Christmas Breakfast Casserole

It's a little early, but I'm already dreaming about it. This is what my mom makes on Christmas morning. (You have to prepare it the night before, tho)

6 slices bread w/o crust and buttter one side (butter side down)
4 C cheese
1 (4 oz) can green chiles
Ham/Bacon, Sausage, whatever you want, cooked and chopped
6 eggs
2C milk
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp. Paperika
1 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp dry mustard powder

Put bread butter side down in a casserole dish.
Layer Cheese, Green Chiles, Meat on bread.
Beat together the egg and the milk. Mix in seasonings.
Cover and chill casserole overnight.
Bake 325 for 50 min without a cover.
Let stand 10 min.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

We were sick last week and I saved the day by making soup. Without a recipe, here's how I did it.

Ingredients:
1 pound frozen boneless skinless chicken breast tenders
About 4 cups water (OR chicken stock OR water + a chicken bullion cube or 2)
About a tsp each of thyme, sage, celery salt, pepper, and Season All
About 1-2 TBS each salt, minced garlic, dried onion
A dash of crushed red pepper
2 Celery stalks, chopped
10-15 baby carrots, chopped
8 oz. pasta

Boil the chicken with the water, vegetables, and spices (I would highly recommend using chicken broth or bullion if you have it, I didn't, but it would have improved things a bit). In about 20-30 minutes the chicken will be cook, scoop it out and chop it into bite size bits. Simmer until carrots are tender. Add the pasta (egg noodles, penne, whatever, pasta's pasta, right? Maybe not lasagna noodles, but then again, may so.) and cook for another 8-15 minutes, until pasta is tender.

Now, here's the kicker, being sick, therefore, not in my right mind, I wanted not just soup, but also garlic mashed potatoes - so I prepared the soup and let it simmer on low whilst I made garlic mashed potatoes. Then I combined 1.5 TBS (or one big scoop) of cornstarch to 1/4 cup water, mixed it thoroughly and added it to the soup, allowing it to reach a boil for a few minutes, thus thickening the broth to a nice almost gravy consistency. We then served the soup (pasta, chicken, and all) over the mashed potatoes. AND it was really yummy.

So yeah, sure you could open a can of fancy pants chicken and noodle soup, but the noodles ALWAYS taste funny and the soup is too salty and there's not enough chicken. OR you can make it yourself and within an hour you can have a whole pot of yummy health.

Good Morning Coffee Cake

2 1/3 C flour
1 1/3 C sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 C shortening
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 (3 oz) cream cheese (soft)
14 oz sweet-condensed milk
1/3 C lemon juice
2 tsp cinnamon, divided
1 C (29 oz) sliced peaches and chopped (well-drained) or 21 oz apple pie filling
1 C chopped nuts, divided
1/3 C brown sugar

Preheat oven 350.

In lg bowl comb. flour, sugar, salt; cut in shortening until crumbly.
RESERVE 1 C crumb mix!
To remaining crumbs, add paking pdr, then milk, eggs, vanilla. Beat on med. speed 2 min.
Spread into greased 13x9 in pan.
Bake 25 min. until set.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in condensed milk. Stir in lemon juice, then drained peaches, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon, set aside.
In small bowl, comb. reserved crumbs, remaining 1/2 C nuts, 1 tsp cinnamon, and brown sugar. Spoon peach mix evenly on top of cake. Sprinkle with crumb mix. Bake 35 min longer until set. Cool. Serve warm.

Pumpkin Roll

I'm on a roll, lol! I can't beleive I haven't posted this one yet. Well, here we are in time for fall.

3 eggs
1 C sugar
2/3 C pumpkin puree
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 C flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
8 oz cream cheese
4 Tbsp butter
1 C powder sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven 350. Grease and flour 10x15 in jelly roll pan (or I make do with whatever other pan I have:).

In large mixing bowl: beat eggs, sugar on high 5 min. Mix in pumpin (I'm usually generous on the pumpkin puree portion) and lemon.

In another bowl combine flour, baking pdr, salt, cinn, ginger (I am very generous with my spices I usually sprinkle in some pre-mixed pumpkin spice too). Stir into pumpkin mix.

Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle pecans (optional, I never have pecans:)

Bake 12-15 min. until springy. Turn out on powder sugar dusted towels (one for the top, one for the bottom). Roll warm bread up in the towels to keep it from sticking to itself and help it keep the rolled shape while you prepare the filling. Cool 20 min.

In a small mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla.
Unroll the bread and fill with cream cheese mixture. Roll again and wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate. Serve chilled.

