Pumpkin Muffins

3 Eggs
1 c. Sugar
2/3 c. Pumpkin
3/4 c. Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Cloves
1/4 tsp. Salt
Preheat oven to 375'. Grease a muffin pan well. Cream together the Eggs, Sugar, and Pumpkin. Then add all the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Once mixed fill each muffin hole 3/4 of the way full with the batter. Bake for 13-15 min. Once they are done baking, carefully pull each muffin out of the pan and let cool to allow for cream cheese frosting.

White Chicken Chili

1 large onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup flour
2 sticks of butter
4 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
4 cans white beans (navy, great northern, or garbanzo), drained and rinsed
2-3 (4 oz) cans chopped green chilies
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and sliced into small pieces
2 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese
1-2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1-2 tsp. of chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 cup sour cream
Cook onion and garlic in a couple tablespoons of butter until soft, not brown. Set aside. Make a roux by melting the 2 cubes of butter and whisking the 1/2 cup of flour in. Boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly. Add the onion and garlic to the roux.Add the half and half and chicken broth. Simmer 3 minutes or until thick.Pour mixture into a crockpot then add the white beans, chilies, chicken, cheese, Tabasco sauce, chili powder, and cumin.Simmer 20 minutes. Right before serving add salt and pepper to taste and sour cream (optional). Garnish with cilantro.

Pasta Di Pollo Al Sugo Bianco

Asiago Sauce:
4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon paste or dried chicken base
1 1/4 cups asiago cheese
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 ounces water

Pasta:
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup red onions, diced
1/2 cup pancetta, (Italian smoked bacon) drained and chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
3/4 cup green onions, tops only
3/4 pound sliced grilled chicken
2 pounds farfalle, (bow−tie pasta) cooked
8 ounces heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

To make the sauce: Heat cream to very hot and just bubbly (but not a boil).
Add chicken base and cheese. Stir constantly with a wire whisk and bring
temperature back to just bubbly. Dissolve cornstarch in the cold water and
add to sauce. Bring to a slow simmer to cook out starch. Transfer sauce to a container, cover and refrigerate until needed.

To make the pasta dish:
Saute red onion in butter for a few seconds then add pancetta and garlic.
Add chicken, green onions and pasta. Deglaze the pan with the cream. Add asiago cream sauce. Heat thoroughly. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Turkey Noodle Soup

I'm not crazy about eating leftover turkey, but this soup is delicious and super easy!

Turkey Soup

2 Tbs. butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
6 cups low sodium chicken broth (3 cans)
2 cups broken egg noodles or other large, flat pasta
2 cups chopped cooked turkey meat
salt and pepper to taste

In large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add veggies and cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender. About 8 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat, add noodles. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the turkey and simmer until the meat is heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

Pickles

These were so easy to make and tasted even better than Vlassic pickles! I got the recipe from the Duggar family website.

GARLIC DILL PICKLES
3/4 c. salt (this is to salty for some; may be reduced to 1/2 c.)
4-5 cups white vinegar
8 c. water cucumbers (enough to fill 6- 1 quart jars.)
18 cloves garlic, peeled
6 T. dill seed (not weed.)
Wash cucumbers, cut into spears, and pack in quart jars. Add 3 cloves garlic & 1 T. dill seed per jar. Place jars on baking sheet (or pan.) in oven at 250. (this keeps jars hot so they’ll seal when you add vinegar.) Boil vinegar, salt, and water, pour boiling mixture into hot jars, and immediately put hot bans & lids onto jars. (keep lids & bands hot by boiling them first.) Let cool on counter. (they should seal while cooling.) Let sit 10-12 days before using (this is the hard part! If you can’t stand it, only wait a week!) Our favorite dill pickles! makes 6 qts.

Holy Cow Cinnamon Rolls

I call them holy cow cinnamon rolls because that's what you'll look like a few days after they're baked. The last two times I made these, I had good intentions and plans to deliver them to a few people in the ward. Unfortunately for the people, the only cinnamon rolls that left the house were in the Johnson tummies! Jason's description: "So freaking good!"

