Mom's Thanksgiving Dressing Recipe!

Finally- here it is!! Mom's Thanksgiving Dressing Recipe!! I have been trying to get this recipe forever. Finally we made a pan of it and wrote it all down as she went and got the recipe down on paper!! 

Mom's Thanksgiving Dressing. 

First you will need to make a pan of Mom's Cornbread. Now if this is at Thanksgiving, and you are baking a turkey you will not need a whole chicken. You will only need to buy a package of chicken parts (such as legs and thighs..) to boil and add to the drippings from the baked turkey. Sometimes she boils the turkey parts and adds them to the dressing, but not always. It is up to you. I prefer it without them cause I find livers and all that gross and not really into finding it as a surprise in my dressing. But you could boil the neck with the chicken for flavor. If you are not baking a turkey along with this- then you will need to buy a whole chicken, cut it down and boil about half of it and bake half of it so you will have the broth from the boiled chicken and drippings from the baked chicken. 


  This recipe is for a small pan. We usually at least double this, if not triple it, for our large family.. this will make a 9x13 pan of dressing. 


6 eggs, boiled
4 eggs, raw
1/2 chicken boiled and deboned,  reserving broth
1/2 chicken baked and deboned, reserving drippings in pan
9x13 pan of cornbread
1 onion, chopped fine
3-4 celery stalks chopped fine
4T sage (must be Good fresh bottle of sage!) 
1/2 stick butter
4 cups of canned chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste




While cornbread is baking put chopped celery, onion, and butter in sauce pan and cook it on high until it gets good and hot, then let it simmer until all is soft. 


Preheat oven at 350


In the biggest bowl you own crumble up cooked cornbread and mix in boiled egg, all cooked chicken, cooked celery and onion, drippings from baked chicken, broth from boiled chicken, raw eggs, and sage. If it isn't pretty moist you can add additional canned chicken broth, if needed. Pour mixture into greased 9x13 pan (or larger if needed) You want to again oil the pan liberally. If it pools on the edges slightly after mixture is poured in- that is fine. It will cook off and make the edges crunchy, you just don't want it to pool so much that it boils over in your oven. 


Bake for 1 hour, 20 minutes at 350, or until middle is cooked. Should be like moist cornbread consistency. 


Serve while hot. I suggest making enough to have lots of leftovers because it is even better the next day!! I know it seems like a lot and kind of a hassle- but trust me it is worth it, and not at all as bad as it sounds! 

Mom's Cornbread

Mom's cornbread recipe- can't beat it!!! 

Mom's Cornbread

2 cups self-rising cornmeal MIX

1 cup self-rising flour

2 ½ cups milk

¼ cup vegetable oil (plus more for pan)

1 egg

1 T sugar

Preheat oven to 475

Grease 9x13 pan liberally with vegetable oil, place pan in hot oven to heat up pan.

Mix all ingredients well, pour into hot & seasoned pan.

Bake at 475 for 20-25 minutes.  

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Found this recipe in an old REAL SIMPLE magazine the other day and it sounded good, so I decided to try making it. As everyone knows- I am NOT good at baking. I totally expected this to come out awful, like most things I try to bake. BUT it was surprisingly easy and it turned out delicious! I was so happy! I highly suggest you make this one! If you don't like lemon, the flavor can easily be changed to something else you like. I am already thinking next time I'm going to try it with strawberry juice instead. Everyone loved this one, and the lemon was a great summery taste. Definitely a new favorite!! 

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

From: REAL SIMPLE magazine

Serves 12| Hands-On Time: 15m| Total Time: 3hr 00m

Ingredients

• 1  cup  unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature, plus more for the pan
• 2 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the pan
• 1  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
• 3  cups  granulated sugar
• 2  tablespoons  finely grated lemon zest, plus 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6  large eggs, at room temperature
• 1  cup  plain full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1  cup  confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325° F. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest on medium-high until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice, then the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add half the flour mixture, then the yogurt, and then the remaining flour mixture. Mix just until combined (do not overmix).
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 65 to 75 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 1 of the remaining tablespoons of lemon juice until smooth, adding the remaining lemon juice as necessary to create a thick, but pourable glaze.

