Jean's Favorite Cheese Soup by Jean Roy

1 1/2 quart water
2 1/2 cubed potatoes
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 bag frozen California-style vegetables
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pound Velveeta

Cook water, potatoes, celery, onion and bouillon cubes for 20 minutes. Add vegetables and cook until tender. Add chicken soup and Velveeta; simmer and stir.

**I used frozen hash brown potatoes (half a bag) and this turned out wonderfully. Joy isn't a big soup eater but he really liked this one. Very thick and hearty. I found this recipe in the holiday cookbook put out by the Sarcoxie/Pierce City/Jasper newspapers. Whoever Jean is, she makes a mean bowl of soup!

BBQ Pork Chops by Wilma Jenkins

BBQ Pork Chops

4-6 pork chops
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chopped onion

Mix and pour over meat. Bake 2 hours at 375.

**This is an old recipe of my mom's. She was one heck of a good cook and if she said something was "good", then it is truly GOOD. I actually cooked this one in the crockpot instead of the oven and it was very good and tender. In the Maberry household, you can't go wrong with ketchup and cream of mushroom soup! haha

Blueberry Zucchini Bread by Amanda McCullah

BLUEBERRY ZUCCHINI BREAD

3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup oil
3 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 2 loaf pans. Beat together eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar. Fold in zucchini. Beat in flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Gently fold in blueberries. Pour in pans. Sprinkle with oatmeal crunch topping (see below). Bake 50 minutes or until done.

OATMEAL CRUNCH TOPPING
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup oats
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Mix brown sugar and flour, cut in butter. Add oats and cinnamon.


***I received this recipe from a dear friend and made it for my Christmas tea. It is excellent and very moist (my regular zucchini bread recipe is a little on the dry side). The blueberries and oatmeal crumb topping gives it that "something extra". I used my very own home grown zucchini from the garden this summer.

New recipes I tried for Thanksgiving

CARAMEL NUT DELIGHTS
1 package caramels
1 1/2 Tbsp. evaporated milk
2 cup nuts (I used cashews)
10 ounces almond bark

Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper and butter slightly. Melt caramels and evaporated milk, stirring frequently. Quickly stir in nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfulls onto the buttered wax paper. Allow to cool. Melt almond bark and dip caramels in chocolate to coat. Place on waxed paper until chocolate is set.

PUMPKIN BARS (more like cake)
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. EACH ground cloves, ginger and nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin (not pie filling)
3/4 cup milk
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350. Coat a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Line bottom and sides with wax paper; coat paper with spray. Beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and pumpkin. Add dry ingredients alternating with milk. Stir in nuts. Bake 20 minutes. Let cool and ice with cream cheese icing. (8 ounces cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, 3 cups powdered sugar).

TURTLE PUMPKIN PIE
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 graham cracker crust
1 cup cold milk
2 pkg. vanilla pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tub cool whip

Pour caramel into crust. Sprinkle with chopped nuts if desired. Beat milk, pudding mixes, pumpkin and spices until well blended. Stir in cool whip. Pour into pie crust. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

EASY CAULIFLOWER & BROCCOLI AU GRATIN
1 package frozen cauliflower
1 package frozen broccoli
4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar

Microwave vegetables until tender. Mix cream cheese and milk until well blended. Add sour cream. Pour over vegetables and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Microwave 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

SALSA ROLL-UPS
1 package cream cheese
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded cheese
chili powder
4 flour tortillas

Stir cream cheese and salsa together. Spread on tortillas and sprinkle with cheese and chili powder. Roll up and slice. Refrigerate.

SAUSAGE HASH BROWN CASSEROLE
2 lbs. sausage, browned
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
8 oz. French onion dip
30 oz. frozen hash brown potatoes
onion, bell pepper if desired

Combine cheese, chicken soup, sour cream, dip, onion, peppers, salt and pepper. Fold in thawed potatoes. Mix well. Spread half of hash brown mixture into bottom of 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with half of sausage. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour or until casserole is golden brown. Can be made ahead and frozen.

Pork Chops, Potatoes & Gravy. Oh. My. Gosh.

***Warning : this recipe is EXTREMELY good! Be prepared to eat so much you will feel miserable!

8 medium potatoes
1/2 medium onion
salt and pepper to taste
white sauce (see recipe below)
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp. seasoned salt
8 por chops
1/3 cup oil

White sauce:
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
1-2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 cups milk
parsley/chives (optional)
Melt butter; remove from heat. Stir in flour; add salt and pepper. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Add milk, 1 cup at a time. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer 1-2 minutes, then let stand at least 1-2 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Peel potatoes and slice. Place in well greased 9x13 pan. Cover with onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover potatoes with white sauce. Cover casserole dish with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes on high or bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Mix together flour and seasoned salt. Dredge pork chops in flour mixture; lightly brown in oil. As chops are removed from frying pan, lay them on top of potatoes. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. Serves 8.

**Many thanks to Paula Deen for creating this recipe, Ginia Oehlschlager for sharing this recipe and Jessicca Oehlschlager for preparing this recipe. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!! The kind of stick-to-your ribs meal that everyone loves!

Fiesta Chicken Casserole

1 package refrigerated pie crusts (2 crusts)
1 jar (16 oz.) salsa
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 package (24 oz) frozen corn
2 big cans of chicken, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 400. Let the pie crusts stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or until they are easy to handle. Stir the salsa, soup, sour cream, cheese, corn, chicken and beans in a large bowl. Spoon into 13x9 baking dish. Unfold the pie crusts on a lightly floured surface. Lay the crusts side by side so that they overlap by about 3 inches in the center. Press the seam to seal. Roll the pie crust into a 14x10 rectangle. Place the pie crust over the chicken mixture. Cut several slits in the pie crust. Bake for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

**I got this recipe from the coupon insert in the Sunday paper and it was yummy! It would be easy to make and freeze ahead. It would be good with homemade crust and you could use boiled chicken instead of canned also. However, following the recipe "as is" was very quick and easy.

Fresh Apple Coffee Cake by Mrs. Martin Kleiboeker

2 c. sugar
3 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. coconut (optional)
3 c. apples, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. nuts (optional)

Combnie sugar, flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Add oil, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add apples. Add coconut and nuts if desired. Grease and flour bread pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

**This is a recipe from the Freistatt cookbook and it is EXCELLENT. I omitted the coconut and nuts but added about 1/2 cup of craisins. I also sprinkled the top with some sugar for that coffee cake "crust". I never peel the apples when I bake bread and it always turns out great.