Kettle Corn

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Popcorn Salt

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil over medium-high heat. add the popcorn. When the oils sizzles, sprinkle the sugar over the kernels. Cover the pan and crank handle until the popping slows down, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and toss with the salt.

Side notes: I don't think a full 1/4 cup oil is necessary.  You can reduce the oil by almost half.  Of course, if you use the full amount it will taste great too.  :)

If you don't have a crank stove-top popper, you can use a heavy duty pan and lid. While corn is popping make sure to shake the pan.

Enjoy!!!

Uncle Andy's Punch

My Uncle Andy was a chef for United Airlines and had a catering business.  This is his awesome punch!  We served it at all 6 of our children's wedding receptions:
Mix in a 5 gal bucket (mark the 4 gallon spot before you add any ingredients)

6 pkg lemonade Cool-aid
6 cups sugar
46 oz can pineapple juice
1 bottle pine'colada
1 2 liter bottle of 7up
1/2 bag crushed ice

Mix  the first 5 ingredients with water and fill to the 4 gallon mark, then add ice and serve.

Pecan Tassies

Crust:

1 3-oz pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup flour

Blend together; chill 1 hour.  Shape into 2 dozen 1-in. balls.  Place in ungreased 1-and-¾-in. mini muffin pan.  Press dough evenly against bottom and sides of muffin cups (using a Tart Tamper).

Filling:

1 egg

¾ cup brown sugar

1 T. melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla

Dash of salt

2/3 cup broken pecans

Beat together all ingredients except the pecans.  Place ½ of the pecans in the pastry-lined pans.  Pour in filling.  Top with remaining pecans.  Bake at 325 for 25 min or until filling is set.  Cool before removing from pans.  (They freeze well.)

Mary Lou's Almond Roca

3 c sugar
1 lb butter minus 2 tbsp
1 cup raw almonds cut in thirds
6 Hershey bars
finely chopped almonds

Cook butter and sugar over med high (#8 on my stove) until they are melted together, stirring constantly..  As the mixture cooks adjust the heat so that it boils constantly but doesn't burn.  Stir in the cup of almond thirds after a few minutes and keep stirring.  When the bottom of the pan begins to smoke cook for about 1 minute more.  Quickly pour onto a heavy cookie sheet (12"x18") and smooth out.  Cool and melt the Hershey bars and spread on both sides and sprinkle with finely chopped almonds!  Cool and Voila! Almond Roca!

Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup

I found this recipe on the Rachael Ray website. I made it last night and it was so yummy! It is a new favorite!

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/soup-recipes/mexican-chicken-and-rice-soup

I made small changes to the recipe:

1. I made my own rice.
2. The tomato based salsa that I bought is called Herdez (mild).
3. Instead of serving with monterey jack cheese, I used Cacique ranchero queso fresco. Buy this at Walmart or Maceys.
4. I did not add the sour cream. The queso fresco was all I needed!
5. If you boil the chicken with onion and garlic, you can use the strained chicken broth for this soup (or buy a fryer chicken and Swanson's broth for a time saver).

The avocados and the queso fresco on top were the best part of the soup!!! Don't leave them out! Oh, and this is the quickest meal ever. I had it completed by the time my rice was cooked.

"Souper" Macaroni & Cheese

3 cups cooked noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use cream of chicken soup)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon mustard
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
generous dash of pepper
french fried onions


Combine all ingredients and put in a casserole dish a bake at 350 for 45 minutes {put the french fried onions for the last five minutes}

Quick Fix: combine all ingredients in a large microwave safe bowl. Nuke for 2 minutes, stir, nuke for 2 minutes, stir, continue until it's all uniform, hot and melted.

It tastes better the next day as leftovers!

Spinach salad and award winning dressing

SPINACH SALAD (Served at the high priest dinner November 4, 2011).

Marinade for spinach salad:

1 ½ tsp. poppy seeds

¾ cup apple cider vinegar

¾ cup vegetable oil

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tsp finely chopped red onion

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp cottage cheese

Mix together; it has to be stirred constantly while putting on the salad because it separates very fast.  This makes 1 pint of dressing (up to 34 tbsp).  I put two tbsp on the salad at the dinner, but 1 tbsp goes pretty far.  I love this dressing on most of my salads, it is 56 calories per tbsp.

We garnished the spinach with:

Craisins

Real bacon bits

Sliced almonds

Sliced red onion

Mandarin oranges

Shredded Mozzarella cheese

(You can use any yummy thing you have in your pantry).

