Recipes

Healthy Homemade Muffins

2011-12-04T19:58:00.001-08:00

I adapted this healthy muffin recipe from the original "Mormon Muffins" recipe I got many years ago from a friend. These muffins are served at the Greenery Restaurant in Ogden at the mouth of Ogden canyon. They are so delicious but I decided to adapt the recipe to be a little healthier since I never use shortening in anything I cook. Shortening can only melt at a temperature that is higher than what our bodies ever reach and therefore is not able to be assimilated by our bodies so it's not a smart choice in any of your cooking.

I didn't remember to get my camera out until I was on day 2 of these muffins (since you have to let the batter sit overnight) so here is what you do on day 2 (but see the preparation instructions below): The batter has absorbed all the liquid at this point and is ready to be baked!

I use a small ice cream scoop and 2 muffin pans. I do all mini muffins because they are easier for my kids to eat. Spray your pans generously with non-stick spray and then put one scoop in each one.

Bake for 13 min and then let cool for just a few minutes.

Transfer them over to the counter to cool completely.

The perfect size for popping in your mouth!

This recipe makes 15 dozen mini muffins so I separate them into freezer bags and pull them out one at a time as we eat them. This way they are always fresh! These muffins don't crumble easily, so they make the perfect snack for on the go. I take them on all our big family outings because they are a guilt free snack for my kids and they love them!

Healthy Homemade Muffins:

2 cups boiling water
1Tbl. + 2 tsp. Soda
4 cups bran buds or Grape nuts cereal

Boil water then add soda. Stir. Add 4 cups bran buds and set aside to cool.

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar (I seem to add less and less each time as I wean my family off of these being so sweet)
4 eggs
1quart buttermilk
5 cups flour (1-2 whole wheat, and I use whole wheat pastry flour bought at the health food store, or freshly ground if you have a wheat grinder)
1 tsp. salt
2 cups bran flakes (I use the raisin bran in my cupboard)
Raisins
(I also sprinkle in some ground flaxseed for added health benefits, 1 cup or so)

In separate bowl (preferably with a lid) add sugar to softened butter. Blend well. Add eggs, Buttermilk and blend again. Add dry ingredients along with water/cereal mixture from above, and stir well. Cover. Let sit overnight in refrigerator. Then go to step 2 above.

Lasagna Soup

2011-11-22T17:38:00.000-08:00

I always forget to take a picture until after we eat. Thank you google images once again.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound hamburger (you can use sausage as well in place of the hamburger)
1 small onion, chopped
1 green or red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 ounces broken whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 4 noodles)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 T. dried basil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick sauce-pot or Dutch oven. Add the hamburger, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the hamburger is browned, 8 – 10 minutes.

Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Add the noodles; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly and the noodles are tender, 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in mozzarella, basil, and the Parmesan. (whole-wheat lasagna noodles take a little longer to cook.)

Italian Salad

2011-11-12T12:31:00.001-08:00

This is my first time posting a recipe on this blog... although I've had access for a long time now and have enjoyed everyone else's recipes... I finally decided that I might give this a try! My camera is just a point and shoot so my pictures won't be that good, but oh well. This is a salad that my family just loves! It goes great as a side with so many dishes. We ate it last night with pizza. And the best part is, you don't have to measure the ingredients, you can just add as much as you like of each one. I wish I had taken a picture before I dumped everything on the salad so you could see them separate but oh well.

First I started with some romaine lettuce and then added to that chopped olives, tomatoes, bacon, and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Then I pour over the top Bernstein's "Restaurant Recipe Italian" dressing and toss it up.

This is what it looked like all tossed. Yumm!

Italian salad:
Romaine lettuce (or any kind you like)
Chopped Olives
Diced tomatoes
4-6 slices of bacon (chopped)
Freshly grated parmesan chz.
Tossed with your favorite Italian dressing!Enjoy!

Chicken Broccoli Supreme

2011-11-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe off Pinterest, and another friend's blog. It was delicious! The picture is courtesy of google images because I forgot to take a picture:) Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1-lb fresh or frozen broccoli. Break in pieces and steam for 2 minutes

3 cups cooked chicken – Break up into small pieces

1 tube Ritz crackers

½ cube melted butter

2 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese

SAUCE:

1/3 C. Butter melted

¼ C. Cornstarch, dissolved in ½ C. COLD water

1/3 C. Chicken Broth

¼ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Pepper

2 Cups Milk

1 ½ cups cheddar cheese

Directions: In greased 9x13 pan, layer the broccoli and chicken, then set aside. In saucepan over medium heat, combine the melted butter, cornstarch dissolved in water, chicken broth, seasonings, and milk. Stir well, and continue stirring until sauce has thickened. Turn heat down to low, and add 1- 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Pour sauce over the chicken and broccoli and top with the remaining 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese.

Crush the Ritz crackers in a Ziploc bag. Don’t crush too small. Add the crumbs to the melted butter. Sprinkle the crumbs over the top of the grated cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

2011-11-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe at Our Best Bites. I changed it just barely by using a real onion (I use white onino and leave out the green onion from the original recipe) and real garlic instead of the powder. Also, I forgot to use the lime juice the first time and the second time I didn't have any, but it was still great. LOVE these and so does my family. I don't really like them with flour tortillas, but Kylee doesn't like corn so I do a couple flour ones just for her and Dylan.

1/2 onion, chopped small
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 C shredded cooked chicken (I like to put chicken tenders in the crockpot for a few hours so they are all ready when I start to make dinner and they are tender and yummy)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Saute onion and garlic in a little olive oil in a small pot. Add cream cheese and green salsa and stir so cheese can melt. Add seasonings, lime juice, cilantro, chicken and pepperjack and mix together. Warm tortillas in microwave using a wet paper towel. You have to warm them or they will not roll well and they won't stay rolled. Scoop some of the chicken mixture (about 3 T or as much as you like) onto the bottom third of the tortilla and roll up tight. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Make sure they are not touching each other. Spray taquitos with Pam and sprinkle with salt (gives it the deep fried taste). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are crisp and edges are starting to brown. Serve with salsa and guacamole. Or just mash up an avocado and mix it with some sour cream. Yum!

Zucchini Carrot Muffins

2011-10-14T05:56:00.000-07:00

I know you probably aren't drooling over these just by hearing the name. But think of zucchini bread or carrot cake. I make these often because my whole family loves them! And it's fun to be able to use vegetables from my garden and applesauce that I made from apples I picked :)

The original recipe I used for this has WAY too much sugar in it. This one is my healthier version. I cut the sugar in half and replaced half the oil with applesauce. The only reason I didn't use all applesauce is that we can't eat all 12 muffins in one day and I get nervous using applesauce when they are going to be sitting out. I learned from experience that applesauce doesn't last very long in baked goods.

Zucchini Carrot Muffins
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour (I use whole wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded unpeeled zucchini
• 1/2 cup finely shredded carrot

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine oil, applesauce, eggs, sugars, and vanilla. In a large bowl combine flour, soda, powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients stirring just until combined (do not overmix!) I use a regular cheese grater for the zucchini and a smaller zester-type grater for the carrots so they are really small. Fold in zucchini and carrots.

Fill 12 muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Rolls

2011-10-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com (here) It's supposed to be a copy-cat of Cinnabon. I don't know how close it is because I haven't had many Cinnabon rolls in my life, but they were maybe the best things that have ever come out of my oven. The recipe calls for a bread machine, but I didn't use one. These are my instructions.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
Bread:
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour (I used 2 C whole wheat flour and the rest bread flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast (or just one packet regular, one Tbls)

Insides:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened so it's spreadable

Icing:
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix yeast with warm milk and let stand 10 minutes. Add eggs, margarine (I used butter, but apparently it has different qualities than margarine so it changes things? Whatever, they were still amazing so butter is what I'll use), sugar, and salt to Kitchenaid mixing bowl. Add milk and yeast and stir. Then start adding flour and kneading. I used some whole wheat because I love whole wheat. What I read is that bread flour absorbs the liquids more than regular flour, which would explain why my dough was still way too sticky after adding the flour. I ended up adding maybe 1/2 C or more bread flour to make it the right consistency. You just have to be able to handle it without it just making a huge mess on your hands. Next time I might use more whole wheat because there's enough sugar that it would still be delicious.

Once your dough is right, spray a large bowl with cooking spray, place dough inside and cover with damp towel. Allow the dough to rise an hour in a warm place (I turn my oven on to 150 degrees or so, then turn it OFF.

Meanwhile, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together and let the butter sit out so it's soft.

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and roll it out on a floured surface into a large rectangle. Spread the butter and sprinkle the cinnamon mixture on top. Then roll up long ways. Use dental floss (or jewelry string like I did) to cut into 12 rolls. Place in greased 9x13 glass pan. Cover with damp towel again and allow to rise in warm place again for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls for 15 minutes, or until starting to brown. Mix icing ingredients together. When you pull the rolls out of the oven, cover with a lid or some sort and TURN OVER the pan so all the drippings go back into the rolls! Leave it like that for a minute. Then ice them while they are warm.

Mmmm. My mouth is watering for these right now! So good!

Guacamole

2011-09-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

This is in no way my recipe. I took it from Favorite Family Recipes and I followed it exactly. It is delicious! Of course, you have to make sure you have a nice ripe avocado to make it really yummy. Otherwise it's just kind of blah. I usually half this recipe and use two smaller avocados, or one and a half big ones.

Guacamole
3 avocados
Red onion, chopped (about 1/4 c.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (or to taste)
1 large ripe garden tomato (or 2 smaller tomatoes), diced
juice of 1 lime
4-5 shakes green Tabasco sauce
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Mix everything in a bowl and enjoy! If you don't like raw onions, chop them very small but don't leave them out or it won't taste like real guacamole. Also, be generous with the Tobasco sauce. It's not that spicy, but it adds a lot of flavor.

Slow Cooker Oatmeal

2011-09-20T08:00:00.001-07:00

I love warm breakfasts, as if you couldn't tell from all my breakfast recipes. But I don't always have time in the morning so I have found a few things I can make the night before. This one worked perfectly.

The problem is that, although my whole family loves oatmeal, I don't. I don't like it at all. I like the idea of it. I think it smells really good most of the time. And I've tried it a dozen times over the years thinking 'maybe I'll like it now.' But it's the texture. It's slimy. And mushy. I even tried Amy's baked oatmeal recipe, which my kids love, but it's still too soft for me. I like oats in general. I love granola and granola bars. I love oats in cookies, and even pancakes. But the texture of oatmeal was always too much for me.

Then I heard about overnight oatmeal, and as I started researching recipes I kept seeing Steel-Cut Oats. And I thought, 'hmmm. Maybe they have a better texture." Sure enough, they are delicious! Still a little slimy, but at least there's some substance to them so I can chew them. If you've never seen them, here's what they look like:

They are very different than rolled oats. And I don't know if I would do them without the crockpot because they take a long time to cook. I got the recipe from 52 Kitchen Adventures

Slow Cooker Oatmeal
•1 C steel-cut oatmeal
•4 C water
•1/2 t kosher salt
•1 t ground cinnamon

You might want to spray the crockpot with cooking spray to help a little. If you would like to add dried fruit, like craisins, apricots, or blueberries, add them to the crockpot when you put everything in. If you want to add fresh fruit, like peaches, blueberries, raspberries, etc. add them just before serving. I added a little brown sugar to mine with some peaches and it was delicious!

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes

2011-09-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes -Gluten and sugar free

Blend:

-1 cup water

-1 cup choice of milk (I used unsweetened coconut or unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

-1 Banana

-1 cup whole oats

-1 Tbls ground flax seed (I used the sprouted flax seed)

-1/2 tsp pure vanilla

-1/2 tsp sea salt

-1/2 Tbls agave nectar (or 100% pure maple syrup)

-1/2 Tbls coconut oil

After blending let it set for a few minutes to thicken, while griddle is heating up. Then these pancakes take a while to cook before you flip them, maybe 4 minutes first side and 2 the second (? not sure -the good news is, they are hard to burn. I have my griddle almost all the way to 400 and I don't ever burn mine).

Serve with 100% maple syrup or unsweetened applesauce with fruit, like chopped peaches, strawberries and/or bananas! Yum!!

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

2011-07-31T16:09:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on Gina's Skinny Recipes. She used Better'n Peanut Butter instead of real peanut butter. I've never heard of it. But I just used Jif, the real stuff. We like peanut butter at our house. A lot. These were a big hit. They are very fluffy and creamy. Just make sure you have plenty of milk when you are eating them because you'll need it!

