Friday, December 26, 2008

Low Country Cookies

So here's the recipe of some good cookies on Suzy's request :) I got this recipe from the Food Network website couple of years ago. It's very fast and very easy to make (no baking required).

Prep Time: 15 minutes 
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes 
Cook Time: 10 minutes 
Yield: 15 to 20 servings
 
Filling: 
1 (16-ounce) box graham crackers 
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter 
1 cup sugar 
1 egg 
1/2 cup milk 
1 cup chopped pecans 
1 cup or 3 (1/2-ounce) cans shredded coconut 
 
Topping: 
2 cups powdered sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla 
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter (softened)
3 tablespoons milk
 
For the filling: Line a 13 by 9-inch pan with whole graham crackers. Melt the butter in saucepan and add sugar. Beat the egg and milk together; add to butter mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add the nuts, coconut, and 1 cup graham cracker crumbs. Pour over the crackers in the pan. Cover with another layer of whole graham crackers. 
 
For the topping: Beat all the ingredients together and spread over top layer of crackers. 
 
Chill. Cut into squares.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Snowman Handouts

While I was at mom's I thought it would be a good idea if we posted cute handouts we have done for church or little gifts they have given out. We can label them handouts. I know I could always use some clever ideas!

These were some snowmen we made out of marshmallows. You stick 2 together with a little frosting, poke holes with a toothpick for the eyes and put a chocolate sprinkle in the holes, then poke a hole for a nose and put a little triangle of an orange slice candy or gumdrop for the nose. The hat is a junior mint stuck on the top with frosting.

Mom then put a little bag of marshmallows, a bag of hot chocolate and a little poem about snowman soup. Such a cute idea!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Chicken Bundles

This is mom's recipe. She made it the other night and it was really good so I thought I would post.

Ingredients:
2 packages Pillsbury crescent rolls
8 chicken tenders (4 chicken breasts)
Celery diced fine
Onions diced fine
4 oz cream cheese, softend
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
Pepper

Boil chicken breasts in chicken broth. When chicken is done, remove from broth. Save the broth for gravy. Dice chicken and add to the celery and onions. Add cream cheese. Put a spoonful of the chicken mixture into the each crescent triangle and wrap up and roll. Bake according to the directions on the rolls.

Make gravy using the broth and 1/2 can cream of chicken soup. Add pepper to taste. When rolls are done, top with gravy and serve.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Ginger Spice Cookies

I LOVE molasses cookies, Roger does not. It is a shame. This recipe is really good and I am craving them right now!

3/4 C Butter flavored Crisco
1 C sugar, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1/4 C molasses
2 C flour
2 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, combine shortening and sugar and cream until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the egg and the molasses and beat until completely incorporated. Sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt and then add to the mixture. Stir until combined. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.

Place on cookie sheets and flatten slightly with the bottom of a flat glass, or your fingertips. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just set around the edges.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Sloppy Joe... slop sloppy joe

I know you all know how to make sloppy joes.... but Tanner and I tried an experiment with them last night. We cooked chopped onions with the meatand it was yummy. Mom... dad would never eat it but it was good!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Zuppa Toscana


Another on I saw on the Pleasant and Plump blog - looks just like the Olive Garden soup!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground Italian sausage (You can use the spicy Italian sausage and omit the red peppers)
1½ tsp crushed red peppers (or can use a fresh hot pepper)
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces (Can use Turkey bacon)
2 tsp garlic puree/ finely chopped
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
¼ of a bunch of kale (or spinach)


Saute Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
In the same pan, saute bacon, onions and garlic for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling.
Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated.
Stir in the sausage.
Add kale just before serving. Delicious!

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

A friend of mine made this for me after I had Jeremy and I saw the recipe on the Pleasant and Plump blog (link on the side of this blog). It is so good and easy to make. Thought I would post it here in case you don't look at that one.

2-4 chicken breasts, cut into bite size peices
italian dressing (I use fat free)
1 8oz. package cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth (I use water and it still tastes delicious)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme

Put chicken in crock put, soak in Italian dressing. (I use 1/2 bottle dressing for 2 ckn breasts). Let cook on low for 3-4 hours. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. After chicken is cooked, drain out liquid from crock put and put the cream cheese/soup mixture in. Let cook for one more hour. Serve over rice or pasta.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Tangerine Chicken with Curry-Carrot Couscous

I am constantly stealing recipes from Rachel Ray! I made this tonight for dinner. If you don't like the couscous/curry it would be good to have just the chicken with the tangerine sauce over sticky rice.
  • 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt and pepper
  • Juice of 4 tangerines or 6 clementines, zest of 1
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 2 cups chicken stock, divided
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 1/2 cups couscous
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and cook in the hot pan until brown on both sides and cooked through, about 12 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add citrus juice and zest, brown sugar, sliced ginger, cinnamon stick, hot sauce and 1/2 cup chicken stock to skillet and simmer until syrupy, 5-6 minutes.

While the sauce cooks, heat 1 tablespoon EVOO in a saucepot over medium heat and sauté carrots and scallions for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups stock, bring to a boil then stir in curry, turmeric and couscous. Cover the pot and turn heat off. Let couscous stand 5 minutes, fluff with fork.

