Creamy Tomatoe & Artichoke Pasta

3-4 Roma tomatoes
4 T. melted butter
2 T. sundried tomatoes
3 fresh leaves basil
1 tsp. garlic Salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 C milk
1 C heavy cream
1 T minced garlic
1/2 onion chopped
2 C sliced mushrooms
1 (14oz) can quartered artichokes, left whole or chopped up.
1/4 C sundried Tomatoes
1/4 C fresh basil chopped
Penne Pasta

Directions

Peel the skin off of the roma tomatoes & combine them with 2 T sundried tomatoes, basil leaves, garlic salt, butter, pepper & milk in a blender until smooth. Once blended smooth, add cream & pulse once or twice to combine. (make sure not to do it more or it will start whipping it & making it thick). Sauté minced garlic, onions & mushrooms in skillet with some olive oil over medium heat until tender. Add artichokes, sundried tomatoes & basil & cover with sauce. Heat through on medium-low heat until sauce & artichokes are just warmed up. Serve over penne pasta.* I created this for dinner last night & I loved it! I actually think that I loved it even more today for lunch. These are all of my favorite ingredients combined into 1 pasta.... Can't go wrong there ;)

Crock Pot Sunday Roast with Gravy

Ingredients

2lb Tip pork loin roast
1 package french onion soup
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2/3 can water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in crock pot & cook for 4 hours. Serve gravy on mashed potatoes.

*Ok, I know this is ridiculously easy, but I wanted to post just in case no one has tried this before. This is SO tender and the flavor of the gravy is awesome. If you have a Costco close by, we purchase our roasts in a 4 pack and they are only like $16 for the the 4. It is an AWESOME deal. Each roast is individually packaged so we just freeze them & pull them out as we need them. These are the only roasts that we eat anymore.

Crunchy Romaine Salad

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 (3 ounce) package ramen noodles, broken
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
1 small head romaine lettuce, torn
1/2 cup shredded carrots
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped almonds

Directions

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the sugar, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, salt and pepper; shake well. Discard seasoning packet from noodles or save for another use. In a 350 degree preheated oven, toast ramen noodles & almonds on a cookie sheet for approximately 8-10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine noodles, broccoli, carrots, romaine, almonds, and onions and toss with dressing right before serving.

Easy No-Bake Cheesecake

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

Combine ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined. Pour into pie pan and press down and shape onto sides. Refrigerate 20 minutes before pouring in the filling.

Cheesecake filling
1 (8oz) package softened cream cheese
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

In medium size bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add Eagle Brand milk, stir in lemon juice, sour cream and vanilla; blend ingredients well. Pour into pie crust. Chill 2 hours and garnish with your favorite fruit topping. May be covered and frozen (thaw 45 minutes).

*I am not a big fan of thick cheesecake, so this was the perfect recipe for me! This is a very soft, creamy cheesecake! It is a bit rich so I might try adding some whipped cream to it to tone it down a bit, but I actually loved it as it was also.... my husband thought it was a bit too rich. We topped this off with strawberry glaze, fresh strawberries and whipped cream.... I loved it!

*Second note- I made this again and made it chocolate. I added 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder in with the sour cream and vanilla, then folded in a cup of whipped cream at the end. You probably could add even more whipped cream if you would like. I enjoyed this most after it had sat in the fridge for 3 days, the first day it was a bit rich. I might try cutting down the lemon juice next time just a bit.

Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts (I used 2 large breasts & cut them in half)
1/2 cup honey (I used agave nectar & a little less than half cup)
1/4 cup dijon mustard (I added a couple extra tablespoons)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a lightly greased pan. Mix honey, dijon mustard, butter and pepper in bowl and pour on top of chicken. Bake for 45 minutes, basting with the sauce about every 15 minutes.

* This is such a simple, quick chicken dish! I was looking for something that wouldn't take much effort for dinner tonight and I got it. The best part, my husband raved about it the whole dinner & said it was a keeper!

Shrimp Asian Salad

Ingredients

2 T honey or agave nectar
2 T soy sauce
1 lime, juiced or 2 1/2 T lime juice
2 tsp sesame oil or peanut oil
1 T vegetable oil
3 T olive oil
1 T toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cucumber, peeled & cut into small pieces
1 lb cooked medium shrimp

Directions

Combine honey (agave nectar), soy sauce, lime juice & oils in a bowl. If shrimp isn't cooked, cook shrimp on medium- low to medium heat with a small amount of olive oil until pink on both sides. Combine cucumber & shrimp with sauce in bowl. Toss with romaine lettuce & top with sesame seeds.

Toasted Coconut Toffee Crunch cookies

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 - 3/4 cup toasted coconut*
1/3 cup Heath toffee bits
1/3 cup crushed corn flakes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture. Add toasted coconut, toffee bits and corn flakes and stir with a spoon. Make into about 1" balls and place 3"
apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks.