Clean Granola Bars

I found this on the plum organics facebook page. Who knew those little fruit and veggie pouches for kiddies could be used in recipes too? It makes sense though, I have used carrot baby food in carrot cake before to make it moist, and of course replacing oils with applesauce is always great.. so it makes sense that these can be used too, after all it is just baby food in a pouch instead of a jar really. I have tried several granola bar and breakfast bar recipes and a couple turned out OK, but these are fantastic. They are full of good stuff and super easy to throw together. Mine turned out a little crumbly, but I think I either needed a tad more honey, or I used the wrong type of oats? I am not sure. But they did stay together and taste great.. I can see myself making several variations of this in the future. Jeff and I grab cereal bars for breakfast a LOT in the mornings so I am desperate for a healthy and clean recipe that we will actually eat. I think this is it. Yay! Next I think I will add a little peanut butter, you could sweeten it with chocolate chips, change cranberries for raisins, different types of nuts, the possibilities are endless. Plus there are TONS of flavors of the fruit/veggie pouches, some that have greek yogurt, some that have quinoa, oats, barley.. all kinds of stuff hidden in them. Plus MOST of them (read the labels) are clean because it is just whatever fruit or veggie is in it and a little citrus to preserve them. Not ALL of them are, but a lot of them are. So far Target has had the best selection, and Toys R Us has some of the hard to find flavors. You can get them anywhere though, Wal-Mart, Schnucks, pretty much anywhere that sells baby food or toddler snacks has them now. 

Clean Granola Bars

1 just prunes pouch

1/3 cup honey

2 ½ cups old fashioned oats

½ cup chopped almonds

1 apple, raisin, qiunoa pouch

½ cup sunflower seeds

1 cup dried cranberries

whisk together pouches and honey in bowl

combine with oats, nuts, wheat germ, and cranberries

line 8x8 pan with parchment paper and pour mix into pan.

Bake at 325 for 25 minutes

cool one hour them remove from pan and cut into bars- makes 12 bars.  Each bar is 191 calories. 

*NOTE* I couldn't find the apple, raisin, quinoa flavor so I used barley, plum, apple. It was REALLY good. 

Red Beans and Rice

I made this with Fiesta Chicken with Avocado Salsa, and everyone LOVED it. Mom said it was the best beans & rice she had ever had. I have to say it turned out pretty darn good!! And it goes perfectly with the fiesta chicken. I couldn't find the original recipe online, and I made a few alterations. So I will post MY version.

Red Beans and Rice

From Betty Crocker Cookbook

1 cup dried kidney beans, rinsed
1 package smoked bacon
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup brown rice
1 tsp salt

First I cooked rice according to package. I did not use instant, but you can use whatever rice you like. I used organic brown rice from a local farm.

In 3 quart sauce pan heat 3 cups of water to boiling then add beans. Boil uncovered for 2 minutes in salted water, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour or until tender (so not boil beans, they will fall apart) Drain beans, set aside.

In 10 in ch skillet, fry bacon and crumble. remove bacon crumbles and add diced onion and bell pepper to oil. salt to taste. Cook until onion is tender. do not drain bacon grease unless you have an excess amount. mix the bacon crumbles back in, then the rice, then the beans. Mix all gently until combined well. Serve while hot.

I know it isn't HEALTHY but I left all my bacon grease in the pan and let the rice soak it all up when I mixed it in. I think that helped the taste, because it isn't healthy but boy it tastes good. Of course it wasn't a LOT of grease- too much would just make it too greasy and that's just nasty. But a little for flavor is gooood!

Fiesta Chicken with Avocado Salsa

This is a recipe I found in my FAVORITE cookbook- the original Betty Crocker cookbook. I thought it looked good and summery and I could use some of my fresh stuff from the market in it. I made a few changes to the original, so if you want to check the original recipe you can find it HERE. Make this one- you will not be sorry. I made it and my brother, James who hates anything citrus or with onion said it was delicious and my 2 year old son and nephew ate it up. It was definitely a hit. Also this recipe calls for jalapeno, I don't like spicy and I had little guys eating it so I substituted that with some sweet peppers. And the marinade calls for Cumin, which I do not have, so I substituted Tumeric (which is REALLLLLY good for you.. google it!) a dash of paprika, and to help with the absence of jalapeno I also added a few drops of hot sauce. :-) I made this with a Red Beans and Rice recipe from the same cookbook. Mom said it was the best beans and rice she had ever had. It was SOOOO good. 

Fiesta Chicken Breast With Avocado Salsa

From: Betty Crocker Cookbook 

Tomato-avocado salsa
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 medium avocado, peeled and diced
4 medium green onions, diced. (1/4 cup)
2 T lime juice
2 sweet peppers, chopped
2 or 3 dashes of hot sauce
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt


Chicken
4 bone-in chicken breast
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 or 3 dashes of paprika
1/2 tsp salt
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 package flour tortillas (8 inch) cut into strips


Step 1- 
In medium bowl gently mix all salsa ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 


Step 2- 
Place chicken in shallow dish. In small bowl mix 1/4 cup lime juice, 1/4 cup oil, tumeric, paprika, and salt. Pour over chicken. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. 


Step 3- 
Heat oven to 375, spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. 


Step 4- 
Place chicken, skin sides up, in pan. Pour marinade over chicken. Cover and bake 30 minutes. uncover and bake 30 minutes longer, brushing occasionally with marinade, until thickest part of chicken is 170F


Step 5-
In 10 inch skillet heat 2 T oil over medium-high heat until hot. Cook trotilla strips in oil until crisp and golden brown. Serve chicken topped with salsa and tortilla strips on the side. 


Now since I had fried bacon to go in my Beans & Rice- I used the bacon grease from that to fry the tortilla strips, and I used SPELT tortilla's from the organic store. They were so good Mom and I almost made ourselves sick snacking on them and Zach ate so many he didn't want to eat his chicken. It was a lot easier to fry these than I thought, I will definitely be doing it again in the future for other dishes!! 

Low Calorie Meat Loaf

This is a recipe I found HERE for a lower calorie meatloaf. I was worried about the carrots, but they give a great sweet taste to the meatloaf. I made a few alterations to the original recipe and it turned out SO GOOD. I recommend trying this one FOR SURE! 175 calories a slice! (a good thick slice too!) 

Low Calorie Meatloaf

From: About.com 

• 1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1 8 ounce pack sliced mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/4 pounds 93 percent lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/4 cup tomato ketchup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Place onion, carrots, garlic, and mushrooms in a large bowl. Add ground turkey, breadcrumbs, milk, egg substitute, worcestershire sauce, and ketchup to vegetables and mix well with hands. Divide into 2 loaves and place into 2 loaf pans. (Or you can form into 2 loaves and place on a baking sheet, but cook for less time) Bake for 1 hour, until internal temperature is 160 degrees. 

Each loaf made 6 slices for me.. the thinner the slices, the fewer the calories... :-) Enjoy! 

Un-stuffed Cabbage Casserole

I found this ridiculously good recipe on pinterest, of course. We love stuffed cabbage in my house, so this was awesome. A way to have "stuffed cabbage" without having to roll all those cabbage leaves.I will put down the original recipe, and at the end I will write how I altered it tonight.. And the very very best part is.. if you use ground turkey instead of ground beef like we do.. it was only 362 calories a serving!! Now listen- a serving in this case is 1/8 of a 9x13 pan. Why? Because that is a nice big portion and it is easy divide the pan this way..and so on. It ended up being quite a bit of food. When I finished I was stuffed (no pun intended!) And Jeff was holding his belly sad that he didn't have room for seconds. I fixed Zach some turkey vegetable stew, because I was afraid all that cabbage would give him a tummy ache- but he ate about a dozen bites off me and Jeff's plates and was begging for more.. needless to say, it was a hit! Definitely going into my "favorite recipes" binder. Can't  beat a good portion of food with less than 400 calories and lots of good stuff in it for ya. Love it!

Un-Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

From: Pinterest/Kalyn's Kitchen

Here is the ORIGINAL RECIPE

Ingredients:
1 1/2 T olive oil, divided (more or less, depending on your pan)
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped small
1 T finely minced garlic 
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. sweet Hungarian Paprika (good quality paprika makes a big difference in flavor in a dish like this)
1/2 tsp. sharp Hungarian Paprika (optional; if making for kids I might leave this out) 
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste (for seasoning meat mixture and cooked cabbage)
1 1/2 heads green cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 can (14.5 oz.) petite dice tomatoes with juice
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1/4 cup water (just enough to rinse out each of the cans)
2 cups cooked rice (I used brown rice) 
2 cups low-fat cheese (optional; I used a blend of 80% low-fat mozzarella, 10% low-fat cheddar, and 10% Provolone.)


