December Meals

Brown Sugar Meatloaf & Roasted Potatoes - Angie

Pumpkin Waffles & Buttermilk Syrup  - Cheryl

Tangy Black Bean Soup - Debbie

Cranberry Chicken & Rice - Julie

Black Eyed Peas & Golden Sweet Cornbread - Kim Rogers

Marvelous Shells 'n' Cheese & Ghiradelli Chocolate Crackle Cookies - Michele

Criminally Delicious Beef - Michelle Williams

 Crispy French Onion Chicken - Sheri

Crock-Pot Chicken Taco Chili  - Stacey


 

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 cu ketchup
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
3/4 c milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 c finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan. Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the ketchup over the sugar. In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the ketchup. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.

Roasted Potatoes

1 envelope onion soup mix
2 Tbs. Red Potatoes - cut into cubes
1/3 c oil (vegetable or olive)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a 9x13 pan, combine all the ingredients. Bake, Stirring occasionally, 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender golden brown.

Tangy Black Bean Soup

1 pound black beans, soaked overnight and drained

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

1 orange, juiced

1 lime, juiced

4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable!!)

Cranberry Chicken

1 ¼ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed into bite-size pieces

1 Cup diced onion

½ Cup Ketchup

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

¾ Cup Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1 Can jellied cranberry sauce or whole cranberry sauce (whichever you prefer)

Cook chicken and onion together until the chicken is cooked all the way through.  Add in the next five ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Marvelous Shells 'N' Cheese

1 package (16 oz) medium pasta shells

1 package (8 oz) process cheese (Velveeta), cubed

1/3 cup milk

2 cups (16 oz) cottage cheese

1 can (10 ¾ oz) condensed cream of onion soup, undiluted

3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

2/3 cup dry bread crumbs

¼ cup butter, melted

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine process cheese and milk; cook and stir over low heat until melted.  Remove from the heat.  Stir in cottage cheese and soup.

Drain pasta and add to cheese sauce; stir until coated.  Transfer to a greased 13-in. X 9-in. baking dish.  Sprinkle with Mexican cheese blend.  Toss breadcrumbs with butter; sprinkle over the top.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. 

Serves 6-10

Ghiradellli Choclate Crackle Cookies

1 package Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

¾ cup powdered sugar (reserve for coating dough)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place brownie mix, flour, eggs and oil in medium bowl.  Stir until blended. Place powdered sugar in separate bowl.  For each cookie, scoop 1 rounded tablespoon dough and place in powdered sugar.  Roll dough gently into balls, coating thoroughly with powdered sugar.  Place 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake 11-13 minutes.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen

Criminally Delicious Beef

1 beef chuck or cross-rib pot roast between 2 and 2 1/2 lbs.

1 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon cloves

Brown roast.  Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. 

Crispy French Onion Chicken with Rice Pilaf Salad

2 Tbs of butter
1 tsp garlic
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 cups onion crisps
6 pieces of chicken breast (I used MASSIVE chicken breasts and cut them to the size of a normal size chicken breast)

Preheat oven to 350
Melt butter, then mix in garlic and Worcestershire sauce
Crush onion crisps
Dip chicken in butter sauce, then gently press chicken in plate of crushed onion crisps (Just dip one side.  If you have leftover onions at the end, sprinkle them over the top of the chicken in the pan.)
Place in LIGHTLY greased 9x13 casserole dish (or larger if it doesn't all fit!)
Bake @ 350 for 20-25 mins
Broil on High for 5 mins 

Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili

1 can black beans (drained and rinced)

1 can kidney beans (drained and rinced)

1 can corn kernels (corn only, no juice)

16 oz tomato sauce

28 oz diced tomatoes

packet taco seasoning (3 table spoons)

1/2 tbsp chili powder

3-4 boneless chicken breasts.

 

Put everything in crockpot and cook 6 hours high or 10 hours low in the crock pot.

November Meals

Sweet & Sour Chicken - Angie

Lion House Chicken Noodle Soup - Cheryl

Broccoli Cheese Soup - Julie

Corn Chowder - Kim Rogers

Zesty Cream Cheese Chicken - Kim Roylance

Chicken Stuffed Crescent Rolls - Michele

Island Teriyaki Chicken - Michelle Williams

Beef Stroganoff  - Sheri

Brown Sugar Crock Pot Chicken  - Stacey

Chicken Broccoli Casserole - Tamara 

Sweet & Sour Chicken

2-3 lbs raw chicken, cut into cubes

Sauce

¾ cu sugar

½ c vinegar

1 Tbs soy sauce

½ c water

1 chicken bouillon cube

3 ½ Tbs ketchup

1 Tbs cornstarch (for sauce, you will need extra see below)

2 eggs, beaten with a little water

• Dip chicken pieces in cornstarch and then in egg. Then brown chicken pieces in non-stick frying pan (outside will brown slightly and inside will be raw).
• Put chicken pieces in 9 X 13 baking dish.
• Boil sauce ingredients (mix in cornstarch first) for 1 minute and then pour over chicken.

