Chicken Cashew Pasta Salad

We made this chicken salad with Super Saturday back when I was in charge of it. It's a pasta salad, but was delicious on croissants too. Now trust me on this. You may look at it and think it's nothing special, but it is very yummy. I'm not the biggest fruit salad fan, but it's good. I made it once for our lunch bunch (remember Kristi?). Let me know how much you love it!


Chicken Cashew Pasta Salad
(Jackie Robertson, Cami Moos)

2 pkg curly macaroni
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked & cubed
2 cans pineapple tidbits
1 can water chestnuts
2 cups red or green grapes
1 can cashews (soup can size, put in last)
1 cup celery, chopped
½ green onion, chopped
4 Granny Smith apples, chopped & soaked in pineapple juice
1 lg bottle Kraft Coleslaw Dressing

Cook pasta & add remaining ingredients. Put cashews in right before serving. Use dressing to taste. If salad needs more moisture, some pineapple juice or mayonnaise may be added.

BBQ Chicken

Enough desserts, on to main courses! I found this recipe in a magazine a long time ago and have made some minor changes. It's really easy to make, I guess it could be a 30-minute-meal if you didn't have to cook it for so long! I mix the sauce in a large Pyrex measuring cup so that I don't have to transfer honey and stuff from a measuring cup to a bowl, it makes it really easy.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed completely (if frozen)
3/4 cup barbeque sauce (any kind, I use original flavor)
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place chicken in a 9x13 pan. Mix bbq sauce, honey, ketchup, and brown sugar. Pour sauce over chicken. Cover pan with foil. Bake for 55 minutes.

BEST CHEESECAKE EVER!!! (And I should know!)

So I love cheesecake, even the Jello No Bake kind. But this cheesecake is the best I've ever had (even compared to cheesecake factory!) It isn't spongy or anything, and has a creamy thicker consistency. My old visiting teacher is a gourmet baker and she brought this to me right before we left on a road trip to Utah. It was so good that I knew if we left it that it might go bad while we were gone, so we packed it in a cooler and brought it to Utah with us (which also turned out to be a mistake because everyone ate it!!!). It isn't hard to make at all (even though it may sound hard) and is so worth it!


BEST CHEESECAKE EVER

Crust:
1 pkg Graham Crackers, Crushed
¼ Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Butter, Melted

Mix and press in bottom of 9 inch spring form pan (make sure it is a nice one, not a flimsy one, or the butter in the crust will melt out). Bake at 350 for 6 minutes.

4 Egg whites, Beaten Until Stiff
3 pkgs (8 oz) Cream Cheese, Softened
1 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla

Cream the sugar, cream cheese and vanilla together. Fold stiff egg whites into cream cheese mixture. Place on top of baked crust and return to oven for 25 minutes.

Topping:
2 Cups Sour Cream
3 Tbsp Sugar
½ tsp Vanilla

Mix topping ingredients together and spread on baked cheese cake. Return to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes at 400. Cool completely before refrigeration.

Best if made the day before. (Carefully ream around the edge of cheeses cake with a sharp knife as soon as it comes out of the oven…this will help to keep it from cracking in the center).

Chocolate Hazelnut Ravioli

I saw Giada DeLaurentiis make these on the Food Network and knew I had to try them. Deep fried Nutella? What could be better?! I happened to have some wonton wrappers (you can slice them into thirds and fry in a little oil to make wonton crisps for Asian salads- yum-o!) and tried these. They were super easy, you just have to watch and make sure you aren't overcooking or burning them. They are especially yummy with powdered sugar sifted on top. Enjoy!

16 wonton wrappers
1 egg, beaten to blend
1 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
Vegetable oil, for frying
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Place one wonton wrapper on the work surface. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with egg. Spoon 1 tablespoon of chocolate-hazelnut spread into the center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper diagonally in half over the filling and press the edges of the wrapper to seal. Place the ravioli on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers, egg, and chocolate-hazelnut spread.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Add enough oil to a heavy large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat to 350 degrees F.

Working in batches, carefully add the ravioli to the hot oil and cook until they are golden brown, about 45 seconds per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ravioli to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Then, transfer the cooked ravioli to another baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while frying the remaining ravioli. (The fried ravioli can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool them completely, then cover and refrigerate. Before serving, place them on a baking sheet and rewarm in a preheated 375 degrees F oven just until they are heated through, about 7 minutes.)

You can also garnish these with sugared mint leaves, one leaf per ravioli. Spray the leaves lightly with cooking spray, then one at a time dredge lightly into granulated sugar.

Apple Spice Coffee Cake

I was in charge of taking a dessert to my in-laws' family get together last night and all I had was a spice cake mix. I started adding things to it and came up with this recipe! My in-laws loved it and that's not an easy task to accomplish!

1 spice cake mix
2 eggs
1 c. water
2 Tbls. oil
1 can apple pie filling (chop apples in can)

Mix all ingredients and pour into greased 9x13 pan.

Streusel Topping

1 c. Bisquick mix
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 c. butter

Mix together with a fork until blended. Sprinkle on top of cake mixture and bake at 350 for 35 min. or until tooth pick comes out clean.

Vanilla Glaze

2 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbls. milk (more if necessary)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together and drizzle over cake after it is done baking.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I am famous for this recipe and usually don't want to share my secret. It gives away how easy the recipe is!! It is so good and easy to make. I would half the recipe unless you have guests over, or you will have a lot of leftovers.


4 large russet potatoes
6 cloves garlic
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (you can use milk its just not as fluffly and creamy)
3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Peel potatoes and cut evenly into chunks. Boil potatoes and whole garlic cloves in a pot of water. (This is my secret to infuse the potatoes with garlic and it makes it easier!) Boil the potatoes about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain the potatoes and garlic making sure not to loose any garlic gloves.

