Citris Drink

This drink is really refreshing!

Ingredients:

5 oranges

5 Limes

5 Lemons

1 Cup Sugar

5 Cups of Water

Mix all together. You can mix more sugar or water if you would like. It all depends on how sweet your fruit is.

adapted from real mom kitchen

Cheesesteak Hoagies

2 lbs steak (cheap steak- I used skirt steak) FREEZE for 20 minutes before slicing.
1 medium yellow onion (I used a vidalia)
1 green pepper
4 hoagie rolls
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
provolone cheese (6 slices cut in half)
1-2 tbsp butter

Slice the onion and pepper in a food processor. Place in a bowl. Slice the meat in the food processor. Heat the butter in a pan on medium- medium/high heat. Once melted, add the steak. Cook steak for about 4 minutes with the salt and pepper. Add the pepper and onion. Cook for another 4 minutes. Put lid on pan and let steam about 5 minutes. Spoon mixture over the hoagie rolls. Top each hoagie with 1 1/2 slices cheese. Microwave until cheese is melted- about 30 seconds. OR (as I prefer) place in the oven (around 450*) for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the hoagie roll is just starting to crisp.

EASY Lemon Cake

This cake is the easiest cake I've ever made. It is super moist, mild and delicious! My whole family loved it!!

1 Angel Food cake mix
1 can Lemon pie filling

Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a bundt pan with pam. Mix together the cake mix and the pie filling . Bake for 20 minutes. Cool. Serve.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

These are AMAZING! It made about 2 dozen of them. I wish I could've eaten them all. They are SO GOOD!! We will have these often!!

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c green salsa
1T fresh lime juice (I didn't have any limes- I used lemon juice)
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic
3 T chopped fresh parsley
2 T sliced green onions

3 c shredded cooked taco chicken
2 c grated pepperjack cheese

small flour tortillas
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until combined well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Heat tortillas for about 20 seconds in the microwave, 5 at a time.

Place 1/8 c of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

My tips: We dipped them in sour cream and guacamole. Of course you could dip them in salsa, too... I'm sure that would be yummy! I altered this recipe quite a bit. You can see the original recipe on Our Best Bites.
**Adapted from Our Best Bites

Taco Chicken

This is really good- juicy and very flavorful.

1 lb. chicken breasts or thighs
A couple of juicy limes
A splash of red wine vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or coarsely chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Juice the limes and combine with a couple splashes of red wine vinegar. Add garlic. Pour over chicken. This will not completely cover the chicken; just turn it occasionally as needed. Marinate for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.

Heat an outdoor grill (you can also use a grill pan inside. Or your broiler in your oven.) Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and rub the spices all over the chicken.

Grill about 7 minutes per side.

Remove from heat and allow to stand a few minutes so it doesn’t lose its juiciness. You can either eat the chicken as it is, maybe with Mexican rice and beans, or use slice it up and use it as you would taco meat.

My tips/alterations: I used a George Foreman grill. I added only 1/4 tsp of each, salt and pepper. I didn't have lime juice- so I used lemon juice.

**Adapted from Our Best Bites

German Potato Salad

I was really worried about trying this. I was scared that it would taste like vinegar. But it didn't! It was good. I still prefer the more fattening traditional mayonnaisey potato salad- but this was very good. My kids liked it. My husband wasn't a huge fan. It's nice to change things up every once in a while- so I'm sure this will make it back to our table.

2 lbs. small baby potatoes (red, Yukon gold, etc.)
6 oz. bacon (about 1/2 of a standard package)
1/2 c. minced onion
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 c. white wine vinegar
1/2 c. water
2 tsp. Creole mustard (or a mild coarse-grain mustard, not a strong one in the stout little glass jars)
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 c. fresh dill or 1 Tbsp. dry dill

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While the water is heating, quarter or slice the potatoes. When the water comes to a boil, add the potatoes and cook until you can pierce them with a fork but not to the point where they are mushy or falling apart. Drain the potatoes and run some cold water over them.

