Chili in a Biscuit Bowl

From the Kitchen of: Britlyn Case

Ingredients:

2 cups biscuit mix

2/3 cup milk

½ teaspoon ground red pepper

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped

2 (14 ½-ounce) cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 teaspoons chili powder

Toppings: sour cream, sliced green onions

Garnish: green onions

Directions:

1.     Stir together first 3 ingredients. Turn dough out onto a surface sprinkled with biscuit mix. Shape into a ball, and knead 3 to 4 times. Divide into 6 portions.

2.     Invert 6 (6-ounce) custard cups several inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. (Or use an inverted muffin pan.) Coat outsides of cups with vegetable cooking spray.

3.     Roll or pat each dough portion into a 6-inch circle. Place each on a custard cup; press into a bowl shape.

4.     Bake at 450° for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly; remove biscuit bowls to a wire rack.

5.     Cook beef, onion, and bell pepper in a Dutch oven over medium heat until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomatoes, beans, and chili powder.

6.     Bring beef mixture to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes. Spoon into biscuit bowls, and serve with desired toppings. Garnish, if desired.

Stove Top Kettle Corn

From the Kitchen of: Sarah Allred

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. canola or vegetable oil

1/3 Cup popcorn kernels

3 Tbs. granulated sugar

Kosher salt

Directions:

1.    Place a large stock pot on the stove top.  Set heat to medium-high.  Add oil. While your oil is heating (it won’t take long), measure out your popcorn into a small bowl.  Add sugar to the kernels.  When it’s time to cook, everything moves very quickly, so it’s important to have it all ready to go.

2.    Wait until you see your oil smoke.  This is one little trick that a lot of people overlook, but it’s important.  The smoke is very faint, but if you just stare at the pot (it helps to get down parallel to it), you’ll see little billows of smoke coming up.  That’s your cue! Pour popcorn kernels and sugar into the pot.

3.    Immediately stir using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scraping sugar from bottom of pan.  This step should only take about 10 seconds.  Cover pot with lid.  You will need to shake the pot with your hands and you’ll want to make sure the lid stays on.  So I get a dish towel and drape it over the top.

4.    Hold the pot by the handles in a way that you’re securing the lid on as well.  Shake the pan side to side in all directions and up and down a few times.  Do this every 20 seconds or so.  It will keep the sugar from burning on the bottom and help the kernels to be evenly coated.

5.    After a few minutes you should start hearing the pops.  (If it doesn’t start popping after a few minutes, crack the lid to let some of the pressure out.  Chances are when you put the lid back on, it will pop away).  Continue the shaking every 20 seconds or so until you can tell almost everything is popped.  Remove the lid and stir immediately.

6.    Sprinkle Kosher salt to taste and then keep stirring.  You can eat it warm right out of the pan (Disclaimer: caramelized sugar is HOT so don’t eat it right away.) or let it cool completely.  It’s great either way!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

From the Kitchen of: Stephanie Jensen

Ingredients:

2 Cups cooked chicken

2 small cans of cream of chicken soup

2 soup cans of water

4 tsp. flour

2 tsp. chicken bouillon (or 2 cubes)

Black pepper to taste

1 can of biscuits (8 biscuits)

Directions:

1.    In crockpot mix together Cream of chicken soup and water.  Stir in chicken, flour, bouillon, and pepper.

2.    Cut biscuits into quarters and mix in gently.  Cover; cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.  (Great for Sunday Dinner J)

Corn/Bean/Chicken Salsa

From the Kitchen of: Laura Morrow

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts (Depending on how many you are feeding)

2 Tbs. lemon juice

2 tsp. paprika

Can of corn

Can of Black beans

1 cup of salsa

Directions:

1.     Put chicken breasts in the crockpot and add lemon juice and paprika (just enough to cover chicken).

2.    Turn the crockpot on high for 2 to 3 hours (enough time for the chicken to cook all the way through).

3.    When chicken is cooked, shred it with a fork and add corn, black beans, and salsa. (You can change the amounts on these ingredients to what you prefer)

4.    Mix it all around and turn it down to low and leave it in the crockpot for 1.5 or 2 more hours

5.    After this, it’s basically done.  Now you can do a few different things.

A)   Wrap it up in tortillas and you can add cheese and lettuce.

B)    Eat it by itself!

C)   Or my favorite – Eat it as a dip for tortilla chips.

Slow-Cooker Carnitas

From the Kitchen of: Loni Andrus

Ingredients:

1 (6-8 pound) pork butt, also called pork shoulder

2 tablespoons coarse salt

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

8 whole cloves garlic, smashed

4 chipotle peppers (canned or dried)

1 cup tomato juice

1 cup orange juice

Directions:

1.    Trim excess fat from the meat and discard. Place all ingredients in the slow-cooker. Set to cook on LOW for 8 hours. Meat is done when it literally falls off the bone. When cool enough to handle, lift the meat from the juices and place in a large bowl. Remove the bone, then shred the meat.

2.    Skim the fat from the juices and keep as a medium for re-heating the meat.

3.    For carnitas tacos, reheat the meat and serve in corn tortillas with sour cream, cilantro, chopped red onion and lime wedges.

**Makes 20-30 taco-sized servings

***I have never used the chipotle peppers and I think it is delicious without. I usually do burritos with cilantro lime rice, black beans, and corn pico, chipotle style! This is an awesome summer meal!