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
· 3 ripe medium bananas
· 1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
· 3/4 tsp baking soda
· 1/4 tsp salt
· 2 tbsp butter, softened
· 1/3 cup light brown sugar
· 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
· 1 large egg (her recipe called for 2 egg whites instead)
· 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
· 1/2 cup peanut butter (plus 2 tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 325.

Mash bananas and set aside. Combine flour, soda and salt in small bowl. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar with hand mixer. Add applesauce, egg, vanilla, bananas and peanut butter. Once combined, add flour mixture.

Grease muffin tin. Pour batter into muffin tin until halfway full. Then scoop 1/2 tsp peanut butter in each muffin and then add remaining batter until full. Bake for 25 minutes.

The peanut butter in the middle was kind of fun, but quite rich. Next time I might just skip that step altogether.

Quinoa with Dried Cranberries and Toasted Pecans

2011-07-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) was introduced to me by my mother-in-law. It was one of those foods that I was interested in, but it was too unknown for me to try. Like a lot of the stuff Amy eats :) Wish I could visit Amy and have her make some kale or amaranth for me (really am going to try that sometime soon). Quinoa has a sort of nutty flavor and is really yummy. This little seed packs a mighty punch. It's high in all sorts of vitamins and minerals including, but not limited to: manganese, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, fiber, folate, etc. But the best part is that it's a complete protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids. I'm pretty sure you could live off nothing but this and be perfectly healthy. Unfortunately, it's not cheap like rice. If you ever see this on a really good sale, let me know! I'd love to stock up with some for food storage. This is a Williams-Sonoma recipe (some of their recipes can be complicated and seem like more work than their worth, but I sure do love them. This one is not very complicated.)

Quinoa with Dried Cranberries and Toasted Pecans

1/4 C coarsely chopped pecans (I didn't use them)
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 C quinoa, rinsed well in a sieve and drained well
1 garlic clove (or 2), minced
2 C water
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 T dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Spread pecans in a small baking pan, place in the oven and toast until they are fragrant and have taken on color, about 15 minutes. Pour onto a plate and let cool. (I left the pecans out because I'm lazy and I don't love nuts in my food because they hurt my teeth. It was still delicious).

Meanwhile, in a large, deep fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until a quinoa seed dropped into it sizzles upon contact. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring until the seeds are seperate and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the water and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed, 15-18 minuts. Uncover and continue to cook until any excess moisture is cooked off, about 1 minute.

Spoon the quinoa into a warmed serving dish (unless you're a normal person... (insert eye-roll)). Top with toasted pecans and cranberries, and serve. Serves 4. The first picture is from Willimas Sonoma, the second one is mine. No, I'm not a food photographer.

A variation of this is to replace the pecans with pine nuts and the cranberries with broccoli. Yum! If only I could eat broccoli (without having a major reaction to it) I would definitely try it. Someday hopefully.

Peanut Butter Bars

2011-07-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

I think this is Jaclyn's recipe. I have two recipes that are very similar and I know I got one from Jaclyln, but I don't know which and I have no clue where the other one came from. This little dessert is one of our favorites. My husband was deprived of peanut butter all growing up because his brother is allergic to peanuts. Now he can't get enough. I made these last week for a neighborhood BBQ and I am not allowing myself to make them again anytime soon because I don't have enough self-control. Wish I had taken a picture but I was running a bit late. I promise they were pretty :)

Peanut Butter Bars

1 C butter, softened
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
2 eggs
2/3 C peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 C quick oats

semi-sweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
1 C powdered sugar
½ C peanut butter
¼ C milk

Cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, peanut butter and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda and salt. Add flour mix and oats to peanut butter mix. Press in bottom of greased pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and allow them to melt and then spread them. Let cool completely (or place in fridge or freezer to help cool). Once chocolate is cooled and hard, frost with frosting mix.

Avocado Salad

2011-07-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

The first time I had this type of salad was at Sunny's house a few years ago. I got the recipe from her, went home and made it, and it wasn't nearly as good. You know how everything tastes better when someone else makes it? Well, a couple of weeks ago, my sister-in-law brought this to a family dinner. It was so good! Again I got the recipe, and I decided to change things to my taste a little, and I nailed it! Here's my version. I don't measure anything, just add as much or as little as you like. I love avocados and peppers so I go a little heavy on those and less on the corn and tomatoes (though once my garden tomatoes are on, I will be going very heavy on those!) The original recipe is for a larger group so I have cut it down. This recipe will feed 2-4 depending on the portion (or it will feed just me if I eat it as my lunch :))

Avocado Salad

1 large ripe avocado (or 2 small ones), chopped
1 medium size tomato, chopped and salted
1/4 of a red pepper, chopped
1/4 of a yellow pepper, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 of a jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1/2 can of black beans (more or less), rinsed and drained
1/3 cup corn (I use the canned corn, but frozen mexican style corn is good too)
juice of 1 full lime
1/4-1/3 package of dry Italian salad dressing mix, to taste

Mix all the veggies together in a medium size bowl. Stir in lime juice. Sprinkle the dry dressing over the top to your taste. Stir well. Serve with "scoops" tortilla chips so you can get tons of yummy dip in every bite. Tostitos now has multi-grain scoops and I would highly recommend them.

Other recipes have you put the oil and vinegar in that the salad dressing mix calls for, but I don't like the oily taste. And I prefer the lime juice to the vinegar. Also, any kind of bean will work, I just prefer black beans. And if you have cilantro, it would be really yummy in it as well. The salad will last a couple days in the fridge.

Granola Bars

2011-06-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

These are really good! They basically taste like treats, but with so much good stuff in them you don't feel too guilty. We eat these for breakfast with fruit and milk. Or for snacks.

Granola Bars
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ - 1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 whole egg beaten
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9x13 baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix well, using clean hands is easiest. Pat the mixture out into the foil lined pan. Bake for about 20-25, or until edges start to brown. Let cool, use pizza roller to slice into bars. Finish cooling before removing or they will break apart. For longer storage you can store in the freezer or refridgerator. Enjoy.

Cashew Chicken

2011-06-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from favfamilyrecipes.com, but it didn't have any veggies in it, just garlic and green onions. It was good, but I thought it would be much better with some healthy veggies added. I was right. Here's my version. The amounts of veggies are just an estimate. You can put as much or as little as you like. I didn't add mushrooms this time, but our favorite Chinese restaurant puts them in their cashew chicken and it is good.

Cashew Chicken
1 - 1 1/2 lbs chicken, cubed
1 T cornstarch
salt and pepper
olive oil for sauteing
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup green bell peppers, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
8 green onions, chopped, white and green parts separated
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup water chestnutes, chopped
2 T rice vinegar
3 T hoisin sauce
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup cashews
Rice, for serving

Toss chicken with cornstarch and salt and pepper. Add oil to large skillet on medium-high heat and begin browning chicken. After a minute, add carrots. Cook until chicken is done or nearly done. Add peppers, mushrooms, garlic, and whites of onions and cook until veggies are tender. Add peas and water chestnuts and cook enough to warm through. Add vinegar and cook until it evaporates. Add hoisin sauce and water and cook until warmed. Remove from heat and stir in green parts of onions and cashews. Serve over rice.

Chicken Azteca

2011-06-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on favfamilyrecipes.com, which is a great recipe site if you haven't come across it yet. But I think she must've deleted it because I can't find it there now. Which is crazy because this recipe is crazy good! It was a hit with the whole family. (This was her picture, I didn't top mine with tomatoes and avocados, though I'm sure it would be yummy.) I halved this recipe and used 9 or 10 chicken tenderloins instead.

Chicken Azteca
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups frozen corn
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. onion powder (I used 1/2 cup chopped onion instead)
2 cups Pace salsa, divided
Tabasco sauce, to taste (**optional)
10 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 (8 oz) pkgs. cream cheese, cubed (I used 1/3 less fat)
cooked rice (She said she made a Spanish rice of sorts by adding a little tomato sauce, cumin, onion, and garlic powder to the rice while cooking. She didn't spice it up a lot... didn't want it to overpower the flavor of the chicken)
shredded cheddar cheese

Combine beans, corn, garlic, onion, cumin and 1/2 of the salsa in slow cooker. Arrange chicken breasts over top. Pour remaining salsa (and optional hot sauce) over top of chicken. Cover. Cook on high 2-3 hours or on low 4-6 hours. Remove chicken and cut into bite size pieces. Return to crockpot. Stir in cream cheese. Cook on high until it melts. Spoon chicken and sauce over cooked rice. Top with cheese.

We served it over brown rice, but it would probably be really good wrapped up in a tortilla or even just scooped up with tortilla chips. Seriously, so good!

Maple Almond Granola

2011-05-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

I love granola. When I came across this recipe I was excited because it's got to be much healthier to make it at home. No preservatives and you can control how much fat and sugar goes into it. This is from my William Sonoma cookbook as well.

Maple-Almond Granola

1/4 cup canola oil (I cut back on how much I use, and also have tried olive oil and it is still just as good)
1/2 cup grade B maple syrup (I don't know what the grades mean, but I used grade A pure maple syrup)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp. salt
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds (Raw, I chopped each in 1/2 or 1/3)

Preheat an oven to 325°F. Lightly oil a 12-by-15-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, syrup, honey and salt. Stir in the oats and almonds, mixing to coat them completely.

Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let the granola cool completely.

Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. I like it with fresh fruit and yogurt.

Whole Wheat Crepes with Strawberry Sauce

2011-05-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

Another breakfast recipe. With ricotta cheese. I just can't get enough of them. I adapted this one from a Tyler Florence recipe, but changed it to make it healthier and a little easier. But the original recipe is really yummy too. I borrowed this picture from a website I found off of google image search, as you can see.

Whole Wheat Crepes
1 C milk
1/4 C cold water
2 eggs
1 C whole wheat flour
2 T sugar
Pinch of salt
3 T butter, melted

Combine milk, water, eggs, flour, sugar and salt in blender. Blend on medium speed for 15 seconds, until batter is smooth. Scrape down the sides and pour in melted butter. Blend again for a few seconds to mix butter in. You can refridgerate for an hour, but I use it right away.

Heat a large skillet to medium heat and spray with Pam. Using 1/4 C, pour a scoop onto skillet and swirl around until bottom is covered in a thin layer. Cook until crepe sets and bottom is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to loosen the crepe and flip it. Cook on the other side for about 1 minute. Slide it onto a plate and continue using the rest of the batter. Should make about 8-10.

Crepe Filling
1 C ricotta cheese
8 oz cream cheese, softened (can use light, or less cream cheese and more ricotta)
3 T powdered sugar

Spread large spoonful on one end of crepe and roll up, folding in sides. Return rolled up crepes to pan to warm through. If desired, melt butter in pan first for a greasy but yummy blintze.

Strawberry Sauce
1 quart frozen strawberries, thawed or partially thawed
1/4 C sugar (or less)
1/4 C water
1 tsp cornstarch

Using a food processor, blend strawberries to get a chunky mixture (or smooth if you desire). Add to sauce pot with sugar, water, and cornstarch. Bring to a simmer and stir often, maybe 5-10 minutes. It will thicken as it cools down. Serve on top of crepes along with powdered sugar for dusting or whipped topping.

Sour Cream and Onion Burgers

2011-05-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

It's almost grilling season here so it's got me thinking of my favorite summer dishes. These burgers are my husband's favorite. My kids love them too. I always half this recipe for my little family of four (well, four and a half ;).

Sour Cream and Onion Burgers
2 lbs lean ground beef (I use 93% lean)
2 envelopes (1 oz each) onion soup mix
1 C sour cream (I use Light)
½ C dry bread crumbs
1/8 tsp pepper
8 hamburger buns
lettuce, if desired

Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat.

In large bowl, mix all ingredients except buns and lettuce. Shape mixture into 8 patties, about ½ inch thick.

Cover and grill patties over medium heat 11-13 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink in the center (meat thermometer should read 160). Serve with buns and lettuce and ketchup and mustard if desired. Goes great with steak fries, or sweet potato fries.

Chicken Tetrazzini

2011-05-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

I've been on a baked-pasta kick lately. This one is one of our favorites. Just make sure to half the recipe unless you are feeding eight people (or you want to eat the leftovers for three days).

Chicken Tetrazzini
12 oz spaghetti broken in pieces (I use whole grain)
5 TB butter or margarine
6 TB flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup light cream or canned milk (or regular milk works)
1 tsp salt, pepper to taste
1 cup fresh or canned mushrooms
5 TB minced green peppers
3 cups cooked, cubed chicken
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until just tender. Do not over cook. Melt butter, blend in flour. Stir broth into flour mixture. Add cream (milk). Cook until mixture thickens and bubbles. Add salt and pepper. Drain spaghetti, mushrooms, green peppers, and cooked chicken. Turn into 9x13 flat casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheddar and then parmesan on top. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and the chesses are lightly browned.

