One loaf of French Bread

Butter, softened for spreading

1/4 packet dry Ranch Dressing

Halve the loaf of french bread horizontally, like you would if you were opening it to make a sandwich. Spread a thin layer of butter on the open face of each piece and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle ranch dressing mix over each loaf. Place on the top rack of the oven and broil until it turns golden brown. This doesn't take very long, so watch it! Slice and serve immediately.

This is one of Jaxon's favorite sides. When he was in high school he used to come home from football practice and eat an entire half with dinner.

Grilled Cheese with Apples

This is just a little something we like to change up our grilled cheese sandwiches.

Two Pieces of whole wheat bread

Two slices of Havarti cheese (You can also use provolone)

1/4 of a large tart apple, sliced (granny smith or pink lady are my favorite)

honey

Arrange slices of apples on a piece of bread and drizzle with honey. Top with cheese and other slice of bread. Toast and enjoy!

I usually only use one slice of cheese to ease up on the calories, two makes it more decadent.

Buttons

So this is not a recipe that I invented, but for lack of a better name we chose to call them buttons. :) I have not found a person who doesn't love these little gems!

1 bag Snyder's Pretzel snaps

1 package Hershey's Hugs

1 package plain M&M's

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Arrange as many snaps on a cookie sheet as you can without letting them touch each other; discard any broken ones.

Unwrap all hugs and place them in a bowl. Put a hug in the center of each snap.

Put sheet into the the oven for about 3 minutes. This part is tricky because you don't want to melt the hugs to the point that they lose their shape, just enough to soften them.

Carefully remove from the oven and immediately press an M&M into the middle of each hug. Let the chocolate reset before serving (If you can wait that long :)

I am going to try caramel Hershey's and pecan halves next time. I will let you know how that goes. Stay tuned...

German Pancakes

We call these "mountains" at our house because of the way they look when they come right out of the oven. . . Jaxon learned to make what he calls German Pancakes in Germany which are more like a thick crepe and since these get so big in the oven we decided they look like mountains. So, this is how we differentiate between the two.

6 TB. butter

6 eggs

1 c.flour

1 c. milk

Remove all but one rack from your oven and put it on the second to the bottom slot. Slice butter into a 9x13 pan and place in the oven while preheating it to 425 degrees. Beat eggs until frothy, add flour and milk. Mix well. Remove the pan from the oven and pour batter into hot butter. Put the pan back into the oven and bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

White Chicken Chili

1 lb. chicken cubed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/12 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. oil

2 (15 oz.) cans great northern beans (rinsed and drained)

1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth

2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chilies

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. whipping cream

Saute chicken and onion sprinkled with garlic powder in 1 tsp. oil in the bottom of a large pot. Once chicken is cooked through, add beans, broth, chilies and seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sour and whipping cream. Serve immediately.

This recipe reminds me of Jaxon's mom. She doesn't prefer to add the full strength of all the spices, but we think it is the perfect balance of spicy and creamy goodness. Yummy.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8oz. cream cheese (softened)

1/4 c. butter (softened)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Whip cream cheese and butter together. Add vanilla and lemon juice, then ad powdered sugar a little at a time until you reach the consistency you desire. *If your cream cheese and butter are not at room temperature, your frosting will be chunky.

Banana Bars

I got this recipe from my MIL. :) (Sorry about the sad pic)

1/2 c. unsalted butter (softened)

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas (mashed)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3/4 c. milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Then beat in eggs. Add bananas and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with milk. Pour into a well greased 10x15 in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Soda Pop Chicken

This is the recipe that Jaxon, the uncontested reigning champ used to win first place at the Second Annual Ron Anderson Reunion (2010) grilling competition. We got this recipe from the Duncan family. They were our good friends when we lived in Ammon, ID.

1 c. soy sauce

1 c. canola or olive oil

2 c. soda pop (Pepsi or root beer are our favorites, do not use diet soda!)

Marinade chicken tenders (you can use chicken breasts, but they will not be quite as flavorful) for 4-8 hours, turning occasionally. You can marinade them longer, but it makes the chicken a bit too salty for my tastes. I usually marinade them in a Ziploc bag or glass 9x13 pan. Someday, I would like to have a marinading pan like my mothers that seals tightly so you can flip it over.

Hawaiian Haystacks

This is one of our favorite meals. And it includes something from every food group!

Layer 1: Rice
Layer 2: Chicken gravy
In a small sauce pan, simmer the following over medium heat, stirring frequently:
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cooked chicken breast, cube (Sometimes if I am in a hurry I use a canned chicken, drained)
Then I usually add a half of the soup can of milk and a scoop of sour cream/Greek yogurt
Dash of garlic salt (to taste)
Layer 3: Fresh fruits and veggies.
Some of our favorites are: broccoli, red and green bell peppers, green onions, diced celery, pineapple, and mandarin oranges.
Layer 4: Toppings
We like coconut, cheddar cheese, sliced almonds and chow mien noodles (Jaxon LOVES these and doesn't consider haystacks complete without them :-)

Sweet Potato Soup

2 TB. canola oil

1 large sweet onion, diced

2 tsp. ground cumin

1-1/2 qt. chicken broth ( I use 6 tsp. chicken bullion with 6 cups water)

3 sweet potatoes peeled and cubed

1-1/2 c. plain yogurt

2 T. chopped cilantro (you can use parsley, but who would want to? I LOVE cilantro!)

1/4 c toasted pumpkin seeds (opt.)

In a large pot, saute onion and cumin in oil 2-3 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken broth. Simmer 25-30 minutes. Take off heat and add 1-1/2 c. yogurt and cilantro. Puree in blender a portion at a time. Be careful not to overfill the blender, the steam from the soup may cause the top to "pop" off and leave you with a tasty mess on your hands, and counter, and wall, I am speaking from experience here. Garnish individual portions with a dollop of yogurt, a sprig of cilantro, and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds. We love to have this soup with grilled cheese. (I found this recipe on a tub of Dannon Yogurt :-)