White Chicken Chili

My family loves this recipe so much that they want it weekly...even during the SUMMER!  That's how good it is.  Don't pass on this EASY crockpot meal.  I love when I get to make this because it is so easy to make and everyone loves it.  Plus, you get to put sour cream and cheese on it.  That's just plain goodness right there.

My sister was just here visiting with her family and we partied hard! My whole family would get together every night for dinner and one of the nights was my turn.  I had about 20- 25 people to feed.  I tripled this recipe and put it into two crockpots and everyone loved it.  There wasn't much left over because almost everyone had seconds...even when it was 100 degrees outside.  Make it!

1 1/4 lb chicken breasts
2 cans (15oz) white beans  (My family likes when I use once can of black beans but you can use norther or navy beans)
1 can corn
I envelope taco seasoning
1 4oz can green chilies
1 can cream of chicken soup
14 oz chicken broth.

Throw it in the crockpot and cook it on high 3-5 hrs until done or low for 8-10 hrs.  I never have enough time to do it slow but haven't had any complaints on the flavors not being there when done on high

Seriously, don't miss out on this recipe.  Great for just the family and for big groups.

Lemon-Blueberry Crumble Bars

The story of how these came to be...
I was at Costco and we needed cream cheese.  I didn't want to go to another store so I bought the 3 lb block of cream cheese they sold.  Well, let's just say after that I told my family we'd be eating a lot of dinners and some desserts that had cream cheese in them.  For a great dinner with cream cheese check out my recipe of Creamy Italian Chicken .

I saw this recipe on the side of the cream cheese 3 lb box.  When I saw it I knew I needed to make them. Don't they sound delicious?  Well, they are!

Preheat your over to 350 degrees
Line a 9x13 pan with foil with extra on the sides so you can pull it out.

Crust-
1/2 c melted butter
Yellow cake mix
1 egg

Mix together and push into pan to cover the bottom.  Save some for the crumble on top.

Cream Cheese Lemon Filling-
16 oz cream cheese
1 egg
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbps lemon zest
1/2 c sugar

Pour over unbaked crust.  Then pour 2 1/2 cups of blueberries over the filling.  Use the rest of the crust to add in bits on top of the blueberries.

Bake for 55 min-1 hr.  When a toothpick comes out clean they're ready and worth it!

Marinated Steak Kabobs

These were a last minute thought for dinner.  Thank heavens I thought of it because it was a huge hit!  I looked up some marinades and found the perfect one.  We were all in love with this recipe.  The meat was perfectly flavorful and juicy the vegetables slightly charred and still had a slight crunch.

You can use any protein you want of course.  We went with a stir fry steak that was sliced thin and in strips. (SO yummy!) I added the meat to the marinade and let it sit for about an hour.

The vegetables I went with were  zucchini, onions, yellow and orange bell pepper.

I alternated the vegetables and meat and then brushed some marinade all over the vegetables.  We then grilled it until it was grilled to our liking.

If you don't try this recipe then you're seriously missing out in a great summer dish!

Tips!
-Soak your skewers in water before making the kabobs. This way they won't start a fire on the grill.
-Put some oil on a rag and wipe down your grill before placing the kabobs.  This way the kabobs won't stick.

Creamy Italian Chicken

This has been a family favorite for years. My mom taught me how to make this.  I didn't ask for a long time how to make it because it was so good and I was afraid it was too hard.  I don't like too hard.  Guess what? It was crazy easy! It has cream cheese in it too so that right there is a good sign.

I think this is a pretty popular dish, but those who don't know about it need to know.  It's a crockpot meal so it's a set it and forget it meal.  I love set it and forget it meals.

I put 2-3 frozen chicken breasts in a crockpot

I then blend together :
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of milk
1 package of dry Italian dressing

After blended well together I pour over the chicken and turn on my crockpot to high for about 4 hrs.  By this time the chicken is usually cooked.  We like to shred it and put it back in the sauce.  Some people like to cut it up into pieces.  It's up to you! After we've put the chicken back we give it another hr or so on low and then keep it warm until dinner time.

