my mom makes an articoke dip i'm obsessed with - its a little different than yours Erika, so I'll post it :)

Spinich Artichoke Dip
1 package of frozen (usually green giant) creamed spinich
1 14-oz can of artichoke hearts, drained and cut into bite-size pieces
1 package of cream cheese (i use the 1/3 less fat - tastes great)
1/2 cup of mayo (again, i use the less fat - tastes great)
chopped onion for flavor (use as much as you like)
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1 package of chopped pecans
1 cup of seasoned stuffing
2 table spoons of parmesan cheese

blend the cream cheese, mayo, and curry powder together until it's smooth. mix in the defrosted spinch, the onions, and the artichoke pieces. mix until everything is blended. spread this in a dish. now comes the wierd part - but trust me, it tastes so good on there. take the stuffing and nuts and smash them until they are as fine as you can get them, mix in the parmesean cheese and then sprinkle think mixture on top of the dip. Bake in the oven at 425 for 20-25 minutes. serve with wheat thins, corn chips, party rye slices!

Taco Chicken
 

Taco Chicken

I might have to delete this, so print it while you can!
It's Brandon's step dad's secret recipe *lol* I'll share anyways. lol. It takes a while (cause of the shreding of chicken) but it's is the a GREAT recipe!


Ingredients:
2-3 lbs of chicken- preferably thigh, must have skin
1 medium onion, diced small
1 can of condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can of condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can of "Rotel" Brand tomatoes- I use mild, if you like it spicy, try regular.
1 stick of butter
1 package (3 cups) of thin grated sharp cheddar
1 large bag of nacho cheese Doritos
1 rectangular aluminum baking pan- 9x12, 3-4 inches deep


Preparation:


In a pot, boil the chicken- skin and all.

While the chicken is cooking, you can prepare the sauce. In a sauce pan, over medium heat, allow the stick of butter to melt. Add the chopped onions. When the onion begins to turn clear, add the two soups and Rotel tomatoes. Thoroughly mix these ingredients. Add 1 cup of the boiling chicken water to the sauce. Mix well. Keep on low heat and stir occationally.

Break the Doritos chips into small pieces (about 4 parts per chip) into the ungreased aluminum baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with enough chips to create approximately 1/2 to 1 inch of "layered chips." This will take 1/2 of the bag of Doritos. Add about 1.5 cups of the sharp cheese to the layer of chips.

Next take the boiled chicken (remove all the bones cartilage and skin) and either cut or hand shred into bite sized pieces. shreding is prefered. Add the chicken to the pan. Add the sauce.

Take the remaining Doritos (broken up into the same size) and put it on top of the sauce.

Put the dish in a preheated oven set for 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until you see the top layer of chips starting to turn dark brown.

Add the remaining cheese to the top and bake for another 10-15 mins or until you see the cheese ready.

Allow it to sit for a few minutes.

Great with corn and dinner rolls!

Secret Lemon Rasberry Cake recipe
 

Cake:
1 pkg. Betty Crocker SuperMoist lemon cake mix*
1 1/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
6 tablespoons raspberry preserves

1 - Preheat oven to 350 F.
2 - Grease or spray bottoms of three 9" round pans
3 - Beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs in large bowl on low speed, 2 minutes (be careful not to overbeat); or stir 3 minutes by hand. Divide evenly into the 3 pans.
4 - Bake 18-20 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.
5 - Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans.
6 - Cool 1 hour on rack.
7 - Assemble the cake, spreading raspberry preserves between layers.

And here comes my "secret" step: If possible, allow cake to sit a full day or two (lightly covered) before frosting. (This gives it extra moistness and allows the raspberry preserves and lemon cake tastes to intermingle a bit.)

Then, frost side and top of cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting. Store covered in refrigerator.

Frosting:
1 1/4 cups softened butter or margarine
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cups powdered sugar (can also use lemon powdered sugar)

1 - Beat butter, lemon peel and lemon juice in medium bowl on medium speed for 30 seconds.
2 - Gradually beat in powdered sugar.
3 - Beat 2-3 minutes longer or until light and fluffy.

Easy Guy Thing for a small gathering!

Vegi dip:

1 or more tubs of Sour Cream
1 or more packets of Lipton Beefy Onion Dry Mix


Stir in to the sour cream and let set in the Fridge

Cut--Carrots, Celery, Brocoli, Artichokes, or ?

Place on Large Serving Tray and watch it disapear!

Meat Loaf: Mine ALA TOM

Do all to taste:

Chopped Sirloin:

Mix in Celery Salt, Garlic Salr, Pepper, Musturd, Ketchup, Oregino, Hot Sauce< Crackers> Onions Finally Diced, and a touch of Horse Radish.

