Basic Cranberry Sauce

I haven't in the past even given the cranberry sauce at the Thanksgiving buffet table a passing glance. This year however for Thanksgiving I wanted to have some on our menu as it is a favorite of my MIL. I found this recipe here and tried it out. It was so good and will now be a staple to our Thanksgiving dinner!

• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar $
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges) $
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries
• 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

Preparation

• Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Discard cinnamon stick; cool completely.

Note:

Make up to two days ahead and refrigerate.

Party Punch

Thanksgiving was such a wonderful day. You can read about our Thanksgiving dinner here. I made this punch that has received rave reviews for our Thanksgiving beverage. It lived up to they hype. Sooo good! Recipe found here.

1 can frozen piña colada concentrate, thawed
1 can frozen orange pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
4 liters of diet lemon-lime soda
1 bag of pebble ice (You can buy it at Sonic Drive-In or at most grocery stores in the deli or meat departments.)
1 bag of frozen raspberries

Directions:
Pour the thawed concentrates into your punchbowl and stir.
Use one of the empty cans and fill it with water four times and add it to the mixture. Stir.
Add your diet soda to the mixture.
Next, add about half your bag of pebble ice.
Add your frozen raspberries to the top.

Kung Pao Chicken

Image and Recipe from Blog Chef

Ingredients:

1lb boneless-skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” pieces)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons sesame oil

3 tablespoons green onions (chopped)

3 garlic cloves (minced)

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon powdered ginger

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts

Step 1: combine chicken and cornstarch in a small bowl and toss to coat. Heat sesame oil in wok over medium heat, add chicken and stir fry 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove chicken from wok.

Step 2: Add green onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and powdered ginger to the wok and stir fry for 15 seconds.

Step 3: Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Mix well and add the sauce to the wok.

Step 4: Return chicken to the wok and coat with sauce. Stir in roasted peanuts. Heat thoroughly. Top with additional green onions if desired and serve over white rice.

Chocolate- Coconut Bars

Recipe and Image

Ingredients

• 3 cups finely ground cookies (12 ounces), such as graham crackers or chocolate wafers, or a combination
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 15-by-10-inch rimmed baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter until combined. Evenly press onto bottom and up sides of prepared baking sheet. Bake, rotating halfway through, until firm, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool, about 20 minutes.
3. Sprinkle cooled crust evenly with pecans and chocolate. Pour condensed milk over the top, spreading to cover completely. Sprinkle with coconut.
4. Bake until coconut is toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely.

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Here is a delicious cheesy breadsticks recipe that I made! Super simple!

Basic Pizza Dough Recipe from THIS gal (she is so great at explaining!)

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey {or sugar}
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
3 cups bread flour {give or take 1/2 cup…depending on the heat & humidity}

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking. Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix.

Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn’t stick to your hands

Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn’t dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. That’s it!

Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks yield: 1- 12 inch pie

Ingredients:
1/2 recipe Fail-Proof Pizza Dough
2 tablespoons softened salted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese {use the real stuff!}
1/4 pound grated mozzarella cheese{salt & pepper, if desired}


Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone inside. Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle on parchment paper. {This makes it easier to transfer to the pizza stone.}Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and top with Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

Recipe and below image from HERE

Apple Strudel

Our family created a Summer Bucket List for things to do in the summer and we are still trying to finish up a few of them. One of the things we wanted to do was to learn about a different country. We did this last Sunday night with some friends where we learned about Germany. For dessert I made this delicious apple strudel. I found the recipe here.

Apple Strudel:

• 1/4 cup bourbon or apple juice
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2 to 3 Granny Smith Apples (about 1 pound), peeled, cored, halved, and thinly sliced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
• 5 sheets phyllo dough from 1 pound package of frozen dough
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing phyllo sheets, plus more if needed
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• Confectioners' sugar
• Caramel sauce, purchased

Glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 1/2 tablespoons milk

For the Strudel:

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, pour the apple juice over the raisins and microwave on high for 45 seconds. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Combine the raisins, apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, brown sugar, cookie crumbs, pecans, and butter in a large bowl.

