Cranberry Bliss Bars

ingredients:

Bars:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) white chocolate chips (or chopped white chocolate)

Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Drizzling Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1-2 tablespoons milk

directions:

Bars:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt and mix well. Gradually add flour and mix until smooth. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate. Pour the batter into the greased pan, using a spatula to evenly spread the batter in the pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until edges are light brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice until completely smooth. Spread on the completely cool cake. Sprinkle the top with cranberries.

Drizzling Icing:
In a small bowl, whisk together 1 Tbsp of milk, powdered sugar, and vegetable shortening. Gradually add more milk until the icing has a thick but drizzly consistency. I used closer to 2 tablespoons. Put the icing into a ziploc bag and snip off a tiny bit of the corner. Drizzle the icing on top in zig-zags.

Cut into squares or triangles and enjoy!

Ham and Potato Soup

I found this on pinterest and is was SO good! I did NOT add the chicken bouillon granules to the water because I cooked the hambone in water and used that as stock which had a lot of flavor. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
4 slices american cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
Directions

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

Another pinterest success! This is super yummy!

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1 stalk celery, finely chopped (feel free to add more celery if you like celery; I don't, so I don't add much)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth (I usually use a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth and broth made with chicken soup base because it gives it such nice flavor)

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender. Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

30 Minute Rolls

Found this recipe on pinterest. These rolls are a cinch and really yummy! My only advice is to bake a couple minutes longer than it says. They seemed to need it.

Ingredients:

1 C plus 2 Tbsp warm water

1/3 C oil

2 Tbsp yeast

1/4 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3 1/2 C flour

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In your mixer bowl combine the water, oil, yeast and sugar and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Using your dough hook, mix in the salt, egg and flour. Knead with hook until will incorporated and dough is soft and smooth. (Just a few minutes)

Form dough into 12 balls and then place in a greased 9 x 13 pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden brown.

No-bake Granola Bites

This is pretty much a granola bar in a bite size ball. Easy and quick to pull together.

1 cup quick oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup of coconut flakes

1/2 cup of ground flaxseed

1/2 cup chocolate chips or other add-ins (craisens, nuts, etc)

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix everything in a bowl except the peanut butter. Slightly warm the peanut butter in the microwave (it's only about 30 seconds in my microwave). Pour peanut butter over mix and stir it in to coat everything. Chill in the refrigerator for a half and hour. Remove from fridge and roll into balls. Keep in refrigerator.

Homemade Hot Pockets

Here's something I've been having fun with lately. Make your dough and then get creative with the fillings.

1 package yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups flour, more as needed

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar. Let it set for a few minutes until foamy.

Stir in oil, salt, and flour. Knead 5 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes.

Divide dough into serving size pieces. (I make about 8) Roll and pat each piece into a circle (about 6-inches across or so). Top half of each circle with filling of choice, keeping back from edges so it will seal well. Fold the other 1/2 of circle over the filling and pinch sides together or seal with a fork.

Poke a couple steam vents and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

So far I have filled mine with...

Spaghetti sauce, Mozzarella and Pepperoni

Cream of chicken soup, broccoli, leftover chicken cut into bite size pieces

Leftover beef gravy, onion, peppers, leftover roast beef cut into bite size pieces

Sometime soon I'd like to try a breakfast variety. Maybe cheese sauce, ham and scrambled egg?

So far they've all turned out pretty good. I have learned to put a bit more sauce in them than you think you'll need. Otherwise they may turn out kinda dry. I hear they freeze well, but have never tried it myself. Have fun!

Creamy Ham 'n' Mac

2 c. elbow macaroni

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. flour

2 c. milk

2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1-1/2 c. diced ham

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Cook macaroni; drain and set aside. In large pan, melt butter; whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in the milk, bouillon and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in 1 c. cheddar cheese, ham, Parmesan and macaroni.

Transfer to a greased 2 quart dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Corn Chowder

1/2 lb. bacon, cut up

1/2 c. diced onion

2 medium stalks celery, chopped

2 T. flour

3 c. milk (or if you want it soupier 4 cups is fine too)

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 can (3.75 oz) cream style corn

1 can (16 oz) tiny whole potatoes, drained and diced

Cook bacon in soup pot until crisp. Drain fat, reserving 3 T in pot. Set bacon aside.

