Upside-Down Hot Chocolate

OK as strange as this might sound it was very yummy. I found the recipe online at with the Fox 13 recipes. You know the ones they do during the afternoon news hour. It was very easy and lots of fun. My family and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So I thought that I would share. Well I also just used some white chocolate chips and it still turned out well. On the picture I used a small mason jar simply so that you could see how it looks. Enjoy!

White Hot Chocolate:
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups half and half
1 cup white chocolate, chopped (use a good quality)
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine white chocolate and heavy cream in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat.

Stir continuously until white chocolate has completely melted.

Stir in half and half, and vanilla.

Continue cooking until heated through.

Pour into cups and top with chocolate whipped cream and garnish with chocolate shavings and a Pirouette cookie!

Chocolate Whipped Cream
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of sugar
2 Tbs. or two squirts of chocolate syrup

In a mixing bowl beat cream until it starts to hold its shape, then add sugar and chocolate syrup.

Continue mixing until all ingredients are combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Triple Tasty Fudge Bars

My mother-in-law asked for the recipe since she really like them at a Christmas party we attended. The recipe itself comes from some random cook book I own.


Ingredients:

1 15-ounce package fudge frosting mix
1 18.5 ounce German chocolate cake mix
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
6 ounces of chocolate chips

Directions:

Prepare frosting mix as directed on package. I personally skipped this and just used the canned frosting.

Combine dry cake mix (I used Fudge rather then German Chocolate), 1/2 cup frosting, water, and egg. Stir by hand until cake mix is moistened (mixture will be stiff).

Pat into 9x13-inch pan, greased on the bottom only.

Beat sour cream into remain frosting. I used equal parts frosting and sour cream.

Spread over base.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake at 375F for 40-50 minutes. Top will be puffy and an inserted toothpick will NOT come out clean (chocolate chips also don't really melt).

Cool and cut into bars

Pumpkin Bread

My mother-in-law gave me a couple of small pumpkins for the boys to decorate for Halloween only they never got to because we didn't have any paint couldn't really afford paint and I didn't really want paint in the house anyway. My boys have painted my couch twice now and I'm not looking to give them another opportunity. Suddenly I had 2 pumpkins that I couldn't just throw away because then I'd of felt bad, so I used this tutorial to make pumpkin puree. I had 12 CUPS of puree and no ideas what to do with it. This is a combination of several recipes and it turned out fabulous!

Ingredients:

3 cups flour SIFTED
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 and 1/3 cups pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 eggs, beaten
1 and 1/2 cups raisins (optional)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.

Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, pie spice, salt and baking powder. Add pumpkin, oil and eggs; mix well. Fold in raisins and nuts.

Pour into loaf pans and sprinkle the tops with cinnamon and sugar to give it a little crunch, you can also sprinkle more nuts on top.

Bake for 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool 15 minutes before removing from pans.

Individual pizzas

I am always on the lookout for quick easy lunch recipes. My boys refuse to eat sandwiches so I have to cook for them and MacNcheese gets old. A friend suggested this to me so I thought I would pass this on.

Ingredients:
Half an English muffin
Spaghetti sauce (or even just tomato sauce).
Cheese
Pepperonis.

Directions:
Spoon about a tablespoon of the spaghetti sauce onto the English. Top with grated cheese and a pepperoni. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
As with all pizzas these can be customized to each individual. My kids had great fun decorating there own pizzas.

salsa

This is a bottling recipe so be prepared that it is big. There are two ways to bottle hot and cold. Both are pretty self explanatory to bottle hot what goes into the bottle is hot then you hot water bath can it to seal it. Cold bottling is just cold ingredients going into the bottle, it usually has a longer processing time since it cooks while it seals. There's also pressure canning but for the point of this- hot water bath canning it is. This actually has the constancy of salsa you can buy in the store. The flavor of a fresh garden and is mild (want more heat add more peppers). I got 11 pints.

Ingredients:

• Lots of tomatoes (plum works well but any tomato will work)
• Divide the tomatoes, chopped 1/2 of what you have (we had about 6 cups of chopped tomatoes)
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup lime juice (about 4 limes)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 1/3 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Place most tomatoes into water to loosen skins and set color. Drain, peel and crush. Otherwise you can use canned whole tomatoes (3 large cans which is what we did) and just use fresh tomatoes for the chopped tomatoes.
2. Mix chopped tomatoes, garlic, lime juice, salt, cayenne pepper and cumin into the saucepan with crushed tomatoes. Whip to desired thickness. Bring to a boil. Mix in red onion, yellow onion, jalapeno peppers and cilantro. Continue boiling until vegetables are soft and mixture has reached desired consistency. Remove from heat and bottle.
3. I assume anyone trying this has actually bottled before. If not after you fill each bottle to the neck wipe the rim of the bottle off with a wet, hot, clean rag. Place the prepared seal on top and secure with a band. This recipe is then put into a water bath canner for 20 minutes (please adjust for altitude as necessary ie I personally boil them for 30 minutes because I live at a high altitude). Pull them out from the canner and let cook completely before checking seals. FYI any unsealed bottles can be reprocessed with a new seal within 24 hours just use common sense with that some things shouldn't be cooked twice.

