5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug(MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. 
Add the egg and mix thoroughly. 
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.. 
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. 
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. 
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! 
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired

This recipe was sent to me in an e-mail from my sister Tori. Ever the skeptic I had to try it out before passing it along. the top picture is the cake turned out right out of the microwave about 7 minutes total time. The second is the cake dressed up for a dinner party or romantic night which took me approx 10-15 min start to finish. I couldn't believe it, and it's good! Never fear a last minute dinner party again, dessert is only 10 minutes away!

Peanut Butter Jumbos

Anyone that is a fan of peanut butter should try these!  They are SO good.  Interesting enough, this recipe doesn't call for flour.  They are definitely worth a try.  Have a BIG glass of milk on hand as well.

1 1/2 c. peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

2 tsps. baking soda

1 cup  miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup M&M's miniature baking bits

In a large mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter and sugars.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla.  Combine oats and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips and baking bits.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until edges are browned.  Remove to wire racks.  Yield: 9 dozen.

Note: Reduced-fat or generic brands of peanut butter are not recommended for this recipe.

Fast and Easy Chicken Noodle "Stoup"

1 Can Chicken Chunks
1 Can cream of chicken and a can of water
1 Can Chicken Broth
Onion, carrots, and celery
3 tbsp Bisquick

Heat and stir

1 cup cooked noodles

Feeds 3-4 time to cook about 15-20 min.
Always good in a pinch, goes great with dumplings

Chicken Pot Pie

Home-made chicken pot pie

2 cooked and cut up chicken breasts (I grilled the chicken)
4 peeled, diced, and cooked potatoes (you can use 1 can of diced potatoes)
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup onion chopped
1 bag frozen vegetables
Seasonings (I used salt, pepper and garlic)
2 pie crusts (I used the pillsbury pie crusts)

Boil potatoes until they are soft but not mushy
Mix chicken, potatoes, onions, cream soup, frozen vegetables and seasonings together in a bowl
Put one pie crust in a pie pan and the fill your pie - then put the other pie crust on top, fold top crust under bottom pie crust and pinch
cut slots with a knife on the top pie crust.
Bake the pie in a 400 degree oven, for 30 to 40 minutes until the crust looks done!

Dishpan Cookies – Grandma Spang

10-12 dozen
Bake at 375

Cream Together:
2 cups shortening
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar

Add and beat until fluffy
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla

Stir in:
5 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 ½ cups flour

Mix well and add 1 cup each: raisins, nuts, coconut and chocolate chips. Drop onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake 9-11 min.

Artichoke Dip

Bake at 350

14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (use either plain or marinated)
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
8 oz. package cream cheese
1 large clove garlic, minced

Mix together mayo and cream cheese. Stir in parm and garlic. Fold in artichokes. Bake for 20-25 min until bubbly and lightly browned. Careful not to bake too long, the oils in the mayo and cheese will separate. Garnish with chopped tomatoes and green onions if ya like.

Spice it up a little with a small can of chopped green chilies.
orFold in a small box of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained) with the artichokes.

Mama Leone’s Caesar Salad

Soak 24 hours
1 cove garlic crushed
¾ cup olive oil


2 cups bread cubes
2 lbs. romaine
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs cooked 1 min.
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup grated parmesian cheese

Sauté bread cubes in ¼ cup olive oil and garlic. Clean romaine and break into bite sized pieces. Grind on plenty of black pepper and add ½ cup olive oil. Toss well. Place shelled eggs in center of salad, add lemon juice and toss. Add cheese and bread cubes, toss and serve.

Grammie’s Corn Soup

3 cups chicken stock
8 ears sweet corn, kernels removed – save cobs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoons butter
½ sup onion, chopped
½ teaspoon nutmeg
4 drops Tabasco sauce
4 teaspoons minced chives
salt and pepper

Boil chicken stock add corn cobs and milk, simmer 5 min.
Remove and discard cobs. In another pan melt butter and sauté onions until soft. Add corn and nutmeg, toss and sauté 5 min. – Do not brown. Add to stock mixture along with Tabasco, salt and pepper. Simmer gently 20 min. puree 1/3 to ¼ of the soup until smooth. Stir puree back in and serve, or chill and serve cold.
The secret of this is using very sweet corn.

Cinnamon Apple Upside-Down Cake

1 box regular yellow cake mix
1 large Granny Smith Apple or 2 small Season Tart green apples
Palm full Cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
Palm full Brown sugar

Parchment paper
1 Deep round cake dish

~Follow box instructions for Yellow Cake
~add a few healthy dashes of cinnamon to batter.
~Remove the skins and cores from the apples
~Slice ¾ of the apples into thin half moon shapes.
~Dice the remaining 1/3 apple into small pieces and set aside.

~Toss apple slices with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg (these ingred should be to taste, none should overpower any other).
~Use parchment paper to line your baking pan (this will allow you to turn out your cake perfectly after baking).
~Layer spiced apple slices along bottom of baking dish
~pour in yellow cake batter and then sprinkle remaining diced apples over the top.

~Bake per the directions on the boxcheck the cake with a tooth pick to ensure the cake is fully cooked before removing from oven.

The small diced apples will have floated to the center of the cake. You should now be able to turn out your cake to reveal your lovely half moon apple slices on the top of your cake

Serving Suggestion:Drizzle with warmed caramel and serve along side of French vanilla ice cream, OR enjoy warm right out of the oven no extra additives needed.

Limoncello Reduction

1 cup limoncello (reduced over medium heat to ½ cup)
1 cup mascarpone cheese (softened)
1 cup non sweetened heavy whipping cream ( whipped to stiff peaks)
Optional:
1 small handful mint minced fine
1 tbsp lemon zest

~Slowly whisk the limoncello into the mascarpone cheese.
~Mix Well.
~Fold in the heavy whipping cream. (Use as few strokes as possible to combine in order to keep the light and airy nature of the whipped cream.)

