Corn Pasta

This pasta I made up. I was running low on food so I took what I had and made dinner.

1 lb spaghetti (its what I had)

1 cup corn

1 small can of chiles

1 cube butter

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 clove of garlic

1 cup cream

Cook up the spaghetti. Meanwhile cook corn and chiles for a few minutes. Melt in the butter, add in garlic, cook for a minute. Add in cream and cheese. Cook until thick. Pour over pasta and you have a yummy pasta dish. Went great with chicken and some veggies.

Cheese Potato Soup

So I was suppose to post this yesterday but I completely forgot. I had a few friendly reminders which I didn't get until today and a few others that I received when I was always in the middle of something that I couldn't stop doing. So sorry this is late and sadly I don't have a picture. I know that's horrible but then next time we eat it I will update this post with a picture.
This is my mother-in-laws recipe for cheese soup which my husband just loves. This was my first time making it and I think the only thing I'd do different is to replace the water with chicken broth.

3-4 large potatoes peeled and dice
1/2 cube margarine
2-3 Tbsp flour
1 can cheese soup
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
onion salt or powder to taste (or 1/4 cup sauteed onions)

Cook diced potatoes in water till tender. melt margarine in another pan, add flour to make a paste. Slowly stir in milk and add mixture to potatoes and water. Add cheese soup. Stir til smooth. Add more water until you have the desired thickness. Add seasonings and diced ham if you desired. (We definitely do the diced ham it an additional flavor which I think the soup needs.

Enjoy and sorry there is no picture!

Salsa Verde

So I am posting for Jana cause she moved into her new house this last Saturday and does not have internet yet. This recipe is super simple but I absolutely loved it. I love green salsa so when I saw a jar of it on sale at the grocery store I got this idea to just kick it up a notch. Hope you enjoy!

1 cup of salsa verde (I used medium heat)

1/2 of an avocado finely chopped

2 large Tbs cilantro chopped

1 1/2 tsp lime or lemon juice

Just mix it all together and enjoy it on a taco, burrito, quesadilla or just with some tortilla chips.

Award Winning Crumb Top Apple Pie

Make your favorite pie crust.  I sometimes use Pillsbury and it turns out fabulous!

Filling:
Peel, core and dice 4-5 apples to get about 5-6 cups of apple pieces.  I don't like my pie to be overflowing and spill in my oven so I tend to use closer to 5 cups - it also depends on the size and depth of your pie pan.

Add 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon flour to the apples.  Heat over medium-low heat in a sauce pan and cook the apples about halfway, until they start to get soft, but don't cook them too long or you will have mushy pie!

Topping:
2/3 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
sprinkle of cinnamon
1/2 cube (1/4 cup) butter, melted
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Mix flour and brown sugar and then add the butter.  Don't mix the nuts in, they will burn if they are in the topping, so put the nuts on the pie separately.

Put pie crust into pie pan, add your half-cooked apple filling and then sprinkle the nuts on top of the apples.
Spread the crumb topping on the top, careful to cover the nuts.  Cover the edges of the pie crust to prevent burning.  Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  Hot pie with cold ice cream is so good!

Onion Chicken in Balsamic Sauce

I got this recipe from the blog Healthy and Easy Recipes. Here is a link to it http://healthyeasyrecipes.blogspot.com/. The original directions said to cook the chicken in the oven but I was at swimming until 7:00 so I cooked it in the crockpot for a 3 hours and it turned out great. We had broccoli with it and the sauce was good on the broccoli.

1 TBSP olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
4 chicken breasts (I used chicken tenders)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Place the chicken, chopped onion and chopped sun dried tomatoes in crockpot. Mix together the garlic, vinegar, olive oil and chicken broth. Pour over chicken, onion and tomatoes. Cook on high for 2 to 3 hours. Serve over brown rice.

