Cornchip Casserole

This is a family favorite!

Cornchip Casserole

cooked and shredded chicken

can of cream of chicken soup (or homemade equivalent)

1 soup can of milk

half of a pound of velveeta (or generic equivalent)

1-2 cans of diced green chiles

1-2 tsp each of garlic powder and onion powder

Mix it all together in a saucepan and simmer on low/medium until the cheese is melted and everything is mixed well.  

Crush up half a bag of cornchips and sprinkle on the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Pour chicken mixture over corn chips. Bake at 350deg F for about 20-25 minutes. Top with the rest of the crushed cornchips. Serve.

Sometimes I am lazy and don't bother baking it. We just toss corn chips into a bowl and top with the chicken mixture and eat it. Its delicious either way!

You can use cheese whiz in place of the velveeta or you can make your own homemade cheese sauce made with a roux and shredded cheese. I have not done that tho. I have done the cheez whiz but only because that's what the original recipe called for way back when the book came out when I was a kid. I know I tweaked it so much over the years that this is my own recipe now and not much like the one I found in that old cookbook. We like my version best anyways.

Corn Dog Casserole

Corn Dog Casserole

4 boxes of jiffy cornmuffin mix batter (made according to package directions)

1-2 pkg. hotdogs, sliced coin style

16 oz. bag of shredded cheese--we prefer colby jack but any "orange" cheese is good

2 cans of hotdog chili

I use two 9x13 in. baking dishes. Spray the baking dishes with non-stick spray. Pour batter in bottom of the pans to cover the bottoms. Put a layer of hotdogs on the batter, spread a can of chili on top of the hotdogs. Sprinkle some cheese on top of the chili and put another layer of batter on top of the chili and top with cheese. Bake at 350 deg. F until the cheese is brown and bubbly and the batter is done....approx. 25-30 min.

**over the years I have tweaked this and now I partially cook the bottom layer of cornbread before I add the hotdogs and chili. I noticed that the inside was taking much longer to cook than I wanted and it was making the outside too brown to be appealing to my family. So now I put a layer of cornbread in the bottom of the pan and bake it for about 10 minutes, then I add the rest of the ingredients as listed above. You can do it either way.

This feeds my family of 7 with some leftovers.

We really really like this and I think it only costs approx. $4 to make when its all said and done. You can use your favorite corn bread recipe and leftover chili in it and its still good....but this is a convenience food for us and so I keep the cans and boxes in the pantry. Hope you enjoy!

Ooey Chewy Brownies

Ooey Chewy Brownies

1 2/3 C. sugar
1 1/2 stick of real butter, melted
2 Tbsp. water
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract (you can use almond instead if you like and it gives it an awesome flavor)
1 1/3 cups self rising flour*
3/4 c. baking cocoa (we prefer nestle)
3/4 chopped nuts (optional)
powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 deg. F. Put the sugar butter and water in a big bowl. Beat together. In a small bowl, gently beat the eggs just enough to mix them up. Pour the eggs and the vanilla into the big bowl with the sugar mixture. Stir well. Add the cocoa and the flour and mix well.....this will be a thick, slightly stiff, batter. Stir in nuts. Spread batter in a well greased 13x9 baking pan. Bake for 20- 25 min. until you can insert a fork and it come out clean. Cool in pan and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into bars.We love this brownie recipe. And they go over really well at potlucks because they are sooo rich.

Toffee Cracker Bars

Toffee Cracker Bars

Saltine Crackers

1 cup butter (preferable to use real butter for this)

1 cup brown sugar

16 oz. package chocolate chips (half a bag is good too)

1 cup chopped pecans (less works fine too)

Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Place a layer of crackers over the entire surface. Combine butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan and boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the hot syrup over crackers. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Sprinkle hot surface with chocolate chips, spreading evenly as they melt. Sprinkle pecans over the top. Cool and cut into bars. This is good without the pecans, too!!

