On the Menu Monday

Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken

4-6 Chicken breasts
1 c. packed brown sugar
2-3 c. Vinegar
1/4 c. Sprite or 7UP
2-3 tbs. minced garlic
2 tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. pepper

Place chicken in the crock pot. Mix all ingredients and pour over the chicken.
Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve over rice or noodle. I prefer rice :)
Your house will smell wonderful when you make this!

Make sure to come back tomorrow for

Linky party!!!

On the Menu Monday

BBQ Chicken Pizza
California Pizza Kitchen knock off!

Ingredients:

10 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons favorite barbecue sauce
bbq chicken pizza dough
cornmeal or flour, for handling
2 tablespoons shredded smoked gouda cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 small red onion, sliced into 1/8-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

To make BBQ Chicken: In a large frying pan, cook the chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat until just cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Do not overcook. Set aside in the refrigerator until chilled through.
Once chilled, coat the chicken with 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce; set aside in the refrigerator.To make the pizza: Place the pizza stone in the center of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F for one hour before cooking pizzas.
Use a large spoon to spread ¼ cup BBQ sauce evenly over the surface of the prepared dough within the rim. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon smoked Gouda cheese over the sauce. Cover with ¾ cup shredded Mozzarella. Distribute half the chicken pieces evenly over the cheese (approximately 18 pieces). Place approximately 18 to 20 pieces of red onion over the surface. Sprinkle an additional ¼ cup Mozzarella over the top of the pizza.
Transfer the pizza to the oven; bake until the crust is crisp and golden and the cheese at the center is bubbly, 8 to 10 minutes. When the pizza is cooked, carefully remove it from the oven; sprinkle 1 tablespoon cilantro over the hot surface. Slice and enjoy!

Hope your gearing up for another Ta-dah (check me out) Tuesday
Linky Party tomorrow! I can't wait!

On the Menu Monday

Porcupine Meatballs



Ingredients:

1 can tomato soup
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 c. instant rice uncooked
1 large egg beaten well
1/2 c. purple onion, diced
1 tsp. ground sea salt
2 tbs. vegetable oil
1 tbs. minced garlic
1 tsp. Dijon mustard

In a large bow mix 1/2 can of the tomato soup with the lean ground beef , the egg , rice , onion and the salt. Mix together very well and then form into 16 equal meatballs. In a small bowl mix the other half of the tomato soup , half a can of water and the mustard. Pour the vegetable oil into a skillet over medium heat and add your meatballs and the garlic to the skillet. Cook your meatballs in the skillet rolling them around until they are brown all over. Pour the soup mustard mixture over the meat balls and continue to cook over medium heat about 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked thoroughly. Serve your porcupine meatballs over hot rice.

On the Menu Monday

Did everyone have a fantastic Easter? I don't know about your kids, but mine got a WHOLE LOT of candy... almost as bad as Halloween! I mean how many crispy chocolate eggs can one child have. And you know how it is. The mom's (and dad's) grab a piece here and there and before you know it.....flabness.....lol. Anyway, onto the food!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Oh sweet yumness :)

Ingredients:

2 (10 oz.) packages of frozen broccoli
2 c. sliced, cooked chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 3/4 c. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. curry powder
2 oz. grated cheese
1 tbs. melted butter
1/2 c. chicken stock
1 c. bread crumbs

Directions:

Cook and drain the broccoli. Place in the bottom of a buttered casserole dish. Top with chicken. Mix soup, lemon juice, broth, mayonnaise, broth and curry powder. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover. Brown bread crumbs for about 5 minutes.

This is one of the family favs! Hope you love it too!

On the Menu Monday....Easter Sunday Dinner

Orange Glazed Ham

Ingredients

• 1 (14 to 16-pound) fully cooked, spiral-cut smoked ham on the bone
• 6 garlic cloves
• 8 1/2 ounces orange marmalade
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 orange, zested
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the ham in a heavy roasting pan.

Mince the garlic in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the marmalade, mustard, brown sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and process until smooth. Pour the glaze over the ham and bake for 1 hour, until the ham is fully heated and the glaze is well browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 pounds small red or white potatoes
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Transfer the potatoes to a sheet pan and spread out into 1 layer. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking in order to ensure even browning.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, toss with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.

Roasted Asparagus

Toss 2 pounds trimmed asparagus, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast at 450 degrees F until lightly browned, 15 minutes. Mix 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts, 1/2 cup chopped parsley, the grated zest of 1 lemon, and salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the asparagus.

Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries

Ingredients

• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 lemons, zested and juiced
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in chunks
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved lengthwise
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 pint fresh blackberries
• 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
• 1 prepared lemon pound cake, sliced
• 1/4 cup Lemoncello or Grand Marnier liqueur (optional)
• Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Directions

To make the lemon curd: Bring a pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a metal or glass heat-resistant bowl and whisk until smooth. Set the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the bottom touch, and continue to whisk. Keep working-out that arm and whisk it vigorously for a good 10 minutes, until the curd has doubled in volume and is very thick and yellow. Don't let it boil. Remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the butter, a couple of chunks at a time, until melted. Refrigerate until the custard is cold and firm.

To build the trifle: put the berries in a mixing bowl and toss them together so they are evenly distributed. Fold the whipped cream into the chilled lemon curd to lighten it up into a mousse. Line a glass trifle bowl with pieces of pound cake to fit. Drizzle or brush the cake with the Lemoncello, spoon a layer of the lemon curd over the cake, and then a layer of mixed berries. Repeat the layers until the ingredients are used up, the last layer looks best if it's the berries. Chill before serving. Garnish with fresh mint.

Images courtesy of Food Network and one from me :) Bet you can't tell which one!

