Jeanne's Macaroni Salad

by Jeanne Barger

Makes 9 servings

2 1/4 cup macaroni, uncooked
1 green pepper
½ red pepper
2 celery stalks
1/4 vidalia onion
1 ½ tsp parsley
1/8 tsp white or black pepper
2 oz pimento (optional)
1 tomato (optional) - cut into small pieces or wedges
1/8 tsp paprika
15 oz Miracle Whip
1/4 cup milk (reg or skim)

Cook macaroni and set aside.

Chop green peppers, red pepper, celery and onion finely or put in food processor and process until fine, but not mushy.  Add the vegetables to the macaroni and stir well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the miracle whip and milk until it is a creamy mixture.  A whisk usually works best.  Add the white/black pepper and parsley to this mixture so it spreads better once mixed with macaroni and vegetables.         

Pour the miracle whip mixture into the macaroni and vegetables and mix all together.     Add the pimentos and stir well.  Refrigerate for one hour.  Remove from refrigerator and add the tomatoes if using.  Sprinkle some paprika sparingly on top.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one more hour or until needed.  May be made the day before you need the salad.   

Double the recipe for party size bowl

Chocolate Indulgence Cookies

by Ellie Weightman (adapted from America's Test Kitchen recipe under a different recipe name)

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (regular cocoa powder can be substituted)
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant espresso powder or regular instant coffee
10 tblsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
16 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
½ tsp peppermint extract (optional - see below)

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla and instant coffee together until the coffee is dissolved.

Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy (3-6 minutes).  Beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 30 seconds.  Beat in the melted chocolate, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the chips and walnuts (optional) until incorporated.  Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoop-able and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

Working with 3 tablespoons of dough at a time, scoop the dough into balls and lay on three parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart.  Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and the tops are cracked but the centers are still soft and underdone (peek thru the cracks to check the centers) 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.       

Optional:

Add ½ tsp peppermint extract when adding the vanilla extract for a chocolate mint flavor.

Add the walnuts when adding the chips at the end of the recipe.

Beefaroni

by Ellie Weightman

2 cups dry macaroni

8 oz ground beef

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)

2 cans tomato soup

1/2 green pepper (chopped)

1/2 red pepper (chopped) - optional

1 medium onion (chopped)

1 clove garlic (minced) - optional

salt and pepper to taste

ALTERNATIVE:  Use 1 can (10.5 oz) tomato soup and 10.5 oz spaghetti sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook macaronis according to package directions.  Drain

While the macaroni's are cooking, in a medium pot, slowly brown the beef with the onions, garlic, green and red peppers. Drain grease.

To the beef, add the soup.  Heat until just simmering.  Remove from heat, add cheese and stir til cheese dissolves. Add salt and pepper to your liking.

Pour the macaroni into a 2 quart casserole dish.  Add the sauce and stir.

Bake for 30 minutes - no lid.  Serve.

Earl's Chili

1 lb ground meat

¼ cup onion, chopped

¼ cup green pepper, chopped

8 oz tomato sauce

1 bay leaf

1 lb can diced tomato (seasoned if desired)

1 lb can red kidney beans (drained)

1 tsp salt or garlic salt

   1 - 2 tsp chili powder

PREP: Chop green peppers and onions.  Put can tomatoes in blender if you don’t like them chunked.

Brown meat, onion and green pepper. Drain.  Add kidney beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes, chili powder and bay leaf.  Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Serve alone, over mashed potatoes, with shredded cheddar cheese or crumble tostito chips into the chili.

High Fiber Smoothies

See below for explanation of ingredients
Makes a full blender - 4 16 oz cups - use half the recipe for smaller amout

16-20 oz frozen fruit (combine different kinds if you can)

4 half frozen bananas

3 heaping tablespoons ground oatmeal

1 heaping tablespoon wheat germ meal

1 heaping tablespoon flax meal

1 heaping tablespoon ground walnuts

1 scoop protein powder (optional)

Dash of spice (nutmeg, cinnamon or your preference)

Honey or Agave Nectar- nice big squirt - place in center of blender to avoid sticking to sides

1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract or any flavor extract

16 oz Vanilla non-fat yogurt

16 oz non-fat milk OR milk and some type of juice totalling 16 oz

1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract or any flavor extract

Put ingredients in blender in the order listed above.  Start on low and slowly proceed to the highest speed.  You may have to turn off blender after breaking up the fruit to let it burp and start it again.

• Wheat germ and flax meal can be found in supermarket in cereal, organic or flour aisles.
• For oatmeal, use Old-Fashioned Oats and grind in food processor - store in original container or in zip lock, freeze if not going to use up quickly
• Walnuts - buy in bulk and put in food processor to grind finely - store in zip lock in freezer
• Bananas - best if allowed to get brown, peel and break in half, put on baking sheet and freeze for 18-24 hours.  Once frozen put in zip lock in freezer.  Makes a more frosty, thick smoothie.
• HINT: Watermelon and canteloupe do not work well, they are too watery.

Ellie's Coating Mix for Pork Chops

1 box Wheaties Cereal

1 tbslp sugar

1 tblsp Kosher Salt or 1/2 tblsp table salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dried minced onion

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp ground pepper

In a food processor, place 1/2 box of Wheaties and pulse until the Wheaties start to break down ONLY SLIGHTLY.  Add the remainder of the Wheaties along with all the other ingredients.  Pulse the processor until it becomes crumb-like, do not overprocess or it will become to fine and powdery.

For coating pork chops, place 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the mix in a bag and shake (the amount you use depends on the number of chops you are cooking.)  Bake on 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on thickness of chops.

Store unused coating mix in a zip lock bag in the freezer for future use (will not clump).

This is just a starting point, vary the ingredients to your liking.

Sante Fe Soup

by Ellie Weightman (this recipe was passed on to me from my Alabama cousins Bonnie and Martha)  Thank you ladies, it has fast become a favorite in our family.

1 - 1 1/2 lb ground meat

1 large onion, chopped

2 pkg taco seasoning (we use 1 as 2 is too spicy for us)

2 pkgs ranch dressing

1 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes with Chilies

1 can diced tomatoes

2 can shoe peg corn - DO NOT DRAIN

1 can black beans - DO NOT DRAIN

1 can light red kidney beans - DO NOT DRAIN

1 can dark red kidney beans - DO NOT DRAIN

1 can pinto beans - DO NOT DRAIN

2 cups water (may need more)

Tortilla chips (optional)

grated cheese (optional)

sour cream (optional)

Brown beef and onions.  Mix in taco seasoning and ranch dressing.  Add beans, corn, tomatoes and water.  Simmer 2 hours.  Serve with grated cheese, sour cream or crumble tortilla chips or fritos into the soup.

Buttercream Frosting for Decorating

by Ellie Weightman

1 cup Butter Flavored Crisco OR 1/2 cup regular Crisco and 1/2 cup butter (softened)

2 - 3 T warm water

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract (can be substituted)

1/4 tsp rum extract (can be substituted)

4 cups SIFTED confectioners sugar

1 tblsp corn syrup (helps with glide)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl (a stand mixer best) add the crisco/butter and mix until creamy on low speed.

Add the warm water and the desired extracts.  Mix again until well incorporated.

Add the sifted confectioners sugar to the mix, one cup at a time, mixing well with each addition.  Add the corn syrup to help moisten the icing - add more for desired consistency. If using a pastry bag consistency is important for piping.

If you want to color the entire mix, add food coloring.  To make different colors of this one batch, divide the icing and mix your colors in using a spatula - mix well.

Coat the cake with the white icing.  Decorate using pastry bags.  Decorate cupcakes with a pastry bag and a larger star tip.

FYI:  if you want a truly white cake, you must use regular Crisco, no butter and Clear Vanilla extract and omit the almond and rum extracts.  You can add more clear vanilla to make up the difference for losing those two extracts.

For a chocolate flavor, add dutch cocoa powder but mix with hot water first before adding to the mix (a little peppermint added too will be good with the chocolate).

Ellie's Corn Flake Chicken

by Ellie Weightman

4-6 chicken thighs or drummies or a combo of the two

3/4 cup corn flake crumbs (make your own, see below)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp onion powder (amt. is per your taste)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic salt (amt. is per your taste)

1/4 tsp parsley

1/8 tsp ancho chili powder

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine all seasoning ingredients in a plastic bag and shake to mix.  Put chicken in bag 2 at a time and shake.  Place on a baking sheet with a rack.  

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, using the convection fan if you have one. (This will crisp-up crust).  When finished, reset the oven temperature to 375 degrees and turn off the convection oven fan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Note:  you can probably also use for breasts BUT the cooking time may be longer so go ahead and try it and let us know by posting a review here. Also if you come up with different seasonings, let us all know by posting a comment.

Make your own corn flake crumbs:

Buy a box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal.  Place in food processor half a box at a time and process until crumbly - not powdery.  Yes, its that easy.  Store in a plastic container or zip lock bag in a cool cabinet.