This is a recipe from the new crockpot menus cookbook I am working on. It’s one of those recipes that can be used in the dead of winter or on a hot summer’s day because barbecue and your crockpot are both perfect for summer.

Tips:

• Lay the ingredients that will take longer to cook on the bottom of the crockpot. For example, put things like carrots, potatoes and turnips in first. Then place the meat on top of that.
• Even though this is a crockpot recipe, like most crockpot recipes, it can be cooked on the stove. Just set it on simmer or your lowest setting and let it cook all day. Some things that are more casserole-like can be baked in the oven at about 250 degrees for a couple of hours, too.
• Crush a large amount of graham cracker crumbs and store them in an airtight container. This will make future baking easier because all you need to do is scoop out what you need for a recipe.

There is nothing like a piping hot bowl of stew on a cold winter’s day. We love the favorite standbys but here is a different twist on regular beef stew.

Menu:

Barbecue Beef Stew*
Rice or Noodles
Coleslaw
Hello Dolly Cookies*

Barbecue Beef Stew

1-2 lbs. stew meat
1 cup onion, sliced
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 cups beef stock
1 can (8 oz.) tomatoes
1 can (4 oz.) mushrooms
1/3 cup barbecue sauce

Saute onion, pepper and garlic in oil. Add salt, pepper, beef stock,tomatoes, mushrooms and barbecue sauce. Cook meat and all of the other ingredients in a crockpot on low heat for 8-10 hours. To thicken, mix 2 Tbsp. cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water and add to stew before serving.

Hello Dolly Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup nuts
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter and graham cracker crumbs and press into an 8 inch pan. Add coconut, chocolate chips and nuts in layers. Drizzle with condensed milk. Bake 30 minutes. Cutting is easier if you chill for 30 minutes or more.

photo by: jetalone

Related Photos

I think we are all trying to recover from heavy holiday meals and all the cooking many of us have been doing non-stop so I tried to make this week’s menu simple and easy.

Tips:

• When using canned soup or any soup for that matter, go the extra mile and add a simple garnish to it. It doesn’t take much. A few fresh herbs, cheese, sour cream, green onions or croutons sprinkled on top really can add to it.
• If you need to stretch your croutons or for something slightly different, try crushing them a bit. Cracker crumbs can look pretty and taste good too.
• When cutting bar cookies or desserts you can use a pizza cutter but what I like the best is to use my pastry cutter. Some people call it a bench knife. It’s that flat square metal tool. Just press it down on to the cookies to cut. Don’t pull or drag it like you do a knife. Just go up and down.
• Try something different for grilled cheese sandwiches. Use chicken or ham for meats or try Swiss or Colby cheese. If you usually eat your grilled cheese with ketchup, try spreading it with mayonnaise before you grill it instead.

Menu:

Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwiches*
Tomato Soup
Cereal Yogurt Fruit Dessert*

Recipes:

Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Italian Dressing
Bread
Tomato
Basil Leaves
Provolone Cheese

Spread bread with dressing (in place of the normal butter). Place dressing side down on a pan that you have sprayed with non stick spray. Layer with basil leaves, cheese, tomato and 2nd slice of bread. Grill on both sides.

Yogurt Dessert

5 cups cornflakes, crushed
1 cup pecans or nuts, finely chopped
4 Tbsp. margarine or butter, melted
6 Tbsp. maple syrup
16 oz. plain yogurt
16 oz. vanilla yogurt
2 – 3 cups fresh fruit

In a 9×13 pan, mix cornflakes, nuts, margarine and syrup. Press flat. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Mix yogurts together and spread on cooled crust. Top with fruit. You may halve this recipe and bake in an 8×8 pan. Serve immediately.

