Pumpkin Enchiladas

1/2 red pepper, diced 1/2 white onion, diced
1 T olive oil
2 tsp chopped garlic (I used the refrigerated kind in a jar)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more or less - according to your taste)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin (maybe more)
1 tsp cinnamon (I used more of this, too)
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed
1 large can pumpkin puree

small corn tortillas (I used about 17)
1 bag Mexican mix finely shredded cheese
2 cans medium red enchilada sauce (I think I used Old El Paso brand)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet. Add onions and peppers. When onions become translucent. Stir in garlic. Add remaining spices. Reduce heat to med-low. Add black beans and pumpkin. Mix all ingredients together and remove from heat.

To assemble enchiladas:

Spray 9"x13" or a few 8"x8" baking pans with non-stick spray. Place about 1/2 T of cheese mixture on a tortilla. Add 1/4 - 1/3 C of pumpkin mixture on top and roll tortilla - not too tight - corn tortillas tend to be fragile. Place folded side down in baking pan. Repeat, placing enchiladas closely, side by side, until pan is full or you run out of ingredients. Pour some sauce over enchiladas. Don't drown the enchiladas. You should still be able to see them under the sauce. You'll need more than one can, but still have a lot left over. Sprinkle more of the cheese over the sauce and bake for 20-30 minutes. Enjoy.

Cake Balls

1 chocolate cake mix (and ingredients on back of box)
1 tub cherry frosting
2 packages milk chocolate almond bark
1 package white chocolate almond bark (opt.)

Bake cake according to directions on box.
While cake is hot and fresh from oven, mix and mash together with tub of frosting till it's one ooey gooey mess.
Place ooey gooey mess in freezer till completely cold.
Roll ooey gooey mess into one-inch balls.
Melt almond bark.
Roll cake balls in chocolate, covering completely.
Place cake balls on wax paper.
Cut small hole in corner of zip-loc bag and put white chocolate inside bag.
Squeeze white chocolate in zig-zags over the cake balls (I did a really sloppy job because the bag exploded).
Leave cake balls on wax paper until chocolate hardens.

You can potentially use any combination of cake and frosting for this recipe. Chocolate cake with cherry frosting is my favorite. I have also added orange extract to vanilla frosting and used that with chocolate cake. That was scrumptious as well. You can also roll cake balls in white chocolate. Be creative!

Apple-Cinnamon Butternut Squash Soup

8          cups cubed seeded peeled butternut squash (2 medium)

1          large apple, peeled, chopped

1          large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

2          tablespoons packed brown sugar

3/4       teaspoon salt

3/4       teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8       teaspoon pepper

4          cups chicken broth

1          container (6 oz) Greek plain yoghurt

2          tablespoons chopped fresh chives

In a large soup pot combine all ingredients except yoghurt and chives.

Cover and heat to boiling.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Blend 1/3 of the mixture at a time or use an immersion blender and blend until smooth.
Return to pot - add yoghurt and mix well.
Serve sprinkled with chives.

recipe modified from here.

Olive Garden Spinach & Artichoke Dip

This recipe is from food.com, my comments are in parentheses. I love this stuff!!

2 fresh artichokes
1 lemon, juice of, squeezed
1 teaspoon salt

OR

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and sliced (I used fresh, but I LOVE canned. Mmmmm.)
1 lb cream cheese, room temperature
8 ounces Mascarpone cheese, room temperature (This is Italian cream cheese. It comes in a tub.)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme leave
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 fresh garlic clove, minced
5 green onions, chopped
salt
ground black pepper
1 (6 ounce) package fresh spinach, chopped
(I added 4-5 slices bacon, cooked crisp then crumbled)
8 slices crusty Italian bread (I used a round loaf of sour dough, sliced thin.)
extra virgin olive oil-to drizzle on bread (I didn't do this step)

1. Artichoke Preparation:.
2. TRIM off stems and dry leaves/ends of leaves
3. BOIL artichokes in 3 quarts water with 1 tsp salt and lemon juice for 30 minutes.
4. COOL artichokes. Clean, peel, remove center “choke” (the hairy part) and slice artichoke.
5. FOLLOW Dip Preparation steps below.
6. Dip Preparation:
7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
8. MIX all ingredients in a large bowl, except bread and extra virgin olive oil. (Room temperature cheese wasn't soft enough to stir, so I microwaved it all together for almost a minute. I figured it was going to get baked anyway.)
9. COAT a large non-stick baking pan with pan spray; fill pan with mixture. Bake at 325ºF for about 25 minutes or until bubbling and center is hot.
10. DRIZZLE both sides of bread with extra virgin olive oil. Grill bread on both sides. (I left out the oil and just used my toaster.)
11. SPRINKLE top of heated dip with Parmesan cheese. Serve hot with grilled bread.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Cheese

I wouldn't say this is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten, but if anyone ever gives me Brussels spouts, I will make this again rather than throw them away.

