Philly Cheese Meatloaf

Philly Cheese Meatloaf
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 lb. ground meat
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
Several dashes salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
6 slices provolone cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a skillet, sauté the onion and pepper in the oil until tender. Combine these veggies with the remaining ingredients except the cheese in a bowl. Place half of this mixture into a greased loaf pan and top with 3 of the slices of provolone cheese. Repeat so you have two meat-cheese layers.  Bake for 45 minutes (the internal temperature of the meat should reach 165°F). Allow the meatloaf to sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Chicken Chili Relleno Casserole

Chicken Chili Relleno Casserole
2 cups shredded chicken
1 large onion
1 lb cheddar cheese, (chopped into cubes) divided
3 4 oz diced green chilies
4 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
¼ cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Cook onion until it is tender. Mix onion with chicken. Layer the chicken, chilies, cheese on the bottom of 9” x 13 “baking dish. Mix together eggs, milk, flour and seasonings until smooth. Pour over the chicken layers. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes until egg mixture is set and a toothpick comes out clean.

POTATO SOUP

POTATO SOUP
5 slices bacon, diced
3 tablespoons bacon grease (reserved) or butter
1 cup diced white or yellow onion
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups milk, warmed
1.5 pounds potatoes, peeled (if desired) and diced (I recommend Yukon gold potatoes)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
optional toppings: thinly-sliced green onions or chives, extra shredded cheese, extra bacon, sour cream
Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add diced bacon and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally.  Transfer the bacon to a separate plate, using a slotted spoon, reserving about 3 tablespoons of bacon grease in the stockpot.  (Discard any extra grease, or you can substitute butter in place of the 3 tablespoons of bacon grease.  Also, if you are short on time, you can dice the potatoes and onion while the bacon cooks to save time.) Add onion and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft.  Sprinkle the flour on top of the onion, and stir until combined.  Saute for an additional minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally.  Then stir in the chicken stock until combined.  Stir in the milk, potatoes, and cooked bacon bits until combined.  Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer, but is not boiling.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally every few minutes so that the bottom does not burn.  (The smaller you dice your potatoes, the faster they will cook.) When the potatoes are soft, stir in the cheddar cheese and Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salt and pepper.  Taste and see if it needs more salt or pepper or cheese.  Serve warm, garnished with desired toppings.

Crescent Pie Bites

Crescent Pie Bites
1 (21 oz.) Can Pie Filling (Any Flavor)
2 Tubes Crescent Rolls
1 cup Powdered Sugar
2 Tbsp. Milk
Preheat oven 375.  Spray two muffin tins with cooking spray (If you only have one tin, you will have to make two batches) Open crescent roll cans and lay out the crescent roll dough flat. Separate into individual sections and lay each piece in the muffin tins, widest section at the bottom.  Put pie filling into each crescent roll.  About 1-2 Tbsp. per crescent.  Gather the edges of the dough and fold up around the filling.  It's ok if there are some gaps.) Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
★ NOTE: You want the tops to be brown and the dough to be completely done. ★
For the glaze:  In a bowl whisk the powdered sugar together with the milk until smooth.  Use a spoon to drizzle glaze over each pie bite.

