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Cherry (or Raspberry) Chocolate Chunk and Marshmallow Cookies

2012-01-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

Wow that title was a mouth full!!

I found this recipe on Picky Palate! She originally used Cherry Sticks, but I was given Raspberry sticks at Christmas. I thought, why not give this a try! Picky Palate always has great recipes and I was up for the experiment.

The experiment was successful and they turned out really good! I don't think I would go out and buy these sticks on purpose to make them all the time, but the raspberry and chocolate was really yummy together!

Cherry (or Raspberry) Chocolate Chunk and Marshmallow Cookies

(http://www.picky-palate.com/)

1 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
30-40 cherry, raspberry sticks, chopped (one pkg)
2 cups chocolate chunks or chips
80 mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner.

Place butter and sugars in your mixer and mix until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until well combined.

Slowly add your dry ingredients and mix well. Add your chopped sticks, chocolate chunks and marshmallows. Mix just until combined.

Place on your cookie sheet using a medium cookie scoop about 1 inch apart. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.

As soon as the cookies come out of your oven, use a plastic knife to push the melted marshmallow back onto your cookie. Let cool for 10 minutes and then place on your cooling rack!

Enjoy!

CTR Pretzels

2012-01-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

The boys and I made these a couple weeks ago after church. They were fun to make with the kids! They each picked a letter and then we all helped with the other one!

It was a fun afternoon cooking with the boys and they turned out really good! We dipped them in nacho cheese and ate them warm too!

CTR Pretzels

(January Friend magazine)

1 tsp salt
2 1/2-3 cups flour (I did half wheat flour)
1 tbsp yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp sugar
melted butter
coarse salt to sprinkle on top

Mix salt, flour yeast, warm water and sugar together until they form a ball. Then continue to knead dough until smooth and elastic~I did this all in my mixer. Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Pull off sections of the dough and let the kids roll into long ropes. Form the ropes into the letters "CTR" or you can do your kids initials or whatever you like!

Put the pretzels on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees. It might take a little longer to make them golden brown!

Brush pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt! Enjoy like this or dip in nacho cheese!

Multigrain Bread

2012-01-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

I have made a resolution this year to try and make homemade bread more often. I am trying to make it once a week~so far I have done that!

I am also using more wheat in my breads, going for the healthier resolution too! I have found a couple breads that have been really really good! They have been moist, easy and really delicious!

I found this recipe on ourbestbites, but originally found in the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook. Try it out and you won't be disappointed!

Multigrain Bread

(found on www.ourbestbites.com)

1 1/4 cup seven-grain hot cereal mix (I used a 6-grain mix from Alison's pantry that worked out great, but I am going to look for the 7-grain to try next time)
2 1/2 cups boiling water
3 cups all-purpose (not bread) flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup honey
4 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1 tbsp salt
1/2 cup oats (for topping)

Place 7-grain mix (or 6-grain) in your mixer and pour the boiling water on top. Let this mixture stand for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally. The mixture should resemble thick porridge. The 6-grain mix wasn't porridge, but really moist.

Now add honey, butter, and yeast and mix on low speed until combined. Add both flours about 1/2 cup at a time. Knead bread with your mixer until a cohesive mass starts to form, 1 1/2-2 minutes. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 minutes.

Add salt now and then mix in your mixer until dough clears side of bowl, about 3-4 minutes. (I didn't read this and ended up adding the salt with the flours and didn't do this step). Once bread dough clears sides of bowl, knead for 5 more minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temp until doubled in size ~ 45-60 minutes.

Grease two bread pans. Put your dough on a floured surface and divide into 2 balls. Shape your dough into loaf shape, repeat with second ball also. Spray loaves lightly with water or vegetable oil spray. Roll each loaf in the oats to coat evenly and then place into your loaf pans. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size (about 30-40 minutes).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Place pans on wire rack and let rest for 5 minutes and then remove loaves from pans and let cool!

Cheddar and Herb Biscuits

2012-01-16T08:37:00.001-07:00

This was found on www.forkinit.blogspot.com with the crock pot barbecue chicken. She said you needed to eat these with the chicken.

I took her idea and made these too! They were really good and moist and went great with the chicken. They would go great with lots of meals too!

They were a simple bread add on, with ingredients I had on hand too!

Cheddar and Herb Biscuits

(www.forkinit.blogspot.com)

Biscuits:

2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp shortening
3 tbsp butter, cold
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups grated cheddar cheese

Buttery Topping:

3 tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes~optional
3/4 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until coarse crumbs are formed. Lightly mix in grated cheese.

Mix in buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, sour your milk by taking 1 cup milk and add 1 1/2 tsp vinegar-let sit together until little bubbles appear on the top, about 10 minutes). Mix together just until moist, don't over mix or they will be tough.

Drop the biscuits onto a greased cookie sheet. It was recommended to use your larger cookie scoop, which I did and it worked great. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until browned and golden.

While they are baking, make your buttery topping. Mix the spices into your melted butter. As soon as the biscuits are out of the oven, brush the butter/herb mixture on the hot biscuits and then enjoy warm!

Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken

2012-01-13T08:29:00.002-07:00

I found this recipe idea on Pinterest. Yes pinterest again, but it is a great site with lots of people sharing their great finds!

The best part about this chicken is that it was cooked in the crock pot. I love a meal that is done earlier in the afternoon, especially when you have kid activities in the after school.

Try this and you wont be disappointed!

Crock pot Barbecue Chicken

(found on pinterest via http://www.forkinit.blogspot.com/)

4-6 pieces chicken breasts (can even use frozen ones)
1 bottle BBQ sauce (she used sweet baby rays, I used what I had on hand)
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2-1 tsp garlic powder

Mix BBQ sauce with vinegar, red pepper flakes, brown sugar and garlic powder. Place chicken in your crock pot (I try to spray with non-stick spray every time to make for easier clean up). Pour the sauce over the top and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.

We ate this with baked potatoes, broccoli and Cheddar and Herb biscuits~a recipe I will share!

Egg in the Hole

2012-01-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

I don't know what the true name of this breakfast idea, but we called it Egg in the Hole.

We had rave reviews at our house this morning and even had asking for seconds! Super easy breakfast idea, one that I have had before but haven't thought about for a long time! Just another idea if you find yourself in a breakfast rut!

Egg in the Hole

Bread (we used sourdough-YUM)
Eggs
Butter

Get a piece of bread and find a biscuit cutter or we used a drinking glass to make your center hole. We toasted the center hole and had it as toast.

Butter your pan and place your bread in the pan. Next, crack your egg in the center of your bread and make sure it fills the center. Butter the top side of your bread.

When egg cooked, flip over and cook other side. When done, serve with your circle toast!

Snowman Donuts

2012-01-09T15:37:00.001-07:00

I found another great idea on Pinterest and made them for Zach's birthday. We brought them to his class for his birthday treat and they were a hit! Zach loves powdered donuts, so how could I go wrong!

I did simplify them a little, but like how they turned out. You can definitely add more decorations if you want!

Snowman Donuts

(idea found on Pinterest)

Powdered Donuts
mini chocolate chips for the eyes and mouth
M&M's for mouth, or you could use Mike-n-Ikes, or whatever you like
Hershey kisses for the hat
shish kabob skewers
Pull apart licorice for the scarf (which I didn't do this time)

Slide 3 donuts on your skewer. Be careful here, I did break apart a few donuts. This is the main reason I didn't add buttons on the body, I was afraid of the cracking.

Turn your Hershey kiss around on the skewer top to secure it in place. Now decorate your snowman however you like or have your kids help.

The ones I saw were wrapped individually in bags with a ribbon tied around the skewer. I was mass producing for a class, so no bags for me!

They were super cute and easy for a winter time treat!

Thumbprint Cookies

2012-01-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Yes again another fun find on Pinterest. I kind of ran with the idea and thought this is not only fun for Christmas, but you could modify it for any holiday. Just red sprinkles for Valentines with a chocolate Hershey kiss, green for St. Patty's day and so forth! You could probably even make these into little nests for Easter and put the little chocolate eggs in the middle! We enjoyed these for Christmas with candy cane Hershey kisses in the center!

Thumbprint cookies

(modified from Better Homes red and white cookbook)

2/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
sprinkles of your choosing
Hershey kisses of your choosing

In your mixer, beat your butter or margarine on high speed for about 30 seconds. Basically you want all the chunks gone! Then add your sugar and beat until combined, scraping the sides as needed. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.

Add you flour and combine. The recipe says to chill for 1 hour, but I usually test the dough and if I can handle it I start right away, if not put in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes and test it again.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll your dough in your sprinkles. Then place on your cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. Continue doing this until you have filled your cookie sheet. Now take your thumb and make an indent into your cookies. Basically you are putting your thumb print into your cookie ball and flattening it a little.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browning. While your cookies are cooking, start unwrapping your Hershey kisses. Once they come out of the oven, start placing the kisses in your thumb print. Once all the kisses are in your cookies, place them on a cooling rack and let them cool. If you don't let cool, your Hershey kisses will get smooshed because they get melty from the heat of your cookie!

Enjoy these yummy treats for any holiday!

Spicy Thai Noodles

2012-01-05T17:24:00.001-07:00

This was another find on pinterest. I made this and even made the less spicy version and about burned up my kids chapped lips! It has great flavor, but was very spicy. I am planning on adjusting the red pepper. The noodles were way less spicy the next day and my kids even said they were better. The first night I made them they didn't want to stop eating them, but their little mouths were on fire! So try with my adjustments and see what you think.

Spicy Thai Noodles

(www.asmallsnippet.blogspot.com)

1 box linguine or angel hair pasta
1-2 tbsp crushed red pepper (even 1 tbsp was too spicy, going to try 1/2 tbsp)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sesame oil
6 tbsp honey
6 tbsp soy sauce
any additional add ins you like, chicken, peas, sprouts, peanuts, green onions, etc.

Boil Noodles and drain.

Have all your add ins you want ready to go!

Heat the vegetable and sesame oils and crushed red pepper over medium heat in a small pan. Heat til very warm and then strain the red peppers out and reserve the oil.

Add to the oil the honey and soy sauce. Whisk together. Toss mixture with noodles and any add ins you wanted.

Serve and enjoy!

Creamy Crockpot Hot Cocoa

2012-01-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

YUM, YUMMY, YUMMIRIFIC!!

I had this first at a friends house and then had to make it on my own. Rich, creamy and oh so delicious.

I did make a few adjustments to make it a little healthier! I thought it was still just as good and maybe not so heavy with the adjustments. I will give both recipes and you can decide!!

_____________________________

Creamy Crock pot Hot Cocoa

(found on pinterest from MrsHappyHomemaker.com)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I only did 3/4 cups)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
2 cups milk chocolate chips
6 cups milk (I added another 3/4 cups)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir all ingredients together in your crock pot. I basically halved the cream and then added more milk to make up the difference. I will definitely do this all the time!

Cover and cook on low for 2 hours ~ coming back to whisk occasionally. Garnish with marshmallows or whipped cream if desired.

Enjoy on these cold winter days! Great to start and have ready when kids get home!

Brown Sugar Cookies

2011-12-13T17:14:00.003-07:00

I found this in my Food Network magazine. It is a Crisco recipe and it was easy and turned out really yummy. You can dip them in chocolate or just eat them plain. If you dip, some ideas were to sprinkle crushed candy canes, chopped nuts, sprinkles or whatever you think is fun!

Brown Sugar Cookies

(Crisco)

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat together shortening, butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla in medium bowl until light and fluffy. I mixed the butter and shortening first and then added the remaining ingredients. Next time I might used butter and margarine instead!

Mix in flour, baking soda and salt. Shape dough into 1-inch balls or use a small cookie scoop. Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to cooling rack and when cooled dip or spread melted chocolate on half and sprinkle on anything you might like!

Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Bites

2011-12-12T08:20:00.002-07:00

This is an appetizer found on the tasty kitchen site. I was looking for a simple but yet yummy appetizer that was bite size too! This one also had only 3 ingredients and ones that I have on hand!

This one had rave reviews and one comment made was who couldn't like something wrapped in bacon or everything is better with bacon!

I guess that is somewhat true because these were very good and a nice simple appetizer that wasn't too big but gave you a good taste! I brought it to a Christmas party and only came home with one!

Bacon Wrapper Pineapple Bites

(http://www.tastykitchen.com/)

1 lb bacon
1 can chunked pineapple~the large chunks
1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan by lining it with tin foil. Then place a cooling rack on top of it.

Cut your bacon strips in half. Put your brown sugar in a shallow bowl. Take a 1/2 slice of bacon and dredge it in the brown sugar. Basically, coat your bacon with sugar. Put a chunk of pineapple on your bacon and roll it up. Secure it with a toothpick and place on your cooling rack. Continue doing this until you either run out of bacon or pineapple. The nice thing about this is that you can do as many as you want. I had less than a pound of bacon, so I just made as many of them as I had bacon.

Bake for at least 25 minutes, or until bacon looks brown and crispy. Your bacon bundles will drip and the foil makes sure easy clean up. Also the drippings may smoke some, so be prepared when you open your oven. It was recommended to turn your broiler on to crisp the bacon a little too at the end. Just watch very carefully because the sugar will burn.

Let cool slightly and place on a serving plate and enjoy! I let my drippings on the foil kind of solidify and then was able to just pick up the foil and throw it all away! My pan was pretty clean underneath!

Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup

2011-12-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

This is another great recipe found on pinterest. It is originally from food.com.

Todd and I found a Panera in North Carolina and have loved that place ever since. They have great sandwiches, bagels, bread, and soup too!

This soup was really really good! In fact I had a kid ask for seconds!

Yummy and warm and perfect for a winter night!

Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup

(http://www.food.com/)

serves 4

1 tbsp melted butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half cream
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb fresh broccoli (about 3-4 cups)
1 cup carrots, julienned
1/4 tsp nutmeg
8 ounces (1 cup) grated sharp cheddar cheese (used medium)
salt and pepper

Saute onion in 1 tbsp butter. When softened and cooked set aside.

Using a whisk, combine 1/4 cup melted butter and flour. Whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Next, add the half-and-half stirring constantly.

Add the chicken stock (I did water and bouillon). Simmer for 20 minutes.

