Pinto Bean Bake

We have a lot of leftover ham from Christmas so this was the first thing I made. Then we froze the rest so we'll be having ham recipes all month.
This was okay...nothing awesome but an inexpensive way to use some of the ham up:) This came from southernfood on about.com

2 cups dried pinto beans
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
1 cup sliced onions
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
8 to 16 ounces cubed cooked ham
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons dried mustard
1/2 cup reserved bean cooking liquid
Preparation:Following package directions, cook pinto beans until tender. Drain beans, reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid. Add bacon drippings to a skillet over medium heat; add onion and green pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Layer cooked drained beans, onions and peppers, and ham in a 2-quart casserole. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the mixture. Bake at 325° for 1 hour. Serves 6.

Cheesy ham and hashbrown casserole

We had this Christmas morning and it was SO good. Definitely would make this again...throw it together and come back after the presents are open and the wrapping paper is all picked up:)
Shar found this one (update) her post can be found here.

INGREDIENTS

1 (32 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes

8 ounces cooked, diced ham

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of potato soup

1 (16 ounce) container sour cream

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Spread evenly into prepared dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly brown. Serve immediately.

Peanut butter cup cookies

Another recipe from Shar. These were yummy and so pretty! Her post about them is here.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup chocolate chips
2 squares (2oz) unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups (plus 2 tbsp) flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cups finely chopped almonds
36 or so (a bag) of miniature peanut butter cups (frozen)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine chocolate in bowl and microwave for approx 2 min. stir.. until melted
cool slightly.
Combine sugar, butter in large bowl. Beat. Add eggs, salt and vanilla. Beat.
Add chocolate and mix by hand.
Stir in flour, b. soda and shape into 1-1/4 inch balls. Roll in finely chopped almonds. place on an ungreased cookie sheet
Bake for 8-10 min.
Immediate press "unwrapped" frozen peanut butter cup in the centre of each cookie. don't touch them once you've pressed the p. cup inside.. leave to solidify

Sweet N Sour Meatloaf

We all LOVED this meatloaf! I think Lissa originally sent it a long time ago on the recipe group but I know lots of people have made it and liked it too. I'm not putting a picture...it looks like meatloaf with a red sauce:)

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 eggs
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoon prepared mustard
Preheat oven to 350degrees
In large bowl, combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, eggs, onion, and 1/2 of the tomato sauce. Mix together and place into a loaf pan. Push meatloaf down into pan forming a well for the sauce around the edges. Bake for 40min. Meanwhile in a small saucepan over med heat combine the remaining tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, sugar, and mustard. Bring to boil and remove from heat. After meatloaf has cooked 40min remove from oven and pour sauce over top. Return to oven and bake for 20 more min.

Stuffed Shells

This was soooo good! I used more spaghetti sauce than it called for but it definitely still could have had more...a whole jar at the very least but we like our Italian food with lotsa sauce:) I'll make this again for sure.

Ingredients

12 ounces jumbo pasta shells

1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (Reserve 1/4 cup)

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 lbs ricotta cheese

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried parsley

8 ounces spaghetti sauce (jarred or homemade)

fresh basil, chopped, for garnish

Directions1In an 8 quart pot, bring water to a boil and cook shells for 8 minutes or until al dente. 2Drain and cool immediately with cold water.

3Drain and place open side down on paper towels.

4In a medium bowl, combine the rest of ingredients except the spaghetti sauce.

5Reserve the 1/4 cup of Mozzarella.

6Place a thin layer of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a 12 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish.

7Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

8Spoon the cheese mixture into each pasta shell and place open side up, in a single layer, in prepared pan.

9Pour the rest of sauce over the stuffed shells.

10Loosely cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

11During last 5 minutes of baking, remove foil and sprinkle remaining Mozzarella cheese on top. 12Bake 5 more minutes.

13Garnish with fresh chopped basil.

Eggnog Kringla

I made these as one of my gifts and while we ended up eating most of them one neighbor did get a plate of them:)

These are not a super sweet cookie but the are really really good!