Pour potatoes and garlic back into hot pot and mash. Add the butter, cream, salt and pepper and reheat over med/low heat until hot.

Serves 6

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

It is warming up here and that makes me want fruit all of the time. I just recently brought this to my book club meeting and it was a perfect snack. You dont have to make it with the sugar and fruit preserves, the sugar and cinnamon chips make it sweet enough. I like it best with the sugar but not the fruit preserve. If you got fruit that was not completley ripe just add more sugar!

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces raspberries
1 pound strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.
Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Melt-away Cookies

My friend brought me a plate of these and I loved them. It's hard to explain what they're like. I guess I could say they just melt away in your mouth. My mouth is watering right now.

2 Sticks of butter (softened)
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Flour

Mix together and form dough into a log and let it sit in fridge for about 1 hour. Cut dough about 1/4 inch slices and bake at 350 for about 7 to 10 minutes just unitl lightly brown.

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese
1t. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 T. milk (milk depends on how thick you like the frosting or runny)

Cafe Rio Salads

Okay, so this will be a longer recipe since there are a few different recipes involved in the infamous (and delicious) Cafe Rio Salad. This edition is the Pork edition. If you want the chicken recipe, you can email me for it. I prefer the sweet pork salad. Anyway, we had this at cooking club last night since most of us are from Utah and absolutely miss our Cafe Rio binges. I was skeptical but they turned out really yummy, almost like the real thing!!!

Cafe Rio Pork

3.5 lbs pork roast
1 bottle taco sauce (8 oz)
1 tbsp. Cumin
1 C. brown sugar
1 can Coke (not diet)

Cover roast ½ way with water and cook in crock pot on low for 6 hours. You can also cook it a couple of hours on high and switch to low and it makes it shred easier. Add the rest of the ingredients to pork 3 hours before it is well done.

Tomatillo Dressing

1 pkg Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
1 to 2 tomatillos
½ to 1 clove garlic, minced
½ to 1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped
½ tsp lime juice
½ to 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed or it will be too hot!

Serve in this order:
Tortillas (Costco has the ones you brown on the stove, or buy the biggest ones you can find)
Cheese, Shredded
Sweet Pork, shredded
Black or Pinto Beans, heated through in their juices
Rice
Red and Green leaf lettuce, shredded
Sides of:
Pico de Gallo
Guacamole
Fresh Cilantro
Fresh Lime Slices
Tomatillo Dressing
Sprinkle crunchy corn strips on top
Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Fried Ice Cream

This recipe is really easy and sooo delicious, you just have to plan ahead. Don't be scared off, though. It's worth the effort!

8- 1/2 cup. scoops of vanilla ice cream
5 egg whites
3 c. crushed corn flakes cereal
1 tsp. cinnamon
oil for frying

Scoop the ice cream onto a cookie sheet. Turn you freezer to the coldest setting and freeze several hours or over night. Beat egg whites until foamy. Combine crushed corn flakes and cinnamon. Roll ice cream balls in egg whites and then in corn flakes. Refreeze 1 hour. Repeat, rolling again in egg whites and corn flakes. Return to freezer for at least 3 hours. Heat oil to 375 and fry each ice cream ball for 10-15 seconds.
Drain on a paper towl and serve immediately with fudge sauce and caramel sauce.

Dutch Meatballs

I know most 0f you already have all my recipes, so this may be a rerun for some of you. My Oma used to make these all the time and I thought it was an authentic Dutch recipe, until my mom gave me her old Betty Crocker cookbook. And there, I found the exact same recipe for these meatballs, and her German potato salad. So, much for authentic family recipes. But, these are delicious and my Oma did make them. Try them out, these are a family favorite for us!

Dutch Meatballs
(Trees Piket)

1 lb ground beef
½ cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup milk
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup chopped onion 1 egg

Mix all ingredients. Shape into six meatballs. Cook in ¼ cup margarine or butter over medium heat, turning occasionally until brown, about 20 minutes. Make gravy out of drippings.

(I serve the meatballs with mashed potatoes, gravy, a salad, and/or cooked vegetable, and/or rolls. This kind of meal was a staple in my house growing up, minus the salad and rolls.)

And, for a bonus, here's my Aunt Lorraine's "Good Gravy!" recipe. I make this with the drippings from the meatballs and it is delicious!

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups water
2 bouillon cubes (or 2 TBSP powder)

Dissolve bouillon in water. Melt butter and add flour. Add bouillon water. Serve immediately.

Banana Split Cheesecake Squares

Ok, so I know most of my posts are desserts, but what can I say? I like sugar! Anyway, this is from the Kraft website and I was browsing through it one day and came across it. It got 5 out of 5 stars so I decided to try it. It is so good so you have to make it! Instead of putting the fruit on top of the entire cheesecake, I would cut a square then top each individual square with the fruit- presentation is everything! And I actually omitted the pineapple. I would also toss the strawberries with a little sugar.

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (there is a box of these in the baking aisle)
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 banana)
1 cup halved strawberries
1 banana, sliced, tossed with 1 tsp lemon juice
1 (8 oz) can pineapple chunks, drained

Preheat oven to 350. Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter and press firmly into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Stir in mashed banana by hand. Pour over crust.

Bake 30 minutes or until center is almost set (I did mine for 30 minutes and it was a little over done, the edges were a little brown, so check after 20 minutes and every couple minutes after that). Cool. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with strawberries, banana slices, and pineapple. Keep leftover cheesecake in the refrigerator.