Cola Chicken

Three ingredients! What could be simpler? I halved the chicken breasts (butterflying them all the way through basically so they'd cook all the way through in the 45 minutes). The diet cola and ketchup sounds odd, but it ends up with a sweet sauce to put on the chicken breasts. I found the recipe on spark people.

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts
1 can (12 oz) diet cola
1 cup ketchup



Directions

Put chicken in a non-stick skillet.
Pour ketchup and diet cola (any kind) over the top.
Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat cook for 45 minutes.
Uncover, turn up the heat and continue to cook until the sauce becomes thick and adheres to the chicken. Be sure to watch it during this last step.

Number of Servings: 3

Carrot Cake

I made this over the weekend, and we gobbled it up so I never got a picture. I made a few changes, as the boyfriend had noted previously as well as noted on the allrecipes website in the comments. Changed the white sugar to 1/2 white and 1/2 brown sugars (1 cup each). And then added 1/4 tsp nutmeg, an extra tsp vanilla, an extra tsp cinnamon, 8oz of crushed pineapple, and a 1 cup of coconut. I also halved the recipe since we didn't need a 9x13 cake for four of us, and it halved easily. The notes for adding the extras are for the full cake. My father said it was the best carrot cake I've made yet (and it's his usual request).  (Edited 9-2-12 to add picture).

Ingredients

* 4 eggs
* 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
* 2 cups white sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 3 cups grated carrots
* 1 cup chopped pecans

* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
* 4 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

BBQ Beef

A very simple slow cooker recipe for VERY good BBQ beef.

4# roast (I used Eye of Round this attempt)

1 can/bottle of beer

2 T Worcesteshire sauce

Garlic to taste (2 little cloves worked well)

3-4 drops of Liquid smoke

From here, it's just your typical slow cooker recipe. Dump everything in, cook 6 hours on low. Drain the liquid from the pot, break up the beef and use your favorite BBQ sauce cooking maybe another one half to an hour.

Mom's Meatballs

Placing raw meatballs into the sauce.

Do you have trouble making tasty meatballs everytime? My mother's recipe is foolproof and will give you delicious meatballs every time. The secret? LOTS of parmesean cheese!

Mom's Meatballs

2 pounds 85% lean ground beef

2 eggs

1 8 oz jar of Kraft parmesean cheese

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 cup milk

1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs

Let hamburger sit out on the counter for about 15-20 minutes to warm it up a little.  Place hamburger in large bowl. Add eggs. Sprinkle Worcestershire sauce over top.

Add entire canister of parmesean cheese. (Yes, the ENTIRE canister!) Sprinkle basil, parsley, and garlic powder over top. Add milk and breadcrumbs.

Mix by hand until everything is combined. The meat will be very cold! Continue mixing meat, gathering up all the dry ingredients that stick to the sides. (You may want to remove any rings to avoid getting meat stuck in them.)

Roll each meatball into desired size ball. I make mine a little bigger than an inch in diameter. Some people like very large meatballs.

Place each meatball into a pot of simmering tomato sauce. Push meatballs down into sauce gently with a large spoon.

Cook in simmering tomato sauce for approximately 2 hours, stirring every 15-20 minutes. Serve over a bed of spaghetti topped with sauce!

Creme de Menthe Cake



I didn't add quite as much creme de menthe to the frosting this time, so it wasn't as green.  If you use too much creme de menthe, it tastes a little TOO minty.  To make it more green, next time I might add a few drops of food coloring.  I topped it with mini chocolate chips which was easy and pretty!

This cake is AMAZING.  If you like mint and chocolate, you will absolutely love it. 

Creme de Menthe Cake

1 package white cake mix

eggs/water/oil according to cake mix directions

2 8 oz jars hot fudge topping

1 8 oz tub Cool Whip, thawed

7 Tbsp GREEN creme de menthe, divided

Mix cake according to package directions, adding 3 Tbps of green creme de menthe. Creme de menthe comes in clear and green varieties. Be sure to choose the green kind to tint the cake a lovely light green color. Don't worry about separating the eggs to keep the white cake white, since you will be coloring it green anyway.

Pour batter into a glass 9 x 13 pan. Bake according to the package directions. Cool completely.

Top the cooled cake with both jars of hot fudge topping. Spread evenly across the cake.

Mix Cool Whip with 4 Tbsp creme de menthe. Mix gently, but mix well. Cool Whip will gradually turn a light green color. Spread evenly over hot fudge layer.

Top cake with chocolate shavings or sprinkles, if desired. Chill cake and serve cold.

Grilled Chicken Panini

The boyfriend found this recipe (on allrecipes submitted by Tyson Chicken) and made them for lunch yesterday. Absolutely wonderful!

* 1 (11 ounce) package Tyson® Grilled and Ready® Fully Cooked Grilled Chicken Breast Strips
* 1/2 cup pesto sauce, prepared
* 8 slices Italian bread
* 4 slices provolone cheese
* 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Spread one tablespoon of pesto onto one side of each bread slice. Divide chicken strips among 4 slices of bread. Place a slice of cheese on top of chicken. Top with remaining bread slices, pesto side down.
2. Brush the outer sides of each sandwich with olive oil.
3. Heat large skillet or griddle over medium. Grill sandwiches until browned on one side; turn and grill until brown on other side.

Colorful Couscous Salad

I originally found this bright refreshing salad recipe on allrecipes.com and made a few changes. Except for the time to chop the vegetables, it is easy to prepare. I make it ahead of time and let it set in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. The amounts and kinds of vegetable can vary according to how you feel and what is available. Enjoy!

Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked couscous

1 1/4 cups water or broth

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Cayenne pepper to taste

Chili powder to taste

4 green onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (or a combination of different color peppers)

½ English cucumber, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

½ cup carrots, chopped

Several cherry tomatoes, quartered

¾ cup frozen corn kernels

1 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring water or broth to a boil in a 2-quart or larger saucepan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, cumin, cayenne pepper and chili powder. Add vegetables and toss to coat.

3. Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

The boyfriend found this recipe at allrecipes a couple of years ago and I adored the mini loaves when he made them. Another time I might try sprinkling some cinnamon sugar on top for a little something extra. And I ended up with 5 loaves instead of 4 as the recipe says, so make sure to have an extra mini loaf pan on hand.

Ingredients

* 3 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 1/4 cups white sugar
* 2 cups shredded zucchini
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
* 1 pint fresh blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.
3. Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Easy Tomato Basil Pizza

When this recipe says EASY, boy do they mean it!

This is a quick and tasty meal for a busy weeknight.  Or just for something delicious for dinner.  I've become a huge fan of Philly Cooking Creme!  The couple of $1.50 off coupons I've been getting lately sure have helped!

This recipe comes on the top of the Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme container, or you can find it on the Kraft Foods website.

Easy Tomoato Basil Pizza

1 ready-to-use baked pizza crust (12 inch)

1/2 cup PHILADELPHIA Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme
1 tomato, thinly sliced
8 fresh basil leaves, torn
1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 425ºF.

Spread pizza crust with cooking creme; top with remaining ingredients.

Place crust directly on middle oven rack.

Bake 10 to 12 min. or until cheese is melted.