To serve, slice chicken breasts on a bias and fan them out on a bed of couscous. Drizzle tangerine sauce over everything.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Christmas Mice


Here is another cute goody idea. They are Christmas mice - you can give these as a gift with the 12 Days of Christmas poem - "Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house; not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." I thought this was a fun idea.
  • 24 double-stuffed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
  • 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 teaspoons shortening
  • 24 red maraschino cherries with stems, well drained
  • 24 milk chocolate kisses
  • 48 sliced almonds
  • 1 small tube green decorative icing gel
  • 1 small tube red decorative icing gel

Carefully twist cookies apart; set aside the halves with cream filling. Save plain halves for another use. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Holding each cherry by the stem, dip in melted chocolate, then press onto the bottom of a chocolate kiss. Place on the cream filling of cookie, with cherry stem extending beyond cookie edge. For ears, place slivered almonds between the cherry and kiss. Refrigerate until set. With green gel, pipe holly leaves on the cream. With red gel, pipe holly berries between leaves and pipe eyes on each chocolate kiss. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Some Cute Christmas Goody Ideas

I saw this on KSL today. They looked so cute. Rachel - this is like those snowmen mom had in that recipe book we saw. Sorry, I couldn't find pictures online for all of them.

Mini Christmas Stocking Cakes
Cut a Twinkie snack cake in half approximately 1/3 of the way up at a 45 degree angle. Cut another cake the same, cutting the angle down. (You will need to do this in pairs cutting one angle up and one down to have enough matching pieces.) Place the smaller cut piece of each Twinkie to the opposite cake pressing cut sides together. This will create a stocking shape. Frost entire cake. Frost the top edge of the stocking using a decorative icing cake decorating tip or use candy to decorate. Decorate stockings with tiny candies and sprinkles if desired. To use as a place card or favor, pipe the name of each guest at the top of the stockings.

Santa Face Cookies
For each cookie, dip one end of a Nutter Butter peanut shaped cookie almost halfway into melted white almond bark or candy coating to create the beard. Immediately sprinkle dipped end with shredded coconut and press gently into almond bark. Let set. Dip other end of cookie approximately ¼ of the way up in the white almond bark to create part of the hat and let set. Dip this hat end again into melted red candy melts leaving a small border of the white showing so it creates a red hat with white trim. Immediately press a miniature marshmallow to the right side of the cookie at the edge of the red to create the look of a ball at the end of the hat. Attach two mini chocolate chips with melted almond bark to middle of cookie to create eyes. Attach a small red hot cinnamon candy below eyes to form nose. (Tips: Roll mini marshmallow slightly to make more round and pliable before attaching to cookie. Also - if you do not want to use coconut on the beard white sprinkles can be used or simpy use a knife to swirl more almond bark on to make a textured and fluffy look.)

Rudolph the Reindeer Cupcakes
Bake chocolate cupcakes in plain or brown paper liners. Let cool. Melt chocolate almond bark and place in a pastry bag with a round decorating tip or in a heavy duty Zip-Loc bag and snip corner. Pipe almond bark to create antlers onto wax paper or a Silpat baking mat. Make antlers approximately three inches long with several branches making sure to make them thick so they will not be too fragile to handle. Let set completely. (These can be whimsical and each pair do not have to match exactly.) To assemble: Frost cupcakes with chocolate icing. Place a pair of antlers into top of cupcake by piercing hole with a skewer and gently inserting antlers. Place a red candy ball for the nose (red malt balls, Cadbury red candy balls, red sour ball candies, red foil-wrapped balls, red gumballs, or even a red gumdrop would work, etc.) Use tiny round candies, chocolate chips or use frosting for eyes. Add a holly leaf made from frosting or a pre-made accent at base of one antler if desired. Nestle cupcake in additional paper liner for nice presentation.

Frosty the Snowman Treats
(Recipe adapted from www.FamilyFun.com)
Use white or clear piping gel to attach a powdered sugar donut hole to a miniature powdered sugar donut. Unwrap a thin mint candy (such as a miniature York peppermint pattie) and attach to donut hole to become hat brim. Unwrap a miniature peanut butter cup candy or Rolo type candy and attach to top of mint to become the top of hat. Use icing to create a holly leaf and berries on hat brim if desired. Use black piping gel (or other colors) to add eyes, a mouth and buttons to the snowman. To make nose, slice a triangle shaped piece of orange gumdrop, roll slightly to shape and press in granulated sugar to cover any sticky side. Make a hole in donut hole face with a small wood skewer and insert nose. Serve on a plate sprinkled with shredded coconut or on white cotton candy sprinkled with edible glitter to resemble snow.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Sausage Brunch Casserole

I made this for a bridal shower and we had it again yesterday for breakfast. You can pretty much put anything into the egg you want - veggies, bacon, whatever you like in an omlette - and it is very yummy.

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground pork sausage
  • 1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent roll dough
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
  2. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. Lay crescent rolls flat in the bottom of the pan. Combine cooked sausage, cheese, eggs, milk, salt and pepper; pour over crescent rolls.
  3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until bubbly and rolls are baked.

White Chocolate Cranberry Crisp Bars

Another recipe from Thanksgiving.

  • 3/4 cup golden corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 cups KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal
  • 2 (8 ounce) packages white chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup dried cranberries, dried cherries or chopped dried apricots
  1. Combine corn syrup and sugar in large saucepan or Dutch oven. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until it bubbles and sugar dissolves.
  2. Remove from heat; immediately stir in cereal. Stir in 175 mL (3/4 cup) of the white chocolate chips and cranberries. (Chips will melt in.) Press into 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9-inch) baking pan lined on bottom and two sides with foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
  3. Melt remaining white chocolate chips in medium bowl in microwave or over saucepan of boiling water. Stir until smooth. Spread over mixture in pan.
  4. Let cool. Lift out of pan, remove foil and cut into bars.

Peppermint Patty Brownies

Mom made these at Thanksgiving. They were so good!

1 1/2 C Butter
3 C Sugar
5 Eggs
1 T Vanilla
2 C flour
1 C Baking Cocoa
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 package Peppermint Patties

In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture, mix well. Spread 2/3 of the batter into a greased 13 by 9 inch pan. Arrange peppermint patties over top and carefully cover with remaining batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Pumpkin Spritz Cookies


I was needing a new recipe for some leftover pumpkin I had and was hoping to find a recipe for pumpkin spritz cookies. This is the recipe that I found on Recipezaar. I really liked them, plus it gave me another chance to use my cookie press.

Pumpkin Spritz Cookies Recipe #264937
Looking for a new way to celebrate the holiday? For reasons both practical and sentimental, our family loves to make spritz cookies. These are quite different from butter or cream cheese cookies and will round out the trays nicely.
by
justcallmetoni

28 min 20 min prep
SERVES 72

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup
granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons
ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon
ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon
ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon
clove
1/3 cup
canned pumpkin
1 large
egg
1 teaspoon
vanilla
2 3/4 cups
all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon
baking powder
Sprinkling sugar
1/4 cup
sugar
1 teaspoon
cinnamon
1 pinch
nutmeg

Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
In a large mixing bowl beat butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Beat in sugar and spices until well combined and the granules have begun to melt. Mix in pumpkin, egg and vanilla until well combined.
In a separate bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until well combined.
Place into a cookie press and press out shapes onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Lightly sprinkle cookies with the spiced sprinkling sugar.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until set but not browned. Allow to cool 2 minutes on baking sheet then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Notes from Wendy: I used cinnamon sugar for sprinkling (without the nutmeg) and it was still great. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Ice Cream Cake



I made Roger an ice cream cake for his birthday and it turned out really good. Plus, this is so much cheaper than buying one from Baskin Robins or Cold Stone. You can get creative with this and pretty much put any layers you want in but here is what I did:

1 box Devil's Food Cake cake mix
Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
2 containers Cool Whip
Oreos

Prepare the cake as directed on the box. Once it has cooled completely, slice the cake through the middle. You can make the ice cream cake whatever size you want, I chose a rectangle sized pan. Put some plastic wrap in the pan you will be using and leave some on each side so you pull the cake out once it has frozen. I started with a cake layer, slicing the cake to be the size of the pan and laying it in the pan. Next I spread some Cool Whip then a layer of Oreos. Then I did another cake layer, then spread some softened ice cream over the cake. The final layer was another layer of cake. I wrapped the entire pan in foil and froze for about 5 hours. I then removed the cake, flipped it out of the pan onto another piece of foil. Frost with Cool Whip and decorate with Oreos. Wrap again in foil and freeze for another several hours.

Take the cake out of the freezer a few minutes before cutting it so it can defrost a bit.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Easy Rolls

Mom gave me this recipe... this is the one I do when I don't feel like making the potato rolls.

3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon yeast

mix all together

microwave:
1 1/4 cup water and
1/4 cup butter
for 1 1/2 minutes

add 1 beaten egg

mix wet into dry. Plop on counter and kneed. Let rise

Separate into 16 rolls. Keep halfing until you have 16 rolls.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Yum Yum

Friday, November 7, 2008

Marianne's Tag

Suzy here - I am at mom's house and saw mom got tagged by Marianne and since she can't figure out what it means I am helping her out. Here are the instructions:



Go to your Pictures folder- Go to the 6th folder- Go to the 6th picture- Publish it to a new post and tell the story of the picture.



Here is the picture on her computer:


Mary says, "The story is that Rachel was at mom and dad's unloading her camera onto the computer."

Suzy says, "What is up with the Hicks being on everyone's computers?????"

Mary says, "I tag Suzy and Wendy."

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Creamy Meatballs

My friend Johanna made this for us too. Delicious!

(8 servings)

2 lbs ground beef
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ onion, grated
3 eggs
2 potatoes, grated
4 carrots, grated

Sauce:
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can evaporated milk


Combine meatball ingredients and form into balls. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Mix sauce; add cooked meatballs. (If freezing, place meatballs and sauce in freezer bag. Defrost bag when ready to cook.) Place in a 9x13 casserole dish and bake at 350° for 30-45 minuets or until bubbly. Serve over rice and noodles.

Chicken, Garlic, and Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

My friend and dinner group member made this for us and I had to have the recipe. I REALLY liked it. Hope you do too!

