The Recipe Swap

Teriyaki Lettuce Wraps

2011-07-09T21:52:00.003-06:00

We had these tonight since they are a little lighter and it has been so hot! They were delicious. It really was just me and my hubs so if they were for anymore I would for sure double the recipe since I will just for the two of us next time :). I added some soy sauce when the chicken was almost cooked and I added some pecans in with the mushrooms for more crunch. I left out the garlic and onions and water chestnuts. We also didn't really use the "special sauce" even though I made it, so I would say that is definitely optional.
Here is the link:
http://www.food.com/recipe/p-f-changs-chicken-lettuce-wraps-15865

I used
3 T. oil
2 big chicken breasts
1 c. mushrooms chopped
1 c. pecans

Stir Fry Sauce
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar

Make the Stir Fry Sauce while you fry up the chicken in the oil. When it is almost cooked add a little soy sauce. Take out the chicken and while you cut the chicken, saute the mushrooms and after they start sweating add the pecans. Add the chicken back in and add the Stir Fry sauce. Serve in lettuce leaves rolled up.

Chocolate Banana Caramel Cupcake

2011-06-29T14:16:00.002-06:00

We had these yummy cupcakes for my birthday! Go check out my blog to see the recipe

Quick Pork Tacos

2011-05-31T19:59:00.003-06:00

We had these for dinner tonight and they were one of those throw together meals that turn out fantastic so I had to post it so I can make it in the future. They had so much flavor-I had 5 of them :) I cooked a pork roast in the crockpot a few days ago with some water and beef bouillon until it was nice and tender. Then I (well the hubs did this part) put it in some freezer bags. So we used probably 2 cups shredded pork-I think chicken would be really yummy as well- and added 1/2 c. green salsa. and stirred together/heated up in a frying pan. Heat some corn tortillas-11 or 12- one at a time and melt some mozzarella (or Monterey Jack) in the center. Add some meat down the center and top with chopped avocado, sour cream, and lime juice. Roll up and enjoy! I also thought it would be yummy to make a creamy green chili sauce to put over the top and cook like enchiladas. I may try that when it is colder, but just as the tacos makes a great semi-light meal with some fruit.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

2011-03-22T19:57:00.000-06:00

So I am not gonna take credit for finding this recipe. It was all Shannon and She posted about it on Facebook. So of course I did what I'm really good at doing, copying!! Shannon found the recipe On the Pioneer Women. I decided to make it tonight. I knew when i saw the pictures that this would be something my kiddos would enjoy as well as Colin and I. And I was right!! Here is the link to the Pioneer Women. She is so good at step by step instructions with pictures. So if you are like me and like to see the pictures then go there!!

I did a few things different. I used whole wheat noodles, low fat cottage cheese, and fat free sour cream. It was still super yummy!! I also added some Italian seasoning to the tomato sauce. And I didn't have green onions so I added yellow onion to my hamburger when I browned it. And then I doubled it and made it in a 9x13. My hubby gets to come home for lunch most days so we love leftovers for lunch. Also as I was eating this I thought that this would be so easy to double and put in to 2 smaller pans and keep one for yourself and take one to whoever needs dinner for the night. Add a salad and some bread and you have a Super Yummy dinner!!

also this is like lasagna and you need to let it set up for a few minutes so its not super runny!!

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

1-¼ pound Ground Chuck
1 can 15-ounces Tomato Sauce
½ teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
8 ounces, weight Egg Noodles
½ cups Sour Cream
1-¼ cup Small Curd Cottage Cheese
½ cups Sliced Green Onions (less To Taste)
1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground chuck in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.

To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.

Serve with crusty French bread.

Holiday Recipes

2010-11-11T16:55:00.003-07:00

So I have been thinking that it would be fun to have everyone post your favorite Holiday recipes. Anything from Thanksgiving dinner recipes to your favorite fall or Christmas baking recipes. And how about soups. We all know that it is definitely soup season!! Any fun new recipes?

I know everyone gets super busy this time of year, and most of us have had babies this year and Amanda yours is coming so very soon. But if you guys find a fun recipe please share!! And Thank you to you guys for adding posts even when I have been super bad at it. I promise to get better now that we are all moved in and I am finally getting back to a dinner schedule!!

I Can't wait to see all your fun recipes!!

Granola Bars

2010-11-11T15:39:00.002-07:00

All I have to say is YUM! This is another recipe from one of my favorite blogs. From this blog I'm sure I've saved our family hundreds of dollars!
Often times I buy granola bars from the store, since with a good sale and some coupons I can get them for $1 or less for a box. I actually just stocked up, but decided to give this recipe a try and love it! I love the fact that this recipe is so versatile. I was able to use up cereal that I bought for under a dollar that is more adult cereal, and since I haven't been eating cereal very often for breakfast we haven't been going through it as fast.

Granola Bars

1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. corn syrup
2/3 c. honey
1/4 c. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. peanut butter
1 Tbs. vanilla

3 c. rice krispies (I didn't have any so I used chex)
3 c. other cereal ( I used raisin bran and oatmeal raisin crisp)
3 c. quick cooking oats (I didn't have any so I used regular oatmeal)
4 Tbs. flax (I didn't have this but I had some wheat germ)
1 1/2 c. raisins, craisins, etc. (I didn't add this much since I had some raisins in my cereal)
3/4 c. chocolate chips (I used 1/4 c. each of chocolate chips, white chips, and butterscotch chips)

In a large bowl combine the bottom group of ingredients, rice krispies through raisins, leave the chocolate chips out. Line a cookie sheet with foil and then spray lightly with cooking spray.
Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, honey and salt in a saucepan. Heat until just boiling. Remove from heat and add vanilla and peanut butter. Mix until smooth.
Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal. Mix together until well combined. By the time you do this it should be cool enough to add chocolate chips so they won't melt.
Once mixed well pour onto cookie sheet. Spread evenly and press firmly. This is important so they won't crumble when you take them out. You can put a plastic baggie on your hand and spray it with cooking spray and then press it down. Cool completely. You can stick the tray in the freezer for an hour to two and then cut them. I put them in individual baggies, then put them in a large ziplock bag and have them in my freezer.
I hope you enjoy these as much we do!

Monkey Bars

2010-11-08T17:02:00.004-07:00

Recently a local store had bananas on sale for $0.18 a pound, so I bought about 10 pounds (the max you could buy). Well I still had several on my counter starting to brown and decided to give this recipe a try from one of my favorite blogs to read. I also did like she said and froze them since I didn't need a cookie sheet full of treats around, and it also makes it very easy for packing lunch. I love the fact that this recipe using whole wheat flour! You can also make this with pumpkin instead of banana which I think would be super yummy too.

Monkey Bars

1 2/3 c. mashed bananas (about 5)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. applesauce
1/4 c. milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. chocolate chips (I actually did 1/2 c. chocolate chips and 1/2 c. mini butterscotch chips)

Heat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Wisk together all the ingredients except flour and chocolate chips. Gradually add flour until just blended. Mix in half of the chocolate chips. Spread batter into cookie sheet and the sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top.

Bake 15-20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken

2010-10-28T20:40:00.002-06:00

This is a recipe that my neighbor told me yesterday and it is so completely simple (both ingredients and preparation) and really yummy. I should be able to remember it, but probably won't so I want to put it here. You may have already tried it, because I am sure it is not a new concept, but here it is in case you haven't.
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle bbq sauce
1 can pineapple

*Combine bbq sauce and pineapple (juice included) in a 9 x 13 pan (or in crockpot)
*Cut chicken breasts into small pieces (you could leave it bigger if you wanted to cook it longer) and stir in with sauce.
* Cook at 350 degrees for 90-120 minutes or in crockpot for a few hours.
* Serve over rice.

Coconut Fish Sticks with Coconut Rice

2010-09-16T18:47:00.003-06:00

I had to hurry and write this recipe down somewhere I would be able to find it again because I just kind of threw everything together and it turned out so good we will definitely be having it again! I know some of you aren't big fish fans, but the coconut takes over any fishy flavor so you are getting the benefits of fish without any fishiness. :)

So the whole dinner was ready in less than 30 minutes. I had my fish thawing earlier so that helped.

First-Start the rice (we use our rice cooker)

2 c. rinsed white rice

2 c. water

1 c. coconut milk

* After rice is cooked, combine with a few TBSP. flaked coconut and half (or more) of a semi-drained can of black beans.

Coconut Fish Sticks-

3-4 pieces tilapia cut into stick size pieces (probably about 2 lbs.)

partial can of coconut milk-1/2 c.?

1/2 c. flaked coconut

bread crumbs (either regular or Panko-I switched in the middle and both worked great).

Dip fish pieces into coconut milk and coat in breading-crumbs mixed with coconut- Plop in a heated frying pan with just enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Make sure it is hot enough you are cooking quickly, but isn't too hot so the outside with just get super dark before the middle is done.

Dipping Sauce

Rest of can coconut milk

1/4 c. flaked coconut

1/4 c. Pina Colada Drink Mix

full 1/2 c. Vanilla Yogurt (we used Greek yogurt)

Add more of whichever to taste.

Quick Baguette

2010-09-03T10:40:00.003-06:00

This is one of our favorite quick and easy breads to have with dinner!! It make 2 loafs easily. It would be yummy with your favorite garlic butter!

I found this recipe from Frosted bake shop blog - if you want pictures of each step go here http://frostedbakeshop.blogspot.com/2010/02/baguette.html

Baguette

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 Tbs. (2 packages) dry yeast

2 tsp. sugar

3 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp. salt

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup of the water with the yeast and 1 tsp. of sugar. Mix it well and cover with a cloth.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt and 1 tsp. sugar. When it is mixed well, add the yeast mixture. Gradually add the rest of the water. Mix until the dough becomes a smooth ball.

Remove from the bowl and knead the dough, cut in half and then shape into 2 baguettes. Take a knife and core down the middle - that makes it authentic! You can see, mine aren't too fancy.

Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Put water in a cookie sheet and put it on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the bread for 15 minutes. Half way through, brush the bread with butter.

You could try it with wheat flour also. Enjoy!

Chocolate cake

2010-09-03T08:25:00.004-06:00

So this has been my birthday Cake for the last 3 years. My sister in law turned me on to this recipe!! If you are ever caving chocolate cake this will do the trick!! The recipe come from the back of Hershey's Cocoa Powder. We always add strawberry's to the top because that is my favorite combination!! The frosting is also fabulous!!

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake!!

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. 3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings. VARIATIONS: ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost. BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost. CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes. "

PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine 2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa 3 cups powdered sugar 1/3 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting

Delicious Summer Salad

2010-06-17T20:05:00.005-06:00

Tonight for dinner we ended up having this salad and it has become one of my very favorites. I don't know if there is a recipe for this out there (there probably is somewhere), but we just put together what we had. So filling, yet very light and refreshing and pretty healthy. We were planning on having a bbq so I had marinated some chicken tenderloins for a Teriyaki-ish flavor. And I was just planning on the salad as a side dish so when we ended up combining them I wanted to make sure the dressing actually complimented the salad and the raspberry pecan dressing in the fridge was past the Best Buy date (by quite a bit) so I just threw this together. It turned out so wonderfully (and it's so simple) I wanted to record it somewhere.
Dressing:
1/4 c. White Wine Vinegar
1/3 c. sugar
3 large spoonfuls of Blackberry Jam
Olive Oil ( less than 1/4 c.)
These measurements are not "scientific" at all. I made the dressing in a clean sour cream container (the 2 c. size) and covered the bottom about 1/3 in. deep? with the vinegar. Then I added some jam and sugar and finally covered the top with a little Olive Oil. I tasted it and it was too strong of a vinegar taste for me so I added another spoonful of jam and a little more sugar so I think the amounts above are about what I ended up with, but you can tweak it for your taste. Then just shake it up.

* We ended up making another salad this same size so next time I would just double it to begin with for 2 adults (but we like larger portions) and a 2 year old (who loved this salad!). There was enough dressing for both salads with just a little bit left over.

Rinse a few cups of Spring Mix lettuce (or spinach or a red leaf lettuce) and shake dry.
Add about 1 c. of rinsed and drained cottage cheese
1/4 c. sliced Smokehouse Almonds (we love Blue Diamond because they have such great flavor, but I'm sure a generic would also work)
Big handful of rinsed Blackberries
3-4 Chicken tenderloin sliced.
Handful of crumbled bacon (I hate having to cook it anytime I want to use it so I buy the bag of Hormel Bacon bits at Sam's Club).
Toss it all together, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Light Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2010-05-31T07:42:00.003-06:00

We made this yesterday, so yummy. I found this in a taste of home magazine! I used fat free sour cream. And next time I think I might double the streusel since you use it in the middle and on the top!! And I am wondering if I could use apple sauce ( or apple butter) instead of butter?Next time!!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup (8 ounces) reduced-fat sour cream ( I used fat free)

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt ( I used low fat)

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

STREUSEL:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, sour cream, yogurt, butter and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients. Spoon half of batter into a 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with half of streusel. Top with remaining batter and streusel. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Place pan on a wire rack to cool. Yield: 20 servings.

