Brownie Trifle

8 Health bar candy (or a bag of chocolate covered Heath baking bits)
1 box fudge brownie mix
2 c. chocolate chips
2 lg. boxes chocolate instant pudding
5 c. cold milk
2 lg. containers cool whip
1 c. miniature chocolate chips

Bake brownies according to directions, except fold in 2 c. chocolate chips before baking. Bake in greased 9x13 pan for 28 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool completely. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Make pudding mixture as follows: Mix pudding and milk together and stir with wire whip or mixer 1 to 2 minutes. Fold in 3 cups of Cool Whip and 1 cup miniature chocolate chips. Place 1/2 of brownies in bottom of large trifle bowl, then 1/2 of pudding mixture, 4 Heath bars (crushed), and a layer of Cool Whip. Repeat layers. Decorate with crushed Heath bars. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Tip: Freeze Heath bars; crush in wrapper with wooden mallet or handle of table knife. I used large punch bowl for serving.

-Karen Edwards

Squirrel Bars

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/3 c. butter

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

6 ounces chocolate chips

Mix together first four ingredients. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and baking powder. Spread mixture in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle chips on top. Bake 3 min. at 350 degrees. Take out and "marbelize." Return to oven for another 18-20 min.. Cool and cut in to bars and serve.

-Karen Edwards

Ritzy Kids Chicken

8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 c. crushed Ritz crackers

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1 c. plain yogurt

1/4 c. butter, melted (optional)

Combine crushed crackers, Parmesan, garlic salt and seasoned salt in shallow dish. Pat chicken dry, then coat with yogurt. Dep each piece in crumb mixture and arrange in 9x13 baking dish. Drizzle melted buter over top, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

-Karen Edwards

Cafe Rio Burritos

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

2 cups salsa
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup coke/dr. pepper
Pork sirloin tenderloin (2-5lbs)

Cut Pork into large chucks and place in a crock-pot and fill it halfway up with water. Cook on low 5-7 hours (depending on your crockpot, mine cooks it all in about 3-4). Drain off water. Shred the pork (pull of pick off excess fat.) Put salsa, coke, and brown sugar in a blender, mix well. Pour over the shredded pork and cook in the crock pot for 3 more hours on low.

Make into a burrito with cilantro line rice, creamy tomatillo dressing, and black beans; or place over shredded romaine salad. Top with pico de gallo, guacamole, tortilla strips or enchilada sauce.

Cilantro Lime Rice

2 cups uncooked rice
2 tsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp lime zest (peel of limes)
4 cups chicken broth
4 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
3-4 txp granulated sugar
5 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

In a sauce pan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime peel, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

1 pkg ranch or buttermilk dressing mix (dry stuff)
1 cup milk/buttermilk
1 cup mayo
2 to 3 tomatillos, peeled and diced
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 to 1 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 to 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed
or a seeded Serrano Chili
(for if you want it hot)
Blend together in a blender. Add additional mayo if the dressing is to thin. Another option is to add additional pinches of sugar if a sweeter taste is desired. Serve cold, keep refrigerated.

Black Beans

2-16oz cans black beans
1/2 cup to one whole small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
juice from 1/2 a lime

In meadium saucepan, combine beans, onion, and garlic and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Season the beans with cilantro, cayenne, and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes and then serve.

by Janelle Schelin

Cafe Rio-ish Shredded Chicken

This is the recipe I used for the chicken we served at our Relief Society Birthday Celebration Dinner tonight - thanks to all who helped, came, and had a good time.

5 lbs chicken breast, boneless, skinless
1 sm bottle zesty Italian dressing (Kraft is good)
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingred together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken. Keep warm.

- Jill Fowers

Macaroni and Cheese

Does anyone have a tried and true, super good, delicious, can't live without it recipe for homemade Macaroni and Cheese?

Holli Moore

Few of our Families Favorite Desserts & Breads

Posted by: Rebecca Wagner

Few of our Families Favorite Dinners

Posted by: Rebecca Wagner

Honey Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple and rice balls

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
~This is similar to Karen's "Sesame Chicken", just different flavor!!

2 Cups water 1 TBS. butter
1 tsp. salt 1 rounded C. rice
2 TBS. Black Sesame seeds or toasted white sesame seeds
4-6 boneless chicken breasts or thighs
Vegetable oil for drizzling
Salt and Pepper
1 C. chicken broth or water
1-inch ginger root, peeled and chopped
1/4 C. honey
1/2 C. teriyaki sauce
1 TBS. toasted sesame oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 ripe pineapple or 1-2 cans pineapple chunks

Preheat large griddle over medium heat.

Bring water to a boil in a small covered pot. Add butter, salt, and rice to pot. Return to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and replace cover. Simmer 18 minutes and remove from heat. Take the lid off the pot to cool rice a bit. Scoop rice into balls with an ice cream scoop and hands. Dampen scoop with water to work with the rice easier. Set balls on a plate and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

While rice is cooking, lightly coat chicken with oil, salt, and pepper. Place chicken on hot griddle and cook for 6 minutes on each side.

While chicken is cooking, bring chicken broth and ginger to a boil. Stir in honey. When honey has dissolved into broth, add teriyaki sauce and sesame oil and reduce heat to simmer.

Turn chicken and coat liberally with sauce. When chicken is fully cooked, place it on a plate and garnish with sliced scallions.

Serve chicken with rice balls and pineapple. Yummy!!

~Nicole Cave

Cherry Crunch

1 Can Cherries
1 White Cake Mix
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Cube butter

Pour cherries into bottom of microwavable pan.
Mix cake mix and brown sugar in bowl then sprinkle over top of cherries. Pour melted butter over top of mix. Microwave 12-15 minutes.

Holli Moore

Parmesan Baked Chicken

Super easy prep time!

1/2 C Mayonnaise type salad dressing
1/3 C grated parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 chicken breasts
3/4 C Italian bread crumbs

Combine salad dressing, cheese & garlic powder. Coat chicken with mixture then cover with bread crumbs. Place chicken on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 425 for 15-20 min.

*If I only have plain bread crumbs I will add a little Italian seasoning to the plain bread crumbs.

Holli Moore

Au Gratin Potatoes

I use this recipe every Christmas Eve. They are easy, just take awhile to cook

3 T butter or margarine

3 T all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 cups milk

1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

5 cups thinly sliced peeled potatoes (about 6 medium)

1/2 cup chopped onion

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; sire in cheese until melted. Add potatoes and onion; stir well.

Transfer to a greased 2 qt baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Uncover; bake 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

-Kamy Cannon