Natalie's Pasta Salad

1 pkg. rainbow pasta, cooked and cooled

Cut up the following in small pieces

1 C carrots

1 C celery

1 C cucumber

1 C onion

1 C green pepper

Dressing, mix together well

1 C cider vinegar

1½ C sugar

1 – 2 Tbsp Basil

Add everything together and chill before serving.

(Jean really submitted this, but she couldn't remember how.)

Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-grain pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsulphered molasses
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/4 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

It's zucchini season! Here's a great alternative to zucchini bread. It's super moist and yummy. My kids are eating the crumbs from the pan as I type.

1/2 c butter
1 t soda
2 cups grated zucchini
2 eggs
5 T cocoa
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c buttermilk*
1/2 c oil
1 t vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1/4 c chocolate chips (to put on top before you bake it)

Blend all ingredients except zucchini, add it last. Pour mixture into cake pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake at 325 degrees 40-45 mins.

*I never have buttermilk on hand so I put 1 t lemon juice in a half cup then add regular milk to fill the cup. Let it stand for 5 mins & viola -- buttermilk substitute.

Coconut Tres Leches Cake

Cake: Homemade yellow cake recipe, (the heavier the better), prepared according to directions.

Milk Syrup: 1 (15 oz.) can cream of coconut (found in the drink mixers section of the store. This is NOT coconut milk.)
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Garnishes: 2 medium-size bananas
sweetened whipped cream
sweetened flaked coconut (toasted in 350° oven for 7 minutes)

Bake a 9x13” cake according to the directions. Cool completely, in pan, on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Pierce the cooled cake all over the top with the tines of a fork. The more pokes, the more the syrup will soak into the cake. Using a large spoon or ladle, spoon some of the milk syrup over the cake. Let the syrup soak into the cake, then continue spooning it on top until all of it has been used up. When you have finished, not all of the syrup will be completely absorbed and might be pooling on top, but that’s ok because it will absorb as it refrigerates. Cover the cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until all of the syrup is absorbed; about 2 hours. Cut the bananas into slices. Slice the cake and serve it with whipped cream, sliced bananas, and toasted coconut, if desired.

Oven Baked Chimichangas

**This recipe calls for precooked rice and meat, so plan accordingly.

¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
¼ cup yellow onion, chopped fine
16 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1½ cups cooked rice
2-3 cups shredded or diced cooked pork, chicken, or beef (use your bottled meat here!)
1 cup shredded cheese
1-2 tsp. minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, (use the lesser amount for less heat)
chopped fresh cilantro, to your taste
salt and pepper
6 large burrito-size flour tortillas

Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven and heat the oven to 450°. While the oven is heating, in a large skillet, heat 2 T of the oil over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Cook the onion until it is just softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beans, rice, meat, and chipotle. Cook until the mixture is heated through, about 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cheese and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper, about ¼ tsp. each.

Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave the tortillas until they are warm and pliable, about 1 minute. Top each warm tortilla with some of the meat mixture, leaving about a 2” border at the bottom of the tortillas. Fold in the sides and roll up the tortilla tightly. Brush the wrapped tortillas with the remaining oil and arrange them seam side down on the hot baking sheet that has been preheating in the oven. Bake until the chimis are golden brown and crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Garnish with enchilada sauce, lettuce, cheese, tomato, guacamole, sour cream, etc. YUMMY!

Raspberry Pretzel Salad

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
½ cup sugar
12 oz. Cool Whip
12 oz. pkg. frozen raspberries or strawberries, thawed and drained

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and Cool Whip together really well. Fold in pineapple and raspberries. Refrigerate.

1 cup broken pretzels
½ cup melted butter
½ cup sugar

Mix these 3 ingredients together in a cake pan. Press in pan. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes. Allow to completely cool and then break into little pieces. Add to Cool Whip mixture just before serving.

BEST EVER Banana Bread

1 cup butter
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups sour cream
4 tsp. soda
2 tsp. vanilla
4-5 mashed bananas
1 tsp. salt
5 c. flour
1 pkg chocolate chips (optional)
chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream together the butter, sugar and eggs. Mix together in a separate bowl, the sour cream and soda. Let stand until foamy. Stir the sour cream mixture into the banana mixture. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Place in 4 greased and floured 9x5 in. bread pans. Bake 350° for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. You may need to lightly cover the loaves with a piece of tinfoil the last 20 minutes to keep it from getting too dark. This recipe can be halved.

