Valerie's Recipe Box

Crockpot Barbeque Chicken

2012-02-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from Stick a Fork In It. It is super easy and beyond delicious! I've done barbeque chicken before, but it had just been chicken with barbeque sauce in the Crock pot. This has a few other ingredients that really take it to the next level! Enjoy!
Crock pot Barbeque Chicken
4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (i threw them in frozen... even easier!)
1 bottle BBQ sauce (sweet baby ray's all the way!)
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder
Mix BBQ sauce with all ingredients listed under it. Place chicken in crock pot. Pour sauce over it and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. That's it!!

Ranch Baked Quesadillas

2012-02-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from the cookbook, Kids’ Party Food and Cooking for Kids. It was a great recipe and Jacob devoured it! Which is saying something, because he has been pretty picky lately when it comes to food he isn't used to. So this is a definite keeper! Enjoy!
Ranch Baked Quesadillas
1 c. shredded, cooked chicken
1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 c. Ranch dressing
1/4 c. diced green chiles, rinsed and drained (I diced super fine, I don't like chunks)
4 flour tortillas, heated
Salsa and guacamole (optional)
Combine chicken, cheese, dressing, and chiles in a medium bowl. Place about ½ c. chicken mixture on each tortilla; fold in half. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into thirds, if desired. Serve with salsa and guacamole, if desired

Beefy Taco Soup

2012-02-01T14:57:00.000-08:00

This was a great recipe that is super easy and a great, busy day meal. You throw the stuff in the slow cooker and let it cook all day. I added a can of corn to it and loved how it turned out. It was a great addition. It is from Slow Cooker from Gooseberry Patch. Enjoy!

Beefy Taco Soup
1 lb. ground beef, browned
15 oz. can stewed tomatoes
15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
*15 oz. can corn (my addition)
1 1/4 oz. pkg. taco seasoning mix
8 oz. can tomato sauce
Stir ingredients together; pour into a slow cooker. heat on low setting for 6-8 hours; stir occasionally. Spoon into bowls to serve. Makes 4-6 servings.

Poached Eggs

2012-02-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

Now, this is something that I have loved since I was a little girl. I have attempted it several times, but have failed miserably. Growing up, my mom had a pan that poached eggs. Easy right? Well, at D.I. a few years ago I found one. But didn't buy, and am still kicking myself for that! Moral of the story, if you see something that you could really use, GET IT! But alas! I found a recipe and with the help of my mom, it turned out! The trick: Vinegar. It helps keep the egg together while in the simmering water. The recipe is from Completely Breakfast by Carlene Duda. Enjoy!

Poached Eggs
1 tbsp. vinegar
4 eggs
(That's it! Easy-peasy Breakfast!)
In a small saucepan, add 2-3 inches of water. Turn the heat on to medium high until it is starting to boil, but turn it down so it only simmers. Once it is simmering, add 1 tbsp. vinegar. Put egg into a small cup so it makes it easier to put into pan. I learned that it is better to do the egg dropping quickly, that way the yoke stays more together. If the yoke however, starts to float away from the egg, just take a spoon and bring it back together and it should cook back together. Leave in simmering water for a few minutes or until the yoke is cooked but the center is still soft. Take out of pan with slotted spoon and drain. Repeat with rest of eggs.

Peanut Butter Cereal Cookies

2012-01-31T16:29:00.000-08:00

The author of this recipe named them HolyCrapTheseAreAmazing Cookies...and for good reason. They will be gone in .5 seconds flat. I know because they were at my house too! You can add a drizzled chocolate on top, but I decided to skip out on that part. These are fabulous any way you make them! They are from Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy and it is an adorable blog with great recipes. This one does not disappoint! Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cereal Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 jar (18 oz ounce) peanut butter, crunchy or smooth (I like creamy.)
6 cups corn flakes
Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and stir until the mixture comes to a full boil.

Remove from heat and stir in the whole jar of peanut butter. Mix well. This is what it will look like...mmm...

Add corn flakes to a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over corn flakes and mix well, taking care to coat all of the corn flakes.

With a tablespoon or cookie scoop, scoop out and form into 1-2 inch balls, depending on your preference, and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.

White Chocolate and Butterscotch Cookies

2012-01-31T16:18:00.000-08:00

Now, there are 2 things that my husband loves...butterscotch and white chocolate. Put these together in a cookie and you are his best friend! He had a rough day yesterday at work (something about spilling stuff all over his pants...not fun!) and I decided that these would be a nice little pick me up! They are from Lil Luna website. They turned out great and I love the almond extract in them. But I am biased, I love that stuff! I also cut the recipe in half. I used a small cookie scoop and got about 3 dozen cookies, so they make plenty! Enjoy!

White Chocolate and Butterscotch Cookies
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter (softened)
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
3 cups flour
1/2 bag of butterscotch chips
1/2 bag of white chocolate chips
Cream together sugars, butter and oil in mixer. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Add dry ingredients as well as vanilla and almond extract. Mix in chips. Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes.

Snickerdoodles (the cheater's way!)

2012-01-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

If you are strapped for time, want a delicious snickerdoodle, or both, look no further! Pillsbury gave this yummy recipe. You can't mess it up! It is perfect for me, or anyone just starting out cooking, or even the seasoned cookers who need a fast, easy recipe and a break! Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles
1 package white cake mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick cookie sheets). Mix cake mix, butter and egg in large bowl with spoon until dough forms (some dry mix will remain). Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
French vanilla cake mix is a great stand-in for the white cake mix.
For Super Snickerdoodles, shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and place them 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet; bake 12 to 14 minutes. You’ll get about 26 large cookies.

French Dip Crescents

2012-01-18T16:10:00.000-08:00

The. Easiest. Dinner. Ever! Really, though. It took me 3 minutes tops to get this ready and in the oven. And then 15 minutes to bake. Easy. Simple. Perfect! It is from Mama Loves Food. Get ready to be changed forever...okay, maybe not, but it sure will make one dinner super simple! Enjoy!

French Dip Crescents
2 packages crescent rolls, 8 count
1 pound deli roast beef, thinly sliced
4 ounces Swiss or provolone cheese, cut in 16 equal sized pieces (I used shredded mozzarella/provolone mix.)
optional: Horseradish Sauce
optional: Au Jus for dipping
Unroll crescents onto a large cookie sheet. Spread a small dab of horseradish on each crescent, then place a slice of roast beef and a piece of cheese on each crescent. Roll crescents starting from the wide end and ending at the narrow end. Bake at 375 degrees for 11 to 13 minutes, until crescents are a golden color. Serve with Au Jus and enjoy!

Cheesecake Squares

2012-01-18T16:05:00.000-08:00

There is nothing wrong with these. They are a weight watchers recipe, which logically means you can eat as many as you want, right? They are a tasty little treat and perfect for our family night. Enjoy!

Cheesecake Squares
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup M&M or Smarties candies
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 egg
1/3 cup margarine
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar, granulated
1/3 cup sugar, brown packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Beat the margarine and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the walnuts and flour; mix well. Reserve 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture; press the remaining crumb mixture into bottom of a 8″ square pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Combine the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla; using an electric mixer, mix at medium speed until well blended. Add the egg; mix well. Layer 1/2 cup of the Smarties or M&M candies over the crust;

top with the cream cheese mixture.

Combine the remaining candy and reserved crumb mixture; mix well. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Let cool completely before serving.

Make Ahead Unstuffed Shells

2012-01-18T15:51:00.000-08:00

Another winner. It is from Kraft Foods Magazine. It was easy to make and you can make it ahead of time to save more time when the actually dinner time comes around. Just perfect if you ask me! Enjoy!

Make Ahead Unstuffed Shells
4 cups medium pasta shells, uncooked
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 jar (24 oz.) marinara sauce
1 tub (10 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Original Cooking Creme
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1-1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Cook pasta as directed on pacakge, omitting salt. Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in marinara sauce; simmer on medium heat 2 min. Remove from heat. Drain pasta. Mix cooking creme, basil and Parmesan in large bowl; stir in pasta. Spread half the meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with layers of pasta mixture and remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella; cover with foil. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. Heat oven to 375ºF. Bake casserole, covered, 40 to 45 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 30 min.

White Chicken Enchiladas

2012-01-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

Two words. Huge Hit! Seriously, these were devoured. I made a few tweaks, but only because I didn't have all of the ingredients. There was some improv going on in my kitchen that night! These are from Joyful Momma's Kitchen. And are fabulous. Enjoy!

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce
*These are seriously so so good*
10 soft taco shells
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I just diced up chicken and put it in a skillet)
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1/2 c. salsa Verde (or green chiles)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

I've Been MIA

2012-01-18T15:19:00.001-08:00

I'm so sorry! I actually have a ton of amazing recipes to share on here. Life has been pretty crazy lately and I'm now just getting a hang of things again. So look for recipes on here pretty soon. Latest would be tonight. For my faithful followers, thanks for sticking in there!!

Sour Cream Corn Bread

2012-01-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

This is from a Gooseberry Patch Chili cookbook. It is a great recipe, and is more moist than a lot of the other cornbread recipes that I've used before. I love cornbread and am always in search of a great, Famous Dave's-esque recipe. These are a great start! Enjoy!

Sour Cream Corn Bread
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. all purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c. sour cream
2 eggs
1/4 c. butter, melted
Stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Combine sour cream, eggs, and butter in a small bowl.

Mix thoroughly and add to dry ingredients; stir until moistened.

Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden. Makes 1 dozen.

Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

2012-01-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

Seriously, one of the biggest hits of the cabin weekend that we just got back from. These little morsels are fabulous and were gone in 3.2 seconds. A lot of people going back for 2nds and 3rds. These are from The Country Cook. It is a perfect recipe for hosting a party or just for your own dinner. It is great! Enjoy!

Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
1 stick salted butter
1/2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp. brown sugar (dark or light)
1/2 tbsp. mustard (yellow or dijon)
1 (12 oz) package King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (package of 12)
Black Forest Ham, 12 slices or 1/2 pound
Monterey Jack Cheese, 12 slices or 4 oz shredded
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. In a small pot, melt stick of butter with Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and mustard until thoroughly melted and combined.
Meanwhile, take rolls out of package and slice through all the rolls (while still attached), cutting them in half horizontally. Brush the glaze mixture onto both sides of the rolls, covering well. The glaze is what takes this over the top, so don't be stingy. Just leave a little to brush on the tops. On one side of rolls, add sliced ham, then top with cheese. Put top on rolls and then brush the tops with leftover glaze mixture. Place rolls into a baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Slice and serve!

