Apple Berry Dip & Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

This is a really yummy snack!

Dip:

2 medium granny smith apples
1 cup sliced strawberries
2 kiwis
1 small orange
2 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS apple jelly

Mix apples, strawberries, and kiwi in a bowl (make sure they are all cut in small pieces). Zest the orange and add it to the bowl, then juice it (if you don't have a juicer, just cut the orange into small wedges and squeeze it in). Add the brown sugar and apple jelly. Mix it up and serve with delicious cinnamon tortilla chips!

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly coat the tortilla with one of the following - depending on how healthy you're feeling: Butter, pam, or water. Sprinkle - LIBERALLY - some cinnamon sugar mixture (really easy, just 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon - I always add more cinnamon though). Now cut your tortilla into wedges like a pizza, it's easy to use a pizza cutter for this. Place your wedges in a single layer on a cookie sheet (if you use butter or pam on your tortillas you don't have to grease the pan, if you use water it's probably a good idea). I can usually fit 3 tortillas worth of wedges on a cookie sheet, they have to be very strategically arranged though! Bake 8-10 min. or until golden brown. Eat a few plain while they are still hot to make sure they are worth sharing - I always have to do that, then serve with yummy apple berry dip!

Jenny McFarland

Beef 'n' Biscuit Bake

This is a great quick recipe we found and tried it out for a couple friends, we had none left over. It is a really good meal all in one. I found it in the Taste of Home's Casserole Cookbook.

1 pound ground beef
1 can kidney beans rinsed and drained
1 can whole kernel corn drained
1 can condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1/4 cup milk
2 TBS dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cubed process cheese (Velveeta cheese)
1 tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
2-3 TBS butter or margarine melted
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal

~In a large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the beans, corn. soup, milk, onion, chili powder, and salt; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted.

~Transfer to a greased 2 1/2 qt baking dish. Bake, uncovered at 375 for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, brush all sides of the biscuits with butter; roll in cornmeal. Place over hot meat mixture. Bake 10-12 minutes longer or until biscuits are lightly browned. Yield: 6-8 servings.


Heather Sorenson

Fiesta Casserole

3 cups shell macaroni
1 lb. hamburger
1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (can also use garlic pwd. but I don't know what the measure is)

2 Tbsp. chile powder
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt

1 can mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
3 cups sharp cheese (shredded)
1 cup water
1 can corn (drain off the water)

Cook and drain macaroni, set aside. In large skillet over medium heat cook hamburger, chopped onion, and garlic. Spoon off fat. (I usually cook the macaroni while I'm cooking the meat.)

Stir chile powder, worcestershire sauce, and salt into meat mixture. Cook 3 minutes.

Add mushroom soup, tomato soup, cheese, and water. Cook until bubbly.

Mix in noodles and corn. Pour into 2 casserole dishes (or whatever you can fit it in; this makes a lot of food). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


Hints, etc.

• This is fun to play around with on spices. My husband and I usually replace the salt with seasoning salt and add taco seasoning. If we want it more spicy we also add cayenne pepper or a minced serrano pepper.
• Doesn't have to be shell noodles. We use whatever we have on hand, i.e. elbow noodles instead of shell.
• We usually skip baking. Rather than waiting to add the noodles and corn; add them with the mushroom and tomato soup, water, and cheese. It's a little soupy and not as casseroley, but it is faster and as long as the cheese is melted, it still tastes good.
• I said this before, but this makes a ton of food. We usually cook the meat and spices in a skillet and then mix everything in our 5 qt pot.
• Finally, this does make a lot of food, but the leftovers are better than the firsts.

Enjoy! Sarah Wilcox

Good and Easy Crock Pot Apricot Chicken

So I have no idea how to post this recipe. but I sure hope this works :) I really need to get a blog started of my own :) Anyhow this is a recipe that I love to make because it ALWAYS turns out good and it is so very easy!! Here is what you need:

6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 18oz jars Arpicot-Pinapple Preserves
2 Pkgs Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 Crockpot :)

I mix the Preserves and Soup Mix then pour a small amount of it on the bottom of the crock-pot, place chicken in crock-pot and cover with remaining sauce. Cook on Low 4-5 hours. Serve over rice.
One odd fact, sometimes when I am in a hurry and I have frozen my chicken then I just throw it in the pot without defrosting it and when I do that the chicken is ALWAYS more tender. I know it sounds weird but its true :)

Katie Henrie

Yummy Hummus

Here is a quick, easy hummus recipe that makes veggies a little more appetizing!

1 can garbanzo beans, drained

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 c lemon juice

1/3 c tahini (sesame seed paste found in the health food section at Smith's. If you don't have it, you can replace the olive oil with sesame oil)

garlic to taste (2 minced cloves or around 2 tsps. of garlic powder is what I use)

1/2 tsp cumin (optional)

Put everything in your blender or food processor. Blend until smooth--you can add a little water or reserved bean liquid if it is too thick. Also, it's a very flexible recipe---add more garlic, basil, cumin or even roasted red peppers or sun-dried tomatoes. It's fun to experiment.

Amy Ellis