Eggnog Kringla
Makes about 60(made about 45 for me)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup butter (do not use margarine)
1-1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup dairy or nondairy eggnog
sifted powder sugar
ground nutmeg

In large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream butter, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Add the flour mix and eggnog alternately to the sugar/butter mix. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.
Dough may still be sticky but it is a soft dough.
Preheat oven to 350F. Take out half the dough at a time (leaving rest in the fridge). On a lightly floured surface, take one tablespoon of the dough and roll into a rope shape (about 1/2 inch thick and 8 inches long) On an ungreased cookie sheet, place the rope in a loop, cross one end over the other. Make the shape slightly oval. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove cookies and cool on wire rack. While still warm, sprinkle tops with powdered sugar and nutmeg.

Hot dog muffins

I didn't get a picture of these... It ended up making 18. I thought they were good but everyone else thought they were awesome:)


Ingredients
2 (8 1/2 ounce) packages cornbread mix
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
5 hot dogs, chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions
1Combine mix and brown sugar, add eggs and milk stirring only until moistened.
2Stir in drained corn, hot dogs, and cheese. Batter will be thin.
3Fill paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full.
4Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until tops are brown.
5Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients:

Refrigerated pie crust
11/2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay refrigerated pie crust in pie pan crimpling edges. Bake pie crust for 8 minutes(until lightly browned). Cool completely.
Combine the sugar and flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the beaten eggs and mix well. Stir in butter and buttermilk. Stir in lemon juice and juice, vanilla and pour into the pie shell. Place the pie in the center of the oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for approximately 40 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and serve at room temperature.

Bread Machine Rolls

I got this recipe December 31,2000 from Chenoa on a local mom's list and made it many times before I started this blog. I kept it in the back of my recipe binder to make again and today was the perfect day:)

1 cup water
2 TBS butter, softened
1 egg
3 1/4 C bread flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp yeast,regular dry active or bread machine yeast

Put all ingredients in the bread maker and start on the dough cycle. Grease a cookie sheet. Place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. (Light pan only!!! Aluminum foil dark pans). Brush with butter. Cover and let rise for 30-40 minutes, or until doubled. Heat oven to 375 degrees and bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with butter.

23 Skidoo pie

This reminds me of butternut brownie pie from Luby's but they don't put a chocolate whipped cream on the top and I like the regular cream better:)

23 Skidoo pie

23 Ritz Crackers 3 egg whites
1 c white sugar 1 c chopped pecans
1 t. McCormick's Vanilla extract

Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly add sugar and vanilla extract. Crush 23 Ritz crackers until very fine and fold them into egg whites; add pecans. Pour into greased pie pan and bake 30 minutes at 350. Cool.
Top with the following whipped together: 1/2 pint whipping cream, 3 T of nestle's instant cocoa (nesquick?) and sugar to taste. Put pie in refrigerator

Triple Layer Mud Pie

This was soooo chocolatey and yummy!

Triple Layer Mud Pie
3 (1 ounce) squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted
1/4 cup canned sweetened condensed milk
1 (6 ounce) OREO Pie Crust
1/2 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans, toasted
2 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 (8 ounce) tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Mix chocolate and condensed milk until well blended. Pour into crust; sprinkle with pecans. Beat milk and dry pudding mixes with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.) Spoon 1-1/2 cups of the pudding over pecans. Add half of the whipped topping to remaining pudding; stir until well blended. Spread over pudding layer in crust; top with remaining whipped topping. Refrigerate 3 hours. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Waffles and homemade syrup

The waffles were okay but tasted very strong of egg...not surprising with so many eggs in it. The syrup was great and so easy!

Syrup
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, combine the sugars, water and corn syrup; bring to a boil over medium heat. Broil for 7 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in maple flavoring and vanilla. Cool for 15 minutes. Serve over pancakes, waffles or French toast.

