WAVE YOUR FLAG CAKE

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided
1-1/2 cups boiling water
1 pkg. (6 oz.) or 2 pkg. (3 oz. each) JELL-O Gelatin, any red flavor
Ice cubes
1 cup cold water
1 pkg. (12 oz.) prepared pound cake, cut into 10 slices
1-1/3 cups Blueberries, divided
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed


Directions:

SLICE 1 cup strawberries; cut remaining strawberries in half. Set aside.

ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice cubes to cold water to measure 2 cups. Add to gelatin; stir until ice is melted. Refrigerate 5 min. or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Meanwhile, cover bottom of 13x9-inch dish with cake slices. Add sliced strawberries and 1 cup blueberries to thickened gelatin; stir gently. Spoon over cake slices.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Spread with COOL WHIP. Arrange strawberry halves on COOL WHIP for stripes of flag and remaining blueberries for stars. Keep refrigerated.

WARM ITALIANO SPREAD

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese
1/4 cup Pesto
1 Plum tomato, chopped
1/4 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend
TRISCUIT Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil Crackers

Directions:

HEAT grill to medium heat. Place unwrapped Neufchatel cheese on 8-inch square sheet of heavy-duty foil; top with pesto, tomatoes and shredded cheese.

PLACE foil on grill; cover with lid. Grill 8 to 10 min. or until shredded cheese is melted and Neufchatel is softened, but still holding its shape.

TRANSFER foil to platter. Serve spread with crackers

FRUIT PIZZA

Ingredients:

1 (18-ounce) package refrigerated cookie dough
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or other flavoring (almond, orange, or lemon)
Fresh blueberries, banana slices, mandarin orange sections, seedless grapes, strawberry halves, kiwifruit (or any other
1/2 cup orange, peach, or apricot preserves
1 Tablespoon water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line an ungreased 14-inch pizza pan with cookie dough cut in 1/8-inch slices, overlapping slightly. Bake 12 minutes or until light brown; remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract or other flavoring; spread over cookie crust. Arrange fruit over cream cheese layer in any design you want (use your imagination).

In a small saucepan over very low heat, make a glaze by heating preserves and water. Brush glaze over fruit, making sure to cover the fruit that will turn dark. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note: This does not keep well, so plan on using it up. You may also use your own sugar cookie recipe in place of the refrigerated dough.

Also, use what ever kind of fruit you prefer.

5 MINUTE FUDGE

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

Combine butter, milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, chocolate, vanilla, and nuts. Beat for about 1 minute, or until marshmallows melt and mixture is thoroughly combined. Pour into an 8-inch square buttered pan and cool. Cut fudge into squares.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans (15 ounces each) enchilada sauce
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
8 flour tortillas (6 inches)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
Sour cream, optional


Directions:

In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the chicken, enchilada sauce and chilies. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 170°.
Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Reserve 1-2/3 cups cooking juices. Pour the remaining cooking juices into a large bowl; add the beans and shredded chicken. Coat two freezer-safe 8-in. square baking dishes with cooking spray; add 1/2 cup reserved juices to each.
Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in prepared dishes. Pour remaining reserved juices over top; sprinkle with cheese.
Cover and freeze one dish for up to 3 months. Cover and bake the second dish at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is lightly browned. Serve with sour cream if desired.
To use frozen enchiladas: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake as directed. Yield: 4 servings.

CROCKPOT CORN PUDDING

Ingredients:

1 can cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn
8 oz. sour cream
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 box Jiffy corn meal mix

Directions:
Spray pot with non-stick spray. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour in crock pot. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. You can cook on high 4 hours, it gives you a crisp ring around outside. Excellent to take to covered dish affairs. Serves 8.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE TRIFLE

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
3 cups cold milk, divided
1/4 cup Peanut butter
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
30 CHIPS AHOY! Cookies, chopped
3 Tbsp. Chocolate syrup
make it

EMPTY pudding mixes into separate medium bowls. Add 1-1/2 cups milk to each; beat with whisk 2 min. Add peanut butter to vanilla pudding; beat until well blended. Stir 1/2 cup COOL WHIP into pudding in each bowl.

SPOON chocolate pudding mixture into 2-qt. serving bowl; cover with layers of half each of the remaining COOL WHIP and chopped cookies. Repeat layers, using vanilla pudding mixture.

DRIZZLE with syrup

CROCKPOT POTATO SOUP

Ingredients
5lbs. potatoes; peeled and coursely chopped
1 sm. onion; chopped
8oz. cream cheese; softened
3-14.5oz. cans reduced sodium chicken broth
1can cream of chicken soup
1/4t. pepper
GARNISHES:
crisp bacon; crumbled
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
sliced scallions

Directions
Put potatoes & onion in crock-pot.
Combine the cream cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup & the pepper. Add this mix to teh crock-pot.
Cover & cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.
After cooking time, mash the potatoes if you want the soup to be thicker.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and the cheese & bacon. Sprinkle with sliced scallions.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of celery soup
1 onion, finely diced
2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces
1 (14.75 ounce can of chicken broth) may be more or less

Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion in a slow cooker.Fill with just enough chicken broth to cover.Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker.Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TACO SOUP

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)


DIRECTIONS
Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce,and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

CROCKPOT TORTILLA SOUP

2-3 large chicken breasts (depending on how meaty you like it)
2 15oz cans black beans, undrained
2 15oz cans Mexican Stewed Tomatoes, chopped and undrained
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 4oz can chopped green chilis
1 cup salsa
2 cans of corn

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove chicken, shred and return to crock pot. Garnish each serving with tortilla chips, cheese & sour cream.

TACO BAKE

Ingredients
1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 cups crushed corn chips, divided
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese


Directions
Unroll crescent dough into a rectangle; press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Seal seams and perforations. Sprinkle with 1 cup of chips; set aside.
In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Spoon over chips. Top with sour cream, cheese and remaining chips.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Yield: 8 servings.

BAKED ZITI

Ingredients

1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

HASHBROWN CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck, browned and drained
1 medium onion, chopped
1 envelope brown gravy
1 can (16oz) cream corn
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 package (16 to 20 oz) frozen hash browns, slightly thawed
1 can cream of celery, mushroom, or chicken soup
1/2 cup evaporated milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place ground beef and onion in slow cooker/Crock Pot; toss with gravy mix. Pour cream corn over ground beef mixture, then add half the cheese. Top with hash browns, and remaining cheese. Mix the soup with evaporated milk and pour evenly over the hash browns. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. If you want to double this for a 5-quart or larger pot, use 2 to 3 pounds of ground beef and 32 ounces hash browns.
Serves 4.

SOUR CREAM PORK CHOPS

Ingredients:

6 pork chops
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 large onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 cubes chicken bouillon
2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream


Directions:


Season pork chops with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and then dredge in 1/2 cup flour. In a skillet over medium heat, lightly brown chops in a small amount of oil.
Place chops in slow cooker, and top with onion slices. Dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water and pour over chops. Cover, and cook on Low 7 to 8 hours.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
After the chops have cooked, transfer chops to the oven to keep warm. Be careful, the chops are so tender they will fall apart. In a small bowl, blend 2 tablespoons flour with the sour cream; mix into meat juices. Turn slow cooker to High for 15 to 30 minutes, or until sauce is slightly thickened. Serve sauce over pork chops.