Eggnog Cheescake

3 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 Cup white sugar
3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
¾ Cup eggnog
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. rum extract (don't worry...no alcohol)
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
18 mini graham cracker pie crusts or 2 large Crusts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Soften cream cheese. Blend with sugar, flour, eggnog, and eggs. Add rum extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Pour into graham cracker pie crusts. Bake at 425 for about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to 250 degrees. Continue baking for about 20 minutes or until firm to touch. (Longer for larger pies) Remove and cool. Refrigerate. Serve with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Perogie Casserole

1 onion, chopped
1 pkg. perogies, frozen
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup melted butter

Place chopped onion in casserole dish. Spread the package of perogies on top. Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over perogies. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

*SO not good for the hips. But it works in a pinch. I tried it for the first time last night. It's not bad, but it's super easy!

Sweet and Sour Pork

2 T butter
2 T olive oil
3 lbs. lean pork, cut in strips
¼ C cornstarch
2 t salt
1 t pepper
½ C packed brown sugar
½ C vinegar
2 (20-oz) cans pineapple tidbits, drained with juice reserved
2 T soy sauce
1 ½ C red or green bell pepper, cut in strips
½ C thinly sliced onion
Rice for 8-10

Melt butter in a large skillet, add olive oil. Stir-fry pork strips until browned, about 10 mins. Cover and simmer on low about 30 mins. Drain meat and set aside.

In same skillet, combine cornstarch, salt, pepper, brown sugar, vinegar, reserved pineapple juice, and soy sauce. Cook and stir until boils. Reduce heat. Stir and cook 2 mins. Add pork, peppers, onion, and pineapple. Cook 3 mins longer over med heat. Serve over rice. Makes 8-10 servings.

super duper easy tuna casserole

3 - 4 cups of rotini (dry... don't cook it!)
3 cups of milk
340 g can of tuna... drained
1 chopped sm. onion (unless of course you LOVE onion... chop a bigger one)
1/2 - 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
10 oz can of condensed cream of chicken soup
1 - 2 cups of corn

Mix all the ingredients together in a casserole dish EXCEPT the corn... add that for the last 20 min. of baking time. Make sure you use a deep casserole dish, not one of those big shallow ones, it won't work out... believe me, I've tried. Bake for about an hour at 350 F.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
Ritz Crackers, finely crushed (if you buy bulk, use one of those pkgs. that are wrapped seperately in the big box)
4-5 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2/3 cup Chive and Onion Cream Cheese Spread (you could pick any spread you wanted)

Mix cracker crumbs and Parmesan cheese in bowl. Rinse chicken with cold water, shake off excess water. Dip chicken in some melted butter or egg whites or milk (your choice), and then in the cracker mixture. Turn chicken to coat. Place in greased baking dish and bake at 350 for about 35-45 minutes or until chicken is done.

For the sauce pour 1/2 cup chicken broth and cream cheese to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly. Simmer 3 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Note: This happens quite fast. Watch carefully! If you let it go too long, it gets thick and clumpy so as soon as it's all melted and slightly thick it's good to go!

Serve sauce over chicken.

*Sorry it's not a great picture. My flash made it look even worse. Even though it doesn't look tasty, I swear to you, it really is! :)

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
10 chocolate covered peanut butter cups, cut into eighths

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, and baking soda; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and peanut butter cups. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool for 1 or 2 minutes on sheet before removing, or they will fall apart.

Chicken Taco Soup

6 C water
6 chicken bouillon cubes
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 t cumin
1-2 T chili powder
29 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 T sugar
1/2 C rice
15 oz can garbanzo beans, undrained
corn chips
cheese, grated
cilantro, chopped
sour cream
2 limes, quartered

In a large pot, bring water to boil; dissolve bouillon cubes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cubed chicken, cumin, chili powder, tomatoes, sugar, rice, and garbanzo beans. Simmer for about 1 hour. When ready to serve, add remaining ingredients as toppings to individual servings. Makes about 8 servings.

Pete's Meatballs

Ingredients:
Meatballs:
2 lbs. hamburger
1 cup cornflakes
1/3 cup parsley
2 eggs
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp onion soup mix

Sauce:
1- 16oz cranberry sauce
1- 12 oz Chili sauce(Heinz)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

Make meatballs and put in 9x13 pan and pour sauce over top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about an hour or until meatballs are done. These are best for appetizers! Janay, these are the ones I made for Amy's party!

