Mandarin Chicken Salad

2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped

2 c. diced chicken

2 (6 ounce) can mandarin orange segments, drained

1 (5 ounce) can chow mein noodles

3/4 c. sliced almonds

Dressing: Mix together

1 cup canola oil

1/2 cup brown sugar or honey

3 Tablespoons each: rice vinegar, yellow mustard, soy sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sesame seeds

Combine dressing with lettuce and chicken, then mix in the rest of the ingredients just before serving.

Best Spinach and Artichoke Dip

So, so yummy!

1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, chopped

8 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. sour cream

3/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

8 oz. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 small onion finely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped

1 stick butter

Saute' onions in butter, adding ingredients while mixing and blending well after each addition. Add ingredients in this order: red pepper, spinach, cream cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, artichoke heart.

Remove from heat and pour into 8x8 glass pan. Top with Monterey Jack cheese and melt in oven at 350 degrees.

Serve hot with bread, chips, or veggies!

Topping for fish.

My kids and I love fish, so I try to find several different ways to prepare it so nobody gets bored. This is a topping that is good on baked, broiled, or fried fish that isn't too heavily seasoned (i.e. it's a fast topping for a fast lunch or dinner).

Pecan butter for fish

4 tbsp butter, softened
½ cp chopped, toasted pecans
2 tbsp minced onion
1 tsp lemon juice
dash of hot pepper sauce

Place butter, pecans, onion, lemon juice and pepper sauce in a blender or food processor. Process until well blended.

This is a recipe that I got from my aunt. It's no-fail and is delicious.
If you buy whole chickens and use them to make chicken stock, this is a good use for the chicken meat (instead of using chicken breasts, just use an equivalent amount of any chicken meat). You can hide dark meat in this recipe pretty easily.

Breast of Chicken Magnifique

4 chicken breasts

¼ cp butter

2 cp sliced mushrooms

2 cans cream of chicken soup

generous dash thyme

1/8 tsp crushed rosemary

½ cp sour cream

Brown chicken in butter. Remove. Brown mushrooms. Stir in soup and seasonings. Add chicken.

Cover. Cook over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Blend in sour cream, heat slowly.

Serve with wild rice and slivered almonds.

Chili Roll

This recipe is a variation on the hamburger roll-ups my family made all the time growing up... (I just invented it last night, with the genius help of Michelle to add the can of chili)

Chili Roll

First, make up a batch of "Nita's Pizza Crust":
1 TB yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 TB oil
2 1/2 (or more as needed) cups flour

Mix as bread and allow to rest while you prepare the filling.

Chili Filling
1/2 ground turkey or hamburger, browned
1 can chili
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder to taste
Chili powder to taste
Dried onions to taste
Barbeque sauce to taste
(basically however much of the spices to make it taste how you want. :o) )
I also added a shredded carrot to sneak some veggies and sweetness into the filling.

Cook together until hot.

Spread pizza crust out in a large cookie sheet, spread filling over, sprinkle with grated cheese. Roll up crust like you are making cinnamon rolls. Instead of cutting the roll into "rolls", I just slashed the top a few times with a knife, and left it in one long piece.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, let cool for a few minutes, then serve with a dipping sauce of barbeque sauce.

World's Best Rolls

From my MIL - Kris Clove

2 Cups Milk
1 cube margarine or butter

Microwave butter into milk (2-3 minutes), set aside.

2-3 TB yeast
3/4 cup very warm water
1/2 cup sugar

Stir yeast and sugar into warm water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until foamy head forms.

2 eggs
2 tsp salt

Beat eggs and salt together.

Mix together all the above ingredients.

Add approximately 7 1/2 cups flour (to make a very soft, but easy to handle dough).

Let raise until double (around a 1/2 hour).

Roll out, cut out, dip into melted margarine or butter (just melt 1/3 - 1/2 cup butter on cookie sheet in oven and dip, then leave on pan).

Let raise until doubled again.

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

Makes 2 cookie sheets of rolls, around 20-30 rolls per pan, depending on size you cut them out.

Oreo Fudge Bars

Disclaimer: I haven't actually made these, or tried them, but how could they NOT be good??? :D
Recipe from here.

