Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
1 T olive oil
2 T garlic
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
9 sweet mini peppers, or 1 bell pepper
6 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups cooked wild rice
2 tsp basil
2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1 T parsley
1/2 tsp pepper
1 T chicken bouillon
1 small can cream of chicken soup

Saute the onion, celery, carrots, peppers, and garlic in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil and simmer for a few hours. Serve with warm bread or rolls.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Bars

These bars are so yummy and easy. They would be great for a potluck or a get together with friends. Way easier than making cookie after cookie and taste just as good. I saw this recipe over at Jamie cooks it up and Mels Kitchen cafe and knew I had to try these out. Please don't judge them by the picture because I had friends over for dinner tonight and took a fast picture while trying to get these on the plate fast enough for our kiddos. Give them a try you won't be disappointed!!!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

2 1/8 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

12 T. butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups chocolate chips

Stir dry ingredients all together. Melt butter in microwave. Whisk in the sugars, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and whisk till well combined. Pour butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Line a 9x13 inch pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Press the dough into the pan.(the tin foil is going to make it super easy to pull these out of the pan and cut them) Bake at 325 and bake for 24-28 minutes. Let your pan cool and then cut into bars. Enjoy!!!

Cafe Rio Pork

For those of you who have lived or live in Utah this is the knock off of Cafe Rio's pork they use in their burritos and salads. It really is to die for and oh so easy to make. If you make a salad out of it it is pretty healthy for you as well(if you limit the dressing you put on it). Most recipes I have seen use a fattier piece of pork like the pork butt but I use the lean Pork loin roast and it works out great. If you love Mexican food you need to give this a try.

Cafe Rio Pork

3- 4lb pork loin

3 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups dr pepper, pepsi, or coke, root beer would even work

1 1/2 cups salsa

Place pork loin in a crock pot. Rub the pork with cumin, pepper, and salt. Mix the salsa, brown sugar, and soda together then pour over the spiced rubbed pork. Cook on high for 5-6 hours until the pork can easily pull apart and be shredded. Drain the Liquid off the pork but save it, you will dump most of it back over the shredded meat. Shred the pork and dump enough of the juices back on the pork to your liking.

Serve the pork in tortillas with black beans or refried beans or our favorite way is to make a salad. We use lettuce and fresh spinach, then add a little shredded meat, black beans, tomatoes, avocadoes, tortillas strips(for a little crunch) shredded cheese, and tomatillo ranch dressing.

Tomatillo Ranch dressing

1 ranch dressing mix packet

1 cup mayo

1 cup milk

2 tomatillos(found by the jalapenos and they look like a little green tomato)

1 jalapeno

juice of 1 lime

2 cloves fresh garlic

1 bunch of cilantro

Place all in a blender and mix until well combined. Serve with above pork on a salad.

Chocolate Chip Oreo/canybar Sandwiches

The other day I saw these at Picky Palate. I knew I had to try them out especially with the candy bars because I have tons of fun sized candy bars left over from Christmas still. My kids love these and I may or may not of eating two of them and they are huge!!! I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe. YOu can use you favorite recipe for them or if you are real lazy you can use store bought dough.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Oreo/Candy Bar Sandwiches
1 1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 T. vanilla
4-5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 bag of chocolate chips
about 24 oreos or 24 fun size candy bars( I used twix, milky way, snickers)

In a mixer, cream the butter and sugars together till fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Take a hunk of dough and inclose an oreo or candy bar completely in the middle of the dough. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-13 minutes or until done to you liking. Take out of the oven and let cool 5 minutes on the pan. Then enjoy!!!

Cookie with a twix in the middle!!!

Thai Chicken

I found this recipe for Thai Chicken Pasta over at Recipe Shoebox and wanted to try it out. I decided to eat it over rice and make it in the crockpot so it could be a quick fix meal. I love the crockpot cause you can put it in in the morning or at lunch time and leave it and then you have dinner in a few hours. Love it!! Anyway, this chicken was really tasty and easy to make. If you need an easy meal to make give this a try. I served it over Cocnut rice!!! So yummy!!!


Thai Chicken adapted from Recipe Shoebox
3 cups salsa
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup orange juice
4 T. honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 chicken breasts, cut in large chunks

Dump all in the crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours or until the chicken can be shredded and is cooked. Serve over Rice or pasta.

Coconut Rice
3 cups rice or jasmine rice
2 cups cocnut milk (found in the asian aisle of grocery store)
1 3/4 cup water
2 T. shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oil

Rub oil on bottom of saucepan. Place everything else in the pan and bring to a boil. Stir, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Maple Pumpkin Muffins

I made these muffins this morning for breakfast and they were a hit. My kids loved them and I thought they were pretty tasty as well. They will be added to my pile of recipes we love.

Maple Pumpkin Muffins
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
1 T. Maple extract
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour(I used half whole wheat half all purpose)
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl mix the pumpkin, maple, syrup, sour cream, butter, and eggs until well combined. Add the extracts. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, powder, salt, and cinnamon and mix just until combined. Fill your greased or lined muffin tins 2/3 the way full with batter then sprinkle each with crumb topping(recipe below) and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Crumb topping:
6 T. flour
6 T. sugar
4 T. nuts, chopped(i used pecans)
1 tsp cinnamon
4 T. butter

Mix all these together with two knives or a pastry blender until crumbly.

