Lemon Cookies

While thumbing through the holiday cookbook from Six Sisters'Stuff I noticed that their recipe for red velvet cream cheese cookies and the one for gooey butter cookies were almost the same. The concept is to use a cube of butter, a package of cream cheese and a box of cake mix. I figured it wouldn't make any difference what flavor of cake mix was used, it just depended on what you were in the mood for, and I was right. I was in the mood for lemon! Depending on what flavor cake mix you use, you can add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or other chips (but not Doritos chips because that would be gross.) 

Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (for more lemon flavor use lemon extract)

1 box lemon cake mix (ignore directions on the box)

Powdered sugar (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the egg and the extract, and beat until combined. Add the dry cake mix in about three installments until completely moistened. 

Place powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll dough into balls and dip in powdered sugar. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet, or use a Silpat liner. Bake for 10-13 minutes. I pulled mine out at 11 to 11 1/2 minutes. Remove from oven and sift additional powdered sugar over tops of cookies. Move to wire rack to cool. 

Makes about 30 cookies. 

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

I'm not done with Six Sisters' Stuff yet! In the following picture, you are looking at a picture of leftovers. It looked better the night before, but I wasn't able to take a picture of it the first time around. Let me just say that it was yummy the first time AND the second time. Just imagine that the cheese is a lot meltier the first time. 

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole (from Six Sisters' Stuff) 
1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean) or ground turkey (I used turkey)
1 large onion, chopped 
2 1/2 cups salsa 
1 can (15 ounces) black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained 
1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian salad dressing 
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium taco seasoning 
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 
6 flour tortillas (8 inches) 
1 small can of drained corn, or about 1 1/4 cups of frozen corn (optional) 
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream   
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend 
1 cup shredded lettuce, if desired 
1 medium tomato, chopped, if desired
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro (or not!)

Directions
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the salsa, beans, dressing, sour cream, corn, taco seasoning and cumin.
Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Tear up a flour or corn tortilla into pieces and place on top of meat mixture. Layer with half of the remaining meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat for one more layer, finishing with grated cheese on top.
Spray a piece of foil with non-stick cooking spray and cover casserole. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. 
Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro. Yield: 8 servings.

Chicken Spaghetti

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! If I had known this is what they were talking about all this time when they used that phrase then I would have cashed in a lot sooner. This meal (I used a weird filter and it looks rather red) was so simple to make and everyone loved it! The neat thing about it too is that you can substitute things in or out according to your preference. Another Six Sisters' Stuff win!

Chicken Spaghetti by Six Sisters' Stuff, adapted slightly

2 cups cooked chicken, cut up (I used a precooked Costco chicken)

3/4 to 1 lb. package uncooked spaghetti noodles (I used 3/4 lb.)
2 cans 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom (or Cream of Chicken) soup

3 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided (I used a conglomerate of cheeses that were opened in the fridge)

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained (or use fresh)

1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup green pepper, diced
1 t seasoned salt
Dash of cayenne pepper (optional- I didn't use it)
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken or vegetable broth

Break noodles into 2" or 3″ pieces and cook according to package directions. Place cooked noodles into a large bowl. Add chicken and toss together. Add soup, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, 2 cups of cheese, seasoned salt, and cayenne pepper. Mix all together. Add about 1 cup of the chicken broth and stir it in, then and add a little bit more if needed. You want it nice and moist, but you don’t want it to be too runny. I used the whole amount and it was fine. Lightly spray a 9×13″ glass pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the mixture into the pan. Top with remaining 1 cup of cheese. You could also top with bread crumbs or after it has baked for 25-30 minutes you could add french fried onions to the top. 

Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes (or until hot and bubbly). 

Other substitutions that would be tasty would be chopped celery, mushrooms, zucchini, or whatever sounds good to you. Really, you can't go wrong. 

Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

I have a dear friend who can no longer process animal protein. We've been spending some extra time with him and to give his sweet wife a break, I've been cooking some of the dinners. While these are avocado chicken enchiladas, I just left the chicken out of a few of them so he could still eat the dinner too. 

                                          

If I keep blogging Six Sisters' Stuff recipes I'm going to have to give them their own label like I did for Our Best Bites! This starts with a homemade enchilada sauce which makes these super tasty. I spooned extra sauce over the top of this enchilada, so you aren't really seeing the cheese under there.

Avocado Chicken Enchiladas from Six Sisters' Stuff

Sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T butter

1 T all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1 cup mild or medium salsa verde

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (obbbbbbviously, I left this out!!! Blech!)

Enchiladas

3 to 4 cups cooked chicken breasts, shredded

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided

3 avocados, peeled and chopped

8 flour tortillas

1/2 - 3/4 cup French Fried onions

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic in butter about 1 minute on medium heat. Stir in flour and cook about 2 more minutes. Stir in broth, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, salsa verde and cilantro (if you're using it). 

Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Add about 1/2 cup sauce to the pan and spread until bottom of dish is evenly coated. 

On each tortilla, add some chicken, cheese and avocado to one end. Roll it up and place it seam-side down in pan. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Cover with 1 cup of cheese and bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. Sprinkle the French Fried onions over the top of the casserole and bake 3-5 minutes longer until the onions are golden. 

Makes 8 servings.  

Chicken Taco Soup

This recipe can also be called Food Storage Soup, but that might scare some people away. 

