Orange Glazed Green Beans with Candied Almonds

I got this recipe from a friend, B Dubs Cafe!  She is an awesome cook and has a picture of these finished over on her blog!  I'll be adding one soon!  These are delicious and I'm gonna be making them for the Christmas Party at my in-laws this year!!  Enjoy!

¾ cup almonds, chopped coarse

3 TBPS butter (unsalted if you have it)

2 TBSP pure maple syrup

salt (if using unsalted butter)

pepper

2 green onions, minced

2/3 tsp grated orange zest (I used a cutie)

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tsp all purpose flour

1 ½ pounds green beans trimmed

2/3 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup orange juice

1 tsp fresh sage (or  ½ tsp dried)

Toast almonds in 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Off heat, stir in 1 TBSP butter, maple syrup and 1/8 tsp salt if using unsalted butter (skip this if using salted butter)

Return skillet to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until nuts are dry and glossy, about 45 seconds; transfer to a plate and set aside.

Wipe out skillet, melt remaining 2 TBSP butter in skillet over medium heat.  Add green onions, orange zest, and cayenne; cook, stirring constantly, until green onions are softened, about 2 minutes.  Stir in flour until combined, then add green beans.  Add chicken broth, orange juice and sage.  Increase heat to medium-high, cover and cook until beans are crisp tender, about 4 minutes.

Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender and sauce has thickened slightly, about 4 minutes. Off heat, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer to serving dish, sprinkle with pecans and serve. 

Pretzel Jello

This is my MIL's recipe!  It is a great side to any dinner and the adults will be fighting the kids for it!!

Crust:
2 cups crushed pretzels
2/3 cup nuts
3 Tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup butter

Crush the pretzels to whatever texture you want.  Mix together with nuts (I like walnuts) sugar and butter.

Press onto the bottom of a 9x13 pan and bake for 10 minutes at 350.

Cream Cheese Layer 
8z cream cheese
1 cup sugar
Small Cool whip or make some fresh from whipping cream

Mix the cream cheese and sugar and fold in the cool whip.  Layer on top of crust.

Jello Layer
1 Large or 2 Small jello packs in your choice of flavor
2 cups boiling water

Combine boiling water and jello and mix.  At this time you can add any fruit as well. I like to add Strawberries, Bananas or Raspberries!

Let it cool in the fridge, but don't let it set too much or it won't poor onto the cream cheese layer good.  But, if you poor it too soon then it will sort of melt the cream cheese layer!

Pour onto cream cheese layer and put back in the fridge to allow the Jello layer to finish setting!

Enjoy!

Chicken Salad Sandwich

4 c chicken, cubed
3/4 c mayo
1/2-3/4 c sour cream depending on how saucy you want it)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 c diced celery
3 green onions, diced
1 c chopped pecans
1 1/2 c craisins
1 c diced apple

Mix sour cream, mayonnaise, paprika, and seasoning salt. Add remaining ingredients and allow to sit in the fridge for a few hours so the flavors have time to combine. You can also wait and add the pecans right before serving so they have more crunch.

Pineapple and Cilantro Rice (or Quinoa)

Pineapple and Cilantro Rice (or Quinoa)

2 cups uncooked brown basmati rice or Quinoa
1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, leaves, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice (I used an orange bell pepper I had on hand)
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 lime, cut into wedges, for garnish

Directions

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Stir in the rice or Quinoa, reduce to a simmer. Cook until rice is tender but still firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain; rinse with cool water.
2. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in the pineapple, cilantro, bell pepper, and olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Cover, and chill. Serve cooled with lime wedges.

After the fact I also thought that pine nuts might add a nice little crunch to it. I may or may not try it next time! haha :)

Asparagus Rolls

4-6 Tortilla Wraps (depending on the size of the tortilla)
18 asparagus
Chicken (You could do fresh, but I use 1 can of the Chicken Salad from Costco)
1/2 c. nuts (optional)
1/2 c. Craisens
4 oz. regular cream cheese
1/2-1/3 of container of Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese (judge this to taste)
1/4 c. Mayo
Garlic Powder

Mix the Chicken on down all in bowl. Judge to your liking in taste. I usually use closer to 1/3 container of the Garden Vegetable Cream cheese, but I like it with a stronger taste.

Spread the mixture on a tortilla. Roll the already cooked asparagus into the tortilla. I usually use about 4 or 5 per tortilla. Cover the roller tortilla in Press N' Seal and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Then cut into little bite size pieces and ENJOY!

Pretzel Jello Salad

Pretzels
1 cube butter
1 c sugar, plus 4 tsp sugar
12 oz Cool Whip
8 oz cream cheese, softened
6 oz strawberry Jello
16 oz frozen strawberries (sliced)

Crush pretzels into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Melt butter with 4 tsp sugar and pour over pretzels and bake at 400 for 6 minutes.

