Mom's Overnight Egg Bake

This is the last recipe from Christmas I have to post. I actually made it for us for dinner last night because I had coupons for croutons and sausage and Mike really likes it. Thanks for the recipe Mom :-)!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cups Seasoned Croutons (1 normal sized box)
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Jimmy Dean Sausage Roll (we like spicy)
8 Eggs
3 Cups Milk, divided
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup (I used 98% FF)

Ingredients:
Grease 9 X 13 inch pan. Layer Croutons, cheese and cooked, drained sausage. Beat eggs and 2 1/2 cups milk. Pour over ingredients. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, Mix mushroom soup and remaining 1/2 cup milk. Pour over eggs. Bake, uncovered, at 300 degrees 1 1/2 hours, until brown.

French Onion Soup

This was a recipe featured on The Lil' Peanut Patch and I've been wanting it ever since I saw it! I was a little nervous, but was very pleased with how it turned out!

Ingredients:
5-6 medium sweet onions, cut in 1/2 and then sliced (so you have a bunch of 1/2 circles)
4-5 Tbsp. butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 tsp. thyme
1/2 cup sherry cooking wine
6 cups beef broth
3-4 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
loaf of french bread (I just put croutons in Mike's and skipped it altogether in mine to leave it sans gluten)
sliced mozzarella or swiss cheese (we used Swiss)

Directions:
Heat a deep pot over medium-med/high heat. Add butter and onions. Cook and stir occasionally until they are somewhat caramelized. Then, season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Add sherry to the pot, slowly deglazing the pan as you pour it in. Then add the beef broth and worcestershire sauce. Let the soup sit on med/low heat for at least 20 minutes.

While soup is simmering, turn on your oven to broil. Toast both sides of a thick slice of french bread. Then, place broiler safe bowls onto a cookie sheet and ladle the soup into your bowls, add the toasted bread (push it lightly into the soup) and lay a slice of cheese on top. Broil until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. YUM!

Puffed Pancakes

Another stolen recipe from my mom...we had it with our Christmas Day brunch. Ella LOVED them :-) and next time she wants pancakes I think this is what I'll do...much less time consuming that making a whole batch of actual pancakes!

Ingredients:
1/2 cube butter (not margarine)
6 eggs
1 cup Milk
1 Cup Pancake Mix (or Bisquick)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 Degrees. Place butter in a 9 X 13 inch pan. Put in preheating oven until butter is melted. In a blender, combine eggs, milk and pancake mix. Pour batter into baking dish. Bake for a bout 15 - 18 Minutes until pancakes are puffy and lightly browned. Do not open oven while pancakes are cooking. Top with sifted powder sugar.

Serve with warm maple syrup or fruit toppings.

24 Hour Salad

My mom has made this salad for our Christmas Eve dinner ever since I can remember! The first Christmas Mike and I had together I made it for the two of us, not a good idea. It makes a lot and it doesn't save longer than a day, but it was delicious!

Ingredients:
6 Cups lettuce chopped
Sugar, Salt, Pepper
6 Hard Boiled Eggs, sliced
1 10 oz. pkg. Frozen Peas thawed
1 lb. Bacon , cooked and crumbled
1/4 C. sliced green onions
2 Cups( 8 oz.) shredded Swiss Cheese
1 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
In a large salad bowl, place 3 cups lettuce. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper. Layer in order the eggs, peas, bacon, remaining 3 cups lettuce, green onions and cheese. Combine mayonnaise and sour cream, spread over top of salad. Cover, refrigerate 24 hrs. Toss before serving.

Taquitos

Tonight I made Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken and was planning on using it to make tacos, but then I decided to try making some home made taquitos instead...and they were delicious (although less healthy!)!

Ingredients:
-shredded chicken, beef or pork
-shredded cheese
-tortillas of choice (I used corn to be gluten free but I'm sure flour would be easier to work with)
-oil for frying!

