Pumpkin Cake *

Perfect for this time of year and sooo tasty!

Filling:
Mix together the following in a bowl:
1 can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 large can solid pumpkin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Crust:
Put 1 cup aside to crumble on top:
3/4 cup butter
1 dry yellow cake mix
Melt butter and mix with dry cake mix. Pat in bottom of a greased 9 x 13 cake pan (DON"T use a glass pan, it will destroy your crust). Pour filling over crust and then crumble the crust mixture that you set aside over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Mine never comes out looking real pretty, but it is so tasty served with cool whip, so no one will know what it looked like without the topping.

Pork tacos and tomatillo dressing

Oooohhhh, guess what's for dinner tonight-Cafe Rio!!!!!!!!!! (Well sorta)

I am making pork tacos with tomatillo dressing that is extremely close to what Cafe Rio makes, thanks to Amanda Detling (once again!) for the recipes...

Pork Tacos
1 large pork roast
1 bottle honey bbq sauce
1 tbs. honey
1 liter coca-cola

Cook all night in a crockpot on low. Shred. Place back in pot and continue cooking on low or warm until serving.

or if you don't like the pork, here's the recipe for the Chicken...
5 lbs. chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 small bottle Zesty Italian Dressing
1 tbs. chili powder
1 tbs. cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
Mix all ingredients together in a large crockpot. Cook on high 5-7 hrs. Shred chicken. Reserve some of the juice for pouring over the shredded chicken.

Tomatillo dressing
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayo
1 pkg. dry buttermilk ranch dressing mix
2 tomatillos – husked and quartered
2 jalapenos – the more seed you keep in the spicier it will be...I usually take almost ALL the seeds out-I'm a wimp!
½ bunch cilantro
Juice from ½ lime
1 clove garlic

Puree all ingredients in a blender. Keep in the refrigerator.

For those of you out here in Connecticut, the tortillas from Stew Leonards are sooo good with these, they resemble the real Cafe Rio ones the closest.

With the left overs from the pork tacos we like to make quesadillas and dip them in the Tomatillo dressing-oh tasty!

Food of the Gods Pumpkin Deliciousness Bread

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.

Mix and set aside the following ingredients:

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp each of ground cloves, nutmeg and salt

Separately, beat butter and sugar with a hand mixer:

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 c. sugar

Add the following ingredients to the butter/sugar and mix well:

2 c. canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2/3 c. water

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir just until mixed. Fold in raisins, walnuts and/or especially semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Bake for 1 hour or until the toothpick comes out clean.

I originally got this recipe from Brooke Clayton

Mrs Groover's Banana Nut Cake Delight

My friend brough this to a baby shower and it was SOOO yummy! She omitted the nuts & we didn't miss them at all! By the way, this is a Rachael Ray recipe.

Yields: 1 8-inch three-layer or 1 9-inch two-layer cake
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 8-inch or two 9-inch cake pans.


Ingredients
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe banana
2 large eggs


For the cream cheese and nut frosting:
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
One 1-pound box confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans


Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl; add the shortening, buttermilk, and banana. Mix until all the dry ingredients are dampened, then beat at low speed for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and beat for 1 minute.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then turn out the cakes on a rack to cool completely before frosting.
Combine the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy. Fold in the pecans, and frost the cake. If you love lots of icing, you can make 1 1/2 times this recipe. Remember, this is not banana bread but a stacked cake, so be sure to frost between the layers as well as the outside.

Flank Steak**

These next 3 recipes are some that my mother-in-law made Steve while growing up and he absolutely loves these. They're really good.

Enough flank steak for your meal-cut meat into diagonal strips
1 can beef consomme soup
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup cooking sherry-you can buy it at the grocery store, but Steve says the stuff from the liquor store is best! (Don't worry, the alcohol cooks off :)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp minced garlic (we usually use about 2 cloves)
1/2 cup green onions-chopped into about 1 inch pieces

Mix all ingredients and marinate over night.
BBQ and enjoy!!!

We usually have this one with baked or mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and carrots-so YUMMY!

Chicken Enchiladas*

4 chicken breasts-cooked and cubed
8 0z carton of sour cream
1 small can diced green chiles
2 cups grated cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 can of milk

Mix together all ingredients but chicken. Remove 1 cup of mixture and set aside. Add chicken to remaining mixture. Fill tortillas with the mixture (kind of like a burrito) and place in a 9 x 13 pan.

Cover tortillas with remaining 1 cup of mixture. Bake at 300 for 30 minutes.

You can also add extra ingredients to this one if you'd like-sometimes I'll put in a can of corn or olives, or some salsa. And usually the last 5 minutes of cooking I add more shredded cheese to the top.

