Snickers Salad

5 apples (green or red) cubed
6 snicker bars, cubes (or 3 King sized)
1 cup sour cream
8 oz Cool whip

Mix ingredients together and refrigerate.  Serve within a few hours.

I've also made this with just whatever fruit I have on hand--strawberries, bananas, and grapes then put Cool whip and sprinkle some powder from whatever flavor Jello I have with the Snickers of coarse and it's really good!!!!

Guacamole and Mango Salsa

Guacamole
2 avocados
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste


Mango Salsa
1 Mango, chopped
1 Jalapeno, finely chopped (remove seeds)
Lime juice
Chopped Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Yield 6 1 1/2 cup size servings

3 Tbs Sugar
3 Tlbs light Mayonnaise
2 Tbs fat-free milk
1 Tbs poppy seeds
1 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 (10 oz) bag romaine lettuce
1 cup sliced strawberries
2 Tbs slivered almonds, toasted

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a wisk.

Place lettuce in a large bowl; add strawberries and almonds, tossing to combine. Divide salad evenly among 6 plates. Drizzle 1 Tbs dressing over each serving.

***This recipe came from Cooking Light Magazine. I used regular vinegar and 1% milk and decreased the amount of poppy seeds. I also tossed the salad with the dressing before serving. Oh and fresh lettuce (I don't like bagged lettuce!) Very refreshing summer salad

Chocolatey Oatmeal Cake

A few of my friends have asked for this recipe so I have decided to post it.

Chocolatey Oatmeal Cake
*Pour 1 3/4 C. boiling water over 1 C. dry oatmeal.
*Let stand while you cream together:
1/2 C. butter
1 C. firmly packed brown sugar
1 C. white sugar
2 large eggs
*Set aside.
*Sift together:
1 3/4 C. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 heaping Tbsp. dry cocoa
*Add to the creamed mixture
*Add 1 tsp vanilla
*Fold in oatmeal and 1 C. chocolate chips
*Pour into greased and floured 9x13 inch pan
*Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting or simply sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Hearty Sausage Stew

Hearty Sausage Stew
Simple & Delicious Jan/Feb 2010 Pg 27

Prep/Total time: 30 min

½ lb fresh kielbasa or Polish sausage links, cut into ½ inch slices
½ lb Italian sausage links, cut into ½ inch slices
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
3 ½ cups beef broth
1 can (14 ½ oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup apple juice
1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp. dried oregano
4 oz. uncooked spiral pasta

· In a large saucepan, cook sausages over medium heat until no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain, reserving drippings.
· In the drippings, sauté onion and pepper until crisp-tender. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, apple juice, parsley, garlic, basil, oregano and sausages. Bring to a boil; add pasta. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is tender.

Mexican Cheese Corn Bread

1 pkg. 8 ½ oz corn bread/muffin mix (I used Jiffy)
1 tsp. dried minced onion
½ tsp ground cumin
2 eggs
1/3 cup 2% milk
2 Tbsp. butter, melted, divided
¾ cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided

in a small bowl, combine the muffin mix, onion and cumin. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, mild and 1 Tbsp. butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in ½ cup cheese.

Transfer to a greased 8 in square baking dish. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining cheese, bake 2-4 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Three-Bean Taco Chili

Three-bean Taco Chili
Prep/Total time 30 minutes

2 lbs ground beef
2 cups water
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ½ oz) chili beans, undrained
1 can (15 ¼ oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (14 ½ oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 cup chunky salsa
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can (2 ¼ oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
in a dutch oven cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in everything but cheese. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Makes 9 servings

**You can freeze extra chili for up to 3 months. Then thaw in the fride heat in a saucepan and enjoy.

****Serve with mexican cheese corn bread.

Tex-Mex seasoning

Tex-mex seasoning mix

2 Tbs. dried parsley flakes
4 tsp dried minced onion
4 tsp chili powder
3 tsp dried minced chives
3 tsp ground cumin

In a small bowl, combine seasonings. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 6 months. Yields about 6 Tbsp.