Chicken and Mango Salad with Chutney Vinaigrette

2011-04-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Another recipe from William Sonoma Eat Well. I know this sounds weird but it was so, so good. The vinaigrette was delicious! I might even try it with grapes instead of mangos next time. I cut this recipe in half for my husband and me.

Chicken and Mango Salad with Chutney Vinaigrette

1/2 red onion
2 ripe mangoes
4 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used small chunks)
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
4 cups sliced romaine lettuce
1/3 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
2 to 3 tsp. Asian chili oil *(optional, I didn't use it but I added a little chili powder)
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped (I just put it in the food processor whole)
1/2 cup mango chutney
1/2 cup cashews, toasted (I just used regular Planters cashews and didn't cook them or anything)

Thinly slice the onion lengthwise, rinse under cold running water and drain well. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the mangoes, then cut the flesh away from the seed and cut the flesh into 1-inch chunks. In a large bowl, combine the onion, mangoes, chicken, celery and lettuce.

In a food processor, combine the peanut oil, vinegar, mustard and chili oil and process until blended. Add the garlic and chutney and process until pureed.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours and toss well before serving. Garnish the salad with the cashews just before serving. Serves 4.

Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

2011-04-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

Another ricotta breakfast recipe. This is also a William Sonoma recipe and it is delicious! I will sometimes add blueberries to these for my family, but I love them just how they are.

Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

1 C ricotta cheese
1 C milk
3 eggs, seperated
1/4 C sugar
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 1/2 C cake flour (I use whole-wheat)
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, milk, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice until smooth. Sift together the flour, baking powder and 1/8 tsp. of the salt over the ricotta mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.

In another large bowl, using a hand mixer or whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the remaining 1/8 tsp. salt and continue beating until soft peaks form. This makes the pancakes really fluffy and yummy. Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg whites into the ricotta mixture, then gently fold in the remaining whites.

Preheat a griddle over medium heat. Spray the griddle with nonstick cooking spray. Ladle 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and the pancakes are golden underneath, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer to a warmed plate. Repeat with the remaining batter. Makes 12 to 14 pancakes.

Multigrain Ricotta Waffles

2011-04-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

I really like using ricotta cheese in my breakfast foods because it makes them creamy and fluffy, adds some healthy protein and it fills you up for longer. This is a recipe out of my new William Sonoma cookbook. I changed it just a little to make it healthier.

Multigrain Ricotta Waffles

1 C all-purpose flour (I used wheat here)
1/2 C whole-wheat flour (I used white here)
1/2 C stone-ground cornmeal (I just used regular cornmeal)
1 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C milk (I used buttermilk)
1/2 C part-skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 T canola oil (I used applesauce)

In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, ricotta, eggs and oil. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture just until smooth.

Coat a waffle maker lightly with oil, wiping off any excess with a paper towel. Preheat to medium according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Spoon about 1/2 cup batter onto the hot waffle maker, spreading it out to the edges. Close the lid and cook until the waffle is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve with fresh strawberries and plain yogurt for a healthy option. I made a strawberry sauce and used whipped cream for a less-healthy-but-super-yummy option. Or, you know, just syrup or whatever.

Candy Caramel Corn

2011-04-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

We got this popcorn as a Christmas gift from our neighbors. It was huge, and we already had a ton of treats for the holidays. I was complaining about my neighbors trying to make me fat. Then I tasted it... Ryan and I decided to have a movie night after we put the kids in bed and we devoured this stuff. We ate until we were sick. And then ate a little more. It's that good. I had to ask for the recipe. Four months later and yes, it's still THAT good.

Popcorn (movie theater is best)
Almonds, whole (plain, not with a lot of flavorings)
1 C butter
1 1/3 C white sugar
½ C corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in sauce pot. Add sugar and syrup and stir until boiling. Boil for 90 seconds, stirring constantly. With 10 seconds left, add vanilla. Pour over popcorn in a big bowl and stir until every kernel is coated. Add more popcorn if there is still extra caramel at bottom of bowl. Add almonds (as many as you prefer) and stir some more. Pour into serving container and cool. Enjoy!

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage

2011-02-14T18:35:00.000-08:00

You might think chicken sausage doesn't sound very good, but it really is! I've made up my own pasta recipe with it in the past, but this one was really yummy. This came from melskitchencafe.com, which is also where I got the picture. The only thing I didn't like about this recipe is that it has you put the spinach in the boiling pasta water, but when you drain off the water you lose a lot of nutrients. Next time I will probably try cooking it in the sauce instead. This makes a heaping 9x13 pan full. It would be good to split between two 8x8 pans and freeze one, or share with a neighbor who just had a baby or something.

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup heavy cream (you could leave this out and it would still be good, but I liked it creamy)
1 pound rigatoni (I used whold grain penne, which was great!)
9 ounces fresh spinach (can use frozen spinach, thawed and drained well, but I can't stand frozen spinach)
12 ounces precooked smoked chicken (or turkey) sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick (I got mine at Albertsons. I've seen them at a lot of grocery stores. They are by the hotdogs.)
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, 4 ounces cut into 1/2-inch cubes and 4 ounces shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic. Cook for another minute.
2. Stir in tomatoes, oregano and basil; simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add cream; cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions. (If using fresh spinach, add it to the pot of boiling pasta right at the end and cook until wilted.) Drain, and return contents to pot.
3. Add tomato sauce, sausage, spinach and cubed mozzarella to the pot; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Scoop pasta into lightly greased 9X13-inch pan (or divide evenly between two 8X8-inch pans). Top with grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until browned and edges are crisp, 20 to 30 minutes.

Apple Yogurt Pancakes

2011-02-14T18:13:00.000-08:00

These were awesome! It's hard to say which were better between these and the pumpkin pancakes. I got the original recipe from allrecipes.com, but I changed it quite a bit to make it healthier and more filling. The syrup, on the other hand, is not healthy. And it is so good I could drink it. But it's sweet enough that you only need a little and the pancakes are so moist that you don't need extra butter (unlike the picture, which I borrowed from google search again).

Apple Yogurt Pancakes
2 eggs
1 2/3 cups milk (I used buttermilk)
1 (8 ounce) container plain yogurt (Mountain High brand)
1/4 cup applesauce
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (next time I'm going to do 2 cups flour and 1/2 cups oats)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 Tablespoons wheat germ
1 apple - peeled, cored and diced (I grated mine, and next time I probably won't bother peeling it)

1. In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, milk, yogurt and applesauce until well blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, and wheat germ and stir into the milk mixture until smooth. Fold in chopped apple.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each cake. (Use spoon to flatten out batter) Cook until bubbles form in the cakes and the bottoms are golden brown. Flip and cook the other side. Serve warm with fruit and jam, maple syrup, or homemade yogurt syrup (recipe follows).

Homemade Yogurt Syrup
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup plain yogurt (I used Mountain High brand)
1/2 cup butter
3 Tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring first four ingredients to a boil in a large pot. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and stir constantly for 5 minutes. Add baking soda and vanilla. Remove from stove and serve over pancakes, waffles or french toast. (The syrup will be thin-- this is normal. After it cools off a bit it thickens up. Store any extra syrup in the fridge for later use. It gets very thick once refridgerated.)
**The baking soda will make it boil high so make sure you use a large pot.***

Low Fat Blueberry Bran Muffins

2011-02-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

When I think bran muffins, I usually picture chewing on cardboard. It reminds me of my early years doing clinicals in Nursing homes. BUT these are SO not like that. They are delicious and around 100 calories a piece. My whole family loved them and I'll definitely be doing them anytime I have fresh blueberries. (Picture borrowed from Google Search.)

Low-Fat Blueberry Bran Muffins
1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup nonfat milk (I used buttermilk, just because that's what I had)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or use paper muffin liners. Mix together wheat bran and milk, and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat in bran mixture. Sift together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into bran mixture until just blended. Fold in blueberries. Scoop into muffin cups.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly tapped. Yields 12 muffins.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

2011-02-13T14:22:00.000-08:00

This was my first time making bread by hand (or mixer, I should say) and it turned out so delicious! I like to keep the link to my recipes so that I can go back and look at the comments. People are always saying how they changed things a little and it's very interesting. Here is the link to this bread:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Simple-Whole-Wheat-Bread/Detail.aspx

Next time I plan on using all whole wheat instead of half and half. The things I did differently are in blue.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread
3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup honey
5 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used 4 C total)
1/4 cup gluten flour aka: dough enhancer
*2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly. (I assume this is just to help the yeast grow and activate??)

2. Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey (this is the second time you add honey, I almost missed it because I thought I had already done it, which I had, but you do it again), and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour and gluten flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. (I used my Kitchenaid for the kneading, and it took me 2 extra cups of flour, 4 C whole grain flour total.) Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

3. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard (I didn't do this and the crust was just fine). Cool completely.

White Bean Chile

2011-02-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

This recipe is easy, fast and delicious.

1 TBSP olive oil
1 lb. chicken (about 3 chicken breasts or I used canned chicken)
1 small white onion
1 tsp. garlic powder

2 chicken bullion cubes
2 cups water
2 cans chopped green chiles
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. salt (don't add if you use canned chicken)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano

2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup sour cream (I use low fat or fat free)
1/2 cup whipping cream (I use light cream or milk)

Toppings:
green onions
monterey jack grated cheese
tortilla chips

Instructions:
-Boil chicken. Dice into 1/2 inch cubes. While boiling, chop onion.
- In a large pot, heat oil, cooked chicken, onion, and garlic powder for 5 minutes.
- Add water, chicken bullion, green chiles, cayenne, salt, cumin, oregano. Stir together and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. While simmering, drain and rinse beans.
- Add beans. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Turn heat down to low (as low as it will go). Stir in whipping cream and sour cream. Keep uncovered on low for 10 minutes.

Serve in bowls. Top with chopped green onion and monterey jack cheese.
*this recipe serves 4.

Creamy Italian Sausage Chili

2011-02-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

I was craving Corn Bread and Chili and I found a few different chili recipes. This one was wonderful! It's from favfamilyrecipes.com. Sure, it's not the healthiest dish in the book, but totally worth it. I guess some might consider it spicy. I didn't. But you can tone down the spices a little if you have sensitive taste buds. This chili tastes even better the second day.

Creamy Italian Sausage Chili
1 lb italian sausage
2 Tbsp. olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 can chicken broth
3 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans diced tomatoes, lightly blended (I didn't blend them)
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/3 cup ketchup
1 can of each: black beans, pinto beans (I used kidney beans instead of pinto because I like them so much better), chili beans (I drained the black and kidney beans just a little)
1/2 pkg. of cream cheese

Start frying the sausage in a large pot. Add the garlic with some olive oil and brown. Once sausage is browned add the broth, spices, tomatoes, vinegar, and ketchup. Stir well and bring to a boil. Add the beans (do not drain) to the pot. Let the chili simmer for about half an hour. Lastly add the cream cheese and stir in until completely dissolved. It's especially good served with crackers or cornbread.

Here is the recipe for corn bread that I used from cupcakediariesblog.blogspot.com:

Corn Bread
1 1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. yellow corn meal
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Directions
1. Combine flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Combine milk, eggs, vegetable oil and butter in a small bowl; mix well. Add to flour mixture and stir just until blended.
3. Pour into a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm with butter and honey for that extra bit of yumminess!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2011-02-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to find some different kinds of things to eat for breakfast and I came across these at allrecipes.com. They were a big hit with my whole family. (Picture borrowed from google search. I'm not very good at making food look as good as it tastes).

Pumpkin Pancakes
1 1/2 cups milk (I used buttermilk)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. (For smoother consistency, blend pumpkin in a food processor or blender with some milk first). Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine. Batter will be thick.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Use a spoon to spread the batter flat on the griddle. Brown on both sides and serve hot with Cool Whip or syrup. We used just a little bit of Cool Whip Lite.

Ranch Crusted Chicken

2010-12-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

This is a good alternative to my other Ranch Chicken meal. I don't measure anything out when I make this, but here is the original recipe I found online somewhere.

8 chicken Breasts
3/4 C. Crushed Corn Flakes
3/4 C. Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/2 C. melted butter
1 Packet Ranch Dressing Mix

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix together corn flakes, cheese and ranch mix in a medium size bowl and set aside.
In a separate bowl melt butter.
Dip chicken breasts in melted butter then into dry mixture.
Place in greased baking dish and cook, uncovered for 45 minutes!

