Brownie Sundae

This is one of my favorite desserts. My mom actually made up the brownie recipe and its a family favorite now.

Brownies

1 c. butter
3 T. baking cocoa
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter. Add baking cocoa and sugar and mix. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add flour and mix. Spray 13x9 in. pan and pour batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Quick Vanilla Ice Cream

1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 2/3 c. half and half
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 T. vanilla

Place sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed unitl light and fluffy about 2-3 minutes. Add half and half, whipping cream, and vanilla until combined. Pour into ice cream maker and mix.

Fudge Sauce

1 c. light cream or evaporated milk
2 c. sugar
4 sq. unsweetened chocolate
2 T. butter
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla

Combine everything in a 2 quart bowl, except vanilla, and microwave for 3 minutes. Stir. Microwave 3 more minutes. Blend in blender until smooth and add vanilla.

Spudnuts

I made these doughnuts tonight for my family, they are all here visiting. They are an old family favorite and over the years I feel like I have perfected the recipe. I will tell a few of my secrets to end up with fabulous doughnutsMix the following:

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup mashed potatoes (I use instant potatoes and they work great!)

Dissolve 1 1/2 T. yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add 1 more cup warm water to mixture along with the yeast mixture. Add 3 eggs and 1 tsp. lemon juice and mix. Add 7 cups flour, 3/4 cup powdered milk and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Knead like bread. Don't add any extra flour. You want the dough to be sticky. Let dough raise until double in size. Knead down and let raise until double again. Take the time to let the dough raise twice. Knead down and roll out and cut. After you roll them out and let them raise until at least double in size. Again this is important. It is what makes your doughnuts light and fluffy.

I use an electric frying pan to cook my doughnuts. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Cook until golden and then turn and cook the other side. Take out of oil onto a cooling rack covered with paper towels. While they are still hot dip in whatever kind of frosting or glaze that you like. We do maple and just plain sugar. They are delicious.

Breakfast Ring

We had a Primary Presidency brunch a while back and someone made this and I thought it was very tasty.

2 pks of refrigerated crescent rolls

1 lb breakfast sausage -cooked and fat drained

5-6 eggs beaten

1-2 cups shredded cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 pkg. shredded potatoes with dice onions and green peppers

Use a pizza pan. Take triangles from crescent roll and overlap like a sunflower or sea star. Mix ingredients together and spoon onto the crescent roll. Pull points over the mixture. Bake 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Feeds 8-12

Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles

I have tried many recipes for this and haven't always been impressed but I loved this one, it was very good. I found this recipe on the sister's cafe blog.

1 lb whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
½ Cup smooth peanut butter
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
¼ Cup soy sauce

2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 scant teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 Cup hot water
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ Cup finely chopped white onion
½ Cup finely chopped red or orange bell pepper
2½ - 3 Cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
¼ Cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Cook chicken and shred.
Place garlic and ginger in food processor until well chopped. Add peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Pulse until well combined and slowly add hot water. Set aside. If you don't have a food processor or the right attachment for it then the blender works great too.
Place olive oil in hot skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in chicken breast, cilantro and salt. Stir until heated through.
Add sauce and chicken mixture to noodles. Toss to coat and garnish with peanuts and sesame seeds if desired.

Creamy Artichoke Chicken

I found this recipe on the sister's cafe blog.

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 can chicken broth

1/2lb fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 T butter

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 c flour

1/4 c butter

1-2 cloves of garlic

2 T cooking sherry (the recipe says you can substitue apple juice)

1 (14oz) can marinated artichoke hearts

1/2 c parmesan cheese

3/4 c half and half

Saute mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter until golden brown. Set aside. Slice chicken breasts in two. Simmer in chicken broth for 20 minutes. Remove from broth, reserving 3/4 cup broth. Arrange chicken in a large casserole dish. Top with artichokes and mushroom; set aside. melt 1/4 cup butter with 1-2 cloves of garlic and stir in flour, salt, pepper, broth and half and half. Cook until thick. blend in cheese, cooking sherry and rosemary. Pour over chicken. Cover and bake at 325 for 30 minutes.

Rumbi Island Easy Mango Chicken and Rice

I found this recipe on the sister's cafe blog.

2-3 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2-3 cups mango salsa

2 cups Basmati rice or jasmine

1 can coconut milk

Start rice in the rice cooker with coconut milk and the rest water. Cook chicken and shred.

