Chicken Scallopini

4-8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or can use skinless thighs
6 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
Cooking spray/olive oil
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Brush chicken with juice, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in breadcrumbs.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook on each side or until chicken is done. Add broth and wine to pan, and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Serve with rice.

Pineapple ice cream sandwiches

This was sent to me this morning from my stepmom and it sounded so good, we made it this afternoon. Simple, great way to get the kids to help out and easy ingredients to have on hand pretty much all the time. We made a double batch and used 1 1/2 boxes of graham crackers. Great thing to make ahead for summer snack times!

1- 16 oz container whipped topping, thawed
1- 20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1- 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding
36 graham cracker squares

In a large bowl, beat together the thawed whipped topping, crushed pineapple and vanilla pudding mix for 2 minutes. Spread pineapple mixture 1/2 inch think between two graham crackers. Wrap gently in plastic and freeze for 2 hours.

French Toast

3/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
9 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp sugar
french bread, cut into medium thick slices

Mix all ingredients, except for the french bread, very well in large bowl. Dip sliced bread into mixture, then place on hot griddle or hot pan, coated with cooking spray. Cook until browned on both sides. HELPFUL HINT: between cooking each phase, mix egg mixture well, to prevent cinnamon and nutmeg from collecting on top.

Peanut butter surprises

1 cup butter, soft
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup peanut butter cups, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream all ingredients together, saving peanut butter cups for last. Stir those in with a scraper. Drop by spoonful on baking sheets. Bake for 15ish minutes, or until LIGHTLY browned.

Strawberry preserves

8 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
1 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar

Place strawberries in crockpot. Pour lemon juice and sugar over top. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, stirring occassionally. Can immediately.

Apple butter

about 30ish apples, cored, peeled, and sliced thin
5 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup honey
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp cloves

Throw everything in a crockpot on low for 24 hours. (Can't get any easier than that!) If the liquid needs it, add a little more water (keeping in mind most of it will need to boil out). If there's too much liquid, uncover and continue cooking on low for the last 4 hours.
Can immediately.

Pear coffeecake

2 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
4 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cloves
2 1/2 cups diced pears
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; beat at low speed of a mixer until well-blended. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through cloves); stir well. Gradually add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in pears.
Pour batter into a 9x13-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Breakfast casserole

I am guesstimating on these ingredients, because I just throw it all together.


bag of hash browns
about 2 cups ham, chopped (can be any meat and can use more than one kind)
1 cup sour cream
10 eggs, beaten
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 cups cheese, shredded (any kind)

Place hash browns in bottom of 9x13 in. baking pan. In a large bowl, mix together sour cream, eggs, salt and pepper. In a seperate large bowl, mix together chopped meats and cheese.
Pour egg mixture over hash browns. Top with cheese and meat mixture. Bake on 400 for about 30-45 minutes. (Until eggs are done)

This is a great way to use up leftover ham or eggs that are about to go out of date.

Pasta sauce

This recipe is very open to interpretation. It's very easy to tweak to your family's specific needs/wants and is very easy to make. Also, please keep in mind my family size and that I often make too much, so I can freeze some. Some of these ingredients may also be estimates, since I never use the same amounts each time.

About 30 tomatoes (I fill my largest crockpot about 3/4 full)
(These tomatoes can be chopped, crushed, stewed, however you wish. )
1 tbsp parsley
2 tbsp garlic (can be crushed, minced, also however you wish)
2 tsp basil
2 tsp oregano
4 cans tomato paste
2 tsp pepper
2 medium onions, chopped
3 lbs. ground turkey

All of these are optional:
Can stewed tomatoes
green bell pepper, chopped
fresh mushrooms, chopped

Fix tomatoes however you wish. Place them in crockpot. Add other ingredients. Cook on low in crockpot for 8 hours, or until pasta sauce is nice and thick.

Cinnamon Rolls

ROLLS:
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup butter
7 cups flour
2 tsp salt

FILLING:
1 cup brown sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped nuts

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Blend in sugar, eggs, sour cream, and butter. Mix flour and salt in seperate large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour wet mixture into center of well. Slowly work mixtures together into a large dough ball with your hands.
Mix together all ingredients for filling.
Roll dough into large rectangle. You CAN brush melted butter onto the rectangle, but we opted not to. Pour filling mixture onto rectangle, using your hands to gently push filling slightly into dough.
Roll dough up like a jelly roll. Slice into 2 dozen rolls. Place on baking sheets, cover with plastic wrap and hand towel. Let rise for about half an hour.
Bake on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until SLIGHTLY browned.

Puffed Apple Pancake

This turned out so well, the boys have requested it again this week!

1 cup milk
4 eggs
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup flour
2 tbsp butter
2 peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples
3 tbsp brown sugar
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon in large bowl until well blended. Add flour and whisk until batter is smooth. Place butter in 9-inch round baking stone/pan. Place dish in oven until butter melts, about 5 minutes. Remove dish from oven. Place apple slices in overlapping rows atop melted butter in baking dish. Return to oven and bake until apples begin to soften slightly and butter is bubbling and beginning to brown around edges of dish, about 10 minutes.
Pour batter over apples in dish and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake pancake until puffed and brown, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve warm.

Cinnamon nut crescent rolls

Rolls:
2 packages (.25 oz.) of active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup shortening
4 cups flour

Filling:
2/3 cup brown sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped nuts (your choice)
1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Dissolve yeast in warm water.
Stir in sugar, salt, eggs, shorteinings, and 2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in remaining flour until smooth. Knead dough, then cover it and let it rise in warm place until it doubles in size.
Punch down dough. Divide in half. Roll each half into rectangle. Cut into triangle wedges.
Mix together ingredients for filling.
Spoon 1 tbsp of filling onto the wider side of each triangle. Roll towards narrow side, forming crescent roll.
After all rolls have been done, bake on 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned. Serve warm.