Pie Crust

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 t. salt

1/3 c. + 1T. shortening

about 1/4 c. ice water

Recipe:

1. Combine flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add shortening in small cubes.

2. Cut in shortening until you get pieces that are about pea-sized.

3. Start sprinkling the ice water by about a tablespoon at a time over the flour/shortening mixture.

4. Very, very gently, turn the dough with your fingers so it gets exposed to the water. You're NOT mixing, just trying to moisten all of the flour/shortening mixture. Gradually, all of the flour mixture will be moistened. Gently pat the dough into a ball (it should come together easily but not be sticky).

5. Wrap in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until you're ready to use.

6. When you're ready to roll out your pie crust, lightly flour your work surface and place the dough ball on the surface. One of the keys in making pie crust is to handle the dough as little as possible. The less you touch it, the more tender and flaky it will be. Starting in the center, roll the dough out into a circle shape, about 1/8" thick. When you've reached your desired thickness, place the rolling pin in the middle and gently fold the crust over the rolling pin. Lift the dough onto your pie plate and unfold it.

7. Bake according to pie directions.

Rating: 4 of 5

I liked this recipe. I wasn't sweet, which I like in a pie crust, and it was pretty flaky. Easy enough to make!

Source: OurBestBites.com, Pie Crust

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 unbaked pie crusts

1 lb. leftover roasted chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 12-16 oz. bag of mixed vegetables, thawed

1 onion, minced

1 T. butter

5 medium-small red potatoes, diced

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/2 t. Kosher salt, or to taste

ground black pepper to taste

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. When ready, add potatoes to water and boil until tender. Meanwhile, heat about 1 T. butter in a medium skillet. When the butter is bubbly, saute the onion until it's translucent and fragrant. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, chicken, vegetables, onion, and potatoes. Season to taste.

4. Place one pie crust on the bottom of a pie plate, transfer the filling to the pie plate, and then top with the other pie crust. Crimp the edges and then cut a few vent holes on top. Place pie plate on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

5. Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Rating: 3 of 5

Easy recipe, unless you aren't that experienced in pie crusts. You might get a bit flustered, but it's not as hard as it might seem. The chicken mixture could not be any easier. Especially if you pick up a rotisserie chicken at Costco to use. I really liked the potatoes in this pie, but I thought the actual filling was way to thick when cooked. So, I would probably either add another half can of cream of chicken or add a half cup milk or something to make it a little more runny. Tasted fine enough, but it wasn't a super good pot pie.

Source: OurBestBites.com, Chicken Pot Pie

Beef Jerky

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. Lean (90%) ground beef

3 t. NON-iodized salt

1 1/2 t. Accent

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/3 t. crushed or ground red pepper

1 1/2 T. meat tenderizer

1/2 T. black pepper

2 T. brown sugar, heaping

1/4 c. liquid smoke

1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce

Recipe:

1. Mix salt, accent, garlic, red pepper, tenderizer, black pepper, and brown sugar together in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, layer spice mixture between layers of raw beef. Mix the meat and spices together by hand until spices mixed well throughout.

3. Take a ball, about the size of a man's fist, and place between two pieces of wax paper. With a rolling pin, roll to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and, roughly, in the shape of the dehydrator tray.

4. Transfer meat to tray rack and coat the top with the liquid smoke mixture. Repeat this step until all trays are filled, or meat is used.

5. Use dehydrator according to directions.

**Time for meat to dehydrate will vary according to number of trays on dehydrator and whether or not it has a fan. A dehydrator without a fan will take about 12-18 hours to complete and trays will need to be rotated every couple of hours(no need to rotate in middle of night). With a fan, a small batch will take about 6 hours.**

**If you don't have a dehydrator, the jerky can be dried in the oven as well. Set the oven to 140 degrees, and place the meat on racks. Air needs to circulate. Place a pan under the rack to catch the drippings.**

Rating: 5 of 5

I'm not sure if this is an acquired taste or not just because I grew up with it. I think it's awesome! One thing I really like about this recipe vs. store bought beef jerky, is that it is much easier to chew and doesn't get stuck in your teeth as much. Also, you can make it as thick or thin as you like it. I like mine practically crispy. If you're too scared to make a batch, then I'll make some for you and you can sample it! Seriously, delicious! Oh, and as a bonus, the house smells soooo good for a day.

