Cheesy Ham and Noodles

3 c. corkscrew pasta
2 c. ham
1 c. American cheese
1 c. mozzrella cheese
1 10.75oz. can cream of celery soup
1 c. sour cream

Cook pasta, salted for 2 minutes less than shortest time on package. Drain. Combine cheeses, soup and sour cream. Stir in ham and noodles. Put in ziploc and label.

To serve: Thaw. Bake in greased baking dish, covered, 45 minutes @ 350 degrees-stir.

Chicken and Stuffing

2 c. chicken broth
1/2c. butter, melted
1 8oz box chicken stuffing
1 c. sour cream
1 10.75 oz. can mushroom soup
4 c. cooked chicken, chopped

Combine broth and butter. Stir in stuffing and season mix. Combine sour cream and soup. Stir into stuffing; add chicken.

To serve: Thaw. Bake in greased dish, covered, 30 minutes @ 350 degrees. Uncover, bake 20 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Oriental Beef and Noodle Toss

1 lb. ground beef
2 pkgs. Oriental Ramen Noodles
2 cups water
2 cups frozen Oriental vegetable mixture
1/8 t. ginger

Brown ground beef over medium heat in a large skillet; drain fat. Season beff with one seasoning packet. Remove from pan and set aside. In same skillet, combine water, begetables, noodles(broken in several pieces), ginger and remaining seasoning packet. bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 3 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Return beef to skillet; heat through. Yield 4-6 servings.

*I 1 1/2 timed the recipe for the exchange. I also used mostly fresh vegetables. You can use any vegetable combination you want. It's also good with chicken, turkey or leftover roast beef. Any flavor of ramen is good too.

Stuffed Turkey Meatballs

3/4 Pound Ground Turkey
3/4 Pound Italian seasoned Ground Turkey
1 box Cornbread Stuffing (made according to box)

Mix Meats together, and place a small amound in the palm of your hand. Put a spoonful of dressing on top of meat and wrap around stuffing. Brown Meatballs in a skillet. Top with Mushroom gravy.

Mushroom gravy
1 can cream of Mushroom soup
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup milk

Warm and mix until smooth

Sorry

My friend will not be doing the exchange this time around. I hope this isn't an inconvenience to anyone. So let's do the 7 meals like before.
Thanks,
Melanie N

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 /4 c. cream cheese, softened
1 pound chicken, cooked and chopped
1/3 c. bbq sauce
4 slices bacon, cooked til crisped, crumbled
1/2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese
crushed red pepper flakes

Spread cream cheese onto unbaked crust. Mix together chicken and bbq sauce. Place chicken mixture evenly on top of cream cheese. Top with bacon, cheese, then red pepper flakes. Bake at 400° for about 10-15 minutes.

I can't remember for sure which crust recipe I used so I will post 2

Pizza Crust(this one is kind of thick and chewy)
1/2 c. warm water
2 pkgs. yeast
2 c. hot water
3 T. sugar
1 T. salt
1/3 c. oil
6 cups flour
Combine warm water and yeast; let stand 10 minutes. In a large bowl blend hot water, sugar, salt and oil; let cool. Add yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that can be mixed witha spoon. Leave spoon in batter and allow dough to rest 10 minutes. Stir down and let dough rest again; repeat process every 10 minutes for 1 hour. Divide dough into 4 pieces and stretch onto greased pizza pans. Makes 4 crusts

Pizza Crust( this one is really quick)
1 T. yeast
1 cup warm water
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 T. oil
About 2 1/2-3 c. cups flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water. Add sugar, salt and oil to remaining 1/2 c. water. Combine all together and gradually add flour until dough isn't sticky. Spread onto greased pizza pan. Makes 1 crust

Easy Beef Stew

1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 pkg. onion soup mix
1 can water
1 pound beef stew meat(not cooked)
6 potatoes, chunked
6 carrots, sliced

Mix and bake at 325° for 3 1/2-4 hours. You can also cook in the crock pot on low all day or on high for a few hours.

Mexican Tortilla Bake

Brown 1 pound ground beef, 1 onion and 1 clove garlic.
Add 2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 1/2 c. water
1 t. chili powder
1/4 t. salt

Simmer 20 minutes. Spoon 1/4 mixture in 9x13 pan. Spread 9 corn tortillas with sour cream(1/2 pint). Arrange 3 tortillas on meat mixture in pan. Sprinkle with about 1/2 c. cheese. Then layer more meat, tortillas and cheese 2 more times. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.

