Corn Salsa

I got this recipe from a friend of mine a couple of years ago and it is one of my favorites. I changed it up to reduce the sodium and I also like to add more tomatoes than it originally called for.

1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups corn ( I had leftover corn on the cob and used that once it was divine)
2 large tomatoes diced
1/2 package Dry Italian Dressing seasoning (You can use the whole package if you want more flavor. I thought half of package was plenty but I am also on a low sodium diet.)
1 bunch green onions finely sliced
1 bunch cilantro chopped
2 avocadoes diced
2-3 tablespoons lime juice (to taste)


Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Then add the diced avocados and squirt with the lime juice and mix together! The lime juice helps the avocado to not brown and so then it will last for more than one day and it tastes great. Enjoy!


I had to include 2 pictures becuase my daughter wanted me to post a picture of her eating the yummy salsa!

Peach Cobbler Bread

This is peach season at our house and we love peaches. I never thought of peaches in bread until I talked to my daughter who works at a bakery and they sell peach cobbler bread. I decided to try it and found a recipe on www.allrecipes.com. I of course made some adjustments and we are really happy with another way to use our peaches.

1/3 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup peach puree
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups diced peaches
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:
2 T. chopped pecans(I used walnuts and it tasted great)
2 T. brown sugar

In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well. Mix in the peach puree, diced peaches and vanilla. Then add the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Mix until blended.

Pour into a 9x5x3 inch bread pan. This makes a large loaf. Mix the topping and sprinkle on the top. Bake in a preheated oven set at 350 for about 45-50 minutes. I used a toothpick to make sure it was done. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

I think that you could make this with canned peaches and it would still be great. You might want to decrease your sugar a little if you did that.

Del's Tacos

So sorry this is so late in the day but today was just a crazy day. I love these tacos and my family has been eating them forever! Hope you enjoy!

3/4 lb ground turkey/beef
1/2 chopped onion
3 medium potatoes
red pepper flakes or tabasco sauce

Dice potatoes and boil till soft and then brown meat with onions. Add potatoes to meat and then add a few shakes of red pepper flakes or tobasco sauce just to give it a kick. Then add salt and pepper to taste. Put your mixture in a flour tortilla. My family usually eats it with sour cream and salsa on top.

Hot Fudge Cake

I made this and thought it was delicious. We also had homemade ice cream which made it even better!
1 c sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 c milk
4 T melted butter
1 egg yolk
2 t vanilla
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 c boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Whisk 1/2 c sugar with 1/4 c cocoa powder and set aside.
Whisk the flour, remaining 1/3 c sugar, remaining 1/4 c cocoa, baking powder in a large bowl. Whisk milk, butter, egg yolk, and vanilla in medium bowl until smooth. stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
Scrape batter into pan. Sprinkle cocoa and sugar mixture on top.Gently pour boiling water over cocoa. Do not stir.
Bake for 24 minutes or until the top of the cake is cracked and the sauce is bubbling. Cool for ten minutes.

BBQ Cups

We had these growing up and I loved them. I love them as a mom as well because they are easy and quick.

1/2 lb ground beef (I substitute ground turkey)

1 cup BBQ Sauce

Cheese

Pillsbury biscuits

Cook the ground beef until down. Stir in BBQ sauce, 1 cup is an estimate so you may need less or more. Place uncooked biscuits in muffin tin. Put a spoonful of meat on top of the biscuits. Sprinkles with some Cheese. Cook according to biscuits directions.

Fresh Apple Cake

This is a great recipe to try with apple harvest almost here. Janet and I made this today and lets just say it made a great lunch. Enjoy!


Mix thoroughly:
1 cup chopped nuts (we left these out)
2 eggs well beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups sugar

Then add:
4 cups diced fresh apples

Then add:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt

Bake in greased 9 x 13 pan at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix thoroughly and add 2 cups boiling water slowly. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick (It won't get that thick). Add 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 tbs. butter.