Cook onion and celery in bacon fat over medium heat until tender. Stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Stir in pepper, corn and potatoes. Heat until hot. Stir in bacon. Enjoy!

This makes a great freezer meal too!

August's Menu

Here you go Lynne. I only planned three weeks of meals last month and I haven't done September yet, but here's what I have. Hope it gives you some inspiration.

M - Chicken Spaghetti

T - Chicken Sandwiches

W - Soup night. I have to confess that in an effort to save money on the grocery budget, soup night is often Ramen night. Drop in an egg/canned meat and add some frozen veggies and you've got an alright super cheap meal.

Th - Orange Chicken

F - Hamburgers

S - Potluck family picnic... I took Pasta Salad

Su - Mac n Cheese

M - Lasagna with salad

T - Leftovers

W - Creamy Ham n Mac

Th - Soup night

F - Tuna Casserole

S - Taquitos from freezer

Su - Mac n Cheese

M - Biscuits and Gravy

T -Chicken Enchiladas

W - Corn Chowder

Th - Soup Night

F - Pizza

S - Fish

Su - Fettuccine Alfredo

Kettle Corn

Another great recipe from Our Best Bites...I got this one out of their cookbook. :)

3 T canola or vegetable oil
1/3 C popcorn kernels
3 T granulated sugar
kosher salt

1. Place a large stock pot on the stove top. Set heat to medium-high. Add oil. While your oil is heating (it won’t take long), measure out your popcorn into a small bowl. Add sugar to the kernels. When it’s time to cook, everything moves very quickly, so it’s important to have it all ready to go.

Wait until you see your oil smoke. This is one little trick that a lot of people overlook, but it’s important. The smoke is very faint, but if you just stare at the pot (it helps to get down parallel to it), you’ll see little billows of smoke coming up. That’s your cue! Pour popcorn kernels and sugar into the pot.

Immediately stir using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scraping sugar from bottom of pan. This step should only take about 10 seconds. Cover pot with lid. You will need to shake the pot with your hands and you’ll want to make sure the lid stays on, so I get a dish towel and drape it over the top.

Hold the pot by the handles in a way that you’re securing the lid on as well. Shake the pan side to side in all directions and up and down a few times. Do this every 20 seconds or so. It will keep the sugar from burning on the bottom and help the kernels to be evenly coated.

After a few minutes you should start hearing the pops. (If it doesn’t start popping after a few minutes, crack the lid to let some of the pressure out. Chances are when you put the lid back on, it will pop away). Continue the shaking every 20 second or so until you can tell almost everything is popped. Remove the lid and stir immediately.

Sprinkle Kosher salt to taste and then keep stirring. You can eat it warm right out of the pan (Disclaimer: caramelized sugar it HOT so don’t eat it right away.) or let it cool completely. It’s great either way!

Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas

Made these the other night and thought that, though you don't really need a recipe, it might just spark something on a night when you're stuck and don't know what to make.

1 pound of cooked chicken (though I used a Costco can of chicken)

1/2 package of bacon cooked to crispy

package of tortillas

1-2 cups of shredded cheese

2 tablespoons of ranch

Take a tortilla and put a layer of chicken on it. Crumble a strip of bacon over the chicken. Drip some ranch over it and put a layer of cheese. Top with another tortilla and either bake in oven, put in a skillet on the stove or on a greased grill rack.

Serve with lettuce, tomatoe, guacamole and salsa. Enjoy!

Other things I think are good with this...black beans and corn

Crock-Pot Chicken with Black Beans

I saw this on a blog this evening and thought it looked simple and yummy. Think I'll try it this week.

Ingredients:

4-5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (15 1/2 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
1 (15 oz) jar salsa, any kind
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

Direction:

Take 4-5 FROZEN boneless chicken breasts and put into crock pot. Add black beans, salsa and corn.

Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked. (My crockpot is always super hot, so I actually just put it on “Keep Warm” and leave the chicken in for 6-7 hours)

Add package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.

