Meatloaf

This is my mother-in-law's recipe.  =)  I love my MIL!

• 1 jumbo egg 
• 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes (or half tomatoes, half ketchup; or 15 oz tomato sauce) 
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper 
• 1 large onion, finely diced (approx. 1 cup) 
• ½ green pepper, finely diced 
• 1 sleeve crushed Ritz crackers (about 34) OR 4 end pieces of bread 
• 2 lb. ground chuck 

►Whisk egg in mixing bowl.  Add tomatoes, salt, black pepper, onion, and green pepper.  Crush crackers or run bread thru food processor.  Add to bowl and mix well.  Break the ground chuck into pieces, and mix thoroughly in bowl. 
►Put in non-greased 9 x 13 baking dish.  Divide in the middle so there are two loaves.  This helps it to cook more evenly.
►Bake at 350° for 1 hour, 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and carefully tilt dish and drain most of the grease.  You can get out the rest by using tongs to press a paper towel down in the corners.
Spread ketchup over the top of the meatloaf and return to oven for 15 more minutes.
If making half a recipe, cut first cooking time to one hour.

--Once I didn't have crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, so I ran 3 medium tomatoes thru the food processor, and it made about 10 ounces.  I added ketchup to make up the difference, and did not use salt.

--I've also used one 10 oz. can of tomato soup, and 5 oz. ketchup - just filled the soup can halfway.

We had meatloaf tonight with creamed potatoes, green peas, salad, and yeast rolls (that Bethany made =) with honey butter.  Yummy!
We ate about half that recipe of meatloaf.  (fam. of 5 w/ one 12-yo boy)

Debbie's Chili Beans

This recipe has been moved.
You can find it here.  =)

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Chicken Fajitas

• 4 large chicken breast halves
• 1 large red pepper, seeded, sliced
• 1 large green pepper, seeded, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. crushed basil
• ½ tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 T. olive oil
• 12 flour tortillas

Rebekah has been wanting Chicken Fajitas, so she and I made this today.  Heat oil in large skillet.  Add in garlic, sliced green and red peppers, and onions.  Add spices. Thinly slice chicken and add to pan.  I sliced mine about ¼ inch thick.  Cook on medium high, uncovered for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

If you have very much liquid left from the vegetables, tilt pan and spoon out liquid into a small bowl.  Some people like to use this for dipping.
We served ours with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tomatoes.  Some recipes I found online served them with salsa.
These were soooo good!  I just wish I had made extra for leftovers tomorrow!  =)
Other ingredients on various recipes I saw:
1 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. black pepper, cilantro, 2 tsp. lime juice to sprinkle over top, 1 tsp. ground cumin.

Grilled Ham, Egg, n Cheese

Yummy breakfast sandwich!  Just like grilled cheese, but with ham and egg. 
Scramble egg first, then make your sandwich.  Grill with a little butter in pan on medium heat.
Eat with a fork!  =)

Burgers!

We had hamburgers and deerburgers tonight.   I'm sure you know how to make burgers, so here's a picture, no recipe.  =)  I will add that deer has virtually no grease and doesn't draw up as much as hamburger.
The deerburgers were from the deer that JohnDavid got a couple of months ago.  I love deer stew and deer in vegetable soup, but I just can't get used to the taste of deerburger.  I tried, I really did.  I ate them a couple of times, but decided I wasn't going to be able to acquire a taste for it.  But the kids love it!  =)
The oven potatoes were made with garlic salt and Italian seasoning.

