Fudge Pie

Yay, finally a DESSERT! :) Victor came home this weekend, and we had a few friends over. I was frantically trying to find a quick and easy dessert I could make for the get together, and then I ran across this one..."Fudge Pie." Basically, it tastes like a brownie! Yummm! This recipe comes from my Mom-o. She has contributed quite a few of recipes into my recipe book, and I'm really glad she included this one! I forgot to take a picture of the whole pie, and before I knew it we were all happily eating our slices. BUT, I did get a picture of the last piece...

And here is the yummy recipe...

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Fudge Pie

from the kitchen of Beverly Pagan

1 stick butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 unbaked pie shell

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

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I'm almost salivating just thinking about this pie! It was very good! The only thing I would do different is bake it for a little bit longer than what the recipe says. After 30 minutes, the pie crust was baked on the outside, but not on the bottom. And the filling wasn't quite done either. I would give it around 35-40 minutes and see if it's done at that point. Vanilla ice cream would be a great compliment to it as well! :)

We really enjoyed it! :)

Thanks for coming everyone!

Goodnight folks! Stay tuned for more recipes, coming your way soon! :) And thanks be to God, who has provided the means and capabilities to be able to make all of these recipes. He deserves all the glory!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Oriental Salad

Here we go again! Another recipe..."Oriental Salad!" I was excited to try this recipe because it's different than the other recipes I've made, plus I love salads! And guess who it's from? My Auntie Kynda, again! :) She's a great cook! Whenever we went over to her house growing up, we would always look forward to her yummy food. Here's the salad...

And here's the recipe...

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Oriental Salad
from the kitchen of Kynda Lemiere

Mix together in a bowl:
1 pkg. coleslaw mix
3 green onions, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, chopped
cashews (1/2 cup to 1 cup, depending on how much you like them)
2 pkgs. crumbled Ramen noodles

Dressing:
1 cup oil
2 Oriental Ramen seasoning packets
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix all of the dressing ingredients together in a blender. Pour over above salad and stir together well.
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There are two additional ingredients that I added to this salad: chicken and sliced almonds (instead of the cashews). I also think some red bell pepper would be a great addition. Another modification I made is that I did not include the water chestnuts, but if you like them then go for it. For the oil, I used olive oil. And since I ended up using the remainder of my olive oil for this recipe, I used the empty bottle to store the dressing in once it was made. I did not pour the dressing over the salad when I initially made it because I wanted to eat on it for a couple days, and the dressing would've caused the coleslaw mix to become soggy. Instead, I stored the dressing separately and used it as I ate the salad, which is what I completely recommend. I took the salad to work the next day and shared it with my friends, Val and Sarah, and they really liked it too. I definitely suggest trying this one out!


Here's the dressing after all the ingredients were mixed together.

 One more recipe for tonight, and then I'm done! Here it goes...

"Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit." John 3:5

Creamy Baked Chicken

Hello again! This recipe comes from my Auntie Kynda. I initially made the "Creamy Baked Chicken" back in March for my father-in-law and his family, and then again for Victor last month. It's really yummy, and easy too! Here's the final product...

And here's the recipe...

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Creamy Baked Chicken
from the kitchen of Kynda Lemiere

chicken breasts (the amount depends on how many people you're serving)
sliced Swiss cheese, one slice per chicken breast
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup water (or white wine)
2 cups crushed seasoned stuffing mix (Mrs. Cubbison's brand comes already crushed)
1/3 cup melted butter

Spray a 9x13 pan with PAM. Cover the bottom of the pan with chicken breasts. Place one slice of Swiss cheese on each piece of chicken. Stir together cream of chicken soup and water (or white wine); pour over chicken. Sprinkle crushed seasoned stuffing mix over chicken. Drizzle butter over the dressing. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. Do not overbake!
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The first time I made this, I mixed the cream of chicken soup with water. But this past time, I used white wine. I couldn't really tell a difference in the flavor, so you should be safe either way you choose to go. As far as the crushed seasoned stuffing mix goes, I was unable to find the "Mrs. Cubbinson's" brand. My Auntie Kynda lives in the state of Washington, so I'm sure the brand options are different in various parts of the country. Instead, I bought a basic box of chicken flavored seasoned stuffing mix and crushed it as best as I could by putting it in a ziplock and pounding it like crazy with the can of chicken soup! Be careful with this method...holes in the ziplock are created easily, and a mess is bound to occur. If you have a better way of doing this, please let me know! :) When preparing the butter, you may want to melt a little bit more than the recipe calls for. I've found that 1/3 cup isn't quite enough to coat all of the stuffing mix. It worked the first time I made this recipe, but this past time some of the stuffing mix was still hard after the chicken was finished baking. Or, to also prevent this problem, you can use a fork to press the stuffing mix into the soup/water topping to make sure it gets soaked in the mix. I definitely recommend this recipe!


This is when I made the chicken for Victor in Houston. We also had fresh green beans and corn on the cob. :)



The first time I made this chicken, I also made my first homemade mashed potatoes. They turned out pretty good too!

Two more recipes to post tonight. I'm almost caught up, thank goodness! And I'll be making another one tomorrow night for a potluck at work on Tuesday. :)

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Russian Chicken

Did you give up on me? :) I almost did! I apologize for the delay in my recipe posting. I actually made this recipe a couple months ago, but have been super busy and haven't been able to post it. In April, Victor moved to Houston! It was a very exciting move for both of us. And we've been visiting each other almost every weekend since the move, so there hasn't been much time for anything else. Here are a few pictures of the move from Michigan to Houston...

Victor worked hard to get this armoire into the U-Haul!

