Chicken bog

Last week I was on a recipe bulletin board and someone said she was making Chicken Bog. I HAD to figure out what that was, so I googled it and made it. It was good, kind of a cross between a booyah(for you WI people) and a gumbo, but not as spicy. I did add hot sauce to my bowl.

Chicken bog
http://whippedout.com/

1 stick butter
1 medium onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 package Hillshire Farms beef smoked sausage **Beth's notes: I used sausage with cheddar cheese. Another recipe said to use little smokies.
3 cups leftover chicken (or turkey) or cooked chicken breast diced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 tsp chicken base
8 cups water
4 cups minute rice
fresh ground pepper to taste
hot sauce (optional)

Melt butter in large stockpot. While butter is melting, finely chop onions and garlic. Saute until onion is tender. Add diced sausage(cut into quarters) and chicken and saute for a minute to heat through.

Add half the water, the chicken base and the cream of mushroom soup, fresh ground pepper and simmer for 15 minutes (to allow sausage/chicken flavor to get into water)

Add rest of water, bring to a boil. Add minute rice to boiling liquid, stir, remove from heat and cover with lid. Let sit until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked.
Serve. Each person can optionally sprinkle their bog with hot sauce.

Yeast Bread

My mom got this recipe years ago from a teacher friend. It is very easy to make. I don't always use unbleached flour--unless I plan ahead and buy some for this recipe.

Yeast Bread

Cindy Oliver

2 T salt

4 T sugar

3 T butter

Heat 2 c milk with the above ingredients until butter is melted. Cool.

Dissolve 5 t (2 packages) yeast in 2 c warm water.

Mix the milk mix with the yeast mixture and Add 12 c unbleached flour(I use bleached flour when I don't have unbleached). Mix well and knead until smooth and satiny(about 5 minutes)

Let rise until double--about 1 hour(I turn the light on in my oven and put it in there). Punch down after 1 hour, shape into 3 loaves and put into loaf pans. Let rise 1 more hour. You can brush bread with warm water and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Bake for 35 minutes at 350. Take out of oven and spread butter over tops.

Cucumbers and Sour Cream Dressing

This is one of my favorite ways to eat cucumbers. Kathleen and I love these and in the summer they are usually eaten here once a week at least!

Cucumbers and Sour Cream Dressing

adapted from Sunday Dinner cookbook

2 medium cucumbers, sliced

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

2 T vinegar

1 onion thinly sliced

1/2 t sugar
1/2 t dill weed

pepper

Slice cucumbers and sprinkle with salt. Chill for 30 minutes and then squeeze out excess water. Combine remaining ingredients and mix well.

Beth's notes. I many times skip the salting of the cucumbers and it tastes just fine.

Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken

This was a simple recipe that tasted great. Next time I will puree the tomatoes since Jenna doesn't care for chunks of them in her food. I will also add more crushed red pepper. We all liked this.

Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken
melskitchencafe.com

*Serves 4

1 pound (about 2) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14-ounce) can petite or regular diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like extra heat )

Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Pour over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-9 hours. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Return to the slow cooker and mix the chicken with the juices from the tomato/brown sugar sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in flour tortillas with toppings of choice: lettuce, sour cream, cheese, avocados, etc.

Note: leaving the tomatoes undrained makes for a fairly juicy chicken mixture. If you don't want the finished shredded chicken mixture to be quite as liquidy, slightly drain the tomatoes before using them.

*Freezable Meal: I freeze the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving the next day. I reheat over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

This was an easy cake to make and tasted great. Make sure to use Baker's Joy cooking spray so there will be no sticking.

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
http://cjaneinthekitchen.blogspot.com/

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 teaspoon for blueberries and zest
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
2 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
juice of one lemon
Nonstick cooking spray, for pan
For the Cream Cheese Glaze:
1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk 2 1/2 cups flour with baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of sour cream.
In a bowl, toss blueberries and zest with remaining teaspoon flour; gently fold into batter. Coat a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan with cooking spray. Spread batter in prepared pan.
Bake cake on bottom rack of oven until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes. Invert onto a rack; cool completely, top side up. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving or drizzle with the cream cheese glaze.

