Fruit Salad

1 can mandarin oranges (save juice from can)

1 can pineapple chunks (save juice from can)

1 jar maraschino cherries, optional (discard juice)

Assortment of "soft" fruit: bananas, kiwi, berries (chopped to same size as other pieces)

1/2 c. mandarin orange juice

1/2 c. pineapple juice

1 box of cook to serve vanilla pudding (do NOT use instant, it will not work!)

Put all fruit in large bowl making sure to drain all canned fruits well. Mix pudding mix and juices from oranges and pineapple. Bring to boil and stir often. The mixture will turn a bit thick and a clear, yellow color. Cool this mix completely & pour over fruit. You can vary the amount of pudding you want to include. Mix gently. Refrigerate and serve when chilled!

Summer Beer

INGREDIENTS :
1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
12 fluid ounces water
12 fluid ounces vodka
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer

DIRECTIONS:
Place lemonade concentrate in a gallon pitcher. Measure water and vodka in the 12 ounce lemonade can and add to the pitcher. Pour in the beer, mix well and serve over ice.

Chrissy's Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

1 16 oz container sour cream

2 10 ¾ oz cans of cream of chicken soup

1 4 oz can diced green chilies

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup chopped green onions

¼ cup sliced pitted ripe olives

10 tortillas

4 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch-baking dish. In a bowl combine sour cream, soup and chilies; mix well. Spoon a large spoonful of the mixture down the center of each tortilla. Reserve ½ cup of cheese for the top; sprinkle each tortilla with cheese. Chicken, onions, and olives. Roll up and place in greased dish. Spoon any remaining mixture over tortillas. Spoon any remaining sour cream mixture over tortillas. Cover with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes and remove foil. Sprinkle with the ½ cup of reserved cheese. Return to oven; bake uncovered for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Garnish with red peppers, tomatoes, salsa, or lettuce & enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Dip for May's Cooking Club

15 oz roasted red peppers, packed in water, drained (about 2 cups)
1 cup plain fat free yogurt 1/2 cup fresh basil 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp black pepper 2 tsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped   Directions: In a blender, combine roasted peppers, yogurt, basil, and garlic powder.  Puree until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Garnish with cilantro.  Serve with favorite crackers or veggies.

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Heather's Buffalo Chicken Dip

8 oz light cream cheese
10 oz can chicken breast (shredded)
1/2 cup fat free ranch
3 T buffalo sauce
4 T finely diced celery
 
Combine everything but the diced celery. 
Microwave 2 - 3 minutes. 
Stir in the celery once heated
Serve with rye chips and celery.
 

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Broccoli slaw

2(3-oz) pkgs oriental flavored ramen
1(16-oz) pkg broccoli slaw
1/2 cup to 1 sunflower seeds (no shells)

Dressing:
1/2 granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 packets seasoning mix (fm ramen noodle packages)

Remove seasoning packets from noodles; reserve for use in dressing. Coarsely crumble dry noodles. Combine noodles and broccoli slaw in large bowl. Stir in sunflower seeds.

For dressing, combine sugar, oil, vinegar and noodle seasoning mix in a small saucepan; mix well. Hear over low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture simmers.

Pour dressing over broccoli mixture; mix well. Refridgerate, covered, until serving time; stir occasionally to thoroughly mix dressing and slaw.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
3 pounds boneless pork ribs
1 (18 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce

Directions:
1. Pour can of beef broth into slow cooker, and add boneless pork ribs. Cook on High heat for 4 hours, or until meat shreds easily. Remove meat, and shred with two forks. It will seem that it's not working right away, but it will.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Transfer the shredded pork to a Dutch oven or iron skillet, and stir in barbeque sauce.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Erin's BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients:
tortillas

2 chicken breasts, shredded

shredded cheese

1/2 red onion, sliced

bbq sauce

Directions:

