Over-The-Border Shrimp Enchiladas

Yummy! Shrimp and Enchiladas... What a combo!! With a side of sweet corn, this made a wonderful meal that the whole family ate right up. Come on - cream cheese, shrimp and cheese?? How can you go wrong?? It was creamy and delicious!

Over-The-Border Shrimp Enchiladas
(recipe found at spreadphilly.com)
Serves: 8

1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
8 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
1 1/2 cups chunky salsa
1 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

In a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add the shrimp, green chilies, chili powder, salt, cumin and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink. Stir in cream cheese until melted.

Place 1/3 cup shrimp mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Pour salsa over the top; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Honey Lime Chicken

Found this recipe when I was browsing through my Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazine and knew that it was one that I had to try. I love chicken on the grill, no matter what season it is and love to have something that I can throw together earlier in the day, so a marinade is a great way to go!

Honey Lime Chicken

1 cup white wine or reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large resealable bag, combine the wine, honey, lime juice and ginger; add the chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 2 hours, turning once.

Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill. Drain and discard marinade. Combine the garlic powder, salt and pepper; sprinkle over chicken. Grill, uncovered, over medium heat for 6-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

Orange Julius

Had to try this snack out on the kids the other day... It was definitely a hit for a warm summer day - I thought that the orange juice was a little tart, but I want to go back and try it with something different then the Walmart brand and see if that makes a difference.



Orange Julius
(recipe found at cucinafamiglia.blogspot.com)

1 can orange juice concentrate
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup ice

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender until smooth. If it's too runny add more ice, if it's too chunky add more milk. Such a quick and easy snack!

Frozen Pink Lemonade Pie

Of course when you have that many people over for steak dinner, you have to have dessert! I think that is a prerequisite in my book... As soon as I start planning a bunch of people coming over for supper, my first though is "What can I make for dessert?" Since it has been so warm, I wanted to try a new recipe I found at www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com Sorry, no pictures with this one either, I promise the next recipe will come with photos! :)

Frozen Pink Lemonade Pie

2 quarts vanilla ice cream
1 large can pink lemonade concentrate (mine was thawed)
5 drops red food coloring (optional)
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (2 packages)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons melted butter
dash of salt

Take your ice cream out of the freezer to let soften a bit while you are making the crust. (or you could use premade graham cracker crusts if you want to skip this step!) To make your graham cracker crumbs, place all the graham crackers in a zip lock bag and rolling over it with a rolling pin. For the crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and dash of salt in a small mixing bowl. Smash all the ingredients together with a fork until well combined. Press them into 2 pie plates.

Place the softened ice cream, food coloring and frozen concentrate into a large mixing bowl, or your Kitchen Aid. (I used my Kitchen Aid, even though the recipe said that this could be trouble for the mixer. It worked perfectly for me and had no troubles - I love my new Kitchen Aid.... IT IS A WORKHORSE!!!) Mix these all together until smooth. Pour half of the ice cream mixture into each pie crust. Wrap with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 6 hours. When you are ready to serve, let the pie sit out of the freezer for about 10 minutes so it is easier to cut.

Broocoli, Bacon and Cheddar Toss

Here is the second side dish that we had the night of our steak dinner. I was super excited that I had a little of this leftover, because it was so good that I wanted to keep it all to myself! I mean, who doesn't love broccoli when it has bacon and cheese on it?? :)

Broccoli, Bacon and Cheddar Toss
(receipe found in Pillsbury Sandwiches and Salads)

3 cups fresh small broccoli florets
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup copped red onion
3 slices precooked bacon or 1/3 cup real bacon pieces
1/2 cup mayo or salad dressing
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

In a large bowl, mix all salad ingredients (first four ingredients) except bacon. In a small bowl, mix last three ingredients until well blended. Pour dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Just before serving, heat bacon slices as directed on package until crisp. Drain on paper towels, crumble and stir into salad.

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

The hubby had a bunch of guys over to work the other day and we finished off their day of work with an appreciation supper. Steak was on the menu, so of course I had to find some yummy side dishes to go with it... Found these make ahead mashed potatoes when I was pouring through my recipe books and they were a hit! Sorry no pictures of this menu - I was too busy cooking up a storm and forgot to bust out the camera!

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
(recipe found in Taste of Home)
Serves: 12 3/4 cup servings

5 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
1 package (8 ounces) reduced fat cream cheese, cubed
2 egg whites, beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) reduced fat sour cream
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain. In a large bowl, mash potatoes with cream cheese. Combine the egg whites, sour cream, onion powder, salt and pepper. Stir into potatoes until blended. Transfer to a greased 3 quart baking dish. Drizzle with butter. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 160.

Sweet Cereal Mix

I made this delish snack mix when all my sibs and our families got together for a camping weekend. It was great to take with us to the beach, snack on around the campfire or munch on while we were just hanging out. I think that the adults might have snuck it out a few times when the kids weren't looking! :) I doubled my recipe for this weekend and it was completely gone by the time we got home!
Yummy!

Seriously, how can you not love the looks of this!!

Sweet Cereal Mix

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 box rice or corn chex
1/3 box of wheat chex
2 cups mini pretzels
1/2 box cheerios
1/2 bag honey teddy grahams

(Note: Our store was out of a lot of stuff when I shopped for this recipe, so I ended up using apple cinnamon cheerios, cinnamon chex and a different flavor of teddy grahams... It still turned out scruptious, so feel free to try different flavors in your combo!)

Preheat your oven to 250. Grease 2 deep 9x13 foil pans. Mix all the cereal, pretzels and teddy grahams together and divide between the two foil tins, set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and then add in the corn syrup and brown sugar. Pour the mixture over the two tins of cereal and mix to coat well. Bake for 1 hour, making sure to stir the cereal every 15 minutes or so. Spread cereal onto GREASED wax paper to separate and cool. Eat and enjoy!!