Cook a Frozen Turkey

My friend gave me a recipe to cook a turkey frozen. This worked exceptionally well but what really got me was the fact that I didn't have to try to thaw out a turkey in my fridge for days or in my small 4" deep sink, using up what precious little space I have. So here it is. I loved it and will probably never go back to the old way.

Preheat oven as directed on turkey.

Take a turkey bag and put 1-2 tbsp flour in it and shake it up so the bag is coated. Put the bag in the roaster pan and then put 4 celery sticks about 1" apart on the bottom.

Take out your frozen turkey and take off packaging. Turn the turkey upside down (so breasts are on the bottom) and slip it into the bag on top of the celery. (Yes the bag of all the 'extras' are still in the turkey, that's okay...).

Cook turkey according to the directions, but add 1 extra hour.

Take turkey out, test for doneness, let sit for at least 45 minutes. Carve and put back in it's own juices. It'll soak back up its own juice and make the meat so soft! Enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Lasagna

This is from Kraft Foods and is really easy and yummy.

Prep Time: 15 min Total Time: 4 hr 15 min Makes: 8 servings

What You Need!
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 container (15 oz.) Ricotta Cheese (I just used cottage cheese)
1 pkg. (7 oz.) KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1 egg
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Make It!
BROWN meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, egg and parsley.

SPOON 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.

COOK on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.

Kraft Kitchens Tips
Note: Recipe was successfully tested in 4-, 5- and 6-qt. slow cookers. For best results, do not cook on the HIGH heat setting.
Make Ahead: If your slow cooker has a removable liner, layer ingredients in liner as directed. Refrigerate overnight. Place liner in slow cooker the next day and cook as directed.

Apple Dumplings

This recipe is an old standby of my family. Hopefully the instructions make sense, if not let me know and I'll try to clarify. Bryce thought it was interesting that Paige picked out the apple pieces in the apple pie I made, but she ate the entire apple dumpling. I told him this was no surprise--that's why the apples are shredded. I explained how my Mom had to shred the apples so we would eat them as children -- same reason we shred the carrots and potatoes in our hamburger soup. What an eye-opening conversation this was for him!

1 9" two crust pie dough recipe
3 to 4 cups peeled, shredded apples
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp butter or margarine

Syrup:
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Make or purchase pie dough. (I usually use my sister's recipe that she says is from the Lion House Cookbook). Combine the sugar and cinnamon. On a well-floured surface, roll out pie dough thin and cut into 6 approximately 6" squares. In the center of each square place a heaping 1/2 cup apples. Sprinkle a spoonful of cinnamon sugar over the apples. Cut the 1 1/2 tbsp butter into six pieces and place one piece of butter on top of each square of apples. Fold the opposite corners of pie dough square up and secure with a toothpick. Place dumplings in a 13"x9" pan. Make the syrup by combining all ingredients and boiling for 3 minutes. Pour syrup over the dumplings. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 minutes.

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

I was experimenting with a new recipe -- trying to decide if I should use this recipe with my Activity Day girls. We loved the recipe. I even made homemade ice cream to go with it. But luckily, I took the picture of the whole pie. With three big slices left, the pie went flying across the kitchen and the pie dish shattered and it was all put in the garbage. Bryce was so sad that he had lost hold of the pie, especially since he liked the pie. He assured me he didn't intentionally drop it because he didn't like it. As a result, I came home from my nephew's band competition to a Peanut Butter Silk Pie from Perkins and two new pie plates to make up for the lost pie and pie plate. Now for the recipe:

1 pastry crust for a deep-dish 9" pie
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples
1 recipe crumb topping
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup caramel topping

Crumb Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup butter

Directions for Crumb Topping:
Stir together brown sugar, flour, rolled oats. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until topping is like coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Directions for pie:
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add apple slices and gently toss until coated. Transfer apple mixture to the pie shell. Sprinkle crumb topping over apple mixture. Place pie on a cookie sheet so the drippings don't drop into your oven. (I didn't have a problem with this). Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Then remove foil and bake another 25 to 30 minutes without foil. Remove from oven. Sprinkle pie with chopped pecans then drizzle with caramel on top. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Sandy’s Three Can 10 Minute Chili

Very easy, and quite good!

