Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

4 cooked chicken breasts
1 (16 oz.) pkg. egg noodles
2 carrots, chopped or sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup onion, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Cook chicken by boiling until tender. Dice the chicken and set aside. Cook noodles according to package directions. Boil carrots and celery until tender. Add the vegetables, chicken and cream soup to the cooked noodles. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Almond Fudge

4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
16 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely shopped
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow creme
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted & chopped
1 tsp. vanilla

Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, extending foil over edges. Lightly butter foil. Set aside. Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in heavy 4-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a full boil (17 to 20 minutes). Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees (15 to 17 minutes). Remove from heat. Gradually stir in chocolate until melted. Stir in marshmallow creme until well mixed. Stir in almonds and vanilla. Spread fudge into prepared pan. Cool completely. Cover; refrigerate. Cut into 1-inch squares. Enjoy!

*Tip: To toast almonds, heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds onto un-greased 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until golden brown.

Buckeyes

16 oz. jar peanut butter
1-1/2 boxes powdered sugar
2 sticks of butter

Melt 2 sticks of butter and pour over powdered sugar and peanut butter. Combine above ingredients real well. Form into small balls and refrigerate about 2 hours.

In double broiler:
Combine 12 to 18 oz. of chocolate chips and a 1/2 cake of parafin wax. Cook over medium heat till melted and blended.
Dip buckeyes in chocolate mixture with toothpicks, covering half of buckeyes with chocolate. Chill and serve. Enjoy!

Tomato Soup Cake

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup solid shortening
1 cup sugar
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can condensed tomato soup
1 1/4 cups chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are good)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

ICING INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Preheat ovent to 375 degrees. Grease a 10-inch square cake pan. Cream shortening and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in tomato soup (undiluted) and then mix in soda, raisins, just 1 cup of the nuts, flour, baking powder and spices mixing well after each addition. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes. When cake is done, remove it from oven and loosen edges with a knife. Let cool before frosting. Icing... Place cream cheese in a small bowl and let it soften at room temperature. Add vanilla and sugar. Mix well. Spread icing on cooled cake. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup nuts and serve. Enjoy!

Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie

1 (15 oz.) pkg. refrigerated pie crusts
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups shredded, cooked chicken or turkey
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pie crusts as directed on package for a two-crust pie using a 9-inch pan. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk; cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly and thickened. Add chicken and mixed vegetables; remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust and flute; cut slits in several places. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Muffins with Orange Butter

Muffins:
1 1/3 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbls. baking powder
1/3 cup sweet cream butter
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles small peas. Combine milk and egg; pour all at once into dry mixture. Mix just until ingredients are moistened. Stir in pecans. Spoon into greased muffin pan. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on wire rack. Remove from pan.

Orange butter:

1/2 cup sweet cream butter, softened
1 Tbls. powdered sugar
1 tsp. grated orange peel

In a small mixer bowl combine all ingredients. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Enjoy!

Creamy Spinach Dip

1 can (about 13 oz.) whole leaf or chopped spinach
2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup mayo
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 pkg. (about 1.4 oz.) dry onion soup mix

Drain spinach well, reserving 2 Tbls. liquid (chop spinach if using whole leaf). Combine reserved liquid, sour cream, mayo and soup mix. Stir in spinach and red pepper. Refrigerate several hours or overnight to blend flavors. Serve with vegetables or bread. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pecan Ice Cream Pie

1 cup of canned pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups cool whip
1 qt. butter pecan ice cream, slightly softened
1 (9-inch) graham cracker pie crust
2 Tbls. chopped pecans

Mix pumpkin, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a bowl until well blended. Fold in cool whip. Spoon ice cream into pie shell; spread evenly to edges. Top with pumpkin mixture. Freeze pie uncovered at least 3 hours. Let pie stand at room temperature about 15 minutes then sprinkle with chopped pecans before serving. Enjoy!

Perfect Apple Pie

1 (15 oz.) pkg. refrigerated pie crusts
6 cups thinly sliced & peeled apples (I like the Washington State apples)
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbls. flour
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbls. lemon juice

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pie crust according to package directions for two-crust pie using a 9-inch pie pan. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients, mix lightly. Spoon into crust-lined pan and apply top layer of crust and flute together. Cut slits in several places. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. To avoid burning edges of crust apply aluminum foil. Cool and Enjoy!

Lemony Bars

1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs, beaten until fluffy
2 cups sugar
5 Tbls. lemon juice
2 Tbls. grated lemon rind
Powdered sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar; then blend in flour and salt. Press mixture down in a flat buttered cookie pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. While crust is baking, in a medium bowl blend together eggs, sugar, lemon juice and rind. Pour over crust. Raise oven temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. When cooled, sprinkle generously with additional powdered sugar. Enjoy!