Dr. Pepper Pork Roast

3 or 4 pound Boston butt or boneless Beef pot roast
1/2 Two liter Dr. Pepper (not Diet)
2 to 3 T Liquid smoke
2 T minced garlice
1 large onion coarsely chopped
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions

Use a large pot or dutch oven with lid. Cover the roast with the Dr. Pepper (may require more depending on the size of your pot). Add the liquid smoke, garlic and chopped onion. Cover loosely ( I use aluminum foil). Bring to a boil on the stove top and simmer until tender. 60 to 90 min. Place in shallow baking pan and brush the BBQ sauce (generously) over the meat. Bake in a pre heated 350 degree oven. 45 to 90 min. (depends on the toughness of the meat)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Our family really likes this easy crockpot recipe. I just took it to a church potluck ... it looks nice, too.

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 onion, chopped
3 corn tortillas, cut up
1 can corn, drained
1 can garbonzo beans, optional
2 cans chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup salsa verde (green)
1 can green chilies
1 tsp oregano ... 1 tsp cumin ... salt and pepper
tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheddar cheese

Cook in crockpot for 7 hours until chicken shreds with a fork. Garnish with crumbled tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheddar cheese. I buy fresh chicken, cut it into large strips and adjust the cooking time, about 4-5 hours on high.

crock pot chicken spaghetti

[Sorry, I forgot to take a picture. But decided to post it anyway.] The recipe, as written, is a diet recipe (6 WW pts for a 1 packed cup serving). Of course you can substitute the full fat versions of everything if you'd like. But it's good this way. Although I don't use the canned chicken (not a huge fan), I just use a couple of breasts of chopped up cooked chicken. The crockpot really just heats everything. But I know at our house sometimes those last couple of hours before dinner is a crazy time of the day, so it's nice to have it done and heating in the crockpot before I pick up from school!

16 oz. spaghetti, cooked
1 lb. Velveeta Light
12.5 oz. can chicken breast, drained & flaked
1 can FF cream of mushroom soup
1 can FF cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
4 oz. can mushroom stems & pieces, drained
1/2 c. water
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
salt & papper, to taste

Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients and stir to mix well. Cook on LOW for 2-3 hours. Stir just before serving.

Ham & Bean Soup

Here's a recipe to help all you ladies get rid of your Easter ham, lol. And it's another one of those that tastes WAY better than it looks!1 meaty ham bone (your leftover Easter ham will do)
7 carrots, peeled and diced
3 cans Bush's Blackeye Peas with Bacon
1 small onion, diced
1 cup cream

Boil the ham bone in about 6 cups of water for 20 minutes. Remove the ham and let it rest on a cutting board. Add the carrots and onion and let them boil together. Dice up the ham into good sized chunks and return the ham (not the bone) to the pot. Add the 3 cans of beans, undrained. You will probably want to take out the single piece of bacon from each can ... it's usually pretty fatty and is a stark contrast to the rest of the ham. Allow the soup to heat throughout. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cream and turn the heat off. YUM! I swear it tastes a 1000 times better than it looks! This is a very hearty soup!

Blueberry Pancakes

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
4 TBS butter, melted
2 cups flour
2 TBS sugar
1 1/2 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 pint blueberries

Combine all dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and stir until uniform throughout. Gently fold in the blueberries. Cook on a skillet, flipping when the batter bubbles up on top of the pancake. Makes about 12 4 inch pancakes.

The 8 Dip

This is so yummy-I like to eat it plain, right out of the dish, but its supposed to be eaten with fruit as a dip.

8 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. powdered sugar (1 cup)

8 oz. fruit yogurt (my fave is Raspberry Dannon La Creme)

8 oz. Cool Whip

With hand mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Then, add sugar, cool whip, and yogurt and beat until smooth.  Enjoy!

Asian Slaw - Yummy... Yummy...Yummy !!!

Janice posted this recipe back in September ... and I (Janette) made it on Sunday to take to a friend's house for Sunday dinner. It was delicious! As I call it, 'stupid easy'. I only made it 2 hours in advance, but it was still great; however, I do believe that it probably does get better when it sits for longer. Since I'm a sucker, I took a picture of it and I'm refreshing it so that you newbies can enjoy it. Thank you, Janice!! You're the queen!

I suppose that if you added chicken, pork, or beef, you could pretty much make this salad a main dish. You'll love it.


