Our Proven Recipes

Blueberry Syrup

2011-06-08T07:53:00.001-07:00

Blueberry Syrup Recipe

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thick (about 15 minutes).

Serve over waffles, pancakes, or ice cream.

You can substitute otehr berries- strawberries, blackberries, or raspberries.

* I used a little bit less sugar- about 1/2 cup and also added an extra couple of tablespoons water. At the end I mashed down the blueberries so it was a little bit less chunky. Flavor is amazing and this syrup is wonderful served warm over pancakes!

Dawn's Salsa

2011-05-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Dawn's Salsa

Dawn's Salsa
4 (28 oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 (7 oz) can diced green chilies
1 bunch green onions
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1-4 jalapenos
1 bunch cilantro
1 t salt (to taste)

Cut stems from the leafy cilantro and add to bowl. Chop green onions and add to bowl. Pour one cup of juice from the tomatoes into food processor and add cilantro. Process to desired size then add to bowl. Microwave peppers in a wet paper towel for 30 seconds. Slice, throw away stems, and place in processor. Remove skins from garlic and place in processor with peppers and one additional cup of tomato juice. Process and add to bowl. Process tomatoes to desired size (should be a little chunky and not smooth) then pour into bowl. Process onion and add to bowl. Add salt and garlic powder to taste. Stir and refrigerate. You can halve this recipe.

Stores in the fridge for 14 days.

Makes about 3 1/2 quarts.

This is a very versatile recipe. I have added an extra onion or a couple cucumbers. Also, depending on the flavor you are going for you can add in some liquid smoke or some cumin (about 1/2 teaspoon).

Overnight Caramel Apple Rolls

2011-03-01T08:59:00.000-08:00

Overnight caramel apple rolls

Filling

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 medium cooking apple, peeled and chopped (1 1/2 cups)

Rolls

3-3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1 pkg regular or quick active dry yeast

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

Caramel Topping

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened

Directions

1.In medium bowl, mix filling ingredients. Set aside. In large bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, the salt and yeast.

2.In 2-qt saucepan, cook 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/4 cup butter and the milk over medium heat, stirring constantly, until very warm (120-130°F). Add warm mixture and egg to flour mixture; beat with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 min. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

3.Place dough on lightly floured surface; gently roll in flour to coat. Knead about 5 min or until smooth and springy. Place in large greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in warm place 45-60 min or until double. (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.)

4.Grease bottom and sides of 13x9" pan with shortening. Mix brown sugar, 1/2 cup applesauce, 3 Tbsp melted butter and the walnuts in pan; spread evenly.

5.Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Roll dough into 15x12" rectangle. Spread 2 Tbsp softened butter over dough; sprinkle with filling. Tightly roll up rectangle, beginning at 15" side; pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Stretch and shape until even. Cut roll into twelve 1" slices. Place slightly apart in pan. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hr but no longer than 48 hr.

6.Before baking, let rolls stand at room temperature 30 min (rolls will not rise during this time). Heat oven to 400ºF. Bake 20-25 min or until golden brown. Cool in pan 1 min. Place heatproof serving platter or tray upside down onto pan; turn platter and pan over. Let stand about 1 min so caramel can drizzle over rolls; remove pan. Serve warm.

Notes: I mixed whole wheat and white flour and they came out very moist. Applesauce gives this a great moisture boost!

Help! I can't remember where this recipe came from as I copied and pasted it in a word doc. If you know where, please let me know so I can link it. Thank you!

Granola

2011-02-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

Granola

8 cups quick oats
1 c wheat germ
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 c coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon

Mix together in a large bowl.

In a small bowl combine-
2/3 c oil
1/3 c water
2 teaspoons vanilla

Pour over oatmeal mixture and mix just until combined. Spread in a large cookie sheet.

Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally (about every 20 minutes). Bake until lightly toasted and coconut is lightly browned.

When cool, mix in:
2 cups raisins or any dry fruit
1 c sunflower seeds or any misc. nuts

Store in an airtight container.

Eat with milk or sprinkle over yogurt or ice cream.

Chicken Parmesan

2011-02-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Chicken Parmesan
4 chicken breasts
2 eggs
1 c seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 c parmesan cheese
1 t garlic salt
8 slices mozzarella cheese

Mix bread crumbs, cheese, and garlic salt.

Pound chicken between wax paper until doubled in size. Cut in half.

Beat eggs. Dip chicken in egg then into bread crumb mix. Fry in 1/4 c oil until brown on both sides. Place in dish and cook covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Add a slice of mozzarella and cook 5 additional minutes.

Serve w/ noodles and top with Alfredo or Marinera sauce.

Here is the alfredo recipe I used.

Spinach Alfredo Sauce

2011-01-31T08:47:00.000-08:00

This goes well with the Parmesan Chicken recipe.

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c milk
1 cube butter or margarine (I prefer butter)
1/3 to 1/2 c parmesan cheese
1 t garlic powder

Cook over medium low heat in a saucepan until all melted.

Pour over 10-12 oz. pasta.

Variations: Can add diced chicken or crumbled bacon.

For Spinach Alfredo:
Saute 2 cloves garlic. Add 1/2 chopped onion. When onion is ready, add 2 cups fresh spinach. Stir fry until spinach begins to wilt (about 2 minutes). Add to prepared alfredo sauce.

Cherry Enchiladas

2010-11-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

The original recipe came HERE from allrecipes.com.

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
8 oz cream cheese + 1/3 c powdered sugar
10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
2 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon crushed sliced almonds

Directions
Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Whip together cream cheese and powdered sugar and spread evenly among tortillas. Place a few spoonfuls of cherry pie filling in each tortilla and roll up. Place in baking dish with seam side down. Combine the water, butter and 1/2 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the hot liquid over the 'enchiladas' making sure to coat the tops completely. The mixture will be watery. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Combine 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and almonds in a small bowl or cup; sprinkle over the top of the enchiladas.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until outside edges of the tortillas are golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving. Serve with whip cream.

Notes: These do not work as well with whole wheat tortillas for some reason but they are still good. I have made these with other types of pie filling- I think the cherry pie filling is a little too sweet but then the apple pie filling didn't have quite enough apples in it. Blueberry is also good.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

2010-09-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Blueberry Crumb Cake
Ingredients
½ sticks Butter
1 Tablespoon (additional) Butter
¾ cups Sugar
1 whole Egg
½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups All-purpose Flour
2-¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
¾ cups Whole Milk
2 cups Fresh Blueberries

FOR THE TOPPING:
¾ sticks Butter
½ cups Sugar
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
½ cups Flour
¼ teaspoons Salt

Combine flour, baking powder, and a salt. Stir and set aside.

Cream 1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter with cinnamon and sugar. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Pour in batter.

In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients and cut together using two knives or a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes at 350, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut into squares and serve with softened butter.

Notes: For the cake part, I tried to use as little butter as possible. I ended up using 3 Tablespoons butter and substituting applesauce for the remaining butter (3/8 cup) and it was still very moist. I also substituted 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour.

Creamy Chicken Lasagna

2010-09-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

Creamy Chicken Lasagna

8 oz lasagna noodles

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

1 c sour cream

3 c diced, cooked chicken

2 c mozzarella cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain.

Mix soups, Parmesan cheese, sour cream, and chicken.

Put 1/4 of creamy chicken mixture in a greased 9x13 pan.

Alternate layers for 1/3 noodles, chicken mixture, and mozzarella cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 40 minutes.

Notes: I don't like cream of mushroom soup so I just used two cream of chicken soups. Also, I added two heads of steamed broccoli to my chicken mixture and it was fantastic. You could also add mushrooms to it, or spinach for more color.

Ezekial Bread

2010-07-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

Ezekial Bread
Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups wheat berries
• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1/2 cup barley
• 1/2 cup millet
• 1/4 cup dry lentils
• 2 tablespoons dry white beans
• 2 tablespoons dry kidney beans
• 2 tablespoons dried pinto beans
• 4 cups warm water
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions
1. Measure the water, honey, olive oil, and yeast into a large bowl. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir all of the grains and beans together until well mixed. Grind in a flour mill. Add fresh milled flour and salt to the yeast mixture; stir until well mixed, about 10 minutes. The dough is more like batter bread. Pour dough into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans (or 5 mini loaf pans).

3. Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until dough has reached top of the pan.

4. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees (it will be shorter for the mini loaves- I think it was about half an hour), or until loaves are golden brown.

Notes: I gave away most of this bread and everyone loved them! The bread is very hearty and has a great flavor, very moist.

