Delightfully Delicious

Buttermilk lemon poppyseed pancakes

2012-01-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.pickycook.com/breakfastandbrunch/lemonpoppyseedpancakes.aspx

Yummy poppyseed pancakes from the Picky Cook, we didn't have strawberries so
we had apricot syrup we made last summer and greek yogurt on them. They were
very good lots of nice lemon flavor, we did reduce the poppy-seeds to 1/4 cup
instead of 1/3 (thats a lot of seeds) and they were just fine. If you don't use all
the batter just cook it up someone will eat them later. They're DELICIOUS

Yummy Bread

2012-01-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

Our best bites does another good one! I don't think I've ever tried a recipe
that I haven't liked. It was easy and turned out great. I'm sure it'll be
gone in no time. If you go to their site you can see pictures of the steps.
I used some leftover 9 grain cereal that we had from breakfast that morning.
It worked well just make sure your cereal is about wet as theirs in the pic.
on their site. It would be a great paring with the salad in the post before
this one, another one of theirs.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/

Multigrain Bread

Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup (6 1/4 ounces) seven-grain hot cereal mix
2 1/2 cups boiling water
3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour (not bread flour)
1 1/2 cups (8 1/4 oz) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled*
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 tablespoon salt
Optional (I omitted): 3/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

*If you’re using salted butter, just decrease the additional salt by just a bit.

Instructions
Place cereal mix in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100 degrees and resembles thick porridge, about 1 hour. Whisk flours together in separate bowl.

Once grain mixture has cooled, add honey, butter, and yeast and mix on low speed until combined. Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until cohesive mass starts to form, 1 1/2-2 minutes; cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 minutes. Add salt and knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3-4 minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2-3 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and knead until it does. Don’t add more!) continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes. Add seeds (if using) and knead for another 15 seconds. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand until seeds are dispersed evenly and dough forms smooth, round ball. Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl; cover tightly with plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.

Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide in half. Press 1 piece of dough into 9×6 inch rectangle, with short side facing you. Roll dough toward you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Turn loaf seam side up and pinch it closed. Repeat with second piece of dough. Spray loaves lightly with water or vegetable il spray. Roll each loaf in oats to coat evenly and place seam side down in prepared pans, pressing gently into corners. Cover loaves loosely with greased plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size 30-40 minutes. Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckle.

Thirty minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until loaves register 200 degrees, 35-40 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans, return to rack, and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before slicing and serving.

Storage: Bread can be wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. Wrapped with additional layer of foil, bread can be frozen for up to a month.

For those without a stand mixer, Cook’s Illustrated recommends: “Stir wet and dry ingredients together with a stiff rubber spatula until the dough comes together and looks shaggy. Transfer the dough to a clean counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, roughd ball, 15-25 minutes, adding additional flour, if necessary, to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter. Proceed with recipe as directed.”

Citrus-Pomegranate Quinoa Salad

2012-01-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 medium red onion, minced
1/4 cup fresh minced cilantro or parsley
1 cup pomegranate arils
1 can garbanzo beans or great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water or chicken (or vegetable) broth
1-2 avocados, cut into small cubes (depending on how much you love avocado and how big the avocados are)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 medium orange)
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 medium juicy lemon)
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1/2 medium juicy lime)
2-3 teaspoons sugar, honey, agave, or Splenda (just add it to taste)
2 tablespoons pure olive oil
1/2 heaping teaspoon kosher salt
A few cracks of freshly ground black pepper
1 clove minced garlic

Instructions:

Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.

Combine diced cucumber, minced onion, chopped cilantro, pomegranate seeds, and drained and rinsed beans in a large salad bowl. Toss with quinoa. Drizzle the dressing over the mixture and toss to combine, then chill until ready to serve. Before serving, add diced avocado and eat immediately. Makes 6-8 main dish servings and 10-12 side dish servings.

All credit given to Our Best Bites food website. Very delicious dish, its a good one to try.

2011-12-30T15:59:00.001-07:00

Spicy Mahi Mahi and Mango Tacos

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound mahi mahi, rinsed and patted dry, cut into bite- size chunks
1 large ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon chopped red onion, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon seeded, chopped fresh red chile
2 teaspoons virgin coconut oil
4 (8- inch) whole-wheat tortillas
1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and coarsely chopped
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, 2 tablespoons of the orange juice, the garlic, chili powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Add the fish and gently stir to coat.
Let stand for at least 10 minutes, or cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours.
In the meantime, in a medium bowl, combine the mango, onion, cilantro, chile, and remaining 1 tablespoon each lime and orange juice. Stir gently until well combined.
Set aside in the refrigerator if you are marinating the fish longer than a few minutes. Let stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the fish and its marinade and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, turning frequently, until the fish is opaque.
While the fish cooks, wrap the tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave on high power for 30 seconds.
Gently fold the avocado into the mango mixture.
Divide the fish evenly among the tortillas. Divide the mango mixture among the tacos, spooning it on top of the fish. Serve with lime wedges.

Nutritional information

Calories: 405.2 kcal
Fat: 13.9 g
Protein: 26.8 g
Carbohydrates: 43.9 g
Sodium: 409.2 mg

This Mama’s tips

If you cannot find (or afford) mahi mahi, tilapia is a good substitute.
Personally I prefer corn tortillas over whole wheat. Not only do they taste better, but they’re more authentic. But Jillian wants you to avoid starchy vegetables like corn, so I completely understand why she uses whole wheat tortillas instead.
I’m shocked that there’s no cilantro in this recipe! In the The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook, Jillian writes that it’s a “form of natural chelation therapy, helping to detox the liver and remove heavy metals from the body.” Whatever the case, you cannot have fish tacos without cilantro, so add some!
If you can’t find virgin coconut oil, use olive or grapeseed oil instead.

Bandito Sauce

2011-10-12T22:39:00.000-06:00

must be a utah thing never heard of it but had it at RS

kinda taco salady

Bandito Sauce

1 lb. hamburger

1 small onion chopped(I also added peppers)

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. oregano

2 Tbs. chili powder (I think it needs more)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp. sugar

1 small can tomato sauce

1 small can tomato paste

1 cup water

1-2 cups cooked rice/Quinoa(The night before we had russian chicken we had

leftover rice that I had added part Quinoa in it when I cooked it, was good)

Brown hamburger with onion and peppers add seasonings and sauces and water.

Let simmer 30 min. Add rice. We put olives and red kidney beans in it also.

If your going to freeze the meat you should probably not.

I think it would be ok to leave the rice in though.

Let it come to room temp. before you bag and freeze.

Serve with chips(I used tortilla but I've heard some use corn chips and mix it altogether),

chopped lettuce, salsa sour cream, chopped tomatoes, olives, kidney beans, cheese.

This would serve 8-10

Baked Potato slow-cooker soup

2011-10-07T18:36:00.001-06:00

I went to Mama loves food to find this wonderful baked potato soup that
is made in the crock-pot the recipe she has there is quite a large one so
I suggest you down size it for your family. Its one of those fix it and
pretty much forget it kinda dinners. It was easy and everyone
liked it!

Dump dinner

2011-09-29T13:56:00.000-06:00

Ok this is my version of the Dump dinner that is going around, saw it on pinterest.
sorry we didn't take a picture but its real easy to do
Most of these amounts should be varied by how many your serving

dump a bag of frozen chicken in your crock-pot
dump in a bag of frozen corn
dump in a can of black beans
dump in 1-2 cups of salsa
dump in 1 can of cream of chicken soup(reduced fat) add 1tsp of cumin and 2 TBL
taco seasoning in the can and mix before you dump.
dump one 8oz cream cheese cubed

Let it cook on low all day or high half the day you can shred or chunk it
or leave the chicken whole

I made rice to go with it kind of a mexican rice
brown in olive oil-1/2 onion, 2 grated garlic cloves and I had green peppers and a
jalapeno I chopped and added them. Add 1 1/2 cups of rice brown a little add 3 cups
of water I added 2TBL tomato paste simmer on low or till done.
You can serve with tortilla chips, tortilla's and a little cilantro.
Was good!

Thai Peanut Salad

2011-06-23T14:28:00.000-06:00

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing

from: our best bites

1/2 C peanut butter

1 lime, juiced and zested

2 1/2 t sesame oil

1 T seasoned rice wine vinegar

2 T soy sauce

3 T honey

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 T minced ginger

1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro (stems and all)

1/2 C vegetable oil

1/4 t kosher salt*

2-3 t sriracha chili sauce*(I used Thai Kitchen Sweet Red Chili Sauce)

2-4 T water*

*The need for salt may differ depending on the brand of PB you use. Taste first and then add.

