So here’s last week’s meal plan for you

• Mon: Mexi salmon with mango salsa, emerald rice, salad
  
• Tues: Pot roast, sweet potatoes, salad
• Wed: Salmon with pecan crunch coating, mashed red potatoes, 24k carrots, salad (with mandarins, toasted walnuts, & poppyseed dressing). We had some friends over for dinner, and she brought a delicious poppyseed cake! I’ll get the recipe from her and post it.
• Thu: Oriental chicken wraps, leftover mashed potatoes, salad
• Fri: We got food to go from the Pizza Factory. I got a pasta dish called CHAZ, and it was really good, but it also seemed pretty simple, so I’m gonna try to make a copycat. I’ll let you know how it goes!
• Sat: We went over to our friends’ house for dinner. They made these yummy cheeseburgers that were stuffed with pepperjack cheese, and they also made mozzarella sticks and fries. I brought yummy peach dessert.

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So, again, once of those recipes that I had at a friend’s house when they had us over for dinner (thanks Emily!), begged for the recipe, and argued with her because I wouldn’t believe it’s that easy! It sounds like a typical chicken casserole, but believe me, the few variations on ingredients (aka curry and mayo…in a casserole? Believe me on this one…delicious!!). Seriously, you GOTTA try this one…it’ll be a new staple in your house!

Chicken Divan

• 2 pkg. frozen broccoli spears, slightly cooked
• -OR-
• 1 pkg. frozen broccoli spears, slightly cooked and 1 1/2 cups cooked rice (see recommendations, below)*
• 3 cooked chicken breasts*
• grated cheese

Sauce:

• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp curry powder

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Put broccoli in bottom of 9×13 pan. If using, put rice on top of broccoli. Place chicken on top of rice/broccoli.
3. Mix sauce ingredients together. Pour evenly over top of chicken.
4. Spread grated cheese over top.
5. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.

Recommendations:

• Rice: So the original recipe that my friend gave me called for the 2 packages of broccoli. But after I made this a couple times, I thought that it would taste really good with rice to soak up all the DELICIOUS sauce, and to give it some more filling power. So, last time I made it, I made it with throwing some leftover rice in the bottom of the casserole dish, and I really liked how it turned out (like I said, just made it more filling…and none of the amazing sauce is put to waste!). So that’s definitely how I’m gonna make this from now on.
• Chicken:  I think the recipe calls for them whole, but I dice mine before I put them in.

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So I’ve officially found my new favorite weeknight meal. This actually would be good enough for a weekend meal (you know, when you sometimes might have just a bit more time to spend on a more “special” dinner), because it’s SO good, but I just love how easy it is and it’s made with ingredients that I usually have on hand. Also, my friend Suzanne told me that she makes these with broccoli in them, and that sounds really good, so I’ll have to try that next time (I’ll tell you how it goes)!

I found the original recipe from allrecipes.com, but after reading some of the reviews from other visitors (it was VERY highly rated from visitors, which is ALWAYS a good sign!), I changed it up a bit. So, if you’d like to see the original recipe click on this link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Savory-Crescent-Chicken/Detail.aspx But here is the recipe exactly how I made it (which was delicious!!):

Savory Crescent Chicken (makes 4 servings)

• 1 pkg cream cheese, softened*
• 1 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1 large can (or 2 5 oz. cans) canned chicken*
• 1 Tbsp green onions, sliced*
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• garlic powder, to taste
• 2 Tbsp milk
• about 1 c. corn*
• about 1 c. shredded cheese*
• 1 (8 oz) pkg refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 Tbsp butter, melted
• 3/4 c. croutons, crushed*

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese & 1 Tbsp melted butter until smooth. Add the chicken, onion, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix well.
3. Separate crescent dough into four rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal.
4. Spoon 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture onto the center of each rectangle. Pull the 4 corners of dough towards each other; pinch edges to seal.
5. Place sandwiches on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush tops with 1 Tbsp of melted butter; sprinkle w/crushed croutons.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Recommendations:

