Cranberry Pomegranate Jello

This Jello is wonderful! It might sound like a strange combination, but one taste is all it takes and you will be hooked. It is a great thing to take to any holiday parties, or just to make for your family.

1 small package orange Jello
1 small package raspberry Jello
1 package frozen raspberries with syurp crushed
1 Pomegranate - Seeds only
3/4 C. chopped cranberries

In a large serving dish or jello mold dissolve both packages of Jello in 2 C. Hot water, once dissolved add 1 C. cold water. After Jello is mixed, add fruits and stir. Place Jello in fridge to set. Once Jello is set, serve with whipping cream.

Gingerbread Cake

This is amazing and great as a treat for the Holidays, it is best served warm with fresh whipping cream to top it. My mouth is already watering!

2 C. Flour
1/2 C. Sugar
2 tsp. Ground Ginger
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. Molasses
1/2 C. Butter
3/4 C. Boiling Water
1 large Egg lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350
Grease a 9" square pan

Combine Flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger until well blended

In a separate bowl combine Molasses, Butter and boiling water and stir until butter is melted. Then add Molasses mixture along with Egg to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. With a rubber spatula scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Serve with fresh whipping cream while slightly warm.

Overnight Pull Aparts

12 to 16 frozen white roll dough (still frozen, I use 16)

1 (3.4 oz.) package vanilla instant pudding

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup dried cranberries

1 orange ring, grated

½ cup butter or margarine, melted

Frosting (recipe below)

Sprinkle cranberries in the bottom of a greased bundt pan. Arrange rolls evenly in pan. Mix sugar and dry pudding together and sprinkle over rolls. Combine orange rind with melted butter and spoon over rolls. Cover pan with sprayed plastic wrap. Place pan in cold oven overnight (8 to 10 hours). Remove rolls from oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap from pan and bake for 25 min. Immediately invert pan onto a serving platter. Cool slightly and drizzle with frosting.

Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

To make the same thing in a cinnamon version you can use:

¾ chopped nuts in place of the cranberries

4 oz package of butterscotch pudding in place of vanilla pudding and sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in place of the orange rind

Then you don’t even need the frosting, but if you really want it use milk in place of the orange juice.

Baked French Toast

This is a very yummy and easy way to get breakfast done on Christmas Eve!

Ingredients

1 loaf French bread
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups half & half
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
11/3 cups packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons light corn syrup

Directions

Coat a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange bread slices in bottom of pan; set aside. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk , half and half, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over bread slices, cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small sauce pan combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Heat until bubbling. Pour over bread and egg mixture. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Serve with butter, syrup and powdered sugar. Makes 8-10 servings.

Creme Brulee French Toast

This is not for the Non-Sugar lover! It is very sweet, but makes for a great Christmas morning breakfast! It is very, very good, especially if you like Creme Brulee!



Creme Brulee French Toast

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP corn syrup
1 loaf of Texas toast (thick sliced bread)
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

in a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup over medium heat until smooth, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture into large, greased jelly roll pan (cookie sheet) Spread to cover completely. Place 12 slices Texas toast bread in a single layer to cover pan. mix together eggs, cream, salt, and vanilla. Spoon mixture over each piece of bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. remove from the pan and serve. If not serving immediately, turn each slice over( this will prevent bread from sticking to the bottom of the pan.)

Creme Brulee syrup

1/2 cup of butter
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sugar
2 TBSP white corn syrup

boil together over medium heat for 7-10 Minutes stirring constantly

after you remove from the heat
add:
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda

Buttermilk Pie

This is my mother in-law's recipe and my Husband LOVES it...I do too!

1 2/3 C Sugar
1/4 C Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Stick melted Butter
3 Eggs, beaten one at a time.
1/2 C buttermilk
2TBS Vanilla

Fill a frozen pie shell.

Bake @ 400 for 10 minutes, then @ 300 for 50-60 minutes, or till firm!

FOOD CHALLENGE #3

Here's the third food challenge! Jen mentioned she needed new recipes for the holidays (who doesn't?!?) so... that will be the challenge!

Post some of your favorite holiday recipes. What do you take to parties and family gatherings??

Let us know so we can take new things too!!

White Chocolate-Gingerbread Blondies

These are incredible! And yes, they are from our favorite baker...Martha!

INGREDIENTS

Makes about 4 dozen 2-inch squares.

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 1/2 sticks (20 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
10 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 17-by-12-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment cut to fit, and coat parchment.

2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.

3. Beat butter and brown and granulated sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and yolk, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla and molasses. Reduce speed to low.

4. Gradually add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in white chocolate.

5. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake until edges are golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 2-inch squares or desired shape. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Fun Turkeys

I was in charge of bringing a dessert for the kids at one of the dinners we went to. I wanted to bring something they could do - something that would be fun. So I invented these turkeys. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture and in recreating it, realized I ran out of some of the ingredients. But you get the general idea. You could always make up your own idea....

