Cafe Jessica

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

2012-01-23T13:44:00.002-06:00

At Christmas time, I made cutting boards for some of the teachers and tucked in a loaf of banana bread with it. I thought "I don't need to make the glaze for this. It's just banana bread, what's the big deal?" Well, I'm here to tell you, the glaze makes amazing banana bread AHHHH-MAZING! Seriously yummy stuff.

Cream Cheese Banana Bread with Orange Glaze

3/4 cup softened butter
8 oz pkg softened cream cheese
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 4 medium...I don't measure, I just add 4)
3 cups ap flour
1/2 tsp each: baking soda, baking powder and salt
OPTIONAL: 2 cups pecans (I skip these)

Orange Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp orange zest
3 tbsp orange juice (Use the juice of the orange you zest or use OJ concentrate)

Cream the butter and cream cheese with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure to mix well after each one. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Add dry ingredients all at once and stir until combined. Fold in 1 cup pecans if you are using them.

Pour batter into 2 loaf pans (8x4x2) or 5 mini loaf pans that you've lightly coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining pecans.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes (about 45 minutes for minis) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Move to cooling rack, prick with a fork a few times before drizzling with the glaze. Allow to cool about 10 minutes before you remove from the loaf pans to cool completely.

Potato Soup

2012-01-13T09:03:00.002-06:00

At the end of summer, when I have cleared the garden of all vegetables, Rugby loves to go back over it and search for more. It's a treasure hunt to him. And usually he finds things I missed...mostly carrots and potatoes. I must get lazy when I'm digging. A couple years ago, he brought in his bounty and asked if he could make potato soup for supper. I helped him put together a very basic recipe and then tweak it with all the veggies he had. That soup had carrots, corn, and green beans in addition to the potatoes. I'll share the basic recipe with you and you can add any other veggies that you like. Enjoy!

Potato Soup

2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk (we use 1%)
4 large baking potatoes, baked, peeled and cubed (I have already peeled, cubed and boiled before adding to the soup and that works fine, too!)
4 green onions, sliced (I use them if I have them)
12 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled (The kids like more, but really...who doesn't like more bacon?!)
1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2-3/4 tsp celery seed (we like it, but ok to skip if you don't)

Melt butter in your stock pot. Stir in flour; heat and stir until smooth. GRADUALLY add the milk, stirring constantly until thickened. (It won't thicken very well if you add the milk too fast.) Add potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until cheese is melted. Serve immediately. Makes about 2 1/2 quarts.

Packing Lunch

2012-01-05T13:53:00.002-06:00

I don't have time to pack lunch for four kids everyday. My boys like to pack them in the morning so they're fresh, so if that's going to happen on top of all four of them getting ready for school, they are going to have to pack it themselves. I can help, but don't have time to do them all. It's a lot of work to decifer what each of them wants or likes.

When school started, I made a "menu" for the boys and called it "The Brother's Lunch". It's hung on the fridge everyday since then and the kids use it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. to pack their lunches. I help the littles and I check them before the kids leave just to make sure they're not sneaking something they shouldn't or to make sure that they've got enough to eat.

This menu thing works great....most of the time. But, the way it was set up, they could take a yogurt stick and a cheese stick and their main dish item and that would be the extent of their lunch. Then, I'd get reports of still being hungry after lunch.

Today, I redid the menu and I'm hoping the boys love the changes. I separated the side dish column into two sections. They can choose one from each. Group A is fruit and veggies and group B is the dairy stuff and granola bars. I also listed a couple of optional tradeouts that they could do with approval....I don't always have jello or pudding made up for them to take, so they're on the tradeout list. I also added a snack section. This week, we started basketball practice immediately after school until 5pm and then wrestling practice follows at 6pm. Hopefully, when #2 has practice after school, we'll remember to send a snack so he's not starving when he gets home and before his next practice starts since we'll only have time for a quick meal before running out the door again. I see more later evening snacks/mini meals in our future!

So, since I found having this menu handy, I thought I'd share it with you. If you'd like me to e-mail you a copy that you can tweek for your own use, just let me know! I'd be happy to share. Enjoy!

You won't believe this!

2011-08-22T09:21:00.002-05:00

I am about to tell you about the best recipe I've had in a very long time. I had these bars at church this weekend and they are PHENOMENAL! I love Snickers candy bars and now I can make my own at home! They are time consuming and are probably better suited as a special treat, but I can't wait to make them! Enjoy!!

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL CANDY BARS (Homemade Snickers)

2 teaspoons butter
1 cup milk chocolate chips
¼ cup butterscotch chips
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
FILLING:
¼ cup butter
1 cup sugar
¼ evaporated milk
1 ½ cups marshmallow crème
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cup chopped salted peanuts
CARAMEL LAYER:
1 package (14 ounces) caramels
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
ICING:
1 cup (6 ounces) milk chocolate chips
¼ cup butterscotch chips
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
1. Line a 13in x 9in. pan with foil; butter the foil with 2 teaspoons butter and set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the milk chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter; stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Spread into prepared pan. Refrigerate until set.
2. For filling, in a small heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add sugar and milk; bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; boil and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in the marshmallow crème, peanut butter and vanilla. Add peanuts. Spread over first layer. Refrigerate until set.
3. For caramel layer, in a small heavy saucepan, combine the caramels and cream; stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Cook and stir 4 minutes longer. Spread over the filling. Refrigerate until set.
4. For icing, in another saucepan, combine chips and peanut utter; stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Pour over the caramel layer. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
5. Remover from the refrigerator 20 minutes before cutting. Remove from pan and cut into 1 inch squares. Store in an airtight container.

Tortellini Salad

2011-08-13T09:51:00.001-05:00

Earlier this summer, my mom found this recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod. She's made it a few times and it's a keeper! We all fight over who is getting the last bowl. :) Thought that I'd share it here so I can remember where it is. Enjoy!

Tortellini Salad

Yield: 8-10

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package cheese tortellini, cooked according to package instructions, rinsed and drained
2 cups water-packed artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 large red pepper, chopped, seeds removed
1 large yellow pepper, chopped, seeds removed
1/2 cup pitted sliced black olives
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup freshly chopped basil
1 1/4 cups balsamic dressing (use your favorite brand)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine tortellini, artichokes, peppers, olives, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and basil. Stir until combined.

2. Add the balsamic dressing and gently stir until all of the ingredients are coated with dressing. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place tortellini salad in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve chilled.

Butterscotch Bonanza Bars

2011-07-24T16:28:00.003-05:00

When you have a 10 year old boy asking you for a recipe because he liked it, you KNOW you have a winner, right?! That's just the case with this recipe. Within 2 hours, the entire pan was gone!

I love to read murder mysteries with recipes. Diane Mott Davidson is a good author and my other favorite is Joanne Fluke. This recipe comes from Joanne Fluke's book DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE MURDER. I have already baked two recipes and they're both pretty good. This one is my fave of the two. They are soooooo super easy to stir up and they are loved by the boys of the house! Enjoy!

Butterscotch Bonanza Bars

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, melt 1 stick of butter.

Stir in 2 cups light brown sugar until well mixed.

Sprinkle 2 tsp baking POWDER and 1 tsp salt over this and then stir until well mixed.

Add two beaten eggs. Stir well.

Stir in 1 tsp vanilla.

Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until you have added 1 1/2 cups.

Stir in 2 cups of (any combination) semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips. white chocolate chips, or milk chocolate chips. ( I use 1 cup white and 1 cup SS)

Spread into a greased and floured 9x13 pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Cool completely before serving. Cut into 40 bars. (I don't usually get that many...I think I get about 30)

Because I love you...

2011-07-12T19:57:00.000-05:00

And because I haven't made anything worth posting about, here's a hilarious video. Totally family friendly. My guts ache from laughing so hard tonight. Enjoy!

"

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Hello Again!

2011-07-01T09:46:00.003-05:00

I've missed you! But, I am back with a fun and simple, super tasty recipe that is PERFECT for the holiday weekend! Fruit Salsa. My SIL Christine LOVES it when I make this and it's been years since I pulled it out, so it's time again. Enjoy your holiday and please be safe!

Apple Berry Salsa
from The Pampered Chef

2 granny smith apples, sliced thin, then chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
2 kiwi, peeled and chopped
1 small orange
1 tsp zest
2 tbsp juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp apple jelly

Gently stir together fruit. Mix rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and then pour over fruit and gently toss together. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with cinnamon tortilla chips.

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

1 pkg flour tortillas
cinnamon sugar
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400*. Cut each tortilla into wedges. A pizza cutter works really well for this job. Arrange on a cookie sheet. Spray tortillas LIGHTLY with cooking spray and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Dulce de Leche

2011-03-02T10:50:00.001-06:00

How did I ever go 31 years without trying dulce de leche?? Apparently that's a side effect of growing up in Wisconsin, eh? :) Anyway, you need to try this. Serve on ice cream or head to Joy the Baker and check out her February 27,2011 recipe for Dulce de Leche cupcakes. You'll thank me and you'll love her! here's how to make super yummy dulce de leche...take 2 cans sweetened condensed milk and pour them into an 8x8 glass pan, top with foil. Set this pan inside a larger pan like a 9x13 pan and fill it with water so the smaller pan has water halfway up the sides. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 for 1 1/2 hours. Check occassionally to keep the water level up. Cool completely. When cool, whip until smooth and enjoy!

Garden update and a recipe!

2010-08-12T13:09:00.002-05:00

Hi! I didn't realize until today that I didn't update or post anything here since June. I'm so sorry! Our garden is in full swing now. I'm gathering more cucumbers that I can pickle, a ton of sweet corn and I will soon be up to my eyeballs in tomatoes! It's all a very good thing! I love watching my pantry and freezer fill up with the fresh fruits and veggies that we preserve for winter use. It's a ton of work, but there's nothing like toast in the middle of winter with jam that tastes like fresh strawberries or having some juicy sweet corn with our dinners!

The recipe I'm going to leave you with today is kind of a cowboy/Texas caviar, but super simple. I made this today using mostly garden produce! (* denotes that it came from my garden)

*3-6 roma tomatoes, depending on size and preference, chopped
*1/2 red onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
*3-6 tbsp cilantro, chopped
*2 ears sweet corn, cut off the cob and blanched
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 lime, juice and zest

Mix together and serve with pita or tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Frosted Rhubarb Cookies

2010-06-23T09:04:00.004-05:00

I know! Right?! Totally yummy rhubarb in a cookie! Don't have much time right now, but know that these do freeze well so you can make a ton of them and pop them in the freezer. How easy is that?! Enjoy!

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups diced fresh rhubarb

3/4 cup flaked coconut

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar. Beat in eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.

Stir in rhubarb and coconut. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Top with Brown Butter Icing found here or even a cream cheese icing would be good!

Rhubarb Slush

2010-06-14T20:44:00.003-05:00

Tim made some rhubarb slush while I was in the hospital with Rugby. It was good, but super tart. Good thing it was a small batch. He tweaked his recipe and made one that is super good! Enjoy!

Tim's Rhubarb Slush

2 quarts rhubarb sauce (if you don't have that, see the note at the end)
1 envelope sugar free raspberry jello
1 can frozen lemonade concentrate

Blend together in a blender or food processor and freeze in an ice cream pail. Serve with some Sprite or Sundrop like you would for an alcoholic slush.

**Don't have rhubarb sauce? It's super easy to make! For this recipe, put 6 cups chopped rhubarb in a saucepan with 2 cups water and 2/3 cup sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until rhubarb is tender. COOL COMPLETELY before using it to make this recipe.

Coming soon!

2010-06-13T12:06:00.000-05:00

New recipes!

It was brought to my attention that I never posted the recipe for the rhubarb cookies that I made last year, so I'll post that soon. Also, we made two different kinds of rhubarb slush this weekend and I'll post at least one of them, too!

We're going to try out a new recipe or two for chicken wings today, also, so be on the look out for LOTS of new recipes soon!!

Rhubarb

2010-05-28T07:38:00.001-05:00

Last night we had family here for cake and ice cream to celebrate my oldest sons birthday that was earlier this week. I made an old favorite recipe and wanted to post the link again as a reminder for my mom and for all of you new readers of Cafe Jessica! So here it is: Chocolate Chip Rhubarb Cake. It's Soooooooooooooooooooooo good!! Enjoy!

Construction Zone

2010-04-21T10:40:00.001-05:00

Hello all, please excuse my dust while I'm remodeling Cafe Jessica.

I hope things don't get too wonky around here, but you never know. I really need to redo the header or find a way to center it. But, I'm working on that and hope to be back with some great new recipes for you soon!!

Giveaway winner

2010-04-01T07:50:00.001-05:00

The winner of the planner giveaway is

#3...Suzy Neal

Congratulations!!

(Please contact me with your address and I'll get that mailed out right away!!)

Hello Lovelies!

2010-03-26T07:30:00.003-05:00

Good morning! It's so nice that you could stop on over and say hello! Cha Cha was kind enough to send you all over, so please make yourselves comfortable and look around. I love to play hostess, though I am very much the shy and quiet type (until you get to know me, anyway!).

I found her blog through the Pioneer Woman and I love checking in to see all the fabulous projects she whips up on top of being a super busy homeschooling mom! She's amazing!

If you are a regular Cafe Jessica reader, please pop on over to Sit Relax and Read....I'm featured there today! Very exciting!!

Giveaway!

2010-03-20T10:09:00.003-05:00

Good morning! We've got some friends coming from out of town today to spend the night, so I was doing some cleaning and found a planner calendar like I use for menu planning, so to tie in with my last post, I'm giving it away!! The planner is December 09 until January 2011, so there's LOTS of time to still use it.

If you are interested, please leave a comment letting me know your favorite thing to bake. That's it!

For an extra entry, post to your facebook or blog about the giveaway and come back and leave another separate comment for that.

For a third entry, post my button to your sidebar and leave a separate comment for that. Simple!

I'll let this post run until midnight, March 31st and on April 1st, I'll announce a winner! Good luck!!

Menu Planning

2010-03-18T09:32:00.004-05:00

Good morning! Lately, it seems that I'm crazy busy. Between meeting friends for walks and hauling kids around and grocery shopping and everything else, I don't feel like I've gotten much accomplished. My house shows it, too. We had unexpected guests for dinner last night and it was fun, but my bedroom door was securely closed and that room was not part of the tour. :) We all do that, right? I certainly hope I'm not the only one that throws the mess into another room so that it APPEARS that I'm an awesome housekeeper and that my house is company ready in 20 minutes or less. lol! But, nights like last night are why I LOVE menu planning. I had most of the stuff in the house for a nice meal and just had to pick up a few veggies for the salsa and salad. I made Corn and Black Bean Salsa, grilled steaks, sauteed mushrooms and onions in plenty of butter, and made custom salads for all four adults and even TJ asked for a salad. The adults had romaine, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, green onions, Parmesan, sunflower nuts, and/or bacon bits. One even added cottage cheese to his. (I think it's a little weird, but he swears it's good....I'm not sure I'm curious enough to try it, though.) So, anyway, back to the menu planning. Everything was here. It was so nice to have a meal that I could fancy up a bit to be fit for company.

