Popper like Peppers

Take a long skinny "spicy" pepper of your choice, clean out the seeds with caution - wash hands right away.

Mix together ~
cream cheese (fat free or low fat fine is what I use)
onion powder or minced onion
grated cheese of your choice
(fine minced) sausage cooked up only about a half cup
2 egg
Mix well stuff sliced peppers Anaheim pepper our our favorite for mild and flavor
wrap with raw bacon

Bake 25-30 minutes 400 degrees

CAUTION may be *H*0*T* IN MORE WAYS THAN 1

this is my first attempt I bought some milder peppers so next time I will add some kick to the filling :)

sorry for the lack of measurements but you CANT GO WRONG!

Cream Corn

Medium - large sized bag of frozen corn warmed through drained, a half box of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of thick cream, 2 TBSP sugar or sub statute, continue warming and stirring, salt and pepper, 4-5 TBSP Parmesan cheese..... I forgot to snap a picture last night :( but there wasn't any left when I remembered...

Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese Bread

Wow! This is awesome bread! I just received her cookbook in the mail. It's filled with gorgeous photography and delicious recipes!! I made just half of this loaf up to go with our spaghetti dinner, but next time I will make the whole loaf and freeze the unbaked sections I don't need. I think it would freeze beautifully and would be just like popping in some New York Texas Cheese Toast...which is so inferior to this delicious homemade recipe!!

Olive Cheese Bread

• 1 loaf French Bread
• 6 ounces, weight Pimiento-stuffed Green Olives
• 6 ounces, weight Black Olives
• 2 stalks Green Onions (scallions)
• 1 stick Butter, Room Temperature
• ½ cups Mayonnaise
• ¾ pounds Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated

Chop black and green olives. I bought these already sliced to save a step. Chop green onions. I used dried chives to save yet another step!! Combine butter, mayonnaise, cheese, olives and green onions in a mixing bowl. Stir until combined. Spread mixture onto French bread that has been sliced lengthwise. Bake at 325ºF for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and browning.

Here is Pioneer Woman's recipe and photos, Olive Cheese Bread
I bought my book through Amazon.com.

Slow-cooker Broccoli Casserole

I just received two fabulous cookbooks in the mail. This is one of them, Make it Fast, Cook it Slow by Stephanie O'Dea. She is also the author of this fun blog. I followed it all last year and tried many of her recipes. I love the feeling of throwing ingredients in the crock-pot (DON"T FORGET TO PLUG IT IN!!) before I head out for the day; or even when I'm at home all day. Supper comes around so quickly that it's nice to have everything ready to serve come 5:30!

Broccoli Casserole

1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 lbs fresh broccoli florets (I used a 16 oz bag of frozen b/c that's what I had on hand!)
1 cup shredded "fancy" white cheese
(I used Swiss and Gouda...leftover from some fancy-smancy recipe I tried long ago!)
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken or veggie broth
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I used the shaker kind)

Use a 4 quart slow cooker. Combine the flour, salt, pepper and dry mustard in a greased slow cooker dish. Toss the broccoli into the mixture. Cover with 1 cup shredded cheese. Add the milk and broth. Top with Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on low for about 4-6 hours, or on high for 2 to 4 hours. Casserole is done when it begins to brown around the edges.

Great way to get kids to eat broccoli and add pizzaz' to frozen vegetables!

Scalloped Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 5 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Paprika

DIRECTIONS

1. In a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish, layer potatoes and onion.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth, mayonnaise, salt and pepper; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thick and bubbly. Pour over potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika.
3. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours or until tender.

To make this a meal dish, I add diced ham or sausage to it. Enjoy!

Creamed Potatos, Carrots & Peas

In Loving Memory of Grandpa John and his abundant garden.

Wash and cut new red potatos into bite size pieces. Enough to cook in 4 quart pot. Cook until potatoes are tender but not mushy.

Peel and cut up about 8 carrots. Shell and wash about 3 to 4 cups of peas. I place my carrots and peas in separate bowls in my steamer and steam them for about 15-20 min while potatoes are cooking.

