Recipe #52 (This is my last one for the year...just in the nick of time!!! I did it!!!)
Italian Party Mix Chicken
Italian Chex Mix, crunched into small bits (see recipe #48)
Chicken
I used the Italian Chex Mix that I made a few days ago to coat moistened chicken (I did this in a ziploc bag to make it less messy). Then I baked the chicken for 30 to 35 minutes, until it was no longer pink.
This recipe was created by me and was very good, if I do say so myself! I really thought of it because when I made the Chex Mix, I was using the last bits of both my corn and rice Chex so there were lots of crumbs. As I looked at those crumbs, I immediately thought it would make a great chicken coating. Give it a try! Happy New Year to you tomorrow!!!
Recipe #51
Gluten free Crockpot Potato Soup
5 lbs potatoes, washed but not peeled, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion, diced
10 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
8 cups gluten free chicken stock
2 bars (16oz) cream cheese (can use regular or fat free)
Seasoning salt or steak seasoning (or whatever seasoning you have or want to use)
Toppings: green onion, bacon bits, shredded cheese
(This will make a huge crockpot full of soup, so if you don't want that much, then you can cut the recipe in half.)
Put potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken stock and 1/2 TBSP seasoning. Stir to combine. Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours. When time is up, add cubed cream cheese into crockpot, stir and carefully use a blender to mix right in the crockpot. Once all mixed, serve topped with items of your choice. We used chopped green onions, bacon bits and shredded cheese.
Loved this soup! Great for a cold, winter night....like tonight. I will hold on to this recipe and make it again. Enjoy!!!
Recipe #50
Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies (gluten free)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, well packed
1/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour (all purpose)
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1 2/3 cups (10 oz) cinnamon chips
3/4 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars together until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine flour and baking soda and gradually add to butter mixture. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips and raisins. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to completely cool.
The recipe says that these can be made as bar cookies also. Just put dough into greased 13x9 inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
These are great cookies. My family likes them, too. The main drawback was that several of the cookies fell apart when I tried to remove them from the cookie sheet. I saved all those crumbs to use for ice cream topping! I increased the baking time slightly after the first batch and they seemed to be easier to remove from pan. Also, I'm not a raisin fan, so I eliminated that item from the recipe. And the biggest problem is that I can only find cinnamon chips at Christmastime!!! Thankfully, I bought several bags to hold me over for a few months anyway.
Recipe #49
Snappy Turtle Cookies (gluten free)
1 1/2 cup flour (gluten free)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (well packed)
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk (save white)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp maple flavoring
Whole pecans
Cream everything together except flour. Gradually add flour until mixed thoroughly. Dough will be soft, might need to chill. Arrange nuts on greased baking sheet. Shape a rounded teaspoonful of dough into ball, dip in egg white and press lightly onto nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 to 13 minutes, but do not over bake. Can frost tops with chocolate, if desired.
These are some of my favorite Christmas cookies. I remember them from childhood, so I wanted to try them with gluten free flour. They turned out just like the ones I used to enjoy in my younger days. I will make these a Christmas tradition!
Recipe #48
Crunchy Italian Party Mix (gluten free and made in microwave)
4 cups Corn Chex
4 cups Rice Chex
1-2 cups pretzels
(you can use a cup of nuts if you would like---I usually omit because we have a nut allergy in our house)
6 TBSP butter
1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp Italian seasoning mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Melt butter in a 2 qt microwave safe bowl. Add Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning. Stir and then add pretzels and cereals. Mix well. Cook on high for 6 minutes, stirring after every 2 minutes. After party mix is done cooking in microwave, stir in Parmesan cheese.
This is a great variation of party mix! We love Italian seasoning around here on all sorts of things, so this was a natural recipe to try. I plan to make this one again. I usually tweak my party mix recipes every time I make them---always trying a little something new. Enjoy!
Recipe #47
Apple and Ketchup sauce
1/2 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup ketchup
Place apple jelly in small microwave safe dish and heat on high for about 30-40 seconds. You want the jelly to melt a little bit so that it will mix more easily with ketchup. Once jelly is a little melty, mix in ketchup and heat on high in microwave for about 30-40 seconds to warm.
This recipe was okay, however I am not a ketchup fan. It smelled even more ketchup-y than it tasted which was a turn off for me. Next time, I will substitute barbeque sauce for ketchup and I think that will be really wonderful!! I used this dip with meatballs in recipe #46.
Recipe #46
Zesty Meatballs (gluten free and made in microwave)
2 lbs hamburger
1 pkg onion soup mix
Mix together. Form into 1 inch balls and put on microwave safe dish (I use my dish that I make bacon in because there will be lots of grease to drain). Cover with paper towel and microwave on high for about 6 minutes (time vary with microwaves---ours is still pretty powerful even though it is about 26 yrs old!!!) Drain and serve with dip of your choice.
Good meatballs. Main advantage is these are quick to make!
Recipe #45
Golden Chicken Imperial
1/4 tsp butter
1 TBSP dijon mustard
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
3 lbs chicken, cut up
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tsp dry parsley flakes
1 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Melt butter and mix in mustard and worchestershire sauce. Place chicken in 13x9x2 baking dish and brush with butter mixture. Combine dry ingredients and sprinkle over chicken. Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
Good, but not great, recipe. I used gluten free "bread" crumbs which are made with rice (and they are very fine). I might would try to make my own gluten free bread crumbs next time and see if that would improve this recipe a little bit.
Recipe #44
Corn in Savory Butter Sauce
1/4 cup sliced green onions (include tops)
1 (10 to 12 oz) pkg of frozen corn
2 TBSP butter
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp tarragon
dash pepper
2 TBSP water
Combine all ingredients in 1 quart casserole. Cover and microwave on high for 6 to 7 minutes, or until corn is tender and sauce is bubbly, stirring 2 to 3 times.
This was a good variation on plain corn. I liked the taste of the green onions with the corn. Next time, I might add more butter (everything is better with more butter, right?). My sauce never really got "bubbly" like the recipe said it would. I'll try to tweak this one a bit and do it again!!