I use chicken tenders instead because they thaw faster, cook faster, and are more tender. Then I just crush up half a bowl of corn flakes and add half a packet of ranch mix and about the same amount of parmesan. With tenders you only have to cook them for 25 minutes or so. My kids love this!

Creamy Green Chili Enchiladas

2010-12-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

I came up with this recipe by combining two others that I tried, and adding a little extra. No, it's not healthy. But it is really good and sometimes you just need some comfort food.

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 C sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
shredded chicken (maybe 1.5-2 lbs? or however much you like. We like a lot.)
1 small package shredded colby jack cheese (or mexican cheese blend), divided
1 can diced green chilis, drained
corn tortillas
2 can green chili enchilada sauce
French's French Fried Onions

(I always half this recipe and use an 8x8 dish)

Soften cream cheese and mix with sour cream and soup. Spread in bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Combine shredded chicken with a handful of cheese (I know, I'm very specific in my measurements, right?) and the diced green chilis. Tortillas will crack apart if they are not warmed in a frying pan with cooking spray, but if I don't have time I just let them fall apart and we eat it like a casserole. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and line in pan. Pour enchilada sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle generously with the remaining cheese. Top with french fried onions. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until warmed through. (When I half the recipe I only do 20-25 minutes).

You could use flour tortillas as well. I don't usually like corn tortillas at all, but I like the flavor in this because it is rich and creamy and the corn helps balance it out. And you could change any of the amounts of the ingredients to your liking. Less cream cheese to make it healthier. More chicken to make it heartier. Etc. Enjoy!

Ginger Peach Smoothie

2010-10-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

I got the idea from my 'Oxygen' magazine

Ginger Peach Smoothie

Ingredients:

Almond milk, vanilla unsweetened (*any milk is fine)

1 fresh peach

1/2 cup frozen peaches (if all you have is frozen, that works. Canned peaches (w/no sugar) okay too)

1 tsp fresh ginger

1 Tbls agave nectar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

6 ice cubes

(*Vanilla protein powder is optional, 1 scoop)

-This serves 1-2 people, or 1 adult and 2 little people around here ;)

Don't forget to remove the peach pit, toss in blender. You can grate the ginger first if you don't think your blender will blend it smooth enough.

Enjoy!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

2010-10-12T06:54:00.000-07:00

*Note: I use conceptual cooking, so this recipe is from me. My measurements might not be accurate, so start with less and add more if needed. I was trying to do a home, healthy version of Pei Wei's lettuce wraps. The basic concept for chinese cooking is sweet and spicy, so if you don't have a recipe and you are in the mood for chinese, play around and experiment. I'm not a big "recipe" user, lol. I just like to see what can be pulled together, and I love trying to copy restaurant favorites ;). Having some fresh ginger around is what inspired this recipe.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

1/2 Tbls canola oil

3-4 chicken breasts (small-medium, and thin in size; if thick, try pounding first)

1/2 onion - 1 whole onion, white or yellow, minced

1/3 bunch green onions (aka scallions), trim off 3 inches from top & 1 inch from bottom

1/4 cup liquid aminos (Braggs), or lite soy sauce (Kikkoman's)

1/2 Tbls fresh ginger (pealed and grated)

1 clove fresh garlic, pressed

1 Tbls agave nectar (of course, sugar or honey can always be used instead)

1 Tbls stone ground mustard (with whole seeds intact)

1/2 Tbls Mexican hot sauce, of your choice

1/2 Tbls chopped walnuts

1/2 Tbls slivered almonds

1/2 tsp sweet paprika (or just paprika)

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or a 1/2 tsp chili pepper fusion, like I used)

Sea salt & pepper (to taste, but the liquid aminos has a lot of salt)

Bok Choy, 1 head

*I had pre-cooked chicken breasts I made earlier that day, so it made this pretty fast and easy to make. I seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika, and maybe some thyme. I set my oven on bake at 375, and cooked them for about 25 minutes (it depends on thickness).

Prep: Mince onion (while oil heats on pan), and while onion cooks dice chicken breasts into small chunks. Than chop green onions, grate ginger and set aside for later (and chop walnuts if needed).

Heat canola oil in a medium/large saute pan on medium heat. Place onions in pan first and saute until soft (about 3 minutes) than add chicken. Than add your garlic, ginger, and all remaining ingredients, BUT wait to add green onions. Stir and heat through on low/med heat (depending on your stove and pan -you don't want to brown or burn anything) about 5-10 minutes. When onions become very soft and translucent add the green onions and cook for 5 more minutes, and stir often.

Serve hot (or cold) with Bok Choy, or ice burg lettuce.

This also works for a great to-go lunch the next day! :) Enjoy!!

Farafalle with Salsa Cruda

2010-03-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

1 1/2 lbs. diced tomato's (Appx. 1 1/2 cans)
Appx. 2 cloves of garlic
1/2 oz. of fresh basil (silvered) - I just used a bit of basil flakes
1/2 cup of olive oil
3 Tbs of balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 lb. smoked mozzarella cheese (I've also used 1/2 smoked gouda & 1/2 reg. mozzarella before).
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 lb Farafalle (bowtie) pasta
2 oz of Prosciutto (domestic is fine) (fried & chopped "crumbled")

Combine the tomatoes, garlic, basil, vinegar, oil and red pepper flakes, stir and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Cook pasta according to directions, drain, stir in shredded mozzarella (while pasta is hot) and combine, and then stir in tomato mixture. Pour into serving platter and top with toasted pine nuts and crumbled prosciutto and serve.

This is a very flavorful pasta. Of course I forgot to take a picture (I never remember). I'll have to add one next time I make it.

Italian Wedding Soup

2010-02-16T10:42:00.001-08:00

*This soup is slightly more rich than I would prefer, but it is soooo good and very filling. Like the title of the soup describes, it is probably better for a special event or celebration. Its really good! I got it from 'food network', Ina Garten's 'Barefoot Contessa' show. Here is the link for the recipe. And I did cook it with the dry white wine (the alcohol burns off), but I don't really like the taste it brought, so you could leave that one out ;).

Making chicken stock is not too hard. With about 10 cups of water boil some chopped onions, carrots, celery, and a family size package of chicken (like the on sale $3 pack) legs/thighs/wings -roasted- (the bones add a lot of flavor) for about 45 minutes. Than, strain the broth and you have stock. You can reuse the leftover stuff a few more times to maximize its use (just add it to water and boil until you have your desired flavor of broth).

Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

3/4 pound ground chicken
1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed
2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (*I used Italian parsley; I think that's what she intended...)
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
3 tablespoons milk
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the soup:

2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 cup minced yellow onion
1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
10 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine (*I, Amy, say this is optional. Even though the alcohol burns off, I still don't like the taste so much)
1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars
1/4 cup minced fresh dill
12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock (and wine) and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.

Chicken Veggie and Arugula Pizza

2010-02-07T19:20:00.000-08:00

*Don't worry, you don't have to make home made crust (I wouldn't even say I went that far. I used 'Bob's Red Mill' pizza crust mixture).

Chicken Veggie and Arugula Pizza

*Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

*Roll/spread dough on greased pizza pan (or flat cookie sheet pan)

Sauce:

-6 oz. can tomato sauce

-1 tsp dried basil

-1/2 tsp dried cilantro

-1 tsp each: onion powder, garlic powder, salt

-1/2 tsp chili powder

-1/2 tablespoon agave nectar (or 1 tsp sugar)

-*I used 1/2 tsp dried parsley, but I was experimenting, so don't worry about using it if you don't have it

*Stir and leave out 1/4 cup (see topping), and apply to rolled out dough

Toppings:

-1/2 white onion, diced

-1 cup total of: chopped green bell pepper, red bell pepper

-1 small tomato, chopped

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-1 cup arugula

-1 tbls olive oil (to cook chicken and saute vegetables with)

-1 large, or two small chicken breasts, browned and cut up (season with salt and pepper while cooking)

-1/4 cup of earlier made pizza sauce

-3/4 cup shredded monterey jack or mozzarella (freshly shredded if possible)

*Add onion, bell peppers, tomatoes and garlic to chicken in saute pan. Add 1/4 cup sauce. Saute on medium heat for about 3 minutes.

*Sprinkle half of cheese first, after sauce, on the pizza dough. Evenly spread out arugula, and than add chicken and veggie mixture, and top with remaining cheese.

*Bake 15-18 minutes.

If you prefer to go vegetarian, just leave out the chicken and its still delicious!!

Popped Amaranth

2010-02-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

Are you in the mood to try something new? If you are thinking, 'What is amaranth?', I don't blame you. Its not very popular in the US (crazy), but in South America it is like a super grain, even though it is actually a seed. It is very similar to quinoa, but not as bitter, and much smaller. Here is my favorite way to make it:

• Popped. Toast a tablespoon of amaranth seeds a time in a hot, dry skillet. Continually shake or stir until the seeds pop -be sure to put a (glass) lid over it while it pops. They should pop fairly quickly after they are put on the heat. If not, just try again and turn the heat up, but not too much.

I toast about 3 tablespoons per serving. Just toast one tblspn at a time though.

I add a little unsweetened, vanilla almond milk (which, by the way, if you haven't tried you have to try. So much better tasting than milk), agave nectar (or 100 % pure maple syrup), and cinnamon. Its sort of like eating rice puffed cereal, but crunchier and better tasting, and really good for you!

You have to try it!! Check it out next time you are in the store.

Fruit and Yogurt Smoothie

2010-01-26T14:11:00.000-08:00

This is so super easy and delicious. And in my book, it's healthy. But I consider yogurt healthy, even though it has some sugar in it. And I use 100% juice, but it's sweet. So if you are crazy (eh, Amy) and don't want any sugar, I guess you could use water instead of juice and plain greek yogurt (does that stuff have sugar?)

Super-Yummy Fruit Smoothie
-Yoplait Vanilla yogurt (I've tried other brands and other flavors and this is the only one I like.)
-Frozen fruit such as peaches, strawberries, mangos, mixed fruit, etc.
-Fresh fruit if you have any such as bananas, blueberries, strawberries, etc.
-Juice such as orange juice or V8 Fusion.

I don't measure, I just add things until it looks good but I would say I only use about 1/4 C juice because I like it thick. And I use maybe 1/2 C yogurt or more. Then I add in as much fruit as I want. The amount in the picture made a full glass for me and two small glasses for the kiddos.

Homemade Pizza

2009-12-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I come across a recipe that is so good I feel it is a shame not to share it with someone. Here is my newest one: Homemade Pizza

This is SO good. And you can make whatever kind of pizza you like. I’ve posted the recipe for this dough before with another pizza. It is so easy in a breadmaker. If you don’t have a breadmaker you would have to knead it by hand, but I’m telling you it’s worth it.

Pizza Dough
1 C warm water (95-105 degrees)
¼ C olive oil
2 T honey
3 ½ C flour (sometimes I use both white and wheat mixed, but I don’t really like just wheat)
½ tsp salt
2 T yeast (2 packets rapid-rise)

You put everything in the breadmaker in this order, making a little well in the flour for the yeast so it doesn’t touch the water yet. Then you set you breadmaker to the ‘dough’ setting and you start it. Mine takes 1 ½ hours to rise and what-not. Here are some instructions if you don’t have a breadmaker: http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/article/46/17753

Once you have the dough made, let it cool a little and then roll it out on a floured countertop and put it on your pizza pan that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Then add your toppings and bake for another 10-12 or until cooked through.

Another problem I had was the sauce. I hate store-bought pizza sauce so I tried a few different ones and I came up with this.

Pizza Sauce
½ onion, minced (sometimes I add more)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
16 oz tomato sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp dried basil leaves
½ tsp salt

Sautee onions and garlic in oil until cooked through. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15-20 minutes (or as long as it takes to get everything else ready). The original recipe called for a can of tomato paste, but I think it is way too rich with that so I leave it out. The sauce is a little runny, but I like it.

Then you can put whatever toppings you like. I usually use sausage (cook in frying pan while waiting for crust to cook and sauce to simmer), pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.

I had a veggie pizza at Firehouse that was really good so I thought I would try something like that last time. I still put some sausage and pepperoni, just not very much. Then I piled it high with red and green bell peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini. It was really good. The pizza I had at the restaurant had tiny pieces of Canadian bacon or something on it and that was the only meat. It gave it a nice flavor. I might try that sometime.