In-a-Pinch Chicken Noodle Soup

2010-05-21T15:27:00.003-06:00

The stomach flu has been going around like crazy up here, and in the last week, my two kids and my nephew (we're watching him for a week), have all been taking turns throwing up. Fun. Anyways, yesterday I needed chicken noodle soup and realized that we were out of the canned stuff and I really didn't want to haul kids to the store. I also didn't want to make a really involved recipe, so I tossed this together on a whim, and it turned out really good! Todd proclaimed it one of the best chicken noodle soup recipes he's tried. I figure I'll write it down for the next time I need a quick batch of soup!

Ingredients:

15 c. chicken broth (I used 4 c. of reserved water from boiling the pasta, 11 more cups of water, 7 1/2 t. herbox chicken granules and 7 1/2 T. chicken flavored "Better Than Bouillon")
3 cups of sliced or diced carrots
5 stalks celery, sliced or diced
1 yellow onion, diced
5 large cloves of fresh garlic, pressed
2 c. (dry measurement) mini pasta shells, cooked until "al dente", rinsed, and drained
2 cans of Costco chicken breast, drained and shredded (this came out to about 3 c. if you wanted to use regular shredded chicken...the cans just made it really easy and fast, and when I was already dealing with so many germs, I didn't want to add raw meat on top of my ever-growing list of "things to sanitize")
Black pepper to taste (I gave about 15 cranks of our pepper grinder)
2 T. Italian Seasoning

Directions:
-Boil pasta in 2 quarts of water 6 minutes or until al dente. Drain, reserving 4 c. if you want it to use for making broth if using bouillon. Rinse pasta with cold water to stop cooking, drain, and set aside.
-While pasta is cooking, chop celery, carrots, onion, and garlic.
-Add broth (or water if using bouillon) to the same pot used to cook the pasta (use a large pasta pot...this makes a TON of soup)
-Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bouillon (if using water instead of prepared broth), ground pepper, and Italian Seasoning. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
-While vegetables are boiling, shred chicken. Add chicken to vegetable mixture and boil for an additional 5-7 minutes until carrots are tender.
-Remove from heat and stir in noodles, adjust seasonings as desired.
-When this is too hot for my kids to eat, I throw in a small handful of frozen peas to their bowl to cool it off and add some more veggies. Great trick for any soup...you can also use frozen mixed veggies, frozen corn, or frozen carrots.

Freezer Meals

2010-05-14T16:32:00.003-06:00

I know we talked about not doing themes, but I want to throw one out there. Do you have any recipes that you make that freeze well for later? Our compassionate service committee has asked for some of us to volunteer to have a casserole/meal in our freezer for when they need it. I just made three yesterday, all of which were enchiladas, but I have a confession I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food as a whole. I'll be going to Girls Camp for a week this summer and I'm sure the family would appreciate having something on hand in the freezer. So will you please post some of your recipes that freeze well, and make a label for freezer meals on the post so we can look them up. If you have Mexican food that freezes well feel free to share that too, because I know I am definitely a minority. Lets help each other out so we can stock our freezers with meals, so when we don't feel up to making dinner or some one need a meal we are ready. I can't wait to see what you have.

Broccoli Beef or Chicken

2010-04-20T13:12:00.000-06:00

Here in good old Rexburg there is no good Asian food. And We find ourselves seriously craving it. So I am always on the hunt for our favorite Asian food recipes. For this one I didn't have to go far. I got This from my Sister Laura you got it from her sister in law Pakiene who is from .... ummm I cant remember, Laura or Shannon help me out? But she has some seriously good recipes!! This one is easy and super yummy!

1 package of stir fry beef strips or 2 chicken breast cut into small pieces
2 stalks of broccoli cut into small pieces
2 T. oil ( I usually use sesame oil for a little extra flavor)
1/2 c oyster sauce (I was afraid to try this but now its one of my favorites and I use it in lots of Asian recipes!)
1 clove of garlic finely chopped( i usually add at least 2, we like our garlic!)
1/2 c. water

using a frying pan/ skillet on med- high heat, pour in oil. Add garlic and saute for a minute then add meat. Cook for 2 min. Add broccoli in and stir. let it cook for 3-4 minutes. then add oyster sauce and water, stir and let cook for 2 more minutes.
serve with rice! enjoy!!!

I usually double this for our family (or at least double the meat and sauce, we have some broccoli haters in our house :-(

Ceasar Salad

2010-04-20T12:38:00.001-06:00

1 crushed garlic bud

½ teaspoon dry mustard

½ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of pepper

1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice

¼ cup salad oil

2 – 3 Tablespoons of grated Parmesan Cheese

Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl, put torn up Romaine, red and green leafy lettuce, and spinach on top. Do no toss! Cover and refrigerate overnight or several hours. Toss and add Croutons and Parmesan Cheese.

I usually 3 X’s this recipe to put in the big Tupperware bowl for a crowd, or at least 3 times the dressing so you can use some one night and some more for lunch or dinner the next day!!

Menu Mondays- Cori

2010-04-20T12:31:00.000-06:00

Wow with going out of town for the weekend, then my Brother and Sister in law havign their baby I totally spaced my menu. Sorry!

So I made a month calendar for our meals. But since things have been kinda crazy latley I ahvent cooked half of our meals planned. So this week Im not gonna stick to what my calendar says and go with what in my fridge/ freezer and use stuff up that I ahd bought for previous meals that jsut never happend!!

Monday- Chicken Alfredo (I used the 1/3 fat cream cheese and I seasoned with fresh garlic, basil, and parsley. then added Italian season and salt pepper and a dash of nutmeg. so yummy) with Moms Caesar salad- this meal was requested by Jordan and Natalie who I was taking dinner to cause they just got home from the hospital with cute baby Sydney!!
Tuesday - Calzones- we never did make them last week with moms Caesar salad (so yummy and easy, I will add recipe later)
Wednesday- Heathers Pork chops and Jungle rice I'm excited to try this!
Thursday- leftovers, we have a meeting to be to!!
Friday - Barbecued chicken, potatoes, and grilled asparagus
Saturday- Broccoli Beef, rice- I love this recipe from Laura! I will add later!
Sunday- Rotisserie Chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, dilled carrots.

Menu Monday's Erin a day late

2010-04-20T11:24:00.002-06:00

So last week we had family in town, which was super fun. While cooking the turkey for our turkey sandwiches, I realized that my oven was over and done with. When I took the turkey out the element in my oven was glowing in just one spot and sparking, luckily the turkey was done, and a friend let me cook the rolls for the sandwiches at her house. There had been other issues with our stove and I knew that the days of our stove were limited but I didn't realize it would be this soon. So with an out of order oven, I've had to be a little creative on the cooking, especially since we haven't had a bbq since our move when a piece got left behind almost 3 years ago. So I'm going to be using my crockpot all week, so we didn't have to go and buy the first oven we saw.

Monday - hot dogs we had left over from a family bbq
Tuesday - Lemon and Herb Chicken
Wednesday - Salsa and Black Bean Soup
Thursday - Chili Verde
Friday - Left Overs
Saturday - Pizza (we have our babysitting co-op at our place)
Sunday - Chicken Fajitas

Granola Bars

2010-04-14T19:51:00.006-06:00

So if you know me well, there are two things you probably know about me, if you don't I'll inform you...1) I love a good deal and telling people about them. So here is my bragging for today, boxes of Quaker Instant Oatmeal for $0.40 and jars of Skippy peanut butter for under a dollar. 2) I enjoy making things from scratch. I haven't bought bread from the store in who knows how long. I got into canning this past summer, and enjoy having the end product. I like making homemade treats for my kids, it often brings the neighbor kids running. Two of my favorites are fruit leather and granola bars. That being said, I'll share with you my granola bar recipe I got years ago as a youth, when someone made them for girls camp.

Granola Bars

8 c. oats
2 c. chopped nuts
2 c. chocolate chips
4 c. rice crispies
3 c. other (butterscotch chips, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, coconut, raisins, craisin, etc. you decide)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 1/3 c. corn syrup
1 c. & 4 Tbs. butter
1/3 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350
Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl (oats through salt). Melt butter and peanut butter. Stir in the rest of the wet ingredients, make sure the butter and peanut butter isn't too warm so it doesn't scramble your eggs. Pour wet ingredients over everything in your big bowl and mix well. Press granola mix into 2 greased cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and cut. I wrap the granola bars in tin foil and store them in my freezer in a ziplock bag.
I hope you enjoy these as much as our family does.

Menu Monday's Erin

2010-04-12T12:09:00.002-06:00

Monday - Beef and Bean Chimichangas
Tuesday - Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken (we never made it last week, so that's why it's here again)
Wednesday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs (my mom's recipes, I'll post it later)
Thursday - Chuck -A- Rama with extended family
Friday - Out to eat at Costa Vita with family
Saturday - Turkey Sandwiches
Sunday - Calazone (I had some left over mozarella from homemade pizza)

Thanks for the ideas Cori, if you haven't noticed we are doing some of the same things. Usually I do a lot of my menu planning on Tuesdays or Wednesdays when I can check out the new ads and what's on sale for the best price, and since family is in town this week planning was a little harder than normal.

Menu Mondays- Cori

2010-04-12T08:40:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend!! My hubby finally graduated! We are so excited and can't wait to see where we end up!!

Here is my menu for the next week.

Monday- stroganoff, green beans
Tuesday- Peanut butter chicken - this is anew recipe we will see how it goes.
Wednesday- Sweet and sour meatballs over rice, ( except use homemade meatballs, and add a green pepper to sauce) salad.
Thursday- Out of town/ out to dinner
Friday- out of town
Saturday- out of town
Sunday - Calzones, salad, root beer

Have a good week everyone!!

Menu Labels

2010-04-05T20:01:00.001-06:00

Hi Ladies!

I just noticed that Erin put a "menu" label on her Menu Mondays post. I thought this was a great idea...then we can go back and reference them for ideas. I just went back and edited mine to include the "menu" label. Thanks Erin!

-Heather

Menu Monday - Shannon

2010-04-05T19:42:00.000-06:00

I have FOUR doctor appointments this week on top of family coming in from out of town. I'm trying to stay as stress-free as possible these next 9 days before this baby is born so our meals will be simple but our bellies will be filled.

Monday - Meatloaf and mashed potatoes premade by Costco (homemade is way better... I had two of the four appointments today)
Tuesday - Baked Monte Cristo Sandwich with some swiss instead of american cheese. Raspberry jam on the side for dipping.
Wednesday - Cheese Tortellini Alfredo (sauce from a jar) with chicken and broccoli.
Thursday - Dinner brought in by the ANGELS of my Relief Society (another two doctor appointment day)
Friday - California Style BBQ-Chicken Pizza
Saturday - Arena Football game, dinner out before hand
Sunday - Dinner at Mom and Dad's

Yummy Smoothie

2010-04-05T14:07:00.004-06:00

Hi Ladies,

I make smoothies frequently for my kids and I for snacks because they're quick, easy, and I can squeeze in some fruit and dairy in one step. I went to make one today and realized I was out of milk, so I improvised and it was really good! Only 12 Weight Watchers points for the whole blender pitcher, so I had about a quarter of that and it filled me up! Okay, here you go:

1 (12 oz) can fat free evaporated milk
1 c. fat free strawberry yogurt
1 medium banana frozen (I always take my bananas that are going brown and peel them, break them in half, and throw them in a ziploc bag in my freezer. They're great for smoothies or banana bread)
8 large frozen strawberries (I buy the big bag at Costco or WinCo)

Blend at high speed until smooth and increased in volume.

Menu Monday - Erin

2010-04-05T12:37:00.004-06:00

We are heading out of town this weekend to go visit family (Cori and Colin, and other family that will be up there at that time) so I'm trying to not shop much this week and use what I got. I'm a fan of freezing meals, and by the time next week comes to an end, I'm sure I'll need to start stocking up my freezer meals again. Our family isn't quiet big enough to eat all of one recipe for a lot of meals we eat, so I make a full batch and freeze the other half. If you want to ready more about that you can check out our other blog. When it comes to meal planning I usually plan my meals around what's on sale at my store and I have coupons for, that's a whole other post I can go on and on about. I have a white board that I keep on my fridge, that I keep track meals I have in the freezer, my menu and things I need I certain stores. So here is our menu at our house

Monday - Beef Stroganoff, here's one with a pic if you want it (I had half of a recipe in my freezer minus the mushrooms and sour cream)
Tuesday - Left over BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Wednesday - Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken (ok this isn't in my freezer, but I have most of the things I need)
Thursday - Sandwiches, since we will be on the road
Friday - Out of town
Saturday - Out of town
Sunday - Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (not sure where I got the recipe, and I'll post it later) with Orange Rolls (we could easily eat a whole recipe, but shouldn't, so last time I made a full recipe and froze half of it, so I plan on just getting them out to let them raise all day.)

