Sweet Potato Potato Salad

Ingredients:
2 potatoes
1 sweet potato
4 hard boiled eggs
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
3/4 c mayonnaise
1 Tbsp prepared mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Directions:
Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add peeled and chopped potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, abt. 30 min. Drain.

Peel and chop cooled hard-boiled eggs
Combine the potatoes, eggs, celery, and onion.

Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. Add to potato mixture, toss well to coat. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Chicken Enchilada Ring

This is an old pampered chef recipe. It probably came with the southwestern seasoning mix I bought many years ago. I really like it and keep my supply of the seasoning mix just for this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I use canned)

1/4 cup chopped pitted olives

1 cup (4oz) cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

1 can (4oz) chopped green chilies undrained

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 T Southwestern Seasoning Mix (pampered chef)

2 plum tomatoes

1 tsp lime juice

2/3 finely crushed tortillas chips

2 pkgs (80z) refrigerated crescent rolls

1 cup salsa

1 cup sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Chop chicken and olives. Add cheese, chilies, mayo, and seasoning mix. Seed and chop 1 tomato. Add tomato and lime juice to chicken mixture. Reserve 2 Tbsp of crushed chips and add the remaining chips to chicken mixture and mix well. Sprinkle reserved crushed chips over flat surface. Unroll crescent dough. Place dough, sticky side down, onto crushed chips; press down lightly so chips adhere to dough. Separate dough into triangles. Arrange triangles, chip side down, in a circle on Round pan with wide ends overlapping in the center and points toward outside (there should be a 5 inch diameter opening in center.) Scoop chicken mixture evenly onto longest end of each triangle. Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Cajun Asparagus

This recipe is so easy it's almost not a recipe. I love asparagus especially when it's cooked this way.

Ingredients:
Asparagus
Tony Chacheres

Directions:
Spray bottom of a baking pan with non stick spray. Lay asparagus out in a single layer and quickly spray the top of it with the non stick spray. Then sprinkle Tony Chacheres on top of the asparagus. You don't need a lot and too much will make it extra spicy. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until asparagus is tender.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

This reminded me of West French Stuffed Toast. This was good but not as good as the stuffed french toast. Next time I will cut the cream cheese into smaller cubes and make sure they are well spread out. I might even just use 12 oz of cream cheese instead of 16.

Ingredients:
12 slices day old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup fresh blueberries
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup blueberries
1 Tbsp butter

Directions:
Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese and top with remaining bread cubes.
In a large bowl mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until the center is firm and surface is lightly browned.
In medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3-4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk, room temp
6 whole eggs room temp

Directions:
Preheat over to 325. Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a mixer, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar for about 6 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and milk until combined. Add flour mixture until completely combined. Pour into two greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans. Bake for about 60 minutes or until done.

Pot Roast

I love this pot roast. I love the flavors and it is so easy to make. I always cut up potatoes and carrots to put around the roast and cook them at the same time in the crock pot.

Ingredients:

1 beef roast, any kind

1 pkg dried brown gravy mix

1 pkg dried italian dressing mix

1 pkg dried ranch dressing mix

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Place beef roast in crock pot. Mix the dried mixes together in a bowl and sprinkle over the roast. Pour the water around the roast. Cook on low for 7-9 hours. To make gravy: take the juices from the crock pot and put them in a saucepan. Add Tbsp of cornstarch mixed with a Tbsp of water and add the the juices. Bring to a boil in the saucepan until it has thickened.

Avocado Salsa

I found this recipe from Favorite Family Recipes It made the perfect topping for the bean quesadillas. It's really so delicious.

Ingredients:
1 6 oz can sliced black olives, drained
3 firm ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste
black pepper

Directions:
Chop all the vegetables, stir together and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bean Quesadillas

Ingredients:

1 can refried beans

Tortillas--2 for each quesadilla

shredded cheese

Directions:

Spread refried beans on a tortilla, add cheese on top then add another tortillas on top. Spray skillet with cooking spray and place tortilla to cook. When the tortilla is slightly browned flip over to cook the other side and to finish melting the cheese. You are done!

Blueberry Cake

I love this cake, It is sooo yummy. I found the recipe on Simply Recipes.