Creamy White Chicken Chilli - YUMMO!

1 lb. chicken cubed or cut into pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tlbs. oil
2 cans of great northern beans, drained

Saute onions and chicken and then sprinkle with garlic powder. Add the beans.

1 can chicken broth. Add more if it is to thick.
1 4 oz. can green chilis, diced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer unco vered for 30 minutes. Remove and stir
in sour cream and whipping cream

STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

I found this recipe on cooks.com, and decided that I would make it for dinner. I copy and pasted the recipe below. I hope that you enjoy it. The ingredients call for white bread and for preserves mixed with orange juice. I obviously did not use their suggestion. I have wheat on hand and so used what I had. As for the syrup. I mixed about 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries, and 1/2 cup raspberries and cooked on high with 1 cup sugar and 1 T vanilla. Boil for 15-20 minutes, constantly stirring. My family loved it so I get to share it. Oh and I only got 6 things of stuffed french toast. Maybe I soak mine more than she does.

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. walnuts or pecans
1 loaf white bread
4 eggs
1/2 c. whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 (12 oz.) jar apricot preserves or seedless raspberry jam
1/2 c. orange juice

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese and vanilla together until fluffy. Stir in the nuts. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoon of the mixture on a slice of bread. Top with a second piece of bread (like a sandwich). Repeat this process 10-12 times until the mixture is all used.

Beat together the eggs, whipping cream, vanilla and nutmeg. Dip the "sandwiches" into the egg mixture. Cook on a lightly greased griddle until golden brown, turn to cook the other side. Keep the cooked "sandwiches" warm by placing them on a baking sheet in a warm oven.

Meanwhile, heat together the preserves and orange juice. To serve, dust the Stuffed French Toast with powdered sugar and drizzle the warm sauce over the top. Makes 10-12 pieces.

Lasanga

Ingredients:

9 lasagna noodles
1lb ground beef
1 and 1/2 pints Spaghetti Sauce
1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
1lb grated mozzarella cheese- separate 1/2c
2 beaten eggs


Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the lasagna noodles cook them until al dente (8-10 minutes)

Brown ground beef over medium heat and drain off fat. Add spaghetti sauce to that. If you don't have my fabulous home made spaghetti sauce you can use any bottled spaghetti sauce or you can use

• 1 (16 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 4 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Meanwhile mix together beaten eggs, ricotta (or substitute for cottage cheese whichever your budget allows), Parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese.

Ladle enough of the meat sauce into a 9x13 inch baking dish to cover the bottom in a thin layer. Form a layer atop the sauce with 3 of the lasagna noodles. Spread about 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. Then ladle about 1/2 of the meat sauce over the ricotta cheese. Repeat layering once more. Top with the last 3 noodles and enough meat sauce to keep from drying out. Sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 c of mozzarella cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven (350 degrees F) for 90 minutes and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Oh this can be prepared before hand and frozen (good for 30 days frozen).

Spaghetti Sauce

Please note this picture was taken after the sauce had been added to ground beef and is not consistent with the recipe as written.

Some things are worth making from scratch this is one of those things. Since this is labor intensive it is a fairly large recipe. If I'm actually making spaghetti this is COMFORTABLY 2 meals for my family of 5 (one being a baby) and HALF of the sauce is frozen.

Usually I do this with meatballs but today I wanted to bottle it and was unsure how hamburger bottles (I kind of don't think it does) anyway that's so you know it can be adapted to use with meatballs or even just ground meat (your choice I've used turkey and beef with great results).

Start with tomatoes lots of diced tomatoes if lots of tomatoes (and I've never counted how many just lots) are unavailable you can substitute and use
1 can (64 oz) of tomato juice
2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz)tomato paste
1 can (12.5 oz) stewed tomatoes

If you used tomatoes your going to want to kind of mush the diced tomatoes up while they are being cooked (on low so they are just below simmering about 1 hour). When the skin of the tomatoes starts going transparent it's time to add the spices (this is adjustable to fit your own taste this is just my suggestions).

4 minced garlic cloves
1/3 c dried onion flakes
2T Basil
3T Oregano
2T Garlic Powered
3T Chili Powered
2t Dried crushed red peppers
5T Italian Seasonings
4 Bay Leaves
1t Salt
1t Black Pepper

Simmer that for 20-30 minutes and then add in the veggies (all of which are optional if you want a smooth sauce).

1 small can of sliced mushrooms
1 grated carrot (optional)
1 Green bell pepper diced
1 red bell pepper diced
2 Stalks of celery diced

Simmer all of that until the whole mixture starts to darken (about 4 hours). If it is not the thickness you like add 1/4-1/2c water or add 1-2Tcornstarch (make sure you mix the cornstarch into some of the sauce in a separate bowl so it mixes in).

All that is left once you get it to the consistency that you prefer is to serve it over hot noodles or bottle it (if meat was added freeze don't bottle).

Oh one more thing to give you a better idea of the size of this recipe I got 7.5 pint bottles when I made it.

