Baked Overnight French Toast

The following may just be a new Christmas morning tradition for our family. I love french toast, but hate only being able to make 3-4 at a time, I spend all morning in front of the fry pan. NOT ANYMORE! These bake in the oven, so they are all done at the same time. Very popular with the family too!

Prepare a casserole dish with all the ingredients for this overnight baked french toast recipe and simply bake in the morning for a delicious start to the day. This is an easy baked french toast to serve with syrup, fruit, cream or powdered sugar.

Ingredients

• ¹/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 12 3/4 inch slices French Bread
  
• 6 eggs
• 1 ¹/2 cup milk
• ¹/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¹/2 teaspoon salt
• Powdered sugar
• 
  

Instructions

1. Spread butter over bottom of heavy large baking pan with 1 inch sides. Arrange bread sliced in pan.
2. In large bowl beat eggs, milk, sugar, syrup, vanilla and salt to blend. Pour mixture over bread. Turn bread slices to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
3. In the morning, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake French bread 10 minutes. Turn bread over and continue baking until just golden, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer cooked toast to plates and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve at once with warm maple syrup.

Breakfast Casserole

I love breakfast foods :) especially for dinner ! We have made this twice and yum yum !

Ingredients :
6 eggs
1 cup milk
6 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb sausage or bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 - 6 frozen hash brown patties

Directions :
Line an 8x8 baking dish with frozen hash brown patties
Sprinkle sausage or bacon on top
Mix together eggs and milk; pour over meat
Top with grated cheese
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes - 1 hour

Runza's :)

My Hubby is from Nebraska, and one of the things he misses the most are Runza's (which is a restaurant I guess that is exclusive to Nebraska. Anyhow we found the recipe online and have made out own. Our version we just use 2 packages of crescent rolls one for the top layer and one for the bottom. You can try adding other items too, sometimes I put pineapple in with the mix but haven't been much for adventurous. Enjoy they are supper yummy !

Original Runza Recipe
2 pound ground beef1 large onion , chopped SaltPepper1 Medium Cabbage, chopped2 batches of bread dough
Saute onion in a bit of oil until just translucent. Add hamburger and saute until no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. Drain away the grease, and return to the pan. Cover the mixture with the shredded cabbage and cook until the cabbage is done. Stir occasionally. This could take about 45 minutes or so.
Using an egg-dough recipe, roll small balls of dough thin to make a 5×5 square. Put about 1/2 cup of cabbage mixture in center of square and seal closed. Place seal side down on a parchment lined baking sheet (or a lightly greased sheet).
Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 or until lightly golden brown

Italian Macaroni & Cheese

This one is so easy, and it has few ingredients, but its a favorite around here. I like to triple this recipe and put the other two meals in freezer bags for another time.

1 lb. pasta, I use spiral
1 26 oz jar marinara sauce ( or home made)
1 C non-fat sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces sliced provolone cheese, cut into pieces
1 C mozzarella cheese shredded

Cook past according to directions and drain. Spray a 9x13 with non-stick cooking spray.

In large bowl combine pasta, marinara sauce, sour cream, then spread half into pan. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and half of the provolone pieces. Add the rest of the pasta on top and cover with the rest of the provolone.

Cook in 350 oven for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly.

If you choose to freeze some, do not bake first, just combine ingredients and place in freezer bag. Attach bags with the cheeses. Can freeze for up to 3 months.

Zucchini Lasagna

Zucchini Lasanga

SERVES 4

2 1/2 cups zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick 1/2 lb lean ground beef (I use 1 lb.)
1/4 cup onion, chopped 2 small tomatoes, cut up
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste 1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 egg
3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon flour

Cook zucchini until tender, drain and set aside. Fry meat and onions until meat is brown and onions are tender; drain fat. Add next 8 ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered 10 minutes or until reduced to 2 cups.
In small bowl slightly beat egg.
Add cottage cheese, half of shredded cheese and flour.
In (1 1/2-qt.) baking-roasting pan arrange half of the meat mixture. Top with half of the zucchini and all the cottage cheese mixture. Top with remaining meat and zucchini.
Bake uncovered at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


This is one of our favorites!

