Peppermint Bark Popcorn

This was delicious! Inspired by the recipe from http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/12/peppermint-bark-popcorn/

1 bag microwave popcorn, popped and unpopped kernels removed.
white chocolate almond bark, candy melts or could probably use white chocolate chips
chocolate candy melts
2 candy canes, crushed finely

Put popped popcorn in a bowl. Melt white chocolate and pour over popped popcorn. Stir it to coat. Sprinkle crushed candy cane over the popcorn and stir it around so it gets all over the popcorn (if possible, reserve some to sprinkle over the top at the end). Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and pour the popcorn out onto it. Spread it out into one layer. Melt the chocolate candy melts and drizzle it over the whole thing. Sprinkle any reserved candy canes (or you could use red/green sprinkles) over the whole thing and let it cool.

Perfect for a potluck, party, or for giving to your visiting teachees! 

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Adapted from Pioneer Woman's recipe:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/11/broccoli-cheese-soup/

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
1 onion, diced small
1/3 cup flour
milk
broth or water and bouillon
broccoli (mine was pre-cut but I think it was probably around 4 heads, cut into florets)
a pinch of nutmeg
grated cheese (cheddar and colby jack are what I used)
salt
pepper

In a large pot, melt the butter and saute the onion until it's translucent. Add the flour to make a roux. Let it cook a little and then add milk. I wasn't measuring but probably added 1.5-2 cups. Add the broccoli and then add some broth or water/bouillon cubes - enough liquid to cover the broccoli. When I am determining how much bouillon to add, I always add one extra. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper (the nutmeg and pepper deepen the flavor considerably). Let the broccoli cook for around 20 minutes, until it's soft. Then add cheese. I think I added around 2 cups, until it looked right. Stir until it's melted and then serve! I mashed up some of the broccoli with a whisk but you don't need to do that.

This one turned out just as good as Panera (the rave reviews were that it's better).

Crock Pot Chicken Dinner

Adapted from http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com/2011/05/easiest-dinner-ever.html

I really don't know quite what to call this, but it is so good. Definitely one of our favorites!

1.5-ish lbs chicken (boneless/skinless, can be from the freezer and thawed or fresh)
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans corn, drained
2 cans rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies)
1 packet taco seasoning
8 oz cream cheese (needs to be 1/3 fat or original, not fat free)

Put chicken in the crock pot, then top it with the canned items and taco seasoning.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Add in the cream cheese (it melts more easily if you cut it into chunks) to the crock pot.
After 30 minutes, stir the cream cheese into the chicken mixture.

Serve over rice, with cheese, tomatoes, whatever you think sounds good. Eat it in a burrito, or it's REALLY good on salad (especially the second day when the liquid has absorbed a little).

It also freezes really well. Put all ingredients (except cream cheese) in a gallon ziploc bag. Freeze. When you want to cook it, pull it out of the freezer the night before to thaw, then cook in the crock pot normally. 

The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Quesadillas

We made this last week and thought they were a delicious way to dress up quesadillas. Just a few notes about what we did with this recipe...

I followed her directions for cooking the chicken breasts, but mine didn't cook through in the time she has written. So, I ended up cutting mine into smaller pieces part way through cooking to finish them. Alex added pepper jack cheese for a kick. And, we didn't use any of the garnishes, and they were still yummy (call me cheap or lazy, whichever you prefer ;) ) Here's the link if you want her pictures and funny commentary, otherwise I copied and pasted her recipe below... http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2014/09/chicken-quesadillas/

Ingredients

• 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 2 Tablespoons Taco Or Tex-mex Seasoning
•  Vegetable Or Olive Oil For Frying
• 1 whole Large Onion
• 1 whole Large Bell Pepper (color Of Your Choice)
• 12 whole Small Flour Tortillas (fajita Size)
• 2-1/2 cups Grated Cheddar-Jack Cheese (or Straight Jack)
•  Hot Sauce (I Used Cholula)
•  Butter, For Frying
•  Salsa, For Serving
•  Sour Cream, For Serving
•  Cilantro, For Serving
•  Jalapeno Slices, For Serving

Preparation Instructions

Heat vegetable oil or olive oil in a skillet over high heat. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with taco seasoning. Add the chicken to the skillet and saute over medium-high heat until done, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet, allow to cool slightly, and dice into cubes. Set aside.

