Pineapple Lemonade Punch

I think spring is definitely on its way. I am still secretly hoping for snow,(cause I want to go sledding) but when its warmish its hard for me to not make lemonade, cause lemonade means warm weather, playing outside, and kids not being sick anymore! I need to celebrate so I'm making this delicious punch. Its pineapple sweet, lemon sour, and one of my favorite drinks. Enjoy!

Pineapple Lemonade Punch
Recipe Adapted from: FroggyandtheMouse.com

1/2 cup Countrytime Lemonade Mix
1 cup cold Water
2 3/4 cups Pineapple Juice, cold
1 can Sprite, cold
1/4 cup Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together and enjoy, cause its really good!

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

We eat a lot of soup. Chicken Noodle soup is in the rotation. We love it! When I found this recipe I was skeptical. It would probably be dry and definitely not nearly as good as soup. I couldn't have been more wrong. This is creamy, not dry at all. It has all of the flavor of chicken noodle soup in a surprisingly better way. So every time I think I want chicken noodle soup this is what I'll be making and the next time you're thinking of making soup, make this instead! 

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole
Recipe Source: Cooking.com

3 Chicken Breasts, cubed
2/3 cup Onion, chopped
3 Garlic Clove, minced
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1-14.5 oz Chicken Broth
1 1/2 cups Carrots, chopped
3 Celery Ribs, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 1/4 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded
2 1/2 cups Rotini, cooked

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet heat your olive oil, saute onion and garlic until tender. Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add in the broth, carrots, celery and thyme and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, cover, and simmer for about 12 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper and mix until smooth. Slowly add milk and bring to a boil. Cook and stir constantly for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and add in the cheese and stir until melted. Pour over the chicken mixture, add in the noodles and mix well.

3. Pour into a 9x13 pan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Pineapple Mango Orange Smoothie

Last week for my kids birthdays we went to Texas Roadhouse, one of my favorite places to eat, and this time I got a frozen drink. It was called something Jewel. I cant remember the exact name but it was orange, pineapple, and peach I think. Anyway, I really wanted to make it at home and tried to find a recipe and gave up. So I made it up... It the perfect combination of some of my favorite flavors and my kids loved it too.  Its creamy, icy, fruity, and sweet. Probably really good for the summer, or if you're like me and just have a smoothie craving!

Pineapple Mango Orange Smoothie
Recipe Source: I just made it up

1 cup Frozen Pineapple Concentrate, thawed
1 cup Frozen Mango Orange Concentrate, thawed
3 cups Orange Sherbet
1 cup Pina Colada Yogurt
1 cup Ice
Sugar to rim your glass

Combine all ingredients in the blender. Mix until smooth. Then I put a little of the pineapple concentrate on my finger and ran it around the edge of the glass and then dipped the glass in a plate of sugar.

Strawberry Shortcake Parfait and Secret Recipe Club

Hey! It seems like things haven't slowed down since Christmas. I've been busy planning a birthday party and its crazy. But I am so excited to share with you who I got for the Secret Recipe Club this month. The Heritage Cook!

This is one of my favorite sites to go to! She has so many fun things. First, she does Chocolate Mondays and since chocolate is my favorite thing, its perfect. Second, on her posts she has a 'hints & tips' section and its so helpful. There is always something useful. She also has a section on each of her newer posts for making the recipe gluten free. I don't need it but I'm sure its super helpful to lots of people.

I went through several recipes before deciding what I would make cause it all looks so delicious. But this Strawberry Shortcake with White Chocolate Whipped Cream Parfait looked too good to pass up.

The whole thing was so easy to make. The shortcake is soft and had a little tang from the lemon zest. The strawberries were just sweet enough to compliment the tangy-ness of the shortcake and the white chocolate whipped cream... There is just so much I could say. Its so good. Its sweet, creamy, and tastes just like light a fluffy white chocolate. It makes this shortcake parfait what it is!

Go over and see how great The Heritage Cook is!!

Strawberry Shortcake with White Chocolate Whipped Cream Parfait
Recipe Source: The Heritage Cook

Strawberries
3 cups Strawberries, hulled and diced
4 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

Shortcakes
1 cup Heavy Cream, cold
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Zest
2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

White Chocolate Whipped Cream
4oz White Chocolate, chopped
1 cup Heavy Cream, divided
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar

Strawberries
Put the strawberries and the sugar in a medium bowl and mix together. Cover and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. Every once in a while mix the strawberries. 

