Sweet & Sour Kielbasa!

This recipe is perfect to take to a Christmas party or get together. You'll be sure to bring home an empty dish!

It is easy to put together with only four (4) ingredients. Since it takes 3 hours to bake in the oven, I usually do it the day before and just heat it in a slow cooker.

Sweet & Sour Kielbasa

Ingredients:
3 lbs. kielbasa
1 - 8 oz. bottle of Chile sauce
1 - 8 oz. bottle of tap water
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1  - can of unsweetened crushed pineapple

Directions:
~ Slice kielbasa in 1/2" diagonal pieces
~ Combine all ingredients
~ Bake covered at 350 degrees for 3 hours.

Enjoy!

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Hash Brown Casserole!

I've seen this recipe called everything from party potatoes to funeral potatoes but we call it Hash Brown Casserole here in Western Pennsylvania.

Of course, it's another easy recipe...just my style.

I generally use store brands for everything in this recipe and it works just fine. I've also mixed in ham cut up in cubes and added green beans on the side to make it a complete meal. I don't make it very often because it makes a lot for my little family. I usually save it for family get togethers. My favorite thing to serve this with is barbecued chicken and lima beans. I don't know why, all the flavors just blend for me.

My family loves the topping and the original recipe wasn't enough for them so I double it. The recipe below reflects that change.

Hash Brown Casserole

Ingredients:
2 lbs. frozen hash browns
16 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 sticks of melted butter (1 stick for base and 1 for topping so keep them separate)
4 cups corn flakes

Directions:
~Mix the first 4 ingredients and 1 stick of melted butter together well in a very big bowl.
~Add the hash browns to the mixture.
~Put the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish.
~Crush the corn flakes in a Ziploc bag.
~Add 1 stick of melted butter to the crushed corn flakes.
~Put corn flake mixture on top of base.
~Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr. 15 min.
~Let sit for 10 minutes.

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Calico Baked Beans!

Don't you just love great baked beans? I know I do!

This recipe come from my BFF's Mom, Sandy. She's like my second Mom and graciously passed this recipe to me when I fell in love with it.

:::WARNING!::: This recipe makes a lot! Really! I mean it! So if you only have a few people in your family, you will be eating it for days or you can freeze half of it for another time. I always make it for a party because I'm afraid that if I have it for days at a time, I'll not like it anymore. You know. Too much of a good thing isn't always a good thing.

Calico Baked Beans

Ingredients:
1 lb. bacon
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 medium can of Campbell's Pork and Beans
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can Lima Beans (drained)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard

Directions:
~Cook off 1 pound of bacon, drain and when cooled, crumble.
~Brown 1 pound of ground meat with chopped onion. Drain grease.
~Add all ingredients into a big bowl and mix together well.
~Bake at 350 degrees covered in oven safe cookware for 45 minutes.

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Sausage Mushroom Dip!

This recipe comes from fellow blogger, Sophia, from over at Sentiments from my Kitchen.

You've seen some of her recipes here before and you'll be sure to see some more! She has a great collection and our tastes seem very similar.

Of course, I made an adjustment to it to fit me better. Her recipe called for a half pound of the sausage but I put the whole pound in to make it chunkier. I did use just plain pork sausage but if you use the sage or hot and spicy variety, I would start with the half pound, taste test it and then add more if you want. Her recipe didn't say to chopped up the mushrooms but I went ahead and did that since some of them were big. I couldn't imagine trying to scoop it up with a chip!

Sausage Mushroom Dip

2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese, softened
1 small can of diced green chiles
3 green onions, chopped
1 can of mushrooms, drained and chopped
1 soup can of milk (or thin to the consistency you like) I used about 2/3 of the can
1 pound of roll sausage, browned well, crumbled and drained

1. In a large saucepan add the soup, cream cheese, chiles, green onions, mushrooms, cooked sausage and desired amount of milk. Mix well over medium heat until cream cheese melts and flavors are blend well.
2. Serve warm (a slow cooker works well) with tortilla chips or crackers.

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Fresh Cranberry Salsa!

Curtis called from work the other day and asked if we had anything in the house I could make for his work party that night. Being the wonderful person that I am, :) I told him that I would take care of it.

I knew I didn't want to make one of my old tried and trues and also I knew just where I wanted to go to find something new....to Sophia's cooking blog. I've tried several of her recipes before and have never been disappointed. I was entirely comfortable trying something new for that evening if it was from her.

I came across this recipe for Fresh Cranberry Salsa on her blog last year and printed it out. I never got the chance to make it so when I saw it again, I knew this was it. After I dropped Allison off at school, I ran to the store and picked up the couple items that I didn't have. One of the things that really appealed to me was she said it only took 5 minutes to put together. Now that's my kind of recipe! Oh, and did I mention it's so yummy too! Thanks Sophia!

Just one note before you read the recipe. Sophia's recipe calls for a whole bunch of green onions. When I bought the bunch, it was unusually large. I think there were about 12 onions in the bunch. I figured I would start with 3 and then add more if needed. Three ended up being perfect for me but if you want more, have at it!

