Hey ladies... I'm kind of hoping to put together a book of recipes from my family and friends to use when DF and I are married and in our house finally! I was kind of hoping that each of you would find your favorite(s) recipes and post them up. All of us younger girls could make note of them and be a step ahead of taking care of our guys once we get there! It'll give me some time to practice on my family too ;) !! HAHA :lmao

I posted a really good and easy recipe for Russian teacakes under the thread "Christmas cookies" :mrgreen

Were you looking for specific entree's? I have lots of favorites :D

I'm kind of wanting to get some recipes that are simple and cost efficient, but are tasty and will be easy for me (not much cooking by myself yet) to get used to and be able to cook without making my DF want to get sick... LOL!! I can make up a mean batch of spaghetti from scratch, but that's probably the extent of my creativeness unless we talk breakfast in which case I will work for hours to make yummy stuff!! So I guess dinners would be my request!! :)

Okeedokee, I will post some later. Getting ready to go out :)

Well I'm probably one of the worst cooks in the world, but something simple that db and I love is Italian Chicken b/c its soooo simple

1 large bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing
4 boneless chickn breast
1 bag of mixed veggies

~Put the Chicken in a pot of water for about 35 minutes on medium heat so it slowly boils.
~Take a baking dish a put in the mixed veggies and add the Chicken
~Add the dressing ( about half the bottle) to marinade
~Cover and bake for about 40 minutes

* if your not a big fan of italian dressing, don't add alot when your cooking it, just enough to marinade it a little b/c you can always add more dressing to it.*

Ok, here's one of my favorites:

Tuscan Garlic chicken (just like @ Olive Garden :D )

3 lb(s) Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup(s) Flour, plus 1 tablespoon
1 Tbsp Salt
2 tsp Black pepper
2 tsp Italian herb seasoning
1 lb(s) Penne pasta
1 Tbsp Garlic, chopped
1 Red pepper, julienne cut
1/2 cup(s) White wine
1/2 lb(s) Whole leaf spinach, stemmed
12 oz Heavy cream
1 cup(s) Parmesan cheese, grated

- Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, black pepper and Italian herb seasoning in a shallow dish.

- Dredge chicken in the mixture, shaking off any excess.

- Saute the chicken in batches, in a large, nonstick, ovenproof skillet - with enough oil to coat - over medium-high heat for about two to three minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crisp.

- When finished, transfer the ovenproof skillet to a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through.

- Cook pasta al dente

- Drain and set aside until needed.



Preparing the Sauce:

- While the pasta is cooking, heat 1/2 to 1 fluid ounce of oil in a sauce pan. Add the garlic and the red pepper and cook for approximately one minute.

- Slowly add remaining one tablespoon of flour and stir to combine.

- Next add the white wine and bring to a boil for about one minute. Add the spinach and the cream and bring to a boil. The sauce is done cooking when the spinach becomes wilted. Complete by stirring in the parmesan cheese.

- Partly coat the pasta with the sauce, transfer to a large bowl (or individual dishes) and then top with the chicken, the remaining sauce and extra parmesan cheese. A lot of work but DEFINATELY WORTH THE EFFORT ;)

If I get the chance I'll try to write a recipe here for you. Most of mine have no measurements because they are family recipes. So, it's more like a pinch of this, when it looks like this, some of that.........so, if I can figure out how to write a few then I'll do it. ;)

my families very favortire dinner is tacos. Its simple and good

1lb hamburger
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 tomato
1 bunch cilentro
grated cheese
oil
corn tortillas
what ever else sounds good

brown the meat, add seasoning. chop veggies, fry tortillas just until bubbles appear then trunand wait for more bubbles. drain on paper towels.

