Mindy Casserole

6 breasts of chicken
(boil and chop)

12 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
(mix and pour over chicken)

2 tubes of ritz crackers, crushed
1 T poppyseeds
1/2 C butter, melted
(mix and sprinkle on top)

Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 min. Serve over cooked rice

Kelly suggestion--bake with cooked rice under chicken

Black Bean Hummus

Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

Ingredients
* 1 clove garlic
* 1 (15 ounce) can black beans; drain and reserve liquid
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon of Garam Masala

Directions

1. Puree black beans, garlic and lemon juice.
2. Add reserve liquid as need to perfect texture.
3. Add tahini and spices to taste.
4. Process until smooth.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Recipe from OurBestBites

1 C butter flavored Crisco
1 C creamy peanut butter
1 C sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
1 t vanilla
3 eggs
3 C flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

filling:
1 C creamy peanut butter
1/2 c real butter, softened
4 C powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
5-6 T milk

For the cookies:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
Add in vanilla, and eggs one at a time.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to dough. Mix to combine. The dough will be very soft- that's normal!

Roll into balls, roll in sugar, place on cookie sheet (no need to grease it) and do the little forky criss-cross thing.

Now, not only are these cookies doubly sweet because they're sandwiched, but the dough spreads, so make your balls small. I use a regular size 40 cookie scoop and I separate each scoop of dough in half to form 2 cookies, and they're still pretty good sized. A mini scoop is perfect.

Okay, so pop the cookies into the oven and bake for 6-7 minutes. You want them to say super soft, so don't let them get brown. In my oven, and for the size of cookies I do, 6 minutes exactly is perfect. Remove them from pan and cool on a cooling rack.

To make the filling:
Whip the peanut butter and butter together until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Then add milk one T at a time. You may not need it all. You want the filling to be on the thick side, it should just have enough milk in it to make it easily spreadable. If you add too much milk (like a normal frosting consistency) it might squish out of the cookies when you take a bite.

I put the filling in a piping bag, or a hefty zip-lock with the edge cut off to make filling easy. Place filling on one cookie and sandwich another on top. I designed the recipe to have enough filling to be generous :)

With the size I do, I get about 8 dozen cookies, which makes about 4 dozen sandwiches.

Just a note: I think these are actually even better the 2nd day. The flavors mellow together and you get a cool sweet n' saltly thing going on. Plus, after they sit with the filling in them, the cookies get really soft. Mmmm...

Snickerdoodles

Courtesy of Mrs. Sigg on AllRecipes.com

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 10 Min
Ready In: 1 Hr

Yield: 4 dozen

Ingredients
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
• Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

Naan

Original recipe courtesy of allrecipes
Makes 14 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour (3 1/2 if using bread maker)
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional, helps make the bread bubble when cooking)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (for brushing)
  

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  (Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy.) Stir in milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared. 

Tip: If cooking in a pan on the stovetop, cover pan with lid to help create bubbles in the naan. Naan should be browned in spots, but majority should be pale in color. Do not overcook or thin parts of bread will become crispy.

Chicken Korma

We really like Chicken Korma and Tikka Masala, and ever since having it from the restaurant down the street, I've wanted to try making it at home. Armed with some extra time and new spices I got in my Christmas stocking, I decided to have a go using some recipes I found online.

The below is a combination of the following two recipes.
- Main Recipe followed is from AllRecipes
- It was slightly adjusted with information found from McCormick's

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cashew halves
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic paste)
  
• 1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped (or 1/8 teaspoon ginger paste)
  
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 bay leaves, crumbled (or 4 whole and pulled out after)
  
• 1 stick of cinnamon (broken into two pieces)
  
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon garam masala    
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Curry Powder
• OR...
  
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (or lowfat coconut milk)
  
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with equal parts water

Directions

1. Place cashews in a small bowl, and pour the boiling water over nuts. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Place garlic and ginger in food processor and blend until smooth; set aside.
2. Heat oil in wok over medium heat. Cook the bay leaves and cinnamon stick in hot oil for 30 seconds. Stir in onion, and cook until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in garlic/ginger paste, and season with garam masala, turmeric, and McCormick Curry Powder (cumin, coriander, chili powder). Stir in chicken, and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in tomato sauce and chicken broth. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, place the cashews, along with the water in which they were soaked, and the cream and yogurt into food processor. Process until smooth.
4. Stir the cashew mixture into the chicken and onions. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cornstarch mixture, and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes.