Wheat Zucchini Bread

OK my neighbor and I decided that we were going to share our gardens this year. However my garden plot got attacked by snails and so the snails have had all the benefit till recently when we fixed the problem and are just now enjoying yummy food from our garden plot as well. Luckily my neighbor had the foresight to also plant zucchini in her garden and it has created beautiful monster zucchini perfect for making lots and lots of bread. She has a recipe that she loves to make that she got from her mom. I suggested that we use half whole wheat flour, olive oil and omit the salt. All in an effort to make it healthier. We have been impressed with the outcome.

Here is our combined effort recipe.


Ingredients:
2 cups zucchini
3 eggs
1 cup olive oil
2 cups sugar
3 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix the remaining ingredients. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients together breaking up any lumps in the baking soda and powder. Add dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients and beat on low for 1 minute and on medium to high for 2 minutes or until all ingredients are fully blended together. Place in middle of preheated oven and bake for 1 hour. Test with toothpick inserted in middle of bread, if toothpick comes out clean bread is done. If toothpick comes out not clean return to oven for 10 more minutes. Cool and Enjoy!
You can serve this plain or with cream cheese.

We also thought that it would be fun to add carrots to it as well. So we did half our loaves that we made with 2 cups added carrots minus 1 cup zucchini. This was yummy and like we said a way to try and make it healthier.

Grilled Greek Chicken Sandwiches

Ok we had this for dinner tonight and it was great. I got it from Pillsbury and I loved it. I am a huge fan of Greek food. It is a Chicken Gyro. And as you look at it you can tell I just copy and pasted from the site.

INGREDIENTS: Cucumber Sauce 1/4 cup Yoplait® Original Fat Free plain yogurt 1/3 cup finely chopped seeded cucumber 1 medium green onion, sliced (1 tablespoon) 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel Dash salt and pepper Sandwiches 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon olive or vegetable oil 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts 1 pita (pocket) bread cut in half 1 small tomato, sliced 2 thin slices red onion DIRECTIONS: 1. Heat gas or charcoal grill. In small bowl, mix sauce ingredients; set aside. (Sauce may become watery if it stands longer than 30 minutes.) 2. In another small bowl, mix lemon juice, oil and oregano. Brush lemon mixture over chicken, coating all sides. If desired, sprinkle with salt and pepper. 3. Place chicken on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F). Wrap pita halves in foil; place on grill 1 to 2 minutes or until warm. 4. Place chicken, tomato and onion inside pita pockets. Top with sauce, or serve sauce on the side for dipping.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

OK so I posted another Whole Wheat Recipe on here. And I like it but it was a recipe that I had to acquire a taste to. This one I LOVE and everyone else has loved it to. The best part is that it is easy and quick to make. I adapted it from a recipe that I found on "A Barefooters Quest To Find A Better Way"blog, which she adapted from a recipe that she found in a book called Artisan Bread in 5 minutes A day. When I say adapted I use it loosely in the sense that I added honey and figured out the baking time. I'm a Genius. :0) Also said loosely. So I am going to give you step by step instructions. With pictures so there is no confusion to the ease of this recipe. I used a Kitchen Aid with a dough hook. It could also be done by hand just use oil on your hands so as not to add too much flour to the recipe. This bread is perfect with jam and is so moist and yummy you will hardly believe it is whole wheat bread.

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 T yeast
1 T salt
2 T honey
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:
In bowl add first 4 ingredients let sit for 1 minute.

Then add flour all at once.

Turn mixer on speed 1 for 2 minutes. Then up the speed to 4 for 1 minute. Last turn it on to speed 8 for 2 minutes. Let run on high until it clears side and looks like picture below.

When you remove the dough hook this is what it looks like.
Sticky and wet. Perfect.

Leave in bowl like this and cover with towel. Place in warm, dark spot. I put it in my pantry and closed the door. Allow to rise for 1-2 hours.

I use PAM spray and sprayed my counter and dumped the dough on my counter top. Then I sprayed dough and formed into a football shape. And spray loaf pan.

It should look like this in the pan. I put it in upside down first and coated the top then flipped the dough so if you have a seam it is on the bottom.

Cover pan with clean dish towel or I even use a clean washrag.

Let rise till it reaches past the top. I let it rise till this point as in picture below.

Place in cold oven and turn temperature to 365 degrees. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove bread from pan and tap lightly on bottom of bread. If it makes a hollow thump bread is done. If you are unsure return bread to pan and cook for 5 more minutes and bread should be fine. Although 35 minutes has always made the bread perfect for us.

Flip bread over on cooling rack allow to cool and enjoy!

Plain and Garlic Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Per recent request I am adding a mashed potato recipe.
First the basic recipe and then my Garlic Cream Cheese mashed potatoes. I generally leave the skin on mostly because it is easier. But I do like them peeled on occasion. The picture is the Garlic Cream Cheese potatoes and well the taste good enough on their own they don't need gravy.


Ingredients:
8 medium sized potatoes
1/2 cup butter(I like unsalted)
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
Peel and/or wash potatoes, dice then place in pot and cover potatoes with water. Boil on high until fork tender(meaning when you stick a fork in the potatoes there is no resistance and usually break from sticking the fork in), usually 20-30 minutes. Strain water from potatoes and dump potatoes into a bowl. Next mash potatoes or if you have a beater beat potatoes. Then add butter and mash/beat. Then add milk and continue to mash/ beat. Voila you are done. The amount of milk should vary based on the consistency you are looking for.