*I use 3 t Sriaracha, but you may want more or less depending on your preference of heat levels. Again, taste first and then add.

*Lastly, the addition of the water is purely for consistency which again, depends on the PB brand you use. Add water until you get the consistency you want, or leave it out completely.

Place everything in a blender and mix until smooth. Makes about 2 cups

I tossed it with some cooked pasta (linguine or spaghetti) blanched broccoli slice carrots and red and green bell peppers... serve cold...grilled chicken would have been really good too...

Pistachio- Crusted Chicken/with Garden Spinach and Spicy Carrots

2011-06-12T21:07:00.000-06:00

Prep: 1-1/4 Hours Bake: 35 MIN Yield: 4 servings
Chicken:
1 large sweet red pepper 1/4 tsp. pepper
1-1/4 cups pistachios 1 shallot, chopped
3/4 cup panko (Japanese) 1-1/2 tsp. olive oil
bread crumbs.
1 cup buttermilk 2 garlic cloves, minced
4 boneless skinless chicken 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
halves (6 oz. each)
1/2 cup crumbled goat 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
cheese
2 Tbsp. butter, melted 1/4 tsp. salt

Salad:
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. olive oil
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup minced fresh basil

Broil pepper 4 in. from heat until blistered. Rotate pepper a quarter turn. Broil and rotate until all sides are blistered and blackened. Place in a small bowl; cover and let stand 20 minutes. Process pistachios in a food processor until ground. Transfer to a shallow bowl; add bread crumbs. Place buttermilk in another bowl.
Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness; dip in buttermilk, then coat with pistachio mixture. Place on a work surface; top with goat cheese and basil. Fold chicken in half; secure with toothpicks if necessary.
Place in a greased 11-in. x 7in. baking dish. Drizzle with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35-40 min. or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees. Discard Toothpicks.
Discard charred skin from pepper; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper in a food processor. In a small skillet, saute shallot in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add broth; heat through. Add mixture to the food processor; process until blended.
Whisk vinegar and oil. Add spinach and basil; toss to coat. Divide salad among four plates; top with chicken and pepper sauce.

Spicy Cooked Carrots
1 lb. carrots 3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Salt 1/3 cup crumbled or thinly sliced Feta Cheese
2 tsp. hot paprika 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
12 pitted and diced black or kalamati olives

Boil carrots in salted water until tender (not soft); drain and rinse with cold water. Slice or dice into small pieces. Smash the garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add paprika, vinegar, and whisk in the oil. Toss carrots with vinaigrette, parsley, cheese, and olives. Taste for salt.

Chicken Taco Salad with Lime dressing

2011-06-10T23:20:00.001-06:00

6-8 cups of greens(spinach, iceberg, romaine)
add any veggies you and your family like
cucumbers, tomatoes, shredded carrots, peppers...etc
1 cup olives
1 cup cheese
1 can beans drained and rinsed like black, red, pinto
3 chicken breast grilled, sliced or use a rotisserie chicken
2-3 cups tortilla chips crushed

Dressing:
3TBL vinegar I used rice vinegar
2 TBL oil
1 TBL sugar
1/2 lime juiced I used the whole thing
1 clove garlic crushed
1/4 tsp. salt
mix dressing, drizzle over salad just before serving.
I think I doubled it to make sure I had enough

Baked Ziti III

2011-06-10T23:11:00.002-06:00

This is from allrecipes.com

Tried and tested very good!

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package dry ziti pasta
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 (28 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces sliced provolone cheese
6 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream (use light or fat free)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
try layer spinach in it also

Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat. Add onions; saute until tender. Drain off fat and add spaghetti sauce; simmer for about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish, place about half of the pasta; top with a layer of provolone and mozzarella cheese slices. Spread on a layer of half the spaghetti sauce mixture and sour cream.
Cover with remaining pasta, cheese and sauce; sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly; serve.

Spicy Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Hummus

2011-06-10T23:06:00.002-06:00

Ingredients:

1 15oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1 4oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained
(or make your own)
3 TBL. lemon juice
1TBL. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley I would probably use more
and maybe even cilantro
1/ 2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Place everything in food processor; blend till smooth, sometimes I needed to
add a little juice from the beans or from the peppers to make it a good consistency.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

2011-06-10T22:58:00.003-06:00

1 bag of chicken tenders or the amount for your family
chop in bite size pieces and cover with Tony's Cajun
seasoning (generously)

cook in pan with 2-3TBLS. of butter

meanwhile chop up 5 green onions 2-3 peppers(1green 1yellow and red)

spinach (optional but good)

in a bowl mix cups light whipping cream with...
2-3TBL. of fresh basil torn
2 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. salt I didn't use any the other seasoning is good enough
pepper

when chicken is done add in veggies and cook until soft then
reduce heat slightly and add cream mixture and little more Cajun seasoning
if it needs it, stir until the mixture thickens add a little flour if you need to
but don't let the cream boil. Serve with Angel Hair or linguine pasta. you can toss
a couple of handfuls of spinach in the warm pasta
Add fresh grated parmesan cheese.

This recipe is from Carly thanks it was very good. Sorry we ate before we
got a picture.

Sun-dried tomato artichoke Chicken

2011-06-10T16:11:00.001-06:00

Sorry we devoured this dish before I even thought to take a picture of it. I suppose that's how good it is! Enjoy, really simple but full of flavor!

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or dried)
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bitesize chunks
1/4 cup flour
2 tbs cooking oil
1/2 white wine (I used chicken broth)
1 Tbs fresh or bottled lemon juice
1 can quartered artichoke hearts (drained)
1/3 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes
2 Tbs or so of grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat large sauce pan on medium high heat, add oil. Coat chicken with flour. Cook chicken until golden brown. Stir in chicken broth, reduce heat to medium-low, cook 2-3 minutes or until liquid is slightly reduced. Sprinkle lemon juice over chicken, add artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover and cook 3-4 min. Remove from heat, top with thyme and Parmesan. Serve alone or over any type of pasta. Also good with wild rice.

Some new RECIPES thank-you Carly

2011-04-29T22:01:00.008-06:00

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Jess and Mia thought they were yummy:)

1/3 cup (3 oz.) cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tb fresh lime juice (1/2 lime)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
3 Tb chopped cilantro
2 Tb sliced green onions
2 cups shredded chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese
fajita size flour tortillas (or small corn tortillas)
cooking spray
kosher salt

Soften cream cheese in microwave for 20-30 seconds. Stir in green salsa,

lime juice and spices until well mixed then add cilantro and green onions.

Stir in shredded chicken and pepperjack cheese and combine well.

**this can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line cookie sheet with Silpat

(or tin foil, lightly sprayed with cooking oil).

Working with 3-4 tortillas at a time, briefly heat in microwave so they are more malleable and easier to work with. Spoon 2-3 Tb of mixture in a row across the bottom third of tortilla, keeping 1/2 inch away from edge. This makes it possible to roll it up very tightly. Place taquitos seam side down on cookie sheet, making sure they are not touching. Lightly spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and edges start to turn golden brown.

Beef and Broccoli

Cut steak against the grain very thin

Put into a bowl and cover with garlic powder and fill the bowl half way up with soy sauce

Let sit for an hour

Heat oil until very hot

Right before cooking add about a 3 tbs of corn starch or a little more (just until the beef is coated and the juice is mostly sucked up)

Place beef into hot pan turn down heat slightly and let sit

Meanwhile chop broccoli and throw it into a pot of boiling water and cover

Cook only until the broccoli is bright green then drain (this will only take a couple of min)

When beef is almost cooked all the way through with a spatula carefully flip the beef and let it continue cooking on the other side

When it is done remove it and put it on a plate

Throw the broccoli in the pan the beef was in a stir it to coat the broccoli with the beef drippings, this will help the broccoli soften a little more

Add the beef back in and stir carefully

Serve over hot lemon rice

Lemon rice

4 Tbs butter

2 cups basmati rice

2 lemons, with the zest grated

3 cups chicken broth

1 tsp salt

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

ground pepper to taste

melt butter in sauce pan, add the lemon zest and rice. Stir until rice is opaque about 5 min. add broth cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 min. when rice is done squeeze juice from lemons over rice and add salt and pepper.
We had this when Scott came to sunday dinner this was his second helping
so I guess it was good. We told him to stop and take a picture before it was gone.

Split Pea Soup- it wasn't yellow it was green split pea and was

very good Mia was turning up her nose then ended up going back 2 times.

