Creamy Southwest Chicken Nachos

1 small bag frozen corn

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 16-oz jar medium salsa (it must be medium)

1 8 oz package of cream cheese

spash of lime juice

tortilla chips

Any other additional toppings you desire such as chopped cilantro, diced avocado, diced green onion, sliced olives,lettuce,tomato etc.

1.Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of crock pot. (Can corn can be used in place of the frozen.  Just drain it and put the chicken in first followed by the corn)

2.Place frozen chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa.

3.Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours.

4.Shred chicken with forks and mix in cream cheese until melted and creamy.add the spash of lime juice.

5. Serve with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings

* I thought that these were pretty good. I think it would make for a good party snack to have out for guests. I didnt really shred my chicken I more just chunked it up lol We also used plain and avacado flavored chips to dip into it. I give it a 4

Homemade Chalupas

1 pound ground beef
1/4 onion, diced
taco seasoning
can of drained kidney beans

Chalupa Shell:
2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
1 Cup milk
Oil for frying

Additional Toppings all optional
Grated cheese
Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Sour cream
avacado
hot sauce
salsa

1.Brown hamburger in a pan with onion until done. Add in the taco seasoning,kidney beans and water and let simmer while you make the dough.

2.To make the dough, just add all your dry ingredients to a bowl and stir them up. Then cut in your butter. I used my fingers to evenly incorporate the butter. Then add your milk and stir it together until the dough forms a ball.
Next, lightly roll out the ball with your hands and divide it into 6-8 even pieces. Roll each of those into thin squares so they are ready to be fried. You could also do circles but squares were just as easy lol

3.For the frying part, don’t use a really deep pot or pan. A deep skillet is perfect for frying these. The reason is that you only want your oil to be about 2 inches deep at the maximum that way you can easily tong your dough and shape it.
So get out your favorite skillet or pan and add enough frying oil (I used canola) to come a few inches up the side. You want your oil to be 350 degrees.

4.Next, when your oil is hot, gently slide the dough into the hot oil. It should float immediately and start to puff up

5.Each shell will only take about 2 minutes to cook.
this is what you have to do:
1) Let the dough fry for about 30 seconds on one side.
2) Use tongs to flip the dough over.
3) After you flip the dough, use the tongs to gently fold the dough in half. Hold the dough in that shell shape with the tongs for about 30-45 seconds on one side.
4) Roll the shell shape over to the other side to cook it evenly.
 It all goes down really fast. Don’t worry if you mess up one or two, eventually you’ll get the hang of it.

5. Keep these in a warm oven (200 degrees) while you fry off the rest of the shells

6.I ripped apart one of the chalupas so you could see the interior texture. They were nice and crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.

7.These are larger than normal taco shells so you can really pile them high and deep with fillings


* Ok so I know that this recipe might seem hard or intimidating but its really simple and these are AMAZING!! I want to eat them again just typing this up. I am telling you that you must go out to the store now and get the stuff to make these for dinner tonight lol. They are of course best served fresh and warm with the slight crisp outside and the chewy fluffy middles you will never want to use boring old tortillas and hard shell tacos again. YUMM lol try these out and let me know what you think. I of course give them a giant 5 on the scale.

Crazy Cooking Challange. Peach Pleasure Smoothie. Jamba Juice Copycat

Its time again for the Crazy Cooking Challenge. This month we were set out to find the best Smoothie recipe and share it with the world :) I had so many to choose from and they all looked so good.I mean who doesn't love smoothies. I was even more thrilled when I found a recipe for my all time favorite Jamba Juice recipe the Peach Pleasure Smoothie. Love it!! its pretty much the only one that I ever order. And I have to say it tasted just like it . Oh it makes me happy lol . My family loved these and it was so refreshing on a hot summer day. These were a hit and I know I will be making them many times this Summer.I got this recipe from somersetwardrecipeclub.blogspot.com They have a huge list of copycat Jamba recipes that I cant wait to try more of them out. So here it is my Crazy Cooking Challenge recipe for June give them a try I know you will love it to. 

 (one scoop is equal to about 3/4 cup)
12 oz. peach juice ( I used minute maid 15 calorie peach juice)
2 scoops peaches ( I used frozen)
1 scoop bananas ( I used firm but fresh)
2 scoops orange sherbet
1 scoop ice

Add all ingredients to a blender or mixer and blend until well combined,

This is so super easy and so yummy. 

