Pizza Loaves

1 jar (1 lb. 10 oz.) Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce

1 1/2 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 1/2 cups Pepperidge Farm® Herb Seasoned Stuffing

2 eggs, beaten

1 medium onion, chopped (or use dehydrated onions, whatever you have stocked)

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed

4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into 6 pieces

Mix 3/4 cup pasta sauce, meat, stuffing, eggs, onion, pepper and oregano thoroughly (adding extra stuffing if needed) and shape firmly into 6 loaves, forming loaves around pieces of mozzarella. Place loaves in baking pan. Bake at 400°F. for 30 min. or until meat loaves are done. Pour remaining sauce over loaves, cover with foil, and keep warm in the oven (turned off) until ready to serve. Serve with parmesan noodles (lunguine noodles tossed in some butter, parmesan cheese, and a touch of pasta sauce) and a tasty Italian tossed salad!

**These loaves taste great reheated the next day for a leftovers lunch, too!

Tasty Breakfast Donut Holes

1 package (8-count) biscuits (ours were the buttermilk ones)
Powdered sugar
Cinnamon and sugar mix
Milk
Vanilla
Jelly (your choice on flavor!)
Brown bags

Cut each biscuit into quarters; roll each quarter into a ball. Drop balls into fryer (350 degrees), turning to allow a deep golden color. Take balls out and sit on towel-plate for a minute. In one brown bag, put a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar. In the second bag, put the cinnamon and sugar mix. Place a few donut holes in each bag and toss to coat. Pull out donuts and set on serving plates. Continue with the rest of the dough balls. Make glaze out of powdered sugar and milk (more powdered sugar than milk) and a touch of vanilla. Then add one to two scoops of jelly to the glaze and mix well. Serve with the donuts.

** Sorry there are no amounts to the ingredients. I just added a little at a time, more as needed. We used strawberry jelly since that's what I had on hand but next time will try to use raspberry jelly.
** These donut holes tasted a lot like those served at Smokey Bones BBQ, but homemade! :)

Pork Chops and Apples in the Crock Pot

6 pork loin chops, about 1-inch thick, trimmed of visible fat
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt
6 tart apples, such as Granny Smith, cored and thickly sliced
1/4 cup currants or raisins, optional
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup brown sugar

Brown chops in oil over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt. Place pork chops in the crock pot; combine remaining ingredients and pour over the pork chops. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours, or on high 3 to 4 hours.

Chicken Sausage and Bacon Kabobs

6 slices center cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 packages of chicken and apple sausages
1/2 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 green, red, or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 orange, cut into slices or wedges

Cook bacon pieces in a microwave oven for about 1 minute, or pan fry until the edges begin to curl but the bacon is still flexible. Drain well. Cut each sausage into 5 pieces. Thread veggies and meats onto skewers in whatever order you prefer! Place skewers on hot oiled grill and cook 4 to 5 minutes per side (16 to 20 minutes total). Meanwhile, squeeze the orange juice into the BBQ sauce and stir to combine. Brush kabobs with BBQ sauce with each turn. Serve hot with orange slices or wedges.

INDOOR: Prepare kebabs as directed. Preheat broiler. Place kebabs on wire rack over foil lined baking sheet or broiler pan. Place under broiler 4 to 6 inches from heat source and cook 3 to 5 minutes per side. Brush with BBQ sauce with each turn.

*I used a green, red, orange, and yellow pepper since grilled peppers are so good! Also, I cut up fresh pineapple and added that to the skewers too -- same reason! You could really taste the marinade on the meats... soooo good!

Chopped BBQ Steak Sandwiches

BBQ sauce
A-1 sauce
Brown sugar
Seasoning salt
BBQ seasoning powder
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Mustard
Steaks
Buns
Pickles, optional

Mix first eight ingredients in a ziploc bag. Tenderize steaks, flattening them out for faster cooking. Add steaks to marinade. Set marinade in frig for 30 minutes+. Grill steaks smothered in marinade until cooked. Chop into small pieces. Place meat on a bun and top with additional BBQ sauce and pickles. Yum!

