Large marshmallows, cut in half
• chocolate frosting

1. With a mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract; mix well.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, soda, and cocoa.
3. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in thirds alternating with the milk. Stir in nuts if desired.
4. Drop by teaspoon (I use my cookie scoop) onto a greased cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes and remove from oven. (My total cooking time was about 9 minutes, but I used my small cookie scoop.  I added the marshmallow at about 7 minutes in.  Just do what works best for you- just don't overbake!)
5. Immediately place a marshmallow piece (place with the sticky cut side down) on the top of each cookie and bake for 2 more minutes. When cookies are cool, frost each cookie with frosting.  Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

These are fun.  The kids love 'em, they look impressive, and they taste like a ding-dong, only better.  They don't take much extra time- I just tear apart the marshmallows and use canned frosting.  For chocolate flavor, the canned works just fine for me.  Try these!

S'mores bars- addicting and delicious

S’Mores Bars

(from realmomkitchen.com originally from cookingwithmykid.com) 

• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 king-sized Hershey’s milk chocolate bars
• 1 large egg
• 1 jar marshmallow creme/fluff
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (~7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, processed til fine)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan (I line my pan with foil or parchment paper for easy removal and cutting). Use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile,whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until combined.
3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.
4. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side. (I used one because it was all I had and it worked fine).
5. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff until all covered.
6. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff.  (I used my hands to stretch it out as well as I could to cover the whole thing).
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned. Be sure to cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16 squares. 
   
   
   
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      1. Now, I knew these would be tasty but I didn't know just how good they'd be until I made them!  How fun are they, with those layers and gooeyness??  Delectable.  
         
         1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1.  

No-Knead Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

(bakingbites.com)

• 2 cups warm water (100-110F)
• 5 tsp active dry yeast (1/2-oz.)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 5 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 cups all purpose flour (I used about 7 1/2 cups until dough wasn't too sticky to roll out and formed more of a ball on the dough hook)
• additional 1 tbsp melted butter, for topping

1. Pour warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in yeast and sugar and stir. Let stand for 5 minutes until slightly foamy.
2. Add in melted butter, eggs and salt and whisk to combine. Put the dough hook on the stand mixer and add in 3 cups of all purpose flour. With the dough hook on medium speed, gradually add in the remaining flour. Continue to knead until dough comes together smoothly, then knead with the dough hook for 3-5 minutes.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
5. Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and, using a pizza cutter or bench scraper, divide the dough into 15 equal pieces (thirds, then fifths). With lightly floured hands, shape each piece into a ball and place into prepared pan (3 rows of 5).
6. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and let stand for 40 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400F.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until rolls are golden and sound hollow when tapped.
9. Take additional 1 tbsp butter and brush on top of hot rolls using pastry brush. Allow rolls to cool in pan for at least 20 minutes before serving.
10. Makes 15 big! rolls.

We LOVED these rolls! Large, fluffy, easy. I'll make these often.

Mature mac and cheese

BBQ Chicken Crusted Smoked Cheddar Mac

(from pickypalate.com)

• 1 lb mini farfalle pasta (use any pasta of choice)
• 5 Tablespoons butter
• 5 Tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 4 cups milk, I used 2%
• 5 cups shredded Tillamook smoked cheddar cheese (you could use any cheddar cheese)
• 2 cups shredded BBQ Chicken
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.

2. Melt butter into a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper; cook for 1 minute stirring. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Increase heat to medium high, stir continuously until liquid thickens and comes to a low boil. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheddar cheese until smooth then add cooked pasta. Pour mixture into a large baking dish then top evenly with BBQ chicken. Sprinkle with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

3. Let cool for 5-10 minutes and serve.

The kids loved this! Not the chicken part as much, because they don't like bbq chicken flavor, so I only put chicken on half of it. This makes a huge 13x9 pan so next time I'll halve it for my family.

Bar Cookies: Sugar Cookies fast!

Sugar Cookie Bars
(from realmomkitchen.blogspot.com)

• 1 cup butter at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 5 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp soda

1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
   
2. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg.
   
3. Add vanilla & mix well.
   
4. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & soda & stir with a whisk to combine. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined.
   
5. Spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost.

What a great recipe! I don't know why I haven't thought of making sugar cookies in bar-form before, but this works! I halved the recipe and put it in my 11x8 glass baking dish and it took around 20 minutes at 350 (I cooked it lower because of the glass). They were thick and delicious, and enough for our family! We gobbled them up in a day. I'll use the whole recipe for when I need to take a dessert over for a big family/group dessert. It will feed a lot...just pile on the frosting and fun sprinkles!

Mac N Cheese Crockpot style

Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese

• 8 oz macaroni noodles (that is two cups dry noodles)
  
• 2 c. milk (I used 1 %)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 t. kosher salt (use whatever you have)
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 2 c. cheddar cheese (I used 1 1/2 c. and threw in an ounce or so of velveeta at the end)

1. Spray crockpot with cooking spray.
2. In separate bowl, mix egg with milk until well blended. Add salt and pepper and cheese.
3. Add macaroni and pour mixture into crockpot.
4. Important: cook on low for 2 hours, making sure to watch the crockpot closely after that first hour, because when pasta is cooked, you want to stop the cooking so it's not a mushy mess. Mine took 1 hour and 45 minutes. Then I just kept the crockpot on warm until dinner.
   

Eat!

This was actually quite delicious! I made it for my kids, but I thought it was dang good. A nice "real cheese" version to the box. And thought it's not entirely hands-off, it's still pretty easy! This made enough for our family, but just barely. It is rich so it goes farther. I added velveeta (2% kind) at the end to give it a more yellow color (for the kids) and to add some extra creaminess.

Happiness- a dinner the whole family ate!

Mom's Melt in Your Mouth Chicken Rolls

• 8 Rhodes Texas Rolls or similar, thawed but cold
• 2 cups diced (very important!) cooked chicken breast (I used 2 medium cooked in the crock with a little ranch)
• 1/3 c. diced onion
• 3/4 c. fresh mushroom, chopped (I skipped this per hubby's request)
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1 t. salt (I just sprinkle)
• 6 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used neufchatel)
• 1/2 c. ranch dressing (I use light)
• 3-4 T. melted margarine (for dipping the rolls into)
  
• half-sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed (for dipping rolls with butter into)

1. Combine cooked chicken, onions, mushrooms, salt, pepper, cream cheese and ranch. Mix well.
2. Flatten each roll into a circle, stretching it out at the same time. Place a rounded T. of chicken mixture in the middle. Bring each side of the roll to the middle and seal well.
3. Dip each roll into the melted butter, then roll in the cracker crumbs.
4. Place on sprayed cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

What an accomplishment! All the kids raved. I have made these before, but they like them so much better when the chicken is diced to the point they can't really tell it's chicken. That also helps the flavor be better distributed. This is the only recipe, along with spaghetti and orange chicken, that these guys all eat successfully.

Quick Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken!

Sweet and Sour Chicken
(from mykitchencafe.blogspot.com)

• Chicken: 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• garlic salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 T canola oil

1. Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks (or leave them whole, but will take longer to cook in the oven).
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg.
4. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through.
5. Place in a single layer in a baking dish.

Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 3/4 cup vinegar
• 1 3/4 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3/4 c. chicken broth

1. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 20 minutes if chicken is in small chunks or turn once if you keep the chicken breasts whole.

Yummmmmm! We loved this. Olivia, the pickiest, had thirds. Goes great with broccoli or stir-fry veggie blends or potatoes and rolls. Fast and like Chinese Sweet and Sour, only not as greasy or heavy.

I'm in love

Snickerdoodle Blondies (recipe found here)

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
3. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt until well blended.
4. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
5. Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl.
6. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.
7. Bake 23-25 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool slightly. While still warm, cut into bars with a sharp knife.

I was hesitant to try this recipe because I wasn't sure it could be that impressive. I love my cinnamon-sugar recipes, as I have posted several of them already, but this was also a winner! I don't think it tastes exactly like a snickerdoodle cookie, but it does taste like a blond brownie with delicious crunchy cinnamon-sugar addition. We ate the whole pan in 24 hours. I was most impressed with the texture of the brownie. It was crumb-like and soft, not gooey and raw-ish, like a lot of the blond brownie recipes I've used. Hurray! This is actually a big deal to me. I'll be able to get two desserts off this recipe! Next time I'll be able to make this dough recipe and throw in chips (omitting the cinnamon-sugar of couse). Very versatile!