Buttermilk waffles

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup SACO Buttermilk Blend
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups water
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

In medium mixing bowl combine flour, Buttermilk Blend, baking powder, salt and sugar. In small mixing bowl combine water, eggs and oil together. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, mixing only until moistened. Preheat waffle iron. When hot, brush cooking surface lightly with shortening or oil. Pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup of batter into waffle iron and cook until golden brown. Serve immediately.

E-Z Drop Biscuits

These would be really good for sausage and biscuits. We had them plain with bacon on the side and they were just lacking something. The texture was great even if they look a little flat.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Stir in butter and milk just until moistened. Drop batter on a lightly greased cookie sheet by the tablespoon.
Bake in preheated oven until golden on the edges, about 8 to 12 minutes. Serve warm.

Corn Casserole

Tee shared this recipe in 2006 and I've made it many many times since. This time I doubled the recipe and made it in a large rectangle glass baking dish. I also only had half the sour cream it needed so I put in a little cream cheese(you can see it in the picture)...I don't think it was actually needed but I loved it. I also drained the whole kernel corn this time so it's a very versatile recipe where you just do what you want!


1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can cream style corn
1 (8oz) sour cream
1 egg--beaten
1 pkg dry corn muffin mix
1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350
Mix together the whole kernel corn, creamed corn, sour cream, and egg.
Add corn bread mix and butter. Mix all together and pour into 2 quart baking dish.
Bake for 1 hour or until top is golden brown.

Tuna Croquettes

I don't usually fry anything at home especially after my okra/fire department issue...but I decided to try it again. These turned out pretty darn good! I added a LOT of flour because the mixture was very thin and that was a very good idea:) 

2 (6 ounce) cans canned tuna
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2-3 tablespoons tomato juice
1/2-3/4 teaspoon dried dill
black pepper, to taste
cooking oil
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients; nix well.
Shape the mixture into 4 equal size patties.
Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in heavy frying pan add the formed patties and fry on both sides until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Hunter's banana bread

Hunter has started wanting to cook so he's done a few recipes lately and this was one. The only time I helped was when I heard him mumbling about 11 1/2 cups of flour...had to help him stop and read it again;)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 bananas, finely crushed
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Cream together butter and sugar.
Add eggs and crushed bananas.
Combine well.
Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla.
Pour into greased and floured loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.
Keeps well, refrigerated.

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole

This made a LOT so I'd recommend only doing half. We all liked this but it isn't a favorite. I don't regret making it at all though:)

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole

1 (16 oz) pkg. bowtie pasta

2 T. vegetable oil

2 onions chopped

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1 (10 oz) can cream of mushroom soup

1 soup can milk

4 (4 oz) can mushroom

1/2 t. thyme

4 C. shredded Cheddar cheese divided

salt and pepper to taste

1 C. bread crumbs

3 T. butter melted

Preheat oven to 375.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute' onions until they begin to soften. Add ground beef and cook stirring until evenly browned. Drain off grease and pour into the bowl with the pasta.

Stir in the soup, soup can of milk, mushrooms and thyme until well blended. Mix in 3 C. of the cheese, and season with salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and melted butter.

Mix in remaining cheese. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the baking dish.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until top if golden and crispy.

California Quesadillas

I got this recipe off recipezaar. They were pretty good! Hearty enough to not need meat for us:) Hunter ate his but I don't think he was particularly thrilled...he would have much rathered cheese I think.

I made them in an electric skillet rather than the oven.

Recipe #195455

SERVES 6
2 1/2 cups monterey jack chees, shredded
6 1/2 ounces marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/3 cup black olives, chopped
2/3 cup salsa
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
12 soft taco-size flour tortillas
3 tablespoons butter, melted
In a large bowl combine cheese, artichokes, olives, salsa and cilantro.
Brush one side of the tortilla with the melted butter and place butter side down on a cookie sheet.
Top with 1/6th of the cheese mixture. Top with another tortilla and brush with butter.
Repeat until all tortillas and cheese mixture is gone. You should have six quesadillas.
Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees or until lightly brown. Watch them carefully.
Cool 5 minutes then cut into wedges.
Serve with additional salsa, sour cream, etc.
You can also add grilled chopped chicken to the cheese mixture for a heartier quesadilla.

