Pumpkin Fudge

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 (12-ounce) package white chocolate morsels
1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow crème
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


What you do:

Stir together first 6 ingredients in a 3 1/2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 234° (soft-ball stage) or for about 12 minutes.

Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour into a greased aluminum foil-lined 9-inch square pan. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.

By Southern Living

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

3 cans chicken broth
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
3/4 cup onion chopped
3 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup of milk
1 1/2 cup of sour cream
3 cups cooked and cubed chicken
1 pkg. wide egg noodles

Cook the veggies in the broth until tender (about 20 min.) Add cream of chicken soup, milk, sour cream, then add chicken and egg noodles cooked and drained. Heat until warm, don't boil

From the kitchen of Jen H.

Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing

Recipe by Ourbestbites.com

1 pack (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (regular or buttermilk, and ignore directions on the packet)
1C mayo
1/2 C milk (or buttermilk depending on which packet you buy)
1 lime
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 C green salsa*
hot sauce

Place milk, mayo, and ranch mix in a blender. Juice the lime in there too, you should get about 2T juice. Toss in the garlic, cilantro and green salsa. Blend 'er up. Sample it and add hot sauce to taste. Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken.

*A note about green salsa:
There are several brands of green salsa available in most supermarkets and they have various degrees of heat. One of the most commonly seen brands is Hernandez. Hernandez brand is a lot spicier than any of the others I've tried. Even their medium green salsa is way too spicy for my liking. I like to buy La Costena because their medium is actually really mild. That way I get all of the flavor of the tomatillos but I control the level of heat with the hot sauce. If you're not used to buying green salsa, make sure to sample it first before you put it in the dressing so you know what you're getting into!

Easter Favorite Finds

Bird nest candy dish as seen on Etsy by Linsay.

Speckled Easter eggs by Southern Living

Polkadot Easter eggs and carrot cupcakes at DisneyFamily.com

A unique centerpiece by Mix Mingle Glow.

Chicken Fajita Soup

1 lb chicken
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow onion
1/2 packet fajita seasoning
1 can chicken broth
1 can Rotel (tomatoes and green chilies)
1 pkg birds eye super sweet corn
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder

In a large skillet saute sliced chicken. Remove chicken from pan and cook peppers and onion. Add chicken into pepper mixture. Add fajita seasoning and 1/2 cup water. Simmer for 5 min. (Or you can use left over fajita mixture from a previous meal)
In a crock pot add fajita mixture, chicken broth, Rotel, corn, cumin, and chili powder. Cook on low for 4 hours.

Serve with jack cheese, sour cream, and tortilla or corn chips.

Crock Pot Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup (or 2 cans of cream of chicken if you don't like mushrooms)

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp. chopped onion

1 can diced green chilies

1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese

12 flour tortillas torn into pieces

3-4 cups cooked chicken or pork

7-oz. jar salsa

½ cup grated cheddar cheese (for garnish)

2 Tbsp. Chopped Cilantro (for garnish)

Preparation:
In separate bowl, combine soups, sour cream, onion, and 1 cup grated cheese. Place one-third of each of the following in layers in crock pot: torn tortillas, soup mixture, chicken, and salsa. Repeat layers 2 more times. Cover. Cook on Low 4 hours, then stir lightly. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese. Cover. Cook on Low an additional 15 minutes until cheese is melted. Garnish with Cilantro serve. Goes great with Corn Casserole and Spanish Rice.

Ed's Thai Turkey Wraps

Ed Brantley's personal recipe that he prepared on Biggest Loser: Families.

Per Serving: 261 Calories, 9.4g Fat, 70mg Cholesterol, 375mg Sodium, 13g Carbs, 3.6g Fiber, 4.6g Sugar, 34.4g Protein

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 package ground turkey
• 1 clove of chopped garlic
• 1 tsp. of minced fresh ginger (I used powdered)
  
• 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 carrot, peeled and minced
• 6 scallions, finely chopped (I used green onions)
  
• 7 sprigs cilantro chopped
• 4 limes, juiced (I only used 1 lime)
  
• Sriacha chili sauce (can be purchased at a local Asian market or international food section in the grocery)... use sparing, very hot!
  
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil (I would cut this back a little)
  
• 1 red bell pepper finely diced
• 1 cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and julienned
• 1 head Boston lettuce (I used iceberg)
  
• 1/4 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts (I added 1 tsp. of peanut butter to the sauce instead)
• (I added about 2 Tbsp of honey because I like mine sweet)
  

Instructions

1. Brown turkey, place in refrigerator to cool.
2. Once cool, mix all ingredients (except: pepper, cucumber, lettuce and peanuts) in a bowl.
3. Allow to marinate overnight, or 3-4 hours for best taste.
4. Serve mixture in lettuce cups with cucumber, pepper and peanuts for garnish.