Swiss Medley (veggie casserole)

This casserole is a tradition in my family. It's the perfect side dish that's different from your typical dishes.

I made this for Thanksgiving and the HUGE casserole dish was just about cleared out. My brother said he only eats this at holidays, but I think it's great any time of the year!!

Swiss Medley

1 (16 oz) pkg. frozen California veggie blend (broccoli, carrots, & cauliflower), thawed

1 cup sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded

French fried onions

Combine all ingredients except for the onions. Place in a 2 quart casserole dish. Top with onions and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Tips:

• I use sliced swiss cheese and tear into small pieces.
• I steam the veggies first and then combine with the other ingredients. This make the casserole more smooth with the cooked down broccoli & cauliflower.

Vegetarian Chili

This recipe was given to me years ago by a former co-worker. For some reason, I put it aside and didn't make it for a while. When I finally did, I realized I'd wasted a lot of time not eating this great meal!

Since marrying my meat-eating Hubby, I've now begun to add meat...shh, don't tell! In addition, I'm not one to follow the recipe so I tend to dump a little of this and a little of that in as well. This is the perfect recipe to play around with!

You can make this in a stock pot or toss it all in a crock pot for a few hours. It's also easy to double or triple if you really need to feed a crowd or want some to freeze.

While I normally eat it in a bowl with cheese & sour cream, my co-worker swore that the best way to eat this chili was to serve the chili over brown rice and scoop it up with Fritos.

Vegetarian Chili

6 cups canned kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) tomato puree

1 tsp. chili powder (or to taste)

1 Tbsp. cumin (or to taste)

1 Tbsp. dry mustard

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)

1 tsp. honey

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 medium onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, diced

Place all the ingredients in a large stock pot. Mix well; bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until the veggies are tender, about 2 hours.

Sweet & Sour Chicken (freezer recipe)

This is a great recipe to make ahead of time and then store in your freezer.

Sweet & Sour Chicken II

Meat Mixture

2 1/2 cups chicken or pork, baked or boiled, cut into pieces

1 cup celery, sliced

1 cup green pepper, cut into pieces

1 cup onion, cut into pieces

1 (4 oz) can pineapple chunks, reserve juice

1 (5 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

Sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, finely chopped

Reserved pineapple juice from can

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

In a freezer container (casserole dish or ovenproof pan), layer meat, veggies, and fruit.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients; bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly. Pour sauce over meat mixture. Freeze.

Bake: If thawed, bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes. If frozen, bake uncovered at 350 for 1 1/4 hours.

Serve over rice.

Apple Pound Cake

This pound cake is so easy to make and, of course, yummy!

Apple Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3 large apples, peeled & cubed

1 cup chopped nuts

1 stick butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

Combine oil, eggs, & sugar. Beat for 3 minutes. Blend in flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, & vanilla. Fold in apples & nuts. (The batter will be very thick)

Bake in a greased bundt pan for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 350.

Remove from pan immediately. Melt together butter & brown sugar. Pour over cake while hot.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

We had a family cookout this evening, and I was in charge of the appetizer. Instead of making our usual dips, I decided to branch out a little. And I'm so glad I did!

This recipe comes from http://www.allrecipes.com/. I made a few adjustments of my own.

This makes a lot of dip, so it's perfect for a game day appetizer! And much cleaner than wings :)

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup Ranch dressing

3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks® Red Hot®

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces

1 (8 ounce) box chicken-flavored crackers

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

My Changes:

• Used a rotisserie chicken instead of canned chicken
• Used 1/2 c. Ranch and 1/2 c. Blue Cheese dressing (instead of 1 c. Ranch)
• Did not use all the shredded cheese it calls for. It really doesn't need any at all.
• Used the entire bottle of wing sauce
• I couldn't find chicken flavored crackers (thank goodness, they don't sound appetizing!) We had just plain Club crackers and celery. Celery is a must with this dip!
• I did not use my crock pot for this. I move the dip from the skillet to a baking dish and baked on 350 for 25 minutes.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

I am not a big fan of sweet and sour chicken, however it's Hubby's favorite. I thought I'd give this recipe and whirl and see what I thought. It actually is very good. It doesn't have the typical bright red sauce and it's not as pungent as most. I was going to take a picture of the plate all pretty, but then by the time I got the food to the table we ate and I forgot! UGH!

I love it because it allows me to use my electric wok which is one of my favorite kitchen appliances!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

1 Tbsp + 2 tsp soy sauce, divided

1 Tbsp sherry or chicken broth

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1 can (20 oz) unsweetened pineapple chunks

2 Tbsp + 1/3 cup cornstarch, divided

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup ketchup

1 Tbsp canola oil

2 cups hot cooked rice

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 1 Tbsp soy sauce, sherry or broth, salt, garlic powder and ginger; add the chicken. Seal bag and coat chicken; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set pineapple aside. Add enough water to the juice to equal one cup. In a bowl, combine 2 Tbsp cornstarch, sugar, and pineapple juice mixture until smooth; stir in the vinegar, ketchup, and remaining soy sauce. Set aside.

