Julie's Irresistible Pecan Pie

Not a pecan pie fan? Well maybe you need to reconsider. This recipe has been a work in progress over the years and last year it finally became perfected. So I'm proud to say that I've had people tell me that they've hated pecan pie until they've had mine. I hope that you will try to make this pie and give pecan pie a whirl...it's my most favorite pie ever!

Julie's Irresistible Pecan Pie

Crust:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
½ cup butter, chilled
4 tablespoons ice water (OR a prepared store bought 9” pie shell)

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and white sugar. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Gradually sprinkle the water over the dry mixture, stirring until dough starts to come together. Then, using one hand, squeeze dough together until it forms a nice ball. Remove to countertop and shape into a 5” flat disc. Remember not to handle the dough too much or you will start melting the butter. Cover dough in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. Just until pie mixture is made.

Pie:
3 eggs
1 cup corn syrup
1 ½ tablespoons molasses
¾ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 pinch salt
1 ½ - 2 cups pecans, chopped

In another medium bowl, combine first 6 ingredients, add pecans and thoroughly combine. Set aside.

Remove pie crust and lightly flour countertop surface, roll crust dough out into a large circle, place into ungreased pie plate. Remove extra dough and crimp using two fingers and thumb. Re-stir pie mixture and pour into pie plate. Place pie into a preheated 350 F degree oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Be careful and watch crust so that it doesn’t burn. Place strips of tin foil around edges if crust starts to get too dark. Let pie cool completely before serving.

Corn chip Chili Casserole

This recipe really threw me off when I first checked it out. I was confused by the instructions and wondered why you just couldn't put the chips on top of your bowl of chili??? Well, let me just say, I was surprised by the results. There was something about the chips being baked in with the meat, beans and cheese. It almost had an enchilada taste to it. It was pleasantly delicious!

I also ended up halving the recipe because we wouldn't eat a 9x13 baking dish size for our family. I baked it in a 9x9 baking dish instead.

Corn chip Chili Casserole

3 (15 oz.) cans of assorted beans: kidney, pinto, black, etc...

2 (10 oz.) cans red enchilada sauce

2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 tbsp. chili powder

1 (9 3/4 oz.) bag of Fritos corn chips

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 medium sized onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

Sour Cream for topping

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

In a skillet over medium high heat, add ground beef, diced onion, minced garlic and brown until meat is cooked and onion is tender. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized mixing bowl, add beans, enchilada sauce and chili powder, stir to thoroughly combine. Add drained meat mixture to the beans and stir again to combine. In a 9 x 13" baking dish, place half of the meat & bean mixture on bottom. Next, layer with corn chips, cheese and repeat one more layer ending with the cheese. Bake in preheat oven for 30 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and chips are lightly browned. Remove from oven and serve warm with a topping of sour cream, if desired.

Note:

To half the recipe use: 2 cans beans, 1 can enchilado sauce, 1 lb. ground beef, 2 cups cheese, 1 tbls. chili powder, 1/2 of an onion, 1 garlic clove and 2/3 bag of corn chips. Regular corn chips, broken up, could also be used in place of Fritos corn chips.

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

Our local grocery store has been making these pumpkin bread bowls and selling them in their bakery department. I couldn't pass them up and knew I had to find a yummy cream-type soup to put inside them. Last month, we had a potluck dinner at work and one of my co-workers, Nina, made a delicious, creamy soup with cheese and vegetables. It was so good, we all asked for the recipe. I knew this was the soup for these cute pumpkin bread bowls. This recipe can easily be made in the crockpot once the veggies are cooked. It also makes a lot, but the recipe can be cut in half too.

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

5 cups water
1/4 cup onion, minced
2 large potatoes, cubed into 1/2" squares
2 stalks of celery, sliced thin
3 chicken boullion cubes

Boil above ingredients in a large pot for 8-10 minutes.

Add:
2 (16 oz.) pkgs. frozen broccoli, cauliflower & carrot mix, thawed and cut into smaller pieces

Boil for 5 minutes more

Stir in:
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted
2 cans creamed corn
1 lb. pkg. Velveeta Cheese, cut into 1" cubes

Keep stirring until melted. If soup is too thin, add some instant potato flakes to thicken. If the soup is too thick, add a can of chicken broth. If using a crockpot, set on Low and warm for 2-3 hours.

Edward's Blood Muffins

In honor of Halloween and for those of you who are waaaayyy into the "Twilight" series. This part was cut from the original version of the book. I understand that Edward did a lot of cooking for Bella and these were the muffins he made for her one crisp, Fall morning. Unfortunately, he could not eat them, and in his envious, heated state of mind, mistakenly dripped his vampire venom all over them which gave her some extra added vitamins to jump start her day.

Edward's Blood Muffins

Open one box of this muffin mix, mix and bake according to package directions. Serve warm. Hopefully, in the right circumstances, your muffins will mistakenly have vampire venom dripped all over them too.
Note: I, and my blog, take no responsibility if a real vampire shows up at your door and desires your neck instead of these muffins. Please take extra care when baking and have some garlic and a crucifix handy. By the way, this was just for fun...go with it!

Crockpot Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

A recipe from my latest crockpot cookbook purchase.

Crockpot Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

1 pkg. (6 oz.) chicken-flavored stuffing mix
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2" pieces
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup

Combine stuffing mix (and seasoning packet) with 1 cup water unil just moistened in large bowl. Set aside.

Mix chicken, zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper and onion in another large bowl. Stir in soup. Transfer half of the chicken-vegetable mixture to 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Spoon half of the reserved stuffing on top. Repeat layers.

Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until vegetables are tender.

Changes and Updates

I have been cooking and baking away and have added some more recipes just recently. And my label list on my sidebar has been added. So that should help you search for recipes more easily.

By the way, I just recently found a really yummy crockpot recipe book in the grocery store. I can't wait to try some of the recipes and share them with you. There's just something about Fall that makes crockpot recipes so warm and inviting. Again, stay tuned!!! Until then...MAKE THAT KITCHEN SMELL GOOD! mmm....

White Bean and Chicken Soup

As the weather turns to Fall, soups begin to show up as dinner in our house. This one is a first for us. And it turns out, it was very delicious! Even my kids ate it! In this recipe I used a garlic chicken sausage, but you can easily use diced chicken instead. I also really liked the simplicity of this soup. Ready in about 30 minutes. You may also cook this longer if you want the flavors to mesh more thoroughly and enhance the chicken broth. I served this with crackers and we, the parental figures, added a dollop of sour cream and grated Pepperjack Cheese. Mmmm...

