Calling all Cooks!!!!

We'll be in the process of remodeling our kitchen for the next two months...so I'm in a desperate need for recipes that can be made in the crock pot, microwave, stove top, or grill since I'll be without my wall oven. Thanks for any suggestions you can give :)

Grandma's Sugar Cookies

These are the cookies I always remember in my Grandma's cookie jar. They bring back so many memories of Grandma's house :)

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp baking soda
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp vanilla
4 cups flour

Mix all together and put in fridge to chill for 1-2 hours. Roll into balls and dip in sugar (or cinnamon and sugar), place on cookie sheet and flatten with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Mini Pizzas

When dad travels, I have to get creative for dinner sometimes. Mini pizzas were high on the kids' priority list this week. Something about making it themselves makes them eat it :) Find the pizza dough recipe here.

Party Potatoes

This dish has many names...confetti potatoes, funeral potatoes, scallop potatoes, Sunday potatoes, etc. I grew up eating this dish so it's one food that reminds me of home...guess it's a comfort food :)

Boil 3-6 potatoes. Let cool and then grate. OR you can use a package of frozen hash browns (I usually ALWAYS use these...just because of the matter of convenience). Put potatoes in a 9x13 casserole dish. Add 1 cube of melted butter(I usually use 1/2 this amount), 2 cans of cream of chicken, 1 cup of sour cream, and 1 cup of grated cheese. Add 1 to 2 cups chopped ham. Mix together. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Put foil on top after 30 minutes.

I often leave out the ham and serve ham on the side. JR refuses to eat anything w/ potatoes but he likes ham...so if I want him to eat dinner, I choose to serve ham on the side :)

Turkey Pot Pie

This recipe came from my MIL a few years back....I ashamed it it's the first time I've tried it...it's delicious!!

1/3 cup potatoes, diced
1/3 cup carrots, sliced
1/3 cup peas, frozen
¼ cup celery, chopped
1 TBL onion, chopped
½ cup water, boiling
2 TBL soft margarine
¼ cup flour
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp poultry seasoning
1 1/3 cup turkey broth
2/3 cup milk
1 ½ cup turkey, cooked and diced

Add vegetables to boiling water. Cover and boil gently until vegetables are just tender, about 6 minutes. Drain. Melt margarine; stir in flour and seasonings. Add broth and milk slowly, stirring constantly; cook until thickened. Stir in turkey and vegetables.

Some how I totally MISSED putting in the potatoes (which if FUNNY because that's what I was looking forward to the most!!!). I basically doubled the recipe and added a bit more seasoning. I also added white pepper (since that's one of our favorite spices!!). I used chicken broth instead of turkey broth since I didn't have any. The turkey is left over from Christmas time so it was super easy to just pull the turkey out of the freezer, let it defrost, and cut it up with my kitchen scissors. It was VERY yummy. I definitely serve this after we've had turkey again to use up some of the turkey. Since there's no "crust", you could serve this in bread bowls or even add dumplings to the top.

Flank Steak Marinade

We were first introduced to this delicious marinade several years ago when we first moved to San Diego. Andrea had invited us over for dinner (if I remember right it was Easter) and they made this marinade. We don't just use it on flank steak...although, it's definitely the best with flank steak...but it works for other beef cuts as well :)

1 ½ cup oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
¾ cup soy sauce
½ tsp parsley
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp pepper
¼ cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 TBL dry mustard
1 clove minced garlic

Pierce 3 flank stakes and marinate for 3 DAYS. (very important) Grill. Cut crosswise in thin slices and serve.

Can also marinate other beef steak cuts, but the key is the time (3 days...if you don't have time for 3 days, you must marinate for at least 6 hours) and cutting it crosswise.

Cinnamon Rolls

Give Melissa's yummy cinnamon roll recipe a try. We tried it this afternoon! Yum, Yum!
1/3 cups sugar
3Tbs yeast
1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cups warm water
Mix until dissolved; cover and let stand for 15 minutes.
Mix in 2 beaten eggs to the yeast mixture.
Add 1 1/2 tsp salt and 4 1/4 cups flour.
Melissa mixes this in her kitchen aid for about 5 minutes until it's a soft dough. Roll dough into rectangle shape. Brush with 1/4 cup melted butter, sprinkle with 1 1/2 T cinnamon, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cups nuts (I opted for no nuts), a 3/4 cup raisins (I only used raisins on half the dough). Carefully roll dough, seal edges, and slice. Place on ungreased cookie sheet (I had a few extra so I also put them in a glass casserole dish) and let rest 10 mins. Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes.
Frost with glaze while still hot. Glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup hot water, 1 T soft butter. (I had some frosting left over from something else in the fridge so we just used that :)

Muffin, Muffin, Who's got the muffin??