Tees Rolls

I made these for the second time this morning as biscuits to go with our sausage for breakfast. They turned out even better! I sprayed the muffin tin with cooking spray so they came out well and I cooked them a bit over 20 minutes.

Quick Delicious Rolls
2 cups self rising flour(I added 8 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt to all purpose flour)
4 tablespoons mayo
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
Mix all together and pour into muffin pan.
Bake 15min. at 375 degrees or until brown.

Banana muffins

I was headed to make banana cake this morning when I saw Mandi made banana muffins yesterday so I tried them out instead. Her recipe is here.

I think I overmixed them or something because they didn't rise but they still tasted awesome:) I didn't use nuts and I threw in a little cinnamon vanilla(I will use up spices lol) also...oh and I doubled the recipe.

Ingredients
3 large bananas
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions

1Mash bananas.

2Add sugar and slightly beaten egg.

3Add the melted butter and chopped walnuts.

4Add the dry ingredients stir to mix.

5Fill greased muffin tray with mixture and bake for 20 minutes in a 375F degrees oven.

Leche Quemada

When I was little the restaurant Monterrey House had candies in the bottom of the chip basket. Now the restaurant that took over still has them but they're purchased at the checkout..it's not the same as finding the treasure under the chip basket:)

I have tried a few recipes to find what kind of candy they are...this is the closest I've found in taste but it still didn't turn out. It is still soft the next day and it's supposed to be firm like fudge(leche quemada actually means burnt milk fudge).

If you don't like sweet, and I mean sickeningly sweet like eating sweetened condensed milk out of the can, then don't even consider trying this:)

2 large cans evaporated milk

5 1/2 cups sugar

5 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar
Directions:
Mix milk, sugar, butter and salt in a large heavy pan and bring to boil. Add brown sugar and stir until it dissolves. Continue cooking and stirring mixture over medium heat until it reaches soft ball stage(about an hour). Stir until thick enough (as for fudge). Drop by teaspoonful on a buttered pan or waxpaper or pour into buttered pan and cut into squares.

Taco Stew

This was for Mandi's week and it was really fast and easy! I used fritos because I had them on hand:)

This reminds me of another one Mandi sent a long time ago and I absolutely loved that one...it can be found here.

Easy Taco Stew Recipe

1 lb lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (15 1/4 ounce) can whole kernel corn, undrained

1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained

1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans in chili sauce, undrained

1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope taco seasoning

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can tomato soup, undiluted

1 cup water baked corn tortilla chips or plain Doritos

cheddar cheese, grated

Brown the beef and onion in a dutch oven, then drain. Add all ingredients to the beef/onion mixture, except for the tortilla chips and cheese. Cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated.

TO SERVE: Crumble a handful of either tortilla chips or Doritos in individual serving bowls and cover with a generous helping of stew. Sprinkle with cheese.

HINT: You can reduce the heat by substituting the pinto beans in chili sauce with either red kidney beans, plain pinto beans, etc

Veggie Lasagna

Shar made this and we had to try it. You can see hers here and her pictures are wonderful:) We loved this but I wish I hadn't run out of mozzarella. I had to use just a little more than the recipe called for and I always add looooots more to my lasagna lol

INGREDIENTS
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups diced zucchini
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions (or use ready oven noodles)
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan coated with nonstick cooking spray, saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes.
Add the zucchini, mushrooms, carrots and peppers; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes, water, tomato paste and seasonings. Bring to a boil. reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove 2 cups sauce and set aside.Drain noodles; set aside. Combine the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella and the cheddar cheese. In an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish, layer a third of the remaining sauce, four noodles and half of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sauce and noodles. Spread reserved sauce over top.Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.
Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Bacon Chicken

This is a recipe from Lissa's week. Turned out good! I wish I'd pounded the chicken first but that's the only regret I have:)

Bacon Chicken
Ingredients:
6 slices bacon
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Preparation:

