Frog Eye Salad

I'm guessing March is yummy treats month. So I think this fits the bill.
This is a big hit and it's my kids’ favorite (once they figured out that they got to eat a yummy treat with their dinner and it was called a salad)!

Step One:
1 1/3 cup of Acini de Pepe
Boil for 9-10 minutes, with a dash of salt, drain in strainer.
Put in large serving bowl.

Step Two:
1 ½ cups Pineapple Juice
1 Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp salt
2 heaping Tbsp flour
1 tsp lemon juice
Combine and heat over medium, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens. Pour over Acini and stir.
REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT

Step Three:
The next day add:
1 lg can Mandarin oranges (drained)
1 can pineapple tidbits (drained)
1 small can crushed pineapple (drained)
1 12 oz tub Cool Whip
diced maraschino cherries
Half a bag of mini marshmallows

Mix and enjoy!

Green Drink Smoothie

Green Drink Smoothie (Try it for St. Patrick's Day!)
My roomate at Ricks College made these every morning and we thought she was so weird, until we tried it. Yummy! I am still making them 15 years later. My kids love it! The ingredients are approximate-- you can't mess this one up. Apple juice also works if you're low on Pineapple juice. I rarely measure, I just throw it in and it always tastes great. More spinach and it will be a little bitter. More banana and/or pineapple and it will be sweeter.

1 Cup Fresh Spinach
1 Ripe Banana
3/4 Cup pineapple (about half the can with no added sugar)
1 cup pineapple juice (I just drain it from the can)
1 cup of ice

Blend until smooth and bright green!! Please let me know how you like it!

Peanut Butter Cookies (w/Reese's)

1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter (Creamy)
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Sugar
1 1/4 C Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag mini Reese's cups

Cream butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg and vanilla. Add flour and soda. Form into 1" balls. Bake in mini muffin tins @ 350 for 8 mins. Immediately placed unwrapped peanut butter cups in center and let cool.

Love this recipe!! So easy and always looks impressive.

Mississippi Mud Bars

I'm taking the initiative for March and posting a dessert recipe. My friend made these for a baby shower a few weeks ago and they were a big hit! She sprinkled pecans on top.

Mississippi Mud Bars

2 Cups Sugar
2 Cubes Butter
4 eggs
Cream Together, then stir in the following ingredients:
3 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup flour
Bake twenty minutes at 350 degrees.
Spread one jar of Marshmallow Cream over the top while still warm. Then let it cool.
Top with Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cocoa
3 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 Tbsp milk
Optional: add nuts or coconut inside the batter or sprinkle on top of the frosting.

Fired Won Tons

Here is my first installment of a "budget dinner." By budget dinner, I am thinking it only takes a few, cheapish ingredients. This is one of my family faves growing up (there are 9 kids in my fam). It makes a TON, and they are sooo yummy. I guess you could get real creative and add other ingredients, but then it wouldn't really be as cheap...


Fried Won Tons

-1-2 cans Canned Roast Beef
carrots
won ton wrappers (these are typically found in the produce section by the other specialty items...)

-Grate carrots. Cook meat until tender. Mix both together. Place about a teaspoon of the filling into won tons, pinch closed with water. Make sure no meat is exposed or it will pop in the oil-and it hurts! Fry in oil until brown and crispy. Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

Tip: I like to make up a bunch of the raw won tons before I start frying them so I can keep adding them as others get done.

This is one of the best soups that I have ever made. It is so good I crave it quite often. It is pretty easy to make and it makes alot. So good, you too will crave it!

Wild Rice and Chicken Soup:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts 2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cans chicken broth 1/2 tsp. basil
4 cups water 3 stalks celery
1 Tbsp. onion flakes

*Boil above ingredients until chicken is tender. Remove chicken and shred.

1/2 cup wild rice - in second pot, cook in 2 cups water for 30 minutes, then drain.
1 cup white rice - add to soup (raw) after chicken is done with partially cooked wild rice.
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour - mix with butter in separate pan until bubbly.
16 oz. half and half

*Add half and half to roux and stir until thickened. Add white sauce to soup and stir until thick and blended. Shredded chicken can be added anytime. Add milk or water to thin. This soup is pretty thick and can also be made substituting milk for half and half or just thinned down at the end.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

3 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli or fresh chopped broccoli
1/2 cup grated carrots
3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
6 tablespoons margarine
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 pounds Velveeta
1 pinch ground white pepper

DIRECTIONS
In a large pot over medium heat, simmer the broccoli and carrots in the broth for 15 minutes. In a separate skillet over medium heat, melt the butter or margarine, add the onions and saute for 5 minutes, or to desired tenderness.
Add the flour to the onions and stir well, forming a pasty substance. Gradually add the milk and stir until thick. Add this mixture to the broccoli mixture in the pot and stir well. Then add the cheese, stirring until melted. Finally, add the pepper. (Note: Be careful not to let the soup boil, or the cheese will break down.)

*I made this a few weeks ago and everyone loved it. I am craving it, so I'll have to make it again this weekend. After I make some of the yummy soups you all have posted!