My cousin invited us and a couple of our other cousins over to their house for dinner last Sunday.  She was making the artichoke chicken recipe that I gave her (I made it once when we had them over for dinner and she fell in love with it and makes it all the time now too!).  Everyone was bringing something for the meal, and she asked me to bring rice to spoon the sauce over.  But where’s the fun in that? So, I decided to also bring a yummy drink for us all to have with dinner.

As most of you know, my husband and I don’t drink alcohol.  But why should that stop us from being able to have a “special” drink every once in a while?  It shouldn’t!  I wanted to bring strawberry daiquiris, but I didn’t have a recipe for that, so I found this one on recipezaar.  We were so surprised at how great these were with such simple ingredients! They have a really good mix of sweet and tart, which I love.  The kids were fighting over the last few sips of these!

These will be a great go-to for summer bbq’s.  Everyone brings different salads and sides, but who thinks to bring a yummy frozen drink?  Well, now you do!!  And now you’re the most popular person there. 

Strawberry Daiquiris (Virgin)

• 4 c. frozen strawberries
• 6 oz. pink lemonade concentrate
• ice
• water**
• whipped cream**

1. Combine in blender, process until smooth.
2. Gradually add ice until desired consistency.
3. Pour into glasses.
4. If desired, top with whipped cream.

Recommendations:

• Water:  You might have to add a little water to these to get them to work with the blender.  Add a little bit if you need to loosen them up a bit, they’ll still taste absolutely great.
• Whipped Cream:  The recipe didn’t call for whipped cream, and I didn’t add it when I made them, but I just went back to the original recipe on recipezaar, and one of the pictures of it had whipped cream on top.  I think these would taste even better with the whipped cream…I wish I would have thought to add whipped cream to them the first time I made them…next time I make them I’m DEFINITELY going to add the whipped cream!
• Rum:  If you prefer the non-virgin variety, the original recipe called for 3/4 c. light rum…so go ahead and knock yourself out!

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Not much to say about Orange Julius.  Everyone’s had it, everyone loves it.  If you haven’t had it try it.  Enough said.

If you don’t already have a recipe for Orange Julius (I didn’t before a few weeks ago!) then here’s one for you.  It’s awesome.  So yummy, so easy.  Like I said, everyone loves it.  My cousin made this for our Appetizer Fest over the holidays for a yummy drink to go with all the appetizers.  Then I made it for our Christmas morning breakfast.  They’re so easy that my husband’s 13 year old brother took over after the first batch.

Orange Julius

• 1 can oj
• 1 c. milk
• 1/4-1/2 c. water
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 12 ice cubes

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender.
2. Make sure you get a glass of it before everyone else drinks it all, cause it definitely goes fast!

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For our recent Appetizer Fest, one of my cousins was having a hard time deciding what to make.  She wanted to make a bean dip but my other cousin’s wife was bringing that.  She wanted to make pumpernickel dip but her sister was making that.  So, I told her about this Pumpkin Pie Dip that I saw on Recipezaar a little while ago that had really high ratings and that looked really good.  I also thought it would be a good idea for her to make that because I knew that most of us were bringing savory things so I thought it would be nice to also have something sweet.

She made it and we all loved it!  It was very different, but great!  Reminds you of pumpkin pie, but definitely a completely different dish.  This would be a great thing to bring for an appetizer or dessert the next time you’re invited to someone’s house for dinner. The adults and the kids were all dipping in together, each of us enjoying it equally which is sometimes hard to find!

Pumpkin Pie Dip (#25730 on Recipezaar.com)

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I love honey mustard sauce.  I think it’s so versatile, you can eat it with anything!  It’s great to dip chicken into, add to sandwiches and wraps, make salad dressings out of it, dip french fries in it, etc etc.  I just think it adds so much flavor, and it’s different so it adds a little bit of variety to an otherwise bland and predictable weeknight dinner.

And now that I’ve discovered how unbelievably easy it is to make at home, with ingredients that I always always have in my fridge, I love it even more!