Place tortilla in skillet. Top with chicken bathed in bbq sauce, cheese and onion. *You may add additional bbq sauce depending on your preference* Heat until lightly brown. Fold tortilla in half and place on serving dish. Repeat until all ingredients are used up. I also like to 'pipe' bbq sauce across the top by putting sauce into a ziplock bag and snipping the tip (just the tip, just for a second...) to draw designs along the tops of the quesadillas. Enjoy! :-)

Potato Salad with Country Ranch Dressing

3 lbs round red potatoes, cut in 1-inch pieces

1 small red onion, cut in wedges

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

¾ cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp. cider vinegar

1 1-oz envelope dry ranch salad dressing mix

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 stalk celery, bias slice

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

1 avocado chopped

1. Preheat oven to  425^oF  .  Place potatoes, onion, and garlic in a 15x10x1 baking pan.  Drizzle olive oil; toss to coat.  Roast uncovered 20 minutes.  Stir vegetables; add corn.  Roast 15-20 more minutes or until vegetables are tender and browned. 

2. For dressing, in large bowl whisk together mayo, vinegar, dressing mix, and cayenne pepper.  Add roasted vegetables, toss to coat.  Stir in celery, eggs, and avocado.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Transfer to serving dish.  Sprinkle with parsley.  Serve warm or chilled.

Blue Cheese & Bacon Mini Corn Dogs

1 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup yellow corn meal

2 tbsp. sugar

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. dry mustard

¼ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. shortening

¾ cup milk

¼ cup blue cheese

1 egg

3 slices bacon, cooked and finely crumbled

6 jumbo beef or turkey franks, cut in half crosswise

12 wooden skewers

Fresh Italian flat leaf parsley

Oil for deep frying

Dip: honey mustard, mustard, ketchup or blue cheese dressing

1.  In a large bowl combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, dry mustard, and salt.  Cut in shortening until mixture resembles fine crumbs.  In a blender, combine milk, blue cheese, and egg; cover and blend until almost smooth.  Add egg mixture to flour mixture along with bacon; mix well.

2.  Heat 1 inch of oil in a heave 10-inch skillet over medium heat to 365^oF.  Pre-heat will take about 15 minutes.

3.  Insert skewers into ends of franks.  Holding onto skewers, spoon mixture onto franks & slightly spread to completely cover.  Place coated franks , 3-4 at a time, on their sides in hot oil.  Turn franks with tongs after about 10 seconds of cooking to prevent batter from sliding off.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more or until golden brown, turning to brown evenly.  Remove and drain on baking sheet with paper towel.  Keep warm in 200^oF oven.

Watermelon Cooler

3 cups coarsely chopped seeded watermelon

¾ cup sugar

½ cup lightly packed mint leaves

2 cups white grape juice

1 tsp finely shredded lime peel

¾ cup fresh lime juice chilled

4 cups (32 oz) club soda, chilled

Garnish with mint sprigs or watermelon wedges

1.  Place watermelon in a blender or food processor.  Cover and blend until smooth.  Strain watermelon puree through a fine mesh sieve, discard pulp.

2.  In a large bowl, combine sugar and mint.  Using the back of a wooden spoon, lightly crush mint by pressing it against the side of the bowl.  Add grape juice, lime peel, lime juice, & watermelon puree, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Stir in club soda.

Good Housekeeping Tips

Bananas  Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.  Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.  If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Peppers  Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.  Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Frying Ground Beef  Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.  It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

Garlic  Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Reheat Pizza  Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low  and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on  the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs  Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting  When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread  To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away  Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not  get through wet newspapers.

No More Mosquitoes  Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away!  To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum  To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling  Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone. 

Measuring Cups  Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?  Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the window s fog, rub with the eraser  Works better than a cloth! 

Reopening envelope  If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner  Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies  To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever! 

Get Rid of Ants  Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Info About Clothes Dryers  The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material ..... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit.   You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box ... well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months to increase the life of the dryer.