Christmas Punch

2 cans cranberry-raspberry concentrate
2 liter Ginger Ale

Mix concentrate with Ginger Ale instead of water. You can also add a carton of raspberry sherbet to make a creamier punch.

Spinach, Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This is Matt and Heather's recipe

3 cups water
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup uncooked wild rice (rinse and drain)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
2 cups shredded fresh spinach

1- In a 3 1/2 or 4 qt slow cooker, combine water, broth, cream of chicken soup, rice, chicken, thyme and pepper. (You could wait to add the chicken later if you want)

2- Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3 1/2- 4 hours.

3- Stir in shredded spinach until just before serving.

Arizona Chili

2 chicken breasts, cut in thin strips
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbs olive oil
1 can chili style chunky tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 (4oz) can diced green chilis

In a large sauce pan cook chicken, onion & garlic in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Drain. Add chilis, tomatoes and beans. Simmer on low 10 minutes.

Spaghetti with Butter and Parmesan

4-6 tbs butter (I used Brummel and Brown)
1 pound wheat spaghetti
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
black pepper to taste

Cook pasta. Drain. Add butter and cheese. Serve immediately. This was so easy and filling.

Beef Stew

1 pound lean stew meat
5 red potatoes, peeled and cut (I didn't peel mine, though)
carrots (depending on how many you like)
1 bag frozen peas
water (to cover)
beef broth (we use low-sodium, of course)

Brown beef with garlic, pepper and onion (or, in my case, onion powder).

Add all ingredients to crock pot. Cover with 1 cup beef broth and enough water to cover food. I added a little more garlic. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low 6-8. I added a tablespoon of corn starch mixed with a little cold water the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Jeff wanted me to make sure that I let you know this was a 10! More than a 10! If he could eat this every day he would.

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake

This sounds so good and I am gonna have to try it!!

Cake
1box Betty Crocker® white angel food cake mix
1tablespoon Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 1/2teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3/4cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1cup cold water

Ginger-Cream Filling
1pint (2 cups) whipping cream
1/4cup powdered sugar
1tsp ground ginger

1.Move oven rack to lowest position; heat oven to 350°F. In extra-large glass or metal bowl, beat all cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 1 minute. Pour into ungreased 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pan.

2.Bake 37 to 47 minutes or until crust is dark golden brown and cracks are dry. Immediately turn pan upside down onto heatproof funnel or glass bottle. Let hang about 2 hours or until cake is completely cool. Loosen cake from side of pan with knife or long metal spatula. Turn cake upside down onto serving plate.

3.In chilled large bowl, beat whipping cream and powdered sugar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Fold in ginger. Cut cake horizontally in half to make 2 even layers. Spread half of the filling on bottom layer; replace top of cake. Spread remaining filling on top of cake. Sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie spice if desired.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 47 to 52 minutes(you utah ppl)

Good For You Cornbread

Jeff and I have both been given strict instruction to lower our cholesterol. UGH! We went out Wednesday night and bought this little ditty.

This book is great and has some pretty good recipes. Maybe lowering my cholesterol won't be so bland.

Now on to the cornbread I made today:

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup 1% fat free buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup tub margarine (trans-fat free)

1 tsp vegetable oil (to grease the pan)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together cornmeal, flour, sugar and baking powder. In another bowl, combine buttermilk and egg. Beat lightly. Slowly add buttermilk and egg mixture to dry ingredients. Add margarine and mix for 1 minute. Bake for 20-25 minutes in an 8x8 greased baking dish. Cool.

We had this with chili in the crock pot. I might post that recipe after dinner, if it is any good.

Sour Cream Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I made 3 of these this past weekend, one for the school carnival, one for home and one for work. It was so good. The 3rd one I made I left off the icing and just sprinkled powdered sugar and it was just as good. Also, left out the streusel step, we liked it better without it. Let's just say....all the cakes are gone already. And.....it makes your house smell wonderful.

A surprise filling of brown sugar streusel makes this pumpkin-flavored cake a special treat. Save a bit of icing for drizzling over each serving of this wonderful cake!

STREUSEL:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ground allspice2 teaspoons butter

COMBINE brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice in small bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly.

CAKE:
3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

4 large eggs

1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 container (8 oz.) sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan.

COMBINE flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat granulated sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla extract; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture.

TO ASSEMBLE: SPOON half of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle Streusel over batter, not allowing Streusel to touch sides of pan. Top with remaining batter. Make sure batter layer touches edges of pan.

BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes in pan on wire rack. Invert onto wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle with Glaze.

GLAZE:
COMBINE 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar and 2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice or milk in small bowl; stir until smooth.

Estimated Times: Preparation - 12 minutes; Cooking - 55 minutes.
Yields 12 to 16 servings.

Twix Squares

Crust:

2 cup flour
3/8 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter +3 tsp butter


Crumble ingredients well. Pack into ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.