Dinner This Week

Since we're going to Idaho next week, my mission is to save as much grocery money as possible for gas/etc. and eat what's in the cupboards. So this week may be interesting...

Sun - Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches
Mon - Taco salad
Tues - Chicken enchiladas and refried beans (I found a recipe to make the beans in the crock pot)
Wed - Homemade chili (all they way from dried beans)
Thurs - Probably some kind of pasta
Fri - OG or RR (A girl can't cook on her birthday, right?)
Sat - Porcupine meatballs from the freezer

Next week we'll be having leftovers and it'll really start the mystery dinners....

Cashew Chicken

Courtesy of the lovely Brenda Milton

Marinate Chicken at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.
2 Chicken breasts - cut into bite size pieces
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/3c water
Mix the above ingredients, pour over chicken and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Served with rice - begin cooking rice while preparing

2 Tbsp Olive or Vegetable oil
2 tsp salt
2 inches of ginger root - peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp dry white wine or cooking sherry
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 medium onion - chopped
1-2c carrots - chopped
1-2c celery - chopped
Handful of snow peas
1 can water chestnuts - sliced
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4c chicken broth or water
3 green onions - sliced
1/2c cashews
1c chow mein noodles - crispy

Put oil, salt and ginger root in a hot skillet or wok. Cook 2 minutes and remove ginger root. Drain chicken and add to skillet. Brown chicken, add sherry/wine, soy sauce and onion/ Stir fry 1 minute, add carrots and stir fry 1 minute, add celery and stir fry 1 minute, add snow peas and stir fry 1 minute, add 1/4c broth or water, cover, turn heat down and simmer for 2 minutes. Add water chestnuts and then thicken with cornstarch and remaining broth or water. Put on a platter and top with green onions and cashews. Serve with rice and crispy chow mein noodles.

Serves 4

BBQ Pork-on-a-stick

Got this from my friend Katrina Stewart back in college. It stinks up the fridge, but is worth it! Feeds a crowd well ;)

Slice 8-10 lbs of pork butt into thin slices

Marinade overnight:

1 Tbs pepper

1 thinly sliced fresh lemon

3 Tbs. Worchestershire

3/4 c sugar

2 c soy sauce

5 cloves finely minced garlic

Grill on skewers. just before cooked, generously dab with BBQ sauce:

3/4 c ketchup

1 tsp worchestire

dash of tobasco

1 1/4c sugar

1/4 c melted butter

Stire over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved and sauce is well-blended.

Donut Muffins

These are my new favorite thing. Like a snickerdoodle all wrapped up in a muffin. I didn't have nutmeg so I sprinkled some cinnamon into the batter which tasted great. Also, maybe my muffin tins are small, but I made 12 instead of 10 easily. I think they'd be super fun as mini-muffins. Enjoy!

3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.
Divide batter evenly into 10 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

While muffins are baking, melt butter and pour remaining sugar into a small bowl.
When muffins are done, lightly brush the top of each with some melted butter, remove from the pan and roll in sugar. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 10 muffins.

Taco Seasoning

I got this recipe from here. Another great help if you run out or if you're making a huge batch of taco meat. :)

1/4 cup chili powder

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Mix all the ingredients above in a small bowl. Keep fresh in an air tight container for up to 6 months.

Double or triple recipe as needed.

To use: substitute 2 rounded Tablespoons for 1 packet of taco seasoning.

**You can also kick up the heat a notch by adding in 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes!!**

Dinner This Week

I have been really slacking on trying new recipes and posting things on here, but here's my menu for the week in case anyone is needing inspiration. It's not super exciting, but at least I have it planned out more than 10 minutes before I need dinner on the table. For me lately, that's success.

Mon - Hot wing pizza
Tues - Grilled chicken salads
Wed - Hamburger soup
Thurs - Grilled pork chops and Parmesan potatoes
Fri - Porcupine meatballs (from the freezer)
Sat - Chicken enchiladas (from the freezer)

Also, I'm starting to get smarter about how I prepare meals. Like last night, instead of just making the chicken and hot wing sauce I needed I made 4 times as much chicken and twice as much sauce. I have another pizzas worth of chicken and sauce frozen and some more chicken breasts cooked, chopped and frozen. These little things are helping me get ahead more since I am not really getting any major freezer cooking done. I'm just trying to double or triple anything I am already making (quickly) that will freeze well.

