Chicken Salad Sandwiches

This is the BEST Chicken Salad recipe, and it's perfect for summer. I make it all the time, and always get so many compliments on it. I just can't get Chicken Salad anywhere else cause I never like it as much as this recipe. It's really easy to make too. Hope you enjoy it!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Ingredients

• 1 T. honey
• 1/2 c. mayo
• 1/4 c. plain yogurt
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese 
• 1 c. chopped celery (I don't put this in cause we don't like celery)
• 2 cans chicken drained (I use 1 big Costco can)
• 1/3 c. slivered almonds
• 1 c. red grapes cut into fourths

Mix all together and serve on a croissant. 

Chicken Parmigiana

This is my husbands all time favorite meal. It is yummy! Fresh basil is a MUST. It adds such a great flavor. This recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, chopped (1/3 cup)    - I don't love onions so I do a bit less
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 T butter or margarine
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 t sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• dash black pepper
• 1/4 C snipped fresh basil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/3 C seasoned fine dry bread crumbs
• 4 T grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 t dried oregano, crushed
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 T milk
• 3 T olive oil or cooking oil
• 1/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese (1 oz.)

Directions:
1. For sauce, in a medium saucepan cook onion and garlic in hot butter until onion is tender. Carefully stir in the undrained tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or to desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Stir in basil. Keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, with a meat mallet, pound each chicken breast half between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thickness.

3. In a shallow dish stir together bread crumbs, the 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, and oregano. In another bowl stir together the egg and milk. Dip chicken breast halves in egg mixture, then in crumb mixture to coat. In a 12-inch skillet cook chicken in hot oil over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden. Transfer chicken to a serving platter.

4. Spoon sauce over chicken. Top with shredded mozzarella and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Let stand about 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Makes 4 servings.

I copied the recipe directly from the website, but I like to prepare the chicken before I start the sauce, so I can control the consistency a little better. I also like to put it in the oven for 5 min or so to let the cheese melt. Delish :)!

Taco Bake

(The pictures never turn out right!... it is more appetizing than it looks in the picture.)

This week I was menu planning and decided to search on the internet for an easy, quick recipe.. being 37 weeks pregnant with a 15 month old means that if I do cook it has to require minimal effort :) I found this recipe on Allrecipes. I did tweak it a little bit and it was pretty tasty! 

  
Taco Bake

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce (I forgot to buy this so I used a can of tomato paste and added in an extra 3/4 cup water)
• 1 (8 ounce) package shell macaroni, cooked and drained
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
• **I added in a can of Rotel tomatoes/green chiles. You could even add in a can of diced tomatoes instead of the Rotel if you wanted
• ** I served this with corn on the side but you could easily mix the corn in to the recipe if you wanted. 
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• Doritos- optional

Directions

1. In a skillet, brown ground beef and onion over medium heat; drain. Add the water, taco seasoning and tomato sauce; mix. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in macaroni, chilies and 1-1/2 cups of cheese. Pour into a greased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until heated through. ** When I was going through the reviews on Allrecipes a few people suggested crumbling Doritos or other tortilla chips on top of the dish for the last 10 minutes of baking. We chose Doritos- I was busy so my husband is the one who did the crumbling- I would suggest to not make it as fine as he did. Bigger, crunchier chip pieces would have been better. 

-Angela Mencl

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

8 large peaches OR 1- 29 oz. can of sliced canned peaches

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup shortening

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

Grease 8" baking pan. Peel and slice peaches into pan. Combine flour, sugar, salt, shortening, egg and baking powder into dough and crumble dough on top of peaches. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

I use the canned peaches because it's faster but it's good with fresh peaches too.

Enjoy!

--Krista Clark

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

(Sorry this is not the best photo)

This recipe comes from my sister. This was one of the first real meals I ever made for my husband when we were newly married and it has been good enough to stick around. When I make this I usually eat a lot more then what I should. What can I say... I LOVE the sauce!

* I half the meatball mixture part (it still makes enough to fill up a 9 x 13 pan ~24 meatballs or so) but still make the same amount of sauce. We like the extra sauce to pour on our rice. I usually steam some green beans to go with the dish. 

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Meatballs:
2 lbs lean hamburger
1 c oatmeal
2 eggs
2/3 c milk
1 small onion chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Sauce:
1 1/2 c brown sugar
3/4 c vinegar
3 tsp mustard
3/4 c BBQ sauce
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Prepare meatballs by combining all meatball ingredients together. Form into 2 inch balls. Place meatballs in a casserole dish in a single layer. Blend together all sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Heat through and pour sauce over meatballs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until meatballs are done.

You can also slice up a red pepper and add to this dish while cooking. I add a can of pineapple (towards the end of cooking... when there is about 15 minutes left)

Serve over rice.

-Angela Mencl

Mexican Lasagna

This recipe always seems to make an appearance in my menu planning when I ask my hubby what meals he wants me to make. It is a pretty simple recipe and I like it because it is so colorful! It is definitely one of our favorites. I usually pair this with salsa rice (basically rice cooked with taco seasoning and salsa) and some corn.
Enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna

1 ½ lbs ground beef

1 ½ tsp. ground cumin

1 Tbl. Chili Powder

¼ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. red pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 can (16 oz) tomatoes, blended

10 to 12 flour tortillas- (I have tried wheat and it does not taste as good.)

2 cups cottage cheese

1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese with peppers

1 egg

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded lettuce

½ cup chopped tomatoes

3 green onions, chopped

¼ cup sliced black olives

Brown ground beef; drain thoroughly. Add cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper, salt, pepper and tomatoes; heat through. Cover bottom and sides of a 13 X 9 baking dish with tortillas. Pour beef mixture over tortillas; place a layer of tortillas over meat mixture and set aside. Combine cottage cheese, Monterey Jack cheese and egg; pour over tortillas. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle rows of cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, green onions and olives diagonally across center of casserole.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

-Angela Mencl

Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting

I am having major sugar cravings lately! I blame the baby.:) A few nights ago I just had to have something sweet. So, I found this...it's AWESOME and so easy to make. It also stays nice and moist for days after you make it. Shockingly, we have not yet finished off the pan. But every time Mark goes for a piece he comments on how moist it still is! Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting

Original recipe from Coleen Nelson and Julia
Found on fortheloveofcooking.net

1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
3/4 cups boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/4 cup of shortening

Mix the oatmeal with the boiling water, stir and cover. Mix the remaining ingredients then stir in the oatmeal mixture. Grease and flour a 9x9 pan. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes.


Coconut Pecan Frosting:

3 tbsp melted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Carefully spread frosting over the top of the cake. Broil until coconut is just brown. Watch very closely – it doesn’t take long. Cool, slice and serve. Enjoy.