Easy White Chicken Chili

2010-04-05T01:24:00.003-06:00

We love this recipe! It's easy, tasty, filling, and healthy! 1/2 c. only has 1 Weight Watchers point, so I can have a big bowl for really low points/cal/fat.

This is a lighter recipe, so I like to stir in a couple of TBS of fat-free sour cream (I only like the "Naturally Yours" brand...it looks like a cow pattern on the outside) to make it richer with hardly any added calories or fat. I also prefer mine without cheese (strange, since usually I love anything with cheese) and with a few baked tortilla chips crushed and stirred into it. I also usually substitute black beans for half of the white beans.

White Chicken Chili:

2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz (one costco can, or equivalent amount) cooked white meat chicken

1 can diced tomatoes (the normal size...14 oz?)
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can chopped green chilies
2 cloves garlic
1 can chicken broth
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 - 1/2 t. chili powder
cilantro to taste...I always add probably at least 1/2 cup

Toppings:
additional chopped cilantro
low-fat sour cream
shredded cheese (low fat or, in moderation, full fat)

Saute onion, pepper, garlic, and green chilies until onions and peppers are soft (no need to use oil...the liquid from the chilies works just fine). DON'T let garlic burn...use medium heat.
Add all other ingredients and simmer 10 minutes. Top with sour cream, cheese, and cilantro.

Menu Mondays - Heather

2010-04-05T01:14:00.008-06:00

This is a great idea, Cori! I always plan my meals a week at a time...I just don't know how to function at dinnertime otherwise, and we end up eating out. Todd's family is great at just whipping up something tasty out of whatever they have on hand, but I'm horrible at this. I'm too much of a perfectionist, so I can't just leave one ingredient out if I don't have it. Okay, there's my plug for menu planning! :) This is my first attempt at links, so I'm sorry if they don't work, but I'll post my menu anyway because maybe it will at least be good for ideas. :) Here are my plans for the week:

Monday - Spaghetti (nothing fancy...we're babysitting two additional kids, so it's gonna be a hectic "add some ground beef to Ragu" kind of night)

Tuesday - White Chicken Chili

Wednesday - Grilled Sweet and Sour Pork Chops/ wild rice/ sauteed zucchini

Thursday - Tossball practice and Todd has meetings every Thursday this month, so the kids will probably have corn dogs and I'll have a Boca burger. Raw veggies on the side.

Friday - Young Women's Fundraiser Auction/Dinner

Saturday- Date Night

Sunday - Tea's Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Bake

Menu Mondays

2010-04-05T00:56:00.003-06:00

If you are like me you hate dinner time. It's not the cooking part cause I actually love cooking and exploring new things, its the whole " whats for dinner" part. I always have the hardest time figuring out what to fix. And most of the time I start thinking about it too late to do anything nice. And many times my sister and I will call to figure out what the other is fixing. Now we have both done menu planning on and off for years. But I got out of the habit when I was pregnant, which looking back now that is probably when I need a planned out menu the most. It would of helped my hubbers alot when that last thing i wanted to do was think of food. Now that my tiny sweet pea is here, and the morning sickness is long gone ( good riddance). We are back full swing into our menu planning. about 2 weeks ago we sat down and planned our menu mostly using stuff that we already had.

It has been so nice to already know what we are having the next night. It makes me love dinner time again. Not to mention it always seems to save us money and time at the grocery store!! I was lucky enough this year to have 2 great calendars, one I made of our family then my sister made a Family one. So one is for all the things going on and the other one is hanging up in my cupboard door with our menu, right next to my fav. pizza/ bread-stick recipe!!

Don't you just love the picture of my brother and sister in law in their Halloween costumes!!

So now I am thinking why not have menu Mondays each week on this blog, which will help us all to be better prepared each week. Lets see if we can't help each other out. Every Monday lets each take 5 minutes and post our menu for the week. If you have a link to a recipe include that or if its a recipe from a cookbook tell us which one!! And if we see something on someones menu that we might like to try lets ask for the recipe!! What do you think? Should we give it a try?

I'll go first, although you can see in the pictures what We are having for the whole month!! Here is what we have planned for the week!

Monday- left overs from our yummy Easter dinner

Tuesday- meatloaf and my favorite brown rice

Wednesday- Chicken Alfredo with Homemade garlic bread-sticks ( I just have to look on my cupboard door!!)

* cook roast for enchiladas next day*

Thursday- Amanda's enchiladas and spanish rice

Friday- sloppy joes, pasta salad - we will have a ton of people here for the Mr. graduation and sloppy joes are easy to fix in huge quantaties, and if it doesn't get eaten freezes really well!

Saturday- Breakfast- hash brown breakfast casserole in crockpot ( make it fast cook it slow cookbook pg. 51)

Dinner- out to eat with family to celebrate!!

Sunday- Rotisserie style chicken, mash potatoes,gravy

All right that is it for me, lets see your menus!!

Whats on your Easter menu?

2010-04-02T00:16:00.002-06:00

So as I am planning a shopping list for our Easter Dinner I can't help but wonder what you all are doing? Whats on your menu for Easter? Do you have any fun recipes that are traditions? Are you doing anything special for Easter breakfast?

Here is what we are planning, it pretty traditional!!

Ham
Cheesy potatoes ( aka funeral potatoes)
roasted lemon garlic asparagus
Hot crossed buns
jello salad with bunny shaped marshmallows

and for dessert
Carrot cake!!

I will post the recipes when I have some sleep under my belt!!

oh yeah and I updated the blog to the new editor and I have been having issues. But like I said working on no sleep here. So let me know if you like it, if it gives you trouble or what. If we don't like it I can change it back to the old way, let me know. And if you figure out how to make it work then please teach me!!

I cant wait to here what on you menus for Easter!! And if you have a good recipes please share!!

Eclairs

2010-03-30T12:46:00.003-06:00

Something a little more exciting, a definite favorite dessert of mine. They seem so complicated, but are really so easy!
I make the pastry cream first because it needs to cool, but you can make the eclair shells a day or two before and store them as well.
For the pastry cream:
3/4 cup sugar
A pinch of salt
3 1/4 cups milk, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a medium saucepot over medium heat, combine the sugar, salt and 3 cups milk, and bring up to a bubble. While the milk is heating up, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of milk with the cornstarch in a bowl and stir until completely dissolved. In another large bowl, break up the egg yolks and whisk them together.
Using a whisk, add the cornstarch mixture into the simmering milk and stir continuously until thickened, about 2 minutes (it's ok if the mixture boils lightly).

When the mixture has thickened up, slowly add a couple ladlefuls of the hot liquid into the bowl with the egg yolks while whisking constantly (this makes it so you don't get "scrambled egg" chunks in the pastry). Add the egg yolk mixture back to the pot, return it to medium heat and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pushing the plastic down so that it covers the surface of the cream. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

For the éclair dough:
1 cup water
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 400ºF.
In a medium saucepot over medium-high heat, combine water, butter, and salt. Heat until butter has melted and water is boiling.

Add flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Stir until mixture begins to create a dough ball in the center of the pot and dough is completely pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 2 minutes.

Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. On low speed, add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl well after each addition and beating until the bowl feels cool (the mixture should be very smooth and silky).

Transfer the mixture to a plastic food storage bag and cut a half-inch off of one corner to create a pastry bag. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, squeeze the mixture into desired shapes and bake until golden brown and puffed, about 30-40 minutes.
If you made the shells a day or two ahead and they feel soggy when you take them out, pop them into a 400ºF oven for a couple of minutes until they crisp up again. Allow them to cool before filling.

To assemble éclairs (they should be pretty quickly before serving): Give the pastry cream a stir to break it up and smooth it out then transfer it to a plastic food storage bag. Cut off about a quarter-inch from one corner to make a pastry bag-you could use a frosting bag, but I like to use the plastic bags so I can throw them away after.

Using a chopstick or skewer, poke a hole in one end of each baked pastry and wiggle the stick around to clear out some space. Squeeze the pastry cream into each opening, filling the pastries. To finish, dip the top half of the éclairs in frosting. Or you can melt dark chocolate and dip the tops in that and then let the chocolate set up a bit. For frosting I use 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/3 cube butter, 2-3 Tbsp. baking cocoa, and either canned milk or cream, with a little vanilla. Just adjust the milk and powdered sugar to get it to the consistency you want. Enjoy!!!

Super Simple Soup

2010-03-30T12:09:00.002-06:00

Last night I wanted something really quick, easy, and simple. We've had some upset tummies over this way so I wanted something soothing. It isn't anything fancy, and chances are you've probably already made something similar. But I want to remember my "idea" when I need something in the future.
1 can chicken noodle soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can water
1/2 can whipping cream
1/4 c. Romano Cheese

Just combine the ingredients and heat. We had this with Colby Jack/Swiss grilled cheese sandwiches and even though it's a simple flavor, we all really liked it.

Suki Yaki

2010-03-30T10:00:00.003-06:00

Japanese food is one of my favorite kinds of foods, I think some of it is nostalgic and reminds me of home, and the other part is it just tastes so good. Here's a recipes that's pretty easy and can be adapted to what you like or don't like, and you don't have to worry about feeling intimidated walking into an Asian market, if you are lucky enough to have one nearby.
Go check it out, over at our family cooking blog.

Chicken Fried Steak

2010-03-30T09:39:00.007-06:00

This recipe was really fun to make. This was my first chicken fried steak. I bought The Pioneer Womens cookbook. Which I love, looking at her pictures makes me want to move to the middle of nowhere and live on a ranch ( ok maybe not). But her step by step pictures and instructions make me thing I can cook anything. So a few weeks ago we tried this and it was fun. The only thing that I didn't like was the cubed steaks I bought were huge, and I didn't think anything of it. But when eating this I decided that I liked the edges of the steak with all of its crusty goodness, so next time I will buy smaller or cut them into smaller steaks. Have fun with this one!! Oh yes the gravy is a must for the steak and also for smashed potatoes if you choose to make them!!

Chicken-Fried Steak

From The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook, pages 142-145

3 pounds cube steak

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups milk, plus 2 cups for the gravy

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus about 1/3 cup for the gravy

2 teaspoons seasoned salt, such as Lawry's

3/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you can handle it)

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

seasoning salt

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil for frying

The prep-

Mix the flour, seasoned salt, paprika, cayenne and black pepper together in a shallow plate. Mix the eggs with 1 cup of the milk in another shallow dish. Have a third empty dish close by. Lightly season the meat with salt and pepper. Dip each piece into the egg/milk mixture, then into the flour mixture. Now, dip the flour covered meat back into the egg mixture and then one more time into the flour mixture. Place the double dipped meat onto the empty plate.

The Cooking-

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. (A few sprinkles of flour will sizzle in the oil when it is hot enough) Fry the meat, several pieces at a time. Cook on one side until the edges start to look golden brown, about 2 1/2 minutes. Flip the meat and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes on the other side. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and keep warm until all the meat has been cooked.

The Gravy-

After frying all the meat, pour off all the grease into a heat-proof bowl. Do not clean the pan! Return it to the stove over medium-low heat. Add 1/4 cup of the grease back to the pan. Allow the grease to heat up. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of flour evenly over the grease. Using a whisk, mix the flour with grease, creating a paste. When the flour becomes golden brown, while whisking constantly, pour in two cups of milk. Whisk to combine, then let the gravy come to a slow boil. Season with seasoning salt. Add more milk if the gravy becomes too thick, whisking it into the flour/gravy. The whole process should be between 5 to 10 minutes.
* make sure to taste and then season accordingly, because under seasoned gravy is the worst!

Place the warm meat on a plate with a heaping pile of smashed potatoes. Drizzle with a little (or a lot!) of the gravy. Ree ( the pioneer women) says "Serve this to a hungry cowboy and you'll earn a friend for life".

Shredded Beef Enchiladas

2010-03-19T18:37:00.003-06:00

I Love Mexican food, and I LOVE simple things that are easy to make. I do not claim to be a gourmet chef of any kind (I only make the simplest of things!), but quite often Ryan will say that _____ is "restaurant quality" or better than at a restaurant. This was one of the times. He said they were his favorite enchiladas I've ever made. So now that I've built them up, you'll have to try them and let me know what you think. I had a giant cross-rib roast so I cooked the whole thing in my crockpot with just some beef bouillon and then just used some of it and froze most of it for future super convenient dinners (see easy as I can make it for myself). We love the raw tortillas (found at most grocery stores, and especially in bulk at Sam's Club-our favorite). I cooked 8-10 of those up (20 seconds on a side in a frying pan-no oil needed) and shredded a bunch of colby jack cheese while I had the sauce simmering. The sauce is super easy-1 Western Family Enchilada sauce seasoning packet, 1 6 oz. can tomato paste, and 16 oz. water. Mix that together and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 and assemble. I put some spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of my 10x13 pan to it was covered with a thin layer. Then put some of the meat (not too much) in the tortilla along with a little cheese, roll up and place in the pan seam side down. Continue to do this until you've filled your pan and used up your meat etc. Then top with more sauce (I used pretty much all of it) and cover with cheese. Cook 15-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and kind of crunchy on the edges.

shredded beef-cross rib roast (2 cups.)
cheese-colby jack
tortillas
Enchilada seasoning pack
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
16 oz. water

Hope you enjoy, they are definitely going to be a regular thing at our house!

calzone, pizza, breadstick dough!!