I know not everyone does menu planning and those who do, all do it differently, but I'll tell you what works for me. I use a purse sized calendar planner. You know the kind. JCPenney's gives them away in the salon at Christmas time, banks have given them out. I got mine as a package deal with my yearly appointment planner. I know I shop on Tuesday afternoons, so I plan Tuesday through Monday each week unless there's a reason I know I'm going to go to town a different day, then I can plan accordingly. I also only plan our evening meals. I make sure that there is cereal, eggs and sausage/bacon, flour, etc in the house so we can make breakfasts. Tim loves to make pancakes on the weekends and I make our own syrup (it's just a simple syrup of 1 part water to 2 parts sugar with a little maple flavoring). The little ones and I are the only ones home for lunch and we have sandwiches or leftovers depending on what's here. Sometimes I'll make corn dogs or chicken nuggets if I have them. Weekend lunches are cardboard pizzas or leftovers. Every Sunday I ask what everyone wants for the next week and try to plan accordingly.

So, that's how I do it. It's nice that I can look back at the past weeks and see what we ate and get ideas that way and to not repeat things to often, too.

Here's our menu for the next week:

Tator tot hotdish
Pheasant casserole
Venison steaks with salad
Hamburgers
Grilled Italian Chicken Breasts

That gets us to Monday and Sunday we'll plan for the next week. I also plan to have things in the house for unexpected meals. There's always the fixings for pizza in the house, I have baking supplies so I can make bread or buns or cakes, etc.

So, that's what's on my mind today. Our weather is turning warmer so I'm trying to remember all the warmer weather, lighter foods that I make and getting the heavier, comfort foods out. Happy Thursday!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

2010-03-12T11:29:00.004-06:00

Last week, I had my oldest two boys help me plan the dinner menu for the week. I don't let them get away with chicken nuggets, hot dogs, etc so they knew they had to choose "real" food. Rugby asked for Chicken Enchiladas and I have this great recipe that was in my Gramma Carol's church cookbook (I think) and it's become a family favorite over the years. When Tim was working over the road, I'd make it in two smaller pans instead of the one bigger pan and take half to my grandparents because they like it, but the two of them can't eat a whole pan of it and R&R were small enough then that the three of us couldn't eat a whole pan, either so it was win-win! This week when I had Rugby and Riley help plan meals, Rugby asked for this again! Enjoy!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

12ish tortillas (I use whole wheat ones)
1 1/2-2 pounds cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup sour cream (I use light with no trouble)
2 cans cream of chicken (do not substitute cream of mushroom, trust me. But, feel free to use a lower sodium version if you wish.)
2 oz can chopped green chilies
Shredded cheese...cheddar or a blend of orange and white cheeses

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small pan, heat the soup, sour cream and chilies until warmed through.

In the center of each tortilla, place 1/4 cup (ish) chicken and 2 tbsp of the soup mixture. Roll up and place in greased 9x13 pan. Continue until your pan is full. Top with remaining soup mixture doing your best to cover all the tortillas with the mixture because any area left exposed will get dry and hard. Top with cheese. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Almost BBQ venison

2010-03-03T08:40:00.006-06:00

I'm LOVING having this fresh venison in my freezer! We took the two front quarters and made burger with it. It only made 5 pounds, but since I mix it half and half with ground turkey, it goes a long way. Last night, though, I sliced one of the roasts (while still partially frozen to make that job TONS easier) and did this Venison Hurry deal that I found on allrecipes. It's SUPER easy and ALL of my kids ate it. Out of a 4 pound roast, there was NOTHING left...just the juice it cooked in! I love making suppers like that!! So, here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Venison Hurry

2# venison chops (I have also made this with a whole roast and that's been good, too)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 packet onion soup mix
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water (if I empty out a ketchup bottle to make this, which I usually do, then I put the water in the ketchup bottle and shake it to get all the ketchupy goodness out of the bottle, then pour that over the meat)

Put the venison in the crockpot, put the rest of the ingredients over the top and cook on low for 6-8 hours and your meat will fall apart! YUM!

I served this last night with mashed potatoes, but buttered noodles would be good, too.

Linked up with The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap! Go there for more great recipes!

Tex Mex Lasagna

2010-02-23T10:14:00.004-06:00

Good Morning! Last night was a long one for us over here. My in-laws called on their way home from Indiana that they were about 20 miles south of our house and had hit a deer. Thankfully, they were fine and their van was still driveable, but what were they going to do with that meat?! They didn't have time to take care of that and they knew my hubby hadn't gotten a deer in a couple years, so we were running dangerously low on venison. We took it. My dad came over to help cut it up enough to get it in the house where it was warm and we cut up what meat was still good into steaks and roasts. WOOHOO!! They called right after we finished dinner, so the timing was pretty good, too! I made this tex-mex lasagna thing that was pretty good, but a 9x13 pan of it was too much for the 6 of us, especially since 3 of the boys decided they didn't like it before they even tried it! So I sent some home with dad for their lunches today and kept some for my lunch today and still have leftovers. Tim is convinced that since he liked it, I'll never make it again since I have a tendency to make so many new things and rarely get back to making something we liked. Maybe I'll surprise him (it was from the TOH Guilt Free Cookbook my MIL got for me, so it's pretty good for you, too!) with it again sometime soon! Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Lasagna
(As usual, there are a few modifications that I made....you can ignore them if you like.)

1 pound lean ground beef**(See note below)
1 can (16 oz) refried black beans (I skipped this, I can. not. stand. refried beans!)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen corn (totally not enough! Use 1 full cup or maybe a little more)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (I skipped this since I used homemade salsa and there's enough jalapenos in there to make it have some zip)
1 envelope taco seasoning (I make my own, here's the recipe for that!)
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce (I made the mistake of not writing down what size can I needed when I went to the store, so I bought too small of a can. Oops! I mixed in the 8 oz can that I bought with a 15 oz can of tomato soup and it worked fine. Use the whole can of tomato soup if you do it this way, it won't hurt anything and then what's left isn't going to waste.)
2 1/2 cups salsa (I used homemade and used 2 pints{equivalent of 4 cups}...2 1/2 cups just wasn't saucy enough for me!)
12 no cook lasagna noodles (took me 15, 5 on each layer)
1 1/2 cups reduced fat shredded monterey jack or fiesta blend cheese
1 1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup fat free sour cream (optional)
1 medium avocado, peeled and cubed (optional)
4 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)

In a large skillet, brown the hamburger until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the beans, corn, jalapeno, taco seasoning and 3/4 cup tomato sauce. Set aside.

Combine salsa and remaining tomato sauce. Spread 1/4 cup (I used about 1/2 cup) into a greased 9x13 pan. Lay down one set of lasagna noodles, top with half of the meat, 1 cup salsa mixture, 1/2 cup of each of the cheeses. Repeat. Top that with the remaining noodles, salsa mixture and cheeses.

Cover and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until edges are golden and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with sour cream, avocado, and onion, if desired.

**A note about ground beef....I was listening to something on public radio and they said that if you buy the cheaper ground beef (73/27 or whatever) and drain it, then rinse it with hot water, the fat content is similar to if you buy the more expensive lean ground beef. Just a tip for you. Or, you can use half a pound of lean ground beef and half a pound of ground turkey to save more fat.

One serving= 1 piece (12 servings per pan): 381 calories, 13g fat, 5g fiber, 25g protein. You can use no salt added tomato sauce and beans to lower the sodium, too.

Garlic Beef Stroganoff

2010-02-22T10:56:00.003-06:00

When my mom and dad got their new kitchen table a few years ago, I had to be there when they delivered it since mom and dad were both working. As a surprise for them, I made dinner and had it in the crockpot for them when they got home. I think that actually started the whole "Jess brings dinner over several nights a week" thing that we enjoyed for several years until my hubby quit his job to go back to school and we moved across the state. It was great while it lasted...for all of us! Anyway, I was digging around in a cookbook and found this. We tried it and we loved it! It's super simple and totally tasty! Enjoy!

In your slow cooker, dissolve 2 tsp beef bouillon in 1 cup boiling water. Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 2-4oz cans drained mushrooms(opt), 1 large chopped onion, 3 cloves minced garlic (I use more), and 1 Tbsp Worcestershire. In a skillet, brown 1 1/2-2 pounds cubed round steak. Add the meat to your slow cooker and cook on low 7-8 hours. Stir in 8 oz cream cheese before serving and stir until smooth. I like to serve over buttered noodles.

Test your knowledge and WIN!

2010-02-18T06:50:00.002-06:00

Test your Whole Grain knowledge and win a really cool prize pack from General Mills over on It's A Boys Life: Reviews. Check it out, contest ends February 28th!

Now on Facebook!

2010-02-17T12:27:00.003-06:00

Cafe Jessica has a fan page on Facebook!

Click HERE to join us!! You'll be able to have lots of fun talking about recipes and giving feedback on what you want to see more of here as well as be notified of when a new recipe is posted. Click over and join the fun!

A Twist on regular Lemon Bars

2010-02-16T11:57:00.003-06:00

This weekend, I was on a baking mission! I made brownies (from a mix), Very Berry Pie (recipe coming soon), and these lemon bars. I had some macadamia nuts in the freezer that I wanted to use up and Timmy LOVES lemon bars. The only thing missing was the lemon zest, but even without that, they were the BEST ones I've made yet! Enjoy!

Macadamia Lemon Bars

Crust:
1/2 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
2 cups flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup melted butter

Mix together dry ingredients, then stir in the butter and mix until evenly moist. Press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Top with filling.

Filling:
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp lemon extract (optional, but I added and could have used more)
1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest (use this, please, it'll really make a difference, but if you don't have it, I understand.)

Mix together dry ingredients, then stir in wet ingredients until light and fluffy. Pour into hot crust and bake another 15-20 minutes. Check it. You should be able to tell if it's set. Keep going at 1-2 minute intervals until it's set. Cool 5 minutes, then run a knife around the outside of the pan. Cool completely, then dust with powdered sugar before cutting into pieces. Serve cold.

Turkey Tetrazzini

2010-01-25T11:41:00.003-06:00

The cooking from the Guilt Free TOH book continues! Riley, my 7 year old, picked this recipe....there was no picture, but he thought it sounded good. Since it said it made 6 servings and there are 6 of us, I doubled it to ensure we'd have enough for the meal. Riley was not thrilled. JoJo and Tucker ate it, but I think that was only because they were HUNGRY...like "I GOTTA EAT RIGHT NOW, MOM, YOU'RE STARVING ME OVER HERE! ALL I'VE HAD TODAY IS 40,000 GRANOLA BARS AND 100 APPLES AND A GALLON OF MILK AND A JUG OF JUICE. YOU GOTTA FEED ME, LADY." Rugby liked it and TIm and I thought it was alright, but not something I'd make again, probably. It was a bit on the bland side, but I kind of expected that. There really isn't much for seasoning, but if that's your thing, then this is good for you! We just like a bit more zip. Enjoy!

Turkey Tetrazzini

1/2 pound uncooked spaghetti
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
1 can fat free evaporated milk
2 1/2 cups cooked, cubed turkey breast (A 3# turkey breast is enough to make a double batch)
1-4 oz can mushroom stems and pieces, drained (or do yourself a favor and use fresh...just saute them up with the onion and garlic)
1/2 tsp Lawry's season salt
Black pepper, to taste (I used about 1 tsp for a double batch, but I we like a lot of black pepper)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (I like to use the fresh kind rather than the powdered)
1/4 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the spaghetti according to pkg directions, drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic (and fresh mushrooms if you choose that) in the butter until tender. Combine cornstarch and broth until smooth and add this to the saute pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the milk. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the spaghetti, turkey, canned mushrooms, season salt and pepper.

Transfer to an 8x8 pan that you've sprayed with cooking spray. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with Parmesan and paprika and bake another 5-10 minutes or until heated through and cheese is nice and melty.

1 serving = 1 1/4 cup. 331 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g fiber, 28 g protein.

Chuck Wagon Wraps

2010-01-21T18:50:00.005-06:00

We're turning over new leaves left and right over here! First, I got bitten by the running bug, now I've got Timmy working out with me in the morning....and to go with that, we need to start watching what we eat. Here's the challenge...we have 4 boys that need to eat fat. They have boundless energy and need the fat and calories to keep them from losing weight. And they can be a bit fussy sometimes. Well, I've been struggling to find recipes online. I don't make too much time for that, honestly. But, my FABULOUS MIL, bought me a book that, so far, we are enjoying! It's from Taste of Home and it's called Guilt Free Cooking. When I was looking through the book the first time, I said that one recipe sounded interesting....Timmy wasn't real sure...it was a veggie "burger" that was carrots and onions and zucchini and not a speck of meat. He told me not to bother making them. So, when he saw the book out tonight he was leery about what I was making and he thought I was trying to sneak something past him until I let him read the recipe...it's simple and tastes good and appeals to his "meat and potatoes" side, and it's so fast to make!! 5 of the 6 of us enjoyed this, so I'd say it's a winner! Enjoy!

Chuck Wagon Wraps

1# ground beef (I use the cheapest stuff and make sure that I drain it)
1-28 oz can BBQ baked beans (I used the new Bush's Grillin' ones...Southern Pit BBQ and added some Sweet Baby Rays original since it wasn't a big enough can)
2 cups frozen corn (use the frozen, not canned here, pretty please.)
4 1/2 tsp Worcestershire
1 cup (4 oz) reduced fat shredded Cheddar cheese
12 tortillas, warmed (I use Chi-Chi's whole wheat and no one complains)
3 cups shredded lettuce (please use leaf lettuce or something other than iceberg, though that would work too it just isn't as good)
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup reduced fat sour cream

Brown the hamburger in a large skillet. Drain. Stir in baked beans, corn, and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Allow to simmer 4-5 minutes, uncovered. Sprinkle with cheese and simmer another 1-2 minutes.

Spoon 1/2 cup meat mixture for each tortilla and top with choice of toppings.

1 wrap = 1 serving. 373 calories, 11 g fat, 4 g fiber, 20 g protien.

Check out other great recipes today at The Grocery Cart Challenge!

'Nola Bars

2010-01-07T07:36:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I wanted to make a treat that was going to a) warm up the house, b)taste yummy, and c)be healthy-ish. I asked for ideas on my facebook page. I LOVE my friends, they always have great ideas and suggestions. Someone suggested Caramel Cookies....it's a weight watchers recipe and sounds awesome...but the kids didn't want them this time. I will make them and post about it, though another time. I'm hoping to have time to make them today or tomorrow. Someone else suggested granola. Well, every time I make granola, I'm the only one that eats it unless it's granola bars, then I barely get one before my ~~vultures~~ kids have them gone. I found a recipe on allrecipes that sounded good and I bought some wheat germ a while back to make granola bars and lost the recipe that called for it. The one I made yesterday was really good! I cut back on the sugar, skipped the raisins, and trimmed the salt just a tad and they were so good! Oh, I added chocolate chips, too. I made a double batch and put them in an 11x17 pan which they filled nicely. Reviews for this one said that a single batch doesn't quite fill a 9x13 pan. Enjoy!

'Nola Bars

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar (1/2 cup is plenty)
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup ap flour
3/4 cup raisins (opt)
3/4 tsp salt (again, about 1/2 tsp is plenty)
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, sunflower seeds(opt)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, sugar, flour, wheat germ, cinnamon, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the honey, egg, oil, and vanilla. Mix well with your hands (I used my big KitchenAid mixer.) Stir in any extras that you like. I used a whole bag of chocolate chips for a double batch. Pat the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for 18-30 minutes, depending on your oven. The edges should just start to brown. This will give you a nice chewy granola bar. Bake a bit longer for crunchy ones. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars and allow to cool completely.

