French Fry Casserole

I have really slacked in the recipe department, no lie there.

But I do have good reason.

As you all know, Im sure, we are in the middle of the *hopeful* adoption of Kayla's biological baby brother due very early Feb, 2010. So things are crazy to say the very least. Its not going nearly as smooth as Kayla's adoption.

Anyways, I got a wonderful Christmas present from a blogger friend, who is more than just a blogger friend. I feel like I personally know them. They are the most kind, caring, thoughtful people I have ever met and I am lucky to 'know' them.

The Christmas Present you ask?

A cook book from their church full of delish recipes!

The first recipe I made from the cook book is French Fry Casserole.

1 lb hamburger, 1 can cheddar cheese soup, 1 can golden mushroom soup, frozen french fries Press uncooked burger into a square cake pan, add any seasonings on top you want. i just do salt and pepper. Mix the 2 undiluted soups and pour ove rmeat. Top with generous layer of frozen french fries and bake at 350 for about 1 and a half hours.

I cant tell you how this turned out because it's in the oven as I type this. I cant wait to dig in!

Cheerios Treats

This recipe was as easy as could be and oh so yummy.
I decided to make this because yesterday was the first of Kayla's WIC checks that we got THREE huge boxes of cheeries. I know she/we cant eat it all in a fair amount of time and over every month we would just have a ton of Cheerios. So, I made this.

Im hosting a Pampered Chef party this weekend and Im going to be making this along with a slew of other things.

Cherrios Treats

5 cups Cheerios
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 tbs butter
1 package mini marshmallows

Melt 3 tbs butter in saucepan. Melt in marshmallow and peanut butter. Remove from heat. Stir in Cheerios. Mix well. Press into 13x9 pan. Cool. Cut into squares.

It comes out sorta like Rice Krispie Treats, only with Cheerios and peanut butter instead.

Its hard for me to stay from these so I gave half of the pan to my neighbor.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

TIME: Prep: 10 min. Bake: 15 min./batch
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2)
1-3/4 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients; beat in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg, bananas and oats; mix well. Stir in chips and nuts.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Yield: 4 dozen.


I skipped the chocolate chips and added raisins. These cookies are so GOOD! It was hard to stay away from them. So...yeah..I ended up throwing them away only because I couldnt stand to let myself eat anymore, and I had noone to give them to.

Cheesy Corn with Chile's

I bought myself a new slow cooker recipe book and Im so excited to try every single one!

The first one I tried was Cheesy Corn with Chile's because I was invited to Mexican night in my friend's neighborhood since I am always at her house. I seem to be part of her neighborhood these days.

The recipe turned out great. The corn was fantastic. I did omit the very last step...only because I forgot. When I make this dish again, I will still omit the very last step.

Makes 12 servings.

2 16-oz packages frozen whole kernel corn (thawed)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)
1 14 3/4 oz can cream style corn
1 cup chopped tomato
1 4-oz can diced green chile peppers, undrained
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 16-oz carton sour cream
cilantro

1. In 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker combine, whole kernel corn, cheese, cream corn, tomatoes, chile's, onion, chili powder, salt.

2.Cover and cook on low heat for 5-6 hours or high heat for 3 hours.

3.Turn off cooker. Gently stir in sour cream and cilantro. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Again, I accidentally omitted step 3, and the corn still turned out great. I had many compliments on this dish and will make it again.

I will return!

After our long trip to PA, and a long adjustment after getting home, and a sinus infection while battling with a severe allergy to poison oak, and teething and the purchase of a brand new car, and some teething and a terrible week....

I was left totally, comepletely and utterly exhausted.

But now, I shall return soon with new recipes!

Delay

There will be a big delay of postings on this blog. I will not be home for 4 weeks starting next weekend. So until then, Im trying to rid my fridge of what is already in there instead of buying new things to make new recipes.

But after our trip, I will be back at it! Mid-July.

Sausage Meatballs

These were soooo easy and sooo yummy! Cant wait to make them for Nick when he gets home!

SAUSAGE MEATBALLS
MEATBALLS:
2 lb. ground sausage
1 c. bread crumbs
2 eggs
SAUCE:
1 1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
Combine the sausage, bread crumbs and eggs. Form into meatballs. Brown the meatballs well and drain.
Combine ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar and red wine vinegar, in a saucepan. Heat and stir until sauce is smooth. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer 30 minutes. This can be frozen and reheated in a moderate oven 30 minutes.

