Killer Dip

The kids and grownups will love this recipe. You can have your children help prepare it too.

Ingredients
1 tub of sour cream
1 envelope of dry Ranch salad dressing
3/4 cups of dehydrated onions
salt and black pepper to taste

Recipe
Combine all ingredients and let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour---the longer you allow it to sit the better it tastes

Serve with any veggies as a dip or with chips, pretzels, and/or crackers

Ranch Mashed Potatoes

Every one that has had this recipe has loved it and asked for my recipe. It's an easy but tasty recipe.

Serves approximately 8-10

Ingredients
6-8 medium potatoes (the ones that I like the best are the Yukon Gold)
1/4 stick of butter
16 once of sour cream
1/4 -1 cup of milk (this is not a precise measurement)
2 packets of Ranch Dressing (dry)

Recipe
1) Cut potatoes into bite size and add to cold pan of water
2) boil the potatoes until they are soft enough for a fork to go threw easily---don't over cook them
3) drain all water from the potatoes
4) mash the potatoes and add to them as mashing butter, sour cream, milk and ranch dressing packets
5) make sure potatoes are well mixed and serve

Personal Note: this recipe goes really nice with the ranch chicken and my husband loves both

Grilled Italian Chicken

This recipe is a very nice one for a summer day, it's tasty but not too heavy on the stomach. Every one that has had this meal with me, has absolutely loved it, I hope you do too.

Ingredients
4-6 chicken breasts
1 bottle of Italian salad dressing (I really like using Wegman's Parmesan Italian Salad Dressing)

Recipe
1. Rinse off the chicken breasts
2. Pock holes into the chicken breasts with a fork
3. Place chicken and salad dressing into a large storage bag. Swish the chicken and dressing around making sure that all the chicken has been covered.
4. Place the bag in a medium bowl. Place the bowl into the refrigerator---this will allow the chicken to marinate. You can marinate the chicken as little as one hour, but the longer you marinate it the moister the chicken will be. You may want to marinate it over night.
5. After the chicken has marinated cook the chicken on the grill. Cook the chicken until no pink is showing and all juices are clear running.
6. Serve immediately after done cooking.

Suggested side: My Italian Pasta Salad

Italian Pasta Salad

This salad is really great served with my Grilled Italian Chicken.

This pasta salad is a great salad to bring to picnics because it doesn't have any mayonnaise products in it.

Ingredients
1 cup of broccoli
1 cup of carrots
1 cup of celery
3/4 cup of onion
1 cup of cheese (I like to use jalapeno cheese, but cheddar is really nice also)
3/4 peperoni
1 box of multi color pasta
1 1/2 cup of Italian Dressing
salt and black pepper to taste

Recipe
1. Cook pasta according to boxes directions
2. After pasta is cooked, drain well.
3. Cut all vegetables, cheese, and peperoni bite size and set a side to use later
4. Place pasta in a mixing bowl.
5. Combine all vegetables, cheese, peperoni and dressing with the pasta and mix well. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
6. Place pasta salad in the refrigerator and let chill for approximately 1 hour before serving.

Note: If the salad has been in the refrigerator for a while the pasta may soak up the dressing. You may want to add some dressing just before serving the salad. Be careful not to put too much dressing in.

Pumkin Cake

Moist cake that tastes great. This recipe came to me during a Weight Watchers meeting. You would never know it's low fat if no body told you. I never tell people when I serve it that it's low fat, that's our little secret :)

Ingredients
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1 spice cake mix
small container of whipped cream
powdered sugar for garnishing

Recipe
1. Pre heat your oven to what the cake mix directions say
2. Combine ingredients canned pumpkin and cake mix and mix well
3. Place the cake mix in a pan (same as the directions on the box say)
4. Cook as long as the box says
4. Allow to cool for 1 hour
5. Serve the cake with a dollop of whip cream on it and sprinkle with powdered sugar

Personal Note: my family really loves this recipe, it's so nice and moist and so yummy!!!

Greeny Garlic Bread

This could be a great part of a Saint Patrick's Day Meal---your children will get a kick out of it!!! :)

Whenever a new missionary (someone straight from the MTC) has been assigned to our ward our family has created a tradition to invite them over to have a surprise "greeny" dinner. This dinner is a celebration to recognize the new missionary to the area and mission.


Ingredients
1 stick of butter
Green food coloring
1 loaf of sliced Italian bread
Garlic powder
Dried Oregano
Dried Basil
Aluminum foil

Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
1. Soften butter, make sure you don't melt it
2. Add 2-3 drops of green food coloring to the soften butter and mix well, so that the color is well blended
3. Spread the butter onto all the pieces of bread
4. Sprinkle the bread with garlic powder
5. Wrap the prepared bread in aluminum foil so that there is no open spaces
6. Place the bread in the oven and cook for approximately 30 minutes or until it is brown
7. Unwrap the bread carefully and serve immediately

Personal note: the bread looks really green but it's so fun to see the missionaries faces and if you have children they will really love it.