Roasted Ranch Potatoes

2 lbs small red potatoes , quartered
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 (1 ounce) packet hidden valley ranch dressing mix (seasoning and salad mix) ..You can now buy a big container of Ranch seasoning at Sam's.

1.Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Place potatoes in a resealable plastic bag and add oil, seal bag.
3. Toss to coat, add salad dressing mix and toss again until coated.
4.Bake in an ungreased baking pan for 35 minutes or until potatoes are brown and crisp.

serve with Simple Ranch Chicken Breasts

Simple Ranch Chicken Breasts

by Cooks.com

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs (plus some extra for pan)
3 tablespoons of Hidden Valley dry Ranch Dressing mix (you can now buy a big container of Ranch seasoning at Sam's).

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°.
Spray bottom of 9x13 baking dish with non stick cooking spray, then coat pan with extra bread crumbs.

2. Mix dry Ranch Dressing with the 1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs, then coat both sides of chicken breasts with the mixture.

3. Place in pan and cook anywhere from 30-60 minutes, depending on your oven.

Serve with Roasted Ranch Potatoes

Christmas Pancakes by Me

Andes Peppermint Morsels
White Chocolate morsels
Whipping Cream
Pancakes
Red and green sprinkles

1. Make pancakes as normal
2. Top (sandwich between hot pancakes) the pancakes with the morsels. Let melt slightly.
3. Spray whipping cream on top.
4. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles.

Turkey

Turkey (my family buys 10 lbs for now)
4 onions, 1 of them sliced into rings or slivers, the other 3 cut into chunks
full head of garlic cloves
2 sticks of butter, softened
lots of fresh rosemary, 1/2 c or more plus stems for cavity, chopped into little bits
lots of fresh sage, at least 20 leaves, plus full stems for cavity, chopped into little bits
salt & pepper
poultry seasoning
roasting pan
electric thermometer (invest in a good one with a 20% Coupon at Bed, Bath, & Beyond)

I make my basting butter the day before. My kids and I go pick the fresh herbs from the school where I used to teach. It has become a neat tradition. Then I chop the herbs into tiny bits and mix with the 2 sticks of softened butter. You can also use pressed garlic cloves and seasonings. Using a rubber spatula, I scoop the butter into the bottom of a baggie and with my hands, I smoosh the butter to the bottom and try to shape it into a log. Refrigerate overnight. Thanksgiving/Christmas morning, remove and slice into 1/4" disks to place under the skin of the turkey.

I saw on 'The Chew' where you can actually season and butter baste the turkey the night before so that Thanksgiving morning you can just fill the cavity and start the oven.

We buy our bird at least 5 days before Thanksgiving/Christmas. We put it in the fridge to start defrosting on Saturday before Thanksgiving (allow 24 hours for every 4 lbs). A 12 lb bird should take 3 days to thaw, but recommendations are to allow an extra day just to be sure. It's safe to keep a thawed bird in the fridge a day or two. If you find it still frozen TG morning, fill clean sink with cold water. Place bird in and change water every 30 minutes.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Open the bird (7 am at our house) and remove neck and giblets pack. Discard if you're not using them. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Gently slide your fingers between the skin and the meat, loosening the skin so you can place your butter disks inside. Do this all over the entire bird.
3. Place the butter throughout the turkey and pat it down a bit. Save some to rub on the outside of the skin or use oil. Salt and pepper the outside. We also use poultry seasoning.
4. Put one onion (cut into rings or slivers) onto the bottom of the roasting pan. Place the bird on top. Shove the other onions (chunked) and peeled garlic cloves inside the cavity. I also place any leftover herb branches. If possible, reclamp the legs.
5. Place the thermometer probe into the meatiest piece of the thigh, not touching any bone, and set it to 180 degrees.
6. Place the turkey in the oven.
7. If turkey is browning too quickly, you may loosely cover with a foil tent.

Last year our 11 lb bird took 5 hours.

