Delectable Dishes

Healthy Pumpkin-ish Bread

2012-01-06T16:31:00.000-08:00

My New Years Resolution is to start finding way to cut refined flour and sugar out of my diet. I have been dying to have something sweet to snack on, so today I used one of my favorite pumpkin bread recipes and came up with this. The texture is more gritty, but the taste is terrific. The original recipe is listed with my healthy substitutions in the parenthesis.

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (2 cups pureed acorn squash)
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (1/2 c. butter, 1/2 c. applesauce)
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar (2 c. honey)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (3 1/2 c. whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoons baking soda (3 tsp. baking soda)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Corn and Bean Salad

2012-01-05T17:12:00.000-08:00

Follow this link to a very, very healthy and flavorful salad:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Corn-and-Black-Bean-Salad

Alice and I loved it when we had it Annette's.

Basil Tomato Soup

2011-12-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
fresh garlic or garlic powder
fresh, finely minced onions or onion powder
18 fresh basil leaves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup whipping cream or milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Directions

In a large saucepan, bring the tomatoes, broth, garlic and onions to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add basil and sugar. Reduce heat to low. ; stir in cream and butter. Cook until butter is melted.
If using milk, put in separate pan and warm until just before boiling. Reduce heat. Add a little of the tomato mixture. Make sure it does not curdle. Slowly add more of the tomato mixture until you have added 1 cup total. Once that is done, slowly add the milk/tomato mixture to the tomato mixture. Add the butter. Wait until the butter melts and serve.
If using cream, simply add the cream to the tomato mixture along with the butter. Wait until the butter melts and serve.

2011-12-10T18:48:00.000-08:00

Spaghetti Squash Dip (a nice change from Spinach Artichoke Dip)

1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
1/4 cup butter (opt.)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish.
Place the spaghetti squash cut side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Place in preheated oven, and bake until soft when a fork is inserted., 30 to 40 minutes.
Scoop out the cooked squash, and place in a mixing bowl. Add butter to the squash and stir until butter melts. Stir the mayonnaise, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and Monterey Jack cheese into the squash mixture until well blended. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
Bake in preheated oven until cheese melts, about 20 minutes.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

6 cups cubed bread
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup Cinnamon Chips (can be replaced with cinnamon powder or chocolate chips)
2 3/4 cups whole milk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs, beaten

Directions

Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Mix together the sugar and Cocoa Powder, sprinkle evenly over the bread cubes, and toss again. Mix in Cinnamon Chips. Butter an 8 inch square glass baking dish, and spread bread cubes evenly into the baking dish.
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk just to the boiling point; do not boil. Remove from heat, add chocolate chips, and whisk until smooth.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Slowly whisk in chocolate mixture. Pour over bread cubes in baking dish. Cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake pudding until just set , but center moves slightly when dish is shaken, about 35 minutes.

A few good recipes.

2011-12-10T16:06:00.000-08:00

Panera/Paradise Bakery Broccoli Cheese Soup...(It's to die for.)

1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 medium chopped onion
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half cream
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb fresh broccoli
1 cup carrot , julienned
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Directions:

Sauté onion in butter. Set aside.
Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the half & half.
Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes.
Add salt and pepper. Can be puréed in a blender but I don't. Return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.

Smore's Cheesecake with Summer Berries (this is the best cheesecake I have ever had)

Crust:

3 cups graham cracker crumbs (made from 9 whole crackers finely ground in processor; 1 packet)
6 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

9 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt or Ghirardelli), chopped
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3 large eggs

Topping:

1 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
12 large marshmallows, cut into quarters with wet kitchen scissors
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1-pint container fresh raspberries
1 1-pint container fresh blueberries

For crust:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Mix crumbs and sugar in medium bowl. Add melted butter; stir until mixture is evenly moistened. Press onto bottom of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Bake until set, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven; cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

For filling:
Stir chocolate in top of double boiler set over barely simmering water until smooth. Remove from over water and cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, and salt in processor and blend until smooth. With motor running, add whipping cream through feed tube and process just until blended. With motor running, add melted chocolate, then add eggs 1 at a time, blending and scraping down sides after each addition until mixture is smooth. Pour batter over crust in pan.

Bake cake until outer edge is slightly puffed and cake is barely set in center (center will look shiny and move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 55 minutes. Transfer cake to rack. Run small sharp knife around cake to loosen. Chill uncovered until cold, 8 hours or overnight. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.

For topping:
Whisk sugar, egg whites, 3 tablespoons water, cream of tartar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to blend in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water; whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens and is hot to touch, about 3 minutes. Remove bowl from over water and stir in marshmallows (keep water simmering in saucepan). Let stand until marshmallows soften, about 3 minutes. Set bowl with mixture over simmering water; using hand held electric mixer, beat until stiff shiny peaks form, about 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

Scrape topping onto cheesecake. Using offset metal spatula, spread topping to edges of cake, swirling decoratively. Let stand until set, about 15 minutes.

Using kitchen torch, lightly brown topping in spots. (Or preheat broiler; place cake at least 4 inches from heat source and broil just until topping is lightly browned in spots, watching closely to avoid burning, about 2 minutes.) Chill cake until cold. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and keep chilled. Remove pan sides. Place cake on platter.

Mix raspberries and blueberries in medium bowl. Cut cake into wedges. Serve berry mixture alongside.

Spaghetti Squash with pine nuts and sage

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (or sub whatever nuts you have on hand)
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place the squash, cut side down, in a large baking dish.
Bake the squash in the preheated oven for 50 minutes.
Scrape flesh of squash from the rind using a fork and place in a bowl. Add the pine nuts, cheese, sage, butter, salt, and pepper; toss to combine. Serve immediately.

This was a yummy substitution for stuffing at our T-day dinner.

Oriental Pasta Salad

2011-10-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

Box of bowtie pasta

Red pepper, cut in thin strips

Yellow pepper, cut in thin strips

Bag of spinach

Green pepper, cut in thin strips

Candied Almonds

Cook pasta, drain and rinse. Toss everything together with dressing just before serving.

Oriental Dressing:

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

1/2 cup canola oil

½ cup chopped fresh parsley, or 2 to 3 Tbsp dried parsley

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp pepper

1/3 cup soy sauce

Candied Almonds:

3 Tbsp butter

1 cup sliced almonds

¼ cup sugar

Saute almonds in butter and sugar just until light brown.

Cincinnati Skyline Chili

2011-09-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

This is a chili that is the consistency of spaghetti sauce. It is tradionally served over spaghetti, or is also good for hot dogs. Because of the spices it has a unique flavor, but it is good. If you google this you will find lots of variations in how to cook it and the spices to include. This is what I used and it turned out really good.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 white onion, diced
2 cups water
3 tablespoons garlic
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 square unsweetened chocolate, cut up
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon vinegar (can be regular, cider, red wine)
1 tablespoon Worchestire sauce
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon all spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Add the ground beef into the water. Break it completely up. Add the diced onions and the garlic. Cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes.

2. Add in the remaining of the ingredients and simmer for 3 hours stirring occasionally.

3. Spoon over cooked spaghetti.

Serving Suggestions:
If you have the chili over spaghetti that is called 2-way. If you add shreeded cheese that is called a 3-way. Add raw diced white onions for a 4-way. And to make it a 5-way add cooked pinto beans. It is standard to serve oyster crackers regardless of what way you get it.

Almond Poppyseed Bread

2011-06-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

Bread

3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. bkg powder
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Glaze

1 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar

Mix bread ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Poke holes in bread and pour glaze on immediately after removing bread from oven. Let cool.. Enjoy!

Yield: 2 loaves

Pumpkin Brownies

2011-06-18T09:45:00.000-07:00

I got this from my friend when I was on a pumpkin kick, but I haven't tried anything yet...

1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin
4 eggs (1/4 C. dry egg powder + 1/2 C. water)
3/4 C. vegetable oil (or 3/4 C. white bean puree)
2 t. vanilla
2 C. whole wheat flour
2 C. sugar
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
2 t. ground cinnamon
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Mix wet ingredients (including the water needed for your powdered eggs but not the dry egg powder…remember you DON’T need to mix these before adding to your recipes) Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Pour into 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool and frost with cream cheese frosting or dollop cinnamon whipped topping.

**I'm totally making these the non-food storage way, I'm sure they'll still be great! Enjoy!

Orzo and Tomato Salad

2011-05-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Ryan's Aunt made this for Brynlee's baby blessing. It was to die for. It was so dang good that I immediately got the recipe. I have made it already and it just got better and better everyday. Ryan and I ate it all...oh and Kayden loved it too!

1 1b orzo (in the pasta section)
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (save 6 for garnish)
2 cups fresh mozzarella chunks
1/2 bag spinach, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
Zest of 2 lemons
Freshly grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Cook orzo in salted water until done. Strain and cool. Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, oil, salt and
pepper. When orzo is cool toss in tomatoes, mozzarella and oil mixture. Add more salt and pepper if
needed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Before serving, toss in spinach and basil. Transfer to
serving bowl. Garnish with remaining tomatoes, lemon zest and parmesan. Serve chilled.

Chicken & Lentil Soup

2011-05-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

I got this out of one of my Biggest Loser books. It doesn't call for chicken but it is good to add in. I have to have some kind of meat.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chopped onion (I like white)
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I add way more)
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup cooked lentils
2 cups cooked chicken breast, diced
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Instructions:
1. Cook lentils according to package instructions.
2. Grill / saute 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Cool and then chop.
3. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add carrots, celery, and bell peppers and cook for another 4 minutes or until soft.
5. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute being careful not to burn the garlic.
6. Add tomatoes and spices and simmer for about 5 minutes.
7. Add broth and bring to a boil.
8. Reduce the heat to low and add the cooked lentils and zucchini. Cook about 4 minutes or until zucchini is tender.
9. Add in the cooked chicken
10. Stir in the cilantro or parsley, and the lemon peel.

It says it makes 12 1-cup servings.

This is a very chunky soup. Too much so for my taste. So before step 8 I take about 1/2 of the soup, place it in the blender or using a stick blender, and puree it smooth.