Funeral Potatoes

2012-01-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

This is a classic that is done every year in my family during the New Year. This year, we weren't at home, so I had to make them, just so I had a taste of them. I can't go a year without eating this delicious casserole! It is perfect for any family gathering. Enjoy!
Funeral Potatoes
2 lbs. frozen hash browns (Southern Style)
1/2 c. melted butter
2 c. cheese
2 c. corn flakes (crushed a little bit)
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. cream of chicken
A little more butter (about 2 tbsp.)
Mix all ingredients but flakes and a little bit more butter. Melt butter and and coat flakes. Pour potato mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle flakes over the top. Bake 50 minutes at 350 degrees. *Can also be refrigerated for a few days prior to cooking it.

Christmas Catch Up

2011-12-29T12:04:00.001-08:00

I seem to be playing this game in all aspects of my life. I'm playing catch up on cleaning, cooking, update blogs, and anything else you might think of. There are some fabulous recipes below. Some great gift ideas and some great just because recipe. Scroll down and enjoy!

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-12-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

My husband doesn't do sweet treats. He just doesn't. From the very beginning of knowing him, he just doesn't like them. Weird, right? But if he were to eat them, and really love them, they better have butterscotch in them. He L.O.V.E.S butterscotch. I like it. I'm not a huge fan, but it is a good ingredient to put in stuff. I'm not going to eat a handful of them. I wanted Joe to have some yummy treats for Christmas so I made these cookies. They are from the cookbook Mom's Very Best Recipes from Gooseberry patch. Now, given that butterscotch isn't my favorite, these cookies were great! Really, the nothing was too overwhelming and it all flowed wonderfully! I know Joe will be requesting these soon. Maybe next time I will catch a picture before they are gone! Enjoy!
Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar, packed
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
Optional (but makes so much better!):1/2 t. almond extract
2/3 c. milk chocolate chips
2/3 c. butterscotch chips
In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until it is light and clings to the bowl, about 30-45 seconds. Add sugars. Continue to beat on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, scraping bowl down 2-3 times. In a small bowl, whisk eggs and extracts together. Pour egg mixture into butter mixture very slowly; continue to beat for 4-5 minutes, until mixture is very fluffy and resembles whipped peanut butter. With beater on low speed, add flour mixture; mix well. Fold in chips; beat a few more seconds, just until chips are mixed in thoroughly. Do not over mix. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until edges are golden. Store in air tight container. Makes about 4 dozen.

Beef and Broccoli

2011-12-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

I figured I'd get a head start on eating healthy in the new year. And this is a great way to start. It is a recipe approved for Weight Watchers. It is from LaaLoosh website. It was great because you put it in the crock pot and forget about it. And it makes the house smell great! Enjoy!

Beef and Broccoli
1 pound boneless beef top round steak — trimmed of fat, cut into cubes
1 4.5 ounce jar sliced mushrooms – drained
1 medium onion — cut into wedges
1/2 cup condensed beef broth
3 tablespoons purchased teriyaki baste and glaze
1 tablespoon sesame seed
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil — if desired
2/3 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups frozen broccoli florets or fresh broccoli
In 3 1/2 to 4-quart slow cooker, combine beef, mushrooms, onion, broth, teriyaki baste and glaze, sesame seed and sesame oil; mix well. Cover; cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours. About 35 minutes before serving, cook rice in 1 1/3 cups water as directed on package. Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons water and cornstarch; blend well. Stir cornstarch mixture and broccoli into beef mixture. Cover; cook on low setting for an additional 30 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Serve over rice.

Overnight Praline Pecan French Toast Bake

2011-12-29T11:45:00.000-08:00

This is what I made for my husband's family on Christmas Eve. It turned out great. I might tweak some things next time to see if I can get it to work out better. It tasted great, but putting it all together was kind of a pain. But it may very well be user error. It usually is! I got the recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff. It was gone before I could get a good picture of it, so I borrowed the one from the website. Just for a reference of what it look like. I DID NOT take this picture. The blog is referenced under the picture and in the blurb above the recipe. Just FYI. Enjoy!

PICTURE FROM SIX SISTERS' STUFF

Pecan Praline Baked French Toast
1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
6-8 large eggs (I only had 6 eggs left, and it worked just fine!)
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-12-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

This is the last gift that I did. It is from Our Best Bites, yet again! I love their site! I am going to start using this recipe more. It is delicious!! Enjoy!

Chip Cookies
2 C plus 2 T flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
12 T butter (1 1/2 sticks) melted and cooled until warm
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 C semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in mediumbowl; set aside. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars untilthoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients;mix until just combined. Stir in chips.

*If for some reason your dough is too soft to form balls at this point, don’t add more flour. Just cover and place bowl in the fridge until dough firms.

Take about 1/4 C dough and form into a ball. Break ball in half and place dough on cookie sheet with broken edge facing up. (Or just use a standard sized cookie scoop). Bake until cookies are set around outer edges start to hardenyet centers are still soft and puffy, 10-13 minutes. Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.

*If you are freezing or giving to someone, let dough set in fridge until it firms up. Then put in saran wrap and roll into logs. Then wrap with foil. Freeze or give to someone. Let thaw out and then break apart like mentioned above and cook as directed.

Sugar Cookies

2011-12-29T10:35:00.000-08:00

This is another gift I did. But rather than roll it out and cut and bake, I rolled it in saran wrap into a log of cookie dough and gave it to people. It works as perfect gifts. This recipe is from Our Best Bites.
Sugar Cookies
1 C real butter (no substitutions!)
1 C sugar
1 egg (make sure to use a large or extra large egg)
1 1/2 t almond extract (or other flavor of your choice, like vanilla)
3 C flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes. Add in egg and extract and mix to incorporate. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. A very important note: It’s important to correctly measure your flour or you will end up with a dry, crumbly dough. Never, ever use your measuring cup to scoop up the flour. Use a regular sized spoon and spoon the flour into the cup and then level it off with a knife. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined. Chill the dough in the fridge for about an hour. At this point, if you are going to roll the dough to freeze or give, put into saran wrap and roll into a log. Place in fridge or freezer until ready to use. Once ready to use, let it thaw and proceed as follows.

Lightly sprinkle flour onto your work surface and roll out dough with a rolling pin.
Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes. The baking time really depends on how you like them. If you like them really and slightly chewy, about 8-9 minutes does it. If you like them slightly crisp and buttery, then go for 10-12.

Christmas Girlfriend Cookies in a Jar

2011-12-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here is another cookie mix in a jar. This one is done in a pint jar, rather than the previous post, was in a quart jar. This recipe is from Loralee Lewis Blog. These I did for the smaller families we were bringing stuff to. They make just a handful of cookies, rather than the 26-28 that the other mix does. Enjoy!
Christmas Girlfriend Cookies
Dry Ingredients to pack in pint mason jar:
3/4 cup and 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup Christmas M&Ms
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
Combine the flour and baking soda. Place flour and soda mixture in a clean pint sized glass jar, and pack firmly. Place sugar on top. Pack firmly. Layer with chocolate chips and M&Ms. Place the brown sugar on top, again packing firmly. Cover with a lid.

Attach an index card with the following directions: Empty contents of jar into a large bowl. In separate bowl combine 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of butter, 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until creamy. Add to dry mixture. Drop by tablespoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake in a preheated 375 degrees for 6 to 10 minutes.

Christmas Jar Cookies

2011-12-29T10:07:00.000-08:00

This is the cookie jar mix from Bakerella. It is a fabulous mix. I made one for us too (I had to!) and made it last night and they turned out great! Really, they were great cookies and an easy gift too. They look fancy and time consuming but they really aren't. They are a fun gift to give and to receive! Bakerella's are called cowgirl cookies, but I changed them up a bit and used christmas M&M's with them and they suddenly became Christmas cookies. Perfect! The directions are in two parts. You can either make the cookies with out putting in a jar for a gift. The first part is how to make the actual cookies, like mixing, adding and baking. The second part is how to put the mix together in the jar. Hope it is helpful. Enjoy!

Cowgirl Cookies (or in my case, Christmas cookies)
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup m&ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Stir all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Add
1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Use the back of a large spoon to work it all together. You may even need to use your hands to get everything incorporated.

Then roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. I got about 26-28 cookies out of these.

Here is how to make the gift mix!
Start with a 1 quart smooth Ball jar. I found these at Hobby Lobby craft store.
Layer the ingredients in like this:
First: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
Second: oats
Third: m&ms
Fourth: chocolate chips
Fifth: brown sugar
Sixth: white sugar
Seventh: chopped pecans
Pack each level down really tightly. I mean it. Pack it in. Or else it won’t all fit. Also, I added the chopped pecans last, because if the ingredients were too much or not enough, then I could add more or less pecans to adjust. I’d rather sacrifice nuts than chocolate, you know. The ingredients should be flush to the top of the lid when you seal it up.

Taco Braid

2011-12-14T15:15:00.000-08:00

Fabulous recipe. It is easy, and can be done in so many ways. It is meant for a freezer meal and can be done and cooked at any time. So you can freeze it for another meal, or eat right after it is made. Great alternative to regular tacos. It is from Girlfriends on the Go cookbook. It is a cookbook dedicated to freezer meals. Amazing! Enjoy!

Taco Braid
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1 pkg. taco seasoning
12 Rhodes rolls (I just used a Pillsbury pizza crust in the can)
1 (15 oz.) can refried beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Follow directions on taco seasoning packet to season ground beef. Roll out rolls together (or flatten out the pizza crust on a cookie sheet) about the length of a cookie sheet. Spread refried beans down middle of the dough.

Top with the taco meat mixture.

Sprinkle with cheese. Use a pizza cutter to cut strips along each side of the dough (even numbers on each side.)

Starting on bottom, take each piece, cross and twist. Crisscross dough across top of filling. Continue crisscrossing until your pizza is braided.

Carefully place on a cookie sheet (if you haven't done so already. I just put the dough on there to begin with, that way there was no hassle of transferring). Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until bread is golden brown.

**If freezing: Braid the dough, do not cook! Wrap braid with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Freeze. When ready to cook, use instructions above.

Saucy Stuffed Shells

2011-12-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

I adapted this recipe from Cupcake Diaries. It is super easy and very tasty! I was a little hesitant to make it, because I haven't done a ton of stuffed pasta type meals. But it is way easier than you may think and it doesn't have to be perfect. Some of the shells tore, but it didn't affect the meal at all! So have fun with it and enjoy!

