Cherry Icebox Cake

This recipe is SO good, SO cheap and SO easy! It's always a hit!!

Ingredients:
20 Whole Graham Crackers
2 cups cold milk
1 pkg JELLO Vanilla Instant Pudding and Pie Filling (6 serving size)
1 and 3/4 cups thawed COOL WHIP
2 cans cherry pie filling

Directions:
Line a 13X9 inch pan with graham crackers. In a separate bowl, pour cold milk into bowl. Add pudding mix. Mix at low speed with a mixer and beat until blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Blend in Whipped topping. Pour mixture over graham crackers and spread evenly then repeat with layers of Graham crackers then mixture. Top with cherry pie filling and chill for 3 hours. Voila!

Pumpkin Pie

I made this pumpkin pie last year for Christmas and it was AWESOME!

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
1 piece pre-made pie dough
Whipped cream, for topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is a Country Classic that I love to make! So good.

One 6.9oz pkg Chicken Rice a Roni
½ stick of Butter
2 and ¼ cups water
1.5 lbs boneless and skinless chicken breast
½ tsp. garlic powder
¾ cup sour cream
One can of cream of mushroom soup
Ritz crackers
Salt
Pepper

1) Salt, Pepper and Oil the chicken and bake for 30 min at 350 degrees.
2) Cook the Rice a Roni on the stove as directed on the package. Be sure to add the butter.
3) Create a separate mixture combining 2 tbsp butter, garlic powder, sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, salt and pepper.
4) Remove chicken from oven and cut into bite sized pieces
5) In a separate bowl, combine Rice a Roni, sauce mixture and chicken. Salt and pepper to taste.
6) Place in a casserole dish and top with crushed ritz crackers. Place squares of butter all over top of casserole.
7) Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Banana Poppy Seed Cake

This cake is HEAVENLY!! I was surprised since it's a relatively light cake, but it's awesome. And SO easy!!

Ingredients:

1 pkg white cake mix
1 small box of Banana Cream Fat Free Sugar Free instant pudding mix
1/4 cup poppy seeds
2/3 cup no sugar added apple sauce
3 egg whites
1 egg w/yolk
1 cup water

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13X9 cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine mix, pudding mix, poppy seeds, applesauce, egg whites, egg w/yolk and water into a large bowl. Mix well. If mixture is a little thick, no worries-the cake is very moist when baked. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 18-23 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Serves 12

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I found a recipe that looked good, then I tweaked it to my own tastes and this is what I came up with. FANTASTIC soup!

1 cooked Rotisserie Chicken from grocery store
3 and ½ cups water
1 onion, diced
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 bay leaves
5 chicken bouillon cubes
Salt
Pepper
2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 and ½ cups egg noodles
2 tbs parsley
1 tbsp Seasoning salt

First, make the stock by combining water with cooked chicken with all juices, onion, Italian seasoning, lemon pepper seasoning, garlic, bay leaves, bouillon cubes, salt and pepper. Boil on high for 30 minutes.

Next, strain to get all solids out and pull out the chicken. Cut up into pieces and return to stock. Add carrots, celery, egg noodles, seasoning salt, parsley, salt, and pepper. Simmer until egg noodles are done.

Round Steak Italiano With Baked Potatoes

This recipe is similar to swiss steak. It is so tender that you can cut it with a fork. Delicious!

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef top round steak
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp onion soup mix
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp ground oregano
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp pepper
8 medium potatoes
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water

Directions: Cut steak into serving size pieces. Place in a slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine tomato sauce, soup mix, oil, vinegar, oregano, garlic powder and pepper. Pour over meat. Scrub and pierce potatoes and place over meat. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours until meat and potatoes are tender.

Remove the meat and potatoes; keep warm. For gravy, pour cooking juices into a small saucepan; skim fat.

Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with meat and potatoes. Serves 8.

Easy Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

I threw this together one night and was shocked at how great it was! I’ve found the meat to be more moist and have better flavor than a restaurant.

Ingredients:

1 16oz pkg of Chicken Fajita chicken Breast Strips
Fajita seasoning (I use the bottle)
½ onion
1 small can green chilies
¼ cup Vegetable Oil
1 8oz block of Monterey Jack Cheese
1 pkg flour tortillas

Directions: Heat up a skillet with ¼ cup vegetable oil. While that’s heating up, dice your onion and green chilies and throw into pan when hot. Add your chicken to the pan and coat everything with a generous amount of fajita seasoning. Cook 4-5 minutes or until chicken is done. (I like a little bit of black on mine). While that is cooking, start shredding your jack cheese. When your chicken mixture is done, set to the side.
Heat up another skillet on medium heat. I keep mine dry. While that pan is heating up, make your quesadilla to the side by placing a little bit of the shredded cheese on the bottom of one tortilla, then place some of the meat mixture on top of that, and then cover again with cheese. Place in the pan for about 30-60 seconds on each side or until Brown. Cut into pieces. Serve with salsa or sour cream. Serves 4-6.

Substitutes: You can substitute chicken with steak strips or ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning.