Crock Pot Potato Chowder

I got this AWESOME crock pot recipe from my great friend and next door neighbor who shared it with me after a friend of hers shared it with her after she had her baby.  It's just too yummy and too easy to not share with everyone you know.

1 pkg frozen shredded hash browns (30 oz)
3 cups chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup green onions (I used half of a small regular onion and it was great)
1/4 tsp pepper

Put all ingredients in crock pot and stir.  Cook on low for 4 hours.  After 4 hours add an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese and stir in.  Cook for an additional 30 min.

I also added some cooked chopped bacon at the same time as the cream cheese.  Another time I added chopped leftover ham at the beginning.  They both turned out yummy. 

As a side note:  I also tried this recipe using low fat soup and low fat cream cheese.  It was still o.k., but the consistency was off- kind of pasty-- sticky.  I think I'll stick to the original recipe- or at least staying with regular cream cheese.

Pork Fried Rice

Here's an idea for using leftover Pork Chops

We had Rosemary Pork Chops on Sunday and then with the 2 or 3 pork chops I had left over, I chopped them up while they were still warm put them in a container to use the next day.  It is ALWAYS easier to cut-up or de-bone meat when it is warm instead of the next day from the fridge.  It may take a few extra minutes the night before while you're trying to clean up, but it is WELL worth the time the next day.

Recipe:

2-3 leftover pork chops de-boned and chopped up

One Rice Pilaf recipe (see below)

1/2 chopped onion

1 carrot shredded

1 cup frozen  broccoli cooked and chopped

1 tsp crushed rosemary

Put 1 TBSP olive oil in a skillet, sweat onions, add meat, broccoli, carrots and rosemary.  Mix together and stir fry for a few minutes.  Add rice and combine all together.

Rice Pilaf:

2 cups Long grain rice

4 cups water

4 heaping tsp chicken bouillon granules

3 TBSP lemon juice

2 TBSP butter

Another kind of rice that is REALLY good in general, but especially with this recipe is Jasmine Rice.  You can find it next to the regular rice.  It has a very floral aroma.  Just cook according to the directions and you can add the bouillon and lemon juice and butter too.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found these on the Betty Crocker website and we decided to try them this Holiday Season.  I'm sure glad we did because they are SUPER EASY and SUPER DELICIOUS!!  If you like the Mint Chocolate flavor combination- you will love these. Enjoy!!

1 pouch Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix (1 lb 1.5 oz)
1/2 cup butter or margarine (I tried each one and liked the way the margarine ones turned out better- just my opinion)
1/4- 1/2 tsp mint extract (in the seasoning isle- next to the vanilla, etc.)
6-8 drops green food coloring
1 egg
1 cup creme de menthe baking chips (next to the chocolate chips)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350.  Combine Cookie mix, butter/margarine, extract, food coloring an egg until soft dough forms.  Stir in chips.  Cook for 8-10 min.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

I grew up on Pumpkin Chiffon pie rather than the traditional pumpkin pie (however, I love traditional pp, I don't think my mother did).  This is a very YUMMY pie  recipe and is SO EASY!!!

1 pie shell - you can use a graham cracker pie crust, shortbread crust, or a traditional pie crust.  I personally like it best in the traditional pie crust.

1 cup pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix)

1 Large instant vanilla pudding.

1/2 cup cold milk

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 8 oz cool whip

Mix pumpkin, pudding, milk and spice together until it is mixed thoroughly.  Fold in Cool Whip and put in crust.  Refridgerate for a few hours until firm.

Lemon Cloud Pie

This is our FAVORITE holiday pie.  You could make it anytime, but I usually only get around to it during the holidays.  I love LEMON stuff and this is a spectacular pie.  Just lemony enough and a great texture.  My kids fight over the last piece.

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust- cook for a 1 shell pie. (450 for 9-11 min)  I poke holes in the crust with a fork all along the bottom and up the sides.  Then I line the bottom of the uncooked crust with raw pinto beans to weigh the crust down so that it doesn't bubble up.  Then I  throw the bean away when I'm done cooking the crust.

Filling:

1 cup sugar

3 TBSP cornstarch

1 cup Water

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 egg yolks slightly beaten

4 oz cream cheese softened

lemon zest from 1 lemon

1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

Combine sugar and cornstarch and mix well.  Add water, lemon juice and egg yolks.  Cook over medium heat until it boils, stirring constantly.  Boil 1 minute.  Add cream cheese and lemon peel, stirring until cream cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Cool to room temp.  I usually stick it in the freezer to speed up the cooling time.  After the lemon mixture is cooled, add the whipped whipping cream and fold together.  Place in cooked and cooled pie shell and place in fridge for 6 hours or overnight.  Top with a dollop of whip cream and ENJOY!!

Pilgram Hats

This was a fun little kids treat to make for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I made the ones in this picture a few years ago.  I made some to take for Sharing Time at Church last Sunday and didn't get a picture of them. 

It's a Fudge Striped Cookie upside down.  Glue the Reeses Mini Peanut Butter Cup on upside down with yellow squirt can icing by putting the frosting around the bottom edge of the PB cup and placing it upside down on the cookie.  Make the buckle with a little more frosting and an Orange Tic Tac.  This time I didn't use an orange Tic Tac, I just used a circle of red icing.  The Tic Tacs are REALLY hard and sometimes kids crunch down on them expecting them to be candy- but they are harder than that- so this time I just used the red icing for the buckle.  I  didn't get a picture of them before they scarfed them up in Primary.

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie

THis is just a classic pumpkin pie recipe- the one that I really like.  I wanted to put it on my blog for my own recipe collection.  Soon I'm going to make this into a recipe book and so I wanted this one in for sure.

1 can pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)

2 eggs

1tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 pie crust (I just use a Pillsbury rolled up pie crust- yes, I cheat)

Unroll and flute the pie crust.  Fill crust and bake at 425 for 15 min.  Reduce heat to 350 and cook for an additional 35-40 min or until center is firm yet soft.  Cool.