While the stock and cream are simmering, chop up your broccoli and julienne your carrots. I looked up julienne and it looked like you cut the carrots into small sticks. I did mine bite size sticks.

Once you have simmered for 20 minutes, add broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes.

Add salt and pepper and cheese. Stir in nutmeg and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

2011-12-05T15:47:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on Pinterest. Did I tell you how much I like that site??

This recipe was adapted from Nestle's Very Best Baking. The recipe originally has you make them in regular muffin cups. The recipe was changed for mini muffin cups! They are perfect mini size!

Anyone who loves chocolate and peanut butter will love these!

Isn't anything mini that much better too???

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

(found on pinterest, adapted from Nestle's Very Best Baking)

1 box of your favorite brownie mix or mix up a batch of your favorite homemade version
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare your brownies as directed. The original recipe doesn't use paper liners, but I used them and think they make using the mini muffin cups so much easier to get out. So either spray really good or line with paper liners.

Spoon batter evenly into your mini muffin cups (about 1 heaping tsp.) Bake for 13-15 minutes. I must have filled mine more than she did because my cooking time was about 3-5 minutes more. Either way, cook until a toothpick inserted comes out slightly wet, but done.

After brownies are out of the oven, wait for centers to fall. This will happen while cooling, or you can tap the centers with a tsp. to help make a well shape in your brownie.

Place peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 30-45 seconds. While brownies are still warm, spoon about 1/2 tsp of peanut butter into the center of each brownie. Top with semi-sweet and peanut butter chips. Cool and gobble up!

Pork Carnitas

2011-12-02T19:55:00.001-07:00

I found this recipe in my All You magazine. It is a crock pot recipe and I definitely need the crock pot on busy after school days!

The pork turned out tender and had lots of great flavor. Definitely a great easy recipe that produced great leftovers for lunches too!

Pork Carnitas

(All You magazine October 2011)

1 3 lb. boneless pork roast
2 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 large onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic, cut up

I always start with spraying my crock pot with non-stick spray. When I remember this I am always happier when it comes to clean up!

Place your pork roast into the crock pot. The recipe says to chunk your roast into 2 inch pieces with fat trimmed. My roast was frozen, so I kept it whole which may help prevent it from drying out too!

Sprinkle pork with salt, chili powder, cumin and oregano. Place onion and garlic over the top and around your roast. Cover and cook on low until meat is tender and falling apart~about 6 hours. Shred pork and serve hot!

Serve in tortillas with shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream, avocado, spanish rice, beans, salsa or whatever you love!

Chocolate Candy Pie

2011-12-01T19:42:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness Oh my goodness!

I can't believe in all the recipes I have posted that this one has been neglected! It is the best and it was my dad's favorite until he became allergic to milk! I still think it tortures him when we make it! Sorry dad!

It is sooo good and sooo easy and loved, loved, loved by everyone! In fact this year my family said they made 2 so everyone would be able to get another piece when Thanksgiving 2 happened!

Delicious chocolate goodness is all I can say!

Chocolate Candy Pie

(from my mom ~ circa 1968)

1 pie crust or graham cracker crust
20 regular sized marshmallows (fresh ones)
1/2 cup milk
2 bars (3 3/4 oz) milk chocolate with almonds candy bars
1 1/2 cups heavy whip cream

Prepare your crust first. If doing a regular pie crust, make it and cook it in your pie tin and have cooled before you make the pie.

In a medium saucepan, combine the marshmallows and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until marshmallows are melted.

Add the candy bars. Break them into small pieces so easier to melt. Continue cooking on low heat until chocolate is melted stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour into another pan to cool. Place in freezer to cool quickly for about 10 minutes.

While its cooling, whip 1 cup of the heavy whipping cream. Fold into cooled chocolate mixture and pour into your pie shell.

Place in your refrigerator to set up for at least 3 hours. If you need it to be done quickly, place in freezer for about 40 minutes to speed it up!

Whip the rest of your cream (with added sugar and vanilla) and decorate the top of your pie or serve with it on top.

Enjoy a yummy yummy pie!

Sweet Potatoes or Yams

2011-11-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

We had Thanksgiving in California at Todd's brothers house! We had a great dinner and even experimented a little!

Heather found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. They were super yummy and a really good flavor adding the spices to it!

Sweet Potatoes or Yams

(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 bag large marshmallows
about 6-7 medium yams or sweet potatoes

Boil your sweet potatoes with the skins on until the skins start to crack. Peel the skins off (or the skin will just peel off to the touch) and slice. My mom always peels the sweet potatoes or yams first and chunks them. She then covers them and boils them until tender~just like regular potatoes. I don't think it matters what way you do it, just make sure your potatoes are tender.

Put your sliced yams in a 9 x 13 pan. We then sprinkled brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg over the top. Next we dolloped the butter over the tops of them. Next cook this in a 350 degree oven until the butter and sugars are melted, about 10 minutes or so. (Next time we were going to try putting the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a saucepan. Melting it all together and then putting it all over the cooked potatoes and skipping the baking part again?)

Now add your marshmallows all over the top and broil until they are golden! Don't take your eyes off or you will have burnt mallows! YUMMY!!

Pomegranate Mold (or Penny Jello)

2011-11-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

This is a Thanksgiving tradition at our house! My mom has been making this jello for a long time and this year Heather and I made it!

We have nicknamed it the Penny jello because when I was a kid we always ate Thanksgiving in the dining room. We never ate in there but on special occasions. My mom invited this lady named Penny over for Thanksgiving and we had this jello. We were always told to have our best manners and you can say were sternly told to have our best manners!

So this year we were in the dining room having our best manners when Penny started eating the jello. She proceeded to pick the pomegranate seeds out of her mouth and not eat them or eat around the seed or something. She used her hands and everything in the dining room! My sisters and I were all a little shocked to say the least! We now can't eat this salad without thinking of her and laughing about the dining room episode!

It is a very good jello and a yummy way to use pomegranates!

Pomegranate Mold Salad

(source unknown, been made for years at my house!)

1 3 oz pkg strawberry jello
1 3 oz pkg raspberry jello
1 small can mandarin oranges, drained
1 medium can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups pomegranate seeds, about 4 pomegranates
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 lemon, juiced

Dissolve jello in 3 cups water~1 cup hot, 2 cups cold

Mix together remaining ingredients in a bundt pan or jello mold or even a 9 x 13 pan. Make sure to grease the bundt pan in order to get the jello out.

Pour jello over mixture and refrigerate. We always make this the night before so it has adequate time to set up! If using a bundt pan, you may need to soak the pan in warm water to get it to come loose!

Rice Krispy Turkeys

2011-11-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

I found this idea on Pinterest. I love that site and would recommend it to anyone for great ideas!

It was a simple fun way to get the kids involved in helping to make place cards at the table. We didn't add eyes or a beak, but I really liked the simpleness of this anyway!

Rice Krispy Turkeys

Rice Krispies
Marshmallows
Chocolate for dipping
candy corns
white frosting if making eyes
Sucker sticks

Make your Rice Krispy treats in a 9 x 13 pan. Once made, form into balls, we made about 17 small balls.

Melt your chocolate. We used yummy See's candy chocolate bars, but any dipping chocolate or chocolate chips works. Use a double boiler.

Dip the tops of your balls and then let firm up a bit. Decorate and put onto your sticks.

We filled the cups with pretzels, popcorn and candy corn which looked very fall and festive. The turkeys were a little top heavy, so next time I may add more candy corns on the bottom. Write your guests names on the cups and they look super fun on the table!

Cheeseburger Soup

2011-11-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Yummy, Yumm-o, Yummtastic, Yummerific,...

These were some of the words that my family used to describe this soup! Well the words "This is yummy mom" were used, which are words to melt any mothers heart! My husband was even completely thrilled and loved dinner too!

This is a Taste of Home recipe and received 4 stars! The ingredients were almost all ones I had on hand~the only thing I had to buy was Velveeta.

Very easy and a very comforting soup!

Cheeseburger Soup

(Taste of home)

1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
4 tbsp butter, divided
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced, peeled potatoes (1 3/4 pounds) (or use red potatoes and you can leave skin on)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups (8 ounces) process cheese (Velveeta)
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup sour cream

In a sauce pan, brown your ground beef; drain and set aside. While your beef is cooking, chop your onions, shred (grate with a cheese grater) your carrots and dice your celery. I put all these ingredients in one bowl and then added the basil and parsley to it.

Once your beef is done and you have removed it from the pan, use the same pan and saute your onion, celery, carrots, basil, and parsley in 1 tbsp butter.
Cook until veggies are tender, about 10 minutes.

After the veggies are tender, add your broth (I did 3 cups water with 3 bouillon cubes), potatoes and beef. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

While everything is simmering, melt remaining 3 tbsp butter in a small skillet. Add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add this to your soup (when potatoes are ready) and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the milk, cheese, salt and pepper. Cook until cheese is melted.

Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Enjoy with saltine crackers!

Cowboy Quesadillas

2011-11-09T21:50:00.020-07:00

I found this recipe on Our Best Bites website. They always have great recipes and they are usually recipes with ingredients that I have on hand!

This one was the same! My family all liked this, but I will say it was just an easy revved up version of a quesadilla. My kids ate them, but didn't really like the dipping sauce. I liked it too, but thought next time I might try substituting the barbecue sauce with sour cream.

All the ingredients are good together and I liked the barbecue sauce, but I think I would prefer sour cream!

Very easy and a way to make a quesadilla more of a meal than just cheese! Also a great way to use leftovers!

Cowboy Quesadillas

(http://www.ourbestbites.com/)

1/2 cup white rice
1/3 cup black beans
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1/3 cup fresh frozen corn (no need to thaw)
2/3 cup diced tomato (didn't add~I don't like tomatoes!)
3 tbsp sliced green onions
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese ~ any type you like!
1/4 cup barbecue sauce (or try sour cream!)
small tortillas, fajita size

Combine rice, beans, chicken, corn, tomato, green onion and shredded cheese. Add barbecue sauce (or sour cream) and stir to combine. Place about 1/3 of the mixture on half of a tortilla and fold over to close.

Heat a skillet to medium heat. When hot, spray with cooking spray and place your filled tortilla on top. Cook until golden brown or slightly crisp and turn over to cook on other side!

Serve with a barbecue dipping sauce (equal parts barbecue sauce and ranch dressing) or try more sour cream, guacamole, or salsa and enjoy!

Moist Pumkin Spice Muffins (with Cream Cheese Frosting)

2011-11-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

I love pumpkin and like to make lots of pumpkin this time of year! I found this recipe on Tasty kitchen and had to try it. This may now be my new go to recipe for pumpkin muffins!

I didn't make the frosting because I didn't have any cream cheese! I do have to say that they were super moist and didn't need the frosting. I am sure the muffin would be super good with the frosting, but they were really good without too!

Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins (with Cream Cheese Frosting)

(www.tastykitchen.com)

Muffin Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 cup (heaping) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Topping:

2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

For Frosting

1/4 cups softened butter
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 lb powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease a 12 muffin tin.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Then combine with pastry blender or you can sift together. Cut in butter pieces with 2 knives or pastry blender until it is fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Fold gently until mixture is just combined.

Pour the batter into the greased muffin pan(I used muffin liners). I filled all 12 spots. Sprinkle with topping mixture over all the batter filled tins.

Bake for 25 minutes. Your toothpick should come out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool.

Ice with cream cheese frosting. To make frosting~mix all ingredients in a mixer on high until soft and whipped. Spread onto completely cooled muffins! Store frosted muffins in refrigerator, icing will soften at room temp.!

Spider Cookies

2011-11-02T20:32:00.001-06:00

I found this idea on a blog, not sure which one but it was a great simple idea! It is a little late for Halloween, but it will definitely work for next year or maybe if you were having a spider man birthday party!

Spider Cookies

Oreo Cookies
M & M's
Pull apart Twizzlers (red or black)
Frosting

Cut your twizzlers to the size of your spider legs. Next push your legs into the yummy oreo centers. I learned as I went it was much easier to pull the top off of the oreo and push the legs in the filling that way. I then put a little frosting on top of the filling and placed the top back on.

Next 2 dots of frosting for the eyes and then place your M & M's on top! You are done and the kids will love them!

Reeses Cheesecake Brownies

2011-11-01T14:27:00.002-06:00

It seems at times trying new recipes is a lonely place! I hear people tell me about new recipes they try, and I always say "Add it to the blog!". I have decided it must be my job to be experimental (which I fully enjoy!)! So now my friends are sending me samples and recipes for the samples to add to the blog! That works too!

This is a recipe Desiree tried and I sampled! They are very yummy and I am glad to just have a little sample and not the whole pan~I would probably eat them all! So enjoy and share with others to sample too! Also a great way to use up that Halloween candy!

Reese's Cheesecake Brownies

(from Desiree via

http://www.pipandebby.com/storage/recipes/ReesesCheesecakeBrowniesRecipe.pdf)

1 19.5 oz box chocolate fudge brownie mix
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
12 oz Reese's pieces candy
1 12 oz bag milk chocolate chips
3 tbsp whipping cream
12 large Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Prepare the brownie mix, according to pkg. directions. Spread the batter in your pan, and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with mixer until fluffy. Add sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter and beat until smooth. Stir in Reese's Pieces candies. Spoon the mixture over the brownie batter. Spread evenly.

Bake for 40 minutes or until cheesecake layer is set and edges are golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, microwave the chocolate chips and whipping cream for 1 minute or until chips are melted. Stir until smooth. Spread over cheesecake layer. Sprinkle Reese's Peanut Butter cup pieces over top. Store covered in refrigerator until ready to serve!

Classic Minestrone Soup

2011-10-31T14:16:00.000-06:00

I found this in my All You Magazine and since cold weather is upon us, I had to give it a try!

It was simple since you cook it in your crock pot! The soup has great flavor and very healthy for all you trying to balance the candy intake! It came out a little thick, so I added more water in the end to thin it out a little. Either way it was great and will definitely be made again!

Classic Minestrone Soup

(October All You Magazine)

2 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped (I used dried onion, just for simplicity)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3, we love garlic!)
4 cups chicken broth (I added 4 cups water and 4 bouillon cubes~next time I will add 5 cups and 5 bouillon)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes with liquid
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup small shell pasta or macaroni
1 cup shredded escarole or kale (I used my shredded zucchini instead)
1 15.5 oz can white beans, drained
Grated Parmesan cheese

Combine carrots, celery, onion and garlic in slow cooker. Pour in broth and stir in tomatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and Italian seasoning. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. I added the shredded zucchini about half way through cooking.

