Cherry Chocolate Cake

This is a delicious cake from Jody. It's super easy and quick!

1 chocolate cake mix
1- 16 oz can cherry pie filling
2 eggs
1 TB. almond extract

Chocolate frosting

Directions: Beat eggs in separate bowl. Add almond extract (I leave this out if I don't have it on hand). Pour dry cake mix into bowl. Add filling. Add eggs and almond mixture. Mix by hand with wooden spoon until dry mix is completely absorbed. It will be thick like icing. Spread into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Frost with chocolate frosting (I use store bought frosting). I like to eat it while it's still warm with ice cream.

My Favorite Cranberry Sauce

3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce

4 green onions, finely chopped

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1. In a large skillet, combine the first seven ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until heated through.

This is great on turkey and ham. If you want the original recipe from Taste of Home click here.

Not Your Mamma's Green Bean Casserole

Not Your Mamma's Green Bean Casserole

5 cans Fancy cut/ French cut beans
8oz cream cheese
8oz sour cream
1 Pkg Uncle Dans Southern Ranch mix
1 lb shredded Swiss cheese
corn flakes

Mix 5 cans green beans (drained) with ranch mix, sour cream, cream cheese, and half of shredded cheese until smooth. Spread in glass 9X13 baking pan, top with rest of shredded cheese, and then top with crushed corn flakes.

I put all the cheeses, creams and ranch mix in the blender first- A lot easier! Then mixed in the beans.

Bake 350 until bubbly and corn flakes start to brown. (Approximately 30-40 min.)

Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 1/2 c. gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/4 c. butter, melted
8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 16 oz. can pumpkin (2 cups)
4 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of 9x13 springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven temp to 300 degrees. Beat cream cheese, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in large mixing bowl on medium speed. mix until smooth and fluffy. Add pumpkin. Beat in eggs, one at a time on low speed. Pour over crumb mixture. Bake until center is firm, about 70 minutes. More or less depending on your oven. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve with Cool Whip.

NOTE: I made this with graham crackers for the crust since I didn't have gingersnaps and it turned out great. I also used puree from my pumpkin, not canned pumpkin, and it was wonderful! We all gobbled it up. YUM.

Breakfast Eggs'travaganza

This comes from The Worldwide Ward Cookbook (Jana Bailey).


1/4 cup butter
4 cups frozen hash browns
1 lb. bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled OR sausage/ham
12 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
4 cups milk
2 Tb. parsley, chopped dried (or use fresh)
1 cup cheese, shredded

Melt butter. Add frozen hash browns. Cook until brown. Put in bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Scatter bacon over top of hash browns (I used cut up sausage links). Beat the eggs, salt, pepper, and milk. Add parsley. Pour gently over the hash browns and bacon. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until set. Sprinkle cheese on top and let it melt. Option: Add 1 can cream of chicken soup and 1/2. cup green pepper (I didn't add this). Makes 12 servings.

I changed the recipe from the original to fit this pan. If you only want to make an 8 inch square pan, just half the recipe.

Note: The cooking time may be longer for this larger sized pan.

Cheesy Roll Ups

I got this recipe from A Thrifty Mom's website. It is now one of our favorites! Whenever I make it I double the batch and put one pan in the freezer. Go here to her post to see lots more pics of the making process and a few twists if you want. I am just posting the recipe here.

1 box lasagna noodles
1 jar spaghetti sauce

Cheese Mixture:
1 16 oz pkg ricotta cheese
1 1/2 c. fresh grated parmesean cheese (set aside 1/2 cup for the top)
2 c. mozzarella cheese, grated
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbl. parsley, fresh or dry

Start cooking your pasta. Put the noodles in a large pot. As they soften up you can slide them down into the pan so they are totally covered with water. Just don't push them as you don't want them to break. Cook them for 10 minutes. (while they are cooking make the cheese mixture). Do not overcook! When done drain and rinse so they are cool enough to handle. Pour the spaghetti sauce in your baking dish.

In a bowl add all the cheese mixture ingredients. Mix until well blended. Lay out the noodles and pat them dry with paper towels. Spread the filling mixture out in a flat layer over the noodle. Leave the last inch open so the noodle will stick together. Roll it up and place seam side down in a pan with the spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle the 1/2 c. parmesean cheese on the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, then another 10 minutes without foil for a total of 35 minutes.

When I make this I put the other half in a foil disposable pan and cover with foil to freeze. I write the directions & label it on top in a permanent marker so I don't forget what's in there or how to bake it.

Potato Latkes

This recipe comes from this very cool, new cookbook "Worldwide Ward Christmas Cookbook". I just bought mine at Costco.

