Thai Peanut Noodles

I make this meal regularly because it is so easy and my kids like it (and they almost never eat what I make for dinner).  In fact, Sienna requested it tonight!  I got it from Our Best Bites.

1/2 c. chicken broth
3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1-2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild with a bite, 1.5 is medium, 2 is hot)
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
8 oz. Udon or linguine noodles
Chopped green onions
Chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into quarters
Chopped peanuts

Cook noodles in salted water. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat. Toss cooked noodles with sauce and divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and garnish each serving with 2 lime quarters. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over noodles and stir to combine.

*If desired, you can add meat to this dish by stir-frying shrimp or very thinly-sliced chicken (partially freeze it first) in some olive oil with a couple cloves of garlic, some fresh ginger, some green onions, soy sauce, and a small squirt or two of Sriracha chili sauce.

Chili Dutch Baby

Great easy recipe that all my kids love. You do need a cast iron skillet though.

Serves:	4-6
Prep Time:	10 Min
Cook Time:	25 Min

Ingredients

5	eggs
1/3 c	butter
1/2 c	cornmeal
3/4 c	flour
1 1/4 c	milk
1 can(s)	chili
1 c	cheddar or jack cheese
OPTIONAL
1 can(s)	stewed tomatoes
1 can(s)	corn, or veggie of choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 Degrees. 

Put butter in cast iron skillet and place in oven to melt.

In large bowl, beat eggs with milk.

Mix in cornmeal and flour.

Pour mixture into cast iron skillet.

Add optional ingredients, spoon in chili.

Top with cheese and bake for 25 min.

Blueberry Cream Scones

My favorite scone recipe! You can also add chocolate chips instead of blueberries if you want a more "dessert - ish" scone.

Blueberry Cream Scones

Author: Adapted from “Joy of Cooking”

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: makes 8-12 scones

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2¼ tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Gently stir in blueberries. Add the cream and mix together, gently, with a wooden spoon until just barely combined. Be careful not to over-mix.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly-floured board or counter-top. Using your hands, gently pat the dough down into an 8-inch disk, about 3/4 inch thick. You can use the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch cake pan to help you press the dough down evenly if need be. Brush the top of the disk with a bit of cream and sprinkle with sugar. Cut dough into 8-12 triangles and arrange on un-greased baking sheet, at least a half-inch from one another.
4. Place baking sheet on center rack in oven, and bake for 12-15 minutes until scones turn golden. Allow to cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes. Enjoy while still slightly warm.

Smores Cobbler

S’MORE COBBLER
1 cup whole milk
1 (5 oz.) package “cook and serve” chocolate pudding mix
6 whole graham crackers
1/2-3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 box chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup butter
large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Combine milk and chocolate pudding package.  Pour into a greased 9×13 pan and spread evenly.
Break graham crackers in half so that you have 12 squares.  Place the graham cracker squares on top of the pudding leaving space between each square.
Sprinkle on the mini chocolate chips. 
Melt butter in microwave.  Mix in cake mix to the melted butter until completely blended.  Spread on top of the mini chocolate chips/graham crackers.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Remove and place large marshmallows on top to cover.  Bake another 5 minutes then switch oven to broil.  Watch closely at this point because your marshmallows will brown fast. It should only take 1-2 minutes to brown after the oven has been switched to broil.
Take out of oven and let cool a little bit.
This is best eaten warm!

Stuffed French Toast

Some people make cinnamon rolls for Conference or on Christmas or Easter morning. I make this. It is AMAZING!!

STUFFED FRENCH TOAST
1 loaf French bread
5 eggs
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream
crushed corn flakes
“THE GOODNESS”
 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened
1 cup cool whip, softened
1 cup powdered sugar 
STRAWBERRY SAUCE
2 cups strawberries
sugar, TT

First make “THE GOODNESS”.  Blend all ingredients together and set aside.Next, make the Strawberry sauce.  Blend strawberries and sugar together, adding sugar to get to desired sweetness. Set aside.Cut French bread into even slices about 1.5-2 inches thick.Blend together eggs, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and heavy cream.Dip sliced french bread into egg mixture.  Next dip into crushed Corn Flakes.Cook until done.Place one slice of French Toast on a plate. Layer a good amount of “The Goodness”.  Top with another French toast.  Drizzle strawberry sauce over top and swirl on some whipping cream.Enjoy!

