Holiday Morning French Toast

Easy to make and incredibly delicious. I love it that you can make it the night before and stick in the oven in the morning. Does that spell holiday or what? And I think it tastes good any time of year.

From allrecipes.com
**


PREP TIME 20 Min
COOK TIME 45 Min
READY IN 5 Hrs 5 Min

INGREDIENTS
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 teaspoons McCormick® Ground Cinnamon, divided
3 tart apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 loaf Italian or French bread, cut into 1-inch slices
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract

DIRECTIONS
Combine brown sugar, butter and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a 13x9-inch baking dish. Add apples and cranberries; toss to coat well. Spread apple mixture evenly over bottom of baking dish. Arrange slices of bread on top.

Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon until well blended. Pour mixture over bread, soaking bread completely. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 24 hours.

Bake, covered with aluminum foil, in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Serve warm. For an eye-catching presentation, loosen edges of baking dish and invert onto a large serving platter.

"Just Like Cafe Rio Chicken"

I love this recipe!! Super easy! This recipe makes a lot so just scale it down to what you need!

1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
3 cloves minced garlic
5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast

Put all ingredients in crock-pot on low for 4 hours, shred meat and cook for one hour more.

Tonight I made it just for Cameron and I, this is how I scaled it down for just the two of us.

1/2 small bottle dressing
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 clove minced garlic
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

I put it in the crock pot for 2 hours, shredded it and cooked it for 1 hour more.

This is great for crunchy tacos. My tacos include corn tortillas, black beans, the cafe rio chicken, tomatoes, monterey jack cheese, and sour cream. YUMMY!!

KRAFT Meatloaf

Kelly told me about this recipe. I made it the next night (last night). Easy. Yummy. And still I didn't want to take a picture. Even good meatloaf looks bad. To me. But as Kelly said, she doesn't normally like meatloaf but likes this. (I used turkey and loved it.)

From Kraftfoods.com
***

Stove Top® Easy Pleasing Meat Loaf
Prep: 10 minutesBake 25 minutes (Yes, really just 10 minutes!)
2 lb. ground beef or 2 pkg. (16 oz. each) frozen LOUIS RICH Ground Turkey, thawed
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix, any variety
1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce, divided

MIX all ingredients except 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce.
SHAPE meat mixture into two oval loaves, side by side, in 13x9-inch baking dish; top with remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce.
BAKE at 375°F for 25 minutes or until center is no longer pink. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Note: Recipe can be prepared in muffin pans. Prepare as directed, pressing into 12 muffin cups. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes or until center is no longer pink.
Variation: For Easy Southwestern Meatloaf, add 1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce to meat mixture. Continue as directed.
Tip: Leftover meatloaf makes great sandwiches! Just spread slices of bread or split roll with MIRACLE WHIP Salad Dressing, add sliced meatloaf and additional KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce, if desired.

Breakfast Sandwiches

My Mom often made us breakfast sandwiches in high school. A homemade version of McDonald's. This is such a great breakfast on the go. And much heartier than cold cereal.

*There are plenty of variations, surely many I haven't done yet. Suit yourself.

Ingredients:
bacon (this is turkey bacon)...bacon bits also work
2 eggs (or one egg and an egg white as I do-a bit less cholesterol)
cheddar cheese (shredded or sliced, and really any type of cheese works)
mayo
ketchup
bread (if you want to splurge, buy Panera's tomato bread. TERRIFIC flavor-and more enjoyable when your mother buys it when she's visiting...as was my case.)


Step 1-Grill bacon. Most of the time I nuk it in the microwave but the George grill makes me feel like a professional chef-and its a lot cheaper than a panini maker. Georging it takes about 3-5 minutes.
Step 2-Add the bread to the grill. Or stick it in the toaster.
Step 3-While the bread is toasting and bacon's sizzling, scramble eggs (unless you want it to look like McD's and have the yolk in the center). If you're using bacon bits, add them now. PAM coat your mini bowl. Microwave for 70 seconds.
Step 4-Add cheese. Microwave 20 seconds.
Step 5-Spread your condiments on your toasted bread.
Step 6-Assemble, wrap in paper towel and send your hubby out the door. Or enjoy at home.

