Easy BBQ Chicken Bake

This BBQ Chicken Bake makes for an easy dinner and takes literally just a few minutes to prepare. It's juicy, delicious and all the flavors really come together and taste fantastic! I served it with homemade mashed potatoes and cheesy garlic bread.

Ingredients

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4-6 tablespoons of bbq sauce
1 large onion sliced
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Spray the baking dish with non stick spray and place the chicken breasts in a single layer.
2. Spread bbq sauce on top of each chicken breast
3. Spread onions evenly over the top of each chicken breast and then top with cheese
4. Place in preheated oven at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until the chicken center is no longer pink
5. Serve hot and enjoy!

S'mores Muddy Buddy Brownies

  Ingredients
1 box premium brownie mix
*water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 1/2 cups Chex Mix Muddy Buddies snack mix


Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Make brownies as directed on box for 9-inch square pan. After removing pan from oven, set oven control to broil.

2. Immediately sprinkle marshmallow and snack mix over warm brownies. Broil top 4 to 5 inches from heat for about 30 to 60 seconds or until the marshmallows are golden brown. (Watch very carefully: marshmallows and snack mix do brown quickly! I learned this the first time when my first batch set on fire!!)

3. Cool for about 30 minutes. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows and enjoy!! Yummmm!!

SPA WATER RECIPE: STRAWBERRY, CUCUMBER AND MINT

 Drink eight glasses of water a day?!? I don't know about you, but eight glasses is such a struggle for me. I am lucky if I drink three glasses a day! I was flipping through the pages of Redbook Magazine the other night and saw this fun recipe for Spa Water. It looked so refreshing, healthy and delicious! I did some searching on Pinterest and there are so many Spa Water combos to choose from so you can flavor your water with whatever your heart desires. You can do blueberries, ginger, rosemary, thyme, sliced green apple, orange slices, sliced melon/watermelon, pomegranate rubies, fresh cherries, sliced nectarines/plums, berries, etc. Not only does it make me happy to see some color happening in my cup, but the flavor lasts all day and provides me the right kind of sugars! I have always loved the refreshing taste of freshly cut fruits in my ice cold water, it always brings me that spa feeling. Spa water is also a great idea to use for showers, parties, events etc. in a large glass dispenser. So grab a glass, pour some color into your cup... sit back and enjoy! Cheers!
Ingredients:
*1 cup of sliced strawberries *1 cup of sliced cucumbers *5 mint leaves *Water (of course!)
Directions:
Pour 6 cups of water into a pitcher. Drop in 1 cup of sliced strawberries, 1 cup of sliced cucumbers and a few mint leaves. Mix well. Place in fridge overnight and enjoy the next day!

**Little E helped in the making of this recipe**
**I am now a featured blogger over at The Bestsy. Come and check out my top restaurant picks and search for the top restaurants in your local area!

BRAZILIAN CHICKEN STROGANOFF.

I don't know if you knew, but my Husband served a full time mission in El Salvador, Brazil for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He lived there for 2 years spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to thousands of people. He said he came home a different person. His mission changed him in so many wonderful ways and taught him so much.  He came home feeling very grateful for what he had. In Brazil, most of the families (which are fairly large) live in tiny homes (about the size of my living room and kitchen combined) with no air conditioning and live mostly off of rice and beans. Josh tells me that there is one thing he will never forget and will always be ingrained in his mind forever. "These people has so little, but they were the happiest people I had ever met in my entire life. I will never forget the experiences I had there and all the wonderful people that I met. My mission was definitely an experience of a lifetime! There are many times I think back on my mission and even talk to some of the people I met and I still get teary eyed til this day." I love listening to Josh tell me stories about his mission. Stories about his experiences, trials, and miracles that he witnessed time and time again. One of my favorite things is listening to him speak fluent Portuguese. Boy does it get my blood pumping! Let me tell you! He learned the language in less than two months before going on his mission (Praise God!)

I don't know if you knew either, but Josh is quite the chef. It seems like he can take anything, mix it all together and wallah it tastes amazing! Another great part from his mission was all the different foods that he got to try and learn how to make. Last night when I got home from work, he was making Brazilian Chicken Stroganoff (oh my yummm!). I made it about a month ago to surprise him, but after tasting his last night..his was so much better! This stroganoff is a delicious variation of the traditional stroganoff made here in the United States but it tastes so much better in my opinion. See the recipe below:


Brazilian Chicken Stroganoff 

2 lbs beef or 2 lbs chicken fillets, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, chopped, divided

salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 lb cultivated white mushroom, sliced

2 -3 tablespoons ketchup

1 1/2 tablespoons mild mustard, i would use dijon

1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Put the meat/chicken into a bowl with garlic, half the onion, salt, nutmeg, oregano and wine.
Heat the oil and saute the remaining onion and mushrooms for a few minutes 
Add the meat/chicken and marinade to the pan and cook.
Add the ketchup and mustard.
If it looks a bit dry, add a few tablespoons of water and cook a little longer.
When the meat is cooked, add the sour cream and reheat gently-DO NOT BOIL.
Serve with steamed white rice.

