Easiest Christmas Morning Sticky Buns

Yep. This is it. This recipe is SO incredibly simple and I absolutely love it. If you're feeling anything like I am today, you're tired and you need only easy tasks ahead of you. I love the Christmas season, but my goodness this year has been insane. I'm tired and all I want to do is spend a whole day at the spa.

But that doesn't change the fact that I want Christmas morning to be special. These are so quick and easy it's almost comical. It's perfect for Christmas morning.

It does take a little thinking ahead, because it has to rise overnight. My mom used to always make these in a bundt pan. It makes a very pretty shape, but not all the rolls get a fair share of the "goodness." So, I've since switched to using just a cake pan. And I actually "half" the recipe for our little family.

Have a very MERRY Christmas! Enjoy!

{STICKY BUNS}

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1 (3-oz.) pkg. butterscotch cook and serve pudding (it's very important that it be the non-instant)
1 c. chopped nuts
1 c. brown sugar
¾ tsp. cinnamon
6 T. melted butter
20-24 frozen rolls

Sprinkle chopped nuts in bottom of greased pan. Place frozen rolls on top of nuts. Mix pudding, cinnamon & brown sugar and sprinkle on top of rolls. Drizzle melted butter over all. Cover with towel and leave overnight. Bake in morning at 350° for 30-40 minutes. Invert pan onto a cookie sheet and let the goodness drizzle on down the rolls.

Easiest Egg & Toast Breakfast Cups

I'm all about easy cooking these days. As you can tell, I've been lacking on my posting. That's because my pregnancy sickness has lingered FOREVER! And I also have been crazy busy with Christmas preparations. So, we've been eating our favorite EASY meals. Which I should post for you. 

But today here's a new one. This is the easiest breakfast you could make, besides cold cereal or instant oatmeal. Plus, it's cute! You can make it with sausage or bacon. I think the bacon is more cute. But my husband preferred sausage. Your choice.

This would be perfect for Christmas morning.

Enjoy!

{EASIEST EGG & TOAST BREAKFAST CUPS}

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3 T. butter, melted
8 slices bread (I used a 7-grain bread)
1 1/2 c. sausage, cooked & crumbled (or 6 slices bacon, cooked)
6 eggs
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter 6 standard muffin cups. With a rolling pin, flatten bread slices slightly and, with a 4 1/4-inch cookie cutter, cut into 8 rounds. Cut each round in half, then press 2 halves into each muffin cup, overlapping slightly and making sure bread comes up to edge of cup. Use extra bread to patch any gaps. Brush bread with remaining butter.
 

Spoon 1/4 cup sausage in cup. Or lay 1 bacon slice in each bread cup, depending on which one you've picked. Crack an egg over each. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until egg whites are just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Run a small knife around cups to loosen toasts. Serve immediately.

 Source: Martha Stewart

Cheesy Potato & Italian Sausage Soup

Tis the season for...SOUP! I love the comfort of a warm bowl of soup on a cloudy and cold evening. Plus, you HAVE to have warm bread with soup, and that's really my downfall. I love fresh warm bread/rolls/breadsticks. 

This is a family recipe. I first had it this past Summer after I had my emergency surgery for my ectopic pregnancy. My cute sister-in-law brought it. Yes, it was summer, but I was in need of some real comfort. I don't think soup has ever tasted so good. It warmed my soul and filled my stomach with food that I hadn't had the emotional energy to eat up to that point. 

This is also a pretty fast soup to pull together. Your family will love it this cold season. Especially on those evenings after a hectic day of shopping.

Enjoy!

{CHEESY POTATO & ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP}

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1 lb. Italian seasoned sausage, browned

3 c. chicken broth

4 c. red potatoes (cleaned & cubed)

3 T. butter

1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 c. milk

8 oz. Velveeta cheese

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 c. sour cream

In a large stock pot combine chicken broth & potatoes, bring to a boil and then reduce. Allow to simmer until potatoes are tender about 20 minutes. (this would be a good time to brown the sausage)

In a separate saucepan melt butter and stir in flour. Cook for 1 minute until four is fully incorporated. Slowly whisk in milk and allow mixture to thicken over medium heat. Add Velvetta cheese and pepper. Stir until mixture is melted and mixed to a smooth consistency. 

