Instant Mocha

My older son, Steven, loves his morning coffee. This is his recipe.


1/2c instant coffee
1c sugar
1c powdered milk
1/4c powdered creamer
1/4c unsweetened cocoa
1/4c instant vanilla pudding mix

Mix all together in a bowl. Pour into quart sized jar. Use 3-4T per cup of hot water. Don't leave out the pudding mix - that's what makes it creamy.

Super Easy Sloppy Joes

Or as my mother calls them - Juicy Pigs


1 pound ground beef, browned
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup tomato sauce
2T brown sugar

I didn't have tomato sauce, so I used a cup of jarred spaghetti sauce and will do that again. Just mix this all together and simmer until you're ready to eat. Really, really good. We use hoagie buns rather than hamburger buns just for a change. And of course, potato chips and pickles and cheese.

Crustless Cheese Quiche

A friend brought this to work the other night and I can honestly say that it was the best quiche I've ever eaten - and I've eaten a LOT of quiche!! Hope you enjoy it too. Thanks, Sherri!


2 Cups small curd cottage cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
2 tablespoons chopped black olives ( I left out of mine)
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 F. In bowl, combine cottage cheese, Monterey jack cheese,
cheddar cheese, eggs, butter, chiles and 2 tablespoons olives. (This can be
prepared ahead & refrigerated.)
Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to cheese mixture and mix well.
Transfer to greased 9 inch pie plate. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F;
bake 30 minutes longer or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
ENJOY!!

Pizza Crust

From the SL forums. We are now totally hooked on homemade pizza.

1 cup warm water
1 Tbl yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
2.5 cups flour
dried italian spices

Mix together water, yeast and sugar. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Then add salt, oil, flour and spices; mix together then let sit for about 15 minutes. Roll onto large pizza pan, top with favorite toppings, bake for 20 minutes at 425.

Maple-Butter Syrup

My boys just love pancakes and syrup for dinner. Can't say I blame them.


1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
maple flavored extract
butter flavored extract

Mix together sugars and water and corn syrup, heat until sugars melted, just below boiling. Remove from heat. Add 1 capful each of extracts. Let cool before storing. Makes just shy of two cups.

Pork Chops with Apple Stuffing

My youngest son licks all the plates


6-8 pork chops, enough to fill 13x9 dish
3-4 sweet potatoes, sliced
1 can apple pie filling
1 box instant stuffing mix, fixed as directed

Pour apple pie filling into 13x9 dish, set pork chops on top, cover with sweet potato slices. Spread prepared stuffing all over top. "Spread" may be a bit optimistic; place stuffing evenly over entire dish. Cover. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Sausage & Corn Chowder

This one definately made the cut


1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup butter, divided
1 lb Kielbasa, diced
1 lb new potatoes, cubed
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 qt chicken broth
2 cups frozen corn
1 qt half and half
1/2 t baking soda
3 T all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion in 1/4 cup butter in large saucepan. Add kielbasa; cook until browned. Stir in potatoes, celery and broth; bring to boil. Add corn, half and half, and baking soda; simmer for 10 minutes and set aside. In a seperate saucepan, melt remaining butter; add flour. Stir for 2 minutes; add to soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I used regular smoked sausage because that's what I had. I also simply added the flour and remaining butter into the soup at the end and heated for a bit longer - not sure if that made a difference or not but it was GREAT.