Crockpot Mac and Cheese

Crockpot Mac and Cheese
 
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Ingredients
  • 12 oz of Velveeta, cubed
  • 1½ cups of cheddar/pepper jack/monterey jack or any other blend you'd like
  • 1 cup of parmesan cheese
  • 1½ cups of half and half
  • 1 5 oz can of evaporated milk
  • 1 tsp of ground mustard
  • 1 pound of shell pasta
  • ¼ cup of butter, cubed
  • ¼ tsp of garlic salt
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1 tsp of pepper
Instructions
  1. Cook the pasta as directed.
  2. Drain and set aside but do not rinse.
  3. Spray the crockpot with Pam, and add the drained pasta.
  4. In a medium bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients and pour over the pasta, stir to mix throughout.
  5. Cook on low, stirring every 20 mins or so for 2 full hours. If after an hour and a half it looks a little dry you can add milk to make it more creamy.

Jalapeno Poppers

Jalapeno Poppers
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 pound of pickled jalapeno peppers
  • 1 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup of cheddar cheese, shreadded
  • ½ cup of monterey jack cheese, shreadded (you can also use pepper jack for this second cheese)
  • 1 - 1½ cups of buttermilk
  • 1 cup of flour
  • 2 cups of panko bread crumbs
  • Canola oil for deep frying
Instructions
  1. Drain the jalapenos from the juice, slice in half lengthwise, remove all of the seeds and ribs.
  2. Lay the jalapenos out on a paper towel and pat both sides well to dry as well as you can.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and other cheeses until well blended.
  4. Using a spoon, fill the large end of the pepper with a rounded spoonful and spread down to the small end, essentially forming the missing half of the jalapeno. Ensure that the cheese mixture completely fills the jalapeno.
  5. Set aside in a pan and continue until all of the jalapenos have been stuffed.
  6. Place the pan in the refrigerator for an hour or so to firm up the cheese.
  7. Pour the buttermilk, flour, and panko into 3 separate small bowls.
  8. Using one hand for the wet and one hand for the dry, dip the jalapenos into the buttermilk and then using the dry hand, dredge in the flour mixture until it's well coated. Tap off excess flour.
  9. Dip the jalapeno back into the buttermilk and then into the panko, being sure to coat well and applying a small amount of pressure to help the panko stick
  10. Set aside in a pan and continue until all of the jalapenos have been breaded.
  11. Preheat your deep fryer to 375 degrees.
  12. Place the peppers into the fry basket, stuffed side up, and lower into the fryer for 1 to 1½ minutes or until the first sign of cheese starts to escape
  13. Serve immediately with a dipping sauce of your choice.

Doughnut Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

Doughnut Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce
 
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Ingredients
Bread Pudding
  • One dozen glazed doughnuts
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • ½ cup of sugar
  • 1 tsp of vanilla
  • ½ cup of unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
  • ⅔ cup of hot milk
  • ½ tablespoon of cinnamon
  • ½ cup of chopped pecans, optional
  • ½ cup of raisins, optional
Whiskey Sauce
  • ½ cup of unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup of sugar
  • ½ cup of heavy cream
  • 1 tbls of flour
  • ½ tsp of vanilla
  • 1 tbls of whiskey
Instructions
  1. Butter a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
  2. Cube the doughnuts into 1-2 inch pieces into the dish.
  3. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, butter, and condensed milk.
  4. Add the hot milk slowly, continuing to whisk until well blended; add the raisins to the mixture and stir in.
  5. Pour over doughnuts, mixing and making sure to coat all of the doughnut pieces.
  6. Cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours (in a bind you can bake now, just let it sit for at least 20 mins).
  7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  8. Gently press the doughnuts down into the custard, sprinkle with cinnamon and pecans.
  9. Bake covered for 30 minutes then uncover and bake for 15-20 more or until it starts to puff up and brown.
  10. While it's baking melt the butter in a saucepan and whisk in the sugar, flour, and heavy cream and bring to a boil.
  11. Reduce the heat and simmer until thick.
  12. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla and whiskey.
  13. Let the bread pudding rest for 10 mins after it comes out of the oven then serve with whiskey sauce spooned on top.

