Sweet Chicken Bacon Skewers

YUMMY!!!! This can easily be an appetizer or a meal, depending on what you add to it or not. I got it from Brittney, and you'll have to check out her picture of the meal - I didn't even attempt a picture because I knew I couldn't get one that looked as good as hers!!

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
1 (1-pound) package sliced bacon
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

Hands Down, Best Ever Brownie Dessert

I CANNOT get enough of this dessert!!! It is so decadent and rich, but I have no problem having some for breakfast, after lunch AND after dinner! It is one of my 2 favorite desserts that my mom makes (I'll post the other soon). You have to make this the next time you're having people over!!!! Everybody will LOVE it!!!! (Unless of course they are like my husband who does not like sweets, well except for choco chip cookies...this is way too rich...I mean, is there such a thing???) This is an easy recipe, but does require some time and effort.

I'm sorry, these pictures do not do this dessert justice!!!

Frozen Brownie Dessert

*Boxed Brownie mix , your favorite kind (I usually get the Family size), plus ingredients for that

*Blue Bell Coffee ice cream, 1/2 gallon, thawed

*8 oz. Bakers German sweet chocolate (they come in 4 oz. packages - the squares)

*1 1/3 cup sugar

*2 small cans evaporated milk

*2 sticks butter

*2 tsp. vanilla

Make boxed recipe of brownies for a 9X13 pan

Let cool completely.

Spread thawed coffee ice cream on top of cooled brownies. (Almost like an icing)

Freeze (it takes about 2 hours).

Spread completely cooled chocolate sauce on top of frozen ice cream.

Chocolate sauce: Boil the choc. sqs., sugar, evap. milk, and butter and cook for 4 mins., stirring.
Take off the heat and add 2 tsps. vanilla.
Let cool completely.

Freeze.

Tips:
Make sure the brownies are cool before spreading ice cream. I thaw the ice cream in the microwave, stir, spread and microwave again, stir and spread.

Make sure the choc. sauce is cooled before spreading on top of the frozen ice cream otherwise it will all be a gooey mess!

ENJOY!!!!

Pulled Pork Burritos

Dena gave me this recipe because I knew when she was describing it that it would be perfect for our family!!! (Of course, when I say that, I really mean Matt and I seeing how I can count on 1 hand the dinners I make that Reid eats - dinner crack down is coming soon with him though!) Anyway, whenever I cook a dinner that has any type of sauce, or additional toppings, it has to be something that is made separately because Matt likes things plain. This recipe is the perfect combination!! You'll see what I mean from the recipe. Oh, and Bonus! It's crock pot!!!

Pulled Pork Burritos

2-3 pound pork roast (NOT the tenderloin), trim the fat (I used a shoulder pork that had a bone, and didn't worry about trimming the fat)
1 packet of burrito seasoning
1 onion, sliced
2 cans of enchilada sauce (one mild and one medium)
2 cans of pinto beans, drained
1 can of rotel, drained
tortillas

Put pork roast in crock pot with packet of burrito seasoning and sliced onions and around a cup of water and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
In a pot, combine beans, rotel and enchilada sauces, cook on medium to low heat until warm just before you are ready to eat.
Pull apart the pork, it should literally fall apart.
Serve pork in tortillas (flour are best) and top with bean/enchilada sauce, shredded cheese, sour cream, etc.

This meal was great for us because Matt just ate the pulled pork (it was delicious by itself) and I was able to make the full burrito with sauce and all the toppings because that's how I roll - I love to include everything when I'm eating something like that!

ENJOY!!!

Brownie Kisses

Yum! These are easy, not many ingredients, and delish! Enjoy!

Brownie Kisses

Melt in microwave:

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (I used that Baker's brand)

2 sticks butter

Add:

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. salt

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups pecans, chopped (I don't add these)

Line muffin pan with foil baking cups; then put in chocolate mixture filling 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes (my oven cooks fast so I bake for about 21 minutes). Don't overcook; should be a little soft in the middle. Makes approximately 20 servings.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice casserole

There are so many variations to this one-pot dinner, but I got this particular recipe from my good high school friend Carrie and her mom (who has TONS of great family meal recipes...need to get more). This is a good classic meal. Oh, and did I mention that it is EASY???

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can french onion soup

1 1/2 cups uncooked Uncle Ben's rice

4 ckn. breasts either pounded thin or cut in half, seasoned with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, etc.

Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Mix soups and rice in mixing bowl. Add about 1/3 can of water to mixture. Spray 9x13 pan with PAM. Pour mix into pan. Lay breasts on top and spoon some of the sauce mixture on top. Seal with foil and bake at 350 for 55 minutes. Add cheese and bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. (If not using cheese, just bake casserole for an hour)

Bubble Pizza

I got this recipe thanks to my friend Wendy, who is currently living in Doha (somewhere in the Middle East) with her family. This is a type of recipe that I like: easy, yummy, and a meal that everybody in the family would like!!!

**Yum-mo!! I made this last week and it was so delish!! Everybody liked it - including Reid!!! (Who we all know pretty much doesn't eat what I make for dinner because he's so picky!) The only change I would make is this: I could only find the Grande biscuits and used 2 cans, but next time I'm going to just use 1 can because we like it "meatier" and not as "bready."

Bubble Pizza

*2 cans of Pillsbury flaky Biscuits - quarter each biscuit (or 1 can of the Grande size biscuits)

*1 small jar of Ragu Snack Pizza Sauce

*1 bag Kraft Pizza Cheese (2 cups)

*optional *Pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, etc.

*optional *Sauted Veggies of any kind (peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc)

I'm going to try cooked ground beef and pepperoni

Mix all of the above. Put into a greased bundt pan (like you do for monkey bread). Bake at 350 for about 30-45 min. Make sure the biscuits cook all the way through.