Lemon Bread

My dad LOVES lemon things, and this is by far his favorite!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
3 Tbsp. lemon extract
1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1-1/2 Tbsp. grated lemon rind (optional)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup milk

LEMON POUR (combine and reserve for later):
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour loaf pan.

Mix butter, sugar, and lemon extract in a good sized bowl. Beat eggs into this mixture. In another bowl, mix flour with baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture gradually, alternating with milk. Beat just until blended. If desired, blend in rind and nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bread is done when toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean (about 50 minutes or so). After cooling for ten minutes, remove from pan, put loaf on top of foil, and drizzle with reserved Lemon Pour mixture. Store in foil for 24 hours before slicing.

Orange Julius

It's been seven months since my last post?? Really?? Well, in celebration of me getting back in the swing of blogging, here is a recipe for the beloved Orange Julius drink! Back in the day, my favorite part about going to the mall was to get an Orange Julius and a warm, salty pretzel.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

1/2 tsp vanilla

6 ice cubes

Instructions:

Put all ingredients in blender and blend for thirty seconds, or until you don't hear the ice clanging around in the blender anymore.

Yield:

About 1-2/3 cups. This would make a big glass (see above picture). If you make two servings out of it, each serving would be about the size of a small-ish coffee cup.

**For those of you following Weight Watchers, like yours truly SHOULD be doing, the entire recipe is 12 points.**

Brown Sugar Substitute

For one cup light brown sugar:
Mix one cup white sugar and 1-1/2 Tbsp. molasses.

For one cup dark brown sugar:
Mix one cup white sugar and 1/4 cup molasses.

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

I love this recipe. Love, love, love. Sadly, my nephew isn't feelin' the love, so we don't have it nearly as often as I would like. I think that most people who like Rotel Dip would like this recipe. Maybe even certain people who are trying to get rid of a bunch of turkey leftovers. Just a thought.

Ingredients:
8 oz. spaghetti
1 lb. velveeta (cubed)
1 can rotel (use mild if you're not wanting much of a kick to it)
2 cooked chicken breasts (cubed or shredded)

Instructions:
Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in saucepan coated with cooking spray, combine Velveeta and Rotel; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Add chicken; heat through.

Drain spaghetti; mix all together.

Chicken Flautas

Here's a recipe that was accidentally retired from our house, because for some reason I had never made a recipe card for it. I discovered it on my computer last week and made them tonight. So glad that we have rediscovered this!! :)

Ingredients:
12 6-inch flour tortillas (the recipe says 12, but we were able to make 15)
2 c. finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)
1-1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken
1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2/3 cup salsa
8 tsp. vegetable oil

Instructions:
Heat tortillas as directed on package. (I used the microwave method: four tortillas between two damp paper towels, microwaved for thirty seconds.) Meanwhile, in bowl, mix cheese, chicken, and cumin.Place about 1/4 c. chicken mixture on each warm tortilla. Top each with 1 Tbsp. salsa. Roll up tightly; secure each with toothpick. Brush filled tortillas with oil.

In 10-inch skillet, cook filled tortillas over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until filling is hot and tortillas are toasted. Remove toothpicks before eating.

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

I fixed these kabobs for the first time two weekends ago for a cookout at my son's house. They were a hit with us... even with those of us, myself included, who normally wouldn't touch a pepper or a zucchini with a ten-foot pole! 

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 c. Lawry's Teriyaki Marinade with Pineapple Juice, divided
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 or 2 (I used two) red or green bell pepper(s), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 8-oz. can pineapple slices, drained and cut into 1-inch pieces


Instructions:
Place chicken and vegetables* in large resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add 1/2 cup of the marinade; turn to coat well. Reserve remaining marinade for brushing.

Refrigerate 30 minutes (or longer for extra flavor). Remove chicken and vegetables* from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Alternately thread chicken, vegetables, and pineapple onto eight skewers.

Grill kabobs over medium heat 10-15 minutes (I think it took longer than this), or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, turning occasionally and brushing with reserved marinade.

*The recipe said to marinade the chicken and the vegetables, but didn't mention the pineapple, so I didn't. But I'm not so sure that it would have hurt anything!

Note: If using wooden skewers, soak in water for at least 30 minutes to prevent burning. I read a tip somewhere that you can also soak them in a liquid that goes with what you're cooking, so I added some pineapple juice to the water that I soaked them in. 

Testing

This is a test.

I'm curious to see if a post made on my phone will look right.

So here it is!!

Cozy Cabin Casserole

I'm on a roll with trying new crockpot recipes lately, since I borrowed a crockpot recipe magazine from my sister-in-law. We all liked this one!  I have no idea why it has this "Cozy Cabin Casserole" name, because it's certainly not a casserole. It's very similar to this Beef and Noodles recipe. I think you could easily serve it on noodles as a beef stroganoff type meal. My plan was to serve it on top of mashed potatoes (since there's quite a bit of gravy in it), but we ended up having it with baked potatoes instead.