Lite Italian Casserole

Italian Casserole

8 pts. per serving (Weight Watchers)

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. Ground turkey breast

1 small onion

16 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

8 oz. 2% shredded mozzarella

8 oz. FF sour cream

1 can reduced fat crescent rolls

FF butter spray

RF parmesan spray

DIRECTIONS:

· In large skillet, brown turkey & onion, drain.

· Add spaghetti sauce to meat and heat

· Spread mixture in 13x9

· Mix together cheese and sour cream, spread over meat.

· Lay crescent triangles on top to form crust.

· Spray with FF spray and sprinkle with parmesan.

· Bake uncovered @ 350° for 20 minutes

-Amy W.

Pop-over Pizza

Again from Miserly Meals

Popover Pizza- serves 4

• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup grated Monterrey Jack or mozzarella cheese

Crust:

• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and onion. Remove from the heat and drain the excess fat. Add the spaghetti sauce and cheese to the skillet. toss to mix evenly. Pour into 8X8 pan and distribute evenly.

Combine all crust ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Pour over the meat and spread around to over evenly.

Bake for 400 for 20 minutes or until the crust is light and golden brown.

Calories: 321 Fat: 16 Carbs: 23 Fiber: 3

Megan's notes: I added some pepperoni to make it more pizza like. My kids of course wouldn't eat it, but my husband liked it. :o)

Calzones

My favorite book: Miserly Meals- I have checked it out of the library four or five times, always renewing it a few times. I found this recipe:

Calzones- serves 6
Dough:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 T. oil
• 2 1/4 tsp(or 1 pkg.) dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt

Filling:

• 8 oz. chicken breast, cooked and diced
• 2 T. water chestnuts, drained and diced
• 1 T. chopped onion
• 2 T. mayonnaise
• 2 T. sour cream
• 1/4 tsp. celery salt

Combine dough ingredients in a bread machine or by hand. Divide dough into 6 balls. Roll each into a 6-7 inch circle on a floured surface.

In a separate bowl, combine the filling ingredients. Place 1/6th of the filling in center of the dough circle, fold in half, and pinch edges shut. Repeat with other circles. Place the calzones on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Megans notes: I first made this with ham instead of chicken. Combine any meat, cheese, tofu, eggs and spices to make the filling. Keep the liquid to a minimum to avoid soggy dough.

Also, my kids weren't into this, of course, so I made up the dough into 6 individual pizza crusts and I had them top their own pizza, and they ate almost the whole thing. I think I could make two or three bigger crusts for bigger pizza's, but the individual size works real well for us. Very yummy dough. ;o)

Vienna Sausage

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't ever posted a recipe. For the last couple of months we have been pretty much a hamburger helper family while we catch up on some financial obligations (ie tons, and tons of medical bills).

But I do have a question as I'm trying to clear out old food storage for new.

What recipes are there for Vienna Sausages? I have, like 7!, of these little cans from our 72 hour packs and I'm really in a "waste not, want not" dilemna over them.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Amy W.

p.s. I promise to start adding recipes, I really do think this is a great idea.

Lemon Rice - Freezable

A super easy recipe for rice. I do not rinse my rice first. I used white rice this time, will try brown next. Next time I may add chicken and veggies and make it a meal!!

1 cup rice, uncooked
1 tsp butter
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon peel, grated
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp dried parsley flakes

Combine rice, butter, garlic, lemon peel, pepper and broth in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in parsley. To freeze: cool and place in freezer bag. Label and freeze. To serve: Heat rice, fluff with a fork and serve.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found it- I found my chocolate Chip cookie Recipe that I didn't screw up! Normally I make CC Cookies and they spread out real thin. I have tried a number of recipes, and this one worked for me. I made the dough and thought it looked dry- even Leila said that- but I wondered if that had been my problem from the get go. I also bought real butter- not margarine. I am ELATED I can make a successful cookie after so very many tries and failures!

Anyway- long story short- here is the recipe:

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies (from the Essential Mormon Cookbook- I don't own this book, but might have to look on Amazon to get it).

