Chicken Pot Pie

1 package frozen peas and carrots
1/3 cup margarine
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cup chicken broth (1 can) (I posted a recipe for your own broth as well)
2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked chicken
pastry for two crust pie

heat oven to 425 degrees.
melt margarine in saucepan over medium heat, stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper. stir constantly until it bubbles then remove from heat. stir in the broth and milk. return to heat and heat to boiling, for 1 minute. stir in the chicken, peas and carrots.
roll out 2/3 of the pastry for the bottom crust. put it in a 9x9 pan, add chicken mixture to the crust. roll out the remaining dough, cut into shapes and put on top of the pie. bake about 35 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Pie crust

one crust pie
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

two crust pie
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

use a pastry cutter to cut shortening into flour and salt. until it resembles coarse crumbs. sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all the flour is moistened. up to 2 tlbl of additional water can be added, depending on humidity. the dough should NOT get sticky.
gather it into a ball, or 2 if 2 crust pie, wrap in plastic wrap and form into a disc. I like to refrigerate the dough for up to a day. its easier to work with it when it has chilled.
roll it out and follow your pie recipe.

Fried Wontons

my kids love hamburger anything, so they loved these! we served them with fried rice.

1 package wontons

1 lb hamburger
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 tsp salt
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 egg

we cooked the veggies, then the hamburger, mixed it with the seasonings, and let it cool a bit and added the egg. then we stuffed the wontons with about a teaspoon filling each, formed them into triangles and fried them. be careful when filling them all to not let them dry out, you can just put a wet paper towel over them as you go. we served them with soy sauce for dipping and fried rice.

I let my kids put the filling in the wontons, they had fun, I did have to seal the edges of all of them when I fried them. they did a good job overall though, a fun way for them to help with dinner.

Lemon sauce

We love this sauce.

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoon corn starch
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoon stick margarine or butter

mix the sugar and cornstarch, add the water and cook over medium heat. stir constantly, until it thickens and boils. boil 1 min and remove from heat, add remaining ingredients. serve warm over angel food cake.

Angel Food Cake

This is from the Americas Test Kitchen Cookbook. I love everything I have baked from it, but have found its important to follow it exactly.


3/4 cup cake flour (can use 7/8 cup all purpose flour with 2 tbl cornstarch, but not quite same lift)
1 1/2 cup sugar
12 egg whites room temp
1 tea cream of tarter
1/4 tea salt
1 1/2 tea fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tea vanilla extract
1/2 tea almond extract (you can omit this if your allergy needs require it)

heat oven to 325 degrees, whisk the flour and 3/4 cup of the sugar together, and set aside. whip the egg whites in your mixer until foamy. then add the cream of tarter and salt until it forms soft billowy mounds. Increase speed to med and add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar one tablespoon at a time until the whites are shiny. and starts to form soft peaks. add the lemon juice and extracts.
slowly fold in the flour mixture, about 1/5 cup at a time. it should take 6 or 7 times to add and fold.
pour into angel food cake pan, and smooth. bake aprox 50 to 60 minutes. rotating the pan halfway through baking.
if your pan has legs, invert it. if it doesn't have legs, use a soda bottle in the hole of the pan to invert it while cooling. cool completely, 2 or 3 hrs.
run a knife around the edge and center to loosen the cake, and flip it onto a platter.


can be served with berries and cream, or lemon sauce. (see other post)

Shar's Monkey Bread

We hadn't had this until we visited our friends in New Jersey this year. I know some of you have probably made it but I told Sarah I'd send her the recipe. We didn't put nuts or raisins in ours and I found this on www.allrecipes.com

Monkey Bread

3 (12 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 or 10 inch tube/Bundt® pan.
Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan. If using nuts and raisins, arrange them in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along.
In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Do not cut! The bread just pulls apart.

Shar's Cake Balls

Thanks Shar for sending this one through. She found it on a Dave Ramsey Forum. YUM!! I've also seen where they use a sucker stick to attach the ball to and then dip holding the stick. Too Cute!

Last year for Christmas, I made these for teachers and friends. Quick and easy, and the kids can help!