Eclair Cake

Oh, my goodness, this is one of my favorite desserts!!! Let's see if I can decipher my recipe.

1 C water
1 cube butter (1/2 c)

Boil water with butter. Take off of heat and add:

1 C flour
4 eggs

Grease cookie sheet and pour batter into it. Cook 425 for 20 min.

Mix 2 small instant puddings (of your choice, I think we usually did vanilla) with 8 oz. cream cheese and 4 cups of milk. Pour over the crust. Cover with cool whip.
Drizzle with chocolate syrup (optional)

Mozzarella Chicken

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (however many you want:)
Italian Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper to taste
Spagetti Sauce
Mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350. Salt and pepper chicken, you can also add extra italian seasoning if you like. Roll in Bread Crumbs and pan sear chicken in hot frying pan. When golden brown, place on cookie sheet (I like to foil it so I don't have to wash it:) and put it in the oven on 350 until the juices run clear. Then top with warmed spagetti sauce and mozarella cheese. I always serve with a side of spagetti, cuz the sauce is already done. Easy meal, tastes gourmet! Also, if you don't want to splurge on mozzarella, cheddar works just fine too!

Sesame Chicken Marinade

I got this recipe in the spice isle of my friendly neighborhood grocery store. I bought a bottle of toasted sesame seeds over a year ago and haven't used them much. The original recipe called for boneless sirloin (who was Sir Loin anyway .. unfortunate name!), but I am cutting down on red meat and didn't have any steak anyway. The chicken turned out GLORIOUS. I grilled it ... I have never grilled by myself before. I recommend making twice as much of this as you need and then (mmmmm) using the leftover scrumptious chicken for one of those tasty chicken casseroles the next night; that's what I'm doing.

Ingredients:

1 TBS Sesame Seeds
1/4 CUP soy sauce
3 TBS oil
1 TBS brown sugar
1 TSP onion powder
1/4 TSP garlic salt
1/4 TSP ground ginger
1/4 TSP ground black pepper
1-1.5 lbs chicken (I used those handy dandy boneless skinless chicken breast tenders)

Directions:

TOAST (I had already toasted sesame seeds, but if you don't) just put the seeds in a dry skillet on medium heat, stirring frequently until seeds are golden brown and fragrant. Pour out of pan to avoid over toasting, i.e. burning.

MIX all ingredients, except meat, in zip top freezer bag (or a glass dish). Mix them up good and add meat. Turn to coat well.

REFRIGERATE at least 30 minutes (longer = more flavor). Remove meat and discard any remaining marinade.

Cook the suckers ... grilling them tastes great. The recipe also suggests broiling on high, either way, 4-5 minutes on each side. So good!!

HURRY, grilling season is almost over!!!

Brownie Recipe from the kitchen of Susan Tuft!

Susan’s Wonderful Brownies!

Mix all this stuff together with your mix master:

1 cube softened margarine
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Then add:
½ cup dry powdered milk (the “instant” kind...most of them are)
1/3 cup cocoa powder (the dark bitter stuff)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup flour

Batter will be stiff. Spread into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 28-30 minutes, at
somewhere between 325 & 350 degrees. Don’t over bake. (Don’t over eat!!)
Now! These brownies are real tasty with chocolate frosting of some kind, but, they’re EVEN
BETTER UN-frosted, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on them, and covered with this sauce:

Chocolate Microwave Sauce

Add all this dry stuff and mix it well::

1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cocoa powder
dash salt
Then put in 1 cup of water and stir it up.

Microwave on high power for about 2 minutes, or until it just begins to thicken. Then take it out,
stir in 2 Tablespoons of butter or margarine, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
Microwave again for about 1-1 ½ minutes more, til thick. Don’t go too long in the microwave or
it can get Way Too Thick. (You can cure this by adding water, and Stirring Soundly, by the
way).
Anyway, when it’s thick but not TOO thick, pour it over the ice cream and brownie.
DELICIOUS!!!

Mormon Lasagne:)

This is not exactly authentic, but yummy nonetheless. I hope I haven't posted it before...

1 pkg lasagne noodles
2 lbs-ish hamburger
2 cans tomato sauce
1 small pkg sour cream
1 small pkg cottage cheese
1 can chopped olives
pinch of salt
1 1/2 c-ish of shredded cheese, or however much you like!

Boil noodles. Brown hamburger with a little salt and pepper if you like. When brown, add tomato sauce. You can also add a dash of cornstarch if it's runny.