This mixture makes an almost custard like dessert and should be served with fruit, angel food cake or alongside raspberry gelato.
Limoncello is an Italian liqueur. It is used in Italy to freshen and cleans the palate. You do not need to spend an exurbanite amount to get a good bottle, but you do want to get one good enough that you feel comfortable drinking it with the meal too.

Eclair Cake

In my opinion, a dessert that costs less than $5.00 to make is very frugal!  Especially, if you have the ingredients on hand.  I usually have most of the ingredients on hand for this simple and delicious dessert.

This is the next best thing to the real eclair!!

3 packages of graham crackers

2 small packages instant french vanilla pudding

8 oz. cool whip

chocolate frosting

Layer bottom of 9x13 pan with whole graham crackers.  Then add layer of pudding,  mixed according to package directions with cool whip.  Layer another layer of crackers, pudding and finally a layer of crackers.  Frost.  Refrigerate at least 6 hours.  I prefer overnight.

So Easy and so delicious!!! 

Bagel Sandwiches

1 Plain Bagel
cream cheese (aka Schmear LOL)
2-4 slices of deli ham

You get how to build it, right? Then nuke it till it hot (in my microwave that's about 30 seconds.)

Mmmmmm..... and easy.

Cafe Rio Pork Salad

Cafe Rio is a Mexican restaurant here in my state.  Oh man, it has the best food!!  It doesn't help that it is right across the street from my house either ;)  When my friend gave me this copy cat version of their pork salad.  I knew I had to try it!  We tried it once and got hooked!!

There are three parts to the salad: the rice, the pork and the dressing.

Lime-Cilantro Rice

2 tbsp. oil

4 c. long grain rice

6 cups water

1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

juice of 2 limes

2 tsp crushed garlic

Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Add the rice, cilantro and garlic.  Saute 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add water and lime juice.  Bring to boil.  Then reduce heat and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice (about 20 minutes)

Cafe Rio Pork

1 (16oz) bottle of salsa

1 can coke

2 c. brown sugar

4-5 lb. pork roast

Place pork in crock-pot and fill it half way up with water.  Cook roast on high for 5 hours.  Drain off water.  Cut pork in thirds.  Put back into crock-pot.  Mix together salsa, coke and brown sugar.  Pour over the top of pork.  Cook an additional 3 hours on high.  Shred pork with forks.  Leave it on low until ready to serve.

Note: I have used chicken as a substitute (It is pictured above)  It is just as good this way, as well.

Creamy Tomatilla Salad Dressing

1 pkg. hidden valley ranch buttermilk dressing

1 c. buttermilk

1 c. mayo or sour cream

2-3 tomatillas (peel off outer leaf/shell)

1 tsp. crushed garlic

3/4 bunch fresh cilantro

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

juice from 1 lime (2 tsp)

Salt and pepper

Blend all ingredients in blender.  Refrigerate.

Assembly: Put a tortilla on a plate.  Then put rice, pork, some chopped lettuce and the dressing.  (You can add beans as well) 

Finally, garnish salad with cheese, tomato, crushed tortilla chips, sliced avocados,etc.

Note: I strongly prefer the uncooked tortillas over regular old packaged tortillas.  Check the refrigerated section of your local grocery store.  Our Costco carries them too.  Just throw tortilla in a pan over the stove top, give it a few flips and it's cooked.

You can also serve this burrito style.  My kids like it a little bit better this way.  

Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes

This is not a dish I grew up eating, but it's one of the few things my husband remembers his mom making--so it has sentimental value. I've found my absolute favorite recipe, which has a lot more flavor and actually makes me feel like I'm creating a meal rather than opening a can and throwing together a sloppy sandwich. Here it is:

Sloppy Joes

Brown:

2.5 lbs ground beef

2 lg onions, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Sprinkle in 1 Tbsp flour and stir.

Add:

1 pt ketchup

1 pt water

1 1/2 t curry powder

2 bay leaves

2 T Worcestershire sauce

· Simmer 1 1/2 hours, serve on deli rolls (not hamburger buns) and top meat with finely grated cheddar cheese, carmelized red onions, and crispy fried onions. Serve with homemade french fries or sweet potato fries and a green salad.

Meatball Stew

2 can chicken broth
2 cans diced tomato (or tomato sauce)
1-2 cups sliced carrot
1-2 cups sliced celery
1/2 chopped onion (optional)
20-25 frozen meatballs (more or less depending on size of your family)
1 1/2 cups dried pasta (any kind) (I really don't measure, this is a guess...)
Italian seasoning (probably 2-3 tablespoons) to taste
Garlic clove (or Garlic powder) to taste
olive oil

Pour a few tablespoons olive oil directly into your soup pot. Add raw diced vegetables. Saute until veggies are tender.

Add chicken broth and tomatoes. ( I normally used diced tomatoes and puree them before adding, but you could use sauce as well.) Bring to a boil. Season to your taste. (think similar to spaghetti sauce flavor)

Add frozen meatballs. Bring up to a boil again.

Add pasta directly into pot. This is a great time to use up little bits of whatever you have in the cabinet. Mini bowties, rotini, elbows, or shells work great. If you use spaghetti or fettucini noodles, just break them up into one inch sections.

Simmer until pasta is cooked through. (If it absorbs too much moisture, you can add more chicken broth or water.)

We serve it with grated cheese on top.

The picture above was taken after dinner was served and the noodles had absorbed some of the liquid. When I reheat, I will probably add more broth to return to soup-like consistency. Although it tastes fine as is, too...