Santa Fe Chicken Casserole


Summer Miller
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 green onions, sliced
1 Tub Philadelphia Santa Fe Cooking Creme
3 flour tortillas
3/4 cup shredded cheese

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl, add 3/4 of the Cooking Creme.
Place one tortilla in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate and top with 1/3 of filling. Layer tortillas and filing and top with cheese. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. I like to top mine with shredded lettuce and tomatoes.

Chicken Primavera with Pasta


Summer Miller (via Philadelphia Cooking Creme)
I left out the chicken so my daughter would eat it. I also substitute whatever veggies I have on hand.

1 lb. boneless chicken cut into bit size pieces
2 cups frozen stir fry vegetables (broccoli, carrots, peppers, snow peas)
1 Tub (10 oz) Philadelphia Creme ( I like the savory garlic blend the best)
2 cups hot cooked pasta


Cook and stir chicken in a nonstick skillet until done. Add vegetables, cook until heated through. Add cooking creme, cook and stir for 3 minutes. Stir in pasta.

This meal can be make in 15 minutes.

Simple Bread Sticks



Simple Bread Sticks
Heather Ashby
1 T yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 T honey
4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 cube melted butter (or less)
Garlic Powder
Parmesan Cheese
Parsley

Set aside yeast dissolved in warm water and honey. In a separate bowl mix together flour and salt. Add yeast mixture in with the flour. Knead dough for a few minutes. Roll out into a rectangle that is a little small than a cookie sheet. Spread butter over dough. Sprinkle with Garlic Powder, Parmesan Cheese and Parsley to taste. Cut into 1" strips and carefully move to a cookie sheet. (I usually cut the strips in half so they aren't so long) Place bread sticks in pan so they are touching each other. Let raise for 15 - 30 minutes. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Pomegranate Chicken


Pomegranate chicken
Cyndie Call

Ingredients:
4 Chicken breast halves
2 Tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 medium onion, sliced
1 ½ cups pecans, ground in a processor (reserve ¼ cup for garnish)
4 cups chicken broth
1 pomegranate, seeded
¼ cup fresh orange juice
Dash of sugar (if needed. I usually forget to add it)
Salt & pepper


Method:

Heat oil in a large skillet, brown chicken breasts on both sides, remove and set aside. Add turmeric and onions to skillet, and most of ground pecans (Reserve 2 tbsp for garnish). Cook until light brown. Transfer onion walnut mixture to a 6 quart pot. Add broth, bring to boil, lower to simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add chicken, cover, simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, cut pomegranate in quarters and remove seeds. Add pomegranate to the chicken along with orange juice and sugar cover and cook for 30 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with rice and garnish with extra ground pecans.

*this recipe actually called for walnuts, lemon juice, and 1/4 sugar. I use pecans because I like them better. I use the orange juice because it helped eliminate the white sugar.

Sneaky Banana Bread




Kersin Anderson

Sneaky Banana Bread
(This is a family favorite because both my kids love it...AND I can sneak some good stuff into their diet).(adapted from the cookbook "Deceptively Delicious")

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups banana puree
1/2 cup butternut squash puree (or small jar of squash baby food)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan or 2 mini pans, with cooking spray.
2. In a bowl, mix the flours with the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, if using. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar and oil with a wooden spoon until well combined. Mix the eggs whites, purees, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
4. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes for the large loaf, 25 to 30 minutes for the mini loaves. Let cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn the bread out of the pan to cool before serving.

Fruit Dip


Fruit Dip
Beth Anne Service
2 block of cream cheese
1 bag of SKOR candy bits OR
1 bag of ‘fun size’ heath bars, crushed up in a blender
2 t of vanilla
1 cup of powdered sugar
1.5 cup of brown sugar

mix and eat! This is good on just about everything-even a spoon!

Tortellini with Roasted Butternut Squash


Terrah Anderson
This is a pretty dish with lots of veggies. I like how it uses soup for the pasta sauce. You can make the soup one night and use the leftovers to make the pasta dish a day or two later, or freeze it. The soup cooks easily in the crockpot or the stove. Sometimes I add chopped cooked chicken to the pasta, but it’s a good meal on its own too.

Tortellini with Roasted Butternut Squash - from Recipe Shoebox (http://recipeshoebox.blogspot.com)

2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (you can also use sweet potatoes)
1/2 - 1 Tbs. sage (divided)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbs. butter, chopped (I left this out)
3 cups butternut squash soup (you can buy this in a box or make your own—my recipe below)
2 pkg. (9-oz each) cheese tortellini, cooked a minute less than the package directs (or just regular noodles)

Preheat oven to 450°. Toss squash (or sweet potatoes) with 1 Tbs. sage, oil, salt, pepper, and chopped butter in mixing bowl. Spread mixture in even layer on baking sheet. Roast 15-18 minutes until golden brown.

Add roasted squash, soup, and remaining tablespoon sage to skillet on medium; bring to a simmer. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired. Add pasta. Cook 1 minute. Makes 5-6 servings.


Curry Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash (or you can use acorn squash or another type if you like)
1 onion, diced
3c. chicken broth (I use water and bullion cubes)
1 large apple, peeled and chopped
1 c. apple juice
1-2 tsp. curry powder
Salt and pepper
1 can evaporated milk (or fresh milk or half and half)

Cilantro Cream Chicken


Cilantro Cream Chicken
Serves 6

Disclaimer: If you can feel your arteries clogging and your blood pressure rising as you read the ingredients, PLEASE keep reading. It's an OLD Atkins recipe that I modified when I went back to my beloved carbs. This recipe can be made as FAT or THIN as you like. There are options at the end.

1 pound fusili (or other short pasta)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper
small onion, halved and sliced
small red pepper. sliced
6 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup bottled jalapeno slices

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. When it boils, add pasta and cook according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan and season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Cook about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until chicken is almost cooked through.
Add peppers and onion to chicken, continue to cook until veggies are crisp tender. About 5 minutes.
Add cream cheese cubes and whipping cream. Cook and stir until cream cheese melts and sauce begins to bubble.
Add lime juice and half the cilantro.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in remaining cilantro and jalapenos.
Pour sauce over cooked pasta and toss to coat.

*I have made this recipe with the following substitutions, all with very similar results.

Cream cheese: regular, reduced fat or fat free.
Whipping cream: heavy, regular, half and half and fat free half and half.
Butter: I've made it with the whole amount, smaller amounts, and even with a little olive oil instead of butter.
I used reduced fat cream cheese, half and half and about 4 T. butter for the recipe exchange.

About the cayenne and jalapenos: Our family likes the heat to hurt a little. But you can easily reduce or eliminate them as you prefer.
I made it half strength for the recipe exchange.

Cream Cheese Chicken


Cream Cheese Chicken
Kanani Kaaiakamanu Hepworth

3-4 chicken breast
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can milk
1 pkg. dry italian dressing mix
8 oz. cream cheese
dash of pepper

Put everything in the crock pot in order above on high for 4-5 hours. Do not mix. Stir after 4 hours. I like to shred the chicken.
Serve over rice or noodles.