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.

Ricotta Lemon Cookies

Don't these cookies look so fun? And wait until you taste these soft, little pillows of yumminess in your mouth. They're absolutely delightful! I got this recipe from an online website. And thought every aspect of the recipe was right on. Other than I wasn't too sure about the really small amount of butter and shortening in the icing though. I think it helped make the icing look glossy and helped the icing dry without cracking. Oh, and my kids loved these. You can even get the younger ones to help put the sprinkles on.

Ricotta Lemon Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 lb. ricotta cheese
1 teas. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. baking soda

Icing:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 teas. butter, softened
1/4 teas. shortening
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Colored sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in egg, add ricotta cheese and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely before removing from baking sheets.

For the icing: Combine ingredients into a small mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly to remove any lumps. Dip each cookie into the icing and place a small pinch of sprinkles on top. Let cookies drip and set on wire racks. Makes 40-50 small bite-size cookies.

Crockpot Lasagne

First off, let me just say that I have never made a lasagne in the crockpot before. Second, I didn't even have a recipe when I made this. And finally, it turned out alot better than I ever expected it to. I made it just before we left for church and it was completely cooked by the time we got home. As for the recipe I'm just going to give you the ingredients I used this time around. If you have a favorite lasagne recipe, try adapting it to use in the crock pot. Just plan to add some extra moisture: water, sauce, etc...

Crockpot Lasagne
1 pkg. Barilla brand lasagne sheets, chipped
1 1/2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 package of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 lbs. of browned, ground beef
1 lb. container of ricotta cheese
2 eggs
Any veggies (cooked): broccoli, spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.

Prepare crockpot with some non-stick spray. Have ingredients ready: chip lasagne sheets (see pic) brown ground beef, open sauce jars, mix eggs into ricotta cheese and season to your liking, prepare any veggies you choose to add. And begin layering the lasagne into the crockpot. Begin with some sauce at the bottom, then add noodles, more sauce, meat, ricotta, veggies and mozzarella. Next add a generous amount of sauce and then begin layering process again until you've done about 3 layers. Top and end with more mozzarella. Cover with lid and set heat to high and cook for 3-4 hours.

Pecan and Coconut Bars

For those family members who attended their father's retirement party back in February would know that I was obsessed with a certain pecan and coconut bar that day. I believe I had at least 5 bars in the time we were there. I had hoped to get the recipe but discovered the baker who made them didn't like to give out her recipes. Which I can completely understand since I have a blue ribbon-winning frosted sugar cookie recipe I've yet to share with anyone to this day. So I was in search of the next best thing...a recipe I discovered on the back of a Western Family brand brown sugar bag. The bar I had at the retirement party was so ooey-gooey and caramelly and so full of yumminess. So I had high hopes when I tried these and to my disappointment the bars came out of the oven too dry and hard... as you can see from the picture. I don't know about you, but I often wonder if the recipes you find on the back of certain food items are actually tried and true, tested recipes. They gave the recipe "possession" as if it belonged to someone. But there is still hope for this recipe because the only thing I believe was wrong with the recipe was the baking time. I will include the time I think will make them more ooey-gooey. I also used fresh, grated coconut from a local health food store that's sugar-free. It's a much more natural product that I've come to appreciate. You may want to sprinkle over the top of the bars just about 5 mins. before they come out of the oven, those new Kraft Caramel bits. They will make them more caramelly. Bake the crust and while it's baking, hurry and make the topping so that you can immediately spread the topping on top of the crust without it cooling down. It's quicker and you'll have your dessert ready to go within 45 minutes.

Pecan and Coconut Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

Combine ingredients and press into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light brown. Meanwhile...

