Carrot Cake Pancakes

I am always looking for a good breakfast idea and when I came across this recipe I was very curious. I made them -almost- according to the directions and they were REALLY good. I didn't use as many carrots because I didn't have a pound the day I made them. I probably reduced the carrots to 1 1/4-1 1/2 c. The family ate them up. The spices add a nice surprise and the carrots are hardly noticeable if grated thin.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

1 ¼ cup white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups finely grated carrot (about 1 pound)
Cooking spray

Instructions:Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs); add sugar mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in 2 cups carrot.Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon 4 (1/4 cup) batter mounds onto pan, spreading with a spatula. Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat procedure twice with remaining batter.

Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes

This is one of my favorite recipes from the Pioneer Woman! I, of course, have altered it and don't use heavy cream but I posted the original recipe so you could decide whether or not to make the changes.

Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1 14.5 ounce can artichoke hearts (quartered or whole), drained
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste
1 pound thin spaghetti
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped chives or other herbs
Cook spaghetti till al dente. Drain and set aside.

Melt olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Stir and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream and chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste (do not undersalt!) Cook over low heat until heated through, then turn off heat.

Place drained pasta in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 cup Parmesan. Pour sauce over the top. Add chopped chives. Toss lightly to combine and coat; add a tiny bit of reserved pasta water if sauce seems too thick.
Delicious!

from: The Pioneer Woman

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs (I use Italian)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 large egg
olive oil
1 16 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 pkg 8 oz mozzarella cheese cut in six slices

Directions:
Combine bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Beat egg in another bowl. Dip chicken in the egg and then in the bread mixture. On stove heat olive oil until hot. Brown the chicken. (Doesn't need to cook through.) Pour sauce in a 9X13 pan and put browned chicken on top. Cover loosely with foil. Bake for 40 min or until chicken is cooked through. Then put cheese on chicken and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake 10 min with no foil until cheese is bubbly.

I always serve it with Rotini Noodles cooked and then sprinkled with garlic salt seasoning and olive oil.

Cinnamon Oat Scones

Cinnamon Oat Scones

1 c. white whole wheat flour
¾ c. rolled oats
1/3 c. oat bran
¼ c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 Tbl baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbl cold butter, cut into cubes
2/3 c. half & half or whole milk
2/3 c. mini cinnamon chips

For Topping:

1 Tbl half & half or whole milk
2 Tbl rolled oats
1 Tbl light brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbl mini cinnamon chips

In a bowl, stir together the flour, rolled oats, oat bran, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of peas. Pour the half-and-half over the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in mini cinnamon chips into the batter.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press together gently until the dough clings together in a ball. Pat out into a round about 1/2 inch thick and 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut the round into 6 wedges. A pizza cutter works great to cut out the wedges. Place the wedges 1 inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
To top the wedges, brush them with the milk and sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon mixture. Press down on the topping slightly once all wedges have been coated.
Bake until golden brown, about 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The scones can also be frozen and reheated.

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

To reheat this rich sauce in your microwave oven, allow 15 - 30 seconds on high power.

3/4 C semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 C butter or margarine
2/3 C sugar
1 5-ounce can (2/3 C) evaporated milk (I have used low fat evap milk with great results, but non-fat was not as good)

In a heavy small saucepan melt the chocolate and butter. Add the sugar, gradually stir in the evaporated milk. Bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently over low heat for 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat. Cool slightly. Serve warm over ice cream.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I seriously cannot resist these when they are warm. They are so dangerous I refuse to make them anymore. (Yet as soon as a banana gets over ripe I am whipping up a batch. uhg)

1 3/4 C flour
1/4 C sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 C milk
1/3 C veg. oil
1/2 C mashed banana (I never measure anymore, I just use 1 banana)
1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
1 C chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine egg, milk, oil, banana and applesauce in a seperate bowl. Stir wet ingredients into dry until just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min. Cool for 5 min before removing.

Non Alchohol Mint Julep

4 or 5 mint sprigs

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups cold water

3/4 cup lemon juice, fresh

1 1/2 quart ginger ale

Wafer - thin lemon slices for garnish

Rinse mint and remove stems. Place sugar, water and lemon juice in a bowl, mix and then stir in mint leaves. Allow to stand for 30 minutes. Fill large pitcher with ice cubes, and strain liquid over the ice. Add ginger ale and lemon slices and serve.

