CHEESE STEAK KEBABS

Okay.  So I got this recipe from Rachael Ray's magazine, but I used my own little variation on it (soymilk instead of cowmilk and added my own seasoning for the steak).  This is SO easy and SO good!

For the skewers:

Preheat a grill to medium-high.  Take one sirloin steak and cut into strips.  Thread the steak onto bamboo skewers for grilling.  Cut one green bell pepper into large pieces and put multiple on skewers.  Cut loaf of crusty bread into chunks and also put on skewers.  Mix the following and brush onto the steak and peppers before grilling:  2 tablespoons vegetable oil, sprinkled with chili powder and minced garlic (this is my personal favorite steak seasoning -- you can add whatever you like to the vegetable oil).  Brush the bread chunks with melted butter only.  Arrange the bread and peppers on the grill and cook, turning, until charred on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.  Meanwhile, arrange the steak on the grill and cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes for medium.

Serve the kebabs with this cheese sauce for dipping (I prepare the skewers, then make the cheese sauce while Conrad does the grilling!):

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat.  Whisk in 2 tablespoons flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Lower a little and slowly whisk in 1 cup milk until the mixture thickens and starts to boil.  Stir in 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese until smooth.  Add more milk, as needed, until the sauce is as thin or thick as you'd like.  Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe is really easy and really fun.  We end up taking everything off the skewers and just dipping with our fingers!!  ENJOY!

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

(Not my cupcake, but looks similar!)

This frosting is SUPER yummy and SUPER easy.  I like it on chocolate cupcakes!

Rachael Ray Cream Cheese Frosting:

Using an electric mixer, beat 8 ounces cubed chilled cream cheese with 1 stick (4 ounces) room-temperature butter and a pinch salt until creamy.  Add 2-1/2 to 3 cups confectioners' sugar (depending on desired thickness), 1 cup at a time, beating until smoother after each addition.

That's it!  It is seriously SO good.

Here are a couple fun variations you can do using this frosting recipe:

KOOL-AID:  Beat 1 teaspoon unsweetened powdered drink mix, such as Kool-Aid, into frosting (try on vanilla cupcakes!)

PINEAPPLE:  Beat 3 tablespoons frozen pineapple concentrate into frosting (try on carrot cupcakes).

The Best Orange Julius

The Best Orange Julius -Heidi Pettingill
Blend in Blender:
6 oz. Frozen orange juice concentrate (1/2 can)
1 C. water
1 C. milk
½ C. sugar
1 t. vanilla
8-15 ice cubes

Super Easy French Bread!

The recipe may look long, but it really is one of the easiest bread recipes I have found. You only have to think to make it like 40 min. before you want to eat instead of having to think of dinner in the morning.

French Bread

Combine:
2 T. yeast
½ c. warm water
Set aside

Combine:
6 c. flour
6 T. oil (abt. 1/3 c.)
4 T. sugar
½ t. salt
1 ½ c. hot water
Yeast water mixture

1. Mix all in mixer with dough hook
2. Cover for 10 min.
3. Punch down
4. Cover for 10 min.
5. Punch down
6. Cover for 10 min.
7. Punch down, knead
8. Divide into loaves (like oval french bread looking loaves), butter cookie sheet, place loaves (2 big, 3 smaller) on cookie sheet. Cut little \ \ \ \ \ across top of loaves and butter with melted butter.
9. Pre-heat oven 400º
10. Let rise 30 min. (I never let it rise that long, I put it on my oven while it’s pre-heating, and then when it’s done pre-heating, my bread is about the size I want it).
11. Bake 20 min. or until golden brown. Butter again with melted butter. Enjoy!

**This recipe also makes good soup bowls. Just form them into fist size balls on step #8 and cut an X in the top of the ball, then continue with step 9.

Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup

Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 Can (15 oz.) whole kernal corn, drained
2 Cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 Can (10 oz.) chunk chicken, drained
1 Can (15 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 Can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
-Pour all into pot. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through.
*Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and a dallop of sour cream.

