Mandarin Salad

(Started this last week and never got it finished because I didn't have a computer for much of last week.)

My MIL has made this salad for years, but this Christmas is the first time I've made it. This salad is very refreshing and different from your usual salad. (Just pretend you see mandarin oranges in this salad. They are in there. I must not have tossed very well.)



Mandarin Salad

1/2 c sliced almonds
3 tbs sugar
1/2 head iceberg lettuce*
1/2 head romaine lettuce*
1/2 c chopped celery
2 green onions, chopped (optional)
1 - 11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained

In a small pan over medium heat cook almonds & sugar, stirring constantly until almonds are coated with dissolved sugar. Sugar will be a light tan syrup. DO NOT BURN! Cool on waxed paper or foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray and store in container in refrigerator.

Dressing:
1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
1/4 c vegetable or olive oil
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley (or more)
2 tbs sugar (or more)
2 tbs vinegar of choice

Mix together adding oil gradually and beat with a wire wisk.

Mix vegetables together. Add oranges, nuts and dressing just before serving. Toss & enjoy!

*I bought 2 bags of lettuce to save on time and work -- romaine and a blend of lettuce.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Thank you for being understanding when "weekly" recipes are not posted. My days and weeks are just as busy as yours during the holiday. I will post as I can (and try to make up for missed weeks) as time permits.

I can't believe a year of Titus Two has flown by already! It overjoys my heart when I think back on all the memories of this year. I pray it has been a blessing to you all as well and welcome you back in the new year to see what the Lord will do through and in us.

Mark your calendars -- our first meeting in 2011 will be Friday, January 14th. Maggie Barnhouse will be our main speaker and will addressing the topic of Inner Beauty as seen in the Bible. Jessica Lechner will be sharing information on outer beauty. More details will be forthcoming.

Wishing you a safe and blessed holiday season!

Peppermint Biscotti

Wondering what you are going to do with all those leftover candy canes? Here's the solution! A friend of mine requested this recipe, so it was already typed up. I just had to copy / paste, and it was posted to the blog! Enjoy!

Peppermint Biscotti

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp peppermint extract
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup crushed peppermint candies

Drizzle:
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbs shortening
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir in the peppermint candy. (NOTE: I only used 1/2 - 3/4 cup.) Gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating until blended (dough will be stiff).

2. Divide dough in half. On an ungreased baking sheet, shape each portion into a 12" x 2-1/2" log. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove to wire racks; cool for 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board; cut diagonally with a sharp knife into 1/2" slices. (Cut a thin 1/2" for a yeild closer to stated. Slices pictured only yeilded about 2 dozen.) Place cut side down on ungreased baking shets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool.

3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over biscotti; sprinkle with candy. Place on waxed paper until set. Store in an airtight container.

Yeild: about 3 1/2 dozen.

Recipe from Taste of Home

Lemony Lemon Meringe Pie

This week's "recipe" is a three-fer. Count yourselves blessed! HA! Just kidding. When I was thinking of what recipe to share this week, I thought about a pie crust recipe I started using recently thinking folks might be making pies for the holidays. Then I thought I might as well put a pie recipe to go with it! So you get the lemon pie and meringue recipe too!


Never Fail Pie Crust by Carletta Daugherty

3 c flour
1 1/2 c Crisco
1 tsp salt
5 Tbs cold water
1 Tbs vinegar
1 egg

Mix first 3 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix second 3 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Then combine both together.

For a single crust, bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the edge is golden brown.

Yield: double crust

Lemony Lemon Pie by Red Lott

1 c sugar
3 1/2 Tbs cornstarch
3 Tbs flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c water

Combine above ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to boil over high heat. Stir until thick (approximately 3 minutes).

1 1/2 lemons, zested
1/3 c lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon extract (optional)
3 egg yolks
2 Tbs butter

Add lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract to thickened mixture and stir. Temper* egg yolks.

2 Tbs butter

Add butter and stir in. Mixture may need strained. (I have never strained mine.) Cook another 3 minutes. Pour into crust hot. Cool custard before baking meringue.

*To temper egg yolks, take about a 1/4 cup of the hot mixture out and add it to egg yolks. Stir it together. Add a little more of the hot mixture. Stir again. Then add egg yolk mixture back into sauce pan with remaining hot mixture. Tempering eggs will keep them from scrambling when they are combined with the hot liquid.


Never Fail Meringue

1 Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs cold water
1/4 c boiling water
3 egg whites
6 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Blend cornstarch and cold water in a saucepan. Add boiling water and cook, stirring until clear and thickened. Let stand until completely cold. With electric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff, but not dry. Turn mixer to low speed, and add salt and vanilla. Gradually beat in cold cornstarch mixture. Turn mixer again to high and beat well. Spread meringue over cooled pie filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until top is lightly browned.