P.S. This is a very chunky soup. I don't like

Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls...

2011-02-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

Need I say more...these are DELICIOUS and AMAZING and I AM ADDICTED! I got them off my friends blog here. You can't go wrong making these. I used my Bosch for this and it was so easy. I just put everything in the bosch and let it do the muscle work. So here is the recipe!!!

Rolls:

½ cup warm water

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

3 ½ ounce package instant vanilla pudding

½ cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

6+ cups flour (I use 6.5 - 7 cups)

Filling:
1 cup butter, softened (I used a 1/4 c. on each half. When I used 1 c. it seemed like too much!)
2 cups brown sugar

4 teaspoons cinnamon

In a small bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside. In large bowl, take pudding mix and prepare according to package directions. Let set in fridge for 5 minutes.

To the pudding, add butter, eggs and salt. Mix well. Then add yeast mixture. Blend. Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Do not overflour the dough! It should be very soft but not sticky. (I think I ended up having to use 6 1/2 c. flour. Otherwise it's too hard to roll out.) Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Punch down dough gently and split into 2 sections. Roll out one section at a time on floured board. Make a rectangle that is 18 X 21 inches in size. Take 1/2 cup soft butter and spread over surface. (I didn't say this was healthy!) In bowl, mix 2 cups brown sugar and 4 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle half of mixture over the top. Roll up the short side very tightly (this way you'll get bigger rolls with LOTS of swirly-ness on the inside). With knife put a notch every 1 1/2 inches. Cut with a serrated knife. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet 1 inch apart (12 on a sheet). Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover rolls and let rise until double again (probably 20-30 minutes in the oven).

Bake at 350 degrees for about 13-15 minutes. Remove before they start to turn golden (don’t overbake). Frost warm rolls with the following cream cheese frosting. Makes about 28 very large rolls.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese

½ cup butter, softened to room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

3 tablespoons milk

Combine butter and cream cheese and mix well. Add vanilla and sugar and mix again. Then add milk for desired consistency.

Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

2011-02-21T19:07:00.000-08:00

This is a very quick and easy soup that is also fairly healthy. At least I like to think so since I am eating cauliflower. The pepper jack cheese gives it a very nice kick. But I think several different types of cheeses would work if you wanted to use something else.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 head cauliflower
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a pot. Slice onions and add to the butter. Cook for a few minutes.
2. Add flour and mix. Cook onions and flour for a couple of minutes.
3. Add salt, milk, and stock. Stir.
4. Cut up cauliflower and add to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until cauliflower is tender. You can also use frozen cauliflower florets.
5. Either using a stick blender or blender blend the mixture until smooth.
6. Return mixture to the pot. Add in dijon mustard and cheeses. Stir until cheese is melted and soup is smooth.

I also added crushed garlic in step #3 since I like garlic so much.

A few of our favorite recipes this Holiday season

2011-01-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

Bacon, Olive and Onion Cheeseball

Ingredients **
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
6 slices bacon, browned until crispy, patted dry and chopped
1/2 can black olives, drained and chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced

Mix together. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill until serving. You can also roll this in roasted nuts before chilling. We made our's into a monster face instead of covering it with nuts because it was way funner to eat that way. And if monsters know that we eat monster heads, they will be less likely to terrorize us.

**You can change these ingredients to fit whatever you like. Just keep the cheese the same and drain everything really well.

Cream Cheese Blueberry Pie

Ingredients
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
8 ounces whipped topping
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (9 inch) pastry shell, baked
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions
1 - In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Spread into pastry shell.
2 - In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice until smooth; stir in blueberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool. Spread over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until serving.

This was a terrific yet tart dessert, which I thought was nice when there were so many incredibly sweet things to eat. It did not take much time to make and was easy to make ahead.

Cheese Fondue (I think this will be our traditional Christmas lunch.)

Ingredients
1 cup apple or white grape juice
1/2 pound shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 pound shredded Gruyere cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 package Li'l Smokies
apple slices

Directions
Simmer juice in pot. Toss shredded cheese with flour. Add Swiss cheese, Gruyere cheese, 1/4 pound at a time to simmering juice. Stir after each addition of cheese until melted. When all the cheese has melted, stir in salt and nutmeg. Keep warm in crock pot or rice cooker. Serve with cut-up French bread, Li'l smokies, and apple slices.

Cheesy Mashed Potato Layer Bake

4 large white potatoes, baked and peeled
3 large sweet potatoes, baked and peeled
1 (8 ounce) cube Cream Cheese, divided
1/2 cup Sour Cream, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, divided
1 small onion, divided

Directions
1 - Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place potatoes in separate bowls. Add half each of the cream cheese, sour cream and onion to each bowl; season with salt and pepper. Mash with potato masher or mixer until creamy. You may need to add milk to the white potatoes to get them to a creamy consistency.
2 - Stir half of the Parmesan cheese into white potatoes. Stir half of the Cheddar cheese into sweet potatoes. Alternately layer half each of the white potato and sweet potato mixture in 2 qt. or 9x13 clear glass dish. Repeat layers.
3 - Bake15 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; bake 5 more min. or until cheeses are melted.

I thought this was so pretty. It looked like a Christmas ornament. And I was very excited to find a cheesy potato recipe that included sweet potatoes.

Caramel Dipping Sauce

1/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

Directions
1 - Bring the water, sugar, and butter to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Do not stir the mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved in the water. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the caramel has turned golden brown, 10 - 15 minutes.
2 - Carefully pour in a slow, steady stream of cream into the caramel while stirring constantly. The hot caramel will boil vigorously when the cream is added and solidify in areas. Add the vanilla extract and salt. Continue stirring over low heat until the caramel is smooth and creamy, 5 to 10 minutes more. Allow to cool for at least half an hour before using.

I used this to dip apples in as well as drizzle over a pumpkin cheesecake. It tastes like homemade caramels. Way better then the stuff you buy at the store!

Dry Ranch Dressing Mix

1 teaspoon dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tsp. dried dill weed

Mix together. Use in place of the Ranch seasoning mix.

This tastes just like the store bought stuff, and it is way cheaper.

I have found that if I mix this with a container of sour cream, take a portion of that out and mix with seasoned rice vinegar, it tastes very similar to Ranch Dressing and (depending on the type of sour cream you use) does not have near the additives.

Peppermint Marshmallows

Ingredients
3/4 cup water, divided
3 (.25 ounce) packages unflavored gelatin
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 - 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
confectioners' sugar

1 - Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Add confectioners' sugar and coat the pan. Set aside.
2 - Place 1/2 cup of water in the bowl of an electric mixer, and sprinkle gelatin on top of water to soak.
3 - While gelatin is soaking, combine 1/4 cup of water, corn syrup, and sugar in a saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil the mixture hard for 1 minute.
4 - Pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin mixture and beat on high for 12 minutes with electric mixer, until the mixture is fluffy and forms stiff peaks. Add vanilla and peppermint extracts, and beat just until blended.
Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared baking dish, using a greased spatula to smooth the top of the candy. Cover the candy with the reserved greased foil or wrap, and press down lightly to seal the covering to the top of the candy.
5 - Allow the marshmallow candy to rest for 4 hours or overnight. Set out a layer of wax paper covered with confectioners' sugar. Loosen marshmallows from the edge of the dish. Dump out onto wax paper. Using oiled scissors or an oiled kitchen knife, cut the marshmallow candy into strips, then into 1 inch squares. Dredge the marshmallows lightly in the confectioners' sugar and store in an airtight container.

This recipe is very fun for kids. If you don't care for the peppermint flavoring, the vanilla alone is great. Instead of cutting these in squares, you can use cookie cutters.

Tomato-Basil Chicken

2010-12-20T16:37:00.000-08:00

This recipe is so so so good and so so so easy.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 of a 1-pound package medium tube-shaped pasta (ziti), cooked according to package directions (about 4 cups)

Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook or 10 minutes until it's well browned on both sides.
Stir the soup, milk, cheese, basil and garlic powder in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with the pasta.

Pumpkin Freeze

2010-12-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

2 c. ginger snaps, crushed

1/3 c. melted butter

2 T. brown sugar

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cloved

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/8 tsp. salt

1 quart vanilla ice cream (soft)

Mix crushed ginger snaps with melted butter and 2 T. brown sugar. Press into a 9X13 inch pan. For the filling mix together pumpkin, 1/2 cup brown sugar and all the spices. Fold in ice cream. Spread evenly over crust, cover and freeze. To serve, cut into squares and serve. You can make extra ginger snap crust to sprinkle on the top. Drizzle with caramel.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Lasagna Casserole

2010-12-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

6 chicken breasts cooked and diced or shredded

2-3 c. diced ham

2 -1 pound boxes of pasta (whatever shape you like...I use penne or bowtie)

1 - 16 ox cottage cheese

1 container of ricotta cheese

1 - 6 oz container of shredded italian blend cheese

1 lb block of mozzarella cheese - shredded

1 lb block of swiss cheese - shredded

Alfredo Sauce

2 sticks of butter

1 - 8 oz. block of cream cheese

A quart of heavy cream

1 - 6 oz. container of shredded parmesan cheese

2 tsp. garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

If you are making alfredo sauce to eat on pasta-make it normal, but for this recipe add in 3/4 to 1 cup of milk. It helps keep it moist and saucy.

Simmer butter, cream cheese, heavy cream and extra milk. When mostly melted add parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer until cheese is melted. Cook your pasta until tender and drain.

Dump everything in to a large bowl and pour the alfredo sauce over the top and mix well. I often times add more milk if it doesn't seem wet enough because you want it really saucy. Pour into a large pan or two 9x13 pans. Reserve half of your mozzarella and swiss cheese to sprinkle on top. Cover with foil and bake at 350* for 30-45 minutes. This recipe makes a lot so plan for leftovers or invite people over.

Pink Sauce Pasta

2010-12-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

I had this at the Relief Society Christmas Party in my ward and it was absolutely WONDERFUL! The lady who made it shared the recipe with everyone and before I lost it I wanted to put it on here.

