Chicken Salad

Posted by Lori:
This Chicken Salad recipe is my favorite. I especially like it on a croissant, but of course that's not too healthy! Although you'll be glad to hear this interesting piece of information. My son, Zachary, was helping me get Christmas decorations out the other day and he found a book called, "The Little Book of Christmas Joys". He told me it said "DON'T COUNT CALORIES FROM DECEMBER 15TH THROUGH JANUARY 2ND." Wow! I'm glad to hear that, aren't you?! December 15th will be here before we know it!

CHICKEN SALAD
2 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast, diced or shredded and cooled
1 cup sliced seedless grapes
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mayonnaise (regular, low-fat, or fat free)
1/4 cup whipped cream (regular, low-fat, or fat free)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spritz baking sheet with cooking spray. To toast pecans, put them on a baking sheet and toast them just until they become aromatic, about 5 minutes. Stir the pecans and toast a minute or two longer. Watch them carefully so that they do not become scorched. Allow the pecans to cool. Combine all ingredients in medium bowl. Mix well. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

For an appetizer, use the tiny croissants or serve a small amount on top of a cracker. Chopped apple could also be added to this recipe, if desired.
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Recipe for Disaster

Posted by Donna:

I want to begin by saying this Thanksgiving brought on the worst cooking disasters I've ever experienced. The week started out just wonderful. Our younger daughter and her three children came down Tuesday and our son-in-law came the next day. We were so excited because this Thanksgiving we didn't have to share them with the other grandparents since they were going to be out of town. We love the other grandparents; but, it was fun having them for such a long length of time and all to ourselves. We had a very good meal on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday night we all went to worship services together and enjoyed worship in song and visiting with friends. Afterwards, we came home and enjoyed watching Santa Buddies and playing Bananagrams. Thursday morning, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of sausage, eggs, pancakes, biscuits, and gravy. What a wonderful time it had been so far. Then, about an hour later, disaster struck.

First of all, the chocolate pie recipe I posted earlier, the pie that is so wonderful, the pie that I've never goofed on----goofed!! Actually I made two of them. I knew something was wrong as I was cooking the filling. It looked really funny--the color was wrong and the consistency was wrong. The right ingredients had been used, but something was wrong. It tasted terrible. Just as that happened, I checked my pecan pie that was baking and I instantly knew something was wrong with it. I've never had a "goof-up" on it either. It's always ready in 55 minutes--perfect everytime--that is, until today. I had to continue baking that pie for an hour and a half to get it done. It had shrunk and had turned dark brown by the time I took it out of the oven. By this time, I was so frustrated, I was acting very childish, to say the least. Anyway, Kimberly came in and reassured me that everything would be okay. We decided the flour and the sugar were the culprits. I had just opened new bags of both the day before. We decided to dump both of them from my bins, send Larry, my errand boy, (alias husband) to buy new sugar and flour and start all over. Kimberly helped out and made the chocolate pies and I made the pecan pie. This time, they turned out like they always do. Things, I thought, were back to normal.

However, the second disaster was lurking. Since my son-in-law was going to fry the turkey, I decided to cook a drumstick so I could have some "real" broth for my dressing and gravy. That's the only thing I don't like about frying a turkey--not having the rich broth you get from baking it. I cooked the drumstick on Wednesday and stored it in the refrigerator. As I was mixing my dressing and was ready to add the broth from the drumstick, I put the broth in the microwave---and a few seconds later---boom!!!!!! it exploded all over the microwave. My wonderful broth was gone. I did manage to salvage about a fourth of a cup which did absolutely nothing for the dressing. I was so devastated. Again, Kimberly assured me everything would be okay---and really everything was okay, regardless of the "disasters" that had taken place. We ended up having a wonderful meal with our wonderful family.

However, that's not the end of the story. Today, which was three days later from the first two disasters, I had another "situation." Our older daughter and her family come for worship services and Sunday dinner. I was so excited to have our whole family together--all thirteen of us. Nothing pleases a mother more than having all of her "little chickens" in her nest!!!!!! I had fixed roast, carrots, potatoes, fresh black-eyed peas, store-bought rolls, and gravy. As I was taking the roast out of the crock pot, something very strange fell off the roast. It was unidentifiable!!!!!! It was black and slimy. We finally figured out it was the black plastic "thing" that the roast sits on in the styrofoam package. I debated on whether or not we should eat the roast; but, I figured the germs or whatever was on it had been killed during the 14 hours it had cooked in the crock pot. Lori and I had a big laugh about it. We didn't share this little detail with everyone else.

