Kera's Sweet Chili

This is really Kera's Dad's recipe. I hope she doesn't mind me sharing :-) It is one of our family's favorites, and it's one of those recipes that can feed a lot of people (without me thinking a whole lot) Hope you enjoy too! See Kera's blog for more awesome recipes!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs hamburger
1 large can (about 48 oz) Tomato Juice
1 large can (half the size of juice can) Diced Tomatoes
1 can whole tomatoes
2 cans whole spice chili beans
1 medium onion (chopped) I prefer sweet onion
2 small cans of mushrooms (pieces and stems)
1 c sugar
2-3 t chili powder

1. Brown hamburger in bottom of large pan and drain
2. Add all ingredients and bring to boil
3. Reduce heat to low, boil, and cover. Cook at least 1 hour, but try to cook longer.
4. Enjoy!

Or you can throw it all into the crock pot (with the meat raw) and cook in the crock pot 4 hours on high. (That's what I do because I'm lazy).

Tastes great on first day, but even better as reheated leftovers. You can freeze and use leftovers too, and still tastes awesome! Try it- you'll like it!!!!!

My meemaw's Rhubarb cake

1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 veggie oil
1 egg
1 T vanilla
1 c sour milk (or 1 T vinegar and add enough milk to get to 1 cup)
1 T baking soda
1/2 T salt
2 c flour
2 c finely chopped rhubarb

Mix separately: 1/3 c sugar and 1 T cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 350. Mix brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla, sour milk, soda, salt and flour in bowl. Mix until well blended. Fold in chopped rhubarb. Pour into greased and floured 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with sugar mixture. Bake for 40 mins.

Butterscotch brownies

1/4 c shortening or veggie oil
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
3/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1/2 c chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350. Heat shortening over low heat until melted; remove from heat. Mix in brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients, Spread in 8x8 pan. Bake 25 mins.

Grandma Kolberg's Heath Bar dessert

2 c flour
2 c brown sugar
1/2 c soft butter
1 T baking soda
1 egg
1 T vanilla
1 c milk
5 full sized heath bars

Combine: flour, brown sugar, and butter (set aside 1 c of mixture).

To the rest of mixture add: baking soda, egg, vanilla, and milk.

For topping: 5 full size frozen heath bars.

Preheat oven to 350. Blend all together (except heath bars and reserved mix). Grease and flour 9 x 13 pan. Empty batter into pan. Place frozen bars in another pan and break using rolling pin/ hammer. Mix broken heath bars into reserved mix. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 for 30-40 mins. Cool before cutting.

"Funeral" potatoes

This is one of my favorite sides dishes.

Serves 10-12

1 small-medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp. butter
1 28-oz. bag shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 c. sour cream
1 10-oz. can cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom) soup
2 1/4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

OPTIONAL: Crushed cornflakes, seasoned bread crumbs, crushed potato chips, or crushed Ritz or saltine crackers

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.  Remove from heat.  Add the thawed hash browns, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheese, salt, and pepper and combine well.  Add additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Spread the mixture into a 9×13″ (or similar) dish and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the casserole is hot in the center and the cheese is bubbly throughout. 

My favorite mix for salad

No measurements- sorry, but some approximations. This is my favorite salad- the kids agree.

Lettuce (I prefer romaine, but iceburg is fine too)
carrots (chopped or grated)
mandarin oranges (small can, drained)
raisins
bacon bits (optional)
cashews (this is my favorite part, as you can imagine Sam skips this part as he doesn't like nuts in things)
cheese (preferable a mix like Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend)

Put in a bowl as listed above. Very easy and good for you!

Super Easy chicken

I almost feel silly posting this, but it's a favorite staple of our house:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Put 4 (boneless) chicken breast in a pan. Melt 1/4 c butter and put over chicken. Sprinkle with 1-2 t seasoned salt. Bake for 50 mins and voila! Yummy chicken! I like to serve it with mashed potatoes and gravy.