Cindys Cranberries

 Ingredients:

  4 Cups of cranberries (1 bag)

  2 Cups Sugar

  1 Cup Water

1/4 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of baking soda

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a small sauce pan (1 1/2 quart) and place over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar and allow to come to a soft boil.

Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and KEEP COVERED until completely cooled.

Place in refrigerator prior to service

Chicken Paprikash (Bill Paresi)

This one-pot Hungarian chicken paprikash dish comes together in 1 hour and is served with a delectable creamy sauce to go over the top.

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 10minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1hour hour

INGREDIEntS

• 1 whole fryer chicken broken down into parts, breasts, thighs, drums, wings
• 3 tablespoons rendered bacon fat
• ½ peeled small diced large yellow onion
• 1 seeded small diced yellow bell pepper
• 2 finely minced garlic cloves
• 2 roughly chopped Roma tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

• If you are using a whole chicken, start by separating it into separate parts and season them on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat the rendered bacon fat in a large rondeau pot over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke lightly.
• Next, add the chicken, skin down, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown.
• Remove the chicken and set it aside on a plate.
• Add the onions to the pan and cook for 15 to 20 minutes over low to medium heat while stirring until they have become caramelized.
• Add the peppers and sauté over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and cook it until it’s fragrant, which takes about 30 seconds.
• Pour in the tomatoes and cook for 4 to 5 minutes to stew them and break them down.
• Stir in the paprika until combined.
• Pour in the chicken stock and season it well with salt and pepper.
• Place the cooked chicken back in, place on a lid, and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the chicken is very tender.
• In a bowl, whisk together the sour cream and flour until combined.
• Pour about a ½ cup of the chicken braising liquid into the bowl with the sour cream and mix.
• Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and whisk in the sour cream mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. It should be thick and creamy like alfredo sauce.
• Add the chicken back to the pan and heat up for 2 to 3 minutes before serving with additional sour cream and optional chopped chives.

Spanish Chicken in Crock Pot (Cindy)

 Ingredients:

• Whole chicken approximately 4 pounds with giblets and organs removed. Rinse and drain on paper towels.
• 1 bottle or can of beer
• 1 6 ounce can of tomato paste
• One jar of pitted green olives and juice

Directions:

• Place chicken in crock pot with breast side up
• Mix the beer and tomato paste in a mixing bow then add to the crock pot.
• Dump the entire jar of olives and juice into the crock pot. Then cover.
• Baste chicken with sauce every hour.

Cook on low for 6 hours then turn to high for about 30 minutes. Carefully remove chicken from crock pot and place on cutting board and separate white and dark meat. Reserve the sauce and place in a gravy boat and allow fat to rise to surface. Reserve olives to serve with the ckicken.

Serve the chicken and olives with steamed rice and pour sauce over both the chicken and the rice.

Classic Stuffed Green Peppers

 Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 4 large green bell peppers
• 1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey/chicken for lighter option) or Beyond Burger
• 1 cup cooked rice (white or brown)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning (or oregano + basil)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup tomato sauce (or marinara)

Instructions

1. Prepare the Peppers

Cut the tops off the green peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. To soften them, boil in salted water for 4–5 minutes, then drain.

2. Make the Filling

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cooking until fragrant. Stir in the ground beef and cook until browned, draining excess fat.

Mix in diced tomatoes, tomato paste, cooked rice, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir in half the shredded cheese and let everything simmer together for 5 minutes.

3. Stuff the Peppers

Place peppers upright in a baking dish. Fill each one generously with the beef-rice mixture. Pour tomato sauce around the peppers in the dish.

4. Bake

Cover with foil and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle remaining cheese on top, and bake uncovered for another 10–15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden.

5. Serve

Spoon some of the sauce from the baking dish over each pepper before serving.

✅ Tip: These also reheat beautifully the next day, making them great for meal prep.

Skillet Corn Lasagna (Aug 2025 Food and Wine)

Ingredients:

3 ears fresh yellow corn, husked
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, choped about 1 1/2 cups
2 large jalapeno cchiles, chopped
3 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
8 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles (about 9 noodles) broken in half
3 cups of whole milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp black pepper, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil and chives, divided
2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 ounce Parmesan cheese grated, about 1/4 cup
2 tsp grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
4 ounces of fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into large pieces (about 3/4 cup)

Directions:

1. Cut kernels from corn coba; set kernels aside. Working with 1 cob at a time, pace cop over a medium bowl, and scrape cob with the back of aknife to release as much corn milk as possible. Repeat with remaining cops to yield about 1/4 cup corn milk. set corn milk aside. Discard cobs.

2. Melt butter in a 12 inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapenos, garlic, and rserved corn kernels; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer 1/3 cup of onion mixture to a small bowl; set aside.

3. Stir broken noodles, milk, 1/2 cup water, balck pepper, 2 tablespoons mixed herbs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and reserved corn milk into remaining onion mixture in skillet; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionaly. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occcasionally and ensuring noodles remain submerged until noodles are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to broil with rack 6 inches from heat. Stir together ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, remaining 2 tablesppons mixed herbs, andd remaining 1/2 teaspoonn salt in a medium bowl until combined.

5. Dollop ricotta miixture evely over sillet; sprinkle evenly with torn mozzarella and reserved onion mixture. Broil until cheese is melted and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes.

Garnish with additional herbs and black pepper.

Baked Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos (Lilicooks.com)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of cooked shredded chicken

4 ounces of whipped cream cheese

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup salsa

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of chili powder

Salt and freshly ground  pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped green onions or fresh cilantro

8-10 small flour or corn tortillas, 6 inch size

Cooking spray or olive oil for brushing

Guacamole; sour cream, salsa or fresh pico de gallo for dipping

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or give it a light greasing. Warm your tortillas for 20-30 seconds in a microwave.

In a mixing bowl, combine first 7 ingredients and mix well. Add green onions or cilantro and mix again.

Place 2-3 tablespoons of filling into each tortilla and roll then place on parchment lined baking sheet with the seam side down. Spray with oil to help brown.

Cook for 20 minutes turning half way through baking to have browning on all sides.

Serve with dipping choices above.

Caprese Chicken Bites (The Kitchn.com)

 

 INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds 

  boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thighs, or a combination, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1 1/4 teaspoons 

  kosher salt, divided

• 1/4 teaspoon 

  freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons 

  plus 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

• 2 cups 

  grape or cherry tomatoes

• 2 tablespoons 

  balsamic glaze, plus more for serving

• 2 cloves 

  garlic, minced

• 6 ounces 

  cherry-sized (ciliegine) fresh mozzarella cheese balls (about 15), halved

• Chopped fresh basil leaves, for garnish (optional)

  INSTRUCTIONS

1. Arrange an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and heat the oven to broil.

2. Pat 1 1/2 pounds chopped boneless, skinless chicken dry with paper towels. Season all over with 3/4 teaspoon of the kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add half of the chicken in a single layer. Cook until golden-brown on the bottom and the chicken easily releases from the bottom of the pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until golden brown on the second side, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate (some pieces may not be cooked through).

4. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of the olive oil in the skillet and repeat browning the remaining chicken. Transfer to the plate.

5. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet until shimmering. Add 2 cups grape tomatoes and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook until barely starting to soften, just before the tomatoes split, about 1 minute.

6. Stir in the chicken and any accumulated juices on the plate, 2 tablespoons balsamic glaze, and 2 minced garlic cloves.

7. Remove the skillet from the heat. Scatter 6 ounces halved fresh mozzarella cheese balls over the chicken and tomatoes. Broil until the cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle with more balsamic glaze and garnish with chopped fresh basil leaves if desired.