Baked Spaghetti

My best friend Jennifer gave this recipe to me. This is a very filling and comforting dish. A different take on spaghetti and an excellent choice when you have several mouths to feed.

Ingredients:

*1 1/2lbs. ground beef

*1/2 med. onion, chopped

*1/2 green pepper, chopped

*2 jars Ragu spaghetti sauce

*1 pkg. sliced pepperoni

*1/2 lg. box spaghetti noodles

*shredded cheese, however much you want (I use about 2 c.)

Directions:

*Brown the ground beef with the onion and pepper. Drain all the grease from the ground beef and stir in the spaghetti sauce (I rinse the sauce jars with a small amount of water and stir in with the ground beef). Prepare the spaghetti noodles as directed on the box.
*Spray a 13 x 9 inch pan with nonstick spray and layer with the drained spaghetti noodles. Layer the pepperoni on top of the noodles and pour the sauce mixture evenly over top. Layer with however much shredded cheese you want. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Grape Salad

This recipe came from my aunt Harlene. It is really simple and really good. This is a great dish for summer cookouts.

Ingredients:
*3 bunches seedless grapes
*1 sm. pkg. pecans
*2-3 c. miniature marshmallows
*1 c. sour cream
*2 c. powdered sugar

Directions:
Toss together grapes, pecans and marshmallows in a large bowl. Mix sour cream and powdered sugar in a seperate bowl, stir into grape mixture and combine well.

Cheese Fries

Dewayne and I love Outback Cheese Fries. We hardly ever get to go, so Dewayne came up with his own. They are not as good as Outback, but they are definitely good.

Ingredients:
~Ranch Dressing
*1c. mayonnaise
*1/2c. milk
*2T. Ranch dressing mix (powder)
*1/2 tsp. red pepper (cayenne)
*1/2 tsp. black pepper
*1/2 T. garlic powder
~Fries
*Ore-Ida Fast Food Fries
*shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexican)

Instructions:
~Ranch Dressing
*Combine the mayo and milk, until it reaches a smooth consistency. Stir in the spices and chill covered in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
*You may want to use less red or black pepper, depending on how hot you want your dressing.
*Store leftover dressing in fridge.
~Fries:
*Fry however many fries you want to fix in hot oil (we use a deep fryer). When fries are desired crispiness remove from oil and drain all oil. Place fries on a baking sheet and cover with shredded cheese. Place in oven set to broil. Let the cheese melts (this only takes a couple of minutes, so watch closely. Remove from oven and serve with chilled dressing. YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY!!!!

The Best Chicken Sandwich in the World!!

This recipe came from The Pioneer Woman, Marlboro Man's Second Favorite Sandwich. I have fixed it several times and love it. I doubt a good restaurant chicken sandwich could beat this one.

Ingredients:
*boneless, skinless chicken breasts
*lemon & pepper seasoning salt
*peppered bacon
*colby cheese
* sandwich buns

Directions:
*Rinse your chicken breasts with water and pat dry with a paper towel. Place each chicken breast, between 2 sheets of wax paper. Press around the edges to seal. With the smooth side of a mallet pound the chicken to even out the thickness. If you don't have a mallet, roll it out with a rolling pin (this is what I did).
*Cut your bacon package in half( I did not have peppered bacon, so I just peppered regular bacon) and fry in your skillet in med. low to medium heat until chewy. Drain the bacon on paper towels.
*Drain all the grease from your pan and add about 1 tablespoon back to pan, still on med. low to medium heat.
*Sprinkle both sides of your chicken breasts generously with the lemon & pepper seasoning salt.
Make sure your pan is hot and add chicken breasts to cook. Cook the chicken breasts on one side for about four minutes, or until the edges are no longer pink. Flip the chicken over and arrange the cooked bacon slices (as much as you like) on the cooked side of the breasts.
*Lay slices of cheese on top of the bacon, cover for a few minutes to let the chicken finish cooking and to allow the cheese to melt.
*Place on your hamburger bun and serve (I spread honey mustard on mine).

Chicken & Dumplings

I love chicken and dumplings, but this is one dish that took me years to get right. I have experimented with numerous recipes. Several from other people and several of my own. I used to have to eat dumplings at other people's house. I am so glad I can fix them myself, whenever I get the craving.

Ingredients:
*2 bone in, skin on chicken breasts
*3 (14-oz.) cans chicken broth
*3 (14-oz.) cans water (use empty broth cans)
*1/2 T. black pepper
*1 (26-oz.) can cream of chicken

Dumplings:
*2 c. all-purpose flour
*2 tsp. baking powder
*1 tsp.salt
*1/3 c. shortening
*1/2 c. milk

Directions:
*Combine chicken broth, water and black pepper (you don't have to use the pepper if you don't want to) in a large pot. Rinse chicken breasts with water and add to pot. Bring the liquid to boil on high heat then turn down to medium heat. Cook until chicken breasts are done and desired tenderness. I cooked mine about 1 hour 15 minutes. You may end up with a shorter or longer cooking time.
*Prepare dumplings while your chicken is cooking.
*When chicken is done, remove from pot and set aside to cool. Stir in the cream of chicken.

Dumplings:
*Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening and add milk to make a stiff dough.
*Roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness and cut into squares or strips. Make sure your soup mixture is simmering (bubbly) and drop the dumplings in one at a time. Cook on medium heat for an hour, stirring often. If they seem to be cooking to fast, turn the heat down.
*While your dumplings are cooking, take the skin off your chicken and tear it off the bone into strips. Stir in your chicken and cook about 15 more minutes.

Broth, Cream of Chicken & Water simmering.


Dumplings, rolled out and cut.


Shredded chicken.


Ready to eat.


Yummy!!

Salt Potatoes

Mom brought me some new potatoes from the garden this week and I had read all about salt potatoes on a forum I visit often. I decided to try them. These are really good if you like salt. Dewayne said they were to salty for him, but I loved them. So much, I had leftovers the next day. I cooked my 10 to 15 minutes longer than what was suggested on the recipe.

Ingredients:
*3 lbs small potatoes (creamers)
*4 quarts water
*1 cup salt
*1/2 cup butter

Directions:
*Place the potatoes and water in a large pot.
*Pour the salt over the potatoes, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat.
*Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
*Serve with the melted butter for dipping

In the pot before turning on the heat.

Ready for the butter.

Lemon Pepper Cabbage

This recipe was given to me several years ago, by a fellow employee at Frontier Nursing Service. I can hardly wait for cabbage from mom's garden to fix this one.

Ingredients:
*1 lg. head of cabbage
*1 lg. onion
*1 pkg. kielbasa
*lemon pepper seasoning
*1 stick butter

Directions:
*Cut up cabbage, onion and kielbasa on a sheet of aluminum foil. Add lemon pepper to your taste. Place slices of butter over mixture. Place annother sheet of aluminum foil on top and seal. Bake on 375° for 1 to 1 1/2 hours in oven (can also cook on the grill).
*If you are fixing it in the oven, take it out and stir ingredients, adding more butter or lemon pepper, as needed.
*If you are preparing on the grill, turn occasionally.