First make the alfredo sauce:

Melt and simmer-

2 sticks of butter

1 - 8 oz. block of cream cheese

A quart of heavy cream

3/4 c. milk

1 1/2 c. good shredded parmesan cheese

2 tsp. garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Brown and season 1-2 lbs. of ground beef. Drain off grease. Boil 2 boxes of rigatoni noodle or penne. Cook until almost done. Drain noodles and pour into a LARGE baking dish. Pour alfredo sauce over and add browned hamburger and stir until well coated. Pour a large jar of prego spaghetti sauce evenly over top. (or you can make homemade sauce). Top with shredded mozzarella or italian blend cheese or both. (she does both). Bake in the oven at 350* for 30 minutes. Enjoy it's creamy goodness.

This recipe make a lot!!!

Andes Mint Cookies

2010-12-12T12:10:00.000-08:00

1 1/2 cups butter or 1 1/2 cups margarine
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Andes mints

Preheat oven to 350. Mix butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs. Stir in the flour,
baking soda and salt. Unwrap Andes mints and wrap dough balls around each mint.
Place on cookie sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes. Cool slightly and remove to wire
rack and cool completely. Place more Andes mints in a glass bowl and place over a
pan of shallow simmering water to melt. Add a tablespoon of butter to make glossy.
Drizzle with a spoon over cooled cookies. Makes 3 dozen delicious & pretty cookies.

George's Fruit-filled Energy Bars

2010-11-20T22:42:00.000-08:00

Maybe someday I will try all these yummy recipes. These looked really good and I got them here.

1 cup raisins
1 cup dried blueberries
2 cups chopped dates
2 cups chopped dried apples
2 cups chopped dried apricots
2 cups chopped dried prunes
8 oz almond or peanut butter
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
8 cups rolled oats
12 oz pancake mix (complete)(3 cups)
16 oz honey

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet.

Knead together all the fruit and the nut butter.

Knead in sunflower seeds, rolled oats, and pancake mix.

Add honey and knead until blended.

Press out onto tin 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick and as even as possible. Using a table knife, press the bar lines into the sheet.

Bake about 20 minutes until top is light brown.

Freeze very well if individally wrapped and then put in a ziplock.

Ellen notes: boost the protein with 1-2 cups of vanilla protein powder or dried milk.

Swirled Pumpkin Yeast Bread

2010-11-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe here. Also a big thanks to Chennelle.

4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water (120° to 130°)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup raisins
FILLING:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, sugar and yeast. Beat in the warm water, pumpkin, applesauce and oil just until moistened. Add eggs; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining all-purpose flour to form a firm dough. Add raisins.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into an 18-in. x 9-in. rectangle; brush with butter to within 1/2 in. of edges. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seam to seal.
Place seam side down in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).

Pumpkin Rice Pudding

2010-11-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe from here. Thanks to Chennelle...she is the one who sent me the links to these.

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 cup arborio rice
3 cups reduced-fat (2%) milk
1 cup solid-pack pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Bring the water to a boil in an ovenproof 4-quart saucepan. Stir in the rice and cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rice is nearly cooked, about 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.

While the rice is still hot, add the pumpkin mixture to the saucepan and stir well to combine. Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake until the liquid has reduced by about a third and the mixture is foamy and bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir well to combine all the ingredients. Transfer to a large bowl, then cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight. The pudding will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Pumpkin Cornbread

2010-11-13T15:05:00.000-08:00

I got his recipe here. I hope you enjoy! I cannot wait to try this.

1 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup cornmeal
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp molasses

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease an 8×8″ baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, brown sugar, and cornmeal.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and then stir in the pumpkin, oil, and molasses.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined, and then pour the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top as much as possible.

Bake 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve warm!!!!!

2010-09-18T20:31:00.001-07:00

Bruschetta Pizza

8 ServingsPrep: 25 min. Bake: 10 min.

Ingredients

1/2 pound reduced-fat bulk pork sausage
1 prebaked 12-inch pizza crust
1 package (6 ounces) sliced turkey pepperoni
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1-1/2 cups chopped plum tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Additional fresh basil leaves, optional

Directions

In a small skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer
pink; drain. Place crust on an ungreased baking sheet. Top with
pepperoni, sausage and cheese. Bake at 450° for 10-12 minutes or
until cheese is melted.
In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, sliced basil, oil, garlic,
thyme, vinegar, salt and pepper. Spoon over the pizza. Garnish with
additional basil if desired. Yield: 8 slices.

Black Bean Pitas with Avocado Salsa

2010-07-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

avocado salsa

2 avocados, pitted and diced

1 1/2 to 2 cupes roma tomatoes, diced

4 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

black bean pitas

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion (sweet or red work well)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 16oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 salt (optional)

1/4 cup mayonnaise (no substitute or it will taste funny)

1/2 teaspoon minced chipotle peppers in adobo (can be found by the canned green chiles usually)

1 cup chopped lettuce

Pitas or Wraps

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, cook until clear. Stir in garlic and cumin. Add beans and salt. Heat thoroughly. Lightly mash the bean mixture, cover and set aside.

Combine the mayonnaise and chipotle in a small bowl. Taste and see how spicy/mild the mixture is and add more of mayo or peppers as needed. With small children, you can leave out the chipotle peppers all together.

To make the pitas, spread the mayonnaise over the pita/wrap, then add the bean mixture on top of the mayo, and top with salsa and lettuce.

***Got the recipe from my cousins website listed here. I haven't tried these, but once again...I didn't want to loose the recipe and not know where to find it.

2010-07-21T18:08:00.001-07:00

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies Makes 16 Servings

One 15 ½-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed very well

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons canola oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, optional

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch salt

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 X 8-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Place the black beans in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth. Add ¼ cup of the chips and pulse a few times until the chips are broken up a bit.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.

4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing.

Wheat Bread

2010-07-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

Wheat Bread

3 ¼ cup Whole Wheat flour (for 100% Whole Wheat do 6 1/4 cups Whole Wheat. No White flour.)

3 cups White flour

2 tsps salt

5 tbs brown sugar or 3 ½ tbs honey

1 egg

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 ¼ cups lukewarm water

1 ¼ cups lukewarm milk

1 ½ tbs yeast

Dissolve yeast in the water and milk. Set aside. Mix flours, salt, and sugar (if using the honey mix it with the water, milk and yeast). In a separate bowl mix egg and oil. Combine the egg and yeast mixtures with the dry ingredients for about 1 minute on lowest mixing speed. The dough will wet and course. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes to fully hydrate the flour.

Continue mixing the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and clings to the mixing hook. Dough will be slightly sticky. (If you touch your finger to the dough and it doesn’t pull away easily, add more flour. If the dough doesn’t stick at all add more water)

Knead the dough for 1 mintue by hand. Place dough in an oiled bowl that’s big enough to hold the dough when it is double in size. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

Remove dough from refrigerator 3 hours before you plan to bake. Divide dough into two equal parts. Roll the dough into loaves and place into greased bread pans. Or roll into balls for rolls and place on a greased cookie sheet or baking pan. Brush loaves with oil and let rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours or until loaves dome about 1 inch above the rim. Let rolls rise till double in size. Brush rolls with egg wash before baking. (1 egg white with 2 tbs water)

Bake loaves at 350º for 20 minutes, then rotate; rotate rolls after 10 minutes. Continue to cook loaves for another 20-30 minutes, rolls for 10-20 or until the crust is a rich brown.

Remove bread from pans and place on a cooling rack. Brush bread with shortening or butter to make a soft flaky crust.

Abuelo's Papas con Chile

2010-07-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

I have tasted these potatoes at the restaurant but I don't want to miss the recipe that they gave out so I am going to put it on here so I can try it.

3 lbs. red potatoes
3 oz cream cheese – cut into 2" squares
½ cup heavy cream
10 oz Velveeta – cut into 2 " squares
½ TBS salt
¾ tsp granulated garlic
¼ cup sour cream
½ cup diced red bell peppers
½ cup diced green bell peppers
2 cans chopped green chiles
½ cup chopped green onion tops
2 TBS of finely chopped jalapeño – seeds removed

1.Wash and scrub potatoes until clean
2.Place potatoes in a pot covered with water and boil until soft.
3.Drain potatoes
4.Add the rest of ingredients and mash. Be sure all ingredients are incorporated.

Bruschetta Chicken

2010-06-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup egg substitute (1 large egg)

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

3 tablespoons minced fresh basil (1 Tablespoon dry basil)

2 garlic cloves, minced (1 Teaspoon garlic powder)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in flour, then in eggs; place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over chicken.

Loosely cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 170°.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over the chicken. Return to the oven for 3-5 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through. Serve over noodles. Yield: 4 servings.

No-Fry Doughnuts

2010-06-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1-1/2 cups warm milk

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

GLAZE:

1/2 cup butter

2 cups confectioners' sugar

5 tsp. water

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup chocolate chips (if you want a chocolate glaze, if not omit chocolate chips)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk and shortening; stir for 1 minute. Add sugar, eggs, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and 2 cups flour; beat on low speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (do not knead).

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. cut with a 2-3/4 inch doughnut cutter (or a cup if you don't have a doughnut cutter); place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Brush with butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350˚ for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter; stir in sugar, water and vanilla (and chocolate chips if desired). Stir over low heat until smooth (do not boil). Keep warm. Dip warm doughnuts, one at a time, into glaze and turn to coat. Drain on a wire rack. Serve immediately. Yield: 2 dozen

Mexican Chicken Wrap

2010-04-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in strips

1 T. vegetable oil

2 c. water

1 c Salsa

2 c. Minute Rice

8-12 tortillas

Cheddar Cheese shredded

1 pkg. Taco Seasoning Mix

Brown chicken in oil*. Add water*, salsa and seasoning mix; stir. Heat to a boil. Stir in Minute Rice*; cover. Cook on low 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Spoon chicken mixture onto tortillas; top with cheese. Fold up sides to enclose filling.

