Luau Punch

Luau Punch
1 (46 fluid ounce) can pineapple juice
1 (6 ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 liters lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
In an empty gallon milk jug or pitcher, pour pineapple juice and orange juice concentrate.  Shake to mix and pour in the lemon-lime soda. You may need to let the fizz settle and then return to pouring. This will fill up the gallon. Freeze overnight.  Let the punch start to thaw 2 hours before serving. Serve slushy.

Buffalo Chicken Pillows

Buffalo Chicken Pillows
1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened
2 cup chopped cooked chicken
3 Tbsp buffalo sauce (Frank's)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup crushed Cheez-Its
Preheat oven to 350.  Combine cream cheese and buffalo sauce; stir in chicken and cheddar cheese. Set aside.  Unroll crescent dough, separating into 4 rectangles; press perforations to seal. Spoon 1/4 of chicken mixture into center of each rectangle; bring corners of each rectangle together over chicken mixture, and twist gently to seal.  Brush packets with 1 tablespoon of melted butter; dredge in crushed Cheez-Its and place on an ungreased baking sheet.   Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Texas Lasagna

Texas Lasagna
1½ pounds ground beef
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 package taco seasoning
1 (14½ oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilis
2 cups (16 oz) cottage cheese
2 eggs lightly beaten
12 corn tortillas (6 inch) torn
4 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
crushed tortillas (optional)
salsa (optional)
cubed avocados (optional)
In a large skillet cook ground beef until no longer pink. Add seasoned salt, taco seasoning mix, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chilis. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for about 15-20 minutes.  In a small bowl combine the cottage cheese and eggs. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.  Layer half of the meat sauce in the bottom of the 9×13 pan. Next, layer half of the torillas, then cottage cheese, and half of the cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with optional toppings.  Serve immediately or before baking, cover and freeze up to 3 months.

Firecracker Chicken

Firecracker Chicken
¼ cup canola oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt
pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
Sauce:
⅓ cup buffalo sauce (if you like more heat use hot sauce, like Frank’s brand)
1¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.  In separate bowls, place cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Dip chicken into cornstarch then coat in egg mixture. I have also found that you can put the cornstarch in a gallon sized bag and shake the chicken to coat.  Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until browned. Place the chicken in a 9 x 13 greased baking dish.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, buffalo sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, water, salt and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken and bake for 1 hour.  I stirred the chicken every 15 minutes so that it coated them in the sauce.

Caprese Chicken

Caprese Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 thick slices buffalo mozzarella cheese
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar to taste
In a large saute pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and turn to medium high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and add chicken to pan and cook about 10 minutes on each side until no longer pink and cooked through.  Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a medium saute pan. Cook garlic until tender. Add halved cherry tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes until they start to wrinkle and skin softens. Add chopped basil.  Top cooked chicken with mozzarella cheese and tomato mixture. Allow cheese to melt and splash with balsamic vinegar.

Banana Pudding Cake

Banana Pudding Cake
cooking spray
1 (15.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup water
3 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 cups milk
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant banana pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip®), thawed
20 vanilla wafers, crushed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Mix cake mix, water, eggs, and oil in a bowl until just moistened; pour cake batter into prepared baking dish.  Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 34 to 38 minutes. Cool in the baking dish for 2 to 3 minutes. Poke several holes into the cake using the handle of a wooden spoon. Be sure to poke all the way through to the bottom of the cake.  Stir milk and pudding mix together in another bowl until smooth. Let pudding rest until it begins to thicken slightly, but is not fully set, about 2 minutes. Pour pudding over cake and spread evenly, making sure to fill each hole completely. Chill cake in the refrigerator until cake is cooled and pudding is set, about 2 hours.  Spread whipped topping over cake and sprinkle with crushed vanilla wafers just before serving.

Balsamic Roasted Pork Loin

Balsamic Roasted Pork Loin
2 tablespoons steak seasoning rub
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
Dissolve steak seasoning in balsamic vinegar, then stir in olive oil. Place pork into a resealable plastic bag and pour marinade overtop. Squeeze out air and seal bag; marinate 2 hours to overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Place pork into a glass baking dish along with marinade. Bake in preheated oven, basting occasionally until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (65 degrees C), about 1 hour. Let the roast rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake

Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake
For the Cake:
red velvet cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
For the Filling:
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 - 16 ounce box confectioners' sugar
For the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the cake mix, egg, butter and mix well with an electric mixer.  Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking pan.
For the Filling:
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla and butter and beat together.  Add the confectioners' sugar and mix well.  Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Philly Cheesesteak Stew

Philly Cheesesteak Stew
2 lbs very thinly sliced beef sirloin *
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
5 tablespoons all purpose flour, I used brown rice flour for a gluten free version
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced, about 2 cups worth
3 cups crimini or white button mushrooms, about 12 ounces worth, sliced or quartered if small
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups beef stock, hot
1/4 lb provolone cheese, thinly sliced
Place the sliced meat in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt, pepper and onion powder, toss to distribute. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of flour over the meat and toss well to coat all the pieces. Warm 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add half the meat to the hot oil and spread it across the pan. Let it sear for a minute or two and then toss with tongs or flip to cook on the other sides. Remove to a plate, repeat the steps with the remaining meat.
Add a tablespoon of oil to the pot, if needed, and add the onions along with a sprinkling more salt and pepper. Toss to coat the onions with oil and then allow them to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 6 minutes, until they have softened and turned golden brown. Add the mushrooms, the dried thyme and the garlic and continue sautéing for another 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour over the onion mixture and stir well to coat everything. Slowly add the HOT beef stock, stirring constantly, to avoid little lumps of flour from forming. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about ten minutes to thicken the broth.  Remove from the heat and add the cooked sirloin, along with any juices from the plate. Stir to combine, taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Just before serving, preheat the oven to broil. Ladle the soup into prepared bread bowls, top with thinly sliced provolone and place the bowls on a large foil lined baking sheet. Broil for about 90 seconds, just until the cheese has melted and lightly browned.