Saucy Stuffed Shells
12 jumbo shell macaroni
12 oz. ground beef
1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 c. fine dry bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 jar of meatless spaghetti sauce
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water. Drain again. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook ground beef and garlic until brown. Drain. In a medium bowl, combine egg, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper. Add to the meat mixture and 1/4 c. spaghetti sauce; mix well.

Spoon about 2 tbsp. of the meat mixture into each macaroni shell. Arrange the filled shells in an 8x8 inch baking dish.

Pour remaining sauce over the filled shells.

Cover the dish with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Caramel Corn

2011-12-12T20:39:00.000-08:00

This will be the best recipe that you ever make. It stays soft and not stale. It has been in my family since I can remember. I don't know where it came from or who's it is, but it is a keeper! Enjoy!

Caramel Corn
1 cube butter
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Bring butter, sugar,and syrup to boil. Once it is boiling, add the sweetened condensed milk.

Stir. Pour over popped popcorn.

Cheesecake

2011-12-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

This is the last Thanksgiving recipe that will be posted this year. I know, I know, 2 weeks late. I'm just now getting around to it! Sorry, things have been a little hectic lately. But here is the best part of Thanksgiving! It was delicious! You can't go wrong with Cheesecake!! It is from Bakerella. Amazing! Enjoy!

Cheesecake
2.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
Cheesecake
4 (8oz.) packages cream cheese
1.5 cups sugar
3 Tbsp flour
5 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir in melted butter until moistened. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan (3 inches tall). Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature.

To make the cheesecake filling, cream the sugar, cream cheese and flour with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy. On medium low, add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition. On low, add sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla just until combined. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325. Make sure to take it out of the oven before the center looks done. It will be kind of wobbly and it will move in one piece. The center will look more shiny than the edges. That’s ok because it will continue to cook a little while it’s in the pan. Remove from the oven and let cool completely to room temperature. Go ahead and separate the cheesecake from the sides of the pan by running a knife around the edges. I also opened and reclosed the springform pan to help separate.

Chill in the refrigerator overnight. That’s right. It’s best to make this the day before because it needs plenty of time to chill and firm up.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

2011-12-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

Crock pot meals are my favorite. Especially when there are only 3 ingredients. And even more so when those three ingredients taste SO yummy together. This was one of those spur of the moments kind of thing. I was running late and had to throw in in the crockpot right then or it wouldn't be done in time. And it worked. That doesn't usually work for me when I try to make up recipes. So enjoy the one that did!

Crockpot BBQ Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken
1 bottle BBQ sauce (just use your favorite kind)
1/4 c. brown sugar
Mix up the barbeque sauce and brown sugar. Add chicken into crockpot. Add sauce. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until done.

Baked Bone-In Ham

2011-11-29T16:19:00.000-08:00

This is the main dish that I made for Thanksgiving. It was so good, and juicy! I couldn't have asked for the ham to have turned out better. And given that it was my first time ever cooking a Thanksgiving dinner, it was a sigh of relief! You can't really mess this up! It is from How Does She?. If you ever want awesome ideas, go there. I love their website. Enjoy!
Baked Bone-In Ham
6-8 lb. bone-in ham
1 c. (approximately) orange juice
2 c. (approximately) lemon-lime soda (Sprite or 7up)
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. ginger
Stir together ingredients in roaster pan with a lid (I didn't have one of these, so I just used an aluminum pan and covered it with foil). Place ham fat side up in roaster pan, and baste the juice mixture over the ham. cover and bake at 300 degrees for about 1/2 hour per pound (it isn't exact, but the low heat makes it hard to mess up). Baste occasionally with the juices at the bottom of the pan.

Sugar Cookie Truffles

2011-11-29T11:31:00.000-08:00

One of the most amazing, mind blowing morsels I've eaten in a long time! Who doesn't like cookie dough? If you say you don't, you are either lying or crazy! These help that craving for the cookie dough. It tastes like raw cookie dough. It looks like raw cookie dough. But isn't! It has no eggs, and is safe to eat. These were a huge hit and were gone in no time flat. These will be made later this week, just because I want some more! They are from Steph's Bite by Bite website. It is a great site with loads of yummy ideas! Enjoy!
Sugar Cookie Truffles
2 c. vanilla wafers
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. walnuts
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. almond milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. flour
Sprinkles
Place vanilla wafers, sugar, and walnuts in a food processor and process to fine crumbs. Pour crumbs in a mixing bowl, add in the melted butter, milk, vanilla, salt, and flour. Mix on low until all ingredients are fully combined. The mixture will look like raw cookie dough. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and then roll the cookie balls in to the sprinkles. Store in fridge if you have any left over.

Honey Roasted Red Potatoes

2011-11-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of Thanksgiving posts coming soon, but before those come, I am going to post this recipe because it is totally worth it! It is delicious and a perfect side to any meal! I found this gem on Pinterest. My favorite website ever! And was found from this website However, I'm going to have to apologize for the picture quality. Usually it is a little better than this, but my sad camera is at the doctor and should be returning to me any day now! So this will have to do! Enjoy!

Honey Roasted Red Potatoes
1 lb. red potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 tbsp. diced onions
4 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. dry mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut up 1 pound of red potatoes in 1 inch chunks. Lay them on a rimmed baking dish. Top with some finely diced onion. In another bowl, mix your melted butter, honey, dry mustard, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour over potatoes and mix thoroughly trying to coat all potatoes. Bake in 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. Mix a couple of times during baking.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

2011-11-22T19:33:00.000-08:00

This hit the spot! It was creamy, tasty, and had noodles. My favorite! It is from Real Mom Kitchen. I love this website and get several ideas off of her site! This is a perfect winter meal for those cold nights! I am using her picture for this. My camera is a the doctor...sniff sniff! I don't know how I ever lived without it! Also, with this recipe, I cut it in half, because there are only 3 of us, and even though it was delicious, it would go bad before we would eat all of the leftovers. So, it cuts in half very easily! Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cups milk
3 cups half-and-half cream
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Additional shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional
Prepare the tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a stock pot, combine the soup, broth, milk, half-and-half, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Drain tortellini; carefully add to soup. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired. Serves 6-8.

Better-For-You Chicken Parmesan

2011-11-17T10:57:00.000-08:00

This version of Chicken Parmesan is a little better for you. No frying, no whole egg. But it tastes fantastic! I just took a recipe I already had and revamped it a little bit. Improv...you've got to love it, right? Enjoy!
Better-For-You Chicken Parmesan
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 egg white
1 jar Marinara sauce
Mix bread crumbs, cheese, and seasoning in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, mix up egg white. Dredge chicken through the egg white and then through the crumb mixture.
In a greased baking dish, pour most of marinara sauce in the dish. Place dredged chicken on top of sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is done.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

2011-11-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

Hands down, the best honey butter I've ever had. And it was such a huge hit with the scones, we had to make another batch. And even after that, I don't know how many comments we got about it being the best honey butter they've had or that it blows theirs out of the water! I found it on Pinterest and that came from here. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Honey Butter
2 sticks of butter at room temp
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 cup of honey
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
I used the whisk attachment for my mixer and whipped the butter {make sure it’s soft and room temp}. I added to it the powdered sugar, then the honey, then the cinnamon. Whip it good. Scrape the sides. Whip it again.

Scones

2011-11-10T15:55:00.000-08:00

I think these will be the easiest thing you have ever done. And will become addicting and you will not be able to stop yourself. They are so easy that someone who has never done any sort of cooking before will be able to do! These are off of the Rhodes Rolls website. Enjoy!
Scones
12 Rolls, thawed to room temperature (obviously, I used Rhodes Rolls)
vegetable oil
powdered sugar, butter, jam or honey, if desired
Pour oil 2 to 3-inches deep into a small sauce pan or an electric frying pan, and heat to medium high setting or 375° F. We used our dutch oven to do this. We were feeding loads of people, so we needed one with more room. Flatten each roll into a 4-inch circle. Fry dough on each side until golden brown (about 15 seconds each side). Remove and drain on paper towel.
Serve hot. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with butter, honey or jam, or wonderful Cinnamon Honey Butter if desired.

Pop Up German Pancakes

2011-11-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

These delicious little things are a great alternative to just pain old regular German Pancakes. It made Jacob want to eat them because they were so cute and fun. They taste just the same, but appearance seems to be everything to a three year old when it comes to food! This recipe is off of Make and Takes.
Pup Up German Pancakes
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
6 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
dash salt
Preheat oven to 400* and grease your muffin tins
This recipe calls for you to mix everything in in a blender. The blogger said that a blender seems to do the best job getting it smooth. Pour the mix into your greased muffin tins. Or your baking pan, as my mom likes to bake these in a jelly roll pan. Bake them for 15 minutes in a 400* oven, or until puffy and golden on top. Use a knife to pop or pry them out, hopefully they were greased well enough and should pop right out. They puffiness will die down as they cool, and they become more like a cup.

Nutty Chocolate Chip Cereal Bars

2011-11-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Super easy. Super yummy. The cereal gives it a nice little crunch to it that isn't a burned crunch. Enjoy!

Nutty Chocolate Chip Cereal Bars
2/3 c. butter-flavored shortening
1/2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 chocolate cake mix
1 c. crispy rice cereal
1 c. white, semisweet, or milk chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped nuts
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. In a bowl, blend shortening and brown sugar together. Beat eggs in one at a time and then stir in cake mix. With a spoon, stir in cereal, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop heaping teaspoons of dough onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes on baking sheet and then remove cookies and place on a cooking rack to cool. Makes 40-45 cookies.

Last Minute Halloween Treats

2011-10-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

These are treats that I made for our preschool Halloween party. The dirt cups totally weirded out the kids. Jacob wouldn't even touch his. But the other kids warmed up to it. These are both super simple and pretty self explanatory. Enjoy!
Rice Krispie Treat Pumpkins: Just add food coloring to the marshmallow/butter mixture before adding the cereal. Then shape into balls and add Green candies on top for the stem.

Dirt cups. Chocolate pudding, crushed up oreos, with gummy worms in them. Simple!

Chicken Taco Soup

2011-10-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

The. easiest. recipe. ever! Dump in a pan and let it do the rest. My favorite kind! And it is perfect for this time of year when it is starting to get cold and the weather is changing. Enjoy!

