Perfect BBQ Chicken

Recently I have been searching the internet for the "best" recipes.  I simply go to Google and type in things like best chicken recipe, best steak marinade, best side dish,  and many others.  I know that everyone has a favorite recipe that they think is the best.  That is what I am looking for.  Tonight we are trying what Kraft Foods calls Perfect Grilled Chicken.  It was perfectly easy and created tasty juicy chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup of BBQ sauce
• 1/3 Cup Caesar Dressing
• 1 lb of Chicken Breasts

Combine bbq sauce and dressing in a bowl.  Pour over chicken, covering all sides, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Grill until chicken is cooked throughout.

I served with Jalepeno Twice Baked Potatoes and Zucchini.

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Blueberry Crumble Bars

This past summer I picked LOTS of blueberries.  I froze some so that we would have them throughout the winter.  We use them in all sorts of things like muffins, yogurt, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, cheesecake, smoothies, and many others.  These bars are easy and SO delicious.  You can eat them alone or serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups of Flour
• 3/4 Cups of Sugar
• 1/8 Cup Lemon Juice
• 1 Pint Blueberries
• 1/8 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 2 teaspoons Corn Starch
• 1 Stick Cold Butter
• 1 Egg

Makes 12 bars

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a bowl combine the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Cut the butter into cubes and add to mixing bowl.  Add egg.  Using a fork or a pastry blender, combine the ingredients until they become a crumbly mixture.  Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x8 baking dish.  Firmly press 1/2 of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the dish.  In a separate bowl, combine blueberries, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch.  Toss to coat the berries.  Place the blueberry mixture on top of the pressed dough.  Cover with remaining crumble.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Cool completely and then cut into bars.

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Cajun Seasoned French Fries

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 4 Russet Potatoes
• 1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
•  Sea Salt

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  While the water is heating, cut the potatoes into french fry size pieces (about 1/4" thick).  When the water comes to a boil add the fries, turn off the water, and set the timer for 3 minutes.  After the three minutes is up, remove the fries from the water and lay them on a paper towel to dry.

 Preheat oven to 425.  Put the fries in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.  Toss to coat.

Place on baking sheet that is coated with cooking spray, sprinkle with sea salt, and bake for 15 minutes.  Using a spatula flip the fries and return them to the oven to back for an additional 12-15 minutes flipping one more time. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness that you cut your fries.

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Brownie Cookie Cups

A few weekends ago, we went to a family picnic and one of our cousins (Jason) made these. They were so yummy I decided that Nathan and I would make them to take camping with us.  Nathan LOVES to make brownies so he was definitely in for helping me.   I exchanged a couple of text messages with Jason about how to make them and 30 minutes later we had our dessert all ready to go!  They were a huge hit!  I am glad that there were other people there to help eat them otherwise I would have eaten them ALL!

Ingredients:

• 1 Box (9x13 size)  Brownie Mix- prepared but not baked
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough- prepared but not baked.  I used the tub kind that was already prepared.  

Makes about 18 treats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare brownie mix as directed on the box then pour into a well greased cup cake pan.  If you pour them not quite half full you should make about 18.  

Drop a large dollop of cookie dough into each brownie.

Bake for about 23-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let them cool then loosen edges with butter knife and gently remove from the pan.

Some other MAGICAL Desserts
Cloud on a Cookie

Triple Threat Brownies

Peanut Butter Pie

Cloud on a Cookie

I love dessert, Okay now that I have admitted it hopefully no one will judge me.  Having company over means I get to make a dessert that serves lots of people because if I make that same dessert for just our family I end up eating more than my fair share.  The cloud part is almost like ice cream so it's perfect for a hot summer evening.  I love that I can make it ahead of time and just keep it in the freezer.  

Ingredients:

• 1 tube (16.5 oz) Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
• 1/2 Cup of Caramel Topping
• 1 (8oz) Container of Cool Whip (thawed)
• 1 package (3.4 oz) Instant Vanilla Pudding
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Cup Toffee Bits
• 3 Tablespoons Hot Fudge

Serves 16

Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and let stand for about 5 minutes.  This will make the cookie dough easier to work with.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Then spread cookie dough into the bottom of an ungreased 9X13 inch baking dish.  Bake for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown.  When done, cool completely

After cookie dough has cooled, spread the caramel topping evenly over the cookie.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of milk and pudding mix for about 2 minutes.

Then fold in the cool whip.

Next, stir in the toffee bits.

Spread the Cool Whip mixture over top of caramel layer.  Cover the baking dish and freeze until firm.

Remove from freezer.  Heat hot fudge in microwave and then drizzle over the top of Cool Whip layer.  I actually used a butter knife and just kinda splattered it on and it seemed to work better because it didn't go on so thick.  I let it sit for about 10 minutes to make it a little easier to cut.

Store remaining dessert covered in the freezer.  

Another one of my favorite desserts is Peanut Butter Pie.  Oh.So.Good.