INGREDIENTS
· 1 (16 ounce) package farfalle (bow tie) pasta
· 1/2 cup butter
· 3 cloves garlic, minced
· 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
· 1/2 cup milk
· 1 tablespoon dried parsley
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
· 3 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes or so
· 2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese

DIRECTIONS
In a large pot with boiling salted water cook farfalle pasta until al dente. Drain. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic cloves and cook until garlic browns. Add the cream of chicken soup and milk, stirring until smooth. Stir in the dried parsley, salt, and ground fresh pepper. Let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add bite size chicken pieces and hydrated sun dried tomatoes. Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes. Mix in grated Romano cheese. Toss cooked and drained pasta with chicken sauce. Serve warm. --so easy and so good. The sundried tomatoes are a little pricey, but the jar usually makes at least three or four batches. (Costco has a huge jar for much cheaper) I usually put in extra cheese just for fun. (comments from Johanna)

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Banana-Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies


Okay you guys.. you should totally all go and try this recipe... NOW! I got it from the Martha Stewart's book about cookies and i am in love with these cookies now :)

Ingredients :
1 cup all- purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (i only had dark brown and it worked)
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/2 inch chunks (i used  choc. chips)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped wanuts (about 2 ounces), toasted

Directions :
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Whisk together both flours, salt and baking soda in a bowl.
2. Put butter and both sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnut.
3. Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12-13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.


Makes about 3 dozen.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

New Background

I changed the background. I thought this one was more fitting!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Chicken Curry Salad #2

This is another recipe similar to the one I posted before for a curry chicken salad. Roger said he liked this one better.....


1 package (4.2 oz) Rice-A-Roni Long Grain & Wild Rice
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1/3
cup orange juice
1 to 2 tablespoons curry powder
1-1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (1-inch pieces)
1/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup raisins

Prepare the Rice a Roni according to the directions on the package. Whisk together the mayo, oj, and curry powder. Mix all ingredients together.

Again, I made some homemade pitas and put the chicken salad inside. YUMMY!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Another Recipe Blog

A friend of mine links to this blog: http://pleasantandplump.blogspot.com/

They have some yummy looking stuff on there in case you are interested. I will put a link on the side of this blog to it for future reference.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Thanksgiving?

So what is the plan for Thanksgiving?

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Rocky Road Candy

Another recipe from my ward. This sounds like it isn't too hard to make.

*
16 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

* 3 cups large or small marshmallows

* ¾ cup pecans (or other nuts of your choice). I prefer them whole.

Roast the pecans in the microwave:

Put 2 big fistfuls of pecans on a dinner plate, in approximately 1 layer. Cook on high for 3 minutes. (If you smell burning, take them out sooner than 3 minutes, depending on how hot your microwave cooks.) When they cool they’ll be crisp & delicious. Use the remainder for other recipes or snacking. You can cook whole almonds this way too; they start to pop & crack near the end of the cooking time.

In a medium sized saucepan heat the chocolate chips over LOW heat, stirring often, until smooth. Remove pan from heat & stir in marshmallows & ¾ cups whole pecans.

Scoop out onto a sheet of parchment paper. No need to butter it. You can use foil instead but it needs a little butter. You won’t have to spread the candy much as it will ooze out. Press more nuts into the top of it if you want it more nutty.

Let it cool a few hours; it’s amazing long it stays soft. It’s harder to cut unless it’s really cool. When cool, cut into 1” squares & enjoy.

This is a fun one to fiddle around with; you can add dried fruit or candied orange peel.

Spinach Salad with Fruit and Nuts

Everyone in our ward raves about this salad. I have never actually tried it but it looks good so I thought I would post it :) Since I know how much Dasha like salad thought she might want to give it a try.

The Salad

· ¾ box or ½ large bag of spinach leaves

· 3 cups sliced strawberries

· 2 cans mandarin oranges drained

· Text Box:  chopped gala apples

· 2 cups sliced red grapes

· 1 chopped red onion

· ¾ cup feta cheese

· ½ cup cooked chopped bacon (they sell this pre-cooked, pre-chopped in a bag); heat on a plate, covered w/paper towel in micro for 30 seconds.

· ½ cup Craisins

· 2 cups Roasted Pecans (see directions below)

· (2 cups chopped chicken if desired for a main dish salad)

Nuts

1. Set oven for 350 degrees

2. Dissolve ½ cup white sugar in 2 cups warm water (stir well)

3. Add 2 cups pecan halves, stir well, and let stand for 10 minutes; drain

4. Combine 4 T. white sugar and 2 T. chili powder in large bowl and mix it well.

5. Add pecans and toss and coat

6. Line sheet with foil and spray with Pam

7. Spread pecans in single layer and bake at 350 for 10 minutes, stirring once

8. Let stand until almost cool

9. Chop or simply add it whole on top of the salad

Dressing

½ cup balsamic vinegar

¾ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons of Raspberry Honey Mustard (from Pirate O’s) or 2 tablespoons of Honey mustard and 1 tablespoon of honey

Serving

Put spinach in bowl & layer everything else on top. Drizzle dressing on each serving.

