ORANGE SMOOTHIES

1 c. orange juice or other juice
1/2 c. yogurt, plain or vanilla
1 banana

Blend until smooth. Change any or all the ingredients for a variety of flavors.

FRUIT SMOOTHIES

4 c. skim milk (May substitute juice)
2 c. frozen fruit
honey to taste
Dash vanilla (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

Homemade Granola

2 cups whole wheat flour
6 cups rolled oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup water
1 cup oil
1 cup honey or corn syrup
2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp salt (optional)
Raisins, dried fruit and nuts to taste

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Combine flour, oats, coconut, and wheat germ in a large bowl and mix.
Blend water, oil, honey or corn syrup, vanilla, and salt in a separate bowl and mix.
Add wet to dry ingredients and mix well.
Spread out on two greased cookie sheets and bake 55 minutes. Add raisins, dried fruits and nuts to taste. Store in covered container.
Variation, Use 1 cup brown sugar instead of honey or corn syrup and heat water, oil, and sugar until not granular.

French Toast

Sliced day old bread
1 cup milk
3 eggs
Dash of salt
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of vanilla

Mix the milk, eggs, salt, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon together. Pour into a shallow dish that you can easily dip the bread into. Dip each piece of bread, on both sides so that it can soak up the milk and egg mixture. Heat a skillet or griddle with a bit of butter in it. Lift up the bread and let it drain just a bit, then fry until brown. Turn over and cook until second side is done. Serve with powdered sugar or maple syrup.

French Toast leftovers freeze well. Great for quick weekday breakfasts. If bread is thin enough you can warm it in the toaster.

Corn Bread

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour (May use part whole wheat)
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup dry milk (optional)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil or melted shortening, margarine or bacon grease

Preheat oven to 400. Mix together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, and dry milk. In a small bowl or measuring pitcher, mix together eggs, milk, and melted shortening. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until moistened.
Pour into a greased 9x9 pan or muffin tins and bake 25 minutes.

May be made with buttermilk by reducing the baking powder to 2 tsp. and adding 1 tsp. baking soda.

Ground Beef Chili

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1 15 oz can pureed or diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
salt and pepper to taste
Tobasco to taste
water if needed

Brown ground beef with the onion and garlic. Drain off fat. Add chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Stir and cook a few minutes. Add tomatoes including juice. Simmer on low uncovered for 10 minutes. Add kidney beans and simmer uncovered another 15 minutes, stirring periodically. Add water if chili becomes too dry. Season with salt, pepper, Tabasco to taste.

Top with sour cream, grated chedar cheese, chopped green onions. Great served with cornbread or baked potatoe.

Easy Barbecue Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1 Tbs. Worcestershire
1 Tbs. mustard
1 1/2 Tbs. oil
salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco sauce to taste(optional)

Simmer ingredients together for 15 minutes.
Use on chicken, ribs, and pork. Great for the grill or used with crockpot or oven recipes.

Easiest BBQ Crockpot Chicken

1 cut up chicken or your favorite chicken pieces
2 cups babeque sauce from recipe or store bought.

Place chicken in crockpot and cover with barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or according to recommended times for your crockpot. Great served with beans and cole slaw.

EASY COLE SLAW

1 sm. head cabbage
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
1 bell pepper
1/4 tsp. dill seed
1/4 tsp. celery seed
2 tbsp. lemon juice concentrate
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 - 3/4 c. Miracle Whip

Chop veggies until fine. In large bowl mix all ingredients and stir until everything is well mixed. Salt to taste. A pinch of salt should be enough. Cole slaw will create its own liquid, so do not add extra liquids. Makes approximately 8 cups.

Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork

1 T oil
2 chopped onions
6 minced garlic cloves
1 T chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 oz chili sauce (1 small bottle)
1/4 cup brown sugar 1
/4 cup cider vinegar
1 T Worcestershire
3 lb. pork shoulder

Saute the onions in oil until soft. Add garlic, chili powder, and pepper. Continue cooking mixture a few minutes. Add chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Heat till boiling stirring constantly.
Place pork shoulder in crockpot and pour sauce over it. Cover and cook on low 12 hours or on high 6 hours, until pork is falling apart. Shred meat with fork and return to crockpot pot with sauce. Serve over buns. Great with Cole Slaw

Easiest Crockpot Roast Beef

1 beef roast
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup (optional)
1 can of soda
(Sprite, Coke or GingerAle work well).

Cook according to your crockpot recommandations. Excellent served with rice,noodles or potatoes.

Easy Pie Crust

One Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
4-5 Tbs cold water

Two Crusts
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
5-7 Tbs cold water

Mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender or your mixer until the pieces are like small peas. Add the water one tablespoon at a time. Toss with a fork or use your mixer. Turn the dough onto a floured cutting board and divide in half if you made two crusts. Flatten with the palm of your hands into a disc. If you have time, wrap in plastic and refrigerate half an hour or so. It will make rolling the crust out a bit easier.
Make sure the board is floured and sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough as well. Use your rolling pin to roll from the center out at different angles until the dough is about 1/8" thick and as round as you can get it. Fit pastry into the pie plate. An easy way of doing this is to fold the crust in half and position it, then unfold it. If making a single crust pie, trim the crust so that you have about 1" overhang and fold the overlap under. Pinch with your thumb and forefinger all around the pie to make a fluted edge. If you need to prebake the shell, bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes.
If you're making a two crust pie, trim the crust to about 1/2 " overlap. Fill with the filling. Lay the second crust on top, tuck the top crust under the bottom one to seal it and then pinch it together with your thumb and forefinger. Cut slits into the top crust to allow steam to escape.

Chicken Pot Pie Filling
If you plan on freezing your chicken pot pie filling,
do not freeze the filling with the crust.

2 cups chicken stock
1 cup peas or peas with pearl onions
2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
6 Tbs butter
6 Tbs flour
1 cup cream (or milk)
2 cups cooked chicken
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried chives
1 tsp dried parsleysalt
pepper to taste

Bring the stock to a simmer and add the carrots. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the celery and peas and cook another 3-4 minutes. Drain the vegetables, reserving the broth.
Melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour, using a whisk. Cook over low heat 2-3 minutes, then slowly whisk in the reserved broth, stirring constantly. Raise the heat a bit and bring to a simmer, stirring, and cook 4-5 minutes. Add the cream and cook another 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the herbs and add the chicken and vegetables and mix.
(You can freeze at this point if you want.) Pour into a 9x13 pan or a large pie pan. Top with a pie crust or biscuits, making sure to leave some vents. Cook at 400 for 25-30 minutes (or slightly less if using biscuits as they cook faster).

Fried Twinkies

6 Twinkies
Popsicle sticks
4 cups vegetable oil
Flour for dusting

For Batter:
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon saltDirections

Chill or freeze Twinkies for several hours or overnight.
Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in deep fryer to about 375-degrees.

To make batter: Mix together milk, vinegar and oil. In another bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk wet ingredients into dry and continue mixing until smooth. Refrigerate while oil heats.Push stick into Twinkie lengthwise, leaving about 2-inches to use as a handle, dust with flour and dip into the batter. Rotate Twinkie until batter covers entire cake. Place carefully in hot oil. The Twinkie will float, so hold it under with a utensil to ensure even browing. It should turn golden in three to four minutes. Depending on the size of your deep fryer, you might be able to fry only one at a time, two at the most.Remove Twinkie to paper towel and let drain. Remove stick and allow Twinkie to sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Variation: Slice Twinkie into four pieces. Flour and batter each before frying. With this treatment, one Twinkie will serve two people if accompanied by a sauce.Recipe makes six servings.

Berry Sauce

1 10-ounce jar of seedless raspberry preserves
1 cup fresh or frozen mixed berries

In a saucepan, heat preserves over low heat until melted. Add 1 cup of fresh or frozen mixed berries. Heat until sauce just simmers. Cover; refrigerate until served.Makes 11/2 cups.