Fresh Cranberry Salsa

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh cranberries
3 green onions, chopped down to an inch from the end
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded then chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro (about 1/4 of a bunch is what I used)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cumin (can add more up to 1 tsp.)
16 ounces of cream cheese (2 blocks)

Instructions:

1. Put the cranberries, greens onions, jalapeno pepper and cilantro into a food processor and chop finely.
2. Next add the sugar and cumin and mix well.
3. Spread 16 ounces of cream cheese, softened, into platter or serving dish.
4. Spread salsa on top of cream cheese.
5. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
6. Serve with crackers or chips.

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My Antipasto Pasta Salad!

Pasta salad is popular dish this time of year. It's cool, refreshing and a perfect addition to any get together with family and friends.

There are many recipes out there for pasta salad. I happen to like a little heartier pasta salad with meat and cheeses. It's probably the Italian in me. As you have probably picked up from reading this blog, I cook for my family's taste buds. So having said that, you will not find the usual sliced olives, onions or green peppers in this recipe. Feel free to make this recipe your own and add what you and your family like.

A note before I post the recipe...I do not have exact measurements for the ingredients. I kind of throw things together. I'll do my best to give amounts but if you feel it needs more or less of anything, go for it. The recipe below is the amount I make for a party as a side dish so it makes a lot.

Cindi's Antipasto Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 box (12 oz. or 16 oz.)of bite sized pasta. I usually use tri-color rotini but this time I used farfalle (bow-ties). Both work well.


• 1 1/2 - 2 cups of broccoli florets, raw


• 1 1/2 - 2 cups of cauliflower florets, raw


• 1 medium cucumber, seeded and diced into large pieces


• 15 (approx.) grape tomatoes, cut in half


• 1/2 - 3/4 cup pepperoni, sliced thick and then cut into squares. Although this time I found "Hormel Pepperoni Minis" that was perfect for this dish. (You could also do 1/2 pepperoni and 1/2 hard salami if you like)


• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, cut into bite sized cubes


• 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into bite sized cubes


• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese


• 1-2 bottles (16 oz.) of Wishbone Robusto Italian Dressing

Directions:

• Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and rinse immediately under cold water to stop the cooking process.


• In a large bowl, add the pasta, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, pepperoni and cubed cheese and one bottle of dressing and mix well.


• Sprinkle in the grated Parmesan cheese a little at a time to prevent clumping and mix in. The cheese will absorb some of the dressing so if you feel you need to add more dressing at this time, go ahead and a little more. It should be wetter than you think because the pasta will absorb quite a bit of the dressing as it marinates.


• Lastly add the tomatoes and gently mix them so they can keep their form.


• Refrigerate the salad for several hours or overnight to blend the flavors.


• Before serving, stir well and if it seems too dry, add more dressing.

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Broccoli Salad!

This is a common salad that someone usually brings to summer cook outs. I always double this recipe when I take it somewhere because when I bring this, I am sure to bring home an empty bowl.

There are many variations of this recipe but this is the one that I prefer. I've also changed this up a bit too and used half broccoli and half cauliflower. It's just as tasty!

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

1 large head of fresh broccoli, cut into small bits or flowers

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 lb. bacon, fried crisp and crumbled

1 small red onion, finely diced (I don't even use the whole onion)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cider vinegar

Directions:

~In a large bowl mix the broccoli, cheese, bacon and onion together well.

~In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar until well blended.

~Add the dressing to the broccoli mixture and mix well.

~Let stand overnight or for at least 5 hours.

Thank you for stopping by my kitchen!

Orange Fluff!

This recipe comes from my friend, Marsha. It is a super easy yummy recipe and works great for a get together because it makes a lot...an no one even knows there is cottage cheese in it!

I've changed the recipe up and used lime jello for Christmas and substituted a can of fruit cocktail for the oranges. It turned out a pretty festive green color. You could even do cherry jello for the Fourth of July!

Orange Fluff

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1 (24 oz.) cottage cheese, small curd
1 Large box of orange Jello
1 (20 oz.) can of crushed pineapple, drained
2 (11 oz.) cans of mandarin oranges, drained

Directions:
~In a large bowl mix Cool Whip and cottage cheese together.
~Then add the box of orange jello and mix well.
~Then add the drained fruit and mix well.
~Transfer to a serving bowl and chill for at least 2 hours.

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Chicken Spread Ball!

Long time no post! If you read my other blog, you know I've been busy and to keep my sanity I had to easy up on a few things. Blogging was one of them. I hope you are still out there because I am back with more recipes.

This one is from my best friend's Mother, Sandy or as Allison calls her...Grandma Sandy. On New Year's Eve I make several dinner plate size platters of appetizers for the three of us. It's nothing fancy. We just spread them out on the coffee table and treat ourselves to our little New Year's Eve celebration.

This particular recipe is one of my very favorite appetizers. I've taken it with me to several places and some one is always sure to ask for the recipe. It is so simple. I hope you love it as much as I do! My favorite cracker to have it on is Wheat Thins. Triscuits is a close second and I think Sandy serves it with Chicken in a Biscuit crackers. To tell the truth, I don't think you could go wrong with any cracker so pick your favorite!

Chicken Spread Ball

Ingredients:

1 can Underwood chicken spread

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. chopped onion (I may be bad but I use the minced dried onions)

1 tsp. mayo

Directions:

~Mix all together and roll in chopped parsley. (I use dried parsley and I don't even roll it. I just put it in a bowl and generously sprinkle it on top.)

~Serve with crackers.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!