Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

This is a good vegetarian dish, or a side dish as I would make it. You could even make mushroom burgers with these by putting them on a hamburger bun. I suggest cooking these up if you are planning any BBQ parties. That way you can have something to serve your non-meat eating friends as well as the meat eaters.

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

3 portobello mushrooms

1/4 cup canola oil

3 tablespoons chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Clean mushrooms and remove stems, reserve for other use. Place caps on a plate with the gills up.

In a small bowl, combine the oil, onion, garlic and vinegar. Pour mixture evenly over the mushroom caps and let stand for 1 hour.

Grill over hot grill for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Quick and Easy Goulash

This is a simple goulash recipe. A few ingredients making it a fairly cheap dinner. Garlic bread is good to make as a side with this dish. I suggest using 2 jars or 2 cans of spaghetti sauce though.

Servings: 4


Ingredients:

1 (12 ounce) package elbow noodles
seasoned salt, to taste
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add elbow noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In a skillet over medium heat, season with seasoning salt and brown the beef; drain.
Heat through over medium heat, the beef, spaghetti sauce, corn, chopped onion, garlic and cheese. Combine with cooked elbow noodles when heated and serve.

Bake Sale Lemon Bars

This is a dessert recipe made for a bake sale. I have read that adding lemon rind to anything with lemon juice will add tartness to the recipe. It doesn't seem very expensive to make. My mom really likes lemon bars so I am thinking about trying these out soon. I actually thought these might be good to freeze and reheat in the microwave later.

Servings: 36


Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Combine the flour, 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, and butter. Pat dough into prepared pan.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly golden. While the crust is baking, whisk together eggs, white sugar, flour, lemon juice until frothy. Pour this lemon mixture over the hot crust.
Return to the preheated oven for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust the top with confectioners' sugar. Cut into squares.

Jalapeno Poppers

I've been making my own jalapeno poppers for years. I have tried many different batters, from boxed fish and onion ring batters to my own home made batters. I've filled them with cream cheese only, adding cheddar cheese and bacon only a couple of times. I have not tried this recipe yet, but will try it out next time I make them. It sounds really good. Just make sure you use gloves to deseed the peppers. Deseeding them does diminish some the heat, so if you choose, you can use Pepper Jack cheese or add some of the seeds to the cream cheese mixture to make them hotter.

Servings: 10


Ingredients:

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon bacon bits
12 ounces jalapeno peppers, slice down side and deseeded
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 quarts oil for frying

Directions: 
In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Spoon this mixture into the jalapeno peppers.
Put the milk and flour into two separate small bowls. Dip the stuffed jalapenos first into the milk then into the flour, making sure they are well coated with each. Allow the coated jalapenos to dry for about 10 minutes.
Dip the jalapenos in milk again and roll them through the breadcrumbs. Allow them to dry, then repeat to ensure the entire surface of the jalapeno is coated.
In a medium skillet, heat the oil to 365 degrees F ( 180 degrees C). Deep fry the coated jalapenos 3 to 4 minutes each, until golden brown. Remove and let drain on a paper towel.

Cabbage Balushka

This is a good cheap vegetarian dish. If you are not vegetarian, you can add some bacon to the recipe. I would lower the heat to low and simmer the cabbage for a little while longer. I'm sure this recipe would cook well in the slow cooker. Just add all the ingredients except egg noodles and cook on low 6-7 hrs or high 4-5 hours. Then mix in cooked egg noodles before serving. I would suggest adding about a quarter to a half teaspoon of celery seed to this recipe

Servings: 6

Ingredients: 

1 (16 ounce) package egg noodles
1/2 cup butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 head cabbage, cored and chopped
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions: 

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in egg noodles and return to a boil. Cook noodles uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender but still slightly firm, about 5 minutes. Drain well.
Melt butter in a large skillet or wok over medium heat; cook and stir onion until browned, about 8 minutes.
Cook and stir cabbage into onions until cabbage has wilted, another 5 to 8 minutes.
Gently stir cooked noodles into cabbage mixture; season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Tuna Pizza

I found this inexpensive recipe for tuna. It sounds like a good use to get fish into your diet. You can of course use fresh tuna or even fresh or canned salmon instead. Pizza is a versatile meal and you can add basically any ingredients you would like.

