Mother’s Day Recipe Contest

Ingredients:
6 ounce carrots
1 yellow onion
1/4 ounce thyme
2 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoons of cream cheese
2.5 ounces of celery
1 clove of garlic
10 ounces of chicken breast strips
2 units of chicken stock concentrate
6 ounces of buttermilk biscuits
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons of butter
salt & pepper

Directions:
Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Strip half the thyme leaves from stems and mince. Trim, peel, and dice carrots. Finely dice celery. Peel and dice onion. Peel and mince garlic.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Heat drizzle of oil in medium pan (cast iron skillet works best).
Add chicken season with salt & pepper, Cook stirring occasionally until brown all over, transfer to a plate.
Heat a drizzle of oil in pan used for chicken over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery, and diced onion. Cook until veggies softened. Add garlic and thyme saving a little to top later.
Add butter to the pan with veggies. Once melted stir in flour, pour in 1 3/4 cup water, bring to a boil and cook until thickened. Add chicken. Turn off heat. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Place 1 TBSP butter in a small microwave dish and melt (30 seconds) Remove biscuits from package peel apart and place on top of chicken sauce. Brush with butter and sprinkle with thyme. Bake on top rack until biscuits are golden brown. 12-15 minutes cook time. Let cool five minutes before serving.

Ingredients:
1 gallon freezer bag
Skinless/Boneless chicken breast
25 oz marinara sauce (this can be homemade or store bought spaghetti sauce)
1 box Panko bread crumbs
1 container grated Parmesan cheese
Season Salt & Pepper
Provolone or Swiss cheese (1 slice per piece of chicken)
2 Eggs
Vegetable oil

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400
Cut chicken in half, Put one piece of chicken in freezer bag and pound it down to an inch thick ( you will want every piece to be the same size) season both sides of the chicken with season salt & pepper.
Put Panko bread crumbs in one container add two handfuls of Parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs
Add 2 eggs in another (add about a teaspoon of water) mix the eggs and water.
Put chicken in the egg mixture and coat all over then do the same with the bread crumbs.
Fill a frying pan about half way with vegetable oil and put it on medium heat when it is hot ( you can test this by tossing in a couple of bread crumbs if it sizzles it is hot).
After all the chicken is completely covered add it to your oil. When the chicken is brown on both sides put them in a baking pan and cook until chicken reaches 300 degrees, top chicken with Provolone cheese, let cook until chicken reaches 350.
While you are baking your chicken you can heat your sauce. When the chicken is done plate and add your sauce on top of the chicken and top with a little Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients:
6 Tomatoes
1 can of tomato pure and 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon (Here is the secret to the best tasting salsa)
2 jalapeno chilies (or more if you like it spicy)
Salt
Chopped Cilantro

Directions:
Boil the tomatoes and the jalapenos. Blend them with the tomato pure, chicken bouillon and salt. On a pan, with a bit of vegetable oil, fry the salsa until it thickens a bit. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle fresh chopped cilantro. Enjoy on your favorite tacos, tostadas, chips, etcetera.

Ingredients:
4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 tablespoons of lard
1 1/2 cup of water

Directions:
1) Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix in the lard with your hands. Then add the water and mix until the dough comes together. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for a few minutes until smooth. Divide the dough into 20-24 equal pieces, depending on your preferred size of tortillas.
2) Preheat a skillet, spray with pam, then place the thin rolled out tortilla into the hot skillet. Cook until bubbly and golden, then flip and continue.

Ingredients:
(eyeballing encouraged)
-1/4 cup vegetable oil
-1 large onion chopped
-1 large green bell pepper chopped
-2 small stalks of celery chopped
-6 cloves of garlic minced
-6 oz. (a handful) of any type of mushrooms chopped (optional)
-1/4 or 1/3 cup of white wine, any kind works that you can part with
-a couple teaspoons of kosher salt, or more to taste
-1/2 tsp or more of black pepper, or more if you like
-1 tablespoon of cumin, or more if you like
-1 tablespoon of chili powder, or more if you like
-1 can of Rotel tomatoes with chilies
-1/3 cup of flour
-2 cups of chicken stock
-1/2 cup of whole milk or half and half
-corn or flour tortillas, about 1 dozen, I usually use flour
-a bag of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
-a bag of shredded cheddar cheese
-a whole rotisserie chicken from the deli, dark and light meat removed and shredded (if BBQ flavored, even better!)

