Grandma Lich's Seven Layer Salad

1 Head of Lettuce-chopped
1/2 onion-sliced then broken apart
1 pkg frozen peas
1 head of cauliflower-sliced
2 cups sliced celery

Dressing: 
2 cups Miracle Whip or Mayo (it is an entire small jar)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Mix dressing.  Spread on top of salad and seal edges.  Top with 1# crisp bacon crumbled.Top thiswith 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese. Cover and set in fridge for 24 hours.  Toss and Serve!

One of my very favorite foods! Eat it within a day or so of "tossing and serving" because it starts to get a bit soggy.  Each one of us leaves out something when we make it.  Grandma cuts out the onions, mom the peas and I leave out the celery! 

Walnut Berry Muffins

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup corn meal or (1/2 cup corn and 1/2 cup ground flax seed)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 ripe banana, mashed
3 large eggs
1/4 cup canola or applesauce
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup berries- lightly smash half and leave the other half whole
1/2 cup (ish) walnuts for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients. Set aside.  Mix all wet ingredients but berries.  Add the wet to the dry, mix until just combined.  Fold in the berries.  Fill greased muffin pan 3/4 cup full-makes about 18 with this much batter in the cups.  Top with walnuts.  Bake 20 minutes or until done. Consume.

This is adapted from here.  I made the original recipe today and decided it was good but definitely needed to have some things changed to better suit us.  You can use muffin liners but be warned your muffin will stick to it horribly and leave a nice bit behind, I suggest going without them-but I also use silicon muffin pans!  These are not the normal sweet muffins, they have a good flavor but not the normal super sweet am-I-eating-a-cupcake? muffin.


calories 103
fat 5.3
carbs 11
fiber 2
protein 3
(using flax and corn mix, oil, 2% milk)

Hawaiian Haystacks

4-5 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk

Toppings:
1 pkg crispy Chow Mein Noodles
almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, cashews
sliced green onions
coconut
pineapple-crushed or tidbits, drained
sliced olives
mandarin oranges, drained
soy sauce
diced green peppers
diced tomatoes

Chunky Chicken Gravy:
Combine chicken, cream of chicken soup and milk.  Heat until desired thickness and temperature is reached.

To assemble.  
Rice
Gravy
Any combination of toppings from the above list or anything else that would be good with it

A classic.  This particular combination is from Phil's family's cookbook. 

Peanut Chicken Tenders

1 egg
1 tsp mustard (Dijon or regular)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lbs chicken breast (sliced)
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup peanuts

Preheat oven to 400.  In shallow bowl mix egg, mustard, salt and pepper.  Set aside.  Place peanuts in food processor to make course crumbs.  Spray cookie sheet with spray.  Dip chicken in egg, then roll in peanut crumbs; place on the cookie sheet.  Drizzle oil over chicken tenders.  Bake 11-13 minutes.

I've had this recipe since we were first married.  I first had them for a dinner before prom with some friends.  I loved them and later made them myself.  I do not know where I found the recipe, so I'm sorry. 

Whole Wheat Cornbread

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 cup butter (softened)

Preheat oven to 425. Mix all dry ingredients.  Add in wet individually.  Mix until just combined.  For muffins bake at 425 for 13-15 minutes.  For a pan bake at 425 for 16-20 minutes.  

I found this recipe when we were first married.  I have no clue where I found it but I love it.  They are my favorite, they even beat out Jiffy Mix for me.  I also grind my own wheat and corn for this recipe.  Just grind the normal popcorn and store it in the fridge.  I normally do a whole bag and it lasts well in the fridge without going rancid. 

Mushroom Quinoa Soup

1 lbs mushrooms sliced (any edible kind)
1 cup wine (we don't have wine so I use 3/4 cup fruit juice, 1/4 cup water and a bit of vinegar)
1 large carrot chopped
1 onion diced
1 celery stalk
2 TBL butter
2 TBL flour
4 cups broth (chicken, turkey or vegetable) or 4 cups of water and 3 bullion cubes
1/3 cup quinoa uncooked

Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Add flour stirring to break down lumps until browning.  Once it begins to brown put in the carrot, onion and celery stirring to coat.  Slowly add the wine or wine substitute. Simmer 20 minutes or until thickened.  You are making a roux.

In another pot add the broth and bring to  simmer.  Add mushrooms. Simmer 10-20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes are up on veggies add the mushroom and broth to it.  Add quinoa and stir.  Cook for 20 minutes or until tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Frosting

1 cup Butter
1 cup Shortening


Mix together until well combined. 
Add:

4 Tablespoons Hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract (don't skip this!)

Mix together until well combined then Add:

1 bag (2lbs) powdered sugar

Mix this together for sometime.  You may need to do 1/2 the bag mix and then add in the rest of the bag.  Let it mix until it is completely white the longer it goes the whiter it will get.  

The original recipe continues on to add more water, but I like a really fluffy thick frosting.  If you need it thinner you can add more Hot water (2-4 Tablespoons) to make it the correct consistency, I've done it this way and just didn't like the results nearly as much in the end.

I make this in a large KitchenAid mixer, it may need to be cut in half or added slower if you have a smaller mixer.