I told her looks can be deceiving.

Chop bacon and or ham and cook in pot with a little olive oil

Add 3 cloves garlic chopped

Add 1 medium yellow/white onion chopped and a stalk or two of celery

Cook until fragrent

Add 1 quart chick broth or more…I usually just fill the pot half full and add more if I need to.

Stir in 1 bag of dried split peas

2 carrots shredded or chopped

cook med heat until peas are soft

put ½ of the mixture in the blender and blend until smooth

or use a hand blender right in the pot. add back to pot

cook five more min and serve you can add a dollop of sour cream

One Big Scone

2011-04-22T10:00:00.005-06:00

This is a biscuit type scone. It was yummy and made by Yvonne and Aubrey

while they were visiting our house. We made it when Rochelle and family came.

Ingredients:

1 3/4c flour

3T sugar

2 1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3c butter (firm)

1 egg beaten

1/2tsp almond extract

1/2c whipping cream

3/4c frozen rasberries

White chocolate chips

(works best with frozen berries over fresh) (Don't over work the dough!)

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar baking powder, & salt. Cut in butter till fine. Make a well in the middle and add remaining ingredients mix together just to moisten. Pat onto a greased cookie sheet into an 8" inch circle.

Bake at 400* for 18-23 min.

Cut into 8 pieces.

Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Eggs for Coloring and more...

2011-04-18T07:07:00.004-06:00

Yes this is a double post. It got posted here accidentally when

I was trying to put it on the family blog. But its food so its all

good right:)

Our last week with the kids here we decided we needed to color eggs

while everyone was here even though it was a week before easter.

Austin was back visiting on his way back to Cali for break, the kids

really love playing and chasing him around.

We had one and a half kids per teenager helping with the dyeing.
Hudson was very into it
Its serious stuff you know
The girls always want the pink and purple colors first
Everything's clean must have been before the dye got spilled
We made french toast on easter bread that was colored pink,

purple and yellow Max kept saying eewwww about it.
We also made pizza with eggs dropped on top then baked Its actually

very good. It was Ben's idea and know we always have to make one

like it every time. Jess calls it a breakfast pizza it has white sauce,

pesto, spinach, bacon bits, sundried tomatoes and you crack a couple

of eggs right on top before you bake it. Its Jess's favorite so it

must be good.

Comfort Food

2011-03-15T21:58:00.010-06:00

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe from simplyrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

Chicken and stock ingredients:

1 (3 1/2 pound) frying chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken then I didn't do any of this part)
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 small onion, halved
2 teaspoons salt
cover with water and simmer 45 min. Strip chicken from bone
and you can strain liquid and use as broth.

Pie crust ingredients: (I doubled mine It was enough for six small and

one bigger one, we did have a little extra and put it on the bottom of the

large one) jess requested more crust and Ella played with the leftovers.

By adding a few extra things and doubling the crust I made 6 small and

one bigger one. Everyone loved it and asked why don't we make it more!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced into 1/2-inch cubes (best to chill cubes
in the freezer for at least 15 minutes before using)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled
3 to 4 Tbsp ice water
Combine flour and salt(I had salted butter so I omitted the salt) in food processor. Add
the chilled butter(important) cubes and pulse 5+ times to combine. Add the shortening
and pulse a few more times, until the dough resembles a coarse cornmeal, with some
pea sized pieces of butter. Slowly stream in ice water, a TBL at a time, pulsing after each
addition. until the dough sticks together when you press some between your fingers.
Empty the food processor. Place dough on counter. Use your hands to mold into a ball
then flatten into a disk. Sprinkle with a little flour, wrap and refrigerate for a least
30 min, or up to 2 days, before rolling.

Filling ingredients:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced (about 1 1/4 cups)
3 carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk + 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
(I used the 3 cups stock 1 can cream soup and no milk)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup dry sherry(omitted this you can adjust with stock)
3/4 cup green peas, frozen or fresh(I used a cup)
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley(i used 4 TBL)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
I sauteed the onion carrots and celery in butter I also added 3 potatoes
and garlic of course, then added the flour cook a minute more then add milk
or use chicken broth which I did. Then I added the thyme I had dried so
I used that. I add the chicken and simmered 10 min. Mine was still a little thin
so I added 1 can cream of chicken soup. Add the peas and parsley which I used
more of salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Divide into separate
ramekins or use one large ramekin or casserole dish.

Roll dough on lightly floured surface to a little less than 1/4 inch cut just larger then

the dish you are using tucking under extra dough. fork or press dough against edge.

Cut a 1-inch vent on small and 4 vents on large place on baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees-25 min or till golden and the filling is bubbling.

Let cool 5-10 min before serving.

Egg wash:

1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water

for top of crust

Diners Drive ins and Dives: Metro Diner in Jacksonville, Florida

2011-03-10T14:02:00.004-07:00

Our last foody stop on our recent road trip to Florida

to see Heather and the gang We figured we would critique

this place after watching it on the show.

Food critics at the Metro diner
Lila and Holly waiting for the good stuff
Us with the cook/owner Mark Duvoli

We watched this segment on TV while at Heather's house

and decided to go check it out on our way to the airport

it was really good. The cook/owner came around and

chit-chatted with us. Real nice guy, good food and priced

well for your good sized portions. Come hungry! Heather

tried the french toast he demoed on the show, John had

a burrito, and I had an veggie omelet with crab cakes on

the side. All were good. When we were talking to the

owner about good bar-b-que stuff he said I'll bring you out

a smoked pastrami on rye sandwich I make and smoke the

pastrami myself. Well it was very good also. John wished

he had gotten the steak fry salad though, he forgot that was

one of the ones they highlighted. I'm sure everything is really

good though and worth stopping over and trying out if your

in the area.

He said his segment has been airing since september and everytime

it does his business increases 100%

Blueberry Whole Wheat Muffins

2011-03-06T15:47:00.002-07:00

Ingredients
6 tbsp. butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 tbsp.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups blueberries

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a dozen muffin tin with paper liners. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, one at a time, and stir in the milk and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, sift the flours, baking powder, and salt. Stir it into the butter and sugar mixture. Gently toss the blueberries in the tablespoon of flour, then fold them into the batter. Fill the muffin cups almost to the top and bake for 25 minutes, or until light brown. Makes 12 muffins

VALENTINES DAY COOKIES

2011-02-12T10:05:00.007-07:00

Grandma Doll's Valentine Cookie Recipe

Ella making this recipe for Valentines Day
Ingredients
1 Cup shortening
2 Cups sugar
2 eggs
1 Cup sour cream
1 Tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

4 1/2 c flour

Cream shortening and sugar,
Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla
Stir in remaining ingredients
Chill and roll out fairly thick
Cut in heart shapes

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes

* Stefani made these with Carly's kids, they were soft and yummy!

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with sweet potato

2011-01-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

Since I have had a surplus of baby food these days-with Lila not eating as much as I anticipated. (she enjoys table food better, I don't blame her either) I've been trying to find ways to sneak it into our dinners, desserts...or just about whatever I can! I put a jar of creamed corn in our chicken noodle soup the other night. (you couldn't even tell!) I think it just made it have a richer flavor. Well I searched sweet potato cookie recipes on google and found a yummy chocolate chip oatmeal cookie with sweet potato. Aaron said they were some of the best cookies he's ever had! Because they stay moist, he hates hard cookies. So here is the recipe if you care to try them yourself. It calls for 1/4 cup of pureed sweet potato. In my case I just added 1 jar of baby food sweet potato, which is 4 oz., which is fairly close if not exactly 1/4 cup. Give them a try, you can't go wrong with cookies!

http://bakingbites.com/2009/10/sweet-potato-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Holly and Lila enjoyed them. We ate about half the dozen before they could even cool off!

(Holly I think was sneaking Lila bites while I was putting more dough on the pan, cause when I came back she had chocolate all over her face:)

RR Download #9 for 2010

2011-01-25T15:39:00.010-07:00

Slow-Cooker Asian Pepper Steak

Easy and tasty

John and I thought it was really good and different.

Jess and Mia said uh..., it was ok.

The bean sprouts, cilantro and lime on top at the end is good, it needed a

little bit of a crunch. We put everything but the peppers in the crock pot at 11

before church. When we got home we added the peppers and cooked for a couple

hours more. Then our peppers weren't quite as soggy, I like mine a little more

tender crisp. Use brown rice to go with it.

We served it up with some steamed broccoli and I had a spaghetti squash to cook

which we had on the side. The next night I used the leftover spaghetti squash with a

new batch of the sauce from the baked shells recipe it was very good.

