New Theme... send in your recipes!!!!

The first weekly theme is:

Summer Lunch!

Ok, if I can keep up, we'll have new themes each week for you to add your recipes to. You don't have to bring them to Recipe Exchange, just email them so they can be posted! Maybe we'll have a respectable cookbook by the end of the year!? You can also email theme requests to the blog. Let's fill this blog up with awesome recipes!!!!

I love Recipe Exchange! I'm so glad it will still be happening and recipes will be posted (if everyone emails them) because we all love to be able to actually taste the recipe before we decide to make it for ourselves.

July's Recipe Exchange Theme is:

Berries!

July 14th at Shiloh's

Peanut Butter Cookies- from Dec. cookie exchange (Shiloh)

Peanut Butter Cookies

(from "Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book", 1989, pg. 117)

½ c. margarine or butter

½ c. peanut butter

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

½ c. sugar

½ c. packed brown sugar or ¼ c. honey

1 egg

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. vanilla

Sugar

In a mixing bowl beat margarine and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add ½ c. of the flour, the sugars, egg, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla. Beat till thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour. If necessary, cover and chill dough till easy to handle.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. If desired, roll in additional sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by crisscrossing with the tines of a fork.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7 to 9 minutes or till bottoms are lightly browned. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Makes about 36.

Snickerdoodles- from Dec. cookie exchange (Shiloh)

Snickerdoodles

(from "Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book", 1989, pg. 117)

½ c. margarine or butter

1 ½ c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

1 egg

½ tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. cream of tartar

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

In a mixing bowl beat margarine or butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about half of the flour, the 1 c. sugar, the egg, vanilla, baking soda and cream of tartar. Beat till thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Combine the 2 Tbsp. sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 11 minutes or till edges are golden. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Makes about 36.

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Pineapple Upside-Down Cake (Shiloh)

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

(from "Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book", 1989, pg. 76 and pg. 77)

2 Tbsp. margarine or butter

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1 8-ounce can pineapple slices, drained and halved

4 maraschino cherries, halved

Batter for Busy-Day Cake

Melt margarine in a 9x1 ½ inch round baking pan. Stir in sugar and 1 Tbsp. water. (I like to use pineapple juice instead of water.) Arrange pineapple and cherries in the pan. Prepare batter for Busy-Day Cake; spoon into the pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen sides; invert onto a plate. Serve warm. Serves 8.

Busy-Day Cake

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

2/3 c. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

2/3 c. milk

¼ c. margarine or butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

In a bowl combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add milk, margarine or butter, egg,, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed till combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute.

Biscuits and Tuna Roll-ups (Shiloh)

Biscuits

(I took the tuna roll-ups to the cookie exchange in Dec. I'm finally posting the recipe.)

(from "Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book", 1989, pg. 66)

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. sugar

½ tsp. cream of tartar

¼ tsp. salt

½ c. shortening, margarine or butter

2/3 c. milk

In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in shortening, margarine, or butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center; add milk all at once. Stir just till dough clings together.

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently for 10 to 12 strokes. Roll or pat dough to ½-inch thickness. Cut with a 2 ½ -inch biscuit cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts.

Transfer biscuits to a baking sheet. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or till golden. Serve warm. Makes 10.

Drop Biscuits: Prepare as above, except increase milk to 1 cup. Do not knead, roll, or cut dough. Drop dough from a tablespoon onto a greased baking sheet. Makes 10 to 12.

To Make Tuna Roll-ups: Make biscuits (not drop biscuits) as directed above. Then roll out on a floured surface. Mix together 1 can drained tuna, about 3 Tbsp. or mayo, and some grated cheese if desired. Roll up in a log (just like you would do for cinnamon rolls). Slice into circles and place on greased baking sheet. Bake as directed above, although you might need to add more time. Just watch them until they are golden brown.

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.