Its so easy and so good. my son would starve if i didnt make tacos! also a great place for simple dinners and free stuff is kraft.com

This one is a favorite to anyone i made it for:

Muenster Chicken
1 lb chicken
1 lb muenster cheese
1 cup chicken broth/boullion

1. Cut up chicken in 3 in sq pieces (or so).
2. Bread each piece of chicken (flour, egg, then breadcrumbs) and fry until breading is just sticking.
3. Put all chicken in the bottom of a baking dish.
4. Cover with muenster cheese and pour in chicken broth
5. Bake for 25 minutes @ 375.

YUM.

First is easy smothered steak. There is an old fashioned way which I still occasionally use but this is quicker and easier and just as tasty.

Smothered steak

Round steak (yep economical too)
Portabello mushroom slices
2 cans Campbells Golden mushroom soup (must be golden mushroom)
your favorite seasonings ( no salt tho)
water

Crockpot notes afterward. Flash fry your ruond steak, which means just fry it on medium high just till it has a bit of color and layer the meat in a deep casserole. Afterwards just sautee the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes. Then layer that in with the meat. Now in a seperate bowl mix up the 2 cans soup and 2 cans water and add in some of your favorite seasonings, I use pureed garlic. Now pour this over the meat and bake in the oven for about 4 hours at 350 degrees. The meat will be so tender you can cut it with a spoon. Now if at the end of the 4 hours of cooking the gravy is not quite thick enough, add a slurry of 2 tablepoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water and stir in and bake 15 more minutes.

For a crockpot, mix the soup with enough water to make the gravy just a tiny bit thiner than you wish to serve it cause crockpots just do not lose much water. I serve this with mashed potatoes and either corn or green breans and a salad.


Italian Chicken

Chicken pieces of your choice
1 bottle Zesty italian dressing

marinate the chicken in the italian dressing for at least 8 hours. Now you can cook it 2 different ways, you can grill while brushing with the marinade or I just leave it in the pan with the dressing, sprinkle with a bit of Morton's Natures Seasons and broil at 475 until brown and then flip and finish off.
I serve this with Lipton's noodles with butter sauce and usually english peas.



My version of swedish meatballs (definitely not exact, this is a throw together recipe)

1 pound ground beef
1 egg
pureed garlic
splash of worcestershire
1-2 tablespoons grated onion
1/2 cup bread crumbs

I mix all this together and make small 1 and 1/2 inch meatballs and fry those. When they are done, I pour off a bit of the grease but not all of it, turn the heat to low. In another bowl I mix one can of cream of mushroom soup with a half can milk and a spoonful of sour cream and a couple of splashes of worcestershire, stir it up and pour over the meatbalss and stir in. Then I heat on low for about 10-15 minutes. I serve mine over egg noodles usually with green beans for the kids and asparagus for me.



Double chocolate gooey butter cake

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus 8 more tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted,
plus additional butter, for greasing pan
1 (18.25-ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 egg, plus 2 eggs
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick melted butter, and stir until
well blended. Pat mixture into prepared pan and set aside.

In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the
remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder. Lower the speed of the mixer, and add the powdered
sugar. Continue beating until ingredients are well mixed. Slowly add the remaining 1 stick
of melted butter, and the vanilla, continuing to beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in
nuts with a rubber spatula. Spread filling over cake mixture in pan. Bake for 40 to 50
minutes. Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey
when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

Here is a quick and easy one for either breakfast or dessert!!
Apple Dumplings
3 Golden Delicious apples,cored and cut into small wedges
1 can hungry jack flaky biscuits(10)
1 c. sugar
1 c. water 1 stick margarine, melted

Cut biscuits into 3 wedges each. Flatten and wrap around each apple wedge. Place in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Heat the sugar, water and margarine and pour over apples. Bake at 400 degrees for apx. 20 minutes or until browned.


This is an easy one for dinner..no real recipe to follow, so you can chnge anything about it that you might want!!

Use 4(or less) boneless chicken breasts...an a plate mix italian bread crumbs, sprinkle cheese and any spices you might like. Rinse the chicken under water and then coat with the mixture. Cook in oven until done. This is no fail no matter what you add!!!