Directions:
-Heat enough oil in pan to cover tortillas when rolled up.
-Place a small amount of cheese down center of tortilla, then top with some of your meat mixture (to make my corn tortillas easier to work with I place 3 in a paper towel, wrap them up and heat in microwave for 30 seconds).
-Tightly roll up tortilla and place 1 or 2 toothpicks in to hold in place.
-Place in hot oil until they turn golden brown.

Sweet and Spicy Slow-Cooker Chicken

I found this recipe on My Kitchen Cafe. The chicken turned out really well, but was definitely more sweet than spicy (I only used 1/4 t. red pepper). I definitely plan to make it again...we could use it for tacos one night and then put it in tortilla soup the next night (tonight I tried it in homemade taquitos). I will however add some additional spices though (extra red pepper, some cumin, maybe some chili powder and garlic salt) and I'll probably add some sliced onions as well. It was super easy and definitely worth a shot!

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I will use at least 1/2 next time)

Directions:
Place all ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, or until chicken shreds very easily with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Chicken will absorb liquid after it is shredded.)

Chicken and Rice Bowls

This meal idea comes from Taste Buds and was a nice change from our stir fry meals. I only marinaded the chicken for a few hours because I didn't read the recipe close enough the first time through, but it was still tasty...and healthy too! I was reminded of Teriyaki Stix by this meal (and Sara's short lived work experience there).

Ingredients:
-chicken breasts
-equal parts teriyaki sauce & fat free italian dressing
-1-2 cloves garlic, minced
-veggies of choice
-rice of choice

Directions:
-combine sauce, dressing, garlic and chicken in a ziploc bag & marinade over night.
-roast or grill chicken (I used my George Foreman grill!) and serve over steamed brown or white rice with your steamed veggies of choice.

White Chiken Chili

This was THE perfect meal for our chilly day today! I LOVED it...SO easy and flavorful! I came across the blog Delicioius Dishes at some point while looking for recipes at the beginning of this week and this was definitely a winner!

Ingredients/Directions:
3 chicken breasts, cubed (I used 1 can)
1 med. Onion, chopped
1 ½ tsp. garlic powder
1 T. vegetable oil

Saute until chicken is golden brown and add:
2 cans (15oz) great northern beans (drain and rinse)
1 (14.5 oz) can of chicken broth
2 cans (4 oz) of green chilies
1 T. jalapenos (I didn't have and it was still VERY flavorful)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp. black pepper

Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add:
1 C. sour cream
½ pint whipping cream

Stir in and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve with chips, avocado and cheese.

Cream of Rice

No recipe here...just a gluten-free breakfast idea for winter. I LOVED this growing up!
Follow directions on Cream of Rice box to prepare.
Then add LOTS of brown sugar, some butter and milk.
It's like our version of oatmeal :-).

Chili-Beef Soft Tacos

This is another mystery recipe...I ripped it out of a magazine long ago, but all identifying information was cut off. You can't go wrong with shredded beef tacos in my opinion and these definitely didn't disappoint! And they are so easy; just throw it in the crock pot in the morning and by evening you're ready to dig in.

Ingredients:
-2 16-oz. jars mild or med tomato-based salsa (4 c.)
-2 T. cider vinegar
-5 t. chili powder
-1 1/2 lb. beef chuck pot roast
-12 corn tortillas
-sour cream, shredded lettuce, avocado (and cheese if you're like me)

Directions:
-Spoon 1 c. salsa into small bowl; reserve. In slow cooker, combine remaining sals with vinegar and chili powder. Add beef, cover and turn heat to low. Cook until beef shreds easily with a fork, 10-12 hours. Shred meat, meat using 2 forks and spoon into serving bowl.
-Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Stack tortillas, wrap in foil and bake until warm, about 10 minutes. Serve with sour cream, lettuce, avocado and remaining salsa.

2 Pot Roast Recipes

Mike's Favorite Pot Roast(from a church cookbook)
Ingredients:
-1 can cream of mushroom soup (we use 98%FF)
-1 envelope onion soup mix
-1/2 c. milk
-beef chuck roast (about 2 lbs.)