A single batch makes 24 servings. Each serving is: 161 calories, 5.5 g fat, 1.4 g fiber, 2.4 g protien

New Years

2010-01-04T10:32:00.002-06:00

Long time, no see! We have just been UBER busy over the holidays. We had 6 Christmas parties that we attended and lots of visiting here, there and everywhere. You know the drill. :) For New Years this year, we had both of Tim's brothers, one of their girlfriends, and one of Tim's sisters over for dinner. We're the only ones (of those) that have kids, so it was just easier to be here. Anyway, I made a prime rib that I got on sale for $4.75 a pound, Windsor glazed carrots, twice baked potatoes in a casserole dish, and two dips (beer and bagel). Tom's fiance, Dawn, brought stuffed mushrooms, veggie pizza, and turtle cheesecake. It was quite the feast. We had a few unexpected visitors which was interesting and we had all the kids in the car with us as we rang in the New Year...that's a long story I'm not going to be sharing. Sorry. Anyway, it was super nice.

Back to the food, afterall, that's why you're here, right?! The Windsor glazed carrots. My BIL left some Windsor here this summer, so I wanted to use that up. PW posted a recipe for whiskey glazed carrots that fit the bill....plus I got to use my NEW cast iron skillet!! Enjoy!

Copy and pasted from PW's website...

Ingredients

2 pounds (to 3 Pounds) Carrots, Peeled And Cut Into Thick Circles
1 stick Butter
½ cups Jack Daniels Or Other Whiskey (We used Windsor)
¾ cups (to 1 Cup) Brown Sugar
½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Preparation Instructions

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add carrots in two batches., cooking for 60-90 seconds each batch. Remove from skillet.

Pour in whiskey and allow to evaporate 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium, and add remaining butter. When butter melts, sprinkle brown sugar over the top. Stir together, then add carrots to skillet. Cover, and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Remove lid and add salt and pepper. Continue cooking until carrots are done and glaze is thick, about 5 more minutes.

Pour onto a platter and serve immediately. Sprinkle with chopped chives if desired.

Just in time for Christmas!

2009-12-03T08:23:00.007-06:00

I keep meaning to write this and never do. Today, I WILL because it's awesome and you need to know that BEFORE Christmas when you still have time to gift this!

Last year, my mother bought something from an infomercial. It took a long time for that one to come in, but when it did, she was in love. So she bought my SIL one and she bought me one. You know that I LOVE to be in the kitchen, so the thought was lovely for me to get a new something to use in the kitchen. Let me introduce you to the NICER DICER.

It makes dicing onions a breeze, tomatoes are no problem. Fruit works awesome, makes short work of chopping potatoes. Seriously, YOU NEED ONE.

There are two size cutting blades. A small one for dicing finely and a larger one for chopping. It comes with two cups that attach to the cutting blade so that it catches what you are chopping so you don't have to. The cups have lids, so after you dice it full of say, an onion, and you only need half, you can twist the lid on and stash it in the fridge for later.

The blades are super duper easy to change and you don't have to touch anything sharp to do it. The whole top piece comes off and you can replace it quickly. It comes apart for easy cleaning, too! The "receiver" of the blade snaps out, too to make it super easy to clean the base! I toss mine in the dishwasher and we're good to go!

Also, it's easy to use. MY KIDS DO IT! They love that they can help me chop and I don't have to worry about them with sharp knives. They just place the object to be cut on the base and flip the cover over it and press it down. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!

And at $20 on Amazon, they are a steal!

**This is not a paid endorsement. I just loved a gift that I got from my mom and had to share!

Rhubarb Pie

2009-11-21T19:00:00.003-06:00

Today I taught my good friend Kelly to make pie crust. Her's turned out amazing! We used it to make Rhubarb Pie from all recipes and it was AWESOME! I'll definitely make this recipe again! Enjoy!

Rhubarb Pie

4 cups fresh rhubarb
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
pie crust for a double crust

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and flour. Sprinkle 1/4 of this on top of the bottom pastry. Top with the rhubarb, then the rest of the flour/sugar mixture. Dot with the butter, then place the top crust. Bake at 450 for 15 min and then reduce heat to 350 and bake 40-45 min or until golden. Cool before serving.

(pie crust recipe to follow soon!)

Pumpkin Pancakes

2009-11-20T11:34:00.002-06:00

A couple weeks ago, each of my boys bought two pie pumpkins at the store. So, imagine 8 pumpkins waiting in my storage room for me to deal with them. That's a LOT of pumpkin! I cooked some of it up last week when Tim wanted pie, so I still have 3 pumpkins to deal with and I have pumpkin in the freezer!! I love that. So, the day after I was doing all the pumpkin stuff Tim wanted to make pumpkin pancakes for breakfast. We searched a recipe out and made some modifications. OF COURSE and the results were yummy! I made them again last night. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Mix:
2 cups flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl, mix:
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (regular milk will work, too but NOT sweetened condensed)
1 cup pumpkin
1 egg
2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
2 tbsp vinegar

Combine the wet and the dry. Drop by 1/4 cup onto hot griddle. Spread each pancake out a bit so they aren't as thick.

Really good with whipped cream and/or syrup. Also, I made some with minced pecans and they were super, too!

AMAZING dinner rolls

2009-11-09T17:34:00.002-06:00

My family loves breads of all kinds. Especially warm and homemade. I'll eat it, but usually I'm not a major bread fan....now noodles is another story ;) A few weeks back, the Pioneer Woman posted a recipe for Rosemary Dinner Rolls that looked pretty good. I even followed the recipe EXACTLY! That's gotta be a first! lol! They were AMAZING. I almost ate them instead of my spaghetti (and I LOVE my spaghetti!), they were that good!

Here's the link, you MUST try them!

Pioneer Woman Rosemary Dinner Rolls

M&M Bars

2009-11-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

As promised, here are the M&M bars. These make a really nice, big pan so they are great for taking to a potluck...or bake sale. :) Enjoy!

M&M Bars

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup ap flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups quick cooking oats
14 oz pkg caramels (unwrapped)
3 tbsp water
1 cup mini chocolate chips*
1 cup chopped nuts, pecans or walnuts as you prefer*
1 cup mini m&m's*

*I don't bother to measure, usually. I just pour them on til it looks good. :)

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats. Press into 15x10x1 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the caramels and water. Spread over crust. Sprinkle with chips, nuts and m&m's. Gently press into the caramel and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Bake Sale

2009-10-28T15:11:00.002-05:00

Saturday our Boy Scout Troop is having a bake sale at the Raddison for some conference that the Oneida tribe is hosting. There are 1600 people expected to attend. The money raised will go directly into the boys Scout Savings Account to pay for things like camp, scout outings, etc. So, I will be baking my heart out the next two days. Here's what I'm planning to make:

Lemon Biscotti
Cinnamon Sugar Almonds (the thought here is maybe someone wants a "healthy" snack...or at least a bit healthier than cake and cookies...)
Caramel Apple Bread
Chocolate Mint Cookies
M&M Bars (I'll post this recipe soon!)
Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing (maybe...)
Rosemary Brown Butter Popcorn (Is it odd to have popcorn at a bake sale? I thought it might be nice to munch on while they are in the conference...not sure...)
Some plain old popcorn (?)

So, you probably won't see me again until Monday since the kids are off tomorrow and Friday and then the fun weekend!! See you then with the recipe for M&M bars!!

Venison Stew

2009-10-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

Friday was another cold and rainy day here in Wisconsin. Great weather if you're a duck. I'm not a duck and I'm not enjoying it. Top that off with three coughing kids and you've got a ton of fun, let me tell ya. So, we needed comforting and soothing and relaxing. What better than a vat of stew? Yes, I mean a VAT of stew. I inherited this problem from my mother...I over cook. When it was just Tim and me it was a pretty big problem, but now that I have 4 additional healthy eaters, it's a bit more manageable. We have a freezer full of venison and we've slowly but surely been eating away at it, but it's hunting season again and I still have venison in the freezer, so I guess we'll have to eat even more venison and cut back on my beloved chicken. So, I wanted a recipe for venison stew that didn't include gravy mix because 1) I'm out and 2) we don't need all the extra salt. So, online I go...and I find a recipe that I fully intended to use as written...until I started making it and realize that there is NO seasoning in it whatsoever....unless you count the beef bouillon. So, I tweaked it and added some spice and some of this and that, some more veggies (because what's stew with only 2 potatoes in it??) the results were pretty tasty. Enjoy!

Venison Stew

2-3 pounds venison stew meat
4-6 cloves garlic
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
5 potatoes, peeled and chopped
5+ carrots, peeled and chopped (adjust the amount to your liking)
1 onion, chopped
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1-2 cups chopped celery
5-6 tsp beef bouillon (1 tsp=1 cube)
1 tsp crushed rosemary
1 tsp marjoram
water (7ish cups?)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour

Cut meat into bite size pieces. Toss with 1/3 cup flour. Pan fry meat in hot skillet with butter and garlic until browned.

Dissolve bouillon in some hot water. Add browned meat and add enough hot water to cover meat by 1 inch. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2 hours. Add vegetables and spices and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. (I added my veggies the first time I brought it to a boil and made sure there was enough water that the veggies were covered.) Before serving, melt butter in a small pan and stir in flour. Stir this mixture in the stew and it will thicken.

**Edit 10/25/09: I made this again today, but used Country Herb Seasoning (found at Aldi's) and it was insanely awesome!!)

Pumpkin Seeds

2009-10-24T16:15:00.003-05:00

Rugby carved pumpkins at school on Friday. They take them to the Navarino Nature Center for their annual Fall Event (that's tonight, btw!). They have them lit and along a trail and it doesn't start until 6:30, so it's plenty dark to see them and the cool designs the kids carved into them. Normally, we don't carve our pumpkins. I have the kids paint them so that right after Halloween I can use them to make pies and the seeds are an added bonus. This year, the seeds are the main event since Rugby and Riley weren't able to be convinced to paint the pumpkins. Rugby was really excited about roasting seeds, though....he brought home 4 pumpkins worth after their carving event at school and we had 2 pumpkins that they carved here at home, so it's a nice amount of seeds to work with. Most of them were just olive oil and sea salt, but one batch I did get to make the "Martha Stewart" way. Years ago, I had seen her make these and tried them and INSTANTLY loved them. Then I forgot about them and now I haven't made them in a few years again. Today we made them and Rugby is also in love with them. Enjoy!

Martha Stewart Pumpkin Seeds

Seeds from 1-2 pumpkins
5 tbsp sugar, divided
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cumin
cayenne pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tbsp oil (I use EVOO or butter for this)

Preheat oven to 250. Line baking sheet with parchment paper before placing seeds on the baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour or until dry, stirring every 15 minutes or so.

In a medium bowl, mix salt, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne (I do a little shake), and 3 tbsp sugar. Set aside.

In a non-stick skillet, heat oil. Add seeds and 2 tbsp sugar. Cook until seeds begin to caramelize (45-60 seconds-ish). Pour seeds into the spice mixture and toss to coat. Allow to cool before eating. They will last 1 week in an airtight container...if you can resist them that long!

LF Chicken and Dumpling Soup

2009-10-20T10:08:00.003-05:00

The other day, while we were all sick, my mom brought me Taste of Home's BIG BOOK OF SOUP. There are a TON of recipes in this book that I'd love to make. So, expect to see some soup here soon!

So, last night, it was 4:30 and I hadn't given any thought to dinner. AT ALL. Nothing thawed, no leftovers, nothing I could just throw on the table. I opened this book and this recipe just jumped out at me. I had everything in the house and it was QUICK. Love that! So, here's the recipe...Enjoy!

Low Fat Chicken and Dumplings

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2" cubes (I cut mine smaller because of the babies)
2tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans chicken broth
3 cups water (I used 4, just because)
4 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped (I used a bit more since all I had were the inner ribs with the leaves...used the leaves, too!)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
rubbed sage, crushed rosemary, and marjoram...to taste. I think I used about 1/2-1 tsp combined
1/4 tsp black pepper

In a large skillet, pan fry the chicken in the butter and garlic cloves. In your stock pot, bring to a boil the broth, water, vegetables and seasonings. Add chicken to this. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered about 30 minutes.

Dumplings:
3 egg whites
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 tbsp water
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup ap flour

Beat the egg whites and cottage cheese in a mixing bowl. Add water and salt. Stir in flour, making sure to mix well.

When soup has simmered for 30 minutes, bring the soup back to a boil and drop dumplings into the soup by the tablespoonful. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes longer. DO NOT LIFT THE LID WHILE SIMMERING. Serve immediately.

(Looking for a use for the egg yolks?? How about this recipe? YUM!)

Weird popcorn

2009-10-19T10:47:00.002-05:00

This post is from the archives of It's A Boy's Life For Me. An oldie, but a goodie from August 25, 2007. This was 15 days after I had Tucker. It was probably one of the first days that I was alone with all 4 kids after I got home from the hospital. Since it involves a recipe, I thought I'd post it over here. I was craving it today, anyway. :) Enjoy!

August 25, 2007

Of all the time I got to spend in the hospital with nothing to do but watch TV, I took the time to catch up on the happenings at the Food Network. One of my favorite chefs is Michael Chiarello. There's something about him and his shows that's mesmerizing. The show that I happened to catch, he was making Brown butter, rosemary and lemon popcorn. Interesting flavors to put on popcorn, but I like rosemary and lemon so I thought I'd try it. Tonight. The flavor is really light and it's a nice change to regular popcorn. The weird part of this is though that RUGBY LOVES IT. Riley rolled his nose up, tried it, and wasn't impressed. Rugby went nuts for it. I'll make it again, I'm sure! Here's the recipe if you wanna try it yourself:

Brown Butter, Rosemary, and Lemon Popcorn

Recipe courtesy Michael Chiarello

1 cup popcorn
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Heat the popcorn and oil in a 1-gallon, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When the popcorns starts to pop, cover the pot tightly and continue to cook until all the popcorn pops, about 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pot occasionally. Pour the popcorn into a large bowl.

In a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and cook until it is brown, shaking the pan occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the rosemary to the butter and pour the butter mixture over the popcorn. Toss well. Add the salt and pepper and lemon zest. Toss well.

Lemon Biscotti

2009-10-17T07:15:00.000-05:00

About 2 years ago, the church we were attending had a "Ladies Tea" social event. There were all kinds of yummy treats to go with the tea, too. It was a really nice night to socialize and it was NOT for the kids, so I got to go alone which was also super nice! One of the yummy treats that we had that night was Lemon Biscotti. It was AWESOME. The hostess, Dagney, was kind enough to share the recipe with me...and it's been in an e-mail folder ever since. It happened to come up in a convo the other day again and I thought it'd be nice to try and make it. It sounded easy enough. So I did and it was wonderful, just like I remembered. YAY! I love when that happens!

Friday, Tim had a bake sale at school he wanted to take something for so he had me whip up another batch. They didn't really sell. Apparently no one knew what they were. So one lady tried them and then bought a bunch. Then she told another lady about them and she bought the rest! I guess they had to know what they were, then everyone loved them!

Here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Lemon Biscotti

2 3/4 cup ap flour

1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp lemon rind
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided
1 tbsp lemon extract
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 large eggs

2/3 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. In another bowl, combine lemon rind, 1 tbsp lemon juice, lemon extract, oil and eggs. Whisk until well combined and add to flour mixture, stirring until well combined. (I start with the whisk and then finish it with my hands) It will be dry and crumbly. Turn dough out on a LIGHTLY floured surface and knead lightly 7-8 times.

Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into a log about 8 inches long. Flatten each log to a 1 inch thickness. Transfer to parchment lined (or sprayed) baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer dough to cooling rack. Reduce oven temp to 325. Cool for 10 minutes. Slice diagonally into 1/2 inch wide pieces. You should be able to get 10-15 pieces from each log of dough. Place pieces, cut side down, back on the baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Turn cookies over and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to cooling racks to cool completely before proceeding.

