Pumpkin Muffins

I was asked to make these for teacher appreciation this week.

IF I had to make them again (for myself) I would leave the chocolate chips out (I'm not a huge chocolate fan -- go figure).

3 cups flour,
2 tsp baking powder,
2 tsp baking soda,
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Stir these together

In mixer beat

1 16 ounce can pumpkin

2 cups sugar

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups veg oil

Add to dry ingredients just until mixed an stir in 2 cups choc chips.

Divide into muffin cups. Bake 400 for16-20 minutes. Makes 2-3 dozen muffins.
Minutes.

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

I gained 5 pounds reading this recipe...

Walnut Cilantro Pesto

Antique Mommy is at it again!

This looks like a pesto I could actually make -- since I do know how to operate a food processor!

And, since I LOVE me some cilantro, I do plan on trying it.

Passing it along.

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup

A yummy favorite at my house, this is like queso with some chicken chunks thrown in -- and just that nutritious!

4 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can Ro-Tel
1 pint half and half

1 pint milk

1 small pkg. Velveeta

3 chicken breasts, cooked, diced

salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin to taste

avocados and tortilla chips for serving

Melt Velveeta in microwave. Combine all other ingredients until warm, not boiling. (It's VERY easy to burn the milk on the bottom of the pan -- take your time with this soup). Great in a Crock-Pot on low. Serve over tortilla chips and/or avocado.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

Saw this from one blog to the other... Here is where I first saw it posted.

"2 Sticks Softened Butter

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 Cup Honey

2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Using the whisk attachment in your mixer, blend all ingredients until it is smooth and has an even consistency. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the mixer with a rubber spatula to ensure even mixing. Scoop all of it into a Ziploc bag and pipe it into the small quilted Ball jars. You don't have to use the plastic bag but it helped me from getting it all over the place and seemed to make clean up a cinch."

Sounds VERY yummy!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Got this when I made a plea for what to do with leftover Rotisserie chicken. Obviously, the amounts are not exact for veggies, etc. but cook to your family's likes and dislikes.

Chicken

package of Wild Rice (cooked)

Carrots

Celery

Onions

4 c. chicken broth

1 can condensed milk

Saute' vegetables, combine all ingredients. Simmer.

Paninis

Someone suggested paninis for my 'what to do with rotisserie chicken' question.

Paninis are a favorite around here, though I confess that I forget about them from time to time. One of our favorites is like so:

Chicken cut into bite size pieces

(if it isn't already cooked, cook it with pesto sauce)

Basil pesto sauce -- mix with cooked chicken -- a tablespoon or two.

Sliced red bell peppers

Grated monterrey jack cheese

Sliced sourdough bread

It helps to soften the red bell peppers (cook with chicken) but not necessary.

Mix chicken with pesto, put on bread with bell peppers and cheese and grill like a panini. Simple, yummy.

Rotisserie Chicken, a dozen ways

So, today I have a leftover Rotisserie chicken. Yes, a whole one. Sam's sells them for $5, so I always buy 2. I usually use the 2nd one for chicken salad for sandwiches, but wasn't in a chicken salad mood (AND had nothing planned for dinner tonight so I needed it anyway). I posed the question on facebook: What should I do for dinner with leftover rotisserie chicken. Holy cow. Got quite a response. I will link to a recipe if I have one!

• Chicken Spaghetti
• Tortilla Soup
• Quesadillas
• Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas (okay, who am I? Betty Crocker? What the heck?)
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken salad
• Fettucini Alfredo
• Chicks-in-a-blanket (I made that name up -- chicken w/ grated cheese wrapped in crescent rolls cooked according to directions)
• Etouffe' (again... Betty Crocker? What?)
• Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
• Chicken Tacos
• Chicken and Dumplings
• Fajitas
• Paninis

So, what are you waiting for? Get cooking!

Tortilla Soup II

SuperMom already posted one Tortilla Soup recipe. Mine is a hair different (minus the hair, though I was served Tortilla Soup with hair in it at a very fancy local restaurant when my husband came here to interview for his job, though that is an entirely different story).

Start your can opener:

2 cans cooked chicken or 4 cooked chicken breasts
2 cans chicken broth
1 can Ro-Tel
1 can Whole Kernel corn, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Ranch Style Beans
1 can Enchilada sauce
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Combine and heat (hello, Crock Pot). Serve with grated cheese, tortilla chips, avocado slices, and sour cream. And... if you are really feeling fancy, jalapeno cornbread muffins.

