Cornmeal Biscuits

these are great in a bowl of chili!
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cornmeal, finer grind
2 Tbl sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 T vinegar in a cup of milk)
2/3 cup shortening
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in shortening using a fork. Add buttermilk till dough forms. Roll out gently to about 1/2" thickness on a sprinkling of cornmeal or flour. Cut out biscuits and place on parchment lined sheet. Bake 18 mins at 425. Makes 10 biscuits. Great with a drizzle of honey!

Lindsey's Red Lentil Soup

I got this recipe from my hair girl who is vegan. She has taught me a lot about nutrition and although I'm not vegan myself, she's helped me to want to eat better. This soup is so satisfying but totally healthy at the same time. I keep a batch in my fridge to heat up for a great hot lunch during the week. Try it! You will totally feel better all around.
1 onion, chopped
6 cups water
16oz bag red lentils
1 bag frozen broccoli florets (can use fresh)
1 bag frozen veggie mix (I used fresh green beans chopped, 1/2 bag frozen corn, 2 zucchini, sliced)
14oz can organic tomato sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt - optional
2-3 Tbl sugar
Sautée onion in a little olive oil. Add water, lentils, all veggies (if using zucchini add half way through cooking), tomato sauce, and all seasonings. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 40-45 mins until tender, stirring occasionally. Add water during cooking if needed so veggies are just covered.

Erin's Lemon Ricotta Cookies

The texture of these babies will be irresistible!

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
15 oz container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 T lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 T lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Heat oven to 375. Combine first 3 dry ingredients in a small bowl, set aside. With electric mixer beat butter and sugar in large bowl, about 3 mins. Add eggs one at a time. Add ricotta, lemon juice and zest, mix to combine. Gently add in dry ingredients, using a spoon or rubber spatula just till incorporated. Drop cookie dough onto lined or sprayed cookie sheet. Bake 15 mins until slightly golden on edges. Remove and let rest 15 mins. Glaze by whisking powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest together till smooth. Using back of a spoon spread each cookie with glaze, let harden 2 hrs.

Jenny's Magical Chocolate Chip Cookies

Seriously. Throw away all other choc chip cookie recipes. These hold their shape and won't spread all over your pan! Just double the recipe, you will want more!

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt (I did 1 tsp, I like it salty-er)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 lrg egg
3 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips
Beat butter, brown sugar and corn syrup till fluffy. Add vanilla, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add egg. Then flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake @ 375 8-10 mins, centers will look a little raw still. Cool on pan 5 mins then transfer to wire rack.

Emily's Corn Cakes With Black Beans

everyones raving about this dish! Easy to throw together any night of the week. Vegetarian, and you won't miss the meat one bit. Serves 4-6, double for large family.

1 can black beans
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tsp chili powder, divided
1/2 onion, chopped fine
2/3 cup stone ground yellow corn meal
2 T flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 T butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
2 tsp oil
Salt & pepper
Chopped cilantro, sliced green onion, sour cream for toppings

Prepare beans by stirring together oil, onion, oregano and 1 tsp chili powder in a hot skillet. Cook a few minutes to soften onion. Add beans (I didn't drain). Simmer till everything is blended and liquid is reduced by half, about 7-8 mins. Make batter for cakes by whisking together cornmeal, flour, baking soda, 1 tsp chili powder, salt and pepper to taste. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl: melted butter, egg, buttermilk. Add wet to dry, stir just till blended. Fold in corn. In a heated fry pan or griddle, fry pancakes in a little oil. Cook till golden brown and puffed. To serve, top corn cakes with a spoonful of bean mixture, sliced green onion, cilantro and dollop of sour cream.

Shellie's Gingerdoodles

Soft, chewy and so addicting. My kids go nuts for these!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 tsp pure vanilla
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar for rolling
Heat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars til light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and molasses. Whip 1-2 minutes till it turns light brown. Stir in remaining ingredients just till combined. Roll a tablespoon of dough into a ball, then roll in sugar. Place on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake 7-9 minutes or until outsides look cooked but insides still soft. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack. Makes 2 1/2-3 doz

Crockpot Thai Peanut Chicken

Easy, flavorful and good for you.

2 lbs chicken breasts
2 bell peppers of choice, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 T lime juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T honey
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
salted peanuts for topping
Cooked rice of choice
Place peppers and onion in bottom of crock. Place chicken on top. In a bowl mix peanut butter, lime juice, broth, soy and honey. Pour over chicken. Cook on high 3-4 hrs or low for 6. For last 30 minutes of cooking, shred chicken. Serve over cooked rice with peanuts and cilantro over top. Or if you arent a fan of raw cilantro, throw it in the sauce and cook it with the chicken. Cooking it mellows the flavor.  yummy!

Cherry Chocolate Cake

1 chocolate cake (I use Devil's Food)
1 cup water
1 egg
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling

Mix cake, water and egg for 2 minutes. Fold in pie filling. Bake in a bundt pan at 350 for 35 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. It's delish room temp with whipped cream, too.  Yum and yum!