Caramel Apple Strata

Don't know what I had planned to post this week, but this recipe just moved itself to the top of the list. My husband's Sunday School class teases me that they are my guinea pigs. I do often try new things on them, but they haven't complained yet. I was concerned that this recipe would be overly sweet, but it turned out wonderful! I has some sweetness, but not the caramel apple sweetness I had envisioned. This would be great for a holiday brunch!

Caramel Apple Strata

2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup corn syrup
3 large apples, peeled and chopped
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp apple pie spice
1 loaf (1 lb) day-old cinnamon bread
1/2 cup chopped pecans
10 eggs
1 cup 2% milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Set aside. [CAUTION: This heated mixture is extremely hot and because of the sugar content will stick and burn badly.]

In a small bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice, sugar and pie spice. Arrange half of the bread slices in a greased 13"x9" baking dish. Spoon apples over bread; drizzle with half of the caramel sauce. Sprinkle with pecans; top with remaining bread.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt and vanilla. Pour over top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Cover and refrigerate remaining caramel sauce.

Remove strata from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. (I cut recipe in half since most of our kids were out for Thanksiving break. I baked it in an 8x8 pan for 30-35 minutes.)

In a small microwave-safe dish, microwave reserved sauce, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Drizzle over strata.

Photo and recipe from Taste of Home simple & delicious magazine August/September 2010 edition.

Thankgiving Cookies

This would be a great little "project" to do with your kids over the holiday. I just received this in an email today and think we will try to do it with the kids on Thanksgiving Day.


Click here to get recipe. I am going to try using orange Starburst candies cut in quarters instead of mini Chiclets since they will be hard to find.

Spanish Rice Bake

This week's recipe come by way of one of our readers! Thanks, M! She says her family doesn't typically like Spanish Rice, but even her picky eater ate this dish.

Spanish Rice Bake

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can canned tomatoes
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/2 cup chile sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (can substitute chili powder)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess fat and transfer beef to a large pot over medium low heat.. Stir in the onion, green bell pepper, tomatoes, water, rice, chile sauce, salt, brown sugar, cumin, Worcestershire sauce and ground black pepper.

3. Let this simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then transport this to a 2-quart casserole dish. Press down firmly and sprinkle with the shredded Cheddar cheese.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Photo & recipe from Allrecipes.com. As always with recipes from this site, you may want to read the reviews to see what others thought and to consider any changes they made to the recipe.

Amish Sugar Cookies

Without exaggerating, these are by far the best cookies in the world! Okay, maybe not THE best, but at least one of the best. These cookies are unbelievably moist (even after freezing them without icing) and have a wonderful flavor probably because of the Brown Butter Icing -- mmmm! (I recently left a couple out overnight. Placed them in a resealable bag for a few hours and they were moist again! Unbelievable.)

I lothe making cookies (except no-bake cookies cuz they are easy-peasy), but if I do make cookies these are some that I'll actually put forth the effort to make. I will give you fair warning . . . a whole batch makes almost 7 dozen! That's good and bad. If you make a whole batch, you'll have PLENTY of cookies, but if you make a whole batch, you'll eat PLENTY of cookies! I've only made a whole batch twice. I usually only make a half batch which I will give you the breakdown for at the end.

Amish Sugar Cookies

2 c margarine
4 c brown sugar
6 large eggs
2 Tbs vanilla
1 c milk
1 tsp salt
8 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp baking powder

1. Using a LARGE bowl, cream sugar and margarine thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk.

2. Drop cookie dough on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes. *I use a medium cookie scoop which is approximately 1 1/2 Tbs. and makes nice size cookies. [Key to good cookie: needs to be slightly brown all over.]

Yield: approximately 7 dozen large cookies

Brown Butter Icing

Melt 1/2 c butter in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly until butter stops bubbling and is nut brown in color. Do not scorch! Combine with 2 c powdered sugar and 2 to 4 Tbs boiling water; beat until smooth and of good spreading consistancy. Makes enough to frost 5 dozen cookies. (I usually make 1 1/2 recipes for full recipe of cookies.)


Half recipe: Amish Sugar Cookies

1 c margarine
2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbs vanilla
1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp salt
4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

Follow same directions above for full recipe. Yield: 3 1/2 dozen large cookies

Note: I recently learned that if you use butter instead of margarine in a recipe, the cookie will spread out more while cooking.

Recipe given to me by Cheryl Dunlap.

Linguine & Vegetables

Long story, short . . . this summer I was part of a group that won the new Gooseberry Patch Cookbook: Slow Cookers, Casseroles & Skillets. This recipe comes from that book. This would be great with baked or slow cooker meat. You do need to give this dish your undivided attention for alot of the cooking time.