To make the drizzle, stir together the powdered sugar and 1 tbsp remaining lemon juice. Add more juice a little at a time to get the drizzle to the consistency that you want. Drizzle over cooled biscotti and let it dry completely before putting away.

New posts!

2009-10-13T10:56:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a couple new posts. They should be ready soon!!

Banana Bread Pudding

2009-10-05T06:00:00.001-05:00

I've been making all kinds of yummy treats lately! This one is no exception. I was in the mood for some kind of banana pudding and THOUGHT that this is what a good friend of ours had made that I'd thought was so good....I was wrong, but it was good anyway! My hubby said I better watch out or my FIL will be here all the time since this is one of his favorite treats.

Banana Bread Pudding

Mix:
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

GRADUALLY add to:
2 1/2 cups scalded milk

Set aside.

In a 2 quart casserole, layer:
4 slices bread (I cubed mine)
3 mashed bananas
4 more slices bread
3 more mashed bananas

Pour custard over this. Set casserole dish in another larger dish of water and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until set. Enjoy!

**Tim said that I should have made a brandy sauce for over it and it'd have been perfect. Also, a double batch will fit in a 9x13 cake pan, but you'll need a rather large pan for the water bath to do that.

Taco Seasoning

2009-10-03T07:59:00.000-05:00

We go through a TON of taco seasoning. Last winter, we had taco night every Wednesday because right after school the kids had church, then we had 1 1/2 hours until wrestling practice to make supper, eat and do homework before we had to be back to school so it was crazy around here those nights and tacos are EASY and QUICK. LOVE THAT!! So every Wednesday was Taco night. There was a time or two where I was out of taco seasoning. OOPS, now what do I do?! Find a recipe for some and HOPE that I have everything in the house....lucky for me, I'm a spice collector. I have oodles of spices, most are common things, but there are a few things that are for more cultural dishes. This recipe takes things you probably already have...with the exception of cumin, these are ALWAYS in my house and have always been. Cumin is something that I started to keep in the house after I found a recipe for Pumpkin Seeds. I'll have to dig that recipe out for you, too. It's another good one and 'tis the season for pumpkin seeds!

Taco Seasoning

1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt (or iodized, whatever)
1 tsp black pepper
cayenne pepper to taste

Stir together. Add to one pound ground meat, add some water and fry until heated through.

Indian Tacos

2009-10-02T07:19:00.002-05:00

We love Indian Tacos. My husband's mom has a super fantastic recipe for Fry Bread. I used to have it, but when we moved, it's lost in a box somewhere and we haven't unpacked it yet. So, I called her and she just happened to have it handy the other night when we wanted to have them. WOOHOO! This is one of those recipes that you just have to play with it. If you've made bread, you know the texture of the dough and this should be similar, but the weather plays into how much flour the dough will accept. It's worth trying, though!

Fry Bread

4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp oil
2 cups water or milk
flour-enough to make a soft dough, start with 2 cups

Mix all the ingredients. Add more flour as needed to make a soft, smooth dough. After the initial mixing of ingredients, it works best just to work the dough with your hands. When your dough can form a ball, let rest for 15 minutes.

Heat your oil to 375. To fry, I like to use a golf ball sized piece and work into a thin, flat round like a pancake. Fry until golden, flip and fry the other side. Repeat until the dough is gone. You can vary the size of the pieces to get the size that you like, but they should be rather thin when you fry them.

Top with taco toppings for Indian Tacos. Use two as a bun for hamburgers. Make a long one to use as a bun for hot dogs. Top with butter and cinnamon sugar or you could top with powdered sugar for a dessert. They are completely yummy no matter how you use them!

Lemon Bars

2009-09-30T09:57:00.003-05:00

I know most of you already have and use a recipe for lemon bars, but they are another of Timmy's favorite treats. I'm just putting this here for safe keeping since I can't find the book with the recipe that I usually use I found this one online, modified it a TINY TINY bit and we loved it. Maybe I'll even make it again one day!

Lemon Bars

Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter

Mix (I used a pastry blender) and press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes until crust is a pretty golden color.

Filling:
While that's baking, mix:
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp lemon extract (opt, but I added and it was lovely)
Stir well.

Add in:
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp lemon zest (opt...I didn't have any so this was skipped)

When crust is done, pour this over it and return to the oven for 20 minutes. Cool and chill before sprinkling with powdered sugar and enjoy!

(We ate them still warm, but they were even better cold!)

Cashew Chicken

2009-09-03T07:50:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago, we were in this little tiny diner in Gresham and on the counter they had this 3 ring binder cookbook. It was from a "local author" and I was looking through it and saw SEVERAL recipes that I thought sounded good...but my DH didn't think I needed another cookbook....well, I thought differently and when he went to the bathroom I bought it and stashed it in the diaper bag (I'm gonna be sooooooo sad to stop carrying that big thing!) Rugby and Riley happened to find the book about a week ago and went through it, page by page telling me what they thought sounded good....so I set them up with a notebook and they wrote the recipe name, page and who thought it was gonna be a good one...now, I only have to look at their sheet for TONS of dinner ideas!! And I'll actually be using the cookbook, double bonus! We made chicken quesadillas the other day that were so good, but how do you screw that up? It's pretty simple. Anyway, another one that was marked "Both" (as in they both wanted it) was Cashew Chicken. My kids love chinese food and since most of what they like is simple stir fry stuff, I was happy to make it. This recipe is no exception. VERY SIMPLE and VERY tasty! I think the sauce would be good if I could figure out the breading to make peanut butter chicken. YUM! EnjoY!

Cashew Chicken

Peanut Butter Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp honey

Mix together until well blended and set aside.

Stir Fry:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
3 cups broccoli, chopped
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 green onions, chopped (I skipped this for the kids)
2 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil (I used butter)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp grated gingerroot (next time, I might add a bit more, but I LOVE ginger)
2 packages ramen noodles, flavor packages discarded
1/2 cup cashews

In the oil, saute the chicken, garlic and ginger until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove from skillet and set aside. In the skillet, add a little more oil (or like I did: a bit of chicken broth...less than 1/4 cup) and saute (or steam if you added the broth) the celery and broccoli for about 4 minutes. Add the green onion and continue to cook, stirring often until the veggies are tender-crisp. Add the chicken back to the skillet and pour the sauce over. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. While you are waiting, add the ramen noodles JUST THE NOODLES, NOT THE FLAVOR PACKET to a pot of boiling water and boil for 3 minutes; drain. Add the noodles to the chicken and veggies. Sprinkle with cashews and serve.

Peanut butter flavor is very subtle, not at all over whelming. I hope you like it!

Honey Hot Wings

2009-08-20T08:52:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the long delay in posting. The move has gone fairly well. The only thing that got broken (that we've found so far) was 4 jars of my grandma's pickled beets. I guess if that's the worst of it, that's not so bad. While we were settling in, we had my husband's parents and grandma over for dinner one night and we initiated a new grill that night, too. We needed a new one and Tim wanted to get it before he left for work so that I could still grill while he was gone. THANK YOU, HONEY!! As a kind of "thank you" to him, I made Honey Hot Wings. He LOVES hot wings. This recipe made enough for him with a couple for me, a couple for his mom, and one for his dad and grandma. Enjoy!

HONEY HOT WINGS

2 pounds chicken wings, tips discarded
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup honey, separated
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot, but I think next time I make them, I'll use hot sauce from Apple Acres in Indiana.)

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil grate.
Wash the wings well and pat dry with paper towel. Season with cayenne, salt, and pepper. (I didn't measure the s&p or the cayenne...just gave the chicken a light sprinkling of them and it was perfect!)
Cook the chicken wings on preheated grill until cooked through and juices run clear, 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the wings. Brush the wings liberally using 1/2 cup of honey while they are cooking.
Melt the butter, pour into a large bowl and mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of honey and hot sauce. Remove the wings from the grill and immediately toss them in the hot honey butter sauce to coat. Serve the wings 'wet' or return them to the grill for 1 minute per side to set the sauce.

Zucchini Jam

2009-07-17T13:40:00.003-05:00

When I was a little girl, my mom used to make Zucchini Jam for me every year. I just LOVED the stuff. Then, either Jello stopped making apricot jello or my mom just told me that so she was off the hook....she quit making it and lost the recipe. When I married and had kids of my own, I got a bug up my rear to find that recipe again. I searched all over online and tried a recipe or two, but none of them were my mom's recipe with the apricot jello. Then, in 2005 I thought to ask my Grandma in South Dakota. OF COURSE Grandma had it!! I've made it 3 of the last 4 years and it's always so good!! I make several batches so I have enough for gifts all year, too!

Granny's Zucchini Jam

6 cups grated zucchini
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1-6 oz box apricot jello
2 boxes sure-gel

Bring zucchini to a boil and cook until clear, about 6 minutes. Add sugar, lemon juice, and pineapple. Boil hard for 6 minutes. Remove from heat and add sure-gel. Stir until dissolved before adding the jello and stir that until dissolved, also. Pack into jelly jars and seal. Enjoy!

Best Waffles EVAH!

2009-07-12T10:14:00.004-05:00

Yesterday morning, Riley asked for waffles. I had planned and started pancakes already so we had them (See this post for the recipe!) But, this morning I thought it was perfect for pancakes! When I went to the freezer to get the blueberries, they were missing...so I made blackberry topping instead! YUM! I found this recipe, read the reviews and made some pretty big modifications....now we have awesome waffles! They are even kind of healthy for you and very filling! Riley could only eat 2! (My waffle maker makes 2 waffles at a time, approx. 4"x5". The batch made a lot! Plenty for the freezer! )

Margie's Waffles

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
2 tbsp + 2 tsp baking powder (or 8 tsp)
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups milk
3/4 cup applesauce (I used homemade and it's rather thick)
4 eggs, seperated
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp vanilla

Preheat waffle iron.

In a large bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Stir in milk, vanilla, oil and egg YOLKS and mix until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat egg WHITES until soft peaks form. Gently fold into flour mixture.

Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick spray. Mine uses about 1/2 cup batter per waffle. Cook until golden and serve hot.

My blackberry topping was simply some mashed berries and a little sugar.

***************************
This recipe is linked to Share My Recipe Sunday at Organize with Sandy!

Honey Garlic Vinaigrette and Grilled Venison

2009-07-07T17:58:00.006-05:00

A few years ago, I found and made this awesome dressing. I used it on lettuce from my garden with a little leftover grilled ribeye then. I rediscovered the recipe again and remember why I fell in love with it then....it's EASY, CHEAP and YUMMY! The ingredients are things I always have in the house which makes it even better! Last night when I made this again (with Farmer's Market lettuce) we were trying a new recipe for grilled venison. Tim's friend, Melissa, sent me the recipe on Facebook and I followed part of it. The part I did was super simple and tasty, again with things I always have in the house. (The part I didn't follow was adding grilled tomatoes, bacon and gorgonzola cheese...we didn't miss it.) I put the meat on my salad and it was an awesome concoction! Enjoy!

Honey Garlic Vinaigrette

1 cup vegetable oil (don't use olive oil as the flavor is too strong)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp honey
2 (or 3) cloves of garlic, minced (I use my garlic press)

Put in a mixing container. I've used a blender or even a pint sized mason jar. Blend well. Allow to stand 45 minutes for flavors to meld. Stir/shake/mix again and serve.

Grilled Venison

Enough venison minute steaks to feed your crowd
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Garlic powder
Black Pepper
Olive Oil (I use EVOO)

In a glass dish or baggie, place meat and sprinkle with other ingredients. Cover or close bag and allow to stand at room temp for 30 minutes. Cook with indirect heat on grill until they are done.

Mediterranean Pepper Salad

2009-06-29T09:09:00.002-05:00

Another goodie from the Smitten Kitchen put here for safe keeping. Enjoy!

Copy and pasted from SK:

Mediterranean Pepper Salad
Insprired by one you can buy at Zabar’s, but now no longer need to

I put my own spin on this, of course. I omitted the green peppers because, well, they’re not my favorite and I quick-pickled the red onion to sweeten and soften its blow. But really, my favorite part of salads like this is is that they can be kept in the fridge already dressed, and only grow more deliciously marinated in a day or two. Should they last that long.

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 a red onion, cut into a 1/2-inch dice (use less if your onion is huge)
3 bell peppers, your choice of colors (I used one red, orange and yellow)
1 kirby cucumber,
1/4-pound firm feta cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup pitted kalmata olives
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Swish together the red wine vinegar, water, kosher salt and sugar in a small bowl until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the red onion and set it aside.

Meanwhile, time to practice your knife skills. Core and seed your bell peppers and chop them into 1/2-inch pieces. Chop the cucumber and feta into similarly-sized chunks. Put your peppers, cucumber, feta and olives in a large bowl.

By now, your onions will have lightly pickled, both sweetening and softening their blow. Drain them and add them to the other vegetables in the large bowl, but reserve the vinegar mixture. Pour a quarter cup of the vinegar mixture over the salad, then drizzle with olive oil. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper, or to taste. Toss evenly and serve at once, or let the flavors muddle together in the fridge for a few hours.

Forgetful, who me? People, I just realized I forgot to add the cup of grape tomatoes that are usually in this salad, and that I’d purchased specifically to add to it. Like grape tomatoes? Add them! Don’t like them? Turns out you might not know they were missing.

Black Bean Confetti Salad

2009-06-29T09:07:00.003-05:00

I need a place to put this recipe so I remember it, so I'm putting it here. Originally found here at the Smitten Kitchen. I plan to make this over the weekend. Enjoy!

Black Bean Confetti Salad

This works equally well as a small salad–even tossed with salad greens for more bulk–or alongside salsa fresca for scooping up with a tortilla chip.

2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and well-rinsed
4 bell peppers, a mix of colors, chopped into a small dice
1/2 super-large or 1 medium white onion, chopped into a small dice
Juice of one lime
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Optional: If you’re the kind of person who loves cilantro, it’s a great match for this salad.

Mix beans, bell peppers and white onion in a large bowl. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk remaining ingredients into a vinaigrette. Ideally, you’ll have a 1/2 cup of dressing. Pour it over the bean mixture, toss it well and adjust seasonings to taste.

Pork Chops

2009-06-26T21:53:00.002-05:00

I'll be the first to admit that with my hubby out of town, I'm not into cooking much...hence the lack of posting here...but I have made some pork chops the other night that were really good...Rugby had 3 of them! So I thought I'd share...even though it's not really a recipe..

At Aldi's, they sell an herb mixture called "Country Herbs" that is a mixture of mint, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, sea salt, and some others I can't remember right now. I use this in a lot of my salads, soups and now as a rub for the meat! Generously sprinkle the meat with it. Sprinkle with garlic powder and ground ginger and grill until they are cooked to your liking. While they are still hot, fresh off the grill dab them with butter. The real thing, folks...no substitutions allowed! The kids liked dipping in Sweet Baby Ray's, but they were good without it, too.

Enjoy!

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

2009-06-20T12:41:00.004-05:00

A couple summers ago (I think), my SIL Christine made this awesome salsa for the Fourth of July gathering at my husband's parents house. All of his siblings (there are 7 total) come home with their spouses, boyfriends and kids and it makes for quite the party. Tim's dad's business usually puts a float in the parade and the kids throw popsicles off the back of the truck. Good times. But, anyway, for the cookout one night, Christine brought this salsa and I have to share (And put it here so I don't lose it!) it's so good and so easy!

Corn and Black Bean Salsa ala Christine

1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 can mexican corn - drained
1 small red onion - finely chopped (I didn't put this in) (She doesn't...I do!)
3 roma tomatoes - chopped
3 green onions - chopped
2 avocados - chopped
1 sm clove garlic - minced

MIX together

dressing:
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 envelope good seasons Italian dressing.