Add the cheese mixture and cooked sausage to the broth & potatoes. Warm through for about 5 minutes. Just before serving, mix in sour cream.

 

Pumpkin Delight

Ok, we're going to try this. I'm slowly starting to appreciate food again, and not just force feed myself every couple hours.

This is a favorite pumpkin treat in our family. And I had completely forgotten about it until my brother started talking about it a few weeks ago. 

My husband is a pumpkin fanatic, so I'm always looking for pumpkin recipes. This is a sure winner!

And to be quite honest, I DON'T like pumpkin pie. I don't like pie actually. Crazy I know. I try every year to change my mind, because pies are so pretty. But I just don't like the crust. So this pumpkin delight is like pumpkin pie but with a cake crust instead of a pastry crust. WINNER!

I hope you enjoy! 

{PUMPKIN DELIGHT}

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The crust:

1 pkg. yellow cake mix with 1 c. mix removed.
½ c. butter, melted
1 egg

Mix together and press firmly into a greased and floured 9x13 inch pan.

The filling
In a bowl mix the following:
1 large (30-oz) can pumpkin pie mix (not plain pumpkin!)
2 eggs, slightly beaten.
1 can evaporated milk

Pour onto crust.

The Topping:
Mix and crumble on the top:
¼ c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ c. cold butter
1 c. reserved cake mix.

Bake 350° for 50-60 minutes. Serve with whipped cream. This is great served warm or cold.

What I've been cooking & why I hate food

To all of my die-hard Some Kind of Delicious fans out there

...HELLO....Hello...hello....hello...hello.

Just kidding.

Well, I've obviously been MIA lately. And a lot of you may already know why. But it's because this is what I've been busy cooking instead.

  

Which means I'm spending most of my time here.
(this is not actually my bed, after all the time I've spent in it lately, there's no way I'd post an actual picture of it!)

Oh, and here. 
(yep, also not my toilet, but you get the idea)

A few weeks ago I was crying to my husband saying (all hormonal-like), "I can't think about my blog. I can't think about food. I HATE FOOD. And I can't imagine I EVER liked food."

Yep, that was pretty much devastation for him. And then he laughed nervously, "Oh honey, you will like it again, I'm sure. Just be patient with yourself."

And with that, I've taken a hiatus from thinking about food....and cooking...and eating anything other than crackers, fresca, and gum. 

But I hope to like food again. I really do. And when that desire comes back, you'll know it! I'm just praying that by Thanksgiving I'll like food at least. How tragic would that be? Almost as tragic as my poor sister who got braces two days before Thanksgiving. Who planned that? 

Anyway, hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things soon. Who knows if anyone is still really out there and cares anyway. Any thoughts, words of comfort, or complaints?

Anyone?

Ok, back to the bed.  

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Cookies

 

Tis the season for pumpkin. Every where I look I'm seeing tempting recipes and ideas for pumpkin. I can't wait to try them out. But for now, this is a DELICIOUS repeat from last year. It won't disappoint. I'm making these today.

However, just note that you'll need a few hours for the dough to freeze before you bake. I don't want you doing what I did last weekend and procrastinating and then realizing you don't have enough time!

 

Also, plan on sharing because these are best eaten the same day they're baked. 

Enjoy!

{PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE SWIRL COOKIES} 

Click here for a printable version.

1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. white sugar

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. canned solid packed pumpkin

1 egg

Orange and Green food colors, optional

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 c. flour

1 T. pumpkin pie spice*

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 c. powdered sugar

 3 T. flour

Beat together softened butter, white sugar and packed brown sugar. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin, egg and a couple drops orange food color; stir in chocolate chips. Add 3 cups flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking powder; stir until thoroughly mixed. Remove 2/3 cup cookie dough and set aside. Roll remaining cookie dough out between two sheets of lightly floured wax paper or parchment paper into a 12x15x1/4 inch rectangle. Freeze dough while preparing cream cheese filling.