I made these muffins to go along with the quiche. This is my very favorite muffin recipe.

3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Stir together dry ingredients. In a different bowl, cream together sugar and shortenin. Add eggs and mix well. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Add any additions and lightly fold in. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min.

I've made these with mashed bananas, cinnamon (pictured), blueberries, or chocolate chips. Each of these different additions are AWESOME (of course not all at once, though)...choose an addition or two, and you'll have some fabulous muffins!

Asparagus-Tomato Quiche

Here's a new dish we tried last night. The recipe came from my SIL, Cara. Dave & I enjoyed it...the kids...ummm, not so much :)

1 10-inch pie shell, partially baked
4 eggs, beaten
3 TBL flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp dry mustard
1 ½ cup half-and-half
2 cup Swiss cheese (of course I substituted w/ Mozzarella
10 fresh asparagus spears, divided
1 med. tomato, sliced into 4 - 1/4” slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, flour, paprika, salt, dry mustard, and half-and-half. Stir in cheese. Chop four asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces and lay on the bottom of the pie shell. Pour liquid into pie shell. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Arrange tomato pieces and remaining six asparagus spears on top in a wagon wheel pattern. Bake 20-30 minutes more.

March Menu

Here's what's on deck for the coming month. You'll notice that some meals are the same as February. Life was a bit crazy and everything didn't get made that I had planned for...so we're still having those meals just in March instead :)

1. Garlic Tomato Chicken Pasta
2. Asparagus-Tomato Quiche
3. Salmon Loaf
4. Sloppy Joes
5. Baked Spaghetti Casserole
6. Teriyaki Chicken w/ Grilled Veggie Kabobs
7. Flank Steak Marinade
8. Chicken & Dumplings
9. Canadian Bacon & Pineapple Pizza
10. Turkey Pot Pie
11. Lasagna
12. Santa Fe Salad I just got the real recipe from my SIL so I'll be making changes to this recipe :)
13. Macaroni & Cheese
14. Baked Potato Soup
15. Crockpot Porkchops
16. Tator Tot Casserole
17. Clam Chowder
18. Chicken Enchiladas
19. French Toast
20. Spaghetti w/ Meatballs (I'm trying a new meatball recipe this time)
21. Orange Chicken w/ Fried Rice
22. Cheese Chowder
23. Western Burgers
24. Chicken Salad Sandwiches
25. Chicken Noodle Casserole
26. Fried Chicken
27. Roast
28. Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken
29. Taco Salad
30. BLT Sandwiches
31. Salisbury Steak
Hopefully, I'll get time throughout the month to post recipes for the recipes that aren't already posted. Happy Cooking!

Garlic Tomato Chicken Pasta

We first had this at our friends, the Rices, a couple of years ago. We enjoy this yummy dinner even though Dave rarely eats tomatoes. (I've tried it without the tomatoes and he even admitted it's much tastier with the tomatoes...so YEAH I get my tomato fix).

Chicken cooked and cubed
Pasta cooked and drained
1 bottle of Alfredo sauce (We usually use the "Cheesy Ragu Classic Alfredo")
Tomato, chopped
Garlic, minced.

I start by boiling the chicken since it's always frozen. When it's done, I cube it and brown it in a pan just a bit. Boil the noodles (any type of pasta will work) and drain. Pour in one bottle of alfredo, chopped tomatoes (as much as you like), and one minced garlic clove into the chicken. Stir together and heat. Pour over noodles and stir or serve sauce separately from the noodles.

Choc-Oat-Cookies

2 sticks butter, softened
1 ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 TBL milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 ½ cups oats
2 cups chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Add flour, baking soda, salt; mix well. Stir in oats, chocolate chips; mix well. Drop on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 9 minutes. Cool completely.