A neighbor made this last year for a community gathering...... It was the first time I ever remember the guys standing around a table telling everyone "You have to taste this salad" !!! It's easy and it is soooooo good. I usually make it up 1 1/2 days ahead of time..... it gets better and better each day....... ~~ janice ~~

Asian Slaw

1 (16oz) package of slaw mix

2 (3 oz) packages beef flavored ramen noodle soup mix (I like more noodles so I add an extra package of noodles - I don't use the 3rd flavoring packet)

1 Cup Sliced almonds, toasted

1 Cup Sunflower kernels

1 bunch Green onions, chopped

½ Cup Sugar

¾ Cup Vegetable oil

1/3 Cup Vinegar

Remove flavor pockets from soup mix and set aside; Crush noodles. Place noodles in bottom of a large bowl. Top with slaw mix; sprinkle with almonds, sunflower kernels, green onions.

Whisk together contents of flavor packets, sugar, oil & vinegar….. Pour over slaw mix.

Cover and chill 24 hours. Stir before serving……

Yields 8 - 10 servings……

Enjoy !!!

German Chocolate Frosting

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup margarine (of course I only use butter)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/3 cup angel flake coconut . . . 1 cup chopped pecans

Combine the first 5 ingredients in saucepan, cook and stir over med-low heat until thickened 10-12 minutes. Add coconut and pecans, beat until thick with a spoon. It will thicken as it cools. I let it sit out while stirring now and again, until frosting consistency.

Thank goodness for birthdays . . . this is the only frosting we use w/a german chocolate box cake. Kim

Caramel popcorn

Another big favourite of ours is this receipe and I just finished making 4 batches for a kids talent show this weekend. It is killing my kids that they can't have any.
Here is the receipe:
1 cup of un cooked popcorn
2cups butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup (light or golden it doesn't matter)
1tsp baking soda

pop all the popcorn and separate the kernals from the popped corn. In a heavy sauce pan melt all together the butter, brown sugar and the corn syrup. After it is melted bring to a boil and boil untouched for 5 min. Remove from heat and add the baking soda... mix a little till it becomes frothy. Poor over the popcorn, you will need to turn it a few times to get it all mixed in. Then pour on to 2 cookie sheets (I like to line mine with parchment paper so I don't have messy pans after) Bake at 195 degrees for 1hr. Place on wax paper to cool.
Enjoy.

Our family's best milk shake ever!

I was having fun with FOOD in the kitchen late one night.... probably because I was craving a snack. My husband requested a milk shake and I thought like mixing it up a little bit and it turned out to be superb.
We have made it everynight since.... we LOVE it.
So if you wish to try... here is the receipe:
12oz of crushed ice
6 scoops of vanilla ice cream
10oz of milk (or more depending on the consistancy you like)
4 heaping table spoons of CADBURY'S HOT CHOCOLATE MIX (I think it is the best)
Mix all in the blender until it meets the perfect consistancy you like.
Enjoy!

mini meatloaves [aka "meat cupcakes"]

Yeah. I know that sounds disgusting - "meat cupcakes". But that's what my kids call them. And they LOVE them. My husband is a definate meat & potatoes kind of guy. I, however, have some serious issues with the texture of meatloaf. So when I found this recipe, it turned into the perfect compromise - and turned into one of my kids' favorite meals.

This recipe is from Kraft Foods. Here's the link to their recipe. It's a mix & match, so you can do various flavors. The barbecue one is our favorite.

1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 pkg. (6 oz.) stuffing mix
1 cup water
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 c. barbecue sauce
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375*. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and garlic powder until well blended. Press evenly into 12 medium muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. Make an indentation in center of each with back of spoon. Spoon barbecue sauce evenly into indentations. Bake 30 minutes or until meatloaves are cooked through. Top evenly with cheese; continue baking 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. [Each "meatloaf" is 150 calories. A serving is 2 "meatloaves".]

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
3 lb. chicken thighs and drumsticks
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms (about 10 medium), sliced (about 2 cups)
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped onions (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup each: red and green pepper strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
3 cups instant white rice, uncooked

HEAT dressing in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken, in batches; cook 2 to 3 min. on each side or until browned on both sides.

PLACE mushrooms, onions, peppers and garlic in slow cooker; top with the chicken. Combine tomatoes, salt and thyme; pour over ingredients in slow cooker. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours (or on HIGH for 5 hours).

COOK rice as directed on package. Serve chicken mixture over the rice.

I must admit, I skip the browning part and just put the thawed (ok, sometimes frozen) chicken into the crock pot with the dressing.

This is really good, easy and healthy.

Confession

A few of you are under the impression that I cook a lot ... I really don't. Seriously. If I actually cook a meal 3 times a week, it's a good week. I'm just a giving soul ... and I like to share what I make with the rest of y'all. And it's not like anything I make is really all that time consuming or difficult. They're all stupid easy recipes that I'm always kind of embarrassed to post. So, for the record, I'm not a Martha. Not even a Betty. Not even close.

Mud Pie

1/2 gallon Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate ice cream
1/2 gallon Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream
1/2 pkg Oreos, just the regular ones
4 TBS Postum (coffee-less coffee)
caramel syrup
chocolate syrup (think Hershey's syrup)

Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Place Oreos in a food processor and *pulse* until Oreos are mostly crushed ... no need to turn them into a fine powder. Dump Oreos into 9x13 dish and press firmly to create a crust. If you're a Martha, you can press the cookies up the sides of the dish; I think they'll stick. Gary's no Martha. Oh yeah, this is Gary's recipe, by the way.

Place small spoonfuls of chocolate ice cream into the food processor until it's filled about halfway. *Pulse* until ice cream is smooth ... you might have to add a couple teaspoons of cream or plain old milk. I'm sorry. I can't control these things. Dump on top of Oreo crust and spread with a spatula. Repeat the process until the entire carton of chocolate ice cream is smoothed out in the dish. Is 'smoothed' a word? Place the dish in the freezer and remove the carton of vanilla ice cream.

In a small bowl, combine Postum with 1-2 TBS water and heat in microwave for 2-3 second intervals until Postum is fully dissolved ... about 30 seconds total. It boils fast too. Keep an eye on it ... you don't want to burn it either. You don't want Postum granules, people. That would be gross. Repeat the same process for the vanilla ice cream ... placing small spoonfuls of ice cream into the food processor and blend it with the Postum mixture. Gary says that you'll want to taste the ice cream to see if it has enough Postum flavoring ... if not ... add more. Spread it on top of the chocolate ice cream. Drizzle with caramel and chocolate syrup. Your dish will be very full. Don't freak. Just cover it with plastic wrap, or if you have a cool Pyrex set like me, put the lid on it and stick it back in the freezer. Freeze for 2 hours before serving. Cut it like you would a brownie and then try not to eat the entire dish!! Yours will be much thicker than this ... we were running low on ice cream. Blast.

** We don't drink coffee, but Gary loves Postum. If you're a coffee drinker, just buy some coffee ice cream and save yourself a lot of work. lol.

Chicken Florentine

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar Classico Traditional Sweet Basil spaghetti sauce
2 cups cream
1/2 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
grated Parmesan cheese
1 box/pkg of your favorite noodle

Preheat oven to 375*. Place chicken breasts in Ziploc bag and bang the heck out of them with a rolling pin to flatten them ... unless you have a cool meat tenderizer, in which case, I recommend one of those too. Place flattened chicken breasts in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle chicken liberally (fancy word for a lot) with garlic salt and pepper.

In a separate dish, combine sauce, cream, and spinach. If you can't find the Classico sauce, just use your favorite spaghetti sauce. No sweat. Pour entire mixture over the chicken, which will be crammed into the 9x13 baking dish. Don't stress because the chicken is squished. It's okay. Once you've poured the sauce over the chicken and finished stressing about how the chicken is squished in the pan, bake it uncovered at 375* for about 35 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, stir the sauce around as best as you can to incorporate everything again, and then dump your grated cheese all over the top and allow the cheese to melt before serving. Serve over your favorite noodle. It's stupid easy, but is tastes like it is way more difficult to make. Bonus.

**I made this dish for dinner on Friday and then invited our guinea pig friends over to eat it. I've taken the liberty of revising my made up recipe to maximize the flavors for the next time around. You're welcome. Oh, and this tastes 100x better than the picture looks too.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Mix baking mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms; about 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls (do yourself a favor and use an ice cream scooper) onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix margarine and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Melt more cheese on top, if you're on crack like me.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/3 cup olive oil (vegetable oil is fine ... we're olive oil snobs)
2 tsp grated orange peel

Preheat oven to 375*. Mix all ingredients together. Place by spoonfuls into greased muffin pan. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake at 375* for 18-20 minutes. Makes 24 muffins.

