Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

Great to feed a crowd!

INGREDIENTS:
6-8 chicken breasts
3 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp dried leaf sage
1 pkg Ritz crackers, crushed
Hamburger buns

DIRECTIONS:
* Cover chicken breasts well with soup in crock pot
* Cook on high 5 hours
* Shred cooked chicken on cutting board and return to crock pot
* Add herbs, crackers and mix well
* Cook on low for 1 hour

Servings: 10

Haystacks

When I made the Amish Haystack dinner, I thought it would be "cute" to make Haystacks for dessert as well. These are very easy and delicious!

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 can (3 ounces) chow mein noodles
1 cup miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:
Melt butterscotch chips an peanut butter in the microwave. Stir every 30 seconds until melted. Fold in the chow mein noodles, then marshmallows. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased waxed paper. Cool.

Yield: 2 dozen.

Hot Buttered Pretzels

I decided to make some homemade pretzels when our friend Kali was over the other day. I had to choose between a couple recipes. I went with one from my King Arthur Flour Cookbook and it was a winner! (Notice this is another great use for a Silpat! LOVE those things...)

INGREDIENTS:

Dough
2 1/2 cups unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup warm water*

Topping
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
coarse, kosher or pretzel salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

DIRECTIONS:

Manual/Mixer Method: Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl, and beat till well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, till it's soft, smooth, and quite slack. Flour the dough and place it in a bag, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper (or a SILPAT).

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the sugar, and place it in a shallow bowl.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 long), and twist each rope into a pretzel, as illustrated. Dip each pretzel in the sugar water (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets.

Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown, reversing the baking sheets halfway through.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Yield: 8 pretzels.

Garlic Beef Enchiladas

This is a Taste of Home recipe that I decided to make for my April OAMC. I froze this as a "kit" and it was very easily prepared and baked later.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes

SAUCE:
4 to 6 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 flour tortillas (6 inches), warmed
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:
In a large saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the flour and seasonings until blended. Stir in tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, saute garlic in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in tomato sauce and seasonings; heat through.

TO FREEZE: Cool down sauce and meat mixture in separate gallon sized freezer bags. Measure shredded cheese into quart freezer bag. Put all three components into one gallon size bag and freeze. Thaw in refrigerator and continue with recipe below.

Pour about 1-1/2 cups sauce into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Spread about 1/4 cup beef mixture down the center of each tortilla; top with 1-2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up tightly; place seam side down over sauce. Top with the remaining sauce.

Cover and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 10-15 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted.

Yield: 5 servings.