Oreo Fudge Bars

1 16oz. package of Oreo cookies
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 tsp satl
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (I used Fat Free)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (could use another 1/2 cup semi-sweet chips if you like)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325.
Line a 9×13 pan with foil and lightly spray with PAM.
Set aside 6 Oreo cookies for the toppings.
In a small food processor grind the rest of the cookies. If you don’t have a food processor, just pound with a rolling pin until the cookies are fine crumbs. Add the salt to the crumbs and stir to combine.
Melt butter and gently stir together with the cookie crumb mixutre.
Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Coarsely chop the remaining cookies into chunks and set aside.
Over a double boiler or in the microwave, melt 3/4 cup semi-sweet and 1/2 cup milk chocoalte chips together with the condensed milk and vanilla.
Stir frequently until smooth.
Spread evenly over the prepared cookie crust.
Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips and the Oreo cookies chunks over the top of the filling. Press down gently into the chocolate topping.
Bake for 20-22 minutes oven.
Allow to cool on counter for 1 hour. Chill in fridge until completely cold and set before cutting into bars or it will make a big mess.
*These are not too great hot from the oven but are great after chilling and the filling has set!

Here's another Fall dessert that is good.



Pumpkin Cake

Mix:
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 c butter
reserve 1 cup of batter until later, spread the rest in a 9x13 pan


In a seperate bowl mix:
1 2lb can pumpkin pie mix
2/3 c canned milk
2 eggs
pour over cake mix.

Take the 1 c reserved cake mix and add:
2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 c butter (I also added a little water to make it runnier)
Mix together and dot it over the pumpkin mixture. Take a knife and marbleize it into the
pumpkin.

Bake 350 1 hr.


Did this last night for a book club. It was realy good!! Would be great with whipped cream or icecream.

Sour Cream Apple Pie
Topping:
3 tbls unsalted butter
1/4 c + 2 tbls Sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Blend in a bowl cover and chill

Filling:
1/3 c sour cream
2/3 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 lg eggs
3 tbls all purpose flour
Whisk together until smooth,
- 4-5 large Granny Smith apples .
peel core and thinly slice apples

9" pie crust:
2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 c shortening(I always use butter)
Mix together with a hand mixer 'till mixed well
Mix: 1/2 c milk + 1 tbls vinegar
let curdle then mix into flour mixture.
roll out with enough flour to make is not sticky.
put in deep dish pie plate and chill. ( this makes enough dough for two pies)

- fill pie with apples then spoon filling over top. Then sprinkle with topping
Bake 350 1hr 15 min.
cover the edges with tinfoil the last 15 min to keep edges from burning

This is the pie I made for the Heiner Christmas Party.

Cafe Rio Salad or Burrito

Sorry it has taken me so long to put these up here. Here are the recipes for the rice, beans, and dressing. I don't have a recipe for meat but if you google it, there are a couple recipes online.

Sweet Lime Cilantro Rice
1 quart vegetable broth or chicken stock
2 cups rice
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons each: lime juice, mayo, honey
1 tablespoon cilantro or parsley

Stir ingredients together and follow the directions for cooking the rice listed for stove top or rice cooker.

Black Beans
2 cups dry black beans
5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 onion diced
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tablespoon cumin

Simmer 3-4 hours until tender

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
1 cup ranch
1 (12ounce) can tomatillos drained
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1/4 or less teaspoon cayenne or hot pepper sauce

In large bowl, blend together with hand blender or throw it all into a regular blender or food processor. Enjoy!

For a salad, just line a wide bowl with a warm tortilla and layer with the beans, rice, romaine lettuce, and the dressing. Top with fresh tomatoes, tortilla strips or guacamole.
For a burrito, simply wrap the above ingredients into a large warm tortilla.

Rosemary Bread

Rosemary Bread Recipe

• 1 packet dry yeast (or 2 1/2 tsp)
• 2 c. warm water
• 1 T. sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 c. flour
• 1-2 tsp. fresh Rosemary plus more for topping
• Olive Oil, Corn meal, Melted butter and salt

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and sugar. Add flour, salt, and 1-2 tsp Rosemary and stir until blended, do not Knead!! Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until double in size.

