Chicken Coquettes

1 small onion
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
salt and pepper
2/3 cup canned or fresh mushrooms, diced
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup herb stuffing mix, dry (something like Pepperidge Farms)
2 cans crescent rolls
1/2 cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup chicken broth, leftover
1/8 cup milk

Dice onion. Put in pot. Add raw chicken and water enough to cook it. Add salt and pepper. Boil until cooked. Remove chicken, reserve broth and onion.

Chop mushrooms, then saute.

Cut chicken into cubes. Mix chicken, salt and pepper, mushrooms, cream cheese and onion.

Shape into balls, ten maximum.

Cover each chicken ball with a crescent roll. Dip in melted butter and roll in dry stuffing mix.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Gravy

Mix together soup, chicken broth and milk.

Warm until well mixed. Serve over chicken puffs.

Yield: 10

Tips: You can make the chicken mixture ahead of time and keep it in the refridgerator. And don't forget to keep the water that you boiled the chicken in for later use in the recipe!

Paula Dean's Squash Casserole

Looking for something to do with all that extra squash? Looking to eat more vegetables or there's a great sale going on? This recipe is so delish! You can find the original recipe here, I didn't change much, but if you are curious go check it out.

6 cups large diced yellow squash and zucchini
Vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon House seasoning, recipe follows
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed butter crackers (recommended: Ritz)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it has completely broken down, about 15 to 20 minutes. (I just put all the squash in my biggest pan and cover it so that the squash steams.) Line a colander with a clean tea towel. Place the cooked squash in the lined colander. Squeeze excess moisture from the squash. Set aside.

In a medium size skillet, saute the onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

House Seasoning:
1/4 cup salt
1T black pepper
1T garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Peanut Brittle

I also grabbed this one from all recipes, but Curtis and his amazing food science knowledge made this even better. The biggest trick is to handle the brittle as little as possible after adding the baking soda and to chill it fast. I end up with deliciously crisp peanut brittle!

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 cup peanuts
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
2. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Set candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.
3. Remove from heat; immediately stir in butter or margarine until melted and then add baking soda stirring as little as possible or just until brittle foams.
4. Pour at once onto cookie sheet. Spread peanut mixture into rectangle about 14x12 inches by tilting pan.
5. Place in fridge or freezer to cool. Snap hard candy into pieces and enjoy!

Layered Peppermint Bark

Curtis got some crushed peppermint from work and we knew exactly what we had to do with it! I got this recipe from all recipes and followed the original recipe, using milk chocolate. (Except there was no peppermint extract at Walmart so I used mint instead, but I would just stick with peppermint.)

2 12oz bags of white chocolate chips
30 peppermint candies, crushed, divided (or about 1 cup)
1 12oz bag chocolate chips (dark, semi-sweet or milk)
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1. Line a 9x12 inch baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
2. Melt half of the white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. Spread the white chocolate into the prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the crushed peppermints evenly over white chocolate. Chill until firm, about 15 minutes. (or pop in the freezer if you are impatient like me :)
3. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and peppermint extract together in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently, until just melted. Quickly pour the chocolate layer over the chilled white chocolate layer; spread evenly. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt the remaining white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently, until just melted. Spread quickly over the chilled bark. Sprinkle with the remaining peppermint pieces; chill until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut or break into small pieces to serve.

Caramel Candies

I got this recipe from a girl who goes to school with Curtis. She gave us a sample of some that she had made for class, and everyone there begged her for the recipe. It is so easy, and absolutely the best caramel I have ever had!

1 cup butter
1 pound brown sugar (approx 2 1/4 cups packed)
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Butter a 9x13 pan
2. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine everything except the vanilla.
3. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Heat to between 234 and 240 F. Cook for two min at that temperature.
4. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
5. Pour cooked caramel into pan and let cool to room temperature.
6. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Hilda's Five Pound Coconut Candy

My mom got this recipe from my Grandpa's second wife, Hilda, several years back and it quickly became a family tradition. It's called five pound candy because originally it was a pound of each ingredient, I'm not sure where the alteration came in, but this is the recipe my family uses. They are essentially homemade almond joys and I LOVE them. They require a lot of time, but are definitely worth the investment!

14oz sweetened coconut
1 lb chopped pecans
4-5c powdered sugar
1 can sweetened and condensed milk
3/4c butter or margarine melted
1/2 box paraffin wax
36oz (three bags) milk chocolate chips

1. Mix first five ingredients and press into a 9x13 pan. Refrigerate until firm.
2. Cut the candy in the pan into three sections as you will be working in batches from here on out.
3. Divide the 1/2 slab of paraffin wax into three sections. (So the whole box is divided into sixths and you are using 1/6 for each batch.) In a double broiler melt one of the three sections (1/6 of the whole box) of paraffin wax, and then add one bag (12oz) of chocolate and melt until the wax and chocolate are combined and ready for dipping.
4. While the chocolate is melting cut one section of the candy into three rows and then cut them into candy sized pieces, approx. 1/4"-1/3" thick. (You will know you have cut them in to the correct size because there should be the perfect amount of chocolate for dipping this batch.)
5. Once the chocolate and wax are melted together remove from heat. Dip each piece of candy in the chocolate until coated and place on wax or freezer paper to set.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for each of the other two batches. The candy center must be refrigerated between batches or it will be too soft to cut and fall apart when dipping. For a little artistic flare drizzle some white chocolate over top of the candies once the chocolate has set. Enjoy!