Kathy Perrins (adapted from Linda Bergeson)

Lemon-Feta Chicken

LEMON – FETA CHICKEN
Recipe by Donna Hay (Australia's Martha Stewart)
From the kitchen of: Michelle Quinn
NOTE: recipe can easily be expanded to meet the needs of whatever crowd you are feeding.
2 chicken breast fillets, trimmed
1 package of firm feta cheese (aka not crumbled) cut into cheese sticks
1 lemon (1 tablespoon of lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice)
5 sprigs of any fresh woody herb (i.e. oregano, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, etc…)
Olive oil (for drizzling)
Cracked black pepper
1 pkg baby spinach
Preheat oven to 350o F.
Place chicken in pan, zest lemon over everything, then cut lemon and squeeze juice over (be careful not to get seeds in the pan). Note: If you like lots of lemon, then use 2 instead of 1. Place the feta sticks on and around the chicken. Drizzle olive oil over everything, especially the feta sticks, as it will crisp the outside and leave the inside melty. Place fresh herbs on (I usually pull the leaves off and do not place the “stick” part of the herb on). Sprinkle with pepper.
The idea is that the olive oil with cook down with the juices of the chicken and lemon to create a pan sauce which will be served over the chicken. Bake until chicken is done (20-40 min depending on size of pan and amount of food in it).
TO SERVE: Make a bed of fresh baby spinach on a plate. Place a piece of chicken and some of the cooked feta on the spinach. Take some of the pan sauce and drizzle it over the chicken and on the spinach. Delicious!
Note: leftovers are great on salad and sandwiches (either hot or cold).

Chicken Parmesan

We had last minute company on Sunday and this is what I came up with:
Simple, quick, easy, spur of the moment Chicken Parmesan:
6  frozen chicken breast in a 9x13 baking dish
! bottle Prego
Bake until the chicken is tender on 325 (about 1 hour)
When the Chicken is cooked top with::
2 TBSP grated Mozzarella cheese
2 TSP grated Parmesan cheese
And melt the cheese
 Serve over Rice
We also had mixed vegetables (corn, peas and carrots, and chopped broccoli) 

Chicken Pot Pie

1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup potatoes diced to squares 2x as big as your sliced carrots
½ cup sliced onion (or ¼ cup dehydrated onion)
¼ cup sliced celery
¼ cup butter
2 cups cooked chicken, (toss with 1 Tbsp flour for thickening)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 cup canned green beans
1 box Pillsbury pie crust (you need 2 layers, bottom and top)

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook carrots, onions, potatoes, and celery in butter and broth till tender. Stir in chicken, soup, and greens. Spray pie pan and put in a double pie crust. Bake at 350^o for 45 min.

I like to take a square of foil, fold into quarters and cut a corner off so there’s a hole in the center, then put over the pie so the crust doesn’t burn!!

But You Haven't Had MY Meat Loaf

2 eggs, beaten

¾ cup milk

2/3 cup bread crumbs

¼ cup finely chopped onion

2 Tbsp parsley

1 tsp salt

Pinch of oregano, basil, and/or sage

Pinch of pepper

2 lbs ground beef

Glaze: 1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp mustard

Combine ingredients together(I used my hands to mush it all ) Then put in a bread loaf pan and bake @ 350^o for 1 to 1¼ hour. Take out and put mixed glaze on top then bake for 10 more minutes. Let Stand for 10 minutes before eating

MeatBalls

1 egg
3/4 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp salt
a dash of pepper
a dash of oregano
1 lb. ground beef

Shape into 24 meatballs and bake on cookie sheet for 15 -20 minutes at 350.

I make a double batch, put 20 in a Ziploc bag and freeze! Goes great with a bottle of Prego over Spaghetti or with Mr. Yoshida's over Rice!

Nanaimo Bars

I got this recipe from my roommate from Victoria, BC my freshman year of college!

Crust Bottom Layer:
1/2 cup butter .......Melt complete in a medium saucepan
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup sugar ........add to melted butter and stir til smooth
1 large egg ................{whisk at room temp. by itself first} add slowly to saucepan over
. ................................................low heat while whisking constantly until smooth/thick consistency
1 tsp. vanilla ............add to chocolate sauce
2 c. crushed graham crackers
1 c. coconut.................add chocolate to these last ingredients and mix
**Put in 9 inch square pan and chill for 1 hour!!


Butter Cream Center Layer:
4 TBSP butter ...............................................beat (kitchenaid, hand mixer, etc) at room temp til creamy
2 TBSP vanilla pudding powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. powdered sugar.................................add to butter and mix until consistent
2-4 TBSP Milk .................................................start with 2, add more if needed and mix until thick
............................................................................................but creamy {needs to be spreadable}
**Spread over refrigerated crust and refrigerate for 1 hour


Chocolate Top Layer:
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips .......NOT milk chocolate
1 TBSP butter.......................................................... melt chips and butter in double boiler and spread
................................................................................................... over refrigerated butter cream
**Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes (if it's too long, when you slice them the chocolate will crack/break, if that's the case, let it sit out for 5 minutes until they can be sliced easily. Put on plate and refrigerate until you need to serve them. ***They're quite rich so slices should be small!! Here's a video if you want to see the steps.