Add sauce to each individual serving. Serve hot with whipped cream.

Overnight French Toast

This is without a doubt our favorite breakfast around here. With gooey caramel bottoms and cream cheese filled centers this French toast is INCREDIBLE!

Overnight French Toast

14 slices of firm bread (I used homemade French bread)
4 oz. cream cheese
Cinnamon and Sugar
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. maple syrup
6 T. butter
4 eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Spread half of the bread slices with cream cheese and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Top with another slice of bread, cut in half and set aside. In a 13”x9” pan combine brown sugar, butter and syrup. Cook in microwave until sugar is dissolved.
Place bread in pan on top of sugar mixture. Blend eggs, milk and vanilla and pour over bread. Cover and let sit in refrigerator for 45 minutes or overnight.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Remove pieces from pan and flip caramel side up. Top with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

I know it's not soup weather yet (especially here).  But I LOVE this soup.  Well, I love soup in general but this one is so good!  This recipe is mostly in my head and varies by what I have in my fridge, but I'll do my best to write it down.

1  T olive oil

1/2  C chopped onion
¾ C shredded carrot (or shredded celery or peppers or whatever)
2 cloves garlic or garlic power
1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbs dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano 

3- 4 ripe roma tomatoes (or any tomatoes you want to use)
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup chicken broth (this is pretty thick soup, so if you want it thinner add 2 cups)
 4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
 fresh Parmesan cheese for garnish

Place oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic, and cook for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring often. (I've used many different veggies instead of or with carrots)

Add chuncked fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, salt, pepper, oregano and basil.

Bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer.  Cover pan and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
 

Put your cream cheese into the blender.  Remove soup from heat and pour into blender (do this in 2 batches if it won't fit in your blender). Remove the center piece of the blender lid to allow steam to escape, but place a paper towel over the opening in the lid to avoid spray. Process until smooth.  

Garnish with a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese (the picture shows canned, but fresh is best!)

I served this with homemade pita chips.  I had left over pitas in the fridge from Betsy's amazing pita meal, so I peeled them apart, cut them into triangles, spread olive oil on them, sprinkled pepper and parmesan cheese and baked for a few minutes.  It's also really good with Our Best Bites breadsticks! 

Spring Rolls

My husband and I had spring rolls at a Tai restaurant and loved them a couple of years ago. I found a recipe shortly after that and started making my own. Mine aren't as pretty but they do taste just as good. You can personalize them and make them your own.


1 package of Broccoli slaw or finely shredded cabbage
1/2 package shredded carrots
2 bell peppers chopped finely
1 bunch green peppers chopped
fresh ginger finely chopped
julienned cucumbers
1 -2 cups bean sprouts
rice noodles
lime juice
soy sauce
Sliced chicken(I like to use teriyaki or wing ding chicken)
Rice Paper


You could chop your own cabbage but I love the shredded packages of cabbage broccoli slaw to make it easier. Recently I started using the broccoli slaw and I like them even better. It is shredded more finely and I like the taste.

Combine all of the chopped vegetables (except the cucumbers), bean sprouts and rice noodles. (You can use whatever vegetables you have. Last time I made them I didn't have bean sprouts or rice noodles but they were just as good.) Add a tablespoon or 2 of the lime juice and soy sauce at a time and then taste. Add a tablespoon at time to your liking.

Put some hot water into a large pie plate. The rice paper is stiff like paper until you soak it in the water. Hot water will soften the rice paper faster. Once the rice paper is soft, put on a plate and put 1/2 cup vegetable with a slice or 2 of chicken and the julienned cucumber. Fold over both ends and rolls as tightly as you can. My family likes to eat them with a homemade peanut sauce. See recipe below for the peanut sauce and the teriyaki and wing ding chicken. The spring rolls are a lot of work but are well worth it and very healthy. Try them!


Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp b. sugar
1 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup cocunut milk
1/4 cup water

Combine all the ingredients except the water in a saucepan. Once it is well mixed add the water and heat over medium heat until the sauce begins to boil and thicken. ( I like to double the recipe and then freeze it for next time. It freezes well.)



Wing Ding Chicken
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 lb. chicken tenderloins

Blend sauce ingredients and then put sauce and chicken in pan. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or more. Turn chicken halfway through.


Teriyaki Chicken
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 lb. chicken tenderloins

Blend sauce ingredients and then put sauce and chicken in pan. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or more. Turn chicken halfway through.

Dinnertime Quesadillas

This is not the best picture of this but it still tastes great and is one of my family's favorites. I got it out of a Kraft magazine and have adapted it some from the original recipe.

1 lb. ground hamburger, turkey or left over chopped chicken or turkey
1/2 can of black beans, rinsed
1 cup of frozen corn
salsa
shredded cheese
flour tortillas

Brown your ground turkey, add the beans and corn and warm it all up with the salsa, probably about 1/2 cup. If you use already cooked tortillas fill half with the meat mixture and top with the cheese and fold over. Warm them up on a griddle until they are as toasty as you like, both sides. I like mine crispy.
Serve with sour cream, more salsa, chopped lettuce whatever is your preference. This really is a quick and easy meal.

Banana Muffins with Chocolate Nut Topping

So I love banana bread, muffins, cakes, bars or whatever else you can think of. This is my cousin Gail's recipe that I tweaked a little. I thought they were delicious with the topping I made up. Hope you enjoy!

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs beaten
4 bananas (frozen work best)
1/3 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Cream sugar and butter. Then add eggs, bananas, and sour cream and beat. Then combine dry ingredients and beat. Then put on the topping and bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes

Topping
2 1/2 tbs flour
1/3 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup coarsley chopped chocolate chips
1 tbs butter
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
a few shakes of salt

Buffalo Syle Chicken Cordon "Blue"

Since moving home I have started watching Rachel Ray with my mom. Im not always intrigued with her recipes but this one grabbed attention. My mom and I thought it was delicious! I actually made quiet a few changes so Iwill post the recipe how I made it.

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 slices ham
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 large whites, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups panko crumbs
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• About 2 1/2 tablespoons hot sauce
• Olive oil

Split the breasts open and cut them across horizontally. Pound the meat out a little, then stuff the breasts with the ham and cheese. Fold the chicken over and press the edges together to secure the stuffed breasts. Coat first in the flour mixed with cornstarch, then the eggs, then the panko crumbs tossed with the melted butter and mixed with hot sauce.

Heat a shallow layer of oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken on each side until golden and cooked through.

Garlic Chicken with Bow Tie Pasta

I love pasta and this was definitely a tasty one. This one was inspired from The Sister's Cafe.

1 Tb olive oil

1 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast, cut up

1 tsp salt

1 Tb olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced

1/2 c green onions, sliced

2 bell peppers of your choice ( I did yellow and red)

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (drained)

1/2 c chicken broth

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 lb bow tie pasta, cooked

1/2 c heavy whipping cream

1/3 c fresh cilantro, chopped

Parmesan cheese, grated

Cook pasta.

Cook the chicken over medium heat until done. Sprinkle with salt and remove from pan. Keep warm.

Cook garlic in oil until golden. Add mushrooms, green onions and peppers - cook 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, red pepper flakes, cornstarch and salt. Heat to boiling then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Oh and I added a little cream because everything is better with cream, I did 1/2 cup.

Combine chicken, hot mixture, pasta and cilantro. Sprinkle with fresh Parmesan to your liking and enjoy!

*Use less crushed red pepper to make it mild.

Calzones

This is probably one of our favorite meals in our house and it is quite easy. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough Recipe (This is a long-time family friend's recipe, Vicki Sabin. I love this pizza dough recipe because it only needs 15 minutes to rise but if something comes up and it ends up raising say for over an hour it still turns out!)