Meanwhile put 1/4 cup butter and 2 very heaping tbs. flour in 2 quart pot on medium heat. Beat butter and flour together with gravy whip until melted and smooth. Pour and beat in 1/2 cup of whipping cream. Then whip in around 2 cups (more or less depending on thickness) milk while butter mixture is hot and bubbling until sauce thickens. Add Lowry and Salt to taste.

Drain potatoes and add carrots and peas and sauce. Gently mix until everything is coated with sauce. Garnish with Paprika and serve hot.

Thanks Mom for the recipe,

Chuck Roast with Potatos and Carrots

In our house, Randy has always been the chef when it comes to preparing roasts and steaks. I think it all started when we were first married and I cooked a few to many roasts and steaks for our Sunday lunch that had to be sawed through and most of it thrown away. I know my new husband was just thinking "There's gotta be a better way to do this..." So he looked into it and found the right way to cook meats and he's been doing it ever since. Lucky me!

Recently, my Mom gave me this idea of how to cook a Chuck Roast and I have made it several times since then with great success. It is tender and very tasty! So I thought I would share it on here.

First of all, these are the spices that we use. Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Lawry Seasoning Salt, Thyme, Rosemary and Basil...
I buy a package of 2 chuck roasts from Costco and put one in the freezer and then Rub both sides of one chuck roast with the above spices. Place in a large dutch oven that has been lightly oiled on the bottom...
Now I peel potatos and carrots, slice them and place them all around the roast. Sprinkle more seasoning on them....
Now place the lid on the dutch oven and put in the oven for about 3.5 to 4 hours (depending on the size of your roast) on 350 degrees. Remove from oven. Carefully remove potatos and carrots form around roast and place in bowl.

Remove roast to cutting board. Skim large chunks out of liquid remaining in Dutch oven and place on burner to make grave. Heat liquid until boiling and then slowly add some flour mixture (one half cup cold water and about 6 tablespoons flour shaken together with gravy shaker). Whisk liquid as you add flour mixture until it boils and the right consistency is reached for your gravy. Add salt, pepper to taste...
Slice chuck roast and cover with foil until ready to serve...

Now enjoy your chuck roast, potatos, and carrots with the gravy...

Cowboy nocho ~Very harty~ So very easy!!

3 small chopped onions
1 lb burger of your choice
1 (10oz) can rotel - - canned tomatoes and chilies found by the canned tomato at the store
1 (10 3/4 oz) can fiesta nacho cheese (( the only form I can find this in is Campbell's soup products))
1 (16 oz) can re fried beans

Fry onion and burger till done to you desire add rest of the ingredients
Garnish with your favorite taco fixings. We just enjoyed this dish (but the camera is malfunctioning)
We put olives sour cream, salsa, jalapenos, and so forth on ours the kids eat till the pan is empty.

Don't forget the corn chips - scoops work the best but any tortilla chips go down well.

CONFETTI MASHED POTATOES

MAKE MASHED POTATOES LIKE NORMAL THEN ADD ANY OF THE FOLLOWING COLORS PICK AND CHOOSE

• GREEN ONIONS 2 CHOPPED FINELY
• CELERY 2 STALKS
• SPINACH 1 1/2 CUP FINELY SHREDDED
• GREEN PEPPER 1/4 CUT SMALL
• RED SWEET PEPPER 1/2 CUT SMALL
• CARROTS 1 CUP SHREDDED
• FINE SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE

THESE WENT DOWN JUST AS WELL AS MASHED POTATOES AND GRAVY! NO JOKES!! THE BIGGEST FAN WAS : MR. POTATOES AND GRAVY. FOR SURE WE WILL BE MAKING THESE MORE THAN AGAIN. NOTE: PURPLE COMES FROM SKINS ON RED POTATOES. NO PEALING GOING ON HERE!!! AFTER FOLDING IN VEGGIES I MIROWAVE ABOUT 4-5 MINUTES TO TAKE SOME OF THE KRISPNESS OUT OF THE CARROTS AND OTHERS. YUM!

