Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Absolutely LOVED this recipe and it was a snap to throw together. Since I got it from a blog in the first place I figured I might as well just link to the original recipe as it gives an excellent explanation on how to throw it all together anyways. Here it is:

http://all-things-delicious.blogspot.com/2012/02/creamy-chicken-wild-rice-soup.html

"The" Lasagna

For years I have been making lasagna, yet I was never able to really find exactly what I was looking for. It all came down to taste, and none of the recipes I tried were "tasting" quite right. Then my sweet friend Sharice brought me over a pan of homemade lasagna after the birth of my 8th baby and it was everything I had been looking for and then some! She very kindly shared her secret ingredient and from there I was able to come up with this version that is a consistent favorite at our house. As it turns out, the "secret ingredient" to get it to taste the way I had been wanting all along was sour cream. It was as easy as that:)

"The" Lasagna

1 (16 oz.) box lasagna noodles
1 lb. ground beef, browned & drained
1 (26 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce 'plus' about 1/2 cup for pan bottom
1 (16 oz.) tub cottage cheese
1 heaping cup sour cream
1 tsp. salt
about 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
scant 1 TBSP. dried parsley
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded pizza cheese mix
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Cook and drain lasagna noodles according to package directions. Set aside. Combine the cooked ground beef with the jar of spaghetti sauce. Mix the cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, garlic powder and parsley, eggs, parmesan and 2 cups pizza cheese. Mix well.
Grease a large lasagna pan (10x14-inches). Spread the 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce evenly over the bottom to coat (use more or less as needed to coat). Layer 1/3 of the cooked noodles over top. Spread a generous 1/3 of the meat/sauce mixture over top. Spread 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over top Sprinkle about 1/2 cup mozzarella over top.
Layer the second 1/3 noodles over top. Layer the next generous 1/3 of the meat mixture over top. Spread the last 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture over and sprinkle with another 1/2 cup mozarella.
Top with the last of the noodles. Spread the remaining meat mixture over top. Sprinkle the last of the mozzarella cheese over top. Bake @ 350* F for 40-45 minutes and hot and bubbly throughout. Let stand 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving.
**note** You can make this up 3 days before and cover with foil and refrigerate until baking day if needed and it's still just as delicious as if you made it and baked it the same day.

Tomato Onion Salad

Growing up, my Dad made this salad a lot, but at the time I hated onions so I always picked them out and just ate the tomatoes. Nowadays I have no problem eating every bite of this delicious and easy to throw together salad. It's a particular favorite in the Summer when we have a plenty of freshly picked tomatoes from the garden!

Tomato Onion Salad

2-3 cups roughly chopped tomatoes***
1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced into half circles
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBSP. red wine vinegar
1 TBSP. dried parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 - 1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. grlic powder
1/8 tsp. onion powder
few dashes ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes and onions. Min a separate small bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients and pour over top of the tomato mixture. Toss to coat and mix well. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Best if you let it marinate for at least 2 hours, but still delicious even if you serve it sooner.

*** Plum/Roma tomatoes are my first pick when making this salad just because they are not as juicy as slicing tomatoes, but I've used slicing tomatoes to make this as well and they still give delicious results.

Carrot Sheet Cake

I love a good sheet cake and this one does not disappoint. The best part of the entire cake though has to be the cream cheese frosting. It's amazing! And totally decadent. And worth every single extra calorie, yum!

Carrot Sheet Cake

4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2-3 cups shredded carrots
2/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (opt.)

Preheat oven 350* F. Grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, oil and sugar. Beat until smooth. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add to the egg mixture and mix well. Stir in the carrots and nuts if using. Pour into prepared pan. Bake @ 350* F for 20-25 minutes, until top springs back when lightly touched. Let cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 TBSP. sour cream (opt.)
1 tsp. vanilla
4 - 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (opt.)

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and beat until smooth. Mix well. Spread evenly over top of cake spreading from edge to edge. If desired, sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over the frosting. Chill frosted cake until ready to serve.

Texas "Macadochis" Sheet Cake

This cake, while a fairly common recipe (everyone seems to have their own version of Texas Sheet Cake!), is a heavy favorite at our house. It's incredibly delicious, is often requested for someones birthday cake, and I love bringing it to family gatherings since sheet cakes are quick and easy to throw together. Besides, it's chocolate cake, and that's reason enough to make this!