Knead a couple drops green food color into reserved 2/3-cup cookie dough. Roll dough into approximately 36 small marble size balls, freeze until ready to use.

Beat cream cheese until smooth; add powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of flour; beat until smooth and creamy. Remove cookie dough from freezer; peel off top parchment paper; spread prepared cream cheese over 2/3 the width of the rectangle (keep cream cheese on one side of dough and spread out to both ends). Using the parchment paper to carefully lift, roll cookie into a log, starting on the long cream cheese side (jelly roll fashion with cream cheese in center). Wrap log in parchment, return to freezer for 2-3 hours, preferable overnight (or until stiff).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray or line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove cookie dough from freezer, remove parchment wrap, cut into 1/4 to 3/8-inch thick slices; place on prepared baking sheet. Place a green marble size piece of dough at the top of each cookie and slightly flatten to form a stem. Bake about 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool cookies on rack. Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

*NOTE: Pumpkin Pie spice may be replaced with mixture of 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.

Witches Brew Party Activity & Drink

Halloween party time is upon us! Are you ready? I have always loved Halloween and Halloween parties. I think it started with my grandparents who would always get a HUGE pile of sawdust and hide candy and money in it. We got to search for our treasures. I always thought that was the greatest.

But I love all Halloween activities, hay rides, pumpkin carving, carnival games, costumes. All of it. My son is really getting into it this year. And much to my dismay started insisting on picking his own costume. How did he already out-grow my picking a "cutsie" costume for him? Ugh, he's barely three and still in diapers for heavens sake! He's insisted on being a motorcycle driver. And honestly, it doesn't get scarier than that for a mother! 

Anyway...back to the Witches Brew. We did this at the family Halloween Party last year. My sister-in-law Angie is AMAZINGLY creative. She came up with this Witches Brew and it was a BIG hit. 

WARNING: You'll want to do this outside because little witches don't have the best aim when contributing to the brew.

We gave each child a mason jar of an ingredient. The older kids had the drink portions. I think we did grape soda and strawberry soda. And we called it things like "bat juice" and "blood." But I was thinking lemon-lime with green food coloring would be fun with the grape also. 

The other jars had things like plastic vampire fangs, rubber rats, spider rings, plastic frogs. You get the idea. Get creative. 

We had some of the drink already in the "witches brew" with some dry ice so it was smoking and bubbling. Then each child got to add their ingredient. Then as we served the drink, we made sure each child got a special "ingredient" in their cup. Their squeals of delight were priceless.

Let me know if you try it and what you do differently! Enjoy!

{WITCHES BREW}

Punch Bowl or Witches Brew bucket

Mason jars

Dry ice

Grape soda - "Bat Juice"

Strawberry soda- "Blood" (or your choice of sodas)

Vampire fangs

Rubber rats

Spider rings

Plastic frogs

Any other Halloween party favor or toy

Frankenbite Cookies

 

I made these little cuties last year and I've been waiting to post them! They were SO quick and easy it's almost a joke. You have to make these for your Halloween parties this year. This is also a really cute way to let your kids help!

After these cooled they were so tasty because the cookies softened from the chocolate coating. They were really a lot more delicious than I expected. I was just going for the cute factor.  But don't worry if they look a little demented and scary. They're FRANKENSTEIN! They're supposed to look monsterous. That's the best part! You can't mess it up.

You can find melting wafers at craft stores like Michaels.

Enjoy!

{FRANKENBITE COOKIES}

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1 pkg. sandwich cookies (Oreo type cookies)

1 pkg. green chocolate melting wafers

1 pkg. brown chocolate melting wafers

Chocolate sprinkles

Purple Nerds candies

Honey Nut Cheerios

In separate bowls, melt the chocolate wafers. You can do this with a double boiler, or by nuking them in the microwave. Be sure the stir after every 30 seconds until they are completely melted.

Hold one cookie at a time and dip into the green melted chocolate 3/4's of the way. Set cookies on waxed paper and finish dipping the rest of the cookies in the green chocolate.

As they sit on the wax paper and BEFORE they set up completely, place the Nerd's eyes and Cheerio mouths into the green face portion of the cookie.

Then go back and dip the remaining 1/4 of each cookie in the brown chocolate wafers. Now, your cookie should be completely covered. While the brown chocolate is still wet, dip in a bowl of chocolate sprinkles for hair. Continue with the rest of the cookies.

Allow the chocolate to set up for a couple hours before moving.

What I'm having for dinner, this cold and rainy evening

I know I've been totally lame with posting lately. But don't give up on me! Life sometimes demands that I pay attention to other areas for a while. So, I'm trying to be "good" and prioritize in a different way lately. But hopefully things will balance out soon, and I can get back to normal ole' me. 

My bishop is a wise man, and likes to remind me that life is like a balancing act where you're spinning plates on sticks...kind of like at the circus (of course my life should be compared to a circus!). You know what I'm talking about, right? Sometimes you can get them all spinning perfectly for a maybe a SECOND. And then one starts to fall, so you focus on that one and get it spinning. Meanwhile, another one may be slowing, so you then focus on that one. And so you go, spinning and spinning, and trying to make sure they're all staying on top. Whew, it makes me tired to just to think about it all. But it's worth it. 

So, let's just say I'm spinning some different plates right now, but this DELICIOUS plate will come back into focus soon. 

Today is a rainy and cold day. The kind my husband likes best. So, this is what I'm making for dinner tonight. Maybe you ought to, too! 

You excited to come home, honey?

Enjoy!

BAKED POTATO SOUP

 

ROUND PEASANT BREAD (my fav)

Poppyseed Bundt Cake with Orange Glaze

You could call this "bread" to make yourself feel better. But with all the goodness that goes into it, I thought I'd better be honest with myself and call it what it is. Cake....or just plain ole poppyseed goodness.

This is a recipe from my sweet mother-in-law. I'm so glad I married into a family that loves good food too! What a relief!

I made this for some sweet girls in my neighborhood and they loved it. That's always a relief when I make something for the first time for other people. Why am I always doing that? It's risky. But this one turned out FANtastic.

Enjoy!

{POPPYSEED BUNDT CAKE}

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3 c. flour
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
2 c. sugar
1 ½ c. milk
1 c. oil
3 eggs
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
1 ½ tsp. almond extract

3 T. poppy seeds

Orange Glaze:
¾ c. powdered sugar
2 T. orange juice ½ tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. almond
2 T. melted butter

Prepare bundt pan by generously spraying with cooking oil. Be sure to spray the middle piece too! Flour the pan, by putting a small amount in and turning the pan to coat evenly. 

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, milk, oil, eggs, vanilla, almond, and poppy seeds. Blend with hand mixer for 2 minutes or until completely incorporated. Add dry ingredients to the poppy seed mixture and blend until mixed together. 

Pour into bundt pan and bake at 350° for 1 hour. 

Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before inverting onto a large plate or platter. Prepare glaze and pour over warm cake. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. 

FRESH Peach Cobbler

 This is Autumn Heaven in my household. I absolutely LOVE fresh peaches. My husband absolutely LOVES cobbler. And of course, my 3-year-old LOVES any sweet treat. 

This was so fabulous, the 2nd night we were having the leftovers after the wee-one went to bed. But his little nose caught on and sure enough he was crawling down the hall to see what Mom & Dad were doing behind his back.

"What are you eating?" came a tiny little voice from the dark.

CRASH! As our forks hit our bowls.

"Uhh, nothing honey, just go back to bed."

Yep, that wasn't going to work. I felt so guilty I just had to give him a taste...of cheese...as I sent him back to bed!

Parents of the year award, right here.

Enjoy!

P.S. The cobbler topping on this is the BEST I've ever tried. No doubt. Divine.

{FRESH PEACH COBBLER}

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THE PEACHES

8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
1/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. cornstarch

THE COBBLER
1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 T. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 c. boiling water

THE MAGIC DUST
3 T. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

  

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine peaches, sugar, brown sugar,  cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. 

While that bakes, in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture is coarsely mixed together. Stir in water until just combined. 

Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of cobbler batter over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture, aka "the magic dust." Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.

Zucchini Nut Brownies

This is yet another way to use up your zucchini. It's always great to take a vegetable out of your garden and make it into a sweet dessert, right?

I have to say these were good, but I think I'd prefer zucchini bread or cake. But talk to my husband about it because I think he ate the whole pan by himself, bascially. So, they must have been good.

Enjoy!!

{ZUCCHINI NUT BROWNIES}
click here for a printable version of this recipe
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 c. zucchini, shredded
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
(I also had to add a couple tablespoons water because it was too dry, which could have been because my zucchini had been sitting half-cut in the fridge for a few days and lost some moisture.)

FROSTING:
6 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c. margarine
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9x13" baking pan. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched. To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares. 

Source: allrecipes.com

Buffalo Chicken Dip & WARNING

WARNING: This dip is HIGHLY addictive.

My sister-in-law, Tiffany, is responsible for this. She made it for my mom's birthday bash. There it sat on the corner of the island. People kept trying to get away from it, but it just kept taunting us back. It is so yummy, so delicious, so sinfully good. This would be the perfect football game snack. 

Tis the season, like it or not. 

Enjoy!

P.S. Aren't those the MOST beautiful finger-tips in the picture? Thank you Amy. haha.

{BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP}

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2 (8-oz.) pkg cream cheese
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 c. Ranch dressing
2 cans chicken
1 c. hot sauce (yes, I said one cup!)


Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 baking pan. Blend cream cheese, cheddar cheese, ranch, chicken, and hot sauce. Pour into prepared pan. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes. Serve with tortilla strips.

Waffle Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Remember these divine treats? Well this is the same idea, but simplified. 

Simplified. That is my new personal theme. I'm trying to simplify and stream-line my life. Prioritize and dump unnecessary things off my to-do this.

So, this is perfect. As much as I LOVE those German Chocolate variety, these are simple. And MUCH quicker than regular brownies. You'll be eating these in minutes.

They'll also be GONE in minutes. They're that good. 

Enjoy!

{WAFFLE BROWNIES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING}

click here for a printable version of this recipe
1 cube margarine, melted
7 T. cocoa
4 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ c. white sugar
2 c. flour
½ tsp. salt

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Mix margarine, cocoa, eggs and vanilla together. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, flour, salt. Mix dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture. Fold in nuts. Drop the batter by tablespoonful onto hot waffle iron. Close and cook for one minute. 

{CREAM CHEESE FROSTING}

click here for a printable version of this recipe

1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 cubes butter (12 T.), room temperature
1/2 T. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powder sugar

Cream the cheese and butter together on low speed with a mixer.  Scrape the bowl. Add lemon juice and vanilla. Mix together. Add powder sugar on low until incorporated.  Mix on med-high for 3 minutes to make the frosting a bit lighter. Chill for 1/2 hour to stiffen up before using.

Sunflower Cake

This is for my beautiful mother. She is my hero, my strength, and my best friend. This was the cake I made for her birthday this year. A few years ago I did the same thing, only on cupcakes. 

It's darling and it goes pretty quickly! Just practice first, ok?

Also, make sure you get a good decorating frosting. Did you know that you can buy frosting from the bakery? Try it! Then, you'll for sure know it's good. 

But you know how I "cheated" on this? I made my favorite chocolate frosting to cover the cake.

And then I used canned frosting. Did you gasp out-loud? I know I'm the queen of "do everything from scratch." But I can't be perfect all the time. That, and I'm learning that sometimes it really is ok to cheat (not on your spouse, just with ingredients--just want to clarify).

Oh, so then I added powdered sugar to the canned frosting until it came to a stiff consistency. See how the sunflower petals stick up? Just stick a spoon in your frosting and tip it. If the peaks stand similar to the petal, you're good to go.

Let me know if you have questions!

{SUNFLOWER CAKE}

Favorite frosting (or canned with added powdered sugar--see above)

Orange & yellow food coloring (I prefer the paste coloring)

Icing Decorating Bags

Leaf tip #67 (or bigger if you prefer)

Oreos

Red MnM's

Arrange Oreos over cake (or one per cupcake) to your preference. 

