Honey Lime Enchiladas

6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (approx. 1 large lime)
1 tablespoon chili powder (use a little less for a milder version- I used 1 tsp.)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 2 large chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas (I made 12 smaller ones)
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded (I used cheddar and monterey jack)
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream (I only used about 1/2 cup)

Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (or toss together in a ziploc bag and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours).

Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Serve with sour cream, rice and black beans.

Bar Z Roasted Corn Salsa

1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, chopped
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 green onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 avocado, diced
juice of 3 limes
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Spread corn in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Allow corn to thaw, then place sheet under broiler and broil kernels until they begin to brown. Cool, and place in mixing bowl with remaining ingredients. Allow mixture to sit several hours or overnight for flavors to marry. Serve with tortilla chips.

From "Favorites" Cookbook

Pumpkin Granola or Bars

Pumpkin Granola

5 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
¾ tsp. salt
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pepitas

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine oats, spices, and salt. Mix well.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Pour wet ingredients into oat mixture and stir until the oats are evenly coated. They will be moist. Evenly spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and stir. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the granola is golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and stir in dried cranberries and pepitas. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

*Note-serve granola with yogurt, milk, or enjoy plain.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

3 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 by 8 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk oats, spices, and salt together. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour over oats and stir well, until all of the oats are moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Evenly press oat mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. The pumpkin keeps the bars moist, so make sure they are golden and set-you don’t want them to be under baked. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

5. Using a sharp knife, cut into bars. Remove from pan and let cool completely.

Makes 10-12 granola bars

*Note-these didn’t last long in our house, so feel free to double the recipe and bake in a 9 by 13 pan.

Kelsey's Granola

Kelsey's Granola
6 cups oats
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 Tbs cinnamon (depending on your preference)
2 Tbs vanilla
1 cup coconut
1 cup craisins, raisins, or other dried fruit
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup almonds (or any other nuts you have)
1/2 cup flax seed or wheat germ (optional~to give it an extra little health kick)

Combine all ingredients in a LARGE bowl. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. (I like mine soft and chewy, so I only bake it for 8-10, but if you like it crunchy, it will be more like 15 minutes.)

Cafe Rio Pork, Rice, Dressing (Annie)

Sweet Pork Barbacoa Salad
We served the salad in disposable 9 inch cake/pie tins. Line the tin with a flour tortilla. Top the tortilla with pork, rice, black beans and cheese. Cover with romaine lettuce and a few tortilla strips for crunch and garnish. Top with creamy cilantro salad dressing.
(This salad is such a crowd pleaser and PERFECT if you are having people over and giving out food assignments. You can also use uncooked tortillas from Costco. Throw them on the griddle and cook just before serving.)

Sweet Pork
4 lb. pork roast
2 cans tomato sauce (8 oz.)
1 can El Pato Mexican tomato sauce (8 oz)
1 tsp. pressed garlic cloves
1 1/2 to 2 cups brown sugar (packed)
2 tsp. cumin
2 cups Dr. Pepper
2 Tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except pork until sugar is dissolved. Place pork roast in a crock pot sprayed with Pam. Pour mixture over roast and let simmer until meat is tender and pulls away with fork. (Cook on low over-night if desired.) Shredding pork and return to liquid. This pork/liquid mixture freezes well for later use. Serving size is about 1/2 cup cooked pork.

Lime Rice
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/4 cup rice
2 1/4 cup chicken broth (or chicken bullion crystals)
3/4 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
Juice and zest (peel) of 1 large or 2 small fresh limes
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 tsp. cumin

Melt butter with rice in skillet. Add the rest of ingredients EXCEPT for lime zest and juice, and cilantro, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add lime zest, juice, and cilantro after. Makes about 4 cups of cooked rice. Serving size is 1/2 cup per person.

Creamy Cilantro Dressing
16 oz. bottle of La Victoria green salsa (or any other tomatillo green salsa)
1 package dry buttermilk ranch dressing (about 4 Tbsp)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh cilantro (just use leaves and really pack cup)
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (Taste and decide)

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Refrigerate. Makes about 1 quart dressing. I have used this on many dishes now. It is wonderful!

Chicken Divan (Jill Hyer)

2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups grated cheese
2 tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. curry powder
1 cup mayo
4-6 cooked chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 pkg. chopped broccoli (or enough to cover the bottom of the pan)

Layer broccoli on the bottom. Cover with chicken. Mix everything else together and put it on top. Bake 350* for 45 minutes uncovered. Serve over rice.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (OBB)

A note about water baths: Kate talked about water baths a little in her cheesecake post. While cheesecake enthusiasts will tell you it's essential to always use one, from my experience, some cheesecakes do okay without them (like Kate's recipe) and others really need them to turn out well. I think it depends on the recipe. This one needs a water bath.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan-Gingersnap Crust
Recipe by Our Best Bites

Crust:
1 3/4 C gingersnap crumbs (about 30 small cookies)
6T real butter, melted
3 T brown sugar
3/4 C ground pecans

Filling:
3 8oz blocks cream cheese
3/4 C canned pumpkin puree
6 oz melted white chocolate (that's about 1 C white chocolate chips)
1 C sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1/4 t nutmeg
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t cloves

Topping:
- 1 C whipping cream, beat with 1/2 tsp vanilla and 4 Tbs powdered sugar until medium peaks form.

- 1/3 C roughly chopped pecans, either toasted or caramelized

- 2 Tablespoons jarred caramel sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Using 2 large pieces of heavy duty foil, securely wrap the bottom and outside of your cheesecake pan. This will prevent leaks when using the water bath.

For Crust:

Use a food processor to crush gingersnaps. Then do pecans. Combine gingersnaps, pecans, brown sugar, and butter and stir well to combine. Press into a 9" spring form pan. Evenly spread across the bottom of pan and up the sides about 1 inch.

To melt chocolate, place in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth. Set aside.

With an electric mixer beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add pumpkin, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves.

With the mixer running, slowly add in white chocolate in a steady stream (or steady blobs).

Pour mixture on top of the crust.

For water bath:

Place cheesecake pan inside of a larger pan. I use a roasting pan, like this. (and by "like this" I mean its appearance, because I most certainly did not pay $270 for mine) Place your cheesecake pan into larger pan. The larger pan should be at least 2-3 inches in depth. Place in pre-heated oven. With a kettle or pitcher filled with hot water, pour water into the larger pan about halfway up, or approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches.

Bake for 60-75 minutes or until set. The center should be just a tad bit jiggly still. It will finish cooking while cooling.

When it's done, remove from oven and place on a rack until completely cool. Place in the fridge for at least 12 hours. This is a very soft cheesecake so sufficient chilling is a must!

When ready to serve spread sweetened whipped cream on top, drizzle caramel sauce over it, and sprinkle with pecans.

Lemonade Ice Cream Pie

Makes 8 servings
Hands on time: 20 minutes
Total time: 4 hours 20 minutes

Crust:
25 Ginger snaps, finely crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling:
1 quart (4 cups) vanilla ice cream, softened
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
Topping:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 T. powdered sugar
4 strawberries, halved

1. Heat oven to 350*
2. Combine crushed cookies and butter with fork. Press into 9" pie pan.
3. Bake about 8 minutes. Cool completely
4. Mix ice cream and lemonade. Pour into crust. Freeze at least 4 hours.
5. When ready to serve, whip cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Place cream in 8 dollops around edge of pie. Place strawberry half in each dollop.
Tip: This crust recipe is a basic recipe that will work well with other pie recipes needing a crumb crust. Be creative and try with other ice cream flavors and toppings.