Chicken Roll Ups

School is kicking my trash. Well, that and being pregnant, I feel sucked dry for energy. On better news...I still have not thrown up, but I think I'm making up for that with migraines, so I don't know which is worse. And my birthday was 6 days ago, and it was swell, and I will post about it sometime. That, and my amazing Wingers knock offs I made over the weekend.

But for now, Chicken Roll Ups. A wonderous pocket of yummy in your tummy.

I don't remember why, or what was going on in life, but Sister Terry, a lady that lived up the street from my family in Orem called our house one day. My mom wasn't home, but she asked me if she had dinner ready yet. She didn't, so she then asked if she could bring us some, because she just "randomly" had extra. I said that would be fine, my parents were stressed out about something that I can't remember because I was like 10 I think. So Sis. Terry came by with Chicken Roll Ups, steamed veggies, a side salad, and a box of Twinkies. She helped me set the table all fancy for my parents, and when they got home, they were so surprised. I think my mom may have cried. I just remember how nice I thought it was that this kind woman in our neighborhood thought of us in a time that my family needed a little tender mercy. Whenever I make these, I think of Sister Terry and her kindness to our family. She probably doesn't even remember that day, but I definitely do, and she made an impact on my tender little 10 year old heart.

Chicken Roll Ups

Makes 16 rolls, or 8 servings

2 cans large biscuit dough (with 8 biscuits in each can)

1 package cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. chopped onions

1 stalk chopped celery

1 large-ish chicken breast, cooked, and shredded

1/2 t. ground sage

Melted Butter

Bread Crumbs

Preheat oven to temperature on instructions on biscuit dough can, a

Mix cream cheese, onions, celery, chicken, and sage together in a medium bowl.

Open up biscuits, take one biscuit at time, and flatten it slightly. Add about a tablespoon of mixture to the middle of the dough. Fold over the mixture, pinching edges, and then pull the dough around the cream cheese, pinching closed the ends, making like a balloon of dough with the cheese stuff inside. Then, dip the opposite, non pinched off side in the melted butter, then bread crumbs, and then place pinched side down in a casserole dish.

Repeat with all other biscuits until your pan is filled up, then bake in the oven for about 16-18 minutes, or until biscuits are fully baked and it's all golden brown and yummy on top.

While the roll ups are baking, make the "gravy" by mixing 1 can of Cream of Chicken soup with 1 can full of chicken broth.

After you pull the roll ups out of the oven, let sit for a while to cool off or you'll burn your mouth off. Serve with the gravy poured over the top.

So yummy, and they make great left over lunches the next day too.

Quiche Sent From Heaven

When my friend from work, McKinley was prego with her darling boy, Zenith, she craved this quiche from the Lion House Pantry at Deseret Book. I had never eaten quiche, but with her raving about it on a daily (okay, hourly :D) basis, I decided to try some one day after she had her baby and had quit Sister Missionary Mall, and I was missing her something fierce. And wow, she was super right...quiche is awesome stuff. Flaky crust, cheesy eggy goodness, and yummy things like...well...bacon. How can you go wrong? I submit you can not. They have another quiche at Deseret Book that I love with Bacon, Mushrooms, and Spinach, and I'm gonna try making that one...hopefully later this week. I'm so excited.

Well, we have a recipe book that has a quiche recipe in it, and I played around with the fillings and made it, and it was easy, and delicious, and now I will never have to pay for an over priced slice of quiche again...I can make a whole pie for about $5 instead of paying $13!!! Fabulous. Make this quiche. You will love it and feel fancy pantsy. And I would have taken a picture, except my camera is still at the parentals. And we ate it all gone before I could even think of snapping a pic.

Quiche

Prepare a pie crust (I love Western Family's frozen crust. Deep dish would be wonderful for this, so you could fill it more and not have it spill over like mine did), and spread egg white on the inside of it. Cook it only until half done.

Filling Ingredients:

2 T. flour

1 1/2 c. grated cheese (I used cheddar, swiss would probably be great)

1/4 lb. diced bacon

1/4 lb. diced ham (we just used lunch meat stuff)

1/2 c. onion, chopped finely

2 T. butter

3 eggs

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix cheese and flour and spread on bottom of half baked crust. Cook bacon/ham (or whatever ingredients you think would be yummy in it) and onions in butter and spread on top of the cheese. beat eggs, milk, and seasonings, and pour on the rest. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, turn down to 350 and bake for 15 more minutes.

