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What's to Eat Wednesday Posts

Peppermint Chocolate Fudge Cookies

I created this little cookie for a Holiday gathering I had. It was so simple to make and tasted great.
 
Peppermint Chocolate Fudge Cookies

 

1 box of Chocolate Fudge cake mix

½ C. Vegetable oil

2 eggs

3 large candy canes crushed

¼-1/3 Cup chocolate chips

 

Mix. Drop by teaspoon on cookie sheet. Bake the cookies at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until done.

 
If you don't like this cookie, create your own by using the Cake Mix Cookie recipe as the base.

Italian Chicken Filling

This recipe is so tasty. This filling can be used inside a Bistro twist or a crescent wreath.
 
Italian Chicken Filling
 

1 cup chopped cooked chicken

½ cup diced red bell pepper

¼ cup snipped fresh basil leaves

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided

½ cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

 

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine chopped chicken, diced red bell pepper, snipped basil, ¼ cup of the parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise and pressed garlic in a bowl and mix well.
 
 
2.      Now prepare your dough for a crescent wreath or bistro twist and fill the dough with filling.
 
3.      Combine egg white and seasoning mix; lightly brush over dough. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese over the dough. Bake following the directions for the crescent wreath or Bistro Twist.
 This is a finished Bistro Twist

Making a Crescent Wreath

If you are having a party this holiday season a crescent wreath is a popular dish to serve to guests either as a main dish or an appetizer.

 

  1. Unroll 2 (8-ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls; separate into 16 triangles. Arrange eight triangles in a circle on a round pan (I use a stone) with wide ends 3 inches from edge of pan and points towards the outside. (Points will extend off the edge of the baking stone.) Arrange remaining triangles in center of baking stone, matching wide ends with triangles already in place. (Points will overlap in center.)
  2. Using a roller, roll over seams of triangles where wide ends meet, creating a smooth surface for filling. Do not seal center triangles.
  3. Using a large scoop or spoon, scoop filling evenly over dough in a continuous circle.
  4. Beginning with last triangle placed in center of pan; bring point of triangle straight across filling. Next, bring point of opposite outside triangle diagonally across filling, covering point of previous triangle. (Filling will show.) Repeat, overlapping points of inside and outside triangles to from a wreath. Tuck last end under first. Continue as your filling recipe directs.

  I'm not a garnish type person so this is what it looks like with out extra stuff to make it look all pretty.

Tortellini with Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce

I have an extended growing season where I live and for the last month we have finally been enjoying the fruits of our labor. My roma tomato plant is producing like crazy. We were about to pull it when we saw the green beginnings of tomatoes. So, you might ask what I'm doing with all of the tomoatoes? I'm making this dish. This is a recipe I got from Pampered Chef and it is perfect for your bumper harvest of tomatoes. I serve it hot the first day and then the leftovers we eat cold.
Tortellini with Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce

1 pkg. (20 oz) uncooked refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini

6-8 medium tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped (3 cups)

3 Tbsp. snipped fresh basil leaves

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, pressed

¼ C. (1 oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese.

Cook tortellini according to pkg. directions and drain.  Meanwhile, core tomatoes; cut tomatoes crosswise in half and remove seeds. Coarsely chop tomatoes, place in small mixing bowl.  Snip basil. Add basil, vinegar, salt and pepper to tomatoes and mix gently. Heat oil over med. Add pressed garlic; stir 1 min. or until garlic is lightly browned. Remove from heat. Add tortellini and tomato mixture; toss gently. Spoon the pasta into a serving bowl. Grate Parmesan and sprinkle over pasta.