Dragonfire Chicken

Don't let the name of this recipe fool you--I am a total wuss about spicy food and I really love this recipe. If you wanted to make it hotter, you could leave the seeds in the jalapenos; however, I don't want hot, so I remove every little bitty seed. It's delicious and a great way to use some of those wonderful summer fruits!

Marinade:

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey

3 Tablespoons rice vinegar

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1 jalapeno, seeded & chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 Tablespoon diced onion

3/4 teaspoon salt

Make the marinade by combining all the ingredients in a blender on high speed for 1 minute.

Then, grab a gallon Ziploc bag or you could use a Tupperware or some such container. Place the marinade in your chosen bag/container and add three large chicken breasts which you have pounded flat with a mallet. Allow these to marinate for at least 2-3 hours (I always do more because I do the marinade in the morning and the rest later.)

Pineapple Pico de Gallo:

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup canned sliced pineapple--I prefer the flavor of fresh

1/2 cup diced red onion

2 Tablespoons minced cilantro

4 teaspoons minced jalapeno

2 Tablespoons lime juice (or a little more)

1/8 teaspoon salt (I eyeball it)

Make the pineapple pico de gallo by combining all ingredients. Remember, this is a pico and you want to try and get a little bit of every flavor in each bite, so you will be chopping/dicing tiny, tiny, tiny! Store the pico in your fridge till you're ready to use it. As a side note--if you double the recipe, you could serve it with chips too. I like to chop up the rest of the pineapple and use it as a side dish with the chicken.

Kung Pow Sauce:

1/4 cup water

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 teaspoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon chili sauce

1 Tablespoon finely minced garlic

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

Make the Kung Pow sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium to medium high heat. When the mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or however long it takes to thicken it a bit. Remember, it will thicken a bit on its own after you turn off the heat.

When the chicken is done marinating, preheat BBQ grill to medium heat (I used my George Foreman type grill to keep it all inside and easy). Slice your chicken breasts if you prefer--I do. Place the chicken on the grill for 5-6 minutes per side or about 6-7 minutes total on an indoor grill. Serve chicken drizzled with Kung Pow sauce and Pico de Gallo topping. Delicious!!!

Cooking bacon in the oven

Time Required: 20 minutes

1. Line a baking sheet with foil. This will make cleanup easier later.
2. Arrange bacon slices on the foil and place the baking sheet on the center rack of a cold oven. Close oven door. Turn oven on to 400°F.
3. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes. As soon as the bacon is golden brown, but not excessively crisp, it's done.
4. Remove the pan from the oven. Transfer the bacon to another sheet pan lined with paper towels to absorb the fat.

TIPS:

1. Don't pre-heat the oven! Make sure the oven is cold when you put the bacon in.
2. Keep your eye on the bacon during the final few minutes of cooking to make sure that it doesn't burn. Also, remove the cooked bacon from the hot pan right away. The heat from the pan and the hot bacon fat will continue cooking the bacon.

Kimberly's Fruit Dip

1whole Cream Cheese {thawed}
1 large bottle of Marshmallow Cream

Stir together and serve, Voila!
This is so easy and so yummy!

Good Water

Good Water
5 quarts water
3 C sugar
1 Tbsp lemon extract
1 Tbsp citric acid
3 sliced lemons
1/2 pkg of ice
Mix ingredients together in a large container. Serves 30
You can get citric acid at the health food store.
Once you serve it, you will get lots of requests!

Baked Spaghetti

1 Tbsp. Oil
1 lb. Ground beef
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cans tomato soup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Thyme leaf
6 ounce tomato paste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
2 can sizes of water
1 minced garlic clove
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. basil leaf
3/4 lb Spaghetti Noodles
Make Pasta accordingly.
While pasta is boiling, mix together oil, onion, thyme, Italian seasoning, garlic clove, and basil leaf in small bowl. Microwave for one minute. Set aside.
Brown ground beef, drain.
Add mixture.
Stir in soup, paste, water, salt, pepper, bay leaf and 1/4 cup of the cheese. Cook on low for 15 minutes. Add pasta.
Put in 8x10 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Hula Muffins

Hula Muffins
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup veg. oil
2 eggs
1 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Heat oven to 425, stir sugar, oil, eggs, carrots and pineapple in medium bowl until mixed. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Spoon batter into cups. Bake 13-17 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.

Peanut Butter Squares

This is an old family favorite and I figured out why they've been so sticky as of late!!

