Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 head Cabbage
4 things of green onions
1 small pkg. sliced almonds
1 pkg. raman noodles--it doesn't matter what flavor
chicken--cooked and cut up ---I just get the pkg. of sliced chicken breast
Rice Vinegar
sugar
vegetable oil



Directions:

Cut cabbage up into bite size pieces. (Don't use the colesalw mix!) Cut up green onions. In a large bowl, put cabbage, green onions, almonds, and chicken. Take the flavor pouch out of the raman noodles. Break the noodles up with your hands until they aren't one big blob anymore! Add to the bowl.

Dressing:

4 TBSP. sugar
1/2 cup oil
4 TBSP. Rice vinegar.

Drizzle all over salad. Put a lid on the salad and mix it by shaking the bowl around. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes so the dressing can mix in. You may need to add a tad more vinegar. The sugar should dissolve completly.

Mexican Cornbread~~~~ This is a meal, not just a bread!

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 can cream corn
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 lb. ground meat
grated cheese
jalapenos


Brown meat, drain, set aside. Combine all other ingredients except cheese and jalapenos. Mix well. Add 1 tsp of the jalapeno juice and about 5-6 cut jalapenos, and a handful of cheese. Mix. Pour half the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pan sprayed with Pam. Add the ground meat, then the rest of the cornbread mixture. sprinkle with a lot of cheese to cover the top. Add jalapenos on top of the cheese. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Easy Cherry Cobbler

Ingredients:

1 can Cherry Pie Filling

1 can Condensed Milk

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

butter

Pour pie filling into a casserole dish. Mix in the condensed milk. Sprinkle 3/4 bag of dry cake mix on top. Place butter pats all over the top. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. The butter will melt and spread all over the top, giving it a yellowish tint. For crunchier topping, bake longer.

24 hour Brisket for BBQ sandwiches

Ingredients:

7-8 lb. brisket

3 tsp. garlic powder

3 tsp. onion salt

2 tsp. celery salt

3 tsp. black pepper

3 tsp. meat tenderizer

3 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Trim most of the fat from the brisket. It's best to leave some fat on the meat.

Mix the marinate together. This is a dry rub. Rub it all over the meat both front and back. Refrigerate in a closed container for 12 hours.

Remove and place in a crock pot on HIGH for 4 hours.

Turn to LOW for 8 more hours.

Drain the meat and shred. Return to the crock pot.

ADD:

3/4 cups ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup BBQ sauce of your choice. (I usually add about 1/2 cup more)

1/2 cup beer. (I have NOT made this without the beer so I don't know the results by omitting it)

Mix all together. Cook on LOW for another 2 hours.

Serve on warm buns!!

NOTE: Decide what time you want to meat done and count backwards from there to see what time you need to start. You will probably have to get up in the middle of the night!!

Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

8 oz. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

4 oz. shredded Parmesean Cheese

8 oz. cream cheese--softened

1 can artichoke hearts--drained

1 stick butter

1 med onion-chopped

8 oz. sour cream

Soften the onions in a little butter in the microwave. Mix all ingredients together. You may have to use a mixer. Pour into a baking dish. Sprinkle a little extra parmesean on top.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Spicy Crackers

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Canola Oil

1 pkg. ranch dressing mix

1 TBSP. Red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 box saltine crackers

Place the crackers in a container with a tight fitting lid. Just line them up like you would nacho chips.

Mix all the other ingredients together. Drizzle all over crackers. Secure the lid. Flip every 15 minutes for 1 hour.

Baked Spaghetti

This is my favorite "quickie"

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground meat
1 pkg noodles---I use Ziti, spirals, or elbows.
2 cups mozzarella cheese
2 cans spaghetti sauce of your choice.


Brown the meat. Boil the noodles.
Drain the noodles. Add everything to a cassarole dish. Top with more cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes---until the cheese is good and gooey!!!

Corn Cassarole

Ingredients:

1 can cream style corn

1 can whole kernal corn

1 box Jiffy Cornbread mix

2 eggs

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup of water

Directions:

use about half the stick of butter to grease the bottom of a 9X13 pan. Mix everything else in a big bowl. Pour into the dish. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

Optional:

Add 1/2 cup of cheese and sour cream to the mix.

OR add a little jalapeno juice to the mix.

Stuffed Jalapeno's

Ingredients:

15 medium size jalapenos

cream cheese --softened

pkg. bacon

toothpicks

Rubber gloves

Directions:

Cut the tops off the jalapenos. Cut lengthwise (in half) It's best to use gloves for this.

