Stuffing

I love this recipe for stuffing and every year I wonder why we only make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is really easy and you can bake it uncovered to get the top crispy or covered to keep it moist. I have found that stuffing recipe's and the way to cook it are a hot topic and everyone has their own opinion, but this recipe has not failed the crowds yet!

The Recipe:

Saute 1 cup of celery, 1 cup of onions and 1 cup of mushrooms in 2 sticks of butter. Yes two sticks of butter....then go work out!!

Once the vegetables are soft, add 1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, thyme and sage. I mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl first and add to the pan with fresh parsley. You can use 2 T fresh parsley or 1 T dried parsley.

Add contents of pan to one bag of cubed stuffing in a big bowl. Add about 8 ounces of chicken broth to the mix and stir together. It should be moist, but if it appears too dry slowly add more chicken broth. Bake in a large casserole dish for 20-30 minutes. I baked mine for 15 covered and then 15 uncovered.

• Ingredients:
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup each celery, onion, mushrooms
• 1 t each garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, sage thyme
• 2 T fresh parsley
• 1 bag of cubed stuffing
• 8 ounces of chicken broth

Garlic Butter Green Beans

This dish was a hit at our house and two of my boys loved it! The butter and the garlic is what made the difference. Who would have thought that all I needed to do to get the boys to eat their veggies was throw some butter and garlic in! They loved it.

The Recipe:

For this recipe I used about half a pound of green beans. Add more butter and garlic if you have more beans. Begin by trimming the ends of the green beans and cleaning them under running water. Boil in a small sauce pan with just enough water to cover for 5 minutes. Drain from pan and set aside.

Add 2 T butter and 1 clove of chopped garlic to pan and let cook for a minute. Return beans to pan to mix with garlic butter and serve.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

This recipe is from Martha Stewart and it is delicious. It's not like we need any more sugar around Halloween time but this recipe is so good with the sweet and spicy flavors on the baked pumpkin seeds. They are addictive and delicious. Try this recipe with your pumpkin seeds. You will not be disappointed!

The Recipe:

5 T sugar

1/4 t salt

1/4 t cumin

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t ground ginger

1 pinch of cayenne pepper

1 1/2 T oil

1 cup of pumpkin seeds

Bake pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet at 250 for one hour stirring occasionally. Let seeds cool. In a medium bowl combine 3 T sugar, salt, cumin, cinnamon ginger and cayenne and set aside Meanwhile heat oil in pan and add remaining 2 T sugar. Cook until sugar melts and seeds begin to caramelize, about 1 minute.

Remove from heat and add to bowl with spices and stir well to coat.

Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry

This recipe is quick, healthy and delicious. You only need chicken, broccoli and your stir fry sauce of choice. I used a new one for this recipe and it is very good.

It is made by The Ginger People and it is a marinade and/or cooking sauce. It had a little spicy kick to it and it did taste like ginger!

The Recipe:

Cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and cook in a wok until no longer pink. Remove from wok and add about 3 T of stir fry sauce.

Add your chopped broccoli and cover pan with a lid. Let the sauce steam the broccoli for about 3 - 4 minutes. Add chicken back into pan and cook for a few minutes more to let the sauce combine with all ingredients. Serve with white or brown rice.

Baked Chicken Wings

Looking for an appetizer for a football game? This is it! They are super easy to make and they are just as good as the restaurant version.

For this recipe I used the chicken wings that were not frozen. I found them in the chicken section at the grocery store. I have also used the frozen ones and found that they both work well. Place chicken wings on a foil lined tray and bake for 45 minutes at 375.

Meanwhile melt a stick of butter and mix with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot sauce.

After 45 minutes of cooking, remove from oven and toss with sauce. Turn on the broiler and cook for another 15 minutes to get the skin crispy. Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing.

The Ultimate Hamburger

Making a hamburger is easy. Everyone can make hamburgers and do it pretty quickly. I have found though that the best hamburgers are the ones made with ground chuck beef. You need to have a little fat in the meat to help make it juicy. If you are looking for a healthy meal, this probably isn't it!

The next important thing is a good bun. Try to branch out from the typical hamburger buns and get bigger ones that you toast with butter.

Put your toppings on the toasted buns. Ours were lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup, mayo, mustard, cheese and bacon....yum!

Enjoy!

Lobster Roll

Lobster rolls are the best thing to eat out east. They even serve them at McDonald's! They are so easy to make and delicious! Serve the salad on a toasted hot dog bun which is traditional or on a crunchy roll like we did. Either way...awesome!

Salad recipe:

1 pound of lobster meat

2 T mayo

1 t fresh lemon juice

1 green onion chopped finely

1 celery stalk chopped finely

pinch of salt and pepper and fresh chives (optional)

Mix together and serve on a toasted bun.