Honey Mustard (Dip or Dressing) (#13228 on recipezaar.com)

• 1/2 c. mayonnaise (don’t use Miracle Whip!)
• 1/4 c. mustard (Dijon)
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (leave out if using for dip)
• 1 dash salt
• cayene pepper

1. Whisk together and chill.

I served this most recently with Italian Chicken Sticks and they were great together!

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I just got done telling you about my family’s recent Appetizer Fest.  Well, I was really excited when my cousin told me we were going to do this because I love appetizers, but I was having a hard time deciding what I wanted to bring.  I knew that most of my family was bringing a dip of some kind, so we’d be covered in that area.  I wanted to bring something a little bit more hearty or substantial so it would feel a bit more like a meal.

Then, the morning before the Appetizer Fest, I was watching Paula’s Home Cooking and she was making an appetizer spread too!  She made these Italian Chicken Sticks and they looked really good.  I realized that I had everything on hand for this recipe (one of the great things about this recipe).  I made it for our Appetizer Fest, and it was a huge hit!  I made a double batch and both batches were literally eaten within minutes of being taken out of the oven! And like I said they really helped to round things and make it feel more like a meal, which I know all the men appreciated.

Italian Chicken Sticks

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First off let me explain why I’m posting my first grilling recipe in December.  I’ve been wanting a bbq grill for a while, so my husband got me one for our anniversary (which is in October).  Being the busy people that we are (I like that better than “procrastinators”), we just recently set it up a few weeks ago.  So, that, combined with the fact that our oven broke (and, being the busy people that we are, we haven’t made time to find our warranty information), our dinners have been made either on the grill (who cares if it’s snowing right?), or by using my friend Jess’ oven who lives two houses up from me (I’m probably the most annoying neighbor/friend that anyone’s ever had but what can I say?  That warranty information is hiding from me!).

Anyway, so that’s why you’re getting my grilling advice now.  :)  Here is one of my favorite ways to save time on dinner during the week:  cook something once and use it twice.  Here’s one way I cooked once and ate twice this week.  Now I know this isn’t an amazingly unique or impressive way, but hey it saved me time:

BBQ Chicken & Chicken Tacos (cooked once, eaten twice)

• Defrost some chicken (enough for two dinners); if desired, cut into strips (to make cooking time faster)
• Separate into two bowls:  in one bowl mix some bbq sauce with the chicken.  In the other bowl add olive oil, lime juice, salt & pepper, & worcestershire sauce.
• Marinade both at least 4 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat grill to medium heat.  Grill both the bbq and the lime marinated chicken at the same time.
• Eat the bbq chicken that night (we had it with mashed potatoes and salad).

• The next night, heat up the lime marinated chicken; cut into cubes.
• Heat up some flour tortillas; fill with chicken; top with black bean and corn salsa (I had some leftover that I had made for a party that weekend).

There you have it, two simple but delicious weeknight meals!  You could also serve the bbq chicken with rice, and serve the chicken tacos with the leftover rice, but make Emerald Rice with it…that way you’re cooking the whole meal once and using it twice!

And while you’re at it, sign up for my newsletter!

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After I posted my Emerald Rice posting, it got me to thinking of some other great side dishes.  Here’s another one I love: 24K Carrots.  It has all the elements of a great side dish:  it’s fast, it’s simple, it’s made with ingredients you always have, it’s delicious, but still simple enough that everyone likes it.

With the holidays coming up, and with family coming to visit, I plan on making this side dish quite a few times.  This is another one of my go-to recipes.  If we’re invited over to someone’s house for dinner and they haven’t given me a specific assignment, a lot of times I’ll bring this side dish.  Even kids like this recipe…and the word on the street is that kids aren’t usually all that fond of veggies!  So, here you go!

24K Carrots

• 1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced (I just used whole baby carrots)
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
• 2 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (this is what makes it special!)

1. Cook carrots until tender.
2. Melt butter; add brown sugar & ginger, stirring to blend.
3. Add sauce to carrots and stir to coat.
4. Yes, it’s THAT simple and you have a SIMPLE, delicious, and versatile side dish!