• Cream cheese: If you forget to take your cream cheese out of the fridge to soften it (which I ALWAYS do!), then just nuke it for a few seconds. Don’t do it too long, watch it carefully, or else you’ll end up melting it which is NOT the result you’re looking for, but if you do it for just a few seconds it does the job perfectly!
• Chicken: I used canned chicken and it turned out awesome, but the original recipe called for 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed. Just thought I’d let you know.
• Green onions: The original recipe called for white onions, but I only had green onions so that’s why I used them instead. And I’m glad I did, because I think it gave this rich dish a more light fresh taste than normal onions would have.
• Corn: The original recipe didn’t call for corn (that’s why I’m not sure of the exact amount because I just kind of guessed), but some of the reviewers put corn in so I thought I’d try it, and I LOVED the corn in it. Again, it added some freshness and sweetness to this rich dish.
• Cheese: Again, the original recipe didn’t call for it, but I took some of the other reviewers’ advice and added some. And again, glad I did…added a bunch of extra flavor (some of the other reviewers said these were a bit bland without the cheese)! Went really well with the other ingredients. I used cheddar.
• Croutons: Some of the other reviewers didn’t use these, but I don’t know why! They added so much flavor & texture!

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Here’s last week’s meal plan for you:

• Monday: Fish tacos (the easiest fish tacos on the planet!), spanish rice (rice-a-roni)
• Tuesday: Teriyaki Salmon (just a quick dinner, I just cut up the salmon into bite-sized pieces and sauteed them in this sauce I got from costco (it tastes like teriyaki sauce, but it’s thinner, it’s called Yoshida’s, and it’s delicious to marinade or cook any type of meat in)), leftover spanish rice, salad
• Wednesday: I was at girl’s camp…we had pot roast, baked potatoes, & corn
• Thursday: Girls camp again…pizza & ice cream sandwiches
• Friday: Cashew chicken (another bagged freezer meal…yeah, it was one of those weeks!)
• Saturday: Macaroni Grill’s chicken scalloppini, salad
• Sunday: Chicken salad sandwiches

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All I can really say about this dessert is that it is SUPER easy, OH SO GOOD, and different (which is always nice). I really don’t know what else I can say about this recipe except that you REALLY need to try it!

I was watching 30 minute meals the other day, and she made this dessert, and it was really intriguing to me, because first off like I said it’s super easy and I’m always down with that…I’m not a huge dessert fan, so I think it’s kind of pointless to take hours to create some crazy dessert that I really don’t get why it’s all that special in the first place. So an easy dessert I think always deserves a try. Also, it has Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) in it, which even though it’s chocolate I LOVE it…and that helps, because it seemed to me like one of the few desserts that would actually satisfy both me and those crazy chocolate lovers!

And once I tried it I was sold. It was as easy as it looked (always a plus), and it tasted SO great! And again, it’s a little bit different which I really liked. So please try it!

Heavenly Hazelnut Pound Cake

• 1/2 c. sliced almonds
• 1 store-bought pound cake*
• 1 cup Nutella*
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped*
• 2 tsp almond extract*
• 1 lemon, zested
• Blackberries & raspberries, for garnish*

1. Lightly toast the almonds in a small skillet.* Set aside to cool.
2. Cut the pound cake in half, horizontally. Spread the Nutella on the cut side of both cake pieces. Sprinkle with toasted almonds. Then place the top half of the cake back onto the bottom half.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the whipped cream, almond extract & the zest.
4. Cut the pound cake into 1-inch slices & serve with the whipped cream & berries.

Recommendations:

• Pound Cake: You can find these in the freezer section, by the frozen premade pies and stuff. You always see these in Sarah Lee brand. It’s so good and buttery! Just make sure you defrost it before using it!
• Nutella: This is a chocolate hazelnut spread that you can find in any grocery store by the peanut butter. If you’re not yet hooked on nutella, go buy some and you will be!
• Cream: I whipped some powdered sugar in with the cream to give it some sweetness.
• Almond Extract: The original recipe called for 1 Tbsp orange liqueur, but I don’t drink alcohol, so I used almond extract instead because I thought that flavor would go really well with this (but I didn’t use a full tablespoon because almond extract is pretty strong). And it tasted great with it! If you don’t drink alcohol I’d definitely recommend using the almond extract! But if you do drink alcohol, then definitely try the orange liqueur because that’s what Rachael Ray put in the original recipe and I’m sure she kind of knows what she’s talking about by now.
• Berries: I just used raspberries and it tasted great with just them. But I’m sure it would be even better with both berries!
• Toast Almonds: Just make sure you watch the almonds closely, cause they burn easily!