Photo By: FotoosVanRobin

Related Photos

Tips:

• If you are having a potluck or buffet, be sure to place the silverware, napkins and drinks at the end of the food table so your guests don’t have to juggle them while filling their plates.
• If you need a punch bowl, check out your covered cake dish. Many of them are designed so you can turn the base upside down and turn the bowl upside down to make a punch bowl out of them. If you are in a real bind, just use a pretty large bowl.
• Don’t have a dipper? Set a fancy cup (not your husband’s football mug) on a saucer next to the punch bowl.
• Don’t have a gravy boat? Serve your gravy and sauces in small heat proof pitchers. I have seen some really cute pitchers and gravy boats at the dollar stores. This is one item that would be worth buying. Not only can you use it for gravy, but it is a nice way to serve chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, pancake syrup, melted butter, etc.

Menu:

Sausage Stroganoff*
Tossed Salad
M&M Marshmallow Bars*

Recipes:

Today’s main dish recipe is a quick and easy one dish meal for these hectic days. Just mix it up, toss it in the oven and by the time you have your salad made and table set it will be ready. It’s also a great dish to make to use leftover potatoes and peas.

*Sausage Stroganoff

1 lb. bulk pork sausage
1 cup onion, chopped
2 1/2 oz. jar sliced mushrooms, undrained
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups potatoes, cooked, cubed
1 cup sour cream
10 oz. can buttermilk biscuits
1 cup peas, cooked

Heat oven to 375°. In a 10 inch oven proof skillet, brown sausage and onion, drain. Add mushrooms and flour. Over low heat, slowly add milk, stirring constantly. Add potatoes and heat till bubbly. Stir in sour cream. Arrange the 10 biscuits around the outer edge of the skillet and spoon the peas into the center. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until biscuits are golden. Serves 5-6.

Use red and green M&M’s on these bars to make a fun and different Christmas cookie. I haven’t tried it yet but in a pinch you could probably replace the first four ingredients with a brownie mix and just top with the marshmallows, M&M’s and peanuts.

*M&M Marshmallow Bars

1 (18 1/4 oz.) pkg. devil’s food cake mix
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup water
1 egg
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup plain M&M’s
1/2 cup peanuts

Combine dry cake mix, butter, water and egg and mix well. Press into a greased 13×9 pan. Bake at 375° for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle marshmallows, M&M’s, and peanuts on top. Bake 2-3 minutes until marshmallows melt. Cool before cutting.

Extra Holiday Recipe

In the following recipe, you can add red or green food coloring to tint for Christmas or add another food coloring to tint for any other holiday you want. You can also add 1/4 tsp. of peppermint extract if you like chocolate and peppermint flavors together.

Cookies While You Sleep

2 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Beat egg whites until foamy; add salt and cream of tartar and beat until stiff. Very gradually add sugar, then vanilla and peppermint (if you are using it). Peaks should be shiny and stiff. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoons on greased cookie sheet. Place in oven, turn off heat and leave oven closed until morning. NO PEEKING! or you will lose oven heat. Store in airtight containers.

It might be fun to experiment with these cookies and replace the chocolate chips with peppermint, butterscotch chips, chopped maraschino cherries or different types of crushed candy.

Make the meatballs from this next recipe and freeze them in a plastic bag. Lay the bag flat in the freezer to help make them freeze individually. They will keep for up to 3 months. They are so handy to keep on hand to take to a last minute activity, whether it is tailgating, a Christmas or New Year’s get together or as an appetizer for unexpected company.

Christmas Meatballs

2 lbs. ground beef
1 pkg. Stove Top stuffing for chicken
1 cup water
2 eggs
1 bottle barbecue sauce
1 (16 oz.) can cranberry sauce

Line 2 – 15 x 10 x 1 pans with foil and spray with cooking spray. Mix first 4 ingredients. Shape into balls the size of walnuts and place on pans. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes until done. While they are baking, mix barbecue sauce and cranberry sauce in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add meatballs to sauce and coat evenly.

Photo By: André di Lucca

Related Photos

Hamburger, Meatloaf and Meatballs Tips

Buy 5 pounds or more of hamburger and prepare your favorite meatloaf recipe. Then form part of it into any combination of the following:

• 1 or 2 meat loaves

• meatballs
• mini meat loaves (the size that will fit into mini loaf pans)
• portions that will fit into muffin tins
• form the rest into nice sized patties

Lay everything out on cookie sheets and freeze. When frozen, place into freezer bags. When you need something quick for dinner, just pull a bag of something out of the freezer.