Texas "Macadochis" Sheet Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup water
1 cup butter***
4 TBSP. baking cocoa
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350* F. Grease a large cookie sheet.
In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar and flour and mix well. Set aside. In a saucepan combine the water, butter and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Pour over the flour/sugar mixture and mix well. Add the buttermilk and stir. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top springs back when touched lightly in the middle.  Pour the warm frosting over top of the still-warm cake, spreading evenly over top and let cool.

*** margarine or shortening work well as a substitution.

frosting:

1/2 cup butter
3 TBSP. baking coca
6 TBSP. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 - 4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 - 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

To prepare frosting- In a saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat until well mixed (I use my electric hand mixer and put the beaters right in my saucepan to mix it). Pour the warm frosting over top of the warm cake. If using pecans, sprinkle them evenly over top.

Eatmore Bars

A recipe I stumbled across that I had copied down from my Auntie Barb. And since Eatmore bars are my absolute fave, I had to add this to the "box".

Eatmore Bars

1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup honey
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped peanuts

Combine the peanut butter and honey in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and vanilla, stir until melted. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Press into an 8x8 pan and let cool. Cut into bars and serve.

Sesame Beef

This was easily the yummiest Chinese-style recipe I have ever made! Hands down, delicious! I served it over cooked spaghetti noodles which I think was the crowning glory. The sauce was so good on those noodles! This is definitely going into my "keeper" file.

Sesame Beef

4 TBSP. soy sauce
4 TBSP. white sugar
4 TBSP. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion
1 lb. round steak, sliced into strips
2 TBSP. sesame seeds 

Mix soy sauce, sugar, oil, garlic, and onions in a large bowl. Set aside. Cut steak into strips and add to bowl (can also mix all of this in a large gallon size ziploc baggie). Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or overnight. Cook in wok or frying pan until brown, about 5 minutes. Add sesame seeds and cook for additional 2 minutes.
**note** When I made this I heated some olive oil in a large saute pan and tossed in 2 bags of frozen stir fry veggies and a bag of frozen broccoli florets. After a few minutes of cooking them, I tossed in the marinated beef, sauce and all, cooking it until the beef was done. I served the beef/veggie mixture over cooked spaghetti noodles and it was insanely good! Also, I used 1 1/2 lbs. cubed beef/stew meat and tripled the sauce recipe to account for the extra beef/veggies additions and to make sure there was enough sauce to cover the noodles. It was the perfect amount for us.

Sister Riley's Sloppy Joes

A great recipe from my brother Mark, given to him by one of his mission companions, and it has been an easy favorite ever since.

Sister Riley's Sloppy Joes

3 lbs. ground beef
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup diced celery
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can tomato soup
3 TBSP. brown sugar
2 TBSP. vinegar
1 TBSP. Kitchen Bouquet
2 TBSP. Worcestershire sauce


Brown ground beef. Drain. Add the onion and celelry and cook for a few minutes until tender. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Serve on buns.

Peanut Butter Frosting

A totally scrumptious frosting that was perfectly creamy and just the right amount of peanut buttery goodness! (We loved it on chocolate cupcakes.) This makes a LOT of frosting, I managed to generously frost 4 dozen cupcakes with this one recipe, so it would make enough to easily frost a 2 layer 9-inch cake. Keep that in mind as you may need to cut it in half for frosting a 9x13 cake. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened/room temp.
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream***

In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in 1/2 of the powdered sugar. Mix in the vanilla and 1/4 cup of the cream. Beat in the remaining powdered sugar. If needed, add a little more cream or milk until the frosting reaches desired spreading consistency.
***Instead of cream you can use regular milk or evaporated milk with the same delicious results.
Makes enough to frost one 2 layer 9-inch cake or 4 dozen cupcakes.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

This was a recipe I got from our Ward cookbook, with the only modification made to enlarge the amounts in order to fill my big casserole dish to feed the lot of us. Oh was it ever delicious! Everyone loved it and I can't wait to make it again.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. cubed frozen hash browns
salt & pepper to taste
2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup
1 3/4 - 2 cups sour cream (fat-free, lite or reg.)
3 cups cubed chicken, raw (can also use breasts or tenders)
8-12 oz. diced ham
12 Swiss cheese slices, processed or deli

Place the frozen hash browns into a greased 11x15-inch casserole dish. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper to taste. In a bowl whisk together the soups and sour cream. Pour evenly over top of the potatoes. Layer the chicken evenly over top. Sprinkle the ham over the chicken. Cover and bake @ 350* F for 1 1/2-2 hours. Uncover and place the cheese slices evenly over top. Bake again for another 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving to let it set up.