On the Menu Monday, but it's Tuesday!

Slow Cooked Roast



This is the absolute EASIEST, yummiest, thing you can make!
All I do it place a roast in my crock pot and sprinkle two packets of brown gravy dry mix over the top. Add in two cups of cold water and cover. Cook on high for 6 hours!

The smell that fills your house is......lets just say they should make a Scentsy scent out of it! :)
With this I make mashed potatoes and use the gravy left over from the roast. I do add a little more water and a tiny bit of flour right in the crock pot after I've removed the roast.

The next day or two we have the leftovers on sub rolls and I make homemade fries. Peel about six medium potatoes and slice them into fries. Lay them on some paper towels to try and remove as much water as you can. Next lay them out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle 2 tbs olive oil. Mix so they are all coated. Next sprinkle a dry packet of Good Seasonings Zesty Italian mix over the top. Place in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Turn the fries and place back in the oven and raise the heat to 450 degrees for 7-10 minutes! Yummy!

On the Menu Monday

So I watched an episode on Oprah last week about the food industry and it TOTALLY FREAKED me out. I mean, I thought about going vegan for approximately 1.3 seconds. For those of you who are vegetarian or vegan, I truly am impressed. Knowing that there is no way I can go that route, I am hoping to be a little more aware of what I am feeding my family and myself. For example, switching our "oh so yummy, super fabulous, fluffy, heavenly" Grandma Sycamore bread for whole grain bread. (remember, it needs to say whole grain as the first ingredient for it to be the "good for you" whole grain. Also, I recently tried over the weekend egg whites.....holy yummy! And only 30 calories! I have also placed a big bowl of fruit right in the center of the counter where the kids always sit to color, eat, etc. And you know what? In the middle of coloring they will stop and say, "mom can I have an orange?" Oh happy me. It's not, "can we have three oreos with milk?" So you see, simple changes will make a difference in the long run. Hence the reasoning for my On the Menu Monday recipes. Hopefully you will enjoy....

Turkey Burgers



1 lb ground turkey
1/2 c. dried bread crumbs (whole wheat)
3 Tbs minced onions
2 Tbs ketchup
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp liquid red pepper seasoning (optional)
black pepper to taste
hamburger buns

Mix all ingredients together and pan fry or broil, 5 minutes on each side. And serve with desired toppings!

Sweet Potato Fries



Canola cooking spray
2 sweet potatoes
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Scrub the potatoes and then cut into matchstick pieces (yes, leave the skin on) Place on a aluminum foil lined cookie sheet that has been spray with the Canola. Spray the potatoes with a little bit of the cooking spray and season with the salt and pepper. Cook for 20 minutes then turn the heat up to 380 degrees and bake an additional 10 minutes.

(images courtesy of Google :)

On the Menu Monday

Baked French Toast
(because having breakfast for dinner is fun!)



1 cup light maple syrup
1 loaf of French Bread
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 tbls vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Coat a 3 quart oblong baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the maple syrup into the dish. Slice the French bread into eigth 2 inch slices and place over the syrup. In another bowl, beat the eggs, egg whites, skim milk, vanilla, and nutmeg until well blended. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, pressing the bread to soak up the liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (if your doing this for dinner put it in in the morning and refrigerate for 8 hours). Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

On the Menu Monday

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork



3 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder roast, netted or tied
1 can French Onion soup
1 cup ketchup
1/4 c cider vinegar
3 tbsp packed brown sugar
12 round rolls

Add soup, ketchup, vinegar and brown sugar into the crock pot. Then place the roast in, coating all sides. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove roast and shred and add back into the pot. Stir and serve in rolls!

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

On the Menu Monday

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken (cut into small bite size pieces)
1 8oz bar of cream cheese
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 pkg zesty Italian dressing

Place your cans of soup in your crock pot. The next thing I do is take the cream cheese and break it into pieces and mix that with the soup. Place the cut up chicken on top of the soup and sprinkle the seasoning packet over the chicken. Stir it all together and cook on low for 6 hours. When it is done spoon over pasta or rice......both are yummmmmmm! This is my oldest daughters absolute fav and it's about as easy as you can get!

Happy Monday! and a new winner!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day! Can you believe the month is half gone?

So, a few things to talk about here. First, are any of you fellow bloggers out there having this problem. Every time I hit enter while writing posts it automatically double spaces my lines! Arrrrggghhh! It is beyond frustrating! I've tried everything, so if anyone has any suggestions I would LOVE the help!

Now on to the next item of business.
The winner of the Luck block set never contacted me :( so I needed to pick a new winner. And that winner is...

Staci of Craftify It! She said,

"I have seen a variety of the pendant necklaces, but yours have unique characteristics that I just LOVE & have never seen before! The LUCK blocks are ADORABLE!!!
I'm also a new follower! I love finding fun new blogs!"

Thanks Staci! Email me your address and I will get these out to you pronto!

Ok and finally....lately I have been really into finding and trying new and yummy recipes and trying to expand my families cookbook. Well I found this fabulous recipe over at Little Birdie Secrets (their button is on the left sidebar...so check em out) and it is super healthy, easy and delicious!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

2 Chicken Breasts, diced
Cook in a skillet with a little bit of oil.

When the chicken is done add the following:
1/4 c green onions dices
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
cilantro to taste

Stir in and cook for a few more minutes. When done place in lettuce and serve with peanut sauce.







Let me know if you try it and what you think! Makes a great lunch or for dinner serve it over some rice....Ahhhh.

So how about this....every Monday plan on a new recipe post from me! I'll try it, or try it on my family (hehehe) and if it passes the "Keep It or Delete It" vote, I'll post about it! Maybe I can help a little bit on building your recipe files!