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There’s a newer show on the food network called Simply Delicioso.  I haven’t watched it a ton because it’s not my typical type of food that I like to make, but I watched it a while ago and she made a thing called emerald rice.  It’s a really good way to dress up rice.  I really like it because I’m all about cooking something once and using it twice…so recently when I’ve been making a dish that you eat over rice like Chicken Divan, Katie Couric’s Lemon Chicken, or Stir Fry I’ll make extra rice and use it to make this Emerald Rice as a side dish later that week.  It’s surprising how much you can spice up simple rice with this recipe with ingredients that alot of times you already have on hand!

I’m not usually a huge fan of rice, but I really love this dish!  It’s called Emerald Rice because it has cilantro and parsley in it so it has pretty green flecks all through it.  Then you broil it with parmesan cheese on top so it comes out with a golden crust.  So not only does it taste delicious but it’s a pretty looking little side dish too!

Emerald Rice

• 2 c. cooked rice
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 c. finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves*
• 1/4 c. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 tsp lime zest
• 1/4 c. finely grated Parmesan (I use more!)
• s&p

1. Preheat your broiler to high.
2. Place the rice and butter in a 8×8 pyrex dish and heat in the microwave until it’s warmed through.
3. Mix in the cilantro, parsley, lime zest, and s&p.
4. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan.
5. Place the dish under the broiler for 5 to 7 minutes, until the cheese is browned.

Recommendations:

• I know a few people that don’t like cilantro (I don’t understand why!), so if you don’t like cilantro, or if you don’t have any on hand I’m sure you could use all parsley.  I’m sure it would still be great because the main components of this dish are just the fact of having fresh herbs and the Parmesan crust on top.

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My aunt and uncle gave me the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook when I graduated from high school and went to college.  I got this stir fry recipe out of it my first year in college (simple and cheap!) and I’ve been using it ever since.  Like a lot of the recipes I love it’s made with ingredients that you’ll always have on hand, and it’s very versatile.  I’ve used it with chicken, beef, tofu, and it’s perfect to use up leftover meat and veggies.  This is a perfect recipe to have on hand for those super busy weeknight meals: just grab some leftover meat, a bag of frozen veggies, some minute rice and throw together this sauce…you’ll have dinner faster than you could run to McDonalds!

Stir Fry Sauce

• 2 Tbsp cold water
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp orange juice
• 2 tsp sugar
• any meat and veggies you have on hand
• rice

1. Combine cold water and cornstarch well.  Stir in soy sauce, orange juice, sugar, and dash pepper.  Set aside.
2. Stir fry meat and veggies in olive oil (med high heat) in wok or skillet until cooked through (or if using leftover/cooked ingredients, heat through in wok/skillet).
3. Push meat and veggies to side of wok/skillet.  Stir sauce; add to the center of wok/skillet; cook and stir till thickened and bubbly (just takes a few minutes).
4. Stir to coat meat and veggies with sauce.  Cook and stir 1 minute or till all heated through.
5. Serve over rice.

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I found this recipe a couple months ago on allrecipes.com and knew I’d love it because it has two of my favorite things in it…artichokes and mayonnaise.  I tried it the day after I found the recipe and fell in love!  I’ve made this a couple times when we’ve had company over and each time they’ve asked for the recipe.  If you don’t love mayo don’t be afraid of this recipe…the combination of ingredients make for a deliciously creamy dish.  The chicken ends up moist and flavorful.

The other thing I like about this recipe is that is has ingredients that I always have on hand, so that’s always a plus!  You just mix the ingredients, put it in a baking dish, and 25-30 minutes later you have a VERY delicious dinner!  This is a great weeknight meal (like I said just stir it up put it in the oven and move on with your life), but it’s also perfect for a weeknight or entertaining.  I REALLY hope you try this one, I know you’ll love it!

Artichoke Chicken

• 1 (15 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 pinch garlic pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, and garlic pepper. Place chicken in a greased baking dish, and cover evenly with artichoke mixture.
3. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear.

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