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.  Spray a large glass or crockery casserole dish with non-stick spray.  (I used a dish that was 12" x 10".)

Heat 1-2 tsp. olive oil in a large frying pan; add ground beef and cook until it's done and nicely browned, breaking apart as it cooks.  (I like to use a potato masher to break the meat apart once it's partly done.)  Remove ground beef to a bowl.

In the same pan, add a little more olive oil if needed, then add chopped onion and cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent and starting to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add the minced garlic, dried thyme, and paprika and cook about 2 minutes more.  Then add the diced tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, and ground beef.  Rinse each of the cans out with a little water (about 1/4 cup total) and add to the pan.  Let mixture simmer until it's hot and slightly thickened, about 15-20 minutes.

While the meat mixture simmers, cut cabbage in half, cut out the core, and remove any wilted outer leaves, and then chop the cabbage coarsely into pieces.  (They don't have to be all the same size.  I chopped it into pieces that varied from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches.)  Heat about 2 tsp. olive oil in a large frying pan or dutch oven with high sides, add the cabbage and cook over medium-high heat until the cabbage is wilted and about half cooked, turning it over several times so it all wilts and cooks.  Season cabbage with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.


When the meat and tomato sauce mixture has cooked 15-20 minutes and thickened a bit, stir in the 2 cups of cooked rice and gently combine.

Spray a large glass or crockery casserole dish with non-stick spray and the layer half the cabbage, half the meat mixture, other half of cabbage, and other half of meat mixture.  Cover tightly with foil and bake 40 minutes, or until the mixture is just starting to bubble on the edges.

Remove foil and sprinkle on cheese (if using.)  Bake uncovered an additional 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to slightly brown.  Serve hot.

This freezes well, and I'm looking forward to enjoying it several more times when I eat the portions I have in the freezer.  To reheat, I would recommend thawing overnight in the refrigerator and then either microwaving it until hot or heating in the oven in a glass dish covered with foil.

Note: The things that I altered were- I used 2 small heads of cabbage because I was afraid since they were small it wouldn't be enough. I used 2 lbs of ground turkey instead of 1 pound of ground beef because WAYYYYY fewer calories in turkey, you can't tell a difference AT ALL, and I wanted plenty of meat in mine. It worked out perfect. I also didn't use the types of paprika mentioned because who the heck has that in their pantry? Not me. So I added 1 tsp of dried thyme and 1 tsp of plain ole paprika, and also made sure to season everything well with salt and pepper and I went. ALSO I did not layer this. And here is why. Because I was trying to get it in the oven so we could eat before midnight and rushing.. and forgot to add the rice (I used instant BROWN RICE) back into the meat mixture. So after the first 10 minutes I took the layered dish out of the oven, poured the rice over the top and mixed it all up. It made zero difference and it made it super easy to dish out later. Next time I won't bother layering at all. And lastly I did not put any cheese on it. For 2 reasons, 1- why add calories if you don't have to, and 2- we never put cheese on ours and I just don't think I would have liked it with cheese... but that's just me. (I KNOW! I LOVE cheese and usually load everything to the gills with it... but in this case. I didn't miss it) 

Light Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

OK I do NOT like pimento cheese.. just to get that out of the way. BUT when I saw Bobby Deen (Paula Deen's son) make these on his new show, I had to try them. they were INCREDIBLE. So yummy. And the best part is, including the bread and a slice of tomato- the entire sandwich is only 181 calories! Oh yeah. They were so good I had 2 sandwiches and a glass of tea for my lunch. Yum. You must try this. 


  Also- this would make a great dip for low-fat crackers or tortillas if you melted it in a bowl, or over tortilla chips and pop it in the microwave until cheese melts.. lots of different things this could be used for. For that matter stir in some chicken and put it on a tortilla shell for dinner...? You get the idea. 