Caramel:

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 cup sweetened condensed milk


Combine ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 5 minutes stirring constantly to prevent burning. Take off heat. Stir slowly until it shows signs of thickening. Pour over bottom layer. Cool.


Chocolate:


2 cups milk chocolate chips


Melt chocolate according to package instructions. Pour over caramel layer. Let set for bit.

Meat Loaf

2 lbs. ground beef
1 cup medium saltine cracker crumbs
2 beaten eggs
2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped onions (optional)
1 1/2 tsp salt
brown sugar to taste

Combine ingredients (only one can tomato sauce) and shape into loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours (line pan or spray it). While cooking, mix together 2nd can tomato sauce & brown sugar to taste. Pour over loaf and cook the last 15 minutes.

Easy Monkey Bread

Remember making these all the time when we were younger? :)

Ingredients

3 cans Hungry Jack biscuits (any brand)
1/2 cup brown sugar
11/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

*people can add some kind of nut, not me though:)

Directions

Cut biscuits into fourths.
Place sugars, cinnamon and cut biscuits in a zip-lock bag and shake until biscuits are well coated.
Place coated biscuits into a well greased bundt pan. Sprinkle the remaining sugar from the zip-lock bag onto the biscuits.
Pour melted butter over biscuits.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Turn onto platter and serve hot.

Creamy French Toast

I LOVE FRENCH TOAST!!!!!!

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1 loaf country bread(I just used a thicker bread)
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions

*In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking dish. Cut six 1-inch thick slices from center portion of bread, reserving ends for another use, and trim crusts. Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.

*In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread; chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bring bread to room temperature.

*Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

*Serve hot French toast immediately

Lemon Jello

I got this recipe from Kerri. I made it for a family picnic and it was a hit!

1 (3 oz) box lemon jello
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Mix together in a bowl and add:

1 cup boiling water
1 (6 oz) can frozen lemonade, thawed

Stir until Jello is dissolved. Refrigerate until syrupy, about 30-45 minutes (stir every ten minutes to make sure it is not setting.

Beat 1/2 pint whipping cream

Then, fold whipping cream into Jello mixture. Pour into an 8x8 square glass dish and set in fridge for several hours or overnight. Double the recipe for a 9x13 dish.

You can use any flavor jello, just use the same flavor concentrate. I have had lemon and lime. It is so good.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more, room temperature, for pan

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

1/4 cup each orange, yellow, and brown candy-coated chocolates (from a 12.6-ounce bag) or 8 Reese's peanut butter cups, removed from their wrappers and corasely chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with butter; line pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; stir just until moistened. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top. Arrange candies or chopped peanut butter cups in 12 rows (2 rows per color, repeating once) on top of dough.
Bake until top of cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut into 16 squares.

Dad's Waffles

This is the 1/2 recipe. It made 7 waffles for two of us.

1 3/4 cup flour
1/3 tsp salt (Dad says he doesn't use this)
1 T baking powder
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, separated

Mix together all ingredients except egg whites. In a separate bowl, beat eggs whites until still (stiff peaks). Fold into batter. Bake on a waffle iron.

Chicken Gravy

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
milk

Heat soup and sour cream. If it is too thick, add milk to desired consistency.

We served this over our chicken cordon bleu.

Homemade Whipped Cream

3 Tbs sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix whipping cream and sugar on high until it forms soft peaks. Serve over favorite dessert, like Costco pumpkin pie!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

2-3 chicken breasts, cut and cubed
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

1 cup Bisquick or Jiffy mix
2 eggs
1 cup milk


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill 9x13 pan with chicken, soup and veggies. Mix Bisquick, eggs and milk. Pour over chicken mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Microwave S'Mores

Graham crackers
Large marshmallows
Chocolate bars.

Place 1 half graham cracker on a microwave safe plate. Place chocolate bar on graham cracker. Top with marshmallow.

Microwave on high for 15 seconds, or until marshmallow expands. Take out of microwave and top with other half of graham cracker.

Quick, easy and oh so good.

Classic Apple Cinnamon Granola

Ingredients
1 cup apple cinnamon granola
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Methods/steps
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together granola, flour, brown sugar, shortening, white sugar, egg, salt, vanilla extract and baking soda together in a medium size mixing bowl. Mix until well blended.
Drop by teaspoonfuls 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheet.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Gingersnaps

Sorry it took so long Martha!!

1 Cup brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, clove and salt. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Grease cookie sheet lightly. Shape dough by rounded teaspoons into balls. Dip tops into granulated sugar. Place, sugar sides up, about 3 inches apart on cookie sheet. Back 10-12 minutes.

Apple Crisp

Topping:
1 cup butter (cold)
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients until butter is crumbly. Set aside.


Filling:
4-6 tart apples
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Place sliced apples in a bowl and gently fold in sugar, salt and cinnamon. Place apple mixture in a 9X13 glass baking dish (I used 8X8 because we wanted a thick crisp). Top with topping. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold with ice cream!

Pizza Crust

1 pkg regular or quick active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a medium bowl. Stir in flour, olive oil and salt. Beat vigorously 20 strokes. Cover and let rest 20 minutes.

Move oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 375. Grease 2 square pans (8X8X2). Divide dough in half; pat each half onto bottom of pan. Cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes. Top with sauce and pizza toppings. Bake for 20-22 minutes.

Peach Cobbler

10 peaches, peeled and sliced

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter in 9x13 glass dish. Mix remaining dry ingredients. Mix in milk. Pour on top of melted butter. Add peaches. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Serve warm with ice cream.

Shepherd's Pie

1 pound ground beef (or turkey or chicken)
onions (or for me onion powder)
pepper
garlic (I used both minced garlic and garlic powder)
Worcestershire sauce
can of green beans (or mixed veggies)
Can of stewed tomatoes
5 potatoes cooked and mashed

Preheat oven to 350. Brown beef with onion and seasonings and sauce. Add beans and tomatoes (I didn't have stewed tomatoes, so I left them out) and let simmer for a few minutes. Spoon into a casserole dish (I sprayed with cooking spray), and top with potatoes. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes. I was worried, because I just threw everything in the pan. But, I guess that is kind of what Shepherd's pie is, right?

Fried Rice

Jeff requested this, so I just threw some things in a frying pan and it worked.

Cook 2 cups rice per package instructions

4-5 eggs
1 cup diced ham
1 cup peas
soy sauce

Scramble eggs in a large frying pan or wok over medium heat. Add ham and a little soy sauce. Add peas and a little more soy sauce. Add rice and stir until rice is covered with soy sauce, add more if you need it.

Serve alone or with your favorite Chinese dish


****Update: I made it again last week and added Worcestershire sauce per Jeff's request. MMMM

Buttercream Frosting

8 TBS butter (1 stick) room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 TBS milk
2 tsp vanilla

Combine butter, 1 cup powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix on low until incorporated. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 TBS milk. Alternate powdered sugar and milk until the frosting is a consistency you like. Add more milk if it is too stiff. I like to mix on high to fluff the frosting up a bit.

New York Cheesecake

Crust:

15 graham crackers, crushed
2 TBS butter, melted

Filling:
4 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tbs vanilla
1/4 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom of 9" springform pan.

In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press into bottom of pan.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, then add eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth.

Pour filling in to crust.

Bake in preheated oven 1 hour. Then, turn off oven and let cool with door closed for 5-6 hours. (I made this at night and let it cool while I slept). This prevents cracking.

Chill in refrigerator until served. Top with favorite topping. We used cherry pie filling.

Reese's Peanut Butter Brownies

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cocoa

Heat oven to 350. Grease 9 X 13 pan. Melt butter. Add peanut butter and stir until peanut butter us melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well with a spoon. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat well. Remove 1 3/4 cup batter and stir in cocoa. Spread chocolate batter into prepared pan and remaining batter on top. Bake 30 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.


****Update- Right as it came out of the oven, I poured a bag of chocolate chips on top and spread over the pan. YUMMY

Pork Burritos

Pork round
1 (16 oz) jar salsa medium
3 tbs garlic (from the jar, people)
4 beef bullion cubes

Put all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low 6-8 hours. (I forgot and did it at lunch on high for 5 hours) Fill your tortilla and top with your favorites- cheese, sour cream, lettuce, etc.

Magic Cobbler

1 stick Margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 3/4 cup sliced peaches w/1/4 cup sugar

Melt Margarine in 9x15 pan. Mix sugar, flour, baking powder and milk. Pour on top of Margarine. DO NOT STIR! Place fruit on top. Bake 30 minutes at 350'

Creamy Chicken Tacos

You can use this as filling for your burritos or as a dip with tortillas

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked & diced
1 pkg cream cheese
1 4oz can diced green chilis
1 pkg taco seasoning

Mix cream cheese, chilis and taco seasoning until cream cheese is melted. Add chicken and let simmer for 5 minutes. Fill your burrito or dip with chips. MMM

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe takes time, but is so worth it.

3 lbs chicken, cut in to 2 in. cubes
Garlic salt
Corn Starch
1 beaten egg
Vegetable oil

Sprinkle the chicken with the garlic salt. Dip in to the corn starch, then into the egg. Deep fry until golden brown. Spread into a single layer in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 TBS soy sauce
2 tsp salt

Heat until sugar dissolves. Pour sauce over chicken and bake at 350 for 1 hour, turning occasionally. Serve over rice.

Cafe Rio Chicken

1 small bottle Zesty Italian dressing
1 T chili powder (or to taste)
3 cloves garlic (minced)- I use the jar stuff
3-4 chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low for 4 hours. Shred meat and let cook 1 more hour.