White Bean and Chicken Soup

3 (15 oz.) can white beans, drained
6 cups chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbls. olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1/2" cubes
2 (4 oz.) cans whole green chilies
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teas. ground cumin
1 1/2 teas. dried oregano, crushed
1/4 teas. red pepper flakes, crushed
1 teas. salt
1/2 teas. black pepper

Place olive oil, chopped onions, garlic and cubed chicken into a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until onions are tender and chicken is longer pink. Transfer mixture to a stock pot or large soup pot. Add in green chilies, cumin, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook until the smell of the spices have been released, about 1 minute. Add in chicken broth, then white beans, stir thoroughly. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 10-15 on medium high to combine all of the flavors. Turn off heat and serve warm.

Swedish Pancakes

I absolutely love Swedish Pancakes! With my mother being Swedish, we grew up on these as kids and I've made sure that I pass the tradition onto my kids as well. I have fond memories of family get-togethers where my aunts and uncles would make LARGE batches of batter and spend at least an hour or more taking turns at the stove pouring the batter, waiting for it to cook, flipping it and then serving it. Only to have it disappear within seconds. These thin, delicate pancakes resemble the French pancake called a Crepe. The recipe differs slightly from country to country.

We eat our Swedish pancakes with a variety of toppings depending on our preference that day. My favorite is the classic way of eating them, with lingonberries. I stock up on jars of lingonberry preserves from Ikea when we head up North. My kids like it with just plain maple syrup, but we've been known to have sliced bananas, a triple berry mix and top it off with Cool Whip or chocolate syrup. Anything would be yummy...applesauce with a dash of cinnamon and maple syrup is good also. Go ahead and play with your choice of toppings. But make these pancakes sometime, they're worth the time and effort.

Swedish Pancakes

4 eggs
3 cups milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teas. salt
3 tbls. sugar
3 tbls. butter, melted

In a blender, add eggs and milk. Blend until combined. In a small bowl sift in dry ingredients. With the blender on low, add in dry ingredients a couple spoonfuls at a time until thoroughly combined. Add in melted butter and mix until all ingredients make a smooth, thin batter.

Using a small frying pan or a Swedish style flat pan, lightly grease the pan with some butter on a paper towel. Add 1/4 cup of batter to the pan, and quickly swirl the batter around to cover the bottom of the surface. After about 1-2 minutes, the edges should loosen with spatula. Lift and flip over and cook the other side of pancake for another 1-2 minutes and remove. Cooked pancakes can be stored in a 200 F degree oven until ready to eat.

Spread desired toppings down the middle of pancake, and with one end of the pancake roll up into a tube-like shape. Serve warm or cold depending on toppings. Enjoy!

Banana Bread

Please don't be confused with the shape of this bread. It's not a cake! I was desperate or should I say I had a bad craving for some banana bread one day and decided that I would bake it in a 9 x 9" baking dish instead of a loaf pan. By doing that, it cut my baking time down by 20 minutes. So hence the shape!

We've been making this banana bread for almost 10-12 years. It's become our family's favorite! The recipe comes from an old Pillsbury cookbook I got shortly after my hubby and I got married. Our oldest daughter has made this several times on her own so the ease of it makes it the perfect recipe for kids to help with. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Banana Bread

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
(Note: I often add more than one cup, up to 1/2 cup more, it doesn't bother the recipe one bit.)
1/3 cup milk
1 teas. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teas. baking soda
1/2 teas. salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease bottom of a 9 x 5" loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs; blend in bananas, milk and vanilla. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and nuts, if desired and mix well. Add to creamed mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes; remove. Cool completely on wire rack. Slice. Eat. Yum. Wrap and store leftovers in the fridge.

Pork Chops with Feta Skillet

This is one family who loves the flavor of feta cheese. Even my kids like the flavor. So when I came across this recipe I knew I had to make it. This recipe also just happens to be one of my cooking class recipes that I made back in early 2007. The only problem I had with this recipe was the feta cheese melting properly. I decided that the meat might need to be slightly undercooked and placed under a broiler with the feta cheese on top for it to melt just right. That way the meat doesn't come out dry and the cheese melts.

Pork Chops with Feta Skillet

1 teas. crushed dried rosemary
1 teas. dried basil
1 teas. minced garlic
1 pinch black pepper
2 tbls. olive oil
4 pork chops
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 container of crumbled feta cheese (with basil & tomatoes)

In a small mixing bowl, stir together rosemary, basil, garlic and pepper. Place lemon juice into another bowl.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip pork chops in lemon juice and sprinkle with dried herb mixture. Place pork chops in skillet and sear both sides, about 5-7 minutes per side. Reduce heat to low. Sprinkle feta on top of chops, cover skillet and cook until cheese begins to melt, about 5 minutes. Or place under broiler in oven. Remove from skillet and serve warm. Serve with a side of couscous and a nice green salad.

Baked Ziti

My friend lead me onto this recipe about a month ago. She said she received it through a "Mom's site" email. She made the recipe and loved it. I decided one day to do some searching on Allrecipes.com to see what kind of Baked Ziti recipes they had to offer and to see if any of their recipes compared to this one she sent me. My search resulted in a recipe that had over 3,500 postitive reviews, so I pulled it up and lo and behold this was the exact same recipe she had sent me. Apparently, some "Mom's site" is emailing out Allrecipes.com recipes. With that out of the way, let me just say this was a really good dish. There's no need to go out to a fancy Italian place when you can this dish right in your own home. My only change would be to add more cheese on top before baking.

Baked Ziti

1 lb. dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef or sausage
2 (26 oz.) jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce
6 oz. provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tbls. parmesan cheese, grated

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain.

In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Butter a 9" x 13" baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese an remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated over or until cheeses are melted.

Easy homemade Biscuits

I came across this recipe from Allrecipes.com and decided to make my own instead of using the store bought refrigerated kind. I made these to go with a Sausage & Country Gravy over Biscuits recipe that I got through a recipe email link. Although, I didnt actually use the recipe itself because I decided to buy a packet of gravy mix instead. Haha! But, I thought they turned out really good! The key to making fluffy biscuits is that they need to be rolled thick and kneaded less than normal. Meaning, don't mess with the dough too much. Just combine the ingredients and form or pat the dough into a 1 inch thick circle. Cut biscuits using a circle biscuit cutter (the kind that has a raised handle) and press into dough without twisting the cutter. Twisting seals the edges of the dough and prevents (not soft and fluffy) the dough from raising when baking. Then gently lift each biscuit and place on baking sheet.

Easy Homemade Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 tbls. baking powder

1 teas. salt

1 tbls. sugar

1/3 cup shortening

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 F degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead gently 5-8 times until dough comes together. Pat dough to a 1 inch thick circle. Cut dough using biscuit cutter or a large drinking glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used. Brush off excess flour and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 13 - 15 minutes in preheated oven or until edges begin to brown. Remove. Serve warm.