Delicious Alfredo!

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 2 t. garlic powder
• 8 oz. cream cheese (I use Neufchatel)
• 2 cups milk (I use 1%)
• dash of pepper
• 2/3 c. parmesan cheese (I use Kraft Parmesan in the green container)

1. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt margarine.
2. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, whisking until smooth.
3. Add milk slowly, blending it in to sauce.
4. Add parmesan and pepper, cooking a few more minutes until desired consistency.
   

I have had this recipe for several years now and it is so good! You can use whatever additions you like. We like chopped tomatoes with broccoli or spinach. Diced chicken works great with those veggie combinations as well. But my kids just like their white sauce, well, white. So we just add the veggies for the adults. Sad, yes, but hopefully their taste buds will mature...

Also, good rolls taste great dipped in this sauce!

How can you go wrong?

Grasshopper Pie

• 1 store bought oreo pie shell (or make one at home)
• 1/2 gallon mint chocolate chip ice cream
• cool whip
• caramel (optional)
• hot fudge sauce
• coursely crushed oreo cookies (optional)
  

1. On the bottom of the pie shell, drizzle caramel and hot fudge sauce.
   
2. Soften ice cream, and scoop into the pie shell until 3/4 of the way full.
   
3. Top with cool whip and top that with the oreo cookies.
   
4. Drizzle more caramel and hot fudge sauce and put back in the freezer to firm up.
   

This is a great dessert. You really can do whatever you want with it; do a different ice cream, crush chocolate chip cookies for the crust, whatever you like. I like to make it in a cake pan so there is more room to work with. I also like making my own crust from crushed oreos and a little butter.
Let it soften before serving for optimal taste. Mmmmmm..

Another great variation: bake a chocolate cake mix using a cookie sheet. Follow all instructions on box, but only cook it for about 15-18 minutes. After cool, top with fudge sauce and then scoop out softened ice cream (about 10 cups ice cream). We like mint choco chip or strawberry. Cover that with whipped cream and freeze. This is another easy winner that feeds 20-30, depending on how many you need, how tall you stack ice cream.

How can fish taste so good?

Grilled Salmon
adapted from allrecipes.com

• 2 salmon fillets
• lemon pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• salt to taste
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 T. vegetable oil (I usually skip)
  

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Place each fillet in a tinfoil wrapper.
3. Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
4. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved (I usually take the lazy route and just splash all the ingredients on each fish). Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (Usually I don't have time to marinate and believe me- it still manages to taste wonderful!)
   
5. Put tinfoil packages on a cookie sheet (making sure there is a little vent in the tinfoil top) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until fillets flake easily with a fork.

We really love salmon this way. Every now and then we like to splurge and buy a package of frozen salmon fillets from Sam's Club. The oven method seems to work better than the grill. At least our bbq grill! Salmon is pretty delicate and is cooked pretty fast. The packets help keep it flaky and juicy in the oven. This recipe is great and makes us happy.

Pie for dinner

Chicken Pot Pie

• 2 pie crusts (I used Western Family Pie Crust that just unfolds into the pan located by canned biscuits)
• 2-3 chicken breasts
• 4-6 red potatoes (leave skin on)
  
• 2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 bag frozen peas and carrots thawed
• 1 sweet onion , diced (makes it very good!)
  
• butter for sauteing onion
• egg for glaze

1. Heat oven to 450.
2. Heat two large pans of water , one for the chicken, the other for potatoes.
3. Dice the potatoes, then add to the boiling water, cooking about 10 minutes or until fork-tender; drain.
4. Cook the bottom of the pie crust first, in the oven. Just follow the directions on the back of the pie crust box for a "one crust pie" - I cooked mine for 9 minutes. After cooking, turn the oven down to 400 to cook the pie.
5. Saute the onion in butter until it is translucent and tender.
6. After chicken is done shred it into bite size pieces.
7. Combine the shredded chicken, potatoes, peas and carrots, onions and the 2 cans of cream of chicken soup in a large bowl.
8. Pour mixture into the cooked pie crust.
9. Add the top crust and trim to fit the pie plate.
10. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and baste over the top crust (makes it look good).
11. Make 4 slits in the top of the pie with a knife to provide steam release while the pie is baking.
12. Bake for 25-30 minutes and then let the pie cool for a few minutes.
13. Eat-yum!