Lemon Artichoke Soup

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced celery
1/2 cup minced carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups chopped artichoke hearts
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 lemon, halved
3 cups half and half

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic; cook until the onion and garlic are translucent. Stir in the chicken broth, artichoke hearts, salt, and pepper and simmer 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth; return the mixture to the saucepan. Squeeze one lemon half into the pan. Place the other lemon half into the saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer another 10 minutes. Remove the lemon half from the pan and pour in the half and half; stir. Continue to simmer until thoroughly heated, about 10 minutes.

Recipe via allrecipes.com.

Barbecue Bacon Chicken

Picture by Holly
4 chicken breasts
1 cup favorite BBQ sauce
Cooked bacon- 2 pieces per chicken breast
1 cup shredded Colby cheese
tomato, diced
avocado, sliced
sour cream

Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking pan and cover with BBQ
sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken is
done. Remove from oven and top each chicken with 2 slices
of bacon and shredded cheese. Return to oven just until cheese
is melted. Serve topped with the tomatoes, avocados, and
sour cream.

Fiesta Chicken Taco Salad

I got this recipe from the book, Recipes from the Big Blue Binder, by Marie Rayner(a wonderful chef and friend!) This recipe is a fabulous summer supper salad and also really easy to prepare!

Dressing:
2/3 cup French salad dressing
2/3 cup chunky salsa
1 tbsp. taco seasoning mix

Salad:
9 cups chopped romaine lettuce
9 oz. grilled chicken, cut into strips
2 cups taco flavored tortilla chips(regular tortilla chips work too-I couldn't find taco flavored and this substitution tasted good too)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
3 oz. sliced ripe olives

1/2 cup sour cream to serve
Taco flavored tortilla chips to garnish

Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until blended. Set aside.

Mix all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl, tossing well to combine. Pour the dressing over and toss again to make sure all the ingredients are coated.

Divide the salad among 4-6 plates. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and add a few tortilla chips as a garnish. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Muffins

I saw this recipe(and photo) on My Food Storage Deals last week and it sounds great! The perfect healthy after-school snack for your kiddos or even a great breakfast! Its also a great way to use your food storage.

1 1/2 c. flour (She uses half wheat flour, half white)

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. oil

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. nutmeg

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 egg

3/4 c. applesauce

2 c. smashed bananas (about 2-3 bananas)

1 3/4 cup oats

1 pkg. chocolate chips

Mix egg, sugar, oil, bananas. Add everything else then chocolate chips. Put in muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Quick Peach crisp

1 t0 2 peaches
cinnamon & sugar mixture
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup granola cereal

Place the sliced peaches in microwave safe bowl, sprinkle

lightly with cinnamon & sugar and microwave for 20 to 30

seconds until warm. Scoop the yogurt into individual serving

dishes, spoon the warmed peaches over and sprinkle

with granola. Enjoy!

Snickers Salad

4 green apples, cut into bite size pieces
1 pkg. "Fun Size" Snickers, cut into bite
size pieces
6 oz. whipped cream
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix

Just before you plan on serving this salad, mix the apples,
snickers, whipped cream, and vanilla pudding and ENJOY!!

Old-Fashioned Lemonade

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (6 to 8 lemons)
5 cups cold water

Stir together sugar and 1/2 cup boiling water
until sugar dissolves. Stir in lemon juice and
5 cups cold water. Garnish with lemons slices.

Southwest-Style Egg Rolls

We tried these the other night and just LOVED them! A new family favorite.

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped green onion
8 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup frozen corn
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 (14 ounce) package egg roll wrappers
vegetable oil for frying

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions, and cook until tender. Stir in spinach, corn, black beans, and lime juice. Season with salt and cumin. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese.

Place 1/4 cup of filling in the center of each egg roll wrapper. Fold in the sides, and roll egg rolls; dampen the edges with a small amount of water to seal.

In a large heavy skillet, heat enough vegetable oil to cover egg rolls over medium-high heat. Working in batches, carefully place egg rolls in hot oil, and cook until golden brown. Remove to paper towels.