Anyways thats whats been for dinner at our house!

Ingredients

3 pounds beef sirloin
3 tablespoons cornstarch, for dusting meat
3 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, grated
1 large onion, sliced
3 red bell peppers, sliced
3 yellow bell peppers, sliced
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
4 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
Ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups rice
Topper:
2 cups bean sprouts
1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 limes

Yields: Serves 6-8

Preparation

In a large skillet, sear the meat in some EVOO until nice and brown on both sides. Remove the steak to a cutting board and slice the steak into 1-inch thick strips.

Place the sliced steak into the crock-pot bowl, then dust the meat with cornstarch and mix the meat around until there is no more visible cornstarch.

Add the remaining ingredients except for the topper ingredients to the crock-pot, then place a lid on top and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.

When you are ready to serve, get a medium bowl, mix the topper ingredients and place a portion of the mixture on top of each portion of Asian Pepper Steak. This will add pop of freshness and texture.

Serve on top of cooked rice.

RR #1 DOWNLOAD OF 2010

2011-01-22T14:41:00.004-07:00

BAKED SHELLS CASSEROLE (yes Rochelle you would like it to)

We almost forgot to take a photo.

First impression was "YUMO" as RR would say. The sauce was great, I loved the

homemade taste. We used our canned tomatoes from last summer and chopped

them in the quisinart I wished I would have made extra to save for something else.

All the flavors were good use all the different seasonings it makes it taste great.

We used half wheat shells half regular don't use to many or it won't be saucy enough.

We also used fresh spinach chopped up and then microwaved for a few minutes.

You can omit the wine also, we did and just put a little extra broth. Also start early

enough to let your sauce reduce, we didn't so we ended having dinner at 7:30 ish-

late for us.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped, divided
1 large or 2 small to medium onions, finely chopped, divided
1 small carrot, finely chopped or grated
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano or marjoram, half a palmful
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1/3 palmful
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed by pressing under flat of your knife
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, 5 to 6 sprigs
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white or red wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 28-ounce cans Italian crushed tomatoes
1 pound medium or large shell pasta (not extra-large stuffing shells)
2 boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung dry in clean towel
Freshly grated nutmeg, about 1/4 teaspoon
2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus some to pass at table
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
Yields: Serves 4-6
Preparation
In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons EVOO, 3 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add 4 cloves of chopped garlic, 3/4 of finely chopped onion and the carrot. Season with salt, pepper, oregano or marjoram, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds and thyme, and gently sauté 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in parsley, stir, then add wine and reduce a minute. Add stock and tomatoes, bring sauce up to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer sauce 45 minutes.
After sauce has been simmering for 30 minutes, preheat oven to 375˚F.
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt water and cook pasta 5 minutes.
While pasta water comes to a boil, heat remaining 2 tablespoons EVOO in a small skillet over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and onion and sauté to soften, 5 minutes. Add spinach, pulling it apart and separating it as you add it to pan. Stir to combine well and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Turn off heat.
Drain undercooked pasta and return it to the hot pot. Add spinach mixture to pot along with ricotta and grated Parm. Stir to combine, adjust salt and pepper then add eggs and stir.
Pour a thin layer of marinara sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish. Fill dish with pasta then top with another thin layer of red sauce. Save remaining sauce to pass at table. Bake 30 minutes until bubbly.
Serve casserole directly from casserole dish, passing extra sauce and cheese at the table.

Rachael Ray's Top Ten

2011-01-19T21:36:00.006-07:00

We watched RR top ten downloaded recipes for 2010 show and decided to

try and make them and give our <:expert:> opinion. We didn't do them in

order necessarily. She has a lot of chicken ones. Well I bought everything

I needed at the store. I bought teriyaki sauce and soy sauce and I put my chicken

in a zip-loc bag and poured my sauce in and then looked at the other bottle and

realized that I had put the soy sauce in instead of the teriyaki sauce. Oh well now

what? Well I decided to go with it and added some crushed garlic and grated ginger

into the bag. We soaked it overnight and cooked it the next day and they were

very well marinated. We also changed our sides we had sweet potato fries and a

green salad to go with it. All was good and everyone liked it. We also found out that

Broccolini is not Broccoli its a green vegetable similar but with small florets and

long, thin stalks a cross between broccoli and Kai-lan, Chinese broccoli.

But really the chicken was nothing sauce and chicken how hard is that? (#3downloaded?)

Here's her recipe

TERIYAKI CHICKEN LEGS

Garbanzo green salad
Sweet Potato Fries

8 Chicken Leg drummers

1 1/2 cups, 12 oz., teriyaki sauce

Coarse black pepper

3 Tbl. sesame seeds

1 cup rice

1 cup chicken stock

3/4 cup water

3 Tbl. vegetable oil divided

1 bunch broccolini, trimmed and cut into 3" pieces

salt

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 bunch scallions, shredded on an angle

2 large cloves garlic, very thinly sliced

1 inch ginger, grated or minced

Yields: Serves 4

Preparation

Place chicken drummers in a resealable plastic bag with the teriyaki sauce and let marinate 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400˚F.

Place a cooling rack over a baking sheet and arrange chicken legs on it. Season chicken liberally with coarse black pepper.

Cover chicken legs with foil and roast 20 minutes. Turn legs and roast 10 minutes more. Remove foil and roast an additional 5-8 minutes to darken and crisp. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

While the chicken cooks, bring stock and water with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to a boil over high heat. Add rice and stir, bring back up to a boil then reduce heat and cover pot. Simmer 18 minutes then fluff with fork.

While chicken roasts the last 10 minutes, bring a few inches of salted water to a boil. Add the broccolini and blanch 2-3 minutes, then drain.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet. When oil is hot, add blanched broccolini, peppers and scallions. Stir-fry 2 minutes, add garlic and ginger, and stir-fry 1 minute more.

Serve chicken legs with stir-fried veggies and rice alongside

Stefani's GRANOLA COOKIES

2011-01-17T21:19:00.006-07:00

Set your timer or yours might get a little overdone like Mariah's did

Makes a lot of cookies 4 dozen or so. Bake at 350 for 8-10 min

Mix and set aside

3 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

Cream

2 cups shortening (can use part unsalted butter)

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups white sugar(we used 1 1/2 and it was fine)

add and mix well

4 eggs(we used 2 whole and 2 egg whites)

4 tsp. vanilla

add

6 cups oatmeal granola

2 cups choco chips

and whatever else you want Stefani added chopped dates once, and

we didn't have dates so we added prunes that we put thru the food processor.

They were yummy.

french bread in 5 minutes a day

2011-01-07T20:54:00.005-07:00

6 1/2 cups of flour (can be part wheat)

3 cups water

1 1/2 TBL. yeast

1 TBL. salt

Bake 450 for 30 min

mix water yeast in bowl add 1 cup flour and salt then add the rest of the flour.

no need to use a mixer just mix in bowl with a wooden spoon you may need to

mix the last bit with your hands. Dough will be sticky, you also don't need to

knead the dough just mix and put a lid on it that doesn't fit tight (that just sits

on it) let the dough sit on the counter for 2 hrs. it will rise and then flatten out.

After the 2 hrs you can use it or store it in the refrigerator and use within 5 days.

(if you go over 2 hrs its ok it won't hurt it)

If your ready to use it dust the top of the dough with a handful of flour.

Take a chunk of dough about the size of a large grapefruit and quickly form a ball

by stretching the top over and tucking it in the bottom underneath. you may need a

little flour. I sit the ball on a pizza peel that is dusted with cornmeal or you can let

it raise on a cookie sheet with a little cornmeal. let it raise for 30-40 min about

double make a couple of slashes on top with a serrated knife right before put it in.

get your oven nice and hot and bake it for 30 min at 450 till light brown.

One more thing while the oven is heating up place a metal pan (I use the bottom of a

broiler pan) in the oven on the top rack so it gets nice and hot as soon as you put your bread in

quickly add 1 cup of water in the hot pan and shut the door to create steam. This helps make a crusty outside to the bread.

If you refrigerate it then dust the dough and take your chunk off and make your ball.

you need to let it rest on the counter a little longer because the dough is cold maybe

an hour.

So everyday you can take a chunk off and make a round loaf of bread or you can use it to make

a pizza just let the dough rest and warm up to room temp if cold then roll it out.

I usually double or triple the batch and use it all week I stick mine out in my addition room that is cold like a fridge in the winter.

good-luck its good and worth it.