Kale Salad

2010-06-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

This is currently my favorite dinner. The first night I made it I accidentally grabbed the chinese 5 spice instead of the sesame seeds. Not recommended. :-)

Massaged Kale Salad

Ingredients:
About 3-4 generous cups washed and chopped kale

1/4-1/2 avocado

2 tbsp olive oil (or as needed)

Juice of 1/3 of a lemon

1 small tomato, chopped

½ large carrot, grated

A few slices of red and yellow pepper chopped into bite sized pieces

a little red onion finely sliced

Sea salt

Pepper

Directions:
Pour 2 tbsp (more/less if needed) olive oil over kale, and sprinkle with sea salt as desired. With clean hands, “massage” the kale so that all of the oil is coating it and it begins to “wilt.” Throw in the avocado and massage it, too, so that the whole bowl of kale becomes well coated with oil and avocado.

Sprinkle on lemon juice as desired, and throw in tomato, carrots, and any other veggies you desire! Top with sesame seeds if you like.

Applesauce Muffins

2010-06-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

Applesauce Muffins

Ingredients

1 C margarine, softened

2 c sugar

2 eggs

2 c applesauce

2 t baking soda

4 C flour

1 T cinnamon

1 T allspice

2 T vanilla.

Heat applesauce and add baking soda. Add allspice, cinnamon, and vanilla. In alternating increments, add margarine and flour.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Makes 24 muffins.

Notes: I made this with whole wheat and they were extremely moist. These also freeze very well and you can half easily.

Butterfinger Dessert

2010-06-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

Butterfinger Dessert

*This recipe has been in my family for a long time- we love it! It is a great summer dessert because its cold and light.

Crust
4 crushed butterfingers
1 C crushed saltine crackers
1 C crushed graham crackers
1/2 c butter
1/2 c sugar

Filling
3 (3oz) packages instant vanilla pudding (not cook n serve)
2 C cold milk
4 C vanilla ice cream (softened, about half a "box")

Topping
1 9 oz. cool whip

Melt the butter and mix remaining crust ingredients until moistened. Reserve 1 c for topping and press the remaining into a 9X13 pan.

Beat the pudding and milk. Add ice cream and beat to smooth. Pour over crust and level.

Cover filling layer with cool whip. Sprinkle reserved 1 c of crust over the top. Serve chilled.

*Notes- I ommit the 1/2 c sugar in the crust and it is still plenty sweet. You can also use nutter butters instead of butterfingers in this dessert.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

2010-06-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (about half a lemon)
2/3 cup granulated sugar, plus up to 1 tablespoon for topping the muffins

2 large eggs
4 teaspoons poppy seeds
1/2 cup milk

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, zest, and 2/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Stir in the poppy seeds.

Fold the flour and milk in gently until barely combined. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tin and sprinkle the tops with sugar.

Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool muffins in the pan on a rack. Serve warm.

Notes: I used whole wheat flour on this and substituted applesauce for half of the butter. They were extremely moist! Careful not to overbake if you do use applesauce. My kids devoured these for breakfast!!

Peanut/Rice Bowl

2010-04-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

I successfully made a dinner that Craig said was "to die for". Here it is:

Peanut/Rice Bowl (serves two)

1 1/2 c. cooked rice
1 c. peas
2 carrots julienned
2 scrambled eggs
1/4 c. peanut sauce (recipe below)
peanuts
scallions

Pile all ingredients into a bowl.

Recipe for peanut sauce.

1/2 tsp oil
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsp fresh ginger (or a couple of dashes dried)
1/2 tsp chili paste (I just used 1/2 tsp chili powder
½ c. lowfat coconut milk
3 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter
1 ½ tsp sugar (if I didn’t have unsweetened peanut butter, I’d probably omit the sugar)
1 ½ tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
juice of 1/2 lime
sriracha

1. warm oil in small saucepan over medium-low heat

2. sauté garlic and ginger 3 minutes

3. add chili then coconut milk. Bring to a boil.

4. add peanut butter and mix well. Then add sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and fish sauce. Simmer 5 minutes.

5. squeeze in lime then add sriracha to taste.

Spinach Stuffed Pork Loin

2010-04-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the poor pictures. Photography is not my speciality. Also, I didn't have any kitchen string so I used toothpicks to hold it together.

Spinach stuffed porkloin

1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)
4 slices swiss cheese
2 cups fresh spinach
2 thin slices deli ham (1/2 ounce each)

Directions
Cut a lengthwise slit down the center of the tenderloin to within 1/2 in. of bottom. Open tenderloin so it lies flat. On each half, make another lengthwise slit down the center to within 1/2 in. of bottom.

Cover porkloin with plastic wrap and flatten to 1/4" thick.

Salt and pepper porkloin and sprinkle with half of the garlic powder.

Layer with the cheese, spinach and ham. Press down gently.

Roll up jelly-roll style and tie with kitchen string.

Sprinkle with remaining salt, garlic powder and pepper.

Place on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake about 25 minutes at 425° (thermometer reads 160°).

Notes: Salt very lightly, most porktenderloin is already salty. I only had shredded swiss, so that's what we used. A little bit messier but I think the cheese was distributed more evenly. We had leftover Easter ham, so that is the ham I used but still thinly sliced. This is a great easy recipe but looks so gourmet!

English Muffins

2010-04-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever made your own English Muffins? They are super easy and off the griddle they are amazing! You can even make your own sausage egg muffins for breakfast. Yum!

English Muffins
Yields: 18 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup melted shortening
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled (about an hour).

3. Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.

4. Heat greased griddle to 350 degrees. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast.

Notes: I will make a double batch and freeze them. They freeze well and don't dry out. Forget the stove top heating of the milk- just micro-blast it. He he... Be prepared for a messy griddle to clean. I also have done half whole-wheat and there were two things- first, they dry out a lot faster than white so be prepared to either freeze more right away, or eat lots. Second- the wheat does take longer to rise.

Baby Food

2010-04-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

Baby food- SO EASY.

I thought this would be an appropriate place to share a baby food trick I learned with baby #1. Thanks to an amazing, very frugal, sister-in-law, this came about.

First, boil your vegetables or fruits until they are soft (peel first unless keeping the peel). I've done peaches, pears, plums, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, and peas. Maybe more but I can't think of any more right now.

Next, puree. No big chunks. The peas are a bit harder and take a bit longer in your processor.

Place into ice cube trays and freeze. After about 6 hours or when they are frozen solid, break them out and place them into ziplocs for long-term storage. You can freeze them up to 6 months.

Then, the night before I'll decide the menu, take them out of the ziplocs, and put them into small rubbermaid containers. They last 2-3 days in the fridge. At the beginning they eat one cube size. My baby now (At 8 months) eats 2-3 per meal.

This is so easy and you can do a months' worth of food in only a couple of hours. Also, it saves you SO much $$$!!!

Also, they make great fillers- throw a couple sweet potato cubes in your spaghetti sauce or some apples into your brownies (in place of oil). Yum!

Sour Cream Waffles

2010-04-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

Don't they look fabulous? They are! I found the original recipe from Heidi Swanson's website 101 cookbooks HERE.

Sour Cream Waffles

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter melted
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3 large eggs
Maple syrup or jam, for serving

Heat a waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. Lightly oil the grids. Meanwhile whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl to combine and make a well in the center. Whisk the melted butter, milk, sour cream, and eggs in a medium bowl until well combined and pour into the well. Whisk just until smooth; do not over mix.
Spoon about 1/4 cup of the batter into the center of each quadrant of the waffle iron and close the iron. Cook until the waffle is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve the waffles hot, with the syrup passed on the side.

Makes twelve 4-inch waffles.

Notes: My only problem with this recipe was the butter- I'm not a big butter fan. I made these three times- the first time I followed the recipe perfectly. Next, half the butter (which was also fabulous and no real difference in texture). Thirdly, I omitted most of the butter. I actually did 2T butter and 1/4 cup applesauce instead. They turned out well, very moist. I also did one cup whole-wheat flour and 3/4 c all purpose on the last two attempts and whole-wheat works great.

Tomato Pie

2010-04-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

Super yummy though my kids thought it was a bit strong in the spices so you could easily cut back on those a little, I suggest not too much though. :) I based this recipe from here !

Tomato Pie

Ingredients
• 1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
• 6 large Roma tomatoes, peeled and sliced (don't drain)
• 3 Tbs dried basil
• 1 ½ Tbs dried minced onion
• ½ pound bacon - cooked, drained, and chopped
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ fresh red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Mix tomatoes, basil, bacon, garlic powder, oregano, and red bell pepper in a bowl, place inside pie crust. Then in the bowl mix cheese with mayonnaise. Place cheese mixture over top of pie. Cover loosely with aluminum foil tent.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil from top of pie and bake an additional 15 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Basic Pie Crust --super easy!