In a small bowl, stir together about 3/4ths of the sour cream and cottage cheese. Add olives and a bit of salt. I know there are actual measurements, but honestly, I lost the recipe and this works just as well:) Just add until it tastes/looks good. You can't go wrong.

Then go ahead and layer it! I do noodles, meat sauce, noodles, sour cream mixture, noodles, meat sauce and then shred cheddar over the top.

Bake at 375 for about 45 min or until bubbily. (Also, I like to cover the top with tin foil so it doesn't get dried out). Okay, The End.

Butter noodles and saute'd shrimp

Shrimp are probably the easiest and tastiest things on the earth. Here is the recipe for our delicious dinner of last night, which all my children enjoyed. My husband however, asked, "what stinks?" when he came home. Can't please everyone.

Ingredients:

Jumbo, flash frozen, pre-cooked, Shrimp - about 6 pieces per person works well for our family

1/4 stick of butter

Olive Oil

2 Garlic cloves

Parsley, oregano, crushed red pepper, rosemary, salt, pepper, chives, onion flakes, you know, what every yummy spices you like.

Noodles (we used linguine)

Directions:

Thaw the shrimp by running cold water over them in a colander; set aside. Boil and salt water, drop in noodles. In a skillet, on medium heat, melt butter with a few TBS of olive oil. When that is nice and melty, add garlic, onions and all the spices your heart enjoys (we used all those listed above, in moderation). Let the garlic get happy, but not toasty. Drop in the shrimp. They are already cooked, so you are just warming them through and covering them in yummies. Then turn the heat way down. When the noodles are done, drain and combine them with the shrimpy buttery happiness.

We served this with apple slices, steamed cauliflower, and watermelon. It is my current theory that fruit and veggies should make up the main parts of your meal and the meats and grains should be treated more like small side dishes.

One-Dish Chicken Bake

Here's another back of the box recipe. It's alot like your chicken and vegetable, Brandy. We had it tonight, I love it. Here you go!

1 pkg. Stove Top
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 can crm of mushroom soup
1/3 c sour cream or milk
*I always half recipe this for our little family

Mix Stuffing pouch with 1 2/3 C water, set aside.

Place chicken in 13x9 baking dish. Mix soup and sour cream; pour over chicken. Spoon stuffing evenly over top.

Bake 375 for 35 min.

On a new Health Trend

Been eating a lot of salsa. I love pretty much any kind of salsa, but here's a quick recipe to make some fresh. Some restaurants call in Pica De Gillo or something like that. Like I said, it's all salsa to me.

Homemade Fresh Salsa

4 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, diced or pressed
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeno, diced (leave some seeds for heat, if desired)
juice from half a lime
salt and pepper to taste.

Mix tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno in a bowl. Squeeze lime juice over. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. This has almost no calories and is great with corn chips, over chicken, pasta, grilled steaks ... it's just a great healthy thing.

Creamy One-Dish Chiken and Vegetables Skillet

Ingredients:

6 small boneless skinless chicken halves (I'm on a low meat thing, just used 3 little tender things)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1 10 oz pkg frozen mixed vegetables (I like broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots) - THAWED.
1 pkg Stove top stuffing mix, northern style with long grain and wild rice (PREPARED!)

Directions:

1. Heat up oil or spray skillet. Add chicken. Cook on medium heat, 5 minutes on each side.

2. Mix soup, sour cream, and vegetables. Pour over chicken. Top with prepared stuffing. Reduce heat to low; cover.

3. Cook an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

So .. I love stuffing and love the quick recipe things they put on the boxes, which is, of course, where I got this recipe. However, I did not read it carefully enough and dumped the uncooked stuffing on my chicken and sauce mixture. THEN, as I was typing the instruction in here, I realized the stuffing needed to be already prepared before I added it to the chicken. I knew this recipe sounded TOO easy. So I quickly added some butter chunks, some water, and am now praying for the best .... There's the timer now .. hold on .... the rice needed a little more time, but other than that, mmmm, comfort food. This will feed my troupes for a couple days! A lovely green salad with ARUUUUUGALA, some cantaloupe chunks, and delicioso! Dinner, tonight!

Lazy Mom Cooked SOmething

I liked it, but the kids ... eh, what do they know. Here it is, dinner in under 20 minutes.

1 box Macaroni and cheese dinner
1 can tuna
1/2 bag mixed veggies (ours was carrots, peas, corn, green and lima beans)

Cook mac and cheese according to box directions, add drained tuna, add veggies (if frozen, just turn the stove down to low and put a lid on it for 5-10 minutes until the veggies are all warm and happy). Enjoy the white trashy goodness.