* Changes I made:

I used frozen, boiled chicken I keep in my freezer to add to the salsa mixture. I didn't use Minute Rice and boiled it until it was still a little bit crunchy then I added it to the mixture, which also means I only used 1 cup of water. To cut back on fat you can use Mozzerella Cheese instead of Cheddar.

Creamy banana bread

2010-03-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

Have I put this one on here before? I can't remember and Jennifer was asking me about it, so I'll post it here.
I'm always looking for ways to use soy flour in place of all purpose flour, It's not easy, except for when making banana bread, it comes out great!!

I use this recipe, but instead of flour I use the soy flour. I cook it for 30 - 35 min. and I add chocolate chips. The flavor is a little weird at first, if you're not used to it, but with the choc. chips, it helps a lot!!

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup margarine, softened
* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs (I use egg whites only, or one whole egg and one white)
* 2 - 3 mashed mashed bananas
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 3/4 cup chopped pecans
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Cream the butter or margarine and cream cheese together. Gradually add the white sugar, and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the mashed bananas and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and soda; mix until batter is just moist.
2. In a small bowl, mix together chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and cinnamon.
3. Divide 1/2 batter into two greased and floured 8x4 inch loaf pans. Sprinkle pecan mixture over batter in pans, and top with remaining batter.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

I sometimes use the brown sugar and cinnamon thing, but most of time I just leave it out and make plain banana bread with the choc. chips.

Hamburger - Cabbage Casseroles

2010-03-24T21:24:00.001-07:00

1 lb. hamburger
1 medium onion, diced
3 c. cooked rice (1 c. raw)
2 1/2 c. diced cabbage
3 T. butter
2 T. soy sauce
3 T. brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Brown hamburger and onion together. Drain. Combine all ingredients and put in a casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until heated through.
** I like to add about 1 tsp. of ground ginger and some garlic to this. **

Pork Chops w/ Sweet Potatoes

2010-03-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe after doing a search on the internet for sweet potatoes. It is my new vegetable of the week to try in my cooking. We had this for the first time last night. I thought it was great. Taryn liked it but thought it was a little sweet for her.

2 boneless pork chops 1-inch thick
2 sweet potatoes
6 oz orange juice concentrate (1/2 a can)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 onion - sliced (I used red because that is what I had on hand)

1. Season the pork chop w/ salt and pepper and brown on all sides.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice lengthwise. Use a fork and poke holes in it so they cook a little faster.
3. Combine the OJ, brown sugar, and cinnamon until it is dissolved.
4. Place the sweet potatoes around the pork chops in a baking dish. Top w/ sliced onions. Pour over the OJ/brown sugar mixture.
5. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. About half way through the baking I flipped everything over and spooned the juices back over the top.

Vegetable Soup

2010-02-24T17:28:00.000-08:00

I got the basis for this recipe from one of the Biggest Loser books. We tried it this week and thought it turned out really good. Taryn met with her nutritionist today and told her about it. The nutritionist was very impressed by it.

1 small white onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
12 baby carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 12 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
6 cups chicken stock
italian seasonings
garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup lentils
1 chicken breast, cooked, cubed

Heat up the olive oil. Saute the onion, pepper, carrots, and celery until soft. Add in the garlic. Add in the can of tomatoes, undrained. Stir so everything is incorporated. Add in the chicken stock and italian seasonings. Bring to a low boil. Add in the lentils and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Add in the frozen corn and cook for another 7 minutes. We added in the chicken breast ourselves because we wanted it to be more like a full meal. This makes a lot so you may just want to reduce everything by half if there is just 2 or 3 to serve. But don't skimp too much on the stock. We didn't add in so much and it was a little thick, especially the next day. The actual recipe called for other seasonings and vegetables. But this is what we had on hand and what we like.

Shepherd's Pie

2010-02-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

We used to make this with stew meat and beef gravy and not as many veggies. But we decided to make it a little healthier and it turned out great.

1 pound ground turkey
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1 cup frozen corn
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes (we used the fire roasted kind to give it a little more flavor)
1 diced white onion
4 cups mashed potatoes
1 cup shredded cheese

1. Brown turkey. Season to your liking. Add in diced onion at the very end.
2. Cook peas, carrots, and corn. Add to cooked turkey and onion.
3. Drain diced tomatoes. Add in tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste.
4. Place in casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes. Try to get it all the way to the sides to seal in the turkey/veggie mixture to avoid it boiling out the side. Then top with shredded cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-02-09T17:04:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe from my visiting teacher. They brought the dough to me and it was amazing. It is really healthy too!

Big Bowl

2/3 c. softened butter

2/3 c. crisco

1 c. sugar

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 t. vanilla

2 eggs

Cream this all together.

Smaller Bowl

3 c. flour

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

Mix together and then mix with the first set of ingredients. Add a cup of chocolate chips.

Bake at 375 for 9-12 minutes.

Spicy Chicken

2010-02-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

1/3 cup Tabasco Sauce

2/3 cup water

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

4 chicken breast fillets

4 plain hamburger buns

8 teaspoons mayonnaise

4 lettuce leaves

4 tomato slices

4 slices Swiss Cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the pepper sauce and water in a small bowl.

3. Combine the flour, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, onion powder, paprika and garlic powder in another shallow bowl.

4. Pound each of the chicken pieces with a mallet until about 3/8-inch thick. Trim each breast fillet if necessary to help it fit on the bun.

5. Working with one fillet at a time, coat each piece with the flour, then dredge it in the diluted pepper sauce. Coat the chicken once again in the flour mixture and set it aside until the rest of the chicken is coated.

6. Cook chicken 20 to 30 minutes or until they are light brown and crispy. (About 180˚F). After they are done put the cheese on the chicken and back in the oven till the cheese is melted.

7. As chicken is cooking, prepare each sandwich by grilling the face of the hamburger buns on a hot skillet over medium heat. Spread about 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise on the face of each of the inverted top buns.

8. Place a tomato slice onto the mayonnaise, then stack a leaf of lettuce on top of the tomato.

9. On each of the bottom buns, stack one piece of chicken.

10. Flip the top half of each sandwich onto the bottom half and serve hot.

This is our replacement for Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich. It is less greasy, cheaper, and it tastes better.

Sticky Lemon Chicken

2010-02-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

1 lb. chicken

salt and pepper

4 T. olive oil

2 T. soy sauce

3-4 T. honey

1 head garlic, each clove sliced in half (I just used the minced stuff I bought in the jar)

1 whole lemon, sliced

1/4 - 1/3 c. water

1 T. thyme

1/4 c. fresh parsley or 2 T. dried parsley

In a large skillet pan, add the oil to med. high heat. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for about 5-6 minutes, turning each piece. Add the garlic cloves, soy sauve, and honey to the pan making sure to get all the chicken in the sauce. Continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add the water and lay the slices of lemon on top of the chicken in the pan. Put a lid on the pan and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes. Season the chicken with thyme and parsley. Continue to cook until the chicken cooked through and no longer pink.

We ate this with rice and if you want it more saucey then double the sauce. I did and it was nice to put a little sauce on the rice. This is definetely a recipe that will become a regular on. It was so good. I loved that I could go out and use fresh lemons off the tree as well. It was great!

Turkey Chili

2010-02-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
1 pound of ground turkey
1 big can of crushed tomatoes
1 small can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 onion (white or red)
1 green pepper
2 jalepenos
1 spoonful of garlic
4 tablespoons of olive oil (divided)
1 1/2 cups of frozen corn
cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Heat half of the olive oil in a pot and saute diced onion, green pepper, and jalapenos. Add in garlic.
2. Brown ground turkey. Season w/ cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.
3. Add both cans of tomatoes to pot w/ the vegetables. Season w/ spices.
4. Add turkey to pot of tomatoes and vegetables.
5. Simmer on low for a few hours. Depending on how much heat you want add in a round of the spices every hour.
6. 15 minutes before serving add in the frozen corn.
7. Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Oyako

2010-01-31T10:59:00.000-08:00

This is a japenese dish that Ryan and I like to get at this little restaurant down here. A couple of weeks ago it sounded good, but we didn't want to go out to eat so I decided to try to make it. We were actually really surprised at how well it turned out. I have to admit...I was very nervous to make it! I found a recipe and since then have made it a couple of times and have had a chance to play around with it. It is a new favorite.

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into very thin strips (almost julienned)

1 c. chicken broth

2 T. sugar

4 T. soy sauce

green onions

garlic, optional (as much as you want)

4-5 eggs, beaten

Put the chicken broth in a skillet with the sugar, soy sauce and the garlic. Put the cut up chicken in the sauce with half of the onions. Cook the chicken through. Put the remainder of the onions in and the beaten eggs. Turn the burner down and let the eggs simmer in the sauce for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

You can add whatever veges you want to this. Carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, squash, zucchini...it is good with anything. Today I put a yellow squash and the cabbage in it and it was great. Serve over rice. ENJOY!

Homemade Spanish Rice

2010-01-24T21:19:00.001-08:00

2 T. Olive oil

2 cups long grain rice

1 finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, pressed (or garlic powder)

On medium high brown the rice, onion, and garlic in the olive oil for about 4 minutes or until onions are soft.

4 cups chicken broth/stock (homemade is the best! Make sure to check if the rice is a 2 parts liquid to 1 part rice or if it's a 1:1 and adjust accordingly.)

Simmer, then add:

1 T. tomato paste or 1 c. chopped tomato. (I used 1 drained can of tomato with diced chili .)

dash of Oregano

1 t. salt (If using store bought chicken broth, you can get by with a dash of salt.)

Simmer again then add to the rice and let simmer for about 15 to 25 minutes until all the broth is taken up.

Almond Poppysead Bread

2010-01-18T18:59:00.001-08:00

Almond Poppy Seed Bread

Bread
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. bkg powder
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Glaze
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar

Mix bread ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Poke holes in bread and pour glaze on immediately after removing bread from oven. Let cool.. Enjoy!

Yield: 2 loaves

Got this from the same friend. Hope you enjoy!

