Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz shredded Jack cheese
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
12 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups salsa (or less, to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix chicken, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, 1 cup of the cheese, and 3 Tbsp cilantro (if used).
Spoon 1/4 cup of chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam sides down in greased 13x9 baking dish. Top with salsa and remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Serve with additional sour cream, salsa, and cilantro (if desired).

Recipe from Grammie Cressy

**This is Grampa's favorite meal!**

Cracker Jack Popcorn

Cracker Jack Popcorn

** Best served with fireworks! **

1/2 cup Honey
1/4 cup Butter
3 qt. (12 cups) popped Popcorn
Peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Melt honey and butter together. Mix with popcorn and peanuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes or until it begins to get crispy. Cool.

Jo and John's Pumpkin Cookies

Jo and John's Pumpkin Cookies



2 3/4 cup Flour
1 1/3 cup Oats
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 1/2 tsp Cinnamon*
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Nutmeg*
1 tsp Ginger*
1 tsp Cloves*
1 c. Butter, softened
1 c. Brown Sugar
1 c. Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1 c. Pumpkin puree
Optional: 1 c. m&ms, Chocolate Chips, Peanut Butter Chips, Raisins, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. In separate bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, sugar, egg, and vanilla until fluffy. Add to dry mixture alternately with pumpkin. Fold in remaining ingredients. Drop on lightly greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

* You could substitute 2 Tbsp Pumpkin Spice for these spices (see http://vannessrecipes.blogspot.com/2016/10/making-your-own-pumpkin-spice-blend.html )

Chinese Noodles Chocolate Candy

Chinese Noodles Chocolate Candy

 

4 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
4 cups Butterscotch Chips
2 8.5-oz cans of Chinese Noodles (Chow Mein)
1 jar or can of Cocktail Peanuts (optional)

Melt chips in pan until melted to a smooth paste, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add noodles and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls on greased trays (or waxed paper) or spread in buttered dish. Chill.

Notes:
* The chips can be melted in double boiler fashion, with a bowl set on top of a pan with boiling water. It is very easy to burn the chips if you melt them in a pan directly on the stove. They can also be melted in the microwave.
* It can be really difficult to cut the candy into pieces when it's spread in a buttered dish. It's worth the extra effort to drop by spoonfuls.

Cherry Glaze Dessert

Cherry Glaze Dessert



Graham Crackers, 20 or so
1 cube (1/2 cup) Butter, melted
1/2 cup Sugar

1 large Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup sifted Powdered Sugar
2 cans Comstock Original Country Cherry ready pie filling

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

Crush crackers* with rolling pin in plastic bag. Combine with butter and sugar; spread in bottom of 9x12 inch Pyrex pan. Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool.

Beat the Cream Cheese. Add powdered sugar; mix. Whip heavy whipping cream and fold into the cream cheese mixture. Pour over the graham cracker crust. Spread cherry pie filling on top. Chill overnight, or until set.

From Grammie Cressy

* see Tips and Tricks for Crushing Cookies for helpful suggestions

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

Oreo Ice Cream Cake




Large package Oreo Cookies
1/2 gallon Vanilla Ice Cream (or Cookies n' Cream)
16 oz. Cool Whip

Allow ice cream and cool whip to sit out for a bit (to soften). Crush oreos for crust*. Spread cookies in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.
Mix ice cream and cool whip. Spread ice cream mixture over crust and sprinkle with additional Oreos, either crushed or pieces.
Freeze to set.


* For tips on crushing cookies, see Tips and Tricks for Crushing Cookies

From Grammie Cressy

Tips & Tricks for Crushing Cookies

Tips & Tricks for Crushing Cookies

Tons of recipes call for crushed cookies and it’s not often that you find packages of cookie crumbs or crushed cookies lining your grocery store aisles. So, what do you do? That’s easy. Simply buy a package of the cookies that are needed to make the recipe and get to work crushing them yourself. It’s a fun task that’s easy to do. Plus, your kids will have so much fun crushing the cookies.

Many of you have food processors that have the ability to crush cookies into different size pieces. However, if you don’t have a food processors, there’s no need to fret. As long as you have a rolling pin or hammer and a freezer bag, you’ll be well on your way to having cups full of crushed cookies to add to your recipes.

How To Crush Cookies

1. Pour the desired amount of cookies into a freezer bag with a zip-top closure. Remove the air from the bag and securely seal.
2. Place the filled bag on a flat surface and flatten the bag to create a single layer of cookies.
3. Place a dish towel over the bag. This will help to lessen the chances of the bag tearing or ripping when crushing.
4. Take a rolling pin and roll over the bag of cookies. Continue rolling over the bag until you have reached the desired size pieces of cookie crumbs. If you don’t have a rolling pin, simply use a hammer but be sure to tap the bag gently until you have reached the desired size pieces of cookie crumbs.

Cookie crumbs come in handy for all sorts of desserts such as pie liners, dough add-ins, and even ice cream toppers. So, the next time a recipe calls for cookie crumbs, follow these steps and within minutes you’ll have tasty crumbs that will add a whole new dimension to your desserts.

