Chili Dip

Borrowed from Lauren

1 jar salsa
2 cans hormel chili (no beans)
1 8 oz tub of sour cream
2 packages of cream cheese
mix it all together, put into a baking dish and bake for about 30 min at 350

Pam's Baked Chicken

Borrowed from Pam

8 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup (sleeve) ritz crackers crushed
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1 stick melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup ( I use the fat free)
1/2 c milk
8 oz sour cream ( I use the reduced fat)

Mix cracker crumbs with cheese. 
Dip chicken in melted butter, then into cracker crumb mixture. 
Place in a 9 x 13 pan
Mix soup, milk and sour cream; stir well. 
Pour this mix over the chicken. 
Spread leftover butter and cracker mix over top of chicken. 
Bake in a 350 oven for about 1 hour, 15 minutes.

Serve over white or brown rice, even mashed potatoes on the side.

Chicken Divan

Borrowed from Kim

• 1 box Caroline white rice
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) broccoli spears, or 1 large bunch fresh trimmed broccoli
• 4 cooked chicken breasts, sliced
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• Ritz crackers, crumbles and sautéed with 2 tablespoons butter and garlic salt

Cook rice and spread as first layer in a baking/casserole dish.  Cook broccoli in a small amount of boiling water until crisp-tender; drain. Arrange the broccoli as second layer in dish. Layer cooked chicken over the broccoli spears.

Separately, combine the soup with mayonnaise in a small bowl until well blended; pour mixture over chicken. Add top layer of shredded cheese. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes, until heated thoroughly and cheese is bubbling.  Sprinkle Ritz crackers on top and cook for an additional 5 minutes.  Chicken divan recipe serves about 6.

Betsy's Salad

Borrowed from Betsy

Salad ingredients:

Baby spinach
tomatoes
cukes
black olives
bacon bits (or bacon that you cook yourself-either is fine)
red onion

Dressing ingredients:

1/3 cup ketchup
1 cup veg. oil
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar ( I think- I need to check on that)
* shake vigorously before adding to salad because if you don't, the oil will seperate and it doesn't taste as good.

Asparagus Rollups

Borrowed from Moe

bunch of small asparagus (I like small, but you can also use larger)
cream cheese
blue cheese
loaf of arnold bread
melted butter

Par boil asparagus.  Mix cream cheese and blue cheese (amount of blue to cream depends on your taste.  I personally like quite a bit of blue.)  Cut crusts off of bread and take a glass and roll on bread to flatten a bit.  spread cheese mixture on bread. Place asparagus at tip of bread and roll.   Brush all the roll ups with butter and put on cookie sheet.   Broil until brown and turn over and broil other side.  

Stuffed Mushrooms

Borrowed from Jen

- Wash white mushrooms and put out stems so you have hollow mushrooms (this is the most time consuming part) - The stems will essentially "pop" out.
- Scoop spoonfuls of Boursin cheese (I usually buy the light kind - either are good) into hollowed out mushrooms (usually 1 package of Boursin will do 2 packages of mushrooms)
- Place on baking sheet w/sides (so the juices don't run off) - either spray w/Pam first or you can dip the mushroom cap into melted butter
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 400 degrees
- Cheese on mushrooms should be slightly brown when they are ready

Chili-Pumpkin Spice Sweet Potato Fries

Borrowed from Linda C

- Take as many sweet potatoes as you want...
- cut them into strips like french fries
- spray them with cooking spray
- sprinkle with a mix of pumpkin pie spice and chili powder
- bake at 400 for about 40 minutes

Personal preference for how much seasoning you want to use 

Chicken Boullibaise

From Ina Garten

Ingredients

• 1 (4 to 5-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
• Good olive oil
• 1 large head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato puree
• 1 1/2 cups good chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons Pernod
• 1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved
• Rouille, for serving, recipe follows
• Crusty French bread, for serving

Directions

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it generously with salt, pepper, and the rosemary.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven and brown the chicken pieces in batches until nicely browned all over, about 5 to 7 minutes per batch.

Transfer the browned chicken pieces to a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, saffron, fennel seeds, tomato puree, chicken stock, white wine, Pernod, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper to the pot.

Stir and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the garlic is very tender, stirring occasionally.


Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.


Carefully pour the sauce into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree until smooth.

Return the sauce to the Dutch oven and add the sliced potatoes and browned chicken pieces with their juices. Stir carefully.


Cover the pot and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is done.

Check the seasonings and serve hot in shallow bowls with big dollops of Rouille and slices of crusty bread.

Rouille:

• 4 large garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• *1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup good olive oil

Place the garlic and salt on a cutting board and mince together.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor fitted with the steel blade.

Add the egg yolk, lemon juice, saffron, and red pepper flakes. Process until smooth.

With the machine running, pour the olive oil in a thin, steady stream through the feed tube to make a thick mayonnaise emulsion.

Transfer the rouille to a serving bowl and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.


