Monday, January 30, 2012

Reverse Lemon Meringue Pie....

Made this for the first time at bunko too and REALLY liked it!! Not too heavy of a lemon flavor, and meringue crust is perfect!!!

4 eggs, seperated
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tsbp. grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups Whipping Cream

Beat the 4 egg whites, gradually add 1 cup of sugar and cream of tarter. Beat until stiff but not day. Spread on bottom and sides of buttered 9 inch pie pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Cool.

Take the 4 egg yokes and beat slightly. Stir in the 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, and lemon rind, and salt. Cook until thickened in the microwave for 4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Let cool.

Whip 2 cups whipping cream and fold 1/2 of the whipped cream into the cooled lemon mixture. Pour into cooled meringue shell/crust. Top with the remaining whipped cream. Chill for 24 hours!

Bunko Popcorn

This was a hit at Bunko, so here is the recipe!

8 cups popped popcorn
1 lb. white chocolate, almond bark or melts
2 cups crushed Fritos corn chips
M & M's (I used one regular size bag)

Pop popcorn. Put popped popcorn, fritos and M&M's into a large bowl and evenly mix. Melt white choc. in microwave, stiring every 30 seconds until melted. Pour melted choc. over popcorn ixture and stir to coat compleatly. Pour onto wax paper and allow to cool and dry.

Enjoy!!! and don't blame me if you eat the whole bowl!

Note: Can use regular colored M&M's or colored according to the season!! :)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

One pot, Super Easy Pasta Bake

8 oz. elbow Macaroni or any other small shaped pasta
4 1/4 cups spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 can (14.5oz) petite diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese (or cheese blend)

In a 9x13 baking dish, combine the spaghetti sauce, water, and tomoatoes. Then stir in the raw (uncooked) pasta.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until pasta is tender.

Top with cheese and put back in the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Super Easy, one dish, and mostly quick dinner!! Enjoy!!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Creamy Chicken Tacos

5 frozen chicken breasts
1 1/2 c Salsa
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 T Taco seasoning
1 T Maple Syrup
1 t lime juice
1 T butter
1/2 c sour cream

Spray the inside of your crock pot with non stick cooking spray anbd place chicken inside.
In a small mixing bowl, stir together all other ingredients but the butter and sour cream.
Pour sauce over th echicken. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6.
Take the chicken out of the crockpot, shread and throw it back in.
Add the pat of butter and the sour cream, stir it all around.
Cook for one more hour on high or 2 on low.

Serve in a bowl over rice or over tortilla chips, like nachos. Top with tomatoes, onions, cheese, lettuce, cilantro, avacado....whatever you like!!!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Strwberry and Cream Cheese French Toast

Strawberry and Cream Cheese French Toast
This is a great one that you can prepare ahead of time and throw in the oven in the morning.
1 loaf french bread, cut into 1 inch slices.
Whipped cream cheese

Spread cream cheese between two slices of bread, place sandwiched slices in a glass pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Mix together:
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Pour over bread and let sit for five minutes, turn bread over and cover pan with saran wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Drizzle melted butter over the top and bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Whipped Topping:
1 pt whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. almond or amaretto flavoring

Top with strawberries mixed with sugar and the whipped topping.

Potato Salad

Making this for dinner tonight....

This is for a LARGE batch.. if you have a crowd of less than 8 people you might want to half this recipe:

10 medium potatoes
Dozen eggs, hard boiled
salt & pepper to taste
1 c. Mayo (or Miracle Whip)
1 c. sour cream
4 Tbsp. sugar
mustard, to taste (2+ Tbsp)
1/2 c. sweet pickle relish

Boil potatoes (do not peel) for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Peel and dice potatoes AND eggs. Add salt and pepper and toss. Mix remaining ingredients separately and fold into potato mixture. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 6-8 hours).

Glass Block Jello

Thought this looked fun....and it has been WAY too long since someone posted something new!! :-)

Glass Block Holiday Jello

4 3-oz. packages assorted Jello (in coordinating colors)
2 packets unflavored gelatin
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Spray 4 small food storage containers (like Tupperware/Gladware/Rubbermaid) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Bring 5+ cups of water to a boil. Combine 1 c. boiling water with 1 package of Jello, stirring until dissolved. Place the dissolved Jello in one of the prepared containers. Repeat with the remaining packages of Jello. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferable overnight.

