Cranberry Chicken

Cranberry Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 can whole cranberries

1 Lipton onion soup packet

1 cup Catalina Dressing

Directions:

Combine ingredients over chicken in baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over white rice.

~this recipe doesn't seem spectacular, buts its really good, kid friendly, and easy to make! Its also a nice change to the chicken/cream of...soup/rice recipes!

Pumpkin Pie Dessert Squares

Pumpkin Pie Dessert Squares

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 pkg. yellow cake mix - minus 1 cup
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg

Filling:
1 lb. can pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk

Topping:
1 cup cake mix
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter

Directions:

Grease 9x13 glass cake pan. After taking out 1 cup cake mix for topping, combine remaining cake mix, butter and egg. Press in bottom of pan. Prepare filling, mix until smooth, pour over crust. For topping, combine ingredients and sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cut in squares and top with whipped cream. Enjoy!

~another recipe from my cousin Kimi! We had it for dessert tonight and it was fabulous!
~Bethany S.

Pumpkin Pancakes

~My cousin Kimi tried these out and her family raved about them so she passed it on to me! Its from Martha Stewart's website. We ate them this morning and they were soooooo good. Canned pumpkin is getting its own spot in our year supply now!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 TBS sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp each cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

a pinch of ground cloves

1 cup milk

6 TBS canned pumpkin puree

2 TBS melted butter

1 egg

Directions:

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt, nutmeg, and ground cloves. In a separate bowl, stir together milk, canned pumpkin puree, melted butter, and 1 egg; fold mixture into dry ingredients. Melt some butter in a skillet over medium-low heat; pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side; serve with butter and syrup. Makes 8.

~This recipe was barely enough to feed all 4 of us, so I'll be doubling it next time and freezing any leftovers for the next morning!

~Bethany S.

Cranberry Salsa

1 pkg fresh cranberries
1 small handful of cilantro
2 green onions
1/2 t cumin
1 med. jalepeno (seeds removed) - to taste
3/4 cup sugar

Blend in food processor. Sit in refrigerator for 4 hours. Serve on top of 1 block of cream cheese.

Raspberry Caves with Cinnamon

A raspberry cave is a Swedish short bread cookie filled with jam. I made these for the international-themed potluck at Amelia's school last weekend. They were yummy!

14 T butter, at room temperature
½-3/4 cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
raspberry jam (or use lingonberry, which is a Swedish favorite)
30 medium paper cups (I used regular muffin cups)

Heat the oven to 375° F.

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour, combined with baking soda and cinnamon. Divide the dough into 30 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and put in a medium sized paper cup. With your finger, make an indention and fill it with jam.

Bake on a cookie sheet in the middle of the oven for about 12 minutes.

White Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

In large saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, almond extract, salt and baking soda until smooth. Pour into a greased 15x10x1-inch jelly roll baking pan. Bake at 375° for 20-22 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare frosting. Sift confectioners' sugar into a separate bowl. Combine butter and milk in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat; add sugar and extract and mix well. Stir in chopped pecans. Pour and spread over warm cake.

Cook time: 22 minutes

Creamy Chicken Soup

This one's in the ward cookbook--it's Tiffany A.'s recipe. We use it frequently and love it! It's hearty and makes a LOT, so if there's only a few of you and you don't want a lot of leftovers, half it. It's great with rolls for taking a meal to someone.

2 chicken breasts
1 lb. carrots, chopped
6 medium potatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
3/4 cup milk thickened with 1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper

Boil chicken in large pot until cooked. Strain remaining chicken stock and return to pot. Boil carrots, potatoes and onion in chicken stock until soft. Cut chicken into chunks and add to pot. Add thickening mixture while stirring. Add cream cheese cut up. Stir until cream cheese melts into soup. Salt and pepper (heavily) to taste.

Taco Seasoning

This is a replacement for those taco seasoning packets you buy at the store. Great for when you don't have any packets on hand, and in my opinion tastes better too.

2 t dry minced onion
1/2 t salt
1 t chili powder
1/2 t cornstarch
1/2 t crushed dry red pepper (I usually omit this)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t ground cumin

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Add all of it, plus 1/2 cup water, to 1 pound browned ground beef, simmer for 15 minutes, and serve in tacos.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies

30-48 mini Reese's cups (one bag)

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

combine butter, sugars, egg, vanilla and peanut butter in a bowl (or mixer). Mix until smooth. Combine flour, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture and chill. Roll in small balls. Place in greased mini-muffin tin. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove and immediately press mini Reese's (top up) into cookie. Cool for 10 minutes and carefully spoon out of pan. YUM!!!!

Leo's Tortilla Soup

Total time: About 25 minutes

I love the flavor of this soup! It is very filling so makes a great dinner on its own. I got the recipe from my sister-in-law and it originally came from a Lion House cookbook. I also stole this picture from my sister-in-law's blog because she always makes food look so pretty. :) (If you're reading, thanks Tiff!)

1 tablespoon chicken bullion
2 cups diced canned or fresh tomatoes
1/2 cube of butter
1/2 cup canned diced green chilies
1 1/2 cups diced onions
5 cups water
2 1/2 cups dried refried beans
1 cup crushed heavy corn tortilla chips
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup diced green onion
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
Tortilla chips
Sour cream
Shredded cheese

In a large soup pot add chicken base, tomatoes, butter, green chilies, and onions. Cook until onions are translucent. Add water, dried beans, chips, and seasonings. Heat until thickened and beans are soft. Add green onions and cilantro about 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with crisp tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream. Yields 5-6 servings.

Janell's Notes:

• I took a boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed it, and added it (raw) to the soup when I added the beans and water. It only takes 5-10 minutes for the chicken to cook through.
• If you don't have the dried beans (does anyone know if you can still get them at the cannery?), I am pretty sure it would work fine to use a large can of refried beans, and just add water until you get the right soupy consistency.
• I didn't have green chilies, so I used salsa instead and cut down a little on the onion and tomato to compensate.