Linguine & Vegetables

1 Tbs olive oil
16 oz pkg linguine pasta, uncooked and broken up
1/2 c Onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
2 - 14 oz cans vegetable broth, divided
14 1/2 oz can Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes, drained
16 oz pkg frozen Italian-blend vegetables
4 oz can button mushrooms, drained
Garnish: grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add uncooked linguine; cook and stir until golden.

Unbrowned Browned

Add onion, garlic and seasonings; simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in one can broth and simmer until linguine is tender, adding the other can as needed. Add all vegetables; simmer until vegetables are tender. Drain; sprinkle with cheese before serving. Serves 6-8. Best served warm.

Can also use whole-wheat pasta -- an option with more fiber.

November 13th Meeting

I'm excited to announce we have a very special speaker for November's Titus Two Meeting!

Last month, at the Ladies Meeting a couple of us ladies attended in Ohio, a missionary wife gave her moving testimony. The Lord laid it on my heart to ask her to come and speak to us. Her family is still traveling on deputation and had meetings every weekend from October through December, so I knew there was a chance that the timing may not work out. Praying the Lord would work out the details if He would have her to come, I contacted her and wouldn't you know it -- they were going to Aliquippa for services on that Sunday! They could have been going to Cincinnati, Detroit or anywhere far away from NW PA! God is good! I get excited just thinking about it!

All that to say, Mrs. Mary Wallace, missionary to Mexico City, will be speaking to us. I've arranged to have the meeting Saturday, November 13th from 9:00 - 11:00 am hoping more women will be available to come. We will be meeting at the church in the Fellowship Hall for breakfast. A nursery will be provided for the children. (Sorry, no breakfast for them. Please feed them before you come. There will only be a small snack for them.)

Sign up sheets and more details will be coming soon -- see the bulletin board at church.

Praying God uses this meeting for His glory! Please start praying with me. Hope you can join us!

New Link

With the author's permission, I am adding a new link on the side bar of the Titus Two blog. She is a pastor's wife of many years. I'd encourage you to check her blog from time to time to be uplifted as she shares blessing and struggles as she goes through life.

(Update: Having technical difficulties . . . will add to side bar soon. For now, click here for direct link: http://lettersfrommom-nealsnews.blogspot.com/)

Seasoned Potato Wedges

Looking for something different to make with dinner? Try these!


Seasoned Potato Wedges

1/3 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
3 large baking potatoes
1/3 c milk (or buttermilk)
1/4 c butter, divided

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, Parmesan cheese, paprika and garlic powder. Cut each pototo into eight wedges; dip in milk. Place in the bag, a few at a time, and shake to coat.

2. Place in a greased baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tbs butter. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn wedges; drizzle with remaining butter. Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender and golden brown.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli (otherwise known as "pasta & beans") is a tasty soup. A few years back I had this soup and fell in love with it. I searched my fail-safe website, Allrecipes.com. I took a couple ideas from a few of the recipes I found and made a few additions of my own . . . thus this recipe. This recipe does include chicken. I think Olive Garden's Pasta e Fegioli includes beef.

Pasta e Fagioli

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 c chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (20 oz) can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes

2 c diced chicken

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 (15 oz) can chick peas or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbs dried or 1/4 c fresh chopped parsley

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 lb ditalini pasta

Fresh shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Marinate tomatoes, chicken, chick peas, parsley and pepper overnight (0r at least 1 hour).

2. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic and for 5 minutes or until onion is tender.

3. Add marinated mixture (or ingredients listed in step 1 if choose not to marinate) and bring to boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Let boil for approximately 1 minute and then let simmer for 10 minutes, covered.

4. Add pasta to pot and simmer approximately 10 to 12 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese.

8 servings

Pioneer Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe is frommy mom. It can be made two ways -- with milk or evaporated milk. Using milk makes a puffy, cake-like muffin. Using evaporated milk makes the muffins like mini crustless pumpkin pies. Either way -- DELICIOUS! Of course a little whipped cream doesn't hurt!


Pioneer Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c margarine
1 1/2 c canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1 cup milk or evaporated milk
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cream sugar, margarine and pumpkin.
3. Add eggs and mix well.
4. Add milk and stir.
5. Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder. Blend well.
6. Fill greased cupcake pans 3/4 full. DO NOT use paper liners.
7. Bake for approximately 25 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins.

Mom's Chili

Since I lack in the creativity department (or at least the creative writing department), I'm calling this recipe Mom's Chili because my wonderful Mother-in-law gave it to me or rather allowed me to steal it. (You can call it Ms. Red's Chili if you prefer.) I had to peer over her shoulder as she made it to get the recipe, but I'm getting good at it since most of her best recipes are in her head. I think I've perfected this the best of all those special recipes, so you are in for a treat! (The picture isn't as nice as the chili. The kids were starving and there usually isn't any left when we're done. So this is all I have to show you.)