Heat corn, beans and salsa. Add chicken. Serve over rice. Super yummy.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Janet and I have been trying a bunch of new recipes this past week and we have more to try. It has been fun and we have liked all of them and loved some of them. I got this off of the blog http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/ and all of us really liked it.

1 1/2 lbs. pork or chicken, cooked and shredded ( I used one of those pork roasts from Costco and cooked it in my crock pot)
Sauce:
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice
1 T. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 large can green enchilada sauce (you might have some left over but you can freeze it for next time)
mozzarella cheese, shredded
cheddar cheese, shredded
flour tortillas

Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded pork or chicken. Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes. (I didn't leave it that long but it was fine)
Lightly spray your pan with non-stick baking spray. Pour green enchilada sauce into pans to coat the bottom. Fill tortillas with shredded meat and some of both cheeses. Roll and place in pan.
Pour however much sauce you want over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle cheese on top, however much you want. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees until it is bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Enjoy!

Orange Chicken

Oh man I loved this recipe. Mom and I couldnt stop eating it!

2 pieces chicken, cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes
2 eggs beaten
3/4 c. corn starch
1 c panko breadcrumbs
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper

Sauce
1 1/2 c. water
1/4 c. orange juice
1/3 c. rice vinegar
2 1/2 T. soy sauce
1 c. brown sugar
1 T orange zest
1/2 t. ginger root, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t. crushed red pepper
3 T. corn starch
1/4 c. water

combine corn starch, salt, and pepper. Prepare a bowl with beaten eggs, panko breadcrumbs, and another with the seasoned corn starch. Dip chicken in the egg mixture, dredge in the corn starch, then again in the eggs, and finally in the panko breadcrumbs. Heat a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil and cook chicken.

In a saucepan, combine the 1 1/2 c. water, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Combine the corn starch and 1/4 c. of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir the corn starch into the sauce and bring it to a boil. Once it has thickened pour the sauce over the chicken. We made rice to go with our orange chicken.

Lemon Raspberry Cake

Mom and I made this last night and it was so good. I found a recipe on The Pioneer Womens blog but we made a lot of changes.


1-½ cup Flour
3 Tablespoons Corn Starch
½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
1-½ cup Sugar
3 whole Large Eggs
½ cups Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Lemon Extract
1 Lemon Zest

Icing
½ pounds Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
2 sticks Unsalted Butter
1-½ pound Powdered Sugar, Sifted
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 pound Raspberries

Be sure to use a cake pan that’s at least 2 inches deep! Before baking, the batter should not fill the pan more than halfway.

Cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and lemon extract and mix until combined. Add lemon zest and mix. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch and mix on low speed until just barely combined.

Pour into greased 8-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until done. Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.

Mash raspberries and sprinkle with 4 tablespoons sugar. Stir together and let sit.

For the icing combine cream cheese, 2 sticks butter, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix until very light and fluffy. (we used all of the frosting and thought it was too much so i would suggest making half of what the recipe calls for.

Slice cake in half through the middle. Spread raspberries evenly over each half (cut side up).

Use a little less than 1/3 of the icing to spread over the top of the strawberries on the bottom layer. Place the second layer on top. Add half of the remaining icing to the top spreading evenly, then spread the remaining 1/3 cup around the sides.

Enjoy!

Avocado Chicken Pitas

Got this recipe out of our new Ward Cookbook. Its one of my good friend's recipe.

4 whole pitas

2 tbsp olive oil

2 medium ripe avocado, pitted and peeled

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1-2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded

1 medium tomato

2 cups Monterey jack cheese

Brush one side of pita with oil and bake 12-15 minutes at 350. Mash the avocado with lemon juice and garlic powder. Spread on pitas and layer with remaining toppings. Bake for 5-6 minutes or until cheese is melted.

It was very yummy and you can put whatever you like on it. For the kids I just put cheese and pepperoni on theres and they loved it.

Fiesta Chicken Pasta

Sorry, the picture isn't very good. I forgot until I was putting it away. It was very yummy.

1 pkg Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch dip mix
½ c. oil
½ c. vinegar

1 lb cooked, shredded chicken (about 1 ½ to 2 breasts)
3/4 box garden rotini
1 can black beans
1 can black olives, halved
2 -3 tomatoes, chopped
Frozen corn

Mix dressing mix, oil, and vinegar in small bowl and set aside. Combine chicken, cooked pasta, beans, olives, and tomatoes in large bowl. Add dressing and frozen corn about 20 minutes before serving. Be sure to toss again just before serving, as the dressing will seep to the bottom.