Hawaiian Haystacks/Chinese Sundaes

1 c. uncooked rice (I will double this because I have a picky eater and this is all he'll eat for dinner)

1 lb. cooked, cubed chicken

1 can chow mein noodles

2 celery ribs, diced

1/2 c. almonds

1 can pineapple

2 cans mandarin oranges

1/2 c coconut

1 jar maraschino cherries, drained

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 c sour cream

1/2 c. milk

I am doing this different than the recipe says to. If you want the actual recipe leave a comment and I'll put it on here. I'm going to make it easier and less time consuming.

*My sister, Kris, told me you can put anything in a crock pot, so I'm going to put the cream of cihcken soup, sour creeam and milk into the crockpot with the FROZEN chicken 4 hours before dinner.

*Cook rice according to package directions. I'll put mine in the rice cooker at 4:20 so it's ready at the same time the chicken and sauce is ready

*Here's a trick I learned and I don't remember who taught it to me, but thank you!!!! To shred my chicken I throw it in the kitchen aide with the paddle and turn it on. Watch it until it's what you like.

*Place the noodles, celery, almonds, pineapple, orances, cocunut, and cherries in individual serving bowls

*Serve sauce over rice and let everyone add their toppings.

*Eat and enjoy!

wassail

I'm 6 months pregnant and have 2 boys (3 and 5 years old). They are very active and I'm so exhausted by the time they go to bed. This is my absolute favorite drink after a long day. I don't know what it is about wassail, but I feel refreshed after I drink it!
This recipe is from a friend of mine and I HAVE to share it!!!!

Wassail

2 qt. water

2 c. sugar

3 cinnamon sticks

1T cloves

2t nutmeg

1 gallon apple cider

2 qt. orange juice (pulp free)

1/2 c. lemon juice

*you will also need a cheese cloth bag*

1. Mix water and sugar together

2. place spices in cheese cloth bag and tie with a string. Add to water mixture and set a fork on the bag of spices so it can't float. Boil 15 minutes.

3. Stir bag around and remove.

4. Refrigerate overnight.

5. Add all juices to water mixture. Heat on the stove and serve warm

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pizza Dough

1 T. yeast

1 c warm water

2 T olive oil

1 T. honey

1/4 t. salt

3 to 4 c flour

1. mix the yeast and water in a small bowl, cover, and let stand 5 minutes

2. Mix the oil, honey, salt and yeat mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add flour, 1 cup at a time. ONLY USE 3 C. of flour. if the dough seems wet, mix in more four 1/4 c. at a time.

3. Oil pizza pan and roll out to fit pan (I roll mine on my pan so I don't have to guess whether or not it'll fit)

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I changed the recipe a bit to what my family would like and it turned out GREAT!!!

3/4 lb chicken breast (cooked and cut up)

*I am not a fan of meat, so I used 1 chicken breast*

1 c. plus 2 T sweet bbq sauce (divided)

1/4 c shredded smoked Gouda cheese

*I do NOT like Gouda, so I just eliminated this from my pizza*

3 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

*I used about 1 1/2 c. of cheese*

1/4 c. thinly sliced red onion

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Mix the chicken with 2 T. BBQ sauce

3. Spread 1 c BBQ over pizza crust. Sprinkle with Gouda cheese and top with 3 c. of the mozzarella cheese *I lightly sprinkled some of the mozzarella on* Sprinkle the chikcen and onion over the cheese and top with remaining cheese.

4. Bake 15 minutes on the lowest oven rack.

I served a green salad and apples/dip with the pizza.

Fruit Dip

1 8oz pkg cream cheese

1 jar marshmallow cream

mix until fluffy. My 3 year old is trying to learn his colors, so I let him experiment with food coloring and we had ORANGE fruit dip! It was great because he learned something AND my picky little eater actually ate apples and dip:)