Cooking Mama's

Bloomin' Onion Bread

2011-05-18T17:27:00.000-06:00

This was so good!!! We had mom and dad down for dinner and I saw this recipe and picture at The Girl Who Ate Everything who got it from The Changable Table {she has step by step pictures on her blog} and I just had to make it! And so glad I did!! Warm, cheesy, and pull apart good!!! You eat it just like the Bloonin' Onion at Outback.....just pull apart and enjoy!!

1 unsliced loaf sourdough bread
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 cup butter, melted ~ I will do 1 c. next time I make this
1/2 cup finely diced green onion
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the bread lengthwise and width wise without cutting through the bottom crust. This can be a little tricky going the second way but the bread is very forgiving. ~ I had John do this and he used an electric knife and it worked really slick.
Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Insert cheese slices between cuts. Combine butter, onion, and poppy seeds. Drizzle over bread. Wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Unwrap the bread and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

We were talkin' with we were eating this about how many ways you could make this.....add some garlic salt for a garlicy twist or add some oregano and pepperoni slices and olives and dip it in some marinara!!! Here's my picture....as always not as great and I only added onion to half since dad is not an onion lover {unless he's eating chips and french onion dip....how weird is that}!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough topped Brownies

2011-03-20T21:21:00.001-06:00

If you're a fan of raw cookie dough you will love these {and there are no eggs so it's safe to eat}!! I had to hurry and get the cookie dough part on the brownies before I ate the whole bowl! I got the recipe from a dear sweet lady in our ward who made these for a Young Women Activity ~ Kim Arzola! The girls gobbled them right up! I managed to sneak one home to John and he loved them! They were quite easy to do so I made a bunch for a carnival at Halle's school! I am making more tomorrow night so I will snap a picture then!!

Start by making a box brownie mix of your choice, as directed, on the box. Let cool completely!
Then make the.....
Cookie Dough Topping
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 T. milk ( I use evaporated milk)
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. flour
Mini chocolate chips {as much as you want}
Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour and mix well. Spread over cool brownies.
I made a cookie sheet full of these by using 2 brownie mixes and tripling the Cookie Dough Topping since I had to make quite a few! They were very yummy!

2011-02-24T22:43:00.002-07:00

This was a really good, comforting, easy to make soup!! It comes from Chef Mommy {who sited 365 Days of Crockpot as the source on her blog}! The picture is hers too! Doesn't it look yummy? Well it is/was! The girls loved it, John loved it, Jace thought it was ok {he spotted the celery and it kinda went down hill from there ~ picky kid}, and Justin didn't try {which he wouldn't anyway I'm sure ~ again cause of the celery, ~~little~~ ~~brat~~}!

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package of Rice-a-Roni long grain and wild rice
1/2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups half and half (I used fat-free half and half)
1 cup grated carrots (I diced mine) ~ I used the shredded one they have in the bag
1 cup diced celery

Directions:
Combine broth, water, carrots, celery, chicken and rice (along with seasoning packet) in a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Take out chicken and shred with two forks and then add back into slow cooker. In a small bowl combine salt, pepper, and flour. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour mixture by tablespoon to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Stir cream mixture into slow cooker and then let cook on low for 15 more minutes. Served with quick baking biscuits! And I usually double recipes but this made enough to feed the family and have a little leftover for John's lunch!

Meatball Sliders

2011-02-19T21:04:00.003-07:00

Doesn't happen too often but every once in a while the kids slip something in the grocery cart and I don't catch it!! Usually a candy of some kind!! Well we were in Sam's Club around Superbowl time and Hannah slipped these in the cart...

A huge bag of meatballs! She had a sample of one and decided we needed a whole bag!! {Seriously don't know how I missed that one}! So tonight we had Meatball Sliders! They were pretty yummy!! I didn't have an exact recipe {not really that hard though} but followed this from The Girl Who Ate Everything. The picture is hers too!

24 frozen meatballs, thawed

2 cups marinara sauce
8 ounces sliced provolone or mozzarella {used swiss}
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings
24 dinner rolls or 8 hot dog buns cut in thirds {I use the King's Hawaiian Rolls, perfect size}

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9X13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Warm the meatballs in the marinara sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Separate the dinner rolls or hot dog buns and place one saucy meatball on the bottom roll. Top with mozzarella or provolone. Place the top roll on and push down slightly. Place meatball slider in the pan and continue to assemble the rest of the sliders. Microwave butter in a bowl in the microwave until melted. Add garlic powder and Italian seasonings and mix well. Brush tops of buns with melted butter mixture.
Toast in oven for 8-10 minutes or until toasted. Served with french fries and a green salad!! On the menu for tomorow.....Swedish Meatballs!!

Valentine's Heaart Cake Dessert {super easy & super cute}.....

2011-02-15T08:35:00.001-07:00

or for any occasion for that matter when ya wanna show a little love!!! I know it's late but I found this super cute and super easy {I know I said that already, but it really is} dessert at Real Mom Kitchen {the picture is hers too} and knew the family would love it!

1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tsp cornstarch
1 cup frozen raspberries
Twinkies
1.In a small sauce pan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk the water into the sugar mixture until well blended. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and gently stir in raspberries. {I added my raspberries during cooking, constantly stirring, and then strained the sauce through a mesh strainer with the back of a spoon so I was left with a smooth sauce, my kids aren't "chunky" fruit fans, and poured it into a squeeze bottle to drizzle over Twinkies}. Allow the mixture to cool.

2.Cut Twinkies in half diagonally, a sharp diagonal, starting about 1 in. down from top left to 1 in. from bottom of opposite side. {I threw my Twinkies in the freezer for about 20 minutes so they were a little more firm when I cut them}. For each heart, put 2 halves together on a plate. Spoon raspberry mixture on top and around hearts.

This is my picture!! Not quite as pretty! I was going to add a few fresh raspberries but forgot!!! But they all loved it!! Even Justin!! You could also drizzle with chocolate sauce too, yum!!
Hope everyone had a very Happy Valentine's day!!!

Bow-Tie Lasagna

2011-01-27T22:14:00.001-07:00

This was very good!! So easy to whip up!! It comes from Chef Mommy who got it off Tasty Kitchen. The picture is hers also!!

1 pound ground beef
3 cups bow-tie noodles
3 cups spaghetti sauce ~ I used Prego
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3/4 cups mozzarella cheese
½ cups sour cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
Directions:
Cook ground beef in a non-stick pan. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. After noodles are cooked, drain and drizzle with olive oil. Mix in your spaghetti sauce. Add the ground beef and seasoning. In a small bowl combine the sour cream, mozzarella and Parmesan. Add to the pasta mixture and fold together and allow it all to combine and melt together, over low heat, for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley and additional Parmesan.
I added a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese when adding the other cheeses because that's what I always put in my lasagnas and because the girls love it! Served with green salad, green beans, and french bread! It was a winner!! And I didn't double it and had enough for John's lunch!!

Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

2011-01-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

I got his recipe from Good Food, Good Fun {she makes so many yummy things}which she adapted from Tasty Kitchen! This was really quick and easy and did I mention yummy??

6 pieces Frozen Chicken ~ I used a bag of frozen tenders
16 ounce Sour Cream
1 package (1 Oz. Package) Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 cans (10.75 Oz. Can) Cream Of Mushroom Soup ~ I used one big can, I think it's 26 oz.
Your Choice Of Noodles ~ I used curly egg noodles

In a slow cooker, add all of the chicken. In a separate bowl, add the sour cream, onion mix, and soup.

Pour mixture over the frozen chicken in the crock pot. Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours. When there is about an hour left, start boiling the noodle of choice. Take chicken out and shred. Add chicken and drained noodles back to the crock pot when noodles are done cooking. Mix well.
I added a dollop more of sour cream on top and some Parmesan cheese! We had green beans, rolls, and salad! The kids each had seconds!!!

Lemon Bars

2010-12-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

Keepin' short and simple.....go make these! They are the best I've had! AND the easiest to make!! The recipe comes from a cute gal, Michelle Hansen!

For the Bottom Layer you will need:
1 Box Lemon Cake mix
1 Stick of Butter (softened)
1 Egg
Mix together and pat down in a 9x13 pan

For the filling you will need:
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar (doesn't need to be level)
1 8oz pkg cream cheese softened
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Lemon Extract

Beat together & pour over cake mix & Bake @ 350 for 25 mins or longer, just make sure and watch the top for it to be a light brown color, dust with powdered sugar as soon as they come out of the oven. Make a day ahead if you can they seem to set up a little better. ENJOY!!

Chalupas

2010-12-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

It really doesn't get much easier than this!! And the kids loved it {except for the beans, but I made 'em eat 'em anyway and they all lived and didn't complain too much}! The recipe come from the Recipe Girl! I found the recipe at Real Mom Kitchen and she linked up to the Recipe Girl! The picture is from Real Mom Kitchen! Like I said...super easy! It's mainly a taco, but it's an easy way to "mix it up"!

Nonstick cooking spray
(Eight) 6-inch flour tortillas- or use corn if you’d like, but they should be fried first
2 cups refried beans
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese blend
1 cup fresh salsa
1 cup sour cream
2 cups finely chopped lettuce (optional)
1 cup guacamole (optional)

1. Preheat the broiler. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place 4 tortillas on the baking sheet and heat on the center rack in the oven for 4 minutes.
2. Remove the baking sheet from oven and turn over the tortillas. Spread each tortilla with 1/4 cup refried beans and top with 1/4 cup cheese. Bake until the cheese is hot and bubbling and the tortillas are crisp, 5 to 7 more minutes. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
3. Serve immediately, topping each tortilla with salsa & sour cream. Add lettuce and guacamole too, if desired.
Tips:
*Have leftover taco meat? Crumble it on top to make this meal more substantial.

I did cook up some hamburger and added that and of course the kids added ketchup and ranch!! Served with some chips and jello!!

Turkey Noodle Soup over Mashed Potatoes

2010-12-01T19:01:00.002-07:00

Used up some left over turkey and made a comfort food favorite!!! My Grandma Fillmore makes the best Turkey Noodle Soup over mashed potatoes!!! I haven't ever gotten her recipe yet but I found this from Tyler Florence and it was "down-home good"!!!! {There are potatoes under all that soup...little, fluffy, pillows of yummy goodness}!!

8 cups chicken stock
* Tip if you use store bought chicken stock, add 1 tsp chicken base to it to make it extra rich. Chicken base is available at the grocery store near the chicken bouillon. It is similar, except it contains less salt and has a more intense flavor. A little goes a long ways.