Derby Pie

My friend gave me this recipe. I haven't tried it yet but it should be good.

• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pecans (chopped)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup white corn syrup
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 (9 in) uncooked pie crust

Directions

1. Melt butter.
2. Beat eggs and add with other ingredients. Bake in uncooked pie crustpie crust at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Southwest chicken salad

This was a great way to use leftover rotisserie chicken. We served this in pitas with guacamole (see recipe below) and lettuce. Spencer and I thought it was yummy, but maybe a little sweet, so I plan to halve the honey next time.

2 cups cubed rotisserie chicken
1 can corn, drained
1/2 c. chopped red peppers (optional: roast them)
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1/2 c. minced fresh cilantro
Dressing:
3 T. fresh lime juice
3 T. olive oil
4 t. honey
2 t. ground cumin
1 t. salt
1 t. chili powder
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl, pour over the chicken mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate until serving. Serve over salad greens. Optional: Line pita halves with lettuce leaves, fill with chicken salad. OR Place chicken salad off center on tortilla, top with avocado, roll up (wrap).

Homemade Guacamole

3 medium ripe avocados, peeled
1/4 c. finely chopped onion (I used red)
1/4 c. minced fresh cilantro
2 T. lime juice (I used fresh)
1/8 t. salt
Tortilla chips

In a small bowl, mash avocado with a fork. Stir in the onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Refrigerate until serving. Serve with chips.

Not spicy, but flavorful. It was a fun change from our usual.

Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry

We really liked this one, especially the cauliflower which adds such a great texture. I omitted the onion because I didn't have it. Also, when stir frying the veggies, after about 4 minutes, I added a small amount of water and put the lid on the wok to steam them a bit--for about 3 minutes. I recommend it.

4 t. cornstarch
1 c. chicken broth
2 T. soy sauce
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 T. peanut or sesame oil, divided
1 1/2 c. fresh cauliflowerets
1 1/2 c. fresh broccoli florets
2 med carrots, sliced
1 small sweet red pepper, julienned
1 small onion, halved and sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/4 to 1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
2 1/2 c. hot cooked jasmine rice

Combine cornstarch, broth, soy sauce until smooth, set aside. In a wok, stir fry chicken in 1 T. oil until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. Stir fry the veggies in remaining oil until crisp tender. Add garlic, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Cook 1 minute longer.
Stir cornstarch mixture and add to pan. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken, heat through. Serve with rice.

Pasta, cheese, trees

This is a Rachael Ray recipe, presented as one step up from noodles w/butter. My kids (and I) love it. I don't really follow the recipe, nor do I measure. This makes a mass quantity. It's an easy recipe to wing--I usually use half a box of pasta, a bag of froz broccoli and a little bit of the rest (although I never shortchange the ricotta...). Tonight I bought a rotisserie chicken and served this on the side.
1 lb. cooked penne
1 lb. steamed broccoli
1 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
3 cloves minced garlic
1 c. ricotta cheese
1/2 c. parmesan
Melt olive oil and butter over low heat in a large skillet. Add garlic, cook for 5 minutes. Add pasta and broccoli, then ricotta and parmesan. Stir to combine and heat through. Add pepper to taste if desired.

Single-Layer Classic Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Single-Layer Classic Carrot Cake

1/2 cup pecans (2 ounces)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and coarsely shredded

Preheat the oven to 325°.

Butter one 9-inch cake pans; line the bottom with parchment. Butter the paper and flour the pan.

Make the cake:
Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes, until fragrant. Cool and finely chop the pecans.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk the oil, buttermilk and vanilla.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar at high speed until pale, 5 minutes.

Beat in the liquid ingredients.

Beat in the dry ingredients just until moistened.

Stir in the carrots and pecans.

Pour the batter in the pan and bake the cake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until springy and golden.

Let the cake cool on a rack for 30 minutes, then unmold the cake and let cool completely.



Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy.

Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed until well blended.

Beat in maple syrup.

Chill until just firm enough to spread, 30 minutes.

Pile the frosting on the center of the cake.

Use a offset spatula or butter knife to spread the frosting evenly atop the cake.