Remove the phyllo dough from the box, unfold, and cover with a damp towel. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on the work surface and brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat with the remaining sheets, brushing each with melted butter, stacking when done, being sure to keep the unbuttered phyllo covered.

Place the apple mixture on the nearest third of the phyllo stack, being sure to leave a 2-inch border. Gently lift the bottom edge of the phyllo stack to cover the filling and fold the side edges over. Continue to roll the stack away from you until the filling is completely sealed in and the seam is on the bottom. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Pour over the glaze and sprinkle with cinnamon and confectioners' sugar. Pass warm caramel sauce, to drizzle over the strudel.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake

Image and Recipe

We made this Fall treat today and LOVED it. I got the idea from a recipe on Pinterest and modified it a bit If you are a pumpkin fan, you have to try this!

1 cup pumpkin

2 whole eggs

4 egg whites

2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

2 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease a 9 X 13 pan.

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs and oil until smooth. Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt and brown sugar. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until passes toothpick test. Cool completely before cutting.

Cheesy Potato Soup

6 cups potatoes, peeled and diced

5 cups water

2 cups chopped onions

4 chicken bouillon

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1(12 ounce) can evaporated milk

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Directions: Combine the potatoes, water, onions, and bouillon in a greased 5- to 7- quart slower cooker (I love slow cookers). Cover and cook on high heat for 3-4 hours on until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the bacon, milk, and cheese. Cover and cook 20 minutes more, or until cheese is melted.

DELISH!

Banana Bread

My boys and I made butter a few weeks ago using heavy cream and mason jars. It was a fun to see the cream turn to butter. I made some yummy banana bread to go with the homemade butter and have had a request for the recipe. This bread is from this cookboook.

3 ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup walnuts

Mash bananas and set aside. In a large bowl cream sugar and butter together. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas. In separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to first mixture and stir together. Stir in nuts. Place in two greased, 9x5 inch loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 275 degrees and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Makes two loaves.

Blueberry Mini Pies

For my sister's Pioneer Day BBQ with my family, she asked us all to bring a pie to share. I am a nut for anything that is a novelty, so I immediately knew what I wanted to do with the pies. I have seen individual mini pies all over the internet lately, and decided that I wanted to attempt my own. I LOVE pie in any shape or form, so I was pretty excited about this little venture and thought I would pass it on to all of you.
The pie is made by lining muffin tins with foil (a must if you want the to come out in one piece). I made the foil a little wider than my muffin circle so I could wrap it over the crust at the end to prevent the edges from getting too brown, which often happen with pies. So I first lined all of my muffin tins with foil. I made 2 dozen of these little pies, so I will give you my measurements for that project, but you can totally tweak it to suit your own needs.

Second you make your pie crust (my recipe to follow, but you could just as easily buy some from the store. I used almost 8 pie crusts for 2 dozen, but they were a little on the thick side...I rolled my dough out (make sure you don't roll it too thick as there isn't much filling in these little dittys. You don't want them to taste too crusty. I then cut my circles out of the dough with a ring from a wide mouth canning jar (so scientific right?) Then place one dough circle in each muffin tin circle, pressing it down to the foil.

I then made my filling and placed a dollop of filling in each pie crust. I then took a ring from a canning jam jar (again...it is what I had. Use what you have) and cut out the tops of the pies. I placed one over each pie and pressed the sides down trying to seal the edges. I like the look of lattice work pies and going to try that next time I make these.

Then put some sort of vent in the top of each. I just poked holes with a fork (I was running SO late). I then sprinkled sugar over the tops of them all and folded the foil down to cover the edges of each pie. I baked mine for about 25-30 minutes at 425 degrees.
Betty Crocker Pie crust recipe for 2 crust pie (I quadrupled this):

2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup plus 2 Tbs shortening
4 to 5 Tbs cold water

1. Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 Tbs at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bow) (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

2. Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. If desired, wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes to firm up the shortening slightly, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky and lets the water absorb evenly throughout the dough.

3. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin.


Blueberry Filling from Betty Crocker (I used exactly this much for my pies):
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 cups of blueberries
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs butter or stick margarine

1. Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon in large bowl. Stir in blueberries. Put inside pie shells sprinkle with lemon juice. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over blueberries. Cover with the tops of the pies and cut slits in top and seal edges. Sprinkle sugar over the tops of the pies. Cook for 25-30 minutes.



When the pies are nice and cooked to your liking (I like mine less brown, if you like it more brown, pull out the pies a little before done and pull back the foil that is around the edges and put it back in the oven to finish cooking), let cool and then carefully remove the pies from the foil. They come out pretty easily.
The funnest thing about these pies were how much the kids like them. They were easy to grab and eat while they were playing or running around. I think the kids were the ones that ate most of them.
You can make these as easy as you want them to be. With store bought filling and crust they would be a snap (maybe I should try that). It was fun to see them stacked up on the plate. Doing it all from scratch was a little time consuming, but totally paid off in the end :)

Hearty Chili

Our family loves this recipe for Chili, especially when accompanied by this recipe for corn bread. Sorry once again about the mediocre picture. I am usually trying to quickly snap a picture before my family gobbles down whatever I make. At least there is one right? Found in this cookbook.

1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red or green pepper (optional)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (30-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, undrained
1 (15 ounce) can chili
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced or 1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup ketchup

Brown ground beef in a large, heavy pan. Add onions and peppers and cook until tender. Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered over low heat for at least 1 hour. Chili can be made the day before and reheated. Makes about 8 cups.

Corn Bread

Our family celebrated Pioneer Day last Sunday with some good ole Pioneer cuisine. Corn bread was a must on the menu and the kids actually really loved it, which I was skeptical about. This corn bread is so good and perfect with a bowl of chili to accompany it. Found in this cookbook.

1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk

Cream butter, sugar and eggs. In a separate bowl blend cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine creamed mixture, dry mixture and milk. Blend. Bake in a greased 8x8 inch pan at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Tomato- Basil Chicken

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1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 can of tomato soup
1/2 cup of sour cream (0r milk)
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 cups of pasta (of your choice)

1. In a skillet on medium- high heat, heat oil. Add chicken and cook 10 minutes (or until brown). Set chicken aside.

2. Add soup, sour cream, cheese, basil and garlic powder. Heat to a boil. Put chicken back into pan. Put heat on low and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked.

3. serve with pasta... so yummy.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Ingredients
4 ounces pasta (your choice)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced into thin strips
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green onion, minced
1 jar of alfredo sauce (I cheated. I love Ragu alfredo sauce)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

2.Meanwhile, place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl, and toss to coat.

3.In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in butter until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add green and red bell peppers, and green onions; cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat. Season the sauce with basil, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper, and heat through.

4.In a large bowl, toss linguini with sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Sweet Pork Tacos

I made this recipe quite a while ago for General Conference Sunday and I am dying to make it again. Probably going to throw it on the menu for the week. It is really easy, really good and makes good left overs, which is always a plus. It comes from this cookbook.

1 4 to 5 lb pork roast
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. salt
1 can green chili enchilada sauce
1 cup brown sugar

Place pork roast in a crock pot and sprinkle with crushed garlic and salt. Cook on high for 6-8 hours, or until the roast easily pulls apart. Remove roast from crock pot, drain juices, and shred. Place back in crock pot.

In a bowl, combine the green chili enchilada sauce and the brown sugar. Pour over the shredded meat and stir to combine. Cook on high for one hour or low for 3 hours. Serve with corn or flour tortillas, shredded lettuce, black beans, shredded cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and guacamole.

Fresh tortillas are awesome with it too!

