Since the cinnamon rolls only took one block of cream cheese, I think I'll be making a little of this for dinner. Cream Cheese Italian Chicken. Or whatever name you call it. Since it's so fabulous, easy, and even my kids will (usually) eat it, I'm sharing. (What is it with the recipe love today?)
These are just the *three* versions in my family cookbook. I know there are more out there--at least one to fit your needs. Happy cooking!
Creamy Chicken Bake
6-8 chicken breasts
1 envelope dry Italian dressing mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken)
1 (8oz) pkg chive & onion flavored cream cheese
1 (8oz) pkg plain cream cheese
Place raw chicken in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with dressing.
Combine soup and cream cheese. Blend until smooth. Pour over chicken.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 1 hour (or until chicken is done). Serve over rice.
Cream Cheese Chicken
4-5 bone in, skin on, chicken breasts
1 pkg Italian dressing (zesty is preferred)
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
Milk
In the morning, put chicken (I use frozen breasts and it works fine) in the crock pot on low and sprinkle ½ the pkg of dressing over the chicken. About an hour before you want to eat, take the chicken out and separate the meat from the skin and bones. Remove any excess fat from the juices in the crock pot and place the chicken back in the juices. Add the other half of the dressing packet and cream cheese. Stir in milk to desired consistency. Great over rice or egg noodles. Always a hit!
Italian Chicken
1 (8oz) cream cheese
2 envelopes dry Italian salad dressing mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 lb chicken
Marinade chicken in 1 cup water and salad dressing mix for 20 minutes. Bring water to boil in marinade and cook chicken. Bring chicken to medium heat and add cream of mushroom soup and softened cream cheese. Warm all the way through.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Baking
I just noticed in the deep recesses of my refrigerator that I've got a few blocks of cream cheese ready to mutate. (all that remains from the 10 I bought when they were on sale last...I forget when.) Hmm...can't throw them out! That's wasting good food!! What can I do with them.... Aha! Cinnamon rolls go well with cream cheese. And, since playgroup is at my house today, the kitchen is relatively clean and I can straighten up everything else while they're raising. Great! Everything worked out beautifully. The rolls were fabulous...even my gluten-sensitive friends indulged. (aren't I wicked?) Since it was so fabulous, (and really easy) I have to share the recipe: (like you need this, right?)
Cinnamon Rolls
2 pkg dry yeast (2Tbsp)
2/3 cup melted butter
2 tsp. salt
2 cups hot water
2 Tbsp powdered milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
7-9 cups flour
Mix all dough ingredients beginning with 7 cups flour. Knead until lightly sticky. (Add remaining flour as necessary.) Place in greased bowl. Turn greased side up and cover with a dry towel. Let rise in a warm place until double. (you can put the bowl in a 90-100 degree pre-heated oven for 30-40 mintues--just be sure to turn the oven off before putting the dough in!) Punch down and knead slightly. Divide the dough into halves.
Roll each half into a 9x15 rectangle on very lightly floured surface. Spread a thin coat of butter over the entire surface, leaving 1" butter-free edge on the 15" end. Mix cinnamon filling (1/2 c. sugar + 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon) and sprinkle (half) over entire buttered surface. Roll up tightly beginning at 15" buttered side. Pinch butter free edge of dough into the roll to seal well. Stretch roll to make even. Cut into 3/4" -1" slices. Place 4" apart on a greased cookie sheet (I use parchment) Allow rolls to raise until double, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 425 degrees for 9-10 minutes or until golden. Drizzle rolls with glaze while warm.
glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
3-4 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients until glaze is smooth. To thin, add more milk.
That's the basic recipe. Here are a few variations that I enjoy--and I'm pretty sure you will too. These will take your rolls from good to amazing!
Rasl-b-dazl Rolls: replace cinnamon filling with 1 pkg cream cheese mixed (with electric mixer) with 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam. (Omit butter, cinnamon/sugar, and glaze). These are rich, but not super sweet rolls. Fabulous.
Craisin Pecan: Omit cinnamon/sugar. Sprinkle brown sugar on melted butter. Sprinkle craisins and chopped pecans on the brown sugar.