Chicken Taco Soup
1 can (15 oz.) whole kernel corn, with liquid
1 can (12.5 oz) chunk chicken, with liquid
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, with liquid
1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 bag (12-16 oz) tortilla chips
Grated cheddar cheese
Combine all ingredients except tortilla chips and cheese in a meidum saucepan. Bring to a light boil, and remove from heat. Crush desired amount of tortilla chips in bottom of soup bowls. Pour soup over chips. Garnish with cheese. Makes 4-6 servings.

Fiesta BBQ Chicken

2011-10-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from Kraft Foods website. It is the easiest recipe and something that I would have never considered before!! It was so good, and a great blend of flavors. This is one that will be popping up a lot next summer! Enjoy!

Fiesta BBQ Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 bottle of barbeque sauce (just use your favorite kind)
Put the taco seasoning in a resealable bag. Place the chicken in there, no more than 2 at a time. Toss to coat and shake off any extra seasoning. Heat the grill to medium high heat. Place chicken on the grill. After about 2-3 minutes of cooking, brush on barbeque sauce. Cook until center isn't pink or it is at an internal temperature of 165.

Homemade Mini Corndogs

2011-10-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

Such a fun food to make. To be completely honest with you, I thought it was going to be very difficult and was terrified to make them. I've had them on the menu for the last month, but am just now getting around to making them. The prospect of them sounded so much fun but I was a scardy cat. But I'm now so glad that I did!! They were a blast to make and tasted like the real thing. Seriously, I think I liked mine better! They came from Sweet Peas Kitchen. Enjoy!

Homemade Mini Corndogs
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 quart vegetable oil for frying
2 (16 ounce) packages beef hot dogs
Toothpicks
In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, sugar and baking powder. Stir in eggs and milk. Add more milk to adjust consistency for dipping. Preheat oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat to 365°. Cut each hot dog into thirds. Pat hot dogs dry with a paper towel and insert toothpicks into cut hot dogs. Roll hot dogs in batter until well coated. Fry 4 to 6 corn dogs at a time for 1-2 minutes, or until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels. Place in a 200 F oven to keep the corn dogs warm until all are fried.

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

2011-10-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

I got this fabulous recipe from Our Best Bites...Seriously one of my most favorite sites!! They have amazing stories and make cooking a blast! This one is super simple, yummy, and a crowd pleaser. However, I didn't want to make the full 9x13 pan, my family just wouldn't eat it all. So I cut the recipe in half and made it in an 8x8 pan. I also did the readers tip at the end, and put peanut butter instead of shortening in the frosting portion. It turned out wonderful!! Enjoy!

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1 lb (3 1/2 C) powdered sugar
1 1/2 C creamy peanut butter
1 C (2 sticks) real butter, melted
1 12oz bag chocolate chips
2 tsp shortening (or a scoop of Peanut Butter)
In a large mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and peanut butter and butter and beat until combined.

Press into a parchment (or waxed paper or foil) lined 9×13 pan.

Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one, until melted and smooth.

Pour chocolate over peanut butter mixture and spread out evenly.

Place pan in the fridge just until chocolate is set and then cut into bars. Tip: If the bars chill until the chocolate is too hard to easily cut, use a sharp knife and score the cuts first, then gently cut through. Can be stored in the fridge or at room temp. They will stay firmer if stored in the fridge.

*Tip: Love this tip from one you readers! Instead of adding shortening to the chocolate topping, add a scoop of peanut butter. That will prevent the top from getting solid and it will taste yummy!

Mozzarella Sticks

2011-10-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

You want an easy appetizer for something? This is your recipe! One of the absolute easiest recipes ever! Seriously, ever! It is from Taste of Home, which I found on pinterest. Not only was it easy, but it was beyond delicious! I am just mad that I didn't think to do this first. Enjoy!( The picture is from Taste of home website. These were gone too fast for me to snag a picture. But ours did turn out just like this! Not even kidding!)

Mozzarella Sticks
12 pieces string cheese
12 egg roll wrappers
Oil for deep-fat frying
Marinara or spaghetti sauce
Place a piece of string cheese near the bottom corner of one egg roll wrapper (keep remaining wrappers covered with a damp paper towel until ready to use). Fold bottom corner over cheese. Roll up halfway;

fold sides toward center over cheese. Moisten remaining corner with water; roll up tightly to seal.

Repeat with remaining wrappers and cheese. In an electric skillet, heat 1/2 in. of oil to 375°. Fry sticks, a few at a time, for 30-60 seconds on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with marinara sauce. Yield: 1 dozen.

Corn Bread

2011-10-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

This is kind of a two part recipe. It is from The Pioneer Woman (basically the best blog ever!) and it is called Beans and Cornbread. I just did the cornbread part, but the beans part is coming later this month, early next month. So hang tight! This cornbread turned out really moist and wonderful. But word to the wise. Don't let it sit out for a while. It dries out when it cools down, but gets its moisture back if you reheat it in the microwave or the oven. So it turns out fine! Enjoy!

1/4 cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Shortening
1 cup Yellow Corn Meal
1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup Milk
1 whole Egg
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat shortening in an iron skillet, muffin pan, or other baking pan. Combine corn meal, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, and egg. Add baking powder and baking soda. Stir. Add ¼ cup melted shortening, stirring constantly. Pour into hot pan, smoothing surface with spatula. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Honey Sauced Chicken

2011-10-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

This is one of those wonderful, versatile meals that can be made in the crock pot, or in the oven. If you have the time to do it in the morning, put in in the crock pot and let it go, or if you forget (like me) to get it going earlier, it can be done in the oven in like 30 minutes. It is amazing! One of those dishes that I love to have around! It is from Mmm...Cafe, a delightful little blog! Enjoy!

Honey Sauced Chicken
3/4 pound chicken (of your choice)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)
1/8 cup ketchup
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.

To bake chicken as a 30 minute meal:
Dice chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper, place in 8x8 pan. Pour sauce over chicken and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

2011-10-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

It is fall time! I know it is! I can feel it in my bones. The temperature is getting cooler (or if you are in Idaho, there is snow on the ground. But that only lasted 2 days!), the leaves are starting to change colors, and pumpkins are starting to pop up on porches around the neighborhood. This is my absolute favorite time of year. And it doesn't hurt that I love anything pumpkin!!

Cue the pumpkin bread. I was craving it this weekend and went on a search for a great recipe. And I found it! It is from Sweet Peas Kitchen. A fabulous blog that I spent way too much time looking at. Here is the recipe for chocolate chip pumpkin bread that is to die for! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (15 ounce can)
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup water, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9×5 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the oil and pumpkin puree. Add the sugar and whisk to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and water.

Stir in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.

Divide between the two prepared loaf pans and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking time. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

Asian Chicken

2011-10-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

This wonderful addition to my recipe box is from The Essential Food Storage Cookbook. It was awesome! I love this type of food so for me it worked out great! Luckily, my whole family loves this kind of food too!

The only change I would do to it, would be to maybe double the sauce recipe. It made some, but I don't know. It seemed to not be quite enough. But still delicious! Enjoy!

Asian Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
1 c. flour
Sauce:
3/4 c. ketchup
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place eggs and flour in two separate shallow dishes. Dip chicken breasts in beaten egg; dredge in flour. Place chicken on a greased jelly roll pan with sides.

Mix sauce ingredients until blended. Pour over each chicken breast.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Makes 4 servings

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

2011-10-02T11:52:00.000-07:00

These were delicious! But I'm going to just say something. Mine did NOT turn out like they were supposed to. I don't know if my cinnamon mixture just was too runny or what, but they looked miserable! I will post both pictures. The one from the blog and mine. Just so any of you that maybe will make or have made my mistake are comforted and not discouraged! They tasted GREAT! Just appearance wasn't awesome! It came from Recipe Girl! Enjoy!
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

CINNAMON FILLING:
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, just until batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine). In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. You don't want this to remain super-liquidy. It's best if it becomes a consistency similar to toothpaste. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl- heat butter and cream cheese until melted. Whisk together until smooth; whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla extract; set aside. Heat large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the skillet. Snip the corner of your baggie of filling and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve. When ready to serve, spoon warmed glaze onto the top of each pancake.
Tips:
*Keep the heat low or your pancakes might cook up too quickly. Don't flip them until you see those bubbles starting to pop on top. Flip them with a wide spatula so you can grasp the whole thing without batter and filling dripping all over the place!
*It's best if you pour the batter onto your skillet, wait a minute or so and then swirl the cinnamon onto the batter. That'll give it a chance to set a little before you add the swirl.
*If your baggie of filling begins to get too thick, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up again. On that same note, it shouldn't be too runny. The consistency of soft toothpaste is perfect. If it's melty and runny, it will tend to run all over your pancakes. Once you micro it, let it sit on the counter at room temp for a while until it thickens slightly.
What they are supposed to look like:

What Mine looked like (DON'T JUDGE!)

Caramel Cheesecake Apple Dip

2011-10-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

I made this dip just for the fun of it. It turned out great! I did it the fast way and just did it all at once instead of doing layers. It turns out great either way! It is from Half Baked blog. Wonderful blog!! This is perfect for the fall season coming on.

Caramel Cheesecake Apple Dip
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 Tbs. heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Caramel sauce
Heath milk chocolate pieces
mini chocolate chips
2-4 Granny Smith or other crisp tart apples, sliced and soaking in lemon juice/water until ready to serve

Line a six inch cake pan or springform pan with plastic wrap. Use enough plastic wrap to hang over the sides of the pan about 2 inches.
Place softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Scrap down the sides of the bowl. Add the heavy cream and powdered sugar, mix well, until smooth. Place half of the cream cheese mixture in the lined pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. (If you dip the spoon into warm water before you start to smooth the cream cheese, it will be much easier to spread.) Spoon on a layer of caramel. Sprinkle with a layer of chocolate chips and the Health pieces. How much you use is up to you but don't go to overboard or you may have trouble spreading the top layer of cream cheese. Place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. This will let the caramel set up a bit and make topping it with the remaining cream cheese much easier. Scoop the remaining cream cheese on top and smooth out using the back of a dampened spoon, like you did for the first layer. Fold the overhanging plastic wrap over the top and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to overnight. Pull back the plastic wrap so that the top of the cheesecake is exposed. Place a serving plate on top of the pan and invert. Remove the pan and the plastic wrap. Spoon caramel sauce over the top of you cheese cake and top with more of the Heath pieces and chocolate chips. Place the sliced apples around the dip and serve.
*Note: If you want to throw this together super fast, just spread all the cream cheese on a serving platter and top with the caramel, Heath bits, and the mini chocolate chips.

