La Minestra (Minestrone Soup)

1/2 lb bacon

1 whole onion, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

2 cans (14.5oz) stewed tomatoes

2 cans beef broth (14 oz)

1 can (11.5 oz) tomato juice (or 2 small 6 oz cans)

1 can (150z) Northern (white) beans, Drained

1 can cut green beans, Undrained

3 whole carrots, sliced

2 cups shredded fresh cabbage, not the bagged kind, it gets too stringy.

2 cups water

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp oregano

1 cup pasta (shells, farfalle, macaroni, etc)

Cook up the bacon, saving a little grease. Cut it up.

Saute the celery and onion in bacon grease. Add everything to a soup pot, except for the pasta. Bring to a boil, then simmer until veggies are tender. Add pasta and cook until done.

Serve with grated parmesan.

This recipe is from Tasty Kitchen website.

Cheese and Spinach Manicotti

This is a combination of mom's recipe and one on the back of the American Beauty pasta.

1 box Manicotti (the box I bought had 14 pieces)
3/4 C low fat Cottage Cheese
3/4 C low fat Ricotta
2 C Grated Mozzarella (separated)
1/4 C shredded Parmesan
1 10 oz. box frozen Spinach
Tomato Sauce (I used a bottle of Ragu)

Boil the Manicotti noodles about 7 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Defrost the spinach and drain of any water. Mix together all the cheeses (leave 1 cup of the mozzarella out) and the spinach.
Fill the manicotti with the cheese mixture put in a 13x9 glass baking dish with a little sauce on the bottom. After you have all the pasta filled and in the pan, pour more tomato sauce on the top and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella on top. Bake 350 for 40-50 minutes until bubbly.


Can't remember where I heard this tip:
It takes a little bit of time to stuff the manicotti, if you are in a hurry just cut the pasta down the side and fill it then roll it back up and put it in the pan with the cut side down to keep it closed. It looks the same you just have to be a little more careful when you dish it up so you don't lose all your filling.


You can freeze this recipe before you bake it. It will keep for 2 months. When you want to cook it just take it out of the freezer put it in at 350 and double the cooking time.

Veggie Lasagna

9 Whole wheat lasagne *

1-2 TB oil (to stir fry the veggies)

2 garlic cloves chopped or pressed

1 crown of broccoli chopped

14 baby carrots chopped

4 medium mushrooms chopped

1/2 onion chopped

1 26.5 oz can spaghetti sauce. We like Hunt's

16 oz cottage cheese

4 oz cheese (mozarella, monterey jack or cheddar)

grated parmesan cheese

1 egg (or 2 egg whites) beaten

salt and pepper to taste

Chop the veggies pretty fine while you're cooking the lasagne. I've noticed the Ronzoni whole wheat noodles taste better. I usually use 9 of them.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add garlic and stir fry for a minute. Add all veggies and stir fry until they're cooked. Add spaghetti sauce and heat through.

Mix cottage cheese with egg, salt and pepper.

Spray 13x9 with cooking spray. Spread a little sauce around in the bottom of the pan. Layer noodles, 1/3 of sauce, 1/3 of cottage cheese, parmesan and 1/3 of grated cheese. Repeat layers 2 more times. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. (take off foil for last 5 minutes)

If you assemble this ahead of time and refrigerate, you'll need to bake it at least 45 minutes.

*FYI: Lasagne is the plural of lasagna- as in, the noodle is called a lasagna. More than one is lasagne. But the dish itself is Lasagna.

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers (Mexican Style)

SERVES: 4
2 whole large peppers
2 cups cooked rice
2 TB olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, diced or pressed
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can sweet corn, drained (or used frozen)
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Chili powder
1 heaping TBS freeze dried cilantro
5 oz Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375.
Wash and cut peppers in half. Set aside in greased baking dish.
Mix cooked rice w/ cilantro and most of the cheese.

Heat olive oil and saute onions for 6 minutes, add garlic and stir for 1 more minute. Add beans, corn, cumin, chili powder and tomato sauce. Heat to combine flavors. Stir in rice. Taste and add salt if desired. Fill peppers really full with the mixture. Sprinkle grated cheese on top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes uncovered. (I added a little water in the bottom of the pan.)