I’ve also had this Garlic Ranch Chicken Pizza on this crust and it was also incredible. http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2008/07/garlic-ranch-chicken-pizza.htmlI chopped the tomatoes small, though. And I use rotisserie chicken because it’s easy and really, really good. Mmm.

Sugared and Spiced Nuts

2009-12-07T09:51:00.000-08:00

Want a sweet holiday treat that is sooo easy (but fattening... a good fat though, haha)?

Spiced Nuts

1/2 c sugar

1/2 tsp of: nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves (I didn't have cloves, so I used a 1/4 tsp of all spice)

1/4 tsp salt

8 oz of mixed nuts (I used unsalted whole pecans and whole walnuts; and I used about 1 1/2 cups)

1 egg white

Pre-heat oven to 350 (I had to do my oven at 325). Mix sugar, spices and salt in a bowl and set aside. Toss egg white with nuts until coated. Than toss in sugar and spice mixture. Stir evenly, than pour evenly across baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes (I baked mine 10 minutes; my oven is a convection oven) than break apart with a metal spatula and put back in oven for 5 minutes to dry out (I broke mine up than did 4 minutes, than broke them up and spread them out again and did another 4 minutes). Than, allow to cool for a minute, and than put on to a cool surface to cool and harden.

Enjoy!

Amy's Sweet & Spicy Cilantro Lime Chili

2009-11-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

Amy's Sweet & Spicy Cilantro Lime Chili

1 tbls olive oil

Green pepper

Yellow Onion

3 Tomatoes (medium, or 2 large)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb extra lean ground beef, browned

1/4 c beef broth

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can tomato sauce, 8 oz

1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz can)

1/2 cup habanero bbq sauce (or your choice of spicy bbq sauce)

(*option - use a packaged chili seasoning in replacement of following seasonings, like McCormicks chili seasoning packet)

Seasoning:

2 tbls chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic salt or powder

1/4 tsp coriander

pinch cayenne pepper (*optional)

Sea salt & fresh ground pepper; to your taste preference

1 tbls honey

1/2 tbls fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Cheddar cheese, freshly shredded (about 1-2 cups)

Heat 1 tbls olive oil in a large sauce pan on medium heat. Rough chop green pepper, sweet yellow onion, and put in pan once oil is hot, but not too hot. While sauteing, chop 2-3 tomatoes and 3 cloves garlic, and add to mixture. Let saute for 10 minutes or until onions are translucent. While mixture is sauteing, cook brown beef on medium heat (I salt my beef a little while its cooking). Once browned, add beef to mixture as well as 1/4 cup beef broth.

Bring to a boil, than cook uncovered on low until moisture is almost gone, about 10 minutes. Than add: 1 can red kidney beans, 1 can pinto beans, and 1 can black beans, 1 can tomato sauce, and 1 can tomatoes. Stir in 1/4 cup habanero bbq sauce, 2 tbls chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp coriander, pinch of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper (or after bbq sauce, stir in package of chili seasoning). Heat through and let simmer about 10-15 minutes, than remove from heat and stir in 1 tbls honey, 1/2 tbls fresh lime juice, and fresh cilnantro.

Shred cheddar cheese for topping. You can also have sour cream, oyster crackers, chopped green onions, minced white or red onion, etc. for toppings. Enjoy!!

Green Salad Medley

2009-11-15T21:16:00.000-08:00

(Not the jello salad- that recipe is posted before this; I'm referring to the green lettuce salad ;)

We made this today for Samantha's baby blessing. It turned out really good! I sort of made it up as I went, so I've tried to recreate it. The proportions don't have to be exact.

Green Salad Medley Recipe

(*These proportions are for a large group -about 30 people)

Greens:

Romaine Lettuce, 1-2 heads (depending on size; 2 if small, 1 if big)

Baby spinach, about 6 cups

Mixed greens, 4-6 cups

-Gently toss greens together

Salad Topping Mixture:

Sliced gala apple,1 -sliced thin and small

Yellow bell pepper sliced, 1

Shredded Carrot, 2

Yellow onion, 1, sliced thin

Dried cranberries, 3/4 cup

Lemon juice (fresh squeezed), 1 tbls

Agave nectar (or honey), 1/2 tbls

Salt & Pepper, 1/2 tsp each

Thyme, 1/2 tsp

Paprika, 1/4 tsp

Tumeric, pinch

-Stir ingredients together in separate a bowl; let chill for 15-30 minutes before serving

Gently Toss into salad, and than add:

Strawberries, sliced, 1 cup

Feta cheese, 2/3 cup

Candied sliced almonds, 3/4 cup -*add at very end, right before dressing

Gently Toss once, than add:

Raspberry Orange Herb Vinaigrette Salad Dressing: *Let dressing chill first, about 20-30 minutes

Orange Juice, 1/3 cup

Lemon Juice, 3 tbls

Raspberries, 1/3 cup

Canola Oil, 3 tbls

Apple Cider Vin, 3 tbls

Red Wine Vin, 2 tbls

Sugar, 1/4 cup (or less if needed;... taste to test before adding more,?)

Garlic, 2 cloves, pressed

Chopped fresh cilantro, 2 tbls

Chopped fresh parsley, 2 tbls

Sea Salt & Pepper (fresh ground) -about 1 tsp each

Paprika, 1/2 tsp

Sweet Paprika, dash

Tumeric, pinch (or 1/4 tsp)

Gently toss into salad until coated evenly (pour first half of dressing than toss and pour other to half).

Puke Salad

2009-11-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

Nice name right?

Its a type of jello pudding salad...

Whisk 1 small pkg of pistachio pudding with 1 can crushed pineapple. Then add container of thawed frozen whipped topping, 1 can drained pineapple tidbits, 1-2 cans drained mandarin oranges, 1-2 cups marshmallows, 1-2 sliced bananas, 1 container cottage cheese, etc... You can use any flavor or pudding-vanilla, lemon--and any variety of canned or fresh fruit.

(*See picture on next post)

Cranberry-Nut Couscous Salad

2009-10-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

Cranberry-Nut Couscous Salad

Prep: 25 min + chilling

Ingredients:

1 package (10 oz) plain couscous (I used whole wheat couscous with mine)

1 cup dried cranberries

3/4 chopped green onions

3/4 chopped sweet yellow or red pepper

3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

(*I added about 1/2 of a tomato, diced)

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

*You can also try using quinoa (pronounced "keen-waw") instead of couscous. It has a lighter flavor, but its still good. Plus, its a really healthy whole grain.

(pictured with quinoa)

Prepare couscous according to package. Transfer to large bowl; fluff with a fork. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled

Stir in cranberries, onions, yellow pepper and almonds. In a small separate bowl whisk the lemon juice, oil, paprika, salt and pepper; pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Yeild: 14 servings

Nutrition Facts: 1/2 cup equals 170 calories, 7 g fat (1 g sat. fat), 0 cholesterol, 45 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Mashed Cauliflower

2009-10-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know if anyone watches 'Biggest Loser', but Jillian mentioned using cauliflower instead of potatoes for "mashed potatoes". Its a great alternative because its without all the starch of potatoes. I made it the next day, and I loved it!!

Instructions:

Cook cauliflower, drain. Blend with plain, unsweetened soymilk (or milk of your choice), sea salt & pepper, and about 1 tsp olive oil, in a blender (or food processor, or kitchen aid, etc.). Add fresh, chopped chives if you want, and voila!

One head of cauliflower serves about 4 people.

About 3/4 cup of milk per head of cauliflower, if you want to make more.

Salsa

2009-10-01T19:26:00.000-07:00

1 can Mexican Stewed Tomatoes
½ can chopped Green Chilies
3 green onions
Cilantro (maybe 2 T or more)
1 jalapeno
1 clove garlic
½ tsp garlic salt
½ tsp cumin
½ Tbl worcestershire sauce
Juice of half a lime
3-4 fresh garden tomatoes

In a food processor, combine all ingredients EXCEPT the fresh tomatoes. I cut the onions and pepper into smaller pieces. If you want it spicy, leave most of the seeds in the jalapeno. If you don’t want it spicy, you can leave it out I guess. Or just remove all the seeds and the white insides. It’s really not that spicy that way. You could use a milder pepper as well. But I like it hot! Chop until you are sure the garlic and pepper are chopped small. I usually let my food processor run for quite awhile. I’ve never had a problem with it blending my salsa too thin. Pour mixture into a bowl. Peel tomatoes and chop small (with a knife, not in the processor). Add together and chill.

This recipe is halved, if you can’t tell. If you have a larger food processor you can double this recipe and make it easier. ½ Tablespoon is equal to 1 ½ tsp if you don’t have a ½ T measuring spoon.

I got this recipe out of a cookbook but I changed it a lot so I guess that makes it mine :) Maybe I should call it ‘Joanie’s Awesome Salsa’. The only thing I don’t like is that it calls for canned tomatoes but I don’t know how to get that flavor from scratch. And I put a lot of fresh tomatoes in as well.

My Mom's Brownies

2009-09-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

I remember a time in my life when I was content to eat Brownies made from a box. I actually remember thinking, "what's the point of going through the trouble of making them from scratch when the box ones are so good?"

Well, I have now realized that crazy thinking was only because it had been so long since I had these. I couldn't count the number of times I helped my mom make these when I was growing up. She had the recipe memorized, which was a good thing because the actually recipe was faded so much it was illegible. Now I get to enjoy them with my kids. (My mom usually added walnuts to hers, but I hate nuts in them so I don't even know how much she added.)

Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup

2009-09-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 Tbsp. Cooking Oil
1/2 small onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (minced
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 quart canned low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups (about a can) unsweetended coconut milk
3 tsp. Fish sauce or soy sauce
2 strips (3-inch long) lime zest
1/2 lb. egg fettuccine
1 lb. boneless (skinless chicken breasts (about 3) cubed
2 Tbsp. lime juice
3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro (optional)

In a large pot, heat the cooking oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic, coriander, ginger, black pepper, and cayenne; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.

Add the broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, salt and lime zest. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.

Cook fettuccine until just done (about 12 minutes). Drain.

Saute chicken

Add the chicken to the soup and simmer until just done (1 1/2 minutes). Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the fettuccine, lime juice and cilantro (if using). Serve the soup in bowls with a fork and spoon.

Baked Ziti with Prosciutto & Peas

2009-09-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

1/2 lb. ziti, penne or other tubular pasta
1 pkg. Alfredo Sauce Mix
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 lb. prosciutto chopped (domestic is fine)
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees.

Cook pasta about 2 minutes less than the package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Set aside

Follow directions on Alfredo sauce mix. Stir in cheese, peas and prosciutto. Stir the pasta into the sauce and toss to combine.

Transfer the pasta and sauce to a casserole dish. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake until bread crumbs are golden and the sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Pasta Annalisa

2009-09-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

16 oz. Farfalle pasta
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed or garlic slat
1 Tbsp. pepper
1/2 c. butter
1 lb bacon, crumpled
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) Lawry's Mesquite marinade with lime juice

Cook bacon in the oven (400 degrees, convection). Way less messy. Time varies (watch it) usually around 30 minutes. Allow to cool and then crumple.

Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred. Set this aside. About a half hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and crumpled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir through. Sprinkles a little bit more shredded Parmesan cheese on top.

Poulet Bon Femme (AKA White Grape Chicken)

2009-09-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

6 boneless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup cheese grated (Colby Jack or Mozzarella)
3/4 cup white grape juice

Mix the soups, cheese and juice together. Place chicken in casserole dish. Pour sauce over chicken. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 3 hours. Take cover off last 30 minutes of cooking. Serve over rice.

A friend from Arizona gave me this recipe. It is simple and good.

Bored of the Same Old Lunch?

2009-07-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

I got so sick of eating plain lunchmeat sandwiches for lunch. So I thought of some other ideas.

Chicken Quesadilla
I use Rotisserie chicken from the store
Tostitos Queso Dip
Pepperjack cheese
Cheddar cheese
Tortillas
You can also add:
tomatoes
green onions
etc...

This isn't your everyday sandwhich...
Find the recipe here.

Another idea a ham and cheese salad. I use ham lunchmeat (or if I have some left-over ham from dinner sometime) and both mozzarella and cheddar cheese. I LOVE the onion vinagarette salad dressing from Sam's Club on that salad. You could also use chicken (rotisserie again) and ranch. Add carrots and celery and red pepper if you'd like.

Easy Steak Kabobs

2009-07-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

1 lb sirloin steaks

1 medium bell pepper (an color)

16 medium mushrooms

1 tsp dried dill weed (or 1 T fresh chopped)

1 Tbl lemon juice

1 Tbl olive oil

1 Tbl honey mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat grill. Cut beef and pepper into 1-inch pieces. Cut mushrooms in half. On each of eight metal skewers, alternately thread beef, pepper, and mushrooms, leaving 1/4 inch space between each piece. In a small bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Brush on kabobs and grill 15-18 minutes, turning every 3-4 minutes, until beef is cooked to desired doneness. Easy and yummy!

Hawaiian Haystacks

2009-07-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

I think most people already have some renditition of this recipe. I think we used gravy when I was growing up. But we've been enjoying this recently. The best part is it is really kid friendly. Dylan, who just turned one, LOVES it and eats all of it. I love that I can make one meal now instead of three. (Most of the time, at least)
Hawaiian Haystacks

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 C chicken broth

2 C chicken, cooked and diced

Rice, cooked (we usually make 2 cups raw, which makes 4 cups, I think)

Any or all of the following:

Grated cheddar cheese

Chinese rice noodles (La Choy brand)

Bell peppers (any color, raw or cooked if you like)

Tomatoes

Peas (cooked)

Slivered almonds (toasted)

Chopped pineapple

Mix the soup, broth and chicken together in saucepan and simmer a few minutes. Cook rice and any toppings that need to be cooked. Serve chicken mixture over rice and top with toppings. It's great as leftovers as well.

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

2009-07-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 egg
1 C buttermilk
*2 T shortening (I don't put this in)
3/4 C flour (or more if you like thicker pancakes) (I use whole wheat flour)
1 T sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Blueberries (as much as you like) or chocolate chips or anything you like.

Mix together and cook on a skillet or whatever. Yeilds 10 small pancakes. These are really easy and really good.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2009-06-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

This is one of our favorite things to make! My 16 month old son Dax even eats them, as well as my husband. They are healthy and delicious!! Enjoy!

*The nice thing about making this is that the spices can vary. You could simply use salt & pepper and they'd still be delicious!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

3-4 Sweet Potatoes, chopped into french fry size (peeling is optional)

1/4 cup olive oil (or canola oil -I've never tried, but it would work)

1-2 tsp chile powder

1/4 tsp cumin powder (*optional)

1/4 tsp paprika (*optional)

1/4 tsp coriander (*optional)

Pinch of cayanne pepper (1/4 tsp)

Dried rosemary sprigs (1 tbls -*optional; I leave out because kids probably won't like them)

Sea Salt & Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400. Place chopped sweet potatoes in mixing bowl and stir in olive oil. Mix all your spices together, and sprinkle half of the spice mixture in the bowl, stir until pretty evenly coated. Sprinkle rosemary sprigs across baking sheet. Then spread fries evenly on a baking sheet and sprinkle remainder of spice mixture evenly across the top.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until top starts to look golden brown. *Be careful not to overcook or burn.

Serve with ranch, or fry sauce.

Fry Sauce -stir together:

Light mayonnaise (or light canola oil mayonnaise)

Ketchup (or agave nectar ketchup)

1/2 tsp chile powder

Salt & pepper

Recipe Link

2009-04-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I heard about a blog that is doing 365 days worth of crockpot meals. Some of them look really good.

http://365daysofcrockpot.blogspot.com/

Poppy Seed Bread

2009-04-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

3 Eggs
1 1/8 Cup Salad Oil
2 1/4 Cup Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Milk
3 Cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp. Almond Flavor
1 1/2 tsp. Butter Flavor
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Flavor
1 1/2 Tbs. Poppy seeds

Beat eggs, oil and sugar. Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Add alternately with milk to eggs mixture. Add flavorings and poppy seeds. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Glaze (Mix together):

1 /4 Cup Orange Juice
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp. Butter Flavor
1/2 tsp. Almond Flavor
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Flavor

Spoon over cool bread

Applesauce Cookies

2009-04-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

My favorite cookies.

1 Cup Shortening
3/4 Cup Sugar
3 Eggs
2 Cups Applesauce (about 1 can)
1 tsp. Cloves
2 tsp. Soda
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Allspice
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 Cup Quick Oats
2 3/4 Cup Flour
Chocolate Chips

Mix together and bake at 375 for 10 min.

Irish Soda Bread

2009-04-19T21:16:00.001-07:00

3 Cups Flour
3 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbs. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
1 Tbs. Butter (Melted) - Use on top of cooked bread

Shift dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the buttermilk and mix with a fork until blended. Turn dough onto a floured board and knead lightly until smooth (make a ball). Flatten dough and with a knife score the top (1/4 inch.).

Bake at 375 for 30 min.

Breakfast Coffee Cake

2009-04-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

I made this last weekend and thought of you Joanie.

1 1/2 Cup Flour
3/4 cup Sugar
3 tsp. Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
4 Tbs. Shortening
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla

Topping: Put in middle of batter and on top

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon
2 Tbs. Butter
1 Tbs. Flour

Bake 25-35 min. at 375

Oriental Chicken Salad

2009-04-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

3 Cups Chicken, cooked and cubed (I grill and put teriyaki sauce on)
6 Cups Shredded Lettuce
6 Green Onions, sliced
1 Can sliced water chestnuts
1 Cup Celery, sliced diagonally
4 Sweet Pickles, sliced
13 oz. Can Chow Mien Noodles

Dressing:

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Tbs. Sesame or Peanut Oil
2 Tbs. Red or White Vinegar
2 Tbs. White Corn Syrup
1 Tbs. Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger

Add to salad just before serving. Top with 3 Tbs. sesame seeds.

Stuffed French Bread Pizzas

2009-04-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

I adapted this from Rachel Ray's recipe. I love her. Is anyone against cooking with sausage? If you are, you are missing out. It is so good. I usually half this recipe, or just add whatever amount looks good.

Is there anything better than sausage, peppers and onions?

Oh! Yeah! Sausage, peppers, onions and cheese!

Stuffed French Bread Pizzas
1 (2 foot long) loaf French bread
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I added half red and half green)
1 small onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped

2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped (or 1 can of diced tomatoes)
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups part skim ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 stick pepperoni, chopped
shredded mozzarella
dried oregano
crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Split bread lengthwise and remove some of the inner bread to make room for all the filling. Cut in half across, making 4 shells for pizzas.

Heat a skillet over medium high flame and brown sausage in extra-virgin olive oil. Brown and crumble sausage. Add red bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook 3 to 5 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper, to your taste.

Transfer to a bowl. Combine sausage and veggies with ricotta, Parmesan, and pepperoni. Fill bread shells and top with mounded mozzarella cheese. Place in hot oven on cookie sheet and bake until cheese melts and bubbles and bread is super crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes. Top pizzas with oregano and hot pepper flakes.

Foolproof Chocolate Cake Cookies

2009-03-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is a quick and easy cookie recipe, and very good.

1 (18.5 oz) package chocolate cake mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix and baking powder. Add eggs and oil, then mix until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips or other choice of additions (chooped nuts, toffee bits, etc.) Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for five minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cool completely.

Mexican Roll-ups

2009-03-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

Filling:

1cup sour cream
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup chopped olives
2 tsp. taco seasoning
1 cup grated cheese (whatever you have on hand)
1/2 cup salsa
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Topping:

1 cup sour cream
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 tsp taco seasoning
3/4 cups grated cheese

Put filling muxture in flour tortillas, roll up, and place in lightly greased baking dish. Spread topping mixture over the top of the roll-ups. Bake uncovered 375 for 30 minutes.

Caramel Popcorn

2009-02-22T07:46:00.000-08:00

2 ¼ C. brown sugar
1 C. karo syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ C. butter

Bring ingredients to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook to soft ball stage (about five minutes).

Remove caramel from the stove and pour over the popcorn, mixing it well. It makes about two large bowls of popcorn.

Note: I always sift the popcorn beforehand to make sure there aren’t any kernels that could chip someone’s teeth.

This caramel is also excellent over puffed wheat, which you can buy unsweetened in large bags.

Sweet 'N Sour Sirloin Stir-Fry

2009-02-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals. I haven't been able to find frozen edamame, but you can put whatever veggies in that you like.

Sweet 'N Sour Sirloin Stir-Fry

1 1/2 pound piece sirloin, 1-inch thick

3 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or canola oil

2 large red bell peppers, seeded and sliced

1 large green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1 bunch scallions, cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces on angle, greens and whites

2 cups shelled frozen edamame

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1/4 cup ketchup

Pop the meat in the freezer for a few minutes to stiffen it up for slicing.

Halve the steak lengthwise then very thinly slice the meat. Heat the oil in a very large skillet over high heat. When oil wafts smoke and ripples, add the meat and stir-fry until caramelized 3 minutes. Add peppers and stir-fry 2 minutes then add in scallions and edamame for 2 minutes more. Stir together the sugar, soy, mustard and ketchup and pour over stir-fry the last minute of cooking. Season, to taste, if necessary.

Curried Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

2009-02-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

I halved this recipe (the original recipe is below). The website I got it off of was making (2), (1) to eat and (1) to freeze.

5 medium sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds ground turkey or chicken
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds carrots (peeled & chopped)
1 1/2 pounds parsnips (peeled & chopped)
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 package (10 oz) frozen peas
1 cup milk (warmed)
2 tablespoons butter

Pierce potatoes all over with fork. Cook in microwave on high for 15 - 17 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with fork, turning potatoes over once; set aside.

Meanwhile in skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil on medium until hot. Add turkey; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook 5-6 min. or until no longer pink, stirring and breaking up turkey with side of spoon.

Stir flour and curry powder into turkey in skillet; cook 1 min. stirring. Add broth and heat to boiling. Cook 1 minute or until mixture thickens slightly. divide turkey mixture between two 2 1/2 or 3 quart baking dishes and spread evenly.

Preheat oven to 375. Wipe skillet dry. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet and heat on medium until hot. Add carrots, parsnips, and onion and cook, covered, about 15 min. or until vegetables are browned and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger, frozen peas, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Divide vegetable mixture between casseroles, spreading evenly over turkey mixture.

when cool enough to handle, cut potatoes in half and scoop flesh from skins into large bowl. With potato masher, coarsely mash potatoes. Stir in milk, butter, and 1 teaspoon salt; mash until well blended. Spread over casseroles mixture.

Bake (1) shepherd's pie, uncover, 35-40 min or until top is browned. Meanwhile, prepare second casserole for freezing.

Caribbean Pork Casserole

2009-02-05T20:36:00.000-08:00

4 green onions
2 pork tenderloins (about 3/4 pound each, cut into 1-inch-thick slices)
2 tablespoons peeled, minced gingerroot
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves)
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne) - optional
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices)
1 large red pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 can (15-16 oz) pineapple chunks in their own juice

Preheat oven to 425. Mince onions. In bowl, toss 1/2 minced green onions with pork slices, ginger, soy sauce, Worcestershire, thyme, ground red pepper and allspice. Cover pork and marinate 30 minutes.

In a shallow 6-quart casserole, toss sweet potatoes, red pepper, remaining green onions and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pork until browned in 1 tablespoon hot vegetable oil. Pour pineapple chunks with their juice into skillet. Pour pineapple mixture, pork slices and any remaining marinade over vegetables in roasting pan.

Bake casserole uncovered 30 minutes longer or until pork and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

This makes a lot! You could half the receipe, or count on lots of leftovers.

Creamy Chicken Noddle Soup

2009-02-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

1 Store-bought roasted chicken
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
4 cans (14 oz ) chicken broth
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup w/ roasted garlic
2 tsp. soup herbs (tarragon, basil, Italian seasonings)
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 cups egg noodles - cooked

Remove skin from chicken and shred meat from the bone. place chicken, onion, celery & carrots in a 4 qt. slow cooker. Stir in broth, soup and spices. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 8-9 hours. When soup is done stir in cooked egg noodles and heat through.

Garden Chicken Pizza

2009-01-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

This recipe came from Brooke's ward cookbook.

Garden Chicken Pizza

Pizza dough (I made mine in my breadmaker and it was wonderful. Recipe below. I do not recommend the Pillsbury refrigerated dough unless you don’t mind it tasting like crescent rolls.)
2 chicken breasts, cut in strips
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp dried oregano
½ cup chopped green onions
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup Alfredo sauce, or more if you like (I used Bertolli)
½ red bell pepper

Grease a 12 in pizza pan. Press dough onto pan and bake at 400 for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, sauté the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring continually, until the bacon is crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain the bacon, set aside. Add the chicken and garlic to the skillet. Saute the mixture, stirring continually, until the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the oregano. Sprinkle 1 cup cheese on top of baked pizza crust. Arrange bacon, green onions, bell pepper, chicken mixture and alfredo sauce on top of the cheese. Top with remaining cheese. Bake until the cheese is meted and crust is golden brown, 8-10 minutes.