Tips: You can really add anything that you want to this salad. Blueberries instead of grapes, raspberries, shallots to dressing etc.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Candy Corn Chowder

This is so good, everytime I make it I love it all over again

Ingredients:
5 slices bacon
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 medium potatoes, pared and diced
Water
1 box frozen honey-glazed carrots
1 pkg. white sauce mix ( I make my own white sauce from Betty Crocker or Better Homes)
1 17 oz can Cream-style corn
1 t. salt
dash pepper

1. In a large frying pan, cook bacon until crisp. Crumble and set aside. Reserve 3 T. bacon drippings in pan

2. Add onion and cook until light brown. Add potatoes and carrots . Add enough water to cover

3. Cook over medium heat 10-15 minutes until potatoes and carrots are cooked

4. Cook white sauce, following pkg. Stir in cream style corn salt and pepper. Add to potato and carrot mixture and heat through about 10 minutes.

5. top each serving with crumbled bacon

makes 6 servings

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Chicken Curry Salad

I am not normally a curry fan but this was really good and easy to make. Roger loves curry so I thought I would give this a try.

  • 1 cup Greek-style yogurt (you can find this in the grocery store. I think plain yogurt would work fine too)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder, such as Madras style
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 pound deli-sliced chicken breast or 1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed from bones and chopped (I used boiled chicken breasts chopped)
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
  • 1 cup grapes, sliced in half
  • 1/2 cucumber, cut in half then sliced into half moons

In a medium-size bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, curry powder, some salt and pepper. (If the dressing is thick, thin it out with a splash of water so it's the consistency of a vinaigrette).

Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and toss well to coat.

I also made some homemade pitas to eat this in. The turned out really good and it is a lot cheaper than buying them. I also used mostly wheat flour so this made a pretty healthy meal!

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/8 cups warm water (110
degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry
yeast
DIRECTIONS:
1. Place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine, select Dough setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will beep.
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Chicken and Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

We had this at a friend's house last night and it was very tasty. I guess with 3 cups of cream and tons of cheese how could it not be!

1 (8 ounce) package lasagna
noodles
3 cups heavy cream
2 (10.75 ounce) cans
condensed cream of
mushroom soup
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
5 mushrooms, diced
1 roasted chicken, shredded
salt and ground black pepper to
taste
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed
3 cups shredded mozzarella
cheese
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, mix together heavy cream, cream of mushroom soup, Parmesan cheese, and butter. Simmer, stirring frequently, until well blended.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion in olive oil until tender, then add garlic and mushrooms. Mix in the chicken, and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with enough of the cream sauce mixture to coat. Layer with 1/3 of the lasagna noodles, 1/2 cup ricotta, 1/2 of the spinach, 1/2 the chicken mixture, and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with 1/2 the cream sauce mixture, and repeat the layers. Place the remaining noodles on top, and spread with remaining sauce.
5. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until brown and bubbly. Top with the remaining mozzarella, and continue baking until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Cheesecake Facotry Key Lime Cheesecake

I found this recipe online, we are going to try it this weekend at mom's house... hope it is as yummy. :)

1¾ cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup sugar
3 x 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 tspn vanilla
½ cup fresh lime juice, about 5 limes worth (If using key limes or juice, use half as much)
3 eggs
whipped cream
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Combine crumbs, butter and 1 tbsp sugar in a bowl. Stir well to coat all crumbs. Keep it crumbly. When the crumb mixture seems ready, press the crumbs onto the bottom and half way up the sides of an 8" spring form pan. Then, place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Do not turn off the oven. In large bowl combine the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla. Mix with electric mixer until smooth. Add the lime juice and eggs and continue to beat till smooth and creamy. Once ready, pour filling into crust. Place the pie in the oven and bake for 60 to 70 minutes. If top is turning light brown, then the pie is done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool until room temperature. Then, put the pie into the refrigerator to chill. Once chilled, remove the pan sides and cut. Serve with whipped cream.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

A Yummy Pizza Idea


We made a yummy pizza the other night. I use the Valentino's Pizza crust recipe Mary's Cookbook. I always add a little rosemary to it, it makes it yummy. Here is the pizza toppings:

Sauce:

Pesto sauce - you can buy or make your own. I made my own using the following recipe:

  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Blend all ingredients together in food processor. Start with the basil and add he pine nuts, cheese, and garlic. Add the olive oil last.

Toppings:

Chicken Breast, cooked and chopped
Sun dried Tomatoes
Pine Nuts
Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese

Bake on Pizza stone until crust browns.

YUMMY!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

country-style steak

Chris tore this recipe out of the Deseret news the other day and asked me to make it. He loved it, and I liked that it was easy. I cooked up some refridgerated biscuts to go with it.

Maw Maw's Country-Style Steak

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 lbs cubed steak (I used pre-cut stew beef)
1 large onion for 1 cup sliced rings (I used 1 cup chopped frozen onions)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (10-3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (98% fat free works fine)
1 envelope (.15 ounce) reduced sodiu brown-gravy mix
1 cup water

cut any large pieces of steak into roughly 4-inch wide pieces. Place a single layer of steak in the bottom of a slow cooker. Peel and slice the onion into 1/4-inch wide rings. place half of the onion rings over the steak. Sprinkle half of the pepper over the onions. Layer the rest of the steak over the rings and top with the remining onions and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine the soup, gravy mix and lukewarm water, and mix well. Pour the gravy mixture over the steak, and cover the slow cooker. Cook on high heat for 6 hours or low heat for 10 hours (I cooked low for about 6 hours and it was starting to burn--but that's probably just my cooker). Remove steak to large platter and spoon the gravy over the steak. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

What's Cookin At the Cabin...