Tex-mex dip
½ cup mayo
½ cup sour cream

To prepare dip: in a small bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream and 4 ½ tsp. seasoning mix. Serve with corn chips. Yields: about 1 cup

Tex-mex Chicken
7 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 pkg. (16 oz) Velveeta cubed
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
2 Tbs milk
3 pkg. (6 oz. each) ready to use Southwestern Chicken strips
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained

To prepare chicken: Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the process cheese, sour cream and milk. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until cheese is melted add the chicken, beans, tomatoes and 2 Tbsp. seasoning mix; heat through.
Drain noodles; add to sauce and toss to coat. Yield: 7 servings

Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Soup
Prep/Total time 10 min

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ cups chicken broth
¾ cups chunky salsa
½ cup canned whole kernel corn, drained
Dash hot pepper sauce
2 tsp lime juice
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp chopped green onions

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes or until heated through. Pour into four serving bowls; drizzle each with lime juice. Sprinkle with cheese and green onions Yield 4 servings

I just cooked it on the stove and let it simmer until we were ready to eat. We also crumbled up tortilla chips and added them. My hubby likes the jalapeno ones!

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Sweet & Sour Chicken

makes 4 servings ~ cook & prep time: 40 min.

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 egg; beaten

Cornstarch (can add flour if you don't have a lot)

Oil

Sauce:

¾ cup sugar

4 tblsp. Ketchup

½ cup vinegar

1 tblsp. Soy sauce

½ tsp. Garlic powder

Cut up chicken into bite size pieces. Dip chicken into the egg, then roll in cornstarch. Heat aprox. 2 tblsp. of oil in a skillet. Fry the chicken pieces until just browned. Mix all ingredients for sauce & pour over chicken in skillet. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Serve over rice.

This was really easy and there were NO leftovers. Everyone loved it and wanted more! I added pineapple, but you could add broccoli and peppers to.

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup oil (I use 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup applesauce)
3 1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoon soda
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups pumpkin, canned
nuts (optional)

Combine ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Fruit Salsa

1 large Granny Smith Apple, cored and cut into wedges
2 Kiwi fruit, peeled and cut into pieces
8 Strawberries, remove stems

Place apple pieces, kiwi pieces, and strawberries in food processor until fruit is coarsely chopped. Serve with Graham Crackers.

Sweet and Saucy Chicken Drummettes

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes

1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup Catalina Dressing
1/4 cup apricot jam

Preheat oven t 400. Place chicken in foil-lined baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 30 minutes.

Combine BBQ sauce, dressing and jam in large bowl. Add chicken; toss to evenly coat. Return chicken to pan.

Ban an additional 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

The Drummettes I used were a little big, so I cooked them about 15 minutes longer. The kids loved them and the husband did to although he's not a fan of baked chicken, so I need to throw his on the grill to brown them up some more. Also next time I'll take the skin off-I'm not a fan of the skin, but I will definitely make this again. You can get Drummettes pretty cheap.

Honey Teriyaki Mini Meatloaves & Noodle Toss

This was a super fast and easy recipe--I left out the green onion and just added some honey and Teriyaki sauce to regular BBQ sauce because I didn't have any Honey BBQ sauce--it worked just fine.

1 1/2 ground beef
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
3/4 cup Honey Teriyaki BBQ sauce
1 egg
1/4 tsp pepper

Noodle Toss:
1 (16 oz) pkg frozen oriental veggie mix
2 cups water
2 pkgs Oriental flavored Top Ramen
1/4 cup green onion
3 Tbsp. Honey Teriyaki BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 400. In large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, egg, and pepper. Mix lightly but thoroughly. Place approx. 1/4 cup beef mixture into each of 12 medium muffin cups (no liners, just in the pan) pressing lightly. Spread remaining 1/4 cup sauce over tops. Bake 20-30 minutes until centers are no longer pink.
MEANWHILE, prepare noodle toss: in 10 in skillet, combine veggies, water, noodles (broken in several pieces) and seasoning packet from 1 package of noodles. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer 2-4 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in green onions and BBQ sauce.
Remove meat loaves from pan; serve with noodles

Pasta Salad

There is nothing really special about this recipe, but I let my kids help make it and they really liked it. I even used it as a main dish and it was a nice light summer meal.

1 bag tri-colored pasta, boiled, drained
2 Med tomatoes-cut up
1/2 cucumber cut in chunks
1 can sliced olives
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 bottle Italian dressing
1/2 bottle Ranch dressing
2 chicken breasts, boiled, cup up

Mix everything and enjoy--I altered this a bit and left out the carrots and added mushrooms. It made a huge batch, so unless you have a large family or are making it for a pot luck you could probably cut it in half.