Spanish Chicken Skillet

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. thyme leaves

1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breats, cut into 2 serving size pieces

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 large green pepper or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 large onion, cut into 1/2- inch think wedges

1 can (14.5 oz) dices tomatoes, undrained

1/2 cup chicken broth

1. MIX: flour, salt and all of the spices except red pepper in small bowl. Sprinkle chicken with 2 tablespoons of the seasoned flour.

2. COOK: chicken in hot oil in large skillet on medium high heat 3 minutes per side or until browned. Remove from skillet. Add bell pepper and onion, cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender.

3.STIR: in tomatoes, broth, and remaining seasoned flour. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Stir in red pepper to taste, if desired. Return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

makes 6 servings. Enjoy!

Lion House Chicken Parmesean

Sorry it has been such a long time since I have posted. My family and I moved a couple of weeks ago, and with the holiday, things have been a little wild.

I am a huge fan of Chicken Parmesan. The first time I remember eating it was when I was I was on one of the worst dates of my life. It is a good thing that the Chicken Parmesan was good so the night wasn't a total waste :) My mom later gave me the recipe that she uses for it and it is so good. Her recipe is from here.

1/2 c. cornflake crumbs
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 oz dry ranch dressing mix (1 envelope)
6 boneless chicken breasts
3/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese
26 oz spaghetti sauce
cooked pasta

In a shallow bowl, combine cornflake crumbs, 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, and ranch mix. Coat both sides of chicken with mix. Place in 9X13 inch pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spray tops of chicken with the spray to keep it moist. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Just prior to serving sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Heat spaghetti sauce and serve over pasta and chicken.

Bean Salsa

Here is the bean salsa you all (all two of you) have been requesting.

I'm going to post two recipes that I have that are slightly different so you can choose how you like it best. I kind of combine both recipes and use what I have. But seriously, you cannot go wrong with any of these ingredients so put in what you like, leave out what you don't, add extra of what you really like, and make sure to have a big bag of tortilla chips on hand.

Recipe #1

4 cans Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
1 small bag frozen corn
1 chopped red onion
1-5 chopped tomatoes
1 chopped bell pepper
1/2 -1 bunch of chopped Cilantro (don't ever leave this out!)
1-2 Avocados
Juice from one lime

1 packet of Italian dressing
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

With the Italian dressing, follow the direction (sort of) on the back of the packet. I make with water and the vinegar to use is balsamic vinegar. I add in a swirl of olive oil, but you don't have to use any oil if you prefer.

Then just pour dressing over top, mix up, and chill in the fridge. It's ready to eat right away, but the longer you chill, the longer it has time to meld all the flavors together.

And one more side note... I actually don't mix the dressing up anymore. I just pour in the dressing packet, add a swirl of olive oil, and add in the balsamic until I like the look. It's more of the lazy way to do it, but it still tastes the same! Also, if I leave out the bell pepper and the red onion, sometimes I like it better. Your choice!


Recipe #2

I got this recipe from a Halliday baby shower this summer. It was SO good, and slightly different then what I had ever eaten before and I loved it. It uses different beans, and a different dressing, but the result is just as yummy!

1 can corn, drained (you'll love it if you use frozen corn, I promise)
1 can black eyed peas, drained (I have never seen these... use a white bean or great northern bean or use black beans)
2 chopped tomatoes
2 avocados
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch green onion
I package Good seasons Italian Dressing, mixed up as directed.

Add it all in, mix up, and chill in the fridge.


Side note... both times I have made this at Palmer functions, I used white beans, corn, tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, and the italian dressing packet mixed with balsamic. Kind of a combo of both these recipes. But that's it. Enjoy!!

Puffy Pancakes

This is my go to Sunday morning breakfast. (and today is Sunday, so I thought I'd post it. and we don't have church until 1 pm and that means a long morning)

It's super easy, not a lot of cleanup, and we get a hot (nutritional?) breakfast before heading to church.