*Okay, so this isn't some mind-blowing recipe but it worked! We had some steaks still from the other night that we didn't cook since we didn't need two each! So I told Jake I'd figure something out and this was the end product. I am not a "smart" chef where I can just start pulling ingredients together but this actually turned out real well. Even just eating the steaks unchopped would've been good - the marinade was quite tasty! Sorry there's no amounts... I just added some of this and a little of that.

Chinese Cheesecake

Canola oil, for frying
8 tablespoons cream cheese
3 tablespoons ricotta cheese
2 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar (1 1/2 for mix, 1 tablespoon for garnish)
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
10 thick egg roll skins
1 cup raspberries, fresh preferred
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Heat 1-inch of canola oil in large saute pan, to 325 degrees F. In a bowl mix the cream cheese, ricotta, and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar with a whip, until thoroughly blended. Beat egg and milk together. Place 1 1/2 tablespoons of cheese mix in center back of egg roll skin and place 4 to 6 raspberries in the center of cheese mixture. Brush egg wash around edges of skin, fold left and right sides of skin in 1/2-inch, and then roll from back to front, insuring that the roll is sealed.
Place in oil and cook both sides until golden brown. Let drain on paper towels for 2 to 3 minutes.
Dust with cinnamon and sugar. Serve with whipped cream and raspberries, if desired.

**Ok... we tried it and... ehh! It was alright -- it didn't deliver like we thought it would. If any of you want to play with this and make it "yummier", please let me know what you did to make it better! :)

Italian Beef Sandwiches

1 Roast
1 Jar of Pepperoncini's
1-2 packets of Good Season's Italian Dressing Mix (the powder)
Hoagie Buns
Butter (optional)
Sliced Cheese (Pepper Jack)

Trim roast if necessary (some fat makes good flavor) and dump first 3 ingredients into crockpot until the roast just pulls apart easily with a fork. I would put everything in that order so the juice from the jar of peppers doesn't take the powdery dressing mix off of the roast. In my crockpot I usually do it on Low for about 5 or 6 hours.

Then, assemble sanwiches. I like to put butter on the hoagies and broil them for a minute or two to make them crispy. Otherwise the meat might make them soggy. Add cheese and beef.

**For the roast, I always get whatever is cheapest or on sale. And I usually make it for just 2 and it makes a ton, so invite another couple over.
**For the jar of pepperoncini's I like to get the ones that are already deli sliced... less mess and more flavor.

Thanks to Emily Grover and family for sharing this recipe with us! I just happen to have a roast in my freezer and now I know what to use it for. Thanks, girlfriend!!

Lettuce Cashew Salad

1 head lettuce
1 cup cashews
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup Wesson oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon grated onion
1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Combine the first four ingredients. Just before serving, add dressing to taste and toss.

For the dressing, combine sugar, vinegar, mustard, onion, and poppy seeds. Slowly add oil, beating constantly until thick.

*Thanks, mom, for sharing this recipe from our Lourens family cookbook! The dressing sounds wonderful - I bet that's why dad likes it so much!! I made this with dinner last night and it was the FIRST thing that Jake ate off of his plate... and he went for seconds! :)

Chicken Divan

1 package frozen broccoli
3 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1 cup mayo
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4-1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup cheddar cheese
Bread crumbs

Cook broccoli in a casserole dish using the microwave. Drain off any extra liquids. Cover with chicken cubes. Combine mayo, soups, lemon juice, and curry powder. Pour over chicken. Cover with cheese and then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

*You can cook the broccoli any way you'd like but if you do it in the casserole dish, it saves you from cleaning an extra dish later! (coming from the person who once took a trash bag full of dirty dishes home to my parents' house for my mom to clean... pathetic, I know!) :)
*This is Jake's favorite dish that I cook. I'm quite liberal with the cheese and bread crumbs, too.

Chicken Long Grain

1 box original recipe long grain rice
1 can beef consemme soup
1 can french onion soup
1 can water chestnuts, mostly drained
1 can green beans, mostly drained
1 pound uncooked chicken, cut into 1" pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a casserole dish. Cover dish and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, and cook for another 30 minutes. Stir and let sit with lid off for a few minutes before serving. Good with crescent rolls for dipping in juices!!

*Great recipe for the crockpot!!
*A good side dish minus the chicken.
*I add an extra can of green beans and chop up the water chestnuts - just my prerogative!