Grapefruit Slushes

I grew up making these and have been making them for Adam and I almost every night. Very refreshing! It's a great way to use your citrus.

2 grapefruits, juiced OR 10-12 oz. of grapefruit juice
1 1/2 C water (10-12 oz.)
1 C sugar

Put ingredients in blender and then add ice (so that the ice is just covered by the juice...probably about 3 C). Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This is a main dish, not an appetizer. I made it for my mom and sister last week, and they both asked for the recipe!

1 can (8-12 oz) pineapple chunks, packed in juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 T cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 T vinegar
1 1/2 t soy sauce
1/4 t dry mustard
1 beef bouillon cube (or 1 t bouillon granules)
1/2 lb. frozen meatballs (or, half recipe of the Quick Meatballs below)
julienned carrots
3 cups cooked rice (1 cup uncooked)

Cook rice. Prepare meatballs (or heat up prepared meatballs according to package). Meanwhile, place carrots in frying pan with butter and a little water, and steam to soften to desired tenderness. Drain pineapple chunks, saving juice. In a medium saucepan, combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, water, vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, and bouillon. Cook and stir until thick. Add meatballs, pineapple, and carrots. Cover; simmer until all ingredients are hot, stirring occasionally. Serve over hot cooked rice with additional soy sauce if desired.

Serves 4.

*Notes: The original recipe calls for green bell peppers (instead of carrots), which you can just cut in strips and add in at the same time as the meatballs if you want them. Ditto with sliced water chestnuts (I just don't care for them).

Quick Meatballs

1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 t salt
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients. Shape into 1-inch meatballs. Arrange in single layer in unheated skillet. Set over medium heat and brown, turning with spatula as necessary.

Variations: You can also bake in a large dripper pan at 400 degrees in the oven for 12-15 minutes, turning once or twice. If you want to make a lot and freeze some for later: arrange meatballs on a large cookie sheet. Freeze for 30-60 minutes. Then move them to freezer containers to store.

Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes

My friend Kristi posted these pancakes forever ago on the other recipe blog I'm a part of. I finally made them this morning and discovered that I should have been making them all along. They are a good way to use food storage items (you can use your wheat without grinding it!) and they're tasty and healthy and Wes snarfed 'em right up. Kristi told me they freeze well and easily reheat for quick breakfasts and snacks.



1 C whole wheat kernels
1 C milk (or 1 C water and 1/3 C dry milk)
2 Tbs Oil
2 eggs
2 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

Put 1 C whole wheat kernels and 1 C milk in blender. Blend 3 minutes. Add eggs, oil, honey and salt, blend for 30 seconds. And baking powder and pulse three times. Make pancakes immediately.

*I also added a little cinnamon and vanilla to my batter since that's how I roll.

Black Cookies

2 cups- sugar
1 cube- butter/margarine
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
3 cups oatmeal
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine 1st four ingredients & heat to a boil. Turn stove down to medium heat for FIVE minutes. Then remove from heat and add oatmeal and vanilla. Mix well. Scoop out spoonfuls on wax paper and let cool.

Very similar to Janell's no bake cookies, this is Kent's family's version....

Chicken Milano

Adapted from Domestic Diva in Training.

1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
8 ounces dry pasta - fettuccini, penne, linguini, etc.

In this recipe, you basically have three pans on the stove top doing three different things:

1. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter; add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and chicken broth; increase to medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender. Add the cream and bring to a boil; stirring. Simmer over medium heat until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the chicken (from step 3) and basil and adjust seasonings to taste.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fettuccini and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, transfer to a bowl and toss with 3 to 4 tablespoons of the sauce.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil, add chicken to pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is no longer pink inside. Add chicken to sauce and stir.
   

Transfer the pasta to serving plates; top with cream sauce; serve. I LOVE this pasta!!

Tomato Bisque Soup

3/4 cup onion, chopped
2 (28 oz.) cans Italian stewed tomatoes
2 c. tomato puree (comes in 28 oz. cans by the tomato sauce)
4 c. chicken broth
2 t. dried basil
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon pepper
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream

Saute onion and butter. Add all other ingredients except cream. Simmer 10 minutes. Cool (if you have time) and blend in blender. Reheat and add cream. Do not boil after adding cream.
Note: If you don't have Italian style tomatoes, just use regular canned tomatoes and add the Italian spices (oregano, basil, and garlic).

* This makes a LOT so I recommend sharing, freezing half, or just halving the recipe!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

It's taken my a few years to come up with the just right chicken noodle soup recipe, but this is one I make very frequently and my kids love. The cream of chicken soup adds a GREAT flavor and makes the soup just slightly creamy.

1/2 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 C carrots, cut up (or 1/2 bag of baby carrots cut up)
3 stocks of celery, chopped
2 T. butter
1 chicken boullion cube
1/4 C water
dash of seasoned salt and pepper
Put chopped veggies in the bottom of a large pot with butter, water, chicken cube. salt and pepper. Stir and put lid on and steam till veggies and tender or translucent (about 10 minutes).

Then add to the pot and bring to boil:
1 1/2 - 2 cans of chicken broth
4 C hot water
3 chicken bouillion cubes
Once boiling, add 1/2 package of noodles or pasta (8-10 oz.)*. Boil noodles in broth for about 8 minutes (or according to package).

Then add:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded/cubed**
2 cans cream of chicken
1/4 t. seasoned salt
1/4 t. pepper

Boil until cream of chicken soup has dissolved and soup is creamy.
Note: You may need to add 1/2-1 C water if soup is on the thicker side.

*I use whatever pasta I have in my pantry. My kids love bowties, shells, or penne and they work great plus it's easier for the kids to eat.
**I cook my chicken in the crock pot with 1/2 can of chicken broth and a generous sprinkle of seasoned salt and pepper on top for a few hours (2 hours on hight for 2 FROZEN breasts or 3-4 hours on low).

Chex Muddy Buddies

15 minute prep time
18- 1/2 cup servings

9 cups any flavor CHEX cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Measure cereal. Put in a large bowl and set aside.

In 1-QT. microwavable bowl, microwave choc. Chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on HIGH 1 minute. Stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until the mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2 gallon resealable storage plastic bag.

Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Cous Cous with Peanut Sauce

It's the new Mac and cheese! At least it might be at my house, since my kids loved it and don't really care for mac and cheese (weird I know). I got this recipe from The Vegan Spoonful (click the link to see a picture). I made a few slight alterations such as using regular milk instead of soy, and also halved the recipe (it was plenty for us plus leftovers), but otherwise my version is almost the same.

Peanut Sauce:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter
1 and 1/2 cups vegetable broth (or hot water with bouillon)
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt to taste
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup milk

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in peanut butter and allow it to melt a little. Add vegetable broth and whisk until smoothly incorporated. Add spices and simmer on medium-low heat, covered, for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in milk and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Cous Cous

1 cup dry cous cous
1 T olive oil
1 t vegetable bullion powder (I used chicken)
1/4 t paprika
1 cup boiling water

Stir olive oil, bouillon powder, and paprika into dry cous cous until thoroughly mixed. You can do this right in your serving bowl. Stir in boiling water and cover for 5 minutes. Remove lid and fluff with a fork. Serve peanut sauce over hot cous cous. Enjoy!