Directions:
-Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper and place in crock pot on low setting.
-Mix together soup, soup mix and milk. Pour over roast.
-Cook on low 8-10 hours until meat is done, stirring occasionally.
Serve with mashed potatoes and use sauce in crock pot as gravy.

Marci's Favorite Pot Roast (from Better Homes and Garden cookbook)
Ingredients:
-beef chuck roast
-2 T. cooking oil
-3/4 c. water or dry wine
-1 t. beef bouillon granules
-1 T. Worcestershire
-1 t. dried basil, crushed
-2 medium potatoes, sliced
-handful baby carrots or 2 carrots, sliced
-1 onion, sliced

Directions:
-Place veggies at the bottom of crockpot. Place roast on top.
-Combine water, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon, and basil.
-Pour over meat and vegetables. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8-10 hours.
(For gravy: Measure pot juices and add water if need to equal 1 1/2 cups. Combine 1/4 c. flour/cornstarch with 1/2 c. cold water. Stir into juices until thickend and bubbly.)

Mom's Taco Soup

My mom makes this every Halloween and we all love it. Scott even requested it for his birthday dinner one year :-). It's like a chili with a Mexican twist...perfect for fall!

Ingredients:
-1 can chili beans (15 oz)
-1 lb. hamburger
-1 chopped onion
-1 can tomato soup (8 oz)
-1 can water (8 oz)
-1 can whole stewed tomatoes (28 oz)
-1 can kidney beans (15 oz)
-1 can green chilies (4 oz)
-1 can whole kernel corn
-1 package taco seasoning
*brown sugar
-Toppings: crushed tortilla chips, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, green onions, avocado.

Directions:
-Brown hamburger and onion and drain fat.
-Combine all ingredeitns and simmer at least 2 hours or cook in crockpot.
*Add brown sugar to taste...this really makes the difference!
-Top as desired!

Classic Hashbrown Casserole

I just made these on a whim yesterday...I saw the words "potato casserole" somewhere, this came to mind and I had to have it :-). When Mike and I first got married we had this for dinner probably once a week (no wonder I gained weight!) and I hadn't made it in forever. It tastes just as good use FF creamed soup and FF sour cream and it would have saved me a few pounds I'm sure.

Ingredients:
-1 package frozen hash browns
-1 can cream chicken soup (can use FF)
-1 chopped onion
-1 container (16 oz) sour cream (can use FF or light)
-1 stick butter (I think just 2 T. is good enough)
-shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Place butter, sliced, in bottom of 9x13 baking dish with onion while you mix the other ingredients (for the cheese, I put one handful in the mix and use the rest to top the casserole at the end) until onions are clear.
-Mix onions in with other ingredients and spread the mixture in dish.
-Bake for 30-45 minutes. Add cheese to top during last 10 min. of baking.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Thanks to Annemarie (Taste Buds) for this festive cookie idea :-). The girls and I made up some little plates for the librarians at our library last night and they turned out so cute. I'm not a baker, so the fact that they turned out presentable was definitely a success :-)!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter; room temp
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg; room temp
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Hershey Kisses

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and peanut butter. Mix in both sugars, vanilla and egg. Combine dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add to peanut butter mixture & mix just until combined. Roll dough into 1" balls, roll in granulated sugar and place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 min. Remove from oven and immediately press Hershey Kiss into center of cookie (I put mine in the fridge while the cookies are baking).

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

I took the beginnings of this recipe from one I found on All Recipes and went from there. My pumpkin seeds always tend to get overdone. I only had them in about 40 minutes and some of them were still a little burned. I put them on a baking sheet though I just realized so maybe that was the problem. The flavors in this are great - just watch them closely while they bake!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seasoned sale
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
(optional: 1/4 t. chili powder)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
-Combine the butter, salts, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish.
-Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.