Recipe Gift Idea

This month we are going to help you try and get more organized at home, therefore helping you be more prepared for the busy Holiday season that is right in front of us!

We are going to feature this month on the blog, recipes that can be used as Christmas gifts!
Why not save some money and give a gift that is truly from your hearts and made with your own hands!


OLD TIME HARD CANDIES

2 cups white Karo Syrup

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. flavoring oil

6 drops food coloring (to match chosen flavor)

In a heavy saucepan with deep sides, combine Karo syrup and sugar. Boil to hard crack stage (300-310°F on a candy thermometer).

Remove pan from heat and add flavoring oil (orange oil, lemon oil, cinnamon oil, peppermint or spearmint oil, etc).

Add a food coloring to match the chosen flavor (yellow for lemon, red/orange for orange, red for cinnamon, green for mint).

Carefully pour mixture into a well buttered or oiled pan. Allow to cool long enough so that the candy may be scored into small pieces by running a buttered knife through without the mixture running together.

When candy has cooled completely, break the scored sections into pieces. Store in a cool dry place in an airtight container.

Caution: Sugar mixtures are VERY hot and will cause severe burns. Have a bowl of ice water close by, just in case.

Flap Jack-o-Lanterns

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
3 tbsp. melted butter plus 1 tbsp. for frying
1/2 cup cooked and mashed pumpkin or canned pumpkin

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and milk. Add 3 tablespoons of melted butter and the pumpkin to the wet ingredients, and whisk together. Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir just until blended a few lumps are okay.
Heat the remaining butter on a griddle over medium-high heat. Then pour 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. When the flapjacks bubble on top, flip and cook until brown on other side. Makes 20 pancakes.

Recipe

FAST, easy, FRESH Tomato Salsa

3 tomatoes (1 lb.), chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped or green or red pepper if you don't like it too hot!
1/4 cup KRAFT Italian Dressing

COMBINE ingredients.

Makes 2 cups of Salsa. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

This post is especially for Melissa!

(This is not a canning recipe, just a fast one!)

Recipe from Kraft.com posted by Jen Genovese

Halupki "stuffed cabbage"

Halupki

Ingredients:
2/3 c water 1 lb. ground beef
1/3 cup uncooked white rice 1/4 cup chopped onion
8 cabbage leaves 1 egg, beaten
1 tsp salt 1 can condensed tomato soup
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil, add rice and stir, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes

2. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil, salted, add cabbage leaves and cook for 2-4 minutes or until softened, drain

3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine beef, 1 cup cooked rice, onion, egg, salt, pepper, along with 2 tblsp tomato soup. Mix thoroughly.

4. divide beef mixture among cabbage leaves, roll and secure with toothpicks.

5. In large skillet over medium heat, place cabbage rolls in and pour remaining tomato soup over top. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 40 min., stirring and basting with liquid often.

Green Smoothies

So I found a new blog, The Lazy Organizer. Her family eats very differently than my family. You will have to read to see.

Anyway one of the things she makes is green smoothies. They sound gross, BUT I tried one today. And it wasn't gross in the least. OK the color is semi-unappealing, but the taste is really rather good.

So what is in a green smoothie you ask. I will share.

• A handful of spinach
• Some fruit fresh or frozen
• Milk to make smooth (it is a smoothie after all) **She uses water instead of milk, but I am a dairy lover.
• Ice if your using fresh fruit (I left the ice out as I was feeling lazy and the children were screaming.)

Blend and drink.

Seriously, I know drinkable spinach sounds like yuck, but it wasn't at all.

What do you like in your smoothies?

Baked Pork Chops

Baked Pork Chops
SUBMITTED BY: Neely Bender

PREP TIME
30 Min
COOK TIME
1 Hr 30 Min
READY IN
2 Hrs

6 pork chops
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp seasoning salt
2 egg, beaten
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
4 tblsps olive oil
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup chicken broth or stock

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned. Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk and chicken broth in a medium bowl. After the pork chops have baked for an hour, cover them with the soup mixture. Replace foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip
PREP TIME
10 Min
COOK TIME
20 Min
READY IN
40 Min
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 (8 ounce) bottle ranch dressing
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (12 ounce) bottle Red Hot sauce
1 (16 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and cook until juices run clear, about 4 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board to cool completely. Use a fork to shred the meat into strands.
Pour the ranch dressing, cream cheese, shredded cheese, and Hot sauce into a bowl and mix until combined. Add the shredded chicken and mix well. Spread the mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is bubbling, about 10 minutes.

Stuffing

Bread and Celery Stuffing
PREP TIME
20 Min
COOK TIME
40 Min

1 (1 pound) loaf sliced bread
3/4 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken broth

DIRECTIONS
Let bread slices air dry for 1 to 2 hours, then cut into cubes.
In a deep pan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion and celery until soft. Season with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir in bread cubes until evenly coated. Moisten with chicken broth; mix well.
Chill, and use as a stuffing for turkey, or bake in a buttered casserole dish at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies
recipe yield 1 dozen
submitted by: Neely Bender

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Combine ingredients and drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool.
These are sooooo good and sooooo easy!

Chicken Stuffed Shells

Chicken Stuffed Shells

PREP TIME
30 Min
COOK TIME
45 Min
READY IN
1 Hr 15 Min

1 (12 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 egg
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce



DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Separate shells and let stand, so they are not touching, on waxed paper or foil.
In large skillet over medium heat, combine chicken, onion, egg and bread crumbs. Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Season with italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir in three-quarters of the shredded mozzarella and cheddar; cook until cheeses melt.
Fill shells with chicken mixture, using a tablespoon, and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover the shells with the tomato sauce and top with the reserved cheese. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes, or until lightly browned and bubbly.

Creamy Chicken Bake

Creamy Chicken Bake
SUBMITTED BY: Neely Bender

PREP TIME
10 Min
COOK TIME
30 Min
READY IN
40 Min

1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Broccoli Soup
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (4.5 ounce) jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS
Place the chicken in a 13x9x2-inch shallow baking dish. Mix the soup, milk, garlic powder and mushrooms in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken.
Mix the cheese and bread crumbs with the butter in a small bowl and sprinkle over the soup mixture.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Place the chicken on a serving plate. Stir the sauce and serve with the chicken.
Tip: Serve with egg noodles or white rice and steamed broccoli

Comments, please!!!

I hope everyone is enjoying the recipes I have posted. Please give me feedback on what you think. If you have tried the recipes or have ways to change it whether it be for the better or just different, let us know. Any questions on what to make? Ask. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. If you're looking for a new dish with certain ingredients, I'll try to help. Let's get active on our wonderful blog page that Sarah has so kindly made for us.

Cooking

Pumpkin Dip
PREP TIME
15 Min
READY IN
15 Min
Original recipe yield 4 cups

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving. Serve with cinnamon graham crackers, gingersnaps, pretzels

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

INGREDIENTS
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1 1/4 cups water
5 1/2 pounds pot roast
rough chop potatoes and vegetables of choice


DIRECTIONS
In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture. Add potatoes and vegetables.
Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.