Roasting times according to Better Homes and Gardens magazine at 325 degrees:
8-12 lbs......unstuffed: 2 3/4 to 3 hours stuffed: 3 to 3 1/2 hours
12-14 lbs...unstuffed: 3 to 3 3/4 hours stuffed: 3 1/2 to 4 hours

Click here for leftover ideas.
Click here for stuffing recipes.
Click here for pie recipes.

Skinny Greek Chicken for Crock Pot

by Skinny Crock Pot on Facebook
Total Time: 5 Hours

Ingredients:
1 Lemon, Juiced
4 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup White Wine
1/4 Cup Chicken Broth
1 tsp Dill
1 tsp Rosemary
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Whole Chicken, Broken into it's Respective Pieces

1.Add all the ingredients with the exception of the chicken to the marinade.

2. Mix up well.

3. Add in the chicken and coat all the pieces completely.

4. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours.

5. Serve over noodles with sauce from the slow cooker spooned over the noodles and a little feta and olives for good measure.

In my opinion: This was good. I love using a whole chicken, it save so much money and you can use the leftover chicken for other recipes.

Halloween Treats

My hubby made these hot dog mummies. Just cut strips out of crescent roll dough and wrap them around the dog. Bake according to directions.

Aren't these the cutest little juice boxes?

The best way to make these witch's hats is to use some icing to place a ring of icing onto the perimeter of the kiss and pressing it down on the the cookie.

Tahchin

32 oz Plain Non-fat yogurt
1 lg package (20 oz) saffron rice
6 servings instant rice
3-4 medium potatoes (peeled & thinly sliced-about 1/4")
3-5 large chicken breasts, enough to cover bottom of 10x13" baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350 and spray 10x13 baking dish.

1. Cook rice halfway (if using instant, follow directions and let sit on stove about 3 minutes).
2. Boil the yellow rice halfway and drain.
3. Boil chicken until just cooked through (8 minutes for thin chicken).
4. Spread yellow rice onto bottom of 10x13" dish.
5. Lay potato slices on top, placing thinner potatoes in the middle. 6. Place chicken on top of potatoes.

7. Mix yogurt and white rice in pot you used to cook the rice.

8. Spread white rice mixture over the chicken and cover with foil.

9. Cook for about an hour. Test doneness by stabbing potato with a thin knife.

10. If you have a serving platter larger than the 10x13, cover the dish with the upside down platter and invert. Otherwise, cut and serve from the baking dish.

Beef Peperoncini Sandwiches by Krazy Coupon Lady

Since this is a recipe you can make ahead and freeze, buy double or triple of the first 3 ingredients. Make all at the same time, and freeze until you are ready to cook.

2 lb Chuck Roast
16 oz jar peperoncinis
1 packet Good Seasons Italian Seasoning (dressing)

Swiss or Provolone Cheese
Hoagie Rolls

1. Add all 3 ingredients into a Gallon Size Freezer Bag and put in freezer. When you are ready to cook this, put first 3 ingredients in Crock Pot and let it cook for 8 hours on low.
2. Shred meat and serve on rolls or hoagies with Swiss or Provolone cheese. Yum!

In my opinion: This was sooo good. I think I could eat it weekly. We will definitely need a bigger roast next time.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

from a friend who cooked this and stocked my freezer when I was going through a major transition

1 lb chicken cooked and shredded
1 c chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can green chile enchilada sauce
10 corn tortillas, quartered
1 c Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
2 T sliced jalapenos, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine chicken, broth, soup, and 1/2 of the jalapenos and mix until smooth.
2. Lightly coat a 9x13 baking pan (or 2 8x8)with nonstick spray.
3. Layer the bottom of the baking dish with 1/2 of the tortillas. Spread half of the chicken soup mixture on top of the tortillas and sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese.
4. Repeat layers. Top with enchilada sauce and the rest of the cheese and jalapenos.
5. Freeze or bake uncovered 30 minutes or until bubbly.

In my opinion: I loved this and am excited to have another freezer meal.