2010-03-18T10:26:00.005-06:00

Let me start out by saying that this recipe is so good and versatile that it has made it to my cupboard door!! And in my house that only happens when it is a great recipe!!

I went looking for the perfect dough to make calzones with. Calzones and us we have a history. Colin purposed on New Years Eve, and earlier in the evening he had made calzones for us to eat. So now we make them every new years eve, but I have never been satisfied with the dough. It has never been just right for me. And then when Tyler was born my incredible friend Mandy (who is also from Washington, I love that I had to come to Rexburg to meet her!! She is a- maz-ing, when we get back into a house she will be my first call to be my decorator! Oh yeah and you should check out her blog, her and her 2 sisters started a blog with lots of cute ideas. Seriously she is my hero!) brought over calzones for everyone and we all ate them up so fast. And guess what the dough (of course) was perfect. And instead of asking her for her recipe, because I feel like all I do is copy her, I went looking for one. And I think I found it. I actually already had it. I had used it to make some yummy garlic bread sticks!! I found it here. I Love this dough recipe. I have used it to make bread sticks, cheesy garlic rolls, pizza, and calzones. It is so easy and so perfect!! My kids had a ball helping roll out there own dough and putting on their own toppings. If you would like more of a step by step tutorial you can find it here.

Dough recipe

1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 c. flour

In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.

Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl.
Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

From there you can either roll into pizza dough, calzones, or breadsticks.

yes I know they are still in there pjs in the middle of the day, don't judge people

Calzones -

take a small amount of dough and roll out , on one side add Italian dressing then top with your favorite topping. pull other side over and pinch side to seal closed. I cooked mine in a 375 oven for about 10 minutes. Have some marinara sauce for dipping.

Pizza-
one recipe will make about 2 medium pizzas. Roll out dough and the prick with a fork to get holes in it so you dont have bubbly dough. After this, if you like crispy crust brush with olive oil and itialian seasoning or garlic salt/ powder and bake for 5-10 minutes. Take out then add you sauce and toppings then stick back in the oven. bake at 425 for 10 -12 minutes

breadsticks-
Remove from bowl and place on a lightly-floured surface. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll into a rectangle and cut into 12 strips with a pizza cutter.Roll out each piece of dough into a snake and then drape over your forefinger and twist the dough. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining 11 pieces of dough. Try to space them evenly, but it's okay if they're close; pulling apart hot bread is one of life's greatest pleasures! Cover pan and allow dough to rise for another 30 minutes.
When there's about 15 minutes to go, preheat your oven to 425. When done rising, bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Rub some butter on top of the breadsticks (just put a ziploc bag on your hand, grab some softened butter, and have at it) and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning or the powdery Parmesan cheese in a can and garlic salt.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have. Maybe it will make your cupboard door as well!!

Oatmeal Pancakes

2010-03-16T21:23:00.003-06:00

Oatmeal Pancakes

2 c. oats

2 c. buttermilk

½ c. flour

2 Tbs. Sugar

1 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp. Baking soda

½ tsp. Salt

2 eggs, beaten

½ c. butter, melted then cooled

Combine oats and buttermilk in a bowl, cover and let sit in the fridge overnight.

Combine the dry ingredients.

Add eggs and butter to the oat mixture. Stir in dry ingredients.

Cook pancakes.

After Cori shared her yummy pancake recipe, I thought I'd share one of our new favorites. (By the way they were yummy, the syrup totally made the pancakes, go try them!) These were super yummy. We have made them several times and you should too!

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

2010-03-09T08:22:00.003-07:00

Every time I eat pancakes I think of my Dad. Growing up, when mom was away and it was dads turn to cook he always cooked, or at least tried to persuade us that we should eat pancakes. They are his specialty. My kids even know this. When we go to visit they always are waiting for Grandpa to make them pancakes!! Well Dad I found a new recipe to add to your collection! I found this recipe on Real Moms Kitchen. I even stole the picture from her. She found the recipe from Tasty kitchen which is a site started by Ree the Pioneer Women. These are so yummy. And syrup is the perfect match to these pancakes. Well the syrup is perfect for just about anything that needs syrup! When I made the syrup for these pancakes I doubled the recipe. We had some left so I heated it up this last weekend for french toast. To die For!! Enjoy!

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
3 Tablespoons White Sugar
½ teaspoons Salt
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
2 whole Eggs Beaten
1 cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
¼ cups Butter, Melted
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon with a whisk. Whisk well to make sure everything is combined.
In separate large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, corn syrup, butter and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium/low heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle. Brown on both sides.
Serve warm with maple-butter icing drizzled over the top. Makes 12 pancakes.

Maple-Butter Icing (I recommend doubling the recipe)

1 cup Powdered Sugar
¼ cups Butter, Melted
Dash Of Salt
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
¼ cups Whole Milk (more If Needed)

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, adding the milk slowly. Add enough milk for desired consistency.

One pot chicken and penne parmesan

2010-03-04T14:39:00.003-07:00

My family loves this. It has saved the day many times when I haven't felt good enough to cook, its quick, easy and taste so yummy!

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
3/4lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1-3/4 cups(14-1/2 oz. can) chicken broth
1/2 (8oz) package penne pasta uncooked
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower mix
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided ( some times I have used Cheddar cheese when we didn't have Parmesan and it still tasted yummy!)

in 5-quart saucepan over medium head, melt butter, add chicken. Cook 5 minutes or until no longer pink. add broth;heat to boiling. Add uncooked pasta, vegetables, and pepper, stirring to coat pasta with liquid. Heat to boiling, reduce head. Cover, simmer 13 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, or until pasta is tender and most liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together soup, milk and 1/2 cup cheese until smooth, stir into chicken mixture. heat until mixture just comes to a boil; sprinkle with remaining cheese. MAKES 8 SERVINGS.

Zucchini Brownies

2010-03-02T07:20:00.001-07:00

I know it's not really zucchini season, but we had tons of it in our garden last year, and froze a lot! I needed to make a dessert for something this week, so I decided to pull out one of my many unused bags in the freezer and use it today. So that is why I decided to post it today.

Zucchini Brownies
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 c. zucchini, grated

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan. Mix together oil, sugar, and vanilla. In another container mix together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt). Add the dry ingredients to the oil, sugar, and vanilla. It will be really dry, and crumbly (don't panic, the recipe is right, there are NO EGGS in the recipe). Stir in the zucchini until incorporated. If you are using frozen zucchini that has been thawed you will have water that comes out of the zucchini as it thaws, just add all of it into the bowl. If you are using fresh zucchini, your "batter" might seem really dry, but trust me, it'll be fine. Put your "batter" into your pan, you might have to press it in, depending on if you are using fresh zucchini or not. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Frost with frosting when cooled.

Frosting
6 Tbs. cocoa
1/4 c. butter
2 c. powder sugar
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Melt butter and stir in cocoa. Then add the rest of the ingredients. You might need to add more powder sugar, depending on how thick you want your frosting.

Swedish Meatballs

2010-02-24T10:34:00.005-07:00

I will admit that I am a big wimp when it comes to trying new foods. And for some reason Swedish Meatballs have been on my list of things I never wanted to try. I really am not sure why, maybe because they have Swedish in the name I assumed they would be crazy weird. I know that there are some recipes for them that have veal or some other crazy ingredients. Then I saw this recipe over at Tasty Kitchen, which is a great site started by Pioneer Women ( this women is amazing a deserves a whole post to her self. But check out her website and her new cookbook). I made this last night, so Yummy and so Good!! And most importantly the kids devoured it as well. They are meat ball lovers of any kind so I wasn't surprised. I added a few more spices but other then that followed it exactly. Next time I make it will double the gravy recipe, well at least the liquid part, the gravy was really thick so next time I think Iwill 1 1/2 or double the liquid and not the flour. We had a perfect amount of meatballs enough for dinner and Colin to take a Lunch to work. Here is the recipe, Enjoy!!!

Ingredients

1-¼ pound Ground Turkey Or Beef- I used beef
¾ cups Dried Bread Crumbs
⅓ cups Finely Chopped Onion (or 1-2 T Dried Minced)
1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes
⅛ teaspoons Nutmeg
1 whole Beaten Egg
2-¼ cups Milk, Divided
2 Tablespoons Flour
2 teaspoons Beef Bouillon Granules (or 2 Cubes)
⅛ teaspoons Pepper
½ teaspoons Salt, Or To Taste

In medium bowl, mix meat, bread crumbs, onion, parsley and nutmeg ( I also added some kosher salt and pepper and then a little garlic powder). Beat egg and 1/4 cup milk together and add to the meat mixture. Blend together until combined. Shape into 25-30 meatballs (depending on size). Bake in a 375F oven for 20-25 minutes, until done.

While meatballs are cooking, in large skillet on the stove, whisk together the remaining 2 cups milk, flour, bouillon and pepper. Cook over medium heat until thickened, then add the salt. After meatballs are done, add them to the skillet, and coat with sauce. Serve over rice or pasta. Makes 4-6 servings.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

2010-02-23T09:35:00.004-07:00

For my sisters Birthday dinner she requested my homemade chicken noodle soup. So of course I did that, but at a restaurant a while ago I had some really good chicken and wild rice soup and I wanted to see if I could find a yummy recipe. I found one, and made it along with chicken noodle soup for Aprils birthday. It was so yummy. My brothers loved it as well. This soup has almonds in it and I would forget that when I would take a spoonful. So when there was something crunchy in my mouth I thought maybe the rice hadn't cooked but then I remembered it is the almonds. So if you don't want something hard and crunchy in your soup leave those out. This recipe also makes a huge pot, and I was able to put some in the freezer for another day. I will let you know how it handled being frozen. Hope you enjoy this yummy soup!!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
I found this recipe on mykitchencafe

½ cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
½ - 1 cup frozen corn (or ½ cup chopped celery, if preferred)
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
½ cup carrots, sliced
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 ½ cups chicken broth (can use 7 bouillon cubes plus 6 ½ cups water)
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half (use normal half-and-half if you prefer, but you won't believe how delicious this is with the nonfat variety!)

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Transfer mixture to large pot. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly until all has been added. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Next, add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Let simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours. Be careful not to let the soup come to a boil or it won't thicken properly - let it simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.

A Long Hiatus

2010-02-22T12:27:00.002-07:00

Wow it really has been a long time since I have even thought about this blog. But I am ready to start posting and reading some of your favorite recipes again. I need to first apologize for neglecting this blog. Last May I discovered I was pregnant, and I get so very sick. So eating thinking or looking at food was not a priority. Now that our Sweet boy is here and life is getting back to normal ( I guess normal for life with 4 kids) I have been craving good food and wanting some fun new recipes and to share some of the ones that I have found. So I am starting up this blog again. I am wondering if any one is still interested in adding their own recipes? Or if any one else wants to join in on the fun. Erin I know you have started your own food blog, and some of you other girls are in the same boat I was in, the thought of food makes you want to run to the bathroom. So I thought we would see where we stand and who is still interested. Amanda and Laura there are some recipes I am dying to get from you. And If we do start this up again there are some things I would like to change. I am not going to do a weekly theme and I would like to add a print option and a few other things. So let me know what you think ladies. Are you ready?

-Cori

Pasta Caesar Salad

2009-07-15T14:50:00.003-06:00

This is one I've made several times and I love. I got this recipe from a church thing.

Bow Tie Pasta, cooked and drained
Roman Lettuce, washed and chopped
Grilled chicken, cut up
Croutons
Caesar Salad dressing

Mix together the proportions you like, I do about an equal amount of noodles and lettuce.

Orange Slush

2009-07-13T14:54:00.002-06:00

This is one my mom used to make and I love it. It's so yummy and great treat when it's hot outside.

Juice from 3 lemons
1 1/2 quart apricot nectar
46 oz. crushed pineapple
30 oz. orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 bananas, mashed
6 c. water
4 c. sugar

Mix water and sugar together until most of the sugar is dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Freeze.
To serve, thaw enough so you can scoop some out, put in a cup and pour cold ginger ale over top.
I hope you enjoy it!