Julie's Peach Cobbler

If you haven't taken the time to enjoy the peaches from your local grocer or friendly neighbor who's been so kind to let you pick their peaches, then hurry up and get some and make this cobbler. It's our family's favorite!

Once again, I've made a recipe that has no exact amounts to the ingredients. Because the topping can be adjusted to fit any amount of peaches, I usually go by the size of the baking dish to determine how much topping I'm going to make. In this recipe, I used a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with sliced peaches filled to about 1 1/2 inches full. And yes, there is one stick of butter being used in this recipe but one stick is really not much for a 9 x 13 pan. So enjoy...

Julie's Peach Cobbler

5-12 peaches, washed, pitted and sliced
3-4 tbls. sugar (depending on sweetness of peaches)
1/2 teas. ground nutmeg
1 teas. ground cinnamon

Prepare peaches and place into a large mixing bowl. Coat with sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon and toss until fully mixed. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.

Topping:
1 1/2 cups yellow cake mix, dry
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teas. ground cinnamon
1 stick of butter (not margarine) at room temperature, sliced
Vanilla ice cream, optional

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients. Mix and add in sliced butter. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until mixture resembles a doughy crumble.

Pour prepared peaches into a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with crumble mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until medium golden brown on top and peaches have bubbled on the sides. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

Blueberry Yogurt Cake

I made this cake for my hubby for his birthday this year and realized after I had scanned through some photos that I had not bothered to post the recipe here on my blog. It was so versatile and so yummy that I needed to make sure that other people knew of this fabulous dessert. I found the recipe online and after looking over the recipe I also realized that it can be changed up to whatever flavor of yogurt fits your taste.
Blueberry Yogurt Cake

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 egg whites
1 container (6 oz) blueberry yogurt (with fruit)
1 container Betty Crocker® Whipped vanilla frosting
1 pint of fresh blueberries
1 jar of all-fruit blueberry jam

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Generously grease and lightly flour bottoms and sides of two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans, or spray with baking spray with flour.

In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, egg whites and yogurt with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds; beat on medium speed 2 minutes (batter will be lumpy). Pour into pans.

Bake 8-inch rounds 27 to 32 minutes, 9-inch rounds 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pans to loosen cakes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Stir jam to loosen and spread 1/2 cup jam over 1 cake layer to within 1/4 inch of edge. Layer some blueberries over jam. Top with second layer. Frost side and top of cake with frosting. Make frosting dollops in a circle in center of cake. Arrange more blueberries on top and place some around the perimeter of the cake. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

My favorite Frosting:
1 large tub of Cool Whip
1 small pkg. of White Chocolate instant-pudding mix

Pour pudding mix into Cool Whip and fold until thoroughly combined. Let the frosting sit for about 20 minutes to thicken. Spread on cake.

Beef Taco Squares

I found this recipe online when I was looking for something different to make using ground beef. I think it turned out quite yummy and each of my kids liked it. They approved of me making this again in the future. This recipe reminded me of meat pockets without the sides being sealed off. We topped our servings off with the typical taco toppings: lettuce, salsa and sour cream. The meat mixture already had plenty of cheese so we didn't add more on top but you could if you wanted to. I usually like olives with my beef tacos and forgot to add them to this dish this time. I will have to remember them for next time. The recipe also called for chili sauce to be added to the meat. I didn't have any so I left it out. After tasting it I couldn't understand why it needed it??? There was plenty of flavoring as is.

Beef Taco Squares

2 (8-ounce) cans crescent rolls, divided
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 small onion, minced
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup chili sauce (optional)
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Toppings: sour cream, salsa, lettuce, olives

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.

Unroll 1 can crescent rolls, and press into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cook ground beef and onion in a large skillet, stirring until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in cheese and next 6 ingredients; spoon over first layer of baked crust.

Unroll remaining can of crescent rolls, and shape into a rectangle, pressing perforations to seal. Arrange over beef mixture. Press up to edges.

Bake again at 375 F degrees for 20 minutes or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.

Garlic Chicken Brats & Pesto Rotini

My son came up to me as I was making this dish and asked, "Mom, how come you don't make up your own recipes when you cook?" "Well," I said, "it just so happens that this dinner is something I made up on my own." He looked at me with his mouth wide open in amazement and said, "wow, that is so cool!" "You really are a good cook, huh?" Now how could I argue with that comment? I love my son! He always makes me feel so good.

I created this dish using some of our favorite ingredients: bratwursts, artichokes, pesto and parmesan. As far as the recipes goes, and I know I've said this before in the past, but once again this is a recipe that can be made to your liking. And in the quantities that will suit you and your family. My hubby couldn't get enough of this pasta dish that night. I think he had a full 2 plates. He kept saying, "mmm, this pasta is sooo good!" You can also substitute the chicken brats with an Italian-type sausage and use alternative vegetables such as: mushrooms or zucchini. The garlic chicken brats were freshly made by the butchers at Harmons. I just discarded the casings and used only the meat. I cooked it just like I would regular ground beef.

Garlic Chicken Brats & Pesto Rotini

1 box of rotini pasta, cooked and drained

1 pkg. Harmons brand Bob's Garlic Chicken Brats

1/3 cup Kirkland brand Basil Pesto sauce

2 jars of marinated artichokes, drained

Sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
Parmesan Cheese

Olive oil

In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large, 2" deep skillet, remove casings from bratwursts, chop and brown till longer pink. Drain pasta, toss with some olive oil to prevently it from drying. Set aside. Remove grease from brats. Return skillet to stove and add artichokes and sun dried tomatoes till thoroughly heated. Add pasta, toss, add pesto sauce, toss and heated till completely cooked. If pasta looks dry, add more olive oil or extra pesto. Add parmesan cheese to each individual plate before serving. Serve with warm bread and a side salad, if desired.

Sesame Teriyaki with Rice Noodles

I recently purchased this box of Simply Asia's Sesame Teriyaki with rice noodles meal kit. It comes with the rice noodles, teriyaki sauce and a small packet of sesame seeds.
I've made this recipe a few times because my kids really like it. But I need to warn you the box may not feed larger families or those with family members who have big appetites. So my solution... mix the rice noodles with some spaghetti broken in half (before boiling) and add some extra Mr. Yoshida's sauce to it. Which is what I did here with my own meal. It's an easy way to "bulk" up a smaller sized recipe.

In this recipe I added some sliced green cabbage and cubed chicken. I also think, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, etc...would be other yummy alternatives. Use separate or a combination of them.

Sesame Teriyaki with Rice Noodles

1 box of Simply Asia's Sesame Teriyaki

Cook according to package directions. Add extra desired ingredients: chicken, broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, zucchini, onions, etc...

For larger portions add:

Spaghetti
Mr. Yoshida' sauce

Top with packet of sesame seeds and serve warm.