Recipe #43
Crunchy Caramel Snack Mix
3 cups corn chex
3 cups rice chex
2 cups gluten free pretzels
1 cup peanuts (or other nuts of your choice)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine cereals, pretzels and nuts in 13x9x2 baking dish. In saucepan, combine sugar, butter and syrup. Cook and stir till boiling. Then cook without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Pour over cereal mixture. Bake in 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, stir after 15 minutes. When you remove from oven transfer mixture and break into pieces onto a wax paper lined baking sheet. Store in tightly covered container.
This recipe is very good. I changed it up a little bit to make it gluten free, so feel free to substitute whatever sounds good to you. The recipe called for "chocolate flavored puffed corn cereal." If I could find chocolate chex cereal in Roanoke anywhere, then I would try that!! This is a good variation on the chex mix---just a sweet version! Enjoy!
Recipe #42
Sausage Cheese Balls (gluten free)
1 1/2 cups Bisquick gluten free mix
8 oz bulk sausage
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (12 oz)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup milk
4 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
BBQ sauce or chili sauce, if desired
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 15x10x1 inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix all ingredients except BBQ sauce. Shape mixture into 1 inch balls. Place in pan. Bake uncovered 22 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown, immediately remove from pan. Serve warm with sauce for dipping. (This recipe makes about 5 dozen balls---depending on the size that you make them!)
I was so glad to find this recipe so that I could enjoy one of my pre-gluten-free favorites. And these were super good!!! I would highly recommend this recipe for those holiday get-togethers that you might be attending but you aren't sure if there will anything that you can eat if you are gluten free. Great recipe! :-)
Recipe #41
Chicken Fricassee
3 to 4 lbs chicken, cut up (I used frozen chicken breasts that broke into pieces once they cooked)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
2 medium onions, sliced (or chopped)
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup flour (I used gluten free)
1/2 cup water
noodles or rice to serve with fricassee
Season chicken with salt and paprika. Place sliced vegetables and bay leaf in crock-pot. Place chicken on top of veges. Pour in chicken broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 12 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours. One hour before serving, turn to high. Rip chicken pieces apart a little bit in crock-pot. Make a smooth paste of flour and water and stir it into liquid in crock-pot. Cover and cook until thickened. Serve over noodles or rice.
We liked this recipe. The taste is much like chicken noodle soup---only really thick. I made a spicy curry rice to serve with it and the flavors blended together really well. Another good recipe! Give it a try.
Recipe #40
Orange-Cranberry Granola
4 cups rolled oats (I use gluten free)
2 cups dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups slivered almonds
zest of one orange (or 1 tsp orange extract)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp cinnamon
1 dash salt
Combine oats, cranberries, coconut, and almonds and mix. Combine honey, butter, cinnamon, orange, and salt in a small pot and cook together on medium heat until butter and honey are melted. Stir wet mixture well then pour over dry mixture, blending very well. Spread on a lightly greased jelly roll pan in an even layer. (My recipe said that you don't want to pile it up too high, so you may need 2 pans. I only needed one pan though.) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. It will darken a little as it cools. Once it is cool, break up and store in an airtight container.
Super good recipe!!! My family is loving this granola!!! I even used it as an ice cream topping and it was wonderful. Probably good on yogurt as well. But right now, we are just eating it by the handful!!! Enjoy this great, easy recipe!
Recipe #39
Kale Chips
Kale (rinsed and dried off)
Olive Oil
Salt
Rinse kale and cut into pieces the size of chips. Dry off well. Put a single layer on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.
These are actually great! I know, it seems surprising. However, I heard from several people that these were good, so I had to give them a try. My youngest loved them and has been requesting more, so more are baking in the oven while I am typing this. Hope you like this recipe.
Recipe #38
Crustless Spinach Quiche
Italian Party Mix Chicken
Italian Chex Mix, crunched into small bits (see recipe #48)
Chicken
I used the Italian Chex Mix that I made a few days ago to coat moistened chicken (I did this in a ziploc bag to make it less messy). Then I baked the chicken for 30 to 35 minutes, until it was no longer pink.
This recipe was created by me and was very good, if I do say so myself! I really thought of it because when I made the Chex Mix, I was using the last bits of both my corn and rice Chex so there were lots of crumbs. As I looked at those crumbs, I immediately thought it would make a great chicken coating. Give it a try! Happy New Year to you tomorrow!!!
Recipe #51
Gluten free Crockpot Potato Soup
5 lbs potatoes, washed but not peeled, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion, diced
10 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
8 cups gluten free chicken stock
2 bars (16oz) cream cheese (can use regular or fat free)
Seasoning salt or steak seasoning (or whatever seasoning you have or want to use)
Toppings: green onion, bacon bits, shredded cheese
(This will make a huge crockpot full of soup, so if you don't want that much, then you can cut the recipe in half.)
Put potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken stock and 1/2 TBSP seasoning. Stir to combine. Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours. When time is up, add cubed cream cheese into crockpot, stir and carefully use a blender to mix right in the crockpot. Once all mixed, serve topped with items of your choice. We used chopped green onions, bacon bits and shredded cheese.
Loved this soup! Great for a cold, winter night....like tonight. I will hold on to this recipe and make it again. Enjoy!!!
Recipe #50
Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies (gluten free)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, well packed
1/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour (all purpose)
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1 2/3 cups (10 oz) cinnamon chips
3/4 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars together until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine flour and baking soda and gradually add to butter mixture. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips and raisins. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to completely cool.
The recipe says that these can be made as bar cookies also. Just put dough into greased 13x9 inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
These are great cookies. My family likes them, too. The main drawback was that several of the cookies fell apart when I tried to remove them from the cookie sheet. I saved all those crumbs to use for ice cream topping! I increased the baking time slightly after the first batch and they seemed to be easier to remove from pan. Also, I'm not a raisin fan, so I eliminated that item from the recipe. And the biggest problem is that I can only find cinnamon chips at Christmastime!!! Thankfully, I bought several bags to hold me over for a few months anyway.
Recipe #49
Snappy Turtle Cookies (gluten free)
1 1/2 cup flour (gluten free)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (well packed)
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk (save white)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp maple flavoring
Whole pecans
Cream everything together except flour. Gradually add flour until mixed thoroughly. Dough will be soft, might need to chill. Arrange nuts on greased baking sheet. Shape a rounded teaspoonful of dough into ball, dip in egg white and press lightly onto nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 to 13 minutes, but do not over bake. Can frost tops with chocolate, if desired.