Garlic Pizza Pockets

• ½ stick of butter, more if for dipping
• ½ t. garlic powder,more if for dipping
• 1 t. parsley flakes
• ¼ t. oregano
• 6 slices of ham
• 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ c. chopped onion
• 1 tube refrigerated pizza dough, not thin crust (prevents tearing)
• 2 - 4 T. pizza sauce (optional), plus extra for dipping.  I would probably only use 2 T. since I'm also using the garlic butter.     I don't want it to run off the edge.  =)

►In microwavable mixing bowl, melt ½ stick of butter.  Add ½ t. garlic powder, parsley flakes, and oregano.  Stir together.
Cut the ham into small squares with pizza cutter and add to mixing bowl.  Add mozzarella cheese, onions, and pizza sauce.  Stir together until you can see the parsley (or sauce if you used it) is evenly distributed throughout.
I made mine without sauce this time.  It wasn't dry because of the butter and melted cheese.
►Spray cookie sheet, and lightly spray plastic cutting board if you have one.  Unroll pizza dough onto cutting board (easier to handle if cold), stretching slightly.  With pizza cutter, cut into eight pieces.
►Spoon 1/3 - 1/2 c. mixture onto each piece in center, making sure none is near the side edges.  Pick up the dough by the thickest end and stretch slightly as you fold it over to the other end.  Press edges together with fork, being careful not to puncture the dough.  Carefully place on greased cookie sheet.
►Bake at 425º for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.
Makes eight.
Great with salad!
►Serve with pizza sauce or garlic butter (1 stick butter to 1 t. garlic powder).

JohnDavid even liked it without pizza sauce in it.  =)

It was a success!!!

Super Bowl

I'm finally feeling well enough to post.  Been "under the weather." 
No recipe, but here's a picture of my sister-in-law's chili beans staying hot on the wood stove!
We all went to my father-in-law's Sunday night after church.  He had the TV set up in his building, and with heat from the wood stove, we were plenty warm.  It's just like the stove we had in our home while I was growing up.  =)
Everyone brought different things, and it was chaotic and fun.  I printed football and Colts coloring sheets for the younger kids, and football bingo for the older ones.  They marked off plays as they happened.  Bethany won!

As for what we had planned to post here, things did not work out the way we'd planned.  The girls and their cousin were going to make a Super Bowl cake with fondant, iced yardage lines, and logos of both teams.
We got snowed in.  Well, on this hill we live on, it does not take much!
Their cousin had the cake mixes, icing tips, and the right pan they needed.  We had the stuff to make fondant.
We just couldn't get it together. 

But there was plenty to eat.  Chili beans, tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream... hamburgers and hot dogs w/ homemade chili... brownies, homemade strawberry cake with yummy strawberry icing...  3-cheese seasoned tortillas... and more!  Hope everyone had a great time with family and friends, and I'll have more recipes soon.  =)

Diaper Cake!

Well, this cake is not edible. 
It's a diaper cake! Beautiful isn't it? 
My mother-in-law and I made it.  I can't remember how many diapers we used - it was over six years ago, but I'll explain it the best I can.
~We used white diapers, not patterned.
~I know we used size 2 diapers.  That way the mother could wait a little while before taking it apart.
~We opened the diapers and wound them around length-ways.  I used a piece of masking tape to attach one overlapping diaper to the next, since I didn't think that would stick to the diaper as much and ruin it.  Seems like I stuck the tape to my skirt first to reduce the stickiness.  We did this until the last layer, where the tape would be seen, then I think we used a loop of inside-out tape under the edge of the diapers.  Prob only 4 or 5 diapers on that last row.
~We used ribbon on the top and bottom edges on the bottom and middle levels, and this helped the last layer of diapers stay put.

Here's what we used as decorations:

• about 3 dozen rosebuds (different shades) already fastened to thin wire.  These we bent the sharp ends over and pushed between the last 2 layers of diapers on each level, and bunched 3 together at the top.
• Small strings of beads, looped over the rosebuds, and hung in a U shape
• Beaded, lacy ribbon around the top and bottom edges of each level.  This helped the hanging beads stay in place.  I'm sure we used tiny bits of tape here under the ribbon, too.
• Extra lace that was wider, that we pushed under the edge of the bottom level, and affixed to the pan it was on with small pieces of tape
• pair of black shiny shoes
• comb and brush set tied with ribbon
• $1.00 wrapped in ribbon
• lacy socks
• pink toothbrush tied with ribbon
• fork and spoon set tied with ribbon
• translucent pale pink teether
• several light pink hairbows at the base of the top level
• tiny doll for the topper

