Baked Penne

1/2 lb. extra-lean ground beef or Italian Sausage 1/2 cup chopped onions  1/2 cup green peppers (I left this out b/c I don't like green peppers) 1 jar(24 oz.) spaghetti sauce 1 tub(10 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme, divided 1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided 3 cupscooked penne pasta Heat oven to 350°F.  Brown meat with vegetables in large nonstick skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce, 3/4 cup cooking creme and 1/2 cup mozzarella; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted. Add pasta; mix lightly. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole; top with remaining cooking creme and mozzarella. Cover. Bake 20 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 15 min. www.plainchicken.com

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Whipped cream, for serving
• Zucchini ribbons, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, and chocolate chips. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove loaves from pans and cool. Chill before slicing. Serve with whipped cream and ribbons of zucchini.

Paula Dean, Food Network

Layered Zucchini Parmesan

ingredients:

3 large zucchini, sliced into 1/3-inch coins
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated and divided in half
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup marinara sauce, homemade or bottled
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Blot zucchini coins with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Place zucchini in a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil, turning to coat each piece. In a separate bowl, combine half the parmesan, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper.
2. Dip each zucchini coin into the parmesan mixture, turning to coat and pressing the breading slightly to ensure it sticks. Place breaded zucchini coins in one even layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until browned and crisp.
3. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Coat the bottom of a small baking dish with marinara sauce. Layer one third of the crisp zucchini coins over marinara, overlapping if necessary. Sprinkle zucchini layer with mozzarella and the remaining parmesan. Repeat the layers 3 times (or until the zucchini is gone, depending on the size of your baking dish) ending with a sprinkling of cheese.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Banana Nut Muffins

Banana Nut Muffins Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 30 minutes

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INGREDIENTS

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tbsp espresso or strong coffee (optional)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup of flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (toasted or raw)

METHOD

No need for a mixer with this recipe.

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.

2 Mix in the sugar, egg, espresso and vanilla.

3 Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.

4 Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chopped walnuts.

5 Pour mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, it's done. Cool on a rack.

Yield: Makes 12 muffins.

simplyrecipes.com

Pioneer Woman Restaurant Style Salsa

Ingredients

• 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
• 2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
• 1/4 cup Chopped Onion
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
• 1/4 teaspoon Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)
• 1/2 whole Lime Juice

Preparation Instructions

Note: this is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like---I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

Grilled Pizza

Grilled pizza instructions from ourbestbites.com

Spicy Honey Chicken

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 2lbs

everyone is always asking me if they can use breasts for this. Sure you can, but I’m tellin’
ya right now it’s better with thighs.

2 t vegetable oil

Rub

2 t granulated garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder

Glaze
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.

Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces.Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it’s not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

I’m gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It’s sugar, and it’s gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It’s totally worth it once you taste this stuff.

If you don’t have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

Remember how I had you reserve that extra couple tablespoons of glaze? Ya, drizzle that on top now. Your taste buds will thank you.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

24 good white dinner rolls

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy seed sauce (you probably could half this...I had plenty extra)
1 Tablespoon poppyseeds
1 1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. You do not have to use all of the sauce! Just use enough to cover the tops. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes or until tops are slightly brown and crispy. Serve warm.

** sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

thegirlwhoateeverything.com

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

2 C low-fat milk

1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Place milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

ourbestbites.com

Herb Tomato Soup

In a large sauce pan

Melt 1/4 c. butter

Cook 1 c. diced onions until tender

Add:

1 (20 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained

1 (6 oz.) can of tomato paste

1 Tbsp. snipped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dry basil

1 Tbsp. fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

4 c. chicken broth

Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30-40 minute. Remove from heat. Let cool and blend until puree. Return to sauce pan and heat through.

Southwest Taco Soup

3 chicken breasts

Valentina hot sauce

2 cans chicken broth

3 cans italian stewed tomatoes

1 bunch cilantro, with the stems removed

salt to taste

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans sweet corn, drained and rinsed

Stick the chicken breasts in a crock pot and smother with Valentina hot sauce. Cook on high for three hours or until you can shred up the chicken with a fork. Add the chicken broth. Blend the stewed tomatoes until smooth then add the cilantro and pulse a few times. Add the tomato mixture to the crock pot, then the corn and black beans and salt. I also like to add some more hot sauce here because I like it spicy, but this part is optional. Let cook for about 1 more hour. Serve in individual bowls. Top with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Makes a big batch. Freezes very well.

