Friday, December 25, 2015

Green Olive Dip


8 ounce package cream cheese
small jar pimiento stuffed green olives
heaping tablespoon ranch dressing
green onion

Slice 4 green onions

Drain and chop olives, reserve juice.

Mix cream cheese with ranch dressing (or mayonnaise or greek yogurt)
and some of the olive juice to desired dipping consistency.
Stir in the olives and onions.

Serve as a dip for vegetables
or a spread for crackers.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Lasagna Soup in the Crockpot

1 pound ground beef
1 pound Italian sausage
1 medium onion
3-4 cloves garlic
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 can (24 oz) prepared pasta sauce
1 box (32 oz) chicken broth
1 can (15 oz) stewed tomatoes
6 to 8 lasagna noodles
salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef and Italian sausage. Drain off the grease.

Add to your crockpot with the pasta sauce, 
stewed tomatoes and broth.  (Beef broth is good too!)

Add chopped onion, minced garlic, and seasonings.
Cook on high for 4 hours.

About an hour before you are ready to serve, 
add the broken lasagna noodles.
(You may need to add some water.)

Top with shredded Mozzarella or Parmesan Cheese.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Turkey a la King

3 Tbsp. butter
1 small onion, diced
1/4 pepper, red or green, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken or turkey broth
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups chopped cooked turkey

Gather your ingredients.

Melt butter or margarine over low heat.
Saute onion, peppers, and garlic.

Mix the seasonings with the flour.

Stir the seasoned flour into the 
butter/sauteed vegetables to make a paste.

Add milk and broth gradually.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 
until bubbly and thickened.

Add cut up turkey.

Heat through.

Serve over baking powder biscuits
or dinner rolls, split and toasted.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 package cream cheese, softened
1 can chicken, drained
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
8 ounces shredded Colby Jack cheese

I like to use the lowfat Neufchatel cheese
on most occasions.
Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce is always a favorite.
And this weekend, perhaps leftover turkey 
would be a suitable substitute for the canned chicken.

You have the option of combining the ingredients 
with your electric mixer...

Or layering them in your oven-proof pie plate.


Sprinkle with Shredded Cheese.
Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve with bread, celery sticks or torilla chips.

Enjoy the big game!

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup in the Crockpot

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained
1 cup uncooked brown rice, rinsed and drained
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. sage
10-12 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper, to taste


Combine prepared vegetables, chicken, 
broth, and wild rice.


Add seasonings and brown rice.
Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

Remove chicken breasts to a plate and shred into bite
size pieces. Return to crockpot.

Reduce crockpot setting to low.
Salt and pepper to taste.


Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Cheesy Broccoli Soup in the Crockpot


Cheesy Broccoli Soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can evaporated milk
1 16 oz. pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
1 lb. processed cheese product (like Velveeta)
frozen hashbrowns with onions and peppers
pepper to taste

Line your crockpot to make clean-up easier.
Start with the canned soups.

Add the chopped broccoli,

frozen hash browns, and cheese.

Gently fold together until ingredients are combined.

Cook on high for approximately 4 hours.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Omelet Breakfast Bites ~and Tuesday's Tips of the Day

Omelet Breakfast Bites
36 tator tots or potato crispy crowns
6 eggs
3 tbsp. milk
freshly ground nutmeg

Diced Ham
Chopped Red and Green Peppers
Minced Yellow Onion
Chopped Fresh Spinach
Chopped Fresh Mushrooms

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease muffin tin.
Place 3 tator tots or potato crispy crowns in each cup.
Tuesday's tip:  When we made these in my foods class, students used a cooking spray.
The breakfast bites were difficult to remove and the pans were difficult to wash.
Here, I am using plenty of shortening to grease the pan.

Flatten potato tots or crowns in bottom of muffin cups.
Bake at for 8- 10 minutes.

Tuesday's tip: I used my Pampered Chef Tart Shaper.
Or you may use the bottom of a small glass.

While potato crusts are baking,
prepare the rest of your ingredients.

When potatos are done, remove from oven 
and reduce the temperature to 350 degrees.

Peppers, Onions, Spinach, Ham and Cheese.
Use whatever omelet ingredients you have in your refrigerator.

Tuesday's Tip: For ease in food preparation, 
use small sauce dishes for individual ingredients.

Whisk together eggs, milk and freshly ground nutmeg.

Tuesday's Tip: Other online recipes call for 8 eggs and 1/4 cup milk.
We found that the muffin cups overflowed, 
which contributed to our problem of getting them out of the pan in one piece.

Fill cups with desired ingredients.
You can individualize these according to tastes.

Pour in egg/milk mixture.

Top with shredded cheddar.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Rim with a table knife and remove from the pan.


Tuesday's Tip:
Make a full batch and freeze the leftovers.
Later, you can zap them in your microwave 
for just a couple of minutes for a quick breakfast to go.
I placed them in a plastic container with waxed paper between the layers.