Yogurt Chicken*

4-5 chicken breasts
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp garlic salt
2 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese(you can use the Kraft kind, but I think it tastes better with freshly shredded parmesan cheese)
1 sleeve crushed Ritz Crackers
Plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix seasoned salt, garlic salt, parmesan cheese, and ritz crackers together.

Put the yogurt in a separate dish (start out with about 1/2 the container, you can always use more if you need to). Dip the chicken in the yogurt (coat both sides) and then dip the chicken in the ritz cracker mix (both sides again) and put on a cookie sheet. Cook for 45 minutes.

Easy as pie (easier actually) and really tasty!

Clam Chowder **1/2*

This isn't really hard but its time consuming.

1 Cup finely chopped Onion
1 Cup finely chopped Celery
2 Cups finely chopped raw potatoes (chop to your liking, they should be able to cook in the same time as the onion and celery.)
2 cans (6 1/2 oz) Chopped clams & Juice - chop the clams small. They don't come small enough
3/4 Cup Butter
3/4 Cup Flour
1 qt. Half & Half (any kind from whole milk to skim will work)
1 1/2 tsp. Salt - Dash of pepper (to taste)
2 TBSP. Red Wine Vinegar

Combine clams (including juice) and veggies add water to cover veggies and simmer over medium heat until barely tender.
In a 6 qt. kettle melt butter, add flour, stirring constantly over medium heat. Add cream or milk slowly.
Cook until thick and smooth.
Add undrained veggies, clams and vinegar.
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Makes 10 large bowls.

Penne with Feta Pesto and tomatoes

1 jar of Feta Pesto sauce (I get it fresh from the farmer's market in Greenwich on Saturday mornings, but I think Stew's has their own.)
Penne Pasta
Diced fresh tomatoes

Cook pasta, pour sauce over AS SOON as pasta is drained. (hot noodles will melt sauce) Dish up and top with a pile of tomatoes!
You can also add leftover chunks of grilled chicken.

Chicken Pesto *

This is a really easy and quick dinner idea that we eat a lot.

1 pkg. Pesto sauce ( I usually buy either the Knorr or McCormick brands that come in the little packet that you add milk and olive oil to)

1 pkg. Perdue short cuts chicken-I usually get the oven roasted flavor

1/2 pkg. angel hair pasta (if you use a whole thing of pasta you may want two pkgs. of pesto depending on how flavorful you like it.)

Cook the Pesto sauce according to the directions on the package
Cook the angel hair pasta according to the directions on the package
Heat up the chicken (it's precooked) I usually put mine in a frying pan for about 4 minutes

Mix it all together and enjoy! This takes about 10 minutes to make and is so tasty. Abi eats this stuff up so fast. Plus is makes good leftovers. We usually will eat this with veggies and/or garlic bread.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:

6 chicken breast halves
6 slices swiss or provolone cheese
6 slices ham
3 T flour
1 t paprika
6 T butter
1/2 C dry white cooking wine
1 t chicken bouillon granules
1 t cornstarch
1 C heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Pound chicken if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast. Roll up the chicken, cheese and ham and secure with a toothpick. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl and coat the chicken pieces.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over med-high heat and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink.

Remove the toothpicks and transfer the to a plate. Blend the cornstarch with the cream and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

I've tried lots of Cordon Bleu recipes and this one is the best because of the sauce. It's not figure friendly by any means but it is yummy!

-Cozette

Apple Butter in the Crock Pot (originally from Cooks.com)

Here's my memory of it (the recipe elves seem to have both removed it from my house and Cooks.com).

14 c diced baking apples (about 10-12 large ones - tart are best)
3 c sugar
2 c cider or apple juice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Throw the apples, sugar and cider into the crock pot and cook for 10 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Then, puree the apples, add the spices and cook on high for 1 hour. Uncover the crock pot if you want it thicker (I used the cover and we will likely use it for waffle syrup too). It will keep for a few weeks in the fridge. Otherwise, put it in 1/2 pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace, and put in a water bath for 10 minutes. Yummmyyy...

Another option that looks good (I haven't tried it) is: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_256,00.html

Monterey Chicken

We don't meausre when we are doing this dish, it is really simple.

4 chicken breats cut into strips or pieces
1 jar salsa- the salsa should cover the chicken

Place chicken in a dish. cover with salsa. We always add a little extra. Cover the top with cheese. cover with tinfoil.

Cook on 350 for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve over warm rice or you could use mashed potatoes.

You can even refrigerate it for up to 24 hours.

