chicken fried rice

This makes plenty! It's a one-pot meal, is great to use up leftovers, and it tastes like you fussed. I got this from Kim and have made it many times. It's great to buy frozen egg rolls and serve as a side item. Everyone loves this and it is so easy to make. Give it a try!

4 cups cooled, cooked rice
1 onion, chopped fine
4 chopped green onions
2 tbl minced garlic
1 to 2 cups frozen vegetables (anything works as long as it's in small pieces)
2 cups chicken (cooked and cut into small pieces)
Soy sauce to taste
Olive oil for the pan
A little sesame oil to finish

Saute the onion in olive oil in a large skillet. Add green onions, garlic, chicken and vegetables. Add rice when veggies are cooked. Stir in soy sauce. Drizzle a little sesame oil over the top, stir in, and serve.

**made this for dinner last night, served with egg rolls & it was delicious!**

***original recipe from Barb (mom's fridge). thanks Barb!***

Sopapilla Cheesecake

This is a fun thing to take to a brunch. It gets a lot of attention and it's so easy to put together! You should give this one a try. It is a great recipe!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

(2) pkg crescent rolls 1 tsp cinnamon
(2) 8 oz pkg cream cheese 3/4 stick butter
1-1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla

Mix together ½ cup of the sugar and the cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining one cup of sugar, vanilla, and cream cheese. Flatten one can of crescent rolls on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over flattened crescent rolls. Unroll second can of crescent rolls and spread over cream cheese mixture. Melt butter and pour over the second layer of crescent rolls. Sprinkle with all of cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

(recipe from Julia P. Stephens/recipe exchange)

spinach dip... favorite ingredient friday!

I make this spinach dip for a lot of family gatherings and it is always ... always said to be everyone's favorite and I end up writing the recipe down for people almost everytime. I made a double batch for 4th of july and my SIL took leftovers to work the next day. I got a call wanting the recipe again. I make it a little different than the box of soup mix suggests... I add cream cheese because I love cream cheese and it makes it thicker, and I exclude water chestnuts.


8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. mayo (can use light, don't use miracle whip)
8 oz. sour cream
one package knorr vegetable soup mix
5 chopped green onions
1 box (10 oz) chopped frozen spinach

Thaw, rinse, drain, and squeeze spinach. I like to sit the sour cream and cream cheese out so they are room temp. Mix cc, sc, and mayo with soup mix, stir in spinach and onions until well blended. Chill to blend flavors. Serve with crackers, veggies or a favorite of mine is to hollow out a hawaiian bread and cut the part you took out into chunks. YUM! (I usually sit a small bowl in the hollowed space so the bread doesn't get soggy).