Friday, April 30, 2010

Chocolate Pretzel Rings






I love chocolate. My husband (Logan) loves pretzels. Put those two things together and you get Chocolate Pretzel Rings! These are so yummy and they get eaten VERY quickly in our house. It's a great combination of sweet and salty.....the perfect snack! They also make really easy, sweet gifts for friends.


INGREDIENTS
  • 48 pretzel rings or mini-twists
  • 1 (8 ounce) package milk chocolate Hershey kisses (feel free to use different flavors, white chocolate is also very good)
  • 1/4 cup M&M's (the more the merrier) 

DIRECTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 275 F.
  2. Place pretzels on greased baking sheets. Place a chocolate Hershey kiss in the center of each pretzel ring.
  3. Bake for 2-3 minutes or until chocolate is softened. Remove from the oven.
  4. Place an M&M on each pretzel ring, pressing down slightly so chocolate fills the ring. 
  5. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Store at room temperature. 

Serves 24.


Adapted from All Recipes

Chicken Scampi




When I first came across this recipe, I thought to myself....it sounds so difficult and I bet it takes a long time to make! Boy, was I wrong! It's probably one of the easiest, quickest recipes to follow and it tastes delicious. This is one of Logan's favorites. It's our go-to recipe when we can't think of anything else to make for dinner and Logan loves to make it simply because it's quick, easy, and yummy! I love it when my husband cooks =)


INGREDIENTS
  • 4 chicken breast halves (boneless)
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 - 1 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup mushrooms (chopped) and/or 1 can of chopped mushrooms, optional
  • 1/4 cup red bell peppers (sliced), optional
  • freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to taste 
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste  

DIRECTIONS
      1. In a skillet heat the butter/margarine and oil over medium high until the butter/margarine melt. 
      2.  Add the parsley, basil, oregano, and garlic. Mix together in the skillet. Stir in lemon juice.
      3. Add the chicken and saute for about 3 minutes or until each side is white. Add the mushrooms and red bell peppers (this is optional, but I would HIGHLY recommend it).
      4. Lower the heat and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
      5. Serve over rice or spaghetti noodles, topped with grated Parmesan cheese. (I served this with bow-tie noodles and garlic bread).  

      Serves 4.


      Adapted from All Recipes

      Dr. Pepper Chicken

      My husband (Logan) and I love Cafe Rio. So much so, that it's become my lifetime goal to eat at Cafe Rio 100 times before we leave Utah. Pathetic, I know (but, seriously it is sooooo yummy)! My favorite thing to get is their Sweet Pork Barbacoa. It's so sweet, juicy, and incredible. We found out that they actually marinate their pork in Dr. Pepper.....so one day Logan and I decided to try it out for ourselves, but with chicken. It was amazing! We loved it!


      INGREDIENTS
      • 6 chicken breast halves
      • 2 cups of ketchup, preferably Heinz ketchup
      • 2 liters of Dr. Pepper
      • 1 tsp. garlic powder
      • 1 tsp. onion powder

      DIRECTIONS
      1. Place chicken breast halves into a 2 quart or slightly larger pot. (Crock Pot works well too). 
      2. Pour ketchup and Dr. Pepper into the large pot or Crock Pot. Add onion and garlic powder. 
      3. Simmer over medium heat until the sauce is thick/sticky and the chicken is cooked through, about 2 hours. Eat the chicken plain, or shred and serve on buns (we ate it with rice and cooked broccoli). 

      Serves 6. 


      Adapted from All Recipes