Family Holiday Fruit Salad

 
This is my Great Grandma's recipe and it makes a lot so you can half it for smaller groups. The nice thing about this salad is the fruit doesn't brown so it still looks nice for leftovers.
(half of the recipe pictured above)
Family Holiday Fruit Salad

4 large cans fruit cocktail

2 Large cans pineapple chunks

4 small cans mandarin oranges

½ bag miniature marshmallows

5 bananas

16 oz of whipping cream

2-3 Tbsp. Corn starch

Sugar

Vanilla

Drain all of the can fruit and reserve 2 1/2 cups of juice. Add about 2-3 Tbsp cornstarch to 1/3 cup cold water stir until lumps are gone. Heat the reserved juice to simmering. Once it is simmering, add the cornstarch mixture.  As it comes to a boil stir until it is a thick consistency. If it doesn’t thicken add more corn starch mixture. Allow to cool completely. Whip the cream to a whipped cream consistency; add sugar and vanilla to taste. Mix it into the cooled fruit juice mixture. Place the drained fruit in a large bowl, add marshmallows and sliced bananas. Fold in the whipped cream dressing and serve immediately.

I chose to garnsh the top with more oranges and cherries.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I had never had sweet potatoes until after I was married. My husband's family always had them with their Thanksgiving. This recipe is one I got from one of my high school friends mom. It's so good it could be served as dessert.



 
Victoria's Sweet potato casserole

 

4 C. sweet potatoes cooked and mashed (2- 2 1/2lbs.)        

1 egg beaten

6 T. firmly packed brown sugar, divided

6 T. melted butter or margarine, divided

2 T. orange juice

1/2 t. salt

2/3 C. chopped pecans (opt)

 Miniature marshmallows

 

Combine potatoes, egg, 3 T. sugar and 3 T. butter, orange juice, and salt; beat until fluffy and light. Fold in 1/3 C. pecans. Turn into buttered shallow oven-proof casserole pan. Sprinkle remaining nuts, butter and sugar over top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Add marshmallows for topping last 15 min.

Chicken Monterey

I got this recipe from a lady I went to church with as a kid. I made it for my husband when we were first married and it was a hit. Super easy to make and it tastes great.
 
Chicken Monterey

6 chicken breasts, boned and skinned

2 cans cream of chicken soup

12 slices Monterey Jack cheese

2-3 C. Stove Top stuffing

1/2 C. butter, melted

 

Place chicken in lightly oiled baking dish. I cut my chicken into bite size pieces so I don't have to cut it up later for my kids. Plus, by cutting it up I use less meat.
Top each breast with a slice of cheese.
 
 
Pour soup over chicken and cheese sprinkle with stuffing mix. Drizzle melted butter over stuffing.
 
 
 
 
 
Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.
 
 

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

My sister passed this recipe onto me. I'm sure there might be some other recipes that might be a little faster but this really is so flavorful and easy to make. It is semi made from scratch too which is always nice. It's a meal you'll be proud to make.
 

Chicken Pot Pie

1/3 C. butter or margarine
¼ C. chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp pepper
1/3 C. Flour
1 Can Chicken Broth
2/3 C. milk
16 oz bag of frozen mixed veggies
2 C. shredded cooked chicken 
2 refrigerated pie crust rolls
Preheat oven to pie crust directions.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat and sauté onion until tender. Add flour, salt, pepper and stir until bubbly.  Add one can chicken broth whisk together well then add milk.  Bring to a rolling boil stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and add chicken and vegetables.
Place one pie crust in bottom of pie pan then fill with pie filling. 
 
 
 
Place other crust on top and seal the edges.  Cut 3 slits in the top and bake until crust is golden brown.
 
 
 
One day I was out of chicken but had some leftover ham. I used that instead of the chicken and my family actually prefers Ham Pot Pies now.

Chicken Tortilla Soup and Corn Bread

I love making soup when the first cold spell hits. I just made this one over the weekend. It really hits the spot. The best thing about this soup is it is so easy to make. You just open up cans, dump, season, and stir.  The cornbread is so very moist. I actually add it to the children's soup bowl to thicken it up so the soup doesn't slip off their spoon. This would be a great meal to serve your family before they head out to trick-or-treat.
 

Tortilla Soup

 

1 Can chicken broth
2 Cans chicken or 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1 Can Stewed Tomatoes
1 Can cream of chicken
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
8 oz. can tomato sauce 
 1/2 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove pressed or

 1/2 tsp garlic salt 
 2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

 

Combine all ingredients and heat until warm. Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheese and sour cream.

