Mexican Chicken Haystacks

We had Emmett's 1st Birthday party this weekend, which included a lot of family! I needed a recipe that fed a lot of people, was easy, and not too expensive! This is the recipe I found that met all of the criteria I was looking for and we LOVE it! We had a total of 25 people and this easily fed everyone (with many having seconds) and had enough leftovers for 4-5 more servings. Hope you all enjoy!

Mexican Chicken Haystacks

4 pounds cooked, shredded chicken ( I put mine in the crock pot for 6 hours on low and then shred it and add to the sauce mixture)

1 Large Onion, chopped

3-4 tablespoons minced garlic

3 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

2 (7 ounce) cans diced chilies

2 (15.5 ounce) cans pinto beans

1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans

1 1/2 tablespoon oregano flakes

1 tablespoon cumin

Mix together all ingredients and put in crockpot on low for 2-3 hours.

Serve with:

Rice

corn chips

chopped tomatoes

grated cheese

guacamole

sliced olives

shredded lettuce

sour cream

salsa

The way we eat this is rice first, then tomato mixture, topped with everything else!

Cafe Rio Pork Burritos

Cafe Rio Pork Burritos

Cook a 2 to 3lb pork roast on low for 7 to 8 hours until it pulls apart easily. Take it out of the crock pot, and shred it all. 

In a bowl, mix the following ingredients:

2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 - 2 cups salsa

1 can coke (not diet)

Poor into crock pot and add the shredded pork back into it. Mix all together. Cook on high for an hour to let the sauce soak in. 

We cook uncooked tortillas, and fill them with the meat, brown rice, black beans, and cheese. We also do them ” enchilada style” with green enchilada sauce and cheese on top!

Just a a couple side notes..... 

We add about a tablespoon of brown sugar to the green enchilada sauce to make it more sweet. 

After we have filled the burritos we top it with the green sauce and cheese and broil them for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Make sure you COVER it in sauce though so the tortilla does go hard! 

ENJOY!

Orange Sauce

We don't do a ton of baking around here, but this is a family dinner favorite.

Orange Sauce

(I know it's a weird name, but it's what my girls call it ;)

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce, recipe from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cans (15 Ounce Each) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Dash Of Sugar (more To Taste)
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste (I use around 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
• Fresh Basil, Chopped
• 1-½ pound Fettuccine

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.)

(This is an easy recipe, but there's something highly addictive about it. It's also a great way to use up pasta sauce that's just sitting in your refrigerator. I rarely use the fettuccine. I usually pick up some ravioli or tortellini from the freezer section a the grocery store or the fresh stuff at Costco is awesome. I serve it with homemade bread sticks and a salad. We love dipping bread sticks in the sauce, too!)

Enjoy!

Rachel M.

Rolo Cookies Recipe

Rolo Cookie Recipe

2 1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar packed

1 cup butter softened

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Rolo candies

1/4 cup Sugar (to roll cookies into)

Beat sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa and soda. Shape 1 tablespoon of dough around each Rolo. Pour remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Roll balled dough in the sugar and place on cookie sheet.
Bake at 350°F for 5 to 7 minutes. ( Time will vary depending on size of cookie) You will know they are done when they start to look cracked on top. Let set 2 minutes before removing from pan.

Hope you all ENJOY!!

Peanut Butter Butter Cream Frosting Recipe

This is the frosting recipe that I use to go on the Cupcakes! I haven't used this on a cake yet, but I'm sure it would be great too.

Ingredients:

1 cup Butter (softened, NOT MELTED)

3-4 cups Powdered Sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla

3-4 Tablespoons of Milk

2-4 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter

Directions:

Beat Butter until smooth. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar until the butter and sugar are mixed together well. Add in vanilla, 3 tablespoons of vanilla and mix well. Add as much Peanut Butter to meet you taste, then slowly add milk and/or powdered sugar to get it the consistency you want!

Enjoy!

-Aus

Amazing Chocolate Cake/Cupcakes

So last year for Hannah's Birthday Adrianne made the MOST AMAZING Chocolate cake! Several months ago I found the recipe again and decided to make cupcakes out of it. It is the most moist yummy cupcake ever. I use a basic butter cream frosting to go on it, but add a little bit of peanut butter to it so its a butter cream peanut butter frosting :)

Ingredients:

Devils Food Cake Mix

Small Package of Chocolate Jello

1 cup Sour Cream

4 eggs (beaten before mixed in)

1/2 cup Milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups MINI chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients, but chocolate chips, until mixed well. Add chocolate chips and mix with spoon. Bake as directed on the Devils Food Cake box!

Hope you all enjoy!

Love,

Aus

Lets Get Started!

So I thought I would start off just kind of telling how I imagine this all working! Basically whenever you have a new recipe you go to blogspot and enter the email and password. You will select the blog "thefamilyrecipeblog" and can write a post with your recipe!

If you have pictures it would be fun to have those with it! Also to keep it semi organized if everyone would "tag" their posts with what the item is (appetizer, dessert, main course, chicken, beef, etc). The last thing, is if you will just write your name at the end of the post so we all know who did the post!!

Can't wait to see every ones recipes! Lots of Love,

Austin