Chicken And Dumplings

Ingredients:

4 pounds boneless chicken, skinned and cut into small pieces
8 ½ cups chicken broth
1 bag baby carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 small bag frozen mixed vegetables, or peas
Salt, pepper to taste

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
½ cup water
(Or one canister of ready made biscuit dough, cut into pieces)

Directions:

Cook chicken and broth in a large stock pot. Simmer over medium until chicken is done. Skim fat off the top of the stock. Add vegetables and spices; simmer until vegetables are done. Meanwhile, mix ingredients for dumplings. Once well blended, roll out onto floured surface. Cut into small strips or squares. Bring soup to a boil and drop dumplings in. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Stuffed Peppers

6 bell peppers (You can use any color pepper, however it is important that they are about the same size and can stand on their own.)

2 cups of cook rice
1 pound of ground beef browned
1 can of whole tomatoes drained
1 can of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic chopped

Sautee the onions and garlic until browned. Chop up the canned tomatoes and combine all ingredients.

Cut the tops off of the peppers, taking care not to damage them in any way and seed the peppers. Stuff them with the rice mixture and replace the top of the pepper.

Brush them with olive oil and bake covered at 400 for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Basic Scones

2 cups of bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp double acting baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 stick of butter (cold) and cut up
1 cup of pecans
1 cup of golden raisins
1 1/2 cups milk

Place the dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and add the butter. Pulse until the mixture looks like cornmeal. Form a ball and knead for about a minute, just until it comes together.

Add the nuts and raisins and knead until well dispersed. Roll out to about 1/2 in thick and cut into triangles. Place in a preheated 400-degree over and bake for about 17 mins or until lightly browned.

I love to make one or two different batches of scones and put them in a pretty basket as a house warming present. You can even add a jar of preserves or some homemade honey butter which both go along well with the scones.

Crockpot Spaghetti Recipe

1 16 oz package of spaghetti cooked
1 16 oz container of sour cream
1 package of mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and sharp cheese
Sauce:

1 cup of beef broth
4 cans of whole tomatoes
2 can of tomato paste
4 can of tomato sauce
Chopped basil
Chopped cilantro
Chopped sage
Chopped oregano
Chopped onion
Chopped garlic
2 pounds of ground beef

In a saucepot, combine all of the tomato products and broth and bring to a simmer. Brown the herbs and garlic and onion with ground beef and add to sauce pot.

Put all the ingredients into the crock-pot and cook on low for 4 hours.
It is important that you do not add hot liquids into a cold crock-pot. Doing so could fracture the crock.

This is a great recipe for kids to get involved in. there is no danger of getting hurt, however supervision is needed when children are in the kitchen.

Honey Chicken Wings

3 pounds of chicken wings
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup of honey
1 tsp ginger
1/2 stick of butter

Boil the chicken wings for approx 20 minutes. In a saucepot, combine the rest of the ingredients and let reduce until a thick sauce is formed.

Coat all of the chicken wings with the sauce and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Lemonade Cake

Batter
1 – 18 oz. box classic white cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Frosting
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 tbsp. grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
3 to 4 tbsp. milk

Garnish: Fresh raspberries or blueberries, if available

Preheat your oven to 350F. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans (buttered and floured).

In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, blend the cake mix, water, oil, eggs, and lemonade concentrate. Blend on low for about two minutes. Evenly divide the cake batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
For the frosting, using a mixer on medium speed, blend together the shortening, extracts, and lemon zest. Add half of the powdered sugar, slowly, while continuing to beat the mixture. Add half the milk and blend. Add the remaining sugar, beating all the while, and then the remaining milk, one tablespoon at a time, to reach the correct consistency.

After frosting the first layer of the cake, cover the frosting with fresh berries, spread evenly over the surface of the cake. Place the top layer of the cake and finish frosting the cake. Garnish the top of the cake with additional berries, if desired.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

2 cup tomato ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
2 stalks celery minced
2 bay leaves
2 clove garlic
2 small onion, minced
dash black pepper

Combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and strain.

Strawberry Pecan Treat

1 lb. softened butter
1 cup toasted, chopped pecans
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 stiffly beaten egg whites
1 quart hulled and quartered strawberries
1 – 12 oz. box crushed vanilla wafers

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place pecan pieces in a shallow baking pan and cook for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir often so they don’t burn. Take out of the oven and allow to thoroughly cool.

Cream together the sugar and butter. Gently fold in the strawberries, egg whites, and nuts. In a 9×13 glass baking dish, pour in 1/3 of the wafer crumbs. Put 1/2 of the strawberry mixture onto the crumbs, as evenly as possible. Sprinkle another 1/3 of the crumbs over the berries. Top with the final layer of crumbs. Place into the refrigerator and allow it to chill for several hours; overnight would be better. To serve the treat, cut into squares and garnish with either whipped cream or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Crockpot Roast

5-6 pound roast
1 large onion sliced
1 container of mushrooms sliced
1 large green pepper sliced
2 large cloves of garlic sliced
Salt
Pepper
Beef broth
Cube potatoes
Baby carrots

Sear the roast in olive oil on all sides
Place all ingredients in the crock-pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Apple Cake

Batter
3 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 cups thinly sliced apples.

Icing
2 – 4 oz. packs softened cream cheese
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp. lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9×13 inch pan, then spread the sliced apples over the bottom, sprinkle lemon juice over the apples to help keep them from turning brown.  In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer until they are thick and light. Stir together the sugar and oil, then add that to the egg mixture.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Combine that with the eggs and mix well. Stir in the nuts and vanilla. This mixture will be thick.

Spread the batter over the apples and then bake the cake for one hour. You can also test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it’s clean when you take it out, the cake is finished. Remove the cake and allow it to cool completely on a rack.

For the icing: Beat the cream cheese until fluffy and then add the melted butter. Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice. Frost the cooled cake and then refrigerate it.