Take one last picture and turn off that darn flash.

Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

They look gross, its a wierd combination, and totally unhealthy. But they're strangely scrumptuous.





Simple instructions.

Ingredients:
Strong potato chips (these are ridged Lays)
Chocolate chips (these are milk chocolate, 1 bag)-one bag doesn't go far-which is probably a good thing. mini m&ms and/or sprinkles

1-Melt chocolate. I used a double boiler (the makeshift kind), but I'm sure you can nuke them.
2-Dunk. Remember to scrape the edges to get it all off the pan-the chip is the perfect scoop.
3-Put on wax paper.
4-Put the goods on while chocolate is still melted. (I love it that you can make these work for any occasion depending on the sprinkles you use.)

*I went through the bag and chose the biggest and most whole chips I could find...the rejects are on the side.

You should also know that other recipes suggest you double dunk the chips-fully cover the chip top and bottom and drizzle with white chocolate.

Chicken Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast meat
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
6 (12 inch) flour tortillas
1/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking dish.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the green onion until tender (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the garlic powder, then stir in the green chiles, cream of mushroom soup and sour cream. Mix well. Reserve 3/4 of this sauce and set aside. To the remaining 1/4 of the sauce in the saucepan, add the chicken and 1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese. Stir together.
Fill each flour tortilla with the chicken mixture and roll up. Place seam side down in the prepared baking dish.
In a small bowl combine the reserved 3/4 of the sauce with the milk. Spoon this mixture over the rolled tortillas and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

* I only cooked them for 25 minutes.

** My mom use to make these and my family loved them.I got the recipe off of allrecipes. I called to see if that was how she made them and she said yeah. So I hope this helps you.

*** I made them tonight and they were soooooooo good.

Help!!

Hey Friends... I am looking for a simple and yummy chicken enchilada recipe. Any ideas? Let me know!! Thanks

Honey Baked Chicken

My Brother in Law served a portion of his mission in India and later introduced the wonderful world of curry to Cameron and I. This isn't an Indian dish, but it has curry in it. Its really simple and very good. I serve it with brown rice and a veggie!

• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 dash of salt
• 3 chicken breasts (chopped in bite size pieces)

Combine first 5 ingredients in saucepan until all melted and mixed. Cover chicken with sauce in a baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes...turning chicken at least once. Serve over rice.

(if you have an Indian restaurant near you, order some garlic naan to serve with this, its delightful!)

Perfect Winter Beef Stew

Okay, first I just have to plug the Kraft Food & Family magazine. If you don't already subscribe then you should because they usually have some pretty easy recipes... and it's free. This recipe takes a little bit of work but it is so good.

3/4 c. Zesty Italian Dressing
2 lb. beef for stew, cut into 1-inch chunks
6 slices bacon, chopped
3 c. sliced mushrooms
1 c. chopped onion (about 1 large)
3 c. sliced carrots (about 6 medium)
1 1/2 lb. potatoes, peeled, cut into large chunks (about 4 cups)
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) beef broth

Pour dressing over meat in large ziplock. Seal bag; turn to evenly coat meat with dressing. Refrigerate 30 minutes to marinate. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large saucepan on medium heat 5 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from saucepan; drain drippings.

Add mushrooms and onions to same saucepan; cook on medium-high heat 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove meat from marinade; discard marinade. Add meat, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, broth and bacon to saucepan; stir.

Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 hour 15 minutes. Uncover; simmer an additional 15 minutes or until meat is cooked through and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

Makes 8 servings, 1 1/4 cups each.

Biggest Loser Gramwiches

A while back I purchased the Biggest Loser Cookbook. There are some really good, healthy recipes in it. I love this one!! Just a nice treat for when you are dieting (or when you just want something yummy....right now while I am prego, I don't care if the crackers are low fat, but I ususally always use fat-free cool whip)

• 2 whole low-fat graham crackers
• 1/4 cup light or fat-free cool whip

Break each graham cracker in half to get 4 squares. Spread 2 of the squares evenly with the cool whip. Top with the remaining squares to make 2 sandwiches. Transfer to a freezer safe airtight plastic container. Cover tightly and place in the freezer. Freeze for at least 2 hours or up to 1 month. Serve frozen!

• 150 calories, 2 g protein, 28 g carbs, 4 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol

Pioneer Woman's Favorite Sandwich

Rye Bread (with seeds)

Butter

Red Onion

Tomato

Whole Green Chilies

Slice Mild Cheddar

Sliced Provolone

Mayonnaise

Dijon Mustard

Directions:

Mix 1 Tablespoon of Mayonnaise and 1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard.Spread on mixture on both slices of the rye bread.Put 2 slices of tomato down on one side of the bread then 2 slices of cheddar down on other side of bread. Put your Provolone cheese on top of the tomatoes then your green chilies and then your red onion and put them together and put a good amount of butter on both sides of your bread and grill. Just like a grill cheese sandwich. This is yummy!This recipe is off of Pioneer Woman's Recipes http://thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/10/pioneer_womans_favorite_sandwich.html. This is such a cool website.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup butter, melted

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter and melted butter. Press firmly into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Melt chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally. Spread melted chocolate over the crumb crust. Chill for about 5 minutes, then cut into bars before the chocolate is completely set, then chill until ready to serve.
** So yummy and they tasted like Reese's peanut butter cups.

Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients:

3 or 4 bags of Natural favor popcorn (microwave) or air popped

2 1/4 cups of brown sugar

1 cup butter

1 cup karo (light)

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

Melt butter in pan add rest of ingredients and stir together. Use temp. thermometer to soft ball stage (235-240 F*). Lay the popcorn down on a cookie sheet pan and take the kernels out. Spread the popcorn around and then spoon the caramel on once done. Butter up your hands and toss the caramel popcorn together. YUM-O

Sausage Tortellini Soup

1 pound of sausage (sweet sausage, pork sausage..whatever)

1 small onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 teaspoon of oregano

1 teaspoon of basil

1/2 teaspoon of parsley

48 oz box of chicken broth

1 cup of water

2 carrots (chopped)

3 stalks of celery (chopped)

1 can of diced tomatoes (drained)

a batch of spinach ( *you could also use zuchinni)

8oz frozen cheese tortellini

salt and pepper to taste

** Top with mozzerella or parmesan cheese**

Directions:

Cook the sausage, onion and garlic and drain off the grease. Add the oregano, basil and parsley. Then add the broth, water, carrots, celery and diced tomatoes. Bring all of this to a boil and add the tortellini and let it cook for 2 minutes and then add the spinach till wilted in soup. Now it's all ready to eat.

**I made this up tonight so I hope it turns out good for you. It was good to us. Serve it with garlic bread and whatever else you want.:) It kinda taste like the mini meatball soup. They are both good though.

Mrs. Siggs Snickerdoodles

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

* Best cookies ever. Also only cook your cookies for about 7 minutes.

Mini Meatball Soup

2 Tblsp. olive oil
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped1 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 egg beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan/Romano cheese
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
6 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dried pasta (rings,broken fettuccini, or other shape)
1 pound washed fresh spinach,coarsely chopped
** I top the soup with either mozzerella cheese or paramesan**

Directions:
In a deep pot over medium heat add oil, chopped carrots, celery, onions, & bay leaves. Season with salt & pepper. Cover pot & cook veggies 5 - 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the veggies cook, combine meat, egg, garlic, grated cheese, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, & nutmeg. Uncover your soup pot & add broth & water to the pot. increase heat to high & bring soup to a boil. When soup boils, reduce heat a bit & start to roll meat mixture into small balls, dropping them straight into the pot. You are making meat dumplings that will cook in the broth. When you are done rolling the meat, add pasta to the soup & stir. Cover & simmer soup 10 minutes. When pasta is tender, stir in chopped spinach in batches. When spinach has wilted in the soup, the soup is done & ready to serve. Adjust your seasonings. Serve soup with crusty bread or grilled cheese sandwiches.

~ from 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray ~

** This is so tasty**YUM-O:)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

this recipe is my sister in laws, Nicole. Its super quick and easy and yummy. Both my mom and my older sister have requested this recipe after trying it! Enjoy.

2 big chicken breasts
1 can of corn
2 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce ( I use La Victoria, 1 red and 1 green)
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
10-15 corn tortillas cut in 1/2 inch strips
1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Cook chicken (Nicole boils it, I microwave it)
• spray 8 inch pan with pam
• shred chicken and mix together with corn, sauce, and green chiles. Mix well.
• Spoon 1/4 of mix into dish. Top with 1/3 of tortillas. Repeat layers ending with mix on top.
• Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes (or until heated through)
• Uncover and sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 more minutes

I sometimes put olives in it as well. I serve it with spanish rice, sour cream, and tortilla chips

Easy Cheesy Manicotti

This is seriously the easiest manicotti recipe EVER! It's really good, too. Maybe not the best I've ever had, but very delicious. (You'll remember this one Traci.)

1 pkg manicotti noodles
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 pkg shredded cheddar (8oz)
1 pkg shredded mozzarella (8oz)
1 pkg shredded parmesan (6oz)
2 eggs
Parsley flakes

Combine cheeses and a tablespoon or so of parsley flakes. Mix in eggs until all the cheese sticks together. Stuff uncooked manicotti noodles and place in a 9x13 pan. Cover with spaghetti sauce. Fill sauce jar with water. Pour over noodles until they're completely covered (you may not use all the water). Cover with foil and bake at 350 for one hour.

Cheesy Dijon Cauliflower

Even my friends who don't like cauliflower enjoy this recipe. Of course they say that to the cook, right? Actually, they even request it when they come visit. Having said that, I still think you can taste the cauliflower...sorry Jeanine. But it is delicious.

1 1/2 Cup Grated Cheddar
1 Cup Mayo
1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
1 Head of Cualiflower

Chop and cook cauliflower. (I cook it about 5 min, covered in the microwave.) Mix remaining ingredients. Cover cauliflower with cheese mixture. Cook in microwave about 2 more min, until cheese is melted.

DIVINE!

Garden Harvest Toasted Chips....

Okay, so this isn't a recipe. But, I wanted to post and share my new find!!! I love chips, but they are so bad for you! I rarely buy chips because I like them too much. My favorite is to put them on my sandwiches. Yesterday I found these Nabisco Garden Harvest chips, they come in tomato basil, apple, banana or vegetable medley. I bought the tomato basil -- and I am hooked!!! There is 1/2 serving of vegetables in each serving and they are made with 100% whole grain. So here is to my new find!!!! Let me know if any of you have tried any of the other flavors!!!

Jimmy's Mexican Pizza

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 green onions, chopped
2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup finely chopped jalapeno peppers
1/4 cup sour cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat 2 pie plates with non-stick cooking spray.
Place beef, onion and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until beef is evenly browned. Drain off grease. Season the meat with chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper.
Lay one tortilla in each pie plate, and cover with a layer of refried beans. Spread half of the seasoned ground beef over each one, and then cover with a second tortilla. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
Remove the plates from the oven, and let cool slightly. Spread half of the salsa over each top tortilla. Cover each pizza with half of the Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Place half of the tomatoes, half of the green onions, and half of the jalapeno slices onto each one.
Return the pizzas to the oven, and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly before slicing each one into 4 pieces.

** This was so good. Instead of jalapeno peppers I used roasted green chile peppers. It would have been good with jalapeno peppers though. Served it with guacamole, sour cream and lettuce. So yummy!

Chicken Alfredo

Cameron is not a fan of chicken alfredo, but I saw this recipe and it seemed a little different so I decided to try it. It was really good, and Cameron enjoyed it!!

Chicken Alfredo

4 boneless, skinless chicken tenders (or 2 breasts)
lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 package linguine noodles
2 cups frozen chopped broccoli
1 cube butter (1/2 cup)
1 (8 0z) brick cream cheese
8 0z half & half
1/4 cup parmesan
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Cook noodles
Season chicken with lemon pepper on each side and grill 4 minutes each side. Steam brocolli in microwave for 3 minutes and drain off water.

Make sauce by melting butter in medium sauce pan. Add cream cheese and whisk. Add half & half and whisk. Then add parmesan, garlic powder and pepper. Whisk until smooth.

Combine noodles, brocolli and chicken (cut into bite sized pieces). Pour sauce over and enjoy!!

Deep Dish Lasagna

** This was so good. The only things I did different was add about a teaspoon of salt to the sauce, used 10 noodles instead of 12 and used half ground beef ,half sausage. Other then that it was great. Good for a big crowd.

INGREDIENTS

12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
2/3 cup chopped onions
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
2/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1 pound part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (10 ounce) package chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze dried
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage with the onions, garlic and 1/2 the parsley; drain. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, Italian seasoning, oregano, and basil; mix well. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes; stirring occasionally.
In a bowl, combine remaining parsley and Ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, eggs, garlic salt, and pepper; mix well.
In lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish, spread 2 cups sauce mix. Begin layering with 4 noodles, 1/2 cheese mix, 1/3 remaining sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat this layer again and the last layer will be noodles, sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Bake covered in a preheated oven at for 45 minutes. Bake uncovered an additional 10 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Cream Cheese Lemon Cake

I made these cupcakes the other day. They were so good. I guess they come from "Cupcakes" by Pamela Clark, but I found them here.

6 TB butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. finely grated lemon peel
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/3 c. self rising flour (or you can substitute this for 1/3 c. flour, 1/2 baking powder, 1/6 tsp salt)
1/2 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan with cups. Beat butter, cheese, lemon peel, sugar and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add flours to cheese mixture; beat on low speed until combined. Divide mixture amont baking cups; smooth surface. Bake about 30 minutes (I did a little less). Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 TB butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Beat butter and cheese in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy; gradually beat in sifted powdered sugar.

Zuppa Toscana

This soup tastes just like the Zuppa Toscana from The Olive Garden. It is delicious. I made it for the first time last week and Cameron requested it 3 nights in a row!....this recipe makes a lot, I ended up freezing half of it, so you may want to half the recipe!! Enjoy! (is great with French Bread)

1 lb. ground Hot Italian Sausage

1/2 bacon, chopped

7 medium potatoes, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 medium onion, diced

1 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic (2 cloves)

2 cups kale leaves, chopped

4-5 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth (enough to just cover the potatoes and onion)

1 pnt or less heavy whipping cream

Place broth, potatoes, garlic and onion in a pot. Simmer over medium heat until onions and potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, brown the sausage and bacon. Drain the fat and add the sausage and bacon to the soup. Simmer 10 minutes. Add kale and cream. Heat through and serve.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Last night I had the best chinese chicken salad ever! Maybe its due to the fact that the woman who made it is actually Chinese. My husband insisted that I get the recipe, so here it is for all of you to try-- it was delicious!!!

1 head iceburg lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1-2 bunches green onions, chopped
1 small pkg. sliced (not slivered) almonds
4-5 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1/2 package won tons or gyoza skins

Dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil (not olive or peanut)
1/2 cup sugare
1-2 tablespoons rice vinegar (add a little at a time to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Slice won ton skins into strips.
Fry in oil until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Combine first 4 ingredients.
Combine dressing ingredients in jar or shaker.

Just before serving, add chicken and fried won ton skins.
Shake dressing vigorously to mix, then toss with salad. Serve immediately.