First, here are the pictures I took the other night:
November 2007, Theme: “Thanksgiving Favorites,” Hostess: Ashley Rencher
This is more of a Halloween fav for me, but it works for Thanksgiving too!
Pumpkin Dinner1 medium-sized pumpkin, able to fit into oven with rack in lowest position
2 lbs ground beef or turkey (I used TURKEY)
1 chopped onion
4 T soy sauce (I used 6 T)
1 T brown sugar (I used 2 T)
2 cans sliced water chestnuts, drained (I forgot to buy these this time. I usually only do 1 can. They’re really yummy!)
2 cans green beans, drained
1 ½ C cooked brown rice
Hollow the inside of a pumpkin (keep the stem to seal for cooking). For Halloween, draw a fun jack-o-lantern face on pumpkin with magic marker! Set aside. In a large frying pan, brown beef/turkey and onion. Drain. Return to pan. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, water chestnuts, green beans, and cooked brown rice. Simmer for a few minutes. Put mixture into hollowed-out pumpkin. Place stem on top to seal pumpkin. Place pumpkin on large cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 ½ hours (or until pumpkin is softened).
*This recipe makes a ton! I half it for me and Dave, and we still have leftovers. This dinner is almost like a cousin to shepherds pie, minus mashed potatoes. Growing up, my mom always had this dinner ready for us when we got back from trick-or-treating. We loved it! The mixture inside the pumpkin is so yummy! And, for those of you who like squash, scrape pumpkin off the sides to eat with the dinner. Yum!
October 2007, Theme: “Autumn Soups and Salads,” Hostess: Amanda Arrhenius
Okay, I was super lazy in October and didn’t plan ahead. I made green Jell-O with Mandarin oranges. Blah! I don’t think you need me to put this recipe on the blog J
September 2007, Theme: “Labor-Free Recipes” for Labor Day, Hostess: Karin Dance
Italian Crockpot Chicken4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts—raw and cut into small strips
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing mix (unprepared—powder only)
Prepared rice
After you defrost and cut the chicken into small strips, set aside. In separate bowl, mix soup, cream cheese, and dressing mix well. Place a little of the mixture in crockpot to coat bottom. Place chicken on top of that, and then smother chicken with remaining sauce. Cook on high for 1 ½ hours (large crockpot). Serve over rice.
*Cooking times may vary. You can make this with whole chicken breasts, and then cook on high for around 4 hours. I use a large crockpot, so cooking the strips only takes about 1 ½ hours. I used to cook longer, but finally found this amount of time is perfect—the chicken is very tender. Don’t overcook or the chicken is too dry.
No Club in July/August
June 2007, Theme: “Daddy’s or Hubby’s Favorites” for Fathers Day, Hostess: Karin Dance
For a snack, or for a small meal.
Open-Faced Crab Sandwiches1 package imitation crab
Mayo to taste
2 stalks chopped celery, or to taste
Grated cheddar cheese
1 6-pack of English muffins
Open crab and chop up into smaller pieces (sized to taste—I like smaller chunks, personally). Mix in mayo and celery. Top English muffins with mixture, and then top those with grated cheese. Place muffins on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes or until cheese melts.
*Dave LOVES these. His mom made them when he was growing up. I love them , too!
May 2007, Theme: “Summer Salads,” Hostess: Haylee Mollerup
Hmmm…This was another lazy month for me. I went to Costco and bought their broccoli salad, found in the refrigerated produce room. It comes fully equipped with dressing. Just open it up and mix everything together! Make sure you have enough people to eat it, though. I had more leftovers than I could handle.
April 2007, Theme: Can’t remember…, Hostess: Natalie Jones
Spinach Alfredo and Hawiian Alfredo PizzasCrust (makes 2 thin-crust pizzas):
1 T yeast
1 C luke-warm water
1 t sugar
2 ½ C. flour
2 T. oil (use extra virgin olive oil—it’s much healthier!)
Corn meal (to coat pans)
Dissolve yeast and sugar in water for about 10 minutes. In separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour oil into dissolved yeast mixture. Add mixture to flour mixture. Knead together into soft ball. Cover with cloth and let rise 2-3 hours. Divide dough in two. Roll out into 2 thin-crust pizzas. Sprinkle 2 round pizza pans with corn meal and place dough on top. Let rise 10 min. or so. Top with your favorite toppings and bake at 425 for about 10 minutes.
