Mandarin Orange Jello Salad

Recipe from Cindy Gillette

1 package non-instant orange jello
1 package non-instant tapioca pudding
1 package non-instant vanilla pudding
medium container cool whip
2 cans mandarin oranges, drainged

Mix first 3 ingredients with 3 cups water. Boil for 1 minute. Set in fridge for at least 2 hours. Stir in cool whip and oranges.

Southwest BBQ Chicken Salad

Recipe from sisterscafe.blogspot.com

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 head Iceberg lettuce, chopped

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 Haas avocados, diced

shredded cheese, Mexican blend or cheddar

crispy tortilla strips

Stir shredded chicken in with the BBQ sauce until well coated. Of course you can use less or more sauce, it's up to you! I like quite a bit since I love the smoky flavor of BBQ sauce in a salad. Toss together the lettuce, cilantro, corn, beans, and chopped veggies. Top with shredded chicken, cheese and crispy tortilla strips. Drizzle ranch or cilantro lime dressing over salad and enjoy!

*to make crispy tortilla strips simply slice about 10 corn tortillas in narrow strips and place on cookie sheet. Spray with vegetable oil cooking spray and sprinkle generously with salt. Place under the broiler and let bake until crispy and brown around the edges. (Thanks Mel for teaching me how to make these...they add a wonderful crunch to a salad!)

White Chocolate Popcorn

Recipe from yourhomebasedmom.com

2 bags butter-flavored microwave popcorn
16 oz white chocolate chips, melted (I like the baking squares best)
3/4 cups M&Ms
3/4 cups cashews
1 1/2 cups broken stick pretzels
1-2 cups mini marshmallows
6 oz milk chocolate

Pop popcorn, remove unpopped kernels. Put popcorn in a big bowl. In seperate bowl, mix together melted white chocolate, M&M's, cashews, pretzels and marshmallows until coated with white chocolate. Pour over popcorn and mix to coat popcorn with white chocolate (or just mix it all at once). Spread onto two cookie sheets.

Drizzle with melted milk chocolate. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until chocolate has hardened and popcorn breaks apart into pieces.

30-Minute Rolls (white)

Recipe from realmomkitchen.blogspot.com

These are so good and so fast! I actually think that I like them better than my other white roll recipes that I've used in the past.

(1 dozen version)
1 1/8 cups plus
2 teaspoons warm water
1/3 cup oil
2 Tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup sugar or honey
½ teaspoon Salt
1 eggs
3 ½ cups flour

Mix 1st 4 ingredients and let rest for 15 minutes. Add salt and eggs - gradually add flour. Shape into dinner rolls, or use in your favorite recipe that calls for dough. After shaped, let rest for 10 minutes. For rolls, Bake 10 minutes @400 degrees ‘till golden brown.


(3 dozen version)
3 ½ cup warm water
1 cup oil
6 Tablespoons yeast
¾ cup sugar or honey
1 ½ teaspoons Salt
3 eggs
10 ½ cups flour

Mix 1st 4 ingredients and let rest for 15 minutes. Add salt and eggs - gradually add flour. Shape into dinner rolls, or use in your favorite recipe that calls for dough. After shaped, let rest for 10 minutes. For rolls, Bake 10 minutes @400 degrees till golden brown.

Beef Stew

Recipe from www.fortheloveofcooking.blogspot.com

• 1 lb stew meat (I use lean round cut into small chunks)
• 1 sweet yellow onion chopped into large pieces
• 6 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1-2 tsp dried thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups of beef stock
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 cups diced baby red potatoes (skin on)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees (you can also use stove top or crock-pot). Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add stew meat and onion then cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds before adding tomatoes, seasonings and stock. Cover and cook in the oven for at least 4 hours. Remove pot from oven place on stove top over medium low heat. Add vegetables to the stew and add more beef broth if low. Taste and re-season if needed. Cover and cook for 1 - 1 1/ 2 hours. If you want the stew to be thick, add a slurry of cornstarch and cold beef broth (mixing thoroughly) then pour into stew while it's boiling, stir then reduce heat to low. Serve and enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Noodles
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon herbs (parsley, thyme, basil, oregano or chives)
1 egg
enough water to bind

Combine herbs and flour in mixing bowl. Mix in egg. Add water a spoonful at a time to make a firm yet workable dough. Roll out paper-thin; cut into strips. Boil in chicken broth for added flavor of just plain water.