Butter Brickle Dessert

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup chopped pecans
1 jar caramel sauce
1 qt vanilla ice cream, softened

Directions:

Melt margarine. Add flour, oatmeal, brown sugar and pecans. Pat thin on a large cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 mins. Crumble while hot and spread 1/2 on bottom of 9x13 inch pan. Drizzle 1/2 caramel sauce over crumbs. Spread ice cream over top and then put remaining crumbs on top. Drizzle the rest of caramel sauce on top. Freeze! Make sure it you lay on a flat surface to freeze!

Creamy Chicken Manicotti

Ingredients:
8oz. manicotti
2 cooked chicken breasts (shredded)
1 lb Jar of Classico Alfredo sauce
1 lb Jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
3 cups grated Mozzerella cheese
5 oz grated parmesan cheese (or a little more if you like)
garlic salt (to taste)
parsley flakes
2 eggs beaten

Directions:

Cook manicotti at a rolling boil for 7-10 minutes. In a large bowl mix Alfredo sauce, shredded chicken, 2 cups of mozzerella cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic salt (to taste), parsley flakes and 2 eggs beaten.
Dump 1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce in a 9x13 pan.
Fill manicotti, line in pan and cover with the rest of the sauce and remaining cheeses.
Cover and bake @ 350 for 30-40 mins.
Remove cover for the last 5mins to melt cheese!
Very YUMMO!!

Tzatziki Recipe

Tzatziki Ingredients
To make the Greek Tzatziki, you need to have:
1/2 a pound of Greek yogurt
2 medium sized Kirby cucumbers
about 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped garlic
1/2 cup of fresh mint
1/2 cup of fresh chopped dill
1/3 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt (2 pinches)
fresh pepper (1 pinch)
Mix the Greek Yogurt and Herbs
You're going to take the yogurt and just put it into the bowl, make sure you have a whisk or some kind of spatula to mix it, add the garlic, and add the fresh chopped mint, and the dill, the olive oil.
Prepare the Cucumber
Just chop the heads of the cucumber, and them I'm taking the skin off and leaving the body skinless. And what I'm going to do next is chop the skin of the cucumber and the cucumber separately. Let's start with the cucumber itself. The cucumber doesn't have so much flavor, it's a lot of water, so its emulsified with the yogurt and the spices, and it creates the body of the Greek Tzatziki. And I'm adding the body of that cucumber into that mix.

Next, I'll do the same with the peel of the cucumber, then chop it nicely, small diced. Its very important that the cucumber will be fresh, and will be a Kirby cucumber, not the wax that you see in the supermarket. It has to be fresh if you want to get a good Greek Tzatziki.
Mix the Tzatziki Ingredients
I'm adding that to the mix. I will season that will a little salt and pepper. Now gently mix everything together, and that's how you make Greek Tzatziki.

Garlic Hummus

1 (15 1/2 ounce) can garbanzo beans (drained, but save the liquid)
6 tablespoons water (from the drained can you reserved)
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons tahini( if you don't have it you don't need it)
6-8 garlic cloves, minced

Combine all in a food processor until smooth.

Chill in the refrigerator and serve with pita triangles, veggies, crackers, or on a sandwich. Enjoy! We love it with chicken on a pita

Greek Potatoes

I wasn't born Greek--but I sure love their food.

One healthy Greek side dish that is loved the world over is Greek potatoes. It is easy to make and complements just about any meat or vegetable dish. Below are the ingredients you need:

8 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large wedges

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup water heat and mix in 2 Chicken bullion cubes or just use canned chicken bullion

half a cup olive oil

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/4 cup lemon juice

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 440 degrees F. Mix all the ingredients in a large baking pan, then add salt and black pepper to season. Use a ladle to mix and toss everything in the pan. The garlic mix will permeate the potatoes, adding a nice flavor to them. This will also keep them from getting burned easily. Bake everything for 40 minutes. Check if there is already a nice golden brown color on the side of the potatoes. If so, give them a stir or turn them over to bring the other side up. Season this with a bit more salt and pepper. Add half a cup more chicken bullion if the potatoes are beginning to dry. Put it back in the oven and let the other side of potatoes turn golden brown, after about another 40 minutes. Once the other side has turned golden brown, your potatoes are done. Add a sprinkle of oregano, let cool for a few minutes, then serve.