Easy Cheese Ball

Easy Cheese Ball -Heidi Pettingill

2- 8oz. cream cheese
2 c. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 T. green onion –finely chopped
2 t. worchestershire sauce
1 t. lemon juice
½ t. lemon pepper
-combine until thoroughly mixed. (I use my mixer)
-Line bowl with plastic wrap, put cheese
Ball into bowl, refrigerate for a bit, turn upside down
Onto plate, sprinkle with parsley or roll in nuts (optional).
-Serve with crackers

Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Italiano

Creamy Chicken Italiano
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
¼ c. water
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 10 ¾ can cream of chicken soup
1 4oz. can mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1. Place chicken in slow cooker
2. Combine Salad dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken
3. Cover. Cook on Low 3 hours
4. Combine cheese soup until blended. Stir in mushrooms. Pour over chicken.
5. Cover. Cook on Low 1 hour, or until chicken juices run clear.
6. Serve over noodles or rice.

No Bake Cookies

No Bake Cookies – Heidi Pettingill

½ c. butter- melted
2 c. sugar
¼ c. cocoa
½ c. milk
2 ½ - 3 c. quick oats
¼ t. salt
1 t. vanilla
¾ c. peanut butter
-Combine first 4 ingredients in pot, boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add last 4 ingredients. Stir well. Place cookie size amount on wax paper on cookie sheet. Refrigerate.

Tante Aki’s Kartoffel salat

Tante Aki’s Kartoffel salat

Potatoes (about 12 cooked, cooled, peeled, cut)
Onion, chopped
Eggs (8) hard boiled, cut into small pieces
Green onions (optional)

Combine and add to above:
Balsamic Vinegar (abt. ½ T.)
Oil (abt. ¼ c.)
Sugar (abt. ½ c.)
Miracle whip (to taste) start with like 3 big spoonfulls
Pepper
Salt
Dill

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Dinner in a Pumpkin -Heidi Pettingill
1 small (about 10 inch) pumpkin, clean out seeds
2 lb. ground chuck
6 oz. ground ham (we use one can of spam)
1 can tomato sauce
1 T. oil
2 t. ground oregano
2 cloves garlic minced
2 ½ t. salt
2 ½ T. onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 t. vinegar
1/3 c. chopped stuffed green olives
3 eggs, beaten
1 t. pepper
Combine all but the pumpkin and fry till tender. Add to pumpkin and bake at 350º for 1-1/2 hours with lid on pumpkin. Serve dinner from pumpkin. Pumpkin meat is similar to squash.
We make this every Halloween, it’s just kind of a fun recipe, and it can be altered to fit your likes too. My sister adds minute rice to the mixture which is good also.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup -Kristine Walton
In large pot of water about 2/3 full, boil 2-3 half breasts of chicken, remove chicken, cool, cut into pieces. Add 2-3 bullion cubes to pot and 2 cans cream of chicken soup. Add salt and pepper to taste, and some garlic powder. Dice up 2 celery, and 2-3 carrots, add to pot. Bring to boil, add chicken and desired amount of country noodles. Cook until noodles are done according to bag directions. Enjoy.

How to preserve a husband! (One of my more difficult recipes, but EXTREMELY important none the less!

How to preserve a husband
Love
Devotion
Laughter
Smiles
Forgiveness
Pick one that is tender, but not too young. Add two cups of love, one cup of devotion. Mix with laughter and sweeten with smiles. “Do not beat”, then add a variety of spices till well seasoned. Do not pickle or put in hot water, this makes them sour. Add a pinch of forgiveness as needed. Serve daily with plenty of peaches and cream. Makes one happy marriage that keeps forever.
Note: This recipe takes lots of practice and patience. Do not expect perfection

Play dough (Don't eat this one) (I gues you can if you want to)

Play dough -Heidi Pettingill
2 c. water
2 c. flour
1 c. salt
½ c. cornstarch
2 T. vegetable oil or margarine
1 T. powdered Alum
Few drops of food coloring
Mix all ingredients. Cook over medium heat until thick. Remove from pan and knead until smooth. Yield: abt. 3 cups of dough
*This play dough keeps for weeks in the refrigerator and can be used many times over.
(I don't keep it in the fridge and it still keeps well)

Stuffed Squash

*This is more or less a Squash casserole, but Danny doesn't like anything with the word casserole in it so it's Stuffed Squash, Squash Delight, Squash a la yummyness, whatever you want to call it!