~In the top level of the cake, we folded the diapers in half length-ways, because the regular width of the diaper was too tall.
We started with the bottom level, and kept wrapping until we got it nearly the size of the pan.  It's a silver pizza pan, and you can barely see it under the edge of the lace.
Then we did the middle until we got it to size, then the top.
~It's good if you have a slim dowel rod or something to go down through the middle to keep the levels lined up, and so the top ones won't fall off. 
~We just positioned the doll topper and shoes as the main accessories, then filled in the other pieces by carefully pushing between the layers of diapers.
We probably used a little tape to keep the socks, shoes, and the doll topper in place.
~Remember, your accessories need to have a little color.  The white socks have a little dark mauve in the lace.  You can have everything lacy and dainty, or go more colorful, or more boyish. 
The Mom-to-be that received it said she was going to have a hard time taking it apart!
This was definitely not a quick project, but it was worth it.
I just L♥VE this picture! ♥♥

Super Bowl Snacks!

A couple of years ago, we made football-shaped chocolate rice crispies.
Last year we made football brownies!

This is Rebekah putting on the laces.
I got the idea from the Betty Crocker website. Of course, ours don't look quite as perfect as theirs, and the pics were made w/ my fuzzy cell phone, but my kids had a good time decorating them.
We also had salsa and chips - shown here in our football-shaped serving dish. Heat the salsa and add sour cream.... de-LISH!
My mother-in-law bought all of us these cool
football cups. :o)
We also had Totino's pizza rolls (on sale for .50 per box!), and veggies and dip -- finger food! Perfect for a football game. :o)

New plan for this year... hope it ends up well.  Stay tuned. =)

Chicken, Broccoli, & Rice

 Large recipe!

• 4 chicken breast halves, cubed
• 3 cloves garlic, mashed/chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded, cut into chunks
• 2 large onions, cut into chunks
• 32 oz. bag frozen broccoli florets
• 3 T. olive oil
• ¼ t. oregano
• 1 t. basil
• 1 t. parsley
• ½ -1 c. chicken broth or water

In large pan, (I use a large 4 qt pan - the one I used for the deer stew) slightly boil frozen chicken just enough so you can cut it into cubes.  Discard all but 1 c. broth.  Heat oil in pan, add chicken, garlic, and other spices.  Lightly salt chicken.
While chicken is browning, cut up red peppers and onions.  Add to pan.  When chicken is brown enough, add at least 1/2 c. broth or water, and pour 32 oz bag of broccoli into pan.  Stir, pushing broccoli to the bottom of the pan.  Bring to a boil, cover and turn down to medium to cook broccoli for about 8 - 10 minutes, or until broccoli is tender.
Serve over white or brown rice, with rolls brushed with garlic butter.
Of course I had to make oven potatoes for those who didn't want rice.  =)

Homemade Vegetable Soup

This recipe has been moved.
Find it here!  =)

Delicious Pinto Beans

Wash and look thru beans, removing any bad ones.
Cover in several inches of water in pot with lid to soak overnight.
--OR the fast-soak method - bring to boil, cover and let simmer 10 minutes, turn off heat and let set for an hour.
Drain water and rinse beans.
Note - 1 lb dry beans = about 2½ cups dry, about 8 cups cooked.

Crockpot

Put into crockpot, and fill with fresh water 1 inch or so from top.  Add a piece of hamhock or any other meat you like.  Cook on high for about an hour-and-a-half, turn on low for 6 hours.

Stovetop

Add hamhock, beans, and fresh water.  Bring to a boil.  Turn on low, covered for about 3 - 4 hours.  Add a little water if it gets low.

Add salt to taste when beans are fully cooked.