In the same skillet over medium-high heat, throw in the onions and peppers and cook until the veggies are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Melt 1/2 tablespoon of the butter in a separate skillet or griddle over medium heat and lay a flour tortilla in the skillet. Build the quesadillas by laying a good amount of grated cheese on the bottom tortilla, and then arranging the chicken and cooked peppers on the cheese. Top with a little more grated cheese and top with a second tortilla.

When the tortilla is golden on the first side, carefully flip the quesadilla to the other side, adding another 1/2 tablespoon butter to the skillet at the same time. Continue cooking until the second side is golden.

Repeat with the remaining tortillas and fillings. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa, sour cream, jalapeno slices, and cilantro.

Cilantro Rice

From Dana!

Cilantro rice

-2 cups rice - 4 cups water
-2 chicken bullion
-2 tsp. Minced garlic
-1 cup cilantro(more or less depending on how much you like cilantro;)).
-1 1/2 tsp. Cumin ( I will add a little more because I love cumin.
-1 small can diced green chilies
-Dash of salt
-2 tbsp. Butter

Put all ingredients except the cilantro and chilies into your rice cooker or pot and boil. Stir every 5 to 10 mins so the bullion doesn't dissolve in one spot!! When the rice is done mix in the cilantro and green chilies.

World's best chocolate chip cookies!

-1 cup butter
-3/4 c white granulated sugar
-1 cup brown sugar
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla
-3 cups flour
-3/4 tsp salt
-3/4 tsp baking soda
-1 bag chocolate chips (Ghirardelli is the best of course;) ).

Cream butter and sugars together. Add in eggs and vanilla. In separate bowl combine flour (to be honest I use probably 2 and 3/4 cups flour because the cookies here seem to dry out easier) salt and baking soda. Add dry mixture to creamed mixture and mix well. Hand mix in the chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350

Grease cookie sheet. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons and bake for 8-10 mins.

Mexican Haystacks

We love these at our house. It's a little twist on normal Hawaiian Haystacks.

-1 lb ground turkey

-1 large jar salsa (at least two cups worth, 3-4 is best you just don't want the meat to be dry)

-garlic powder

-1 mango

-1 avocado

-1 red pepper

-Cheese

-Ranch(optional)

Cook the ground turkey until it's cooked all the way through. Mix in one tsp. Garlic salt. Add in the salsa until it is all covered. Heat for a couple of mins just to warm the salsa up.

Dice the mango, avocado, and bell pepper.

Serve meat over cilantro rice (Cilantro Rice Recipe) or regular rice.

Add mango, avocado, and red pepper toppings. Sprinkle with cheese and ranch.

Enjoy!

Sweet Pulled Pork

I love this recipe and it is SUPER simple.

-1 Pork tenderloin (I've always used a tenderloin, but there may be a better piece of pork that works for pulled pork, I'm not sure. The tenderloin works for me though).

-1 small can El pato chile fresco sauce. (You can find this at walmart. It is a small yellow and green can, and I usually find it next to the other enchilada sauces and green chilies.

-1 small can tomato sauce

-1 cup brown sugar

-1/2 cup water

Put all the ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on high for at least 6 hrs. The last 30 mins shred the pork with a fork.

We eat it on salad with my cilantro rice (Cilantro Rice Recipe). Black beans, cheese, and ranch.

The kids like to eat some thrown into a quesadilla.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil (don't skip this, very important so you don't ruin your pan!)

Wash any dirt off of your sweet potatoes and cut the ends off (as well as any other weird looking spots).

Bake for 30 mins, then turn them over and bake for 20-30 minutes longer.

Remove from oven and let them cool for a few minutes before serving.

These are so good with butter and a little salt, or some cinnamon and brown sugar, or however you want! I even like them plain. They work well with sweet or savory. Some people like to eat the skins, some people remove them before eating. They also save very well.