Italian Marinated Chicken

Don't have any good marinade on hand? This is a simple marinade that tastes great!

Italian Marinated Chicken

1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp. canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning, crushed
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Mix everything but the chicken in a resealable plastic bag. Add chicken and shake gently to coat. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Grill chicken for 15 minutes or until cooked through, brushing often with stock mixture.

BBQ Potato Wedges

This one is a little bit more than 5 things, but it's so perfect with grilled meat!

Barbecued Potato Wedges

2 lbs. small red potatoes, cut into wedges
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. honey

Seasonings (use whatever you have, but I like these)
3 tsp. chili powder (I use about half that--these are spicy!!)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper

Place potato wedges on large cookie sheet sprayed with pam or covered in aluminum foil. Drizzle with butter and honey. Sprinkle with seasonings. Toss to coat. Bake uncovered at 450 for 25-30 minutes, turning once.

Classic White Sauce

Everyone should have a basic white sauce handy at all times. It can be used with chicken broth for gravy, with cheese for alfredo sauce, or for topping any type of meat or pasta.

Classic White Sauce

4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cup milk

Over low heat, melt butter. Add flour, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. cook on low till thick, stirring constantly.

Easiest Ever Bean Dip

This bean dip is super quick to make and tastes great every time! Perfect for dipping chips or making nachos.

Bean Dip

1 pkg cream cheese
1 can chili with beans

Place cream cheese in a microwavable container and heat until soft. Stir in chili. Microwave until warm.

Not the best looking, but oh so tasty!

P.S. this recipe is honoring my best friend's birthday--Linds, ever wonder how many pounds of this we ate back in high school?!

Creamy Mustard Sauce

This sauce is great for meats (especially pork chops or grilled chicken) and also works as a twist on gravy for potatoes!

Creamy Mustard Sauce

1Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 can cream of mushroom soup (use the reduced salt/fat free to make it healthier!)
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard

optional:
1 1/2 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning

Sprinkle the meat with lemon pepper seasoning if you're using it. Heat butter in a skillet and brown meat for ~10 min. Add soup, milk, and mustard and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes or until meat is cooked.

Best served with steamed veggies and egg noodles or with a side of mashed potatoes.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

This recipe is great for chicken or stir-fry veggies. You can pour it over chicken in the crockpot (cook on low 7 hours or high 3.5 hours) or coat breaded chicken for a quick but classy meal.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1/4 c. water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 c. pineapple juice (open a can of pineapple chunks to serve with your chicken or veggies and just pour the juice in)

My favorite combination of veggies includes green and red peppers, thinly sliced onion, and pineapple chunks. Serve over rice and top with low mein noodles for extra crisp!

Kyoto Salad Dressing

This salad dressing is amazing! It's a personal favorite as it looks classy, goes on anything from chicken to fruit salad, and has a bit of ethnic flair.

Kyoto Salad Dressing

1/2 c. rice vinegar (sold on the Ethnic aisle--NOT white vinegar!)
1/3 c. yellow mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar (scant)
1 c. canola oil
1 tsp. black pepper

Blend rice vinegar, mustard, salt, and sugar until well mixed. Add canola oil and blend again. Stir in freshly ground coarse black pepper. Pour into glass bottle or salad dressing bottle. Refrigerate.

Takes less than 5 minutes in a blender, chills quickly. Try it with anything!

PF Changs Lettuce Wraps

I think I have a new favorite recipe! I've been waiting to post this one until I tried it--and it really is THAT good.

Lettuce Wraps

4 chicken breast halves (boneless, skinless, frozen is okay)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. white wine (I used white vinegar, rice vinegar, and a pinch of sugar)
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
garlic powder (or 5 chopped cloves)
dash of allspice

Put chicken in crockpot with onions and garlic powder. Mix everything else together and pour the sauce over the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6, stirring occasionally. Shred chicken ~30 minutes before serving. Serve buffet style in lettuce wraps.

I added chow mein noodles for a bit of crunch and some stir-fry veggies and rice to balance out the meat. Add hoison or plum sauce if needed!

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

Tried and tested!

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

4 lb. chicken
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 1/2 Tbsp. red vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix sauce, pour over chicken in crockpot. Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. Serves 6.

I halved this for my smaller family. Can be shredded as it cooks. Best served over rice with steamed veggies. Add pineapple for extra zest!

More guest recipes--Nebraska Steak and BBQ Sauce

Nebraska Style Steak


Use tenderized round steak, big round steak, or cube steaks (enough for your family)
Brown Steak after flouring
add 1 can of cream of celery soup 
1/2 can of water
1 small onion diced
Let simmer for about an hour or until tender.

Make mashed potatoes to use with the gravy that the soup makes.

This is very good and you can make a lot and then freeze for later.  Its
always good even after frozen.

Homemade BBQ Sauce


2 tsp salt                    1/2 c water
1/2 c chopped onion           1 garlic (optional)
18 oz tomato paste            1 c ketchup
3/4 c brown sugar             1/2 c vinegar (+ or-)
2 T prepared mustard

Great to pour over any meat in a crockpot all day or season veggies!