These are some of my favorite Christmas cookies. I remember them from childhood, so I wanted to try them with gluten free flour. They turned out just like the ones I used to enjoy in my younger days. I will make these a Christmas tradition!
Recipe #48
Crunchy Italian Party Mix (gluten free and made in microwave)
4 cups Corn Chex
4 cups Rice Chex
1-2 cups pretzels
(you can use a cup of nuts if you would like---I usually omit because we have a nut allergy in our house)
6 TBSP butter
1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp Italian seasoning mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Melt butter in a 2 qt microwave safe bowl. Add Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning. Stir and then add pretzels and cereals. Mix well. Cook on high for 6 minutes, stirring after every 2 minutes. After party mix is done cooking in microwave, stir in Parmesan cheese.
This is a great variation of party mix! We love Italian seasoning around here on all sorts of things, so this was a natural recipe to try. I plan to make this one again. I usually tweak my party mix recipes every time I make them---always trying a little something new. Enjoy!
Recipe #47
Apple and Ketchup sauce
1/2 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup ketchup
Place apple jelly in small microwave safe dish and heat on high for about 30-40 seconds. You want the jelly to melt a little bit so that it will mix more easily with ketchup. Once jelly is a little melty, mix in ketchup and heat on high in microwave for about 30-40 seconds to warm.
This recipe was okay, however I am not a ketchup fan. It smelled even more ketchup-y than it tasted which was a turn off for me. Next time, I will substitute barbeque sauce for ketchup and I think that will be really wonderful!! I used this dip with meatballs in recipe #46.
Recipe #46
Zesty Meatballs (gluten free and made in microwave)
2 lbs hamburger
1 pkg onion soup mix
Mix together. Form into 1 inch balls and put on microwave safe dish (I use my dish that I make bacon in because there will be lots of grease to drain). Cover with paper towel and microwave on high for about 6 minutes (time vary with microwaves---ours is still pretty powerful even though it is about 26 yrs old!!!) Drain and serve with dip of your choice.
Good meatballs. Main advantage is these are quick to make!
Recipe #45
Golden Chicken Imperial
1/4 tsp butter
1 TBSP dijon mustard
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
3 lbs chicken, cut up
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tsp dry parsley flakes
1 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Melt butter and mix in mustard and worchestershire sauce. Place chicken in 13x9x2 baking dish and brush with butter mixture. Combine dry ingredients and sprinkle over chicken. Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
Good, but not great, recipe. I used gluten free "bread" crumbs which are made with rice (and they are very fine). I might would try to make my own gluten free bread crumbs next time and see if that would improve this recipe a little bit.
Recipe #44
Corn in Savory Butter Sauce
1/4 cup sliced green onions (include tops)
1 (10 to 12 oz) pkg of frozen corn
2 TBSP butter
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp tarragon
dash pepper
2 TBSP water
Combine all ingredients in 1 quart casserole. Cover and microwave on high for 6 to 7 minutes, or until corn is tender and sauce is bubbly, stirring 2 to 3 times.
This was a good variation on plain corn. I liked the taste of the green onions with the corn. Next time, I might add more butter (everything is better with more butter, right?). My sauce never really got "bubbly" like the recipe said it would. I'll try to tweak this one a bit and do it again!!
Recipe #43
Crunchy Caramel Snack Mix
3 cups corn chex
3 cups rice chex
2 cups gluten free pretzels
1 cup peanuts (or other nuts of your choice)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine cereals, pretzels and nuts in 13x9x2 baking dish. In saucepan, combine sugar, butter and syrup. Cook and stir till boiling. Then cook without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Pour over cereal mixture. Bake in 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, stir after 15 minutes. When you remove from oven transfer mixture and break into pieces onto a wax paper lined baking sheet. Store in tightly covered container.
This recipe is very good. I changed it up a little bit to make it gluten free, so feel free to substitute whatever sounds good to you. The recipe called for "chocolate flavored puffed corn cereal." If I could find chocolate chex cereal in Roanoke anywhere, then I would try that!! This is a good variation on the chex mix---just a sweet version! Enjoy!
Recipe #42
Sausage Cheese Balls (gluten free)
1 1/2 cups Bisquick gluten free mix
8 oz bulk sausage
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (12 oz)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup milk
4 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
BBQ sauce or chili sauce, if desired
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 15x10x1 inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix all ingredients except BBQ sauce. Shape mixture into 1 inch balls. Place in pan. Bake uncovered 22 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown, immediately remove from pan. Serve warm with sauce for dipping. (This recipe makes about 5 dozen balls---depending on the size that you make them!)
I was so glad to find this recipe so that I could enjoy one of my pre-gluten-free favorites. And these were super good!!! I would highly recommend this recipe for those holiday get-togethers that you might be attending but you aren't sure if there will anything that you can eat if you are gluten free. Great recipe! :-)
Recipe #41
Chicken Fricassee
3 to 4 lbs chicken, cut up (I used frozen chicken breasts that broke into pieces once they cooked)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
2 medium onions, sliced (or chopped)
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup flour (I used gluten free)
1/2 cup water
noodles or rice to serve with fricassee
Season chicken with salt and paprika. Place sliced vegetables and bay leaf in crock-pot. Place chicken on top of veges. Pour in chicken broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 12 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours. One hour before serving, turn to high. Rip chicken pieces apart a little bit in crock-pot. Make a smooth paste of flour and water and stir it into liquid in crock-pot. Cover and cook until thickened. Serve over noodles or rice.
We liked this recipe. The taste is much like chicken noodle soup---only really thick. I made a spicy curry rice to serve with it and the flavors blended together really well. Another good recipe! Give it a try.
