BBQ Chicken Taco Salad

BBQ Chicken Taco Salad :

6-8 cups Romaine lettuce, washed and cut up
1 cup shredded Marble Cheese
2 cups crushed BBQ Corn Chips (sometimes known as Hoops)

4 Chicken Breasts, grilled and cut into strips

Place your lettuce into a large salad bowl. Add your choice of the salad add ins listed below to make it your own. Mix the salad together and top with crushed BBQ Corn Chips, Grilled Chicken and shredded Cheese. Serve with the Sante Fe dressing.

Optional Salad add ins:

1 cup Black Beans, drained and rinsed 

1 Bell Pepper, diced

1 Tomato, diced
 1 cup Cucumbers, cut up

1 cup Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup canned corn, drained

Sante Fe Salad Dressing:

1/2 cup Ranch Dressing

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

1/4 cup Catalina Dressing

Mix together and drizzle over your salad.

Canned Sugar-Free Peaches

Canned Sugar-Free Peaches:

-about 35 peaches

-10 cups water, divided

-1/4 cup lemon juice

-about 2 cups xylitol or truvia (OPTIONAL. You may choose to omit this because peaches have their own natural sugar OR add more or less-adjust according to taste)

Remove stones from 4 peaches. Blend peaches with 2 cups of water. Pour into big pot. Add the rest of the water as well as the xylitol or truvia. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice.

Meanwhile, peel and slice peaches and fill your jars. Pour syrup over peaches in jars. Make sure to leave at least 1 inch of space at the top of your jars. Put lids onto your jars that have been boiled in water.

Place jars in a hot water bath. Bring to a rolling boil and process for about 20 minutes. Remove jars from water and leave them on your counter until they have sealed and cooled off.

* the pectin in the peach peel is what helps to keep the colour of your peaches. With the absence of sugar in the liquid it is important to blend your fruit into the syrup to help preserve it.

**Honey can be used in place of xylitol. However it has a stronger, distinct taste to it so I only used about 1/2 cup. You might choose to use more.

Clean No Bake Oat Bars

Clean No Bake Oat Bars:

1 cup butter

1/2 cup coconut sugar*

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups quick oats

1/2 cup natural peanut butter**

1 cup sugar free chocolate chips***

*this is a brown sugar substitute

**regular peanut butter can be used but then it will not be completely sugar-free

Krisda or Lilydale are 2 brands of sugar free chocolate chips I have found. They are sweetened with stevia.

Melt butter in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Stir in coconut sugar and vanilla. Mix in the oats. Cook over low heat 2-3 minutes or until ingredients are well blended. Press at least half of the mixture into a 9 x 9 pan that has been lined with parchment paper.

Melt peanut butter and chocolate chips in a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Stirring frequently until smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture over the crust in the pan and spread evenly.

Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate layer, pressing in gently. Cover and refrigerate at least 2-3 hours before cutting into squares. Or to speed up the process I put it into the freezer before cutting it into squares.

These Bars are a delicious treat. Your children won't even be able to tell that they are healthy!

Cheeseburger Soup

Cheeseburger Soup:

1 lb ground beef

1 1/2 cups diced onion

1 1/2 cups diced celery

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

2 tbsp butter

2 tsp basil

2 tsp parsley flakes

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

6 cups chicken broth

8 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

1/4 cup cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

4 cups milk

4 cups shredded cheddar or marble cheese

1/2 cup sour cream(optional)

Brown your ground beef in a heavy soup pot. Half way through browning add onions, celery, carrots and butter. Continue to brown until veggies are soft.

Add basil, parsley, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. turn down and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add the cornstarch mixture into the soup stirring as you put it in. Continue to stir and simmer until soup has thickened slightly.

Turn burner down to low. Add the milk and shredded cheese. Stir until cheese starts to melt. Remove from heat and continue to stir until the cheese has melted nicely and mixed into the soup. 

*Do not let your soup come to a boil after the cheese has been added or it may start to curdle

Garnish each bowl with a dollop of sour cream if so desired.

Hot Broccoli Dip

Hot Broccoli Dip:

1 pkg cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 pkg bacon, diced and fried

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

1/4 cup red peppers, diced

1 tsp dill weed

1 1/2 cups shredded marble cheese

3 cups broccoli, chopped fine

Mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Serve with assorted crackers, tostito's and chips.This is always a hit wherever I take it. Such a tasty appetizer!

Perogy Casserole

Perogy Casserole:

24 potato & cheese perogies 

1 tin mushroom soup

 355 ml  milk (equal to mushroom soup)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 cup shredded marble cheese

1 small onion, diced 

2 tbsp olive oil OR butter

2 cups cooked ham, bacon, meatballs  or farmer sausage cut into bite sized pieces. 

Cook perogies in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile saute your diced onions in olive oil or butter until tender. 

 Drain the perogies. Place in a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle the onions, desired meat and shredded cheese on top of the perogies. 

 Mix together milk, mushroom soup and salt & pepper. Pour on top of the perogies. 

Cover and bake @ 350 for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. 

This recipe can easily be doubled.

I like to make an extra one to put into my freezer. If you are doing this you want to put it into the freezer before baking.

For any of my Mennonite friends: if you have any extra schmaunt fat (cream gravy) it tastes amazing mixed in with the mushroom soup mixture!

Chili

Chili:

3 lbs ground beef

1 small onion diced
1/2 tsp minced garlic

2 tins tomato soup

2 tins pork n beans

2 tbsp mustard

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

In a large saucepan cook beef over medium heat until beef is browned all over. Pour off any fat and discard.
Reduce heat to minimum. Stir in onions and garlic and cook until onions are tender.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend nicely, stirring occasionally to prevent burning or sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
Serve with baked or mashed potatoes, rice or on a bun.

Homemade Twix Bars

Homemade Twix Bars:

Shortbread Crust:

1 1/3 cups butter, softened (not melted)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

Caramel Sauce:

1 cup butter

 1 cup brown sugar

4 tbsp corn syrup

1 tin sweetened condensed milk

Top Layer:

4 cups chocolate chips

2 tsp oil of choice ( I use coconut oil)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 11 x 15 pan with cooking spray.

To make your shortbread crust mix together sugar and flour, and cut the butter in until it has formed evenly sized crumbs. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges start to turn a golden brown. Remove from oven and let it cool completely.

To make the caramel sauce combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, STIRRING CONSTANTLY or it will burn easily. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes continually stirring. Remove from heat and continue to stir for another 2-3 minutes. Pour the caramel sauce over the shortbread crust. Let it cool until the caramel mixture starts to form. I like to speed this up by putting it into the freezer.

Melt the chocolate and oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for no more than 15- 30 seconds at a time to prevent the chocolate from seizing, stirring during the intervals. once chocolate is completely melted pour it over top the caramel layer and let it cool.

Cut into squares with a warm knife to make a clean cut.