Homemade Baking Mix

I saw this tonight on a blog I was reading and thought it looked interesting. She is posting some recipes for a freezer meal day to go with it later. You're supposed to use it in place of Bisquick. Might be handy in a pinch. You can see the post here.

• 10 cups flour (I used freshly-ground whole-wheat. Doreen suggested doing half white and half whole-wheat.)
• 8 Tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/4 cup powdered milk
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar or turbinado
• 2 1/4 cup coconut oil or shortening

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in shortening or cold coconut oil until you have fine crumbs. Store in a tightly covered container in a cool place (if you use freshly-ground flour, store in the freezer). Use in place of Bisquick.

Hot Bean Dip!

Hey there, I feel so special contributing a recipe to Dinner Tonight!! This is a recipe I originally found on Allrecipes. I needed something to feed my girls at lunch time other than mac n cheese and peanut butter! (ya know, the lunch rut=) ...Bonus that it is beans since meat doesn't go over too well in our house.

FYI, I usually half it and bake it in an 8x8 dish, and I rarely fix it as it is written. I will add either sour cream OR cream cheese- whichever one I have- and never the full amount called for! Thankfully it is always eaten... so I hope you enjoy!

Hot Bean Dip

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 C sour cream

2 16 oz cans refried beans

1/2 pkg taco seasoning

5 drops hot pepper sauce

2 T dried parsley

1/4 C green onions, chopped

1 8 oz pkg shredded cheddar cheese

1 8oz pkg shredded monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Blend cream cheese and sour cream. Mix in beans, taco seasoning, hot sauce, parsley, green onion and 1/2 of cheeses. Spread in a 9x13 baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses. Bake 20-30 minutes, until cheese is slightly browned.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I got this recipe from Our Best Bites if you want to see their instructions with pretty pictures. :) These have been a big hit at my house. I've already made a second batch for my freezer.

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions

2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray


Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Freezer Egg and Hasbrown Casserole

8 eggs 4 cups of hashbrowns 12 oz can of evaporated milk 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese 1 tsp salt 1 cup diced onions 1/2 tsp pepper 1 1/2 cup cut up peppers 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 1 cup diced ham, sausage or bacon Mix together in 9x13 pan and freeze. (The cheese will clump if frozen, you may want to leave it out and add it when you thaw it before you cook it.) Thaw and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. I made ours without the onion and pepper and with sausage and it had plenty of flavor. I did add some onion flakes.

Breadsticks

I got this recipe from Our Best Bites and they are so yummy! This makes too many for one night for us. I think next time I'd do half on one pan with the parmesan and garlic salt and half on another pan with cinnamon and sugar on top for dessert. Yum!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 c. flour

Directions:
In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.

Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Remove from bowl and place on a lightly-floured surface. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll into a rectangle and cut into 12 strips with a pizza cutter.

Roll out each piece of dough into a snake and then drape over your forefinger and twist the dough. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining 11 pieces of dough. Try to space them evenly, but it's okay if they're close; pulling apart hot bread is one of life's greatest pleasures!

Cover pan and allow dough to rise for another 30 minutes. When there's about 15 minutes to go, preheat your oven to 425. When done rising, bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Rub some butter on top of the breadsticks (just put a ziploc bag on your hand, grab some softened butter, and have at it) and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning or the powdery Parmesan cheese in a can and garlic salt. Or you could sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar.

See how fat and happy they are rising? :)

Cream of Tomato Soup

I thought some of you might still have V-8 in your fridges from cooking night and with it being cold out, soup sounds good. I found this on Real Mom Kitchen. This isn't quite as tomatoey as soup out of a can, so my kids actually liked this better!

1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups V-8 or tomatoe juice
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2-3 cups of milk
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Then whisk in the flour until smooth.
2. Add the V-8 and stir until it thickens.
3. Next whisk in the baking soda followed with the 2 cups of milk, sugar. Cook until heated through. Taste the soup and add the other cup of milk if you would like it creamier. Divide into 4 bowls and serve.