Updated so that I will remember this next time: Sarah, a double recipe of this does NOT fit in your 6 qt. crock pot. Here is what you do: pour everything except the chicken into the lg. crock pot. Cook the chicken (frozen as it can be) in smaller crock pot. Pause to give thanks for crock-pot liners. Once chicken is cooked and after soup has cooked a while, ladle some of the soup into smaller crock pot while you dice chicken. Divide chicken between two crock-pots.

Baked Potato Soup

This is my absolute favorite type of potato soup, VERY easy to do once you have 3 baked potatoes. (If you don't, that is why God invented microwaves -- they can be baking while you do the rest of this stuff...)

Brown together:

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour

Slowly add:

2 1/2 c. milk

Add 2 cans chicken broth (I make one of them Roasted Garlic chicken broth)

Simmer until thick -- 15-25 minutes.

Stir in 3 diced baked potatoes.

Serve with cheese and bacon bits.

Cobbler Recipe

Antique Mommy posted what looks like an awesome cobbler recipe.

Wanted a place to remember it!

Easy Special Sandwiches

I saw that my friend Judy had shared this recipe with someone on Facebook.

Totally ripped it off and slapped it up here on the blog!

Remind me that it's here (why, oh why, did the font just get smaller and I can't do a darn thing about it? Blogger makes me cuckoo!) Won't this be great with soups in winter and fall?

24 rolls (I like the Hawaiian brand)

deli meat of choice – I use three different kinds
cheese of choice

Marinade
½ stick melted butter
1/4t Worcestershire
1/4t poppy seeds
3/4t dry mustard
1 1/2t dry minced onion

Cut rolls in half, making a top and a bottom, like a sandwich
Place bottoms in 9x13 pan
Layer with your selection of meats and cheeses
Place the tops on each one
Prepare Marinade
Pour marinade over sandwiches
Refrigerate 2 hrs or overnight
Bake @ 350 for 15 minutes
Slice rolls apart & Enjoy!

Tammy's Cornbread Recipe

One type of food that I never really ate before moving to Texas was cornbread. And let me just tell you there are many different ways to make it. I have taken some of my Nana's tricks, along with a delicious recipe from my MIL and tweaked it into my own.

Tammy's Cornbread Recipe

To make it taste as good as it possibly can, a cast iron skillet is a must have. I use my 11 or 12" skillet.

2 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix - I use Jiffy because my Nana used Jiffy which makes it the best. But she used it because it is a sweet cornbread mix.

Add 2/3 Cups Milk
2 eggs
1 small can creamed corn
1 small can corn niblets
1-2 cups of grated cheese (cheddar or colby jack)
1/2 cup chopped jalepeno's, or chopped green chille, or chopped green onion

Mix all up together. Let this mixture set for a couple of minutes to rest.

In the meantime put about 2 tablespoons real butter in your cast iron skillet and put it in your 425 degree preaheated oven. You will want to double check that temp. with what the Jiffy Box says and go with the box.

Once butter is melted take cast iron skillet out of oven and pour rested batter in skillet. Put back in oven and cook until brown on top. Takes about 20-25 minutes. Once brown then pull out of the oven and serve with warm butter, or as Paula Dean calls is Buttuh.

In Texas we serve cornbread with bar-b-que, soup, stews, black eyed peas, a bowl of beans.....

Some older folks might even pour milk over it in the morning and make cornmush, but I haven't fallen in love with it that much yet!

Laundry Detergent

I've actually taken to making my own laundry detergent. Yada, yada, environmentally-safe. More importantly, it's CHEAP!

Found the recipe here and wanted to put it somewhere I could find it!

So... that link is currently broken (gone?) so here is the recipe as I remember it:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Arm and Hammer WASHING (not Baking) Soda
1 Bar Laundry Soap, grated (I use Fals-Neptha)
1/4 cup "laundry booster" (optional) (Oxi-Clean)

Some of my thoughts/ notes:

Go ahead and buy several bars of the Fals-Neptha soap. Drug Emporium is the only place I have found them. I make a triple batch every time I make it. Also, USE THE CUISINART to grate the soap. I did it the 'old fashioned way' one time. Awful and do not recommend that.