2 cups cooked shredded turkey
1 batch dumpling noodles (roughly 10 oz of store bought egg noodles)
1 medium onion {left this out due to the kiddos}
3 garlic cloves {left this out due to the kiddos too}
2 carrots (cut into 1/4 inch rounds)
2 ribs celery (sliced lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices)
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
4 sprigs of thyme or 2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mashed potatoes ~ you can make from scratch or use instant

Place a large pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf and cook till the veggies soften, but are not browned. Roughly 6 minutes. Once the veggies are softened add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. When boiling add the noodles and cook for about 5 minutes. Fold in the chicken and cook for another 3-5 minutes to heat up the chicken. Right before serving I make just a little thickening out of water and flour. I like it a little thicker and not so soupy!! Not too much, about 2 T. of flour and some water. Add a nice helping of mashed potatoes in a bowl and add soup on top!!! Season with salt and pepper! It's a very filling meal in itself but I baked up some small biscuits ~ the one ones that come in the can that "pops" open {and scares me half to death EVERY time} and there are about 10 of them in a can!!! That and some leftover Raspberry Whip Salad and ya got yourself a real good, feel good meal!!!

Eyeballs

2010-11-16T20:19:00.001-07:00

Made these for Halloween!!! Super easy and super tasty!! They have been floating around for a while and I can't remember exactly where I saw them! But it's a good project for the kids to help with!!

donut holes

white chocolate

red gel icing

black gel icing

blue, green, brown m&m's

plastic forks

Melt white chocolate of your choice using your favorite method of melting....stove top or microwave. Insert fork into donut hole and dip into white chocolate, completely covering donut hole. Put on wax paper and add m&m on the front. Repeat with rest of donut holes. I put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes to set up firm. Then add "veins" with red icing and a "pupil" with black gel icing!!!

We had these Halloween
Night!!! The kids had fun
eating "eyeballs"!!

Here's one of my helpers....

I was wishin' he'd covered one eye when I took the picture!! That would've been funny!!!

Freezer Apple Pie Filling

2010-10-24T17:09:00.001-06:00

I have always wanted to "can" apple pie filling!! Love apple crisp, apple pie, and making turnovers for the kids!!! Well my sisters and I got on a canning kick this year!! We did pickles, salsa, and freezer corn!! We started to look for a yummy pie filling recipe and one of my sisters friends was there visiting when we were doing salsa and mentioned her sister does "freezer pie filling" and freezes it in quart bags!!! So I called her and she shared her recipe! I got the recipe from Kristen Smith who got it from a friend who I am sure got it from a friend and so in and so on!!! But I got it from Kristen so that's where I'm given the credit!!! This was so easy!!! I ended up getting a box of Honey Crisp apples from my neighbor and ended up with 10 quart bags!!

Peel and slice apples ~ I used and apple corer and peeler and then just sliced the apples in half and had uniform slices but it doesn't matter what you use, just peel and slice them all about the same size.
I sliced all my apples and put them in a big Tupperware bowl with about 1 cup lemon juice to keep from turning brown. When done slicing all apples combine in each 1 qt. bag....

3 cups apples ~ draining most of the water out of the measuring cup
1 cup sugar
1/8tsp flour ~ I added 1 T. cause of the little bit of water from the apples
1/8tsp cinnamon ~ I added 1/2 t. ~ like it cinammony
dash of lemon juice ~ I left this out of each individual bag because I put it in with the apples at the beginning
Remove air, seal, and then I just kinda mushed the bag all around until everything mixed together
If need to remove extra air again and freeze flat.
Let thaw on counter or in fridge before using!!
It's not an exact recipe but I don't think you can mess it up! You can try one bag and then add more or less water, and then adjust your flour from there!! And I did add more cinnamon! See what it looks like after ya mixed and smooshed everything together!! I'll share my recipe for apple crisp and Kristen gave me one using a spice cake mix I can't wait to try!! Yum!!

Cinnamon Toast Cupcakes

2010-09-03T16:36:00.004-06:00

These were really good!!! Really, really good! But I am a cinnamon toast fan! The recipe and the picture come from "Nothing But Crumbs" .

CAKE

1 pkg (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix

1 pkg (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 1/4 C milk

3/4 C vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 Tbl + 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbl sugar

CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
4 Tbl butter, softened

3 C powdered sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Mix cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and 1 Tbl cinnamon. Fill lined muffin pan about 3/4 full. Bake 18-22 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow to cool prior to frosting. Mix cream cheese and butter in a large bowl, slowly add powdered sugar and cinnamon until completely combined. Mix 1 Tbl sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon for sprinkling. Frost with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Eat and enjoy! I took a picture of the ones I made but her's were much more pretty! Please don't let my frosting skills {or lack there of} keep you from making these...

Banana Cake

2010-08-16T23:46:00.003-06:00

I don't have a picture to go with this but please go make it today!!! I've decided I can't make it or I eat the whole pan!!! It's moinst like banana bread, has a yummy little crust of goodness on top, sweet, and just good! It's not like your traditional "banan cake" with cream cheese frosting, it's really quite different that any banana cake I've had! There's no frosting but you won't miss it!! This recipe come from my sister-in-law Shannon!! I'll post a picture next time I make it, or next time she does ;)...

1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
4 banana's ~ smashed
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. melted butter
1 c. butterscotch chips ~ {yum}
Beat well and place in greased 9x13 pan.

Topping:
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/8 c. flour
1 T . butter

Blend together well with a fork and sprinkle over cake. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
Let cool then cut you a nice little piece ~ or a huge piece like I do ~ and enjoy it in all it's deliciousness!!!

Banana Bread

2010-08-12T22:54:00.004-06:00

I know there are a TRILLION and one recipes for banana bread out there but I had a HUGE craving for some, had some bananas that were ready to be used, so I googled "banana bread" and found this one at Simply Recipes . It was one of the first ones I looked at, it looked simple enough, so I gave it a try!!! Lo and behold it turned out....moist and yummy!!! I was pretty excited!!! It only make enough for one loaf but I am sure the recipe could easily be doubled!!

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed ~ I used 3
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup) ~ I used 3/4 c. and it was plenty sweet
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

You could add a handful of walnuts or chocolate chips too! Just dust then in a little flour so they won't sink to the bottom of your bread!

I had to leave and the bread still had 10 minutes on the timer but I had to pull it out and hope it continued to cook! It turned out fine pulling it out a little early so I'll try making it again and going the full hour and see what I like best!!! I have another banana recipe to share and it's AMAZINGLY good!!! So good that I know if I make it I'll eat the whole dish!!!

2010-08-08T22:03:00.012-06:00

This was a fast, easy, meal! We've had it before but this one had a little twist and John really liked it!! The recipe comes from Favorite Family Recipes as does the picture!!!

1-2 cans canned chicken {or you can use 2-3 chicken breasts that has been cooked, cubed, and shredded}

1 8oz. package cream cheese
2 T. milk

salt and pepper to taste

2 cans crescent rolls

2 c. crushed croutons

melted butter

Mix together first four ingredients. Separate crescent rolls into triangles. Spoon some chicken mixture into the end of each crescent roll, fold ends in, and roll up. Roll in melted butter and then in crushed croutons. Place on un-greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. If desired {which I did} mix together 1 can cream of chicken soup with 1/2 c. milk that you cooked in microwave for a few minutes and spoon over cooked crescent rolls. Serve with green salad.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

2010-06-01T07:11:00.002-06:00

I know this has been around a while but it was a first for us and it was a hit!! Especially with J~Bear!!! He loved it! It comes from The Girls Who Ate Everything. This picture is from her blog also!!! So yummy!

2 1/2 c. pretzels (crushed fine)
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
3/4 c. butter
1 (6 oz) pkg instant strawberry jello
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen strawberries or small container (16 oz) sliced fresh strawberries (I prefer fresh)
1 ( 8 oz ) pkg cream cheese
1 c. sugar
8 oz. cool whip

Combine pretzels, brown sugar, and melted butter and press into a greased 9 X 13 pan. You can use more butter if the crust isn't sticking together and make the pretzels more crushed than I did. Bake @ 350 for 10 minutes.
Make jello according to directions and add the strawberries. Refrigerate until partially set. *If it is not set enough it will leak through your cream cheese layer and make your pretzels soggy. Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Blend in cool whip. Spread over cooled crust. Pour jello over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate.

Roast Beef Wrap

2010-05-24T15:35:00.003-06:00

This is my new favorite wrap, kinda strange but so very yummy!!!

tortillas {I used carb balance ~ Mission brand}
deli sliced roast beef
deli sliced Swiss cheese
broccoli slaw
zesty Italian dressing
dried cranberries
sliced avocado
salt and pepper

Assembly...
Marinate about 2 cups of broccoli slaw with 2-3 T. of zesty Italian dressing for at least 10 minutes ~ I make a big bowl and let marinate for a few days. Take 1 tortilla and layer with 2 slices of roast beef, Swiss cheese, a little of the broccoli slaw, a handful of dried cranberries, and 2-3 slices of avocado. Season with salt and pepper! Serve with fruit! I keep all the ingredients on hand and make them for John and I! I'll take a picture next time I make one....which will probably be tonight!!

Sinful Ice Cream Concoction

2010-04-27T21:45:00.005-06:00

Found this recipe how I usually find my recipes....recipe blogs!!! I love recipe blogs! I love that others share their wonderful and yummy recipes! I found this ice cream dessert at The Girls Who Ate Everything And ya know what makes it even better??? It was super easy!! It kinda reminded me of fried of cream or she said it reminded her of Sydney's Sinful Sundae at Outback ~ which I've never had but after having this I might give it a try next time we are there! I whipped it up Sunday morning and we had it after Sunday dinner!

1 half gallon vanilla ice cream
4 c. crushed corn flakes
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. coconut
1 c. melted butter

Get ice cream out to thaw for a bit. Mix everything but ice cream together and layer half on the bottom of a 9x13 glass dish, spread softened ice cream on top of that layer {I found it easier to use a metal spoon that I ran under warm water to spread the ice cream} and then top with remaining mixture.Put in freezer to chill. I served it with some caramel drizzled on top and it was so very good!! And since it was almost gone before I got a picture {cause I like pictures on recipe blogs} ya get to see what was left after John nibbled on it all weekend... Go check out her blog for a yummy looking picture and more great recipes!!

