Retreat Recipes ~ Yum, Yum!!!

Sorry for the delay...it's only been two, well maybe it's been three now, coming up on four weeks ~ who knows, it's been a while!
Lots of moms asked for recipes from the retreat...and today is the day that I think I can sit down for a few and get them together for you.
I told one Mom that I have a million kids (okay it's really only 6 ~ or 7, 8, 9, 10 if I include my married daughter and her sweet little family) but it feels like a million kids needing me at the very moment I try to take a little time.
On that thought ~ I'm sure glad they "Need" me, if they didn't I'm not quite sure how sad my life might be! I believe it's a really great compliment to a mother if her children still want and need her at all ages and stages of their lives...well anyway...onto the recipes you've been so patiently waiting for! Those of you who know me, realize all too well, that I can blab and blab and blab all day long! So let's get to it...

Let's start with the first day, hmmm...
breakfast included Quiche, fresh fruit and bagels with cream cheese.

QUICHE
(You can make this easy on yourself or you can slave away making pie crusts...I'm a big cheater, so I just run to the store, pick up a pre-made pie crust, roll it out into my glass pie dishes and then I'm ready to add all the yummy ingredients)

I love to make a delish veggie version:
**4 eggs
**1 c heavy cream
**handful of grated cheddar or mix of cheddar and your favorite cheese
**finely chopped veggies: broccoli, peppers (all the colors), onion, tomatoes, green chiles (these are my favorites, but you can add anything your heart desires and it will be yummy!) I sautee the veggies for a few in a bit of butter.

Toss your veggies right on top of the uncooked pie crust, after mixing the eggs, cream and cheese, pour over the veggies, add some spices (pepper, salt, cumin, etc.) again spice to your liking, sprinkle a little cheese over the top and pop it in the oven.
Cook @ 350 for about 45 -60 minutes. Will brown nicely and when a toothpick or fork is inserted should come out nice and clean.

QUICHE can be made with any ingredients you like...for those picky little people in your lives, just do cheese and maybe a little ham or turkey. Or go crazy and add everything you love! Perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Next we had lunch...Turkey & Cranberry Croissants

This is my very favorite sandwich, makes me hungry just thinking about it!!!

Just take a fresh croissant, slice in half, spread cream cheese over one half, spread cranberry over the other half, add thinly sliced turkey, lettuce leaves and tomato slices, along with a slice of Havarti cheese. Oh my goodness, prepare to eat the most heavenly sandwich ever!!!

Just add some fresh veggies and dip on the side and you are set!

Dinner included Creamy Poppyseed Chicken, Fresh Green Salad and French Bread

CREAMY POPPYSEED CHICKEN

This is a great dish if you have a lot of people to feed (or make up a big batch and then freeze some for another day or share with your friends and neighbors ~ they will LOVE you forever!)

You'll need your crockpot:
Throw in about 10 chicken breasts
3 cups Cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 cups water
4 Tbls Poppyseeds
(I will ocassionaly add a bottle of yummy poppyseed dressing for a little extra sweetening)

Cook until chicken is done, then shred or chop into bite size pieces, add back to the sauce and just let it hang out on the low temperature of your crockpot until you are ready to eat.

This is a perfect recipe to start in the morning and just let it do the work all day. The smell is divine and it really does taste just as good as it smells!

Pour over rice or pasta, add a green salad and some bread and enjoy!


Another breakfast ~ Eggstrada and Belgian Waffles

EGGSTRADA
This is truly the easiest breakfast ever (short of pulling out the cereal and milk!)
Take out your glass 9x13 pan, spray or grease with a bit of butter.
You'll need only a few simple ingredients:

**Sliced bread (white, sourdough, wheat ~ doesn't matter)
**10-12 eggs
**2 C milk
**2 handfuls cheddar cheese (or your favorite mixture of cheeses)
**3-4 Tbls dried onion flakes

Remove the crust (I have no idea why we do this part!), and cover the bottom of your pan with the bread. Mix together the eggs, milk, onion flakes and cheese, season to your liking, pour over the bread and then top off with just a sprinkling of cheese.
Cover with foil and bake @ 350 for 30 - 40 minutes depending on your oven.

