Poppyseed Noodles

What you need:

• 3 cups egg noodles
• 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds

What you do:

Boil noodles about 6 minutes, until tender. Drain off water and stir in butter until melted, coating noodles. Sprinkle in poppy seeds and stir until distributed.

Chicken Dijon

What you need:

• 2 large chicken breasts, cut lengthwise to make 4 thin cuts of meat
• lemon pepper
• garlic salt
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, half and half, or even milk
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard

What you do:

Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Season chicken on both sides with lemon pepper and garlic salt. Brown chicken in pan on both sides until chicken is done - about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and place in a baking dish in oven set to 200 degrees to keep warm. Pour pan juices into measuring cup and fill to 1 cup mark with chicken broth. Pour into hot pan to deglaze. Mix together the flour and milk with a whisk until well combined and pour into pan. Stir often and cook until bubbly and thickened. Let bubble for about 2 minutes and then stir in dijon mustard. Place chicken breasts into sauce and spoon sauce over the top. Serve with poppyseed noodles, buttered noodles or rice.

Cinnamon Rolls

What you need:

• 1 egg, room temperature + warm water up to 1 cup mark
• 3 Tablespoons melted butter
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour

filling:

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
• (optional - I added about 2 teaspoons Pampered Chef cinnamon sprinkles)

What you do:

Put ingredients (wet first, then dry) into bread machine and run on dough cycle.

or

Dissolve yeast in warm water, egg, melted butter and 1 Tablespoon of the white sugar. Let it sit until frothy. Then mix in rest of sugar, salt and flour - one cup at a time. Mix until well blended. Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 8-12 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl and allow to rise for about one hour, until doubled in size.

Punch down dough and roll out in a 6 inch by 12 inch rectangle (I just eyeball it). Spread softened butter on dough and sprinkle cinnamon mixture evenly on top. Roll tightly starting at the longest side. Cut into equal parts about 1 inch thick. Place in greased 9x13 casserole dish and allow to rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Top with icing or cream cheese frosting.

Banana Bread

What you need:

• 2 cups flour (all-purpose or I like to use King Arthur's White Whole Wheat flour)
• 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup yogurt (plain, or I like to use vanilla)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 stick of butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

What to do:

Move rack to lower middle position in oven. Preheat to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter and vanilla. Pour wet into dry and fold together until combined. Put batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes.

Cornbread

What you need:

• 3/4 cup corn meal
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

What you do:

In a large bowl, mix together corn meal and milk and let sit for at least 5 minutes, 15-20 minutes is ideal. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. Add honey, egg, and olive oil to corn meal mixture and then pour dry mixture into wet, 1/3 at a time until mixed. Pour into baking dish and bake about 25-30 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Turkey Bacon Stew

What you need:

• 2 cans of condensed cream of (celery) soup [you can substitute any kind you wish]
• 1 soup can filled with chicken broth
• 1 soup can of milk
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried minced garlic - or fresh
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 a small onion, diced large
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 2 small potatoes, diced
• 1 cup [or more] chopped cooked turkey
• 2 slices bacon, cut in half

What you do:

Whisk together soup, broth and milk in a large sauce pot. Add spices, potatoes and turkey and bring to a low boil over medium heat, reduce to medium-low and cover. In a pan, cook the bacon until there is about 2 Tablespoons of rendered fat in the bottom. Remove bacon, place on a paper towel on a plate and refrigerate. In the fat, saute the remaining vegetables until onion and celery are translucent. Add to stew and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until potatoes are soft. When ready to serve, microwave the bacon for a minute or two until crispy and chop. Sprinkle over bowl of soup. Serve with warm biscuits [we put leftover cranberry sauce on ours which complemented the turkey in the stew]. If not as thick as you'd prefer, mix one heaping Tablespoon cornstarch into 1 Tablespoon of cold water and mix into stew.

For a lighter version, omit bacon and substitute 2 Tablespoons of olive oil for bacon fat. Choose Healthy Request or low-fat version condensed soup.

Cranberry Cheesecake Pie

I'm on a roll with posting recipes that are not my own but I have to tell you right now, if you like cheesecake and you like cranberries, then this is the dessert for you!

What you need:

• 1 - 9 inch pie crust
• 2 -8oz bricks of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 4 teaspoons flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 12 ounces fresh cranberries, divided
• 3 eggs

What you do:

In a blender, puree 6 ounces of berries, sugar, flour and sour cream. Add in a brick of cream cheese, 1/2 at a time until both bricks are well combined and berries are thoroughly blended throughout. Add in eggs and vanilla and blend to combine. Pour into unbaked pie crust and dot the top with remaining berries. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, then turn off oven but leave pie for another hour. Refrigerate when hour is up.

You can thank Diane of Created by Diane for this lovely concoction. http://createdbydiane.blogspot.com/2010/11/cranberry-cheesecake-pie.html