sweet & sour chicken

recently, a reader emailed us to ask if we had a sweet and sour recipe. i couldn't believe that i hadn't posted this one yet! i found this in our hometown community cookbook, and i'd actually forgotten about it until i saw that email. this is super quick and easy, and when i made it the other night we were reminded why we used to love it so much. it's delish!

ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp. corn starch

1 can pineapple tidbits

1/3 cup white vinegar

1 tbsp. soy sauce

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts--cubed and cooked

in a medium sauce pan, whisk together brown sugar and corn starch. when blended, add pineapple (with the juice), soy sauce, and vinegar. boil on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. add chicken and serve. 

i served it over some homemade fried rice and with a bowl of egg drop soup. who needs a chinese restaurant when you can create your own?? ;)

Muddy Buddies

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Um... Why have I never HAD these before, let alone never made them for myself? I got this recipe to use on the 101st day of school (using the 101 Dalmations of course!) and it was called "Puppy Chow," but since that sounds pretty nasty to anyone who is over the age of 7, I decided we'd call them what they really are: Muddy Buddies. These come together SO quick and are nearly impossible to stop munching once you start. So, get making and get eating ASAP!!

You will need:

1/2 C. peanut butter

1/4 c. butter

1 c. chocolate chips 

1/2 tsp. vanilla

9 c. Crispix cereal

2 C. powdered sugar

**Place Crispix cereal in a large bowl.

**Combine peanut butter, butter, and chocolate chips in a microwave save bowl. Microwave for 1 minute and stir to blend ingredients then add vanilla.

**Pour peanut butter/chocolate mix over cereal and stir until well coated.

**Put powdered sugar in a large Zip-Loc bag, add cereal mixture, zip, and shake until coated. 

**DEVOUR!

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Hello! Hello! I am here to amaze and wow you by sharing a wonderful new recipe! If  you like pasta and you like chicken enchiladas, well my friends, this recipe is for you! All credit goes to my fabulous, amazing,  neighbor Krista and her delicious blog Budget Gourmet Mom this was one of those recipes I knew I had to try as soon as it showed up in my RSS feed! I was NOT disappointed! Matt kept saying after every bite how good it was and as soon as he was done told me he couldn't wait until lunch the next day, so he could eat it again! Mmmm mmmm this was too GOOD not to share!!!

Stop over and check out Krista's blog and leave her some love if you try this one out!

 (picture from here)

 You will need:

1 lb bow tie pasta

2 chicken breasts, cubed and cooked

1 - 10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken of soup

1 - 4oz can diced green chilies

2 cups sour cream

1 small onion, diced

1 small can black olives, sliced

3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Enchilada Sauce:

1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce

1/3 cup water

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cumin

1 clove garlic, minced

I got my enchilada sauce cooking first--it's SO delicious!! First of all I didn't know you could make your own so easily, second of all I had no idea it would be so YUMMY!!

**In a small saucepan mix all of the ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook for a few minutes for the ingredients to blend. Pour over the enchilada pasta or store in the refrigerator for later.

**Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta. 

**While the pasta cooks in a large bowl mix the soup, green chilies, sour cream, onions, olives and 1 cup of shredded cheese.

 **Once the pasta is al dente fold it into the soup mixture along with the cooked chicken.

**Pour into one 9x13 baking dish or two smaller rectangular dishes (she uses the disposable ones for freezing).

**Pour over enchilada sauce and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

**Bake at 350° until cheese is melted and it's heated through, mine took about 20-25 minutes!

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Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

Once upon a Christmas party I had this delicious, amazing, outstanding, wonderful dessert! The moment I saw it, I knew I HAD to have a bite! It was indeed as delicious as it looked and I have just been waiting for an excuse to whip it up--the Super Bowl just happened to come along (Isn't it all about the food--and commercials--anyway?!) So here is the perfect recipe or all you peanut butter lovers out there!

(recipe found here and yes, their picture is MUCH better than mine taken with the ol' iPhone!)

 

You will need:

• 1 fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)
• 1 package (10 ounces) peanut butter chips
• 2 packages (13 ounces each) miniature peanut butter cups
• 4 cups cold 2% milk
• 2 packages (5.1 ounces each) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cartons (8 ounces each) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

• Prepare brownie batter according to package directions; stir in peanut butter chips. Bake in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs (do not over bake). Cool on a wire rack; cut into 3/4-in. pieces.
• Cut peanut butter cups in half; set aside 1/3 cup for garnish. In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Add peanut butter and vanilla mix well. Fold in 1-1/2 cartons whipped topping.
• Place a third of the brownies in a 5-qt. glass bowl; top with a third of the remaining peanut butter cups. Spoon a third of the pudding mixture over the top. Repeat layers twice. Cover with remaining whipped topping; garnish with reserved peanut butter cups. Refrigerate until chilled.

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chimichangas

 image

so i posted this on my blog a few years ago. i just had an apostrophe (i think you mean an epiphany); lightning has just struck my brain. i realized that these babies have yet to grace howe to cook with their presence. these things are a jewel. growing up, we all always requested these for our birthday dinners. my mom hated to make them, but i don't know why because they are suuuuper easy. and so good. and almost restaurantish if you turn on some mexican tunage and put on a sombrero.

you need:

-meat (i use round steak. it's yummy and super cheap. my sister uses chicken. do what you want. just put it in the crocker all day so it shreds easily)
-tortillas (the thinner the tortilla, the better. the super thin lynn wilson ones work well. plus, they're cheap!)
-refried beans (mine are straight out of a can. I know some people make them themselves. and i'm classy, but i'm not that classy.)
-shredded cheddar cheese
-oil (this is for frying, so you'll need a lot)

so once your meat is cooked and shredded, heat up a tortilla in the micro for 10 seconds or so. then, layer it down the middle with refried beans (smear them around), meat, and plenty of cheese. like so:
next, fold it up like a little burrito (or chimichanga. ha!). fold the short sides in so they're on the meat, then fold up the other sides. looks something like:
finally, after you get over how classy i am with my half-painted black nails, pinch your chimi between your tongs and place in oil. your oil needs to be really hot. it will look something like:

hold it in there until it's golden brown (10ish seconds).

voila! serve with sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. yuuum.

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