Championship Queso Bean Dip

Here is the recipe for the queso I made last Sunday for the Young Women's and Young Men's Christmas lesson. I originally found the recipe here, but the recipe below has my alterations on it.

1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
1 cup salsa (I used Tostito's Restaurant Style), put in a blender or food processor until smooth
2 cups of a Mexican blend cheese (I used an entire small package of Western Family's)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients; transfer to a 1-1/2-qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or until heated through, stirring once or twice. Serve with tortilla chips and salsa. Yield: 4-1/2 cups.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
1 15 oz can pumpkin
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 bag chocolate chips (2 cups)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cream Shortening and Sugar.
2. Add Pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla; beat well.
3. Stir together all the dry ingredients. Add to batter; mix well.
4. Add Chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on greased cookied sheet.
5. Bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes. Cool on rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting
3 1/2-4 cups powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2/3 cube butter, softened (no subsititutions!)
2 tablespoons hot milk

Beat together until smooth and use to frost cookies.
Yield 6-7 dozen frosted cookies (depending on size.)

These are our favorite holiday cookies!

Mixed Berry Crumble

4 c. blackberries
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. unpacked light brown sugar
1 stick butter melted

Preheat oven to 350*
Place berries in a medium bowl, combine flour and sugar. Remove 3 tablespoons of flour mixture and gently toss with berries. Place berries in an 8 inch square pan.

To make topping, add melted butter to remaining flour mixture, combine well. Crumble little bits of topping over berries. Bake until berries just start to bubble, about 35-40 min.

I use blackberries but you can use blueberries and raspberries too. I also put in a 1/2 c. of oatmeal. It is so yummy and easy!

Easy Potluck Beef and Noodle Bake

I found this recipe here, but altered it some for my family.

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups fine noodles, about 4 ounces (uncooked) - I use thin spaghetti or regular spaghetti broken into about 1 inch pieces
1 can (about 15 ounces) cream-style corn
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of water

Preparation:

In a skillet, brown ground beef, breaking up into chunks. Drain off grease; stir in onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Spoon mixture into a greased 2-quart baking dish. Top with the uncooked noodles. Combine corn, soup, and water in a saucepan or microwave safe bowl. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, or microwave stirring every minute or so. Pour sauce over noodles; stir gently so sauce will flow down to bottom and cover ingredients evenly. Cover dish and bake at 350° for 45 to 60 minutes, until noodles are tender.

Pink Popcorn by Suzy Wettstein(in Ward Cookbook)

• 1 3/4 cup powered sugar
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 tsp. red food coloring
  
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4-5 qts. popped popcorn

In a large pan combine every thing but popcorn. Bring to boil, cook 1-2 minutes;stirring constantly.
Pour over popcorn.

Baked Chicken Strips (Submitted in Ward Cookbook by Carolyn Stewart)

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast

• Ritz crackers, crumbled

• Onion salt

• 1/4 Cup melted butter

• Garlic salt

• Salt and pepper
  

Preheat oven to 425 F. Cut chicken into big strips. Combine crackers and seasonings to taste. Dip chicken in melted butter than roll in cracker mixture. Baked in greased pan covered with foil for 30minutes.

Sweet and Spicy Almonds (Submitted in Ward Cookbook by Mona Mathis)

2 1/2 cups unblanched almonds
1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast until fragrant, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl combine sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper. In a skillet over medium heat, cook honey, water, and olive oil, stirring until combined, 1 minute. Add almonds and toss to coat. Transfer nuts to sugar mixture- do not add extra glaze, toss to coat. Cool in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Rock Cookies (Submitted in Ward Cookbook by Julie Winter)

2 cups raisins
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
5 cups flour
1 cup walnuts, chopped
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil water and raisins for 15 minutes. DON'T DRAIN WATER! When raisins are cool add baking soda. Cream together brown sugar, shortening, eggs and salt. Add raisin mixture and flour. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Hamburger Rice Bake (by Kay Hunter)

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger
1 cup chopped onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup white rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce
Chinese Noodles

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brown hamburger, celery and onions together; place in a deep pan. Mix together remaining ingredients and add salt and pepper to taste. Spread over meat mixture and bake for 45 minutes. Cover with Chinese noodles and bake 15-20 minutes longer.

Bean Dip (Submitted in Ward Cookbook by Janis Ratliff)

1 (16 oz.) can black beans, rinsed
1 can corn
1 can olives
2 bottle salsa (Pace)
1 small can diced jalapenos

Mix together.