Easy Orange Rolls

 

 

2 Tbl. butter, melted

6 Tbl. sugar

zest of 1 or 2 oranges

12 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls

Glaze

2 Tbl. butter, melted

1 c. powdered sugar

juice of 1 orange juice ( The same orange that you zested for the topping)

1.Combine melted butter, sugar and orange zest in a small bowl.  Dip the tops of the frozen rolls into mixture and place in a greased 9X13 casserole dish, leaving plenty of room between.  

 

 

2.Spray plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the rolls.  Allow to rise for about four hours or until puffed and touching.  Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  

 

3.Combine all glaze ingredients; whisk until smooth.  Drizzle over warm rolls.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Best eaten the day they are made.(trust me you wont have any left to need to worry about this :)

 

 

 

Another delish recipe that I got from one of my favorite blogs eatcakefordinner this is such a super easy recipe to make and everyone loved them. You do need to use all the topping ingredients on the frozen rolls. I only used about 3/4 of it thinking it seemed like a lot but when the rolls rise up they spread enough that you need all that sugar lol. I just sprinkled a little sugar and fresh orange juice on the top of my raised rolls and that worked out great. These will for sure be on our list to make again. So yummy I give them a 5

Angel Hair Lasagna

 

 

8 oz. cream cheese

16 oz. sour cream

1 lb. hamburger

large jar of spaghetti sauce I used about 4 cups

1lb package of angel hair

1/2 lg onion

2 cloves garlic

16 oz. mozzarella cheese (grated)

1. Cook the noodles and set aside to cool--but keep moist.

2. Bring cream cheese and sour cream to room temperature and mix well with beaters.

3. Brown hamburger with the chopped onion and garlic cloves until hamburger is no longer red. Then simmer in spaghetti sauce for several minutes.

 

4.Spray a 9x13 pan. Put the cream cheese/sour cream mixture on the bottom of your casserole dish.

5.Layer noodles, then meat sauce, then mozzarella. Repeat process once more. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 min to 1 hour

 

 

 

* I thought that this was pretty good but I thought that it lacked in flavor I even added the onion and garlic to the original recipe. I think that I would add more spices if I made it again for sure some Italian seasoning and maybe even some ricotta cheese as well. This is lasagna right lol. Anyways it was alright and was quick and easy to put together I give it a 4 as is but it definitely has potential to be better or just more flavorful :)

Chicken Parmesan Bake

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded thin
2-4 cups marinara or spaghetti sauce (I used four so I had sauce for the noodles)
1/4 cup chopped basil or 2 Tbsp. dried basil
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 pkg. (5 oz) seasoned croutons  (I used texas toast garlic and butter brand)


1. On the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, pour the olive oil and spread in the minced garlic cloves.

2. Lay the chicken on top of the oil/garlic. Pour 2-4 cups of the marinara sauce over the chicken. Sprinkled the chopped or dried basil over the sauce.

3. Put half the cheese (1 cup of the mozzarella and 1/4 cup of the parmesan) over the sauced-up chicken.

4. Evenly spread the croutons over the cheese. Add the remaining cheese over the top.

5. Oven set to 350. Cover for the first 15 minutes of baking. Then uncover for the last 15-30 minutes or until juices run clear. Time will depend on the thickness of your chicken.

* This was a great recipe it was so easy to make and what made it stand out was using the croutons instead of bread crumbs. I did make spaghetti to go with it and so I was glad that I added all the extra sauce so that there was enough to go around. Everyone liked it I give it a 4 1/2

Creamy Berry Salad

Frozen mixed berries (I used about 16oz total)
1 tub Cool Whip (8-12oz)
1 large container of vanilla yogurt (32oz)
1 small package of cheesecake pudding mix (you can use the sugar free if you would like)

1.Pour berries into a large bowl. Add the Cool Whip and yogurt and then sprinkle on the pudding mix. Stir together really well until it's all combined and looks pretty. Chill before serving.

* This was pretty good we liked it as more of a fruit dip then a salad but either way it tasted yummy with all the different berries. I let my berries thaw about 20 min before I mixed it in so that some of the juice would mix thru the salad. And so the berries were not so hard. The kids loved it they thought it was dessert. This would also be good with some granola sprinkled on top. I give it a 4