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (14 ounce) package pre-baked pizza crust

1 (5 ounce) can tuna, drained and flaked

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Spread the softened cream cheese on the pre-baked crust. Sprinkle the tuna and onions over the pizza; then top with shredded mozzarella cheese and optional red pepper flakes. Bake in preheated oven until the cheese has melted and started to brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

BBQ Chicken Wings

This is a more kid-friendly wing recipe than the last one I posted. And very simple to make too. I would season the chicken in the recipe before cooking though. Actually, I might just use the sauce for the last recipe and the cooking process from this recipe to make two separate batches of wings. That's part of the joy of cooking, being able to combine different recipes to make your own.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lb. chicken wings
1 cup barbecue sauce


Directions:

HEAT oven to 450°F. CUT wings at joints; discard tip sections. PLACE chicken in 15x10x1-inch pan. BAKE 35 min.; drain. Brush with sauce; bake 10 min. or until done.

Restaurant-Style Buffalo Chicken Wings

I am going to try these out soon. Don't think that this is something the kids would like though. I will post a barbecue wings recipe for them.

Servings: 5


Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 chicken wings
oil for deep frying
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 dash ground black pepper
1 dash garlic powder

Directions:

In a small bowl mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Place chicken wings in a large nonporous glass dish or bowl and sprinkle flour mixture over them until they are evenly coated. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate for 60 to 90 minutes.

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). The oil should be just enough to cover wings entirely, an inch or so deep. Combine the butter, hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together and heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended. Remove from heat and reserve for serving.

Fry coated wings in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until parts of wings begin to turn brown. Remove from heat, place wings in serving bowl, add hot sauce mixture and stir together. Serve.

Swedish Meatballs

This is a recipe that I made up myself for Swedish meatballs. I used what I had on hand and it turned out really good. I will never make it any other way again.

Servings: 6


Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs (2 slices)
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp chopped garlic
half an onion, chopped
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
1 package of egg noodles


For Sauce:
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can of milk
1 Tbs dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce 
1 Tbs butter or margarine
salt and pepper, to taste


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs, 1/4 c. dried parsley flakes, 1/4 c. milk, chopped garlic, onion, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper. Roll beef mixture into 1 and half inch balls. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. In a large pot, cook egg noodles according to package and drain.


Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, whisk together cream of mushroom soup, can of milk, 1 Tbs parsley flakes, garlic powder, 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce, butter or margarine, and salt and pepper. Heat over medium heat until heated thoroughly. Add meatballs when they are done, continue to heat sauce until bubbly. Pour over cooked egg noodles. Toss to mix well and serve.

Easy Mexican Casserole

I found this recipe online and thought it sounded pretty good. I am thinking about using black beans, drained and rinsed of course. I will probably add a few other spices. Maybe some chili powder, paprika, and/or garlic. 

Servings: 6

Ingredients: 
1 pound lean ground beef
2 cups salsa
1 (16 oz.) can chili beans, drained
3 cups torilla chips, crushed
2 cups sour cream
1 (2 oz) can sliced black olives, drained
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink. Stir in salsa, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in beans, and heat through. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread crushed tortilla chips in dish, and then spoon beef mixture over chips. Spread sour cream over beef, and sprinkle olives, green onion, and tomato over the sour cream. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake in preheated over for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Old Fashioned Onion Rings

These were really great! They just took me forever to make because I used two onions and made my own dry bread crumbs. I didn't even use bread crumbs for half of them and they still turned out great. Next time I won't bother with bread crumbs unless I buy them.

Servings: 3


1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk, or as needed
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
seasoned salt to taste
1 quart oil for frying, or as needed


Directions:
Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
Separate the onion slices into rings, and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Dip the onion slices into the flour mixture until they are all coated; set aside. Whisk the egg and milk into the flour mixture using a fork. Dip the floured rings into the batter to coat, then place on a wire rack to drain until the batter stops dripping. The wire rack may be placed over a sheet of aluminum foil for easier clean up. Spread the bread crumbs out on a plate or shallow dish. Place rings one at a time into the crumbs, and scoop the crumbs up over the ring to coat. Give it a hard tap as you remove it from the crumbs. The coating should cling very well. Repeat with remaining rings.
Deep fry the rings a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain. Season with seasoning salt, and serve.

Zippy Beef Casserole

With this recipe I would use chopped onion instead of instant minced. I would also add chopped garlic and maybe some dried parsley flakes. I don't think 40 minutes will be necessary though. I usually cook casseroles like this for around 20-25 minutes. Comment if you can think of any other add ins or variations that might be good.

Servings: 6


1 pound ground beef
4 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
1 can (10.75 ounce size) cream of mushroom soup, condensed
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons instant minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup crushed potato chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook and stir meat until brown; drain off fat. Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain. In ungreased 2 qt. casserole, mix all ingredients, except potato chips.
Cover, bake 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with crushed potato chips and bake 5 minutes longer.

