Cream Cheese Sheet Cake

I'm not a huge cake fan, but this cake is so dense and creamy that I just love it! Sorry for the bad picture, I thought of it last minute and just had my phone.

Submitted by Jessica

4 1/2 stars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plus 2 TBL butter, softened
• 2 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened
• 2-1/4 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-1/4 cups cake flour

Frosting (I ended up doubling the frosting and used almost all of it).

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

2. Beat in vanilla. Add flour; mix well.

3. Pour into a greased 15-in x10-in x1-in baking pan. Bake at 325* for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean near the center. Cool completely.
Frosting
 For frosting, combine sugar and evaporated milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover and cook for 3 minutes (do not stir). Stir in butter and chocolate chips until melted. Cool slightly. Stir; spread over cake.

Yields: 24-30 servings

Chicken Ala Crescents

This is a good one but just takes some time with all the cutting. I usually do that in advance so I can just throw it all together at dinner time.

Submitted by: Jessica

4 stars

Ingredients

• 6 chicken breasts-cooked and diced
• 12 oz cream cheese- which is a packet and a half
• 2 cups cooked broccoli-chopped
• 1 green bell pepper-chopped
• 1 cube butter melted for dipping
• 2 1/2 cups croutons, butter and garlic flavored-finely crushed
• 3 pkg crescent rolls
• 2 envelopes of turkey gravy mix

Directions

1. Mix chicken, cream cheese, bell pepper, and broccoli together
2. Put mixture on rolls and roll from short side and roll to point.
3. Seal good and dip in butter.
4. Roll in  crushed croutons and placed on a sprayed cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 375* for 20-25 minutes
6. Serve with gravy over crescent rolls

This makes a lot (using all 3 packages of rolls) I usually make all of the chicken mixture but only use half of it one night and half of the rolls. Then cook the other half the next night or later in the week, for fresh left overs!

Chicken Empanadas

This was definitely a 5-star recipe! I love pie crust and it was perfect for this meal!

Submitted by: Jessica

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 1 (8-oz) package shredded Colby and Monterrey Jack cheese (or whatever cheese you like. All I had on hand was cheddar and that was still good).
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 
• 3 oz green chilies
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped. *optional
• 1/2 Tbl ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 package refrigerated pie crusts. Should come with 2 crusts.
• water

Preheat oven to 400*F. Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the water and pie crust. Unroll 1 pie crust onto a lightly floured surface. Place half of the chicken mixture on one half of the pie crust, then fold pie crust over (in half) over the filling. Lightly brush the edge of the crust with water. Press edges down with a fork to seal. Do the same thing with the second pie crust and the other half of the chicken mixture. Put on baking sheet and sprinkle top with cheese. Bake for 25 minutes.

Baked French Toast

K. I didn't get a great picture of this. It tastes better then this picture, I promise! I made this on Easter morning and the fam loved it!

Submitted by: Jessica

4 stars

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf Kings Hawaiian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (this is good but any bread will do).
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 5 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Place cubed bread cubes into a greased 9x13x2 inch pan. 

2. Beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. 

3. Mix in remaining ingredients until blended. 

4. Pour mixture over bread. Press bread into the liquid. 

5. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

6. Next morning, bake uncovered at 350* for about 45 minutes, or until knife inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes before eating.

7. We topped ours with butter, powdered sugar, and our yummy homemade syrup.

I loved that I could make this the night before and have little to worry about in the morning.

Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

This was wonderful!

Submitted by: Jessica

4.5 stars

16 jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus 1/4 cup for topping
3 tablespoons prepared pesto
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

This is the pesto sauce I used. It was in the same aisle as the spaghetti sauce.

Combine all the ingredients and stuff into the cooked jumbo shells. 

Sprinkle with the 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese. 

Bake at 350 uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Crock Pot Chicken and Black Beans

I've had a few requests from the family for this recipe lately. It's easy and yummy.

4-5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (15 1/2 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can corn or two cups fresh or frozen
1 (15 oz) jar salsa, any kind
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened

Place frozen boneless chicken breasts in crock pot.  Add drained beans, salsa, and drained corn. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.  Add cream cheese (just throw it on top) and let sit for 1/2 hour. I stir the cream cheese in a little at this point. Serve

Creamy Chicken Soup

submitted by Chris
4 stars
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup diced carrots (about 2 regular carrots or a handful of baby carrots)
3 cups chicken broth
2-3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced (I like to leave the peels on red potatoes, if using them)
1 cup milk (1% is my milk of choice)
4 tablespoons flour
1 (8 oz. package) regular or light cream cheese
2-3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and the onions are translucent. Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. In a liquid measuring cup, vigorously whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk the mixture into the soup, stirring quickly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken slightly. Stir often to ensure the soup doesn’t burn. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft/melty. I usually place the unwrapped cream cheese on a plate and microwave it for one minute at 30% power. I like it really, really soft so it doesn’t leave lumps in the soup. Add the cream cheese to the soup in small tablespoon-size pieces. Let the pieces sit in the soup and warm through then whisk or stir the soup until the cream cheese melts and mixes in well. Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.