• 3 C butter or margarine softened
• 3/4 C White Sugar
• 1 C Brown Sugar
• 2 eggs (2 T powdered eggs + 1/4 C water)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 C Wheat Flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 (12 oz) bag Chocolate Chips

1. Cream together butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and beat well.
4. Stir in Chocolate Chips
5. Drop onto greased cookie sheet by heaping tablespoons
6. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.
7. Makes about 3 dozen

Caribbean Pork over Rice

Caribbean Pork over Rice

This recipe comes from on my my favorite freezer meal recipe books, Dream Dinners. I haven't actually worked up to an all day cooking for the entire month session, however every weekend I try to make something I can triple, or more. This way I am gradually building of my freezer supply. A couple of weeks this has come in handy when the budget does not allow for a large shopping trip. I just check the freezer and supplement a couple of that week's meals with freezer meals. This meal is tasty, and VERY easy to make! I've got some in the freezer that I can't wait to get out and heat up!

Start off by placing a lean pork loin in a crockpot, cover it with canned low-sodium chicken broth, and simmer for eight hours on low. The pork will shred easily when you pull the meat apart with two forks.

Ingredients:

For One Dinner that feeds 6

4 cups (1½ pounds) shredded cooked pork
2 cups canned chicken broth
½ cup light unsweetened coconut milk
2 teaspoons jerk seasoning(couldn't find, I substituted a creole seasoning)
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 cup uncooked white rice for serving
½ cup (4 ounces) sliced almonds for garnish

For Three Meals (freeze two)

12 cups (4½ pounds) shredded cooked pork
6 cups canned chicken broth
1½ cups light unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons jerk seasoning
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3 cups uncooked white rice for serving
1½ cups (12 ounces) sliced almonds for garnish

Instructions:

Putting the dinner together

Prepare the rice according to the package directions. In a large bowl, combine the pork, chicken broth, coconut milk, jerk seasoning, and orange zest and stir until incorporated. If you are preparing a triple batch, divide the mixture into three equal portions. Set aside one portion for tonight and divide the other two portions equally between two 1-gallon resealable freezer bags.

For dinner tonight

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat mixture and bring to a boil. The pork should be heated through. Serve over the rice and garnish with the sliced almonds.

To freeze

Place ½ cup of the remaining sliced almonds into each of two 1-quart resealable freezer bags. Place 3 cups cooked and cooled rice in a 1-gallon resealable freezer bag. Place the bags of almonds, rice, and pork into a 1-gallon resealable freezer bag. Repeat with the remaining almonds, rice, and pork. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking as directed above. To reheat the rice, put the rice and ½ cup broth or water in a dish. Cover and cook in the microwave for 1-minute intervals until the broth is absorbed.

Mexican meatball soup

Meatballs:

2lbs lean ground beef
1 small can diced green chilies
1/2 bunch green onions - chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced or pressed
1/2 bunch cilantro - chopped
1/4 cup rice
1 egg
salt/pepper/hot sauce to taste
Preheat oven to 400˚. Combine all ingredients by hand and roll into 1″ meatballs, bake on a cookie sheet for 10 - 12 minutes. Place on a papertowel to absorb grease. Set aside

Broth:
2qts water
2 - 3 tablespoons beef base (or use two cans beef broth and reduce water by 1 qt)
1 clove garlic minced
1 small can diced green chilies
2 cans diced tomatoes (feel free to use fresh, in season)
1/2 bunch green onions -chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro - chopped
1/4 cup rice
salt/pepper/hot sauce to taste
Bring water, beef base, garlic, chilies, and tomatoes to a roiling boil. Add meatballs and rice. Reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is soft. Add cilantro, green onions, and season to taste, simmering for an additional 10 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
Serve hot with fresh, warm flour tortillas.

Easy Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

I never saw the appeal of chicken tortilla soup. Tried it for the first time today, YUMMY! Very good. I am going to make a double batch next time and freeze some to see how that works out. I am very into freezer cooking right now.

Easy Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 packet enchilada sauce or taco meat seasoning mix
1 1/2 C water
1 can tomato sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 C milk
3-4 boneless chicken breasts (again, to be cheap, I used boneless thighs, turned out great)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes (southwest style)

In crock pot, mix the enchilada/taco packet together with the water and tomato sauce. Add cream of chicken soup and milk and whisk together until smooth. Add chicken. Pour drained black beans, drained corn and diced tomatoes on top of that. Cook on low 6-8 hours.Before serving, take out chicken and shred or dice, then put back and stir it all together. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, avocado, or tortilla chips, or strips of tortilla for dipping.

