Poppy Seed Salad

Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. onion, pureed
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup oil

Combine all salad ingredients and refrigerate overnight to meld flavors together.

Salad:
1 lb. bacon
2 heads green leaf lettuce
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 lb. Swiss cheese, grated
1 small carton small curd cottage cheese

Cook bacon and crumble into small pieces.  Wash and tear lettuce; toss with cheeses and bacon and dressing just before serving.

Poppy Seed Spinach Salad

Salad:
Baby spinach leaves
Cucumber, sliced
Strawberries, quartered
1 large can Mandarin oranges
Sliced purple onion
Sugared slivered almonds

Dressing:

1 cup mayo
1 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Whisk dressing in gredients together.  Toss enough dressing to coat salad ingredients.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

2 chicken breasts
3 carrots
2 celery stalks
½ onion chopped
Nature's Seasons seasoning blend
¼ cup butter
2 Tbsp. flour
3 cans chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 cups egg noodles (or homemade egg noodles, recipe below)
½ cup cream*
Salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken breasts in crock-pot and season with salt and pepper.  Cook on high for 3 - 5 hours (chicken can be frozen, just needs to be cooked longer).  Remove from crock-pot and shred.

Peel and chop carrots, celery and onion.  Generously sprinkle with Nature's Seasonings and sauté in butter until soft, but still firm. Add flour. Cook, stirring until golden brown. Set aside.

In a large pot, bring chicken broth to a boil; add bay leaf, and egg noodles. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add vegetables, shredded chicken and cream; simmer for 15 more minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove bay leaf before serving.

*can use half and half or evaporated milk, just isn't as creamy, obviously.

Homemade Egg Noodles

1 egg, beaten
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbs. milk
1 cup flour (white or whole wheat)

Mix all ingredients together, divide into balls, coat with flour and roll out thin (or use a pasta roller). Use a pizza cutter to cut into small strips and pull apart.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these for my older brother's birthday party last night and they were a HUGE hit!  It makes a large batch, which was a really good thing.  My husband even deemed them "extraordinary."  I found the recipe on allrecipes.com.  It was rated 4 1/2 stars and had been rated 7,128 times, so I figured it must be good...and it is!  As a side note, I always bake my cookies for a minute or two under what the recipe says to ensure truly soft cookies.  Enjoy!

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 12 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 40 Minutes Servings: 72

"Here's an Allrecipes classic and much-loved chocolate chip cookie recipe that uses instant pudding mix in the batter."

INGREDIENTS:

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 cups butter, softened 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla

pudding mix 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips 2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2.	In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3.	Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Easy, Delicious Fruit Salad

Ingredients

• 1 (29 ounce) cans peach slices, undrained
• 1 (20 ounce) cans pineapple chunks, undrained
• 1 (3 1/8 ounce) boxes dry vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 lb strawberries, stemmed and quartered
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1/2 pint blueberries
• 1 bunch grapes (I used green)
  (Supplement with whatever fruit you like/have on hand. I prefer to leave out the blueberries and add oranges instead. I also added apple chunks.)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine peach juice, pineapple juice, and vanilla pudding mix.
2. Mix well until pudding is dissolved.
3. Pour desired amount of pudding sauce over fruit and stir.
4. Chill.

Katie Noel's Cheese Fondue

2 cups chicken bouillon

1/4 tsp garlic powder

4 C (1 lb) Swiss cheese, shredded

3 T cornstarch

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 loaf french bread, toasted.

Do not boil. Heat 1 3/4 c bouillon and garlic until hot. Add cheese, stirring constantly till melted. Cheese may not thoroughly combine with liquid.

In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch, salt, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and nutmeg with 1/4 cup cold bouillon. Stir into cheese mixture. When cornstarch is added, cheese will combine with liquid for smooth blend. Continue heating and stirring until smooth. Serve from fondue pot with cubes of toasted french bread.

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 bottle red food coloring
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food coloring and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Pour batter into pan. This recipe makes more than a regular cake recipe so you can either do 2 9" pans or a 9x13 and then have some left over for a few cupcakes (that's usually what I do). Bake for 35-40 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 pound butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese until smooth, slowly add sugar. Add vanilla.

Or...


1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla

1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar 

I can't remember which one I use...