Banana Blondies

Banana Blondies
Blondies
1/2 cup butter, melted and if desired browned
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup mashed banana (1 medium banana)
Brown Sugar Frosting
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 cup powdered sugar
Blondies
Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8x8 baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.  In bowl of stand mixer combine melted (or browned) butter and sugar. Mix until combined. Add in egg and vanilla and continue mixing until incorporated. Stir in salt, flour and banana until batter is smooth and even. Spread in prepared pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until center is set.  Transfer pan to wire rack to cool.  Frost the blondies when they are mostly cooled.
Brown Sugar Frosting
In a medium saucepan melt butter. Add brown sugar and milk and stir until mixture comes to just a boil. Remove from heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Stir in powdered sugar with a whisk.  Spread on top of blondies and allow frosting to set and blondies to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Butterfinger Pie

Butterfinger Pie
6 (2 1/8 ounce) Butterfinger candy bars, crushed *
1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 (12 ounce) cartons Cool Whip **
1 graham cracker crust
Mix first three ingredients together.  Put it in pie crust.  Chill.

Dill Pickle Potato Soup

Dill Pickle Potato Soup
olive oil, for sauteing
1 small onion, diced
coarse salt and fresh black pepper
3 fat cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (14.5 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup kosher dill pickle juice
4 - 5 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 + 1/2 pounds)
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup kosher dill pickles, diced small, plus extra for garnish
1 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded, plus more for garnish
In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or soup pot heat 2 tablespoon of oil over medium-low heat. Saute onion with a dash of salt and pepper until translucent, stirring often. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.  Stir in the broth, pickle juice, potatoes, carrots, pickles and dill. Season lightly to taste with salt and pepper.  Simmer 20 - 25 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Remove 1 cup of the soup and puree with a stick blender or in a stand blender and return back to the soup pot. Turn heat down to low.  Stir in sour cream and Swiss cheese, keep stirring until cheese melts.  Serve garnished with chopped pickles and a sprinkle of cheese.

Roasted Red Pepper Marinara Sauce

Roasted Red Pepper Marinara Sauce
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper
1 jar marinara sauce
1/4 cup roasted red pepper Italian dressing
3ish oz cream cheese
1 lb pasta (I used farfalle)
Cook the onions and garlic in the oil for a few minutes over medium heat, until the onions begin to soften and get translucent.  Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente. Drain & set aside.  Add the marinara sauce and red pepper dressing. Stir to combine. Add the cream cheese and let it melt for a few minutes. Once the cream cheese is soft, stir to combine until the cream cheese is mixed through.  Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to combine. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna Rolls
8 uncooked lasagna noodles
3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 lb ground beef (or ground turkey), browned, optional
Marinara sauce (about 2 cups), store-bought or homemade
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large pot of lightly salted water, cook noodles. Drain & set aside.  Mix together cheeses, garlic, and ground meat (if using). Divide into 8 parts. Spread mixture on the lasagna noodles. Roll up. Repeat with each lasagna noodle.  Place a thin layer of marinara sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Place each lasagna roll, seam side down, in the pan. Cover with marinara sauce.  Bake, covered, for about 30 minutes.  Serve, preferably with homemade garlic bread.

Chicken Rice-a-Roni Casserole

Chicken Rice-a-Roni Casserole
1 box chicken flavor Rice-A-Roni
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use 98% fat-free)
1 cup sour cream (can use low fat)
3-4 cups cooked, chopped chicken (or 1 whole Rotisserie Chicken)
1 (6 oz) can French fried onions
Preheat oven to 350 F.  Prepare Rice-A-Roni according to package directions. Add soup, sour cream and chicken.  Stir to combine.   Spread rice mixture in a lightly sprayed 9x13 pan.  Top rice with fried onions.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Creamy Dill Chicken Pasta

Creamy Dill Chicken Pasta 
6oz. dried linguine pasta
1 garlic clove, minced
5 to 6 chicken tenderloins or 2 breast halves of 1 large breast
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 c milk (I used 2%)
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta according to the directions on the packaging. Drain, keep warm.  Cut the chicken tenderloins into 2" cubes.  Mix salt, pepper and flour in a small bowl.  Coat the chicken with flour mixture.  In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Cook chicken in batches, to cook through and brown on all sides.  Transfer to a plate. Set aside.  Add more oil to the pan if needed.  Add garlic to the saucepan and sautee for 30 seconds.  Mix milk and cornstarch together in a mixing bowl.  Gradually, add milk mixture to the saucepan, whisking constantly. Let the sauce thicken up before adding more milk. Repeat until you used all of the milk.  Return chicken to the sauce. Add dill and Parmesan and stir it all in to coat.  Let cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add pasta and toss to coat.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Tortellini Casserole

Baked Tortellini Casserole
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 pound of lean ground beef 97/3
Small yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, or whole peeled tomatoes crushed by hand
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 24 oz package of fresh cheese tortellini
3 cups of freshly grated mozzarella cheese
Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil, until soft.  Add ground beef and season with salt and pepper.  Once beef is cooked through, stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Stir in uncooked, fresh tortellini and 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese.  Transfer to casserole dish and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.  Cover tightly with foil and baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.