Color the icing with orange and yellow until it reaches your preferred color. Spoon icing into decorating bag with leaf tip.

Hold tip against Oreo edge and gently squeeze and pull up as you let go to form a petal. Repeat around edges of all Oreos.

Place red MnM's around for ladybugs. You can add small dots to the candies for the ladybug spots.

Lemon Basil Chicken Salad

This is another delicious dish from my friend, Shannon. This was very sophisticated and different from any chicken salad I've had. I'm excited to serve this at the next shower I host (anyone getting married or having a baby?)

And usually people think of chicken salad as being a "woman food." You know, like I just mentioned for a shower. But I have to say that I made this for dinner and I think my husband ate more than I did. So it does please both sexes. 

Try it and enjoy!

{LEMON BASIL CHICKEN SALAD}

click here for a printable version of this recipe

4 c. chicken, cooked & diced

1 rib celery, minced

1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped

1/4 c. silvered almonds, toasted

1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 c. mayo

1/4 c. red onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice 

zest from lemon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine ingredients and chill for a couple hours before serving. You can serve with bread or on a bed of lettuce.

Most Delicious Potstickers

 

I know I've talked about my friend MaryAnn before {be sure to check out her food blog too!}. But this girl is an amazing cook and an even more amazing person. I look up to her in many ways. I went to a cooking demo where she taught us how to make these and I've been so excited to try them for myself! By the way, this post is straight from her blog (I did manage to at least take my own pictures).

They were fabulous! We got so sick "overdosing" on these puppies. We just couldn't stop eating them. I served these and edamame for dinner and it was a hit! 

Except next time, I think I'll just make half because we literally were unbuttoning our top pant button because we gorged ourselves. Or like MaryAnn says in her tips below, freeze half!

Thank you MaryAnn!

Enjoy!

{POTSTICKERS}

click here for a printable version of this recipe

1 lb ground pork
1/2-3/4 package coleslaw mix 

1 package won ton wrappers (in the produce section of all grocery stores)
1 tsp. salt 

3-4 green onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced 

1/8 tsp. ginger, grated

Mix ground pork with about half of the package of coleslaw mix, salt, onions, garlic and ginger. Place about a Tablespoon of the meat mixture on a won ton wrapper.

Put some water in a bowl and with either your finger or a pastry brush, wet all four sides of the wrapper.  Then fold 2 corners together, pressing them together.

 Then bring up the other 2 corners, sealing it all together.

Using a NONSTICK skillet, place a little bit of oil in the pan, then place each pot stickers in the pan. You'll have to do the potstickers in batches.

Saute over med/med-hi heat until the bottoms are a golden brown.

This is the tricky part.  At this point you need to add some water to the pan.  You need enough that it will last for the whole steaming process, but not too much.  Star with about a 1/2 cup.  As soon as you pour the water in, cover immediately.  Steam with cover on for 5-7 minutes, until pork is completely cooked through.

Remove cover and serve with soy sauce for dipping.

Helpful Hints from MaryAnn:

*If you run out of water during the steaming process before they are done, add a little more and continue to steam

* You can add any other ingredients or seasoning that you want. You can also try using different ground meats, like chicken. (I have only used pork, but I bet others would work fine)

* We like to dip these in soy sauce that has a little bit of red wine vinegar drizzled into it

*You can freeze these.  After you have them assembled, freeze them in a single layer, after they are frozen, you can put them in a ziplock.  Then take them out and cook them from the frozen state, don't thaw first.  You will just need to increase your cooking time, and probably use more water.

* To make egg rolls instead of pot stickers, buy the egg roll wrappers (or you can make mini egg rolls with these wrappers).  Add the whole package of coleslaw mix instead of just half.  You can also add things like rice noodles, and bean sprouts.  Wrap them up egg roll style, starting with a corner, then tucking in the side corners (kinda like rolling up a burrito). Fry them in about 1/2 inch of oil, turning over once.

*These are fun to make for a group when you have everyone help you assemble them.