Chicken Tarragon with Cheese Sauce

If you fast forward to the 3 minutes 50 seconds mark on this video, it will be me making the recipe below. That first part of the video is me talking about sale items at Macey's grocery store (in Utah) this week. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
  
• ¼ cup finely chopped green onions
• 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
  
• ½ cup whipped cream cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons coarse black pepper
• 1 package (9 oz.) refrigerated Linguine noodles
  

Method:

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm. Add onions to skillet and stir, scraping to get the brown chicken bits off the bottom of the pan. Whisk in evaporated milk, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens. Stir in chicken and heat through. Prepare pasta according to package directions, pour sauce over pasta and serve immediately

Cafe Rio Copy-Cat Recipes

Sweet Pork

Ingredients:

• 1 (3-5 lb.) sirloin or boneless pork loin roast
• 1 cup medium or hot salsa (don't use mild--not enough flavor)
  
• 1 cup packed brown sugar

Method:

Place ingredients in a greased 3 ½ - 5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat 8-10 hours. Shred pork with a fork or potato masher before serving. Use meat in salads, burritos, or tacos.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked converted white rice
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated lime peel (zest)
  
• 1 can (15 ounces) chicken broth
• ¼ cup water
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 Tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro

Method:

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime zest, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice. Serve warm.

Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
  
• 1 envelope Ranch Salad Dressing
• ½ envelope Fiesta Ranch Salad Dressing
• 6 tomatillos, husked and cut in half
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Juice from 2 freshly squeezed limes
• ¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour over pork and rice in a salad, or use as a dip for tortilla chips. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week.

Yummy Valentines Day Goodies...

Mini - Strawberry Ribbon Cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25-ounce) white cake mix
  
• 1 1/4 cups white cran-strawberry juice
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 egg whites

Glaze:

• 6 tablespoons strawberry preserves
  
• 1/8 teaspoon red food color
• 1/2 cup strawberry preserves
  
• 1 tablespoon white cran-strawberry juice
• 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract

• Cool Whip, if desired
• Fresh Mint Leaves, as a garnish if desired

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray mini bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. Using a rubber spatula gently combine cake mix, juice, oil, and egg whites in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Remove 1 cup of batter and transfer to a small bowl. In the removed batter bowl, stir in raspberry preserves and food color and mix until well combined. Pour half of white cake batter into prepared mini bundt pans. Top with raspberry cake batter. Pour over the remaining half of white cake batter. Bake in preheated oven for 38 to 40 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Remove and cool completely.

Combine all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and heat through over medium heat until syrupy. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Strawberry Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
• 2 apples - peeled, cored and diced
  
• 8 ounces raspberries
• 1 pound strawberries
  
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons strawberry preserves
  
• 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• Butter flavored cooking spray
• 2 cups cinnamon sugar

Method:

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Cinnamon Cherry Buns

Ingredients:

• 1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
  
• 1 tube refrigerated cinnamon rolls
  

Method:

Spread pie filling into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. set aside icing from cinnamon rolls. Arrange rolls around edge of baking dish. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Cover and bake 10 minutes longer or until golden. Spread icing over rolls. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.

Marinades and Rubs to Spice Up your Meat!

Best Sweet Dry Rub

Ingredients:

• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup kosher salt
• 2 Tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons dried minced onion
• 1 Tablespoon paprika
• 1 Tablespoon garlic salt

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Use desired amount on meat about 60 minutes prior to grilling. Store extra rub in an airtight container. Makes 1 ½ cups dry rub.

Spicy Dry Rub

Ingredients:

• ½ cup freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup cayenne pepper
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Use desired amount on meat about 60 minutes prior to grilling. Store extra rub in an airtight container. Makes 2 ¼ cups dry rub.

Basic Rub Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup garlic powder
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup black pepper

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Use desired amount on meat about 10 minutes prior to grilling. Store extra rub in an airtight container. Makes 1 ½ cups dry rub.

Homemade Italian Rub

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon basil
• 3 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Use desired amount on meat about 60 minutes prior to grilling. Store extra rub in an airtight container. Makes about 2 Tablespoons dry rub.

7-Up Marinade

Ingredients:

• ¼ c. oil
• ½ c. soy sauce
• 1 (12 ounces) can 7-up
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• Up to 5 pounds of Chicken or beef

Method:

Mix up all ingredients and place in a large Ziploc back with your choice of meat. Marinade over night for best flavor and grill.

Sean's Secret Sauce

Ingredients:

• ½ of bottle (about 18 ounces) hickory smoke BBQ sauce
• 1 cup Dr. Pepper
• ½ cup ketchup
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 4 Tablespoons finely diced sweet onion
• 1 Tablespoon salsa

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. This sauce is best refrigerated for at least 8 hours prior to using, but can be used immediately. Marinate meat in sauce at least 30 minutes before grilling. Makes 2 ½ cups.

Island Style Marinade

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup finely chopped green onions
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Method:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Marinate meat at least 30 minutes before cooking. Makes 1 cup.

Texas Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 cans (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• ¼ cup sweet onion, finely minced
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

Method:

Combine all ingredients together in a saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium low heat.