Triple Citrus Glazed Salmon

2010-04-18T20:37:00.005-06:00

I was watching Food Network and saw this recipe on "Down Home With the Neely's" and thought it would be so yummy! We fixed it for John's parents for their birthday dinner! You could taste all the citrus flavors...and it was yummy and it's my new favorite way to prepare salmon! I didn't get a picture because even the kids liked it and everyone gobbled it up!!

Triple Citrus Glaze ~
3/4 c. fresh orange juice
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. lime juice
1/4 c. chicken stock
1 garlic clove, minced ~ I just used a 1 t. prepared minced garlic
2 T. orange marmalade
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. butter
pinch kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
{I added 1 t. of cornstarch to thicken it a little more}

Bring all of the ingredients to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, stirring to melt the preserves and keep the mixture from burning. Reduce heat to simmer and let sauce reduce to a syrupy consistency. About 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Salmon ~
extra virgin olive oil
4 {6 0ounce 1 in. thick} salmon fillets ~ {I had 10 salmon fillets and had plenty of glaze}
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

You can go to the link to see how they grilled the salmon but we just baked it in the oven. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil and drizzle with olive oil to prevent salmon from sticking. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, turn salmon over and coat salmon with olive oil and salt and pepper. Brush salmon with glaze. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, basting with glaze every 5 minutes or so. After about 20 minutes, move cookie sheet closer to broiler , brush with more glaze and broil for about 5 minutes, watching carefully. We had green salad, The Pioneers Woman's Crash Potatoes {these were soooo good}, rolls, Banana Cream Pie, and Frozen Pie for dessert! It was so good! I hid a piece of the salmon and am going to go have it now!!

Chopped Ranch Salad

2010-03-24T21:37:00.008-06:00

I discovered this recipe from a couple of different blogs on the same day and they were pretty similar. One was from Blogging...It's whats for dinner where she just had the salad part and the other was from John's niece, Sherelle Christensen where she had something similar and put it in a pita! So good!! I just made a big bowl of this so my measurements aren't going to be exact! You could make enough to feed 6 or more or just make enough to feed one!!

Pita pockets ~ I used whole wheat
chicken ~ cooked and diced
tomatoes ~ diced ~ I used 3
1 lb. cooked and crumbled bacon
cucumber ~ peeled and sliced
2 head of hearts of Romaine
Prepared Ranch dressing
cheese of your choice ~ either shredded or diced into small cubes, if you use cubes I would add it to the mixture, if you use shredded I would just put it on top!!

Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Add ranch and toss to coat! Serve in pita's {I warmed them in the microwave for about 5-20 seconds to warm and soften a little bit} and top with cheese! Remember you can adjust this to feed alot or just a few! You can mix everything together except the ranch and keep in the refrigerator and add ranch as needed if you're making this for one or two people and have for several days! Next time I am going to add sprout and some diced avocados. Oh and salsa would be good too!!

Apricot Chicken

2010-03-24T21:23:00.003-06:00

This is a yummy, fast, dinner!! Kinda like sweet and sour chicken! The boys weren't real fans because of the onions from the Lipton Onion Soup mix but hey, every once in a while I like to cook something I like!! This recipe comes from a blog called "Blogging...It's whats for dinner!" The picture is her too!!

1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 8 oz. bottle Russian dressing

10 oz. apricot preserves

2.5 pounds boneless chicken of your choice ~ I used tenders

sticky rice ~ I just used regular rice and it was fine, prepared as directed.

Preheat oven to 350 Dump onion soup mix, dressing, and apricot preserves in dish and mix together well. Add chicken and stir to coat. cover with foil and bake 25-30 minutes or until chicken is baked all the way through depending on the size of your chicken. Serve over rice.

Frozen Pie

2010-03-24T21:01:00.005-06:00

You have to run and make this tonight or at least tomorrow!! It is by far one of my favorite pies!! It makes two so you can make one for your family and one to share with your neighbor {but I guarantee you won't want to give it away} or you can freeze it to enjoy later! It comes from one of my favorite cooking blogs ~ Taste of Joy.

2 deep dish pie shells ~ baked and cooled as directed
3/4 stick butter
7 oz. coconut
1 c. chopped nuts of your choice ~ I used pecans
1 can sweetened condensed milk
16 oz. cool whip
8 oz. cream cheese ~ softened
1 jar caramel ice cream topping

In a skillet melt butter, add and brown coconut and nuts. Set aside. In a bowl mix remaining ingredients, except caramel. On each pie crust add 1/4 of cream cheese mixture, then 1/4 of nut and coconut mixture, and half of the jar of the caramel sauce. Repeat first two layers and freeze. I did drizzle just little caramel on top. Freeze. Thaw slightly before serving. Ok...now hurry and go make it!!

Salisbury Steak

2010-03-04T20:12:00.005-07:00

This was really good and so easy!! I forgot to take a picture cause I always like to include one with the recipes. I will take one next time cause I will definately make this again! This recipe comes from Recipes For Moms. As always I doubled this to have some for John's lunch! I love that he loves leftovers and doesn't complain!

1 lb. ground beef
1/2. saltine crackers ~ crushed
1 egg ~ beaten
1/4 c. onion ~ chopped
1/2 t. salt
pepper to taste
1/2 c. water
1 12 oz. jar turkey gravy ~ I used the beef flavor

Combine beef, crushed crackers, beaten egg, onions, salt and pepper into a large mixing bowl. Mix well and form into 4-6 patties depending on size the want them. Set aside. Combine water and gravy in a large skillet over medium heat. Add patties. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, turning once halfway through. Whip up some mashed potatoes,pour over some of the yummy gravy, have some green beans and you have yourself another hearty meal!!

Strawberry Filling for Crepes

2010-02-24T16:25:00.002-07:00

I made some crepes the other night and needed a "filling" to go inside! I found this strawberry filling but I can't remember where! It was very yummy and the kids and John loved it!

Crepes ~ click on "crepes"on my sidebar for recipe

1T. butter

1 c. frozen strawberries

1 T.cold water

1/4 t.cornstarch

4 t. sugar

1 pinch salt

1/2 t. cinnamon {optional}

1/4 t.vanilla {optional}

In a pot, melt butter on medium heat. Put in frozen strawberries. Dissolve cornstarch in water, add to pot. Add sugar and salt.Stir and turn heat down to low-medium. Allow to simmer till strawberries are soft. Smoosh strawberries with spoon. If you'd like a little thicker consistency, allow to simmer for a little longer on low heat, uncovered. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add cinnamon and vanilla if you want. Place about a 1/4 c. filling in each crepe and roll. Make pretty by garnishing with fresh berries, whipped topping, and powdered sugar! Justin had his with syrup and ate about 10!!

Stromboli

2010-01-31T21:03:00.005-07:00

This was good and fast...two of my favorite things when it comes to cooking dinner! It comes from Good Food, Good Fun! She has so many good recipes to try!!

pizza dough ~ I used the pizza dough from the can but you can make your own or get some from your local pizza place! She has a good recipe on there too you can use!
salami
pepperoni ~ used this instead of ham
mozarella cheese
spaghetti sauce
Roll out your pizza dough into a rectangle. Layer salami, pepperoni, and cheese in a few layer down the middle of the dough. Wet the edges of the dough and roll up lengthwise. Fold ends under. Bake as directed on can or at 375 for 20-22 minutes. Warm spaghetti sauce in a microwave dish and serve as dipping sauce.

Homemade Marshmallows

2010-01-15T15:34:00.003-07:00

I WILL make these before this winter is over!! Recipe and picture come from The Food Network!

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray

Directions
Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water.
Have the whisk attachment standing by.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:
Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

For miniature marshmallows:
Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Line 4 half sheet pans with parchment paper, spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the confectioners' sugar mixture.
Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round piping tip. Pipe the mixture onto the prepared sheet pans lengthwise, leaving about 1-inch between each strip. Sprinkle the tops with enough of the remaining cornstarch and sugar mixture to lightly cover. Let the strips set for 4 hours or up to overnight.
Cut into 1/2 inch pieces using a pizza wheel or scissors dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining sugar mixture and store in an airtight container for up to a week

Swiss Chicken

2009-12-27T22:33:00.003-07:00

This was SO good! It's my new favorite! It was so easy too! I have recipe that is kinds the same thing that you do in the crock pot but thos was s simple to throw in a casserole dish and bake! I am making it again soon! It came from a recipe blog called "Ok, Maybe Just a Sliver" and I didn't get a picture cause I was too busy eating it and scrapping the dish afterwards!

8 chicken breasts
slices of swiss cheese
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
2/3 cup water
box of seasoned stuffing
1/3 cup melted butter

In a 9x13 casserole dish place chicken, lay a slice of swiss cheese over each piece of chicken. Mix soup with the 2/3 cup of water and pour over cheese. Top withe package of stuffing. Drizzle melted butter over casserole. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. SOOOO good!

Sausage Wonton Stars

2009-12-27T22:15:00.003-07:00

These were really good! I made them for Christmas Eve dinner and everyone loved them ~ especially Grandma Fillmore! I got the recipe from Taste Of Home.

1 pkg. wonton wrappers ~ 12 oz.

1 lb. pork sausage

2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

1/2 green pepper ~ chopped

1/2 sweet red pepper ~ chopped {I left these out...not a huge pepper fan and they were still really good}

1 bunch green onions ~ chopped {I left the onions out of about half}

1/2 cup ranch dressing

Lightly press wonton wrappers onto the bottoms and up the sides of lightly greased mini muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes or until edges are lightly brown.

In a large skillet cook sausage until no longer pink; drain. Stir in cheese, peppers, onions, and ranch dressing. Spoon into each wonton cup. Bake an additional 6-7 minutes until heated through. Makes about 4 dozen. I added some additional green onions as garnish on top of the ones that had onions in them. They would be great for New Year's!

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

2009-12-20T14:54:00.003-07:00

This was really good! The kids gobbled it right up ~ even Justin! It comes from "Real Mom Kitchen" and the picture is hers also ~ it was gone before I had a chance to take one!!

2 cans (12 oz) evaporated milk (not fat-free)

1 (1 oz) pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix

3 C. cubed, cooked, chicken

1/8 tsp pepper

1 (16oz) lasagna noodles, cooked (I recommend reducing it to 8 oz to 12 oz) ~ I also used the ones that don't need cooked and it turnes out great too!

1 1/2 to 2 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 to 2 C mozzarella cheese, grated

Cook the chicken and noodles first at the same time. Once noodles are done–rinse in cold water and set aside (it keeps them from sticking together). Combine evaporated milk (don’t use fat-free version) and Ranch dressing in a 3 quart heavy saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently until dry ingredients are dissolved. Stir in chicken and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes (don’t do any less), stirring frequently. Layer half of lasagna noodles, poultry sauce, and cheese in well-buttered 9×13 pan. Repeat layers again. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Served this with some corn and rolls!!