Summer Favorites

2009-07-12T08:42:00.002-06:00

I'm sure with all of you summer has been a little more crazy and hectic. Cori and I have had a wedding and family trips and other things going on which is why you haven't heard from us. I figured I'd put out an assignment and see if anyone is still around and will post.
Since we are in the full swing of summer, I want to know what your favorite foods to make during the summer, it can be desserts, salads, bbq, whatever you can think of.
I hope your summer is going well.

Erin

Dutch Oven Potatoes to Die For

2009-06-01T17:04:00.003-06:00

In my house these potatoes are a must at a BBQ!! The go great with steak or chicken. I'm sure they would work with anything. I am a huge fan of dutch ovens. You can put the stuff in it and forget about it. I just flip over one of my cookie sheets cover with aluminum foil and put your coals and dutch oven on top of it!!

Use different kinds of potatoes sliced ¼ inch thick (I like to combine red and golden and regular potatoes together).
2 medium onions chopped.
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 lb. bacon cooked and crumbled
¼ cup butter
1 Tbs. fresh or dried chives
1-2 tsp. seasoning salt
½ tsp. pepper

Line Dutch Oven with foil ( i hardly do this, i just spray with pam)– toss the potatoes with ¾ of the cheddar and ¾ of the mozzarella, and the parmesan cheese and seasoning salt.
Top with bacon, butter and chives. Also salt and pepper.
No liquid
Bake covered 1 hour then sprinkle with remaining cheese.

enjoy!!!!!

Grilled Zucchini

2009-06-01T15:31:00.004-06:00

This is one of our favorites and it's super simple, and if you have a garden and plant zucchini you always have tons.

Zucchini
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Olive Oil
Freshly Grated Parmesan (none of that stuff that you buy on the shelf that doesn't need refrigeration before you open it)

Slice zucchini length wise in long 1/4 inch pieces. Drizzle olive on both sides of the zucchini, then salt and pepper each side. Put on the grill 5-10 minutes each side, depending on how much of a bite you want to it. Grate cheese over zucchini and enjoy.

This weeks theme

2009-06-01T11:20:00.003-06:00

Well after a weeks break I thought we better get back to it. The idea I had for this week was Recipes you would take to a BBQ or picnic. Anything from main dishes to sweet treats. I have been loving the weather and have been wanting some good recipes to make so I have lots of excuses to BBQ!!! Even some good dutch oven recipes would be great!!!

Penne Pasta

2009-05-26T15:41:00.002-06:00

Ok so there isn't much of a recipe for this one just more like a list, but I hope you feel brave enough to try it.

Penne Pasta
Chicken
Olive Oil
Red Pepper Flakes
Garlic
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Black Olives
Carrots
Onions
Spinach

Get a pot boiling with water to cook the pasta, when it is boiling cook the noodle according to the directions.
Heat a skillet to medium heat, coat lightly with olive oil. Put a pinch of two of red pepper flakes into the oil along with a few cloves of garlic minced. When it's hot add chicken that has been cut into bite size pieces. When the chicken is cooked remove from pan. In the same pan add veggies that have been chopped (wait to add the tomatoes until the end). Saute until they are done according to your liking, don't forget to salt and pepper the veggies while they are cooking. When the veggies are done add the chicken and cooked pasta. Stir in a 1/3 to a half of a block of feta cheese (the 4 oz kind or whatever size it is, not the Costco size) that has been crumbled, so maybe 1/2 c. or so and some parmesan cheese. Taste it and if it needs more flavor add more cheese or salt.

Moons Pizza Dough

2009-05-22T11:21:00.003-06:00

My mom has been making this pizza dough for as long as I can remember!! This is one of my great memories growing up. My mom always made a bunch of dough then we would each get to pick a pan (usually a round cake pan, or an 8x8 ) and make our own pizzas. My mom would have all the topping in bowls lined up and we would just make our own creations and do weird designs so we could tell who's was who's in the oven!!!! We make it in our kitchen aid turns out great!!!

Moon’s pizza dough

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons oil (vegetable or olive oil)
4 ½ -6 ½ cups flour

Mix water, sugar and yeast together, let stand for 5 minutes. Add salt, oil, and 4 cups of flour. Knead together for 2 minutes. Add remaining flour ½ cup at a time if needed. We like the dough really soft. After you have the desired amount of flour in, Knead for 5 more minutes. Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down. Grease pizza pans (this recipe make 2 large cookie sheet pizzas, or a bunch of small individual pizzas) spread dough out onto pan. Poke holes in the dough before you put any toppings on to prevent air bubbles. Top with desired sauce and toppings. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 -20 minutes!!

enjoy!!!

Garlic Chicken Pizza

2009-05-21T14:27:00.005-06:00

1 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. onions, diced (I like to just use half of an onion sliced, for bigger pieces)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
6 oz. chicken breast, cut into bit sized pieces
mushrooms
chopped tomato
Pizza Dough
Alfredo sauce
Grated Parmesan
Shredded Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheese

Saute chicken with oil and herbs, onions, and salt, until chicken is cooked.
Spread alfredo sauce on pizza dough, top with shredded cheese. Top with meat, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Grate Parmesan on top. Bake at 475 for 10-12 minutes.

Alfredo Sauce

2009-05-21T14:16:00.006-06:00

This is an easy one that using things I have on hand, so if I need something last minute it works well, I also use this for my Garlic Chicken Pizza.

4 Tbs. butter or margarine
4 Tb.s flour
1 1/2 tsp. dry parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. onion powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
3 c. milk (if you want you can do half milk half half and half)
1/2 - 3/4 c. parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a sauce pan, add flour and cook for a couple minutes. Then add all the rest of the ingredients except the milk and cheese and stir together. Slowly add milk, whisking together. Bring back to a boil and allow to thicken. Then slowly stir in cheese. Serve over noodles or allow to cool and use as a sauce on pizza.

Christie's Calzones

2009-05-20T18:48:00.004-06:00

So this recipe came from one of my sisters-in-law and it is a little different than your normal calzone, but kind of fun at times.

Pizza dough (can use refrigerated dough, but I like them better with homemade pizza dough).
Italian Dressing
Mozzarella Cheese
Toppings: ham, pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, peppers, whatever else you like.

Roll the dough out on a flat cookie sheet. Spread about a Tablespoon of dressing down the center of the dough. Cover with cheese and toppings. Pull the sides of the dough up toward the center and press together to form a seam. Cut slits to let steam "escape" and cook at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown on top. Serve with alfredo, marinara, or ranch to dip in (or all three if you are us).

Favorite Alfredo Sauce-Ever!

2009-05-20T18:42:00.003-06:00

So here is my favorite alfredo sauce. I have tried so many recipes (seriously probably at least 10) and although some were okay, I didn't LOVE any of them. This one is by far the best one so far!
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 c. romano cheese (I didn't have this so I subbed parmesan)
6 egg yolks from jumbo eggs (I used extra large)
salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste

Heat milk and cream in a heavy bottom saucepan until it begins to simmer. Turn off heat. Slowly whip in cheese, then remove from heat. Combine the egg yolks in a separate bowl and slowly whip in a portion of the hot milk and cream mixture. Slowly add egg yolk mixture back into cream mixture. Place back on very low heat and continually stir until simmering. Take sauce off heat so it thickens. (This will increase temperature of egg yolks, or temper them). Season with salt and pepper and I like to add some onion powder and a tiny bit of garlic powder. Serve with your favorite pasta. Happy Eating

Easy Calzones

2009-05-20T10:50:00.003-06:00

1 package of Rhodes white bread(comes with 3 in a pack)
Mozzarella cheese
Long horn cheese(use whatever cheese you prefer)
Sliced pepperoni or ham(canadian bacon)
1 can of spaghetti or pizza sauce
favorite toppings, olives, green peppers,etc.

Preheat oven to 350. Follow directions on thawing bread dough on the pkg. Roll out each loaf into rectangles and sprinkle both kinds of cheese on half the dough. Then layer the ham or pepperoni and favorite toppings as much as desired. Fold dough over and pinch around edges. Spray Pam on cookie sheet, place calzones on cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter and let them sit for 5 minutes, slice pieces and dip them in heated sauce.

California Pizza Kitchen's BBQ Chicken Pizza

2009-05-19T23:04:00.002-06:00

Got this from a copy cat site...very good! Make sure you use real smoked gouda...I got some cheap, processed stuff once, and it completely ruined the pizza!

Ingredients:

Pizza crust for a large pizza
1/2 c. + 2T. Tony Roma's original bbq sauce (or your favorite)
1.5 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. shredded smoked gouda cheese
1/4 small red onion, sliced into rings
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped (I love cilantro, so we always use a lot more than 2 T...I just sprinkle it liberally over the pizza)
10 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked (I like the flavor best if it is grilled)

-Cut chicken breasts into pieces and coat with 2 T. bbq. sauce
-Spread crust with bbq sauce, top with chicken, onions, and cheese.
-Bake at 400 degrees 15-20 minutes or till crust is browned and cheese is melted. Top with cilantro.

You can also make this pizza on the bbq grill:

-Heat grill, covered, on high, for 5-10 minutes.
-REDUCE HEAT to med-low, and add crust
-spread with bbq sauce, chicken, onions, and cheese.
-cook, covered, till cheese is melted...watch it carefully so it doesn't burn!
-top with cilantro

Cajun Chicken Pasta

2009-05-19T22:49:00.003-06:00

Okay, had to add this one. This is one of Todd's favorite meals, and it's one of our best. So yummy!

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 T. cajun seasoning (my favorite is actually a cheap brand...blue label..."Spice Classics" brand)
1-2 cloves minced fresh garlic (I think I've already made my opinion clear about the bottled garlic! :) )
2 T. butter
2 bell peppers thinly sliced (makes a nice presentation if you use a red and a yellow or orange)
6-8 large mushrooms, sliced
3 green onions, minced
2 c. whipping cream (it's also good with half and half, fat-free half and half, or evaporated milk...but let's face it...cream is always better! I make it that way for special occasions)
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried thyme
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. lemon pepper
1/2 t. salt
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1.5 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2c. chicken broth
1-2 T. cornstarch
32 oz. linguine pasta, cooked according to package directions

-Shake chicken and cajun seasoning together in a large ziploc bag to completely coat the chicken.
-Mix the other dried spices (basil through black pepper) together in a small bowl and set aside
-Melt butter in a large, deep pan over med-high heat. Saute chicken with minced garlic 5-7 minutes or until browned.
-Add the other veggies and saute till crisp-tender, 2-3 minutes
-Add spices, saute 1 minute
-Add cream. Gradually add cheese, stirring well, until melted. Bring to a mild boil
-SLOWLY add the broth/cornstarch mixture until desired consistency. YOU WILL NOT USE ALL OF IT!!! IF YOU USE ALL OF IT, IT WILL BE THE CONSISTENCY OF GLUE!!! JUST ADD IT UNTIL IT IS THICKENED TO THE POINT THAT YOU LIKE IT!!!
-Add additional cajun seasoning, a dash at a time, if desired, to increase the spiciness.
-Serve over cooked linguine

Tomato Basil Pizza

2009-05-19T22:41:00.003-06:00

My friend Jill in Florida used to make this and I LOVE IT! She made it on dough she got at Sam's Club...apparently you can buy balls of dough from their concession place at the front of the store that sells pizza, or at least you could in Florida! If not, any pizza crust that you like would be great.

Ingredients:

Crust for 1 large pizza
2 c. Mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I really think that fresh, good quality Parmesan makes a difference, but it's your choice!)
2 T. chopped fresh basil (tried it once with dried basil...nowhere NEAR as good!)
2/3 c. Mayonnaise
2 cloves fresh garlic, pressed (please don't use the bottled garlic for this!)
4-6 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

-Mix 1.5 c. of the mozzarella with the parmesan, basil, mayo, and garlic. Spread over crust.
-Top with the tomato slices and the rest of the mozzarella
-bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

2009-05-19T22:28:00.004-06:00

I love this pizza dough...I think it's a lot better if you use freshly ground wheat (I like the white wheat better than red) instead of the stuff you buy at the store. I think this recipe usually makes 2 pizzas...

1 t. brown sugar
1.5 cups warm water
1 T. yeast
1 T. olive oil
1 t. salt
3-3.25 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. garlic powder
1.5 t. Italian seasoning
1.5 t. dried basil

-Dissolve sugar in water. Add yeast. Let proof till frothy.
-Add oil and salt, then flour
-Knead 8-10 minutes (preferably in a Kitchen Aid or Bosch mixer)
-Turn dough out into an oiled bowl and let raise 1 hour
-Punch dough down, divide in 2, let rise 45 minutes (this rise is optional...I think it makes it taste better, though)
-Roll out (I like to roll it out either on corn meal, or coat my oiled pan with corn meal to make the dough a little chewier), place on oiled pan (at this point you can let it rise again for 10-30 minutes if you like a softer crust, or don't bother if you like a thinner crust)
-Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, remove from oven, top with desired toppings, and bake another 10-15 minutes till toppings are cooked to desired done-ness.