Recipe #40
Orange-Cranberry Granola
4 cups rolled oats (I use gluten free)
2 cups dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups slivered almonds
zest of one orange (or 1 tsp orange extract)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp cinnamon
1 dash salt
Combine oats, cranberries, coconut, and almonds and mix. Combine honey, butter, cinnamon, orange, and salt in a small pot and cook together on medium heat until butter and honey are melted. Stir wet mixture well then pour over dry mixture, blending very well. Spread on a lightly greased jelly roll pan in an even layer. (My recipe said that you don't want to pile it up too high, so you may need 2 pans. I only needed one pan though.) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. It will darken a little as it cools. Once it is cool, break up and store in an airtight container.
Super good recipe!!! My family is loving this granola!!! I even used it as an ice cream topping and it was wonderful. Probably good on yogurt as well. But right now, we are just eating it by the handful!!! Enjoy this great, easy recipe!
Recipe #39
Kale Chips
Kale (rinsed and dried off)
Olive Oil
Salt
Rinse kale and cut into pieces the size of chips. Dry off well. Put a single layer on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.
These are actually great! I know, it seems surprising. However, I heard from several people that these were good, so I had to give them a try. My youngest loved them and has been requesting more, so more are baking in the oven while I am typing this. Hope you like this recipe.
Recipe #38
Crustless Spinach Quiche
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms (I didn't use these because I am not a mushroom lover!)
1 TBSP olive oil
1 pkg (~10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
2/3 cup finely chopped, fully cooked ham
5 eggs
3 cups (12 oz.) shredded Muenster or Monterey Jack cheese
1/8 tsp pepper
In a large skillet, saute onion and mushrooms in oil until tender. Add spinach and ham. Cook and stir until excess moisture is evaporated. Cool slightly before adding beaten eggs, cheese and pepper. Mix well. Spread mixture into a greased 9 inch pie plate or quiche dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
This recipe was amazing!!! I have been looking for a good crustless quiche recipe and this is it. I think that many substitutions could be made for many varieties of quiche. Also, I used the leftover ham from Thanksgiving in this recipe. Great way to use leftovers!!!
Recipe #37
U.S. Senate Bean Soup
1 lb dried great northern beans
1 meaty ham bone or 2 smoked ham hocks
3 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery ribs, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup mashed potatoes or 1/3 cup instant potato flakes
salt and pepper to taste
parsley or chives for garnish
Place beans and enough water to cover in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and continue to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and soak for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans. In a large kettle, place beans, ham bone, and 3 quarts of water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hours. Skim off fat if necessary. Add onions, garlic, celery, parsley, potatoes, salt and pepper; simmer 1 hour longer. Remove meat and bones from soup. Remove any meat left on bones and dice. Return meat to kettle. Heat through. Garnish and serve.
This soup was okay. I must admit that I am not really a bean lover. I am trying to work them into my diet more though. So, would I make this recipe again? I guess so. I really choose this recipe to try because I had the leftover ham bone in the fridge and needed to use it!!! So maybe on the rare occasion that I have a ham bone, I might would try it again....however I would probably look for a new recipe first! LOL If you are a bean lover, enjoy!
Recipe #36
Lemon Herbed Salmon (and Cod)
2 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs (I used gluten free)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
6 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme (or 1 TBSP dried thyme)
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp salt
6 TBSP butter, melted, divided
3 to 4 lbs salmon (or other fish)
In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, cheese, thyme, lemon peel, and salt. Mix well. Add 4 TBSP butter and toss lightly to coat; set aside. Pat fish dry. Place skin side down in a greased baking dish. Brush with remaining butter; cover with crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Yummy fish recipe! Usually my DH fixes fish on the grill (keeps the smell outside!), but sometimes I want to make fish when he is not available. So I wanted to find a good fish recipe to make in the oven. This is a good one. Enjoy!
Recipe #35
Caribbean Pork 'n Rice
Pork (about 1 lb)
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 (14 oz) can pineapple in juice
BBQ sauce (a few spoonsful)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 green pepper, chopped
Minute white rice
Cook slice pork tenderloins (about a pound for 4) in a little oil in a large skillet. Add 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped carrots and cook until pork is no longer pink inside.
Stir in 1 can (14 oz) each of pineapple chunks and water, a few spoonsful of BBQ sauce, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 chopped green pepper and 2 cups Minute white rice.
Bring to boil; cover and let stand 5 minutes.
I basically used this recipe except: I used beef (because we had so much pork around Thanksgiving, so I didn't want to overload on pork. In retrospect, I believe pork or chicken would have been better!) and I used Basmati rice, cooked in a separate pan (because my youngest DD doesn't like rice mixed with other stuff--she is a purist!--and I didn't have any Minute rice anyway!) I will try this recipe again with either pork or rice....but never again with beef!!!
Recipe #34
Karo Orange Ham Glaze
1 cup Karo light or dark syrup
1 tsp grated orange peel
2 TBSP orange juice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
In small saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue to boil for 5 minutes. Brush glaze on ham before last hour of baking. You can score your ham and insert cloves into it before brushing on glaze, too.
This recipe was okay, but did not have the strong flavor that I had hoped for. Oh well, I guess I'll try something else on my next ham!!!
Recipe #33
Carnitas
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crumbled, dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 (4 lb) boneless pork shoulder roast (or tenderloin)
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth
Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander,and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with mixture. Place the bay leaves in bottom of slow cooker and place seasoned pork on top. Pour chicken broth around sides of pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.
Cover and cook on low until pork pulls apart with fork--about 8 to 10 hours. Turn meat after it has cooked for 5 hours. Remove from slow cooker and shred with fork. Use cooking liquid to moisten as needed.
Another yum-o recipe!! Enjoy!
Recipe #32
Cinnamon Chip Scones (gluten free)
2 1/4 cup Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix
1 tsp baking powder
4 TBSP butter
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon chips (which I can only find for Christmas baking--you can use whatever chips or raisins/currants, if preferred---just experiment!)
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter (you can use 2 knives if you don't have the handy little Pampered Chef pastry cutter!). Add milk and egg, combining all ingredients together with fork. Dough will be thick. Drop large,tall dollops of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15to 17 minutes.
Super yummy!!! I love, love, love the cinnamon chips and have stocked up for year round baking!!!
