Easy Lemon Pepper Chicken

1 lbs chicken cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

Place chicken in baking dish and sprinkle seasoning on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Drain excess juice. Mix sauce and pour over top.

Sauce:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup milk
1Tbs dry parsley

Bake 30 minutes. Serve over rice.

Kabob Collection

The perfect meal for summertime grilling is Kabobs. You can customize your meat and veggies to make everyone in the family happy. Here are a few of our favorite recipes collected from the Internet.

Chicken marinated with bacon
Vegetables
Yogurt Sauce

Steak

Shrimp
1- 1/2 lb Cleaned, rinsed and dried shrimp
Juice from one lemon
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 TBS fresh chopped parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley
2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine in a Ziploc bag and marinate for two hours before grilling. Grill for 6-8 minutes.

Serve with Oven Rice

** Meat can be cut and combined with marinades then frozen in Freezer safe bags for later use or dinner exchange. (except shrimp its better fresh.)

Peanut Butter Frosted Brownie Bites

I taught Relief Society Meeting in the fall of 2011. My favorite part of the meeting were the yummy brownie bites frosted with a peanut butter cream cheese frosting. I couldn't get enough so I made up my own version!

Brownies:
You can use a mix or my new favorite homemade recipe I found on Pinterest came from Cook Like Your Grandmother.com . I baked these little goodies using a Mini Muffin Pan. If you are using the homemade version you will get approximately 3 1/2 dozen brownies. NOTE: when baking using the mini muffin tins decrease the baking time to 15-17 minutes. Once brownies have cooled frost using the recipe below.
Frosting Recipe:
1/2 c. butter (1 cube)
8 oz cream cheese
1 c. creamy peanut butter
4 c. powdered sugar
1-4 TBS milk
Combine all ingredients with mixer.  Leftover frosting can be frozen for later. I used a Wilton 14 Inch Piping Bagwith a Size 14 Decorating Tip.

Oven Rice

This easy and delicious side dish recipe came from my friend Tara. We did a few freezer meals together and she suggested this as a perfect pairing for meals like BBQ chicken, Kabobs, or steaks off the grill.

Ingredients:
2 c rice
4 c water
5 chicken bouillon cubes (or try beef if your serving beef as your protein)
Garlic salt to taste
1 stick butter
*optional- I sprinkled a tsp of Mrs. Dash into the mix for extra flavor

Bring to boil, cover, then cook for thirty minutes at 350 degrees.

I used my CorningWare French White Casserole dish. My favorite thing about this recipe besides the taste and texture is that there is no boil over to clean up on the stove top.

Fresh Coconut Cake

This cake is a double batch to feed 10-16 people

We got a coconut from our produce co op last year and wondered what to do with it. I found this recipe and it has become one of the most requested cakes I bake.

When you use fresh coconut you first have to prepare the fruit to be used. This link had the most helpful instructions on opening the nut, and getting the meat out. After I get it all out and peel off any remaining skin I shred it in my food processor and store it in an air tight container until I'm ready to bake.

For cake layers:
1 cup milk (not nonfat) *I used 1/2 cup skim and 1/2 cup reserved coconut water
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) *Make your own by placing 2 Tbs cornstarch in a 1 cup measuring cup and filling the rest with flour then sift.
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

For frosting:
3 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla *I also add 1/2 tsp coconut extract

2 1/2 cups grated fresh coconut

Make cake layers:
Bring milk just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in coconut. Cover and let stand 30 minutes. Purée in a blender.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (9- by 2-inch) round cake pans and dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in whites, vanilla, and almond extract until light and fluffy again, about 2 minutes. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in coconut-milk mixture, then remaining flour mixture, just until blended.

Divide batter evenly between cake pans. Bake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool layers in pans on racks 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edges of pans, then invert layers onto racks to cool completely.

Make frosting:
Heat whites, sugar, water, corn syrup, and cream of tartar in a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, whisking, until mixture is warm and sugar is dissolved. Beat mixture, still over heat, with a handheld electric mixer on high speed until thick and fluffy, about 7 minutes. (Depending on mixer and weather, this may take longer.) Remove frosting from heat. Add vanilla and beat until cool and spreadable.

Assemble cake:
Brush any loose crumbs from layers and put 1 layer upside down on a serving plate. Spread with about 1 1/4 cups of frosting and sprinkle with ‚ cup coconut. Place other layer on top, right side up. Frost top and sides of cake (you may have some frosting left over) and sprinkle with remaining coconut.

Cooks' notes: If egg safety is a problem in your area, you may want to use either pasteurized egg whites in the carton or reconstituted powdered egg whites for the frosting.
Cake may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, loosely covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Recipe from Epicurious


Top it all off with mixed berries or sliced tropical fruits like mango's, pineapple, and kiwi.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

This yummy treat is one I always look forward to when I hang out with my friend Brenda.

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs milk
40 miniature peanut butter cups unwrapped**

Cream together butter, sugars and peanut butter until fluffy and smooth.
Beat in egg, vanilla and milk. Add flour, salt, baking soda and mix well. Shape into 40 balls and place in ungreased mini muffin tins. I used a size 70 scoop*** it was about 1 Tbs of dough.

Bake at 375* for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

**try unwrapped Rolo's instead!

***

New Orleans Style Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I love to teach my children about different cultures and holidays. I found my favorite way to teach them is through food. Many of the recipes we have tried have now become favorite meals, like this one. Usually I serve this yummy soup on Fat Tuesday, in February. We like to watch Disney's,The Princess and the Frog  as part of our celebration.

4 boneless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning*
2 tablespoons light olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
1 pound andouille or smoked sausage, diced **
2 celery ribs, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
8 to 10 cups chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
6 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:
In a non-stick saucepan, combine vegetable oil and flour to make a roux.
Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly until mixture turns color of peanut butter. Don't burn.
Season the chicken with Cajun seasoning.
In a heavy pot, heat olive oil. Add the chicken and cook over moderately high heat until browned. Transfer to a plate.
In the same pot, brown the sausage over moderately high heat, 5 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the chicken.
Add the celery, pepper and onion and cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook a few minutes. Add the roux, 8 cups of broth and tomatoes, bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and sausages to the pot. Simmer over low heat for 1 to 2 hours until chicken starts to shred a bit. Stir often. 
Serve over white rice and garnish with scallions.
(recipe from Families.com)

*My sister in law, Wendy, went to the the south on her LDS Church mission. One of the treasures she sent back to us was this amazing Cajun seasoning,Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning . I try to keep the soup a little less spicy so the whole family can enjoy it but for those who want more let them sprinkle more of this seasoning on their own portion. I also use this on pork chops or to grill chicken breasts.


**I can never find andouille here in Utah so I just omit the sausage all together.

To top off our celebration we have made Beneigts or a Kings Cake