Directions for the Cream Cheese Glaze:
Mix the cream cheese with the butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and milk in a bowl. Heat in a microwave oven for 10-15 seconds. Drizzle spoonfuls over the cooled cake.

Bacon and Green Chile Quiche

I made this for Aunt Char's and Rachel's last breakfast here. It was good. I had to sub for the green chilies since I realized at the last minute I was out of them. I used home canned pickled peppers. I liked the sweetness it gave. I would make this again.

Bacon and Green Chile Quiche

recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine and http://www.inspired2cook.com/

1 refrigerated pie crust (half of 15-ounce package), room temperature
8 strips bacon
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 1/4 cups half and half Beth's notes: subbed canned milk
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425°F. Unfold crust. Using wet fingertips, press together any tears. Press crust into 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven; remove foil. Reduce temperature to 400°F.

Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until brown and crisp. Transfer to paper towels and drain. Crumble bacon. Sprinkle bacon, then chilies and green onion over crust. Combine Monterey Jack cheese and cheddar cheese and sprinkle over. Beat half and half, eggs and salt in medium bowl to blend. Pour half and half mixture into crust.

Bake quiche until knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let quiche stand 5 minutes. Cut quiche into wedges and serve. Beth's notes: This was done in about 30 mintes for me.

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin

I can NOT even begin to tell you how wonderful this was. We made it the last night Aunt Char and Rachel were here and Jenna said she was about to drink the sauce. The meat was very tender--did not need a knife to cut this. This will be one of our go to recipes! I did cook this for about 35 minutes. We don't like pink meat and at 25minutes, it was still pink. I did have potatoes and rolls in the oven, so that could have slowed the cooking down.

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin
Melskitchencafe.com

*Makes about 2 1/2 pounds of pork tenderloin, enough to serve 8-10 adults*

Rub Ingredients:
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (2 1/2 lb. total), each tenderloin cut into two chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
Glaze ingredients:
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic *Beth's notes:I used one whole bulb--about 1 generous T.
1 tablespoon tabasco sauce **Beth's notes: I used a generic of Franks hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon, then coat the pork with the spice rub. Heat the oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet that is ovenproof (I used my cast iron skillet) over medium high heat until the oil is hot and rippling. Brown the pork, turning, about 4 minutes total. Leave pork in the skillet.

Stir together the brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat on top of each tenderloin. Roast in the middle of the oven until a thermometer inserted diagonally in center of each tenderloin registers 140, about 25 minutes. Let pork stand in the skillet at room temperature for 10 minutes. The temperature will rise to about 155 while standing.

Overnight Orange Pecan French Toast

I made this when my Aunt Charlotte and cousin Rachel were visiting. We all liked the taste of the orange juice in this recipe. It was very good and could easily be doubled for a large crowd.

Overnight Orange Pecan French Toast
seattlerecipes.blogspot.com

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup chopped pecans
12 (3/4 inch thick) slices French bread
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup 2% milk
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg whites
2 eggs
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, melted butter, and corn syrup. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish, and spread evenly. Sprinkle pecans over the sugar mixture. Arrange the bread slices in the bottom of the dish so they are in a snug single layer.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange zest, orange juice, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, egg whites, and eggs. Pour this mixture over the bread, pressing on the bread slices to help absorb the liquid. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C ). Remove the cover from the baking dish, and let stand for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Skillet Corn

This is a different way to fix corn. We didn't add the cayenne pepper since we didn't know if Aunt Char and Rachel would like that. It was very good--Don's comment was,"This is different, but good."

Skillet Corn
stolenmomentscooking.com

5 T. butter or margarine
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green or red pepper, diced (optional)
1 bag frozen corn
1 T. cumin
2 t. chili powder
2 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1/8 t. cayenne pepper

In a large skillet, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Add onion and optional peppers. Cook until onion is translucent. Add corn and seasonings. Cook, stirring often, until the corn begins to get just slightly crisp. The seasonings can easily be adjusted to taste.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

This was YUMMY! It did taste like a Sopapilla! This was very easy to make. We served it at room temperature and then stored it in the refrigerator.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie
Threeonfood.blogspot.com

2 (8oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 (8oz.) pkgs. refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup honey

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll one can of crescent roll dough, and press it into the bottom of your dish until there are no seams.

Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough, lightly pressing seems together. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon, and set aside. Melt your butter in the microwave. Pour the butter over the top of the cheesecake. Sprinkle your cinnamon and sugar mixture over the butter layer.

Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

Taco Bell Taco Sauce Recipe

Taco Bell sauce is one of Jenna's favorite. We decided to try this when we made fajitas the other night. We did a taste test...side by side and could not tell a difference. This is a keeper.

Taco Bell Taco Sauce Recipe
http://foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/07/homemade-taco-bell-sauce-clone-now-why.html

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons instant minced onion
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Place in sauce pan and stir well, simmer at a very low temperature for 15- 20 minutes. Remove and cool.

Parmesan Roasted Potato Wedges

These were delicious! Easy to make and tasted great. They did stick to the pan a bit, so I will spray the pan next time.

Parmesan Roasted Potato Wedges
http://www.howsweeteats.com/

3 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes (or whatever you have)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon parsley
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450.
Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, then 2 more times to create a ‘wedge.’ Toss with olive oil, herbs, salt & pepper, and parmesan. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes, tossing 3-4 times in between.

Jerk-Style Chicken

This was a very good recipe. I put all the ingredients except the chicken, in the magic bullet to puree. We marinated it for about 6 hours. I used one jalapeno without the seeds.

Jerk-Style Chicken
seattlerecipes.blogspot.com

1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. ground all spice
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 c. chopped onion
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 lb)
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking Spray


Combine first 12 ingredients in a blender, process until well blended. pour mixture into a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag, add onion and chicken. Seal bag; marinate in fridge 1-2 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Prepare grill.

Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill chicken, covered 5 minutes on each side or until done. Yield: 6 servings

Bruschetta Burgers

This was another hit at our house. We love bruschetta, we love pesto and we love hamburgers! Jenna had hers with just pesto and no mayo. This was a great refreshing change from a regular burger. A new favorite burger here.

Bruschetta Burgers
adapted from A Feast For The Eyes

Bruschetta Topping:
2 ripe tomatoes on the vine, seeded
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil or basil puree
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste
Pesto Mayo:
3 Tablespoons good mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon prepared pesto (my recipe is here)
Beef Patties:
Ground beef, seasoned only with salt & pepper
Mozzarella or Provolone cheese, to melt on the burger

For the bruschetta: Mix all the ingredients together except salt. Add salt right before topping the burgers so the tomatoes don’t get watery. Set aside.

For the pesto mayo: In a small bowl, mix the pesto and mayo together. Set aside.

For the burgers: Season your ground beef with salt and pepper, then form them into patties of your desired weight. Cook burgers to your liking either on the grill or on the stove top. Once cooked to your desired internal temperature, place cheese on top of burgers while they're still hot so it melts on the patty.

Assembly: Toast buns or foccacia then generously spread on pesto mayo. Top the bottom bun with patty then scoop bruschetta on top of that. Sandwich it all together with the top bun and eat up.

Dr. Pepper Beans

Sorry for this bad picture. Don't let this steer you away. These were really, really good. Jenna had them warmed up and really liked them, too. I did cook them for 1.5 hours. I cut the bacon after the picture. Next time I will chop the bacon and mix it in with everything else.

Dr. Pepper Beans

2 25 oz cans pork and beans(we used Bush's)
3/4 cup Dr Pepper (we used Diet Dr Pepper)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 T prepared mustard
1 large onion, chopped
5 slices bacon(next time we will chop this up and mix in.)
　
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 2 qt. casserole. Mix everything except the bacon and put in casserole. Lay bacon on top. Bake 1-2 hours.
　
Recipe credit: Rural Missouri

Lemon Drop Cookies

Kathleen made these on Monday. They are very good. We used a small cookie scoop to make the cookies, but decided next time to make them smaller. They are very good.

