Easy Peanut Butter Cookies, from Stephanie

1 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Mix together. Drop teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes. Makes approximately 18 cookies.

Soft Onion Breadsticks, suggested by Stephanie

I'm making these but as sub rolls instead of breadsticks.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Soft-Onion-Breadsticks/Detail.aspx

We have sweet italian sausage to put on them.

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
• 1/2 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS

1. In a skillet, saute onion in oil until tender; cool. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, 1 egg, butter, sugar, salt, 1 egg and 1 cup flour. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in onion and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Let stand for 10 minutes. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 32 pieces. Shape each piece into an 8-in. rope. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise for 15 minutes.
4. Beat cold water and remaining egg; brush over breadsticks. Sprinkle half with sesame seeds and half with poppy seeds. Bake at 350 degrees F for 16-22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks.

Update: Well the bread was pretty awesome.I cooked the sausages this morning (on med-low, they take a long time) and then sauteed the onions in a little of the grease/olive oil from the sausages. The recipe has a typo and calls for 1 egg individually twice then an eggwash. I used one egg total and skipped the wash, bread flour instead of all purpose (needed an extra 1/2 cup) and only added the onions after kneading in the mixer. It took FOR. EVER. to rise because I wanted to leave it in the mixing bowl and the bowl was stuck on the mixer which is not as warm as, say, next to the oven or a heat vent. Plus my yeast was slightly old. Anyway, it still came out great. Yay.

Tortilla Soup, suggested by Stephanie

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Tortilla-Soup/Detail.aspx

Usually I throw in raw chicken to cook all day in the crock pot, fish it out and shred it an hour or two before dinner and add it back in, but I have leftover pork so I'll probably shred that and throw it in for a bit at the end.

Turkey Meatloaf Meatballs, suggested by Stephanie

Basically you make meatloaf and shape it into balls that go in a muffin pan, then bake ~25 minutes at 425ish. We use a thermometer so when they hit 180 they are done. The first time I made them I had no onion or egg so I had to get creative.

But the gist is that with turkey you add things that will help them not dry out, like grated or chopped vegetables. We've added any or all of the following: shredded zucchini, very small onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, spices, red wine, barbeque sauce, chopped up mushrooms, beaten egg.

This might be the original recipe. I think I found it in my Rachael Ray library somewhere though. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/meatloaf-muffins-with-barbecue-sauce-recipe/index.html

Chopped Salad, from Stephanie

Chopped Salad

1 head romaine lettuce
a small bunch green onions
avocado
diced cooked chicken
gorgonzola cheese
about 6 slices bacon
2 seeded plum tomatoes

(I leave off the tomatoes because I don't like them, but today my husband is getting 3 halved cherry tomatoes in his because I grew them.)

Chop all ingredients until they are just the right size. Everything should be about the same size except the cheese, which is its own size, and the lettuce will likely be a little bigger. The onions can go a little smaller because they are strong.

Now for the dressing. Mix these ingredients in a jar and shake to mix.

1/2c. balsalmic vinegar
3/4c to 1 c. extra virgin olive oil (Start with 3/4 and go up to taste.)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 pressed garlic cloves

Dress the salad, toss and serve.

Curried Pumpkin Soup, from Stephanie

Curried Pumpkin Soup

4 tbsp butter

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 c. pumpkin puree (the regular sized can, not the big can)

4 c. chicken stock (swanson's natural goodness is good)

1 bay leaf

pinch of sugar
1/3 tsp curry powder, to taste

1/3 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 c. light cream

1/3 c. toasted coconut for garnish

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add onion and garlic, cover and cook until translucent - about 8 minutes. Add pumpkin and stock, stir well. Add rest of ingredients except cream and coconut. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Blend if desired. Remove from heat and add cream. Return to heat and heat just to hot, do not allow soup to boil! (this is when I transferred it to the crock pot). Serve with toasted coconut as a garnish.

Taco Pie, from Stephanie

I made the Layered Taco Dip in an 9x9 pan last time and had some leftover beans and salsa mix. Together with our other random leftovers and lack of tortillas, I came up with Taco Pie (again, neither tacos nor pie).

