Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

5 1/2 c. prepared mashed potatoes
1/2 c. milk
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
2 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Place first seven ingredients in a large bowl. Beat on med-high. speed until smooth and creamy. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 13 x 9 in. dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon. Cover and bake at 350*F for 30 mins. or until heated through.
Yield: 12 servings

Hidden Valley Citrus Chicken Supper

1 packet (1 oz.) ranch dressing mix
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
1 tbls. vegetable oil
1/3 c. chicken broth
3 TBS. orange marmalade (I used apricot/pineapple jam)

Saute chicken in oil until browned. Combine dressing mix, broth, and marmalade; pour on chicken. Cover and simmer for 3-4 mins. Makes 4 servings.

Serving Suggestions: Serve over rice and garnish with mandarin orangesand green onions.

No Bake Chocolate Toffee Cookies

The measurements are a little weird just because it was converted from serving 100 people to 25 people. It is a girls camp recipe. Sorry the picture looks like mush.

3/4 c. +2 TBS. Unsalted butter
1/4 c. +# TBS. cocoa
3 1/8 c. Sugar
3/4 c. + 2 TBS. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 3/4 c. quick cooking oats
1 3/4 c. toffee bits

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a soft boil. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, then oats, then toffee bits. Crop by tablespoonfuls on wax paper and let harden. Serves 25.

Frozen Lemonade Squares

18 squares HONEY MAID Low Fat Honey Grahams, finely crushed (about 1-1/4 cups crumbs)
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 qt. (4 cups) frozen vanilla yogurt, softened
1 can (6 oz.) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping

MIX graham crumbs and margarine. Press firmly onto bottom of 9-inch square pan.

BEAT yogurt and lemonade concentrate in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Spread over crust.

FREEZE 4 hours or until firm. Cut into squares. Top each square with a dollop of whipped topping. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and lemon slices, if desired. Store leftover dessert in freezer.

Cowboy Caviar

1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
cumin, to taste
1 can black-eyed peas, drained
1 can shoe pegged corn, drained
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno, diced
1 avocado, diced

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve with chips. (It's a type of salsa)

Chinese Noodle Candy

1 c. chocolate chips
2 c. peanuts
2 c. butterscotch chips
2 c. Chinese noodles

Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together. Stir in remaining ingredients and drop by spoonfuls into waxed paper. Sets up in a few minutes.

Chewy Lemon Bars

1 lemon cake mix
1 egg
1/2 c. butter, melted
3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 eggs, beaten
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*F. Mix together cake mix, egg, and butter. Spread into a greased 9 x 13 in. pan.

In a separate bowl, mix together powdered sugar, beaten eggs, softened cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. Spread mixture over bottom layer of cake mix.

Bake 30-40 mins., or until top layer turns a light golden brown.

Chunky Beef Vegetable Soup

3 c. veggie juice
2 c. hot water
1 lb. beef for stew, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 c. frozen mixed veggies
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 c. ketchup
3 Tbls. beef-flavored instant bouillon
1/2 tsp. pepper

Add all ingredients into a slow cooker crock pot. Stir gently. Place lid on and cook on LOW of 8-9 hours or HIGH for 4-5 hours or until beef is tender.

Chocolate-Banana Snacks

10 toothpicks

1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 medium bananas

1/3 c. milk chocolate ready-to-spread frosting

1 tsp. multicolored candy sprinkles

Line small cookie sheet or plate with wax paper. Peel bananas and cut each banana into 5 chunks. Place banana chunks on wax paper. Insert toothpicks into each chunk. Place in freezer for 20 mins or until bananas are frozen.

Meanwhile, place chocolate chips in glass bowl and heat in microwave for 60-90 secs or until chocolate is melted. Add frosting and mix well. Microwave for another 15-20 secs. or until desired dipping consistency.

Dip each banana chunk into chocolate mixture. Sprinkle with candy sprinkles. Return to wax paper. (If chocolate mixture becomes too stiff to dip, microwave on High for 5-10 secs. or until softened.) Freeze dipped banana chunks for 1 hour or until chocolate is firm and bananas are frozen.

Tortillas

1. Mix together 3 cups of flour and 1 tsp salt.
2. Add 1 cup of water and 1 Tbs vegetable oil and stir until it comes together. (I needed a little more water to get all the flour to be part of the party).
3. Make 12 balls of dough. (I only got 11.)
4.Flatten the dough with your hands or a rolling pin.
5. Spray a pan with Pam (or other such ingredient) and cook each tortilla over medium heat for 2 minutes each side. (Because I didn't roll them out very well I thought they would take more time, but it really only ended up being 5 minutes total to cook all the way through.)

I tried this recipe tonight, and though it was really quite tasty, I think I need to roll them out better, they were a little thick. Also, they tasted best with melted cheese, but what doesn't?!?

Neiman-Marcus Cookies

(Recipe may be halved)
2 cups butter
24 oz. Chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. Soda
1 tsp. Salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. Baking powder
2 tsp. Vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar, and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie Sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
Makes 112 cookies.

Beef Bourguignonne

Super Easy and Super Good!!! (Don't you love our fishy plates)

1 lb. beef sirloin or top round steak, cut into 1" cubes

1/4 c. flour

2 Tbls. oil

2 c. fresh sliced mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 c. fresh/frozen baby carrots

1 1/2 cans beef broth

Coat beef with flour. In a large skillet, cook beef in hot oil until browned, stirring often. Add mushrooms, garlic, and thyme and cook until mushrooms are tender. Add carrots and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 mins. or until carrots and meat are tender. Serve over hot rice or mashed potatoes.

Yield: 4 Servings

Potato Wedges

This recipe was borrowed from an AMAZING food blog that I frequent everyday. All the food is delicious; I have tried several recipes. If you haven't yet done so, browse through the recipes and I swear you will not be disappointed.

The potato wedge recipe can be found by clicking here and I don't want to post it again because it is Erica's recipe, but do try it! Very easy and Matt said they tasted better than restaurant french fries!

Sausage and Egg Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients:

2 pkgs. Regular Flavor Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage, cooked, crumbled and drained
2 cans (8.5 oz each) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 cups frozen hash brown potato cubes, thawed
8 oz. (2 cups) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup each diced green, red and yellow bell pepper (optional)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Separate crescent rolls into sixteen triangles. Place in two ungreased 12" rimmed pizza pans with points toward the center. In each pan, press rolls together, seal perforations and form a circle 1" larger in diameter than bottom of pan. Turn edges under to make a slight rim. Sprinkle cooked sausage evenly over each crust. Top with potatoes; add peppers and/or green onions, if desired. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper in small bowl: stir well. Pour half of the egg mixture evenly over each pizza. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until eggs are set and crusts are golden.

Serving size:

Makes 2 pizzas

Summer Ice Cream

Equal Parts Pineapple sherbet, softened (1/2 gallon)
and Vanilla Ice Cream, softened (1/2 gallon)
3 (10 oz) pgks. frozen strawberries or raspberries, thawed
5 bananas (each cut lengthwise in fourths and then sliced into bite size pieces)

Mix everything thoroughly being careful not to let the sherbet and ice cream to melt too much.
Refreeze.