Italian Beef Roast Over Rice

My good friend Naomi makes this, and it is absolutely delicious! I made it last night and it was just as good. The best part is, it is very easy! I don't know where she got this recipe and I'm not sure what it it actually called, but here you go:

Ingredients:

• Pot roast, beef chuck or stew beef
  
• A jar of pepperoncini peppers
  
• A packet of italian salad dressing seasoning
  
• Rice, amount per instructions on box

Directions:

Place beef in a crock pot. Add entire contents of the pepperoncini jar (including the juice) and the entire contents of the italian salad dressing seasoning packet. Turn crock pot on low, and leave on for 8 hours. If you plan to be away from home while it is cooking, you may want to add a bit of water or beef broth so that it does not dry out. I got home after about 9 hours and it was a bit dry; good news though, I added some water and let it sit for a little while and it rehydrated the meat nicely.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: appx. 8 hours

Total: appx. 8 hours, 5 minutes

Chicken Stuffed with Feta, Mozzarella, and Fresh Basil

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
• 1 clove minced garlic
  
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• extra virgin olive oil
• 4-8 toothpicks
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut chicken breasts lengthwise in half (so that they are the same width, but not the same depth). In a small bowl, mix feta cheese, mozarella cheese, fresh basil, and minced garlic. Add a dash of salt (not too much, because the feta and mozzarella are somewhat salty), and a bit of pepper, to taste.

Place mounds of mixture in the center of each chicken breast-slice (there should be 4 total). Next, gently fold each chicken breast, meeting ends in the center. Secure with one or two toothpicks, and place each chicken packet into a casserole dish or a sheet pan. Depending on the size of the chicken breasts, you may some cheese mixture left over. Simply pour the remaining mixture on top of the chicken in the dish. Finally, drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil on top of the chicken in the dish. Place chicken in the oven, and let it cook for approximately 30-35 minutes.



Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30-35 minutes
Total time: 45-50 minutes

Garlic Lime Chicken on Salad Greens with Marionberry Dressing

Ingredients:

• 2 medium chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp butter/margarine
  
• 1/2 lime
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper

• 1/4 cup marionberries (or blackberries or raspberries)
  
• olive oil
• red wine vinegar

• salad greens, any assortment (arugula, spinach, romaine)
• feta cheese, crumbled
  
• cracked pepper (optional)

Directions:

Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces. Melt butter on skillet, add chicken pieces. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Squeeze lime juice onto the chicken. Cook chicken until they are nicely browned. Set aside.

Thaw frozen marionberries (if frozen). Strain and press berries so that the seeds do not go into the dressing. You may need to heat it up a bit so that the juices can melt. Add 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar, and 1 tbsp olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste, and a dash of garlic powder.

Assemble salad as you prefer, and enjoy!



Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

Amish Sugar Cookies

I tried this recipe, it is so simply to make, and the cookies literally do melt in your mouth! I also got this recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Combine butter or margarine, oil and sugars in large mixing bowl; mix well. Add eggs; beat 1 minute until well blended. Add vanilla; beat well.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Drop by small teaspoonfuls on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

I also found that the cookies freeze very well. Simply put the remaining batter in a large ziplock bag, and place in the freezer. When you are ready to bake the rest, take the frozen batter out of the bag, and roll it into a tube shape as it thaws. Then, simply slice the dough and place slices on a baking sheet. Bake for approximately the same amount of time, or until they are finished.


Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

Simple Potato Soup

Though this recipe is for potato soup, it is actually more of a leftover mashed potato soup. It may sound a bit risky, but it is actually quite good, and VERY easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 6 potatoes, roughly peeled and cubed [equivalent mashed potatoes]
• 1-2 Cups of Fat Free Half & Half [or milk, if you prefer]
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp chopped [or dried] chives
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Optional: sour cream, cheese, bacon bits as garnish

Directions:

Place the leftover mashed potatoes in a pot, and add the half & half, stirring until it is the right consistency [thick and creamy should be your target]. Turn the heat on medium. Stir in the garlic, chives, and add salt and pepper to your taste.

If you have sour cream, cheese, or bacon bits, add those as a garnish if you prefer. I just used dried chives because that was all I had on hand at the moment.



Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Total time: 20-25 minutes

Mom's Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Here is a recipe of my mom's, and it is sooo good! I think I added a bit too much milk to mine (it still tasted good!), and I used penne instead of macaroni, because it was what I had on hand at the time. Here you go, give it a try!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp of corn starch
• 1 Tsp salt
• ¼ Tsp pepper
• 2 Cups of milk
• 2 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 2 Cups of cheese
• 8 oz. of cooked macaroni

Directions:

Boil water in a pot and cook the macaroni. When macaroni is done, drain the pasta into a colander. Next, mix corn starch, salt, pepper, milk, butter, 1 1½ Cups of cheese into the warm pot. Stir on high heat, until the mixture thickens and bubbles. Then, add in the macaroni, and mix well.

Next, place the mixture into a greased casserole dish. Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes, at 350 degrees. Take out the dish, sprinkle the remainder of cheese on top, and place in the oven for 5 more minutes so the cheese can melt. Cool 5 minutes before serving.


Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Baked Hot Fingers and Fries

This is a recipe that I tried all on my own, and it was tasty, but has not been perfected yet. Here's how I did it, and you can feel free to adapt things to your personal preference (or better cooking knowledge!)

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• Hot sauce
• Unflavored bread crumbs
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 6 small red potatoes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Cut the chicken breasts into strips. Pour loose bread crumbs onto a plate (enough to sufficiently cover the plate, about a 1/2 thick). Add salt and pepper to the bread crumbs, to taste. Pour a generous portion of hot sauce onto another plate.

Take the chicken strips and dip them first in the hot sauce, covering them completely. Then, dip them in the bread crumbs, covering them completely. Next, dip the strips in the hot sauce once more. Place strips on a baking sheet, and put in the oven at about 375 degrees, for 20 minutes, or until done.

Next, slice the potatoes into thin strips. place them in a bowl, add salt and pepper to your preference, and put a dash or two of cayenne pepper into the bowl. Mix well. Spread out the potato slices on a baking sheet, and place in the oven with the chicken strips. When the slices brown, take them out. Allow them to cool for approximately 5 minutes before serving.

Suggestion: Dip the chicken strips into a mixture of a beaten egg and hot sauce, then place in the bread crumbs, and shake hot sauce over the strips once they are on the baking sheet.


Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Total time: 35-40 minutes