In a shallow, microwave- or oven-safe dish, layer:

1 cup refried beans and salsa mixture
1/3 cup black beans, sprinkled
1 chicken breast, cooked, shredded, and taco seasoningized
1/3 jar nacho cheese dip
1/3 cup black beans, sprinkled
1/8 cup fresh minced onion

Microwave for 2-3 minutes or until hot, or cook in the oven until hot. Then add:

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar and colby cheeses

And cook using desired method until cheese melts.

Serve each person a plate of chips and a little bowl of sour cream. No double dipping!

Layered Taco Dip, from Stephanie

Layered Taco Dip

1 can refried beans
1/2 cup salsa (ish... enough to make it spreadable, not make soup)

Mix and set aside.

1 brick cream cheese
1 packet taco seasoning

Mix and set aside.

1/3 jar nacho cheese dip (tostitos queso is good!)

8oz sour cream

8oz shredded cheese - mexican blend, colby jack, cheddar, whatever. Something with some color is nice. I used 50/50 cheddar and colby the last time I made this.

In a relatively shallow pan (9x13 works well with these amounts), spread the bean mixture, then the cream cheese mixture, cheese sauce, sour cream, and shredded cheese. You can add shredded lettuce, diced fresh tomato, olives, or other (disgusting) things that you personally like to the top... but I don't. Serve cold with scoop tortilla chips, sturdy tortilla chips, fritos scoops, ... whatever.

I'm all about minimizing bowls so I mix the beans and salsa in the serving dish. Also, it helps to pop the beans and salsa in the fridge for a while or the freezer for a few minutes and to make sure the cream cheese is soft before trying to spread it.

Crockpot BBQ Pork, by Stephanie

When I make bbq pork i do the pork tenderloin,
a couple cups of water (enough to cover the meat)
and put in a bunch of spices - brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, old bay, thyme, tabasco sauce, whatever looks good.
I use all of those.
Add way more sugar than everything else (the ratio I shoot for is like 6 or 8 to 1).
Then when it's done I shred it with two forks, stir in barbeque sauce (something you like)
and serve on warmed or toasted hamburger buns.

Grilled Eggplant, from Stephanie

I heart eggplant. It's great grilled too.

Wash, cut off ends, peel, slice into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and spread out on a pan.

Sprinkle with salt and ignore for a while.

Dab off liquid, flip and salt.

Ignore, dab, apply italian dressing, ignore, grill.

MMMMMMMM.

Meatloaf, from Stephanie

Last night I made meatloaf. Here's an approximation of what I did.

In a large bowl, combine

1 cup italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 large sweet onion, minced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 egg, beaten half to death

4 tsp worcestershire sauce (I just shook it for a while)

1ish tsp oregano

1ish tsp italian seasoning

1/4 tsp sage

3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (because I had it around)

1/3 to 1/2 cup ketchup

1.3lbs meatloaf mix - a preprepared meat product available here, a mix of ground beef, pork, and veal

salt and pepper

Mix ingredients with hands (I have gloves... phew) and form into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350F (180C) for about an hour (I cooked it until my meat thermometer read 170F).

At this point you can eat it, or top with a coating of barbeque sauce or ketchup and return to oven while you round up the kids, cats or clean plates. Let it rest a moment before cutting.

Fridge Cleaning Pasta, from Stephanie

Wine makes a great addition to the sauce, white or red. The chicken I had was (George Foreman) grilled with italian dressing, so I added some dressing to the veggies as they cooked.

