Meat & Cheese Braid

*** enough ingredients for 2***
2 loaf Rhodes bread dough
1 stick butter
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (do not get generic or store brand)
thinly sliced ham
thinly sliced turkey
pepperoni
1 small onion diced
3 cups shredded cheese
2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

Directions: Roll bread dough out into a rectangular shape so that it is approximately 1/2" thick. Combine butter and ranch mix. Spread 3 tablespoons of mixture on the dough.

Layer half of your ingredients (ham, turkey, pepperoni, onion and cheese) down the center of the rectangle.
Use a pizza cutter to cut strips along each side of the dough (even numbers on each side). Starting at bottom, take each piece, cross and twist.
Continue braiding your dough it is all braided. Brush a little butter ranch mixture over the top. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. Italian seasoning. Wrap one loaf with plastic wrap and then foil, label & freeze. Make the other for dinner tonight.

Baking (if frozen) Unwrap from foil and plastic wrap and set on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap. Let thaw overnight in refrigerator. A couple hours before you are ready to bake place on counter to let ris 20-30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Baking: let sit on counter to rise for about 20-30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Obviously, I need to take bread braiding lessions from the Amish, because this is how it came out of the oven. It was still delicious!

Jorgen

Beef Barley Soup

1 lb ground beef, browned & drained
1 medium onion, diced & sauteed with meat
1 Tblsp minced garlic, sauteed with meat
2 14oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 14 oz cans beef broth
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 c uncooked barely
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, cover & cook on LOW 6-8 hours (or until barley & vegetables are tender).

Santa Fe Soup

Easy soup for a cold winter day

1 lb ground beef, browned & drained
1 onion, chopped, cook with beef

Add:
1 packet of dry ranch dressing
1 packet of dry taco seasoning (mild or hot... what ever you prefer)

Then Add:
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can tomatoes with green chilies
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans white corn
2 cups water

Cook for at least 30 minutes on med/hi heat stirring occasionally.
Garnish with cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions & chips

Crescent Roll Chicken

This is a easy recipe with delicious results.

The basic recipe is only 5 ingredients:
2 C shreaded cooked chicken
1C cheese (any kind... we used cheddar)
2 tubes of crescent rolls
1 can of soup (you can use cream of chicken, cream of celery or cream of mushroom)
1C milk

I of course doctored it a bit with...
1/2 C pre cooked bacon
Sauted onion, garlic & shreaded carrots

Mix the chicken, cheese, bacon, onion, garlic & carrots well.
Pop open the crescent rolls & roll out each triangle. Place about 1/4 C of the mixture on to each triangle. Pinch the 3 corners of the crescent roll together to form a bundle. Carefully transfer to 9x13 pan. The bundles will fit close together in the pan & it is OK if some mixture falls out.

Wisk the milk & soup together & pour over the bundles.

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes at 350. You want to make sure the center bundles are not doughy.

Ripe Olive Crostini

This is a delicious & easy appetizer for upcoming holiday events.
Everywhere we have taken it people rave about it & want the recipe.


1C Hellman's Light Mayo
1C fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
1 4.5 oz can of chopped black olives
1/2C sliced green onion
1/4 to 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like it) We usually do 1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp black pepper


Mix & refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cut baguette 1/4" slices at a slight angle
Spread mixture on top, place on cookie sheet & bake at 400 for 7-10 minutes on until cheese is melted.

ENJOY!

Lemon Veggies

borrowed from Dorothy :)

1/2 lb bacon, cooked & crumbled, save 1/4 c drippings
1 C chopped onion
1/2 C lemon juice
1/2 C water
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme
2 lb mini carrots
1 medium head cauliflower - chopped
1 medium head broccoli - chopped

Cook onion in bacon drippings.
Add bacon, lemon juice, water & seasoning - bring to boil.
Meanwhile, put veggies in 4-6 C water & bring to boil.
Boil veggies 10-15 minutes, drain.
Pour sauce on to veggies & serve.

This weekend we had a Holiday Party where we doubled this recipe & brought this as a dish to pass. Here is the slight variations:
Double all ingredients except veggies.
In their place, we added 3-4 large diced potatoes.
Instead of boiling veggies, we put potatoes, carrots & all other ingredients in slow cooker around 8am & stirred throughout the morning.
At noon we added the broccoli & cauliflower & continued to stir.
Ready to serve at 6pm.

Enjoy!

Appetizer & Holiday Treat

HOT ARTICHOKE SPINACH DIP

1 10oz box frozen spinach - thawed, drained & chopped
1 14oz can artichoke hearts - drained & roughly chopped
1 C shredded parmesean cheese
1/2 C mozzarella cheese
10 oz Alfredo sauce (I suggest using a "better" brand of alfredo sauce)
1 t minced garlic
4 oz soft cream cheese

Pre-heat over to 350.
Combine ingredients in bowl & spread into 8x8 baking dish.
Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese in bubbling.
Served with bread of chips.

>>>Can also be made in a crock pot - please allow 2 hours to heat thru.

PRETZEL TURTLES

1 bag mini pretzels knots
1 16 oz bag of pecan halves
3 bags chocolate covered caramels (I use Rolos)

Preheat oven to 300.
Arrange pretzels in a single layer on cookie sheet.
Place on piece of candy on each pretzel.
Bake for 4 minutes.
While candy is still warm, press a pecan half onto each piece of candy.
Let cool, store in an airtight container.