Vegetable Dip

This dip is just the prefect side to any vegetables you have. It is delicious! I make it for almost any occasion and it makes a ton! i love having it left over cause it just makes me eat my vegetables more even though the dip kind of counter acts with the healthiness of the vegetables :). Piece of advice, make this a day before so the flavors mix together. Enjoy!

2 C. mayonnaise

2 C. of sour cream

1 lg pkg of ranch buttermilk recipe dressing mix

2 C. finely grated cheddar cheese

Waikiki Chicken

This is a yummy baked chicken recipe that is tangy and sweet. I love the combination on pineapple and chicken and so does my husband. He gobbled this right up! It does make you feel like you are in Hawaii at a Luau when you are eating it. I wish it was as easy to get to Hawaii as it was to make this meal! Enjoy some paradise on me. :)

Waikiki Chicken

8 Chicken breasts (or chicken pieces)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. flour

1/3 c. oil ( I didn't use the oil.... just sprayed the pan)

1/4 tsp. pepper

Coat chicken with flour and brown in oil (or in sprayed pan). Put in a shallow pan (if your chicken has skin, place skin side up). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Make sauce.

1 (20oz) can sliced pineapple (I just used cubed)

1 c. sugar

2 TB. cornstarch

1/4 c. apple cider vinegar

1 TB. soy sauce

1/4 tsp. ginger

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 green pepper, cut into 1/4 inch circles

Drain pineapple, pour juice into 2 cup measure and add water to make 1 3/4 c. In sauce pan, combine juice with other ingredients. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Boil 2 minutes and pour over chicken. Bake for 30 min at 350. Add pineapple and green pepper . Bake 30 minutes more. Serve with rice.

(original: Barbara Davis)

Deviled Eggs

I'm cheating a little here.  Deviled eggs are not in the family cookbook, but they are a family recipe from my Bendheim side.  As I'm sure a lot of you are sick of eating your plain hard boiled eggs you colored for Easter - here's another yummy snack for your kids to try.  Here's what you'll need...

18 hard boiled eggs

6 TBS Mayonnaise (I used light)

2 tsp. Mustard

3 tsp. pickle juice.

Salt and Pepper

1/2 a stick of celery - finely chopped

2 kosher dill halves - finely chopped

Paprika for dusting

For hard boiling eggs, I put eggs and water in a pot and bring to a boil, then turn off the flame, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes.  They come out perfect every time.  

Next cut your eggs in half and pop out the yolks .

 Add mayonnaise, mustard, salt pepper and pickle juice (add more or less to get the right consistency)

 Last add your pickles and celery.  Then scoop the mixture into your empty whites.

 Give it a final dusting of paprika and they are ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Chicken Potato Casserole

This Chicken Potato Casserole was one of my favorites as a kid... and still is! Cutting out most of the butter makes it a healthy dish as well. You got your protein, complex carbs and veggies all in one dish! Did I mention it is also yummy and a great meal for kids? It is a real crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

1-(24oz) package frozen, shredded hash browns

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. white or black pepper

1 TB. butter (original recipe calls for 10!)

2/3 c. chopped onions

4 TB. flour

2 c. milk

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1/2 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce

4 c. cooked chicken breast

1 c. frozen peas

Thaw and drain hash browns. Mix with 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper and 6 TB butter (or you can choose to omit the butter... you don't need it to make it work). Save 1 c. for topping; press the rest of potato mixture into the bottom of 9x13" pan. Pelt remaining 4 TB of butter (or just 1 TB for low fat option) and cook onions until soft. Stir in flour and then gradually stir in milk. Cook until mixture boils, continuing to stir frequently until it thickens. Stir in 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, bouillon, basil and worcestershire sauce. Add peas and chicken pieces. Mix well.

Pour mixture over potatoes and sprinkle 1 c. of reserved potatoes over top. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Serves 8

Mexican Corn Dip

This dip is YUMMY and easy.  I made it for a baby shower.  Then we finished off the left overs at my parents house during General Conference.  I accidentally put in double the jalapeno's which made it a little spicier than usual.  Luckily we like spice around here.  So here you go...

Mexican Corn Dip

2 (11oz) cans of Mexican corn with red peepers, drained

1/2 a 4oz can diced jalapeno, drained

2 c. mayonnaise (I used light - I always use light)

2 c. shredded Mexican-style cheese

1/12 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

 Mix everything together and put in greased (I used pam) casserole dish.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Then serve them up with some yummy chips.

I must warn you that you will probably eat too much of this.  I always do.

Healthier Fabulous Lasagna! (Gluten Free Option)

This is my version of "The Best Lasagna. Ever"! I wanted to make it healthier and make a few changes to make it simple, yet healthy. This time when I made it, I was making it for a friend who is off gluten at the moment. So I made it with rice lasagna noodles instead of the regular noodles. You can make it either way. If you want it gluten free, you can use De Boles noodles that you don't even have to boil making this recipe even easier! I don't want to boast... but this lasagna is delicious!!! Even your little ones will like it. James doesn't have teeth yet and even he enjoyed it!

Ingredients

• 1-½ pound 4% fat Ground Beef
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
• 2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
• 4 Tablespoons Dried Italian Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 cups fat free Cottage Cheese
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• ½ cups Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Shredded Light Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles
• (add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)

Preparation Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain any fat, if desired. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.

In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons Italian seasoning, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked). Or if using non-boil noodles, you get to skip this step J

To assemble:

Arrange 4 lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with half of the mozzarella. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.

Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan and mozzarella.

Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

Mom's chocolate chip cookies

So many fond memories of these cookies. I use to love to freeze these and then eat them straight out of the freezer, letting them defrost in my mouth. They are are the best chocolate chip cookies I have tasted! Haws makes a close runner up, but I have to stay true to these. We had some people over for dinner and planned to make pizookies. We realized half way in that we didn't have enough chocolate chips to make the whole batch, so we made two pizzokies. One with semi-sweet chips and one with white chocolate chips. Then we saved the batter until I bought some more semi-sweet chips to make the cookies. I was surprised by how much I like the white chocolate chips pizookie. I think next time I will make more cookies with the white chips.

1 c. butter

1 c. shortening ( I just used 2 c. butter because I refuse to use shortening. If you choose to do the same, just know that your cookies will be a little more flat, but just as delicious.)

2 c. sugar

2 c. brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

4 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp. soda

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 c. chocolate chips

2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Cream butter, shortening (if using) and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Place golf ball-sized dough on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for about 10 min or until little cracks appear but cookies are still soft.

For the pizookies, we place about 1 c. of the cookie dough into pie tins, spread out and baked about 15 min.

Adding in the chocolate chips with the rest of the dough.