*And this is how I changed it a little. I used cornmeal instead of greasing the pan. But I also used a baking stone so I don't know if it would work as well on another pan. I hate cutting up raw chicken and I hate cooking bacon when it’s chopped because it sticks to each other. So I cooked the bacon whole and then cut it up. And I just cooked 4 chicken tenders and added the garlic at the end. Then I chopped them bite size and sprinkled some oregano on them. I just cut up green onions and red pepper strips until it looked like what I wanted. My dough was really thick (and delicious, seriously Kylee at all her crust) so I used a little extra cheese and sauce.

Basic Pizza Dough

These exact instructions are at http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/article/46/17753. You can also see his instructions on rolling out the dough at http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/article/46/.

3 1/2 cups flour

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons yeast

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

To Mix Dough in a Bread Machine:

Throw all the ingredients in, set to dough only setting, push start and walk away. That's it! No work, no hassle. If you don't work for something is it really worth having? In this case, you bet!

This dough can also be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or so, or even frozen. Be sure to let the dough come to room temperature before using.

To Mix Dough by Hand:

Pour warm water into a bowl. The water should be about 85 to 115° F. Test it with your hand. It should feel very warm, but comfortable. Add the honey and salt. Mix by and hand (or any other method) until well blended. Add the yeast and mix some more. Let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of flour and the olive oil and mix until well blended. Add the rest of the flour (and any other additions) and mix well. The dough should turn into a ball. If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Adding water or flour as needed to get the right consistency will assure you always get a perfect dough. Just remember to do it in small amounts.

Once the dough is balled up, place the ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute. This builds the gluten which helps the dough to rise and become fluffy when cooked. Place the dough in a plastic grocery bag or a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise.

After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size. Show it who's boss and punch it down. That's right, give it a good smack so it deflates. Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is now ready to be rolled out. You can punch the dough down one more time if you want and wait another hour or two before rolling out. The choice is yours.

Enchilada Pie

2009-01-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe from Brooke. Thanks, Brooke!

Enchilada Pie

1lb Ground beef
½ tsp salt
½ medium onion, chopped
1 sm can green chilies
½ can tomato soup
1 10 oz can enchilada sauce
½ C water
6 flour tortillas
1 C cheddar cheese, shredded
1 C mozzarella cheese, shredded

Brown beef with salt and onion. Add chilies, soup, enchilada sauce and water. Simmer for 5 minutes.
In a pie pan, layer:
Meat
2 tortillas
meat
cheese
2 tortillas
meat
cheese
2 tortillas
meat
cheese

Bake at 350 for 30-45 min. Slice like a pie and top with sour cream, olives, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, etc.

Chicken Puffs

2009-01-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from my neighbor. It is a family favorite of theirs.

3 cups cooked diced chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups crushed cornflakes
1 stick butter; melted
1 container (4-8 oz) cream cheese, softened. Preferably garden vegetable flavor. Low fat variety tastes the same. If you use plain cream cheese, then add some herb flavors to it.
2 pkgs of pillsbury refrigerated crescent roll dough. Depending on the size of your family, this recipe can be cut in half.

Combine chicken and softened cream cheese in bowl. Put corn flakes in separate small bowl. Put butter in a separate bowl as well. Roll out crescent rolls with small rolling pin. Scoop about 1.5 Tbsp of chicken/cream cheese mixture into middle of crescent roll. Wrap crescent roll around chicken mixture, closing the seams. Dip top of your uncooked "puff" into melted butter, then into the corn flakes. Set on ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat until all of your ingredients are gone. Cook puffs for approx. 20-22 minutes at 350. Meanwhile, cook cream of chicken soup according to soup directions. Serve puffs with cream of chicken soup "sauce" poured over the puffs.

Creamy Chicken

2009-01-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 oz cream cheese
1 envelope italian dressing mix (any brand, but Good Seasons is great)

Place the breasts on the bottom of your crockpot. Mix the soup, cheese and seasonings and pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 5-6 hours and serve over rice. Note: low fat varieties of soup and cream cheese work just as well.

Crockpot Lasagna

2009-01-13T10:12:00.001-08:00

This is a friends recipe that I received awhile back ago. I make things, but I never remember to take a picture. So, if any of you make this and remember to take a picture, feel free to post pictures.

Layer ingredients until deisired amount
Layer 1 - dry lasagna noodles (broken to fit)
Layer 2 - spaghetti sauce with meat (1 lb. hamburger browned with onion, spaghetti seasoning, 3-4 cans tomato sauce, or a jar of spaghetti sauce)
Layer 3 - 2-3 cups cottage cheese, or ricotta mixed with 2 beaten eggs and 1 T. parsley flakes
Layer 4 - grated mozzarella, parmesan, and cheddar cheeses
Cook on high for 1 hour, turn down to low. Total time 4 hours. If you have a medium setting, cook on medium the total time.

Cafe Rio Follow Up

2009-01-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the Cafe Rio meal. Meat recipe below. Brooke says you can use pork or beef. Cafe Rio uses pork. I don't eat at Cafe Rio very often, but the sweet pork salad is very popular. This meat recipe works for the salad too and the ranch dressing recipe would be the salad dressing. FYI: This makes enough food to feed 8 people, I would say (but I had three people's share :)

Pork

Cilantro-Lime Ranch

I came across another blog that had a recipe for the full sweet pork sald. It is Favorite Family Recipes. She has a different recipe for the pork, which I might try next time just to see the difference. I used her recipe for the rice and beans.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

Beans (I used less tomato juice than the recipe calls for, but next time I might just add an extra can of beans and use all the juice)

And here was my taco, or I would call it a burrito, all finished and delicious.

There were so many flavor combinations, and they all went together really well. I would recommend the burrito sized tortillas, since there is so much to pack into it. It seems like a lot of work, but I spread it out throughout the day. I put the pork in the crockpot in the morning, and mixed the ranch a couple hours later. Then I just made the rice and beans right before we ate. It's amazingly wonderful!

Here is the salad I made with the leftovers.

Mountain Dew Dumplings

2009-01-07T15:28:00.001-08:00

I googled "mountain dew recipes" one day and came across this one. It was only fitting for my family since my husband loves mountain dew so much. It is delicious!
Ingredients:
2 cans crescent rolls
2-3 firm apples, peeled & cored, cut into 6 or 8 slices each
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 sticks butter (don't use margarine)
1 (12-oz )can Mountain Dew
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°
Place one apple slice in each triangle of dough.
Roll up large end to small.
Place all rolled apple slices in 9 x 13 pan.
Melt butter in small pan, add cinnamon & sugar.
Pour mixture over dumplings, and pour Mountain Dew around dumplings.
Bake 45 min.
Makes 18 dumplings
Serve with ice cream, and pour some of the leftover sauce over it.

Cafe Rio Tacos

2009-01-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

Cafe Rio Meat
3 lbs roast
1 c dark brown sugar (I use light, I haven't been able to taste a difference)
1 c worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. powdered ginger (only if you have it)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
2 T minced onions

Cook in a crock pot all day on low. 1 hour before serving shred meat and discard juice.
Add 1 c brown sugar
1 c red enchilada sauce (get a good brand, it makes a difference)

Dressing:
1 ranch dressing packet
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 c sour cream
1 c mayo
2 tomatillos
1 japapeno, cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
Mix in blender and refrigerate 1 hour
You can leave the dressing out if you don't feel like making it. The meat and other toppings itself make it just as good.

Flour tortillas
Top each tortilla with:
meat
lettuce
cilantro
fresh lime juice
green enchilada sauce
dressing
strips of chips
black beans
rice
Pick and choose what you feel like putting on your taco. Enjoy!
Thanks Joanie for motivating me to post this:)

Wild Rice and Tofu Soup

2009-01-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

*First, I know this recipe may sound a little out there and weird (unless you are a tofu lover; I am not, but in this soup, or miso soup, I definitely am!), but it is actually really, really good! Its super healthy, very filling, loaded with nutrition, and definitely worth making. My husband is not a "soup" kind of guy, but he loves this soup! Its my favorite thing to make.

**One tip would be to plan ahead when you make this and soak your beans over night. I have been using the canned kind, which are fine, but your intestinal track may not agree with the mixture of beans, tofu, onions, etc., so soaking the beans helps a lot!

Wild Rice and Tofu Soup

Ingredients
1 cup Wehani rice or other wild rice variety

4 tbsp best quality olive oil

1 cup carrots, peeled and diced

1 cup parsnips, peeled and diced (*I don't always use these, but they are good if you do)

1 cup sweet Vidalia onion, diced (*or red onion (?), but I use any onion, white, yellow, or red)

6 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock (*I like mine thick, so I only use 3-4 cups)

3 cups low-fat, plain soy milk

1 garlic clove

1 cup white kidney beans

1 cup kidney beans

1 cup black beans

1 cup regular tofu

sea salt & black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Cook rice according to package directions (*TIP to speed up cooking time, add uncooked rice to the stock at the beginning. Or use planned leftovers)

2. Meanwhile, saute carrots, parsnips, and onion in olive oil.

3. In large pot place sauteed vegetables, poultry stock, soy milk. Add garlic, beans and tofu. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add cooked rice and stir until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Number of Servings: 4

Chicken Cacciatore Subs

2009-01-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

I don't know if my pictures even look appetizing, but whatever. This is another Rachel Ray recipe. I usually use 4 or 5 chicken tenderloins and only 2-3 sub rolls for my family. But I still use all of the rest of the ingredients. I use chicken stock instead of wine, and lately I haven't been using mushrooms because they are kind of expensive and I don't love them so I just leave them out. But when I do use mushrooms, I only use one cap. I also never have provolone cheese so I just use whatever I have, either cheddar, mont jack, or mozzarella. I use a little dried parsley leaves, or just leave them out. If you don't toast your rolls first, they will get really soggy. It's a messy meal, but really good.

Chicken Cacciatore Subs

4 pieces boneless skinless chicken breast, 6 to 8 ounces each
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons
Grill seasoning blend, or salt and pepper
4 sub rolls, split
2 cloves garlic, cracked away from skins
1 teaspoon red crushed pepper flakes
2 large portobello mushroom caps, sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 large onion, white or brown skinned, sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/3 palm full
1/2 cup dry red wine or stock -- chicken or beef flavor
1 (14-ounce) can, crushed tomatoes
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/3 pound deli sliced provolone

Heat a grill pan or large skillet. Drizzle chicken with oil, to cover,and season with grill seasoning blend or salt and pepper. Grill or pan-fry 6 minutes on each side.

Heat broiler, lightly toast rolls on cookie sheet and remove.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, mushrooms, peppers, onions and oregano. Saute veggies and season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, then deglaze the pan with wine or stock. Pick up tasty bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or heat safe spatula. Add tomatoes and parsley to the sauce. Slice chicken breasts on an angle and set into sauce. Pile chicken and veggies into sub rolls and cover with sliced provolone. Melt cheese under hot broiler. Serve.

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

2008-12-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

I can't remember what website I got this off of, it may have been from the recipe exchange email, so I'm sorry that I can't give the credit to the person it is due.

I made this tonight and my husband was so impressed, I almost wanted to make him think I had slaved over it for hours. But the truth is that it took about 5 minutes to throw everything in the crockpot. Super simple and yummy! What more can you ask for?

Crockpot Chicken Tacos
2-3 Chicken Breasts (I used 6 frozen Chicken Tenders)
1 Can Chicken Broth
1 Pkg Taco Seasoning
1 Cup Salsa
1 Can Corn (I drained them)
1 Can Black Beans, drained

Place in crockpot and cook 3-4 hours on HIGH. Shread chicken (I used a fork and a wooden spoon and didn't have to take them out of the crockpot). Serve with cheese and sour cream on tortillas. It is really runny, so you may want to use a slotted spoon to scoop it out. The recipe I have says they sometimes just eat it like soup. I'm considering adding diced tomatoes to it next time.

On a side note, that is my new crockpot ^ and this v is what happened to my old one.

We got this little crockpot as a wedding gift and it worked well for our little family. It's hard to fit a very big roast in it, and I halved most of the recipes I used, but it was only the two of us. Then I left the lid a little too close to the burner and it melted. I don't think they make the plastic lids anymore, or so I've heard. And I figured we needed a bigger one for our growing family anyway. So I got a 6 quart one as a Christmas present to me. I love crockpots!