Ingredients:
4 cups raw potatoes, shredded and drained
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 heaping Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 small onion, grated
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. fresh chives, parsley, or scallions, minced

Combine all ingredients and mix well. (I just realized that I forgot to drain the potatoes - oops, it still worked). Drop by tablespoonfuls on a hot, well greased skillet. Fry on both sides until brown. Makes 24 pancakes.

My tips: I used a larger cookie scoop and added some oil to my frying pan. Mine were larger (like a medium sized cookie so it made less pancakes) and they turned out great. I think next time I might double the recipe because they were a HIT!

Delicious Pork Roast

Rub pork roast with Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and Spade L Ranch beef seasoning. Put 2-3 bay leaves and 1 can stewed tomatoes in the bottom of the pan. If you want add potatoes and carrots.

Cook covered with lid for about 3-5 hours at 250° or until done (depending on the size of the roast).

You can find Spade L beef marinade back in the meat department. They have it at Smiths, Dicks or Reams. They have one for pork, but the beef is better. It's super good on almost any meat. It's a red and white label with a cow and a spade on it.

I haven't cooked this - but this was a freezer meal I received through my swap. Delicious!

Chicken Rolls

I have fond memories of these growing up....

2 large pkg crescent rolls
1 large pkg cream cheese
1/4 c. butter (optional)*
2 medium green onions, chopped
2 c. cubed chicken or turkey
1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained (optional)
dash of pepper

Cream cheese and butter until soft and well blended. Add chicken, pepper, mushrooms, and onions. Place 1/8 to 1/4 c. of mixture in center of each crescent roll. Wrap dough around the mixture and seal well. Bake at 350 degrees until brown, about 15 minutes.

Make a gravy from broth or chicken soup and serve over rolls.

If desired, melt 1/4 cube butter. Mix 1 c. dressing bread, and 1/4 c. chopped pecans. Dip each roll into butter, then roll in dressing/pecan mixture before baking.

*Can substitute a little plain yogurt, cream soup, or gravy for butter.

recipes

the following three recipes were all in one post a long time ago- so I just edited them and made them into three different posts. I am making the italian rigatoni tonight!

italian rigatoni

Italian Rigatoni

1 (12 ounces) package Rigatoni pasta noodles
1 1/2 pounds italian sausage cut into 1 inch pieces (I use 3 links cut up)
1 large onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2 cans (14.5 ounces) italian diced tomatoes undrained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp basil leaves- or ground I suppose
1 tsp thyme leaves- ground if you want
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp butter-

In a large skillet, cook sausage until brown. Add onion and garlic with sausage. Add tomatoes, cilantro, basil, thyme, salt, pepper and butter. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over rigatoni pasta. Garnish with cheese of choice-Mozzarella and/or Parmesan

Brocoli and Beef Stir fry

Broccoli and Beef stir-fry

4 tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp water
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 lb round steak- cut into strips or chicken
olive oil-
4 cups fresh broccoli
1 onion cut into wedges
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
Cooked brown rice

In a bowl, combine 3 tbsp cornstarch with 3 tbsp water until smooth. Add beef strips and toss. In a large skillet or wok over medium heat- stir fry beef in 1 tbsp oil until meat reaches desired doneness -remove and keep warm. Stir fry broccoli and onion (add other vegetables too if you want) for 5-6 minutes. Return beef to pan. Combine soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, ginger, and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan- cook and stir for 2-3 minutes- serve over rice.

Creamy Tortilla Soup

Creamy Tortilla Soup

2 cans (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with chilies
2 cans (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1 can refried beans
1 cup canned corn- (I put in the whole can)
2-3 cups cooked chicken shredded or cubed
cilantro, sour cream, Monterey Jack Cheese

Combine tomatoes and broth. Stir in beans and corn. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add Chicken and heat through- Top with sour cream, cilantro, cheese, chips- I think it would be good with a bread bowl-

Lasagna

This is a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. I have a lot of home canned tomatoes I need to use so I tried this recipe. It is the best lasagna we have ever had. YUM!!! Pair it with homemade breadsticks.

2 Tbl. Onion Flakes
1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
1 qt. tomatoes
2 6oz cans tomato paste
1/2 c. water
2 Tbl. Sugar
1 lb mozzarella cheese
1 lb. cottage cheese
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
12 lasagna noodles
Parmesan cheese

Blend tomatoes, tomato paste, onion flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper, oregano, sugar and water. Brown ground beef, drain, and add to above blended ingredients in a large pot. Add bay leaf and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Boil 12 lasagna noodles in salted water (1 Tbl), also add a little vegetable oil to keep the noodles from sticking together. Boil for 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse well. Pat dry with paper towels. Fill 9x13 greased pan with alternate layers of noodles, grated mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are yummy cookies, I made a double batch and we ate them all. Taken from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips


1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

2. Add vanilla and chocolate chips.

3. Bake at 350 for approx. 10 minutes.