Fun Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies

*Take a sugar cookie (I made sugar cookies that are fantastic! I'll have to post that recipe too.)
*Then we frosted them with either chocolate or white frosting (I only had rainbow chip here)
*Gummy fish for the feathers (the assorted pack has lots of great colors for the feathers.)
*Candy corn for the beak.
*Marshmallows with chocolate chips for the eyes
*Toothpicks for the legs
*Starbursts for the feet (with a section cut out.)


And there you have it.........

Easy Key Lime Pie

Easy Key Lime Pie

from my grandma.

Again - VERY GOOD!

For the key-lime filling, mix

1- 8 oz can of frozen lime juice (thawed)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

Stir together in a bowl.

Fold in 1- 8 oz carton of whip cream.

Spoon filling into a regular graham cracker crust and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Homemade Crescent Rolls

This is the recipe for the rolls that my sister brought. They were REALLY good - AND she said they were really easy to make!

Mix the following ingredients together and warm in the microwave (1-2 mins)

2/3 C Powdered Milk

2 1/2 C Water

1/2 C. Sugar

1/2 C Margarine or Butter

2 tsp. Salt

Add 2 beaten eggs and 2 Tbl. Instant yeast to the warm liquid (whisk yeast in.)

Stir in 7 C flour (NOT bread flour) and beat with a large spoon until smooth.

Cover and let rise until doubles (approx. 30 mins)

Divide into 4 equal parts. Roll one part into a circle and cut into 12 pieces (like a pizza). Repeat with all 4 circles. Roll up each piece and place on greased sheet and let rise again (30 mins).

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 mins or until lightly brown. Remove from oven and brush with butter.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Here's what my sister brought to our Thanksgiving dinner. This recipe would NOT win any low-fat awards, but it was fantastic! :)

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked mashed yams
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup softened butter
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
1 cups brown sugar
1 cups pecans

Directions:
Combine first 5 ingredients. Stir well and pour into baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients and mix until crumbly. Spread evenly over yam mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

FOOD CHALLENGE #2

Here's the second food challenge... post recipes from your Thanksgiving dinner. (Or recipes that you used with your left-overs.) This way, we'll all be able to build our recipe collections for next year's dinner. I've already emailed those from my dinner to get recipes. Can't wait to see what you ate!!!!!!!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I really liked this soup. I got it off of Cheryl's blog What's Cookin' Tew. And I had leftover chicken that I used so it was completely prepared in 5 minutes. Then I just let it simmer. That's my kind of recipe! ;)

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups water (may use chicken broth)

2 Tbs sugar

3 tsp chili powder

3/4 - 1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

14 oz can or frozen corn (optional)

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies

2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces

**I didn't have any chilies soI just sprinkled in some crushed red pepper to give it a little kick. I also had some leftover cooked lentils that I threw in which added nutrition and texture without changing the taste.

Combine in large pot. Bring to boil and then simmer for 3o minutes. (You can also put this in a crock pot and let it simmer all day on low.)

Serve with:Sour Cream, Chopped avocado, Sliced olives, Grated Cheddar Cheese, Tortilla strips (Smith's carries these in their deli section)

Chicken Taco Soup

1 Onion
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 pkg taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
cilantro
jalapeno peppers
tortilla chips

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, chicken broth and diced tomatoes in a crock-pot. Add the taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breats on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Cook on low heat for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Shred. Stir the chicken back into the soup and continue cooking for 2 hours. Add cilantro.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, jalapenos, black olives, cilantro, fresh lime and tortilla chips.

Food Challenge!

I'm going to start something called a "Food Challenge."

All this is, is a "challenge" for you to post recipes in accordance to the "food" category that is chosen. I'll do a new one every week or two to give you time to post.

And keep in mind, you can keep posting WHATEVER else you want during this time. It's just to give you an idea for recipes to post in case you can't think of one. (And I'm TOTALLY open to suggestions for challenges. If you have to make a salad for an upcoming party, let me know and we'll do a salad food challenge to help you out.)

So... since the last post was a soup recipe from Becca - let's start the first challenge off with good soup recipes. This will help us build up a collection in preparation for the winter. (Although Becca - you're not off the hook! You have to put another one too. ha ha)

We look forward to seeing everyone's soup recipes!!!!

Tuscan Bean Soup

This soup is fast, easy, inexpensive & HEALTHY!

1 small onion, thinly diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 TBS olive oil
2 cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 can great nothern beans, drained & rinsed
2/3 c spiral or bowtie pasta
2-3 c spinach, washed & torn
s&p

In large pot, saute onion and carrot in olive oil until onion is tender. Add broth & water; bring to a boil. Stir in beans & pasta; return to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover, and simmer for 14-15 minutes until pasta & carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Add spinach, heat through. Season with salt & pepper.