I added chopped fresh cilantro. (Me, too!!)

Serve with chips. (I'm thinking Fritos scoops would be good with this!!)

Enjoy!

Life got in the way

2009-06-17T22:30:00.001-05:00

Life got in the way of my blogging (again). My DH is out of town and now that school's out, I have all four at home with me and up to TWO extras, depending on the day. Sooooooo, I hope to be back posting recipes for you soon!! My husband's cousin's wife made an awesome salsa that I need to get the recipe for to share, and hopefully I can find Christine's corn salsa recipe to share, too. I LOVE SUMMER FOOD!!

Be back soon!!

Sloppy Joes

2009-06-09T07:34:00.002-05:00

Last night, I hadn't planned our dinner. I babysat until 4:15 and played with the boys until Tim called and said he was on his way....oops! I had 1 hour to get dinner on the table. Searching the freezer, I found 1-1 1/2 pound block of hamburger and a pound of ground venison. COOL! Tacos....but I was out of taco seasoning, so I went to allrecipes.com to get the recipe for the taco seasoning I liked. Their front page, featured recipe was a neat sloppy joe....neat because it's not so liquidy and run down your arm messy! WOOHOO! Mom's everywhere: REJOICE! I read the reviews and tweaked it some. It was good, but missing something to Tim's and my taste, but Rugby ate FOUR of them and Riley loaded up on Granny's potatoes she sent home with us this weekend (They came in really handy last night....10 minutes in the microwave and we were set!!) So, here's the recipe, let me know what you think!! Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes

2 pounds ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken, venison)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4-1 cup chopped celery
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup grated carrot (Optional, but I added because I wasn't going to be serving a veggie on the side)
1 can tomato soup
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/8 cup brown sugar (originally called for 1/4 cup, so use your judgement)
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2+ tbsp BBQ sauce (we use Sweet Baby Ray's)
1/8 tsp-ish Hickory liquid smoke

Cook meat and veggies until meat is browned. Add rest of ingredients and cook until heated through. Serve on buns.

(Serves 8)

Fry Bread

2009-06-08T07:17:00.003-05:00

My mom and I were talking about "Indian Tacos" this weekend while I was back home. My husband was raised in an area very near to an Indian Reservation and they attend church on the reservation. His mom has this recipe for fry bread from some of the ladies at church and it's SO GOOD!! You can top it with taco stuff, or butter and cinnamon/sugar or powdered sugar (frosting, too) or drizzle with honey or some butter and jam. Really, use it just like a bread....we've also had it for a bun of a hot dog which was good, too. Enjoy!

Indian Fry Bread

Flour-enough to make a soft dough
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp oil
2 c water or milk

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. (Start with a couple cups of flour and add more as needed). Knead until smooth. Let stand at least 15 minutes. Melt 1 inch of oil in a heavy skillet until hot (like for donuts) (I use my deep fryer set at 375). Roll dough out on a floured board and cut into desired shapes. Fry 2 or 3 at a time until browned on one side, then flip and brown the other side.

Lime Cookies

2009-05-29T11:35:00.002-05:00

I made these cookies this morning. They have a really fresh taste. The lime really pops. I've used the recipe exactly as written on allrecipes, so here it is for you. I baked for a slightly less amount of time so that the cookies still had a bit of chewy left to them.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon lime zest
3 tablespoons lime juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 large baking sheets. Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl; set aside. Stir together 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a separate bowl and set aside.
Cream together the butter, 1 cup sugar, and lime zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the lime juice, then the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Form the dough into walnut-sized balls, and roll in the spiced sugar mixture. Arrange onto prepared baking sheets 1 inch apart. Flatten the balls slightly using a decorative cookie stamp or the bottom of a glass.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown, 13 to 16 minutes. Cool the cookies on wire racks, then store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

2009-05-29T11:20:00.003-05:00

My hubby LOVES rhubarb. I make a rhubarb crunch that he claims as his favorite, but I need a little more variety than making just that one rhubarb dessert. So today I'm making rhubarb cookies with browned butter icing and yesterday I made Rhubarb Upside Down Cake while my il-laws are here. It's super simple and SO YUMMY! Enjoy!

Rhubarb....I used chopped, about 3 cups. You could leave the rhubarb in long pieces cut to fit the pan, also.
1 white cake mix (YES! I actually used a cake mix!)
ingredients for the mix
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Place the rhubarb in a greased 9x13 pan. Pour the prepared cake mix over the rhubarb and pour the cream over the cake mix. Bake according to the directions on the box. When the cake has cooled slightly, invert the cake over your serving platter so the rhubarb is up. Allow to cool completely. Use the remaining whipping cream with some powdered sugar to make homemade whipping cream to serve on top of each slice.

(Picture coming soon!)

*Tip for making whipping cream: Freeze your mixing bowl and your wire whisk attachment before preparing the whipping cream, when they are that cold, it makes it easier to whip.

Ginger Soy Chicken

2009-05-21T15:17:00.003-05:00

I made this for dinner Tuesday night. It was pretty good. I'd have liked to have more, so I'll probably double it next time. YUM!

Marinade 1 1/2 pounds of chicken in:

1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c sherry
4 tbsp brown sugar
4-6 large cloves garlic, diced (I use a press)
2-4 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp EVOO

Grill the chicken. While it's grilling, boil the marinade until reduced by half.

Sesame Vegetables

carrots, chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 onion, chunked (love the technical terminology, right?!!)
(Additional veggies would be good too....whatever your family likes...broccoli, mushrooms, etc)
1/2 stick butter
1 tbsp or more (your choice) sesame seeds

Saute until onions are tender and carrots are slightly crisp and tender.

When the chicken is done, cut up into cubes and stir into the veggies. Pour the reduced marindae over this. Serve over rice noodles (or Tim thought mashed potatoes would have been good also.) Enjoy!!

Easter Dessert

2009-05-15T07:32:00.000-05:00

For Easter this year, we went to church with my husband's grandparents who we are lucky enough to live near to! We attend their church every couple weeks and check in to see how they are and show off our boys. This year, none of their kids could be home on Easter and we weren't heading back to our other home, so we spent it with Grandma and Grandpa. We had a great visit and shared lunch with them, also. I made a really yummy dessert that I've been meaning to share for quite a while. It can be made in a 9x13 pan (which I did) or you can layer it in a trifle bowl.

Lemon Pound Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup butter flavored shortening
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 cup milk
Juice and zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream, vanilla, lemon extract, lemon zest and juice. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream, vanilla and lemon extract. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

You will only need about half of the cake for the dessert.

Berry Squares

1 pkg. (12-oz.) pound cake, cut into 10 slices (Cut the lemon pound cake into squares, then slice them in half so they aren't as tall.)
3 Tbsp. orange juice
2 pt. fresh seasonal berries (I used raspberries, strawberries and blueberries)
2 T. sugar
1 1/2 C. milk
1 C. sour cream
1 t. vanilla extract
2 packages (4-serving size each) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 (8-oz.) tub Cool Whip, thawed

Arrange cake slices, cut side up, in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch serving dish. Drizzle orange juice over cake. Top with berries; sprinkle sugar over berries.

Pour milk into large bowl; whisk in sour cream, vanilla and dry pudding mixes, beating just until well blended and smooth. Gently stir in 1 cup of the Cool whip and blend. Spread over berries in pan. Top with remaining whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Garnish with fresh berries before serving.

Serves 12 to 15.

Granny's Kitchen

2009-05-12T14:45:00.000-05:00

My mom started a food blog. She makes more salads and desserts than I do. She posted a really good Green and White Salad that I had over the weekend and it was AWESOME and really easy to throw together. Go say hi and check it out!!

Granny's Kitchen

Cinnamon Rolls

2009-05-05T07:54:00.000-05:00

Today is Teacher Appreciation Day. I wanted to do something for the staff at my boys' school. The teachers and staff there are wonderful! So, on the blog-o-sphere, I found a recipe for Big Batch Cinnamon Rolls. Thanks to Amy at The Finer Things in Life for posting the recipe!!

For our wedding, we were given a stand mixer. I think it was a Sunbeam. It was small, but we were newly married with no kids so we had no need for anything larger....except that we got pregnant very soon after we were married and soon had another. Somewhere about the 3rd or 4th year anniversary mark, the mixer died. I was upset! I used that mixer almost daily. My kids liked to bake with me and we were constantly making cookies or muffins or SOMETHING. I knew Kitchen Aids were good, but I didn't want to spend the money. So, I went online and found one with Wolfgang Puck's name on it. It was a stronger motor than the KA and a WAYYYYYYYY cheaper pricetag. It also came with a money back guarantee. So, I ordered it and waited. Then it came and I was surprised by how light the box was....the whole thing was plastic! Very light and I was afraid that it wouldn't last long enough for me (I was only asking for a lifetime of use out of the thing!). So, I never even took the whole thing out of the box and shipped it back. About that time, KA was having a sale, so I got the 6 qt KA with an extra bowl and 2 rubber scrapers for only $200 more than the plastic one! WOOHOO! Now, roughly 4 years later, I STILL use the KA often. I got the 6 qt one because it has a 10 cup flour capacity. I figured it could then handle a double batch of cookies or breads, etc. Yesterday I first tested the capacity! I made the Big Batch Cinnamon Rolls and it calls for 9 cups of flour! And it handled it like a champ. I loved it!! You could make these by with your mixer and knead them by hand, but I was able to do it all with the mixer and they were great!! Enjoy!

Big Batch Cinnamon Rolls

Mix 3 cups hot water with 3 tbsp yeast and 3/4 cup sugar. Let stand 2-3 minutes to activate the yeast.

Mix in 2 cups flour.

Add 3/4 cup oil, 1 tsp salt, and 3 eggs. Mix well.

Add 7 cups of flour, a couple at a time until incorporated and knead until dough is not sticky.

Set dough in a LARGE bowl and allow to rise until doubled in size (I used the ginormous tupperware bowl.) Takes about an hour.

Divide dough in half and roll into a long rectangle. Spread with softened butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon. Roll up and use a long piece of floss to cut into 18 pieces. Repeat with the other half of dough. Place rolls on a greased pan and allow to rise again, about 30 minutes. (I use a warm oven for the rising. Preheat the oven to about 80-100* and shut it off, it will stay warm in there and they will rise really nice!)

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly before icing.

Cinnamon Roll Icicng

1/4 c melted butter
1 tbsp vanilla (use clear vanilla if you want to have WHITE icing)
3 tbsp milk
powdered sugar (takes almost a full bag to get to the consistancy I like)

Mix until spreadable. I like it thick like frosting, some like it thinner like a glaze, it's all personal preference. I added a touch of purple coloring (for the Bulldogs!) because it was kinda brown from the vanilla.

(I bet the brown butter icing from the pumpkin cookies I made last week would be good on these, also!)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-04-29T13:27:00.000-05:00

Remember last week I made chocolate chip cookies that tasted good, but really flattened out on me? My friend, Erin, posted that she had a great recipe for them and she posted it! I made them today and it's my new GO TO recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies! Thanks, Erin!! And one batch isn't nearly enough, so better make it a double :)

Here's the recipe:

"The" Chocolate Chip Cookie
2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. unsalted butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt, set aside.

In medium bowl, cream together melted butter, sugars until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix sifted ingredients until well blended.

Bake for 15-17 minutes until edges are lightly toasted.

Cookies!

2009-04-23T08:54:00.000-05:00

Today Tim had to take a plate of cookies with him to work. Every month or so a different department at his school is supposed to treat the other teachers, but they haven't done it since he's been there, so this month there are 3 departments working together on it. I didn't know that until AFTER I already baked cookies. So, I thought it was just him and the other teacher so I made 2 batches, one with chocolate and one without. So, he took both batches, anyway. The chocolate chip ones that I made were good, but they really flattened out....too much for my taste. I won't be making that recipe again, but from the same book, I got this recipe for Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting. Tim didn't get to try them last night because I was up until 11pm making them. Apparently they were good because he woke me up to tell me they were "terrible" (He thinks that telling me they are terrible will make me make them again since I RARELY ever make the same recipe twice...) Well, I have to agree, they are pretty darn good! I love the brown butter frosting....it's caramely in flavor and the color is GORGEOUS! They are a fussy cookie to make, but COMPLETELY worth it!! Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

2 3/4 c ap flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp coarse salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg (fresh ground if you can)
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 c) unsalted butter (I used salted and cut down on the salt above to compensate), softened
2 1/4 c packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 c (14 oz) canned pumpkin (NOT pie filling!)
3/4 c evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together: flour, baking soda and powder, salt cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer (here's when I really LOVE my KitchenAid!). Mix in eggs. Reduce spead to low and add pumpkin, evaporated milk and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. This mixture will be rather soft.

Use a pastry bag and a #12 (or similar) tip to pipe circles 1 1/2 inches around and 1 inch apart on a parchment lined or greased cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, rotate pan and bake another 5-7 minutes or until tops spring back. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Icing
4 c powdered sugar
1 1/4 sticks (10 tbsp) unsalted butter
1/4 c plus 1 tbsp evaporated milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Put powdered sugar in the bowl you want to mix in. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes. Pour into the powdered sugar and scrape the browned bits from the pan into the frosting. Add evaporated milk and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Frost each cookie with approx 1 tsp of frosting. Allow to set before stacking. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for 3 days. (Like they'd last that long!) Makes approx 6 dozen

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

2009-04-21T14:04:00.000-05:00

I got this recipe last year from Clean Eating Magazine. Since I'm the only one in the house that will eat spinach, the only hard part is keeping their paws off my stawberries!

Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

dressing:
1/2 c plain or vanilla low/non-fat yogurt
1/4 orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tbsp poppy seeds

Stir until blended.

Salad:
each serving:
3 1/2 c baby spinach leaves
4 large strawberries, quartered
2 tbsp dressing

Simple and healthy AND super YUMMY! Enjoy!

Root Beer Cake with FUDGE Frosting

2009-04-08T09:02:00.000-05:00

Helps with the diet, no? heee heee heee!

I got this cookbook from the library about a month ago. I'm LOVING it! I may have to look into purchasing it. (Where's the best place to get good deals on books?? I use amazon and half.com sometimes is there something better??) I made the granola from the book and now this super yummy cake. The cake is screaming, "BOW DOWN before my awesomeness." And then with a scoop of ice cream on the side? Heaven, I'm telling you!! And this has got to be the BEST frosting I've ever put on a chocolate cake....even Tim commented that it was really good frosting. With a little tweaking, this is a GREAT cake!! Enjoy!!

Root Beer Bundt Cake

Cake:
2 cups root beer (NOT diet!)
2 capfuls root beer concentrate
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces
1 1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cups ap flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325*. Generously spray the insde of a 10" bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat root beer, butter, and cocoa powder over medium heat until the butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in sugar until dissolved. Allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs just until beaten and then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture (it doesn't have to be all the way cooled, just enough that you aren't going to scramble the eggs when you add them). Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy, so be careful not to over beat or your cake will be tough.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Rotate the pan halfway through cooking. Transfer to a wire cooling rack until completely cool. Then loosen the edges and turn onto a cake platter.

Fudge Frosting

2 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup root beer
1-2 capfulls root beer concentrate
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 powdered sugar

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth and shiny. Spread on cooled cake. Allow frosting to set before serving.

Serve slices with a scoop or two of ice cream for a really nice treat! It's like a root beer float...only better!

This cake is nice and moist, almost fudgy!