Roasted Garlic Hummus

Preparation time 10 minutes

1 Can chickpeas/garbanzo beans (15 oz)

2 Tablespoons roasted garlic

1/2 Teaspoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 Teaspoon oregano

Process all ingredients in a food processor. If it is too

thick, add olive oil in 1/2 teaspoon increments.

Serve garlic roasted hummus with hot pita bread, pita

chips or vegetables.

Tex-Mex Turkey Casserole

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 med green pepper, chopped
1 med onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced (I'm not allowed to add this)
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 jar (16 oz) salsa
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14 - 1/2 oz) Mexican stewed tomatoes
1 tsp each onion powder, garlic powder and ground cumin
12 corn tortillas (6 inches)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divide

1. In a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook the turkey, green pepper, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Stir in the beans, salsa, tomato sauce, tomatoes, onion powder, garlic powder and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

2. Spread 1 cup meat sauce into a 13 in x 9 in x 2 in baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with six tortillas. Spread with half of the remaining meat sauce; sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Layer with remaining tortillas and meat sauce.

3. Cover and bake at 350* for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Taco Seasoning Mix

1 cup onion granules
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup crushed dried red pepper (optional or decrease for milder mix)
1/4 cup garlic granules
1/4 cup ground cumin
2 Tbsp. dried oregano leaves
2 Tbsp. paprika

Combine ingredients. Store in a quart jar in a cool, dry place; keep away from light.

Pizza Sauce

1 quart stewed tomatoes
1 Tbsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. anise seed
1 tsp. caraway seed

Combine ingredients. Blend in food processor. Makes enough sauce for 2-3 large pizzas.

Pizza Crust

1 Tbsp. yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
pinch of sugar
2 Tbsp. shortening
3/4 cup scalded milk
1 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast and pinch of sugar in water. Combine shortening, sugar, salt and milk. Add dissolved yeast and flour. Mix well and knead until smooth. Let rise 15 minutes. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until done. Makes 2 medium or 1 quite large pizzas.

Stir-Fry Bok Choy

4 bunches bok choy (1 bunch per person)
2 slices ginger (or 1/2 tsp. ground ginger)
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar (or to taste)
1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup water
4-5 drops sesame oil (optional)
1-2 tsp. olive/vegetable oil for frying

Wash the bok choy and drain. Separate the stalks and leaves. Cut the stalk diagonally and cut the leaves across.
Heat wok and add oil. When oil is ready, add ginger and stir-fry briefly, for about 1-2 minutes, until the ginger is aromatic. Add the bok choy, adding the stalks first, and then the leaves. Stir in the soy sauce, sugar, and salt, and stir-fry on high heat for 1-2 minutes.
Add the water, cover the wok and simmer for about 2 minutes. Stir in the sesame oil and serve. Serves 4.

Barbecued Chicken Tenders

1 cup oil
1 cup soy sauce
1 Lt sprite
a little garlic powder
Chicken tenders

Add all ingredients in a large bowl and marinate over night. Cook on barbecue yum yum.

They are good warm or cold.

Taco Pita's

Hamburger
Onion
Tomato's
Taco seasoning
Ranch dressing
Lettuce
Pita's
Cheese

Cook hamburger with onion and drain well, add taco seasoning and let cool. Just before your ready to serve it, add lettuce, tomato's, cheese and very last ranch dressing. Scoop into pita and yum.

*I only use about 3/4 of the taco seasoning.

This is easy to take camping. I cook the meat with taco seasoning ahead of time and just add the remainder of the ingredients just before serving.

For those of you with food allergies if you use the McCormick taco seasoning, light house ranch and your own bread, you should be good to go.

Mango Bread

This is like a banana or zucchini bread.
I made it for the kids b-day party dinner and it was a big hit!

