30-Day Bran Muffins

Ingredients:
4 cups All-Bran cereal
2 cups boiling water
1 cup margarine
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 quart buttermilk
5 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups flour
2 cups Bran Flakes cereal

Directions:
Pour boiling water over All-Bran cereal and let sit. Cream margarine and sugar; add eggs then dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk. Mix in All-Bran and water mixture. Last of all, stir in Bran Flakes. This batter stores in the fridge for 30 days and makes dozens of muffins! Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes in greased or paper-lined muffin tins.

Notes:
If you would like raisins in the muffins, either replace the 4 cups of All-Bran OR the 2 cups of Bran Flakes with Raisin Bran, or follow as prescribed and add a 1/2 cup or so of plain raisins. They aren't terribly healthy with all the butter and sugar, but very yummy!

Source:
Favorites Cookbook

Hawaiian Haystacks

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked and cubed (or shredded) chicken
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
hot cooked sticky white rice

Toppings:
shredded cheddar cheese
pineapple tidbits
chopped celery
sliced green onion
chopped tomatoes
coconut
chow mein noodles

Directions:

1. In a large sauce pan, saute the onion in the butter until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about one minute, stirring, until fragrant.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for one minute.
3. Slowly whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, and bring the sauce to a simmer over medium. Add the salt and pepper. 
4. Add the chicken and simmering, stirring the sauce frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 5-8 minutes.
5. Serve over hot rice with toppings.

Notes:

I love this recipe because it's all from scratch, and the sauce is not out of a can. So fresh and healthy! Also, quick and easy prep.

Source:

adapted from realmomkitchen.com and Favorites cookbook

Fresh Raspberry Chicken

Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1/2 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup fresh raspberries, mashed
1/2 cup fresh raspberries for garnish

Directions:
Place chicken in large baking pan. In small bowl, combine preserves, juice concentrate, soy sauce, vinegar, chili powder, curry powder, garlic powder and 1/4 cup mashed raspberries. Pour over chicken and cover tightly with foil. Marinate in refidgerator for 2 hours or overnight. Bake, covered 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Transfer chicken to serving platter and top with pan juices. Garnish with fresh raspberries. Can serve over white or wild rice.

Source:
Favorites Cookbook

Teriyaki Pork Chops with Tropical Salsa

Ingredients:
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
6 (1 1/2-inch) thick pork chops

Tropical Salsa:
2 cups finely diced fresh pineapple
1 cup finely diced papaya
3/4 cup finely diced peppers (can be combination of red, yellow or green)
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
salt to taste

Directions:
In saucepan, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, water, vinegar, 2 cloves minced garlic and ginger. heat to boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Put pork chops in shallow dish or Ziploc bag. Add cooled soy mixture and marinate in refrigerator overnight, turning occasionally.

In medium bowl, combine salsa ingredients. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Refrigerate if needed for up to a day, but bring to room temperature before serving.

Grill pork chops 7 to 9 minutes per side over medium-high heat, basting with marinade during last 5 minutes of grilling. Transfer to serving platter and serve with Tropical Salsa.

Notes:
Unbelievably good! Amazing!! It took one bite to determine that this is a five star recipe. It is totally worth the effort. Before this recipe I had never purchased nor cut a papaya, nor fresh ginger root, but both are the fabulous ingredients that make this such a delicious meal (along with the mint leaves, that is). I made it with just a green pepper in the salsa, but adding the red would really liven up the color and taste. Also, because I'm on a tight budget, after purchasing the $4 papaya, I decided to go with canned pineapple tidbits instead of fresh. Fresh would be best, but the canned worked well. Finally, the marinade could possibly be used for chicken instead of pork, though the pork was really good. Chicken may not be as tender after grilling. This salsa would be great on some fancy chips. This recipe is good for so many reasons!

Source:
Favorites

Healthy Wholewheat Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup wholewheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and beat until well-mixed. Bake on hot griddle and serve with fruit or syrup.

