Watermelon Strawberry Slushie

I've made this several times this summer and haven't stopped to take a picture till now. Mostly we're all just in a rush to get it into our mouths. It's warm weather drink perfection and a great way to use up watermelon, particularly watermelon that might be a bit past it's prime. Another possible use would be pouring it into popsicle molds for fruit pops. You're gonna love it!

Watermelon Strawberry Slushie

{Adapted from ourbestbites.com}

2 cups watermelon chunks, a cup fresh and a cup frozen works the best

1 pint's worth frozen strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

juice of one lemon

possible crushed ice

Place fresh watermelon in blender with lemon juice and sugar. Blend till smooth. Add frozen strawberries and frozen watermelon (if using), blend until smooth. Depending on consistency add a bit of water to thin or more frozen strawberries or ice to thicken. Serve immediately.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Tacos {Crock Pot}

Apparently we're on a mexican food kick in our household these days, and why not when it's all so good?! This easily ranks up there in my top ten easiest and somehow uber-delicious meals. The original recipe calls for 4 ingredients, I add garlic to mine taking it up to a whopping 5. Throw in the fact that you cook it in the crock pot and I'm sold. It's perfect for either a weeknight or company over dish. Love when I find something that's simple and yet still company over worthy!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Tacos {Crock Pot}

{Slightly adapted from Mels Kitchen Cafe}

2-3 chicken breasts (can be frozen to start)

1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4-1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes, I recommend closer to 1/2 t-my kids can handle the heat!

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Corn tortillas

Favorite taco toppings: cheese, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, salsa, lettuce, etc.

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix tomatoes, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and garlic together and pour over chicken. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 5ish. At least 30 minutes before serving, and I prefer and hour or more, remove chicken, shred, and place back in juices. Serve with tortillas and favorite taco toppings.

Note: Other recommended uses could be burrito filling, enchilada filling, nachos, or taco salad of some kind. I think I may have to try my hand as using it as a stand-in for homemade cafe rio salad with tomatillo dressing, yum!

Haystacks

Haystacks are one of those meals that just about everyone's had in their life and that means there are a million and one recipes for them. But the basis is still chicken in some kind of creamy sauce, over rice, heaped with toppings galore. I won't even begin to claim that it's my recipes way or the highway, but I will say that I think they're pretty darn good and so easy to make that it'd be a shame not to try them, especially if the concept is new to you. They really are one of our families top ten meals as far as "makes everyone happy to see them on the table come dinnertime" goes.

Haystacks

2 chicken breasts, frozen or fresh

1 large can (family size) or 2 regular size cans cream of chicken soup

3/4 cup (+ or -) chicken broth

Garlic pepper or garlic salt

Hot cooked rice

Toppings, could include:

Tomatoes, grated cheese, minced onions, frozen peas-thawed, crushed pineapple, chopped celery, chopped green peppers, coconut, mandarin oranges, sliced almonds, crunchy chow mein noodles, etc.

Place chicken, soup, broth, seasoning-garlic pepper or garlic salt in crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours. Remove chicken 1/2 hour before serving, shred, put back in pot. At this point you may want to add a bit more broth to reach your preferred consistency. We like ours on the thinner side. Prepare rice and toppings. To serve, spoon a bed of rice onto plate, ladle on some sauce, and top away!

Hot Chicken Hoagie

Want to know what makes the quickest, best traveling or take in dinner? This here hot chicken hoagie! It's absolutely delicious, a sure fire hit with kids and husbands, and you should make right now.

I know I shamelessly use Mel's Kitchen Cafe recipes probably way too often, but I've never had one let me down...I would hope she'd be flattered!

Hot Chicken Hoagie

{Recipe source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe}

1 loaf of sturdy french bread, cut lengthwise

2 cups cooked shredded chicken (crockpot on high 2-4 hours-depending on frozen or not-in chicken broth, or oven cooked and chopped are 2 options)

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

3 green onion, sliced

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/3 cup fresh parsley or 1-2 T dried

2 cups shredded cheese of choice (cheddar or mont jack or colby jack are good)

1/2 small can chopped olives, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl, combine, mayo, sour cream, green onions, parsley, olives, and garlic salt. Stir. Add chicken and cheese and stir to combine. Spoon by heaping spoonful onto each half of cut french bread. Spread out a bit to cover entire bread surface if necessary. May sprinkle a little more cheese over all. Pop in oven for 20 minutes until bubbly and edges lightly golden. Slice and serve. Good hot, warm, or even room temp! Leftovers keep well in fridge and may reheat in microwave or in oven again. I've successfully frozen prior to baking and then thawed and baked off just fine.

