Chicken Pot Pie with Chive Pepper Biscuits

This recipe is from Joy the Baker and is fabulous!

If you want to feel like a really good wife make this and follow it up with some fresh out of the oven cookies and you will have a happy man...

Guaranteed!

You maybe thinking about taking a short cut and not making the biscuits from scratch... don't do it!  It wasn't too tough.  You can do this - I promise!

*I did less squash and I added celery too.

Quick and Easy Fruit Dip

This is a summer staple at our house.  Definately not swimsuit friendly, but totally worth it!
1 (8 oz.) jar of marshmallow cream
1 (8 oz.) brick of cream cheese, softened
1 small container of cool whip

Mix the marshmallow cream and cream cheese with hand mixer until smooth. Then mix in the cool whip. Serve with your favorite fruit.

*My families favorites are canteloupe, strawberries and watermelon.

Thank You Treats

I need to be better about making treats during daylight hours, then maybe my pictures wouldn't be so yellow - Sorry!

So this is not a fantastic angle but the squares are on top of rounds to look like graduation caps.

I made these for Jaxon's kindergarten teacher.  She is fantastic!  His school colors is green, they are dragons.  These are oreo truffles, dipped in green candy melts and the square is a graham cracker dipped in candy melts.

Super Easy Cornbread

1 stick butter (melted)
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal

Mix butter and sugar.  Add eggs and mix well.  Add baking soda to buttermilk and mix, then add to sugar mixture.  Mix in salt, flour and cornmeal.  Bake in a greased 8x8 pan at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  Can be doubled and put in a 9x13.
Serve warm with honeybutter.

Baking Basics

Unless otherwise noted, when baking (this does NOT count for yeast breads)...
1.  Cream together butter (fat) and sugar
2.  Mix in eggs
3.  Add in wet ingredients
4.  Finally sift together dry ingredients and add them to the wet mixture.

*For cakes from scratch alternate the wet and dry... for example a chocolate cake will have the sifted dry ingredients and will likely call for a cup of boiling water - start by adding a little of the dry mixture then add about half the water, then the dry mixture, the rest of the water and then end with the dry mixture - mixing between each addition.

Chocolate Chip Applesauce Cookies

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. shortening
3 eggs
2 c. applesauce
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
4 c. flour

Cream together sugar and shortening, mix in eggs, then mix in applesauce.  Sift together dry ingredients and add to wet mixture.

Drop with two spoons onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes, depending on cookie sheet and oven.

Texas Beans

4 sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 c. chopped onions
2 cans pork & beans
2 cans chili con carne (with beans)
2 cans kidney beans (rinsed)
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. chili sauce (whole bottle)
2 c. cooked, cubed chicken (optional)

Bake covered 350 for 30 min.

Quick version
On stove top combine everything... skip bacon, onions, and chicken.  Warm through.