Hawaiian Heartthrob Smoothie

It is like Summer in a Glass. Or at least that is how I described it after trying this drink at Red Robin a few days ago. I just HAD to figure out how to make it. Thankfully, it is pretty easy! I wanted to share right away since it is so tasty. I hope you all enjoy! This recipe serves 1.

First, gather all your ingredients:

*1/2 c. Frozen Strawberries
*1/4 c. Pineapple chunks
*1/4 c. Banana slices
*2-3 Tbs. Cream of Coconut (depending on how much coconut flavor you like)
*1 Tbs. Grenadine
*1/2 c. Ice (not shown)

Pour all into a blender. I don't use my actual blender too often anymore. These days my Magic Bullet lives on my countertop and is so convenient...especially in drinks like this that make 1 serving. Blend until smooth.

Pour into a cup and enjoy! You can also garnish with a fresh Strawberry or Pineapple wedge.

Sour Cream Chicken

Here is our family's newest favorite chicken recipe. Very simple. Very tasty.

1 lb chicken breasts (I prefer to cut them into strips)
1 pkg Ranch Dressing mix
1 c. Sour Cream
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 small can French Fried Onions

Place the chicken breasts in a greased glass baking dish. Sprinkle the chicken with Ranch Dressing Mix. Stir together Sour Cream and Cream of Chicken Soup. Spread over the chicken. Sprinkle on Shredded Cheese. Top with French Fried Onions. Cover with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

You can take the foil off the last 10 minutes to help brown the onions if you would like, but some of the moisture will escape when doing this.

Serve over rice.

Enjoy!

Chicken Nuggets

I apologize that I have not been around lately. But the end of my pregnancy left me very tired and not doing much cooking or baking. And then with a new baby in the house I don't get much time to sit at the computer. But I did recently try some new recipes that I wanted to share.

My 3 1/2 yr old LOVES chicken nuggets. But it is very hard to find pre-made nuggets that are somewhat healthy. So I finally found a recipe that our entire family loved. By using the Panko Crumbs they stay nice and crispy. I varied a bit from the actual recipe to make them a little healthier and this is what we came up with.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs, crushed
1/4 cup Italian seasoned Bread crumbs
2 teaspoons onion powder
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 large egg whites


Instructions

1. Cut each chicken breast diagonally into thirds, then cut each third diagonally into ½-inch-thick pieces. Whisk water, tablespoon salt, and Worcestershire in large bowl until salt dissolves. Add chicken pieces and refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes. Do not brine for more than 30 mins of the chicken will be too salty

2. Remove chicken from brine, discard brine, and pat chicken dry with paper towels. Combine flour, bread crumbs, onion powder, remaining salt, pepper, garlic powder, and baking soda in shallow dish. Whisk egg whites in second shallow dish until foamy. Coat half of chicken with egg whites and dredge in flour-crumb mixture, pressing gently to adhere. Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining chicken (don’t discard flour-crumb mixture). Let sit 10 minutes.

3. Dredge a second time in flour-crumb mixture. Spray a cookie sheet with Olive Oil and lay coated pieces of chicken on the sheet. Spray the tops of the nuggets with Olive Oil.

4. Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Flip nuggets over and bake an additional 4-5 mins.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauces.

Enjoy!

4.

Chocolate Caramel Apple Cookies

Warning: Upon completion of reading this recipe, you may feel a strong urge to run to your car and go immediately to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for this recipe...Follow your instincts.

Warning 2: Once these are made, you may want to have a plan to share some with others or you will find yourself eating one after the other until before you know it, you have consumed 3 1/2 dozen cookies

Ok, now that that is out of the way....

A friend of mine found this recipe and posted it on facebook yesterday evening. I read the title and thought it sounded like an odd combination. Then I read the recipe. Next thing you know, I am texting my husband, bribing him to pick up the candy bars on his lunch break and bring them home to me. Thankfully, it worked!

I'm pregnant right now and am pretty relaxed when it comes to food choices and don't really cut anything out of my diet, just use good judgement and moderation. However, in my last pregnancy and this one, my one rule has been NO RAW EGGS. This is VERY hard for me because I have a downfall for cookie dough, cake batter, brownie batter... Well, I caved last night and couldn't resist trying this dough. It was just too tempting and was SO good. When the cookies came out of the oven, I burned my mouth on the caramel but I would say it was well worth it.