Cool in refrigerator or freezer and make sure it is completely cooled.

Beat softened cream cheese, cool whip, and 1 cup sugar on med/low until smooth. Spread over COOLED pretzels. Make sure to seal all the edges, so the jello doesn't get into pretzels. Mix Jello with 2 cups boiling water. Stir until well dissolved. Stir in frozen sliced strawberries. Let Jello partial set (3-5 minutes) then pour over cream cheese mixture.

Put in fridge and let set for 3-4 hours.

Snicker Salad

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding
1 c milk
1 container cool whip
6 apples (peeled, cored, and chopped)
1/2 c seedless grapes
6 Snickers (or Baby Ruth) candy bars (chopped)

Prepare pudding using 1 cup milk. Blend together with cool whip. Add apples, grapes and candy bars. Mix together and refrigerate until chilled.

Grandma's Yams

1 c orange juice
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs melted butter

Layer potatoes in a 9x13 pan. Pour mixture over and bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Spiced Cranberry Dip

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 c orange marmalade
1/8 tsp grounded red pepper
slivered almonds

Mix cranberry sauce, orange marmalade and red pepper. Spread on top of softened cream cheese that has been spread on a 9 inch pie plate. Top with sliced almonds and serve with crackers. I prefer Wheat Thins.

Funeral Potatoes

6 c diced potato
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 stick melted butter
1 c sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese (I like the Colby/Monterrey Jack mix, but most recipes call for Cheddar)
1/2 c grated onion (optional)
Salt
Pepper
3/4 c corn flakes

Bake the potatoes in foil and then peel and dice them. You can also substitute plain frozen diced (not shredded) potatoes. Let the potatoes thaw before using them in the recipe.

Combine soup, 1 cube butter, sour cream, 1 c. cheese, onion, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add the potatoes and stir gently until combined.

Place potato mixture in a 2 to 3 quart casserole dish or 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Top with the remaining 1 c. cheese.

Mix 3 tablespoons butter with 3/4 cup crushed corn flakes and sprinkle over the potato mixture.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Avacado Citrus Salad

Salad:

1 firm ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
2 c torn romaine lettuce
1 large orange, peeled and cut into sections
1/4 small red onion
2 T snipped fresh cilantro

Dressing:

2 limes
2 tbs sugar
dash of salt
2 tbs vegetable oil

For dressing, zest limes to measure 1 tsp zest and juice limes to measure 1/4 c juice. Place zest and juice in a small bowl. Add sugar, salt and oil. Whisk until blended. Refrigerate dressing until ready to serve salad. Pour over salad just prior to serving.

Creamy Chicken Salad

2 c cooked chicken
1 c celery
1 c grapes
1 c slivered almonds
1 tsp minced onion
1 tsp salt
1 c mayo
1/2 c cool whip

Mix may and cool whip and mix over the other ingredients. Serve chilled.

Chicken Bowtie Pasta

1 pkg/box bowtie pasta
3 to 4 Chicken Breasts (cubed)
Bunch of grapes
2 chopped apples
1 1/2 c sliced almonds
1 or 2 bunch of green onions

Cook bowtie pasta noodles and chill. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together. Cover with a bottle of coleslaw dressing or make your own. Serve chilled.

Ramen Cabbage Salad

Salad:

Medium head of cabbage
1 bunch of green onions
1/2 c sliced almonds
1 pack Chicken Ramen
3 large chicken breasts cubed
Bunch of Grapes

Chop up head of cabbage and mix in all other ingredients. Set aside the flavor packet from the Ramen.

Dressing:

1/2 c salad oil
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp vinegar
Flavor packet from Ramen

Mix all ingredients well. Then mix over salad.

Raspberry Jello Salad

I got this from The Gathering of Friends blog and it was fabulous! I love raspberry anything and pecans, so this seemed like the perfect jello salad! Enjoy!

Holiday Pecans (middle layer)

½ c. sugar
3 tbsp. water
½ tsp. Karo syrup
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ginger
¼ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped pecans

Combine sugar, water, syrup, salt and spices. Bring to a boil until syrup spins a short thread. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and nuts. Turn onto a flat surface and separate the nuts. Let cool. Chop into smaller pieces if desired.

Cranberry Jello

3 oz. Vanilla Pudding (cook and serve)
3 oz. Lemon Jello
1 ¾ c. water
1 tbsp. lemon juice
6 oz. Raspberry Jello
3 ¼ c. water
1 c. canned cranberry sauce
¾ tsp. nutmeg

Whipped Cream

1 ½ pints whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ c. sugar
Whip cream until stiff, fold in sugar and vanilla. Set aside 1/3 of the whipped cream for topping.

Instructions:

Combine dry pudding mix, lemon jello mix and 1 ¾ c. water in a pot and bring to a boil. Add lemon juice and set aside to cool, do not refrigerate yet. In a separate pot bring raspberry Jello and 3 ¼ c. water to a boil. Fold in cranberry sauce and blend well until cranberry sauce melts. Pour into an 8X11 glass dish and refrigerate Raspberry Jello layer. After Jello has set, sprinkle with layer of chopped spiced nuts. Set aside 3 tbsp. to sprinkle on top when serving. Combine whipped cream, vanilla pudding/lemon Jello mixture and nutmeg. Spread whipped cream mixture over the layer of nuts. To serve top with whipped cream and sprinkle with nuts.

Glazed Carrots

Carrots are cooked with brown sugar and butter, resulting in a sweet, flavorful brown sugar glaze.

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces baby carrots
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup water
• dash salt
• pepper, to taste

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, combine the baby carrots with remaining ingredients. Stir to blend ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling (uncovered) for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until carrots are tender and the liquid has evaporated.
Serves 4 to 6.

Spinach and Chicken Pasta with Teriyaki Vinaigrette

This recipe came from My Kitchen Cafe! It was very filling and everyone loved it!

Dressing:
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup bottled teriyaki sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Salad:
16 oz. bow tie pasta, cooked al dente, drained and cooled
1 bag fresh spinach (9 - 10 oz)
6 oz. craisins
2 (11 oz.) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts, drained and slivered
4 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
6 oz. honey roasted peanuts
2 cups cooked chicken, tossed with 2-3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

In a blender, combine all the dressing ingredients and blend until well combined and smooth. Mix about 1 cup of the dressing with the cooked pasta in a large bowl and marinate for at least one hour. Combine the remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl. Just before serving, add pasta and toss. Add dressing to taste and toss. Serve immediately.

Lisa's Chicken Salad Sandwich

Lisa served this at a little get together at her house the other night! It was fabulous! I love myself a Chicken Salad Sandwich!

4 c chicken, cubed
3/4 c mayo
1/2-3/4 c sour cream depending on how saucy you want it)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 c diced celery
3 green onions, diced
1 c chopped pecans
1 1/2 c craisins
1 c diced apple

Mix sour cream, mayonnaise, paprika, and seasoning salt. Add remaining ingredients and allow to sit in the fridge for a few hours so the flavors have time to combine. You can also wait and add the pecans right before serving so they have more crunch.

Serve on a roll or croissant!

Broccoli Salad

One of my families favorite side salads is a good ol' Broccoli Salad.  A month or so ago I made a Broccoli Salad and posted a picture of it on my Instragram account and I was surprised at how many people seemed not to be familiar with this salad!  This salad is so good, that sometimes I just make a batch and eat off it for the week!  So, I thought I would share the recipe with you all today!

Start out by making the sauce!  Mix 1 cup mayo, 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons white vinegar!  It will look almost glazy!

Then it's onto the salad - Broccoli, Mandarin Oranges, Red Onion, Bacon, Raisins and Slivered Almonds!

I like my broccoli chopped pretty small - makes it much easier for eating!

Measure approx 8 cups of chopped broccoli in a bowl!

Then add all the side ingredients - I personally don't measure.  But, here are some measurements you can go with:  1 can mandarin oranges, 1/2 cup chopped red onion, 6 to 8 crumbled bacon strips (or buy the little bags at the store), 1/2 cup raisins (I prefer golden raisins).  Feel free to add another ingredient or remove one you don't like.  Not everybody likes the same things.  My mother usually doesn't put mandarin oranges in hers.

 Mix it all up!

Add the sauce and ENJOY!

Here is the recipe:


Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons white vinegar

Salad:

8 cups broccoli florets 1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained 1/2 cup chopped red onion 6 to 8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (or you can buy the little bags of them all ready crumbled) 1/2 cup raisins (I prefer golden Raisens)

Slivered Almonds (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. In a large bowl, combine broccoli, oranges, onion, bacon and raisins. Add dressing and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Citrus Rice

1 1/2 cups instant white rice (uncooked)

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tsp soy sauce

1/4 cup of green onions (or however much you prefer)

3 Tbsp of sliced almonds

Combine white rice, chicken broth, orange juice, and soy sauce in a medium microwavable bowl.  Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.  Fluff rice with fork; sprinkle with green onions and almonds.

Tonight I served it with some rotisserie chicken and asparagus.  Yummy!