Quick and Easy Recipes for a Summer Day

Now that summer is officially here, the weather is warmer, and kids will soon be home from school, who wants to spend a lot of time in the kitchen?  If you are like me, you don’t want that, nor do you want to heat up your kitchen with foods cooking a long time on the burners / elements or in the oven.

Here are a couple of recipes that are quick and easy to prepare.  The first one is from Stacey of SWDesigns .  It is for a yummy soup.

CHICKEN SALSA SOUP

Ingredients:

2 cups of diced cooked chicken

2 teaspoons of cooking oil

1/2 teaspoon of chopped garlic

1/4 cup of chopped onions

1 teaspoon of chili powder

2 cans of chicken broth  (15 ounces each)

1 cup of water

1 can of black beans - drained ( 15 ounces)

1 can of fiesta corn - this is a blend of corn and peppers ( 15 ounces)

1 cup of cooked macaroni noodles - drained

1 cup of diced tomatoes with green chilies  - your choice of mild or zesty (15 ounces)

Shredded cheese and green onions for garnish

Directions:

1.  In a large pan, add the oil, chicken, garlic, onions and chili powder.  Saute over medium heat  until the onions begin to brown.

2.  In a large soup pot, combine the chicken broth, water, macaroni noodles, black beans, corn and diced tomatoes.

3.  Add the chicken mixture to the soup, and cook over medium heat  4 or 5 minutes, or until soup is thoroughly heated, stirring frequently.

4.   Spoon into individual serving bowls and top with shredded cheese and sliced green onions.
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How about grilling?  I love grilled dishes because they are always tasty and are quick and easy to prepare, with the added advantage of not adding extra heat to the kitchen.  This next one I found on one of my favorite recipe sites:  Allrecipes

EASY GRILLED CHICKEN TERIYAKI

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 cup teriyaki sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions:

1.  Place chicken, teriyaki sauce, lemon juice, garlic, and sesame oil in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal bag, and shake to coat. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours, turning every so often.

2.  Preheat grill for high heat.

3.  Lightly oil the grill grate. Remove chicken from bag, discarding any remaining marinade. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes each side, or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.

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Makes me want to go out and fire up the barbecue grill right now!  Enjoy these recipes and let us know how they tasted.

Arlene Holtz
http://www.SpiritEssenceArt.com

 

Technorati Tags: cooking,easy recipes,recipes,barbecue,bbq,chicken,soup

Memorial Day!

Memorial day is soon upon us and that means lots of barbeques are in the works, so whether you are planning for a block party, family get togethether, or are just looking for some great recipes, here's a few to get you started.


Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup ranch dressing
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon white sugar, or to taste
(optional)
5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves -
cut into 1 inch cubes

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, stir together the olive oil, ranch dressing, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, salt, lemon juice, white vinegar, pepper, and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes. Place chicken in the bowl, and stir to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the grill for medium-high heat. Thread chicken onto skewers and discard marinade.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill skewers for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear.


Southwestern Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
2 (16 ounce) packages rotini pasta
1-1/3 cups vegetable oil
1 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chili powder, or to taste
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
8 cloves garlic, crushed 6 cups whole kernel corn
4 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and
rinsed
2 cups diced green bell pepper
2 cups diced red bell pepper
2 cups fresh cilantro leaves
4 cups chopped roma (plum) tomatoes

Directions:
You have scaled this recipe's ingredients to yield a new amount (32). The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield (8).
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. In a large bowl combine oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and garlic. Stir in pasta and set aside to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in corn, beans, green pepper, red pepper and 1/2 of the cilantro leaves. Spoon onto a platter and garnish with tomatoes and remaining cilantro. Serve chilled or at room temperature.


