Chicken Puffs

These are a hit around the Whicker house... Credit for the recipe must go to my other mom. Sandy has an organized cubbard filled with delicious recipes. This is one of them. They may not photograph the best, or be the prettiest on a plate- but these little puffs are pretty darn tasty!

Chicken Puffs

1 8 oz. brick cream cheese
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
garlic salt to taste
black pepper to taste
2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first four ingredients. Unroll crescent dough, and separate into individual triangles. Place one tablespoon of chicken mixture on the wide end of each triangle. Fold into balls, seal all edges very well. Bake 12-18 minutes or until golden. Serve with chicken gravy.

Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden Knockoff)

Mmmm. Olive Garden. How I love your soup and salad! Zuppa Toscana has always been my favorite; there is just something about the creamy, slightly spicy broth with chunky potatoes, kale and sausage that is just the perfect combination of delicious!

Now you can go buy a bottle of their dressing, grab a bag of green salad, whip up this soup, and you're on your way to a delicious dinner in the comfort of your own home! Now their breadsticks... That will be adventure I will seek out sometime soon, in the meantime, the Easy Breadstick recipe I have posted previously is pretty darn good itself!
Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden Knockoff)

3 cans chicken broth

2 cups whipping cream

red pepper flakes (to taste)

salt and pepper (to taste)

1-2 cups kale, chopped

3-4 potatoes, sliced thin

1 lb mild Italian sausage, cooked

Place all ingredients inside slow cooker/crock pot. Cook on high 3-4 hours.

Serve with crackers or breadsticks.

Pineapple Orange Cake

This cake is delightful... Emphasis on the "light"! For a dessert, it's pretty guiltless- but no one would ever know! I have made it several times to take to my grandparent's house... I am pretty
9sure there has never been a piece left for me to take home! (Until I can get my own picture up, this is the one from the Taste of Home website... But yours will look this good too!)

Pineapple Orange Cake

1 pkg. (18 1/4oz.) yellow cake mix
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, undrained
4 egg whites
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
Topping
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained
1 pkg. (1 oz.) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
1 carton (8 oz.) reduced fat cool whip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat cake mix, oranges, egg whites, and applesauce on low speed for 2 minutes. Pour in a 13x9" baking dish coated in cooking spray. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. In a bowl, combine the pineapple and pudding mix. Fold in whipped topping until just blended. Spread over cooled cake. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Egg Drop Soup

This recipe is so good, and it honestly couldn't be any easier. Mr. Whicker was doubt full when I wanted to try this one out... But he quickly changed his mind after he tried it! Next time you find yourself in need of a quick, and tasty dinner, give this soup a try. Bake up some egg rolls, and you've got yourself a winning combination the whole family will enjoy!


Egg Drop Soup

4 cups chicken broth
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch
4 eggs

Reserve 1/2 cup of chicken broth, and set aside, pour the remaining in a large saucepan. Stir the ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in saucepan, bring to a boil. In a cup, or small bowl, stir together reserved chicken broth, and cornstarch until smooth, then slowly stir into broth. In a small bowl beat the eggs together using a fork. Pour egg slowly into the boiling broth mixture. Egg should cook quickly. Serve immediately.

French Dip Sandwiches

I promise I will get some recipes on here for dinner that are not made in a crock pot/slow cooker... But honestly some great food comes out of those little contraptions!

This recipe is one of the easiest to make, and liked by everyone. Mr. Whicker loves French Dips now... He wasn't so sure the first time I placed one of these bad boys in front of him; he has since come to see the error of his ways! We made these for a family Super Bowl party last year, we didn't leave with much to take home!

French Dip Sandwiches, Family Favorite Recipes

2-3 lb oven roast

2 cans beef broth (about 4 cups)

2 pkgs Lipton Onion Soup Mix

white Italian sub rolls (We get ours from Subway, they sell a 12" roll for 50 cents!)

provolone cheese slices

Put oven roast in crock pot. Add beef broth and soup mix. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Shred roast with a fork, and return shredded beef to crock pot for a few more minutes. Slice open bread, and place a good amount of beef on one side, top beef with cheese slices. Broil open sandwich in oven for a few minutes, until the cheese gets melted and bubbly. Remove from oven, and serve with a ladle of au-jus left in crock pot.