Italian Tortellini Soup

For a church activity I had to make some soup. I decide to make some tortellini soup. I found a few recipes for it but decide to make up my own. This turned out really well and I got asked for the recipe many times.

Italian Tortellini Soup

1 lb hamburger

2 T. garlic

1 onion chopped

3-4 stalks celery, chopped

1 green pepper or I used about 10 mini sweet peppers(yellow, red, and orange)

1-2 cups carrots, chopped

2-3 zucchini, chopped

2 large cans of crushed tomatoes

1 (6 0z) can tomatoe paste

8 cups beef broth(or 8 cups water and 10 tsp beef bouillon)

4 cubes beef bouillon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 1/2 T, parsley

1 tsp basil

1 pkg. Good Seasonings Italian dressing mix or Roasted red pepper and basil dip (if you can find it just use one or the other)

1 can tomato soup(normal size can)

1 to 2 cans Drained pinto beans

20 oz of cheese tortellini (cooked)

Brown your hamburger. Drain the grease. Add the onions, garlic, celery, carrot, and peppers Saute until veggies are starting to get tender. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the tortellini and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer until veggies are cooked all the way. (I simmered mine for about 1 hour) Then add the tortellini and serve with bread or rolls.

Chicken Florentine Soup

This soup is out of this world!!! I believe it is my new favorite!!! During the cold months there is definitely nothing better than warm soup with homemade bread or rolls.



Chicken Florentine Soup

3 chicken breast cooked and shredded

1 onion, chopped

2 T. garlice

2 sweet bell peppers(red, orange, or yellow)chopped

2 T. Butter

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

3 sprigs fresh rosemary chopped or 1 tsp dried and crushed

3 medium carrots, chopped

3-4 cups water

2 T. chicken bouillon

6 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup pesto

1 batch alfredo sauce (recipe below)

4-5 cups penne, cooked (i used whole wheat )

4 -6 cups chopped fresh spinach



Melt the butter in a large pot, add the onion, garlic, peppers , and carrots. Saute until they begin to get tender. Add shredded chicken and spices and cook for 5 minutes. Add the water, chicken bouillon, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the pesto & alfredo sauce & spinach and simmer till heated through. Add cooked pasta right before you serve it.



Alfredo Sauce

1 stick butter

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup milk

1tsp garlic powder (not garlic salt)



In a saucepan, cook all ingredients on medium low heat until smooth and creamy. Add more milk if to thick for you. Use for soup above or over your choice of pasta.



Note: for the soup you may use store bought alfredo. you will need about 2 1/2 cups for the soup but i reccommend homemade it is way better tasting. I can't stand the store bought nasty stuff.

Herbed Dinner Rolls

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Having a new baby kind of makes doing things a little bit more diffucult. It is harder to find time to post things on my blog. Anyway, here is a great recipe for you to try.These rolls are so yummy and go so great with a bowl of soup. They would be great on your holiday dinner table as well. Give them a try you won't be disappointed believe me!!!


Herbed Dinner Rolls
2 cups warm water
4 T. butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp. each of dried basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary, crushed
6 1/2 cups flour
2 T. yeast

Place the warm water in a bowl, add the yeast and let stand for about 10 minutes or until yeast is activated and bubbly. Add the butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and spices and mix. Then add the flour a little at a time until forms a soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead a few minutes. Place in a oiled boil, cover and let rise till double in size. Punch dough down and roll into rolls and place in a greased pan, cover and let raise until doulble in size. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. If desired brush with butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Caramel Apple Cake

I found this yummy cake over at Your Home based Mom. Let me tell you it was delicious!! I can't get enough of it!! It is such a great fall treat especially if you have some too ripe apples you need to use up. I always use my over ripe apples to bake with because I can't stand eating a soft apple mine have to be crisp and then that way I don't waste them and they work great for apple pie, apple crisp, apple cake, ect. If you love caramel and apples give this cake a try.

Caramel Apple Cake adapted from Your Home Based mom
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup oil
1T. vanilla
3 cups cake flour(I used regular all purpose flour and it worked great)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3-4 cups peeled chopped apples (i used about 4 cups about 4 apples)
1/2 -1 cup pecans(optional)
1(3.4oz) box instant vanilla pudding mix or pumpkin spice pudding mix(if you can find it)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a bundt cake pan well. Set aside. Beat eggs and sugar till foamy. Add the butter, oil, and vanilla and mix well. Add the pudding mix and mix well. Mix in flour, soda, and salt till combined. Stir in the apples and pecans. Your batter will be pretty thick. Don't be alarmed as the apples cook they add moisture to the cake. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Take out of oven and turn over onto a platter and let cool 10 minutes before taking the pan off the cake.

Caramel Sauce(I doubled this because I like a lot of caramel)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
In a medium saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil and boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pole holes in the cake with a bamboo skewer and then pour the caramel over the top of the cake. Eat nice and warm or let cool a little bit before serving. I think it taste great both ways.