Mom's Chili

3/4 lb ground beef
1/4 c each chopped onion, green pepper and celery
2 cans kidney beans, undrained
2 cans tomato soup
2 T+ chili powder, to taste
Garlic powder or minced garlic, to taste

1. Brown ground meat in large skillet; add in chopped veggies.
2. Add beans, soup, chili powder and garlic powder. Stir until well blended.
3. Simmer on low heat until thick stirring occasionally (approximately 30 minutes).

Serve warm with fresh bread! Mmmm!

Just a couple tips: I use light red kidney, but have used chili beans, etc. It does make a difference adding celery and green pepper. They aren't my favorite veggies, and I have had to make it without them because I didn't have them. It really does make a big difference in flavor. You can add way more veggies if you like them. I dice them small since we don't like them that much, but my MIL chops up huge chuncks of veggies. Also, simmering the chili makes a big difference in flavor too. The color darkens and the "sauce" thickens which is just wonderful when you dip your fresh bread in to it!

Here's a picture of Madison -- proud of the face she made in her chili with oyster crackers! She smiles while her sister asks, "Why are you always taking pictures of our food?" HA!

Kavatini

UPDATE: I have a picture!! Albeit in a leftover container, but it is a picture none the less. ENJOY!

Well, I guess I'm going to have to lump it because I definitely don't like it. Life has been a little crazy, so I'm a little behind on posting. AND I don't have a picture for this post!! You will just have to trust me when I say this is a good recipe. Kavatini (pronounced ca-va-teeny) is similar to lasagna. To me, it's a little easier and a nice change up from the same ole.

Kavatini

1 - 16 oz box pasta trio
2 - 25 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 - 16 oz container cottage cheese or ricotta
1 tbs dried oregano
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 pkg sliced pepperoni
3 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Mix container of cottage cheese, oregano, parmesan cheese and egg in a large bowl.

2. In a 9"x13" pan, spread 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Layer 1/2 of the pasta, sauce, pepperoni, cottage cheese mixture and 1 c. shredded cheese. Repeat layers. Top with last cup of shredded cheese and some additional parmesan cheese.

3. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes until bubbly. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Note: If you cannot find a pasta trio, use a combination of pasta such as ziti, rotelle and seashells.

September 17th Meeting

UPDATE: Carmen has graciously volunteered to provide the food & beverage for the meeting. So just bring yourself and your decorating idea!

++++++++++++++

This month's meeting will be held on Friday, September 17th

from 6:30 - 9:00 pm at Carmen's house.

Her address is 110 Aspen Court, Slippery Rock, PA 16057.

(She is about a mile from Giant Eagle.)

Our topic for this meeting with be "Dealing with Discouragement"

and our speaker with be Mrs. Marlene Lott (sister of Mrs. Red).

This month's Fun Feature with be "Easy and Inexpensive Decorating Tips." If you have any ideas that you can share with the ladies, please bring a sample. We are looking for ideas that use something for other than it's intended purpose like storing pasta, bean and rice in jars on your counter, frig or cabinets. Anything easy, fun or inexpensive will do. We'll even let you google something and pass it off as your own idea. Impress us!

Please refer back to one of the first posts for details on the meeting's purpose, what to bring and our policy on bringing children. My intent is to record the speaker at each meeting. If you cannot attend for some reason, I can email you or burn a copy on a CD if you make a request. It would probably be a good idea to ask someone that is going to take notes for you.

Cheesy Zucchini Bake

I know gardening season is almost over, but this is well worth a trip to the grocery store and paying every penny they are [over]charging for the veggies. A friend gave me some zucchini, squash & tomatoes a couple weeks ago. As my kids would say "I'm not a big fan of zucchini & squash." I've sauted the zucchini & sqaush before with seasonings but it was only okay. So I decided to go to the trusty Allrecipes.com and typed in the ingredients I had on hand. Thus . . .

Cheesy Zucchini Bake

2 medium tomatoes, sliced and quartered
2 small zucchini, sliced
2 small yellow squash, sliced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup shredded monterrey-jack cheese, divided
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 bread crumbs

1. In a large bowl, lightly stir zucchini, squash, tomatoes, seasonings and 1/2 cup of monterrey-jack cheese. Pour into greased, 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.
2. Top with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until veggies are fork-tender.
4. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and let stand for 5 minutes.

Serves: 6

I've typed it up how I made it. Hey, rules were meant to be broken, right?!? If you'd like to see the original recipe, click here. The photo is from http://www.allrecipes.com/ because my hubby snagged his work laptop and my photo of this recipe is on the laptop. A side note: I made this once with yellow tomatoes -- not the same result. I much rather have the red tomatoes!

The World's Easiest Breakfast

Do you make breakfast for a large family or a very hungry small family? These few tips may come in handy.

The first "recipe" is for bakin' bacon and can be used by anyone. It takes a little bit of forethought but is real easy and so less-messy than the traditional method.