Drain the chicken and discard marinade. Place remaining cornstarch in bag. Add chicken and shake to coat. In a large skillet or wok, heat oil until hot; stir fry chicken until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

Stir pineapple juice and add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thick. Add chicken and pineapple chunks. Heat through. Serve with rice.

Easy Chicken Stir Fry

I recently began receiving the Kraft magazine. This is a FREE magazine that features great recipes and cooking tips. I tried to find the link to sign up but couldn't find it...try www.kraft.com to see if you can sign up. It took a few months to receive my first issue, but it was worth it!

As soon as I found this recipe, I knew I wanted to try it. We love stir fry at our house. It's one of Hubby's favorite meals so we eat it a lot! The problem with stir fry though is it can be loaded down with sodium and sauces.

This is a great, healthy version that cooks up quickly in my wok (one of my favorite kitchen appliances!) I added a little ground ginger and hoison sauce for extra flavor.

Chicken Stir Fry

1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/4 c. Kraft Zesty Free Italian dressing

1 (each) yellow, red, green pepper; chopped

2 green onions, chopped

1 Tbsp. olive oil

cooked rice

Combine soy sauce, dressing, and garlic. Pour mixture over chicken and let sit for 5 minutes.

Heat oil on medium-high heat in non-stick skillet or wok. Add chicken and cook for a few minutes. Once it begins to cook, add peppers and onions. Cook until chicken is no longer pink and the peppers are to your liking.

Serve over rice.

4 servings; 1 2/3 cups

WW: 4 points (w/o rice)

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

1 - 1.5 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts  (no need to cook them first, toss them in frozen or thawed)

1 (15.5 oz) can black beans

1 (15 oz) can corn

1 (15 oz) jar salsa (whatever kind suits your fancy)

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese

Place chicken in crock pot. Cover with corn, beans, and salsa. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Shred the chicken in the pot, and then toss the brick of cream cheese on top in one big piece. Replace cover and cook another 30 minutes. Stir in melted cheese and serve.

Quick-and-Easy Macaroni & Cheese

If you're looking for an easy side dish, here it is!

Quick-and-Easy Macaroni & Cheese

8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked

1 (8 oz) package shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 sour cream

1/2 milk

Stir together all ingredients in a lightly greased 2 1/2 qt. baking dish. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

CrockPot Mushroom Chicken

I love my slow cooker. I always seem to be on the hunt for new recipes to try. I found this one recently and it's so easy. Just dump it all in and head off on your day.

I used precooked bacon and let it cook with the chicken all day. It really gave it a great flavor. I served the chicken and sauce over rice.

Crockpot Mushroom Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves  (no need to cook them first, toss them in frozen or thawed)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (*I use pre-cooked bacon)

Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine soup and sour cream; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Sprinkle with bacon.

Beef Taco Skillet

This extremely easy recipe was in a packet that came in the mail this past week. As usual, I didn't follow the recipe exactly as it was written. I added a few more things.

I couldn't believe how quick and easy this was. I told hubby that I was going to start dinner and 15 minutes later, I told him it was ready. He thought I was calling him to come help me!

Beef Taco Skillet

1 lb. ground beef

1 can tomato soup

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup water

6 flour tortillas (6 inch), cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook beef in skillet until browned; pour off fat.

Stir in soup, salsa, water, & tortillas. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Top with cheese.

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Here's what I changed:

• added taco seasoning to ground beef
• added sour cream
• added black olives

Yep, doesn't get any easier than that!

Next time, I'll add corn & use tortilla chips instead of flour tortillas.

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

This dessert is so easy to make and perfect for warm weather!

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

19 Ice cream sandwiches

1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 jar (11 3/4 ounces) hot fudge ice cream topping

1 cup salted peanuts

Arrange one layer of sandwiches in bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Spread with half of whipped topping. Spoon fudge by teaspoonfuls onto whipped topping. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup peanuts. Repeat layers with remaining sandwiches, whipped topping, and peanuts (pan will be very full). Cover and freeze. Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before servings. Cut into squares.

Yummy Dip

This is a fabulous recipe! It is a staple when my family goes to the beach. There is nothing better than coming back from the beach all drained from the sun & sand and digging into a bowl of cold Yummy Dip. I'm telling you, it's pure perfection!

I received this recipe years ago from my friend, Jen. I believe a friend of her's made it up and the only name people could think of to call it was Yummy Dip. Thanks for the recipe, Jen!!!

Note: The longer this sits in the refrigerator, the better it gets!

Yummy Dip

Small bottle of Italian dressing (I think the best is Kraft's Free Zesty Italian)

Rinse & Drain:

2 cans black-eyed peas

1 can yellow corn

1 can white corn

Dice:

1 large tomato

1 jalepeno (I use 1/2)

1 bunch green onions

1 green pepper

Combine all ingredients together in bowl. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with tortilla chips.

YUMMY!