1) Bake a boxed cake mix.
2) Let it cool.
3) Scrape the whole thing into a big bowl. Really. Just smash it in.
4) Add an entire container of frosting.
5) Mix.
6) Using a cookie baller/scoop, place "balls" of cake and frosting on wax paper, then in the freezer to set.
7) Melt chocolate. We used cheap chocolate chips (more wax in them).
8) Pull the scooped cake from the freezer, and roll in your hand to get a more perfect ball. Dunk in chocolate, then place on wax paper again.

Ta da!

We got the best compliments on these combinations:
Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate coating. Yum!
White cake, vanilla frosting, some crushed candy canes in the mix, dipped in white chocolate.
Spice cake mixed with cream cheese frosting, dipped in white chocolate.
Lemon cake mixed with lemon frosting, dipped in dark chocolate.

It looks so much nicer than it sounds. Kinda like a cross between a petit four and truffle, but fast and easy. And we don't tell other people that we call them "cake balls"... we just say something like, "Oh, they're just a sweet little treat." LOL

Chicken with artichokes

For dishes that I cook often I almost never measure things out. I just sort of cook. So this recipe is a guide for you to follow. If you are asking yourself "is she nuts??" then adjust to what you think would work for you and your family.

1 lb (or so) boneless chicken breasts

artichoke hearts Drain any liquid. If you are using marinated I rinse them off with water in a strainer since I don't like all the oil in my food. I also pick off any tough leaves.

can of stewed tomatoes (or two, depends on my mood. LOL). Drain these too. Then chop up the tomatoes. I usually have a pack of the italian stewed in the pantry.

white wine 1/2 to 3/4 cup?? use the larger amount if you like the flavor to be strong. I NEVER cook with "cooking wine", I use the real stuff. The cooking wine tastes off to me. Cheap wine is fine for cooking and it will last a while in the fridge if you don't normally drink it!!

chicken stock or chicken broth about 2 cups. I've been using chicken stock by Swanson or Pacific organic broth from Costco. Yeah I could make my own but that would require pre planning and organization.

garlic 2-3 cloves minced

Cut up chicken into bite sized pieces. Brown in skillet with olive oil. Add garlic and cook until garlic starts to brown. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until liquid is reduced by about half. Check chicken to make sure it is cooked all the way!!

We love this over thin spaghetti. If you like capers I'm sure they would be great in there too. I hate them so I've never tried it. I sometimes add the juice of 1/2 lemon for a little zing.

This is really fast and easy to whip up for dinner. We almost always have a salad with it as well.

Dutch Oven Potatoes

OK, this is just an estimate, I have never really had a recipe we just make these.

Dutch oven potatoes
for a 12 inch deep dutch oven

up to 10 lbs of potato, sliced. (you can do that by hand, I use the salad shooter. peeled or not)
1 lb bacon 3/4 for bottom, 1/4 for top
grated cheese
salt, pepper, season salt
sliced onion if you like that

we line our dutch ovens, but you don't have to. I like to slice small and cook 1/4 of the bacon and reserve it for the top.
cut up all your potatoes, line the dutch oven with the raw bacon. start to layer the potatoes, with salt, pepper, season salt and onion if desired. just season to taste, until you get all the potatoes in the dutch oven. cook with the appropriate # of coals for the size of the oven. check them at about 45 mins to 1 hr. when the potatoes are cooked through, add the grated cheese and the cooked bacon on top. when that melts, usually 15 min. you are ready to eat.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3 eggs, gently beaten
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
1 C oil (I actually use a cup of applesauce instead)
2 C grated zucchini
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 T cocoa
2 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a bowl, gently beat eggs and add sugar, brown sugar, oil (or applesauce), zucchini, and almond. Mix well. Mix in cocoa, flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Pour in two greased bread loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Tastes fabulous with homemade cream cheese frosting. Of course I can't have that right now but discovered that Duncan Hines vanilla frosting is yummy on it too!

Butter Rolls - Breadmaker

For those of you that love plain ole good white yeast rolls, but want to save time using your breadmaker, here ya go! This is another recipe that came from my breadmaker cookbook!

3/4 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 3/4 cups Bread flour
2 tbs sugar
2 tsp dry active yeast.

