Easy Apple Pie Foldover

I have a subscription to the Pillsbury recipe booklets and this month's issue was on Easy Pies. I thought since I haven't cooked once in the last week that this sunday I would make a great dinner and dessert to accompany it! This recipe looked easy and it looked like the perfect size for 2! It was SOO good and so simple-Joe was even a big fan since I served it with vanilla ice cream. I added a bunch more cinnamon as well - to the apple mixture and the cinnamon sugar mixture on top. So here it is:

1 1/2 c. thinly sliced apples
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 T. water
1 t. lemon juice
1 T. flour
1 T. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 T. butter or margarine
1/2 t. vanilla

CRUST:
1 Pillsbruy refigerated pie rust, softened as directed on box
1 egg
1 T. water
1 t. sugar
1/8 t. cinnamon

1. In 2-quart saucepan, mix apples, brown sugar and 1 T. water and the lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring occassionally, until bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occassionally, until apples are tender.

2. In small bowl, mix flour, 1 T. sugar and the salt. Graduallystir into apples mixture, cooking and stirring until mixture thickens. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375. Unroll pie crust on ungreased cookie sheet. Spoon cooled fruit mixture evenly onto half of crust to within 1/2 inch of edge.

4. In small bowl, beat egg and 1 T. water; brush over edge of crust. Fold untopped half of crust over apple mixture; firmly press edge to seal. Flute edge; cut small slits in several places in top crust. Brush top with remaining egg mixture. In another small bowl, mix 1 t. sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over crust.

5. BAke 25-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool on cooling rack at least 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with ice cream! Yum!!!

Jen's Delicious Veggie Lasagna

4 cups of zucchini (chopped into 1 inch or so chunks)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomatoes, cut up
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
2 t basil
1 t oregano
6 dried lasagna noodles
1 beaten egg
1 15-oz container ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 T parsley
6 ounces sliced or shredded mozzarella
Grated Parmesan

For sauce, in a medium saucepan, cook zucchini, onion, and garlic with a little bit of olive oil. Add tomatoes, sauce, paste and seasonings. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Meanwhile cook noodles for 10-12 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain well.
For filling, combine egg with ricotta and parsley.
Layer half the cooked noodles in a 9x13 pan. Spread with half the filling. Top with half the sauce and half the mozzarella. Repeat layers. If desired, sprinkle with additional grated Parmesan. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or till heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

SUBSTITUTIONS: I don't always have mozzarella on hand, so I cover it with shredded colby jack and Alan never seems to mind.

Amazing Vanilla Berry Dream

This stuff really is dreamy. So, so, so good and super easy. The perfect Summer treat.

1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 quart vanilla yogurt
8 oz. whipping cream, whipped
1 bag frozen raspberries (or any berry mixture... I definitely prefer the raspberries)

1. Mix the pudding mix straight into the yogurt. Stir until well blended. You may have to use your hand mixer.

2. Fold the whipped cream into the yogurt mixture.

3. Right before serving, fold your partially defrosted berries in. If you mix them in any sooner, they'll discolor your pudding mixture and it won't look as pretty. And you want your pudding pretty!

Chicken Panini

2 1/2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1/4 cup mayo
2 T bacon bits
2 T thinly sliced green onion
2 T Ranch dressing
8 slices of bread
1 tomato cut into 8 thin slices
4 slices cheese

Mix chicken, mayo, bacon bits, onion, and ranch. Spread on 4 of the bread slices. Top with tomato and cheese and other bread. Grill on a George Foreman type grill (sprayed with PAM) until golden brown.

A Fabulous Food Frenzy

Hello all! So, I've decided to compile all our favorite family recipes... those from growing up, from now, all my favorite fondue staples, etc. You'll find rouladen, green jell-o cake, peanut butter brownie cookies, jello- chocolate chip cookies, Sara's yummy orange jell-o, and cold broccoli soup (just kidding! These are supposed to be the tasty memorable recipes!) I've also included my family favorite meals, that are kid friendly and easy to whip up together. But... I want your recipes, too! I intend this to be a collaborative site... if you have any family favorites, that you find palate pleasing and simple to put together, share, share, share! If you make a new dinner one night that is fantastic, share the recipe or a picture. Either leave it in the comments or e-mail it to me and I'll include it. Or I'll give you the login for this site and you can post it yourself. Hopefully this will be a great resource to find some of your favorites... and now I won't have to look through six recipe books to find that "one" recipe that I love. I don't intend to leave lots of posts, but on the rare occasion that I put together a weekly meal plan, I'll post it. And if you have a meal plan... post it (Jen... you know who you are!) Or if you have any other food related ideas, thoughts, helps, recipes... post them here. Mmmmm... I'm already excited.

Potato Casserole

7-8 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (I use frozen hashbrowns to save time)
1/2 bunch chopped green onions
1 8 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of mush soup
11/2 c shredded cheddar


Arrange potatoes in bottom of greased 9x13 pan. Poke holes with end of wooden spoon and sprinkle with onions. Press down. Mix soup and sour cream and layer over potatoes and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 35o for 15 minutes, until cheese is melted.


There's a million ways to make potato casserole... I use frozen hash browns and add a little veggie broth and bake them alone in the pan for about 20 minutes. Then I add the toppings and bake another 15-20 minutes

Cheesy Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, uncooked and cubed
1/2 t pepper
1 t paprika
1 t salt
1/3 c flour
sliced mushrooms
2 cans cream of mush soup
1 c sour cream
1/2 c milk
parmesan cheese


Mix pepper, paprika, salt and flour in bowl. Coat chicken chunks in mixture. Brown coated chicken chunks in oil. Arrange in 9x13 pan. Generously sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Layer sliced mushrooms over top. Mix soup, sour cream and milk together and pour over chicken and mushrooms. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve over noodles or rice.