Yummy Salads --

My Aunt Linda gave my mom this really yummy and fun recipe book a few years back called "Favorites."  It sat on my counter and I used it often.  Well Linda recently moved back to Utah and had us all at her house for my sister's Baby Shower.  At the shower, at my Baby L's Blessing and another time we went to her house she made some AMAZING chicken salads.  The recipes came from a new cookbook from the same amazing women that made the first...it's called "Keeping Up Cookbook" and you can purchase it HERE!!

Shauna Lake's Chinese Chicken Salad --

Salad:

5 c. finely shredded romaine lettuce

1 pkg oriental-flavored ramen noodles, flavor packet discarded

2 c. diced and cooked chicken

1 (11 oz.) can white shoepeg corn, drained

1 large tomato, diced

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 c. chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

Dressing:

2 Tbl sugar

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/4 tsp pepper

3 Tbl white vinegar

1/4 c. oil

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Crumble noodles and toss with remaining salad ingredients.  Dress, toss and serve.

Chipotle Cheddar Pasta Salad --

1 pound pasta, any shape

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 oz) can sweet corn, drained

1 c crumbled feta cheese

1 (10 oz) pkg fresh pico de gallo, drained

1 c chopped cilantro

1 c diced red pepper

1 c grated carrots

1 c diced cucumber, peeled and seeded

2 ripe avocados, diced

1 lime, halved

1/2 (12 oz) bottle Brianna's Chipotle Cheddar dressing

Cook pasta in salted water, according to directions.  Drain and run under cold water.  Set aside.

Toss together beans, corn, feta, and remaining salad ingredients.  Squeeze 1/2 lime over the top and cut remaining 1/2 lime into wedges for serving.  Add cooled pasta and toss with enough dressing to coat.  Chill until ready to serve.  Before serving, toss with more dressing, as desired (pasta will absorb dressing as it sits).  Serve with lime wedges.

Enjoy!!

No Name DELICIOUS Salad:)

My aunt served up another FANTASTIC salad for us at my sister's baby shower and funny thing is I didn't get the name of it from her.  So we will just call it an EASY DELICIOUS salad...

Head of Romain lettuce, washed and shredded
1-2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
Roasted corn = place frozen corn on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and bake, turning occasionally till roasted.
Diced or shredded cooked chicken (She cooks hers in the oven)
1 sm. onion diced

Dressing = Equal parts buttermilk ranch dressing and Sweet Baby Ray's Barbeque sauce

Toss with salad and sprinkle with Tortilla Chip Strips!!  This is such a refreshing, yummy salad!
ENJOY!!

Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes & Chicken

Scalloped Chicken & Potatoes:
1 box scalloped potatoes (including seasoning packet)
6 chicken tenders
3 cups water
Put potatoes in greased slow cooker first, followed by seasoning packet and chicken. Pour water over all. Cover and cook on low heat 4-5 hours.
 I found this somewhere out there on the internet...don't remember where but I have been dying to try it!  My husband loves Scalloped Potatoes so it was a huge hit at the dinner table.  I LOVED how it was fast, easy and yummy!  Only thing I would do differently is to double it.
ENJOY!!

Chocolate Drop Cookies --

My Aunt Linda C. is an amazing cook!!  I love sharing recipes back and forth:)  She made these delicious cookies for my sister's Baby Shower and we gobbled them up so fast - lol!! 

Chocolate Drop Cookies --
Cream together:
1/2 c butter
1c brown sugar

Add:
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
And beat together

In small saucepan melt
2 1 oz. squares Bakers semi-sweet chocolate
Cool and add to above mixture.

Next alternate:
3/4 c sour cream
and dry ingredients that have been mixed together:
2 c flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

Drop onto baking sheet 2 in. apart using a small scoop.  Bake at 350* for 10 minutes.  Frost...

Frosting --
Mix together:
4 TBL cocoa
3 c powdered sugar
Than add:
4 TBL soft butter
2-3 TBL milk
1 tsp vanilla
Beat well.  Add more milk or more powdered sugar to thicken or thin frosting

ENJOY!!  These are very tasty and a great bit size cookie:)

☼When Life Gives You Lemons...☼

...Make Pink Lemonade Cupcakes!!

I found a recipe in the "Keeping up Cookbook" for Lemonade Cake and decided to make cupcakes for my daughters Cupcake Birthday Party!!

Lucious Lemonade Layer Cake/Cupcakes:

1 1/3 c. sugar

6 Tbl butter, softened

zest of 1 lemon

3 Tbl thawed lemonade concentrate

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 egg whites

2 c. flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 c. buttermilk

Place sugar, butter, zest, lemonade and vanilla in mixer and mix until well blended.  Add eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition.  In a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients.  Add dry ing. to batter alternating with buttermilk until all ing. and buttermilk are well blended.  Pour into two well -greased 9" round pans.  Bake @ 350* for 18-20 minutes.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes and remove to cooling rack.

If making cupcakes just place in cupcake liners in muffin pan and bake for about 12-14 minutes.  Remove promptly to cooling rack.

Frosting:

2 Tbl butter, softened

zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbl thawed lemonade concentrate

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Mix together all ing. except powdered sugar and blend well.  Gradually add powdered sugar and beat at low speed untill blended.  Don't overbeat.  Frost cake or cupcakes:)

ENJOY!!

○Mini Cupcakes○

For Ellie's 6th Birthday we had a Cupcake Party!!  I found this FUN idea to make mini cupcakes to pass out.  Over at Confessions of a Cupcake Queen she made these as cupcake toppers.  She used mini confetti sprinkles and Mary Englebreit cherry sprinkles for the tops.

All I could find was these red pearls from Bake It Pretty website.  I still think they turned out ADORABLE!!  Wanna know how I made them??

Mini Reese's PB Cups!!!!!!;)

Yep...just unwrap, frost them, sprinkle on your favorite sprinkles and top with a "cherry" - LOL!!

I made a WONDERFUL cream cheese frosting that made them taste very YUMMY!  They were a hit at the party...

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 c. powdered sugar

Beat the butter, cream cheese and vanilla till smooth.  Add powdered sugar, mixing till smooth.  Beat for about 1 minute further to make light and fluffy.  You can add other flavors to this basic vanilla-flavor as well, such as cinnamon, lemon zest, orange zest and white chocolate - to name a few!

I found this recipe in a WONDERFUL cupcake kit I found from Amazon HERE!