1 pd ground beef or turkey browned

1 large onion or ½ cup dried onion

1 15 oz can kidney beans with liquid

1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes (can use the ro-tel or Mexican, this will make it spicer)

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 tbsp chili powder

¼ tsp cumin

1 pinch cloves

1 pinch cinnamon

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp Worchester sauce

2 bay leaves

Mix add together, simmer for at least 20-30 minutes, remove bay leaves and serve. Great over potatoes, and this freezes well.

Southwestern Nachos

This recipe is in it's original form. I always 1/2 it! The way the pork roast is done w/the apple juice, garlic and bbq sauce is amazing! It's now the only way we do bbq meat in the crockpot!

Kyle and I eat almost the whole pan of this in one sitting. My kids don't overly love it, but that's okay.. there's always cold cereal!

2 boneless whole pork loin roasts (3 ½ lbs each)

1 c unsweetened apple juice

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp liquid smoke

2 ½ c bbq sauce, divided

1/3 c packed brown sugar

2 tbsp honey

1 pkg 11 oz tortilla chips

1 ½ c frozen corn

1 can black beans, rinsed, drained

1 med tomato, seeded, chopped

1 med red onion

1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, chopped

2 tsp lime juice

1 pkg (16 oz) velveeta, cubed

2 tbsp milk

Cut each roast in ½, place in two 5 qt. slow cookers. Combine apple juice, garlic, salt & liquid smoke. Pour over meat. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours. Shred w/forks, place in large bowl. Stir in 2 cups BBQ sauce, brown sugar & honey. Divide tortilla chips between 2 greased 9x13” top w/pork mixture. Combine corn, beans, tomato, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, &lime juice. Spoon over pork mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 15-20 min. In sauce pan, melt cheese w/milk, Drizzle sauce and remaining sauce over nachos.

Angie’s Bake Potato Soup

This is so good! We eat it a lot during the winter!

1 lb bacon

1 onion

4 celery stocks, sliced

5-7 potatoes

Cook bacon, add everything else and sauté. Cover with enough water to cover potatoes and boil until soft. Add:

1 pint whipping cream

1 lb velveeta

8 oz Mexican Cheese

Season with Morton Nature’s Seasons Seasoning Blend

Taco Bake

This is one of those recipes that don't look very good at all, but it always gets devoured! Definitely only really tasty, though, with the salsa and crumbled chips on top!

1 pkg Kraft deluxe Mac & Cheese Dinner

1 lb ground beef

1 pkg taco seasoning

¾ cup water

¾ cup sour cream

1 ½ cups cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup salsa

Tortilla chips, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400. Prepare dinner a directed on package. While macaroni is cooking, brown meat; drain. Add taco seasoning mix and water to meat; simmer 5 minutes. Stir sour cream into prepared Diner. Spoon half of the dinner mixture into 8” square baking dish; top with layers of the meat mixture; 1 cup of the cheese and remaining Dinner mixture. Cover. Bake 15 minutes. Top with salsa, crumbled chips, and remaining ½ cup cheese. Bake, uncovered, and additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Applebee’s Baby Back Ribs

3 racks ribs (or any meat)

1 cup ketchup

¼ c apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp dark brown sugar

3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp salt

Bake 375 or broil 7-8 min on each side

Easiest Brownies Ever! (and so good, too!)

4 eggs

2 cup sugar

1 ¾ cubes butter

Mix and add:

1 ½ cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes

Sue's Pumpkin Roll

This is a precious recipe to me. My friend's mom, Sue, always made this each fall. I spent 1/2 my life at their house and was there on numerous occasions to watch her make it and then taste it! She passed away when I was a senior in High School. I guess her memory makes this taste even better each time I make it.

3 eggs

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cut nuts (optional)

1 cup sugar

½ tsp salt

¾ cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp nutmeg

Beat eggs 5 minutes. Gradually add sugar, stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Stir in remaining ingredients and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Grease and flour cookie sheet. Bake and let cool until WARM. Put onto a baking towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top as well. Roll up. Leave for 20 to 30 minutes (enough so that it will sit like that on its own). Unroll. Spread filling on thick, roll back up. Refrigerate.