It also helps to place the chocolate covered candies in the fridge or freezer to help them set. My family stores the finished candy in the freezer.

Skiers French Toast

I got this recipe from a lady in the ward. I have never gotten a bad recipe from her, maybe it has something to do with having seven kids, I don't know. But she brought it over to me while I was pregnant with Isaac this last Conference weekend. It was so nice of her to think of me. And, it is super delicious!!!!

This makes for a delicious warm breakfast in the morning and is super easy to make.

2T corn syrup
1/2 C butter or margerine
1C brown sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2C milk
1t vanilla
1/4t salt
1 loaf french bread

Combine corn syrup, butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan; heat until "syrupy." (I take this to mean "melted together"). Pour mixture over bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Slice bread into 12 to 16 slices and place atop "syrup" in pan. Combine eggs, milk vanilla and salt; pour over bread. Let set in fridge overnight. Bake (uncovered) in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Toast is good reheated.

Chicken Caesar Wraps: a meal even Justin can love.

Chicken Caesar Wraps

What you need

3 cups shredded romaine lettuce

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

4 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup croutons

1/4 cup caesar dressing

4 flour tortillas

Make it

Place first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add dressing; toss lightly.

Spoon onto tortillas; roll up.

Substitute
Ranch dressing if desired

Makes 4 servings

Tips for our family:
Remove "stalks" from middle of lettuce and feed to Mikey.
Don't pour on dressing until ready to eat.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

So these made their debut at Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately Curtis and I figured out afterwards that they probably should have been refrigerated, oops! So eat them warm and then refrigerate them! Cassidy said she liked them and doesn't like pumpkin pie, so don't be a hater and give these a shot :)

Yellow Cake Mix
3 Eggs
1 1/2 sticks of butter or margerine
30 oz can Libby's Pumpkin Pie MIX
5 oz can evaporated milk
1/2 c sugar
1t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325. Set aside 1c of cake mix and combine the remainder with one egg and one stick of melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Mix the can of pumpkin mix with two eggs and evaporated milk. Pour over unbaked crust in the 9x13.

Mix reserved cake mix with sugar, cinnamon, and half a cube of butter. Cut in the butter and sprinkle over top of the pumpkin.

Bake 45-55 min and enjoy! (but let it cool first :) Goes well with whipping cream on top!

How to Prepare a Pop-Tart

OK, OK, so I know I should be posting serious stuff here...but the reality is that this IS serious for Katrina.

Steps:

1. Go to your favorite super market or grocer. Ask an employee to direct you to the aisle containing Pop-Tarts.
2. Choose your favorite. One with a little frosting, a lot of icing,or one plain. There are many flavors of Pop-Tarts.
3. Open the pop tart box and remove a pop tart from one of the inner bags. Remember, a bag comes with 2 pop-tarts. Place it in your toaster.
4. Toast on a low heat setting.Wait till it pops up.
5. Remove the pop tart carefully and place on a plate.
6. Allow it to cool for 35 seconds.
7. Eat your cooled Pop-Tart.

Tips:

1. It is better to cook an even number of Pop-tarts. If you cook an odd number of pop tarts, one of them will become stale without a bag surrounding it.

2. Pop-Tarts should be placed into a toaster vertically, not horizontally.

3. Try eating the crust around the pastry first. You will find that it has a very unique taste which would be otherwise undetectable because of all the fruit filling around it.

4. If the pastry is too hot, breaking the Pop-Tart in half will cool it faster than if you left it whole.

Warnings:

1. Pop-Tarts come in small plastic bags. Keep the bag away from anyone's face in order to avoid suffocation.

2. The icing on Pop-Tarts is flammable when it is over toasted. It is a good idea to watch it as it toasts.

3. Be sure to let the Pop-Tart cool before giving it to a small child to eat; the filling remains very hot much longer than the outside crust.

4. DO NOT put a Pop-Tart in the microwave with the wrapper on! This may damage your microwave.

And a photo for Mom, cause she likes photos with the recipes:

Beanchiladas

Taken from a lady in my home ward and modified to fit my tastes :) I love this one.

Filling
1 pound ground beef
1 15 oz can black beans
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup sliced olives
4 teaspoons beef base
4 green onion
1 cup cheese

Sauce
6 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1/4 cup flour
4 cups water or bean juice
1 tablespoon beef base

Topping
1/2 cup sliced olives
8 tortillas
1 1/2 cups cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brown and drain ground beef.
3. Combine sauce ingredients and boil over meduim heat 5 minutes.
4. Mix filling ingredients.
5. Spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 so that the tortillas don't stick.
6. Fill eight tortillas with prepared filling, roll, and place seam side down in 9x13.
7. Pour sauce over the rolled tortillas and sprinkle cheese and olives on top.
8. Bake for 30 min at 350 degrees.