Ingredients
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening, chilled
• 3 tablespoons ice water
Directions
1. Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the cold shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water over flour. Toss mixture with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together.
2. Gently gather dough particles together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
3. Roll out dough, and put in a pie plate. Fill with desired filling and bake.

Guacamole

2010-03-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

Guacamole

3 Avocados
1 Diced Roma Tomato
2 Heaping Tablespoons Salsa
1/8th Cup Sour Cream or a heaping spoon full
Juice of Half Lemon
1 Teaspoon Garlic Granules
½ Teaspoon Salt
Pepper

Use fork to mash and smash the avacodoes until they are the texture you like it. Add remaining ingredients. Chill and serve.

Notes: Test flavors and tweak until you like it- if it needs more garlic add it, if it needs more twang squeeze in more lemon. Excellent with Chicken Tacos or plain with corn chips! ENJOY!!

Fruit Dip & Vegetable Dip

2010-03-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

I am combining posts on this one. Neither dip photographed well so we get words.

Zesty Vegetable Dip
12 oz cottage cheese
1/2 c sour cream
2 T taco seasoning
1 4 oz can green chilies

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until well blended. Chill at least 8 hours.

Strawberry Fruit Dip
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
8 oz strawberry yogurt
1 12 oz package frozen strawberries (I pulsed these in the food processor so there were small chunks.).

Mix well. Chill and serve w/ fresh fruit.

Foil Wrapped Dinners

2010-03-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

Foil Wrapped Dinners

(before hitting the oven)

Finished product

Foil Wrapped Dinners
1 - 1 1/2 lbs beef
1 10 oz package frozen green peas
4 medium carrots
8 cherry tomatoes
4 med potatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope onion soup mix

1) Mix together can of cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix.
2) Place 1 chopped carrot, 1 chopped potato, and 1/4 of meat down on a square of aluminum foil.
3)Place 1/4 of mushroom soup/onion soup mixture over the top of the meat.
4)top with peas & tomatoes
5) Wrap securely in foil & place on a baking sheet.
6) Bake 35-45 minutes @ 450 degrees until meet is tender.

Notes: This is an extremely versatile dinner. You can use any kind of meat you want- pork, beef, or chicken. I actually used pork in these pictures. You can add or omit any vegetables you want- for one of my kids, there was no peas, one wanted extra carrots and one wanted broccoli. Also, I put chopped onions and mushrooms in my husbands. Also, you can change up the flavors of the soup- we actually like the cream of celery soup the best. And of course I always add pepper.

Townhouse Chicken

2010-03-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is not the greatest picture but I can't seem to figure out how to do great shots of food. Oh well. On to the recipe!

Townhouse Chicken

3-4 cooked chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz sour cream

(note: equal parts of sour cream and chick soup if you like it creamier)

1 pkg ritz crackers (off brand, okay), crumbled

1/2 stick butter, melted

2 T poppy seeds

2-3 cups cooked rice

1. Combine chicken, cream of chicken, and sour cream in a bowl.

2. Stir crumbled crackers into melted butter. Add poppy seeds.

3. Place rice on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spread chicken mixture over rice and then sprinkle crackers on top.

4. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Notes: This meal re-heats very well. Also, you can omit the poppy seeds if you would like but the color is nice. I also added some minced onion to my chicken mixture and some pepper. This will serve 6-8 people. It makes quite a bit. Also, my pickiest eater asked for seconds.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-03-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

I am finally contributing to this blog!!!

There is no picture because I made these Sunday afternoon and then we had the missionaries over and so they were gone before I could think about taking a picture!! Next time I promise!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups chocolate chips, 2 Hershey's chocolate bars, chopped or M&M'S
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. In another large bowl stir together butter, both sugars, eggs, vanilla and cocoa. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until combined. Stir chocolate chips and walnuts, if using, and stir to distribute evenly.

For cookies: Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake about 10 minutes. Cool on a baking rack.

For bars: Pat dough into a greased 9 inch square baking pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into squares when cooled

Notes: These are so good!! I would only cook them for 9 minutes if you like them softer. We like them softer and mine were a little too hard at 10 minutes. Also, instead of using all that chocolate just use a lot of chocolate chips and that is fabulous too. Lastly, I left out the nuts. These are really easy and yummy. Enjoy!

Cute Ideas for Moms!

2010-03-13T15:21:00.001-08:00

I haven't tried these out yet, but saw them at the Family Fun website (here) and couldn't resist sharing!

Butterfly Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients

1 pat butter or margarine
2 slices bread
2 slices cheese
Vegetables (such as celery, carrots, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper)

Directions

Melt butter in frying pan
Assemble the sandwich, as you would a normal grilled cheese sandwich, with the exception of putting the rounded tops of the bread at opposite ends. then grill.
Cut the sandwich in half so the rounded tops go out to the sides, cut out 2 small triangles from each side's middle to form each wing.
Place celery stick in the middle, with cherry tomato as head, carrots as antennae, and slice carrot or peppers to make spots on wings.
----------OR------------
**Put out the vegetables in bowls and let the kids decorate their very own butterfly!**

Strawberry Shortcake Snake

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar (plus a little extra for berries)
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1 quart strawberries
Whipped cream
M&Ms
Green fruit leather

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Sift together the flour, 2 tbs confectioners' sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Cut in the margarine with pastry cutter. Once the dough is crumbly, slowly stir in the milk. Turn the dough onto a floured working surface and gently roll or pat the dough into a 1 inch thick rectangle (It should measure about 6 by 8 inches) for best results handle the dough as little as possible.
Slice the rectangle into 4 1 1/2-by 8-inch strips. Place the strips on an un-greased baking sheet, then mold and curve them into S-shapes to resemble snakes. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown. Transfer the baked shortcakes to a wire rack to cool.
Slice all but 4 of the berries lengthwise into a mixing bowl. Toss with the remaining confectioners' sugar.
Carefully slice the cooled shortcakes in half lengthwise, arrange the sliced strawberries on the bottom half of each one cover with shortcake top. "Frost" with whipped topping and sliced strawberries as scales. Add whole strawberry for head, dab small amount of whipped cream to hold M&ms in place for eyes, and add a fruit leather tongue. Serves 4!

White Chicken Chili

2010-03-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

White Chicken chili

Ingredients

1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken
2 (15 ounce) cans great northern beans or navy beans
1 (15 ounce) can hominy or white corn
1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope taco seasoning
1 (4 1/2 ounce) can of chopped green chilies
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions
1.Place chicken in a 4 quart slow cooker.
2.Top with beans and corn.
3.In a medium bowl, combine taco seasoning, chiles, condensed soup, and chicken broth. Pour over top of ingredients in the crock pot.
4.Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
5. Before serving, stir gently to break up chicken, then stir in the sour cream.

Side note- the flavor of this chili was really good! I don't know that I will use the all the chicken broth it calls for because I thought it was a little salty. I would think if you used dry beans instead of canned beans you would want the chicken broth, but otherwise I am going to omit it next time.

*I know I got this recipe off the internet but I can't remember where. If you come across this and its your recipe, let me know and I will link it.

Avocado Chicken

2010-02-17T13:19:00.000-08:00

I originally found this recipe at cooks.com (here) I changed it to fit my tastes, lifestyle and what I had in my kitchen. Sorry I don't have a picture, yet; next time I make this I will edit the post to add one OR if you make it feel free! :)

4 lg. whole chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
Pepper
Flour
1 cup Water
1/2 c. butter, divided
Chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. celery salt
1 avocado, mashed
1 1/2 c. grated Cheddar cheese
(Optional Ingredients)
8 lg. mushrooms, chopped
2-3 Roma Tomatoes, chopped

In a fry pan melt 1/4 cup butter add 1/2 cup water; take your chicken breasts and rinse with water then lightly dust with flour. Cook thoroughly in fry pan with lid on. Once chicken is done remove and place in a lightly buttered glass baking pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter in same skillet and saute onion, garlic and mushrooms (if desired) slowly until vegetables are cooked but not brown. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup water once heat to a slow simmer. Then stir in flour, celery salt, pepper.
Cook over low heat until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes (runny gravy consistency). In a separate bowl mix avocado, 1/2 cup cheese and tomato (if desired) Add avocado mixture to frying pan, blending well. Once the cheese melts spoon avocado mixture from fry pan onto each chicken breast and top with remaining grated cheese. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is melted. Makes 4-6 servings.