I double this recipe for my family. They also like to scoop the filling onto tortilla chips.

Original recipe came from Tasty Kitchen website. I changed some of the seasonings and added tomato sauce. They recommend serving with sour cream, hot sauce and pico de gallo, but I thought it was tastier this way.

Cowboy Caviar

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can black-eyed peas, drained

3/4 of an onion, chopped

3-4 medium tomatoes, diced

2 avocados, cubed

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

handful of freeze dried cilantro (or 1/2 - 1 bunch chopped fresh)

1/2 - 3/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing or **

Mix together. Marinate at least 2 hours, better overnight.

Eat with tortilla chips.

**alternative dressing:  2TB lime juice, 1 TB Red Wine Vinegar

Terriyaki Chicken

Terriyaki sauce  ( I use Veri Veri Terriyaki or Kikoman's Terriyaki sauce)
6 chicken breasts.

Line a cookie sheet with foil. Spray it with cooking spray. Pour about 1/2 cup of sauce onto foil and spread it to cover entire pan. Place chicken on pan and drizzle more sauce on top. Wrap tightly with foil and bake at 375 for about 45 min or until chicken is no longer pink.
-Last night I used really thick chicken breasts and it took about an hour.-

Kettle Korn

1/2 cup (unpopped) popcorn
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt

Pop 1/2 cup popcorn in air popper. Set aside in large bowl.
Heat next 3 ingredients in small sauce pan, stirring constantly until boiling.
Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour over popcorn. Stir and sprinkle on the salt.

This recipe tastes like kettle corn, but has the consistency of caramel popcorn (just a little gooey). It's the perfect balance of sweet and salty, which is bad, because I can eat the whole bowl.

Lasagna Soup

1 lb ground beef
6 C beef broth
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 C Parmesan cheese
2 1/2 C spiral noodles

In soup pot, brown beef, drain. Add beef broth, garlic clove, diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning. bring to boil and add noodles. Boil for ten minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 large cookie sheet (with sides) of pumpkin seeds. (About 4 cups) I don't rinse them, but you can
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
3 TB melted butter
1 1/2 to 2 tsp salt

Mix it all together and bake for 2 hours at 250 degrees. Stir often.

These measurements are approximate.

Click here to read about the health benefits of pumpkins seeds.

Layered Mexican Dinner

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion chopped

2 tsp taco seasoning

1 1/2 C salsa

1 bag of frozen corn

3 flour tortillas (ripped into strips)

3/4 C sour cream

1 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Brown beef and onion, drain off fat. Add taco seasoning, salsa and corn. Mix and let simmer for a few minutes. Spread a little bit of meat mixture into the bottom of an 11 x 7 baking dish then layer....tortilla strips, meat mixture, sour cream, cheese, tortilla strips, meat mixture, cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Uncover for the last 5 minutes to brown the cheese a little.

Serves 5-6 You could easily stretch this recipe to make a 13 x 9 if you need it to feed more.

I served this with shredded lettuce on top and tortilla chips on the side. You could serve with sour cream too, but it really doesn't need it.

Mom's Fruit Salad

This is my version of Mom's fruit salad.

2 cans Fruit Cocktail, don't drain (I use the kind in juice, not heavy syrup)

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

1 box Banana Cream Pudding (3.4 oz.)

1 cup grapes

2 bananas, sliced

Mix Fruit Cocktail, mandarin oranges and the box of pudding together in bowl. Add grapes and refrigerate. Add the bananas right before serving(so they don't go brown).