Pampered Chef's Clubhouse Chicken Squares

This Clubhouse Chicken Squares recipe comes from The Pampered Chef, which of I am a huge fan. I have a kitchen full of The Pampered Chef items!

This recipe is DELISH! And after making it, it sparked come creativity in my little brain because not only can you use these toppings but I thought of making so many other toppings. Almost anything is possible with this. You could do plain pizza toppings, BBQ chicken pizza topping, taco toppings, you could do BLT,turkey, ham...so much.

I took the ingredients to a friends house and we made this for dinner.

This was very easy and very worth it. In fact, Im going to have leftovers for breakfast this morning.

Clubhouse Chicken Squares

2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls, 1 package 8 oz cream cheese softened, 2 tbs mayo, 1 garlic clove, (Plus use only 1 garlic clove. My friend added 3 garlic cloves and the morning after I'm still tasting garlic, Edward Cullen wont be coming after me! LOL!) 1 tsp dill, 1 can 10 oz chicken drained and flaked, (We used the oscar mayer chicken in the deli section)2 plum tomatoes seeded, diced, 1/2 of a small cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (We love cheese so we used double this amount)
6 slices of bacon crumbled (Again, we love bacon so we doubled this amount)

Preheat oven to 375. Unroll 1 package of crescent rolls, roll across 1 end of baking sheet. Repeat of 2nd can of rolls. Press triangles together. Bake 12 minutes. Cool completely. Combine cream cheese, mayo, dill, garlic. Spread over crust. Top with chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, cheese, bacon.
Refrigerate 30 minutes. (We were impatient and didn't do this step. It was still fantastic)
Cut into squares. Eat.

New list!

New list of recipes to come soon! In no order:

New Orleans Crab Spread
Three Cheese Garden Pizza
Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip with Baked Pita Chips
Clubhouse Chicken Squares
Mini Ham Puffs
Tex Mex Chicken Melts
Mushroom Focaccia Bread
Deep Dish BLT Pizza
Classic Reuben Sandwich

Yes, all from The Pampered Chef.
I will be making one of these for dinner today. Just cant decide on which one.

BBQ Nibblers

This is another party or crowd pleaser. It cannot get any more simple to make and its cheap if you have to feed a crowd on a budget. It gives them something hot and filling to snack on at low cost.
I have made this before although I dont have a picture of it. I think it tastes really great even though it sounds very weird. It has a flavor that your guests just cant figure out and leaves them wanting more!

BBQ Nibblers
(I throw it all in a crock pot and it works great)

1 bag of frozen meatballs, 1 package of cocktail wieners, I can pineapple chunks, BBQ sauce, 12 oz jar grape jelly.

Mix all in crock pot except pineapples. Right before serving add in pineapple chunks.
Serve.

That simple! And very Delish!!

Fabulous Fruit Dip

Over the weekend I made 2 fruit platters with fruit dip. I made one tray for a Partylite show I hosted and another for a baby shower I was invited to.

Each party the fruit and dip was a huge hit. And each party ended with barely any fruit left on the tray and the dip bowl scraped clean.

The Partylite show I made the fruit less fancy. The baby shower I added extra cherries and bite size pieces of pound cake.

For the fruit, you can choose whatever you like.
I did honeydew, cantelope, cherries, kiwi, sliced up oranges, canned pineapple chunks and red seedless grapes. I wanted strawberries but the commissary was all out.

For the fruit dip..
1 8oz block or container of plain cream cheese, 1 jar of marshmellow creme, 1 orange.
Mixed the two then add as must orange juice and orange zest to your taste as you like.
I also added dried mint leaves on top of the dip and topped the fruit pieces too. Not a lot, just enough to get a hint of mint with a couple bites and to get people to wonder, "Is that mint that I taste!!??"

It was a HUGE hit.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

So sorry I don't blog on here as much as I would like to. But last night I made a fantastic dinner! Lemon Pepper Chicken. I got this recipe from the back of the Lemon Pepper bottle. This was oh so good and so easy with little clean up! I WILL be making this again very soon!

I cut the recipe in half since I only made 2 portions. 1 for myself and 1 for a fellow deployed's spouse pregnant on bed rest.