It's one of those fix it and forget it meals that you can quickly make when you wake up, and then jump in the shower while it cooks in the oven.

We always called them puffy pancakes growing up, but I'm pretty sure they are also known as German pancakes. Puffy pancakes are "funner" to say.

Puffy Pancakes
3 T butter

6 eggs
1 Cup milk
1 Cup Flour
1/2 tsp Salt

Pre-heat oven to 375*

Place 3 Tablespoons of butter in a baking dish (cake pan size) and place in oven to melt the butter while the oven is preheating.

Then get out your blender (or you can use a bowl and use beaters) and add eggs, milk, flour, and salt. And blend up.

Take the pan out of the oven, the butter should be mostly melted by now, pour in the batter and pop it back into the oven.

Bake at 375* for about 25 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup, sprinkled with powdered sugar. (and if you feel adventurous, add a small capful of lemon juice before you top it with maple syrup... I've always done that and I love it.)

Fried Ice Cream

For the last two years I have made this recipe for fried ice cream for Cinco de Mayo. It is the best I have ever had, and got rave reviews from my family as well. Recipe found here with some changes per readers suggestions.

1 quart vanilla ice cream
3 cups crushed Nilla Wafers
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 egg whites
2 quarts oil for frying

1. Scoop ice cream into 8 - 1/2 cup sized balls. Place on baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
2. In a shallow dish, combine Nilla Wafers crumbs and cinnamon. In another dish, beat egg whites until foamy. Roll ice cream balls in egg whites, then in Nilla Wafer crumbs, covering ice cream completely. Repeat if necessary. Freeze again until firm, 3 hours (or longer, the night before would be great).
3. In deep fryer or large, heavy saucepan, heat oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Using a basket or slotted spoon, fry ice cream balls 1 or 2 at a time, for 10 to 15 seconds, until golden. Drain quickly on paper towels and serve immediately.
5. drizzle with honey, chocolate sauce and whipping cream. Yum.
   

*Note-the ice cream needs to stay frozen, so I took each ice cream ball out one at a time to fry so I could keep the rest of them cold, When the ice cream starts to melt the outside crumbs come off.

Mango Salsa

I made this salsa for my family's Cinco de Mayo celebration. To say it was "good", is definitely not enough. It was WONDERFUL, HEAVENLY, FABULOUS, EUPHORIC and ANY other adjective that you can think of to inspire you to make it. We LOVED it and I couldn't get enough. Recipe found in this cookbook.

1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 TBS olive oil or butter
2 ripe mangoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 fresh red pepper, chopped (I used an orange one, it was fine)
2 TBS coarsely chopped cilantro
2 TBS fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 TBS minced green onion

Saute onion in olive oil or butter until lightly browned. toss all ingredients together gently. serve with tortilla chips. Also great with halibut or grilled chicken.

Beef Stroganoff

I had never even tasted Stroganoff before I got married. Thanks to my favorite cookbook however, I found a recipe for it that I have used pretty much my entire married life. I really love it and I have had quite a few people ask for my recipe. Well you luckies get it today.


1 1-2 pounds beef tenderloin or boneless top loin steak (I use petite sirloin steak)
2 TBS butter or stick margarine
1 1-2 cups beef broth
2 TBS ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
3 cups sliced mushrooms (8 oz)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
3 TBS all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (I only use 1/2-3/4 of a cup)
Hot cooked noodles or rice (I use egg noodles)

1. Cut beef across grain into about strips (beef is easier to cut partially frozen)

2. Melt butter in 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat. cook beef in butter, stirring occasionally, until brown.

3. Reserve 1/3 cup of the broth. Stir remaining broth, the ketchup, salt and garlic into skillet. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until beef is tender.

4. Stir mushrooms and onion. cover and simmer about 5 minutes, or until onion is tender.

5. Shake reserved broth and the flour in tightly covered container; gradually stir into beef mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. boil and stir 1 minute; reduce heat to low.