Yield: 1 cup

*RAW EGG WARNING

Bean Dip

Borrowed from Nan

Ingredients:
- a variety of beans
I usually do black, pink kidney, red, dark red
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- carton cherry tomatoes
- small onion

Steps:
- dice the tomatoes and onions
- mix them with the beans
- pour a mix of oil and vinegar over the beans
That's it!

It's personal preference how much oil and vinegar you add.
It's also best if you let it marinate for a few hours before serving. I usually serve with chips.

Fruit Pizza

From lots of different sources; lots of variations of this recipe so use whatever fruits are in season. You can also use fruit flavored cream cheese (strawberry or mixed berry)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Mix in egg. combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Press dough into an ungreased pizza pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool.
4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla until light. Spread on cooled crust.
5. Arrange desired fruit on top of filling, and chill.

Chinese Chicken Salad

From Gourmet

Ingredients:

For fried wontons (optional)

• 20 square wonton wrappers, thawed if frozen
• About 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil

For salad

• 1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed 1 lb Napa cabbage, cored, then cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-wide strips (about 6 cups)
• 1 (1-lb) head of romaine, torn into bite-size pieces (about 8 cups)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (from a 2 1/2-lb rotisserie chicken)
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Make fried wontons:
Cut wonton wrappers into 1/2-inch-wide strips and separate on paper towels.

Heat 3/4 inch oil in a wide 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until it registers 350°F on thermometer. Fry strips, 5 or 6 at a time, gently turning over once with a slotted spoon, until just golden, 15 to 30 seconds per batch (some strips will fold and curl). Transfer to paper towels to drain, then season with salt.

Make salad:
- Cook snow peas in a 4-quart pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 1 1/2 minutes.

- Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain in a colander and pat dry.

- Cut diagonally into 1-inch-wide pieces and put in a large bowl with cabbage and romaine.

- Whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then add sesame oil and vegetable oil in a slow stream, whisking until sugar is dissolved and dressing is combined well.

- Toss chicken and scallions with 1/3 cup of dressing in another large bowl.

- Whisk remaining dressing (it will separate), then add cabbage mixture, cilantro, almonds, and sesame seeds to chicken and toss with enough remaining dressing to coat.

- Sprinkle with wontons (if using).

I don't use almonds and I buy premade wontons that come in a bag

Sweet Potato Bake

From Paula Deen

Ingredients:
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup heavy cream, half and half, or whole milk
Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Steps:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients together except for cream. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add cream;mix well. Pour into greased casserole dish ( 1 1/2 quarts). Add topping. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.


You can add walnuts or pecans but we don't

Cucumber and Feta Salad

From We Are NOT Martha

Ingredients:

• 2 medium cucumbers, diced into pea-sized pieces
• Coarse salt
• 8 oz. Athenos feta cheese (I used half cracked black pepper and half traditional)
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 2-3 T freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 T water
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely-diced
• 1 T fresh mint
• 1 T fresh parsley
• 1 T fresh dill

Steps:

1. After chopping my cucumbers, I put them in a colander with some salt and let them drain for about 30 minutes, shaking the colander from time to time.
2. I crumbled the feta in a medium bowl and mixed together with olive oil, lemon juice, water, and some black pepper.
3. Mix in the onions and herbs and then cucumber

Voila!

You can serve it as a dip with pita chips. We usually just have it with dinner

Zucchini Soup

Borrowed from Lindsey

     Ingredients and steps together:

               

1 medium yellow onion  dice and saute in...

2 oz butter ( 1 or 2 tablespoons)

1 lg zucchini cubed ( 12--15 ins. long. more or less to taste)

  throw in with onions

1T. flour sprinkled over cooked zucchini. Stir a bit to mix,

3 pints light stock( chicken broth or veg broth if cooking for a vegetarian)

salt & pepper 

Simmer until zucchini is very soft  it doesn't take long.

Blend soup in batches in blender & return to pot.

tricky part:  

blend 2 yolks with

2T cream

take some of the hot soup and blend with yolks.

this makes yolks warm and keeps them form cooking too fast making the soup

lumpy instead of creamy.

While stirring, mix yolk mixture into soup.

Add chopped dill to taste. I suppose the dill can go in earlier. Probably doesn't make a difference.

At this point you never want the soup to boil or it will curdle.

Just warm through.

Sausage Bread

Borrowed (once removed)

SAUSAGE BREAD

1 Pillsbury French Loaf or thick pizza dough
grated parmeasan cheese
1/2lbs grated mozarella cheese.
1lbs Italian sweet sausage(or hot)
1 chopped onion
1/2 green and red pepper chopped

Sauasage mix-
Saute sausage (out of casing), onion and pepper drain in colandar. Then place on brown paper bag and press down to get most of the grease out.  This all can be done anytime, because you can freeze this mixture. 

Spread dough out gently with fingertips to make a large rectangle.  Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on rather heavy all over, then grated mozarella then sausage mix.  Shake pepper on top. 

Roll up and press edges together.  Mix 1 egg yoke and brush all over top of dough.  Sprinkle seasame or poppy seeds and place on oiled cookie sheet. 