Herbed Chicken with Wild Rice (Crock Pot)

by Taste of Home
1 package (6 ounces) long grain and wild rice mix
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 ounces each)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup water
3 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon

1. Place rice in a 5-qt. slow cooker; set aside seasoning packet. In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil and butter. Add to slow cooker. In the same skillet, saute mushrooms until tender; place over chicken.
2. In a small bowl, combine the soup, water, bacon, herbs and contents of seasoning packet. Pour over top. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until meat is tender. Yield: 6 servings.

In my opinion: This was yummy. It was a great change from the normal chicken slow-cooker recipes. It was full of fall flavors.

Pork and Pineapple Kabobs

by Kraft
1/2 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce
2 Tbsp. GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 lb. boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1 cup green pepper chunks (1 inch)
1/2 cup red onion chunks (1 inch)

1. MIX first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup for later use. Add meat to remaining sauce; toss to coat. Refrigerate 15 min. to marinate.

2. HEAT grill to medium-high heat. Remove meat from marinade; discard marinade. Thread meat onto skewers alternately with pineapple, peppers and onions.

3. GRILL 12 to 14 min. or until meat is done, turning occasionally and brushing with reserved sauce.

In my opinion: We really liked this recipe. It was the first time we've grilled pork and we were pleasantly surprised.

Swiss Steak Supper (Crock Pot)

by Taste of Home
1-1/2 pounds beef top round steak
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 medium potatoes
1-1/2 cups fresh baby carrots
1 medium onion, sliced
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian diced tomatoes
1 jar (12 ounces) home-style beef gravy
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1. Cut steak into six serving-size pieces; flatten to 1/4-in. thickness. Rub with seasoned salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown beef in oil on both sides; drain.
2. Cut each potato into eight wedges. In a 5-qt. slow cooker, layer the potatoes, carrots, beef and onion. Combine tomatoes and gravy; pour over the top.
3. Cover and cook on low for 5-1/2 to 6 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 6 servings.

In my opinon: This was a pretty good meal. It needed something else....just not sure what.

Chicago-Style Steak with Blue Cheese Butter

by Kraft
1/2 cup A.1. CHICAGO STEAKHOUSE Marinade
2 beef T-bone or Porterhouse steaks (3/4 lb. each), 3/4 inch thick
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. ATHENOS Crumbled Blue Cheese
1 Tbsp. finely chopped green onion


1. POUR marinade into large resealable plastic bag. Add steaks; turn to coat. Seal bag. Refrigerate 30 min. to marinate.

2. MEANWHILE, mix butter, cheese and onion until well blended; cover. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3. PREHEAT grill to medium heat. Remove steaks from marinade; discard marinade. Grill steaks, uncovered, 10 to 12 min. for medium-rare to medium doneness, turning occasionally. Remove steaks from grill. Remove bones; cut steak into thin slices. Top with the butter mixture

In my opinion: This steak was delicious. The butter added flavor and pizazz. Can't wait to have it again.

Cool Crayons

from The Ultimate Book of Kid's Concoctions

broken crayons
heavy paper cups
assorted candy molds
oven mitt

1. Remove all paper from crayons and sort by color in heavy cups.
2. Place one cup of crayons in microwave. Cook on high 4-6 minutes or until the crayons are completely melted.
3. Using an oven mitt, have an adult carefully pour the melted crayon wax into the molds. Throw the used paper cup away.
4. Place the candy molds in the freezer for 20 minutes until the wax is hard.
5. Pop Cool Crayons out of molds and color.

Crystal Rock Garden

from Ultimate Book of Kid's Concoctions

1 small sponge
4 T salt
2 T water
2 T liquid bluing
food coloring
rubber glove

1. Cut a sponge into several small pieces. Place sponge pieces into a small plastic or glass bowl.
2. Put on rubber gloves, sprinkle 2 T salt, water, and liquid bluing over the sponge pieces. Allow the concoction to set for 24 hours.
3. Sprinkle the remaining 2 T salt over the sponge pieces. Allow the concoction to set for an additional 24 hours.
4. Repeat step 2. Then add a few drops of food coloring to each sponge piece. By this time your crystal flower garden should be starting to bloom.

You can use cotton balls, coals, or porous brick pieces in place of a sponge to create your Crystal Rock Garden.