Thirty minutes before serving, stir in pasta, escarole (if using) and beans. Cover and increase heat to high and cook until pasta is tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top!

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

2011-10-30T18:54:00.001-06:00

This was a fun idea I found on the Our Best Bites site!

You use a gingerbread man cookie cutter and then decorate them into skeletons. It is an alternative to traditional sugar cookies, especially at Halloween! We made the skeletons, bats and spiders! Super spooky fun!! (and good cookies too!)

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

(http://www.ourbestbites.com/)

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or use a baking mat if you have one!

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.

Slowly add your dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add your cocoa powder first and then slowly incorporate the flour. I used all 2 1/2 cups. Scrape the sides of your bowl as you go.

Lightly dust your surface with flour or cocoa powder and roll your dough out. It recommends to roll your dough and then place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. I didn't put mine in the fridge. My dough wasn't sticky and I was able to work with it right away!

Cut out shapes and place on your baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Don't over bake! Just make sure edges look set!

Let your cookies cool on your baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then place on a cooling rack!

Decorate and enjoy your spooky cookies!

White Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cookies

2011-10-28T16:59:00.000-06:00

It is definitely pumpkin season and time to get all those pumpkin recipes out! I have found a few keepers and have loved the smell these recipes make when they are baking!

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and had to try the combination with white chocolate. This recipe also adds pumpkin spice, which I don't think I have added to my cookies before! They had great flavor and were really moist! To me anything with chocolate is great! These are probably good with semi-sweet chocolate too!

White Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cookies

(www.tastykitchen.com)

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsps pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixer, cream butter with sugars. Add your pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Combine thoroughly.

Slowly add your dry ingredients. They recommended putting all your dry ingredients in a separate bowl and whisking together. I always just add the spices first and then the flour a little at a time.

Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by small cookie scoop or spoonfuls on parchment lined baking sheets. (I did use parchment, not sure if you have to or not, but nice clean up!!)

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool for a couple minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool!

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

2011-10-25T20:51:00.000-06:00

I found this recipe on www.ourbestbites.com. They have a great site and a great cookbook~you should check both out!

These were fun to make and the kids loved that they were bite size. I do think next time I will make them bigger!

This is a fun Halloween treat and an easy way to have sugar cookies without all the cookie cutters and frosting too!

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

(our best bites)

1 batch of your favorite cookie dough (I used the sour cream sugar cookies that is on this site! It is my favorite!!)
yellow and orange food coloring

Optional:

Sanding sugar, coarse raw sugar, or sprinkles ~ almond bark or white chocolate, melted (I didn't do this for sheer simpleness~would like sanding sugar though!)

Divide prepared sugar cookie dough into 3 equal parts. Leave one as is and then color one part orange and one part yellow. I used my mixer and mixed the colors in that way. It was pretty simple.

Line a standard loaf pan with plastic wrap. Gently press the dough into the bottom of the pan. Start with the uncolored dough and press into the bottom of the pan. You don't have to fill the pan, just keep it about 1/2-3/4 inch tall or larger if desired. (This is where I messed up! I pressed mine flatter, which made my cookies bite size! This is still a fun cookie, but I had wished for the bigger size!)

Layer the orange dough on top and smooth and flatten. Finally layer the yellow dough on top. Wrap plastic over the top and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours or put in freezer for 30-60 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap and slice loaf into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Cut each slice into triangle shapes and dip tops (white part) into sugar if desired. Bake according to your sugar cookie recipe. Cool completely and if desired dip in white chocolate and decorate with sprinkles!

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake

2011-10-23T22:19:00.000-06:00

I found this recipe on Picky Palate. She always has fun recipes! In fact I have heard talk about a cookbook, which I keep watching for more info!

Anyway, I tried these pumpkin bars and they were an instant hit! Super moist, great flavor and loved the toppings.

This was an easy recipe and worth every minute! A great fall find for Thanksgiving or any time you need a fall treat!

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake

(http://www.picky-palate.com/)

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk (I used milk, easier!)
3.4 ounce box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
1/2 cup sour cream
15 ounce can pumpkin
4 tbsp butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a jello roll pam with non-stick spray.

Place cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, pudding mix, sour cream and pumpkin into a stand mixer. Beat until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. I just waited until it looked well mixed, didn't time it! Pour into prepared pan. Spread out evenly.

Place butter into a microwave safe bowl and melt. Add brown sugar and cinnamon, mix until combined. (I ended up adding a little more butter because I thought it was too thick to drizzle on. I think next time I might add less brown sugar instead.) Drizzle mixture evenly over cake and then take a knife and run it through to swirl. (Go down the cake and then up the other way and back, etc.!)

Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through. I tested with a toothpick and waited until it came clean.

Place powdered sugar and cream into your mixing bowl (which you cleaned while the cake was cooking!) and mix until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over warm cake and then let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. (I spread my frosting with a spatula to just even out the coverage.)

Refrigerate if not serving the same day. I did really really like it warm, so I would recommend serving it that day. The next day I took it out and let it warm up a bit before I served it again! It was still great, but oh so yummy warm!

Enjoy!

Man vs. Food Dinner

2011-10-15T19:00:00.000-06:00

My family likes to watch Man vs Food. We watch it often and like to see what he eats next! This was not one of his food challenges, but a place he visited before his challenge. It was a burger place that specialized in grilled add-ons to your hamburger. We decided to try some of the grilled items and found great success! My kids loved their hamburgers and the creations we made. On the show they put it all in a bun, we went bunless and loved it that way too! Just a new way to spice up a hamburger!

Man vs Food Hamburger

Beef for hamburgers
Buns if desired
Grilled items: Onions, Mushrooms, Salami, Egg, Bacon, or anything else you can grill.
Toppings: Tomato, Lettuce, Avocado, Cheese, etc.

Grill up your hamburger and your grilled items. Place all together on a bun with your toppings and prepare to enjoy!

Thai Peanut Noodles

2011-10-12T20:44:00.034-06:00

I found this recipe in the Our Best Bites cookbook. I have found a love for Pad Thai noodles and trying new sauces and combinations for the noodles. This one was labeled one of their "most popular" and it was a success!

There are so many things you can add. I added chicken and peas and left out the peanuts and cilantro.

Will definitely make again!

Thai Peanut Noodles

(Our Best Bites cookbook)

8 ounces Udon or linguine noodles (or I used Pad Thai noodles)
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1-2 tsp Sriracha chili sauce (1 tsp mild, 2 tsp hot) ~ I used chili garlic sauce 1 tsp because I had it on hand
1 1/2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger (used 1/4 tsp ground ginger)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Chopped green onions, cilantro, peanuts
2 limes cut into quarters for garnish (optional)
Add ins: Shredded chicken, peas, sprouts

Cook noodles in salted water according to pkg directions. If using Pad Thai, follow pkg directions to cook and allow time to soak the noodles in water.

If using any add ins, cook the chicken and have shredded. Have peas ready too.

While the noodles cook, combine the chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, giner and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat.

Toss cooked noodles with sauce and toss with add ins also. Separate into bowls and garnish with green onions, cilantro, and peanuts if desired. Squeeze lime juice over bowls also if desired.

Enjoy!

Ice Cream Chocolate Chip Cookie

2011-10-11T20:42:00.000-06:00

I can't remember the blog or site I found this recipe on, but they were super yummy and very creamy! Weird to say creamy with a cookie, but they were just that!

A fun additive to your chocolate cookie that makes them a little different and a lot yummy!

Ice Cream Chocolate Chip Cookie

(???)

2 sticks softened butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla
Heaping 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream (frozen from container)
4 cups flour (I used about 3 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 bag chocolate chips (I used about 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla until well combined. Add in ice cream until combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Add chocolate chips and mix until just combined.

Using a cookie scoop, place the dough on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are cooked through. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before putting on a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Pickled Banana Peppers

2011-09-21T18:19:00.000-06:00

I decided to try one more recipe for banana peppers! This one is not a sweet one and I sealed this one up! I am going to give this one a try soon and let you know the verdict on which was better or maybe both will be good!

(my garden froze last night! good thing I picked what was there!)

Pickled Banana Peppers

(makes 1 pint jar)

(jessicasfoodspot.blogspot.com)

Ingredients

10-12 banana peppers

1 hot pepper

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard seed

1 tsp pepper corns

2 cloves garlic, peeled

In a saucepan bring the vinegar, water, salt, peppercorns and mustard seed to a boil. Then remove from heat. In a large stock pot bring plain water to a boil.

While the brine is coming to a boil, slice the peppers into rings. Cut one of the garlic cloves into fourths and layer the peppers and garlic in a jar. Put the second garlic glove on top of the peppers.

Pour the brine over the peppers, leaving 1/2 inch space at the top of the jar. Place the lid on top of the jar making sure that seal is tight, then screw on the ring. Place the jar in the large stock pot of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the hot jar from the boiling water. After cooling for a few minutes check to make sure the jar sealed (If it is not sealed the middle of the lid will pop up and down). If it didn't seal just be sure to always keep it refrigerated.

Perfect Diner Pancakes

2011-09-16T10:59:00.019-06:00

I lost my camera to my husband this weekend. So unfortunately my kids don't get to laugh at me for taking pictures of my food and you don't get to see a wonderful picture of a pancake!

I know we all know what a pancake looks like, so just imagine that picture here! I was enticed by the recipe name "Perfect Diner" pancake and had to try them. We do Breakfast Wednesdays at my house and also with school I try really hard to cook more than cereal for breakfast on school mornings (like that I cook cereal~which consists of grabbing a box out of the pantry!) so I am always looking for that great pancake recipe.

I have found a few and have even used some mixes lately. I think I have found a favorite! I think I am done with mixes too! My kids all liked these pancakes too.

They are fluffy and have great flavor and super yummy! I don't know how they compare to a diner pancake so much because I am more of a waffle gal when we go out to breakfast! I do believe the title though, they were perfectly yummy!!

Perfect Diner Pancakes

(http://www.tastykitchen.com/)

1 cup flour
1/3 cup Malted Milk Powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cups milk (I added more after mixing because it seemed to thick)
1 extra large egg (I used a large egg, which may be why I needed more milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp melted butter

Heat your griddle to medium-high heat.

In a bowl, add all the dry ingredients and whisk to blend. In a smaller bowl, combine/whisk the milk, egg, and vanilla until frothy.

Add the milk mixture to your dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Now add your melted butter and whisk until completely incorporated. (I added some more milk here, about a tbsp at a time until desired thickness)

Allow the pancake batter to rest for about 3-5 minutes to thicken. (Mine was already thick, but I did let it rest!)

Now cook those lovely pancakes on your hot griddle and feel good about sending your kids to school having a great breakfast! Top with syrup or our ever favorite peanut butter and syrup on top of that! or strawberry jam or all sorts of other yumminess! Makes about 8-10 pancakes depending on size.

Sweet Pickled Banana Peppers

2011-09-15T10:58:00.000-06:00

I planted banana peppers this year in my garden. I didn't plant much since we got our garden in so late, but the nursery had banana pepper plants and I decided why not!

My family likes peppers on their sandwiches and even in salads. So I did a little searching on the Internet for a recipe. Well I found one with RAVE reviews and 5 stars everywhere! I have now officially tried it and it smells right and was super easy. I haven't tried them yet because you have to wait 2 weeks before you can eat them.

I am sharing for any of you looking for a recipe, you might want to try this one. It takes quite a few peppers to fill a pint jar, so you can use 1/2 pint jars too.

Sweet Pickled Banana Peppers

(http://www.food.com/)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb banana peppers, seeded and sliced cross ways into rings (about 2 cups cut peppers)

Pickling Juice:

2 cups white vinegar
2/3 cups white sugar
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp celery seeds
(I added a cut up clove of garlic too! A lot of other recipes had garlic in them, so that was my addition to this recipe!)

Directions:

Sterilize 2 1/2 pint jars, or 1 pint jar. (I usually put them through the dishwasher right before I need them. I had already washed my jars that way and so this time I just put my jar in boiling water on the stove for 5 minutes and then used it!)

Bring the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed and celery seed to a rolling boil.

Place the cut up peppers into the sterilized jars. Pour the hot pickling juice in the jars. Bring liquid to about 1/2" of the top and make sure the edge of the jar has no juice on it or that you wipe the top of the jar.

Place lids and screw on the bands finger tight. Seal jar and leave for 2 weeks. I just did one jar and want to try it right away, so I didn't water bath it and am git in the refrigerator to try in 2 weeks. I saw on other recipes to water bath the jars for 10 minutes to process.

I hope someone else out there tries this and I will let you know in 2 weeks how this one turned out!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2011-09-13T21:48:00.000-06:00

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. I haven't tried a lot of new recipes lately, still trying to get in the swing of things with sports and school starting! Fall is coming upon us and I am wanting to definitely cook more as our days of being outside are getting shorter! So sad to say that too!

This cake turned out really moist and you can't even really tell there is zucchini in it! A suggestion was to split the oil with applesauce, which I didn't try yet! I have included the suggestion and I am going to try that next time! I have included a recipe for a chocolate glaze that a reviewer said was great! I haven't tried it, I just put powdered sugar on mine, but it had rave reviews from others! So if you have found yourself buried in zucchini, give this treat a try!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake III

(www.allrecipes.com)

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups oil (or 3/4 cup oil and 3/4 cup applesauce)

3 cups grated zucchini

3/4 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan or bundt pan with spray and flour. I would definitely do this! I even had a hard time getting it out this way!
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well. Fold in nuts and zucchini until evenly distributed through bowl. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and top with powdered sugar or chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp Karo syrup

2 tsp vanilla

6 tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup milk (or more depending on consistency desired)

Mix all ingredients together and pour over cooled cake!

Easy Cream Cheese Zucchini Soup

2011-08-25T16:53:00.000-06:00

I found this recipe in my LDS living magazine. I thought why not try it since I have quite a few zucchini. It was super simple and has really good flavor. You taste the onion soup mix the most, but are getting lots of zucchini without really knowing it! A good way to eat your veggies! I will admit that I didn't give this to my kids, but want them to try it! The magazine stated that it would be a favorite with kids! You can't really taste the zucchini, so why not give it a try with your kids and some good french bread!

