AMAZING Blueberry Muffins

4 eggs
1 1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup Vegetable Oil (I did 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup butter)
1 Tbs Vanilla
2 cups Sour Cream
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
3 cups Blueberries (I used frozen- they are cheaper and just as yummy)

Combine eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and sour cream.  Mix in dry ingredients. Fold in blueberries (if you mix too much with the blueberries the color bleeds and it makes the muffins blue/grey). 

Cook at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean and/or golden brown).

*I got 48 normal sized muffins out of this!

Grandma Lewis' Sugar Cookies

So soft and WONDERFUL!

2 cup Sugar

1 1/2 cup butter (or 1 cup lard/ 1/2 cup butter)

3 eggs

1 cup Sour Cream (or 1 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar= mix and let spoil for 3-5 minutes)

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Vanilla

5-7 cups flour (add about 5 and then check texture- add the remaining flour as needed when rolling out dough)

Cream sugar butter and eggs together; add other ingredients and mix.  Chill in fridge for a while and then bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Cruncher Salad

Lettuce

Tomato

Green Onions

Shoepeg Corn (I used canned- you can use frozen)

Toasted Ramen Noodles (Warning: These go from toasted to burnt quickly so really watch them)

Peanuts (optional)

Dressing:

1/3 cup oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 T Sugar

1/2 tsp pepper

3 T vinegar

Pasta Lasagna

Baked Mostaccioli

Serves – 8

Hands On Time = 38 min

Total Time = 1 hr, 28 min

Ingredients

12 oz uncooked mostaccioli pasta (I used penne)

4 oz cream cheese, softened (I used a whole package- 8 oz)

1 (15-oz) container ricotta cheese

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg

2 green onions, minced

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 lb ground round

½ ld Italian sausage

1 (24-oz) jar fire-roasted tomato sauce with cabernet (we tested with Bertolli),  Wolfgang Puch’s is also good.

1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with garlic, drained

2 (8 oz) packages shredded mozzarella cheese

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions; drain.
2. Meanwhile, mash cream cheese with a fork until smooth; stir in ricotta cheese and next 6 ingredients until blended.
3. Cook ground round and sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain and return to pan. Stir in pasta sauce and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
4. Spread half of meat mixture on bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9” baking dish. Layer half of pasta over meat; layer ricotta mixture over pasta. Sprinkle one package of cheese over ricotta mixture. Repeat layers using remaining half of meat mixture, pasta, and cheese.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until bubbly.

** I made this (as written above) and was able to stick more than half in the freezer!!  

Soft Applesauce- Raisin Cookies/ Muffins**

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Ground Allspice

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

1 medium Granny Smith Apple- peeled, cored and diced 

1 Cup Dark Raisins

1 Cup coarsely chopped Walnuts

Preheat Oven to 375. Mix together all ingredients.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 1 inch apart on Greesed cookie sheet.  Cook 20-22 minutes or until lightly browned around edges!

Lemon Glaze: In a small bowl, still  1 cup Confectioners sugar  and 2 TBS lemon juice until smooth.  Brush onto Cookies!

***Brea's Alterations:  The cookies are kind of cakey so I made them into muffins instead.  I probably used 5-6 small apples (more than it called for) and I added caramel bits instead of raisins.  I cooked in muffin tins (lined) until done (I still think I did it about 20 minutes- but you can check by just stabbing one of the muffins in the center).

FREEZER MEALS

Just take them out the night before and put them in the fridge to soften (or, as it usually happens in my house, take it out the day of, thaw it in a bowl of water and cook on high).  

Sweet and Tangy Meatballs
Ingredients: 

Appx 36 meatballs (we used Turkey meatballs from Costco)

16 oz Grape Jelly

20 oz bbq sauce


Split Between 2 bags, seal, mix, lay flat and freeze


Cooking Directions:

Cook on Low 2-4 hours.  Serve hot over rice and veggies.




Sausage and Peppers
Ingredients: 

6 Italian Sausage

2 green peppers, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 large red onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans italian diced tomatoes

2 Tbs Italian seasoning

Split Between 2 bags, seal, mix, lay flat and freeze

Cooking Directions:
Add drizzle of olive oil to crock pot, cook on Low 6 hours.  Serve hot over noodles or over french bread with mozzarella cheese.



Teriyaki Chicken 


Ingredients: 
Medium bag of baby carrots
Red Onion cut into large chunks
2 large cans pineapple (undrained)
4 Garlic Cloves
4 Chicken Breasts
1 cup teriyaki sauce

Split Between 2 bags, seal, mix, lay flat and freeze

Cooking Directions:
Cook on Low 6 hours.  Serve hot over rice. *May need more sauce


Savory Chicken



Ingredients: 
4-6 Chicken breasts
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 large onion
1 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste (I usually do this at the end after/while cooking)
1 1/4 cups chicken broth (*I make broth with a powder and water- so I add the amount of water needed to the cooking directions)
4 cups broccoli (add while cooking)

Split Between 2 bags, seal, mix, lay flat and freeze

Cooking Directions:
Add 1 1/4 cup water* .  Cook on Low 6-7 hours.  Add broccoli during last 30 minutes, remove bay leaves before serving.
  

Cilantro Lime Chicken
Ingredients:

2-4  chicken breasts
juice from 2 limes (I ended up adding more)
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin 

salt and pepper to taste

Split Between 2 bags, seal, mix, lay flat and freeze

Cooking Directions: 

 Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours). Serve over rice  or with tortillas and your favorite toppings (sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and cheese).

  

Chicken Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer (or broth)
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Split Between 2 bags, seal, mix, lay flat and freeze

Cooking Directions:

Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken in crock pot once cooking is done. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired. Served approx. 5-6 people.

Sweet BBQ Chicken

Ingredients: 

4-6 Chicken Breasts
12 oz bottle of BBQ Sauce
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Vinegar
1/8 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder

Split Between 2 bags, seal, mix, lay flat and freeze

Cooking Directions:

Cook on Low for 4-6 hours.
 

Creamy Chicken Italian-O

Ingredients:   

4-6 Chicken Breasts

8 oz Cream Cheese
1 Can of Cream of Chicken
1 Dry Packet of Italian Seasoning

Take softened Cream Cheese, Cream of Chicken and Italian Seasoning and mix together in a bowl.- I didn't do this- just mixed in in the bag like I did with all the other ones. 

Split Between 2 bags, seal, mix, lay flat and freeze

Cooking Directions:

Cook on Low for 4-6 hours.

The 'World’s Best Chicken'

Ingredients:

6-8 pound Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs (or breasts- whatever you have)
1 cup Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper
Season after w/ Rosemary

Split Between 2 bags, seal, mix, lay flat and freeze

Cooking Directions:

Cook on  Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours.


I also made the : 
Green Chili Stew
Andi's Chili- that are already posted on this blog.