This recipe calls for 4-ish chicken breasts.

Mix 1/4 cup flour and 2 tbs lemon pepper. Moisten 1 lb thinly sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts with water. Coat with flour mixture. Cook 2 tbs butter in large skillet on medium heat 5 minutes on each side.

Weekend Waffles

Im addicted these. SERIOUSLY.

1 cup flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
(I add in lots of ground cinnamon)

In large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar. Set aside.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Add milk and egg yolks to flour mixture. Stir until smooth.
Add vanilla and oil to batter and mix well.
Fold in egg whites to batter. Pour batter onto waffle maker.
Top with fruit and syrup.
My favorite is bananas with either blueberries or strawberries with blueberry syrup.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

I got this recipe from the WIC office months ago. Turned out good. I would add more cheese. I dont think it had enough cheese flavor in it. Overall, easy and good. I will make it again. Kayla loved it.

2 tbs olive oil, 2 onions chopped (I only used 1), 6 medium potatoes cubed (I used 6 small ones), 1 pint of water or stock (I used chicken broth), 2 heads of broccoli flowerets (about 2 cups), 8 oz cheddar cheese (I would use 10 oz next time)

1. Heat oil, add onions and potatoes.
2.When yellowish, add about 1 pint stock and one head of broccoli, salt, pepper.
3.Cook about 20 minutes at a fast simmer.
4.Add another head of broccoli, simmer for 2-3 minutes.
5.Remove from pan (I didn't) while new broccoli is still crunchy.
6.Add about 8 oz grated cheddar cheese and stir until cheese melts. Top with lots of ground pepper. Serve with fresh baked brown bread.

YUM-O!

I made it for lunch today and am taking some to a friend's house to go with dinner! Cant wait to eat more.

Beer Bread

For Nick's last home cooked meal before he left, my friend B asked Nick what he wanted. All we could out of him was, "Beer."

So, she went on a hunt and found this beer bread recipe. I made it. It turned out real good. As I was mixing the ingredients, I thought it couldn't be right because it was so weird. But as it was baking in oven and the house smelled like a bakery, I knew it was going to be good.

And oh boy, was it!

You can serve this b read with soups, dips, or just have it as a snack to eat. Its so soft and moist. It really is fantastic.

Serves 6-8 But I found it to serve much more. I even ended up throwing a bunch away because we couldn't eat it all.

3 cups sifted flour
3 teaspoons baking powder (omit if using self rising flour)
1/4 cup sugar
1 12 oz can/bottle of beer
1/4 cup melted butter

1.Preheat oven to 375.
2.Mix all dry ingredients and beer.
3.Pour into a greased loaf pan.
4.Pour melted butter over mixture.
Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.

If using a non-alcoholic beer add a packet of dry active yeast.

Bread dough


Dough in loaf pan topped with butter


Finished loaf of bread



I sliced the bread and we used it to dip into Cheeseburger dip. Recipe coming soon.

Michelle's Magnificent Chicken Wings

This last few days I been on a chicken recipe hunt. I discovered our new favorite wings. We had a 5 lbs bag of wings in the freezer and I knew I couldn't eat them all before they got freezer burned. So my goal was to finish them before Nick left. We did.

Here's what I did.
I split the 5 lb bag into 2 dinners. So 1 meal that we shared was about 2 1/2 lbs.
I bought the Dales' Steak Seasoning and marinaded the wings in this for at least 30 minutes. It's steak seasoning, but on the bottle it says you can use it for anything. The ingredients in the sauce is soy sauce, garlic, onion, vinegar.

Marinading wings..


Then I placed all the wings into a zip lock bag, with half of a pack of McCormick Original Bufflo Wing Seasoning.


Shake bag. Then I added 5-6 tablespoons of brown sugar. Shake bag.
Spread on foil lined baking sheet in single layer.


Bake 30-ish minuted on 450 degree oven.

And you've got the most savory chicken wing ever! Ok, maybe not ever- but close! There is the PERFECT amount of spice and sweetness in every bite!!

Chicken Citrus Salad

So, after our last visit to Hard Rock Cafe, I wanted to re-create the salad I had there. Chicken Citrus Salad. The attempt I made is very delicious but it's not that HRC salad I had. I cant get the dressing right. Mine is missing a spice and I don't know what it is. HRC's dressing was very citrus-y with a hint of kind of spice. Some to give it a zip. And I don't know what it is.