Jambalaya

Jambalaya
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
3 Tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, minced (or 3 tsp. dried parsley)
1 lb. fresh chorizo sausage, cut into small chunks
5 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
1 large bay leaf
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into bite sized pieces
Add oil to large nonstick skillet.  Over medium heat, sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper and celery until onion is translucent.  Add parsley, sausage, chicken and bay leaf.  Cook, stirring often, 5-6 minutes.  Add tomatoes (with juice), tomato sauce and 1 3/4 cup cold water.  Gently simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.  Pour rice into pan and stir well.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until rice is cooked and absorbs much of the liquid.  Stir in shrimp and cook 5 minutes more.  Remove bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Chicken Enchilada Soup
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 medium onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart chicken stock
1 Tbsp. chicken soup base
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper to taste
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (19 oz.) can enchilada sauce
6 small corn tortillas, minced
16 oz. velveeta, cubed
1 cup co-jack cheese, shredded
1. 5 lbs. shredded cooked chicken
1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 bunch green onions, sliced
In a skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat and saute the onions until tender.  Add the minced garlic and cook another minute or two.  Scrape the onion and garlic into the crockpot and add all of the other ingredients except the chicken, corn and green onions.  Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4.  Whisk until smooth (you may want to use a stick blender).  Add the chicken and corn and heat through on high for about 20-30 minutes.  Check seasoning, adjusting if necessary.  Serve topped with green onions.  You can also top it with sour cream, shredded cheese and/or crunchy tortilla strips.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Stuffed Pepper Soup
2 lbs. ground beef
2 quarts water
1 can (28 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups cooked long grain rice
2 cups chopped green peppers
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1 tsp. pepper
In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.  Stir in remaining ingredients; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until peppers are tender.

Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells

Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells
8 oz of uncooked large shells
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1/2 lb uncooked chopped chicken
1 cup of alfredo sauce
1 3/4 cup of ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Boil water and cook shells according to package directions. Drain and set aside.  Cut the chicken breasts into chunks and cook on medium heat in olive oil.  When the chicken is cooked, chop into smaller pieces.  In a medium bowl, mix ricotta and chicken.  Fill each shell with a rounded tablespoon of the ricotta/chicken mixture.  Pour 1/4 cup of alfredo sauce into a 9×13 casserole dish and spread to cover the bottom. Fill the casserole dish with the stuffed shells.  Pour 3/4 cup of alfredo sauce over the stuffed shells. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and add 1 cup of shredded mozzarella on top. Bake for 15 minutes uncovered.

PUMPKIN PIE CRESCENT ROLL

PUMPKIN PIE CRESCENT ROLL
tube of 8 crescent rolls
¾ cup of pumpkin puree
⅛ cup packed brown sugar
⅛ cup white sugar
Sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
For the glaze:
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of water
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees.  Unroll crescent rolls from tube and separate into eight triangles.  To create the pumpkin filling, mix the pumpkin puree with the cinnamon, white and brown sugar in a bowl.  Place 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin mixture into the center of each crescent triangle.  Roll up as you would a normal crescent, being careful to keep the filling inside the crescent roll.  Pinch any open edges of the dough and form into a crescent shape.  Sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice and place in a greased pan.  Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the top turns golden brown.  To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar and water until it forms a runny glaze.  Using a spoon, ladle the glaze on to the pumpkin pie crescents.

Easter Twinkie Cake

Easter Twinkie Cake
8 Twinkies (one box contains 10)
1 1/2 cups of vanilla pudding
7-10 sliced strawberries
One 8 oz. container of whipped topping, slightly thawed
Easter or Spring sprinkles
Unwrap and place 8 Twinkies in an 8 x 8 casserole dish.  Spread 1 1/2 cups of vanilla pudding over the Twinkies.  Slice strawberries and layer over the top of the pudding.  Stir the slightly thawed whipped topping in a bowl until it is spreadable. Spread over the top of the strawberry layer.  Sprinkle Easter or Spring themed sprinkles on top.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and serve.  Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Sweet & Sour Chinese Dip

Sweet & Sour Chinese Dip
12 oz. cream cheese
⅔ cup grated carrots
⅓ cup chopped peanuts
¼ cup chopped water chestnuts
¼ cup green onion
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic minced
a bottle of sweet and sour sauce
Spread cream cheese on a plate.  In a small bowl combine carrots, peanuts, water chestnuts, green onion, soy sauce, cilantro and garlic.  Spread mixture on top of cream cheese then pour a good amount of sweet and sour sauce over the top.  Serve with wontons.

Baked Buffalo Wings

Baked Buffalo Wings
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 chicken wings
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup hot pepper sauce (such as Frank's RedHot)
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag, and shake to mix. Add the chicken wings, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Place the wings onto the prepared baking sheet, and place into the refrigerator. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  Whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dip the wings into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the wings over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.