Heart Pancakes

It’s February!  Is it just me or did January seem like the longest month ever?! 

Today I am excited to share with you a perfect Valentiney meal.  My husband and daughter love pancakes.  We spiced things up a bit the other night when we had them for dinner and had our pancakes heart style.

I don’t have a fancy heart pancake thingy, but I did have heart shaped cookie cutters and a clothespin:

Worked just great for me!

 

Added some heart shaped butter.  Just like cutting out sugar cookies, out of a slice of butter, with tiny little heart cookie cutters.  I just couldn’t resist buying them at Michael's the other day!

Just make sure butter is fairly cold, like straight out of the fridge cold. 

 

Even easier just put a little heart butter on regular old pancakes.  Hope you enjoy!  Would love to hear about how you are sharing the love this month!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

These Enchiladas are oh so good and easy to whip up.  They are my favorite dinner to make and we eat them like every-other week. 

I first had them at my good friend, Angela’s house.  We used to have Sunday Dinner every Sunday and would rotate between us three friends.  It was awesome A) because I only had to cook dinner every three Sundays.  And B) because my two friends are fabulous cooks and would always cook something tasty, so I got lots of new recipes.  Sadly we no longer live close to each other, rather I moved away from them, tear . . . So one Sunday Angela made these enchiladas and I told her she had to send me the recipe.  I waited until Monday night to send her a kind Facebook message reminding her I really wanted the recipe!

The message might have sounded something like this:

Not to sound naggy or impatient, really I know you're busy, but I REEEAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYY want that recipe! I can still taste the goodness! Oh so good! In case you need it my email is: ashlie.fackrell@gmail.com, that's ashlie {dot} fackrell (as in my name with a period in the middle {at} (as in I had this delish chicken enchilladas at your house and I must have the recipe) gmail {dot} com. Ok that's all. See you soon.
Love ya,
Ash

To which she replied:

Um wowzers calm down chicka! ha ha I 'm glad you liked them.

Which might be code for “I think you are crazy and might casually avoid you from now on.”  But I didn’t care, I HAD TO HAVE THAT RECIPE!!  And she gave it to me, so that was all that mattered. 

I tell you this quaint story so you’ll know how good they really are!!

 

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

{Ingredients}

6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (3 small limes)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I use 2-3 chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack and Colby Jack cheese, mixed and shredded

1 1/2 - 16 ounces cans green enchilada sauce
1 1/4 cup heavy cream

{To Make}
Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour.

Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce with 1/4 cup heavy cream on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan.

Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese and drip about 2-3 tablespoon of the mixed sauce (green enchilada sauce and heavy cream) and roll. Fill pan with rolled enchiladas.

Save about 1-2 cups of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the remaining cream. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with leftover cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes and then broil for 2 min to brown the cheese.

 

Now enjoy life as you know it before you make and eat these, because after that life will NEVER be the same!

 

Photo Courtesy: Whipped Cream On Top

Spinach Salad

I am a picky eater.  But boy do I love this Spinach Salad With Sugared Almonds and Poppy Seed Dressing, but we just call it Spinach Salad.  It is definitely something new and refreshing compared to your regular, iceburg lettuce, tomato, and ranch dressing salad.  Don’t be scared, it is still super simple to make!

We had this at Thanksgiving this year, but it is yummy all year long.  Your friends will be so impressed that you made your own sugared almonds and dressing (like it’s really that hard!  But don’t tell them that!)

{Spinach Salad}
1 head lettuce

1 bunch spinach

3/4 lb. sliced mushrooms

3/4 lb. grated Swiss or Mozzarella Cheese

1 red onion

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup mandarin oranges, drained

1/2 cup slivered almonds

3 Tbsp. sugar

 

 

{Dressing}


3/4 Tbsp. poppy seeds

1/3 Cup White vinegar

3/4 cup oil

1/3 cup  sugar

1 Tbsp. grated onion (opt)

3/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. prepared mustard

 

{Directions}

Cook sugar and almonds over low heat until light brown. 