Cream Cheese Chicken Soup

We had this for dinner tonight and it was a big hit at our house. Really quick to throw together too.

2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, finely diced (I used 1/2 of 1)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup diced carrots (about 2 regular carrots or a handful of baby carrots)
3 cups chicken broth (I used 4)
2-3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons flour
1 (8 oz. package) regular or light cream cheese
2-3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and the onions are translucent.

Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

In a liquid measuring cup, vigorously whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk the mixture into the soup, stirring quickly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken slightly. Stir often to ensure the soup doesn’t burn.

Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft/melty, or let it set at room temperature for until soft. Add the cream cheese to the soup in small tablespoon-size pieces. Let the pieces sit in the soup and warm through then whisk or stir the soup until the cream cheese melts and mixes in well.

Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Tortilla Chicken Chili

1 tbs oil
1 lb chicken breast cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 pkg Chili Seasoning Mix
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can kidney, white or pinto beans, undrained
 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 c water
1 1/2 c broken tortilla chips

Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 3-5 min or until chicken is no longer pink.

Stir in seasoning mix and remaining ingredients. bring to boil; cover. Reduce heat and simmer 10 min, stirring occasionally. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream or chopped cilantro if desired.

Chocolate-Chip Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and soda. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Mix well.
4. Add the flour mixture and combine. Batter will be thick.
5. In a separate bowl, combine chocolate chips, 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
6. Spread half of the cake batter in prepared 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle half of the chocolate chip mixture over the batter. Repeat with the remaining batter, and then the remaining chocolate chip mixture.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Easy Burritos

Mix...
15 ounce can of lack beans drained and rinsed
1 cup of cheddar or mexican blend cheese
1 pound of taco meat or 1 pound of ground beef seasonsed with 1 tablespoon chilli powder and 1 tablespoon cumin

Divide mixture among 12 tortillas

Navy Bean Soup

1 pound of dry navy beans in 6 cups of water
Boil, reduce heat, simmer 2 minutes
Remove from heat and leave covered 1 hour. Then drain and rinse.

In large pot add to beans...
1 cup of ham and a ham bone
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 large onion
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
6 cups of water

Simmer in crockpot all day on high.

Sloppy Joes

1 pound of ground beef
1 onion minced
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons chili sauce
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar

Brown meat and onions. Add all other ingredients and simmer 15 minutes.

Serve on hanburger buns

Frozen Fruit cups

1 can of lemonade concentrate made according to can directions
1/2 can orange juice concentrate
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
3 firm bananas cut up with a squirt of lemon juice on them
16 ounces of frozen strawberries
1 drained can mandarin oranges
1 can drained pineapple chunks
18 10 ounce plastic cups

Divide fruit among 18 cups. Combine orange juice concentrate, water, sugar and lemonade.
Pour liquid over fruit. Freeze cups in freezer until just before serving.

Chicken Tetrazzini

3 cups of cooked chicken cubed
6 cups of cooked spaghetti noodles
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon balck pepper
3 cups condensed mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons fresh parsley
4 ounces of pimentos

Put all ingrediants into a 9x13 pan
Bake at 350 degrees 25-35 minutes

Orange Chicken

1/2 can of orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup of soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 clove of garlic
1/2 cup of water
4 chicken breasts

Place all ingrediants into a pan or bag and marinate 2-3 hours

Remove chicken and grill or bake thoroughly. In a small saucepan bring marinade to a boil and boil 3 mintues.

Teriyaki Chicken

Pineapple juice from one big can (can add the pineapple too)
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1/3 teaspoon black pepper
4 chicken breasts

Put all into a bag or shallow pan and marinate at least 2-3 hours.

Parmesan Potatoes

Easy and Tasty!

Ingredients:
1/2c grated Parmesan cheese
1/2c flour
10 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2c melted butter
S&P to taste
(I also added a little onion and garlic powders)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

In a bag combine Parmesan cheese, flour, S&P (and other seasonings). Mix well. Place potatoes in big and mix to coat.

Pour butter in a 9x13 baking dish. Poor in potatoes and stir to coat.

Bake in a preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours stirring occasionally.