Here it is Sunday evening. As I look back on the past six days, I can laugh at all these disasters and "situations." As bad as they seemed at the time, in perspective, they are so trivial. What really counts were the people that were in my home---both my daughters and their families. Both girls married Christian boys, and together, they are raising such good children who love God---and of course, their grandma and grandpa!!!!!!! I know it helps if the food is good; but, even if it "flops", it's not a big thing. I just feel very blessed to have the family I have; not just my immediate family, but also my extended family. They are all very, very special to me.

Well, I've just shared a very humanistic side of myself. Hopefully, it brought a smile to your face---and relief that it didn't happen at your house!!!!!!
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Recipe for a Happy Day

Posted by Donna:

Because I missed my scheduled post on Thursday night, I decided to post this special recipe that can benefit all of us by reading it every day and applying it to our lives.

1 cup friendly words
Dash of humor
2 heaping cups of understanding
Pinch of warm personality
4 heaping teaspoons of time and patience

Instructions for mixing: Measure words carefully. Add heaping cups of understanding; use generous amounts of time and patience. Cook on front burner. Keep temperature low---do not boil!!!!! Add dash of humor and pinch of warm personality. Season to taste with spice of life. Serve in individual molds.

I really think if we use these exact ingredients, this recipe for a Happy Day would never fail us.
Have a good weekend and many Happy Days ahead.
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Puppy Chow

This is one of those recipes that you assume everyone has had....BUT, if not, this is one you don't want to miss out on.

Even yesterday, with all of the Thanksgiving food, snacks, and desserts still out on the tables, my youngest son asked, "Where's the Puppy Chow?". It's something we have a lot during the five week stretch after Thanksgiving, through Christmas, and until New Year's.

Puppy Chow

1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Butter
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
9 cups Crispix or Corn Chex cereal
1-1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

Combine peanut butter, butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.
Microwave for one minute then stir to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Stir well. Place the cereal in a very large bowl. Pour the peanut butter-chocolate mixture over the cereal and toss evenly, making sure all the cereal gets a good covering. Place powdered sugar in large container with a lid. Pour in coated cereal, seal the lid and SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE until it's well coated. Another way to do it is to put the powdered sugar in a paper sack, then pour in the coated cereal and fold down top of bag or scrunch it together at the top (hold it very securely)...then shake to coat cereal. Store in airtight container.

Note: If you happen to have kids in 4-H, Puppy Chow makes a great 4-H demonstration for the yearly demonstration contest. It's easy to demonstrate and most kids enjoy practicing for the contest because they get to eat the snack afterwards!

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Pickle - Ham Spirals

Posted by Lori:
These make great little appetizers or snacks for yourself and your family. To make it a low-carb recipe use regular cream cheese or if you would rather have low fat, use the light or fat free variety.

1 package ham slices
1 jar kosher dill spears, drained
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

Pat ham and pickles dry with a paper towel. Spread 13 ham slices each with about 1 tablespoon cream cheese or enough to cover the ham slice. Top each slice with 1 pickle & roll up. Refrigerate at least one hour. Slice each pickle roll into 5 to 6 pieces. May secure with a toothpick if desired. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

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Bacon Roll-Ups Appetizer

Posted by Lori:
I asked my sister-in-law, Robin, to send me this recipe. Every year at our Thanksgiving Eve get-together, she brings this appetizer. It's one of those things she is "expected" to bring by many in our family.

Bacon Roll-Ups Appetizer

20 slices white bread (trim crusts)
1 can Eagle Brand milk
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon or turkey bacon
2 cups shredded American cheese

Roll bread flat with rolling pin. Set aside. In small bowl, combine Eagle brand, mustard and worcestershire sauce. Cut bacon slices in half and lay 3 halves close together on flat surface. Place bread on top and spread with 1 T. of Eagle Brand mixture. Sprinkle 1 heaping T. of cheese on top. Roll bacon around bread, jelly-roll style, securing with a toothpick. Repeat with all. Chill. Preheat oven to 375.

With sharp knife, make 3 pinwheels out of each one by carefully cutting between each bacon strip. Bake on a greased pan for 30 minutes or until bacon is done.

(Note from Robin: This recipe is from my friend Sherry H., and I've been bringing it to Thanksgiving for many years!)

