Amazingly Delicious, Easy Pot Roast

Ingredients:
1 pot roast
1 packet brown gravy
1 packet Zesty Italian dressing mix
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 C water

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low 6-8 hours. I did mine for 8 and it was tender and juicy and perfect! The tastiest pot roast I've ever made!

Hawaiian Haystacks

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can milk (use the cream of chicken soup can)
1/2 package cream cheese (at room temperature)
1/2 package Italian dressing mix
1 C rice

Cook the chicken on the stove or however you prefer. (I use the FlavorWave Melanie and Tom gave us for our wedding, but you can do it how you like.) Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Prepare the rice according to directions and set aside. In a saucepan, combine soup, milk and Italian dressing mix and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and add cream cheese, stirring on medium heat until it's all a smooth blend, and then add the chicken. Serve the mixture over the rice.

No-Bake Cookies

Ingredients:
3 C quick cooking oats
2 C white sugar
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C milk
1/2 C margarine
1/2 C peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

Combine sugar, cocoa, milk and margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla, salt, peanut butter and oats. Drop onto waxed paper in spoonfuls. Eat until you're sick!

TGI Fridays Crispy Green Bean Fries

Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth

6-8 ounces fresh green beans

1 cup flour

1 cup plain or seasoned dry bread crumbs

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp garlic powder

vegetable oil for frying

Instructions:

1. Place beans in the broth.

2. Bring to a boil and cook 15 minutes, then place in cold water to stop cooking process

3. Mix beaten egg with milk in a shallow bowl.

4. Measure 1 cup of flour into another shallow bowl.

5. Combine Bread crumbs, 3/4 tsp salt, black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder

6. Take a handful of beans out of the water and shake off excess liquid.

7. Coat the beans with the flour, shaking to remove excess.

8. Dip the beans, one at a time, into egg/milk mixture, then dip in breadcrumb mixture.

9. Place the beans on a plate until all are coated

10. Heat the oil to 350 in a heavy skillet (or use deep fryer). Use enough to cover the beans, about 1 1/2 inches

11. Fry until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes

12. Drain on paper towels

13. Enjoy

Hawaiian Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Kings Hawaiian Rolls

Deli Sliced Ham

Sliced Swiss Cheese

1/2 stick butter

1/2 T Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp garlic powder

(I've also seen these done with some poppy seeds added to the sauce but we prefer them without)

Instructions:

Cut the rolls in half (don't pull the rolls apart - leave them all attached together and cut the whole thing in half). Place ham and cheese on the bottom rolls and place the top half of the rolls back on top. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder and mix together. Brush the sauce over the rolls (I don't use all the sauce - just enough to get them nice and buttery). Sprinkle with poppy seeds (or don't).

Bake covered at 350 for 15-20 minutes until warmed through.

Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken

Note - this recipe is best grilled on a barbeque. I've also cooked these in the oven and it's just not the same.

Ingredients:

chicken tenders (thawed)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 T chopped fresh cilantro

1 1/2 tsp packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp black pepper

Instructions:

Mix ingredients & marinade chicken in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before grilling. Yummy with salsa, sour cream and avocado. Serve with rice, black beans and corn. Also awesome with all the ingredients wrapped in a warm tortilla with melted cheese.

Spinach Apple Bacon Salad

Ingredients:

2 bunches of raw spinach

1 1/2 granny smith apples

1/4 lb bacon

1/4-1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup diced red onion

6 T vinegar

2/3 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

Instructions:

For Salad - wash spinach very well. Cut apples. Fry bacon and break into small pieces. Combine spinach apples, bacon and almonds.

For dressing - combine onion, vinegar, oil, sugar and salt in a container with a lid and mix well. Dressing is best if you make it the day before and refrigerate overnight. Pour dressing over salad just before eating.

Homemade (kinda) Chicken Pot Pies

Ingredients:

2 unbaked pie crusts

1 family size rotisserie chicken (again from Walmart), chopped or shredded into bite size pieces

1/2 (12-16 oz.) bag of frozen peas and carrots or mixed vegetables, thawed

1 onion, minced

butter

5 medium-small red potatoes diced, or 2-3 baking potatoes peeled and diced

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 McCormick chicken gravy packet

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt (more or less, to taste)

Ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400. Bring a large pot of water (salt optional) to a boil. When ready, add potatoes and boil until tender. Meanwhile, heat about 1 Tbsp. butter in a medium skillet. When the butter is bubbly, saute the onion until it’s translucent and fragrant. Set aside. Prepare the chicken gravy packet normally. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, gravy, chicken, vegetables, onion, and potatoes. Season to taste.