If you are the type of person who prefers to see pictures of each step of a recipe, then check out the original post where this recipe is located: http://www.hostessblog.com/2011/10/recipe-chocolate-caramel-apple-cookies/

I have not checked out the rest of that site, but after trying these cookies, I definitely will.

So, onto the recipe.

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 10 caramels, unwrapped
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 large apple OR 2 small apples, peeled & diced
• 6 Fun Size MILKY WAY® Simply Caramel Bars, chilled & chopped
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside. In a large bowl, beat melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla extract, then beat in the egg and egg yolk until the mixture is well blended.

In a small, microwave-safe bowl, heat unwrapped caramels & milk until smooth and creamy, starting with 1-1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring once. If necessary, continue microwaving the caramel in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until completely smooth. Allow the melted caramel to cool for about 10 minutes, then pour it into the wet ingredients.

Fold in the diced apples, followed by the dry ingredients. Add chopped candy bars and chocolate chips and stir until combined.

Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are a light golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Note: My husband could not find the fun-size Milky Way Simply Caramel bars. Luckily, they had the full size bars in the check-out line. I used 2 full size (well, 2 full size packages. Each package contained 2 bars that were just a little smaller than a normal candy bar, but larger than a fun-size). I also did not chill mine first and had no problem cutting them. If you do want to chill them, do NOT put them in the freezer or the caramel will be rock hard (don't ask how I know this...)

Are you still reading? Or are you already searching your cupboards to find out which ingredients you need to go pick up?

Enjoy!

Peppermint Marshmallows

These take a little bit of work, but are well worth it. They make great Christmas presents. I like them in a cup of hot cocoa. My husband likes them in a cup of coffee. Friends like to just eat them plain. I also might sneak some of the mixture while it is still gooey, before it sets. No matter how you eat them, they're excellent!

1/2 c. Powdered sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 1/3 c. white sugar
2/3 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. crushed candy canes or mint candies
1/8 tsp. salt

In a small bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cornstarch. Line a 9x13" pan with nonstick foil. Coat with nonstick cooking spray. Sift 2 Tbs. of the sugar/cornstarch mixutre into the pan, tilting to coat sides. Leave any excess in the pan.

Place 2/3 c. water in a large bowl. Sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften for 5 minutes.

In a medium size heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat white sugar, corn syrup, candy cane pieces and salt over medium heat about 7 minutes until sugar and candy are dissolved, stirring occasionally. Pour into bowl with gelatin, removing any larger chunks of candy cane that did not melt.

Beat on high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 10-15 minutes. Spread into prepared pan and smooth top. Dust with 2 Tbs of sugar/cornstarch mixture. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.

Lift marshmallow from pan using foil. With a wet knife, cut into 6 squares. Spread remaining sugar/cornstarch mixture onto a baking sheet. Invert marshmallow block onto sheet; cut each square into 9 pieces. Toss marshmallows in sugar/cornstarch mixture, and set on a pan to set an additional hour. Store, loosely covered, at room temperature.

Enjoy!!

Morning Glory Muffins

I had someone ask about muffin or bread recipes that are low in sugar and have lots of vegetables in them. These still have 1 1/4 c. of sugar, but have lots of good for you things in them. And I'm sure you could reduce the sugar if you wanted. I think I may make a batch of these tonight. I haven't had them in years and used to have them at my grandma's house. They freeze very well.

2 c. Flour
1 1/4 c. Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 c. Grated Carrots
2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 c. Raisins
1/2 c. Coconut
1/2 c. Chopped Pecans
3 Eggs
1 c. Vegetable Oil
1 Apple, peeled and shredded

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the carrots, raisins, coconut, and pecans. In another bowl, beat the eggs, add oil, apple, and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture only until combined. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until muffins test done.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

This is another recipe that gets credit from my friend Shelley. These are wonderful, easy to make, and feed a lot of people. They are also wonderful reheated.

4 lbs sliced potatoes
2 tsp. chili pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup diced onion (optional)

mix in greased 9 x 13 pan.

add 2-3 tbsp. melted butter.

bake covered with aluminum foil at 400 degrees for 1-hour, or until potatoes are tender.

mix in 1 c. ranch dressing

add 2-cups shredded monterey jack cheddar cheese.

cook uncovered for 10-minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Enjoy!