Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

This is creamy and delicious! It's kind of like a cold peanut butter cheesecake! Yumm-O!!!

1 8oz package cream cheese - softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
12 oz whipped cream
2 chocolate graham cracker crusts
Chocolate syrup
Chopped salted peanuts

Mix cream cheese and sugar together until well incorporated. Add peanut butter and milk and mix together. If using a stand mixer be sure to scrape down the bowl often to avoid clumps. Fold the whipped cream in.

Pour 1/2 the mixture into one pie crust, and 1/2 into the other. Garnish with the chocolate syrup and chopped peanuts. Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving. Can be eaten at room temperature, but much better when frozen!

Lemon Pull Aparts

These tasted like Orange Rolls, but better! They were soooo good!!!

Rolls:
12 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed but still cold
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp butter, melted
Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Cut rolls in half and place in a greased 9×13″ pan. Drizzle with the melted butter. Mix lemon zest and sugar together in a small bowl. Sprinkle HALF of the lemon sugar mixture over the rolls.

Cover and let raise till doubled. Sprinkle remaining sugar mixture on top. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from pan. Combine glaze ingredients. Drizzle over rolls while still warm.

Spicy Honey Chicken

This would be a great rub/glaze for seafood as well! It was sweet and savory all at the same time. Definitely a must to use thighs!

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs; about 2lbs
2 t vegetable oil

Rub:
2 t granulated garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder

Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.
Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it’s not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchilada's

Three words…OH MY GOSH!!! This is so good it should be illegal! The honey makes it sweet, the cumin makes it savory, and all the cheesy goodness just puts it over the top! Not to mention the delicious creamy/spicy sauce! This is a MUST try!

3/4 cup honey
Lime juice (1-2 limes)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 3 chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Mix the first five ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (I tossed mine together in a ziploc bag in the morning and let it sit in the refrigerator all day). Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

***I made this in two 8x8 pans and baked one for dinner that night and froze the other one for a later night...I will just bake it at 350 for one hour instead of 30 min.

To Die for Crock Pot Roast

1 (4 -5 lb) beef roast, any kind (I used a bottom round chuck roast and it was sooo good!
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package brown gravy mix, dry
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package dried Italian salad dressing mix
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package ranch dressing mix, dry
1/2 cup Beef stock
Place beef roast in crock pot. Mix the dried mixes together in a bowl and sprinkle over the roast. Pour the beef stock around the roast. Cook on high for 7-9 hours.

I served the pot roast for four people and used the leftovers (including all the juice) for...

Recipe Round Two
1 loaf French bread
Sliced Colby Jack cheese
Softened butter

Cut french bread into slices 1/4 inch thick. Slice pot roast into thin slices and put on a slice of french bread, put a layer of cheese and another slice of bread on top and butter the outsides of both top and bottom bread. I grilled on my George Forman, but you can also cook it in a skillet on the stove top. Serve with heated pot roast Au Ju sauce. So good and soooo easy!

Manilada's

This was soooo tasty! It is a labor of love with all the steps, but I promise the end is result is completly worth it. It is smooth, rich, and tangy...all the components of a great dinner!

1 (8-ounce) package manicotti shells - I used 2 packages because I wanted to make sure I had enough that turned out.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup sour cream

For the Tomatillo sauce:
1 pound tomatillos, quartered
1 small red onion, quartered
1 jalapeno, halved
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the cheese sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream, room temperature
2 cups grated fontina cheese
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Boil manicotti in salted water for 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water and set pasta aside.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute more. Remove pan from heat and mix in chicken, tomatoes, cilantro and sour cream. Set aside.

To make the Tomatillo Sauce:
Place tomatillos, onion, jalapeno and garlic in a baking dish. Toss with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tomatillos turn golden around the edges and are soft, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and blend ingredients together until smooth. Use reserved pasta water to thin sauce, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
To make the cheese sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Add cheese and nutmeg and stir until melted. Season sauce with salt, to taste.

To assemble: Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Stuff manicotti tubes with chicken mixture and assemble in a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over the top. Bake 30 minutes until cheese is bubbling. Drizzle tomatillo sauce on Maniladas before serving.

Chicken 'N' Biscuits

This is comfort food to the max...it's like an easy "chicken pot pie" recipe...and a lot healthier!

1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken (I used 10 chicken tenders)
1 (10.75 ounce...the small one) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (99% fat free tastes the same and saves on calories!)
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional- i didn't use bacon and it was still good)
1 1/2 cups biscuit/baking mix (i used one of those biscuit bags where you "just add water"-like the muffin ones... much easier)
2/3 cup milk (if you use the mix)
1 (2.8 oz.) can french-fried onions (key ingredient for flavor!)

In a large bowl, combine the vegetables, chicken, soup, milk, 1 cup cheese and bacon if desired. Pour into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, combine biscuit mix and milk. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto chicken mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 20-22 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Top with onions and remaining cheese. Bake 3-4 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted.

Oriental Chicken Salad

This is my ABSOLUTE favorite menu item at Applebee's, but being on a starving student budget it's hard to justify spending that kind of money on a salad. I found this recipe from a "copycat" website where they go to restaurants and either get the recipe, or try their best to get as close as they can.

At first I was a bit skeptical to try this recipe because the Applebee's version is basically perfect and nothing can compare; however, I was AMAZED at how close it is! Mine didn't turn out as thick as Applebee's, but the flavor components were all there and it was a small fraction of the price, and it fed 4 people! I'm so excited! This will definitely be made many times in our house!

Oriental Dressing
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Salad
12 chicken strips (I like the Costco ones!)
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup red cabbage
1 cup napa cabbage
1/2 carrot, julienned or shredded
1 green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
1/3 cup chow mein noodles
**To expedite the process and not have too much waste, instead of the red cabbage, napa cabbage and ½ carrot, I just purchased the cole slaw prepared mix for $1.28. It was cheaper than buying all tree and already cut up!

Mix all the dressing ingredients well and refrigerate for 2 hours. Cook chicken strips according to package directions. While chicken is cooking, prepare salad by tossing the chopped romaine with the chopped red cabbage, Napa cabbage, and carrots (or cole slaw mix). Sprinkle sliced green onion on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle almonds over the salad, then the chow mein noodles.

Cut the chicken into small bite-size chunks. Place the chicken onto the salad forming a pile in the middle. I sprinkled a bit of Colby jack cheese over the top of the chicken too and it was really good! Serve with salad dressing drizzled over it or on the side.