::Grilled Chicken Tostadas::

~~This is one of my favorite recipes~~

::Ingredients::

MARINADE:

- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 to 4 limes)

- 1/4 cup soy sauce

- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (plus more for brushing the tortillas)

- 1 tablespoon honey

- 2 teaspoons minced garlic

- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

 TOSTADAS:

- 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast 

- 8 small corn tortillas (5 to 6 inches in diameter)

- 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack, or more if desired

 -1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce

::Instructions::

Place the chicken in a gallon-size zip-lock bag and add all the marinade ingredients. Press the air out of the bag and seal it. Turn the bag to thoroughly coat the chicken, place it in a bowl, and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight), turning the bag occasionally. Remove the meat from the refrigerator 20 minutes before you want to start grilling.

1. Prepare a charcoal fire or set a gas grill to medium-high, close the lid, and heat until hot -- about 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Remove the thighs from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the chicken until it's no longer pink inside, about 4 to 5 minutes per side on a gas grill. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting it into 1/2-inch strips.
3. Lightly brush both sides of the tortillas with vegetable oil. Grill them on each side until they turn slightly brown, about 1 minute on a gas grill. Before removing the tortillas from the grill, sprinkle each one with 1 tablespoon of cheese.
4. To serve, layer the tortillas with shredded lettuce, the chicken strips, the remaining cheese, and any additional toppings. Serves 6 to 8.

 

**OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, green onions**

::Pretzel Treats::

::Ingredients::

- 1 bag bite sized waffle OR regular pretzels

- 1 bag of Hershey Kisses

- 1 bag M&M's any color or kind

Heat oven to 170F OR lowest setting on your oven. Set a number of bite-sized pretzels in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, Then top each pretzel with a unwrapped Hershey Kiss, Bake for 4-6 mins. (the white chocolate with melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M candy into the center of each kiss. Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, the place them in the refrigerator to set. about 10 minutes.

**These can be made into many variations, for different Holiday's and such.**

::My Momma's Bacon Baked Beans::

*Another recipe my Mom has made since I was kid, love it!!!

::Ingredients::

- 5 15oz. cans Pork-n-Beans

- 3/4 cup brown sugar, (Light or Dark)

- 1/4 cup ketchup

- 1 Tbs. mustard

- 1/2 a pack of bacon

Mix first 4 ingredients in a 13x9 baking dish, Then with kitchen scissors
cut up the bacon into 1/2 inch pieces, and mix in with the beans.
Bake at 350F-400F degrees for about 45 mins.

::Chicken Salad::

::Ingredients::

**Turn leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken into delicious chicken salad.**

- 2 cups Original Rotisserie Chicken, cut into bite-size chunks

- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise

- 1/2 cup celery, chopped fine

- 3-4 Tbs. dill pickle

- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- salt & pepper

1. Remove all chicken and cut up into bite-sized chunks, Mix mayonnaise, pickle, garlic powder and salt/pepper in large bowl. Add chicken, celery and onion; toss to coat well. 

2. Cover and Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

**I love to serve this Chicken Salad on Croissant rolls from the Deli of my Grocery store.**

::Banana Pudding Pie::

::Ingredients::

For the Crust:
- 65 vanilla wafers
- 5 1/3 Tbs. butter, melted

- 2 ripe bananas, thinly sliced

- non-stick spray

For the Pudding:

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/3 cup flour

- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

- 2 cups milk

- 4 large eggs yolks, lightly beaten

- 2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the whipped cream:

- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbs. confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract

::Directions::
*Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick spray.
Place 45 of your vanilla wafers into a food processor and pulse until cookies are finely crushed (reserve 1/4 cup of the crumbs to use to top your pie). Mix remaining crumbs with melted butter. Firmly press into the pie plate. Bake for 10-12 mins. and then remove to cool.
*Now to make pudding, In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, flour and salt. whisk in the milk and stir constantly until the mixture comes to a low boil and becomes thick (about 7-10 mins.)
Reduce the heat to very low, In the bowl that you have your egg yolks in add a couple of tablespoons of the hot milk mixture (this will keep your eggs from cooking). Add egg mixture to pot and stir constantly until mixture is thickened to the consistency of pudding (about 3-4 mins.) You may need to turn your heat up slightly to achieve this. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
*Now your ready to assemble. Arrange half the banana slices over the crust. Spread half the pudding mixture over the bananas, Top the pudding with remaining 20 vanilla wafers you set aside.Top the wafers with the rest of the bananas, then finish it off with the remaining of the pudding. Place in the fridge to cool completely.
*For the whipped cream, using whisk on your stand mixer, (or hand mixer), beat the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. It helps if your bowl and your whisk are VERY cold.
Spread the whipped cream over pie and sprinkle with the reserved crumbs. Pie only keeps for about a day in the fridge. (bananas will start to brown)

::Meatloaf "Almost" The Way Grandma Makes It::

*My Grandmother's Meatloaf, that I tweaked a bit!

::Ingredients::

- 1 lb. ground beef

- 1 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

- 1/2 cup chopped onion

- 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 egg

- 8oz. canned diced tomatoes, with juice

- 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

::Topping::

- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 2 Tbs. brown sugar
- 1 Tbs. mustard
- 1 Tbs. white vinegar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all meat loaf ingredients well and place in 13x9 dish
Mix ingredients for topping and spead on loaf. Bake 1 hour.