This can also be prepared the night before, left in the refrigerator and then cooked in the morning. The bread just soaks up all the liquid so nicely and makes a super easy, yet tasty breakfast!

MOMMA'S WAFFLES

I've posted this on here before, but since I'm not so great at this whole blogging world, I have no idea how to tell you to find it, so....I'll just write it for you again (and if you are an ambitious soul then you can go looking for the one with photos)

4 Cups Flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
8 large eggs
4 Tbls sugar
2 Tbls Vanilla
1 Cube butter (melted)
4 Cups Milk
Mix dry ingredients, add eggs, vanilla, milk and finally melted butter. Mix together, being careful to not overmix. Batter will be lumpy. Heat your iron and spray with non-stick cooking spray, then wait until nice and crispy. Add all the delish toppings you can think of and enjoy!

For the retreat, we had Strawberries and Cream ~ so perfect!!!
Slice fresh strawberries and then lightly toss with heavy cream.

Use as the most delicious topping for your waffle ~ if so desired add a little whipped cream on top...oh so yummy!

And to end the retreat, we had one of my very most favorite dishes...I could eat this every other day for the rest of my life and never tire of it!!!

Mexican Salad with Tomatillo Dressing

Let's start with the dressing first, since it's the heavenly topping that makes your mouth water before even enjoying the first taste!

Ingredients for Tomatillo Dressing

* 1/2 cup milk * a small bundle of cilantro * 3-4 fresh tomatillos, peeled and cut in quarters * Juice of 1 -2 limes * 1/2 cup mayonnaise * 1/2 cup sour cream * 1 package Dry Ranch Buttermilk Dressing Mix * 3-4 tsp Cumin * 3 teaspoons sugar (add another teaspoon if necessary) * 1 jalapeno pepper cut in slices. CUT 1/2 PEPPER AND TASTE IT (if it is not spicy enough add more pepper. Wear rubber gloves when cutting the pepper because the seeds can irritate your eyes and your hands)
Blend in your blender on high until creamy.

Couple of variations for you to try:
**If you don't love the heat intensity of a jalapeno, try another less intense pepper just to add a little flavor without the burning sensation! (and you don't have to worry about the whole rubber glove thing with other peppers)
**This one happened out of necessity during a little getaway with a few friends, I was making this dressing and didn't have all the ingredients (the mayo, or the sour cream or milk) Hmmmm....what to do, how we wanted this dressing ~ well, we did have a perfectly new delicious carton of Vanilla Ice Cream, so we used a couple scoops of it and a little water. Oh, I am telling you this was the best ever!!!! It is now my new way of making this...so as a recap~ leave out the sour cream, mayo and milk and you can also delete the sugar, replace with vanilla ice cream and water (or milk for a creamier version). This also tones down the burning of the peppers.

Now for the Mexican Salad part:

Use all fresh veggies, finely chopping. You decide how many and the ratio of quantities that your family will love...But here are my favorites to add:
Fresh Cilantro
Peppers (again, all colors)
Red Onion
Tomatoes
Avacado
Black Olives
Green Chiles
Tomatillos

Toss together and add the juice of two limes, cumin (incredible mexican seasoning, love it!), and then add your favorites beans, such as black beans, pinto beans, chili beans.

Spoon over plate of lettuce, add a little cheddar cheese and pour on the Tomatillo Dressing. Serve with tortilla chips (warmed in the microwave or oven).

"You're Welcome"...I know after you eat this one, you will want to thank me, it is SOOOOO very delicious!!!


Well ~ enjoy and if you have a favorite recipe, please send it along, I'd love to try something new!