Saturday, May 31, 2008

Bacon and Swiss Quiche

Ingredients

1 (9-inch) frozen pie crust, thawed
1 pound sliced bacon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, or as needed
1-1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick bottom and sides of pie crust and bake 10 minutes, until lightly brown; set aside to cool.

Place bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

In a bowl, mix eggs, milk, mustard and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, toss bacon with flour to lightly coat. Spread 3/4 bacon mixture and Swiss cheese over bottom of pie crust. Pour egg mixture over bacon mixture. Top with remaining bacon mixture.

Bake 1 hour until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

Yields 8 servings

**Thoughts~Tasty**

Friday, May 30, 2008

Hamburger Chop Suey

Ingredients

1-1/2 pounds hamburger
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
bean sprouts, drain juice and set aside
3 tablespoons corn starch

Directions

Brown burger and drain grease. Add onion and celery, cook 5 minutes. Mix salt, pepper, soy sauce & brown sugar. Add to burger. Add bean sprouts. Add corn starch mixed with bean sprout juice & cook 20-30 minutes. Serve over white rice.

**Thoughts~Double the brown sugar and soy sauce**

Sausage Cheese Balls

Ingredients

2 lbs. Jimmy Dean sausage, uncooked
1-1/2 cups all-purpose baking/biscuit mix
16 ounces Sharp Cheddar cheese (or 4 cups shredded)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shred cheese and mix all ingredients. Form into 1" balls. Bake 15 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet until golden brown.

For a firmer texture, add an extra 3 cups of baking/biscuit mix and an extra 2 cups of cheese.

Yields about 6 dozen.

**Thoughts~Delicious! Huge hit at holiday parties.**

No Bake Cheesecake

Ingredients

1 graham cracker pie crust
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces Cool Whip topping, thawed
fresh fruit for garnish (I usually use strawberries)

Directions

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beat well. Blend in sour cream and vanilla. Fold in whipped topping. Blend well. Spoon into crust. Chill at least 4 hours. Garnish with fruit. For a really attractive dessert, decorate with peeled & thinly sliced kiwi fruit and halved strawberries.

**Thoughts~I adore this recipe, but Jeff seems to prefer a more traditional cheesecake.**

Monday, May 26, 2008

Cabbage Sausage Supper

Ingredients

2 pounds smoked sausage, halved and cut into 3/4-inch slices
1 large onion, cut into eighths
1 medium head cabbage, chopped
1/2 cup water
1 pound carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

Directions

In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until sausage is lightly browned and onion is tender; drain. Add the cabbage and water. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes. Stir in the carrots and potatoes. Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

**Thoughts~Hmmmm, this recipe was okay. It seemed to be lacking something though. It obviously needs salt, but there was something else missing.**

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Beef & Tomato Mac

Ingredients

3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cook macaroni according to package directions.Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomatoes and corn. Drain macaroni; stir into beef mixture. Cook, uncovered for 12-15 minutes or until heated through; season with salt and pepper.

**Thoughts~I sometimes add some butter to this while I am cooking. I just love the buttery flavor.**

Sausage 'N Sauerkraut

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, halved and sliced
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 package (16 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a large skillet, saute the potatoes in oil for 5-6 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in onion; saute for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Add the sausage, sauerkraut, pepper and salt. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

**Thoughts~Darn delicious!**

Friday, May 16, 2008

Butter Beef

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 pounds cubed beef stew meat
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
  • egg noodles

DIRECTIONS

Place the beef and butter into a slow cooker. Sprinkle the onion soup mix over. Cover, and cook on Low for 8 hours, or High for 4 to 5 hours. Stir once or twice. Serve over egg noodles.

**Thoughts~Okay, I can honestly say that I might not make this again. It had great flavor, but I just didn't enjoy it. Maybe if I put it over rice instead of noodles.**

Deep-Dish Pizza Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound ground round
1 (15 ounce) can chunky Italian-Style tomato sauce
Cooking spray
1 (10 ounce) refrigerated pizza crust dough
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
veggies that you like....onion, green pepper, mushrooms, etc.

Directions

Cook meat in a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until brown. Crumble and Drain. Add tomato sauce and cook until heated.

Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Unroll pizza crust dough and press into bottom and halfway up sides. Top with meat mixture and veggies.

Bake uncovered at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Top with cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes or until crust is browned. Cool 5 minutes before cutting.

Makes 6 servings
Weight Watchers~6 points per serving

**Thoughts~When I was on Weight Watcher's we ate this recipe almost every Friday. It satisfies that pizza craving I get. Great recipe!**

Italian Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
20 ounce raw potatoes, sliced
frozen bag (16 ounce) of green beans or green bean mix
1 (8 ounce) bottle Fat-Free Italian Dressing

Directions

Spray inside of Crockpot with cooking spray. Lay chicken on bottom. Pour 1/2 of dressing over chicken. Layer potatoes and green beans. Pour remaining dressing over all. Cover, cook on low 8 to 10 hours.

Weight Watchers~1 chicken breast with 1/4 of the potatoes=6 points
if you add 1 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese, you need to add 1 point

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Indoor S'mores

Ingredients

3/4 c. light corn syrup
3 tbsp. butter
1 pkg. (11.5 oz.) chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
9 c. golden grahams cereal
3 c. miniature marshmallows

Directions

Grease 9 x 13 pan. Heat syrup, butter, and chips to boiling,
stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Pour over
cereal in bowl, toss until coated. Fold in marshmallows, 1 cup at a
time. Press in pan with buttered back of a spoon. Let set for 1
hour, cut into squares. Store lightly covered at room temperature.

**Thoughts~Yum!**

Oven-Fried Pork Chops

Ingredients

4 pork loin chops, cut 3/4 inch thick
2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix or corn bread stuffing mix, crushed

Directions

Trim fat from meat. Pour margarine or butter into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Combine egg, milk, and pepper. Dip chops into egg mixture. Coat with stuffing mix, and place in pan.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. Turn chops. Bake about 10 minutes more or till no pink remains and juices run clear.

Makes 4 servings

**Thoughts~I started making this recipe while I was still in college, and I hope to never lose this recipe. It's delicious! The pork comes out so tender.**

Pot Roast

I don't have an actual recipe for pot roast. I stick it in the crockpot in the morning with 1 package Au Jus gravy, 1 package Brown gravy, and between 1 & 2 cups of water. Then I let this cook all day. Usually a couple hours before serving I throw in some carrots and onions, and then I make mashed potatoes to serve on the side. So easy and so yummy!

Banana Cream Brownie Dessert

Ingredients

1 pkg. brownie mix (13x9 inch pan size)
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
3/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped and divided
3 medium firm bananas
1-2/3 cup cold milk
2 pkgs. (5.1 ounce) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) carton cool whip

Directions

Prepare brownie batter according to package directions for fudge-like brownies, stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup peanuts, spread into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Slice bananas, arrange in a single layer over brownies. Sprinkle 1/4 cup nuts and 1/4 cup chocolate chips over bananas.

In a bowl, beat milk and pudding mixes at low speed for 2 minutes. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread over top. Sprinkle with remaining chips and nuts.

Refrigerate leftovers.

**Thoughts~I have never made this recipe, but I was lucky enough to eat it when Jeff's Grandma made it. So tasty! When reading the recipe though, I often think about trying this with a banana pudding mix.**