Pork Chops with Gravy

**This is such and easy dinner. It does take some time to simmer the pork chops, but if you wanted, you could probably cook the pork chops and brown them, pour in the soup, Stir well to get the bits off the bottom of the pan, and then transfer to a crock pot. This is the way my mom would cook pork chops every once in a while and the ingredients are so easy, and it has a nice flavor.**

Pork Chops with Gravy

6 pork chops ( I like to use the thicker boneless ones, or boneless pork shoulder ribs)
1 Large 26oz can of Cream of Mushroom soup (I use the 98% fat free ones)
Lawrys seasoning salt

Place pork chops in a large skillet over high heat. Sprinkle each side with Lawrys seasoning salt. Cook in pan until the the pork chops start turning brown and bits form on bottom of pan. (See picture above) Then pour entire contents of Cream on Chicken soup over pork chops. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover, and let simmer for about an hour until the pork chops are nice and tender.

Serve with mashed potatoes . YUM!

Chicken Pot Pie

**My husbands sister is staying with us right now, and this is one of her family favorites. I enjoyed the soup and vegetable filling in comparison to other pot pie recipes I have tried. If I were to make this for my family again, and follow the recipe, I would probably do a little more topping mixture. BUT, I like my chicken pot pies in an actual shell, so I would most likely not do the Bisquick and instead, make this with a nice flaky pie crust on the bottom and the top.**

Chicken Pot Pie
4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 small onion - chopped
2 cans Veg-all - DRAINED
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can chicken broth

Topping:
2 cups bisquick baking mix
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter - softened

Put chicken in a saucepan with water and boil until cooked. Remove from water and cut in cubes or shred. Lay in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole pan.

In a skillet, saute onion in EVOO, until lightly browned, then pour drained cans of Veg-all into skillet and stir until onion is evenly distributed. Pour over chicken.

In a seperate bowl, add the 2 soup cans and chicken broth together, stir well and pour over chicken and vegetables in 9x13.

Topping:
In a seperate bowl add the Bisquick and butter. Slowly add the milk until it is a texture where you can pour it over the top of the soup mixture.

Bake 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

Teryaki Chicken Bowl

**This is a much better picture than the prior one. So off with the other. This time I didn't have peppers or carrots, but it still tasted yummy.**

Teryaki Chicken Bowl
3 boneless skinless chicken breast (or whatever chicken you like)
1 bottle Soy Vay "Island Teryaki" sauce (I bought the smaller bottle that was like 12-14oz) Do not use the Soy Vay Very Very Teryaki for this. It is way too salty. The Island Teryaki has pineapple so it sweetens it up and tones down the salty flavor. The Soy Vay Very Very Teryaki is great for a marinade if you are going to BBQ though.
YOSHIDA'S is another very good teryaki sauce.

Vegetables - We like brocoli, zuchini, cauliflower, carrots and red peppers.

Cooked rice
Serves 6

In a large saucepan, add the chicken breasts (it is OK if they are still frozen) and the teryaki sauce. Heat until it just starts to boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer until the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken, shred it up or cut it into dices. Return the chicken back to saucepan. Stir.


Cut up all the vegetables you are going to use and steam them. I use the pampered chef vegetable steamer that you put in the microwave. It makes life so easy. You could always add the vegetables to the teryaki mixture and simmer with the chicken until they are cooked, but then they lose their coloring.


In a seperate saucepan or rice cooker, cook rice according to directions on package.

On a plate lay out a mound of rice, and top with vegetables and then teryaki mixture. YUM!

Cheesy Pasta

**This pasta was good for how simple it was. I don't really like too simple of dishes because they are kind of bland, but this one was good. I have NEVER been a fan of Campbells Cheddar Cheese soup, and this recipe called for that, but I changed it to the Pepper Jack soup. Next time, I would probably just go to the chip aisle and buy a bottle of Nacho Cheese sauce because those always taste good.**

*I halfed this recipe and it served the 4 of us easily with some left over.*

Cheesy Pasta
1 16oz pasta of your choice. Penne, Mostaccioli, Spiral, I used Radiatore
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 16oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 can Campbells soup "Southwest Style Pepper Jack"
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried italian seasoning
3 cups mozarella cheese, divided

Cook pasta according to directions. In medium skillet, brown the ground beef and drain. Add the spaghetti sauce, soup, black pepper and italian seasoning. When pasta is ready, add to the spaghetti sauce mixture with 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Stir to combine. Add the remaining cheese to the top. Serve.

Honey Glazed Chicken

**This picture is from "My Sisters Cucina"

*This picture if from when I made it.