Place all ingredients in the breadmaker pan in order listed above. Set for dough setting. When done, remove dough to a lightly floured surface and knead 2-4 times to get air bubbles out.

Shape as deisred and place in a greased or sprayed pan. Let rise for 1 hour covered with a clean kitchen towel or sprayed saran wrap. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Seriously, easy and yummy :)

Honey and Wheat Rolls - breadmaker

Dairy free for those of you who are checking!

This yummy and super easy recipe came from the cookbook that I got with my breadmaker about 14 years ago LOL It has the best recipes I swear. Don't think I've tried one I didn't like yet!


Place all ingredients in order in your breadmaker. All should be at room temp.

1 Cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup honey
1 egg (slightly beat before adding)
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (not better for bread ww, just regular ww)
2 teaspoons dry active yeast.

Put this in your machine on the dough setting. When done, remove dough and knead 2-3 times on a lightly floured surface to elminate any air bubbles. Shape as desired ( I usually do pan rolls - divide into 12 pieces, shape so the top is smooth, place in a greased or sprayed 9x9 pan. Also works well to do the same thing only in a greased muffin tin). Cover with sprayed saran wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let rise for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

The rolls are fluffy and yummy. Both my kids ate them when they first came out of the oven (ok, so we did cool the baby's but he wolfed it down too!)

Stacey's Yellow Squash bake

Another yummy and fresh recipe from Stace :)

Recipe #2 I use this version the most!!
Yellow squash casserole

1 1/2 lbs. yellow squash sliced and boiled till soft and drained well
1 can low sodium mushroom soup
1 8 oz carton fat free sour cream
1 4 oz jar pimento (chopped) I buy at Walmart
1 8 oz can of water chestnuts (chopped)
1 stick of butter of marg.
1 medium onion (chopped)
1/2 package of Pepperidge farm herb stuffing mix

In a large bowl, mix cooked squash, mushroom soup, sour cream, pimento, water chestnuts and onion together put to one side. Melt 3/4 stick of butter (or use a little olive oil instead) Mix well with breadcrumbs and put 3/4 of the bread crumbs in the bottom of a 2 qt. dish. Pour squash mixture over 3/4 of the breadcrumbs then sprinkle the remaining 1/4 on the top. Bake at 35o degrees for 40 minutes.

Stacey's lower fat zucchini bread

This recipe came from my friend Stace at designing and motherhood :) I love zucchini bread but hate all the fat so here is a nice alternative. I've not tried it as of yet, but I do have a zucchini earmarked for this!

My zucchini bread FAVORITE recipe (when counting calories)!

I have tried and trued Zucchini bread recipes over and over again. I am watching my waste line so I make this recipe that is low fat but tasty. Keep in mind the full fat recipes are better tasting when compared side by side. On the other hand, we care about the calories, RIGHT?! Enjoy!

LOW-FAT ZUCCHINI BREAD
Makes 16 servings

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup skim milk, rice milk or soy milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (1 medium)

Combine dry and wet ingredients. Bake at 325 degrees for about 70 min and test with a toothpick.

Hungry Girl Chunky Chicken Salad

You will LOVE this one! It's chock full of chicken, fruit and crunch. Love this on a hot summer night just by itself. You can also do it as a sandwich.

Recipe by Hungry Girl...www.hungry-girl.com

Dozens of fat grams in chicken salad = bad news. Crunchy cucumbers, red grapes, and yogurt dressing on the other hand = GREAT additions. Here's HG's guilt-free answer to the notoriously fattening Waldorf chicken salad...

Ingredients:
1 cup (about 4.5 oz.) cooked & roughly chopped skinless lean chicken breast
1/2 cup chopped Persian or Kirby cucumber**
1/3 cup red seedless grapes, halved
1/3 cup chopped apple
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda)
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
dash salt

Directions:
Mix together the yogurt, mayonnaise, sweetener, lemon pepper seasoning, and salt. Coat the chicken in this mixture, and then stir in the chopped cucumber, grape halves, and chopped apple. Then try not to pass out as you chow down on this insanely good chicken salad! MAKES 2 SERVINGS