To cook
• Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Spoon sauce over chicken once during baking time. (If you are baking this after it has been in the freezer - plan on longer for baking time.)

Serve over rice. The sauce is really good – I always double the sauce recipe so you can spoon it over your rice.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 Cup Butter

1 Cup Flour

5 ½ Cups Milk

1 ½ cups onion

3 cups potatoes

2/3 pound broccoli

½ pound Velveeta Cheese

1/3 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 ½ Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

Melt Butter in a large saucepan.  Slowly stir in flour and milk.  Cook until thick.  In another pan cook diced onions and potatoes until tender (crisp tender if you plan on freezing it so that your veggies don’t get too mushy).  When veggies are almost tender add in broccoli for the last few minutes.  Drain excess water off veggies.  Combine sauce and veggies.  Mix in Velveeta Cheese (cut into chunks so it will melt quicker), salt, pepper and red wine vinegar.

When reheating soup you can thin it down with milk if the soup seems too thick.

Corn Chowder

2 lbs. potatoes, cubed (can use frozen bag)
1 onion, chopped
1 can corn
1 pint heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
Bacon
Chives

Saute the onions in butter in a sauce pan until they start to brown. Put the potatoes into a large pot. Open the can of corn. Pour just the juice over the potatoes. Then add the sauteed onion, salt, pepper, and more water to the potatoes until they are almost covered with water. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Then add the corn and cream. Warm for another 5 minutes.Season with salt and pepper to taste, add chives and bacon if desired.

Chicken Stuffed Crescent Rolls

1 pkg crescent rolls

3 oz soft cream cheese

1 ½ chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

1 onion, chopped fine

Dash of salt and pepper

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1 Tbsp parsley flakes

1 clove garlic, minced

Gravy:

½ cup milk

1 can cream of chicken soup

Optional:

Stove Top dry mix

2 tbsp Butter, melted

Mix cream cheese, chicken, onion and seasonings together. Roll out rolls, fill with chicken mixture (approx. ¼ cup) and roll up.

Optional - Roll in melted butter and in dry Stove Top mix.

Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

Mix milk and soup in pot over low heat. Pour over cooked chicken rolls.

This would be great to do with your leftover Turkey after Thanksgiving.

Island Teriyaki Chicken

1 cup soy sauce 

1 cup white sugar

1 cup water

3 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon ground ginger (more to taste), or a 1-inch piece of ginger root

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or 3 pounds any type bone-in chicken

Combine sauce and chicken in a zip-top bag or airtight container. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

(For a quick-cook method, you can skip marinating, but the flavor of the meat won’t be as strong.)

To Bake: Arrange chicken breasts and marinade in 9x13 pan. Cover pan with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. 

To Grill: Discard marinade. Grill chicken on medium-high heat until cooked through. Use reserved sauce to enhance grilled chicken as desired.

Slow-Cooker Method: Combine everything in a slow cooker and cook on low heat for 8 hours. If using ginger root, remove root after 5 hours.

Serve with white rice.Serves 6.

Note: To make shoyu chicken, a Hawaiian version of teriyaki chicken, add the following ingredients to the marinade, then follow the rest of the directions as stated:

1 teaspoon black pepper

1⁄2 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Beef Stroganoff

1 pound cubed beef stew meat
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Can mushrooms (with juice)
1 - 16 oz container of sour cream
1 package bow tie pasta

In a slow cooker, combine the meat, onion, Worcestershire sauce and mushrooms.

Cook on Low setting for 8 hours, or on High setting for about 5 hours. Stir in sour cream just before serving.

Serve over noodles.

Brown Sugar Crock Pot Chicken

4-5 chicken breasts
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (don't use diet)
2/3 cup vinegar (I used half apple cider and half white)
3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
2 T soy sauce
1 t ground black pepper

Place your chicken in the crock pot. Cover with the brown sugar, garlic, pepper and soy sauce. Pour the vinegar over the top and then add the soda. It will bubble. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-9 hours. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

1 1/2 cups chopped or pulled chicken breast
1 chopped onion
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1 cube butter
1-2 cups frozen broccoli
Slivered almonds (optional)
Sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream (sometimes I add more)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp rosemary
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chicken broth (if needed)
2 cups cooked rice
salt/pepper to taste
1 Box Stove Top Stuffing

In a pan melt butter and cook celery and slivered almonds for 5 minutes. Add onion, seasonings, salt & pepper to taste. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Add cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cooked rice, diced chicken and combine until done and warm. Add chicken broth or additional milk if the mixture is too dry. Combine with frozen broccoli and pour into a 9x13 dish. Cook stove top stuffing according to mix and sprinkle on top. Cook 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until stove top stuffing is lightly browned.

