Monterey Chicken

This is the recipe from Chili's restaurant. It's easy and great to make for a crowd. It can stay warm in the oven for several hrs.
Ingredients:
Chicken:
1 boneless breast of chicken
2 t. of barbecue sauce (I like Bull'sEye)
2 slices of cooked bacon
1/4 cup mixed jack and cheddar cheese blend

Garnish: (optional)
1/2 small diced tomato
1 green onion diced
Directions:
Pound the breast until slightly flattened. (Place between two pieces of plastic wrap or in
a ziplock)
Spray nonstick skillet with Pam. Season with salt and pepper. Cook or grill chicken on both
sides until done (medium heat for 6 minutes per side).
*Chicken should have no pink
Top with barbecue sauce, bacon, and cheese. Cover with lid (or place breast on a plate
and microwave) until cheese is melted.
Optional: Sprinkle garnish on top

BBQ Ribs

Great ribs, slow cooked then finished on the grill. These are fall off the bone ribs with glaze.
Ingredients:
2 slabs of good baby back pork ribs (I used 1 slab pork and one beef)

Dry Rub:

8 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon diced jalapeno

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Braising Liquid:

1/2 cup white wine (cooking wine, non alch. wine or beef stock)

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon honey

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Place each slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side down. Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub. Pat the dry rub into the meat. Refrigerate the ribs for a minimum of 1 hour. In a microwavable container, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Open one end of the foil on each slab and pour half of the braising liquid into each foil packet. Tilt the baking sheet in order to equally distribute the braising liquid. Braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. They should be very tender. If not cook a bit longer.

Transfer the braising liquid into a medium saucepot. Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by half or until of a thick syrup consistency. Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place on the grill or under a broiler to brown glaze for a few minutes watching carefully so they don't burn. Slice each slab into 2 rib bone portions. Place the remaining hot glaze into a bowl and toss the rib portions in the glaze or brush more on.

*This recipe makes several batches of dry rub. If more rub is needed, it can be extended by any amount, as long as the ratio of 8:3:1:1 remains the same.

Adapted from Alton Brown

The other two men in my life

Ben and Jerry came out with a super fabulous new flavor several months ago- Red Velvet Cake... Just fyi ;) This is really unbelievable even if you are not a fan of red velvet. It's hard to pick favorites here, but this is close to the top of the list! I hope it's not a limited flavor and decides to hang around awhile. Ironically, Elise had a project in her advertising class at BYU to market Ben and Jerry's. I volunteered to be her test market. She ended up not needing me, but I did the research anyhow, one pint at a time.
It's running a close second to my #1 slotted pick- Chunky Monkey. Other favorites are Triple Caramel Chunk and Peanut Butter Cup. Competing for the #1 spot along side Chunky is Haagen Daaz's Caramel Cone, which will change your life. ;)

Chocolate Cranberry Nut Bark

There's really no firm recipe for this one. Basically, melt some of your favorite chocolate and spread onto waxed paper in a fairly thin layer- around 1/8" or so. No strict rules here.
Let cool completely until set. If you melt chocolate on a wax paper covered cookie sheet, you can place in the fridge to speed dry time up. Melt good quality white chocolate and pour and spread onto of cooled chocolate layer. I used both kinds of chocolate because I don't like plain white bark usually. I do like dark / milk bark, BUT... the white is very pretty with all the toppings.
While white chocolate is still cooling, top with dried fruit, nuts etc.. really anything you like. I used cashews and dried cranberries. Break up into severe shards with sharp knife and package to give away or serve. That's it. This looks way more complicated than it is. ;)

Candy Bar

This is my tiny homage to Amy Altas, whom I love and aspire to be like in my fantasy life. This was for my book club I was hosting around Valentine's Day. I love serving dessert this way, with lots of fun treats to choose from, and people can help themselves.
I mixed red Valentine's treats, Godiva truffles, Hershey bars (because they were in the book I chose- "Unbroken" which I think has to make my top list of book picks) I made the chocolate cranberry nut bark, but everything else was purchased. Easy dessert!

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

This is another Best Bites and really really good stuff. Great for parties and munchies!

1 of roasted red peppers (about 1 c. chopped
3/4 cup mayo
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
2 T. minced onion
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 T. Dijon mustard
12 oz. pepper jack cheese-shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Blot all excess water from peppers really well. Dice. Combine mayo, cream cheese, onion, garlic and mustard. Add cheese and peppers.
Once this step is done, you can cover it and leave in fridge for 2-3 days- which is great!
Place in oven and bake 30-45 min. Remove when golden and bubbling. Serve hot with chunks of good french bread and cubes of good bagel or veggies.

Strawberry Bruschetta

I tried this recipe from Our Best Bites. You can add additional fruit such as kiwi, mango etc. I had strawberries on hand, so that's what I used. These are very very good, I fixed them as breakfast for company. These are especially wonderful when fruit is in full season...

Ingredients:
1 baguette of best quality french bread
1 1/2 cups diced strawberries (about 10)
1 med. mango and 3 kiwis or any other fruit

Orange Honey Creme Sauce:
4 T. melted butter
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 cup sour cream
3 T. honey
1 t. orange zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and slice bread into 1/2 inch pieces. Put on sheet pan in single layer and brush each with melted buter. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the tops. Bake 10-12 minutes. To make sauce combine all ingredients and put in fridge. If using several fruits, combine and top the bread with fruit. Drizzle with sauce and serve immediately.