Stars and Stripes Grand Finale Cake
Ingredients:
2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) envelope plain unflavored
gelatin

2 pints fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar 1 (.25 ounce) envelope plain unflavored
gelatin

2 (10.75 ounce) loaves angel food cake,
sliced 1 inch thick
2 (8 ounce) tubs frozen whipped topping,
thawed

Directions:
1. Mix half of the strawberries, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1 envelope of gelatin in a bowl. Set aside at room temperature to allow the juices to develop and the sugar and gelatin to dissolve, about 15 minutes. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes on full power, or until gelatin has dissolved. Stir to blend in the gelatin and then mix in the remaining strawberries.
2. In a separate bowl, mash 1 cup of the blue berries with the back of a fork. Stir in 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1 envelope of gelatin. Set aside at room temperature to allow the juices to develop and the sugar and gelatin to dissolve. Heat in the microwave for about 2 minutes to melt the gelatin, then stir to blend. Mix in the remaining blueberries.
3. Cover the bottom and sides of a springform or a tall, removable bottom tube pan tightly with aluminum foil to keep the juices from seeping out.
4. Pour all of the strawberry mixture into the bottom of the cake pan, cover completely with slices of angel food cake, tearing or cutting pieces to fit in a tight layer. Spread 1 container of whipped topping over the first cake layer. Make a second layer of angel food cake, like the first, and pour the blueberry mixture evenly over the top. Arrange the angel food cake in a third layer on top of the blueberries, spread the remaining container of whipped topping on top. Finish the dessert with a final layer of angel food cake.
5. The layered cake will be higher than the edges of your pan. Carefully lay a large piece of aluminum foil over the cake and place a baking sheet on top. Invert the cake, press the cake firmly onto the baking sheet. Weigh down the mold, using pie weights or bags of dry beans or rice; refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
6. Soak a kitchen towel in very hot water, wring out excess water, and wrap the towel around the cake pan; let stand for 1 minute. Remove the towel. Holding the pan and plate together, shake the cake back and forth to release it from the sides of the pan. Open the springform ring carefully, or pull back the sides of the tube pan. Do not force the cake to release. If it continues to stick, repeat the procedure with the hot towel.

Strawberry Pickin'

First off I want to thank everyone who participated in our Open House events and give a shout out to our winners, CONGRATULATIONS! Now with that being said, on to the post of the day, strawberries.


I love strawberries, they are one of my absolute favorite fruits, their red ripe sweetness is absolutely divine. In the past I have just purchased our strawberries at the grocery store or maybe the farmer's market but this past Friday I had the opportunity to visit our local strawberry farm and do some picking of my own. I went with my neighbor, her two little ones, and one of my little ones and what fun we had. The kids had the freedom to run around and of course pick all the strawberries they could hold. They would pick a strawberry, then take a bite, then pick and bite, and on and on! There was even a maze at the end for them to do and as a special treat there were homemade strawberry slushies for them to indulge in. This farm was really amazing and just beautiful...everywhere you looked just fantastic views!

We couldn't have asked for a better time, the weather was perfect, the berries abundant, and even better because they had so many ripe berries they had marked them down to a dollar a pound! I came home with one of these bad boys filled to the rim. Now I just have to figure out what to do with all these lovely beauties!


I think first off I'm going to try this recipe from our wonderful Artfire Cafemom Team member Stacey of SWDesigns. I plan on using fresh strawberries instead of the preserves and maybe adding a bit of cream cheese and strawberries to the frosting too. Gotta find a way to use all these berries!

Strawberry Swing Cake

1 box of Moist Supreme Classic White Cake Mix

1 cup of water

1/3 cup of oil

3 eggs

15 ounce ( approximately ) jar of strawberry preserves

8 ounce container of Cool Whip

fresh strawberries for garnish



1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray.

3. Combine cake mix, water, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Add 3/4 cups of the strawberry preserves and blend with an electric mixer for 1 minute.

4. Pour batter into the 13 x 9 inch pan and bake according to the cake mix directions.

5. When the cake is cooled, cut it in half and place one of the cakes top side down on a platter.

6. Spread the remaining strawberry preserves on the top of this cake.

7. Place the other half of the cake on top of this cake.

8. Combine the Cool Whip and the white frosting in a large bowl. Mix with an electric

mixer until well blended.