6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small onion, julienned
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 small Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
1 recipe Basic Brussels Sprouts, recipe follows
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
1-ounce blue cheese, crumbled
Pinch freshly ground nutmeg

Place the bacon into a 10-inch straight-sided saute pan and set over medium-high heat. Cook bacon until crisp and brown. Remove bacon and all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan using a slotted spoon. Decrease the heat to low. Add the onion and cook just until they turn semi-translucent, approximately 3 minutes. Add the salt and apple and continue to cook for another minute. Add the Brussels sprouts, heavy cream and mustard and cook just until the Brussels sprouts are heated through, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the bacon, blue cheese and nutmeg. Serve immediately.

Basic Brussels Sprouts

* 1 pound Brussels sprouts, rinsed
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Cut off the stem end of the Brussels sprouts and remove any yellowing outer leaves. Cut each Brussels sprout in half from top to bottom. Place the Brussels sprouts, water and salt into a 3 to 4-quart saucier and cover. Place over high heat and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Remove and serve immediately.

Olive Garden Stuffed Mushrooms

A recipe from recipezaar, now food.com. Anthony really likes Olive Garden's stuffed mushrooms, so we gave these a shot. My comments are in parentheses.

8-12 fresh mushrooms (I used 17 large-ish ones)
1 (6 ounce) can clams, drained and finely minced, save 1/4 cup of clam juice for stuffing
1 green onion, finely minced
1 egg, beaten (I used 2 because I had so many mushrooms)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1 tablespoon melted butter, cooled
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon finely grated romano cheese
2 tablespoons finely grated mozzarella cheese; for stuffing
1/4 cup finely grated mozzarella cheese; for garnish (I substituted all cheeses for Kraft's Italian Cheese Blend)
1/4 cup melted butter
fresh parsley; for garnish (I never use parsley)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly oil a small baking dish.
3. Gently wash and stem mushrooms; pat dry. Save stems for another recipe. (I included the stems to bulk up my stuffing.)
4. Combine clams, onions, garlic salt, minced garlic, butter and oregano in a bowl and mix well.
5. Add Italian bread crumbs, egg, clam juice, mixing well.
6. Add Parmesan, Romano, and Mozzarella cheeses to the clam stuffing and mix well.
7. Place approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons of the clam stuffing mixture inside mushroom cavity and slightly mound (You should be able to stuff between 8- 12 mushrooms depending on the size of mushrooms. I stuffed 17 and had way more than enough left over. Maybe I should have left out the stems...).
8. Place the stuffed mushrooms in slightly oiled baking dish and pour 1/4 cup melted butter over the top of the mushrooms.
9. Cover and place in oven for about 35- 40 minutes. (This is important! I forgot to cover it and all the cheese and butter in the bottom of the pan burned!)
10. Remove cover; sprinkle the 1/4 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese on top and pop back in oven just so the cheese melts slightly.
11. Garnish with freshly diced parsley.
12. Serve hot.

Apricot-Pineapple Jam

I looked and looked online and only found one recipe that asks for fresh pineapple. The rest say canned.

This is DELICIOUS! I posted the recipe as I found it, and my notes are after it.

5 cups of apricots, (skins removed and pitted--about 4 pounds)
1 medium sized pineapple, peel and core removed (about 1 cup)
1 Box Pectin
6 cups sugar, divided (4 1/2 cups and 1 1/2 cups)
1 pat butter

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
Water bath canning pot and rack. (I used a steam canner and it worked fine.)
Clean jars, lids and rims.
Clean towels, long tongs and a jar lifter (or tongs with rubber grips)
Pot of water for metal lids and rims.
Bowl of ice water (to remove apricot skins)

To easily remove apricot skins, cut a small “x” at the bottom of each fruit.
Gently dunk into a pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes.
Remove, with a slotted spoon.
Starting with the “x”, peel the skins off by sliding with your thumbs. It’s that easy!

Using a food processor (or by hand, if you prefer), pulse the apricots until they are chunky smooth— not pureed. You want bits of apricot for texture.Strain the apricots and reserve the juice.

For the pineapple:
Trim the pineapple by removing the top, cutting off the shell and then cutting into quarters.
Removing the core, is easier.