Tuna Melt

1 can tuna, drained
1/2 stalk celery, diced
1 TBS dill relish
1 TBS mayo
1 tsp mustard
cheddar cheese
Texas toast (sliced bread on steroids)

Toast bread. Mix tuna, celery, relish, mayo, and mustard. Spread on toasted bread. Pile cheddar cheese on top. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly.

**If you don't like tuna, you won't like this ... no matter how good it looks. I made this for Gary because I didn't feel like cooking, but he was coming home from a 16 hour day of work and I wanted to be a good wife. He loved it. He's not a picky eater. I, on the other hand, am very picky and did not try this ... I think I have to have a weird pregnant craving to like tuna.

king ranch chicken

This is one of our family favorites. The original recipe came from a can of Rotel. I've made a few changes.

5 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up (I prefer to dice and then brown in a skillet)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 ½ tsp chili powder
garlic salt
1 pkg corn tortillas, cut into pieces
½ lb grated cheddar cheese

Combine chicken, onion, soups, Rotel, green pepper and spices. Layer corn tortillas on bottom of greased casserole dish, then layer chicken mixture, and then cheese. Repeat. Bake @ 350 for 35 minutes.

Hearty Potato Chowder

This is from a ward cookbook, submitted by Shelley Tanner....
This soup is so good that you'll want to lick your bowl when you finish. I figured with all the snow today that I should post my favorite, soul and body warming recipe.

Hearty Bacon Potato Chowder

5 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
6 medium red potatoes, cubed
2 medium onions, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp pepper

In a saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add potatoes and onions. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender (15 to 20 minutes). Add all remaining ingredients. Continue cooking, stirring until heated through (10 to 20 minutes).

Tips: Cooking the bacon until crispy will help keep it from getting soggy in the soup later on. Any potato is fine, red is what I usually use.

Please try! This is soooooooo yummy. The picture doesn't do it justice.

Asparagus Tart

This came from Taste of Home mag (also their photo). I first had this at a Southern Living at Home party and it was delish! It has quickly become a staple at our house.



TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 25 min. + standing

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
3 cups water
Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
2/3 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese, divided
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

Cut 2 in. from the top of each asparagus spear; set tops aside. Cut stem ends into 3/4-in. pieces. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add the 3/4-in. asparagus pieces; cover and boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain and immediately place asparagus in ice water. Drain and pat dry.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry into a 13-in. circle. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 11-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom; trim edges. Place the blanched asparagus, 1/3 cup cheese and parsley in crust. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, cream, salt, cayenne and nutmeg; pour into crust. Arrange asparagus tops over egg mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Yield: 8 servings.

chocolate chip pudding cake

This cake is to die for. It is so easy to make. And SO moist. And it doesn't even need frosting. And I made one on Tuesday night and the whole thing is gone already. (Apparently it makes a great breakfast for husbands, too.) And did I mention it is REALLY good? [And apparently I don't have a picture. I took one. But my battery died. Apparently BEFORE the picture was taken. Oops. You'll just have to trust me that this cake is worth making.]

1 french vanilla cake mix
1 sm instant french vanilla pudding mix
¾ cup water
2 eggs
½ cup oil
1 cup sour cream
1 c + ½ c. chocolate chips

Mix first five ingredients at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Then stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle ½ cup chocolate chips on top. Bake @ 350 for 30-35 minutes.

[you can really use any combination of cake mix/pudding mix/chips that you want.]

Glaze for Honey Rolls

I use this glaze with the frozen Bridgeford rolls from Albertsons ... adds just a little bit of sweetness, but not like a sweetroll. We fix only two kinds of rolls now, this one and the Heavenly Rolls that I submitted earlier. Kim

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tb butter

1 Tb honey

1 egg white

Combine ingredients, drizzle over raised dough before baking. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

TIP: For quick rising, heat oven to lowest setting and turn off . . . put a pan of water on bottom rack . . . let panned, basted (butter) rolls raise until doubled, about 1-2 hours. (Don't forget to take the pan of water out when reheating the oven:)

Grandma Black's Sloppy Joes

[These are a tradition in our family - and one of my kids' favorite dinners. I have friends who make this regularly for their families and they call them "Grandma Black's Sloppy Joes" too! Yummy...]



2 lbs ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. mustard

Brown ground beef; drian. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 10 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns.