Soup
2 chicken bouillon cubes
64 ounces canned chicken stock (more or less depending on how much broth you want)
2 cups carrots, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
3/4 cup onion, chopped
2 cup cooked chicken, diced
4 cups cooked noodles
salt and pepper to taste

Heat stock and bouillon together. Add vegetables and simmer until tender. Add cooked chicken and noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta Fruit Salad

Recipe from Grandma Warren

1/2 box bowtie pasta, cooked and rinsed
1/2 box spiral multi-colored pasta, cooked and rinsed
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 1/2 cups grapes, cut in half
1 bag golden raisins
1 large can mandarin oranges, drained
1 15 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 1/2 cups cashes, halved
1 bottle Kraft Coleslaw Dressing
1/2-1 cup mayonnaise

Cook pastas in separate batches. Mix all ingredients together, chill and serve.

Chicken Parmeasean

Almond Roca

Rich and Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

4 tomatoes – peeled, seeded and diced
4 cups tomato juice
14 leaves fresh basil (I used dried basil – maybe 1 tsp. or less)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Place tomatoes and juice in a stock pot over medium heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves, and return the puree to the stock pot.

Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Do not boil.

*I added 6 cups of tomato juice and a little more whipping cream to make a bigger pot. I’m sure you can add more tomatoes as well. You can’t mess this recipe up! Also, you can make the Juice/Tomato/Basil mixture and freeze it. Then when ready just defrost it, heat it back up and add your whipping cream and butter. It’s a great way to use all your tomatoes and save for a rainy day.

Vanilla Peach Syrup

Recipe from divinerecipes.com

5 cups peaches, puree (peel, remove pits and toss the rest in the blender)
2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine peach puree, sugar and lemon juice in kettle. Bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Add vanilla. Pour into hot jars and seal. Process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

Homemade Peach Ice Cream

Recipe from sisterscafe.blogspot.com

3 cups fresh peaches
1 pint whipping cream
1 quart half and half
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Smash peaches with a pastry blender. Stir all ingredients together and put in an ice cream maker and make as directed. (This recipe made a little too much for my ice cream maker, but it is kind of small.)

Artichoke Chicken Salad

Recipe from Cindy Gillette

4 boiled chicken breasts (shredded and chilled)
1 box chicken rice-r-roni (fixed to box instructions and chilled)
4 green onions, chopped
1 small can sliced black olives
1 small jar artichoke hearts
1 1/2 cups slivered almonds
1 cup mayonnaise

Shred chicken and chill. Fix rice-r-roni to box instructions and chill. Add all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Can store for several days.

Whole Wheat Rolls

Recipe from the DVD The Art of Making Bread

Preheat oven to 170 degrees.

Add the following to a mixing bowl:
1 cup warm water (approximately 98 degrees)
1 cup warm milk
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups white flour

Jog the mixer, then add:
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Jogg the mixer again, then add:
2 1/2 cups wheat flour

Mix dough for 8 minutes with lid on.

Let rest for 10 minutes with lid on.

Turn off oven and remove dough from bowl. Form into smaller dough balls, and place in a greased 9x13 pan. Proof rolls in oven for about 20 minutes or until they double in size. Set oven to 350 degrees (do not touch or move rolls) and bake for about 22 minutes. Glaze the tops of the rolls with butter, and remove from pan immediately.

Manicotti

1 lb ground beef
32 ounces spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
8 manicotti shells
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Brown hamburger while boiling shells in water for 6 minutes. Combine hamburger, spaghetti sauce, water, garlic and Italian seasoning, cover with plastic wrap and cook in microwave 4 minutes.

