Teriyaki Chicken

This is a great, EASY recipe that I got from Stephanie at Happily Ever After.  This recipe is a Crock-Pot recipe so all you really have to do is cut up the chicken.  I served this over brown rice and it was really yummy!  It's working to satisfy my "ethnic" food craving during my pregnancy!  Stephanie puts the chicken over a special rice that she makes and is in her original post.  I didn't take the time to make the rice this time but next time I'm going to try that too!

Teriyaki Chicken

1 pkg Chicken Breasts

1/2 bottle KC Masterpiece Honey Teriyaki Marinade

1 large can Pineapple Chunks, drained

Dash of ginger

1. Place chicken in bottom of crock pot.  Pour drained pineapple chunks over chicken.  Pour in 1/2 bottle of marinade.

2. Turn on crock pot and cook until done.  This took me about 2 hours on high.

Go and check out Stephanie's post for more pictures and more detailed instructions.  She and her husband, Travis, are expecting a little girl, Ava, in April so also give her some encouragement as she goes through the last few weeks of her pregnancy!

Skillet Grilled Burritos

So I have no pictures for this recipe but I've had it at my parent's and I've made it once at home and it's really really good!  The recipe is from the most recent Southern Living if you want to see more about it.  It is super easy and makes a lot of food!  Enjoy!

Skillet Grilled Burritos

Makes 8 servings

2 c Chopped Cooked Chicken Breast

1 15 oz can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1 11 oz can Yellow Corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 c (4 oz) Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/2 c Creamy Cilantro-Jalapeno Sauce (recipe below)

8 8 inch soft Whole Wheat Tortillas

1. Toss together chicken, beans, corn, cheese, and 1/2 c of sauce.  
2. Spread chicken mixture just below center of each tortilla.  Fold in sides.  Roll up burrito.  Coat with cooking spray or olive oil.
3. Cooking option 1 (from original recipe): Cook in batches on medium/high heat in skillet pressing gently with spatula 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cheese is melted.
4. Cooking option 2 (my preferred method):  Cook in batches in panini press until golden brown and cheese is melted.
5. Serve with salsa and remaining Cilantro-Jalapeno sauce.

Creamy Cilantro-Jalapeno Sauce

1 c Light Sour Cream

1/2 c Loosely packed fresh Cilantro, chopped

2 T Diced Pickled Jalapeno peppers

2 t chopped Yellow Onion

2 t Dijon Mustard

1 t Lime Zest

1. Stir all together.  Chill 30 minutes before serving.  Store up to two days in airtight container in refrigerator.

Coffee Cup Chocolate Cake and Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

Happy Valentine's Day!

In honor of this day of love I wanted to share two recipes that I found this week that are the perfect treat to end a Valentine's Day.

The first I got was through an email from my Mom.  The email referred to it as "the most dangerous cake recipe in the world" but I prefer to refer to it as Coffee Cup Chocolate Cake due to the much less...sinister...connotations!  But sinister it is!  The fact that making the entire concoction takes roughly 5 minutes and can be made with things that are most likely already in your pantry makes this recipe something to only pull out when you really need a chocolate fix!  Also, don't let your eyes get bigger than your tummy!  Due to my ever expanding pregnant belly Jason and I thought that we would make two but we probably, together, ate one if that! The picture below is one cake served with Cool Whip due to the fact that we didn't have any ice cream but I bet ice cream would only make this dessert even better!  So, here's the recipe!

Coffee Cup Chocolate Cake

4 T Flour

4 T Sugar

2 T Cocoa

1 Egg

3 T Milk

3 T Oil

3 T Chocolate Chips (optional)

Small splash Vanilla Extract

1 large Coffee Mug

1. Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.
2. Add egg and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour in oil and milk and mix well.
4. Add chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla and mix.
5. Put in microwave and microwave for 3 minutes at 1000 watts
6. Don't worry, it's OK if it rises over the top of the mug!
7. Tip onto a plate and enjoy with ice cream or whipped cream!

The second recipe is one I saw on Bakerella's blog this week.  To see her post with this recipe gohere.  Most of Bakerella's treats intimidate me but I knew that I had a Red Velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting in my pantry (due to a different recipe that I've been meaning to try for a while) so I thought I'd give this a try.  Making this didn't take 5 minutes but from start (getting out ingredients) to finish (having the sandwiches iced and in a container) it only took one hour!  Still pretty good for a fun dessert in my book!  To be honest I cheated and used canned cream cheese frosting intsead of making my own though so if you're making the icing like Bakerellainstructs then it will take longer.  But these babies are yummy and well worth it!  The funny thing is that a girl from work sent an email out to the office saying that SHE made these last night and had brought them to work!  I told her that emails talking about treats in the break room usually make me sad since I work from  home but that today I had those exact same treats in my kitchen! :)  

So either use my amended/cheater version or go and see the real recipe from Bakerella's blog! 

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix

1/2 c Butter, softened

2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix until mix, butter, and eggs are combined
3. Drop spoonfuls onto baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart
4. Bake 10 - 12 minutes
5. Cool
6. Assemble with store-bought icing in the middle or Bakerella's Cream Cheese Filling

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Tortilla Chip Bake

This is another recipe out of the cookbook that Jason's grandmother gave me at one of our wedding showers.  It is a really great cookbook that has one of my all-time favorite desserts in it, Butter Squares.  Next time I make them (and I think it's going to be soon!) I'll post that recipe because they are divine!

This recipe was also really good and so simple that my only picture is of the ingredients.  Everything else is basic!  Enjoy!

Tortilla Chip Bake

8 servings

Ingredients:

2 lbs Ground Beef

1 medium Onion, chopped

1 10 oz can chopped tomatoes with green chilies (aka Rotel)

2 16 oz cans Chili Beans

1 10 oz can Cream of Mushroom soup

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 12 oz pkg Tortilla chips, crushed

8 oz shredded Cheddar Cheese

1. Brown beef with onion in skillet, stirring until crumbly.  Drain well.
2. Add tomatoes, beans, soup, salt, and pepper.  Mix well.
3. Layer tortilla chips and beef mixture in a 9x13 baking dish.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until cheese melts.

This was a really great recipe!  We enjoyed it with salads and more chips and salsa but you could also serve it with Mexican rice. The beauty of this recipe is that the prep is really quick and it makes a lot (I froze half of this recipe).  It's also filling and has lots of good stuff in it!

Jambalaya

I don't know about you but Jason and I love pretty much anything seafood.  A while ago I was flipping through a cookbook that Jason's grandmother gave me as a wedding shower gift and I found a great Jambalaya recipe.  I've made it before but I made it again this weekend to get some pictures for you.  I was reminded again of how good the recipe and HOW MUCH it makes!  Unless you are having guests over always make a half of a recipe because it makes a ton of food!

So, here's the recipe for Jambalaya!

Jambalaya

2 cans French Onion Soup

2 cans Cream of Celery Soup

1 Large Jar Sliced Mushrooms

1 can Rotel

1 cup Chopped Onion

1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped

3 Green Onions, chopped (I omitted these this time because I forgot them)

2 lbs Smoked Sausage, Chopped

2 lbs Peeled, raw Shrimp

2 cups Uncooked Rice

Combine all ingredients in large dish and cover tightly with foil.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until hot all the way through and rice is cooked.

Serves 10 - 12 

Remember, I made a HALF recipe and it filled the oval baking dish that I was cooking in to the brim!

Enjoy!