This is really good served with crusty bread or toast for dipping. It's an extremely mild-tasting soup.....great for the kids!!

White Chili

I heard that some of you wanted the White Chili recipe from the Halloween party...Well, here it is! It's one of my favorites. Enjoy!

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 TB vegetable oil
2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chicken broth
2 cans chopped green chilies
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 c. whipping cream
1 c. sour cream

In a large saucepan saute chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil until no longer pink. Add chicken broth, beans, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream and sour cream. Serve immediately. Serves seven.

(When I made this the other night, I doubled the recipe and added only half as much garlic as the recipe called for and a little less than half the cayenne pepper. You can do what you like...experiment!)

Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients:

Scones
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Squeeze of fresh orange juice, if you have it
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1 large egg

Powdered Sugar Glazze
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk

OR

Spiced Glaze
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ginger
• 1 pinch ground cloves

Directions
TO MAKE THE SCONES:.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.

Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 14–16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

TO MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE:.
Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth.
When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone.

AS THAT WHITE GLAZE FIRMS UP, MAKE THE SPICED ICING:.
Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.

Dorothy Chicken

We eat this chicken once a week. Seriously, you can ask my family. Cam gobbles it up too, so we just love it!

First you need some chicken. I use frozen chicken tenders, but breasts would work too.
Stick them in a crockpot, no need to thaw first. I use a whole bag of frozen tenders cuz we like the leftovers.
Then you pour Dorothy Lynch dressing over top. I use a generous amount cuz we like the extra sauce.....usually the whole bottle.
Cook on low all day.
Shred chicken about 30 minutes before eating to let flavor in. Serve over white rice.
That's it!
SOOO easy and yummy! You don't need any other seasonings or spices. We add a little s&p at the table and serve it with peas.

This is what the dressing looks like. It's on the dressing aisle with the ranch and such. It comes in regular or fat-free. We have been using the fat-free and think it tastes just as good.

Halloween Pancakes

So I know this post will be outdated now... but we had SO much fun making them, I thought I would post it anyway. Maybe you can keep it on the list for next year.

Ingredients:

Bisquick

Food Coloring

Chocolate Chips

I just made a batch of pancakes from Bisquick (but obviously you can use any recipe you want.) Then I put about 1/2 cup in another bowl. I put orange food coloring in the big bowl and green in the little bowl. (THANK YOU fall food coloring!)

Then I poured the orange batter like normal on the pan and used a spoon to scoop a little green. Some turned out much better than others. Then I made a face out of chocolate chips! SOOO much fun!

Fiesta Chicken Empanada

This was a first time recipe we tried the other day and it turned out pretty yummy so I thought I'd share!














INGREDIENTS:
1 (15 oz) pkg. refrigerated pie crusts, softened
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (10 oz) can chunk white chicken breast in water, drained OR
1/2 lb-1 lb chicken breasts cut into cubes (depending on how much chicken you want)
4 teaspoons dry fajita seasoning
1/2 cup Cheese 'n Salsa dip
1 egg, beaten

*If using non canned chicken, cook first. I just used a skillet and kinda shredded it as it cooked. Then add it when it calls for it in the directions.

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out 1 crust, place on ungreased 14 inch pizza pan or cookie sheet.
2. Heat oil in large skillet, add onion and bell peppers. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken and fajita seasoning; mix well.
3. Spoon chicken mixture onto crust to within 1 inch of edge. Spread cheese 'n salsa dip over chicken mixture. Brush edge of crust with water. Place remaining crust over filling. Press edges firmly to seal. Brush top with beaten egg.
4. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cover edge of crust with strips of foil after 10 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. Cut into wedges. Garnish with sour cream and extra cheese 'n salsa dip.

Makes 6 servings.

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

I just tried this recipe recently and it is super easy! Plus it made my apartment smell so good!

Ingredients:

1 package (18.25oz) white cake mix
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 ¾ cups chopped peeled apple (2 large apples)
1 1/3 cups milk
½ cup melted butter

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
*Grease or line muffin tin with paper cups
*In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oats, cinnamon and baking powder. Stir to blend. In another large bowl whisk together eggs, apples, milk and melted butter. Add dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon just until blended. Spoon batter into prepared muffins tins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until set and golden.
*For a different flavor, add raisins or dried cranberries to batter.

**In University Village oven cook at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.

Anniversary Chicken

This is such an easy recipe, it takes only about 5 to 10 minutes to prepare and then you just let it cook away. It's one of our favorite meals, especially when we are short on time to prepare things. It taste's like you spent all day in the kitchen making it, I make it for special occasions as well as for every day meals.

add equal parts of: ranch dressing from a bottle (not the dry mix)

Yoshida’s Teriyaki Sauce (you can get this at costco)

pour this mixture over boneless skinless chicken breasts in a baking dish (like a 9×13)

then top with

minced onions either green or white

crumbled bacon (the costco pre-cooked crumbled bacon works great)

then cover with Cheese.