Mix first 5 ingredients; sprinkle almonds, bacon, and oranges over the top.  Serve with Poppy seed dressing. 

 

{A few things to note}

The oranges can make things a little soggy so add them at the last minute.

I always double the almonds and sugar because they make this salad so yummy and special.

But watch the almonds very carefully when you are cooking them, once the sugar starts to get brownish and forms little clumps things go quickly and burned almonds and sugar stink!

It is super delicious to add Crasins and/or strawberries.

This makes a ton of dressing, we fed eight people at Thanksgiving and we hardly made a dent in the dressing.  But it keeps well in the fridge.

 

 

{Photos Courtesy:  Food.People.Want}

Bacon-Chicken Stuffed Pizza Rolls {From Our Best Bites}

You know how some times people say things are delicious, and then you try it, but really don’t think it’s as delicious as they said it was going to be.  Well, when I read this at Our Best Bites, 

I'm serious when I tell you these are amazing. They were actually way better than I had imagined them. Although how could you possibly go wrong with warm dough, gooey cheese, and crispy bacon, dipped in ranch. You can't. You just can't. 

I thought maybe it was going to be like one of those moments when you are a little disappointed.  I am here to tell you ladies (and gentlemen? Are you out there too?  We’ll include you just in case) that these rolls stuffed with goodness, did not disappoint one bit.  They were a hit.  Even our two year-old ate them and that’s saying something!

First I made this yummy {PIZZA DOUGH} again from Our Best Bites.  I am not a bread maker by any stretch of the imagination.  Really people it’s bad.  For Christmas a few years ago my husband got me a bread maker because he knew how much I love fresh baked homemade bread.  I cannot even bake bread in my bread maker to save my life.  I won’t even tell you about my french bread embarrassment and utter failure.  But this pizza dough recipe is so easy.  Follow the directions, and you can do it too my friends.  I actually doubled the recipe and made the stuffed rolls, bread sticks, and cinna-sticks. 

See how pretty:

And they tasted oh so yummy

With the other half of the dough I made Bacon-Chicken Stuffed Pizza Rolls. Which were equally oh so yummy. 

So if you are looking for something new to try for dinner, I would highly recommend these tasty rolls.   

Chunky Monkey Pancakes

{THIS} is what we had for dinner last night.  Tried a new recipe from Our Best Bites, Chunky Monkey Pancakes.  They were a hit, scrumdiddlyumtious!  And the Little Miss had a ball mashing up the bananas for me. 

We skipped making the “Peanut Butter Syrup” and spread peanut butter on the pancakes then topped them with syrup.  (I know, talk about the healthiest dinner ever!  We had fruit, does that make it better?)

{Photo courtesy: Our Best Bites}

{Haunted} Hawaiian Haystacks

The other night I wanted to cook something “new” for dinner, it seems like we have had the same five or six things for the past forever and a year  month or so. 

I decided on Hawaiian Haystacks, yummy!  I don’t know why we don’t have these more often I love them!  I used this recipe from Family Favorite Recipes.

Since we’re nearing Halloween and all things creepy and scary, I decided these were going to be Haunted Hawaiian Haystacks!  I drew some spooky faces on big marshmallows with an edible marker (I love my edible markers!  I originally bought them for this project, but have used them a ton!  They’re fairly inexpensive, especially if you use a 40% off coupon at Michael’s)

We then piled our haystack/rice on top of our spooky friends.

Added toppings and enjoyed our Haunted Hawaiian Haystacks.  Kids AND adults enjoyed our simple spooky meal!

 

Hawaiian Haystacks
from Family Favorite Recipes

2 or 3 chicken breasts cooked and cut into small chunks (or canned chicken)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup of milk or chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
pepper to taste
3-4 cups steamed rice/ any kind you like

Combine soup and milk (or chicken broth) to make a gravy. Add the chicken chunks and simmer 10 minutes. Add the sour cream, and stir it in.

