Chicken hint :)

This is a great hint for chicken that our family received from our new friend Michelle M. :) Why didn't we ever think of this before I do not know. What a well kept secret!

It's simple: Boil your chicken before cooking it. Place whatever seasoning, herbs, bouillon, or whatever in the boiling water and place in chicken and boil until done. This goes for both whole chickens as well as pieces.
Boiling the chicken allows it to stay moist and juicy even when you give it a quick bbq after.
Thanks Michelle for the idea!

~Shannon

Boiled Eggs

This one's for Shannon.

Put eggs in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat off and leave pot on burner. After 10 minutes, drain the eggs and serve. Perfect hard-boiled eggs every time. (They stay hot in the water so I will often start them way before I need them and then I can putter around and breakfast will be ready whenever we are.)

For soft-boiled eggs, only let them sit about 3 minutes before serving them.

Better luck next time!

~ Charmin

Seafood Cocktail Sauce

I love finding ways to cut down the grocery list - I was glad when I learned that the ingredients for this sauce are all things I usually have on hand anyway. And of course, I think mine is better (and prettier) than storebought!

1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tbsp. relish
1/2 tsp. horseradish
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Mix together all ingredients. Chill. Makes about 1 cup.

~ Charmin

Homemade BBQ Sauce

We used this on pork chops tonight - breaking in the new-to-us bbq - and Jon told me I don't need to buy sauce anymore. This is delicious!

1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar (cider vinegar would work as well)
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1 tbsp. dried onion flakes

Mix all ingredients together. Store in mason jar in fridge. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

~ Charmin

Chili Con Carne

So easy and turns out perfect every time! Freezes well too. We like to put a dab of sour cream and cheese in our bowls too. :)

1 lb Ground beef
1 Cup Onion, chopped
3/4 Cup Green pepper, chopped
Cook above until evenly browned.

Stir in:
28oz Canned diced tomatoes
7 1/2oz Can Tomato sauce
2 x 14oz Red Kidney beans
1 Tbsp Chili powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Dried parsley flakes
1 Bay leaf

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour.
Remove bay leaf & serve.

~Shannon

Old Fashioned Baked Mac n' Cheese

This never lasts long in our home. We all love tomatoes and cheese and pasta. How can you go wrong with this recipe then!

1/2 lb Macaroni
1/2 lb Cheddar cheese
28 oz Canned Tomatoes, diced
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Eggs, beaten
1 Cup Milk

Cook Macaroni. Do not overcook.
Drain well and put into buttered casserole dish.
Shred 1/2 of cheese and set aside.
Pour tomatoes into large bowl. Add shredded cheese, sugar, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over macaroni: mix well.
Top with leftover cheese.

In small bowl blend eggs and milk. Pour over cheese covered macaroni but do not stir.
Bake uncovered at 350 F for 40 to 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Enjoy! :)

*For the record. I never measure the cheese. I probably put more in. I just keep shredding until I think it's enough to satisfy. Sometimes I've had to use less when supply was low and it still tasted great. The recipe is now in your hands, you can do what you want with it! :)

~Shannon

Hamburger Helper Stroganoff

Hamburger Helper was one of my favourites as a child. I have become a firm believer that everything tastes better from scratch, and I've even found that Hamburger Helper doesn't take any longer to make that way. I usually make a tomato-based italian style, but I didn't have any tomato sauce on hand yesterday so I improvised. The results were scrumptious. I used the yogurt because I didn't have any sour cream, and quite honestly couldn't tell the difference. I love sour cream so that's saying a lot!

1 lb ground beef
1 tbsp. dried onion flakes OR about 1/2 cup. chopped onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 c. hot water + 1 tbsp. beef bouillon (or 3 c. homemade beef stock if you're lucky enough to have it!)
1 tsp. dillweed
1 tsp. salt
1/2 pkg. extra broad egg noodles
1/4 c. sour cream or Balkan-style plain yogurt

Brown ground beef (and chopped onion if using) in large frypan. Drain if necessary, and stir in soup, onion flakes (if using), water, bouillon, dillweed and salt. Bring to a boil. Add noodles, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until noodles are done, stirring occasionally. Stir in yogurt or sour cream. Serves 4 - 6.