Easy Cream Cheese Zucchini Soup

(LDS Living magazine July/August 2011)

4 cups sliced zucchini
5 cups water
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 envelope of onion soup or vegetable soup mix

Cook zucchini in the water until zucchini is tender.

The directions say to pour into blender. It didn't specify to put the water in the blender with the zucchini or not. I drained the water and only added the zucchini. Mainly because my blender was not big enough to hold both the zucchini and all the water. If you try keeping the water, let me know how it turns out!

Add the cream cheese and the soup mix. Blend in blender until smooth. Once smooth, return to the pot and heat through.

Enjoy!

The Best Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

2011-08-03T13:09:00.000-06:00

I have a recipe I have liked for Beef Broccoli, but it was a little more complicated and had some different ingredients than what I have on hand. So I did a little Internet search and found this one on allrecipes.com. It had rave reviews!!! So I tried it and my family loved it!!

Did I say loved it??? Yes and I have had it for lunch this past week and still love it!!

The Best Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

(www.allrecipes.com)

3 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb top sirloin steak, cut into thin slices
2 tbsp vegetable oil or sesame oil
4 cups broccoli florets
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
sliced up peppers if desired
hot cooked rice

In a bowl, combine 2 tbsp cornstarch, 2 tbsp water and garlic powder. Stir until smooth. Add beef and toss to coat.

In a large skillet or wok, over medium-high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tbsp oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm. It was recommended to use sesame oil, which is what I did.

Stir-fry broccoli and onion (and peppers if adding) in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes. I added more sesame oil to this.

Return beef to pan when veggies are done.

Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and 1 tbsp corn starch and water. Mix until smooth. Add to pan.

Cook and stir for about 2 minutes. Serve over rice and enjoy!!

White (or Semi Sweet) Chocolate S'mores Gooey Cake Bars

2011-07-29T09:24:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a title!! I found this on the Picky Palate. It originally calls for white chocolate chips, but I didn't have any. So figuring on these were S'mores, I substituted semi-sweet chocolate chips. Next time I make these I might just use hershey bars!

They were really good, but a little goes a long way! You make these in a 8x8 pan, and get 12-16 servings. They are yummy, but you don't need much!

Super good treat, especially if you are a S'more lover!!

White (or Semi-sweet) Chocolate S'mores Gooey Cake Bars

(http://www.picky-palate.com/)

1 box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
4 1/2 full graham crackers
10 ounce bag of chocolate chips~white or semi-sweet or use chocolate bars
2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with foil. Make sure to overlap the edges. Double wrap the foil so you have overlapping edges on each side. Generously spray the foil with cooking spray!

Place cake mix, egg, and butter in a mixing bowl. Combine until a nice dough forms. It will be a little sticky, similar to a cookie dough.

Press half of the dough in your pan and press evenly. Place your graham crackers on top. Now layer your chocolate chips and then put your mini marshmallows on top.

Now top with your remaining dough, trying to cover your whole pan. I took pieces of dough and flattened it in my hand and then placed on top. It was easier this way and seemed to be able to cover the marshmallows better. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top.

Bake for 28-33 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown on top.

Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, take a plastic knife and run it along the edges to loosen it off the foil. This little trick will make it so much easier to remove when it is cooled.

Let cool completely in the pan. When cool, use the foil edges and pull the bars out of the pan. Cut off all the edges. This will make your bars able to be made into little squares. Save your edges to snack on!! Cut your bars into squares and serve! Enjoy at room temp or even great chilled!!

Rhubarb Cobbler

2011-07-27T10:54:00.000-06:00

I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman and decided I just might need a rhubarb plant after all! This was a great summer dessert and had great flavor! It was easy to make and yummy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream! I do think next time I will chop up my rhubarb in bigger chunks and also not use all the dough. I had lots of dough and piled it on, but it ended up not getting all the way done on the bottom of the layer! I also might add more rhubarb next time too! Definitely a keeper and a summer treat!!

Rhubarb Cobbler

(The Pioneer Woman)

4 cups chopped rhubarb (or maybe more!!)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional, but I added this)
2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup shortening (Crisco)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup whole milk (I used what I had on hand~1%)
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, combine chopped rhubarb, sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, lemon juice, and almond extract. Stir and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, and baking powder. Stir together and then add the shortening and butter. Cut together with a pastry cutter or you could use a fork also.

Beat egg and milk together. Pour into flour mixture and stir together with a fork until combined.

Pour rhubarb into a greased baking dish (I used a pie plate). Make sure to get all the juices out of the bowl! Tear off pinches of the dough and drop it onto the surface of the fruit, creating a cobbler texture. Sprinkle additional sugar over the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream! It is also good cold the next day!!

Pineapple-Ginger Flank Steak

2011-07-26T15:33:00.000-06:00

I have 3 words to describe this marinade

Yummy, yummy, yummy!!!!!

I experimented this one on the extended family and have great success. It had a super yummy flavor and was simple with ingredients I already had!

Try this one before the summer is out!!

_________________________

Pineapple-Ginger Flank Steak

(Our Best Bites cookbook)

3/4 cup pineapple juice (I opened a can of pineapple and let my kids eat the pineapple and I used the juice!)
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger (or I used 1/8 tsp ground ginger)
1/4 cup soy sauce
6 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
Up to 2lbs flank steak

Whisk together the pineapple juice, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil and garlic.

Score flank steak about 1/8 inch deep with a knife diagonally on both sides to tenderize the meat.

Place the steak in a zip-lock bag and pour the marinade over the top. Refrigerate for 8 hours or over night.

Remove steak from refrigerator about 30 minutes before grilling. Grill about 5-10 minutes on each side, depending on how big your steak is and how pink you want it to be.

Let sit for about 5 minutes before slicing and enjoy!!

Sara's Favorite Pasta Salad

2011-07-13T12:16:00.000-06:00

I don't know the real name of this salad or where we found it. We have named it this after my sister, who shared this many years ago as her favorite summer pasta salad! I share her like of this salad too! It is one of those salads you can really add anything you want and just pour over the yummy dressing. It is easy, and doesn't require a lot of prep and no oven!!

Enjoy!!

Pasta Salad

Dressing:

1/4 cup herbed white wine vinegar - tarragon or sweet basil (I didn't have this on hand and found you could substitute rice vinegar)
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp tarragon or sweet basil leaves (if you use the herbed white wine vinegar, match the spice to the vinegar. If you use rice vinegar, just pick whichever you have - I used basil)
1 tsp sweet Hungarian Paprika (I didn't have this on hand and used regular paprika, 1/2 tsp)
1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Set aside until salad is ready.

Salad:

3 cups cooked chicken breast, diced
2 jars (6 oz) marinated artichoke hearts
12 oz pasta (your choice) cooked and well drained
1 can sliced black olives, drained
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 large avocado, sliced
cherry tomatoes, sliced in half - adding as much as you like!
Optional add ins I have added - chopped red peppers, carrots, cucumbers, or whatever else you might like! I added Feta cheese this time too!

Place all your salad ingredients in a bowl and pour your dressing on top. Eat with french bread and enjoy!!

French Toast

2011-07-07T19:14:00.017-06:00

I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman and decided to give it a try! (She makes hers with a berry butter, which I may try later!) It is just french toast, but she does it a little different. She only used egg yolks. She said on her blog you haven't lived if you haven't tried it this way! I decided to try it when she described the yucky blobs you can get on french toast when the whites on the egg don't get mixed in. You know when it makes cooked egg on the sides of your french toast or when you have a blob of it on the bread! I absolutely hate that!

So this was the recipe for me to try! It was good, no blobs of yucky egg white and had great flavor. She cooks with half and half, but I think you could get away with just using milk!!

Try it both ways for breakfast or as we did for our Breakfast Wednesday Dinner!

French Toast

(The Pioneer Woman)

1 loaf of sourdough french bread
4 whole egg yolks (just the yolks!!!)
2 cups half and half
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsps vanilla
zest of one lemon (which I didn't add!)
Sifted powdered sugar for on top
Syrup!

Cut your bread into 1/2 inch thick slices or buy the already pre cut bread. In a dish combine the egg yolks, half and half, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest if you are adding. Whisk to combine. Dip bread slices in mixture, coating both sides and cook on a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Brown both sides and remove to a plate.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and pour yummy maple syrup on top! ENJOY!!

Ginger-Peanut Chicken-Salad Wraps

2011-07-06T19:13:00.000-06:00

This is another keeper for me!! My kids wouldn't eat it, but I loved it! This is something that I will make and eat for lunches. I would eat it all week! Super simple, you can even use leftover rotisserie chicken or if you are grilling, do extra and have this the next day!

Definitely great and loved loved loved it!!!

Ginger-Peanut Chicken-Salad Wraps

(from myrecipes.com)

1 tsp olive oil
3 chicken breasts
1 cup seeded and peeled cucumber (I didn't have any cucumbers, but will definitely add next time!)
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed or minced
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (didn't use cause hubby hates!!)
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce (or whatever you have on hand)

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until done. I salt and peppered the chicken too! Remove chicken from pan and let cool. Once cooled, shred the chicken into bite size pieces. Place chicken, cucumber and red pepper in a large bowl and set aside.

Place sugar, ginger, lime juice, soy sauce, salt, ground red pepper and garlic in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add peanut butter and water. Blend until smooth, scraping sides as needed.

Add peanut butter mixture to chicken mixture and stir well. Add cilantro (if using) and toss together. Warm tortillas. I warmed them up on a skillet on the stove. Place warmed tortilla on a plate. Spoon your chicken mixture down the middle. Top with about a 1/2 cup of lettuce and roll up! Enjoy!!

Barbecue Chicken Cobb Salad

2011-06-30T05:47:00.005-06:00

Loved, loved, loved this salad! It isn't anything different or new, but it was a great way to have a summer dinner without all the cooking! You can even use leftover chicken for this and then it would be super fast! All the ingredients can be prepared ahead of time too, which makes this a great busy day dinner or even a great lunch idea too!

Barbecue Chicken Cobb Salad

(Our Best Bites)

12 cups romaine lettuce (or whatever your family will eat. I used a combo with iceburg lettuce)
8-12 ounces grilled barbecue chicken (or leftover chicken is great too!)
8 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled (easy hint-cut your bacon with your kitchen scissors before you cook it and it is already crumbled and cooks fast!)
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
large avocado, pitted and diced
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
I also added in mine ~ sliced carrots, diced red pepper too!
Zesty Blue Cheese Dressing and Dip (in Dips and Dressings section)

You can divide the lettuce among different bowls or mix it all together. My family prefers to add what they like to the salad, so the tomato haters don't get tomatoes! I had all the ingredients prepared and added them to the salads as family members preferred! Just be sure your kids end up with some vegies, mine tried to only eat the barbecue chicken!

Top with all the yummy ingredients above and put on your favorite dressing or try the Zesty Blue Cheese!

Zesty Blue Cheese Dressing and Dip

2011-06-29T05:06:00.000-06:00

I found this dressing/dip in my new Our Best Bites cookbook. This dressing has become a favorite!

It definitely has a bite to it, but I really like blue cheese and really liked the flavor this had. We have only had it as a dressing and put it on a cobb salad (which I will post later!)

ENJOY!!

_________________

Zesty Blue Cheese Dressing and Dip

(Our Best Bites)

1 cup mayonaise (DO NOT USE MIRACLE WHIP!! but can use light mayo)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp minced garlic (about 1-2 cloves, minced)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1-2 tbsp milk or buttermilk (optional - for thickness of dressing or dip)

Whisk mayo, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar and garlic together. Add in your blue cheese crumbles. Depending on how thick you want it, add your 1-2 tbsp milk or buttermilk.

Best if you can refrigerate for several hours before serving! Eat with our favorite Barbeque Chicken Cobb Salad or any of your favorite salads or vegies!

Cool and Creamy Fruit Salad

2011-06-14T14:49:00.009-06:00

This recipe comes from Sisters Stuff. They talk about Cool and Creamy in there weekly recipes a lot. I finally had to see what all the talk was about. This was a simple jello fruit salad that I really liked. My kids were a little funny about it, which I don 't understand why??? I liked the flavor and it was simple and a great cold salad for a hot summer day. It would work great for a potluck salad to bring to a church function or even an outdoor barbecue!

Cool and Creamy Fruit Salad

(Sisters Stuff)

1 small package of jello (orange, strawberry, peach or raspberry)
1 small package of cook and serve vanilla pudding
2 cups water
Mandarin oranges(orange jello) or Strawberries (strawberry jello) or Peaches (peach jello) or Raspberries (raspberry jello)
1 small cool whip

Mix together jello, pudding and water in a saucepan. Cook until it thickens. Boil 1 minute.

Set in refrigerator overnight or until it sets and cools.

Mix the set jello mixture and thawed cool whip in your mixer. Whip until creamy. Now add your chopped up fruit. If you used orange jello, add mandarin oranges. Strawberry jello add your chopped strawberries etc. Add as much fruit as you like. We wanted more fruit with some topping, but experiment the way you like it!

Stir your fruit in and enjoy!

Chipotle Beef Taquitos

2011-06-13T14:26:00.031-06:00

I found this recipe in my Our Best Bites cookbook. I have been slowly working my way through the book, trying new things. I have been slowed down with cooking lately due to baseball. Yes baseball has meant my kids are eating a lot of cereal and quick grabs for dinner! YIKES!!!!

Well I am slowly getting back to cooking and trying new things again and I have missed it too!

This recipe is spicy, so I would definitely lean toward the lesser of the chipotle peppers for the more timid ones in your family! I love the spiciness of these peppers and even my family liked it, with a good dollop of sour cream to cool it down! If you like chipotle peppers you will love this. This is also a quicker meal because it uses leftover roast that you shred for the meat.

Try something new and enjoy these! You can also make these ahead of time too!