Lemon Chicken Fettuccine **

This is nice and light--

need: 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4 oz each)
12 oz fettuccine
1T olive oil
1T butter
2 garlic cloves (minced)
3/4 cup green beans (sliced) I use the canned, french cut, then you don't have to cut them
1/3 cup white grape juice
1/2 lemon (juiced) I squeeze this over the chicken rather than using lemon pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley (chopped)
1/2 tsp salt and pepper

Lightly brush chicken with a little olive oil and lemon juice. Grill on medium high for 6 minutes on each side. Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Drain. Heat oil and butter in saucepan. Add garlic and beans and saute until garlic begins to brown, this important or the garlic is too strong. Add juices and reduce (about 4 minutes). Add pasta, coating completely. Fold into serving bowl, adding Parmesan, parsley, salt, and pepper. Top with sliced chicken and serve.

Sunday Supper Stuffed Pork Chops, Cream Cheese Potatoes, Sugar Snap Peas

Sunday Supper Stuffed Pork Chops, Cream Cheese Potatoes, Sugar Snap Peas
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray Show: 30 Minute Meals Episode: Sunday Dinner Everyday

2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Salt
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces cream cheese
1 small onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, optional
1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil, plus some for drizzling
2 slices bacon chopped
1 small McIntosh apple chopped
2 ribs celery from the heart finely chopped
1 small onion chopped
2 tablespoons freshly chopped sage leaves, or 1 teaspoon ground dried sage
2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
2 store bought corn muffins (I have always had to make the muffins - the little Jiffy mixes work great)
8 thin boneless center cut pork loin chops
2 pounds sugar snap peas
1 cup chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon butter

Mashed Potatoes
Cover potatoes with water and season with salt. Cover pan to bring potatoes to a quick boil. Boil potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and return them to the hot pot to dry. Set aside. Heat milk, cream cheese and onion over medium low heat until cream cheese melts into milk and mixture bubbles. Pour hot milk and cream cheese into the potatoes and mash to desired consistency. Add a little extra milk for softer potatoes. Season with salt, to your taste, and transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with chopped chives.

Stuffing
Preheat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and bacon to the skillet and cook 2 minutes. Add apple, celery and onion and season the mixture with herbs, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium. Cook vegetables 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Crumble the corn muffins into the pan and combine stuffing.

Pork Chops

Preheat a large skillet or grill pan over medium high heat. Drizzle chops with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook chops 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Do not over cook. The chops should be firm but still giving off juices.

Peas

In a medium saucepan, place snap peas and broth and 1 tablespoon butter over medium high heat. When the liquid boils, cover the pan and reduce heat to low. Simmer snap peas 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but still green. Remove pan from heat and season snap peas with salt, to taste.

To assemble stuffed chops, set a thin chop on dinner plate or serving plate. Mound the pork chop with stuffing, allowing some to spill onto the plate, then top with a second chop. Repeat with 3 remaining servings. Pass potatoes and snap peas to complete the meal

Its kind of complicated and takes me more than 30 minutes, but it is a dinner that will impress and is absolutely delicious. Once you’ve made it a couple times it gets easier.

authors

i added authors to the blog. if you didn't get an email from me it is because i don't have your email saved on my list yet. just email me at skanderson_family@hotmail.com and I will add you as an author. this way the recipe blog will show up under your list and you don't have to sign in expect to your blog.

Brown sugar chicken

Ingredients:
4-6 pieces of chicken (frozen or thawed)
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup Sprite
1-3 T minced garlic
2 T soy souce
1 tsp pepper


Place chicken in crockpot. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

crab & cream cheese wontons ** Easy, but many steps

Ingredients:

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
2 cups crab meat (make sure to squeeze excess moisture out)
3 Tablespoons chopped green onion (1/2 bunch)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon soy sauce

Mix above ingredients in a bowl, set aside.

1 package gyoza skins (wontons)
1 Large container vegetable oil
1 egg
Corn starch

Break egg into small bowl and mix well. Lay gyoza skins out on counter top, and spoon 1 teaspoon of crab mixture into the middle of the gyoza or wonton skin. Dip finger into beaten egg, then wipe egg around the top half edge of the gyoza skin. Fold skin in half and press bottom edge onto the egg to seal the two half's together.

Pour ½ cup corn starch onto a plate. Dip the wontons into the corn starch and layer in a 13 x 9 pan with plastic wrap separating each layer until ready to cook.

Heat oil in a deep, large saucepan. Drop wontons into hot oil and fry to a golden brown.

Serve with Sweet & Spicy Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
½ cup Water
1 cup Sugar
1 cup pineapple juice
½ cup rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon grenadine
½ teaspoon shichimi (Japanese 7 spice)
2 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch
Pour all ingredients into a medium saucepan and whisk to blend well. Cook on medium-high
heat until sauce thickens. Serve with Crab Wontons

Halloween Eye balls

She made this look easy, but I haven't tried it yet, so I won't rate it yet...