Garlic Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
8 medium sized potatoes
8 oz cream cheese
3 T garlic salt
1T garlic powder or wet minced garlic
1/4 cup Milk

Directions:
Peel and/or wash potatoes and dice. Place potatoes in pot and cover with water. Boil on high for approx. 20-30 minutes until fork tender. Strain water from potatoes and place potatoes in bowl. Mash/beat potatoes. Add Cream Cheese, garlic salt, and garlic. Mash/beat till mixed. Add milk and mash/beat till thoroughly mixed. Enjoy!

Shrimp Burritos

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com So because I'm lazy the ingredients and directions are copy and pasted, I've added my own thoughts in Italic. Oh this does serves 6.

* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 3/4 cup long-grain white rice UNCOOKED
* 3/4 teaspoon cumin
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
* 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes
*
* 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
*
* 12 ounces frozen cooked shrimp without tails, thawed
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic
*
* 1/2 cup plain yogurt OPTIONAL
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise OPTIONAL
* 2 teaspoons pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce OPTIONAL
*
* 6 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
* 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/3 cup salsa


1. Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in rice, and season with cumin and 3/4 teaspoon of garlic salt. Cook and stir until the rice is lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and the diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

2. In a small saucepan, stir together the refried beans, 3/4 teaspoon of garlic salt, and black pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until heated through. I thought this made for a lot of dirty pans so I added this step in with the rice.

3. Place shrimp in a bowl, and stir in garlic until shrimp is coated. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and coat with cooking spray. Saute shrimp until heated through and lightly browned. We added 1 precooked and precubed chicken breast with the shrimp when we coated the shrimp in garlic. I'm not a fan of shrimp and my children are hit and miss with it. Once our shrimp/chicken was warmed we added that too with the rice. Honestly all this did was make the pictures kind of "what-in-the-world-is-that"ish. But as you can see it wasn't nasty looking.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, and chipotle peppers until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. We skipped this. I wasn't in the mood for spicy. But thinking about it now I think the yogurt and the mayo would of really cooled the chipotle peppers down. I kind of wish we had done this.

5. Place about 1/4 cup of cheese onto each warm tortilla. Then place about 1/2 cup of shrimp on the cheese. Top with 1/4 cup of beans, and 1/4 cup of rice. Spread on about a tablespoon of the chipotle sauce, and salsa to taste. Roll up, and serve. Umm, yeah the the way I put together a burrito is very important. Whatever. Besides we saved on dishes and mixed everything together. Oh, my DH (Designated Husband) did think sour cream was a fabulous addition.

Overall my impressions were VERY positive (fabulous, yummy, winner all come to mind). My picky 4 and 2 year olds cleaned their plates. We will definitively be making this again.

Blueberry Muffins

I recently got a windfall of a couple of large bags of frozen blueberries, so I have been looking for ways to use them. I had to try a couple of muffin recipes to find the right one, but this one hit the spot! It comes from the food network kitchens, the only change I made was putting in 1 1/2 cup blueberries vs. the 1c. the recipe calls for. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
  
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cup sifted flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tablespoon flour

Directions

Cream butter and sugar. Add milk and egg and beat until smooth. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Mix until moistened. Toss blueberries with flour and fold into batter. Fill a well-greased muffin pan 2/3 full with the batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Stir Fry

I was in the mood for this. Something that is fast and easy. So I called my sister and she gave me the recipe that she got from my other sister. It was yummy. I used a stir fry mix that I bought at Costco. You can do broccoli, carrots, whatever sounds good to you. Oh and my own extra touch was the peanut butter and garlic.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into thin strips)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
2-3 Tbsp cornstarch
3 cups vegetables

Directions:

In a frying pan heat up oil on medium high, add chicken peanut butter and garlic. Let chicken brown slightly. Next mix italicized ingredients together and pour into frying pan with chicken. Stir together and add vegetables. Stir while cooking on medium low for 5 minutes. Cover for 2 minutes. Stir and serve over rice. Enjoy!

Shrimp Pasta

Comes from a random cookbook that I own.

1 3/4 C chicken broth
2 cloves garlic minced
3 T fresh chopped parsley (about 1 T dried)
2 T cornstarch (flour works too same amount)
2 T Lemon juice
1/8 t ground red pepper
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled
4 C hot cooked pasta (about 8ozs uncooked)

In a medium sauce pan mix broth gralic, parsley, cornstarch, lemon juice, and pepper. Over medium-high heat, heat to a boil. Cook until mixture begins to thicken stirring constantly.

Continue stirring constantly while you add shrimp. Cook about 5 minutes more or until shrimp turns pink. Toss with pasta.

Serves 4 with a total cook time of 10 minutes.


I thought it needed a little butter probably 2T not only to give it a creamy texture but to also bring out the flavor of the shrimp. My husband LOVED it as did my 2 year old, though my 4 year old snubbed his nose and told me it was yucky.

