Fruit Salad

This is also a great after school snack, or late-night treat. I also use it as a side because it's so easy to make.

Fancy Nancy Salad Cups

Sophie attended a "Fancy Nancy" party with her girls scout troop (and yes, it was the cutest thing ever!!). So we had to make something fancy for her to bring. I went to Gourmet Mom-on-the-go knowing she'd having something cute, and I was not dissapointed. You just take pizza dough (I had some premade on hand) cut it into rectagles, and stuff them into the bottom of a muffin pan. The cooked at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. The shape doesn't have to be exact, but I do wish I had thinned out the dough more. After we pulled out the cooked cups, we had to stab them with the end of the rolling pin to decrease the puffiness. (Does that even make sense??)

We stuffed our cups with salad materials we had on hand: romaine lettuce, apples, walnuts, and Italian dressing. I'm not sure that the girl scouts loved the salad (they had a lot of cupcakes to fill up on) but my kiddos loved eating their salad out of cups, and the cups themselves were tasty. Go to Gourmet Mom if you are interested; her sald cups are way cuter and she has a yummy salad recipe posted with it.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

I needed a side to go with the Spicy Shrimp and Mushroom Casserole recipe and this went perfectly. I found it on the site a couple cooks, which looks worth digging through for more yummy recipes. Especially since in their "about" section they talk about how they made a decision to reduce their meat intake.

I basically followed the recipe as shown below, except that I had a hard time getting my peppers to keep their shape. My mother-in-law came up with the idea of placing the peppers flat on the bottom of the casserole dish and just covering them with as much filling as I could.

So here is the recipe:

Serves 4

What You Need
4 poblano peppers
1 cup uncooked brown rice (or 4 cups of any cooked grain)
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 15 oz. can of black beans
1 1/2 cups frozen or canned corn kernels
3 green onions (optional)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
Cayenne to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Shredded cheese (we used a Mexican blend)
Chopped cilantro for serving (optional)

What To Do

1 Combine 1 cup uncooked rice with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer according to package instructions. (Or, prepare the rice or grain ahead of time.)

2 While the rice cooks, prepare the peppers: slice them in half and remove the seeds and ribs. Make sure to wear gloves! I learned this the hard way (don’t ask).

3 Place the peppers in a baking dish skin side up. Broil about 7 minutes, then flip the peppers and broil 7 minutes more.

4 Chop the 3 green onions (if using), and drain and rinse the black beans.

5 In a large microwave safe bowl, combine: beans, onions, 1 1/2 cups salsa, 1 1/2 cups corn, a bit of the shredded cheese, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, a couple dashes of cayenne (if you like it spicy!). Season with salt and pepper to taste. When the rice is finished, combine with the filling.
Note: Remember that quantities and ingredients are all to taste, so feel free to adjust as needed!

6 Heat the filling a few minutes in the microwave (or on the stove) until warm, depending on the heat of the rice.

7 Place the pepper halves skin side down in a baking dish, and spoon the filing into each half. Top with shredded cheese and broil until the cheese is melted, for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

8 If desired, garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with sour cream.

Baked Mac and Cheese

( 6 servings )

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 (8 ounce) package processed American cheese, cut into strips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion for 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk, salt, mustard and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until mixture boils and thickens.

3. Meanwhile, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

4. To the milk mixture add the Cheddar and American cheeses; stir until cheese melts. Combine macaroni and cheese sauce in a 2 quart baking dish; mix well.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

-from somebody fabulous

Country Pasta with Mozarella

(a great side dish for the Chicken BBQ or the Cream Cheese Hamburgers) - 6 servings

8 oz. rigatoni pasta

8 slices bacon, cut into 1 in. pieces

2 C broccoli florets

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 C chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Cook rigatoni according to package directions and drain.

In a 10 in. skillet cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned. Add the broccoli and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is slightly tender.

Stir in the cooked rigatoni, mozarella cheese, parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

fruit salad

This was submitted by Kammy T as found on the blog Friends and Food.