Festive Coconut Bread

This recipe comes from the kitchen of my friend Beth Stimpson! She brought some over to us at Christmastime and it was gone in a flash. I begged for the recipe and she was so kind as to share with me. I have made it many times since, this bread freezes great! My recipe card is getting a little gunky, so at the risk of losing the recipe forever, I am posting it here! Thanks Beth for sharing your holiday family favorite with us!

Festive Coconut Bread

Mix
4 Eggs
2 C Sugar
1 C oil
2 tsp Coconut extract

Add & Mix
3 C flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Add
1 c buttermilk
1 c coconut
1 c chopped walnuts(optional) havent tried this yet

Pour in greased pans and Bake at 325.
Small loaves take about 40 minutes
Large loaves take closer to an hour

Make glaze shortly before you pull the bread out of the oven, I usually do this when the timer says 15 minutes.

1 c sugar
1/2 c water
2 T butter
Boil 5 minutes, stir in 1 tsp coconut extract

Pour over loaves when taken from oven, wait 5 minutes or so then remove bread from pan to cool.

It might look like an intimidating recipe, but its really pretty easy. The results are fabulous. I like to make all mini loaves and then freeze some for easy gift giving later!

Hawaiin Haystacks...or are they Utahn Haystacks...

Hey we had something really fun for dinner tonight! I don't live in Utah, therefore I had to be introduced to Hawaiian Haystacks by someone who grew up there. These are a fun treat for the whole family because you can pick and choose what you want on them. You start with a base of white rice and add a yummy creamy chicken in sauce. Then you pile on whatever else sounds good(see list below) and it looks like a giant haystack by the time you are done. Here is the EASY recipe for the chicken:

Hawaiian Haystacks

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 frozen chicken breasts(I used thighs, cheaper and they were still really good)

milk (I did not end up adding any since it was already a good consistency)

Put chicken in the crock pot and then cover with soup. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove chicken from the crock pot and shred or dice the chicken and return to the crock pot. Add enough milk to make the consistency of gravy.

Serve the sauce over cooked rice. Then top with any of the following toppings. If you don't have some of these don't worry, they will still be great. I thought coconut and pineapple sounded a bit odd, but I tried it and loved it!

shredded cheddar cheese
diced tomatos

pineapple tidbits
peas

sliced olives

diced green onion

chopped celery

shredded coconut

slice almonds

diced fresh mushroom

Chow mien noodles

mandarin oranges

diced green pepper

water chestnuts

cashews

Italian Sausage Sandwiches

My family loves these sandwiches, they are not the healthiest(you could probably substitute ground turkey sausage), but are great for a quick and easy meal. Oh, as a variation to the recipe, we like to somewhat hollow out the top part of the hoagie roll before adding the filling so it closes when filled up.

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 can black olives sliced
  
• 1 can tomato sauce
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
• 4 French or hoagie rolls, split
  
• 4 slices Mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

Italian Sausage Sandwich Directions
Crumble the Italian sausage into a skillet (if not bulk sausage, remove casings). Add chopped onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until sausage is thoroughly cooked; pour off excess fat. Stir in tomato sauce and oregano. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Place roll bottoms on a paper towel-lined plates. Spoon some sausage mixture into hollowed out top. Top each with a slice of cheese and the bottom of the roll. Microwave, uncovered, on 100% power for 45 seconds to 1 minute, or until cheese is just melted. Or, place foil-wrapped Italian sausage sandwiches on baking sheet and bake in at 350° for about 15 to 20 minutes. Italian sausage sandwich serves 4.

We prefer these made in the oven, but I left the microwave for those of you who prefer that method of cooking.