In bowl, combine 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, eggs, pepper and 2 cups mozzarella cheese. Stuff into manicotti shells. Pour 1/2 meat sauce into 13x9x2 pan. Arrange manicotti in single layer, cover with remaining sauce and cheeses.

Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 40 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

1 quart milk
1 1/4 cups sugar
dash of salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat milk until small bubbles begin to appear; stir in sugar and salt. Stir in some of the hot mixture into the beaten eggs and mix well. Slowly stir eggs into pan and cook over low heat, stirring for about 2 minutes. Do not boil. Stir in cream and let mixture cool; stir in vanilla. Freeze in ice cream machine according to directions. Serves 8.

My Homemade Bread Recipe

Not really mine, but I modified the one I posted earlier to make PERFECT loaves that are SO good!

Makes 2 loaves

2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees F)
2 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoon salt
6 whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

1 1/2 Tablespoons dough enhancer
3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten (replace 3 tablespoons of the flour called for in the recipe with this)
1/3 cup flax seed

1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds

Instructions:

1. Pre-measure all of your flour in a separate bowl. Combine water, sugar, honey and yeast. Add enough flour to make a pancake batter consistency. Sprinkle just enough flour on top, then sprinkle salt on top of this. Loosely cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit and rest until you can see cracks form across the top layer (looks like the desert).

2. Add remaining ingredients and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes (can do all kneading with electric mixer). Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

Deadly Brownies

Recipe from sisterscafe.blogspot.com

1 box German chocolate cake mix
1/3 c evaporated milk
1/2 c butter,melted

14 oz package of Kraft caramels (50)
1/3 c evaporated milk

1 cup milk chocolate chips (Guittard or other large chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together dry cake mix, butter, and evaporated milk. Press half of this mixture into bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 6 minutes.
2. Melt caramels with 1/3 c evaporated milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Set aside.
3. Sprinkle chocolate chips over baked crust. Drizzle caramel over chocolate chips. Spoon or sprinkle the other half of the cake mixture on top. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Refrigerate approximately 30 minutes to set. Cut and serve.

Kit Kat Lemon Bars

Recipe from recipegirl.com

CRUST:
Five 1.5oz. Kit Kat Bars (or about 14 mini-sized Kit Kat Bars)

FILLING:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, measure then sift
1 large egg
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon extract
1½ tsp lemon zest

TOPPING:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
½ tsp additional lemon extract
2 Tbs butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Prepare the crust: In the food processor, finely chop the Kit Kat Bars. Spread evenly in the bottom of an 8×8-inch square pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Set aside.

3. Prepare filling: In a large bowl with electric mixer, blend cream cheese on high. Add powdered sugar and egg and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add lemon juice, lemon extract and lemon zest, and mix well. Pour filling evenly over Kit Kat crust.

4. Prepare topping: In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, lemon extract, and softened butter, and blend with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over lemon bar filling.

5. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned.

Yield: 16 to 20 bars

Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars

Recipe from sisterscafe.com

2 1/3 cups flour

2/3 cups brown sugar

3/4 cups butter

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 (12 ounce) package chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts - I used pecans, but walnuts or macadamias would be great, too.

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

10 ounces Skor toffee bits

Stir together flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and mix well. Stir in 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips and all of nuts. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of this mixture and press remaining into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350. Pour milk over hot crust and top with 1 1/2 cups toffee bits. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over top plus remaining chips. Bake 25-30 more minutes. Top with remaining toffee bits.

6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cups ice

Blend and serve.

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

Recipe from Robbie's Recipes

Ingredients
1 pound spicy Italian sausage - crumbled
1/2 pound smoked bacon - chopped
4 cups water
2, 14.5 ounce cans (about 3 2/3 cups) chicken broth
2 large russet potatoes - scrubbed clean, cubed
2 garlic cloves - peeled, crushed
1 medium onion - peeled, chopped
2 cups chopped kale OR Swiss chard
1 cup heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper - to taste

Directions
1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces as you fry it; drain, set aside.