White Bread Plus

OK so Sunday night I realized we were out of bread and I didn't want to go to the store. I didn't have any whole wheat flour and so I made this white bread which is very yummy. Can I say the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches have never tasted so good. The recipe comes from the "Joy of Cooking" recipe book I got from someone when my husband and I got married. So I will post the instructions below. Makes 2-3 loaves of bread.

This method of mixing bread dough calls for active dry yeast and an electric mixer. As this recipe requires less yeast and more sugar than does White Bread, and because this bread, started in a cold oven, has a longer proofing period, less yeast flavor is retained.

In a large mixer bowl, mix together:
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 package active dry yeast

Combine:
2 1/2 cups 120-130 degree water
1/2 cup lard, shortening, or olive oil

The shortening does not need to melt. Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add to make a thicker batter:
1 beaten egg
1 cup sifted all purpose flour

Beat 1/2 minute at low speed, then at high speed 3 minutes. Stir in to make a soft dough:
3-4 cups sifted all purpose flour

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Allow the bread to rise once in the mixing bowl(about 2 hours) and once in the baking pan(about 2-3 hours). To bake, place loaves in a cold oven. Turn the heat to 400 degrees. After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake 25 minutes longer. Test for doneness by tapping lightly on bread to listen for hollow sound. Remove the loaves at once from the pans and cool on a rack before storing. Enjoy!

Old Fashioned Whole Wheat Bread

OK so I have been on a bread baking kit recently. My sister will more than likely look at me and say there is nothing easy about bread. However I have always found this Whole Wheat recipe to be easy, tasty and looking at the ingredients very healthy. All valuable things in making bread. So I hope that you get as much enjoyment from it as I have.

Ingredients:

1 packet yeast or 1 Tbsp and 1 tsp of yeast from a bag
1/3 cup lukewarm water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp salt
3 cups scalded milk
6 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:

In a small cup add water and yeast. Stir. Allow to soften or flower as some people call it. Mostly it is just dissolving and growing a little. Next combine oil, honey, molasses, salt, and scalded milk. Cool to Lukewarm and add yeast mixture. Add flour as needed. Shape into 2 loaves and place in greased loaf tins. Let rise to not quite double in bulk (1-2 hours). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Makes 2 medium size loaves.

Below is my daughter helping me roll out the dough to get rid of air bubbles before I shaped it. Really I rolled it first and then let her feel like she was helping.
Cute picture though.

Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cream

I have made this a few times, but recently I started adding chocolate to this recipe and the chocolate version almost reminds me of a Chocolate Frosty from Wendy's. I have used this vanilla recipe and added anything from candy to fruit. It has always turned out great. I hope you Enjoy!
Vanilla Ice Cream
4 Quart Recipe

2 1/2 cups milk
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups half and half
1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
4 cups whipping cream

Mix all ingredients together and freeze according to manufactures instructions.

For Chocolate mix in a separate bowl:
3/4 cup chocolate powder
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk

Pour into vanilla mixture and freeze according to manufacture instructions.

Lemon Cake

I took this recipe from here, and well think it's worth sharing. Since I'll copy and paste most of the recipe I'll just add my own thoughts in italics.

1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) of REAL butter (umm yeah I used half butter and half vegetable oil spread came out just fine though I can't recommend less then half real butter)
3 c. cake flour (no substitutions here--you really need the lightness of cake flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (I squeezed 1 lemon and got 2T)
Zest of 2 lemons (just zest the other lemons before you squeeze them)
1 c. buttermilk (yeah. no buttermilk here I used the substitute of 1T vinegar and enough milk for that to become a cup)


Preheat oven to 325.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Don't go skimping here--you want the mixture to be almost white and super fluffy. This is absolutely essential to the outcome of the cake. (yeah if I had a stand alone electric mixer, a hand mixer worked fine but it did take longer to get the desired results- Don't be afraid to look at the recipe I used to see a picture of how this should look)

While butter and sugar are mixing, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. After butter and sugar have mixed sufficiently, With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until fully incorporated. (don't just dump them in at the same time it's important to get it all mixed together and all mixed together creamy)

The recipe I used was for cupcakes at 325 (20-25 minutes). I did bake it at 325 but I bake mine in a 9x13 for 35-40 minutes. Be very careful not to over bake.

Also there is a lemon butter cream frosting to top it. For actual frosting wait until the cake is completely cooled and mix the following.

1 1/4 c. butter (2 1/2 sticks)
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 c. powdered sugar

Beat butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice in an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating to spreading consistency. Makes 2 3/4 c.

For my cake since my husband prefers a glaze on his lemon cakes I added 1/8c water decreased the amount of butter by half (I just didn't need that much frosting since I was turning it into a glaze) I'm not sure how much sugar I used since I just kept adding it until I liked the consistency. Then I drizzled the glaze on while the cake was still warm.

Personally I thought YUM. This was amazingly light but not airy. The flavor was wonderful it wasn't "just a hint" nor was it overpowering. Perfect for summer because really who doesn't love a citrus dessert in summer? Two thumbs way by from me and my family (birthday boy included).