Italian Meatball Subs

Meatball mix:
4 lbs. ground beef
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups Italian, or regular bread crumbs
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Sauce ingredients:
2 (15 oz.)can tomato sauce
1 (29 oz.)can crushed Italian tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 envelopes spaghetti sauce seasoning

To Serve:
Thaw; Place on hogi buns, put shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese on top. May toast if desired.

Combine meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place meatballs on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400. for 10-15 minutes. Drain on paper towels; cool. Then Place desired amount of meatballs and sauce in container and freeze.

Apricot or Peach Glazed Chicken

½ c. Italian dressing ( or Catalina dressing)
2 tsp. Ground ginger (optional) I didn't put it in
2 ½ - 3 lbs. Chicken pieces
¼ c. apricot or peach preserves
To freeze: Dump all ingredients into 1 gallon Ziploc freezer bag. Lay flat in freezer.
To cook: Thaw in refrigerator. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes or until chicken is done. This is also a nice grill recipe

I forgot

I forgot to put chicken bouillon in the water for the lemon rice. It will need enough for 2 cups of water.

Meatball

Meatball Sauce
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c white vinegar
1/4 c soy sauce
1 1/2 c ketchup
Pour over meatballs

Meatballs
1-1 1/2 lb. hamberger
1/2 c oatmeal
2 eggs
1/2 c chopped onions
1/4 c milk
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 t Worcestershire sauce
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Form into small balls. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes and drain off grease. Pour sauce onto meatball and put back in oven for about 25-30 minutes. Serve with rice.

What am I making for next time

Hey everybody, Traci had a great idea when posting what we're planning on making next time. Just add to this post so that there aren't 8 different posts saying what we're bringing. To do that, click on edit posts, then find the one that says "What am I making for next time" and click on edit. Then add what you want to make onto the list. That way all of our posts will be in ONE post! Great thinking Traci! ~Jen

Traci: Ham and Potato Casserole
Lisa: Pork and Green Chili Casserole
Linda: Chicken Pot Pie
Jennifer: Cranberry Chicken over rice
Melanie L: Pizza Pockets (next time i'm doing chicken enchiliadas)
Melanie N: burrito wrap thingy

Lemon Rice Pilaf

2 cups chicken broth or 2 cups water with bouillon
4 Tbs. butter
1 cup rice
Lemon juice to taste.

Bring broth to a boil. Place in rice and turn heat down to simmer. Cook for 20-25 min. or until water is soaked up.

Souvlaki Marinated Chicken Skewers

1 tsp. minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 Tbsp. cooking oil (I used Canola)
6 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. oregano
2-3 lbs. of chicken, cut into 1-to-2 inch peices
(can also use pork or turkey)

Combine the onion, garlic, oil, lemon juice,salt, pepper, and oregano in a glass bowl or casserole dish. Add the meat and stir well. If Freezing, Place into container and Freeze, otherwise marinate in the fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight. Put meat on skewer sticks. Cook on countertop grill or on a barbecue grill. You can also cook in pan on stove.
CAN INCLUDE LEMON RICE PILAF

Spaghetti Pie

Cook enough spaghetti to make a layer or "crust" in a pie dish (you can use a bigger baking dish but you may have to double the following ingredients)
Mix one egg, 1 TBS butter, and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese with the spaghetti and form your crust. Spread 1 cup of cottage cheese over the crust. Then add a layer of spaghetti sauce, 1-2 cups. You can add hamburger to the sauce too. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes uncovered at 350 degrees.

BBQ Pork (or Beef or other fleshy animal)

Dice a large onion finely
Add 2 or 3 16 oz bottles BBQ sauce of your coice
3-5 bay leaves
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 tsp Liquid Smoke (optional, 3-4 drops is all--less is more)
a small pinch of dry mustard or 1/2 tsp of wet
1/2 cup water
Pressed or roasted garlic 2-3 cloves

Put sauce in crock pot with a 3-5 pound roast. Slow cooked for 6-8 hours is best. Shred with two forks and serve on hard rolls.
OR
Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes. Place your roast in oven bag and add all the sauce to the bag. Poke a few small holes in the top of the bag or you will have a BBQ bomb.
Place in 300 degree oven for 6 hours.