Hints: Place raw chicken breasts in crock pot and mix with the rest of ingredients and cook on low until chicken shreds.

 

The longer it simmers the better the flavor.
 
 
Corn Bread

 

6 cups Marie Callendar Corn bread mix

2 Cups water

1 can creamed corn

Mix all ingredients. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes.

Best Recipe for Meatloaf

I've tried many recipes for meatloaf. Some are too spicy while others are too dry and bland. My sister in law gave me a cookbook for Christmas one year and in it was her father's recipe for the meatloaf he used to cook for the firehouse when he was a fireman. This recipe makes a lot so I freeze half of it to bake at another time.

Fire House Meat loaf
 

2 lb. lean hamburger                          1 (4 oz) can tomato sauce

1 lb. pork sausage                               1 green pepper, chopped

4 eggs                                                  2 small cans mushrooms

1 onion chopped                                 1 C. Italian bread Crumbs

                          

Blend ingredients together with your hands; form into loaf shape on wax paper. Move to a cooking rack and bake open at 350 for 1 1/2 hours or until done. 

Or, take half of mixture and freeze it.  Place the other half in the shape of a ring in a 9x13 inch pan and bake 45-60 minutes until done.

I sometimes chop up whatever veggies I have and add them too.

Sweet Pork Enchiladas

This recipe is one of the most shared recipes I have. I will share it with someone and then they will share it and so on. One reason is, it is so easy to make. The other reason is, it is full of flavor. What could be better than tender sweet pork accompanied by cheese that just melts in your mouth.
Sweet Pork Enchiladas
3-4 lbs pork (roast, ribs, whatever) 
1 C. brown sugar
 1 C. salsa
10-10 inch tortillas
 Shredded Mozzarella
1 Can green enchilada sauce
Place pork in slow cooker and cover with sugar and salsa.  Cook for 6-8 hours or until it shreds easily. Drain juice off pork.  Roll shredded pork and cheese in tortilla and place in pan.  Pour enchilada sauce over and sprinkle with any remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. We serve it with sour cream and additional salsa.
Sometimes I cook extra pork and use the pork the next day for pulled pork sandwiches. I just add the cooked pork to a pan and heat through. I then add KC masterpiece Barbecue sauce until it is the consistency I want. This is as good or better than the kind you can buy pre-made in the store.
 This cooked sweet pork is also good as the meat on a salad.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and friends do. Don't forget to share this recipe and site with friends.

German Pancakes

I learned this recipe in 6th grade Home Economics. This was one of my favorites growing up. We have breakfast for dinner once a week and this is the breakfast dish most requested.
 
German Pancakes

 

1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. milk
1/4 tsp. salt  
 4 T. margarine
5 large eggs 
Combine flour, salt and milk. Mix well.
Add eggs, one at a time whipping after each.
Melt margarine in pie pan. I do this by placing the pan with the butter in it in the oven while it is preheating.
 
Add batter to melted margarine. Do not stir.
Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. The edges will rise up and the middle will stay down. This isn't the best picture but don't be alarmed if your edges get over 4" tall. I took the picture in the oven because it will go flat once you pull it out.
Here's a look of it out of the oven.
We serve it with syrup and powdered sugar.
 
The next time you have extra eggs, give German Pancakes a try.

Chicken Supreme Recipe

What's to Eat Wednesday
This is one of my favorite recipe's my mother made. It is very simple to make and my family eats it up. The original recipe calls for regular Onion soup mix but I made it once with Golden Onion and fell in love. The pictures below is the Golden Onion version.
 
Chicken Supreme
1 C. non-instant rice 
Lipton Onion soup mix (can be golden)
1 can cream chicken soup
1 3/4 cans water

2 1/2 lbs frying chicken, cut into pieces  (4 chicken breasts)

 
Grease flat-bottomed 9 x 13 -inch baking dish; add rice.
Sprinkle soup over rice.
Place chicken pieces on top.
Beat chicken soup and water together and pour over chicken.
Sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350.
 
Enjoy!
 
If you have a recipe you would like to share please email me the recipe or a link to your blog and I will feature it on a What's to eat Wednesday.