The Finalists–Voting Begins!
Thanks to everyone who entered the Summer Recipes Contest. Everything looked amazing. I’ve chosen a few finalists in each category, and I need your help in voting for the winner! All finalists, please post your recipe(s) in the comments section and I’ll mail you a free book! Also, e-mail me your snail mail address so I can send it. Now for the Barnes and Noble gift certificate. Please vote for the one recipe you like the best. The only catch is, you can’t vote for yourself!
The finalist recipes are:
Main Dishes:
Crockpot Mexican Chicken
Sweet and Spicy Salmon
Bruschetta Chicken Bake
Side Dishes
Chinese Chicken Salad
Caprese (tomato/cheese salad)
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Desserts
Crustless Strawberry Pie
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Microwave Chocolate Chip Cake
These all sounded incredibly delicious! If there’s a recipe you wanted to know but it didn’t final, please post a comment and I’ll see if I can coerce talk the person into letting us have the recipe.
Okay, once again, please vote for the recipe you think sounds the best! Thanks for entering. 
Michelle posted in Writing @ 6:59 am | Viewed 3248 times
Courtney Says:
I think the Microwave Chocolate Chip Cake sounds intriging!
Robyn Says:
Wow! I had two! Good luck, everybody. Here goes:
Sweet and Spicy Salmon
(You do turn on the oven, but cooking time is only 15 minutes.) Preheat oven to 400. Coat shallow baking dish with cooking spray. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4c orange juice, 2T lemon juice, 2T light brown sugar, 4t chili powder, 1t ground cumin, 1/2t salt, pinch of cayenne pepper. You can add 2t of grated lemon zest if you feel up to it. Put 4 salmon fillets in prepared pan. Pour o.j. mixture over salmon and turn to coat both sides. Roast for 15 minutes, until a fork can be easily inserted into the fish.
Microwave Chocolate Chip Cake
(I have made this very quickly, stirring by hand, instead of getting out the mixer.)
1/2c choc. chips
1/3c water
1/2c shortening
1 1/4c sugar
2 eggs
1t vanilla
1 1/2c flour
1t each baking powder and soda
1/2c milk
Melt chips w/ water at MED power for 45 seconds or until melted. Cool. In medium bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in melted chocolate. Stir together flour, powder, and soda. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Pour batter into microwave safe dish. (I use an 8 inch square.) Cook on HIGH for 6 min., turning 1/2 turn every 2 min. Combine 1/2c choc. chips, 1/2c packed brown sugar, and 1/2c chopped walnuts. Sprinkle over cake. Cook on HIGH for 3-4 minutes.
Amy K. Says:
Crustless strawberry pie! Mmmm.
Missie Says:
Wow! I am sooo hungry now!
I vote for the Salmon dishy thing from Robyn, but would also really like the Crockpot Mex Chicken recipe from whoever…I also vote for the Chinese Chicken Salad and the Sticky Toffee Pudding.
And if anyone has a recipe that I could rub on my rear and thighs to make them skinnier after eating all this good food, that would be appreciated too.:worthy:
Robyn Says:
My votes:
Crockpot Mexican Chicken, Caprese, and Crustless Strawberry Pie.
I also think you should coerce, er, convince the others into giving their recipes, too. Esp. Missie’s lemon thingys.
Stacy Says:
I agree, the Crockpot Mexican Chicken sounds awesome…can’t wait for the recipe:fryingpan:
Rene Says:
Okay, both of my recipes are really easy and they are designed to be easy on the waistline.
Caprese:
Ingredients:
1 ball of fresh mozzarella. You should be able to find this in the grocery store or Italian market or deli. Don’t confuse it with the stuff you put on pizza, this is a soft cheese which is stored in liquid.
2 ripe tomatoes. Traditionally it is roma or plum tomatoes but really any good, ripe tomato will do.
1 small onion.
Fresh basil
salt & pepper to taste
balsamic vinegar
olive oil.
Slice the cheese, tomatoes and onions. The thickness really depends on you. I leave my tomatoes and cheese thick but sliver the onions. Chop up the basil. The easiest way to get the basil to look good is roll up the leaves and slice it into tiny ribbons. Assemble the ingredients by alternating the tomatoes and cheese. Sprinkle the onions then the basil on top. Season with salt and pepper. If you have some Italian seasoning, you can sprinkle a little of that on it. Drizzle with vinegar and oil. You don’t need a lot. Refrigerate for about 15 mins. or more and its ready.