"Absent Cook" Stew (Crock Pot Recipe)

"Absent Cook" Stew (Crock Pot Recipe) - from Fix it and Forget it

• 2 lbs stewing beef, cubed
• 2-3 carrots, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 large potatoes, cubed
• 3 ribs celery, sliced
• 10 3/4-oz can tomato soup
• 1 soup can water
• 1 tsp salt
• dash of pepper
• 2 TBSP vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker
2. Cover. Cook on low 10-12 hours

This is our family favorite-- well, one of my two children like it. Of course Jer likes it. I put in extra water and maybe only use one pound of meat. I love crock pot cooking- its so easy and the wonderful smells meet you at the door. Please share your slow cooking recipes.

Sausage Potato Soup

Sausage Potato Soup - From the kitchen of Christy B.(One of the best cooks I know. The only thing better than making this, is her making it for me. :o)

• 2 tbls butter
• 1 whole onion
• 1/2 c. celery sliced
• 3 c. potatoes, cubed
• 3 c. chicken broth
• 1 lbs. smoked sausage
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 c. milk

1. Melt butter and saute onions and celery until translucent.
2. Add potatos and chicken broth and bring to a boil.
3. Cover, reduce heat, add sausage and simmer for 15-20 mins.
4. In a small bowl combine sour cream and mushroom soup.
5. Add to soup.
6. Stir in Milk- heat thru, do not boil

**I use ground turkey italian sausage and cook it with the onion and celery step. I will add an extra cup or two of water to make it go further. I always add some garlic if I have some. YUM!

Another Freezer Recipe Site

I haven't tried these out yet, but they look interesting. I will add more as I come accross them.

http://www.dinnersinthefreezer.com/

Chicken Taco Casserole(Freezer Meal)

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (turkey is good too)
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope taco seasoning
• 1 (15-30 ounce) can refried beans
• 1 cup cheese, grated (reserve in it's own baggie)
• 1 cup tomato, chopped (optional)
• 1 cup guacamole (optional)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
• 5 cups tortilla chips (optional)

Directions

1. Mix taco seasoning and tomato sauce.
2. Add shredded chicken and coat it well with tomato mixture.
3. Place cooked rice in the bottom of a 13 X 9 X 2 or disposable baking pan.
4. Top with chicken mixture.
5. (You may want to flash freeze at this point before going on to the next step) Top with 1-2 cans of refried beans so you have a nice even coating.
6. Freeze in the disposable pan or pop out and put in freezer bag.
7. Place casserole back in the 9 X 13 X 2 pan.
8. After thawing top with grated cheese.
9. Bake uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes at 350F or until hot all the way through and the cheese is nice and bubbly.
10. Top with your favorite toppings or dip with tortilla chips!

I like to make up 5 or 6 pans of this at one time and freeze them for later meals. We use it as taco filling, or it makes a great dip. I usually put the cheese on top before I freeze it, that way I am sure it will have cheese! We go through cheese quickly around here. Everyone seems to like this dish and it really is quite easy, especially when all you have to do is thaw and heat up!

Freezer Meals

Here is a link requested by Megan for meals you can make in advance and freeze. If anyone else has any good recipes for freezer meals, could you post them? I'd love to fill my freezer and help Megan fill hers before the baby comes!

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/oamc-freezer-make-ahead

Ultra Chocolate Muffins - 2nd Recipe added!

Ultra Chocolate Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp vinegar(any type)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Stir until well mixed. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and add the chocolate chips. Mix until blended, but be careful not to over mix.

Pour into greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Bake at 375* for 18 minutes. (To form better peaks, heat over to 400* and bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375* for remainder of the baking time.

Servings 12- cost per serving(1 muffin): $.11

• calories:168
• Fat: 6 gms
• Cholesterol: 10 mg
• Carbs: 27 gms
• Fiber: 1.5 gms
• Protein: 2 gms
• Sodium: 235 mg

I got this from a great cook book: Miserly Meals by Jonni McCoy- she has the nutritional facts as well as the price per serving break out-- give or take a bit I assume.

Nathan adores these muffins- would probably eat them everyday-- what kind of monster have I created???

Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins (Jury is out on which one is better, but I do like the fact they are healthier so when my son eats 2 in a sitting I don't feel quite so bad....)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat over to 400*. Grease 12-18 muffin cups(12 for larger muffins, 18 for regular muffins 2/3rds full. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, choc chips and salt. In a second bowl stir together milk, eggs, bugger and vanilla until well blended. Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Add milk mixture and stir just to combine- do not over mix! Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Feel free to add other ingredients in or substitute fruit for the choc chips. Also a little cinnamon in the batter tastes good. These muffins also freeze well.

