Chicken Corn Chowder

This is so good.

5 bacon slices, chopped
2 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in 1/2" pieces
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
3-4 tbsp. flour
6 cups chicken broth
3 1/2 cups peeled potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. thyme
1 (16 oz.) bag of frozen corn
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups half and half
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 or 2 cans (4 oz.) chopped green chiles
1/4 tsp. tabasco sauce, or more to taste


Cook bacon in large pot until crisp.  Transfer to paper towels to drain; crumble and reserve for later.  Remove all but 1/4 cup drippings.  Add butter and melt over medium high heat.  Add onions, garlic, chicken, and pepperes; saute until onions are soft and chicken is golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Add flour; stir and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
Whisk in broth, then add potatoes, cumin and thyme; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
Add bacon, corn, beans, half and half, cheese, green chiles and tabasco; simmer for about 8 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

2 lb. ground beef
1 cup rolled oats
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 1 /4 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
1 1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce


Combine ground beef, oats, eggs, onion, salt, pepper, 1 1 /2 tsp. worcestershire sauce and milk.  Form into balls.  Place in a casserole dish in a single layer.  In a bowl, combine brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, barbecue sauce and 2 tsp. worcestershire sauce; pour over meatballs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Recipe from Worldwide Ward Cookbook

Chicken Marsala

This is so good and so EASY!!!  Everyone of us LOVED IT.

1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine (I used cooking Marsala)
1/4 cup cooking sherry (I used red wine, JUST KIDDING)

In a shallow dish, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano.  Coat the chicken pieces in flour mixture.

In a large skillet, melt butter.   in oil over medium heat.  Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown.  Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms.  Pour in wine and sherry  Cover skillet; simmer for 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink.

That's it!!!  Easy peasy!!!!

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.

German Apple Fritters

Delicious.


4-5 medium apples, peeled and cored
2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp. oil
dash of salt
1 cup milk
oil for frying
cinnamon sugar mixture

Slice apples into 1/4 slices.  Blend flour, baking powder, sugar, egg, 2 tbsp. oil, salt and milk.  Batter should be smooth and of good dropping consistency; add more milk if necessary.  Dip apple slices into batter and put into a skillet with 1/2 inch or more of hot oil.  Fry fritters quickly until golden brown on both sides; remove from oil and drain.  While still hot, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.  (I also sprinkled with powdered sugar).  Serve hot or cold.

Recipe from Worldwide Ward Cookbook

Cowboy Cookies

This is awesome.  I feel really guilty about the shortening part, so I threw in a tablespoon of flaxseed to make myself feel better.  (I know that doesn't make up for it, but come on!!)

1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tbsp. ground flaxseed
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking power
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream the shortening, brown and white sugars until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix well.  Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and flaxseed together.  Mix into batter.  Stir in oats, coconut and chocolate chips.  I guess if you're a freak you could also add nuts.  Spoon onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Super Easy Beef Stew

I've been on the look out for crock pot recipes to make things easier on Sundays so I tried this recipe last week.  It was good!!!  I think next time I will add more vegetables though.  You can't beat an easy, yummy dinner!!

Ingredients:

3 pounds Beef Chuck Shoulder Roast
2 whole Large Russett Potatoes, Peeled And Cubed To 3/4"
8 ounces, weight Baby Carrots, Cut In Half
1 can (10.5 Oz) Condensed French Onion Soup
1 can (10.5 Oz) Condensed Beef Consomme
1 can (10.5 Oz) Condensed Tomato Soup
3 cups Water, Divided
2 whole Bay Leaves
¼ teaspoons Granulated Garlic
1 teaspoon Black Pepper, Ground Fresh
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
4 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour, Divided
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
2 teaspoons Garlic Salt

Trim all the excess fat from the beef and cut into 1″ cubes.  Season the beef with the garlic salt and coat with 2 tablespoons flour. H eat the canola oil in a large heavy saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the beef to the pan and quickly brown on all sides. (If necessary, brown the beef in batches to avoid over-crowding the pan.)  While the beef is browning, preheat your slow cooker to high heat.  Add all three soups, garlic, pepper, bay leaves, and the Worcestershire to the slow cooker.  Add the browned beef to the slow cooker and deglaze the pan with 2 1/2 cups water.  Add the deglazing water to the slow cooker, cover, and cook for two hours on high.  Add the carrots and potatoes to the slow cooker and stir to combine.  Cook for another hour on high.  Combine 2 tablespoons flour and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl and whisk with a fork until it forms a smooth slurry.  Add the flour and water slurry to the slow cooker, stir well, and cook for another 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pumpkin Crisp

Confession:  I hate pumpkin pie.  BUT!!!  I  love love love crisps of any kind.  This is so good, mostly because it isn't like pumpkin pie at all, which is good, because I hate pumpkin pie.  Did I say that already?  Because I do, I really hate it.