Lemon Drop Cookies
Cjaneinthekitchen.blogspot.com

2 c. sugar
1 1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon extract
4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
Finely chopped zest of one lemon
1 (6-oz) package lemon drop (sometimes these are tricky to find, I usually keep two or three bags in my pantry)
2 c. powdered sugar
juice of two lemons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In mixing bowl, cream sugar, shortening, and eggs; add flavorings. Stir in dry ingredients, lemon zest, and crushed lemon drops (I crush them in my blender). Roll into balls, flatten slightly, and bake on parchment lined (if you don't use parchment, cookies will stick to pan) baking sheet for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly on pan for a couple of minutes. Make a glaze by mixing powdered sugar with lemon juice. Brush glaze over cookie tops. Let cookies cool completely. ****We sprayed the pans with cooking spray--just don't let them sit too long on the pans or they stick.

BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

This was THE best salad I have made in a long time. It was very filling. I made this for my husband and me and made individual plates. We made this again for Sunday lunch after telling my girls how good it was. We only used 1 can of beans for 6 plates. I think you could use thawed frozen corn or canned corn in place of the fresh sweet corn. The second time I made it I grilled 3 chicken breasts on the George Foreman grill before church and placed them in the fridge. I didn't use the tortilla chips the first time we made this--when I took the picture.

BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad
cjaneinthekitchen.blogspot.com
These proportions fed 5 adults and 7 kids with some leftover. Adjust quantities according to how many you are serving.

4 large chicken breasts, grilled ***I used left over Parmesan chicken from here.
3 hearts of romaine
5 fresh ears of corn, cooked, cooled and removed from cob
2 cans black beans
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 avocados
4 Roma tomatoes
tortilla chips
your favorite prepared ranch
cilantro
1 garlic clove
1 lime
your favorite bbq sauce

For dressing, put 1 cup of ranch in blender with 1/2 bunch cilantro, juice of 1 lime and 1 garlic clove. ***Beth's addition: a squirt or two of bbq sauce

Grill chicken breasts, seasoning with barbecue sauce. Cool in fridge and cube.

Wash and chop romaine and toss with dressing. Arrange on platter or in a salad bowl, top with tomatoes, corn, beans, cheese, avocado, chicken and drizzle with bbq sauce. Top with some chips. Enjoy!

Taco Pasta

I made this while the girls were gone and Don and I both really liked it. It makes enough to feed 4-6. If you like tacos and pasta, this is the dish for you. I served it with Queso dip and chips.

Taco Pasta
adapted from Delish by http://www.amanda.fakeginger.com/

1 pound ground beef or turkey
8 ounce small dry pasta shapes***Beth's notes: I doubled this per original posters notes.
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
4 tablespoon taco seasoning
3 ounce cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup(Beth's notes:3/4 cup) of pasta water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. A few minutes before the meat is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet. Once the meat is cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Drain meat mixture. Mix in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit.

Zucchini AuGratin

This was very good. I made it about 10:00 one morning while my girls were gone and ate 1/2 of it for 'brunch'! Sure makes me miss my garden!

Zucchini AuGratin
pennypinchingprovisions.blogspot.com

3 T butter
2 tsp onion powder***Beth used 2 T fresh minced onion
2 zucchini (about 1-lb) sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg (secret ingredient!)
1 T flour
1/2 c milk
3/4 c bread crumbs (I used crushed Ritz crackers)
3/4 c grated sharp Cheddar

Preheat oven to 400

Melt butter. Add onion powder and zucchini. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg, then cook 5 more minutes (Instead of cooking in this step, next time I would just add these ingredients, and do the cooking in the next step so the zucchini will stay firm) ***Beth's notes---I did not cook for 10 minutes--just sauted the zucchini in butter about 2 minutes and then moved on. Turned out perfect!

Stir in flour. Add milk and cook on low until a sauce is formed.

Pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Combine bread crumbs (crackers) and cheese and sprinkle on top. Dot with 1/2 T butter cut into small bits. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

Cucumber Sandwiches

I remember Dora McCoy and Eva Martinson from church bringing these sandwiches to potlucks when I was a kid. I loved them! This recipe comes from Zion Lutheran Church cookbook from Mondovi, WI.