Debbie's Fresno Tacos

My friend Debbie had us over for dinner a year or two ago and made these yummy tacos. Their not what you would expect to find in a typical taco, but the ingredients really do mesh nicely together. Even my kids liked them and said they wouldn't mind if I wanted to make them again sometime. However, I do need to find out from Debbie where she got the recipe and how they got their name. Maybe she can post a comment and let us all know...???

Debbie's Fresno Tacos

Note: I can't give you the exact amounts to this recipe because this recipe can be so easily adjusted depending on the amount of people you are serving. I will list the ingredients in the amounts I made them and you'll have to be the judge on how much you need for your family. The secret to this recipe is adding as much garlic as you can handle. My husband also used some green salsa verde on his and thought it added just the right amount of flavor. My kids requested shredded cheese, but I think you can use the normal taco toppings and they would still taste great.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 can diced potatoes, drained
1/2 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced
Corn tortillas
Oil for frying tortillas

In a large skillet, on medium heat, brown ground beef, drain and return to heat. Add minced garlic and cook until completely flavored. Add potatoes and sliced cabbage. Cook until cabbage is wilted and soft. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in frying pan and cook each tortilla until slightly firm but not crunchy. Remove and drain on paper towels. Add meat mixture to taco, fold, add extra toppings and serve.

Julie's "BAM-good" Chili

This recipe was inspired by a recipe that my youngest sister had several years ago. She would probably claim to this day that recipe is her's, but I can honestly say it is not. The ingredients have changed so many times since then, in hopes to find the right combination of flavors, that there is no way it could possibility be her's. And trust me...I would give credit where credit is due...as you can see by my previous recipes.

Feel free to change the meat up when you want. In this picture I used a fresh chicken sausage from Harmons, but you could use regular ground beef, turkey or chicken to the recipe. This is a really easy recipe and the onion and garlic can have more or less added depending on your liking. You can even add green bell pepper if you wish. This recipe is very adjustable and can fit anyone’s taste palate. If you don’t like corn, replace it with a regular can of pinto beans. And this recipe can also be placed into a crock-pot or slow-cooker on LOW for 3-4 hours after the ground beef, onions and garlic have been cooked.

Julie's "BAM-good" Chili

2-3 tbls. oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 lb. lean ground meat, browned & drained
1 (28 oz.) can of tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can of S&W's brand tomatoes with jalapenos
2 (16 oz.) cans of Bush's brand chili flavored beans
1 (15.5 oz.) can of S&W's brand Santa Fe recipe beans with corn
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, drained & rinsed
Optional: 1 teas. ground chili pepper - use for more heat or use a
liquid red pepper sauce and add to your taste.
Add additional salt & pepper if it needs it.

Chop onion, mince garlic and open all “canned” items, set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, drain and set aside.

In a large pot on medium heat, add oil. Then add chopped onion. Cook till tender and translucent. Add minced garlic. Continue cooking until garlic is infused with onion (about 1 min.). Add browned ground beef to onion mixture and stir to reheat. Then add cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Stir to warm-up. Add the 4 cans of beans and simmer on low-heat for 10-15 minutes until all of the ingredients are heated thoroughly. Or combine all ingredients into a slow cooker/crock-pot.

At this point, taste to see if flavor is to your liking. This is a good time to add any extra salt or pepper or the chili pepper/red pepper sauce. Remove from heat. Serve in bowls with grated cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream (optional) and several saltine crackers or cornbread.

BAM!

The Essential Chewy Oatmeal Cookie

This cookie was absolutely amazing! The flavor reminded me of something you could enjoy during the Fall season. I got the recipe from a cookbook my mother in-law had called The Best of the Best. I think it was the best oatmeal cookies I've had in a long time. It held true to it's name. I hope you'll try them!

Before I give you the recipe, I need to comment on the ingredients first. First off, I replaced most of the shortening with a 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce. Second, I don't understand why it needed corn syrup and milk? If you understand some of the science of baking, you would know what I'm talking about. Those items are added for moisture, which you need to soften the oatmeal, but with the extra applesauce I felt it was a waste of ingredients. So I will leave adding those to your recipe up to you. I personally didn't think it needed it. But on the other hand, I know corn syrup can help with chewiness which is why I loved this recipe. Ah, what the heck, just add all the ingredients it asks for except try cutting back on the butters with the applesauce. It sure was a yummy cookie! And finally, it also states at the end of the recipe to lightly grease your baking sheet. If you are using a metal one, then you will need to do this step or line it with some parchment paper. I used my baking stone and it had a slight resistance when I removed them with my spatula (a good thing from a well seasoned stone). So on with the recipe:

The Essential Chewy Oatmeal Cookie

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1/2 sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 teas. vanilla extract
1/4 teas. almond extract
3/4 teas. cinnamon
1/8 teas. ground cloves
1/4 teas. nutmeg
1 teas. salt
1 teas. baking soda
1 large egg
6 tbls. corn syrup
2 tbls. milk
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. raisins
1 c. chopped pecans/walnuts
3 cup old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheet; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, shortening and sugars until smooth. Add in vanilla and almond extracts and spices, salt and baking soda. Beat in egg, corn syrup and milk. Add in flour, raisins, nuts and oats. Thoroughly combine, scoop onto baking sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes (depending on oven) until golden brown. Let cool for 2 minutes and then remove from baking sheet onto a cooling rack. Makes approx. 30-40 cookies depending on size.

Crockpot 10 Garlic clove Chicken

This recipe was inspired by another recipe that I recently saw on an online website a few months ago. The original recipe was for 40 cloves of garlic (yes, you read that right) but I was too lazy and in a hurry (church) to take time to print it off. So I was trying to remember the recipe off the top of my head as I was putting it together. I didn't have all of the exact ingredients so I used what I had and this is what I came up with. I'm sure the ingredients aren't anywhere close to the other recipe and I forgot to add the sauteed mushrooms on top before I took this picture. Just noticed that detail as I was uploading it. Don't be afraid of the garlic...it really was a yummy and flavorful dish.

Crockpot 10 Garlic Clove Chicken

5 chicken breasts, cut into 2" big chunks
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 teas. Italian seasoning
1 teas. salt
1/2 teas. ground pepper
1/3 c. olive oil
1 (14 oz.) can of chicken broth
1 can of condensed Cream of Celery soup
1 can of condensed Golden Mushroom soup
2 tbls. of cornstarch (dissolved in 1/4 c. cold water)
2-3 c. of sliced mushrooms, sauteed
Cooked rice

In a small bowl combine, olive oil, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir together. The mixture will resemble an oily paste. Pour this mixture over cut up chicken, toss to coat and place into a crock pot/slow cooker. Pour cream of celery soup and 1/2 of the can of chicken broth into the crock pot. There's no need to dilute the soup because of the moisture that will be created from the crock pot. Place the lid on and turn setting on High and let it cook 3-4 hours.

