California Chili

This is a recipe from my friend, Polly Stirland. It is quick, easy and delicious.

1 can tamales, take off the paper and cut each into several pieces
1 can chili
1 can corn
1 # browned hamburger
2 cups grated cheese
Mix everything together and place into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Peach Chicken Sweet and Sour

This was the winning recipe of the 2011 Peach Cook-Off.

Peach Chicken Sweet & Sour—Marcia Cahoon

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup sliced carrots
1 onion, julienned
1 medium green pepper, julienned
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 cups cubed, fresh peaches

Saute chicken in olive oil until chicken is no longer pink, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Make sauce while chicken is cooking. Add carrots to chicken in the skillet with a little water. Cover skillet and cook on medium heat until carrots are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally and adding a little water as needed to keep from scorching. Add onion, green pepper and celery. Saute until onion wilts and peppers and celery are bright and crisp-tender. Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables and simmer for a few minutes. Stir in peaches just before serving and serve immediately over rice.

Sauce
1 cup peach jam
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Heat in saucepan over medium heat just until brown sugar melts. Whip in blender to make smooth.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

My son, Cory, made this for dinner one night.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts skinless and boneless
• 4 thin slices Canadian bacon
• 4 slices provolone cheese
• 1 to 1 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lay the chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, gently pound the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove from the plastic and lay 1 slices of Canadian bacon and 1 slice of cheese over the top to cover the breast. Roll up tight like a jellyroll. Repeat with remaining chicken. Season the bread crumbs with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Mix in the melted butter. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs. Dip each roll in egg mixture and then in the crumb mixture to evenly coat. Spray a baking pan with non stick spray. Place chicken on the pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes until browned and cooked through.

Fresh Peach Fish Tacos

This was the winning dish at the Peach Cook-Off on September 4, 2010. It was entered by Steve Wukelich.

For fish:

Place fish fillets, cut into 3/4 inch slices, into a greased baking pan. Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder and brush over fish. Bake at 450° for 4-6 minutes.

Stir 3 tablespoons mayonnaise and 1 t. lime together in a bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage and toss together.

Peach Mixture--combine in a bowl:

1 1/2 cups chopped peaches

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

1/2 chopped jalapeno pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 c. chopped red pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Put fish in taco shell, then spoon the cabbage and peach mixtures into the taco shells.

Alfredo Dinner

Here is another good recipe from my daughter-in-law, Hope.

1 pkg boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 T. butter

1 package dry Italian dressing mix

1 c. water

Put these four ingredients in the crock pot and cook all day.

Before serving, add 8 ounces of cream cheese and 2 cans of cream of chicken soup. Mix well and leave in crock pot to warm while cooking the pasta. Cook angel hair pasta and drain. Serve chicken mixture over noodles.

Hamburger Enchiladas

This is a quick, comfort food dish, especially if you have the hamburger browned and in the freezer.

1 pound hamburger, browned and drained

1 small onion, diced

1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup

16 ounces sour cream

1 c. salsa

2 1/2 c. grated cheese, separated

10 flour tortillas

Brown hamburger with onion, drain. Mix soup, sour cream, salsa and 2 cups grated cheese together. Warm tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds and cut them in half. Spray a 9 x 13" pan with cooking spray. Place 1 T. hamburger mixture in each 1/2 tortilla and roll up. Repeat with rest of tortillas, placing 10 on each long side of the pan. Spread rest of hamburger mixture over all tortilla rolls. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with 1/2 c. grated cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Salsa Chicken and Rice

4 large half chicken breasts

16 ounces salsa

2 c. uncooked rice

2-3 c. grated cheese

Cook chicken and cube it. Cook rice. After chicken is cooked, mix with salsa and heat through. You can mix the cheese in with the chicken/salsa mixture and serve over rice (top picture), or mix the rice and cheese with the chicken/salsa mixture (bottom picture).

Chicken with Italian Dressing Marinade

This is the second marinade we used on Sunday.

1/3 c. olive oil

1/3 c. lemon juice

1 (.7 ounce) package Italian-style dressing mix

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In a gallon ziplock bag, combine oil, lemon juice and Italian dressing mix. Shake until well blended. Add chicken and seal bag. Marinade for several hours and grill. This was also an excellent marinade.

Chicken with Teriyaki Marinade

This recipe is from Allrecipes.

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. orange juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 t. ground black pepper

In a gallon ziplock bag, stir together all ingredients. Cut up chicken and drop in bag. Seal bag and mix marinade with chicken pieces. Marinate for 4 hours and grill.

This was one of the marinades we tried for Sunday dinner. It was very good.

