Praline Party Mix

When I was trying to think of goodies that could be packaged up and mailed to friends for Christmas, I remembered seeing this version of a Chex mix and couldn't wait to try it.  

Pralines and cream is one of my top flavors of ice cream.....so I figured that anything boasting the praline flavor must be delicious.  Well, when you figure it's butter and brown sugar, what could possibly be bad about that?  And calories don't count. 

After I made the recipe and packaged it up, there was just a tiny bit left for snacking.  My mom enjoyed it so  much that she made several more batches to give to her friends and my dad's co-workers.  I lost track of how many cute treat bags she had.  Thankfully, she ended up with too much and we got to nibble on the leftovers for several days.

I have to admit, my mom's version was even better than mine - I think because she didn't use quite so many pretzels and used more cereal.  I left it the original way in the recipe - you can do how you choose.  I ended up using almonds and walnuts instead of pecans because they're a lot more affordable - and they were fantastic.  I'm sure pecans would be equally yummy, if they're in your budget.  

Maybe I should plant a pecan tree in my backyard.  I adore pecans.  When I was young, I remember my family going to my dad's work building and harvesting the pecans from some trees in the parking lot.  It was so much work to crack the nuts and pick out the meats....but definitely worth it.  

Praline Party Mix (adapted slightly from The Sweets Life)

1 (16 oz) bag of pretzels (sticks, rounds, or knots)

1 box Crispex or Rice Chex cereal

3 cups raw almonds, walnuts, or pecans - or mixture of all

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 250°.

Combine pretzels, cereal, and pecans in a large bowl and set aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt until it boils, stirring constantly. Boil for 4 minutes, stirring from time to time (the mixture will bubble and froth).

Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.

Pour the mixture over the cereal mix and stir until well coated.

Lay the cereal mixture in a large roasting pan or on cookie sheets and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread mixture on wax paper until cool. Store in containers with lids or zip-lock bags until ready to eat!

Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday

Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup Copycat Recipe

I love good hearty soups all year round, but everyone knows they're best during the cold months.

Speaking of cold, I had forgotten how cold Arkansas can get.  

We've had multiple nights in the upper-teens the past few weeks......I don't know if Virginia ever got that cold the entire nine years we lived there.

I have love the Olive Garden's Soup and Salad all you can eat lunch for years....and Pasta e Fagioli has always been my favorite.  (although never mind asking me to say it properly. I just point to it on the menu. Don't laugh.)

So I was super excited when I saw that Jaclyn from Cooking Classy had posted her version of the soup.  I had to try it out the very next week.  

We absolutely loved it.  

So positively delicious.  While I haven't eaten soup at the Olive Garden in a few years, I am certain that this soup is superior. And it's healthy, too.  

Win-win.  

Thank goodness we liked it, because this made a huge batch.  

Grant's only complaint about it was the red kidney beans.  He thought they looked really nice, but

they're just not a bean he cares for too much.  So next time I might

substitute in another bean for him....but I liked the kidney beans just fine.  

Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup Copycat Recipe (adapted slightly from Cooking Classy)

2 lbs lean ground turkey, ground beef, or Italian sausage

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

3 large carrots, diced

3-4 stalks celery, diced

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced finely

32 oz. tomato sauce (approximate - can be a little more or less)

1 quart vegetable broth (beef or chicken work well also)

1-1/2 cups water

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp. dried basil

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried thyme

3/4 tsp. dried majoram

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1-1/2 cups ditalini pasta, uncooked

1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 oz) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

Parmesan or Romano cheese, for serving

Directions:

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large stock pan over medium high heat.  Crumble in ground meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains.  Drain meat and set aside.  In the same pan, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil and saute carrots, celery, and onion over medium-high heat until tender.  Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.  Reduce heat to low; add tomato sauce, broth, water, canned tomatoes, sugar, basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, cooked meat, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Cover with lid and allow to simmer at a low boil 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until veggies are soft.  Add pasta to pot and cook for 5 minutes.  Add beans and cook 5 minutes longer, or until pasta is tender.  

Serve warm with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, if desired.   

Note: The longer the soup sits, the more liquid the pasta will absorb.  Thin it with additional broth if desired. 

I ended up adding an extra 8 oz can of tomato sauce with a couple of cups of water and a little more spices to the leftovers the second day, as it had become more like a casserole.  It was still super delicious. 