Filling:

1 cup powdered sugar

6 oz cream cheese

4 tbsp butter

½ tsp vanilla

Beat until smooth

World’s Best Cookies

The title says it all on this one... a winner every time!

Mix

1 c white sugar

1 c brown sugar

1 c shortening

Add

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

Add

2 ½ c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 ¼ tsp salt

3 ½ c oats

1 bag choc chips

1 bag butterscotch chips

1 bag coconut

Bake 15 minutes at 350

Blueberry Dessert

This is one of my very favorite desserts!

1 white cake mix

1 ¼ cup quick cooking oats

½ cup butter or margarine

½ cup chopped nuts

1 egg

¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

21 oz can blueberry pie filling

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan. In large bowl combine cake mix, 1 cup oats, and 6 tbsp margarine. Cut it in until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup crumbs for topping. To remaining crumbs blend in egg. Press in prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, to reserved crumbs add remaining ¼ cup oats, 2 tbsp margarine, nuts and sugar and cinnamon. Beat til well mixed. Spread base with pie filling. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely. Refrigerate.

The best, softest Sugar Cookies ever

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

½ cup shortening

1 cup sour cream

1 ½ tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

4 c. flour

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with sour cream and vanilla. Mix well. Roll 1/8” thick on floured surface. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

Frito Lay Salad – Elisha Style

1 pkg Corn Chips

1 red onion, chopped

1 tomato, seeded, chopped

1 can kidney beans, rinsed

1 green pepper, chopped

French dressing poured over until covered. Eat immediately

Frito Lay Salad- Missy Style

1 pkg Corn Chips

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 tomato, seeded chopped

1 can kidney beans, rinsed

Catalina poured over until covered. Eat immediately

Spinach Salad

1 bunch Spinach, washed, dried and broken up

1 head iceberg lettuce, washed, dried and broken up

1 pint cottage cheese, drained and rinsed

½ - 1 lb Swiss cheese grated

½ - 1 lb cooked, crumbled bacon

1 red onion, chopped

Dressing

1 cup oil

½ cup sugar

½ cup cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp poppy seeds

Make dressing night before. Just before serving, shake and pour over salad

Heidi's version of Fresh Salsa

1 package of Concord Foods Salsa Powder Mix (at Winco/Smiths/Walmart)

1 Mexican stewed tomatoes

1 petite diced tomatoes can

3-5 Roma tomatoes

¼ of green pepper (opt)

½ small can olives (opt)

1 bunch Green onions

1 bunch Cilantro

Put 2 cans of tomatoes in blender. Add salsa packet, add big cut up chunks of cilantro/green onions. Blend until all chopped up (usually have to stop it midway and use a spoon to push down the cilantro/onions). Add big chunks of fresh tomatoes and blend for a few seconds (until consistency you prefer). Keep refrigerated.

Amazinginly Easy Hamburger Rollup

Surprisingly better than it looks! It's one of our favorites!

Ingredients:

1 roll of Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough

1 lb hamburger

1 bunch green onions

Crumbled bacon

Shredded cheese

Directions:

Cook hamburger in pan. When almost done, add the bacon and chopped up green onions. Meanwhile, open pizza dough and roll out to a bigger rectangle (I do it the size of my rectangular Pampered Chef baking stone). Take cooked meat and spread it all across the pizza dough. Sprinkle with cheese (amount to your liking). Roll up the long side to the other long side. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

If wanted, when you take it out, spread a little margarine on top and sprinkle with Lawry's Seasoning Salt (our favorite seasoning)

Enjoy with ketchup and mustard!

Slow-Cooker Lasagna

For how easy this is and that it is in the crockpot you should definitely try it. Just add extra seasonings that you like.

From Kraft Foods

Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 6 hr 15 min
Makes: 8 servings

What You Need!
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 container (15 oz.) BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Ricotta Cheese (I always use cottage cheese)
1 pkg. (7 oz.) KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1 egg
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Make It!
BROWN meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, egg and parsley.

SPOON 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.

COOK on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.

Note: Recipe was successfully tested in 4-, 5- and 6-qt. slow cookers. For best results, do not cook on the HIGH heat setting.

