Strawberry Ice Pops

I lifted this from another Sarah's blog b/c I wanted to be able to find the recipe when I have strawberries!

2 pints fresh, ripe strawberries, hulled (cut out the stem and the surrounding white stuff)
1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate
8 wooden popsicle sticks
8 large dixie cups

Mash strawberries coarsely with a fork, or pulse briefly in a food processor, leaving some chunks. Stir in undiluted apple juice concentrate. Spoon into ice-pop molds or small cups and partially freeze; then push a wooden stick into each. Freeze for at least 6 hours. Unmold (dip mold or cup into warm water for a few seconds if needed) and serve. Makes 8 ice pops.

Easy "Beck" Chicken

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup, Healthy Request works great
1/2 soup can full of water
4-6 chicken breasts
1 or 2 cans of canned biscuits, baked

Place chicken breasts in crock pot, pour mixture of soup and 1/2 can of water over the top. Cover and cook. I use frozen chicken breasts, cook on low, and it takes about 8 hours. (Cook the chicken until it can be shredded with a fork) Take a fork and shred up the chicken in the crock pot and serve with the sauce over biscuits. Salt to taste.
This was so easy. My whole family liked it, I served it with veggies. You could mix stuff in, like veggies, and make it an all in one meal. Thanks to Jana Beck for this recipe, it's a household favorite.

White Chocolate Butterfinger Ice Cream

Remember my friend Laura, that makes up recipes while laying in bed at night?

by Laura
Here's a recipe I came up with in bed one night:

White Chocolate Butterfinger Ice Cream

2 cans Eagle Brand Condensed Milk
2 cans evaporated skim milk
2 boxes white chocolate pudding (I use sugar-free instant)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons vanilla (or vanilla rum)
5 eggs (optional)
6 Butterfinger bars, crushed
Milk, to fill

Mix first 6 ingredients. Cook if desired, then cool (this can be done the night before; I don't cook the mixture, therefore a fugitive from the egg police.) Add candy bars and pour into your ice cream maker. Fill to the line with milk and freeze according to your ice cream maker.

Tomato Basil Soup

I was asked to post this from Monday night's Bunco:

Rich and Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
8 tomatoes- peeled, seeded, and diced
8 c. tomato juice
28 leaves fresh basil
2 c. heavy cream
1/2 lb. butter
salt and pepper to taste

Combine tomatoes and juice in stock pot. Simmer 30 min. Puree along wiht basil leaves in food processor. Return to stock pot, add cream, butter, salt and pepper. Serves 10

Susan changed the recipe somehow- If you heard her say how, post it in the comment section

Tortilla Soup

Another current favorite! And so, so easy.

1 can cooked chicken or a couple of cooked chicken breasts (leftover chicken without skin works great!)
1 can corn, drained
1 can Ro-Tel
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
onion powder to taste
salt to taste
2 cloves minced garlic
chicken broth
Monterey Jack cheese
tortilla chips

Combine all ingredients except broth and cheese and heat while mixing well. Once ingredients are completely mixed, add chicken broth to achieve desired consistancy. Let simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of Monterey Jack cheese. Serve soup over crushed tortilla chips and top with additional cheese.

Simple Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is my current favorite. Sounds fancy, but very simple. My little picky eaters like it, too. I haven't had great luck getting the sauce to thicken up, but it tastes really good, so nobody seems to mind if it's a bit runny.

Simple Chicken Cordon Bleu

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 slices Swiss or Provolone cheese
4 thin slices smoked ham
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 tbs. butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
oregano, garlic, salt and pepper to taste

Pound chicken breast to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle each piece on both sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on each breast. Roll up each breast using toothpicks to secure if necessary. Dredge each in flour, shake off excess, then in egg and finally in bread crumbs. Place seam side down in baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Place 1 tablespoon butter on each piece of chicken. Bake at 350 degrees fro 35 minutes or until juices run clear (It's been my experience that it can take up to an hour to cook if you don't get the chicken thin enough). Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine broth and whipping cream; season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic and oregano. Simmer on low, stirring until thickened. Pour over chicken.

Chicken and Rice

by Tammy

1 box of Uncle Ben's Fast Cook Long Grain Rice
2 cups cooked diced chicken
1 can of golden mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of water.

Mix up uncooked rice, soup, water then mix in the chicken. Put in a 9x9 pan and cook for about 45 minutes at 350.