Leftover idea: Take any remaining chicken breasts and dice finely and mix in with any remaining avocado mixture and add little more cheese reheat until cheese is melted and enjoy with white corn chips! --My hubby and his buddies loved this for a snack during football games! And the guys never even realized they were eating leftovers ;) hehe don't tell ;)

Breakfast Casserole

2010-02-17T08:10:00.001-08:00

Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:
1 lb sausage
1 pkg crescent rolls
1 c frozen hash browns, thawed
1 c grated cheddar cheese
5 eggs
1/4 c milk
salt & pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Press crescent rolls into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Brown sausage, drain, and put into the 9x13 on top of rolls. Add potatoes and cheese. In a small bowl, mix eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour over the potatoes. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Notes: You can do some of these things the night before. I measured out a cup of the hash browns and put them in my fridge over night. I also browned the sausage the night before and mixed up the egg mixture. Then, in the morning its a quick combine it all and throw it in. Also, I didn't have crescent rolls when I made this one but I had buttermilk biscuits. It did take 1 1/2 tubes to cover the 9x13 but it turned out well. Also, you can add whatever "extras" you like- I've added green peppers and onions to the sausage layer, you could add some zucchini, mushrooms, etc.

Sweet N Spicy Pork and Spanish Sweet Rice

2010-02-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

I wasn't exactly sure how to take a picture of it, but here it is. We rolled it up in tortilla shells and ate it like tacos. It was delicious!

Sweet Pulled Pork

2 ½ lbs cooked pork roast, pulled (5 lb pre-cooked roast)
½ c brown sugar
1-2 teaspoons garlic powder (can add more)
2/3 c water
1 can diced green chilies
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t cumin (can add more for hotter)
2 teaspoons chili powder (to taste, can add more)

Rinse meat under hot tap water to remove fat. Mix all ingredients and simmer in crock pot for two hours. Serve on warm tortillas with lettuce, black or pinto beans, sour cream, rice, guacamole, and salsa.

Sweet Mexican Rice
1 t olive oil
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 T chopped cilantro (no stems)
1 1/3 c uncooked rice
3 c chicken broth (water & bullion)
¼ c sugar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook until rice is tender.

A couple of notes- I started my pork roast on low and cooked with just a small amount of water and rubbed with some garlic salt. I let it cook for about 6 hours on low in my crock pot. Then, about two hours before we were ready to eat, I shredded the pork and added spices.

Also, for the rice- I am not a huge cilantro fan, so I left it out. If you can make it in a rice cooker, great. If you can't though, make sure you bring it to a boil over med-high to high heat and then reduce your heat, cover, and simmer until tender. Otherwise, your rice will loose too much moisture and won't be completely tender.

Sweet Potato Chili

2010-02-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

This is so good. I put in a little less of the spicy ingredients for my girls' sakes but it was still scrumpteous (sp). You wouldn't normally think about sweet potatoes in chili but it is really really good. I got it off of crockpot365.blogspot.com.

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and in 2-inch chunks
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (or 2/3 cup dried beans, soaked overnight and boiled briskly for 10 minutes)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 (14.5-ounce) can tomatoes (whatever's on sale, mine had oregano and roasted garlic)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (if you don't have kosher, put in a little more than 1/4 t)
1 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice (not pictured. If you don't have any in the house, use water)

The Directions.

Use a 5-6 quart slow cooker. This is enough food to feed a family of 4 regular-sized, or 6 smallish people. Peel and chunk the sweet potato and add to the pot. Add diced onion. Follow with the red bell pepper, can of tomatoes, the beans, garlic, and seasonings. Pour in OJ and water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the onion is translucent and the sweet potato is fork-tender (if you want the sweet potato to get really squishy and disappear when stirred, cook longer).

Slow Cooker Tamale Pie

2010-02-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

The original recipe you can find HERE at allrecipes.com. I had to alter it a little bit with ingredients that I had. This is my recipe:

1 pound ground beef, browned & drained
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn (drained)

1 can olives (chopped)
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 can tomato sauce + 1 can water

1 Tablespoon chili powder
(Also, you could add one can green chilies for a bit more spice)

----

1 (8.5 ounce) package corn bread/muffin mix
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Place the hamburger through the chili powder in your slow cooker and mix slightly.

2. In a bowl, combine the corn bread mix with milk, egg, and butter, and stir until just mixed. Stir in the Cheddar cheese. Spoon the corn bread mixture over the beef mixture in the slow cooker.

3. Set the cooker to Low, cover, and cook until the corn bread topping is cooked through and set (4-5 hours, mine was closer to 4).

Top with cheese, salsa, sour cream, chilies, etc.

Enjoy!

Mexican Week

2010-02-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

My husband (Craig) came up with an idea a couple of weeks ago to do themed meal plans—i.e.—Thai one week, Italian the next week, etc.

Last week was our first run through and the theme was “Mexican”. I kept forgetting to take pictures until after the food was already halfway eaten. Sorry.

We started off with tacos—boring but cheap and Craig loves ‘em. Then we had…

Chiles Rellenos. This was probably my favorite meal of the week. They were pretty time consuming, but TOTALLY worth the time.

Chiles Rellenos Recipe Courtesy of Ann Hazard

Recipe Ingredients:

6 Ancho, Pasilla or Anaheim Chiles - or - 27 oz. can Poblano Peppers or Mild Whole Green Chiles
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Flour
6 Raw eggs (separated)
2 cups salsa verde
2 cups Homestyle Mexican Salsa
1 cup Corn oil
Salt

Recipe Instructions:

1. Rinse the chiles.
2. Preheat your oven to broil.
3. Place the chiles in a 9 x 14 baking dish and place on the top shelf of your oven.
4. Watch and listen closely. When the skins start to make popping sounds and to char and turn black in places, take the chiles out and flip them over. Be sure and use a potholder so you don't burn your hands!
5. When both sides are fairly evenly charred, remove them from the oven.
6. Wrap each chile in a moist paper towel or place in a sealed plastic bag to steam.
7. After a few minutes, check them. Once the skin comes off easily, peel each chile.
8. Cut a slit almost the full length of each chile. Make a small "t" across the top, by the stem. Pull out fibers and seeds (this is where the heat is) and replace with a slice of cheese. You can set these aside, for a few minutes or a few hours if you put them in the refrigerator.
9. Whip the egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer, until stiff peaks have formed.
10. Heat the oil in a skillet until a drop of water sizzles when dropped into the pan.
11. Beat the egg yolks with one tablespoon flour and salt. Mix the yolks into egg whites and stir until you have a thick paste.
12. Roll the chiles in 1/4 cup flour and dip each one in the egg batter. Coat evenly. Fry, seam side down on both sides until golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain.
13. Meanwhile, heat the salsa in a medium saucepan (either one or some of each). Place one or two Rellenos on each plate and pour salsa over them. Serve them immediately!

Enchiladas. I used meat in some and also made a black bean variety which turned out well. I didn’t eat the chicken variety, but I heard they were good.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (makes 15 - 18 enchiladas) or
5-6 thighs (9 - 12 enchiladas)
Corn tortillas
vegetable oil
12 oz. of mild cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
enchilada sauce (recipe below)
sour cream optional
guacamole optional

Enchilada Sauce:

2 cups chicken broth
4 tsp. Gebhardt Chili Powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 heaping tsp. garlic powder (with no salt added)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon (less than 1/16 tsp.)
1/3 tsp. sugar
5 Tbs. cold water
5 Tbs. white flour

Directions:

In a 2 quart sauce pan add the chicken broth, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, cinnamon and sugar (the sugar is a little secret to eliminate any bitter taste from the chili powder).
Use a whisk to mix everything well. Heat to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil and cook for 3 minutes.
Whisk frequently to make sure all spices dissolve. This is important for flavor and a nice smooth sauce.
While the sauce is on a slow simmer/boil, add 5 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl.
With another whisk mix 1 tablespoon at a time of flour. Whisk vigorously to avoid lumps. If you have lumps here, you will definitely have lumps in your sauce.
After 3 minutes of cooking sauce, turn the heat up to high. Very slowly, pour the flour mixture into the boiling sauce. Here you must whisk the sauce vigorously while adding the flour to avoid lumps.
After all the flour is added, continue to whisk for one minute. You can turn the heat down to medium during this time. Just make sure the sauce is boiling.
Turn off the heat, this enchilada sauce recipe is done.
You will notice that as this sauce sits it will form a "skin" on the surface. This is normal and in fact the longer the sauce sits the thicker this skin becomes. All you have to do is peel the skin off and throw it away.