Lemon Icebox Pie

Lemon Icebox Pie
 
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This recipe is for a Lemon Icebox Pie but can be modified for any type of Icebox Pie. Just replace the zest and juice with any ½ cup of fruit juice and the Kool-Aid packet to match. Some examples: Lime juice for a Key Lime Icebox Pie Orange juice for a Dreamsicle Pie Strawberry pulp for a Strawberry Icebox Pie Blueberry pulp for a Blueberry Icebox Pie Blackberry pulp for a Blackberry Icebox Pie Raspberry pulp for a Raspberry Icebox Pie Mango pulp for a Mango Icebox Pie Pineapple pulp for a Pineapple Icebox Pie Kiwi pulp for a Kiwi Icebox Pie
Ingredients
Crust
  • 1 sleeve of graham crackers
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter
Filling
  • zest from 2 lemons
  • juice of 2 lemons or ½ cup
  • 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 packet of Kool-Aid Lemonade mix
  • 1 8 oz tub of Cool Whip, divided
  • 16 Nilla Wafers
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Run the sleeve of graham crackers through the food processor until they are crumbs.
  3. Microwave the stick of butter until melted.
  4. Mix the cracker crumbs and butter together and press into a pie plate going up the sides and bake for about 10 mins, then let cool
  5. Combine the condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and Kool-Aid packet in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
  6. Add ½ the tub of the Cool Whip and fold in until completely blended.
  7. Pour the mixture into the crust and insert Nilla Wafers around the rim.
  8. Put the pie into the freezer for an hour or two then spread the other ½ of the Cool Whip on top.
  9. Store in the freezer.
Notes
You can also add food coloring to make the filling more of a yellow color.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 pound of cooked, boneless, skinless chicken or about 2½ cups
  • 3 medium red potatoes
  • 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
  • 6 tbls of salted butter
  • 6 tbls of flour
  • 2 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1 tsp of pepper
  • ½ tsp of dried rosemary, crushed
  • ½ tsp of dried thyme, crushed
  • 1½ cups of half and half
  • 1 box of refrigerated pie crusts, room temperature
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Cut the potatoes in small pieces and place into a microwavable dish, cook until they are fork tender but not falling apart, set aside.
  3. Pour the vegetables into a microwavable dish and add a small amount of water, cook for about 2 mins.
  4. In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter, add the flour a tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly, cook and stir for about 5 mins.
  5. Slowly pour in the chicken broth (it will steam up, keep stirring careful not to get burnt), whisking vigorously until there are no lumps.
  6. Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme.
  7. Stir the half and half in and mix well.
  8. Add in the chicken, potatoes, and vegetables, taste and add salt and/or pepper to taste.
  9. Unroll one of the pie crusts into a 9-inch pie pan and gently press down into the corners.
  10. Pour the hot filling into the crust and top with the other crust, trim off the excess and crimp the crusts together at the edge with the back of a fork.
  11. Poke the top crust with a fork in a few places to release steam.
  12. Bake for 15 minutes, remove and crimp a foil strip around the crust edge to prevent burning, return to the oven for 15 to 25 minutes more minutes or until golden brown.
  13. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad
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Ingredients
  • 3 pounds skinned and boned chicken breasts
  • 1 (49-1/2-ounce) can chicken broth (Or use 2 rotisserie chickens to replace both of above ingredients)
  • 1 cup finely chopped celery
  • ½ cup finely chopped water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
  • ½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
  • ½ cup finely chopped yellow bell pepper
  • ½ cup finely chopped red onion
  • 3 cups mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon white pepper
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ½ cup grapes, cut into 4ths
Instructions
  1. Place chicken breasts in a large skillet; add chicken broth. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes or until chicken is done.
  2. Remove chicken from skillet, and let stand 15 minutes or until cool to touch. Shred chicken (I use a fork to shred it which is time-consuming but gives it a wonderful texture).
  3. (Or use rotisserie chicken!)
  4. Combine shredded chicken, celery, water chestnuts, bell peppers, onion, grapes, and raisins.
  5. Stir together mayonnaise, ground red pepper, salt, and white pepper until well blended.
  6. Spoon over shredded chicken mixture, stirring to coat. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

Apple Enchiladas

Apple Enchiladas
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 21 oz can apple pie filling
  • 6 flour tortillas, 8 inch
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ½ cup water
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Spread ¼ cup of pie filling down the center of the tortilla.
  3. Sprinkle the filling with cinnamon and roll it up like a burrito, tucking in the edges.
  4. Place the seam side down in a 9 x 13 dish.
  5. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, brown sugar and water over medium heat bringing it to a boil and stirring constantly.
  6. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 minutes.
  7. Pour the sauce over the pan of enchiladas.
  8. Bake in for 20 - 25 minutes, let cool for 5 mins and serve warm with ice cream.
Notes
You can also substitute cherries or peaches for the apples.

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
 
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Ingredients
  • 6 slices of cooked bacon, crispy and crumbled
  • 12 oz bag of large shell pasta
  • 4 tsp of olive oil
  • ⅔ cup of mayonnaise
  • ½ teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 packet of ranch dressing mix
  • ⅓ cup of milk
  • 1 15 oz can of Le Sueur peas, drained well
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta according to the directions.
  2. Rinse, drain well, and pat dry with paper towels.
  3. Move to a bowl and toss with the olive oil to lightly coat the pasta.
  4. Mix in the mayonnaise, onion powder, and ranch dressing mix until well coated.
  5. Add the milk and stir until creamy.
  6. Stir in the well drained peas being careful not to mush them.
  7. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours overnight before serving.
  8. Serve cold with bacon bits sprinkled on top.
Notes
If the salad gets too dry in the refrigerator just add a little extra milk and stir to add moisture.