It snowed the day we left Michigan, of course!

It was also Victor's birthday the day we left MI. I enjoy embarrassing him. :)

Making a birthday wish at Cracker Barrel.

After two days of driving, we FINALLY made it to Houston, TX!



Victor and his roommate's apartment in Houston.

 Anyways...back to the chicken..."Russian Chicken" to be exact. :) This is another recipe from Nanu, and it was really good! I never would've put these ingredients together, but they compliment each other very well. Here's the chicken...

And here's the recipe...

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Russian Chicken
from the kitchen of Bonnie Campbell

1 small chicken, cut into pieces
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
1 small jar apricot preserves
1 bottle Russian salad dressing

Rinse chicken. Mix other ingredients. Dip chicken in mixture and place in a very lightly greased baking dish. Pour remainder of mixture over chicken. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake approximately 20 minutes.
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If I remember correctly, I purchased the packaged chicken that was pre-cut. There was no way I was cutting up a whole chicken...eww (nor do I know how, haha). As far as the apricot preserves go, I'm pretty sure I bought the smallest jar I could find. The sauce that comes out after you combine all the ingredients is really good! I also found that the sauce tasted even better when I ate the chicken for leftovers the next day. There's actually still some of this chicken in my freezer right now. :)

Here's a picture of the Russian salad dressing, in case you can't find it at the store...

Yay! I am FINALLY posting another recipe! It feels so good, and I still have a couple more to go!

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." James 4:10

Quick Rolls

I never thought I'd make homemade rolls, but this recipe is quick and super easy..."Quick Rolls!" I still have quite a few in my freezer to eat with another meal. Again, this recipe was given to me by Mom-O, and she shared with me that it originally came from the butcher at Gasaways grocery store located on Culberhouse road in Jonesboro, Arkansas many years ago. She also shared that the butcher's brother was Papa's barber. I love small towns where everyone knows everyone! :) So here are the "Quick Rolls"...

And here's the super duper easy recipe...

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Quick Rolls
from the kitchen of Beverly Pagan (aka Mom-O)

2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk

Combine all ingredients and blend well. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
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See...SUPER easy! The only question I had while making them was how full to fill the muffin tins. I ended up filling them about half full, and it was perfect. The rolls were able rise with plenty of room. I think I baked them a few minutes longer than the recipe says because they weren't quite golden brown after only 10 minutes, but that also depends on your oven. The rolls are good served with a meal, or with butter and jam. I'm even debating on eating a couple right now with honey...mmm.

Here's a close up of one of the rolls...

Well, I haven't made any other recipes this week, so I'd better make one soon! I hope to sometime this weekend, but we'll see. Stay tuned!

"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

Hot Chicken Salad

I didn't eat dinner until almost 11pm last Thursday night because I was determined to make another recipe from my recipe book--and it was definitely worth the wait! This recipe, "Hot Chicken Salad," was given to me by my grandma Beverly, aka Mom-O. "Hot Chicken Salad" is a tradition for Christmas Eve at Mom-O's house, and it almost seemed wrong making it when it wasn't Christmas. :) But it was time to break tradition, and try out a yummy dinner...so here it is!

And the recipe...

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Hot Chicken Salad
from the kitchen of Beverly Pagan (aka Mom-O)

4 chicken breasts, deboned, cooked, and chopped (you may substitute canned chicken)
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
2 cans cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups corn flake crumbs

Combine all ingredients, except for one cup of corn flake crumbs. Pour into casserole dish and sprinkle with remaining corn flake crumbs. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.
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I hadn't ever had "Hot Chicken Salad" until I had it at Mom-O's house, but it's really good! And I took the easy route...ie. canned chicken. :) Mom-O shared that little secret with me, and it's definitely worth it. I used three 12.5oz cans of chicken. I'm not the best with math, but after comparing the weight of a package of four chicken breasts with the cans of chicken, I think it was just about the right amount of chicken (at least I hope it was). :) I did not include the almonds, but I'm pretty sure Mom-O always does. I'm just not a big fan of nuts mixed in with my food, but if you are then definitely add them. I do like onions, so I made sure the add them. However, due to the "eye-tearing" that the onion induced, I didn't get to chop it as finely as I had wanted. I also made some little rolls to go along with the meal, and that recipe will be posted right after this one. And, I coupled the chicken salad with some saltine crackers, which is totally optional based on how you like your chicken salad.

That's it! I'd also like to include a picture of the inside of the chicken salad...

Now onto Mom-O's "Quick Rolls" recipe. :)

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Jell-O Applesauce Salad

This one is going to be quick. Along with the chicken pot pie, I also made "Jell-O Applesauce Salad" last night for my grandparents. This recipe was given to me by my Grandma Pauline, and was something I grew up on (along with the ham and cheese rolls that I posted a couple weeks ago). It's super easy, and looks pretty if you put it in a mold...

And the recipe...

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Jell-O Applesauce Salad
from the kitchen of Pauline Fowler

1 package Jell-O, any flavor
1 cup boiling water
1 cup applesauce

Combine all ingredients. Pour into a mold (or pan if you don't have a mold), and chill. Easy to double.
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See--easy! :) I chose lime Jell-O, and it was also sugar-free. The box of Jell-O I used was the smaller box, and honestly I'm not sure which one is supposed to be used. But the recipe turned out just fine, and tasted really good. If you're going to make it for more than just a couple people, I would definitely double the recipe. I didn't double it, and there was barely enough for the three of us last night. And it also looks much better if you put it into a mold. I didn't have one, so I just used a small pan.

I'm off to get my beauty sleep, lol! Stay tuned for more yummy recipes!

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13