Cook bacon in 12" skillet until crisp, about 4-6 minutes. Crumble bacon and set aside. Pour bacon grease out of skillet, but don't wash or wipe it. Add butter and olive oil to skillet. Saute chicken breasts in this mixture over medium heat, turning once, until chicken is cooked and no longer pink in center. Place chicken in ungreased 12x8" baking dish.
Cook onion and garlic in drippings remaining in skillet. Cook until onion is softened, then stir in salt, pepper, and cooked bacon. Spoon over chicken breasts and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted. Serves 6

Buttermilk Bakery Bread

This is by far my favorite white bread that I've made in the bread machine. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone! It smells great, bakes perfectly, looks perfect, cuts perfect and tastes perfect! hee:)

Source: SACOfoods.com

1 1/2 Pound Loaf:

1 cup + 1 Tbsp. water

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

3 Tbsp. SACO Buttermilk Blend

3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups bread flour

1 Tbsp. Red Star® Active Dry Yeast

Add ingredients in the order suggested by your bread machine manual. Use Basic Medium setting.

No-Bake Granola Bars

These are a lot like rice crispy treats - really easy and yummy:)

No-Bake Granola Bars

from Southern Living Magazine

2 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal

2 cups quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; set aside.Bring brown sugar and syrup to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until blended.Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until coated; let stand 10 minutes.Stir in chocolate morsels. Press mixture into a 13x9-inch pan; cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Onion Soup Mix

Since I was mixing up the ranch dressing mix I went ahead and refilled my onion soup mix too. This time I used chicken bouillon because it doesn't have msg.

3/4 cup instant minced onion
1/3 cup beef bouillon powder
4 teaspoons onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed celery seed
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container.
About 5 tablespoons of mix are equal to 1 1¼-ounce package.
To make onion dip: Mix 5 tablespoons with one pint of sour cream.

Dry Ranch Dressing Mix

I made this up myself to avoid msg in the usual brands. It was JUST like the name brand! I was low on parsley so I made a half batch which will work out well for us since I don't use a lot of ranch dressing. I may try this as a dip soon too but this time I used it in the chicken dish tonight.

15 saltines, finely crushed

2 cups minced parsley flakes, crushed

1/2 cup instant minced onion

2 tablespoons dry dill weed

1/4 cup onion salt

1/4 cup garlic salt

1/4 cup onion powder

1/4 cup garlic powder

Put crackers through blender on high speed until powdered.
Add parsley, minced onions, and dill weed.
Blend again until powdered. Dump into bowl.
Stir in onion salt, garlic salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.

For dressing use 1 tablespoon mix, 1 cup mayo, 1 cup buttermilk.

Creamy Ranch Chicken

This is a recipe from Mandi and was soooo good! We'll have to double it next time for sure! Her post is here.

6 slices bacon
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons ranch dry salad dressing mix
1 1/4 cups milk
3 cups dried medium noodles
1 tablespoon finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1. Start your water for your pasta. Cook noodles according to package directions.
2. Cut bacon into narrow strips. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels; discard all but 2 tablespoons drippings.
3. In the same skillet, cook chicken in reserved drippings until no longer pink, turning to brown evenly. Sprinkle flour and salad dressing mix over chicken; stir well to coat the chicken. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in bacon.4. Serve the chicken over the noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy

Caramel apple time!

It's that time for our Halloween caramel apples!

I bought a new kind of caramel this year that's supposed to melt easier and it definitely did! Right before we pulled them out and enjoyed:)

Oriental Stir Fry Scallops

The kids absolutely loved it and Justin would have happily eaten a ton of scallops(none of the veggies) but we ran out. I love stir fry so it was a given I'd like it. Leeks were something we'd never had before at home so it was fun to use them!

Oriental Stir Fry Scallops

8 ounces sea scallops

1/2 cup leeks

1/3 cup water chestnuts

1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 1/3 tsp olive oil

1 cup snow peas

3/4 cup bamboo sprouts

2 tsp soy sauce

Sauté all the oriental vegetables until tender in olive oil over medium heat. Add scallops to vegetables and cook until done. While cooking, add the soy sauce. Serve while hot.