Summer Pasta

Since I had leftover chicken (hello! beer butt chicken, and yes it was STILL moist) that was quickly approaching my 3 day use or toss rule this was born. Besides it's HOT and seriously who wants to cook?

*1 little (I think it is 6ozs) package dry spaghetti
*8 T butter
*2 garlic cloves
*salt to taste
*pepper to taste
*1 T parsley
*1 c grated cheese (I used Mozzarella)
*1 c retained pasta water
*Whatever chicken I had left (about 2 cups cubed ok I admit we liked the leftovers so I really only had 1 cup but I also had a can of canned chicken so all together I had about 2 cups)
*Diced tomatoes- my first pickings from my plant (so read NOT much lol)!

Boil pasta for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente.

Meanwhile heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Melt butter with garlic. Season with salt, pepper, and parsley.

Drain pasta (remember to retain 1 cup) and then toss in skillet until well-coated with butter. Add the retained water and chicken. Increase heat to medium, and cook until pasta is heated through and has absorbed some of the water/butter. Add cheese and tomatoes warm until the cheese starts melting.

Ta-da! 30 minutes to dinner. This was fabulous. Buttery and light, perfect for summer. Serves 4

I could also see this as a side minus the chicken. I think it would go well with, pork, chicken (obviously), maybe a grilled stake, or just as a meatless dish (mixed with different more veggies).

Lime Pie

OK so when I made this I was in the mood for something light and fluffy. It was Sunday so I wasn't about to go to the store and I couldn't find a recipe that used the ingredients that I had. Since desperation is the mother of invention. I borrowed a pie plate from my neighbor, since mine have all been thrown away and later took my creation over to share and get a second opinion. It got good reviews. So here you go. I hope that you enjoy it as much as everyone said they did here. There will be extra filling. I grabbed 5 custard dishes and made some more crust and divided the leftover among the custard dishes for individual servings. You could also make a second pie if you prefer. Just double the recipe for crust.


Ingredients:

crust
10 cinnamon honey graham crackers
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

filling
2 1/2 8 oz packages cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup lime juice

topping
1/2 8 oz package cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
2 T vanilla
1/4 cup of milk

Directions:
In a food processor chop graham crackers until small and grainy(You can also do this by hand if you don't have a food processor). Add sugar and butter and pulse till mixed. Dump into a 9" pie plate and press to form crust.

Next I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with the whisk attachment. You can use a hand mixer for this however make sure the cream cheese has been softened first or it can burn out the hand mixer motor. In the Kitchen Aid cream the 2 1/2 packages of cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar on medium high(about 7 or 8 speed). Next slowly add the sweetened condensed milk while mixer is going. Once thoroughly mixed add lime juice slowly, continuing on a 7-8 speed setting. Once all ingredients are added. Stop machine and scrape sides. Once sides are scraped mix on medium high for 2 minutes. Once finished turn off machine and spread mixer into crust.

Last in a bowl I creamed the 1/2 package of cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar with a hand mixer. Next I added the vanilla and mixed well. Finally I added the milk slowly. Once completely mixed I put it into a Ziploc bag and cut a corner and piped topping around the edge of pie and onto center of pie.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Enjoy!

Beer Butt Chicken

This is totally unconventional but whatever it's really yummy. The recipe came from allrecipes.com with some modifications for my own taste.

You start with a full chicken in the 4-5lb range on the outside you baste
1/2 c. Melted Butter
3T Garlic Powder
4T Chicken Seasonings
1t Paprika
1/2t Cheyenne Pepper
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Let that sit for at least 3 hours but overnight is better. If you feel up to it you can loosen the chicken's skin and get some of that baste underneath. I didn't do that but it would definitely add to the flavor of the meat.

In a 12 fluid ounce beer can (we used soda cans as the beer we had was 24ozs) mix
6ozs of Beer (totally your choice)
2-3 Garlic Cloves
3T Chicken Seasonings
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
I used a can opener to take the top off completely.
I have heard that cherry cola and ginger ale work well to. I could see that since it's the boiling of the liquid that keeps the chicken moist, so really ANY liquid could work but the beer added flavor so keep that in mind when you choose a liquid.

Make sure you baste the outside of the can with veggie oil before you insert it into the butt of the chicken.

Place on a cookie sheet and grill over low heat for about 3 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F (80 degrees C).

It is also possible to bake it (obviously we didn't do that). 350 for about 15 minutes per pound (or about an hour/ hour and a half).

Final meal.

I served mine with grilled corn on the cob, fresh home made rolls, and garlic cheese mashed potatoes. Yum, yum, yum.

Oh and the leftovers were moist the next day!

Marvelous Taco Salad

I tried this tonight for dinner and my husband loved it. It is a recipe that I copied from another recipe blog that my friend in my Ward runs. A barefooter's quest to find the better way. She is Vegan so there is no meat in it. However it is extremely tasty and you don't miss it. If you decide that you can't live without meat I believe that it would taste great with some browned hamburger and taco seasoning. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. We have decided to try eating a meatless meal more often. I don't know if it will be once a week, but it sure helps when the recipe is easy and good. Tonight though I cheated and used prepackaged salad and baby spinach. Also I used Corn Tortilla Chips instead of crisping up Flour Tortillas. Below I added pictures from what I made one without cheese and one with cheese. As she says Enjoy!