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 c. shortening

1 1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. milk

Beat until creamed then add:

3 cups quick oats

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix at low speed just until blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls unto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

We add different extras to the cookie base, this time we did milk chocolate chips and toasted coconut and they were really yummy. Other yummy versions:

butterscotch chips

mini peanut butter cups

white chocolate chips with macadamia nuts

raisins

m&m’s

white chocolate and dried cranberry

chocolate, mini marshmallows, and chopped almonds

You really can’t go wrong. Enjoy!

Favoritefamilyrecipes.com

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

I baked these on my stone for 10 minutes and they turned out perfect. Soft and chewy.

I added the 1/2 cup powdered sugar to the cookie dough, by accident, turned out great.

LDS living cookie contest winner

Penne and Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

• 2 cups (8 oz.) dry penne pasta
• 8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
• 2 cups (8-oz. pkg.) shredded Italian-style four-cheese blend
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

PREPARE pasta according to package directions, adding sun-dried tomatoes to boiling pasta water for last two minutes of cooking time; drain.

MEANWHILE, COMBINE evaporated milk, cheese, basil, garlic powder and pepper in medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.

ADD pasta and sun-dried tomatoes to cheese sauce; stir until combined.

Bagels

Mark Bittman's Bagels

3.5 cups bread or all-purpose flour (i always use bread flour)

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. instant yeast

2 T. malt syrup, maple syrup, molasses or sugar

water

1. Put the flour in a food processor. Add the salt, yeast and sweetener and process for 5 seconds. With the machine running, pour, don't drizzle 1 1/4 cups water down the feed tube. Process for about 30 seconds until the dough comes together. The dough should be well defined and slightly sticky. Turn the dough on a tabletop and knead for a few seconds on a lightly floured surface, adding a little flour at a time.

2. Dump the dough into a large bowl. Cover loosely and let rise for 2 hours at room temperature, or until about doubled in size.

3. Deflate the ball and let it rest for about 10 minutes on a floured surface, loosely covered. Cut or shape the dough into 8-12 pieces (for one batch) Keep the balls lightly dusted with flour or covered while you work on them so they don't dry out. Let them rise, covered for 1/2 hour.

4. Bring a large pot of water to boil - preheat the oven with a pizza stone or baking sheet to 400 degrees. Drop the bagels, into the boiling water. Boil one minute per side. Put on a rack to drain.

5. Lightly grease your baking sheet, or use parchment paper or cornmeal for a pizza stone and put the boiled bagels on your stone or sheet. Spray (or dump some water on the bottom of your oven) and bake your bagels for 30 minutes. After five minutes, spray or add some more water.

http://www.amazon.com/Barley-Malt-Syrup-fl-oz/dp/B0007PQC3M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311271887&sr=8-1

This is a link for where to buy Malt Syrup

Adrianne Campbell

Sticky Sweet Ribs

• 2 racks pork back ribs, about 4 pounds
• 1 1/2 cups barbeque sauce, plain
• 1/4 cup pancake syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons white vinegar

1. Mix sauce, syrup and brown sugar, set aside
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
3. Place ribs in their racks (I just mean do not cut them) onto a large cookie sheet
   
4. Pour vinegar into dish with ribs and cover tightly with aluminum foil
5. Bake about 75 minutes or until very tender
6. Remove from oven and carefully lift off tin foil - watch out for steam
7. The ribs are now fully cooked and just need to be 'sauced' finished' and you have 2 options:
8. 1. Heat bbq to medium and place ribs meat side down without sauce - but you can baste the back with the sauce
9. Cook until they start to develop grill marks, and turn over - now baste the top
10. You could stop here after they grill a bit on this side, or you could baste them a bit more and then give them a couple more minutes meat side down - that's what I do
11. 2. Heat broiler to high and place ribs on a baking sheet about 4 inches from the heat source
12. Brush top of the ribs well with the sauce and cook until they start getting a bit brown - then flip to the back, sauce and cook some more
13. Flip back to the top (sauce again) and cook until they get that beautiful rib look
14. Then, no matter how you cooked them, give 'em one extra baste them after they've been removed and just before you serve them.