Oven at 350 and bake for 40 Min. add Tomato Sauce to the top (Or BBQ Sauce for a tangier taste!)

Sloppy Joe. Sloppy, Sloppy Joe!
 

Oh my goodness! Yall are making my mouth water....especially that lemon raspberry cake (I love lemon cake!).

Here's one I made for Will!

My mom's Sloppy Joes

1 lb ground beef
Thaw and brown.
Onion to your liking (can be tossed in while browning or after)
1 tbs Brown Sugar
1 ts lemon juice
1 ts mustard
1 1/2 ts worshiester sauce
1 can Campbell's tomato soup
Stir and let simmer w/o lid for 20 minutes

My mother also ads a touch of lowery salt but said it's not necessary. She also adds more of the ingredients to her liking!
Enjoy!

Hootie

GARLIC MASHED POTATO CASSEROLE

(PS: This is not for the faint of heart or for those on a diet...but it is sooooo good!)

2 1/2 to 3 pound of russet potatoes
4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 package (3 oz) softened cream cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
pinch of paprika
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Peel and quarter potatoes. Boil along with the garlic cloves until potatoes are tender. Drain and return to pot.

While the potatoes are cooking, take a medium bowl and combing the sour cream, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth (I use a hand mixer) and set aside.

Using the hand mixer, beat the hot potatoes and the garlic in the pot until they are nearly smooth. Add the sour cream mixture into the pot and beat until its fluffy and smooth. Spoon the potatoes into a buttered 2-quart casserole pan. Dot the top of the potatoes with butter.

Bake, covered in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes. Uncover and broil below heat until the top browns. Sprinkle with paprika and chives.

Serve and wait for the ooohs and aaahs to come rolling in! ;)

Ranch Spaghetti

1 pkg. of spaghetti
1 bottle of Ranch
Minced Garlic
Butter
Parmesan Cheese

Basically you boil water, and then cook the spaghetti like you would normally. When they are soft, drain the water out. Then heat butter and wait until it melts, add the minced garlic ( just like a tablespoon) and finally mix in the spaghetti in with the butter/garlic mixture. Lastly add in the ranch until you have a good amount. Finally put it in an oven proof glassware. Place half of the spaghettic in there and top with parmesan cheese, the the other half on top and again, put the parmesan cheese over it. Turn the oven on to about 300 and keep the spaghetti in there just long enough for the cheese to melt, about 10-15 minutes.

It is so yummy! Eat with salad and garlic bread :)




Dump Cake

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 can of crushed pineapples
1 can of cherry pie filling
1 stick of butter
nuts/pecans (optional)
vanilla icecream, or any favorite flavor (optional)
Pam non-stick spray

In an oven proof glassware spray with pam, then literally dump the crushed pineapples (juice and all), make sure you even it out across, then do the same thing with the cherry pie filling, then over that the yellow cake mix (right out of the box). Then just cut the butter stick into thin squares and place on top of the cake mix. Finally the nuts/pecans over everything (optional). In the oven it goes at about 350 for i would say 30-45minutes until the yello cake mix cooks and looks a golden brown.

Its best to eat warm out of the oven with ice cream! enjoy!

p.s. Lifesaver tried this and he loved it! ;)

the *BEST* Snickerdoodle cookies
 

Snickerdoodles Cookies


Yields 36 cookies
Est. preparation time: 24 mins
Est. cooking time: 10 mins


Ingredients:

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a medium bowl cream together shortening, sugar and eggs.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a bowl; add to the creamed mixture mixing well.

Form into 1-inch balls, roll in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until puffed. Cool completely on wire racks.


I made these for alum/collegate dinner and they went fast! Everyone wanted the recipe ;)

Almond Crusted Chicken

Serves 4

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, broken into pieces
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons water
2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Place bread crumbs in a medium bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Place almonds in a separate bowl, and set aside. Place eggs in a small bowl with 2 teaspoons water, and beat lightly. Dip chicken in egg mixture, wiping away excess with your fingers, and dip in bread-crumb mixture. Dredge until lightly coated. Dip in egg again, and then coat thoroughly with almonds.

2. Heat butter and oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Sauté chicken until nicely browned, about 3 minutes, and turn over. Cook 1 minute more; then transfer pan to oven, and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Glad you brought this back again!:)

Clam Chowder:

1/2 cup butter-melt in pan
add
1/2 cup flour--whisk

Add

1 can evaporated milk
1 can water
juice off clamms and add potatos
green oniuon dried
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste

2 cans of baby clams
2 cans whole potatos- minced into small peices


makes @ 1 Gal.

adjust to your amount! :)

Happy eating :cool:

YUMMY!!!
 

