Strawberry Mango Salsa

For some reason mango salsa has never been something that I found appealing cause I like my salsa with a little heat. Surprisingly this salsa was so good that we actually made another batch after this one. We added a can of corn to the second batch and it was very good!

Ingredients

Source:Two Peas and their Pod

• 1 cup strawberries, hulled and diced
• 1 medium mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 2 tablespoons diced red onion
• 1 tablespoon diced jalapeno
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Salt, to taste
• Tortilla chips or pita chips-for serving

1. In a medium bowl, stir together strawberries, mango, avocado, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt, to taste.

2. Serve with tortilla chips or pita chips.

Note-this salsa is best eaten the day it is made. It also goes nicely with fish, chicken, and pork.

Enjoy !!

-Christy

S'more Cookie Bar

Another dessert for you guys this week! I have been seeing this dessert everywhere since I made it a few weeks ago. I feel like it's the new dessert to try out. It was super tasty and very easy to make. My favorite part was pressing the dough in the gallon sized bag (you'll see in the directions.) 

Ingredients
Source:The Girl Who Ate Everything

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 6 full graham crackers)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 super-sized (5 oz.) chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. 
Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. 
Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up ad spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars

Makes 16 cookie bars.


Enjoy !!
-Christy

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

So I had this at work forever ago for Valentine's Day...Everyone LOVED it. It was seriously the best dessert I have ever had. Next time I make it though my servings will be a lot smaller. It is extremely rich!

Ingredients
Source: Croutons and Cupcakes

For the Crust

• 12 Oreo Cookies, crushed into crumbs
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup Nutella
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

For the Garnish

• whipped topping, optional
• chocolate shavings, optional
• toasted, chopped hazelnuts, optional

Directions 

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the Oreo cookie crumbs and melted butter. Evenly divide the crumbs between your individual serving dishes and press into the bottoms of the dishes to form a crust layer.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and Nutella until smooth. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped topping until well blended and no streaks remain.
3. Evenly pipe or spoon the filling into individual serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
4. If desired, garnish with additional whipped topping, chocolate shavings, and/or toasted, chopped hazelnuts.


Enjoy !!
-Christy

BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad

This salad is a keeper! Cathy and I made it together a few weeks ago while she was visiting Utah. I used to work at California Pizza Kitchen and I swear it tastes just like the one from there. I used to always get this salad at the end of my shift and now I will probably be making it all summer! It is super quick and easy and a nice break from something hot for dinner!

Ingredients

• 1/2 head of Iceberg Lettuce, chopped
• 1 bunch of Mixed greens
• 1/3 cup of Ranch
• 2 red vine Tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Avocado, pitted &chopped
• 1 can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of Corn, drained
• 1/2 small Red Onion, chopped
• 1 cup of cooked Chicken, chopped
• BBQ Sauce

(ha, now I know why it's called BBQ Chicken chopped Salad-- everything is chopped in this salad!)

Directions
Toss the iceberg lettuce and mixed greens in the ranch so it covers all the salad
Add the tomatoes, avocado, black beans, corn, red onion and chicken over the salad
Drizzle your favorite BBQ sauce on top and dig in

Enjoy !!
-Christy

Chicken and Rice Casserole--with a wild side!

When Blake and I first got married, all I ever made were casseroles. He grew up NEVER eating casseroles, how could this be?! He hasn't been a huge fan, but we do have a few favorites that have grown on him. My mother-in-law is also a huge fan of this particular dish...and of course, so am I!

• 1 cup wild and brown rice mix (found at bulk barn in Canada) or 1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice
• 2.5 cups salted water (to cook rice, or cook Uncle Ben's box according to package directions)
• 2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
• 1 Tbs butter
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small carrot, chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1.5 cups grated cheese
• 1/3 cup toasted sliced almonds
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring the water to a boil and add rice. Reduce to simmer, cover, and cook for about 35 minutes OR cook uncle ben's rice according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter and add carrots. Cook for 2 minutes. Add onions and carrots, cook for another 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees (about 10 minutes away from rice being ready)
4. In a large bowl, mix rice, chicken, the cooked celery, onion, carrot and garlic, frozen peas, cream of mushroom soup, and milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Spread in a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and sliced almonds.
6. Bake for 30 minutes-1 hour (until bubbly)

Enjoy and bon appetit!

Cathy

adapted from a recipe found at laurenslatest.com

Veggie Packed Moroccan Casserole

I hope you all had a great mothers day!! Celebrating the moms and women in our lives is so important, all year round. We spent the day with my in-laws, potluck style, and it was a blast.

So about this home hearty comforting picture to the right, it is a keeper! That's all I have to say. I cannot wait to make this one again.

