Homemade Laundry Soap - The Best Stuff!!

* Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
* Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (4 lb box)
* 20 Mule Team Borax
* Oxi Clean (2 of the 1.3 lb or 1 3lb container)
* 3 or 4 bars Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
* 2 Containers Downy UnStopables

Grate the Fels Naptha bars or put in a food processor.  Mix everything together and put in containter.   Use 1 to 1-1/2 scoops per load

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my most favorite cookie. I don't ever put chopped nuts in mine so if you do let me know how they are.

2 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 12 oz pkg chocolate chips
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 16 oz canned pumpkin
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda

Mix together thoroughly. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Swiss Chicken

4 chicken breasts
4 large slices Swiss cheese
1/2 c. milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. sour cream
3 c. dry stuffing mix

Spray baking dish with nonstick spray. Place chicken breasts in pan and cover each with a slice of cheese. Sprinkle stuffing mix over cheese. Combine cream of mushroom soup, milk, and sour cream. Pour over all. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

I haven't tried this yet but it sounds easy and yummy. I've put it on our menu to try out so I will let everyone know how it turns out.

Crockpot Baked Potato Soup

Serves 10 (If I'm making this for just my family and I'm not freezing part of it I only do half. A full recipe makes a lot and fills my crock pot to the very top and even with just half we have leftovers for lunch the next day.)

5 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced in 1 to 2 inch chunks
1 teeny onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper
2 qts chicken broth
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese (add at end)
crumbled bacon
green onion
shredded cheese
chives

Use a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Peel and dice the potatoes, and put them into the stoneware. Add onion and garlic. Sprinkle in the seasonings, and pour in the broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. The potatoes should be fork tender. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes in the soup or if you want a smooth soup use a hand-held immersible blender. After smashing the potatoes, crumble in both packages of cream cheese, and put the lid back on. Cook on high for about 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is completely melted. Stir a few times during the 30 minutes.
Garnish with bacon, onion, chives, cheese, sour cream.
I usually have all the garnishments out on the table and let everyone fix their own.
This is one of those recipes that is flexible with your ingredients. If I don't have any fresh garlic I just throw in some garlic powder if I think about it and I have made it without the onion and loved it just as much. This is one of my go to winter recipes because I always have the ingredients on hand.
The red pepper in this gives the soup that little kick of warm without it being spicy hot.

**Side note I just made this for Lucie's birthday party and the full recipe fed 11 adults and there were 6 children at the party. I didn't see how much or how little they ate and it was the perfect amount.

Peach Cake

1 large can sliced peaches, drained and mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour...
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
Drain the peaches and empty into a large bowl, then mash.   Add flour, sugar and soda and mix well. Spray a 9 x 13 inch cake pan and pour in batter. Bake in a preheated 350F degree oven for 35 minutes.

ICING:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 regular sized can of evaporated milk
1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup coconut (I used a little more than a cup of coconut)
1 cup nuts
Boil everything but the nuts on top of the stove until thickens, remove from heat, stir in nuts and spread on cooled cake

Texas Skillet

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced...
1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, undrained...
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/2 cup water
1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons dried cilantro flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Shredded low fat cheddar cheese, salsa and minced fresh cilantro
Tortilla chips
In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink; drain.
Add the beans, tomatoes, chilies, rice, water and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; covered and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve in the skillet or transfer to a shallow serving dish. Sprinkle with toppings of your choice. Serve with tortilla chips. This is a wonderful recipe and it is so easy to make.

Stuffed Mexican Shells

1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 package low-sodium taco seasoning
4 ounces cream cheese
16 jumbo pasta shells...
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese
For toppings:
3 green onions
Sour cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a pan brown the ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Stir together and mix well. Set aside and cool completely.
While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to package directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board or baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.
Pour salsa on bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with 1-2 tablespoons of the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Evenly cover shells with taco sauce. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes with the foil removed. Top with green onions or olives if desired. Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa!