Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Broccoli (as much as you want)
2 -4 Chicken Breast or Tenders
1 cup Mayo/Miracle Whip
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Bread Crumbs
Grated Cheddar Cheese

Begin by cutting the broccoli up into bite size chunks.
Boil the broccoli. (It doesn't need to be completely cooked, because you'll finish later)
Drain the broccoli and set aside.
Boil the chicken breasts until thoroughly cooked.
Remove the chicken and cut into bite size chunks.

In a bowl.
Mix the cans of soup with the mayo/miracle whip. (You can use one or the other. I just use a little of both)
Then add the lemon juice.
I smell or taste it to make sure it's what I want.

Place a very small amount of the mixture on the bottom of the pan.
Place the broccoli at the bottom of a glass baking dish.
Place the chicken on top of the broccoli.
Pour the rest of the sauce/mixture over the broccoli and chicken.
Top with bread crumbs.
Cover with tin foil.

Since the chicken and broccoli are already cooked, you are just heating up the sauce and cooking it together.
Bake @ 350 for 30-45 minutes. (or until the center is warm/hot).
Remove the tin foil and add grated cheese (as much as you'd like).
Broil the casserole until cheese is crispy.

***********Our family is on a health challenge. So when I made this today I did half of the sauce. (1/2 cup mayo/miracle whip and 1 can cream of chicken soup) I also doubled the broccoli and only put half of the shredded cheese on top.

Chicken Marinade for Kabobs

This is a great marinade for Chicken Shish-kabobs. You could use this marinade for any type of chicken, though!

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.
1/2 onion
3/4 cup honey
1/2 c teriyaki sauce
1/4 c tabasco or other hot sauce.
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced into blender
1 lime, juiced into blender
2 fresh bell peppers (red or green or both!)

Pour over chicken pieces (a large Ziploc works well) and refrigerate for up to 6-8 hours. Once done marinading, put chicken pieces onto sticks with onion chunks. I put the desired veggies onto a separate kabob stick. The meat and veggies cook at different rates, this keeps your veggies from burning! I like green and red peppers, pineapple, and cherry tomatoes. Now grill up. Grill for about 15 minutes, turning every 2 minutes.

4th of July Trifle

4th of July Trifle

Ingredients:

• 2 packages Oreo Cookies
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3-1/3 cups cold milk
• 2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant French vanilla pudding mix
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

Line a trifle bowl with plastic wrap or use as is; set aside. In a food processor or blender, process the cookies until finely crushed.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar. In a bowl, whisk the milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Add to cream cheese mixture; mix well. Fold in whipped topping. Split pudding into 3 equal portions. Add red food coloring to one portion, blue food coloring to another, and leave the 3rd as is.
Place 1/4 of the cookie crumbs in prepared container or bowl; top with the red pudding mixture. Repeat layers with the white pudding in the middle and the blue pudding on top. Top with remaining cookies. Refrigerate until serving.

Yield: 8-10 servings.

Death By Chocolate

Death By Chocolate

Yield: 12 servings.

Ingredients

8 oz (225 g) dark semisweet chocolate (40-50% cocoa)
2/3 cup (140 g) butter
1 cup (210 g) sugar
4 eggs
4 heaped tablespoons (1 dl) all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoon baking powder or 1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons sour cream

Ingredients for frosting

2/3 cup (1.6 dl) heavy cream or whipping cream
9 oz (260 g) semisweet chocolate (40-50% cocoa)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
2. Line a circular 10 inch (25 cm) cake tin (3 inches tall) with grease proof or other non-stick paper and grease the tin. (Please note that the cake will rise to 3 inches and collapse somewhat when cooled. If your cake tin is less than 10 inches wide and 3 inches tall we recommend that you use two cake tins.)
3. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with butter over hot water.
4. Beat the eggs with sugar, mix with flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract.
5. Slowly fold in the melted butter and chocolate and the sour cream.
6. Bake at 350 degrees until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 40 to 50 minutes (if using 2 cake tins 20-30 minutes may be sufficient).
7. Cool the cake completely. When it has obtained room temperature place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before removing the cake from the tin (the cake is sticky and difficult to cut when it is warm!) Remove the crusted surface on the top of the cake, and cut in half, horizontally.

Frosting

1. Heat 2/3 cup (1.6 dl) of heavy cream or whipping cream in a sauce pan.
2. Remove from heat, add 9 oz (260 g) of finely chopped dark semisweet chocolate, stir until smooth, and let it cool until in thickens.
3. Use one 1/3 of the frosting between the two layers, 1/3 on top, and the rest around the cake. Put the cake into the fridge for one hour or more to harden the frosting.
4. This cake should have room temperature when served.

Variations

1. You may use your preferred chocolate frosting.
2. You can add chopped walnuts and decorate with whole walnuts.

Thai Chicken and Rice

"Tastes like a restaurant"This really is SOO good! I got the recipe from 365 Days of Slow Cooking and just changed a few things. Enjoy!!

1 1/2 lb chicken cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut into short thin strips

1 1/4 cups chicken broth, divided

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp cornstarch

3 green onions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/3 cup chunky peanut butter

White or brown rice, cooked

3/4 cup peanuts or cashews chopped

3/4 cup cilantro chopped

Directions: Place chicken, bell pepper, 1 cup of broth, soy sauce, garlic, and red pepper flakes in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. Mix cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup broth in small bowl until smooth. Turn slow cooker on High. Stir in green onions, peanut butter, and cornstarch mixture. Cover and cook 30 minutes or until sauce is thickened and chicken is no longer pink. Stir well. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with peanuts or cashews and cilantro.

*Can also be served over noodles.