Time: 1h45 minutes (1h15 of downtime)

Servings: 4

• 2 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 lbs pork stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3 Tbs all purpose flour
• 1-14 ounce can of diced tomatoes, with the juices
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 medium unpeeled red potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 2 cups of green beans, washed, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3/4 cup sliced carrots
• Flat bread or pita bread

1. Fire up your oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add work and onions and cook until the porl is browns on all sides, approximately 4 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the meat until the flour had absorbed the pan juices, then cook for an additional 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the diced tomatoes, water, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, sugar, salt, and pepper. Put in a 2-auart casserole and bake for 30 minutes.
4. In the meantime, cut up your potatoes, green beans, and carrots.
5. After the 30 minutes is up, stir them into the casserole, mix well, cover, and bake until the potatoes are tender (about an hour).
6. Serve with flat or pita bread. Maybe we'll share our sweet recipe one of these days :)

Bon Appetit!

Cathy

Adapted slightly from "Easy Moroccan Casserole" in The One Dish Bible.

Lauren's Cinnabon's--I take no credit

The picture is mine--don't let the 'one' fool you,
I ate about 3 in a row...so yummy.

Mothers Day is tomorrow! Make these...the woman/mom/friend in your life will forget about all the years past where you didn't measure up. Or just make them cause they're delicious!

So, I take no credit for what will follow. I actually use this blog as a way to document the recipes love and want to keep making. Well, of course this made the list. Lauren's Latest website should be checked out for some great recipes, I go there all the time!.

Ingredients:
for the dough-
3/4 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast {use the fast acting kind!}
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 egg
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 1/2-5 cups all purpose unbleached flour

for the filling-
1/2 cup softened margarine
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cornstarch

for the frosting-
2 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup softened margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Making the Dough- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, pour in water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar. Stir and proof 5 minutes. Once mixture looks bubbly and frothy, pour in remaining sugar and salt. Stir on low for 15-20 seconds. In a small bowl, measure buttermilk, oil and egg. Whisk ingredients together until egg is incorporated to other two ingredients. Pour contents into the water and yeast mixture. Stir another 20 seconds in the mixer. Pour 2 cups of flour into mixer and stir on low until incorporated. Sprinkle flour in by 1/4 cup increments until dough cleans the sides and bottom of the bowl. Dough should be sticky but not sticky enough to stick to your hands when touched. Once it has reached this stage, turn mixer on and knead for 5 minutes. Remove dough from bowl, grease and replace back into same mixing bowl {since it’s practically clean anyways.} Cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel. Rise 1-2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.
2. Filling and Cutting Rolls- In a medium size bowl, stir brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch together until combined. Set aside. Punch down dough. Flour a large clean table liberally with flour. Lightly flour dough as well. Roll dough out to be a 20×30 rectangle {or as close to that as possible} while moving dough around to ensure it’s not sticking to your work surface. If it’s a little short or uneven, feel free to cut off the edges to even it all out. {FYI-I cut off some dough on one side and filled in a spot that needed more dough on the other side to make a more even rectangle.} Spread softened margarine over dough, being sure to go right to the edges leaving a 1-inch strip untouched on one of the longer sides of dough. Dump brown sugar mixture onto the middle of the dough and spread with your hands, creating an even layer over top of the margarine, still leaving that 1-inch strip of dough untouched. If you have any filling that falls off the sides of the dough, use a bench scraper to replace. Lightly press the sugar mixture into the margarine using a rolling pin. Roll the dough up into a tight log, finishing with the plain dough on the bottom to seal the entire thing together. Cut off the uneven ends to even out the log. Score log every 2 inches and then slice your rolls using those marks. Place into parchment paper lined, margarine greased pans. 12 into a 9×13, 3 remaining into a loaf pan, or 8×8 with the small ends. Cover pans with plastic wrap and dish towels. Let rolls rise another 1-2 hours or until they are touching and have risen almost double. My rolls always spread out more than up, so just be aware that they will most likely spread out more than up. Bake in a preheated 350 degree for 17 minutes, or until tops start to brown. Watch them carefully!!
3. For the Frosting- While the rolls are baking, whip cream cheese and margarine together. Stir in vanilla, corn syrup and lemon juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Pour in powdered sugar and stir slowly until it starts to incorporate. Then mix on high for 5 minutes or until frosting starts to lighten in color. Scrape sides and mix again briefly. Once rolls have been removed from the oven, frost using half the amount made. Then after they have cooled a few more minutes, frost again with remaining frosting. The first frosting will melt down into the rolls and the second layer should stay put. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes: See step my step photos for more details I neglected to mention. Also, if your frosting isn’t quite ready after you pull the rolls out of the oven, cover with foil so the tops don’t dry out and get crispy.

Go here to see her detailed step by step photos...and her awesome blog!

Bon Appetit!
Cathy