You might want to put pie pan on a cookie sheet in case it spills over. And let it cool a few minutes after you pull it out before cutting into it. So yummy. I mean, really, really delicious.

Also, happy 50th blog post to us. Ta da.

Cafe Rio Pork at home!!

Logan and I love Cafe Rio, a mexican grill that is really popular where we live, but we can't afford to eat there all the time. I got this recipe from the same book I got the Spinach Pesto Linguine I've also posted on my blog. I love that it makes everything you'd need to make a bunch of different Cafe Rio entrees--salad, burrito, enchilada, quesidilla, whatever floats your boat. I usually make the roast, and then freeze half of it right away. We can eat the other half of the roast for quite a few days afterwards, and it is so yummy. Makes for a great "date night in" too. We love to invite people over to serve this because it's impressive but it's a cinch to make.

Hope you love it as much as we do!!

Pork

4-5 pounds pork roast

3 t. minced garlic

4 c. Dr. Pepper

3 T. molasses

Pepper to taste

4 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce

2 c. brown sugar

4 t. cumin

1/2 t. salt

In a crock pot, combine all ingredients except roast. Mix well. Add roast(s), and cook on low for 8-12 hours until the roast shreds easily with a fork. When the roast is falling apart and shreds easily, remove from crock pot and shred meat. Remove about half the liquid from the crock pot and return the meat to it. Keep it warm in the crock pot until ready to serve. You can freeze left over meat.

Lime Rice (You can double this if you're going to serve all the meat to a large crowd. I usually half this recipe when I am making it for my family and I don't want a lot of left over rice)

4 T. butter

4 1/2 c. chicken broth

Pepper to taste

Juice of 4 small limes

2 1/2 c. rice (uncooked)

1 1/2 t. salt

4 T. chopped cilantro

1/2 t. cumin

Melt butter and stir together with rice in rice cooker or large pot. Add other ingredients. Cook until rice is done.

Creamy Cilantro Dressing

1 (16 oz.) jar green salsa

1/2 c. sour cream (I use light)

1 c. chopped cilantro

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. cayenne peper (if your green salsa is medium or hot, you might want to put in less of this)

1 pkg. ranch dressing (dry)

1/2 c. mayonnaise (I use light

1 t. minced garlic

juice from 2 limes

1/2 c. sugar

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend WELL. Chill before serving.

For the beans I just buy canned black beans, drain them about half way, mix in a little bit of pico de gallo or salsa, and warm them up. You'll also need tortillas, grated cheese, salsa, lettuce, avocados/guacamole, whatever else you like to eat with your Cafe Rio Masterpiece!!

Spinach Soup with Gruyere

I found this on thepioneerwoman.com, which is a website I absolutely adore, earlier today, and noted that I had all the ingredients, give or take. I was in need of getting some dinner in my hungry hubby's tummy, and I decided to give it a go. Result--I actually liked it way, way better then I had expected I would. And Logan loved it too. It has a great creamy, fresh, and yet spicy flavor, and it's super easy to make!

Spinach Soup with Gruyere

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 10 ounces, weight Spinach
• 2 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• ½ whole Medium Onion
• ¼ cups Flour
• 5 cups Whole Milk--I used skim, and it turned out great
• 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• ½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper (Optional)--Do it.
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 4 ounces, weight Gruyere Cheese, Grated (other Cheeses Are Fine)--I used sharp cheddar and it was delicious (where do you even buy gruyere?)

Preparation

In a large skillet, heat olive over over medium heat. Add spinach and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, or until wilted. Add spinach to a blender or food processor. Pour in 1/4 cup hot water and pulse until pureed. Set aside.

In a large soup pot, cook onion in butter over medium heat until onions begin to soften. Sprinkle flour over the top and stir to combine. Cook for about 2 minutes, then pour in milk, stirring occasionally. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in pureed spinach, then cook another 3 to 5 minutes until thickened.

Check seasonings, adding more salt, pepper, or cayenne as needed. Serve in a bowl. Add a little grated Gruyere.