Enchilada instructions:

Rinse your chickens in cold water and place them in a pot and fill with water. You are going to boil the chicken for 1/2 hour.
Always test your chicken to make sure it is done. You don't want to see any red juices coming out of the chicken.
When done, remove the chicken to a dish to cool off.
When the chicken is cool enough to touch, you will debone the chicken. Discard the skin, bones, grisle, and any other parts you don't want to eat!
Try not to leave your chicken out at room temperature too long. You don't want to encourage bacterial growth.
Place your deboned chicken on a clean cutting board and cut the chicken into approximately 1 inch chunks. If you have ever considered buying one good knife for your kitchen, here is one I have been happy with. I use it all the time and love it. It's razor sharp and lightweight.
At this point you can start assembling your chicken enchiladas. If you want to keep your chicken warm just put it in a pot on the stove in the juice it was cooked in.
Heat the vegetable oil on medium high heat in a pan big enough to fit the tortillas in.

Assembly Time

When the oil is hot, take two tortillas with tongs and hold them in the oil until they bubble. The tortillas should bubble right away. If they don't, your oil is not hot enough.
Lift and dip the tortillas in and out of the oil 3 times fairly quickly.
The goal is to make the tortillas soft so they are easy to roll. If you leave them in the oil too long, the tortillas get stiff and are hard to roll. Toss those aside and try again. If you make these chicken enchilada recipes enough times, you will get good at it.
Now dip the tortillas in hot enchilada sauce to coat them. Transfer the coated tortillas to a plate or tray. The tortillas will be hot, so be careful.
You might want to wait 1 minute to let the tortillas cool.
Now add a large spoonful of chicken on top of the coated tortilla. Lay it right down the middle from end to end.
Grab one end of the tortilla (closest to you) and bring it over 3/4 of the way to the other end. Place your fingers on top near the chicken. Tuck and roll the enchilada over so that the opening is now on the bottom.
Pick up the enchilada and place it on a oven-proof dish. When you pick it up, make sure you grab the seam on the bottom with your fore fingers and let your pinky fingers cover the ends of the enchilada so the chicken doesn't fall out.
After a little practice you'll realize that making these chicken enchilada recipes is a breeze.
After you have placed your chicken enchiladas in the dish, use a ladle to spoon the enchilada sauce over the top of all the enchiladas. Spoon plenty of sauce to completely cover the enchiladas and the bottom of the dish.
Sprinkle grated mild cheddar cheese over the top of the chicken enchiladas. Use a much or as little as you desire.
Then sprinkle finely chopped yellow onions on top or not.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place the chicken enchiladas in the oven. You don't need to cover them.
Since all of your ingredients are warm, you will only need to leave them in the oven a few minutes.
When you see that the cheese has completely melted and the sauce is bubbling around the edges, you know it's hot enough.
Take the chicken enchiladas out of the oven and serve immediately.

Guacamole. Hard (even for me) to screw up guacamole. Yummm.

Ingredients:

4 Hass avocados
2 home-grown or vine ripened tomatoes, sliced
1 whole chile ortega (canned)
1/8 cup finely chopped yellow onion
salt to taste
hot sauce to taste

Combine the tomatoes, chile, and onion on a cutting board and chop until the ingredients are fine. Scoop out the avocadoes and place in a bowl and add the tomatoe mixture. Mash with a potato masher. Add salt and hot sauce to taste.

Empanadas. Pretty good, but the dough was a bit dry. We slathered them with sour cream and salsa which fixed the problem.

Serves 8

FOR THE FILLING

2 pounds ground pork or beef
2 medium onions, finely diced
2 jalapeno chiles, minced (ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) tomatoes, diced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

FOR THE DOUGH

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup cold water
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water (do not beat until ready to bake)

Directions

1. Make the filling: In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, cook meat until no longer pink, breaking it up into small pieces, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add onion and jalapenos; cook until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder and tomatoes. Cook over medium until mixture has thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in cilantro. Let cool.
3. Make the dough: In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Using your fingers, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add just enough cold water so dough comes together.
4. Form empanadas. If desired, freeze on a baking sheet until firm, 2 hours. Wrap tightly in plastic; freeze in plastic bags.
5. To bake fresh or frozen empanadas, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush tops with egg wash, avoiding crimped edges. Bake until golden brown, rotating sheets halfway through, 30 to 40 minutes.

Tres Leches Cake. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Serves 8 to 10

FOR THE CAKE

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
7 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups whole milk
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
Whipped cream, for serving

Directions

1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
2. Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until butter browns, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
3. Whisk egg whites, baking soda, and salt with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Add yolks, and whisk until combined. Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar in a slow, steady stream, and mix until combined. Using a rubber spatula, quickly and gently fold butter mixture into egg mixture.
4. Combine flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sift 1/3 cup flour-cinnamon mixture over egg mixture, and gently fold to combine. Working quickly, sift remaining flour-cinnamon mixture over egg mixture in 2 additions, and gently fold to combine. Pour batter into prepared dish, and bake until golden and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, whisk together the 3 milks in a medium bowl. Pour over cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Transfer cake in dish to a wire rack to cool completely. Cover, and refrigerate overnight. (I only refigerated mine for about an hour.)

Up next—Italian week!

Grilled Pizza

2010-01-26T12:37:00.001-08:00

Grilled Pizza! Mmm!!

Pizza Dough (By Rebecca T)

1 C hot water

1/2 c margarine

1 T yeast

2 1/2 c flour

1 t sugar

1 t salt

Melt margarine in hot water. Add yeast and sugar and sit for 5 minutes. Add flour and salt and knead well. Roll.

Place rolled dough on a hot grill 5 minutes (with grill cover). Turn dough over, remove from grill and put your toppings on the grilled side (do the cheese last). Return the dough to the grill for 5-7 minutes.

Or, place the dough in your pan or stone, place toppings on, and bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.

*We grilled the pizza and I have a couple of recomendations. Next time, we will make smaller, personal pizzas as they are easier to turn and handle. Also, take the dough off the grill to do the toppings. When we removed the dough, we lifted one side and slid a large cutting board under it. Also, I substituted half whole wheat flour for white and added 1 tablespoon of Italian seasonings. Toppings we used were sausage, olives, onions, pineapple, green pepper, onions, zuchini. Also, I am not a sauce person so we omit the sauce from the pizza. Instead, I sprinkle it with a little bit of parmesan cheese and some basil, oregano, and garlic powder.

Enjoy!

If You Can't Stand The Heat...

2010-01-22T15:04:00.001-08:00

Dear blog contributors,

Time to get serious.

If you can't stand the heat.... get OUT of the kitchen. (:

Let's see some of you hiding in the shadows post some recipes.

love, me

Lauri's Hamburger Buns

2010-01-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

Lauri's Hamburger Buns

5 C flour

2 pkg yeast (2 T)

1 T salt

2 T butter at room temp

2 C warm water

Dissolve yeast in water. Add remaining ingredients. Knead 6-8 minutes. Let rise until double (about an hour). Shape into 12 balls. Place on a greased pan for 5 minutes. Flatten with the palm to 1" thick and about 4" diameter. Let raise until puffy (about 30 minutes). Brush bun with milk & sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

*The first time we made them, they were really bland. Of course I had to try it again and change some things. I did half whole wheat flour and half white flour and added 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seed and 1 t garlic powder. I would make them this way again. My boys LOVEd them.

Orange Sweet Rolls

2010-01-22T14:39:00.001-08:00

Sweet Roll Dough

1/2 c warm water

2 T yeast (Active dry)

dissolve yeast in water then add:

1 1/2 c warm milk

2 t salt

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

3 1/2 c flour

Mix until smooth. Then add 3-4 c more flour. Knead 5 minutes. Round in a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let raise in a warm place until doubled in size (About 1 1/2 - 2 hours). Punch down and bake to specifics.

* I use this dough also for cinnamon rolls, cream cheese rolls, and scones. It will make about 2 dozen scones. I also subsituted some whole wheat flour in the mix- about half of it. This makes the rising time a bit on the longer side.

Orange Rolls

3/4 c sugar

1/2 c butter (or margarine)- softened

2 T grated orange peel

Mix ingredients until smooth. Roll dough into a large rectangle and spread the filling onto the dough. Roll up jelly roll style and cut into rolls. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Mix glaze ingredients and spread over warm rolls.

Glaze:

1 c confectioners sugar

1 Tablespoon softened butter

4 t milk

1/2 t lemon extract (I used orange and it was good, too)

Enjoy! Store in a tightly sealed container. Also, wheat rolls will dry out more quickly than all-white- flour rolls.

Orange Pull Aparts

2010-01-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

Orange Pull Aparts

Ingredients:

2 Pkg. Buttermilk Biscuits

1/2 C Butter (1 stick)

1/2 C Sugar
1/4 C Corn Syrup
1 Tablespoon TANG

Directions:
Heat last four ingredients in a saucepan until butter melts.

Pull biscuits apart and place in a greased round pan (bundt or angel cake).

Pour syrup over rolls. Bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes.

Turn pan over on large platter. Enjoy! :)

Its Working!

