Pot Luck Recipes

I've been so busy at the office that there's just not been time for me to get into the kitchen and experiment with new recipes until today.  These are three recipes I found on Facebook in the past few days.

The chicken recipe is from America's Test Kitchen.

SMOKEY PULLED CHICKEN

1 Cup chicken broth

2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 T. molasses

1 T. sugar

2 tsp. liquid smoke

1 tsp. unflavored gelatin

1 tsp. salt

Cut chicken thighs in half.  Put into stockpot with remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer 25 minutes.

Remove chicken from liquid.  Strain liquid and set aside.

SAUCE

1/4 Cup molasses

1 ½ cups catsup

2 T. Worcestershire sauce  (I used 1 T.)

1 T. Frank’s Red Hot hot sauce

½ tsp. each salt and pepper

Shred chicken, add 1 cup of the sauce and ½ cup of the reserved braising liquid and 1 tsp. liquid smoke.  Heat thoroughly.

SWEET MACARONI SALAD

16 oz. elbow macaroni

4 medium carrots, peeled and shredded

1 chopped bell pepper

1 red onion, diced

2 cups mayonnaise

14 oz can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

1 cup cider vinegar

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. salt

Cook macaroni.  Drain and rinse.  Stir in carrots, onion and pepper.

Whisk together remaining ingredients and toss with macaroni mixture.

***I cut the recipe in half and it still made a large bowl full***

I've never been fond of graham cracker crusts so I just prepared the filling for this.  The oreo cookie crust would just be too sweet and would overpower the filling. 

Creamsicle Cheesecake

Ingredients

For the crust 

24 whole golden Oreo cookies, crushed

6 tbsp. melted butter

Pinch kosher salt

For the filling

1 (3-oz.) box orange Jell-O

1 c. boiling water

2 c. whipped topping

2 (8-oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. sour cream

1 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Pinch kosher salt

For garnish

1 c. whipped topping

1 clementine, peeled and separated into segments

Directions

 In a large bowl, whisk together orange Jell-o and boiling water until Jell-o is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, mix together Oreo crumbs, butter, and salt. Press into the bottom of an 8" springform pan and up the sides.

In another large bowl beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth, then add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Fold whipped topping into cream cheese mixture, then pour half of mixture into cooled Jell-o. Whisk until smooth.

Onto your prepared crust, alternate pouring 1/4 cup dollops of each mixture until both mixtures are used. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the layers. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours, or until firm.

When firm, pipe dollops of whipped topping around the outside of the cheesecake. Top each dollop with a clementine segment, garnish with orange zest and serve.