Broccoli Salad

1 head broccoli
6 to 8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 c. chopped red onion
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 c. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
1 c. halved cherry tomatoes

Trim off large leaves of broccoli.  Remove tough stalks at end and wash broccoli thoroughly.  Cut flowerets and stems into bite-size pieces.  Place in large bowl.  Add crumbled bacon, onion and cheese.  In small bowl, combine remaining ingredients, stirring well.  Add to broccoli mixture and toss gently.  Best after refrigerated a little while.

"Healthified" Creamed Corn

1 cup water

2 bags (12 oz each) Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers Niblets frozen corn

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)

4 oz (half of 8-oz package) cream cheese, cut into small cubes

1/4 cup fat-free half-and-half

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 medium green onions, sliced (2 tablespoons)



1. In 3-quart saucepan, heat water to boiling. Add corn and bell pepper. Cover; reduce heat to medium. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Drain; return to saucepan.

2. Stir in all remaining ingredients except green onions. Cover; cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until heated and mixture is well blended. Spoon into serving dish; sprinkle with green onions.

Bacon-Cheddar Pinwheels

2 cans crescent rolls (8)

4 Tbsp.ranch dressing

1 pkg. bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled

1 c. finely shredded Cheddar cheese 

Heat oven to 350°F.

Unroll dough; separate into 4 long rectangles.

Press each into 12x4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal.

Spread 1 Tbsp. dressing over each rectangle to edges.

Sprinkle each with bacon and cheddar cheese.

Starting with one short side, roll up each rectangle; press edge to seal.

With serrated knife, cut each roll into 8 slices; place cut side down on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12 or until edges are deep golden brown.

Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

Serve warm.

CRESCENT CHICKEN SQUARES

1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp. butter, melted
2 c. cooked chicken, finely chopped (approx. 2 whole breasts)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp. celery, finely chopped 1 (8 oz.) can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, blend cream cheese and 2 tablespoons butter (reserve 1 tablespoon) until smooth. Add the next 6 ingredients; mix well. Separate crescent dough into 4 rectangles; firmly press perforations to seal. Spoon 1/2 cup meat mixture onto center of each rectangle. Pull 4 corners of dough to top center of chicken mixture, twist slightly and seal edges. Brush tops with reserved butter. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. 4 sandwiches. Freezes well.

Cheese Quesadillas

Kids LOVE these!  They are super easy to fix for a meal or a snack.  You can always add chicken or other meats & veggies to spruce it up a bit.

4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup grated cheese, sharp Cheddar or Mexican blend
4 tablespoons butter
Sour cream, for garnish
Salsa, for garnish

*Lay the tortillas flat on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle some of the cheese on 1 half of each tortilla. Try not to get it too close to the edge. Fold the tortillas in half over the cheese to make a half-moon. Warm a skillet over low heat and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the tortilla to the skillet and cook until it is lightly brown, about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, gently lift the edge so you can check. When 1 side is brown, turn the tortilla over and cook the other side until brown and the cheese is all gooey. Use a spatula to transfer to individual plates or a large platter. Repeat with remaining butter and tortillas. Top them with the sour cream, salsa and guacamole.

Sweet Coleslaw

This is one thing that BOTH my children love and will always eat.  We love our coleslaw to be sweet.  This recipe is gooooooood!

DRESSING:
1/2 c. mayonnaise (nothing but Blue Plate for me)
1/3 c. granualted sugar
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. buttermilk
2 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

SLAW:
1 head cabbage
1 medium carrot (optional)
2 Tbsp. minced onion (I, personally, always double the amount of onion in any recipe)

*Chop cabbage into tiny little chunks and chop fine.  (You may run it through a food processor if you have one--that's the one kitchen gadget I do not own.)

*Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, whisk well.

*Combine cabbage, carrots and onion.  Toss well.  Pour dressing over the slaw and turn to coat well.

*Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving to allow the cabbage to soak up the marinade.  (This is very important)

Chicken Cordon

This is one of the most tender ways to cook chicken breasts.  I am a big fan of dark meat, but I love white meat when it's really juicy like this.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (flatten a little with the bottom of a thick glass)
4 slices mozarella or provolone cheese (your choice)
4 slices ham (I use sandwich ham for this recipe)
squeeze butter (nothing but Parkay for me)
parsley flakes
bread crumbs
toothpicks

*Lay flat the chicken breasts.  Layer with ham & cheese.  Sprinkle lightly with parsley flakes.  Roll the chicken breast up as much as possible.  Secure with toothpicks.  I use close to 7 or 8 toothpicks on each piece in order to hold it together.  It looks funny but who cares, right?  Brush on your butter to coat the outside of the chicken.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees until browned....usually about 25 minutes.  Don't forget to remove all the toothpicks prior to serving! :o)

Rebecca's Meatloaf

Sauce:
2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. vinegar
2 tsp. prepared mustard

Meatloaf:
2 lbs. ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. cracker crumbs
1 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. black pepper

*Mix sauce ingredients together and set aside.  In separate bowl, combine meatloaf ingredients along with 1/2 the sauce.  Form loaf and pour more sauce on top.  Microwave on high for 18 minutes (uncovered) then let set 5 minutes before serving.  For those of you that prefer to cook in the oven, you can bake this meatloaf at 325 degrees for 1 hour.   If you use a fatty ground beef, then you may have to suction outthe grease.  This is super delicious served with homemade mashed potatoes.  Wait, is there any other type?  NO...always make mashed potatoes from scratch.  They are super easy and DELICIOUS!

Easy Mayonnaise Biscuits

These are so super easy to make.  The ingredients are simple things that most people always have on hand.

