Incredible Chicken and Broccoli Pot Pies

These come from my mom's personal cookbook. I finally tried them last night and they are surprisingly wonderful. Pretty, too. The cheese sauce is my own recipe.

Ingredients

2 cans of Pillsbury Grands biscuits
2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cup Rice Crispies
2 tablespoons margarine
1 cup cooked cubed chicken or turkey (I used Tyson's pre-grilled chicken as a shortcut)
1 can condensed cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1 pakcage frozen hopped broccoli, cooked and well-drained
1/3 cup sliced almonds
Cheese sauce

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Separate biscuit dough and place each biscuit in greased muffin cup; press dough to cover bottom and sides, forming 1/4-inch rim.
Spoon about a tablespoon of cheese, then a tablespoon of cereal into each cup; dot each cup with margarine.
Combine chicken, soup and broccoli; spoon about 1/3 cup over cereal. Sprinkle with almonds.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until biscuit cups are deep, golden brown. Top with cheese sauce if desired.

Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup half-and-half or milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard

Directions

In heavy saucepan over low heat, melt butter.
Add flour, salt, pepper, and parika to melted butter. Over low heat, stir together until smooth.
Gradually stir in milk, cook stirring constantly until thickened and smooth.
Add cheese and mustard to hot sauce, stir until well-blended. Serve immediately. Also great over vegetables.

Too Good to be Meatloaf

I've never liked meatloaf- until I found this recipe. This meatloaf has become a staple in my house. I even serve it when friends come over. My husband loves meatloaf and orders it often, but he says this is hands down the best meatloaf in the world... and I'm inclined to agree with him.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/4-1/2 teaspoon rosemary leaves, crushed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Barbeque sauce ingredients

1 clove garlic (whole or minced)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1-2 tablespoons honey

Directions

Combine all ingredients except cheese and Barbeque sauce. Shape into 14x10" rectangle on sheet of waxed paper. Sprinkle meat mixture with cheese. Beginning at short end of rectangle, roll in jelly roll fashion (lift waxed paper to aid in rolling). Press together ends and edges to seal.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Ten minutes before meatloaf is ready, brown garlic in olive oil. If you've used a clove, discard garlic. Add other ingredients to oil (use splatter guard, because it will bubble), simmer until bubbly.

Pour sauce over meatloaf, bake 15 minutes more. Let stand ten minutes before serving.

Prep/ Cook time: 1 hr. 15 minutes
Serves: 6

Hummingbird Cake

This is, quite simply, the best cake ever made. Moist, dense, rich, heavy cake with an amazing frosting. Bake this when you want to stun someone with your insane Marthaness.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce can) crushed pineapple, undrained
1 1/2 cups pecans, lightly toasted and chopped
5 very very ripe bananas, mashed

Directions

In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, vegetable oil, stirring until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat. Stir in the vanilla, pineapple, one cup of pecans and bananas. Spoon the batter into two well-greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for ten minutes, remove to racks and cool. Spread with frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
2 (16-oz) packages confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, lightly toasted and chopped

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter, beating until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and pecans.

Million Dollar Deep Dish Pizza

This recipe was adapted from the Pillsbury Bake-Off million dollar prize winner last year. She made paninis that were good enough to slap your mama. But the mess made in cooking and eating them would make your mama slap you. After a few tries, I found a deep dish pizza recipe and threw all the panini ingredients in.
Voila! It tastes spectacular and it's loaded with spinach and protein, so it's really good for kids. This is the only spinach dish my girls will eat, by the way.

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise/horseradish mix
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp sugar
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cooked and chopped (I run the chicken through te food processor, and for convenience, I get three packages of Perdue Short Cuts roasted chicken and use this)
2 bags fresh spinach or 2 10-oz. packages of frozen spinach
2 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped red onion
4 Tbsp vinegar (cider, red wine or Balsamic. I use cider)
3 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning
1 cup Monterrey Jack shredded cheese
2 rolls of refrigerated pizza dough

Directions
-Heat oven to 425 degrees. Coat cast iron skillet or other heavy ovenproof skillet with cooking spray. Place one roll of dough inside skillet. Bake five minutes. Remove from oven.
-Meanwhile, sautee spinach until wilted or cook until thawed if frozen. Drain well.
-Heat olive oil in skillet or saucepan until hot. Add onion, cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in sugar and vinegar. Reduce heat to low, simmer 3-5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.
-In large bowl, mix chicken, spinach, onions, cheese, mayo/horseradish mix and minced garlic. Spoon mix into pizza crust. Top with second pizza crust, bake 15-20 minutes at 425 degrees. Let stand 10 minutes.

Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes