Chunkie Chicken & Biscuits

I was totally impressed... fast, easy and it was great to eat. No leftovers tonight!



Ingredients:

1 can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen vegetable combination thawed
2 cans (4.5 ounces each) White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained
1 package refrigerated biscuits (10 biscuits)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the soup, milk, cheese and black pepper in a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Stir in the vegetables and chicken.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the chicken mixture. Top the chicken mixture with the biscuits.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.

Mini Cheesecakes

This recipe was my grandmothers, I remember her making them for holidays. Then my father would make them once in a while, now it's me. They are very simple to make and delish!! Try them for yourself.

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling or fresh jam

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line miniature muffin tins with miniature paper liners.
2. Crush the vanilla wafers and place 1/2 tablespoon of the crushed vanilla wafers into the paper lined miniature muffin tins.
3. Cream together with an electric mixer the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Fill each miniature muffin liner with this mixture, almost to the top.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Cool and then top with a teaspoonful of cherry pie filling, or fresh jam.

Ratatouille Pork Chops

Ever since the Disney movie, Ratatouille came out I have been wondering what it was. We got alot of fresh produce from the local farmers so I started googling things to make with eggplant. When ratatouille came up I decided to try it. It was delish!

 As always substitute in what you have on hand or what you prefer. We happened to have yellow summer squash on hand so I used that instead of zucchini, and Kurt wanted mashed potato's instead or rice so that's what we did. :)

ENJOY!!!!!

4  Pork Loin Chops (bone in or out)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 green pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
2 cans of crushed tomato (undrained)
2 zucchini (or 1 large) thickly sliced
1 eggplant peeled and sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp fresh basil chopped (or 2 tsp dried)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper


In a non-stick skillet, (I used my electric frying pan) over medium-high heat, heat oil. Trim all visible fat from pork and brown for 3 minutes on each side, depending on thickness of chop. Remove from pan. Add garlic, green pepper and onion to pan and sauté for 1 minute.
Add whole tomatoes, crushing with a spoon. Add remaining ingredients, mix well, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. Return meat to pan and continue simmering, uncovered, for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat and serve over pasta or rice.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

This was my first attempt at making anything with Rhubarb but it came out Delish, and it's very, very simple. I did cheat a little and use a store bought crust instead of making my own but I'm out of baking supplies and don't want to restock before the move. Hmmmmm, maybe that's why it was so simple..LOL
note*** I did prep the rhubarb... take a veggie peeler and run it down the sides of the rhubarb. Like Celery, rhubarb has a kind of stringy outer layer. It comes off very easy with a peeler.

Ingredients:
Store bought Pie Crust

1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) pieces

1 pound Fresh strawberries, cut into 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) pieces
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place 1 pie crust in the bottom of the pie pan and tap it in until it hugs the pan. Place the pie pan in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
In a large bowl combine rhubarb and strawberries. In a smaller bowl combine the cornstarch, white sugar, and cinnamon. Take 2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture and spread it over the bottom of the crust. Take the remaining sugar mixture and pour it over the strawberry -rhubarb mixture, mix gently to combine.
Pour the filling into the pie-pan and cover with the top crust. Pinch the edges of the crust together, then cut slits (about 4) in the top of the crust to allow air to vent during baking. Sprinkle the top of the crust with lemon juice. Take foil strips and cover the edges of the pie.. this will keep the edges of the crust from cooking faster and burning while the pie bakes.
Put the pie in the preheated oven. Allow to bake for 30 min, then remove the foil strips and allow to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until rhubarb is tender. Allow to sit until cool.... filling will thicken as it cools.

‘Knock-your-socks-0ff Rhubarb Crumble’

This recipe is donated by Dori Luthy.. she makes this for my nephew Finn and it's all gone!!

Here’s my recipe for ‘Knock-your-socks-0ff Rhubarb Crumble’- a tangy/tart filling with a crunchy-sweet topping.
First layer:
approx 3 cups young rhubarb; unpeeled and diced
1 Tbsp unbleached flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (or other seeds/nuts? I also threw in a handful of sunflower seeds)
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Water

Topping:
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temp
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup unbleached flour
2/3 cup rolled oats

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees. In a 9×9 baking dish or straight sided pie pan, combine the bottom layer ingredients and stir well to coat the rhubarb. In a medium size bowl, cream the butter with the flour and brown sugar, then stir in the oats. Smoosh this topping over the rhubarb. Bake at 350*F for 40 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender and the top is brown.
And can I recommend a side of vanilla ice cream, eaten quietly and slowly, while sitting out on the patio in the sunshine as the little one naps? Perfection.





Mom's Secret Chicken

This chicken recipe is one of my secret weapons.... it's very delish and only has 4 ingredients. Ingredient measurements are really to taste so feel free to add more then what I list... I always do..

Ingredients

2-3 pounds of Chicken
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
3 Tablespoons of Jam
                                                      1 packet of Dry Onion Soup Mix

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken in baking pan. (you can use any kind of chicken, breast thighs, cut up chicken.. doesn't matter) In a bowl mix together the BBQ sauce, jam (I like to use strawberry jam) and the soup mix. Mix everything together and pour over the top of the chicken. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes.
I always end up adding more BBQ sauce and jam, you should do whatever you think tastes good. I know mixing those ingredients together sounds weird but I promise you it's wonderful!! I've never gotten anything but compliments. Try it out and let me know what you think. :o)

Sheperds Pie

My Mom used to make this all the time when I was younger and it has become a comfort food for me. Since then I have made it for my family on a regular basis and there are never any leftovers. To make this meal for my family of four the cost is 4.50, if I decide to make rolls then the cost increases to 5.00 but tonight I didn't have The time to make them.

Ingredients (vary depending on taste)

2 lbs of ground turkey or hamburger

1 can of green beans or corn

2 cups of gravy

6 servings of mashed potato

add salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown turkey and then place into a casserole dish. mix green beans(or corn) into cooked turkey. Meanwhile, cook mashed potato's and follow instructions for gravy. Top the turkey mixture with dollops of mashed potato's and cover with gravy. Any extra gravy can be poured over the turkey mixture to help retain moisture. Bake in the oven for 25-30 min, or until the top begins to turn brown.

When my Mom made this for us it was always made with hamburger meat and corn. I have a child who doesn't like corn and a husband who prefers ground turkey so I have adapted. As always feel free to ask questions or leave comments in the section below! Enjoy!!