2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown bacon; drain, set aside.

3. Place water, broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion in a pot; simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender.

4. Add sausage and bacon to pot; simmer for 10 minutes. (I may try adding the kale at this point next time that I make this so that it is a little softer.)

5. Add kale and cream to pot; season with salt and pepper; heat through.

I'm missing lots of pics and recipes!!! I promise I'll fill them out someday!

Waffles

Recipe from Mrs. Edgar's Foods class at Minico High School

2 cups flour
1 Tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 Tablespoon sugar

Egg whites in mixing bowl with wire whip. Take out. Put dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Add milk, egg yolks and oil. Mix until no lumps are left. Add egg whites and gently fold in. Cook in waffle maker.

Kneader's Raspberry Bread Pudding

Recipe from Heather Jensen

Cream Mix:
1 1/2 loaves aged, white bread
1 qt. heavy cream
3 C. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Fruit Filling:
5 C. frozen raspberries
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. apple juice

Vanilla Sauce:
1 1/3 C. butter
5 Tbs. flour
3 C. heavy cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 C. sugar

In a large bowl, combine cream, sugar, egg and vanilla. Cut bread into 1 1/2" cubes and add to cream mixture, coating bread well. Let stand 30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes to allow cream to absorb completely. For fruit filling, combine raspberries, sugar and apple juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Layer a 9x13 dark baking dish 3/4 full with bread mixture, pour fruit filling over bread mixture, spreading evenly, top with remaining bread. Bake 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve warm. Top with vanilla sauce. For vanilla sauce, over medium heat, melt butter, and add flour. Stir 10 minutes until it has a nutty aroma; do not brown. Add salt, cream and sugar and boil till mixture is thick. Remove from heat, adding vanilla. Serve this wonderful sauce cold.

Peppermint Tart

Recipe from Cindy Gillette

1 package chocolate cream-filled Oreo cookies, crushed
1 cube butter, melted

Mix together. Spread into the bottom of springform pan and put in freezer.

2 containers peppermint ice cream
2 jars chocolate ice cream topping

Allow ice cream to soften, then spread 1 container of ice cream over crust. Spread 1 jar of chocolate topping over ice cream. Repeat. Freeze for several hours.

Pineapple Cheeseball

Recipe from Debbie Wood

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 12-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 green pepper, diced
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
chopped walnuts or pecans

Drain pineapple well, the dryer the better. Mix softened cream cheese, green pepper, pineapple and seasoned salt together. Spread chopped nuts evenly on foil or wax paper. Place cream cheese mixture in the middle of the nuts and form into ball as you roll into nuts. Cover and refrigerate.

Elegent Mint Truffles

Recipe from Debbie Wood

1 1/2 lbs milk chocolate, melted
1 cup whipping cream
8 drops oil of peppermint

Line an 8 inch square pan with plastic wrap. Mix melted chocolate, cooled to touch, and cream with mixer. Add oil of peppermint. Mix and scrape sides of bowl 2-3 times. Takes no more than 1-2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate 6 hours. Cut into desired shapes and dip. The candy must be dipped while cold. Work with 1/4-1/3 of pan at a time and keep the rest in the refrigerator. Takes about 1-1 1/4 lbs of chocolate to dip this recipe.

Cold Winter Salad

Recipe from Cindy Gillette

Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce
1 head red leaf lettuce
2 gala apples (peeled and chopped)
2 small cans mandarin oranges
1 cup sugar toasted pecans
1/2 cup craisins

Dressing:
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup oil
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
2 Tablespoons white onions

Sugared Pecans

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups pecans

In a 2 quart saucepan, combine sugar, salt, cinnamon and milk. Bring to a boil and cook to soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Add pecans. Stir until all pecans are coated and turn white and grainy. Spoon out onto wax papper. When cool, break up any clusters of pecans. Keep in a well-sealed container. Yields 3 cups.

Parmesean Chicken

Recipe from Body-for-Life Cookbook