Apple Crisp

6 c. peeled, sliced apples

3/4 c. flour

1/2 c. butter or margarine

3/4 c. cereal (could use corn flakes, I use Special K)

2 T. water

1/2 c. brown sugar packed

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Arrange apples in an ungreased 9X9X2 pan or glass dish. Sprinkle with water. Mix flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in bowl. Cut in butter to fine crumbs. Stir in cereal, sprinkle over apples. Bake @ 350* for 35 minutes. Serve with topping if desired.

Tasty Dip....

There's no name for this dip, so feel free to make your own name for it :) It's DELICIOUS, and super easy to make.

A gal at work made it (thanks Ann!) and brought it in for us a few months ago. Now I make it as well.

2 cups shredded cheddar
8 oz. cream cheese
1 jar favorite salsa (I use Pace)
1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds (this makes adds so much flavor)
2 cloves garlic chopped

Soften cream cheese and mix all ingredients together. Serve with tortilla chips or whatever you like.

Meatballs

1 1/4 pounds ground sirloin
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce,
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated, fresh Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425*. Grease cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Mix beef and Worcestershire, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper by hand. Roll meat into 1 1/2 inch medium-sized meatballs and place on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle. Enjoy with spaghetti and sauce.

Fruit Pizza

Ingredients:
1 pkg. refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese (can either use plain or flavored, I like using raspberry)

any fruits, cut up into bite size pieces (I like to use grapes, bananas, fresh pineapples, strawberries, kiwi, and fresh peaches)

Glaze:
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 TBSP. cornstarch
Mix all ingredients together, then boil until thickens.


Place cookie dough on cookie sheet or pizza pan (I use a rolling pin to smooth it out) and bake according to pkg. directions. Let cool. Spread cream cheese on dough, and top with cut up fruit. Then top with glaze.

Enjoy!

Suggestion-- prepare and eat this recipe the same day. Otherwise it tends to get soggy.

Buffalo Style Chicken Nachos

2 1/2 c. diced, cooked chicken
1/3 c. Frank's Red Hot
2 T. melted butter
tortilla chips
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
black olives
lettuce

In a bowl toss chicken with Red Hot and butter.
Put tortilla chips in baking dish, top with chicken mixture and cheese and bake for about 5 minutes @ 350*, or until cheese is melted. Remove and top with whatever else you like. These are super easy, and SO GOOD!

Artichoke Dip

I got this recipe from my friend Kelly a few years ago. It's so good and I love making it for parties :)

1 c. real mayo
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 can extra small artichoke hearts, drained and cut up
1 c. mozzarella cheese

Mix together and bake @ 300* for 25 min. Serve with crackers, melba rounds, or tortilla chips.

Awesome Banana Bread

I got this recipe from my friend Ri a few years ago. It's super easy and so, so good!

Banana Bread

3 overripe bananas

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

.5 tsp. baking soda (not 5 tsp.-- just .5 tsp.)

Dash of salt

1 egg

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine (I use unsalted butter)

1). Preheat oven to 325*.

Mash bananas in a large bowl.

Add flour,sugar,baking soda, salt, and egg.

2). Melt butter in microwave,

add it to the bowl, and stir until blended.

3). Pour into greased loaf pan.

Bake for 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Easy Fish Tacos

INGREDIENTS:

Salsa:
1 mango
2 plum tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 lime
1 purple onion

Filling:
1 pound halibut (or other flaky whitefish)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup shredded green cabbage
4 whole-wheat tortillas (6 inches each)
4 oz nonfat sour cream (I use low-fat)
1 can (16 oz) black beans

PREPARATION:
Combine salsa ingredients. Heat grill. (I bake our fish instead) Cut fish into 4 pieces. Whisk together oil, lime juice, chili powder. Brush mixture onto both sides of each fillet; season with salt and pepper. Grill 3 to 4 minutes on each side until cooked through. Fill each tortilla with 1 fillet, flaked into pieces, and 1/4 cup each cabbage and salsa; top with 2 tbsp sour cream. Serve with 1/2 cup beans (I put the beans inside the tortilla with everything else).

Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 lbs. lean stew beef or beef tips, cut into small bite size pieces.
4 TBSP. butter or margarine
1 cup chopped onion (about one large onion)
4-8 oz. slices mushrooms (I didn't use mushrooms when I made ours).
3 TBSP. all purpose flour
2 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 cup sour cream (sometimes I use low-fat, but for this recipe I used regular sour cream, not low-fat).
1 tsp. dried dillweed

Preparation:
Heat butter or margarine in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add meat in about 3 batches, browning each batch quickly. Set aside and keep warm. Add onion and mushrooms (if you're using mushrooms, I didn't as I said) to the skillet and saute for about 5-6 minutes or until golden brown. Stir in flour; blend well. Gradually stir in bed broth. Heath until sauce is thick and bubbly, about 3 minutes. Stir in beef and dillweed (the dillweed makes the flavor so yummy). Add salt, pepper, and sour cream; heat beef stroganoff through--do not boil. Serve over wide egg noodles. Serves 6.

World's Easiest Cornbread

If you thought the chocolate muffins I posted were easy with only three ingredients.... this recipe is even more simple! It has only two ingredients... it's so easy and boy are they tasty! My friend (& neighbor) Kristen gave me the recipe, and I couldn't wait to try them.

All you need is a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix and one can of Cream Corn. That's it. Mix them together, and bake in a greased 8x8 pan @ 400* for about 20-25 minutes. These are so moist and delicious... I just know you'll like them. Thanks again for this recipe Kristen.

EASY Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

If you can believe this, these muffins only require THREE ingredients!

1 box of Devil's Food cake mix (I like Pillsbury brand)
15 oz. pure pumpkin (in a can, but not the pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup water

Mix this all together and fill 12 muffin tins. I used Pam to grease the muffin tins and they popped right out. Bake @ 350* for 18-23 min. These muffins come out really big, and they are the most moist, delicious muffins I've ever had.

Banana Split Trifle

Ingredients:
1 (3.4oz) pkg each vanilla & chocolate pudding4 cups milk, divided
60 vanilla wafers
3 bananas, sliced
6 tablespoons chocolate syrup, divided
1 (15 oz) crushed pineapple, drained well
1 (8 oz) frozen whipped topping
1 small jar of maraschino cherries (stems removed), drained
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans (for mine I used chopped mixed nuts...I used "Fisher Nut Topping", which I found by the hot fudge topping, maraschino cherries, and ice cream cones).

Preparation:
Cook pudding using 2 cups milk, following package directions. Refrigerate and allow to cool (for mine I just used the instant directions instead of cooking it, then let it get firm in the fridge just for a little bit). Arrange 30 wafers in bottom of a trifle dish (I bought my trifle dish at Walmart for about $10.00). I think they are so pretty). Spoon vanilla pudding over wafers. Arrange sliced bananas over pudding. Drizzle bananas with 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup. Arrange 30 wafers over chocolate and bananas. Spoon pineapple evenly over wafers. Spoon chocolate pudding over pineapple. Spread whipped topping over chocolate pudding. Spreading to edges to seal. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Before serving, arrange cherries over whipped topping; sprinkle with pecans. Drizzle a bit more chocolate syrup over the top. Enjoy!

Italian Baked Chicken & Pastina

Ingredients
1 cup pasta (any small pasta--I use elbow shaped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (I use rotisserie chicken breast with the skin removed, that way it's already cooked and so easy to use)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs --I use Italian flavor, which I strongly suggest :)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish (I use PAM instead of butter, and it works just fine)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400*. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to pkg. directions, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. (For this process I just add the chicken, onions and garlic at once, since the chicken I use is already cooked). If not using already cooked chicken, then add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. I hope you like it as much as we do :)

~This recipe came from Giada de Laurentiis, who made it on her cooking show. I think her recipes are so tasty! Here is a link to her recipe.