Spaghetti Bake

2009-05-19T21:03:00.005-06:00

This recipe is not so good for you, but it is so good. I love to make 2 and freeze 1. I have a picky eater in my house who will not eat anything with sauce, but he will eat this--so I guess he is at least getting some tomatoes!

Cook 16 oz. thin spaghetti according to directions. (I like using the whole wheat spaghetti that you can get from Costco)

Make white sauce:

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

4 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. salt

dash onion powder

2 pints heavy cream

1 c. milk

Make red sauce:

½ Italian Sausage (mild or hot) and ½ ground beef (probably 2 lbs. total)

2 15 oz. cans Prego Italian style pasta sauce

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 4 oz. can mushrooms (or fresh)

dash of onion salt

Place cooked spaghetti in 9x13 pan

Pour white sauce over spaghetti

Top with ¾ cup Parmesan cheese

Pour red sauce over cheese

Top with another ¾ c. Parmesan cheese

Bake 350 for 30 minutes uncovered

Tea's Creamy Chicken & Broccoli Pasta Bake

2009-05-19T19:32:00.003-06:00

I got this of of Sparkpeople.com. We tried it tonight, and it was super yummy! Todd even liked it, and the kids gobbled it up. I'm trying to be healthier, but I've been craving Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo. This satisfied the craving! Yay! I'm posting it with the modifications I made.

Ingredients

1.5 LB Chicken Breasts - Boneless, Skinless

3 Cups - Albertsons Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta

12 OZ Broccoli Florets (I just estimated the amount)

3/4 Cup - Onions, raw, chopped (I completely forgot to add this...woops)

8-10 mushrooms, sliced

2 TBSP - Country Crock, Shedd's Spread Country Crock Plus Calcium & Vitamins (just used butter)

3 Cups - Albertsons Fat Free Mozzarella Shredded Cheese (couldn't find this so I used Weight Watcher's brand reduced fat mozzarella)

6 OZ - 1/3 Less Fat Neufchatel Cream Cheese

12 oz - Chicken Broth - Low Fat - Low Sodium (I just used one can MINUS 1/3 cup)

Directions

(Instead of the directions below, I grilled the chicken on the grill, cut it up, and added it at the end with everything else...really added to the flavor!)

Prep - Cut raw chicken into bite-size chunks. Cut broccoli into bite-size florets.

Heat oven to 375*F.

Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, adding broccoli the last 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Melt butter, and add chicken, onions, and mushrooms. (if you're grilling chicken, just saute the mushrooms, garlic, and onions and add the broth and cheese to that); cook 3 minutes or until no longer pink, stirring frequently.

Stir in garlic, saute 1 minute

Stir in broth; simmer 3 minutes or until chicken is done.

Add cream cheese; cook and stir on low heat 1 minute or until cream cheese is melted. Stir in 1.5 cups mozzarella.

Drain pasta and broccoli. Add to chicken mixture, mix lightly (add chicken now if using grilled). Spoon into a 9x13 pan coated with PAM.

Bake 15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake 3 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Serve.

Number of Servings: 4

Nutritional Info (not sure how they figured this or how accurate it is)

Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 338.9
Total Fat: 8.7 g
Cholesterol: 37.5 mg
Sodium: 988.1 mg
Total Carbs: 30.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.4 g
Protein: 30.7 g

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user MOUSESB.
Number of Servings: 4

Olive Gardens Alfredo Fettuccine

2009-05-19T08:42:00.004-06:00

Olive Gardens Alfredo Fettuccine

** this is a copy cat recipe but so good**

8 oz Cream cheese; cut in bits
3/4 c Parmesan cheese; grated
1/2 c Butter or margarine
1/2 c Milk
8 oz Fettuccine; cook; drain
In large saucepan combine cream cheese, Parmesan, butter and milk, stirring constantly until
smooth. Toss pasta lightly with sauce, coating well. Leftovers freeze well. I usually will add soem garlic and other spices if I feel like it!!

We like to serve with chicken we have grilled on our grill or during winter our george foreman!!

Rachel Rays Speghetti and Meatballs

2009-05-19T08:13:00.003-06:00

Spaghetti and Meatballs

We got this from a Rachel ray cookbook and we love it. The sauce has a kick ( to much for my kids but the hubby and I love it), so sometimes I just make the meatballs and then use with regular sauce!!

** I really like to put any of my spaghetti sauces in the crock pot for a few hours to let simmer. And if I am making meatballs with it I will make them an hour or 2 before dinner and throw them in the sauce in the crock pot. This really bring out the flavors it the sauce, try it, it is so yummy :)

Salt, for pasta water
Meatballs: 1 pound spaghetti

1 1/4 pounds ground sirloin
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, a couple of handfuls
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper
*** I have this thing with touching raw hamburger, don't like it at all, so I dump all my ingredients in to my kitchen aid and turn it on for a few minutes to mix it together. Then I use my cookie scoop to make the meatballs!! This way I avoid any touching. ***

Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup beef stock, available on soup aisle in market in small paper boxes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
A handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
10 leaves fresh basil leaves, torn or thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees .
Place a large pot of water on to boil for spaghetti. When it boils, add salt and pasta and cook to
al dente.

Meatballs-
Mix beef and Worcestershire, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Roll meat into 1 1/2 inch medium-sized meatballs and place on nonstick cookie sheet or a cookie sheet greased with extra-virgin olive oil. Bake balls 10 to 12 minutes, until no longer pink.

Sauce-
add oil to pan, then add your garlic and onions. Saute till onions are translucent. Add rest of ingredients and simmer till ready to serve. Once the meatballs are cooked you can add them to your sauce and let them simmer with the sauce to give your sauce the beefy flavor!!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2009-05-18T12:57:00.002-06:00

This one is so quick and easy. I have heard that you can even bake your pizzas on the grill but I for one have not tried it. If anyone has, let me know how it worked out!

1 chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
1 boboli pizza crust
your favorite BBQ sauce - we LOVE Sweet Baby Ray's
1/2 green pepper sliced and diced how you like it
1/2 onion sliced
1 bag pizza cheese blend

Spread BBQ sauce all over pizza crust. Top with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, as directed on package, or until it looks good to you! Simple as that!

cup cake pizza's

2009-05-18T11:40:00.003-06:00

My kids love these. We fix them for lunch and they are a big hit. The best part is you don't have to let the dough rise! its quick and easy!

1 cup water
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 tbsp oil
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp. salt

mix dough ingredients together. Put small amount of dough in each circle, flatten, add toppings sauce, cheese peperoni's. put in oven and cook until dough is done and cheese is melted. 350 for about 15 min give or take depending on your oven! I usally just watch it take them when they "look" done!

Basic Pizza Dough

2009-05-18T09:31:00.004-06:00

I figured I'd start with my basic pizza dough, which a lot of people seem to like. Cori I promise I'll post the recipe for the Chicken Alfredo pizza later, so hopefully we'll have a post almost every day.

Pizza Dough (makes 2 12-inch pizza or one large rectangular cookie sheet size)

2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 1/3 c. warm water
1 Tbs. sugar
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 c. flour
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt

Combine yeast, water, and sugar in mixing bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix them together. Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes, if you are using a machine 5 minutes, so dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer dough to a bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil and turn it over once to coat the dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 60-90 minutes, until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 475. Grease and dust 2 cookie sheet with cornmeal (I usually don't use cornmeal, I just grease it). If you are using a baking stone preheat it in the oven for 45 minutes. Punch the dough down and divide it in half (for 2 round pizza) or don't divide if you want to make a large rectangular pizza. Roll each piece into a ball and let rest covered loosely with plastic wrap for 10-15 minutes. At this point get your toppings ready.
Flatten each ball and form into the shape you want. Place dough on prepared pan, if you are using a stone place it on the paddle dusted with cornmeal. You can brush the top of the dough with olive to prevent crust from getting soggy, I usually don't do this.
Use your fingertips to push dents in the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Top the pizza and bake for 10-12 minutes (I'm not sure how long to cook it with a pizza stone, so you'll have to check on it and figure it out if you are using one.

New theme....

2009-05-18T08:09:00.002-06:00

This weekend I went down to Utah for my soon to be sister in laws bridal shower. If was a lot of fun. But my sister in law Erin made this fabulous Chicken Alfredo pizza. It was so yummy. So I was thinking that I would make the theme this week Pizza and Pasta, this way Erin ( hopefully) will share her great recipe. I also know that Heather you and Todd have a great pizza recipe as well. Laura you have a great stuffed shells recipe. So lets have them ladies!! Share your pizza dough recipes, your favorite topping combos, what sauce you like best for the sauce (same with the pasta). Happy cooking!!!

BBQ beef brisket

2009-05-14T23:37:00.004-06:00

So apparently my brain is a week behind because I just posted last week's recipe forgetting all about this week's theme. So here is a crockpot recipe for ya'll.

1 roast 2.5 lbs.
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. beef bouillon
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 c. catsup
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. butter or margarine

Combine everything but catsup, brown sugar, and butter. Keep 1/2 c. of mixture out to use in sauce, set aside in fridge. Place roast in crockpot and pour remaining liquid over it. Cover and cook on low heat for 10-12 hours or high for 5-6/ For sauce combine reserved liquid, catsup, brown sugar, and butter. Heat and pass with the meat. We also use a jar of bbq sauce because we like the texture and added flavor with the meat. This makes great sandwiches or is great over rice.

Peanut Butter Fingers

2009-05-14T23:18:00.003-06:00

These have been my favorite since elementary school! They are delicious! The only problem is that you may eat the whole pan yourself (I have probably come close quite a few times).

1/2 lb. margarine
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. white sugar
1 1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 c. oats
2 eggs
1 c. peanut butter
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Either chocolate chips or extra peanut butter and chocolate frosting

Mix butter (margarine), sugar, eggs, peanut butter, soda, salt, and vanilla. Stir in flour and oats. Spread on greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes. It will be just turning brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips OR as I like them let the bars cool a little bit, heat up some extra peanut butter so it spreads easily and spread a thin layer of pb on bars. Then after they cool spread on chocolate frosting.

My Favorite!!

2009-05-14T19:23:00.006-06:00

This is my most favorite soup ever!!!

Cheesy Creamy Vegetable Soup

1 quart water
3-4 medium potatoes diced
1 c. Chopped celery
1 c. chopped onions
4 chicken bouillon cubes
Combine above ingredient and cook 5 minutes.

Then add
1 package frozen vegetables –broccoli, cauliflower, carrot blend
Cook 5 minutes, then add
2 cans Cream of chicken soup
Stir well, add ½ pound of Velveeta cheese, cubed.
Let cheese melt and cook until veggies are tender.
Serve!!

Hint: best to let stand one day and then reheat

I made this for super Saturday lunch and it got rave reviews!! I made it the night before. Then put it in a Crockpot and into the fridge. I pulled it out like 3 hours before serving and heated it up in the Crockpot!! So yummy!

Taco Soup with Black Beans

2009-05-14T17:02:00.006-06:00

This is one I got from my local grocery store. It's more like a chili, whereas my other recipes were more of a soup. My kids ate it up at the store so I figured it was one to keep.

Taco Soup with Black Beans

1 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed
15 1/2 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
12 1/4 oz. can corn, undrained
1 pkt ranch dressing mix
1 pkt taco seasoning
1 small onion, chopped

Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and corn chips.

Side note, I cooked my onions up with my hamburger since I was browning a large batch of hamburger for multiple dinners, and I made my black beans in my crock pot and boiled them with onion and garlic.

Creamy Italian Chicken

2009-05-12T14:48:00.003-06:00

I love this recipe but don't make it very often due to the richness/high calorie content.

WW points for entire recipe - 85 (YIKES!)
Serves 8
WW points/ serving - 11 (don't forget to factor in what you serve it over!)

2lbs. chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup if you buy the brick from costco)
1 packet dry Italian dressing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package of cream cheese

Turn slow cooker on high. Add butter. When butter has melted, stir in the dry Italian dressing mix. Add cubed chicken and mix to coat. Cook on high for 2 hours or until chicken is cooked through (this only took my slow cooker 1 hour last time I made this).
Once chicken is done, remove from slow cooker, leaving butter Italian dressing mix in slow cooker. Add soup and cream cheese, stirring until creamy. Stir in chicken.
At this point I usually turn my cooker down to low and let it sit until I'm ready to serve. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or noodles. Our favorite is rice!

Sweet Pulled Pork

2009-05-12T12:54:00.003-06:00

For those of you that like Costa Vida or places like that and their sweet pulled pork, here you go. When I first tried it I wasn't sure how well it compared (but then again I had never ate their meat plain), once I made a salad out of it, I won't be spending that kind of money going out to buy one, unless someone else is paying.