Hamburger Gravy

2009-11-22T19:37:00.003-07:00

Do you remember having this in grade school? I didn't till I saw it on a blog {can't remember where} and then it brought back a flood of school day cafeteria memories!! This was one of my favorites!

1 lb. hamburger
1 sm. onion, chopped ~ I just used about a tablespoon of minced
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. water
1 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Mashed potatoes ~ I just whipped up some instant

Brown hamburger and onion. Stir in flour. Add water and cook until thickness you prefer. Add Kitchen Bouquet to color, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve on mashed potatoes.
As always I doubled this and my potatoes! The kids loved it, except Justin, but what's new!! Served along with corn, and hot rolls!! It's a keeper!! Went so fast I didn't even get a picture!!

German Chocolate Cheesecake

2009-10-04T17:19:00.004-06:00

My sister called me this morning for this recipe and I realized I hadn't put it on here!! This is my FAVORITE dessert of all time! I seriously can eat the whole pan!! And it's not really a cheesecake, but that's what we've always called it and that's what it'll always be to me!!
Crust:
1½ c. flour
1½ sticks butter ~ melted
¼ c. sugar
1 c. chopped walnuts ~ you could leave these out if you're not a nut fan!
Mix all together and spread into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Bake @ 450º for 10-12 minutes, until golden around edges.
Cool completely.

Mix together: ~ {I usually double this mixture}
1 8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1 8 oz. cool whip
Spread over cooled crust.

2 small instant chocolate puddings...mix together as directed on package with cold milk.
Pour over cream cheese mixture.
Let pudding set up 10 minutes or so and top with another 8 oz. cool whip!
Garnish with additional walnuts or shaved chocolate!! Sooo good!

Chicken Pot Pie

2009-10-04T16:55:00.005-06:00

This was very good!! I remember as a kid though picking off the top of my chicken pot pie and that's exactly what my kids did...all of them!! But it was easy to throw together and the taste was so yummy on a cold fall day! John really liked it! I got the recipe from Everyone's Gotta Eat! She has a lot of things I want to try!!

Filling:

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken

1/2 cup onion

2 cups mixed frozen vegetables

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup {just realized I left this out on accident and it still tasted great!}

1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken broth

Combine and place in lightly greased 13x9 baking dish.

Crust:

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (recipe below)

Combine and pour evenly over filling.Bake at 350° for about 1 hour or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.

Self-rising flour ~

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Combine. Makes about 2 cups

Again I doubled the filling of soup and veggies, except the onions, and added about four potatoes, cubed ~ I always remember pot pie having potatoes! Then I made the crust as directed and poured over the top! I also did use a little bit bigger casserole dish that I have since I doubled it to hold everything and not have it bubble over everywhere! It was a filling meal in itself so I just served it along with root beer floats...a drink and dessert in one!!

Tater-Tot Beef Casserole

2009-09-29T18:55:00.009-06:00

This recipe comes from CopyKat Recipes. They have a bunch of copycat recipes they post from different restaurants and such. This one I think is just a family favorite budget stretcher! It was very easy to throw together and the family loved it! The following recipe is exactly as it comes from their site. I added a few notes at the end!

1 lb. Ground Beef
3 T. Minced Onion
2 T. Italian Seasoning
1 t. Garlic Powder
1 t. Onion Powder
2 C. Shredded Hash Browns, thawed
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
½ C. Milk
1½ C. shredded cheese (Velveeta tastes best)
Frozen Tater Tots
Brown the ground beef with the onion, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder; drain fat. In a large mixing bowl, combine hash browns, soup, milk, and cheese, stirring well. Add ground beef. Place in a greased 2 QT casserole dish. Place tater tots in a single layer over entire casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until thoroughly heated and tater tots are crispy.
I served this with a dollop of sour cream on top and Cookie Salad {go to salads on the side bar for recipe}. As always I doubled it and used a 9x13 casserole dish. I also didn't get what they meant by "Velveeta works best" so I used 1½ C. shredded cheddar and 16 oz. of Velveeta processed cheese, cubed it, and added it to the mixture of hamburger and everything else!! It melted and was very cheesy! It was a very filling meal and will make great leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Hal enjoyed every bite!!

French Bread Rolls

2009-09-15T19:27:00.003-06:00

This comes from Good Food, Good Fun recipe blog which she got from Kitchen Cafe ~ which is where the beautiful picture is from also! They were very easy to make but I made my dough balls a little big and had rolls the size of hamburger buns!! They were stiil very good and we used them the next night for the pulled pork sandwiches, which you must try by the way!!

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth (or greased saran wrap), and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake for 12-13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Pork Chop Potato Casserole

2009-09-15T17:45:00.003-06:00

Jace had to "read a recipe" and prepare it all by himself for Teen Living!! I found this recipe on a blog and then couldn't find it again so I googled the name and found it at Taste Of Home recipes! It's basically Heavenly Potato's with pork chops on top!! Still it was a good recipe for him to follow and he did great!! I "hovered" just a little {I really try not to but it's an OBM ~ over bearing mother ~ thing} but he browned the chops, mixed and put everything together, and even cleaned up!! It was a good meal and you could see pride in his face as he ate!

8 pork loin chops
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (26 ounces) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 can french-fried onions, divided ~ I only added onions to half the casserole

Directions: Sprinkle pork chops with seasoned salt. In a large skillet, brown chops on both sides in oil. In a large bowl, combine the soup, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper; stir in hash browns, 3/4 cup cheese and half of the onions. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Arrange pork chops on top. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining cheese and onions. Bake, uncovered, 5-10 minutes longer or until meat juices run clear. Yield: 8 servings.

We had green beans, Grands biscuits, and he also whipped up the Orange Fluff Salad! I am so proud of him!! Good job J!!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

2009-09-15T17:37:00.004-06:00

I got this recipe from my dear friend Allison and it went so fast I didn't get a picture!! Good, flavor, very tender, easy, and so yummy!! And as always I doubled everything to feed the gang and have some leftovers!!

3-lbs. boneless pork shoulder
1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Mushroom Soup
Mix ~
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 T. hot pepper sauce
8 hamburger buns
In slow cooker, arrange pork. Combine remaining ingredients except rolls and pour over pork; turn to coat. Cook covered on LOW 8 to 10 hours or HIGH 4 to 6 hours until pork is tender. Remove pork; reserve juices. With fork, shred pork, then stir in to reserved juices. Serve on buns.
I had made homemade French Bread Rolls Sunday, they turned out more like hamburger buns ~ they were huge ~ so we had it on those with a slice of Swiss cheese on top of the pulled pork! The heat of the meat melted the cheese and it was soo good!! We had fries and jello to complete the meal!!

Chicken Cashew Casserole

2009-08-28T17:05:00.003-06:00

This is a family favorite!!

1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped celery
2 c. chicken
¾ c. rice ~ uncooked
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
½ T soy sauce
1 can chicken broth
1 c. cashews
Chow mien noodles

Saute onion and celery in a little butter until tender. Mix together remaining ingredients in a large bowl and pour into a greased casserole dish. Cover with Chow mien noodles. Bake @ 350º for 25 minutes.

Lemonade Chicken

2009-08-28T16:49:00.004-06:00

This was so yummy! Kinda like sweet and sour chicken! But make sure to use the exact amount of lemonade...I used too much and it was a little "lemonady"!! It comes from "Good Food, Good Fun" recipe blog!! She has alot of good recipes! And as always I doubled the recipe for leftovers!! Didn't get a picture...it disappeared so fast!

4-6 chicken breasts
¾ lemonade concentrate
3 T. ketchup
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. vinegar
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. water
Minced onion, salt, pepper,garlic powder, and thyme to taste!

Put chicken in crock pot. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Before serving remove chicken, shred with forks, return back to sauce and serve over rice!

Cream Cheese Frosting

2009-08-13T20:27:00.002-06:00

1 pkg. cream cheese ~ softened
5 T. butter ~ softened
2 t. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar

Mix together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Add powdered sugar, mix until smooth! Use to frost cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, or cupcakes!

Taco Salad

2009-07-11T19:40:00.003-06:00

This is just your ordinary taco salad, but "Real Mom Kitchen" made her own "taco bowls" and I thought they were so quick and easy! And the kids, even the boys loved them! And it kicked up the ordinary taco salad with crushed corn chips on the bottom!

4 flour tortillas (8-inch)
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkt. (1¼ oz.) taco seasoning mix
4 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese
1 large tomato, chopped
¼ cup ranch dressing

HEAT oven to 425°F.
CRUMPLE 4 large sheets of foil to make 4 (3-inch) balls; place on baking sheet. Place 1 tortilla over each ball; spray with cooking spray. Bake 6 to 8 min. or until tortillas are golden brown. (Tortillas will drape over balls as they bake.)
MEANWHILE, cook meat with taco seasoning mix as directed on package.
FILL shells with lettuce, meat mixture, cheese and tomatoes just before serving. Drizzle with dressing.
I made 8 taco bowls and used 2 pounds of ground beef. I also added olives, taco sauce, sour cream, and of course ya can't forget the ketchup. The kids ate their "bowls" after the filling was all gone just like chips along with some salsa! Serve along side the best fruit dip ever with cantaloupe and strawberries! Another winner at the Russell homestead!!

Cold Spaghetti Salad

2009-07-09T15:06:00.002-06:00

This is my new favorite salad, my aunt made it for our 4th of July picnic and I just foundered on it! It's basically a pasta salad except with spaghetti! I found this recipe at Cook.com but I'm sure you could add or take away what you want!

1 pkg. thin spaghetti {I used Ronzoni's whole wheat thin spaghetti}
Cook spaghetti as directed on package. Rinse and set aside to cool for a bit.

Mix together...
1 jar Wishbone Italian dressing
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing
1/2 jar Salad Supreme spices by McCormicks ~ {this makes it taste so good}

Then add:
2 tomatoes, cut up
1 onion, cut up
1 green pepper, cut up ~ {didn't add this...green peppers are nasty}
sliced cucumber~ {added 2 of these...love these}

Let marinate overnight. Serve cold! Wish I would've taken a picture..it was yummy, yummy, to my tummy!