Cucumber Sandwiches

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 pkg dry Italian salad dressing

1 c sour cream

2 T mayo

dillweed

1 loaf cocktail rye bread

cucumbers

Blend together cream cheese, dressing, sour cream and mayo. Spread on rye bread. Top with cucumber slice. Sprinkle with dill weed.

*** With the leftovers 'spread', I diced up cucumbers and spread this on rye Triscuts. YUM.

Strawberry Margarita Squares

This is the perfect dessert for a hot day. It is a great one to have in the freezer for unexpected(or expected) guests. I think next time I will use a little more butter for the crust.

Strawberry Margarita Squares
Kraft Food and Family Magazine

1 1/4 cups crushed pretzels
1/4 cup melted butter
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup pureed strawberries
1/2 cup lime juice
1 carton (8oz) whipped cream

Combine butter and pretzels in a 13x9 pan. Press firmly into bottom of pan to create a crust. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

Combine milk, strawberries, and lime juice in a large bowl. Mix well. Add whipped cream, and fold until smooth. Pour over crust. Freeze at least 6 hours or overnight.

Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with extra whipped cream and berries if desired. 12 servings-or more

Grilled Jalapeno Poppers

I took a few recipes and combined them to make these. I mixed cheddar cheese and cream cheese to stuff in some and put a little smokie in some and then covered them with cream cheese. The first picture was taken before the ones with smokies had cream cheese on them and they were wrapped in bacon. I did grill them and then put them under the broiler for a bit to crisp up the bacon.

Grilled Jalapeno Poppers

jalapenos

cheddar cheese

cream cheese

little smokies

bacon (most recipes say to cut into thirds....if you like bacon, cut each slice in half)

Cut jalapenos in half, taking seeds out. Mix equal parts of cream cheese and cheddar cheese and 'stuff' into peppers. Wrap with bacon. For the ones with smokies: Put the smokie in the pepper, cover with cream cheese and wrap with bacon. Grill until bacon is crispy.

Grilled Sweet Corn

I love sweet corn on the grill. I grew up going to choir corn roasts to kick off a new year of church choir. We did this for July 4th---it was just me and Don here. Tasted and smelled like the county fair!

Grilled Sweet Corn

sweet corn

water

grill

Soak the sweet corn in the husks with the silk in it, in water for 4-8 hours. Start your grill and get it hot. Grill the corn for 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning frequently. Take it off the grill and using oven mitts, cut off the base end about 1/2 inch up. Take off the husks, spread with butter and salt and pepper. We like our corn to have a little "burn" on it.

Parmesan Chicken Bake

I found this on a blog last week and knew we would like it. It was very quick to make up. We had spent the day running up to Marble Falls on Sat. I came home and was able to thaw the chicken and quickly put it together and get it in the oven with baked potatoes for dinner. I used fresh grated parmesan cheese, but I think Kraft from the can would work fine. Next time I will go easy on the dry Italian dressing, too. I used a homemade mix and 2 T= 1 pkg. 1 T was too much. Don gave it a thumbs up.

Parmesan Chicken Bake
cuttingbackkitchen.blogspot.com

6 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup olive oil

Cooking Day:
Mix together cheese, garlic, and dressing mix. Dip chicken breasts in olive oil, then coat with cheese mixture. Wrap each chicken breast individually in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag. Place all wrapped chicken breasts in a freezer bag.

Serving day:
Thaw completely. Unwrap desired number of chicken breasts and place in a greased baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes until chicken is tender and no longer pink.

***You don’t have to prepare these for the freezer, you can make up the recipe and go ahead and bake. Also, you can double or triple this recipe for the freezer!
Recipe credit: Don't Panic More Dinner's in the Freezer

Refrigerator Sweet Pickles

This is Don's grandmother's recipe. My notes say I started making this in 2001. Kathleen just loves these and sometimes will share with the rest of us! I made a half batch this time, used just 1 large green pepper and 3 sweet onions. I used a mandolin to slice the onions and cukes.

Refrigerator Sweet Pickles

14 c. sliced cucumbers

5 green peppers, cut small
7 onions, cut up (or less)

2 T. salt

4 c. sugar

1 t. celery seed

2 c. vinegar

Mix all together and let stand 2 hours. It makes its own juice. Can be eaten the next day. This keeps for a few months in the refrigerator.