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This is the best broccoli grape salad I’ve ever had. I like it so much because, as opposed to some other broccoli grape recipes I’ve seen, it has all fresh ingredients (grapes instead of raisins, bacon instead of bacon bits, etc). And, it is SO easy! It’s a perfect side to bring to barbecues and things like that, people love it cause it’s not the typical salad that people usually bring (green, potato, or macaroni). So, here you go:

Broccoli Grape Salad

• 4 c. grapes, cut in half*
• 1 broccoli head, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 lb. bacon, cooked & crumbled
• 3/4 c. sunflower seeds
• 1/2 red onion, sliced*
• Dressing:
• 1 c. mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar

1. Cook bacon.*
2. Combine mayonnaise, sugar & vinegar. Set aside.
3. Combine grapes, broccoli, bacon, sunflower seeds & onion.
4. Pour dressing over salad; toss until combined.
5. Let sit in fridge overnight, if desired (this just lets the flavors meld together a bit, it almost marinades the broccoli).

Recommendations:

• Grapes: Definitely don’t skip the step of cutting the grapes in half. It makes the grapes absorb some of the dressing & it is just SO annoying to try to chase a whole grape around your plate!
• Red onion: If you’re making this for someone who might not like onions, don’t leave the onion out, just chop them small instead of slicing them. The onions add a lot of flavor, even if you only put a little bit in.
• Bacon: I just cook my bacon on a plate.  I just put a bunch of paper towels underneath the bacon, cover it with more paper towels, & nuke it till it’s done.  SOOO much faster & it tastes just the same!

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Here’s last week’s meal plan:

• Monday: Chicken rosemary ravioli (just one of those frozen bagged things…it was pretty yummy!), salad
• Tuesday: Hamburgers, fruit salad
• Wednesday: Savory crescent chicken, salad
• Thursday: Ate out at Chilis
• Friday: Ate out at PF Changs (my friend took me out for a belated birthday dinner, yum!)
• Saturday: Teriyaki salmon, salad, rice-a-roni
• Sunday: Chicken divan, salad with mandarin oranges, toasted walnuts, & poppyseed dressing

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I love love LOVE salmon. I’d eat it once a day if I could! And this is mine & my husband’s absolutely positively all-time favorite salmon recipe. Anytime my husband sees that I’m defrosting salmon (I usually buy it from costco, cut it up into individual serving sizes, and then freeze it so I always have some on hand), he asks if I’m making “the good salmon” and if I say no he begs me to make it instead of whatever other recipe I was planning on (it’s like a child wanting a cookie before dinner or something!).

It always stays moist, and it is SO flavorful! If you like salmon, you HAVE to try this one, because I can confidently say it’ll become your new favorite salmon recipe!

Salmon with Pecan Crunch Coating (also known as “Baklava Salmon” because of the walnuts (I use pecans) and honey…the Baklava Salmon is the second-highest rated salmon recipe on recipezaar, so that tells you how good this is!):

• 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. honey
• 1/4 c. chopped pecans*
• 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 c. bread crumbs
• 3 (4 oz. each) salmon fillets
• s&p
• 1 lemon, wedged (for garnish)*

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Mix together butter, mustard & honey; set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans, & parsley; set aside.
4. Season each fillet (bot sides) with salt & pepper. Place on lightly greased baking sheet; brush top & sides with honey mixture; pat top & sides of each with bread crumb mixture.
5. Bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness (or when salmon flakes with fork).*

Recommendations:

• Pecans: My recipe calls for pecans, so that’s what I always use, but I found another recipe exactly like this (the “baklava salmon” one) that called for walnuts, so I’m sure either one would be just fine!
• Lemon: I never really use a lemon wedge, I think it tastes fine without the lemon juice, but I’m sure it would taste even better with!
• Cooking time: Just make sure you watch it carefully…chefs always say that the easiest way to ruin any fish recipe is to overcook it! (but that really is the nice thing about this recipe, even if you do accidentally overcook it a little bit, it still comes out moist!)