Remove dough. It will be sticky. I like to put shortening or oil on my hands for taking out the dough and shaping it. Place it in 2 large balls on a cookie sheet lightly coated in oil and sprinkled with corn meal (I don't do the cornmeal). OR you can place it on your silicone baking mat with no oil. Cover with a towel or greased plastic wrap. Then let it rise another hour.

Brush each round with melted butter and lightly sprinkle with more Rosemary and salt. Bake @ 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce temp to 375 for 15 minutes more.

Cool slightly, then cut into nice size bits or rip it apart and dip in a bowl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This bread can’t be beat! It is soooo delicious and a really easy bread recipe.

Yum, YUM, YUM!!!

Oatmeal Chocolate and Cinnamon Chip cookies

(these oatmeal cookies are SO soft and chewy-- yum-yum! And, if you can't find cinnamon chips, just do 2 cups of chocolate chips.)

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups oats (rolled or quick, but not "instant")
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup cinnamon chips (Hershey's brand, can be kind of tricky to find)

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until mixture is light in color.
Beat the eggs in one at a time, followed by the milk and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Either by hand or on low speed, gradually beat the flour into the sugar mixture.
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.
Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread.
Bake at 350F for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown on the edges and light golden at the center.
Cool on baking sheet for at least 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 4-5 dozen, depending on how uniform you make your 1-inch balls. :)

Lion House Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This is an all time family favorite. I always make double batches, and freeze the extras!

MEATBALLS:

1-1 1/4 lbs. lean ground beef
3/4 c. rolled oats(not quick)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 c. milk
1 t. salt
1 t. worcestershire sauce
pepper

Combine ingredients. Mix well. Form into 12 balls, each about 2 inches. Place in 9 x 13 casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes with the sauce poured on top if you wish.

SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:

(I always have a bottle of this in the fridge for stir-fry or chicken, or ramen w/ veggies, or chicken nuggets, or, or, or...I LOVE THIS STUFF! I don't ever cook it, I just mix, warm, and use out of a Pampered Chef dressing bottle)

1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. vinegar
2 t. prepared mustard
1/2 c. barbecue sauce or ketchup, or both mixed to make 1/2 c.
2 t. worcestershire sauce

Combine ingredients & blend thoroughly. Heat in sauce pan to a boil and pour over meatballs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

Banana Wheat Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup milk
1-2 bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare muffin tins with muffin papers.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add in remaining ingredients and stir until just combined. Fill muffin papers about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Yield: about 18 muffins

I doubled the recipe, and it made 24 overflowing muffins and a small loaf. They are so yummy and filling! And, they freeze well

Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Really good fall recipe. Very tasty.

Pork-Filled Acorn Squash

2 medium acorn squash
1 lb ground pork
¼ cp sliced green onions (abt 3)
½ cp dried cranberries or raisins
1/3 cp uncooked rosamarina (orzo) pasta
1 cp beef broth
2 tsps chopped fresh or ¾ tsp dried rosemary leaves
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350
Cut squash in half, cook, cool slightly
Cook pork and onions in 2 qt saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until pork is no longer pink; drain
Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer abt 10 minutes or until pasta is tender and broth is absorbed.
If wells in squash halves are shallow, scoop out enough pulp to leave ½ inch thickness. (use pulp for another use.)
Place squash, cut sides up, in rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2.
Spoon pork mixture into squash halves.
Cover and bake abt 35 minutes or until heated through.

This is what we had for dinner tonight - very good!
(via recipezaar.com)

Mexican Bean Burgers

"A tasty vegetarian burger. Fairly mild — increase spices to your taste. Adapted from 'The Vegetarian Gourmet's Easy Low-Fat Favorites.'"

SERVES 6

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

clear stars

Write a Review! (optional)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (or canned)
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice, preferably warm
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 1/4 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder, more, to taste
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 garlic clove, pressed
• 3/8 teaspoon ground cumin, more, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3/4 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Mash with a potato masher until mashed well and thoroughly combined.
3. Divide mixture into 8 balls.
4. Form each ball into a thick patty.
5. (This is easier if you wet your hands first.) Fry burgers in a skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray (or lightly greased).
6. Cook until browned on both sides, turning several times.
7. Serve on buns with toppings of your choice.