M&M Cookies

2011-09-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

This came from my favorite place ever! Pinterest! It came from a blog called Lil' Luna. I love this blog anyway, but I happened to find the recipe in a different spot. It was easy, the cookies came out delicious and soft, and it didn't take too much time. My favorite!! Enjoy!

M&M Cookies
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
M&Ms
Cream together sugars, butter, and oil.

Add eggs and beat until fluffy.

Add dry ingredients as well as vanilla.

Mix in M&M's {however many you want}. Place in balls on greased pan. Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes.

Crockpot Pork Ribs

2011-09-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Holy. Cow. Or pig if you will. One of the best crock pot dishes I've ever made. Our grill is on its last leg with us. We just haven't gone out and gotten a new one yet. So it is basically out of use for right now. But I have these pork ribs sitting in my freezer calling my name. I've had them on the menu to have fore at least a month and just keep putting it off because it doesn't work really without a grill. And then it hit me...the Crock pot.

So, after getting the ribs all thawed out and ready, I threw them in, looked at what i had in the cupboard and went to work. I had to leave for most of the day to do laundry (long story) so I set them on low and let them do all the hard work. As I got out of my car after doing laundry, I could smell them in the drive way. That makes for a wonderful homecoming. These will be made in the near future, and by near I really mean next week. Just kidding. But really... Enjoy!

Crock pot Pork Ribs
1 lb. boneless pork ribs
1 bottle favorite barbeque sauce
Lawry's Season salt
Garlic salt
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Throw the ribs in the crock pot. Season with season salt, garlic salt, salt, and pepper. Mix round to get the seasons all over the ribs. Pour barbeque sauce over the ribs. Set on low and cook for 6-8 hours until done. They will literally fall apart as you try to take them out.

Parmesan Summer Squash

2011-09-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

I have squash coming out of my ears. Seriously, I thought that we would be done with squash already, but it just keeps growing. Anyone need some? Because we have an over abundance of it. So I'm trying to think of any way to use it. So tonight for dinner, I just it up, seasoned it and cooked it. Simple and to the point. It was delicious and hit the spot right on for us. Well, me. Joe doesn't eat it. Why I planted 2 plants of it, I'm still asking myself that question! Enjoy!

Parmesan Summer Squash
1 summer squash
Garlic salt
Parmesan Cheese
Olive oil
Cut up the squash into little chunks and put into a greased 8x8 pan. Drizzle olive oil over it and then sprinkle on garlic salt. Toss to coat. Then sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Sweet and Salty Caramel Snack Mix

2011-09-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

This delicious snack came from Our Best Bites. Seriously, one of my favorite sites/books. I was going to a Relief Society Retreat and wanted to take something. This was posted on their blog and I HAD to bring it. It was devoured within 20 minutes of getting there. It was definitely a favorite and will be made again. Enjoy!

Sweet and Salty Caramel Snack Mix
6 cups graham cracker cereal (like Honey Grahams)
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
1 cup salted cashews or macadamia nuts
1/2 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup light Karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups Pretzel M&Ms (about 1 large bag, I just used mini M&M's rather than pretzel ones)
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or wax paper and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Toss together the cereal and the nuts in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and Karo syrup and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it begins to boil. Allow to boil for 2 minutes (3 if you’re at a high elevation) and then remove from heat. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Drizzle the caramel mixture over the cereal/nut mixture and stir quickly to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. When the caramel mixture has cooled but isn’t solid yet (just a few minutes), add the Pretzel M&Ms and toss gently to combine. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Pizza Rolls

2011-09-14T17:21:00.001-07:00

I found this little gem on Pinterest. I L.O.V.E. Pinterest! If anyone is on there, look me up. I would love to follow you!! Anywho, this came from Tidy Mom. These turned out fabulous! Think cinnamon roll, but for dinner. Great idea that is so easy and loved by everyone. Enjoy!

Pizza Rolls
2 cans refrigerated pizza crust
garlic salt
Italian Seasoning
1 cup sliced and chopped pepperoni
1 cup shredded cheese (we used Provolone and Pepper Jack)
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
Ragu® Sweet Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce for dipping
Preheat oven to 425. Dust a large cutting board or piece of wax paper with flour and roll out each pizza crust. Season each crust with garlic salt and Italian seasoning. Top with cheese and meat. Starting with a short end, roll crust into a tight log. Slice into 1″ sections. Place on lightly greased pan and bake for 10-12 mins. Serve with Ragu® Sweet Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce for dipping

Golden Graham S'more Bars

2011-09-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

This is a fabulous little recipe that is perfect for summer gatherings (What we have left of them!). It came from a great website, Macaroni and Cheesecake. Love this blog! The picture is also from there, because I didn't snap one before it was gone. And it was quick. Seriously, we brought them out and they were gone within 10 minutes! Enjoy!

Source
Golden Graham S’more Bars
1 10 oz. bag mini marshmallows (Approx. 6 cups)
1 12 oz. package semi sweet chocolate chips
5 tbsp. butter
8 cups Golden Graham cereal (one 12 oz. box)
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
Place package of chocolate chips in the freezer to chill. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan, set aside. Meanwhile, melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add in 5 cups of marshmallows and stir until almost completely melted. Stir in vanilla if desired. Remove from heat and transfer butter mixture to a large mixing bowl and add cereal, stirring to coat. Once cereal is coated, remove chocolate chips from freezer and add to cereal mixture. Also add in the remaining cup of marshmallows. Gently stir until evenly distributed. Press cereal mixture into prepared baking pan. Cover and refrigerate until set. Turn out onto cutting board and cut into squares. Keep stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator.Makes approximately 20-24 bars depending on how big you cut them.

Scrumptious Chicken

2011-09-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, I'm done canning (for now!). I'm on to the regular recipes. Dinner, dessert, the good stuff! This one is from Fix It and Forget It Entertaining. It turned out great. Something that is simple, yummy, and perfect for the coming up colder months. Enjoy!

Scrumptious Chicken
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
10¾ oz. can cream of mushroom, or cream of chicken soup
16 oz. sour cream
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
Fresh basil or oregano, chopped
Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine all remaining ingredients except fresh herbs. Pour over chicken. Cover. Cook on low 6 hours. Stir after 3 hours of cooking. Sprinkle with fresh herbs just before serving. Serve with brown and wild rice, mixed, or couscous.

Tomato Sauce

2011-09-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

I have loads of tomatoes this year, and really wanted to do something with them. I found an extension website for University of Georgia (UGA, Joe was pleased!!). It has loads of ideas for tomatoes. I did sauce and I think it turned out great. Enjoy!

Tomato Sauce
Tomatoes, how ever many you would like to do. There really isn't a set amount.
Wash tomatoes, remove stems, and trim off bruised or discolored portions. To prevent juice from separating, quickly cut about 1 pound of tomatoes into quarters and put directly into saucepan. Heat immediately to boiling while crushing. Continue to slowly add and crush freshly cut tomato quarters to the boiling mixture. Make sure the mixture boils constantly and vigorously while you add the remaining tomatoes. Simmer 5 minutes after you add all pieces.

NOTE: If you are not concerned about sauce separation, simply slice or quarter tomatoes into a large saucepan. Crush, heat and simmer for 5 minutes before juicing.

Press the heated juice through a sieve or food mill to remove skins and seeds. Simmer in a large-diameter saucepan until volume is reduced by about one-third for thin sauce; by one-half for thick sauce. Add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to jars, according to the directions on page 3. Add 1⁄2 teaspoon salt to each pint jar; 1 teaspoon to each quart jar, if desired. Fill hot jars, leaving 1⁄4-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids and process:
Pints 35 minutes
Quarts 40 minutes

Apple Pie Filling (Canned)

2011-09-11T16:24:00.001-07:00

This. Is. Delicious!! It is from a cookbook from Joe's good friends, the Wilde's. It tasted excellent and I can't wait to try it this winter in a great pie, or dessert!! This is a must if you are canning food. Enjoy!

Canned Apple Pie Filling
10 c. water
4 1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. corn starch
3 tbsp. lemon juice
7 qt. sliced, peeled apples
Bring to boil and thicken first 6 ingredients. Add lemon juice. Place apples in bottles; pour mixture over each qt. of apples. Process in boiling water canner for 20 minutes.

Canned Salsa

2011-09-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

Super easy, but time consuming. It just takes so long because you have to simmer for almost 2 1/2 hours. But it is well worth it. Ours turned out great. My mom got this recipe from our neighbor Debbie Burton and she has used it for years, and now I will use it for years. It is fabulous! Enjoy!
Salsa
12 cups tomatoes peeled and diced
4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
3 onions, diced
1 1/2 c. white vinegar
3 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
Mix all ingredients. Cover and simmer for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Before it is done, add 1/2 c. dry onion. Boil water can it. Process for 15 minutes. Take out and let cool. Clean off, label, and store.

Apricot Jam

2011-09-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

This came off of the Ball Pectin package and it turned out great!! Aside from my mishap, it all turned out great. Enjoy!

Apricot Jam
1 (1.75 oz) pkg. Ball Pectin
5 c. chopped apricots (I used my food processor)
1/4 c. lemon juice
7 c. sugar
Prepare boiling water canner, jars and lids. Start a simmer in the canner, heat in almost simmering water the jars and lids. Combine fruit with lemon juice in a 6 or 8 qt. saucepan. Make sure it is a large one, or this will happen!

Gradually stir in pectin. Add up to 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down over high heat, stirring constantly. Add entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Fill jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Clean rim of jar and add hot lid. Screw on band until finger tip tight. Place the jars in the canner and make sure there is 1-2 inches of water above the jars. Bring canner to gentle, steady boil. Process for 10 minutes. Let jars stand for 5 minutes. Remove from canner and set upright to let cool for 12-24 hours to let set.It will set if you hear a slight pop sound. If the lid doesn't move up and down if pressed down, then it sealed. If it didn't seal, store in fridge and use within 3 weeks. Label and store.

Give Me A Sec!

2011-09-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

I have been extremely busy this passed week trying to learn to can and getting it all done. I have about 5-6 new recipe to post, so bare with me while I get it all sorted out. I'm finally done (hopefully!) with the canning, so I will be posting some awesome and easy canning recipes (I mean, come one, if I can do it, anyone can!) in the next little while. So stay posted!

Burritos

2011-08-31T20:47:00.000-07:00

This version of burritos is in the crock pot. One that I've never done before. Well, not the actual burrito, but the filling is made in the crock pot. It turned out beautifully and very tasty! It is from 101 Things to Do With A Crock pot. Fabulous cookbook and one worth the look. Enjoy!