Tater Tot Casserole

This is another great comfort food. It is easy to make and quite delicious. It's a quick main dish to take to someone in need.

1 lb. ground beef

tater tots

1/2 pkg dry onion soup

2 cans cream soup

1/2 can water

grated cheese

Brown hamburger and drain. Add onion soup, cream soup and water. Mix well and pour into 9" x 13" pan. Top with grated cheese. Arrange tater tots on top of cheese, completely covering cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 375° for 45 minutes. Removing foil the last 10 minutes.

Barbecue Sauce

1/2 c. molasses

1/2 c. barbecue sauce

2 c. ketchup

1/2 c. lemon juice

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 T. prepared mustard

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. butter or margarine

1/2 t. salt

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer for 20-30 minutes, uncovered.

For barbecued ribs, bake ribs in covered roaster pan at 300° for 3-4 hours or until tender. Drain drippings. Dip ribs, one at a time in sauce to completely cover ribs and place in a dripper pan. Repeat for all ribs. Cover with foil and heat till hot.

For pulled pork sandwiches, bake pork roast in covered roaster pan at 300° for 3-4 hours or until tender. Drain drippings and cool. Pull roast apart with two forks or fingers. Mix all of sauce with pulled meat , cover with foil and heat till hot. This completely covered an 8 lb. pork roast.

Sausage Stromboli

1 T. yeast

1 t. sugar

1 c. warm water

1/4 c. oil

1/4 t. salt

2 1/2 to 3 c. flour

3/4 pound pork sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

8 oz tomato sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 t. Italian seasoning

1 c. sour cream

3 T. cream cheese

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water. Add the oil, salt and 2 c. flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise until doubled. Meanwhile, cook sausage and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add tomato sauce, garlic and Italian seasoning. Set aside. On a large, greased baking sheet, roll dough into an 18-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Spread sausage mixture lengthwise down the center. Combine the sour cream and cream cheese; spread over sausage mixture. Sprinkle with cheeses. Fold one long side of dough over the filling. Fold other long side over the top and seal the edges. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes. Yield: 12 servings.

Adapted from a Taste of Home recipe.

Hamburger Pie

Pie Crust

4 c. flour

1 3/4 c. shortening

1 T. sugar

2 t. salt

1 T. vinegar

1 egg

1/2 c. water

Mix first four ingredients together. In a separate dish, beat remaining ingredients. Combine the two mixtures until all ingredients are moistened. Mold dough into a ball. Dough can be left in refrigerator up to 3 days or can be frozen until ready to use. Makes 2 9-inch double crust pies and 1 9-inch shell.

Filling

Brown 1 pound of hamburger with onions. Drain and add 1 can of tomato soup and 1 can of drained green beans. Mix well. Roll out bottom crust and fill with hamburger mixture. Cover with top crust and flute edges. (I put both index fingers on the edge about an inch apart and push in between my fingers with my thumb.) Brush with milk and sprinkle with garlic or onion salt. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Pizza

1 c. warm water

2 t. yeast

1 t. sugar

1 t. salt

3 T. oil

3-3 1/2 c. flour

Mix together well, adding the last cup of flour gradually. Knead gently in the bowl until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise until double. Spray a large cookie sheet with vegetable spray. Press or roll the dough to fit the pan. Cover dough with pizza sauce, desired toppings and cheese. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. You can roll the dough out, cut into circles, fill and fold in half for calzones.

Chicken Enchiladas

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. salsa

2 c. chopped, cooked chicken

1 c. grated cheese

flour tortillas

Mix soup, sour cream, salsa, chicken and cheese together. Cut tortillas in half. Put one heaping tablespoon of chicken mixture in each tortilla and roll up. Place tortilla roll seam side down in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with vegetable spray. Repeat for other tortillas. Spread the rest of chicken mixture over all tortilla rolls. Sprinkle with additional grated cheese and cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, removing foil during the last 5 minutes.

CHEESY MEAT LOAF

CHEESY MEAT LOAF

2 pounds lean hamburger

16 ounces tomato sauce, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

1 egg

1/2 c. milk

1 T. meat loaf seasoning (Alison's Pantry)

1 sleeve soda crackers

1 small can sliced olives

1 small can sliced mushrooms

2 c. grated cheese

Beat egg and milk together, then add onion, seasoning, and 12 ounces of tomato sauce. Add the hamburger and the crushed crackers to the egg mixture. Mix well by hand. Press firmly into 9" x 13" pan. Spread remaining tomato sauce on raw meat. Add olives and mushrooms. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and return to oven for 5 minutes.