Cream Cheese Frosting: I mix a block of cream cheese and a cube of butter together. (softened, but still cool). Then add just enough powdered sugar to make it smooth. Add 1 tsp. vanilla to thin it out a bit. Best frosting ever. Coveres 24 cinnamon rolls nicely. (don't try to figure out the calories, you'll have a heart attack! Just enjoy the gooey creamy deliciousness.)
I grew up with mom's buttermilk cinnamon rolls loaded with raisins, sometimes nuts, and pow.sugar glaze. They are the best ever, but I 've never been able to make them the same. Now I indulge my family with *plain* cinnamon/sugar rolls and cream cheese frosting. I love the craisin pecan version. I dice the pecans super fine and the brown sugar gets carmely crunchy. *sigh* I think I need another one. This recipe is from my super-baking SIL. Thanks! =)
Cinnamon Rolls
2 pkg dry yeast (2Tbsp)
2/3 cup melted butter
2 tsp. salt
2 cups hot water
2 Tbsp powdered milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
7-9 cups flour
Mix all dough ingredients beginning with 7 cups flour. Knead until lightly sticky. (Add remaining flour as necessary.) Place in greased bowl. Turn greased side up and cover with a dry towel. Let rise in a warm place until double. (you can put the bowl in a 90-100 degree pre-heated oven for 30-40 mintues--just be sure to turn the oven off before putting the dough in!) Punch down and knead slightly. Divide the dough into halves.
Roll each half into a 9x15 rectangle on very lightly floured surface. Spread a thin coat of butter over the entire surface, leaving 1" butter-free edge on the 15" end. Mix cinnamon filling (1/2 c. sugar + 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon) and sprinkle (half) over entire buttered surface. Roll up tightly beginning at 15" buttered side. Pinch butter free edge of dough into the roll to seal well. Stretch roll to make even. Cut into 3/4" -1" slices. Place 4" apart on a greased cookie sheet (I use parchment) Allow rolls to raise until double, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 425 degrees for 9-10 minutes or until golden. Drizzle rolls with glaze while warm.
glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
3-4 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients until glaze is smooth. To thin, add more milk.
That's the basic recipe. Here are a few variations that I enjoy--and I'm pretty sure you will too. These will take your rolls from good to amazing!
Rasl-b-dazl Rolls: replace cinnamon filling with 1 pkg cream cheese mixed (with electric mixer) with 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam. (Omit butter, cinnamon/sugar, and glaze). These are rich, but not super sweet rolls. Fabulous.
Craisin Pecan: Omit cinnamon/sugar. Sprinkle brown sugar on melted butter. Sprinkle craisins and chopped pecans on the brown sugar.
Cream Cheese Frosting: I mix a block of cream cheese and a cube of butter together. (softened, but still cool). Then add just enough powdered sugar to make it smooth. Add 1 tsp. vanilla to thin it out a bit. Best frosting ever. Coveres 24 cinnamon rolls nicely. (don't try to figure out the calories, you'll have a heart attack! Just enjoy the gooey creamy deliciousness.)
I grew up with mom's buttermilk cinnamon rolls loaded with raisins, sometimes nuts, and pow.sugar glaze. They are the best ever, but I 've never been able to make them the same. Now I indulge my family with *plain* cinnamon/sugar rolls and cream cheese frosting. I love the craisin pecan version. I dice the pecans super fine and the brown sugar gets carmely crunchy. *sigh* I think I need another one. This recipe is from my super-baking SIL. Thanks! =)
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Work Party
Wow.
I am amazed at how incredible my ward family is.
It's true, that wherever we've lived, we've been surrounded by wonderful people. You have all become our family at different times in our lives. (Which is why I blog...to keep in touch and up-to-date with you!) It doesn't matter what state we live in, wherever we go we know that we will have friends and support group.
Saturday we had a "Work Party" at our new house. (Doesn't that sound like an oxymoron? -is that how you spell that? --looks ridiculous....) Anyway. It was amazing how many people showed up, early on a Saturday morning, to help us tear nasty doggy-pee carpet out of our house, scrape linoleum off of the floor --some as a suprise under carpet!, wash walls, mow the lawn, remove bushes, clean gutters...etc.-and babysit kids. Even more amazing was how many stopped by or called later that evening to see if there was any more they could help with. And were we going to do this again with the next phase? They'd love to come help. (We got so much accomplished in that one day--more than we could have done on our own in a week! We've got a jump-start and I'm super impatient to keep going. Kilz-ing the house is next!)
