Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Monster cookies

Measure following ingredients in a large mixing bowl in the order given. Mix thoroughly. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet.
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 c. soft margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. light corn syrup
1 1/2 c. peanut butter
2 tsp. baking soda
3 1/2 c. quick oats
2/3 c. chocolate chips

Place several M&M's and Reese's Pieces on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake. These are flat, moist cookies. For slightly thicker cookies, include 1-2 cups flour.

*Janelle's note: definitely add some flour to these. I usually add about 2/3 cup of flour. Also, when you put them on the cookie sheet, don't flatten them out at all. They will totally flatten out as they bake. They should be about the size of a ping-pong ball.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Crockpot Sesame Chicken

Serves 4-6 people.

3 lbs skinless chicken thighs
1/2 c. soy sauce
2 TB. cooking sherry (optional)
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ginger
2 TB Ketchup
2 TB sesame seeds

Hot cooked rice

Place chicken in crockpot. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Pour over chicken, being sure to get some sauce on every piece of chicken. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. Serve over rice.

*I usually half the amount of meat in this recipe, but keep the sauce amounts the same. That way there is not as much meat but still lots of sauce to pour over rice. Yum.

Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole

2 c. uncooked rice
1 c. water

Bring water to a boil. Add rice and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

2 chicken breasts (cut into cubes)
2 c. shredded cheese (Mexican mix works well for this)
1/2 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 onion chopped
3/4 c. salsa

Saute chicken breast in skillet with onion. Add soups and salsa-simmer until chicken is cooked (juice runs out clear when cut) . Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 baking dish. Combine cheeses. Layer 1/2 of rice, 1/2 of chicken, 1/2 of cheese. Repeat.
Bake 30-40 minutes. It should be bubbly in the middle.

Multi-grain Bread

8 c. flour (white)
4 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. flax seeds
4 TB poppy seeds
1/2 c. sesame seeds.
3 TB yeast
5 c. warm water
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. oil
5 tsp. salt

Combine water, yeast, honey, oil, salt and seeds. Add in flours. Raise 1 hour. Poke down and raise 1/2 additional hour. Form loaves and put in pans. Raise 35 minutes and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Crockpot Creamy Italian Chicken

Prep Time: Minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Yield: 4 servings


4 Boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 envelope of Italian salad dressing mix
1/4 cup of water

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained.

Hot cooked rice or noodles

Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Combine salad dressing mix and water; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and soup until blended. Stir in mushrooms. Pour over chicken. Cook 1 hour longer. Serve over rice or noodles.

*I prefer this over noodles, although the rice is a lower carb option. I think brown rice would also look better, since the sauce is very white and looks a little blah on white rice. This recipe has lots of flavor and is really very easy to make.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Poppy Seed Bread

3 c. flour
2 1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 T. poppy seed
1 1/2 t. Baking powder
1 1/2 t. salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. veg. oil
1 1/2 t. Vanilla
1 1/2 t. almond extract
In large bowl combine first ingredients. Add eggs, milk, oil & extracts. Pour into two large greased bread pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 65 min. Cool in pans.
Glaze:
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. orange juice
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract
Bring to boil, then pour over bread in pans. Cool for 5 min. Remove from pans and finish cooling. This is always a hit.

Sausage Bean Stew

4 c. chicken broth
3 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 c. barley
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 c. lentils
several drops Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce.
Cook together for about 20 min.
Add:
3 cans (16 oz. each) beans, like kidney, butter, pinto or black eyed peas etc. rinsed and drained. Add 1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into slices. Cover and cook till barley and lentils are tender. I often make a double batch and freeze some.

Serves 6-8.

Creamy Pesto

1/4 c. almonds, toasted
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/1/2 c. basil (minced)
1 T. olive oil
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. sour cream
pinch of salt

Mix together. I like it spread on toasted french bread and then adding other veggies like sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, onions etc.

Pecan Pie

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust 1 T. butter, melted
1 c. light corn syrup 1/3 tsp. salt
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs, slightly beaten 1 1/2 c. pecans


Heat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except 1/2 cup pecans. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust. Sprinkle with remaining pecans. Bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. If crust or pie appears to be getting too brown, cover with foil for the remaining baking time.

*So I've never been able to get the toothpick to come out clean. This pie looks puffed up while it's in the oven and seems to be all runny yet. But after you take it out and it has time to cool, it settles down and becomes solid.

Chicken Black Bean Salad

1/3 c. oil 1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. lemon juice 1/4-1/2 tsp. Cayenne powder
2 T. Cilantro, finely chopped 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar 1/4. tsp. pepper

Combine and let sit for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors blend.

1 bell pepper Lettuce
15 oz. black beans tomatoes, chopped
1 c. corn, Optional Shredded cheese
1 onion, sliced
1 1/2 c. cooked chicken, diced

Place shredded lettuce on individual plates or on a large serving plate; top with the chicken, beans, corn, onions, and pepper. Drizzle with dressing and top with cheese and tomatoes

Baked Oatmeal

Baked oatmeal is great to have around for a quick breakfast in the morning. I grew up on this stuff. I hate regular oatmeal, but this stuff has a completely different texture.

1 c. oil
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
Beat, and then add:
6 c. oatmeal
1 T. and 1 t. baking powder
2 t. salt
2 c. milk

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

*The last time I made this I sliced and peeled 2 apples and mixed them in. Add some cinnamon makes it really good too. This can be eaten just plain or with milk poured over. Sometimes I add some brown sugar too.n yum

Fresh Salsa

3 large size roma tomatoes (or any other kind you have around)
1/8 onion, or to taste
3-4 sprigs of cilantro
1/8 lemon or lime (juice only), I just use a teaspoon or so.
1-2 garlic cloves
chili peppers (however hot you want)
1 t. salt

mix it all together and enjoy.

Granola Bars

4 c. uncooked oats 1/2 c. shredded coconut
1 c. packed brown sugar 1 c. chopped nuts
1 tsp. vanilla 3/4 c. melted butter
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. raisins

Combine all ingredients. Mix will and press into a well greased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool thoroughly and cut into bars. Store in an air tight container.
*note from Janelle: this recipe works best if you use some sort of non-stick pan. I've made it in other kinds of pans and you have to work like heck to get the bars out.

6 week bran muffins

5 c. flour 4 eggs beaten
3 c. sugar 1 qt. buttermilk
2 tsp. salt 12 c. branflakes (cornflakes)
1 c. oil 1 c. raisins
5 tsp baking soda

mix all ingredients except branflakes and raisins together. Stir in raisins and branflakes last. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes in greased or papered muffin tins. This batter can be kept in the refrigerator for up to six weeks.