Filling:
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teas. vanilla extract
3 tbls. flour
1 teas. baking powder
1/4 teas. baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans (gem size)
1 cup shredded coconut

Combine ingredients in medium sized bowl. Carefully spread filling over baked crust upon removing from the oven. Bake an additional 15-18 minutes. (Optional: add caramel bits at about 13 minutes and continue baking). Remove. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

"Chicken of the Sea" Casserole

The only thing I can say about this casserole, other than it's another one of those favorite comfort foods, is that this recipe is made from scratch. It's not your mother's old stinky, fishy casserole you remember as a child. For those of you who ate stinky, fishy casseroles growing up, you know what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, for some you, you may still have abnormal reactions to the words...Tuna Casserole...that sends you into some kind of "ewww", "yuck" frenzy. Well, let me just tell you...besides the burnt cracker crumbs on top of this casserole, this recipe was very yummy. Another hit with the family that leaves you swimming downstream instead of up in compliments. I also added a grated white Irish cheddar cheese to the sauce instead of parmesan. Very yummy! And I know I always say this, but you can add as much or as little of the peas as you want. If you use the peas do not add them until just before you add the pasta mixture to the baking dish. It doesn't take much to cook peas. The warm water and oven heat should be enough. You can substitute the peas for broccoli or leave the peas completely out and serve with a side salad and garlic bread.

"Chicken of the Sea" Casserole

3 tbls. olive oil
3 tbls. real butter
2 tbls. flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teas. salt
1/2 teas. pepper
1 teas. garlic powder
1 tbls. lemon juice
1 c. grated parmesan or white cheddar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup frozen green peas
2 cans of white albacore tuna, drained
14 oz. pkg. of penne pasta, cooked and drained
Butter crackers, crushed

In a large pot, boil water and cook pasta accordingly to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and butter and melt to combine. Once butter begins to bubble, add flour and stir using a whisk. (This is the beginning stages of a roux.) Whisk flour mixture briskly to prevent any lumps. Once it's smoothe, slowly add the milk while whisking to combine. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, lemon juice and sour cream. Add grated cheese a little at a time and continue whisking until thoroughly combined. Check for flavor at this time. Add more salt or pepper if needed. Add drained tuna to the sauce. Stir. Run frozen green peas over warm water to take away the chill. Set aside. Do not add peas at this time.

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.

After pasta has been cooked and drained, add it to the sauce mixture, toss to coat. Then add in the peas. Toss to coat again. Place pasta into a 9x13 baking dish and top with crushed crackers and bake in preheat oven for 15-20 minutes or until crackers are browned. Serve warm.

Julie's almost Rubio's Fish Tacos

Note to self: GET RID OF OLD and UGLY blue plates!

The creation of these fish tacos came about several years ago after my DH (darling husband) and I realized how much we missed eating at our favorite date spot in So. California...Rubio's. Which later became Rubio's Baja Grill. Just about every Saturday we would spend a day at the beach and afterwards head over to Rubio's to fill our sun-drained, starving stomaches (say that 3 times fast). Their tacos were served with refried beans and homemade corn chips. Hmmm...so yummy! It was a nice way to end our day.

Well, 10 or 12 years into our marriage, we realized how much we missed those yummy tacos. And my hunt for the perfect ingredients to make my own began. Since the fish and the salsa is what makes these tacos, I knew they had to be the best. I discovered a frozen, seasoned cod fillet from Costco that was too die for. I actually died when I later found out they discontinued that item. I've since used any white, flakey fish I can find. Cod, Tilapia or halibut works best. A battered fish can be used also, but it tastes extra greasey and rich. And for the salsa, I really love the Wild Coyote brand in the medium heat works best. But as always, any HIGH-end salsa works best. Please don't use Pace or something like that, it's really not what salsa is suppose to taste like. And cook and warm your tortillas up according to how you like them. I use an oil spritzer to spray each tortilla before placing it into a small saute pan to soften them up. Then placed on a paper towel lined plate and covered with tin foil to keep warm.



Julie's almost Rubio's Fish Tacos

Cod fillets (or other white fish)
Corn tortillas
1 cup Wild Coyote Salsa (medium heat)
2-3 tbls. mayonnaise
1 pkg. shredded cabbage
Lime wedges

Cook fish fillets according to package directions. Meanwhile add mayonnaise to salsa and stir to combine; set aside. Cook and warm up tortillas to your liking. Cut limes into wedges; set aside. Build tacos in this order: corn tortilla, lay some of the fish down the middle of tortilla, place some of the salsa mixture over fish, top with some shredded cabbage and squeeze a lime wedge over cabbage. Fold. Eat. Enjoy!

