Sunday, February 27, 2011

Breakfast Muffins


Ingredients:
1 (1-lb.) package ground pork sausage                         
3 cups all-purpose baking mix 
(Bisquick)
1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese                         
3/4 cup water
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can condensed cheese soup


Directions:
1. Cook sausage in a large skillet, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain
    and cool.
2. Combine sausage, baking mix, and shredded cheese in a large bowl; make a well in
    center of mixture.
3. Stir together soup and 3/4 cup water; add to sausage mixture, stirring just until dry
    ingredients are moistened. Spoon into lightly greased muffin pans, filling to top of
    cups.
4. Bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.



Makes 15 muffins
                  

Monday, February 21, 2011

Firehouse Crackers


  • 1/2 cup Canola Oil
  • 3 tablespoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1 pack Ranch Dressing
  • Place 2 sleeves of Saltine Crackers in a bowl with a lid or a large zip lock baggie.
Pour mixture over crackers and turn and shake gently until most of it is spread around on the crackers. If you make them in the morning and turn every hour or so they should be ready to eat in the afternoon. All of the Oil, Ranch Dressing and Crushed Red Pepper Flakes will be absorbed into the crackers.

Spinach Dip



MAKES 4 cups dip
PREP TIME: 10 Minute(s)
CHILL TIME: 2 Hour(s)
INGREDIENTS
1 package (10 oz.) baby spinach, chopped  or 1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
1 package Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped (optional)
3 green onions, chopped (optional)
PREPARATION
Everyone Loves Our Dip! Here's How We Make It:
Combine all ingredients and chill about 2 hours. Serve with your favorite dippers to your favorite people.
A new serving idea: Hollow out cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes. Fill vegetables with Knorr Spinach Dip and garnish with a sprig of dill.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Baked Tortilla Chips




Ingredients

  • Cooking spray
  • 3 sun-dried tomato basil tortilla wraps
  • 3 garden spinach herb tortilla wraps
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
Directions


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside.
On a cutting board, stack 3 tortillas and using a sharp knife, cut into 8 wedges (like a pie). Repeat with remaining tortillas. Separate any that may stick together. Place on baking sheet, evenly spaced.Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Remove and let cool.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Potato-Ham Bake


ingredients

  • 1  lb.  Yukon gold potatoes, sliced
  • 1  8-oz. tub  light cream cheese spread with chive and onion
  • 3/4  cup  milk
  • 1/4  cup  finely shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1  Tbsp.  snipped fresh tarragon or 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon, crushed
  • 8  oz.  cooked boneless ham, cut in bite-sized slices
  • 1  lb.  fresh asparagus spears, trimmed, cut in 2 to 3-inch pieces
  •     Tarragon sprigs (optional)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In medium saucepan cook potatoes, covered, in small amount of lightly salted boiling water 5 to 7 minutes, just until tender. Drain; transfer to bowl and set aside.
2. For sauce, in same saucepan combine cream cheese, milk, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Heat and whisk until smooth and cheese is melted. Remove from heat; stir in tarragon.
3. Layer potatoes, ham, asparagus, and sauce in 1-1/2-quart baking dish. Bake, covered, 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle remaining Parmesan. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Top with tarragon and freshly ground black pepper. Serves 4.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Chicken Spaghetti (Vegetarian Style/NonVeg Style)




From my friend, Sarah, who is a vegetarian:

Today I decided to make my own version of Chicken Spaghetti Casserole. This was a dish I LOVED as a kid, but as a vegetarian, I hadn't had it in years. The original recipe came from cooks.com website but I made a few tweaks and it turned out great.

4 boneless chicken breast (I used Quorn meatless chicken nuggets http://www.quorn.us/products/Chik%27n_Tenders.aspx)
8oz Velveeta (I prefer Velveeta with 2% milk)
1 can Rotel
1 can Cream of Mushroom
1 package spaghetti
pepper
garlic

For those using real chicken:
Boil chicken (Cooks Note: for more tender chicken, don't boil; simmer slowly over low heat instead).
For those using meatless chicken:
Simmer meatless chicken nuggets with extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.
Boil spaghetti according to package directions.
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Combine: chicken, spaghetti, Cream of Mushroom, Rotel (drain juice from Rotel and set aside), pepper, and garlic to taste.
Place combined ingredients in a casserole dish.
Melt Velveeta in microwave (about 2 minutes). Add Rotel juice as needed to thin cheese out.
Pour melted Velveeta over casserole.
Bake at 325 for about 20 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble.

Fresh out of the oven:


Sausage Soup



Ingredients:
6 potatoes, cubed
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
½ stick margarine
3 cups water
1 can of whole Kernel Corn
1 pound Hillshire Farm sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
Salt to taste                                                                                    
Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Slice sausage and cook in a skillet until brown (this will remove some of the grease from the sausage). Drain sausage onto paper towels. In a large pot over medium heat, combine, onion and celery, with the margarine and sauté until vegetables are soft. Add the sausage and then pour in water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.  Add potatoes and cook until tender, approximately 25 minutes. Add a can of corn and continue to simmer until heated thoroughly and slightly thickened. Season with pepper. Serve hot.
I usually serve with green onions and cornbread.

Yields 6 servings.            

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Hard Rock Candy

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

3/4 cup water

1 dram (1 teaspoon) LorAnn Gourmet Flavoring

1/2 tsp. LorAnn Gourmet Liquid Food Coloring (I used regular food coloring)

Powdered sugar (optional)

Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in 2-qt. saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil without stirring. When syrup temperature reaches 260 degrees F, add color. Do not stir; boiling action will incorporate color into syrup. Remove from heat at 300 degrees F or when drops of syrup form hard, brittle threads in cold water. After boiling action ceases, stir in flavoring. Avoid rising steam when stirring. Poor syrup  into lightly oiled candy molds or onto greased cookie sheet and score with knife to form bite-size pieces. (I use the side of a meat tenderizer to break it apart after it hardens.) When cool, break into pieces and dust with powdered sugar to prevent sticking. Store in an airtight container.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Crockery Pot Chicken Tortilla

From the Kitchen of:  Happy
Source:  Carol Coulter (H@ppy's Mom)
I often strain the chicken broth, thicken 2 or 3 cups and use instead of soup. You can also add jalapeno's if you like it hotter. I also use more cheese. I copied this from a note card Mom wrote me (she's 90). It is a yummy recipe.

    1fryer, cooked boned, and cut up bite size
    2canscream of chicken soup
    1cantomatoes with chilies (Rotel)
    2tbsp.quick tapioca
    6-8corn tortillas
    1onion, chopped
    2cupsgrated cheddar cheese
Mix soup, tomatoes and tapioca. Add chicken. Tear tortillas into pieces.
Spray crockpot or casserole with Pam spray.
Layer starting with tortillas, then chicken mix, onion, cheese. Repeat twice, the top is cheese.
Cook in crockpot 6-8 hours on low or 3 on high. For casserole bake 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.