Turn off crock pot. (This is usually a good time to begin cooking your rice). In a medium sized bowl, remove chicken from liquid and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or large deep skillet pour the chicken drippings from the crock pot into the pan. Add in remaining chicken broth and stir into liquid the dissolved cornstarch. The heat will start to thicken and create a sauce. Add in golden mushroom soup. Stir to combine. Once the sauce is heated through, take the chicken chunks and shred using your fingers and place into sauce. Add enough chicken until there is an equal chicken/sauce ratio. I ended up with about 5-6 chunks leftover. Which I used for another meal that week. Make sure the sauce isn't too thick. You can add a little milk or water to it if it is. If it's too runny, add one teaspoon of cornstarch at a time until it is the right consistency. Once the sauce is too your liking, turn off heat and set aside.

Saute sliced mushrooms in another pan using more olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Once the mushrooms and rice have cooked, plate this dish up, baby! Put rice on plate, pour chicken sauce over top and pile a spoonful of mushrooms on top. Serve warm with a side of salad and bread/rolls. Yummy! Enjoy!

Vegetable Pizza

Lately I've been making this vegetable pizza for us. My hubby and I really like this pizza and are usually the only ones who will eat it. I used my recipe for Tony's Pizza Dough here on this blog. Instead of using a marinara-type pizza sauce, I used ranch dressing instead. You could even use a alfredo sauce or a basil-pesto sauce (from Costco) too. The types of vegetables you use are endless. I layer spinach leaves over the sauce before adding the other vegetables.

Vegetable Pizza

1 batch of pizza dough
Choice of sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Vegetables: spinach, mushrooms, olives, zucchini, summer squash, onions, bell peppers, canned artichokes and tomatoes.

Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Roll out part of the dough into a 12-14 inch circle. Spread sauce over dough, add spinach leaves, sprinkle about a 1/2 cup of cheese over the spinach, then top with desired vegetables and saving tomatoes till last. Sprinkle more cheese over vegetables. Add tomatoes last and arrange in a nice decorative pattern on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes until crust is a nice golden brown. Remove, cool slightly, slice and serve.

Other pizza ideas:
BBQ chicken: BBQ sauce, pre-cooked chicken, mozzarella cheese, purple onion
Marguerita: Basil-pesto sauce, mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil
Hawaiian: Marinara sauce, sliced canadian bacon, fresh pineapple chunks

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Since it's zucchini season, I decided that this would be the perfect time to pull out our favorite chocolate recipe that hides this yummy veggie and makes this cake very moist. My friend Rick loves this recipe and couldn't seem to quit with just one piece when I recently brought it to a potluck. He has no problems with veggies being mixed into his favorite desserts. He only wished he had a glass of milk to go with it. LOL! So for those of you who might have an abundance of zucchini in your gardens this season, this would be the perfect recipe to help use some of them up. Go ahead...give it a try...you won't regret it!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teas. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teas. baking soda
1 teas. salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 egg
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 13" baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and vanilla until well blended. Add the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Fold in zucchini, egg and water. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before adding frosting. Slice and serve.

Scaldoni's Greek Pasta Salad

About 8 or 9 years ago, I attended a cooking class for Homemaking (back when it was called that) and we were fortunate enough to have the chef from a local restaurant here in town called Scaldoni's come and demonstrate this yummy pasta salad for us. For some reason, no one bothered to right down the recipe as he was demonstrating it. I was the only one. Goes to show you my true dedication to cooking was a little OCD-ish back then too. With that in mind and because I make it all the time, people seem to think that it's my recipe. I unfortunately can't take credit for this recipe as much as I want to. And believe me...I do! I think this is one pasta salad that I could never get sick of eating. The flavors of each of the ingredients blended together works perfectly. The tartness of the vinegar, the tang from the feta and the mild hot flavor from the pepperoncinis is all very delightful. So with that said, I hope you enjoy it as much as those who are lucky enough to eat this salad. I also love how healthy this recipe is. You could even use the new whole wheat versions of pasta and it would be so much more healthier.

Note: Each of the ingredients that were demonstrated that night never had exact amounts. And to this day I have never used exact amounts. You basically have to eyeball the amount and add each one to your liking. I really don't care for onions, but I know other people do, so I still add it but I slice them small so they don't affect me too much. Also, I really like the look of the bowtie pasta, but other shapes can be used too. A good rule of thumb is to cut the veggies around the same size as the pasta. Mainly the onions, cucumbers and tomatoes. Make sure you don't buy yellow banana peppers, look for the jar that says "peperoncinis". There's a difference!



Scaldoni's Greek Pasta Salad

12-16 oz. box of pasta: bowties, spiral, rigatoni or penne, cooked
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Greek Seasoning mix (see pic above)
1 large can of olives, sliced
1 large cucumber, seeded and cubed
1 container of feta cheese
2-3 roma tomatoes, seeded and cubed
1 jar of deli-sliced, greek peperoncinis
1 purple onion, sliced

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, prepare veggies and set aside. Drain pasta in strainer and pour back into pot to cool. DO NOT RUN COLD WATER OVER PASTA! The starch gets washed away and makes it hard for the pasta soak in the flavorings of each of the ingredients. Just keep tossing it to let out the heat. You may add a few tablespoons of olive oil to loosen the pasta so it doesn't stick. The cooling process takes a while so plan accordingly.

Once pasta has cooled, start adding enough red wine vinegar, oil and seasoning to coat the pasta lightly. Start out minimally so that it doesn't overpower the pasta at the beginning. Add in each of the veggies and season once again with the vinegar, oil and seasoning. Toss completely. Taste test the pasta to see if flavor is to your liking. It should taste tangy and somewhat peppery from the seasoning and peperoncinis. Add in feta cheese at the very end. Store in airtight container in refridgerator until ready to serve. Nostimmos! (Greek for delicious!)

Panang Curry over Rice

A few months ago some friends and I went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant here in town called Benja's Thai. This was our first time eating there and we loved it! Later, I decided that would be a great place to go again for our anniversary. Kerry and I had the same dishes my friends and I had earlier. And he loved them! Well, in my quest to try to recreate recipes that I try in restaurants, the hunt for the right ingredients began... In my research online, I discovered that some of the ingredients weren't available in most grocery stores and would need to be purchased in a speciality store. So I gave up hope in making it on my own. Well guess what? Little did I know that I was going to find this wonderful jar of already made Panang Curry in my grocery store's Asian section. Along with this jar of Chili Garlic Sauce...


I was so excited to try out my new discovery! The premade curry sauce made this recipe very simple to put together. In the time I was steaming rice, I was able to chop the veggies, add the two sauces, heat and dinner was ready in about 25-30 minutes.