Honey Mustard Chicken

Super easy! Great served over rice. Kid friendly, as in my kids will actuallly try it - how's that for an endorsement!

8 chicken tenders
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt

Spray baking dish with cooking spray and place chicken in baking dish. Melt butter in saucepan, then stir in remaining ingredients. Boil sauce for 2 minutes then pour over chicken. Bake at 350 for 45 min to 1 hour, just until chicken is done.

Funnel Cakes

These were a special breakfast treat at the Dalton house. I actually have never even had one from an amusement park or fair!

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbl sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

Also:
oil for frying
powdered sugar
and/or syrup

Combine dry ingredients. Add egg and milk, beating until smooth. Heat 1/4 inch oil to 375 in a skillet. Using a funnel with a small opening or a measuring cup or a clean plastic bottle that you can refill and squeeze batter out of :), release 1/4 cup batter (or more) into oil in a slow circular motion to form a spiral design. (I usually do a couple circles and then just criss-cross back and forth a few times. Just make sure all the batter is connected to the other parts of the batter in some way - it doesn't have to be pretty to taste good in this case.) Fry until golden brown on bottom, turn over and brown on other side. (About 1-2 minutes total.) Drain on paper towels, then serve hot sprinkled with powdered sugar or syrup, or both.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Easy Homemade Salsa

I made this the other night and used it with Wendy's chimichanga recipe. It is really yummy. I can't stop eating it! I love salsa!

1 Can Rotel Tomatoes
1 Can diced green chilies
Juice from 1 Lime
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Fresh Cilantro, chopped (I used about 1/4 of the bunch but you can adjust to your liking)
1 Tablespoon Lemon Pepper seasoning
Salt to taste

Put it all in the blender and blend away! Then it needs to sit in the fridge for at least a couple hours so that all of the flavors can blend. It might look a little frothy right after you blend it but it will settle down in the fridge.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

BBQ Pepper Chicken Sandwich

This is a recipe from Jerry's that I have "taken up a notch" as Bruce the Moose likes to say. :)

Ingredients:
Chicken
Green and Red Bell peppers
Red Onion
BBQ sauce
Cheese-any kind (I actually prefer it with cheddar, but it is good with any kind)
Rolls

Cut up the chicken and cook in a pan (on the stove) with BBQ sauce. Cut up the bell peppers and onions into slices and add to the chicken. Add more BBQ sauce and pepper. Cover and cook on low until vegetables are tender. Put cheese on while it is still in the pan so it melts. Serve on a roll with mayo. Really good! One of our favorites. It would be super good served with pineapple. :)

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 jar pepperoncinis
2 cans diced tomatoes
5 crushed garlic cloves (I just used 5 teaspoons minced garlic)
3 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar

throw everything in a crock pot on low for 7-8 hours. Shred pork and let cook an additional 30 min.
Serve on rolls with provolone cheese. (I used pepper jack and it was yummy)

Saturday, September 13, 2008

BBQ Smokies

1 cup bbq sauce
1 cup grape jelly
1-2 lbs. lil' smokies

Mix all in crock pot and cook on high for 2 hours. Yes, it looks chunky and gross when you first mix it. :)

Cheese Ball

8 oz cheddar (I actually used colby-jack)
2 green onions
1/4 bell pepper
1 rib celery
2-8oz cream cheese (I used reduced fat kind)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
dash pepper
chopped pecans (optional)

Shred, chop (very small), mix all. If using pecans, shape mixture into a ball, then roll in pecans and wrap in plastic wrap. If not using pecans, line a bowl with plastic wrap, put in mixture and fold plastic wrap over the top. When ready to serve, unwrap the top, turn over onto serving dish and remove plastic wrap.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Oven Baked Chimichangas

I tripled this recipe and put a bunch in the freezer. You can bake them right out of the freezer - just like store-bought ones. For a bulk recipe I bought 2 good size roasts and cooked them in the crock pot all day. I tripled the recipe, even adding a bit more beef, and still had a bunch of meat left for BBQ sandwiches or something else. Las Chimichangas son muy bueno!

Recipe
1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar, jack, colby/jack - whatever I had left in the fridge)
2/3 cup salsa
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 cups shredded beef
2 green onions chopped
6 flour tortillas (I used soft taco size buy you could use larger ones.)

Mix all except tortillas together. (I mixed the salsa, cumin, oregano, and onions first, then added in the beef and cheese.) Place 1/2 cup mixture in center of each tortilla, fold in sides, and roll up, placing seam on the bottom of pan. Brush each chimichanga with butter (I also tried just spraying them with a little bit of PAM and it worked okay) and bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Spinach Parmesan Pie

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 3 minutes Bake 35 Minutes Stand 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 T butter
4 medium green onions sliced (1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain
1/2 cup small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup Bisquick
1 cup milk
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t pepper
3 eggs
3 T grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 t nutmeg

Heat oven to 350. Grease pie plate. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic in butter 2 to 3 minutes. stirring occasionally,until onions are tender. Stir in spinach. Layer spinach mixture and cottage cheese in pie plate.