Vegetable Cheese Soup

4-5 cups diced potatoes
2 cups carrots, diced or baby
1-2 cups chopped celery
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups water
Steam above veggies in water for 20 minutes. Then add:
1 16 oz. package of frozen broccoli and cauliflower (you can use fresh too)
Continue to steam for 7 more minutes.
Melt together in saucepan:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
Add:
2 cups milk
6 chicken boullion cubes
1 TBS dry mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
Blend until melted:
1 lb Velveeta cheese
Stir into vegetables. To extend, add cream of chicken soup.

Chicken Crepes

Crepes:
3/4 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 c. milk
1 T. oil
Combine flour and salt. In separate bowl, comvine beaten eggs, milk and oil; stir to blend. Gradually add egg mixture to dry ingredients, stirring constantly witha wire whisk or fork until batter is smooth. Cook in hot skillet.

Filling:
About 2 cups Shredded Chicken
About 1/2 c. Chopped celery
About 1/2 c. Chopped fresh or frozen spinach
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
About 1 c. Shredded cheddar cheese

Mix chicken, celery, spinach, 1/4 can soup and 1/2 c. shredded cheese. Roll up in crepes. Place in 9x13 pan. Add about 1/2 c. water to remaining soup and pour over crepes. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes

How to use this blog

First of all, Lisa, what is your sister's name and email address so I can add her onto the blog?

Okay, down to business...The purpose of this blog is to be able to share our recipes, to get other's feedback on our recipes, and to be able to communicate with eachother.

So please make the time to sit down and enter your recipes! There are recipes that you all have made that I would like to make again, but I don't know how. For example, Lisa, I have some crepes in my fridge right now and I'd love to be able to make your chicken crepes. Our family loved them and we'd eat them again even though it was just last week when we had them the first time.

Also, we've made lots of different recipes, and we're almost at the point where we can start doing the same recipes again. So especially for those that are new to the group, it would be great to have some tried & true recipes to use.

Secondly, I would appreciate everyone's honest feedback about my recipes. I don't want to make something again if one of you hated it. I'm sure you all feel the same way about it and this is why it's important to rate everyone's recipes. I added the rating system after each post for this reason. This is what the stars mean:

**** Delicious!
*** Good, we'd eat this again
** Not our favorite, but not horrible
*Please don't make this again.

Don't be afraid to be honest! Also, regarding rating the food, please leave comments saying specifically what you liked/disliked and/or suggestions about the recipe.

Communication is important as we add more people, recipes, and dishes to our group. Use this blog to post what you are planning on making and if you need pans or dishes. For example, I have 3 gladware containers and the 13x9 gladware pan that are empty. I'm not using them, but I'm sure someone could. So if you need a particular dish for your recipe, post it on here so that we can get them to you. As far as dishes are concerned, a few of us have purchased gladware or ziploc containers. If it is in your budget to buy a few more, that's great. As long as we don't microwave them, they should last for a while. Let's also remember to keep our eyes open at the DI and garage sales for more dishes.

One more thing...when you post a recipe, at the bottom of the box where you type your text, there is a box that says "labels". In this box, enter the name of the recipe and what kind it is. For example: crock pot recipe, mexican, burritos, etc. This will help to keep the recipes organized as we add more to the blog. On the right side of the screen on the blog all of the recipes are listed by labels so it will be convenient if you are looking for a crock pot meal to click on it and all of those meals will come up.

I hope I'm not coming across like a know-it-all or something, but I can't help it...after all, I do know it all. Just kidding!!! Looking forward to seeing you all & eating your food!
~Jen
P.S. Hope you didn't take that last part seriously! (the part about being a know-it-all! I am serious about looking forward to seeing you & eating your food!)

Shredded Pork Mexican Style

I can't decide what to call this recipe! On the ziploc bags that you will all be getting on Thursday, I wrote Shredded Pork Soft Tacos/Burritos, but it really tastes like Chili Verde (except its way easier to make than authentic chili verde). Here is the recipe:

1 pork roast
1 pint (or more) salsa
1 pkg. taco seasoning

Put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook until the meat is falling apart and shreddable. Shred and serve how ever you like it.

These are some suggestions on how you could serve it. The first one is the way my family ate it, and loved it.

*Like chili verde...put a long scoop down the middle of a tortilla, top with a little cheese. Roll up the tortilla, top with a little more meat (we like our chili verde smothered), some more cheese and then microwave until hot. You could also make it up ahead of time and bake it until it's done. If you do that option, make sure to spray the pan with Pam.
*Soft Tacos...spread meat onto half of a tortilla, fold tortilla over and then fry in a hot frying pan with a few tbsp. of oil until the tortilla is lightly golden. Turn over and fry the other side. We like our soft tacos with lettuce, olives, tomatoes, and sour cream.
*Hard shell Tacos... heat up meat and eat in a hard taco shell with whatever you like to eat in a taco.
*Nachos...top tortilla chips with whatever you like (meat, refried beans, tomatoes, olives, onions, jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream, and cheese). Cook in microwave until cheese is melted.