Recipe #31
Pumpkin Loaf with brown sugar topping (gluten free)
4 TBSP butter, melted
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
Topping (optional):
2 TBSP butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup nuts (almonds, walnuts or pecans)---optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter, sugar, egg and pumpkin. Add remaining ingredients and mix completely. Pour into greased loaf pan (approx. 8"x4"). Mix topping and smooth evenly over batter to the edges (as best you can---I found this instruction a little difficult!). Pat lightly into the top of batter. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out almost clean.
My husband loves this bread. I personally didn't get any of it....nor did my kids! LOL Must have been good to someone who likes pumpkin-y stuff!!
Recipe #30
Salmon Cakes
1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Cayenne (red) pepper
1 beaten egg
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 cans (6 oz each) pink salmon
3 TBSP butter
In small mixing bowl, combine red pepper, onion, mayo, lemon juice, seasoned salt and cayenne pepper. At this point, you may taste and adjust spices to personal preference. Stir in egg, well-drained salmon, and 4 TBSP bread crumbs. Divide and form mixture into 6 to 8 balls. Roll salmon balls in remaining bread crumbs; flatten into cakes (about 1/2 inch thick). Fry in melted butter in skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side.
These were yummy and I will try them again adjusting my mixture. I substituted gluten free bread crumbs for my family. And I didn't have any seasoned salt, so I think I substituted garlic salt (but it has been a while since I made these, so I can't remember for sure!).
Recipe #29
Cuban Chicken
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 TBSP dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 whole chicken (or about 3 lbs boneless chicken breasts)
Combine first six ingredients for marinade and pour over chicken. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken in a roasting pan, reserving marinade. Roast chicken until done (about 20 minutes per pound for whole chicken or about 30 minutes for skinless, boneless chicken breasts that are spread out in pan.)
Bring reserved marinade to a boil. Allow roasted chicken to sit for about 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with sauce.
Good chicken recipe that was enjoyed by my whole family. Pretty quick as you can prepare and marinade overnight, then you can just put chicken in the oven to cook when you get home from your long day. I was a little concerned about using the reserved marinade until I realized that I would be BOILING it. It is totally cooked if you boil it for just a few minutes. It is the same marinade that has been cooking on the chicken while it is in the oven. Just make sure not to use marinade without boiling as it could have bad stuff in it (think salmonella here!).
Recipe #28
Roasted Chickpeas
1 can chickpeas
olive oil (~2 TBSP)
salt
paprika
Open, drain and rinse chickpeas. Spread chickpeas on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and paprika to taste. Shake pan to spread chickpeas out---they will become crispier this way. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.
This was a good recipe...although I'm not totally sure if I like these. They are very similar in texture and taste to corn nuts. I'm not really a fan of corn nuts, but these roasted chickpeas are not quite as hard as I find corn nuts. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Recipe #27
Pasta Primavera
Cut up veges, about 4 to 5 cups
I used: asparagus, carrots, green and red peppers, onion, and broccoli
1 clove of garlic, minced
~3 TBSP olive oil
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese
12 oz pasta (I used gluten free by Tinkyada.)
Steam vegetables that need steaming, like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, etc., for about 6 to 8 minutes. Saute vegetables that need sauteing, like peppers, onions, etc., with a little olive oil and minced garlic until crisp tender. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Once all ingredients are ready, combine them with a little olive oil, Italian seasoning and ranch dress mix. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
I loved this recipe! I just cannot believe how much I am enjoying vegetables now. A few years ago, I barely ate any vegetables except carrots and broccoli---and I only ate those raw! Now, I will say that my dh wanted me to add some chicken or something next time, but I have been going more meatless these days.
Recipe #26
Twice Baked Potatoes
4 baking potatoes
2 oz cream cheese, softened and cubed
2 TBSP chives
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp salt
Dash pepper
3 to 4 TBSP milk
Paprika
Prick potatoes with a fork. Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until tender. Cool slightly. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Gently scoop out each potato half, leaving a thin-ish shell. Set shells aside.
Put pulp in small bowl. Add cream cheese and dry ingredients (except paprika); beat until smooth. Add milk, one TBSP at a time, beating until mixture is fluffy.
Spoon potato mixture back into shells. Sprinkle with paprika. Place on a baking sheet and cover loosely with foil. Bake in 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. Uncover potatoes and bake 10 more minutes. Makes 8 servings.
These were great! And the best part is that we each saved our shells and used them to make potato skins! We just added some cheese, bacon bits and chives. Then we baked until the cheese was melted. Served them with sour cream. Love them!
Recipe #25
Zesty "Fried" Chicken
2 TBSP cornmeal
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb total)
non stick cooking spray
In mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Then coat chicken evenly with cornmeal mixture. Spray a large, cold skillet with non stick cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 8 to 10 minutes or until no longer pink, turning occasionally to brown evenly on both sides.
This is a good chicken recipe, but I really have troubles with frying anything! Not sure if it is my ceramic cook top that gets superheated and takes forever to cool down or what. Anyway, when I fry things, my kitchen and eventually the whole downstairs become filled with smoke. I actually thought the fire alarm was going to go off when making this recipe. So that is the reason that I rarely fry anything! But I always enjoy whatever I do fry, at least after I've aired out the kitchen!
Recipe #24
Ham and Cheese Roll-ups
1 lb sliced ham
8 oz cream cheese
1 TBSP onion, minced
garlic powder to taste
Bring cheese to room temperature. Mix in onion and garlic powder.
Pat 2 ham slices dry on paper towel. Spread cheese mixture thinly on one side only of both pieces of ham. Roll one up, then start where first piece stopped and roll a second ham slice with cheese mixture around the first. (Hope this makes sense! You roll up 2 slices together, but one at a time!) Refrigerate until chilled, then slice rolls in 3/8 inch slices or as desired. But you can eat them immediately, if you just can't wait!!
Good snacky kind of food to have on hand if you just want to grab something quick. Also great for breakfast! Yes, I would eat something with garlic for breakfast...
Recipe #23
Oatmeal Creme Pies (like Little Debbie's!)
Ingredients:
***Cookies***
1 cup margarine
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour blend with xantham gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cup quinoa flakes or gluten-free oats
***Crème Filling***
2 teaspoons very hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 jar (7-ounce) marshmallow crème
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugars, molasses, vanilla and eggs.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Mix in the quinoa flakes or gluten-free oats.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are just starting to darken around the edges. They will still appear moist in the center. Be careful not to overcook -- when cooled, the cookies should be soft and chewy.