Thanks, Robin!
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Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cake

Posted by Donna:

Tonight after our worship services, we had a going away pot luck meal for our youth minister and his family. It's always fun trying out the recipes that the ladies bring. We all come home with something new to try. I decided to try this new one out as well.

1-3/4 cups boiling water
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 T. milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 eggs
1-3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. cocoa
1 (12 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips, divided
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Pour boiling water over the oatmeal; let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. To the oatmeal add the sugars, milk, butter, and eggs; beat well. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Gradually stir into oatmeal mixture. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Srinkle the remaining chocolate chips and walnuts or pecans on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

This cake is very moist.


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Chocolate Chip Doozies

Posted by Lori:
Our children enjoy getting cookies at the mall from time to time.  They especially like the ones with the icing in the middle.  It always makes me think of my Grandpa Gene when I buy them the cookies.  If he was ever with us at the mall, he just couldn't understand how anyone could pay a dollar (or more!) for a cookie.  I don't ever remember him getting one, but if he had, he might have been "hooked" like his great-grandkids are!

Our son, Zachary, decided recently he would duplicate the mall cookies.  He and his big sister already had their favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but he went online and searched for an icing recipe to go in between.  His "doozies" were quite a success and a new favorite in our household.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter (not margarine), softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 small package (3.5 ounce) instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.  In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars.  Add pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Drop by spoonfuls (or use cookie scoops...Zachary used a 1 inch cookie scoop for the little doozies) onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks.  When cool, place in airtight container or make into "Doozies".

Doozie Icing
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter (not margarine), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk

In a large bowl, cream together butter and shortening.  Add vanilla.  Blend in the powdered sugar - one cup at a time - beating well in between additions.  Add milk and mix until light and fluffy.  Spread bottom of one chocolate chip cookie with the doozie icing.  Top with another chocolate chip cookie (bottom of cookie to the icing side) to form doozie.
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Tuna Biscuit Sandwiches

Posted by Lori:
When our youngest three children were little, this was one of their favorite foods to eat. I made it for them at least once a week. I don't make it very often now, but when I do, they are always excited. It reminds them of their younger days. Our fourth child doesn't like anything with tuna in it, so he's not so excited.

Tuna Biscuit Sandwiches
1 can refrigerated biscuits
1 can tuna, drained
1 - 2 Tablespoons Miracle Whip (or mayo if you prefer)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Dash of celery seed (optional)
Dash of onion powder (optional)
Dash of pepper (optional)
Milk (a little more than 1/2 cup)
Crushed potato chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Flatten out each refrigerated biscuit into a circle (3-4 inches)and place on cookie sheet. In small bowl mix tuna and cheddar cheese. Stir in Miracle Whip or mayo...just enough to make it not quite so dry. Mix in celery seed, onion powder, and pepper if desired. Place a heaping spoonful of tuna mixture in the middle of each biscuit circle. Fold in half and seal edges.

Have milk in small bowl or small flat dish. Dip tuna biscuits into milk and coat with crushed potato chips. You can mash the biscuits down a little bit to help coat them with the crushed chips. Place biscuits on cookie sheet and bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
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Joe's Banana Bread

Posted by Lori:
Here's another recipe from my husband. He started with a recipe he found on the internet then changed some things to make it his own. One thing he's started doing, even with the Pumpkin Bread I have posted on this blog before, is to add a small package of vanilla pudding to the mix. He takes away the equivalent amount of flour as I will explain below. It makes for an extra-moist bread. YUM!

JOE'S BANANA BREAD
Dusting mixture:
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Bread mixture:
3/4 cup butter, softened (not margarine)
3 cups white sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 (3.3 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding
Enough flour to equal 4 1/2 cups (Note: Place pudding mix into one cup measuring cup, then add flour to equal one cup. Then continue with 3 1/2 cups more of flour)

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
3 Tablespoons butter, softened (not margarine)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease four 7 x 3 inch loaf pans or 2 regular loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup whte sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.

In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda, pudding and flour. Divide into prepared loaf pans.

In small bowl, combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, butter, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over bread batter.

Bake for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
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Rolo Turtle Candy

You may have heard of these easy candies, but maybe not. I sure didn't want you to miss out on another caramel-chocolate treat. :)

1 bag of mini pretzel knots
1 bag Rolo candy
1 bag halved pecans

Preheat oven to 250°F. Place pretzels on a baking sheet. Unwrap Rolos and place one on each pretzel.

