Breakfast Burritos

I don't think we've ever had these for breakfast. This is a favorite of our family when we're doing breakfast for dinner. They're so quick and easy to make and full of flavor. Last night we used leftover crepes I pulled from the freezer but usually we use tortillas. We just throw in whatever vegetables I have on hand that "fit" and usually, cheese, ham and/or bacon.

Breakfast Burritos

Eggs, mixed with a little bit of milk and scrambled, salted & peppered (I use 8.)

Grated cheese, last night we used Mozarella but cheddar works great too

Avocado, sliced thin

Tomato, diced

Bacon, cooked and crumbled OR ham, cubed or sliced into thin strips

Onions, grilled

Bell peppers, grilled

Heat the tortillas (or crepes), sprinkle with cheese, add eggs and other ingredients. Roll up and enjoy!

Chicken Alfredo Casserole

This recipe is similar to another one I have for Chicken Alfredo Bake but I love the addition of tomatoes and grilled onions in this one. I saw this posted on my cousin Lisa's blog and it hit the spot for dinner the other night. It was pretty easy to whip up last minute too. I used my recipe for Guiltless Alfredo for the sauce and then leftover sauteed chicken from dinner the other night. This casserole calls for fettucine - which I used and it was great - but most pastas would probably work just as well.

Chicken Alfredo Casserole

16 oz. fettuccine noodles

16 oz. alfredo sauce - or guiltless alfredo recipe (see link above)

6-8 chicken tenderloins - or about 1-2 breasts

1/2 cup cubed ham - I used regular thin slice deli ham.

2 roma tomatoes

1/2 an onion

1/4 cup butter - I used about 1-2 Tbsp.

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook fettuccine noodles as directed, drain, and pour into 9x13 Pyrex dish. Stir butter into noodles until completely melted and mixed in. Fry chicken tenderloins and slice into strips. Place chicken and cubed ham on top of noodles. Pour alfredo sauce over everything evenly, but do not mix in. Cut tomatoes into circles, and place on top of casserole. Add salt and pepper. Cut onion into rings, and fry. Place fried onions on top of casserole. Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Soft Pretzels

Making these was a lot of fun! I quickly made up the dough - super easy - and then the kids were able to roll it out into long snakes and form it into whatever shape they wanted. We were going for pretzels but we somehow ended up with faces and pumpkins too! My boys had a lot of fun doing this and the dough is not sticky so it makes it really easy for kids to help! The second day, we brushed melted butter and sprinkled parmesan cheese on the remaining pretzels and stuck them under the broiler for a few minutes. Yum!

Soft Pretzels

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 pkg yeast (or 1 Tb)

1 Tb sugar

1 tsp salt

4 cups flour

Add sugar to warm water then sprinkle yeast on top. Let float for a minute then stir to dissolve the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes as yeast activates and starts to foam. Add salt and flour and knead 5-10 minutes; adding more flour as needed to reduce stickiness. Divide dough in to 12 pieces and roll each piece into a long rope or "snake". Twist into pretzel shape and place on nonstick baking sheet. Make an egg wash with one egg and a Tb of water, lightly beaten together. Brush pretzels with egg wash then sprinkle liberally with Kosher salt. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup

I don't love the snow or the cold, but I love that it puts me in the mood to make soup! I tried a cream cheese chicken soup last year that just didn't have enough flavor so I was a little hesitant to try this recipe but it proved to be delicious! I love the smooth texture of this soup and unlike a lot of cream soups, it's really rather light on the stomach. I got this recipe from melskitchencafe.com. She has several great soup recipes.

Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup

2 Tbsp butter

1 yellow onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, diced

1/2 cup carrots, diced (about 2 regular or a handful of baby carrots)

3 cups chicken broth

2-3 potatoes, peeled and diced (I used red potatoes and left the skins on.)

1 cup milk

4 Tbsp flour

1 - 8oz. package regular or light cream cheese

2-3 (about 1 lb) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and the onions are translucent. Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. In a liquid measuring cup, vigorously whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk the mixture into the soup, stirring quickly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken slightly. Stir often to ensure the soup doesn’t burn. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft/melty. I usually place the unwrapped cream cheese on a plate and microwave it for one minute at 30% power. I like it really, really soft so it doesn’t leave lumps in the soup. Add the cream cheese to the soup in small tablespoon-size pieces. Let the pieces sit in the soup and warm through then whisk or stir the soup until the cream cheese melts and mixes in well. Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Fudge

The last time I made fudge it really didn't come out great. It was too soft. This time was much better. I tried a new recipe I found on allrecipes.com. I don't know about you but it's just not Christmas without fudge. (Just try to overlook the amount of sugar in this - holy cow!)

Fudge

1 cup butter
12 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme
1 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups evaporated milk
4 cups white sugar

1) Line a 13X9 dish with tin foil and butter the tin foil.

2) In large saucepan combine butter, sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and let it boil for at least 5 minutes, maybe as long as 10. Stir constantly.

3) Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips, vanilla and marshmallow creme. Mix until chocolate chips are completely melted. Then stir in walnuts (if you choose). Spread mixture into prepared dish. Refrigerate until cool and hard.

*A tip when cutting. I pulled the entire thing out of the pan by grabbing the edges of the tin foil. Then I cut a large section at a time and transferred it from the tin foil to a cutting board to cut it up further. This way you don't end up with pieces of tin foil in your fudge. :)

Creamy White Chili

This is my new favorite chili recipe. I love it! And so does my husband - which is always a bonus. It is really flavorful and tastes great with tortilla chips. It doesn't need to cook all day either - takes about an hour from start to finish. I got this recipe from www.melskitchencafe.com - a GREAT recipe site.

Creamy White Chili

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon oil
2 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies (if you like less kick, add just one can)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cream. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately. Makes about 6 servings.

Chicken a La King

In my rush to get my children fed before hurrying out the door to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert (which we didn't even get in to!), I didn't get a picture of this meal all put together. But you'll get the idea. This is a Christmas dish as it refers to a meal for THE kings - the three Wisemen. I loved the idea of making these bread crowns - and they couldn't have been easier to make! You just pour the sauce over a couple of bread crowns and enjoy! Oh - I got this recipe from Sisters Cafe.

Chicken a La King

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

Saute just until soft.

1/2 cup flour

Add to butter mixture and mix well to make a roux. Let it bubble.

2 small cans mushrooms and juice (I am not a fan of mushrooms so I left these out....I just used less flour and a little more chicken broth to make up for omitting these.)
3 cups chicken broth

Add and bring to a boil to thicken.

1 cup cream
5 cups cooked chicken, shredded (Rotisserie chicken would work well too.)
salt and pepper

Add to above mixture but don't boil any longer after adding cream. (You can also add 1/4 cup milk to thin the sauce if needed.)

To make the crowns, buy wheat bread - just the cheapo kind. (Or you can use white if you prefer.) Get out a muffin tin. Place a slice of bread over a muffin hole. Push in on the four sides and push down into muffin hole. Don't squash the bread, but use enough force so that it stays down in the hole. The four corners should be sticking up. Bake at about 250 until toasted and dry. It took me about 15 minutes. When you lift the crowns out of the muffin tin they should hole their shape.