Ham & Potato Pockets

I've been away awhile!  Had a baby in January but I'm going to try to get back to posting every so often because we've been trying lots of new recipes.

This will become a favorite for sure.  It was delicious!  I could see doing a breakfast pocket, or a bbq chicken pocket, or a pizza pocket.  And next time I'll definitely use my homemade crescent rolls instead of store bought.

Ham & Potato Pockets

3/4 lb cooked ham, diced
1 c Swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 c ranch dressing
2 c frozen hash browns
1/2 c onion, diced
2 Tb margarine
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 cans crescent rolls

Place 2 cups frozen hash browns in microwaveable safe bowl and defrost approximately 3 minutes.
In small skillet cook onions and hash browns in butter until warmed and slightly browned.  Add garlic powder.
In separate small bowl, mix together ham, Swiss cheese, and ranch dressing.
On cookie sheet spread out crescent roll dough and pinch together triangle perforations to make 4 squares per can.
Place 1/4 cup potato mixture and 1/4 cup ham mixture into center of the crescent square.
Fold over dough and seal with fork.
Place in 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.

FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS:
Let cool and then flash freeze (or place in a small zipper sandwich bag) and place in a gallon size freezer bag.  Freeze.  To serve:  Place in microwave for 2-4 minutes OR in oven for 10-15 minutes until heated through.

Serves: 8

Apple Picking

Went on our annual apple picking trip last weekend.  Not only do they have a fun kids area but great apples!  We ended up with $50 worth of apples and all I've made with them is homemade applesauce.  Last year I made lots of different things (apple pie muffins, apple bread, cross cross apple buns, apple turnovers, and apple pie of course) but this year I think I'm sticking with applesauce and a pie or two.  My husband and I absolutely love homemade applesauce.  I don't even eat any other applesauce.  So it doesn't last long.  I've found I can put it in my jam jars and freeze it and we can enjoy it a little longer.  What have you made with apples?

What We're Eating Wednesday

We're in a local produce co-op and we had the option last week of getting 8lbs of strawberries for $10.  I couldn't pass that up of course and figured what a great way to get ahead on my freezer jam.  I think I had about 12 jars, maybe 15, that I ended up making last summer but they were gone so quickly!  I didn't realize that my sisters and dad liked it so much and my husband fell in love with these fruit bars that just aren't the same without homemade strawberry freezer jam.  So this year I've decided we have the freezer space so I might as well stock up.

Can't wait to see what you're all making this week.  Please share!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup w/ Dumplings

 I was making Chicken Pot Pie for dinner and decided instead of layering the dough on top and baking in the oven I'd try making it into dumplings and having more of a soup.  My husband's vote was that he liked it better, I'm not so sure.  I liked it just fine but the textures between the two different ways are totally different.  I say this is a keeper but I'll make it both ways still.

See above for the link to my Chicken Pot Pie receipe.  You follow all the same steps except for the end:

Mix up the dough.  Add a little bit of extra chicken broth or milk to the pot with the vegetables and chicken, probably a cup or two depending on how thick it already is, and bring to a slight boil.  Drop the dough mixture by tablespoonfulls on top of the soup mixture.  (They will get larger as they cook so I wouldn't make them too big.)  Let sit for a minute or two then flip over.  Wait a minute or two, push those to the side, and add more dough.  Repeat until all dumplings are in and then stir.

This is linked to:

What's Cooking Wednesday at Turning the Clock Back
What's On the Menu Wednesday at Dining with Debbie
What's On Your Plate at GoodCheapEats
Made it on Monday at Lark's Country Heart
Tasty Traditions at Coupon Cookin'
Recipe Swap Thursday at Prairie Story
Tip Day Thursday at Around My Family Table

Amish Friendship Muffins

I got some starter from a friend last week and made my bread yesterday.  I used this recipe which actually is for muffins but I made two loaves out of it instead.  Very tasty, my hubby is happy with it!

Amish Friendship Muffins

1 cup Amish batter
2 cups flour
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla

Stir well.

Add 1 cup chopped nuts if desired.

OPTIONAL:
1 cup apples, chopped
1 cup raisins or
1 cup blueberries

Mix well.  Put into muffin tins well greased if not using liners.  Sprinkle with topping on each muffin and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until done.

TOPPING:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup margarine

Mix well and sprinkle over tops of muffins before baking.

Chicken Puffs

These would have been good if they had more filling in them.  I think since I used homemade crescent roll dough they  needed more filling than called for but I would make them again.

Chicken Puffs

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
3 Tb chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3/4 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
6 Tb butter
3 (10 oz) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough (or I used homemade crescent roll dough)

In medium saucepan over medium heat slowly cook and stir skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, onion and garlic.  Cook until onions are tender and chicken is lightly browned.

In medium bowl, blend chicken mixture, cream cheese and butter until creamy.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Unroll crescent rolls and divide in half to create 12 rectangles.  Place approximately one tablespoon of chicken mixture on each rectangle.  Fold into balls.

Arrange balls on large baking sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Good Freezer Meals

My sister had a baby on Valentine's Day.  We're going down to visit next week and I'm bringing along some meals to fill her freezer to help her out at dinnertime.  Thought I'd share my list of good freezer meals.

Sloppy Joes
Red Beans and Rice
Burritos
Tortellini Soup (freeze without tortellini, reheat when ready to eat and add cheese tortellini the last 5-10 minutes)
Wild Rice Chicken Supreme
Franks & Beans (Recipe to come.)
Slow Cooker Pork Chops
Lil' Cheddar Meatloaves
Twice Baked Potatoes
Fajita Chicken (just cook some chicken and season with fajita seasoning.  Put in freezer and just reheat when ready to use.)

I'm also bringing for breakfast/snacks:
Butterhorns (filled with chocolate chips and cinnamon sugar)
Zucchini Muffins
Apple Pie Muffins

Quick Burritos

Just a quick easy burrito I made to put in the freezer.  Wrap them individually and then you can just pull them out and nuke them.

Spread some refried beans onto a tortilla shell.  Top with some cooked ground beef (I seasoned mine with chili powder and cumin), taco sauce, and shredded cheese.  Roll up and wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag.  Microwave when ready to eat.

Southwest Turkey Soup

You must like ground turkey to like this soup.  I think next time I may try it with ground beef.  I like turkey, but only if it's cooked a certain way, or with certain ingredients.  This wasn't bad, don't get me wrong, just may tweak it some next time.

Found the recipe in the Taste of Home magazine, December/January 2011 issue page 38.

Southwest Turkey Soup

In a Dutch oven, brown 1lb. ground turkey in 1 Tb olive oil. (I omitted the oil and added a small onion during this step.)  Drain if needed.  Add two cans rinsed and drained kidney beans, 2 cans (14 oz each) chicken broth, 2 cups frozen corn, 1 cup salsa, 1 can (4 oz) green chilies and 1 Tb chili powder.  (I seasoned my meat with chili powder and cumin so I did not add anymore here.)  Bring to a boil; cover and simmer fro 10 minutes.  Serve topped with sour cream and fresh cilantro.

Serves 6

Shepherd's Pie

I'm better about posting so far this year but I'm worse about taking pictures!  I forget until after we've eaten but then my pretty picture is messed up so I skip it.

Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground beef
2 cup hot mashed potatoes
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup beef gravy

375 degrees.  Brown meat in skillet.  Drain.

Mix potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, and garlic until well blended.

Stir vegetables and gravy into meat.  Spoon in 9 inch baking dish.  Cover with potato mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.

6 servings

**I of course don't follow this exactly. We aren't fans of frozen vegetables so I used a can of green beans, a can of peas, a can of carrots, and some frozen lima beans (I was out of corn or we would have used that too.)

I think it would be better with homemade gravy but I have hardly ever made gravy so I wouldn't know where to begin.  Something I guess I should experiment with huh?

I also doubled the meat and veggie mixture and froze that.  When ready, thaw and add fresh mashed potatoes and cheese.

Enchirito

I think these would be better with the sauce I use on my chicken enchiladas:  enchilada sauce, tomato soup, and cream of mushroom soup.  I put a batch in the freezer without sauce so when I make those in a couple weeks I'm going to try them with the enchilada sauce.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 pack taco seasoning
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can refried beans
1/4 cup shredded cheddar
12 burrito sized tortillas
extra grated cheese and extra sauce for top

Spicy Beef Directions:
Brown ground beef and diced onions in large skillet.  Drain off excess fat and add taco seasoning.  Stir in 3/4 can of enchilada sauce (around 1 cup) and set pan aside.

Cheesy Beans Directions:
Stir shredded cheese and beans together and warm in the microwave.