Bake in oven for no more than 5 minutes. Candies should be slightly soft, but not melted. Remove from oven and push a pecan into the center of each candy.

Refrigerate until firm.

These are always gone quickly when taken to any event...or when we make them here at home. So many candy recipes are really quick and easy - plus there's no candy thermometer involved, which I especially like!

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Popcorn Cake

Posted by Lori:
Last week our son, Zachary, needed two take desserts for the Student Council Cake Walk carnival game. He made Peanut Blossom cookies, which I'll post later on, and I made this Popcorn Cake. It's like a great big popcorn ball! Different candies could be added, but Zachary wanted M & M's.

12 cups popped popcorn
2 20-ounce packages marshmallows
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 medium (12.6 ounce) package plain M & M's

Put popcorn in very large bowl or container (I used the lid of an angel food cake carrier because it's the biggest thing I have!) In medium sauce pan, melt butter or margarine and marshmallows over medium heat. Pour melted mixture over popcorn and stir until popcorn is coated. Stir in M & M's. Spoon into buttered Bundt pan. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then turn out onto platter. Cut in slices to serve.
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Hand Lotion

Posted by Donna:


I'm breaking the rules today. I decided to post a recipe for homemade hand lotion. Since Christmas is quickly approaching, I may also, periodically, post a homemade gift idea. The hand lotion recipe was given to me by a very dear friend at church. I've made this several times and given it as a gift. The first three items can be purchased at the Dollar Store.


1 bottle baby lotion

1 jar Vitamin E Skin Cream

1 jar Vaseline (only use half of it)



1 bottle Aloe Vera 100% Gel---This is a clear gel. (This has to be purchased at Wal-Mart) Use 1/4 to 1/3 of the bottle.


Whip the four ingredients together. I put my lotion in small, round plastic containers I bought at Wal-Mart--found in the travel container bins. These containers work great to give as gifts. One of my co-workers loved to put the lotion on her hands; then, put on plastic gloves to moisturize her hands.


I'll share another homemade lotion with you later that's great for your complexion and good for dry hands.







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Restaurant-Style Queso

Posted by Lori:

If we are not able to go out and eat Mexican food at a favorite place, we like to create our own versions of our favorite dishes. Queso isn't something we always order because we don't want to spend the extra money, but we sure do enjoy it when it comes complimentary with the chips and salsa. It's also fun to make queso at home and here is our favorite way to make it:

Restaurant-Style Queso

2 pound box of Velveeta
1 can Rotel - mild, regular, or Mexican-style
1 can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder

Place in crock pot and heat on warm or low. Cheese mixture can also be melted over low heat on stove top or in microwave.

Sometimes we add a can of cream of mushroom soup and some browned hamburger meat or sausage to the queso. It's great that way, too.
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Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

I made this cheesecake for are school's annual Fall Festival last night. Several parents are asked to bring homemade desserts and they are sold at the concession stand. Cheesecake is always a quick sell-out and is a favorite of most people (except my husband and three of my children, I might add....crazy, huh?? :)

Gingersnap Crust
2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.  Place all ingredients in food processor or blender, except butter. Grind mixture until nuts are finely ground.  Add butter and mix until well blended.  Transfer mixture to springform pan (which has been sprayed with cookie spray.).  Press mixture into bottom of pan and up the sides of the springform pan.  Bake for approximately 10 minutes.  Bring out and allow to cool.

Pumpkin Cheesecake 
4  8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
1  15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
5 large eggs
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees . Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating on low speed to incorporate each addition. Add flour, spices, and salt; beat just to blend. Beat in vanilla. Transfer filling to cooled crust. Bake until filling is just set in center and edges begin to crack (filling will move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool 1 hour. Run knife around sides of pan to release crust. Chill cheesecake several hours then remove ring.  Top with Cinnamon Cream amd Caramel.

Cinnamon Cream Topping
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Carmal ice cream topping

In small mixing bowl, pour whipping cream and mix with electric mixture until forms soft speaks. Add powdered sugar and blend well.  Add cinnamon.  Now, either spread over top of cheesecake OR place mixture into disposable icing bags, using and a large star tip to make large star shapes of cinnamon cream. Drizzle caramel across top of cheesecake and refrigerate until serving.