Mystery Recipe: Sumptuous Pork Chop Delight

Sometimes I write down a quick list of ingredients, some cryptic instructions and fill a scrap of paper away in my overflowing ancient recipe box. Here's an example of what wonders lay hidden:

1 pkg. herb and onion stuffing
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8-10 pork chops (though I can't imagine I'd ever cook more than 4 at a time ... maybe it I froze them?!)
1/2 can milk (arggg - i detest recipes that call for half a can ... the other half is just wasted. I bet regular milk or whole, or even sour cream would work ... but no, i have to stick to the recipe so as not to accidentally kill my family)

Prepare stuffing according to directions on box - put in a 9x13 baking dish.
Brown chops.
Bake 350. 1 hour.

That's all I've got. Hope it works. I might suggest adding a bit of seasoning to the chops. Not sure when the milk and soup come in, but I would wager to guess after the chicken, before the stuffing, combined. And I would call this magnificent conglomeration of normalcy ... Sumptuous Pork Chop Delight.

(spell check was off, sorry!)

Had enough chicken yet? How about Chicken and Broccoli Stuffing Skillet

1 pound of chicken (or so)
1 TBS oil
2 cups water
5 glorious cups of fresh broccoli florets (bite size)
1 pkg stuffing (yes, stove top whole wheat for chicken, mmm)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (everything is better with cheese)

Cook chicken in the hot oil on medium high, 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet and cover to keep warm (or if you have that handy "keep warm" setting on the microwave, now's the time to try that out!).

Add water and broccoli to skillet, bring to a boil. Add stuffing, stir until just moistened.

Return chicken to it's loving place in the skillet; sprinkle with a shower of shredded cheddar cheese. Reduce heat to low; cover. Cook 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

I adore this recipe, my family likes it. Try it out, its a casserole, but it's good!

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (try the garlic & olive oil kind)
1 pkg stuffing mix (try stove top whole wheat for chicken, it's my favorite and my best!)
2 cloves garlic, lovingly minced
1 pound of chicken (or so) hacked into bite size pieces.
1 tbs dried basil leaves (or fresh, more so, if you roll that way)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Place tomatoes with all their lovely liquid into a medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, 1/2 cup hot water and garlic; stir until moistened ans set aside.

Lovingly arrange chicken into 9X13 baking dish, sprinkle with basil and cheese. Top with the prepared stuffing.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

GOES GREAT WITH A NICE BAG OF SALAD!
ooo, and bread sticks, mmm.

Eassssy Chicken Bake

1 pkg Stuffing Mix (I like stove top, whole wheat, for chicken)
3/4 cup hot water
1 pound (or so) boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite size pieces.
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup sour cream
1 bag mixed veggies, thawed, drained

Preheat oven to 400. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of dry stuffing mix evenly on bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Set aside. Add hot water to remaining stuffing mix, stir until just moistened. Set aside.

Place chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper) over dry stuffing in baking dish. Mix soup, sour cream and veggies; spoon over chicken. Top with the prepared (moistened) stuffing.

Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Chicken Parmesan Alfredo

We've been on a chicken kick lately, reap the fruits of our labors:

Chicken Parmesan Alfredo

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (though I prefer the chicken tenders one can buy now)
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs (I'll post my recipe for these later)
1/4 tsp paprika
1 jar Alfredo sauce (i guess you could make some, but I never have cream around)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 medium tomato (or a drained can of diced ones)

Preheat oven to 400. Dip chicken in egg then breadcrumbs combined with paprika, coat well.

Arrange chicken in a 9X13 baking dish. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes

Pour 1 cup sauce over chicken, top with cheese, then tomato. Bake another 10 minutes (make sure chicken is cooked through). Serve with noodles and remaining sauce, sprinkle with some grated Parmesan.

A New Recipe

Fiesta Chicken Casserole

From: Campbell's Kitchen

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (15 oz.) refrigerated pie crust
1 jar (16 oz.) Pace® Chunky Salsa
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup OR 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 oz.)
1 pkg. (24 oz.) frozen whole kernel corn
2 cans (9.75 oz. each) Swanson® Premium Chunk Chicken, drained
1 can (about 15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Bring pie crust to room temperature.

MIX salsa, soup, sour cream, cheese, corn, chicken and beans in large bowl. Spoon into ungreased 13"x"9"x 2" baking pan.

PLACE crusts on floured surface, overlapping about 3" in the center. Press seam to seal. Roll into 14"x10" rectangle. Trim excess crust. Place crust over beef mixture and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry.

BAKE for 40 to 45 min. or until pie crust is golden brown.