1 cup lukewarm water

1 pkg yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp. shortening (I typically use butter since I never have shortening)

3 cups flour

Topping Ideas:

spaghetti sauce (my favorite is prego traditional)

pepperoni

sausage

onions (If you don't have fresh throw in some dried onion it works well too.)

mushrooms

olives

mozzarella cheese

whatever else you'd like

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water and let stand for 5 minutes. Mix in the rest of the pizza dough ingredients and knead until smooth. (If you have a bread machine or kitchen aid just throw everything in and beat until it looks smooth.) Let rise at least 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (If you have a pizza stone be sure to put that in the oven too, but if you don't placing it on a cookie sheet works just as good.)

Now separate dough into however many calzones you want to make. (I typically make three calzones which feeds both of us and leaves Michael one for lunch the next day. You could do just one large one but if you have eaters with different likes and dislikes its nice to make their own.)

Roll your dough out on the counter with flour to prevent it from sticking.

Now before you add your toppings transfer the dough to a cornmeal covered cookie sheet or large wooden pizza spatula that you're going to use to put it in the oven with. Add all your toppings on one half of the dough and then fold the other half over and seal the dough shut. You can use any technique to make your edges look nice I typically pinch the two sides together and roll them up and then pinch them down with my nails. Beware if you get pizza sauce too close to the edge it can make it harder to form a good seal on your dough and you could get some sauce and cheese oozing out while it cooks.

Finally, if you want to make it look even prettier smooth a couple of drops of oil on top of the calzone and sprinkle on some parsley flakes or Italian seasoning. This gives it a nice golden coloor and the green flakes as I said add a little flavor but really just make it look pretty. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate crinkles are perhaps my most favorite cookie, I remember begging my mom for lunch money so I could buy a big chocolate crinkle at the cafeteria.
Now I must say that I do have a recipe that I like better than this one, but it takes lots of time, melting, cooling mixing and chilling and then half of the time the cookies turn out too crunchy anyway. Maybe one day I will ambitiously make them and post, until then here is my go to, in a rush, I have to make something for my ward BBQ in 30 minutes, chocolate crinkles recipe. (Thanks Kendra!)

Chocolate Crinkles

1  pkg. devils food cake mix (last night I used triple chocolate fudge and they were great!)
1/3 c. oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
powdered sugar for rolling
Mix all of the ingredients except powdered sugar together until well mixed.  Shape the dough into small balls and roll in a bowl of powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
I tend to stick more on the 10 minute side, I like my cookies gooey. The trick is to let them sit on the cookie sheet until cooled.

Lemon, Caper, and White Bean Pasta

This title makes me laugh!  I am all about quick and easy meals on days that I work, especially if Mike isn't home for dinner.  Yesterday I was looking on-line for something I could make that was really fast, easy and eatable.  I saw this recipe with a beautiful picture and decided it looked like it would work.  I went into the kitchen and discovered that the only ingredient I had was pasta, that was it.  I made it anyway with substitutions for every other ingredient!  It sounds weird, but it was good, I liked it and my kids all ate it!  So give it a try - especially if you need something in 15 minutes!
  
My version below is Lime, Olive, and Bean Pasta inspired by Anne Coleman's recipe on Disney's Family.com


Ingredients
8 ounces angel hair pasta
1 lime, zested and juiced (2 teaspoons zest and 1/4 cup juice)
dash of granulated garlic
pepper
small can of chopped olives
1 (15 ounce) can any beans, rinsed and drained (I used light kidney, I think the white beans would be best)
3 Tablespoons salted butter


Directions

1. Cook pasta in several quarts of boiling water until al dente. Angel hair only takes 4-5 minutes to cook. Drain, set aside and keep warm.
2. Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add lime juice, zest, garlic and pepper. Stir and cook until bubbling.
3. Stir in beans and olives and heat through briefly. Toss with pasta and serve.