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4 Can Soup

Posted by Donna:

I'm going to be honest with you. I'm posting a recipe that I haven't made. A friend of mine gave me this recipe yesterday afternoon. Since I'm leaving to go out of town, I knew I needed to pre-post my recipe before I left; so, this seemed to be the easy thing to do. It sounds so good, and my friend from church said it was wonderful. So, here goes-----

2 lbs. hamburger meat, cooked and drained

1 can rotel

1 can ranch style beans

1 can veg-all

1 can minestrone soup ( Use the Progresso brand.)

Simple, isn't it? It does sound really, really good. I'm anxious to try it when I get home.

If anyone makes it before I do, let me know what you think.

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Brown Sugar Crock Pot Chicken

Posted by Lori:
We're already busy with elementary basketball games, but in one more week we will begin junior high and high school basketball games. Because of this we will have ballgames three to five nights a week, which means a big change in family meal time and schedules.

To combat this challenge I'm trying to do what many of you may already do -think of good crock pot meals for those hectic days. This recipe came from our phone companies' newsletter. I made it tonight and we all agreed that it was great. I served the chicken with broccoli and brown rice. It's got an Asian flair to it, as you can probably tell be the ingredients. The kids liked putting extra juice on their chicken and then mixed it all together with the broccoli and rice. (Note: I doubled the recipe for our family of six and we have some left over.)

BROWN SUGAR CROCK POT CHICKEN
2 pounds boneless chicken pieces (about 4 frozen breasts)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vinegar
1/4 c. lemon-lime soda (I used Sprite since that's what I had)
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper

Place chicken pieces in Crock Pot. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the top of chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours or until cooked (mine cooked for 6 hours). Serves 4.

I moved the Crock Pot around a few times during the cooking to get the juices to the top pieces. You could remove the lid and turn them, but I've heard that if you do that, the heat released causes foods to need 20 minutes more cooking time. I didn't want to do that because I needed it done at a certain time.

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Cream Wafer Sandwiches

Posted by Lori:

These are one of my favorite cookies. They're definitely not for those who are trying to avoid fat. These are fairly time consuming and delicate to work with, but they are also fun to make - especially around the Christmas time. You can cut them into different shapes as desired. I've made them into Christmas trees and circles, and flowers. Hearts would be cute around Valentine's Day.

CREAM WAFERS

1 c. Butter
1/3 c. heavy cream
2 c. sifted flour

Mix butter, cream & flour until well blended. Refrigerate until well chilled. On lightly floured surface roll out dough 1/8" thick. (Only roll out 1/3 of the dough at a time leaving remaining dough in the refrigerator) With small cookie cutter, cut into desired shape. Transfer shapes to waxed paper covered with granulated sugar. Coat both sides and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Prick with fork about 4 times.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 7 to 9 minutes. Allow to cool before making sandwiches.

FILLING:
1/4 cup Crisco shortening
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
Food coloring of desired color

While cookies are baking, prepare the filling.

In a large bowl, beat shortening and butter until creamy with an electric mixer. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar and milk. Add food coloring to tint the filling. Beat on high until the filling is light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Spread filling on half of the cookies (bottom side) and sandwich together with the remaining halves, bottoms together.
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Mexicali Chicken Casserole

Posted by Lori:
Casseroles are one of my favorite things to make because you can just dump things all together and they taste good (most all of the time, anyway!). Mexican casseroles are my families' favorites. My children thought this was a great "posting" recipe for the blog, so here you are! They ate the leftovers tonight and still liked it....even the youngest who is not too crazy about any type of left-over food.

MEXICALI CHICKEN CASSEROLE
2 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cooked and diced or shredded (I use a 2 1/2 pound bag of frozen chicken)
1 16 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel (I use mild)
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups cheddar cheese
12 corn tortillas, torn into bite-sized pieces

Place chicken in large pot and cover with water. Cook on medium-high heat and boil for about 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. Drain water. Remove fat from chicken if desired or if needed. Dice or shred chicken and return to large pot. Add soup, Rotel, evaporated mil, sour cream, onion powder, cumin, and salt. Cook over medium heat until well blended. Add corn tortillas and stir. Pour half of mixture into 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Top with half of cheddar cheese. Pour in remaining chicken mixture and top with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 - 45 minutes at 350 degrees until bubbly and cheese is melted.
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Butterscotch Thins

Posted by Donna:

Last week I was going through old recipes and I found this refrigerator cookie recipe. The first year I taught school in Altus, I was given this recipe by the grandmother of one of my students. She had brought these cookies to school for their snack time. I remember how much I enjoyed them. I also remember making them several times after I got the recipe; but, for some reason, the recipe had been lost among my very disorganized filing system---which I keep saying I'm going to organize. Yesterday, I decided to make these and see if I still liked them as much as I used to. Since they're a refrigerator cookie, I mixed them up yesterday and baked them this morning before leaving for worship services. I wanted to try them out on my grandsons who were at the house all afternoon.

