Chicken & Brocolli Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded chicken
1 head of brocolli cut into bit sized pieces
1 lb of spaghetti
1 can chicken broth (2 cups)
1 shallot, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 cups cream
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
salt & pepper
2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

Directions:

Boil spaghetti as directed by package, for the last 3 minutes add your brocolli and blanch it. Drain. and set aside.

In a pan melt butter and saute shallot and garlic until translucent. Mix in flour to create a light brown paste. Mix in cream and thin out with chicken broth until saucy in consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mix brocolli, chicken, pasta and sauce in a bowl and pour into a 9 x 13 pan. top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted.

Un-Defined Chocolate Dessert

I made this tonight for the 4th of July BBQ. On my facebook status I called it a mudpie cheesecake "thingie"...um yeah... it needs a name...help a girl out with that would ya?

Ingredients:

12 oreo cookies

2 Tbs melted butter

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 sugar

2 tubs of cool whip

chocolate fudge pudding mix

2 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

Crush oreos (I put mine in a ziploc freezer bag and smushed them by hand) and mix with melted butter, press into the bottom of a pan (in hindsight....use a 9 x 13 I used something smaller and it was a mighty tall dessert).

Mix cream cheese, sugar and 1 tub of cool whip with a mixer until well blended. Spread over oreo crust.

Mix pudding and milk together. Spread over cream cheese filling.

Top with whip cream (honestly the topping was unnecessary but extra darn tasty).

Vegetable Skewers

Ingredients:

2 Bell Peppers, diced

Red Onion, diced

2 Summer Squash, cut into rounds

1 head of garlic seperated and peeled into individual cloves

1 package of button mushrooms (if they are large cut them in half)

1 package of cherry tomatoes

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Rock salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

Dried Oregano

Directions:

Place chopped vegetables in a bowl (except the summer squash and tomatoes). Coat with equal parts oil and vinegar. Season to taste (it's vegetables so I usually grab a bell pepper and try the mix to make sure I like the flavor). Let sit at room temperature 1 hour. Add tomatoes and summer squash, mix. Cover and let sit 30 minutes (or more).

If you use wood skewers soak them in water as directed on the package. If using metal skewers (or after they have soaked) you can go ahead and skewer your vegetables until you are ready to use them. I usually put them in a dish and pour the marinade back over them if it's going to be awhile.

Grill over low heat 5 minutes (or until vegetables are tender).

BBQ Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

2 racks of pork loin ribs

Grill Mates Montreal Seasoning

2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions:

Place ribs fat side up on foil. Season liberally with Montreal seasoning. BBQ over low heat on the top rack of your BBQ for 1 hour. Open foil and brush 1 cup of BBQ sauce over each rack of ribs. BBQ medium heat for 30 minutes or until glaze is tight enough to serve on the meat. Remove from heat and let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

1 package of salad macaroni, cooked and drained

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and minced

1/2 of a can of petite olives, minced

1 red onion, small diced

4 tablespoons of Del Monte Pickle Relish

3/4 cup Best Foods mayo

6 tablespoons of yellow mustard

1 tablespoon garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix ingredients together and chill before serving.

Wicked Quick Beans

My grandmother made awesome Okie beans. That recipe, which I cherish, I will probably never post here. This though is a bastard version using some "similar" ingredients which will make you a pot of yummy beans in less than an hour. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground beef

1 stick of linguica, sliced

1/2 white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can of Rotell tomatoes with chiles

1/2 c of Del Monte Ketchup

4 cups of chicken broth

2 cans of pinto beans, drained

1 Tbl oregano

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp chili powder

Directions:

Brown ground beef, linguica and onions in a soup pan. Drain oil. Add garlic and pinto beans, stir 3 to 4 minutes. Combine with all other ingredients and season to taste. Simmer 30 minutes.

Poke Cake

So I heard about this key lime poke cake from Betty Crocker and I was like "oh that sounds yummy, I had something like that when I was little with chocolate" so I went to my trusty google and I googled "poke cake" and sweet jesus the recipes they came from every direction. So I stepped back and took out my handy iPhone with the Betty Crocker application and looked up chocolate poke cake and there it was... only I changed it... so this is the recipe I actually used.

Ingredients:

1 butter cake mix with the ingredients to make it as directed

1 package chocolate fudge instant pudding & 2 cups of milk

whipped cream

Directions:

Cook and cool the cake as directed. Take a wooden spoon and poke holes every 1/2 inch in the cake. Mix pudding with milk and let it firm up a little. Spread pudding over the cake letting it fill in the holes. Cool until pudding is firm. Top with whipped cream.

Refrigerate until served.