Baked Bacon

Directions: Lay bacon out on cookie sheet in a single layer. (I recommend covering the cookie sheet with aluminum foil for easier clean up. You can also place a rack on the cookie sheet to help drain the grease from the bacon while cooking.) Place in preheated oven at 325 degrees. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until reaches desired crispiness.

* Because the baking temperature is low, the gease doesn't pop and splash. I bake a pound of bacon at once and store in a resealable bag in the frig. It's nice pulling out a couple pieces for BLTs, wraps, salads or breakfast without the pain of frying up a little at a time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The second "recipe" is for cooked eggs. Again another different but easy method. The original recipe comes from justapinch.com. Click here for the link to the recipe online. These work great for breakfast sandwiches as they are the right size for a biscuit -- just add cheese when they come out of the oven and it melts perfectly. Add your baked bacon -- Mmmm!

Muffin Tin Eggs

Directions: Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Place a small dab of butter in the bottom of each cup (optional as I forgot because I couldn't access my computer and they turned out fine). Crack egg in each cup. Break up yoke if desired. Sprinkle with pepper. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until eggs are done how you like them. Serve warm.

Bake until completely set and use for salads. Saves peeling shells! I made mine in a 6 cup muffin tin since we don't need a dozen eggs. You could use a 12 cup muffin tin and make less. Just remember to fill unused cups 1/2 way with water so you don't scorch your pan.

Beef Enchillada Casserole

Those of you that know me have probably noticed I have an obsession with Mexican food especially enchilladas. I recently came across another way to enjoy them. This is by far the easiest and quickest way to prepare them. Plus you don't even have to heat up the oven which works well during the summer months.

We purchase ground beef from a local farmer in large quantities. The last time we got meat I decided to brown up 10 lbs ahead of time and freeze them in smaller quantities (3/4 - 1 lb packages). Let me just say this is one of the best ideas I have heard of in a long time. It is so easy to just pull out a package of meat, let it thaw and throw it into something come dinner time. I browned some meat with green peppers, onions and chili powder and some with just onions (will add garlic next time). This is great for lasagne, sloppy joes, enchillada, tacos, chili and many other recipes.

Beef Enchilada Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1 tbsp taco seasoning mix
1/4 tsp salt
1 can (10 oz) enchillada sauce
3/4 cup water (I recommend 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup thick and chuncky salsa (choose your heat level)
8-10 flour tortillas
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (I used dried)
1 cup shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend, divided
sour cream
tomatoes

1. Combine beef, seasoning mix and salt in skillet; cook over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles. Add enchillada sauce, water and salsa to skillet. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

2. As beef mixtures cooks, place tortillas in a stack and cut into 1-in pieces using pizza cutter. Chop cilantro.

3. Arrange half of the tortillas evenly over bottom of a deep dish baker; top with half of the beef mixture and half of the cheese. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of the cilantro over cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.

4. Microwave on high 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Garnish with remaining 2 tbsp cilantro Serve with sour cream and tomatoes, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

Note: This is a Pampered Chef recipe so the deep dish baker is a stoneware piece. I'm guessing it would work just as fine with a pie pan or casserole dish. If you try it without the stoneware, let me know how it works! Also, if you use already prepared beef and just mix in the enchillada sauce, water and salsa, you may want to leave in the microwave closer to the 5 mintues or more since it isn't heated from cooking it right then.

Baked Beans

I don't know why baked beans only get a spotlight during the summer picnic season. They make the house smell so good while baking and taste so wonderful -- especially this recipe! My friend shared her recipe with me, so I thought I'd share it with you instead of depriving you of such wonderful goodness! Thanks, V!


Baked Beans

1 small onion, diced
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb bacon
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1/4 c ketchup
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 can kidney beans
1 can pork n beans
1 can butter beans

1. Brown beef, bacon and onion in a skillet; drain.
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir.
3. Place in oven-safe dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Note: You can add an additional cans of beans to get more volume.

Crunchy Whole-Grain Chicken

My friend lent me a couple Pampered Chef recipe books. I have some stoneware and wanted to find a couple new recipes. I made this recipe according to the directions and then adjusted it. The original recipe calls for cutting chicken tenders into 1 1/2 in pieces -- sorry, not for me. I don't have that kind of time with three kids running amuck while I'm making dinner. So the second time I made this chicken recipe, I used chicken breast and cut them into 2-3 pieces. It turned out just as good.

Crunchy Whole-Grain Chicken

2 lbs chicken breast
Dry ranch dressing mix
1 egg white
6 cups whole-grain chips (ie, Sun Chips or similar)
1/4 tsp paprika
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. For chicken, cut chicken breasts into 2-3 pieces. Whisk together 1 tbsp of the dressing mix and egg white. Crush chips in a resealable plastic bag. Add 2 tbsp dressing mix and paprika and shake well.