Thai Peanut Noodles

Thai Peanut Noodles
1 lb. cooked, peeled shrimp (not a shrimp lover?..... you can substitute chicken breasts instead. I've never tried this, but I'm sure it would be good).
1 c. light Italian salad dressing, divided (I use Ken's Steak House Lite Northern Italian Dressing. They sell it at most grocery stores--I get it at WalMart. It is so good!).
2 T. crunchy peanut butter (we use Jif).
1 T. soy sauce (I use the "less sodium" soy sauce)
1 T. honey
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (I don't use this for mine because I don't like spicy things. But since Steve does, I sprinkle some on his, just before he eats it).
1 carrot, shredded
1 c. green onions, chopped
1 T. sesame oil
1-8 0z. pkg. angel hair pasta, cooked. (I like to use linguini noodles instead).
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
2/3 cups peanuts (I use unsalted peanuts)

Coat shrimp with 1/2 cup Italian dressing; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Whisk remaining Italian dressing with peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, ginger, and red pepper (if you're using that, and like it spicy) until smooth; set aside. Saute carrot, green onions, and shrimp in sesame oil until shrimp is done, about 5 minutes. Toss pasta, peanut sauce and shrimp mixture together in a large serving bowl;sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts. Serves 4.
~I found this recipe in a Gooseberry Patch cookbook called "Meals In Minutes". This cookbook is one of my favorites :)

Chicken Stew

2T. olive oil
2 stalks celery
1 carrot, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1- 14 1/2 oz. can chopped tomatoes (I puree mine in the blender... Steve hates tomato chunks so this is why I do this. I've never made it with the chunks, I've only used the pureed tomatoes and it's sooo good this way, so I strongly suggest it, but it's up to you).
20 oz. low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (I get mine in the produce section at Walmart in a little plastic box/container).
1 1/2 T. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 chicken breasts with ribs (about 1 1/2 lbs. total)
1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the pureed tomatoes (if you left them chunky then stir them in with their juices), chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts, press to submerge. Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 30 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through). Remove chicken breasts and place on a work surface to cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced to a stew consistency, about 10 minutes. Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle into serving blows, and enjoy with crusty bread :)

~I found this recipe on-line from Giada de Laurentiis, and she also made this recipe on her cooking show. Here is the link to her recipe.

PB & J Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk (I use 2%)
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I use JIF)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup jam or jelly of your choice
Topping 1/4 cup sugar

Heat oven to 375*. Spray muffin pan with no stick spray. Stir together flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Add milk, eggs, sugar, peanut butter, and oil to the bowl; combine ingredients on low speed of an electric mixer, just until moistened. Do not over beat.Fill half of each muffin cup with the batter. Then place two teaspoons jam or jelly in the center of each muffin. Evenly divide remaining batter between muffin cups, and top each with that. Then sprinkle the tops with sugar. Bake 18-20 minutes, then remove from oven.
Makes 12 muffins.

Chocolate Fluff Dessert (VERY LOW FAT!)

2 small pkgs. instant/fat free chocolate jello pudding.....you can use whatever chocolate flavor you want...choc. fudge, just plain choc., whatever flavor chocolate you want will work just fine--I say the more chocolate flavor, the better!
1 qrt. skim milk
1 large container Cool Whip lite
1 box of graham crackers (honey flavor)

Mix milk and 2 boxes of pudding, until it's like pudding. Then add the Cool Whip to this, and mix together. Take each graham cracker and break in half. Then line the bottom of a 9X13 pan with some of the graham crackers. A few you might need to break in half again, to get the entire bottom covered. Once the bottom is covered in graham crackers, put a layer of the pudding mix over graham crackers. Then add another layer of graham crackers. Add another layer of the pudding mix. Lastly cover it on the top with the final layer of graham crackers. Cover with lid or plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator. I let it sit overnight and we eat it the next day. It is so good. We absolutely love it!

Autumn Harvest Pork Loin

2 cups cider or apple juice
1 1/2-2 lbs. pork loin
salt & pepper
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced (I used Gala apples and they worked just fine)
1 1/2 whole butternut squashes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried sage

1) Heat cider in a hot skillet. Sear pork loin on all sides in cider.
2) Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper on all sides. Place in a slow cooker, along with juices.
3) Combine apples and squash. Sprinkle with sugar and herbs. Stir. Place around pork loin.
4) Cover. Cook on low 5-6 hours.
5) Remove pork from cooker. Let stand 10-15 minutes. Slice into 1/2 inch-thick slices.
6) Serve topped with apples and squash.