I left out the jalapeno, doubled the recipe, and put 1/2 cup of mixture on each sandwich with a slice of tomato. It looks like way too much but when the cheese melts- it is just right. Trust me. I used a low-fat wheat bread as well. Sprayed my panini press with cooking spray and didn't add any butter or anything tog rill them until the cheese melted. (or you can use a sandwich maker, put it in a hot pan.. whatever...) I made 6 sandwiches and had enough left over to make 2 or 3 more later if I want. This was also my first time trying greek yogurt as a sour cream substitute. I was nervous but as soon as I tasted it- it tastes JUST LIKE sour cream and much better for you.. so don't be afraid of the greek yogurt! 

Light Pimento Cheese Sandwich

By: Bobby Deen 

• 1 cup finely grated Cheddar
• 1/2 cup finely grated low-fat mozzarella
• 2/3 cup plain nonfat Greek-style yogurt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 8 slices whole wheat bread
• 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
• Nonstick cooking spray

In a medium bowl, add the Cheddar, mozzarella, yogurt, chives, salt and pepper, green and red peppers and jalapeno. Stir well to combine. Spread the mixture evenly among 4 slices of bread and top with a couple of slices of tomato. Top with the remaining slices of bread.

Spray a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat with nonstick spray. Place the 4 sandwiches in the pan and let cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Flip the sandwiches and continue cooking until the cheese melts, another 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Oyster Cracker Mix

Another yummy one from Leslie. Zach loves them. 

Oyster Cracker Mix

From: Leslie

2 pkgs oyster crackers
1 cup vegetable oil
1 pkg ranch dip mix
1/4 tsp dill
1/4 tsp garlic powder


mix all ingredients together, pour over crackers and toss to mix. 

Skinny Tortilla Soup

This recipe is from the Southeast Hospital Heart Healthy Cookbook. It is delicious. 

Skinny Tortilla Soup

1 can (16 oz.) fat free refried beans
1 can (16 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
3/4 cup chunky salsa
3/4 cup cubed cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup water
2 cups reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese, divided
28 baked tortilla chips, divided


   In a large saucepan, combine beans, broth, corn, salsa, chicken and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1 cup cheese, cook and stir over low hear until melted. Crumble half of tortilla chips into soup bowls. Ladle soup over chips. Top each serving with 2 crumbled chips and sprinkle with remaining cheese. 


Serving Size- 1 cup
Yield- 7 servings
Calories- 290
Total Fat- 8 grams

Cheesy Corn Bake

I had this for the first time when Leslie made it for Thanksgiving dinner, and I immediately asked for the recipe, and that she make it for Christmas dinner. :-) So here is the recipe! It is even better than it sounds! I can't wait to make some more! Thanks Les! 

Cheesy Corn Bake

From Leslie

2 T butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 cups milk
1/4 tsp pepper
3 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp american cheese
30 oz corn
1 lb bacon
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 T flour


In a saucepan melt 2 T butter, add 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp pepper. Add 3 cups milk, cook & stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. 


Stir in 3 oz. cream cheese and 1 1/2 cup shredded sharp american cheese.


Cook on low until cheese melts. Add corn (30 oz.), 1 lb bacon, and 1/3 cup heavy cream. 


Bake in 2 qt. casserole dish at 350 for 45 minutes. 

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is from my all time favorite cook- Pioneer Woman!! I have yet to fix one of her recipes and it not become a new favorite that I make over and over again. Her recipes are simple and delicious, so if you haven't checked out her blog or her show.. you are really missing out!! Now these mashed potatoes are good. But I have one issue with them. They taste just like my Mom's mashed potatoes.. only my Mom doesn't add *quite* that much butter.. close.. but not quite. And she doesn't add the heavy cream and the cream cheese. Also Mom's potatoes don't take 40 minutes to make. SO while these were delicious, I probably wouldn't make them like this again only because if I have a faster, easier, and a little healthier (I mean.. they are mashed potatoes.. not health food!) way to make them, then I am going to make them that way. That being said, if you don't have a good mashed potato recipe- this is a goooood one. Which reminds me, I really need to have Mom help me write down her recipe for mashed potatoes. It's simple but they always turn out perfectly delicious. As most things Mom makes do, of course! 

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Pioneer Woman 

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 5 pounds russet or Yukon gold potatoes
• One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 4-quart baking dish.

Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. Place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape before adding in all the other ingredients.