**This recipe is from http://mysisterscucina.blogspot.com/search/label/chicken

I used less curry because we are not curry fans, I didn't really taste it though, but next time I may just try it without any curry. I also feel like it doesn't need all the butter. I would try it without adding the butter to the glaze, because there is already so much butter in the pan from cooking the chicken first. My husband and oldest daughter really liked it. I thought it was good, just not a favorite. Don't be afraid of the curry in the flour mixture. It was not spicy at all. It just adds flavor. Also, it does not make alot of "sauce," but I wouldn't drizzle the sauce anyways because there is so much butter in it. I just cooked my rice with some chicken broth and then we just used some salt and pepper for those who wanted it. I did serve the chicken on top of the rice though.**

Honey Glazed Chicken
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup butter
4 chicken breasts sliced smaller (you could use chicken tenders too.)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, salt and cayenne pepper together in a large ziploc bag. Drop chicken in bag and shake to coat. Melt butter and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place flour coated chicken in baking dish and turn to coat both sides with butter. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Honey Glaze Sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp curry powder *I used less because we are not a curry loving family.
1/4 cup butter, melted *I would not even add this

Combine all ingredients. Pour over chicken until well coated. Bake for an additional 30-45 minutes. Serve over rice. Keep your eye on it so it doesn't burn

Tator tot casserole

**This is a popular casserole and most people have probably made it, but I figured I would put it on here because it is a kid approved dinner and it is easy. So, if you haven't heard of it, you will want to try it.**

Tator Tot Casserole
1 lb ground beef or turkey (whatever your family uses)
1 package Lipton onion soup mix
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (divided)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 32oz pkg of tator tots

Brown ground beef and drain fat. Put cooked ground beef in a 9x13 baking dish.

Sprinkle the meat with 1/2 packet of onion soup mix, then sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese on top of meat.

Pour the package of tator tots over top. Then sprinkle the remaining 1/2 packet evenly over the top of tators.

Mix 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, and milk in a seperate bowl and stir well. Pour evenly over the top of the casserole. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Oven Ranch Chicken

**This is a recipe that my friend Monique shared when I did a recipe group. The recipe was shared as one that is a kids favorite. We have enjoyed it ever since** I'm borrowing the picture from Pillsbury though until I take my own picture. :) At least you will be able to see what it is suppose to look like.

Oven Ranch Chicken

1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1 pkg ranch salad dressing mix
1/3 cup sour cream
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In shallow dish or pie plate, mix bread crumbs and dressing mix. In another shallow dish or pie plate, place sour cream.

Dip each chicken breast in sour cream, coating well, then roll in bread crumb mixture; place on cookie sheet. If desired, spray chicken with cooking spray.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes at 375 degrees

2nd option:
6-8 Chicken breasts
1 cup Cornflakes
1 cup Shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cube butter (melted)
1 packet Ranch dressing mix

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix together the Cornflakes, Parmesan cheese and Ranch packet.  Dip each chicken breast unto the melted butter and then into the Cornflake mixture.  Place on baking dish.  If there is remaining butter, you can pour this over top and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Lentil Shepherds Pie

*Here is a healthier and meatless twist on the normal Shepherds Pie. My kids all liked it, and their friend did too, so that is a good thing. As I was making it though, I didn't follow the original recipe as directed. I simply took the lentils and barley and then finished it the way I make my normal shepherds pie. I will leave both recipes below. You can make this though just as you would make your own recipe of shepherds pie (if you have one), just let the barley and lentils act as the meat.**

Lentil Shepherds Pie

4 cups vegetable broth, water, chicken broth etc. ( I used 4 cups water and 2 boullion cubes)
1/2 cup barley
1 cup uncooked lentils

*In a saucepan, add water, barley and lentils. Heat on high until the mixture just begins to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 45 minutes. You may need to add more water, but I did not need to.

1/2 onion diced
1 small zuchini grated
1 small carrot grated
1 packet taco seasoning

*Saute vegetables in a large skillet until mixture becomes soft, then add the already cooked lentil mixture to the vegetables. Stir well. Add the taco seasoning packet and follow the directions on the back of the packet for water and cooking time.

1 can corn - drained
*sprinkle the corn over the top of the lentil and vegetable mixture.

For the topping, you can use fresh potatoes or boxed potatoes. I used boxed potatoes. Follow the directions for serving 6-7 people if you are using boxed potatoes. If you are using fresh potatoes, I would use about 5 medium sized potatoes, then boil them, and mash them with milk, salt, pepper and butter (optional). The directions say to put 1/4 cup nutritional yeast in the potato mixture for you vegans out there.

I sprinkled the top of mine with a little 2% grated cheddar cheese.


From the recipe from the vegan society.....

Cook the Lentils and barley as above.

In a seperate skillet saute vegetables as above, but add about 2 cups diced mushroom to the vegetable mix also. When the vegetables are tender, add the already cooked lentil and barley mixture.

Season lentil and vegetable mixture with 1tsp caraway seed, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1 TB gravy master (this is a browning sauce). You can also add some salt and pepper to taste also.

