Monday, January 18, 2010

Peanut Butter Dip

This dip is delightful. It goes great with fruit, crackers, and pretzels. I especially like it with apples. Yum!

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Broccoli Salad

This is a yummy salad. Nuff said.

1/4 cup bacon bits (I prefer to make my own)
1 (16 oz) package fresh broccoli florets, trimmed and cut into bite size pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup Miracle Whip
1/4 cup white sugar
chopped green onion to taste (optional)

In a large bowl mix bacon, broccoli, cheese, raisins, sunflower seeds and onion. In a small bowl, whisk together the Miracle Whip and sugar. Pour Miracle Whip mixture over broccoli mixture and toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Cheddar Ranch Chicken

I had all of these ingredients on hand tonight, so I decided to give this recipe a try. This dish turned out to be very good and something I would make again. (We're kind of ranch dressing snobs around here, so I did make my own ranch dressing using Hidden Valley's dressing mix.)

1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 Tbsp flour
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 pound)
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine dressing with flour in a shallow bowl. Coat each chicken breast well with dressing mixture. Place in ungreased baking dish. Distribute remaining ranch dressing mixture on top of each chicken breast. Combine cheddar and Parmesan cheeses; sprinkle evenly on chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

This is one of my all time favorite dishes. The salty sweet combination is so yummy. I could eat this every day.

3/4 cup butter, softened
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
1 (6 oz) package strawberry Jell-o
2 cups boiling water
3 cups strawberries, sliced and chilled
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter with brown sugar. Mix in pretzels and press into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake 10-12 minutes. Set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, dissolve Jell-o in boiling water and stir in strawberries. Chill until partially thickened. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and white sugar together until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread mixture over top of cooled crust (seal edges). Chill then pour Jell-o mixture over cream cheese layer. Chill until firm.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Sour Cream Sauce

I made this for dinner tonight and my husband and I both thought it should go on the blog as a keeper. The chicken was so tender and moist, and the bacon and beef really added a nice flavor.

3-4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (1 lb total)
6-8 slices dried beef (the kind that comes in a jar) (2 slices per chicken breast)
3-4 slices bacon (1 slice per chicken breast)
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cover each chicken breast with two pieces of beef and then wrap with one slice of bacon. Place chicken in casserole dish, seam side down. Mix sour cream and soup together. Pour over chicken breasts. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Chinese Salad

My dear friend, Sarah, passed along this recipe to me. It is absolutely the best Chinese Salad recipe in existence.

3 Tbsp sunflower seeds
1 small bag sliced almonds
2 pkgs Ramen Noodles (discard seasoning packets), break noodles into pieces

In a large skillet, brown above ingredients in 2-4 Tbsp butter and then set aside to cool.

1/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar

Boil above ingredients in a small saucepan for 1 minute and then set aside to cool.

1 med to large Nappa cabbage
2 green onions

Slice cabbage down to 2-3 inches from core. Slice green onions and combine with cabbage in a large bowl.

When ready to serve, pour vinegar mixture over cabbage and onions and toss. Add noodle mixture and toss. Serve immediately. (You can make this ahead of time, but don't combine dressing mixture, cabbage, and noodle mixture until ready to serve.)

Pepper Steak

I received a really nice Dutch oven for Christmas and I've been looking for the perfect recipe to try it out. This was it. Mmmmm...so good!

2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs top sirloin steak, trimmed of fat and cut into bite size strips
1 cup water
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite size strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into bite size strips
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven. Add the meat and brown for 5 minutes. Stir in the water, onion, garlic salt, and ginger. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the peppers. Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch. Pour this into the pot and stir until the liquid thickens and comes to a boil. Simmer 5-10 minutes longer. Serve over rice.