I drove to Arkansas for Christmas last week and much to my surprise, my mother had gone ahead and made my traditional birthday dinner and it was waiting for me!!  I just love Poppy Seed Chicken!  The birthday sides are usually corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese and crescent dinner rolls.  All yellow and all starches!  Mom decided to mix it up this year and swap out the mac and cheese for steamed broccoli… which was just fine with me.

I posted this picture on Facebook and numerous people asked me for the recipe… I’ve posted it below. 

Mom didn’t forget my birthday cake!  I am really not a fan of store bought cakes (unless they have whipped icing from Harp’s), so Mom makes this every year…

 

It’s Oreo Ice Cream cake.  The recipe for it is also below.

On Christmas Eve, Mom wanted me to cook for them.  I’m not much of a cook and can probably count on one hand the number of times that I’ve actually cooked for my family (probably a few more than that).  

I’ve made Chicken Tortilla Soup before with a recipe I found on a Crock Pot website, but that site was down all weekend L, so I came up with another one.

 

It was just as delicious!!  (Recipe below)  I was never really a soup person until I found this particular recipe. 

My weekend was great… now it’s back to the grind for three days and then back to Arkansas to see my sister and her family!  I can’t wait!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

 

Until next time…

Happy Blogging!

RECIPES:

Ingredients:

1 16 oz pkg boneless, skinless chicken breast strips (cooked and chopped into bite size pieces)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 small carton sour cream

1 ½ sleeves Ritz Crackers, crushed

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and put in 9×12 glass dish.  Top with poppy seeds.  Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly (about 35 to 45 minutes).  You can serve it over rice or just by itself.

Ingredients:

½ gallon Vanilla Ice Cream

Oreos

1 8oz. container of Cool Whip

Directions:

Scoop half of a ½ gallon of vanilla ice cream into a bowl and let soften.  Add the entire container of cool whip and stir until smooth.  Next add crumbled Oreos, nearly the entire package.  Spread in a 9×9 glass dish, cover with foil and pop in the freezer until firm.

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I actually used one can of “chicken in a can” found next to the tuna at Wal-Mart)

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 packet enchilada or taco sauce mix

1½ cups water

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups milk

Directions:

In the crock pot, mix the water, tomato sauce and enchilada/taco mix.  Add cream of chicken soup and milk and stir until combined.  Next, add in the chicken.  Finally add the diced tomatoes.  Stir.  Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3 ½ to 4 hours.  If you use whole chicken breasts, be sure and remove them and shred or dice before serving.  Serve with shredded cheese or sour cream.   I also made tortilla chips… that easy recipe is next.

Ingredients:

Flour Tortillas

Spray oil

Directions:

Line cookie sheet with tin foil and lightly spray with oil.  Tear up a tortilla into triangles and arrange on lined cookie sheet.  Lightly spray the tops with oil.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.