Balsamic Chicken

Balsamic Chicken:

4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion thinly sliced (Not chopped)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 tsp each: dried oregano, basil, and rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
ground black pepper and salt to taste

Pour the olive oil on bottom of crock pot
place in chicken breasts, salt and pepper each breast
put sliced onion on top of chicken
then put in all the dried herbs and garlic cloves
pour in vinegar and top with tomatoes

Cook on high 4 hours, serve over angel hair pasta

Caramel Corn

Easy Caramel Corn

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)
1 C brown sugar
1/4 C white Karo syrup
1/2 t salt (if you are using salted microwave popcorn then omit salt here)
1 stick real butter
1/2 t baking soda
1 t vanilla

Pop popcorn and set aside. Place brown sugar, Karo syrup, salt, and butter in a microwave safe dish. I cut up the butter into chunks so it melts better.
Are you ready for the directions? I’m warning you, it’s complicated. You might want to take notes. Here we go. Microwave for 30 seconds. That should be enough to melt the butter at least half way. Stir it all to combine. No microwave on high for 2 minutes. Take it out and stir. Microwave for 2 more minutes.

Told you it was complicated.

While the caramel is cooking, put the popcorn in a big bowl. Use one that is way bigger than you think you’ll need. Just trust me. Also, try to get any un-popped kernels out so you don’t break a tooth and try to sue me.
When the caramel is done cooking, take out of microwave and add baking soda and vanilla. Sit back and watch it do cool things like bubble and foam.

Stir it well and mix into popcorn.

Mix it up well with a big spoon. I usually spread it all out on a piece of foil and let it cool for a minute so it doesn’t get stuck in one big clump. The longer it sits out, the firmer it will get, but it won’t ever get crunchy-hard unless you bake it.

For crunchy caramel corn: spread out on a cookie sheet (you might need 2) and bake either at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. If you choose the latter, keep an eye on it towards the end of cooking time to avoid over cooking.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/09/caramel-corn/

Trish's Peach Crumble Bars

Brown Butter Peach Crumble Bars

makes about 12 bars

1 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour [or all-purpose]

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter

4 ripe, medium peaches, chopped (about 2 cups peaches)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt and mix until combined. Set aside

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and stir continuously until it melts. It may bubble a little. As soon as you see small brown specks in the butter, remove it from the heat. This took me about 3 minutes. Add the butter, along with the vanilla, to the oat mixture. Stir until moistened. This may take a minute or two! Fold in the peaches.

Butter and flour an 8×8 baking pan. Press batter into the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes (the juicer your peaches are the longer you have to bake), the let cool completely – this can take up to 45 minutes! Cut and serve. Can be kept in the fridge or at room temperature in a sealed container.

Trish's Blueberry Crumble Bars

Blueberry Crumble Bars

makes about 12 bars

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter + 2 tablespoons

1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt and mix until combined. Melt the 1/2 cup of butter and add it, along with the vanilla, to the oat mixture. Stir until moistened. This may take a minute or two! Fold in the blueberries – it’s okay if they pop a little bit.

Butter and flour an 8×8 baking pan. Press batter into the pan. Melt remaining butter and drizzle it over the bars. Bake for 20 minutes, the let cool completely – this can take up to 45 minutes! Cut and serve. Can be kept in the fridge or at room temperature in a sealed container.

Leah's Breakfast Bake

Breakfast bake

* 8-10 frozen hash brown potato patties
* 6 eggs
* 1 small can evaporated milk
* 1 can cream of chicken soup
* 1 lb sausage, cubed ham, or bacon (more if you like)
* 8 oz. package shredded cheddar cheese as desired

Line 9x13 dish with frozen potato patties. Top with cooked meat. Beat eggs, milk, and soup together and pour over hash browns and meat. Add cheese to top, cover with Saran wrap and refrigerate overnight. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees or until bubbly and golden.

Buttery Cloverleaf Rolls

Buttery Cloverleaf Rolls

[lightly adapted from allrecipes]

makes about 30 rolls

4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packets) active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 1/2 cups warm milk

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large egg

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons salt

5 1/2-6 cups all-purpose flour, or more if needed

melted butter for brushing

In the bowl of your electric mixer (with an attached dough hook), combine warm water, yeast, olive oil and 1 tablespoon honey and mix with a spoon. Let sit until foamy, about 10-15 minutes. Add warm milk, remaining honey, egg and butter, and mix on low speed until just combined, then add in 2 cups of flour and salt. Mix on low speed, gradually increasing to medium as flour becomes incorporated. Slowly add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, stopping at 5 cups. Knead the dough on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, then check to see if the dough is sticky. If it is too sticky, add a bit more flour and knead until it becomes smooth, but you want some stick to it. Remove dough from the bowl and form into a ball with your hands, covering with a bit more flour until it is no longer sticking to your hands.

Brush a large bowl with melted butter. Add dough to the bowl, turning once or twice to cover in butter. Place a towel over top and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2-2 hours. Punch dough down, then transfer to a floured workspace. Tear small pieces of dough off the larger piece, and roll into balls slightly larger than one inch wide. You will end up with about 90 dough balls. Brush a muffin tin with melted butter, then add 3 dough balls to each tin. Cover and let rise again, in a warm spot, for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the tops of each clover with a hefty glug of melted butter. Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until tops are just golden brown. Remove from over and brush tops with melted butter again, repeating the brushing another few times as the rolls cool. Remove from the tins and serve.

The muffins are best when eaten on the same day they were baked, however if you’d like to make them the day before, make sure to let them cool completely and store in an air-tight container.

Banana Cupcakes from Dana

Banana cupcakes:
1 cup butter
2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas
6 tbsp. buttermilk or sour milk(milk with 1 tsp vinegar)
3 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Cream butter, add sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add unbeaten eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in mashed bananas and buttermilk. Then fold in sifted dry ingredients.
Put in cupcake cups. Bake @ 350 degrees about 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Banana Buttercream frosting:
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup mashed banana
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 1/4 cups powered sugar

Cream butter. Add vanilla. Then alternate adding banana mixed with lemon juice and powered sugar. Add more sugar if needed. (Lemon juice keeps the banana from turning brown)

So I used a piping bag for the frostings. I put the banana butter cream around all the cupcake except just for the midde. Then I put in some chocolate fudge frosting. I just used the canned frosting for that. You can also do all banana and add some chocolate chips on top.

Fireworks Cupcakes ( 4th of July )

1	box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
1 1/4	cups water
1/3	cup vegetable oil
3	egg whites
	Red food color
	Blue food color
36	plastic push-up pop containers
2	cans Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy white frosting
2	envelopes popping rock candy ----------------

1. 1Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 36 mini muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. 2In medium bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed until moistened; beat 2 minutes on high speed until well blended. Divide batter into 2 bowls. Tint 1 bowl of batter with a few drops red food color; tint other bowl with blue food color.
3. 3Fill 18 muffin cups 2/3 full with red batter. Bake about 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Repeat with blue batter to make an additional 18 mini cupcakes. Cool completely.
4. 4To assemble push-up cakes, drop 1 mini cupcake into each push-up pop container. Add generous teaspoon frosting to top of each cupcake. Top each with second mini cupcake; add dollops of frosting to tops of each. Sprinkle each of popping rock candy. Serve.

Dirt Pudding

2 regular sized pkg. Oreo cookies, crushed
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
1 c. powdered sugar
2 (6 oz.) pkgs. instant vanilla pudding
3 1/2 c. milk
12 oz. Cool Whip
gummy worms

Cream together cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar. Mix instant pudding with milk. Mix creamed mixture and pudding mixture together. Fold in Cool Whip. Layer cookie crumbs and pudding mixture, starting and ending with cookie crumbs. Use large plastic flower pot (if desired) and decorate with silk or plastic flowers and let your kids eat dirt!

Updated 10/28/17 with edits

Bacon & Feta Stuffed Chicken

8 tbsp	olive oil
	2 tsp	lemon juice
	4 clove	crushed garlic
	1 tbsp	dried oregano
		salt
		pepper
	4	boneless chicken (skinless boneless chicken breasts)
	4 slice	feta cheese
	4 slice	bacon (fried and drained)

1	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2	In a small bowl combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix together. Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish and pour oil mixture over chicken.
3	Stuff each chicken breast with 1 slice feta cheese and 1 slice bacon. Secure open sides with toothpicks.
4	Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes.