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Here’s last week’s meal plan for you:

• Monday: Salmon with pecan crunch coating, brown rice, peas & carrots
• Tuesday: Steak, pasta roni, broccoli grape salad
• Wednesday: Marinated chicken (just broiled it), sweet potato fries (didn’t love the recipe I used, I’ll let you know if I find a better one!), salad
• Thursday: Leftovers
• Friday: Out to eat to our favorite sushi restaurant! (oh, SOO good!)
• Saturday: Mexican lasagna, salad (with romaine, avocado, tomatoes, beets, croutons & Italian dressing), heavenly hazelnut pound cake
• Sunday: Spaghetti, salad (with romaine, mandarin oranges, toasted pecans, & poppyseed dressing)

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So anyone who lives in or knows anyone who lives in Utah has probably eaten at Cafe Rio or Costa Vida about a million times. And you definitely know what I’m talking about with the long lines!…and the screaming kids all around you (half the time your own)…and the fact that it’s almost impossible to find a table! And if you’re brown like me, the fact that the workers there INSIST in speaking Spanish to you every time you go there and making you feel like an idiot when you have no clue what they’re talking about, but it’s not your fault you’re half black and you look Hispanic. But maybe I’m the only one with that issue.

Anyway, now you can have Cafe Rio without dealing with all of that! My cousin gave me this recipe a few years ago, and anytime I make it for company they have all told me that they actually prefer it over the original (mostly cause it tastes more fresh)! So, if you’re a fan of the very popular (almost famous?) and oh-so-delcious Cafe Rio pork salads, you’re gonna be a fan of this recipe! And if you haven’t heard of Cafe Rio, you’re totally missing out, and please remind me to take you there the next time you come to visit me. But still try this recipe anyway, it’ll be one of your new favorites I’m sure!

Cafe Rio Pork Salad

• Pork (see below)
• pico de gallo (see below)
• green chili rice (see below)
• dressing (see below)
• fresh tortillas (see below)*
• black beans
• shredded cheese
• romaine lettuce, chopped
• tortillas (optional)

• Pork:
• 1 pork shoulder (no bone preferably)
• 2 liter bottle of Coke
• bottle of barbecue sauce

1. Put pork, barbecue sauce, & coke in a crockpot on low overnight.
2. About an hour before serving, shred the pork & return to crockpot

• Pico de Gallo: (this is a really fresh salsa)
• 4 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded & finely chopped
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 c. cilantro leaves, chopped (or more to taste!)
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• salt

1. Combine all ingredients; cover & refrigerate for at least an hour.

• Rice:
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1 can green chilies
• 1/2 onion
• 3 c. water (or more if needed)
• 4 tsp chicken bouillon
• 4 tsp garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 c. rice (uncooked)

1. Blend cilantro, green chilies & onion together in food processor/blender.
2. Boil water; add all ingredients.
3. Simmer covered 20-30 minutes or until rice is cooked…just watch near the end and add more water if it’s starting to look dry.

• Dressing:
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1 c. mayonnaise
• 1 pkg Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (the dry packet)
• 2 tomatillos*
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 bunch cilantro
• 1/2 tsp lime juice
• 1 small jalapeno pepper

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender.

• Fresh tortillas:*

1. These are pretty easy to make, just follow the package instructions. All you do is cook these in a large pan sprayed with pam on medium-high heat for a couple minutes on each side until golden brown.
2. (Just slap down the bubbles when they form with a spatula, this will help them cook more evenly).

1. Process:
2. The night before, start cooking the pork.
3. About an hour before eating, make pico de gallo & put in fridge.
4. Make rice.
5. Meanwhile, make dressing. Put in fridge till ready to use.
6. Right before eating, cook tortillas.
7. To Serve:
8. Put a cooked tortilla on a plate.
9. Top with romaine lettuce, then rice, then pork, then cheese, beans, pico de gallo, & tortillas chips.
10. Top everything with the dressing.
11. ENJOY!

**Recomendations:

• Tomatillos: In case you don’t know what these are (I didn’t before I started making this!), they are those things that look like little green tomatoes with a thin paperlike skin on them. you can find these at any grocery store by the “ethnic” ingredients: jalapenos, etc. You just peel them, rinse them off, and cut them just like normal tomatoes. Don’t substitute tomatoes for these, they have a completely different taste! But don’t be scared of them, I promise they’re not as weird as they look!
• Fresh Tortillas: Just make sure you get the fresh tortillas, not the already cooked ones that you probably normally buy. You can find the fresh tortillas in most grocery stores, kind of in the same area as the fresh pasta or shredded cheese.

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