Cabbage Crunch Salad

dressing:
½ cup oil
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 flavor packet from Ramen Noodles (any flavor)
Stir together and chill.

1 (1 lb) bag shredded cabbage
2 green onions, chopped
½ cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
1 package Ramen Noodles, broken
Toss together. Pour dressing over and mix well. Serve.

Taco Soup

Taco in a Bowl is what The Friend called it. I made some changes, of course. To simplify from what I did you can use 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning (what the original recipe called for) instead of the long list of stuff I use.

1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped onion
Brown the beef with the garlic and onion until cooked through.

½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp parsley
½ tsp oregano
3 tsp chicken bouillon
1 Tbls cumin powder
2 Tbls Ranch dressing powder mix (I didn't put this in)
Add to beef and cook 2 minutes more.

3 cups water
2 cans black beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup corn
Put the beef mixture in a saucepan with the above ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for a half hour.

Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

stovetop treats

Since we should all be eating healthy...

No Bake Chocolate Cookies

2 cups sugar
½ cup milk
½ cup butter
3 Tbls cocoa powder
Stir in saucepan and bring to boil. Remove from heat.

3 cups quick oats
1 cup coconut
Stir into chocolate mixture until combined. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper and allow to set.


Caramel Goodies

½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbls corn syrup
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to low and simmer for 7 minutes – do not stir! Remove from heat.

4 cups Chex cereal
Stir into caramel mixture until Chex is coated. Pour onto a non-greased cookie sheet and cool.


Peanut Butter Balls

½ cup corn syrup
½ cup sugar
Bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

1 cup peanut butter.
Stir peanut butter into sugar and syrup until it's melted.

3 cups corn flakes
Mix into peanut butter mixture until corn flakes are coated. Form into balls and cool on wax paper.

Minestrone

4 c. canned tomatoes, chopped
4 c. water
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
4 large ribs celery, diced
3 large carrots, diced
2 large onions, chopped
1 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
1 T. parsley
1 or 2 cloves garlic (or 1/2 t. garlic powder)
1 T. sugar
1 or 2 lb. bulk Italian sausage
2 (14 oz.) cans green beans, drained
2 (16 oz.) cans red beans, drained
1 c. uncooked pasta shells
salt and pepper to taste

Brown sausage and onions in large pan; drain well. Add celery, carrots, tomatoes, water,
tomato sauce, and spices. Bring to a boil and cook until carrots are tender. Simmer slowly
for 3 or 4 hours. Add green and red beans and simmer 1 more hour. Cook pasta separately
and add before serving.

So I make a couple of changes to this when I make it.  I generally use hamburger and just put in Italian sausage seasoning, but when I'm feeling like spending three dollars a pound on Italian sausage, I use that.  We used Italian sausage for the cake auction potluck.  I also never put in pasta.  I also never read the instructions, to I just throw everything in together and cook it all at once.  Someday I'll remember to read the instructions.  This also makes more than some other soup recipes, so I generally just double it instead of tripling it.  It freezes really well.

Oh and, as always, my recipes are stolen from my mother-in-law's cookbook, and making them as actually written is best.

Potato Rolls

Here are pretty much the best rolls I've ever had.  They're pretty easy.  I actually almost follow the recipe on these ones.  I've made them with whole wheat, too, but they're not quite as impressive.

2 pkg. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 c. mashed potatoes
1/2 c. butter-flavored Crisco
1 1/8 c. sugar
4 t. salt
2 c. warm milk (microwave 2 minutes)
2 eggs
8-9 c. flour

Mix yeast and warm water. In mixing bowl, combine potatoes, shortening, sugar, salt,
milk, eggs, and half the flour. Add yeast mixture and mix at high speed for a minute. Add
the remaining flour, a cup at a time, to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface,
knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to
grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough
down. Form into rolls. Let rise until they touch with little space between them (about 50
minutes). Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. This recipe makes 3-4
dozen rolls. Tip: when you make mashed potatoes, make extra and freeze the leftovers in 
baggies in 1 cup portions. It doesn’t matter if the mashed potatoes have pepper in them.

Creme Brulee

So, I've been craving creme brulee for a while. Actually, it's the sort of thing I'm almost always craving. . . but it's the first thing I'm really excited about making as soon as I get settled into my new apartment and find and unpack my ramekins. Just in case anyone else is craving it:

CRÈME BRULEE 6 to 8 servings

Heat almost to a simmer:

2 cups heavy cream

In a medium bowl, stir with a wooden spoon just until blended:

8 large egg yolks or 3 large eggs

½ cup sugar or ¼ cup xylitol

Gradually stir in the cream. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl or large measure with a pouring lip.

Stir in:

¼ teaspoon vanilla

Pour into six to eight 4- to 6-ounce custard cups or ramekins and place in a water bath. Set the pan in the oven and set the oven temperature at 250 degrees. Bake until the custards are set but still slightly quivery in the center when the cups are gently shaken, 1 to 1 ½ hours. Remove the custards from the water bath and let cool to room temperature. Cover each one tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 2 days. Shortly before serving, gently blot any liquid that has formed on the surface with paper towels, then caramelize the surface by sprinkling evenly over the surface of each custard:

Light brown sugar or raw sugar

Arrange the custards on a baking sheet and transfer to the preheated broiler. Broil the custards until the sugar melts and bubbles, don’t expect even caramelization. (Or, torch the suckers) Best served at once, although may be refrigerated up to an hour.