Crispy Honey Lime Enchiladas

This a definite winner of a recipe. My entire family, including our baby, ate and ate and ate these until they were gone. That's 2 adults and 3 small children eating an entire 9x13 pan of something in a one sitting! If that's not a tell-tale sign of a great recipe, I don't know what is. I kept the original recipe as is, but used corn tortillas instead of flour (my family's preference) and added my own spin on the finished product by frying the enchiladas until crispy before adding them to the dish and pouring on the good stuff (sauce and cheese). I like them that way because my only beef with regular enchiladas is that they turn into a sloppy mess on your plate and that texture just isn't my cup of tea. If you like 'em soft and mushy just skip my crispifying step. But if you want an enchilada that holds it's own against the sauce and goes from yummy to amazing give this method a try!

Crispy Honey Lime Enchiladas

{Slightly adapted recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe}

6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I do mine in the crock pot so that shredding is actually an option-2-3 chicken breasts, chicken broth, dash each of cumin, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder-high for 3-4 hours if chicken's frozen, 2-3 if defrosted=works like a charm! )
Several corn tortillas

1/2 cup frying oil, veggie works fine

1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded

16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour. Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese (save about a cup for sprinkling later) and tightly roll. If using corn tortillas, heat tortillas for 45 seconds to a minute in the mircrowave before assembling. This helps the tortillas be more pliable and less likely to crack and fall apart. Heat oil in skillet over med-high heat. Add assembled enchiladas seam side down to hot oil. Press firmly with spatula. When lightly golden turn over and repeat. Place crispy enchiladas in sauce covered dish. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade-if you have any. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Navajo Tacos

Use #2 for scones...Navajo Tacos!

When I was young, we went to Swiss Days every single Labor Day. It's a delightful little craft fair, parade, chuck wagon breakfast, small-town event in Midway, UT. Without a doubt the best part of Swiss Days for me was getting a Swiss Navajo Taco. They were the size of a dinner plate and one of the best things I ate all year, or so it seemed to me then. Now that I find myself elsewhere on the earth with no Swiss Days to attend come Labor Day, of course I have to find a way to still get that taco don't I? In steps the ever versatile scone, which in this case doubles as Indian Fry Bread. Top it with whatever you like, but chili, onions, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and salsa are all a good place to start.

Navajo Tacos

1 recipe scones made a little larger, fried and hot.

Top with any of the following:

Chili (we just go the canned route)

Chopped or sliced tomatoes

Chopped onion, yellow, white, or green will do

Shredded Lettuce

Grated cheese (a cheddar variety is best)

Sour Cream

Salsa (or hot tomato sauce for the more authentic swiss navajo taco expereince-unfortunately my store doesn't stock it :0( )

Top hot scone with any or all of the above and then die of sheer food bliss!

Scrumptious Honey Buttered Scones

If you haven't eaten hot scones particularly with melt-y honey butter than you haven't lived! We don't eat much deep-fried fare in our house, but I make an exception with these scones. And it's so worth it! As for the honey butter, for those of us who've had the out of this world experience of fresh Lion House rolls slathered with their amazing honey butter-let me just tell you this honey butter easily gives theirs a run for it's money. It's that good. Plus it doesn't have anything weird and, let's be serious, kind of gross like egg whites in it-as I've heard some honey butters do. 3 simple ingredients whipped together and you're in heaven! Sweet, fluffy, honey-filled heaven!

PS Watch for the next post featuring a savory way to enjoy these scones, so versatile right?!

Scrumptious Honey Buttered Scones

{Honey butter recipe source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe}

4 cups flour

1 cup dried milk (sweet! a food storage item use!)

2 cups warm water

8 t baking powder

2 t salt

Large amount of oil for frying

Mix warm water and milk together in small bowl. In bowl of electric mixer with paddle attachment, mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Slowly add warm "milk" until dough comes together and isn't ridiculously sticky. Roll a golf ball sized amount of dough into a thin circle, using some flour to help with sticking. Slash 3 slits into dough with knife-this helps to alleviate some serious bubbling air pockets during frying. Heat oil in fryer or deep-ish pan/pot over med-high heat. To test if it's ready, drop a pea size amount of dough into hot oil. If it immediately sizzles and quickly floats to the surface the oil is ready for frying. Fry scones one or two at time, but don't crowd the pot, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with honey butter, jam, etc.

Honey Butter

2 sticks of butter, softened

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup marshmallow creme

In electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add marshmallow creme and honey and mix until well blended. Serve at room temp. May keep in fridge or freezer.