Here are some ways to use your frozen hamburger treasures:

• Spaghetti and meatballs

• Mini meat loaves- The smaller they are the faster they cook. The mini meat loaves cook quickly, but the muffin tin size cook even faster.
• Smothered Steaks- Use the hamburger patties and fry them, making a gravy to go over them. Serve with tater tots, a veggie and salad.
• Bacon Steaks- Wrap a piece of bacon around a hamburger patty and then fry it. Serve with French fries, baked beans and coleslaw.
• Smothered Meatballs- Slow cook the meatballs in a can of Cream of Mushroom soup for about 20 minutes. For that extra something, add a little sour cream at the end of the cooking time. These are great over rice or noodles.
• Meatloaf- Last but not least, just have a good old meatloaf dinner. You can serve it with mashed potatoes or better yet toss in some baked potatoes to cook at the same time as the meatloaf.

  When making meatloaf, you don’t have to bake it separately. You can make it a one pan dish by adding potatoes, carrots and onions before you bake it. Add a little brown sugar to any meat loaf recipe to bring out the flavor.

• If you are getting tired of having to carefully form another hamburger patty for the barbecue, here’s an easy trick my mom always used to make hers.Tear some wax paper into squares. I usually tear strips about 6 inches wide, stack them together and cut the strips in half. This doesn’t have to be perfect. You’re just making squares that are just a little bigger than your hamburger patties. Now lay a wax paper square down, set a ball of hamburger on it and top with another piece of wax paper. Take a plate and gently press the ball to the thickness that you would like.
• If a meatloaf recipe calls for a little milk, use buttermilk instead. This will give you a more tender meatloaf.
• Instead of pouring ketchup on top of your meatloaf, try this glaze on it:

  Meatloaf Glaze

  1/4 cup brown sugar
  1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  1 tsp. cider vinegar.

  Mix and pour on meatloaf about 15 minutes before it is done.

If you use this recipe for any the above, you will probably want to use ketchup instead of the barbecue sauce that is mentioned in the recipe.

Basic Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal or 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce

Mix everything together except ketchup. Put into a loaf pan. Spread ketchup over the top. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until done. Serves 6.

Photo By: floodkoff

Related Photos

Tips:

• Cool weather is on its way, which means yummy soups and stews. If your children’s soup is too hot for them, add a few frozen vegetables to it. The veggies cook and, at the same time, it cools down the soup.
• For a quick and different dessert, top a brownie with ice cream. Then top it with chocolate syrup mixed with chunky peanut butter. You can add as little or as much as you want.

Menu:

Potato Flake Chicken Tenders*
Easy Vegetables*
French Fries
Soda Cracker Pie*

With football season here, this recipe will come in handy to serve not only for dinner but while watching the game.

Potato Flake Chicken Tenders

1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 (7.6 oz) pkg instant garlic flavor potatoes
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 lbs. chicken tenders

While oil is heating in skillet on medium heat, beat egg and milk together in a bowl. On a piece of wax paper or a small plate, mix potatoes and seasonings. Dip chicken into milk mix; then roll in potato flakes. Fry 7-10 minutes, until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Note: You can add some Parmesan cheese or other seasonings you might like to the potato flakes. You can use regular instant potatoes and just add garlic powder to season them.

Easy Vegetables

Broccoli florets
Cauliflower florets
Green beans, with the ends trimmed
Red Pepper, cut into strips
Italian Dressing
Parmesan cheese, shredded

Take any amount of first three vegetables you want and drop into boiling water for 2 minutes or until they are bright in color and still crisp. Do not overcook. Drain immediately and rinse in cold water. Drain well. Add pepper strips, cover and chill. Before serving toss with dressing and cheese.

You can serve this pie with just whipped cream or you could leave out the nuts and top with lemon, blueberry, cherry or any other pie filling. You can also use Ritz, graham or saltine crackers in place of soda crackers or add chocolate chips. Someone suggested spreading it with jam and sprinkling with brown sugar.

