Mexican Chicken Soup

You Will Need:

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/2  onion chopped
• about 1 1/2 Tablespoon chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken, Note: for this recipe I boiled a whole chicken. To do so, I put salt, pepper, and garlic powder on chicken, placed it in a large pot and covered it with water, brought it to a boil, then reduced heat to a slow boil, then covered with lid, and cooked for about an hour, or until no pink comes from chicken when it's poked with a fork.  (Tip: There's enough meat from the whole chicken to save half of it for another chicken recipe that calls for shredded chicken, I used my extra chicken to make chicken dumpling soup)
• 1 can black beans drained
• 1 can pinto beans drained
• 1 can corn undrained
• 32 oz. of chicken broth from boiled chicken or 32 oz. carton of chicken broth, (Note: since I boiled a chicken, I did use the chicken broth from the boiled chicken, but if you can use a carton of store bought chicken broth, either will work, but I do think the broth from boiled chicken has more flavor)
• 2 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. garlic powder, plus some extra to sprinkle on whole chicken before boiling
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• salt and black pepper to taste and to season the chicken before boiling
• water as needed for desired consistency
• toppings sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, green onion, cilantro (optional)
• tortilla chips 

Heat oil, onion, jalapeno's for a few minutes on med-high temp.

Stir other ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, simmer a couple of hours... the longer it cooks the more flavorful it will be. When ready to serve, put into bowls and top with desired toppings.  Serve with tortilla chips. 

Tip:  You can add more jalapeno peppers, chili powder and cumin depending on personal taste. Just be sure to taste it after it's cooked a little while before adding more seasoning. 

White Chocolate Walnut Cookies

You Will Need:

• 2 cups all purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 egg
• 1 stick butter
• 1 stick of margarine
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 - 10 oz. package white chocolate chips 
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside

In a large bowl, beat butter, margarine, and sugars together, add egg, stir together well

Stir in dry ingredients, mix until well blended, then stir in vanilla

Add white chocolate chips, nuts and coconut, stir

Drop by Tablespoons onto parchment paper lined baking sheets a few inches apart. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown

Enjoy! 

Chocolate Pie with Meringue Topping

You Will Need:

• 1 cup sugar
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups milk 
• 3 eggs separated (egg whites will be for the meringue topping, so go ahead and place them in a mixing bowl and set them aside once you separate them) 
• 1 Tablespoons margarine
• 4 Tablespoons sugar (for meringue)
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tarter (for meringue) 
• frozen pie crust (thawed) 

Preheat oven. Bake thawed pie shell at the temperature suggested on package, I baked it for 8 minutes until very lightly browned, since the pie will cook an additional length of time to cook the meringue,  I didn't want to over brown it), let cool. 

In a small bowl, beat egg yolks, in another small bowl combine sugar, cocoa flour. In a medium saucepan, melt margarine, add milk. Add other ingredients. Beat real well. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until thick, (this takes about 30 minutes or so. Add vanilla extract. Pour in the baked cooled pie crust. 

Make meringue for top: 

In a mixing bowl beat egg whites until they are foamy, add cream of tarter, beat until they begin to get stiff, add the 4 Tablespoons of sugar slowly, mixing in gradually. Beat until stiff. Pile on top of cooled chocolate pie filling. Bake 325 degrees about 6-8 minutes until light golden brown. 

Tip: If you want a thicker meringue for your pie, you can add a couple more egg whites when making the meringue, so you'll have more to pile on top.

Refrigerate once completely cooled

Enjoy!

Note: This pie is not hard, it's made with simple ingredients, but it does take a good bit of time. 

P.S.  Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the pie once it was sliced...I took this to Thanksgiving at Mama's and didn't remember a picture....'tis the season! (Still wanted to catalog it here). 

Pumpkin Pie (Mild Flavor)

I like pumpkin pie, but many recipes I've tasted are just too overpowering for me, this recipe has a wonderful combination of spices, and a milder flavor. Sorry, I forgot to get my photo until after I put this in the refrigerator, so the wet look is on top of my pie, but I still wanted to have this recipe cataloged here. I didn't remember to get a photo of the sliced pie either....'tis the season!

You Will Need:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup pumpkin (I use canned) 
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 /4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs beaten
• frozen pie shell (thawed) 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Mix sugar and flour, then add milk and pumpkin, spice and vanilla, add beaten eggs last, pour in unbaked pie shell. Place pie onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool. Refrigerate.

Top sliced pie with whipped topping, if desired.

Tip: When placing it into the oven be very careful to hold it steady, the pie filling will be very soupy and can easily slosh out. Also, don't forget to reduce the oven temperature after 10 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Sea Foam Party Punch

You Will Need:

• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1 qt. cold water
• 1 envelope lemon-lime kool-aid
• container vanilla ice cream
• 2 liter chilled lemon-lime soda (Sprite)
• punch bowl

Place sugar, water, and kool-aid in a pitcher stir and refrigerate until chilled (it's best to do this the day before your party so it will be cold). When ready to serve, pour it into punch bowl, add vanilla ice cream by the spoonful, and give it a stir, pour in chilled lemon-lime soda. 

Makes about 16 servings. 

This has been a favorite at our Christmas party and holiday gatherings, and it's great for a crowd! I even made it for my eldest son's wedding reception back in 2012, (it's where I got the photo from!) 

Enjoy! 