ROLLS:
1/2 cup warm water
2 packages dry yeast
2 Tbl. sugar
3 1/2 oz. pkg. vanilla pudding mix (*secret ingredient*)
1/2 cup butter− melted
2 eggs
1 teas. salt
6 cups flour
1 cup softened butter

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup margarine
1 teas. vanilla
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 Tbl. milk

To make frosting, mix all ingredients until smooth.

In a bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.
In large bowl, I use my kitchen aide, take pudding mix and prepare according to package
directions. Add margarine, eggs and salt. Mix well. Then add yeast
mixture. Blend. Now I switch to the dough hook.
Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Place in a greased
bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled.
Punch down dough and let rise again.
Then roll out on floured board to 34 x 21" size. Take 1
cup soft butter and spread over surface. In bowl, mix 2 cups brown sugar
and 4 teas. cinnamon. Sprinkle over top. Roll up very tightly.
With knife, put a notch every 2". Cut with thread or knife.
Place on lightly greased cookie sheet 2" apart.
Take hand and lightly press down on each roll.
Cover and let rise until double
again. Bake at 350 15−20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden.
DON'T OVER BAKE.
Frost warm rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

Green Beans and Ham

Before we left for the zoo, I cut up some of the leftover Easter ham and threw this in the crockpot. I didn't want to feel fast food pressure on the way home! This is something my mom used to make, and is super easy!

5-6 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cans cut green beans, drained
1 1/2 lbs ham, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 can cream of celery soup
dash of ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in crock pot. Bake on low 6-8 hours. Hi for 4-5 hours.

Lemonade: THE Best, Ever!

Back in the Bunco days, a friend of mine served this at her house. I remember being so amazed at the drink's deliciousness, that I could barely count my points! This recipe has become a winter tradition at our house. After Christmas, my sister Cindy has a plethora of ginormous lemons from her tree in her backyard. For the past 5 years, we bring home as many as we can, and I get to work. This year, the kids filled up an ice chest with lemons for me to bring home. I have to say, that I haven't found anything that compares to these particular lemons, but the recipe is still awesome with ordinary, run-of-the-mill lemons. You have to try it!


First, rinse off 2 lemons. Cut off the ends of each lemon. Cut each lemon in half, then into quarters. Toss the lemon chunks in the blender along with 2 cups of water. Pulverize for about 30 seconds. It's very loud! Drain the mixture thru a strainer, discard the pulp. Pour the lemon mixture into a pitcher. Stir in 1 cup of sugar, and 2 more cups of water. Stir and add ice.

Be prepared, this is not a drink for the weak. It's so freaking yummy! I make several batches of the mixture (minus the sugar and last 2 cups of water) and stick it in the freezer. That way we can have lemonade when it's actually more than 40 degrees outside!

Chicken & Dumpling Stew

I was really afraid to try this at first because of the long list of ingredients. It's actually pretty simple once you have everything ready. We love this meal!

½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 pounds chicken breast, cut up
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups chicken broth
6 large carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 celery ribs, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 ½ cups frozen peas
Dumplings:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
1 egg, beaten
½ cup milk
In a large ziplock bag, combine flour, salt and pepper; add chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In large skillet, brown chicken in oil; remove and keep warm. Add broth to skillet, bring to a boil.
In 5-qt crockpot, layer carrots, celery and onion; sprinkle with rosemary.
Add chicken and hot broth. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until stew is bubbling. Stir in peas.
For dumplings, in a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and rosemary. Combine the egg and milk; stir into dry ingredients. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto simmering chicken mixture. Cover and cook on high for 25-30 minutes. Don’t lift the lid! Makes 6 servings.

Crock-Pot Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

When we had all the family up here for Wyatt's baby blessing, I made 3 crock pots of this. Luckily for Jason, Cindy's family got caught in the snowstorm coming up, so we had tons of leftovers! We did a dinner for our primary teachers this month, and I made this for them too, they loved it!

8-10 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large chopped onion
1 pound fully cooked ham, cut into 1 in. cubes
1 package (1 ounce) country-style gravy mix
1 can cram of mushroom soup
2 cups water
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Combine potatoes, onion and ham in lightly greased crock-pot. Combine gravy mix, mushroom soup and water, whisk until combined. Pour gravy mixture over potatoes.
Cover, Let cook on low 7-9 hours (High 3-4). Top with cheese during last 30 minutes. Makes 10
Servings.