I am so humbled to be the recipient of such service. Such cheerfully and freely given service.
Thank-you.
I am amazed at how incredible my ward family is.
It's true, that wherever we've lived, we've been surrounded by wonderful people. You have all become our family at different times in our lives. (Which is why I blog...to keep in touch and up-to-date with you!) It doesn't matter what state we live in, wherever we go we know that we will have friends and support group.
Saturday we had a "Work Party" at our new house. (Doesn't that sound like an oxymoron? -is that how you spell that? --looks ridiculous....) Anyway. It was amazing how many people showed up, early on a Saturday morning, to help us tear nasty doggy-pee carpet out of our house, scrape linoleum off of the floor --some as a suprise under carpet!, wash walls, mow the lawn, remove bushes, clean gutters...etc.-and babysit kids. Even more amazing was how many stopped by or called later that evening to see if there was any more they could help with. And were we going to do this again with the next phase? They'd love to come help. (We got so much accomplished in that one day--more than we could have done on our own in a week! We've got a jump-start and I'm super impatient to keep going. Kilz-ing the house is next!)
I am so humbled to be the recipient of such service. Such cheerfully and freely given service.
Thank-you.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Crankiness Justified
My darling King H is growing up too fast. During vacation he sprouted two new teeth! The funny thing is, he got his front left, then lateral right (is that correct?). He's sporting the most adorable snaggle-tooth grin right now. (hard to photograph with those tight little lips in the way!)
I was worried about the placement of his teeth (gaps forever? orthodontics?) until I noticed two more breaking through-the right front and left lateral. Poor kid, crazy teeth coming in all at the same time, in a strange order. At least the gaps are filling in.
Makes me feel better about the dose of tylenol I gave him at nap time yesterday.
I was worried about the placement of his teeth (gaps forever? orthodontics?) until I noticed two more breaking through-the right front and left lateral. Poor kid, crazy teeth coming in all at the same time, in a strange order. At least the gaps are filling in.
Makes me feel better about the dose of tylenol I gave him at nap time yesterday.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
House Musings
I've been distracted as of late, dreaming of color schemes and materials for my house. I considered waiting until it's all over to suprise y'all with the outcome, but let's be real....it's sketchy at best if that will happen. (the picture and posting, I mean)
So, here are the ideas I've gathered so far...Let me know what you think...
colors:
I want the entire house to be one main color (squire hill buff-1068), with ultra-white trim. Then I can add accent colors to rooms as I feel like. I have the dining room color (upper left corner, cranberry bog-ms002-on two walls) and the living room color (benjamin moore-classic caramel-1118). I tend to be attracted to greens, reds, browns, creams--did I mention that the outside of the house is blue-almost periwinkle? I think the main bathroom will be green-ish. The boys room will have more blues in it. Sweet A's room will be pink-ish and the master I see with chocolate brown and blue-grey. We'll see.
The countertops in the kitchen will probably be this. And the plan for the cabinets is to paint them white. Or off-white. Perhaps colorwash them and layer white/ivory. They are very un-charming 70s dark brown with no hardware and flat fronts. The budget doesn't allow for re-facing or replacing, so it's painting for them. After all is put back, I want to make a glass/ceramic tile backsplash. Probably all glass tiles behind the stove, and then (budget allowing) either a ceramic with glass accent backsplash behind the counters, or all glass tile mosaic (in browns/golds like this).
We're planning on putting in laminate in the kitchen/dining/hallways/family room since that's a pretty continuous space right in the center of the house. The family room at one end and the bedrooms at the other will get carpet. The bathrooms will just get fresh paint, and either ceramic or vinyl floors. Depends on budget when we get there. Haven't made it to carpet or bathrooms at the moment. I'm hung up on the laminate. I like this. (quintessa collection, walnut pattern). I like wide planks, non-shiny finish, and darker wood.
