Pie Crust

2 C flour
1t salt
1C shortening
5T water(cold)

Mix flour into salt. Cut in shortening. Add cold water 1T in at a time. Cut water in with a fork. Roll out. Put in pie tin. Bake at 475 degrees for 8-10 minutes. For two crust pies bake according to filling recipe. If doing one crust pies poke holes in bottom of crust. If doing two crust pies cut slots in the top layer of crust. Makes one double crust pie.

This recipe is very good. Pie is my family's favorite dessert and we take great pride in making them!:)

Dinner Rolls

1 package yeast
1/4 C warm water
1C scalded milk
1/2 C sugar
2 beaten eggs
1/2 C oil
1t salt
4C unsifted flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Mix with rest of ingredients in large mixing bowl. Let raise overnight in bowl. In the morning shape into rolls and place on greased pans. Let raise at least four hours. Then bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. If you don't want to do this overnight, just let raise to double, punch down and roll out and let roll rise to double.

Gravy

Boil potatoes. Take meat out of pan, leave juice in it, pour some of the potato water in meat drippings. Want it kind of brown, not clear. Bring it to a hard boil Add salt, pepper and mix 2-3 T flour with a whisk and add about a cup of cold water and mix until smooth. (Don't use warm water, this will make your gravy lumpy). Slowly pour mixture into water and drippings. Whil boiling whip it fast until it starts to thicken. Season to taste.

Cranberry Salad

1 package raw cranberries
2C sugar
1 can crushed pineapple
1 package mini marshmallows
1 pt whipped cream, whipped

Wash, drain, and grind cranberries. Mix with the sugar and pineapple. Refrigerate over night. Add marshmallows and fold in cream.

This recipe is super easy! I've been making it for the last several years for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. It is sooooo yummy!

Cafe Rio Salad

5 lbs chicken or sweet pork
2 boxes of Zatarains black beans and rice
Shredded cheese (mix of cheddar and mozzarella is good)
1 pkg. tortillas (one tortilla for each person)
Oil to fry tortillas

Marinade:
1 pkg. McCormick southwest style grillmates
½ cup vinegar
2 tsp oil
½ cup brown sugar

Dressing:
2 cups mayonnaise
1 clove garlic (peeled)
½ bunch cilantro leaves
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 jalepeno (no seed)
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp salt

Cut chicken (or pork) into bite size pieces. Cook in marinade in a crock pot on low for 6 hours. Shred meat after cooking.

Blend all ingredients for dressing together in a blender until creamy.
Make the black beans and rice per directions on box.
Fry tortillas in oil.
Put in a bowl in this order: tortilla, cheese, beans and rice, lettuce meat, dressing, more cheese.

AMAZING FRUIT SALAD

Many thanks to my old roomate and good friend Brenda Garcia who gave me this "Amazing" recipe!

Beat together:
16 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. cool whip
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix in any fruit you want:
Pineapple
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blackberries
Grapes
Bananas (but they turn yellow)

Smellies Smothered Chicken

I don't have a picture of this, but I promise if you saw it you would want some! I got this recipe from one of my roommates, Danielle, who I affectionately call smellie. It was one of our favorites. I made it last night for Adam and I and it was as good as I remembered. Its pretty easy, and there are no exact measurements so I am just going to list the ingredients and tell you how to assemble. You can adjust the quantities based on how much you are making and your tastes!

Chicken Breasts
Yoshida's Original Gourmet Terriyaki Sauce
Green Bell Pepper cut in strips
Red Bell Pepper cut in strips
Onion cut in strips
Mozzarella Cheese sliced
Cheddar Cheese sliced

Directions: Marinate the chicken breasts overnight in the sauce (about half a bottle for 4-6 breasts). Bake the chicken at 350 ish for 30-40 minutes until its no longer pink (time will vary depending on how thick the chicken is). During the last few minutes of the chicken baking, saute the peppers and onions (I usually saute in Soy Sauce but you could just use oil). Pull the chicken out of the onion, cover in one type of cheese, then layer on the veggies, then finish with the other cheese. Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is all melted together. DELICIOUS! Danielle always served it with some kinda of pasta-roni and last night I served it with salad and garlic mashed potatoes and it was soo good! Hope you enjoy! Abbey