Help - Novi, MI

allrecipes.com is the best! You can even look for recipies by ingredients you have at home, or things you don't want in the recipe.

Black Eye Peas & Ham

1 Bag of dried Black Eye Peas
1 tsp salt
Any type of ham you have - chopped up (not sweet ham)

1. In a large saucepan, dump the whole bag of dried beans. Cover them with water by about an inch. Add salt. Bring to a boil.
2. Dump water and beans into a colander. Rinse pan. Rinse beans with cool water and pick out any beans that are scarred.
3. Return beans to pan and cover again with water by about an inch.
4. Add bite size chunks of ham.
5. Bring to a boil, then turn back to a simmer and cover.
6. Let it simmer for hours until peas are tender, stirring from time to time.
7. I like to cook it for four or five hours because I like the peas to break down adding texture to the water, which thickens it.
8. Serve in bowls.

I make cornbread to go with it. It is even better reheated the next day.

* This is a very healthy meal as ham is low fat and the beans are full of fiber. It's excellent for anyone in Weight watchers as a whole cup is only two WW points.

** Recipe Origin: Kentucky

Hi S.. My mother-in-law told me about this website that is great. www.menus4moms.com It is a free site. They actually email me every week with a dinner menu for the week. You go onto the website for the recipes. You can pick and chose if that is what you want but it has really good ideas. They even have menus for the major holidays. You can even sign up for daily emails for cleaning your house so it's not overwhelming. Each week is a different part of the house, they give you one task and tell you to only spend 15 minutes on it. I really like it.

I like the allrecipes.com site as well.

Good luck and have fun!

You can try www.dinewithoutwhine.com/MenusMadeEasy
www.kidapprovedmeals.com/HappyKids
www.menuplanningcentral.com/MealsForYou
You can get good info off these as well as having menus and grocery lists sent to your email box for a low monthly price if you choose. You can also sign up for a free newsletter.
Good luck.

leftover turkey casserole

turkey, sour cream, box stove top, shredded cheese, fresh broccoli, can mushroom soup, 2 eggs,

chop up turkey to small pieces, put in a standard casserole dish or baking pan, put in slightly beaten eggs, 8oz sour cream, can of soup, and broccoli mix it up and bake at 350/375 for bout and hour til bubbly, add stuffing to top it off and cheese, let cheese brown and vuelah... something is done with that damn dark meat no one wants.

Chicken Pot Pie

INGREDIENTS:

4 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
4 chicken breast halves, or 2 cups leftover cooked chicken
Seasoned salt and pepper
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken base
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 small yellow onion, minced
1 cup frozen green peas, cooked
1 cup chopped cooked carrots
Pinch fresh grated nutmeg, optional

DIRECTIONS FOR CRUST:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Cut each sheet of frozen puff pastry into 1-inch strips, 8 inches long.

3. On a large cookie sheet, weave strips into a lattice large enough to cover each potpie. Brush beaten egg onto each lattice square.

4. Bake for 5 minutes or until dough has risen and turned light golden brown. Set aside until ready to assemble pies. Leave oven on at 350 degrees F.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Add chicken and sauté until cooked through. Remove from heat and cut into chunks. Alternatively, you may use precooked chicken.

3. In a large saucepan, melt butter and then slowly add flour, stirring until consistency of peanut butter, but not brown like a roux. Slowly add cream and keep stirring.

4. Add chicken base, garlic, and onion and stir until thickened. Add peas, carrots, nutmeg, and cut up chicken.

5. Remove from heat. Fill 4 individual ovenproof bowls with chicken mixture and then top each with a pre-cooked lattice square.

6. Bake for 5 minutes or until bubbly. Any remaining pie filling may be frozen.

Cheese Ravioli with Broccoli and Garlic Butter

INGREDIENTS:

One bag of frozen cheese ravioli
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot
½ Cup butter
¼ Cup Pine Nuts
Broccoli, chopped into flowerettes
2/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese
Spinach leaves (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook ravioli as directed on package.

2. Parboil broccoli in a separate pot.

3. In a skillet, heat butter, garlic and shallot until emulsified together. If using spinach, add into butter and garlic mixture and let it reduce.

4. When pasta is cooked, add to the butter mixture. Add the pine nuts and parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.


Mjadra (Lentil Pottage)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked lentils
1 cups water
1 large onion, chopped
¾ cup olive oil
1/8 Tsp. Pepper
1/8 Tsp. Cumin
Salt to taste
½ Cup uncooked rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse lentils and place in a pan with water. Boil for 20 minutes on medium fire.

2. Sauté chopped onions in oil (with pot covered). Add onions and residue, seasonings and rice to the lentils.

3. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. It thickens as it cools and can be served warm or cold.

Hi S., try Betty crocker.com. There are great recipes there......Good Luck!

Go to kraftfoods.com. I find a lot of good ideas from there.

My favorite website is
www.allrecipes.com Tons of good stuff

Here is an easy Meatball Recipe that I posted last week (its easy/tasty/and most have all the ingredients already in the house.)

Meatballs
1 lb extra lean ground beef
10 crushed saltine crackers
1/8 cup italian dressing

Sauce
1/8 cup italian dressing (yes, you need this twice)
1 beef bullion cube
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
Cheddar cheese shredded (if desired)
Green onion (if desired)

Mix the meat, crushed saltine crackers and 1/8 c dressing together and form into balls.

**I usually double this next part so I get more sauce**

Place additional 1/8 c dressing into a skillet and heat up. Add meat and cook approimately 8 minutes or until browned (mostly cooked). Dissolve 1 beef bullion cup in 1/2 cup water and place into skillet with meatballs. Continue to simmer about 5 minutes. Take 1/2 cup sour cream and add to skillet - heat until warm. Top meatballs with cheddar cheese/green onions and let melt. Put on egg noodles or eat alone.