I like to use my food processor, but you can cut the pineapple, by hand. I pulse the cut pineapple until it’s fine but not pureed.

Strain the pineapple, reserving the juice with the apricot juice. I ended up with about 3/4 cups juice.

In a large pot, add the fruit, box of pectin and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Combine and bring to a low boil.

Slowly stir in the remaining sugar.Bring to a continuous roll, stirring frequently, so it doesn’t stick.

Bring to a gel stage (approximately 10 minutes).

I like to chill a plate in my freezer. Spoon a little of the cooked fruit on the cold plate. Run your finger through it, and see if it separates. Let is sit a minute more and feel the texture. If it gels, it’s ready.

Pour into sterilized clean class jars with lids.

Set the filled jars in a rack, covered by at least 2” of boiling water. Keep the pot covered and set a timer for 10 minutes, from when the water begins to rapidly boil.

Remove from the pot, carefully, with a jar lifter onto a clean towel.

Listen for the “pop” of the vacuum on the lids…and/or press a finger on the top. If it’s firm, you have a good vacuum.

If a jar is not sealed, properly, you can repeat the water bath boil method, or refrigerate this jar and eat within 2 weeks.

A few things happened when I was making the jam.

First: I forgot the butter. No big deal, my sister says it just keeps the jam from foaming. But I scooped the foam into one of the jars and I'm just eating that one first and it's VERY yummy!

Second: The lady says to reserve the juice, but then doesn't say what to do with it. My sister says you use that if you don't have enough fruit to make 5 cups or whatever. This would have been good to know, because I only had 4 cups apricots and I ended up pureeing one cup of pineapple and mixing it in, then chopping up another cup for the pineapple bits. Still tasty, but it gives it a much stronger pineapple flavor.

Third: The tip about the plate REALLY helped. My sister was trying to explain how to test for the gel stage by dipping a spoon in the jam, but when I did it, it still seemed super runny. But when I put it on the plate after the 10 minutes of cooking, it jammed right up.

This is the first time I've ever made jam and it was super easy!

Island Pork Tenderloin Salad

This is another P90X recipe. OMG, it is the best salad on the planet! I crave it all the time! It's a lot of work, but so worth it!

The Pork:
16 oz Lean Pork Tenderloin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t chile powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t cinnamon
2 T olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 T fresh garlic, finely chopped
1/2 T Tabasco sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chile powder, and cinnamon, then coat pork with the spice rub.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over moderately high heat and brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes
3. Stir together brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat onto top of tenderloin. Place pork in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for 20 minutes. (It took closer to 35 for me, but my oven is wacky.)
**I used a glass brownie pan and covered it with foil, so the juices wouldn't escape. Then I pull the pork instead of cutting it in pieces. I also like to make the meat in double batches, and freeze the leftovers, because this is the most time consuming part of the salad.

The Dressing; Cumin Vinaigrette:
4 T Fresh Lime Juice
1 T Orange Juice
1 T Dijon Mustard
1 t Cumin Powder
1/2 t Salt
1/4 t Black Pepper
2 T Olive Oil

Whisk together. Store covered in refrigerator
**The easiest way to measure fresh juice from something, is to squeeze it into a bowl and then spoon it out. Do NOT try to squeeze straight into the spoon!

The Salad:
1 orange, peeled and cut
3 cups fresh spinach
1.5 red bell pepper, cut in strips
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 cups cabbage, shredded
16 oz Island Pork Tenderloin
cumin vinaigrette dressing

1. Peel and cut oranges crosswise into ¼ inch thick slices and set aside.
2. Toss spinach, cabbage, bell pepper, and raisins in a large bowl.
3. Prepare the dressing.
4. Mound salad mixture on a large plate. Arrange pork and orange slices on top and drizzle with dressing.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

Since you make these with whole wheat flour, you can pretend they're healthy! Right up until you pour syrup all over them. They are my FAVORITE pancakes, and they taste good even after you refrigerate them.

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (I used regular milk)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 cup frozen blueberries

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and egg white, stirring with a whisk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Add frozen blueberries.

Heat a nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle. Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Serve with syrup and butter.

Notes:
If you use tiny blueberries, don't use a full cup. it will be blueberry overload!
Sometimes I like to mash in 1 or 2 super ripe bananas. This makes them VERY moist (which I like) but maybe you'd want to cut back on the milk to 1 1/3 cups instead of 1 1/2.