Soda Cracker Pie

3  egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
20 soda crackers, finely crushed
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecans or nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (165 degrees C). Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold in all the rest of ingredients. Spoon into a greased 9 inch pie pan and bake 25-30 minutes. Cool.

For lots more quick and easy home cooked recipes, check out our Dining On A Dime Cookbook.

Photo By: Robert Banh

Related Photos

Tips:

• If you don’t have a garbage disposal, place a colander in your sink at the end of your meal before you rinse the dishes. Then all the food scraps are caught in the colander and you don’t need to clean out the drain.
• Keep baggies of frozen cookies and brownies in the freezer for kids’ or anyone’s lunches. Place the cookies or brownies in the lunch sack and, between them and a frozen drink, you don’t need to worry about the lunch staying nice and cold.

Menu:

One Pot Ham Dinner*
Fruit Salad
Apple Streusel Muffins*
Brownie Marshmallow Bars*

Recipes:

One Pot Ham Dinner

1 fully cooked ham slice (1- 1 1/2 lb.)
4 medium potatoes,sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups frozen cut green beans
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water

In a large skillet, brown ham slice over medium heat. Arrange potatoes over ham. Add salt and pepper. Top with beans and onions. Combine soup and water, and pour over everything. Cook 2 minutes. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45-50 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Makes 4 servings.

Apple Streusel Muffins

1 pkg. (6 1/2 oz.) apple cinnamon muffin mix
1 large apple, peeled and diced
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 1/2 tsp. flour
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Mix muffin mix according to package directions. Fold in apples and pour into greased muffin cups. Mix nuts, brown sugar, flour and butter and sprinkle some on each muffin. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Brownie Marshmallow Bars

1 pkg. fudge brownie mix
1 pkg. (10 1/2 oz.) mini marshmallows
2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 1/2 cup rice crispy cereal

Mix brownies according to package directions for fudge like brownies and pour into a 13×9 greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes. Top with marshmallows and bake 3 minutes more. The marshmallows will not be completely melted. Cool.

Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and margarine and stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Add rice crispy cereal. Spread on brownies. Chill for 1-2 hours before cutting.

Photo By: Marshall Astor

Related Photos

Tips:

• To keep French bread from going stale, slice it, place it back in the wrapper and freeze. Take out just the amount you need when you’re ready to use it. I especially like doing this because the frozen French bread is much easier to butter before placing in foil to warm in the oven.
• Add vanilla pudding to any cake mix (or chocolate pudding to chocolate cake mix) for a more homemade tasting cake.
• To stretch canned frosting, add a package of softened cream cheese. You can also add cream cheese to cut the sweetness of any frosting.

Menu:

Fillet Bundles*
French Bread
Bacon Wrapped Corn*
Easy Macaroons*

Recipes:

Fillet Bundles

4 (6 oz. each) fresh or frozen fish fillets, thawed
Parmesan cheese, grated
Cayenne pepper
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 small sweet red pepper, julienned
Salt

Place fish on heavy foil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper. Top with zucchini and pepper. Salt to taste. Seal up in foil. Grill covered over indirect heat for about 8-10 minutes until fish is flaky.

Bacon Wrapped Corn

Large ears of corn, husks removed
Bacon
Chili Powder

Wrap each ear of corn with bacon and sprinkle with chili powder. Wrap well in heavy foil. Grill uncovered for 20 minutes over medium heat until corn is tender and bacon is cooked. Turn once.

Easy Macaroons*

1 pint pineapple or orange sherbet, softened
2 tsp. almond extract
1 package (18 1/3 oz.) white cake mix
6 cups flaked coconut

Mix sherbet, almond extract and cake mix well. Stir in coconut. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Makes about 6 dozen.