Those are the exciting parts. The boring parts are unscrewing cabinet doors (Sweet A removed nearl 100 screws from the backs of our cabinets--we pulled 33 out of the kitchen, and she and Sir C nearly took all of them out with the drill and screwdriver bit!!) removing plug and light switches, removing wood paneling, priming, tearing out carpet (we found the pooches favorite spot(s)...eww stinky!), discovering brown/green/orange/gold vinyl (I have to get a picture of it!), removing the vinyl, removing baseboards, tack-strips, doors.... you get the idea. We're still in the middle of all that. Then we get to clean it and prep it for paint. Then paint....and paint...and paint.
I haven't even begun to talk about the yard...
So, here are the ideas I've gathered so far...Let me know what you think...
colors:
I want the entire house to be one main color (squire hill buff-1068), with ultra-white trim. Then I can add accent colors to rooms as I feel like. I have the dining room color (upper left corner, cranberry bog-ms002-on two walls) and the living room color (benjamin moore-classic caramel-1118). I tend to be attracted to greens, reds, browns, creams--did I mention that the outside of the house is blue-almost periwinkle? I think the main bathroom will be green-ish. The boys room will have more blues in it. Sweet A's room will be pink-ish and the master I see with chocolate brown and blue-grey. We'll see.
The countertops in the kitchen will probably be this. And the plan for the cabinets is to paint them white. Or off-white. Perhaps colorwash them and layer white/ivory. They are very un-charming 70s dark brown with no hardware and flat fronts. The budget doesn't allow for re-facing or replacing, so it's painting for them. After all is put back, I want to make a glass/ceramic tile backsplash. Probably all glass tiles behind the stove, and then (budget allowing) either a ceramic with glass accent backsplash behind the counters, or all glass tile mosaic (in browns/golds like this).
We're planning on putting in laminate in the kitchen/dining/hallways/family room since that's a pretty continuous space right in the center of the house. The family room at one end and the bedrooms at the other will get carpet. The bathrooms will just get fresh paint, and either ceramic or vinyl floors. Depends on budget when we get there. Haven't made it to carpet or bathrooms at the moment. I'm hung up on the laminate. I like this. (quintessa collection, walnut pattern). I like wide planks, non-shiny finish, and darker wood.
Those are the exciting parts. The boring parts are unscrewing cabinet doors (Sweet A removed nearl 100 screws from the backs of our cabinets--we pulled 33 out of the kitchen, and she and Sir C nearly took all of them out with the drill and screwdriver bit!!) removing plug and light switches, removing wood paneling, priming, tearing out carpet (we found the pooches favorite spot(s)...eww stinky!), discovering brown/green/orange/gold vinyl (I have to get a picture of it!), removing the vinyl, removing baseboards, tack-strips, doors.... you get the idea. We're still in the middle of all that. Then we get to clean it and prep it for paint. Then paint....and paint...and paint.
I haven't even begun to talk about the yard...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Solids-Part II
We're entering the solid food stage of life.
This is such a painful stage for me. I believe I am one of the minority in the parenting world with children who don't really love to eat. (Or, perhaps more are like me?!?) When I see my friends kids eating everything, and scavenging food from other plates (probably that belonged to my kids), I am amazed. Daddy is always better at feeding solids-I figure it's because they know that mom's got "the goods" and what is this solid junk anyway? Unfortunately, daddy's not always around to feed the baby bird. King H was doing quite well until we went on vacation. Now, he's not interested. He even spits out cheerios.
Yesterday I tried to feed him some rice cereal with pears. Not interested. I had to pry his little lips apart with the spoon, and dump the cereal above his tongue. Then he would swallow. Somehow we managed to get most of the food in his belly-albeit with MUCH complaining. I felt triumphant.
Fast-forward to dinner. He complained so much about sitting in his exersaucer I picked him up. I held him on one side and tried to eat from my plate half-way across the table. Nothing is safe from King H when he gets that look in his eye. Sure enough, he grabbed a fistful of broccoli. He was so pleased with himself. I figured, "Why not?", and fed him a smidge of broccoli. He loved it. He couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough. (Of course, he's not quite coordinated to get it in himself, so I helped.) Now he opened his mouth wide and eagerly ate.
Apparently I've been trying with the wrong thing.
Broccoli trumps pears.
(I'm just not looking forward to the "aftermath" of this new stage....)