Directions:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Get a large casserole dish or 9×13 pan out. Start by heating your vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté your onions, pepper and celery till translucent.
Add your minced garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.
Then add a bit more veg oil if adding mushrooms, add your mushrooms and cook through.

Deglaze your pan with the white wine and cook veggies in wine til mostly absorbed.
Add salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and can of Rotel and mix together, let cook for a minute.

Then add your flour to make a roux.
Whisk flour in slowly til the veggies and flour form almost a gravy, dough or a thick paste.
After it has thickened, add the chicken stock and whisk to get the roux to loosen up and combine with the stock.
Once it has loosened into sort of a soup, add the half and half or milk and whisk.
Cook over medium/low heat for a few minutes to bring all elements together and reduce to thicken into a nice sauce.

Take off heat and put a few spoonfuls of sauce in bottom of casserole dish so tortillas won’t stick.
Then put down a layer of tortillas, 1/3 of shredded chicken and 1/4 of shredded cheeses, topped with dots of the sauce sort of spread out over it.
Then repeat layers 2 more times, so there are 3 layers of yumminess total.
Top with additional layer of tortillas, sauce and then cheese. Grandkids like me crumble Doritos over the top when their parents aren’t around. It’s good!
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes uncovered and keep an eye on it. It’s done when the sides are golden and top is bubbly and just about to golden up.

Slice in to this puppy and enjoy the best dish my kids and grandkids say Nana makes!

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 large can of evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 tsps pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp of salt
4 eggs
1 box of yellow cake mix

Topping:
1 cup of pecans
2 sticks of butter or margarine

Directions:
Cake:
Beat all ingredients together – then pour into a 13 x 9 pan, greased.
Add/sprinkle 1 box of yellow cake mix over mixture in pan.

Topping:
Sprinkle 1 cup of pecans on top of cake mix.
Thinly slice 2 sticks of butter or margarine and place on top of pecans.
Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
Spaghetti sauce- I use garden or garlic

Turkey meat- add can mushroom soup while frying- s
Season for the meat I use garlic powder, old bay

Smoke sausage fry it up/cut it up into dices

Bell peppers /onions diced up

Optional a packet of onion soup/mushroom soup from the soup box.

Directions:
I mix the sauce, spaghetti, sausage, turkey meat, veggies all together and add the cheese on top and bake for 15 min on 375

Ingredients:
2 cans of baked beans and 2 hot dogs.

Directions:
1. Open cans of baked beans.
2. Slice 2 hot dogs circles.
3. Mix beans and weiners into pot.
4. Cook on medium flame until desired warmth.
5. Delish.

Ingredients:
5lb bag of Russet potatoes
1 large onion
1 stick of butter
White pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
1 qt heavy whipping cream
¼ cup parsley
2 cups milk

Directions:
– peel and chop 5 lb bag of potatoes
– boil til tender – mash slightly
– cut onion – melt butter – sauté in pan until onions are caramelized – DO NOT BROWN
– drain potatoes – add onion/butter mix – salt & pepper to taste
– add 1 qt heavy whipping cream, ¼ cup parsley and 2 cups of milk.
– Cook on low for 15 – 20 minutes stirring constantly to avoid burning.

Bon Appetite!

Ingredients:
1 Package – Smoked Sausage or Kielbasa (chopped)
1 Medium Yellow or White Onion (chopped)
1 Yellow Bell Pepper (chopped)
1 Orange Bell Pepper (chopped))
1 Green Bell Pepper (chopped))
3 Cloves fresh garlic (or 2 TBSP minced from jar)
3 – 14oz cans Diced Tomatoes (do not drain)
1 Carton Chicken Broth
Red Pepper Flakes (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
Orzo (1 small box)
4 TBSP Olive Oil

Directions:
Note: For best results, the chop on the sausage, onions and bell peppers should be no smaller than ¼ inch.