Remove seeds. Be sure to get ALL the seeds out.

Put cream cheese in each half. Wrap with bacon.

Stick a toothpick in to secure.


Bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour..or until the bacon is crispy.

Source: Tricia Kennedy (Mom)

Pictures added

I added pictures to The Dessert post below.

Homemade Jambalaya

Ingredients:

1 large chicken, cut up
1/2 pound sausage
1 stick butter
3 cups uncooked rice
4 large onions
4 cloves garlic
2 sticks celery
1 bell pepper
Tony's

(in lieu of onions, celery, and bell pepper, I use a bag of Seasoning Blend--in the freezer section)


Directions:

Cut skin off chicken, and slice sausage. Season chicken with lots of Tony's.

Heat a stick of butter in a large Dutch oven.

Add chicken and cook until brown. Remove from pot and cut into bite size pieces.


Add seasonings and cook for 10 minutes.
(You may need to add more butter)

Return Chicken to the pot.

Add sausage, rice, and water.

Stir it up real good.

Cover, and cook for about 30 minutes until the rice is cooked. Stir often to keep from sticking.

Voila! Serve!

Source: Tricia Kennedy (Mom)

Chili-Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

1 pkg. cream cheese a little soft
1 can chili with beans
1 bag of shredded cheese

Directions:

In a microwavable dish, spread cream cheese evenly on the bottom. Add chili and spread over the cream cheese. Top with cheese all over. Pop in the microwave until the cheese melts. (roughly 1-2 minutes). Serve with chips!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter-softened
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
2 cups All purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Reeses Peanut Butter Cups-cut into small pieces ( I like to use more than this!!!)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the bottom of a loaf pan. (I actually used a bunch of mini loaf pans and gave them for Christmas presents). In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter until creamy. Add eggs, milk, vanilla, and bananas. Beat another 30 seconds or so. Add all remaining ingredients except candy. Mix until just moistened. Fold in about2 of the cut up Reeses Cups. Pour into the pan or pans. Bake for 1 hour or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. Sprinkle the remaining candy on top of the bread while it's still warm.

Source: Pillsbury

Tiramisu Bowl

This is a cheap version of Olive Garden's Tiramisu. It tastes a LOT like the original!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. cream cheese-softened
3 cups milk
2 pkgs. vanilla instant pudding
1 tb cool whip-thawed
vanilla wafers
1/2 cup brewed coffee--cooled
2 squares Baker's chocolate-grated

Directions:

Beat cream cheese until creamy. Beat in milk and pudding. Stir in 2 cups Cool whip. Line the bottom of a clear glass bowl with vanilla wafers. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of coffee. Top with pudding mixture. Repear with vanilla wafers, coffee, and pudding. Top with remaining cool whip and grated chocolate. Refrigerate.

Source: Food and Family Magazine

Buffet Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 lb. bag of frozen hash browns-thawed
1 pint sour cream
1/2 lb. grated velveeta
1 med onion-finely chopped
1 can mushroom soup
1 stick butter-melted
pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except potatoes. Mix potatoes in. Bake in a greased pan for an hour to hour and half at 350 degrees.


Source: Aunt Sylvia

Apple Cider

Ingredients

Apple Juice
Cranberry Juice
Cinnamon Sticks
Red Hots
Whole cloves
Large pot


Directions:

pour 2-1 apple to cranberry juice into a pot (I uses 2 bottles of apple juice to 1 bottle of cranberry)
Add a few cinnamon sticks, a bag of red hots and whole cloves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low-med until the red hots are all melted. Remove cloves before serving. Great for Christmas Eve or any cold night!

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Ingredients

a bunch of fresh green beans
a pack of bacon
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut the ends off the green beans. Gather about 5 that are roughly the same length. Cut a strip of bacon in half. Wrap it around the beans. Place in a pan. Keep wrapping until you are out of bacon or green beans! Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. (easy on the salt, heavy on the pepper!) Place in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until the bacon is done.

Russian Chicken

Ingredients:

1 chicken cut up-or just buy it cut up!
1 bottle Russian Salad Dressing
1 jar Apricot Preserves
2 pkgs. Onion Soup Mix


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Remove skin from chicken and wash. Arrange chicken in a deep pan in a single layer. In a bowl, mix salad dressing, preserves, and onion soup mix. Pour over chicken. Bake for about 45 minutes--until chicken is done.

Goes great with potatoe salad and baked beans!