Cook 1/2hr at 350degrees or until brown.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Borrowed from Cailin
(she eyeballs incredients so this is all guesstimates)

Ingredients:

- One package frozen chopped spinach

- One can artichoke hearts in water, drained

- Equal parts of the following three- I'm thinking maybe a 1/2 c.

- Reduced fat sour cream

- Reduced fat mayo

- Reduced fat cream cheese

- 1/4 c. Part skim mozzarella cheese shredded

- One clove garlic minced

- Salt and pepper

Steps:

1. Defrost spinach and squeeze excess liquid really well

2. chop artichokes, combine all ingredients.

3. Fill tomato, bake until mozz cheese gets melted.

The other way I serve it which is good for entertaining is to put the mixture in a small pyrex baking dish and warm it in the oven and serve it w pita chips and raw veggies

Best Baked Spinach

From Smitten Kitchen
(note: the comments at the bottom are hers, not ours)

Serves 6

Ingredients:
3 pounds fresh spinach
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 cup stock (your choice; Julia recommends beef) or cream (I used stock; it doesn’t *need* cream)
3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons fine, dry breadcrumbs

Steps:

• Stem and wash your spinach (see Tips below) well but no need to spin or pat it dry. Place spinach in a large pot over high heat. Cook, covered, with just the water clinging to leaves, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 2 to 4 minutes for baby spinach and 4 to 6 minutes for regular spinach. Transfer to a colander, immediately fill pot with cold water, transfer it back to the pot of cold water to shock it (stop the cooking) and drain again. Squeeze a small amount of the spinach at a time in your hands to extract as much water as possible. Chop the spinach coarsely. You should have about 3 cups of chopped spinach, or about 1 cup per pound.
• Wipe out pot then melt 2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat and stir in the spinach. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until all of the moisture from the spinach has boiled off — you’ll know you’re done when the spinach begins to stick to the pan.
• Lower the heat and sprinkle with flour and stir for 2 minutes to cook the flour. Add 2/3 of your stock or cream, a tiny bit at a time, scraping up any stuck spinach as you do. Once the liquid is added, simmer for another minute or two, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. If you’re feeling especially indulgent, stir in one more tablespoon of butter. If needed, add all or part of remaining liquid. Season with salt (I found 1/2 teaspoon table salt about right) and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a shallow 1-quart baking dish. Stir 1/2 cup cheese into the spinach and pour it into the baking dish. Mix the remaining cheese with breadcrumbs and sprinkle on spinach. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons remaining butter and pour it over the top. Bake until heated through and slightly brown on the top, about 30 minutes.
• Serve with steaks, chops, veal, chicken, broiled fish or, if you’re us, eggs, glorious eggs.

Do ahead: Spinach can be blanched and chopped several hours or a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Gratin can be fully assembled and 30 minutes before needed, placed in a preheated 375 degree oven to bake, then served.

To stem spinach, as per Julia: If spinach is young and tender, remove the stems at the base of the leaf. If more mature, fold the leaf vertically with its underside up, grasp the leaf in one hand and the stem in the other and and rip it off toward the tip of the leaf, removing the stem and the tough tendrils. Discard any wilted or yellow leaves.

How I wash greens: Fill a large bowl or basin with cold water. Drop in the spinach and swish it around a few times so it deposits any sand and grit before lifting it out of the bowl (leaving any grit/dirt at the bottom of the bowl and not dragging the clean leaves through it) and drop it in a colander. No need to dry it for this recipe, but in others, I either spread it out on towels or run it through a salad spinner.

Peach Crumble

From http://www.food.com/

Ingredients

• 6 cups peeled sliced ripe peaches
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

TOPPING

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375*.
2. Put peach slices in greased, shallow 11x7 baking dish.
3. Mix brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, peel, and cinnamon.
4. Sprinkle over the peaches.
5. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
6. Stir in egg until mixture is coarse crumbs.
7. Sprinkle over peaches.
8. Drizzle butter evenly over topping.
9. Bake for 38 minutes.

Sooooooo good!

Bark

Borrowed from Molly McCarthy

Ingredients:
- 1 sleeve Saltine crackers
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Cover a non stick cookie sheet with Saltines
2. Preheat oven to 325
3. In a non stick pan melt sugar and butter over medium high heat.  Stir constantly (about 3 to 5mins). 
4. When mixture bubbles and starts to pull away from sides of pan it's done. 
5. Pour over saltines.  (spread evenly with a wooden spoon).
6. Put in oven at 325 for about 3 to 5 minutes.  Keep an eye on it.  It can burn quickly.  When it starts to bubble, remove from oven
7. Let cool about 2 minutes then sprinkle 1/2 cup of choclate chips on top.  When they start to melt take the trusty old wooden spoon and spread evenly over top.   (Start with 1/2 cup and put more on if you
like it very chocolatey.
8. I usually put whole pan in the freezer for about 5 minutes to harden.  
9. Keep in tight container and either freeze or refrigerate until serving

Watch out, they are hard to stop eating once you start!