So, what did I put in my salad?
Lettuce- I used just your plain ole iceburg because I was in the mood for the crunch
red onion, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, butter toffee almond slivers, blue cheese crumbles, and southwest chicken strips cut into bite size pieces ( This is the oscar mayer chicken in your lunch meat aisle )

Its sweet and spicey and crunchy and oh so yummy. I cant get enough.

and the dressing..
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of orange juice
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

but- the dressing is missing that zing- and I cant figure it out!

Great Grandma's 'Ice cream' sandwhiches

So, this idea comes from my Great Grandma. Not sure where or who she got the idea from, but its marvelous!
All you need is whip cream and graham crackers. Pile some whip cream in between 2 whole graham crackers. Wrap in foil. Freeze for at least 24 hours before you eat it.
Why? Because the longer its in the freezer the better it is. The graham cracker gets soft just like those chocolate ice cream sandwiches you buy in the store. If you eat it any sooner then seriously, its not as good.

These are soooo good. Id say they are even better than the ones in the store. Well, except those strawberry shortcake ones from Turkey Hill.

Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies

I made these Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies over the weekend to take to a BBQ. I never made them before, but I had all the ingredients on hand, 1 box of brownie mix and 1/2 cup peanut butter.

Mix brownie batter as directed on package. Pour into greased pan. Microwave 1/2 cup peanut butter for 20 seconds or until melted. Pour over brownie batter. Swirl with butter knife. Bake as directed on package.

They turned out really good. The recipe came from the Skippy peanut butter.

Here they are baking in the oven and then finished. The house smelled really good while they were baking!

Cheeseburger Pasta

I made this Cheeseburger Pasta last night, and I will not post the picture nor the recipe because I didn't like it. It didn't taste bad, it wasn't terrible, but it was just like the boxed Hamburger Helper....which I really don't like.

So, onto to trying something else...

Guam's Boonie Pepper

These pepper are called Boonie Peppers. They are the local pepper that grow here on Guam. The peppers in the picture above are picked from my next door neighbor's backyard.
They are HOT! No, I have not tried them yet. What do I put them in? I dont know.
But here are some facts about these peppers here on this wonderful tropical island of Guam that I can call home.


GUAM BOONIES - very hot; Pequin/Piquin Type; 1 to 1.25 inches long by 0.5 to 0.75 inches wide; thin flesh; matures from medium green to orange to red; upright pods; green leaves; 36 to 42 inches tall; Very Late Season; Uses: Drying; from Guam; C.chinese.
They are extremely hot and definitely require gloves whilst cutting. They got plenty of heat but zero flavor.

Anyone up for a taste?

Apple Cinnamon Chex mix- YUCK

I made the Apple Cinnamon Chex mix, and it turned out quite gross. I think I burned them. Yuck.

So, I will making something else very soon!

Muddy Buddies

I so took this from chex.com website. This recipe is for Muddy Buddies, also known as, Puppy Chow, Reindeer Food, Monkey Munch and many others.

I make this a lot. Much more than I should. But ever sugary sweet calorie is so worth it.

9 cups chex cereal- any kind. We use corn chex because of my picky husband.
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, although, I never measure out the sugar. I use the amonut that looks good to me.

In a large bowl measure out the cereal and set aside.
In a 1 quart microwaveable bowl, stir together chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave 1 minute, stir. Microwave 30 seconds more as needed until mixture can be stirred smooth. I find that 1 minute does the job. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into a 2-gallon ziplock bag.
Add powdered sugar. Seal bag. Shake until well coated. Spread on wax paper to cool. Store in airtight container in fridge. We never store these in the fridge though. Its usually all gone within 2 days.

Questions answered...

Jody said...
"What are those things on the skewer??? So that's all you put in lumpia? If I was to make those, do I need a deep fryer or just a frying pan??? Also, can you get lumpia wrappers in the states you think???"

1. The things on the skewer is BBQ chicken. Also a huge tradtional food here on Guam. You just have to have it with the Lumpia. Im not sure what they use to marinade the chicken. I have to do some research on that. I bought these chicken already marinated and on the sticks. They turned out so good and I cant wait to go grocery shopping to make this again!