Stuffed Squash -Heidi Pettingill
1 Butternut or banana squash- cooked, peeled and mashed.
Spread in buttered casserole pan. Sprinkle 1 C. brown sugar over squash. Dot with ¼ c. butter. (*I leave the butter out) Cook 1 box wild rice as directed on package (we prefer beef rice-a-roni). Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 lb. Browned sausage, 1 onion chopped, 1/8 t. garlic powder to rice. Stir well and pour over squash. Bake 350 20-25 min.

Pettingill Meatballs!

Meatballs -Heidi Pettingill
¾ lb. Ground ham (we use 1 can of Spam chopped into small pieces with food chopper -trust me, it’s really good)
¾ lb. Ground pork (we use ground beef)
1 ½ c. soda crackers (1 pkg. of saltines)
¾ c. milk
2 eggs
pinch of salt
-mix together and form into balls. Makes 2 13 x 9 pans
Sauce:
1 ½ c. brown sugar
¾ c. water
½ c. vinegar
1 T. dry mustard
Mix and pour over meatballs before cooking.
Cook uncovered 325 for 40 min. or until done.
Serve over rice.

Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Soup -Heidi Pettingill from Family Fun Mag.
1 Cup Salsa
2 (15 ½ oz.) Cans Black Beans- drained, rinsed.
2 C. Chicken broth
1 t. Lime juice
2 T. fresh cilantro
Sour Cream
-Combine broth, salsa, beans, bring to boil, lower heat, simmer 15 min. covered. Let cool slightly, ladle half of soup into blender and puree it. Return pureed soup to the pot. (I just stick my hand blender in the pot and blend it a couple times, instead of using a blender). Stir in lime juice & chopped cilantro. Serve soup warm with dollop of sour cream (optional). I like adding crumbled tortilla chips too.

Sorry!

I accidentally posted a bunch of my stuff on here instead of on my own blog, so to make up for it I thought I would post some of my favorite recipes! They are all really easy cause I'm all about EASY and GOOD! Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

Drew and I were really excited about these Chicken Enchiladas. They are so good and aren't hard to make. Drew asks me to make them a lot. I have found a lot of Enchilada recipes and this one is my favorite so far.

Cook as much chicken as you need to feed your family. We usually like to make a full pan and cook about 5-6 chicken breasts.

Heat flour tortillas in the microwave (It makes it easier to roll them up tight). Add shredded cheese and cooked, diced chicken into the middle of the tortillas and roll them up. Place them side by side in a 9x13 pan.

Sauce:
1/4 C. Flour
1/4 C. Margarine
2 C. Chicken Broth (Canned Chicken Broth-usually it measures out to 2 cups)
1 C. Sour Cream
1. Can chopped green chillies

Melt Margarine, add flour to make paste. Add broth, stir until thick. Remove from heat and add sour cream and chillies. (If you want an extra kick, we do, then don't drain the juice from the chillies). Pour over Tortillas.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes with a foil cover. Remove from oven. Top with shredded cheese and salsa is optional.

BBQ

Try cutting open a hot dog and putting in Bleu cheese, or any of your favorite cheese. If you like bleu cheese, make a gourmet hot dog. SOOOOOOOO good.

Salads

Mix a Spinach Greens
Strawberries
Cashews
Poppy Seed Dressing

Mix of Spinach Greens
Feta Cheese
Sugar coated walnuts
Strawberries
Raspberry Vinegerette