Cafe Rio's Chicken

5 lbs chicken breast - boneless skinless
1 T. chili powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bottle Zesty Italian Dressing
1/2-1 T. cumin

Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot for 5-7 hrs on high. Remove Chicken and shred with fork. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken to keep moist. Keep warm.

~Michelle

Manicotti

This manicotti is amazing, it tasted just like I went to a resturant:) It's from grandmas kitchens treasured family recipes
Ingredients
12 large manicotti
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 cups ricotta cheese
6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil
1 (26 ounce) jar prepared spaghetti sauce, divided (
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese or romano cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions(be sure to not over cook, they need to be a little chewey for easier stuffing). Carefully remove each shell and rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels.

Preheat oven to 350°F Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
For the filling, in a large ziplock bag, (put in 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh basil. Seal the bag tightly. Smush the bag around with your hands until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed .
Snip off the bottom corner of the ziplock bag (the point is to have the hole a tad smaller than the manicotti opening, where you can just barely slip it into the shell). Use this method to squeeze the cheese mixture into each manicotti.

Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately

Pumpkin Choc. Chip Cookies

If you like pumpkin and chocolate, you'll love these cookies!

I wanted to make these for everyone over Thanksgiving but never got around to it.

1 1/2 c. pumpkin

1/2 c butter

1 c sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 c flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix first 6 then add flour 12-14 mins @ 375

Frosting

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/3 c butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 c powdered sugar

Creamy Fruit Salad

2 apples

2 bananas

2 cups grapes

5-10 strawberries

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 Tbls. sugar

Cinnamon(optional)

Cut up fruit and place in bowl. Whip the cream and sugar together until stiff peaks form. Add the cream to the fruit. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon if desired. Mix well. You can also use mandarin oranges, kiwi or any kind of berries.

10-12 servings

Red and White Lasagna

We had guests over for dinner last night and this is what I made. Everyone loved it, even the kids!! It also makes great leftovers for lunch or a weekend dinner. I served it with garlic french bread, ceasar salad and fruit salad.

12 Lasagna noodles

1 15oz. container ricotta cheese

1 10oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided

2 eggs

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage or ground beef, cooked and drained

1 26oz. jar marinara pasta sauce

1 16oz. jar alfredo pasta sauce

chopped fresh parsley(optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach, mozzarella cheese, 2 Tbls. parmesan cheese and eggs; mix well. In a 15x9-inch baking dish, spread 1 cup marinara sauce. Layer 4 lasagna noodles over sauce. Top with half che3ese mixture, 1 cup marinara sauce and all the cooked beef. Layer 4 more lasagna noodles, remaining cheese mixture and remaining marinara sauce. Top with 4 remaining lasagna noodles. Spred Alfred sauce evenly on top; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover; bake 40 minutes. Uncover, bake an additional 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

10-12 servings

Stir Fry

1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c. cold water
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 pound boneless sirlion steak, cut into thin strips.
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 c. broccoli florets
2 c. cauliflowerets
1 onion, chopped
1 c. sliced carrots
Hot cooked rice

In a small bowl, whisk together the first eight ingredients until smooth; set aside. In a skillet stir fry steak in oil for 3-5 minutes. Add broc, cali, onion, carrots and soy sauce mixture; cover and cook 8 mins or until veggies are crisp tender, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

This is one of my favorite meals! I made it for Keri and Chad yesterday!

Shannon we made your cookies:)

Keri spent the weekend with us!! We felt like something sweet so made Shannon's oatmeal choc. chip cookies! They are yummy!


My man was happy!! He loves sweets and has been wanting me to make cookies for awhile:)