A delightful, inexpensive recipe for holiday time!!! (or anytime for that matter)

Fudge

This was my grandma's recipe that she has made forever. You MUST MUST MUST follow the instructions exactly!! Do NOT be tempted to use real butter. It will not work and you will waste your ingredients! Also, do NOT use a mixer. It will whip this and it will not set! Use your wooden spoon (or whatever spoon you prefer) and use your arms. My teens and I take turns stirring when I make this because my arms get so tired so fast. This recipe moves pretty quick once you get to the soft ball stage. You can't dilly dally or walk away. You need to get your ingredients into the pan quick from that point on and get this stuff stirred together and poured into the pans to cool. You don't want it starting to harden in your pot. Also, BE VERY CAREFUL! THIS STUFF IS HOT AND WILL BURN BADLY IF YOU GET IT ON YOURSELF OR SOMEONE ELSE. That said, this recipe is a lot easier than it seems and you will see that after you make it once. Its wonderful creamy yet firm fudge. The peanut butter fudge, in particular, is much requested at holiday time!

Fudge!

4 1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks of margarine--I use Imperial margarine (do NOT use real butter!! It will not turn out!!)
1 can of Milnot evaporated milk
1 tsp. salt
Put into a large cooking pot and slowly bring to a full rolling boil. While you are waiting on this to boil, butter two 9x13 in. glass baking dishes*. Once the mixture begins to boil start stirring it constantly (or it will scorch and be nasty) and boil for 10-12 minutes (until it is at soft ball stage). Remove from heat and stir in:
for peanutbutter fudge:
1 jar (18 oz.) of cruchy peanutbutter (I use Jif)
1 large bag of marshmallows (the bag that is between 15 and 18 ounces)
1 tsp. vanilla
Stir until well blended (i would say smooth but the crunchy peanut butter has chunks) and pour into the buttered pans and let cool. My grandma says that you can use peanut butter chips instead of jar peanut butter but if you do so then you will need to add about a cup more of marshmallows or the fudge will be hard.

for chocolate fudge:
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 bag of marshmallows (the bag that is between 15-18 ounces)
1 tsp. of vanilla
1 cup of chopped walnuts or whatever nuts you prefer (optional)
Stir till well blended and pour into the buttered pans and cool.

*You can use metal pans if you prefer...my grandma used a huge pizza/cookie sheet that had sides on it. I use the glass baking dishes because thats what I have. I gave the brand names of the products I use to make the fudge but you can use generic if you want to and the fudge will be fine....my husband and his father prefer me to use the name brand stuff as the flavor tends to be richer. I watch for sales and stock up on the name brand stuff thru out the year so that it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg at Christmas time.

For chocolate peppermint fudge you can make the above recipe and add mint extract instead of the vanilla or you can use peppermint chips in place of the chocolate chips.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada Sauce

8 cups of water (reserve 1/2 cup to mix with cornstarch)**
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup cornstarch (or masa flour) mixed into 1/2 c. water

Bring water to boil and whisk in remaining ingredients. Simmer for a few minutes until thickened slightly. This makes 6 cups of enchillada sauce (and it keeps well in the fridge)

Over the years I've made some changes to this. You can use 2 cans of tomato sauce and 1 can of water  in place of the 8 cups of water. You can also use a large can of tomato juice in place of the water. Its all up to you.

Italian Spaghetti

Italian Spaghetti

1 lb. bacon chopped
1 small onion diced
1 small green pepper, seeded and diced
fry together until bacon is done. drain all the grease off.
Add:
3 Tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 can of parmesan cheese (the big container that you get at save a lot)
3 T. olive oil
4 sticks butter or margarine
can of crushed or diced or stewed tomatoes (you can use the italian flavored tomatoes if you like)

Simmer for a bit and serve over two boxes of cooked

spaghetti noodles.

Bbq Sauce

Barbeque Sauce

In a med. size saucepan:

1 stick of butter or margarine, melted

1 (24oz.) bottle of ketchup

2t. minced onion

1/4 tsp mustard (just a tiny squirt)

3-4 dashes of balsamic vinegar

couple shakes of steak seasoning (to taste)

a dash of cayenne pepper

1 cup of brown sugar

simmer this together on med. heat, stirring often

You can serve this over chicken or pork chops. Cook your meat in a bit of butter and some steak seasoning until done and then simmers them in this.