A Few of Kim's Easy Favorite's

Hi Friends:
Amie has been challenging me to post a few recipes and I now have a chance to do so. I am all about easy recipes where I usually have all on ingredients on hand. Here are a few of my favorites:

Easy Fruit Dip:
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Brown Sugar
Tsp Vanilla
8 oz Cream cheese (Room temp)

Mix well and crunch up your favorite candy bar or Heath or Skor Bits. Mix in and serve with fruit.

Chicken Tortilla soup:
Large can of diced tomatoes (I use the spicy kind)
1 can of corn (juice and all)
1 can of cream of corn (you can also sub this for another can of corn)
2 cans of water
cooked chicken (I just use a can of Costco chicken)
2 tsp chicken soup base or 2 bullion cubes
1 tsp chili powder (or one package chili seasoning)
1/2 -3/4 C salsa (I use pace Medium)
Salt and Garlic powder to taste
Stir and heat until warm or sometimes I throw mine in the crock pot at lunch time on low.
Top with cilantro, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips. (I love cilantro and sour cream so I put mine right in the pot.)
This recipe is so versatile, I bet you could even add black beans if you wanted. Maybe I'll have to try that sometime.

Britty's Blueberry Fruit Salad:
1 16 oz. Cool Whip
16 oz. Sour cream
1 can of Blueberry Pie filling
1 can of sweetened condensed milk

Mix well and serve chilled!

I don't know is someone has already posted this, I have given this recipe to a lot of people.

Rich Chocolate Cake:
1 chocolate cake mix (I use double chocolate or chocolate fudge)
1 big box of instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
1 cup chocolate chips

Bake as directed on the box but add 10-12 minutes onto the baking time. This is moist and yummy!

Garden pesto

For those of you who have basil in your gardens, this is a must-try. I think that fresh pesto is so much better than bottled. Roland prefers it to restaurant pesto too. If you need a food-processor, call me!

Pesto Recipe
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano (Kirkland is great)
1/2 cup Olive oil

3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts
3 garlic cloves

Place the garlic in the food processor fitted with the blade attachment and process until chopped. Add the basil, and the nuts. Turn on and add the oil through the feed tube cup (this will allow it to drizzle in slowly so that the mixture can emulsify). Add the cheese at the end and turn on to combine.

Toss with hot, cooked pasta or drizzle over chicken. A little will go a long way. I like to use just enough to coat, not drown my pasta. 1/2-3/4 cup is usually enough for 1 pound of pasta.

*Air is the enemy of pesto, if you don't plan on using it right away, press some plastic wrap onto the surface refrigerate or freeze. I like to make a few big batches and freeze them in ice-cube trays. it will keep for a few months this way and I don't have to pull out more than I need. It's great for pesto-pizza because you only need 2 cubes for one pizza.

"grilled" zucchini

Since it's the season for endless zucchini, here is an easy idea that we like to do when we're grilling something for dinner. Thinly slice one or two zucchini and toss with olive oil and some herbs or seasoning salt (use your imagination and pick your favorites). Fold up the sides of an 18" piece of foil and place the zucchini slices in the foil. Put it on the grill and stir occasionally until it's all tender-about 10 minutes.

Favorite "low fat" breakfast eggs

1 cup egg beaters (or 4-5 eggs beaten)
a large handful of fresh spinach
reduced fat feta cheese (I use about 1/4 cup)
shredded Parmesan cheese (I use about 1/4 cup)
1 tbsp olive oil or Pam
diced tomatoes ( sun-dried tomatoes are even better but not low fat)
thin sliced onion (1/4 of a reg sized onion)
garlic salt (to taste)

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender. Add spinach and wilt down (it shrinks a lot so add a LARGE handful) once wilted, add eggs. When eggs are just about done, add tomatoes and both cheeses (to taste) and salt (careful w/salt because the cheeses are salty). Serve warm with toast or tortilla

*This serves about 2-3 people depending on how hungry you are.

Carmel Corn

This is one of my very favorite recipes! It is cheap, yummy, and makes a lot!

3 bags of butter microwave popcorn (already popped)

1 stick of butter

1 cup of Karo syrup

1 cup of dark brown sugar

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Sort through the popcorn and get all the kernels out ina big bowl. Let it completely cool before beginning the next part. (That way it does not shrink when you pour the hot mixture on top!)

Melt the stick of butter in a pan, and get it boiling. Then add sugar & syrup. Continually mix, while bringing it to a boil. Once it is rapidly boiling, take it off the heat and add the milk. Mix thoroughly. Put it back on the heat, and boil it once again!

Then just pour it on the popcorn. Mix really well & enjoy!

Chicken Fajitas

We tried this new recipe tonight, and it was really good!

2 T. oil
3 T. lemon juice
1 garlic clove minced
1 t. cumin
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
dash hot sauce
salt/pepper

Combine everything and marinate chicken breasts for atleast 20 minutes. I put in a ziploc bag. We cooked on the grill.

Slice onions and peppers and cook in skillet on stove with a little olive oil, and salt and pepper. When chicken is done, slice and add to cooked peppers and onions.

Wrap in tortillas with sour cream, cheese, and homemade salsa. Yum.

Orange Juice Cake

1 box Yellow Butter Cake
1 box instant vanilla pudding (small box)
1 cup Orange Juice
1/2 cup canola oil
4 eggs

*mix for 4 mins on medium speed and pour into greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

ICING:
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 orange juice

*boil for 2 minutes in saucepan. Pour on cake immediately after taking it out of oven. Let sit for 30 minutes and remove from pan.

(not a low fat food but REALLY good)

anything-goes pizza

This is a great last-minute meal that uses whatever you have on hand.

Start by rolling out your homemade or store-bought pizza dough (I make mine in the food processor and will be happy to share the recipe if you're interested). Brush the dough with a little bit of olive oil (I drizzle a little on the dough and spread it with a paper towl). Top with any combination of the following : left-over cooked, diced chicken, small pieces of ham, chopped cooked spinach, sliced tomatoes, shelled edamame, minced herbs, chopped onion, minced garlic....or anything you have on hand that your family likes. top with shreded cheese of your liking and bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes.

We tried it the other night with chicken, some cooked, chopped spinach from the garden and mozzarella it was so yummy. I have done it with other combinations of the above ingredients too and we haven't had one we didn't like.