Burritos
1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
2 cans (16 oz. each) refried beans
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/2 c. water
Flour tortillas
Combine all ingredients except for tortillas in greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat 6-10 hours. Spread hot bean mixture on flour tortillas. Fill with favorite burrito toppings. Fold and enjoy. Makes 4-6 servings.

Lemon-Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

2011-08-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

This is originally supposed to be blueberries. But I have an abundance of raspberries in my freezer, so I did those instead, and so GLAD I did!! They turned out beyond great!! I got them from my Kraft Foods Magazine. You can also find it on their website! Go try them...now...time is wasting before you taste the deliciousness of these great morsels! Enjoy!

Lemon-Raspberry Cheesecake bars
1/2 cup butter
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
2 eggs, divided
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. zest and 3 Tbsp. juice from 1 lemon
2-1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
Heat oven to 350ºF. Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Microwave butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 to 1-1/2 min. or until melted. Add cake mix and 1 egg; beat with mixer until well blended.

Press 2/3 of the mixture onto bottom of prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer until well blended. Add remaining egg, zest and juice; mix well.

Pour over crust; top with berries.

Pinch small pieces of the remaining cake mix mixture between your fingers; press lightly into cream cheese layer.

Bake 48 minutes to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting into bars. Keep refrigerated.

Baked Spaghetti

2011-08-29T21:21:00.001-07:00

A simple solution for a busy night. It is spaghetti in a pan. A nice little variation to the run of the mill spaghetti. If you like spaghetti, then this is the dish for you. I got it from Eat At Home, a fabulous website!! Enjoy!
Baked Spaghetti
1 lb. ground beef
1 can Hunt’s spaghetti sauce
1 can tomato sauce, 15 oz
1 onion, diced
about 2 cups Mozzarella
generous shakes of oregano, basil, salt and pepper (optional)
8 oz spaghetti (the picture shows 16oz., but you only need 8oz)
Brown the meat with the onion. Drain the fat and rinse under hot water. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Drain and stir it together with the meat, sauces and extra spices. Put it into a casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or till hot and bubbly.

Banana Nut Muffins

2011-08-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

This is a perfect thing to make ahead of time if you have a busy day ahead of you. Make it and freeze it, or make it the night before. It uses a cake mix and is super simple. Enjoy!

Banana Nut Muffins
1 banana or spice cake mix
2 eggs
1 c. water
1/3 c. chopped nuts
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 medium banana, mashed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or flour muffin pan or use paper muffin cups.

Mix together cake mix, eggs, water, nuts, oil, and banana in a large bowl until well blended.

Fill muffin cups ¾ full with batter. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Puffy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-08-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

Forgive my lack of posting for the last week. We just got back from Las Vegas, and I'm just now getting back into the swing of things! I'm cooking again and it feels so good to be back in the kitchen!! I found these little gems on Bake at 350, but she found them here first. They are delicious!! Definitely going to be making these way more often!!

Puffy Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
8 tablespoons of salted butter, melted and cooled
6 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter, melted and cooled
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add butter and peanut butter to a microwave safe bowl, and heat in 30 second increments until melted. Let cool completely. Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the cooled butter/peanut butter and sugars until they are combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until mixed. Gradually add flour and mix until a dough forms – it will look crumbly at first, but it will come together. I even used my hands to bring it all together. If necessary, add 1-2 teaspoons of milk, but I did not need this. Fold in chocolate chips. Shape the dough into a ball the size of a golf ball. Place on a baking sheet two inches apart and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown. The centers should be soft and puffy. Do not over bake. Let cool completely then dig in!

Marinara Zucchini

2011-08-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that this is the time of year that all of this zucchini is coming on. Loads and loads of it!! Here is a quick, delicious idea for all of that extra! It was my mom who originally made this that I saw and had to try it for myself! It is a great side dish and goes with just about anything! Enjoy!

Marinara Zucchini
1 jar marinara or spaghetti sauce
1 medium to large zucchini
Parmesan cheese
Dice up the zucchini and put it in a greased casserole pan. Pour the sauce over the zucchini and sprinkle cheese on top. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Freezer Salsa

2011-08-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

I went to Scoresby Farms on Saturday and bought tomatoes for some fresh salsa. I was so excited. I hadn't ever made it before. It turned out great, and freezes awesome! It is from ehow.com. I just googled Freezer Salsa's and looked through until I found one that looked suitable for our families tastes. This is very versatile and works for anything! Enjoy!

Freezer Salsa
10 fresh medium size tomatoes
2 fresh medium size onions
2 fresh medium size jalapenos
1 fresh medium size green pepper
1 fresh lemon
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large food processor
freezer safe containers
Wash and remove the stems of the green pepper, jalapenos, and onions. Place them in a large food processor. Run the food processor on low until the ingredients are well chopped. This salsa is mild, for hotter salsa add more jalapenos. I do not remove the seeds. Wash the tomatoes and remove the stems. Quarter the tomatoes and place them in the food processor. Juice 1 lemon and add the lemon juice to the food processor. Add the salt and the garlic powder to the food processor. Run the food processor on the low setting until the salsa reaches the desired consistency. For chunkier salsa, do not over-process the tomatoes. Enjoy the salsa immediately or transfer the salsa to freezer safe containers and freeze.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

2011-08-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

I have a whole load of strawberries in my fridge that have been begging to be made into jam. So, I got ambitious and made jam on Saturday. I haven't ever made Strawberry jam before. So I was pretty excited to have it in my freezer. I initially got the recipe off of Our Best Bites, and they got it from the Sure Jell box of pectin. It is super tasty! Enjoy!

Strawberry Freezer Jam
Recipe from the Sure Jell box
1 qt. (2 c. crushed) ripe strawberries, washed and stemmed
4 c. sugar
1 package fruit pectin
3/4 c. water
8-oz. freezer-safe containers
Wash and dry the freezer-safe containers and set aside. With a potato masher or in a food processor, mash the berries, leaving some chunks. Measure out 2 c. of berries into a large bowl. Stir in exactly 4 c. sugar and allow to stand for 10 minutes. While the berries and sugar are co-mingling, whisk the pectin into 3/4 c. water in a small saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over high heat and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir into strawberry mixture for 3 minutes or until sugar is almost entirely dissolved. Ladle the jam into the prepared containers, leaving about 1/2″ at the top for expansion. Top with lids and allow to stand for 24 hours at room temperature. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for 1 year. Makes 5 8-oz. containers.

Raspberry Crisp

2011-08-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

I made this for a little family gathering we had. I have an abundance of Raspberries and it was just perfect. Especially during this time of year when all of the raspberries are in season. This is from The Pioneer Woman. LOVE her website/cookbook/all of the above! The picture is also from her because I couldn't get a picture in before it was too late!

Source
Raspberry Crisp
2-1/2 cups Raspberries
1 Tablespoon (Heaping) Corn Starch
2/3 cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup All-purpose Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Oats
1/4 cup Pecans, Chopped
Dash Of Salt
3/4 sticks Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces
Whipped Cream Or Vanilla Ice Cream, For Serving
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine (rinsed) raspberries, corn starch, 2/3 cups sugar, and vanilla. Stir and set aside. In a separate bowl (or food processor) combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, brown sugar, oats, pecans, dash of salt, and butter pieces. Cut together with a pastry cutter (or pulse in food processor) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add berry mixture to a small baking dish or pie pan. Sprinkle topping mixture all over the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown. Allow to sit for ten minutes before serving. Scoop out with a spoon and top with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Forget It Pot Roast

2011-08-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

A perfect Sunday meal, or anytime you want to put something in the crock pot, forget about it, and have your house smell wonderful hours later! When I made this, I didn't have carrots or potatoes, so I made this without it. It worked out great still, but those are always a nice addition to a meal like this. I got this recipe in the Fix It and Forget It cookbook. Super simple, and tasty! Enjoy!

Forget It Pot Roast
6 potatoes, quartered
6 carrots, sliced
3-3 1/2 lg. chuck roast
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2-3 tbsp. flour
1/4 c. cold water
Place potatoes and carrots in slow cooker. Add meat. Top with soups. Cover. Cook on low for 8-9 hours. To make gravy, remove meat and vegetables to serving platter and keep warm. Pour juices into saucepan and bring to boil. Mix 2-3 tbsp. flour with 1/4 c. cold water until smooth. Stir into juices in pan until thickened.

Teriyaki Chicken Wraps

2011-08-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

This is a simple dinner when you are in a pinch or just don't feel like cooking! I tweaked it a little bit, but it is from Kraft Foods. I love how it turned out and these will be made again!

Teriyaki Chicken Wraps
6 cups coleslaw blend (cabbage slaw mix)
1/2 cup KRAFT Light Ranch Dressing
1 small each green pepper and red pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 lb. teriyaki chicken (I used the precooked kind from Sam's club)
6 flour tortillas (12 inch), warmed
Toss coleslaw blend with dressing; set aside. Cook and stir vegetables in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 3 min. Add chicken; cook and stir 3 min. or until no longer pink; simmer 3 min. or until chicken is warm, stirring occasionally. Spoon chicken mixture down centers of tortillas. Top with coleslaw mixture; roll up. Cut diagonally in half to serve.

Lemon Yogurt bread

2011-08-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to make this for a while and am just now getting around to it. It was really tasty. It was almost pound cake-like. We all enjoyed and will continue to enjoy it for breakfast until it is gone! Hehehe. It is from Ina Garten, off of food network. Couldn't get any easier! Enjoy!

Lemon Yogurt Bread
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt (I used low fat)
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside. When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.
For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

Pudding Cookies

2011-07-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

Mmmm...Delicious! I hadn't ever tried pudding cookies before, at least I don't think so! They were moist (that one's for you Heather!), and just so soft! You can add basically anything you want to them! I got them from Chef in Training blog. It is a great little blog that I love looking at! Go check it out! Enjoy!

Pudding cookies
1 1/2 sticks (or 3/4 cup) butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2-1/4 cups flour
1-2 cups chocolate chips (or whatever add in you would like)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Stir together flour and baking soda and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add in pudding package and beat until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture slowly until well incorporated. Add chocolate chips or whatever add-in you chose. Scoop onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8-12 minutes.

Dorito Nacho Bake

2011-07-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from my SIL Mandy. It is great. Don't let the Doritos in a main dish scare you. I'm not sure this could really be classified as Mexican, but I say it counts! Everything worked great! Enjoy!