• calories:133
• Fat: 2 gms
  Cholesterol: 36 mg
  Carbs: 26 gms
  Fiber: 1.7 gms
  Protein: 4 gms
  Sodium: 182 mg

Crock Lasagna

Crock Lasagna

• 1 lb lean meat(We use turkey)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 12 oz cottage cheese or ricotta
• 1 cup grated cheese(cheddar, mozzarella, or monterey jack
• 12 oz. tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 T. dried basil
• 2 T. dried parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 8 Lasagna noodles(10 oz. package)

In a bowl combine everything except the noodles. Mix well. Spread 1 cup of mixture in the bottom of slow cooker. Break up 3 lasagna noodles to they will fit in the slow cooker, and lay them over the sauce. Cover with 1 cup of sauce. Spread sauce out so the noodles are completely covered. Break up 3 more noodles and lay them over the sauce. Cover these with 1 cup of sauce, making sure to cover each noodle entirely. Repeat procedure one more time, using the last two noodles. Use all of the remaining sauce, making sure that each noodle is covered entirely.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

Serve with Garlic Bread and Salad. Yum.

Grandma Fredericks Microwave Caramel Corn

My sister posted an entry on her blog a few months back for my Grandma's Carmel Corn- yummy and easy. I am making it tonight for my family.

http://amyloomis.blogspot.com/2008/11/grandma-fredericks-microwave-caramel.html

Easy Monster Cookies

Sorry Megan, I know you want dinner recipes, and I will get to those, but I am sure your kids wouldn't mind if you made cookies for dinner!! We got so many baking supplies over the holidays, and I didn't make THAT many goodies. Now we are out of groceries, but we have enough cookie makin's to last the rest of the month. Anyone got a good chocolate chip caserole recipe? hehe

This is a really good EASY recipe for monster cookies, you can add more goodies to them if you like(we like white chocolate chips). Again, from the Betty Crocker website.

1	pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1	pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix
1 1/2	cups quick-cooking oats
1	cup butter or margarine, softened
3	eggs
2	cups candy-coated milk chocolate candies

	Print these coupons...
	About Concordance™

1.	Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir all ingredients except candies until soft dough forms. Stir in candies.
2.	On ungreased cookie sheets, place about 1/4 cupfuls dough about 3 inches apart.
3.	Bake 12 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely. Store in covered container at room temperature.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 15 to 16 minutes.

Quick-Mix Chocolate Cookies

So I got this from the Betty Crocker website. Have you been there and checked out the huge assortment of recipes they have? Over the holidays we made several, but this was a favorite and you can do variations so easily. Use a white cake mix with cinnamon and sugar and you have fabulous snicker doodles. Use spike cake with sugar or cinnamon/sugar blend and its really yummy too! I was thinking these would be cute in the colored sugars too! Who knew a simple cake mix could be so versatile?!

1	box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix
1/2	cup vegetable oil
1	teaspoon vanilla
2	eggs
1/4	cup sugar

	Print these coupons...
	About Concordance™

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, mix cake mix, oil, vanilla and eggs with spoon until dough forms.
2.	Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls about 2 inches apart.
3.	Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store tightly covered.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

Soda Cracker Pie

Soda Cracker Pie

• 3 egg whites- beaten firmly
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 12 soda crackers- crushed

Mix all ingredients together- bake at 350* for 25 minutes, or until nice and gold.

Sour Cream Potatoes (Holiday Favorite)

Sour Cream Potatoes (Holiday Favorite)

• 10 med/large potatoes
• 1 Can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 pint, plus a bit more sour cream
• 1/3 of 2lb Velveeta Cheese
• 1 med onion chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
  Peel and cook potatoes whole. Cool and Dice and add salt and pepper. Heat soup and add cheese and melt. Add sour cream and onion. Toss w/ potatoes. Bake in 9X13 pan. Sprinkle with crushed corn flakes and oupr melted butter over. Cook for 30 min @ 350*
  

We use baby red potatoes and we do not peel them. I also don't usually add the cornflakes and butter because I am lazy- but it does make them very yummy. Enjoy!

