Banana Cream Supreme (Karina A.)

-16 graham cracker squares (1 1/4 cups crushed)
-1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
-3 Tbsp sugar
-1 container (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
-1 container (8 oz) sour cream
-1 pkg (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
-3 medium bananas, sliced
-2 Tbsp pecan halves, grated
-Strawberry fans (opt)

Finely crush graham crackers in resealable bag; place in mixing bowl. Add butter and sugar; mix well. Press onto bottom of springform pan. In another bowl, whisk whipped topping and sour cream until blended. Add pudding mix; whisk until mixture is well blended and smooth. Spread half of filling over crust. Arrange sliced bananas over filling, then spread remaining filling over bananas. Grate pecans and sprinkle on top. Put in fridge for minimum of 30 minutes. When ready to serve, run small pearing knife around sides of dessert; carefully remove from pan. Garnish with strawberry fan if desired.

PRALINE TURTLE CAKE (Amber K)

PRALINE TURTLE CAKE

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup(s) butter
1 cup(s) brown sugar
1 can(s)(14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup(s) chopped pecans
2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup(s) unsweetened cocoa
2 cup(s) granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 teaspoon(s) salt
2 large 2 large eggs
1 cup(s) sour cream
1/2 cup(s) canola oil
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon(s) white vinegar
1/2 cup(s) fudge topping
1/2 cup(s) chocolate chips, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans and fit a circle of parchment paper large enough to cover 1 inch up the side of each cake pan. Heat the butter, brown sugar, and sweetened condensed milk in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil. Divide the sugar mixture between the prepared pans. Sprinkle 3/4 cup pecans over sugar mixture and set aside to cool. Combine the flour, cocoa, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the eggs, sour cream, oil, vanilla, and vinegar, and 1 cup hot water and mix with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the cake pans -- over sugar mixture -- and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake center comes out clean -- 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn cakes out
onto a cooling rack. Remove the paper and cool completely.
2. Assemble the cake: Spread the fudge topping over the sugar mixture side of one cake layer. Place the second layer over the first and drizzle with the melted chocolate and the remaining 1/4 cup pecans. Frost the cake sides with your favorite chocolate icing.

Serves
16

Candy Filling Recipes (Vicki Susa)

PEANUT BUTTER CUP FILLING (VICKI SUSA)

4 Tbsp. melted butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

Melt butter and add powdered sugar. Add peanut butter. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready for use. The mixture will look dry, but just mush it together before you put it in the mold. If you don’t use it all, it freezes well.


CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRIES FILLING (VICKI SUSA)

1/3 c. soft butter
4 ½ c. sifted powdered sugar
1/3 c. corn syrup
2 tsp. maraschino cherry juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, blend butter, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Add sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time. Then stir in juice. Refrigerate until ready to use. The mixture is not runny like commercial chocolate covered cherries. If you don’t use it all, it freezes well.

Easy Crispy Potato Chicken (Karina)

-2 cups instant mashed potato flakes
-1/4-1/2 cup melted butter
-Lawry's Seasoned Salt
-Pepper
-4 chicken breast halves

Dip chicken pieces into melted butter then roll in dry mashed potato flakes (for a helthier version, spray chicken with Pam then roll in potato flakes). Spray baking dish with Pam and lay chicken in dish. Sprinkle each piece of chicken with Lawry's Salt and pepper and drizzle remaining butter over chicken. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes or until chicken looks golden brown and crispy.

Single Skillet Baked Ziti (Kristi H)

3 cans chopped tomatoes, with juice
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cups water
12 ounces ziti pasta
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon basil (1/4 cup fresh - omit rosemary if using fresh basil)
1/2 cup parmesan (1/4 cup if it's the green can)
3 T powdered milk + 1/2 cup water
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

heat oil in a large skillet. add garlic and cook for a minute or so. add in tomatoes and juice and water. add salt, sugar and pepper. add ziti. stir well and reduce heat to medium-ish. cover and stir every few minutes, maintaining heat for a vigorous simmer, for a total cooking time of 12-15 minutes. after pasta is cooked, stir in rosemary, basil, parmesan and milk. (if you don't have an oven safe skillet, transfer everything to a baking dish.) top with mozzarella and place in a preheated 475 degree oven for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly and browned.

Sweet Chili (Robin B.)

To make this fit the "food storage" theme I will be using dried onion and garlic powder. I am also using ground turkey.

2 lbs. ground beef 2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. EACH cumin, black pepper, and dried oregano
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes 1 can (28 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions
Brown ground beef, onions and garlic. Add all remaining ingredients, except pasta. Bring to a boil; simmer uncovered 30-35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, serve over pasta.

