Chex Lemon Buddies

Prep Time:15 min

Start to Finish:15 min

Makes:24 servings (1/2 cup each)

 

9	cups Rice ChexR cereal
1 1/4	cups white vanilla baking chips
1/4	cup butter or margarine
4	teaspoons grated lemon peel
2	tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2	cups powdered sugar

Variation
Give it a try! Vary this mix by stirring in chopped dried tropical fruits, coconut or macadamia nuts after coating the cereal mixture with powdered sugar.

1.	Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
2.	In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3.	Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.

Beef Spaghetti Pie Ole

(Jennifer Bassett)

I loved the flavor of this mildly spicy dish - and who doesn't love eating "pie" for dinner!?  The rest of my family has a tomato aversion so next time I'll blend the Ro-tel to eliminate all the "chunky red things."

1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cumin
1 can Ro-tel
3/4 c sour cream
1 c shredded jack cheese

Brown ground beef (or turkey), drain grease, add spices and Ro-tel and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and stir in the sour cream.

Cook and drain spaghetti, then add to a bowl that contains:

1 egg
1/3 c jack cheese
1/2 t salt
1/4 t garlic powder

Mix up the noodles, egg, cheese and spices and put in a 9" pie dish, smooshing down the center and having some noodles creep up the sides of the dish.  Pour the meat mixture over the noodles, leaving some noodle "crust" at the edges.  Top with a cup of jack cheese and bake for 15 minutes at 350°

Chicken Pasta Salad

I halved this recipe for my family of three eaters and we still had plenty of left-overs. Everyone loved it - and they couldn't tell I'd used whole wheat noodles which is a bonus!  Will definitely make again.  Perfect summer meal.

 

From the Recipe Shoebox.

The ingredients:
1 lb. cooked, shredded chicken (I used 1 pint canned chicken)
1 lb. cooked rotini noodles (I used whole wheat bow tie)
2 heads broccoli, finely chopped (the smaller the better)
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/3 onion, chopped
1 can sliced olives
1 cup shredded cheese (optional)
1/3 - 1/2 cup ranch dressing (don't skip this--it's what holds it all together)

Dressing:
2 envelopes dry Italian dressing mix
6 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
4-1/2 Tbs. water
3/4 cup oil (you can reduce this some)

Combine cooled chicken, chopped vegetables, and olives. Set aside. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over vegetables and chicken. Mix together. Add ranch dressing and cheese and fold together. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving (I usually am not organized enough to do this and it still gets devoured). Serves 8 - 10.

Strawberry Nutella Muffins

(www.twopeasandtheirpod.com)

 YES!  These are as good as they sound.  I made the recipe exactly as written (except I made 12 muffins instead of 9 because I didn't notice until it was too late).  They are delicious!

Yield: Makes 9 muffins

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1/3 cup Nutella
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top of muffins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
3. In a small bowl, combine canola oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla together. Use a fork or whisk and mix until well combined.
5. Incorporate the wet ingredients into flour mixture. Add slowly and gently stir, you don’t want to over mix. The batter will be thick. Carefully fold in the strawberries.
6. Fill each muffin cup half way with batter. Next, add a small spoonful of Nutella to each muffin cup. Cover the Nutella filling with the remaining batter. Sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar.
7. Bake muffins for 17-20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

Favorite Crepes

(Lisa Packer)

My friend Lisa, who served her mission in Sweden, spent hours perfecting this "Swedish Pancake" recipe.  This is the only one I've ever made because we love it - and she swears it's authentic!  We serve them with yogurt, raspberry freezer jam, fresh fruit, whipped cream and powdered sugar.  Delicious!

2 eggs, beaten
2 c milk

Mix together, then add:

1 c flour
1/4 t salt
1/4 t sugar

Heat skillet on medium heat.  Coat with cooking spray before cooking each crepe.  Use 3-4 T batter for each crepe.  Swirl to cover pan, cook until bubbles appear & flip to cook other side.  Makes 10 crepes.

Pineapple Banana Bread

(www.allrecipes.com)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 c whole wheat)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat the eggs, oil and vanilla; add pineapple and bananas. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pans.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Chicken Pot Pie

(Leslie Doxey)

Family Favorite!  This is one of those rare recipes we come back to again and again.  It's quick and easy and everyone loves it!

Layer in 9x13 pan:
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (canned chicken works great!)
10 oz frozen peas
1 potato, diced
8-10 baby carrots, sliced

Mix together and pour over chicken & vegetables:
1 can chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken

Mix and pour over all:
1 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 t basil
1 c milk
1/2 c butter (I reduce to 1/4 c)
1 t baking powder

Bake at 425° for 30-40 minutes.