Uptown Cowboy Caviar

I got this recipe from All Recipes. It was a hit at our Super Bowl Party. I didn't use celery, and added more peppers. I also used apple cider vinegar because that's what I had.

 

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and

drained

1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas,

rinsed and drained

1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and

drained

1 (11 ounce) can yellow shoepeg corn,

drained

1 cup diced celery

1 small bunch cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup chopped green onion

1 (2 ounce) jar chopped pimento peppers

2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper

1 tablespoon minced garlic

 

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

Combine the black beans, black-eyed peas, pinto beans, shoepeg corn, celery, cilantro, red and yellow bell peppers, green onion, pimento peppers, jalapeno pepper, and garlic in a large bowl. Set aside. Bring the rice vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, and black pepper to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. All to cool to room temperature, then pour over the bean mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. Drain before serving.

Chex Peanut Butter Bars

*Gluten Free
These are just like scotcheroos but without the butterscotch chips. Chewy and delicious with a homemade frosting.

7 cups Rice or Corn Chex
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
Mom's Chocolate Frosting recipe below
Grease a large bowl and pour the chex in. Set aside. Grease a 9x13 dish. In a pot on medium heat melt sugar and corn syrup, stir till boils. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, stir till smooth and pour over chex. Gently fold in till chex are evenly coated. Pour into 9x13. Set aside and make frosting.
Mom's Chocolate Frosting:
1 cube butter
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/3 cup canned milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Melt butter. Add cocoa and milk stirring constantly with a whisk just till it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Whisk till smooth and immediately pour over chex bars. Let cool completely. Cut into bars. **This frosting is the best! Pour it on sheet cake recipes or bundt cakes or brownies.**

Erin's White Chicken Chili

This is gluten-free! So fast and so good.

32oz box chicken stock
3 cans white beans, left undrained
1 rotisserie chicken, meat taken off the bone and shredded (5 cups)
16oz salsa (i use Jack's Special salsa from Costco)
8oz block Jack Cheese, for spice use pepper jack, shredded
2 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
pepper to taste
1/2 cup finely crushed corn chips- optional
Sour cream
Combine all ingredients except cheese and sour cream in large pot, simmer, about 15 min. Add cheese and you can either add the sour cream to the soup (1/2 cup) or you can dollop it on top of servings. Serve with chips, avocado etc

Judi's Red Velvet Cake

Moist and delicious, this layer cake tastes like scratch but uses a cake mix! Best red velvet we've tried. This is the new requested birthday cake! Good one, mom!
1 Betty Crocker red velvet cake mix
1 box chocolate instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp red food color
Judi's Cream Cheese Frosting recipe (see below)
Mix all cake ingredients and beat 2 minutes. Pour into 3 9"greased and floured (or use flour spray) cake pans. Bake at 350 for about 22 minutes. Cool completely and layer with cream cheese frosting, then cover entire cake in a layer of frosting. Refrigerate.
Judi's Cream Cheese Frosting
1 lb. powdered sugar
8oz cream cheese, softened
1 cube butter, softened
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (mom uses pure vanilla bean paste if you can find it!)
Beat 2 minutes till smooth and fluffy.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

1T olive oil
1lb ground turkey
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 T soy sauce
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated fine (micro plane is great)
1 cup cooked rice (add more rice if you want it to stretch further; I did about 2 cups)
3 green onions, sliced
1 head lettuce of your choice
Heat oil. Add turkey, season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, remove from pan, set aside. To pan add onion and bell, cook 3-4 mins till softening, then add garlic for a minute or two.(May need a little more oil). Add hoisin, soy, ginger and the cooked turkey. Add cooked rice and green onion, heat through. Serve warm in lettuce leaves with a sprinkle of soy sauce! This is a great dish you can feel good about eating!!

Potato Pancakes

Perfect thing to make with leftover mashed potatoes!
3 cups mashed potatoes
3/4 cup shredded cheese
2T chopped green onion
2 eggs beaten
4T flour
4T oil
Sour cream for serving
Mix mashed potatoes, cheese, onion, egg and flour till well combined. Divide into 12 patties. Gently dredge patties in flour, then lay in hot oil. Work in batches, don't overcrowd, and patiently wait till a nice golden crust forms before turning. Drain on paper towel, season with salt. Serve with a dollop of sour cream! If there are any leftover, reheat next day with an egg on top for breakfast!

Chicken Zucchini Casserole

(From sixsisterstuff). This is a great week night meal that is quite easy. Brandon and Isaac had seconds and thirds! Surprisingly good!

1box chicken stuffing mix (stovetop)
1 stick butter, melted
4 zucchini, diced
2 cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1/2 cup sour cream
Cook onion in a little butter or oil till soft, set aside for a minute. Mix stuffing and butter. Mix zucchini, chicken, soup, cooked onion, sour cream and half of the stuffing then pour into greased 9x13 dish. Sprinkle remaining half of the stuffing over top. Bake 45 mins at 350.