Chicken Pot Pie

1/3 C. margarine or butter
1/3 C. flour
1/3 C. chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 c. milk
2 cups cut up- cooked chicken
1 1/4 cup frozen vegetables ( I use California blend: carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.)
2 pie crusts (9 inches)

Melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour cook until bubbly stirring constantly, add onion, salt and pepper. Blend. Remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 min. or until mixture thickens. Add chicken and vegetables (cook first).Pour into prepared shell. cook at 425 degrees for 30 - 35 mins.

You can use fresh vegetables be sure to steam before adding them to the pie filling. Enjoy!

Pork Chops and Apples

6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
3 or 4 unpeeled apples, sliced
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons margarine or butter

Heat oven to 350. Grease a rectangular baking dish.
Spray skillet with non-stick cooking spray and cook pork about 5 minutes, turning once, until brown.
Place apples in baking dish, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Dot with butter. Top with pork. Cover and bake for 1 hour or until pork is slightly pink in center and apples are tender.

Pizza dough

1 cup hot water
3 1/4 c. flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 egg
2 Tbsp. oil (tastes best with olive oil, but is still really good with veggie oil).

Mix all together and knead. Roll out and add your favorite sauce and toppings. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. (If you use a preheated pizza stone, only bake it for 10-12 minutes.)

Chicken Rolls

8 oz box of Cream Cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened (but not too soft!)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 cups cooked cubed chicken breasts
4 oz can mushrooms (optional)
2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls
2/3 cups seasoned stuffing crumbs (crushed well - I put them in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin)

Cream the cheese, 1/4 cup butter and pepper. Stir in chicken & mushrooms. Roll out the crescent rolls slightly. Place a large spoonful of chicken mix on wide end of the roll & roll up. Dip each roll in melted butter and then roll in crushed stuffing mix. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes.

Sauce: 1 can cream of chicken soup thinned slightly with milk. Heat and add 1/2 cup sour cream. Heat again. (Or we've done it without the sauce and with bbq sauce or just sour cream as a topping and it's yummy too. Gravy would probably be good too maybe.)

Note: Mike doesn't like stuffing very much and so I've done it where I just roll it in the butter and without the stuffing and it's yummy that way too!

Baked Quesadillas

1 cup strips of cooked chicken
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1/4 cup diced green chiles, rinsed & drained
4-6 (9in) tortillas, heated
Salsa, sour cream, guacamole (optional)

Combine meat, cheese, ranch, and chiles in bowl. Place about 1/2 cup mixture on each tortilla; fold in half to seal. Put quesadillas on baking sheet. Bake 350 degrees for 15 min. until cheese is melted. Top with salsa, sour cream and guacamole, if desired.

Sidenote: I got this yummy recipe from a friend about 2.5 years ago. I have meant to make it many times but never became brave enough. I finally made it last night. It was really easy and really yummy. I was quite surprised how good it tasted and it wasn't spicy hot like I thought. I folded them in thirds instead of in half and put a tooth pick in them before I baked it. They turned out really good.

Smokey-Flavored Barbecued Ribs

3 1/2 lbs. pork loin back ribs (good on any kind of rib)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 tbls. liquid smoke
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup cola
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce

1. Spray inside of 5-6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.

2. Remove inner skin from ribs. Mix brown sugar, pepper, liquid smoke, garlic, and salt; rub mixture into ribs. Cut ribs into about 4 inch pieces (or small enough to fit into the crock pot). Layer ribs and onion in slow cooker. Pour cola over ribs.

3. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8-9 hours or until ribs are tender. Remover ribs from cooker. Drain liquid from cooker and discard.

4. Pour barbecue sauce into shallow dish. Dip ribs into sauce. Place ribs in cooker. Pour any remaining sauce over ribs. cover and cook on low heat setting 1 hour.


Side suggestions: coleslaw or potato salad, baked beans, and buttermilk biscuits.

Yummy Pork Chops

Place pork chops in a single layer in a baking dish. On each pork chop place:
1 slice of onion
1 slice of lemon
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp ketchup
Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 1:15-1:30. Take the cover off for the last 10 minutes.