Now…the pie can be done a couple of ways. You can make one family-sized chicken pot pie or little individual mugs/ramekins of chicken pot pie. The baking directions are exactly the same, except that the mug pies ONLY have a crust on top (which cuts down on the fat.)

ANYWAY. If you’re making one whole pie, place one pie crust on the bottom of a pie plate, transfer the filling to the pie plate, and then top with the other pie crust. Crimp the edges and then cut a few vent holes on top.

If you’re making individual pies in oven-safe jars, mugs, or ramekins, fill the dishes with the chicken mixture

and then top with a piece of pie crust slightly larger than the opening of the dish. Crimp the edges and cut some vent holes.

Place pie plate/individual pies on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Beef Gravy Stew

Ingredients:

1 Beef Chuck Tender Roast (I buy this at Walmart)

4 cups water

4 beef bouillon cubes

2 T cornstarch and enough cold water to dissolve the cornstarch

2 McMormick brown gravy mix packets

3 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 onion, finely diced

Instructions:

(this is just how I did it - you could probably alter to your needs or simplify and it would still turn out)

Cook the roast in the crock pot - high for 3 or 4 hours and low a few more hours until it's done but not shredding apart. Once done, remove from crock pot and pour all drippings into a large pot on the stove. Add 4 cups water and 4 bouillon cubes to pot - heat until bouillon is dissolved (you could probably just use 4 cups beef stock instead). Put cornstarch in a small bowl and add enough cold water to dissolve cornstarch (I'm guessing 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water) - stirring with a fork. Stir the mixture slowly into the pot. This creates a thickening for the beef broth to make homemade gravy.

Cut your roast into bite size cubes. Prepare the 2 gravy packets normally in a separate pan. Add onion and carrots to pot and bring to a boil. Once carrots are a bit soft add potatoes, steak and prepared gravy and and cook until all the vegetables are tender, everything is heated through and gravy has thickened up. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Easy Potato Soup from Sam the Cooking Guy

Ingredients:

3 big baking potatoes, peeled and diced

1 big red onion, diced

3 cups chicken broth, diced - just kidding

2 T butter

1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3 T fresh chopped parsley

Put potatoes in a large pot, cover with chicken broth and simmer until soft, about 15 minutes. Saute onions in butter until softened. Add about 3/4 of the onions, whipping cream and parsley to the potato pot. Simmer on low about 5 more minutes until the it thickens a bit. With the back or a large spoon, mash some of the potatoes in the pot while it's simmering - just for fun. Serve in bread bowls (we get the sourdough bread bowls at Walmart) with whatever toppings you can find. We've done cheddar cheese, crispy bacon pieces, the remainder of the sauteed red onion, croutons, diced leftover chicken etc.

My Mom's Famous Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

6 peeled, sliced apples

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 T flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup oatmeal

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup melted butter

Instructions:

Apple mixture - mix together apples, cinnamon, granulated sugar and 1T flour.

Topping - in a separate bowl mix brown sugar, oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and butter.

Put apple mixture on the bottom of a glass 9 x 13 pan and spoon topping on top of apples. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Chicken & Potato Casserole

4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
2 large bags frozen hash browns
1 C melted butter
1 tsp. salt
1 chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 C cheddar cheese, shredded
2 pints sour cream
1 C corn flakes or saltine crackers, crushed

Thaw potatoes and mix with all other ingredients, except butter. Put in 9x13 pan. Pour melted butter and corn flakes/saltines over the top. Bake uncovered for 1-1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

*Not sure where I got this one...it's good, though!

Julianne's Amazing Bread

1 C warm milk
1/4 C honey
1 egg
1/4 C butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1 1/2 tsp. yeast
4 C flour

Combine warm liquid, honey and yeast. Add butter, egg and salt. All flour in slowly and knead. Put pat of butter on top. Let rise to double its size under a warm towel for 40 minutes. Knead out bubbles. Put in bread pans and let rise another 10 minutes. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

*This is a recipe from my college roommate Julianne. It's amazing.

Tomato & Basil Appetizer Topping

1 C fresh chopped basil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 C olive oil
6 medium tomatoes, diced
1 T dried oregano
a pinch of garlic

Mix everything in a bowl, cover and let sit on the counter for 3-8 hours.

*This is wonderful on baguette slices, broiled and buttered. Drool. It can also go on pasta, chicken, shrimp, etc.