Chipotle Beef Taquitos

(Our Best Bites Cookbook)

3 cups cooked, shredded beef roast (I used the Perfect Pot Roast meat)
1/4-1/2 tsp minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (1/4 tsp is mild)
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies, undrained
1 tbsp adobo sauce from the canned chipotle peppers
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
zest from 1 lime (which I left out due to no limes and using lime juice from a bottle)
1 tbsp fresh lime juice (or from a bottle)
1 pkg queso fresco cheese, crumbled (I used a mixture of shredded cheddar and jack cheese)
about 20 6-inch corn tortillas
kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Slice or shred the beef from your cooked roast. Make pieces about 1/2 - 1 inch long. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Remove 1 chipotle pepper from your can. Try not to take much sauce out with the pepper. Slit the pepper open and scrape out the seeds. I didn't do this and it will make it spicier if you don't! Mince the pepper (I put it in my food processor) and take out how much you want; 1/4 - 1/2 tsp.

Combine chilies, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, garlic powder, coriander, cumin, chili powder, and lime zest and juice in a bowl. Stir together and then add it to your shredded beef and stir to combine and coat all your meat.

Wrap a pile of about 10 tortillas in a damp paper towel. Microwave for about 1 minute to soften. I messed up on this the first time and didn't soften my tortillas enough and my taquitos broke apart. So make sure they are soft and you may need to microwave for longer. Check at 1 minute.

Grab one softened tortilla and place some cheese down the center and then top with 1-2 tbsp shredded meat. Roll tightly and then place on a greased (sprayed with cooking spray) cookie sheet seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Soften more tortillas as needed and keep adding the meat and cheese until gone.

Spray tops of taquitos with the cooking spray and then sprinkle with the kosher salt.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, black beans, Spanish rice. Options are endless and a great lunch or dinner throughout the week too!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-06-08T17:06:00.000-06:00

I found this recipe last week when I had some left over oatmeal from canning a 25 lb bag. I was in the mood for oatmeal cookies and decided to search the blogging world to find a new recipe. I think this has become my new favorite oatmeal cookie. The cookie was moist and chewy, not crunchy and hard like sometimes happens. I am now replacing my last recipe with this one!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

found on www.bakingbites.com

1 cup butter, at room temp. (I used 1/2 cup margarine and 1/2 cup butter)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup oats
2 cups chocolate chips (I used about 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. I did this and it was very easy clean up. I am not sure why this is needed.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Then add the milk and vanilla.

In another bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually beat in the flour mixture to your butter mixture. (I hardly ever put all the dry ingredients together. I usually add the baking soda, powder and salt first and then add the flour a little at a time)

Stir in the oats and chocolate chips on slow speed or the recipe recommended by hand. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cooking for a puffier cookie.

Drop balls of dough on prepared cookie sheets, placing about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and light golden at the center.

Cool on baking sheet for at least 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

2011-06-02T07:42:00.013-06:00

I think this dip turned out really good! In fact there wasn't much leftover but a few spoonfuls! I kept telling myself this isn't that bad for you since I am eating a lot of spinach and good artichokes! Yes I know I am only fooling myself, but oh well! This was a super simple dip to put together and it had great flavor! It is definitely a party dip keeper!

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

(Our Best Bites Cookbook)

1 (9 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice ~ I used the bottled kind
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tsp dry parsley
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 (15 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Make sure all your liquid is drained out of your spinach. The book recommends a clean dry cloth, I used a few paper towels. I will say the chopped spinach didn't retain too much moisture. Place in a medium bowl. Add the cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream. Mix together well. Make sure to get all the cream cheese mixed in!

Add remaining ingredients and stir together.

Spray a square baking dish (8 x 8 or 9 x 9) with cooking spray. Place the dip in your prepared pan and then cook for 35-45 minutes. It is done when bubbly and hot!

Serve with crackers, tortilla chips, french bread or whatever you like!

Strawberry Sauce

2011-06-01T07:42:00.000-06:00

I know it has been a while since I have posted anything! We have been busy with baseball and end of the school year stuff and I haven't been very experimental or cooking a ton!

Well, I am back at it again and hoping to be cooking more now that I am not trying to rush kids to bed and going to activities etc.!

This sauce turned out really good (just need to adjust the sugar depending on the sweetness of your strawberries) and we ate it on crepes!

Strawberry Sauce

(Our Best Bites cookbook)

1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled, and roughly chopped ~ I googled what a pint of strawberries was since I bought mine at Costco and it is 2 1/4 cups sliced or 7 cups whole berries
1/3 cup granulated sugar ~ adjust to sweetness, mine needed more sugar
1 tsp almond or vanilla extract ~ used vanilla

Combine berries, sugar, and vanilla(or almond) extract in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly and breaking up the strawberries with a wooden spoon.

After 5 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool before putting in your blender. When cool enough, transfer to your blender and blend until desired consistency is reached. Refrigerate unused sauce for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months!

Use on top of waffles, crepes, ice cream, milkshakes or even the cookbook suggests adding a few spoonfuls to lemonade to make Strawberry lemonade! A yummy summer treat!!

Spanish Rice

2011-05-10T16:31:00.000-06:00

We like to cook at our house and it seems we have got a lot of favorites. It seems we are always looking for ways to make meals like Cafe Rio and other great Mexican restaurants. One

thing we hadn't ever tried and succeeded at was Spanish Rice.

I think we have finally found a great recipe!

We adapted the recipe from one found at http://www.mmmcafe.blogspot.com/ and it was yummy!!!! I think our rice days have just gotten better! We haven't liked the packets because the rice has been too wet or runny. This recipe is a drier rice, which is what we were looking for!

Here is our version (forgot to get a picture and it was all gone!!!)

Spanish Rice

(adapted from mmmcafe recipe)

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped fine

1 tbsp minced garlic (we used 3-4 cloves minced)

2 cups dry rice

1 cup chicken broth or stock

1 heaping tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

Cook your rice according to directions.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and garlic and let cook for a minute or so. Add your rice and stirring frequently for about 4 minutes.

In a separate sauce pan, bring your chicken stock or broth to a simmer. Add tomato paste, chili powder, oregano and salt. Bring to a simmer again.

Add to the rice and let sauce incorporate into the rice. Here is where you can cook longer to dry the rice again or cook less to have a more saucy rice.

Enjoy with all your mexican dishes!

Jaden's Chinese Beef Broccoli

2011-04-27T09:30:00.004-06:00

I found this on the Pioneer Woman site. Yes I look on there oh too often, but I find some really good recipes that my family has really loved!

She found this in a new cookbook called The Steamy Kitchen. She raves about it, but I haven't seen it before. I did look on Amazon and got a sneak peek. She has all sorts of info on Chinese spices, marinades, etc. that was really good info to read. Maybe it might be worth it??

This was a really good, quick meal that my family all enjoyed. The flavors were good and it is always nice when your main course includes your veggie!

Chinese Beef Broccoli
(The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook)

1 lb top sirloin or flank steak, thinly sliced into 1/8 in. thick strips (I used a London Broil)

1 1/2 lbs broccoli, cut into bite sized florets (I used about 3 stalks)

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp minced garlic (I like garlic and didn't measure this. I used 5-6 cloves)

BEEF MARINADE

1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp cooking oil
black pepper to season beef
(I doubled this marinade)

STIR-FRY SAUCE
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry ~ (I substituted apple juice here)
2 tsp Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, combine the ingredients for Beef Marinade. Add the beef and let marinate for 10 minutes at room temp. (I actually marinated mine for 1 hour in the refrigerator)

In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the Stir-Fry sauce.

In a wok or large saute pan, bring to a boil about 1 inch of water. Add the broccoli and cover. Steam for about 3 minutes or until you can pierce the stem with a fork. Your broccoli should still be crisp, tender and bright green.

When broccoli is done, drain and let sit. Dry the pan and set it over high heat. When hot add 1 tbsp cooking oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add your minced garlic and fry for about 15-30 seconds. The garlic should be fragrant when done. This happens quick, so have your meat ready to add.

Add the steak strips, keeping them in one layer and fry for about 30 seconds and then flip over for another 30 seconds.

Pour in the stir fry sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thick-which happens pretty fast. Add your broccoli and toss to coat.

Eat with rice and enjoy!

Easy Tostadas

2011-04-26T13:20:00.004-06:00

I found this idea in my All You magazine. They made it a little different, I made it more like tacos. I think the possibilities are endless and what was great was that it was easy and quick. I was looking for a quick meal with Baseball and T-ball practice starting.

It was quick and easy and my family really liked it!

Easy Tostadas

(altered from recipe found in All You magazine)

Corn Tortillas

1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

Ground Beef (as much as you need for your family, I used 1 lb)

Taco seasoning.

Salsa

lettuce

Sour cream

Avocado, sliced

Grated cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Arrange corn tortillas (as many as will fit on a cookie sheet in a single layer ~ I got about 6 on mine) on a cookie sheet and then spray them with non-stick spray. Then sprinkle with salt. Bake until beginning to crisp, about 5-7 minutes. (The 2nd time I made this with the leftovers, we just fried the tortillas in a little oil on the stove and then did the remaining steps. Quicker and just as good, but not as healthy!)

Meanwhile, cook your ground beef. When done, drain the grease and add taco seasoning to your liking. (This part can be done in advance. Have your meat already cooked and ready to add to your shells in the morning)

When your tortillas are done, set your oven to Broil. Next put your meat on your tortillas, then black beans, salsa and cheese. This is where you can add what your family likes. Broil your tostadas until the cheese is melted and everything is heated through ~ about 1-2 minutes.

Now top with lettuce, avocado, sour cream and enjoy! I ate mine like a tostada. The boys folded theirs in half and ate like a taco!

Simple Sesame Noodles

2011-04-15T11:53:00.002-06:00

We like the restaurant Hu Hot! I think the flavors they use in there sauces and all the vegies you can add to your noodles!

We are trying to do a little Hu Hot at our house!

I found this recipe and decided here was a beginning. You don't cook it up on a skillet, but I think next time I will add vegies to the sauce and cook them up on a skillet with some meat!

The flavors are good and I loved the easiness of this!

Zach even added some of the Garlic-Balsamic Asparagus to his noodles! Simple Sesame Noodles (www.thepioneerwoman.com)

12 ounces thin noodles, cooked and drained

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp sugar

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp rice vinegar

3 tbsp pure sesame oil

1/2 tsp hot chili oil ( I couldn't find this exact name, but used Mongolian Fire Oil from Blairs) ~ don't be nervous was NOT too spicy!

4 tbsp canola oil

2 tbsp hot water

4 whole green onions, sliced thin (forgot to buy these!)

Whisk all the ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Cook some yummy vegies in some of the sauce if desired!

Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat.

Sprinkle with green onions and serve it up!

Garlic-Balsamic Asparagus

2011-04-14T11:45:00.002-06:00

I love asparagus! I have usually just steamed it and eaten it just plain or with a little salt and pepper!

I saw this recipe and decided, why not give it a try!

I was glad I did! It was very easy and really really yummy!

I found it in my new Our Best Bites cookbook, which I recommend to anyone!

I cooked it in my oven, but you can also grill it on your barbeque too!

Garlic-Balsamic Asparagus

(Our Best Bites cookbook

www.ourbestbites.com)

1 lb asparagus (or whatever you have on hand or want to serve)

1/2 tsp kosher salt (I used sea salt)

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp minced garlic (I used 2 cloves, minced)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Wash asparagus and then snap the woody ends off the bottom of each stem.

In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, olive oil, vinegar and garlic. Drizzle over asparagus in a small container and then toss to coat.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer on the baking sheet. Drizzle any remaining oil and vinegar mixture on top.

Roast for 10 minutes, turning about half way through!

Enjoy a new an easy way to eat asparagus!

Soap Dispensers

2011-04-13T11:25:00.002-06:00

I did a little kitchen crafting this last weekend and thought I would share!

I originally had this dispenser used for my olive oil. Then I read all about how olive oil needs to be stored in the dark and that it can go bad not sealed etc.

So I removed my olive oil and put dish soap in it! I had seen this at a friends a long time ago and thought it looked much better than the dish soap container on the counter. Also, the soap comes out slow so you never use too much!

I saw this idea on a blog and I can't remember where now! I decided to try it out in order to get some of those ugly hand soap containers out of my bathroom!

I thought it turned out pretty good and it would work for any soap dispenser you have in your house! I got a mason jar and lid first. I used a heavy duty nail and just hammered a hole the same size as my soap pump. (I used the pump from my ugly store bought bottle!) Once you can get your pump inside the hole stick it in and make sure it reaches the bottom. I had to cut a little off my pump. I then hot glued the lid to the ring of my jar and tied a little bow around it! Fill it with soap and you are done! You could decorate your jar many different ways, I just had some ribbon nearby and used that!

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork

2011-04-07T16:31:00.004-06:00

Here is the picture finally!

Yummy!!

I have a picture of this wonderful yummy scrumptious pork, but my computer is being temperamental and wont let me download it!

I couldn't wait any longer to share, so you get it without picture (but go to http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ and you can find her picture!).

It is only shredded pork and we have all seen shredded pork, but I have not had pork like this before!

It is tender and yummy and has a slight spice from the Chipotle peppers, which I have discovered that I truly love these peppers!!

My kids ate this fine, it was a little spicy for them, but oh so good! I ate the rest of the left overs today for lunch! In fact I thought about eating lunch at about 10 I wanted to eat this pork! So try it out and hopefully it isn't too spicy for your family!

________________________

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork

(The Pioneer Woman)

1 whole large onion

1 whole pork shoulder (pork butt) roast - 5-7 lbs.

salt and pepper

1 can (11 ounce) Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce

2 cans Dr. Pepper (I bought a bottle, like the ones at the convenience store! It was a little less than 2 cans, but I didn't want to buy a case)

2 tbsp brown sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Peel and cut the onion into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven or roasting pan. I sprayed my pan with non-stick spray and clean up was a breeze!

Generously salt and pepper your roast. Set it on top of your onions. Pour the can of Chipotle peppers and the sauce all over the top of the roast. Pour in the Dr. Pepper. Add the brown sugar and mix with the juice. (I put a little Dr. Pepper in a cup and mixed in the brown sugar and then poured in the pan.)

Place lid on pot and set in oven. Cook for at least 6 hours, turning the roast over 2-3 times during cooking. Check meat after 6 hours; it should be falling apart. If not falling apart, return to oven for another hour.