3. Add chicken to egg white mixture; mix well to coat. Add a couple pieces of the coated chicken to crumb mixture; shake to coat with crumbs and arrange in a single layer on rectangle stone (or cookie sheet). Repeat with remaining coated chicken and crumbs.

4. Spray chicken generously with cooking spray. Bake 25 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and centers are no longer pink. Remove from oven. Serve warm.

Yield: 6 servings

Lard Bucket Meal

Ok, so I'm sure I at least have your curiosity peaked. This recipe was passed down from my grandparents. When we'd visit in the summer, they would make this meal for us. As many recipes from years ago, they aren't specifics -- just a little of this, a little of that. This recipe is also very versatile depending on what you have around or what your family likes or dislikes. Don't add sweet potatoes and add extra potatoes, etc.

The main gist of this recipe is to steam meat and veggies cooking them a long time over low heat. I've added a picture of a lard bucket to show how this recipe received it's name. Add fresh, sliced tomatoes from the garden, some home-made biscuits and you're set! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Here are the ingredients when serving 8:

3 lbs kielbasa

3 sweet potatoes

3 Idaho potatoes

4-5 ears of corn

large onion

4-5 carrots

medium head of cabbage

1/4 c. butter

3-4 cups chicken broth

pepper to taste

Each pound of kielbasa was cut into 6 links. Sweet & Idaho potatoes were cut in half lengthwise and then cut in 3rds. Shucked and broke ears of corn in half. Quartered onion. Cut carrots into 3rds. Cabbage was cut in half then quartered. Placed all veggies in large pot and topped with kielbasa. Poured chicken broth over everything and added water until it was about 1/2 covered?? Can add slices of butter (optional).

Optional Cooking Methods

Oven: Cover. Bake @ 325 degrees for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. ?? Kinda iffy on that one -- can't remember how long I baked it.

Stove top: Bring liquid to boil. Cover and reduce heat. Cook 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Crock pot: High setting 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 hours, Low setting 7-9 hours.

Notes: My grandparents just use water if you don't want the cost of the chicken broth. I love the flavor it adds though. You can add garlic, peppers, turnips, kohlrabi or whatever fits your fancy (or you have in your garden)! I've seen a recipe that adds herbs like basil and thyme.

Will add picture of finished product if I can find my picture from my other computer. sigh.

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

We enjoyed this recipe at our last Titus Two meeting. There were some requests for it, so I will post it on the blog. It's light and refreshing, and it's something a little different. Summer is a great time to make this when you can grow your own fruit or find it on sale.

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and diced
8 oz raspberries
1 lb strawberries
2 Tbs white sugar
1 Tbs brown sugar
3 Tbs fruit preserves, any flavor

8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
1 cup cinnamon sugar

1. In a large bowl, thoroghly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.

4. Bake in a preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximantely 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

NOTE: I did not include rasperries for the meeting, and I used strawberry preserves. Next time I will try adding blueberries! I did cut back on the amount of cinnamon and sugar suggested. The recommended 10 tortillas was also too many -- there were actually leftovers when 8 were used. Also, don't immediately put them in a resealable bag after the 15 minutes of cooling. There is still enough heat to make them soft again . . . ahem.

This recipe can be found on Allrecipes.com. Click here for a direct link. Photo taken from Allrecipes.com.

July's Meeting

UPDATE: **Location Change** We will be meeting at church in the Toddler Class. Thank you for being flexible!

===========================

This month's meeting will be held at Missy Hazlett's house from 6:30 - 9:00 pm (which is subject to change for possible weather issues). There is a sign up sheet at church. Please add your name and phone number if you plan to attend so we can call you with changes. If you didn't get a chance to sign the list and want to come, please call or email me (lottewl@juno.com).

We will be continuing the lesson on "What Our Love Looks Like" covering the topics of husbands and children. We will also have a pamper session with instruction from Val Dunlap to include some skin care tips.

As always, we welcome appetizers and desserts! Hope you can take time from your busy summer schedule to join us for a time of learning and refreshment.

Over-the-Top Sundae Cake

What says Summer like ice cream? This dessert is a variation of a Banana Split and looks like a great crowd pleaser!

Over-the-Top Sundae Cake

1 (18.25 oz) pkg Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic Yellow Cake

1 cup water

1/3 cup Crisco Oil

3 eggs

2 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened

2 bananas, sliced

12 maraschino cherries, with stems

1 cup Smucker's pineapple topping

1 cup Smucker's hot fudge topping

1. Bake cake as directed in 13x9 pan. Cool completely.

2. Spread softened ice cream on top of cooled cake. Freeze 2 hours or overnight.

3. Just before serving, top with sliced bananas and cherries, drizzle with toppings. Store covered in freezer. (Remember bananas turn black when chilled/frozen.)

12 servings

Thank you for the recipe submission T.S.!