OPTIONAL...
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Serve over Basmati rice with a side of Naan.

Shakshuka

We use to have a really good recipe we got from The Hummus Place, but we seemed to have misplaced it, and they no longer have the recipe posted on their site. This looked like a promising alternative recipe to try/use as a base.

From: Recipe Zaar 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon jalapeno, minced and seeded (or more to taste)
• 2 red peppers or green peppers, roughly chopped
• 8 fresh plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 (28 ounce) cans Italian plum tomatoes, strained (peeled)
• 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika or cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, more to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup canned tomato juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 4 large eggs
• za'atar spice mix, for serving
• 4 pita breads, warmed

 Directions

1. Place large saute pan over medium heat, add and heat oil. Add onion and saute until lightly browned.
2. Add garlic, jalapeno and bell peppers, and saute 2 minutes more.
3. Add fresh and canned tomatoes, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add hot and sweet paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper and sugar. Stir for 1 minute.
5. Add tomato juice and vegetable broth and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until mixture is very thick and has little liquid left, about 1 hour; stir occasionally to make sure vegetables do not stick to bottom of pan, and add more tomato juice or vegetable broth as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
6. Gently crack eggs into pan, taking care not to break yolks. Simmer until whites solidify but yolks remain runny, about 8 minutes, or as per personal preference (I would put this under the broiler for a couple more minutes because I hate undercooked eggs).
7. Ladle equal portions of vegetables and eggs into 4 serving bowls. Sprinkle with zaatar to taste, and serve with warm pita bread.

Pumpkin Chili

• Brown 1 lb. ground beef. Drain.
• Add 1 green pepper and 1 onion, chopped. Saute for 5 minutes.
• Add:1 small can of pumpkin, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 2 cans black beans, 1 can white kidney beans, 1 can red kidney beans (all of the above standard size 14-19 oz), 1 can 46 oz. of tomato juice (added to desired consistency), 2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice, 1 TBSP chili powder, 2 TBSP white sugar, 2 TBSP brown sugar, 1 tsp garlic salt.

1. Brown ground beef. Drain.
2. Add green pepper and onion, chopped. Saute for 5 minutes.
3. Add everything else. Add tomato juice to desired consistency.
4. Simmer 1 hour.

Butternut Squash Soup

Original Recipe from AllRecipes.com
(changes marked in green)

Ingredients
* 6 tablespoons chopped onion
* 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (about one squash)
* 3 cups water
* 4 cubes chicken bouillon
* 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
* 1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

Directions
1a. Cut squash in half, remove goop, and bake cut-side down at 375 for 45 minutes.

OR

1b. Cut squash in half and microwave for 8-10 minutes.

OR

1c. Peel and cube the squash. (It's harder to peel uncooked.)

2. In a large saucepan, saute onions until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook until squash is tender (about 20 minutes if starting squash is raw).

3. Puree squash and cream cheese in a food processor in batches until smooth.

4. Put in fridge for later, or return to saucepan to heat for eating. Do not allow to boil.

Vegetarian Chili

From AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 24 oz turkey burger (one pack)
• 3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

Hamburger Patties

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
* 1/2 onion, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup shredded Colby or Monterey Jack cheese
* 1 teaspoon soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 egg
* 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon dried parsley
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat a grill for high heat.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion, cheese, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, egg, onion soup mix, garlic, garlic powder, parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Form into 4 patties.

Try Simple Corn Pudding

Courtesty of NPR

Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 or 6 ears of corn, husked (depending on size)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or milk
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the butter in a baking dish (an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish or iron skillet works well) and slide into the oven so the butter melts while the oven is preheating.

Using a box grater, coarsely grate the kernels off four ears of corn. Use a sharp knife to cut the kernels from the remaining ears. Combine the corn kernels, sugar, cream or milk, flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Lightly beat the five eggs and add to the mixture.

When the oven has preheated and the butter in the baking dish has melted, carefully tilt the melted butter from the baking dish into the corn mixture and combine with a few swift strokes. Then tilt the buttered corn mixture back into the baking dish.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a golden crust has formed and the interior has set.

