Chicken Chasseur

12-16-oz chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 c chicken broth
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1/4 c flour
1/4 c cream

In a large skillet, brown chicken and remove from pan. Add onions and garlic and saute until soft. Mix flour with cream until smooth. Add all ingredients and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

I wish I got a picture of this dish, but it got put away before I could get it.

This recipe is from Kate's Kitchen from her cookbook, The Pantry Principles.

Calico Beans

1/2 c. of any 3-5 different beans - or how every many you want (if using dry, soak overnight)

1 onion. chopped

6 carrots, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 lb. fresh spinach, sliced thin

broth or water to cover

Saute onion, carrot, celery, and peppers in oil until softened. Place everything except spinach into crock pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Add spinach during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Serve and sprinkle with cheese.

I modified this recipe a bit, and I also turned it into more of a soup. This is a very good dish, especially when paired up with homemade dinner rolls or bread.

I got this recipe from Kate's Kitchen from her cookbook, The Pantry Principles.

Stove Top Mac and Cheese

2 c elbow macaroni
1/4 c butter
1/4 c flour or a little more (I use wheat)
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch pepper
2 c milk
2 c shredded cheese (or more, depends on taste)

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper; cook until bubbly. Gradually add milk; cook and stir until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted. Drain macaronil; add to cheese sauce and stir to coat.

My kids love this. It is so easy to make as well. Tastes so much better than the box kind

Black and White Truffles

1 pkg (1-lb 2-oz) creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
1 pkg (8-oz) cream cheese, softened
36-oz almond bark (vanilla flavored candy coating)
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vegetable oil

Line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper. Place cookies in a large food processor. Cover; process with on-and-off pulses until consistency of fine crumbs (I put them in a zip-lock bag and took a rolling pin or a mallet to them to crush them). In a large bowl, stir cookie crumbs and cream cheese until well blended and mixture forms a dough like consistency.

Chop 8-oz of the almond bark; stir into dough mixture. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; place on cookie sheets. Freeze 30 minutes or until very firm.

In a small microwaveable bowl (or you can do this on the stove in a medium pot), microwave half of the remaining 28-oz candy coating on High for 90 seconds; stir. Continue microwaving and stirring in 15 second intervals until melted and smooth.

Remove half of the balls from the freezer. Using 2 forks, dip and roll each ball in coating; return to cookie sheet. Melt remaining candy coating; dip remaining balls.

In a 1-qt resealable freezer plastic bag, place chocolate and oil; seal bag. Microwave on High 35-50 seconds, squeezing chips in bag every 15 seconds, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Cut small tip from bottom corner of bag. Drizzle chocolate over truffles. If desired, sprinkle with cocoa. Refrigerate 30-45 minutes or until chocolate is set. Store covered in refrigerator.

Prep Time: 30 min Start-Finish: 1 hr 45 min Makes: 6 dozen Recipe was taken from Betty Crocker

Festive Vanilla Fudge

1 bag (12-oz) white chocolate chips
1/4 c whipping cream
1 Tbsp honey
3/4 c red and green candies

Line bottom and sides of 8-inch pan with foil, leaving foil overhanging 2 opposite sides of pan; spray foil with cooking spray.

In a large microwavable bowl, mix chips, cream and honey. Microwave on High about 90 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Cool about 30 minutes or until just slightly warm. Quickly stir in 1/2 c of the candies. Spread evenly in pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 c candies over the top; press lightly into top. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until completely set.

Remove fudge from pan onto cutting board by lifting with foil; peel back foil. With a large sharp knife, cut into 4 rectangles. Cut each rectangle crosswise into 8 pieces.

Prep Time: 10 minutes Start-Finish 1 hr 10 min Makes 32 candies From Betty Crocker

Easter Egg Bread

Make a Smilebox recipe

Awsome Bread Dough

Make a Smilebox recipe

3 Ingredient Brownies

1-1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
12-oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl; pour into a greased 9"x9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden; cool before cutting into bars. Makes 12 servings.

I recieved this recipe from a recipe group that I belong to.

Cheesy, Crunchy, Goldfish Chowder

Serves 4
4 c water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 c diced potatoes
1 c diced onion
1 bunch fresh broccoli, chopped
2 (10.5 oz) cans of cream of chicken soup
1 lb cheddar cheese, grated
Goldfish crackers, to taste

Put water, bouillon cubes, prepared potatoes, onion and broccoli into soup pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Add cream of chicken and grated cheese and let simmer for 15 minutes. Ladle into serving bowls and top each with a handful of goldfish crackers.

The kids picked this recipe out from one of their cookbooks. This recipe comes from Super Suppers and Desserts! from Kids Cooking Club (Scholastic)

Split Pea Dahl

1 c split peas
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
Cooked brown rice

Simmer the peas in about a quart of water for 45 minutes, or until they are tender. Cook the rice while the beans cook. Brown rice takes about the same amount of time to cook. After the peas are tender, heat the olive oil in a small skillet or saucepan. Add the seasonings and fry them gently in the fat until they are fragrant and bubbly. You do this to bring out the full flavor of the spices, please do not omit this step or the finished dish will loose part of it's trademark flavor. After frying the spices, scoop about 1/2 cup of juice from the split peas into the small pan with the spices. Stir it up to dissolve all the spices in the juice. Pour the spicy juice back into the big pot of split peas. Stir it up and simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Ladle the split pea dahl over cooked rice and serve.

This recipe calls for a lot of spices. Essentially you are making your own curry powder by combining the spices this way. Regular curry powder, purchased in cans at the market, is a combination of spices, specifically blended for the American palette. This dish is a little closer to authentic than it would be if made with store bought curry powder. It also tastes much better. Like dishes from many other countries, Split Pea Dahl makes use of those foods which are cheapest and most abundant in the locality which created them. This one gets it's inspiration from India.

Once again, this recipe is from Hillbilly Housewife. This is an all time favorite with my kids