PS - i am Michelle's older sister. Hope you don't mind me crashing the party!

Black bean and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

My kids LOVE this stuff! And I might add, so do I!

1 package (1 oz) Taco Seasoning

1 can (15 oz) Black Beans drained and rinsed

1 jar (7 oz) roasted red peppers, drained

1 package (12 oz) light cream cheese

1 Tablespoon Cilantro

2 Teaspoons Lime Juice

Garnish with fresh cilantro and tomatoes

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend till smooth. Serve with Tortilla chips and raw veggies.

(I just use my blender. It's a little hard on the motor but it works just fine)

World's Best Biscuits

So, I know biscuits aren't most people's favorite thing, but me and my family happen to LOVE them. This is such an easy recipe that I make it all the time. The other great thing about this recipe is that the flour is interchangeable according to what you want. All white, all wheat, or some kind of mix. I've done them all but this is the way my family likes it best.

Mix in bowl:

2 cups white flour

1 cup wheat flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Cut in:

3/4 cup softened butter

Mixture should be crumbly

(I usually just take the butter straight from the fridge and melt it right into the mix. Also, if you want a little extra flavor, use 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup sour cream)

Make a hole in the middle of the mixture and add:

1 cup milk

Mix all together. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 450* for about 12 minutes. Eat warm.

My kids like them plain but Luke likes them with butter. If I'm feeling nice I'll whip up some honey butter for an extra treat.

Skillet Lasagna

I'll start out posting a fast, easy, yummy dinner dish.

It's also good as leftovers or frozen and reheated.

Comes from Cuisine at Home.

1 lb italian sausage
1 cp onion
2 tsp garlic
3 cp fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/2 lb dry mafalda (tiny lasagna shaped noodles - can use any small noodles)
1 cp chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried italian seasoning
1/4 tsp red pepper flakessalt & pepper to taste
3 oz fresh mozzarella, cubed
1/2 cp parmesan, grated, divided
3/4 cp ricotta6 oz fresh mozarella, sliced
1/4 c thinly sliced fresh basil

Brown the sausage in a large saute pan over high heat, 5 mins, crumbling with a spoon to break up large chunks. Stir in onion and garlic, saute 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes, mafalda, broth, and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until noodles are soft, stirring occasionally, 10 mins.

Preheat broiler to high with the rack 5-6" below the heating element. Off heat, stir in cubed mozzarella and half the parmesan. Dollop with ricotta, top with mozzarella slices, and sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Broil until cheeses melt and brown slightly, 4-6 minutes.

My notes. We used a lot more cheese (of course). I left out the ricotta cheese since we didn't have any and it was fine. I also left out the red pepper flakes since Hannah's sensitive to that much heat in food. I just used whatever pasta I had on hand instead of mafalda. Ended up being bowties and ... some random shape. I also used canned tomatoes and it was fine. This was so. good. I loved it. Much faster than "real" lasagna.

Oriental Salad

1/2 head cabbage
2 green onions
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds toasted
1 pkg. raw ramen noodles, broken up
2 Tbsp. slivered almonds
1 or 2 chicken breasts cooked and chopped

Dressing: pour over salad shortly before serving
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 c. oil
3 Tbsp. vinegar
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Accent


I've made this twice this week without the sesame seeds, chicken, and Accent, and it is still really good! I guess it depends on if you have it in your cupboard or not, so you can call those ingredients "optional."

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Cream together:

1 1/2 c softened butter or butter flavored crisco

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

Then mix in the following:

1 pkg (6 serving) chocolate instant pudding mix

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

Add the following in gradually and mix well:

3 1/2 c flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Stir in :

12 oz pkg chocolate chips

(Batter will be stiff)

Bake @350 for 7-8 minutes

If you want to do the home made oreos, make small cookies and use a cream cheese frosting in the middle. they are delicious!!

Let's try this out!

Since we all love food so much in this family, and we are always asking for recipes from each other, here is a gathering place for all of us cooks and food lovers. Feel free to share food advice, menu ideas, favorite recipes, quick snacks, desserts, whatever you feel like sharing. I hope this can grow into a place to go when we all need a quick dinner idea, or a little pick-me-up snack. Have fun contributing to this collaboration, and come back often!