Broccoli Rolls

This idea was taken from a couple different recipes. It was supposed to be green for St Patrick's Day. Not so much. But it was tasty.

12 oz broccoli florets, steamed and cut in little pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup
½ cup sour cream
½ Tbls lemon juice
1 tsp curry powder
Stir together in bowl.

3 pkgs croissants (8 per package)
Put broccoli mixture in croissants (about 1 to 2 Tbls in each croissant) and seal edges to make roll.

¼ cup butter, melted
1 cup stuffing mix, crushed
Dip top of each roll in butter and then in stuffing. Place on ungreased cookie sheet (12 to a sheet). Bake 375 for 18 – 25 minutes.

Broccoli Chicken Yumminess

This is Lindsie's recipe.

2-3 heads broccoli, cut and steamed
2-3 breasts chicken, grilled and cubed
2 c. dry rice, cooked
grated cheese


Sauce:
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom (optional if doubling)
1/2 c. sour cream/yogurt
1/4 c. mayo (optional)
2-3 T. curry powder
1 T. lemon juice

Mix sauce with chicken and broccoli.  Alternate layers of sauce and rice in casserole dish.  Top with cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  (Or can use croissants from a can to make a ring to put the chicken broccoli sauce in instead of using rice.)  Might tasty.  :)

muffins, muffins, and more muffins

Oatmeal Berry Muffins (from Andrea)

1 ¼ cups wheat flour
1 ¼ cups oatmeal
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
Combine in bowl.

1 cup applesauce
½ cup low-fat buttermilk
2 Tbls oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp almond extract
Stir into dry mixture.

¾ cup berries
Stir in. Bake at 375 for 16 – 18 minutes.


Plain Muffins

3 cups flour
1 Tbls sugar
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 Tbls oil
Mix all together. Bake at 425 for 15 – 20 minutes.


Chocolate Muffins

1 ½ cups flour
1 cup oats
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbls baking powder
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
Stir together in bowl.

1 egg
1 cup milk
¼ cup oil
1 tsp almond extract
Mix into dry ingredients. Bake at 400 for 15 – 20 minutes.


Oatmeal Muffins

¾ cup quick oats
1 cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup wheat germ
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ cup dried fruit (raisins, craisins, etc)
Mix all together in bowl.

1 egg
1 Tbls oil
¾ cup orange or pineapple juice
Stir into dry ingredients. Bake at 400 for 11 – 15 minutes.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 ½ cups four
1 cup brown sugar
1 ½ Tbls baking powder
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
3/8 tsp salt
3/8 tsp baking soda
3/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 - ¼ tsp cloves
1 ½ cups canned pumpkin
¾ cup milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup applesauce
3 Tbls shortening
Beat together on high for 2 minutes.

1 ½ cups flour
Blend in to pumpkin mixture.
Spray muffin tins with oil. Bake at 350 for 15 – 20 minutes for regular size muffins; 10 – 12 minutes for mini muffins.

Note: The above makes the best pumpkin muffins I've ever had. If you just want fast and easy (and good) ones - mix a box of spice cake mix and a small can of pumpkin. That's it. Bake as you would other muffins. They are very moist.

Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas

1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded (about 2 or 3 cups)

6 Tbls honey

4 ½ Tbls lime juice

1 Tbls chili powder

½ tsp garlic powder

Mix together in bowl and let marinate for at least ½ hour.

2 cans green enchilada sauce

colby or monterey jack cheese, shredded

flour tortillas (about 11)

Pour a little enchilada sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan. Fill tortillas with chicken and cheese. Wrap as enchiladas and place in pan. Pour rest of sauce over and sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with rice.

SOUTH-OF-THE-BORDER-PIE

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon salt

1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 ½ cups cooked brown rice

1 cup shredded cheese

¾ cup milk

2 beaten eggs

In a saucepan cook onion and garlic in hot oil till tender but not brown. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook one minute more; cool. Stir in beans, cooked rice, cheese, milk, and eggs.

Grease a 10-inch pie plate or 8-inch square pan. Fill with mixture. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for about 25 minutes or until center is set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*Just in case you actually wanted the recipe!

Quick . . .

What's your best meal to bring to a family with a new baby?

Oatmeal Pancakes

For a moist, yummy pancake try these. And the Strawberry Syrup is so good.

1 ½ cup milk
Heat in small saucepan.

1 cup quick oats
Stir into milk, remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

1 cup flour
3 Tbls brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ to ½ tsp cinnamon
Stir together in a bowl and make a well in center.

3 eggs
3 tsp oil
½ tsp vanilla
Add to dry ingredients and add oatmeal/milk. Stir together.


Strawberry Syrup

1 cup orange juice
2 tsp cornstarch
Heat in a saucepan over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

2 cups sliced strawberries
Add to saucepan and cook 2 minutes.

Enchilada Casserole

Very easy. That's about all I have to say about this one.


Enchilada Casserole

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 cup sour cream

Stir all together in crockpot.

12 corn tortillas, torn in pieces
1 cup shredded cheese

Stir into mixture in crockpot. Cook on high for 2 – 3 hours, or low for 5 – 6 hours.
Serve with rice.