Chicken and Cheese Lasagna Roll-Ups ~ by Sarah

This is a Pinterest recipe I came across, but I modified it some.  Very easy and very delicious!  I definitely recommend!

 
Ingredients:
3 cups chopped cooked chicken (I boiled three chicken breasts and chopped them up)
1/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (I used black)
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
2 cups marinara sauce (I think Barilla is the best...)

My additions:
fresh basil, chopped
mozzarella, shredded

Directions:
In medium bowl, combine chicken, cheeses, milk, and pepper. Spread 1/2 cup mixture on each lasagna noodle; roll jelly-roll fashion. In a 13x9-inch baking dish, spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce. Arrange lasagna rolls, seam-side down in sauce in baking dish. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce. Cover. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes or until hot.

My modifications:
I warmed up the marinara sauce in a pan and added the fresh basil and let it simmer for a few minutes to get the herb's flavors.

I also baked it (covered) for about 25 minutes, then took off the foil, added the mozzarella, then cooked it until the cheese was bubbly.

Not my picture and not the picture from the website where I got the recipe, but it looks very similar!

Tator Tot Bake ~ by Sarah

A Facebook friend shared this recipe on my news feed and I thought it looked good, so I made it the next day.  It is delicious!  And even better the next day!  Easy, too!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion (diced) (I used green onions, instead.)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 small can black olives (sliced)
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen corn
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies (diced and drained)
1 (12 ounce) can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 (16 ounce) bag shredded Mexican cheese blend (I shredded my own jack and cheddar because I think bagged cheese is just not as good.)
1 (16 ounce) package frozen tater tots
1 (10.5 ounce fluid ounce) can enchilada sauce
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Heat a skillet to medium high heat. Add ground beef, garlic, and onion and cook while breaking the meat apart with a spoon or spatula until the ground beef is completely browned. Drain off any excess fat. Add taco seasoning mix, green chilies, frozen corn, and black beans to the ground beef. Cook until heated through.
Step 2: In a large bowl combine ground beef mixture, ¾ of the Mexican cheese blend, and all of the tater tots. Stir well to combine.
Step 3: Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the tater tot mixture to the baking dish and lightly pat the mixture down into a solid, even layer. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tots.
Step 4: Place into the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. During the last few minutes of baking, top the casserole with the remaining Mexican cheese blend and the sliced black olives. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

(Not my picture...)

Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein~by Kelsey

Pinterest strikes again.

http://spoonful.com/recipes/beef-and-broccoli-lo-mein

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces thin spaghetti, broken in half
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 cups chopped broccoli
• 1 1/2 cups sliced onion
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 12 ounces sirloin tips, cut crosswise into thin strips
• 3 tablespoons beef broth
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1. Stir the spaghetti into a pot of lightly salted boiling water and cook it according to the package directions. Drain the noodles well, then return them to the pot and toss them with the sesame oil.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli and onion and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and continue stirring while the mixture cooks for another 30 seconds. Add the sirloin and cook it, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink.
3. In a small bowl, mix the broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, and oyster sauce. Add the soy sauce mixture and the pasta to the skillet and continue cooking, stirring often, for 1 to 2 minutes or until everything is heated through. Serve the lo mein hot. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Broccoli-Quinoa Casserole~by Kelsey

Another Pinterest find.  Even the kids like it!
http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/blast-from-the-past-with-a-new-twist/

Ingredients:

One 10 oz can condensed Cream of Broccoli soup (or mushroom)

1/3 cup mayonnaise (I will try Greek yogurt next time.)

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/4 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, colby-jack, etc)

1/2 teaspoon Splenda/sugar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Dash freshly grated nutmeg

.
2 cups cooked broccoli

1 1/2 cups  COOKED quinoa (see note)

Feshly grated Parmesan cheese

.
To cook quinoa:

3/4 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon salt

 Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear.  In a small saucepan combine the quinoa, water, and salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook for 18-20 minutes, or until fluffy and the white ring/tail is visible.  Fluff with a fork.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a shallow (8×8 in or 5-6 cups) casserole dish with vegetable cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine the soup, mayonnaise, milk, shredded cheese, Splenda, pepper, and nutmeg until well mixed. Stir in the quinoa and broccoli.
Spoon mixture into prepared casserole.  Sprinkle on a couple tablespoons of Parmesan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly on the edges and golden.  Makes 8 generous 1/2-cup servings.

Homemade Cream Cheese Mints~by Kelsey

I found this on Pinterest.  Very quick and easy and good!  I made them plain, but there are all sorts of variations. 
 
http://kelleyhighway.blogspot.com/2012/03/homemade-cream-cheese-mints.html


Ingredients:

1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon pure peppermint or mint extract

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

(Optional) Food coloring

(Optional) Rainbow-colored sugar crystals

Line baking sheets with waxed paper. 

In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer beat together softened cream cheese and peppermint extract.  This is a good time to add the food coloring if you want.

 

Add powdered sugar gradually and beat until smooth, kneading in the last of the powdered sugar with hands or a heavy spoon.

 

 Lightly dust the wax paper-lined baking sheets with sifted powdered sugar.

 

Using a 1/2-teaspoon measuring spoon, form mixture into balls the size of a cherry.

 

 Place two rows of dough balls 1/2-inch or so apart, then flatten with a pretty stamp or a fork, like I do.  If you'll lay out a couple rows first, by the time you're ready to roll out the third row, the tops of the dough balls are dry enough to flatten easily without having to dip and re-dip the fork in powdered sugar.

 

 Let the mints stand overnight.  Every several hours, gently turn them over.

 

Follow the link I posted to see all the different variations.

Chicken Divan ~ by Sarah

Years ago, Wes went elk hunting over in Prairie City where his grandparents and aunt and uncle live.  He came home with this recipe from Aunt Vonna and it got lost in the depths of my recipe drawer.  Then Dad got the three of us girls a cookbook for Christmas and I saw this exact recipe, so I dug the original out of the drawer and compared them.  They are the same except for one thing: Aunt Vonna's recipe calls for crackers on the top.  Frankly, I can't imagine this recipe without them!  It is so delicious and really easy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 c. fresh or frozen broccoli, chopped

2 c. cooked chicken or turkey, chopped

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/3 c. mayonnaise

1/2 t. curry powder

1/2 t. lemon juice

1 c. grated cheddar cheese

buttered cracker crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Spread broccoli evenly on the bottom of a 9x9-inch pan.  Cover with chicken pieces. Mix soup, mayo, lemon juice, curry, and cheese.  Pour mixture over chicken and smooth out.  Top with cracker crumbs.  Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly.

Molasses Cookies ~ by Sarah

At Christmas, Cody's girlfriend Sarabeth gave us all a bowl of these delicious cookies as part of our gifts.  They are amazing and addictive!  She told me that they contain quite a bit of butter.  My favorite!  No wonder they're so good!

Ingredients:
1 egg
3/4 c. melted butter
1/4 c. molasses
1 c. sugar
2 c. flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. ginger
1 t. cinnamon

Directions:
Mix butter, molasses, egg, and sugar, then add dry ingredients. Roll into balls, then drop in a bowl of sugar. Bake 350 for 8 minutes.

*Note from Sarabeth: The trick I have found is that sometimes even 8 mins is too long (unless you like them crunchy, more like a ginger snap then a soft cookie). I sometimes watch the first batch, then set the timer to when they are just barely baked and still rising - once they fall in the oven they become the crunchy kind. Enjoy!