Photo By: Gudlyf

Related Photos

Tips:

• If you are out of food coloring, try adding a spoon of cherry or strawberry Jello (or whatever color you need) to your frosting to color it and make it extra tasty.
• For a cool summer treat or if you get a good deal on bananas and need to do something with them quickly, roll them in strawberry jam. Then roll or sprinkle with nuts and granola and put them in the freezer. This makes a great easy treat for both kids and adults.
• Here’s a delicious way to use leftover meatloaf - Place a slice of meatloaf and a slice of cheese between some bread. Then grill as you would grill a cheese sandwich.

Menu:

Layered Chicken Salad*
Potato Nachos*
Freezer Pickles*
Dinner Rolls
Watermelon and Cantaloupe Slices

Recipes:

Everyone is always looking for quick and easy chicken recipes and it doesn’t get much easier than this. This recipe is especially good if you need something to make the day before and just serve when you need it. If you are having company or a party or you just need something to make on Saturday and pull out after church for Sunday dinner, this recipe is a good one to use.

Layered Chicken Salad

4-5 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 medium cucumber, sliced
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 can (8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
1 lb. fresh pea pods, halved
4 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
Cherry tomatoes

Dressing

2 cups mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. ginger

Mix dressing. Layer all other ingredients but the tomatoes in a large glass bowl. Spread the dressing over the top and garnish with tomatoes. Cover and chill several hours or overnight.

The next recipe can be used as a side dish or as an appetizer. It is a great way to use leftover boiled red potatoes. If you don’t like your food hot, just leave off the jalapenos. This recipe makes a huge amount but you can easily cut it down and just make the amount you want.

Potato Nachos

8 medium red potatoes, cooked in skin
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 jar (12 oz.) jalapeno pepper slices
2 cups (8 oz.) cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups (8 oz.) Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream
6-8 green onions, chopped

Slice potatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place in single layers on three -15x10x1 inch pans. Top each slice with a pinch of dressing mix, a pepper slice and the cheeses. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and onions. Makes 12 servings.

Everyone’s gardens will be coming into full swing soon so here is a recipe to help you use all those cucumbers you have or will soon be getting. This recipe is especially good if you don’t want to have to can all of them or if you have lots of room in your freezer. You can also try this recipe with other veggies like peppers or okra or you can mix them with the cucumbers.

Try some of the onions from this recipe on your hot dogs.

Freezer Pickles

4 lbs. pickling cucumbers, sliced
8 cups thinly sliced onions
1/4 cup salt
3/4 cup water
4 cups sugar
2 cups apple cider vinegar (You can use white vinegar but the apple cider vinegar gives it a better flavor boost.)

Combine cucumbers, onions, salt and water in large bowls and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Add sugar and vinegar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Pack into 1 pint containers, cover and freeze. Keep for 6-8 weeks. Thaw at room temperature for 4 hours before serving. Makes 10 pints.

If you are busy, you can let them stand for a bit, stirring once in a while until the sugar dissolves.

Photo By: TheCulinaryGeek

Related Photos

Tips:

• Cutting your salads or veggies into different shapes can quickly turn a "Ho hum" salad into an "Oh yum" salad.

  • Slice your carrots into coins or grate them.
  • Cut your peppers into strips instead of dicing them.
  • Slice cucumbers into circles or if that’s what you usually do, try dicing them.
  • If you normally tear your lettuce, try cutting it until it is finely shredded. I find that more people love my salad, which is very ordinary. I think they like it because I chop my lettuce very small and they enjoy eating it more because they don’t have to cut it or try stuffing huge pieces into their mouths.
• If your potato salad often seems dry, try mixing 2-4 Tbsp. of milk in with the mayo. You can do this with coleslaw or any salad that uses mayonnaise.

Menu:

Italian French Dip Sandwiches*
Easy Potato Salad*
Cinnamon Carrots*
No Bake Cheese Cake*

Recipes:

Italian French Dip Sandwiches

Dipping Sauce:

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Combine and simmer about 15 minutes.

