Cafe Rio Chicken

I really miss Cafe Rio. Wish we had one around here. But until we get one, here's a knock off recipe that's currently brewing in my crock pot. Yum!!!!!

Happy Weekend!


Cafe Rio Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. CHICKEN BREAST
• 1 cup ZESTY ITALIAN DRESSING
• 1/2 Tablespoon MINCED GARLIC
• 1 packet RANCH DRESSING MIX
• 1/2 cup WATER
• 1/2 Tablespoon GROUND CUMIN
• 1/2 Tablespoon CHILI POWDER

Instructions

Place all ingredients in the crockpot.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Shred and serve how ever you like - as filling for tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas or burrito bowls, etc.

It is easy to double or triple this recipe and freeze the extras.

Pot Roast

This is our dinner tonight! So good! The smell of pot roast brings back memories of my mom making it. Sunday night was the only night we ever had pot roast and here I am,making it for my family (for the first time might I add) on a Sunday night. So happy!

 POT ROAST

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 pounds boneless chuck roast
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Heat a heavy Dutch oven on top of the stove over medium high heat. Add oil, and sear meat in the center of the pan for 4 minutes. Turn meat over with tongs; sear all sides for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove meat from pan. Arrange onion, garlic, and 1 bay leaf in the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return meat to pan, place remaining bay leaf on top of meat, and cover.

Cook in the oven for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Reduce the heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove roast to a platter to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Slice, and top with onions and gravy.

7-UP Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup 7-up

1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 450.

Cut sour cream into biscuit mix, add 7-Up. Makes a very soft dough.

Sprinkle additional biscuit mix on board or table and pat dough out. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 9 inch square pan.  Place cut biscuits in pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown

Gevalia Kaffe-CLOSED

Gevalia Kaffe is much more than your average ‘cup of joe.’ It’s a Swedish-style break from the usual coffee grind. Perfected by the Swedes’ passion for quality coffee for more than 150 years, Gevalia is an exquisitely rich smooth coffee experience that is never bitter. Gevalia isn’t just coffee, it’s ‘Kaffe’ to savor.

•  The Swedes know a thing or two about coffee. They know quality coffee should be savored and enjoyed. They also know you deserve a more unique/special coffee experience than what you can pick up on every street corner.
• Gevalia is a luxurious departure from the everyday, an escape from the routine cup of coffee. Whether it’s a morning ritual made just for you, or the finishing touch at a dinner party, it brings the taste of Swedish-style luxury into your home.
• In Sweden, where the citizens drink more coffee than almost anywhere else in the world, Gevalia is their preferred brand.
• In fact, Gevalia enjoys the honor of being an official coffee of the Swedish Royal Court.

Gevalia, now available at Safeway, brings unexpected Swedish-style luxury and rich, never bitter taste to the Safeway grocery aisle.

• Gevalia has been refining the art of luxurious coffee since 1853 and has a deep history of finding and blending the finest Arabica coffee beans from locations around the world.
• Gevalia is expertly made with carefully selected beans, ground extra fine, to produce a rich coffee experience.
• Previously available online only, Gevalia is now offering its top-ten varieties in U.S. coffee supermarket aisles nationwide in 10 varieties, including roast and ground, whole bean, flavored and decaffeinated varieties:
  
  
• Gevalia Traditional Roast (ground and whole bean):
  Gevalia Traditional Roast provides a perfectly balanced taste every time. Our most beloved blend – made of choice, mountain-grown Arabica beans – this coffee has a distinctive body and flavor with a lighter intensity. (Medium Roast).
  
  
• Gevalia House Blend:
  A Gevalia favorite, House Blend is a robust yet never bitter coffee. This roast has a captivating aroma that is only matched by its exceptional flavor. (Medium/Dark Roast).
  
  
• Gevalia House Blend Decaf :
  Delivering the same rich, never bitter flavor, House Blend Decaf has the same robust taste without all the caffeine. (Medium/Dark Roast).
  
  
• Gevalia French Roast (ground and whole bean):
  Gevalia French Roast is a coffee of impressive richness and dimension, expertly crafted from prized Arabica beans grown in Colombia and Brazil. Hints of aromatic smoke give this dark-roasted French Roast blend an intense, yet uniquely satisfying flavor. (Dark Roast).
  
  
• Gevalia Colombia:
  Grown high in the Colombian Andes, these beans produce a rich, bright and well-bodied Colombian coffee. This single origin classic is world-renowned, which is why we have sourced these beans for decades. (Medium Roast).
  
  
• Gevalia Espresso Roast:
  Gevalia Espresso Roast is made of premium, mountain-grown Arabica beans from East Africa and Central and South America. This roast is bold and full-bodied with a hint of caramel undertones. (Dark Roast).
  
  
• Gevalia Vanilla:
  This rich blend with vanilla flavor notes is crafted from choice mountain-grown Arabica beans, then roasted for exceptional body and flavor. Gevalia Vanilla is a flavorful and balanced experience with a heavenly aroma.
  
  
• Gevalia Chocolate Mocha:
  Gevalia Chocolate Mocha allows you to indulge your passion for decadent flavor. Rich, velvety chocolate flavor is blended with mountain-grown Arabica beans for a sweetly satisfying experience. 

 So tell me: what's your favorite way to enjoy a cup of coffee and you could win the following prize pack!

