Apple Dumplings

Recipe from www.thepioneerwoman.com

Ingredients

• 2 whole Granny Smith Apples
• 2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1-1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• Cinnamon, To Taste
• 1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda

Preparation Instructions

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

WARNING: Prepare this dish at your own risk. It is beyond imaginable.

Christy's Oriental Salad

1 large head green or purple cabbage-sliced thinly
8 green onions-finely chopped
2 pkg Ramen Noodles, broken up (not the flavor packets)
1 C. slivered almonds
1 C. shelled sunflower seeds
4 chicken breast-cooked, cooled, cubed (or 2 cans-12.5 oz- chicken breast)

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl & add dressing. Cover & refrigerate several hours before serving.

Dressing:
1 C. oil
1/3 C. rice or cider vinegar
1/4 C. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
Mix well in a jar with a lid, so you can shake it. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Paninis

Josh and I LOVED this glorious twist on the traditional grilled cheese sandwich.

On Italian bread (I used homemade foccacia), spread a little pesto;top with tomato slices and part-skim mozzarella cheese slices. Coat outside of bread with cooking spray;brown in skillet, pressing sandwiches with spatula until cheese melts.

Cinnamon Toast

This is THE BEST cinnamon toast EVER! I always beg Josh to make it for me.

• good white bread
• ground cinnamon
• granulated sugar
• unsalted butter

Heat the broiler, toast thick slices of bread on both sides, then butter thoroughly. Mix the cinnamon sugar sugar, sprinkle generously to cover the bread. Put the toast back under the broiler until the sugar starts to melt and bubble. Remove carefully and eat when the toast has cooled enough not to burn your lips. YUM!

Tortilla Soup

This recipe was given to me by my friend Janet. She raged about it for a month and so I finally had to try it.

• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans
• 2 (15-ounce) cans Mexican stewed tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15-ounce) can black olives, halved
• 1 bag frozen corn or 1 can corn
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 small can chopped chili peppers
• 3 large chicken breasts

Put all the ingredients in a crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours. After it is cooked, shred the chicken. Garnish bowels with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream.

Moroccan Lentil Stew

Josh and I have been trying to make time to try some new recipes. The other night we decided to try this recipe out and, though I was skeptical at first, it turned out to be wonderful.

Makes 6 servings
Preparation time:10 minutes

Cooking time:about 25 minutes

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 (28-ounce) can no salt added or regular petite diced tomatoes
• 2 (19-ounce) cans lentil soup (such as Progresso)
• 1(15-ounce) can rinsed reduced-sodium garbanzo beans
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 6 tablespoons nonfat Greek yogurt

Heat oil in a large pan on medium. Add onion;cook 3 minutes or until softened. Add garlic; cook 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes, soup, garbanzo beans, raisins, cinnamon, cumin and red pepper. Bring stew to simmer on medium-high; stir occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until liquid is reduced and sauce has thickened, stirring often to prevent sticking; serve. Garnish each serving with yogurt.

Josh and I took out the onion and the raisins and added zucchini and summer squash. We ate it with flat bread, spinach salad, and couscous.