6. Stir in sour cream; heat until hot. Serve over noodles.

Raspberry Marbled Cheesecakes

I made these delicious cheesecakes for my little sister's bridal shower. They were so so so good.. you have GOT to try them! I got the recipe from here.

Note: Baking the cupcakes in a hot-water bath produces the creamiest results and prevents the batter from sinking in the oven.

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham crackers (about 12 sheets; use a mini chopper or food processor)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar plus 5 tablespoons, divided
1 container (6 ounces) fresh raspberries
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Stir together ground graham crackers, butter, and 3 tablespoons sugar. Press 1 tablespoon crust mixture firmly into bottom of each lined cup. Bake until set, about 5 minutes. Transfer tins to a wire rack to cool.

2. Process raspberries in a food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pass puree through a fine sieve into a small bowl, pressing with a flexible spatula to remove as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Whisk in 2 tablespoons sugar.

3. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. With mixer on low speed, add remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar in a steady stream. Add salt and vanilla; mix until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each.

4. Spoon 3 tablespoons filling over crust in each cup. Dollop 1/2 teaspoon raspberry puree in a few dots over each. With a wooden skewer or toothpick, swirl sauce into filling. Place each tin in a roasting pan (bake in batches, if necessary); pour enough hot water into pan to come three-quarters of the way up sides of cups.

5. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until filling is set, 27-30 minutes. Carefully remove tins from water bath and transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours (or out of tins up to 5 days in airtight containers). Remove from tins just before serving.

Crab Macaroni Salad

Once upon a time my husband was on a soccer team (isn't that a great beginning to a story?) Our friends had decided to bring a picnic for their kids to eat during the game. They had this salad, shared some with me and I fell in love with it, got the recipe, and now I am giving it to you. The end. Okay not really because I still have to give you the recipe! It isn't like most of the pasta salads you have had before, it is much much better (as long as you like crab, which I do).

12 oz large shell cooked macaroni
2 cut up carrots (not baby carrot size, big size)
1 bag frozen peas
1 can cut up olives
1 small sliced purple onion (I dice mine)
3/4 lb crab meat (I prefer imitation crab)
celery (to taste, and it is optional)
1-2 tomatoes, cut up

Mix it all together

Dressing:
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. salad dressing
1/8 c. pickle juice
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion salt
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp celery seed
2 tsp seasoned salt.

mix all dressing ingredients together and then mix into salad above.

Brownie Bites

These Brownie Bites are always a hit at a party or any get together! Your guests will be "wow"ed!

1 box Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix (the best one to use is the Original Supreme Brownie mix)

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box

2/3 cup whipping cream

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

Fresh raspberries

Brownies

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease each of 42 miniature muffin cups with Pam. Make brownie batter as directed on box. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full (about 1 tablespoon each) with batter.

Bake 12 to 13 minutes or until toothpick inserted in edge of brownie bites comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Ganache

In 1-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream over low heat just to boiling. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate chips until melted. Let stand about 15 minutes or until mixture coats a spoon.

Spoon about 1 teaspoon chocolate mixture onto each brownie. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

For the raspberries, I rinse them under cold water and then lay them upside-down on a paper towel to dry. If there is still some water inside the raspberries, it will leak onto the ganache and just isn't pretty!

Blue Cheese Fried Potatoes

My husband LOVES blue cheese. It isn't my favorite, but ya know, whatever makes him happy. I found this recipe for Blue Cheese Fried Potatoes on Allrecipes.com.

2 tablespoons butter
2 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch thick rings
1 (4 ounce) package blue cheese crumbles
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes and onions. Cook until the onions are golden brown and the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the blue cheese and bacon, continue to cook until the blue cheese begins to melt. Season with salt and pepper.

Toll House Cookies

I have decided that these are my favorite chocolate chip cookies.  I have been trying out a million different recipes over the years and this is hands down my favorite.  I used to not like it as much because it seemed that they always flattened out in baking.  I now just add extra flour, cook one without chocolate chips and add flour until they are the thickness I want, based on how thick the first cookie turns out. The best thing about this is the dough!  So good.

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts 
•  
• PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
  
  COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
  
  BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
  
  PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.
  
  SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
  PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.
  
  * May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.
  
  FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.
  

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

I made these pancakes for my boys last week when we were on spring break. They were SO yummy! I found this recipe on this blog.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

In a medium bowl, combine these dry ingredients together

When these dry ingredients are mixed nicely, then you can mix together these remaining ingredients in a SEPARATE bowl.

Wet ingredients:

2 eggs (whole) beaten

1 Cup of milk (or a little more if your batter isn’t runny enough for you)

2 Tbsp Corn Syrup (I only had regular table syrup on hand – worked fine)

1/4 Cup butter or margarine, melted

1 Tbsp vanilla

Beat together these wet ingredients, then add them to the dry. Mix well.

Drop the batter by about 1/3 cup fulls onto the pre-heated/greased griddle and cook until the tiny bubbles JUST start appearing on top, then flip over. These only take a couple of minutes to cook.

Maple Icing Syrup

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cups butter – melted

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1/4 cup milk (more if you want it a little runnier)

Combine all of these ingredients and pour over your cinnamon bun pancakes.

This recipe makes about 10-12 medium sized pancakes

Maple Salmon

I am a afraid that our family doesn't have fish near enough.  The funny thing is that I feel like I have some of the world's pickiest kids and they ALL like fish.  Now that is strange.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com (Love that site!)

1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound salmon

1. In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, garlic salt, and pepper.
2. Place salmon in a shallow glass baking dish, and coat with the maple syrup mixture. Cover the dish, and marinate salmon in the refrigerator 30 minutes, turning once.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven, and bake salmon uncovered 20 minutes, or until easily flaked with a fork. 

The only thing I did differently than this recipe is that I wrapped the fish in foil, poured the marinade on for 30 minutes and then I just put the whole foil packet in a glass dish and then baked it for 20 minutes.

MKC French Bread Rolls/Hamburger Buns

We seldom have anything for dinner that requires a bun. Mostly because I am not awesome at planning meals in advance (I am going to change that). I just never have them on hand so when my little Lincoln asked for Sloppy Joes, I almost said no and then I realized that MKC (the lady that writes this blog is one of my heros), has posted hamburger buns before. I have made hamburger buns before, but I just knew her recipe would be something amazing. Well, it was and I have made them 3 times since this picture was taken. Recipe found here. I have to be honest, after these come out of the oven, I always have one with butter (when nobody is looking or EVERYONE will want one :) I used this Sloppy Joe recipe.

*Makes about one dozen rolls

1 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 tablespoon instant yeast (or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, give or take a few tablespoons

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl by hand, combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour (if you are using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, let the yeast proof in the warm water and sugar for about 3-5 minutes until it is foamy and bubbly before adding the oil, salt and flour). Begin mixing and continue to add the rest of the flour gradually until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Judge the dough not by the amount of flour called for in the recipe but in how the dough feels (see a tutorial on working with yeast here). The dough should be soft and smooth but still slightly tacky to the touch.

Knead the dough in the stand mixer or by hand until it is very smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer or 8-10 minutes by hand. Lightly spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled (this usually takes about an hour).

Lightly punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased countertop. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and form the dough into round balls. Place the rolls on a lightly greased or silpat-lined baking sheet about an inch or two apart. Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap taking care not to pin the plastic wrap under the baking sheet or else the rolls will flatten while rising. Let the plastic wrap gently hang over the sides of the pan to fully cover the rolls but not press them down. Let the rolls rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.

