Chicken Enchilada Casserole

3 Tbsp Butter
¼ C flour
1 C milk
½ c chicken broth
2 C cooked chopped chicken
¼ C chopped red bell pepper
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
2 Tbsp dried taco seasoning
1 (8 oz) pkg shredded cheddar cheese
6 corn tortillas, halved
1/3 C chopped cilantro

Heat oven to 375. Grease 2 qt. casserole.

Melt butter in saucepan until it sizzles. Add flour, cook 1 minute over medium heat (stirring constantly).
Add milk and chicken broth.
Bring to a boil stirring constantly.
Add chicken, red pepper, chiles, and taco seasoning.
Cook to heat through (2-3 minutes)

¾ C mixture on bottom of casserole
4 tortilla halves
¾ C mixture
2/3 C cheese
Repeat

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly

Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Banana Muffins

This recipe is another one from the Chips. Mrs. Chip used to make these for breakfast for my friends and me at the sleepovers at their house. These are the BEST banana muffins I have EVER had!

½ C butter, softened
1 C sugar
2 C flour
2 eggs (separated)
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp soda-dissolved in 4 Tbsp milk
2 ½ large or 3 small bananas (mashed)
1 tsp vanilla

Beat egg whites until stiff-set aside

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks then milk w/soda, mashed bananas, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add vanilla and egg whites last (fold in egg whites).

Spoon into muffin tins, Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Auntie J's Pumpkin Bread

This is one of my hubby's favorites from when he was younger. It is from his Great-Aunt Jeanette.

2 C canned pumpkin
1 tsp baking powder
1 C vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
3 C sugar
1 tsp clove powder
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp nutmeg
3 1/4 C flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix ingredients and pour into 2 greased bread pans. Bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Pastry Crust

I got this recipe from our friends, the Chips, and it is totally awesome. It is so easy to make and it tastes great with dessert pies, though it would not be good for savory pies (i.e. meat pies).

1 1/2 C. flour

3 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 C. oil

2 T. milk

Mix all ingredients together and pat into a 9 inch pie pan. Bake at 375 for 15-20 min (until light brown). Or pour in filling and bake as recipe suggests.

Baked Pineapple

1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple in juice
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 C. sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 lb butter
8 slices white bread, cubed

Mix together sugar and flour. Add to beaten eggs and pineapple. Pour mixture into buttered casserole.

Melt butter in large frying pan. Add cubed bread to this and stir until brown. Put on top of pineapple mixture.

Bake ½ to ¾ hour in a moderate oven.

Merry Christmas Cookies

As a kid I made these cookies every year at Christmas time (hence the name) with my mom. They are a lot of fun to make, and little guys especially love getting to use the rolling pin and cookie cutters.

½ C butter
½ C shortening
1 C sugar
3 eggs
2 C honey
1 Tbsp vanilla
8 ¼ C flour
1 Tbsp soda
1 Tbsp salt

Chill dough at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375.

Roll out to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out cookies. Bake 8-10 minutes.

(Theoretically this should make 15 dozen cookies, but it doesn’t even come close. This is 3x the original recipe.)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

1 1/2 C butter, melted
2 C peanut butter
4 1/2 C confectioner's sugar
2 C graham cracker crumbs

1/2 C butter
2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Grease a 10x15 inch pan. In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 C melted butter, peanut butter, confectioner's sugar, and graham cracker crumbs. Spread in prepared pan.

Combine 1/2 C butter and chocolate chips in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Spread over peanut butter mixture. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.