Linked to Crumbs and Chaos/Seasonal Inspiration

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad - SRC

We have been in our new house for just over a week now.....and while we only have a couple of photos on the wall (where the previous owners had left nails), we have gotten through enough of the boxes to find the essentials and settle in, somewhat.
Having the flu sweep through our family certainly hasn't helped the process. It's hard to get anything done when you're caring for sick kiddos.  And poor Grant was hit hardest of all.  Me, well, I'm escaping with just a few days of body aches and some serious congestion - no body-racking coughs or fevers.
Blech.

But it's reveal day for my Secret Recipe Club group - so I had to make a little time for blogging.

This time I was assigned to La Phemme Phoodie.  Wendy is a lawyer by day, a foodie all the rest of the time.  She has some great articles on her blog about legal issues in food blogging, such as Recipe Attribution
and Trademark Infringement, along with several others.   She also has quite a few gluten-free recipes that sound so tempting, like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes and Lemon Blueberry Bars with Coconut Crust..

But when I saw the recipe for this salad, I knew I just had to try it.  The spicy chipotle peppers are tempered by the mellow sour cream and tangy lime juice in the dressing, and the combination of crisp greens with the Tex-Mex ingredients is delightful.

The dressing is very thick, so it doesn't pour very well, but when you give everything good toss, it ends up coating the salad quite nicely.  The original recipe called for quite a bit of cilanto.  They say either you love or hate cilantro. Grant is definitely in the "hate" category.  He despises the stuff.  So I left it out.

The recipe also called for avocado - but since I seem to have developed a sensitivity to it (it gives me a horrible stomach ache for hours afterwards - has anyone else ever heard of/experienced that??) I omitted it also.

I decided to saute the chicken in barbecue sauce instead of just plain roasting it - we loved it, but you could certainly cook the chicken seasoned however you prefer.

My girls thought this was a little on the spicy side, but Grant, Corban, and I thought it was great.  Grant even went so far as to say it was one of his favorite meals.  Hands down.  He doesn't say that often, so I know that it's a real winner.

Thanks, Wendy, for inspiring this awesome salad!!

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad (adapted from La Phemme Phoodie)

Dressing:
2/3 cup light sour cream
1 T. minced chipotle chile, canned in adobe sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground chili powder
4-5 tsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Salad:
1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 T. oil
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

3 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves
3-4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn (toss in colandar with beans and rinse with hot water to thaw)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced peeled avocado (optional)

Corn chips, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

To prepare dressing, combine the first 7 ingredients, whisking well.  Stir in cilantro, if desired.  Set aside.

To prepare salad, begin with the chicken.  (If you have leftover roasted or cooked chicken, you can substitute it with no problems).  Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.  Heat the oil in a large skillet, add chicken and barbecue sauce, and cook over medium heat until no pink remains in chicken.

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, romaine, tomatoes, red onion, beans, corn, cheese, avocado, and cooked chicken.  Pour dressing over the top and stir gently to coat evenly. Serve immediately.

If you think you'll have leftovers, I recommend keeping the chicken and dressing in separate containers from the salad, so nothing gets soggy or wilted.

I forgot to add the cheese for the photos.  We added it at the table.  Delish! 

Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday

Countdown to 2013 - Best Desserts of 2012

I suppose it comes as no surprise to anyone who frequents my blog that this is my favorite, and largest by far, recipe category.

I thoroughly enjoyed looking back over all the sweets I've made this year and remembering how much we enjoyed each one.  These are listed in chronological order of when they were made during the year, by the -way.

Chocolate Layer Cake with Cheesecake Filling
This was the cake I made for my dear friend Ellen's birthday.  I created it especially for her because she loves almonds and chocolate.  Her birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and I can't make her a cake again, since we've moved 1300 miles away. Makes me sad. I miss you, Ellen.  

Melting Snowman Cookies

These are seriously some of the most fun cookies I've ever made.  Seeing childrens' reactions to them is priceless.

Mixed Berry Pie

Even though I'm still not very good at making pie crust, this pie is beautiful and scrumptious.  Made for Grant, because it's his favorite kind of pie.

Triple Layer Fudgy Mint Cookie Brownies
These are dangerous.  Oh, so dangerous.  And perfect for St. Patrick's Day.  Or any day.  