Janet's Pink Fruit Salad (Submitted in Ward Cookbook by Gloria Anderson)

4-5 oz. cream cheese, softened
12 oz. frozen or fresh strawberries, no syrup
2 sliced bananas
20 oz. crushed pineapple, well drained
1/2 Cup sugar
12 oz. container Cool Whip

Beat sugar, cream cheese and 5 or 6 thawed, mashed strawberries with the juice. If the mixture is too dry add a few more mashed strawberries. Mixture should be smooth (except for strawberry bits) and thick. Slice and chop remaining berries so you have a variety of sizes. Add strawberries (not juice), cool whip, banana and pineapple; mix well. If the salad is still too dry, add more strawberry juice. If the salad lacks color, fold in some sugar free strawberry jello powder. If the strawberries are too tart, add a little more sugar.

Jaralynn's Cupcakes

CUPCAKES

1 box white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg cheesecake flavored jello pudding
4 eggs
1/4 c oil
3/4 c applesauce

Bake cupcakes according to directions on the box. Frost when cool.

Frosting:
1 pkg cream cheese
3 c powdered sugar, more if needed to desired consistency
1 cube of butter
about 1-2 tablespoons of Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel, plus more to be drizzled on top of the cupcakes once frosted.

Spinach & Feta Pasta

Spinach & Feta Pasta

1 box of Penne pasta (whole wheat pasta works great as an option)
olive oil
Italian seasoning (optional)
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
3 cups fresh spinach
1 onion, finely choped
5 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
a big handful of fresh mushrooms, chopped
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
salt & pepper to taste
Note: I added about 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tbsp sugar, and about 1/2 c half & half (add only after pan has been removed from the heat), and I only used about 3 cloves of garlic.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add pasta. Cook according to package directions. In the meantime, heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms and cook until tender (add Italian seasoning if you want). Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add tomatoes, heat through, add drained pasta and crumbled feta. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat through and serve; you can crumble extra feta on top if you feel like it. This is very similar to the Penne Rosa at Noodles & Co.

Grandma Raty’s Chocolate Cake

Grandma Raty’s Chocolate Cake - Audrey Parker

Devil’s Food cake mix – bake in two rounds, then cut each in half once cool

Whipped Cream – Whip 1 pint heavy cream, then add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/3 cup sugar toward end of whipping time

Chocolate frosting:
1 block butter (1/2 cup), softened
2 1/2 squares of baking (unsweetened) chocolate
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Layer chocolate cake with whipped cream, then frost.

Carmel Cake

Carmel Cake – Cristine Rolfson

1 Devils Food Cake Mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 container hot carmel topping
2 Heath or Skor candy bars (crushed)
2 quarts heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Make cake according to package directions. While cake is baking combine sweetened condensed milk and carmel in a small saucepan and warm over low heat. When cake is removed from the oven and while still hot, take a wooden spoon end and poke holes all over the entire cake. Pour sweetened condensed/carmel mix over the entire cake. Place cake in the refrigerator to cool. While cake is cooling beat both containers of cream until whipped to stiff peaks. When cake is completely cooked spread whipping cream over the entire cake. Top cake with crushed candy bars over the entire cake. Store in refrigerator until time to serve.

Lime-Cilantro Rice

Lime-Cilantro Rice

1 c rice
2 c water
3 cubes chicken bouillon
1/4 bunch chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp dried onion
1 tbsp oil

Cook rice in above mixture and then add juice of 1/3 lime and mix well.

Shredded Chicken Cafe Rio-Style

Shredded Chicken Cafe Rio-Style

5 lb frozen chicken breast
1 cup Zesty Italian Dressing
3 clove garlic
2 tbsp chili powder
3 medium tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp lime juice

Place chicken breasts, chili powder, garlic and Italian dressing in crock-pot, cook for 8 hours. Shred chicken and return to crock-pot. 
Blend tomatillos, lime juice and cilantro. Add to crock-pot with other ingredients. 
Cook for 1 to 2 hours.

Cilantro Dressing

Cilantro Dressing – Cristine Rolfson

1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe on packet)

2 tomatillos (tomato-like vegetable with a husk around them)

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1 or 2 cloves garlic, crushed

juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeno (use the seeds too if you like it spicy.)

Use a food processor or blender to blend all together well and refrigerate.

Shredded Pork Barbacoa

Shredded Pork Barbacoa – Cristine Rolfson

Put 1 pork roast in a crock pot with a very little water and cook until very tender (about 8 hours on low). Shred pork and add:

1 can red enchilada sauce

2 cloves minced garlic (I use three or four because I love garlic)

1 small can diced green chilies

1 can Coke (not diet coke)

1 cup brown sugar (not packed)
salt to taste


Cook for one more hour.



