Jalapeno poppers!

These are great for an appetizers or as an entree! We had them for dinner with some pasta and a salad and it was perfect!  If you host game day parties these would be a huge hit!

 What you need:

• 4 jalapenos
•  8 bacon slices
• 2 raw sausages
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/4 cup grated pepper jack
• 1/4 cup grated cheddar
• 1/2 t smoked paprika
• 2 green onions, chopped

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Cut tops off jalapenos, then slice lengthwise. Remove seeds and membranes.
3. Mix cream cheese, chedder, pepper jack, paprika, and green onions.
4. Stuff jalapenos with cheese mixture.
5. Cut sausage lengthwise and then in half.
6. Place a piece of sausage on top of jalapeno.
7. Wrap sausage and jalapeno with a slice of bacon.
8. Cook for 30 minutes.

Tips:
If you have precooked sausage just chunk it up and mix it in with cream cheese mixture.
For a healthier option use half cream cheese and half greek yogurt. Dont use all greek yogurt or it will be too runny.
For less heat rinse Jalapenos out after taking out seeds;
 

Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after handling the jalapenos. (I may have made the mistake of itching my nose....)
Hope you enjoy!

Apple Pear Cranberry Crisp

This is a great breakfast recipe. You could even add some cool whip and serve it as a yummy dessert! There were no leftovers for us!
What you need:

• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups pears (cored, peeled, and cubed)
• 1 1/2 cups apples (cored, peeled and cubed)
• 2 T honey
• 1 1/2 T lemon juice
• 1/2 cup & 1 T flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup butter

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix apples, pears, cranberries, honey, lemon juice, and 1 T flour. 
3. Pour into a greased 9x9 baking dish
4. In separate dish mix brown sugar, oats, walnuts, butter, and 1/2 cup flour until everything combines.
5. Sprinkle with your hands into baking dish.
6. Bake 40 minutes.

 

Ham Fried Rice

This is as good as Take out! Really easy to make too!

What you need: 

• 4 cups cold cooked rice (you can use white or brown) 
• 1 1/2 cups cooked ham, diced
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil 
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup asian slaw   
• 1/2 cup white onion, chopped 
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 eggs 
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce 
• 2 Tablespoon teriyaki sauce

What you do:

1. Heat vegetable and sesame oil in large pan.
2. Add onion, garlic, peas and asian slaw.
3. Cook until tender. Around 5 minutes
4. Add eggs. Mix and cook through.
5. Add rice and ham. Heat through. This only takes a few minutes
6. Add soy sauce and Teriyaki sauce.
7.  Serve Immediatly.

I add extra soy sauce to mine but I let everyone do that at the table. There is so many ways to mix up this recipe. And its a great way to use up leftovers!

Chipotle style Cilantro-Lime Rice

This is a great basic rice recipe. I use it to make burrito bowls.

What you need:

• 1 cup long grain rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 chicken boullian cube
• 2 T lime juice
• 2 T cilantro
• salt

What you do:

1. Bring rice, water, and chicken bouillon to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and cover
3. simmer until tender, about 20-25 minutes
4. Remove from hear
5. Mix in lime juice and cilantro
6. Fluff and serve

Tastes just like Chipotle's rice.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

This is a way yummy recipe. Taste just like the real thing with less work! Only needed slight tweaking to enhance the flavor.



What you need:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 3 cups cooked chicken (make sure you season with salt and pepper when you cook it, I also added a little green onions)
• 2 cups ham
• 8 slices swiss cheese
• 2 cans cream of chicken
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 roll ritz crackers
• 1/2 t smoked paprika
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t parsley

What you do:

1. preheat oven to 350
2. mix cream of chicken soups, milk and sour cream in a bowl and place to the side
3. crush ritz crackers and mix with spices and set aside.
4. Layer ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish.
1. rice
2. chicken
3. swiss cheese
4. ham
5. sauce mixture
6. cracker topping
5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes

We used this recipe to use up christmas ham and it was a great mix up to our usual recipes. I hope your family likes it as much as we did. It is a little heavy so I would definitely serve with a salad. Let me know what you think!

Crockpot Balsalmic Shredded Beef over mashed potatoes

This was an incredible meal! It is one of those meals you can't wait to eat again and again! It will most definitely be put in our monthly rotation!

What you need:

• 1 lb shredded beef
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 brown sugar
• 1/4 cup balsalmic vinegar
• 1 T soy sauce
•  1 t salt
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes
• 1 t garlic powder

What you do:

1. place beef into crock pot
2. Mix all other ingredients together.
3. pour over beef.
4. Cook on low 8 hours.
5. Serve over mashed potatoes

I made a cheesy garlic mashed potatoes to serve them over. I used yellow skin potatoes (leave the skins on for texture), whipping cream, lots of butter, garlic powder, and cheddar chesse.


 
tips:

• Try substituting  sirloin cut into bite size pieces with some mushrooms for a yummy option! Still serve over mashed potatoes.

Amish noodles and boiled chicken thighs Redone!!!!

This recipe takes time but is well worth it! The ingredient list seems a little intimidating but you dont need all the different spices. Just use what you have and what you like. This is a great base recipe. Feel free to play with it and let me know what you like to do!

What you need:

• 4 chicken thighs
• 4 cups egg noodles
• 2 cans chicken stock
• 1 cube chicken boullien
• 2 T butter
• vermont white cheddar cheese(could use something else this is just what I had on hand)
• apple cidar vinegar
• crushed red pepper flakes
• tabasco
• rotisserie chicken seasoning (again just what I had on hand)
• chopped onion
• black peppercorns
• smoked paprika
• white pepper
• bay leaves

What you do:

1.  Remove skin from chicken thighs
2. Start marinating chicken in a mixture of apple cidar vinegar, a little water, crushed red pepper flakes, rotisserie chicken seasoning and a couple splashes of tabasco. Leave on counter.(randomly flip while working on other things)
3. Start making stock to boil chicken in. I did about 4 quarts water then added in a couple hand full of chopped onion, some whole black peppercorns, smoked paprika, white pepper, and 4 bay leaves. Put on high!
4. Once water is on high turn down and let simmer for as long as you can so flavors can combine more.
5. Put butter in large pot and let brown. Make sure it doesnt burn though.
6. Add in chicken broth and boullien cube. Bring to a boil. 
7. Add noodles and return to boil. 
8. As soon as it is boiling cover and turn off heat. Be sure you leave it on the same burner! Stir after 10 minutes.
9. At this point put chicken in simmering stock.
10. After another 10 minutes stir everything again. 
11. If chicken is not  almost done take off the bone and return to stock.
12. After another 10 minutes stir everything again. At this point the noodles should be done. If either ingredient isn't finished leave both in their dish and just let continue cooking. 
13. Once chicken and noodles are done drain the noodles and return to pan. 
14. Grate a couple handfuls white cheddar cheese and mix in.
15. remove chicken from broth and cut up. 
16. mix everything together!

So like I said it takes time but everything develops great flavors!