* Soft Caramel Popcorn *

Wow...I am not doing so hot with this recipe blog, am I? Has anyone else noticed that when I do manage to post a recipe on here, all of my recipes are pretty much unhealthy and require no skill to make them? Well, the recipe I am posting today is no different :)
I was in the mood for a treat again (that happens to me all the time...no, I'm not pregnant but when 8:45pm hits around here, I NEED a treat.) Most recipes for Soft Caramel Popcorn out there require sweetened condensed milk...and it was a Sunday night and we didn't have it so I found this recipe and it was pretty good! It makes A LOT of caramel for the amount of popcorn they suggested you pour it over so I'd either add another bag of popcorn or just eat the caramel that settles on the bottom of a spoon (which is what I did).

* Soft Caramel Popcorn *
2 bags of microwave popcorn, popped, or about 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels, popped in an air popper (I'd say 3 bags...unless you want to eat just caramel at the end)
2 sticks of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugars and corn syrup; stir on medium heat until it comes to a boil. (Make sure the heat is not too hot - if it boils too soon, the caramel will be grainy.) Once it starts boiling, boil for 1 minute. Take off the heat and mix in the baking soda. Pour over popcorn and stir until coated.

* Pollo A La Crema *

There is a Mexican restaurant in Evanston, Wyoming called Don Pedros. I first went there with my family when I was a teenager, shortly after gettting my braces off. We had gone fishing for the day and then randomly decided to go eat at Don Pedros for dinner. I remember thinking it was pretty good! After leaving the restaurant and getting almost home (about 2 hours away) I remembered that I left my retainer there! Lucky me, I was a nerd and had my name and address on my retainer case so the nice people at Don Pedros mailed it back to me.

Fast forward like 7 or 8 years. I marry a country boy from northern Utah. His hometown is about 45 minutes away from Evanston and my hubby's family's favorite Mexican restaurant is Don Pedros. Their favorite dish to get there is Pollo A La Crema. I decided to try to make the recipe at home but there are not a lot of recipes out there for Pollo A La Crema. This recipe is the closest I could find to resemble Don Pedro's version.

It was pretty good! Both my husband and I really enjoyed it. I still feel like there could be a little something more added to it but I'm not sure what. If any of you have any suggestions, let me know :)

* Pollo A La Crema *
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 c. boneless chicken breasts, cut in strips
1 sweet onion, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced fairly thick
1 tablespoon paprika (or more if desired)
2 tablespoons chicken base
1 cup heavy cream (Mexican cream works best but I just used regular cream and it was good too!)
2/3 cup sour cream

Heat oil in large frying pan. Saute chicken and onion until chicken is no longer pink & onions are translucent.
Add cream, mushrooms, paprika & chicken base. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until chicken is tender.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Mixture will be somewhat thin, but should be a creamy texture like the consistency of a white sauce. Serve hot with warmed flour tortillas and Spanish Rice.

* (My In-Laws) DoritoTaco Salad *

When I think of taco salad, I usually think of chips (or a hard shell) topped with meat, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, cheese, etc. At my in-laws, they make their taco salads different--but still good! I've seen this recipe around so I know other people eat it this way too...in fact, you can find a similar recipe here.

* Dorito Taco Salad *
1 lb. hamburger
1 can red kidney beans (I used black beans because that's all I had on hand)
1 c. grated cheese
1 head ice berg lettuce
Dorito chips
1 bottle of Thousand Island dressing (to taste...depends on how dressing-y you want it)
sliced olives
(none of these measurements has to be exact...do more of what you like and less of the stuff you don't like as much)

Brown beef in skillet and drain off fat. Add beans and cook for a few minutes. (You can add taco seasoning to it the beef and beans but the chips and dressing give it plenty of flavor.) Mix all ingredients together, except lettuce and chips, and allow to sit in fridge for an hour or so. Just before serving, add chips and lettuce (don't add too soon or they will be soggy) and enjoy!

When we make this, it is always too much for us to eat for one meal so we usually have it for leftovers the next day. The problem is the chips get soggy so I've started to just mix the meat, beans, cheese, and dressing together. When we're ready to eat it, we put the amount of salad we need for our own serving on our plate, top it with the meat/bean mixute, and then crumble doritos on top and it turns out just as good and a lot less soggy for future meals.

* Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats (or butterscotcheroos) *

*Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats (or butterscotcheroos)*
(as always, sorry for the ugly picture...it's even worse with my camera phone...)
1 c. corn syrup
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter
6 c. rice krispies
1 c. butter scotch chips
1 c. chocolate chips

Bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and add peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Mix in cereal and stir until it's evenly distributed. Pour and press into buttered pan. (I usually stop here because I like these better without the chocolate/butterscotch top)
Melt butterscotch and chocolate chips in microwave or on stove (according to package directions). Speadly evenly over krispy treats and allow to cool. Cut into squares are devour.

* Pizza Crust and White Sauce *

I've said before that I don't necessarily love my go-to pizza crust recipe. I mean, there is really nothing wrong with it other than it's kind of bland but it's fast, easy, and doesn't need to rise. This recipe is similar with a little more flavor...it's also fast, easy, and doesn't need to rise. I found it on Real Mom Kitchen blog here. Give it a try, if you're looking for something fast and easy.

*Fast & Easy Pizza Crust*sorry about the crappy picture...my camera broke a few weeks ago and I had to use my phone :(
3 cups flour, more or less
1 tablespoon honey, heaping
1 tablespoon oil, heaping
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. (If using a pizza stone, let stone heat for at least 30 minutes in the oven before baking pizza.) Mix all pizza dough ingredients together, except the flour. Add flour and knead for a bit then put into pan (or use a pizza peel and pizza stone). Top dough with sauce and toppings. If baking in a sheet pan, bake for about 12 minutes (checking often) until crust is browned and cheese is golden and bubbly. If baking on the preheated pizza stone, slide pizza onto stone and bake for about 8 minutes. Makes 1 large pizza.

I also used this white sauce found on Real Mom Kitchen. It reminded me of the white sauce we used at Papa Murphys...and it was also really good!

*White Pizza Sauce*
½ cup ranch dressing
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. dried basil
¼ cup shredded Parmesan

Mix all ingredients together and place on your pizza crust. This is enough sauce for 1 (14 inch) pizza.