Directions:
Chop sausage, onions and bell peppers, then mince garlic. In a medium pot, prepare small box of orzo according to package instructions. After straining the orzo, toss in a drizzle of olive oil to prevent it from sticking.

In a separate large pot, sauté’ sausage in remaining olive oil over medium heat for 7 minutes (turning every 3 minutes). Stir in the chopped veggies and minced garlic, then cover with lid for 3-5 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes and ¾ carton of chicken broth*, then add red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Gradually add the prepared orzo to the sausage and veggie mixture and stir until orzo is coated. Cover for 7 minutes then serve.

*Use entire carton if you prefer more liquid in your mixture

Ingredients:
– 1/2 pound lentils
– 1 medium/small onion, diced
– 2 small plum tomatoes, or 1 large tomato, diced
– 2 cloves garlic, minced
– 2 cloves shallot, minced
– Cracked black pepper, approx. 1 tsp, add to taste
– Tomato paste, approx. 2 oz, or more if you like a thicker soup
– A pinch of sugar, adjust to taste to balance the acidity of tomato paste
– Chicken flavored broth powder or bouillon powder, add to taste
– A pinch of salt, add to taste, keep in mind chicken broth powder already has salt

Directions:
My mom came up with this recipe a number of years ago and it has become a household staple since. She ate out at a Greek restaurant one day with a few friends and ordered the lentil soup. She never had lentil soup before and loved it so much that the next day, she tried to recreate at home what she had at the restaurant. She says it doesn’t taste exactly the same as the restaurant version and has adjusted the recipe over the years to fit her own taste. We have been making this recipe on the regular ever since, especially during the winter or on rainy days when a warm bowl of soup is the perfect comfort food.

1. Prepare ahead of time: Soak the lentils for 2-3 hours.
2. Put the lentils on the stove in a medium pot of water to boil and work on step 3 while the lentils are boiling.
3. First sauté the diced onion, reducing some water content, but does not need to brown. Add the diced tomatoes to the sautéed onion and continue to sauté the tomatoes with onion, also reducing water content to concentrate flavors. Add the minced garlic and shallot to the sauté mix and continue to sauté. Add cracked black pepper, approx. 1 teaspoon.
4. Add the entire sautéed mixture from step 3 into the pot of boiling lentils. Mix in the tomato paste, approx. 2 oz, or more for a thicker soup.
5. Add and stir in the rest of the ingredients to taste: pinch of sugar, chicken flavored broth powder/ bouillon powder, and pinch of salt (remember the chicken broth powder already has salt).
6. Lastly, boil the soup until desired thickness and crack some black pepper over the soup to serve.

Ingredients:
Butter
cumin seeds (1 tea spoon)
cloves, (4)
Cinnamon stick, (2)
Bayleaf, (2)
Dry red chilli (4)
Onion (2 piece)
Tomato (5 piece)
Cashewnuts (15 piece)
Ginger (6 cloves)
Garlic (a small piece)
Green chilli (5 pieces)
Spinach (450 grams)
Red chilli powder (1 tea spoon)
Turmeric powder (1/4th tea spoon)
Coriander powder (1 tea spoon)
Yogurt (2-3 table spoon)
Garam masaala ( 1 tea spoon)
Kasturi methi ( dry fenugreek) (1/4th tea spoon)
Paneer (500 g)

Directions:
Add a good amount of butter in the pan. Saute cumin seeds, cloves, Cinnamon stick, Bayleaf, Dry red chilli, Onion, Tomato,Cashewnuts, Ginger, Garlic, Green chilli for approx 10 minutes.
Let it all cool down.
Blend into a smooth gravy.
Then boil the spinach and blend it after it cools down.
Again add butter in the pan. (Keep the flame on low). Add the mixture of all the spices including red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder.
Add the gravy and the blended spinach.Add yogurt to give it a creamy texture.
Add pieces of paneer.
Let it sit for 10 minutes.
Add garam masaala and kasturi methi at the end and switch the flame off 1 minute after that.
Note: The substitute for paneer here would be sweet corn. (120 g)
Serve this with rice or wheat bread.
Enjoy.