Black Bean Hummus

2010-07-11T12:29:00.004-06:00

This is a really yummy Hummus recipe! It's really easy because we usually always have everything for it!

1 Clove garlic

1 Can black beans- drain and reserve 2 tlb of the liquid

2 tbl Lemon Juice

1 1/2 tbl Tahini

3/4 tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Paprika

1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Blend everything up in the food processor until smooth. We like to put ours in the fridge so it's cold. It's good with stacy's chips or any vegetables.

Peanut Butter Lover!!

2010-07-10T13:40:00.004-06:00

If you are a peanut butter Lover, you will be in love with this peanut butter cheesecake it is to die for. . My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Me and Heather searched out this recipe to make for father's day, and I think it will be a favorite from now on. . . . I got the recipe from pioneer woman. I was going to rewrite the whole thing but they have such an amazing tutorial so you can just read it from there! Click Here!!! Try it you'll love it!!

By -Jess

Cupcake Crazy!!!

2010-02-26T17:05:00.005-07:00

We had to make cupcakes for YW New Beginnings program

so we tried some new ones. Our theme was Frogs (fully Rely On God)

so we made some of those also. The tops were white icing with

green sugar and apple gummy rings cut in half with a junior mint in the

middle cut in half for the eyes.

Above ones were spice cake mix with one small can of pumpkin and 2 eggs mix

and cook the same as regularly.
These were the BEST

Lemon Lime Cakes with a Lemon Lime Drizzle

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 TBL. fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. lime zest

1 TBL. lemon zest

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 almond extract

1/2 cup plain yogurt

Drizzle:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

lemon and lime juice

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy scraping sides.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add lemon

lime juice and zests, (I added more) vanilla and almond extract

and yogurt. Mix just until combined and creamy(scraping). Slowly

add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. put in cupcake

papers 2/3 full. Bake at 350* for 15-17 min. or baked through.

Let cool combine powdered sugar and enough lemon and lime

juice to make a nice consistency for the drizzle. Drizzle over

cupcakes and garnish with lemon and lime zest.

Makes about 12 cakes.

CHOCOLATE LOVERS CUPCAKES

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven 350*. Line 12 cup muffin tin.

Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder

and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar

until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each,

then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in

two batches, alternating low speed, add four mixture in two batches,

alternating with sour cream beginning and ending with flour.

Pour batter into cups, filling each 1/3 full then we drizzled maybe

a 1 TBL. of sweetened condensed milk on top of the batter then

repeat with 1/3 more of batter makes them moist and pudding-y.

Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean, 20 to 25 min.

Cool in pan 5 min. transfer to wire rack to cool then spread

with icing or we just sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

1 white cake mix

1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate

1/2 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

2-3 drops red food coloring

mix cook in muffin tins for about 15-18 min don't overcook.

Make a frosting of powdered sugar and lemonade concentrate

to the right consistency, frost.

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T23:15:00.001-07:00

Sorry a little late but here's a good recipe for your file

Grandma Doll's Valentine Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

1 Cup shortening
2 Cups sugar
2 eggs
1 Cup sour cream
1 Tsp. vanilla
1/2 Tsp. soda
1/2 Tsp. salt
4 Tsp. baking powder
4 1/2 Cups flour
3/4 Cup nuts (optional)

Cream shortening and sugar,
Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla
Stir in remaining ingredients
Chill and roll out fairly thick
Cut in heart shapes

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes

* Stefani made these with Carly's kids, they were soft and yummy!

Homemade spinach pasta

2010-02-07T11:51:00.004-07:00

Homemade pasta isn't as daunting as it sounds! If you've got a few extra minutes this is a good way to throw in some more veggies to your dinner.

Spinach Pasta:
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs
1/4 c water
1/4 c cooked spinach, well drained and finely chopped

1. In a large bowl stir together 2 cups of the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl combine eggs, water, spinach and oil. Add to flour mixture, and mix well.
2. Sprinkle counter with remaining 3/4 c flour. Knead dough until smooth and elastic. (8-10 min)
Cover and let rest for 10 min.
3. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion out until about 1/16 in thick. (go thinner than you think, they plump up in the water.)
4. Cut with a pizza cutter to desired length and size.
5. Cook in boiling water for about 2-3 min.

We added ours to chicken noodle soup, which made it very tasty!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup:
2 chicken breasts cooked, chopped or shredded (reserve water for the soup)
2-3 carrots, celery stalks, and red potatoes chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 carton or 2-3 cans of chicken broth

Add noodles when vegetables are done!

Yummy Healthy Bran Flax Muffins

2010-02-06T21:27:00.007-07:00

Flaxseed Meal Facts.......high in fiber 4 grams per 2TBL serving,

as much fiber as 1 1/2 cups cooked oatmeal. Can help to reduce

LDL the bad cholesterol. You can substitute for shortening or

cooking oil at a ratio of 3 to 1 in baked goods. Example-1-1/2 cups

of flaxseed meal can replace 1/2 cup butter, marg. or oil in a recipe.

Its also full of omega 3s the plant version. But I have heard that

omega levels go down when cooked. You can sprinkle it on oatmeal

after its cooked. Baked foods with flaxseed tend to brown more rapidly.

They were very good and moist, But watch out thats a lot of FIBER.

1-1/2 c wheat flour

3/4 c flaxseed Meal

3/4 c Oat Bran

1c brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup honey and it was fine)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 c Carrots shredded

2 Apples shredded

1/2 raisins or crasins

1 cup chopped nuts

3/4 c milk

2 eggs beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together flour, flaxseed, bran, soda, b. powder, salt and cinnamon.

Stir in carrots, apples, raisins, nuts and honey. Combine milk, eggs,

and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until

moistened. DO NOT OVER MIX. Fill sprayed muffin tins 3/4 full

Bake 350* for 15-20 minutes watch them. makes about 20

you can let them cool and wrap and freeze them.

Delicious Soup!

2010-01-26T17:33:00.001-07:00

Italian White Bean, Spinach and Turkey soup

Ingredients
2 TBS olive oil
1 LB ground turkey
4-5 garlic cloves minced
1 med. yellow onion chopped
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp. dried
1 tsp. fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp. dried
1-2 tsp. fresh ginger grated
2 cans cannellini or great northern white beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken stock
10-12 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1) In a medium stock pot, heat olive oil. Saute` onion, garlic and ginger. Add ground turkey season with salt and pepper, break into small pieces and brown.

2) add beans, thyme, rosemary and stock. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 mins. Mix in chopped spinach and simmer 5 more mins. Adjust seasonings to taste, I added more ginger. Serve with crusty bread.

Makes 4-6 servings

Chicken Pesto with Spaghetti

2010-01-26T15:50:00.004-07:00

Super easy and can easily be adjusted to any number of servings

Whole wheat Spaghetti amounts per servings

1-Chicken cutlet per person

Salt and Pepper to taste

pesto sauce in a jar enough to cover pasta

Shredded Parmesan to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. 2. Meanwhile, place a greased sauté or grill pan over medium heat. 3. Season thawed chicken with salt and pepper. When pan is hot, gently lay chicken in middle of pan. Cook approximately 3 minutes per side, or until the meat in the thickest part of the cutlet is not pink. Let rest for a minute; slice crosswise. 4. Drain spaghetti reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water. 5. Toss spaghetti with chicken, pesto and enough cooking water so that the pesto spreads evenly over the noodles. Sprinkle Parmesan on top.

we added steamed chopped broccoli and sun dried tomatoes.

Creamy Oatmeal

2010-01-25T08:32:00.003-07:00

Oatmeal (with sweet potato puree or canned pumpkin)
from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld

1 cup nonfat milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sweet potato or pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup oats
2 tsp peanut butter
dried fruits and nuts

Bring to gentle boil milk, sugar, sweet potato or pumpkin, and vanilla. Add oats and simmer 2-3 min. until it thickens and oats become soft. Stir in peanut butter.

If you love oatmeal this is a great recipe. We didn't put in the peanut butter but we did put craisins in and it was delicious. Very creamy and tasty! Holly even loved it!

Pumpkin Bars

2009-10-21T13:23:00.002-06:00

As good as Old Grist Mill (do I dare say...?)

4 eggs
1 2/3 c sugar
1 c vegetable oil (I used applesauce)
15 oz can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Mix eggs, sugar, oil (or applesauce) and pumpkin together. Sift dry ingredients together and add to pumpkin mixture. Mix well. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet (with sides) and bake at 350 for 25 mins or until done. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Wait to frost until it cools.