When the Jello has set, bring another 1 1/2 c. of water to a boil. While the water is heating, sprinkle 2 packets of unflavored gelatin over 1/2 c. of cold water. Allow to stand for about 4 minutes. When the water is boiling, pour 1 1/2 c. boiling water over the dissolved gelatin and stir to combine. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Allow to come to room temperature.

Lightly spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully cut the colored Jello into cubes and gently toss to combine in the 9×13″ pan. Pour the cooled milk mixture over the colored Jello and, if necessary, rearrange some of the colored Jello to make sure it is evenly distributed and not sticking out of the white mixture too far.

Place the 9×13″ pan in the refrigerator and chill overnight. Cut into squares, rectangles, or various shapes with cookie cutters and serve.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Browned butter breadcrumbs and broccoli

I love this recipe and I think it came from a Weight Watchers cookbook I had. Before I lose the paper with it again, I thought I had better record it for posterity sake!

12 ounces of fresh broccoli florets
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Steam the broccoli. While it is cooking, put the Panko breadcrumbs in a large skillet; cook over medium heat about 3 minutes or until lightly browned - stir frequently. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the butter to the pan. Cook 1 - 2 minutes or until butter is lightly browned, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Drain the broccoli of any excess water. Add the broccoli, salt, pepper to pan and toss to coat with the browned butter. Place in a serving bowl and top with the panko breadcrumbs. Serve immediately. Sometimes I am just in a hurry so I put the panko on while its all in the pan, and stir it all up to mix.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Candy Bar Cake


Candy Bar Cake

1 C packed light brown sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar
2 C flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
1 C buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 full sized Milky Way bars, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the sugars, flour and butter. Crumble these ingredients together with a pastry blender, until the mixture is crumbly and coarse. Set aside 1/2 cup of the crumbs to a small bowl.

In another bowl combine the remaining crumbs, the buttermilk, egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Mix well.


Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it to the edges. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the reserved crumbs and chopped Milky Way bars. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center is no longer gooey but a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs.

The cake may fall slightly in the center leaving the edges raised. No worries. It still is amazing!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

1 pkg. Home style Egg Noodles
5-10 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 chicken bouillon cubes
4 10.75oz. cans cream of chicken soup
2 i6 oz containers sour cream
1 large chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
Salt to taste

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain well and set aside.Place potatoes and carrots in a large pot and add enough water to just cover. Add chicken bouillon and cook vegetables until just tender. Don't drain the water!! Add the cream of chicken, sour cream, cooked chicken and noodles. Heat through. Salt to taste.

Makes 12-15 servings!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Slow Cooker Chicken And Dumplings



4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons butter

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 onion, finely diced

1 package frozen mixed veggies, to taste

1 (10 oz) package refrigerator. Biscuit dough, quartered





Place chicken, butter, coup, onion and veggies in the slow cooker and fill with enough milk to cover. Cover with lid and cook 5-6 hours on high. About 30 minutes before serving, place the quartered biscuit dough in the slow cooker on top and cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center. Enjoy!!

Crock Pot - Taco Soup

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 (16oz) can chili beans, with liquid

1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, with liquid

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, with liquid

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

2 cups water

2 (14.5 oz) cans, peeled and diced tomatoes

1 (4 oz) can diced green chili peppers

1 package taco seasoning mix



In a medium skillet brown ground beef, then drain and add to slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredients to slow cooker and mix to blend. Cook on low setting for 8 hours!!

Crock pot Chicken w/ Black Beans and Cream Cheese

4-5 boneless chicken breasts

1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans

1 (15 ounce) can corn

1 (15 ounce) jar salsa, any kind

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1. Take 4-5 frozen, yes, frozen, boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot.
2. add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained.
3. Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.
4. Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.
5. All done and enjoy!

Crock Pot Tortilla Casserole

2 lbs of chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of green chillis
1 can diced tomatoes (can be flavoured)
put all ingredients in crock pot cook all day on low or 4 hours on high.
30 minutes before serving use a fork and shred chicken
add 1 can sliced olives, 6 corn tortillas ripped up, 1 cup grated cheese.
cook 30 more minutes serve with chips.

Creamy Italian Chicken

You will need:
3-4 chicken breasts
1/4 Cup of water (or more if you like)
1 packet of dry Italian dressing mix (or ranch)
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 (regular size, not family size) cream of chicken or mushroom.
Rice or noodles prepared to package directions

Here is what you do:
Put the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.
Mix the water with the dressing mix and pour over chicken.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours
Mix cream cheese with cream soup, and add to the chicken mixture.
Cook an additional 2-3 hours on low.
Serve over rice or noodles!