White Chocolate Cookies

You Will Need:

• 1 box devil's food cake mix
• 1 stick butter (melted)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cups white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven 350 degrees place parchment paper on cookie sheet, beat cake mix, butter, water, egg and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl, mix medium speed 1 minute. Stir in choc. chips. Drop heaping tablespoons on cookie sheet 3 inches apart. Bake 12 -15 minutes until cookies are rounded and puffed up. They will fall when cooled. Cool on pan a couple of minutes then move them to a wire rack until completely cooled. 

Enjoy! 

Healthy-ish Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

You Will Need:

• 2-3 bananas 
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce 
• 1/4  cup milk (I used 2%) 
• 1/4 cup raisins (a small snack size box)
• 1/2 cup walnuts chopped
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels (you can use less depending on taste preference)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, mix all ingredients together in a large bowl,  (beginning with wet ingredients). Place heaping tablespoons on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, press gently with back of fork. Bake 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Place on wire cookie racks. Cool completely

Store up to 4 days in refrigerator.
Makes about 24 cookies

Enjoy!

Walnut Coconut Chocolate Bars

You Will Need:

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine melted
• 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut 
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (regular or fat free, I used fat free and these turned out great)
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13 x 9" casserole dish with oil and then dust it lightly with flour. Add melted butter and distribute the butter in the casserole dish evenly, next sprinkle graham cracker crumbs evenly and pat down, (do not mix), sprinkle flaked coconut over crumbs, then chocolate chips, drizzle sweetened condensed milk evenly. Top with nuts. Bake 24 minutes. Let them cool only for a few minutes, then cut them into squares while they are still a little bit warm. This will make cutting them easier. These are very rich, so I like to cut them into small bite size squares, but you can also cut them into bars if you'd like to. 

Enjoy!

Spinach Dip

You Will Need: 

• 1 (10 oz.) box of chopped frozen spinach (thawed and well drained)
• 1 (16 oz.) container sour cream
• 1 (1 oz.) packet ranch dressing/dip mix 
• tortilla chips, crackers or  chopped vegetables 

Stir ingredients together. Chill for an hour or so. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or chopped vegetables.  Makes 2 cups. 

Enjoy! 

This delicious recipe was introduced to me recently by my sweet mama. It's become one of my favorite dips! 

Peanut Butter Fudge

You Will Need: 

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup butter
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Melt on med-low heat the first 3 ingredients until well blended. Remove from burner, mix 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) until smooth. Spread in 8"x 8" or 9" x 9" pan lined with wax paper. Chill 4 hours. Remove from pan and cut in squares. 

The first time I tried these was a few years ago, when my daughter in-law brought some to our home during the holidays. I love these! They are delicious! 

Enjoy! 

Chocolate Fantasy Dessert

You Will Need: 

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup margarine melted
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans

Combine and press into 9 x 13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool.

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (softened)
• 1 cup cool whip
• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar

 Combine and  spread over cooled crust

3 1/2 cups milk
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
1 large box instant chocolate pudding
more cool whip for the top layer
small chocolate bar to grate over the top 

In a large bowl combine puddings and milk. Stir until thickened. Pour over first two layers. Cover with cool whip. Grate small chocolate bar over all. 

Note: This recipe uses a 12 oz. container of cool whip, (although I could only find the 16 oz. size so that's what I bought).  

This recipe was given to me by my Aunt about 29 years ago, she typed it out for me and I am sharing it here just as she has it on my typed copy. 

This is a great dessert to feed a crowd! It is so rich and delicious! 

Enjoy!

Cucumber Salad with Parmesan Cheese

You Will Need: 

• 3 cucumbers (peeled, sliced, and seeded
• 1-2 roma tomatoes (sliced and diced)
• 1/4 of a small red onion (diced) or 1-2 green onions chopped
• 1/4 cup oil (canola)
• 1/2 tsp. salt and more to taste
• pepper to taste
• dash of sugar or more to taste
• parmesan cheese (to sprinkle on top)

Mix the ingredients together, the longer it sits the better it tastes, refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with Ritz cracker or Captain Wafer crackers. Will keep up to 5 days refrigerated. 

Enjoy! 

Crockpot White Chicken Chili

You Will Need: 

• about a pound of boneless chicken strips (about 6-8 chicken strips)
• 1 Tablespoons of chili powder 
• salt, pepper and garlic powder, plus more chili powder
• 1 can cream of chicken soup 
• chicken broth carton 32 oz.
• water as needed for desired consistency 
• 1  (4 oz.) can of diced  green chilies fire roasted and peeled (medium)
• 4 to 6 cans (15 oz.) white kidney beans (cannellini beans) drained and rinsed
• 1 envelope dry onion soup (dip) mix 
• shredded cheddar cheese for topping
• sliced green onion for topping 
• tortilla chips or jiffy cornbread (or any brand of sweet cornbread) 

Grease bottom and sides of crockpot. Wash chicken strips, place in the bottom of a crockpot and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder and some chili powder. Add cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, can of diced green chilies, white kidney beans (that you've drained and rinsed), envelope of dry onion soup mix and tablespoon of chili powder, mix ingredients together, try not to stir the chicken from the bottom too much. Turn crockpot on high heat for about an hour, turn it to low for about 4-6 hours. Stir after about 4 hours or so, if you can. About an hour before final cooking time, remove chicken strips from crockpot onto a plate and shred them with two forks, place back in the crockpot and stir. Note: The chicken strips will be already falling apart and they will be easy to shred, you may be able to just shred them inside the crockpot, sometimes I do. You can add hot water toward the end of cooking for desired consistency.  

Serve topped with cheddar cheese and green onion. You can serve it with jiffy cornbread or any sweet cornbread. 

Enjoy!