Harvest Pumpkin Brownies using your Food Storage...or Not

2010-01-18T18:57:00.000-08:00

1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin
4 eggs (1/4 C. dry egg powder + 1/2 C. water)
3/4 C. vegetable oil (or 3/4 C. white bean puree)
2 t. vanilla
2 C. whole wheat flour
2 C. sugar
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
2 t. ground cinnamon
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Mix wet ingredients (including the water needed for your powdered eggs but not the dry egg powder…remember you DON’T need to mix these before adding to your recipes) Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Pour into 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool and frost with cream cheese frosting or dollop cinnamon whipped topping.

I got these from a High School friend and really want to try them. I would trust her that these are really good.

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

2009-12-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Line 9x13 greased pan with 8 frozen Hash Brown Patties

Drizzle with 1/4 cup melted butter

Bake for 25 minutes

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees

Top potato crust with:

4 cups diced ham

8 oz. grated Pepper Jack cheese

8 oz. grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 large can of Diced Green Chilies

Mix together:

4 eggs

1 c. milk

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

Pour egg mixture over the top of the cheeses

Bake an additional 30-35 minutes

Serve with Salsa.

In Ryan's family it is tradition to do breakfast casseroles on Christmas morning. Gayle wanted to try a couple new ones this year and we think we found the ones we will do every year. They were amazing. One of them we got from Annette (and I will post that recipe soon) and this one Gayle got from someone she works with at the school. They were so good. We did this one with sausage and I don't like sausage and I ate it. I would recommend this to anyone.

Wendy's Chili

2009-12-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

2 pounds ground beef

One 29-ounce can tomato sauce

One 29-ounce can kidney beans (with liquid)

One 29-ounce can pinto beans (with liquid)

1 cup diced onion (1 medium onion)

1/2 cup diced green chili (2 chilies)

1/4 diced celery (1 stalk)

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 teaspoons cumin powder

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups water

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat; drain off the fat.

2. Using a fork, crumble the cooked beef into pea-size pieces.

3. In a large pot, combine the beef plus all the remaining ingrefients, and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours.

Makes about 12 servings.

Cafe Rio

2009-12-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

I found some Cafe Rio knock off recipes that are REALLY good and easy to make.

Café Rio Chicken

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) bottle kraft zesty Italian dressing

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

3 garlic cloves, minced

5 lbs chicken breasts

Directions

Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours on low.

Shred meat.

cook 1 additional hour.

Cafe Rio Lime Rice

Ingredients

-	4 tbls butter
-	2 1/2 cups rice
-	4 1/2 cups chicken broth
-	1 1/2 tsp salt
-	juice of 4 small limes or 4 tbls lime juice
-	4 tbsp chopped cilantro
-	1/2 tsp cumin

BLACK BEANS  

2 Tbsp. olive oil 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tsp. ground cumin 

1 can black/pinto beans, rinsed and drained 

1 1/3 c. tomato juice 

1 1/2 tsp. salt 

2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro  

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Café rio sweet pork

Ingredients:

2 pound sirloin pork roast

1 can Dr. Pepper

2 cups enchilada sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 can diced green chilies

1 tablespoon garlic salt

Pour Dr. Pepper, brown sugar, enchilada sauce and chilies into your crock pot and stir to combine. Add the roast and sprinkle it with garlic salt. Cook on low for 4 hours, then remove meat and shred. Return to crock pot, stir well to cover meat with sauce and cook for another 2 hours.

Waldorf Astoria Stew (aka No Peek Stew)

2009-12-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

2 – 3 lbs. stew meat in bottom of large pan

2 medium onions, sliced or chopped

3 – 4 potatoes

1 c. celery, coarsely sliced

3 – 4 large carrots (bite size pieces)

Layer in pan. Then sprinkle with:

2 T. Minute Tapioca

1 T. sugar

2 t. salt

¼ t. pepper (more or less if desired)

1 can tomato soup, drop by spoonfuls

½ can water, pour over stew

Do not stir. Cover tightly and cook in oven 5 hours at 250°. (Don’t even peek – that’s cheating). Do not remove cover until ready to serve. (This can also be done in a crock pot.)

Killer Thanksgiving Recipe's

2009-11-26T17:57:00.000-08:00

This year I got nearly all my recipes for Thanksgiving off of allrecipes.com. I only used the ones that were rated highly, so we had a pretty good meal. Here are what we felt were the top performers...

Gourmet Sweet Potatoes

5 sweet potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2 - Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash.
3 - In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
4 - In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
5 - Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

As a family, we are all agreed that these were the very best part of the meal, mainly because they were pretty much candy!

Whole Cranberry Sauce

1 cup white sugar
1 cup orange juice
1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice. Stir in the cinnamon and cranberries Cook until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat, and transfer to a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Tobin usually is not a fan of cranberry sauce, but he liked this.

And, I am way excited to have come up with the following recipe! I may even post it on allrecipes.com.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

Crust:
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white
1/4 cup Nutella
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2 - In a large bowl, blend melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually blend into the egg mixture. Spread the batter into 9 inch springform pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool.

Filling:
2 8 oz. bars cream cheese
1 1/2 c. Nutella
3 whole eggs
1 egg yolk

1 - Preheat oven to 325.
2 - Whip cream cheese and Nutella. Add eggs and beat until well blended.
Pour over crust in springform pan.
3 - Bake on mid-high oven rack for 1 hour 15 minutes or until middle is set.
4 - Drag metal knife around the edge. Let cool completely before removing outer edge of pan. Refrigerate until time to serve.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread

2009-11-24T17:03:00.000-08:00

Ryan tried this recipe in his nutrition class and loved it so he got the recipe from his teacher for me. It is in the oven right now, so I will let you know how it turns out. It smells DELISH!!!!

3 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
1 can (2 c.) pumpkin
1 c. corn or safflower oil
2 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 cup ground flax
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. nuts, chopped (optional)
1 c chocolate chips (optional)

Cream together brown sugar and eggs. Add pumpkin and oil and beat well. Add remaining ingredients and beat well. Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Makes 3 loaves.

Sesame Noodles

2009-11-18T18:08:00.000-08:00

1 lb. spaghetti, cooked and drained

2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c. sesame seeds

1/8 c. canola oil

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. balsamic or red wine vinegar

1/4 c. soy sauce

red pepper flakes to taste

4 scallions, washed and sliced

Saute garlic and sesame seeds in sesame oil. Reduce heat, add canola oil, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Stire in cooked noodles and sprinkle with scallions.

Ground Beef Dishes

2009-11-11T21:39:00.000-08:00

Aunt Jo's Sloppy Joes
1 lb. hamburger
3/4 c. ketchup or tomato sauce
1/4 - 1/3 c. mustard
1/2 c. brown sugar
diced onions (opt.)

Brown hamburger. Add ketchup or tomato sauce, mustard, brown sugar and diced onions if you have them. Stir together and let simmer till slightly thickened. Serve on buns with sliced cheese and pickles.

Chili Cheeseburger Mac
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup ketchup or tomato sauce
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1-2 cups beef stock (depending on how liquid-y you want it)
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp yellow cheddar (the sharper the better!)
Pre-heat the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat for the pasta.
Place a medium pot over medium-high heat with two turns of the pan of olive oil, about 2 tablespoons. Add the meat to the pan and cook until golden brown, 5-6 minutes.
Add the onion and chili powder to the pan, then season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion is tender, 4-5 minutes. Add the ketchup, mustard and beef stock to the pot, bring up to a bubble and simmer until slightly thickened, 4-5 minutes.
While the chili is working, salt the boiling water and drop the pasta in the pot. Cook to al dente, according to the package directions, then drain thoroughly and return it to the pot.
Add the chili to the pot with the pasta and give everything a good toss. Transfer to a casserole dish and top with the shredded cheese. Place the casserole under the broiler to melt and brown the cheese. Serve with a simple salad alongside.

Party Cream Crisp

2009-10-31T14:32:00.000-07:00

My visiting teacher made this for us the first time I was in the hospital and Jenn and LeeAnn will confirm that it is AH-MAZE-ING.

2 cups crushed rice krispies

1 c. chopped nuts

1 c. coconut

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. melted butter

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, very soft

Mix rice krispies, nuts, coconut, brown sugar and butter. Spread 1/2 the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spread softened ice cream on top. Cover with other half of the rice krispie mixture. FREEZE!!!

Chocolate Caramel Corn and Pumpkin Spice Caramel Corn

2009-10-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

So I made this popcorn last night and it is FANTASTIC. I am not going to put the recipe on here because I got it off another recipe blog that I love. It is picky palates website. You can click here and that will take you to the recipe. I hope you enjoy this yummy stuff.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

2009-10-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

5 chicken breasts
6 slices of ham
8 slices swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. water
2 c. crushed ritz crackers
1/2 c. butter
Chop up 5 chicken breasts and spread in 9x13 baking dish.
Chop up 6 slices of ham and spread over the chicken.
Cover the chicken and ham with 8 slices of swiss cheese.
In a bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and water. Pour mixture over the top of chicken.
Mix crushed ritz crackers with melted butter. Crumble over chicken.
Bake at 275 for 2 1/2 hours. Cover with foil for the first 2 hours. then remove foil to let chicken brown for the last 1/2 hour. Use gravy to serve over rice or noodles.

Green Tomato relish

2009-10-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

* 24 large green tomatoes
* 3 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
* 3 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
* 12 large onions
* 3 tablespoons celery seed
* 3 tablespoons mustard seed
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 5 cups white sugar
* 2 cups cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a grinder or food processor, coarsely grind tomatoes, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and onions. (You may need to do this in batches.) Line a large colander with cheesecloth, place in sink or in a large bowl, and pour in tomato mixture to drain for 1 hour.
2. In a large, non-aluminum stockpot, combine tomato mixture, celery seed, mustard seed, salt, sugar, and vinegar. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Sterilize enough jars and lids to hold relish (12 one-pint jars, or 6 one-quart jars). Pack relish into sterilized jars, making sure there are no spaces or air pockets. Fill jars all the way to top. Screw on lids.

process this anyway you want, or just eat it (like we did, micajah has almost finished it off) or my mom taught me a coot trick, if you just a have a few jars and you want to process them. fill the jar when the contents are still really hot and then flip it upside down and it will, leave it all night and it will seal on its own!!