(A Rick "warning"... no mushrooms on this guy's plate!)

Panang Curry over Rice

2 cups of chopped veggies, sauteed in skillet
1/2 lb. chicken, cubed (or shrimp)
1 jar of Thai Kitchen Panang Curry
1 teas. Chili Garlic sauce
Precooked rice, warm and ready to eat

The directions to this recipe is located on the back of the bottle of curry sauce. I used carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, and broccoli with chicken. You may also use: bell peppers, onions, potatoes, etc...

Once the meat and the veggies are cooked, add both sauces and heat till warmed. Pour mixture over warmed rice and serve.

Notes: The sauce should be runny and there should also be a little more sauce than veggies. That's the typical way it was presented to us at the restaurant. Also, they asked us what level of "heat" we wanted our dish to be. So if you would like to taste the red chilies more in your dish, then add more of the chili garlic sauce.

Oatmeal Toffee Graham bars

It would appear by the amount of bar cookie-type recipes I have on this blog, that I really love to make bar cookies. Which is really not the case, but I have found lately that I really like the amount of different layers and flavors you get when you eat a bar cookie. And I must say that this recipe really fits in that category. I think this recipe is definately going to get rave reviews from all of you and those who get to savor it's every layer. Although I can't take the credit for the recipe, I will kindly say that BHG.com has a winner of a treat.

Oatmeal Toffee Graham Bars

8-12 whole graham crackers (rectangles)
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbls. flour
2/3 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 teas. vanilla
1 (12 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped or silvered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a 9 x 13" baking pan with foil, extending foil beyond edges of pan. Arrange whole graham crackers in a single layer in prepared pan. Cut grahams into smaller pieces to fit into smaller areas.

In a large bowl combine the oats, sugars, and flour. Stir in melted butter, egg, and vanilla until well combined. Spoon over graham crackers and spread evenly to edges of pan to cover graham crackers.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until oat mixture bubbles and is lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Return to oven for 1 minute. Remove from oven. Spread melted chocolate over top to cover. Evenly sprinkle with almonds. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Use foil to lift from pan. Cut or break into bars.

Notes: You may change the chocolate chips to milk chocolate or bittersweet depending your liking. And you may also change the almonds to pecans or for the real extreme...coconut!

Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake

I discovered this recipe just recently on one of my favorite websites ever. It's a homemade from scratch chocolate sheet cake that is too die for. The recipe does call for almost a full pound of butter (no subs) so if you can get over that, you'll enjoy every bite of the cake. I brought this cake to a potluck picnic we attended this past weekend and let's just say there was very little of it leftover. If mine had been the only dessert, I'm sure there would have only been crumbs left behind. The recipe was pretty easy, but done in steps...so hang in there! It's worth it in the end.

Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake

Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
(set aside)

In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter and add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat.

Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a glass measuring cup:
1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add: 2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.

Add 6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar, stir together. Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you just made the best chocolate sheet cake. EVER.

A MUCH better Pizza Dough

I know...not much of a pizza picture, huh? Well, I'm sorry but we couldn't help ourselves. This was last of our pizza and then I realized that I hadn't taken a picture. This picture is actually more to show you two of the products we use to create our homemade pizzas. Plus, to announce I've discovered an all-new pizza dough just recently that has become our family favorite. And there's no way I can take credit for this recipe, so I will leave the name as it is and give credit to it's rightful owner, Tony. Yo, Tony...I don't know who you are, but I love your pizza dough, man! It beat out Giada DeLaurentiis' recipe previously posted on this blog. Sorry Giada, love your Italian cooking, but Tony's got'ya by a landslide on this one.

I would recommend a mixer with a dough hook. You will need it with this recipe. The recipe seems kind of time consuming, but it really is worth it in the end. Plus, it makes (2) 14" pizzas from one batch of dough. And you do need to add the amount of salt listed. It's dough for pizzas, not cinnamon rolls.

Tony's Pizza Dough

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (90 to 100 degrees)
1 cup cold water
1 tbls. sugar
1 tbls. salt
2 tbls. olive oil
5 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

In a small bowl, with a fork, stir yeast into warm water. Let stand until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl with a dough hook attached to electric stand mixer, add the 5 1/4 cups flour and turn on mixer to a slow speed. Slowly add the cold water, sugar, salt and oil until crumbly. Add in the yeast mixture and continue on the slow speed until flour mixture pulls together into a ball. Add an extra 2 tbls. of flour if it appears sticky. Or 2 tbls. of water if the dough appears dry. Let the mixer knead the dough for 10-12 minutes.

Lightly flour countertop and remove dough from bowl. Knead dough into a nice, smooth ball. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled. About 1 hour up to 10 hours. If making ahead, place in the fridge until ready to use.

Divide dough in half, and roll each section out into 14 inches. Pick up and place on pizza pan and reform to the pan. Add toppings. Bake in a preheated 400 F degree oven for 15-18 minutes. Or until dough is lightly browned and no longer doughy. Slice into pieces and ENJOY! Yum!

Oatmeal & Peanut Butter Swirl Bars

Yes, this recipe does have chocolate in it, but the dominating flavors in these scrumptous bars are oatmeal and peanut butter. Two of my most favorite flavors in a cookie or bar recipe. When I came across this recipe on the back of a 10 lb. bag of flour and saw it's list of ingredients, I knew I had to make them. My curiousity always gets the best of me when it comes to recipes.

Oatmeal & Peanut Butter Swirl Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 teas. baking soda
1/2 teas. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbls. peanut butter
2 tbls. milk
(Mix together in a small bowl while bars are baking and set aside.)

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add egg and peanut butter and mix well. Stir in soda, salt, flour and oatmeal. Press into a 9 x 13" baking dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and drizzle with icing. Spread the icing into the melted chocolate chips to create a swirl or marbled look. Cool completely. Cut into squares and... devour!

Note: the consistency of this mixture is a thicker cookie dough. It should be a little hard to spread into the baking dish. Just be patient and it will cover the entire dish.

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

I sure hope this recipe isn't grossing you out by the looks of this picture. I don't think I could get it to look any better before it was cooked or after. So trust me this really was a simple and tasty recipe done in the crockpot. I used my favoritre new sauce I discovered at Costco earlier this year. I'm sure most of you have seen or even tried it yourself, but I've really come to enjoy the convenience and ease of this sauce and marinade.
I was desperate for a Sunday after church meal and was craving some kind of Asian-type dish. I immediately thought of my bottle of Mr. Yoshida's sauce. So I hurried and cut up some chicken breasts into 2 inch pieces and poured this sauce over it, added some brown sugar, garlic powder, soy sauce and some fresh pineapple chunks I had in the fridge. You can't see them in the picture, but they're in there. I then set the crock pot on High and let it cook while we were at church. The sauce ended up a little watered down so I removed the chicken to a bowl and took about one cup of the sauce from the crockpot. I then poured that sauce over the chicken in the bowl and started to shred the chicken into smaller bites and added another cup of fresh sauce from the bottle. The warmth of the cooked chicken was warm enough to heat up the extra sauce. We ate the cooked chicken on top of steamed rice and some cooked veggies on the side. The whole family loved my dinner that night and was pleased with it's simplicity.

