Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bake

Ingredients

• 3 cups rice, cooked
• 2 cups broccoli
• 1-1 1/2 cups chicken, chopped
• 16 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp minced onion
• French's fried onions

Prepare rice in large saucepan. Once rice is cooked, add minced onion, cheese, soup and milk. Mix until cheese is melted. Add chicken and broccoli. Pour mixture into greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Spread a layer of French's fried onions over the top. Bake covered for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.

Monkey Bread

Ingredients

• 3 -10 oz or 4 - 7.5 oz rolls of buttermilk biscuits
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp Karo syrup

Cut biscuits into four quartered pieces. Mix sugar and cinnamon in mixing bowl. Coat biscuit pieces in cinnamon sugar mix and place into a greased bundt pan. The biscuit pieces coat easiest if you only add a handful into the sugar mixture at a time.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On stove, melt butter in a saucepan. Then add brown sugar and Karo syrup. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over biscuits in the bundt pan. Bake 30-45 minutes until cooked through and golden brown. I suggest baking it covered for half of the time to keep the top from getting too brown.

Once the bread is finished baking, place a serving plate over the top and turn upside down to remove bread.

Homemade Granola

A quick note about this recipe...the type of oats you use will make a big difference in how the granola turns out.  Quick Oats do not clump together as well and they also cook faster so I'd recommend decreasing the cooking temperature/time.  Old Fashioned Oats clump very well especially if you let them cool on the pan and then break them apart once cooled.  Also note it is important not to add the dried fruit until the last round of baking or the fruit will harden.

Ingredients

• 3 cups oats*
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup dried fruit (I use a mixture of raisins, craisins and dried cherries)

*Gluten free dieters: make sure your oats and spices (cinnamon, vanilla) do not contain gluten.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In large mixing bowl: combine oats, coconut and almonds. In a separate bowl: mix honey, oil, brown sugar and cinnamon and heat until boiling (on stove or about 30 sec in microwave). Stir in vanilla to mixture. Pour over oat mixture and coat evenly. Transfer the mixture into a large jelly roll pan (or any large pan with sides) by squeezing handfuls of it into clumps. Bake 15 minutes. Remove pan and mix granola. Bake another 15 minutes. Remove pan and add 1 cup dried fruit. Mix granola and bake another 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool in pan and break apart mixture if clumps are too large.

Mom's Pumpkin Bread

This bread is a Thanksgiving tradition in our house!

Mix ingredients in a large mixing bowl in the following order:

• 6 eggs
• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups oil
• 1 large can Libby's pumpkin pie mix
• 1 Tbsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 5 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare bread pans with butter and flour. Pour batter into pans until half full. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Recipe yields 4-6 loaves of bread (depending on the size pan you use). Decrease baking time by about 30 minutes if you are making muffins.

Toffee Apple Upside-down Cake

This is a fun fall treat! I slightly modified the recipe from 1001 cupcakes, cookies & other tempting treats.

Cake ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 2 apples, peeled and cored

Topping ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 apple, cored and thinly sliced

Grease a 9 x 9 baking pan. Prepare the topping by heating butter and brown sugar in a saucepan until melted. Pour mixture into the bottom of prepared baking pan. Place thin apple slices into the sauce (covering the bottom of the pan) and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Grate or blend apples in a separate bowl. Fold apples and hazelnuts into batter. Pour into baking pan on top of the toffee sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Aioli Chicken Panini

This recipe is from Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salads by Christine Avanti.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tbsp mayo
• 1 tsp fresh parsley
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• 1/2 chicken breast

Mix above ingredients in small bowl and spread over the bread of your choice. Cover mixture with mozzarella and cook in panini maker.

Sour Cream Raspberry Pie

This is my favorite pie! The recipe is like the one from the Norske Nook in Osseo, WI.  I found their sour cream blackberry pie recipe posted in an online newspaper, so I figured I could substitute the blackberry ingredients for raspberry and recreate my favorite: sour cream raspberry.  I use plain (unsweetened) yogurt in place of sour cream and it still turns out great!  I don't have an 11 inch pie pan so I use a 9 inch and put the leftover filling in a separate small dish for a crust-free treat.

Doesn't it look tasty?

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sour cream or plain yogurt
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2/3 cup dry (not prepared) raspberry gelatin
• 5 to 6 cups fresh, frozen raspberries
• 11-inch pre-baked pastry crust
• whipped topping

Stir sour cream and egg yolks in pan. Add sugar and flour. Cook on high heat stirring constantly. Watch closely as this can burn easily. Cook until very thick. Remove from heat and add gelatin, then stir. Add raspberries. Pour into 11" pre-baked pie crust. Cool and top with whipped topping or cool whip.