Easy Breadsticks

These simply little breadsticks make the perfect pairing with some yummy soup, spaghetti... Anything really! They are so easy, you can throw them together in a snap, and so good you will be making them again, and again!

Easy Breadsticks- The Sister's Cafe

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tbsp. yeast
2 tbsp. sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
butter for pan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, let mixture sit and bubble for a few minutes. Add the salt, and flour. Knead the dough for 3 minutes, let dough rest for 10 minutes. (This can all be done in a Kitchenaid Mixer) Melt 2-4 tablespoons of butter, and pour most of it on a large cookie sheet. Roll dough to the approximate size of cookie sheet. Cut dough to desired width, then twist or lay flat on cookie sheet. Brush remaining butter on sticks, and sprinkle with garlic salt, parmesan cheese, and parsley (Or whatever seasonings you like!) Raise breadsticks 10-20 minutes on cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes, or until golden brown. You can roll them out to fit a cookie sheet and they will come out puffy and soft. Ori you prefer a crunchier breadstick roll them out to fit a cookie sheet and a jelly roll pan. Either way, they're delish!

Frosted Banana Bars

Everyone loves a good treat, especially when you can use up some getting old, blackish bananas in the process! These Banana Bars are seriously to die for good- I may never make banana bread with my black bananas ever again! Try them out, you may convert yourself.

Frosted Banana Bars- My Kitchen Cafe

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup ripe, mashed bananas
frosting, recipe below

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10x15 jelly roll pan. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in sour cream, and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the ripe bananas. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick instered in the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside. In a medium bowl, beat whipped cream until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture, frost cooled bars, and enjoy!

Chicken Parmesana

This was a favorite recipe we had in our house growing up. It is so good, even the picky eaters will gobble it up. Being a slow cooker recipe, it also has fix it and forget it appeal. I hope you give it a try. Served over spaghetti with a large green salad, who needs the Olive Garden?! 5 stars!

Chicken Parmesana- Fix it and Forget it, Slow Cooker Recipes

1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
2-4 tbsp. butter
14 oz. jar pizza sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Beat egg, salt, and pepper together. Dip chicken into egg, and coat with breadcrumbs. Saute chicken in butter in a large skillet. Arrange chicken evenly in slow cooker. Pour pizza sauce over chicken. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Sprinkle cheese evenly over top of chicken, cook an additional 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Fiesta Beef Fajitas

Who doesn't love a delicious, and easy slow cooker recipe? Honestly, this one is as simple as it gets, and rarely leaves much for leftovers!

My mom first made this amazing shredded beef for dinner while my grandparents were here in Utah for a visit. It was amazing! So tender, so flavorful, and completely simple! It was a unanimous keeper! We had it on tortillas, served in the traditional fajita style, but it would also be fantastic over lettuce for a taco salad.

Fiesta Beef Fajitas

2 lbs. flank steak
14-1/2 oz. can tomatoes with chilies (Ro-Tel)
2 1/4 oz. pkgs. fajita seasoning mix
1 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, coarsely chopped
8 to 12 10 inch flour tortillas, warmed
Garnish- guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, shredded lettuce

Place meat in slow cooker. Mix tomatoes with chilies and fajita seasoning together in a bowl; pour over meat. Cover and cook on high setting for 4 hours; reduce to low and cook for an additional 2 hours. Add onion and green pepper; cover and continue to cook on low setting for an additional hour. Shred meat serve on warm tortilla with garnishes.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Welcome to The Whicker Basket!

About the Whicker Basket
This blog hosts a collection of tried and true recipes that my family loves, as well as new recipes that have been attempted, and hope to ease their way into the tried and true club. My New Year's resolution for 2010 is to organize my recipes so they are more easily accessed- this blog is the solution to that need. I hope to take this year to spend more time in the kitchen, cooking delicious and healthy meals for my little family.

About the woman behind the blog
I'm Kerianne. I am a full time wife, and mother who also works and goes to school part time. My heart is in my home, and my soul in my kitchen. Cooking is my passion. I consider myself on a neverending adventure to find the world's best recipes!

Contact Me
I love getting recipes from people... And I would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite that I must try please send me an e-mail at whickerbasketcatering@gmail.com. I would be honored to try it! I look forward to hearing from you... And again, welcome to the Whicker Basket!