Recipe Recommendation

South-of-the Border Chicken & Pasta Skillet

I made this the other night and it was pretty good. My picture I took doesn't' do it justice so please don't judge it on appearances.

2 cups medium-size pasta, uncooked
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 jar (16 oz.) salsa
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen corn
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, cubed
1/4 tsp. ground cumin (I honestly left this out)
1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese, divided

COOK pasta as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, cook and stir chicken in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 6 min. or until done. Add salsa, corn, cream cheese and cumin; simmer on medium-low 6 min. or until cream cheese is melted, stirring occasionally.

DRAIN pasta; add to skillet with 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Simmer 3 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining shredded cheese; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand until melted.

(taken from kraftfoods.com)

Squash

I baked my first ever squash the other night. Although it wasn't as good as my mom's but it was good for my first try.

Cut squash in half and scrape out seeds and strings. Since the squash was so big I decided I would try 2 versions; sweet and salty.

I sprinkled salt & pepper on one of the halves and sprinkled brown sugar & butter on the other. I then placed in oven safe dish with about 1-2 inches of water in bottom of pan and baked at 400 for over an hour. I think it wouldn't have taken so long if the squash would have been a little more riper.

The finished product. It was very good and my husband even ate it!

Andes Creme de Menthe Cookies

Andes Creme de Menthe Chunk Cookies

1/2 cup salted butter-softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 package (10oz.) Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips
2 2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until mixed. Stir in Andes Baking Chips and then flour. Chill approximately one hour in refrigerator. Measure out approximately 1 oz of dough. Form ball and slightly flatten. Raise oven rack one level above middle and bake on non-stick baking pans. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Cool on pans for two minutes before removing.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
(taken directly off the Andes Baking Chips package)

Yummy!

Fried Mushrooms

Not the healthiest but definitely the yummiest.

First wash your mushrooms under cold water thoroughly.

Then you want to prepare the batter according to the package. I couldn't find any mushroom batter so I just used onion ring batter.
Next carefully place mushrooms into fryer. I'm never sure how hot my oil is so I always sprinkle a few drops of water into oil. If it makes a nice popping sound then I know my oil is ready. Pull out of oil once mushrooms are golden brown and place on plate with paper towels. Serve with ranch or cheese dip. Yummy!!!!

Mexican Layered Dip

This is a great dip to take to a party. It makes a lot and everyone enjoys it. I got the recipe from my sister who got it from the Internet so I'm not sure of it's original origin.

Mexican Layered Dip

2 cans re-fried beans
1 large container sour cream
1 pkg taco seasoning
1-2 bunches of green onions (diced)
3-4 tomatoes (diced with meat & seeds out)
1 pkg cheddar cheese
(guacamole or black olives would make a lovely addition)

Spread re-fried beans in bottom of dish. Mix sour cream & taco seasoning together and spread on top of beans. Layer remaining ingredients. Top with cheese. Serve with tortilla chips.