Pepperoni Pasta Salad

I found this on Jamie Cooks it Up and it turned out really good! Sometimes I think pasta salads lack flavor, but this one had good flavor and was a great summer meal. My kids ate hot dogs, but I think they would have liked this if they tried it!

Pepperoni Pasta Salad

(www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com)

• 1 16oz pkg multicolored pasta
• 1 small can olives
• 3 large carrots
• 1 green pepper (I didn't have one so I cut up a cucumber)
• 1/2 bunch green onions (I didn't add these because I didn't have any)
• 2 tomatoes (or 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes)
• 3/4 cup pepperoni
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Johnny's Garlic Seasoning (I just minced 1 clove of garlic)
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (I just used the Italian I had on hand)

Boil up your pasta and cook according to directions. Rinse in cool water and set it aside in a large bowl.

Chop up your vegies and pepperoni and add to your pasta bowl.

Add all other ingredients except your Italian dressing to the pasta and mix well.

Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Just before serving, pour the Italian dressing on to taste! (I sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top of the individual bowls too!)

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I was surprised to find in the cookie section we had no recipes for no-bakes! These cookies are not always my favorite, but are great when it is summer and you don't want to use your oven! I found this recipe on http://www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com/ and they looked so yummy I had to make some! They are just as good as I remember and a great easy treat for the kids and all their friends!

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Jamie Cooks it up!

• 4 cups sugar
• 6 tbsp cocoa
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter (I only had creamy and used that)
• 6 cups quick oats (add 7 cups if using regular oats)

Put the sugar, cocoa, butter, milk, and salt in a large saucepan. Over medium high heat, bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. When it comes to a boil, start stirring constantly for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add your vanilla, peanut butter and oats. Stir in around until it is all incorporated. (I added the vanilla and peanut butter and then stirred until the peanut butter was melted. Then I poured this on top of the oats in a bigger bowl and stirred it all together.) It might be a little thin at first, but it will set up!

Drop by large spoonfuls onto wax paper. If you don't have wax paper, just spray cooking spray on cooking sheets and that will work too! Let the cookies cool and set up for about 20 minutes, then you are ready to eat!!

Makes 36 large or 70 small cookies!

Oatmeal Crispies

I thought these were very good oatmeal cookies! They were great because you can freeze or refrigerate the dough. I always love cookies when they come out of the oven and then they just are not as good! This ensures that you can make a few and then make more later when you want that hot cookie again!

Oatmeal Crispies

(from the pioneer woman cookbook)

• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups rolled oats

Finely chop the pecans. Use a knife and with a rocking motion cut them, or I just used my food processor.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the shortening and sugars. Beat together until combined.

Lighting beat the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl.

Add the egg mixture to the shortening/sugar mixture. Beat to thoroughly combine.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda.

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, stir until combined.

Dump in the oats and pecans and stir to combine.

(Variations - add dried cranberries and white chocolate chips, or add chocolate chips)

Divide the dough in half. Place each half on a sheet of waxed paper and form a roll 1 1/2 inches in diameter, wrapping the waxed paper tightly around the roll.

Chill the rolls until ready to use, up to one week. (or in the freezer for up to 3 months)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap the dough and slice the rounds about 1/2 inch thick. If dough is frozen, you don't need to thaw, just add 1-2 minutes to baking time.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!!

Honey Jelly

Ever heard of Honey Jelly??? I hadn't until this week when we went to the Dentist and we were shared this jar!

It tastes just like honey but spreadable! I had it on toast and it was great! My boys had it on their peanut butter sandwiches and they didn't know any different!

I found this recipe on the internet and I am planning on trying it sometime soon!

Honey Jelly

(from www.ichef.com)

• 1 cup honey
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 cup liquid fruit pectin

Heat honey and water to boiling, stirring constantly. Add liquid fruit pectin and bring back to boil. Allow to cool in jely jars.

