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. 

Honey Barbecued Ribs

I got this recipe from a friend Megan!  We just got a 1/2 pig from my Dad and I've never really made Ribs.  But, being that I have some packs in the freezer, this recipe looked like the perfect way to try them!  Thanks Megan!

Honey Barbecued Ribs:

3 lbs boneless pork ribs

Cook in crockpot on high for 3 ish hours covered then drain and discard liquid. Reduce the heat to low.

In a bowl combine:
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1C Ketchup
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C honey
1/4 C spicy brown mustard
2T Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke ( do not leave out!!)
Mix well. Pour over ribs in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 3 more hours. Remove from crockpot. If you want to freeze any let it cool completely then place in freezer bags. Makes 8 servings.

I serve over white steamed rice, but you could do any type of potatoes.

Teriyaki Chicken

I got this recipe from my MIL!  It is my FIL's sisters recipe though!  Seriously delish and the kids eat it sooo good!

4 6 chicken thighs
1 Cup Soy Sauce or Teriyaki Sauce
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 cloves garlic
1 cup water
1 slice ginger

There are two ways to cook this.

1.) Soak chicken thighs or pieces in the above sauce for a few hours and then grill them on BBQ.  Then take the sauce and thicken it on the stove using cornstarch.  Serve chicken w/ rice and top both with the thickened sauce.

2.) The other way to cook it is to mix the above sauce and pour it over the chicken pieces in a 9x13 glass pan and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for approx 1 hour (or until chicken is cooked through).  Remove thighs from pan and pour sauce out of your 9x13 and into a saucepan.  Using cornstarch thicken the sauce.  Serve chicken w/ rice and top both with the thickened sauce.

Crockpot Pineapple Chicken

My friend, Kendra, told me about this recipe.  She got it from Mindika Moments!

1 ¼ C. white sugar
4 T. soy sauce
½ C. pineapple juice
½ C. ketchup
2 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. prepared mustard
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 or 3 large Costco breasts)
1 16 oz. can pineapple tidbits or crushed, drained (use drained juice for above)
1 C. sticky or whole grain rice, uncooked

1. In a sauce pan, over medium-high heat, combine sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, and mustard. Bring to a boil and cook until ingredients are well combined, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Place chicken in the crock pot and pour the sauce over top.
3. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours
4. One hour before the chicken is done, add pineapple and rice.

*If using minute rice, add the pineapple at 1 hour but add the rice just 10 minutes before serving.

Creamy Hawaiian Haystacks

This sauce recipe came from my friend, Lisa's, SIL!  Super yummy!
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 c whipping cream
1 c milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c cubed chicken
Garlic salt to taste

Whisk butter and flour together in saucepan. Add cream and milk and stir until thickened. Add soup, chicken and season to taste. You can always add more milk to thin it out if you would like.

Serve over rice with pineapple, green onions, cheese, tomatoes, sliced almonds, chopped celery, coconut, and chow mein noodles!

Creamy Chicken Italiano

I got this recipe from Ms. Lisa!  It was so easy to throw everything in the crockpot and come back to dinner ready!  We ate with rice the first time, but I think I'm going to serve it with noodles this time!  Enjoy!

1/4 Cup water
1 pkg dry Italian Seasoning (It will be by the dry packets of ranch)
1-8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 boneless chicken breasts

Put the chicken in Crock pot. Mix together dressing and water and pour it over the chicken. Cook on low for 2-3 hours. Add soup and cream cheese and let warm and then stir. Cook another 1-2 hours or until its all nice and creamy. We eat it over noodles.

Breadsticks

 

 One of my favorite things to compliment my meals are Homemade Breadsticks!  I actually got the recipe from Lisa, which she got it from her SIL, Karey!  These breadsticks are EASY!  Yes, you're using yeast, so there are a couple of rise times.  But, because they are so easy, it's not a big deal to just have them rising while you prepare other parts of your meal! I ALWAYS get complemented when I make these and take them somewhere.  They are especially a hit in the fall, when I make them with soups!  I often make them on the nights we do Homemade Pizza too! To start mix together 1 1/2 cups warm water, 1 tablespoon yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar.  You will need to let that sit for 5 minutes while the yeast activates and
becomes frothy.

 

This is what it will look like when you first put the yeast in the water and it is beginning to froth!

I left to change the laundry and came back to this!  The yeast will all be wet and the yeast left on top of the water will be frothy!

You'll then add 1 teaspoon salt and 4 cups of flour!  I add 2 cups, mix, add another cup, mix and then add the last couple and mix it!  The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and not be sticky.

   

 Then I spray the inside of plastic bowl with cooking spray and put the dough ball in it and cover.  Let it rise for 15-20 minutes!  While it is rising I get the oven heating up at 375 F.  I also cut up 1 cube of butter and arrange it on my sheet pan and put it in the oven to melt.

Once it has risen, I spray the counter top with cooking spray and kneed it down a bit.  You could also flour your countertop if you prefer, but I generally don't prefer that method.  I don't want to chance my dough getting dry.  Then I roll the dough out to just barely smaller then the pan I'm going to use.

   

As you can see, Nathan was my little helper this particular day.  He loves to help me run the mixer and cut up the breadsticks!

   

 Once it is rolled out to the approx size of my pan, I take a pizza cutter and cut it in breadsticks.  The pan should be all ready with the butter melted - then I take the breadsticks and place them onto the pan.

   

 I then take my basting brush (which I LOVE) and brush the butter all over the breadsticks!  I also top them with Garlic Powder and Parmesan Cheese.

 

Then walk away and let them rise another 15-20 minutes!

Then bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown on their tops and edges. Here's what mine looked liked going in the oven!  BIG and fluffy!!

And, here's what they look like fresh out of the oven!

GOOD LUCK and ENJOY!

Here is the recipe:

Mix together: 1 1/2 c warm water 1 tbsp yeast 2 tbsp sugar Let sit for about 5 minutes (or until it becomes frothy).

Add and mix together: 1 tsp salt 4 c flour, enough so that the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer and is not super sticky Let the dough rise for 15-20 minutes.

Melt 1 cube of butter in a 11x13 jelly roll pan in the oven. Shape the dough into bread sticks and place on pan. I rolled mine out on the counter to just a little bit smaller than my jellyroll pan and then cut them into nice bread stick shapes with my pizza cutter. Just be sure before you cut them that you have either putting cooking spray on the counter or you have enough flour on the bottom side, so they don't stick to your counters. Sprinkle with garlic powder and with grated Parmesan cheese.

I left just a little bit of room between my bread sticks and the butter came up over them as I was placing them in pan. Let rise for about 20 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown on top and edges.