• (1) sample of the House Blend from Gevalia Kaffe
• (1) sample of the French Roast Blend from Gevalia Kaffe
• A Gevalia Kaffe branded coffee mug

Hurry up and enter! Giveaway ends Sunday, Feb. 5 at midnight MST. 

This has been graciously provided by My Blog Spark and Kraft Foods. Kraft Foods has provided sample product to me and is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me.  This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but solely by Tummy Yummies. 

Petite Lasanga Cups

This is dinner tonight! I can't wait to dive right into these little gems. So yummy! I mean lasagna in little petite sized cups of cheesy goodness! How can this not be the best thing you've ever put in your mouth?!?!?!

I love little variations on traditional meals. This is a great example of that. This would also be good for a dinner party-everyone gets their own little lasagna.


Petite Lasagna Cups
(makes 12)

12 oz raw ground turkey (or whatever meat you want to use-or go meatless-that would be good too!)

¼ tsp salt, divided

¼ tsp pepper

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped mushrooms

14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsp dried oregano, divided

½ tsp dried basil

1 ½ cups cream cheese (i'm using the philadelphia baking cream cheese-italian herbs)

12 lasagna noodles, cooked and cooled and cut in 1/2

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese



Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey, onions, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Crumble the meat and saute the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds.

Add the crushed tomatoes and 2 tsp of oregano. Bring the pan to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, a pinch of salt and pepper, the remaining teaspoon of oregano, and the basil. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 noodle into each of the 12 cups, pressing firmly in the bottom of the cup and up the sides.

Using half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the 12 muffin cups. Next, using half of the turkey tomato sauce, spoon it evenly over each of the ricotta filled cups. Sprinkle with 2 tsp of mozzarella.

Gently press another noodle on top of the mozzarella layer.

Repeat the process by distributing the remaining cream cheese, then the remaining tomato sauce, and finally the rest of the shredded mozzarella.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Let the cups cool, remove them from the pan, and serve!

picture courtesy of CAN YOU STAY FOR DINNER

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Who doesn't love tacos??? They are a favorite in this house for sure!! We love all things tacos. It's one meal I KNOW my kids will eat without any hesitation. We usually have tacos every couple of weeks.

So as I was browsing Pinterest one night I stumbled upon this gem! Thought "oh yeah-the kids will adore this" and THEY DID!!

So here you go! I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did!!! YUM!!!

Mexican Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 package low-sodium taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
4 oz. cream cheese (I used a veggie cream cheese that I already had in the fridge)
14-16 jumbo pasta shells
1.5 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese
3 green onions
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a frying pan cook ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions, add refried beans. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely. While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Cover shells with taco sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed. Top with any condiments you’d like (green onions, black olives, etc.) Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa

picture courtesy of THE WAY TO HIS HEART

This was so good! Kids ate and ate!! Well yeah, I did too!!

Happy Eating!

Frozen Hot Chocolate....yeah I went there....

Guess I've been a bit lazy with this blog! I would like to blame the hubs being deployed on it and me not wanting to cook anything more exciting than mac n cheese, hot dogs and nuggets.....so there you go. Ug...But here I am, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, although sometimes it sure does feel like it!

But not to have a pity party, here's something super yum!!!

I recently joined Pinterest. (I spend way too much time there.) I found this recipe and tonight we made it. The kids gulped it up and it was soooooooo good! If you've ever been to Serendipity 3 in NYC then you've no doubt heard of Frozen Hot Chocolate. I believe it was also talked about on Sex in the City? I dont watch that show, but I think I heard that it was. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, like I said, browsing the yumminess that is Pinterest I stumbled upon this lovely copy cat recipe. So here you go!!

We didn't have whipped cream so we just used marshmallows, which worked out just fine. I HIGHLY recommend you stopping what you are doing and making this right now! I'm pretty sure you have everything need to make it in your possession right now. :)

recipe courtesy of Pinterest

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. chopped semisweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)
• 3 cups whole milk, divided
• 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. your favorite powdered hot chocolate mix
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 6 cups ice cubes
• whipped cream for garnish

Preparation:

1. Place chopped chocolate and 1/4 cup of the milk in a microwave-safe container. Heat on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir.
2. Heat on 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir. If necessary, continue heating in 30-second increments until chocolate is melted.
3. Add hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir.
4. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the milk. Stir, and let cool to room temperature.
5. Pour cooled chocolate mixture into blender. Add remaining milk and ice cubes. Puree until smooth.
6. Top with whipped cream and serve immediately.

Nutella Peanut Butter Bars

Stop what you are doing right now and go make these. I'm not kidding. Get up and go to your kitchen! I'm pretty sure you'll have everything you need to make them. We are having a hard time not taking forks and just eating it straight out of the pan. They really are that good. So please for the love of all things gooey and scrumptious, do yourself a favor and make these! You'll thank me...

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups oatmeal (not quick)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Nutella for spreading

Cream first 3 ingredients together. Add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and combine. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together. Spread dough on a greased cake pan (the pan i used is slightly bigger than a 9x13). Make at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown. After baked through, dollup about 1C-1 1/2C peanut butter on top. Put back in the oven (make sure the oven has been turned off) for about 5 minutes. Pull the pan out and spread the peanut butter. Let that set up for a couple of hours or a good 30 minutes in the fridge. I just left mine on the counter while we were at church today and they were perfect by the time we came home. This will allow the peanut butter to stiffen up. Once that has set, spread with Nutella. Dive right in, don't forget the glass of milk.

These are divine....in fact....i'm gonna go have another one! :)