Enchirito Directions:
Nuke some tortillas for about a minute or so.  You want them to be soft and pliable.  Spread on some warm cheesy beans and some spicy meat.  Roll it over, fold over the ends, and roll over again.  Place in a baking dish.  Top with extra cheese and sauce.  Bake until warm and cheese is bubbly, about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Creamy Spinach Ricotta Pasta

I don't have a picture because I thought I had posted this and found out that I hadn't.  So sorry!

Creamy Spinach Ricotta Pasta

1 lb rigatoni
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes w/ basil, onion, and garlic
1 cup fresh or frozen chopped onions
1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach
2 1/2 cup jarred alfredo sauce
1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 Tb olive oil

425 degrees.  Coat 13 x 9 inch baking dish with spray.

Bring large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook pasta.  Drain; return to pot.  Stir in tomatoes and chopped onions.   Cook spinach in microwave.  Squeeze out moisture.  Transfer to a bowl.  Add alfredo sauce, ricotta, garlic salt and pepper; stir to combine.

Transfer spinach mixture to pasta pot; toss to combine.  Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish.  Mix together bread crumbs, parmesan, and oil.  Sprinkle over pasta.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

8 servings

*I don't use canned tomatoes.  I just use some chopped onion and tomato alone.  Then season as desired. 
*I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta.

Wild Rice Chicken Supreme

I got this dish from a friend when I had my daughter.  Asked for the recipe and it quickly became a favorite.  Easy to make and works well for the freezer.  If you wanted to make it more frugal you could even leave out the chicken.  In fact, I prefer it that way.

Wild Rice Chicken Supreme

1 box uncle ben's long grain and wild rice

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup flour

3/4 tsp salt

dash of pepper

1 cup half and half

1 can chicken broth

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

1/3 cup chopped pimiento

1/3 cup chopped parsley

Prepare rice according to box.  Meanwhile melt butter in saucepan, add onion and cook for a few minutes until tender.  Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.  Gradually stir in half and half and chicken broth (whisking in).  Cook, stirring constantly until thickened.  Stir in chicken, pimiento, parsley, and cooked rice.  Place in 2 quart casserole dish.  Bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Servers 6-8

Pasta Roll Ups

Pretty much like lasagna but I get tired of doing things the same way all the time.

It didn't call for meat but my husband requested it so I added it in.  I think it made it better.  I also left out the green onions and used cottage cheese instead of ricotta.

Pasta Roll Ups

1 egg, beaten

1 container - 15 oz - ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded Italian three cheese blend

4 green onions, chopped

1 Tb Italian seasoning

1 jar - 26 oz - spaghetti sauce, divided

16 lasagna noodles (I used 20)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

375 degrees.

Mix first 5 ingredients until well blended.

Spread 1/2 cup sauce on bottom of 9x13 dish.  (I used two 8x8 so I could freeze one.  I got 10 rolls in each one.)  Spread each noodle with 3 Tb cheese mixture; roll up.  Place, seam side down, in dish.  Top with remaining sauce and parmesan.  Cover.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until heated through, uncovering last 10 minutes.

If frozen--thaw overnight in fridge.  Bake, covered, 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until heated through, uncovering last 10 minutes.

This post is linked to:

Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free

What's Cooking Wednesday at Turning Back the Clock

A Southern Fairytale

Tasty Tuesdays at A Beautiful Mess

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Tuesday at the Table at All the Small Stuff

Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns

I snitched one bite of these and all I can say is  YUM!!  Can't wait for breakfast in the morning.  Be warned that this make a LOT of dough.  I could barely use my electric hand mixer because there was so much.  It said that it makes 2 dozen but I think I ended up getting 33 buns, most of which are in the freezer.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns

2 Tb active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
4 eggs
1 cup shortening
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1/3 cup instant butterscotch pudding mix
1 tsp salt
7 to 8 cups flour

Filling:
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing:
3 Tb water
2 Tb butter, softened
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add eggs, shortening, pumpkin, milk, sugars, pudding mixes, salt, and 6 cups flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).

Turn onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.  Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough; divide in half.  Roll each portion into a 12 inch x 8 inch rectangle; brush with butter.  Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2 inch of edges.

Roll up jelly roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal.  Cut each into 12 slices (or more).  Place cut side down in two greased 13 x 9 inch baking dishes.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 22-28 minutes, or until golden brown.  In a small bowl, combine water, butter, and cinnamon.  Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.  Spread over buns.  Serve warm.