                         

I know sometimes it is scary to try a new recipe. Not to worry, I've got you covered. I've kind of been going through Six Sisters' Stuff's Teal-colored book and this is another gem. 

Slow Cooker Eight-Can Taco Soup from Six Sisters' Stuff

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz.) sweet corn, drained

1 can (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1 can (10.75 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup (I used mushroom because I was out of chicken)

1 can (10 oz.) can green enchilada sauce

1 can (12.5 oz.) chicken breast, drained (I had leftover cooked chicken in the refrigerator, so I went with that). 

1 pkg. (1 oz.) taco seasoning 

grated cheese

avocado, sliced

Pour all ingredients into slow cooker and stir together. Cook on low heat 2-3 hours. Top with shredded cheese and serve with tortilla chips and sliced avocado, if desired. 

Note: I was in a hurry and chose not to use the slow cooker. I poured everything into a pot and brought it to a simmer, then cooked it for about ten minutes on low heat. Worked just fine! 

Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Loin

Break out the slow cooker. You're going to want to try this soon! It's so easy and completely yum to the tum. 

                 

Six Sisters Stuff is to blame for this one. Here's the thing- I'm stuck in St. George and I only brought four cookbooks with me. Two of them are Six Sisters, and since I'm loving their "stuff" lately, that's what I'm cooking and blogging. Costco sells a two-pack of pork tenderloin, and within that two-pack are two tenderloins, so you're really dealing with four tenderloins per total package. Use two of the tenderloins (or one half of the total package you've purchased) for this recipe. 

I like to make my cranberry sauce (thank you OBB girls- I haven't forgotten you!). 

Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Loin (Click to go to the original post at SSS)

3 lbs. boneless pork loin or tenderloin  

1 can (16 oz.) whole cranberry sauce (or click on the cranberry sauce link above to make your own)

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 T light brown sugar

1 tsp prepared yellow mustard

Place roast in a slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over the roast. Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 6-8 hours, making sure the internal temperature of the pork is 145°F. Remove roast and cover with foil while you make the sauce. 

To make the sauce, just add a little water and cornstarch to the mixture left in the crock pot. Whisk until combined. Serve with sliced pork.

I didn't thicken my sauce as I felt it was fine without the cornstarch mixture.  

There's Always Room For Jell-O

When you think of pretzel Jell-O you probably think strawberry or raspberry, right? Would you believe I had never tasted the pretzel Jell-O concoction before trying this one? True statement. Or if I've tried it, I have forgotten that I've tried it, which could be a completely true statement as well.

This recipe makes a lot (13x9-inch pan), so take it to a party, or be prepared to eat a lot of it over the next few days (which is a good alternative as well)!

                                  
Mandarin Orange Pretzel Salad (from Six Sisters' Stuff)
2 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup plus 3 T granulated sugar, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 container (8 oz.) Cool Whip (yes, I could type out nondairy whipped topping, but hey)
1 box (6 oz.) orange Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, undrained

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine pretzels, melted butter and 3 T. sugar. Stir together until well blended. Press into a 13x9-inch baking pan and bake 7 minutes. Cool completely.
Beat remaining (1 cup) sugar and cream cheese together until smooth (it takes a few minutes to get the sugar to stop being gritty). Fold in the thawed Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the pretzel crust, spreading it against the sides to seal out the Jell-O mixture from seeping down to the pretzel layer, because soggy pretzels are such a disappointment.
Mix the Jell-O and boiling water and stir until the Jell-O is completely dissolved (at this point, I added about 6 ice cubes to speed the cooling process along). Add the oranges and let cool until slightly set. Pour Jell-O carefully over the cream cheese layer (I used a measuring cup as a ladle so it wouldn't splash too much). Refrigerate until firm. Cut into squares and serve.
SSS says this makes about 12 servings, but I would say those would be 12 very generous servings.

Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tried using the mobile version of Blogger but the learning curve was steeper than I was willing to climb, so while I'm in St. George (which may or may not be forever) I will have to blog when I have an internet connection. I made these cookies a couple days ago and gave most of them away before they did too much damage to my resolution to not let my snack calories outnumber other meals. 

                  

These are from Six Sisters' Stuff and were delicious. I made a couple of changes (big surprise there, huh?). Here's a link to the original recipe.   

White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup white chocolate chips 

1/2 cup cinnamon chips 

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, beat together softened butter and both sugars. Add in eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well. Stir in the flour, baking powder and soda, the salt and cinnamon, then stir in the oats. Finally, stir in the chips. 

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-lined (or baking mat) cookie sheet. 

Bake 9-12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on wire rack. 

Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies.  

Crispy Onion Chicken

 Have you heard of Six Sisters' Stuff? I have two of their cookbooks and really love everything they do. Being in Santa Clara, I've lost my built-in cook (my daughter), so I've had to get back into the kitchen again. My sister told me she fixed this for dinner the other night, and since I had everything I needed to make it too, I gave it a try. Hello, yum!

It's super simple too! "Paint" a chicken breast with honey mustard and then press the chicken into some crushed french fried onions. I placed them onto a small cooling rack that fit inside my 9x13 inch pan to lift them up off the pan so the underside would be crispy too. I baked it for 30 minutes at 375°F. It was tasty! Here's the link to see how the Six Sisters made theirs. They use a lot more mustard than I did.