Remove meat from pot when done and shred. Discard any fat. Strain off as much fat from the liquid in your pan and then place the shredded meat back in the pan. Keep warm until ready to serve. I was concerned about it being too spicy, so I put my shredded meat in another oven proof dish and poured some liquid into the dish to cover.

Serve on warm flour or corn tortillas with lettuce, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, avocado, etc. Also good as nachos with tortilla chips! Mixing the meat with the lettuce, cheese, etc. helps the spiciness too!

Sweet Cinnamon Scones

2011-04-05T12:19:00.000-06:00

This is yet another one of Pioneer Woman's yummy recipes!

They are light and cinnamony~light not on the terms of calories, but on the terms of yummy soft texture and full of cinnamon chips and sweetness!

They take a little time putting together~just the part where you form the dough and make the actual scone. It was sticky (next time I will flour my counter) and then I think I crammed too many on the cookie sheet and I will use 2 sheets next time! I had a really hard time getting them out of the pan without breaking them!

Definitely a great brunch or holiday make, not (at least for me) an everyday make!

I will definitely not shy away from making scones again though! So good!!

Sweet Cinnamon Scones

(The Pioneer Woman)

3 cups flour

1/3 cups sugar

5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 sticks (1 cup) butter

3/4 cups heavy cream

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup cinnamon chips

Topping:

1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and baking powder. Cut butter into pieces and then cut the butter into the dry ingredients (use a pastry blender or fork to incorporate the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs).

Stir in cinnamon chips.

Mix together in a separate bowl cream, egg and vanilla extract. Pour into flour/butter mixture, stirring gently with a fork to combine.

Turn onto a work surface~mixture will be crumbly and sticky at the same time. Gently press together on the sides as you flatten or can roll with a rolling pin. From either a circle or rectangle.

Mix together topping ingredients and sprinkle over dough. Cut into wedges or triangles and transfer to a cookie sheet (or 2) and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Allow to cool before serving!

Apple Streusel Bars

2011-04-04T11:40:00.005-06:00

This is an excellent recipe for those of us who don't make apple pie because the crust scares us! Whenever my mom visits, we always have some sort of pie because she is awesome at making crusts!! Me~not so much!

This recipe was very good and came together very good!

I do have some changes I will make for next time I make these!

1. I will use vanilla extract in the glaze instead of almond. My family wasn't too thrilled about the almond taste.

2. I will probably try this next time without the glaze. I thought the bars would be less sweet and still really good without the glaze!

I used my canned apple pie filling for this recipe, so I don't know about what the filling tastes like, but I bet it is just as good as the whole recipe turned out!

Apple Streusel Bars

(Our Best Bites cookbook, which I would recommend to anyone!)

Sweet Pastry

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup real butter (and it says NO substitutions!)

1 egg, beaten

Apple Filling

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

4 cups (about 3 medium) sliced, peeled baking apples ~ Granny Smith or Gala is recommended

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp almond extract (or my recommendation vanilla)

about 3 tbsp milk, whole milk ~ I used 1% which is what I have on hand!

To make the pastry, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. (Make sure the bowl is big enough so when you cut in the butter the mixture wont spill out of the bowl.) Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork until you have pea sized crumbles. (I found it easiest to cut the butter into smaller "pats" and I added 1 cube at a time. I also in the end, with clean hands ran through the mixture and broke apart any remaining large pieces because my arm was getting TIRED!) Gently mix in beaten egg.

Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Gently pat about 2/3 of pastry mixture onto the bottom of your dish and set aside. Preheat oven now to 350 degrees.

Now comes the filling. If you are like me and have canned apple pie filling go ahead and pour that all over your pastry crust. If not, do some apple pie filling this year and that will make this a cinch next time!!!

To prepare the filling, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon. Toss with your cut up apples and evenly coat. Spread onto your pastry crust. Sprinkle your reserved pastry mixture over the top of your apples.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. When finished, allow to cool completely. (I looked for my crust to start lightly browning before I took it out!)

To prepare glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, almond (or vanilla) extract and enough milk to reach desired consistency.

Drizzle over cooled bars. The book recommended putting in a zip lock bag and cutting a whole in the corner and drizzling this way. I just grabbed a spoon and started letting the glaze drizzle over the edge of it.

Allow the glaze to harden and then cut into bars and enjoy!!

Chicken Cream Cheese Soup

2011-03-30T15:14:00.003-06:00

It is still soup weather around here and I found another winner!

I tried to get a friend to post this herself (since she found it first) but since I didn't I tried to recipe too!

It is really simple and really easy! Has great flavor and the whole family loved it!

Next time I think I will add celery to it! I am sure there are a lot of other vegies that would be good added too!

Chicken Cream Cheese Soup

(found on Sisters Cafe)

1 lb chicken (breasts or combination)

1 onion, diced

1-2 Tb butter

2 handfuls baby carrots (about 2 cups sliced small)

4-5 potatoes, diced small

1 c milk

1/4 c flour

8 oz package cream cheese

Put chicken in pot and cover with water; boil until cooked. Take chicken out of water but keep the broth. When chicken is cool, shred.

Saute onion in butter. Put onion in pot and add carrots and potatoes. Add 3-4 cups of broth or enough to cover vegetables. Add bouillon cubes or soup base for flavor (I add 4 bouillon cubes). Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender.

Mix flour with milk and add to soup. Soften cream cheese in microwave then add to soup in little pieces and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

(We ate ours with Saltine Crackers!)

California Chowder

2011-03-24T11:56:00.002-06:00

I was searching for a different soup recipe and stumbled upon this awesome soup! Even my kids raved about it being soooo good! And think of all the veggies they got tonight!

If you got a Bountiful Basket in our area this last week, then you have about everything you need! That is what got me more interested in trying this soup out! It has 5 different veggies and was super good on a cold day like we had yesterday!

I made a few changes, but for the most part it has ingredients on hand. If you are missing one of the veggies, you could probably do more broccoli if you don't have cauliflower etc.!

Enjoy!!

California Chowder

(www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com)

4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tbsp chicken soup base (I used 2 chicken bouillon)
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups whole milk (I used 1% milk I had on hand)
2 cups water
1 cup diced carrots
2 cups diced potatoes
1 cup diced celery
1 clove minced garlic (or 1/2 tsp granulated garlic)
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped onions (I used dried onions because I didn't have an onion)
1/2 tbsp butter
1 cup fresh broccoli
1 cup fresh cauliflower
fresh parsley for garnish

Melt 4 tbsp butter in a soup pot. Add flour and mix well. Add chicken base (or bouillon) then slowly and steadily mix in the whipping cream, milk and water. Bring to a low boil. I stirred frequently to prevent any burning. Add potatoes, celery, garlic, salt and Worcestershire sauce.

Cook for 45 minutes or until veggies are fork tender. It may only take 30 minutes depending in how small you dice your veggies.

Saute onions in the 1/2 tbsp butter for 3 minutes (or just throw in the dried onions) and add to soup along with the broccoli and cauliflower.

Cook another 15 minutes or until veggies are fork tender. Enjoy with fresh bread or we had saltine crackers with ours!

Makes about 6-8 servings!

Orange Julius

2011-03-23T12:25:00.002-06:00

I found this recipe shared on a craft blog (the idea room) that I like to look at for fun ideas! She shared this recipe that her son put together from a foods class at his school!

I made this after church and it was super yummy! The kids thought it tasted like those orange dreamsicles!

It was a great treat and reminded me of the days of finding these at the mall in California!

Orange Julius

(the Idea Room)

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate (I thawed mine)
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients (except the ice) in your blender. Blend for about 1-2 minutes. (I had a 12 oz can of orange juice and just used the rest to make orange juice).

Now add the ice cubes 1 at a time. When ice is blended, pour and enjoy!!

Overnight Caramel Sticky Buns

2011-03-22T12:05:00.002-06:00

I love the Our Best Bites recipe blog! It has great recipes and has been a fun place to look for new ideas! When they came out with a cookbook, I had to have it!

This is from their new cookbook (which is really great with ideas to do with leftover ingredients, and many tips) and it was yummy! My kids are already asking when I am making them again! Good thing rhodes rolls are on sale right now, I may have to go buy some more to have them on hand!

You make these the night before (which is sooo nice) and then they cook up pretty fast and super good!

Overnight Caramel Sticky Buns

(Our Best Bites cookbook

check out there site www.ourbestbites.com)

18 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls
1 (4.6 oz) box cook-and-serve pudding mix in either vanilla or butterscotch (I used butterscotch)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans, optional
1/3 cup melted butter

Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray. Make sure to get your pan completely covered! Place the frozen rolls evenly around the pan.

Sprinkle the pudding mix, brown sugar and cinnamon all over your rolls. Make sure to evenly coat! Sprinkle with pecans if desired! Pour melted butter all over the rolls.

Cover with a clean dry towel and leave at room temperature over night!

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes and then invert on a plate or platter.

Make sure to be careful when inverting so as not to spill the caramel goodness all over your floor! Take that from experience, I did that once! Enjoy and your kids or husband or friends who are over will love you!!!

Keeping apples from browning

2011-03-21T08:32:00.000-06:00

Once you cut an apple, they tend to turn brown and start looking not so pleasant anymore!

I have heard of water and sprinkling salt (which works great too) and I have also heard of using lemons too!

Zach came home from a 4H meeting with this little bit of info, which I tried and it actually worked great and who doesn't love a little soda taste!

Next time you need cut up apples, but don't want the brown or salt try soaking them in some

7-UP!

I cut up my apples and then covered them with 7-UP and it worked! No brown apples and a little hint of lemon lime!

Rainbow Jello

2011-03-18T19:40:00.002-06:00

I found this on Sisters Stuff and had to try it out for our St. Patrick's Day dinner!

It definitely took time, but was very simple! She recommended on her site to save all day to make this-it took me most of the morning but I was able to get other things done in between!

It was a hit and it looked super fun and was worth the time for a treat!

Definitely not something I would make often, but fun every once in a while!

Rainbow Jello

(Sisters Stuff)

6 small pkg jello (lime, lemon, orange, strawberry, cherry, black cherry) made in this order. ~ I couldn't find black cherry so I made one less layer!
1 16 oz sour cream ~ I would have needed a little bit more if I had done all the layers!

STEP ONE:

Take 1 box of Jello (she started with Lime) and 1 cup of boiling water and mix together until jello is dissolved.

STEP TWO:

Then measure out 1/2 cup of jello mixture into another bowl and add 1/3 cup sour cream. Mix together with a whisk. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan and set in the refrigerator until set, about 20 minutes. Make sure that your pan is level in the refrigerator.

STEP THREE:

Then mix 3 tbsp cold water in with remaining jello mixture and pour over firm sour cream mixture. (I found you should start pouring around the edges where it is the firmest) Let firm and then repeat steps with the other jello flavors!

She added that it is best to let this sit overnight, I made it the same day and it was fine too! Cut in squares to serve!

Jack's Favorite Salad

2011-03-16T14:59:00.002-06:00

I found this on Jill's cooking blog. I love homemade salad dressings and all her ingredients were simple and I had them on hand!

I really liked this salad, and any salad with toasted nuts is super yummy!

I loved the almonds!!

I think I might add some more ingredients next time, like apples or shredded monterey jack cheese.

Thanks Jill for a great recipe!

Jack's Favorite Salad

(jackandjillskitchen)

1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 head iceberg lettuce
1/2 head Romaine lettuce (I had the spring salad mix from Costco and it worked great!)
1 cup chopped celery
2 green onions
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges

Dressing:

1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
1/2 cup oil
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (she said you can leave this out if you don't have any, may try adding dried next time~I didn't add any when I made it)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vinegar
dash tabasco sauce (about 2 drops is recommended)

For the Nuts:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook almonds with sugar stirring constantly (about 5-8 minutes)! Really stir constantly and watch, they cook a little faster than I thought!

Cool and store in an airtight container, or let sit on aluminum foil until ready to use and then store. **If cooking ahead and storing, don't use a plastic container the nuts are too hot and they will melt your container.

For the Salad:

Wash and tear the lettuces, mix them together. Mix salad dressing and chill until ready to serve. Add almonds, celery, oranges and onions to lettuce when ready to serve and pout dressing over!

Basic Drip Beef

2011-03-14T16:47:00.002-06:00

This beef sandwich had great flavor and was very easy!

You cook it in a heavy pot instead of a crock pot. I don't know why you couldn't put it in a crock pot if you don't like the idea of putting it on your stove all day.

My house smelled like dinner all day, but at least dinner was pretty much done in the morning!

Basic Drip Beef

(Pioneer Woman)

2.5-4 lb chuck roast
1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, sliced thick
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup sherry (substitute 2 tbsp vinegar + chicken stock to equal 1 cup)
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups water
Toasted, buttered rolls
Cheese, optional

Heat butter in a heavy pot over med-high heat. Saute the onions for a couple minutes, or until starting to brown.

Set roast on top of the onions. Add all remaining ingredients and cover pot. Simmer on very low heat on the stove for 6 hours, or until beef is fork tender or you can shred easily.

Shred meat with 2 forks until all large chunks are gone. Serve immediately or you can continue to simmer for 30 min. to 1 hour.

Serve with your rolls or you can also toast under the broiler and melt cheese!

Sugar Cookies

2011-03-10T16:10:00.003-07:00

I have a favorite sugar cookie recipe~it is on this site, the Sour Cream Sugar Cookies! I still really love those, but these will take a close 2nd to those! Also, if you don't have sour cream, these are a wonderful alternative. If you are dipping your cookies in yummy chocolate, these cookies would be a better pick. They hold there shape better and are not as soft all over.

These cookies are soft in the center and have a slightly firmer edge. They aren't hard by any means, just yummy!

I found this in the Our Best Bites new cookbook, which I have post-it notes all over of recipes I want to try! The cookbook is proving to be great! I have already enjoyed the recipes on their site and I am super excited to try the ones in the cookbook!

She gave a baking tip on the side to always when baking, spoon your flour into your measuring cup. It will prevent a dry cookie dough!

BRILLIANT!

Especially important with this dough!

Sugar Cookies

(Our Best Bites cookbook)

1 cup real butter (no substitutions)
1 cup sugar
1 egg, extra large
1 1/2 tsp almond extract (or use vanilla)
3 cups flour (make sure to spoon scoop into your measuring cup, or do 2 1/2 cups and see if you need more flour!)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in egg and the extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk together. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. (If you are worried about a too dry dough, only add 2 1/2 cups and then you can always add more flour if needed! That's my tip!)

