Chili's Salsa

Chips and salsa is pretty much my weakness! Chili's restaurant chips and salsa is pretty much my fave. Here is the recipe to make Chili's salsa...yum!

1 (15 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 medium onion

1-3 tablespoons canned diced jalapenos

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cumin

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend till consistency you like.

I like my salsa very spicy, so I use 2 tablespoons of the jalepenos and 1/2 teaspoon of the cumin. If you want it more mild, go on the easy side of those ingredients.

Chicken Parmesan

This is the best chicken parmesan recipe I have ever had. I got the recipe from my trusty cookbook from Aunt Cheri. Make it tonight....it's yummy!

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts( I only make 4)
2 cups cornflakes crumbs
2 cups parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cube butter
2 eggs beaten

Mix cornflake crumbs and all seasonings together
Dip chicken in beaten eggs then roll in cornflake crumbs and parmesan cheese mixture
Place in a 9x13 pan greased with some butter
Melt 1 cube of butter in a bowl in the microwave and pour butter over chicken and sprinkle any remaining cornflake mixture over chicken
Cover and bake 375 degrees for 1 hour - uncover and bake till coating is crispy, 20-30 minutes

I make spagetti to serve along with this. I use the Prego Marinara sauce in a jar and put in on the spagetti and some on the chicken parmesan....tastes very similar to Olive Garden's chicken parmesan this way. Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies

I found a great recipe for Sugar Cookies. These are just like the delicious soft, fluffy ones you can buy in the store with the pink frosting. I am not kidding, they are so delish!

Cream: 1 cup butter

Work in: 1 cup sugar

Add: 2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk in a bowl: 3 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Add alternatley with the dry mixture in thirds to the butter/sugar mix: 1/2 cup sour cream

Chill: 2-3 hours

Roll out and cut into shapes

Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes

Frosting: My Grandma Dever is known for her great sugar cookie frosting. Of course it's one of those recipes where there really isn't a set recipe...she just kind of makes it by heart. Well, I finally got the basic recipe from her and her extra tips to make it extra special.

4 tablespoons butter

2 1/3 cup powdered sugar (more or less to taste)

milk (1 tbsp for thicker frosting, add more milk to thin it out if you want to make it like Grandma's)

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Beat butter with electric mixer until fluffy. Then add about half the powdered sugar. Beat in 1 tablespoon milk and vanilla. Slowly add in the rest of the powdered sugar. Add more milk if needed. Add food coloring. One recipe makes about enough to frost half a cake so you may need to double it.

*To make the frosting more like a thin glaze like Grandma's, use more milk and frost the cookies while they are still hot. It keeps the frosting thin. I kind of like mine a little thicker so I waited until they were cooled to frost. Try both and see how you like it best!

**Don't forget to let the kids help! :-)

Crock Pot Chicken

Here is another great recipe from the Schmitz clan...Carrie's in-laws. Glenna has passed on some great recipes to Carrie and she has passed them on to me. Sorry no pics for this one, but trust me it is good...really good!

4 large chicken breasts
2 tbsp melted butter
salt and pepper
2 pkg. dry Italian dressing mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 block of cream cheese
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp minced onions

Brush chicken with butter, salt, and pepper. Place in crock pot. Sprinkle with dressing mix. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 6 hours. About 45 minutes before serving, brown onions and mix with cream cheese, soup, and water in saucepan. Cook until smooth (will still be kind of chunky), then pour over chicken and cook for 30 minutes more. Serve with egg noodles or rice ( i like egg noodles)

Cathy's Pasta Salad

My street is having a block party tonight in my cul-de-sac for Halloween. I was asked to bring pasta salad because one of the other girls has had it and loved it. I give all credit to my step-mom Cathy because it's her recipe. This is my favorite thing to make for BBQ's and I can eat way too much of it. This is one dish that if you take to a party, you usually don't go home with any. Happy Halloween!

Cathy's Pasta Salad

multi colored pasta (cook as directed)

sliced carrots
broccoli
cauliflower
celery
cherry tomatoes sliced in half
black olives whole
cucumbers
Bernstein's Italian Dressing

* can add or not include any vegetables you have, don't have or don't like

combine all veggies and pasta and add one bottle of Bernstein's Italian dressing or until covered and moist ( use the Bernstein's Cheese and Garlic Italian...yum!)
you can add a pinch or two of fennel seeds.. I like it when its added, it adds a really good flavor.

Crock Pot Green Chile

When I got married my Aunt Cheri gave me a wonderful cook book that she made, full of her delicious recipes. This cook book has been my #1 cook book for the last 2.5 years. I know I can try just about any recipe out of it and it will be good. Well, there is a recipe in there that is hand-written. It is from Cheri's mother-in-law...Grandma Hall. On the recipe, she wrote "JW likes them". JW is my cousin. I think it is so cool to have recipes handed down that are loved in the family.
I hope you enjoy! Sorry no pic this time.

2 lbs stew meat (fat trimmed away)
1 large onion - shopped
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 large can chopped green chilis
1 large can tomato sauce (the biggest one, not the soup size can)

Layer all ingredients in crock pot with meat on bottom. Turn on low and cook 10 hours or overnight. Stir only after it has cooked for 5 hours. Spoon on large flour tortillas and wrap to form burro. Burro may be deep-fried if desired.

*I have never cooked mine the whole 10 hours and they still turn out great. I usually put it on around 10am and we'll eat around 5 or 6pm.*

*Also, this is great to eat even just in a bowl and not made in a burrito. I had mine in a bowl tonight since I didn't want the carbs and it was still delicious.*

*You can also put some shredded cheese in the burrito to make it even more tasty.*

Foil Dinner

Sorry we haven't posted a recipe in a while. Carrie is busy moving, Jen is busy with her three kids and all the things they have going on and I have just been making dinners that we already have on here. I recently made the Apricot chicken, Mozzarella chicken, and Better than Sex Cake and they were all so good! Oh, I also made Grandma's beef stew and LOVED it! Anyway, I just started a low carb diet to try to lose the rest of this baby weight so I will be posting lots of low-carb meals on here since I will be trying a lot of new dishes. The first one I have for you is the old camping classic Foil Dinner. This is normally something you would make over the fire or grill out in the woods, but I have a recipe for one that you bake in the oven and I thought it would be something different to try. I really liked how it came out.

1 1/2 pounds ground hamburger meat

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 envelope onion soup mix

2 medium carrots-quartered (I just cut up a bag of already peeled baby carrots)

2 stalks celery (i used about 4 so there were more veggies)

3 medium potatoes - pared & quartered (i put these in for my hubby but didn't eat them since they add carbs)

3 tablespoons water

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with foil, leaving edges to bring up and together to seal.

Stir together mushroom soup and onion soup mix, spread over meat. Top with veggies, sprinkle water over veggies. Fold over foil and seal securely. Cook 1 1/2 hours or until tender.

Sprinkle with salt/pepper if desired.

*not the best picture, but mine never are! :-)*