Calzones

I had never made calzones before and I do not know why... these (though a little challenging at first to get the hang of) were fun to make and everyone loved them:)

Calzones
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese, shredded
toppings (whatever you like on a pizza- we used onion, olives, sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms but you can use whatever:)
pre-made pizza dough

~Lay out the pizza dough and cut it into the size you want... we made 8 calzones out of one refrigerated pizza dough.
~Sprinkle with cheese and your toppings.
~If freezing, wrap in foil and put in a ziplock bag. If cooking, bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

*If you froze it, bake in the foil for 15 minutes... do not thaw first. Then open up the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes... until heated through. Enjoy:)

Brown Bag Burritos

This is another one of those recipes that I am not sure where it came from but boy, am I glad that we found it... almost all of my family likes these:) They are delicious and the best part is we can just microwave them!!!

Brown Bag Burritos
2 lb. ground beef
2, 31 oz cans refried beans
1 1/3 c. enchilada sauce (We like El Paso)
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. minced onion
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, whatever)
20 flour tortillas (burrito-size, not thin)

~Brown ground beef; drain. Add remaining ingredients (except tortillas). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
~Heat 3-4 tortillas at a time (you can put a wet paper towel on the top and the bottom of a stack of 10 and microwave for 10 seconds and it does the same thing). Spoon 1/4 c. beef mixture down the side of each tortilla (a cookie/ice cream scoop keeps the mess to a minimum:)
~Roll up. Wrap each burrito in a paper towel.
~Refrigerate or freeze. You can pack them back in the tortilla ziplock bag... usually you can fit 10 in a bag:)
~When ready to eat, remove foil and microwave for about a minute. The paper towel keeps the burritos moist. You can also stick them in the oven to reheat them:)

Stove Top Easy Chicken Bake

Easy... Easy... Easy... that is about all I can say about this dish:) Other than it was delicious:)

Stove Top Easy Chicken Bake
1 pkg. Stuffing Mix for Chicken (generic is fine)
1-1/2 lbs. boneless, chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can (10 3/4oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 c sour cream
1 bag (16oz) frozen mixed veggies, thawed, drained

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare stuffing as directed on pkg; set aside.
~Mix chicken, soup, sour cream and vegetables in a 13x9 baking dish; top with stuffing.
~Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Makes 6 servings (this fed all eight of us and we had some leftovers:)

*You can freeze this... just thaw before you bake it:)

Farmhouse Chicken

This is a yummy dish... it is basically chicken in a white, cream sauce with stuffing on top:)

Farmhouse Chicken

4T butter
4T flour
2 cups milk
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 sm onion, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
12 oz. pkg of stuffing mix

~Saute onion, and prepare stuffing mix according to pkg. directions and set aside.
~In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and then add flour. Stir until bubbly, then cook one minute. Slowly add in milk, stirring continually to avoid lumps.
~Add chicken, onion, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 5-10 minutes, until chicken is done.
~Pour mixture into an 8x8 casserole dish. Top with stuffing. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

*You can freeze this for a later date... just thaw first:)

Peach Upside-Down Cake

My mother-in-law's peach upside down cake is delicious... and so easy:) It is similar to a pineapple upside-down cake in appearance and, in a way, flavor. The way the brown sugar blends together with the peaches gives them a totally different flavor than they usually have:)

Peach Upside-Down Cake
Stick of Butter
Brown Sugar
5 large peaches, sliced
Yellow Cake Mix, prepared as normal

~Melt 1 stick of butter in the bottom of a 13x9... sprinkle 'heavily' with brown sugar- when you think that you have sprinkled the bottom of the pan enough add just a little more for good measure:)

~Closely layer peaches in the bottom of pan... they will shrink some so make sure they are touching:)

~Cover peach layer with prepared yellow cake mix and bake according to your cake mix's directions:) Enjoy!

*If using frozen peaches, do not thaw first... you may also have to add a few minutes to your cooking time.

Good Old Fashioned Pancakes

These are some of the best pancakes I've ever eaten and they are totally Aaron's contribution. We have yet to try them with anything mixed in, but every time we make them we say we should get some blueberries. I think they would make killer blueberry pancakes. I do have an awesome blueberry wheat pancake recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law, that I'll post sometime if people want it.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons melted butter

In a large bowl, stir/sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.

Heated a lightly oiled/ sprayed griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.