**If cooking an already prepared freezer meal let casserole thaw out, remove plastic wrap and cook with tin toil at 375 degrees for 1/2 hour or so. Pull from oven, add stove top stuffing mix on top and cook uncovered at 400 degrees for an additional 25 minutes or until done.

October Meals

Ham & Cheese Braid - Angie

Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole, Bran Muffins & Orange Julius - Cheryl

Creamy Baked Penne - Debbie

Poppyseed Chicken - Julie

Chicken Tostada Upside Down Bake - Kim Rogers

Zupa's Tomato Basil Soup - Michele

Kielbasa with Beans - Michelle Williams

Lasagna - Sheri

Crock Pot Corn Chowder - Stacey

Creamy Baked Penne

1 12-16 oz pacakge Penne Pasta

2 TB Oil

1 Cube Chicken Buillon

1 Cube Garlic or 1 garlic clove

8 oz Cream Cheese

1 Can Tomatoes with Green Chiles

2 cups cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook penne noodles according to package directions 7-9 Minutes.

Drain pasta, then add base, and 1/2 cup cheese, mix in pan.

Put in 9x13 casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil so pasta doesn't dry out.

Cook for  15 min or long enough  for cheese to melt

Orange Julius

½ C Sugar

½ C Milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 6oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

3-4 C Ice cubes

1/3 C Powdered milk

1 C Water

Combine everything in a blender and serve immediately.  Add more or less liquid & ice depending on desired consistency.

Bran Muffins

2 c Bran Flakes

2 C Boiling water

2 ½ C Sugar

1 C Oil

4 Eggs

4 C Buttermilk

4 C Kellog’s Bran Buds cereal

5 C Flour

5 tsp Baking soda

1 ½ tsp Salt

Pour boiling water over bran flakes; set aside to cool.  Beat sugar and oil.  Add eggs and buttermilk.  Sift together the rest of the dry ingredients.  Stir gently with everything else just until combined.  Store in Tupperware in fridge. Don’t ever stir it again!  The batter will keep in the fridge for 6 weeks, and makes about 4 dozen muffins.  Bake muffins at 375 for 20 minutes.

Chicken Tostada Upside Down Bake

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
4 small or 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, shredded and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper
1 can diced tomatoes, fire roasted is great with this recipe
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
2 sm cans sliced olives
1 packet ranch dressing seasoning packet (optional, but really tasty)
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cumin
Pinch of kosher salt and pepper
1/2 Cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, in the sheet form if possible
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Lawry’s Garlic Salt with Parsley
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat oil in dutch oven or other large pot over medium heat.  Saute onions for 5 minutes then add in garlic; cook for an additional 1 minute.  Add chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, olives, ranch seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper.  Stir and cook for 5 minutes, until heated through, then stir in cilantro.  Pour into a 9×13 inch baking dish that’s been sprayed with non stick cooking spray.  Place Crescent Roll sheet over top of chicken mixture, brush lightly with olive oil and season with garlic salt.  (If you are using the regular crescent rolls, unroll then and press perforations together with fingers then place over chicken).  Bake for 20 minutes, until just starting to brown.  Top with cheese and bake for an additional 15-18 minutes or until cheese is melted and crescent dough is cooked through.  Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
2.  Serve with shredded lettuce and sour cream if desired (not pictured, but really good!)
8 servings

Zupa's Tomato Basil Soup

1-14oz. can of chopped tomatoes

olive oil

salt & pepper

1 stalk celery, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. chicken stock

1 bay leaf

2 tbs. butter

1/4 c. chopped fresh basil

1/2 c. heavy cream

Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, roast in 400 degree oven until caramelized, about 15 - 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add celery, carrot, onion, and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes.  Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken stock, bay leaf and butter.  Simmer about 15-20 minutes.  Remove bay leaf. Add basil and cream.  Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth. 

makes 4 - 3/4 c. servings

Kielbasa with Beans

½ pound hamburger

½ green pepper, chopped

½ onion, chopped

½ pound Kielbasa sausage sliced 

7 oz diced tomatoes

5 oz RoTel (reg.)

2 (16oz) cans pinto beans, drained

1 (28 oz) can baked beans 

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink.  Remove from pan, and drain.