Nutella Banana Fudgesicles

One of my favorite treats at Disney World is a frozen banana.  I am not sure if that is because it tastes so good or if it is because it is always so hot!  Either way I love them!  This banana fudgesicle satisfies my chocolate fix without too much fat, calories, or crazy ingredients.  Oh and the kids LOVE them too!  We have been trying a new popsicle varieties this summer... I am not sure who is enjoying it more-the kids...or me?!?  One of my favorites is the Strawberry Banana Creamsicle

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons Nutella
• 3 Medium Bananas

Put ingredients in food processor and blend on until smooth.  Pour mixture into popsicle molds.  Place in freezer.  

Freeze for about 8 hours and enjoy!

If you are looking for something else to do with extra bananas check out 

Tracy's Version of the 2-Ingredient Cookie

Cha Cha Chicken with Mango Tango Salsa-Nacho Average Chicken Taco! (And gluten free)

This is one of my favorite twists on taco night at our house. It's so full of flavor and super easy to make.

Chicken Ingredients:
1-2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
1-2 cans Mexican diced or stewed tomatoes
1 can favorite beans (I used pinto this time but use black a lot of the time as well)
1 packet taco seasonings
Corn tortillas ( you can use flour tortillas but then it's not gluten free)
Your favorite toppings- sour cream, cheese, lettuce, avocados

This is pretty simple, you just put it all in crockpot and cook on low 5-6 hours until chicken is easily shred able with fork. The sauce will be pretty runny so I usually take the lid of and turn to warm and let it sit for 15 minutes to let the sauce thicken up. This chicken really has the best flavor!

Salsa Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced mango (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup diced pineapple (fresh or frozen , I bet you could even use canned as long as it didn't have added sugar and you rinsed and drained very well)
1/4 cup diced red onions
2 jalapeños, seeded and diced (leave in some seeds if you want it spicier)
About a handful of chopped cilantro
Squeeze of lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes to let flavors combine. You can add many ingredients to this salsa such as chili peppers, oranges, etc but this was just what I had on hand. If you've never had mango salsa on tacos, this might sound a bit odd, but I promise you these flavors are so incredible together! My husband was so skeptical at first ("I do not want fruit on my tacos!") but this is now his favorite way to eat tacos. Think of how good kettle corn popcorn or salted caramel is... The sweet and salty go so well together. It gives boring old tacos the twist it needs (especially if you eat them often like we do).

I hope you'll take my word and try this wonderful recipe out. Enjoy!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness, Appetizing April Menu and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu.  Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes on the menus!

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken

This is something that can be thrown together very quickly with ingredients that you probably have on hand. The blend of the sweet and spicy gives perfect flavor. This recipe is extremely easy to adjust based on the number of people that you need to serve. I can make a small amount for just our immediate family or for a large group. Either way, everyone LOVES it!

Ingredients:

• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Chicken Breasts
• Bacon
• Brown Sugar

First, cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Then sprinkle each side with chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

After that, spiral wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon and roll in brown sugar. Place chicken in baking dish and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with your fave side dish. I am sure that there won't be ANY left over!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

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Spicy Bacon Carbonara

This recipe is a variation on something that I made before, but this one is MUCH better. My family has actually requested it be put on the menu again and I just made it last week! My oldest son, who is VERY picky, loves bacon so I was able to get him to eat it too!
Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 2/3 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• Parsley Flakes (I didn't measure, I just shook it a couple times)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 lb bacon fried crisp and crumbled
• sliced mushrooms (I didn't measure, I just through in a couple handfuls)
• 1/2 of small onion
• about 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1 16 oz box of fettucini

First I cook and crumble the bacon. I have to do this quickly so that my son doesn't try to sneak any! Set bacon aside. Start water for pasta. Next I chop the onion. I am not a huge onion fan, but I do understand the flavor value of onion in cooking so I do use them. I cook the onion and minced garlic in about a tablespoon of butter, but you could use some of the bacon grease for extra flavor. When the onions are almost cooked all the way through I add the mushrooms. You might need to add just a little bit more butter to saute the mushrooms. When done, leave them in pan but set them aside

Next, in a bowl beat with a fork eggs and heavy cream. Add Parmesan, parsley, salt and red pepper and lightly mix again.

Drain pasta (save about 3 tablespoons of pasta water just in case sauce is too thick) and return pasta to pot. Add the mushrooms and onions to pasta (you may need to heat them up in their pan first depending on how long you had to wait for pasta to finish cooking). Pour the egg/cream mixture over the pasta. Stir over LOW heat for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in bacon. Top with additional Parmesan Cheese and serve with bread and a salad! DELICIOUS!
Note: Make sure that when you add the egg/cream mixture that you have the stove on LOW. You do not want to scramble the eggs! I was very worried about this process. The first time I made it I actually made my husband leave the room just in case I completely ruined dinner I didn't want him to witness my failure. It has gone together perfectly every time! Also, if you like less spicy food you can add less red pepper flakes.

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!