Mini Ham and Cheese Rolls

2009-07-09T14:50:00.004-06:00

These were so yummy and fast to fix! Almost as good as the Mini White Castle-like Sliders she makes. They come from the Big Red Kitchen: Mini Ham and Cheese Rolls as does the picture.

2 T. dried minced onions
1 T. prepared mustard (I used Dijon)
1 T. poppy seeds
1 stick melted butter
1 dozen dinner rolls or 2 dozen party rolls- {I used the King's Hawaiian rolls found by the deli meat and cheese}
1/2 pound ham
1/2 pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese
Preheat oven to 325°. In a small mixing bowl mix onion, mustard, poppy seeds, and melted butter. Leaving the dinner rolls intact, slice them open so that you have one solid top and bottom. Place the bottom half on a baking sheet or in a 9x13 inch baking pan, the pan size will depend on choice of rolls. Line the bottom half of the rolls with cheese slices and ham. Return the top part of the rolls and drizzle the butter mixture evenly over top. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Now use a sharp knife and separate the little sandwiches. Place on a pretty platter and serve immediately.

Note- These can be made ahead of time and refrigerated, may require 5 more minutes of baking. Also can be prepared ahead and frozen. Defrost in refrigerator overnight and bake as directed. I love keeping a pan of these in the freezer for emergencies. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds.
I served these with green salad, chips, and grapes! A great summer meal!

Powdered Sugar Glaze

2009-07-09T14:38:00.002-06:00

1 T. butter
1 c powdered sugar
½ t. vanilla
1½ to 2 T. milk
pinch of salt

In glass dish, melt butter in micro, add remaining ingredients. Start with the 1½ T. of milk and gradually add more if needed to get glaze consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Mountain Dew Cake

2009-07-09T14:18:00.004-06:00

This recipe comes from "Real Mom Kitchen" as does the picture. She has lots of great recipes. Thought I could get my boys to eat a "bundt cake" if they knew it had Mountain Dew in it ~ well they had a bite and said..."it doesn't taste like mountain dew"! But I loved it!! It had such a great lemony-citrus flavor and it was so moist! I think the Mountain Dew added great flavor! I also made a quick powdered sugar glaze and drizzled it over the top! Definitely be making this again...who cares if the boys didn't like it...they're spoiled anyway!! Try it...

1 box lemon cake mix

1 box {3.4 oz.} lemon pudding mix

1 can {12 oz.} mountain dew

½ c. vegetable oil

4 large eggs

Preheat to 325º degrees. Lightly grease and flour the bundt pan. In a large bowl combine cake mix and pudding mix. Add oil, eggs, and mountain dew. Beat at medium speed with hand mixer till the batter is smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely. Can drizzle with powdered sugar glaze if want to.

Just had to share...

2009-06-19T18:21:00.012-06:00

these cute "MINI" pepperoni pizza toppings that I found at Wal-mart! I love "mini" food and so when I saw these I had to grab 'em and make some homemade pizza!

Served a green salad and added a few more "mini" pepperonis to the

salad and it was a yummy meal!!

Blueberry Cream Pie

2009-06-15T21:58:00.004-06:00

This is the same recipe as the Strawberry Cream Pie listed a few posts below! Halle has been bugging me about buying blueberries every time we go to the store...so when we were in Sam's today they had a huge container so we picked one up and made a cheese cake with them! It was yummy! The glazed I used is one that John's mom taught me using a package of Kool-Aid! It listed in the "labels" column under "sauces". It's really simple and can be used for alot of different berries and pies!

White Castle-like Sliders

2009-06-15T21:29:00.005-06:00

These were a HUGE hit! So simple to make! I don't think I'll make hamburgers the old way after makin' these! The girls loved that they were just their size and the boys loved they were like two-bite size! John really enjoyed them and gave me the thumbs up!! The recipe and pictures come from the Big Red Kitchen! Go visit her blog to see more step by step pictures. She has tons of great recipes!!

½ c. dried onion flakes
2 lbs. ground round ~ use at least an 80/20 so the juices can rehydrate the onions
½ t. season salt {I also added a little steak seasoning}
6 slices cheddar cheese
24 small party rolls {I used King's Hawaiian usually found by the deli}
24 dill pickle slices

Evenly spread onion on the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish. Gently press hamburger evenly and gently over onions. Sprinkle with season salt. Bake in a 400º oven for 25 minutes ~ the beef will shrink. Using a paper towel, blot excess grease from top of patties, top with cheddar cheese {I used pepper jack on John's} and return to oven for 2 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes then cut into 24 patties. Cut rolls and top with patty and a pickle slice. Serve immediately! I served these with a side of ketchup for dipping and fries! Aren't these the cutest thing you've ever seen!

Paprika Chicken w/ Sour Cream Gravy

2009-06-06T16:13:00.003-06:00

This comes from the Campbell Soup website. And as always I'll double this recipe to have leftovers.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup butter
1 can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
2 green onions, sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
Directions:
Stir the flour, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and red pepper on a plate. Coat the chicken with the paprika mixture. Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 10 minutes or until it's well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet. Stir the soup and green onions in the skillet and heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the sour cream.
We had green beans, jello, and rolls. It was a good Sunday meal.

Strawberry Cream Pie

2009-06-06T15:54:00.006-06:00

This recipe and picture come from Jonna at "Get Off Your Butt & Bake". It was so easy and yummy. My family just gobbled it all up!!

Graham cracker crust: ~ {you could also use a pre-made crust}.

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (1 pkg crushed)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

5 Tablespoons melted margarine or butter

Mix above ingredients together. Using the back of a large spoon, press crumb mixture firmly on bottom and up sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Bake crust at 350 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool then fill.

Cream Mixture:

1 small pkg Cream Cheese (3 1/2 oz.)

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup Cool Whip (I buy a small cool whip, you will use the rest for the top of pie) ~ {I doubled the recipe so I had a really full pie}

Beat cream cheese with hand mixer, until smooth. Blend in Powdered sugar until smooth. Blend in the cool Whip. Fill Cooled Pie shell with Cream Mixture on bottom and almost to the top of crumb shell. Refrigerate while preparing berry mixture.

For the strawberry topping I just used cleaned and sliced strawberries and added it to the pre-made danish dessert mix, usually found over in the produce by the strawberries, but you can also use the Danish Dessert mix in the box ~ just prepare as directed on the back of the box.

Cornflake Cookies

2009-04-26T17:51:00.002-06:00

1 c. sugar
1 c. corn syrup
1 1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
6 1/2 c. corn flakes
In large pan mix together sugar and corn syrup. Cook ans stir until mixture boils. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until peanut butter is melted. Pour mixture over cornflakes and drop onto parchment or wax paper. Let cool for a bit and enjoy!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2009-04-20T10:46:00.002-06:00

2 sticks butter, softened
1 jar {7-7½ oz.} marshmallow cream
1 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla extract

Beat butter in a medium bowl until creamy. Beat in marshmallow cream. Mix well. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. When mixed in, beat in high for 3-4 minutes until fluffy.

For chocolate butter cream add 6 oz. melted unsweetened baking chocolate that has been melted and cooled to butter then beat in marshmallow cream sugar and vanilla.

This frosting can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen up to 1 month. Bring to room temperature and beat before using.

Chicken Ranch Tacos

2009-04-20T09:38:00.005-06:00

Found this quick meal on the Betty Crocker website. Quick and easy!

1 box (4.7 oz) Old El Paso Stand 'N Stuff™ taco shells ~ these are a clever invention and fun to use
3 cups cut-up deli rotisserie chicken (from 2- to 2 1/2-lb chicken) or cooked cubed chicken
1 package (1 oz) Old El Paso taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1/4 cup sliced green onions

1. Heat taco shells in oven as directed on box.
2. Meanwhile, in medium microwavable bowl, place chicken. Sprinkle with taco seasoning mix; toss gently to coat. Microwave uncovered on High 2 to 3 minutes or until hot. Stir in 1/2 cup dressing.
3. Spoon warm chicken mixture into heated taco shells. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese and onions. Drizzle with additional ranch dressing, if desired. Served with Spanish rice.

Cheeseburger Soup

2009-04-20T09:29:00.004-06:00

1/2 lb. ground beef
3/4 c. celery
3/4 c. carrots
3/4 c. onions
1 t. basil
1 t. parsley
4 T. butter (divided)
4 c. potatoes
1 1/2 c. milk
4 oz. Velveeta Cheese
1/2 t. salt
3/4 t. pepper
1/4 c. flour
1 c. chicken broth
Brown hamburger, drain and set aside. In same pot saute carrots, onions, celery, basil, parsley, and 1 T. butter. Cook until veggies are tender ~ about 10 min. Then add potatoes, chicken broth, and hamburger. Boil for 10 - 15 min ~ until potatoes are soft.
In a small pan melt remaining butter and add flour stir until bubbly then add to soup. Cook for 10 min. Add Velveeta Cheese, milk, salt, and pepper. Cook until cheese is melted.
Garnish with green onion, sour cream, and chopped bacon. As always doubled this and had plenty for leftovers. Served it with some jello and homemade bread.

Sugar Cookie Bars

2009-04-20T09:16:00.004-06:00

I think these are great! The yumminess of a sugar cookie without all the work! This recipe and yummy picture from "My Baking Addition". She posts a really great frosting recipe but you could probably use any frosting you have. She also cut them into cute bars and frosted them really cute but you could just frost them while they are in the pan and then cut into squares.

1 cup butter; room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

5 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla & mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & soda & stir with a whisk to combine. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter; room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

4 cups powdered sugar

5 Tbsp milk

food coloring (if desired)

Combine butter and shortening until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cookie.

Cant's Leave Alone Bars

2009-04-20T08:21:00.003-06:00

This recipe comes from "Dining As A Domestic Goddess".
1 package yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 c. chocolate chips
1/4 c. butter, cubed
Mix first 3 ingredients. Press most of the mixture in the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 pan (Reserve a little). Combine milk, choc. chips and butter in separate bowl and microwave 45 seconds on high. Stir and cook another 45-60 seconds. Stir till smooth. Pour over cake mixture. Drop teaspoonfuls of remaining cake mixture over top. Bake 350 for 20-25 min. or till lightly browned. Cool before cutting.

Ham and Swiss Rolls

2009-04-19T19:02:00.007-06:00

This recipe come from "Becky Higgins...Recipes To Share" {picture from Becky Higgins}. It looked really good and I thought it would make a great meal along with some chips, and the Snicker salad.