(from http://www.howto-simplify.com/2011/04/tips-tricks-crushing-cookies.html )

Peanut Butter Balls

Peanut Butter Balls

1 1/2 c. Peanut Butter
3/4 c. Honey
1 1/2 c. dry Milk Powder
1 c. Oats

Optional: Raisins, Chocolate Chips, Nuts, Coconut

Mix all ingredients and roll into bite sized balls. Add optional ingredient(s). Refrigerate until firm.

Cranberry Orange Bread

Cranberry Orange Bread

2 cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 c. Sugar
1 beaten Egg
1/2 c. Orange Juice
Grated rind of 1 Orange
2 Tbsp melted Butter
2 Tbsp Hot Water
1 c. raw whole Cranberries
1 c. chopped Walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Yield: 1 loaf

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl beat together egg, orange juice, orange rind, butter, and hot water; add to the dry mixture. Blend well but do not beat. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts (if desired).

Pour mixture into greased loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes (or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). Cool 15 minutes before removing from pan.

From Country magazine

The Ultimate Banana Bread

The Ultimate Banana Bread

1 1/2 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
3-4 ripe Bananas, mashed
1/4 c. Butter, softened
1 c. Sugar
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
Pinch of Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Yield: 1 loaf

Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat remaining ingredients together until smooth; stir in flour mixture until well mixed. Pour into greased and floured 9-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Creamy Sweet Potatoes

Creamy Sweet Potatoes

5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cooked (canned sweet potatoes also works!)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Miniature marshmallows (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, mash sweet potatoes. Add eggs, orange juice, butter, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt; mix well. Transfer to a greased 3-quart baking dish (or 9x13 inch pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until set. Top with marshmallows, if desired. Return to oven until they just begin to puff and melt, about 5-10 minutes.

Yield: 10-12 servings

From Taste of Home magazine

Butternut Squash with Apples

Butternut Squash with Apples

4-5 lbs Butternut Squash
4 Baking Apples
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Cinnamon

Cut squash in half, remove seeds and fibers; pare; cut in 1/2" slices. Pare and core apples; cut in 1/2" slices. Combine melted butter, sugar, flour, salt and cinnamon. Layer one half of squash in bottom of crock pot; top with half of apple slices and half of sugar mixture. Repeat layers.

Cook time options:
* Auto 5 hours
* High 3-4 hours
* Low 6-7 hours

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

2 16-oz pkgs frozen broccoli florets
6 tbsp butter
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Paprika

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Slightly cook broccoli and spread in buttered 9x12 pan. Heat butter and flour in pan. Once butter is melted, add the salt, pepper, and milk. Stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Pour sauce over the broccoli and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

From Grammie Cressy

Grammie's Strawberry Jello

Grammie's Strawberry Jello

3- 3oz packages strawberry jello
4 c. hot water
3 medium bananas, mashed (about 1 c.)
8oz can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice, undrained
16 oz package unsweetened frozen strawberries, thawed slightly and sliced
1 pint sour cream






Combine the jello and hot water, stirring until dissolved.

Add the mashed bananas, pineapple and strawberries to jello mixture.

Put half of jello mixture in 9x13 pan. Let it set (at least one hour) in refrigerator, leaving the other half out at room temperature. Once the first layer is set, spread the sour cream on top and pour remaining jello over the sour cream. Refrigerate until fully set (at least a couple of hours).

From Grammie Cressy

Pilgrim's Pumpkin Bread or Muffins

Pilgrim's Pumpkin Bread or Muffins
Makes 2 loaves or 4 dozen muffins

2 1/2 c. unbleached flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
2/3 c. vegetable oil
2/3 c. water
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 c. pumpkin
1 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Beat together until well blended. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans (or muffin tins). Bake about an hour (muffins 20 minutes).

Recipe from Gladys Battson

Fritos and Beans

There is some debate as to whether this is an actual meal or not but a true Van Ness knows the answer to this...  Here is a small version of the recipe since most of us don't need to do a whole big pan anymore!

Fritos and Beans

Serves 4 people

1 28 oz can of Bush's Baked Beans (any flavor, especially if it has bacon)
About 5 oz of Fritos
4 Hot Dogs, fried or grilled
Grated Mozzarella Cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Dump beans in 9x9 pan. Slice the hot dogs and mix in to the beans. Bake in preheated oven until the beans are bubbling around the edges. Remove from oven and layer the Fritos over the bean mixture. Apply the Mozzarella Cheese liberally. Return to oven and cook until the cheese is melted and begins to brown.

For nostalgia, this must be served with apple sauce and buttered bread.

Variation:
Use Chili Cheese Fritos and Stagg Chili instead of Baked Beans and Ground Hamburg instead of Hot Dogs

Apple Snickers Dessert Trifle

Apple Snickers Dessert Trifle

Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 10-15

Ingredients:
5-7 green apples
6 Snickers candy bars
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
1 tub Cool Whip

Instructions:
Prepare the instant pudding according to box directions. Place in refrigerator to set while you prep the other ingredients.
Wash, core, and chop apples into small bite-size pieces (you can toss the apples with a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning).
Chop Snickers bars into small chunks.
Layer the ingredients into a large trifle bowl. Begin with pudding, then cover with apples & Snickers. Repeat 1-2 more times. Then, top with a layer of Cool Whip and add some additional apple & candy pieces.