Quick Italian Chicken (Dena)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cans Italian stewed tomatoes

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. oregano (opt.)

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Slightly flatten each chicken breast or cut into strips or bite sized pieces. Place in a shallow baking dish. Cover w/ foil. Bake at 425 for 20 min. or until tender. While the chicken is baking, Combine tomatoes, cornstarch and oregano in a sauce pan. (I usually blend up the tomatoes w/a small handheld blender because my family prefers it smoother.) Stir to disolve cornstarch. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. When chicken is done, remove foil and drain. Pour tomato sauce over chicken and top w/ cheese. Return to oven and bake for 5 min. uncovered, or until it is heated through. Serve over/with rice.

Cranberry Chicken (Kristi H)

2 1/2 pounds chicken breast, no skin, no bone (can use bone-in)
1 envelope onion soup mix
8 ounces French salad dressing, or 1000 Island
1 can cranberry sauce, whole berry
4 cups rice, cooked

1. Combine cranberry sauce, soup mix, and salad dressing and mix well.
2. Lay chicken breasts in 9x13 pan and cover with sauce.
3. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 45 min. (1 hour if using bone-in chicken). Serve with rice.

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Shiloh)

Sweet and Sour Chicken

(This recipe originally appeared in The Friend in April 1991.)

4-8 skinned, boned chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)

1 egg, beaten

cornstarch

oil

sauce (recipe follows)

1. Dip the chicken breast (or bite-sized pieces) into the egg, then roll them in the cornstarch.
2. In a small amount of oil, fry the chicken until just browned.
3. Place the chicken in a shallow baking pan, pour the sauce over it, then bake it uncovered at 325 degrees (160 degrees C) for one hour, turning the chicken every 15 minutes.

Sauce:

¾ c. sugar

4 Tbsp. catsup

½ c. vinegar

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

½ tsp. garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together.

Notes: If you like pineapple, then open a can of pineapple tidbits. Drain the juice and reserve 1/2 c. of it for the sauce. Then add the pineapple juice to the sauce, instead of using vinegar. Add the pineapple tidbits to the chicken.

Also, if you don't want to bake the chicken in your oven, then you can cook it on your stove top. Cook the chicken as directed in the recipe. For the sauce, add about 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch. Stir it all together with a whisk so that you get rid of all the lumps. Then add the sauce to the chicken that has already been cooked. Stir everything together and allow the sauce to boil and thicken up. It will probably take 5 minutes or less for the sauce to thicken.

I like to serve this chicken recipe with rice.

Chicken Breasts Supreme—Crock pot recipe (Robin B.)

I love to make this for dinner. You can start it after lunch and it will be done in time for dinner. I usually keep bacon and Swiss cheese frozen so I have the ingredients on hand. I usually don't bother with the chives and you can really serve it with any vegetable.

2 slices bacon 3 oz. sliced Swiss cheese (or shredded is fine)
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ lb.)
1 (4.5oz.) jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
3 cups frozen broccoli florets
Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet; drain on paper towels and refrigerate. Reserve bacon drippings in skillet.
Add chicken breasts to bacon drippings in skillet; cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned, turning once. Transfer chicken to 4-to-6 quart slow cooker. Top with mushrooms. Spoon soup over mushrooms. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Top mixture in slow cooker with cheeses slices, sprinkle with chives. Crumble bacon over the top and increase heat to high; cook an additional 10-15 min. until cheese melts. Meanwhile, microwave broccoli until crisp-tender. Serve chicken and broccoli on a dish, with juices from slow cooker on top, if desired.

Chicken Crunch (Winnie)

INGREDIENTS:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and deboned
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1/2 cup butter
40 buttery round crackers

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Chop chicken into small pieces and place in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
3. Mix soup and sour cream and pour over chicken. Dot with butter or margarine. Crumble crackers finely and put on top of chicken mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

P.S. I didn't use 1/2 cup of butter, I only used 2 Tbl of butter.

Bean-N-Cheese Tacos (Kristi H)

These sound so... not exciting, but they are YUMMY!

2 cans whole pinto beans
12 corn tortillas
garlic salt
pepper
Monterey jack cheese, sliced
avacado , sliced
salsa

Heat a griddle or large skillet over fairly high heat. While your griddle is heating, warm up one or two cans of whole pinto beans (we use two cans for our family of 4 eaters), undrained, in a saucepan on your stove. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Keep warm. Place corn tortillas on the griddle and heat on one side until starting to crisp. (I like mine more crunchy than soft so I let them heat for a little while.)

