Chicken Enchilada Pasta.....

Another GREAT Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe!  She needs to write a cookbook!!  My hubby LOVED this.  It makes a lot, so next time I am going to freeze half of it!  Enjoy!

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
4-ounce can diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 (10-oz) cans green chili enchilada sauce
2/3 cup red enchilada sauce
1 can large black olives, cut in half
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
16-20 oz. penne pasta (Depending on how "saucy" you want the pasta)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until tender. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is translucent. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another 2 minutes, until pepper is barely tender. Add the cooked chicken, green chilies, spices, enchilada sauces and olives. Let the sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Add the sour cream and cheese and heat through, until the cheese is melted (but don't boil!). Pour the sauce over the hot pasta. Garnish with extra sour cream, cheese, diced tomatoes, green onions or crushed tortilla chips.

Quick and Easy Fish Tacos!

6-8 frozen crispy fish fillets
2 ripe Avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped
3/4 cup salsa
1 lemon, juiced
3/4 cup low-fat sour cream
1/3 cup canned enchilada sauce
6-8 taco shells
1 package angel slaw (or cabbage)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Bake fish according to package directions

Meanwhile, combine avocados, salsa and lemon juice in a small mixing bowl; set aside.  Stir together sour cream and enchilada sauce in a small mixing bowl; set aside

To assemble tacos, place fish fillet in taco shell, then top with angel slaw, avocado mixture, sour cream mixture, and cheese.

Enjoy!!!

Halloween Candy Surprise Cookies

(Sorry for the blurry picture... a photographer I am not...)

Looking for a way to use up some of those oh-so-tempting mini candy bars in your kids Halloween buckets? If you are like me- I am doing a good job at hiding the candy on top of the fridge to where the kids don't really think of it that often. The problem is- I still know it's there! So, I came up with this for when I needed to make some cookies for a function.

First, I used this cookie recipe posted previously on this blog.

Then, I added 1/4 cup peanut butter along with the butter (though I thought it could use a little more, so go up to 1/2 cup if you like).

I reduced the amount of chocolate chips to 1/2 cup

Then, I chopped up random candy bars from the kids Halloween buckets until it equaled 2 cups. I stirred these in and baked as directed in the recipe. (I would stick with things that would go good in chocolate cookies- I used Kit Kats, Reeses cups, Snickers, Hershey bars and M& M's. There are certainly other possibilities!)

These were a HUGE hit and disappeared in no time! Moist and rich and a surprise (a pleasant one) in every bite!

Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Chicken Bake

This is adapted from an allrecipes.com recipe. Very good and so very easy- a perfect weeknight meal. My husband and 2 of my 4 children gave it rave reviews (trust me, that is good! The other two just didn't know what they were missing.) I served it with herb rice and vegis. It would also be good on sandwich rolls.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 TBSP butter, melted
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 deg. Grease a 13X9X2 pan.

2) In a small bowl, stir together the honey, Dijon mustard, melted butter and pepper. Place chicken in baking dish and pour the honey mustard sauce over it.

3) Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, basting frequently with the sauce until chicken is firm and juices run clear.

Notes:
- The original recipe called for 1/2 cup honey. One reviewer recommended keeping it even with amount of mustard to keep from being too sweet, so that is what I did and it was oh so good and a bit tangy! (The original recipe also called for a whole stick (1/2 cup) of butter- but trust me- 2 TBSP is plenty!)

-I will definitely make this again as is and I also want to try another tip from a reviewer that sounded good. She recommended dipping the chicken in the sauce- then coat in bread crumbs and then pour remaining sauce over it. She says it adds a little crunch and takes away the need for basting.

Enjoy!!!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons light olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 (6 ounce) fillets salmon

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

Harvest Muffins....

Man these are good! Tasty and low in fat and Calories! (if you do weight watchers, each muffin is only one point!)

Ingredients:
1 spice cake mix
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
2 apples cored and chopped into bite sized pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients and bake for 20 minutes. EASY! Enjoy!

French Toast Bread Pudding with Warm Peaches

I just made this for the second time this morning and it was even better than I remembered. Even my boys liked it (minus the topping). I just had to share!!!

prep time: 20 minutes

chill time: overnight

bake time: 45 minutes

1 TB butter, softened

1 loaf (about 1 pound) cinnamon-swirl bread, challah, or brioche bread

6 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Peaches:

4 TB butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 ripe peaches, sliced (you are definitely going to want to at least double the peaches, but nothing else)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

The night before serving, smear the 1 TB butter over the bottom and sides of a 13x9x2-inch baking dish or other 2 quart baking dish. Tear the bread into small pieces and scatter in the dish. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Pour over the bread. Tamp down the bread with a spatula to submerge each piece of bread in the egg. Cover with foil, gently pressing down so the foil is right on the surface of the mixture. Refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, remove the dish and slide it into a cold oven with the foil on (otherwise, the dish will crack). Turn the oven on to 375. After 25 minutes, gently pull off and discard the foil. Continue to bake until mixture is puffed and golden brown, about 20 more minutes. At this point, prepare the peaches by melting the 4 TB butter in a wide nonstick pan then stirring in the brown sugar. When mixture is bubbly, add peaches and cinnamon and cook, stirring, until peaches start to look glazed, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside (mixture will be really hot.)

When bread pudding is cooked, let it cool for a few minutes on a rack, then spoon onto plates and top with warm peaches.

Enjoy!