Speedy Southwest Salad

The toughest thing about making this salad, is dicing 1 cup of tomatoes.  This really is a speedy, easy salad to make.  It has traveled with me to family gatherings, down the block to church dinners, and I double it for funeral dinners, where it has made several appearances.  The ranch dressing and picante sauce are a nice combination that can be repeated on a regular tossed salad.  (Terry)

 

SPEEDY SOUTHWEST SALAD

(Adapted from Quick Cooking.)

1 pkg (10 oz) ready-to-serve salad greens

1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 C ranch salad dressing

1C picante sauce

2 C broken tortilla chips

1-2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 C diced tomatoes

Place greens in a large salad bowl.  Top with corn and then beans.  In small bowl, combine the dressing and picante sauce.  Spoon over vegetables.  Sprinkle with tortilla chips, cheese, and tomatoes--in that order.  Serve immediately.  Yield:  Serves 6.

Chili Cheese Corn

If your husband requests a certain recipe, it's a good idea to go with it.  I was going to share with you another salad recipe today, but decided to write up a favorite of my husband's.  And this gives me another chance to use my cream cheese.  Yum.  So last night I made this corn recipe, and got some sincere thanks from Wayne.  It's quick.  It's easy.  And it spices up a good old standby--corn.  (Terry)

CHILI CHEESE CORN
(Adapted from Simple & Delicious magazine)

1 pkg (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed

2 tablespoons butter

4 cups frozen corn, thawed (Just put corn in a colander and run hot water over it to thaw.)

1 can (4 ounces) diced green chilies

1/4 cup milk

1/4 tp garlic salt

1/8 tp salt

1/8 tp cayenne pepper

In a large saucepan, combine cream cheese and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until both are melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.

Broccoli Strawberry Salad

This is one of those recipes, when you look at the list of ingreidents, it makes you wonder if they really go together.  Trust me.  They do.  I could eat some of this salad every day.  While it says "serve immedidately," I have made it ahead of time and taken it to family reunions with no problems.  Just wait to toss on the almonds until it is time to serve.  (Terry)

BROCCOLI STRAWBERRY SALAD
(Adapted from a recipe from "Simple & Delicious")

8 C fresh broccoli florets

8 oz Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, but into ½” cubes

2 C mayonnaise

1/4 C sugar

2TB cider vinegar

2 C fresh strawberries, quartered

¼ C sliced almonds, toasted

In a large bowl combine broccoli and cheese.  In a small bowl whisk the mayo, sugar, and vinegar.  Pour over broccoli mixture.  Toss to coat.  Gently stir in strawberries.  Sprinkle with almonds.  Serve immediately.  Serves: 10

Cream Cheese Chicken

My personal philosophy is--if it's got cream cheese in it, you can't go wrong.  That applies to sweet as well as savory dishes.  A few weeks ago, Smith's had cream cheese on sale for $1.00 a package.  Where I live, that is a super price nowadays.  So I bought 40 of them.  And now I'm ready to cook.  Here's one of my favorite "cream cheese" recipes.  My daughters and dil also serve this dish.  At church dinners I get requests for the recipe.  Hope you enjoy it as well.  (Terry)

CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cube butter--cubed
1 pkg Italian Good Seasons dressing mix (dry)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese--cubed
Place chicken pieces in crockpot.  Put the rest of the ingredients in a crockpot and cook on LOW for 5 hours or HIGH for 2 hours.  Serve over cooked noodles or mashed potatoes.
NOTE:  I like to use larger breast pieces.  I cut each breast into thirds.  I cook on HIGH for about 3 hours.

Potato Chip Clusters

I love weird combinations.  Things that sound strange together.  Ingredients that make you think twice.  I've got a 3-ingredient goodie for you to try.  I usually make these as part of the goodie plates I take to the neighbors for Christmas.  Three ingredients.  White chocolate.  Potato chips.  Poke a couple of tiny holes in a whole bag of chips--to let the air out.  Then go to town on it with the flat side of a meat tenderizer mallet.  Freeze the leftover chip crumbs until the next time you make this candy.  The third ingredient is pecan chips.  Sometimes pecan "chips" are really a smaller-sized chopped pecan.  Other times pecan "chips" are very fine, like your crushed potato chips.  For this recipe you want the really small pecan chips.  (Terry)
POTATO CHIP CLUSTERS
9 squares (1 oz each) white baking chocolate
2 C crushed potato chips
1/2 C pecan chips
In a large microwave bowl, melt white chocolate.  Stir in potato chips and pecan chips.  Spray mini muffin tins with a baking spray and fill each cup with the mixture.  Refrigerate until set.  Makes 2 dozen.  If you don't have mini muffin tins.  Drop by tablespoons onto a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.

Microwave Caramels

MICROWAVE CARAMELS
Don't be afraid.  We're talking 5 ingredients and super easy.  No candy thermometer.  No stirring and dodging hot splatters.  No waiting for the sugar mixture to turn the perfect color.  Just dump everything into a glass bowl, stick it in the microwave, and wah-lah, you have homemade caramels.  (Terry)
1/2 C butter (yeah, the real deal)
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C lite corn syrup
1/2 C sweetened condensed milk
Melt butter in microwave.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir until blended.  Place in microwave for 6-8 minutes.  Pour into greased 8x8 pan.  Refrigerate 40 minutes.  Cut into small pieces and wrap in waxed paper.
NOTE:  Last time I cooked it for 8 minutes, I ended up with Werther's Originals--too hard.  So now I only cook it for 6 minutes.  If that is too soft for you, try 6 1/2 minutes for the next batch.

Chicken Pillows

This is a recipe I found on the blog Real Mom Kitchen a couple of years ago and while it might sound weird being called 'Chicken Pillows,' LOL, but it is the best thing I've ever eaten. Its relatively simple to prep and cook. This my family's absolutely favorite meal, even my picky eaters will eat this. Now I always at least double the recipe, because we love to eat the leftovers. I hope your families enjoy this as much as mine. You can make it without mushrooms if you don't like them, but they really add to it. Enjoy. From the Kitchen of Michele Southworth

 

 

Chicken Pillows

3-4 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
6 oz of cream cheese, softened
2 -4 tablespoons green onion, diced

1/3 cup chopped mushrooms (I can’t add this cause no one likes mushrooms, except me)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
¼ teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
2 cans of crescent rolls (I used the new crescent creations)
Bread crumbs
1 stick melted butter

In large bowl, mix together cream cheese, green onion, mushrooms, 2 Tbsp butter, salt, and pepper. Stir in chicken and set aside. Open crescent rolls and carefully unroll dough. Separate each tube into 4 rectangles. Seal seam in center of each rectangle. Place one heaping tablespoon on half of each rectangle. Fold over other half of roll dough and seal edges, creating a pillow. Dip each pillow in melted butter and then bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with cream sauce.

 

Cream sauce:

1 can cream of chicken of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/8 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon mayo
Milk

Combine ingredients in sauce pan and cook over medium heat until heated through. Although the recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon of curry powder, I always add to taste after adding the initial amount.