Frankfurter Supper Dish

6 hotdogs
1 package frozen green beans
1 1/2 C. white sauce*
1/2 C. bread (about 2 slices) buttered
1/2 tsp. worchestershire sauce
1 C. cheddar cheese

Heat over to 375 degrees. Drop franks in boiling water and heat 5-6 minutes. Cut into 1" pieces. Cook beans 1/2 time directed on package. Make white sauce stirring in worchestershire sauce. Stir in beans and franks into white sauce. Pour into greased 1.5 quart baking dish. Spread broken, buttered bread on top and cover with cheese.

Bake 30 minutes.

*White Sauce
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. flour
Mix together to make smooth. Add (while stirring) 1 C. milk. Mix and simmer until sauce is thick.

Shepherd's Pie

1 small onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can green beans
1 can (10.5 oz) tomato soup
2 C. mashed potatoes

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook onion in oil until transparent. Add meat and cook until brown. Add seasonings, drained beans and soup. Pour into 1.5 quart baking dish. Spoon mashed potatoes over mixture. Bake 30 minutes.

Grandma's Brownies

(Jessica, this isn't the same recipe I used when you guys were here. It's much better!)

1 1/2 C sifted flour
2 C sugar
10 Tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 C. crisco
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 C. nuts (optional)

Mix ingredients together and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min in 9x13 pan.

Swedish Thumb Cookies

1 C. butter, softened
1/2 C. white sugar
2 C. sifted flour
1/2 C any flavor jam

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter an sugar until light and fluffy. Add sifted flour and mix well. Shape dough into 1 inch diameter balls and place on cookie sheets. Imprint your thumb in the center to make 1/2 inch indentation. Fill with your favorite preserves. Bake for 15-20 min (I do 15 and they come out perfect) or until golden brown at the edges.

Hot drinks for cold winter days!

I got these recipes from Jocelyn, me and Jessica's sister in law. Just wanted to share. The cider in particular is fantastic.

Wassail (Hot Fruit Punch)

5 qts. water
1 stick cinnamon
2 Tbs. whole cloves
3 c. sugar
1 12-oz. can pineapple juice
1 12-oz. can frozen lemonade
1 12-oz. can frozen orange juice

Combine water, cinnamon and cloves in large pot; boil together 5 minutes. Add sugar and juice concentrates. Simmer 30 minutes (do not boil). Serve warm. Makes 6 quarts. (This is my Grandma Ernst's recipe)

Hot Mulled Cider

2 qts. apple cider
1 lemon, spiral cut (or slices, it doesn't matter)
1 orange, spiral cut
1 1" stick cinnamon
2-3 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. whole cloves

Combine all ingredients and simmer 20 minutes. DO NOT BOIL. (My Mom has used 1 gallon of cider instead of 2 qts. and it works fine.)

Chicken Chow Mein

A quick, easy and tasty Chinese dish!

1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp soy sauce
salt to taste
1/2 lb. cubed chicken (I used 3 large cans of canned chicken)
2 T. corn starch
4 stalks celery sliced
1 can bamboo shoots, sliced
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
1 can mushrooms, sliced
vegetable oil

Put cold broth in bowl, add soy sauce and season with salt until salty. Stir in cornstarch. In frying pan over high heat, add 2 T. oil. When hot, add chicken and stir for 1 minute (oil WILL splatter, so put chicken in carefully). Remove chicken. Heat 2 T. oil and stir fry celery for 1 minute. Add bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and mushrooms. Stir broth mix and add to vegetables. Cook and stir until hot and sauce is thickened. Add chicken and stir until hot and the sauce turns clear. Serve immediately over rice and top with chow mein noodles!

Soft Sugar Cookies

Cookie Dough
Cream together...
2 cups of white sugar
1 cup of butter

Add...
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 eggs
5 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt

Sift in 1 cup at a time...
5-7 cups of flour

Roll out 1/2 of the dough onto floured board, try not to roll too thin, cut into desired shape with cookie cutters

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown

FROSTING
Combine...
1 lb. powder sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 egg white

Add milk for thickness

Chicken and Broccoli

This is delicious, you have to try it! So easy!

1 lb Chicken tenders

1/4 c soy sauce

2 T sugar

1/4 c apple juice

2 T cornstarch

1 c water

2 c fresh broccoli florets

4 T vegetable or olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp sesame oil

Cut chicken into small cubes; set aside. Combine soy sauce, sugar, juice, cornstarch, and water in a small bowl; set aside. In a large skillet, stir-fry broccoli in 2 T oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Do not overcook. Place broccoli in another dish. Pour remaining oil in the same skillet and heat on medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, not more than 1 minute. Pour soy sauce mixture over meat and cook until slightly thickened. Stir in sesame oil. Remove from heat. Stir in broccoli. Serve over hot steamed rice.

{Caramel Popcorn}

I LOVE caramel popcorn! My absolute favorite is my grandma's recipe, but it takes forever to make, so when I have no time, but want yummy caramel popcorn, I use this quick and easy recipe.

