chicken quesadillas with mango chutney

When we first moved to New York, our friends invited us over for dinner one Sunday evening. This is the recipe of what she served. I thought it was delicious and creative. It's become a family favorite and whenever I see mangoes in season, I get really excited to make this again for my family.

ingredients:

3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up

4 cups apx. mozzarella cheese

10 flour tortillas

2 mangoes, cut up into 1/2" pieces

2 kiwis, cut up and diced

1/2 bunch cilantro, snipped

2/3 cup corn, either from a can and drained or frozen--thawed, even fresh

1/2 red onion, diced (optional)

directions:

1. Grill/bake chicken, seasoning with a bit of lemon pepper if you desire. Cut up into small pieces

2. Cut up mango and kiwi into small pieces. Cook corn according to package directions. Mix with mango and kiwi.

3. Chop/snip up cilantro and add about 3 Tbsp. into fruit mixture.

4. Add diced onion to mixture.

5. In a skillet, place a tortilla down, add cheese, chicken (see below), then top with a few sprigs of cilantro (to taste), top with another tortilla. Place the lid on the skillet and cook in skillet until cheese is melted.

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Molten Lava Chocolate Cakes

I made this last night for our dessert. They really did turn out how they look in the picture! It is one of Jim's favorite...ok, me too! Kind of like a chocolate souffle that we would always order at our favorite restaurant in New York. They are extremely simple. If you don't have any ramekins, get some--they're rather inexpensive and good for serving your kids apple sauce or fruit in, etc. (or borrow them from me)! This is a BAKERS Chocolate recipe.

ingredients:

6 ounces semi-sweet or dark bittersweet chocolate (BAKERS is good, or any kind of baking chocolate)

10 Tbsp. butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup flour

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Grease 6-6 oz. ramekins/custard cups/souffle dishes. GREASE LIBERALLY! Place on baking dish.

2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on Medium (50%) for 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is melted completely. Add powdered sugar and flour; mix well. Add whole eggs and egg yolks; beat until well blended. Divide batter evenly into prepared ramekins.

3. Bake 14 to 15 minutes or until cakes are firm around the edges but soft in the centers. Let stand 1 minute. Run small knife around the cakes to loosen. Carefully invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Sprinkle lightly with additional powdered sugar and garnish with raspberries, if desired. Serve immediately. (They were actually good after being refrigerated over night and warmed up in the morning.)

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crock pot chicken tacos

My sister-in-law, Summer, shared this recipe with her recipe club. I tried it today and it was VERY simple to put together in the crock pot. It was a winner with my family. They all ate it--all of it. Very very yummy. Simple to make, yummy to eat. It passes our test.

Sara served them with Navajo Fry Bread (recipe below)

ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts (you can use 7 or so chicken breast tenders)
1 can chicken broth
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 cup salsa
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained

Place the above ingredients in the crock pot on high for 3-4 hours on HIGH. Just before serving shred chicken and add:

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheese

It will be runny. I like to fry up scones and make navajo tacos. I take them out of the freezer just before frying and put them in the microwave for 30 sec. to thaw. Then stretch them and fry 'em up...Or serve in taco shells or flour tortillas. My husband eats it like soup so you could try that too.

Top with: Cheese, Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, salsa, avocados, or anything else that sounds good.

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navajo fry bread

I found this on the internet tonight and made it to serve the crock pot chicken tacos on (recipe above). It was relatively easy to make and quick. Next time I make the, I think they'll be even better. Very very tasty though. I could see making these and putting a can of chili and cheese over it, or making a dessert with them...maybe with cinamon & sugar or powdered sugar. There are a lot of options with this fry bread. Have fun!

Recipe from: Cynthia Detterick-Pineda

ingredients:
2 cup unbleached flour
¾ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon powdered milk
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying

directions:
1. Sift together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder into a large bowl. Pour the water over the flour mixture all at once and stir the dough with a fork until it starts to form one big clump.

2. Flour your hands. Using your hands, begin to mix the dough, trying to get all the flour into the mixture to form a ball. NOTE: You want to mix this well, but you do NOT want to knead it. Kneading it will make for a heavy Fry Bread when cooked. The inside of the dough ball should still be sticky after it is formed, while the outside will be well floured.

3. Cut the dough into four (6) pieces. Using your floured hands, shape, stretch, pat, and form a disk of about 5 to 7 inches in diameter. NOTE: Don’t worry about it being round. It doesn't need to roll into your mouth!

4. Heat the vegetable oil to about 350 degrees. NOTE: You can check by either dropping a small piece of dough in the hot oil and seeing if it begins to fry, or by dipping the end of a wooden spoon in and seeing if that bubbles. Your oil should be about 1-inch deep in a large cast-iron skillet or other large fryer.

5. Take the formed dough and gently place it into the oil, being careful not to splatter the hot oil. Press down on the dough as it fries so the top is submersed into the hot oil. Fry until brown, and then flip to fry the other side. Each side will take only a minute or so.

Indian Fry Bread can be kept warm in a 200 degree F. oven for up to 1 hour. They refrigerate well and can be reheated in a 350 degree F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

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Manicotti Cordon Bleu

I haven't tried this yet, but I plan to soon. I actually found it on a coupon my milk man left for me and thought it looked interesting. If you try it too, leave a comment and let me know how you liked it!

ingredients:

1 pkg (12 oz.) string cheese snacks

12 slices deli ham or turkey

12 manicotti shells, uncooked

1 jar (26 oz.) pasta sauce

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup Artisan Blends Parmesan Cheese

directions:

1. Unwrap string cheese; place over each meat slice and roll up. Slide rolled cheese into pasta shell.

2. Combine pasta sauce and water; mix well. Spread 3/4 cup sauce mixture over 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange filled manicotti shells in dish; spread remaining sauce over mixture evenly over shells.

3. Cover with foil; bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 50 minutes or until pasta is tender. Top with parmesan cheese.

Note from Sara: Make sure you cook this with foil on until the noodles are soft. You may even want to buy the "ready to bake" manacotti noodles, or boil regular Manacotti noodles for a couple of minutes to get them started! Good luck!

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Mom's Parmesan Chicken

This recipe was given to me by Kristen Johnson...a friend in my ward. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds very tasty and not too complicated! If you try it, leave a comment and let me know how you like it! Thanks Kristen!

ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
garlic salt
1 c. of Ritz crackers
½ c. parmesan cheese
½-1 c. sour cream or plain yogurt
¼ c. butter (optional)

directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Pat chicken breasts dry, sprinkle chicken with garlic salt, let sit.
3. Crumble about a cup of Ritz crackers. Combine with parmesan cheese.
4. Dip chicken in sour cream or plain yogurt and cover with dry cracker mixture. Optional: drizzle with melted butter.
5. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

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Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

On several occasions, I've had people's chocolate chip cookies and thought "Why don't mine ever turn out that way?" Well, last night I attended a baby shower and I found myself thinking this again. Our hostess directed me to the recipe...which happened to be from Allrecipes.com--my favorite on-line site for recipes. I thought I'd share the recipe with you too. It was rather yummy. Not too mushy, and not too crisp. Just right!

ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. hot water
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to the batter along with salt.
3. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfulls onto ungreased pans.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

*The lady that made these last night said she baked them for EXACTLY 10 minutes. When she took them out they were still soft in the center, but when they cooled, they were just right and didn't taste under-done.

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