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
More green, minty chocolately goodness!  I adored these so much.  

Black Bean Brownies
These aren't the best brownies in the world, but they are really so tasty and people will never guess they have  beans in them.  I promise.  My family can eat a pan of them in one meal.  And we don't feel too guilty about it, because we're eating beans, after all.  

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cheesecake
My creation for my birthday.....it was totally amazing and just as good as I had imagined it would be.  

Oreo Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
I finally gave Swiss meringue buttercream frosting a try and was so delighted at how fabulous these turned out.  My friends couldn't stop talking about how good the cupcakes were, especially the frosting.  

Blackberry White Chocolate Cheesecake
One of our favorite cheesecakes.  The blackberry sauce is just a perfect complement to the creamy white chocolate cheesecake.  

Chocolate Fudge Swirl Peanut Butter Ice Cream
The ice cream that I basically hid away and ate when the kids weren't around, hoping they'd forget I had made it. They didn't. 

Chocolate Raspberry Pie
This is a fantastic pie.....Grant loves raspberries and chocolate, so this was one of his top-ranked desserts of the year.

Oreo Cheesecake Cake
Our anniversary cake.  Beyond delicious.....Grant declared it his favorite dessert ever.

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
These were my favorite new cookies of the year.  I could.not.stop eating them.

Mallow Brownie Bars
Brownies, marshmallows, and chocolate peanut butter crispy rice topping - hard to beat that.  

Double Chocolate Beet Cake

I know, I know.....beets in a cake?  But truly, you can't taste them at all, and they add such an incredible moistness (and lots of nutrition) to the cake.  We loved it.

Fauxstess Cupcakes
Who doesn't like biting into a cupcake and discovering a luscious, creamy filling?
A remake of the classic packaged treat, but SO much better.


Head on over to Finding Joy in my Kitchen to see more incredible desserts for her Countdown!

Countdown to 2013 - Best Snacks/Appetizers of 2012

I am really enjoying participating in the Countdown - as usual.  It's so fun - and enlightening - to look back over the recipes of the year and see which ones have become family favorites, and I'm also seeing which food categories are sadly lacking in many new options. (Like the Soup/Bread category for me).  

Well, I won't be lacking in the category for tomorrow.  Can you guess what that is???

Pizza Rolls
These are so fun for people to eat - especially for kids.  They're a perfect food for a birthday party or a game night and any leftovers reheat wonderfully.  I'm sure they'd freeze well also.  

Cinnabon Popcorn

Yeah.  It's as good as it sounds.  I could eat this stuff all day long.

White Chocolate Popcorn

A fun variation on caramel corn, it's very popular with folks and makes great gifts.

Mini-Pretzel Dogs
I can't even tell you how excited my family gets when they hear I'm making these.  Especially Grant!

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips
I love how fresh and healthy the fruit salsa is, and the homemade cinnamon chips are a great accompaniment or just a tasty snack on their own.  You can always buy some cinnamon sugar pita chips if you're short on time.


If you want to see other bloggers' favorites from this year, check out Finding Joy in my Kitchen's Countdown Series! 

Countdown to 2013 - Best Main Dishes of 2012

The Countdown continues......

These are some of the favorite new dinners that have come out of my kitchen this year.
Each of them is pretty low fuss.....simple ingredients, fairly quick prep time, and very delicious.

Interestingly, I think the one that I can rely on all of my children eating with no complaints the most often is the Mexican Bean Casserole. And it's vegetarian.  That's pretty cool.

Cheesy Bacon Lentils

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Biscuits

Mexican Bean Casserole

Chicken Fajitas with Homemade Seasoning

Crockpot Fiesta Chicken

Don't forget to head over to Finding Joy in My Kitchen for more main dish favorites!

Countdown to 2013 - Best Soups/Breads of 2012

I haven't made a lot of new soups or breads this year - and one of our new favorites hasn't made it to the blog yet - but this soup is definitely a hit in our house.  It's nutritious, frugal, and the whole family loves it.

I made it a couple of weeks ago for dinner here at my parents' house and they enjoyed it also, along with my sister-in-law and nephew.

It's a winner for us.

Sausage Lentil Soup

I just realized that you can see my warped, upside-down reflection in the spoon.  Ha.

Be sure to head over to Finding Joy in my Kitchen to see more Soup and Bread favorites.