You will need:
1 Bag of microwave popcorn
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
10 large marshmallows

Prepare popcorn in microwave according to package directions.
Then melt together butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows.
While the ingredients are melting, you can sift out the kernels from the popcorn.

Once the butter, brown sugar and marshmallows are all melted together, you pour it over the popcorn and mix together!

Now you have a Yummy treat!

Chocolate chip toffee cookies

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (finely chopped in food processor)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking sods

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup soften butter

1 cup brown sugar packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 ounces English toffee candy (ie. Heath bar) finely chopped

1 (12 ounce)bag of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. Mix the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until just blended. stir in toffee and chocolate chips. Drop onto cookies sheets and cook for 15 mins then let them cool on the cookie sheet for 5 mins this will finish cooking them!

I love these cookies I think they are my favorite!

M'm! M'm! Good!® Tomato Cheese Bread

1 loaf French bread, cut in half lengthwise
1 can (11 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Bisque Soup
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup chopped green onion
1 tsp. garlic powder

MIX soup, cheeses, onions and garlic powder. Spread soup mixture over bread to within 1/4" of edges.

PLACE bread halves on baking sheet. Bake at 400°F. for 5 min. or until cheese melts. Cut into slices.

Stawberry Soup

2 pints frozen strawberries (moderately defrosted)
2 cups plain yogurt (or any yogurt of your choice)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water or ice cubes for a more smoothie like texture
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom


In a blender, combine the strawberries, yogurt, orange juice, sugar, (blend first without water and add accordingly if it is to thick) and ginger or cardamom (spice). Puree until well mixed. Chill and serve.

Can even be frozen into Popsicles!

Mushroom Barley soup

1 cup barley

3 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 carrot, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 (10 ounce) packages sliced mushrooms
5 cups beef broth or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Bring the barley and water to a boil in a saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stir in the onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, and cook 5 minutes more.
3. Pour in beef broth, and bring soup to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and continue simmering 15 minutes. Stir in barley, and season with salt and pepper before serving.

If you like more veggies than it calls for feel free to add more!

Chicken and Pastrami

My mom made this alot when I was growing up, I love it!

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 10oz. cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 package of Lipton onion soup mix
3 Tbsp sour cream
1 package of sandwich sliced pastrami (optional, I have also used ham)

Combine Cream of mushroom soup, Lipton onion soup mix and sour cream in mixing bowl. Mix until smooth.

Defrost the chicken if frozen. Layer the bottom of an ungreased pan (I use a 9 inch brownie pan) with sliced pastrami. Then add your uncooked but thawed chicken breasts. Layer the top of chicken with pastrami. Pour the soup mixture on top of chicken and pastrami and spread throughly. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 30 min.

This is really good for a Sunday dinner. If you are serving mashed potatoes or white rice you will already have a delicious gravy from the soup mix.

Pasta Enchilada Soup

This recipe is super easy to make and most all of it comes from a can or package. A quick dinner if you're in a hurry and there is always leftovers. It's super tasty and low in fat and calories. :)

3 cans (or 48 ounces) chicken broth (I always use low-sodium bullion cubes)
1 can (4.5 oz.) green chilis, chopped
2 cans cream style corn
20 oz. red enchilada sauce
10-20 oz. canned chicken (totally optional, but I think it tastes much better with)
5 oz. vermicelli (I used angel hair pasta) broken into 2" pieces.
1-1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp oregano

In heavy pan, combine broth, corn, sauce and chilis; mix well; bring to a simmer. Add remaining ingredients and heat till pasta is tender. Serve with corn chips (fritos!), grated cheese, sour cream, black olives and cilantro.

Chicken Chimichangas

These baked chimichangas ROCK. They're super quick (if you used canned chicken. I LOVE canned chicken).

2 1/2 C chicken, cooked and shredded
2/3 C Picante sauce or salsa
1/3 C Green onions, sliced (I never use these)
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Flour tortillas
1/4 C melted butter
1 C grated cheddar cheese

Garnish
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Salsa

Combine chicken, sauce, onion and spices in pan. Simmer 5 minutes or until liquid is almost evaporated. Brush one side of flour tortilla with butter. Place heaping Tbs of chicken mix on buttered side of tortilla. Add dob of cheese. Roll and place seam side down in 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 475 for 13 minutes. Top with guacamole, sour cream and salsa.

Please join me!

I was inspired to start a recipe blog. Not only because of a very delicious looking post I came across concerning some very yummy looking cinnamon rolls, but that was very inspiring. Just like the author of the cinnamon roll post I want to start collecting and have been asking my mother for recipes that she has used while I was growing up. It got me thinking that I should start a recipe blog I want everyone to be able to post their recipes so that we can all share. The only way I see of doing this is if you all submit your e-mail addresses to me and I will add you as an author on the blog. I have never done this before but I think that is how everyone will be able to post their recipes. I really want to start collecting and trying new recipes, I feel like I prepare and eat the same things all the time! I know that you all probably have some awesome recipes that you invented, came across, or got from your moms. So I hope that everyone who is up for it will contribute their stuff!

Jessica