Robot Cake

I made this cute cake for my son's first birthday, the Betty Crocker website has a lot of cute ideas for cakes. Here is the link:http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/robot-cake/0123a837-6a6f-4c14-be95-b1e8c2b5b2a8

Buffalo Chicken Dip

My Mom gave me this recipe over a year ago and it is so yummy. This stuff goes fast at a party, so I always double the recipe, which I have below. My picture isn't the greatest, it got a little burnt on the top of the pan, but it was still yummy!

2 packages of softened cream cheese (8 ounces)
1 pound of cooked chicken shredded (cook it like I explained in the chicken rice-a-roni casserole)
1 jar of ranch dressing ( I use the kind you find in the produce section)
1 jar of Texas Pete's Buffalo Sauce
2 cups of Mozzarella Cheese

Grease a 13x9 inch pan. Spread the cream cheese over the bottom of the pan. In a bowl mix the chicken and buffalo sauce (you can use the whole jar or less depending on how hot you want the taste). Spread the chicken mixture over the cream cheese, and cover that with the ranch. Then sprinkle the cheese on top. Cook in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly on top. 

Zesty Chicken Pot Pie

I got this recipe from kraft.com, I changed it a little after I first made it, to tweak some things that I thought were wrong in the recipe. It is a really fast and simple pot pie recipe.

12

oz. (1-1/2 pkg. [8 oz. each])PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed

1/2

cup chicken broth

3

cups chopped cooked chicken

1

pkg. (10 oz. each) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

2

env. GOOD SEASONS Italian Dressing Mix

2

 refrigerated ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust 

 

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place cream cheese in large saucepan. Add broth; cook on low heat until cream cheese is completely melted, stirring frequently with wire whisk. Stir in chicken, vegetables and dressing mix. Grease 9-inch pie plate. Place one of the pie crusts down. Spoon in filling. Cover with pie crust; seal and flute edge. Cut several slits in crust to allow steam to escape. Place pie plate on baking sheet.

BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until golden brown.

Quick Salsa Chicken

This is a simple really easy recipe if you are craving a dish with some Mexican flavor!


2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1/2 lb)
2 teaspoons  taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package)
1/2 cup  salsa
1/2 shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon sour cream, if desired

Heat oven to 375°F. Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with taco seasoning mix; place in ungreased 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish. Pour salsa over chicken. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear. Sprinkle cheese evenly over chicken; bake 3 to 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream.

For an easy bread accompaniment, sprinkle Pillsbury® refrigerated breadsticks with taco seasoning mix and bake as directed on the package.

Chicken Puff Pastry and Corrie's Bacon Creamed Spinach

Growing up my Mom was always making these; they are really delicious, and not that complicated. This recipe is from Pepperidge Farm.  I usually use a tub of cheese you can get in your deli section, I can't think of the name but it starts with a B. This time I tried the new Philadelphia cooking cream, it worked great too! The spinach was a new recipe I tried, and it was really good. Especially since I am not a big fan of spinach, I found this recipe in one of Paula Deen's cookbooks.

Chicken Puff Pastry

1/2 of a 17.3 ounce package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry sheets (1 sheet)

1 egg

1 tbsp. water

Ground black pepper (optional)

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut in half.

2 tbsp. butter 

1 container (4ounces) garlic & herb spreadable cheese.

1/4 cup fresh parsley

Thaw the pastry sheet at room temperature for 40 minutes or until it's easy to handle. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Stir the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.

Season the chicken with the black pepper, if desired (I always do salt and pepper). Heat the butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken to a plate. Cover the plate and refrigerate for 15 minute to 24 hours.

Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Cut the pastry sheet into 4 (7 inch) squares. 

Spread about 2 tablespoons cheese spread in the center of each pastry square. Top each with 1 tablespoon parsley and 1 chicken breast. Brush the edges of the pastry squares with egg mixture. Fold the corners of the pastry squares to the center over the chicken and press the edges to seal. Place seam-side down on a greased baking sheet. Brush the pastries with egg mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastries are golden. 

Corrie's Bacon Cream Spinach

3 slices bacon

1/2 cup finally chopped sweet onion (about 1/2 medium onion)

Two 6-ounce bags baby spinach

1/4 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)

Salt and pepper

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the fat from bacon in the skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the spinach and toss until wilted. Add the cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Let the mixture bubble over medium heat until the cream is thickened and clinging to the spinach, about 10 minutes. Crumble the bacon over the spinach, stir, and serve.

                                         

Homemade Laundry Soap

My cousin's fiancee Carly told me they had made their own laundry soap and it worked great. We all know laundry soap can be expensive, so I am up for anything that saves me money. I found it on this blog: http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-laundry-soap.html. So here are the directions, it's suppose to be safe for he washers and should be put in the barrel of the washer, rather than the dispenser.

1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) found in the detergent isle

1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) found in the cooking isle

1  box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent isle

3 bars of Fels-naptha soap, found in the detergent isle

2 small containers of oxyclean or store brand oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)) found in the detergent isle.

(this is optional, I added it into mine because I have pretty messy kids and the cleaner the better)

(you can also use pink Zote soap instead of Fels-naptha)

Start out by grating your Fels-naptha soap just like cheese. You can use a food processor or just use your hand held grater, what ever you have. Toss all ingredients in a 5 gallon bucket lined with a garbage bag. This part makes your whole house smell great. Once everything is mixed store soap however you like. 


UPDATE: This soap works really well! Been using it for about a week now, and cleans clothes  and smells great!

Bubba's Beer and Onion Biscuits

I made these with the soup in the previous post, since I was already using beer. This one is out of Paula Deen's Family Cookbook.

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4teaspoon baking soda
1 stick of butter, chilled and cubed, plus melted butter for brushing
1 cup dark beer (I used Budlight and it was fine)
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup crushed canned friend onions
Pinch of cayenne pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets. In a large bowl or food processor, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter or fork, or pulse into food processor until it resembles coarse meal. Add the beer, cheese, onions, and cayenne, stirring or pulsing until a dough begins to form a ball.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it gently, just enough to form a ball. Pat the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick round. Using a 2 1/2 inch round cutter(I used a glass cup), stamp out circles of dough. Gently knead the leftover scraps together and stamp out more circles.

3. Transfer the biscuits to the prepared baking sheets and lightly brush the tops with melted butter. Bake until the biscuits are golden and firm, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.