This is my absolute favorite chicken and rice recipe. I tweaked it from my 4 ingredient cook book. For my family I double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13 pan. Easy and very yummy.

Holidays are Here Again!

Got a great holiday recipe? Post it in the comments and I'll move it up front!

Starting us off, by request. . .

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Serves 12 (people that won't eat cheesecake, or 6 who will. Sarah's editorial)

1 1/4 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (crush about 20
cookies in a plastic bag with a rolling pin)
1/4 cup unsalted butter -- melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese -- softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
4 eggs
3/4 cup chilled whipping cream (need to whip it with
2 teaspoons sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the cookie crumbs and butter. Press
evenly on the bottom of a 9" spring form pan inches. Bake 10 minutes,
then let cool.

Reduce oven temp. to 300 degrees.

In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, the cinnamon and
ginger on medium speed until smooth. Add pumpkin puree. Now add in
the eggs, one at a time on low speed. Pour into the cookie crumb pie
shell.

Bake your cheesecake until center is firm, about 1 1/4 hours. Cool to
room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours. (but in
your case, you did it two days prior at least)

To loosen cheesecake from the sides of the pan, unbuckle the side and
carefully remove. Serve a dollop of whip cream on the cheesecake.

This recipe is to die for!

Lemon Pepper Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts
1/2 c. melted margarine
1/2 cup soy sauce
Lemon Pepper
Bake 350 degrees, covered1 hour
This comes from my 4 ingredient cookbook and it is so yummy. The sauce that the chicken cooks in tastes like the dipping sauce for lettuce wraps. We served it with rice and put some extra sauce on the rice too!

from Tammy

MawMaw's Spaghetti

by Anne Jones
Great Recipe...we call it "MawMaw's Spagetti" b/c my MawMaw always made it and we have no idea where the recipe originally came from.

In skillet, saute hamburger meat just like you would for spagetti.In a saucepan add 1/2 block of Velveeta cheese(chop it up so it will melt faster), 1 can cream of mushroom soup, and one can of tomato soup. I like to also add extra mushrooms, but not everyone likes mushrooms!
Heat until all melted and blended together.
Boil pasta, and add sause and meat! Voila!

Awesome MawMaw's spagetti! We love it, especially with toast instead of garlic bread! yeah, we are cheap! :)Enjoy!

Chicken and Rice

My family LOVED MawMaw's spaghetti!
Now here is one of our favorites and it freezes beautifully.
Chicken and Rice
2 (6.2-ounce) packages fast-cooking long-grain and wild rice mix
2 (10 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) package fresh mushroom slices
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
2/3 cup (reduced fat or no fat)Italian dressing
1 (8-ounce) container lite sour cream
Cook rice in a large saucepan according to package directions, using 2 cans chicken broth instead of water. Add mushrooms before the last 5 minutes. Stir in chicken, dressing, and sour cream; spoon into a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 10 minutes.
Robyn

Everything Sauce

I really don't have a name for this sauce, but it is so yummy we continue to invent things to put it on. Maybe pancakes! :-)

In a small saucepan over low heat, put:
1/2 stick butter
juice of 1 lemon (I use concentrate)
yolk of 1 egg

Heat and stir until butter is melted, then add:
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 stick butter

Stir until butter is melted and serve.

Yesterday we had baked salmon, angel hair pasta, and green peas. For the kids I made 3 little piles on their plates and poured the sauce over all of it. For Troy and I, I started with the pasta and piled the salmon and peas on.

I have also put this on top of an angel hair dish that I put grilled chicken strips and sautee'd (in garlic and butter, of course) spinach, peas, and mushrooms on. Add Faux Focaccia and you will think you're at the Macaroni Grill!

Fix It and Freeze It

Did you hear? I have a job that starts the same day that school starts. The only part of this working thing that fills me with dread is working all day and coming home and looking into their antsy, hungry little eyes asking, "What's for dinner?" (I like to answer, "We're having 'yuk, I hate that'" since that is the general reply I get). On very rare, on-the-ball moments for me I have been known to spend the better part of a Saturday cooking things to freeze for later. Let's post recipes that will freeze well. I like to do 'big doin's' cooking one day a week and double the recipe so that I can freeze part of it. I'll jump in with one that my whole family likes.