The kids and I had this with bread and salad.  If Mike had been home we probably would've added some meat - shrimp or grilled chicken would be good!  It had a stronger citrus taste then I had expected, but I liked it! Let me know what you think!

Marinated Beef/Veggie Kabobs

I found this recipe in the Taste of Home Magazine this spring and changed it up a bit. It was a delicious recipe and the marinated vegetables were my favorite part.

Marinade
1 cup light grape juice
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
4 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. seasoned salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes


1 flank steak 1 1/2 lbs.(cut into cubes)
8 cherry tomatoes
1 large red onion
1 large red pepper
1 large green pepper
1 yellow summer squash
1 medium zucchini
(You can do whatever vegetables you have - mushrooms would be good also and my kids added pineapple to their kabobs.)

In a small bowl combine marinade ingredients. Pour half the marinade in a large resealable plastic bag with the beef. Pour the rest of the marinade in another large resealable plastic bag with tomatoes and vegetables cut into 1 inch pieces. Refrigerate the beef and vegetables in marinade for at least 2 hours.

Drain marinade from beef and discard. Drain marinade from vegetables and save for basting. Thread beef and vegetables onto to metal or wooden skewers. Grill covered over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until meat is done. Remember to baste the meat and vegetables and turn occasionally.

Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake

It was my son's birthday recently and he requested an ice cream cake for his birthday party with his friends. I looked at the prices of the cakes and decided to try to make one myself. It cost me about half of what it would have cost it I bought it and it was absolutely delicous. I found the recipe online at www.hugpages.com. I made a Milky Way Blizzard cake and sprinkled cut up Milky Way pieces on top with fudge sauce. Make sure you freezer is very cold. One thing I discovered is that I need to defrost my freezer because it wasn't cold enough. I had to work really fast when working with the ice cream and the frosting melted really fast for me. So my advice is make sure you freezer is nice and cold before making this cake. The cake turned out fine but you can see the frosting melting in the pictures. ENJOY!

The Night Before

Clear some space in your freezer. Fill your sink or cookie sheet with some water, dip the cake ring so that the bottom of the ring gets wet. Place in on your piece of cardboard. This is to help freeze seal it on the cardboard before making the cake. Place the cardboard and cake ring in the freezer over night.
(The recipe calls for a stainless steel cake ring and round piece of sturdy cardboard. I actually just one of my spring form pans and then transferred the frozen cake to a piece of cardboard after the cake was frozen. )

Ingredients

Diary Queen uses a cookie crumb, but that may prove to be an ingredient that is hard to find. Oreo’s work just as well. To get even closer to the Dairy Queen ice cream cake recipe, scoop out the crème filling in the Oreos.
1 Gallon vanilla ice cream
1 Gallon chocolate ice cream
1 16 oz. package of OREO cookies
½ cup of chocolate sauce
1 jar of hot fudge
Candy or cookies if you are making a Blizzard Cake

Prep For Cookie Crumb

Remove the cream filling and Crush OREO cookies into small pieces. In a mixing bowl, slowly mix in small amounts of liquid chocolate sauce (hershey's syrup will work) with crushed OREO's until the cookie crumbs are evenly coated. Don't add to much. You want the OREO cookie crumb to be coated with the sauce, but not drenched in it. You should be able to pick up the cookie crumb in you hand without a sticky mess.
Making The Ice Cream Cake
Let the ice cream sit on the counter long enough to become spreadable. Watch this closely, to long and it won't re-freeze correctly. You will also want to let the fudge be left at room temp to be spreadable as well.
Spread an inch thick amount of vanilla ice cream around the inside rim of the cake ring. Then fill the middle up half way with chocolate ice cream. Spread 1/2 inch thick layer of OREO cookie crumb in the middle. Use a knife to dip into the fudge and then hover over the middle of the ice cream cake. Cover the cookie crumb with about 1/2 inch thick layer of fudge. Fill the rest of the middle with chocolate ice cream up to almost the top. Cover the top with more vanilla ice cream.
Stick back in the freezer for at least 6 hours.