Easy. Serves 4-6

Nutrition Facts :
1 Serving

Calories 157
Total Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 255mg
Total Carbohydrate 39g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugars 34g
Protein 0g

Sugared Popcorn

1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 C water
2 T margarine
3 C sugar
1 tsp food coloring
3 bags microwave popcorn

Combine everything (except for popcorn) in sauce pan and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 3 minutes. Pour over popcorn and stir to coat. Pour onto wax paper and let cool. Sugar will harden. Store in airtight container

White Bean Chicken Soup

Into the crock pot:
3 chicken breasts, fat trimmed off
3 cups chicken broth
2 tsp Oregano
2 tsp Cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Cook on low for 6 hours.  Shred chicken and return to crock pot with juices

Add:
2T lime juice
2 tsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 cans great northwestern beans, drained and rinsed
2 C frozen corn
cook on low for 1 more hour

Serve with:
crushed tortilla chips
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream.

Serves 6-8
Sorry, no picture this time. We ate it all before I thought to get the camera out.
**Dad even ate this!! Two bowls of it actually!!

Black Bean Brownies

I found this recipe on another recipe blog.

I was scared to try it but the reviews were good. It was easy, and actually really good. It makes a cake like brownie, the whole family liked them. It is a good alternative when you want something sweet, easy to make and low fat too.

1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1 box brownie mix (I used Western Family Fudge Brownie Mix)

Drain and rinse black beans. Put beans back in the can and fill can with water. Put beans and water in blender until smooth. Mix pureed beans with brownie package mix. Spread into greased pan and cook brownies according to package directions. Let cool and eat. (I sprinkled powdered sugar on top just for fun.) Cut into 20 squares.

Nutrition Info for one brownie:

Calories: 139 Fat: 2.5g Fiber 2.5g Sugar 16g Protein 2g

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Skookie

Skillet + Cookie = Skookie

2 C. oats

1 ¼ C. Whole Wheat flour (originally, called for all purpose)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 C. butter

1 C. peanut butter

1 C. sugar

1 C. light brown sugar, firmly packed

2 Lg. eggs (2 T. Dehydrated Egg +1/4 C. Water)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 C. chocolate chips
Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the sugar(s) until blended. Add eggs and vanilla then add flour mixture until combined. Stir in chocolate pieces. Refrigerate dough 1 hour or more.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray Camp Chef Skookie pan (or oven safe dish) with cooking spray. Press dough onto Skookie pan ½ in. thick, leaving dough ½ in. from outside of pan if using a skillet. (very important or it will go over the sides of skillet. ) Bake for 10-15 min. or until top of cookie becomes light golden brown.

*This recipe reminds me of Michelle's Cookie Pie except peanut buttery & without the graham cracker crust. I used an 11 inch round stoneware pan and cooked it about 17 minutes. I still have half the dough in the fridge for tomorrow.
Top with ice cream, caramel sauce and hot fudge/chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Peppermint Poke-Cake

1 Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix & ingredients to make it.

Filling:

1 3.9 oz box chocolate pudding mix (original Betty Crocker recipe called for white chocolate pudding)

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp Peppermint extract

Frosting:

1 can Milk Chocolate Frosting

4 small peppermint patty candies chopped

optional: add 1/4 tsp peppermint extract to frosting. (I didn't do this)

Make the cake as directed on the box in 9 x 13 pan. Cool 15 minutes and then poke holes in it 1/2 inch apart with a wooden spoon.

Mix up the pudding, milk and peppermint and pour immediately over warm cake. (don't mix up the pudding too far ahead.)

Cool in the fridge at least 2 hours. Frost. Sprinkle with chopped peppermint patties. Store in fridge.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

4 C Strawberries

4 C Sugar

1 Box Pectin

3/4 C water

Wash and hull strawberries, mash. (should end up with 2 C smashed berries)

Mix strawberries and sugar, Let stand 10 minutes. Combine Pectin and water. Bring to a boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Stir hot pectin into strawberry mixture.

Pour jam into freezer containers. Let stand for 24 hours to set up. Can be refrigerated for two weeks or put in the freezer for up to a year.

BBQ Pulled Pork ( You don't really need a recipe for this one)

This is so easy it isn't really a recipe but this is what we ate on Monday night.

4lb. Pork Roast
3/4 C Water
Bottle of BBQ sauce

Cook roast with water in crock pot, low 7 hours.