Note: DH likes his taco built in this order: corn tortilla, fish, lime squeezed over fish, cabbage and then salsa. He thinks he tastes the fish better this way. Try it both ways and make your own opinion. And yes, as you can from the photo above...we BOTH can eat 3 tacos easily! Hmmm...yummy!

Brooke's Twice-cooked Pork Chops

This recipe looks and tastes alot better than what my photo makes it out to be. Sorry! My friend Brooke gave me this recipe that her family loves. And after trying two times to make it correct (and she knows what I mean) I hope I got it right this time around. I've made the recipe using either a bone-in or boneless pork chop. Both work just fine. I gave a general idea of what seasonings to add to the flour, but you can add more or less according to what your family likes best. Brooke even suggested adding some flavored, crushed cracker crumbs to the flour for an extra "binder" in the coating. Such as chicken flavored crackers, sour cream and onion flavored crackers, etc... And you may have to add an extra can of soup depending on the size of your family. My family really enjoyed this meal! That means everyone single one of us ate it. Kaylee turned her nose up at the mustard being spread on the meat, but later realized how much it really added to the overall flavor. I hope you have just as much success.

Twice-cooked Pork Chops

4-6 pork chops
1 can Chicken with Rice soup, undiluted
1 cup flour
Mustard
3-4 tbls. olive oil
1/2 teas. salt
1/4 teas. pepper
1/2 teas. garlic powder
Optional seasonings: Lawry's Season salt, paprika, lemon pepper, etc...

Using a small baking dish, place flour and seasonings in it and stir using a fork. With a knife spread mustard on both sides of pork chop and dredge in flour mixture. Set floured meat on a dinner plate until each pork chop has been coated.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Meanwhile, over medium heat, add olive oil in a skillet. Place pork chops in skillet and cook until flour coating turns a light golden brown. Remove meat from skillet and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Pour undiluted soup over pork chops so that each piece has some of the rice. Spread remaining soup throughout dish. Put baking dish into oven uncovered and bake for 30 minutes. Or until soup has evaporated and rice is no longer wet. Remove and serve warm. Serve with a salad and rolls.

The Hinton's homemade Maple Syrup

When more research and studies came out about the effects of high fructose corn syrup in our bodies, I decided to pay more attention to the labels on the food items I was buying. High Fructose Corn Syrup is the lowest and cheapest processed sugar sweetener food manufacturers can buy on the market. It's so cheap and so easy to get that it makes it easy for these food manufacturers to sweeten their food products without spending a whole of money. But with the knowledge we have about it, it's still amazing that the FDA still approves it. If you have never paid attention to your labels before, it's time to start. You will be amazed at the amount of food products you will find it in: ketchup, maple syrup, fruit snacks, salad dressings, BBQ sauces, granola bars, applesauce, spaghetti sauce, regular Karo's corn syrup (yep, it's in there),etc... the list goes on... In an attempt to make one food item healthier, I created this homemade maple syrup recipe. Yes, the recipe has white sugar and brown sugar added to it. But I would rather have regular sugar instead of something processed. And yes, it does have corn syrup in it, but very little. Certainly not anywhere the amounts that are being put into store maple syrup. I had to do something due to the fact we eat pancakes or waffles every week. Here's what I created:

The Hinton's homemade Maple Syrup

2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cups water
1/2 teas. salt
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teas. vanilla extract
2 teas. maple extract

In a medium saucepan, add in sugars, water and salt. Over high heat, stir ingredients together until dissolved and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, do not stir, let mixture cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, give it one good stir and set aside. Once bubbling has subsided, add in corn syrup, vanilla and maple extracts. Let syrup cool completely. Poor into a reuseable container, canning jar or old plastic syrup bottles, etc... Store in a cool dry place. Use within 2 weeks.

NOTE: This recipe can easily be halved. If doing so, reduce boiling time to 3 minutes.