Indoor Smores

8 cups Golden Grahams cereal
5 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup light corn syrup
5 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup miniature marshmallows

Measure cereal into a LARGE bowl. Butter a 9 x 13 pan. In a large microwaveable bowl, add 5 cups marshmallows, the chocolate chips, corn syrup and butter. Microwave uncovered for about 3 minutes, stirring every minute, until melted and smooth when stirred. Stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal; quickly toss until completely coated. Stir in 1 cup marshmallows. Press mixture evenly into pan. I like to use wax paper to press it down in. Let stand at least 1 hour.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I had forgotten about this recipe until someone asked me for it...they had been thinking about this cake for years (I had brought it to a get-together). This cake is so yummy with a caramel sauce - dripping over the cake.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake 2 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 8-ounce can pineapple slices, drained and halved 4 maraschino cherries, halved 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 2/3 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 2/3 cup milk 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1. Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a 9x1 1/2 inch round cake pan. Stir in brown sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Arrange pineapple and cherries in pan. Set pan aside. (We left pineapple in rings and put cherries in the middle) 2. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add milk, the 1/4 cup butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Spoon batter over fruit in prepared pan. 3. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen from pan; invert onto a plate. Serve warm.

Ginger Creams

Ginger Creams

1 c shortening
1 c brown sugar
3/4 c molasses
3/4 c hot water
2 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 c flour

Mix ingredients til well combined. Batter will be very sticky. Bake in oven set to 350 for 10-15 minutes (check after 10 minutes) on a well-greased cookie sheet. Once cool, frost and dip in finely chopped nuts, if desired.

Frosting:
2 c powdered sugar
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla or orange flavoring or lemon juice

I happened to have some leftover cream cheese frosting, so that is what I used and they were SO GOOD. I plan on trying lemon flavored next time.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

I made this recipe once a long time ago and recently re-discovered it... I had forgotten how good it is! I will post the original recipe - which is nice because it includes low-fat options - with some notes on the changes I made when making it the other night.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (I just use 1 bullion cube dissolved in a cup of boiling water)
2 (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chiles, divided
1 3/4 lb skinned, boned chicken breasts
2 tsp olive oil
1 c chopped onion
1 c evaporated skim milk (I used good old 1%)
1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I was out of this so I just left it out and added more cream cheese)
1/4 c tub-style light cream cheese (I used about 4 oz of regular cream cheese)
1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
12 (6-in) corn tortillas (I usually only have small flour tortillas on hand, so that's what I use - I only needed about 6)
cooking spray
1/2 c shredded reduced-fat extra sharp cheddar cheese (regular cheddar for us)
1 ounce tortilla chips, crushed - about 6 chips (6?! I crushed a good handful of leftover Cafe Rio chips - YUM)

Combine broth and 1 can of chiles in a large skillet; bring to a boil. Add chicken; reduce heat, and simmer 15 min or until chicken is done, turning chicken once. Remove chicken from cooking liquid, reserving liquid; cool chicken. Shred meat with two forks and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add 1 can of chiles and onion; saute 3 min or until soft. Add reserved cooking liquid, milk, Jack and cream cheese, and enchilada sauce; stir well. Stir in shredded chicken; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place 4 tortillas in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Spoon 2 cups chicken mixture over tortillas. Repeat layers twice, ending with chicken mixture. (I used a 9" glass cake pan and layered 1 tortilla with the chicken mixture until the chicken was gone, or til I reached the top of the pan.) Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and chips. Bake at 350 for 30 min or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 10 min before serving.

Save the Date - Chocolate Mint Sandwich class

Mark your calendars: Tuesday, February 9, 6:30 at the church, we will be having a demonstration and will make our own batch of chocolate mints (one batch makes approx 88-100 pieces). You may choose from dark or milk chocolate; mint, orange or cherry flavor. Sign-ups will be passed around on Sunday, or you can email me at rrrmathis@yahoo.com. Cost will be $8.50 - I will need to collect the money no later than Feb 7. You will need to bring a large cookie sheet (17"x12"), a rubber scraper and a small paring knife (no serrated edge!). The class will run about 1 1/2 hours. Perfect gift idea for Valentine's Day!

Mystery Movie Event - this Tuesday!

Hi ladies,

Don't forget, this Tuesday, 7pm at the church is the RS Mystery Movie Event where the details for the events being planned for the coming year will be revealed... you won't want to miss it!! For those of you who can't make it, I will be posting details later in the week.

:) Mona