Mom's Meatloaf

Courtesy of Mom
2 lbs Ground Turkey
1 lbs Sausage
1 pack French Onion Soup Mix
1/2 C Dried Onion
1/4 C Pepper
2 C Carrots
1 pack Spinach
1.5 C oats
2 Eggs

try cream puffs

Courtesy of Tiffany Sorenson

Puff Pastries:
1 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter
1 c boiling water
4 eggs

Sift flour with salt. Combine butter and boiling water in saucepan; cook on low heat until butter is melted. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan. Cook about 2 minutes until mixture is very dry. Remove from heat. Add unbeaten eggs one at a time, beating well with hand mixer after each addition. Continue beating until a thick dough forms. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. (I used a small cookie scoop and it made about 36) Bake at 425 degrees about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 15 more minutes. (Mine only baked a total of 25 minutes) Bake about 30-40 minutes total, or until beads of moisture no longer appear on surface. Do not open oven door during early part of baking. Remove to wire racks to cool. When cool, cut slit in side of each puff'; removed doughy centers, if necessary.

Cream filling:
3 c milk
1 large instant vanilla pudding box
8 oz cream cheese
Mix together and fill cream puffs. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

try coffee cake pastry

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/apple-cream-cheese-coffee-cake?WT.dcsvid=MjA5MzgyNzg2MwS2&rvrin=CD0A145D-0A83-DC11-920E-00110A5B41E6&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_Bisquick_09_17_2009

Macaroni Grille Bread

Courtesy of Natasha Brenchley

1 T. dry yeast
1 T. Sugar
1C. Water (105-115')
2 to 2 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 T. FRESH Rosemary minced
2 T. Melted Butter

1. Put yeast, sugar and water in a bowl and allow to become bubbly
2. Mix in salt, rosemary and 2C. of the flour. Knead for 10 min.
3. Oil bowl, place dough in and cover. Let rise until double
4. Divide dough in half and let rest for 5 min.
5. Spray baking pan with cooking spray. shape dough into 2 round loaves
6. brush with melted butter. Cover and let rise until double
7. preheat oven to 450'. Sprinkle loaves with salt
8. Bake 20-25 min or until they are golden brown.
9. Brush with melted butter as soon as you remove them from the oven.

Serve warm and dip in olive oil and balsamic Vinegar.

Oatmeal Bars

1 cube butter
1/4 c oil
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1/4 c water
1 tsp vanilla Mix well. Add remaining ingredients.

3 c oats
1 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
Add raisins, nuts or chocolate chips as desired. Mix well.
Bake in a well greased 13 x 9" pan at 350 for about 20 minutes.

try blackberry sauce

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112179487

Italian-style Cream Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 env. unflavored gelatine
• 1.5 cups fat-free half-and-half
• .5 cup granular sweetener
• .5 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups Ricotta or Cottage Cheese (Ricotta = vanilla flavor; Cottage = cheesecake flavor)

Directions

1. SPRINKLE gelatine over 1/2 cup of the half-and-half in medium saucepan. Let stand 5 min.
2. Stir in remaining half-and-half, the granular sweetener and vanilla. Cook on low heat until gelatine is completely dissolved, stirring frequently. (Do not boil.)
3. Add ricotta cheese; cover. Blend until pureed.
4. POUR gelatine mixture into blender or food processor.
5. BLEND thoroughly.
6. Pour evenly into eight 6-oz. custard cups or souffle dishes. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set.

Chiles Rellenos de San Joaquin

Courtesy of here.

Ingredients

• 6 poblano peppers, halved lengthwise, stems and seeds removed
• 1 lbs of ground meat
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 T ground cumin
• 12 ounces cheese

Directions

1. Place chiles skin side up on a baking sheet, and broil until skins blister, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to let them burn. You may need to rotate so so more areas of skin will blister.
2. Remove chiles from the oven and place in a glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let chiles steam until cool.
3. Remove and discard the skins.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Meanwhile, cook ground beef.
6. Stir in sliced onions and tomatoes.
7. Season with cumin.
8. Put cheese into each chili.
9. Place rolled chiles into a baking dish and top with the meat mixture sauce. Crumble any extra cheese on top of the sauce.
10. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the sauce is bubbly.