Dinner and Dessert

Chili
K. Crawford

1 small chopped onion
1 lb ground beef
1 regular size can tomato soup
1 can dark red kidney beans with liquid
2 t chili powder
1 T flour

Brown onion and meat. Add soup and beans. Then, mix together the flour and chili powder in the empty soup can. Once mixed, fill can to the top with water. Add to other. Cover and simmer 45 minutes. (Doesn't have to cook this long, but tastes better this way.) Stir occasionally.


Shrimp and Corn Chowder
K. Crawford

3 1/2 c fat free milk
2 10 3/4 cans cream of potato soup
1/4 tsp pepper
A few sprinkles of dill weed
14 oz package frozen, cooked, peeled, deveined, tailless shrimp
Frozen white shoepeg corn
4 oz. Monterey jack cheese (low-fat if possible)

Slowly bring milk, soups, pepper and dill to boil. (Be careful not to let
milk burn on pan bottom.) Add shrimp and reduce heat, stirring. Shrimp
will turn reddish. Add as much corn as you want.Add
cheese, and stir until melted.


Chicken Pot Pie
K. Crawford

3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded with two
forks (I boil it with a bouillon granule)

16 oz. package frozen mixed vegetables (make sure they aren't for
"stew," because this contains okra. Look for ones with corn, lima
beans, and green beans) --or-- substitute veggies you like

2 cans cream of chicken soup (sometimes I get 1 can cream of chicken,
and 1 can cream of chicken with herbs)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 onion, grated

Mix all together and place in casserole dish.

1 cup plain flour

1 cup milk

3/4 cup mayonnaise

Mix together and pour over other (will have a liquid consistency.)
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.


Corn Casserole
K. Crawford

1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can creamed corn
8 oz. sour cream
1 box jiffy cornbread
1 stick butter, melted

Mix all together. Pour into a glass dish. Bake at 350 for one hour.


Chicken Spaghetti
K. Crawford

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
Chicken bouillon cube
1 bell pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1 stick margarine
16 oz thin spaghetti or vermicelli
10 oz can Ro-Tel
1 lb velveeta cheese (cut into chunks)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Boil chicken in water with one chicken bouillon cube. Remove chicken
and chop. Set aside. In the meantime, cook pasta in remaining chicken
broth and then drain. Brown bell pepper and onion in margarine. Add
Ro-Tel, Velveeta and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until cheese melts.
Add chicken and cooked pasted and mix. Pour into greased large
casserole dish.

Optional: add chicken broth to keep casserole moist.

Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly.


Kentucky Derby Pie
K. Crawford

1/2 c flour
1 c sugar
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
3/4 c semisweet chocolate chips

Melt butter in medium glass bowl. Add in other ingredients and stir until smooth. Add chips last. (They may melt a little.) Pour into a frozen pie shell. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.


Easy Skillet Apple Pie
Recipe here
E. York

2 lb Granny Smith apples
2 lb Braeburn apples (I used Gala because it's what I had)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter (but next time I may use a little less)
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 (14.1-oz) package refrigerated piecrusts
1 egg white
2 Tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Peel apples, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Toss apples with cinnamon and 3/4 cup granulated sugar.

Melt butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat; add brown sugar, and cook, stirring constantly, 1-2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, and place 1 piecrust in skillet over brown sugar mixture. Spoon apple mixture over piecrust, and top with remaining piecrust. Whisk egg white until foamy. Brush top of piecrust with egg white; sprinkle with 2 Tbsp granulated sugar. Cut 4 or 5 slits in top for steam to escape.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly, shielding with aluminum foil during last 10 minutes to prevent excessive browning if necessary. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving.

(Note, I did not do the egg white and sugar. I cheated, took the short cut, and instead sprayed with Pam. Ha! But it turned out fine.)


Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
Southern Living
contributed by E. York

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
APPLE CAKE BATTER:
1 cup finely chopped pecans
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (about 1 1/2 lb.)
PRALINE FROSTING:
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Prepare Filling: Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth. Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.
2. Prepare Batter: Preheat oven to 350º. Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in apples and pecans.
3. Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan. Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife. Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.
4. Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).
5. Prepare Frosting: Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbsp. milk to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly. Pour immediately over cooled cake.


CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN MUFFINS
E. York

1 2/3 c flour
1 c sugar
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
(Mix all above ingredients together.)

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c canned pumpkin
1 stick butter, melted
(Add above 3 ingredients to dry mix.)

Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Place in greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Makes 12-16 regular muffins.


CRANBERRY APPLE CRISP
E. York

3 c unpeeled apples sprinkled with lemon juice, chpd into bite-size pieces
2 c whole raw cranberries
1 c granulated sugar
~Mix above and put in shallow 2 qt casserole dish

1 1/2 c oats
1 1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 c all purpose flour
1/2 c melted butter
1/3 c chpd pecans (optional)
~Mix and spread on top of apple mixture

~Bake uncovered at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.


Black Bottom Cupcakes (from Southern Living)
E. York

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 c sugar, divided
1/8 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 350.

2) Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1/3 cup sugar, beating well. Add 1/8 tsp salt and egg; beat well. Stir in chocolate morsels; set aside.

3) Combine remaining 1 c sugar, flour, and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine water and remaining 3 ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter evenly into paper-lined muffin pans, filling half-full. Spoon a heaping Tbsp of cream cheese mixture over batter in each muffin cup.

4) Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Makes 16 cupcakes.


CHOCOLATE CHIP BUNDT CAKE
E. York

1 Box yellow cake mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1/2 C. oil
1.5 C. milk or water
1 pkg. chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients but the chocolate chips with a mixer. Stir the chocolate chips in by hand. Put in greased & floured Bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until done (test for moist crumbs with a toothpick. You don't want to overbake it and dry it out.)~See Rushton's note on her blog about the chocolate chips. I should have done that but was too impatient. Hence, the chocolate chips all sitting at the top of my bundt cake instead of throughout it.