Crescent Chicken Bake

    This recipe is such an easy idea for a family dinner! I made it this week for the kids at church and as always, it was a hit. I used a rotisserie chicken that I got at Publix and just took the meat off of the bones. It's nice because you can serve it with mashed potatoes and don't even need to make gravy! Just use the cream of chicken soup in the pan as your gravy. It's so yummy!

Crescent Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

- 2 cups of shredded cooked chicken, I used a rotisserie chicken

- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

- 1 package of refrigerated crescent rolls

- 1 can of cream of chicken soup

- 1 can of milk (using soup can)

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9x13" baking pan with non-stick spray. Unroll the crescent rolls and roll chicken and cheese into each, making sure it is enclosed. Place each chicken stuffed crescent into prepared baking dish. In a bowl, mix together the soup and milk. Pour the soup over the crescents and bake for about the minutes. 

I doubled the recipe for the youth group children!!

Banana Cream Poke Cake

    So, I've discovered an extremely easy and ridiculously good idea! It's called a "poke cake". I want to find the person who came up with the idea and shake their hand. I'm definitely going to be playing around with the concept this summer! This particular recipe is a yellow cake with creamy banana pudding! It was so good! The kids at church loved it! 

Banana Cream Poke Cake

Ingredients:

- 1 box yellow cake mix, prepared as directed in a 9x13" baking pan

- 2 boxes of banana pudding mix

- 4 cups of milk

- 1 (8 ounce) container of cool whip

- 2 cups of crushed vanilla wafers

    With the end of a spoon poke holes throughout the cooled cake, about a 1/2 inch apart. Whisk together the pudding mix and milk until it starts to thicken. Pour the pudding over the cake and set in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour. When ready to serve, spread the cool whip on top of the pudding and top with crushed vanilla wafers. 

Coconut Custard Pie

    I am definitely a fan of coconut! I was bored one day and decided to fool around with the idea of making my own pie crust. While it was pretty good for my first attempt, I'm probably going to try again another time before I post a recipe for pie crust. This cool custard pie was delicious! It's a Martha Stewart recipe, so of course it's amazing. It was pretty easy too!

Coconut Custard Pie

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1/3 cup of cornstarch

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt

- 1 cup of whole milk

- 1 (14 ounce) can of coconut milk

- 4 large egg yolks

- 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, toasted

- Either store bought or your favorite pie crust recipe

    Bake the bottom of the pie crust as directed and set aside to cool completely. In a medium sauce pan, before you apply to heat, mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually whisk in the whole milk, making sure to dissolve the cornstarch. Whisk in the coconut milk and egg yolks. Whisking constantly, cook this mixture over medium heat until it starts to sputter. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another minute, still stirring constantly. I have a picture posted below of what it should look like. It's a lot like a pudding, let it thicken. When it's finished, pour into prepared pie crust, top with toasted coconut, and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. 

Finished Product:

Pulled Pork Tacos

    Yesterday was Cinco De Mayo! What a better way to celebrate than with an abundance of tequila and some fresh, slow cooked pork tacos! I had some friends over last night and we had a blast. I served them with some zesty coleslaw on top and some rice and beans! This meat is so tender, it fell right off the bone when I shredded it! Definitely make the coleslaw the day before to allow the flavors to meld!

Pulled Pork Tacos

Ingredients:

  For the brine:

- 1/2 cup of salt

- 1/2 cup of brown sugar

- 8 cups of water

  For the pork:

- 1 (3-4 pound) pork shoulder

- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano

- 1 teaspoon of chili pepper

- 1 teaspoon of cumin

- 1 teaspoon of salt

- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

- 1 onion, diced

- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

- 1 (6 ounce can of tomato paste

- 3 tablespoons of sofrito

- 1 tablespoon of honey

- 1/2 cup of orange juice

- 1/4 cup of lime juice

- tortillas for serving

  For the coleslaw:

- 1 (16 ounce) package of coleslaw mix

- 1/4 cup of rice vinegar

- 3 tablespoons of lime juice

- 1 tablespoon of olive oil

- 2 tablespoons of sugar

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 3 tablespoons of chopped cilantro leaves

    Mix together all of the coleslaw ingredients in a large bowl and allow to sit in the refrigerator throughout the entire pork process. In a large microwave safe bowl, add two cups of the water, microwave for two minutes and add the salt and brown sugar. Mix until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the remaining 6 cups of cold water to the salt and sugar mixture. Mix well and make sure that it is room temperature (you don't want your meat to start cooking). Add the pork shoulder to the water, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours. Remove from the brine, rinse in cold water, and pat dry with a paper towel. In a small bowl combine the oregano, chili pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper. Rub the spice mixture over the pork and set the meat in the slow cooker. Spread the diced onions over the meat. In a separate bowl, whisk together the garlic, tomato paste, sofrito, honey, orange juice, and lime juice. Pour mixture over the meat, set the slow cooker to low, and allow to cook for 6 hours. When ready to serve, shred the meat from the bone and pour about a cup of the juices from the slow cooker on top. Serve in tortillas and top with the zesty coleslaw! 

Spinach Tortellini Soup

    As my mother would say, "Sometimes, less is more Bridget." This recipe really brings out the taste of the roasted red peppers. It really doesn't need a whole lot of seasoning. This is a super simple and fast idea for dinner!

Spinach Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

- 1 (9 ounce) package of tortellini

- 3 (14 ounce) cans of chicken broth

- 1 (7 ounce) jar of roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

- 3 green onions, chopped

- 3 cups of fresh spinach

- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

    Cook the tortellini according to package directions and drain. Bring the chicken broth to a simmer in a large saucepan. Add the cooked tortellini, peppers, green onions, and spinach. Let simmer for a minute. Serve and top with Parmesan cheese.   

Peanut Butter Blondies

Is it a peanut butter cookie? Is it a blondie? It's both! 

Peanut Butter Blondies

Ingredients:

- 1 stick of butter, melted

- 1 cup of brown sugar, packed

- 1 egg

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 2/3 cup of creamy peanut butter

- a pinch of salt

- 1 cup of flour

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg, vanilla, and peanut butter. Mix well. Mix in the flour and salt until combined. Pour and spread batter evenly into prepared baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes (until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean). 

Pork Chops with Garlic Leek Sauce

    I had a few leeks left from my sweet potato chowder that I made last week. I had never cooked with leeks before so I've been exploring uncharted territory! I was very happy with how this recipe came out! The recipe that I found for the leek sauce originally called for dried sage, but I was fresh out of sage at home. I did a little research and found that marjoram has a similar taste and I happened to have some handy. I used butterflied pork chops, but you could easily use any kind you'd like.

Pork Chops with Garlic Leek Sauce

Ingredients:

- 2 butterflied pork chops

- 2 teaspoons of marjoram, divided

- 1 teaspoon of rosemary

- 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, divided

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil

- 1 leek, thinly sliced

- 1 cup of chicken broth

- 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream

    In a small bowl, mix together 1 teaspoon of marjoram, rosemary, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, and salt. Spread the mixture onto each pork chop, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 4 hours (or overnight). When ready to prepare, heat the coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Sear the chops on each side for a few minutes (until browned). Remove the pork chops and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium and add the leeks to the skillet. Saute them for about 5 minutes, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add in the minced garlic and saute for another minute. Next, add the broth and bring to a boil. Place the pork chops back into the skillet with the leeks. Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the pork has thoroughly cooked. Remove the chops again and set aside to let them rest. Add the whipping cream and simmer (stirring constantly) until the sauce reduces (about 5 minutes). Pour over chops and enjoy.