I really play with this recipe a lot. I like chunkier tomatoes, and much less sugar than it calls for... Play with it, have fun

Pumpkin Bread

2009-10-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

2/3 cup shortening (butter or better yet, replace with 2/3 c. pureed white beans)

2 cups sugar
4 eggs (egg whites)
2 c. pumpkin
2/3 c. water
3 1/3 c. flour (whole wheat flour even works)
½ tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
3 tsp baking soda

Cream shortening (or beans) with sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add the pumpkin and water and mix. Combine the dry ingredients and mix together, makes 2 large loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 min. Or muffins.

This is one of my favorite things to make in the fall. This year, I grew my own pumpkins and cooked them up and made my own pumpkin puree. When you make this with wheat flour, beans and egg whites, it is incredibly healthy.
You can throw a few choc. chips into it and the kids eat them up!!

Chicken Spinach Lasagna Casserole

2009-10-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

1 10 oz box frozen spinach thawed and drained (I used fresh and chopped it myself 2cups)
2 cups chicken (cooked and chopped)
2 cups cheddar cheese (grated)
1/3 cups sweet onion (chopped)
1 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sliced mushrooms (drained)
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayo
6 noodles (I used "Barilla" lasagne noodles. No boiling required)
1 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
1 cup pecans (chopped)

preheat oven 350 degrees
first 12 items put in lg. bowl and mix.
coat 9x123 pan with pam spray.
layer 3 lasagne noodles in bottom and spread 1/2 mixture on top.
layer next 3 noodles and last 1/2 of mixture.
sprinkle parmesan cheese and pecans.
bake for 1 hour and enjoy. Serves 12

Chicken Piccata

2009-10-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

4 (4 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. reduced calorie margarine

chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Combine broth, lemon juice, cornstartch, lemon rind, sugar and garlic powder in a small bowl; set aside. Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; flatten to 1/4" thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Cut each breast into to inch pieces. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture. Heat oill in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet. Set aside; keep warm. Stir broth mixture, and add to skillet. Cook over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly, stiring constantly. Stir in margarine. Spoon sauce over chicken; sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Yield: 4 Servings. If you like it saucy, double the sauce recipe.

*My side notes: I don't dip the chicken in flour because we are trying to eat healthier. I also like to add things to it for more flavor...like fresh sliced mushrooms, capers, artichoke hearts, etc. You don't have to do this, but it really adds a lot to it.

Chicken Artichoke Casserole

2009-10-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

I thought I had posted this on here. So here it is if you even wanted it.

1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced

6 Tbsp. butter, divided

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (14 oz) can chicken broth

1 (7.5 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained

Dash of salt

1/4 c. flour

3/4 c. light cream (i use milk for less fat)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 c. grated Parmesan Cheese

1/2 tsp. dried Rosemary

Saute mushrooms in 2 Tbsp. of the butter for about 2 minutes; set aside. Cook chicken breasts in simmering chicken broth over low heat for about 30 minuts or until cooked through. Drain both, reserving 3/4 cup. Cut chicken into cubes. Place cubed chicken and artichoke hearts in a greased 8x8 pan. Lightly salt, set aside. In a saucepan, melt 4 Tbsp. butter. Stir in flour until well blended. Add cream and reserved 3/4 cup chicken broth and stir constantly over medium heat until thickened. Stir in the 1/4 tsp. salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and rosemary. Pour over chicken and bake at 325* for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with sauteed mushrooms. Makes 4 servings.

Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder

2009-10-04T11:21:00.001-07:00

Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder

5 bacon slices, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 cup chopped red or orange bell peppers (about 1 large)
3-4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 1/2 cups russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen corn kernels
2 cups half and half or cream
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (plus more for garnish)
1-2 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup green onions (plus more for garnish)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (plus more for garnish)

Cream Cheese Chicken

2009-09-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

Here is an easy Crock Pot Chicken recipe that Ryan's mom came up with. It is delish.

4-6 Chicken Breasts (how ever many will feed your family)

1 brick of cream cheese

1 can of Cream of Muchroom soup (use the can for the milk)

1 can of milk

1 small can of green chillies or jalepanos

Mix the mixture together and pour over the chicken in the crock pot. Let cook on low for 5-7 hours.

I serve this oveer egg noodles and it is fab. You can also use rice. ENJOY!!!

Yummy Zucchini Dishes

2009-09-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (opt.)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (opt.)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (opt.)
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (opt.)
1 cup chocolate chips (opt.) (in my case, we used 1 Mommy sized handful, 1 Heber sized handful and 1 Henry sized handful)
1 cup walnuts (opt.)

DIRECTIONS
1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or line two 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners.
2 - In a large bowl beat the eggs. Beat in the sugar and oil. Add the applesauce, cocoa, vanilla, zucchini and stir well.
3 - Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom. Mix until just moist. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Mix.
4 - Pour batter into prepared muffin tins filling 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Store loosely covered. Makes 18 - 24 muffins.

Stuffed Zucchini

1 large or 4 patty pan zucchini
1 pound mild italian sausage
1 - 2 eggs
1/2 - 1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
4 tomatoes, diced
chopped fresh basil and oregano
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese or 2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Trim stems from zucchini and slice lengthwise. Place in greased baking pan and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
While baking, saute diced garlic and onion till onion is slightly cooked. Add tomatoes, oregano, and basil. Continue cooking until tomatoes are soft. Mix with sausage, garlic, 1/2 c. bread crumbs, 1 egg, 1/4 c. mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.
Remove zucchini from oven. Scoop out seeds, chop, and add to sausage mixture. (The mixture should feel like meatloaf. If it is not sticking together well, add one more egg. If it is too runny, add more breadcrumbs.)
Stuff squash with sausage mixture and place in baking pan. Bake for 30 - 45 minutes, or until sausage is cooked. Cover with 1/4 c. mozzarella cheese. Cook until cheese is melted. Serve warm with french bread and a salad.

Zucchini Bake

Sliced Zucchini
Sliced Tomato's
Sliced Onion (I used Walla-Walla Sweet Onions)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Crumbled Bacon

DIRECTIONS
Grease baking dish. Layer zucchini, tomatoes, and onions in dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Top with cheese and bacon. Bake for another 5 minutes. Serve. (Anything with cheese and bacon is good!)

Not on the same subject, but since I'm on here, I'll include this one!

Baked Salmon

Salmon fillet
olive oil
season salt
thinly sliced onion
thinly sliced lemon

DIRECTIONS
Place salmon fillet in greased baking dish. Rub olive oil over the top. Sprinkle with season salt. Layer onions and lemons over salmon. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until fish is flaky. Remove foil for the last few minutes.
***I liked eating the onions, but you can remove them and the lemons to serve.***

Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes

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

Syrup

1/2 c. sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 c. cold water

4 c. fresh or frozen bluberries

Pancakes

2 c. flour

1/4 c. sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream

1/3 c. butter, melted

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1. In a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water until smooth. Add blueberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cover and keep warm.

2. For pancakes, in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the eggs, milk, sour cream and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.

3. Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until the second side is golden brown. Serve with blueberry topping.

Side note...you can use any fruit you have, we just love the blueberries. Also, you don't have to put the blueberries in the batter. Enjoy...these are so good.

I got this recipe from taste of home potluck magazine.

Meatloaf

2009-09-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

Dana requested that I put this recipe on the blog. It is so good and so easy. If you like the traditional ketchup taste then you can do that instead of the bbq sauce. I like the bbq sauce better.

2 lb. lean ground beef

1 pkg. (6 oz) stuffing mix (any flavor)

1 c. water

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c. bbq sauce, divided

Mix all ingredients except 1/4 c. bbq sauce. Shape meat mixture in to oval loaf in 13x9" baking dish, top with 1/4 c. bbq sauce.

Bake at 375* for 1 hour.

Dr. Pepper Roast

2009-08-23T23:59:00.001-07:00

2 c. Dr. Pepper

1 pkg. Dry oinion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3-5 lb roast

Place roast in crock pot and generously season it with Tony's Seasoning. Mix Dr. pepper, onion soup mix and cream of mushorrom soup and then pour over top of roast. Cook in crock pot on LOW for 6 hours.

Crock Pot Italian Chicken

2009-08-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese

1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix

1 can cream of chicken soup

rice or noodles (I do egg noodles)

Put all into greased crock pot. Cook 4-6 hours on low or unti chicken is tender. Serve over rice or noodles.

Ranch Chicken

2009-08-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can slice in thirds if you wish)

3/4 c. parmesan cheese

3/4 c. crushed corn flakes (I use special k)

1 envelope dry ranch dressing

1 cube butter (I don't use this)

Combine cheese, corn flakes and ranch mix. In seperate bown, melt butter. Dip chicken in butter, then coat in ranch mixture. Bake at 350* for 45 min. - 1 hour until chicken is cooked through.

Black Bean Salad

2009-08-23T23:43:00.001-07:00

Salad

2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 bunches green onions, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 1/2 c. frozen corn (microwave for 3 minutes)

1/2 c. cilantro, chopped

1 c. cherry tomatoes, diced

1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies

Combine all; mix dressing.

Dressing

2 tsp. rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. ground cumin

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground coriander

2 tsp cornstarch

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

zest of 1 lime

1 tsp red Tabasco

3 Tbsp. mild green Tabasco (if desired)

Combine all.

I like to add avacado and I think next time I will dice up a mango and put in it as well.

Pepperoni Pasta Salad

2009-08-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

7 oz. corkscrew pasta

6 oz. cheese cubes or crumbles

6 oz. pepperoni, cut in half

1/2 c. green peppers, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

1 c. broccoli, chopped

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

1 c. cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2/3 c. Italian salad dressing

1/4 tsp. each, basil and garlic powder

6 oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts

olives, capers, mushrooms, etc.-optional

Combine all except broccoli, tomatoes and cheese. Refrigerate 3-4 hours. Add broccoli, tomatoes and cheese just before serving.