Spooky Garnishes:
chow mein noodles (Bat Bones)
diced fresh tomato (Dragon Liver)
sliced olives (Eyeballs)
chopped celery (Witch Lips)
pineapple tidbits (Poisoned Pineapple)
drained mandarin oranges (Pumpkin Slices)
grated cheese (Mini Worms)
slivered almonds (Cat Claws)
coconut (Witch Dandruff)

Coming Back With a Bang! Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

I have neglected this little blog, but have kind of missed it.  So I’m going to try to post more.  And as the title says, I am coming back with a BANG!

 

I love this place:

I tell my husband I could never move to Oregon (where he is from, where my child’s grandparents live, where he DREAMS of living) because they don’t have Cafe Rio.

But let’s be honest, we are on a budget and in reality cannot eat there EVERY night.

I have found a pretty great substitute for my Cafe Rio sweet pork cravings.  It takes some time a prep, mostly marinating and shredding the pork.  But is super simple and absolutely de-lish-e-ous!  I love to have it on Sundays because it’s a throw it in the crock pot kind of meal. 

Here’s the recipe courtesy of Favorite Family Recipes (which is a great blog, and would be even if it didn’t have this awesome recipe).

 

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)  {Ash Note:  I used about 2 1/2 pounds and served five adults with quite a bit left over.}
3 cans Coke (NOT diet) {Ash Note:  My SIL said she uses Dr. Pepper and loves it.}
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work)
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.  {Ash Note:  I do this part while we are at Church.  And I find the pork shreds better if it is cooled down.}

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.
Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

 

We use the fresh tortillas you can by at Sam’s and Costco, my MIL in Oregon says she finds hers at Walmart, but I’ve never found them there here in Utah.  Also next time we have this am going to get those little tin/aluminum round disposable dishes Cafe Rio serves their food in.  I saw a three pack at the Dollar Tree the other day!

Spaghetti a la Philly

I really don’t like spaghetti, but my husband had requested it for dinner. so I hit the internet/blogosphere in search of something spaghetti-ish. I found this recipe, and tried it. We thought it was pretty good. I liked it better than regular spaghetti and it really wasn’t hard to make. Although it did remind me of some kind of homemade Hamburger Helper!

Spaghetti a la Philly

1 - lb lean ground beef, browned & drained
1 jar (24 -26 oz) Prego Traditional Italian Spaghetti Sauce or your use favorite brand
1/2 package (4 ounces) Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 - (8 ounces) pkg spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 - tablespoons Kraft grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the beef in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat. Stir the sauce and cream cheese in the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 3 minutes or until the cream cheese is melted, stirring often. Place the spaghetti into a large bowl. Add the beef mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and serve.

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
(about 1 1/2 cups each)

{Photo courtesy: http://www.mommyskitchen.net/}

How do you switch up your over done recipes?

Ranch Quesadillas

I came across a new post in my Google Reader the other day, with a recipe for Baked Ranch Quesadillas from Life Should Be Delicious.  It truly sounded good, so I thought I’d give it a try.  It reminded me of a favorite enchilada recipe, but with corn, which was such a yummy addition!  Even my 18 month old gobbled it up!  We used these delicious uncooked flour tortillas that you can by at Sam’s and Costco.  So I didn’t bake my quesadillas in the oven, I just cooked them in a pan on the stove. 

Ranch Quesadillas

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded  {I used a can of chicken}
1-2 c. Monterey Jack Cheese  {I used Colby Jack, cause that’s what we had}
1/2 c. prepared ranch dressing
1/4 c. diced green chiles
1 small can shoepeg corn
1/2 c. salsa
Flour tortillas
butter

Combine chicken, cheese, dressing, chilies, corn, and salsa. Mix well. Butter one side of tortillas. Place 1/2 c. of chicken mixture on un-buttered side of tortilla and fold in half to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until golden and slightly crisp.

Serve with guacamole, salsa, and more ranch dressing.  {We ate our quesadillas with some Rice-a-Roni Mexican Style rice and sour cream}

{Photo courtesy:  http://life-should-be-delicious.blogspot.com/}