Fill your tortilla and top with your favorite toppings .

Jeff gave this a 10!

Ganache-Topped Brownie Bites

Mix together a box of Brownies like you would regularly. Then put the batter into a mini cupcake pan. Bake 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Let cool at least 10 minutes before removing from pan and then cool completely.

In 1-quart saucepan heat 2/3 cups whipping cream on low heat just to boiling. Then remove the saucepan from heat and stir in 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. Make sure it melts completely. Then let the ganache stand for about 15 minutes.

Take the ganache and spread it over the brownie bites (I usually dip them in a clean up the drip with a knife cause I'm lazy like that).

Top with a raspberry. I find that cutting the raspberry in half works well...plus you can make the package go further and the raspberry is less prone to try to roll off.

So there you have it folks. Sorry for the long wait on the recipe.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

3-4 chicken breasts
deli sliced ham
sliced Swiss cheese
can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg stuffing mix ($1 at Wal Mart!)
cube butter/margarine

Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 pan. Cover with a slice of cheese and then some ham. Mix soup and sour cream, spread on top. Cover with stuffing mix. Melt butter and pour over top. Cover with foil and cook at 350 for 1 hour. Remove foil for the last 15 minutes.

Pepper Steak

1 pound stew meat
garlic (the jar stuff)
pepper
2 green peppers
onion
1 cup water
rice

Brown meat with onion, garlic and pepper. Once meat is browned, add 1 cup water and cover. Simmer for 10-12 minutes. Slice peppers and add to pot. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Add 1 TBS corn starch to a little bit of cold water. Stir in to pot and let thicken. Serve over rice.

Ed's Meatloaf

1 lb Ground Turkey
1 Package Turkey Sausage
1 Cup Oatmeal
1 Egg
Garlic
Worcestershire sauce
Onion
Seasons you like

This is not an exact recipe but with meatloaf it doesn't need to be. Once you get the main things the rest is just a toss in. Because he uses the turkey this is a really healthy meal and very good and a favorite of the kids.

Cook on 375 until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

This is also a great thing to make ahead and freeze and just cook on a busy night you don't feel like cooking.

Banana Cake

I had a few ripe bananas, so I made this today.

2 1/3 cup flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup mashed bananas
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk
3 eggs
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 9 X 13 pan. Beat all ingredients on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl and then beat on high for 3 minutes. Pour in to pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.

I frosted it with Buttercream frosting. I wanted to make cream cheese, but I just used what I had in the house.

No-Bake Cheesecake

1 prepared graham cracker crust
8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 small carton cool whip
1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced

Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla. Fold in Cool Whip. Pour in to crust. Arrange strawberries on top. Chill for 4 hours.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

These are the puffy sugar cookies.

1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
6 cups flour
3 eggs
1 cup shortening
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Cream sugar, shortening, sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Add baking soda, salt and flour. Mix well. Roll dough out and use a round glass as a cookie cutter.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Sugar and Cinnamon Puffs

2/3 cups melted butter
2 eggs
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk
3 cups flour

Topping
1 1/4 cup melted butter
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar

Mix all ingredients. Put in to well greased cupcake tin. (Should make 15-18 puffs). Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Mix cinnamon and sugar. Dip puffs in to melted butter and then place in plastic bag with cinnamon and sugar. Shake 3 muffins in the bag at a time. Place on wax paper and allow to cool.

Apple Dumplings

2 pkgs crescent rolls

2-3 apples (I only used two, I wish I had used 3)

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup Sprite or Sierra Mist or Mountain Dew

You cut the apple and wrap the crescent rolls around them. I only did one apple per roll, next time I will do two. Put them in the crock pot. Melt the butter, mix in vanilla, sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apples. Then, pour the soda over the whole thing. Mmmm.... Cook on high for 4-5 hours (vent the crock pot by propping it open with a wooden spoon or something). Ours was done in 4 1/2 hours.

Jello Cake

1 white cake mix
1 pkg jello any flavor (cherry and raspberry work best)
1 carton Cool Whip

Make cake per box instructions. Let cool. Poke holes in cake with a fork. Make jello per box instructions. Pour over cake. Cover cake with Cool Whip and store in the fridge.

This is a great summer treat.

(This is Jeff's recipe)

Tuxedo Brownies

1 pkg brownie mix (bake per instructions and cool)
1/c seedless raspberry jam
3 squares (1 oz each) white chocolate melted and cooled
2 pkgs (8oz) cream cheese (cream it)
1/c powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 8oz container cool whip

Spread raspberry jam over brownies. Mix remaining ingredients until creamy. Spread mixture over jam. Keep in fridge.

I love these!!