Ingredients:
2 lb. lean round steak (I used beef stew meat instead)
2 1.1-oz envelopes dry beefy onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions:
Layer first four ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high one hour and then on low 4-6 hours or until meat is tender. (I cooked it on high for 4 hours instead.) Stir in sour cream 10 minutes before serving. 

Salsa Chicken with Rice

I should call this recipe "Miracle Chicken", because it's a miracle that I've actually posted THREE recipes this month!  :)  I decided the other day to institute the tradition of a "Sunday dinner" (actually, lunch) each week in our home, and so today I started this in the crockpot before we left for church.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1-1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa 
1 Tbsp. olive oil (I used vegetable oil)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Spray interior of slow cooker with cooking spray. Pour rice into slow cooker. Add chicken broth and salsa. Stir together well.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to skillet and brown chicken 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place chicken breasts on top of salsa mixture in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours or until chicken and rice are tender. Top with cheese just before serving.

Tangy Cranberry Meatballs

I've seen this recipe several times over the years, but never tried it until tonight. I think it's meant to be more of an appetizer, but we had it as a dinner, served on rice, with green beans. It got the thumbs up from 4/5 of us! The man who took a bite and spit it into the trashcan shall remain nameless.  Since I am currently following the Weight Watchers program, I made this recipe with turkey meatballs rather than beef meatballs.  Turkey meatballs are an acquired taste, and apparently the above mentioned nameless man has yet to acquire it.  :)

Ingredients:

1 lb. frozen precooked meatballs 

12-oz bottle chili sauce

16-oz can jellied cranberry sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

Instructions:

Place meatballs in slow cooker.  In a mixing bowl, combine chili sauce, cranberry sauce, and brown sugar, breaking up the cranberry sauce as well as you can.  Pour over meatballs.  Cover and cook on low 3 to 4 hours.

Crunchy Onion Chicken

Seriously??  It's been FOUR MONTHS since I posted anything here??  I should be ashamed.  And I am!

Last night, I tried this new recipe, which I tore out of a magazine a long time ago.  It was part of an ad for French's french fried onions.  Everyone liked it, so it has been deemed "a keeper."  As a side note, I have found that cooking meals for the brother-in-law who is snowed in with us and spending the week with us is really a joy.  Over the past ten years or so, he has probably only eaten the equivalent of about three months of home cooked meals... and so it's really been fun to cook meals and see his reaction over them.  I hope after experiencing compliment after compliment from him over my meals, it will remind me to be equally complimentary of meals that other people cook for me.  It really does a cook's heart good to be complimented and thanked.  :)

Ingredients:
2-2/3 c. French's french fried onions (I used generic)
2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs, beaten

**Note:  I found this to not be enough french fried onions to completely coat the chicken breasts.  I guesstimated the chicken, so maybe I was using more than two pounds.  But just be advised that you may need more of the french fried onions than what is stated here.**

Instructions:
Crush french fried onions in plastic bag.  Dip chicken into egg; then coat in onion crumbs.  Bake 20 minutes at 400F until cooked through.

**Another note:  The chicken breasts I used were thick, and so I probably ended up doubling this baking time.  It was definitely at least 30 minutes.  Also, be sure to use a baking sheet with sides, because the french fried onions do produce grease.**

Chicken Potato Delight

Another successful new recipe attempt... kind of.

Make this casserole at your own risk! I followed the directions exactly, and ended up with a thick layer of burnt cheese on the top. I ended up having to take that layer off, donate it to the trash can, and then add another layer of cheese and just put it into the oven long enough for it to melt. The next time I make this, I'll wait until about 10 minutes before it's done and then add the cheese and put it back in for the last 10 minutes, rather than following the directions.

It was pretty annoying, but since my nephew announced, "Bikki Boo, this one's a keeper!" and my niece proclaimed it to be "the bomb", I've decided to add it to our recipe collection. :)

This is the original recipe...

Ingredients:
1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

3/4 c. sour cream

1/4 c. milk

1 c. cubed cooked chicken (I thought that seemed pretty skimpy, so I doubled the chicken)

2-1/2 c. (10 oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

2-1/2 c. frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed

1 can (2.8 oz) french-fried onions

1 c. crushed sour cream and onion potato chips

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine soup, sour cream, milk, chicken, and 1-1/4 cups of the cheese. Spread 3/4 of the mixture into a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle hash browns over the top and press down lightly. Spread with the remaining soup mixture.

Sprinkle with onions, potato chips, and remaining cheese. (Caution! See my note above.) Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 1 hour or until bubbly. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

South Dakota Tea

In celebration of the first day of my favorite season, I came down with a sore throat. The ONLY good thing about a sore throat is that it gives me the opportunity to drink hot South Dakota Tea! But this is a good hot drink even if you don't have a sore throat, and it has a great orange/clove scent, which is one of my favorite cold weather scents... and the scent of one of my all time favorite candles, given to me by my friend Sherry! :)

8 oz Tang

1/2 cup lemon tea mix, sweetened (such as Lipton Sugar Sweetened Tea Mix w/Lemon Flavoring)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. powdered cloves

Mix all ingredients together very well; store in air tight container. Add mix to hot water according to your taste... I use 2 Tbsp. mix with 1 cup hot water.

