Chicken Tacos.

3/4 cup Pace Picante Sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 cups cooked chicken strips
3 cups shredded lettuce
12 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Mix picante sauce, lime juice and chili powder in large bowl. Add chicken and lettuce and toss until evenly coated. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture down center of tortilla. Top with tomato, cheese and additional picante sauce. Fold tortilla around filling. Optional: add a little cilantro and sour cream.

Molten Lava Cakes

I found this recipe on "Our best bites" blog... I swear everything I try there is amazing... seriously! It's perfect cause it makes four little cakes and I don't have a bunch left over begging for me to eat for the rest of the week.

Molten Lava Cakes

4 T real butter
1/3 C sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 C flour
1/4 t salt
8 oz bittersweet chocolate*, melted (I used semi-sweet chocolate cause it's what I had and it was fine, but I wouldn't go with milk chocolate, it would be way to sweet)
*8 ounces is about 1 1/3 C of bittersweet chocolate chips. Make the 1/3 cup a little over-full and you should be good

Additional Ingredients:
conf. sugar for dusting
sweetened whipped cream for serving
butter and sugar for preparing pans

You can either bake these in a muffin tin, in ramekins, or even a oven-proof mug. If you use a muffin tin you'll get 6 cakes and depending on the size of the ramekins you'll get 4-6.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To prepare pans, use your fingers (or the butter wrapper) to rub butter in the muffin tins or ramekins. Sprinkle in some granulated sugar to coat the entire inner surface and tap out any extra and discard.

In a bowl with a mixer beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour and salt and slowly add it into the butter mixture just until combined. Stir in melted chocolate by hand, just until combined. Don't over mix.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups or ramekins and then place them on a baking sheet.

Bake just until tops of cakes no longer jiggle when pan is lightly shaken, about 8-10 min for a muffin pan, and 10-12 for ramekins. Remove from oven and let stand 10 min.

If using muffin tins, invert the tin and place an idividual cake on each serving plate. You can do the same with the ramekins, or just serve them as is. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with a dallop of sweetened whipped cream.

Smoothie Website.

My kids love smoothies and can you believe there is actually a smoothie website?

http://www.smoothieweb.com/popular-recipes/

I "hide" things in their smoothies such as protein powder and wheat germ.

Just thought I would share because I was so excited to see all of the new smoothie recipes to try.

PF Changs lettuce wraps

Okay so it's probably not exactly the same... but Chad and I went there for the first time on Tuesday and I loved them so much I immediately went on line in search of a similar recipe and this is what I found.... I LOVED THEM!!!! So if you like PF changs lettuce wraps, I am pretty sure you will love these!

PF Changs lettuce wraps

Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnut
2/3 cup mushroom
3 tablespoons chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon hot mustard
2 teaspoons water
1-2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions
Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.
Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.
Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well.
Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.
Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.
Remove chicken from the pan and cool.
Keep oil in the pan, keep hot.
As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.
Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are.
With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.
Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.
Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups".
Top with"Special Sauce".

Easy Sugar Cookies

I went to make my regular sugar cookie recipe and didn't have all of the ingredients so I looked online for an easy one that didn't call for shortening. I found this one and they were so easy and really yummy! I might just throw my old, more complicated recipe out the window!

I didn't roll out dough and make a flour mess of my counter like most sugar cookies. I just rolled them into balls and flattened them a little. My little 4 year old is going to decorate them with store bought icing and princess sprinkles. Easy!

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir all ingredients together, roll into balls and place onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Chicken Lasagna

2-3 chicken breasts
1 jar (15 oz.) spaghetti sauce
8-10 oz. egg noodles
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. cottage cheese
2 Tbs. parsley
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese (optional)

Cut up chicken pieces and cook until done. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes. Cook noodles until almost done and stir in cream cheese, cottage cheese, parsley and seasonings. Put noodle mixture in 9x13 glass pan. Pour sauce and chicken over the top. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes and top with parmesan cheese. (Mozzarella cheese is good on top too. Sprinkle on top about 10 minutes before done to melt.)

Crispy Ranch Chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. milk
1 oz. package ranch dressing mix
4 chicken breasts
1 1/2 c. finely crushed tortilla chips
2 T. margarine or butter

In a shallow dish mix soup, milk and dressing mix. Reserve 1 c. for sauce. Dip chicken into soup mixture and coat with tortilla chips. Place chicken on a greased baking sheet and drizzle with margarine. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Heat reserved sauce over meduim heat and serve with chicken.

7-UP POUND CAKE

Lemon Pound cake with fresh berries

3 sticks of butter (margarine will not do)
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons lemon extract
3/4 cup 7-Up

Cream butter and sugar for 20 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time. Gradually add the flour and beat well, then add lemon extract and 7-Up. Bake 1 1/4 hours at 325 degrees in a well oiled Bundt pan. Cool 8 to 10 minutes then invert onto a plate and let cool for an hour. Top with fresh berries, I did strawberries and raspberries but have had it with fresh peaches, strawberries and raspberries also and it was YUMMY!!!