Cheese Spread

We have a local restaurant that is famous for their chicken salad.  I don’t have that recipe, but I do have the recipe for their equally famous cheese spread.  This spread is served on the side of every sandwich you order and it comes in a small scoop with fancy crackers on the side.  This recipe comes from a local church’s cookbook from long ago… long before this woman opened her famous little unnamed restaurant.  Enjoy!

 Cheese Spread

 

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix

½ cup mayonnaise

6 oz. cream cheese ( at room temp)

¼ cup milk

8 oz. fancy shredded sharp cheddar cheese (room temp)

 

Combine ranch dressing, mayonnaise and milk.  Add cream cheese.  Mix with mixer.  Fold in cheddar cheese. Chill. Serve with crackers.

 

For cheese ball, increase cream cheese to 8 oz. and use less milk.  Chill.  Roll in chopped nuts and serve with crackers.

Mmmm…pumpkin muffins!

Prepare to taste the best pumpkin muffins ever.  I mean, ever!  I’ve tried many a pumpkin muffin and none compare.  Make them and let me know how they turn out!

Becky’s Pumpkin Muffins

3 eggs 
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1- 15 oz can solid pack pure pumpkin
3 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Topping
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease two loaf pans or 24 large muffin cups. Combine the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin in a large bowl, and stir until smooth. In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients and the spices with a wire whisk. Add to the egg mixture and mix thoroughly. Fill the loaf pans or muffin cups with the batter.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the bread or muffin batter. Bake the bread at 375 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or the muffins for 30-35 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

If I have one recipe that people ask me to make over and over again, it’s this one.  It’s that good.  Kristen and my other veggie-head friends- you can leave the chicken out and just add more veggies- broccoli would be good!

Becky’s Chicken Pot Pie

 

4 large potatoes, diced

½ c carrots, diced

½ onion, diced

1 container sliced mushrooms

1 boullion cube

2-3 cooked chicken breasts, diced

½ c frozen peas

1 small container sour cream

1 ½ c cheddar cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 T parsley

1 T sage or thyme

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 Pillsbury pie crust in the biscuit section

1 tsp celery seed (not salt)

 

Put potatoes in a large pot. Add carrots, onion and mushrooms. Add enough water and a boullion cube to cover half of veggies. Cover and cook until tender.

 

Drain all but about a cup of the water.

Add chicken, frozen peas, sour cream, cheese, soup and seasonings.

Cook on med. Heat until the sauce is thick. If you need to add water you can.

 

While this is heating, put 1 pie crust in the bottom of a large round casserole. Prick the bottom and bake according to directions on box.

 

Pour pot pie mixture into pre-baked crust. Unfold the second crust and sprinkle celery seed onto the top. Push it into the raw crust. Put the crust on top of the pie, celery seed side down. Cut vent holes.

 

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Put foil on the crust to prevent burning

I’m down to posting recipes

So, since I have no motivation for el bloggo, I figured I might as well post some recipes. I’ll add one any time I feel like it- you have to try it and let me know how it turned out! I’ll even give you some long handed down recipes!

The first recipe is Dave’s grandmother, Babs’ enchilada recipe. Babs is from Spain. I guess I say that because these are relatively authentic…and simple! Boy, do we miss Babs.

Babs’ Enchiladas

2 lbs ground beef or more depending on number of enchiladas
1 package Chorizo sausage (don’t leave out- it’s the secret!)
Chopped black olives
Green onions
Grated Cheddar cheese – sharp or extra sharp
Flour tortillas
Enchilada sauce (canned – big cans or about 4 little ones)

*Brown beef
*Add cooked chorizo to beef and mix well
*Warm tortillas to make them easier to fold.
*Put light layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of baking pans
*Fill each tortilla with beef and chorizo mixture
*Add some chopped olives
*Add some chopped green onions
*Add some cheese (do not be stingy with the cheese)
*Fold sides of tortillas over mixture (you can use tooth pics to secure if too full. *Place enchiladas, folded side down in baking pan.
*Once baking pans are full with enchiladas, ladle enchilada sauce over all enchiladas.
*Cover enchiladas with grated cheese.
*Place aluminum foil over enchiladas
Bake 350 for 30-45 minutes, until hot
Extra enchilada sauce should be available when serving enchiladas

Enjoy!

My new obsession

Bento boxes and Bollywood.  What the heck?  What are these two “b” words? 

Bento boxes are a lunch box system used in Japan. Here in the US, they are primarily called laptop lunches.  Look at this fabulous, and environmentally friendly lunchbox!

Here is a more traditional bento box, as used in Japan.

Our school lunches are so unhealthy, so I’m going to really, really try to make the kids lunches this year.  Now all I have to do is convince Dave to let me spend $70 on two lunchboxes!!! 

Look at all these yummy lunch ideas! 

Can you stand it?

Now for Bollywood.  What is this Bollywood, you say?  Bollywood is the Hindi-language based film industry in India.  I’ve always been intrigued by the dancing and the stories- it’s so beautiful.  I LOVED watching the first Bollywood dance on So You Think You Can Dance tonight!  I thought that Katee and Joshua did an amazing job!  They were just so fabulous in such a hard genre.  I can’t wait to see more from that choreographer.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  The dance starts at 1:19 on the video.

She’s just like her mama

What did Bailey want for dinner tonight?  Apple slices, crackers and Stilton cheese (a very stinky blue).  When she was done with hers, she moved on to my plate of crackers, Stilton & a grapefruit.  LOL