Sunday, March 31, 2013

Easter Ham....

HaPpY EasTeR!!  I cooked one of our home grown Hams for Easter Dinner today....it turned out great!!!

Easter Ham
6 to 8 lb. Ham
Mix together in large roasting pan:
1 cup orange juice
12 oz. can 7up
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white vinegar
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. ginger
Place ham in roaster and pour marinade over ham to baste.  Cover and bake at 300 (1/2 hour/lb.).  Baste occasionally during baking.
Make this dipping sauce while ham is baking.
Stir together in saucepan:
1 egg
5 T. water
5 T. vinegar
Add:
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. flour
1 T. dry mustard
1/4 t. celery seed
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
Cook & stir over med. heat until thick.  Cover with lid and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Beat 1/2 c. whipping cream until stiff peaks form
When egg mixture is cooled fold in whipped cream.  Chill and serve with ham.

I made a few adjustments to my recipe above.... from the Pinterest recipe.....I like how it turned out!!!  I liked the dipping sauce and think it would make a great sandwich spread too.  I also cooked a turkey today and it was good on the turkey too.  The ham had great flavor and I think next time I will allow the ham to marinate in the marinade for a few hours or overnight.  I will definitely do this again.  The sauce is good but not totally necessary.  I started baking this at 300....after about an hour I turned my oven up to 325 and then the last hour I turned it up to 350.  My ham weighed just under 7 lbs. and it took almost 3 1/2 hours to bake. I think the lower temperature would be best but I needed it to get done sooner than that.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

White Bean Chicken Chili & Asian Mushroom Chicken Soup

These recipes are from Marcia.  

White bean chicken chili 
3/4 lb. cooked chicken 
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 med onion
1 jalapeño
2 t oregano
1 t cumin
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic
2 15 ozs. cans of white beans
3 cups chicken broth
simmer
top with grated cheese
sour cream
cilantro 
lime juice

Asian mushroom chicken soup
4 cup chicken broth
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic
3 cups mushrooms (button, oyster, portobello, crimini, or shitake(no stems)
2 cups white cabbage (napa)
1 cup carrots
2 cups chicken breast
Boil and simmer 5 mins
Add:
2 cups fresh udon noodles or cooked linguine
1 cup fresh spinach
1 cup green onions
Cook 2 mins

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Ultimate Strawberry Shortcake

This one looks yummy....could be a great Easter dessert!?  Thanks to Ivy Snow for sharing it in her RS newsletter.


The Ultimate Strawberry Shortcake
1 quart fresh strawberries (or more if you like)
1/2 cup sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping
1 (14 ounce) angel food cake, cut into cubes (I buy the cake already made)
Directions:
Wash, stem, and cut strawberries in half.
Add sugar; toss to mix well.
Chill.
Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar well.
Fold in whipped topping and cake cubes.
Spread cake into an ungreased 13x9 dish.
Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
Cut cake into squares; top with strawberries.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

TACO PIE.....

This looks yummy......and easy....my kind of recipe!!  I think I could also make a real pie crust using my new pie crust skills and it would be yummy too!

TACO PIE
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup milk
1 package Taco Bell seasoning mix
2 1/2 cups mashed potato flakes (you could also use left over mashed potatoes and omit the butter and milk)
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Sour cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter. Add milk and 2 tablespoon taco seasoning.
Remove from heat and add potato flakes until incorporated. Press mixture into the bottom of a 10-inch pan. Bake for 7-10 minutes until it just BARELY turns golden brown.

In a medium skillet, cook beef and onions until beef is browned and cooked through. Drain. Add Salsa and remaining taco seasoning. Cook until bubbly. Pour into crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Top with cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Cut and serve with sour cream.

Brownie Mix....

Never buy boxed brownie mix again!  Simple & easy & saves $$.  And now I know exactly what is in it....no unknown ingredients and preservatives that I don't want anyway!! 

Brownie Mix = $0.30 per pan/mix. 
1 Cup Sugar, 
1/2 Cup Flour,
1/3 Cup Cocoa,
1/4 tsp Salt,
1/4 tsp Baking Powder.
Place these ingredients in a bag or jar and store.   When you want brownies.....
Add: 2 Eggs, 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil, 1 teaspoon Vanilla.
Pour into a square pan (8x8 or 9x9) Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 

Birthday Monkey Bread Breakfast....