*To toast coconut, melt 1 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Add flaked coconut and stir until coconut is evenly browned (make sure not to over cook, it happens quickly once the browning process starts.)

**I found this base recipe, tweaked it a bit & added my twist with the toasted coconut, toffee and cornflakes. I am pretty sure that my husband ate about 10 of these in 1 day the last time I made them! Not to mention that my very picker eater step-dad LOVED them!

Buttermilk Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup

Buttermilk Pancakes

3 c. flour
3 T. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. milk
3 eggs
1/3 c. melted butter

Mix dry ingredients separately from liquids. Combine before cooking.

Buttermilk Syrup

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. buttermilk
1 T. vanilla
1 T. corn syrup
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix all ingredients & bring to a soft boil. Add 1/2 tsp. baking soda after removing from heat.

*Both of these make HUGE batches so you may want to half both recipes if it is for a smaller group. I actually haven't made this myself yet. My sister makes this and it was so good that I had to get the recipe from her. So Yummy!

Swiss Chicken

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken breasts
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 can water
2 c. stuffing mix (coarsely crushed)
melted butter

Directions

Place chicken breasts in 9"x9" baking dish; cover with cheese slices. Combine soup and water and pour over cheese. Cover with stuffing & drizzle butter over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Serve with rice.

Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts cut in half to make 4 small pieces (or four smaller chicken breasts).
1/2 c. fine, seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 lg. egg
1/4-1/3 c. olive oil
1 (32 0z.) jar Classico brand pasta sauce (I like the Tomato & Basil flavor)
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
4 c. hot, cooked linguini pasta

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and 1/4 c. of the Parmesan cheese. Place egg in another shallow bowl and beat. Dip chicken into egg, letting excess drip off, then in bread crumbs. Coat thoroughly. Shake to remove excess crumbs. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup of oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken pieces, saute 5 minutes on each side, turning once, until golden brown. Remove to plate. In baking dish, add pasta sauce, garlic, parsley and oregano & stir. Place browned chicken pieces into dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and top each piece with mozzarella cheese & remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese & bake for 10 minutes longer until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Serve on top of linguini pasta.

*I love this dish & my husband who isn't a real big pasta eater also loves this! This really is quite simple to make.

Waffles with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Ingredients

2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 3/4 c. flour
1 T baking powder
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt

Directions

Whip egg whites until stiff. Whip egg yolks 30 seconds and add milk, oil and then dry ingredients. Fold in egg whites. Cook in waffle iron.

*These are SUPER tasty served with butter, agave nectar and topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries! This makes a good size batch so we always have leftovers. I make the whole batch, refrigerate the leftovers and put in the toaster when we want to eat them and they are almost as good as freshly made. make sure that the toaster isn't up too high, you want it to warm in up, not make it crunchy on the outside.

Streusel Topped Blueberry Cream Muffins

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  
• 2 cups sour cream
• 3 cups blueberries

Streusel

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 T cold butter cut into small pieces

Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut butter into dry ingredients until butter is evenly cut in & it is a light, fluffy consistency.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In large bowl beat eggs, gradually add sugars while beating. Continue beating while slowly pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Gently fold in blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.Top each muffin with 1 T streusel.
   
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

*This is a recipe that I found, made a few changes and added the streusel on top. You can use this recipe for any muffin base and add any fruit.

Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 T dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 T agave nectar (or maple syrup)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat over to 250 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts coconut and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine agave nectar, oil and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 cookie sheets. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

*This can be served like a bowl of cereal, with yogurt or with fresh fruit & cream. Best granola! I originally got the recipe from Alton Brown but changed the maple syrup to agave nectar which everyone seems to like better & I always have it on hand.

Old Fashioned Biscuits/ Strawberry Shortcake

Biscuits from scratch

3 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Toss with a fork to combine. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or a fork until the largest pieces of butter are the size of peas. (Or pulse several times in a food processor.) Combine the cream and vanilla in a liquid measure. Make a well in the center of the flour and and pour the cream mixture into the well. Mix with a fork until the dough is evenly moistened and just combined; it should look shaggy and still feel a little dry. Gently knead by hand five or six times to create a loose ball.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat it into an 8-inch square, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment or silpat, cover with plastic and chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Heat the oven to 425ºF. Remove the dough from refrigerator. Cut the dough into 9 even squares and spread them about 2 inches apart from each other on the baking sheet. Bake until the biscuits are medium golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries and whipping cream:

3 baskets of fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
Whipping cream
Vanilla

Remove the stems from the strawberries. Slice into thin (1/4" to 1/8") slices. Put into a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of sugar (depending on how sweet the strawberries are to begin with) and mix into the strawberries. Set aside at room temperature to macerate (which means that the sugar will soften the strawberries and help release their juices).