I've done a few different taco salad blends, but this one took the prize!

2-3 ripe avocados, diced
3 Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
approx 1/4-1/2 cup diced onion (I mixed yellow and red.)
1/4 red pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
approx 3/4- 1 cup corn kernels
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3-4 tbsp lemon or lime juice
sea salt to taste

Flour tortillas
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

Fresh flat leaf or baby spinach
romaine lettuce, washed and shredded
baby carrots, chopped
broccoli, chopped into small pieces
shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

In a large bowl, combine first 9 ingredients. Stir well.

In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. One at a time, brown tortillas in olive oil on both sides until golden and crisp.

Build taco salads per plate starting with crisped tortilla, spinach and lettuce, broccoli, carrots, avocado mixture and top with a sprinkling of cheese.
Delicious!!

My kids liked a little natural ranch on top. It think the avocado mixture does a beautiful job doubling as a dressing!

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes (from my good friend Whitney)

Ingredients:
1 cup wheat kernels - straight from the bucket
1/4 oil
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tbl. brown sugar (opt)

Directions:
Blend wheat w/ 1 C. of milk in blender on high for three minutes. Add remaining 1/2 C. milk and continue blending for two minutes. Add eggs, oil, salt and sugar.
Add baking powder all at once into center of funnel of mixing batter. It will immediately begin to foam. Stop blending when funnel closes. Let batter rest for 10 minutes before cooking.

Pork Fried Rice

My sister the other night was making this for dinner and I happened to have all the ingredients so I made it to. It turned out really yummy so here is my version of it. We get our Pork loin chops from Costco and they are boneless skinless. Also the vegetables I used the other night were Carrots and peas. If I had it on hand but for some reason didn't have it the other night I would have used broccoli and onions but the carrots and peas were good by themselves. Also if you do frozen vegetables you may want to lower water amount because it will add water to the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 pork loin chops cut up into bite size pieces
1 T olive oil
1 T garlic
3 T soy sauce
2 T lime juice
1 1/2 cups rice
2 1/2 cups water
2-3 cups vegetables

Directions:
In a Frying pan heat up olive oil and garlic on medium high. Add pork. Once pork is completely cooked add soy sauce and lime juice. If you add onions this would be a good time to add them. Stir cooked pork in sauce in pan for a minute. Next add rice and water and stir. On the top of the rice add your choice of vegetables. Put lid on top. Bring water to a boil and then once boiling lower heat to low and cook until water is completely gone. Stir, serve and enjoy.

Cooking tip

So I thought I would share this because it has made my life a bit easier when making dinner. I have started my day by sticking Frozen chicken in the Crock pot. About 2-3 pieces. This way I have already cooked chicken that is easily shredded by the time I prepare dinner. This is great for Enchiladas, casseroles, chicken salad, anything you need shredded chicken for. All you need to do is stick it in the crock pot 3-4 hours before you plan on making dinner and your set. The best part is that you don't have to commit to any dinner specifically except that you are using chicken that night. Hope this helps. It can be used on any meat really. Happy cooking!

Lemon Chicken

This always makes a great dinner. I will actually use the Frozen chicken from Costco and thaw it, cut each breast in half which makes perfect serving sizes and limits how much I actually eat. I have served this with potatoes, rice, and strawberry spinach salad, which have all made lovely compliments. Today I made it with honey glazed carrots and boiled potatoes. My daughter ate it all. I hope that you enjoy it as well.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp garlic
2-3 chicken breasts
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup lemon juice

Directions:
Heat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a baking dish place 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp garlic. Place dish in heated oven to melt while preparing chicken. I will then take thawed chicken in it own juices and coat wet chicken in bread crumbs(this step should cut back on fat), but if you prefer you can use one beeaten egg to coat chicken in before coating in breadcrumbs. When butter is completely melted pull dish out of oven and place breaded chicken in pan. Next I usually throw the remaining breadcrumbs on top and then dot top with approx. 4 Tbsp butter. Place chicken in oven for 15-20 minutes. Pull chicken out and flip each chicken breast. Pour Lemon juice evenly on all peices and return to oven for another 15- 20 minutes.
Serve and Enjoy!

Tilapia with Mango Salsa

Ok so this is going to be really easy. I made this the other night and to be honest very pleasantly surprised that I liked it as much as I did. There is no recipe for Mango Salsa but if anyone has a good recipe to share that would be great. I simply bought a container of Mango and Peach Salsa at Costco and used it for the garnish. That part was a great finishing touch.

Ingredients:

3-4 Tilapia Fillets
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup Lime Juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Mango Salsa

Directions:

Pour oil in frying pan and heat up. Sear fish in pan with lime juice, salt and pepper. Sear each side for about 7 minutes each. Fish is done when it starts to flake. Don't overcook. Serve up individual servings and garnish tops of each fish with 1 Tbsp Mango Salsa. Enjoy!