Notes:
I like to stir fruit into the mixture, like blueberries, or shredded apple. Yum!

Source: Favorites

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
5 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 quarts water
4 chicken bouillon cubes (or 4 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules)
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 teaspoon basil
pepper to taste
1 cup frozen peas (optional)
1/2 of (11-ounce) package Grandma's Frozen Homemade Noodles, thawed

Directions:
Boil chicken in water for 20 minutes and cut up into small pieces. Boil veggies, bouillon and water together for 15 to 20 minutes. Add cut up chicken. Add cream of chicken soup, basil and pepper and bring to boil again before adding defrosted noodles and peas. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. (You can use 2 quarts of chicken broth instead of water and bouillon.)

Notes:
I love this soup! The noodles seemed to need more than 5 minutes when I last made this. The noodles are hard to find, but in the grocery store. I found them by the frozen breakfast foods.

Source: Favorites

Lentil Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups lentils, rinsed and drained
1/2 pound sausage, cooked and drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
8 cups water
1 (16-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions:
Place all ingredients in soup kettle, except tomatoes and vinegar. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add tomatoes and vinegar. Simmer 30 minutes longer.

Time: 2+ hours
Servings: 8?

Source:
Favorites Cookbook

Meat, Chicken or Shrimp Stir Fry

Ingredients:
2 to 3 tablespoons peanut oil
bunch of green onions, sliced to include part of green
beef strips, pork strips, chicken strips, or shrimp
some/any of the following vegetables:

• sliced carrots
• cauliflower pices
• broccoli pieces
• green beans

some/any of the following:

• sliced mushrooms
• green or red pepper strips
• peapods
• bean sprouts
• water chestnuts

Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

Directions:
Pour oil in bottom of wok. Add green onions and meat of choice. Saute until cooked through. Steam vegetable(s) and add to wok. Add your choice of mushrooms, pepper strips, etc. Stir together the sauce and add to the mixture in the wok. Cook until bubbles, so that sauce thickens. Serve over hot white rice. No specific amounts are given for meats, fish or vegetables. Just put together what you like the most and enjoy!

Notes:
Clearly, this is a loose recipe. I often use whatever is going to go bad in my fridge, or I even use frozen vegetables if that's all I have. It's a nice way to use up miscellaneous vegetables, but it can also be really good using planned things like the water chestnuts, which I never have around.

Source:
Favorites Cookbook

Amber's Italian Crock Pot Chicken

Ingredients:
4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing mix

Directions:
Combine soup, cream cheese and dressing mix. Pour over chicken in crock pot and cook all day on low-heat. Serve over noodles or rice.

Time: 10 minutes prep, cooks all day

Notes:
Delicious and easy. I usually serve it with rice, but noodles would be great, too.

Source:
Favorites Cookbook

Couscous Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
6 chicken breast halves
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups couscous
1 tomato, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup dried currants (or yellow raisins)
1/4 cup parsley, minced

Dressing:
1/2 cup lemon juice
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 cup pinenuts, toasted

Directions:
Simmer chicken in broth in large skillet until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken from broth. Strain broth and return to skillet. Bring to boil and slowly stir in couscous. Mix with fork and remove from heat with cover on. Let stand 15 minutes. Fluff couscous and trasnfer to large bowl. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Add to bowl with couscous and mix in tomato, green onions, garbanzo beans, red pepper, currants and parsley. Blend dressing and add to couscous. Toss well. Refrigerate one hour. Sprinkle with toasted pinenuts before serving.

Notes:
I've never used the currants, always the raisins, though I'd like to try them some day. I often serve this without chilling the hour, and it is always FABULOUS! Healthy, tasty, everything good about it. Also, this makes a very large bowl that lasts me for days, so I like to keep the pinenuts separate and add them to individual servings so they stay crisp.

Source:
Favorites Cookbook