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

4-5 chicken breasts, cut into 2" pieces
2-3 cups Mr. Yoshida's Gourmet Sweet & Savory sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teas. garlic powder
1 teas. ground ginger
Fresh or canned pineapple chunks

Put ingredients into crock pot, add lid and simmer on High for 3 hours. Remove chicken and reserve 1 cup of liquid from crockpot. Shred chicken with liquid and the 3rd cup of sauce. Serve over steamed rice and cooked veggies.

Crescent Chicken Roll-ups

I came across this recipe from another website. The recipe couldn't have been yummier! AND I actually got most of my family to eat it...which is always a bonus in our house. The recipe called for chopped walnuts which was an optional ingredient, but I chose to add it to the chicken mixture to try it out. I felt like it was a nice addition as it gave it a light crunchy texture to the roll-ups. Another ingredient that's listed was chopped celery. I didn't have any of that on hand so I of course left it out. We didn't notice the ingredient missing. But I think the next time I make these, I'll add it. I think it will give a good flavor balance to the walnuts and mushrooms. I used a Cream of Chicken and Herbs soup instead of the regular Cream of Chicken. Since it was being used as the gravy, I wanted it to have more flavor than the regular soup. But both flavors are also very good. Also, 2 cans of canned chicken can also be used when you are in a hurry or don't have leftover cooked chicken. Serve with your choice of side dish. A nice, colorful green salad works and looks really good.

Crescent Chicken Roll-ups

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/8 teas. pepper
2 cups cooked chicken
1 (4 oz.) can of mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup celery, chopped (optional)
2 cans of refrigerated Crescent rolls
1 can Cream of Chicken & Herbs soup
1/2 soup can of milk

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.

Mix first 7 ingredients. Unroll crescent rolls and flatten them into a more even-shaped triangle. Place 2-3 tbls. of chicken mixture on wide end of each piece of dough. Roll up and place each one in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake until roll-ups turn golden brown and dough looks fully cooked. About 15-20 minutes.

In a small sauce pan, pour in Cream of Chicken & Herbs soup with the milk. Stir to combine and warm until the soup resembles a gravy. Pour over rolls and serve.

Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for a friend last month for her birthday. The cupcake recipe itself was too die for! I love making cake batters from scratch now. It's really hard to go back to a box mix once you find some really yummy recipes that turn out really good from home. If you have some good recipes on hand, then you can always make a cake batter whenever you need one. Lemon just happens to be one of my most favorite cake flavors and when I came across this recipe, I had to try it. Especially when I saw that it had buttermilk as one of its ingredients.

The flowers on top of these cupcakes are made from melting candy chocolates. The were so easy and of course, my mind flooded with tons more ideas for future chocolate creations. I saw the idea online on one of favorite baking blogs. Here's the link for the instructions: http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2008/05/wow-your-mom-on-mothers-day.html You should scroll through her blog and see all the cute stuff she creates. Clicking on the blog title will bring you back to the most current post and scroll from there.

Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teas. salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk (Note: Buttermilk is better with the lemon extract or use whole milk with 1 teas. vanilla extract for a plain white cake.)
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teas. lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners or grease two 9" cake pans.

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

Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl with a whisk attachment at medium speed, cream butter and sugar together until soft and creamy. Add in 1/2 of milk and egg mixture. Mix until combined. Slowly add in 1/3 of flour mixture and alternate with milk mixture and flour mixture until the batter is thoroughly combined and homongenous. Finally, give the batter another 2 minutes of mixing to make sure all lumps have been removed. Divide the batter into the cupcake liners or cake pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes for cupcakes and 30-35 minutes for 9" cake pans. Bake until a light golden color and test with a toothpick to make sure the insides are completely baked. Transfer to a cooling rack. Make sure that cakes are cooled before frosting.

Lemon Buttercream frosting

3/4 cup softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl until smooth.

Green Chile and Chicken Enchiladas

These enchiladas were quite heavenly. And with very little heat behind them, the kids even ate them. I've seen several different recipes over the years for these, but never actually kept any of them. So I basically put these together using ingredients I thought would be quite tasty. I hope you like them just as much as we did. The only complaint I received from my hubby was, "they were real good, but I would have like some jalapenos on mine". So with that said, you jalapeno lovers out there may want to have a small can on hand for a dinner like this.

Green Chile and Chicken Enchiladas

3 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1 pkg. corn tortillas
1 jar Herdez brand green Salsa Verde (use 1 cup)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese (plus more for top)
1 small can green chiles (or jalapenos)

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.

Boil chicken breasts in water for 15 minutes or until they are no longer pink inside. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, add 1 cup of Salsa Verde, soup, mayonnaise, cheese and green chiles. If mixture is too dry, add 1/2 cup of sour cream or more Salsa Verde. The mixture should look more creamy than meaty.

Warm package of tortillas in it's plastic bag for 30 seconds in the microwave. Remove and scoop about 1/4 cup of mixture on each tortilla, roll and place in baking dish. Once the baking dish is full, spread any extra mixture over top and more shredded cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and the inside is bubbly. Serve warm with a side salad or Mexican rice.

Family Proclamation Cookies

For most of you, you may be familiar with this document put out by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's the Proclamation to the World about the family unit. I am posting this recipe because...#1 - it is a recipe and #2 - I think it would be a fun Family Home Evening idea for anyone who needs yet another idea.

I came across this cute recipe idea from a website called http://www.sugardoodle.net/ and thought this woman's idea was very creative. You can go there for the actual posting and her ideas for the cookies. I have added my own revisions to the recipe, since it seemed kind of scattered and worded funny. I, myself, added the last line "Enjoy for Eternity". Because I felt like our families would be for eternity and you could use the recipe for eternity. :0)

For the month of May, we had the theme of "Family" in Sharing time and I used this recipe to top off my lesson yesterday. I don't have a picture of the actual cookies because they are just your basic chocolate chip cookies. They are pretty good and probably deserved to have their picture taken, but they were gobbled up too fast for me to think, "oh, I've got to get a picture!".

Family Proclamation Cookies

Combine together.....