24 rolls

mayonnaise

12 thick slices deli ham (black forest)

12 slices Swiss cheese

1/2 c. melted butter

1 1/2 Tbsp. mustard

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Slice rolls in half so they open. Spread mayo on top and bottom of the inside of each roll. Assemble rolls with ½ slice of cheese and ½ slice of ham.

Place all of these in a baking pan or stone. Mix together the melted butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and poppy seeds with a whisk. Brush this mixture all over the tops of the rolls and cover with tin foil. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until heated through.

Snicker Salad

2009-04-19T18:51:00.005-06:00

This recipe comes from a group of ladies who meet together once a month and exchange recipes and have a good time. They are called the "Cookin' Mamas."

Ingredients:

1 large tub of Cool Whip, thawed

1 large package of vanilla instant pudding

1 cup of milk

6 snickers bars, cut into bite size pieces

3 medium size Granny Smith apples or other tart apple, cut up into small chunks

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine milk and pudding, then mix in the cool whip.

Add the Snickers and then the apples.

Note: Cut the apples after you have mixed the other ingredients so that they aren't brown when you add them.

Twice Baked Potatoes...

2009-04-19T18:34:00.005-06:00

For dinner tonight we had a family favorite...barbecue beef ribs that i just put in the crockpot with some barbeque sauce for 6 hours, twice baked potatoes, green beans, and biscuits. For twice baked potatoes I just bake my potatoes for a few hours. Cut in half and scoop out filling into a bowl...I use a melon baller and it works great. I also put my cream cheese and butter in the bowl first then I scoop out the potato filling and the warm filling starts to soften the cream cheese and butter.
Then I add:
1 brick cream cheese
1 cube butter
1 package bacon pieces
2 cups cheese
1 c. sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
I also add sliced green onions to Johns
Mix with a hand mixer and refill potato skins. Top with additional cheese and broil till cheese is melted.

Pepperoni Pizza Subs

2009-04-16T11:30:00.003-06:00

This is a super easy, fast, family favorite.

hoagie rolls ~ as many as needed for family
sliced pepperoni
favorite pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
additional favorite topping ~ olives, pineapple, green peppers, onion, mushrooms, etc.
Open hoagies and put pizza sauce on both sides, on bottom half of hoagie, add pepperoni, toppings, {we just do pepperoni at our house} and cheese. Broil until warmed through and cheese starts to bubble.

I serve this with potato chips and jello.
John and I worked at a pizza place here in Shelley when we were dating and in high school and these were on the menu..so every time we have one it takes us back to the good ole' days of makin' alot of pizzas and subs! Good times, good times!!

Hot Chicken Salad Casserole

2009-04-16T11:10:00.005-06:00

This recipe comes from a blog "Simply Said". She has a super cute family and is very talented in home decorating and much more.

4 C. of cooked cubed chicken
4 C. of celery ~ chopped
1/4 cup of fresh onion or 1 tsp. dried onion
1 can cream of chicken
1 cup mayo
1/2 tsp accent salt or plain salt
1 small jar pimento
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
MIX ALL TOGETHER and put into 9 X 13 casserole dish ~ put in fridge overnight (or just long enough for flavor to set in)
When ready to cook, add crushed potato chips and cheese if desired.
Cook at 400 for 25-30 minutes

As always doubled the recipe, had plenty of leftovers. Served with green beans and Bisquick biscuits. And please...DO NOT let my "fabulous" photography stop you from trying this!! It is really yummy!

Hot Beef Cheddar Subs

2009-04-04T13:58:00.005-06:00

This recipe was yummy and super easy! I got the recipe from a little bonus book in the Taste of Home magazine. I was gonna take a picture but my sister had my card for my camera...they are like cheesy sloppy joes in a hollowed~out crusty roll.

4 submarine sandwiches ~ I found some cute hard crust rolls {8} and used them
1 pound of ground beef
1 medium green pepper, diced {I left this due to the kids HUGE dislike of them}
1 small onion {I used minced onion ~ less detectable ~ again the kids}
1 can (10¾) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
¼ t. Worcestershire sauce
4 slices American cheese

Cut a thin slice off the top of each bun; set aside. Carefully hollow out bottoms, leaving a ½ in. shell. Set aside ½ cup of bread.
In a large skillet, cook beef, green pepper, and onion until cooked, Drain. Stir in soup, Worcestershire sauce, and reserved bread.
Spoon into buns; top with cheese slice. Replace tops. Place on a cookie sheet and bake, uncovered at 350º for a few minutes, 5-7, or until cheese is melted.
I served it along with some fries and it was pretty good! And as always I doubled it so we would have some leftovers and some for John's lunch!

Pork Chop Hashbrown Bake

2009-03-29T22:33:00.003-06:00

This comes from Jonna over at "Get Off Your Butt and Bake".

6 - 3/4 inch thick boneless pork chops
2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
5 cups shredded hash brown potatoes
8 oz container sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
14.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
10 oz bag frozen broccoli cuts
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Brown pork chops in oil in skillet. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Cover the bottom of casserole dish with hash browns and salt and pepper to taste. Place browned chops on top. Combine sour cream and soup, cover chops. Layer the broccoli on top of soup ~ I only put broccoli on ½ of the casserole to "cater" to those who don't like broccoli. Cover with foil and bake in 350º oven for 30-45 minutes or until chops are done. Uncover, sprinkle cheese on top and put back in oven for approximately 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. We had rolls, jello, and corn!

Quick and Easy Manicotti

2009-03-28T16:15:00.005-06:00

This recipe comes from Cooks.com. Never tried making manicotti so I thought I'd give it a try and it turned out pretty good. And besides it's fun to say "manicotti" and "Ricotta"!

1 lb. Ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 ½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

¼ c. Parmesan cheese

½ t. dries parsley flakes

½ t. salt

2 to 3 drops hot sauce {I left this out}
1 pkg. manicotti shells

1 jar spaghetti sauce

Beat together Ricotta cheese and egg till smooth. add Mozzarella, Parmesan, parsley, salt, and hot sauce. Mix well. Fill manicotti tubes UNCOOKED {I used a gallon size Ziploc bag and snipped off one end...worked great}. Spread some sauce in a 9x13 glass dish. Add manicotti, single layer. Top with remaining sauce, cover and bake @ 350º for 45 minutes to 1 hour. I topped it with some additional Mozzarella and Parmesan when it came out of the oven. Serve with some french bread and green salad and you got a great meal!

Sausage Egg Rolls

2009-03-25T21:51:00.008-06:00

This recipe comes from "Tested, Tried, and (Almost Always) True." The pictures below of her wrapping the egg rolls come from the "Tested,Tried, and (Almost Always) True" blog.
The fried rice recipe is below. Don't let my bad photo skills turn you off from trying this...it was yummy. The sauce on top of the rice I got from our local Chinese restaurant and served along side as dipping sauce for the egg rolls.

1lb pork sausage
6-8 green onions, sliced
3 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp Accent salt ~ optional {I left this out}
1 pkg egg roll wraps (about 20)
hot oil for frying
Brown sausage and drain. Combine sausage, onions, celery, water chestnuts, carrot and egg. Stir in Accent and salt. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Spoon 2 Tbs filling into egg roll wrap and roll, {wet your finger with little water and go around edge of egg roll wrap before folding to help them stay sealed ~ see pictures below} burrito style. Place 3-4 egg rolls, seam side down in oil. Cook until golden. Drain on paper towel. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
They were good but I will add a little finely chopped cabbage next time.

Bacon Fried Rice

2009-03-25T21:46:00.004-06:00

This recipe comes from "Tested, Tried, and (Alomost Always) True"
2 cups rice, uncooked
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled, reserve fat
6-8 green onions, sliced
1 C sliced mushrooms (or 1 can)
1-10 oz. package frozen peas
6 eggs, beaten
soy sauce
Cook rice according to package directions; Cool and set aside.
Using reserved bacon drippings fry onions, mushrooms and peas over medium-high heat. Set aside in a large serving bowl. Scramble eggs in reserved drippings. Add to veggies. Fry the rice in reserved drippings adding soy sauce to taste. Add cooked vegetables and heat through. Serve hot.

I didn't have any bacon or 'shrooms on hand so I left those out and it was still great!

Taco's In A Bag...

2009-03-16T16:47:00.004-06:00

This is a super easy, fast, and kids really enjoy this! Don't have a picture but I'll try to get one next time we have this!

You'll need...
small, individual bags of chips for each person ~ Frito's and Doritos work best
hamburger ~ cooked and drained {could also season with taco seasoning}
Assorted toppings...
sour cream
cheese
olives
tomatoes
lettuce
ketchup
and any other topping that you might enjoy on tacos

How to enjoy... take your bag of chips and crush up a little, open at top and add hamburger, cheese, and any topping you want and eat right out of bag!
These are especially great camping!

Chick~Pot Pie w/ Puff Pastry

2009-03-16T16:33:00.010-06:00

This recipe comes from "Back To The Cutting Board"...

"Chicken Pot Pie Soup" - Made from scratch ~ adapted from this recipe on RecipeZaar.com

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

Small onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
2 cups potatoes, cubed
1 can green peas, drained
1 can corn, drained
6 tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 to 1 cup flour (see note below)
2 tbsp. chicken bouillon, ground up
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups of milk
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
Puff pastry dough (I use Pillsbury Cresent Recipe Creations)

The Process
1. Put potatoes in a pot with 1 cup of chicken broth and enough water to cover them. At the same time, put your carrots in a pot with enough water to cover them. Cover and cook both vegetables until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, saute onions in a few teaspoons of oil until soft and translucent, about 5-8 minutes.
3. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add in bouillon, pepper, garlic, broth and flour (see note below). Stir until smooth.
4. Gradually add milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until it boils, simmer for a minute, stirring constantly.

Note: I like this soup to be thick, more like actual chicken pot pie. You may want it to be soupier, though. My recommendation is to start with 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of broth and bring to boil with milk (don’t skimp on the milk) like instructed. If you think it’s too soupy add more flour about 1/4 cup at a time until it thickens. If you add more flour, add another tablespoon of the ground up bouillon, too, or else it’ll taste too flour-y. If it’s too thick for your liking, add in chicken broth, about 1/4 cup at a time until it gets to the right consistency.

5. Add chicken and then each vegetable one at time and stir carefully between each addition.
6. Roll out your pastry dough about 1/4 inch thick and cut into 3×3 inch squares. Bake in 375 degree oven for 7-10 minutes, until puffy and slightly browned on top. Serve on top of soup.