Turn off the heat and add 1 1/2 sticks butter, the cream cheese, heavy cream, seasoned salt, kosher salt and pepper. Mash to combine.

Spread the potatoes in the prepared baking dish. Throw pats of the remaining butter over the top of the potatoes and bake until the butter is melted and the potatoes are warmed through, 20 to 30 minutes.

Beef Stuffed Zucchini

I found this recipe on the Taste of Home website. I made it last night and it was even better than I thought it would be! Super easy, my favorite kind of recipe! I did add a little more to the mixture when I added the egg, bread crumbs, etc. to the meat- I also added a little italian seasoning and garlic salt. It seemed too plain without it? Plus I had plain bread crumbs, not seasoned so that made a difference too. Anyway- make it tonight- you will love it! It's basically like meatloaf but in a zucchini boat. :-) 

Beef Stuffed Zucchini

Taste of Home Website

4 medium zucchini

1 lb ground beef (or turkey)

½ cup chopped onion

1 egg

¾ cup marinara

¼ cup seasoned bread crumbs

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 cup (4 oz) shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

additional marinara

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, cut a thin slice from the bottom of each with a sharp knife to allow zucchini to sit flat. Scoop out pulp, leaving ¼ inch shells.

Place shells in an ungreased 3 qt. Microwave safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, drain. Remove from heat, stir in egg, marinara sauce, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and ½ cup cheese.

Spoon about ¼ cup into each shell. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Microwave 3-4 minutes longer or until thermometer inserted into the filling reads 160 degrees and zucchini are tender. Serve with additional marinara sauce.

Grandma Rodgers's Chicken and Dumplins.

Yay! Finally I have a recipe from my Grandma Rodgers! Thank you Uncle Larry for sharing this one with me! I'm so excited! :-) 

Chicken and Dumplins

From: Grandma Rodgers (via Uncle Larry) 

Whole Chicken
Plain Flour
Yellow Food Coloring


Place whole chicken in large stock pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Once water starts boiling, turn down and let simmer and cook for at least an hour, until chicken is cooked through. Once chicken is cooked dip some broth out of the top of the pot and let cool. Mix your chicken broth and plain flour to make dough. On a large flat surface sprinkle out some flour and roll out dough VERY thin. Let it sit and dry 4-5 hours. The dryer, the better. Then cut your dough into squares to make your dumplins. Take your chicken out of the broth, de-bone it, and return chicken to the broth. Bring the broth back up to a boil and start dropping your dumplins into the broth one at a time, slowly. After dumplins are all added in to the broth, add a few drops of yellow food coloring (Grandma thought this made it look richer) and salt and pepper to taste. Let cook until dumplins are cooked through and serve while hot! 


Story: Funny story Uncle Larry told me while giving me this recipe- Once Grandma called and asked him and Jo Ann to come eat dumplins. When they got there they opened the pot and it was red! Uncle Larry asked "WHAT is THAT!?" and her answer: "It's RED Chicken and Dumplins. I was out of Yellow food coloring so I added red. It tastes just as good, if you don't like it go back home!" hahahaha. 

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This is from Food Network Magazine this past month. It was on the cover and just looked so delicious I had to try it. Who doesn't like Broccoli Cheddar soup? Well this one is even better because it sneaks it some other good veggies too. Served it with sliced french bread and it was so yummy. A GREAT fall soup. 

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

From: Food Network Magazine

2T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups half and half
1 lb russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups chopped broccoli florets
1 1/3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
croutons for topping, optional

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, half-and-half, both potatoes, bay leaf, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put the broccoli in a microwave-safe bowl; add 3 tablespoons water and season with salt. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes; drain.

When the potatoes are tender, remove the bay leaf from the soup and transfer the soup to a blender. Puree until smooth, leaving the filler cap slightly open to let steam escape (or puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender). Return the soup to the pot and thin with water, if necessary. Return to a simmer over medium-low heat; stir in the broccoli and season with salt and pepper.

Add the cheese and stir until melted. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with croutons, if desired.

Per serving: Calories 589; Fat 34 g (Saturated 18 g); Cholesterol 97 mg; Sodium 931 mg; Carbohydrate 50 g; Fiber 8 g; Protein 22 g

Notes: When it says use a blender or immersion blender.. please do. I thought I would use my food processor and it went everywhere. LOL. I realized I had to do it in much smaller batches and it finally got done, but wow what a mess. 