2 cans of peaches

1 large can drained mandarin oranges

1 banana

1/4 small package of vanilla pudding

Prepare the fruit salad by draining off two cans of peaches (and chop into bite sizes if needed) and save about 1/2 cup of the juice. Add peaches to a bowl along with one large can drained mandarin oranges. Use 1/4 package of a small package of vanilla pudding and whisk in the peach juice. Stir into the fruit and let sit in the fridge until serving time, then add one banana sliced and toss in.

mac and cheese

1 lb favorite pasta (author uses bow tie)

4 Tbl butter

4 tbl flour

2 C milk

2 C cheese (mild cheddar and mozzarella)

Submitted by Kammy T as found from the site Friends and Food

Cook 1 lb. of your favorite pasta in a large pot(we like bow tie) don't forget to salt the water when you add the pasta. While it cooks make the white sauce (or roux)

In a small sauce pan (with tall sides) melt 4 TB butter over medium heat, or just a tad warmer. Then whisk in 4 TB flour until it's smooth. Slowly, while whisking add 2 cups milk (we use 1%). Continue to check on it and give it a stir while you prepare the rest of the meal, it will start to thicken up, when it's just barely thickened, turn heat to low. Grate about 2 cups, give or take, of your favorite cheese (we use mild cheddar and sometimes a combo of that with mozzarella too), set aside.

When the pasta is done drain it off and put it back into the pot. Stir in the white sauce,toss in the cheese and stir until all the pasta has cheese on it, then cover with the lid. The cheese will melt up and be ready to serve. I usually bake mine in a casserole dish, but discovered if you let it sit in the pot for a few minutes it's just the same as if you bake it essentially except for a golden crust on the top, but time is too precious!

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

5 pounds of Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes

¾ cups butter

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened

½ cups half and half

½ tsp Lawry’s seasoned salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to

a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30-35 minutes. When they’re cooked

through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into

the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to

escape before adding in all the other ingredients.

Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, cream cheese, and half and half. Mash and then add ½

tsp of Lawry’s Seasoning salt and ½ tsp of black pepper. Stir well and place in a medium sized baking

dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 35o degree oven and

heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

-Rachel Freeman

Brushetta

3 Lg Tomato’s seeded & chopped
2 Garlic Cloves minced
2 Tsp Olive oil
2 Tsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp fresh basil chopped (Or powdered)
1 Thin French Bread cut in small slices
1 Cup grated Mozzarella Cheese
Combine all ingredients, including cheese. Marinate in fridge for 20 min. Slice bread, brush with Olive oil on BOTH sides. Bake bread ONLY at 350 for 5-10 min. Take bread out and add everything on it. Then, Broil for 5-10 min.

Alicia Warnock

Spaghetti Squash

1 Spaghetti Squash
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp Butter
8 oz Slice Mushrooms
2 Medium ripe Tomato’s chopped
1 Medium Zucchini cut into ¼ inch slices
5 green onions chopped including tops
1 Tsp Minced Garlic
1 Medium Red Pepper cut into 1/8 inch strips
¼ lb Sweet Peas (frozen)
¾ Cup fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
Microwave (cut in half, cook for 10-12 min) or Bake the Squash 350 for aprox. 1 ½ hrs. Remove seeds from Spaghetti Squash, use fork to pull out strands.

In large skillet heat Olive oil, butter over med heat. Add mushrooms, tomato’s, zucchini, green onions, garlic, red pepper, peas. Cook until soft 4-5 min. Pour over squash and toss. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Can add a little Spaghetti sauce over it for more flavor.
Option: Can cook noodles to serve under for kids for it to be more filling.

-Alicia Warnock

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

We were so tired of steamed veggies, no one was eating them. When I tried this recipe all of my family ate cauliflower! I got the recipe idea from Allrecipes.com but they used 2 tablespoons minced garlic and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley instead of garlic powder. I went with the lazy way and it was still good.

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder with parsley
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large head cauliflower, separated into florets
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large casserole dish, toss cauliflower in olive oil and garlic powder until well coated.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Tangy Coleslaw

2-10 oz pkgs of shredded coleslaw mix (I usually just use one 16 oz pkg because that's what they have at the commissary and it works just fine)

dressing:

1/2 C sugar (I only use 1/4, because I think 1/2 is too sweet)

1/2 C mayo (I use fat free miracle whip)

1/4 C milk + 1/4 C buttermilk (Instead of milk and buttermilk, I do 1/2 C skim milk with extra lemon juice added to make a buttermilk substitute since I almost never actually buy buttermilk)

2 1/2 T lemon juice

1 1/2 T vinegar

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

Whisk together dressing. Pour over cabbage in a large bowl and toss to coat. Chill in the fridge (says 2 hrs, but I think I usually just do an hour.)

Baked Beans

I told Colby I'd post this, but I don't know the proportions because I just kind of make it up as I go.

1 lb dried navy beans, picked through and rinsed

4-8 slices of really good bacon (depending on how much you want)

1 green pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

sauce (all measurements are guesses):

1 1/2 C Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, whichever flavor you like best

3/4 C brown sugar

2 T yellow mustard

1 T cider vinegar

1 t Worcestershire sauce

1 t garlic

1/2 C water

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

Cook navy beans by bringing to a boil in 10 C of unsalted water, covering and let simmer for 1 hour or until done. Drain off the cooking water.

