Blue Cheese Chicken Pasta *Lauren*

This pasta is to DIE for! Whether you pronounce it BLEU cheese or BLUE cheese, it is still sooo yummy. Brian and I are not a fan of blue cheese, but this pasta is just too good for words!


ingredients-
3 TBS butter
2-3 TBS olive oil
(splash of white wine if you desire)
3 yellow onions
2-3 chicken breasts
1 lb pasta
1 TBS fresh rosemary, chopped
4-6 oz of crumbled blue cheese
4 pieces of bacon- cook and chop
1 cup shredded parmesan
garlic salt and pepper and sugar

Boil Pasta (we used Rotini, but Penne's can work as well)

In a large sauce pan add 3 TBS of butter (I also used a splash of white cooking wine- but you don't have to) heat on medium

Slice 3 yellow onions really thin and add to the sauce pan- caramelize the onions (basically, keep stirring every 5 minutes for a total of about 25 minutes- they turn carmel color....add a few TBS of sugar to make them sweet)

Broil 2-3 chicken breasts (flip chicken breasts- about 6 minutes each side) Chicken breasts should be seasoned with salt and pepper

When the pasta is done cooking, add to a bowl while hot and dump in 4-6 oz of blue cheese- let the cheese melt into the noodles, stir in 2-3 tbs of olive oil

Slice the chicken into long pieces and cut in half. It is really yummy in strips, not cubes- add 1 TBS of fresh Rosemary chopped, mix in the chicken and copped bacon

Add the rosemary seasoned sliced chicken to the noodles and cheese

Add the caramelized onions to the pasta, stir....season with a few shakes of garlic salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar

Red Cabbage Coleslaw *Lauren*

We had this at Cannon's first birthday, and EVERYONE went nuts over it! I have had many emails asking for the recipe....so here ya go :) (ps- its very healthy)

1/2 head of red cabbage (shred and set aside in a bowl)

mix well (food processor or blender)
1/2 cup of oil
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar
3 tbsp of sugar
2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of Lawrys seasoning salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
3/4 tsp of onion powder

Pour over the top of cabbage, chill in refrigerator, mix every so often- serve chilled

Yummy Cilantro Lime Salad *Lauren*

Dressing-
-Wash a bunch of cilantro and cut the stems. Use the WHOLE bunch of cilantro
-2 cloves of garlic
-juice of 1 lime
-1/2 to 3/4 cup of canola oil
-2 tbs of seasoned rice vinegar
little dash of salt and pepper

mix in blender or food processor

Salad-
about 4 oz of Feta cheese
1/2 c- to a cup of toasted pine nuts (chopped/toasted macadamia nuts or chopped/toasted cashews are really good as well)
field greens or romaine hearts lettuce (both are great)

Layered Enchilada Bake

Makes:
8 servings

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa

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

1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing

2 Tbsp. TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Taco Seasoning Mix

6 flour tortillas (8 inch)

1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 400ºF. Brown meat with onions in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add salsa, beans, dressing and seasoning mix; mix well.

ARRANGE 3 of the tortillas in single layer on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with layers of half each of the meat mixture, sour cream and cheese. Repeat all layers. Cover with foil.

BAKE, covered, 30 min. Remove foil. Bake an additional 10 min. or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve.

Strawberry, Kiwi, Banana Salad

This is my favorite to make in the summer w/ bbq chicken or ribs! There's not really set measurements for this salad so you can make as little or as much as you want. Just know that because it is all fresh ingredients it doesn't keep overnight so only make what you think you will eat at one time.


1 pint of Strawberries sliced
3-5 Kiwi's sliced
2-3 Bananas sliced

Sauce:

In a blender add 1 8oz. can of crushed pineapple (juice included) and one banana*. Blend until smooth. Pour over sliced fruit, mix and serve. Yum!

*Sometimes I'll add a tablespoon or two of orange juice to add a little zip

Cherry Jubilee Cheesecake Bars

I made this recipe for Valentine's and we thought they were so yummy! Even better is that they are so so so easy. I'll be making them again tonight for my sister's baby shower since she's having a girl and they are pink!

(you can pretty much substitute the Cherry flavor with any cake & frosting combo...strawberry, lemon, etc)

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® cherry chip cake mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened ( Note: to cut out fat, I only used 11 oz. instead of 16 oz. and I used Fat Free cream cheese. They still turned out great.)
1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy cherry frosting
3 eggs

1. Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, beat dry cake mix and butter with electric mixer on low speed until crumbly; reserve 1 cup. In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan, press remaining crumbly mixture.
2. In same bowl, beat cream cheese and frosting with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs until blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumbly mixture.
3. Bake about 45 minutes (about 42 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until set; cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): In step 1, prebake the crust 10 minutes. In step 3, bake about 50 minutes.

The Oversized Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

(makes about 18 large)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleashed all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until just warm
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower- middle positions.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thorougly blended. Beat the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.
4. Creating a jagged surface on each dough ball gives the finished cookies an attractive appearance. Start by rolling a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a smooth ball. Holding the dough ball in the fingertips of both hands, pull the dough apart into two equal halves. Each half will have a jagged surface where it was ripped from the other. Rotate so the jagged surfaces face up. Jam the halves back together into one ball so that the top surface remains jagged. Place the formed dough balls on the baking sheets 2 1/2 inches apart.
5. Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, the outer edges start to harden and the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 -18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back halfway thru cooking time. To ensure the proper texture, cool the cookies on the baking sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets w/ wide metal spatula. Enjoy!