Sweet Pulled Pork

3-5 lbs. pork roast (bone in or boneless it doesn't matter, I used a picnic butt roast I think, with the bone in because it was on sale for SUPER cheap)
1 c. salsa
1 c. packed brown sugar

Place ingredients in a greased crock pot. Cover and cook on low heat 8-10 hours. Shred meat with a fork or potato masher before serving. Use meat in salads, burritos, or tacos.

A side note my baby brother used to work at Costa Vida and he said they put Coke in theirs, so I think next time I make it I'll a can of Coke in the crock pot with it.

I also have a good salad dressing that is pretty comparable to Costa Vida's that I'll post on a upcoming salad week.

This week's theme

2009-05-11T14:57:00.003-06:00

We've been debating on what the theme should be this week and since Laura posted a crock pot recipe and that was one of the topics lets go with that. Lets see your favorite crock pot recipes. Happy Cooking!

Chicken Adobo

2009-05-11T10:43:00.001-06:00

Chicken or Pork Adobo

3 chicken breast
2 dry bay leaves
1 chicken bouillon cube
3/4cups soy sauce
3 Tablespoons vinegar
Pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic chopped
5 Tablespoon water

Combine in crock pot. Simmer until chicken is tender about 4 hours. Roll chicken in the sauce once in awhile so the soy sauce flavor spreads over the chicken.

I like to cook this in the crock pot so that it simmers all day; however you can let it simmer on your stovetop until the chicken is done about 30-40 mintues

Serve over rice.

This is so yummy and easy to do!~

Homemade Laundry Soap

2009-05-07T13:58:00.007-06:00

So my sister is the one who introduced this to me. I made my first batch about a 2 months ago and I Love it. It a little weird but it wash clothes great and it is so cheap to make. This last batch I added some essential oil to it. So now it smells so much better. If you are looking for a way to save some money this is the way to go.

I also found pretty much the same recipe but it stays as a concentrate. It sounds way easier and take up less room. I am gonna give it a try my next time I run out.

** the size of the boxes of soap in the picture will last to make a few batches!!!**

Liquid Laundry Soap

1 bar Fels Naptha soap grated
1 1/2 c. Washing Soda
1 1/2 c. Borax
3 gallons water
3 gallon milk jugs, rinsed well

Boil 1/2 gallon hot water and then add grated Fels Naptha soap. Heat to a boil and stir until totally dissolved. Add the other soaps and continue heating until dissolved. (Taking the time to make sure that the soaps are well dissolved saves time once you start adding the cold water.) Add another 1/2 gallon warm water and stir over low heat. Once the mixture is emulsified, remove it from the heat and add another gallon cold water. If your pot it not big enough, transfer the soapy mixture to a 5 gallon bucket before adding the additional water. Again, once the mixture is able to stay emulsified, add the last gallon of cold water bringing amount of water to total to 3 gallons. Keep stirring until the mixture stops separating and transfer it to milk jugs or other smaller containers. When you are ready to use it, give it a good hard shake and use 1/4 c. of soap per normal load. This is safe for front loaders as it is low sudsing.

Home-made laundry soap - concentrate

This recipe for home-made laundry soap is a concentrate --- no water added to this mix--- that is why you use such a small amount of the mix.... Easier to store than the recipes with the water added.

1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated (comes out to about 2 cups)
1 c. Borax
Comes from the grocery store laundry aisle and some hardware stores.
1 c. Washing Soda
Can be found in little grocery stores, online, or Mexican markets.
1/4 c. OxyClean (optional)

Mix it all together into a bumpy, granular mix. Don't worry about stuff getting correctly dispersed, even if it doesn't quite look like it does.

Use 1 Tbsp. for a light load
Use 2 Tbsp. for a large or dirty load (It's true! Only 2 Tablespoons per load!)

Lemon Squares

2009-05-07T13:25:00.006-06:00

My dad is a huge fan of lemon squares, and I remember him making recipes doubling the filling or adding more lemon juice to try to make it more tart and lemon tasting and have more of the custard filling. I was watching the Foodnetwork Channel and saw this one and felt I needed to try it. I loved them and have had people request them. For me there was the right amount of tartness and custard. I hope you enjoy them.

Lemon Squares

For the crust

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling

6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill about 15 minutes.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar.

Utah Tacos

2009-05-05T13:51:00.003-06:00

Utah Tacos

Ingredients:
20 frozen rolls, thawed
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
6 cups chili
Shredded lettuce
Green onions, sliced
Diced tomatoes
Salsa
Sour Cream

Method:
Thaw rolls, but do not allow to rise. Heat chili and place in a 9x13 pan. Place thawed rolls on top of chili(it is ok if they are touching). Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes. Do not cover with tinfoil. To serve, shred lettuce and place on individual plates. Top with sliced green onions and diced tomatoes. Place a generous serving of chili and bread on top of lettuce. Top with salsa and a dollop of sour cream.
Recipe serves 8

My Mother In -Laws Beef Stroganoff

2009-05-05T12:28:00.003-06:00

This is one of those recipes that is so easy but taste so good. My mother in law has served at a wedding luncheon, I often take this to people who have just had a baby and need dinner. Or I will make something else and bring them the ingredients and the recipe to this for them to make for dinner the next night. Plus my kids and Hubby devour it!!

11/2 lbs Rounds steak (I use stew meat)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup fresh mushrooms
1/2 can Campbell's beef consomme
1/2 container of sour cream
** I usually double this for my family of 5 also so I can use the whole can of beef consomme**

Stir all ingredients together except sour cream, put into crock pot all day on low, or on high for 4-5 hours( I usually do this at lunch time) an hour or so before eating add in sour cream, stir well. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

HINT- If you like you mushrooms to be big and still in tact hold of putting them in till the last hour or so. If you not a huge fan of mushrooms put them in from the start you wont even know they are there when you eat :)

Cammie's Pork Chops and Jungle Rice

2009-05-05T11:58:00.003-06:00

I got these recipes together from my friend Cammie. She got them from her sister-in-law who is a gourmet chef, and I love them! Everyone who I make it for always asks for the recipe! I usually serve this with glazed baby carrots.

Cammie's Pork Chops

4 good quality boneless pork chops, about 1" thick (I'm not sure what they're called, but they're all one shade and just have a ribbon of fat around the outside...they are not the kind that are marbled with fat)
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. cumin
1 t. salt
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 T. real butter
1 T. canola oil
1/2 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1 t. sugar

-combine cinnamon, cumin, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish
-rinse pork chops and pat dry with a paper towel (important to pat dry!)
-press all sides of the pork chops into the spices and rub to coat thoroughly. Make sure to press the spices into the meat.
-refrigerate pork chops 1-2 hours
-remove pork from fridge and heat butter and oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it turns nut brown
-Add pork and brown one minute on each side. Reduce heat and cover and cook until done, turning once. Do NOT over cook the pork. It will still look SLIGHTLY pink when you remove it from the heat...it continues to cook as it rests.
-Remove pork from the pan to a plate. Pour oil out of the pan, but do NOT scrape out all of the drippings. Return pan to heat and add broth. Cook broth over high heat while scraping the bottom of the pan. You want it to come to a boil and then boil it for several minutes until it reduces to a syrupy texture. After it is boiling for a few minutes, add any juice that has accumulated on the plate with the pork. Once the broth has reduced to a syrupy texture, quickly stir in the sugar, for just a second, just until it is dissolved. Put the individual pork chops on plates and spoon the reduction sauce over them.

Jungle Rice

I ALWAYS TRIPLE THIS RECIPE because then it uses almost a whole can of coconut milk, and it freezes really well. I just divide the left overs into freezer ziploc bags. When I want it again, I thaw it slightly and then put it in a glass bowl with a lid and sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of water and microwave, covered, until heated through.

Not sure why this is called jungle rice, but it has a very rich, exotic flavor...almost a thai flavor...seriously yummy and addictive.

1 c. white rice (the original recipe calls for basmati, but I actually like it better with just regular white rice)
2 t. canola oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced (use FRESH garlic, not the jarred stuff for this one...it makes a big difference!)
1 1/2 t. fresh ginger root, finely minced (again, FRESH, not the dried stuff...I tried to substitute once, and YUCK!)
1 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. coconut milk
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried cilantro or 1 T. fresh cilantro, finely minced
1 t. salt
1/4-1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

-Preheat oven to 350
-Rinse rice in a sieve until water runs clear. Drain.
-Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat till hot. Add garlic and ginger and saute about 2 minutes. Add rice and saute just until grains are coated lightly and evenly with the oil...about 1 minute.
-Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
-Once it comes to a full boil, cover the rice and transfer it to the oven. If you are using a pot that can go in the oven, this is easy...if not, transfer the rice to a glass oven dish sprayed with pam, and cover tightly with foil.
-bake 15 minutes, stir rice, then bake for 15 more minutes. FYI, I usually start cooking my pork chops about the time I stir the rice.

Symphony Bar Fudge

2009-05-05T09:30:00.003-06:00

I'll post another later, but I'm on my way out the door and this is my quickest one to type up.
This is a recipe I got from a lady in my previous ward. Every time I make it for the holidays I always get people commenting on it. I've also had someone say it's better than someone's fudge who they know that considered themselves to be a great fudge maker.

Symphony Bar Fudge

2 c. heavy cream
4 c. sugar
3 King Size Symphony bars (the one's with almonds and toffee, but if you don't like that you could use plain, also at my local store they usually have the medium sized ones on sale, so just use somewhere between 24-25 oz.)
1 c. butter, softened (real butter on this one)

Mix together cream and sugar. Bring to a boil. Boil until soft ball stage.
Mix together butter and chocolate bars that have been broken up in a big bowl.
Pour cream and sugar mixture over butter and chocolate. Stir until glossy. Pour into a greased 9x13 and refrigerate.

Theme for this week.... a day late

2009-05-05T08:08:00.002-06:00

Sorry yesterday was a crazy day for me. So we will start our week off a day late. This week I was thinking for the theme that I want your best. Not the most difficult, not the prettiest when its done, but the recipe that you make over and over cause your family loves it and always is a crowd pleaser. Those good ol' dependable recipes. If you have already posted some of those give us some good runner ups. Happy cooking!!!!

Country Style Ribs

2009-05-01T13:46:00.002-06:00

3 lbs. Country style pork ribs (boneless or bone in)
2/3 cups Chili sauce
1/2 cup grape jelly
1 tsp. dry red wine(you can leave this out or buy the alcohol free cooking wine, or the real deal.
1 tsp. mustard (any kind)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place ribs(if bone-in) bone down, with meaty side up in pan(smaller glass casserole dish) with not a lot of extra room. Cover with foil. Bake ribs(no sauce) for 1 1/2 hours. Drain all juice from the pan. Heat the ingredients for the sauce until melted all together. Pour over ribs. Put tin foil back over the ribs and cook for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours spooning the sauce over the ribs frequently. Don't over cook because it will make the meat tough.

I know the ingredients are interesting, but trust me it is yummy.

Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken

2009-05-01T13:24:00.002-06:00

Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken

1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. sugar
juice from a 20 oz. can of pineapple
5 slices of fresh ginger, with the outside peeled off
2-3 lbs. of chicken parts (I used a couple boneless skinless chicken breast cut into pieces)

Mix the first four ingredient together in a pot, add your chicken. Bring to a boil, then simmer until chicken is cooked all the way through. Mix 2 Tbls. of cornstarch with a little water and pour it in with chicken to thicken the sauce.
Serve over rice and add some of the pineapple from the juice you used.

I know at first it looks like there is only 5 ingredients but there are a couple more if you count the rice and water and cornstarch but I figured it was close enough. I hope you enjoy it!

Banana Bran Muffins

2009-04-30T00:16:00.002-06:00

Okay, sorry I didn't post this last week, but life is crazy. I have more "healthy" recipes I'll try to post soon, and I'll try to find some 5 ingredient ones, but I always make things too complicated and honestly don't think I have anything with only 5 ingredients! :) In the meantime, here's a yummy muffin recipe that I found that is actually pretty good considering how healthy it is, and the kids love them! They're MUCH better the next day than they are right out of the oven...I know, seems backwards, but it's true! :)

Banana Bran Muffins

1/2 c. natural applesauce (sweetened with apple juice...I used cinnamon flavored)
1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
3 very ripe bananas
1/4 c. milk (I used 1%)
1 t. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour (we have a mill, so I ground my own...you could use the stuff from the store, though)
1/4 c. wheat germ ( I buy this in bulk at WinCo...TONS of fiber and filling)
1/4 c. crushed bran flakes ( I crushed it until it was all crumbs and then measured 1/4 c. crumbs)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 375 for regular muffins or to 400 for mini muffins ( I made mini muffins because they're a great size for my kids)
Grease muffin tins or spray with PAM or line with liners
Beat bananas, applesauce, and brown sugar until smooth. Add vanilla, milk, and eggs and mix well.
Mix dry ingredients together and add to wet ingredients, beat until smooth. Add nuts if desired (walnuts might be yummy).
Pour into prepared tins
For regular sized muffins, bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. For mini muffins, bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.
Let cool on a rack and then place completely cooled muffins in a gallon sized ziploc bag overnight.