Classic Layered Salad

Classic Layered Salad

Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 3 hr 20 min
Makes: 8 servings, 1 cup each





8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
3/4 cup sliced red onions (about 1 small)
2 cups frozen peas, thawed (one 10-oz. pkg.)
1 pkg. (6 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Smoked Ham, chopped or crumbled bacon
3/4 cup KRAFT Mayo Real Mayonnaise
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup KRAFT Natural Three Cheese Crumbles
2/3 cup chopped tomatoes (about 2 small)



LAYER lettuce, onions, peas and ham in large straight-sided serving bowl.
MIX mayo, Parmesan cheese and sugar. Spread over salad to seal; cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
TOP with cheese crumbles and tomatoes just before serving; toss gently.

Greek Chef's Secret Family Salad

A friend of ours in Calgary who owns a restaurant made us a wonderful Greek meal. I especially loved the Salad he made--it was simple.

One cucumber diced,
Two tomatoes or a bunch of cherry tomatoes diced,
Four green onions diced,
One can of black olives,


Layer the above ingredients on a plate or shallow pan in the order listed.
Drizzle with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano.
Crumble Feta Cheese on top.

That's it! Hope you love it as much as me. It is best eaten fresh so only make what you can eat.

boring old choc. chip cookies...

No, not really... these are really good cookies... nice and soft and moist, best chocolate chip cookie recipe I've come across... they're easy, and taste sooo good! And if you can get them to last more than a couple days, they will stay nice and moist, they don't go all nasty and rock hard.

1 + 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (at room temp.)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup milk choc. chips

Mix flour, baking soda, salt. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and egg... add flour mixture, beat together. Stir in choc. chips. Bake at 400 F until edges of cookies are slightly browned. Grease the pan if you like... but baking paper works WAY better :)

A couple of things about this recipe... you need to follow the amounts VERY carefully, no guess-timating... if you add a little too much, or not enough of something, they will NOT work out! And no substituting white sugar for the brown... or you'll be sorry. Bon appetite!

Cabbage Crunch Salad

2 T sesame seed
¼ C slivered almonds, toasted at 350, few mins
1 head shredded Napa cabbage
½ bunch green onions, chopped fine

Mix together with:
1 package chicken ramen, crumbled, add just before serving

Dressing:
2 T sugar
4 T red wine or rice vinegar
¼ t salt and pepper
1/3 C oil
½ package ramen flavor
Combine and pour over salad before serving and toss

Also good with chicken chunks and cubed cheese

Pic coming soon =)

Cinnamon Toast Blinis

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
12 slices white bread, crusts removed
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix cream cheese, 1/4 cup of the sugar, vanilla, and egg yolk with a wire whisk until well blended. In seperate bowl, mix remaining sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
Flatten each bread slice with rolling pin. Spread 1 side of each slice evenly with 1 rounded Tbsp. cream cheese mixture. Starting at short end, tightly roll up. Brush each roll with butter; roll in reserved cinnamon/sugar mix. Slice each roll into 3 pieces.

Place each piece, seam side down, on baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Serve immediatly.

*I served this at a party with lots of other finger foods and it was a real hit. So good!

Easy Pot Pie

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
Frozen or fresh veggies
Diced turkey or chicken - cooked
Stove Top stuffing mix

Combine can of chicken soup and milk. Mix in veggies of choice and add cooked chicken or turkey. Prepare stove top stuffing mix according to package directions. Spoon over mixture in casserole dish. Cover with tinfoil.

Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove cover for last 5 minutes of baking.

*This is a super easy meal when you are in a rush! Enjoy.

What's for supper?

How many times have we heard that before? I usually ask myself that question every other day! I find that coming up with something relatively new for supper each night can get pretty overwhelming. And on top of that, you have to search through tons of recipe books looking for that perfect recipe with in-the-cupboard-already ingredients. And what happens if it's not so great tasting?

This is why I decided to start this recipe blog. In hopes that family and friends can come together and help each other out by posting our tried and true favorite recipes and maybe encourage us to branch out from those to try some new ones!

Those that are participating in adding their recipes: Add a picture if you have one. If you don't, that's okay too! And don't forget to leave a few remarks about what you liked, didn't like or what you tweaked to make it your own!

Grab your recipes and let's get cookin'.

Am I cheesy or what? ;)