Fridge Cleaning Pasta

olive oil
butter
1/2 small onion, sliced into thin crescents
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup diced chicken
1/2 16oz jar of alfredo sauce, approximately
1/4 cup half and half, cream, or milk

8oz cooked pasta, still a little chewy or slightly undercooked

Sautee onion, garlic, and mushrooms in olive oil and butter until onions are translucent and mushrooms are soft. Add chicken. Tilt pan to separate juices and pour alfredo sauce into juice, mixing. Add half and half to jar of sauce, tighten lid, and shake. Pour into pan and mix everything together. Allow to bubble and reach desired consistency - a little thinner than a regular alfredo. Add pasta to sauce pan and let mixture heat through. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Bisquick Pot Pie Variation, an idea from Stephanie

I like the bisquick meal that's the pot pie, except I change it. The key is to use Cream of Celery instead of chicken. Also, I don't like pie crusts so those are right out. So basically I put leftover meat, a can of condensed soup, a can of milk, peas (a given) and whatever other vegetables might be lying around, bring that to a boil in an oven safe dish (or be prepared to transfer), make up the biscuit top and dollop it on, and bake until the biscuits are done.

Turkey Thing, from Stephanie

Turkey Thing

1 can swanson's chicken broth (that's 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 c sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 c sliced celery
1 can cream of mushroom healthy request condensed soup
1 can cream of celery healthy request condensed soup
1/3 c sour cream
1 c diced cooked turkey (about 50% light 50% dark meat)
1/2 c melted butter
6 to 8 oz pkg seasoned bread stuffing mix (I used family size stove top)
shredded cheese
seasoned breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350. Combine mushrooms and celery with chicken broth and let simmer briefly to pre-cook vegetables. Add soups and turkey and let the mixture bubble but not boil (med heat). Meanwhile, combine melted butter and stuffing mix in 2.5 quart dish. Add sour cream to soup mixture and stir well, then stir into stuffing mix. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until it gets hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with a little cheese (I used about 2 handfulls of colby jack) and seasoned breadcrumbs (2 smaller handfuls). Let the cheese melt in the oven, then remove. Eat.

Stuffed Shells, an idea from Stephanie

Half cook the shells, stuff with ricotta, egg, and parmesan mixture (w/parsley) and cover in sauce, then mozzarella cheese, and bake for a while.

Roasted chicken, an idea from Stephanie

When I roast a chicken I usually rub in some garlic and herb Mrs. Dash (blue lid) on the skin with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and squeeze half a lemon over it, then throw the lemon into the cavity, cover and roast until it's done. I take off the cover near the end so it gets pretty.

Leftover-busting Enchiladas, an idea from Stephanie

I added refried beans, black beans and corn because they were all lurking in the fridge needing a way out. Enchiladas in this house otherwise consist of seasoned meat (chicken in this case) with added cheese rolled up into flour tortillas, lined up in a baking dish, and a can of red sauce dumped over them and shredded cheese on top.

Suggested by Stephanie - Artichoke Spinach Dip

Artichoke Spinach Dip

I mix it all together before cooking; the directions are kind of ambiguous at that point. Also, it's really worth roasting the garlic since roasted garlic has a very different flavor than raw garlic. Don't skimp on the alfredo (pass on the Ragu, go for the Classico), it makes a big difference.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place garlic in a small baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until soft. Remove from heat. When cool enough to touch, squeeze softened garlic from skins.
3. In an 8x8 inch baking dish, spread the roasted garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, Alfredo-style pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese.
4. Cover and bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. Serve warm.

Ziti, an idea from Stephanie

Last night our friends came over with ziti - pasta, sauce, ricotta, hamburger and spinach. The spinach made a great addition!!

Combine prepared pasta, ricotta cheese, browned ground beef, and (thawed and drained from frozen) spinach. Bake.

Chili from Stephanie

Chili

Everybody has something to say about this chili.

1 1/2 lb ground beef

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 to 1 green pepper, diced

3/4 medium onion, diced

2 cans dark red kidney beans

2 cans whole kernel corn, drained

2 cans diced tomatoes with added flavors of choice

10 oz can tomato paste

1/2 tbsp chili powder

Brown ground beef and break into very fine pieces. Add garlic, green pepper, and onions and sautee for a minute. In a soup pot, combine all ingredients including beef mixture. Simmer for at least 15 minutes - cook for hours if possible. Serve hot, sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.

This could also be done in a crock pot with much success. Serve with cornbread.