Brown Sugar Glaze for Salmon

Brown Sugar Glaze: Mix 2 Tbsp of Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Pour over Salmon, and marinate for at least 10-15 minutes

Chicken Fajitas from Jessica

Ingredients and Supplies:
Large Ziploc Bag
Fajita Spice Packet (you can get this in the spice aisle)
2-3 Chicken Breasts
Whatever Veggies you like in your fajitas, I used: 2 Bell Peppers, fresh mushrooms, and half an onion
3 Tbsp of Olive Oil

Directions:
Cut up thawed chicken breasts with kitchen scissors into good size chunks/strips to eat
Chop Veggies to desirable size
Put it all in a Large Ziploc Bag with Olive Oil and Spice Packet, and MUSH MUSH MUSH until the chicken and veggies look well covered with the oil and spices.



Heat oven to 375 degrees
Line a baking sheet that has sides with tin foil, place everything in the ziploc baggie on the baking sheet.
Make a "cover" for the baking sheet with tin foil, but cut a slit down the middle, place over the top like a "tent"
Bake for 25 minutes at 375.

Tortillas: Layer flour tortillas on a plate between paper towels, microwave for 15-20 seconds right before it's time to eat.

Put everything together with sides you like...we always do grated cheese and sour cream....

Jessica's Fruit Salsa

Jessica's Fruit Salsa

3 Fuji apples: peeled, cored, chopped
1 lb Strawberries: chopped
8-12 oz blackberries: cut into 4ths
2 Kiwis: peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2-3 Tbsp white sugar
2-3 Tbsp preserves of your choice: I usu. use strawberry or blueberry

Cut up fruit, and mix it and all other ingredients together in a bowl.

Now for the chips:

10 ten inch flour tortillas
3-4 C of cinnamon sugar in a large ziploc bag
Either melted butter OR butter flavored cooking spray

Spray or brush each side of the tortillas with butter/butter spray
Use a pizza cutter to slice them into chips of your preferred dipping size
Bake at 350 on cookie sheets for about 10 minutes
Take out, let cool for 10 minutes, serve with chilled fruit salsa! SO GOOD!!

"Chinese Salad" from Sharon Chaney

1 head of celery cabbage (Napa) chopped

2+ chopped green onions

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Brown the following ingredients together at 350, for approximately 10 minutes until toasted:

2 Tbls. sesame seeds

1 Tb. butter

1 pkg. broken up raman noodles

2 Tbls. almond slices

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Dressing:

1/4 cider vinegar

3/4 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp. soy sauce

Boil for 1 minute & cool.

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Keep all 3 "sections" separate until minutes before serving. Toss together in a large bowl.

HUGE hit, even for non-salad-likers.

Lisa's Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Bread (2 loaves)

3 eggs
1 C oil
2 C sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
2 C Zucchini (grated)
1 C crushed pineapple (drained)
3 C sifted flour
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
(chopped nuts if wanted)

Beat eggs until foamy. Add Oil, sugar, and vanilla and mix well. Stir in Zucchini and Pineapple. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to Zucchini mixture. Mix until well blended. Bake in 2 9x5 loaf pans 350 degrees 45-60 min

Texas Caviar from Jaimi

1 16 oz can of Pinto Beans – drained

1 16 oz can of Black Eyed Peas – drained

1 16 oz can of White Corn – drained

1 small green pepper chopped

1 small jalapeno chopped

1-2 stalks of celery chopped (to taste)

1 cup of red onion chopped

Cilantro chopped (to taste)

Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl and put aside.

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½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup sugar

½ cup white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Bring all of these items to a boil.

Let it cool and then pour over the mixture you set aside earlier.

Marinate at least 2 hours (it’s even better if you let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.)

Serve with Frito Lay Scoop chips.

Tips: The vinegar/oil/sugar mixture doesn’t look like it’s enough to cover all the ingredients, but it is plenty. As it sits and marinates, the liquid will rise to the top. Once it rises to the top and when you are ready to serve, just be sure to stir it up well.

Broccoli Salad from Michelle K's mom

Broccoli florets (I used two packages)

1 small chopped onion

1 cup raisins

1pound bacon (precook, don't add until ready to serve)

1cup light Mayo ( you can substitute regular or fat free mayo depending on your taste preference)

1/2 cup sugar

1T white vinegar

Mix the broccoli, onion and raisins together. Separately mix mayo, sugar and vinegar. Mix all together and refrigerate 4 hours or overnite. Just before serving, add crisp bacon crumpled.