Then make the potatoes as above and spread over the vegetable and lentil mixture.

4th of July Salads

Potato Salad
**This is my moms recipe for Potato salad and is the Best ever. I am asked for this recipe everywhere I take it. You will not be disappointed. If you like a little crunch, you could always add celery and/or onion.**
3 medium to large Russet Potatoes (I like to use red potatoes and just keep the skin on them, but you have to use more potatoes because they are smaller)
1 dozen eggs
2 single packets, or 1 side of the double packet "Buttermilk Recipe" ranch packets
(MUST BE PACKET THAT SAYS BUTTERMILK RECIPE)
1-2 cups Mayonaise

Boil the potatoes until cooked through. Cook the eggs until hard boiled. Cut the potatoes and eggs in to cubes. Place in a large bowl. Sprinkle Ranch packet dressing on to the potatoes and eggs. Stir well. Now add mayonaise until the desired consistency.

Apple Snicker Salad
**This salad disappears QUICKLY at all functions**
3 Apples. I usually use a mix of golden and red
3-4 snickers candy bars
1/2 - 1 stick cream cheese
1/2 cup - 1 cup powdered sugar
1 8oz cool whip

Cut up apples in to small cubes. Cut up Candybar into small cubes (I usually do 4 long slices down the length of the candybar and then cut small cubes going the opposite way). Then place in a medium - large sized bowl

Blend the cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Stir into the cut up apples and candybar mixture.

Then fold in the cool whip. Chill in fridge until ready to serve.

Cookie Salad
**This recipe comes from my friend Tonya. I know it may sound wierd to add mandarin oranges (or at least that is what I thought when I first heard of it, but it is really yummy.)
15 Keebler Fudgestriped cookies lightly crushed
1 15oz can mandarin oranges
1 small vanilla pudding
1 cup Buttermilk to make vanilla pudding (my friend uses the powdered buttermilk and then adds milk)
1 8oz Cool whip

Take your cookies and put them in a baggie and lightly crush them. You don't want them to be crumbs, but you don't want the pieces to be too large either.

Make the pudding with the buttermilk. Fold in the cool whip and oranges. Place in fridge to set up. When ready to serve, add the cookies and stir lightly.


** If you are interested in the Strawberry or Rasberry Pretzel salad from the picture go to this link on the web page. http://dinnertimeideas.blogspot.com/2008/08/yummy-potato-salad.html

Bruschetta Appetizer

**Here are pictures of the ingredients we used, a plate of them made just fresh, and a plate where we added avocado to them (Yum), and some that were cooked under the broiler.**

This was a yummy lunch on a hot day. Above is a picture of the ingredients you need. The only thing we did was add a layer of regular salsa that has more liquid first.

So, get out your piece of bread. Spread a think layer of salsa. Then put a spoonful of the chunky salsa on top of that. Then top with some parmesan cheese.

We ate them cold, just like this. You can put them under the broiler if you want and they will be yummy that way too, but why heat up your house.

Crock Pot Lasagna

**This recipe came from a class at church a while back where we learned about crock pot cooking. What a yummy and easy dinner. It really is delicious and has great flavor.**

Crock Pot Lasagna
1 lb ground beef (optional for vegetarians)
**You could replace with vegetables or just use the red sauce**
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 15oz cans tomato sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 12oz box lasagna noodles

1 12oz Cottage Cheese - You could probably sub Ricotta cheese, I like Cottage cheese better.
1/2 cup or more as desired Parmesan Cheese
2 cups or more as desired Mozarella Cheese

First, brown your meat over medium heat with the onion and garlic. Continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink. When the meat is done, drain any fat that may be in pan. Then add the oregano, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. Stir until mixture is well blended and warm.

My mixture did about 2 1/2 ladles of sauce per layer and I did 3 layers. So put a layer of red sauce on the bottom of the crock pot, then add a double layer of noodles. I had to break mine to get them to fit along the sides. The middle ones went down perfectly.

Then add a layer of cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and then mozarella cheese. Repeat this for 2 more layers ending with the cheese.

Put in your crock pot on low and cook for about 4 hours depending on your crock pot.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

**These are one of my favorite sandwiches although I totally prefer them in a whole wheat pita pocket. In this picture they were made for a baby shower so we used a nicer bread which is a croissant. Please note that you can used canned chicken too if you desire.**


Chicken Salad Sandwiches -- This recipe filled 15 croissants

4 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken
1 cup celery
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup sliced water chestnuts
1 1/2 cups grapes
1 cup pineapple tid bits
Add everything to a large bowl. Stir in **dressing, then stir until it is all mixed in well and evenly. I like to make mine the day or night ahead and chill overnight then serve.

