Shepherds Pie

Ever wonder what to do with left over mashed potatoes? Instant potatoes works great as well for a quick meal.

Ingredients

1 Lb ground beef

1 can of green beans

1 can of tomato soup

4 cups mashed potatoes

2 cup graded cheddar cheese

Directions

Brown hamburger, then rinse the grease out. Layer green beans over meat (don't drain water from beans). Next, layer tomatoe soup over the beans. Simmer on low until sauce is cooked down. Layer the mashed potatoes on top in skillet. Then sprinkle with cheese. Cover until cheese is melted.

Chicken Pillows

Chicken Pillows
4 to 6 chicken breasts
2 diced green onions
1 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp milk
1 8oz pkg cream cheese - softened
3 can crescent rolls
1 box stove top stuffing, crushed
1 egg
1 can cream of chicken or pkg chicken gravy

Directions
Cook chicken on stove with skillet, season to liking, chop into small pieces and dump in a bowl. In skillet add the butter, cook celery, onions, and mushrooms, add seasonings. Sautee until celery is soft then add to chicken. Finally, mix milk and cream cheese together and add to chicken. Separate crescent rolls in to squares and pinch together. Place a heaping spoonful of chicken mixture in center of dough, fold up four corners and pinch together to make pillow. Beat egg, brush over pillows, sprinkle stuffing over pillows. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Make gravy or chicken soup to serve over pillows (When making soup add only half can milk).

Breakfast Casserole

Recipe by Brianna Vansleeuwen

Breakfast Casserole
1 pkg. southern style hasbrowns
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 dozen eggs
1 4 oz. can ortega green chiles
1 can cream of mushroom soup1-2
c. grated swiss cheese
Ham, thinly sliced

Brown hash browns, spread in bottom of 9x11 pan, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. Scramble eggs, when finished cooking, mix in soup and chilies. Spread on top of other layers. Place thinly sliced ham overlapping across top. Sprinkle swiss cheese over top of all. Bake 45 minutes at 325 degrees. Let sit at room temperature for 1/2 hour before serving.

Chicken Noodle Soup over Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts (cooked and cut into small pieces)

1/2 cut onion

12 c. water

Chicken Bouillon
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

1 1/2 Tbsp. Curry powder
1 tsp. Sage
2 tsp. Parsley
1 tsp. Garlic powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

2 c. cut carrots

2 c. cut celery

1 c. peas

1 c. diced mushrooms

noodles (Use your judgement on the amount of noodles added to soup. I like the Reames Homestyle frozen egg noodles)

Potatoes (one potatoe per person)

Butter

Directions

Peel and cut potatoes. Boil them in water until very soft. Grill chicken in fry pan, season with salt, pepper, and 1/2 onion. Cook until chicken is nice and tender and the onions are sauteed. As chicken is cooking, add to a big pot the water, cream of chicken soup, chicken bouillon (read directions of bouillon), salt, pepper, curry, sage, parsley, and garlic powder. Then add carrots, and celery to the water. Cut up chicken and add the hole contents of fry pan in to soup (onions and flavor). When the carrots are almost finished add peas, mushrooms, and noddles. When potatoes have finished cooking add butter, a little milk, salt, and pepper and mash to a fluffy texture. When soup is ready to serve, put a spoon full of potatoes in the bottom of your bowl then pour soup over mashed potatoes. Yum, Yum!

Pecan Apple Pork, With Poppy Seed Dressing.

Pecan Apple Pork

4 thick cut pork loins
2 apples cut into pieces
1 c. glazed pecans (make glazed pecans (see recipe below) or buy Emerald glazed pecans "pecan pie")
1 c. poppy seed dressing

PREPARATION
Grease skillet. Lay pork in pan and cook on high to sier pork. Then turn down to medium. Cover with cut apples and pecans. Pour in dressing and cook untill pork is nice and tender. DO NOT OVER COOK!

For a side salad
You can cut up some extra apples, use some pecans and poppy seed dressing for an great salad.

Glazed Pecans
1/2 c. brown suger
Pinch of cream of tartar
2 Tbsp. water

1/2 tsp vanilla, maple or butterscotch flavoring.
1 c. pecans (chopped or halves)

PREPARATION:
Combine sugar, water and cream of tarter in small saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until syrup is a deep amber color, occasionally swirling pan (about 7 mintutes). Remove from heat, immediately stir in pecans. Quickly pour mixture onto prepared backing sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick vegrable oil. Cool completely. Break candied pecans apart. Makes about 1 cup.

Poppy Seed Dressing
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. vinegar
1 c. Vegtable Oil

PREPERATION:
Combine all ingredients in quart bottle and shake.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

INGREDIENTS
1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp. minced garlic or minced dried garlic or garlic powder
1/2 onion, chopped
3 Tbsp. margarine
2 Tbsp. flour
3 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth

4 c. Water

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste
4 c. half-and-half
1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 c. fresh salsa
1 (15 oz.) can corn
2 (15oz.) cans of white beans

1 (15 oz.) can of black beans

5 boneless, chicken breast halves cooked and chopped into pieces
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 (1.27 oz.) packet dry taco seasoning
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

4 Limes (optional)

1 Avocado sliced (optional)
16 oz. tortilla chips (hint of lime tortilla chips or ranch doritos work great)
8 oz. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS
In a large pot over medium heat, saute the garlic and onion in margarine for 5 minutes. Add flour and stir well, cooking for 1 minute more. Add the broth and half-and-half. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.
Add the water, cream of chicken soup, chicken, salsa, corn, beans, chicken, cumin, taco seasoning, salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp. cilantro. Squeeze 1 lime into soup. Stir and continue to heat for 15 minutes. Crumble tortilla chips into individual bowls and ladle in soup. Slice remaining limes. Top each bowl with cheese, avacado, cilantro and limes. Serve.

Trying something new...

We are trying something new and I would like some input on how you feel about the idea.
The plan is to post a recipe a week. Something that our family enjoys or goes great with the season.
The reason of this page is that I was going to just email some recipes to some people who asked for them and then thought thist would make a good blog page. Please contribute as you wish. If you post a recipe in the comments, I will copy it and make it an actual post.