Chicken Paninis

These were FANTASTIC! With a purchase I got a free jar of roasted red pepper tapenade. Looking online I could only find it mentioned in paninis so I made up my own recipe. In it is a grilled chicken breast, black olives, marinated artichoke hearts, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise and the tapenade. Yum!

Pita Chips

I make these quite often and realized I always have to look up the oven temperature I use so why hadn't I blogged it to make it easier to find? So here it is...it's my own recipe and I don't really measure.

Pita Chips

Pita bread pockets
olive oil
salt(or garlic salt)
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut each pita into 8 triangles. Put on cookie sheet. Mix oil, salt, pepper and any other seasonings you feel like(a bit of basil etc) then brush on the pita triangles. Bake for 7 minutes or until lightly browned. I start watching mine at 7 minutes. It seems to depend on the brand of pitas but sometimes 7 minutes is perfect and other time they've needed over 10 minutes.

Chicken Stew

I was looking for a way to use up celery and carrots I bought last week so I looked up recipes and made this. It was quite good for a fall meal and I only wish I'd had the energy to make some fresh bread to go with it! 

My changes were...I used chicken thighs(dark meat has more iron and I am still fighting the anemia), I didn't do the dumplings and instead I threw in a box of vermicelli right at the end, I used a lot more celery and carrots because I didn't want them in the fridge anymore, I subbed my cream soup mix for the cream of potato since I couldn't find any without msg and I didn't cut up the chicken. Sounds like a lot of changes, huh? :)

Chicken Stew

1 onion, chopped

4-5 carrots, cut in one inch chunks

3-4 celery stalks, sliced

2 medium potatoes, chopped

4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1" pieces

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of potato soup

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth

pepper

1 cup Bisquick

1/3 cup water

Combine onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, chicken, soups, peas, broth and pepper in crock pot. Mix well. Cook on high till heated through. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Turn Crockpot to high. Mix Bisquick and water and drop by tablesppons onto hot stew. Cook on high 20-25 minutes.

Breadmaker bread and cabbage goulash

For a cold night this was good. The cabbage goulash was from my week awhile back and the bread was from Mandi on her week. I wouldn't make the cabbage goulash again but everyone ate it here. The bread was hot and good fresh out of the breadmaker. I wasn't sure if it was going to turn out since it never turned into a real dough...just a very thin mix but it tastes really good! It's a heavy bread with a great buttery taste.

1 Pound Loaf (12 slices)

1 cup warm water -- (75 to 80°F)

2 cups white bread flour

3 tablespoons buttermilk powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter -- room temperature

2 teaspoons active dry yeast -- or 1 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast

Put ingredients in the bread pan and assemble the bread machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Select regular, rapid, or delayed bake cycle and medium crust setting. Bake and cool as directed.

CABBAGE GOULASH

1 pound pork sausage

1 pound ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

1 can (28 ounces) chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper {optional)

10 cups shredded cabbage

Brown sausage, beef and onion, drain fat. Add remaining ingredients, except cabbage and mix well. Stir in cabbage. Simmer 15-20 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

Frito Pie Pizza

I got this from the Hormel website. Everyone else seemed to like it(well Justin liked the Fritos) but I really didn't...it could have just been the prebaked pizza shell I bought.

FRITOS® Chili Pie Pizza

Ingredients

1 prebaked pizza shell (10 to 12-ounces)

1 can HORMEL® Chili No Beans (15-ounces)

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

2 cups FRITOS® corn chips, crushed

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place pizza crust on a pizza pan. Spread chiliover pizza crust. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutesor until crust is crisp and cheese is melted and golden brown. Sprinklepizza with crushed corn chips and serve.

Lemony Lime Cake

I had lime jello so this is lemony lime cake instead of lemony lemon:) This was gooooooood!!! I love tangy dessert and this was super easy.