1 Husband (one stick of butter)
1 Wife (one stick of Butter)

Blend these two together (marriage)

Add: all the blessings of the Priesthood. (One egg) ANDAll the things that a Father does for the family: Provides, Protects, Presides over the family in love in righteousness. (Add another egg)

Combine: 3/4 cup of Nurturing love by our Mother (white sugar)

Add: 3/4 cup of Gospel teaching by Mother and Father (brown Sugar)

Stir in...
2-1/4 cups of Faithful, respectful, Obedient, compassionate children (flour)

Add:
1 teaspoon of Repentance (salt)

1 teaspoon of Prayer (soda)

1 teaspoon of Forgiveness (vanilla)

Mix well, and add 2 cups of unselfish SERVICE! (chocolate chips)
(Ask children to name some service ideas, as they add the chocolate chips.)

Combine all ingredients for the recipe of a Happy Home Cookie, and drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake in Sunshine (oven) at 375 F degrees for 9-11 minutes.

Enjoy for Eternity...

Artichoke-Parmesan Crostini

I took this recipe to a potluck the other day and it was a huge hit! It had lots of flavor and was real easy to make. If you haven't noticed on this blog, a lot of my recipes are Italian inspired. This appetizer is just another one of those. I love Italian food! And I love Japanese food too. Well actually...I LOVE FOOD! But I think those types of culinary dishes are my favorite. I think it is for their freshness and simple ingredients that produce lots of flavor.

As I was sitting here thinking about this recipe, I need to add that this recipe can be adjusted so easily to fit whatever amount of people you serve it to, to the ingredients and to the type of bread or cracker you use. Yes, I think a really yummy cracker will work well this mixture too. Did I mention this recipe is a Martha Stewart recipe? If not, it is...it's from her Everyday Food magazine that I absolutely love and look forward to every month. The optional ingredients are my additions. Adjust accordingly to your liking. You may need to add more olive oil and cheese if you add more ingredients. So with that said, here's the recipe:

Artichoke-Parmesan Crostini

1 French baguette (the long, skinny bread)
2 jars of marinated artichokes, drained
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (a good quality kind)
1 tbls. fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbls. olive oil (plus extra for baguette)
a few pinches of salt

Optional additions:
1 medium sized tomato, diced
1/2 cup sauteed mushrooms, cooled and diced

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

Slice baguette into 1/2 inch slices and lightly brush (do not dredge) with extra olive oil and put on baking sheet. Lightly salt each piece and toast in the oven for 10-12 minutes, turning over half way through. Remove and cool.

Meanwhile, make topping: drain and dice marinated artichokes, and combine in a bowl with parmesan, parsley and olive oil. Add in any optional ingredients. Stir to combine. Add in more olive oil or cheese, if needed. The oil will help bind the ingredients together. Check for flavor. Using a melon baller, scoop the artichoke mixture onto each slice of baguette. Arrange on platter and serve immediately.

Stuffing mix Chicken tenders

Here's another easy recipe that your kids will thank you for. Actually my hubby and I thought these were little tasty morsels of goodness too. So it's a great all-around family recipe. Add any desired sides and you've got a great meal. The stuffing mix will only coat maybe 4 chicken breasts at the most. I only used 3 in this recipe for my family. And just so you're forewarned your fingers with get messy in coating the chicken. Just wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. I also had a thought come to me after all was said and done. Instead of dipping the chicken in the flour, then the beaten eggs and finally in the stuffing mix, try adding the flour in the stuffing mix and see if that is any easier. It will cut back on one extra step which in the end will save you time. I would like to try it that way the next time I make these. You could even keep the stuffing mix in the zippy bag and add the flour to that so you're not dirtying another bowl. Place a few chicken pieces at a time in the bag and toss to coat. Remove and put on baking sheet. If any of you try it this way, please let me know how it turned out.

Stuffing mix Chicken Tenders

1 box of chicken-flavored stuffing mix, uncooked and crushed
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Line baking sheet with tin foil.

Meanwhile, crush stuffing mix in a gallon sized zippy bag with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Not all pieces will be crushed but do the best you can. It makes for a better crunch! Pour into small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, beat eggs until combined. Slice each chicken breast into 1/2 inch slices and set aside. Place flour into another bowl and begin to dip one chicken piece into flour, then egg and ending with the crushed stuffing mix. Place chicken on tin-foil lined baking sheet and continue dipping the remaining pieces. Bake chicken tenders in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until chicken pieces are no longer pink on the inside. Remove and cool slightly before serving. Serve with your choice of side dishes. Yum!

Technique: draining any browned ground meat

For those of you who don't know this, you should never dump grease down your kitchen sink drain or any other sink for that matter. Grease can harden up when cold water runs through the pipes and I'm sure you don't need me to explain to you what happens after that. That's right a huge drain CLOG! If you are currently doing this, please stop this process NOW! You're only asking for trouble sometime down the road. I would like to offer to you another idea for this very common procedure in our daily cooking.

1. Turn off heat once your meat has cooked.
2. Take a small glass or ceramic bowl like a ramekin and prop up your skillet enough to let the grease run to one end of the pan without making the ground meat run with it.
3. Separate ground meat and wait for all the grease to run to bottom of the pan.
4. Place a few paper towels over the grease and let the towels soak up the grease. This may take a few minutes to do. (This is a good time to prepare the rest of your recipe that your meat is for.)
5. Once your towel looks heavy-ladened with artery-clogging, cellulite making grease, bring your garbage can to the stove or carefully bring your pan to the garbage and remove the towels using a fork or tongs.
6. Throw towels into garbage and return your pan to the stove. There is usually a tablespoon of grease left behind, but that's okay. You'll need that to help keep your meat from looking dry. Just stir to coat.

There you have it! Pipe friendly, drained ground beef. I've been doing this for many years and I would like you to give it try and let me know what you think. Happy cooking!

Bubble Pizza

Some of you may have seen this recipe before. I've always known it to be called Bubble Pizza. It involves the cheap refrigerated biscuits in a can, spaghetti sauce, cheese and all your favorite pizza toppings. It's very easy to assemble and you can get your kids involved in the process. If my youngest can help me, then it must be a very simple recipe. She quartered my biscuits using a pizza cutter and helped me add the toppings. I forgot to get a picture of what the pizza looks like on the inside. But it looks very like a bunch of bubbles smooshed together in a box and sliced in half. (If you can picture that in your head.) I like to serve this with a side salad too.



Bubble Pizza

2-3 cans of refrigerated biscuits
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 lb. of ground beef or sausage, browned and drained
1 pkg. of shredded mozzarella cheese
Any favorite pizza toppings: pepperoni, bell peppers,
olives, mushrooms, onions, etc...

Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.

Prepare any pizza toppings: slice, dice, chop veggies, etc... and set aside.

Remove biscuits from can and cut each biscuit into quarters. Place them a medium sized mixing bowl. Poor spaghetti sauce over biscuits and toss to coat. Add sauce until the biscuits are no longer sticking together. Pour into a 9 x 13" baking dish. Top with ground meat, toppings and cheese. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.