We have served this over rice and noodles.  Both are equally delicious!

This makes about 6 servings

Make this one!  It's so worth it.

Red White & Blue Trifle in Mason Jars

This trifle is so much fun and such a great idea for a 4th of July dessert! I got this idea from seeing a trifle and seeing a 4th of July cake I wanted to make.  I decided to mix the two and came up with this trifle.  I am sure it's been done before but I don't care.  I had a good time making it.  

I used the cake recipes from the Betty Crocker website.  Click on the recipes and you'll find them there. Instead of the white cake I used cream cheese frosting as the white stripe.  Why?  Because cream cheese frosting is delicious!  My 4 year old said, "Mom I love the white cream. Good job Mom."  It's a good sign when the 4 year is complimenting you.

My blue cake was cooked a little too much on the bottom, so instead of cutting them out like the red cake I broke it apart and it turned out really cute.  You can always fix mistakes to look like it was meant to be!

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 c butter

8 oz Cream Cheese

4 c confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

1 tsp vanilla

Whip the cream cheese and butter together (both should be room temperature, if not you can microwave them for a few seconds until feeling like room temperature)

Add sugar and vanilla and whip until fluffy

I cut the red cake into circles that were slightly smaller than the mason jar (8oz).  You can do this with a cup or cookie cutter.  Whatever you find that is the right size.  I piped the frosting around on top of the cake to show the white stripe.  You continue to do this until it's almost to the top.  I added the crumbled blue cake on top and added a dollop of more frosting.

So cute and patriotic, don't you think??

Triple Chocolate Mint Brownies

I've never made mint brownies before and I've always wanted to.  I've also never made a chocolate ganache before and it was so easy!  My husband and I wanted to take some treats to some neighbors so I decided to go ahead and make these brownies.

We had a really busy day yesterday so I went for a boxed brownie mix.  I didn't have any! What?!  I always have brownie mix for times like this.  During my search I did see that I had triple chocolate fudge cake. Hmm...could I use cake mix to make brownies? Sure!  Let's give it a shot.
Spoiler: I will make brownies this way from now on.  SOOO yummy and a great texture. It was a brownie/cake texture so it held up great to the frosting and ganache.

Brownies
1 box triple chocolate fudge cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/2 c melt butter (1 stick)
2 tbsp water
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl -EASY!
Cooked in 9x13 pan at 350 for 25 min

This is on a sheet pan.  I doubled the recipe. I did not double the mint frosting recipe and felt it was perfect for the double brownie recipe.

Mint Frosting
1 c softened butter
3-4 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
2 tbsp heavy cream
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp mint extract
Whip sugar and butter together.  Slowly add the sugar so it doesn't cover you and the kitchen. (this may have happened to me)
Add all other ingredients until whipped to a nice fluffy texture

Chocolate ganache
1/2 c heavy ceam
9 oz chocolate chips (dark, semi-sweet or milk)  I used milk chocolate.
Warm your cream on the stove until just before boiling point.  You just want to scald it.
Pour over chocolate
Let sit for a few seconds to let the milk melt the chocolate
Mix until all chocolate is melted and you get a silky texture.

Waalaa!  Mint Brownies.  You will impress :)

Raspberry Meringues

I have had this on my "make one day" list for a while now.  I thought these sounded and looked delicious. Plus, they were really fun to make! My kids enjoyed watching the egg whites get bigger and bigger. :)

I didn't add enough food coloring so I didn't achieve the color that was on the recipe picture.  I wish I had because the pink on the recipe is a gorgeous color.  I had a light pink come through.

Here you can find the exact recipe I followed and I would gladly make them again!  So good!
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/raspberry-meringues

About the point I started adding the sugar very slowly

                                   Ready to pipe or spoon!