►Serve with pan-fried cornbread.  Yummy!  =)
We mix cornbread as usual, and fry in a pan with a little butter.  We like it this way because you get more of the outer crust.

Some people like to cook pintos with chopped onion, or a couple of jalapeño peppers with seeds scraped out and discarded (wear gloves!), and/or a few peeled cloves of garlic.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my Grandma's recipe!
Well, I changed a couple of things awhile back, but I can't remember what.

• ¼ c. white sugar
• ½ c. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. shortening
• 1 egg
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 c. self-rising flour
• 1 c. chocolate chips

Cream shortening and sugars.  Add beaten egg and vanilla.  Then add flour to creamed mixture.  Finally add chocolate chips. 
Spoon-drop cookie dough onto greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350º for 8-10 minutes.

When my aunt was little, and she had to bring a snack to school, the teachers and kids in the class would always tell her to ask my Grandma to make these cookies.

Upside-Down Chicken/Broccoli Pizza

• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
• 2 c. cubed chicken, not cooked
  
• 2 t. Italian seasoning
• ½ t. salt
• ¼ t. pepper
• 4 oz. mushrooms, optional
• 3 cups (16 oz. frozen bag) cooked broccoli, chopped
• ½ c. ranch dressing (leaving this out next time)
  
• ½ c. white Alfredo sauce (using 1 cup next time)
  
• 2 c. (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 11-oz. tube refrigerated pizza dough
• 1 egg, beaten
  

~Preheat oven to 400º.
 ~If you have one, use a skillet with oven-safe handles.  Heat oil in skillet, add onions, mushrooms, seasonings, and chicken.  Cook until chicken is cooked through.
~Cook broccoli, drain.
~After chicken is cooked, stir in broccoli, ranch dressing, and Alfredo sauce.
~In oven-safe skillet, sprinkle cheese over mixture and remove from heat.  Or pour mixture into a casserole dish and sprinkle cheese on top.
~Unroll dough and lay over top of skillet or casserole dish.  Fit dough over the edge of pan and cut off corners of dough.  Create a crust by rolling any excess dough down, and then stuffing along inside the edge of pan.  (My edges that were higher browned first.)
~Brush with beaten egg and bake for 18-20 minutes.  Let rest a few minutes before serving.
Source:  adapted from Hidden Valley Ranch recipe in Woman's Day magazine.

I knew JohnDavid probably would not like this, so I made him one without sauce. (I cooked more of everything in the recipe)  He liked it. (ETA: not as much as I thought.  Prob just make him a pizza next time =) I topped it with the dough I cut from the edges.  His was done in 16 minutes.
The dough was much bigger than I realized, and it would easily cover a rectangular dish, with leftovers for JohnDavid's.  I still have a little in a zip-loc baggie in the fridge.  2/12/10 ETA:  I looked again at the pizza dough at the store, and saw another tube, and realized I'd gotten the thin crust -- slimmer, longer tube.

I didn't care for the slight ranch taste, and will probably use all the Alfredo mix next time.  I bought McCormick's, and it makes one cup.

Bacon, Egg, (& toast) Cups

Sooo yummy!

• 6 slices of bacon
• ½ c. cheddar cheese
• 6 eggs
• 6 slices of bread (optional - I didn't use it this time)

Cook bacon until just starting to brown, about 3-5 minutes or so.  This will help get rid of some of the grease.  Place on a paper towel to drain.
Spray or grease cupcake pan.
**If using the toast, cut 3 inch rounds out of the bread with a cookie cutter or lid.  Press toast into the bottom of each cup.
~Wrap bacon around the edge of the bread, either inside or out, or if not using bread, just curl the bacon around the well of each cup.
 ~We didn't use cheese this time, but if you want to scramble the egg with cheese, that sounds like it would be delicious!  I've read this way takes a couple of minutes longer to cook.
Otherwise, put the cheese in before the egg.  Some websites used bread, so I'm not sure about putting in the cheese directly against the pan.  Probably be ok, tho.
~Break an egg into each cup.  If using toast, you'll need to remove about half of the white.  I guess so there will be room?
~Bake at 400º for 8-10 minutes.  It will not look done!  I cooked mine a little longer, and it cooked the yellow.  But it was still good.
Use a spoon to remove and serve.  Season w/ salt and pepper to taste.
Sources: Stacy Snacks (no bread), The Noshery, Annie Eats