Joyce's Bread

This is my favorite white bread recipe. I have made it for years. It is out of my ward cookbook and it always turns out so soft and moist. Really yummy! It makes a very large batch of bread, six large loaves. Enjoy!
2 cups warm water
6 Tbsp. yeast
4 cups hot water
1 cup sugar or honey
6 Tbsp. oil (I use a 1/3 of a cup and call it good)
2 Tbsp. salt
14-18 cups of flour

Dissolve yeast in 2 cups warm water. Let rise till bubbly. Meanwhile, mix 4 cups very hot water, oil, salt, sugar, and about 4-6 cups flour. Beat well while the yeast rises. Add yeast mixture and start adding flour the rest of the flour. Add the flour until the dough comes away from the edge of the bowl and is clean. I, of course am using a bread mixer to do this. Knead for about 5 minutes after the flour has been added. Cover and let rise until double in size. Divide into 6 pieces and roll into shape. Put into 6 loaf pans that have been sprayed with Pam. Let rise until double again. Bake at 300 for 30 minutes. This bread freezes very well.

My Version of Stuffed Peppers

So I love stuffed peppers and the other day I decided to just throw a few things together and see how it turned it out, and I really liked it. So here is goes.

Ingredients-

1 chicken breast

chili powder

lime juice

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp finely cut garlic

1/2 cup corn

1/4 cup black beans

1 cup of your favorite salsa

2-3 peppers halved and seeded ( I like yellow or red but green would work great)

shredded cheees

So first I poked the chicken breast with a fork all over and poored over 3-4 tbs of lime juice and then coated with chili powder and then let marinate for about 45 minutes. Then I cooked it in an frying pan and and shredded it. Then with the same pan throw in the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes then add the corn, black beans, salsa, and chicken and cook just until heated. Then fill the peppers with the meet mixture and top with cheese and cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

Lasagna

I have always really liked this Lasagna recipe, it has cream cheese and sour cream in it. Yum! When I make it I always make it in two smaller pans and freeze one.

2 lb ground beef (I always substitute beef with ground turkey)

1 onion,chopped

2 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce

Salt and pepper

2 cloves of garlic

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1 pt sour cream

6 green onions, chopped

2 tbsp oil

1 pkg lasagna noodles

16 oz mozzarella cheese

Brown ground beef and chopped onion. Add spices (1 tsp of cumin, chili powder and paprika) and tomato sauce and garlic. Simmer 30 minutes. Mix cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, and oil in bowl and cook noodles; grate mozzarella cheese. Next, layer noodles, cheese mixture, meat sauce, and mozzarella cheese in a glass dish. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Mom's Chili

So this is a fabulous recipe for Chili that my mom always made growing up. It's a little sweet and not hot. I guess if you like hot this may not be your favorite then.

1 lb hamburger
1 cup chopped onion (I cheat and use a handful of dehydrated quite often)
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 qt stewed tomatoes (If you don't like big chunks blend it or get the petite chopped)
3 cans pinto beans, drained
1 tsp chili powder (I usually add a little extra of this and the cumin)
2 tsp cumin
1 TBS brown sugar
Salt
Pepper

Brown hamburger and onion. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes and beans. Add spices (adjust amounts by taste). Bring to a boil, turn down and let simmer on low for as long as you have. A new addition that many of us add is a cup of corn. I would add it right before you serve.

Summer Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

So it Jana's turn to post today and her internet is down so I am posting for her. This recipe won't be as good as hers but at least there is a post for today. I went to a lunch bunch today and have had this salad recipe all summer. I haven't made it because most of my family wouldn't like it so today was the perfect opportunity. It was delicious and the dressing and the raspberries were my favorite part. I know that it is fall and this is a summer salad but I live in California and so it still feels like summer except that the kids are in school. Maybe if you make the sald it will feel like summer to you also. I got this recipe from a Taste of Home magazine. It is one of my favorite magazines.

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
2 pkg. (5 1/2 oz. each) torn mixed salad greens
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups fresh raspberries
2 cups diced cucumbers
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 cup sliced almonds

In a small bowl, whisk the first eight ingredients. Refrigerate until serving.

In a salad bowl, combine the salad greens, onion, mushrooms, raspberries, cucumbers and almonds. Drizzle with dressing; toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Mike's Chicken Divan

Mike loves Chicken Divan, but I have never been able to make it the 'right' way.  So we came up with this - all the ingredients, but not a casserole.  We all eat it our own way.  Mike eats each food separately and I eat all of them together and the kids all have every combination.

 

The only 'recipe' to this is the sauce. 

1/2 can cream of chicken soup (you can freeze the other half)

about 1 cup sour cream

lemon juice to taste (1-2 tsps)

Stir it all together and warm it up on the stove or in the microwave. 