As always I double or triple my recipes so we have leftovers! This really did taste like a chicken pot pie and the kids loved the puff pastry on top! They haven't had puff pastry before and thought it was quite great stuff!

Lemon Bars

2009-03-10T21:17:00.009-06:00

This recipe and picture come from a fun blog called Whimsy Love Blog. These are the one and only lemon bars that have ever turned out and I'm glad she shared them cause we sure enjoyed them!!

Ingredients:
1 C. butter
2 ¼ C. flour
½ C. powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon lemon rind
¼ C. lemon juice
4 eggs, beaten
2 C. sugar

Mix the butter, flour, powdered sugar & salt. Spread in the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan. Bake for 25 minutes in a 325 degree oven.

Mix eggs, lemon juice, rind and sugar. Pour on top of the baked crust. You don't have to wait for the crust to cool. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into squares when cooled. Eat!

Beef Noodle Bowls

2009-02-26T18:08:00.004-07:00

This recipe comes from the Kraft website. And even though the kids aren't huge broccoli fans they do eat the broccoli in this dish.

1/2 lb. linguine, uncooked
3 cups broccoli florets ~ I use the steam bags of broccoli in the micro and add those at the very end
3 carrots, peeled, sliced ~ I used the pre-made mini baby carrots
2 tsp. oil
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
1/4 cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
1 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce
How to make it...
COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, adding vegetables to the boiling water for the last 2 min. ~ I add the carrots the whole time the pasta is cooking
MEANWHILE, heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add meat; cook until browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing and teriyaki sauce; cook 2 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.
DRAIN pasta mixture; place in large serving bowl. Add meat mixture; toss to coat.

I 4 x's the sauce mixture, so I used 1 whole cup of dressing and 4T. of Teriyaki sauce to make it a little more "saucy". Served with grape jello and french bread! Could also add ½ c. planters peanuts or pineapple tidbits would be good! Enjoy!!

NJ Coffee Cake

2009-02-19T19:18:00.010-07:00

This recipe and all the pictures come from the "Big Red Kitchen" ~ go see what she posted today...Fried Squeaky Cheese!

One Box Yellow- I like Duncan Hines ~ Prepare cake mix as directed; pour into 3 eight inch round cake pans.
Bake for 15 minutes (cake will look wet).
While cakes are baking-prepare the following crumb mix by mixing the following ingredients until crumbly.
4 cups flour4 sticks of butter or margarine, softened
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 T. Cinnamon
1 T. Vanilla

Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the cakes once they are done the first 15 minutes and bake them another 17-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Note- You may want to make these in disposable pans as it is easier to give away and not have to ask for your good cake pans back.

Mimi's Cafe Corn Chowder

2009-02-12T18:49:00.004-07:00

I got this recipe from "Eat It and Weep".

I doubled it...most always double my recipes for leftovers and John's lunches.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter or margarine

6 Tbsp onion, chopped {I used minced onion so they wouldn't be detectd ;)}

3/4 cup celery, diced {I used celery seed so the kids wouldn't complain}

2 1/2 cups hot water

2 cups raw potato, peeled and cut in 1/2" cubes

1 quart Half & Half

3 cups frozen corn, thawed

2 T. sugar

2 t. salt

1 pinch white pepper

3 T. flour
Directions:
Melt butter in large saucepan on medium heat, then simmer onion and celery for 5 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add water, potatoes, corn and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are barely tender. Whisk the flour into 1 cup of the Half & Half, and stir into the soup. Add the remaining 3 cups of Half & Half. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the soup has thickened to a creamy consistency. If needed, add additional salt and pepper to taste. To thin soup add milk; to make it thicker, simmer another 5-10 minutes.
Yields 2 1/2 quarts.

I served it with a little cheese on top and cornbread on the side with honey butter!

Navajo Tacos

2009-02-09T18:08:00.005-07:00

I think I'm one of the last one's on earth to try this but I finally did and the family loved it!

I used Rhodes Dinner Rolls. Put out 24 on a cookie sheet to thaw for about 2-3 hours.

Once thawed, I took two rolls and smooshed them together and made into a large circle. Fry in hot oil till brown. Drain on paper towel.

Top with:

chili

cheese

lettuce

tomatoes

olives

sour cream {the kids had a little ranch dressing on theirs}

Flatten remaining rolls into circles and fry up as scones.

Serve with honey~butter or sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar!

Bacon Cheesburger Roll~ups

2009-02-08T19:20:00.007-07:00

Recipe from the Kraft Foods website...

1 lb. lean ground beef
4 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, chopped
{I used the stuff already in the bag...not bacon bits though}
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pkg. (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust
HEAT oven to 400°F.
Brown ground beef with bacon and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Return meat mixture to skillet. Add VELVEETA; cook until melted, stirring frequently. Cool 10 min.
UNROLL dough onto baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Press into 15x8-inch rectangle; top with meat mixture. Roll up, starting at one of the long sides. Rearrange if necessary so roll is seam-side down.
BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until golden brown.
Serve with a litle ketchup, mustard, and green salad or fruit and you have a great meal.

I accidentally grabbed "Mexican Blend" velveeta at the store and was a little worried about how it would go over with the family, but they really liked it. It's now a family favorite! Enjoy!

Homemade Mini Pizza's

2008-12-04T21:39:00.003-07:00

This is always a quick and easy go to meal.

1 can refrigerated biscuits ~ I use Pillsbury Grands
Jar of pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Cheddar cheese
Assorted pizza toppings

Grease cookie sheet lightly. Take a biscuit and flatten into round circle about ¼ in. thick and place on cookie sheet. {I can usually get 6 to a cookie sheet}
Top with sauce
Top with cheese
Add your favorite pizza toppings ~ could have an assortment laid out...pepperoni, Canadian bacon, pineapple,sausage (pre-cooked) peppers,olives, etc. and let the family make their own!
Bake as directed on biscuit package.
Serve with chips and a green salad!

Ranch Pasta with Hamburger

2008-12-04T21:03:00.004-07:00

I found this recipe over at "Home Sweet Home" ~ she has a lot of things I want to try! It was great and super fast! It is definitely a new family favorite. I served it with some yummy rolls.

1 pound of ground chuck
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 box of pasta ~ I used those cute new "mini" pastas, the penne ones ~ Rotini, Bowties, or Gemelli would be good choices.
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1 pouch dry ranch dressing mix

In a large pot, bring well salted water to a boil and drop your pasta. Cook according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large, deep sided skillet over medium heat, brown the meat, onions and garlic and add the S&P. In a medium bowl, combine the milk, sour cream and ranch mix until mixed. When the meat is browned, drain off grease if necessary. Drain the pasta when it is al dente. Combine the meat mixture, pasta and sauce in one of the pans that is large enough to hold it all.

2008-12-04T20:56:00.003-07:00

This recipe comes from Jonna at "Get Off Your Butt and Bake", on of my favorite recipe sites. The picture is of my rolls ~ first tie ever baking them...hers over on her blog are beautiful.

The following directions come straight from her blog...

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) Active Dry Yeast
1 cup warm water
1 cup boiling water
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
7-1/2 to 8 cups all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine boiling water, shortening, sugar and salt. Allow to stand 3-4 minutes or until shortening is melted and sugar is dissolved. Add the yeast mixture and eggs; mix well.
Add 2 cups of four; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to use, roll out and shape dough. Place rolls in pans, or greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown. YIELD: 2 -1/2 dozen.

When I make these rolls, I often do it in one day. I skip the refrigerating overnight. Simply add enough extra flour, to make a SOFT.....non-sticky dough. They still are fabulous. Make sure you let the dough raise until generously double. Then place shaped rolls (I make crescent style)....on your greased cookie sheets. Let raise again until double, before baking.

Tin Foil Dinner Casserole

2008-12-03T21:45:00.004-07:00

We love tin foil dinners but they're sometimes a pain to do...so I came up with this super easy casserole. This makes quite a bit, but we're a leftover lovin' family!! So just use your judgement depending on the size of your family.

You'll need...
1-2 lbs. hamburger
carrots ~ I just use the baby carrots and slice them thinly so they'll cook
onions ~ evenly and thinly sliced
potatoes ~ cubed into small chunks so they'll cook faster
couple of lg. cans Cream of Chicken Soup OR Cream of Mushroom Soup
seasonings

I do this a couple of different ways...
For John I...
1) brown hamburger
while the hamburger is browning...
2) I lightly grease a 9x13 glass casserole dish and layer with carrots, onions, potatoes, season with salt & pepper and some Cajun seasoning
3) spread 1 lg. can of Cream of Mushroom soup over veggies ~ I usually do two so its really creamy
4) drain hamburger and sprinkle over soup
5) cover with foil and bake @ 420º til veggies are fork tender ~ I usually leave it in for 30-40 minutes
6) stir and kinda mix everything together before serving.

For the kids...
I do the same as above except I leave out the carrots and onions and use Cream of Chicken Soup.
It taste just like tin foil dinner!! Serve with salad or jello and there ya go!!

Quick Cranberry Punch

2008-11-27T21:09:00.004-07:00

I made this for Thanksgiving. It's from the Betty Crocker website. It was super easy and yummy!

1 can (6 ounces) frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 bottle (32 ounces) cranberry juice cocktail, chilled
2 cans (12 ounces each) ginger ale, chilled

Make lemonade as directed on can in large pitcher.
Stir in cranberry juice cocktail and enough ice to chill. Just before serving, stir in ginger ale.

I doubled it and it made a big pitcher full.

Pillsbury Grands "Monkey Bread"

2008-11-23T20:22:00.004-07:00

I got this from the Pillsbury website...

½ c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
½ c. chopped walnuts, if desired
½ c. raisins, if desired
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

¾ c. butter or margarine, melted

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12-cup fluted tube pan.
2. In large plastic food-storage bag, mix sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces.
3. Mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.
4. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.

Catatlina Chicken

2008-11-18T19:28:00.003-07:00

It doesn't get any simpler than this...
You could use at much as as little as you want, depending on the size of your family. I always double mine for leftovers and John's lunches the next day, so this is what I did...

1 package of chicken tenders from Sam's ~ defrosted, washed, and patted dry.
Spray crock pot lightly.Put chicken in crock pot.
Added 2 bottles of Catalina salad dressing and cook on low for 6 hours.

We had oven roasted potatoes, corn, rolls, and Jello.
You can also cook it on the grill. Just marinate the chicken for a couple of hours prior to grilling and discard marinade.
Simple and delicious!!

Carmel Chex Mix

2008-11-17T10:00:00.004-07:00

I got this recipe from Tammie Peterson ~ my boys just gobble this up as fast as I can make it!!

Melt 6 T. butter in big bowl
Stir in ¾ c. brown sugar
3 T. Karo syrup
Stir until mixed...
Microwave 1 minute
Stir...
Microwave 1 minute
Stir...
Should be foamy and bubbly
Add 7-8 cups Chex Mix and spread on cookie sheet to cool.
Could add almonds or cashews or anything else that sounds good to ya!!

Sweet~n~Sour Chicken

2008-11-17T09:51:00.003-07:00

This is soooo yummy!!
I usually use 1 bag of chicken tenders or you can use 6-7 chicken breasts
Dip chicken in egg then cornstarch and brown in oil. Set aside on plate.
While chicken is browning...mix together:
1 - 20 oz crushed pineapple
¾ c. vinegar
2½ c. brown sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
2½ c. beef stock
½ c. finely chopped green pepper
1 T. lemon juice (plus splash more)
½ bottle of teriyaki sauce
Boil till clear and thick.
Put some sauce in the bottom of 9x13 pan.
Add chicken, cover with more sauce {reserve some of the sauce for dipping}, cover with foil and bake @ 350º till chicken is done.
I cook it for about 30-45 minutes.
Serve over rice!!

Sauce for Chicken Cordon Bleu

2008-11-17T09:48:00.002-07:00

1 can cream of chicken soup
½ c. sour cream
1/3 c. lemon juice

Mix together and warm through in microwave.
Serve over Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Snickerdoodles

2008-11-17T09:43:00.003-07:00

½ c. butter ~ softened
½c. shortening
1½ c. sugar
2 eggs
2¾ c. flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
¼ t. salt
2 T. sugar
2 T. cinnamon
Heat oven to 400º.
Mix butter, shortening, sugar, and eggs. Mix in flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt.
Shape in to round teaspoon size balls.
Mix cinnamon and sugar ~ roll balls in mixture and place on cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to cool.
Makes 6 dozen.

Cheese Ball

2008-11-17T09:39:00.003-07:00

This make 2 large cheese balls.

3 pkg. cream cheese
3 jars Kraft Old English cheese
1 jar Kraft Roka Blue cheese
2 T. grated onion
1 t. worchestire sauce
½ t. Accent
½ c. parsley
½ c. chopped walnuts

Mix together and refrigerate overnight.
Form into 2 balls and roll in additional chopped walnuts.

Carmel Popcorn

2008-11-17T09:36:00.001-07:00

1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. Karo syrup
1 cube butter

Boil 2 minutes and pour over popped popcorn.

Basic Buttercream Frosting

2008-11-17T09:26:00.002-07:00

3½ c. unsifted powdered sugar ~ store brands work best
½ c. Crisco shortening
¼ c. water or milk
½ t. vanilla
½ t. lemon extract ~ do not use lemon juice
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together until well mixed. Frosting should be fairly stiff. If too soft, add some more powdered sugar.

Orange Fluff Salad

2008-11-17T09:23:00.003-07:00

This recipes comes from Quick Cooking.
1 c. sour cream
1 pkg. (3oz.) lemon jello
2 cans (11 oz.) mandarin oranges ~ drained
1 can (21 oz.) pineapple tidbits ~ drained
1 carton (8oz.) cool whip

Blend sour cream and Jello until mixed.
Fold in remaining ingredients.

Zucchini Alfredo

2008-11-16T22:26:00.003-07:00

I could eat this on my diet cause I still can't have pasta or carbs. It was really quite good!!

4-5 zucchini ~ slice in to thin strips(I peeled the zucchini just because I don't like the skin).
1 t. salt
Add salt to water and soak zucchini. Darin water and dry zucchini good.
Add and heat 2 T. oil to pan and 2-3 cloves of garlic.
Add zucchini and cook till tender. Remove from pan and set aside.
In hot pan add:
8 oz. cream cheese
¾ c. half and half
¼ c. shredded Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste
dash of nutmeg
Stir until cream cheese is melted and sauce thickens. Add zucchini back in and stir everything together till heated through. Sprinkle ¼ c. of shredded Parmesan over finished dish!
It was sooo good and I am so not a zucchini fan!!

Vanilla Popcorn

2008-11-16T22:17:00.003-07:00

1 1/3 c. sugar
2 cubes butter
1/3 c. white Karo syrup
2 T. vanilla
Mix together and bring to boil. Boil until sugar is dissolved and pour over popped popcorn.

Crockpot Lasagna

2008-11-16T22:09:00.005-07:00

{picture coutesy of Adrienne's blog}
Another recipe from Adrienne at "Taste The Joy" . It is quick and easy and has become a favorite.
Brown 1 lb hamburger and chopped onion
Add: large jar spaghetti sauce {I used Prego} and ½ C water
Spray crock pot with no stick spray and layer:
Meat sauce
Dry broken lasagna noodles
1/3 carton cottage cheese (1 lb size)
shredded mozzarella cheese
Repeat layers until ingredients are gone. (I usually do about 4-5 layers)
Sprinkle cheese on top last ½ hour.
Cook for 3-4 hours on low.
Serve with salad and french bread and you have a great meal!!

Ham and Cheese Crepes

2008-11-16T21:58:00.004-07:00

This recipe I got from Adreinne at "Taste The Joy". She has so many great recipes!
12 crepes ~ {see recipe below}
12 slices thin cooked ham
1½ c. cheese ~ American, Swiss, whatever you like
Sprinkle crepe with cheese and top with ham.
Mix together:
1 T. chopped green onion
½ c. sour cream
½ t. salt and pepper
½ t. prepared mustard
Spread over ham.
Roll up and place in a 9x19 foil lined plan.
Mix together: 1/3 c. bread crumbs
3 T. melted butter
Combine and sprinkle over crepes. Cover loosely with foil and bake @ 350º for 15-20 minutes.
You can also make use cheese or cream soup to make a sauce.

Chicken Filling for Crepes'

2008-11-16T21:52:00.004-07:00

12 crepes ~ {see recipe below}
2-3 c. cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
1 c. grated Swiss cheese
¼ c. chopped onion
slivered almonds

Saute onions in a little butter. Add remaining ingredients ~ reserving some of the soup and stir till everything is mixed together. Place a large spoonful on each crepe and roll up. Put into a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Spread some of the soup on top and sprinkle the cheese and almonds. Bake @ 350º for 20-30 minutes.

Crepes'

2008-11-16T21:45:00.004-07:00

My brother-in-law made these the other night and my kids loved them...

¾ c. flour
2 eggs
¼ t. salt
1 c. milk
Combine flour and salt. In a cup beat together eggs and milk. Add to dry ingredients beating vigorously.Drop batter 2 T. at a time onto hot greased griddle. Cook 2 minutes ~until brown~ flip and cook other side till brown.
Serve with ~ syrup and powdered sugar
strawberries and cool whip
You could even cook a bunch in advance and freeze them!

Crockpot~Cheesy Salsa Chicken

2008-11-09T20:03:00.003-07:00

I got this recipe from one of my favorite recipe blogs "Get Off and Your Butt and Bake" . You must go there...she has so many fabulous recipes!!

1 16 oz. jar of salsa ~ I used Pace Mild
5 large chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. grated cheese
2 c. rice

Put chicken in crock pot. Combine salsa and soup and mix together and pour over chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. 15 minutes before serving stir in cheese.

I doubled this recipe and plan on using it two nights...
First night ~ bed of rice, black beans, chicken with sauce poured over it, dollop (I like to say "dollop", it's a fun word) of sour cream, w/ scones on the side.
Second night ~ I shredded the left over chicken and put it in a bowl with the rest of the sauce...we will have chicken tacos on flour tortillas, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream. Enjoy!!!

Bacon, Cheese, and Potato Chowder

2008-11-01T12:40:00.008-06:00

3 c. milk
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of potato soup
2 c. southern style hash browns
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices bacon ~ cooked and crumbled
2 green onion ~ thinly sliced
Additional cheese, onions, and bacon for topping soup.

Mix everything together and simmer till hash browns are done ~ 10 minutes or so stirring frequently. Serve topped with cheese, onions, and bacon.

I doubled the recipe and added 1 can of cheddar cheese soup. I also used the pre-cooked bacon, cooked it in the microwave, and crumbled it up. it made quite a bit so we had some leftovers that were even better the next day! It is so yummy!!
Recipe from Kraft Food website.

Calico Baked Beans

2008-08-05T11:17:00.003-06:00

1/2 to 1 pound ground beef
3/4 pound bacon cut in pieces
1 cup chopped onion
2 (20 ounce) cans pork and beans
1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans drained
1 (16 ounce) can buttered lima beans
1 cup catsup
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon liquid smoke (optional)

Brown ground beef, bacon, and onion. Drain. Pour into baking dish or crock pot. stir in remaining ingredients. Cook in baking dish in oven set at 325 for 1 1/2 hours, or in crock pot set on low for 4-6 hrs. Makes eight servings.

The people I got this recipe from substituted red beans and garbanzo beans for the kidney and lima beans called for above and added a little extra bacon, brown sugar, and some barbecue sauce as well as some spicy seasoned pepper.
This recipe came from the Shelley 1st ward cook book and is credited to Janet Evans

Chocolate Snow Flurries

2008-08-05T11:02:00.006-06:00

2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
2/3 c. baking cocoa
¼ t. salt
¾ c. sugar

2/3 c. brown sugar
½ c. butter or margarine
2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

½ c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375º. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda & set aside. Beat sugar, brown sugar butter or margarine, & vanilla till combined, beat in eggs & gradually add flour mixture. Add chocolate chips. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes for easier handling. Roll into 1 in. balls and roll in powdered sugar. Bake @ 375º for 8-10 minutes.

I doubled this recipe and every one gobbled them up!! You need a big glass of milk to go along with these!!

Buckeyes

2008-06-11T19:11:00.002-06:00

1 c. creamy peanut butter
½ c unsalted butter, softened
2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. chocolate chips

Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper.
In a large mixing bowl, beat peanut butter, butter, and pondered sugar together.
Roll into 1 in. balls and place on baking sheet (If mixture is sticky, wet hands with cold water and continue rolling)
Freeze for about 30 minutes.
Microwave chips in glass bowl for 2 minutes, stirring a couple times, until melted/
Pierce each ball with a toothpick and dip ¾ of the way into the chocolate, wiping excess chocolate off on the rim of the bowl. Place back on waxed paper.
Chill in fridge for 45 minutes until set.