Lemonade with Oranges and Lemons

I am not sure where my mom got this 'recipe', but she made it many times for the 8th grade graduations when she was teaching. It is a refreshing drink to make and have in the fridge during the summer. Easy to remake, too. I quartered the lemons and oranges this time to make them easier to get in this container. I like using water/milk jugs because they are easy to shake and mix.

Lemonade with Oranges and Lemons

Country Time Lemonade mix

sugar

3 lemons

3 oranges

In the large Country Time(around $6 from Sam's or Walmart) is a scoop that is about 2-3 T. Put 6 scoops of lemonade in a gallon container. Add 2 (lemonade) scoops of sugar to the container. Slice up oranges and lemons(sometimes I only use 2 lemons and 2 oranges depending on their size) Add the fruit to the container. Add water and mix well.

When you finish drinking the lemonade, just add 6 scoops of lemonade mix and 2 scoops of sugar to the lemons and oranges and make up another batch. Keep using the same oranges and lemons until they turn bitter.....you may get 6 or 7 gallons out of one batch of fruit!

Jalapeno Popper Dip

I don't know where I go this recipe, but it is a great one. I used about 1/4 c pickled jalapenos since that is what I had on hand. I took this to a church party and everyone liked this, too. The picture was taken before baking.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
2 ounces diced jalapeno peppers, drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Bread Crumbs

Mix the first 5 ingredients together. Top off with bread crumbs. Bake 350 for 30 minutes.
Serve with favorite crackers or chips.

Mexicali Spoon Bread Casserole

This is an easy recipe that I have been making a long time. I got it off a recipe e mail list I was on in the 90's.

Mexicali Spoon Bread Casserole

John Weber, mm-recipes mailing list 10/97

1.5 lb ground beef(we use 1 pound)

1 large onion, chopped

1/4 c green pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 can whole kernel corn

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 c black olives, sliced(opt)

Topping

1 1/2 c milk

1/2 c corn meal

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 c cheddar cheese, shredded

2 eggs

Heat oven to 375. Cook and stir the meat, onion, garlic and green pepper until the onion is tender and the meat is browned. Drain. Stir in tomato sauce, UNDRAINED corn, salt, chili powder, pepper and olives. Heat to boiling and then reduce and simmer uncovered while mixing up the topping.

Mix the milk, cornmeal and salt in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until just boiling. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and eggs. Put the meat mixture into a 2-3 qt or 9x13 pan. Immediately pour the topping over. Bake for 40 minutes, uncovered until a knife comes out clean.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

I found this on a recipe blog and knew I had to make it. I took it to a church get-together and it was a hit. I think it would make a great breakfast coffee cake.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake
(adapted from Dozen Flours)

2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 325F. Spray Bundt pan with Pam, then dust with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Save the remaining sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter on medium speed for one full minute. Add 1 c sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl and add the brown sugar, mixing until it looks light brown and uniform in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for 1 full minute. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream; beat well.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture.(Use more of this since there will be quite a bit for the top.) Spread the rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely

Poor Man's Filet Mignon

This recipe comes from the magazine Country July 1991 edition. I hadn't made this in a long time and everyone really liked it.

Poor Man's Filet Mignon

2 pounds lean ground beef
4 slices bread, crumbled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons dried celery flakes
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 bottle (18 ounces) hickory smoke-flavored barbecue sauce, divided
2 pounds lean ground beef
12 bacon strips
In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients and 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Form into 12 patties. Wrap a bacon slice around the sides of each patty and secure with a toothpick.

Place on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until meat is no longer pink; basting frequently with remaining barbecue sauce the last 30 minutes. Yield: 12 servings.

Tangy Crystal Light

I had this at a Bible Study last week and went home and immediately made it! Kathleen and I drank most of the 2 qt container! This is a great very low calorie drink for the summer! Thanks, Janet for the 'recipe'.

Tangy Crystal Light

1 tub(2 qt) any flavor Crystal light

1 2 liter bottle diet ginger ale or lemon lime soda

Pour the Crystal light into a 2 qt pitcher. Add ginger ale---slowly as this will foam quite a bit. Server over ice