This is such a painful stage for me. I believe I am one of the minority in the parenting world with children who don't really love to eat. (Or, perhaps more are like me?!?) When I see my friends kids eating everything, and scavenging food from other plates (probably that belonged to my kids), I am amazed. Daddy is always better at feeding solids-I figure it's because they know that mom's got "the goods" and what is this solid junk anyway? Unfortunately, daddy's not always around to feed the baby bird. King H was doing quite well until we went on vacation. Now, he's not interested. He even spits out cheerios.
Yesterday I tried to feed him some rice cereal with pears. Not interested. I had to pry his little lips apart with the spoon, and dump the cereal above his tongue. Then he would swallow. Somehow we managed to get most of the food in his belly-albeit with MUCH complaining. I felt triumphant.
Fast-forward to dinner. He complained so much about sitting in his exersaucer I picked him up. I held him on one side and tried to eat from my plate half-way across the table. Nothing is safe from King H when he gets that look in his eye. Sure enough, he grabbed a fistful of broccoli. He was so pleased with himself. I figured, "Why not?", and fed him a smidge of broccoli. He loved it. He couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough. (Of course, he's not quite coordinated to get it in himself, so I helped.) Now he opened his mouth wide and eagerly ate.
Apparently I've been trying with the wrong thing.
Broccoli trumps pears.
(I'm just not looking forward to the "aftermath" of this new stage....)
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Saving Water
I was having one of those days.
Mine began with rotten dreams and sleep deprivation from getting up with the baby 3 (or was it 4?) times during the night. Not good. Things didn't progress from there, and I'll spare you the gory details (although mountains of laundry were involved.) Not my best day or proudest moments. My husband got a brief heads-up on the situation when he called about our date plans for that evening. So, when he finally came home, he found me attempting to tame the wild piles of dirty dishes. He came up to me, held me in his arms and gave me a kiss. (Now, he always gives me a kiss when he comes home, but it's usually an old married couple "hello" kiss...you know the kind.) Not today. This was the perfect kiss for the moment, and exactly what I needed (who knew?) to diffuse the powder-keg of emotions I'd been storing all day and keep from completely losing it for the rest of the night. While we were thus sharing a moment, our 4 yr-old interrupts.
"Uhm, guys, you shouldn't be wasting so much water."
I'm pretty sure he ment the sink faucet...
Mine began with rotten dreams and sleep deprivation from getting up with the baby 3 (or was it 4?) times during the night. Not good. Things didn't progress from there, and I'll spare you the gory details (although mountains of laundry were involved.) Not my best day or proudest moments. My husband got a brief heads-up on the situation when he called about our date plans for that evening. So, when he finally came home, he found me attempting to tame the wild piles of dirty dishes. He came up to me, held me in his arms and gave me a kiss. (Now, he always gives me a kiss when he comes home, but it's usually an old married couple "hello" kiss...you know the kind.) Not today. This was the perfect kiss for the moment, and exactly what I needed (who knew?) to diffuse the powder-keg of emotions I'd been storing all day and keep from completely losing it for the rest of the night. While we were thus sharing a moment, our 4 yr-old interrupts.
"Uhm, guys, you shouldn't be wasting so much water."
I'm pretty sure he ment the sink faucet...
Friday, April 17, 2009
Need a Laugh?
I have moments of creative genious...and moments of utter failure. Because of that, I thoroughly enjoyed finding this blog: Craft Fail.
Check it out for some not-so-martha moments in the world of creative endeavors.
Check it out for some not-so-martha moments in the world of creative endeavors.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Summer Favorite
If you've seen me in the last two years during fair weather, you've probably seen me wearing these:
They are my ULTIMATE favorite flip flops. Of course, I love cheap flip flops, because seriously, after wearing them with bare feet all summer, I'm not sure it's hygenically sound to keep them for multiple years. (At least not too many.) But with cheap flip flops there is rarely much support or cushion. (anyone for 2 for $5?)
While I wouldn't exactly categorize these as cheap, they are fabulous. Super thick and comfy. And sassy. And great conversation starters. And I have to get new ones. I've had mine for two years, and it's time to retire them. I just wanted to share where to find them. Here. And if the thought of running around with dragonflies, orchids and pineapples on your toes isn't appealing, they have plain ones. I think I need a few pairs. (I think I like them better than my croc-flops.)
Happy Flopping!!
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