Seriously so good. Pioneer Woman recommends adding creme fresh, or chopped bacon, or shrimp. I think tomatoes would be delicious, and then it would look all cute and Christmas-y. I think it was a great base that you could basically add whatever you think would sound good and it would be delicious. Let me know if you try it!! I wanna know if it turns out for you too!

Lime Cheesecake Brownies

I was craving something creative, chocolate, and pretty. So, I started brewing some ideas and came up with this, which turned out great!

Lime Cheesecake Brownies

1 box brownie mix for a 9x13 pan (or just make your own from scratch like I did because I was out of mix, but I am TOTALLY for using brownie/cake mixes!)

Prepare mix like it says on the box and put in buttered 9x13 pan.

Then mix this up:

8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/3 c. sugar

1 egg

zest from 1 lime

juice from 1/2 lime (or the whole lime because I'm crazy about citrus like that)

Okay, really, cream the sugar and cream cheese together, and then add the rest of it and mix it up real good.

Plop spoonfuls of this on top of the brownie batter, and then take a knife and drag it all over the pan, mixing the cream cheese mixture and brownie batter together so it makes a marble-y effect, but don't mix it so much it gets to be a poopy effect. You want it marbled people!

Then, bake like it says on the box. Approximately 350 for 18 ish minutes I believe.

They are so yummy and so pretty, and a great way to dazzle up some box mix. And did I mention that they're impressive? Totally easy, totally impressive. Go ahead and take all the credit! Enjoy!

French Dip Sandwiches...Slow Cooker Style

If you've ever met my mother, you'd know she's a genius at basically anything she does. Cooking, crafting, mothering in general; she's amazing. This is a recipe she made for us growing up and we all LOVED it. I always thought it would be a super complicated thing to make, but after getting hitched I decided to just give it a try and make it for my husband, who was super impressed and thought I had slaved all day. But in reality, this recipe takes about fifteen minutes to throw together, and it really does taste like some fancy schmacy restaurant dish. I made it again yesterday, and marveled at how simple and tasty it really is. Give it a try! For reals!

Frenchie Dips

Brown well in a large pot 1 3-4 lb. chuck roast and place in slow cooker.

Add:

4 c. water

1 1/2 t. garlic pouder

1 t. basil

1 t. oregano

1 bay leaf

1/2 c. soy sauce

ground pepper to taste

Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Decrease to low and cook for 4-6 hours more until meat is tender. Strain the broth and shred the meat. Serve meat on crispy rolls and use broth for dipping.

The best part about this recipe--you may freeze the meat in sandwich amount packages and the broth in small containers for a quick meal anytime.

Limeade Chicken Deliciousness

My birthmom, Carrin, has this older brother named Jerry. He passed away before we met each other, so I don't really know much about him, except that he's wonderfully kind, spiritual, and just sounds really awesome. And he has this really awesome recipe he made up called "Limeade Chicken." I'm always up for a new recipe, so I nabbed this recipe from Carrin, and ended up LOVING it.

Limeade Chicken

1/3 c. frozen limeade or lemonade concentrate (thawed)

1/3 c. honey

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 t. celery or poppy seed

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. marjoram

1/4 t. salt

And I had a fresh lime on hand, so I zested that up and juiced it right in too.

Mix up in a large ziplock baggie, add chicken, and marinade for several hours, or overnight. Grill, bake, whatever ya gotta do to get the chicken cooked. I used my George Foreman Grill, and it turned out splendidly.

I made a bit more marinade and took some out before I added the chicken to use as a glaze later, which I later patted myself on the back for the genius-ness of this. I served the chicken over rice and with steamed carrots, which I covered with the glaze, and a green salad on the side. It was super moist, full of flavor, and just yummy and fresh! And the Hubby loved it!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

And pictures of the new place are forthcoming. We need a new name for it, but how can you top the Love Shack?

Tuscan Chicken Simmer AKA Logan's Fave Dinner

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.), I cut mine into chicken tenders

8 oz. Cream Cheese, cubed

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup pesto

2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes (or just plain fresh diced tomatoes)

1 cup Mozzerella Cheese

A few dashes of Parmesan Cheese

HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cover. Cook 5 to 7 min. on each side or until done (165ºF). Remove chicken from skillet; cover to keep warm.