Constantly trying to expand my cooking horizons, I'm pretty much willing to try anything once. I found a new recipe that had lots of familiar ingredients and sounded good, but it also called for lentils. I purchased the lentils and prepared them as directed, and still have no idea what they are. Riley (7 yrs.) had helped me put them away the day before and we had been discussing the unknown origin of them. So, when I prepared the recipe I announced at the dinner table, "Riley, this has lentils in it." Ashley's (9 yrs.) reply was, "Ewwwwww -- did you get it from the washing machine?" Then we had a discussion that while I wasn't positive what lentils ARE, I know they AREN'T the same thing as LINT!

Penne Pasta

I didn't realize that I have already posted this recipe here. But on this post I will alter it for freezing. It is SO easy to make, and SO easy to double that I freeze half of the sauce and then only have to boil some noodles later.

I used to make this ALL the time -- super easy to throw together, and, yes, my kids actually eat zuchini AND red bell peppers in this! (Thrifty hint -- buy red bell peppers when they are on sale. Not on sale they can run up to $2/each! Keep them in the freezer, then just slice them frozen with a good knife)

1 pound Italian sausage
2 garlic clove, minced
1 large zuchini, diced
1 largered bell pepper, diced
1 c. mushrooms, sliced
1 c. frozen peas
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, Italian style
1/2 lb. penne pasta, prepared as directed
4 oz. sour cream

Brown sausage in large 10"-12" skillet. Add garlic clove, saute' for 30-60 seconds (I think the original recipe called for onions, too -- but we're not big on onions here). Add all other veggies and continue to saute' until 'crisp-tender', about 5 minutes. Add can of diced tomatoes, cover and simmer for 20 minutes (while this is simmering, you can be boiling your penne pasta). At this point I divide the sauce in half. I let one half cool and later pour into a gallon-size Ziploc bag. The other half I continue as follows: Stir in cooked pasta (at this point I have to transfer it all to the pasta pot, running out of room in my skillet) then the sour cream until hot. When you thaw and heat the sauce next time, you will (again) need 1/2 lb. penne pasta (I let the sauce heat in a skillet while the pasta boils) and the 4 oz. sour cream. Easy dish from the freezer -- no chopping this time!

Savory Summer Pie

Denise

Ok-Southen Living I like to use any fresh tomatoes not just plum

1 refrigerated pie crust
1 sm red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 purple onion, chopped
2 garlic clove, minced
2 T. olive oil
2 T. chopped basil
4 lg. eggs
1 C. half and half
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 C. (8 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack
1/3 C. shredded Parmesan cheese
3 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4 in slices

Put pie crust into 9-in deep dish pie pan; prick bottom and sides w/fork Bake at 450 for 10 min: set aside

Saute pepper, onion, and garlic in olive oil until tender and stir in basil

Whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients. Stir in veggies and chesses. Pour into crust and top w/tomatoes.

Bake at 375 for 45 to 50 min or until set. Shield the edges w/aluminum foil after 30 min to prevent over browning Let stand 5 min before serving

7/08/2005 9:53 AM

Poppy Seed Chicken

Denise Waldrop

I know you already make this but for the 1 person who doesn't...

2(or 3)chicken breasts, cooked and
cut into pieces
8 oz. light or fat-free sour cream
1 can fat-free cream of chicken soup
2(or 3) T. poppy seeds
1 sleeve buttery crackers, crushed(Ritz)
2 T. butter or margarine

combine sour cream, soup, and poppy seeds in a small baking dish. I use an 8 in square size.
Mix in Chicken and top w/crackers. Dot w/butter and bake at 350 for 30 min
Serve over rice. Even Abbie will eat it :)

7/08/2005 9:35 AM

Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie

Fast quick and easily made with reduced fat ingredients!

1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs


1. Heat oven to 400°F. Grease 9-inch pie plate. Cook beef and onion until beef is brown; drain. Spread in pie plate; sprinkle with salt and cheese.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients until blended. Pour into pie plate.
3. Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes.

Happy Eating
Robyn

6/29/2005 2:30 PM

Miss Patty's Peanut Butter Milk-Shake

Several scoops vanilla ice cream
1 cup plus more milk
2-3 Tbls. peanut butter, more to taste
optional chocolate syrup

Mix all ingredients in the blender, add milk until milkshake consistancy. If you want to add chocolate syrup you can add it in the blender or drizzle over the top of the shake.

This recipe was given to Jack from his speech therapist at Baylor. We made it and the kids all loved it, I made a second batch that same day.

from Tammy
6/10/2005 9:09 AM