Cook the bacon and then crumble it. Saute the onion and pepper in 1-2T of bacon grease (or in butter or oil if the thought of cooking in bacon grease repulses you--it does add lots of flavor, but I'll admit that it took me years before I was even willing to try it).

In a bowl, mix the sauce ingredients. Taste it and add more of any of the ingredients to get it to your desired flavor. (If this isn't enough sauce, just add a little more of everything...like I said, I just make it up, so I don't know exactly how much.)

In a 9x13, mix the beans, onion, pepper, bacon, and sauce. The sauce should coat everything well so that it doesn't get dried out in the oven. Bake 350 for 1 hour.

sun dried tomato and bowtie pasta

Again, cleaning out my recipe box I found this recipe. I thought I knew pretty much all the favorite recipes I had stored there, but I forgot about this one. Its very yummy-might be making it tomorrow!

1/4 bottle of pesto
or 2 tbl dried basil minced
1 1/2 tsp pine nuts
1 1/2 tsp oliv oil mised in blender

12 oz sun dried tomatoes
1 tbl olive oil
1 1/2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 lb fresh mushrooms sliced
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 pck bowtie pasta

In small bowl blanch sundried tomatoes for 30 sec in boiling water. Drain well and slice tomatoes into small pieces. Sautee garlic in 1/8 C olive oil on medium heat. Simmer for 1 minute-don't brown. Add pesto, salt, cayeene, and tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and let mixture simmer. Mix w/ cooked pasta.

Spanish Rice

1 tsp. garlic powder (or one clove crushed)

6 Tbsp. oil

2 cups rice

2 tsp. salt

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

1 can tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth

* I also like to add a dash of cumin and a little cilantro. Season to taste.

-Brown the rice in oil. Blend the onions, peppers, garlic, salt, tomatoes, and broth in blender. Add to rice when rice is browned. Wait until boiling, then cover. Cook on low for 20 minutes.

Say Good-bye to Sweet Potatoes in a can!

In my experience people either love sweet potatoes or hate them. Maybe because they have only had them from a can, I have a hard time believing that someone could not like something covered in butter, brown sugar and marshmallows!! So if you feel like you want to give sweet potatoes another try, use this recipe it is my tried and true favorite, and it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them!


5 good size sweet potatoes (or yams depends on which side of the country you are on
1 cube butter (yes real butter, come on this is Thanksgiving)
3/4 cup brown sugar
Cinnamon
nutmeg
1/2 bag mini marshmallows

Bake (not boil) sweet potatoes for about an hour until they are tender. Let them cool and they should just slide out of the skins. Now whether you like creamy or cut into chunks you either cube them or mash them, I do a bit of both, some chunks and some mashed, I like the texture of both. Place sweet potatoes in a 9x13 dish. Melt butter and pour evenly over sweet potatotes. Then take some cinnamon, and sprinkle on according to your tastes, and the same with nutmeg (if you don't like nutmeg omit). Now sprinkle the brown sugar over evenly and place in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, then take the marshmallow and spread over top, place in broiler til melted (this step takes just a few minutes, don't leave the oven, there is nothing worse than crispy marshmallows.
Serve and enjoy!

Funeral Potatoes

So honestly, traditional Thanksgiving dishes are not my favorite. I'll just come right out and say, I don't like mashed potatoes. But the following are three dishes that I have to have on Thanksgiving. They're probably not very Thanksgivingy to most people, but they are to me:)

This is one of the few potato dishes I like. This is a dish probably most of you have, but if you don't have it-try it. This recipe is always requested when I bring it somewhere and it's so easy to make.

Ingredients

1/2 C butter or margarine

1 lb pkg frozen cubed hash browned potatoes

1/2 C minced onion

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

2 C sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 C crumbs (bread or corn flake)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt margarine or butter. In a bowl, combine all ingredients, except crumbs. Spread mixture evenly in a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Sprinkle crumbs on top, cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr. Remove foil last 15 minutes.

lime jello salad with pears

out of all the jello recipes i've tried (and i've tried a lot) this one is still my favorite. i guess it's hard to compare to the first one you've ever tried.

Ingredients:

1 3 oz pkg lime jello

1 16 oz can pears, drained and reserve juice

1 8 oz pkg softened cream cheese

1 small container cool whip

Directions:

Dissolve jello in 1 C hot pear juice (add water if necessary). Put cream cheese and drained pears in blender and blend well. Add partially cooled jello and blend. Add cool whip and fold in well. Pour into a jello mold or dish. Chill.