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com.

Thai Peanut Chicken Noodle Salad

Crystal, of Everyday Food Storage, contributed this recipe and photo to the Family Home Evening blog recently. It sounds easy, unique, and delicious!

1 C. Asian Sesame Dressing (I use Ken's Steakhouse light version)

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

2 Tbsp. crunchy peanut butter

2 Tbsp. honey

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 pkg. (1 lb.) thin spaghetti

4 green onions, sliced

1 cup chopped cilantro

Cook spaghetti as directed on package. Toss cooked chicken chunks with 1/4 c. Asian Sesame Dressing. Mix remaining dressing mixture, peanut butter, honey and crushed red pepper.Drain spaghetti. Add to chicken mixture with peanut butter mixture and all remaining ingredients; mix lightly. Serve warm or chill in fridge for 4 hours before serving.

To visit Crystal's blog to learn more about using food storage everyday in your own recipes, click HERE.

"M&M's" milkshakes

2 cups any flavor ice cream(I actually used Bluebell homemade vanilla and added some Hershey's syrup)

1 cup milk

1 cup "M&M's" Chocolate Mini Baking Bits, divided

Reddi Whip/whipped topping

In blender combine ice cream and milk; blend until smooth. Add 1/2 cup "M&M's" Chocolate Mini Baking Bits; blend just until mixed. Pour into 2 glasses(or 4 small glasses). Top each glass with whipped topping; sprinkle with remaining "M&M's". Serve immediately and enjoy!

Sun-Dried Tomato and Bow Tie Pasta

I tried this the other day and the whole family loved it. Adjust the cayenne pepper to 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp if you don't want so much heat(I used 1/2 tsp and I thought it was pretty spicy! My husband thought it was perfect though). I also just used store bought pesto to save time and added chicken to make the meal more hearty. Its delicious!

4 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon minced pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 ounces sun-dried tomatoes
1/8 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta


Make pesto: In a small mixing bowl, combine basil, pine nuts, and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
In a small bowl, blanch sun dried tomatoes for 30 seconds in boiling water. Drain well, and slice tomatoes into small pieces.

In a large skillet over a medium heat, saute garlic in 1/8 cup olive oil. Simmer for 1 minute being very careful not to brown the garlic. Stir in the mushrooms and let them saute until tender. Add the pesto, salt, cayenne, and sun dried tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and let the mixture simmer.

Bring a large pot of salted water and pasta to a boil. Let pasta cook until al dente, drain well.
In a large mixing bowl, toss pasta and sauce until the pasta is well coated.

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com.

Photo courtesy of me:)

Cookie Dough Pie

I found this yummy pie recipe at BIG RED KITCHEN
recipe & picture from big red kitchen

I love cookie dough and can't wait to try
this recipe.

15.25 ounce package Chips Ahoy Cookies- Original kind

8-12 ounces Cool Whip

2 cups milk

Quickly dip cookies in milk, shake off excess liquid, and layer

in 9 inch pie plate, breaking cookies to fill any gaps. Once

the first layer is complete, top with a thin layer of Cool Whip.

Repeat twice more making last layer of Cool Whip a bit thicker.

Garnish with chocolate syrup if desired. Place in freezer 2-3

hours before serving. Serves 6-8

Chilled Fruit Medley

2 cups halved red grapes, chilled
2 cups cubed honeydew melon, chilled
1 (20 oz. ) can pineapple tidbits, drained, chilled
1 large banana sliced, chilled
3/4 cup peach preserves

In a large bowl, combine grapes, melon, pineapple, and
banana. Add peach preserve and toss to coat all fruit.
Refrigerate before serving.

Tropical Smoothie

1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
1/2 cup frozen pina colada concentrate
1 pint orange sherbet
1/2 cup orange juice

Combine all ingredients in blender. Cover and
blend on high until smooth.

Orange Raspberry Smoothie

2 cups orange sherbet
1 large banana
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 cup milk

In blender combine all ingredients. Cover and blend. Serve
immediately. You can also add a few ice cubes to make it
more slushy.