Occasionally I also add 1 cup of shredded cheese'

HIGH TEMPERATURE Sirloin Roast

Ingredients

• 1 (3 pound) sirloin roast
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Season the roast with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan or baking dish. Do not cover or add water.
2. Place the roast in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Roast for 15 minutes (five minutes per pound) then turn off the oven and let the roast sit in the hot oven for 2 hours. Do not open the door at all during this time!
3. Remove the roast from the oven, the internal temperature should have reached at least 145 degrees F (65 degrees C). Carve into thin slices to serve.

Homemade Kool-Aid Play Dough

{Colorful Kool-Aid Play Dough}

Okay...Kool-Aid Play Dough was my absolute favorite thing to make when I was little, and I admit it still makes me a little giddy even nowadays. Who can resist a cheap, homemade version of play dough that actually smells good? ;) (and that is made of edible ingredients! Come on...we all know that's a necessity with little kiddos and play dough! Goodness, that makes me think I should make my next batch with fresh ground whole wheat! Just in case...)

Ingredients:

1 c. flour

1/4 c. salt

1 Tbsp. Cream of Tartar

1 pkg. unsweetened Kool-Aid

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 c. water

Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar, and Kool-Aid medium saucepan. Add the oil and water. Stir over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

Once the dough starts sticking together enough to form a ball when stirred, it's time to remove it from the heat and scoop it out onto a lightly floured surface on the counter. (you only need a VERY small amount of flour- not nearly as much as I have on my counter!) Knead the dough until it's no longer sticky...and obviously resembles play dough. :)

And last but certainly not least...let the play dough serve it's purpose! It stores well for at least a few weeks in a plastic ziploc. (Though I admit that several times I've found "forgotten" play dough in the back of the drawer months later and it still looks/smells fine and isn't dried out!)

(Just wanted to update...I was asked if this play dough stains skin or surfaces. I have been making this stuff since elementary school and have never had that problem!)

Kelly's Pierogies

Dough

2 Cups Flour

2 tbls. butter

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

2 tbls. sour cream

2/3 cup warm water

Blend everything except water in food processor until blended. Drizzle water in until ball forms. With floured hands, form into a ball and wrap in waxed paper until ready to use. If it is going to be a while before you use it (hours or you're making the dough the day before) keep in the refrigerator, but taken out far enough in advance to soften before rolling.

Potato Filling

5 lbs. potatoes; peeled, cooked (until very soft) and mashed

2 medium onions; chopped

1 stick of butter

2-3 lbs Pot Cheese

salt & pepper to taste.

Melt butter in a pot and sweat the onions in melted butter until very soft and translucent. Mix into mashed potatoes. Fold in cheese and add s&p. This can be made a day or two in advance.

Saurkraut Filling

12lbs saurkraut; rinse, drain and chopped in food processor

1 small onion per bag of kraut OR 1 large onion for 2 bags; finely chopped

Enough oil (g-ma uses vegetable) to cover bottom of a large pot

Add chopped onion to oil and heat in pot. Add kraut and stir until softened (takes a little while). Add additional oil if mixture seems too dry.

Health Nut Bread

1 (1/4 ounce) package yeast

2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups white flour

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons shortening

1 cup pecans, chopped

4 cups whole wheat flour

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/grammys-health-nut-bread-352541#ixzz1NnePlBFC

Directions:

Prep Time: 0 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

1. 1 Soften yeast in 2 cups of warm water. Add sugar, salt, and white flour. Let rest in warm place until light and bubbly.
2. 2 Combine 1/2 cup hot water, brown sugar, shortening, and let cool to luke warm.
3. 3 Add pecans to brown sugar mixture. Then add brown sugar mixture into white sugar mixture.
4. 4 Add whole wheat flour to mixture and mix until smooth.
5. 5 Knead on lightly floured board until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
6. 6 Place in greased bowl, turning to make sure entire bread surface is greased. Cover and keep warm in draft free place until bread has doubled in size.
7. 7 Cut dough in half. Knead again. Place dough into 2 greased loaf pans. Let rise until dough has doubled.
8. 8 Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minute For a crispy top, brush with butter after 40 minutes.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/grammys-health-nut-bread-352541#ixzz1NneWZwPA