Drain water, shred pork and add 1 bottle BBQ sauce. (I used 1 and 1/4 bottles because I like it saucy) Then put it back in the crock pot for about an hour.

Serve on Buns, in tortillas, over rice. Today I put it on top of some lettuce, added some chow mien noodles and ranch dressing. The leftovers taste just as good as the day you make it.

Almond Poppy Seed Bread w/ Citrus Glaze

                                   

BREAD INGREDIENTS                                   GLAZE INGREDIENTS              

3 C flour                                                                   Juice from 1 large orange

2 1/4 C sugar                                                           1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp salt                                                               1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp baking powder                                        3/4 C sugar

3 eggs 1 C oil                                                      

3 T poppy seeds                                           

1 1/2 C milk                                                       

1/4 C water                                                

2 tsp almond extract

2 tsp vanilla

Combine dry bread ingredients. Add remaining bread ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into 2 loaf pans that have been greased and floured. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pans for 20 minutes.

Combine glaze ingredients and pour over top of loaves. Let set for 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling rack.

Sweet and Savory Hawaiian Pork

I got this recipe at Sam's Club today. The lady that does samples made it and was giving out the recipe. It was really good. The recipe looks like it makes a ton, (she had it in one of those big giant roasters like they have at church, to keep it warm) so you may want to cut it in half. I am going to make it next week.

4-5 Lbs. cooked shredded pork
4-5 mixed colored bell peppers (cut in 1 inch chunks)
2 sweet onions (cut in 1 inch chunks)
1 can pineapple chunks or tidbits
3-4 cups Yoshida's Original Sweet and Savory Sauce ($5.69 at Sam's for a big bottle)
Optional
1 fresh lemon, juiced
1 fresh lime, juiced

Rice

Slow cook pork until tender. Shred and set aside.

Saute in frying pan - bell peppers, onion, pineapple with juice, Yoshida sauce, lemon and lime juice.

Mix Gently with shredded pork and serve over rice.

Very tasty!

Best Bread Recipe

I love this bread! I love it more because I don't have to knead it.

Into the Kitchen Aid mixer (with the dough hook attachment):
2 3/4 c. warm water
2 Tbl. yeast
2 TB sugar
Let it sit for 5 minutes to let the yeast do it's thing. 
Then Add:
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. honey
1/4 loosely packed brown sugar
1 Tbl. salt
1 1/2 Tbl. lecithin (liquid) – I've left this out, but it's better not to.
7 - 7 1/2 c. whole wheat flour (add flour until sides of the bowl are clean.**

Knead for 9 minutes in Kitchen Aid. Remove bowl, cover and let rise 1 hour. Scrape down the sides and turn onto oiled counter.
Cut dough in half with sharp knife. Form into loaves and place in greased pans. Allow dough to rise 1 inch above bread pan.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.
**I've also used half wheat flour & half white flour and it's delicious.

Coconut Cream Pie --aka The Best Pie I've Ever Eaten

1 1/2 c. half-and-half

1 1/2 c. coconut milk (a little less than 1 can)

2 eggs

3/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. corn starch

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. flaked coconut, toasted

1 tsp coconut (or vanilla) extract

1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked

Topping:

1 small carton whipping cream (the kind you have to whip yourself, not cool whip)

1/4-1/2 c. powdered sugar (to taste)

1 tsp. coconut extract

In a medium saucepan, combine half-and-half, coconut milk, eggs, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Bring to a boil over LOW heat (using a double-boiler works best), whisking constantly. When it starts to boil a little bit and thickens up to about the consistency of a thick pudding (this takes about 15-20 minutes so BE PATIENT), remove from heat. Stir in 3/4 cup of the coconut and the coconut (or vanilla) extract. Pour into pie shell and chill for 2 to 4 hours, or until firm.

While pie is cooling, whip together topping ingredients with electric beaters. When pie is completely cooled, top with whipped topping and sprinkle on remaining toasted coconut.

This recipe came from Favorite Family Recipes.

