dijon green beans

1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans trimmed
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 small onion sliced
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

-place beans in large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil
-cook uncovered about 8-10 minutes
-in another bowl whisk vinegar, oil, mustard with salt & pepper.
-drain beans place in a serving bowl
--add tomato & onion
-drizzle with dressing, toss to coat
-sprinke with cheese-completely optional personally I opt out in this case

should you find yourself

in the deep, dark wilds of Farragut East Japanese Resturant in Village Green is really yummy, great Japanese food & excellent sushi

chicken stir-fry

way too easy to make. I got this one off a Campbell's soup when we were first married and it is always a quick weeknight meal to prepare!

1 lb chicken breasts skinless/boneless cut into thin strips or just into cubes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bag(16oz) frozen veggie combination thawed
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 can tomato soup

- heat 1 tbsp of oil & brown chicken(seasoned with salt & pepper) in skillet. remove from pan
-heat remaining oil in skillet stir -fry veggies over medium heat with ginger & garlic till tender crisp-maybe 1-2 minutes
-add soup, soy & vinegar. heat to boiling return chicken to skillet. heat through
-now the recipe says to serve over rice I can only assume at this point we were out of rice the first time I made it because we always serve it over spaghetti noddles

brownie cupcakes

I am going to give my mother credit on this she made these for us all the time when we were kids-always a treat and none of my friend's moms ever made them! I am guessing it's origins are at Pillsbury as it calls for a box of Pillsbury brownie mix

1 box Pillsbury traditional fudge brownies family size
1/4 water
1/2 oil
2 eggs

-heat oven to 350 degrees
-line either 36 of the mini muffin cups with the mini liners or line12-16 of the regular sized muffin tins-spray with Pam
-mix ingredients fill bakingcups about 2/3 full and bake 18-20minutes

cucumber salad

my newly famous not sure which web site I got it from new recipe

3 large cucumbers peeled & thinly sliced
3/4 cup of water
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup of sugar
dashes of-salt, pepper, parsley, basil & cayenne

-combine all but cucumbers in a sauce pan and heat just till sugar dissolves
-pour over cucumbers and refridgerate at least 3 hours
add some cherry tomatoes for some color well they taste good too

tex-mex chicken

1 lb boneless chicken breasts cut into strips
2 tbsp taco seasoning mix
2 tbsp flour
1 each green pepper & red pepper cut into strips
1 cup frozen corn
1 small jar chunky salsa
1 can beer-cheaper the better

-toss chicken with seasoning mix & flour in crock pot
-stir in remaining ingredients
-cook on low for 6-8 hours

another goodie from Kraft magazine.
I thought the recipe could use more fluid so I am adding beer to the mix next time or some chicken stock would work well too. I also think chicken thighs would work well.

creamy ravoil

1 large (20 oz I think) package of refrigerated cheese tortellini or ravioli since this is technically a ravioli recipe
2/3 cup of Philadelphia chive & onion cream cheese spread9recipe called for 1/2 a tub I used a bit extra)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp grated parmesean cheese
4 cups baby spinach leaves
9 cherry tomatoes quartered
grated peel of 1 lemon
2 tbsp fresh dill(which I forgot and the dish turned out fine without)

-cook pasta as directed on package
-put cream cheese psread in a large skillet, add milk cook on medium heat 1 to 2 minutes or until cream cheese is well blended
-add 1/2 parmesean cheese, spinach, dill & lemon peel mix well
-drain pasta and add to cream cheese sauce toss to coat
-serve topped with extra parmesean cheese & tomoatoes

another treasure from the Kraft magazine