Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is something I learned to make while I was in high school during my Foods classes. I absolutely loved this class and the teacher, Mrs. Ruggles. I learned a lot from her and this was one of the dishes she showed us how to make.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

4-5 boneless chicken breasts
package of thinly sliced ham
package of swiss cheese
bread crumbs
toothpicks

Pound chicken breasts out as much as possible without mutilating it. This will allow more room for the stuffing.Then place desired amount of ham and swiss cheese on breast.Carefully wrap breast as tight as possible securing with toothpicks. Don't forget to warn your guests that there are toothpicks in the chicken.
Next, roll in bread crumbs. I didn't dip the chicken in any egg wash as the bread crumbs seem to stick really well.
Place in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
The finished product with all that yummy cheese and ham inside!

Stroganoff-Style Chicken

I love beef stroganoff so I knew this recipe would be a tasty one.

Stroganoff-Style Chicken


2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound), cut into strips

2 cups sliced mushrooms (about 6 ounces)

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Healthy Request® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1/4 cup water

4 cups medium egg noodles, cooked without salt and drained

Paprika

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until well browned, stirring often. Remove the chicken from the skillet.

Heat the remaining oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onion and cook until they're tender.

Stir the soup, yogurt and water in the skillet and heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cook until the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with the paprika, if desired. Serve the chicken and sauce with the noodles.

I served it with peas and cottage cheese. I will definitely make again!

Layered Fiesta Casserole

This recipe wasn't bad but when I make it again I'm going to use flour tortillas instead of corn. I honestly don't like the way corn tortillas taste but wanted to give it a chance first. Otherwise the casserole wasn't too bad.

Layered Fiesta Casserole

1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jar (16 oz.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen corn, thawed 12 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1-1/2 cups KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, divided

Heat oven to 375°F.

Brown meat with peppers in large skillet; drain. Return to skillet. Stir in salsa, tomatoes and corn.

Spread 1 cup meat mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with 6 tortillas, overlapping as necessary. Cover with layers of half each of the remaining meat mixture and cheese; top with remaining tortillas and meat mixture. Cover with foil.

Bake 25 to 30 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining cheese; let stand 5 min. or until melted.


recipe taken from www.kraftfoods.com

The Perfect Brownie

For Christmas I got the Perfect Brownie pan so I thought I'd try it out. It was super easy and I just used a box mix. They turned out, well perfect! Here's the website if you would like to get one:https://www.perfectbrownie.com/

Fresh out of the oven. Now with the dividers removed.
Yum! The Perfect Brownie!

Chicken Fried Chops

My mom had given me a Taste of Home slow cooker cookbook for my birthday and I found this yummy recipe. It was super easy and oh so tasty!

Chicken Fried Chops

1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
6 pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick), trimmed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/3 cup water

In a shallow bowl combine flour, salt, mustard and garlic powder; dredge pork chops. In a skillet brown the chops on both sides in oil. Place in 3-qt. slow cooker.

Combine soup and water; pour over chops.
Cover and cook on love for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. If desired, thicken pan juices and serve with the pork chops.

Gravy I made with the pan juices. It was one of the best gravies I had ever made.

The final product with pork stuffing(from a box) on the side. Yield: 6 servings

My First Thanksgiving Dinner

My menu. I feel like my Mom and Grandma because they always make a menu list so they don't forget anything.

Rolls I made the night before. I just used Rhodes rolls which are so easy to do. Here's their website:http://www.rhodesbread.com/

The bird right before going into the oven. I didn't stuff with stuffing as it kind of grosses me out to eat stuffing after it's been inside the bird. I know, I'm weird. My 10lbs. Butterball beauty is done after about 3.5 hours of cooking.
Making gravy. I poured the turkey drippings into a glass measuring cup and skimmed off the fat. Then I placed drippings in pan and added some cornstarch and water until thick. It was really good.

My stuffing. Which was the first time I had ever made it. It's my Mom's recipe which I love to eat.

Stuffing:
1 stick butter
medium onion (chopped)
celery stalk (chopped)
2-3 cans chicken broth
1 Tablespoon poultry seasoning
Bread crumbs

Melt butter in large sauce pan. Add onions and celery (you can add as little or as much as you want) until translucent. Add poultry seasoning. Pour mixture over bread crumbs and add chicken broth until moist. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

My complete feast!

And don't forget the pumpkin pie. I used Libby's canned pumpkin with their recipe and for the crust I used Pillsbury pie crust.

Yummy!!!
Me with my daughter Mattie and son Tanner. Happy Thanksgiving!

What a Beauty!

This little gem was a surprise gift from my brother-in-law Craig. Last night at our Thanksgiving dinner I was asked if I had a mixer. Well, I did but it was just a very inexpensive hand mixer. I then turned around and what to my eyes did I see.....a 1960's vintage Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer!!! It's a beauty! I can't wait to make a cake and the first cake I make will be for Craig! Thanks Craig, who knew a mixer could make a girl so happy!!!