Triple Berry Spinach Salad

2009-08-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

Dressing

1/2 c. oil

2 Tbsp. sugar

6 Tbsp. frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate

4 tbsp. vinegar

1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

Salas

2 (6 ounce) bags of spinach

1/2 c. sliced fresh strawberries

1/2 c. blueberries

1/2 c. raspberries

In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients; mix well. In a large serving bowl, combine all salad ingredients. Pour dressing over salad right before serving; toss gently to coat. This recipe is doubled so it will serve 8.

Five Can Soup

2009-08-23T23:29:00.000-07:00

When you feel like having soup and you don't have a lot of time...this is a good recipe. It can be a little spicy, but make it to your preference. I would add a little meat though.

1 can minestrone soup

1 can Ro-tel tomatoes

1 can mexicorn

1 can Veg-all

1 can beans of your choice (black beans are the best)

Open cans, mix, heat and eat.

Breakfast Spinach Shake

2009-08-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

This is so good. If you have a picky vege eater you may be able to get them to drink this. Also, Dana...I think you may like this.

8-10 frozen strawberries

1 handful frozen blueberries

1 banana

6 small, peeled baby carrots

8 almonds

1/2 c. orange juice

2 heaping handfuls raw baby spinach

Place almonds in blender and blend until just powdery. Then add starwberries, blueberries, banana, carrots, and orange juice and blend. Add spinach, one handful at a time and blend until smooth - may take a while to blend until smooth. If it looks brown you've done it right! Not the prettiest color, but so healthy and tasty!

Annette's Chicken Salad

2009-08-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

I always loose this recipe and I always have to call Annette and Neal for it. So I thought since Annette left a copy of it at my house over night that I would post it on here so I never have to ask them for it again. This is the best recipe I have ever tasted for chicken salad sandwiches.

4 Chicken breasts, diced, then placed in a fry pan with enough water to cook them

1 1/2 cups Mayo

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

3/4 cup nuts of your choice (almonds are my choice)

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2-3 stalks of green onion

1/2 bag of red grapes, cut in half

Mix well and refrigerate. Place on small dollar rolls or small croissants to serve.

ENJOY!!!!!

Annette's Pasta Salad

2009-07-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

Pasta Salad

1 pkg small shell noodles (you could also use salad noodles)
1 lg cucumber
2 tomatoes
1 can sliced olives
3 green onions
1 can tuna
Miracle whip

Boil noodles in salt water. Let noodles cool and add remaining ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cheese Filled Jumbo Shells

2009-07-13T06:33:00.001-07:00

Cheese Filled Jumbo Shells Recipe

1¼ hours | 15 min prep

SERVES 10 -12

1 (12 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
4 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
3 eggs
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups spaghetti sauce

Cook pasta according to package directions.
Combine cheeses, eggs, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper.
Fill each pasta shell with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture.
Spread a thin layer of sauce on bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan.
Place pasta in the pan; cover with remaining sauce.
Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Crockpot Ravioli Casserole

2009-07-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

1 10 ounce package frozen, chopped spinach 
1 8 ounce package rotini noodles
1 pound hamburger
 1/2 pound Italian sausage 
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons oil 
2 8 ounce cans tomato sauce 
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano 
1/2 cup Parmesan
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese 
3 green onions,

chopped, Defrost spinach. Squeeze dry. Cook noodles in boiling, salted water until tender. Drain. Brown meats and onion in oil until crumbly. Add tomato sauce, salt and oregano. Cover. Simmer 30 minutes. Mix in spinach. Turn crockpot on high after buttering bottom and sides.  Spoon half the noodles into the buttered crock pot. Top with half of meat mixture and half the Parmesan cheese. Cover with layers of remaining noodles, meat and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with Jack cheese and green onions. Cook on high for one hour. Serves 8.

You can play quite a bit with this recipe. I didn't have rotini noodles, I usually like to use bowtie pasta, but didn't have those either, so I used shells. It still turned out great!!

You can make a double batch of this and put one batch in a big ziplock and put it into the freezer for a quick meal in a pinch. Don't cook the noodles all the way when doing this.
I am really into freezer meals lately. It's just as easy to double something and freeze it. Then it really comes in handy some days.

Irish Cream Cake

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

BAILEY'S IRISH CREAM CAKE

1 c. nuts
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 (3 oz.) pkg. Jello instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. Bailey's Irish Cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a tube or bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts on the bottom of pan. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Pour over nuts. Bake 1 hour. Cool cake completely. Prick cake and pour glaze over top and sides.

GLAZE:

1 stick butter
1/4 c. water
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. Bailey's Irish Cream

Melt butter. Stir in water and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. REMOVE from heat. Stir in Bailey's Irish Cream.

Note: If using cake mix which includes pudding, omit pudding from recipe, decrease eggs to 3, and decrease oil to 1/3 cup.

OK, this is the original recipe. I will now tell you how Keith changes it up. He doesn't use nuts at all. He puts about a 1/4 cup of c. chips on the bottom of the bunt pan. He pours 1/2 the batter in and then pours about a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips on top, then pours the rest of the batter in.
He uses Irish Cream flavoring. It can be hard to find, you may have to use whatever flavoring you can find.
He still uses the pudding even if his cake mix has pudding in it already.
Real butter makes this cake irresistable. And when he "pricks" the cake he actually uses a skewer and pokes holes all the way through the cake.

One final note, no matter how you make this cake it will never turn out tasting as good as when Keith does it, I don't know why, but that is how it ALWAYS happens to me!!

Snicker Rice Krispy Treats

2009-07-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

LeeAnnie, here is the recipe you wanted. I think when we made them we thought that the needed more peanut butter... I am sure that won't break your little heart!!!

1/4 cup butter
1 (10 oz) pkg. marshmellows
1/4 cups peanut butter
5 1/2 cups rice krispies
1 (12 oz) Snickers Mini's cut into quarters
1/4 cup chocolate chips

In large saucepan, melt better over medium low heat. Add marshmellows; cook, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter.

Add rice krispies; stir to evenly coat. Lightly press half of mixture into sprayed or buttered 8x8 inch pan. Sprinkle and lightly press down Snickers pieces. Top with remaining rice krispy mixture and press down.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave. Drizzle over bars. Cool for 30 minutes; cut into 16 bars.

Homemade Rocky Road Ice Cream

2009-06-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

2 - 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk

1 c. unsweetened cocoa

4 c. heavy cream

2 c. light cream (half and half)

2 T. vanilla extract

1 c. chopped almonds

2 c. mini marshmallows

In a medium saucepan over low heat, cook and stir condensed milk and cocoa until smooth and slightly thickened - about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Stir heavy cream, light cream and vanilla into the mixture. Refrigerate until cold. Pour mixture into a canister and freeze as directed. Stir in nuts and marshmallows halfway through the freezing process. (I also add 1 or 2 c. of chocolate chips at the same time)

I've learned to not allow the ice cream to get too done with the marshmallows as it makes them almost disinegrate.

Coconut Peanut Curry Chicken

2009-06-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

Many people have asked me for this recipe. It is one of our favorites and is super easy. I got it from my friends, Krista's, recipe blog. dishdelish.blogspot.com...she uses tofu as well, so if you eat tofu this is a good recipe as well. We enjoy it with chicken though. It doesn't have a strong curry flavor if you are worried about that. Also, I put 4 T. peanut butter because I like the peanut flavor. I also add a little tabasco sauce. I hope that you all enjoy. We really have loved this recipe and it is now Ryan's favorite.

Sauce:
2 T peanut butter
1 1/2 -2 cups coconut milk
1 t lemon juice
1 T curry powder
4 T sugar
Dash of chili sauce

Mix sauce in bowl until well combined. Set aside.

Cook 2-3 potatoes in chicken (or veggie) broth until almost done. Drain the potatoes. Stir Fry chicken until browned and cooked through.

Combine all and simmer 5-10 minutes until sauce is hot and has thickened.

Serve over rice (optional).

2009-06-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

I made this dish the other night and it was AMAZING!!! And it didn't take too long to make. Cameron has put it on his top 10 dinners list. :)

Easy Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
seasoned bread crumbs
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
8 slices mozzarella cheese, or more
1 jar (16 oz) spaghetti sauce
Parmesan cheese
Preparation:Whisk together the egg and milk. Dip the chicken breasts in milk and egg mixture and then in bread crumbs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in the hot oil on both sides until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Set chicken in a baking dish.
Slice 8 pieces of mozzarella cheese and put two on each chicken breast. Pour 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce over all. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and a little more mozzarella and bake at 350° for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve with spaghetti, garlic bread and a nice green salad.

Instead of spaghetti sauce I used some marinera sauce that Annette had given me. Here's her recipe.

Creamy Italian Tomato Sauce
2 TB olive oil
1 TB butter
1 tsp. dried basil
dash crushed red chili pepper
1 lg onion finely chopped
1 lg clove garlic
dash of salt
3 29 oz. cans tomato sauce
7 oz. Gouda cheese
1 pint heavy cream
In olive oil and butter saute basil, chili pepper, onion, garlic, and salt until onion is tender. Add tomato sauce and cook until flavors combine (at least 20 minute, but the longer the better) Add Gouda cheese and stir until melted. Add heavy cream and remove from heat (cream should not be cooked) Serve over your choice of pasta and top with shredded parmesan cheese.

Broccoli Beef

2009-06-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

***So, I was reading a cooking blog (can't remember where) and they had made broccoli beef. It looked so good and I wanted to make it. I went back to find the recipe and couldn't remember where it was. So I searched for a recipe and found this one. I made it tonight and, well, needless to say for once we don't have leftovers. I was so happy, it didn't take me more than 20 minutes - I think the rice was the thing that took the longest! I didn't buy sirloin because I'm cheap and bought Cross Rib Steak for $1.59/lb and cut up the extra into strips so we can make it again. We were all out of wine though, dang it, so I didn't use any :) No, really, I would have used cooking wine if I had it but didn't. I just left it out of the marinade and substituted apple cider vinegar in the sauce (not sure if it would even give the same flavor, but it turned out good!) I used roasted garlic out of the jar and also threw in a couple handfuls of fresh spinach with the broccoli when it goes in with the beef. It was a great way to add spinach and you couldn't even taste it. Beware though, the meat cooks FAST, you have to have that sauce and cornstarch ready! I will definitely be making this again!! Enjoy!