We grill 3-4 chicken breasts sprinkled with lemon pepper, then cut it up.

Cook 2 cups of rice.

Steam 2-3 cups of broccoli.  

Apple Oven Pancake

I got this recipe from my dear friend Holly Chesler from Portland. This is one of my kid's favorite breakfasts. Sorry about posting this so late. I had a crazy day and had computer issues on top of it.

2 T. butter, melted
2 T. brown sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced
2 lg. eggs, beaten with a whisk
1/2 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. milk (I used almond milk)
powdered sugar

Melt butter in a 9 inch pie plate. Mix and sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over butter. Arrange apples over sugar. Beat eggs in a bowl with a whisk and add flour, salt and milk, taking care not to over beat. Pour mixture over apples. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Immediately loosen edges of pancake and turn upside down onto serving plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. (Serves 1-2 people).

Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is.....

In case you can't see the name, it is Brittany. Congrats. Brittany I don't have your email address, so if you can leave it as a comment then I'll email you for your address. Enjoy!!

Chile-rubbed Steak Tacos/Tomatillo Avocado Salsa

I found this recipe on The Sisters Cafe blog http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/ and we loved it, especially the salsa. I will make the salsa just for plain burritos, tacos and any other reason I can think of to make it. It stayed overnight well and the avocados didn't turn dark. This recipe is the keeper for me.

2 cloves garlic
1 T salt plus 1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. chili powder
2 T. brown sugar
2 tsp. smoked or sweet paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs. skirt steak (I used these really thin steaks I bought at Walmart and it worked great)
flour tortillas
Tomatillo Avocado Salsa
Chopped cilantro for serving
Grated jack cheese for serving
Sour cream for serving
Shredded lettuce for serving

Crush the garlic using the flat side of a large knife, sprinkle with 1/2 t. salt. Place the flat side of the knife blade on top of the garlic and salt; press firmly, pulling knife toward you. Repeat until a paste forms; transfer to a small bowl. Add chili powder, brown sugar, paprika, cumin, pepper and remaining salt. Stir to combine. I left this salt out and it tasted fine without it.
Rub mixture all over steak, both sides and place in a large plastic freezer bag to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
While the meat is marinating you can make your salsa.
3 tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and halved
1/2 white onion, halved
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno chili, stemmed and halved
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
Juice of 1/2 lime, about 1 tablespoon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced

Grill the tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapeno. I actually broiled mine in the oven and they turned out great. Do it until they are lightly charred. Place the vegetables in a food processor, add cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper and pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and fold in avocado.

Grill your steak until you have your desired doneness and slice into strips. Heat up your tortillas and you are ready to serve. Fill with the meat, salsa, cheese, sour cream, lettuce and a sprinkle of cilantro. Enjoy!

Rich Raspberry Bars

I am posting for Nancy(Eyvon) today because she is on the road back to Rexburg. I will still do my post tomorrow. Sharee, my niece requested this recipe and it sounded good so I made some. They are quite rich but very yummy. This is actually Trina's recipe.

1 cup butter, softened (not melted)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup of raspberry jam (I use home made freezer jam which is my favorite but whatever kind of raspberry jam you have will do)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. I use a glass pyrex so I only heat my oven to 325. Mix butter, sugar, egg, vanilla until blended. Add the flour until mixed. Save 1 cup of the mixture for the top. Spread the rest in a 8 or 9 inch square pan. Spread the jam on top and then top with the cup of reserved dough. The easiest way to do this is to spread pieces out in your hands and place on top of the jam. Cover completely. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. The edges have to be slightly brown to get the middle of the pan done. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

I found this recipe from thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com and we loved them! Who wouldnt love cookie dough and cheesecake?!

Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°. Butter a 9″-square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides. Spray the parchment paper. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened. Make sure you mix it well so that the crust isn't too crumbly. Stir in chocolate chips.Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1 inch up sides. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

Cookie Dough

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Using an electric mixer , mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour (Add a little at a time. You might not need all the flour. Just add it until the mixture sticks together). Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

Filling

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended. Pour batter into baked crust. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling. It will seem like a lot of cookie dough but you want some in every piece. Bake about 30 minutes at 325 degrees, or until set. Transfer to wire rack.
For chocolate topping, melt 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave. Put in a ziplock bag in a microwave cook for 30 seconds at a time, mixing within the bag after each interval. Snip off the corner of the bag and drizzle. Add about 1/2 tablespoon of butter if necessary to make chocolate smooth. Drizzle over top of bars.
Cool bars in pan completely, about an hour.
Using the edges of the parchment paper, remove bars from pan. Cut into bars, keep cool in the refrigerator and serve.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Crescents

Simple but very yummy recipe. I use this one for Breakfast or Dinner. I got this recipe out of a Kraft Magazine.

1 pkg of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Cream Cheese

Blueberries or berry of your choice

Sugar

Unroll crescent and use two triangles to make a rectangle. You will get 4 from a package. Then spread cream cheese on the crescent, leave an inch on the end sides of the rectangle. Sprinkle some sugar on the cream cheese. Next put your berries on the cream cheese. Take your two ends of the rectangle and connect them so that it makes a square. Pinch your other sides so the berries don't come out. Bake at 375 degrees for 13 minutes. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar. Enjoy.

Our First Giveaway!!!

Happy Labor Day!!!
With Fall right around the corner I thought some festive kitchen towels would be fun. The giveaway includes these three towels that are shown above. You have the chance to enter up to 4 times. Heres how you do that:

-If you comment then you get an entry.

-Become a follower and comment that you have done so. If you are already a follower then make a comment telling us that you are a follower.

-Mention our blog and give the link on your Facebook page, then you can leave another comment.

-Mention our blog and give the link on your blog, then you can leave another comment.

That is up to 4 entries. It will be open until Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 12:00 pm Pacific time. Good Luck!!!

A winner will be chosen Friday. Please leave your email address so I can email you after if you are the winner.

California Steak

This is an easy crockpot recipe and is perfect when you're going to be gone for a few hours and want to eat almost immediately after you get home!



Round Steak
1 pkg of Onion Soup
1 1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup sour cream

Brown both sides of round steak with flour in a pan. Put Round steak, water, and onion soup in a crockpot on high and cook for 4 to 5 hours. Remove round steak and add sour cream to the sauce. If you want a little thicker sauce you can always use a flour or cornstarch and water mixture to thicken it a little more. Serve with rice or egg noodles.

1, 2, 3 Peanut Butter Cookies

A friend of mine purchased a new cookie press. Inside was this incredibly easy and super delicious recipe. They are so easy that Parker made these all by himself!

 

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c. Creamy Peanut Butter
1 c. Sugar
1 Egg

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Use cookie press to press dough into shapes. (you could also criss-cross a ball of dough with a sugared fork to make a normal peanut butter cookie shape if you don’t have a press.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. (Like always I would recommend taking them out when they look a little doughy, let the cookies cool and they will be moist  and chewy.)

Creamy Herb Pork Chops

This is a big hit at our house and a fun way to cook pork.  Technically I think a pork chop has a bone and I usually use the boneless 'pork chops' from Sams/Costco and butterfly them so they aren't too thick.
The original recipe was from Better Homes and Garden's New Cook Book, but I've changed it so much it's probably more mine.

4-6 pork chops
1 Tbls butter
1 Tbls olive oil
parsley
2 tsp flour
1/2 tsp basil
1 cube of beef bouillon
1/4 tsp pepper
2/3 cup milk
2 Tbls water

Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the pork and cook about 5-6 minutes on each side.  If I have thicker chops I will add a lid to make sure the middle gets
done.  Remove the pork and reserve the drippings.  For sauce (or gravy) stir parsley, flour, basil, bouillon and pepper into drippings.  Then add milk all at once.  Stir until thickened and bubbly.  Add water.  Stir until done.  You can put the chops back in and reheat - but I find that if I'm quick with the sauce they don't need to
go back in.  The recipe calls for the sauce on the pork chops, I tend to add a bit extra milk and make enough for gravy for our mashed potatoes as well.

I serve this with mashed potatoes and cooked apple slices.  Mike likes his pork chops with applesauce, but
the kids and I prefer apples.  To make the apples, slice up 1-2 apples thin, toss with lemon juice and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon.  Heat 1-2 Tbls butter in a pan.  Cook your apples, stirring as needed until soft.  They are a big hit!