Ritzy Chicken Casserole

4-5 chicken breasts (cooked and chopped)
3 c. cooked rice
2 cans cream of chicken
1 c sour cream

1/3c. butter or margarine, melted
1 sleeve Ritz Crackers, crushed

Mix together the first 4 ingredients and put into greased 13x9 pan. Drizzle with melted butter. Top with crushed crackers.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 25 minutes.

Spaghetti Pie

1 lb ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
4 T butter or margarine, melted
4 eggs, beaten
16 oz spaghetti noodles
1 1/2c. shredded mozzarella

Brown hamburger and add spaghetti sauce. Let this simmer while you cook and drain the noodles.
In large glass or metal bowl mix hot noodles with beaten eggs and melted butter; stir to coat.
Place noodle mixture in greased 13x9 pan.
Spoon meat sauce over top.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Top with shredded mozzarella and continue baking until cheese is melted.

Pizza Crust

1 c. warm water
1 T yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 T oil
3 c. flour

Combine water and yeast. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add salt, sugar and oil. Then add flour.
Mix well; let rest 5 min.
Spread out on pizza pan or make individual pizzas.
Spread with sauce and toppings.
Bake at 400 for 20 min. (12 min for individual pizzas)

Tip: I bake the pizza for 10 minutes before I add the cheese, then I put it back in the oven for the rest of the baking time.

Apple Cinnamon Pancake Mix

3c. flour
4 tsp cinnamon
2 1/4 Tbl sugar
2 Tbl baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4c. dried apple pieces, broken up

Mix all ingredients until well blended.
Will store for up to six months.


Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
1 1/3c. Apple Cinnamon Pancake Mix
3/4c. milk
1 egg
2 Tbl vegetable oil

In medium bowl, combine milk, egg and vegetable oil. Whisk in Apple Cinnamon Pancake mix until moistened but still lumpy. (At this point, I let it stand for 3-5 minutes so the apples can soften a little.)
Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium high heat. Pour batter, 1/4c at a time, onto the prepared griddle. Cook on both sides until golden brown, flipping when the surface begins to bubble.

Makes 5 servings

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

8oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2c. butter, softened
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3/4c. powdered sugar
2 Tbl brown sugar, packed
3/4c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Blend until fluffy. Add sugars and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Shape dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Serve with sugar cookies, vanilla wafers and graham cracker sticks.

Mandarin Cookie Salad

2 cups cold buttermilk
1 (5.1 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (12 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 (11 0z each) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 (11.5 oz) package fudge striped shortbread cookies, coarsely crushed

In a bowl, whisk the buttermilk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in whipped topping and oranges. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Fold in crushed cookies.

Chicken and Corn Chowder

1 can cream of corn
1 can regular corn
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups diced chicken
5-6 potatoes diced
2 bay leaves
1 small diced onion
Salt and Pepper
garlic powder (to taste)

Put in crock pot on low and cook for 6 hours until potatoes are soft.
Remove bay leaves and serve in bowls over a scoop of cooked rice.

Baked Potato Soup

2/3 C butter
2/3 C flour
1 cup sour cream
3/4 tsp salt
7 c milk
1/2 tsp pepper
4 green onions, sliced
6-12 bacon sliced, cooked & crumbled
2 cups frozen corn (optional, but I like it)
1 ¼ cup shredded cheddar
4-5 large baked potatoes, cooled, peeled and cubed (I boil them instead, it's faster.)

In a large soup kettle, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk. Heat and stir constantly until thickened. Add potatoes, green onions, and bacon (and corn). Reduce heat; simmer 5 to 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve.
Serves 8 to 10.

Mexican Casserole {Aunt Jeri's}

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 can olives, sliced
1 16oz container sour cream
1 16oz container cottage cheese
1 4oz can green chilies
2 C grated colby jack cheese
Tortilla chips

Brown beef and onion, drain. Add tomato sauce, garlic salt and olives. simmer for a few minutes.
in a medium bowl combine sour cream, cottage cheese and green chilies and set aside.
Crush chips
In a greased 13x9, layer...
Crushed chips - meat mixture - cottage cheese mixture - colby jack cheese - top with more crushed chips
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes

Hominy Casserole from Pioneer Woman

8 slices thick bacon

1 large onion, finely diced

4 14.5-ounce cans white hominy, drained

2 4-ounce cans diced green chilies

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 seeded, finely diced fresh jalapeno (optional, for heat. I left it out)

(Save some cheddar, bacon, and chilies for sprinkling.)