We didn't use the toast this time. (just can't see wasting part of the bread and part of the egg, too!)  Since I was making gravy with the bacon grease, Rebekah made pan fried biscuits.  Biscuits and gravy just go together!  =D

Baked White Chicken Spaghetti

Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!

• 2 c. cooked chicken, cubed
• 3 c. chicken broth
  
• 1 8-oz box spaghetti
• 1/3 c. butter
• 1/3 c. sifted flour
• 1 c. cream or half & half (I used 2% milk and thickened later)  ETA: You could also add 2 - 4 T. butter.  I guess to make it richer?  I'll try that next time.
  
• 2 T. parsley (I had none, and used 1 T. basil. I think 2 tsp. wd have been enough)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
  
• 1 c. chopped mushrooms (optional - I didn't have any)
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

~Cook chicken, cut into cubes, saving 3 cups of the broth.  Cook spaghetti and drain.
~In pot, melt butter and add flour, stirring with whisk.  Cook for 3 to 5 minutes on low.  Take off heat and stir in the warm broth.  Blend well and return to heat.
~Stir in cream or milk, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Cook until you have a creamy sauce.
~I used milk, so with a whisk I mixed about 2 T. flour into 1/4 c. COLD water.  I got the sauce nearly to boiling and slowly poured in the flour/water, mixing altogether with a whisk.  The sauce should thicken immediately.  If it doesn't, repeat with the flour/water.  Remove from heat.  It looks like alfredo sauce.
~Add spaghetti, chicken, and mushrooms.  Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish.  I used my glass oval dish that has a lid to put into the refrigerator later.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and extra parsley on top.  Cover with foil and bake at 350º for about 30 minutes.
~Top with mozzarella or Provolone cheese.
Source:  The Homemaking Helper

I knew JohnDavid wouldn't care for this recipe, and maybe not Travis either (but he did =).  So I cooked 16 oz of spaghetti and made regular spaghetti with half of the noodles.  Boy I had to juggle my pots back and forth, and wash them to reuse while cooking.
Here's my kitchen before and after.  =)

See the clean/dirty sign above the dishwasher?  =D
I love the sound of a dishwasher, hahaha!

15-Bean Chili

Okay, this chili did NOT end up the way it started!  But it ended up sooo good (according to my family), I'm posting it.
But eventually I'll redo it and get down an exact recipe that I'll use every time.  This recipe... is... scattered!

Yesterday, groceries getting low, I decided to have hot dogs, but didn't have any chili. Travis hadn't taken his phone, so I couldn't call him to pick up some on the way home. So I decided to try to make some.
Never having made hot dog chili, I looked up 4 or 5 recipes online, and sort of put together what I thought would work.

• 1 lb. ground deer burger (next time I'm using beef - I like deer meat, but not so much deer burger)
• 1 med. onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed/chopped
• 1½ T. chili powder (that's all I had)
• ½ c. brown sugar (One recipe I was looking at called for 1 1/4 cups!!!)
• 3 tomatoes run thru the food processor (I had no canned tomatoes, and didn't measure how much this made) 
• I think I put in 1 t. salt
  
• And today I added beans to change the recipe from what I first intended. =)
  