Pork and Beans Casserole

I ran across this recipe while I was looking for some dinners for cheap. I had wanted to make something like this at one time. I would add a few extra ingredients for taste. I would add some seasoned salt, chopped garlic and onions to the ground beef. I would also most likely put the biscuits on the bottom of a greased casserole dish. With cheese on top of meat and bean mixture. If anyone can think of anything else to add, please comment.

Servings: 6

1 pound ground beef
1 can (16 ounce size) pork and beans
1/2 cup barbecue sauce of your choice, to taste
1 can (12 ounce size) refrigerated biscuit dough (Grands, etc.)
3/4 cup cheddar cheese or cheddar/jack cheese

Directions:
Cook and drain ground beef; add pork and beans and barbecue sauce; cook until heated through. Put mixture in a 3-quart casserole dish wide enough to hold biscuits. Top with biscuits.
Bake at 350 degrees F until biscuits start to brown. Add cheese on top. Cook until all the cheese is melted, approximately 20 minutes total.

*

Simple Salisbury Steak

I have made this recipe a couple of times and it has turned out pretty good. I left out the browning sauce and fresh mushrooms though. 

Servings: 6

1 egg
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 (10.75 ounce) can reduced-fat, reduced-sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/4 teaspoon browning sauce (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup soup and onion. Crumble the beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into six patties. In a large nonstick skillet, brown the patties on both sides; drain.
In a bowl, combine the milk, browning sauce if desired, salt and remaining soup; stir in mushrooms. Pour over patties. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

Plum-Glazed Country Ribs

This is the second country style rib recipe that I have been thinking about making. Sounded like an interesting and unique recipe to me. I would probably grill the ribs after brushing them with the sauce though.

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

4 pounds bone-in country style pork ribs

1 (12 ounce) bottle chili sauce
1 (12 ounce) jar plum preserves
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Directions:
Place ribs in two ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dishes. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes; drain. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Set aside 3/4 cup sauce for serving.
Brush ribs with some of the remaining sauce. Bake, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes or until ribs are tender, turning and basting frequently with remaining sauce. Serve with reserved sauce.

Grilled Country Ribs

I have been searching for a good country style ribs recipe. I found this one that sounds really good. I also found another one that I will post. 


Servings: 6


Ingredients:
4 pounds country style pork ribs
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons prepared mustard

Directions:

Place ribs in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until no longer pink. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Drain ribs. Grill, covered, over indirect low heat for 45 minutes, turning once. Baste with barbecue sauce. Grill 15 minutes longer or until meat is tender, turning and basting frequently.

Garlic Bread

1 loaf of french bread
5 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon garlic powder, garlic salt, or chopped garlic
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine butter and garlic powder or salt. Spread over one side of every slice of bread. Place bread slices on a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle bread slices with the parsley flakes. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

**This is a great recipe for homemade garlic bread. I prefer to use garlic salt on my bread but you can use garlic powder or chopped garlic too.

Quick White Chili

This turned out to be really good. Easy and quick to make too. My kids liked it a lot! I used 2 cans of chicken, a can of rotel drained instead of salsa, bouillon cubes with water and added some chopped onions.

Servings: 4


Ingedients:
1 (12-oz) can chicken breast, drained
2 cans Great Northern beans, drained and well-rinsed
1 cup prepared salsa
2 (12 oz) cans chicken or vegetable broth
1 ½ tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder or chopped garlic
½ – 1 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

Place chicken, beans, salsa, broth and seasonings in pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes to blend flavors. Stir in cheese.

Southern Quiche

I have been looking for good quiche recipe to make. This one sounds really good so I think I will try it out soon. There are many ways to make this recipe your own. You can use bacon instead of sausage. If you like spinach, you can add around 1/2 cup into the egg mixture. Or add green, red, and yellow peppers if you would like.


Servings: 6

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 (12 ounce) package spicy ground pork sausage
4 eggs
1/2 cup Ranch-style salad dressing
1/2 cup milk
1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 dash hot pepper sauce (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch white sugar
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until soft. Add sausage, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, Ranch dressing and milk. Stir in shredded cheese. Season with hot sauce, salt, pepper and sugar.
Spread sausage mixture in the bottom of crust. Cover with egg mixture, and shake lightly to remove air, and to level contents.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until filling is puffed and golden brown. Remove from oven, prick top with a knife, and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

ESP Cookies

I learned this recipe in junior high home ec class. I remembered it because it is so simple. They are surprisingly good.

1 Egg
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Peanut Butter
bag of hershey kisses

Combine the egg, sugar, and peanut butter. Place in one inch balls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 mins. Place a hershey kiss onto each cookie and bake for about 1-2 more minutes. Let cool completely til hardened to serve.