chicken and chickpeas

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon smoked paprika or regular
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
3 chicken breast with bones or without bones. ( I usually use without and cut them into thirds)
1 or 2 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
1 12-ounce container cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (I dont like cilantro much so I use a tbsp of dried cilantro)

Preheat oven to 450°. Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Pour 1 teaspoon spiced oil mixture into small bowl; whisk in yogurt and set aside for sauce. Place chicken on large rimmed baking sheet. Rub 2 tablespoons spiced oil mixture over chicken. Add beans, tomatoes, and 1/2 cup cilantro to remaining spiced oil mixture; toss to coat. Pour bean mixture around chicken. Sprinkle everything generously with salt and pepper.
Roast until chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 (without bones takes less time) minutes. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cilantro. Serve with yogurt sauce over rice or quiona

Chicken Pesto

Ok girls, so far this blog has been pretty sad. So let's spice it up a little! Add a recipe!
Tonight, I made homemade pesto sauce and it was so good so I have to share the recipe!

Pesto

2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 garlic cloves (small to medium sized ones)
3 T pine nuts
salt and pepper to taste
puree together

eat on top of spaghetti or linguini noodles
you can add chicken to it if you want. that's how we ate it and it was delicious!

I tried adding a picture of it but it won't work for some reason. But try it and see how it turns out!

Chili bean/cheese dip

This is a recipe I made to finish off a bunch of random food in my fridge and it turned out really really tasty!!


2 cans chili (whatever kind. any brand works)
4 oz cream cheese or more if you like
a handful of chopped cilantro (1/4 cup?? i'm not totally sure how much, i just add it to my liking each time)
2 tomatoes
1 or 2 cloves of fresh pressed garlic (depends on the clove size and your liking)
3 tablespoons of lime juice or 3 or 4 fresh squeezed limes (or more. i like LOTS of lime)
2 big handfuls of cheddar cheese or more if you like!

Heat chili in pot and add cream cheese. Stir until cream cheese is totally melted and mixed in. Then chop and add the rest! I prefer to add the lime at the very end because I add more and more until its perfect! Mix well and serve with chips or hotdogs or whatever sounds good!

Andrea

Chicken Pockets

This is a really good recipe if you have leftover chicken, especially from chicken with gravy so it is a little moist.

8 oz cream cheese softened
3 green onions
6-8 stems fresh parsley
OR 8 oz. cream cheese with chives

3 8 oz cans crescent rolls (reduced fat)
5 chicken breasts shredded
1/4 tsp pepper and salt

Melted butter
Bread crumbs

Open crescent rolls and use 2 rolls per pocket. Add chicken and cream cheese mixture. Fold sides over and seal together. Brush each side with melted butter and sprinkle bread crumbs. Will make 12 chicken pockets.

Bake at 375 for 17-20 min (until rolls are baked)

-Jessica Flake

Homemade Samoas

Cookies:

* 1 cup butter, soft1/2 cup sugar
* 2 cups all purpose flour
* 1/4 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* up to 2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt followed by the vanilla and milk. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.

Roll the dough between pieces of wax paper and use a circle cookie cutter to make small rounds. Place on baking sheet and use a smaller item to cut a smaller center hole. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are lightly gold. Cool.

Topping:

* 3 cups shredded coconut
* 1 lb chewy caramels
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 3 tbsp milk
* 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast 5-10 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.

While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate into a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

These taste like the real thing! Be careful, you might eat all of them in one sitting.

O'Henry Bars

I brought these to a class party. Some wanted the recipe so here you go. Super easy, and makes a lot...great for parties!

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup karo syrup
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 5-6 cups rice krispies

Grease a 10 x 15" cookie sheet. Bring the sugar and karo syrup to a boil. Remove from the heat and add in peanut butter. Pour over rice krispies. Stir until well coated and then pour into pan.

Frosting:
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Melt together chocolate chips, and then frost the rice krispies with the mix. Let cool for 1 hour before serving. I usually put them in my fridge if I have the space.


Jessica Nelson

Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken

This is one of my husband's favorites. I like it too, especially because I can put it in the crock pot before school and come home and dinner is ready! It is so easy and so yummy! Enjoy!

• 2 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Place chicken in greased 3 1/2 to 5-quart slow cooker. Pour broth, salsa, corn, and beans over chicken. Cover and cook on low heat 6 to 8 hours or high heat 3 to 4 hours. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and place on serving dish. Stir in sour cream and cheese into sauce in slow cooker, then pour over chicken. Serves 3 to 5.

We usually just put our sour cream and cheese on top of our chicken and let it melt a bit. But it's good mixing it in with the sauce in the crock pot too. We also usually eat this with some spanish rice and warm tortillas.


Jessica Nelson