Shortcakes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a stand mixer whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Spoon into another bowl.

In the mixer fitted with the paddle attachment put the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Add the whipped cream and just beat until the mixture just comes together. Do not overbeat. Place the dough onto a floured counter and knead to finish mixing.

Roll the dough into a rectangle about an inch thick. Cut into thirds then cut each piece in half so you have squares. Place the squares onto a silpat covered baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.

White Chocolate Whipped Cream

In a double boiler melt the white chocolate with 1/4 cup of the cream until just about melted. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temp.

In the bowl of your stand mixer beat the remaining 3/4 cup cream with the sugar until firm peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the white chocolate mixture. Refrigerate.

Assembling the Parfaits

Break the shortcakes into small pieces. Place a couple of pieces in the bottom of each of your bowls. Add some strawberries and juice, some cake, and the whipped cream. Add more cake, strawberries and top with the whipped cream. Serve immediately.

Dulce de Leche and Secret Recipe Club

Today my husband and I have been married 7 years. Yay for us! Ha. But in celebration of this I decided to take on something that I found intimidating, later realizing its not. Dulce de Leche.

For the Secret Recipe Club this month I was assigned Easily Good Eats. Its a blog of a professional that loves to cook, and mainly cooks things with few and simple ingredients. There were several things I wanted to make but found a recipe for dulce de leche and was ready to take it on.

Its very simple. It takes a while but it basically just sits on the stove for 3 hours and you have yourself some sweet, rich, creamy 'candy milk'. 

Go over to Easily Good Eats and find something delicious!

Dulce de Leche
Recipe Source: EasilyGoodEats.blogspot.com

4 1/4 cups Whole Milk
1 1/2 Tablespoons Molasses
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1. In a large pot combine the milk, sugar, and molasses and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the baking soda and stir. Reduce to medium low and keep it at a bare simmer.

2. Stir occasionally, but don't mix in the foam that is on the top. Continue to cook for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.Let cool and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Honey Sesame Chicken

I am always looking for easy crock pot meals and a dish that can used in many different ways. This is a simple base to have over rice, in tacos, or I'm sure you could think of another way to use it. Its sweet, tangy, and delicious. This is what you should have for dinner tonight!

Honey Sesame Chicken
Recipe Source: SixSistersStuff.com

4 Chicken Breasts
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 cups Honey
1 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Onion, diced
1/2 cup Ketchup
4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Cornstarch dissolved in 3/4 cup water

1. Season your chicken with salt and pepper and put in crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, diced onion, ketchup, oil, and garlic. Pour over the top of chicken. Cook on low for 4 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

2. Remove the chicken from the crock pot. Pour the cornstarch water into the crock pot. Stir combining with the sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for about ten minutes or until thickened. Shred the chicken and return to the pot and stir with the sauce.

Spaghetti Pie

My girls favorite dinner is spaghetti. Its easy for me to brown some hamburger, open a jar of Ragu, and boil some noodles but its not very exciting. So I searched for something not as labor intensive as lasagne but better than regular old spaghetti and I found it! Spaghetti Pie. The tomato sauce is homemade and it has 4 different cheeses. It isn't dry at all. Its creamy and saucy. Its a meal your family will be begging to have all the time. I know cause mine does.

Spaghetti Pie
Recipe Source: MelsKitchenCafe.com

12 oz Thin Spaghetti Noodles
1 lb lean Ground Beef
1 small Onion, diced
1 clove Garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes
16 oz Tomato Sauce
1 teaspoon Dried Basil
1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Cottage Cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese, divided

1. Lightly spray a 10-inch deep dish pie plate with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cook noodles to al dente in salted water. While the noodles are cooking, heat a large skillet over med-high heat, brown the ground beef. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Continue stirring to break up the meat, until the meat is cooked. Remove from the heat and drain the grease. Return the skillet to medium heat and stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil and oregano. Simmer the sauce over medium or medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

3. When the noodles are done cooking, drain and return to the pot. Quickly stir in the cream cheese and toss the noodles until its mostly melted. Stir in the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Toss so the noodles are evenly coated. Stir in 2 cups of the spaghetti sauce. Keep the rest of the red sauce warm on the stove.

4. Pour the noodles into the pie plate and using a spatula, press the noodles into the dish so they are tightly pressed together and are flat on the top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese on top.

5. Bake the pie for about 20 minutes, until hot and the cheese on top is golden. Let the dish rest for 15 minutes. Serve with remaining spaghetti sauce.