Baked Macaroni Cheese with Ham

Baked Macaroni and Cheese
6 tbsp butter
4 tbsps. flour
1 3/4 cups of half and half
1 1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (you can use less cheese if desired)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 cups of diced ham
5 cups cooked macaroni
1 cup bread crumbs - half for the inside crunch and half for a topping
1/4 cup scallions, diced
pepper to taste

Using a large saucepan melt the butter and add the flour – stir and gradually stir in your half and half making sure to keep stirring as the entire mixture thickens.

Pour in your cooked macaroni. Add your shredded cheese and your Parmesan to the mixture - now you can add half the bread crumbs and scallions, and add the cubes of ham.

Stir well and pour into a well greased casserole or baking dish. Put the last of the bread crumbs on the top for a nice crunchy top layer. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes or until the top is crisp.
recipe from http://southernfood.about.com/

Pulled Pork Sandwiches in the Crock Pot

This was my first time making pulled pork sandwiches and I loved them. I served them with corn from my dad's garden and fresh coleslaw from the deli. A great treat!!

Pulled Pork (Crock Pot) Recipe

1 day 30 min prep

SERVES 10

4 lbs pork roast (shoulder or butt)
2 large onions
1 cup ginger ale
1 (18 ounce) bottle favorite barbecue sauce (I like Bone Sucking Sauce)
barbecue sauce, for serving (optional)

Slice one onion and place in crock pot.

Put in the roast and cover with the other onion, sliced.

Pour over the ginger ale. Cover and cook on LOW for about 12 hours.

Remove the meat, strain and save the onions, discard all liquid. With two forks, shred the meat, discarding any remaining fat, bones or skin. Most of the fat will have melted away.

Shredding the meat.

Return the shredded meat and the onions to the crock pot, stir in the barbecue sauce. Continue to cook for another 4 to 6 hours on LOW. (I only cooked on low for another 1-2 hours or until the sauce was warm.)

My favorite BBQ sauce.

Cooking the meat with the sauce.

Serve with hamburger buns or rolls and additional barbecue sauce. recipe from www.recipezaar.com

Beef Noodle Bowl

This is one of our favorites and it's so easy to make.

Beef Noodle Bowl

1/2 lb. linguine, uncooked
3 cups broccoli florets
3 carrots, peeled, sliced (I sometimes use frozen carrots)
2 tsp. oil
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
1/4 cup zesty Italian dressing
1 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce

Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, adding vegetables to the boiling water for the last 2 min.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add meat; cook until browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing and teriyaki sauce; cook 2 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta mixture; place in large serving bowl. Add meat mixture; toss to coat.

The finished product. Yum, yum good!!!!

Creamy Chicken Pot Pie

I always wanted to try to make a pot pie but thought they were too hard. But I found this super easy recipe and loved it. I served it with potatoes from my Dad's garden and chicken gravy. Oh and I won't lie the gravy came from the jar!

Fresh potatoes from the garden.

My kitchen helper Mattie. She wanted to help wash the potatoes.
Potatoes peeled and ready to boil.

Creamy Chicken Pot Pie

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose baking mix

Heat oven to 400°F.

Cook cream cheese and broth in large saucepan on low heat until cream cheese is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently with whisk. Stir in chicken, vegetables and garlic salt.

Spoon into 9-inch pie plate. Beat egg and milk in medium bowl with whisk until well blended; stir in baking mix just until moistened. Spoon over chicken mixture. Place pie plate on baking sheet.

Bake 25 to 30 min. or until golden brown.

(recipie from kraftfoods.com)

Getting ready to go into the oven.

All done!!!

Cheesy Manicotti

I usually hate ricotta so I never make Manicotti even though my husband loves it. So finally I braved it and found an easy recipe. Low and behold I actually liked it.

Cheesy Manicotti

1 pkg. (8 oz.) sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 egg whites
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1 container (15 oz.) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/3 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) manicotti shells (14 shells), cooked, drained
2 cups spaghetti sauce

Heat oven to 350°F. Heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook 5 min., stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Beat egg whites in medium bowl. Add mushroom mixture, spinach, ricotta cheese and 1/2 each mozzarella and Parmesan; mix well. Spoon evenly into manicotti shells (*see picture below).


Place in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with spaghetti sauce.

Bake 40 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan; bake 5 min. or until mozzarella is melted.



(Recipie from kraftfoods.com)



*Instead of spooning the mixture into the manicotti shells I placed mixture in a large plastic bag and cut the end off of it and used it like a piping bag. It worked great and made the hassle of stuff shells so easy.

The finished product!! Yummy!!