No show

I've had a lot going on (and no one has come to me with recipes), so there haven't been any posts lately.

July is here . . . I'd love to post summer recipes if you all will share!

Wacky Cake

Rick used to make this cake with his mom when he was a kid. This was also a recipe I made in Jr High Home Ec class.  There's little mess (unless the mixing gets crazy) and clean up is a cinch since it's mixed and baked in one dish.

Wacky Cake


In a 9x13 baking dish combine:
   3 cups flour
   1 ½ cups sugar
   6 tablespoons Hershey’s cocoa
   1 teaspoon baking soda
   1 teaspoon salt

Make three wells in the powdered mixture and add:

   ¾ cup oil

   2 cup water

   2 tablespoons vinegar

   2 teaspoons vanilla

Stir until well mixed. (It helps to use a glass dish so you can check to see that all the powdered ingredients are mixed in completely or mix in a mixing bowl.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or test with toothpick.

Frost with butter cream frosting and mini chocolate chips (opt.) or frost with chocolate butter cream frosting.

NOTE:  Pictures show an 8x8 baking dish. Recipe is for 9x13 baking dish but can be cut in half.

Fun Meal

During the summers growing up, my mom would make the "fun meal". She would give us cubes or slices of cheese, pepperoni, a variety of fruits and vegatables and things like toothpicks or pretzel sticks. We could make 'creations' with our food. Things like boats out of cantelope slices, caterpillers out of banana and pretzel sticks . . .

Who knows how creative your child will be!

Instead of building things with food, you can always offer food to your children in creative ways that will make them want to eat it.

Bologne & Cheese

Use cookie cutters to make fun-shaped sandwiches.

Chili-man

(maybe they'd even eat green beans if they were part of chili-man -- even my girls like to eat the head, arms and legs off of something)

Squid-dogs

This is absolutely BAZZAR, but I thought it might be cool for boys -- insert dry spaghetti noodles into hotdog pieces and boil according to direction.

Use english muffins to make mini pizza. Add toppings to make faces. Kids like personalizing their own pizza.

Apple slices with peanut butter and mini marshmallows

(This one cracked me up -- wouldn't it be hillarous for an 'Over the Hill' bday party?!?)

Link to directions for Rainbow Toast: http://jujubeepreschool.blogspot.com/2010/03/rain-and-rainbows.html

Even salad can be fun!

Pictures taken off internet. I apologize for the spacing issues. Blogspot has a lot of problems with that and I didn't have time to "play around" with it today.

Happenings . . .

Just a reminder that our next meeting is Friday, July 9. We will be meeting at Missy Hazlett's house in Grove City. We will be continuing our series on "What Love Looks Like". An audio recording of the first session has been made and is available upon request. The second session will be recorded as well.

For those of you that were not able to attend the last meeting, I made an announcement that June will be "kid-friendly" recipe month -- either foods that kids like or that kids can help prepare, and July will be summer recipes -- anything that has to do with grilling or fresh veggies from your garden. Have a part and get involved . . . submit recipes to my email (lottewl@juno.com) or give them to me at church. Pictures would be welcomed but are not required. ("Outsiders", non-SRBC people, are welcome to join in on the blog recipes.)

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. God continues to bless our group!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

Found this recipe in my Kraft Food & Family Magazine. Click HERE for a direct link the recipe.



Brushetta Chicken Bake

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup Kraft 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1.Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.

2. Layer chicken, basil and cheese in 3-qt. casserole or 13x9-inch baking dish.

3. Top with stuffing. Bake 30 min. or until chicken is done.

SubstitutePrepare using STOVE TOP Lower Sodium Stuffing Mix for Chicken.

Make Ahead
Prepare and bake as directed; cool. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. To reheat, spoon each serving onto microwaveable plate. Microwave on HIGH 2 to 3 min. or until heated through.

* Our family doesn't like basil, so I add a little more oregano and use an Italian blend cheese for more flavor. I omit the water as it was too soggy. I also run the tomatoes through the food chopper since we don't like big chunks of tomato. I would recommend marinating the chicken as well. It doesn't pick up much flavor from the tomatoes/stuffing.

ATND - Annual Thursday Night Dinner

My favorite recipe books are those with pictures. Hey, I'd like to know what the goal is, right? So I've tried to have a picture for each recipe I post; however, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel. This is one of the last pictures, so I will have to start making more things or better yet, you all can submit recipes. I will post something later, but June is going to be "kid-friendly" recipes and July is going to be "summer recipes" (grilling, vegetables from garden, etc.)

Back to this post . . . you've probably gathered that recipes I get from my mother-in-law (MIL) are good, but they have a story. This recipe is no exception. Where it originated, I don't think they even remember. Story is, it is called Annual Thursday Night Dinner (ATND), BUT you CANNOT make it on Thursday night! It has now just become a happy memory from Rick's childhood and he likes to have it often -- me, not so much. The kids like it and it's fairly inexpensive which puts it in the 'win' column.

