No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine
4 tbsp cocoa
3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, margarine, milk and cocoa in saucepan.  Boil one minute.  Add oats, peanut butter, vanilla and salt.  Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper or press in greased pan and cut into squares.

I love these cookies!!  My brother made these every Sunday night when we were growing up.  It's my go to recipe.

Southwest White Chicken Chili

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into cubes
4 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
2 cans (about 15 oz. each) white kidney beans (cannellini), rinsed and drained
2 tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Heat oil in 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add chicken, chili powder, cumin, oinion and pepper and cool until chicken is cooked though and vegetables are tender, stirring often.

2.  Stir soup, water, corn and beans in saucepan and heat to a boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle with cheese.

I liked it but would rather not have the chicken in it.  One kid did not like the corn in it.  One kid commented, "I wasn't sure I'd like the corn but it is good."  Those were my thought also.  My husband said he actually didn't like the chicken in it.  I also forgot to put the cheese in it.

Creamy Key Lime Pie

8 oz extra creamy whipped topping
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice (bottled or fresh)
1 ready to use 9" pie shell

In a large bowl, combine the extra creamy shipped topping, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice.  Stir until well blended.  Immediately pour into pie shell.  Chill for 2 hours or overnight.  Garnish with additional extra creamy whipped topping and fresh lime slices if desired.

This was fast and easy to make.  Everybody liked it.

Roast Beef

1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup wine vinegar or brandy
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. season all
1 medium roast (frozen or thawed)

Put all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cook on high for 4 hours.  Then for 1 1/2 hours cook on low.  Every hour turn meat over to coat.  To cook overnight, cook on low and then 1 1/2 hours before turn up to high.

Gravy:
1 1/2 cups liquid from meat
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. beef bouillon
1/2 cup water mixed with 4 Tbsp. flour

Mix liquid, water and bouillon.  Add water/flour mixture, stirring constantly until thick.

This recipe was really good.  Everyone but one kid liked it.  It had a different taste than how we usually cook it so it was nice.  It was also nice because the outside of it was salty so you didn't have to salt it at all.  Instead of using wine vinegar or brandy I just used water.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 cup flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
1 egg slightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk (or mix 1 Tbsp. lemon juice with enough milk to make a cup; let stand 5 minutes.)
1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1.  In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.  Melt 1 Tbsp. butter.  Whisk in egg, buttermilk, pumpkin, and melted butter.

2.  Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tsp. butter; swirl pan to coat.  Spoon 4 heaping Tbsp. of batter (1 Tbsp. per pancake) 2 inches apart into skillet.  Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges; turn.  Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute more.  If pancakes brown too quickly, reduce heat to medium.  Repeat with remaining batter and butter.  Serve warm with syrup and berries.  Makes 12 3-inch pancakes.

These were very good.  Both my children and I liked them.  Regular pancakes can get boring so it was nice having a different taste to them.

Bulk Pie Crusts

8 cups flour
1 Tbsp. salt
3 1/2 cups shortening

Mix these ingredients together in a large mixer (Bosch, Kitchen-Aid) with the whisk attachment until the shorening is well incorporated into the flour.  Change to dough hook or paddle and add:

2 eggs
1 cup cold water
2 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar (optional)

Mix until everything is just barely mixed well and the dough is moist.  Divide into 10 balls.  Use right away, refrigerate for several days, or freeze in freezer baggies for several months.  When ready to use frozen dough allow it to sit at room temperature until easy to handle.  About 15-20 minutes.

Yield: 10 single crusts

I did this by hand instead of a machine and it seemed to work good.  I haven't tried to make anything yet so I will let you know when I do!  I'm interested to see how it tastes because the pie dough I make doesn't call for eggs, vinegar or sugar.  I'm not sure I'm going to like the sugar in it.  I love eating raw pie dough and I wasn't sure I liked the taste.  I only got 7 balls.  I guess I made them to big.  I tend to have thicker pie crusts anyways.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. taco seasoning
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups prepared salsa
2 oz. cream cheese
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tomato, chopped
2 6-inch whole-wheat tortillas
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Warm a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; mist with cooking spray.  Add chicken and taco seasoning and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in salsa; cook for 2 minutes.  Add cream cheese; cook stirring constantly, until melted and blended, about 2 minutes.  Stir in beans and tomato.

2.  Spoon 1/3 of chicken mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish.  Cover with 1 tortilla, then spoon in 1/2 of remaining chicken mixture and 1/2 of cheese.  Top with remaining tortilla and chicken mixture.

3.  Cover and bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.  Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake, uncovered, until cheese has melted, about 5 minutes longer.

My husband loved this meal.  Yes!!  Of course kids didn't like it so much.  It was a little hot for them.  I thought it was okay.  I'm not a big fan of chicken.  I did not use whole-wheat tortillas either.

No Bake Cookies

2 Cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup margarine
4 Tbsp. cocoa

Mix sugar, margarine, milk and cocoa in saucepan.  Boil one minute.  Add oats, peanut butter and vanilla.  Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper or press in greased pan and cut into squares.

I love this recipe.  It's quick to make and tastes really good.

Cheesy Potatoes

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 lbs. frozen hash browns
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
2 cups cheese, shredded
2 cups corn flakes, crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix all ingredients together except for corn flakes and butter.  Pour mixture into a 9X13 pan.  Top with corn flakes and drizzle with melted butter.  Bake at 350 for one hour.  (you can also put the mixture in a crock pot for 4 hours or until heated through).

This is also known as funeral potatoes.  I love it and my husband loves it.  The kids like it.  You can also make it by grating your own potatoes but I can never get it to work.  I was tired and not feeling good and forgot to put the cheese in.  I just grated it onto individual portions and mixed it in.