Author: Niki Lewis

Niki’s Beans and Dawgs

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This is one of my kids favorite meals. And mine too… because its super easy.

2 packages of all beef Hotdogs
8 slices of bacon, cut in 1/2
2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 -2 cans of baked beans (depends on how many people you are feeding)
1-2 cans stewed tomatoes, pour into dish and cut them in small pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
molasses
1/2 c brown sugar
Pepper
kosher salt

Mix together all ingredients and pour into a baking dish. Season to taste, sweeter or saltier. Cut bacon strips in half. Wrap a half piece of bacon around a hotdog and place ontop of beans. Continue with all bacon and dawgs.

Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes …or until desired crispiness of bacon and dawgs are reached.

Cheesy Bread Sticks

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These are just plain good! This is the same dough as used in my taco pizza that I posted a few weeks back. They are perfect!

1 tsp. active dry yeast
1-1/2 cup warm water
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 cups of olive oil
1 cup monterey jack cheese, grated
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
a good marinara sauce, optional

Mix yeast with warm water and set aside for 8-10 minutes. mix flour, salt, and olive oil in a mixing bowl. With speed on low, drizzle in yeast/water mixture. Allow to mix until totally combined. Cover bowl with a towel and set bowl in a warm, draft free place. Allow to rise for 1-2 hours.
Place overn rack in the bottom position of oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Remove half of the pizza dough from teh bowl. (save remaining dough or make more bread sticks!) With hands, spread pizza dough on an oiled baking sheet, making sure its relatively thin.
Sprinkle grated cheeses over the dough and bake for 9-12 minutes. Serve with or without marinara sauce.

Coconut Cookies

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Here is a cookie recipe that I baked up this week, for a care package I sent home to my Dad for his birthday! He loves coconut pie, and so do I. These cookies taste just like a coconut pie!! They are super easy to make and delicous! Enjoy!

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg
and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in the coconut.
Drop by heaping teaspoon fulls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 3″ apart.
Bake for about 9 minutes and check them. They need to be lightly toasted. I cooked my batch of cookies for about 13 minutes. Take them out of the oven and let them set up on the baking sheet/stone for about 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and cool.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

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This is soo scrumptious! And it’s really good with some crusty french bread.

cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1 (16 oz) package broccoli florets
2 -1/2 cups 2% reduced -fat milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 oz. light processed cheese, cubed (such as velveeta light)

Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium; cook 10 minutes.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

Taco Pizza

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This is easy and yummy! The kids will love this crust, and ask you to make cheesy breadsticks with the leftovers for an after school snack!

1 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1-1/2 c warm water
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 can (14 ounce) Black Beans
1 tsp. Taco seasoning
4 whole corn tortillas, sliced into thin strips
1/2 cup canola oil, for frying
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
1 head green leaf lettuce, sliced/shredded thin
2 whole rip tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. hot sauce (more to taste)

Make the pizza dough: Mix yeast with warm water and set aside for 8-10 minutes. Mix flour, salt, and olive oil in a mixing bowl. With speed on low, drizzle in yeast/ water mixture. Allow to mix until totally combined. Cover bowl with a towel and set bowl in a warm, draft-free place. Allow to rise for 1-2 hours.

Pour black beans into a saucepan. Add seasonings to taste and heat up beans over med-low heat. Use a potato masher to mash the beans to desired texture. Continue cooking /heating beans over md-low heat, stirring occasionally, until no longer runny (should be the texture of refried beans). Set aside.

In a small skillet, heat canola oil over med heat. When hot enough to fry, drop in the tortilla strips in batches, frying quickly and removing from oil with a fork when crisp – about 30-40 seconds per batch. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.

Place oven rack in the bottom position in the oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Remove half the pizza dough from the bowl. Place remaining half in a large plastic bag and refrigerate, saving for another use. With hands, spread pizza dough on an oiled baking sheet, making sure its relatively thin. Spread layer of beans all over pizza crust. Sprinkle mixed grated cheeses over the top. Place pan on bottom rack in oven and bake for 9 to 12 min. Watch it to make sure crust doesn’t burn.

Remove pizza from oven. Sprinkle on shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and cilantro leaves.

Mix together sour cream and hot sauce, adding enough hot sauce to make the mixture pourable. With a spoon ( or you can put it in a pastry bag) drizzle mixture over finished pizza.
Sprinkle with tortilla strips. Cut into squares and serve immediately with good quality salsa.

recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Amish Macaroni Salad

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My kids always want a container of the Amish Mac Salad before leaving Walmart. So, I decided to find a recipe so that I could make some at home. It was easy and DELICOUS!

2 c uncooked elbow macaroni
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 small onion, chopped fine
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small red bell pepper,seeded & chopped
2 TBSP dill pickle relish
2 c creamy sald dressing (Miracle Whip)
3 TBSP prepared yellow mustard
3/4 c white sugar
2 1/4 tsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp celery seed, optional

Cook elbow macaroni according to directions and drain really well! Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, stir together eggs, onion, celer, red pepper, & relish.
In a small bowl, stir together the sald dressing, mustard, sugar, white vinegar, salt and celery seed (optional).
Pour over vegetables, and stir in macaroni until well blended.
Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving. (Chilling the salad is very important! This thickens the dressing, and the noodels soak some of the dressing up too!)

