Butter Pecan Sweet Potaotes

Ruth's Chris Sweet Potatoes(Printable Recipe)
Source: Ruth's Chris and Kimi

Crust:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter, melted

Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Set aside.

Sweet Potato Mixture
3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
(splash of milk if needed)

Note: To cook sweet potatoes first wash and dry them carefully then you can either: 1) Bake them at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes 2) Boil them for 30 minutes or 3) Pierce them with a fork and microwave them for about 15-20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a medium-size casserole dish with nonstick spray.

Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a large mixing bowl in the order listed. Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer for about 3-4 minutes to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture. Add a splash of milk if needed and mix.

Pour mixture into the baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. At this point, dish can be covered and refrigerated for a couple of days.

Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture and return to oven for 10 minutes. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.
The brown sugar and pecan crust should be slightly browned and crunchy. Makes 12 servings.

Montery Chicken

MONTEREY CHICKEN
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. bar-b-que sauce ( I use Bull's Eye)
1/4 c. real bacon bits
1 c. colby and jack cheese, shredded
1 14 oz. can Rotel tomatoes, drained (canned with green chilies added)
sliced green onions
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound out chicken breasts to flatten. Season with pepper. Grill chicken until no long pink (we used our George Foreman grill) and place on baking sheet covered with foil. Top each chicken breast with one tablespoon bar-b-que sauce, 1/4 c. cheese, 1/4 c. tomatoes, green onions and one tablespoon of bacon bits. Place in oven and bake until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).

***This is the first time we marinated the chicken breasts before cooking and they were great. You don't have to though. Marinade: 1/4 c. olive oil, 2 T. soy sauce, 2 tsp. McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning. (We only marinade about a half hour or the meat gets too salty for us.)

Sweet Potatoes

Ruth's Chris Sweet Potatoes(Printable Recipe)
Source: Ruth's Chris and Kimi

Crust:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter, melted

Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Set aside.

Sweet Potato Mixture
3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
(splash of milk if needed)

Note: To cook sweet potatoes first wash and dry them carefully then you can either: 1) Bake them at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes 2) Boil them for 30 minutes or 3) Pierce them with a fork and microwave them for about 15-20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a medium-size casserole dish with nonstick spray.

Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a large mixing bowl in the order listed. Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer for about 3-4 minutes to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture. Add a splash of milk if needed and mix.

Pour mixture into the baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. At this point, dish can be covered and refrigerated for a couple of days.

Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture and return to oven for 10 minutes. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.
The brown sugar and pecan crust should be slightly browned and crunchy. Makes 12 servings.

Peanut Butter Cake

Ingredients1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup water
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup peanut butter chips, divided
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
Directions
1.In a mixing bowl, beat cake mix, peanut butter and brown sugar on low speed until crumbly. Set aside 1/2 cup. Add water, eggs and oil to remaining crumb mixture; blend on low until moistened. Beat on high for 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup each chocolate and peanut butter chips. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Combine peanuts, reserved crumb mixture and the remaining chips; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Bodacious Brocolli Salad

Ingredients
8 slices bacon
2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped
1 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions
1.Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.
2.In a large bowl, combine broccoli, cheese, bacon and onion.
3.Prepare the dressing in a small bowl by whisking together the red wine vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Combine dressing with salad. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Johnny C's Chicken and Spinach Pasta

I just wanted to pass on a new recipe that we tried a couple of nights ago. It was REALLY good (Blair said that it was johnny carino's good, and that's a real compliment from him!). Don't know if anyone else will like it, but it's SUPER easy to make, SUPER fast (20 min. start to finish and on the table!) and will impress those girls at BYU for family night. It made enough for our family. We also discovered that you can DOUBLE it and freeze half of the sauce for another (Make pasta on the day you serve it).

Bon Apetite!

8 oz. Heavy Whipping Cream
1 can Cr. Chicken Soup
2 chicken breasts (cooked and cubed into small pieces)
1/4 c. chopped onions
2 cups cheese (they say mozzarella, but I used cheddar!)
5-6 cups coarsely shredded FRESH spinach
package of pasta of your choice (I used the tube pasta (real proper name, huh) but bowtie would also be great!

While your pasta is cooking-
Cook onions w/ a little butter and add chicken. When onions are soft add cream and chicken soup, cook on med. for 2 minutes- add spinach and cheese- stir and cook until spinach is limp (approx 2-3 minutes). Serve over warm (cooked) pasta. NUMMY!

Blair says that he thinks is would be good w/ baby shrimp in is, if you like that kind of stuff.

Porcupine Meatballs

Growing up we had these prickly meatballs occasionally, and they were one of my favorites. They do take some advance planning, but they make a great freezer meal- so make lots of them. I have modified the original recipe to make it easier and quicker...for lazy cooks like myself!

2.5 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
2TBS McCormick Hamburger Seasoning
2 cups cooked rice OR
2 cups instant rice
*Mix well and form into meatballs. Golf Ball sizes seem to work well for proportion and cook time.

Sauce:
3 cans tomato sauce
1/3 cup mustard
1 Tbsp McCormick Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning

Mix Sauce in large skillet and warm to light bubble. Add meat balls, spooning a little sauce over each meatball. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Carefully roll each meatball to the other side, continuing to spoon sauce over each one. Cover again and simmer for 10-15 minutes more, or until cooked through. I like to continue "basting" it in the sauce.

You can serve these meatballs plain, on a sandwich, or over rice along with the sauce (which is our families favorite!).

Cafe Rio Salad

LIME RICE:1 cup dry rice cooked in 2 cups Swanson’s 100% fat free chicken broth1 minced garlic clove1 tsp. finely grated lime zest2 tbsp. lime juice1/2 tsp. kosher saltCombine all ingredients and cook in Rice cooker. 2 tbsp. minced cilantro (optional, add after cooking)(yields 8 (1/4 cup) servings) (X 4= full rice cooker)

CAFÉ RIO PORK:
1 cup liquid honey
1 20 oz. Dr. Pepper
1 cup catsup
1 cup salsa
1 minced garlic clove
Mix and pour over 3 small one pound pork loin roasts from Costco. Cook in crockpot on low for 7-9 hours until it pulls apart.
(yields 24 servings).
CHICKEN:4 chicken breasts1 yellow onion, sliced2 cans diced green chilis2 cups Swanson’s 100% fat free chicken broth (plus enough water to cover chicken)1 tsp. cuminKosher salt to tasteCombine in slow cooker and cook on low 10-12 hours (meat will shred itself from the moisture).(yields 8 (1/2 cup) servings) (Triple for crock pot)

BLACK BEANS:2 15.5oz. cans Great Value Black Beans1 tomato, chopped1/2 onion, chopped1/2 bell pepper chopped1 clove garlic minced1/2 tsp. kosher saltCombine and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes(yields 8 (1/2 cup) servings) PICO DE GALLO:2 tomatoes1/2 onion1/4 to 1/2 green bell peppera few sprigs of cilantroKosher salt to tasteChop all, mix together, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

CAFÉ RIO DRESSING
1 cup mayonnaise1/2 bunch cilantro, washed1/3 cup buttermilk or sour milk*4 tomatillos, quartered2 garlic cloves, chopped3/4 tsp cayenne pepper1 packet ranch salad dressing mix (used dry)Mix ingredients together in a blender.*To make sour milk, combine 1/3 cup milk with 1 Tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice. OK Folks you have to think about the ingredients that are available at the restaurant and then the recipe becomes very easy. I make this all the time and it truly is the best we have found. Looks and tastes just like it!!!!

LETTUCE:16 cups, chopped (or shredded)