2010-01-03T14:19:00.000-08:00

My oldest son and I were cooking something the other day.

"Mmm... doesn't that look delicious?"

"Yes, mom! It does!" He replied, "Aren't you going to take a picture of it?"

Hippie Chow

2009-12-31T12:36:00.000-08:00

I stole this super yummy recipe from this blog which I love.

I didn’t make it for kids, but my husband eats like a 6 year old and he loved it.

This recipe is really flexible, so I’ll tell you what I used last night and you can do your own thing.

HIPPIE CHOW

2c. water (or a rice cooker and whatever it requires)

1c. quinoa

Olive oil

3 smallish beets

2 carrots

1 regular brown potato

3 cloves garlic

1/8th of an onion

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1. Cook the quinoa. You can just put it in a rice cooker and cook it exactly the same way you would rice. If you don’t have a rice cooker, bring 2c. water to boil in a saucepan, add quinoa, bring back to a boil, cover, turn temp to medium-low and cook for 15-20 mins.

2. Heat oven to 400. Chop beets, carrots, and potatoes. Toss with olive oil and roast on cookie sheet until tender. (I threw some SeasonAll on as well since I was being lazy.) When they get close to being done, go to step 3.

3. Saute garlic & onion in olive oil. Meanwhile, chop zucchini and squash. Add zucchini and squash to onion/garlic and cook until tender (or just a couple minutes if you like them crunchy). Season w/ salt and pepper.

4. Throw some of everything in a bowl and top with a poached egg.

You can also put ketchup or hot sauce on it, but it tastes really good and doesn’t need extra flavoring; plus I hate ketchup.

Danish Puff

2009-12-28T14:37:00.001-08:00

The holiday tradition in my family is that we eat Danish Puff for breakfast on Christmas morning. Here is our puff this year.

My mom makes them with the red and green marchino cherries for a bit of festive color but I am not a fan. Instead, I sprinkled mine with some holiday sprinkles.

Base layer
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons water

Topping
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup flour
3 eggs

Creamy Vanilla Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons warm water or milk

Chopped nuts

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Place 1 cup flour in medium bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup softened butter, using pastry blender or knives until there are coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over mixture; toss with fork.

2. Shape into a ball and divide in half. Pat each half into 12x3-inch rectangle, about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Mixture will be sticky. You can also make it into a wreath shape.

3. Filling layer- In a pan, heat 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to rolling boil; remove from heat. Quickly stir in almond extract and 1 cup flour. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat. Add eggs; beat until smooth. It will seem like mixture won't take the eggs but keep stirring until it takes. Spread half of the topping over each rectangle.

4. Bake about 1 hour or until topping is crisp and brown; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely.

5. In medium bowl, mix all glaze ingredients except nuts until smooth and spreadable. Spread over top of pastry; sprinkle with nuts.

Festive Pretzels

2009-12-22T09:29:00.001-08:00

Here is a quick, fun, EASY holiday treat. We ended up making a TON of these and giving them away in cute little bags to our neighbors.

One bag of pretzels (squares or knots)
Two bags of kisses
Two bags of hugs
One bag M&M's

Directions:
Turn your oven on warm.
Place the pretzels on the cookie sheet.
Place the kisses and hugs on the pretzels.

Put in the oven for about 5-7 minutes (The kisses will look sort of watery).
Place an M&M in the middle of the kiss and press it gently down.
Allow to cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet.

Tips

You can use different combos of hugs and kisses- we used dark chocolate kisses (they took a little bit longer to melt).

We used candy cane kisses to get the red and white effect.

Hugs melt faster than the hugs do so if you are doing both, either do them at seperate times or do them on seperate pans.

Crock Pot Roast

2009-12-22T09:22:00.003-08:00

Here is my crock pot Roast experience. I have tried several ways to make them and doing it this way creates the most tender, fall-apart pot roast you have ever had. You can buy any cut of meat too- even the cheap chuck roast and it will tenderize cooking it this way. I don't exactly have a recipe for it, but here's the method.

First, take about 1/4 C flour and season it- I used about 2 teaspoons garlic salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Mix it together and then rub it on the roast. I sauted 2 cloves of garlic in about 3 Tablespoons of oil. Then you fry the roast on each side for about 4-5 minutes until its nice and brown.

Quarter one large onion and place the quarters in the bottom of your crockpot. After you brown the roast, place it on top of the onions. Add about 1 cup of water. I also put about 8 carrots and 3 chopped potatoes on the top. Cut them into larger pieces so they talk longer to cook. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste over the top of the roast and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Mmm.....

Soft Dinner Rolls

2009-10-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best roll recipes I have found.

Rolls

1/2 c sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 Tablespoons yeast

2 1/2 C flour

Combine in a bowl

2 c milk

1/2 c butter

Place in a microwave safe bowl and heat until melted and hot (about 2 minutes). Stir into the dry ingredients.

Add 2 beaten eggs and beat until smooth. Stir in about 4 more cups of flour, one at a time. Dough will be sticky.

Turn onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes.

Cover loosely and let rise until doubled- about 1 hour.

Shape into balls (golf ball size) and drop onto a greased cookie sheet.

Let rise 1/2 to 1 hour.

Cook at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

*I used half whole wheat in this recipe and added an extra half teaspoon of salt and they turned out great.

Corn Chowder- Slow Cooker Recipe

2009-10-02T15:05:00.001-07:00

Corn Chowder- Slow Cooker Style

Corn Chowder

5 medium potatoes, skin on and cubed

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 pint half and half

1/2 c milk

1/2 pkg bacon, cooked & crumbled

1 onion, chopped and sauted

2 cloves minced garlic

1 can creamed corn

1 c grated cheddar cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Throw it all in a crockpot. Cook on low for about 4 hours or high for about 2 hours just until potatoes are tender.

*Instead of the half and half, I used 2 cups milk and 3 T butter. The soup was a bit lighter.

Buttermilk Pancakes

2009-06-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

I never think to take a picture of these but the flavor is awesome- these are beyond restaurant quality!

Buttermilk Pancakes
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
2 T salad oil
1 C flour
1 T sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 t salt

Sift dry ingredients. Beat the egg and add to the dry. Add oil and buttermilk. Cook in a frying pan or on a greased 350 degree griddle. This makes 10-12 medium sized pancakes.

Buttermilk Biscuits (w/ Sausage Gravy)

2009-06-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

This is my absolute favorite breakfast right now. Buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy!

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 C Flour

1 T baking powder

3/4 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

5 T solid shortening

1 c buttermilk

Sift together dry ingredients and cut shortening in. Add buttermilk and gently toss with a fork. Knead dough for 3 minutes. You can either drop by spoon fulls onto a pan or roll and cut out rounds. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

For my sausage gravy, I brown my sausage and remove it from the pan. Add 2 C milk w/ 3 teaspoons of flour whisked in. (Dissolve the flour into the milk before you heat it with a fork). Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Let it boil until it reaches the desired thickness you want. If you get it too thick, you can whisk in more milk. Add sausage back in and add salt and pepper to taste.

My little twists- I've found you can't use substitute buttermilk with the biscuits or the flavor/texture is really off. I have replaced half of the flour with whole wheat flour and they work really well. For the gravy you can use any type of sausage- we generally use the lower fat/sodium mix. Depending on the saltiness of your sausage the amount of salt you add to the gravy can be quite different from batch to batch. I've also found that you can make the gravy in the time it takes to cook the biscuits in the oven- viola! Hot breakfast ready all at once.

Spaghizza

2009-05-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

This recipe was one of my favorites when I was a kid. I remember asking for it for my birthday dinner. It is kid-friendly and you can vary it depending on what you like on your pizza. In this picture we had ham and pineapple on it. Basically it's a spaghetti crust with pizza toppings.

16 oz uncooked spaghetti
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
16 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
32 oz (1 quart) thick spaghetti sauce
1 to 2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
4 oz sliced pepperoni or whatever toppings you like

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Break spaghetti up into 2 inch pieces before cooking. Cook and drain.

Beat eggs in large bowl. Add milk, half of the cheese and salts. Mix together. Add drained spaghetti. Mix.

Grease jelly roll or 9X13 in dish, depending on how thick you want it. Put spaghetti mixture in pan, pat evenly. Bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Put sauce on spaghetti mixture and top with remaining cheese and pepperoni.