Navajo Tacos (Fry Bread)

4 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 2/3 cup warm water

shortening for frying

Combine flour salt and baking powder in a bowl. Add enough warm water to make a soft dough. Knead thoroughly, cover and let dough rest for a half an hour. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Pinch off dough about the size of an egg. Shape it round and flat and 8-9 inches in diameter. Melt shortening in large frying pan. Fry bread in pan until brown on each side.

Warm 3 cans chili.

Top bread with chili, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa and sour cream. YUM!

Russian Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts
2 small bottles Russian dressing (Wish Bone)
1 small jar apricot jam
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup mix

Put chicken in crock pot. Cover with remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve over rice.

(This is Heather's recipe. Have to give her credit.)

"Funeral Potatoes"

1 pkg frozen hash browns
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 pint sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup bread crumbs
2 cups grated cheese

Pour half of melted butter over hash browns. Mix other half with bread crumbs. Mix soup and sour cream well. Stir in potatoes. Sprinkle buttered bread crumbs on top, then cheese. Cover. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

(Got this recipe from Jeff's mom. They are called funeral potatoes because they are always served at funeral luncheons here.)

Blonde Brownies

1/2 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of a 9x13 pan. Melt shortening in a medium pan over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar, vanilla and eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread in pan. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool slightly and cut while warm.

Apple Pecan Cheesecake

1 1/2 c. honey graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
4 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 c. sour cream
4 eggs
4 cups chopped peeled apples (about 3 large apples)
3/4 c. chopped pecans
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

HEAT oven to 325'. Line 13*9 inch pan with foil. Mix crumbs, butter and 2 Tbsp. br. sugar; press into bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.

BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add sour cream;blend. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended, pour over crust.

MIX remaining 1/2 sugar, apples, pecans and cinnamon;spoon over batter.

BAKE 1 hr. to 1hr. 5 min. Cool, then refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.

YUMMMMEEEE!!

Mom's Pound Cake

2 3/4 c. Sugar
1 1/4 c. Butter softened
1 tsp. Almond or Vanilla extract
5 Eggs
3 c. Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 c. Milk

Oven 350' grease and flour bundt pan

set aside dry ingredients in separate bowl. Beat sugar,butter, extract, eggs in large bowl for 30 seconds. Beat on high for 5 minutes until fluffy scraping bowl occasionally. On low speed, alternately add dry ingredients and milk, ending with dry ingredients. spread in pan. Bake for 1 hour - 1hour 10 minutes

Dad's Sugar Cookies

Dad gave me the recipe way back, so here it is. I have the quadruple recipe but I figured I'd give the single for those of us that only have a few people and wouldn't need to make a quad.

Single batch
2/3 c. butter flavor crisco
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
1 egg
2 c.sifted flour
4 tsp. milk
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream shortening, sugar, almond together. add egg, beat until fluffy. Stir in milk. sift dry ingredients and blend into creamy mixture. Do just like dad does and cover with saran wrap and put it in the fridge or freezer and chill for at least an hour. Roll out dough to desired thickness, whip out the cookie cutters and go to town. Bake on cookie sheet at 375' for 6-8 minutes, cool slightly then remove from pan.

Icing
Powdered sugar
Water
Almond Extract

put powdered sugar in bowl, add just a smidge of almond extract, add a little water at a time and mix to the proper consistency, you all should know what that is...not too runny, not too thick, divide and add colors you want, frost cookies.

Green Chili Chicken Casserole

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 (16oz) sour cream
1 (4oz) can diced green chilis
12 corn tortillas (cut in strips)
2 cups cheddar cheese
2 cups chicken cooked and cubed

Mix together soup, sour cream, chilis and chicken. In a 9x13 pan spoon some soup mixture on the bottom. Cover with cheese, then tortillas. Repeat in layers. Top with cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Remove foil for the last 15 minutes.

Creamy Chicken Pasta

1 TBS butter
2-3 chicken breasts
3 cups broccoli
3/4 cup carrots sliced or julienned
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

In a large skillet over Medium-High heat, melt butter, add chicken and cook 3 minutes. Add broccoli, carrots, milk, salt and lemon pepper. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to Medium, cover and cook 3 minutes or until veggies are crisp and chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese until smooth. Remove from heat and add Parmesan cheese. Serve over pasta.

I made this for the first time tonight. It was so easy and oh, so tasty.

No Bake Cookies

2 cups Sugar
2 TBSP Cocoa
½ cup milk
1 cube butter or margarine
½ cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups oatmeal

Melt butter and cocoa, milk and sugar – boil (rolling boil) for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. Mix together well and spoon out onto wax paper. Let cool.

I am sure everyone has this recipe but just in case!!!

Chicken Fingers

2-3 Boneless, skinless chicken breast

2/3 cup Bisquick baking mix

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated people)

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1 slightly beaten egg

3 Tbl butter - melted

Heat oven to 450. Line cookie sheet with foil (and thank me later). Spray the foil with cooking spray.