Make Ahead: If your slow cooker has a removable liner, layer ingredients in liner as directed. Refrigerate overnight. Place liner in slow cooker the next day and cook as directed.

Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes

From Becky in the Ward family cook book. These are really yummy I think we will be having these again!!

3/4 cup whole wheat(do not grind or soak it)
1 cup milk
dash of salt

Blend in the blender for 5 minutes(I put it on the grinding setting)

Add:
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil

While still blending add
2 tsp baking powder

Pour directly onto a hot skillet.
Do not let mixture sit to long before cooking

Chicken Vegetable Casserole

1 lb chicken breast - cubed & cooked
2 - 16oz bags of California blend frozen veggies (broc, cauli, carrots)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 c. sour cream
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 med. onion sauteed or 1 can French's fried onions

Combine all but 1/2 onion and 1 c. cheese. Put in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle rest of cheese on top.

Bake 40 min @ 350 degrees. Take out, Spread rest of onions on top. Put back in oven for 5 min until done.

TIPS: I use this recipe as a freezer meal. It works great. I take and put this in 2- 8x8 pans.

Hawaiian Chicken

Hawaiian Chicken
(Girlfriends on the Go, pg 69)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup ketchup
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Mustard
½ cup crushed pineapple with juice
½ cup brown sugar

Mix all ingredients together. If freezing, place chicken in a freezer bag. Pour sauce mixture over chicken in bag. You may want to include rice with this meal. Otherwise, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or stew in slow cooker for 4-6 hours. Serve over rice.

Orange-Cranberry Bread

From Becky

1 1/4 C water
1 C white flour
1 3/4 C wheat flour
2 TBS wheat germ
2 TBS ground flax seed
2 TBS wheat gluten flour
2-3 TBS canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS yeast
1 TBS sugar
2-3 TBS orange zest (grate the peel of a washed orange with a cheese grater)
1/2 C craisins (dried cranberries)

Mix all ingredients in the bread machine on the dough setting. Place in greased bread pan, let rise, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, turn out of pan onto a cookie rack, grease the top with butter. Let cool before cutting.

Don't be intimidated by the wheat germ, flax seed or gluten. They can be omitted and replaced with 2 C wheat flour in lieu of 1 3/4 C wheat flour. Pay attention to the consistency of the dough. Sometimes I have to add a bit of flour or water if it's too wet or stiff.

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

I got this from the Kraft Foods Magazine. We really enjoyed it. I didn't try it with the spinach, I'll have to next time.

Prep Time: 20 min Total Time: 43 min Makes: 4 servings

What You Need!
1-1/2 cups multigrain penne pasta, uncooked
1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 jar (14-1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese


HEAT oven to 375ºF. Cook pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water for the last 1 min.

COOK and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 3 min. Add spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in Neufchatel cheese.

DRAIN pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. or 8-inch square baking dish.

BAKE 20 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min.


Nutrition Infomation
Calories 460
Total fat 14 g
Sodium 880 mg
Carbohydrate 39 g
Dietary fiber 7 g
Sugars 8 g
Protein 45 g

Potato Bar Soup

From Becky

6 C water
5 chicken boullion cubes (or chicken stock)
1/2 chopped onion
3 garlic gloves, crushed
8 large potatoes, cubed

Boil until soft, then smash, leaving some chunks. Turn on low and add remaining ingredients listed below. Simmer for 30 minutes and serve. Stir occasionally, making sure soup does not boil. Serves 4-6.

1/2 TBS dill weed
2 TBS parsley
1 TBS chives
1 TBS caraway seed
1 to 1 1/2 C sour cream
1/4 C butter (I use 1-2 TBS)
1 C bacon/ham

St. Louis Bread Company Potato Soup

From Becky

4 C chicken broth
4 C potato chunks
1/4 C minced onion
1/4 tsp red pepper (I prefer 1/8 tsp)
1/4 tsp white pepper (I use 1/8 tsp black pepper)
1/2 tsp seasoning salt (I prefer 1/4 tsp)

After potatoes are simmered and soft, mash to release starch, then add 1 8 oz creme cheese package. When cheese melts, serve. Serves 4-6.