Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground beef (or turkey)

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1 can green beans

4 cups mashed potatoes (6-7 potatoes)

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger and drain. Spread the soup on bottom of 9x9 casserole dish, then top with hamburger. Next, add green beans and spread evenly. Top with mashed potatoes. Spread cheese on top of potatoes. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes; remove tin foil for last 10 minutes.

*Sometimes when I want to shake things up, I substitute Cream of Mushroom for tomato sauce. 

Easy Breaded Salmon

6-6 oz Salmon fillets
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1 egg white
1 Tbls water
1 Tbsl lemon juice
3 Tbls butter, melted

Heat oven to 475 degrees. Line baking pan with tin foil (for easy clean up) and spray with butter spray. In a shallow bowl combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and paprika. In another shallow bowl, combine egg, water, and lemon juice; mix well.

Dip fish fillets into egg mixture, then coat with crumb mixture. Place fish in pan. Drizzle with melted butter.

Bake at 475 for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.

*We like to eat the fish over rice and a bit of homemade ranch (then again, we eat ranch on everything).

(Not Your Average) Strawberry Cake

1 box of white cake mix
1 - 3 oz box of strawberry jello
4 large eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of pureed strawberries
1/2 cup of heavy cream or milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cake mix and next 7 ingredients at low speed with mixer 3 minutes. Use the back of the cake mix box for bake times/pan size.

***Top with butter cream frosting mixed with a Tbls of Strawberry Lemonade Kool-Aid (dissolve the Kool-Aid powder in a tiny bit of water first so it isn't too grainy).***

Chicken Curry

Cut 2 heads of broccoli and put in bottom of 9x13 dish.

Boil 1 lb chicken breast; cut into small pieces and place over the brocolli.
Mix the following sauce in a bowl then pour over brocolli and chicken:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp (plus a touch more) yellow curry powder
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cans cream of chicken

Cover sauce with shredded cheese and bread crumbs.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (take tin foil off with 15 minutes left). Serve ove

Honey-Ginger Baked Salmon

I LOVE this recipe, and I'm not even a huge fan of fish.

1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lite soy sauce
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
4 (4 oz.) salmon fillets
5 green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
Jasmine (or regular white) Rice (2 cups)

1. Prepare rice according to package directions. Keep warm.

2. Cook orange juice and next 4 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring once, 1 minute. Remove from heat; remove and reserve 2/3 cup orange juice mixture. Pour remaining mixture into a large shallow baking dish, add salmon, turning to coat. Cover or seal, and chill 15 minutes. Remove salmon from marinade, discarding marinade. Place marinated salmon on an aluminum foil-lined jelly roll pan.

3. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork (I like to over-bake it just a little bit).

4. Meanwhile, bring reserved 2/3 cup orange juice mixture to a light boil in a small sauce pan over medium heat; cook 5 minutes or until slightly thickened and syrupy.

5. Serve salmon over rice. Top with orange sauce, and sprinkle with green onions.

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

2-4 chicken breasts (just depends on how much you want to make)
1 onion, diced
4 cups of water
5 bullion cubes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 small can green chilies
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 Tbls garlic

Cook in a crock pot for at least 6 hours. Shred chicken, then cook for another 1-2 hours. Drain most of the liquid and serve with corn tortillas, cheese, lettuce and sour cream.

Taco Stew

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
1 large onion- chopped finely
salt & pepper

Cook together in a large pot. When the meat is cooked, add:

1 can of pinto beans, with the juice
1 can of kidney beans, with the juice
1 can of diced tomatoes (Mexican style w/ chilis)
1 can of regular diced tomatos
1 can of corn
1 can of sliced olives
1 small pkg of taco seasoning
1 small pkg of ranch dressing mix

Let it cook for about an hour on low to medium low.

Serve over tortilla chips, sprinkle cheese and sour cream on top!

Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Candies (YUM!)

This is a traditional family recipe that we make every year for Easter. We all have our own favorite flavor (mine is peanut butter...they taste like Reese's peanut butter cups) and we decorate one giant ball (which we shape more like a flattened egg)  for each person. Then that egg is put in an Easter basket and hidden somewhere in the yard. Its weird, but we love it.

Peanut Butter Dough
3 Tbls peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbls melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredientc together except powdered sugar. Knead in sugar until smooth. Shape into balls and refrigerate at least 5 hours.