Sandwiches

1 lb bulk (ground) Italian or country sausage
1 med. onion, thinly sliced and separated
8 slices mozzarella cheese
8 slices French bread, sliced
Margarine

Shape sausage into patties and fry. Remove from pan and saute onions in drippings. Place a slice of cheese on each of 4 pieces of bread, top with patties, onions and another slice of cheese each. Then place another piece of bread on top of each one. Spread outside of bread with margarine and grill.

Serve and dip in dipping sauce.

*To save money, you can use less meat, make smaller patties and use only 1 slice of cheese for each sandwich.

Easy Potato Salad

2 or 3 cans white potatoes (I like Aldi’s canned potatoes.) – Open and drain each can. Then rinse each can under cold water at least 3 times. It is important to get the water from the cans rinsed off.

1/2 medium onion
4 ribs of celery
4 sweet pickles
3 boiled eggs
1 large tsp. yellow mustard
4 heaping Tbsp. Miracle Whip (bought on sale, of course)

Chop up the potatoes. Dice everything else. Mix in mustard and Miracle Whip. Cover and chill over night or all day.

Sometimes you run out of fresh potatoes and sometimes you’re snowed in. We all love this. Hope you will too!

From Linda C. in Ohio:

Cinnamon Carrots

1 1/2 cups water
2 lbs. carrots, sliced 1/2inch thick
1-2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches each)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground ginger
5-6 Tbsp. honey
4 tsp. lemon juice

Bring water to a boil. Add next 4 ingredients. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add honey and lemon juice. Uncover and boil for a couple more minutes until water is evaporated and carrots are tender.

From Jane:

No Bake Cheesecake

1- 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1- 8 oz. container whipped topping

Beat first 3 ingredients together. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into a graham cracker crust and chill.

Photo By: Ed Kwon

Related Photos

Leftover Hot Dogs, Hamburgers And Peach Smoothies

I’m not sure why but every time we barbecue there are always a few hot dogs and hamburgers left, not to mention leftover baked beans. It’s like a Murphy’s Law of barbecuing. You’ll always have leftovers just like you always have leftovers at Thanksgiving.

Unlike Thanksgiving, where you can find lots of recipes explaining what to do with leftover turkey and gravy, the pickins are slim for leftover hot dog recipes. Today’s menu not only uses the hot dogs but also hamburgers and baked beans in one fell swoop.

Tips:

• Buttering corn on the cob can be a challenge but to have to do it for four or more kids can really wear you out. To make buttering corn easier, spread butter on a piece of bread (the heel works best).Then wrap the bread around the corn and quickly rub. Add more butter to the bread as you need it.
• For a fast and easy fruit pie or crisp topping, sprinkle a 9 oz. box of cake mix on top of the fruit. Then drizzle with 1/3 cup melted butter and bake as usual.
• Use leftover grilled veggies in soups, stews and casseroles for extra flavor.
• If your butter tends to burn when frying foods in it, add 1 tsp. of oil in with the butter.

Menu:

Hot Dog Pie*
Tortilla Chips
Corn on the Cob
Peach Smoothies*

Hot Dog Pie

2-3 (about 1/2 lb.) hamburger patties, crumbled
4 hot dogs, sliced
2 cups baked beans*
2 oz. Velveeta, cubed
1 unbaked deep dish pie crust**
4 slices American cheese

Combine first 4 ingredients and heat either on the stove or microwave, just until cheese is melted. Prick pie crust with fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Fill with hot bean and meat mixture. Cut each slice of American cheese into 4 strips and make lattice work on top of pie. Bake 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

*If you don’t have leftover baked beans, you can use canned baked beans (16 oz. can) or make your own. Just be sure to use a little brown sugar in them.

**If you don’t have a pie crust, bake without the crust in a greased casserole dish or pie pan until cheese is melted and serve on top of leftover hot dog or hamburger buns.

Peach Smoothies

2 cups frozen peaches, sliced and thawed
1 cup milk
1 can (6 oz.) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 pint vanilla ice cream
3 drops each red and yellow food coloring, optional

In a blender combine first 4 ingredients. Add ice cream and blend till smooth. Add food coloring. Makes 4 servings.

Photo By: Steven Depolo

Related Photos