Cheesy Noodle Bake

6 oz. egg noodles, cooked and drained
8 oz. lean ground beef, cooked and drained
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 - 3/4 of a 26 oz. can spaghetti sauce (or 3 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce and 1 1/2 Tblsp. Shirley J Pizza and Pasta Seasoning)

Mix softened cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese in one bowl. In another bowl mix the ground beef and spaghetti sauce. In a 3 quart slow cooker, place a little bit of the sauce on the bottom. Then layer noodles, cream cheese mixture, and meat sauce two times. Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

Breadsticks

Frozen Rhodes Rolls (2 for each breadstick)
melted butter
garlic salt
dill weed
wooden dowels, cut to be just longer than the length of the breadstick

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thaw Rhodes rolls just enough to be able to work with. Spray dowels with cooking spray. Roll two rolls together and wrap them all the way up the dowel. Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned. Remove from oven and baste each breadstick with melted butter. Lightly sprinkle with garlic salt, then with dill weed. Serve immediately.

Creme Brulee French Toast

This recipe is amazingly unhealthy, but DELICIOUS just the same!

1/2 Cup unsalted butter
1 Cup packed brown sugar
2 Tblsp. corn syrup
Bread, sliced, to cover butter mixture (I use a thick sliced bread)
5 large eggs
1 1/2 Cups half-and-half
1 tsp. vanilla
a few shakes salt

In a saucepan, melt butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. Arrange bread pieces on top. Beat together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, and salt. Pour egg mixture over the top of the bread. Cover and chill overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning, bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

Bread Pudding

8-10 slices white bread, cut into cubes
1/4 cup margarine, melted
2 Tblsp. ground cinnamon
6 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups hot milk (may substitute part heavy cream if you like it creamy...I do)
2-3 pinches ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt margarine in the microwave and mix the cinnamon with it.

In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, and the melted margarine and cinnamon mixture; mix well and transfer to 2 quart glass baking dish.

Use same bowl to beat the eggs. Stir in sugar, vanilla, and salt until sugar is dissolved. Slowly whisk in the hot milk. Pour egg mixture over bread cubes, sprinkle with nutmeg and set aside to soak for 5 minutes.

Set the baking dish inside of another baking dish (9 x 13 inch) with water in the 9 x 13 inch dish, to make a water bath. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Fauxtisserie Chicken

1 whole chicken, small enough to fit in your slow cooker
Seasoning salt or other salt-based seasoning (make sure salt is one of the first ingredients on the label)
Fresh herbs (optional)(I use thyme and rosemary)
garlic cloves, peeled (optional)

Make 3 balls of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of your slow cooker. These hold the chicken off the bottom so the hot air can circulate all around the chicken and so it's not stewing in its own juices.

Rinse chicken, including the cavity, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken on its back so the breast is facing up and the legs are on the plate. Pull up the skin all around the chicken. Slice a few garlic cloves in half lengthwise and stick them under the skin. Arrange a couple of sprigs of fresh herbs under the skin. This adds a lot of flavor.

Rub salt-based seasoning VERY liberally onto the skin of the chicken. Place chicken breast-up on the foil in the slow cooker, cover, turn heat to low, and leave it alone for 7-8 hours.

Shred the chicken and serve, or use it in salads/enchiladas, etc.

Crockpot Picnic Ribs

3 lbs. boneless pork country style ribs
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup (be generous) brown sugar
4 cloves garlic
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 1/2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce

Lightly spray a 5-6 quart crockpot. Put sliced onions in the bottom, then place cleaned and patted dry ribs on top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, brown sugar and minced garlic. Turn ribs to coat. Pour cranberry juice over all, cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Drain liquid from crockpot; pour BBQ sauce over pork and onions; stir, cover and cook on low for 1 more hour.

Florrie's Salad

Romaine Lettuce
Fresh Spinach
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
Chicken, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup Almonds
3 Tblsp. sugar

Candy the almonds by placing them in a small frying pan with the 3 Tblsp. sugar over medium heat. Stir almost constantly until sugar begins to melt and coats the almonds. Remove from the pan and place on cookie sheet to cool.

Place all other ingredients in a large bowl, and coat with dressing just before serving.

Dressing:

1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tblsp. poppyseeds
2 tsp. (be generous) raspberry jam

Mix all ingredients and place in refrigerator until ready to pour over salad. The flavors mix better together if you make this a little ahead of time and let chill in refrigerator.