*Freezable Option: You can make a double or triple batch of these rolls. Once they are baked and cooled, place them in a zipper-lock freezer bag and put them in the freezer. You can either take them out a few hours before you need them or take them out frozen and microwave them for about 2-3 minutes on 70% power

Banana Muffins

I love a quick muffin to dress up a pretty lame dinner (yep we have 'em...more than I would like to admit). These muffins were a total hit. I had some very ripe bananas I needed to use, but I didn't want to have to wait for an hour for banana bread so these were the perfect solution. They are from this cookbook.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup bananas
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 recipe Streusel Topping (optional)

1. Grease twelve 2 1/2 inch muffin cups (do not use paper baking cups for this recipe) set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar baking powder and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

3. In another bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture and bananas to the flour mixture. Stir until moistened (batter should be lumpy).

4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups/muffin tin, filling each two-thirds full. If desired, sprinkle Streusel Topping (recipe below) over muffin batter in cups (I recommend this as it makes the muffins SO MUCH BETTER!) Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups or on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups.

Streusel Topping:
Combine 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon.  Cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sir in 2 tablespoons chopped nuts if desired. 

Chicken Nuggets

Lately I have been letting my boys pick what they want for dinner. My son Hunter, decided he wanted chicken nuggets for dinner. I HATE chicken nuggets (even the dino kind :) I am not a fan of processed chicken at all. I mean they are fine when Josh and I are going on a date and I make them to give to the boys before we leave them with a babysitter. When I don't have to EAT them. Well, I decided that I would just cut up some chicken breasts, coat them in Shake N Bake and cook them for 30-35 minutes. Worked like a charm. The boys liked them, I could handle them and we were all happy. Just thought I would share as it was easy and quite a hit with the kiddos.

Not really a recipe, but whatevah.

Orange Syrup

I love novelties in any form. Orange Syrup is definitely a novelty that I fell in love with. I made this delicious syrup for my family for our General Conference breakfast. It was fun to have something different along with our maple syrup. This recipe is from here.

1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. grated orange peel

In a saucepan, combine the orange juice, corn syrup, sugar, butter and orange peel. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Serve over french toast, pancakes, waffles, etc!

Beef Pot Pie

One of my favorite things is to reinvent left overs. To serve it to my family at another meal completely disguised as something else. This is what I do to my left over roast. If it is only roast and no potatoes or carrots, I put it in this stew and just add the potatoes and carrots. If it is roast, potatoes, carrots and gravy, I like to make this little number. When we were in England there was a lot of meat pies, so this recipe always reminds me of England.

It is pretty easy and doesn't really have exact instructions. My mom made it growing up and I always loved it.

2 pie crusts (homemade or store bought)
Left over roast
Left over potatoes
Left over gravy
Salt and pepper to taste
Sauteed onions are optional (I usually have left over onions in my mixture of veggies, but it does need a little bit more onion in my opinion).

I put one pie crust in my pie plate, put in the cut up cooked veggies and meat, pour the gravy over the top, put the other crust over it and cut some slits in it to let the steam out. I bake it with a strip of foil around the edges at 425 degrees for about 35-40 minutes (until the contents are hot). Take off the foil in the last 15 minutes of baking.

P.S. Many people in our family like this dish with ketchup. Just an idea :)

DIY Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

This picture is right before I froze them for one hour.

I made these for my family on Sunday and was amazed at how simple and how easy these were.
I got this recipe on this site.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

Ingredients

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Creamy Peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon Shortening

Directions:

Mix together the powdered sugar, peanut butter, and butter. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until it becomes a nice workable dough. It will be just like play dough, it will be really easy to work with. Form the dough into egg shapes, and place in the freezer for about an hour.

Place the chocolate chips and shortening in a glass measuring cup. Microwave 1 minute at a time stirring in between until completely melted.

Dip each egg in the melted chocolate and place on waxed paper until set. (I use a skewer and then slide the dipped egg off and cover the hole).

Once they are set you can trim any excess chocolate off that may pool at the base with a pairing knife to make them look pretty. You could also decorate them with royal icing and make a really special Easter treat