Green Jello Salad

I know there are about a million green jello salad recipes out there. I just had to jump on that train. But this one really is good, I promise. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law.

Green Jello Salad

4 3 oz packages of green jello
4 cups boiling water
2 cups cold water
2 16 oz containers of cottage cheese
2 29 oz cans of pears

Dissolve Jello in boiling water. Stir in cold water. Blend pears in the blender. Add cottage cheese and blended up pears.

*Tip: My pan was extremely full! If you put the pan in the fridge before putting the ingredients in there, you won't have to worry about spilling while putting it in the fridge.

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

This recipe is probably one of the easiest main dish recipes I've ever made. It's one of those fix it and forget it recipes. However, it is sort of hard to forget about it when it smells so good! I know it says Orange Chicken, but I didn't taste much orange in there. I think if I were to make it again (which I definitely will), I would put in less soy sauce. However, it tasted good with the amount of soy sauce it calls for, it just didn't really taste very orangey. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. The reviews on it were mixed. Half loved it and half hated it. So, I was a little nervous trying it, but since it was so easy, and I already had all of the ingredients, I tried it out. I thought it was very tasty, and the chicken was cooked to perfection (slow cookers are great that way). You didn't even have to use a knife. It just fell apart. Yum! Well, here you go:

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 oz can of orange soda
1/2 cup soy sauce (maybe less if you want)

Place chicken in a slow cooker, and pour in orange soda and soy sauce.
Cover slow cooker, and cook chicken on low for 5-6 hours.
Serve over rice or noodles.

See! It can't get much easier than that!

Baked Custard and Cream Puffs

This dessert has two recipes to it. It has a few more steps than most desserts I've posted. Sometimes I get into one of those moods and get a little fancy. I like that sometimes. Both of these recipes came from my Pillsbury cookbook. Seriously, where would I be without my beloved Pillsbury? It's the best!

Baked Custard



3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups milk
dash nutmeg

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla; blend well. Gradually stir in milk. Pour into ungreased custard cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Place custard cups in pan; place in oven. Pour boiling water into pan around custard cups to a depth of 1 inch.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm or cold. Store in refrigerator.

I didn't follow directions very well and just put all of the custard into a pie dish, and didn't put it in a pan with water. Oops! But I think it still turned out fine. However, I spilled some in the oven, and it was very stinky for a while.

Cream Puffs



1/2 cup water
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease cookie sheet. In medium saucepan, combine water and margarine. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in flour and salt; cook, stirring vigorously until mixture leaves sides of pan in smooth ball. Remove from heat.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating vigorously after each addition until mixture is smooth and glossy. Spoon 6 mounds of dough 3 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 425 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; prick puffs with sharp knife to allow steam to escape. Remove from cookie sheet; cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.
Split cream puffs; if desired, remove any filaments of soft dough. Fill with ice cream, whipped cream or pudding. If desired, top with chocolate sauce.

So, to put these two together, I filled the cream puffs with the custard. It turned out quite nice. I cut the puffs in half horizontally and spooned in the custard.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies aren't my absolute favorite, but the other day, I really wanted some, and I had VERY little time to make them. So, I looked through my Four Ingredient Cookbook, and found a few recipes. This one was the one I picked. It was the second one I found. Since it's from my Four Ingredient Cookbook, it only has four ingredients. I know you may be thinking, "How is that possible?" Well, it is, and they turned out perfectly soft and gooey! Here is the recipe:

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter (It says to use crunchy, but I used creamy, and it worked great!)
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients and form into 1-inch balls. Press flat on greased cookie sheet with a fork. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

I can't believe how incredibly quick and easy these were! I'll definitely be making these again!

Cornbread Chicken Pot Pie

It's been a while since I've posted a non-dessert item. When you only have to cook for two people, you don't make very special items. We usually have grilled cheese, pasta, or anything else that cooks little and quick. However, sometimes I get sick of that junk, and make something else. I've used this recipe a lot since we've been married, and it's easy and yummy. I've made it for people when they eat dinner with us, and I also make it for ladies in our ward when they have babies. This recipe came from my Campbell's Casseroles and One-Dish Meals cook book.

Cornbread Chicken Pot Pie

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
*1 package corn muffin mix
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix soup, corn and chicken in 9-inch pie plate.
Mix muffin mix, milk and egg. Pour over chicken mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with cheese.

*I like to make my cornbread from scratch, so you can use your favorite cornbread recipe if you like to cook from scratch. If you do this, follow the recipe, and omit the milk and egg listed above.