Miso Soup

We got this recipe from a P90X cookbook, but made a few alterations. I'm also going to give you some tips:

*Miso is soy bean curd. They sell it at Asian grocery stores. It's about a pound, and in the refrigerated section. I used yellow Miso.
*Tofu goes bad after about a week. If the water is discolored, or it's extra slimy, or it smells bad, throw it away. To prolong the life of your tofu, you should replace the water every day and keep it in an airtight container. Tofu is also found in the refrigerated section, but you can get it at most grocery stores.

Miso Soup

½ t Dark Sesame Oil

⅓ c Onions -- finely chopped

3 T Miso

1 quart Vegetable Stock

¼ c Firm Silken Tofu – diced

Optional: 3-6 finely sliced mushrooms

3 T Green Onion -- sliced for garnish

1. Heat the sesame oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent.

2. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Remove a small amount of stock and dissolve miso in it. Add miso, tofu, and mushrooms to stock. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish each serving with green onion.

Sorry I don't have any pictures!

Almost Vegetarian Lemon Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies

Somehow, we’ve got three full bags of powdered sugar in our 2 bedroom apartment. I have a suspicion they are leftovers from cupcakes never made, but I couldn’t tell you for certain. Anyway, when I happened upon a recipe that would use the leftover summer squash in my fridge and powdered sugar, I was sold. Luckily, these little cookies taste great too and are fairly healthy for you too. Well, healthy enough that I didn’t feel too guilty about eating them for breakfast and Kelli triumphantly called them “Vegetarian Cookies!” (Somehow she’s embraced my almost-vegetarianism as much as I have). When Kelli ate them, she said that she loved them so much she wanted to get them pregnant. Now, if that’s not a voucher for these cookies-I’m not sure what is. Enjoy!

Adapted from Everyday Food

Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon packed finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 cup fine cornmeal
• 1 medium summer squash or zucchini, grated on small holes of a box grater (about 1 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Add flour and cornmeal and mix until mixture is crumbly. Add zucchini and stir until a thick dough forms.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are light golden brown at edges, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool completely on wire racks.

Makes 25 cookies.

Notes: I only had summer squash in my fridge so I used it. The cookies were delicious, and although the green specks of a zucchini would make the cookies a little less yellow or orange-feel free to use what you have.

The next time I make these I may add a little bit of spice, but they aren’t lacking for flavor at all.

Oatmeal choc chip cookies

This is my new favourite cookie recipe. I used to have a picture but I can't find it. You should probably thank me.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats, regular or quick
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 eggs
2 cups (1 bag) choc chips

Method:
Preheat over to 350'f.
Cover baking sheets with foil.
Blend oats until finely ground.
Combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.

In another bowl cream butter, sugars, vanilla and lemon juice.
Add eggs and beat until fluffy.

Stir flour mixture into egg mixture.
Blend well.
Add chocolate chips and mix well.
Scoop dough into balls and place on baking sheet.

Bake until lightly browned 16-18 minutes.
Transfer to cooling rack and cool completely.

Penne alla Betsy alla Laura

This recipe is a Pioneer Woman recipe modified. It can be found on page 188 of her cookbook or here.

1 pound penne pasta
1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped - 1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (14.5 ounces)

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped parsley

6 basil leaves, cut in chiffonade

salt

pepper

Cook penne until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil and butter in sauce pan.
Add onion and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent.

Add chicken stock and simmer.

Pour in tomato sauce and stir.
Reduce heat.

Pour in cream and stir.
Simmer.
Add basil and parsley. Stir.
Add cooked pasta and stir gently.
Add more broth if too thick.

Season well.

Serve.

You can add shrimp, chicken, bacon, sausage or olives. Dress it up, dress it down. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top... YUM!

Stuart's Pico

6 tomatoes
2 med. onions
~10 tomatillos
1/2 a bunch of cilantro
salt
pepper
lime juice
lemon juice

Dice and mix all vegetables.
Finely chop cilantro
Add lime and lemon juice to taste along with salt and pepper
For some heat and a nice flavour add a couple of jalapeños

Black Beans

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it.
Add beans, tomato juice, and salt.
Continually stir until heated through.
Just before serving, stir in the cilantro.

(**NOTE** you can add a can of corn, drained, to the beans with a dash of cumin and chili powder.)

Bajio Sweet rice

1/2-1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 of a white onion, chopped (add more or less to your taste or use green onion)
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1 1/3 cups raw white rice
3 cups chicken broth
1/4-1/2 cup white sugar

Directions

Put a little oil in bottom of pan (maybe about 1/2-1 tablespoon).

Saute chopped onion until translucent. Add the chopped cilantro (no big stems) and saute a minute more.

Add the rice, cooking until it is light brown (being careful not to burn).