Stir baking mix, milk, lemon juice, pepper and eggs until blended. Pour into pie plate. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and nutmeg.

Bake uncovered about 35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 to 8

Green Giant Rice Wraps

Ingredients:

1 (10oz.) pkg. Green Giant Frozen Cheesy Rice and Broccoli
1/2 cup frozen diced cooked chicken breast
4 medium flour tortillas
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 oz. (1/2 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
4 T salsa

Open rice pouch; pour into large skillet. Add chicken; cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, heat tortillas as directed on package

Place 1/2 cup lettuce on each tortilla; spoon about 1/3 cup rice mixture on top of lettuce. Sprinkle with cheese; top with 1 T salsa. Fold up bottom of tortilla; fold sides in to enclose filling

Makes 4 wraps

The Baldpate Inn Corn Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 cans creamed corn
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup flour
1 cup corn meal
4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

Heat oven to 350. Grease 9X13 baking pan. Using an electric mixer beat butter and sugar until blended and smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Gradually beat in corn and cheeses. Stir in remaining ingredients. Place in oven, close door and immediately reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake one hour until toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs. Top will still look moist. Serve warm. Serves 8 to 10

This is the best cornbread I have ever had.

Pumpkin Bread

Makes 3 loaves

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin
1 cup oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups unsifted flour
3 cups sugar
1 t cinnamon
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
2 cups Reese's peanut butter chips **this is the key ingredient!!!!
1 cup nuts (Optional-- I don't use)
1 cup raisins (optional--I don't use)

Blend pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs in large bowl. In a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; gradually add to pumpkin mixture; blend well. Stir in peanut butter chips, (nuts, raisins also if using). Pour into 3 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until cake tester inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely. Although really good when served warm!

This was Julie Beach's recipe and it does tasted really good

French Muffin Doughnuts

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
melted butter
1/2 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon

Sift flour with 1/2 c sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. combine milk, egg, and 1/3 cup melted butter and vanilla. Add liquid ingredients to flour mixture, stirring only until all ingredients are moistened. Fill muffin pan half way and bake at 400 degrees. Remove pan, brush with melted butter and roll in mixture of remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon.
Sometimes I skip the last part and just sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top before I bake them.

Remember these are the muffins you guys loved as kids.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar packed
3 eggs beaten
1 t vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
6 T cocoa
2 cups flour
1 t salt
1 t soda
1/4 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Melt butter, add sugars and eggs. Add cocoa, vanilla and zucchini.
Stir in dry ingredients, then nuts. Bake in well greased and lightly floured loaf pan or a single bundt pan at 375 for glass pans for 50 to 60 minutes or till done. Cool in pan 15 to 20 minutes before turning over.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Peanut Butter Balls

Mix
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 t. vanilla

In another bowl mix
3/4 c powdered milk
1 cup oatmeal

Add to peanut butter mixture. Stir to combine. form into small balls and lay out on wax paper
Store in airtight container.

These taste really good and the kids should love it, but then you never know about kids

Chicken Pita Roll-Ups

Ingredients-
3 cups Chicken (app. 3 breasts), cubed
1/2 cup Cucumber
1/4 cup carrot, minced
1/8 cup onion, minced
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1/2 cup tomato diced

Combine all and stuff into pitas then add homemade dressings


Pear Basil Dressing
Ingredients
2 pears or granny smith apples peeled and cored
1 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup apple juice
8 large basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 T corn startch
pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Blend all of the ingredients until smooth


House Dressing
Ingredients
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 cups water
1/4 cup apple juice concentrate
1/2 cup Red onion
1/4 cup honey

Combine all of the ingredients



Are you happy, These recipes given to us at an Enrichment night by a chef that works here in St. George at Green Valley Spa, a fancy place for all the rich people. They were very very tasty and good for you. enjoy and Rachel quit complaining.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Your mom


Your mom is a slacker!! Oh wait... she really is. Where are the posts mom??

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Roger's Banana Bread

No one has posted anything in a while so I thought I would add another recipe. Come on people - you are slacking! :)

This is Roger's favorite Banana Bread recipe. I don't personally like bananas in any form but I have to admit this actually tastes good (yes, mother, I tried the banana bread. You should be proud). Roger cuts it in half and only makes 2 loaves. The below recipe will make 4.

  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 3 cups white sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 6 very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons baking soda
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
  2. In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.
  3. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Sauteed Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette


I saw this recipe in Martha Stewart's Living magazine. I like asparagus and thought that this recipe is easy and fast so i should give it a try. And i am sharing it with you guys! :)

  • 2tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp red-wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 1/2-inch lengths

1. Whisk together mustard, vinegar, and 1 Tbsp oil in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add asparagus, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until asparagus are just tender, 10 to 12 minutes. (If the spears begin to brown, reduce heat to low.)

3. Transfer asparagus to a serving dish. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, toss and serve immediately.

serves 4.