Mix together Bisquick mix, cheese, garlic salt, and paprika (in bowl, gallon bag, you choose).
*Slightly beat you egg in a separate bowl.
*Slice chicken breast into strips (you knew that one was coming)
*Dip half the chicken strip into egg and then place into Bisquick mix
*Make sure to cover the whole "tender" in the mix
*Set on cookie sheet and repeat the first steps. When the cookie sheet is full drizzle the melted butter over top of the chicken.

Bake 12-14 minutes. At the halfway point turn over the chicken and resist the urge to eat them half cooked.

Once they are done, pull them out and enjoy. I like to make Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits (the frozen in a bag variety) with these, but if you don't want to splurge on those then just make baking soda biscuits...unless someone has a good recipe for Buttermilk biscuits and if so...get sharing.

Any questions - give me a call.

Easy Pumpkin Cookies

1 box spice cake mix
1 can pure pumpkin (15 oz.)
2 cups chocolate chips
Non Stick Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with a nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together the cake mix and the canned pumpkin. Add chips. Drop cookie dough onto a cookie sheet and then bake for around 10-12 minutes.

Rice (good with Yucknee)

Handful of spaghetti noodles
1 TBS butter/margarine
2 cups rice
5 cups water
2 tsp salt

Break spaghetti noodles into pieces. Put in a medium sauce pan with butter. Add rice and brown over medium heat. Add water and salt. Bring to a boil and cover and reduce heat. Cook for 20-25 minutes

Yucknee

3-4 chicken breasts, legs or thighs (minus bones- I use the frozen breasts that come in a bag )
1 large can cut green beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
chopped onion
garlic (I use the jar stuff)
salt & pepper

Throw all ingredients in the crock pot. Season with garlic, salt & pepper to taste. Let simmer on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and serve.

Chicken ring

2 large chicken breasts- cooked
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup sour cream (or to taste)
2 cups broccoli- cooked or steamed (I am fond of the Steamers-you microwave it in the bag)
2 cups shredded cheese
2 pkgs crescent rolls (of the refrigerator kind)
Lemon pepper or just plain pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients, except crescent rolls, together. On a round pizza pan or pizza stone lay the crescent rolls in a circle, large side in. It should look like a sun when you are done. Spoon mixture on to the largest portion on the ring. Wrap the shortest side over, so it tucks all the ooey, gooey goodness inside. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until ring is lightly browned.

* I meant to take a picture last night, but we inhaled it way too fast.

Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers

Usually the recipe calls for 2 lbs of turkey but I will put up the half recipe. One pound is supposed to make about 4 burgers, they are pretty big but that's good because you don't want to be eating all bun.

1 lb Ground Turkey (not ground turkey breast)
1 egg
half pack 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and sqeezed dry
half pack 6oz. Feta Cheese
about 1 tsp chopped garlic (I use the stuff that comes in a jar, to lazy to do fresh)

mix it all up in a bowl, pattie 'em up, cook 'em up, serve 'em up. I cook them on a non stick griddle. Or, cook them in a pan...If you were going to do it on a grill I suggest doing it on foil, they break up pretty easy in the beginning. Anyway, they are soooo tasty that even Ben likes them and he's super picky.

I want to see...

I would like to see Jessica's reeses pieces cookies and ginger snaps. That is all I have to say:)

Spring Strawberry Spinach Salad

Salad:
1 bunch spinach, rinsed
10 large strawberries, sliced

Dressing:
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup white wine vinegar (balsamic or rice vinegar)
1 cup vegetable oil (I only use ½ cup)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Almonds:
½ large bag of sliced almonds (or however many you want)
White sugar (maybe 1/3 to ½ cup)

In a large bowl, mix the spinach and strawberries. In a blender, place the ½ cup sugar, salt, vinegar, and oil, and blend until smooth. (you can also do this with a hand mixer) Stir in the poppy seeds. Sauté the almonds and sugar over medium heat until the sugar melts, stirring constantly. Cool. Add the almonds to the salad just before serving. Pour the dressing over the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat. (just before serving)

I want to change the veggie oil to Olive Oil and the Sugar to Splenda to make it a healthy salad. I don't think it will change the wonderful flavor.

Steak Parmesan

2-4 round steaks
2 cans spaghetti sauce (or your own)
2 cups Parmesan cheese

Place steaks in crock pot. Pour sauce over the top. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve over egg noodles and top with Parmesan cheese.

Can also replace steaks with chicken breasts.

Olive Garden Alfredo Pasta

1/2 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper
1 12 oz box fettuccine
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cream, garlic and pepper and simmer for 12 minutes or until thick.

Boil water for pasta and make that according to box instructions, drain.

When Alfredo sauce is thick, stir in Parmesan cheese. Serve pasta on plates and pour sauce over the top.

Just tried this tonight and it was TASTY! I forgot to grill up some seasoned chicken breast. I will try that next time.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

"This tangy, creamy dip tastes just like buffalo chicken wings. It's best served hot with crackers and celery sticks. Everyone loves the results!"