Ingredients:
1c. butter (softened NOT melted)
1c. peanut butter
2c. powdered sugar
1 pack + 3more graham crackers {Here's the fix!!}

12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips {melted}

Instructions:
Put graham crackers in a ziploc and smash them until VERY fine with a rolling pin.
Mix the first four until uniform and spread in a large cookie sheet.
Cover with melted chocolate.
I refrigerate to make it set faster and leave it in when it's not being eaten to keep it fresh.

YUMMY

Arabele Noble's Potato Rolls (Those wonderful Friday rolls)

This is the recipe my mom used. (I use a Bosch mixer)

2 cups milk
2 cups potato water (with a little mashed potato in it)
2 teaspoon salt
1 cube of butter
1 cup sugar

Add all ingredients together, heat until butter is melted.
When the mixture is cool, add enough flour to make a thin batter.
Then add 6 beaten eggs.
2 Tablespoons yeast (3 if you are in a hurry).
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Then add enough flour to make dough just right (about 9 1/4 c. total?)
Let rise till double.  Roll out about 3/8 inch thick.  Cut into circles. Brush with melted butter and mark center fold line with a knife but be careful not to cut through. Fold and seal edge with a fork.  Place in 11x17 cookie sheet 9 rows of 4 works.  Makes 7 dozen rolls.

Heat oven to 400 then turn down to 375 and bake for 15 minutes.
(Try 350 for 20 minutes)  Brush with butter after baking.

Hawaiian Haystacks- Best Sauce Ever!

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and it has forever changed Hawaiian Haystacks for me! This sauce is amazing.. I'll never go back to cream of chicken soup!

Sauce:

1/4 c. poultry gravy

1 1/4 c. water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

2 c. chicken broth

2 Tbs soy sauce

4 Tbs. corn starch

Mix first two ingredients over low-med heat. Add next three. Then slowly stir in corn starch. turn up your heat and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for a few minutes.. ready to serve! The sauce will be very watery until you bring it to a boil and the starch kicks in.. so don't panic :)

I like to add the chicken right in the sauce. In fact, your food storage canned chicken goes perfect in this and makes it almost entirely a food storage meal!

To assemble your haystack (everyone does it their own way):

Rice

Sauce

Chicken (if not in sauce)

Then any of the following: cheese, pineapple,chow mein noodles, slivered almonds, celery, coconut, mandarin oranges, tomatoes, scallions, etc!

YUMMY!!!

Just for fun here are the proportions doubled- in case you're feeding a few families:

1/2 c. poultry gravy

2 1/2 c. water

6 bouillon cubes

4 c. chicken broth

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/2 c. corn starch

Chuck Roast Recipe

This recipe is from Susan Taylor
1 chuck roast --BROWN on all sides until almost burned, loading on lots of  SEASON: I used - garlic salt, seasoning salt, pepper, and basil. But whatever you like to use -- and really it's using quite a bit on all sides and just let it brown. The near-burning forms a thin crust.
COVER and COOK in pot for 3-4 hours on 290- 325 degrees. Then ADD in cut up vegetables the last hour. c Cook the roast for 2 1/2 hrs on 290 deg, then put the potatoes and onions in, raised the temp to 325 deg and cooked it for one more hour -- total 3 1/2 hours.
Fool proof recipe! You can also put in carrots and celery with the potatoes and onions. Whatever vegies you want.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I had nothing to cook for dinner tonight....so our usual standby are waffles or pancakes. But who wanted boring old pancakes? No one that's who!

So, I saw the pumpkin can sitting in my cupboard and I thought pumpkin pancakes! Well, they were a hit with ALL the kids! I have to share!

This is also the perfect way to use up leftover pumpkin!

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1/2 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

In large bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside. In separate bowl combine evaporated milk, pumpkin, water, egg and oil. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. The batter will be lumpy.

Lightly oil griddle and cook them up!

Salsa Chicken Burritos

4 chicken breasts
1 pkg. taco seasoning
14-16 oz. jar of salsa
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
Tortillas
Put the chicken in the crock-pot with the taco seasoning and salsa. Cook for 4-8 hours depending on if the chicken was thawed or frozen when you put in the crock-pot. Shortly before assembling the burritos, shred the meat with a fork in the pot. Fill the tortillas with meat then black beans and cheese, sour cream, sliced olives, whatever you prefer. Roll up and serve. I have used canned chicken with this recipe, however I didn't cook it that long in the crock-pot.

Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Combine in a sauce pan:

1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo syrup

Bring to a boil and add:

1 cup peanut butter

stir in

6 cups Rice Krispies

Pun in a 9 x 13 pan and frost with melted chocolate chips or Hershey Bars