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburgers

2009-04-07T07:49:00.000-05:00

Have your attention yet? BBQ Bacon Cheeseburgers are on Tim's top 10 list of fave foods. I needed a QUICK dinner last night since I wasn't feeling exactly wonderful and didn't make it to the grocery store as I always do on Monday's. I had ground beef and everything else for burgers...except buns which the gas stations in town both sell, so it was burger night! These are bacon wrapped cheeseburgers, I had to modify the recipe but they turned out awesome. Tim got one cold one when he got home and I had another one frying for him so he got a hot one, too. Rugby ate THREE of them. The kids I topped with shredded cheddar and ours I topped with pepper jack which was SO GOOD!! Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Burgers

In a large bowl, mix:
1 egg
1 small onion, diced
2 tbsp BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's original)
2 tbsp Worcestershire
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 pounds ground beef

Form into patties. Wrap with bacon (secure bacon with toothpicks). Grill over medium-medium high heat for 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Top with cheese of your choice and allow to melt. This made 8 burgers for me and took almost 1/2 pound of thick sliced bacon.

I fried them in a skillet on the stove since I couldn't find the fire stick to start the grill. I had to pour the grease off part of the way through cooking, but other than that, it went smoothly.

Mexican Night

2009-04-03T14:35:00.000-05:00

Last night was Mexican night at our house. Tim had asked me to make beef enchiladas and Spanish rice, but I don't like beef enchiladas so I made Steak Fajitas instead. My kids are not picky eaters, but they don't do spicy foods. Well, they weren't too pleased at last night's dinner options. The fajitas were a bit spicy and the rice had red and green peppers in it, so they wouldn't eat it. Rugby ate the fajitas and liked them, but said he didn't like the spicy part. I was so happy that he tried it!! Riley tried it, but just barely. Rugby had 3/4 of his gone before he came up for air. :) So, with the modifications, here's two more new recipes for you! Enjoy!

Spanish Rice

1 cup chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce
4 slices bacon, cut into small chunks (a scissors works great to do this!)
1 large onion, chopped/diced
1 cup minute rice (using this takes a ton less time! If you want, use basmati or jasmine rice, but cook 35-40 minutes at the end...)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (or 2 chopped fresh tomatoes)
1 (or 2) bell pepper, diced and your choice of colors. I used red and half of a green
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can corn, drained
handful of chopped fresh cilantro, add to your taste.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring broth and tomato sauce to a boil.

In a LARGE skillet, cook the bacon chunks until browned. Scoop out the bacon and set aside. In the bacon grease, saute the onions until tender. Add the rice and cook until lightly browned (I kinda skipped that step and it was ok). Pour in the boiling broth/sauce, tomatoes, peppers, corn and bacon. Stir in the spices. Cover and simmer until rice is cooked (I didn't cover and it only took 10ish minutes.

Steak Fajitas
WARNING: If you are used to and expecting this to be like "normal" fajitas that you have big chunks of meat that you have to tear with your teeth, this isn't it. Don't expect that. It's gonna be shredded steak but completely yummy!

1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak (I used boneless country beef ribs), sliced into strips
small-med jar of salsa (I used some home canned spicy salsa)
1 jalapeno, diced WITH seeds (or without the seeds if you don't want the heat)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 medium onion, julienned
1 green pepper, julienned
1 sweet red pepper, julienned
1/4 c butter
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced (I used more...probably about 3 tbsp or better)
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
juice of one lime, microwave the lime for 30 seconds before juicing to give you the most juice you can get!
tortillas
sour cream
pepper jack or cheddar cheese, grated
salsa

In a SLOW COOKER, layer meat, salsa, spices, jalapeno. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours or until meat is fall apart tender.

When meat is ALMOST ready, whisk the cornstarch into the water and stir into the slow cooker. This will help thicken the juices.

In a skillet, melt the butter and saute the onion and peppers until tender.

Before serving, stir the cilantro and lime juice into the meat.

****I serve this from the stove like a buffet. Each person can top with their choice of toppings. I use the burrito size tortillas. The spanish rice is good wrapped right in with the other toppings also or served on the size with sour cream on top.

Pancakes and Orange Julius

2009-04-01T11:40:00.000-05:00

My DH loves making breakfast. It's been so nice having him home this week because he'll make the kids great breakfast before school where I'm content to give them cereal with whatever frozen berries we hauled out of the freezer. Yesterday was french toast and today was his famous pancakes. Ok, maybe not famous, but they are super fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth pancakes. I like that I don't have to remember to buy pancake mix because it's made with things I always have in the house. YAY!! And when he makes "orange julius" smoothies to go along with it. YUMMY!! Here's the recipes, enjoy!!

Pancakes

1 1/3 cup ap flour
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
3 tbsp oil
vanilla to taste

Mix the dry ingredients first, then add the wet ingredients. Mix well. Cook on a griddle or frypan until golden, flip and repeat.

Orange Julius

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
8-10 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until thick and slushy. Serve immediately.
1 tsp vanilla

Disaster

2009-03-26T10:39:00.000-05:00

Ok, I've been sharing LOTS AND LOTS of success stories. Here's a disaster one for you:

The other night, I roasted a chicken for supper. Smelled a little weird, but not exactly "off" when I got it out but I was leary of it. I should have tossed it and not worried about it, but roasted the chicken in my usual way (1 tsp each of rosemary, sage, marjoram, and salt in the cavity with an onion and then another batch of the spices rubbed into the top and roasted in the stonebaking dishes I have until fall apart tender...) So, I pull the thing out of the oven and 1) it doesn't look done. Ugh. and 2) still smells weird. I cut into it and it's still a bit bloody. Lovely. Kids are sitting at the table waiting....Tim starts giving me a hard time about my inability to cook chicken and I lose it. EIGHT YEARS ago, I had a hard time with chicken, ONCE, and I am never going to live it down, but pulling that half cooked, bloody, stinky bird from the oven to his comments was more than I could handle. So, pick a plan B....Tim made reptile logs as appetizers (celery sticks with peanut butter, raisins and sunflower seeds) and I whipped up a white, alfredo-ish sauce and tossed in some leftover chicken from the night or two before. It went great with the broccoli and buttered noodles that were planned to be our dinner. ARGH! So, supper was a disaser, but some quick thinking and leftovers saved the day!

Cupcakes!

2009-03-19T21:02:00.000-05:00

Ever since Rugby and Riley were really little, they have gotten cupcakes and muffins confused. So, they started calling them Muff-cakes. Sounds kinda dirty to me, but they don't know the slang yet so I think I'm safe. Anyway, tomorrow (Friday) is Riley's turn to bring snack for school. He asked for muff-cakes. NO PROBLEM....except I gave my cookbook with my normal cake recipe in it away at Christmas (No, I don't want it back, Mom...but I may have you e-mail me the recipe later!) So, I went to my trusted friend, All Recipes and found a new favorite! The batter is divine and I think the cupcakes will be, too. They're still in the oven, so I'll have to report back later with the results!

Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 24

In a large bowl, mix and set aside:
2 cups flour
3/8 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup plus 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt

In another bowl:
Cream 2 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp butter

Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well between each egg. Then stir in 1 tsp vanilla.

To this mixture, alternately add the flour mixture with 1 1/2 cups milk. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

**EDIT: The kids LOVED the cupcakes. I used a good, homemade buttercream frosting with vanilla extract instead of the normal almond that I used, tinted them light, light blue and used bright colored sugars on the top. I piped the frosting on with a star tip, just in circles and sprinkled with the sugars. Riley's teacher said the kids all asked Riley for the recipe. LOL! Kindergartners want my recipe. I think that's hilarious!

"Maple" Syrup

2009-03-18T08:02:00.000-05:00

Last night was one of those nights. You know the ones I am talking about....nothing came together right....The weather was nice so I was outside playing with the kids when I should have been making supper, we ran out of syrup, I made too much egg wash for the stuffed french toast, the list goes on and on.....BUT! The kids had a great time burning energy in the sunshine and warmth of spring, so it really wasn't too bad....except that I didn't have any syrup for the stuffed french toast. And I didn't realize that until the first six pieces were already cooked, NOW WHAT DO I DO?? I make my DARLING husband look up a recipe online. He tried to yell it to me as I was cooking and getting kids cups and all other things that comes with making dinner and it just didn't work. But, he wrote it down (so simple!!) and then I couldn't find the maple flavoring. Ugh. He managed to find it, right there in the lazy susan next to the other extracts, but my frazzled eyes could not see it. So, anyway, I quickly threw together a double batch (I hope we like it!) and we're off and running. That's right, Mom, my kids actually got WARM syrup last night! lol!! But, I don't think that I'm going to be buying syrup anymore. This stuff was really good and totally easy to make....heck, I did it in the middle of stuffing, dipping and frying the french toast, so it couldn't have been hard, right?! Plus, I love that it doesn't have HFCS. So, for your enjoyment, here's the syrup recipe. Enjoy!

Homemade "Maple" Syrup

2 cups sugar
1 cup water

Boil until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 tsp maple extract.

That's it!! Easy!! A double batch is just a tiny bit too much for the normal syrup container we use, but with the 5 boys I feed, we used what didn't fit and still had plenty of leftovers, so those went in the fridge.

BAKED Granola

2009-03-17T09:58:00.000-05:00

Years ago, I was watching Martha Stewart and there were two dudes on there that owned a little bakery in Brooklyn called BAKED. I can't remember anymore what they were making, but I remember that it looked so good! But, like many things, it was in one ear and out the other. Fast forward to two weeks ago, one of the blogs that I read mentioned this cookbook that she read called BAKED: New Frontiers In Baking....and it was the same two dudes with the bakery in Brooklyn! So, I checked the online catalog for the library and they have it! I ordered it and got it and as we speak, I have granola baking. No HFCS here, folks, just lots of yummy goodness! I had a bit of a hard time finding hazelnuts, but the local food co-op/health food store had them...they are organic, so I guess that's a good thing, but not used to paying organic prices for things. The little bag was about $3 and there's about 1 cup in it. At least that's enough for 3 batches of granola! My house smells awesome with it baking!! Here's the recipe, I'll let you know how it is after it cools and I can add the raisins. I can't wait to try it in a fruit and yogurt parfait!!

Easy Homemade Granola

2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp + 1 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/3 cup whole almonds
1/3 cup whole hazelnuts
1/3 cup golden raisins (I used regular because I had them)
1/3 cup dried cherries (I forgot to buy them, so didn't use)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. (thanks for sending that home, mom!!!)

In a large bowl, mix the oats with the cinnamon and salt.

In a small bowl, mix the honey, vanilla, brown sugar, and oil. Whisk until well combined. Pour over the oats mixture and USE YOUR HANDS to mix it up. Grab it in handfuls, make a fist. Repeat until well mixed.

Pour this on your baking sheet. Spread evenly, but leave some clumps. Bake for 10 minutes. Use a metal spatula to flip the granola, sprinkle with the almonds.

Bake another 5 minutes. Flip again and sprinkle with hazelnuts.

Bake another 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before sprinkling with raisins and cherries. Use your hands to transfer to an airtight container. This will keep for a week. Enjoy!

**Post cooling edit: THIS IS AWESOME!! I love hazelnuts and they fit perfectly in this granola! I am having it on my strawberry yogurt this mornng. TJ loves it, too. It's EASY and totally worth the time!! Try it out!!

Kelly's Potatoes

2009-03-10T11:09:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple conversations with my boys a couple weeks ago:

On Saturday:

Me: Riley, what should we have for lunch today?

Riley: KELLY'S POTATOES!!

Me: Um, ok, I'll have to see if I can find the recipe she used, k?

Riley: Yea, just make um!

(I did manage to find the recipe, Riley apparently loved them!)

On Monday: (while I was menu planning)

Me: What should we have for dinners this week?

Rugby: Meat and potatoes with corn.

Me: Ok, can do, how about we do that Tuesday?

Rugby: Ok

Me: Riley, you want to pick a night?

Riley: Kelly's potatoes!!

Me: You liked them, huh? Alrighty! We'll do them Wednesday.

Riley: NO! Mom, it's Taco Wednesday. (I promised the kids tacos every Wednesday until wrestling season is over)

Me: OH! I forgot, Thursday then.

Riley: Thanks, Mom!

So, if they're that good, I GOTTA post the recipe!

8 potatoes, peeled and sliced
3 cups milk
4 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (yes, I use it all when I make these)
1 cup chopped onion
chopped ham (optional)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Grease a 9x13 pan. In a single layer, spread out four potatoes worth of slices. Add the ham if you are adding it.

In a saucepan, bring to a boil: milk, flour, salt, garlic powder, & cayenne. Stir until thickened. Add the onion.
Pour 1 1/2 cups of this mixture evenly over the potatoes. Add another layer of potatoes over this and spread the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the potatoes.

Cover and bake at 350 for an hour. Remove cover and sprinkle generously with cheese and place back in the oven to melt the cheese. Enjoy!

I don't think this is normal...

2009-03-05T11:25:00.000-06:00

Do you have this many measuring cups?

(That's 7 sets and 3 individual ones)

Do you store your caramels, chocolate chips, coconut, powdered sugar, baking chocolate, mint chips, etc in a rubbermaid tub to keep them handy?

I almost always have 3 bags of chocolate chips, a bag of coconut, and a bag of powdered sugar in my tub. Usually there's more stuff in there. Like right now....there are 4 bags of chocolate chips (2 milk and 2 semi-sweet), 2 boxes of baking chocolate squares (1 semi-sweet and 1 bittersweet), 2 1/2 pounds of dipping chocolate, 2 partials and a full bag of powdered sugar, a full and a partial bag of coconut, a bag of mint chips, a partial bag of caramel chips, a large bags of caramels (the kind you have to unwrap), a partial bag of toffee chips, 2 bags of white and milk chocolate swirl chips, some craft sticks for making mini caramel apples, craft sticks for making candy, some mini cupcake wrappers, and some fat sanding sugars.

So it makes me curious, how do you store your baking goodies? My brown sugar and oatmeal each have their own storage containers that are stored in my lazy susan with a small rubbermaid tub filled with sugars and sprinkles, etc. The shortening and spices are in there, too. I have a 5"x5" rubbermaid-ish storage box for all my food coloring, too. It would be nice to have all that stuff together somewhere, but my kitchen is soooooooo small and I wouldn't be able to do half of what I do in there without my work table.

So, where do you store your goodies? Any great tips or suggestions for me?!

Pumpkin Bread

2009-02-24T07:27:00.000-06:00

This weekend we were at some friend's house and she made some AWESOME pumpkin bread. I thought I'd share the recipe here. I'm planning to make this later today, provided kids stop throwing up long enough for me to do that.

Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 c sugar
1 c oil
4 eggs
2/3 c water
2 c pumpkin

Whisk dry ingredients together. Stir wet ingredients together. Add the wet to the dry and beat until smooth. Pour into 2 greased bread pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

2009-02-14T11:17:00.001-06:00

My mom makes fruit trifles. My Rugby LOVES them!! They are probably his favorite desserts. I am a sucker for peanut butter and chocolate. So, when I saw this post this week from another blog, I knew that I had to try it!! I mean does ANYTHING say I Love You better than that?? But, being me I couldn't leave well enough alone...lol! I used a baby cookie cutter (that Granny sent the kids for V-Day last year) to cut the brownies to heart shapes and used that. I also used neufchatel instead of regular cream cheese and I also use light cool whip.

Oh, and brownie mix was on sale this week, so I cheated and used that instead.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

Brownies
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup milk
16 ounces Cool Whip
4 peanut butter cups, chopped
chocolate syrup

Brownies:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Combine dry ingredients in large mixer bowl; stir. Add wet ingredients and stir well.
Spread into prepared baking pan. Bake for 18 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Let cool completely.