Cover the baking pan with tin-foil

Bake at 350 for 1 hour (the last 30 minutes take the tinfoil off)

* just make sure that your chicken is cooked all the way thru before you eat it, if it’s thick frozen chicken you will need to adjust the cooking time to closer to 2 hours.

Sugar Cookies & Buttercream Frosting

Love these sugar cookies...and this is my mom's special buttercream frosting recipe.

1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. sour cream
1/2 tsp almond or lemon extract (I use almond)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 1/4 c. flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, almond or lemon extract and vanilla. Mix well. Add soda, salt and flour and mix on low just until combined. Roll dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Roll out on floured surface and cut into shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 375 degrees fr 6 to 8minutes. Watch so they don't brown. Coll on racks, then frost and decorate.

Frosting

The thick but creamy texture of this flavorful frosting makes it ideal for decorating. It can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
3 Tbsp. milk

Cream butter and shortening in electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all the sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until you're ready to decorate.

Something healthy coming next...

Rice and Beans

It is as simple as it sounds, I just cook up some brown rice, ( white rice works, but brown tastes better). Usally the 6 people amount, then add a can of beans, ie, pinto, Kidney, red, and there we go, it is done. each person then adds thier own amount of salsa, chedar cheese, and sour cream, either in a bowl or toco shell. It is one of Williams favorite.

Lion House Pumpkin Bread

You definitely wouldn't be able to add this recipe to any holiday diet menu :), but it's fantastic!

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
5 eggs
1 16-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground nutmeg
1 t. baking soda
2 3-ounce packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oil, eggs, and pumpkin in a large mixing bowl and beat well. In a separate bowl sift together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix until blended. Stir in pudding mix and choco chips or nuts. Pour into a greased 4 ½ x 8 inch loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour. Makes 2 loaves. Or you can make 8 mini loaves and just decrease cooking time to about 35 minutes.

Easy Sunday Morning Pancakes

1 c flour
2 TB sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together.

1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 c milk
3 TB butter, melted

Mix together.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients. Stir until combined. Cook pancakes by 1/4 cup-full over medium heat. Makes about 8-10 pancakes.

Tortellini

2- Frozen packages Tortellini
4 Lg cans Petite Diced Tomatoes
2 Lbs Steak- Cut into 1/2 inch strips (I buy the cheapest I can find)
Garlic
Oregano
Basil
Salt
Black Pepper
Minced Onions (you can use fresh)

In a skillet on the stove brown Steak strips with Onions, olive oil and Garlic. In the Crockpot combine Tomatoes, Oregano, Basil, Salt and Pepper. When meat is browned add it to the Crockpot. Let simmer on high for 6 hours. (I use about 2 Tbs of all the spices, minus the pepper. I only use about 1 tsp) You can add more or less depending on your taste buds
About 10 minutes before serving cook the Pasta in boiling water and add to sauce

Mexican Haystacks

1 lb Chicken – cooked and shredded
4 cans Petite Diced Tomatoes
2 cans Black Beans
1 sm can Green Chilies
1 Package Taco Seasoning
2 Tbs minced Garlic
2 Tbs Dehydrated Onions

Add all ingredients (except Chicken) to a Crockpot and cook on High 4 Hours/ Low 6 Hours. Add Shredded Chicken the last Hour of cooking.

Serve over Rice. I like to add the Rice and Sauce to a taco shell and add shredded cheese and black olives. My kids love to eat it with Scoop Fritos

(This recipe makes a Ton! If stored in Freezer Ziplock; it stores really well!)

Cheesy Smashed Potatoes

1 lb red potatoes, cut into small chunks
1 c bite-size cauliflower florets
1/2 c light sour cream
1 c shredded cheddar

Place potatoes and califlower in large saucepan. Add water to cover.
Bring to a boil on high. Reduce heat to medium, simmer for 20 minutes.
Drain, return to pan.

Add sour cream; mash until mixture is fluffy. Add cheese. Add 1-2 TBS milk, if necessary.

These potatoes taste GREAT with meatloaf. And extra healthy too, great way to sneak veggies into your kid's meals!

PB/Oatmeal/Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1/3 c white sugar

Cream together.

1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg

Add to mixture.

1 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Combine and add to mixture, beat just until blended.

1/2 c oats (I usually add a tad more)
1 c chocolate chips (I usually add a tad less)

Bake at 350 degrees for exactly 10 minutes.

YUM!!! This recipe doesn't make a ton of cookies, so I double it most of the time. Enjoy!!