Brown sausage in pan; drain and return to pan.  Add hamburger mixture and everything else except the cheese.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.  Stir in cheese.

May serve with tortilla chips or corn chips.  My husband likes sour cream and green onions on top.  I like it with a slice of whole wheat toast.   Our kids like it anyway they can get it.

Lasagna

Meat Sauce
1 lb lean ground beef- cooked
2 - 6 oz can tomato paste
1 - 15 oz can tomatoes, blended
1 Tbs basil
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp salt
1 box lasgna noodles

Cheese Sauce
1/2 c parmesan cheese
3 c. small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs
2 Tbs parsley
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

You will also need:
mozzerella cheese - shredded

1. Mix all meat sauce ingredients together (after cooking and draning the meat) in skillet.
2. simmer 20 minutes
3. While meat sauce simmers, boil noodles
4. mix cheese sauce ingredients in  bowl.
5. Spray 9x13 baking dish/cake pan with cooking spray/
6. Layer in this order:
 - noodles to cover bottom of pan, 1/2 of meat sauce, 1/2 of cheese mixture
 - layer of nooles, rest of meat mixture, rest of cheese mixture
7. top with shredded mozzerella
8. Refridgerate overnight if you are making it ahead.
9. When ready, bake at 350 until cheese is melted and begins to brown along edges.

*recipe can be halved for a square pan

Crock Pot Corn Chowder

3-4 oz bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbed
2 1/2 lbs potatoes, NOT peeled, diced in 1/4 inch cubed (I use Yukon Gold)
32 oz frozen kernel corn
1 medium/large sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
3/4 c chopped celery
6-8 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
32 oz (4 cups) chicken stock
16 oz (2 cups) half and half or heavy cream
salt and pepper

1. Combine all ingredients EXCEPT half & half in the slow cooker.
2. Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours.
3. Blend about half the soup using an immersion blender (or just scoop it into your upright blender then return to slow cooker).
4. Add half & half or heavy cream and continue cooking, uncovered, for about another 15 minutes, until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve and enjoy!

September Meals

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos - Britta

Panda Express Mandarin Chicken and Noodles - Cheryl

Haystacks - Dixie

Skillet Baked Ziti - Kim Rogers

Crock Pot Potato Soup - Kim Roylance

Cilantro Lime Chicken - Lacey

Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce - Michele

Personal Pita Pizzas - Tamara

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients:
4 pieces chicken (strip or breast - boneless, skinless)
1 lime - juiced
1/2 - 1 cup cilantro
2 cups frozen corn
1 garlic clove - minced
1/2 red onion - chopped
1 can black beans -rinsed
1 tsp cumin
Salt & Pepper to taste

To Store:
Place all ingredients in freezer safe container/bag.
Shake it up and freeze flat.

To Cook:
Cook frozen in crock pot. Low 8 hours or high 4 hours.
Once cooked, shred chicken and return to pot.

To Serve:
Serve with/over Spanish rice

Optional:
Can serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, guacamole,
tortillas or tortilla chips etc.

Skillet Baked Ziti

1 Tbs olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Salt
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 c water
3 ¾ c ziti pasta
½ cup heavy cream
½ grated parmesan cheese
¼ c minced fresh basil
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 475

Combine oil, garlic, red pepper and ½ tsp salt in 12” oven safe nonstick skillet and sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti and ½ tsp salt. Cover and cook stirring often and adjust heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until ziti is almost tender: about 15-18 minutes

Stir in cream, parmesan and basil. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over ziti. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes. Serve

Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

Turkey Meatballs

1 pound ground turkey
1 cup bread crumbs
½ cup Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. Johnny’s Garlic Seasoning (Costco)
½ tsp. pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees, spray a 9X13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place in prepared baking dish. Bake 15 minutes or until fully cooked.
Yields: approximately 24 meatballs

For another healthy alternative twist: add 1 cup loosely, packed fresh spinach, finely chopped

Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

1 Jar (24oz) Spaghetti Sauce
4 oz. Cream Cheese
Basil to taste

Soften cream cheese in microwave for 15 – 20 seconds. Place in saucepan with spaghetti sauce and heat through, stirring occasionally. Serve over spaghetti.

August Meals

Sloppy Joes and Caramelized Green Beans - Britta

Chicken Scampi - Cheryl

Million Dollar Spaghetti - Dixie

Chicken Penne Pasta - Elsje

Taco Soup - Lacey

Southwest Chicken Wraps - Kim Rogers

Beef Stroganoff - Kim Roylance

Chicken & Apricot Bagel Sandwiches - Michele

Pita Pizzas - Stacey