Aussie Chicken

2008-12-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

2lbs. chicken breasts
8 slices of bacon
1 cup colby jack cheese

Put 2 lbs. of chicken breasts in a bag and shake with 2 tsp. seasoned salt.
Place bacon over breasts and cook at 350 F for 20 mintues (or until done). Take it out of oven and pour following sauce over each piece. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese is melted. (1/2 cup of mushrooms is optional, and it's really good served with baby carrots in a light butter and brown sugar sauce.)
Aussie Chicken Sauce:
2/3 c. mayo
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1/3 c. honey
mustard to taste (I use about 1-2 tbsp.)
1Tbsp. parsley
1 Tbsp. onion flakes

I also serve this with steamed rice with corn and peas and carrots in it. You can buy the microwaveable kind and steam it in the bag. It's good, but for a family of four you need 2 bags.

Shrimp Tacos

2008-11-30T18:27:00.000-08:00

I tried this recipe (from my mother-in-law) last night. I really liked it. I think it might taste okay with chicken, too.

Mint Lime Sauce:
2T chopped fresh mint leaves (I leave these out)
1 C plain nonfat yogurt (I used sour cream)
Zest of 1 lime
1 T EVOO
Freshly ground pepper

Marinade:
2 T EVOO
1 T lime juice
½ t chili powder
Salt & pepper

1 lb large raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
Marinade for 15 minutes
Cook shrimp in skillet until pink, cut into small pieces

Corn Salsa:
1 C corn kernels
1 C seeded & diced tomatoes
½ avocado
2 scallions
½ t jalapeno
½ T EVOO
1 T lime juice
Salt & pepper

Shredded lettuce
Corn (or flour) tortillas
Serve shrimp, salsa, lettuce and cream in tortillas.

GREAT HARVEST PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD

2008-11-26T09:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks for inviting me, Joanie!

2 1/2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
16 oz cooked or canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 cup oil
4 eggs, beaten lightly
2/3 cup water
1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two (9x5 inch) loaf pans or three (8x4 inch) loaf pans.Mix flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.Mix pumpkin, oil, eggs, and 2/3 cup water together and stir into dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Place batter in prepared pans.Bake 60 or 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Broccoli Salad

2008-11-15T19:05:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:
5 cups fresh broccoli florets
½ cup raisins
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup cooked, crumbled bacon
¼ cup red onion, chopped
Optional: 1 cup of frozen peas, thawed

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tablespoons vinegar
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Combine broccoli florets, raisins, sunflower seeds, crumbled bacon, chopped onion, and peas in a large serving bowl. In a separate bowl or large cup, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar. Add dressing to the salad and toss to mix well; chill thoroughly before serving.

Serves 4 to 6

I love recipes that use fresh vegetables! I use light mayonnaise and usually add more broccoli than the recipe calls for.

Lettuce Wraps

2008-11-13T17:36:00.000-08:00

This is from a recipe I had for PF Changs lettuce wraps that I changed a bit.

Marinade:
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp water
salt and pepper
1 T canola oil

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cubed

4 T canola oil
½ C carrots, chopped
½ C celery, chopped
1 tsp fresh minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, minced
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, minced

Iceberg lettuce

Cooking Sauce:
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp water (or a little more)
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. Cornstarch

Marinade chicken for 15 minutes. Mix cooking sauce in bowl. Add 2 T canola oil to stir fry skillet and heat up. Stir fry chicken for 3-4 minutes until cooked. Set aside. Add 2 T oil to skillet and stir fry carrots and celery for a few minutes. Add ginger, garlic and green onions, stir fry for another minute. Add water chestnuts and cook another minute. Add chicken again and cooking sauce until thickened and hot. Serve in lettuce.
(Optional: 1 package cellophane Chinese rice noodles, prepared according to package and 1 (8 oz) can bamboo shoots, minced)

I halved the recipe, except for the cooking sauce and I used most of that. It was a little strong, though so I would either use more water or the normal amount of cooking sauce.

Spinach Salad

2008-11-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

Everyone that's ever had this salad tells me how much they love it. In fact, everytime we get together with Ryan's family, they ask me to bring this salad. You'd think we would get sick of it, but not yet!

Yummy Spinach Salad

Spinach (1 bag)
Celery (2-3 ribs)
Green Onions (2, use white and green parts)
Cheddar Cheese
Bacon (4)
Homemade French Dressing (see below)

This will make enough for 4-8 people, depending on the serving size. There is more than enough dressing, so don't dump it all on. You can change it up and use more veggies and less bacon if you want.

French Dressing:

3 T sugar
3 T white vinegar
1/4 C Ketchup
1/4 C Olive Oil
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper

Wisk together and serve! This doesn't last very long in the fridge. It gets all thick and grainy so use it up quick.

Easy Crockpot Chili

2008-10-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

I make this a lot because I keep the ingredients on hand all the time. It's good for how easy it is.

Easy Crockpot Chili

2 lbs ground beef
1 ½ tsp salt
2 ½ tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans red kidney beans (drained)
¾ C water

In skillet, brown beef and drain grease. Add seasonings and cook for a few more minutes on med or low. Add to slow cooker along with tomatoes, beans and water. Stir. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Serve with cheese and fritos if you like

Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2008-10-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

These are our favorite cookies!

½ lb (2 cubes) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 C brown sugar
1 C sugar
Cream
Add:
2 tsp vanilla
Add:
2 eggs at room temp
Add:
2/3 C cocoa
Sift and add:
2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Fold in:
1 ½ lbs white chocolate chunks (or one bag chips)

Bake at 350 for 8-10 min depending on size. They won’t really look done. I like them less done than over done and I make big cookies and put them in for 10 minutes.

Walking Taco

2008-10-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

This is like a seven layer dip, but I don't do seven layers.

Beans (black beans or refried, I like the low fat seasoned refried, chili-lime I think)
Sour Cream
Taco Seasoning
Salsa
Cheddar Cheese
Tortilla Chips

I usually use black beans and I mash them up in a frying pan and cook them a little, adding some chili powder, garlic salt and cumin. If you use refried, you don't have to cook them or do anything to them. Spread on the bottom of a 8x8 pan, or other small dish. Mix sour cream with taco seasoning in a bowl. I use a lot of sour cream and maybe half the seasoning packet. I like a pretty thick layer of sour cream since it's the best layer. Spread over beans. Spread a thinner layer of salsa next and top with shredded cheese. Optional layers: smashed avocados (after beans, before sour cream), olives and green onions on top of cheese, or anything else you want. Dip chips and enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

2008-10-13T18:02:00.001-07:00

Chicken Pot Pie
1 pie crust
3 chicken breasts
5 red potatoes
2 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 bag frozen peas and carrots - thawed
1 sweet onion - diced
butter
egg

1. Heat oven to 450
2. Heat two large pans of water - these are for the chicken and potatoes
*I usually add some chicken bullion to the water for taste
3. Trim fat from chicken and dice the potatoes, then add to the boiling water, separately of course
**You can also grill or saute' the chicken - as long as it's cooked
4. Cook the bottom of the pie crust first, in the oven. Just follow the directions on the back of the pie crust box for a "one crust pie" - I cook mine for 9 minutes. Make sure you set the timer. After cooking, turn the oven down to 400 to cook the pie
*this isn't a one crust pie of course but I do not like having a soggy pie bottom. you'll add the top crust later.
5. saute the onion in butter until it is translucent and tender - it can even be a little golden

*if you do not like onions than dice them large enough you can pick them out or small enough you can swallow them whole, but do not leave them out entirely. they add wonderful flavor

6. when the chicken is done shred it into bite size pieces
7. the potatoes are done when they break apart by being stabbed with a fork - strain them
8. combine the shredded chicken, potatoes, peas and carrots, onions and the 2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup in a large bowl
9. pour the glorious mixture into the already-cooked pie crust
10. now add the top crust and trim to fit the pie plate.
11. whisk the egg in a small bowl and baste over the top crust
*the egg is strickly for cosmetic purposes, it helps the pie keep it's color and provides a shine when cooked
12. make 4 slits in the top of the pie with a knife to provide steam release while the pie is baking
13. bake for 40 minutes and then let the pie cool for a few minutes on top of the stove
14. serve!

Turkey Meatballs with Linguine

2008-10-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

I *borrowed* this recipe from "Everyday Italian" but it is easily one of my favorite dishes.

Turkey Meatballs
3 TBSP olive oil
2 oz pancetta, finely diced
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 C freshly grated Romano cheese
1/4 C fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley
1/4 C plain bread crumbs
1/4 C chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper

Sauce and Noodles
1lb linguine
1/8 C extra-virgin olive oil
1 can whole tomatoes - cut into pieces with kitchen scissors
2 garlic cloves - smashed
1/4 C chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 can tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil

To Make the Meatballs (do this first)
1. Preheat oven to 450

2. Heat olive oil in a medium, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook for 2 minutes. Add the onion and continue to cook until the pancetta is crisp and the onion is tender, about 4 minutes more. Remove from the heat.

3. In a large bowl, combine the pancetta/onion mixture with the remaining meatball ingredients and stir to combine.

4. Form the turkey mixture into balls about 2 inches in diameter, using about 2 TBSP for each, and place on a foil-lined and greased baking sheet.

5. Bake for 20 minutes

Meanwhile...

6. In a medium saucepan, warm the 1/8 C of olive oil over medium heat. Add the tomatoes (with their juices), tomato paste, smashed garlic cloves, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper and simmer...

7. Add the cooked meatballs and let the sauce hang out on the stove until your pasta is done cooking

PS - I'd discard the garlic cloves before serving

Salmon with Lemon Caper Sauce

2008-10-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

½ C water
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. chicken broth granules
2 thawed salmon fillets
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. capers
pepper (to taste)
parsley (to taste)

1) ½ C water, 2 tsp. lemon juice, 1/8 tsp. chicken broth granules. Bring to boil in skillet.

2) Reduce heat and add 2 thawed salmon fillets. Cover and simmer 4-5 minutes on each side or until done (should flake when poked with fork).

3) Remove salmon from pan. Keep warm.

4) Boil remaining liquid in pan until it reduces to ¼ C.

5) Whisk 1 Tbsp. butter, stir in 1 Tbsp. capers. Spoon sauce over fish. Season with pepper and sprinkle with parsley.

6) Can be served on bed of cooked noodles or rice.

This is my my favorite salmon recipe.

Salmon Soy Lime Marinade

2008-10-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

¼ C olive oil
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. lime juice
2 scallions, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger

The above amount is for 2 fillets. They only need to be marinated for 20 minutes or less. In a pan on the stove, simmer 4-5 minutes on each side or until done (should flake when poked with fork). Be sure not to overcook them.

Note: I rarely measure the ingredients exactly and just prepare it to taste.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2008-10-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

(Joanie's picture)

3 packages cream cheese
2 graham cracker crusts
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 C canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
dash ground cloves

Beat cream cheese, ¾ C sugar and vanilla until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition. Reserve 1 ½ C plain batter. Stir remaining ¼ C sugar, pumpkin, and spices into remaining batter. Spoon ½ of pumpkin batter over crust. Top with spoonfuls of ½ of reserved batter. Repeat layers. Cut with knife for marble effect.

Bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes or until center is set. Refrigerate 4 hours.

I've actually made a lot of different kinds of cheesecake and this is my very favorite. I haven't tried making it in a springform pan yet but I think it would work nicely.

Lemon Pie

2008-10-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

Boil until clear:
2 ½ C water
1 ¾ C sugar
2 T (heaping) corn starch
2 T (heaping) flour

Mix together and then gradually add to the hot mixture above, stirring constantly:
4 egg yolks
½ C lemon juice

You have to boil the first mixture long enough or the pie won't set up properly. Make sure to perfectly separate the egg yolks from the rest of the egg, as any imperfections will show.

My Grandma Benson's recipe, and the best lemon pie I've had.

Chocolate Mousse Pie

2008-10-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

9-inch baked pastry shell
14-oz. can condensed milk (not evaporated)
2/3 C. water
1 (4 servings) pkg. chocolate pudding mix (not instant)
1 (1 oz.) square unsweetened chocolate
2 C. (1 pint) whipping cream, stiffly whipped

1) In lg. saucepan, combine condensed milk, water & pudding mix; mix well.

2) Add chocolate. Over medium heat, cook & stir rapidly until chocolate melts and mixture thickens.

3) Remove from heat; beat until smooth.

4) Cool. Chill thoroughly; stir.

5) Fold in whipped cream.

6) Pour into prepared pastry shell.

Chill 4 hours until set.

8 servings

This recipe is from one of my favorite movies, The Waitress, and it's delicious.