Hope you like them if you try them...I think they're pretty good, the kids love them, and Todd took one bite and spit it out! :)

Easy Enchiladas

2009-04-29T10:20:00.002-06:00

These beef enchiladas are super easy and pretty quick to make.
1 packet Western Family (or whatever brand) Enchilada sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 c. water
1 lb. hamburger
2-3 c. cheese
corn tortillas

Cook the hamburger and while you are cooking the hamburger combine the tomato paste, water, and sauce packet in another pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Combine 1/2 the sauce with the hamburger and about 1 c. cheese. Put a few spoonfuls of sauce in the bottom of a 9x9 pan. Fill the tortillas with the meat mixture, roll them, and place them in the pan seam down. If the tortillas are tearing, just rip them and layer tortillas and the meat in a lasagna fashion. Then top with the remaining sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Cori's Favorite Rice

2009-04-29T07:46:00.002-06:00

Really I'm not to sure when My name became involved in the name of this recipe but for as long as I can remember it has been called this and I love this rice. My mom always made it with meatloaf, and now so do I. I love the fact that you can put both the meatloaf and rice in the oven at the same time!!! My sister Laura isn't so big on the meatloaf so she makes it with barbecued chicken. Whatever you make with it, it so yummy!!!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3 cans of Campbell's beef broth ( 10.5 oz)
3 cans of Campbell's beef consomme (10.5 oz)
3 heaping cups of rice
1 onion chopped
4 tablespoons of butter ( slice it and let it float around on the top)

Mix all together in a 9x13 pan, dot with butter last. Cover and bake for 1 hour.

You can make a smaller recipe, 2 cans of each soup and 2 cups of rice, or even go down to one. But this rice is also great the next day as left overs for lunch.

This recipe also works good in a dutch oven. We have done a few times while camping. So yummy!!!! Enjoy

Dari's Picante Chicken

2009-04-28T13:26:00.003-06:00

So here is yet another one from the Biggest Loser Cookbook. It's one we like and it only has 4 ingredients!

1/3 + 1/2 c. salsa
4 medium boneless skinless chicken breast, trimmed of visible fat
6 Tbs. light cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. finely shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Spread 1/3 c. salsa in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Set aside.
Lay chicken breast on a cutting board. Use the flat side of a meat mallet to pound the chicken breast to a uniform thickness.
Spread the chicken evenly with the cream cheese. Lay the chicken, cream cheese up, in a single layer in the prepared baking dish. Spoon the remaining 1/2 c. salsa evenly over the breasts. cover the pan with tin foil.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the tin foil. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the breasts. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until no longer pink. Serve immediately.

Erin, UT

Easy Pleasing Meatloaf

2009-04-27T11:05:00.003-06:00

I never had meatloaf until I was older. It quickly became one of my favorites. This is by far my very favorite meatloaf recipe. Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce makes all the difference. I'm a Weight Watcher so if no one minds, I'm going to start including the points for the recipes I add.

Total WW points: 56 if you eat the whole thing
Serves: 8
WW points per serving: 7

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 6oz pkg. stove top stuffing for chicken mix
1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup, sweet baby ray's BBQ sauce divided

Heat oven to 375. Combine, meat, stuffing mix, water, eggs and 1/4 cup sauce just until blended in bowl. Shape into loaf in a 13x9 baking dish. Top with remaining BBQ sauce. Bake for 1 hour.

Ta Da! So easy and yummy. I recommend getting the leanest meat you can so that it's not too greasy when it bakes. You can really use just about any size pan you want to make many small loaves. What ever suits your fancy.

Calories:290 Fat:11g Sat. Fat: 4g Carbs:21g Fiber: 1g

Chicken Rice Casserole

2009-04-27T10:28:00.003-06:00

This is a family favorite, my kids LOVE it, its simple and easy to do it! ( I know it looks like more then 5 ingredients but I didn't count the water or the margarine... they don't count ;)

Chicken Rice Casserole

7 cups of water
6 chicken bouillon cubes
2 skinless boneless chicken breast ( I don't like a lot of meat you can add more)
3 heaping cups long grained white rice
1 T margarine
½ onion chopped fine
1 cup or handful of grated medium cheddar Tillamook cheese

Simmer chicken breast in water with bouillon for at least twenty minutes. Meanwhile chop onion and saute in margarine until onion starts to look clear. You can do this in the pan you intend to bake the casserole in. While the onion is sauteing, gather the rice and cheese in an 9 x13 baking dish. As soon as the chicken is cooked, drain it (fork it out of the broth, reserving broth),

Eliminate any fat or gristle and chop it up and put it in the casserole with the rice, cheese and onion. Toss with a fork and add 6 cups broth that the chicken cooked in. It may need some water added to make it 6 cups exactly.

Cover tightly with tinfoil. Bake 1 hour at 375 degrees.

Yakisoba Noodles

2009-04-27T09:30:00.004-06:00

This is probably my favorite thing to eat right now because my kids will eat the vegetables, and I can cook it without meat and it still tastes great (I'm pregnant right now and do not like the sight of or smell of meat). So this recipe doesn't exactly have 5 ingredients--you can put as many in as or as little as you want. It's a lot like a stirfry, but I like the noodles better than rice and that way I don't have to be picking up rice after my 2 year old for days afterwards.

Cube and cook 2 chicken breasts. When cooked, add in some Yoshida sauce. Simmer on low, stirring once in awhile. Add carrots, broccoli, celery, peppers, onions. Cover and cook until the desired texture on the vegetables. Add 1 bag of Yakisoba noodles (you can buy these at Costco in the meat department). Add more Yoshida sauce to taste.
Enjoy!

This weeks theme

2009-04-27T07:25:00.004-06:00

This weeks theme for recipes is 5 ingredients or less. So lets get out our recipes that will be so yummy but hopefully nice to the pocket books!! I think that if your recipe calls for 2 cans of cream of mushroom or something like that we will count that as only one ingredient. Happy Cooking!!

Frozen Gramwiches

2009-04-24T13:35:00.004-06:00

Since no one has posted today I thought I would add one I am planning on making very soon. Another one from the Biggest Loser Cookbook

Graham Crackers
Fat free whipped topping

Break each graham cracker in half. Spread 2 TBS. of whipped topping on half of graham cracker, then top with the other half. Freeze at least 2 hours. I like to freeze it for a few days, because the crackers get soft like an ice cream sandwich. You even use chocolate graham crackers.

One serving is two sandwiches
150 calories, 2 g. protein, 28 g carbs, 4 g fat (2 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, less than 1 g fiber, 150 mg sodium

Crockpot Italian Chicken

2009-04-23T16:57:00.004-06:00

This one is one our family favorites. I love it cause it is so easy, and my family loves the taste. I found it off the Spark People (a place to help you get started on a healthy life style. lots of cool resources) recipe page.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half (I always put my chicken in frozen so I don't cut them in half until they have been cooking for an hour or two)
1 can cream of chicken soup ( can use the healthy request reduce fat version)
1 8oz package of cream cheese cubed into 8 pieces ( can use reduced fat version)

1 package of good seasoning dressing ( found on the salad dressing isle, usually close to the ranch dip mixes. There are a few different flavors, the recipe calls for the Italian one but we have used the herb and garlic one and it so yummy)
4 cloves of garlic diced

Cut chicken in half, cover chicken with cubed cream cheese. Mix garlic, good seasoning mix, and soup. Pour over the chicken. Put in the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.
Serve over brown rice or egg noodles!!

** the sauce stays pretty thick if you like thinner sauce add a little water, or chicken broth to the soup mix**

Says it serves 12 we never get more then 6-8

Fat 7.2 g Carbs 4 g Calories 210.5 protien 29.5 ( it will be less if you you reduced fat soup and cream cheese)

Penne Macaroni with Peppers and Grilled Chicken

2009-04-23T15:09:00.004-06:00

I got this recipe off of a Penne pasta box and my family has loved it. We have been trying to do more recipes with whole wheat and this one is a good one. I don't know about you, but when I hear whole wheat in a recipe I automatically think yuck, but I promise it is really good in this recipe. Give it a whirl!

Ingredients:
13.25 oz. Whole Wheat Penne
1/3 cut extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sweet onion, diced
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 oz. fresh basil, chopped
1 cup(8oz.)chicken, grilled and sliced into strips
1 cup roasted red peppers, diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook the Penne according to package directions. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat; add onions and garlic, cook until onions are transparent. Add basil, chicken(already grilled) and red peppers. Cook 2 more minutes. Add chicken broth and hot Penne to skillet and toss together until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4-6

Frozen Yogurt Pie

2009-04-23T14:56:00.002-06:00

This is one of my favorite summer treats and I don't feel guilty eating an extra slice. I am not sure on the nutritional facts, but do you really want to know on yummy treats? :)

Ingredients:
1 tub of cool whip(fat free)
1 32 oz container of your favorite yogurt
1 graham cracker crust(I just buy it from the store, but you could make your own)
(Makes two pies)

Directions:
In a large bowl mix the cool whip and the yogurt together until it is mixed well. Pour into the crust and then put it into the freezer until it is frozen. It is super easy, but I love it. I hope you will enjoy this frozen treat!

New-Fashionsed Meat Loaf

2009-04-23T10:11:00.004-06:00

This is another one from the Biggest Loser Cookbook (I think most people in my family have it, hence Cori and I both sharing from it).
Also I hope you guys aren't losing interest already we just started. Maybe the healthy recipes aren't ones we have a lot of. I hope to see the rest of the contributors back.
So here is the recipe

2/3 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 c. fat free milk
1 lbs. 96% lean ground beef
1/2 c. chopped fresh spinach leaves
1/4 c. minced onion
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 Tbs. prepared horseradish (I usually leave this out because I don't like it)
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. mushrooms, finely chopped (this is something that isn't in the original recipe, and my kids have no clue they are eating them)
1/3 c. reduced-sugar or unsweetened ketchup (I usually use normal but that will affect the nutritional info)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a bread pan with cooking spray.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine oats and milk. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add the meat, spinach, onion, egg whites, horseradish, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and mushrooms. Mix well. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Press into the pan, patting the top flat. Spread the ketchup over the top.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the center registers 160 and the meat is no longer pink. Let sit for 10 minutes. Cut into 8 slices. Serve immediately.

224 calories, 29 g protein, 14 carbohydrates, 5 g fat (1 g saturated) 91 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 552 mg sodium

Erin, Utah

Better Blueberry Pancakes

2009-04-21T16:26:00.003-06:00

This recipe is one of my kids favorites, they love pancakes!! I got it from my Biggest Loser Cookbook. I ordered a huge box of frozen blueberries from my grocery store last September and those work great in this recipe.

1/2 cup reduced-fat buttermilk
1/2 whole grain oat flour
1 large egg white lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh or frozen( not thawed) blueberries

In a small bowl combine the buttermilk, flour, egg white, baking soda, vanilla and salt. Whisk until just blended. Stir in the blueberries. Let stand fro 10 minutes. In the mean time heat your skillet, when the 10 minutes is up pour the batter in 1/8th cup dollops. Cook and top with your favorite pancake topping. If you are wanting to keep with the healthy theme serve with low cal, low sugar syrup, and use I cant believe it not butter spray. It is still so yummy!!!

** this recipe makes 8 pancakes. We always double for my family of 5!! **

1 serving = 4 pancakes
140 calories , 8 g protein, 20 g carbs, 3 g fat ( less then 1 g saturated) 3 g fiber.

Sugar Free Hot Cocoa

2009-04-21T10:30:00.005-06:00

I know this is out of season, but I"ll post another one later.
Who doesn't love a nice cup of hot chocolate when your cold? Well we do, but recently my husband found out he was diabetic so normal hot chocolate mix he shouldn't do, and lets face it it would be a lot better for all of us in our family. We looked around for options at the store, but sugar free anything isn't always the cheapest and can be hard to find. So we found a recipe online, which we have adapted a little. Here is a heads up though, it's not your rich and creamy chocolaty hot chocolate we are used but still good. And since you are saving calories you feel a little better adding a handful of marshmallows. We found that it tastes best when you use chocolate and vanilla pudding, originally the recipe just calls for vanilla but felt like it was missing something. We just use a blender when we make it but we have to do two batches so we do half the ingredients with one pkt of pudding and then the other half with the other and then mix them together in the container we are storing them in.

Sugar Free/Fat Free Hot Cocoa Mix

6 c. nonfat dry milk powder
2 c. splenda
1 c. cocoa
1 (1 oz.) pkg sugar free instant vanilla pudding
1 (1 oz.) pkg sugar free instant chocolate pudding

Mix together in a food processor or blender.
To make use 1/4 c. of mix with 1 c. water

Erin, Utah