Entree: Chicken Spaghetti

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chicken_spaghet/

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cooked Chicken
• 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• ⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.
Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

Entree: Gazpacho!

 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/gazpacho

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ½ whole Red Onion, Diced
• 1 whole Large Cucumber, Diced
• 5 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
• 1 whole Zucchini, Diced
• 2 stalks Celery, Diced
• 1 dash Salt To Taste
• ¼ gallons Tomato Juice
• ¼ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ⅛ cups Red Wine Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons White Sugar
• 6 dashes Tabasco
• 1 dash Black Pepper To Taste

Preparation Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic with half the red onion, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the zucchini, half the celery, half the tomato juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, Tabasco, and a dash of salt.
Pulse until all ingredients are blended well; mixture will have a nice speckled, colorful texture.
Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the tomato juice, and half of the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, and celery. (Reserve the rest of the diced vegetables for garnish.)
Stir mixture together and check seasonings, adding salt if needed. Chill soup for at least a couple of hours; soup needs to be very cold!
Remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with remaining diced vegetables, a sliver of fresh avocado, sour cream, and cilantro. Finally, place a grilled shrimp on the top and serve with grilled slices of bread.
This is a to-die-for summer dinner.

Dessert: Billie’s Italian Cream Cake Recipe

 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/07/billies-italian-cream-cake-recipe

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Difficulty: Intermediate

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 5 whole Eggs (separated)
• 3 teaspoons Vanilla
• 1 cup Coconut (from PW: If You Think You Hate Coconut, Trust Me: I Do Too, And I Love It In This Recipe)
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• 2 packages (8 Oz) Cream Cheese
• 1 stick Butter
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• 1 package 2 Lb Powdered Sugar
• 1 cup Chopped Walnuts
• 1 cup Sweetened, Flaked Coconut

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Set aside.
Cake:
In a large bowl, cream together butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg yolks, vanilla, and coconut.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
Alternate adding buttermilk and dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, then fold in egg whites.
Pour evenly into the three prepared pans, then sprinkle the top of each pan with 1 (at least) tablespoon sugar.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.
Frosting:
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Stir in chopped walnuts and sugared coconut. Spread between layers and serve.
Note: cream cheese frosting will soften at room temperature, so refrigerate if you won’t use it right away.

Dessert: Shortbread Cookies

 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/08/shortbread-cookies/

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 36

Ingredients

• 2 sticks Plus 2 Tablespoons Salted Butter, Softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 cup (scant) Corn Starch

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar together. Sift in flour and cornstarch and blend together using a pastry cutter until the ingredients all come together. (If mixture seems excessively dry, cut in 1 more tablespoon of butter—but only if you really need it.)
Form dough into a big ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 20 minutes.
Roll onto a lightly floured surface and cut into rounds. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Bake for 20 minutes. Do not allow shortbread to brown; the edges should have the faintest golden tinge.

Bread: Bacon Onion Cheddar Biscuits

 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/bacon-onion-cheddar-biscuits

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ¾ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ cups Vegetable Shortening (crisco, Etc)
• 10 Tablespoons Milk (whole Milk Is Best)
• 4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 1 whole Egg
• 10 slices Thick Cut Bacon, Fried And Crumbled
• 1 cup Finely Diced Onion
• 1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in shortening until all combined.
Combine milk, oil, and egg in a separate bowl. Whisk together.
Combine flour mixture, milk mixture, bacon, onions, and cheddar cheese in a large bowl. Stir gently until all combined.
Spoon batter into greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes on 375 degrees until golden Remove from pan and serve warm.

Bread: World's Best Rolls

 

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/rolls-and-orange-rolls.html

2 c. whole milk (if you're in a pinch, you can use 2%, but whole is best. Don't use 1% or skim)
½ c. + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1/3 c. (5 1/3 Tbsp.) butter
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.), preferably bread machine yeast
2/3 c. warm (105-115-degree) water
8-9 c. all-purpose flour
3 beaten eggs

Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. It's salty. It's sweet. Yum.

Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. I usually rub some ice cubes along the sides of the pan or pop the entire pan in a sink full of ice cubes to cool the mixture down because this step can take forever. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn't bubbled, you'll need to repeat this step--moving on with yeast that hasn't been activated properly will only end in heartache for you and hate mail for us.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 c. flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.

Add beaten eggs. Why should you beat your eggs first? Same reason you should combine your dry ingredients before adding them to moist ingredients when making cookies and cakes--it ensures everything is well-mixed and can be evenly-distributed through your dough or batter. If you add the whole eggs, your dough may not be as consistent.

Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft--it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don't worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they're so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.
Spray 2 9x13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. I like to use a pizza cutter because it has a blade on each side, so it cuts right through dough without sticking to the blade. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like playdough.
Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.

 Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown. When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls. You must now eat one. Now. While it's hot. Then pop the rest into a bowl and no one will ever know that you cheated.

 P.S. Using this filling or these fillings, this dough makes fabulous cinnamon or orange rolls. Just bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Entree: Broccoli Beef

 

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/broccoli_beef/

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/jadens-beef-with-broccoli

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
• 3/4 pound broccoli florets
• 2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced or smushed through garlic smusher
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup chicken broth

Method

1 Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes
2 Prepare the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
3 Blanch the broccoli: Cook the broccoli in a small pot of boiling, salted water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
4 Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.