Fantastic Lime Chicken Tacos

Ingredients

3 TBSP. Red Wine Vinegar

2 TBSP. Lime Juice

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

1/2 tsp. Salt

2 Cloves Minced Garlic

1 tsp. White Sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Oregano

2 green onions, chopped

1 1/2 lb. Chicken cut into small cubes (I actually use the Rotisserie Chicken that is already

pre-cooked - I think it tastes better)

Diced Tomatoes

Lettuce

Cheese

Sour Cream

Salsa (if you like, but I thought that it doesn't ReALLy need it)

Tortillas (You can use either hard or soft tortillas for this- either are great)

Preparation

Cook the chicken for about 10-20 minutes until the juices run clear (or if you use the rotissari chicken you can bypass this step) Then add all the spices, vinegar, lime juice, and onions and mix together and let cook for about 5-10 minutes. The filling should be all ready and you can assemble the tacos how you like. ENJOY!

Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Now that it is the fall- Pumpkin cookies just sound right. This is a great tasting recipe to get your pumpkin fix, and include tasty oats too.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Pumpkin
1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets.
Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips (nuts or raisins also) Use tablespoons (or cookie scoop) to drop dough onto greased baking sheet; Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are light brown underneath.

Alterations

You can also add or use in place of the chocolate chips- chopped nuts, or raisins

Tin Foil Dinner

This is one of Joe's favorite dinners.

Ingredients

1 lb hamburger
1/2 packet Lipton's Onion Soup Mix
1/2 Cup BBQ Sauce
"Dash" of pepper, seasoning salt, and garlic powder

1 onion sliced into rings
2 carrots cut into slices
1 baking potato cut into slices
1 red potato cut into slices
1 zucchini cut into slices

Pepper, Seasoning Salt, and Garlic Powder

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take tinfoil square and lightly spray with Pam (or equivalent)
Mix the meat, mix, BBQ sauce and spices together and form 4 patties and place on tin foil square. Layer the vegetables on top of the meat in the quantity and kind that you want (Joe doesn't want the zucchini- but I do :) Typically put them in the order that I have them listed and that cooks the best way. Once the vegetables are layered on the meat I gently sprinkle them with the pepper, seasoning salt and garlic powder. Fold the tinfoil around the packets- you may need to double wrap with the tin foil. Cook in the oven for 1-1/2 hours.

Jerk Chicken Nachos

Ingredients
6 Cups of Tortilla Chips
2 Cups Diced or Shredded Cooked Chicken
2 Cups Cheese
2 1/2 TBSP Jamaican Jerk Seasoning- Divided
1 Small Red Pepper- cut into small diced size
1 TBSP fresh cilantro
2 TBSP Lime Juice Divided
1/3 Cup Sour Cream

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Arrange the tortilla chips on a baking sheet, slightly overlapping. Mix the Chicken, Cheese and 1 TBSP of the Jerk Seasoning and sprinkle over chips and place in oven until the cheese is melted. Combine the red pepper, 1 TBSP jerk seasoning, and cilantro. Mix the sour cream, 1/2 TBSP jerk seasoning. Once the cheese is melted over the chips, take out of the oven and sprinkle the red pepper mixture over the nachos. Spoon (or you can put the sour cream in a plastic baggie, cut a small portion of the corner of the bad)and drizzle the sour cream over the nachos. ENJOY!

Pizza Dips

Ingredients

2 containers refrigerated pizza dough

48 Slices of pepperoni

8 ounces of mozzarella cheese cut into 48 cubes (or use string cheese)

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning

1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cup jar of or homemade pizza sauce -or you can use any type of dipping sauce

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take each of the containers of pizza dough and roll to approx. 12x9 and cut into 24 squares. Take 1 pepperoni slice and 1 cube of cheese and place on the square of dough and press to seal completely. Place the sealed side down on cookie sheet. (You will want to spray sheet with non stick spray) In another bowl mix the oil and italian seasoning together and drizzle over the sealed dough and place in oven. Bake for 16-22 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and serve with warm pizza sauce.

Pineapple Chicken Grill

Before our ward split we were having recipe swaps, but since then we haven't started back up. This recipe and the next are what I brought to the swap-

Ingredients
1/2 C. Orange Juice
2 TBSP Honey
2 TBSP Soy Sauce
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Lemon-Pepper Seasoning
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
4 Chicken Breasts

Tomato Slices
Pineapple Slices
Lettuce
Hamburger Buns

Take the 4 chicken breasts and add to the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Once you are ready to cook the chicken, drain the marinade of the bag. Make sure that the grill has been heated up and place chicken on grill. Also place the pineapple on the grill for about 1 minute on each side (just to warm, and get the nice grill marks) Cook the chicken so that the juices run clear. Serve on the buns with the tomato slices, lettuce and pineapple slice.

Variation
Ok, so not really a variation, but I like to spread butter on the buns and then toast them in a pan (like Texas Toast) It just adds a little something to the dish

Cornbread

This recipe is in thanks to my wonderful mom- I love this recipe. It is more on the sweeter side, and is great with butter, honey or plain. It is also great with a hot bowl of chili.

Ingredients
1/2 cup Cornmeal
1 1/2 cup Flour
2/3 cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
2 Eggs
1 1/4 cup Milk
1/3 cup Oil


Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately. Then combine the ingredients and mix well. Pour the mix in a 8x8 pan and cook for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle is clean.

Variations
For a 9x13 pan size, double the ingredients and cook for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle is clean.

Slow Cooker Chili

I love this recipe- It is easy to put while the babe is asleep and when he is up and ready to play- I can because dinner is already cooking. I also like to make cornbread and serve it with it.

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 4 ounce can of diced chilies
2 15 ounce cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I use 1 can dark beans, and 1 can light beans)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
2 14.5 ounce cans of tomato soup
1 cup of tomato juice
1/2 cup of brown sugar

Optional Additions
1 can of black beans, 1 cup of frozen corn.

Optional Toppings
sour cream, grated cheese, finely diced onions

Preparation
Brown the ground beef in pan, drain well and then add to the crock pot. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. You can cook the chili on low heat for 7-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours. This makes about 8-10 1 cup servings.

Variations
You can omit the ground beef, and it works for a vegetarian meal.

Love to Cook

I love to cook, I always have. My parents both are great cooks and I'd like to think that I have learned from the best. This blog will be for me to post the recipes that I love to make and a place to try out new ones. I have had some people comment on my recipes and that I should write them somewhere, so here goes...