Poppy Seed Chicken

5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 cup sour cream
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 T poppy seeds

Additional Ingredients to make it fancy:
1 tsp Worchestire sauce
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp minced garlic
1 T lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done. I like to boil it with half an onion cut into large chunks to give it more flavor. Let chicken cool slightly and cut into one inch cubes. Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish.

Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. If you wish to add the additional flavorings stir in the worchestire, celery salt, garlic, lemon juice, and pepper to the soup and sour cream mixture. Pour over the chicken.

In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over rice. We like to eat it with steamed broccoli and we mix it all together.

from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Upgraded Braided Sandwiches-Taco Style

Taco Braid Filling

4 oz of Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Salsa (I used 1/2 cup Macayo's Green Enchilada Sauce)
1/2 lb ground turkey, beef or chicken seasoned and cooked with a Taco seasoning mix (I used 1 lb of ground turkey)
1 can (15oz) of black beans (drained)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
olive oil
garlic salt

1. Spray counter and hands with cooking spray and knead for a few seconds to form smooth ball.
2. Roll dough into a 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Place on a greased cookie sheet. It's very important to place the dough on the cookie sheet before you fill it because once you fill it, it will be too heavy to move onto the cookie sheet. Spread cream cheese lengthwise down center third of rectangle, salsa, then seasoned meat and black beans. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. On each long side, cut 1 inch wide strips about 2-1/2-inches into center. Starting at one end, fold alternating strips at an angle across filling.
4. Pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt.
5. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
6. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack or cutting board with 2 spatulas.

from The Girl Who Ate Everything's Blog

Artichoke Dip

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup mayo
1- 8 oz. cream cheese
1-4 oz. can green chilies
1 small can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 cup grated cheddar
1/4 cup green onions

Mix all ingredients together, adding artichokes last. Bake in small baking dish or double recipe for a 9X13 pan.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

The 25 Most Common Cooking Mistakes

The 25 Most Common Cooking Mistakes
Very interesting article! I have done MANY of these!!! Poor frosting that had to live on the cupcakes Shauna and I entered into our version of cupcake wars. I will never over soften the butter again!

Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread
■3 cans Buttermilk Biscuits (the Non-flaky Ones)
■1 cup Sugar
■2 teaspoons (to 3 Teaspoons) Cinnamon
■2 sticks Butter
■½ cups Brown Sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Open up all three cans of biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters.

Next, combine the white sugar with 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon. (3 teaspoons of cinnamon gives it a fairly strong cinnamon flavor. If you’re not so hot on cinnamon, cut it back to 2 teaspoons.) Dump these into a 1 gallon zip bag and shake to mix evenly.

Drop all of the biscuit quarters into the cinnamon-sugar mix. Once all the biscuit quarters are in the bag seal it and give it a vigorous shake. This will get all those pieces unstuck from one another and nicely coated with cinnamon-sugar. Spread these nuggets out evenly in the bundt pan.

At this point, you’re going to want to melt the two sticks of butter together with ½ cup of brown sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. This can be light or dark brown sugar. Cook butter/sugar mixture, stirring for a few minutes until the two become one. Once the brown sugar butter has become one color, you can pour it over the biscuits.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the crust is a deep dark brown on top. When its finished cooking, remove it from the oven. If you have the willpower, allow it to cook for about 15-30 minutes before turning it over onto a plate.

Potato Cheese Soup

1/2 white onion, chopped
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces
4 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups water
1 can of corn
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups evaporated milk
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 lb. cheddar cheese

Cook bacon; drain off grease except for 2 tablespoons, Saute onion. Add potatoes, water, and seasoning. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes (or a bit longer). Gradually add a small amount of milk to flour, stirring until smooth. Add flour mixture to hot vegetables. Add remaining milk. Heat. Add cheese; stir until melted. Serves 6 to 8.

Raspberry and Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

1 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup seedless jam

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp milk

*Preheat 350
*Cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 tsp almond extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a small hole and fill it with preserves (I used strawberry freezer jam).
*Bake for 14-18 min. Let cool 1 min.
*In bowl, mix together powdered sugar, 3/4 tsp almond extract and milk until smooth. Drizzle over warm cookies.