Buffalo (Spicy) Chicken Dip

Since it's fall and football time, I thought I'd share this recipe I got from a good friend of mine. I can't take credit for it, but it's so good I have to share it.

Here is what you will need to do:

Boil 3-4 chicken breasts, then either cube or shred them

Place said chicken in a crock pot and combine the following:

Frank's Original Hot Sauce 23oz
2 packages cream cheese
1 cup ranch dressing or bleu cheese dressing

Stir every so often and allow to cook for about an hour to an hour and a half.

Grate sharp cheddar cheese over top and stir in just before serving.

Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ok, this recipe is super, super easy!

1 - Spice Cake Mix* (Duncan Hines is the best one I've found)
1- 15 oz Can of Pumpkin Puree
2 - Large Eggs
1/3 ish cup of water
half bag of mini semi sweet chocolate chips

Beat your eggs together seperate for about 30 -45 seconds, add in the water and beat another 30 - 45 seconds. Then add the cake mix and mix until smooth. Once your batter is smooth, add in pumpkin puree. Mix until evenly distributed. Hand mix in the chocolate chips. At that point, spoon into muffin tin, cupcake liners or mini-cupcakes for lunch time snacks.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

I then frost mine with premade cream cheese frosting. It's super delish. We eat the big ones for breakfast. I made mini ones this time around for Libbi to take in her school lunch.

**If all you have is pumpkin pie mix, change your cake mix to either a yellow or white cake mix. That way you don't double up on the spices!**

Lemonade Pork Chops

Totally stolen from Chelsea Price, cut and pasted from Facebook, but sounds awesome. I can't wait to try it!!

Super easy... this recipe works for about 4-5 chops.Take your pork chops... defrost them a bit if they're frozen. Place them in a baking dish (I use a glass Pyrex one).Then, take some vinegar and pour about 1/2 a cup or so over the pork chops. Massage that into the meat a bit and let it sit for a few minutes. I've read that this helps to tenderize the chops a bit.Then, take 6 oz. of mostly thawed frozen lemonade concentrate (about half a can of the frozen kind) and pour that in the dish. Add about 1/2 cup of soy sauce and a tablespoon or so each of garlic & onion powders. Then... mix this all up with the vinegary chops, massaging it into the meat. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes... the longer the better. I marinated it for about 3 hours today and they turned out awesome.Then, bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Take it out, let it cool down for a few minutes... and enjoy! :)

Cheesy Chicken Soup

2-3 Carrots, diced
2-3 Stalks Celery, diced
1 Onion, Diced
2 cups cooked Chicken, cubed
10 chicken bullion cubes
1 15 oz bottle of cheese whiz
3 cubes butter
1 1/2 c flour

Boil Veggies, drain and retain water. Add enough water to make 3 qts, add bullion cubes. When they are dissolved, add cheese whiz and blend. Melt butter and stir in flour in separate pan. Slowly add butter and flour mixture, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add chicken and veggies.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

I found the original recipe here, but I listened to a few of the recommendations and tweaked it just a little. The recipe below is the one I used. It was super good.



2-3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, cubed
1- 15 oz can of Italian Seasoned Diced Tomatoes
1/4 cup water
1 TBLS minced garlic (I just used powder)
1- 6 oz Box of Chicken Flavor Dry Bread Stuffing Mix
3 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 TBLS Italian Seasoning
Balsamic Vinegar
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Dash of Red Pepper Flakes

1. Preheat the oven to 400 Degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Toss Cubed chicken with Balsamic vinegar, black pepper and garlic powder until coated. Place the chicken in a layer on the bottom of the glass backing dish.
3. In a Large bowl, combine the tomatoes, 2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, dash of red pepper flakes, garlic and the stuffing mix. Add water if needed. Set aside to soften.
4. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of chicken. Then sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
5. Spread the softened stuffing mixture on the top of cheese.
6. Baked uncovered until the chicken cubes have turned white and are no longer pink in the center. About 30 minutes.

***I was trying to make plenty for my family and used two boxes of stuffing. I would not recommend it. The stuffing under the top layer was soggy. Stick to one box.***

Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! It was more complicated than I originally thought it would be, so I'll include my tips:

1/2 c plain bread crumbs
1/4 c plus 2 T grated parmesan cheese
2 T butter, melted
1 1/2 t Italian Seasoning, divided
16 oz broccoli pieces (I used fresh cuz it was on sale, but the recipe calls for frozen)
16 oz cauliflower pieces (same as broccoli)
2 T butter
1 large onion, chopped (I used a handful of chopped onion from Costco)
2 T flour
1 t Garlic salt
1/4 t pepper
1 1/4 c milk
4 oz cream cheese, cubed

Preheat oven to 350. Mix bread crumbs, 2 T parmesan cheese, 2 T melted butter, and 1/2 t Italian seasoning in a bowl and set aside. Cut up any large pieces of broccoli or cauliflower into smaller bite-size chunks.

Melt 2 T of butter in a skillet on medium heat. Add onion, cook and stir about 5 minutes until tender. (This is a lie, if you use the chopped onion it gets done in about 30 seconds. This was the tricky part for me, I had to start over.) Stir in flour, remaining 1 t Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and pepper. (I assembled all of these into a little bowl and had all of the other ingredients ready to go before starting the onion. That way when it was done before I was ready I didn't burn it trying to get everything else assembled.) Add milk, stir and cook until thickened and bubbly. Add cream cheese and remaining 1/4 c parmesan cheese. Cook and stir until cream cheese is melted. Add veggies, toss to coat. Spoon into two quart baking dish, sprinkle evenly with bread crumb mixture.

At this point I put it in the fridge and took it to Monroe the next day. It was kind of watery, I don't think it would have been if I'd have immediately baked it. Bake 40 minutes or until heated through and top is lightly browned.

Beef Stew

Ok, I borrowed this recipe from Jamie that I work with. I tweaked it a little, but for the most part, I used this method.

• 5 to 7 lb chuck roast, I used about 3 lbs of stew meat that I purchased
• 6 to 8 oz of corn, I used a frozen bag
• 6 to 8 oz of peas, I used a frozen bag
• 12 to 16 oz of carrots, baby carrots work, but I like to cut mine up, it's good for the soul to chop
• 6 to 8 oz of fresh cut green beans, drained
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic flavor. (My family doesn't really eat tomatoes, so I omitted these and just added the spices to the stew.)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 4-6 potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 beef stew seasoning packet, I took Jamie's advice and used McCormick's brand seasoning.
• 2 to 3 beef bullion cubes
• Garlic Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 4-6 cups of water

I did this the easy way, I put the meat, the water, the bullion cubes, basil, oregano and garlic powder, carrots, onion and corn in the crock pot and set it to low for about 6 hours. I'm kind of picky about the consistency of my potatoes, so I boiled the potatoes for about 7 minutes and added them about 2 hours before dinner with the peas and beans. That way when it was ready, the potatoes were perfect and not over cooked. I also added one cup of cold water mixed with some flour when I added the potatoes to thicken up the soup. Thanks to my mom for that idea. (This required that I remove about a cup of soup from the crock pot.)

It was excellent stew for a cold day and it made a ton, so there will be lots of leftovers. You will need a large crock-pot to fit everything in, or you will need to reduce the water and meat portions. You can never have too many veggies!