Route 16 birthday cake

I surprised my son with a Route 16 cake for his 16th birthday!  It was a fun cake to make and to make it easier, I just printed off road signs and even his temporary drivers license to personalize the cake.  I love how it turned out!

Chicken Enchiladas

An easy and delicious from-scratch recipe for cheesy chicken enchiladas. From the Cook Book: Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 15-ounce cans chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup sour cream
2–3 shakes Tabasco (or similar hot sauce),
Optional: kosher salt, to taste
4 ounces (1/2 block) cream cheese (low fat is fine)
1 7-oz can mild green chilis
14–16 ounces cooked, shredded chicken (about 3 1/2 cups)
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, divided
8–10 medium flour or corn tortillas

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and bubbly, add flour and stir to combine. Continue cooking, whisking continuously until mixture is light golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. SLOWLY add chicken broth, whisking constantly, until smooth.*note, if this part ends up a disaster and your sauce looks lumpy and clumpy- it’s not ruined! Just pop the entire sauce in a blender to smooth it out, then back in your pan and continue 🙂
Whisk in garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and pepper. Bring sauce to a simmer and stir until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in sour cream and hot sauce. Add salt to taste and set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, soften cream cheese in microwave until it’s easily stirred. Add green chilis and 1/2 cup of reserved sauce. Stir to combine and add chicken and 2 cups cheese.
Tip: If needed, to make the tortillas easier to roll, place between damp paper towels and microwave until warm (20-30 seconds).
Pour about 1 cup sauce into the bottom of prepared pan and spread out evenly. Place about 1/3-1/2 cup chicken mixture on each tortilla and roll tightly. Place tortillas snugly in pan. Pour remaining sauce on top and top with remaining 2 cups cheese. Bake 30-35 minutes, until hot and bubbly throughout and cheese is melted.

Strawberry Syrup

 I had some leftover strawberries and wanted to make some syrup.  This recipe was from allrecipes.com did the trick and made a thick syrup.  It was delicious on pancakes.

Ingredients:
1 C Water
1C Sugar
2 C quartered strawberries

Directions: Combine water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat; stir until sugar is dissolved. Mix strawberries into saucepan and bring to a boil; boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until strawberries are mushy and sauce is thick, about 10 minutes. With a spoon, take foam off the top.  I also used a hand blender to puree the strawberries. Refrigerate when cooled.

Cheeseball

Recipes are always fun to try from neighbors.  This is perfect for the Christmas holiday.

Ingredients:

2 pkg cream cheese, softened

6-8 oz cheddar cheese

2 T chopped green onion

2 T lemon juice

1/4 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion powder

1 C nuts, crushed

Directions:

Mix all ingredients, expect nuts, in a bowl and form into two balls.  Roll cheeseball into crushed nuts and place on a plate.  Refrigerate at least one hour.  Serve with crackers.

Homemade Country Gravy

If you have forgotten to get the packaged country gravy at the store, no need to fear, you can make the gravy from scratch.  This gravy goes so well with biscuits and eggs.

Ingredients:

1/2 C butter

3/4 C flour

1 t garlic salt

1 t pepper

4 C milk

Directions:

Heat butter/flour mixture.  Slowly add milk and cook until thickened.

Crockpot Roast

I got this recipe from a friend,  it is simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

3 lb roast

1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

1 envelope brown gravy mix

2 C water

Mix all with water and cook in crockpot on low for 8-10 hrs.

Pizza Sauce

A great recipe to use if making your own pizza sauce.

Ingredients:

1 can Tomato sauce

1/2 t garlic salt

1/2 t basil

1/2 t parsley

1 t pizza seasoning

1/2 t sugar

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and use as a pizza sauce.