~I browned the meat, onions, and garlic together.
~Then added a little water, about a cup, and added in the chili powder, and sugar (leaving this out next time!).  It was too sweet!!!
~Some recipes said ketchup, but I knew that would be sweet too, so I added 3 tomatoes (that's all I had. I'll used canned, diced tomatoes next time).  It was still too sweet, so I read online to add a potato and let it cook for awhile, then remove it.  Still too sweet, in my opinion.
~I let it simmer awhile.  I wanted to thicken it a bit, so I used a whisk to mix a 1/4 c. water and a small amount of sifted flour, and added it to the hot chili.  Looked like hot dog chili, but didn't exactly have the taste like what I think of hot dog chili. 
It was not what I wanted.
Then Travis called from a borrowed phone before he headed home, and I asked him to get a can of chili.  =)

But Travis liked what I cooked and used it instead of the canned chili!
Then I put it in the fridge w/ plans to work on it some more later.

~Today, I added beans to have chili beans instead of hot dog chili.  I had a 20 oz. bag for 15-bean soup, and decided to use those.  =)
Well, I let the water get too low... and the beans stuck in the pot.  So I transferred them to another pot, and continued.  But I ended up with less beans than I intended.
~Finally, I added the beans with liquid to yesterday's chili, and since it was past time for supper, microwaved them together for about 8 minutes to heat the chili and hopefully blend the flavors.
I added a bit more salt, and it turned out great! (according to my family)
Me? I liked it better after I added the sour cream, ha!   
I think it was the deer burger and sugar...
Serve with tortilla chips and top with shredded cheese and sour cream.  Yum, yum! (according to my family! =)

Chicken Crescent Pockets

Mmmmmm!!!

• 1 t. garlic salt
• ¼ t. pepper
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 T. butter, softened
• 2 T. milk
  
• ½ c. onion, chopped
• ¼ green pepper, chopped (optional)
  
• ¼ red pepper, chopped (optional)
  
• 2 c. chicken, cooked and cut into cubes
• 2 cans (8 count) refrigerated crescent rolls
  

~Mix together cream cheese, butter, garlic salt, pepper, and milk.  Add in onions and peppers, then add in chicken.
~Open and roll out crescent rolls.  Separate each can into 4 rectangles (8 for both cans).  Pinch together perforations to seal.  Spoon in about 1/3 c. mixture onto each rectangle, fold over and pinch to seal shut.
~Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake 350º for about 22-25 minutes until lightly browned.
~To reheat: 350º for about 10-12 minutes.  It will brown a little more.  If you don't want it any more brown, cover lightly with foil for the first 5 or 6 minutes.  Remove foil and finish heating to crisp the bread.
Great with seasoned rice and broccoli.  =)

LOL!  My son tasted it and told me I'd better write that boys probably wouldn't like it.  hahaha!  =D 

I'll have to make him a pizza pocket.  

For appetizers, these can be made by using each triangle.  Spoon some of the mixture near the end of the triangle.   Fold over the two short ends, then fold the long end all the way over the top and tuck under.  

   Garlic Cream Cheese Spread    

If you have a little leftover, you can use as a spread for Ritz or any vegetable cracker.  Good even without the chicken and peppers, as shown here.  →  The above recipe without the chicken will top about 30-35 crackers.

You may also like Pineapple Cream Cheese Spread.

Peppers & Onions French Bread Topper

WOW!  Look what Rebekah made for lunch!  =)

• 1 large onion, sliced/chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 3-4 slices of ham, cut into pieces
• 1 garlic clove, smashed/chopped
  
• 1/4 t. oregano
• 1 t. Italian seasoning 
• 6-8 slices of French bread
  
• 6-8 slices provolone cheese
• 1 large tomato, diced
  

In skillet with a little butter, cook the onions, green pepper, ham, and seasonings.  Spoon onto slices of French bread on a cookie sheet.  Top each with a slice of Provolone cheese.  Bake at 450º for 5-7 minutes until cheese is melted.
Top with diced tomatoes.  Sprinkle with pepper or oregano.  Makes 6-8, yum yum!

We didn't have any French bread, so Rebekah just made theirs with loaf bread.  Mine in the picture has no bread.  (and no, it's not a plateful!  that's a saucer.  =)