Found at http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/broccoli_beef/

Broccoli Beef Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
3/4 pound broccoli florets
2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, very finely minced or smushed through garlic smusher
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade

1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth

Method

1 Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes

2 Prepare the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

3 Blanch the broccoli: Cook the broccoli in a small pot of boiling, salted water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

4 Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

Chicken Pot Pie

2009-06-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

1 Large Chicken breast, grilled, seasoned, and cut into bite size pieces

1 16 oz. bag frozen peas and carrots (or whatever veggies you want)

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 cup Original Bisquick mix

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

Heat oven to 400˚ F. Stir chicken, vegetables and soup in ungreased 2-quart casserole.

Stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour over chicken mixture.

Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Salad Supreme Seasoning

2009-06-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

I love to put the store brand, McCormick Salad Seasoning, in pasta salads, but Annette is allergic to the sesame seeds, so I found this recipe so we could adjust to our individual wants.

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon poppy seed
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 dash cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons romano cheese (optional)

Directions

1
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
2
Store in a sealable container in the fridge.

Swiss Oatmeal

2009-05-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

This is a great recipe for little kids and Moms alike. And it is a very easy breakfast. It does have honey in it. If you want to omit the honey for smaller children, just use a sweeter yogurt. I usually use Mountain High Yoghurt because they only use natural sweeteners. Store brands are usually a lot sweeter.

32 oz. any flavor yogurt
3- 3 ½ c. oatmeal
1 – 1 ½ c. milk
honey to taste (I usually put about 2 Tbsp. in)
fresh, frozen, or dried fruit

Mix the yogurt, oatmeal, milk and honey together. Refrigerate overnight. Serve topped with fruit or another dollop of yogurt.

**My favorite is vanilla yogurt with fresh peaches. Whenever peaches are not in season, I use Craisins. I have left this in the fridge for up to 5 days and been fine. It usually is gone way faster than that. Heber, Henry and I love it!

Vegetable Lasagne

2009-05-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

For my birthday...Ryan got me the Worldwide Ward Cookbook. I made this today and it is in the oven right now, but if it tastes as good as it smells then we have a weiner!!!! LOL!

Veggies:

2 shallots, minced (these are like onions so if you can't find use an onion)

4 Tbsp. olive oil

1 bunch spinach, cleaned and torn to desired size

1 medium zucchini, sliced

2 c. broccoli, chopped

2 c. carrots, thinly sliced

Saute shallots in oil until transparent. Add remaining vegetables and saute until slightly tender (about 8 minutes). Note: You can use almost any vegetable in this dish; choose those that are your family's favorites. I used mushrooms as well.

Filling:

2-3 lbs. cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, or a combination of the two

1 tsp. parsley

1 egg, beaten

1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded (can also mix in cheddar cheese)

Combine all ingredients until throughly blended.

Sauce:

5 Tbsp. butter

5 Tbsp. flour

White Pepper

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

4 c. milk

3/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated

Salt to taste (remember that parm cheese is salty)

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, blend well, and cook until golden. Add pepper and nutmeg to taste. Slowly add milk, stirring well, and simmer until thick. Add cheese. Season with salt to taste.

Lasagne:

10-12 lasagne noodles, cooked and drained

Assembly:

In a large casserole dish, place a layer of noodles, a layer of veggies, a third of the cheese filling, and a third of the sauce. Repeat layers until all the ingredients are gone, finishing with sauce. Top with additional cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until heated through and bubbly.

Potatoe Flake Bake Chicken

2009-05-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

I love this receipe because you can make it as large or as small as you need.

Chicken

Melted margarine

Potato Flakes

Garlic or seasoned salt

Dip individual pieces of chicken in melted margarine. Mix potato flakes, salt together. ( I also add parmesan cheese and parsley.) Roll chicken in potato flake mixture. Place in foil-lined baking pan. Pour over excess potato flake mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until done. Do not turn or cover. Chicken will be crisp on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. YUMMY!

Workman's Zucchini Bake

2009-05-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

This is my FAVORITE way to eat zucchini. Jen, I think you'll love this.

Melt butter in pan. (I use Pam)

slice Green and Yellow Zucchini

slice Yellow Onion

Grill and add tomato wedges, mushrooms (if you like)

Cook on Medium High.

Add Garlic, Italian, and NATURE SEASONING (I've tried it without and it doesn't taste good.)

Stir

Put Mozarella Chesse on top, cover and let melt.

Ready to Serve

Basil-Peanut Butter Chops

2009-05-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

This is one of Alice's favorite ways to have Pork Chops. I've only made it once and I forgot the basil, don't ask me how since its in the title I just forgot, but it still turned out really good.

4 boneless pork chops, 1-inch thick

1/2 cup chicken broth

4 inches stick cinnamon

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon grated ginger root

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Vegetable oil

2/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 medium red bell pepper, sliced

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped coarsely

In a medium saucepan combine chicken broth, cinnamon, bay leaves, ginger root and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Brush chops lightly with oil and cook for 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally, until evenly browned on both sides. Remove pork chops to a serving platter; keep warm.

Remove bay leaves and cinnamon from chicken broth mixture. Stir in milk, peanut butter and honey until smooth. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in bell pepper, crushed red pepper, and basil leaves. Continue cooking, uncovered, until sauce thickens slightly. Spoon the sauce over chops. Serves 4

Beef and Potatoes with Rosemary

2009-05-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite ways to cook a roast.

1 lb. medium red potatoes, cut into fourths

1 cup baby-cut carrots

3-pound boneless beef chuck roast (or any 3 lb roast)

3 T. Dijon mustard

1 1/2-2 T rosemary

1/2-1 t. thyme

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups beef broth

Arrange potatoes and carrots in 3 1/2-6 quart slow cooker.

Trim excess fat from beef. Mix mustard, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; spread evenly over beef. Place beef in slow cooker. Sprinkle onion over beef. Pour broth evenly over beef and veggies.

Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours (or high for 3-4 hours).

Remove beef and veggies from cooker and serve.

Grilled Salmon and Candied Carrots

2009-05-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

Just another reason you should all move to the Pacific Northwest...Salmon! Here is an amazing recipe I found today. I think it would be good if you used the salmon fillet's from Costco. I used the fresh stuff cause, well, I live where it is available.

Grilled Salmon

1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
lemon juice to taste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
1 - Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper and garlic powder.
2 - In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, lemon juice and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but the longer the better.
3 - Preheat grill for medium heat.
4 - Lightly oil grill grate by putting olive oil on a paper towel and using tongs to rub the paper towel over grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, flesh side down first. Discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

I love my fish with something carb filled on the side. Due to the heat wave we have experienced, I didn't want to heat up the house. I opted for this glazed carrot recipe. Heber would not eat it, claiming he did not like cooked carrots. Once I told him it was actually candied carrots, he decided to give it a try.

Candied Carrots

baby carrots or regular carrots, peeled and cut into baby size
water
brown sugar/honey
butter

1 - Prepare and steam carrots over water. Once carrots have reached the consistency where there is still a little resistance when you push a fork through, remove from steamer. Drain off as much water as possible.
2 - Melt butter in the microwave. Mix melted butter with brown sugar or honey.
3 - Pour sugar sauce over carrots. Mix. Serve warm.

Chicken Rice-a-Roni Salad

2009-05-16T23:37:00.000-07:00

This salad may sound really gross, but it is so good. I didn't think that I would like it, but it is now a favorite. What I love about it...It makes so much that I can take it to lunch with me for 2-3 more days. Ryan likes it a little warm, but I like it cold. You can serve either way.

4 cooked chicken breasts, cubed

2 boxes chicken flavored Rice-a-Roni

4 diced green onions

1 small can sliced black olives

1 small can marinated artichokes

1/2 slivered almonds

1 small jar pimentos (I don't use these unless I have them, they just add color!)

1 c. mayonnaise (you CANNOT use miracle whip...it doesn't taste right!)

Cook rice-a-roni according to box directions, then mix everything together. Good if made the night before serving.

Oriental Chicken Salad

2009-05-16T23:30:00.000-07:00

Dressing

2 packets Oriental ramen falvoring

1/3 c. sugar

1/3 c. canola oil (I use Olive Oil)

1/3 c. apple cider vinegar

Put all ingredients into a jar and shake well. Put in refrigerator while assembling salad.

Salad

2 bags coleslaw, cabbage

2 pkg. ramen noodles, broken into small pieces

6 oz. candied almonds

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

Put dry ramen noodles into a frying pan on medium heat. Cook until toasted. Set aside. In the same pan, place 6 oz. almonds and about 1/3-1/2 cup sugar. Stirring constantly, cook until almonds are toasted and sugar has melted. Do not let sugar and almonds burn. Remove to waxed paper. Combine coleslaw, ramen noodles, almonds and chicken in large salad bowl. Shake dressing well to re-mix and pour evenly over salad, covering completely.

Grandma Workman's Sweet and Sour Chicken

2009-05-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

Marinade

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

6 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. pepper

Sauce

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. vinegar

1/4 c. ketchup

1 1/4 c. water

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

3-4 lbs chicken (or what ever would feed your family)

Dice the chicken and let it sit in the marinade for 1/2 hour - an hour. At this point you can dip in flour and fry it. I don't because it is healthier without doing that! Make sauce while chicken in marinading and set aside. Heat the oven to 350. Cook the chicken and put in a baking dish. Pour the sauce over chicken. (I add the cornstarch before dumping the sauce over the chicken so it isn't clumpy!) Let the chicken bake for 30-45 minutes. Serve over rice.

Here it is...

2009-05-14T17:13:00.001-07:00

So here is the beginning of a recipe blog. This is a way to put or favorite recipes in one spot and to also share them with everyone. If you know someone that would like to contribute then let me know and I will add them as an author so they can add there own recipes. Happy Blogging!!!!