1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup butter flavored Crisco.

Melt the margarine and crisco. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar to the melted margarine and Crisco. Beat one egg with a fork; then, add to the mixture.

Sift 1-1/2 cup flour and 3/4 tsp. baking soda together and stir into the creamed mixture.
Add 3/4 tsp. vanilla and 1/3 cup chopped pecans.

Transfer the dough onto wax paper and shape into a long roll. Roll the dough in wax paper and refrigerate overnight. Slice and place on an ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes. The tops of the cookies should be a golden brown.

The youngest of the three grandsons said he really liked the cookies. The middle one didn't try them because they didn't have chocolate chips in them. Believe me, I understand his thinking. It's hard to beat chocolate chip cookies.


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Ramen Noodle Cabbage Salad

Posted by Lori:

When we have church potluck dinners there are usually at least three of these salads - all a little big different. I like them all. My brother-in-law adds broccoli to his and another lady uses sesame seeds instead of sunflower seeds. This salad has such a variety of flavors and they all mix together for a delicious side to many meals.

Ramen Noodle Cabbage Salad

1 pound package shredded cabbage or slaw mix
5 green onions, chopped
2 packages chicken flavored Ramen Noodle Soup
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 Tablespoons margarine, melted

Combine cabbage (or slaw mix) with green onions and set aside in refrigerator. Crush noodles. Mix with almonds and sunflower seads in 2 tablespoons melted margarine. Place on cookie sheet in oven and brown lightly at 350 degrees, stirring occassionally. Cool and sprinkle with seasoning packet from ONE of soup packages. Place in a separate container and refrigerate.

DRESSING:
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix together sugar, vinegar, pepper, and salt. Then add oil. Store in separate container in refrigerator until ready to serve. Just before serving, mix together cabbage, noodles and dressing.
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Surprise Dinner Rolls

Posted by Lori:
(Note: Some of you may have gotten this last night or this morning via email or other feed. I decided to move it to post again today because Mom and I had both posted for today (my mistake!).

This is another recipe my husband recently found, but then he changed a few little things to make it "his" recipe. It has a surprise ingredient that had I known before I tried them, I would not have thought I would like them. However, they were really good and all four of our children liked them, too.

The best part about the rolls was that he whipped them up one Sunday morning before Bible class and worship, then refrigerated them and baked them afterwards (the recipe instructions are for baking them immediately). Super easy for a dinner roll.

Surprise Dinner Rolls

2 cups self rising flour
3 Tablespoons sugar (can use up to 6 Tablespoons, if you like them sweeter)
6 Tablespoons mayonnaise (regular or light)
1 cup milk
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease muffin tin cups. Mix flour and sugar together. Stir in remaining ingredients. Fill muffin cups with batter to 1/2 full. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes. Serve warm.

After the kids and I had eaten a roll, my husband then told us what the secret ingredient was. I then could tell that it had mayonnaise, but, I never would have guessed it before.

I told my husband I was posting this and he said that he's going to try mustard next time! That doesn't sound good to me at all, does it you? I hope he's joking :).
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Fruit Salad

Posted by Donna:

This recipe really doesn't have a special name---just simply-- fruit salad. I love jello salads; but, I've noticed that they're hardly touched at our fellowship or funeral meals. This recipe is another "go to" that I like to fix for holiday meals. Of course, I'm the one that usually ends up eating most of it.

1 large can fruit salad, undrained ( I think it's the 32 oz. can.)
1-2 oranges, cut into segments
1-2 apples, chopped
1-2 bananas, sliced (Dip the bananas slices in sprite or lemon juice before adding to mixture.)
1 box vanilla jello instant pudding (I have also used banana pudding, but I really like the vanilla better.)

Mix all the ingredients together and chill until time to serve. Pin It Now!