So far, I've made 7 batches of this, for a total of about $12. (Still have some Borax left, but the 'laundry booster' will only make it 7 batches). That is lasting me about half-again as long as a $18 box of Tide. It's a little bit of a mess to make, but worth it to me!

Purple Chicken

I think this has some other name -- citrus chicken, maybe -- but at my house we call it purple chicken because the chicken comes out ACU purple! We feel very wildcat-ish when we eat it... :-)
Everyone in my family LOVES this chicken -- it just has a very good flavor. AND... it's VERY healthy! Those two things rarely combine at my house!

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup red wine (you can use red wine vinegar, but I don't recommend it)
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice (I use concentrate)
grated orange peel
grated lemon peel
2 TBSP. cilantro (I use fresh -- my favorite ingredient ever!)
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Marinate at least two hours (I usually try to marinate overnight -- also enhances the purple-ness... :-). Bake at 375* for 30-45 minutes, brushing with marinade every 10-15 minutes. (I add cilantro leaves on top when I put it in the oven).

Spaghetti in Muffin Cups

If I re-printed the recipe here, you would think it was mine. And it SO isn't.

So go here, and see a fabulous (and EASY) way to make plain ol' spaghetti seem like a big deal!

Salsa

This recipe was given to me by a precious friend from Temple. It's becoming one of the precious few (if not the only) things I am quasi-known for around Abilene! People LOVE my hot sauce! Sadly, my 'quality control' is a little 'if-fy' and I NEVER KNOW how hot it's going to be. So, roll your dice...:

1 lg. (28 oz.) can tomatoes (diced, crushed, or whole – whatever’s cheapest!)
cilantro (I like to use a LOT – 1 bunch if there is plenty, 2 bunches if small)
½ medium onion
1 or 2 jalapenos

Blend together in blender. Pour into saucepan. Add:
1 TBSP. salt
½ TBSP. cumin
½ TBSP. garlic powder
1 TBSP. veg. oil

Mix together. Heat over med./low heat until just beginning to boil. (It starts as an almost green color because of the cilantro – as it heats, it turns a rich red color. This is how I judge when it’s done). Enjoy and share with many others!
“Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13

Mexican Cornbread the Simple Way

So the other night I was craving some Mexican Cornbread. I have fond memories of eating it at my grandmother's house. She made it oh.so.yummy!

Anyway, my family prefers something a little less spicy than the original recipe, so I have been working to figure out what I can do to make it yummy, easy, and not spicy. I also prefer for the cornbread to be somewhat on top instead of having the meat and veggies all mixed in to the bread mix. This is what I came up with...

Brown 1 lb hamburger meat in the skillet
If you are daring, also brown a chopped onion with the meat :)

Once the meat is browned, pour in one can (drained well) of petite diced tomatoes, corn (drained well), and black beans (rinsed and drained well). Warm together.

Pour your meat/veggie mix into your dish (I used a 9x13). Add a sprinkling of grated cheese. Then, mix up your jiffy cornbread mix as directed on the box. (For a 9x13, I used 2 pkgs) Spread cornbread mix over top of veggie/meat/cheese. Bake as directed on cornbread box. At the last minute, sprinkle a little more grated cheese on top and pop it back into the oven for one or two more minutes until melted and yummy!

I suppose if you prefer your meals a bit more spiced up, you could always find a way to add in green chilies, or jalapenos, or you could use rotel instead of the diced tomatoes.

It is so good...possibly a little runny depending on how well you drained your veggies, but yummy nonetheless! We like to eat this with a little salsa and sour cream on top! My favorite is to have some lettuce, and then use the salsa/sour cream as my salad dressing.

I Am Unbelievably Lazy

This looks absolutely scrumptious, and a tad bit healthier/ lighter than most desserts.

Nathaniel's Frappachino Recipe

Nathaniel makes the BEST frappachino (sp?) ever! Give it a try....you'll be glad you did!

2 cups milk
4 teaspoons of hot cocoa mix
1 ice cube tray of frozen coffee
4 packets of Sweet-N-Low
(instead of the Sweet-N-Low, you can add 1/2 cup of Coconut Creamer...my favorite)

Blend well and serve! Yummy!