Tortellini Soup

The best soup ever!!  Unfortunately I'm the only one in my family who really loves this recipe.  My husband eats it because that's what's for dinner but he doesn't love it.  And my kids will eat a couple bites of a tortellini but that's it.  Good think I like it enough to eat all the leftovers!

Tortellini Soup

Brown 1 lb. of Italian sausage with the casings removed.  Saute 1 chopped onion and 2 large garlic cloves.  Combine above.

Add 2 cans of chicken or beef broth
1 oz can of tomato soup
1 diced green pepper
1 sliced carrot
3/4 lb can chopped tomatoes
2 Tb basil
1 tsp oregano

Simmer 40 minutes.  Add 8 oz cheese tortellini 5 minutes before serving.  Best when soup is made ahead.  Add tortellini last.

**We aren't big fans of chunks of tomatoes so here's what I use in mine:

Jimmy Dean Italian sausage
1 can tomato soup
1 can tomato sauce
beef broth
green pepper, red pepper, carrot
onion, garlic
basil, oregano
I probably doubled the amount of tortellini

***I also make a double batch of this.  It freezes well if you make it to the point of adding the tortellini.  Then all you have to do is thaw is, get it simmering, and add the tortellini.

This post also linked to:
Mouth Watering Monday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Pumpkin Muffins

I posted a Lemon Muffin recipe like this not too long ago, explaining that I could never find canned pumpkin around here to make the pumpkin ones that I liked.  Well, I finally found some and bought 5 large cans so I made some muffins with one of them.  This is the most simple recipe and freezable as well.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 can pumpkin pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger

Mix pie filling and cake mix until thoroughly mixed.  I don't like many seasonings so I only add two or three shakes of cinnamon and one or two shakes of nutmeg and ginger.  Mix until combined then bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

Criss Cross Apple Buns

Okay, so pardon the picture!  Next time I realize I need to make the "Xs" smaller so they aren't gapping wholes on top.  I also need to add more filling next time.  They were really good on top but the bottoms were just all biscuit.  The picture in the magazine looked really good and I think a tiny "x" on top would work.  I will definitely make these again though.  They were tasty and very easy to make.  I froze them before baking and have another batch in the freezer, ready to try the adjusted way.

Criss Cross Apple Buns

1 1/3 cup chopped peeled tart apples
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2 Tb all purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
dash salt
1 pkg large refrigerated flaky biscuits
2 tsp butter, melted

In large microwavable-safe bowl, combine apples, walnuts, raisins, 3 Tb sugar, flour, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, and salt.  Microwave 2-3 minutes or until almost tender.

Flatten each biscuit into a 5-inch circle.  Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle a rounded teaspoonful of sugar mixture over each biscuit.  Top with 1/4 cup apple mixture.  Bring up edges to enclose mixture; pinch edges to seal.  Make like a little ball.

Place seam side down in ungreased muffin tin.  Brush tops with butter; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.  With a sharp knife, cut an "X" int the top of each.

Bake at 350 degrees fr 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely.

Apple Turnovers

I only baked one of these to try it and stuck the rest in the freezer.  Next time I think I'll make them smaller and cut the extra dough off the edges.  I sprinkled mine with powdered sugar but I think they'd be good with an icing, which I'm not good at making but I might try the next time I bake these.  I'll say this wasn't the best of recipes.  The taste isn't bad but I think the dough could be more flaky or something.  Might try a different recipe next time.

Also, I doubled this and got 7 turnovers.  But if you made them smaller you could get more I guess.  Just didn't seem to make much dough.


Apple Turnovers

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter or Crisco
1 pkg (3 oz.) cream cheese

Combine.  Make into 4-6 little balls.  Chill.

FILLING:
1 1/2 cup chopped apples (fine)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Mix together.  Spoon into rolled dough to make individual turnovers.  Seal edges with a fork.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Apple Bread

I haven't tried this yet but it sure smelled yummy!  I double this recipe and got three regular sized loaves out of it.  They're all in the freezer at the moment but I'm looking forward to trying this.

Apple Bread

2 cups flour (I used half white and half whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups peeled, finely chopped apples
1/2 cup pecans, optional

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in dry ingredients and apples and pecans a half at a time.

Pour into well greased, well floured, 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans.  (Or small loaf pans, or muffins)

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Remove to cool.