ADD cream cheese, water, pesto and tomatoes to skillet. Cook, uncovered, on medium heat 2 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

RETURN chicken to skillet. Cook and stir 1 min. or until chicken is coated and heated through. Sprinkle with shredded cheeses.

I serve this over cheese ravioli (Logan's favorite) or egg noodles, but it would definitely be delicious all by itself. You can also steam other veggies, like broccoli, and add to the sauce.

Logan requests this recipe every single month. It really is so delicious! You will love it!

World's Most Awesomest Cookies

I made these about two weeks ago, and I've made them three times since. Not only are they splendidly soft and delicious, but they are super easy to make, and the cookie dough is so stinking yummy...not that I would actually know, because of salmonella or anything. I'm responsible, I don't eat raw cookie dough (ha). But seriously, try them, love them, and try to share them, so you don't eat all of them yourself.

"Soft" Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C Butter, Softened

1/4 C sugar

3/4 C brown sugar

1 t vanilla

1 small box vanilla instant pudding mix (or get creative and try other flavors!)

2 eggs

2-1/4 C flour

1 t baking soda

1 package chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Cream together butter, sugars, vanilla, and pudding. Add eggs and mix well. Add flour and soda, and mix well. Add chocolate chips and mix well. Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes. Store in an air tight container to prevent the cookies from drying out.

The recipe says it yields 24 cookies, but I can usually get about 36 or more out of the dough.

Try using different flavors of pudding, like chocolate or butterscotch, or adding different kinds of chocolate chips, like peanut butter, mint, or whatever tickles your fancy.

When I cook, My husband loves me more.

So it's been a good thing I've been on a major cooking spree the past few days. I love cooking, when I have ingredients and don't have to clean up the mess. But sometimes I just get in these kicks to try new recipes. Last night I was up pretty darn late and just couldn't fall asleep to save my life. I got up and made these muffins I found on thepioneerwoman.com...aka my new favorite website. They're called "Muffins that Taste Like Doughnuts" and they are dee-vine. Seriously delish. There's only 1 left, and it's Logan's, and I want more, but I'm not sure if I'd like to bake another batch and heat my house up more, since it's already about 250 degrees in here. However, another hundred degrees and I could just set the muffins on the counter and let them bake themselves. That could be interesting to watch. But really, you must try these muffins. Super easy, SO AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. And pretty too. Here's the recipe...

Muffins that Taste Like Doughnuts

1 3/4 C. Flour

1 1/2 t. Baking Powder

1/2 t. Salt

1/2 t. Nutmeg

1/2 t. Cinnamon

1/3 c. Oil

3/4 c. Sugar

1 Egg

3/4 c. Milk

Topping:

1/4 c. Butter

1/3 c. Sugar

1 T. Cinnamon

Preparation Instructions

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Combine oil, sugar, egg, and milk. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter in a bowl. Combine sugar and cinnamon in another bowl.

Shake out muffins while they're still hot. Dip muffins in butter, then sugar mixture. Let cool.

Then try not to eat 5 in one sitting. Deary me. They are delicious.

Also, because I am a champion wife (ha), I decided to make this next recipe for dinner tonight: Linguine with Spinach Pesto. Seriously so good. This tasted like something I would get in a fancy-schmancy italian restaurant and pay 12 dollars for. But I didn't pay 12 dollars for it...not even half. I think I spent maybe 5 on a ginormous pot of pasta, and that includes the grilled chicken I sliced up into it. Our ginormous pot serves about 4-6 depending on how big you're serving it. And if you live with my bean pole husband who eats twice (sometimes three times) as much as I do and still stays all cute and thin. You must make this recipe. Really, you must. It is so stinking good. I got this recipe from a recipe book a fabulous cook gave me for my wedding. I dated her son off and on all through high school and a little in college before Logan came home from Brazil. She didn't like me. I think that's why she gave me a fantastic wedding present...it was a thank you for getting married before her son came home from his mission. Or maybe she gives this to everyone. Either way, it is seriously one of my favorite wedding presents. Haven't had a recipe in here I haven't liked. Anyway, enough blabber, onto this recipe of celestial glory....

Linguine with Spinach Pesto

1 oz. Parmesan cheese

1 lb. Linguine or spaghetti

1-10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

3 T. olive oil

2 large sprigs fresh parsley (can use parsley flakes...I did and it was still wonderful)

1/2 t. dried basil (okay, I used like 1 t. because my husband would have an affair with basil if it were a human. He loves basil. Almost as much as he loves me.)

2 cloves garlic (uh, except I used like 4. Because I love garlic almost as much as I love Logan)

1/2 t. salt

1 T. butter

1/3 c. water (I fished this out of my hot pasta water)

4 oz. Feta cheese (I didn't have this, so I just added more parm, but I think it would be yummy to have)

Cook pasta, keep warm. In blender, blend spinach, oil, parmesan cheese, parsley, basil, garlic, and salt. Blend until finely minced, scraping sides if necessary (I added a little pasta water here to get it going because I think I drained my spinach a little TOO well). In saucepan combine butter and water over medium heat and bring to a boil. With blender running, gradually add hot butter mixture to spinach mixture and blend thoroughly. return spinach mixture to saucepan and cook, stirring, over low heat, until heated through. Add pasta, toss to coat, and transfer to serving dish (or not, since we don't really have one of those). Sprinkle with feta and parmesan cheese.

I added broccoli florets to the last few minutes of cooking time for my pasta, and right after I tossed the pasta with the pesto, I mixed in some sliced grilled chicken I had marinated in italian dressing before grilling and it was splendid.

This dish is definitely on my top 10 list of things I've ever cooked. It was so easy, so delicious, and pretty darn healthy. And cheap. And delicious. And Logan loved it and thought I was a champion for making it for him. This boy likes pesto, I'm telling you. He really, really likes it. And he really likes it when I cook with it. I like it when my husband likes me, it makes for a good marriage, or so I'm told.

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum

As a newlywed, I'm always on the look out for easy, delicious recipes to make for my cutie patootie husband. You see, he's kind of a WAY better person than I am, and I know this, so I have to keep him hooked somehow...and he likes food...so I try to even the playing field by cooking for him.

Enter the most delicious soup I have EVER made in my entire life. I know this is kind of geeky to put a recipe up here...but I made it on Sunday, and just finished off the last of the left overs and it really was just so incredibly delicious, I think you should all try it. I got it in a Pampered Chef recipe book thing that Alicia gave me after she went to a Pampered Chef bridal shower and we watched her kids.

Loaded Baked Potato Chowder

3 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 lbs)
3 1/2 C milk, divided
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 T butter
2-3 green onions with tops (1/4 C)
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t coarsely ground black pepper
Option toppings such as chopped cooked bacon, sour cream, or steamed broccoli florets (We added broccoli and corn and it was splendid)

1. Slice Potatoes in half lengthwise, place in Deep Covered Baker (or any other microwavable casserole-type dish). Pour 1/2 cup of the milk over the potatoes. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 11 minutes. Remove baker from microwave. Move center potatoes to ends of baker and outer potatoes to center. Cover; microwave on HIGH 8-11 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Remove from microwave. Coarsely mash potatoes.

This is where I had to change the recipe to fit our needs in the tiny-ness of the love shack...I'll put what the recipe says, and then say what I ended up doing.

(Pampered Chef version)
2. Meanwhile,whisk cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add remaining 3 cups milk, whisking until smooth. Add cream cheese mixture and butter to baker. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 3-5 minutes until mixture is hot. Slice green onions.

3. Carefully remove baker from microwave. Grate cheddar cheese over chowder; add green onions, salt, black pepper, and mix until cheese is melted, serve with toppings, if desired.

(Camille version)

2. Whisk together cream cheese and milk like above, but instead of adding milk to baker, transfer potatoes to biggish soup pot and add cream cheese mixture. Heat on stove at medium until hot.

3. While the soup mixture is heating up, add salt and pepper, green onions, as well as broccoli, frozen corn, or any other things you think might sound delicious. We also added a little Hidden Valley Ranch because Logan is OBSESSED with it. The veggies cooked while the soup was heating up quite nicely. At the very end, add the cheese and stir until melted. It was a little thin at first, but after taking it off the heat, it thickened up.

Yield: 6 servings (8 cups)


It was so much easier than I thought it would be, and it turned out so delicious! I'm going to have to go buy more potatoes and make this one again really soon! We just loved it! Hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did!