(from a Homemaking Booklet, Mormon Church, 1978)

Citrus Salad and Sugared Pecans

After a long adventure up in the mountains this summer, I am officially back and ready to try new recipes again!

I made this salad a few nights ago and it is one my mom makes that we enjoy!

It is light and fresh for summer time and my most favorite part about it is....

putting the sugared pecans on top! They are sooo yummy that I always make extras to just eat! I don't know why I don't make these more often, probably because I would sit and eat them all day!
Citrus Salad
(from my mom and ???)

• 8 cups lettuce
• 8 cups romaine
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 pint strawberries, halved
• 1 orange, peeled and cubed
• 2 avocados, sliced

Citrus Salad Dressing

• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest

Sugared Pecans

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup pecan halves

Mix sugar and pecans, cook over low heat until sugar melts, stirring to coat - spread on tin foil to cool.

Chicken Lo Mein

I found this recipe on the Pioneer Womans site, Tasty kitchen. I didn't get a picture when I made it a while ago, but I really liked it! It was a great leftover for lunch too! I didn't use as much cabbage mix, simply because I bought 1 bag and it wasn't exactly 3 cups. It was fine for me though! I will use less chicken next time, I like more noodles than chicken in my pasta!

Chicken Lo Mein

www.thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen

• 1 pound Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 2 teaspoons Corn Starch
• 3 teaspoons White Sugar
• 8 ounces, weight Thin Spaghetti
• 4 Tablespoons Peanut Oil, Divided Use
• 3 cups Bagged Cabbage Mix
• 2 whole Green Onions, Sliced

Preparation Instructions
Remove all fat from chicken breasts, and fillet them if they are very thick. Cut each breast into equally sized small cubes and place in a large bowl.
In a small, separate bowl, mix together the soy sauce, ginger, sugar and cornstarch until fully blended. Pour this over the chicken, stir well to combine and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for up to an hour.
When the chicken is marinated, remove it from the refrigerator and place to the side.
In a large stock pot, bring 2 quarts of well salted water to a boil. Break the spaghetti in half and place into the boiling water, stirring often to prevent it sticking together.
You can use a wok if you have one, or do like I did and use a large and deep non-stick frying pan. Set the temperature on the stove to high, and heat up 2 Tablespoons of peanut oil.
Dump in the chicken and immediately being stir frying it and moving it around constantly. It should get browned, but not overdone. Once done, remove it to a plate, cover and set it to the side to keep warm.
Once the pasta is cooked to al dente, immediately drain it and rinse well under cool water. Drain and place to the side.
Add the other 2 Tablespoons of peanut oil to the hot pan and pour in the shredded cabbage and the sliced green onion. Again, moving constantly, sauté until the cabbage softens and browns slightly. Once this is achieved, add the chicken and the drained spaghetti back to the pan and toss until heated through and evenly coated.
Immediately place in a serving platter and enjoy with some sweet and sour sauce or additional soy sauce.

Easy White Cake/Cupcakes

This is probably one of the yummiest white cake recipes I have found. I saw this on ourbestbites.com. They turned out super moist and had great flavor.

I made these in May (just getting around to post) and then again for the 4th of July. We layered the batter in red, white and blue!

Easy White Cake (our best bites)

• 1 box white cake mix(or yellow)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (use clear vanilla if you want a pure white cake)
• 1 tsp almond extract

Mix all dry ingredients with a whisk, then add wet ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes until fluffy.

For cake: Pour into greased, floured pans (fills two 8 or 9" rounds) and bake according to cake pkg. directions.

(Tip: When cakes come out, cool for 5 minutes on wire rack, then cover with 2 sheets of plastic wrap ( in a + sign), turn them out and wrap the plastic around them. Allow to cool all wrapped up (keeps the moisture from evaporating out) then pop into the freezer on a cutting board to keep them flat. Once they are frozen, they are super easy to frost and defrost in about 30 minutes.)

For cupcakes: Fill paperliners about 3/4 full and bake according to pkg. directions. Makes 36 cupcakes.