Honey Glazed Carrots

My daughter who has to have all her vegetables(cooked or not)
with ranch enjoyed these enough to forgo the ranch this one time.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive oil
3 large carrots peeled and sliced
3 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup honey
(more or less based on desired sweetness)
1 tsp dill, thyme, and basil

Directions:
In a frying pan heat olive oil. Add carrots to pan and stir till they get a brighter orange color. Add lime juice, honey, and seasonings. Constantly stirring till glaze is no longer watery and simply coats carrots. Serve and enjoy!

OK here is another recipe that I am copying it comes from my cousin. We were at her house a couple weeks ago and she made this. It was very delicious. I have no tips however since I have not made this but it was posted on her blog and I am hoping that she will join this blog. I will just copy and paste what she wrote and her pictures below.

I know totally tasty looking huh? Ok this is mostly for my cousin who asked for the recipe like a month ago and I keep forgetting. But it's also because the boys and I have nothing to do today (dang even the laundry is done thus I have time). So she has my written permission to steal this blog (pictures included) for her cooking blog- along with any other recipes I may post.

This started out as a Campbell's soup recipe. I've since added to it and changed things.
Start by frying about 1lb of beef. I like rump roast the best. Though we've tried and liked other beefs, stewing beef, and some steaks (top sirloin comes to mind).
Fry it in a little (like 1T) oil until browned.
Add 1 can Tomato soup (the small one I think it's 10ozs)
about 3T of Soy Sauce
1T of vinegar (I like the flavor of Apple Cider Vinegar, but white will work too)
2T Worcestershire Sauce
1T garlic powder
1t crushed red peppers
Salt and pepper to taste
I also usually add a dash of Chili Powder
Simmer that like 10 minutes and then add about 3 cups of broccoli. I usually use frozen so if you add fresh then add about 1c of water.
Simmer that until the broccoli is done (done can be anything from slightly tender to mushy to totally your preference)
Serve over hot rice and viola dinner! 30 minutes from nothing to done can't beat that, and hey you don't have to take my word that it's good.

The boys were totally impressed too. My son (try to imagine this in a little boy voice) kept asking for more "beef and bocci"

Posted by Tenilia

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

I made these a month ago and they were pretty good. Thought I would share with you. However when I made it I didn't have heavy cream so I used a can of Evaporated Milk instead.
The recipe was on the recipe blog Dinner on a Dime.

I made these tonight for our dinner co-op. (Cooking once a week - what a fabulous thing!) I got this picture and recipe from a chica in my ward who makes some amazing food. (Lady sounds too old and girl sounds too young.) She actually got this recipe from someone else. It's also on another blog. Obviously it's good. Don't let the chili powder scare you, it's not too spicy. The enchilada sauce is spicier, so I just got mild. It's easy too! The hardest part is shredding the chicken. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Marinade -

6 tablespoons honey

5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)

1 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded

8-10 flour tortillas (I used whole wheat tortillas)

1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded

16 ounces green enchilada sauce

1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Whisk the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken in a Zip-loc bag.

2. Let it marinate for at least a 1/2 hour, but preferably a half day or so.

3. Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan.

4. Fill the tortillas with chicken, saving marinade, and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas.

5. Put tortillas in 9x13 pan as you go.

6. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade (if there is any).

7. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas.

8. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Posted by Natalie from Dinner on a Dime

Hamburger Gravy

So this is one of the first meals that I learned how to make and something that my daughter loves to eat. It is way easy, in fact I am surprised that I haven't made it in a while. Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp garlic
2 tsps beef base
1/4 cup flour
small bag of mixed vegetables
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Brown hamburger. Add next 4 ingredients and mix well. Add vegetables and one cup water stir till thick then add water 1/2 cup at a time, till desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over hot mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Jello Poke Cake

This is our Easter Dessert. One of the few times a year that I will make dessert for my family. It is extremely easy and very yummy. Hope that you enjoy. I used strawberry jello and strawberries.

Ingredients:
1 white cake mix
1 small package jello
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 8 oz pkg cool whip
Fruit to match jello

Directions:
Make cake according to directions on box. When completely cooked allow to cool for 1/2 hour. Then poke holes all over cake with butter knife or back of wooden spoon. You want to have a lot of holes. Then make jello and pour all over cake completely cover the top. After drenching with jello put cake in fridge. In a mixer beat cream cheese and then add cool whip and beat together. After stir in or using beaters mix fruit in with cream cheese and cool whip. Spread evenly over chilled cake and serve. Store leftovers in fridge.

Turkey BBQ

This is a must have if you travel to Sanpete County, UT. Regularly made at any major event, this can be found and once you try it you are usually hooked. For my little family we have started making this for our Easter Dinner. It is so worth any work. I say this because at one point I could find boneless skinless turkey breasts. Lately if we want this I have to debone and skin an actual turkey breast. But like I said, it is soooooo worth it. However you can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Chicken is yummy to but not quite the same.


Ingredients:
1 tsp horseradish sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup peanut oil
2 cups lemon-lime soda
Boneless, skinless Turkey breasts

Directions:
Mix first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Use thin and bigger pieces. Leave in fridge overnight. Use basting brush while grilling and baste turkey with marinade. Keep on low heat.