Baked Potato Soup

4 large baked potatoes, diced
2/3 cup margarine
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 green onions, chopped
12 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheese
1 cup sour cream (optional)
(also yummy with broccoli)

Melt margarine. Add flour, then milk and stir until thick (about 15 minutes). Add everything else.

From my neighbor, Ashlee. DELICIOUS! (the soup, that is...not Ashlee...)

Cornmeal Drop Biscuits

1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
2 TBS sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk

Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter. Add buttermilk. Drop on greased baking sheet. Bake at 450* for 12-14 minutes.

Yup, I like drop biscuits. This is from the internet.

Garlic-Herb-Cheese Biscuits

Mix:
2 cups flour
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp Italian seasoning

Cut in:
1/4 cup shortening

Add:
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 cup milk

Drop by spoonfull on greased baking sheet. Bake at 450* for 10-12 minutes. Best when eaten warm. Makes 12.

I like drop biscuits, and this is a step up from your basic baking powder recipe. I would always make these in college. I think it's a variation of a recipe off a Bisquick box.

Holiday Cheese Ball

2 (8 oz) pkgs. cream cheese, room temperature
1 (4 oz) jar maraschino cherries, well drained, finely chopped
1/3 cup finely diced green pepper
2 Tbs. dried minced onion
1 cup well-drained crushed pineapple
½ tsp. seasoning salt
¾ cup finely chopped pecans

-In a large bowl, blend cream cheese, cherries, green pepper, onion, pineapple and seasoning salt.
-Divide in half; shape into 2 balls
-Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
-Pour chopped pecans into a pie plate or shallow dish. Roll each cheese ball in nuts until surface is coated with nuts.
-Serve immediately or cut two 12-inch squares each of plastic wrap and heavy-duty foil. -Wrap each ball separately in plastic wrap.
-Place 1 wrapped cheese ball in center of 1 prepared foil square. Wrap tightly.
-If refrigerated, used within 2 to 3 weeks.
-If frozen, use within 6 months

Colors are excellent for Christmas

Be sure to do the 3rd step (refrigerate 4 hours or over night). If you don't it will be hard to keep it's ball shape as you roll the cheese ball in the nuts. This is my favorite appetizer to serve. I serve it with club crackers. I got this recipe from my mom.

Hunter's Stew

More like a casserole than a stew, this is essentially a tin foil/dutch oven dinner. This is very versatile and you can add whatever vegetables you like. The ones listed are the ones I use. (If you're short on provisions, the first 6 ingredients are pretty much necessary.) Sorry there are no quantities listed--add as much as you need/like.

Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
Onion, chopped
Carrots, sliced thin
1 lb. hamburger, cooked and drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
Celery, sliced thin
Bell peppers, chopped
Corn
1 small can green chilis
Seasonings: Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, SeasonAll, Mrs. Dash

Layer/dump all ingredients in a crock pot and cook all day. OR...cook in a 9x13 at 375* for about 1 1/2 hours (until potatoes are done).

From my college roommate, Jess.

Lime Punch

Cook until clear:

2 cups sugar
3 cups water

Add:
1 - 3 oz lime jello (sm pkg,-doubled it’s 3/4 cup)
2 cups hot water
1 large can pineapple juice (46oz)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 bottle (1 oz size) almond extract (1Tbs)

Stir well. Freeze. Set out one hour before serving. Add 2 quarts ginger ale or 7-up.

I got this recipe from Francis Laidlaw. It is very good! We served this at Janelle's wedding reception. Everyone like it so much, we ran out. Good thing we also served ice water with lemon slices!

1 small to medium pumpkin
1 onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ to 2 lbs. ground beef
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 (4oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1½ cups cooked rice
1 (8oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

Cut off the top of pumpkin and thoroughly clean out seeds and pulp. Paint an appropriate face on the front of the pumpkin with a permanent marking pen or acrylic paint. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, sauté onions in oil until tender. Add meat and brown. Drain drippings from skillet. Add soy sauce, brown sugar mushroom and soup. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into the cleaned pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin, with filling on a baking sheet. Bake 1 hour or until inside meat of the pumpkin is tender. Put pumpkin on a plate. Remove pumpkin lid and serve meat. For your vegetable, scoop out cooked pumpkin and serve. Serves 6.