Also- I used a tad more half and half and chicken broth so it didn't need to be thinned later with water, and it was a bit creamier. I suggest using a bit more cheese if you like a really cheesy flavor because it came out a tad bland without extra cheese. I think the next time I make it I will add more cheese, and maybe add some chopped green onion as well just for a little extra something to it. Overall great soup and I will be making it again soon! Yum! 

Breakfast Burritos

Trying to think of something a little different for dinner? Everyone likes breakfast for dinner once in a while, here is an easy way to have it a little easier! Make breakfast burritos! It's simple. Take your favorite breakfast foods and place them in a warmed tortilla shell, maybe add some shredded cheese, and enjoy! You can make them ahead of time and warm them in the oven, or place ingredients on the table and let everyone make their own. Here is how we make ours!


Scrambled eggs
Shredded Cheddar
Diced Onion
Diced Tomato
Diced Bell Pepper
Sausage patties cut in half
Tortilla shells


To make it even easier, get the pre-diced veggies in your produce section. We actually use a non-spicy pico mix from schnucks that is just delicious! Obviously the list of what you can add is endless. (peppers, fresh vegetables, different cheeses, salsa's, gravy, bacon, sausages...)

Mom's Meatloaf

This is a great recipe and best of all it is easy. Meatloaf gets a bad rap and I never understood why. Maybe it's because my Mom is a great cook and I never had "bad" meatloaf? So if you think you don't like it, try this recipe, it will change your mind! 

Meatloaf

From: Judy R

2 lbs. 80/20 ground beef
20 saltine crackers, crushed 
2 eggs
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup (plus more for top)
1/2 cup milk
about 4 cheese slices
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven at 350. Mix all ingredients together well (easiest to do with your hands). Place in loaf pan and bake at 350 for about an hour, or until middle reaches 160 degrees. In last 5 minutes of cooking take out of oven, place slices of cheese across top to cover then "drizzle" ketchup across cheese. (do not cover entirely!) Put back in oven for remaining 5 minutes for cheese to melt. 
*Note* you don't HAVE to use a loaf pan if you do not have one. Mom has formed it into a loaf and placed it in the middle of a 9x13 pan lots of times and it is fine. It may cook faster if you do it this way so be sure to keep an eye on it. 
Also- I don't recommend using ground turkey in this case. It is the first recipe I have found that it wasn't as good with ground turkey. In most cases I think it actually tastes better with ground turkey, but when we did the meatloaf it wasn't great. 

Orange Marmalade Rolls

These are DELICIOUS. It doesn't have a strong orange taste. Just the perfect hint of orange. If you like Orange Marmalade, you will love these. If you don't.. you will love these. Trust me! Yum. These, of course, are a Pioneer Woman recipe! 

Orange Marmalade Rolls

By: Pioneer Woman 

Ingredients

FOR ROLLS:

1/2 whole Recipe Of "Cinnamon Roll Dough"

8 Tablespoons Orange Marmalade

1/2 cup Melted Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

ORANGE GLAZE:

2 pounds Powdered Sugar

6 Tablespoons Melted Butter

1/2 cup Milk

1/2 cup Orange Juice

1 dash Salt

Preparation Instructions

Roll out dough into a long rectangle. Spread marmalade over the top. Pour on butter, and then sprinkle on the brown sugar evenly. Sprinkle with salt.

Beginning at the long side farthest from you, roll the dough in a long roll toward you; begin careful to keep it tucked tightly. Pinch edge to seal.

Cut rolls into 1 to 1 1/2 inch rolls and place into buttered pans. Allow to rise for at least 20 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown (but not overly brown).

While baking, mix together the ingredients for the orange glaze, thinning with more milk or orange juice to make mixture thin enough to be pourable.

Immediately drizzle orange glaze over the top. Serve warm or at room temperature.

NOTE: We could not find pans with straight sides, so we used regular pie pans. After the rolls baked we pinched the sides upward to make a lip around the pan and that made it easier to get some icing around the edges. 

This is how ours came out. We made both cinnamon rolls and orange marmalade rolls. They are both delicious!