Granola

I love this granola and I know it is not the most healthy, but I don't care.

3 1/2-5 c oats

1/2 c oil

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp milk

1 1/2 c coconut or raisin or whatever you want.

Mix together. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 200 for about 20-25 minutes.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is really easy to make

2 c cooked cubed chicken

2 c cooked rice

1/2 c mayo

1 can cream of chicken

some vegetable, like corn or peas.

Mix together in a casserole dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Revel Bars

I needed something chocolate yesterday and this is what I tried. It turned out really good. This is from my Better Homes and Garden cookbook.

1 cup butter, softened

2 c packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c flour

3 c quick oats

1 1/2 c chocolate chips

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla

Set aside 2 Tbsp butter. In a large mixing bowl, beat the remaining butter for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar and baking soda. Beat until combined. Beat in eggs and tsp vanilla. Beat in as much flour as possible and stir in any remaining flour. Stir in the oats.

For filling, in a medium saucepan combine the reserved 2 Tbsp butter, chocolate chips, and sweetened condensed milk. Cook over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.

Press 2/3 of oats mixture in the bottom of an ungreased cookie sheet. Spread filling evenly over top. Dot remaining oats mixture in top (flatten before you put it on otherwise it will push the chocolate out of the way). You can place them randomly.

Bake at 350 about 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Cool and cut into bars.

Chicken Enchilada Bake

So I've realized I have made a lot of Mexican type dishes lately (not truly Mexican, but you get the idea). This is from the Taste of Home magazine.

4 1/2 cups cubed chicken

1 can (28 oz) enchilada sauce

1 1/4 c sour cream

9 tortillas, cut into 1 1/2 in pieces

4 cups shredded cheese.

In a greased 13x9 baking dish, layer half the chicken, enchilada sauce, sour cream, tortillas, and cheese. Repeat layers.

Cover and bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

The recipe actually calls for green enchilada sauce, but since I had to find a recipe for the sauce that had things I had, I used a red enchilada sauce. I also halved the recipe because it does serve 10.

Red Enchilada Sauce (from allrecipes.com)

1/4 vegetable oil

2 Tbsp flour

1/4 c chili powder

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 1/2 c water

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion salt

salt to taste

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and chili powder, reduce heat to medium and cook until lightly brown, stirring constantly to prevent flour from burning.

Gradually stir in tomato sauce, water, and spices. Continue cooking over medium heat about 10 minutes to until thickened slightly.

I didn't halve the enchilada recipe and found that I had too much sauce, so next time I will halve it.

Italian Cheeseburger Pasta

This is more of a twist on spaghetti than anything.

1 lb ground beef

2 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce

2 cups water

2 cups uncooked pasta

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger, drain off excess fat. Stir in sauce, water, and pasta. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir for about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve.

I thought this was really good. Ian loved the noodles of course. He didn't touch the hamburger part. Though the other night at my parents, he ate some browned hamburger, of course he said it was chicken (his idea, not ours, but we didn't correct him).

Cabbage and Rice

We went to our ward garden yesterday morning. We got some cabbage. I looked up some recipes for cabbage. I found one with cabbage and rice and I though I would try it, but I didn't really follow it. So this is my recipe.

1 cabbage, chopped up

minced onion

garlic salt

oil

rice

bacon (already cooked), crumbled.

Heat the oil. Fry cabbage, onion, and garlic salt. Add rice and bacon and heat through.

Apple Sauce Help!

So we got some apples from our ward garden (they have a ton there and it seems like no one has picked any). So today I thought I could dry some and make some applesauce. I tried making some applesauce today. If anyone has made it and will give me some tips, I appreciate it. How long do you boil/simmer the apples for (it seemed to take forever and still didn't seem long enough)?

Also, if you have any tips on drying apples (in an oven) before I try. I want to try making apple juice, but it seems like you need a juicer to do that and I don't have one.