Here are some of my very favorite recipes (criteria to be favorite: delicious and easy to make!) My credentials include friends who have shared their recipes, being the daughter of a home economics teacher, and the wife of someone who loves to eat good food and a lot of it!
One Christmas my husband, feeling ill, did not eat his usual 3 helpings with 3 pieces of pie. My Aunt Carol was so disappointed. She said that she gets such a joy out of watching him eat (mostly, people are overwhelmed!) What I make for the two of us is the same that my mother made for our family of 4 growing up. And John is a trim 6'4" and 205 lbs. If he doesn't work out, he loses weight! Unfortunately, my metabolism isn't as fast as his!
Click on a recipe title below to jump right to it, or use the scroll bar to browse in no particular order. Unless noted, all recipes are on this page.
Lisa's Featured Recipe
Salads
PRETZEL SALAD (could also be a dessert)
Main Dishes
Side Dishes
Desserts
Drinks
Cut carrots crosswise on the bias in 1 inch chunks (I use the baby carrots just as they come out of the bag). Cook, covered, in boiling salted water till just tender, about 20 minutes; drain. Meanwhile, combine next 4 ingredients in small saucepan. Add orange juice; cook, stirring constantly, till mixture thickens and bubbles. Boil 1 minute. Stir in butter. Pour over hot carrots, tossing to coat evenly. Serves 4.
Note: When cooking for 30, I used 4 bags of baby carrots and tripled the rest.
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APPLESAUCE MINI-TARTS
CRUST: Prepare pastry for double crust pie (use any recipe). Grease or spray (PAM) mini-muffin pan. Put small round piece of dough in each cup of mini-muffin pan. Use mini-tart shaper to push down in center which automatically creates the cup.
FILLING: Stir together 1/2 cup Tree Top applesauce and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Spoon into tart cups, filling about 3/4 of each cup.
TOPPING: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 flour, and 1/4 cup of melted butter/margarine until crumbly. Sprinkle over each tart.
BAKE at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes, until slightly golden brown. Let it sit for a couple of minutes, them remove from pan with spoon, put on cooling rake to cool off. Makes 24 mini-tarts.
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PRETZEL SALAD
This is a great recipe for those family gatherings during the holidays!
2 cups crushed pretzels (not too fine)
3/4 cup melted margarine
3 Tablespoons sugar
Mix together and pat in 10"x13" pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cool.
1 Eight oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 cups Whipped topping
Mix cream cheese and sugar. Then fold in whipped topping. At this point I suggest refrigerating overnight.
1 large pkg. strawberry Jello
2 cups boiling water
1 3/4 cups cold water
2 ten oz. pkgs. frozen strawberries
Stir Jello into boiling water until dissolved. Add cold water and frozen strawberries. Let stand in refrigerator until partially set. Pour over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate.
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TEXAS CASSEROLE
Thank you to my good friend, Cheryl De Genner for this recipe when we visited her family
one summer - not in Texas - But in Washington state!
Brown together: 1 med. onion, chopped, 1 lb ground meat (hamburger, chicken or turkey). Stir in: 1 can 8 oz tomato sauce - herb, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar. Cook according to pkg directions: 1 pkg 8 oz. egg
noodles. Mash together: 1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese, 1 carton sour cream.
Layer in 9x13 pan - first noodles, then meat, then cheeses. Sprinkle 3/4 c. grated cheddar cheese on top. Bake at 350¡ for 45 minutes, until heated through.
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JUBILEE DESSERT
It is an unusual recipe that combines chocolate and fruit juices. That might sound weird, but make it, it will surprise and delight your taste buds. This recipe got it's name because it was the dessert made for the Pella Lutheran Church's
Jubilee anniversary (60th). My grandmother attended this church in Selma, CA. The recipe is over 50 years old, so I've updated it (since these days you can buy lemon juice in the store, and there are different sized packages of
jello, etc.).
Mix and cool:
1
bunch finely chopped broccoli
8 slices bacon, fried (or bacon
bits)
4 green onions, finely chopped
As much as you would like of: walnuts, cashews, peanuts, almonds, sunflower
seeds, raisins, dried cranberries, etc.
Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4
cup sugar
Mix all ingredients together and toss with dressing.
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3 15 oz. cans of chili con carne or chicken chili
3-4 cups of grated cheddar cheese
5-7 flour tortillas
1 can tomato sauce
In a deep casserole dish (1-1 1/2 quart), layer the following:
Spread some butter on 1 tortilla and place it in the bottom of the dish. Spoon on some of the chili, and sprinkle cheese generously on top. Then butter another tortilla and repeat. Do this about 5-7 times
(til you run out of ingredients).
When you are done, do not put another tortilla on top. Dump a can of tomato sauce on top instead. Put in microwave, on high, for 5-6 minutes, then turn and repeat.
That's all there is to it. If you don't have an ingredient, improvise! Sometimes I brown some hamburger and add that to the chili. Other times I add salsa. And it even is good with corn tortillas or cheddar cheese. You don't really even need butter. You do need the tomato sauce, though. Once I forgot it. It still tasted fine, but it looked a little burnt on top. And remembering the chili is advisable
(Ha Ha).
I guarantee that it will be a crowd pleaser; it's always a hit at potlucks. Any way you make it, it comes up great!
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RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS
I have a little recipe that isn't hard make
But you must always start as soon as you awake.
Take a great big mixing bowl and fill it with a smile
Mix half a cup of sunshine with good deeds to last a while.
Add a pinch of work and play, a pinch of thoughtfulness and care
But don't bake it in the oven,
Just spread it around everywhere.
--Pass It On, 1976 Cookbook by Kerman Covenant Church Women, Kerman, CA
93630
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