While the cookies bake, prepare the filling. Use a small bowl to dissolve the salt in 2 teaspoons of very hot water. Set this solution aside to cool.
Combine the marshmallow crème, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix well with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Add the cooled salt solution to the filling mixture and combine with the mixer.
Assemble each crème pie by spreading the filling over one side of a cookie (the flat side) and press another cookie on top, making a sandwich. Repeat for the remaining cookies and filling.
These are soooooo good!!! Even better on day #2 if you can make them last that long...
Hopefully, you can get to a picture of them HERE!
Recipe #22
Roasted Greek Brussels Sprouts
1 to 1/2 lbs of brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, yellowed leaves removed and cut in half
2 to 4 TBSP olive oil
1-2 TBSP Greek seasoning
Put brussels sprouts halves in ziploc bag, add olive oil and Greek seasoning and shake. Pour onto foil lined baking sheet. Cook in 400 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes. Sprouts will brown but that is what makes them good.
This was the first time in my life that I have eaten brussels sprouts and I have to say that I really enjoyed them. I will make this recipe again! Here are a couple of pictures--before cooked and after.
Recipe #21
Grilled Garlic Toast in Olive Oil
Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Add bread slices and flip over so that both sides are covered with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder or garlic salt. Fry lightly on both sides (like you would do for a grilled cheese sandwich). Drain on paper towels. We used gluten free bread which is basically a hard bread. I would recommend any type of hard bread.
Recipe #20---
BBQ-Orange Little Dogs
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 lb little dogs
In saucepan, heat BBQ sauce and little dogs until warm. Add orange marmalade and stir until melted.
Recipe #19---
Chili Spiced Asparagus
Ingredients:
1 TBSP oil (I used olive)
1 bunch asparagus
1 TBSP water
1 1/2 tsp chili powder (or paprika---which is what I used)
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBSP vinegar, sherry (I didn't have this, so I just put some butter on top)
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add asparagus and water; cook, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes. Add chili powder (or paprika), garlic powder and salt; cook until the asparagus is tender-crisp, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vinegar. Stir to coat.
This is a quick and easy little recipe that is quite tasty. We had this with a traditional Indian dinner of Jalfreezi chicken, curry rice, and puppodums with mango chutney. Yummy!
Fried Sweet Potato Recipe
This is a great traditional sweet potato recipe and it's really fast and easy to make. Cut the sweet potatoes into 1/8 by 1/8 inch strips. This gets them cooked quickly.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
1 large onion
salt to taste
Preparation:
Wash sweet potatoes and cut both sweet potatoes and onion into long thin strips, about 1/8 inch by 1/8 inch thick. Fry for about 10 minutes (or until golden brown) in vegetable oil. Make sure that oil is hot before placing sweet potatoes in pan. Remove from oil and allow to drain on paper towels. Sprinkle salt over top. Enjoy!
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Yield: serves 4I got this wonderful recipe from the Chandler House Bed and Breakfast located in Halifax County, VA. You can check out their website HERE. You should go to see them sometime. It's a beautiful place. But I am partial because it is the house that I grew up in!
Recipe #17---
Black Bean and Corn Salsa (no tomatoes)
1 can black beans, thoroughly rinsed
1 can corn, rinsed (I used white because it's my favorite!)
chopped green pepper, red pepper, onion, and jalapenos to taste (I used about 1/2 of each kind of pepper and sweet vidalia onion, and just a few jalapenos because I planned to share with my family)
some cilantro (probably about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp)
about 2 TBSP lime juice (I just squeezed until it felt right)
1 to 2 cloves garlic
Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for several hours. Serve with tortilla chips or just eat alone. Maybe you know of some other great way to eat this kind of salsa. If so, please feel free to share! It is so refreshing! I've only tried a little bit and now I can't wait until dinner time when I can eat more.
Recipe #16---
Chicken with Orange, Lime, and Ginger Sauce
2 1/2 TBSP orange marmalade
1/8 tsp grated lime rind
1 1/2 TBSP fresh lime juice
1 1/2 TBSP grated fresh ginger
4 (4 oz) boneless chicken breast halves
Combine first 4 ingredients. Place chicken on grill and brush with half of marmalade mixture. Cook, covered with grill lid, over medium-hot coals (350-400 degrees) for 6 minutes. Turn chicken, and brush with remaining marmalade mixture, cook, covered with grill lid, 6 minutes or until done.
Yeild: 4 servings
This recipe was quite tasty also. I know I'm a little behind on my average of one new recipe per week, but I'm working on catching up and I am so excited to find so many new, good recipes! I hope you are able to try some of these recipes for your family.
Recipe #15---
Roasted Asparagus
1 lb asparagus
1 1/2 TBSP olive oil
salt to taste
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and foil line a baking sheet. Cut ends off asparagus and discard. In a ziploc, combine asparagus and olive oil. Shake until asparagus coated. Spread asparagus on foil lined baking sheet and season with salt. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes. Asparagus is done when knife can be pierced into it easily. Serve while warm.
Yumminess! Enjoyed this recipe. Hope you do too!
Recipe #14---
Lime Cilantro Chicken
I made this one up myself. You see, I made some Lemon Paprika Chicken in the crock pot (old recipe) and a few days later I needed to get something in the crock pot to be ready when the family got home from soccer practice. I did not have any more lemon juice, so I had to improvise. Therefore, a new recipe was born! As you might have learned, I don't really measure, so here goes:
2 lbs frozen chicken breasts
3-4 TBSP butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup lime juice
1 TBSP cilantro (or as much as you like)
1 tsp rosemary
I put the chicken in the crock pot and drop pieces of butter around on top of chicken. Then I add cilantro and rosemary and finally pour lime juice on top. Cook on low in crock pot for about 8 hours. This makes a nice tangy chicken dish. Good with rice and vegetables. Enjoy!
Recipes #11, #12, and #13---
Homemade Tomato Spaghetti Sauce
With the changes in my diet (taking out all the gluten), I've spent a lot of time reading product labels. And I wonder why so many things that I can't even pronounce are adding to foods. So I decided to try to make a cheap, easy, healthy alternative to the Prego sauce that I love. So this is what I did and my family loved it.