While the potatoes are cooking/cooling, cut 6 ounces of bacon into bite-sized pieces. Place the bacon in a cold skillet and then turn the heat up to medium and cook until the bacon is crispy. While the bacon is cooking, whisk together the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, pepper, and mustard. Set aside. Remove the bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving the drippings in the pan.

Add some minced onion and minced garlic and cook until fragrant and the onions are translucent. Add the vinegar/mustard mixture and turn the heat to high. Cook on high for about 3 minutes or until the dressing has reduced by about 1/3. Remove from heat and add the cooked potatoes. Gently toss the potatoes in the dressing and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Add the bacon and dill and gently toss again and then transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh dill sprigs and serve immediately. Serves 6-8.

**Adapted from ourbestbites

Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies

These are SO GOOD! They are ooey and gooey and delicious! These will be a new staple in our house!!

3/4 C sweetened condensed milk, divided (fat-free is fine)
1/4 C butter, melted and cooled (1/2 stick)
1/4 C non-fat milk
1 box devil’s food cake mix (18.25 oz)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
cooking spray
1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme
1/2 C peanut butter morsels (I used a full 12 oz bag!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
With an electric mixer, combine 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, milk, butter, cake mix, and egg white. Mixture will be very thick. Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Use either floured hands, or spray your hands with cooking spray in order to press it down without having it stick to your fingers. The layer will be thin. Bake for 10 minutes. Combine 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk and marshmallow creme in a bowl and combine until smooth. Stir in PB morsels. No one will tell if you stir in some extras. Spread marshmallow layer over brownie layer in pan. Carefully drop remaining brownie batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. (The original recipe calls for 30 minutes, but many readers have noted that 20 minutes was perfect, and I usually only bake for about 20-25). Remove from oven and cool before cutting into squares.
Adapted from Cooking Light

Layered Drinks

Choose 2-3 drinks with different sugar contents for the layers (for example: 30 g sugar, 15 g sugar, 0 g sugar). Now put a little bit of ice in the bottom. Pour the drink with the highest sugar content into the cup, filling it approximately one third full.Put more ice in the cup all the way to the top. For the second layer, pour the second drink with the lower sugar content slowly through the ice to fill approximately the second third of the glass full. Finally, pour the sugar-free or lowest sugar drink slowly through the ice until you’ve reached the top of the glass. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from sisterscafe.com

(4th of July Layered Drink: Minute Maid punch, Powerade, Gatorade) Mix it up for holidays, birthday parties, whatever!

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup almonds (whole, slivered, sliced, whatever)
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (2 pkgs)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
Filling:
1 cup white chocolate chips
4 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
4 large eggs plus 2 yolks
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
(Optional-- you can add fruit on top if desired. I added blueberries and raspberries- about 2 cups of fruit.)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350*.
Make crust. Finely grind graham crackers and almonds. Add melted butter. Mix until combined well. Press into bottom and up sides (leave about 3/4 inch at top of sides) of 10-inch springform pan.
Make filling. Melt chocolate in microwave (30 second intervals until smooth). Beat cream cheese in mixer until fluffy. Add sugar. Add eggs and yolks, 1 at a time. Beat in flour and vanilla. Then slowly stream in the melted chocolate. Mix well. Pour on top of crust. Bake for 45-60 minutes (check at 45 minutes- and then every 5 minutes) until cake is set 3 inches from edge. Cool. Serve chilled.

***Chocolate can be melted in a double boiler.

Buckeyes

2 1/4 cups peanut butter (I use creamy)
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate)
2 tbsp shortening

(1 cup white chocolate chips, 1 1/2 tsp shortening and food coloring for drizzle if desired)

Cream together peanut butter and butter. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Form into tsp-tbsp size balls. Refrigerate on wax paper for 30-45 minutes. Melt chocolate chips and shortening together in microwave or a double boiler. Once melted, remove peanut butter balls from the fridge and dip (with a toothpick) in chocolate until peanut butter is about 3/4 covered. Make drizzle (same melting instructions as the chocolate dip) and drizzle over balls. Refrigerate. Serve chilled.