Lemon -Strawberry Punch

I made this for Whitney's Shower and got rave reviews. It's super simple.

Lemon-Strawberry Punch

1 16-ounce can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 6-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 package frozen sliced strawberries w/ sugar added (I used the small cartons)
1 quart carbonated water
1 quart ginger ale

In a large punch bowl, mix partially thawed orange juice, lemonade and strawberries with ice. Just before serving, add carbonated water and ginger ale (add a bit more ginger ale than carbonated water). Add slices of oranges and lemons or limes.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Joe requested homemade chicken pot pie this week, so I came up with this easy recipe. I mixed several recipes together from www.allrecipes.com and from the back of the Cream of Potato soup can.

1 can cream of potato soup (or you can use cream of chicken or cream of mushroom)
1/4 cup milk
1 large can cooked chicken breast
1 cup frozen vegetables, thawed (or use canned mixed vegetbales)
2 refrigerated or frozen pie crusts

Basically you just mix the first 4 ingredients together in a bowl. You might want to add some spices like thyme, but I didn't and mine still tasted great. Follow the directions on the package for the pie crusts. I read on allrecipes that if you bake the lower crust for a few minutes first then it will turn out less mushy, so I did that. Then I added the mixture and put the other crust on top, cut holes for steam, and baked according to the package directions. It tasted great and was very easy, plus the cleanup was a snap since my crust came in a metal throw-away pan. Very easy and yummy, with lots less sodium I'm sure than those frozen ones!

Mustard Glazed Salmon

I made this two nights ago, and both the hubby and kids loved it. I adapted my recipe from this one found at Food Network.com. I was missing some of the ingredients, and didn't want to use others, so this is how it worked for me:

Nonstick cooking spray
1lb fresh salmon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1tsp garlic powder
3/4tsp dried rosemary
3/4tsp dried thyme
1tbsp water
1tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2tbsp Dijon mustard


*Line baking sheet with foil(for easy cleanup, not a must), spray with non-stick spray, and lay salmon in center.

*Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and salt, and place under broiler for two minutes

*While broiling, combine remaining ingredients in a processor to make a paste. You can probably omit the water, this sauce did come out a bit runny.

*Remove salmon and spoon mustard mixture on top. Broil for another 5-7 minutes, until fish flakes likes it's supposed to.

I used a piece of salmon that was exactly one pound and there was a perfect amount of sauce, so this can be adjusted for larger or smaller pieces. Also, the recipe originally calls for fresh herbs, but the taste was just great with the dried ones, and I used water instead of wine, as we have none in the house right now. :)

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

1 Duncan Hines Golden Butter Recipe Cake Mix
1 pkg small instant chocolate pudding
8 oz sour cream (if you use cream cheese by mistake, I've found it's also pretty good)
6 oz milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup water
1 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs

Mix all except eggs and chocolate chips. Add 4 eggs. Fold chocolate chips into mix. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Pour the mixture in. Bake at 325 for 1 hour. *This cake is better and more moist a day or two after you make it, so I usually plan to make it ahead.

Monkey Bread

The official name of this recipe is "Overnight Coffee Cake" but there is already a recipe named that on this blog. Plus this tastes just like Monkey Bread, but it's way easier to make than the other recipes I've seen.

1 pkg frozen rolls (24 rolls work best, I use Rhodes Rolls)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
1 3.5 ounce package Cook N' Serve Butterscotch Jello (NOT Instant)
1/2 stick margarine or butter

Spray Bundt pan with Pam. Arrange rolls in bottom of pan. Combine next 4 ingredients and sprinkle over rolls. Cut butter into small pieces and place on top of rolls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise overnight.

In the morning preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Place the Bundt pan on a cookie sheet so as to avoid spillover. Cover with foil after 15 minutes. When done place a plate over pan and invert. Serve warm.

Tabouli

This recipe is stolen from a place in Fort Worth call "Jazz Cafe"

1 box plain cous cous (It's called Far East or Near East)
1/2 a small bottle of olive oil
4 roma tomatoes
1 yellow onion
1 bundle cilantro (I leave this out)
1 garlic clove
3 jalapeno peppers (I leave this out)
juice from 1 lime


Put cous cous in a bowl. Fill the bowl with cool water until it covers the cous cous about 1/4 inch. Chop all vegetables and herbs intovery small pieces. Mix vegetables together and squeeze in lime juice to make a pico de gallo. After the cous cous has soaked up the water, mix it with the pico de gallo and add the olive oil. *The olive oil should just coat everything.

Can be served as tacos in warm white corn tortillas with black beans (canned) and cheese.

Shopping List Tool

HEB has a great online shopping list tool for those. You can even make a weekly list and add or subtract items.

It definitely makes shopping more organized and easier.