Crunchy Nacho Dogs

Source: Betty Crocker

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
• 4 slices American cheese
• 4 hot dogs
• 1 tablespoon milk (I omitted)
• 1/2 cup crushed nacho cheese-flavored tortilla chips (I used regular tortilla chips)

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°. Lightly grease cookie sheet, or cover sheet with tin foil.
2. Unroll crescent rolls. Separate dough into 4 rectangles (each rectangle will be 2 crescent rolls). Firmly press perforations to seal.
3. Place cheese slices on rectangles if you want.
4. Place hot dog close to the end of a rectangle and roll up the dough. Press edges to seal. 
5. Brush rolls with milk (I didn't do this.. they stuck fine without the milk). Roll in crushed tortilla chips.
6. Place the rolls, seam side down, on the cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 15-22 minutes or until a deep golden brown.

We only ate one hot dog each, and put the other two (already cooked) in the refrigerator. They were a great, easy lunch the next day and tasted just as good as the previous night.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Without Cheese

With Cheese and Sour Cream

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 8 Baking Potatoes
• 2 sticks of Unsalted Margarine
• 1 cup bacon bits (I used Hormel's Real Crumbled Bacon)
• 1 cup Sour Cream (I used 1/2 cup because only half of the potatoes had it)
• 1/4 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt (I used a Sicilian salt blend that I love) 
• 1 cup grated cheddar or jack cheese (I only used 1/2 cup, and used a Mexican blend  that had both cheddar and jack) 
• Green Onion (optional)
• Ground Black Pepper

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°. Wash potatoes and cut a small "x" in the top. Bake for an hour and 15 minutes, or until they are completely cooked. Pioneer Woman suggests baking them on a cookie sheet, which I had never done before, but worked pretty well.
2. Slice the sticks of butter into 1/4" thick pieces (you don't need to be exact), and throw them in a bowl.
3. Add the bacon bits and sour cream to the bowl. I used two separate bowls, one with sour cream and one without. Just split up the other ingredients between the two bowls.
4.  As soon as the potatoes come out of the oven, slice them in half lengthwise. Pioneer Woman suggested holding them with a towel because they're so hot and it worked perfectly.
5. Scoop out the insides of the potatoes into the bowl with the butter, bacon and sour cream. Be careful not to tear the potato skin, but if you do it will be okay. I left a little bit of potato behind, to give the shells a little bit of rigidity.  
6. Place the empty potato skins back on the cookie sheet.
7. Using a potato masher, mix all of the ingredients in the bowl. I usually use a mixer to make mashed potatoes, but for some reason these taste better when they're a little lumpy.
8. Add the seasoned salt and black pepper to the bowl, and continue mashing. You can also add a cup of the grated cheese or chopped green onion if you want.
9.  Fill the shells with the potato mixture. You don't need to be neat about it. I then sprinkled cheese on the tops of half of them.
10. Bake in a 350° oven for 15 to 20 minutes (I kept them in for 20 minutes because I like the tops a little crispy).
11. Apparently you can also freeze them in Ziploc bags. I haven't tried this, but I will next time because they're so delicious and would be perfect for nights I don't feel like cooking. Just take them out of the freezer and pop them in the oven. 

Lemonade

Source: Paula Deen

Makes: 1 gallon

Ingredients:

•  2 cups sugar
• 1 cup hot water
• 2 cups lemon juice
• 1 gallon cold water
• 1 lemon, sliced
• mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions: 

1. In a 1-gallon container, combine sugar and hot water. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Add the lemon juice and cold water until the liquid is up to the 1-gallon mark (you'll add a little less than 1 gallon of cold water).
3. Squeeze a lemon slice into each glass of lemonade, and garnish with a mint sprig.

Fruit Crisp

Source: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook: Bridal Edition

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 5 cups sliced apples or peaches
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or cinnamon (nutmeg for peaches, cinnamon for apples)
• 1/4 cup unsalted margarine
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts or coconut (optional)

Directions: 

1. Apple Crisp: combine white sugar and cinnamon (in addition to the sugar and cinnamon listed above) with the sliced apples. Stir frequently, and let them sit until a syrup has formed. Don't do this if you're using peaches.
2. Place fruit in a large casserole pan (I usually use a 9x13 pan). Spread evenly.
3. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except for the margarine. Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly (I've found that using your hands is the easiest way to do this... just be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before).
4. Sprinkle the dry topping over the fruit.
5. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes. We serve warm with vanilla frozen yogurt.

Green Beans Almandine

Source: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook: Bridal Edition

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces green beans (or one 9 ounce package of frozen green beans
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon unsalted margarine
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions: 

1. Cut fresh green beans into 1" pieces. Cook, covered, in a small amount of salted boiling water.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cook and stir almonds into melted butter over medium heat.
3. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
4. Stir almond mixture into green beans.

Brown Sugar-Glazed Carrots

Source: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook: Bridal Edition

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound medium carrots, peeled
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions: 

1. Cut the carrots into 1 1/2-2" pieces, then cut in half lengthwise.
2. In a medium saucepan, cook carrots covered in lightly salted boiling water.
3. Drain and remove from pan.
4. In the same saucepan combine butter, brown sugar and a dash of salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until well combined. Add the carrots and cook, uncovered, for about 2 minutes or until glazed, stirring frequently.