Preheat to 350. Fry the bacon until almost crisp; remove from skillet and drain all but a couple of tablespoons bacon grease. Crumble the bacon and set aside.Add onion to skillet and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour in hominy and stir for a couple of minute until warm. Add cheese, chilies, jalapenos (if using), and bacon and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.Pour mixture into a large baking pan and sprinkle with a little more cheese, bacon, and green chilies, if desired.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until hot and heated through.

*My changes to this recipe: I used precooked bacon, which wasn't thick, so I doubled the bacon slices (& microwaved them). I used dried onion in a little canola oil. And I used medium cheddar. It's also easy to halve this recipe in an 8 x 8 pan.

CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

1/4 C butter
3 C fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 C flour
1 3/4 C chicken broth
1 1/4 C milk
2 1/2 C chopped cooked chicken
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 C steamed broccoli
1/2 C parmesan cheese
Hot cooked spaghetti noodles

In skillet melt butter, add mushrooms and cook until tender. Stir in flour. Gradually add mik and broth stirring constantly until smooth. Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens, stirring often. Add garlic salt, pepper, chicken and broccoli. Heat through. Stir in parmesan cheese and serve over hot cooked pasta.

I've made this with and without broccoli. Either way is good!

Delicous Brownie Krispies

1 box brownie mix + ingredients to make them. I used Western Family original.
4 cups mini marshmallows
1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup creamy Peanut Butter
3 TBS butter
2 cups Rice Krispie type cereal
Bake brownies according to package directions in a greased 9×13″ baking pan. Two minutes before they are supposed to be done, pull brownies from the oven and sprinkle marshmallows across top. Return to oven for 2 minutes to soften marshmallows. Remove from oven and cool completely.
For Topping: combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a bowl. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds at a time until mixture is melted and smooth. Add cereal and stir to coat. Pour over marshmallow layer and spread evenly. Place brownies in the refrigerator for at least an hour until chilled.

Brown Paper Bag Microwave Caramel Popcorn

4 bags microwave butter popcorn

2 cups brown sugar
2 cubes butter (1 cup)
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
BIG brown paper bag (like the ones they bag your groceries in at Harmon's)

Pop popcorn, discard any unpopped kernels and dump popcorn into brown paper bag, set aside
In a 2 qt microwavable glass dish combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Heat for 3 minutes in the microwave. Stir. Microwave for another 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir in baking soda. Pour hot syrup over popcorn in bag. shake or stir to coat. fold down the top of the bag and place it in the microwave for 1 min. Shake and microwave again for 1 min. Pour onto cookie sheets lined with wax paper to cool and set. Store in airtight container.

This is such an easy recipe and one that you can have the kids help with!

PUMPKIN CAKE

2 cups  flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
4 eggs
1 15oz can of pumpkin
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 recipe cream cheese frosting

In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt: set aside.
In a large mixing bowl beat together eggs, pumpkin, sugar and oil. Add the flour mixture; beat until well combined.

Spread batter in an ungreased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost with cream cheese frosting. (recipe below)  Store in refrigerator. Serves 20

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
In a medium bowl beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla till fluffy. Gradually add  powdered sugar, beat until smooth.

This recipe came from Erin. It's so good and makes a ton!

Hawaiian Haystacks

I got this recipe from Susan V. she made it for Sunday dinner last week. The sauce is what makes it different and good.