Some call them "Funeral Potatoes"

6 cups diced Potatoes - 2 lbs souther style has browns
1 can (10 3/4 oz) cond. cream chicken soup
1 can (10 3/4 oz0 cond. cream celary soup
1/2 soup can milk
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups grated mild cheddar cheese
1/2 cup minced onion
Pepper to taste
Cook fresh potatoes or thaw frozen potatoes. Place potatoes in a 2-3 quart casserol dish or a 9x13 cake pan. Combine soup, milk, sour cream cheese, and pepper. Spread sauce over potatoes. Bake uncovered at 350 F for 30-45 minutes.

To make a meal out of this I have added chicken and green beans. Another variation we have eaten is ham and broccoli.

Source My sister-n-law Photo lift

Ham and Bean Soup with Corn Spoon Bread

Ham and Bean Soup

1 pound dry beans
8 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1 ham hock
1/2 stalk celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon mustard powder
2 bay leaves
2 cups chopped ham
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

Rinse the beans, sorting out any broken or discolored ones. In a large pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and the beans and remove from heat. Let beans sit in the hot water for at least 60 minutes.

After the soaking, drain liquid and replace with chicken broth and water and return the pot to high heat. Add the ham bone, celery, onion, garlic, mustard and bay leaves to the pot. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 60 more minutes.

Remove ham bone and bay leaves and discard. Stir in the chopped ham and carrots and simmer for 30 more minutes. Season with ground white pepper to taste.

Serve with....

*************************************

Corn Spoon Bread

1 c. sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1 tablespoon chives, optional
2 1/3 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 can cream-style corn
2 packages cornbread/muffin mix

In a large mixing bowl, beat sour cream and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, butter, salt, pepper and chives until blended. Stir in both kinds of corn. Stir in cornbread mix, just until moistened. Pour into a greased 11x7 pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Or, pour into greased 3-at. slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until center is almost set.

It's Suppertime!!

Garlic & Herb Roasted Potatoes with Raita

4-41/2 lbs un-peeled red potatoes

1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs minced garlic
2 tbs minced fresh parsley
1 tbs minced fresh dill or 1 tsp dried
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp dijon mustard
RAITA
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and coarsley grated
1/2 c plain yogurt
3/4 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
GARNISH
Crumbled feta cheese
Chopped parsley

1. Preheat oven to 475*
2. Wash potatoes, then cut into long wedges. Mix salt, pepper, garlic and herbs in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, whisk oil and mustard. Add potatoes amd toss to coat. Sprinkle in herb mixture, then toss again, coating potatoes evenly.
4. Place potatoes skin side down on a greased bakin sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until tender.
5. Meanwhile, prepare raita: Squeeze cucumber to remove as much liquid as possible. Mix cucumber with remaining ingredients.
6. Arrange potatoes on a servinb platter. Dollop with raita then sprinkle with feta and parsley.
makes 8 servings

-This seems like a lot of work, but once you have the ingredients it really goes fast, and they are so good! Worth the effort. I made them with the pork milanese for New Year's dinner.

Grilled Leg of Lamb & Fingerling Potatos-Favorite Recipes The Costco Way 2007

Grilled Leg of Lamb
1 4 to 5 pound butterflied Australian leg of lamb, trimmed to an even thickness or 2-2.5 inches, patted dry

Paste
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary or 1 Tbsp dried
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 teas. salt
1 teas. freshly ground black pepper

1. To prepare the paste, place all ingredients in a small bowl and stir in mix.
2. Remove the netting from the lamb. Coat the entire surface of the lamb with the paste. Place lamb on a baking sheet, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
3. Position the broiler pan 4 to 5 inches away from the heating element and preheat the broiler and broiler pan, or prepare a medium-hot grill fire. Place the lamb, fat side down, on the broiler pan or grill rack.
4. Cook, turning once, until well seared but still juicy and pink on the inside, about 12 minutes on each side. Cook for a few minutes more on each side for medium.
5. Remove lamb from the oven and let stand for 6 to 8 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil. Cut lamb into half inch slices. Makes 8-10 servings.


Rosemary Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
2 pounds Fingerling Potatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 teas. salt
1/4 teas. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
Rosemary sprigs, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2 Wash fingerlings in cool water, pat dry and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices.
3. Combine olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped rosemary in a large bowl and mix well. Add fingerlings and stir to coat thoroughly.
4. Place potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and tender.
5. Remove from the oven, garnish with sprigs of fresh rosemary and serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.