Adjust the ingredients to your preference. I usually use a lot of cheese because my girls love it. The other day I threw a few black olives on it to make it a little different. It is a very flexible dish. Great as an antipasto before a pasta dinner.
Bonnie Ferguson Says:
My vote–if everyone is eligible to vote–goes to the Sticky Toffee Pudding
Robyn Says:
Oh…ONE vote, not one in every category…:oops:
Crockpot chicken. DUH.
Emma Sinclair Says:
Crockpot Mexican Chicken (super easy)
Toss 4 chicken breasts in the crockpot (frozen or not, doesn’t matter)
Sprinkle with one package of taco seasoning
Top with one jar (24 oz) Salsa
May add some hot sauce or crushed red pepper if you like heat.
Cook 6-8 hours (maybe slightly longer if frozen)
I shread it to use in tacos, it practically shreds itself it’s so tender. It also makes a TON of food. I’ve used it for tacos one night and then encheladas (roll in tortilla and then top with canned enchelada sauce, cheese & bake) later in the week.
Emma Sinclair Says:
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage Roll Casserole
1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
2 medium onions — chopped
5 cloves garlic — minced
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup rice
6 cups shredded cabbage
Brown ground beef just until it looses its pink color. Drain if necessary.
Add onions, garlic, Salt and pepper, tomato sauce and water. Bring to simmer, add rice and cook for about 10 minutes until rice is partially cooked. Remove from heat.
Spread half of cabbage in greased (Pam) deep dish. Cover with half of meat mixture. Repeat layers. Do not stir, cover with foil tightly and bake at 350degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until cabbage is tender.
Emma Sinclair Says:
Crustless Strawberry Pie
4 cups strawberries, sliced
1 small box Sugar Free Strawberry Jell-o
1 small box Jell-o Sugar Free Vanilla Cook & Serve Pudding
2 cups water
Rinse, drain & slice the strawberries. Layer the strawberries on the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate. (The strawberries make the crust of your pie.)
Mix pudding with the water and bring to a full boil. Remove from heat & add dry Jell-o. Let it cool some. (I put mine in the refrigerator for about 10-15 min. and stirred every 5 min.)
Pour over berries in pan. Put in the refrigerator and chill.
You can serve with cool whip or whipped topping.
Emma Sinclair Says:
Bruchetta Chicken Bake
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup KRAFT part-skim Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Place tomatoes with liquid in medium bowl. Add garlic, stuffing mix and water; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside.
PLACE chicken in 13×9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mixture.
BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through .
Emma Sinclair Says:
But I think the Sticky Toffee Puddying should win! Anything with Sticky in the name has got to be good!
Stacy Says:
I had to put a napkin under my chin to catch the drool as I copy and pasted the recipies. My vote still goes for the Crockpot Mexican Chicken. The ingredients are on my next grocery list!
Michelle Says:
Thanks to all for entering! Can’t wait to get the remaining recipes. As a special thank you to Emma and a few others who had more than one recipe to post, you get one free book PER recipe that finaled. So multiple books! Yay!
I’ll give the others a little longer to post their recipes before I tally the results. Mmmmm…..:hungry:
Rene Says:
Chinese Chicken Salad:
This is actually a main dish although it is only the size that makes it so. This is a good recipe for leftover chicken. I generally use boneless skinless chicken breasts because they are good diet food. I actually try and cook the breasts over the weekend so I can use them sometime during the week. The salads don’t take any time to put together as long as you have the ingredients.
Two chicken breasts cooked with teriyaki sauce or what ever Asian inspired sauce you like (I actually use a ginger sesame marinade, I think it’s made by Lawry’s), diced
lettuce, chopped
napa cabbage, chopped
purple onion, sliced thin
bean sprouts
water chestnuts (one can is plenty)
fresh snow peas
cashews
small can of mandarin orange slices
carrots, diced
red bell pepper, diced
Chinese chicken salad dressing, whichever you prefer.
Toss the veggies and orange together with the dressing. Don’t use a lot of dressing, it drowns out the taste of the veggies. Sprinkle with cashews then spread the chicken on top. If I am feeling ambitious, I will fry up wonton wrappers or rice noodles for a crunchy topping but the cashews give it a tasty crunch. The amounts of the ingredients really depend on you and how many you think you might be serving.
Melissa Mc Says:
Oh wow, Michelle. Thanks for such a cool recipe contest. I can’t wait for all of them to be posted so I can copy them.
The crockpot Chicken recipe has my vote.
I can’t wait to try that one!