2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks® Red Hot® (If you like mild don't use as much)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
1 Box crackers - I like Wheat Thins but whatever kind you like

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

I have never actually used the crock pot for this, just cooked it on the stove and warmed int he microwave if needed. This does make a lot so cutting everything in half works just as well.

What recipes would you like to see?

I was just sitting here thinking: What recipes would I like to see?

So, what recipes do you want added here? I know Joanna wants Heather & Ed to post their meatloaf recipe.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Cook time should be around 10-15 minutes


Ingredients:
2 cups cooked and cubed chicken breast
1 refrigerated pizza crust (Pillsbury, etc.)
2 cups BBQ sauce (your choice, Bull's Eye is great!)
2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sliced and diced red onions (completely optional)



After cooking and cutting the chicken, I generally mix it with about 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce for a little marinading. Spread the pizza crust in the pan of your choice, and you can also bake this for 5 or 6 minutes at this time, but it is not necessary, and can result in a dry pizza if you're not careful. Spread the BBQ sauce across the dough, then spread mozzarella cheese, chicken and red onions on top of that. Bake for 10-15 minutes and enjoy. The amount of each ingredient you use is completely up to you. I prefer more chicken and cheese, but these are just guidelines. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2/3 cup shortening
10 TBS butter/margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups flour
your choice of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream shortening and butter. Stir in sugar until blended. Add brown sugar. Then eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and incorporate slowly. Finally add chips. Drop by spoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8:15-8:30, depending on how you like your cookies. Tap on the counter and let cookies cool on a cooling rack. They won't stay long, they will get gobbled up pretty fast.

Jeff's Spaghetti Sauce

I am not a fan of spaghetti, but this stuff rocks!

1 pound ground beef
1 large can tomato juice
2 cans tomato paste
2 packages McCormick Thick and Zesty spaghetti sauce mix

Brown beef in a medium pot with pepper (I add garlic). When beef is browned add tomato juice, tomato paste and sauce mix. Let simmer and thicken while you make pasta and bake your garlic bread. (Wally's has good garlic bread).

Beef Cubes

1 pound stew meat
2 cans Golden Mushroom soup

Place stew meat in crock pot, cover with soup and a can of water. Let simmer for 6-8 hours. Serve over egg noodles.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Pork loin
1 bottle favorite BBQ sauce (we like Famous Dave's Sweet and Sassy)
Kaiser rolls or hamburger buns

Place pork in crock pot and coat with BBQ sauce. Let cook for 6-8 hours. Remove pork from pot and shred with a fork. Return to crock pot.

Pile the pork high on buns and enjoy!

Chicken Tacos

1 can chicken (located by the tuna)

1 can white beans

1 pkg taco seasoning

medium size tortillas

anything you like to put on your tacos

Put chicken, beans and taco seasoning in a pan and let simmer until most of the liquid evaporates. Spoon out on to tortillas and top with your favorite toppings. Yummy.

(from my friend, Theresa)

Brownie D-light!

Another fairly simple recipe for some dessert goodness. This week's dessert is what I like to call Brownie D-light. Obviously not it's the official name, name it what you will.

To begin:

Make some brownies! You can follow directions on the box right? Do it!



Go ahead...mix it up.

Then spread into a well greased (you know how I feel about well greasing things) cake pan. Then bake just like the box tells ya.
Once the brownies are done let them cool completely. I find it best to find something else to do so that I don't try to jump the gun.


When it is ready, go ahead and open up a can of white frosting (I love that stuff) and spread it liberally all over the brownies. I have an old oven and sometimes it burns the edges a bit on the brownies. The more frosting (and later chocolate topping) you use the least likely someone is to detect the slightly burnt taste of an edge. It's not tricking people...it's for the greater good.


Get out that handy dandy progressive nut chopper again (my goodness I love that thing).

It doesn't matter which way you go. Coarse or fine, it really depends on how you want them on the brownies. I usually start off with coarse and then in desperation turn it towards fine. once they are all crushed up covered the icing with them...you want it to look like so:

Once you've covered that puppy up stick it into the fridge to chill.

While that's going on you want to begin to prepare the topping. You might want to measure the ingredients first, but it really doesn't matter (I'm such a laid back baker no?) You want to melt 2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet), with 1 cup peanut butter.


Yum-O (and I don't even eat chocolate)

Then you are going to add about 4 cups rice krispes(sp?) Some brands are called "Puffed Rice" among other things. I'm not a brand name snob (unless it's Cheerios) so take your pick at what exactly it is you're adding.

Once it's mixed up, take the brownies out of the fridge and spread the mixture all over the top. It's going to be thick and come right to the edge of the pan. It's a good thing.

