Apricot Chicken

I think this recipe may have come from Allrecipes, but I'm not sure. I've had it for ages and it makes for a nice change of pace for a little something different with chicken.

6 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 cup apricot preserves
1 Tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 baking dish. Combine preserves, vinegar, and brown sugar. Pour mixture over chicken breasts. Cover and bake for 50 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 10 more minutes.

Lip Smackin' Stuffed Shells

This is another recipe I got from Denise. Can you tell we share a LOT of recipes? :) We have theme nights for our dinners and we usually eat "Italian" once a week. This is a great recipe to help mix up the menus a little bit rather than just having spaghetti or lasagna all the time.

12 ounce package jumbo shell pasta, cooked
15 ounce can tomato sauce
16 ounce package shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups cottage cheese (we prefer low fat ricotta cheese in this recipe)
2 - 10 ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I leave this out)
28 ounce jar spaghetti sauce, divided
Salt & Pepper
Parmesan Cheese, grated, for garnish

Combine tomato sauce, cheese, spinach, eggs, nutmeg, salt, pepper. Use this mixture to stuff cooked shells. Put 1/4 of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Place filled shells on top, stuffed side up. Cover with remainder of spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sweet & Sour Turkey Meatballs

This is another recipe I got from Denise that we adapted slightly to our tastes and has quickly become a family favorite. (to make gluten free, simply substitute gluten free soy sauce and make sure the ketchup is also gluten free)

1 1/2 pounds ground pork sausage (we use extra lean ground beef)
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 can pineapple chunks (we use tidbits) in it's own juice, drained

My additions:
1 small onion finely diced
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix together sausage and turkey (as well as onion & black pepper if desired). Form into meatballs. Brown meatballs in a large skillet. Drain meatballs onto a paper towel and discard drippings. Mix remaining ingredients (except pineapple) in a small bowl. Place meatballs back in skillet and pour sauce over them. Simmer for 10 minutes or until meatballs are thoroughly cooked. Add pineapple just before serving. Serve over warm rice.

Jera's Bread Recipe

I got this recipe ages ago from my friend, Jera Parker. Not only is it an easy recipe but it's super delicious. :)

5 1/2 cups water
3 Tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 Tablespoons salt
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup oil
6 cups wheat flour
8 cups white flour

Mix all ingredients together. Knead for 10 minutes. Shape into four loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until the loaves look pregnant. Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees (or until done).

Corn Fritters

I pulled this recipe out of a book from the library last week. While I thought they sounded really good, I confess I was a little skeptical of how they would turn out. Not only were they delicious, the kids were begging for more! They are really good with just a bit of honey drizzled on top. Mmmmm!

1 14.75 ounce can cream style corn
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons sugar
canola oil for frying

Combine corn, flour, salt, eggs, baking powder and sugar in a medium bowl. The dough is very sticky. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Drop dough by spoonfuls into hot oil and cook on each side until golden brown.

Split Pea Soup

Allison had been begging me for quite some time to make split pea soup. It is one of her favorites (mine too for that matter). :) I didn't have a recipe to go on, so I just kind of winged it and got it right the first time. WooHoo!!!

1 lb. dried split peas (rinsed and soaked overnight)
1 small ham bone or ham hock
2 cans chicken broth
1 potato, diced
1 cup diced carrots
salt & pepper to taste

After soaking peas overnight, rinse and place in crockpot with the ham bone & chicken broth. Let simmer for a couple of hours on high. Add diced carrots and potatoes. Let simmer on low till it is the consistency you like. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I was out of onions when I made this and it turned out just fine, but I think it perhaps might be even better if you were to add maybe 1/2 of a small onion that has been finely diced. :)

Cinnamon Rolls

As promised, here is the recipe for the Cinnamon Rolls. I use the dough from this recipe to make the Brocca. While this recipe calls for alternating between white flour and wheat flour, I have gotten lazy and make it with all white flour. It is quite good though made half and half. :)

1 stick butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 pkg. yeast
2 cups warm milk (or reconstituted powdered milk)

Place ingredients in large mixing bowl. After adding milk, let ingredients sit for five minutes.

Add:

1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Add enough flour (alternating white & wheat) to make a soft dough. Knead for 6-8 minutes. Grease bowl and let rise in warm place (covered). Punch down. Let dough rest for 10 minutes then divide into two pieces. Roll out into a rectangle and spread cinnamon and brown sugar over the dough (can also add nuts & raisins). Roll and cut. Place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise. Bake at 400 degrees.