White Chicken Chili

4 Chicken Breasts
3 cans of chicken broth about 10 oz each
2 cans of Great Northern Beans 10 oz each
2 cans of shoepeg white corn
2 cans of green chilies 4 oz each
1 cup chopped onion
1-2 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Place chicken in large pot with broth, onion, and garlic and cook med heat for 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken and shred, add the rest of the ingredients (do not drain any of the cans) and cook for another 30 mintues.
Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and shredded Monterey jack cheese!!

Broccoli Alfredo

Yummy way to get your kids to eat broccoli!

1 tbls of kosher salt
¾ of pound of fettuccine pasta
4 cups of broccoli florets
4 tbls of butter
1 cup parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Place salt in boiling water and add fettucine to cook to al dente. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, add broccoli. Drain in colander reserving 1 cup of the water. Place butter in the pot and stir until melted. Add ½ cup of the water and 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese. Add the fettuccine and broccoli and toss to coat. Remove from heat and add the remaining cheese. Serve and add more cheese if desired!
***I changed the recipe a little when I made it: I used half and half instead of the pasta water to make it a little creamier - if you don't need those calories you could use regular milk also or a combination of milk and pasta water - just play with it and see how you like it! I also got some chicken breast tenders, seasoned them with oregano, basil and garlic salt and cooked them in some butter and olive oil and served them on top of the pasta - it was really yummy!****

Asparagus, Snap pea, and Avacado Pasta

Thanks for sharing Kristi!

1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2 inches
1 lb. sugar snap peas
1 lb bow tie pasta
4 tbl of butter
2 garlic cloves minced
1 ripe avocado cut into chunks
½ cup of fresh basil or parsley (you can used dried if you want, just use a tbls of it)
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Bring salted water to a boil and cook asparagus for 2 minutes. Add snap peas, cook for 30 seconds. Scoop out veggies and set aside.
Return water to a boil and add pasta, cook al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup water.
In the same pot, melt 2 tbls of butter over med heat and veggies and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing veggies for about 2 minutes. Add remaining butter, pasta, avocado, herbs, cheese, and reserved water. Toss to combine and serve with more cheese!

Christmas Pretzels

This is what I made for my neighbor's and friends for Christmas treats this year! It was SO easy and my kids LOVED being able to help!

1 bag square pretzels (we used the butter pretzels)
1 0r 2 bags of Hershey peppermint kisses or Hershey hugs candies ( we made some of each for some variety...)
1 bag christmas colored M&M's

Place pretzels on a cookie sheet, top each pretzel with either a peppermint kiss or a hug (center them as best as you can!). place in 350 degree oven for 1-2 minutes (the hugs melt faster due to the white chocolate...). You just want them to soften not completely melt. Pull out of the oven and immediatly top with one M&M, pushing down softly. Very pretty looking and tasty!!!

Chicken Enchilada's

So melty, cheesy, gooey, delicious!

This is my favorite chicken enchilada recipe, takes a little time, but it's worth it!

2 c. cooked diced chicken ( you can use canned chicken in this recipe)
2 T. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (16 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1 t. sugar
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. basil
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. oregano
8 flour tortillas
3 c. monterey jack cheese, grated
1 c. cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 c. sour cream

Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chilies, sugar, and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Spoon some of the sauce over the tortillas one at a time to soften a little. (This really helps when you are rolling them up!) Top with a few pieces of chicken and both kinds of cheese, reserving about 1 c. of cheese for topping. I usually set out all of my tortillas and do an assembly line - my kids like to help! Roll up and place seam side down in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Blend sour cream with the rest of the sauce and pour over top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Kevin's Award Winning Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is one of the best chocolate chip cookie recipes ever! very soft and delicious! (and they really have won awards!)

2 1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix
1 pkg. ghiradelli milk chocolate chips (this brand tastes the best!)
1 t. baking soda
1 c. room temp. butter
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs

Mix flour and baking soda. Combine butter, sugars, vanilla, pudding mix in a big mixer and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs, and gradually add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is the best sweet and sour chicken recipe that I have ever found! My kids love it! I usually double the sauce because we like to spoon the extra over white rice for a great side dish!

3 lbs. chicken breast (I like to pound mine thin)
1 t. garlic salt
black pepper
1 t. MSG ( i never use this)
1 beaten egg ( i usually end up using 2)
4-6 T. cornstarch
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. vinegar (i like to use rice wine vinegar for a fun flavor)
1 c. chicken stock
7 T. ketchup
2 T. soy sauce

Sprinkle chicken with the garlic salt and let stand while you are gathering the other ingredients. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Dip chicken in beaten egg, then in cornstarch. Brown in hot oil. (I usually cook the chicken on med heat so it doesn't burn - you don't need to cook it all the way through because it will finish cooking in the over - just lightly browned on both sides). Place browned chicken in 9x13 baking dish. Meanwhile, heat sugar,vinegar, chicken stock, ketchup, and soy sauce in a saucepan until mixed together. Pour over chicken. Bake uncovered for 1 hour, turning once or twice. Serve over white rice!