Cafe Rio Chicken

5 lbs chicken breast, boneless, skinless
1 Small Bottle Zesty Italian Dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken. Keep warm.  Serves 8-10

Chicken Sumi Salad

1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Flavor packet from ramen noodles
1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 package ramen noodles, broken and uncooked
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Red seedless grapes, as desired
2 cups cooked chicken breast, cooled and shredded

Blend together the canola oil, sesame oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, and flavoring from the ramen noodles. Pour over the shredded cabbage. Add green onions and sesame seeds. Toss together. Just before serving, add ramen noodles, almonds, red grapes, and chicken.

Hawaiian Chicken Marinade

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
2 cups brown sugar
3-4 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch green onion, chopped
1/2 cup sesame oil

Marinate chicken strips over night, barbecue.

Cheese Bread

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar/monterey jack cheese blend
2 green onions, chopped
garlic powder, to taste
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 lb loaf French bread

Mix 1st 5 ingredients together. Spread on halves of french bread. Sprinkle with paprika and broil.

Can also add 1-2.25 oz can of chopped olives (or sliced, if preferred) and sun-dried tomatoes to change it up.

This bread is really yummy and is great to serve with soups, salads, or grilled steak. The original recipe called for Miracle Whip instead of mayo -- either ingredient is good.

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Salad

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 head Iceberg lettuce, chopped

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 Haas avocados, diced

shredded cheese, Mexican blend or cheddar

crispy tortilla strips

Stir shredded chicken in with the BBQ sauce until well coated. Of course you can use less or more sauce, it’s up to you! I like quite a bit since I love the smoky flavor of BBQ sauce in a salad. Toss together the lettuce, cilantro, corn, beans, and chopped veggies. Top with shredded chicken, cheese and crispy tortilla strips. Drizzle ranch or cilantro lime dressing over salad and enjoy!

*to make crispy tortilla strips simply slice about 10 corn tortillas in narrow strips and place on cookie sheet. Spray with vegetable oil cooking spray and sprinkle generously with salt. Place under the broiler and let bake until crispy and brown around the edges.

Bowtie Chicken Caesar Salad

2 bunches green leaf lettuce, chopped

1 bag Marie Calendars Fat Free Croutons
1 bag Almond Accents/ Roasted Garlic Caesar
2 Chicken Breasts, boiled with an onion and salt and pepper
2 cups bowtie pasta, cooked
4 - 6 oz. shredded parmesan cheese
Brianna’s Asiago Caesar Dressing

Toss all the above ingredients with Caesar dressing right before serving. Serves 20-25.

*I like Brianna's dressing because it is potent and you don't have to use a lot but you could substitute another quality Caesar dressing as well.

Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie crust

6 slices bacon

1 onion, sliced

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk (or half and half)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line pastry shell with foil. Bake in oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until crust is set and dry. Remove from oven and turn down temperature to 325 degrees.

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain and reserve 2 tablespoons of drippings. Crumble the bacon and set aside. Cook onion in skillet with reserved drippings; cook until onion is tender and then drain.

In a large bowl, mix together milk, salt, and eggs. Stir in bacon and onion. In a separate bowl, toss cheese and flour together, then add to egg mixture. Be sure to mix well. Pour egg mixture into pie crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of quiche comes out clean. If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil while baking to prevent burning or over-browning. Let stand 20 minutes before serving.

Serves 8