4-6 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter/margarine
1 tsp vanilla
2 c powdered sugar

Blend until smooth.

Best ever Birthday cake!

2009-09-29T12:02:00.002-06:00

From Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook (yellow cake pg. 186)

1 box yellow cake mix (18 oz) - I used strawberry and it was really good!
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
2 tbls vegetable oil
3 eggs
6 ounces nonfat lemon, banana or vanilla yogurt (little less than a cup) -any kind really

Preheat oven to 350, coat 9X13 baking pan with spray/flour.

In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Beat until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Pour the batter into cake pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. About 20 min. -I think I baked mine a lot longer, just keep an eye on it I guess!

We made this for Holly's birthday. It was sooooo moist! The best birthday cake I've ever had. I'll never go back!

Chicken Salad Pitas

2009-09-29T11:55:00.002-06:00

From Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious Cookbook Chicken salad (pg. 84)

2 large eggs hard boiled

2-3 pieces cooked chicken (boiled, BBQ'd, or rotisserie)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1-2 tbs mayonnaise

2 stalks celery finely chopped

1/2 cup cauliflower puree

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1/2 cup grapes, coarsley chopped

Chop hard boiled egg whites up, discarding the yolk. Chop up chicken into bite size pieces. Combine eggs and chicken into a bowl and add seasonings. Depending upon how much chicken you used add cauliflower, yogurt and mayo. (Add in small amounts, so its not too wet, its just supposed to moisten everything up) Mix in celery and grapes. Serve on pita bread with lettuce.

My friend and I made this one day for lunch, and thought it was very delicious!

Greek Dip (hummus)

2009-09-29T11:28:00.003-06:00

Really, really good hummus! Recipe from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook

1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned chopped artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder

In a food processor, process the chickpeas until chopped. Add the artichoke hearts and remaining ingredients until pureed.

Serve with any vegetables (carrots, celery, bell peppers) or pita chips or baked torillas cut in strips.

Very delicious and healthy! I made this for a girls night and it was a big hit!

PEACH CAKE

2009-09-18T13:59:00.005-06:00

All thumbs were up on this dessert. We made it from our peaches

that are just falling off the tree. We also canned about 30 qts. for the winter

Serve this peach cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a delicious dessert.

Ingredients:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 to 4 large peaches, about 1 1/2 pounds, peeled, pitted, thinly sliced

Topping:

. 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

. 4 tablespoons brown sugar

. 3 tablespoons butter

. 1 scant teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

Butter and flour a 9-inch spring form pan. Heat oven to 350°.

In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat 10 tablespoons butter and the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl combine the 1 2/3 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly beat the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times. Spread/pat the batter into the prepared pan. Slice the peaches and arrange over the batter, pressing lightly, in a concentric circle, overlapping as needed.

Combine the topping ingredients with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Sprinkle the crumbs over the peaches. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until golden brown and peaches are tender and bubbly.

I think you could use apples or berries as a substitute, would be good!

CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

2009-09-18T13:55:00.002-06:00

Was e-mailed this recipe from Stefani sounds like a good fall one

Orange Chocolate Cake

1 devils food cake mix

8 oz. lowfat plain yogurt

1/2 c. orange juice

2 egg whites

2 T. cooking oil

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 c. water

Grease a fluted pan and dust with unsweetened cocoa. In large bowl, mix cake mix, yogurt, 1/2 cup orange juice, egg and egg whites, oil, cinnamon and water. Beat on low for 4 minutes. Pour into pan. Bake @ 350 for 40 - 50 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove and invert into serving platter. Drizzle chocolate and orange icing over.

Chocolate icing: combine 1/2 c powdered sugar, 1 T. cocoa, 2 t. orange juice and 1/4 t. vanilla

Orange icing: combine 1/2 c powdered sugar, 1 t. orange juice and 1/4 t. vanilla

SUMMER GARDEN VEGGIES

2009-08-04T21:33:00.001-06:00

The garden is producing its nice to have fresh veggies to eat. The farmers market

calls it field to fork. John's favorite lunch in the summer grilled cheese with fresh
tomato and cucumbers. We also made salsa the other day with our jalepeno
peppers and canned tomatoes from last years garden. Scrambled eggs and zucchini
are yum! The fruit trees haven't done so well one apple tree got to heavy and broke,
the other one has worms in them (guess we should spray). We had to fight the birds
for the cherries. A squirrel got to our apricots. And Raccoons are in the grape vines.
Learn something new every year.
GARDEN FRESH
Wish I could claim the Bread Great Harvest High five fiber.

Pumpkin Cookies moist, delicious and Low in Fat

2009-06-29T10:11:00.004-06:00

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar(I used brown and a little less)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups canned pumkin

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray cookie sheet with pam or use parchment

In large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and

beat until light, beat in the pumpkin and buttermilk

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and beat into

pumpkin mixture.

Drop the batter by spoonfuls onto the prepared pan, put them close they don't

spread much. Bake for about 12 min. or until very lightly golden on edges.

Icing:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 TBL butter

3/4 tsp vanilla

2 TBL nonfat milk

3/4 cup powdered sugar

In microwave-proof bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter and milk. Microwave for about

20 seconds, until sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and

beat to combine.

Use a tsp. of icing on top of each cookie while warm.

Makes 36 cookies

By Kim

Artichoke Pesto Spread

2009-06-02T22:35:00.005-06:00

Here Jeremy a recipe for you!

This picture is from the wedding they were yummy

We made this recipe at my niece Jolene' s wedding and served it

on toasted sliced baguettes. I had requests for the recipe so here you go.

1-8 oz. frozen artichoke hearts (I used the kind in a jar)

1-cup fresh flat leaf parsley packed down

1/2 cup toasted walnuts chopped

1-lemon, zested and juiced

2-cloves garlic

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup olive oil-drizzle in slowly

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

mix all ingredients accept last 2 ingredients in food processor

scraping sides down. Drizzle in olive oil slowly. Fold parmesan cheese in.

Chill serve on sliced toasted baguettes or crackers

We also made Gorgonzola and Cream Cheese balls

12 oz cream cheese at room temp.(use light or fat free)

1 cup gorgonzola cheese crumbled

1/4 c finely minced celery

2 tbl. finely minced onion(I used purple)

1/4 c. finely minced flat leaf parsley

4 tsp. chives minced

salt and pepper to taste and a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper.

Mix all ingredients well, you can either make one big ball or like I did

small mini ones. then roll them in finely chopped walnuts. To make

them easier to take we stuck a pretzel stick in them and sat them on a cracker

they stick better if you don't roll the nuts on the bottom. They were a real hit.

Kim

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

2009-05-12T17:39:00.006-06:00

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup boiling water
2 cups quick oats
1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 or 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350.

Put water on to boil.

Mix butter, brown & white sugars and vanilla thoroughly. Add in flour and salt. Mix.

Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and mix into dough.

Mix in oats, white chocolate and cranberries.

The dough will be thick and not gooey. Form into 1 1/2″ balls and put on lightly greased cookie sheet (I prefer to use parchment paper).

Bake for 9-11 minutes.

McCALL SALAD

2009-04-21T21:36:00.004-06:00

Serves 8-10

1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped (if its small use it all)

1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped

2 cups shredded mozzarella

2 lb. genoa salami, thinly sliced and stripped

(we made this and used deli sliced ham thinly stripped

you could use turkey or chicken as well)

2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained

1/2 c. diced tomatoes

1 bunch fresh basil, chopped

Dressing:

1 tsp. mustard(I used spicy brown)

1/2 c red wine vinegar

1- 1 1/2 cups olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Toss ingredients with dressing serve immediatly

By Rebekah

Pineapple upside down cake

2009-04-21T21:11:00.007-06:00

A request for a family favorite(The person making a request needs

to add a edible post:) BEN!

1 box cake mix I like to use pineapple flavored

I think Duncan Hines makes it but if not you

can use a yellow butter cake mix

1 can sliced pineapple-drained

1 cube butter(I have cut the butter down before but original

is one cube)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts walnuts, almonds or pecans are all good

mar-chino cherries are optional

directions: Make cake mix according to package directions, changing

water for pineapple juice adding water to make enough

(use the juice from your drained pineapple)

melt butter and pour in 9x13 or two round pans or even a large

cast iron skillet.

Add brown sugar and nuts.

Add pineapple slices with cherry in middle of slice.

Pour prepared cake mix over all.

Bake in oven according to cake mix directions.

Let cool 5 min. loosen sides of cake place cake platter or

whatever will fit over it on top of cake and quickly flip it over

be careful hold on and don't burn yourself.