Creamy Potato Salad

[pictured with Sloppy Joes above]

6 medium potatoes (2 lbs)
6 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1 large pickle, diced small
3/4 cup mayo or Miracle Whip
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 tsp mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder
paprika, to taste (we go a little heavy on the paprika)

In a covered saucepan cook potatoes in boiling water for 20-25 minutes or till just tender; drain well. Peel and cube potatoes. In a large bowl, combine pickles, mayo, sour cream, vinegar, mustard and seasonings. Add potatoes and eggs. Toss lightly to mix. Cover and chill for 6-24 hours. Make 12 side-dish servings.

Sugared Hush Puppies

I made Kim's recipe for sugar cookies for Valentines cookies last month ... and froze some of the leftover dough. I didn't feel like rolling out cookies yesterday, so I just used a pizza cutter to cut the dough into squares ... and then I went a little crazy. I'll re-post the recipe for the cookies here ... but I want to give Kim ALL the credit. These are the best sugar cookies I've ever had ... and I'll never make another recipe again. Amen.


Kim is right ... What is great about these cookies is they always stay soft.

Cookies
3 c flour
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
14 oz. can Eagle brand milk
3/4 c butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla ... or 1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 TBS milk
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract

Colored Sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2-3 drops food coloring

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine dry ingredients. Cream other together . . . Add to the dry ingredients. Chill. Again, I just used a pizza cutter to cut the dough into semi-perfect squares, about 3/4 inch thick ... so much thicker than you'd do for rolled cookies. Then, in small Ziploc baggies, combine sugar and food coloring ... then shake like crazy until the color distributes to all the sugar. Take a couple squares of dough at a time and shake them in the colored sugar. Then place in a greased mini muffin pan. This is the idea ...Then bake them at 350* for about 10-12 minutes ... they're done when the tops crack and the sugar crystallizes ... don't brown them.

Using an electric mixer, combine powdered sugar, milk, and extract until very smooth. Drizzle over cooled hush puppies. YUM!

Queso Blanco

I wanted a break from the normal Velveeta and Rotel queso ... and this totally worked!!
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
2 8 oz pkg pepper jack cheese, shredded

(This would be the stuff you want)

In sauce pan, melt butter then blend flour into butter to make a roux. Add chicken broth and cook until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in sour cream and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted and smooth. Serve with tortilla chips as a queso dip, or use it as a fondue dip for taquitos, pretzels, bread, etc. Gary can't quit eating it ... he liked it even more than I anticipated.

Stupid Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls
2 pkgs refrigerator biscuits
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 stick butter, cut into 20 little pats

Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 TBS milk
1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 400*. Grease muffin pan. Place one biscuit in each tin, leaving the two tins in the middle unfilled. (You'll need 2 muffin pans) Combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle a spoonful of sugar mixture over each biscuit. Place a pat of butter on top of the sugar on each biscuit. Fill the 2 empty tins in the middle with a little bit of water ... just a little. Bake at 400* for 12 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, combine powdered sugar, milk, and extract until very smooth. Using a spoon, remove the biscuits from the pan. Drizzle icing over the biscuits. Serve warm. YUM! See? Stupid easy. I wasn't lying.

Jalapeno Chicken & Rice

8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 pkgs Chicken Flavored Rice (think Lipton/Rice A Roni type)
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
2 TBS diced (pickled) jalapenos
Monterrey Jack or Cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 400*. Grease an 8x10 casserole dish (I think that's the size of the smaller version of the 9x13). The 9x13 will be way too big ... so find/use something smaller. Place uncooked chicken breasts in dish and sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. DO NOT add the rice to the dish ... It might work, but I haven't tried it to know for sure.

In sauce pan, melt butter then blend flour into butter to make a roux. Add chicken broth and cook until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in sour cream and jalapenos. Cook until heated through, but DO NOT BOIL.

Pour the white sauce over the chicken, leaving about 1/2 - 3/4 cup remaining in the pan to use for the rice. If you want, sprinkle the top of the chicken with cheese and then bake at 400* for 40 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. I used cheddar cheese ... it was good, but I think I like it better without cheese. And I love cheese. The sauce is just really good by itself. And not too spicy either ... believe me ... I've turned into a spice wimp.

Now, while the chicken is cooking, cook your chicken flavored rice according to the package, leaving out about 1/3 cup of the total amount of water. Once the rice is cooked, stir in the remaining white sauce and let it stand to thicken a bit. I served this with the Jalapeno flavored Ranch Style beans because I was too lazy to make beans. It was wonderful. It's WAY easier to make than it tastes ... please, don't analyze my grammar. lol.

The leftover sauce in the pan makes for some REALLY yummy tortilla chip dip! Enjoy!