Here's one of my favorites! It's a variation on artichoke dip and it's great for dinner parties:

ARTICHOKE BRUSCHETTA


*1 (6.5 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
*1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
*1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
*5 tablespoons mayonnaise
*1 French baguette, cut into 1/3 inch thick slices


Directions

*Preheat the broiler.

*In a medium bowl, mix marinated artichoke hearts, Romano cheese, red onion and mayonnaise. Top French baguette slices with equal amounts of the artichoke heart mixture. Arrange slices in a single layer on a large baking sheet.

*Broil in the preheated oven 2 minutes, or until toppings are bubbly and lightly browned.

Milky Way Cake - YUMMY!
 

Milky Way Cake (VERY yummy and VERY rich!!) :) :)

Ingredients (cake):

8 Milky Way candy bars (1 ½ or 2 ounce sized bars)
1 cup of butter, divided by halves
3 cups of all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon of baking soda
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 ¼ cup of buttermilk
1 cup of chopped pecans, optional

Ingredients (frosting):

4 Milky Way candy bars (1 ½ or 2 ounce sized bars)
2 tablespoons of milk
1 stick of butter or margarine
½ of a 1 pound box of confectioner’s sugar

Directions (cake):

Melt 1/2 cup of the butter. Combine with the candy bars in a saucepan. Place over low heat until the bars are melted, stirring constantly. Allow to cool. Cream together the sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup of softened butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating very well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Combine the buttermilk and baking soda. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with flour, beating well after each addition. Stir in the candy bar mixture with pecans. Pour mixture into a greased and floured 10” tube pan and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the cake tests done on a toothpick. Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour. The remove the cake from the pan and completely cool it on a wire rack. Frost with the Milky Way Cake Frosting described below.

Directions (frosting):

Melt together the candy bars and the butter. Add the milk and the sugar. Blend well. Spread the mixture onto the cooled cake.

Tom- That onion dip recipe is missing the most important element: Green food coloring. My dad puts it in there and it's hilarious to watch people shrink away from it. Tastes just the same.

Anyway, for all of you, this is...

The chicken recipe I stole from my coworker Rochelle

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 pieces Swiss cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
lots of croutons dipped in melted butter to prevent burning


Put the chicken breasts in a glass baking dish. Cover the chicken with the mushroom soup, cheese, and croutons dipped in the melted butter, in that order. Cover with aluminum foil and cook at 325 (or higher if you have an older oven) for 15 minutes covered, 30 minutes uncovered. This is a great meal to make when you don't feel like cooking, cause it only takes about 10 minutes to put together.

Bumping this thread and copying and pasting what I wrote in the other one....


My family has this tradition that my aunt always gives the female members of the family a cookbook when they graduate from high school. Something that will last for a while!

My sister is graduating from highschool next weekend so she got her cookbook yesterday, which made me find my cookbook. She really wanted to bake some dessert from her new cook book so she picked the following recipe really only looking at the picture.

Three hours later we had a wonderful set of delicious yet labor intensive cookies!
Just a note: If you don't want to make the caramel and chocolate sauces from scratch, the store bought stuff works if heated up!
Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 16 vanilla caramels, unwrapped
• 3 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1-1/4 cups finely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1 teaspoon shortening

Directions

1. Separate egg; place yolk and white in separate bowls. Cover and chill egg white until needed. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat well. Beat in egg yolk, milk, and vanilla.
2. In another bowl stir together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until well combined. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or until easy to handle.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. In a small saucepan heat and stir caramels and whipping cream over low heat until mixture is smooth. Set aside.
4. Slightly beat reserved egg white. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in egg white, then in pecans to coat. Place balls 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheet. Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each cookie.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are firm. If cookie centers puff during baking, repress with your thumb. Spoon melted caramel mixture into indentations of cookies. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. (If necessary, reheat caramel mixture to keep it spoonable.)
6. In another saucepan heat and stir chocolate pieces and shortening over low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate mixture over tops of cookies.* Let stand until chocolate is set.
7. Makes about 36 cookies
8. *Tip: If desired, transfer the warm chocolate mixture to a resealable plastic bag. Cut a small hole in one corner of the bag. Drizzle cookies with chocolate mixture.

http://images.meredith.com/bhg/image.../l_R090583.jpg

Shrimp Soup.

2 tbls flour
2 tbls butter
1 cup milk

Add either:
1 can, cream of mushroom soup
or
1 can cream of celery soup

boil shrimp peel and cut into peices

add: onion, salt and pepper to taste

reheat by simmering.