Serve with cool whip, whip cream or ice cream. YUM YUM

posted by Kim

ENGLISH MUFFIN BREAD

2009-04-06T21:40:00.000-06:00

OK finally something new. Recently I helped the young women learn how to make bread. We did a white bread
and an english muffin bread. It was really easy and good.
Good especially for toast! Kim

400*-25min.
yields 2 loaves

Ingredients: 6 cups flour
2 pkg. yeast or 1 1/2 Tbls.
1/4 tsp. baking powder

mix 3 cups of the flour and the yeast, and soda set aside

mix following ingredients in a sauce pan, heat and stir just till warm
(really barely)
2 cups milk(good way to use up powdered milk)
1/2 cup water
1 Tbl. sugar
1 tsp. salt
Stir flour mixture and milk mixture(make sure milk isn't to hot) together with a wooden spoon

Stir in remaining 3 cups of flour, you may need to use your hands to mix in last bit of flour.

Divide dough in half. Place in two greased pans that have been sprinkled with cornmeal.(4x8 pan)
Sprinkle cornmeal on tops of loaves.

Let rise until double (about 45 min.)

Bake in 400* oven or until golden brown. Immediatly remove from pans and cool on wire wracks.

Yummy hope you try it. Kim

Banana Split Cake

2009-02-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

So this is the first time I'm posting--Thanks for the invite! I love to cook and I love new recipes.
We had Stella's 1st birthday party tonight and I made this cake. I'm just putting the link, since it's from the web anyway. Oh my word it was delicious! Everyone who came, which was about 15 people of all different tastes raved! I would put a picture of the actual one I made, but it looked exactly like this, but not as good of lighting. I'm not kidding . . .it turned out great. I even put the strawberries in the middle and then gave everyone a half a strawberry on their plate with ice cream when I served it. Cute and tasty.

So, enjoy! It is a bit labor intensive, but worth it.

Banana Split Cake from verybestbaking.com.

Jodi Made it also, for Rebekah's birthday it was SO Yummy! Loved it!

Edited to show my version of the cake. I got the pictures from Stella's birthday uploaded, so thought I would prove it to you, it looked just as good, right?

And here's a picture of the birthday girl. She had a yellow cake from a mix to smash around. But I did try to make it look cute. For fun and some simple decorating ideas go to familyfun.go.com.

Mexican Monkey Cake

2009-02-04T14:29:00.001-07:00

Farmgirl's Mexican Monkey Cake
Makes One 8-Inch Square Cake

1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick/4 ounces) butter, softened (or 1/2 cup trans-fat free margarine, such as Earth Balance)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1-1/4 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (they cannot be too ripe)
2 Tablespoons yogurt or sour cream
1 Tablespoon milk
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used half wheat flour)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 if using a glass pan such as Pyrex). Grease an 8"x8"x2" baking pan. In a small bowl, combine chocolate chips, brown sugar, walnuts (if desired), and cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and egg with an electric mixer until fluffy (I use a hand held mixer). Add bananas, yogurt, and milk, and mix well. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt just until blended.

Spread slightly more than half of the batter in the pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon streusel. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the streusel and then top with the rest of the streusel. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This cake tastes even better the next day, and it freezes beautifully. You can freeze the cake whole or cut it into pieces, wrap them tightly in plastic, and place them in a zipper freezer bag. Defrost at room temperature--or in the microwave if you are being attacked by The Chocolate Force.

Posted by Kim from Farmgirlfare.com

Yummy Mac and Cheese

2009-01-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

1lb. large elbow Maccaroni
1 large block of Sharp Chedder Cheese
2 Eggs
3 cups Milk
1/2 stick of Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

*Cook the maccaroni and pour into a 9x13 pan
*Cut the cheese into small cubes and place all throughout the noodles in the pan (press some into the noodles as well so they are evenly placed)
*Do the same with the butter, placing it evenly throughout the noodles
*Beat the eggs and add the milk, then pour it over the noodles and cheese
*Bake for 45 min. at 350

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

2009-01-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

a good way to use your wheat

1 cup whole wheat
1 cup milk
mix in blender for 3-5 minutes
then add: 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil (you can substitute 1/2 cup applesauce for oil)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 TBL. baking powder
mix well adjusting milk to desired thickness. Cook on hot sprayed griddle.
In the summer I have added grated zucchini. Yum!

Kim

No-Knead Bread

2009-01-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

No-Knead Bread from NewYork City's Sullivan Street Bakery

Makes one 1 1/2-pound loaf of crusty outside soft inside bread

ingredients:
3 cups all-pupose or bread flour, plus more for
work surface
1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp. salt
Olive oil, as needed

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups
water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky.
Coat a second large bowl with olive oil(or spray with pam).
Transfer dough to oiled bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap.
Let dough rest at least 12 hours, but preferably up to 18, in a room
about 70 degrees in temp. When surface is dotted with bubbles, dough
is ready.

2. Lightly flour work surface. Place dough on work surface and sprinkle
with more flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice. Loosely
cover with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 min.

3. Sprinkle just enough flour over work surface and your fingers to
keep dough from sticking; quickly and gently shape dough into a ball.
Generously coat a cotton towel(not terry cloth) with flour, cornmeal, or
wheat bran. Place dough seam side down on towel and dust with more
flour, cornmeal, or wheat bran. Cover with a second cotton towel and
let rise until it has more than doubled in size and does not readily spring
back when poked with a finger, about 2 hrs.

4. After about 1 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place a 6-8 qt
heavy covered pot, such as cast-iron or Pyrex(dutch ovens work great),
in oven as it heats. When dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot
from oven. Remove top towel from dough and slide your hand under the
bottom towel; turn dough over into pot seam side up.
Shake pan once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will
straighten out as it bakes. Cover, and bake 30 min. Uncover, and
continue baking until browned, 15 to 30 min. Cool on a wire rack.

We've tried this recipe and it works great. You can also use part wheat
flour or change it up using sunflower, sesame or poppy seeds on top.
Kim

BERRY PUDDING CAKES

2009-01-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

PREP: TIME 20 MINUTES BAKE: TIME 20 MINUTES OVEN 400*F

Nonstick cooking spray
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tspl vanilla
Dash of salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 cups fresh or frozen berries(such as raspberries
blueberries and/or sliced strawberries)
2 tsp. powdered sugar (optional)

Posted By Kim
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat six 6-ounce
individual quiche or ramikin dishes with nonstick spray.
Arrange in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside. In a
medium bowl, combine eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla,
and salt; whisk until foamy; whisk in milk until combined.
Add flour and baking powder; whisk until smooth.
2. Divide berries among prepared dishes. Pour batter
over berries. (Batter will not cover berries completely)
Bake about 20 min. or until puffed and lightly browned.
Serve warm. If desired sift powder sugar over each serving.
Makes six.

Another Quick and easy recipe

Round Steak with Mushroom-Onion Sauce

2009-01-25T20:23:00.003-07:00

reposted with pictures turns out very good and easy to do...we were all to

hungry on sunday and we ate it without taking a final picture.

SLOW COOKER

2 lbs. bonelss beef round steak
cut 3/4 inch thick
1 TBL cooking oil or pam coat pan
2 medium onions, sliced
3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 12-ounce jar beef gravy
1 envelope mushroom gravy mix

1. Trim fat from meat. Cut into 8 serving-size pieces.Lightly
salt and pepper them.
In a large skillet, brown meat, half at a time, in hot
oil over medium heat. Remove from pan and and set aside.
(at this point I made my own gravy with pan drippings 2 tbls.
flour and about 2-3 cups beef broth) instead of using the
gravy mixes.

2. Place onions in a 4 quart slow cooker. Add meat and mushrooms.
In a small bowl, (if using gravy mixes) stir together gravy mixes.
Pour over mixture in cooker or pour the gravy from the pan you made
into the cooker.

3. Cover; cook on low-heating for 8-10 hours or on high-heat setting
for 4-5 hours. Makes 8 servings.

Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh green beans.
We cooked this dinner for Sunday dinner and it was good and easy

From Better Homes and Gardens Quick and Easy recipes.

