Best loved Recipes

Need a great teacher gift to throw together by Friday for a Valentines Day treat?  Here are two of my favorites… Amy’s Valentine Mix and Friendship Tea.

Amy’s Valentine Mix  (Remember Frappuccino Fun with Amy?  She made this last year and it was a hit!)

Amy’s Valentine Mix

Sam’s Choice brand Indulgent Mix (from Wal Mart)
pink colored M&Ms
pink candy corns

That’s it! Mix and enjoy. 🙂

Pint or half pint jars of this mix tied with a pink or red ribbon would make a perfect teacher gift or friend gift. Like all of Amy’s ideas, the possibilities are unlimited.

And… while we’re talking about pint or half pint jars filled with Valentine goodies, here’s a recipe for a delicious hot tea that I make and give on Valentines Day, Christmas, or any other occasion lending itself to a cute jar of hot tea.

Friendship Tea

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups Tang
½ cup instant tea
1 ¼ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
½ cup lemonade mix
½ (or more) cups red hots
1 ½ cups white sugar
3 oz. apricot jello

Mix and store in airtight container. To make tea: Use three spoon fulls in a cup of hot water.

If I could, I’d give each of you a jar of Friendship Tea! You’ve been such sweet friends to me – and I’m so thankful for the friendship we share through blogging. May our Lord bless you and keep you, dear friends… and make His beautiful face to shine upon you and through you this week.

Sending love to you all… Jennifer

Picture of the spiced tea is from Good Housekeeping… I think it is Reece Witherspoon’s. 🙂

Looking for an easy crock pot recipe this weekend?   I have just the one… Crockpot Chili.  Perfect for Super Bowl parties and cold weekends spent indoors.  I know I’ve shared this before, but it really is so easy and delicious that I couldn’t resist sharing it again.

Crock-Pot Chili

4 cans of stewed tomatoes

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1 can of Rotel tomatoes (diced tomatoes with green chilies)

2 -3 pkg. Chili seasoning (depending upon how spicy you like it)

Cook on low for at least 4-6 hours, or all night, or all day… whatever works for you (see why it’s easy???).

Serve with grated cheese and sour cream on top. Sometimes, we also top it with Fritos and chopped green onions.

[Growing up, Mom always served chili with saltine crackers topped with a mixture of peanut butter and white Karo syrup. Might sound strange, but it’s really good!]

And IF you have any leftovers, here are a few ideas:

Chili dogs, of course, loaded with cheese, mustard, onions, relish…
or

Chili topped baked potatoes, loaded with cheese, sour cream, onions…

or

Chili Pie (what we did this week with our  leftovers.)  Place leftover chili in a baking dish.  Cover with cheese.  Mix one or two boxes of Jiffy Cornbread mix and smooth on top.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, covering with foil after 20 minutes.  It was a big hit with the family.  Serve with a dolop of sour cream, and a side salad.  🙂

Hope you enjoy!

Have a great weekend~
Jennifer

Nov. 26, 2010 – This recipe is linked to Kim’s “Quit Eating Out” Saturday Swap.  🙂

Do you ever have one of those days when, although you know a deadline is looming, you do everything else you can think of instead of doing the ONE thing that was on your list? That perfectly describes my day yesterday, and I have to say, aside from the thing I didn’t do, I accomplished SO much! It was a banner day for 2010 so far.

I read some blogs I’ve been missing, replied to some e-mails, cleaned out my in-box, studied, researched, and wrote my entire Sunday School lesson for this coming Sunday (uber-new for me!), exercised, dressed, cooked a delicious dinner, straightened the house, devised a menu plan and grocery list, made some phone calls, researched re-starting a tutoring business, organized everybody’s vitamins and medicine for the month, chatted with friends on Facebook, made homemade salsa, and started this blog post… all in the name of procrastinating the ONE thing on my list for the day. I can’t decide if I would chalk it up to a successful day or not… But I sure did get a lot done! 🙂

I don’t know what that has to do with this recipe, except that I was typing out the recipe instead of getting the thing on my list done. (BTW, the thing on my list is that I’m taking two graduate level classes to renew my teaching certificate, in case the Lord calls me back to the classrom. Yesterday was the “big day” that I was to start back to school… and all I accomplished in that arena was “organizing my notebook”. I’m one of those that will spend so much time making a list that I never have time to complete anything on it.)

But I digress.

My mom gave me this recipe, and we made them for a New Year’s Eve soup dinner. I could have eaten the whole plate all by myself. They go incredibly well with any kind of soup, chili, or served alone as an appetizer.  Just Amazing!

Seasoned Saltines

1 box of Saltine Crackers

Place crackers in a 2 gallon zip-lock bag (or a large plastic container with lid). Mix oil and seasonings. Pour over crackers and rotate or flip the bag/container slowly and continuously for 10-15 minutes, making sure all crackers are coated. (It’s good to recruit some gentle helpers for this step.)

This post is linked to these incredible blogs with tons of recipe links:

Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed with Grace


Tasty Tuesdays at Balancing Beauty and Bedlem

Hi friends, and Happy Tuesday! I’m back from my blogging break and have lots to post, but since it’s recipe day all over blogland, I thought I’d share one of my favorites: a comfort food that is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy (minus the lemon). Hope you enjoy! Blessings to each of you today… Jennifer

Zesty Potato Soup
(Makes 1 large pot)

7 cans of small peeled potatoes (don’t drain)

1 envelope onion soup mix

Salt, pepper, minced garlic to taste

3 chicken bullion cubes (dissolved in 1/3 c. water)

1 can of evaporated milk

1 stick of butter

2 lbs. of Velveeta cheese

Combine potatoes, onion soup mix and seasonings in large stock pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes (or until potatoes are tender). Remove from heat. Do not drain. Mash potatoes in liquid until almost smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until cheese is melted. Soup is ready to serve, or may be kept on low in a crock pot for several hours. Add water if soup is too thick, and add mashed potato flakes if soup is too thin.

Option 1: add a can of green chilies

Option 2: add a can of sliced mushrooms after the potatoes have cooked.

Delicious serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, and bacon bits.

Find tons of recipes today at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, and Blessed with Grace. (Edited to add to a collection of Crock Pot recipes at Dining with Debbie. Yum!)

~One of those things that (along with decorating with pumpkins and making chili) signals the beginning of the Fall Season~

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

1 & 2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 TBS pumpkin pie spice
1/2 TBS cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients. Melt butter & add eggs and pumpkin. Pour into dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 350 “until done”. (Don’t you just hate that? The trouble is, I can’t remember how long it took to get them “done”. Sorry about that!)
My sister gave me this recipe years ago. These muffins are a delicious way to welcome fall, and to bless the fam! Hope you enjoy. 🙂

PS: This post is linked to lots of other great recipes at:
Tasty Tuesday – Balancing Beauty and Bedlam &
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday – Blessed with Grace