Shredded Beef for Tacos

Credit: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 (4 pound) frozen rump roast
• 1 cup chicken broth/stock
• 2 (7.75 ounce) cans Mexican style hot tomato sauce (I used El Pato)
• 3 tablespoons crushed garlic
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Place the frozen roast in the slow cooker. Pour the chicken broth and Mexican style hot tomato sauce over the top. Season with garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

2. Cover, and cook on Low for 9 hours. When done, the roast should shred easily with a fork. Shred the roast into the juices, and mix in the chopped green onions and cilantro.

Makes 10 servings. (I used 1 lb. of brisket instead and cut the recipe to 1/4 and it turned out great! Or you could have lots of yummy leftovers.)

Easy Chicken & Rice

Credit: Jenn Eastman

Ingredients:

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can chicken gumbo soup
• 1/2 C milk
• 5 pieces of chicken
• 1 1/3 C minute rice
• 1 package dry onion soup mix

Directions:

Mix soups, milk, and rice in bowl. Transfer to large, greased casserole dish. Lay chicken skin side up on top of mixture. Sprinkle with onion soup mix. Cover with foil or lid. Bake at 325 for 2 hours.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Credit: Jenn Eastman

Ingredients:

• 3/4 C butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 C sugar
• 1 small can pumpkin
• 3 3/4 - 4 C flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Add can of pumpkin. Mix well. Add all dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes.

Pizza Dough

Credit: Sue Cornwall (www.suesfood.blogspot.com)

Ingredients:

• 3 C warm water
• 2 Tbsp yeast
• 6 tsp sugar
• 3 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp oil
• 6 C flour
  

Directions:

Mix the above ingredients and knead for 8 minutes. Let rise 35-40 minutes. Fit into pizza pans and let it rise slightly. Makes enough dough for 3 pizzas (it makes really thick crust so adjust according to your liking).

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Credit: Kristen Monson (from Amber Wardell)

Ingredients:

• 6 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 C melted butter
• 3 C flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 C milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Mash bananas; add sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Add all dry ingredients (don't overmix). Stir in chocolate chips. Place muffin liners in muffin pans. Pour batter, filling each cup 2/3 full. (Optional: sprinkle 1 tsp sugar on top of each muffin.) Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes. Makes approximately 24 muffins.

Serving Up Salmon

Credit: Jamie Huish Stum (and family)

Technique #1

Ingredients:

• Salmon
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Lemon Pepper

Directions:

Put fish on foil lined baking sheet, heat oven to Broil. Drizzle olive oil over the whole fish, then sprinkle salt, pepper and lemon pepper generously on top. Broil 10-12 min. until fish is flaky and not gooey in the middle. Don't overcook! It will keep cooking for about 90 sec. after you take it out.

Technique #2

Ingredients:

• Salmon
• Butter
• Johnny's Seasoning
  

Directions:

Put fish on foil lined baking sheet, heat oven to Broil. Spread butter over fish, sprinkle Johnny's Seasoning on top. Broil 10-12 min.

Technique #3

Ingredients:

• Salmon
• 1/2 C mayonnaise
• 2 T regular mustard
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  

Mix mayonnaise with regular mustard. Stir in Italian seasoning. (All measurements are approximate; you can do more or less of either depending on how strong you like the dill taste.)
Put fish on foil lined baking sheet, heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour mixture over top of fish. Extra is always yummy if it spills on the sides a bit! Cook fish for 30 min. and enjoy! The sauce makes a kind of baked crust on top-- it is so good.

Ideas for sides:
red potatoes, asparagus, spinach salad

Fruit Smoothies

Credit: Lori Frost

Ingredients:

• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup frozen fruit of choice
• 3 scoops sherbet (orange or raspberry are delicious)

Directions:

Pour juice into blender. Add frozen fruit; then scoop sherbet on top. Blend thoroughly until desired consistency (add more orange juice or water to thin; add more sherbet or fruit to thicken).

Flavor Ideas:

1. For a smoothie with a "kick," try: orange juice, orange sherbet, blueberries, pineapple, and peaches.
2. For a "smoother" smoothie, try: orange juice, raspberry sherbet, bananas, and strawberries.
3. For another taste, try substituting apple juice for orange juice and use frozen vanilla yogurt instead of sherbet. Ex: apple juice, frozen vanilla yogurt, and pineapple -- along with 2 Tbsp. coconut milk -- makes a great pina colada smoothie. Or, apple juice, frozen strawberry yogurt, strawberries, and bananas makes a great strawberry banana smoothie.

Healthy Idea: Just replace sherbet with your flavor of yoplait light yogurt. This changes the texture just a bit, but it still has a delicious flavor! 3 ingredients: yogurt, frozen fruit, and orange juice. It's as easy as that!

Simple Crusty Bread

Credit: "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day," by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp yeast (... remember: 1 Tbsp = 3 tsp, so 1/2 Tbsp = 1 1/2 tsp)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
• 6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour + more for dusting dough
• Cornmeal

Directions:

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as 2 weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a round top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour 1 cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Makes 4 loaves.

Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack. Bake as directed above, until well browned.

Tony Roma's Potato Soup

Credit: Jenn Eastman (and www.topsecretrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Chopped Potato (baked and cooled)
• 3 Tbs. Butter
• 1C Diced White Onion
  
• 2 Tbsp. Flour
  
• 4 C. chicken broth
  
• 2 C Water
  
• ¼ C Corn Starch
  
• 1 ½ C instant mashed potato
  
• 1 t Salt
  
• ¾ t Pepper
  
• ½ t basil
  
• 1/8 t thyme
  
• 1 c Half & Half
  

Garnish:

• ½ C Cheddar Cheese
• 2 Diced Green onions (only green part)
• ¼ C cooked bacon bits

Directions:

Bake potatoes. Skin and scoop out insides. Dice.

Melt Butter in saucepan. Add White Onion and sauté. Add flour and stir well. Add Chicken broth, water, cornstarch, Instant potatoes, and the spices. Stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Then, add the diced potatoes and half & half, only simmering for 15 minutes. Garnish bowls separately when serving.