2c flour
2t baking soda
1t salt
1c sugar
1t cinnamon
3/4 c veggie oil
3 eggs
2 chopped ripe mangoes
1t vanilla

Mix everything together & put in a greased bread pan. 325 degrees for 1 hour

Cowboy Caviar

Mix together:
3 T.  olive oil
3 T.  red wine vinegar
1 ½ tsp. tobacco sauce (if desired)
3-4 cloves fresh garlic – minced
1/8 tsp. pepper
½ tsp. salt (to taste – might need more depending on the amount of limes)
Juice of 1 or 2 limes (can be 3)
1 or 2 T finely chopped cilantro (if desired)
Add:
1 can drained whole kernel corn
1 can drained black-eyed peas
1 bunch sliced green onions (if desired)
1 – 2 diced avocadoes
6 – 8 Roma tomatoes – diced


Serve with tortilla chips  

Butterfingers

1 c. butter                                              1 t. baking soda

1 c. sugar                                               2 t. vanilla

1 c. brown sugar                                    2 c. flour

2 eggs                                                    2 c. oatmeal

1 c. peanut butter

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, peanut butter and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients.  Spread in lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.  Cool.  Spread a layer of peanut butter and then a layer of chocolate frosting.

Frosting: 

¼ c. cocoa

½ c. butter

2 2/3 c. powdered sugar

¼ c. milk

Over ripe Bananas

Don't have time to make banana bread with your over ripe bananas? Mash it up in your pancake batter! Mmmmmm. . . good!

For Cauliflower Haters

Nobody at my house will eat cauliflower - - At least not knowingly. Whenever I get cauliflower I steam it, puree it in the blender, and freeze it in 1/2 cup portions in snack size baggies. Here's a list of things you can put the cauliflower puree in:

Mashed Potatoes
Alfredo Sauce
Any Tomato Sauce (spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, etc...)
Scrambled Eggs (Add a little parmasean cheese too--I promise it's yummy)
Any Cream Soup
Stroganoff
Broccoli Chicken & Rice casseroll

Really you can add it to just about anything that is creamy. I promise no one will even notice!

Beef and Broccoli

1 lb. top round beef steak

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 T. sugar

1/4 cup white grape juice or apple juice (I use apple)

2 T. cornstarch

1 cup water

2 cups fresh broccoli florets (remove stems), cut bite-sized

4 T. vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. sesame oil (I omit this one!)

Cut round steak into thin 2-inch long strips; set aside. Combine soy sauce, sugar, juice, cornstarch, and water in a small bowl; set aside. In a large skillet, stir-fry broccoli in 2 T. oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Do not overcook. Place broccoli in another dish. Pour remaining oil in the same skillet and heat on medium-high heat. Add steak and cook until well-browned on all sides; about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, not more than 1 minute. Pour soy sauce mixture over meat and cook until slightly thickened. Stir in sesame oil. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked broccoli. Serve over hot steamed rice. Makes 8 servings.

Scotcheroos

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups rice krispies

1 small pkg. chocolate chips

1 small pkg. butterscotch chips

Butter a 9x13 pyrex pan. Combine sugar and corn syrup in large saucepan. Stir and cook on med. heat until bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Add rice krispies. Blend well. Press into the pyrex pan. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together. Stir well. Spread mixture over the top of the rice krispies. Cool until chocolate is hardened.

Disclaimer

We don't proclaim to be chefs. We are far from it. We are just a bunch of busy moms who work really hard to feed our families. The recipes found on this site are most likely NOT our own creations. They are ones that we have gathered up through the years. Hopefully this will make your own search to figure out how to answer that eternal question, "What's for dinner?" a little easier.

Yummy Enchiladas

1 lb. ground beef
onion (diced)
2 cans tomato soup
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can chopped olives(drained
3-4 cups shredded cheese
24-30 corn tortillas(lightly browned in oil)

Brown ground beef with onion. Add soups, enchilada sauce and olives. Cook until warmed through. Layer sauce/meat mixture, tortillas, then cheese - about 4 times in a 13x9 inch dish, ending with sauce then cheese. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Welcome

Here is a collection of the recipies that we share with each other as we chat over lunch at school. Hopefully it will make dinner tonight (or tomorrow) a little easier.