Broccoli Rice Casserole

Marge’s recipe.

ingredients 

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup onion
2 pkgs chopped, thawed broccoli
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz jar cheese whiz
1-1/2 to 2 cups cooked rice
 

preparation

1. Melt margarine and add onion and broccoli
2. Cook for 20 minutes
3. Add cream of chicken soup and cheese whiz
4. Mix until well blended
5. Add cooked rice and bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees

serving size

1 pan

Cauliflower Poppers

Recipe from Weight Watchers.  Great spicy snack that you can eat a ton of…guilt free.

ingredients 

1 small head cauliflower
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder, or more to taste
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black powder
1 serving cooking spray 

preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cauliflower florets into grape-sized pieces. (There should be about 4 cups)  Place cauliflower in a medium bowl; add cumin; chili powder, salt and pepper and toss well to coat.
2. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.  Spread cauliflower on sheet and bake until cauliflower is tender, but not mushy, stirring halfway through, about 10 minutes. 

serving size

8 servings (1/2 cup per serving)

Turkey Stew

A twist on our typical zuchini, squash, asparagus recipe.  A very protein packed, quick dinner that is warm & hearty.

ingredients 

1 pound of ground turkey
2-3 carrots chopped
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can vegetable soup
season salt
celery seed

preparation

1. Brown turkey meat in wok w. olive oil
2. Add carrots, zuchini & kidney beans & a 1/3 cup of water…cook for 12-15 minutes on medium heat
3. Add vegetable soup and seasonings…cook on low to medium for additional 12-15 minutes

serving size

4 servings

Cranberry Bean Soup

One of my Grandma Cheyne’s delicious soup recipes.  It seems no matter how hard I try to make my soup like hers…it just doesn’t turn out the same.  (It must be that special Grandma touch that gives it that added taste….or is she keeping a special ingredient a secret…..LOL, we’ll never know!)

ingredients 

1 pound of dry cranberry beans
1 onion chopped
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (can substitute with a teaspoon of garlic powder)
3 tablespoons of oleo or butter
1 box of pastina or square noodle flakes (optional)

preparation

1. Soak the beans overnight in water (or cook the beans on low heat for 2-3 hours till tender if not soaking)
2. Put all ingredients together with 12 cups of water
3. Cook on low to medium heat for 3-4 hours
4. A half hour before the soup is done cooking — you can add pastina or square noodle flakes to the soup if desired.

serving size

1 batch

Broccoli Salad

The ‘original’ broccoli salad, as prepared by Tina.

ingredients 

2 heads of broccoli, rough chop
1/2 cup of bacon (best to cook on a cookie sheet in oven @ 350 degrees to make crisp & flat)
1/2 bag of grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of red onion
1 cup of mayonaise
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar

preparation

1. Cook bacon & mix all ingredients together in large bowl.

serving size

1 batch

Texas Caviar

A very addictive tortilla companion that we typically make for gatherings.  Another great recipe from the kitchen of Tina.

ingredients 

1 can white corn, drained
1 can black peas, drained
3 tablespoons salsa
1 chopped tomato
1 chopped green or red pepper
1 chopped onion
Prepared Good Season’s Italian dressing packet (4 oz.)

preparation

1. Combine all ingredients
2. Serve with tortilla or pita chips

serving size

1 batch

Creamy Baked Asparagus

Tossed with creamy dressing and covered with a crispy topping…this will put a new twist on asparagus.  Received this one from my sister-in-law, Tina, when they were down visiting our new arrival.  It’s quick, easy and quite tasty.

ingredients 

1 lb fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
1/4 cup Kraft Peppercorn Ranch Dressing
2 tablespoons shredded parmesean cheese
1/2 cup coarsely crushed Ritz cheese crackers (about 12 crackers)

preparation

1. Preheat overn to 350 degrees. 
2. Cook asparagus in simmering water in large skillet 2 to 3 min or until bright green, but still crisp.  Drain water
3. Toss asparagus with dressing in 1.5 to 2 quart baking dish.  Sprinkle with cheese and cracker crumbs.
4. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned and mixture is heat through

serving size

4 servings

Vegetable Slaw

A cool summer side salad that goes great with anything prepped on the grill.  Short, simple & sweet…but very tasty!

ingredients 

2 zucchini (julienned)
2 yellow squash (julienned)
2 carrots (julienned)
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 red pepper (julienned)
3 green onions (minced)
Italian vinaigrette as needed
Salt & pepper to taste

preparation

1. Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl
2. Let sit in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hour to allow vinaigrette to marinate into vegetables

serving size

1 bowl

Beef Vegetable Soup

Here is another great soup recipe from Grandma Cheyne.  This vegetable soup is one of her favorites that her Mom (my Great Grandmother) use to make.  She mentioned that her mother actually use to make the noodles homemade for this…i’m thinking semi-homemade will do for me (buying packaged noodles), but it’s quite amazing to think of a time when everything was made from scracth.

ingredients 

12 cups of water
1 to 1.5 lbs of beef shank and soup bone
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
3 stalks of celery (chopped)
3 to 4 carrots (chopped)
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 to 2 cans of beef broth (14 or 16 oz. size)
1 to 1.5 lbs of mixed vegetables frozen (or canned)
You can also add fresh cauliflower and/or broccoli
Salt, pepper & parprika to taste
Egg noodles or pasta of your choice

preparation

1. Cook water, beef shank and bone until all comes to a boil
2. Skim the foam off of the top that is created from the boiling of the meat
3. Add all of the other ingredients and cook on slow boil or simmer for 2 hours
4. Cook noodles separately and individually add to the soup when serving.  Another variation is to add pastina (those small round BB pasta you typically see in wedding soup) into the soup about a half hour before it is done cooking.

serving size

1 pot – you can increase the size of this recipe by doubling, tripling the all ingredients equally.

Corn Cake Casserole

Is there anything that corn cake doesn’t go good with?  We received this recipe from our friend Patti who included this as a side dish to a dinner she prepared for our monthly dinner get-togethers.  It’s quite delicious and you very well could make a dinner out of this all own it’s own…but that’s just my biased, corn-loving opinion.

ingredients 

1 can cream corn
1 can regular corn
1 stick butter
1 (8 oz.) sour cream
1 box Jiffy cornbread
Grated cheddar cheese 

preparation

1. Mix butter & sour cream
2. Pour 2 cans of corn in bowl
3. Add sour cream mix and cornbread mix
4. Pour into pan & bake 15 min @ 350 degrees.
5. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake additional 30 min.
 

serving size

1 batch