Lemony Lemon Cake

1 small box lemon gelatin

1 box yellow cake mix

4 whole eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour into a greased13 x 9-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Topping 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar Juice of 2 lemons and rinds of 2 lemons Mix well. While cake is still warm from oven, punch holes in top with awooden pick. Pour topping over cake. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Mother's Macaroni Bake

This was from Mandi's frugal week. I used vermicelli again instead of macaroni and added a pound of sausage so this would be a complete meal. It was a lot like spaghetti and really good! I would make this again and the cost can't be beat:) I'm changing the prices to what I paid. It equals out to 1.77 plus $2 for the sausage. A full meal for 3.77!

Mother's Macaroni Bake

2 cups dry elbow macaroni, cooked and drained (10 cents for the box of vermicelli)

1 small onion, diced (45 cents)

1 small green bell pepper, diced (.35)

1/2 stick of margarine (I used butter that I got on a huge sale... 3 cents)

1 can tomato soup ($.60)

2 slices of American cheese singles, cut in half diagonally (24 cents)

Cook and drain macaroni, set aside. Sautee onions and peppers in margarine until tender. Add vegetables to macaroni and mix lightly. Stir in soup. Pour mixture into a lightly Pamed casserole dish and arrange cheese singles over top. Bake in 350 degree oven until heated through and cheese is melted (about 15 mintues). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving. Serves 4. Approximate cost, $1.50 for the whole casserole.

Candied Garlic Chicken Wings

We were hungry so as soon as these came out we dug in and I totally forgot to get a picture. This recipe came from Shar and she has a picture up on her blog here.
These were SO good!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups runny honey
6 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds chicken wings
DIRECTIONS
Mix honey, soy sauce and garlic together. Place the wings in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, and pour the honey mixture over the chicken. Cover with foil. Marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
Bake, covered, at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 1 hour; turn the wings after 1/2 hour. Remove the foil cover, and bake for 15 minutes. Take the wings out of the sauce, and bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken wings, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Simply Salsa

I didn't take a picture of this but I want to save the recipe here for future use. After making this I add half a thing of sour cream and it's a great dip:)

Ingredients
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 large can whole tomatoes
1 Tbsp. Southwest Chipotle Seasoning Blend(I use at least 2 tbsp)

Directions
Peel and slice onion into 4 pieces; place in Quick Chef with blade, cover and turn handle until onion is roughly chopped. Peel and smash two garlic cloves and add to Quick Chef. Add remaining ingredients; cover and turn handle until desired consistency. Serve with chips or as a topping for tacos!

Shrimp Scampi

This was my first time making shrimp scampi and it was so easy and fast! I need to mess with the measurements but this was really good!

Shrimp Scampi

2 pounds peeled, deveined shrimp

1 stick butter

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Parsley(as much as you want)

Wash shrimp.

Heat frying pan. Put in butter and let it get warm and bubbly. Add shrimp, lemon juice and garlic. Cook until all the shrimp turn pink(about 5 minutes). Do not overcook shrimp. Add parsley, stir and serve hot.

Chocolate Mint Smoothies

This is from Lisa's week and I couldn't wait to try it! They were soooo good! We'll have to make double next time!

CHOCOLATE MINT SMOOTHIES
2 c. milk, divided

1/4 c. instant cocoa mix

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. peppermint extract

1 pt. vanilla ice cream
Heat 1/2 cup milk just until hot. Combine hot milk and cocoa mix in container of electric blender. Process until smooth. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, vanilla and peppermint, blend well. Add ice cream and process until mixture is smooth. 4 cups.

Pepperoni-Pasta Bake

Tee posted this recipe for her week this week. I had intended to make another meal tonight but forgot to thaw the meat so I looked and had everything for this. Very fast to put together and the family loved it! I didn't use all the pepperoni called for because it seemed like a lot and I used vermicelli because I have lots of that on hand. I was running late on dinner so it's still steaming in the picture and was on the table fast!