2.Yup, thats all that you put in Lumpia. This is the traditional Shangahi Lumpia. Of course, you can put in it whatever your little heart desires! But I like the real traditional stuff.

3.You can use either, a pan or a deep fryer. I made banana lumpia before in a pan, and these Shanghai lumpia a deep fryer. Both worked equally as well.

4.Yes, you can buy lumpia wrappers in the states, I am sure. I bought the lumpia wrappers in the frozen food section near all the Asian foods. Try looking there. It was in the same asile as the frozen pizza, hot pockets, etc.

Ummmm Ummm Shanghai Lumpia!

Oh my gosh. OK. BY FAR, this is the best recipe I have EVER made. Yup, the best EVER. E-V-E-R! So of course I will be making this often. I made Shanghai Lumpia last night for dinner. I never made it before. This was my first attempt. It is kind of like the Philippine version of an egg roll I suppose. The locals here (Chamorros) eat this lumpia like its going out of style. They eat it with everything just like us Americans eat french fries with our burgers.
After a little research, I made the best lumpia ever. OK, probably not, but pretty dang close if you ask me and my husband and the next door neighbor. They tasted as if we were eating them downtown. DEEEEEEEEEELISH!

OK, so here's the pictures and recipe. This recipe makes 30 lumpia.
I used 2 lbs ground pork. You can use chicken, beef, shrimp or a mixture, but the traditional Shanghai Lumpia calls for pork. And it tastes best.

Brown meat and garlic and in pan. I used 4 cloves of fresh minced garlic. Make sure it's minced pretty finely. I took a handful of baby carrots, 2 sticks of celery and 1/3 of a red onion. I used red onion because Nick doesnt like too much of an onion taste and red onion is sweeter. I puree'd all 3 veggies because again, my picky husband will NOT go anywhere near a vegatble if he knows it's there.
I mixed the veggies in the with browned meat in the pan. You couldnt even see it in there! (hehe!)
You can create your own filling though. You can do a vegetable lumpia or you can mix the meat with shredded cabbage, green be ans, bean sprouts. The possibilites are endless.
Of course you need a 30 pack of lumpia wrappers, thawed out.
I took a tablespoonful of meat mixture and placed in on the wrapper. Wrapped it tightly and sealed the end with water and flour. It works like edible glue!
I deep fried for just a few minutes. They cook fast! And vio`la. Just as easy as that, they are done!
And my very picky hubby who wont go near a veggie with a 10 foot long fork, didnt even know what was in it! He just knew he loved the lumpia!
Here are pictures. Let me know if you have any questions!

Banana Loaf

Sorry it's been a while since I blogged a recipie. I will try to do better.
Please vote on my poll I have going on! Its on the right hand sidebar.

Coming soon........ Homemade Fresh From Scratch....PORK LUMPIA! Next grocery shopping trip I will be buying the ingredients.
What inspired me to do this? Today was Kayla's WIC appointment. In the parking lot is a little 'snack shop' on wheels where they sell lumpia for 3 for $1. I bought 6 and was in heaven eating all 6. I NEED some more of this. It's been too long since I had it! Now I know where to go for my craving! The WIC office parking lot! LOL!

But for now... my Banana Loaf.

So simple to make. That is my kind of recipie. A couple weeks ago I made this for a BBQ we were invited to. Everyone complimented me on it. It was the first time I made it, and I will make it again.

1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs well beaten, 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 3 medium bananas mashed, 1/2 cup ground walnuts (optional or raisins)

Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs.
Add flour, baking soda to butter and egg mixture. Stir to blend well. Add bananas, nuts, raisins.

Pour in greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes. (However, my load took longer than 60 minutes for some reason)

Remove from pan. Cool. Slice.

Taaadaaa! Enjoy!

Bacon Broccoli Raisin Salad

This is one of my favorite salads! Its delish!


Cut 1 pkg (16 oz) fresh broccoli florets into bite size pieces, place in large bowl.
Add 1 cup Coleslaw Dressing (I use Kraft light Mayo) and 1/4 each of oscar mayer real bacon bits, raisins, sunflower kernels and finely chopped red onion, cover. Refrigerate atleast 30 min before serving. Makes 6 servings.

This salad is so tastey. I love all these flavors combined together and its so light and fresh.