Bake 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

Rainbow Salad

2009-05-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Rachel on Signing Time tells a story about "Rainbow Salad, my favorite treat to eat," so we decided to give it a try. This isn't so much a recipe as a suggestion/idea. This is such a fresh and delicious treat. We love to make this fruit salad with whatever fruit we have on hand. What makes it fun is brainstorming what to use from every color of the rainbow. Here is the rundown of this particular salad (in case you can't see everything in the picture)

Red: raspberries, strawberries
Orange: cantaloupe
Yellow: bananas
Green: kiwi, apples
Blue: blueberries
Purple: "red" grapes, "black"berries

Emilie's Cheesecake

2009-05-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe and it's so easy! It's the only cheesecake I make. It sets up so quickly. I've modified it a tiny bit, but I love it. My husband made it for Mother's Day and it turned out better than ever. Thanks for a winner Em!

No Bake Cheese Cake

2 (two) 8 oz packages of cream cheese

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup lemon juice

Whip cream cheese in medium bowl till fluffy, add sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and lemon juice. Beat till smooth. (All of the above can also be done in a blender and you can make your own sw.cond.milk if you want). Pour into prepared graham cracker crust(s). Refrigerate. Top it with fresh berries! THATS IT!

Crust:

1 1/2 packages graham crackers (crushed)

1/2 cup butter (melted)

1/2 cup sugar

Combine crushed crackers, sugar and butter. Press into 1 springform pan,1 large pie pan, or 2 small 8" tins.

Chicken Pasta Pomodoro

2009-05-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

Boil approximately half a pound of your favorite pasta al dente.

While pasta is cooking, cook the following in a large frying pan on medium heat:

1/2 c. chicken broth

1/4 c. olive oil

3 medium tomatoes diced - canned tomatoes also work

1 zucchini, diced

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

2 Tablespoons fresh basil (If using dried, use about 2 teaspoons)

Salt and Pepper to taste (I usually add quite a bit)

Add 2 or 3 cooked chicken tenderloins or 1 cooked chicken breast.*

Simmer until tomatoes are soft and zucchini is tender.

Pour over pasta and top with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6.

*You can easily make it meatless by omitting the chicken or add shrimp or sausage for variety.

French Dip Sandwiches

2009-05-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
French bread loaf (1 or 2)
1 roast
1/2 purple onion, sliced
provolone cheese, sliced (can work with swiss too)
mayo
season salt
Italian seasoning
paprika
au jus season packet

1. Place the roast in the crock pot. Add 2 cups of water and the au jus season packet. Cook on low for 8 hours.
2. Cut the french bread loaf in half lengthwise to open for sandwiches.
3. Mix together the mayo, season salt, Italian seasoning, and paprika to taste. Spread on both sides of the bread.
4. On one side of the bread, place the roast beef (in slices or shreds), cheese, slices of onion. Put both sides of bread on cookie sheet, face up.
5. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and a little brown.
6. Cut into sandwich size. Ladel the juice from the crock pot to bowls to place on the table.
7. Enjoy!

PIZZA

2009-04-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

Pizza Dough

1 cup hot water
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
approximately 2 1/2-3 cups flour
Dissolve yeast & sugar in hot water. Let stand for 10 minutes. (Should get foamy) Add oil, salt, and gradually add flour. Knead into ball & cover with oil. Let rise in bowl until 2X size. (I stick mine in the microwave-to rise) Roll out on stone and bake at 350 until cooked through middle. 12-20 minutes, depends on your topping

Chicken Enchiladas to die for!!!

2009-04-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa

Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
1 pd tomatillos, husked
1 white onion
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
½ c chopped cilantro leaves
½ lime, juiced

Enchiladas:
Extra-virgin olive oil
½ medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
¼ c all purpose flour
2 c chicken stock, store bought
Chopped cilantro leaves
1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pds) boned, meat shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 large flour tortillas
2 c sour cream
Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

For the salsa: on a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12-15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of a tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

Enchiladas: meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized-this should take 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn’t burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo Chile salsa, some additional fresh cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove) Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish with cilantro and tomato.

Hard Boil Eggs

2009-04-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

Since more people hard boil eggs for decorating and eating around Easter I thought I'd share this little tip. These always turn out well for me. There are probably lots of ways to do it without the shell breaking, but I don't like the yolk dark yellow or greenish. What other ways do you do it?

Perfect Eggs

For foolproof hard-cooked eggs, place eggs in a single layer in saucepan; add cold water to cover by 1 in. Cover saucepan and bring water to a boil. Remove from heat. Let eggs stand, covered, in the hot water for 10 minutes for large eggs. Rinse in cold water and place eggs in ice water until completely cooled.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

2009-04-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make good homemade tortillas, just for fun. I've tried several recipes and they were total flops. This one was the best one with whole wheat that I tried. I got it from The Sisters' Cafe blog. The tortillas are really good and fairly simple and have few ingredients. Try them for the sweet potato bean burritos I posted recently. They taste great baked!

Whole Wheat Tortillas

from The Sisters' Cafe

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup hot water
1/3 cup oil

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in mixer. Remove from mixing bowl and knead on countertop until smooth (add a little white flour if the dough is too sticky). Divide the dough into 12 balls, and let rest (covered) for about 15 minutes. Dough should still be really soft, but pliable. (It helps to have a cold rolling pin or a nonstick mat). Roll each ball into a very thin circle. Heat a heavy skillet or griddle(ungreased) to medium high heat. Cook tortillas until brown flecks appear, about 20-30 seconds then flip over and repeat for about 20 seconds more. Don't overcook. Make sure to watch them carefully. If they are overdone they will be crispy. Use immediately, or wrap in plastic or place in an airtight container to refrigerate or freeze. To warm, wrap in damp paper towels and microwave 15-20 seconds.

French Bread

2009-04-09T12:05:00.001-07:00

Warning: you will never buy store French bread again!

French Bread
1/2 c warm water
4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
2 c hot water
3 T sugar
6 full cups flour, divided
1 T salt
1/3 c oil

Dissolve yeast in warm water.

Combine 3 cups of flour with hot water, sugar, salt, and oil. Add yeast and remaining flour. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes and then stir down. Repeat the rest and stir down 4 times.

Turn onto a floured surface and divide into 2-3 parts. Roll into a "9x12" triangle and roll up like a jelly roll. Arrange the seam side down on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Slash diagonally 3-4 times then brush with beaten egg.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes (closer to 20). Makes 2-3 loaves.

Crepes

2009-04-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Breakfast Crepes

4 eggs

4 T melted butter

2 2/3 cup milk

2 c flour

1 t salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pour a small amount onto a greased, hot griddle (325 to 350 degrees) and spread until thin. Turn halfway. You can also pour into a frying pan and use the pan to spread the batter until thin. This makes about 18 8" crepes. Top with fruit and whip creme, powdered sugar, etc. I have tried these with whole wheat but they do not work as good. The best mix I have found is to do 3/4 c wheat and 1 1/4 c white flour. I haven't tried using a finer grade wheat flour yet.

Individual Meat Loaf Cups

2009-04-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

This was my April Fool's Dinner this year. I plan to make them again but without the food coloring in the potatoes!

You can find the original recipe here.

Meat Loaf
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Potato Frosting
3 cups mashed potatoes
Food coloring

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 muffin tin cups with foil bake cups.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all of the meat loaf ingredients until well combined. Divide the mixture evenly among the lined cups (the liners should be about three quarters full).

3. Place the filled muffin tins on cookie sheets and bake the cupcakes for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.

4. Divide the mashed potatoes among three small bowls and stir a few drops of food coloring into each batch to create blue, yellow, and pink pastel frostings. Spread a generous dollop on each cupcake.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Addictive Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos

2009-04-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

These sound unusual, but meatless main dishes can be very fulfilling and at our house we all love sweet potatoes or yams or whatever you call them. This recipe came from allrecipes and for some reason we always use black beans instead of kidney and I added the spices to the onion and garlic and sauteed a little bit before I added the beans to bring out the flavors, but the rest was basically the same. For our little family, I usually do half the recipe. And you may be tempted to skip the baking step for the sake of time, but don't do it. They are so much better baked.

photo from allrecipes.com

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups cooked black beans (original recipe says kidney, but black is so good)
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (baking them the slow way in the oven really makes them sweet and yummy)
12 whole wheat tortillas (these are the best whole wheat ones I've made)
1 cup shredded cheese (use whatever kind you have)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve.

Monkey Bread

2009-04-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

My boys LOVE to help make this easy Monkey Bread and then of course to devour it ALL!

3 (12 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough (lights ones work well, too)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Grease a bundt cake pan. Mix white sugar and cinnamon together. Cut refrigerated dough in half, roll into balls, roll in cinnamon sugar mixture, and then place in pan. (This is the part my boys love to do!) If you add nuts or raisins (I don't), layer them in between the dough.

In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Mmmmm!