Look what I just found.....The perfect birthday breakfast....and March is birthday MONTH for our family.....21 family birthdays on my calendar this month!!  So I am always looking for an alternative for cake this month to change it up a bit!!!  I love birthdays.....and my family!!!

Birthday Monkey Bread Breakfast
1 can Pillsbury Grands Homestyle Biscuits (16.3 oz.)  OR use bread maker dough
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. dry cake mix (vanilla or whatever you like)
2 T. cinnamon
candy sprinkles
ICING
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. dry cake mix
1/3 c. sugar
Spray 4 - 4 oz. souffle dishes with cooking spray.  Separate dough into 8 biscuits.  Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces.  Roll into balls.  Melt butter and place in a small bowl and set aside.  Mix together, brown sugar, 1/3 c. cake mix, cinnamon and sprinkles.  Dip each dough ball into melted butter and then roll in the sugar mixture.  Place 8 balls in each souffle dish.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, until puffed up and ligthly browned.
While they are baking, melt 1/4 c. butter in saucepan.  Stir in 1/2 c. cake mix and the sugar.  Mix with whisk to form thick glaze.  Remove from heat.  Cool 5 minutes.  Spread over monkey bread and top with more sprinkles and a candle of course!!
HINTS:  If glaze is too thick add a little water. If you are pushed for time in the mornings.....bake the bread portion the day before.....then reheat and glaze that morning.
http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/cake-batter-monkey-bread/890c9af2-955d-4990-9e43-ca3dc0a62f82/

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Peanut Butter Chocolate Eclair Cake


Here's a yummy looking dessert.....I want to try.  

Peanut Butter Chocolate Éclair Cake~~Southern Mama~~


1 box chocolate graham crackers (there will be a few graham crackers left over)2 (3 1/4-ounce) boxes vanilla instant pudding1 cup peanut butter3 1/2 cups milk1 (8-ounce) container Cool Whip, thawed1 can chocolate frosting
Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with whole graham crackers. In bowl using an electric mixer, mix pudding with milk and peanut butter; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Pour half the pudding mixture over graham crackers. Place another layer of whole graham crackers on top of pudding layer. Pour over remaining half of pudding mixture and cover with another layer of graham crackers. Heat the container of prepared frosting, uncovered in the microwave for 1 minute. Pour over the top of the cake.Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving.


Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup....for a crowd


I usually just dump in whatever I think of but since I am making 8 to 10 gallons of this for the Women's Conference on the 16th I thought I should write down a recipe to follow.  So yesterday I tried it out and here it is:   (feel free to make adjustments according to your tastes)  

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup........for a crowd (about 1 1/2 gallon)
1 Gallon water or chicken broth 
1/4 c. chicken bouillon
1 c. chopped onion or 1/2 c. dried 
11/2 c. chopped carrots
1 1/2 c. chopped celery
2 t. granulated garlic
1 t. thyme flakes 
1 to 2 t. salt 
1 t. pepper
1/2 c. chicken gravy mix
2 - 3 T. parsley flakes
3 - 4 c. shredded cooked chicken
16 oz. homestyle country egg noodles (I made homemade egg noodles, but I only made 1 gallon of soup)
Place all ingredients in a roaster oven or crockpot, depending on how much you need to make.  Once the noodles are done turn the heat down to lowest setting.  If you will be cooking it for a long time you might want to wait to add the noodles, so they don't go mushy.  

Keebler Cracker Cookies

I had Joey & Tonya Keene over for dinner last week to celebrate our birthdays!!  We were in the hospital together when we were born.  So we try to do something close to our birthdays each year.  It is a great tradition!!  Usually her & I just go to lunch someplace, but this year I thought it would be fun to include the husbands with us.  We had a blast, talking & laughing about old times!  Tonya brought a plate full of these fun little cookies.  They are so delicious.....yes, I ate most of the plateful and requested the recipe.  Here it is:

Keebler Cracker Cookies
1 c. sliced toasted almonds
1 sleeve Keebler Club Crackers (original)
Place crackers in a single layer on a foil lined cookie sheet.
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
Melt the butter and add the sugar.  Cook on medium heat until it boils, then cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour mixture over the crackers and smooth out so all crackers are covered.  Sprinkle with toasted almonds.  Bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until golden in color. Remove from oven and move to cooling racks to cool.  YUMMY!!!

Lacey Making Teddy Bear Cookies