Dipping Chocolate
1 inch paraffin wax (used for canning)
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
 
Melt wax and chocolate in a double broiler or in a small pot over the lowest heat. Dip balls in chocolate several times as needed and allow to cool. Decorate with frosting tips as desired.


YOU SHOULD ALSO TRY...

Coconut/Mint Dough
2 Tbls butter
2 Tbls light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Coconut or Mint extract as desired

Mix all ingredients together except powdered sugar. Knead in sugar until well blended. Shape into balls and refrigerate at least 5 hours.

Baked Cheesecake

Crust
8-9 graham crackers, smashed
1/4 cup sugar
6 Tbls butter

Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Then, melt and mix in butter. Smash mixture into pie tin.

Filling
2 8oz packages of cream cheese (make sure they are soft)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Topping
2 Tbls sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar, then mix in eggs one at a time. Make sure it is well blended. Add vanilla then pour into pie tin. Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes.

While the cheesecake is baking, mix the 2 Tbls sugar, sour cream and vanilla. After the initial 25-30 minutes, pour on and spread topping, then cook an additional 10 minutes.

Refridgerate for at least 5 hours.

Mother Goose Popcorn

Our Family Home Evening treat for the night...

1 C sugar
3 Tbsp water
6 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla
food coloring

Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Pour over 4 quarts (4 bags) popped corn and stir until well coated. Then, I usually lay it on wax paper to dry.

Easy Pot Roast

1 pot Roast
1 container BBQ sauce (I prefer the origional flavor)
1 package Onion Soup Mix
1 can of Coke

Mix all the ingredients in a crockpot and cook on either low for 7 hours or high for 5.

This is easy and really delicious. Its a family favorite.

"The Good Brownies"

This recipe comes from my mother-in-law who is the queen of homemade treats. They call them "The Good Brownies" because, well, they are better than most. But, I like them because their deliciousness comes with little effort.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa (well, just under 1/2, there really isn't a measurement for it)
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter and cocoa together, then set aside to cool. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla together, then add chocolate mixture. Next, add dry ingredients. Bake in an 8x8 pan at 350 for 20-30.

Now, the frosting is the tricky part because there aren't measurements. You just create as you go. The ingredients are powdered sugar, evaporated milk, Crisco and vanilla. Or, just buy the Betty Crocker kind and call it good.

Carmel Popcorn

2-3 bags of popcorn

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4-1/3 cup karo syrup
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
First, pop the popcorn and get rid of un-popped cornels (there is nothing worse then chomping on some delicious camel popcorn and cracking your tooth on a cornel) then set aside in a bowl.

Melt butter, syrup and brown sugar together. Once they start to boil (it looks foamy), cook for 1-2 minutes. Pour over popcorn and mix. Then, place coated popcorn on wax paper or aluminum foil to cool.

White Chicken Chili

2 medium white onions chopped
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbls garlic powder
1 Tbls oregano
1 Tbls cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 small cans diced green chiles
4 15 oz cans great northern beans (drained and rinsed)
3 cups chicken broth (2 cans)
1 chicken boullian cube (or 1 tsp)
4 cups cooked, diced chicken breast
2 cans white corn undrained (although I usually just use regular yellow corn)
1 cup water
1 32 oz package sour cream
grated cheddar cheese

In a large soup pot, melt butter and add onions. Saute until onions are tender, but not brown. Add all remaining ingredients except sour cream and cheese (I like it a little runny, so I always add a cup of 2 of water as well). Cook over medium head for 20-30 minutes or until flavors begin to meld. Add sour cream and cook 10 more minutes.

Serve hot with grated cheese on top. We also like to add tortilla chips.

Just a warning, this makes a lot of chili. I have a small family so I usually half it, and we always have left overs.

MY Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, so I can up with this recipe on my own. Not like its that different from others, but I like to feel special.

Mix:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

I stir them together with a fork and set aside.

In a separate bowl mix:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup shortening (not butter flavor)

Add 2 eggs to the sugar mixture. Next add 1, 3.4 oz package of white chocolate instant pudding mix.
Last, pour the flour mixture into the sugar mixture. Don't over mix.

Is any of this making sense?

When you finish, stir in 1/2 package of milk chocolate chips. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350.

If you try these, make sure to tell me how they turned out.