Chill the dough for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator, or 15 minutes in the freezer.

Cut the cookies into desired shapes and bake at 350 degrees.

For soft cookies~8-10 minutes, or until set.

For lightly crisp cookies~10-13 minutes or edges are lightly golden brown

Allow to cool on pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to cooling racks! Let cookies cool completely before you frost them!

This is the Frosting I used:

Sugar Cookie Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter

1-2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

Combine above ingredients and mix thoroughly.

I always cream the butter first and then add about 1/2 the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Then add remaining sugar slowly and watch for desired consistency and taste you want! Don't forget the finger taste test!! Or your children love this part, so get them to help taste too!

Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

2011-03-09T18:26:00.001-07:00

I have reposted this recipe with a few details added! I have made these so much that the added things I do weren't in the recipe when I put this on the blog in November of 2008! So I have reposted with the new details!

This is the best recipe I have found and I just think all the time it takes is soooo worth it!

I got this recipe from a friend while living in Utah. Her mother-in-law made these for us and this has been the only cinnamon roll recipe I have used since!!

So Yummy!!

Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

3 cups buttermilk

2 tbsp yeast

2 tbsp warm water

3 cups flour

Mix together and let rise for 1 hour. This will take on a spongy consistency.

Add:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 eggs

1 tsp soda

2 tsp salt

5 cups flour

Mix together and let rise for 1-1 1/2 hours

Split dough into 2 equal parts. Roll out dough and brush with melted butter. Once you think you have enough, you probably should add more! Add cinnamon and sugar. I sprinkle until it is pretty covered! I want to have the Cinnabon middles!! Roll up dough and slice the rolls.

Place rolls on cookie sheets (takes 2 cookie sheets for the recipe!). Let rise for another 1-1 1/2 hours. Bake 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. (my baking time has been a little longer than this! So plan on 20 minutes for your timing!)

Frosting

1 lb bag powdered sugar

2/3 stick butter

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup milk

Mix together and get to your desired consistency.

Spread on warm cinnamon rolls or wait til they cool to spread!!

White Chocolate-Peanut Butter Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2011-03-08T07:20:00.003-07:00

I haven't made these in a while and I don't know why since they are a really good cookie! They are moist and filled with oatmeal~which for some reason makes me feel healthier!

I substituted part of the white chocolate chips with peanut butter chips and really like this combination!

White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

(allrecipes.com)

1 cup butter (I used 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup margarine)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips

Cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix together. Add the oatmeal and white chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Place on cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes!

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

2011-03-07T07:04:00.002-07:00

I really liked how this recipe turned out! I changed it a little, because I didn't add the mushrooms, due to children who would turn there little noses up if they even spied those!

This was a yummy recipe that wasn't as heavy as the other chicken spaghetti recipe posted. I thought this was lighter feeling and just as good!

Next time I make this I am going to add other veggies~zucchini would be good, squash, broccoli, or any of your favorite veggies you like with pasta!~

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

(the pioneer woman)

1 whole cut up fryer chicken~I used a couple chicken breasts that I cooked in a saute pan with salt and pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
16 ounces mushrooms~or another veggie of your choosing!
1/4 cups dry white wine~I substituted chicken broth
salt and pepper
1/4 cups flour
2 cups chicken broth~I ended up needing way more broth than this, so have more on hand
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cups (additional) dry white wine~again substituted chicken broth
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped black olives
1 tsp salt, or to taste
black pepper
extra cheese for sprinkling
1 lb thin spaghetti

Cook your chicken. If using a whole chicken~place in a pot of water and boil on med-low heat for 30-40 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool slightly and keep broth in pot.

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet. Throw in mushrooms (or other veggie), add 1/4 cup dry white wine (or substituted chicken broth), and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until liquid has totally evaporated. Remove mushrooms from skillet (or other veggies) and set aside.

Bring broth to a boil. This broth you are using to cook your thin spaghetti. You need enough to cover your pasta and cook. Break spaghetti into thirds (shorted pieces). Add spaghetti pieces to boiling broth and cook. Drain when al dente.

While spaghetti is cooking, shred your chicken. You need about 2 plus cups of chicken.

Return large skillet (the one for the mushrooms) to med-low heat. Add 6 tbsp butter. Sprinkle flour over butter, whisking to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

Pour in 2 cups of broth and whisk to combine. Pour in milk, additional 1/4 cups dry white wine (or chicken broth0, salt and pepper to taste. Cook and bubble until thick.

Turn off heat, add Parmesan cheese and stir.

Add mushrooms (or other veggies), chicken, chopped olives. Stir to combine and check seasonings. Add cooked spaghetti and stir.

Turn into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or golden brown and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Caramel Cake

2011-03-04T13:57:00.002-07:00

I found this yummy cake on Our Best Bites and it proved to be just as yummy as it sounded!

The cake was moist and the frosting was oh so delicious!

The recipe makes a lot of frosting, next time I may half the recipe.

This is a yummy alternative to the normal chocolate and vanilla frosting! Definitely one I will be adding to my frosting choice list!

Caramel Cake

(www.ourbestbites.com)

CAKE:

1 Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 8 oz. container of sour cream
1 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp butter flavoring (I didn't have this and it was fine without!)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

FROSTING:

1 cup butter
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
About 1 cup toasted, chopped pecans (I didn't have these, but would be really yummy!)

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the cake ingredients and beat on med-high for 3 minutes. Pour the batter into a 9 x 13 pan and bake according to the times on the cake mix box. When the cake is finished baking, remove from oven and allow to cool. While cooling, prepare frosting.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Carefully stir in the whipping cream and vanilla. The mixture will splatter because it is really hot, so be careful! Bring mixture back to a boil.

Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 30 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and sift in the powdered sugar. Beat on high for 2-3 minutes or until creamy and fluffy. Spread the icing over the cake and sprinkle with toasted chopped pecans!

Meltaway Mint Brownies

2011-03-03T10:01:00.002-07:00

Still no camera, but did make some awesome brownies!

They are simple if you want to use a box, or easy if you want to use your favorite brownie recipe and add peppermint patties! Yes my favorite of all time candy is York Peppermint patties!

This brownie was really good!

______________________

Meltaway Mint Brownies

(Betty Crocker Brownie Mix)

1 box Betty Crocker Supreme chocolate chunk brownie mix, or your favorite brownie recipe
Ingredients for brownie mix or brownie recipe!
1/2 cup quartered chocolate-covered peppermint patties

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

Make brownie batter and spread half of batter in pan. Sprinkle the peppermint patties in a single layer over batter. Spoon remaining batter over patties, spread gently to cover.

Bake 28-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool completley before cutting!

Sunchoke and Sausage Soup

2011-03-02T11:47:00.002-07:00

My camera has been hijacked by my husband! So I don't have a picture of this soup, but I wanted to post it in case there were some of you out there that got sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes) from bountiful baskets and didn't know what to do with them!

This soup had great flavor, it was easy and it used the sunchokes and spinach that I got from my basket! It was rated with 4 stars on all recipes and had great reviews! My kids looked at it and weren't exactly sure about it! Luckily I was prepared for this and wasn't in one of my "You better eat this" moods!

We liked it and would make this again, if I got sunchokes again! I may even purposefully buy some!

_________________________

Sunchoke and Sausage Soup

(www.allrecipes.com)

4 slices turkey bacon, diced (I used regular bacon and 5 slices! If you cut it with your kitchen scissors it makes dicing really easy!)
1 (16 ounce) package turkey sausage, casings discarded, coarsely chopped (I used beef sausage, since that is what I had~I cut to bite size pieces)
1 lb Jerusalem artichokes, peeled, halved, and cut into 1/2 inch slices
6 small white potatoes, peeled and halved (I cut into bite size pieces)
3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
1 leek, white and light green parts only, chopped (I didn't add since I didn't have any)
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 4 cloves~I like garlic!)
1 quart chicken stock (I used almost 2 qts, to make it more soup than stew!)
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
(For fresh herb substitution use 1 tsp dried to every 1 tbsp fresh. I did this!)
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch ground paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup flour
1 cup water
I sprinkled Parmesan cheese on our soup!

Place the bacon, sausage, artichokes, potatoes, celery, onion, leek, spinach and garlic in a large saucepan. Pour in chicken stock ~ this is where I added more. The stock didn't cover the veggies and I thought it could use more liquid! Add parsley, basil, oregano, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt and pepper. Cover, and bring to a simmer over med-high heat. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer 45 minutes.

Stir the flour into the 1 cup water until no lumps remain. Stir into the simmering soup, and continue simmering, covered, 30 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally! If you added more liquid, you may need to add more flour if you want it thick!

Secret Kiss Cupcakes

2011-02-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. I haven't made them for a while, but I think it is always fun to find a surprise in your cupcake!

The recipe has you make your cupcakes from scratch (which I will include) but I just used the perfect cupcake recipe from the blog and added the hershey kisses in the middle!

Super easy and a fun surprise for all the cupcakes eaters!

Secret Kiss Cupcakes

(allrecipes.com)

3 1/3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup baking cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract

(Or you can use a box mix of yellow or chocolate cake and follow the box directions or use the Perfect Cake Mix Cupcakes Recipe on this blog)

30 milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped (I got 24 cupcakes when I made them)
Frosting

Mix your cake mix by following the box or perfect cake mix cupcake directions.

Or if making from scratch: In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt; mix well. Combine the buttermilk, butter, eggs and vanilla. Addd to dry ingredients; mix well.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Press a chocolate kiss in to the center of each cupcake until batter completely covers the candy.

Bake at 375 (or follow box or recipe directions if using mix) for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean! Frost when completley cooled!

Pita/Pizza/Pretzel/Bread Sticks

2011-02-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

I was given this recipe from a email recipe exchange! I didn't get any pictures, but I made the Pizza dough and it turned out awesome!!!

The bread sticks were really great too (so I heard!)!!

This recipe is quick and versatile!

Thanks for sharing and so glad to have another yummy bread recipe!

_______________________

Pita/pizza/pretzel/ bread sticks

2 C. Warm Water
1 1/2 Tbsp. Yeast
2 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp. salt
4-5 cups flour

Mix together until you have a sticky dough that pulls away from the side of the bowl. Let rise 1 hr. (this is the only rise that you have to do with this recipe)

Pitas: Roll small balls of dough into flat circles (about 8 inches), place in preheated oven (about 450) on a hot cookie sheet or baking stone. Bake for 3-5 min, they should puff up in the center, if they don't they work great to fold over.

Pizza: Roll out and top with your favorite pizza toppings, bake 20-25 min at 400 degrees or until bottom is crisp.

pretzels: Roll into long, thin ropes and fold over to make pretzel shape. Dip in water mixture that is about 1 cup water, 2 tsp baking soda , sprinkle with salt and bake at 400 for about 10 min. Brush with butter and add more coarse salt if desired.

Bread sticks: Roll into 2 rectangles. Place on cookie sheet, brush with butter, garlic, salt, Parmesan cheese, and anything else you want. Cut in to strips. Bake at 400 for 20 or so min. Brush generously with melted butter again after removing from oven. Serve warm. :)

Strawberry Jam

2011-02-23T22:12:00.002-07:00

I ordered some extra strawberries with my Bountiful Basket and have loved all the strawberries at my house! My kids are eating them like crazy and loving them too!

I kept a few baskets aside and made jam the other day and love it! (I was even able to order more strawberries this week too!)

I made a batch of Freezer Jam and then Regular Jam! They both turned out great and I love having the fresh jam!~

Just follow the directions on your Fruit Pectin box and make jam!~

Beef Fajita Nachos

2011-02-15T12:50:00.003-07:00

Doesn't that just look Scrumptious!

2 words described this meal ~ YUM and YUMMY!

The marinade for the flank steak was super good and great flavor. You do have to prepare in advance, since the flank steak marinates for 24 hours! It is definitely worth it! This steak would be great for fajitas in a tortilla too! We served ours with refried beans also!

Make sure you do the peppers and onions, they were yum!

Beef Fajita Nachos

(The pioneer Woman blog)

Flank Steak Marinade:

1 flank steak
1/3 cup olive oil
2 whole limes juiced
4 whole canned chipotle peppers (1 can), with a little sauce
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 whole handful cilantro (which I omitted since I have a cilantro hater at my house!)

To prepare the steak, combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chipotle peppers (just add a little sauce from the can too), and cilantro in a food processor or blender. Blend until totally combined.

Place flank steak and marinade in a large plastic bag or dish. Make sure to coat the meat. Seal bag or cover dish tightly and refrigerate for 24 hours at least!

NACHOS INGREDIENTS:

2 whole peppers, cleaned and sliced (I used a yellow and orange one)
2 whole yellow onions (I used 1 onion)
olive oil ~ for frying
tortilla chips
Grated cheese ~ I blended cheddar and monteray jack
guacamole ~ we sliced avocados on top instead
salsa
sour cream
refried beans
I also made my Black Bean dip

When ready to make nachos, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle olive oil on your grill. Cook the meat on an outdoor or indoor grill over very high heat, about 4 minutes per side! Remove the steak from grill and set aside to rest.

In a large skillet, heat a couple tbsp olive oil over med-high heat. Add onions and peppers and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until somewhat soft and start blackening. (You should also be heating your refried beans at this point!) Remove from heat when done.

Slice your meat into strips. Then cut them again into smaller bite size pieces. You can cut your peppers and onions into smaller pieces at this point too!

Arrange tortilla chips on a cookie sheet. Generously place cheese on top of your chips. (I didn't place enough cheese the first time and ended up adding more on top after they had cooked, so make sure to add lots of cheese!) Place cookie sheet in the oven and cook for 3 minutes or so, or until cheese is melted.

Remove from oven and place your meat and peppers/onions on top. Then you can scoop what you want on your plate and add whatever toppings you desire!

Repeat with remaining meat and vegies, or save for another day!

ENJOY!! They are really really good!

Mushroom and Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

2011-02-14T16:20:00.002-07:00

This is yet another Pioneer Woman recipe that turned out yummy!

It was a new way to make a hamburger, and the fry sauce was really good!

You don't have to make these small, but they were perfect for my boys and actually good portion control if you are trying to eat less!