Hawaiian Haystacks
Base:
Rice
Crunchy Chow Mien Noodles

Toppings:
Cooked and cutup chicken
shredded cheese
pineapple tidbits
cubed ham
celery
tomatoes
green peppers
olives
green onion
coconut
almonds
etc.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Mix
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic
1/s tsp. ginger
2 Tbl. cornstarch
then add:
1/2 C vinegar (apple-cider vinegar or white)
1/3 C pineapple juice (use the juice from the can of pineapple tidbits) (tidbits is a weird word)
1/3 C water
2 tsp. soy sauce

Heat until thickened (you can do it in the microwave for 4-5 minutes)

You can put the cooked cut up chicken right into the sweet and sour sauce and then just served that over the top of rice and then everyone can put on whatever other toppings they like. It was delicious!

Bon Bons

1 pkg Oreos
1 brick Cream Cheese
Almond Bark (white)

Finely crush Oreo cookies and combine with cream cheese. It's easiest to just mix it with your hands. Shape into 1" balls and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Melt almond bark according to pkg directions. Dip each ball and coat completely. Place on cookie sheet covered with waxed paper and let set in fridge. This only takes about 8 minutes for it to harden. Store in airtight container in the fridge.
You can also color the almond bark with colored melting chips. Don't use food coloring. It hardens the almond bark too quickly.
Easy and so yummy. Very rich!!

Black Bean Mexican Casserole

This is a recipe from Fly Lady that I got from Vennesa. I added the green chilies cause my family loves them.
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp cumin
2 T taco seasoning
1 tsp chili powder
1 can diced green chilies
2 c. water
2 C crushed tortilla chips
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Brown beef and onion, drain fat. Add beans, tomato sauce, cumin, taco seasoning, chili powder, green chilies and water. Let simmer for ten minutes. (It will be runny)Remove from heat. Fold in chips and 1 cup of cheese. Pour into 13x9 pan and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream.

Chicken and Chili's Casserole

4 chicken breast halves (boiled and shredded)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cans diced green chili's (4 oz each)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 c. milk
salt and pepper
flour tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese

Combine chicken, sour cream, cottage cheese, green chili's, garlic, milk,salt and pepper.
In a 13 x 9, layer like a lasagna. . .little bit of chicken mixture, tortillas, cheese. Repeat three times using most of the chicken mixture in the center layer. I skipped the top layer of tortillas and went straight to the chicken mixture and cheese to top it off.
Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Remove foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Veggie Noodle Bowl

3 zucchinis
3 carrots
4 green onions
small bunch of broccoli
3-4 celery stalks
1/2 Cup chicken broth
5 Tbls. Soy Sauce
Hot cooked spaghetti noddles
Veri Veri Terriyaki sauce

Chop all the veggies into bite size pieces and put them in a microwave safe bowl. (the Pampered Chef Micro cooker works best!!) Combine chicken broth and soy sauce and pour over veggies. Using your "fresh veggies" button, microwave them till their crisp tender. Drain off excess liquid.
Toss the hot cooked spaghetti noodles with 1/2 - 3/4 cup of Veri Veri Terriyaki sauce. Serve the veggies over the noodles. I like to add more sauce too.I love it! You can get it at Harmons for around $3. I'm sure other grocery stores have it too.

YUMMY CHOCOLATE CAKE & FROSTING

3 c. flour
4 T. cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
2 c. water
2 T. vinegar
3/4 c. oil
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt until combined. Set aside
In a large bowl mix sugar, water, vinegar, oil and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture and stir until smooth.
Pour mixture into a cake pan that's been greased and floured. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

FROSTING
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. cocoa powder
3 c. powdered sugar
3 T. milk (approx.)
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix butter, cocoa powder, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Add milk slowly until it reaches desired thickness, working lumps out as you stir.

*This recipe is egg, nut and soy free*

HONEY MUSTARD PEPPER PORK

8-10 boneless pork spare ribs
1 can sprite
3/4 C honey
4 T Sweet Hot Mustard
1 T black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Place ribs in crock and pour the sprite on top. Combine the rest of the ingredients together and pour over ribs. Cook on high 4 1/2 hours or low 7 hours.
I made this recipe up tonight cause I can't stand to see the Hickory Farms Sweet Hot Mustard go to waste. I always have half a bottle left over after the Holidays. Turned out pretty yummy!