Sweet & Cap'n Crunchy Chicken

We LOVE these tasty chicken strips. They are great with or without sauce. The Cap'n Crunch adds a great unique flavor to an all-time favorite chicken strip dinner.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)

1/2 cup Cap'n Crunch cereal (original)

1/8 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp garlic powder

Dash salt

Dash black pepper

8 ounces raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast, cut into 4 strips

3 Tbls fat-free liquid egg substitute

2 Tbls Dijonnaise

2 Tbls honey mustard

Directions:

Grind both cereals into a bread crumb-like consistency, place in a large bowl with all seasonings. Mix well and set aside.

Place chicken strips in a separate bowl. Pour egg substitute over the chicken strips, and flip to coat. then coast chicken strips in the cereal mixture.

Bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Place chicken strips into the skillet, spacing them out. Cook 5 minutes, and then flip pieces over. Cook for about 4 more minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.

Combine the Dijonnaise and honey mustard in a small bowl, and mix well for a tasty dipping sauce.

Makes 2 servings

Per Serving (1/2 of recipe): 234 calories, 2g fat, 617mg sodium, 23.5g carbs, 4g fiber, 10g sugars, 29g protein

Recipe from: Hungry Girl 1-2-3 (Planet hungrywood sweet & cap'n crunchy chicken)

Fudge Frosting

This frosting has become our family favorite. I have used it for 2 birthday cakes and a Relief Society activity. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter (at room temp)

4 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk (at room temp)

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate,

melted and slightly cooled

Directions:

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add remaining 3 cups sugar and the milk and beat on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla extract and melted chocolate and beat until combined.

2. If the chocolate is too warm, the frosting might be too soft to hold peaks. Just keep beating until it is thick enough to spread. Assess texture. If it is too soft, add a portion or all of the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Frosting is ready to use. (Bring to room temperature and rebeat after storing.)

* Frosting may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Recipe from A Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes

Perfect Lemon Cupcakes

Thanks Em for the picture I stole from your blog.

Some of you asked me for this recipe and since I love lemon at Easter time I thought now is a great time to share.

Perfect Lemon Cupcakes
Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
1 C sour cream
3/4 C water
3/4 C oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Use a strong mixer, this batter is thick. For cupcakes, bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (I was able to get 24 very full cupcakes from the recipe). For regular cake, pour into a greased 9×11 pan or two round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Don’t over bake or the cake will be too dry! The toothpick test works to check to see if they’re done.
The original recipe said that the cupcakes will fall after they come out of the oven, but this is normal and to just fill up the indentation with more frosting. I didn’t have this problem at all!

Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
6-8 C powdered sugar
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I added 6 cups total). Use and store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

Garnish with berries, if desired right before serving.

fruit pizza - light version

I LOVE this recipe because there is no milk, eggs or sugar :) Still white flour but you could easily substitute it for whole wheat, although I'm not sure how that would taste (ick) :p

Sugar cookie recipe

1 package (8oz) light cream cheese softened
1 cup Smart Balance light butter spread softened
2/3 cup Splenda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour

BEAT cream cheese, butter, Splenda, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. mix in flour. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Roll out dough on greased floured pizza pan. Poke with fork. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely.

Cream cheese frosting

1 package (8oz) light cream cheese softened
1/2 cup Splenda
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cream cheese, Splenda and vanilla until creamy and spread on cooled cookie.

Gather your assorted sliced fruits of various colors. My favorites to use for this recipe are strawberries, kiwi, and mandarine oranges. Arrange sliced fruits on top as preferred. Refrigerate. Serve in triangular pizza slices. Enjoy!

Pulled Pork Salad with Cilantro Dressing

This isn't exactly the quickest meal but it is really yummy! I have three different recipes for it and I usually just pour in a bunch of stuff so here is what I do:

Ingredients:
1 Pork Roast
1 Coca Cola bottle
1 Cup Salsa
1 cup brown sugar
1 Cup Ketchup
To taste:
salt, pepper, garlic salt, cumin

Put the pork roast in a crock pot. Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic salt and cumin. Pour in 1 cup of the Coke, the salsa, and the brown sugar. Cook on low for 8 hours. One hour before it's done, put 1 more cup Coke and 1 Cup ketchup in a small sauce pan on the stove. Heat and stir. Shred the pork in the crock pot. Pour the coke and ketchup mix over the meat and let it cook the remaining hour.

Cilantro Dressing:
1 Jar Green Salsa Verde
Equal amount of prepared ranch dressing (we make our ranch or you can use Hidden Valley)
1 bunch cilantro

Place equal parts salsa verde and ranch dressing (I usually do a cup of each, can do more) in a blender or food processor with cilantro leaves and blend to smooth. Put it in the fridge til your ready to eat.

Other ingredients for salad:
Shredded lettuce (or I just buy the bagged lettuce)
Wheat, flour or corn tortillas
Black beans (I just warm up a can)
Cilantro lime rice (steamed rice with chopped cilantro leaves and fresh lime juice, to your liking)
Diced tomatoes (or I get really lazy and buy already made pico), onions etc
Shredded cheese (whatever kind you like)

After the meat is done, just layer a tortilla the way you like it and enjoy. It's so yummy!

Dinner Help For All!

Hi Ladies! Here is my problem, even though I've been feeding myself for nearly 16 years, and feeding Clayton for over three, I still get totally stumped when it is time to make dinner. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone here. So I am asking a big favor. I want everyone to bring out their go-to recipe and share. Post it here or you can e-mail it to me and I will post it for you. mariannemarguerite @ yahoo dot com. (No spaces.) Make sure to add the label of Go-To Dinner.

Recipes that you don't find terribly challenging, that your family likes and has often. I figure if we can get at least ten on here that would be a huge help for those days when we feel less than inspired. And it might get this blog back up and buzzing, it's such a good blog idea that I hate to see it just sit here. Thanks in advance for all of your input! -Marianne

P.S. I'll start! Mine is right below this post!

My Go-To Recipe: Chicken Enchiladas

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Sauce:
1 pint sour cream
3/4 soup can of water
2 cans cream of chicken soup

Mix all together

Filling:
2-4 chicken breasts, (depending on the size of your family, we use two) cubed & sauteed.
1 small can green chilies, diced.
3/4 green onion (we often use white or whatever is on hand)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese. (Optional in the filling.)

12 corn tortillas
1&1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Soften tortillas by lightly wetting them with water, then warming in the microwave. This keeps them from splitting.

Fill tortillas, placing the fold side down in a cake pan. (or casserole, or whatever pan)
Pour the sauce over the tortillas.
Sprinkle cheese over the top.
Bake at 325 F. for 30-40 minutes