Annual Thursday Night Dinner

1 1/2 - 2 lbs ground beef
salt and pepper, to taste
1 jar of beef gravy
onion (optional)

Form 6-8 patties and cook in skillet a little under desired doneness, flipping at least once to other side adding salt and pepper to taste.  Add slices of onion on top of each patty. Pour jar of beef gravy over patties and heat through for 3-5 minutes.

Service with mashed potatoes -- great with extra gravy over potatoes (not pictured because that is a lunch for my husband and he doesn't care for gravy on his potatoes).

Meeting Details - May

This month's meeting will be held at the

home of Nancy Perschke. Her address is

62 Lake Drive in Grove City.

Friday, May 21st

Time: 6:30 - 9:00 pm

We will have a lesson in 'how to show

love in different areas of our lives."

We'll have a special feature on First Aid.

Feel free to bring an appetizer or dessert.

Peanut Blossom Cookies

Not that we need more recipes like this, but I had some chocolate kisses left over from Easter that I wanted to use up. I made my mother's recipe for Peanut Blossom Cookies. Thought you might enjoy it.

Peanut Blossom Cookies

Cream
* 1/2 c margarine
* 1/2 c peanut butter

Gradually add
* 1/2 c sugar
* 1/2 c brown sugar

Beat into mixture
* 1 egg
* 1 tsp vanilla

Mix
* 1 3/4 c sifted flour
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp salt (opt)

Gradually blend into dry ingredients thoroughly. Shape into round balls and roll in granulated sugar.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes at 375 degrees; remove from oven. Place a chocolate kiss in the center until cookie cracks. Bake for 2 minutes longer.

Let cool slightly and move to cookie rack.

Yield about 2 dozen.

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

Since the weather is rather chilly today, it made me think of a warm, comfort meal. I've recently learned you can substitute peas for the broccoli in this recipe depending on your family's preference.

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

2 - 10 oz pkg frozen broccoli (or broccoli/cauliflower combo)
Cook & spread into a 9x13 dish

1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken, cooked & diced
Layer over broccoli

Mix together and spread over chicken:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 cups shredded cheese (I use cheddar or Monterrey Jack/Colby)

Top with a box of prepared stuffing mix and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes until bubbly and heated through.

Yeild: 6-8 servings

Recipe Break

Because I'm planning our Mother's Day Brunch at church for this Saturday, my plate is very full, and I won't have time to post a recipe this week.

Thanks for understanding!

Lemon Greek Chicken

Lately, I've been wanting to try new recipes. A friend of mine lent me her Pampered Chef Stoneware Inspirations cookbook, so I tried the recipe for Lemon Greek Chicken. I made a few adjustments from the beginning according to our family's likes and dislikes. The changes are noted at the bottom.



Lemon Greek Chicken

Prep time: 20 minutes Bake time: 1 hour

2 lemons, divided
1/4 c olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tsp dried oregano leaves
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
4 split (bone-in) chicken breast halves (2 1/2-3 pounds)
8 petite red potatoes (about 12 ounces)
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
8 ounces whole mushrooms

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Zest one lemon to measure 1 1/2 tbsp zest. Juice lemon to measure 2 tbsp juice. In a mixing bowl, combine lemon zest, juice, oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper; mix well.

2. Place chicken on center of pan. Using a pastry brush, brush chicken with a portion of the lemon juice mixture.

3. Cut potatoes in half. Cut bell pepper into 1-inch strips; cut in half. Cut onion into 1-inch wedges. Thinly slice remaining lemon. Combine potatoes, bell pepper, onion, lemon slices and mushrooms with remaining lemon juice mixture in mixing bowl; toss to coat.


4. Arrange vegetables around chicken on pan. Bake 1 hour or until chicken is no longer pink in center, brushing chicken and vegetables with pan juices after 30 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings


Notes: I know my family doesn't like too much lemon on their food especially fresh lemon zest (from a experiment gone bad a few weeks ago), so I added the lemon juice but substituted orange slices with the veggies. None of us like mushrooms, but I was sure they would add a good flavor. So I added them and put them in the leftovers for my MIL to try -- she loves them! Rick is the only one that likes onion, but again, I thought I needed them for the flavor. Guessing I could have used the ones he didn't eat in a soup or something . . . anyone have any ideas?? I also sprayed everything with spray butter that I had in the frig. There didn't seem to be enough lemon juice mixture for everything. Wish there was more liquid for basting, but not sure what to do about that since I didn't want to add more oil??


This was a hit with our family. I'll definitely be making this again. Next time I won't buy a whole chicken just because it was $.89/lb!! I almost became a vegetarian cutting up a raw chicken -- yeck! I'll try legs and thighs since my kids love drumsticks or split chicken breasts if they go one sale.