Dairy-Free Tater Tot Casserole

Source: Inspired by Michelle Duggar's Tater Tot Casserole

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• Tater tots, uncooked
• Cooked meat (ground beef, ground turkey, chicken...)
• Seasonings
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons soy milk
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 cans Green beans, or any other vegetable you prefer

Directions: 

1. Cook meat in a skillet, with or without seasonings. I used 2 patties of ground beef and cooked it with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
2. In a small saucepan, combine chicken broth, soy milk, flour and some more onion and garlic powder. Stir until thick. Don't worry if there are a couple lumps.
3. Spread the cooked meat in the bottom of a 13x9 glass baking pan. Spread vegetables over the top.
4. Pour the broth mixture over the top of the vegetables, being sure to cover the whole pan.
5. Top it off with as many tater tots as you'd like (the more the better, though it may affect your total cooking time).
6. Bake in a pre-heated 350° oven for 45-60 minutes, or until the tater tots are fully cooked.

Deep-Dish Pizza

Source: The New Best Recipe Cookbook (America's Test Kitchen)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 medium baking potato, peeled and quartered (this sounds really weird, but the dough was amazing! Don't skip this ingredient!!)
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl

Directions: 

1. Bring 1 quart of water and the potato to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until the potato is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potato and cool until it can be handled comfortably.
2. Press through the fine disk on a potato ricer or grate on the large holes of a box grater. (The grater worked perfectly for me.) Measure 1 1/3 cups lightly packed potato; discard the remaining potato. (I saved the remaining potato to make hash browns the next morning.)
3. Adjust one oven rack to the highest position and the other rack to the lowest position. Heat the oven to 200°. Once the temperature reaches 200°, maintain the heat for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat.
4. Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor. With the motor running, add the water and process until the dough comes together in a shaggy ball. 
5. Add the potato and process for several seconds, then add 2 tablespoons of the oil and process several more seconds, until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky.
6. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled medium bowl, turn to coat with oil, and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the warmed oven until the dough is soft and spongy and doubled in size (approximately 30-35 minutes).
7. Oil the bottom of a 14-inch deep-dish pizza pan (**see the note at the bottom if you don't have a deep-dish pizza pan, or need to make 2 smaller pizzas, like I did.) with the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
8. Remove the dough from the oven and gently punch down; tun the dough onto a clean, dry work surface and pat into a 12-inch round. Transfer the round to the oiled pan, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest until the dough no longer resists shaping, about 10 minutes.
9. Place a pizza stone or rimless baking sheet on the lowest oven rack (do not use an insulated cookie sheet. If you don't have either of these, turn a regular cookie sheet upside down) and preheat the oven to 500°. 
10. Uncover the dough and pull it to the edges and up the sides of the pan to form a 1-inch high lip. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
11. Uncover the dough and prick generously with a fork. Reduce the oven temperature to 425° and bake on the heated stone or baking sheet until the crust is dry and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. 
12. Add the desired toppings. (We used diced tomatoes, browned hamburger with Italian seasoning and Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese (cheese only on one pizza).)
13.  Bake on the stone/sheet until the cheese melts, 10 to 15 minutes.
14. Move the pizza to the top rack and bake until the cheese is golden brown in spots, about 5 minutes longer. To make sure the crust is done, use a spatula to lift up the crust - it should be nicely browned underneath. 
15. Let cool for 5 minutes, then, holding the pizza pan at an angle with one hand, use a wide spatula to slide the pizza from the pan to a cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve.

 **If you don't have a deep-dish pizza pan or need to make two smaller pizzas**

I used two 9-inch cake pans. Prepare everything according to the above directions, splitting up the ingredients as necessary (ie. half the dough in each pan, half of the olive oil to grease each pan, half of the toppings on each pizza, etc.). Instead of patting each half into 12-inch rounds, make 8-inch rounds. Decrease the cook time on the lower rack to 5-10 minutes, though this seemed a little long for mine. The crust was a little browner on the bottom than I would have liked. I did 6 minutes on the lower rack and 6 minutes on the upper. Next time I will probably do 6 minutes on the bottom and 4 on the top.
 

Baked Chicken with Peaches

Source: AllRecipes.com

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 peaches, sliced (I used one can of sliced peaches)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 ground cloves (I used nutmeg)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° and lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan.
2. Place chicken in the baking pan and sprinkle with half of the brown sugar. Place the peach slices on top of the chicken and sprinkle the other half of the brown sugar on top. Then sprinkle the ginger, cloves and lemon juice over that.
3. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Crispy Herbed Chicken

Source: Quaker

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Quaker Enriched Corn Meal
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 chicken tenderloins
• 1/2 cup milk (I used Silk Soy Milk)
• 3 tablespoons margarine, melted

Directions:  

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Dip the chicken into the milk, and then coat with the corn meal mixture.
4. Place chicken in an oven-safe pan (I use Corningware), pour margarine over chicken.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and tender. Bake time depends on the thickness of the chicken.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Source: Lauren's Kitchen

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (I omitted)
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I omitted)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb diced ham
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 14 oz. chicken broth
• 3 cups cooked rice
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I omitted)
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella or Swiss cheese (I omitted)

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°.
2. Cut the chicken into thin strips and then cook in a skillet. Once the chicken has cooled, shred it.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the onions and peppers and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, chicken and ham and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the butter. Once it is melted, stir in the flour, salt and pepper. 
6. When everything is combined, slowly stir in the chicken broth, and then the rice.
7. Spoon the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle the cheese on top.
8. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. If you sprinkled cheese on top, cover with tin foil for the last 10 minutes or so. 