Video link to the recipe tutorial

Adrianne Campbell

Dad's Spareribs

These barbecued ribs can be cooked on the grill or in the oven

6 pounds spareribs

1 medium onion quartered, studded with 6 whole cloves

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme

½ teaspoon dried marjoram

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup dry red wine (red wine vinegar can be substituted)

1/3 cup ketchup (chili sauce is an excellent substitution)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons honey

2 cloves garlic finely minced (I always use garlic powder instead)

1/3 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

Directions for pork ribs

Cut ribs between rib bones. Place in a large pot; cover with water. Add clove studded onion and herbs to ribs in pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 45 minutes, or until ribs are tender. Remove ribs and place in a shallow roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine red wine, ketchup, soy sauce, ginger, honey, garlic and barbecue sauce; stir well. Pour sauce over meat, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours (better if marinate over night). Grill ribs or bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Baste pork ribs with marinade frequently during cooking. Barbecued ribs recipe serves 6.

I have found that short ribs are much easier to work with than a full rack of pork ribs. Most packages of pork short ribs are about 2 ½ pounds each, so I usually cook 2 sides of ribs at once. If you want extra thick sauce, add ketchup or barbecue sauce to the recipe. All the herbs and slow cooking get all of the fat out of the ribs, add tremendous flavor and make the ribs much more tender.

Dennis Lancaster

Venola's Cranberry Salad

Grind 1 pound fresh cranberries (I put them in the food processor)

Add 1 C. sugar and

1/2 pound mini marshmellows

Refrigerate these first 3 ingredients overnight

Before serving, add:

1 small can crushed pineapple (I drain off the juice)

2 apples diced

1 C. Walnuts

Fold in 1 C. whipped cream (I whip the cream and add a little vanilla and powdered sugar)

Sweet Grandma Venola

Coconut oatmeal cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 ½ cups coconut

350 degrees. My cookies took 11 minutes on the stone.

Jacklyn Edwards

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 12 oz package Chocolate Chips
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup Cristco
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugars, butter, Crisco, egg and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop by rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown, 8-10 minutes.

BJ and Rachel Cox

Tastes Like Lasagna Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chuck
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 (32-ounce) box chicken broth
• 2 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups broken lasagna noodles
• 1 (5-ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large Dutch oven, combine ground chuck, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is browned and crumbles. Drain well.

Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Preheat broiler. Ladle soup into 8 to 10 ovenproof bowls. Evenly sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil soups, 6-inches from heat, 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Paula Dean

Macho Nachos

1 can refried beans
1 large bag white corn tortilla chips
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can chili (recommended Hormel) or your favorite chili recipe
1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup green onion, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 jalapeno sliced

Directions

Have all ingredients prepared and ready to assemble nachos.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan on low, heat refried beans until they are loose enough to spoon onto nachos. On a large oven proof platter, spread out tortilla chips and quickly put a teaspoon of hot refried beans on each chip. Working quickly, sprinkle with onions, Jack cheese, and jalapeno slices. Spoon on chili and top that with Cheddar cheese. Repeat this layering process until ingredients are used up. Place chips in the oven at 350 degrees until cheese has melted. Remove from oven and place on a trivet or heatproof surface. Top nachos with sour cream, green onions, diced tomato and jalapeno slices and serve hot.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Hawaiian Ham

This is a great recipe to use up holiday ham.

2 1/2 c. Ham
1/3 c. bell pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. pineapple juice
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 c. pineapple chunks

Saute ham and peppers until lightly browned.
Mix together cornstarch and water. Add pineapple juice, brown sugar, mustard and ginger.
Pour over the ham and peppers. Stir until sauce thickens. Add pineapple chunks and warm. Serve over rice.

Lynne Lancaster