Skillet Creamy Mac n' Cheese

From the Kitchen of: Heather Godfrey

Ingredients:

3.5 cups of water

1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk

3 cups of macaroni

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cornstarch

Hot sauce to taste

1.5 cups of cheddar cheese shredded

1.5 cups of white cheese shredded (like Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, etc.)

2 Tbs. of butter cut into small chunks

Pepper to taste

Red cayenne pepper to taste

Frozen peas and diced pre-cooked ham (Optional)

Directions:

1.    Bring 3 1/2 cups water, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, the macaroni, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. Cook at a vigorous simmer, stirring continuously, until the macaroni is tender and the liquid has thickened, about 9 to 12 minutes. I can't seem to ever get it to not burn on the bottom, so be sure to not mix the burned part in with the rest of the food!

2.    Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk, the cornstarch, mustard and hot sauce together in a small bowl, then stir into the skillet. Continue to simmer slightly thickened, about 1 minute. The hot sauce is really what gives the flavor, so don't be too shy with it.

3.    Off the heat but still hot, stir in the cheddar and white cheese, one handful at a time, adding water as needed to adjust the consistency of the sauce (I don’t need any additional water when I make it). Stir in the peas, ham, and butter. Season with salt, pepper, and red cayenne pepper.

** So my husband is definitely a 2 year old at heart. His favorite meal is any variation of macaroni and cheese. I love this recipe because it's (fairly) healthy, takes less than 30 minutes, and is sooo yummy.

*** It seriously is such a great fast meal! Yummy and makes a ton.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/03/skillet-creamy-macaroni-and-cheese.html

Fried Rice

From the Kitchen of: Kristie Kano

Ingredients:

2 cups of rice

1 cup Diced Cooked Ham (Or any other meat)

2-3 Green onions, chopped

1 Egg, scrambled

1 large carrot, shredded

½ cup frozen green peas

Soy sauce to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

*All ingredients can vary to how much you are making and what your preferences are.  You can also add whatever you like.

Directions:

1.    Cook rice as directed.

2.    In a large frying pan, combine all ingredients.  You can do it in whatever order you like.

**This is a very simple recipe that we definitely LOVE!!!

Strawberry Cookie Salad

From the Kitchen of: Alyssa Beveridge

Ingredients:

1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding (dry mix)

1 can of pineapple tidbits (drain and save the juice)

1-12 oz. cool whip (soft not frozen)

1 can of mandarin oranges (drained)

1 large banana (optional)

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

1 pkg. fudge stripe cookies (crushed)

Directions:

1.    Place pudding in bowl.

2.    Add pineapple juice to moisten.

3.    Add cool whip.

4.    Add oranges and pineapple.

5.    Add strawberries and cookies last (Fold in gently).

6.    Serve immediately... It doesn’t keep well but it tastes delicious!

Tortellini Salad

From the Kitchen of: KamiAnne Dastrup

Ingredients:

1 package of tortellini

1 bottle Kraft Creamy Caesar dressing

1 cucumber, peeled and cut

1 can olives, cut in half

Cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.    Cook the tortellini according the instructions on the package. Drain and rinse in cold water.

2.    In a bowl combine the cooled tortellini, cucumber, olives, and cherry tomatoes. Add enough dressing to coat everything with a thin even layer of dressing (I think I usually only use about half the bottle).

3.    Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Serve fresh or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Taco Soup

From the Kitchen of: Allie White

Ingredients:

1 lb ground hamburger

1 cup diced onion

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

1 can diced tomatoes with chilies (like Rotel)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can diced green chilies

1 small can tomato sauce

1/4 cup salsa verde

1/4 cup taco seasoning

1 dry ranch packet

Directions:

1.    Cook ground hamburger and onions in a sauté pan until meat is cooked through.

2.    Drain the fat off the meat and transfer to either a stock pot or a crock pot.

3.    Add all of the other ingredients and stir until combined.

4.    If cooking it in a slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

5.    In a stock pot, bring to a bowl on med high heat. Stir frequently. Once it comes to a boil, lower the temperature and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every five minutes or so.

6.    Serve with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Easy Soft Rolls

From the Kitchen of: Kristie Kano

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. yeast

½ cup sugar

3 cups water (warm)

½ cup oil

3 eggs

2 ½ tsp. Salt

5-8 cups flour – enough to be workable

Directions:

1.    Mix the yeast, sugar, and water in mixing bowl and let proof.

2.    Then add oil, eggs, and 2 cups of flour.  Mix until moistened.

3.    Add salt and rest of flour, adding 1 cup at a time until a soft dough.

4.    Put into a greased bowl and let rise (approx. 1 hour).  Then roll out and cut into preferred roll shape.  Let rise again.

5.    Bake at 400 Degrees for 10 min, or until lightly browned.  (My oven burns pretty hot so I cooked them at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.  Just do what you think works best)

**I make the whole batch of dough, but then you can do different things with it. They make great scones and fabulous cinnamon rolls.  It really is what you prefer to make. Plus they are extremely easy to make!!!

Orange Rolls (A Christmas Morning Favorite)

From the Kitchen of: Natalie Gregory

Ingredients:

2 pkgs. Grands Flaky style biscuits (any brand should work, but they do need to be the good BIG ones)

3/4 c sugar

1 c butter

2 Tablespoons* Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate

Directions:

1.     Melt butter, sugar, and frozen orange in a sauce pan

2.    Put rolls in a bundt pan; pour juice mixture over

3.    Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

***Adam's family made the happy mistake of putting the entire can of orange juice in the mixture--SO GOOD! It makes it very saucy, which I'm a huge fan of.  Adam said half a can also works well (if you don't want it too orange-y).