1 c. self-rising flour

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together flour and milk.  Add sugar and mayonnaise.  Pour into slightly greased muffin tins and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Let me know what you think of these!

Country Apple Dumplings

This is one of my most requested recipes.  Everyone that eats this always comes back to me for the recipe.

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored

2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2-3/4 can Mountain Dew (can also use Sprite or 7up)

*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.   Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.  Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Pour Mountain Dew over the dumplings.  Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.   These are also good served with ice cream on top.

THEY WILL MELT IN YOUR MOUTH!!!!

Mixed Vegetable Casserole

1 can cream of celery

2 cans mixed vegetables, drained (I use Veg-All)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise

1 c. shredded cheese

1 tube Ritz crackers, crushed

*Combine soup, vegetables, onion, mayonnaise & cheese.  Pour into baking dish.  Cover with crackers.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Super easy and super yummy!

Apple Toffee Dip

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp. sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. crushed toffee (I use Heath Bars)

10 small Granny Smith apples

1 c. lemon juice

*Mix the first six ingredients together and chill.  Slice apples and squirt with lemon juice to keep from browning so quickly. 

Baked Tilapia & Homemade Hush Puppies

I missed a few days of posting recipes, so I'm posting two today!

These recipes are super easy and super fast.

BAKED TILAPIA

2 tilapia filets (or more if you choose)

seasoned salt

lemon pepper seasoning

fresh lemon

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place tilapia on a sheet of aluminum foil in a casserole dish.  Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over the filets.  Sprinkle with desired amount of lemon pepper and seasoned salt.  Seal with foil.  Bake for 25 min. or until flaky.  This always turns out very juicy.  I don't eat fish, but Brian loves this and says with this recipe he cannot tell the difference between the fresh tilapia and the frozen tilapia.

REBECCA'S HUSH PUPPIES

1 c. white cornmeal

1/4 c. self-rising flour

1 egg

1 large onion, chopped

2 Tbsp. sugar

enough buttermilk to make a stiff batter**

Combine ingredients.  Drp by teaspoonfuls into a deep, medium hot oil until perfectly browned.  Drain on a paper towl.  Sprinkle lightly with salt.  A small ice cream dipper works great for these.

**I never have buttermilk on hand, so what I do is make my own.  Put 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (or white vinegar if you don't have the lemon juice) in a measuring cup.  Fill the remaining cup to the 1 cup line with milk.  Stir and let set 5 minutes.  Now you can use this as your buttermilk.  Remember, it will NOT take the whole cup.

Hamburger Casserole--A One Dish Meal

This casserole has all you need (except dessert) in one dish.  It is super easy and super tasty.

1 pkg. ground chuck

1 Tbsp. oil

2 c. cooked rice

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1 tsp. salt

1/3 tsp. pepper

4 Tbsp. chopped onion (you know me...I put a whole onion)

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix (can use 2 if you like a lot of bread)

1 egg for cornbread

1/3 c. milk for cornbread 

*Brown meat.  Add salt, pepper & onion.  Cook rice.  Add the stewed tomatoes (juice, too) & rice to the meat mixture.  Mix the Jiffy cornbread mix as directed on box.  Add the cornbread mixture to the top of the meat, rice & tomato mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees until cornbread is done--about 14 minutes.

Grape Salad

This grape salad is a great cool treat for a hot day.  It also makes a lot, so it's good for taking to church or other spring & summer get-togethers.  I don't have a picture to post right now, but I'm sure I will be making this very soon, and I will come back and post a picture.

1 large bag red seedless grapes

1 large bag green seedless grapes

8 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. sour cream

1 jar marshmallow cream

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

*Mis all ingredients together & stir in grapes.  Refrigerate several hours before serving.

Easiest Ever Strawberry Pie

Approx. 3 baskets of fresh strawberries

1/2 c. sugar

1 Graham Cracker crust (most people use a regular pie crust...my family prefers these)

1 carton strawberry glaze (usually found with the fresh strawberries)

1 carton Cool Whip

*Slice strawberries in a bowl and toss with sugar.  Pour in pie crust.  Cover with glaze and stir gently to coat all the strawberries.  Place a dollop of Cool Whip on top.  Refrigerate to keep cool.

Squash Fritters

OK...These are soooo yummy and a GREAT way to get kids to eat squash if they normally don't like them.  My mama always made these and they just melt in your mouth.  They are best when eaten shortly after they come out of the grease.  I don't have a picture of these yet, but I will cook some next week and post one.  Don't wait on the picture...go ahead & cook some.  You will love them!

4-6 squash
1 c. self-rising flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
enough milk to make to it the consistency of pancake batter (my mama never did measure too many things)

*Cook squash 5 min. in the microwave with a tiny bit of water (again, no real measurement...just a tiny bit).  While that is cooking go ahead & mix all other ingredients to make the batter.  Once the squash are cooked, mix them in with the batter.  Drop by teaspoonfuls into hot grease.  Immediately roll in powdered sugar. 

It makes my mouth water just thinking about them.

Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from my sweet friend, Stacy.

In her own words, it is YUM-MERS!!!

Dressing:

1/2 c. oil

1 c. sugar

1 c. white vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 Tbsp. prepared mustard

*Mix all ingredients & set aside.

Salad:

1 lb. spiral macaroni, cooked

2 tsp. dry parsley

1 large onion, chopped

2 cucumbers, cut into bite-size pieces

grape tomatoes (or regular tomatoes cut into small chunks)

*Mix ingredients and toss with dressing.

This recipe makes a HUGE bowl, so cut it in half if it's not for a crowd. It is best after it is refrigerated several hours. You may want to toss it often to keep it mixed well.