Source: my mom

Homemade Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

8 oz. uncooked elbow macaroni

2 c. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

3 c. milk

1/4 c. butter

2 1/2 T. flour

2 T. butter

1/2 c. bread crumbs

1 pinch paprika

Recipe:

1. Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.

2. In a sauce pan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux (butter flour mixture to thicken sauce). Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put macaroni in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over macaroni. Stir well.

3. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika. *

4. Bake at 350 degree for 30 minutes. Serve.

* Totally didn't do the last two steps. Just served the cheese sauce over noodles.

Rating: 2.5 of 5

So, I am not one who really likes mac and cheese. Ally, apparently, is. I didn't exactly cook this recipe the way it is supposed to be, but I figured the sauce over noodles would be just fine too. I didn't really like the sauce just because it didn't have a super strong cheddar taste....it was more Parmesan flavored. But, as long as Ally likes it I will make it. Daniel, surprisingly, couldn't care less for it!

Source: AllRecipes, Homemade Mac and Cheese

Sour Cream Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 package taco seasoning mix

1 c. salsa*

2 T. cornstarch

1/4 c. sour cream

* I used the generic Wal-Mart brand medium salsa

Recipe:

1. Spray the crockpot with cooking spray. Add the chicken breasts. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken. Top with the salsa.

2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. *

3. When ready to serve, remove the chicken from the pot. Place about 2 T. cornstarch in a small amount of water and stir well. Stir the cornstarch mixture into salsa sauce. **

4. Stir in a 1/4 c. sour cream. Serve over chicken.

* As with most crockpot recipes, you can speed this up by cooking on High for 3-4 hours.

** You can substitute cornstarch with Minute Tapioca(says on the box how much you will need) or all-purpose flour (double the amount of cornstarch you would use).

*** So, I followed the recipe until it came time to remove the chicken. I let it cook for 7ish hours, took the chicken out and shredded it, then put it back in the crockpot for a half hour. After 30 minutes I stirred in the 1/4 c. sour cream. So rather than ending up with chicken and salsa, I just made a creamy/spicy chicken spread. ***

Rating: 4 of 5

We really liked this recipe they way I cooked it. We had it in tortillas and called it a taco night. This is super good with the Texas Caviar/Bean Dip in a tortilla. You can definitely taste the taco seasoning and salsa in this chicken. So...make sure you like taco seasoning and that you put in a salsa that you like! Daniel loved it...of course. I also loved it because it's super easy. Crockpots are my favorite.

Source: Slowandsimple.com, Sour Cream Salsa Chicken

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

1 c. light brown sugar, packed

2 large egg whites

1 c. pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/4 c. canola oil

1/3 c. low-fat plain yogurt

1 t. vanilla extract

1 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Chocolate chips

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" metal loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour.

2. In large bowl, with wire whisk, combine brown sugar and egg whites. Add pumpkin, oil, yogurt, and vanilla extract; stir to combine.

3. In medium bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; stir until just combined. Do not overmix.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert pumpkin bread onto wire rack; cool completely.

Rating:TBD

Again, not a fan of pumpkin. Someone else will have to make this and tell me what they would rate it.

Source: Stephany Pando, from Good Housekeeping

Cherry Bread

Ingredients/Recipe:

1 8-oz. package cream cheese

1 c. butter

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. vanilla

Cream above ingredients together

Add: 4 eggs-one at a time

Add:

2 c. flour

3/4 c. cut cherries

dash of salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Put in 1/4 c. flour, 1/2 c. nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans) combined with cherries

Bake in bread pan @ 325 for 1 hour

Frosting:

2 Tbs. melted butter

2 c. powdered sugar

cherry juice

enough milk to make desired consistency (about 3 Tbs)

frost bread after cooling.

Rating: 3.75 of 5

Loved it! I really like cherry flavored things though.

Source: Shannon Booher