Moms Red Punch

Mom's Red Punch

• 12 oz. OJ
• 2 packets of Kool-aid- Cherry and Raspberry or Cherry and Orange
• 2 cups of Sugar(one for each packet of kool-aid- you could probably use less but I haven't tired it.)

Mix together with a bunch of water(The amount you would use for the kool-aids each)- adjust the amount of water for the intensity of the taste.

Mac & Cheese

Mac & Cheese

• 2 c. Elbow Macaroni
• 4 tblspn. butter or margarine
• 2 1/2 c. Shredded chedder
• 2 large egs
• 1/2 c. milk
• Paprika for on top

1. Preheate over to 450*, spray 8 inch square pan
2. Cook macaroni according to directions, drain well, return to pot.
3. Stir in butter until melted.
4. Add 2 cups of cheese
5. Wisk eggs and milk. Add mixture to macaroni.
6. Stire until well combined
7. Put in pan
8. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with paprika
9. Bake for 30 minutes.

I am a mac and cheese fan. When I am pregnant its my ultimate comfort food. My children won't go near it-- did they over do it in the womb? We have tried this recipe with a combination of cheeses--its always so yummy. I would love to see other successful recipes of your family's mac and cheese!

Chicken Jambalaya (WW Recipe)

Chicken Jambalaya

• 2 1/2 oz raw turkey sausage, chopped(I use ground italian turkey sausage and drain it after I cook it, before I put in the veggies)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 med clerey stalk, chopped(I chop these up really small- don't like cooked celery too much)
• 1 small green or red pepper, chopped(I prefer red)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp driend thyme(I haven't used this spice because I don't have it and forget to buy it. Everything else is so flavorful you might not need all of these spices, but its fun to play with them)
• 1 tsp table salt
• 2 med garlic cloves, minced
• 2 med chicken breast, cooked, skinless, cubed- about 2 cups
• 28 oz canned tomatoes, whole, plum, peeled with juice
• 2 cup fat free chicken broth
• 1 cup unchooked white rice, long grain(I will sometimes use basmati rice)

1. Coat a large, nonstick saucepan with cooking spray. Over high heat, saute sausage until crispy on edges. Add onion, celery and pepper. Saute until tender.
2. Reduce heat and stir in cayenne, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic. Saute until garlic is fragrent.
3. Stir in chicken, tomatoes, broth and rice. Bring to simmer, cover and let cook until rice is tender- around 20 minutes.

4 servings just over a cup each.
Around 7 points per serving.
This takes a bit of time, but is fairly easy. Kids aren't a huge fan. Husband is.

Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce

Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 c. sugar
1 c. white vinegar
1 c. catsup
1 c. water

Mix together ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until thick and bubbly, about 1 hour. (Mixture will be even thicker when cool.) Makes about 2 cups. Sauce keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator.

I got this from Cooks.com. We usually cook up some chicken or use left-overs, add veggies - usually carrots and onions- and will put all together in one pot so the chicken is good and tasty and juicy when its time to eat. Of course we eat with brown or white rice. You could use this for meatballs, ribs, tofu- whatever needs some sweet and sour yumminess.

Kid Friendly

Chicken Bombay

This is one of our favorite chicken dishes. I prefer to use breasts with it, but thighs and wings are good too. It can be doubled and then half of it frozen for another quick meal. Yummy!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup mustard
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 lbs chicken pieces

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium heat until smooth and slightly warmed.
2. Roll each piece of chicken into the sauce and place in a greased, 9x13 inch baking pan.
3. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Spread remaining sauce over chicken and bake for an additonal half hour or until chicken is done.
4. To freeze: after Chicken has cooled, label and freeze for up to 4 months.
5. To serve: thaw overnight and bake until heated through add an additional 30-45 minutes if baking from frozen.

Family Recipes

I love Recipes-- I figured out this year I could actually check out recipe books, rather than buy them and add to the ton I already have. See a recipie you like- take it! Have one to add- let me know and I can add you in the Family Recipe Team!

Thanks to AMY for giving me this idea. Amy- I want your Chicken Bombay on here pronto!