Turn the tortillas over and top with two slices of Monterey Jack cheese. Let it heat through until the cheese is melted.

Spoon warm beans onto your tortilla with a slotted spoon. Top with sliced avocado and your favorite salsa. Fold and eat with plenty of napkins.

Basil Pesto

12 leaves fresh basil
1/4 c parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 c nuts (pine nuts, almonds, walnuts)
2 lg garlic cloves, quartered
1 tsp salt
1/4 c olive oil
chicken, optional
pasta, your favorite

In a blender (or food processor), combine everything but oil. Blend until a paste forms, stopping often to scrape sides. With blender on low, gradually add the oil and blend until smooth. Use just enough to lightly coat hot pasta when tossed. If there is remaining Pesto, store in fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to a month. Chicken is great with pesto. If you have leftover chicken you can heat up, in a frying pan, small chunks with a sprinkle of parmesan and garlic salt. Toss in chicken and enjoy!

Greek Pita Sandwiches (Kristi H)

pita bread

Filling:
chicken breast
greek seasoning
onion (green, red, yellow - your favorite), chopped
tomato, chopped or sliced
lettuce, torn
olives, sliced

Greek Sauce:
3/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (or use some of both)
1/3 cucumber, diced very small
1 tsp. mint (optional)
1 tsp. dill
a sprinkle of garlic salt (optional)
greek seasoning (to taste)

How much you need of each ingredient depends on how many sandwiches you're making. One chicken breast will fill about 3-4 pita halves. The quantities for the sauce will make enough for about 6 pita halves.

Brown your chicken in a skillet with a nice coating of greek seasoning on each side, then cut it into bite size pieces. The chicken is good warm or cold in these sandwiches. Chop or slice the other filling ingredients and the cucumber.

The secret is in the sauce. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and use a heaping spoonful or two (or more) for each pita. You can pile everything on top of a whole pita and fold it like a taco or cut the pita bread in two and open up to stuff. Use all the filling ingredients you like and none you don't.

Oven-Baked Chimichangas (Karina Andersen)

-2 1/2 cups chopped chicken
-2 3/4 cups salsa
-1 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp oragano
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 cup water
-1/4 cup butter
-8 flour tortillas
-shredded cheese
-toppings of your choice (guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes)

Combine first 6 ingredients on stovetop. Simmer until most liquid has boiled off. Melt butter, and brush tortillas on one side. Flip tortilla over and fill with 1/3 cup of the mixture. Add 2 TBSP of shredded cheese. Fold and place on greased cookie sheet with fold flap down. Bake at 475 for 13 minutes. Top with favorite toppings.

Lemon Jell-O Salad (Dena)

2 small pkg. lemon pie filling (cook and serve kind)

2 small or 1 large pkg. lemon Jell-O

Make lemon pudding according to directions. Mix the lemon Jell-O with 2 1/2 c. boiling water. Mix finished pudding and Jell-O together and let cool for 5 - 10 min.

2 cans pineapple tidbits (drained)

2 cans mandarine oragnes (drained)

3-4 bananas (sliced)

Pour Jell-O mixture into a 9x13 pan. (You may need to save a little out to fit well.) Stir in the fruit. Allow to set up for several hours. Top w/ Cool Whip. (Recipe can be halved using an 8x8 pan)

Broccoli Salad (Dena)

Salad Dressing:

1/2 c. Miracle Whip

1/4 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. vinegar

Combine Miracle Whip, sugar and vinegar. Can be served immediately, but best if allowed to sit for a few hours.

Salad:

1 bunch broccoli

1/2 red onion

1/2 lb. bacon

1/2 c. cheddar cheese

Chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Chop onion. Fry and crumble bacon. Grate cheese. Toss all together. Stir in dressing right before serving (so that the bacon doesn't go soft).

Chinese Dumplings and Chow Mein recipe (Winnie C)

Chinese Dumplings (potstickers)

Ingredients:
Filling:
1 lb ground pork
1 Tbsp fresh ginger (minced or finely chopped)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
7-8 leaves of Napa (finely chopped into pieces)

Chinese dumpling wrapper
(they are the circled ones)
¼ c water (for sealing up the wrapper)

Directions:
1. Mix all the filling ingredients together.
2. Put a tbsp of filling in the wrapper. Wet the sides of the wrapper with water. Seal the wrapper up.
3. Place the dumpling onto a cookie sheet or plate.
4. If you are only cooking some, then put the rest in the freezer on the plate. (This will prevent them from sticking together. Leave it in the freezer for about an hour then you can put then in a zip lock bag. You can cook them later. They can last for a couple of months.