Wa-la! A dessert that looks and tastes like it took more effort! Yea! Now from what I understand these treats are a little on the super sweet side, so when you are cutting them (don't bother with a butter knife get something you'd use to protect yourself in the ghetto to cut these things) cut them into smaller squares and then people can eat as many as they want, but if they are small enough no one is wasting.

Hope you enjoy! Feel free to tell me how they turn out for you!

Oreo Angel Food Cake

You want to make this?

Okay.

The oreo angel food cake is pretty easy to make. First, you take a box of angel food cake mix. Like so...Follow the directions on the box, cause really that might be the only right way to make an angel food cake. After you have mixed it up you want to "fold" in six crushed oreos (I like to crush them before I mix the mix. Sprinkle and fold.

Then put the cake mix into the angle food cake pan - or bundt pan.

Yum-o.

For baking follow the directions on the box (I told you this is pretty simple). When the cake is done you want to let it cool upside down. I find that 2-liter soda bottles work extremely well for this.

Let it completely cool. Don't worry, it's not going to tumble out of the pan...if so that's baker's error - you made that cake wrong (though that's next to impossible, but some people are gifted in accomplishing the next to impossible tasks of this world). Go back and try again.

While you're cake is cooling you want to crush up loads of oreos. I find that my Progressive Nut Chopper works really well with that. Well, as good as a nut chopper can do when "cream" is involved. You may need to help it out by shoving down the oreos with a spoon.

When you are done it should look like this.

When you are sure the cake is done (2 hours seems ample time). Squish it out of the pan (seriously, it's spongy just gently push and tug until the thing comes out), then take a can of white icing and frost it - don't worry if tiny chunks of cake come off in the icing, you won't be able to tell when the oreos are through with it.

Once it is frosting sprinkle your crushed oreos over the icing.

As you can see I like to sprinkle some to garnish the bottom of the cake as well. Use as much or as little as you like, that's your prerogative. OR you could skip that part all together, use some of the crushed ones that you WOULD HAVE mix INTO the cake and sprinkle the edge of the top. Then you can take about 9 or so cookies, cut them in half, and decorate the top. ...Again your prerogative.

See? Told you if was easy.

Strawberry Cake

To start us out I thought it would be nice to go with my first cake that wasn't just a quarter sheet and icing. I have made this cake several times before, and it's one of my favorites because I think it is one of the prettiest cakes and if I can make it look decent I'm sure anyone could. I'm not the most artistically inclined person.

So you take a white mix, add a 6 ounce container of strawberry yogurt, 3 egg whites, 3/4 cup water, 1/3 cup vegetable oil walla.

Put them into two extremely well greased 8 inch round pounds (I don't know about you, but if I don't spray the heck out of them they stick. I hate that, so I spray a lot and they pop out no problem).

Bake (350 for 25-30 minutes) and then let them cool for about ten minutes. Then run a knife between the pan and cake and turn them over onto cooling racks. If you followed my heck greasing advice this should be virtually quick and painless.

While the cakes are cooling I usually cut up the strawberries. I also have to force myself to wait for the cooling process because if I cut them up before I get all antsy while the cakes are cooling and end up attempting all this while they are too warm. First I slice up about three of the bigger strawberries. Slice them thin (as seen below) and put them aside in a bowl.

Then I cut what I call the triangles. I cut a majority of the strawberries this way because they are going to go around the circumference of the cake. Cut off the top, and cut vertically and then horizontally to create four "triangles" from each strawberry.

Then it is time for the first cake to be prepped for icing. Like below. I personally hate having to cut the top off of the cake. It's just asking for trouble with hands like mine, the cake is either going to mess up, or I'm going to be rushed to emergency care with a bloody hand (don't ask me how, I only remember how it won't stop bleeding, I can never figure out how the knife got me). So I like to use plates that dip in slightly and then have the top of the cake facing down, that way it won't be uneven and bulbous when I put the top cake on.

I just take a can of white frosting (usually the regular sized one will work fine, I tend to have some left over) and I frost the first cake like so...

Now it's time for the sliced strawberries. I like to cover as much surface area a possible. I would hate for someone to have to work at getting a strawberry in the middle, there should be ample berry coverage.

Then I put on the top of the cake, with the bottom facing the strawberries (so it's like the cakes are back to back).

Then frost to cover up the gaps and all. Use the frosting liberally, especially cause it kind of seals in the strawberries and their juice (no matter how hard I try they are still a little juicy... I suppose that could be a good thing).

One you have the base on (is that painter talk? Who knows) you are ready to decorate your pallet.

Take the quartered strawberries and line them along the edge of the cake. Just have them all face the same direction and spin the plate around as needed.

Then for kicks I like to put a strawberry arrangement on the top. It changes between different arrangements. Today's is one of the small cute strawberries (whole) flanked by two quarter strawberries.

And there's the cake! Hope you enjoyed and hope you have fun making it! Next week is the Oreo Angel Food cake.