Rice Pudding

Source: My mom

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked rice
• 1/2 cup of raisins (approximately)
• 1 1/2 cup milk (I made mine with Silk soy milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• pinch of salt
• nutmeg

Directions:  

1. Cook rice and allow it to cool.
2. In an oven safe bowl (glass or ceramic) combine the rice, raisins (as many or as few as you'd like. I like a lot), milk, vanilla, sugar and beaten eggs. Mix until they're well combined. Add a couple pinches of salt to taste and mix again.
3. Put about 1" of water in a 13x9 pan. Place the bowl of rice into the 13x9 pan.
4. Cook at 350° for about 45 minutes or more (time could differ.. in my convection oven 45 minutes was perfect). It is done when you can stick a butter knife into it and the knife comes out clean.

Crockpot Mandarin Orange Chicken

We have very little lighting in our under-construction Kitchen, which doesn't result in very delicious looking photographs..

Adapted From: Lauren's Kitchen

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

• 4 chicken tenderloins
• Salt to taste
• 1 15 ounce can of mandarin oranges, juice reserved
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Shredded coconut

Directions:  

1. Spray Crockpot with non-stick spray and sprinkle with a little salt. Place chicken in Crockpot.
2. Place mandarin oranges on top of chicken.
3. In a small bowl, combine mandarin orange juice, sugar, lemon juice, ginger and cornstarch. Stir until combined. Pour over chicken.
4. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours on low, then a half hour on high. (Cook time could vary depending on thickness of chicken. Mine wasn't extremely thick.)
5. Sprinkle coconut over chicken, and stir so that the chicken gets totally coated with the sauce, oranges and coconut. Serve over rice. 

Peppermint Chocolate Slice and Bake Cookies

Source: Becca

Serves: About 6 Dozen

Ingredients: 

• 1 large egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 4 candy canes

Directions:  

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°.
2. Mix eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer. Beat until smooth. Add egg mixture and blend until incorporated. Add the flours and blend on low until a dough is formed.
3. Divide the dough in half. Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and put half of the dough on it. Using a floured hand, shape the dough into a 9" long roll. Cover with the wax paper and chill for a minimum of 45 minutes (the longer the better), or until dough is firm. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
4. Slice dough into 1/4" thick pieces. Bake for approximately 14 minutes. Cool on a rack.
5. Melt the chocolate chips. Crush the candy canes by placing in a Ziploc bag and lightly hitting with a rolling pin. Spread the melted chocolate over the top of the cookie and sprinkle a small amount of crushed peppermint on top.

**I really liked these cookies, but the cookie part was a little bland. Next time I'll try adding some kind of artificial flavoring. The combination of  melted chocolate and peppermint is delicious though!

Cherry Tea Cakes

Source: Robin

Serves: About 5 Dozen

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons maraschino cherry liquid
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 drops red food coloring
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup drained maraschino cherries, chopped
• 1/2 cup white vanilla baking chips (I omitted)

Directions:  

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°.
2. In a large bowl, beat powdered sugar, butter, cherry liquid, almond extract and food coloring on medium speed until blended. On low speed, beat in flour and salt. Stir in cherries.
3. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. On a cookie sheet, place balls 2 inches apart.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes until edges are light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets, and put on a cooling rack for 20-30 minutes.
5. Place baking chips in a 1 quart freezer bag. Microwave on high for 35-50 seconds, squeezing chips in bag every 15 seconds, until chips are melted and smooth. Cut a small tip from bottom corner of bag and drizzle over cookies.

Ribbon Salad

Picture from Robin

Source: Robin

Ingredients: 

• 1 box cherry (or other red colored) jello
• 1 box lime (or other green colored) jello
• 16 oz container sour cream
• 4 cups vanilla frozen yogurt
• 4 cups water

Directions:  

1. In large bowls, prepare jello (add two cups of boiling water to each bowl and stir until completely dissolved).
2. Add two cups of frozen yogurt to each bowl and mix until smooth.
3. Pour half of the green jello into a 9x13 glass pan. Place in refrigerator for 30-40 (or more) minutes, or until completely set. Spread a thin layer of sour cream across the entire pan. Pour half of the red jello on top and put in refrigerator for 30-40 minutes, or until set. Repeat with the rest of the jello.

**I omitted the sour cream when I made this and it was a disaster. When I would pour the next layer of jello it would ruin the previous layer. There wasn't anything to keep all of the layers together. A good dairy-free substitution would be dairy-free whipped cream or frosting. It tasted really good, but just wasn't very presentable :)