Trifle:
Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add in peanut butter and milk. Combine. Fold in Cool Whip until combined.
Take half of the brownies out and crumble in large glass bowl, if you have one, or in a 13×9 pan. You can also divide up between tall parfait glasses as well. Add a layer of the peanut butter mixture. Take the other half of the brownies out and crumble on top of the peanut butter mixture. Put the last half of the peanut butter mixture on top. Drizzle chocolate syrup on top.
Add the chopped peanut butter cups on top. Refrigerate until serving time.
Enjoy!

Tim's Dessert

2009-02-09T10:11:00.000-06:00

This fall, Tim was in LaCrosse helping some friends cut wood to heat their house. It's a tradition that the guys that hunt on their land come help wood in exchange for the hunting privileges. Tim doesn't hunt there, but he wanted to help anyway. One of the ladies that came over made a dessert that Tim fell in love with. He even asked for the recipe. AND THEN HE MADE IT!! And, he's made it more than once! That's rarely something I do. lol! It's easy and quick plus, you can change it up every time you make it depending on the flavor mood you are in.

Tim's Dessert

First layer:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (we use pecans because I don't like walnuts)

Mix, then press into a 9x13 pan and bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

Second layer:
8 oz cream cheese
2/3 cup powdered sugar
4 oz cool whip

Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Fold in the cool whip. When the crust is cool, spread this layer on that.

Third layer:
2 small or 1 large package instant pudding (see note below)
2 1/2 cups milk

Beat together and spread over cream cheese mixture.

Fourth layer:
4 oz cool whip
chopped nuts or other decoration

Spread over pudding and top with decoration.

**For the pudding, we really like lemon. Chocolate is kind of bland. Vanilla is good with a layer of jam spread over the pudding before topping with cool whip (we used Cherry Rhubarb jam I made this summer). Last night, Tim made it with chocolate pudding and stirred in some toffee bits, topped with a layer of vanilla pudding and then used toffee bits and nuts for decoration. We've also made this with Oreo Cookies n' Cream pudding and topped with chopped oreos. YUM!! The lady that made this in LaX told Tim that pistachio isn't good with this recipe. Oh, we also made with white chocolate pudding and a layer of butterscotch pudding over that and it was pretty good, too.

So, you can see it's easy to transform this recipe however you'd like! Enjoy!

Spaghetti

2009-02-05T10:23:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone!

This week, I had some company here. It was so nice to visit!! She's my younger cousin and was in need of some time away. Anyway, while she was here, I made our great-aunt's recipe for Spaghetti. Nothing says lovin' like Aunt Harriet's Spaghetti!! It's just sooooooooo good!! It's at the top of my list of favorite comfort foods. Sorry I don't have pictures to share, but please let me know if you try it. It's sooooo good!!

Spaghetti

1 pound ground meat (beef or venison...I had venison so that's what I used this time)
4+ cloves garlic (amount is your preference...we like garlic so I use more, but it's your choice)
medium onion, chopped
2 cans tomato soup
1 soup can of water
2 tbsp lemon juice
Italian seasoning
(optional: cayenne pepper and sliced mushrooms)

Melt some butter in a large skillet and gently saute the onion and garlic. Turn heat up a bit and fry the hamburger until it's in small crumbles. Add the tomato soup, water, lemon juice and Italian seasoning (I sprinkle the pan to cover it once, stir, then cover again. Now would be a good to add the mushrooms if you wish and a light sprinkling of cayenne) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for at least one hour. I usually try to make this in the morning and let it simmer all day. It does taste even better if you simmer it one day and reheat it the next. Serve over noodles with garlic bread or just buttered dinner rolls (I made my whole wheat dinner rolls and they were awesome!!) Enjoy!

English Muffin Bread

2009-02-02T14:18:00.000-06:00

Good Afternoon!

Today I have been itching to get some things done around the house. The weekend was beautiful and I managed to clean and vacuum my front porch. I have company coming tomorrow, so I should at least clean the bathrooms even if the rest of the house is kinda messy! I managed to scrub one bathroom (minus the shower) while I made the English Muffin Bread below. I threw it all in the bread machine and let it run! I washed my hands to get all the ick and chemicals off before lining a loaf pan with cooking spray and cornmeal and it's doing the second rising right now in the oven that I preheated to about 75 degrees and shut off. Now, I get to clean the other bathroom and both showers and I won't mind when Rach sees the house. :)

I am a sucker for a good English Muffin. Some peanut butter and my homemade zucchini jam and I'm all set. I can't wait to try this! It had good reviews on allrecipes, though I had to tweak it just a bit! And I'm too lazy to cook them on a griddle, so I'm making it as a loaf and slicing it. Should be good for toasting!! Many people suggested using an 11.5 oz coffee can and greasing that to bake the bread in to make it round like traditional english muffins, but we buy our coffee in bags or monster plastic tubs, so there aren't any coffee cans laying about waiting for re-purposing. Anyway, here's the recipe....I'll be back later with the verdict!

English Muffin Bread

In your bread maker put:
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
2 cups ap flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (or use AP, your choice, but I used wheat)
2 1/4 tsp yeast

Run on the dough setting.

When it finishes, spray a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray and sprinkle with cornmeal. BE PREPARED: Your dough will be sticky! Shape into the pan. Sprinkle the top with cornmeal. Cover an let rise until doubled in size. Mine took about 30 minutes in the oven (preheat oven to 75-80 degrees, turn off and leave the loaf inside). Bake at 400 for at least 15 minutes. You'll need to watch it so that you get your desired color and texture. It probably won't be done at the 15 minutes, so just start checking then. Allow to cool before slicing. TOAST and enjoy!

**I'm back! Straight from the oven, sliced it's not great. It's bland, but with potential! So, I waited until it cooled and then I toasted a slice, smeared it full of peanut butter and zucchini jam and OH. MY. WORD! YUM, YUM, YUM! Just as good or better than any store-bought english muffin! YAY!

Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe

2009-02-02T10:31:00.001-06:00

I finally found and posted the peanut butter chicken recipe! Scroll to the next post to see it!

Enjoy!

Happy New Year (of the Ox!)

2009-01-27T18:17:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, the kids had no school, so we celebrated the Chinese New Year! In the morning we made paper lanterns.

For dinner, we made peanut butter chicken and crab rangoon. Tim brought home chopsticks and SUSHI! (Philly rolls and eel rolls) We had a great time!

Now that I was going to post the peanut butter chicken recipe, I can't find it. I'll keep looking and post it when I find it. The crab rangoon is already posted, just follow the link over there on the right-->

**EDIT: I found it! WooHoo! Here you go! I wasn't overly impressed with it, but it wasn't terrible. I think that some extra peanut butter would be good, but we are PB freaks here....

Peanut Butter Chicken

Marinade:
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp spicy sesame oil (I used regular sesame oil.)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup pineapple juice (don't let that freak you out, you can't taste it in the end!)
S&P to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into julienne strips about 3 inches long (I used 1.25 pounds of boneless breast tenderloins)

Mix together and add chicken. Allow to marinate 2-3 hours in refrigerator. Drain and discard marinade. Dredge chicken in flour.

Sauce:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup whipping cream (I used half and half)
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I used JIF brand. It could have used more, in our opinion.)
Roasted peanuts and/or chopped green onion to garnish

In a medium saucepan, heat some sesame oil, just enough to coat the bottom of the skillet. Saute chicken, turning occasionally until golden brown and cooked through.

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine butter and flour and mix until smooth. Cook slowly until bubbly. Add stock and increase heat to high. When stock begins to thicken, add whipping cream and peanut butter, stirring until peanut butter is melted and sauce is the consistency of gravy.

To serve, place fried chicken on a plate, top with sauce and garnish. Enjoy!

*******My notes: The kids didn't like the heavy flavor of the sesame oil. Next time, I think I would deep fry the dredged and marinated chicken. Also, there didn't seem to be enough sauce to our liking. Simply remedied by making double the sauce for that amount of chicken. We really enjoyed this served with rice. I made white rice, but a fried rice would be fabulous here.

Honey Soy Salmon with Cilantro Rice Noodles

2009-01-21T10:42:00.000-06:00

Last night (wow, I was busy last night! Keep reading for the other two recipes I made yesterday!) I made this for dinner. I doubled the glaze and the amount of fish since the recipe serves four. The noodles make more than enough for all 6 of us, but the fish was another story. So, anyway, I made 8 4 oz fillets. Rugby ate 3 of them and was begging for more. Riley loves the noodles and would only tolerate the fish with BBQ sauce. (yuck!) The babies didn't care either way about it, but Tucker thought it was fun to toss the long noodles off his highchair. Sassy boy! At least Tim cleaned that up for me!! :) I have made this before, just not when Tim was home. I think he liked it, but it was a healthy meal and I think he'd have liked a sauce he could have dipped the fish in more than just the glaze. I really enjoyed it, though!

Honey Soy Salmon with Cilantro Noodles

6 oz rice sticks (found in the Asian foods aisle)
4-6oz salmon fillets
EVOO
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
5 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Prepare a medium hot grill or grease a broiler pan and preheat the broiler.

Brush salmon with EVOO, sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Make a glaze by mixing 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp honey and 1/2 tsp pepper Set aside.

Set a pan of water on the stove and get it almost boiling for the rice noodles. Make the dressing for the noodles by mixing 4 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey, sesame oil and lemon juice. Mix well.

Grill or broil salmon. Grilling should take about 2 minutes, then flip and brush with glaze and grill another2-3 minutes. I broiled them last night on low and it took 5-7 minutes and I didn't flip them since I used fillets that had no skin on. I brushed with the glaze about half way through. While the fish is cooking, soak the rice noodles in the hot water. This should only take a few minutes since they are sooooooooo thin. When fish is done, drain noodles and toss the noodles with dressing and the cilantro. Serve along with the fish. Some snow peas would be a nice accompaniment with this dish. Enjoy!!

No-bake granola bars

2009-01-21T09:34:00.000-06:00

I made these last night to have for the kids lunches this week. Semi-healthy and completely easy to make. They LITERALLY took less than 10 minutes to make. Riley and TJ helped, too! You can be creative with what you add to them, too. I modified the original recipe (of course!) so you have the one that I made....go from there. :)

No Bake Granola Bars

2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (could probably use turbinado if you wanted to)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips, raisins, dried cherries/cranberries, coconut, etc. I used chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine cereal, oatmeal and any non-melting add-in that you like. Dried fruit or nuts, etc. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and honey. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla; blend until smooth. Pour over cereal mixture and stir to combine. Allow to cool a bit before adding chocolate chips or other melty add-in. Press this mixture into a 9x13 pan lined with wax paper. (Press hard so that it sticks together really well or you'll have a crumbly granola that really isn't a bar) Allow to cool completely before pulling it out of the pan and cutting into bars. Originally recipe states that it makes 24 servings. I used a pizza cutter to cut mine and that worked really well. They stay pretty soft and chewy. Enjoy!

Lemon Yogurt Muffins

2009-01-21T09:14:00.000-06:00

I made these yesterday for Riley's class snack. They turned out really well and were AWESOME warm. I'm sure they'll be good cold, too but I haven't tried them yet that way. Riley thought they were super good and so did Rugby. Judging by the way the babies inhaled them, I think they liked them, too. lol!! (And, they're good for you!)

Lemon Yogurt Muffins

1 1/2 cups ap flour
1 c rolled oats (I used quick cooking)
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c plain yogurt (I used the yogurt that I made a couple days ago! YUM!)
1 egg
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 lemon, peeled and chopped. Remove as much of the pith as you can.
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 fresh lemon for zest, chop the zest fine
Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and soda and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, mix yogurt, egg, 1/4 cup lemon juice and the chopped lemon.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix only until blended. It will foam up a bit, don't worry about that!

Fill 12 (mine made more) well greased muffin cups (paper liners should be greased also if you are using them). Bake for 15-20 minutes or intil a tooth pick comes out clean.

While they are baking, prepare the syrup. In a saucepan, mix 1/4 cup sugar, lemon zest and juice of the 1/2 lemon. Bring to a boil. Set aside until muffins are done.

When muffins are baked, used the toothpick to poke lots of holes in the muffins. Do not remove them from the pan until cooled. Brush the hot muffins with the syrup. Enjoy!

***EDIT: These are even better the next day!!

Wild Rice Casserole

2009-01-18T17:18:00.000-06:00

I've made this a couple times and it's always been well received with the boys. It's a good thing to make a day or two after I roast a chicken since it uses cooked chicken. I haven't roasted a chicken in a while, so I used a small package of chicken tenderloins that I had in the freezer and just boiled them up and tonight, I made it with fresh mushrooms (because I had them handy and they were going to go bad soon), a finely diced stalk of celery and 1/4 of an onion.

1 cup long grain and wild rice, uncooked
2 cups chicken broth (or water)
1/2 pound pork sausage (I use Farmland breakfast sausage)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
small can sliced mushrooms with juice
1/2 tsp worcestershire
3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
3 slices bread, chopped
1/4 cup butter

In the microwave, make the rice with the chicken broth. Meanwhile, brown the sausage (with the onion, celery and fresh mushrooms if using). Break the sausage up into bits and drain the fat. Add the canned mushrooms (if using), cream of mushroom soup, and worcestershire. In a 2 qt casserole or 9x13 pan, mix the rice with the sausage mixture and the chicken. In the skillet that you browned the sausage in, melt the butter and lightly fry the bread crumbs. Place this on top of the casserole. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Hurry Up Cinnamon Rolls

2009-01-15T08:59:00.000-06:00

This morning it's totally cold and icky outside. School is canceled it's so cold. The kids and I wanted something that would warm our hearts AND our bellies this morning. So, I made cinnamon rolls, but these aren't your normal take all day to make and rise cinnamon rolls! They bake up in a hurry since there is no yeast! I converted the recipe to use some wheat flour since I had it, but you could skip that and use all ap flour. Not really diet friendly, but completely yummy!

1 1/2 cups ap flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp. sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold butter

Preheat oven to 375. Blend these ingredients together until crumbly, make well in center and add
1 cup cold milk. Mix dough, turn out of floured space and knead about 8-10 times.

Roll into 12" long recatangle about 1/3 inch thick.

Filling:

1/3 cup butter, softened or even half melted will work
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup raisins or currants if desired. (I don't add these)

Mix together first 3 ingredients, place 1 tsp. of filling in bottom of each of the 12 well sprayed or greased muffin tins.

Spread the remaining filling on the recangle of dough and roll as a jelly roll. Mark, then cut roll into 12 even rolls and place cut side down in the muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 min.

Top with powdered sugar or cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

These are more like a biscuit than a yeast roll, but they are soooooooooooooo good!!

Homemade Yogurt

2009-01-12T08:39:00.000-06:00

Here's the first installment of my inner Martha coming out. I was cruising the blog-o-sphere last week and found a recipe for homemade yogurt in the crockpot. My kids BIG HEART yogurt. All of them. So, since we go through 16 yogurt sticks and a 32 oz container of yogurt every week, I thought I'd make some. It didn't sound that hard...

Homemade Yogurt

8 cups (half gallon) milk....they recommend using whole til you get the hang of it then you can use a reduced fat version if you wish but people posted that they used 1% and skim with good results...more on this later)

1/2 cup yogurt starter (this can be 1/2 cup of active culture store-bought yogurt or yogurt starter from the health food store...guess which option I chose?)