Notes:
There's really no way you can go wrong with this--add additional layers, add Cool Whip to each layer, use a few more or a few less of the apples or Snickers bars...you could even add a little caramel drizzle.
It keeps for a few days in the fridge, but it really is best served soon after making.

Stef's family serves this with holiday meals! They don't layer it, just mix it all together. This way it qualifies as a "salad" instead of a dessert!




http://www.momendeavors.com/2014/02/apple-snickers-dessert-trifle.html

Taco Soup

Taco Soup

A cool weather favorite. Two of our houses have had splats of this on the ceiling...want the story?

1 lb ground beef, browned
1 onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz) chopped tomatoes
1 can kidney, black, or pinto beans (drained)
1 can corn (drained)
1 cup salsa
1 sm can sliced olives (drained)
1 46 oz can tomato juice
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Mix in large stovetop cooker or crock pot. Simmer - the longer the better, several hours or so. 
Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheese, (opt) sour cream.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

Reminiscent of a dish Ginny used to make when she worked at the camp in the Colorado mountains - except that recipe was for crowd portions

Mix: 
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (opt.)

Pour this in a greased crock pot or a 9x9 baking dish.

Sprinkle over this mirxture:
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa

Pour over all:
1 3/4 cup very hot or boiling water.

In crock pot, on high, cook 1 1/2 hours
In baking dish, bake 350, 40 minutes.

Best served warm with ice cream.

Power Porridge Breakfast

Power Porridge Breakfast  

2 to 3 cups Almond or Coconut Milk

1 tbsp lentils

1 tsp flax seeds

1 tbsp hemp hearts (I don't use these - couldn't find them)

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp steel cut oats

1 tbsp sunflower or sesame seeds

1 tbsp raw walnuts

1 tbsp raw pecans

1 tsp Red Star Nutritional Yeast (mine is from Bob's Red Mill)

1 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes

small handful dried cranberries

fresh fruit

spices you might like, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, etc.

Heat almond milk to a gentle boil, add lentils, grains, seeds, oats, stir. Turn down heat, simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer about 15 min. until lentils are tender. You may need to add more or less almond milk to keep the consistency creamy, not runny.

Add the nuts and dried fruit, stir and cover to simmer only until dried fruits have warmed. Can skip this step, just mix them in. Cut fresh fruit on top ( sometimes I stir in frozen fruit from a bag of mixed berries). 

This recipe serves two, or refrig half for another day, reheats well. 

Recipe contributed by Mom

From https://fiftynotfrumpy.blogspot.com/2012/03/happier-and-healthier.html

Chocolate Easy Cake

Chocolate Easy Cake

2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1/2 c. Butter

1/2 C shortening

4 Tbsp Cocoa

1 c. water

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

pinch of salt

 

Boil the butter, shortening, cocoa and water. Add to the flour and sugar, then add everything else. Pour into a greased, 9x13 pan and bake at 375 for 20 min.

 

Frosting:

1/2 c. Butter

6 tbsp milk

4 tbsp cocoa

3 1/2 C powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C chopped nuts (opt)

Melt/boil butter, milk and cocoa. Take off heat and add sugar and vanilla. Let cool slightly. 

Once cake is done and has cooled a bit, pour frosting over cake. Let it sit long enough for the frosting to harden a bit, then enjoy!

Scrummy!!!

Making Your Own Pumpkin Spice Blend

DIY Pumpkin Spice: Your Must-Make Fall Ingredient

Pumpkin spice is our go-to ingredient for baking in the fall, and it’s even better when it’s homemade. Here’s the recipe to make your own pumpkin spice so you can add it to absolutely everything (no judgments here).

By Meghan McAndrews

A staple spice of many fall favorites, this fragrant blend is incredibly easy (and economical) to make at home.

To start, you’ll need all of three minutes and the following ingredients: 

• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg 
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves 

Mix the spices together in a small bowl and take a little whiff. (Smells like heaven, right?) Store the mixture in a clean small jar or spice container. See? So easy.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/tipslibrary/baking-tips/how-to-make-pumpkin-pie-spice

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin spice (see Making Your Own Pumpkin Spice Blend)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin (pure pumpkin puree)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Topping
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat Oven to 325 Degrees
In a large bowl combine Pumpkin, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Eggs, Oil and Vanilla.
Slowly add in Flour, Pumpkin Spice, Baking Soda and Salt and Mix well.
Pour Cake Batter into a 9×13 Baking Dish.
In a separate bowl beat the Cream Cheese, Sugar, Egg Yolk, and Vanilla until combined. 
Spoon Cream Cheese Mixture onto Cake Mixture and swirl using a knife. 
Bake 50 minutes at 325 Degrees or until center is set.Allow to cool before serving. 

http://www.passionforsavings.com/pumpkin-cream-cheese-cake-recipe/