Squash Dressing

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Mexican Cornbread mix
2 1/2 lbs. fresh squash, sliced, and boiled until tender
1 med. onion, cut up, sauted in butter
1/4 cup butter
1 8 oz. jar Cheese Whiz
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
garlic powder ---to taste
salt --to taste

Directions:

Make cornbread according to the package. Let cool, then crumble into a large bowl. Heat Cheese Whiz in the microwave for about 30 seconds (remove the lid!) Stir Cheese Whiz into the cornbread. Add Rotel, mushroom soup, onions, garlic, salt and drained squash. Mix well. Pour into a baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes on 350. Remove foil and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Source: my cousin Melissa

The Dessert!

We just call this "The Dessert"




Ingredients:
2 pkgs. strawberry no-bake cheesecake mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups cold milk
1 can crushed pineapple, well drained
3 firm bananas, sliced
1/2 cup chocolate ice cream topping
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 carton Cool Whip, thawed
1/3 cup pecans
cherries with out stems



Make the cheesecakes as directed, including crust. Chill for 1 hour.

Spread strawberry topping on top. Add pineapples and bananas.

Top with Cool Whip.

Drizzle the chocolateon top. (I like to make pretty designs!) Drizzle with caramel. ( I usually do the chocolate diaganal from one corner and the caramel from the other).



Top with cherries and pecans!

Hint: You will need a deep dish for this as it will be VERY full!

**I just used half of this recipe. If you use the whole thing, you will need a 9X13 dish.

Mini Taco Cups

Ever wonder what you could do with the Tostitos Scoops? Well, wait no more!! Just in time for the Superbowl!!!

Ingredients

48 Tostitos Scoops Chips unbroken

3/4 cup sour cream

8-12 jalapeno slices..chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning

1 can chili--vegetarian or not..which ever you prefer

1/2 cup shredded cheese

Place oven rack in the top position. Heat oven to broil.

Arrange Scoops in a single layer. You may have to use 2 baking pans.

In a small bowl, stir sour cream and jalapenos with taco seasoning. (you could just use a teaspoon or so of the jalapeno juice for the same effect)

Place about a teaspoon of the chili (straight from the can!) into each Scoop. Top with 1/2 teaspoon of cheese. (I don't measure this..I just put cheese on top!)

Place in oven on broil for about 2 minutes. Careful: Don't let the chips burn!!

The cheese will begin to melt.

Remove the chips and place a small drop of the sour cream mix on top of the cheese.

Serve!!!

I don't have a picture of this yet, but I usually make it for parties and football games.

Source: Family Circle

Shrimp Pasta

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 (8 ounce) package angel hair pasta
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 pound large shrimp - peeled and deveined
2 cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Boil Pasta and drain. In a skillet, saute garlic in olive oil.

After garlic is tender, add shrimp. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

Remove shrimp. Add tomatoes, basil, and parsley. Cook until the liquid is reduced. If you want more juicy sause, don't cook as long!!!!


Return shrimp to the skillet and cook for about 5 more minutes.

Serve over pasta with Parmesan Cheese!

This is something we cook a lot. It does NOT make a lot though, so you may want to double it if cooking for more than 3-4 people. You can also substitute shrimp for crabmeat or other seafood.

Taco Soup

Since it's going to be VERY cold this week, I will be making a huge pot of Taco Soup tonight and we will be eating on it all week! This is my favorite thing to eat when it's cold!

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans corn
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can water ---I usually put more in
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
shredded cheese
sour cream


Brown the meat and drain. In a large stock pot, put meat, taco seasoning, pinto beans, corn, tomaotes, 1 can of water, and ranch dressing pkg. Mix all together and let simmer for about an hour.
Serve over Fritos, or Tortilla chips or nothing at all!
Add cheese and sour cream to the top..or not! It's delicious either way!

Hint: Do NOT drain the juices from the cans.
You can also substitue one can of tomatoes for Rotel for a little spicyness!

grrrrr

Any full time blogger wanna tell me how to put the pictures in the post? When I upload them, they don't go where I want them to go...grrrrr...

Cakes

I don't generally take pictures while I am cooking, so I will start with something I already have a picture of. This is the cake I made for Lincoln's 1st birthday!



I also made his "smash cake". This one was made from scratch. No cake pan, just me and my carving knife!

I'm a new blogger!

I decided to start a blog to collect all my recipes. An online cookbook if you will! Not that I am a master chef or anything, but sharing recipes and getting new ones is always fun!!
Happy Cooking!