Doritos Nacho Bake
1 Bag Cheese Doritos
1 lb. ground hamburger
1 evp. taco seasoning
2 c. sour cream
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Brown hamburger until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning according to package. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add 1/2 bag Doritos to 9x13 inch pan. Top with half of taco meat. Layer half of sour cream on top of that. Then half of the cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted. No good left over, just like any nachos.

Hoagie Bread

2011-07-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

I got ambitious tonight. We were having hoagies, and so I decided that I wanted to make my own bread for it. I found an awesome recipe on Our Best Bites (one of my favorite websites) and gave it a go. It turned out GREAT!! It can also be used for rolls or french bread. Enjoy!

Hoagie Bread
French Bread, Hoagies, and Buns
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4-5 1/2 c. flour
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg, separated
2 Tbsp. cold water
Combine yeast, water, and sugar in large mixing bowl and allow to stand 10 minutes or until bubbly. Add salt, vegetable oil, and egg yolk (set white aside for later) and combine. Add 3 c. flour and mix well until combined. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that barely sticks to your finger. Knead, either by hand or in mixer (my personal and very lazy choice) for another 2-3 minutes. Cover and allow to rise 1 hour 45 minutes. Punch down dough. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. For a loaf of bread, shape into loaf and place on greased cookie sheet. For buns or hoagies, divide equally into 8-10 (or even 12, if you want smaller buns when you’re done, and let’s face it, who doesn’t want smaller buns??) pieces and shape as desired. Use a scale if you have one to get equal-sized buns. It’s okay if they touch (or will touch after having risen). Cover and allow to rise another 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours or until doubled. Keep an eye on things–if they seem like they’re getting so big that they might collapse, hurry and get them into the oven.
Preheat oven to 375. Mix egg white with water and brush over dough. Bake for 10 minutes and repeat brushing the dough with the egg wash. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes or until bread is golden brown.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

2011-07-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get better at eating better. This is my first attempt at making anything purely whole wheat. They turned out good, and will be made again! Joe said whole wheat has some getting used to, but I enjoyed these. Here's to a new, better start!

Whole Wheat Pancakes
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 c. water
2 eggs
1/4 c. vegetable oil
Mix dry ingredients. Beat egg, oil, and milk together until well blended. Pour into dry ingredients and stir just until moist. Drop onto hot oiled griddle. Cook until bubbles appear all over and edges are browned. Flip pancake over and cook other side. Don't turn pancake more than once and don't press pancake down.

Petite Lasagnas

2011-07-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

Not even kidding, I was beyond excited to make these! It took me a while to actually get around to making them, only because I couldn't find wonton wrappers. If you need to know, they are by the mushrooms in the produce section by the Asian foods! This recipe came from here. I changed it a little bit. I used chunky garden spaghetti sauce instead of essentially making my own. Enjoy these fun little bundles!

Petite Lasagnas

recipe slightly adapted from Hungry Girl
12 oz raw ground turkey
1/4 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp pepper
1 jar Spaghetti sauce Chunky Garden
1 1/2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
24 small square wonton wrappers (the kind near the tofu in the refrigerated section of the produce dept)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey,salt, and pepper. Crumble the meat and saute the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through. Add the spaghetti sauce. Bring the pan to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to mix well. Set aside. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 wonton wrapper into each of the 12 cups, pressing firmly in the bottom of the cup and up the sides.

Using half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the 12 muffin cups.

Next, using half of the turkey tomato sauce, spoon it evenly over each of the ricotta filled cups.

Sprinkle with 2 tsp of mozzarella.

Gently press another wonton wrapper on top of the mozzarella layer. Repeat the process by distributing the remaining ricotta, then the remaining tomato sauce, and finally the rest of the shredded mozzarella. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Let the cups cool, remove them from the pan, and serve!

Cinnamon Banana Bread

2011-07-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

This is a good variation of the banana bread that I love. It is a little different but tastes wonderful!! I go the recipe here. I changed it a little, just by adding cinnamon chips instead of chocolate chips and it turned out WAY better than I thought it would!! Enjoy!

Cinnamon Banana Bread
1/2 cup butter melted
3 very ripe bananas mashed with a fork
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
(you may add nuts or chocolate chips to your liking)
Preheat oven to 350
Prepare a loaf pan
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. (This is where I added the cinnamon chips, this way they don't sink as bad.)

Beat butter, bananas, eggs and sour cream together. Add vanilla and beat again.

Add combined dry ingredients and beat until just blended.

Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-60 mins depending on your oven. The bread will be lightly brown, cooked through the center, yet still moist. Set pan on a wire rack to cool for 15 mins before slicing.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

2011-07-13T15:07:00.001-07:00

This is my wonderful Aunt Barbara's recipe. She is a fabulous cook and has an amazing blog...go check it out! It was so yummy, even my 3 year old ate it. He is kind of picky when it comes to Mexican food like this. It is a great entertaining dish or just one that you have on a busy night. Enjoy!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
1.5 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded
Sauce:
1/3 c honey
1/4 c lime juice
1 Tb chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Enchiladas
1 1/2 large cans green enchilada sauce
equal parts mixed together of:
Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
cheddar cheese, shredded
flour tortillas (I used half flour and half corn. I wrap the tortillas in a clean towel and put them in the microwave for a minute or two to soften before filling).
Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded pork or chicken. Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes. Lightly spray 2 pans with non-stick baking spray. (I used one 9x13. You may have to use another 9x9 but it will depend on how thick you stuff your enchiladas) Pour green enchilada sauce into pan(s) to coat the entire bottom. Fill tortillas with shredded meat and desired amount of cheese. Roll and place in dish. Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle more cheese on top - don't be stingy with the sauce or the cheese! Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn on broiler and place enchiladas nearer the top of oven. Let it broil until cheese is slightly brown and crispy.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2011-07-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

This is from my Incredibly Easy Cake Mix Cookbook. It was so good. I had a little helper that LOVES to help me cook. He is an excellent cook and a great help. This came out great. Enjoy!

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake
1 pkg. pound cake mix, divided
1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries
5 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
3/4 c. milk
Powdered sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x5 inch loaf pan. Place 1/4 cup cake mix in medium bowl; add blueberries and toss until well coated. This helps them not sink so bad.

Beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add remaining cake mix alternately with milk, beginning and ending with cake mix, beating well after each addition. Beat 1 minute at medium speed or until light and fluffy.

Fold blueberry mixture into batter; don't mix with beater, or it will ruin the berries. Use a spatula to fold in batter.

pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove cake form pan; cool completely on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Catching Up Some More

2011-07-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

The holiday really go to me. I'm just now catching up on everything. Blogging, cleaning, cooking, all of the good stuff! So scroll down and see the newest recipes. 5 of them I think! Enjoy!

Patriotic Mini Fruit Pizzas

2011-07-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

These little beauties I made for a 4th of July BBQ we went to. They turned out way better than I expected! I saw the idea on here on Pinterest and had to try them. Enjoy!

Patriotic Mini Fruit Pizza's
1 pkg. sugar cookie mix from Betty Crocker
Ingredients to make the cookies
Cream cheese frosting
Strawberries
Blueberries
Make sugar cookie's according to package. Roll out and cut into fun shapes. I used stars and circles.
My little helper!

Isn't he cute?

Cook according to package. Let them cool completely. Frost with frosting.

Add berries in fun designs.

Omelets

2011-07-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

This is the first time that I've ever braved the omelet territory. So glad I did. It was super easy. I just flew by the seat of my pants. Going from what I hear about making these. So they didn't come from on specific place. And I just added some fun stuff! Enjoy!

Omelets
4 eggs, mixed up
Shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. crumbled cooked sausage
2 slices bell peppers, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
Heat a skillet to medium heat and add cooking spray or butter. Add eggs and let them set up, about 10-15 seconds. Until you can see white on the bottom of the eggs. When the omelet starts forming, add sausage, veggies, cheese, or anything else that you want to add. Fold in half and cook evenly on both sides.

Breakfast Sandwiches

2011-07-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

I decided to actually make breakfast on the 4th of July! It turned out great and will be made again. It is so simple. There really is no place to give credit, because you see these everywhere. McDonald's, any blog, any magazine, you name it. Enjoy!

Breakfast Sandwiches
1 english muffin
1 fried egg, cooked until done in center
1 slice Kraft cheese
1-2 sausage patties, depending on the size
Open muffin and add eggs, cheese, and sausage. Eat and enjoy!

Ranch Spinach Pasta Salad

2011-07-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

I made this tasty little dish for my niece's baptism last week. It was a hit, and I had none to take home (I always consider that a success!) It is from Betty Crocker. I didn't snag a picture before it was all gone, so the picture on here is from their website. It has a link back to it for reference. This recipe is perfect for all of these Summer gatherings that are going on! Enjoy!

Source
Ranch Spinach Pasta Salad
1 box Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad® classic pasta salad mix
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups baby spinach leaves or small broccoli florets
3/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup sliced cucumber, halved
1/2 cup julienne (matchstick-cut) carrots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
Empty contents of pasta mix (from Suddenly Salad box) into 3-quart saucepan 2/3 full of boiling water. Gently boil uncovered 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta; rinse with cold water. Shake to drain well. In medium bowl, stir contents of seasoning mix (from Suddenly Salad box), the dressing and lemon juice until blended. Stir in pasta and remaining ingredients. Cover; refrigerate until ready to serve. Store any remaining salad covered in the refrigerator.

Chicken Seasoning

2011-07-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

I went to grill some chicken yesterday, and didn't have anything thing I could really marinate it in. So I got some of the seasons out of my pantry and just made something up. It turned out to be pretty good. So I thought I'd share! Enjoy!
Chicken Seasoning
2 tbsp. Lawry's Season Salt
1 tbsp. Lawry's garlic salt
2 tsp. Perfect Pinch Cajun Seasoning
1/2 tsp. paprika
3 tsp. Original Chicken seasoning.
Sprinkle it on chicken before putting on grill. Put season side down and then sprinkle it on top after putting it on the grill. Cook until done.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole

2011-07-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

This recipe came from my Aunt Barbara and it is delicious!! She always posts the most delicious looking things on her blog! Go check it out! And make this meal. It is beyond good and something almost everyone will eat! Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole
2 chicken breasts
6 oz. egg noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. cracker crumbs (Ritz or Club)
Salt, pepper and paprika to taste
1/2 c. butter
Preheat oven to 350°. Cook chicken and shred it. Cook Noodles. Mix chicken and noodles together.

In a separate bowl, mix soups and sour cream together.

Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Gently stir together the cream soup mixture with the chicken mixture. Put this into a 9x13 pan. Melt the butter and mix it with the cracker crumbs. Spread this on top of the casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and golden brown.

Paula Deen's Easy Cheesecake Cupcakes

2011-06-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

Such a mouth full to say, but it is a delicious mouthful! I got the recipe from Kraft Foods, but obviously it is a Paula Deen recipe. Who doesn't love Paula? I made these for a little gathering we went to and they were loved by all. And best of all, they were super easy!! Enjoy!

Paula Deen's Easy Cheesecake Cupcakes
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. butter extract (I didn't have this, so I just used vanilla extract and it was fine)
2 eggs
12 vanilla wafers
1 cup seedless raspberry jam (I just used what I had. I used Raspberry Huckleberry jam)
1 pt. fresh raspberries (once again, I used what I had. Frozen rasbperries. Fresh would be better, but frozen worked great too!
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar for dusting
Heat oven to 350°F. Place a paper cupcake liner in each of 12 muffin cups. Beat cream cheese with a hand-held electric mixer until fluffy. Add granulated sugar and butter extract, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Place a vanilla wafer, flat-side down, in each muffin cup.

Spoon cream cheese mixture over wafers. I used an ice cream scoop and it worked perfectly. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow tarts to cool completely.

When cool, top each cheesecake cupcake with 1/2 Tbsp. of raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. Dust with powdered sugar.

I'm linking up here:

Pronto Pasta Italiano

2011-06-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

I'm always in need of something that is simple but still tastes good. And this is one of those recipes. Took me no time at all to prepare it and my family liked it. That is really all I could ask for! It is from Kraft Foods. Also, the picture is from their site also. I forgot to take my pictures, so I am borrowing the picture. Enjoy!

Pronto Pasta Italiano
1 pkg. (7-1/4 oz.) KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 jar (15 oz.) pizza sauce
1/2 cup KRAFT Pizza Shredded Four Cheese
Prepare Dinner as on directed on package. Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet; drain, if necessary. Add Dinner and pizza sauce; mix lightly. Sprinkle with shredded cheese; cover. Reduce heat to low; cook 2 min. or until shredded cheese begins to melt.

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

2011-06-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

Mmmm...I have been craving these like none other lately! And boy did they deliver! I love macadamia nuts and white chocolate. A perfect mixture. Plus, it is the one chocolate that Joe will out eat me in. So I won't have to eat all of the cookies by myself this time! It came from 101 MORE things to do with a cake mix. Enjoy!

Macadamia Nut Cookies
1 white or yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 c. white chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 c. chopped macadamia nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a spoon, mix cake mix, eggs, and oil together. Stir in white chocolate and nuts.

Drop dough balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-12 minutes or until light golden brown around edges.

Remove cookies and place on nonstick rack to cool.

German Pancakes

2011-06-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

We had breakfast for dinner tonight. I wanted to switch it up a bit and thought German pancakes would be fun. They were tasty! We hadn't ever had them before, so when they started puffing out of the pan, it freaked me out a little. But apparently that is what they are supposed to do! It came from Worldwide Ward Cookbook Christmas. Enjoy!

German Pancakes
4 tbsp. butter
6 eggs
1 c. milk
1 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
Cut butter into pieces and place in 9x13 inch pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pan with butter in the preheating oven just until the butter melts (you don't want to scorch the butter). In a bowl, mix eggs, milk, flour, and salt; mix until fluffy and smooth.
Pour egg mixture into pan with melted butter. Bake fro 15-20 minutes. While the batter is baking, it will climb up and beyond the sides of the pan. The pancake is done when edges are nicely browned. Makes 6 servings.

Potato Puff Buns

2011-06-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

Best. Rolls. EVER! Really, I will never make any other roll ever again. These are so fluffy and soft. I want to make one big enough for me to sleep on, they are that fluffy. They were a ginormous hit at a dinner we had. I want to just keep making and making them but know my scale wouldn't enjoy that. So, to compensate, I am going to post this, and you will in turn, go and make these and enjoy them for yourself. Please. They are from Worldwide Ward Cookbook: Mom's Best Recipes. Seriously, log off and go make them. And this picture does them no justice at all. I had extra dough and so I made them into little loafs of bread that worked out great. You can make them in to basically anything. Enjoy!

Potato Puff Buns
6 c. warm water
1 c. powdered milk
4 tbsp. instant yeast
1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
2 c. potato flakes
4 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp. salt
Flour
Combine all ingredients but flour; stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead on speed 1 in a bread machine or with an electric mixer for 5 minutes. Let rise until double in size. Roll out for cinnamon rolls or dinner rolls. Let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Makes 5-6 dozen dinner rolls or 3-4 dozen cinnamon rolls.

Fresh Peach Crisp

2011-06-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

This is a perfect recipe for the upcoming summer season. Especially when the peaches are on. I just made and used canned peaches and it worked great still. Enjoy!
Fresh Peach Crisp
2 1/2 lbs. fresh peaches, peeled, pitted
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. butter
Butter a baking dish. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice peeled peaches into prepared dish. Sift together flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon into a medium bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles course meal. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over peaches in baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes until topping is golden brown and peaches are tender. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.

Beef Stroganoff

2011-06-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

One of my new favorite cookbooks is Our Best Bites. I've been a fan of their website for a long time and was so excited that they came out with a cookbook. It was a birthday present that I gave myself because I just couldn't stand waiting until my birthday to open it!! Enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff
1 lb. top sirloin or tenderloin steak
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 tbsp. butter, divided
8 oz. sliced mushrooms (like creminis)
3/4 c. diced onion (about 1 small onion)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. warm water
1 tsp. beef bouillon granules, beef base, or one bouillon cube
2 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. sour cream
Slice steak into strips 1/4 inch thick and about 2 inches long. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat and then add mushrooms, onions, and garlic to pan. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until mushrooms are browned and onions are tender. Remove mushrooms, onions and garlic from pan and set aside. Slightly increase heat and melt 1 tbsp. butter in pan. Add beef and saute, stirring, for 3-5 minutes or until no pink is visible.

While the beef is cooking, whisk water, bouillon, flour and Worcestershire sauce together until smooth.

Add this mixture to the beef and return the mushroom mixture to the pan as well. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes to thicken.

Remove pan from heat and stir in sour cream. Add additional salt and black pepper to taste. Serve over egg noodles or white rice.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-06-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

You really can't have enough recipes for chocolate chip cookies. And so I'm giving yet another one. It is from The Essential Mormon Cookbook. So many good recipes from this. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c. butter or margarine, softened
3/4 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 bag chocolate chips
Cream together butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. In a separate bowl sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop onto greased cookie sheet by heaping tablespoons. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Makes about 3 dozen.

7 New Posts

2011-05-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

That's right. I'm back logged again. Check out the 7 new posts and ENJOY!

Fried Chicken

2011-05-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

I had never made fried chicken before. Let alone, chicken that had bone in it. I'd always used boneless. But this has opened my eyes! Such a difference when it comes to fried chicken. It is juice and awesome! This is from The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook. I've used this cookbook more than I should probably admit! But it is tasty! Enjoy!

Fried Chickenhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
2 cut up fryer chickens
1 quart plus 1/4 c. buttermilk
5 c. all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. seasoned salt, such as Lawry's
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/4 c. milk
Canola oil or vegetable oil for frying
Thoroughly rinse the chicken, then cover all the pieces with the quart of buttermilk and soak in the fridge overnight, or up to 24 hours. When you are ready to fry the chicken, set out on counter for 30 minutes to take the chill off.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and mix up the breading. Place the flour, seasoned salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, and cayenne. Stir together well. In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 c. buttermilk and 1/4 c. regular milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour and with a pastry cutter or fork, gradually mix until there are little lumps throughout. This will adhere to the chicken and make for a crispier breading. Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat until a thermometer reaches 365 degrees. Lower the heat lightly, if necessary to keep the oil from getting hotter. Working in batches, thoroughly coat each buttermilk-soaked chicken piece with the breading, pressing extra breading onto the chicken if necessary.

Place the breaded pieces on a plate. Add the chicken to the oil 3-4 at a time. Make sure they aren't sticking together, then cover the pan and fry for 5-7 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the chicken isn't getting too brown. Turn the pieces over, cover again, and cook 3-5 minutes more. All the while, monitor the temperature of the oil to make sure the chicken doesn't burn. Keep in mind that we'll finish cooking the chicken in the oven, and it will continue to brown. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and continue frying the rest of the chicken. When all the chicken has been fried, bake the chicken for 15 minutes, to finish the cooking process. Check in the thickest part of the the chicken to see if it is done.

Homemade Cinnamon Bread

2011-05-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

This recipe came from The Pioneer Woman. It is sooooo good! Really, there isn't much else to say about it. Perfect, really. So go and enjoy!

Homemade Cinnamon Bread
1 cup Milk
6 Tablespoons Butter
2 1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
2 whole Eggs
1/3 cups Sugar
3 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
Egg And Milk, Mixed Together, For Brushing
Softened Butter, For Smearing And Greasing
Melt butter with milk. Heat until very warm, but don’t boil. Allow to cool until still warm to the touch, but not hot. Sprinkle yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Combine flour and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Pour in milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined. Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat/knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes. If dough is overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour and beat again for 5 minutes. Heat a metal or glass mixing bowl so it’s warm. Drizzle in a little canola oil, then toss the dough in the oil to coat. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and set it in a warm, hospitable place for at least 2 hours. Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a neat rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you’re going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal. Smear loaf pan with softened butter. Place dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix a little egg with milk, and smear over the top. Bake for 40 minutes on a middle/lower rack in the oven. Remove from the pan and allow bread to cool. Slice and serve, or make cinnamon toast or French toast with it.

Pecan Crusted Chicken

2011-05-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

This was our dinner for tonight was great. It was a recipe that I've never used before and will definitely be using again. It is from 101 things to do with Chicken. It turned out great! Enjoy!

Pecan Crusted Chicken
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. finely crushed pecans
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay each chicken breast with widest side down on a cutting board. With a large sharp knife parallel to the cutting surface, slice off a small portion of the chicken breast so that it is a uniform thickness, about 1/2 inch thick. Save the small removed portions of chicken for another use. Mix brown sugar, mustard and salt in a small bowl. Coat chicken pieces with mixture. Spread crushed pecans on a small plate and then roll coated chicken in pecans and press firmly. Place coated breasts in a 9x13 inch pan and bake for 40 minutes. let stand 5 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.