~ Charmin

Jonny's Favourite Coleslaw Dressing

1/2 c. mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
1 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
dash paprika
dash pepper

Mix together well. Add grated cabbage and carrot and enjoy!

~ Charmin

Sauced Butterscotch

This is just like Mom's Apple Pudding, only with raisins instead. I do not enjoy baking, so this is an excellent dessert recipe for me to have on hand - very quick to mix up, and best of all, you only dirty one bowl and one spoon in the process!

1 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup raisins

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups hot water

Measure first 7 ingredients into bowl. Mix together with spoon. Turn into greased 8-inch casserole or pan.

In same bowl stir brown sugar, 1 tbsp. butter, vanilla and hot water until sugar dissolves. Pour over batter. Do not stir. Bake in 350°F oven for about 30 minutes or until sauce is on the bottom and top crust is firm to touch. Serves 6.

~ Charmin

Banana Cake

A great recipe for wonderfully moist cake. I had to try to take a picture of it before it all disappeared. :)

2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Butter or Margarine (I use oil)
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup(3) Bananas, mashed
1/2 Cup Sour Milk

Sift together flour, soda, powder and salt.
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla.
Blend well.
Add dry ingredients alternately with milk.
Pour into one 13x9 pan.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until tests done in center.

Maybe using oil instead of butter helps to make it extra moist. Mine was awesome.
Also My cake was done a few minutes early so make sure to check it during the last while. :)
!!!ERIN, GREASE THE PAN BEFORE PUTTING THE CAKE BATTER IN!!!


Cream Cheese Icing
1 pkg Cream cheese
4 tsp Cream, or milk
2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Salt
4 1/2 Cups Icing Sugar
Blend all together and spread on cake. (I didn't even have milk and just used water for the icing. I just put a little bit at a time so it didn't get runny and it tastes great!)

Enjoy.

~Shannon

Taco Salad

We first enjoyed this at a friend's house last summer, and I make my version from what I remember was in that one. It goes very well with the Baked Macaroni & Cheese.

1 lb. ground beef
1 head lettuce, leaf or iceberg
2 or 3 tomatoes, chopped
grated cheddar, as much as you like
green onions, chopped, as much as you like
1 250-ml bottle Catalina Dressing
Tostitos, about 1/2 bag

Brown the ground beef until cooked through. Drain and set aside.

Wash and chop the lettuce into bite size pieces. If you are making the salad ahead, it's nice to layer the ingredients in a big bowl: lettuce, tomatoes, ground beef, cheese, and green onions. Just before serving, add the Catalina, give it a good toss and garnish with Tostitos. Next time I think I will add a little ground cumin to the ground beef when I brown it to add more of a South of the Border flavour.

~ Charmin

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

This recipe comes from the Meadows side, but we eat it often and Mom always raves about it so I'm including it. It's one of those recipes that drives you crazy the first time you make it, because there aren't exact measurements. You really don't have to worry, though. The worst thing you can do to it is to overcook the macaroni or add too much milk, and even then it still tastes good. Here's what I make to feed six:

2 cups elbow macaroni
approx. 300 g old or extra-old cheddar, grated
milk
2 or 3 slices of bread, buttered and cut into cubes

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until just cooked. Drain. Layer macaroni & grated cheese in casserole dish; I usually put a small amount of cheese in the bottom of the dish, then 1/3 of the macaroni, 1/3 of the cheese, etc. Pour milk over layers - try not to add too much. (If you butter the dish, it will be much easier to wash.) If I'm using a clear dish, I add milk until it comes up to about 1/4 or 1/3 of the height of the macaroni. If I can't see through the dish I just guess. Top with buttered bread cubes and bake in 350°F oven for 30 - 40 minutes, or until bread is toasted, cheese is melted and most or all of milk has been absorbed.

~ Charmin