Halloween EyeBallspresented by Marge Tuckett, Naborhood Bakery, Gardner Village, 1100 W. 7800 S., West Jordan

Ingredients:1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbs butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 butterfinger candy bar

Instructions:Blend peanut butter and butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar and chopped butterfinger. Roll into 1 inch balls, place on baking sheet and put in freezer for about 1 hour.

Melt in Microwave:1 12 oz pkg white chocolate chips3 tbs veg shortening

Instructions:
Stir until smoothe and dip frozen eyeballs (using a skewer). Shake off excess chocolate and place back on cookie sheet. Using either green skittles, chocolate chips or Butterfinger BB's, push down into eyeball and let set up on white chocolate. Make red icing and place in a tube with very small hole. Squeeze out on white chocolate to make bloodshot eyes. Store in the refridgerator and serve cold.

Janika's Peanut butter bars *

These are always popular!!

½ cup butter or margarine
½ c sugar
½ c brown sugar- firmly packed
1 egg
½ c peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
1 c flour
1 c oatmeal
Cream together first four ingredients. Mix in vanilla and peanut butter. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. If dough is too sticky, add more oats or flour. Gradually mix them into peanut butter mixture. Spread dough into an ungreased cookie sheet. (11x13) Bake at 325 for 12 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE.
Cool slightly. Spread thin layer of peanut butter over entire thing. Cool completely. Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting. (I like a fudge-type frosting on this.)

Broccoli Salad ** Easy, but a little time-consuming

This is a yummy way to eat broccoli!

Dressing:
1 cup mayo (no substitute, but can be fat free)
1/2 cup sugar
4 T Vinegar ( I use white vinegar)

Make dressing ahead of time and refrigerate.

Salad:
3 heads of broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 small red onion, finely chopped
grated cheese (as much as you like)
1/2 package of bacon- crumbled
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Stir salad ingredients well. Add dressing right before serving.

Sunday Roast

Beef Chuck Roast
1/3 cup of Soy Sauce
1 packet of Dry Onion Dip Mix
Pepper to taste
Water to desired height

Put the soy sauce and Dry onion packet in crockpot, mix together. Put Roast in crockpot and turn once to get the sauce on both sides of roast. Pour water in crockpot so the fluid is half way up the roast. Spinkle pepper on top of Roast. Cover and cook on low for 7-10 hours.

This recipe is so easy and the roast comes out flavorful and moist. I know Ashley Dillingham has an excellent Roast recipe as well.

Enjoy, Lindsey

Quick Pizza Dough

Quick Pizza Dough Recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine 2 to 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/4-ounce package fast acting yeast 1/2 teaspoon sugar 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon saltIn a large bowl whisk together 3/4 cup of flour, yeast, sugar, and 2/3 cup hot water (130 dgrees F). Stir in the oil, 1 1/4 cups of the remaining flour, and the salt and blend the mixture until it forms a dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of the remaining 1/4 cup flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Alternatively, the dough may be made in a food processor. In a food processor combine 3/4 cup of the flour, yeast, and sugar. With the motor running, add 2/3 cup hot water (130 degrees F), and turn the motor off. Add the oil, 1 1/4 cups of the remaining flour, and the salt and process the mixture until it forms a ball, adding more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if it is too dry, or more flour, 1 tablespoon at time, if it is too wet. Knead the dough by processing it for 15 seconds. The dough, prepared by either method, may be used immediately, but for better flavor it is best to let it rise once. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and turn it to coat it with the oil. Let the dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until it is double in bulk, and punch it down. This dough may be used instead of the basic pizza dough.		Recipe Summary Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Yield: Makes enough dough for one 14- User Rating:

Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

*A $15 pizza stone makes all the difference in the world for good pizza. So, just put it in the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes before you bake the pizza and it turns out crispy and yummy!
** Cook the pizza at 500 degrees on a pizza stone for 7-12 minutes or until the crust and cheese turn golden brown. Put cornmeal under the pizza dough when preparing it so it'll slide onto the hot stone easily (from the wood pizza handle or medium sized cutting board where you assemble it).

Rating: 2 (you have to make sure the water is the right temperature for the yeast - I use a thermometer because I can never get it right by just using my hand)

Posted by: Meredith
copied on October 1 from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_7496,00.html?rsrc=search

DOGZILLA!!! *

This is just a fun way to do hotdogs that we learned from the Arbuckles last week.

Take a hotdog (or how ever many you want to eat), slice it almost in half (just barely leaving it attached) length wise. Fry it on one side in a frying pan, turn it over and fry on the other side. While it's frying on the other side put cheese on the side facing up-cook until the cheese has melted.

They eat it on a bun with BBQ sauce, but I used ketchup and mustard and it was TASTY!

This is just a quick and easy meal idea that tastes great.