After the strawberries have been sitting for 20 minutes or so, take a potato masher and mash them a little. Not too much, just enough to get more juice out of them.

Whip the cream, adding a drop or two of vanilla and a teaspoon of sugar.

To serve, break up one biscuit per person into big pieces into a bowl. Ladle strawberries over the biscuit. Add a dolop of whipped cream.

*These biscuits are awesome served warm with butter and honey or agave nectar or a very good addition to a Strawberry Shortcake! This is actually a recipe that my father-in-law found while he was staying here and tried it on us. I had never had the old fashioned way of having Strawberry Shortcake but I loved it.

Taco Seasoning

Ingredients

1 T all purpose flour
1 T cornstarch
1 T dried minced onion
1 tsp beef bouillon granules or 1 beef bouillon cube- crushed
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp sugar

*I actually triple this recipe and keep it stored in a little container so that I don't have to make it every time I need it.... great to have on hand.

Applebee's Chicken Fajita Rollups

Chicken Marinade

2 large chicken breasts cut into tiny bite size pieces
2 c water
1/3 c soy sauce
3 T sugar
2 T salt
2 T white vinegar
1 T chipotle pepper or 1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp hickory smoke flavoring or liquid smoke
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper

Place cut up chicken pieces in marinade and refrigerate 2-4 hours

Mexi-Ranch

1/2 c mayo
2 T minced onion
2 T diced tomato
1 T buttermilk (or you can use regular milk if you don't have buttermilk)
1 T white vinegar
2 tsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp green chili pepper
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
pinch dill weed
pinch cumin
pinch cayenne

Mix all ingredients together.

Directions

Remove chicken pieces from marinade and cook in skillet on medium heat until no longer pink. Add Mexi-Ranch mixture & 1 store bought container Pico de Gallo (is found in the produce section of the store by the refrigerated salads & salsas). Mix everything together and let warm up for about 1-2 minutes. Serve 1/2 cup chicken mixture, shredded iceberg lettuce, & mexi style cheese on a large burrito size tortilla & roll up tucking in the sides first. Serve with Sour Cream.

*I used to get these all the time and love them, I did some searching online & found some different recipes and came up with this combination that we all love. It isn't exactly like Applebee's but they are SUPER good!

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup diced onions
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3 cups sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Add cream to sauce & cook for 5 minutes longer. Serve on top of Capellini or Angel Hair pasta.

*I found a recipe and made some changes to it, so this has my changes in it already. I have to admit that I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this dish, definite keeper!

For anyone concerned about the wine in it, the alcohol does cook out.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
5 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) pastry shell, baked
whipped topping

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine the first six ingredients until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. stir 1 cup hot mixture into egg yolks. Return all to the pan; bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool slightly. Pour warm filling into pastry shell. Cool for 1 hour. Refrigerate until set. Just before serving, garnish with whipped topping.

*I made one addition to this, I let the filling sit and cool for about 15 minutes or so and then added about 1 cup of freshly whipped whipped cream to tone down the chocolate flavor a bit and my whole family absolutely loved it!

Orange Green Salad

Dressing

1/4 c olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T orange juice
1 tsp sugar*
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients in a jar.
*If you are wanting a healthier version, substitute the sugar with honey or agave nectar.

Serve over Romaine Lettuce & top it off with bite size slices of orange & apple, craisins & caramalized almonds (melt regular sugar in a pan over medium heat, take off of heat once it is melted & toss with almonds. Spread out on wax paper to cool).

**This is a salad I put together & it is a great light, summery salad. Very refreshing!

Favorite Spaghetti Sauce

Cook until soft in 4 T. butter:
4 med. onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

Add & Cook:
1 1/2 lb. ground round
1 t. salt
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce

Add:
2 (14 oz) cans tomato puree
4 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
2 (8 oz) bottles clam juice
4 bay leaves
4 or more shakes tabasco
1 t. each:
oregano
sweet basil
salt
sugar
lemon juice
3/4 c. parmesan cheese
4 c. red wine (alcohol cooks off)

Simmer 3-4 hours.


*This is AWESOME! But BEWARE, it makes a HUGE batch.... this is a party size. I made the normal batch size and froze half of the sauce, but it is probably enough sauce for 4-5 dinners for my family of 4 (2 being little girls, but they still eat it). I made a few changes and it was still amazingly good. I used 2 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce instead of tomato puree, I drained the juice of 2 minced clams cans and used the juice from that (I used the clams in a clam chowder so I could kill 2 birds with one stone), and I only used 3 cups Red Cooking wine.... it just seemed like a lot of wine. I also added more mushrooms than it calls for and used dried parsley instead of fresh.

I will never be able to go to any other spaghetti sauce!