Mexican Sour Cream Rice

The nights have been getting chillier so I made this with rice, along with some chicken in the oven to warm us up a bit. This makes no less than a TON of rice. Be prepared for leftovers. This recipe comes originally from Allrecipes.com, but I found it in my Google Reader from Melissa.
I substituted the can of green chiles for a can of Rotel, drained & it turned out wonderfully! Enjoy!

Mexican Sour Cream Rice

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
4 ounces cream cheese
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies (I used a can of Rotel, drained)
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided
1 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
12.5 ounces chicken, cooked and shredded
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

In a large pot, bring the rice and chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X9 baking dish.

In the pot with the cooked rice, mix the sour cream, cream cheese, green chilies, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, corn, and parsley . Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Transfer to the prepared dish, and top with remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Oriental Beef and Noodles

Another Crock-pot Recipe. This one is incredibly easy to throw together & pretty tasty, although not the prettiest to photograph. We both liked this for an easy dinner that you don’t really have to pay attention to during the day.

We made just a few changes to Colleen’s recipe, and I think it gave it just a tad more flavor. Yum!

Oriental Beef and Noodles

1 (16 ounce) package frozen stir fry vegetables
2 - 2 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1" cubes
1 (12 ounce) bottle stir-fry sauce, any flavor
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (we changed this to about a teaspoon for a little mote heat)
2 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodles, broken
1/4 cup green onions, chopped

Coat a 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place frozen vegetables in the bottom and top with stew meat. In a medium bowl, stir together stir-fry sauce, water, and red pepper. Pour over stew meat and vegetables in cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or on high for 4 1/2-5 hours (I recommend low, it will help to break the meat down more).

At the end of cooking time, Stir noodles, Ramen spice packets, and green onions into meat mixture. Cover and let stand 10 minutes more. Stir before serving. This can be kept on warm for 1-2 hours.

Rustic Chicken

For Joelen’s October Tasty Tool event, she’s highlighting crockpots/slow cookers. I try to use my crockpot once or twice a month so I already have a few recipes in this blog with the Crockpot tag. However, for Joelen’s event I wanted to try something new.

I knew I wanted to make something with chicken and I wanted to use artichokes. I found this recipe on RazzleDazzleRecipes.com. It takes all of 2 minutes to throw everything in the crockpot and then you just sit back and wait, enjoying the smell of a home cooked meal that you don’t have to work hard for. Enjoy!!

Rustic Chicken


1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders, or boneless chicken breasts cut in 1 inch strips

1 tablespoon real bacon bits (I omitted these)

1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

1 15 ounce can artichoke hearts, quartered

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 packet dry chicken gravy mix

1/4 cup red wine

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
** I added about 6 large stuffed Green Olives as well.



Combine all ingredients in a crockpot; stir to combine. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Serve over pasta or rice.

S'mores Truffles

I saw this recipe on Emily’s blog and I knew I had to make it. I feel like I've had this recipe saved forever. I'm not sure why it took me so long to make it. These truffles were so easy to make. They were a big hit at the cookout we took them to. Make sure you keep them in the fridge or freezer and set them out just before serving. They get soft pretty easy, but they're so tasty.

S'mores Truffles

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups milk chocolate chips (12 oz.)
24 mini-marshmallows
1 cup finely crushed graham crackers

Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat; whisk in cream and bring to a boil. Remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Chill saucepan in refrigerator for 1 hour, or until chocolate is solid and rollable; roll into 24 balls, stuffing a mini marshmallow into the center of each. Chill truffles a few minutes before rolling in graham cracker crumbs; chill for a few minutes again so they solidify a little more.

Antipasta Chopped Salad

I’ve been craving artichokes lately. They seem to go good with just about everything. I made this salad one night to go with some grilled chicken. Cancy really liked it as well. You really could add whatever you like to this. I will probably add some Kalamata olives next time. I hope you like it.

Antipasta Chopped Salad

1 heart of romaine, chopped
about 6 ounces mozzarella, diced
6 ouces of salami or pepperoni, chopped small
banana peppers, diced
12 ounce jar of marinated artichokes, drained & chopped

Combine lettuce, cheese, meat, peppers, & artichokes into a bowl. Toss to combine.

Use a little bit of the reserved liquid from the artichoke jar to dress the salad. Season with salt & pepper.

Jalapeno Chile Coleslaw

I have been making this side dish this summer and it has gone over well each time. It’s a nice side to take to any potluck or bbq since it makes so much. If you like things with a little heat in them, you will appreciate this. My husband’s friends have asked for it a few times since they first tried it. Try it, You’ll love it.