Dressing:
3/4 cup miracle whip
3/4 mayonaise
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp curry
**mix all dressing ingredients together

Lemon Herb Turkey Breast in the Crock Pot

During the summer months, I hate to turn on my oven! It's just too hot! That's when my Crock Pot saves the day.

This bone-in turkey breast is found in the frozen section of your supermarket. I used a 7.53 lb breast, so adjust your recipe if you choose one of a substantially different size.

My home smelled like Thanksgiving all day (YUM!), the kids kept coming in the kitchen to smell the air & say "I can't wait for dinner!", and my husband had a huge smile on his face when he came in the door after work. The meat was moist & so tender it fell right off the bone when we took it out of the Crock Pot.

We served this with a whole grain rice & bulgar wheat pilaf, broccoli & corn. We had about 1/3 left over which we mixed with the rest of the dinner leftovers & made a super yummy casserole for the next day - woohoo!!



Lemon Herb Turkey Breast in the Crock Pot

1 bone-in, skin-on whole turkey breast, thawed if frozen (5-7 lbs)
1 small onion, sliced
2 cups chicken broth
1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbls finely chopped fresh italian parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried sage leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbls olive or vegetable oil

Preheat crock pot on high. Place onion slices in bottom of crock pot & pour in 1 cup of chicken broth.

Grate peel from lemon. Cut lemon into quarters, set aside. In small bowl, stir together lemon peel, garlic, parsley, salt, sage, pepper & oil.

Loosen skin covering turkey breast and pull away from breast meat, leaving skin attached at neck. If necessary, use kitchen shears or sharp knife to loosen.

Rub herb/oil mixture evenly over turkey breast, under skin. Replace skin & place turkey, breast-side down, in crock pot. Place lemon quarters in neck opening.

Cover & cook 1 hour on high. Lower temperature to LOW and cook all day (8-10 hours).

Remove from Crock Pot carefully - the turkey breast will fall apart - to cutting board. Separate meat from bone & serve.



NOTES:
When removing turkey breast from the packaging, separating the breast skin from the meat, and rubbing on the herb/oil mixture - do all of this in your kitchen sink to avoid a juicy, wet mess on your kitchen counters & floor!! (Can you tell I learned this the hard way years ago?!?)

Place the Crock Pot next to the sink before you begin. When you're done preparing the turkey breast, move it directly to the Crock Pot.

If any juice gets on your counters, be sure to clean them thoroughly. Make sure you also clean your sink thoroughly! (This is a "thing" of mine - poultry juices can be dangerous!)

Quick n Easy Pesto Pasta

**This was one of those "need something (or want something) fast and easy tonight." NO FUSS! I went to cupboard and saw this packet, and I saw that I had a half of a bag of pasta left, so it was decided. We will try this. The flavor was soft so I think most kids will like it. I was cooking for 4, so this is what I used.**

Basil Pesto Pasta

1 pkg Knorr Pesto sauce mix
3/4 cup non fat milk (The recipe on the pkg calls for water)
1/4 cup olive oil
4 chicken tenderloin pieces (the smaller ones, not the breasts)
1/2 pkg of penne pasta (although you could use whatever you want)


Cook Pasta according to package directions.


In a skillet, cook the chicken until it is not longer pink. Slice into bite sized pieces. Add the Pesto seasoning packet, milk, and oil. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.


Right before serving, mix the pasta and the sauce together, then serve.


As side dishes, you could do fruit, and I served it with zuchini also sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Eclairs

Eclairs

Pastry:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup flour
4 fresh eggs
1 egg white (for brushing top of eclair)

Combine the water, butter, and salt. Bring to a boil. Add the flour all at once. Stir vigorously until the forms a ball. Set aside and let it cool down. I waited 30 minutes

Add 1 egg at a time to the dough mixture until it is completely mixed in. Continue this until all 4 eggs have been added.

If you want round cream puffs. Place a large heap or small heap on a lightly greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. They will puff up while cooking and be round. The size of the heap will determine the size of the cream puff. Usually they at least double or triple in roundness. Lightly brush egg white over top.

If you want eclairs, place the mixture in a baggie and cut off a corner of the baggie. Cut out a large cut for big eclairs and a small cut for small eclairs. Lightly brush egg white over top.

Bake them at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes for large eclairs and less time for smaller pastries. Start with 15 minutes and go from there.

When they are completely cooled, cut off the tops so you can fill them with the custard. Reserve the tops to place back on after they are filled. The chocolate frosting will then go on top of that.


Custard filling
I used the cook n serve vanilla pudding. If you have a favorite custard you can use that. Use the box instructions and keep in refrigerator until it is set.

Chocolate frosting
**Use your favorite chocolate frosting** OR
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 TB butter
2 TB light corn syrup
2 TB milk

Put in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it is all melted and blended in together.

Pour over the tops of the eclairs. It will thicken and set.