Pistachio Fruit Salad

After I had my second baby, a good friend brought me dinner and as dessert, she made this. It is quite possibly the most delicious fruit salad I have ever had! My absolute favorite part was the tiny pistachios from the pudding mix that are crunchy and almost remind me of toffee bits. I am so glad that I asked her for the recipe because it is something I'll be making again and again. Plus, it is very versatile as you can use whatever fruit you want. I chose to use grapes and oranges, but you could use anything you want. I wanted to put bananas in it, but I knew we would have leftovers and I didn't want them to go brown. I listed the ingredients below, but besides the pudding and whipped topping, it is more of a guideline. So use as much or as little of the fruit and marshmallows that you want.

Pistachio Fruit Salad

1 box of pistachio pudding mix (the 4 serving one)
1 large container of frozen whipped topping, thawed
mini marshmallows, either fruit flavored or regular, as many as desired
around 2 cups chopped fruit, either fresh or canned

Combine pudding mix with whipped topping. Fold in marshmallows and fruit. Chill until ready to serve.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

I've had my eye on this dessert for quite some time and when I was craving something chocolate and gooey, I immediately thought of this beauty from Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe. Instead of icecream, I paired it with fresh raspberries and freshly whipped whipping cream. And I didn't have any chocolate chips on hand, so those were sadly left out, but it was delicious! Even my chocolate disliking husband (I know! I don't know what he's thinking!) ate a big serving! However you serve it, though, you will need a tall glass of milk to wash it down as it is very rich. But, I ask you, what is better than a warm, gooey, chocolatey delight and a glass of ice cold milk?

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

1 cup sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (I left these out with good results)
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Whisk ½ cup sugar with ¼ cup cocoa powder and set aside.

Whisk the flour, remaining ½ cup sugar, remaining ¼ cup cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk milk, butter, egg yolk, and vanilla in medium bowl until smooth. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips (the batter will be stiff).

Using a rubber spatula, scrape batter into prepared pan and spread into corners. Sprinkle reserved cocoa and sugar mixture evenly over the top. Gently pour boiling water over cocoa. Do not stir.

Bake until the top of the cake is cracked, sauce is bubbling and a toothpick inserted into cakey area comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 22-24 minutes. Cool on rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Beef Enchiladas

Wow, I can't believe it has been almost a whole week since I've posted anything. Sorry for those who keep checking to see if there's anything new! I'll try to spend some time on getting posts together this weekend so I can get back on track.

Also, I want to apologize for the picture. I know it is hard to tell what you are looking at and it might look a little gross to you. However, I promise that this is an AWESOME meal. I decided to make beef enchiladas, which I found on my mom's blog, but since I don't get along well with corn tortillas- as in they always crumble- I decided to make it a casserole. After we had dinner, my husband quickly added this meal to his all-time favorite dinner list. We hope you like it, too!

Beef Enchiladas

For the filling:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For Sauce:
1 small can of diced green chilies
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

8 corn tortillas (5 or 6 inches in diameter)
Shredded cheese, sour cream and chopped onions, if desired


1. Heat oven to 350°.

2. Cook beef in 10-inch skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain. Stir in onion, sour cream, 1 cup cheese, the parsley and pepper. Cover and remove from heat.

3. Heat water, chili powder, oregano, cumin, chilies, garlic and tomato sauce to boiling in 2-quart saucepan, stirring occasionally; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Pour into ungreased pie plate, 9 X 1 1/4 inches. (Casserole directions follow original directions)

4. Dip each tortilla into sauce in pie plate to coat both sides. Spoon about 1/4 cup beef mixture onto each tortilla; roll tortilla around filling. Place seam side down in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 11 X 7 X 1 1/2 inches. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas.

5. Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until bubbly. Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream and chopped onions.

Casserole directions:
I just put a little bit of the sauce in the bottom of a round casserole dish, and then layered tortillas with the filling mixture and more sauce. I used 8 tortillas per filling recipe, but some of the layers I made just cheese since we like cheese at our house. After you put on the last tortilla, pour more sauce over the top and place more cheese on top and bake as directed.

Maple Pancake Syrup

We eat a lot of breakfast foods at our house (like things of the waffle and pancake variety) and I'm always looking for ways to change it up. When I found this recipe, I thought it would be fun to try since I usually just make plain ol' buttermilk syrup. This was sooooo good, and is another winning recipe from an old ward cookbook. I particularly like this recipe because you can use regular milk or buttermilk depending on what you have on hand. And if you happen to have leftovers, they store well in the fridge. Just reheat and serve! And I didn't take a picture of this one, but I think everyone knows what pancake syrup looks like. Try it and you'll be in heaven!

Maple Pancake Syrup

1 cube (1/2 cup) butter or margarine (I used butter)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk (I haven't tried it yet, but I think buttermilk would be fine, too)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp maple flavoring (I bought a 2 oz bottle for $3- which will last a while)

Bring to a boil in a medium sized saucepan, then remove from heat and serve warm.

When I "boiled" mine, it didn't actually boil like water does. Instead, it got really frothy and started expanding, at which point I stirred it and cooked it for a couple of minutes just to be safe. (So make sure you use a saucepan that is bigger than what you think need or you might have to clean up a sticky stove top.)

Teriyaki Chicken Casserole

I know this dish looks rather unassuming, but it was delicious! The recipe came from the book 101 Things To Do With A Casserole by Stephanie Ashcraft and Janet Eyring. I added some sliced red onion to the mixture before I cooked it (just a few slices- I was using up some that I had in the fridge already). This was easy and very appealing to our family. I will be making this again!

Teriyaki Chicken Casserole

2 raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed (I used 3)
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth (I used 2 cups water and 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules)
2 Tbl brown sugar
2 Tbl soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 can (8 oz) pineapple chunks, drained

Preheat oven to 350*F. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer mixture to a greased 9" x 13" baking pan. Cover and bake 1 hour, or until rice is done (I didn't cover mine and it turned out fine). Makes 4 servings.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

If you still haven't visited My Kitchen Cafe, you really need to. I can always find something that sounds good, and I have never tried one of Melanie's recipes that I didn't like! As I'm sure you can guess, this recipe is no exception! I made this for dinner one night when I was visiting my family in Boise and it was all gone after dinner! Even the landscaping guys could smell it cooking and wanted in! I used chicken tenders when I made this dish and it worked fine, so I'm sure any cut of chicken would work fine. You definitely won't be disappointed after you make this! (Photo courtesy of my mom- thanks mom!)

Sticky Coconut Chicken

Marinade:
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used about 3 pounds chicken tenders)
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger (or use 1 tsp dried ginger, but I did use fresh)
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (my mom's flakes were hiding, so I used 1 tsp chili oil)

Glaze:

3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (again, I used 1 tsp chili oil)

Marinade chicken in coconut milk, ginger, pepper and red pepper flakes at least one hour (Melanie likes to let hers marinade for about four to five hours). Grill on barbecue.

While the chicken is grilling, bring glaze ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes. (If you are using chicken tenders or pieces of chicken that will cook fast, I would make the glaze before you start grilling.) Be patient because it takes a little while. But once it starts getting really thick, immediately take it off the heat! Glaze both sides of chicken the last few minutes of grilling and serve chicken over rice.