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour plus 1 tsp of flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups blueberries, rinsed and drained (if using frozen blueberries, thaw and drain first)
1 tsp lemon juice
powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with flour. Or use a 9 inch round cake pan, butter and dust with flour and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Combine 1 cup of flour with baking powder and salt and set aside.
Using a mixer, beat the butter on med-high speed for 2 minutes. Then add the sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, a couple minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well blended. Reduce speed of the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture, beating until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Combine the berried with the remaining tsp of flour and lemon juice in a bowl. Spoon the berry mixture over the batter. bake on middle rack in oven for 1 hour at 350 or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. transfer the cake to a platter, berry side up. Dust the cake with powdered sugar before serving.

Fried Rice

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice (I use brown for everything now and my family doesn't even notice)
3 Tbsp sesame oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup diced ham
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green peas
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce

Directions:
Cook rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking heat a wok or large skillet over med-high heat. Pour in sesame oil and stir in onion. Fry until golden, then add garlic. When garlic is lightly browned mix in ham. Lower heat to medium and stir in celery, carrot, green pepper, and peas. Fry until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in beaten egg and cook just until egg is scrambled and firm. When rice is done, mix thoroughly with vegetables and stir in soy sauce. Serve.

Sesame Chicken

 

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1/4 c flour
2 T peanut or sesame oil
salt and pepper
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c green onions chopped

Directions:
Cut chicken into pieces and add flour and salt and pepper in a bag to coat.
Brown in sesame oil.
Mix the soy sauce, sugar and green onions and pour the mixture over the chicken.
Cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
Top with sesame seeds and serve over steamed rice.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:
Dressing:
1 lemon
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp poppy seeds
Salad:
8 oz strawberries, bulled and quartered
1/2 medium cucumber, sliced and cut in half
1/4 small red onion, sliced into thin wedges
1 package (6oz) baby spinach

Directions:
For dressing, zest lemon using lemon zester to measure 1/2 tsp zest. Juice lemon to measure 2 Tbsp juice. Combine zest, juice, vinegar, sugar, oil, and poppy seeds in small bowl. whisk until blended. Cover, refrigerate until ready to use.
Hull strawberries and cut into quarters. Score cucumber lengthwise using zester/scorer, remove seeds. Slice cucumber, cut slices in half. Slice onion into thin wedges. Place spinach in large serving bowl; add strawberries, cucumber, and onion. Whisk dressing. Pour over salad, gently tossing to coat. serve immediately.

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:
1 head broccoli, cut in small pieces
1/8 cup red onion, sliced
8 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled
1 pkg salted, shelled sunflower seeds
Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp vinegar

Directions:
Mix broccoli, onion, bacon, and sunflower seeds in a bowl, toss with dressing.
Dressing: mix mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar in blender. Let sit for several hours. Or substitue this dressing with lite house poppy seed dressing.

Funeral Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
8 oz of sour cream
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 package (30oz) frozen, shredded hashbrown potatoes
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 13x9 baking dish. Mix soup, sour cream, milk, and salt and pepper in large bowl. Stir in potatoes and onions. Spoon into baking dish and bake 30 minutes uncovered. Sprinkle with cheese and cook an additional 15-20 minutes.

Glazed Ham

Ingredients:
1 spiral sliced ham
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
6 T melted butter
8 T honey
1 cup pecans

Directions:
Bake ham according to package directions. Spread glaze over ham approximately 20-30 minutes before ham is done and continue baking.

Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert

I got this recipe from my sister, Kathy a long time ago. This is a super easy dessert that tastes really good. I particularly love the salty sweetness of the crust.

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/4 cup crushed pretzels
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted margarine or butter

Mix together pretzels, sugar and melted butter and press into bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 min. cool.

Center:
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
8 oz cool whip

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and cool whip until creamy. Spread over cooled pretzels.

Top:
16 oz frozen, sweetened sliced strawberries
6 oz strawberry gelatin mix
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups hot water

Dissolve gelatin in the hot water. Add fruit and chill. When soft set pour over cheese mixture. Chill until firm (3-4 hours)

Chicken and Black bean Enchiladas

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used 1 can chicken)

1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 4oz can diced green chile's

1/3 cup salsa

2 T chopped cilantro

4 8" flour tortillas

1 1/3 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese (I used whatever I had)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, add garlic and onions and saute for 2 minutes, add chicken and saute for 5 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Stir in black beans, green chile's, and salsa; simmer 5 minutes until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and add cilantro.

Top each tortilla with chicken mixture and place side by side in baking pan. Top tortillas with cheese. Bake enchiladas 15 minutes or until cheese is golden.