Smothered Coronado Burritos

Super easy crockpot meal. I like to serve rice along with it to soak up the sauce. Also, adding jalapenos to the crockpot gives it a nice kick as well.

Chile Colorado Burritos

 Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed (top sirloin is great)
1 large can mild (red) enchilada sauce (at least 19 oz.)
 2 beef bouillon cubes
1 can refried beans (I prefer refried black beans that I find in the Hispanic part of the grocery store)
5-7 burrito size flour tortillas
1 cup or so of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Put beef pieces into crock pot. Top with crushed bouillon cubes and enchilada sauce. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until meat is very tender.
2. When beef is done (very tender and flakes off when stirred), taste and add more salt, if desired.
3. Make sure beans are warmed through. You can use canned refried beans or the recipe I provided you with.
4. Smear about 2 heaping spoons worth of beans on to the center of each tortilla. Add about 1/2 cup of beef, give or take, and roll into a burrito.
5. Place burritos into a greased 9x13 baking pan until it fills the pan. Pour some of extra sauce over the tops of the burritos to smother them. Place cheese on top.
6. Broil until cheese becomes bubbly, approx. 2-4 minutes.
7. This recipe makes about 5-7 burritos depending on how big you make them.

Rumbi's Mango Chicken Salad

I found this recipe on Jamiecooksitup originally but when I tried to find it just now, I couldn't.  Luckily, I printed it off way back when I made it.  It was really yummy!

Rumbi's Mango Chicken Salad

Yeild: 8 servings

Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
3 tomatoes, diced
2 mangoes, or 2 cans mandarin oranges
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 T sesame seeds
1 bag tortilla chips
5 chicken breasts (cooked and seasoned with lemon pepper and salt)
Brown rice, cooked and kept warm

Dressing:
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 T lime juice
1 t chili powder
3/4 cup mayo (She always uses Best Foods Light)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 T minced garlic
2 T ginger powder

Cafe Rio Rice

My Sister Natalie gave me this recipe awhile back and I'm not really sure where she got it...I wish I could give credit where it is due because this stuff is gooood!  

Cafe Rio Rice

3 cups water

4 tsp chicken bouillon

4 tsp garlic, minced

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1 can green chilies

3/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 onion

1 1/2 cups rice

Blend Cilantro, green chilies and onion together in food processor.  Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients.  Simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring often (about every 5 minutes) to avoid clumps.  This tastes great with pulled pork.  Can also use 3 cups chicken broth instead of the bouillon and water.  If you don't have any green chilies, use some salsa verde.

THIS RECIPE DOES NOT WORK IN A RICE COOKER

The World's Best Chicken

I made this chicken a few weeks ago, and was skeptical about it being "the world's best".  I don't think that it was the best chicken I've had, but it was flavorful and even my picky, food-indifferent husband told me that I should save the recipe and make it again...I've linked the title (below) back to the original blog that I got this recipe from and will continue to do that if I am borrowing someone else's recipe.

The World’s Best Chicken

Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Rosemary

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together mustard, syrup, and vinegar.

Place chicken breasts into 9×13 greased baking dish. Season with salt & lots of pepper. Pour mustard mixture over chicken. Make sure each breast is coated. No need to marinate. I love that because I hate marinating/often forget to until it’s too late.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Exactly how long you should leave it in is based on personal preference and your oven. I like my chicken borderline dried out, so I leave it in the full 40 minutes, and sometimes even bump the heat up to 450 degrees to really get the flavors baked on. (Line your pan with foil to keep clean up easy!)  There will be extra sauce in the pan, which you can elect to toss out or use for extra flavoring. You do not need to cover the pan with foil.

Season with chopped rosemary. And prepare for people to ask you to make it again!

PS: To make this in the slow cooker, combine all ingredients and cook on low for 3-4 hours.