Combine the chicken broth and sugar, letting sugar dissolve. Then stir into rice until combined. Bring to a boil.

Cover and let cook on low, med-low until rice is done, about 25-30 minutes.

Fluff with a fork before serving.

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 cup chicken broth
3 pounds potatoes, thinly sliced
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
Handful of chopped green onion

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix cream cheese, sour cream and broth in large bowl until well blended.
Add potatoes, onion, 1-3/4 cups of the cheese; stir gently to coat all ingredients.
Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake 1 hour or until casserole is heated through and potatoes are tender.

This is such a versatile recipe - add ham, different cheese etc. This recipe accompanied the sugar glazed pork below... don't trust the potato picture, it's much tastier than it looks.

Sticky, yummy, brown sugary pork roast.

Ingredients:
1 pork roast, about 5 pounds (pulled pork roast)
1 clove garlic, cut in half (a teaspoon of minced garlic)
salt and pepper

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (normal yellow mustard)
3 tablespoons balsamic or cider vinegar (normal distilled vinegar)
Preparation:

Rub pork roast all over with cut sides of the garlic; sprinkle with
salt and pepper.
Place roast on a rack in a roasting pan.
Roast at 325° for about 2 hours.

Brush with glaze (see below) 
Continue roasting for about 30 minutes longer, or until pork registers 160 to 170 degrees F. when a meat thermometer is inserted into a meaty part of the roast (not touching bone).

Brown Sugar Glaze:
Combine glaze ingredients in a saucepan; blend well.
Stir over medium-low heat until bubbly.
Set aside.

Let roast rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Serves 6 to 8.

Text in bold is changes I made to the recipe. It turned out DELICIOUS.

Summer Strawberry Tart!

What you need:
1 pie crust
1 pint of whipping cream, whipped and sweetened
1 punnit of strawberries
1 tub of strawberry glaze

Whip the cream and put it in the crust.
Half the strawberries and put on top of the cream.
Smother with strawberry glaze.
Chill.


(If you have the will power to chill it rather than just digging in don't forget to cover it. Cream sucks up the smell of anything in the fridge and makes it taste like it.)

What are your favourite summer recipes?

Chicken Pie & Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This is a variation on a pie that my brother's girlfriend made for us over Christmas. The ingredients in brackets are my variation. You can make it either way and feel free to add your own extra's.

Ingredients:
Roast chicken, stripped (2 cooked chicken breasts cubed)
1 chopped onion
4 rashers of bacon, raw (10 rashers of streaky/American bacon, raw)
2-3 cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup (3 cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup)
puff pastry

(I added: a good shake of paprika and a few handfuls of baby carrots cut into thirds.)

Method:

Put chicken, onion, bacon (chopped and raw), soup and anything else you fancy into a bowl and mix.
Put mixture into a 9x13 pyrex dish.
Cover with pastry. I use one package of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry. Fold under the extra dough around the edges to lift it off of the soupy mixture a little.
Score the top of the pastry but don't cut all the way through it - this helps it puff up better.

Bake at 375'f for 45 minutes.

Garlic Parmesan Mashed potatoes
Ingredients:
Potatoes with skins still on - I make enough for leftovers to go with the leftover pie.
Butter
Milk/sour cream
Garlic powder
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan cheese

Boil the potatoes until soft and strain
Put potatoes, a good nob of butter, good shake of garlic powder and a splash of milk in a big bowl.
Use a handheld whisk or food mixer to whisk the potatoes.
Once chunks are all out add more milk, salt and pepper, mix again.
Taste. Add more of what you think it needs. You can also add some cream cheese to it.

Once it's the consistency you like - I like them light and fluffy so I whisk them on high for a bit and add a touch more milk to fluff them up.
Once it tastes good put it in an over safe dish, don't squish it down.
Put a few pats of butter on top and sprinkle parmesan cheese over.
Put in the oven with the pie for the last 20 minutes or so of baking.

Cheesy Chicken Chowder:

From page 33 of Taste of Home's Prize Winning Recipes cookbook.

3 cups chicken broth
2 cups diced, peeled potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheese
2 cups diced, cooked chicken

In a 4 quart saucepan bring chicken broth to a boil.
Reduce heat; add potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan; add flour and mix well.
Gradually stir in milk; cook over low heat until slightly thickened.
Stir in cheese and cook until melted.

Add cheese mixture to broth and add chicken.
Cook and stir over low heat until heated through.

Yield: 6-8 servings.

*I didn't add celery but did add a lot more onion. Broccoli would be a good add to this as would bacon. It's so good!