1 lb sweet ground sausage, cooked
2 cans diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning (I used the Kroger brand)
Italian seasoning to taste
I just cooked the sausage and added the tomatoes and seasoning. Serve over noodles. Yum! Easy and good.
Chicken with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Artichokes
cooking spray
1-9oz package of artichoke hearts, thawed (I used 12 oz pkg.)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips with kitchen shears (I used 7 oz jar)
1/2 lb frozen cauliflower florets, thawed (I used 12 oz pkg.)
1 TBSP mince garlic
1 TBSP dried oregano
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup white wine
2 TBSP water
2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional, for a spicy dish)
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken
Coat the slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients except chicken. Stir to thoroughly combine. Add chicken to the mixture and stir together. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Thawing the veges is easiest by putting them in the fridge overnight. They don't need to be thoroughly thawed before adding to slow cooker. I changed the amounts as noted above. I also didn't have crushed red pepper, but I would love to try that next time because I like spicy!
This recipe is very good! I did make one mistake though... I accidentally put the crock pot on high for about 2 hours before I realized it and turned it down. But we weren't ready to eat until 8 hours had passed, so the veges were a little overcooked. I need to be a little more careful next time!
Potato Onion Au Gratin
3 TBSP butter
1 large onion, sliced
2 lbs white potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
salt and pepper
grated nutmeg
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9x13casserole. Melt butter in skillet and saute onions until very soft.
Alternate layers of potatoes, onions and cheese in buttered dish and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour broth over all layers and cover casserole with aluminum foil. Bake 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Uncover and continue baking until top is lightly browned--about 15-20 minutes. Serve hot. (Serves 8-10)
This is a good au gratin potato recipe. My middle daughter really likes potatoes and wanted a good cheesy potato recipe. I think I might have found it. I made minor changes, like using red potatoes (which I had) and I didn't add nutmeg. How would nutmeg taste??? Maybe I'll be brave and try it next time...
I hope you have some time to try these recipes! Enjoy!
Recipes #9 and #10---
Italian Sausage and Peppers in the Crock Pot
2 lbs of Italian sausage, cut into slices
3 bell peppers, cut into strips
2 medium or 1 large onion, cut into slices
2 tsp of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream, optional
Add all ingredients to Crock Pot and toss to evenly cover with oil. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Garnish each serving with sour cream, if desired.
This was a good recipe. Very similar to if you cook it in a frying pan on top of the stove. The advantage of this recipe is that you put it in and let it cook all day on those days when you are going to be gone all day. I served it with rice. Very good!
Slow Cooker Jambalaya
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb smoked sausage, sliced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
3 TBSP dried minced onion flakes
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
rice
In slow cooker, mix chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme. Cover and cook 7 to 8 hours on low, or 3 to 4 hours on high. Mix in cooked rice for about the last 15 minutes.
And my variations are: 1) I add 8 oz of small salad shrimp (simply because in my world jambalaya should have shrimp!) 2) I used chopped onion in place of "minced onion flakes" 3) I used basmati rice and I did not stir into the jambalaya...instead I served jambalaya over rice.
For yourself, you could add other things, like celery or bell pepper, if you would like that. This is another great recipe to make for those days when you are really busy. Consider mixing all the ingredients together in the crock pot the night before and refrigerating. Then in the morning plug the crock pot in, turn it on, and have a great meal ready for later. (Only need prep time for rice later!)
I hope you enjoy these recipes! My family is loving them. Blessings to you!
I am halfway through Week #8---Recipes #7 and #8 (By the way, I believe that I am only going to keep up with the recipe numbers from now on because keeping up with weeks is driving me crazy!! LOL)
I have to tell you that we have enjoyed some of these New Year's new recipes so much that I have already repeated some of them! Yummy! On to the new ones....
Roasted Garlic
Whole garlic
Olive oil
1) Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2) Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.
3) Place the garlic heads in a baking pan; muffin pans work well for this purpose. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head, using your fingers to make sure the garlic head is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.
4) Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins.
Eat as is or mash with a fork and use for cooking. Can be spread over warm French bread, mixed with sour cream for a topping for baked potatoes, or mixed in with Parmesan and pasta.
My assessment of this recipe--that I have wanted to try for year, by the way--was...not so good. It really didn't measure up to what I thought it would be. Would I ever make it again? Well, yes, if I had a recipe that called for roasted garlic! I even wondered how these roasted garlic cloves might taste on a pizza. I might would consider trying that, however, I don't plan to make this again just to eat. Let me know if you have any suggestions to make it better or ways to use the roasted garlic.
Butter, Lemon and Garlic Shrimp
Shrimp (I used 55-60 frozen tail-less shrimp from Kroger)
Butter, 1 stick
Lemon, 1 sliced
seasoning (I used garlic salt, but real recipe called for dry Italian dressing packet)
Line baking pan with foil. Cut lemon into slices, put on bottom of pan, drizzle with 1 stick of melted butter. Sprinkle seasoning on raw shrimp and toss. Put the shrimp on the lemon and butter, then put them in the oven and bake at 350 for 10-15 min.
Very simple, very easy recipe. I found it on Pinterest (have you discovered this addictive website yet?). Now, I am not generally a shrimp eater, but these were actually quite tasty! I would eat these again. I definitely need to at least double this recipe for my family though because we ate these in no time and were still hungry!
Week #5---Recipes #5 and #6
It was a good food week here. I ended up trying two new recipes since I had some over ripe bananas that I had to use and I already had my other new recipe planned. But that's okay because both of these recipes are definitely keepers!
First, the banana bread which had to be gluten free so we could eat it. I used Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix because it had the recipe on the back of the bag. You can check out their products by clicking on the mix name!) Here is the recipe:
Pamela's Banana Loaf Cake
4 TBSP butter, melted
2 eggs, large--beaten
1-3/4 cups Pamela's Mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar or honey
1 cup banana, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter, sugar, egg and banana. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Pour into greased 8" x 4" loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or when inserted toothpick comes out clean.
