Murgh Makhani (aka Butter Chicken)

2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. garam masala (you can buy this at any ethnic grocery store)
1 1/2 tsp. minced ginger
2 TBS. minced garlic
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 6oz. container plain yogurt
Add above ingredients and saute together. Add 4 chicken breasts cut into small cubes to the mix. Set in fridge and let marinate for 30-60 minutes. Meanwhile, in large pan, melt 1 stick butter, add onions (and peppers if desired) and saute until translucent. Add chicken mixture. Cook 5-7 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Add whipping cream and cilantro, mix well. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat, and serve immediately over basmati rice.
1/4 c. whipping cream
1/2 c. butter
1 large onion thinly sliced
2 TBS. chopped fresh cilantro

Healthy Chicken Garlic Pizza

Crust:

2 T. active dry yeast

2 1/4 C. warm water

2 T. sugar

2 T. shortening

1 T. sugar

4 C. wheat flour

2 C. white flour

Mix yeast and warm water until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well, knead, and press into large cookie sheet. Let rise for 30 min - 1 hour.

Sauce:

3 TBS. butter or margarine

1/8 c. flour

1 c. skim milk

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves minced

Mix flour and butter in sauce pan on medium-high heat to create paste. Add milk and remaining ingredients. Stir well to create an alfredo-type sauce. If needed, add more milk to create desired consistency. Spread over risen pizza crust.

Toppings:

Shredded Chicken

Fresh cut tomatoes

mushrooms (optional)

green onions

3 c. part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. DELICIOUS!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

7/8 Cup butter (1 3/4 stick), softened
3/4 Cup white sugar
3/4 Cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg 1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour, bleached preferred
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Add soda and salt; mix well. Add flour; mix well by hand or use a dough hook. Add chocolate chips and combine until evenly distributed. Make dough into small balls (approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter). Bake at 375 degrees (conventional oven temperature) until golden brown and no longer wet on top. Approximately 7-11 minutes.

Shrimp & Avocado Fettucine

***I've had LOTS of requests for this easy and better-than-restaurant quality pasta dish***
½ pound dried fettuccine (boiled until al dente)

In large sauce pan stir until mixed, and shrimp is warmed:
3 Tbls olive oil

1 lb. Shrimp peeled and de-veined (I use frozen cocktail shrimp)

3 Tbls chopped fresh parsley

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ red or green jalapeno chili pepper, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves)

¼ cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 avocados, halved pitted and diced

1 cup grated parmesan cheese (fresh)

4 Tbls. fresh cilantro chopped

1to 2 tsp. fresh lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

Mix sauce with pasta and serve warm with garlic bread.

Hot Brown Sandwich

1 stick butter

3 Tablespoons flour (regular)

2 cups milk

1 cup Colby cheese (grated)

1/2 box Parmesan cheese (grated)

Chicken or turkey

Country ham or baked ham

Bacon, fried to a crisp

Tomato slices

Paprika

Tabasco hot pepper sauce (5 dashes or more to taste)

2 egg yolks

Bread (soft french bread works best)

In a 4-quart, heavy sauce pan, melt butter. Mix in flour until mixture is smooth. Add milk in small amounts at a time; cook until sauce is thick. Add Tabasco sauce and Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat. Take out 1/2 cup sauce and add the two beaten egg yolks. Mix well and return to the remainder, stirring constantly. Add Colby and American cheeses. Remove from heat.Toast six slices of bread on both sides. Slice each piece in half and place on a heat-resistant plate. Layer with chicken or turkey, ham of your choice, sauce, tomato, and 2 slices of bacon. Top with paprika. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes

Kentucky Cheesy Garlic Grits

1 cup Quick grits

4 cups Water, boiling

1 tsp Salt

4 oz Butter

12 oz Cheddar cheese, sharp

1 Egg

1 Tbl Garlic powder

3/4 cup Milk

dash Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Cook grits in boiling water until thick. Remove from heat. Stir in butter & 1/2 the cheese. Beat egg with garlic powder, milk & hot sauce. Add to grits. Pour into buttered 2 Qt casserole. Top with rest of cheese. Bake 1 hour at 350.

Witches Brew (Homemade Rootbeer)

Use a large insulated drink cooler to brew it in, and everyone can help themselves using the spigot, or I will put it in my very largest plastic tub inside of my witch cauldron so the dry ice can create the steamy effect!

Dry ice can be dangerous. Be sure to use gloves when handling.

INGREDIENTS
6 cups white sugar
3 1/3 gallons cold water
1 (2 ounce) bottle root beer extract (read instructions, sometimes this differs with the brand you buy and you don’t use the whole bottle, but most brands you do)
4 pounds dry ice
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large cooler, mix together the sugar and water, stirring to dissolve sugar completely. Stir in the root beer extract. Carefully place the dry ice into the cooler, and cover loosely with the lid. Do not secure the lid, as pressure may build up.
2. Let the mixture brew for about an hour before serving. Leftover root beer can be stored in one gallon milk jugs.