9. Frost sides and top of cake and add fresh strawberries for decoration.

10. Refrigerate until it is served.

BBQ Chicken Nachos - Yummy!

This recipe brought to you by JazzyJemz sounds right up my alley. These nachos sound divine and best of all the recipe is super simple and quick to make. It's also easily modified for those who are watching their waistline by simply replacing the cheese with a fat free or reduced fat variety and using either Baked Tostitos or Tostitos Light chips.



BBQ Chicken nachos- Appetizer or snack

1 cup cooked chicken

BBQ sauce

Chopped Tomato

Chopped Red onion

1.5 cups Shredded Chedder

Tostitos



Preheat oven to 300

Toss Cooked Chicken and BBQ sauce in a pan to heat on low while you chopped the toppings- onions, tomato

When cooked chicken is warm put a layer of tostitos on a shallow cookie sheet. Layer chicken on top, onions, tomatos. Top with the shreeded cheese. Drizzle some BBQ sauce over the cheese.

Pop in oven, remove when cheese has melted. Eat up before they disappear!

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

For today's feature I thought I would spotlight one of our members yummy recipes for a sweet treat. This recipe is brought to you from Stacey from SWDesigns to check out her other creative side visit her store at http://www.swdesigns.artfire.com/ where she showcases her fabulous jewelry creations. Without further ado here is the recipe:

Ingredients

Cooking Spray

24 Oreo Cookies

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

12 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup strawberry or raspberry preserves warmed

Whipped Cream

Chocolate Shavings (we used crushed chocolate chips)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Put standard size foil or paper baking cups into 12 muffin/cupcake pan. Spray the cups with the cooking spray.

3. In a blender, or by hand in a large bowl, crush the Oreo cookies. Add the melted butter. Continue to crush the mixture until fine crumbs form.

4. Spoon the crushed cookies into the bottom of each sprayed baking cup. Gently press down.

5. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

6. In a medium sized bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with a hand mixer, until smooth. Add the eggs and the vanilla and continue to beat until well blended.

7. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into each of the baking cups.

8. Bake for 15 minutes.

9. Remove from the oven and spread one teaspoon of the warmed preserves on top of each cheesecake. Put the muffin/cupcake pan into the freezer for 15 minutes.

10. Remove pan from freezer and mini cheesecakes from muffin/cupcake pan. Gently peel off the foil or paper baking cups. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Sounds delish and my stomach is rumbling now! Enjoy and thank you SWDesigns for the yummy recipe!

Recipe for Busy Moms

Rather than this blog being only about promoting our members' art (which we will certainly be doing frequently because we have such talented Mom-Artists), our blogging team decided we would also write about other topics of interest to busy moms. Our desire is to make this blog a place for lots of fun and interesting ideas we'd like to share. Consequently, in the future look for articles about Family Life Tips, Tutorials (How-To articles), as well as spotlighting our Cafemom Artfire Team moms and their work and special events.

Another topic will be wonderful recipes that are both delicious and time-saving. We all know how tough it is sometimes to be a mom and family member, homemaker, wife / partner, and still have some time leftover to create! The recipe I am sharing below is one of my family's very favorites and it is certainly easy to put together, as you'll see.

EASY GOULASH



Delicious and easy recipe. You basically throw everything together in a casserole dish and your family will ask for more every time!


1— 1½ lbs. ground beef, browned in skillet and drained
1 chopped onion
3 cups raw macaroni
1 can tomato soup + ½ can water
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ cup catsup
½ tsp salt and dash pepper
¾ cup cheddar cheese, cubed

NOTE: Can substitute ground turkey or even chopped veggies or TVP soaked in vegetable stock instead of ground beef, for the health conscious or vegetarian moms out there.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees (moderate oven). Combine remaining ingredients in bowl, and add cooked, drained ground beef and onions to bowl, mixing well.

Put all in greased, covered casserole dish for 1 hour, or until macaroni is cooked.
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Try it and let us know how you like it. Feedback is always welcome here.

Arlene