Cooking:
1. Heat up 1 tbsp of oil in a non-stick pan. Put dumplings in the pan. Pan fry for about 2 mins.
2. Add ¼ c of water in the pan and cover the pan. Should cook about 10-15 mins or until the water evaporates. (Note: cooking about 12-15 dumplings)
3. Uncover the pan and then the dumplings fry about 1 min longer.
4. Ready eat.

Dipping sauce:
Soy sauce or Chinese dumpling sauce.

*You can buy the Chinese dumpling wrappers (produce area) or sauce (Asian aisle) at the Fry's*


Chow Mein

Ingredients:
Chinese style dried noodles (they need to be thin, kind of like thin spaghetti)
1 Chicken breast or 1 slice boneless pork loin – thinly sliced into small pieces
Marinate: 2 tsp of cornstarch, 2 Tbsp of soy sauce
4 eggs
½ cabbage head (chopped)
3 stalk of celery (thin slices 2 in. long)
3 carrots (thin slices 2 in. long)
3 stalk of green onions (thin slices 2 in. long)
5 dried Chinese black mushrooms, thin slices (optional)
salt
oil
Soy sauce
Osyter sauce

Directions:
1. Soak the dried mushrooms in water for about 3 hours. Then you need to slice them.
2. Boil water for the noodles. Cook them "al dante"…you don't want them too soft.
3. Drain the noodles. Add 4 Tbsp of oil to the cooked noodles and some salt. Mix up the noodles. This will prevent the noodles from sticking together.
4. Marinate meat in the ingredients mentioned above. Sir fry the meat…cook thoroughly then put aside.
5. Scramble the eggs then put them aside.
6. Stir fry the mushrooms and add 1 tsp of soy sauce…then put them aside.
7. Add 2 tsp of oil in wok…wait till it's hot, then put celery, carrots and chopped cabbage in the wok. Stir fry about 1 min.
8. Add the noodles and stir fry together. Then add mushrooms, meat, and eggs in.
9. Stir fry everything except for the green onions. Then add about 3 Tbsp of oyster sauce (or however much to your taste).
10. Turn off stove. Mix in green onions.
11. Ready to eat.

Best Ever Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake (from Kraft) (Robin B.)

1 pkg. (8 squares) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
4 eggs
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1 tub (8 oz.) frozen COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round baking pans. Chop 2 of the chocolate squares; set aside. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil and water in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 min. Stir in chopped chocolate. Spoon into prepared pans.
BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 min. Loosen cakes from sides of pans. Invert onto racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.
PLACE frozen whipped topping and remaining 6 chocolate squares in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1-1/2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth, stirring after 1 min. Let stand 15 min. to thicken. Place one cake layer on serving plate; top with one-fourth of the chocolate mixture and second cake layer. Spread top and side with remaining chocolate mixture. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake (Robin B.)

This recipe is easy. I messed up the crumbs this time but hopefully it was enjoyable anyway!

* 1 (18 1/4 ounce) betty crocker white cake mix (I used Pillsbury)
* 1 1/4 cups water
* 1/3 cup oil
* 3 egg whites
* 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
* 2 cups powdered sugar
* 4 teaspoons lemon juice
* 1 cup heavy whipping cream
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup powdered sugar
* 1/4 cup cold butter
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* powdered sugar (for garnish)

Directions

1. Make white cake following directions on box. Pour batter into 10-inch greased cake pan, or springform pan, and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 - 45 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely when it comes out of the oven. (I traced the bottom of my springform pan and lined it with a circle of parchment so I could completely remove it from the pan after it cooled a little.)
2. Make lemon cream filling by mixing cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in lemon juice.
3. Whip cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until it forms stiff peaks. Combine cream cheese mixture with whipped cream. Stir by hand until blended.
4. Make crumb topping by combining flour and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Add butter and dribble in the vanilla extract. Use your hands to mix cold butter into flour and sugar. Break butter into smaller and smaller pieces as you incorporate it into the dry ingredients. Be sure not to press the mixture together. You want to end up with a very crumbly consistency with pieces no bigger than a pea. (If you have trouble making small crumbs, pop the bowl into your fridge for a few minutes.) Chill this crumb topping until you are ready to use it.
5. When the cake is cool, slice it in half through the middle and remove the top. Spread all but 1/2 cup of the lemon cream mixture onto the bottom half of the cake, then carefully replace the top half of the cake.
6. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of cream filling over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of the cake and press it onto the sides all the way around the cake.
7. Now chill the cake for at least 3 hours before your serve it. When you are ready to dig in, slice cake into 12 slices. Serve each slice topped with powdered sugar tapped through a strainer.