Recipes

And I rarely cook because I get very tired of the leftovers, but when I do, these are my favorites.

Cammy's Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
3 cups water
4 tsp chicken boulion
2 cups celery chopped
2 cups chopped carrots
¾ cup chopped onion (or 1 TBSP dried onion flakes)
2 cans cream of chicken soup

Thicken with ½ c butter and ½ cup flour (melt in a separate plan and then whisk in flour) Then whisk in 1 can evaporated milk. Slowly add this mixture to the other pot and it will thicken the soup.

Then add:
2 cups cooked chicken
Noodles (any kind you have)

Cook until vegetables are tender and noodles are tender. Sometimes it gets too thick so I add milk until it’s the right consistency.



Chicken Enchilada Casserole
2-3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 bag tortilla chips
grated cheese

Serve with guacamole and salsa.

Cook chicken and shred. Mix together enchilada sauce, soup and sour cream.

In 9x13 pan, layer chips, chicken, soup mixture and cheese. Keep layering until you’ve used all the ingredients (about 2 layers of each).

Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until soup mixture boils.

Note: This is a great way to use up the end of the bag of tortilla chips (all the crumbs!), or if your chips are a bit stale.



Pizza Rolls (And I know Lindsay has taken this and made it much more fun. Lindsay, will you post all the kinds you make?)

Ingredients:
1 Rhodes frozen bread dough (loaf kind, not the rolls)
1 package pepperoni
shredded mozzarella cheese
marinara sauce for dipping

Directions:

~Thaw out 1 of the frozen bread loaves (usually three come in a package).
~After thawed and risen, flatten loaf with your hands as long and wide as it will go (probably 2’ x 6”).
~Layer a single row of pepperoni down the middle, then shredded cheese on top of that down the middle.
~Roll up dough like a package, starting with tucking in the ends and pinching the middle seam so it stays closed.
~Place seam-side down on a lightly greased baking sheet.
~Poke the roll on the top with a fork and brush on olive oil, then sprinkle parmesan cheese, garlic, parsley, etc.
~Bake at 350 degrees until brown on top (I think around 10-15 minutes).



Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
2 cups Stove top stuffing mix
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 slices ham
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 TBS Dijon Mustard
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on package. Place chicken in 13 x 9 baking dish. Cover with ham. Mix soup and mustard together; spoon over chicken/ham. Top with stuffing mix. Bake 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with cheese, back for 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.


Barbacups (we hated these growing up, but they aren't half bad.)
Brown 1 lb hamburger, drain off excess fat
Add: ½ cup barbecue sauce
2 Tbls brown sugar
1 Tbls dried minced onion

Take 1 can Pillsbury Biscuits, press into ungreased muffin tin, making sure dough is up to edge of each cup. Spoon meat mixture into each cup and sprinkle with ¾ cups grated cheddar cheese. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.


And I just have to include a dessert as this is my new favorite!

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle (We do raspberries instead)

Ingredients:
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 (8oz) sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tub (12 oz) cool whip thawed
1 angel food cake, torn into bite-sized pieces
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 bags frozen strawberries

*In a large bowl beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until fluffy; add sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. Fold the cool whip into the cream cheese mixture. Gently stir in cake pieces; set aside. Combine strawberries and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Layer in a large glass bowl, starting with 1/4 of strawberries, then adding 1/3 of the cake mixture. Continue layering; finish with strawberries. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill several hours.

Quick Meals

Hi Girls,

Here are a couple of my quick meals. It has taken me a whole month to get around to this, which makes me realize this is quite the request. Maybe on your month you can post a few favorite recipes if you don't have time now. :)

I found this pizza crust recipe in Prevention's Diabetes Diet Cookbook, which I got at DI for one dollar. (A well spent one dollar for me!) It is nothing spectacular I assume but what was thrilling to me was the fact that pizza crust can be frozen and then baked as usual by just adding toppings at dinnertime!

I like to make this crust times 6 which makes three Saturday's of meals at once if I freeze them. (We eat two pizzas at once in my family). It is a little work to make the crusts and freeze them, then wrap them, but I love being able to pull out frozen crust, add toppings and bake! This leaves time for making a nice salad! I do not have a food processor but I do have a kitchenaid so I adjust it for this. I am sure you could do it by hand.

I can be such a dreamer, but my current desire is to have a family game and pizza night on Saturdays. I love having one meal planned for each week, and if I need to, we can pull this together quick on a weeknight too.

I am posting my timed by six amounts below in parentheses, feel free to check my math. :)

One crust (8 servings, 1 thin crust 14 inches in diameter):

2/3 cup warm water
(4 cups water)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeastz
(12 tsp yeast (4tb?) I use less, about 2- 3 tbsp)
1 3/4 cup-2 cups flour
(less than 12 cups flour)
1/4 tsp salt
(1 1/2 tsp salt)
2 tsp olive oil
(12 tsp olive oil (4 TB?)

Coat large bowl with vegetable oil spray; set aside. In a gladd measuring cup, mix the water and the yeast to dissolve. In the bowl of a food processor, combine 1 3/4 cups flour and salt. Pulse to mix. Add the oil to yeast and water. with the machine running, add the yeast water through the feed tube. Process for 1-2 minutes, or until mixture forms a moist ball.

Transfer the dough to work surface lightly floured with remaining flour. With your hands, knead about 1 minute, or until dough is smooth. Use scants amounts of remaining flour only to prevent surface sticking. Some flour may not be needed. Place the dough in the prepare bowl. coat lightly with vegetable spray. Cover with plastic wrap. Set aside to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch down dough, shape into a ball and transfer to a work surface. Let stand for 5 minutes. Shape, add toppings, and bake according to recipe directions.

To freeze dough after first rise: Punch down dough and shape into ball. Coat well with with vegetable oil spray, place in freezer-quality plastic bag. Squeeze out all air and close tightly. Store in freezer for up to one month. To thaw, place in refrigerator overnight. with scissors, cut away plastic bag. Place the dough on lightly floured work surface. Shape according to recipe directions.

To freeze unbaked pizza crust: Roll or pat the dough according to recipe directions. Place on pizza pan dusted with cornmeal. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, then wrap in aluminum foil. Store in freezer for up to one month. To bake, remove from freezer (no need to thaw). Remove wrappings. Top and bake according to recipe instructions.

Easy Creamy (I didn't say healthy) Italian Chicken Thighs

(Why are all the easy recipes not the healthiest?!)

boneless skinless chicken thighs
one package of cream cheese, or half if you aren't using lots of thighs
one package dry Italian dressing mix (or homemade version)

If using frozen thighs, place on high for about 4-5 hours. Unfrozen for low 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours. About one hour before dinnertime, place cream cheese and dressing in crock pot. Stir well before serving. Works well over rice.

Sloppy Joes in a Bowl

Make your favorite sloppy Jo recipe and place over rice in a bowl. Here's one EASY one I found on Allrecipes, for crazy nights. If you have a favorite I would love to know what it is!

1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp yellow mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Brown ground beef, onion, green pepper, drain liquid. Add other ingredients and simmer up to 30 minutes.

Here's a link to Huevos Rancheros we have enjoyed, slightly changed to our taste of course. (Fancy beans? Not quite!) Thinking about these makes my mouth water. I miss tomato season! Push HERE for link.

Books....oh yea, I guess I'll have to get around to those tomorrow! Have a good season, I love you all dearly.

Lindsay
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