Dec. 13- 18th

OK...CALL ME A SLACKER!! I have not been as diligent about keeping up with my recipes as I should have been. Please tell me your life gets hectic and that sometimes it's all you can do just to shower and get dressed! Two of my boys had birthdays over the past week and we were busy celebrating them. PLUS....I haven't done a ton of new and fun cooking, just a lot of easy boring stuff.
After watching Julie & Julia, I decided that I needed to get back to my blog PRONTO. Like her, I wonder if anyone really reads this or tries these recipes. I have one thing though that Julie didn't have.....CHILDREN!!! She was diligent and posted daily and tried new recipes for an entire year. Sorry folks, I can't commit to that. Doing so would also commit me to the looney bin!! SO, for those that have been waiting....(ARE there any that have been waiting??) I give you my weeks recipes!! :)


BAKED POTATO SOUP

6 C. water
3-4 chicken Boullion cubes
8-10 chopped red potatoes
1/2 yellow onion chopped
1 PT 1/2 & 1/2
3 C. milk
1 TBS. dried parsley (fresh if you want)
1 lb. Velveeta Cheese
1-2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
6 strips crisp bacon

Add water, bouillion, onions and potatoes to pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are half way cooked. Add all other ingredients except bacon. Simmer soup until cheese is melted and potatoes are soft; but don't let them fall apart! Serve and top with crispy bacon.

BBQ PORK NACHOS
Cooked a small pork roast last night and shredded it. Now have all this WONDERFUL meat to do so many things with. Tonight we are doing BBQ Nachos. Here's how it goes! Line plate with tortilla chips, spread shredded pork over, pour on BBQ sauce, top with shredded cheddar cheese OR use cheese queso and then warm up in the microwave. EASY RIGHT?? My husband likes this as a meal AND a late night snack!

SPLIT PEA SOUP IN CROCK POT

2 c. DRIED split peas
1 C. chopped onion
1 C. chopped celery & greens
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 can chicken broth
2 C. water
3-4 ham hocks
2-3 C. chopped cooked ham

Place each ingredient in a crock pot except for chopped ham. DO NOT MIX. Place lid on and cook on low 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Remove ham hocks the last hour and replace with the cooked ham. Mix in well and add salt if needed. The natural salt from the ham hocks should add plenty.

BAKED PARMESAN CHICKEN

5-8 Chicken thighs with skin
Keebler Club crackers
1/2 C. Parmesan Cheese
1-2 TBS. Garlic Salt
4 TBS. melted butter
2 C. Buttermilk

Crush crackers in a ziplock bag. Pour into bowl and add Parmesan Cheese and garlic salt. In separate bowl, pour milk and set aside. (If you don't have Buttermilk, pour 2C. milk in bowl with2 tsp. lemon juice and let sit for 5 min. WHALA....homemade Buttermilk) Preheat oven to 400 deg. Dip chicken in milk, then dip into cracker crumb mixture and coat well. Place in a glass dish. Drizzle melted butter over chicken and place in oven to bake for approx 45 min. or until juices run clear.


HONEY ROLLS
(With permission from my friend Angela, I give you the EASIEST ROLL RECIPE EVER! YES, you CAN make rolls)

1/4 C. really warm water
2 TBS. yeast (NOT those little Red Star Packets from the Store...BUY A BAG OF YEAST!!)
1 tsp. honey
MIX THESE FIRST AND SET ASIDE

1 3/4 C. milk heated until warm
ADD:
1/2 butter and melt
THEN ADD
2 large eggs
1/3 C. honey 3 tsp. salt
MIX WELL THEN ADD TO MIXING BOWL WITH YEAST MIXTURE

Mix in 6 1/2 C. flour 1 C. at a time. Dough should be slightly sticky to the touch but will not stick to your finger. Cover bowl with a towel and let rise until doubled. Tear off pieces of the dough and shape into a ball. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover with a towel and let rise again until doubled in size. Bake at 400 for 15-18 min. Remove and spread homemade honey butter over top or just plane butter. SEE, YOU CAN DO THIS!!

STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

1 box large shells
1 lb. ground sweet sausage
2 lb. Ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 tsp. Garlic Salt
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
2 C. shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Boil shells until slightly firm. DO NOT OVER COOK THESE; they will finish cooking in the oven!
Cook sausage and set aside. In a bowl, combine the Ricotta cheese, garlic salt, sausage and egg. Mix well and then spoon into the shells. Pour 1 C. of sauce in the bottom of an 11x13 dish. Place shells in dish. You will need to place these close together so they stand up. top off with the sauce and bake at 350 for 25 min. Sprinkle shredded cheese over and bake additional 8 min. Remove and serve.

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
My husbands favorite thing at Thanksgiving is the sweet potatoes with the melted marshmallows. Personally, I've NEVER like that. In fact, I don't even like sweet potatoes!!! Until I tried this recipe! I thought it was FABULOUS and prefer making this around the Holidays instead!

4 cups sweet potato, cubed (or use 2 large cans sweet potatoes DRAINED)
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
4 TBS. butter softened
1/2 C. evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

TOPPING:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
3 TBS. butter
1/2 C. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash. (OR Drain canned sweet potatoes and mash well) In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.In medium bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.