Pour the milk into a crockpot (4 or 6 quart works well) and turn it on low for two and a half hours. Unplug and leave covered for 3 hours. Scoop out 2 cups of the milk and whisk in the yogurt starter. Pour that mixture back in with the milk and stir to combine. Replace lid and wrap the crockpot in a heavy bath towel. (I wrapped mine and put it in the oven that I had preheated to 100* and turned off) Then allow this to sit for 8-12 hours (go to bed, leave it alone). The longer it sits, the tangier it gets....so closer to 8 hours will be sweeter than 12 hours...TADA! Yogurt!! That's it. Easy peasy, right?! I thought so.

Riley was my first guinea pig and he didn't roll his nose up at it! Mine sat for close to 13 hours so it wasn't "sweet" but the soury tang was good. I used whole milk and it wasn't too thick, but wasn't watery either, the lower the fat content the thinner the yogurt will be. There are two possible remedies for this....when whisking the starter into the milk, add two tbsp dry milk powder (not instant!) or an envelope of unflavored gelatin. Many people have had good luck with those options. Or a third option is to line a strainer with cheesecloth and strain your yogurt. This will make it really really thick like sour cream. I believe this is what they call "greek yogurt". The whey that you strain out can be saved for other uses. I know that it works for making dog treats if you do that....

Now, who likes plain yogurt? Not me! At the very least I like it vanilla. Some fruit is nice, also. Here's where the fun part is! Stir in some flavor. I used strawberry freezer jam in part of the batch and that turned out really well. I didn't have to add sugar to the yogurt since the jam has plenty to spare. This morning, we added some raspberry jam to the plain and it was awesome! A little vanilla a powdered sugar might be nice, too. Maybe mango? The possibilies are only as limited as your family's palate! Mine like fruit...maybe you have a baby and want to mix in some sweet potatoes or something. Can't hurt to try, right?!

Oh, and I made this Saturday and finished it Sunday morning. There's about one cup of yogurt left right now....I think they liked it.

OH! I almost forgot! You can use the yogurt that you made for starter on the next batch one or two times if you used store bought yogurt or longer if you use the starter from the health food store. And your homemade yogurt will keep as long as 7-10 days....if your family doesn't eat it all by then! Enjoy!!

Watch this space!

2009-01-09T09:24:00.000-06:00

Over the next week, I am going to get in touch with my inner Martha....or Julia........or whatever cook/chef you prefer. I have THREE new recipes I am going to try and share here. Ok, two are new and one is something that I've only made once before but it was good and I haven't shared it here because it was long before I shared my recipes online. So, watch for some new goodies next week!! (Or maybe they'll flop....we'll see!)

Caramel Apple Bread

2009-01-07T12:12:00.001-06:00

This is something that Tim brought me home from Kwik Trip and I loved it. When I can bake, why should I pay per piece what I can pay for a whole loaf if I make it myself? I think this one is better than the one I had tasted.

Caramel Apple Bread

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup sugar

1/2 cups shredded apples, a combination of sweet and tart is really
nice I use Braeburn and Granny Smith

1/4 cup fat free plain or vanilla yogurt
1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup caramel bits

Grease the bottom and sides of 1-8x4x2 loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Make a well in the center and set aside. In another bowl, mix egg, sugar, apple, vanilla, and yogurt. Combine with flour mixture. Fold in caramel bits. Pour into loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Bread Machine Dinner Rolls

2009-01-07T11:54:00.000-06:00

I made these for dinner the other night. It's the first time that dinner rolls actually worked out for me. The batch makes 24 rolls....and there were only 2 left at the end of the meal so I think everyone else liked them, too. Tucker ate the last two for breakfast the next morning....he saw them on the counter and whined, begging for them.

Dinner Rolls

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I used 2 1/2 cups AP and 1 cup whole wheat)
1 package yeast
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 beaten egg

Place all the ingredients in the bread maker in the order the manufacturer recommends. Run it on the dough setting. Watch it through the first kneading and add milk, 1 tsp at a time, until it makes a nice ball. When it's done, shape the dough into 24 balls. Let rise in a warm place 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped. Brush with butter when you take them out of the oven. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Microwave s'mores

2009-01-07T11:42:00.000-06:00

I stumbled upon this somewhere in Bloggydom today. I can't remember where. What I do remember is that this woman was trying to use up her baking supplies from Christmas...(who does that? I use that stuff all year 'round.) Anyway, she was trying to use hers up and had a neat little treat idea for the kiddies. Microwave S'mores! I thought I'd try it out before the kids got home from school....you know so that I knew what I was doing and that they were actually edible. Get this....totally easy and completely yummy! Almost as good as campfire s'mores. Almost. So, here it is! Enjoy!

Microwave S'Mores

graham crackers
chocolate chips
mini marshmallows

Place the chocolate chips and marshmallows on a graham cracker square and microwave 30-45 seconds. See? Simple!

Burnt Peanuts

2008-12-22T16:07:00.000-06:00

Every year at Christmas time, my daddy loves burnt peanuts. It's a treat I never quite liked...I'd eat them, but it wasn't a favorite of mine. So, this year Tim found a recipe to make them. They are SUPER easy to make, too! YAY! Pack them in a pint jar with a pretty lid and you are good to go for gift giving, too! They'd make great teacher/bus driver/postal worker/etc gifts! Enjoy!

Burnt Peanuts

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
red food coloring (I use coloring paste so I only used a couple drops, but if you use the regular food coloring from the spice aisle, then you'll probably need about a tsp)

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in:

2 cups RAW spanish peanuts WITH THE SKINS ON!

Cook until coated and no syrup remains. (About 12 minutes) Spread in an UNgreased 15x10x1 pan. Bake at 300 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool before packing in jars.
(Sorry the picture is so dark!)

Ethan's BBQ Chicken

2008-12-21T11:36:00.000-06:00

My BIL Ethan made chicken drummies for Tim when he was in Indiana visiting. Tim fell in love with them and made them again for us when he got home. We've had them once a week since his return. THEY ARE THAT GOOD! So, trust me on the brand names specified, they do make a difference....we've tried.

BBQ Chicken

Chicken Drummies or thighs (we make a family pack for the 6 of us) placed on A FOIL LINED BAKING SHEET with an edge. (I use my jelly roll pan and a cake pan)

Sprinkle generously with:
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Paprika
FRANK'S RED HOT SAUCE

Dot around the pan with butter like this:

Bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours. Then, drizzle with SWEET BABY RAY'S BBQ SAUCE. Turn heat up to 425 and bake another 10-15 or so. Enjoy!

OH MY Chai!

2008-12-18T16:47:00.000-06:00

I made some of this today as a test batch. Really yummy, and I think I'll use it as a teachers gift.

Chai Tea Mix

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup instant tea (unsweetened instant iced tea works)
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup dry milk
* 1 cup dry creamer

* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger

* ½ teaspoon salt
* ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Put in a food processor for 2 minutes to mix and make the dry milk chunks go away. It makes it a really nice, fine powder. To serve, add a heaping tablespoon of mix to 6 oz hot water. Stir and enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie

2008-12-15T11:33:00.001-06:00

This weekend, Tim asked me to make Shepherd's Pie...like his sister Steph makes it. Many of you know that Shepherd's Pie is on Tim's all-time favorite list. So, I did like any good wife would. I called his sister, got the recipe and then modified it. lol! I told you that I can not make a recipe as written! And after all that, it needs more tweaking, but it did taste good. I just didn't go for the pureed carrots. So, here's the recipe for anyone who's interested. I've written it as I would tweak it for the next time I make it. Enjoy!

8-10 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 a large onion, diced fine
1/4-1/2 cup butter
milk or half and half

Bring potatoes and onion to a boil and cook until tender. Drain and mash with butter and milk or half and half to taste. Set aside until ready to spread over the meat.

While you are waiting for the potatoes to boil.........cook the meat....

2 lbs meat....ground beef, chicken, turkey, venison (I used half beef and half venison)
10+ carrots, chopped and lightly steamed (still want them a little crunchy, but not like they'd be fresh)
salt and pepper, to taste
3+ cloves minced garlic
2 cans tomato soup
1/2 a large onion, chopped (I chop mine pretty fine so the kids don't complain too loudly)

Preheat oven to 375. Then, fry meat with a little butter and some onion and the garlic. Stir in the cooked carrots and tomato soup. Spread in a 3 qt casserole dish.

Spread potatoes over the meat. Top with cheese if desired. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.

This makes a pretty big pan, but it's enough for all of us (Tucker had seconds!!) and for Tim and me to have lunch the next day.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

2008-12-13T17:03:00.000-06:00

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

1 c. water
2 T. yeast
2 t. honey
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
4 t. sea salt
8 cups whole wheat flour
butter
salt

Filling:

1/2 cup butter
white or brown sugar
Ground cinnamon

Melt your butter and set it aside. Have the cinnamon and sugar ready.

Frosting

1/4 cup butter
3 T milk
1/2 t. vanilla
1-2 cups powdered sugar to make the consistency you like

Melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, milk and powdered sugar. Whisk together until smooth.

Okay, here’s how to make the dough…

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup very warm water, 2 T. yeast and 2 t. honey. Stir this together. Let this sit for a few minutes while you do the next step.

Melt a stick of butter in a large saucepan. Add 1/2 cup honey, 4 t. salt and 2 1/2 cups of milk. Heat this to 120 degrees. (A candy thermometer comes in very handy....otherwise, get it warm but not too hot)

Pour milk mixture into yeast mixture and stir. Stir in 8 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time. (add more if you need it)

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. Plop it into a bowl, cover it and let it rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.

After dough rises, punch it down and knead out all it’s bubbles. Cut the dough in half, setting one half aside.

On a well floured surface, roll dough into a nice big rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick.

Use a pastry brush to spread 1/2 of the melted butter all over the rectangle. Sprinkle this with sugar and cinnamon.

Roll up the dough.

Cut into thin slices, about 1/2 inch thick.

Place rolls side by side on baking pan.

Repeat process with other 1/2 of dough.

Allow dough to rise about 30 minutes.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees.

Allow rolls to cool a bit, then drizzle lots and lots of ooey-gooey frosting all over them.

Happy cinnamon roll baking!! I got this recipe from Heavenly Homemakers and they are baking right now. I can't wait to taste them!! The kids tested the "scraps" of dough and they were really good!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-24T11:55:00.000-06:00

This is the second year we are hosting our "misfit/orphan" Thanksgiving. Everyone we know that has no family or anywhere else to go is invited here. I LOVE to cook, so this is awesome for me to have everyone over. I thought I'd post our menu and recipes to share. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey-Herb Glazed Turkey from 2008 TOH Thanksgiving book. I skip the thyme and use fresh rosemary from my garden.

Mashed potatoes-The boys recently discovered that if mom uses Heavy Cream instead of milk, potatoes taste better. So, we'll have to do that. Idaho potatoes make nice fluffy mashed taters.

Stuffing-I don't like stuffing. But, I know that most people look forward to it at the holiday's, so I found Slow Cooker Stuffing a few years ago when I hosted my first Thanksgiving and it was a hit so we do that every year now.

Buns-My mother in law makes the best dinner rolls, so I'm going to attempt to make them this year.

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 1/2 C warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 can (12oz) evaporated milk

1/3 C sugar

1/4 C butter or margarine, melted

2 tsp salt

8-8 1/2 C all-purpose flour

Additional melted butter or margarine, optional

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, eggs, sugar, butter, salt, and 4 cups flour and mix until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch dough down; divide into four portions. Shape each into eight rolls; place 20 rolls in a greased baking pan. (Might need more than one!) Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20-30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with butter if desired. Best if served warm! Yields about 32 rolls.

Salad #1-Pomegranate and Almond Salad. An actual lettuce salad will be hitting the table this year. It sounded so good and I love pomegranates and almonds so I had to try it. This comes from the 2008 Pillsbury Thanksgiving book you find in the checkout aisle of the grocery store. (pg. 57)

1 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup EVOO or vegetable oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
10 oz sweet baby lettuces (about 12 cups)
1 pomegranate, seeded (3/4 cup of seeds)

Sprinkle almonds in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat 5-7 minutes until almonds begin to brown. Stir frequently. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat oil, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic with a wire whisk until smooth.

In a large bowl, toss together lettuce and pomegranate seeds. Before serving, toss with dressing and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Salad #2-Tim wants baked beans. I made some last year that turned out awesome! So, we'll attempt to recreate them. Here's the starter recipe: Pat's Baked Beans.

Here's how I tweaked them:
Add half to one pound cooked hamburger
Use 4 cloves of garlic instead of just one.
Use navy beans instead of pinto
Add 1/4 cup maple syrup
Use black beans instead of garbanzo
Use only 1/4 cup ketchup
Add 1/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ Sauce
Add 4 oz can diced jalapenos

So, you can see that they really aren't exactly as they started out, but have a "Margie twist" to them. I rarely use a recipe as it was written. We got RAVE reviews on these last year...it's why I HAVE to make them again!

Salad #3-For the kids. Most of the kids won't eat the Pomegranate Almond Salad, so I'm planning to make Orange Jello Salad for them.

I'm also planning to have pickles, green olives and black olives as well as a veggie tray with dip (Marzetti's Ranch veggie dip)

Now, on to dessert! This year, I'm tweaking dessert. I plan to make my famous peanut butter cheesecake (skip the peanuts, use chocolate graham crackers or animal crackers and use a full cup of peanut butter.) with Chocolate Ganache, (skip the brandy) but I'm also planning to make Pumpkin Cheesecake and make some of them TURTLE pumpkin cheesecakes. All of the cheesecakes will be made in muffin cups so that they are individual serving size and I can freeze them later if I need to.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
I use a 9 inch spring form pan lined with parchment paper. I have the paper extend over the edge of the pan when in the tightest position. This makes for easier transporting onto a cake stand for better presentation. This way you are not cutting onto the bottom of the spring form.

The following recipe will give the appearance of a color all the way through. You can also make individual cheesecakes (like muffins).

Crust: I just pat onto the bottom of the pan for a thicker crust and nicer presentation, but you can press it 2 inches up the sides if you like.

2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (chocolate graham crackers work well)
1/2 c finely chopped pecans (optional, adds a little flavor and texture)
1/2 c butter, melted
2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
2 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)

Mix crumbs, pecans and butter. Press onto bottom (and 2-inches up sides of 9-inch spring form pan. Bake 10 minutes on 325 degrees. I put the spring form on a cookie sheet just incase the melted butter leaks through.

Filling:

3- 8 oz packages of Philadelphia Brand cream cheese (I use 1 regular and 2 neufchatel to lower the fat. You can use all low fat or fat-free with great results.)
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs (room temp is best, but not required)
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash ground cloves

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing at low speed after each addition, just until blended. Add pumpkin and spices to batter and mix well.

Pour batter over crust

Bake 55-60 minutes or until center is ALMOST set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake from rim of pan. Cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Can serve with whipped topping.

I'm going to drizzle with chocolate and caramel and sprinkle with toasted pecans to have turtle pumpkin cheesecakes.

The other dessert that I'm planning to make is Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. If any of you know Timmy, you know he loves Rhubarb, so I'll make one of those for the day, too.

Wow, ok, so that's going to be our Thanksgiving. I also plan to make stuffed mushrooms for dinner that night if there's anyone still here. We'll have turkey sandwiches and whatever else is still leftover.

Stuffed Mushrooms

1 8oz package cream cheese
1 pound pork sausage (I like Farmland breakfast sausage)
2-3 pounds whole mushrooms

Pull all the stems off the mushrooms and throw the stems away.

Fry the sausage and melt in the cream cheese. Use this to stuff the mushroom caps. Bake at 350 about 20 minutes. Enjoy while still hot.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!