Easy Fruit Salad

We attended a family reunion this past weekend and when I saw this fruit salad, I knew I'd be making it soon.   It was such a beautiful salad and my daughter loved it!  I didn't follow any recipe as it looked fairly simple.  I'm not sure this is exactly what we had, but it sure comes close!  I made this today since my brother and nephews were going to be here for lunch.  There's only a tiny bit left!  Everyone loved it and I hope you will too!  We have another family reunion in a couple of weeks and this is what I will be taking!

P.S. This would be great over angel food cake and topped with Cool Whip!!!  Yum!!!

Happy 4th of July!!

You will need two quarts of fresh strawberries, 2 cups of blueberries, and a 15 oz. can of mandarin oranges.

My strawberries were rather large so I quartered them.

Drain mandarin oranges reserving 2-3 T. of the liquid.  Mix all fruit together.

Drizzle reserved juice over the fruit.  Chill before serving!!

Serve this one in a pretty crystal bowl!!!

Easy Fruit Salad

2 lbs. of fresh strawberries, cut up  ( I quartered mine.)
2 cups fresh blue berries
1 can (15 oz.) of mandarin oranges, drained with 2-3 T. of juice reserved.

Mix all fruit in large bowl and drizzle reserved mandarin orange juice over fruit.  Chill before serving!!

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Weekly Chore Chart

Okay, so this isn't a recipe, but I thought this might be useful for some.  When I started my "new career" as a stay-at-home mom, it was a huge adjustment for me.  I had been a teacher for fifteen years and had no idea how to be at home all day.  I loved being able to stay home with my daughter.  I just wasn't organized and found I needed a system to get everything done around the house without scrambling to get all the laundry done or cleaning finished in one day.  I also wanted to avoid doing a ton of housework on the weekend!  I was familiar with Flylady's system and had used something like this before but it was suggested to place it in a binder and I found myself forgetting about it.  So, over the winter I decided I would place it on my fridge in a page protector.  I used a vis-a-vis pen to check off the tasks each week.  In the past few weeks, I realized that with adding a new baby to our family, my schedule needed to change a little.  The image below is my revised list.  I have been using this for the past week and can already see I may be adding a few more things.  Hope this is helpful for some of you!!!

Ranch Party Spirals

It's so good to be back to posting recipes.  I actually made this one the night before I went into labor.  I had planned on posting it the next day but I guess God had other plans for me.  We have welcomed a sweet little boy into our family and life is good!  I was actually making these for an event at our local library.  I did get them finished but a friend of mine had to deliver them for me!  I got this recipe from my mom.  I usually make my party spirals with black olives, chiles, and pimientos but her recipe is so much easier to prepare and the spirals are delish!  These would be perfect for your next summer gathering!!  Enjoy!

You'll need to packages of cream cheese, 2 green onions, 1 pkg. dry ranch salad dressing mix, tortillas, and thin-sliced deli ham.

Mix together softened cream cheese, dry ranch salad dressing mix, and green onion.

Spread 2 T. of cream cheese mixture over tortilla.

 Add ham to cover the cream cheese mixture.

Roll tortillas tightly and refrigerate for at least an hour.  You can also refrigerate overnight and slice the next day.

These are a party favorite!

Enjoy!

Ranch Party Spirals

2 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese

1 pkg. dry Hidden Valley Ranch Salad dressing mix

2 green onions, chopped (both white and green parts)

12 - 8 inch flour tortillas

thin-sliced deli ham

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese and salad dressing mix until smooth.  Add onions and mix well.  Spread about 2 T. of the mixture over each tortilla and top with ham slices.  Roll each tortilla tightly.  Cover and refrigerate until firm.  They should be refrigerated for at least an hour but could also set overnight.  Cut each tortilla into 3/4 inch slices.  Keep refrigerated!

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Symphony Brownies

I've been making these brownies for several years.  I don't remember who told me about these, but it was someone at the school where I worked at the time.  I didn't find out until long after that Paula Deen had made these on her show.  She uses the Symphony bars with the toffee and almonds.  I always use just the plain chocolate symphony bars.  I typically make these to take to a potluck, reunion, etc.  It would be too dangerous to have these in my house!!  LOL!  This weekend I made a 9x9 pan.  I'm not positive but I seem to remember making them in a 9x13 pan with two mixes.  You would need more candy bars as well!  The best part about these is that the brownies are from a box mix so they are super easy!  You could also change these up with just about any of your favorite candy bars! 

You'll need one box of brownie mix and 2 - 4 oz. Symphony candy bars.  I used the plain chocolate, but they also make one with toffee and almonds.

Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions.  Line a 9x9 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Pour half of mixture into pan.

Break up candy bar and place over batter.

Spread remaining brownie batter over the candy bars.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  COOL COMPLETELY!!  Use foil to remove brownies from pan.  Slice and serve!

See that chocolate in the middle of the brownie!!  Yummy!

Symphony Brownies

1 box of brownie mix ( I used Betty Crocker family size. )
2 - 4 oz. (XL size) Symphony Candy bars

Prepare brownies according to package directions.  Line 9x9 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Pour half of brownie batter into pan.  Break up candy bars and place over batter.   Spread remaining batter over candy bars.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  COOL COMPLETELY!!  Use foil to remove brownies from pan.  Slice and serve!

Can't Leave 'em Alone Bars

A friend of mine paid us a visit a few weeks ago to see the new baby.  Along with gifts for the baby and his big sister, she also brought us a platter of the most wonderful bar cookies!!  They seriously lived up to their name.  The bar cookies were made from a white cake mix with semi-sweet chocolate chips added in.  As my friend was sharing this recipe, she also told me that she had tried the same recipe using a red velvet cake mix and white chips.  Genius!!  Well, I just had to try them and they were just as delicious as the white cake version.  I am usually not a fan of anything with sweetened condensed milk, but these are definitely an exception!!   I'm looking forward to trying some other combinations of cake mix and chips in the near future!!  I'll post an update when I do.  These are a little gooey but sooo very good!!!  I found they were even better a day or two later so feel free to make these ahead of time!!

Note:  My friend and I both agree that you could use slightly less butter and these would still be great!!

You will need a cake mix, vegetable or canola oil, 1 cup of white chocolate chips, a can of sweetened condensed milk, 4 T. of butter and 2 eggs.

In a medium bowl, combine cake mix, oil, and eggs.

Mix well!

Spread 2/3 of the cake mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. 

Combine chips, milk, and butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat until melted.  I heated about 20 seconds at a time.  Stir until smooth.  NOTE:  I did leave a little of the milk in the can.  Normally, I would use a spatula to scrape all the milk out.  I just poured what would come out of the can and left the rest.

Spread chocolate mixture over crust.

Drop teaspoonfuls of remaining batter over chocolate mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

I have to admit that my hubby poked fun at me when he saw these.  He asked me why I put pepperoni on the cookies.  Well, I guess he's right but he's been eating them!!!  LOL!  I recommend making these the night before.  I noticed they were a little less gooey the next day- more like a brownie. 

Can't Leave 'em Alone Bars (Red Velvet Version)

1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil (I used vegetable oil.)
2 eggs
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup white chocolate chips
4 T. butter

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs and oil. Press two-thirds of the mixture into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Set remaining cake mixture aside.

 In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the milk, chocolate chips and butter. Microwave, uncovered, until chips and butter are melted; stir until smooth. Pour over crust.

Drop teaspoonfuls of remaining cake mixture over top. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting.

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Bobbi's Cozy Kitchen

Feeding Big and More

Coming Soon!

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to let you all know I'll be back on July 1st with some new recipes!  We welcomed a new baby in early May so I've been enjoying spending time with my family!  Looking forward to getting back to the blogging world!!

Roasted Chicken

I love chicken salad but have struggled for a long time to make chicken salad at home that tasted as good as others I have tried.  Well, I'm still experimenting with what I actually put in my chicken salad, but one thing is always the same.  I roast my own chicken.  It's so delicious!!  This would be great as a meal too along with your favorite side dish! 

 I use bone-in chicken breasts.  You will need some lemon juice, EVOO, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  I start by lining my pan with parchment paper for easy clean up.  These can get pretty messy so this step is really important to me!! :)  If you decide to use parchment, PLEASE be sure it can withstand high temperatures and keep an eye on it as they cook.  Lay chicken breasts on parchment, meat side up.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

 Drizzle with a little EVOO, and lemon juice.  I don't measure but please don't go overboard here.  Just a little drizzle of each will do it.

 Then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  I don't measure- I just season it to my taste.

 Flip the chicken over and do the same on the other side.   In a 450 degree oven, cook chicken meat side down for 15 minutes.  Set a timer!!  Then flip the chicken over and cook for another 30 minutes until chicken is done.  I use a meat thermometer.  These were thick pieces of chicken so mine cooked closer to an additional 45 minutes.

When meat is done, remove from oven and allow to rest for 5-10  minutes before chopping.

All ready to make that chicken salad!!

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