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
3 eggs
1 can pumpkin
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 brown sugar
1 stick butter

Remove one cup from the cake mix for later use.  Mix the remaining cake mix, melted butter and 1 egg in bowl.  Pat into the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan.
In another bowl, mix together the pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, white sugar, milk and spices.  Pour over the cake mix mixture.
Combine remaining cake mix, brown sugar and butter in a bowl until crumbly.  Crumble in small pieces on top of pumpkin mixture.  Bake in a 350 oven for 55 minutes.
Serve with whipped cream or better yet, VANILLA ICE CREAM.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This is DELICIOUS.  And easy.  Perfect!!!

1/2 cup butter
1 onion, minced
1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
4 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth
1 (1 lb.) loaf processed cheese (velveeta), cubed
2 cups milk
1 tbsp. garlic powder
2/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup water


Directions:

In a stockpot, melt butter over medium heat.  Cook onion in butter until softened.  Stir in broccoli, and cover with chicken broth.  Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.  Reduce heat, and stir in cheese cubes until melted.  Mix in milk and garlic powder.  In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into water until dissolved.  Stir into soup; cook, stirring frequently until thick.


Recipe from Allrecipes.

Banana Bread Muffins

This has been my go to banana bread recipe for about 5 years now. I know there are better banana bread recipes (MOM'S!!) but I really like this one a lot; I don't feel bad about serving it to my kids!!

Ingredients:

8 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup applesauce
4 eggs
4 tbsp. skim milk
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 6)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1 /2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. flax seed
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, applesauce, eggs, milk and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Add bananas and blend at low speed; beat at high speed 1 to 2 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine flours, flax seed, baking soda and powder and salt; mix into batter. Add chocolate chips. Pour batter into muffin tins.
Bake at 350 for 18 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen muffins.

Spinach and Bacon Frittata

This recipe is from the latest Everyday Food and it is FANTASTIC!!! I was going to make it without the bacon to have a meatless meal, but who am I kidding? This is bacon we're talking about here. I can't read the word bacon as an ingredient and not add it, it just wouldn't be right. The kids LOVED this and wanted me to make more, like NOW, but I didn't have any more ricotta.


Ingredients:

6 large eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
coarse salt and ground pepper
5 strips bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 boiled potatoes
spinach leaves

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan, 1 tsp. salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a medium nonstick ovenproof skillet, cook bacon over medium high head until crisp. Drain all but 1 tsp. of fat from pan. Add potatoes and cook until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach and toss until barely wilted, about 30 seconds.
Add egg mixture and stir until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until center is set, about 15 minutes (20 for me.)

Here's what I did different to make it faster; I used the realbacon bits things instead of frying bacon, just a tablespoon or so and I used about a cup of frozen hash browns instead of the potatoes. I was thinking convenience and time savings. This takes about 5 minutes to put together and 20 in the oven, so it's a really quick meal. AND DELICIOUS!!!

Recipe from Everyday Food Magazine.

Santa Fe Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

4 breasts of chicken, cooked then sliced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped small
1 15oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ear of corn, kernels cut off (or cup of frozen corn)
1 tomato, chopped
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup red onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup jack cheese
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 small jicama, diced
lemon pepper
crushed tortilla chips
Buttermilk Salsa Dressing

Heat oil in skillet, add chicken. Sprinkle with lemon pepper. Cook each side about 7 minutes or until done. Cool, then slice. Combine all salad ingredients. For salad dressing, add one envelope ranch mix with mayo and milk per directions into a blender. Add fresh salsa to taste.

Zucchini Bread

I've been trying a lot of zucchini bread recipes lately and so far I like this one the best.

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 tsp. vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini

Grease and flour two 8X4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan until completely cool.


Recipe from Allrecipes.

Salad de Maison

Thank you Tina Daines for this DELICIOUS salad recipe!


Ingredients:

Dressing:

1 fresh lemon, squeezed (or 3 tbsp.)
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Refrigerate dressing for 3 hours before serving.


Salad:

1 head romaine lettuce
1 lb. bacon, crispy and chopped (I use 1/4 of the real bacon bits, less calories)
1 1 /2 cup finely grated swiss cheese
3/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/3 cup parmesan
1 cup croutons
1/2 cup craisins

Optional: 2 grilled, diced chicken breasts


Pour dressing over salad right before serving.