I love this recipe. It is so fun to make and eat. We usually have it once a year around the Halloween season.

Rachel used Mel's Kitchen Cafe's recipe this year (2020).  Mel's recipe is made with chicken instead of beef.   

DINNER IN A PUMPKIN

YIELD:  6-8 SERVINGS

 

PREP TIME:  25 MINUTES

 

COOK TIME:  1 HOUR 30 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME:  1 HOUR 55 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

•  1 medium pumpkin (see note)

SAUCE:

•  1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
•  1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning (or sub a pinch each of marjoram, sage and thyme)
•  1/2 teaspoon onion powder
•  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
•  1/8 teaspoon black pepper
•  1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste if needed
•  1/8 teaspoon dried parsley
•  1/8 teaspoon paprika
•  1 cup milk
•  1/2 cup all-purpose flour
•  4 ounces light or regular cream cheese, cubed

CASSEROLE:

•  1/2 tablespoon oil (coconut, vegetable or olive oil)
•  1/2 cup finely chopped yellow or white onion
•  2 cloves garlic, finely minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
•  1 cup finely diced carrots
•  1 cup diced broccoli florets
•  1 cup frozen corn kernels
•  2 cups cooked rice or quinoa
•  3-4 cups cooked chicken (see note)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut the top off the pumpkin and set aside - try for about a 6-7-inch opening. Clean out the seeds and insides of the pumpkin until the inner walls of the pumpkin are smooth.
3. For the sauce, in a medium saucepan over medium heat bring the chicken broth and all the seasonings to a simmer. Whisk the milk and flour together until very smooth. Gradually pour it into the simmering broth while whisking quickly and continue cooking until the mixture is bubbly and thick. Off the heat, stir in the cubes of cream cheese and let them melt while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
4. In a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the 1/2 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic (or garlic powder), carrots, broccoli and corn. Cook the mixture, stirring often, until the onion is translucent and the vegetables are slightly tender, 5-8 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, combine the rice or quinoa, chicken, and cooked vegetables. Stir the sauce to combine the soft cream cheese and pour over the other ingredients, mixing to combine. Add additional salt and pepper to taste (don't be shy - it may need another 1/2 teaspoon of salt or so).
6. Lightly salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin (the sides and bottom) and spoon the casserole into the pumpkin.
7. Place the top back on the pumpkin and place a large rimmed baking sheet covered in foil in the oven. Most likely it will need to be on a rack placed low in the oven to fit the pumpkin. Carefully place the pumpkin on the baking sheet and bake for 90 minutes.
8. Remove the baking sheet and pumpkin from the oven and let the pumpkin rest for 10 minutes before serving. Scoop the casserole out of the pumpkin - don't forget to scrape the soft, delicious sides of the pumpkin to get a bit of the sweet pumpkin meat in with the casserole (that's what makes it so tasty!).
9. Be careful moving the pumpkin after it has baked. It probably should stay on the baking sheet - the sides will be ultra soft and I've learned the hard way that if the pumpkin is being moved from the baking sheet to a platter, it may split in half!

NOTES

Pumpkin: ok, let's talk pumpkins for this recipe. It will vary a little based on the fact that some pumpkins have more guts than others (gross but true); generally speaking, you want to look for a pumpkin that is about 9-10 pounds with dimensions about the equivalent of 10-inches high and about 26 1/2 inches in circumference at the thickest part. It's ok if it's slightly larger and the casserole ingredients don't fill it all the way up. Just make sure with the stem back on that it can fit in your oven.

Chicken: if you have access to good-quality rotisserie chickens (I'm looking at you, Costco), this is a perfect recipe to use the meat in. 

Make Ahead: several of the components can be made ahead of time - the cooked chicken, cooked rice or quinoa (cook it up earlier in the week and keep it in the refrigerator) and even the sauce (it can be prepared days in advance, too, and used straight from the fridge).

HTTPS://WWW.MELSKITCHENCAFE.COM/DINNER-IN-A-PUMPKIN/

Home Style Dressing Mix (Home made Ranch Dressing)

2 tsp instant minced onion
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs. parsley flakes

Mix with 1 cup buttermilk and 1 cup Best Foods

For a vegetable or chip dip, use:

1 cup sour cream and 1 cup Best Foods instead

I think this is from the Make-a-Mix cookbook. I use it all the time for vegetable dip