Chicken Salsa Burritos

2009-03-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

1-2 large chicken breasts
2 c. thick and chunky salsa
1 frozen box of spinach (9oz.)
1 ½ c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg of flour tortillas

Boil and shred chicken breast. Defrost spinach in microwave and then drain. Combine all the ingredients in a pot on the stove and heat until cheese is melted and mixture is warm. Fill tortillas with filling and serve warm. I have also added a can of black beans washed and drained along with some corn to make it go farther.

Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp Scampi

2009-03-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

This is so good and relatively fast to make because both shrimp and angel hair cook quickly. Make it even quicker by buying already cooked shrimp. The end result isn't very saucy, but it's very flavorful.
You could use spaghetti or linguini instead if you have those, but I love angel hair. And you can find fish sauce in the asian/thai section of most grocery stores. I'll post another recipe or two that uses it later!

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound medium (16-20) shrimp peeled, deveined, and split in ½ lengthwise 1 C seasoned flour, seasoned with
½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
8 ounces (1/2 pkg) angel hair - cook/drain at the last minute
2 Tablespoons fresh herbs; basil, rosemary, marjoram, or parsley combined OR 1 tsp. dried of each
¼ cup clam juice or fish sauce (I used fish sauce)
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup heavy cream (I used evaporated milk)
¼ cup romano cheese

Toss shrimp in seasoned flour. Shake off excess flour. Meanwhile, in medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp to the hot skillet, cook until lightly browned then turn over. Add garlic to the middle of the pan, when garlic begins to turn golden, pour lemon juice over garlic. Sprinkle in fresh herbs, then add clam juice and reduce by half. Add Worcestershire sauce, heavy cream, and cheeses. Heat through. Toss with Angel Hair and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Makes 3-4 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes

Meatballs and Sauce

2009-03-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

This one is a good variation from the regular Ragu or Prego or whatever. The grape jelly makes it a little darker than traditional sauce and the mixture has a somewhat sweet, rich flavor varied by the spaghetti sauce you choose.
1 26 oz jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
6 oz V8 juice
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1/2 c grape jelly
1 15 oz can stewed or diced tomatoes
Approx. 1 lb. precooked, frozen meatballs (turkey or beef) *See recipe below*
photo from wholefoods.com

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker or large pan on stove. Cook on medium to medium-low heat until meatballs are hot. Turn down heat and simmer until ready to serve. Serve over noodles, rice, or on a toasted roll with provolone, mozzarella or your favorite cheese. Serves 4-6.

Easy Oven Meatballs
1 lb ground beef, 1 egg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce, 1/4 tsp. pepper and 1/2 cup milk. Mix it all together and make 1 1/2 inch balls. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375.

German Pancakes

2009-03-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite breakfast recipes is German Pancakes! There are many different variations on this recipe, but this is the one we like best!

German Pancakes
6 eggs
2 T Sugar
1 t salt
1 C flour
1 C milk
4 T butter

Melt the butter in a 9x13 pan (You can also use 2 9" round cake pans). Mix remaining ingredients until well blended and there are no flour clumps- I usually make this one in my blender. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until edges are brown and bubbling up. Serve with syrup or powdered sugar.

Vanishing Lemon Cake

2009-03-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

Vanishing Lemon Cake

Cake
1 box lemon cake mix
1 box lemon jello (3 oz)
1 c boiling water
3/4 c oil
4 eggs

Icing
2 C pwd sugar
3-5 Tablespoons lemon juice

Directions
Dissolve jello in boiling water. Blend oil into jello mix and add cake mix. Add eggs and mix well. Bake in a 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Mix lemon juice and powdered sugar. Add just enough lemon juice until the mix is pourable. Poke holes w/ a fork into hot cake- the more holes, the better. Pour icing over while hot.

This cake is always gone in a day at our house! Enjoy!

Granola Bars

2009-03-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some simple granola bars! Mmm... my kids devour them in less than a day. They are great for a breakfast or a snack. I found the original recipe at All Recipes but altered it a little bit. :)

These are my pictures! :)

Granola Bars

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
3/4 cup raisins, chocolate chips, or nuts (optional)
1/2 c coconut

3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or 1/4 c oil and 1/4 c applesauce- this is what I used and the bars are stay moist for longer)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes just until the bars begin to brown at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Whole Wheat Bread

2009-03-17T08:27:00.001-07:00

This recipe comes from this website. I have to say I've only made this recipe in my bread machine (the dough only, baked in the oven) and it's turned out great. It just goes faster that way and I can do more while it's mixing/rising. I am on a search to find a quick whole wheat bread recipe but they are hard to come by. I've learned you can't cheat wheat when it comes to making bread. You have to let it rise! I skipped the first step of dissolving the yeast when using the bread machine, but if I was doing it by hand I wouldn't skip it. I like to know the yeast is going to rise and give it a head start.

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water*
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 cup orange juice
5 tablespoons melted butter (or oil)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar (honey is my preference)
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk (in addition to the other milk)
3/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes
3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

* *Use 2 tablespoons less water in summer (or in a humid environment), 2 tablespoons more in winter (or in a dry climate).

1) Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with a pinch of sugar. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes, till it becomes puffy. If you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step.

2) Combine the yeast/water with the remaining ingredients, and mix and knead—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—until you've made a cohesive dough. If you're using a stand mixer, knead at low speed for about 7 minutes. Note that 100% whole wheat dough will never become smooth and supple like dough made with all-purpose flour; it'll feel more like clay under your hands, and may appear a bit rough.

3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow it to rise till it's expanded and looks somewhat puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes. Note that dough kneaded in a bread machine will rise faster and higher than bread kneaded in a mixer, which in turn will rise faster and higher than one kneaded by hand. So if you're kneading by hand, you may want to let the dough rise longer than 90 minutes.

4) Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan. (Some pans are actually 8"X4" so the loaf would be huge in those) Gently shape the dough into a smooth log, and settle it into the pan, smooth side up.

5) Tent the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the loaf to rise till it's crowned over the rim of the pan by about 3/4", about 75 minutes. Don't let it rise too high; it'll continue to rise as it bakes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

6) Bake the bread for 10 minutes. Lightly tent it with aluminum foil, (this step really helps it from overbrowning) and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, or until the center registers 190°F on an instant-read thermometer or it sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Remove it from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack.

7) Run a stick of butter over the top of the hot loaf, if desired, for a softer crust. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.

Quick Donuts

2009-03-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

Quick Donuts

Ingredients:
5 teaspoons yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour (more if dough is sticky)
oil for frying

Maple Glaze:2 tablespoons butter, softened2 tablespoons maple syrup or maple extractpowdered sugar (enough to make it the consistency you prefer)

Mix yeast, water and sugar. Wait until bubbles form in mixture. Add egg, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and flour. Mix to form dough. Knead dough for 1 minute. Roll out dough and cut donuts using donut cutter or large drinking glass. Allow to rise for 30 minutes on floured surface. Fry in oil until golden brown. Oil should be approximately 350°. Coat with maple glaze or any topping of your choice (chocolate, cinnamon sugar, etc.).

These are a great Sunday afternoon treat! Mmmmm!!!

Soft Pretzels

2009-03-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Soft Pretzels Ingredients
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 + cups flour

Dipping Solution
1/4 cup baking soda
1 1/2 cups hot water

melted butter

Directions
Dissolve yeast into warm water. Add sugar, then flour & mix well---do not knead as this toughens the dough. Mix just until combined well. Let rise until doubled, at least 20 minutes. Roll into long ropes. Twist into pretzel shapes, then dip into prepared dipping solution (baking soda dissolved in hot water). Place on well-greased cookie sheet and bake at 500°F for 4-6 minutes until golden brown. Dip face of pretzel into melted butter and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Our family LOVES these pretzels- they are as good as the soft pretzels you get at Sam's Club. Sorry, no pic right now but next time I make them I will post one! Also, you can subsititue whole wheat- I did about half and half and they were excellent. They did need a bit more time to rise but worked very well.

Shrimp Enchiladas

2009-03-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

Shrimp Enchiladas

Shrimp Enchiladas
1/2 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup whipping cream (evaporated milk)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 cups Monterey Jack cheese, divided (you can use half pepper-jack cheese for great results)
1/2 cup sour cream (plain yogurt)
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup onion, chopped2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped (1 can tomatoes, drained)
8 (9-inch) flour tortillas

Saute red pepper, onion and green pepper in 1/4 cup butter until crisp-tender. Add oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, cream and flour; blend well. Continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.

In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Saute shrimp and 1/2 cup onion until shrimp are pink. Remove shrimp and chop; return to butter and onion. Add chopped tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce. Spoon 1/3 cup shrimp mixture into each tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top of shrimp mixture. Roll up tightly. Arrange seam side down in a 9X13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Taken from My Kitchen Cafe.

Thanks for the first recipe, Shannon! :)