Saucy Beef Casserole

Today was the first day of my "week of new recipes". I'm trying six new recipes over the next week from a couple of Taste of Home magazines. So far so good! We really liked this one... simple and good. :)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped (I used some dried minced onion)

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 can condensed vegetable soup, undiluted

3/4 cup chow mein noodles

Instructions:
In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in soups. Transfer to a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Cover and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with chow mein noodles. Bake 5 minutes longer or until noodles are crisp.

Yield:
4 large servings

Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup

If I were really on top of my game, I would have taken a picture of my homeschool Home Ec'ers making this a couple of weeks ago! Maybe next time. :) Anyway, this is our beloved Vegetable Beef Soup recipe! This makes a full crockpot, about 18 cups. This is double the original recipe.

Ingredients:
3 lbs beef stew meat

2 cans rotel

6 c. water

4 medium potatoes, cubed (peeled or unpeeled)

4 c. carrots, sliced (or 1 lb. baby carrots)

4 celery ribs, sliced

6 beef bouillon cubes

some minced onion

2 tsp. parsley

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 c. frozen mixed vegetables

Instructions:

Combine all but the mixed vegetables in crockpot. Cook on high four hours or low eight hours. Add mixed vegetables and cook on high one additional hour.

Yield:

about 18 cups 

Pizza Crescent Bake

Here's another recipe that I got from Taste of Home magazine several years ago.  I suspect that it would be even better with twice as much pizza sauce (since I love pizza sauce and am still recovering from a childhood where my dad would order our pizzas with NO SAUCE!), but I've never remembered to try it that way.

Ingredients:
2 tubes crescent rolls
1-1/2 lbs ground beef
1 15-oz jar pizza sauce
2 c. mozzarella sauce, shredded


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F.Unroll one tube of crescent rolls; place in a lightly greased 9x13" baking dish.  Press to seal perforations.  Set aside.  Brown ground beef; drain.  Sprinkle beef over dough.  Top with pizza sauce and cheese.  Unroll remaining tube of crescent rolls; place over cheese layer and press to seal perforations. Bake for 30 minutes.

Yield:
8 servings 

Crunchy Chicken Casserole

I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine and tried it for the first time tonight. My brother-in-law had "thirds", so I'm going to call it a success! I changed the name of the recipe, since I didn't like the original name very well. :)

Ingredients:

1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream

2 Tbsp taco sauce

1/4 cup chopped green chilies

3 cups cubed cooked chicken

12 slices processed American cheese

4 cups broken tortilla chips

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, taco sauce, and chilies. In an ungreased shallow 2-quart baking dish, layer half of the chicken, half of the soup mixture, half of the cheese, and half of the tortilla chips. Repeat layers.

Bake uncovered at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield:
The original recipe says 4-6 servings, but those would be rather large servings. I'd say more like 8 average servings.

Old Settlers Baked Beans

This recipe makes a FULL crockpot, so if you're making it for an average sized family or as a side dish, you'll want to cut the ingredients in half.  But for a larger family, a family who likes to have leftovers for lunch the next day, or a potluck, it should work out just fine! 

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb bacon, chopped
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans pork and beans
2 cans butter beans
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. barbecue sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1 tsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. mustard
4 Tbsp. molasses

Instructions:
Cook ground beef and bacon; drain.  Pour into crockpot.  Add beans and mix well.  Add all other ingredients and mix well.  Cook on low all day (or at least a few hours).  Alternatively, you can cook it on the stove, simmering for at least an hour.

Speedy Tuna "Casserole"

A really easy way to make a "Tuna Helper" type of dish. 

Ingredients:
1 box Kraft macaroni & cheese (including the margarine & milk that the box instructions call for)
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn)
1 6-oz can tuna in water, drained, flaked
8 Ritz crackers, crushed

Instructions:
Prepare the macaroni and cheese as directed on package, adding vegetables to the boiling water for the last two minutes of cooking the noodles. 

Add tuna; mix lightly.

Top with cracker crumbs just before serving.

Yield:  4 servings.  We double this recipe, which gives us enough for leftovers for some of us for the next day's lunch.

Homemade Sloppy Joes

This is a favorite meal of my "nieceter and nephson".  In the past, they have always requested it as their meal of choice for special events, like birthdays or first day/last day of school celebration dinners.  Whoever requests it changes the name of it for that day from "Joes" to their own name.  :)

Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground beef
minced onion
1 can condensed tomato soup
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1-1/2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 Tbsp. mustard
1/2 Tbsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
10-15 hamburger buns

Instructions:
In large skillet, brown ground beef and onion over medium heat.  Drain.  Add next nine ingredients; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for one hour, if time allows, stirring occasionally.  (You can serve it once it's hot, though, rather than letting it simmer.)  Serve on buns.