Jalapeno Chile Coleslaw
2 (8 oz) packages broccoli coleslaw
1 Napa cabbage, cut into 1/4” strips
5 jalapenos, cut out the ribs & seeds, then chop
1 bottle of Jalapeno Ranch Dressing (this is important)
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. cayenne

Combine broccoli slaw, cabbage, and jalapenos.

Toast the cumin seeds in a small pan on medium heat. Just warm them up a little bit so they are more fragrant. Let cool.

Pour dressing over top, sprinkle cayenne & toss to coat. Let sit for at least 15 minutes to let everything combine. Just before serving, top with cumin seeds.

Grilled Pesto Salmon with Grilled Asparagus

I have been a bad, bad blogger. It's been an entire month without any updates. We've been a little busy lately. Cancy's work schedule has been yucky all month. By the middle of the month, we went to Orlando for a nice little vacation only to come back and get the flu a day later. So I'm finally getting around to doing some updates since I've been home from work with the flu. So I haven't really been cooking much of anything lately but here are a few updates from earlier this month.

So a new grocery store opened up by us this month. Sprout's Farmers Market... Yum! Cancy & I went here during their opening weekend and among other things, we found a great deal on fresh salmon. Get ready for the non-recipe...


Grilled Pesto Salmon with Grilled Asparagus
2 pieces of fresh salmon
1 container of ready-made pesto
1 cedar plank for the grill

a bundle of fresh asparagus, rinse & break the woody stems off
salt & pepper
olive oil

Soak the cedar plank in water for about 30 minutes. This is so it won't burn when it's on the grill.

Set the salmon, skin side down on the planks and cover with the pesto.

In a Ziploc bag, shake up the fresh asparagus, olive oil, and salt & pepper.

Set the cedar plank on the grill and cook until the salmon is done. About 10 minutes in, place your asparagus on the grill as well. They should finish about the same time.

Grilled Peaches with Honey & Goat Cheese

This recipe from Cara showed up in my Google Reader last month it looked so good we made it immediately. (Even if I can’t get around to blogging about it for a month or so) :) This is a great way to enjoy peaches with a meal you’re already grilling. And please, please don’t be scared of the goat cheese. I love goat cheese but for those who haven’t had it yet or are wierded out by it being with something sweet, trust me. It’s good.

Grilled Peaches with Honey & Goat Cheese

2 fresh summer peaches
a log of your favorite goat cheese
some honey
good quality cinnamon

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, and spray with a nonstick grill spray or brush the grates with some oil (you'll be caramelizing right on the grates, so there's a good chance you'll get some stickage).

Cut the peaches in half and cut out the pits (you might want to cut around the pit, making a bigger hole, if you want to be able to fit more goat cheese in there!).

Sprinkle the cut halves with some sugar, then place cut side down on the grill for about 10-15 minutes. Turn them over, place some crumbled goat cheese in each peach and close the grill for another few minutes to warm the cheese.

Remove to a platter, drizzle with honey, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cool for just a bit, but not too long

Spicy Shrimp, Sausage, & Spinach Fettuccine

This recipe popped up in my Google Reader and I knew I had to make it. We already had everything on hand so it was really convenient. We didn’t really feel like the corn would be a good fit in here so we left it out. We may try it next time. All in all, this dish was easy to put together, Cancy loved it, & it made for good leftovers too. I hope you like it.

Spicy Shrimp, Sausage, & Spinach Fettuccine

1 pound fettuccine
olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup

3 links of hot Italian sausage, removed from casing, about 1/4 pound

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/4 pounds of large shrimp (21 - 25/pound), peeled and deveined

4 large handfuls of baby spinach, about 4 cups loosely packed

1 cup corn ( i left this out )

1/2 cup pasta water

1/2 - 1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated and not packed, plus more for serving

salt & 
pepper



Cook fettuccine in a large pot of water according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Set aside.



While the pasta cooks, heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and onions and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the sausage in small pieces and the garlic and cook until until the sausage is cooked and browned.

Add shrimp to pan and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until it is slightly wilted. Add corn and pasta water to saute pan and scrape up any bits cooked on to the bottom of the pan.

Add pasta and toss to mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place in a serving bowl and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve with extra cheese.

Gnocchi with Summer vegetables

I’m a big Martha Stewart fan. I usually end up on her site looking for recipes. I found this one just in time. Cancy’s parents had a bunch of zucchini & squash from their garden this summer so they brought some down last time they were here. And by some, I mean a whole bunch. This was a delicious way to use both the zucchini & the squash. Enjoy.

Gnocchi with Summer vegetables
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 zucchini or summer squash, or one of each (about 2 pounds total), quartered and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (I left this out)
1 package (15 to 16 ounces) shelf stable gnocchi
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add squash and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi according to package instructions. Reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid, drain gnocchi and transfer to skillet. Toss gnocchi, adding enough cooking liquid to create a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in basil, cheese, butter, and lemon juice.