Pepperoni-Pasta Bake

1/2 to 3/4 lb. rotini pasta

1 12-oz. pkg. sliced pepperoni

1 can mushrooms (optional)

Your favorite spaghetti sauce

4 to 6 oz. grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, and spread it evenly in the bottom of an oven-safe casserole dish. Arrange pepperoni slices and drained mushrooms on top of pasta. Pour spaghetti sauce on top. Top generously with cheese. Bake for 17 to 22 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Hamburger Casserole

This was one of Mandi's recipes in June that I'd saved to try. Everyone ate it and liked it but it seemed to be missing something...I'd like to try it with rotel! I added green Tabasco to my serving:)

Hamburger Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped onion
small box macaroni
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
grated cheese

Cook macaroni & drain. Brown ground beef, onion, and bell pepper; drain
grease. Mix mushroom oup, tomato sauce and milk. Add to ground beef
mixutre. Add macaroni to mixture. Put in casserole dish, grate cheese over
the top, put in over at 350 until cheese melts.

Pumpkin Muffins

I looked for a recipe online but didn't find any I really liked so I pieced together my own. These turned out great and I doubled it and made two loaves of pumpkin bread(no pictures) with pecans in those. For the tupperware spice you can just use cinnamon. (made these again 9-3-10 and I think this is too much spice.  I'll cut them all in half next time)

Pumpkin muffins
1 15oz can pumpkin

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, tupperware spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together pumpkin, vegetable oil and eggs.

Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Butterfinger Cake

For Corrine's birthday I made this since we had a surplus of Butterfingers. It was good but definitely not better than the recipe that calls for heath or skor bars(also known as the better than sex cake).

Ingredients
Devil's food cake mix

Jar caramel ice cream topping

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

8 oz. container Cool Whip (thawed)

6 butterfinger candy bars (crushed)

Directions
Bake cake as directed on the package in a 13x9 pan.
Let cool for about 10 minutes, then poke holes in the cake and spread caramel topping and evaporated milk over top of the cake.
Let cake cool completely.
Mix thawed whipped topping with the crushed Butterfinger candy bars, and spread over the top of completely cooled cake.
Best if served 2+ hours later.

Chili Casserole

I got this from Mandi's blog here but it was originally from Melissa's week on the recipe group:) This was spicy but really good! We had no leftovers and even with it being spicy all the kids ate it happily.

I didn't want to spend the money for chili seasoning so I subbed some chipotle seasoning I had from Tupperware:)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound macaroni, cooked
1 (15 ounce) can chili with beans
1 (15 ounce) can sweet corn, drained
1/2 pound ground beef, browned and drained
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chili seasoning mix
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (used monterey jack & cheddar)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine the macaroni, chili, corn, beef, hot sauce, onion, seasoning mix and cheese. Mix well and spread mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Figs

I made up 9 jars of fig preserves this year. We drove out to the orchard to pick and this was every single fig they had! Ended up costing over $10 a jar just for the figs...but a pregnant woman has her cravings:)

Marey's Grandma's Meatloaf

This was dinner tonight. It was really good! If I made it again I'd add two eggs to help it hold together when cutting and I needed to cook it longer.

2 Lb. Ground Beef
1 Package (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing, any variety
1 Cup Water

1/2 Cup BBQ Sauce

Mix all ingredients except 1/2 of BBQ sauce. Shape into 2 oval rolls. Bake in a 13x9-inch baking dish on 375 for 35 minutes. Remove & pour rest of BBQ sauce and bake for a few more minutes.

Chile Relleno Casserole

This was SO good! The only change I made was that I used more chile peppers because I could only find a really big can.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 (4 ounce) cans whole green chile peppers, drained
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
4 eggs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large skillet over medium high heat, combine the ground beef and onions and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, or until browned; drain excess fat.
Arrange 1 can of the chile peppers on the bottom of a 7x11 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese and top with the meat mixture. Sprinkle the meat mixture with the remaining cheese, followed by the next can of chile peppers.
In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, flour and milk, whisking until smooth. Pour this into the baking dish over the chile peppers. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes before cutting.