NOTE* We ate more of these today, but I was out of flour tortillas so I used corn and Chris says it's better than with flour. Don't tell him, but I think he might be right about this!

I'm thinking of doing a burrito wrap. I will try it first then I will decide. If it's not good I will pick something else.

Enchilada Chowder

Put the following in a pot or crockpot:
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn or 10oz of frozen corn, drained
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 can of diced chiles or fresh chopped

In separate bowl, mix these and then add to above:
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 lg can or 2 sm cans of enchilada sauce
2 cups of milk

Cook on stovetop for about 40 minutes or in crockpot, 3 hrs on high.
Add 1-2 cups of cheese. Can add sour cream, avocado, corn chips.

What I'm cooking for the next exchange

I'm making shredded pork soft tacos. What about the rest of you?

Cream Cheese Chicken

This recipe is from the cookbook Dinner Is Ready. Really easy and really yummy! Sometimes I add frozen broccoli when it is almost done. (You wouldn't want to add it to early or it would turn mushy). I don't follow the directions exactly either...I put all of the ingredients in the crock pot at the beginning and let them all cook together. I prefer bowtie pasta.

1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/2-1 c. butter or margarine
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8 oz. cream cheese

Melt butter in crock pot on high. Mix italian salad dressing mix into butter. Cut chicken into 1" strips. Place in crock pot and stir to coat. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Remove chicken to plate to cool. Add 1 can of cream of chicken soup and cream cheese. Stir to melt and mix well until smooth and creamy. Remove sauce from crock pot and allow to cool. Place chicken and sauce into a gallon freezer bag. To serve: Thaw. Heat until piping hot and bubbly. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or hot buttered noodles.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Okay ladies...I told you I don't use recipes very often, so here are the ingredients that I use when I make sweet & sour chicken. I will try to give approximate measurements, but when I cook I just add things until it tastes good.

Chicken, cut in bite-size pieces
Canned pineapple (I like crushed)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. House of Tsang Korean Stir Fry Sauce
garlic salt
1 bell pepper, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
a few tbsp. cornstarch mixed with a few tbsp. cold water

Season chicken with a little garlic salt, soy sauce, and stir fry sauce and brown in a little bit of oil. When chicken is about half way done, add sliced carrot and cook together. Once chicken is done, add bell pepper, pineapple, vinegar and brown sugar. Taste the liquid at this point to see if you need more sugar, vinegar or seasonings. Simmer in liquid for a few minutes to cook pepper until it is tender but still crisp. Mix cornstarch with cold water and add to sauce to thicken. Serve over hot rice, we like sticky rice.

Fajitas

This is the fajita recipe that I used, except we didn't use red bell peppers and we used lime juice instead of lemon. We pre-cooked the chicken and then froze it along with the peppers and onions. Also, when we warm the tortillas, we wrap a few in a dish towel and heat in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. This recipe comes from my old Syracuse 8th ward cookbook and was from Holly Welch. (She's like a gourmet cook or something!)

4 large chicken breast halves or 1 1/2 lbs beef, cut into strips
1/2 tbsp oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
2 small onions, sliced

Marinade
2 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
dash of red pepper
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 3 cloves fresh garlic minced
1/4 tsp ground cumin, optional
2 tbsp oil, optional

In small bowl, whisk marinade ingredients together in the order they appear (adding the oil in slowly). Pour over the meat and marinade for 15 minutes to 1 hour for chicken and 1-4 hours for beef. In a heavy frying pan, heat oil and brown half of the meat (it should not be fully cooked); remove from the pan. Then cook half of the onions and peppers until tender and crisp. Add in the browned meat and stir together; remove from heat and serve. This will make 2 servings. Repeat with remaining ingredients. To garnish, squeeze with lemon juice and serve with warm flour tortillas. Top with sour cream, guacamole, or whatever you like. NOTE- The secret to good fajitas is to brown and sear the meat rather than saute. For this reason you will need a heavy pan that retains heat well and only cook 1-2 servings at a time. Also, traditionally the vegetables should still be crisp so try not to overcook. Total cooking time should only be 2-3 minutes. Serves 4.