Alfredo Sauce:
2 T butter
1 C heavy whipping cream
½ C fresh-grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Parsley to taste
Pinch of nutmeg
Melt butter in small pan. Stir in whipping cream. Simmer for a minute. Stir in cheese, parsley, and nutmeg.
Spread desired amount of Alfredo on top of pizza. For spinach alfredo, top with one layer baby spinach (add one leaf at a time and press lightly to saturate leaves with sauce). Top with grated mozzarella. For Hawaiian alfredo, top with mozzarella. Then top with Canadian bacon and pineapple.
*This is probably the most favorite dinner in the Dance home!
March 2007, Theme: “Green or Rich Recipes,” Hostess: Robyn Mons
Tortilla Roll-up Appetizer1 package cream cheese
1 package shredded cheddar (I use mozzarella—a little more healthy)
1 can diced olives, drained
1 can diced green chili peppers
1 package soft tortilla shells (I used green spinach tortillas for St. Patrick’s Day!)
Diced jalapenos to taste (optional)
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Spread over tortillas. Roll up tortillas. Slice rolls into 1-inch thick slices. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
*Cheap, easy, pretty (especially with colorful tortillas), and only takes about 10 minutes to prepare.
February 2007, Theme: “Romantic or Red Foods,” Hostess: Jenny Groberg
Fruit Dip1 small container of marshmallow cream
1 package of raspberry or strawberry cream cheese
Whip marshmallow cream and cream cheese together. Serve with your favorite fruits!
*I got this recipe from Ashley Christiansen. She made it for a baby shower. I LOVE it! Anything with marshmallow cream or cream cheese is okay by me!
January 2007, Theme: (Can’t Remember), Hostess: Amanda Arrhenius
Cowboy Caviar
1/2 C of Italian dressing, or add to taste
1 can drained shoepeg corn or sweet corn (I prefer frozen)
1 can drained blackeye peas or black beans (I prefer black beans)
2-4 ripe avacados, chopped
4-6 Roma tomatoes, chopped
cilantro to taste
sliced olives, optional
Combine ingredients into a bowl. Serve fresh with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
No Club in December
November 2006, Theme: “Christmas/Holiday food or Turkey Leftover Recipes,” Hostess: Rebecca Fluhman
Okay, I didn’t really stick to the theme for November. This recipe is one of our favorites at home, though. It’s easy, yummy, and makes yummy leftovers. We had a contest at this party where everyone voted for their favorite recipe. It came down to me and Karrina, but I lost to her yummy chocolate almond thingies.
Tamale Pie
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey—more healthy and tastes the same!)
1 small onion, chopped
2 T green pepper, chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 egg
1/3 C milk
Brown ground beef/turkey, onion, and green pepper. Add taco seasoning and tomato sauce. Simmer for a few minutes. Stir in corn and beans and pour into 9” casserole dish. In separate bowl, combine Jiffy mix with egg and milk. Stir until just moistened. Pour over meat mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until corn muffin topping is lightly browned.
*We love to top this with sour cream and grated cheese.
October 2006, Theme: “Halloween Favorites,” Hostess: Natalie Jones
Best Carmel Corn, Ever!2 Qt. popped popcorn
½ C butter
½ C brown sugar
3 C mini marshmallows
Pop popcorn (Remove all unpopped kernels!) Place butter and brown sugar in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Add marshmallows. Stir to coat marshmallows. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until fully melted. Put half of popcorn in very large bowl. Pour half of mixture over popcorn. Mix well to coat popcorn. Add the rest of the popcorn and mixture. Mix well.
*This is my friend/roommate Malia’s recipe. She used to make it whenever we had girls’ nights our freshman year at Utah State. It’s sooooo yummy and gooey!
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