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie

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The crust of this is really good and flaky. The inside is creamy! This is some good stuff!

Crust:
2 c. all -purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3c butter or margarine
1/4 c. cold water

Filling:
2 -1/2 c cooked, cubed chicken
2 c fresh or frozen peas
1/4 c finely chopped onion
3 med. slice carrots
2 med. potatoes, peeled, cubed

Sauce:
3 Tbsp butter or margarine
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. half- and- half
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Milk

Heat oven to 375 degrees. For the crust, stir together flour and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly; with fork mix in water. Divide dough into 2/3 and 1/3 portions. Set aside 1/3 dough. Roll 2/3 dough into 14 ” circle 1/8 ” thick. Gently fit into 3 qt deep dish casserole; set aside.

In large bowl combine all filling ingredients; set aside.

In saucepan melt butter, stir in flour. Cook over med high heat, stirring occasionally, until hot and bubbly (3-4 min) Whisk in half- and-half, chicken broth, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens (3-5 min). Stir hot sauce into filling; spoon into prepared pie crust. Roll reserved dough into 10″ circle 1/8″ thick. Place on top of pie. Flute edges to seal. Make 3 small slits in top crust; lightly brush top with milk. Bake for 50 to 60 min. or until golden brown.

recipe: Land O Lakes Treasury of Country Recipes

Parmesan Baked Chicken

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I am not kidding when I say “Try This!” This is soo good! You can’t stop eating it! AND, I don’t know if you can see, but the bottom of the chicken breast is just as crusty as the top! Yum!

6 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
2/3 c. toasted bread crumbs, (I like Italian)
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Kosher salt
pepper

Combine melted butter and garlic powder in pie plate. Mix crumbs and cheese in a pie plate.
Pound the chicken to about 1/2 ” thickness. Brush chicken with garlic butter, then roll in bread crumb mixture. Place chicken in foil-lined baking dish/ cookie sheet.
(When baked on the foil-lined cookie sheet the bottom of the chicken crisps as well as the top! This is my favorite way to cook this.)
Drizzle with any remaining garlic butter. Sprinkle a small amount of Kosher salt over the chicken breasts. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 min or until chicken is done.

adapted from Terry Pate – Greenville Ward Cookbook

Pumpkin Pie Shake

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I love the fall season and all that comes with it. I especially love the fall food we make! Pumpkin pie spice is one of my favorite spices. So, I tweaked a recipe that I found for milkshakes and came up with the yummiest milkshake ever! The only downside to them is that they are highly addictive. I had one for breakfast this week…. Shh…don’t tell. Hope you like them!

2 c vanilla ice cream
1 c milk
2/3 c canned pumpkin
1/4 c packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp. pumpkin-pie spice
3 Tbsp. frozen whipped topping, thawed

Combine first 5 ingredients in a blender, process until smooth. Pour 3/4 c ice cream mixture into each of 4 glasses. Top each with about 2 tsp. whipped topping; sprinkle with the addtional pumpkin-pie spice, if desired.

adapted from Cooking Light

Stuffed Peppers

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Looovvvee these! (in my singing voice) These are easy and yummy! You can add anything to this recipe! Its soo good! Try it!

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 c rice, cooked
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg
1/4 c green bell pepper, chopped fine
1/2 c – 3/4 c Italian flavored bread crumbs,add as desired
1/2c Sweet Baby Rae’s BBQ sauce, or your favorite
1/2 c cheese, cheddar or colby jack
salt
pepper
dash of worcestershire sauce
4 green bell peppers, halved, and cleaned

Sauce:
1/2 c Sweet Baby Rae’s BBQ sauce
1/2c ketcup
1/2c-3/4c brown sugar
8 thin rectangular slices of cheese, big enough to cover the pepper

Boil a pot of water. When water begins to boil, add the halved bell peppers. Cook just to soften a bit. About, 5 min. Take them out of the water and let them cool.

In a mixing bowl, add the above listed ingredients and mix well. You may need to add more bbq sauce if mixture is to dry. Spoon the ingredients into each halved pepper and place in a baking dish. Add to the bottom of the baking dish 1/4 c water. Cook the peppers in a 350 degree oven for 35 min.

Remove baking dish from oven and spoon sauce over peppers. Add a slice of cheese on top of each pepper. Spoon a little bit more sauce over the cheese. Place back into the oven and bake for another 5-7 min or until the cheese is melted good.

*Obviously, you can also cut the top off of the pepper, clean it out and stuff the whole thing. But, so the peppers stretch farther, and so my kids can not be stressed out about seeing an entire bell pepper sitting before them to eat, I cut them in half.