Blackberry Pie

1 recipe for Double-Crust Pie shell (if you don't have one, let me know), homemade is better than store bought.
5 cups blackberries
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Roll out pie crust and place half in 9 inch pie plate. In large bowl mix berries and sugar and flour. Pour into pie crust. Cover with top half of crust, seal edges, slit top, sprinle with milk and sugar. Cover edge with foil. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes (50 minutes if frozen berries are used). Remove foil. Bake additional 25 minutes or until filling is bubble and pastry pie is golden. Cool or wire rack. YUM!

Apple-Pear Crumble Pie

If any of you get the seasonal Kraft Food & Family magazine, you've got to try this recipe (p.45), it's fabulous, and easy and hard to stop at just one slice!

3/4 cup crushed NILLA Wafers (about 24 wafers)
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of 15-oz. pkg.)
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 large baking apples, peeled, sliced
1 large fresh pear, peeled, sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour, divided
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1-1/4 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping


PREHEAT oven to 375ºF. Mix wafer crumbs, brown sugar and butter until well blended; set aside.
PLACE pie crust in greased 9-inch pie plate. Spread cream cheese carefully onto bottom of crust; sprinkle with half of the crumb mixture. Set aside. Combine fruit in large bowl. Add granulated sugar, flour and cinnamon; toss to coat. Spoon over crumb layer in pie crust; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.
BAKE 35 min. or until fruit is tender and crust is lightly browned, covering loosely with foil after 25 min. if necessary to prevent crust from overbrowning. Cool on wire rack. Serve topped with the whipped topping. Store any leftover pie in refrigerator.

Melt in Your Mouth Pork Chops

4 pork chops
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can water

Preheat oven to 300. Brown pork chops in frying pan until just barely browned, sprinkle wiwth garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix soup and water. Spray square glass pan with cooking spray. Pour soup mixture over browned pork chops. Bake in oven for 2.5 hours.

These pork chops fall apart, and are delicious. Serve with green beans and wild rice.

Best Roast Ever from Pimp My Dinner Blog

This is amazing and the roast just falls apart! Oh I want to make it right now. Make sure to use exactly what is says or its not as good!

1 can cream mushroom with roasted garlic

1 box (2 packets) beefy onion soup mix

1/3 c. apple vinegar

1 tsp. dried rosemary

Crushed 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 lb. boneless beef chuck roast

4 carrots cut in 2 inch lengths, thick pieces halved lengthwise

2 parsnips, peeled and cut in 2 inch lengths, thick pieces halved lengthwise

5 medium red skinned potatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick

Garnish: chopped fresh dill

Whisk soup, soup mix, vinegar, rosemary and garlic in a 5 1/2 quart or larger crock pot. Add beef, turn to coat. Arrange carrots, parsnips and potatoes around meat. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender. Remove meat to cutting board and slice. Place on serving platter. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon, arrange around beef. Spoon some gravy on meat, sprinkle with dill. Serve remaining gravy at the table.

Easy Pasta Bake

1 bag wide egg curly noodles (or whatever type you like) - boiled in salt water for 7 minutes (no longer - you don't want them to get mushy).
2-3 c. cut up veggies (I used zucchini, mushrooms, carrots and onions)
3-4 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
1 can spaghetti sauce (any flavor)
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. italian seasoning
2 c. mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Preheat oven to 350. Cook all ingredients (except noodles and cheese) in a pot until it's well combined and comes to a boil (about 10 minutes on medium-high). Pour over cooked noodles in casserole dish, sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Stir to mix well. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese on top is melted and bubbly.

Potato Chowder

I played around with this recipe and it was simple and easy, and not bad tasting either.

3 c. milk (I used a combo of skim and half and half)
1 can cream of potato soup (condensed)
3 c. frozen, southern style hashbrowns
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 can corn (drained)
2 c. frozen peas
2 TBS. chopped bacon bits
1.5 c. shredded sharp cheddar

Bring milk, onion, and potato soup to a boil. Add frozen hashbrowns, stirring frequently until it returns to a boil. Let simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add corn and peas. Stir. Add bacon bits and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

Mel's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Put an entire chicken in your biggest pot and cover it with water. (if you have never cooked a whole chicken before there will be gibblets to remove and the cavity needs to be rinsed and some of them need to have the neck cut off).
You can use whatever size of chicken you want, it just depends on how much soup you want.
Boil the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic, onion and a can of cream of chicken soup until the chicken falls off the bone. (it usually doesn't take more than 2 hours).
Remove chicken and bones then shred the chicken and put it back in the pot.
Add chopped potatoes and carrots, can of corn, peas or green beans...pretty much whatever vegetables you think sound good and bring pot back to a boil.

Noodles:
1 cup flour
2 eggs
2 Tbs. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix, roll out and cut into long strips then put into the pot once the soup is boiling again.
When I made the noodles the other day I added an extra cup of flour and the dough was still sticky so I can't make any guarantees for the noodles. Also, the recipe says to let the noodles dry for hours, but I never do and they still taste okay to me.
The soup is done when the veggies are soft and the noodles are cooked through.

This goes great w/ Mel's homemade scones!

Mel's Breadmachine Scones

Add in this order:
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. luke warm water
4 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. butter
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
Make a well in the flour and add 2 and 1/2 tsp. yeast
Then I just do the dough setting on the bread maker, when it is done I shape the dough and fry them in veggie oil.