Sweet and Spicy Turkey Chili

ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey
1 can stewed tomatoes mexican style
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can green chilis
1 can tomato sauce
2 cans kidney beans (slightly drained)
1 can black beans (slightly drained)
1 small yellow onion-diced
1 small red pepper- diced
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic
2 teaspoon chili powder
1\2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Brown your ground turkey and put in your crock pot.

Saute onion and red pepper for a few minutes just to get the the flavors mixed together and the veggies slightly softened. Add to crock pot

Add the rest of your ingredients, mix well and turn crock pot on high for 4-6 hours

{with the seasonings you can add more or less depending on your taste preference, I also added a few shakes of chili flakes to mine!}

Cornbread Tip:

When making a box of Jiffy Corn Bread, try omitting the milk and instead using a half can of creamed corn. It makes the bread super moist and a little sweet!

Cherry Almond Oatmeal Cookies

Basic Oatmeal Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour (can use up to 1/4 cup more)
1 tsp. baking soda
3 cups oats

Directions:
Cream butter and sugars together, add eggs. Mix in dry ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

And the best part...the add-ins! Just add to the basic recipe.

Cherry Almond Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup dried cherries (you can buy these at Costco, by the other dried fruits)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 tsp. almond flavoring (use INSTEAD of vanilla in the basic recipe)


Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup dried blueberries
2 tsp. cinnamon

Craisin Orange Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup craisins
grate the peel of 1 orange

Almond Joy Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup coconut
1 cup miniature chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped almonds

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, undrained
1 (16 ounce) can reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa
1 TBSP chili powder
shredded cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
chopped onion (optional)
cilantro (optional)

Directions:
Mash one can of beans with potato/bean masher or food processor. Pour both cans of beans into saucepan. Add chicken broth, salsa, and chili powder. Bring to a boil. If desired, top with shredded cheese, sour cream, onion, and cilantro.

**This was a new recipe for us and we tweaked it a bit. It seemed really liquid-y, and I like black bean soup thicker, so we added another can of beans but drained that one. We also added chopped onion to the mixture as it was boiling for more flavor. And, it needed a little bit of salt. Otherwise, it was very tasty! Served with cornbread muffins.**

Orange Rolls

Now don't knock this until you try it. There is no yeast in these rolls. The first ingredient may turn you off, but really! I'm giving you the same advice the website I got this recipe from gave me and I am so glad I took their advice. These rolls are SO good. These rolls are SO easy - no waiting around for the dough to rise a couple times. These rolls were the perfect start to our Thanksgiving morning.

Orange Rolls

Dough:
3/4 c cottage cheese (don't use fat free and again, don't mock, just try it)
1/3 c buttermilk
1/4 c sugar
4 T butter, melted
1 t vanilla extract
2 c flour; more for rolling
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking soda

Orange Filling:
4 T butter, softened (I melted it)
1/2 C sugar
zest from one orange

Orange Glaze:
2/3 C powdered sugar
1 T melted butter
2 T Orange juice (I used all the juice from the orange I zested)

Instructions:
*Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray cooking dish - a 9" pie dish or 9"x9" casserole work well.
*Combine cottage cheese, buttermilk, sugar, butter, and vanilla in FOOD PROCESSOR (a must have for this recipe - a blender may work.) Mix until smooth.
*Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt). Add to the food processor. Just give it a couple quick pulses to create a clump-y dough.
*Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle. Spread the combined filling ingredients on the dough. Roll up like cinnamon rolls, slice the dough, and place into baking dish.
*Bake for 20-25 minutes - until tops are golden.
*Take out of oven, allow to sit for 5 minutes before covering with the combined glaze ingredients.
*Enjoy! You will regret the mocking.

mini chicken pot pies.

love this recipe! it's very simple and very hearty :)

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
1 cup cubed cooked chicken {i used a can of chicken}
1 cup cooked diced potatoes
1/4 cup diced onion {i used frozen, pre-diced onions}
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 can {10 oz} cream of chicken soup
1 can crescent rolls
1 egg
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

directions:
heat oven to 400. in a saucepan cook onions until tender. add peas & carrots, chicken, potatoes, milk, 1/2 tsp thyme and soup. heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. divide mixture evenly among 4 ungreased 10 oz custard cups. unroll crescent dough. place one crescent over each custard cup. in a small bowl, mix egg and water. brush mixture over crescent dough. sprinkle 1/2 tsp thyme over dough. bake 10-12 minutes until crusts are golden brown.

note:
if you don't have custard cups, you can buy foil tart pans in the baking aisle.

Sunday at Shawnee's (mom's house)

Chicken -n- Noodles

This is my ultimate comfort food. It's been a tradition in my family for years. I'm not really sure where it all started, but my grandma and mom have been making it for as long as I've been around. It might seem weird to have chicken and noodles over potatoes, but it's oh so good. I haven't mastered the art of homemade noodles, so I appreciate going to my mom's house and enjoying her hard work.

Noodles: 2 eggs, 1 tsp milk, 1 cup flour, salt
Mix until real stiff, adding extra flour on top and bottom as you roll the dough until paper thin. Let dry until almost brittle. Roll up and cut into thin strips.

Chicken: cook whole chicken, with a little water, in crock pot all day or in pressure cooker 30-40 minutes. Strain chicken-water mixture for broth. Shred chicken.

Gravy: Use chicken broth and potato water to make a thin gravy. Add shredded chicken and noodles. Thicken as needed.

Serve chicken -n- noodles over mashed potatoes.

Saturday at Shawnee's

Taco Soup Leftovers...the great thing about a big pot of soup is that you can eat it for days. And this past Saturday certainly was a soup day.

Friday at Shawnee's

Taco Soup


I'm pretty sure everyone has a version of taco soup. Brady made dinner and used his mom's "recipe"...I have no idea how much of anything she uses...just until it looks right is what she always tells me. Someday, I'll be able to cook that way. :)

Ingredients:
Ground beef, browned
Diced tomatoes
Tomato juice or sauce
1-2 cans Beans (red, black, pinto, your choice)
1 can Canned corn
about a TBSP Brown sugar (to sweeten it a bit, add more if needed)
Taco seasoning or chili powder or a little bit of both

Instructions:
Throw it all together in a pan or crock pot and let it simmer. Top with chips, sour cream, cheese.

Thursday at Shawnee's

Bean Burritos with (Spring) Greens

My computer ate my picture of this. I'm very disappointed because it looked so pretty with all the colors. Oh well, use your imagination and when I make it again I'll post a picture! This was a new recipe from earlier in the summer. I loved it because it was a yummy way to sneak those leafy greens in.

Ingredients:
1 green/spring garlic (or use what garlic is in season)
1 baby walla walla onion (or use your favorite onion)
1 bunch cooking greens (spinach, kale, chard, etc.)
2 TBSP olive oil
salt to taste
1 can refried beans (I used refried black beans)
4 warm tortillas
Shredded cheese (as much as you want)
Toppings: salsa, avocado, limes, sour cream, etc.

Instructions:
Finely chop onion and garlic. Saute onion, garlic, and greens in olive oil for about 5 minutes. (I find it best if you saute the onion and garlic together first, then add the greens.) Salt to taste. Layer greens mixture with warmed beans, cheese and other toppings of your choice on tortillas. Roll up tortilla and serve.

Sweet Sliced Snacks

Okay, I really have no idea what these "are called" so I made up the name and think I did a pretty good job. Dr. Seuss has nothin' on me!

This is the cheapest, easiest, most cost efficient snack ever. Not to mention healthy. Well, healthier.

ingredients
apples (sliced horizontally)
peanut butter
chocolate chips

instructions
Really? I mean come on.... :)