Mushroom and Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

(The Pioneer Woman)

Fry Sauce:

1/3 cups mayonnaise
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 tsp and found it spicy enough for me!)

In a small bowl, mix mayo, ketchup, and cayenne. Stir together until totally combined. Set aside.

Ingredients: Mushrooms and Onions

4 tbsp butter
1/2 whole onion, finely diced
8 ounces mushrooms, chopped finely (next time I am going to not chop the onions and mushrooms finely and just leave them sliced. I think that will be just as good!)
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms and toss around. Add Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Cook for several minutes over medium heat, or until all the liquid is evaporated. Transfer mushroom mixture to a separate bowl, scraping all contents from the skillet.

Ingredients: Hamburgers

2 lbs ground beef
4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
pepper
Swiss Cheese
Dinner rolls for sliders, or hamburger buns if making bigger

Mix ground beef, heavy cream, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly mix ingredients.

Form 1/4 - 1/3 cup of the meat mixture into patties. Make an indentation with your thumb to keep the patties from plumping too much when they cook. In the same skillet as you cooked the mushrooms, melt 1 tbsp butter over medium to med-high heat.

Add 4 patties at a time, indented side face up. Cook for 4 minutes, then flip. Spoon generous portions of the mushroom mixture on each patty. Then top with cheese. Place lid on pan and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until burgers are cooked through and cheese melted. Remove and keep warm and cook remaining meat.

Toast halved buns under the oven broiler. Spread generously with fry sauce. Place patties between buns and serve!

Valentine Chocolate Bark

2011-02-11T16:47:00.004-07:00

This is a yummy easy Valentine treat! Or a treat for any day, just add different sprinkles or put none on at all!

Enjoy!

Valentine Chocolate Bark

(www.bakeat350.blogspot.com)

2 bags white chocolate chips ~ she used Ghiradelli, but I had Hersheys and they worked fine)
2 bags semisweet chocolate chips ~ again Ghiradelli, but I had western family and it was fine again. I used 1 1/2 bags though!
2 cups Rice Krispies ~ start with 2 cups, I ended up adding 3 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
conversation hears and sprinkles

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Place 3/4ths of the white chocolate chips in a glass or metal bowl. Place over a pan of simmering water and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining white chocolate chips until melted. ~ If the chocolate is too thick you can add 1 tbsp Crisco. (I didn't need to do this)

Stir in the Rice Krispies ~ It seemed like too much white chocolate, so this is when I started adding about 1/2 cup at a time until it seemed a better combination.

Spread onto the lined cookie sheet. Spread so thin, but that you can't see the pan. ~ an offset spatula works great.

Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips using the same method as above. I used 1 1/2 bags here instead of 2 and it was plenty of chocolate for me! (You shouldn't need the Crisco here!)

Using an offset spatula, gently spread over the white chocolate.

Sprinkle on the conversation hears if wanted and sprinkles. Let set up until hardened. Break into pieces and enjoy!

Oatmeal Muffins

2011-02-09T09:05:00.002-07:00

I have the King Arthur Flour All-Purpose Baking Cookbook!

I have to admit I haven't used it a lot! I am now trying a new goal to make bread every Monday. I am now looking at this book alot!!

It has more than just bread recipes, although the info on bread and recipes is WOW! Maybe a little overwhelming with all the info, but definitely good info!

I found this muffin recipe and it turned out really good. These aren't a sweet muffin but they do describe them as a "low-calorie treat"!!

Plan ahead, because you do soak the oatmeal in buttermilk over night! They are worth it and I know low-calorie treat doesn't include putting butter on top, but that is totally worth it too!

Oatmeal Muffins

(King Arthur Flour Bakers Companion)

1 cup oats
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp melted butter
1 large egg
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup raisins ~ Optional!

In a small bowl, combine the oats and the buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate overnight!

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk and oat mixture, brown sugar, butter, egg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Gently stir in the flour and raisins ~ the mixture will be very thick at this point!

Scoop into 12 greased muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes (watch this, mine were done at about 15minutes) or until the tops are light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes on a rack and turn out on a rack to finish cooling!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

2011-02-08T08:46:00.002-07:00

I found this recipe on Jack and Jill's Kitchen. I have found a love for Wild Rice and decided yesterday with the snowy weather we needed soup.

This soup was a hit with my family. It was hearty and it was yummy. Had lots of great flavor and good yummy veggies!

I halved the recipe for my family and it was perfect. We had enough for us and leftovers for 2!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

(Jack and Jill's Kitchen)

10 cups water
10 bouillon cubes or 10 tsp chicken base ~ chicken base found at Costco!
4 chicken breasts ~ can be frozen too!
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 boxes Rice a Roni Wild Rice flavor
1 onion, finely chopped ~ I used the dried onions, which worked out great!
2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 small can stems and pieces mushrooms ~ I didn't add!
2 cans cream of chicken soup

Fill your pot with water and bring to a boil.

Add chicken, onion, b0uillon, salt, and pepper and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer about 25 minutes. Remove chicken pieces from the boiling broth after the 25 minutes. Use scissors or knife and cut or shred your chicken. Return chicken to the pot. The chicken should be cooked through.

Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms and boxes of rice (pour in the rice and seasoning packets that come along in the box). Cover and let simmer about 15 minutes more, until the veggies and rice are cooked.

Add the cream of chicken soups, turn up the heat and let it come to a boil. Once the soup is thickened (this takes just a few minutes after it comes to a boil again) it is ready to be served. ~ I added about 2 cups of hot water to this soup. The picture above was taken before the water was added. I wanted more of a soup, not a stew. I also found the seasonings to be really strong and the water softened it up alot! Just add how ever much hot water to make it the consistency you want. The flavors should still be strong enough!
YUMMY!!

Banana Bread

2011-02-03T18:10:00.005-07:00

I found this recipe on the Pioneer Woman Blog. I wanted to find another bread recipe for when I don't have cream cheese (which by far is a really really good recipe!)!!

This recipe was really good, I really wanted to drizzle chocolate sauce over the top of it, but I refrained. Or even add chocolate chips to it, but I again refrained!

Next time I might add some cinnamon to it, but overall it was easy and moist! I do think next time I wont put as much in the bundt cake pan and cook some in a smaller loaf pan. My bread was really tall! I liked that this was in a bundt pan. It makes it kind of fancier if you need something to take someone, maybe with chocolate drizzlied on top!!!

I had a friend tell me that they like to toast their banana bread in the toaster the next day and put butter on it! I tried this and it was super good and a new way to eat it for me!

Banana Bread

(The Pioneer Woman Blog)

2 sticks butter (I did 1 stick butter, 1 stick margarine)
1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
4 cups + 2 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan (I normally just spray the pan, but I did flour this time because I often times have difficulty getting these breads out in one piece).

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Add mashed bananas and beat.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the mixing bowl. Beat well until combined. Pour into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean (Mine took the whole time!).

Invert on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool before slicing and serving with softened butter.

Fruit Salad with Citrus Glaze

2011-02-02T16:22:00.003-07:00

I bought a bag of frozen mixed fruit a while ago and decided to finally try it out! The fruit was actually really good. I get nervous about frozen fruit being mushy or not having great flavor, but this was yummy! I made the glaze from the back of the bag and it was really good with it and not too over powering with the fruit!

Fruit Salad with Citrus Glaze

(from Dole Frozen Mixed Fruit Bag)

1 cup pineapple juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 pkg (16 oz) Dole fresh frozen mixed fruit, thawed ~ about 4 cups

Combine pineapple juice, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and cornstarch in medium saucepan.

Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Cool slightly. Sauce can be served warm or chilled.

Spoon glaze over fruit. Refrigerate any leftovers in airtight container!

Chicken Spaghetti

2011-02-01T16:07:00.003-07:00

I found this recipe on Jack and Jill's Kitchen! It was really good and everyone loved it! My family has been kind of tired of regular spaghetti and this was a great change!

You make it in the crock pot which was a big bonus for me!

I halved the recipe for my family and it made a lot even halved!!

Make sure that you add an hour to your when you start! Once the chicken is done and shredded it needs another hour with the saucy stuff!

Chicken Spaghetti

(found on Jack and Jill's Kitchen)

6 chicken breasts (I added more just because I was planning on feeding more than just my family) ~ I even used frozen chicken
1 onion chopped (I always use a sweet variety)
1 pkg. sliced mushrooms ~I didn't add these because of the boys
2 pkgs dry spaghetti sauce mix - use McCormick
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter (can substitute with chicken broth. I used 1/4 cup each butter/broth)

Cook in crock pot 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. I found my chicken was done sooner, so watch!

When done shred the chicken with a fork then add:

2 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
2 cans of cream of chicken soup

Stir. Cook on low for 1 hour longer. Serve over angel hair pasta.

Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-01-31T15:05:00.002-07:00

One of my favorite cookies as a child were chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies. My Grandmother would always have these at her house when we visited. It is a cookie that brings many memories of going to my grandparents house!

I found this recipe the other day, which is very similar but has white chocolate chips too! This cookie is equally delicious! It has a very similar texture and the white chocolate chips are a good addition!

Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Our Best Bites cookbook)

1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
6 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar and sugar for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla.

Meanwhile combine all the dry ingredients. Add to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Mix in peanut butter chips and white chocolate chips.

Use a cookie scoop and drop on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes (mine took almost 9 minutes). The centers should be set, but the cookies are still soft. Make sure not to overbake.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack!

MONSTER Cookies

2011-01-28T13:52:00.006-07:00

Every month, we get the privilege of bringing snack to my son's preschool class. We were thinking together of something to bring, when we saw these amazing cookies. Of course the M&M's caught his eye, but they were fun for us to make together and a great preschool snack :) They don't have ANY flour, so they have a texture similar to a mix between a no-bake cookie and a soft granola bar.

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups peanut butter, smooth or chunky

3/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

4 1/2 cups oatmeal (not instant)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup M&M's (I used mini ones, they worked really good without being too overpowering)

Directions:

Mix eggs and sugars in a bowl with a spoon until well blended. Add softened butter and peanut butter and mix until smooth. Add vanilla and salt and mix again. Dump in oats and sprinkle soda and powder on top of oats. Mix well. Fold in chips and candies. Scoop cookie dough in balls on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Let sit on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before removing.

Teriyaki Chicken

2011-01-25T17:36:00.003-07:00

I have had this recipe for quite some time and have never tried it! It was given to me by a lady that lives near by who is a great cook! I don't know why it took me so long to try it~it was simple, easy and my kids ate it up (and my husband)!

It isn't really saucy, but the chicken has great flavor! My kids prefer it this way, since they like there chicken on the side and butter on there rice! We all didn't mind the less sauce!

Teriyaki Chicken

6 chicken breasts (I only did 3, but kept marinade the same)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Place chicken in a zip lock bag. I cut up my chicken into smaller pieces so they would cook faster too.

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic salt. Pour over chicken and squish the bag around to get the chicken coated. Can leave the chicken in marinade for a few hours or use the chicken right away after coating.

Grill or cook over the stove on medium heat for about 20 minutes. I poured some of the marinade over the chicken and cooked it in that too.

May also bake the chicken in the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Serve over hot buttered rice!

Cocoa Cupcakes

2011-01-24T11:32:00.004-07:00

This recipe was found in an issue of All You magazine! According to the magazine, these are easy and cheap~about 30 cents a serving!

They were good, but I think I overcooked them a little. Next time I will check them sooner so not to over bake! My kids loved them and I added some Valentine sprinkles and baked them with them on and didn't frost them! Next time I am going to put a few mini chocolate chips on top of the cupcakes!

Makes 12 cupcakes, which is great at our house when you want a little cake but not a lot!

Cocoa Cupcakes

(All You Magazine)

1 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs, separated
4 tbsp butter, at room temp.
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
2 tbsp powdered sugar, optional for dusting on top of cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

In a mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Put stiff whites in another bowl and clean mixer. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add yolks, one at a time, beating well after each egg yolk. Beat in vanilla.

Add about 1/3 flour mixture and mix. Then add about 1/2 buttermilk. Repeat, ending with flour.

Fold in 1/3 of egg whites. Then fold in the rest of egg whites and chocolate chips.

Divide batter among muffin cups (you can add sprinkles if desired); bake until toothpick inserted is clean, about 18-20 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes and then remove to rack to cool completely.

Sift powdered sugar on top when cool! Enjoy!

Gourmet Mom's High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-01-21T12:03:00.002-07:00

I have been always searching for a GREAT Chocolate Chip cookie recipe! It seems some turn out too flat or too flat or way too flat! I seem to have that problem and have been trying them and I think I found success! I like a cookie to not sink and have some structure to it and then to also be soft! Yes I was searching for a soft cookie too!

I really thought these cookies have turned out the best in my search!

Gourmet Mom's High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks butter (I did 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup margarine)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whip butter until creamy, then add sugars and beat. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs.

Sift flour and soda, then add to mixture (I did sift the flour and soda, I don't know if this makes a difference or not!). Add chocolate chips.

Bake 8-11 minutes until edges are barely brown!

Warm Chocolate Puddings

2011-01-20T12:58:00.002-07:00

I found this recipe in a Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine!

The recipe made 4 individual servings and they turned out really good!

I may have cooked them a little too long, make sure to not overcook and then the insides will be more pudding like! Might just be a nice Valentine Treat!

Warm Chocolate Puddings

(Martha Stewart Everyday Foods)

4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used semisweet chocolate chips)
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
Ice Cream or Whip Cream for on Top!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place four 6-8 ounce ramekins or oven proof bowls on a baking sheet.

Place chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water -a double boiler. Stir occasionally just until melted, 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat; mix in 2 tbsp sugar, then eggs yolks and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Still beating, gradually add remaining 2 tbsp sugar; beat until mixture is stiff and glossy.

Using a rubber spatula, mix about 1/3 egg white mixture into chocolate; gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture just until combined. Divide among bowls.

(Pudding can be prepared in advance up to this point; cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate up to 1 day!)

Bake until tops are puffed and cracked but insides are still quite soft (a toothpick inserted in center will come out gooey), 20-25 minutes or 25-30 minutes if refrigerated.

Serve warm or at room temp. (puddings will sink as they cool), topped with ice cream or whipped cream!