Perogy Rollups (Using Leftover Potatoes)

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp butter

8ish cups mashed potatoes (leftovers are perfect!)

8 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

10-12 lasagna noodles (cooked)

grated cheddar cheese

sour cream and more bacon, for garnish

Directions:

Sliced onion into very thin small pieces. In a frying pan, cook in brown sugar and butter until onions caramelize. Add in potatoes and heat through. Add bacon and cheese and heat until cheese begins to melt. 

Lay cooked noodle out on a flat surface and place slightly less than 1 cup of filling. Roll up and tuck end under. Continue with remaining noodles and filling. 

At this point, you can bake these topped with some additional cheddar cheese and then top with sour cream and bacon and serve. 

Or...you can freeze after rolling up on a tray and then transfer to a air tight container or ziploc bag. To cook after freezing, place frozen rolls in a baking dish and top with a small amount of white gravy (1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp flour cooked in a sauce pan and then add about 1 1/2 cups milk. Season with salt and pepper as desired). Bake covered until rolls are cooked through and then top with cheese and uncover until cheese is melted. Serve garnished with sour cream and bacon. 

Baked Freezer Meatballs

3 lbs ground beef

1 small onion chopped finely

3/4 cup bread crumbs, blended oatmeal, or cracker crumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tbsp worchestershire sauce

3 tsp French onion soup mix (epicure selections)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and combine well. Roll into equal sized balls of your choice and place on 2-3 large cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees until fully cooked through. Let cool completely and then freeze in a labeled ziploc bag. Using these meatballs gets supper on the table in no time because the meatballs have already been fully cooked and so they just need to be heated through. Makes enough for 3-4 meals for my family with leftovers for lunch.

Serving ideas:

Spaghetti and meatballs

Sweet and Sour meatballs over rice

Brown mushroom gravy with meatballs over mashed potatoes

Meatball subs

Meatball soup

or with any of these sauces

Sundried Tomato and Basil Naan Bread Pizza with Balsamic Drizzle

Ingredients:

2 pieces Naan Bread
1/2 cup of your favourite tomato sauce
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (the ones I used came in a jar packed in olive oil), cut into small pieces
1 pkg fresh mozzarella pearls (I bought this kind in the States)
5-6 fresh basil leaves, snipped into small slivers
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Top each naan bread with a thin layer of sauce. Sprinkle on sundried tomato pieces. Place mozzarella pearls evenly on top. Add fresh basil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust starts to brown slightly. While the pizza is baking, heat vinegar over high heat stirring constantly until boiling. Keep stirring until vinegar starts to thicken. Drizzle on warm pizza when it comes out of the oven. Serve immediately.

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 4 medium)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup milk
• FROSTING:
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups icing sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.
2. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
3. For frosting, in a small bowl, beat peanut butter, milk and vanilla until blended; gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over cake.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:
1 9 " pie shell, baked and cooled
4 cups fresh strawberries, thinly sliced
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
3 tablespoons strawberry Jell-O powder


Directions:
1. Slice fresh strawberries into bottom of baked pie shell.
2. Combine remaining ingredients (except Jello) in saucepan and cook until thick and clear.
3. Remove from heat and stir in Jello powder.
4. Pour over fruit. Chill until set. Serve with real whipped cream.

Also works great with fresh peaches and peach jello!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken and Pineapple Kabobs

1 pkg bacon (not thick-sliced)

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 fresh pineapple, cut into chunks

1 recipe Teriyaki Sauce

Teriyaki Sauce:

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/8 c. rice vinegar

1 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp cold water

To make the Teriyaki Sauce: Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper in a small saucepan.  Bring to a  boil over medium-high heat.  While the soy sauce mixture is heating, whisk together cornstarch and cold water.  When the soy sauce mixture comes to a full boil, whisk in cornstarch mixture and stir sauce until thickened and clear.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

For the kabobs:

• *Note* If you're using wooden skewers, soak them in water for a little while prior to preparing the kabobs. This will prevent extra charring of the sticks when grilling. 
• Cut the bacon into thirds. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces; you'll want roughly as many pieces of chicken as you have of bacon.
• Set up a workstation with kabob skewers, chicken, bacon, and pineapple, plus a shallow dish, cookie sheet, or heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag for marinating the skewers.
• Wrap a piece of bacon around a piece of chicken and poke the skewer through it.  Push the meat all the way to the bottom.  Top with a pineapple chunk.  Repeat the process so there are three pieces of bacon-wrapped chicken on the skewer and two pineapple chunks.  Do the same for your remaining skewers.  
• Place the skewers on a cookie sheet lined with foil.
• Reserve 1/2 cup of Teriyaki Sauce and pour the remaining sauce over the chicken.  Marinate for 4-8  hours (I let it sit overnight).
• If you choose to cook these on a grill, preheat the grill to medium-high heat (about 400 degrees F).  Place skewers on grill and baste with reserved Teriyaki Sauce.  Cook for 7 minutes, turn, baste, and cook for another 7 minutes, approximately.
• To cook these in the oven, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Cook for 20 minutes, turning and basting once.

Fruit and Goat Cheese Salad with Orange Raspberry Dressing

Ingredients

For the Salad:
• 1 cup Pecan Halves
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 12 oz package Romaine lettuce, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 8 oz fresh strawberries, quartered
• 4 oz fresh blueberries
• 2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup red onion, sliced (cut into small pieces)
• 15 oz can Mandarin oranges, drained (reserve juice)
• 
  
For the dressing:
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 cup raspberry vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1-2 Tbsp poppyseeds
• 1/4 cup reserved mandarin orange juice

Instructions

1. To candy the pecans: In a small skillet over medium heat, saute pecans with sugar and butter. This will take several minutes for the sugar to dissolve as you stir the pecans. Set aside and cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine romaine, berries, oranges, cheese and onion. Toss gently.
3. In a small mason jar, combine dressing ingredients and shake with lid on.
4. When ready to serve, add candied pecans and drizzle with dressing. ENJOY!