I followed the recipe exactly except no nuts in ours since my husband is allergic to nuts. Next time, I'll have to make two loaves---one with and one without nuts! It was definitely a yummy recipe and my whole family loved it! Here are pictures of batter and the final loaf:
First, the banana bread which had to be gluten free so we could eat it. I used Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix because it had the recipe on the back of the bag. You can check out their products by clicking on the mix name!) Here is the recipe:
Pamela's Banana Loaf Cake
4 TBSP butter, melted
2 eggs, large--beaten
1-3/4 cups Pamela's Mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar or honey
1 cup banana, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter, sugar, egg and banana. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Pour into greased 8" x 4" loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or when inserted toothpick comes out clean.
I followed the recipe exactly except no nuts in ours since my husband is allergic to nuts. Next time, I'll have to make two loaves---one with and one without nuts! It was definitely a yummy recipe and my whole family loved it! Here are pictures of batter and the final loaf:
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
2.5 to 3 lbs of chicken
12-16 oz. bottle of buffalo wing sauce
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
2 TBSP butter
Put first three ingredients in crock pot. Turn on high for about 6 hours. Use two forks to shred chicken in crock pot. Add butter and cook for one more hour.
Could it get any easier? I used frozen chicken which works great if you are not good at remembering to defrost...like me. The actual recipe I used called specifically for Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce however I had a bottle of Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce, so that is what I used. I did stick to the Hidden Valley Ranch brand of dressing mix because I know it is gluten free. And I wondered why I was adding the butter for the last hour until I read on the Moore's sauce that doing that cuts down on the heat of the wing sauce. My family loved this recipe, too. I will be making it again. Here are the pictures:
Week #4---Awesome Recipe #4
Think Cheddar Bay Biscuits from Red Lobster, only gluten free!!! Yummmmmmmyyyyy!!!
Cheese Garlic Biscuits (Gluten Free)
2 cups Bisquick GF mix
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup firm butter
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz.)
3 eggs
Garlic Butter Topping
1/4 cup butter, melted
14 tsp garlic powder
1) Heat oven to 425 degrees.Combine GF Bisquick and 1/4 tsp garlic powder. Cut in 1/4 cup butter, using a pastry blender or fork, until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in milk, cheese and eggs until soft dough forms.
2) Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. (Make 10 to 12 biscuits)
3) Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Mix melted butter and garlic powder to make topping and brush on biscuits after they are cooked but before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm.
And I even remembered to take pictures tonight. Enjoy!!
Week #3---Recipe #3
This week's recipe is yummy!!! I was looking for a meal that I could put in the crock-pot and have ready when we got home. I will definitely use this one again! Here it is:
Chicken Parmesan
1 pkg onion soup mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz each), undiluted
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup white cooking wine
1 cup uncooked converted white rice
6 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
6 TBSP butter or margarine
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese
Mix onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, milk, cooking wine and rice in a mixing bowl. Spray crock-pot with cooking spray. Lay chicken breasts in pot. Place one TBSP of butter on each breast. Pour soup mixture over it. Salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 to 6 hours. Serves six.
You have learned by now that I do change things up when I cook. I cannot have regular cream of whatever soups because they have wheat in them, so I used gluten free cream of mushroom soup. The GF can holds 14.5 oz of soup, so I just used the one can. The GF cream of soup seems to be thinner, so I did not add anything extra to replace the difference in amount of soup. Also, I only use Basmati rice these days because we just love it! Otherwise, I followed the rest of the recipe. The chicken is cooked until it is just falling apart; it is so tender because it has cooked with all those yummy juices. Give this recipe a try when you want to just put it all together and not think about it again until time to eat. (I must warn you though that you will have a wonderful smell permeating your whole house while it is cooking!!!)
Week #2----Recipe #2
This week I decided to try a recipe for scalloped potatoes because my middle dd loves them. Here is the recipe I used:
Scalloped Potatoes
5 medium potatoes, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 can cream of celery soup
1/3 cup milk
1 cup grated cheese
Cook potatoes until tender. Heat soup, milk and cheese until cheese is melted, then add onions. Pour mixture over layers of sliced potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
*Now, this is the basic recipe I used, but I couldn't follow it exactly. Since most of my family members are gluten free these days, I have to alter things sometimes. The regular cream of whatever soups contain wheat, unless you can locate a gluten free version. Because of this, I used a gluten free cream of mushroom (couldn't find celery, although I think it might add more flavor). Also, the gluten free cream of soups that I have found are soupier and there is more in the can (~14 oz vs. ~10oz of other brands). For this reason, I did not add milk to my soup. I used grated pizza cheese (all white cheeses) because that is what I had on hand. With all these alterations, my family enjoyed the potatoes, even though I thought they were a bit bland. I will have to tweak this recipe to my liking!!! Give it a try and let me know how you altered it for your family.
Recipe #1 for 2012:
Ham Salad
3 cups cooked ham (finely chopped or ground in food processor)
1 hard-cooked egg (finely chopped)
2 TBSP celery (finely chopped)
2 tsp onion (finely chopped)
2 tsp sweet pickle relish
3/4 cup mayonaise
1 TBSP prepared mustard
Combine all ingredients except mayo and mustard. After mixed, then add mayo and mustard and mix well. Serve with crackers.
That is the basic recipe and I choose it to use up the leftover ham that I have. I actually didn't have all of the above ingredients on hand (no celery). But I read many recipes and decided that I can alter it according to what I have on hand. Think about these additions: green pepper (finely chopped), garlic (minced), worchestershire sauce, hot sauce, shredded cheese, salt and pepper. I'm sure you will come up with other ideas on your own. Because of adding and subtracting with what I have, I don't actually measure mayo. I add just enough until it is the right consistency.
My first try at this recipe was okay. I think that either celery or green pepper would have added something to it, unfortunately, I didn't have those today. Also, I'm not 100% sold on the mustard. I might try it sans mustard next time! Have fun playing with this recipe and enjoy!!!
End of 2011 cooking:
Christmas goodies. Instead of cake pops, we made cake balls. And these little jewels are gluten free (made with gluten free cake mix!!!). Then dipped in red, green and white candy coating to be holiday festive! And a little nutty fudge, too. A picture will have to say it all....