FROZEN BANANA PEANUT BUTTER BONBONS

Good morning blogging world! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. We spent the day/night in Scottsdale at West World and had such a blast!
Today I would like to introduce you to my new obsession (thanks to the Hubs). Frozen Banana Peanut Butter Bon Bons. These are so easy to make and are so yummy! They are the perfect treat for summertime. If you like chocolate and bananas then you are going to love this recipe! Josh found this idea on Pinterest.
Here is what you will need...
(This makes about 24 bonbons)

3 ripe and large bananas

about 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Jiffy)

10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (we decided to use white chocolate wafers instead)

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/3 cup finely chopped nut toppings

small popsicle sticks (we used toothpicks)

Peel bananas and slice into medium-thick round slices.  I sliced my bananas about 1/3-inch thick.

Spoon peanut butter into a sandwich bag.  Squirt about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter onto half of the banana slices.  Top each peanut butter topped banana with a plain banana slice and press down just slightly.  

Insert toothpicks into each banana sandwich.

Place peanut butter pops on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Place in the freezer to harden for at least 30 minutes.

While the pops harden, melt the chocolate or white chocolate and coconut oil. We placed the white chocolate wafers and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and placed it in the microwave until completely melted (1 minute).

Dip the slightly hardened banana sandwiches completely in the chocolate.  Return them to the parchment paper and immediately sprinkle with nut toppings.  After dipping all of the bananas, return to the freezer for at least 2 hours before serving.  Bananas will last for a week or two in the freezer.  You can also wrap them individually for storage in the freezer.  

Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mint Milkshake

Have a few Thin Mints left over from your Girl Scout cookie stash? If so, here’s a yummy milkshake I made with a few I was able to spare.
Ingredients: 1/2 cup milk
8 Thin Mints 1 cup vanilla ice cream

Directions: Blend cookies, milk and ice cream in blender until smooth. Enjoy!

Recipe: Asian Zing Wings (Buffalo Wild Wings)

For those of you who saw this picture below on my Instagram last night, I  asked my followers to try and take a guess as to what Josh and I were cooking. 

Here are some of the responses I got:

I think my best friend Paola was the closest to what the recipe actually was. She said some kind of Asian dish. Well she got the Asian part of it right! I am sure that most of you have been to Buffalo Wild Wings, right?!?! Well if you haven't, you are missing out big time! They have some of the best wings. One of my favorites from there are their Asian Zing Wings. They are so yummy! Well, after I got off work last night, I come home to this..a bunch of ingredients sitting out all pretty and organized on our kitchen counter. I asked Josh, "Um..what's with the huge collection of ingredients on the counter all perfectly laid out?" Josh: "We are going to make Asian Zing Wings tonight. I thought I would lay all this out for you so you could take pictures and put this recipe up on your blog". My husband is too funny. I love him to pieces. He will find recipes online for dishes from restaurants we love and then cook them at home and they taste almost identical! The last recipe we did was Japanese Onion Soup. Okay...so on to the recipe......

     Ingredients:

      *2 teaspoons cornstarch

      *4 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

      *1/2 cup corn syrup

      *1/3 cup sugar

      *1/4 cup chili-garlic sauce (sriracha!)

      *1 tablespoon soy sauce

      *1 teaspoon lemon juice

      *1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

      *1/4 teaspoon salt

      *1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

       

Heat oil in your fryer to 350 degrees F.  Fry wings for about 10-12 minutes, or

until light brown. Remove wings and drain on a rack or paper towels briefly.  

While the wings are cooking, mix all of the ingredients into a bowl and set aside.

After wings are cooked and drained, place wings in a plastic container with a lid. Add 1/4-1/3 cup of your mixed sauce of choice to the container. Replace lid and shake well to coat all the wings.  Pour your wings out onto a plate with some ranch or bleu cheese dressing for dipping!

This recipe was so easy and the wings tasted almost  exact to the Asian Zing wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. 
Let me know if you try this recipe, I would love to know what you think!