Yogurt Muffins


I found this recipe online on some blog and decided to try it out. It turned out pretty good. Emma can eat these muffins all day long :)

1 egg 
1 c yogurt (i used stonyfield farms organic fat free french vanilla just because i bought some for emma this week) 
2/3 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla 
3 Tbsp canola oil (or try applesausce instead) 
2 c flour
1 Tbsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp baking soda 
extras (i used 1c of cut-into-pieces plums, mini chocolate morsels and also some almonds)

Combine and stir the wet ingredients, then sift dry ingredients together, fold the dry into the wet until just incorporated (do not overmix) and stir in your extras - fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, oatmeal, zucchini, whatever. Put batter into muffin tins and bake at 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes (baking time may vary depending on the moisture level of what you've added)

makes 1 dozen muffins 


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Raisin Bran Muffins

Mom requested I post this - these are pretty good muffins. The get a little crunchy on the top and taste really good warm.

1 1/4 Cup Plain Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Sugar
3 Cups Raisin Bran Cereal
1 1/4 Cup Milk or Buttermilk
1 egg
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

Begin by placing cereal in the bowl with the milk to soften. Stir in the egg and the vegetable oil into the cereal and milk mixture. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Makes about 18 muffins.

Monday, August 11, 2008

BBQ Chicken Salad

Again, this is another favorite dish of mine from the Cheesecake Factory. This tastes pretty identical and it really easy to make. We eat it all the time! The ingredients below are just what we add to the salad - feel free to add your own and in whatever quantity you need.

Chop all the following:

Romaine Lettuce
Tomato
Cucumber
Red Onion
Cilantro
Chicken

Add:
Black Beans
Corn (defrost some frozen Corn)
French Fried Onions or we like the BBQ spiral Fritos in the salad too

Toss Salad with Ranch Dressing and BBQ sauce.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Hot Bean Dip

I don't know how this didn't make the original recipe book (I didn't see it in there) but this is a Wilson family favorite.

  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 (16 ounce) cans refried beans
  • 1/2 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
  • 5 drops hot pepper sauce
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions
  • 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In a medium bowl, blend the cream cheese and sour cream. Mix in the refried beans, taco seasoning, hot pepper sauce, parsley, green onions, 1/2 the Cheddar cheese and 1/2 the Monterey Jack cheese. Transfer the mixture to an 8x12 inch baking dish. Top with remaining Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until cheese is slightly browned.

Simple Chicken Pot Pie

Another really easy main dish. I love chicken pot pie and I make this one a lot. The cheese in the sauce sounds a little weird but it is yummy. If you are a Martha Stewart like mom then you would probably make your own pie crust - I am too lazy/not talented so I use the store bought kind :).

  • 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
  • salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour a 2 quart casserole dish.
  2. Place chicken breasts, onion, and poultry seasoning in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover. Simmer over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Drain and dice chicken.
  3. In a large bowl, combine chicken, onions, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, Cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, mixed vegetables, mushrooms, and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
  4. Lay one sheet of pastry in bottom of greased and floured pan. Pour chicken mixture over pastry. Cover with second sheet of pastry. Seal edges of top and bottom pastries. Cut steam vents in top.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, until pastry is golden brown.

Thai Chicken Pasta

This turns out to be exactly like the dish of the same name at the Cheesecake Factory. It is pretty spicy so if you don't like really spicy food, don't use as much of the red chili garlic sauce. This is one of my favorite meals and it is pretty easy to make. I like to one and a half the sauce part of the recipe because I like it a little bit more saucy. Also, if you don't have sesame oil or you aren't a fan of it (I am not really) you can use vegetable or canola oil to saute the carrots.

12 ounces linguine

Cooked, Cubed Chicken (I usually use 2-3 chicken breasts)

Sauce:
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup finely shredded carrots
3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce

Cilantro and Green Onions to Garnish


Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions.
Drain and return to pot. Set aside.

Heat 1 TBSP sesame oil in heavy pot over medium-high heat.
Add green onions, carrots, garlic and ginger.
Saute until vegetables soften, about 4 minutes.
Mix honey, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar and chili-garlic sauce and add to vegetables. Mix well. Add Chicken. Simmer sauce 2 minutes. Pour sauce over pasta and toss well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and green onions.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Bacon, Cheese, & Chive Strada

This is really good.... it makes a ton though. So if you are only feeding a few people you probably want to cut the recipe in half and put it in an 8x8 inch pan. :) Tanner and I usually eat this for dinner then have the left-overs for breakfast. They are good as left-overs too.

Ingredients:
1 Lb sliced bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small onion chopped
8-10 slices white or french bread, cubed
1 cup hash browns (I just use the frozen cubed ones)
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (12oz)
10 eggs
3 cups milk
1/4 cup fresh chives
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
sea salt & pepper

In a skillet, cook bacon until done. Remove from skillet, leaving drippings in pan. Add onion to fat. Cook and stir until onion is tender, drain grease. Combine bacon and onion in a bowl. In a greased 9x13 inch pan layer half the bread cubes, hash browns, and cheese. Top with the entire bacon mixture. Repeat with another layer of bread potatoes, and cheese. Beat eggs; Add milk, worcestershire, chives, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over bread. Let sit for at least 30 min.* Bake uncovered @ 325 for 65-70 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
*You can also prepare the night before and leave in the fridge overnight.