Cheesecake (No bake #1)

Crust
3 bags of gram cracker crumbs
3 TB sugar
2 cubes of butter
Mix together, press into pan and put into a cool place to harden

1 large tub of whipping cream
3 sticks of cream cheese
3 TB of sugar
Mix together and spread onto crust
Top with your favorite fruit topping.

Chicken Noodle Soup

14 cups water plus 7 Bouillon cubes
(or chicken broth)

3-4 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
5 stalks of Celery
6 carrots
3/4 tsp thyme
2 whole bay leaves (remove before adding noodles)
1 42oz (2lb 10oz) Rotisserie chicken breast
meat from Costco.




Combine above ingredients and cook until tender. Add noodles, may need to add extra broth or water as noodles will soak up juices.


1 16oz. pkg homemade noodles

Snicker Doodle Cookies

2 Cups shortening
3 Cups sugar
4 Eggs
5 1/2 Cup flour
4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Roll into balls and then into cinnamon / sugar mixture. bake at 350* for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken (for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (and actually, flour ones are really good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

The ones pictured below are actually flour tortillas- which I found out I like just as well (maybe even better!) than corn ones.

Dip 'em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole.

Cheese Cake (Cooked)

Crust:
9 Tbsp Melted butter
9 Tbsp. sugar
18 graham crackers crushed
10 in. spring form pan

Combine all the ingredients and Press firm on bottom of pan, I usually line the pan with foil before pressing the crust, helps remove from the pan easier.

Bake at 325 for 8-10 min

Filling:
5 packages of cream cheese (ROOM TEMP)
1/4 C. Flour
1 1/4 sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp Vanilla
5 large or extra large eggs (ROOM TEMP)
1 1/4 heavy whipping cream

Whip the cream cheese first by itself til smooth. Add flour sugar and vanilla and mix well. Slowly add the eggs and whipping cream while mixing. Be sure to scape the bottom and mix until all is blended, do not overblend or blend on high, this will produce air bubbles making cracks during the baking. Another thing to prevent the cheesecake from large cracks, place a pan of water on the rack under you're cheesecake's rack. Bake at 325 for 65 min. Turn off oven and keep in there for 30 min....very important not to open the oven throughout this process because it will crack. Remove from oven and let it sit out on wire rack to cool for at least 1hour until it has completely cooled. Cover then refrigerate 24 hours. Release from spring form pan right before serving.

It's okay if it cracks, usually every 1 out of 3 I've made tends to crack. It will still taste great and there are plenty of toppings out there to cover it.

Evan & Robyn Sleight

Pumpkin Crunch Recipe

15 oz. can pumpkin

3 large eggs

12 oz. evaporated milk

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 t. salt

4 t. pumpkin spice

2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ginger

1/4 t. cloves

1/2 t. nutmeg

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9 x 13 pan. Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, salt and spices in a bowl. Mix. Pour into pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture. Top with pecans. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake 50 - 55 min. or until golden and firm. Cool completely. Serve with whip cream. Refrigerate leftovers. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken Recipe

The Ingredients.

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour (I used Pamela's Baking Mix)
olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (I'd opt for little-to-no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup

updated 9/20/09: I've heard from a few readers that 1 tablespoon of salt is too much. If you are using iodized or table salt, this will be the case. Kosher salt doesn't taste as "salty" as regular salt, and since the granules are larger, you don't get as much in the tablespoon as you would with regular salt. Adjust accordingly. xoxo steph

The Directions.

Use a 4 quart slow cooker for best results. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Go ahead and throw away any remaining flour, we won't need it. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating.

Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you'd like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.