Blizzard Ice Cream Cakes

Wanna make your ice cream cake recipe resemble a DQ blizzard? Add a few scoops of crushed candy or nuts and mix in with the ice cream meant to go on the top portion of the cake above the fudge sauce.
Leave out any sauces or fruits. The consistency will become too runny.

Decorating Your Ice Cream Cake

Dairy Queen uses whip cream topping, it really goes best with any ice cream cake recipe. The whipped cream that comes in a freezer tub will be much more spreadable them the canned whipped topping. After frosting, add your writing or decoration, then back into the freezer until ready to serve.

Remove 10 minutes prior to serving to allow to soften up enough for cutting.

Mom's Coffee Cake

This coffee cake doesn't really have a name but my Mom made it for us when we were kids so I have made it for my family and it has always been a favorite. We have tried other recipes similar to this one and they say this is the best. It is great to eat the leftovers for a snack the rest of the day.

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
4 T. oil
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt (I leave this out because I am on a low sodium diet and it tastes fine)
4 tsp. baking powder

Combine eggs, sugar, milk and oil. Add flour with salt and baking powder. Mix well and pour into 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with Pam.
Sprinkle with the mixture of

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. flour
2 T. melted butter
1 cup chopped nuts (I usually leave these out because I have a few people who don't like nuts!)

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until brown around the edges. Enjoy!

Lemon Cake

So most of our family is obsessed with lemon anything but this by far has to be one of our favorite lemon recipes. I still remember being in high school and making them on Sunday afternoons and having it be completely gone by the end of the the day if not not with in a couple of hours. It is so delicious!

1 box of yellow or lemon cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup water
1 pkg of lemon jello


Combine all the ingredients and then beat for 4 minutes. Then put in and 9 by 13 sprayed pan and cook at 350 for 30 minutes. When the cake comes out poke several holes with a fork throughout the entire cake. Then combine 4-5 cups of powdered sugar and lemon juice from 2 or 3 lemons and pour over cake while hot letting it sink into the holes poked.

Bagels

This was my first time making bagels and they turned out great...well at least I thought so! As you can see in the picture you cant see any holes in the middle. I did put holes in them but they obviously were not big enough. So make sure your holes are at least an inch.


Ingredients

1 t. active dry yeast
1 1/4 c. warm milk
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 egg yolk
3 3/4 c. flour
1 t. sugar

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add butter, sugar, salt, and egg yoke and mix. Add flour and knead for 8 minutes. I just put it in the kitchen aid and it gets the job done. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour. Shape into 12 balls and place 1 in. holes in the middle. In a large saucepan bring water and 1 t. sugar to a boil. Drop bagels in boiling water and take them out after a 10 seconds. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Baked Lemon Pasta

This recipe was inspired by Pioneer Woman. In our family we love lemon and this was not a disappointment.

1 pound of thing spaghetti

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 whole Lemon, juiced and zested

2 cups sour cream

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente. In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over low heat. When butter is melted, add garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat. Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into and oven safe dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, covered for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes.

I served it with some chicken. I just breaded it with bread crumbs. I did put a little bit of lemon zest in my bread crumbs. I fried my chicken in butter/olive oil and some minced garlic to give it a little more flavor. It was very yummy.

Whole Wheat Muffins

So here is one of my favorite muffin recipes. It's a recipe that mom has made for years and even my hubby will eat them. I can freeze them and then pull a couple out in the morning for him to eat for breakfast and they're thawed by the time he gets to work. Enjoy!

1 cup oil

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups milk

2 tsp soda

2 tsp vanila

4 cups whole-wheat flour (If you grind your own wheat it makes them even better)

Mix everything except flour in blender. Pour into flour. Stirl until well mixed. Fill 3/4 cups full. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes (I don't know if it's because I have a gas oven but I typically only have to cook them for 15 minutes so be sure to keep a close eye on them.)