Parmesan Ranch Chicken

Ingredients

• 3-4 boneless chicken breasts (mine were LARGE, so 3 was plenty cut up into strips)

• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
• Italian seasoning, to taste
• 1 cup ranch dressing (I made my own, but you could used bottled as well)
• oil for cooking

Directions

Pour oil to cover the bottom of your skillet and set on medium-high heat.

Pour some ranch dressing on a plate (or in a bowl).  Mix bread crumbs, cheese and seasonings in a shallow bowl.

Dip chicken in the dressing and then coat in the bread crumbs, and place in pre-heated skillet.

Delicious Pineapple Bundt Cake

Pineapple Cake
1 yellow cake mix
1 small box vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/3 cup oil
20 oz. can crush pineapple, divided

Glaze
¼ cup butter
¾ cup crushed pineapple
2 cups powder sugar

Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Grease and flour Bundt pan or angel food cake pan. Set aside ¾ cup of crushed pineapple for glaze.
In a large mix bowl combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil and remaining pineapple. Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 
For glaze; in small sauce pan melt butter add the ¾ cup crushed pineapple and powder sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved. Spoon glaze over cooled cake.

Spinach and Chicken Tortilla Bake

This recipe is spicy!    You can control the heat by varying the salsa and the cheese that you use in the recipe.  The first time I made it, I used pepper jack cheese and a salsa verde that said, “HOT!” on it.    I was only able to eat a single piece, which filled me up for the rest of the evening.   I have heard that spicy food fills you up and suppresses your appetite, and I can certainly attest to that fact based on eating a single slice of this.

This is a quick and easy dinner that will become a staple in our dinner rotation.  It’s great heated up as a leftover also.

Spinach and Chicken Tortilla Bake

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 chicken cutlets (about 1 pound)
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups store-bought salsa verde (use mild you don't want it real spicy/hot)
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
4 large (8″) flour tortillas
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 cups baby spinach (about 1/4 pound)
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese (if you don't like it spicy/hot use a milder cheese)

Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then shred the meat.

Whisk together the salsa verde and ricotta; season with salt and pepper. In a greased 9-inch square baking dish, layer one-third of the salsa mixture, tortillas, chicken, onion, spinach and pepper jack; repeat twice. Bake until golden-brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Italian Cream Sodas

What you'll need:

• Club Soda
• Half & Half
• Torani Syrups
• Ice

To make one Italian Cream Soda, you'll need:

• 1/2 cup Club Soda
• 3 TBSP Torani Syrup {our favorite combo was Raspberry Vanilla- 2 TBSP Raspberry to 1 TBSP Vanilla}
• 1 TBSP Half & Half
• 3 ice cubes
• whipped cream and a cherry for the top!

Add ice cubes to glasses. Measure out about 1/2 cup Club Soda  and pour into each glass. {If you have larger glasses, you can double all of the ingredients.}

Measure out 3 TBSP Torani syrup. You can find this type of syrup in the coffee section at just about any grocery store. I found vanilla everywhere but had a hard time finding any fruity flavors. I finally found Raspberry at Walmart. The bottles cost about $3.50 each and will make about 12-14 of the drinks at least. 

Our favorite combo was a mix of vanilla and raspberry as detailed above. Yum. 

Add the syrup to the soda. Just before serving add the 1 TBSP of Half & Half to the soda/ syrup mixture. This is the fun part- as the cream seeps down it makes a really cool design on the glass. Try and not shake the glasses around too much so that the design is preserved- serve with whipped cream and a cherry on top, as well as something to stir with prior to drinking. It's fun to admire the cool swirls of the syrup and cream, but encourage everyone to give it a little stir before drinking so that all the flavors meld. 

ENJOY!

Cherry Cheese Coffee Cake

Cake & filling
2 (8 oz. each) pkgs. refrigerated crescent rolls
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
21 oz. can cherry pie filling

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll crescent dough and arrange 12 of the triangles in a circle with wide ends toward the outside edge of the Large Round Stone - the points will not meet in the center. Lightly flour and roll out the seams making a 14" circle with a 3" hole in the center. Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg & vanilla and spread over dough. Top with pie filling. Cut each of the 4 remaining triangles into thirds (starting at the wide end opposite the point and cutting lengthwise to the point). Arrange over filling evenly in spoke-like pattern. Press ends to seal at center and outer edges. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly. Mix powdered sugar and milk until glaze consistency and drizzle over coffee cake.

Orange Chicken and Veggies Stir Fry

Ingredients:

For the sauce:
•    1/2 cup orange juice
•    1 tbsp grated orange zest
•    2 big garlic cloves
•    1 tbsp oyster sauce
•    2 tbsps rice vinegar
•    2 tbsps soy sauce
•    1 tsp minced ginger
•    A dash of honey, sugar or agave
For the stir-fry:
•    1 lb chicken tender cut into strips
•    3 tbsp cornstarch
•    4 cups chopped mushrooms, celery, carrots, snap peas and broccoli – must be fresh.
•    1/2 cup chopped onion
•    1 tbsp olive oil
•    salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.    Put all sauce ingredients in a blender. Blend and taste if you’d like to add sweetness to it.
2.    Pour sauce into pan and heat for 5 mins, then put in a separate bowl.
3.    Wash the pan.
4.    Spice the chicken with salt & pepper.
5.    Add the cornstarch and rub the chicken with it.
6.    Boil the broccoli for about 5 mins, watch that it doesn’t get too soft, it stay firm.
7.    Place a paper towel on a plate and lay the chopped vegetables on it.
8.    Dry the pan.
9.    Cook the onion on olive oil and chicken for about 4 mins – make sure the chicken is cooked!
10.    Throw in the rest of the vegetables and stir-fry for 2 mins.
11.    Add drops of sauce between each stir.
12.    Repeat, adding a few tablespoons every 15 secs, for the sauce to cook down.
13.    Place the stir-fry over hot rice.
14.    Serve.

Complete Steak Dinner in CrockPot

Complete Steak Dinner in CrockPot
Use a thick 3/4 inch steak
Pour a 1/2 cup A1 or Heinz 57 sauce over meat
cover with a layer of foil
add foil wrapped potatoes
and foil wrapped frozen corn cobs
cook on low for 6 hours
Full steak dinner any night of the week! This can also be done with thick pork chops or chicken breasts and BBQ sauce. The whole meal cooks in the slow cooker.