Butterfinger Popcorn Balls

Posted by Lori:

I guess since I'm TRYING to stay away from sugar, it's causing me to want to post "sweet" recipes - last time the Pay Day Bars and today this recipe! Actually, I would like to have one of these right now, so maybe posting it will satisfy me (doubtful :)...)

BUTTERFINGER POPCORN BALLS
6 cups popped popcorn
9 Fun Size or 3 (2.1 oz. each) Nestle' Butterfinger Candy Bars, chopped (my small food processor is messed up, but these are easy to crush by putting them in a small bowl and then smashing them with a glass. Fun, too!)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
3 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Combine popcorn and chopped Butterfinger in large bowl. Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in marshmallows. Heat, stirring constantly, until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour over popcorn mixture; quickly toss to coat well. Spray hands with cooking spray. Form popcorn mixture into six 3-inch balls. Place on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container or wrap individually with plastic wrap.

These are so good. I especially like the marshmallow version of popcorn balls. I'm sure you could use other candy, such as M & M's or Reeses...maybe even Snickers.

Nope. Didn't work. I still want one :).
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Meatloaf Casserole

Posted by Kimberly:

A couple of months ago, I had to have outpatient surgery. A dear friend of mine brought us this wonderful meal which featured meatloaf for supper one night. It was so good that I decided to try my own version of it last night. I invited my neighbor and her 2 year old granddaughter to eat with us, and she really liked it too and wanted the recipe. What makes this meatloaf unique is that you put vegetables underneath it. They cook in the juices from the meat and are so yummy.

Meatloaf Casserole:

2 or 2 1/2 lbs. of hamburger meat
28 oz. can tomato sauce, divided
1 1/2 cup ketchup, divided
1 whole egg and 1 egg white
1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
1/2 a green pepper, chopped
5-6 potatoes
8-10 carrots

Grease a deep 9x13 glass baking dish. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and carrots. Place potatoes and then carrots in the bottom of the dish. (My friend also added celery.) Salt to taste. In a bowl, mix meat, 2/3 can tomato sauce, 1 cup ketchup, eggs, onion, and green pepper. Pour meat mixture over carrots and potatoes. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes. At this point, my meat was starting to brown on top but it and the vegetables needed to cook longer, so I covered it loosely with foil and let it cook another 15 minutes or so. Next, I mixed the remaining tomato sauce and a 1/2 cup of ketchup together and poured it on top. I left the foil off and let it bake another 10-15 minutes. (I think you could probably even do this in the crockpot.)

Obviously, you could use your own meatloaf recipe instead of mine if you have a favorite. This was really delicious and such a hearty meal.

Note to my mom: Please don't try this recipe..... I want to fix it for you and dad next time you come!!!! :) Pin It Now!

Pay Day Bars

Posted by Lori:

Although I don't usually eat Pay Day candy bars (nothing against them, I just usually want chocolate!), I really like these bars. This recipe came from a lady at church over 20 years ago. She made them back then, and I remember asking for the recipe because I liked them so much. And now, she's still making them for church dinners and VBS. I've made the bars before, but it's even more fun to eat them when Erma has made them! Isn't that the way it is sometimes???

PAY DAY BARS
1 yellow cake mix
1/2 cup margarine
1 egg
3 cups mini marshmallows

Mix cake mix, margarine, and egg. Pat into 9 x 13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 12 - 18 minutes. After baked, but while still hot, sprinkle marshmallows over crust. Top with the following mixture:

2/3 cup corn syrup
1 12 oz. package peanut butter chips
1/4 cup margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups salted peanuts

In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat corn syrup, peanut butter chips, and margarine until smooth, while stirring constantly. Add vanilla and stir. Add cereal and peanuts and stir until well blended. Pour over cake mix mixuture.

Allow to cool and cut into bars.
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Refrigerator Salad

Posted by Donna:

If I ever need a quick fruit salad to bring to a fellowship meal, funeral, or Ladies' Night Out, this is the one I usually prepare. It's so quick and easy.

1 cup mandarin oranges (drained)
1 small can pineapple chunks or tidbits (drained)
1 cup coconut
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup sour cream (The sour cream blends so well with the other ingredients; plus, it "tones" down all of the sweetness.)

Mix all the ingredients together and store in the refrigerator.

I grew up eating this salad because Mother fixed it all the time. It was a very common staple during those years. There are so many old recipes that have fallen by the wayside. I think this is probably one of them.


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