6 weeks ALL BRAN muffins

2009-01-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

You can have hot muffins every morning with this recipe
last for 6 weeks in the fridge

2 cups 100% All Bran Cereal
2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups butter or margarine(3 cubes)
3 cups sugar (can use half as honey)
4 eggs, beaten
1 qt buttermilk
5 cups flour
3 tsp salt
5 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
4 cups All Bran
1 cup each
raisins, craisins, nuts, all are optional

Mix first 2 things let stand. Cream butter sugar and eggs. Stir in buttermilk.
Add bran and water mixture, stir. Add flour, salt, soda, Mix. Add All Bran
and raisins and nuts if desired gently stir. Store in tight container if fridge. When
your ready for some spoon into sprayed muffin tins. Bake at 400* for 20min. or till done.
DO NOT MIX AFTER PLACING IN CONTAINER.

recipe could be cut in half if desired

Kim

Orange Chicken

2009-01-06T13:05:00.001-07:00

*Oil for frying
*2 lbs chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
*1 cup flour
*1/2 teaspoon pepper
*2 teaspoons salt

(combine last three ingredients and dredge chicken pieces in it.)

Make Batter:

*2 cups of flour
*2 teaspoons baking powder
*2 teaspoons sugar
*1 teaspoon salt
*2 cups iced water

(combine all ingredients in mixing bowl. Set your bowl onto another bowl with ice in it to keep batter cold.)

Heat oil on medium, coat dredged chicken pieces with batter, fry in oil until golden brown.

Sauce:

*2 cloves minced garlic (sautee')
*Add a cup of water
*2 cups organge juice
*1 cup brown sugar
*1/2 cup ketchup
*2 chicken bullion cubes
*1/4 teaspoon black pepper

(simmer above ingredients)

Meanwhile, dissolve 2 tablespoons cornstarch in 3 tablespoons cold water. Slowly add to sauce, stiring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and add orange zest from one orange. Add 1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes if desired.

Serve sauce over chicken pieces.

SO SO SO delicious! Restaurant quality orange chicken!

Stefani

Ham Fried Rice

2009-01-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

Fried Rice with Ham

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

*2 eggs
*1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
*2 Teaspoons soy sauce
*Salt and Pepper to taste
*Half an Onion
*80z cubed, cooked ham (can use chicken or turkey)
*1 green onion
*6 Tablespoons oil
*1/2 cup peas and carrots (fresh or frozen)
*4 cups cold cooked rice

Directions:

Lightly beat the eggs with a half teaspoon each of the oyster sauce and soy sauce. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste, set aside.

Peel and dice the onion. Dice ham and green onion.

Heat a wok or frying pan on med-high to high heat. When the pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons oil and add the eggs and scramble lightly. Remove from pan. Clean pan.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan or wok. When oil is hot, add the onion and stirfry briefly. Then add ham and peas and carrots. Stir-fry and remove from pan. Clean pan.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan or wok. Reduce the heat to medium and add the rice stiring with chop sticks to break up clumps. Stir in remainder of soy sauce and oyster sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the cooked meat and vegtables back into the pan and stir in the scrambled egg and heat through. Add green onion. Serve hot.

Makes: 4-6 servings.

Stefani

(Recipe found at about.com)

Persimmon Bread

2008-12-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

painting by Kim

4 cups persimmons(cooking type)
1 cup oil
4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 cups flour
3 tsp. soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt and allspice
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix sugar, oil and persimmon in large bowl stir in vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture
Then add nuts. Grease and flour bundt pan or loaf pans. Bake 1 hr. and 45 min. 350 degrees until pick comes clean.

I haven't made this for awhile and I'm questioning the time that sounds too long. but I'll try it.
My Dad grows persimmons and pomigranits so we painted some pictures for him for Christmas. Jodi did the artichoke
Kim did the persimmons and Stefani is doing a pomegranate.

Artichoke Dip

2008-12-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

painting by jodi

1 cup Mayo
1 8oz. pkg. Cream Cheese
1 bag of Parmesean Cheese
1 4oz. can Diced Green Chilies
1 can Artichoke Hearts (in water)

*Dice artichoke hearts
*Combine everything with 1/2 the bag of parmesean cheese in a small baking dish
*Sprinkle the rest of the parmesean cheese on top and bake @ 350 for 30-40 min.

(Serve with crackers, chips, or bread)

TORTILLA SOUP

2008-12-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

4-Tbls. Oil
1-medium onion chopped
4-large cloves garlic roughly chopped
2-jalepenos, seeded sliced or diced
1 Tbls. dried oregano
1-tsp. Cumin
1-28 oz. Can chopped tomatoes
3-cups shredded chicken (we used a rotisserie chicken)
few dashes Worcestershire sauce
3-4 cups chicken stock
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn
1-lime
Top with:
1/2-cup cooked rice for each serving
sour cream, avocado and cilantro for garnish

Heat oil over medium heat add chopped onion, sauté for 1-2 min. Add garlic and jalapeno sweat until soft and translucent. Add spices and cook 1-2 min until fragrant. Add tomatoes, chicken, worcestershire sauce and stock, add beans and corn, bring to simmer and cook 20 min. Cut lime in 1/2 squeeze lime juice and add lime halves. (remove limes if you have leftovers)

Put 1/2 cup of rice in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup on top and garnish.

If you've ever had Cafe Rio's Tortilla Soup this is very similar and is made often in our house. The heat can be adjusted by the peppers.

Pumpkin muffins

2008-12-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

1 small can pumpkin
1 cake spice cake mix
2 eggs

mix all ingredients until there are no lumps. spoon into
sprayed muffin tins. Bake 350 for 12-15 min. or till done.

you can add chocolate chips or nuts. Recipe can be made
with other flavors of cake mix like chocolate or yellow etc.

Cream of Tomato Basil Soup

2008-12-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

2 (28oz) cans whole tomatoes (reserve juice)
2 Tbls. Brown sugar
4 Tbls. Butter
2 Tbls. Tomato paste
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 Tbls. Flour
2 cans chicken stock
2 Red Bell peppers (roasted)- fresh or in a jar
1 cup pesto
1 ½ cups half and half

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil. Squeeze out seeds and arrange tomatoes on baking sheet. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake until liquid is evaporated and tomatoes caramelize (about 30 min). Heat butter, onion, and tomato paste. Saute until onions soften. Add flour and cook for 1 min. Gradually add chicken stock and reserved tomato liquid. Bring to a boil. Puree tomatoes and peppers in blender until smooth. (Add a little of the liquid from the pot to help the blending process) Return to stove top and simmer for 15 min. Five min. before serving add pesto and half and half.

Very delicious when served with grilled cheese, bacon and granny smith apple sandwiches on sourdough bread!

Russian Chicken

2008-12-06T12:47:00.001-07:00

So easy and SO good...

1 cup russian bottled dressing
1 cup apricot jam
1 packet lipton onion soup mix

Combine in a bowl and pour over four pieces of chicken in 9x13 pan bake at 400 until chicken is cooked through.

Serve over rice!

The last time we made this we threw in junks of onion, bell peppers, carrots and pineapple and it made it sort of a sweet and sour dish.

(This recipe is so easy and it is by far one of my favorite things to make!)

Chipotle's Spicy Guacamole

2008-12-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

1 large ripe avocado

2 tsp. fresh lime juice

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 large serrano chilies seeded, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

using fork, mash avocado with lime juice in small bowl. Add cilantro, chopped onion

chopped garlic, serrano chilies and salt. stir to combine Makes one cup.

Skillet Chicken Parmigiana

2008-12-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

1/4 cup olive or veg. oil 4 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 cup chopped onions 1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 egg, beaten

1 can (28oz.) crushed or chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tsp. sugar 2 tlbs. grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1. In 3-quart saucepan, heat 2 tbls of the oil over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic in oil 2 minutes,

stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally.

2. Between sheets of waxed paper, flatten chicken to 1/4 inch thickness. In shallow dish, mix bread crumbs and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Dip chicken into egg, then coat with bread crumb mixture.

3. In 12 inch skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Cook chicken in oil 10 to 15 min, turning once, until no longer pink in center. Pour tomato sauce around chicken skillet. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over chicken; cover and heat until melted. Sprinkle with 2 tbls Parmesan cheese just before serving.

4 servings

Tortellini and Zucchini Soup

2008-12-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large carrots, finely chopped
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 14-ounce cans vegetable broth
2 medium zucchini, diced
9 ounces (about 2 cups) fresh or frozen tortellini, preferably spinach-&-cheese
4 plum tomatoes, diced or can of chopped or stewed tomatoes
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add carrots and onion; stir, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and just beginning to brown, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and rosemary and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Stir in broth and zucchini; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add tortellini and tomatoes and simmer until the tortellini are plump and the tomatoes are beginning to break down, 6 to 10 minutes. Stir vinegar into the hot soup just before serving.

This is a very yummy soup but we added garbanzo beans which was very good!