Run a butterknife through the frosting to create swoops and swirls.

Zuppa Toscana

Zuppa Toscana

I made this for dinner tonight and it was a big hit. Very easy and quick. I served it with mini paninis made from a thinly sliced baguette with provolone cheese. My kids even liked this!

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 {32} ounce containers organic chicken broth (or homemade if you have on hand; also, Costco carries a great organic chicken stock at a great price)

4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes

4 cups kale, chopped, stems discarded

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (I omitted this one, since my kids were eating it)

pinch of red pepper flakes (I omitted this one, since my kids were eating it)

3/4 lb. mild Italian sausage links, casings removed (I used 1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage from the Dekalb Farmer's market)

1/2 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)

In a large pot, saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until onion becomes translucent–about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes, kale, sea salt, pepper, and pepper flakes then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the sausage until browned in a pan over medium heat, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon. Once cooked thoroughly, add the sausage and cream to the soup. Heat to desired temperature and serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Enjoy!

Butter Nut Squash Brownies

They are the healthiest brownies that you will ever eat. My kids love them! They sound weird but they are pretty good. I don’t like them warm, they taste better cold.


1 C nut butter (peanut, almond, roasted cashews, pecan)
½ C honey
½ tsp baking soda
1 egg
3 – 4 T cocoa
½ C cooked butternut squash mashed until smooth
½ C chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Mix ingredients well. Pour into greased baking pan, bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes

Christmas Fish

This is my new favorite fish recipe. It is so good and pretty easy too.

Ingredients

¾ pound tilapia, sole or halibut fillets

4 tablespoon butter, melted

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon grated lime zest

1 ½ teaspoon dried dill

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 carrot, peeled and cut into small pieces

1 celery stark, cut into small pieces

¼ teaspoon paprika

Pat the fillets dry and spread them on a baking sheet.

Combine the butter, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, garlic, lime zest, dill, salt, pepper, carrot and celery in a bowl. Spread mixture across each fillet, roll the fillet, and secure with a toothpick.

Place the fillets, rolled sides down, in the baking dish. Sprinkle the tops of each fillet with paprika and the remaining 2 T Parmesan cheese. Bake on the top rack for 30 minutes.

When done, turn the oven to broil and place the fish under the boiler for 2 to3 minutes to brown the tops.

Yield: 3-4 servings

From Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Raman Prasad

Tex-Mex Turkey Soup

My sister sent out this soup recipe, and we tried it this week. It was wonderful, so I am posting it here.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
4 cups water
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup salsa
4 cups shredded cooked turkey
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 (14 ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or 1 T. dried cilantro)

Toppings:
6 cups corn tortilla chips
3/4 cup chopped green onion
1 cup shredded Cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add minced onions and cook until onions begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin and oregano and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Stir in water, tomato soup, diced tomatoes, salsa, shredded turkey, parsley and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until bouillon cubes dissolve. Add black beans, corn, sour cream and cilantro. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Serve soup with crushed tortilla chips, chopped green onion, shredded cheese and additional cilantro and sour cream.

Note: When I made this, I had leftover chicken and some frozen turkey meat in the freezer (not a full 4 cups). I also used frozen turkey stock in place of the bouillon cubes and water and reconstituted frozen beans (with a little frozen liquid) in place of the canned beans (maybe a little more than a 14 oz. can). I threw everything that was frozen (stock, beans, and turkey) in with the tomatoes and tomato soup and covered it to facilitate warming, then, when the mixture was boiling, I continued with the instructions. I chopped the turkey with kitchen shears right before serving. I didn't add corn because Ryan sometimes has a reaction to too much corn in recipes, and I made homemade corn tortillas instead of using chips (though I had some on hand in case it didn't work). We didn't add in all the toppings because I'm lazy, but I'm sure they would add some great flavor to the soup.

Roast Pork with apples and onions

1 boneless whole pork loin roast (2 lb)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 T olive oil
3 large Golden Delicious apples, cut into wedges
2 large onions, cut into wedges
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 t. dried rosemary, crushed

Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, brown roast in oil on all sides. Place in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Arrange apples, onions and garlic around roast; sprinkle with rosemary. Bake uncovered at 350 for 60-75 minutes, until meat thermometer reads 160. Turn the apples and onions and garlic once during cooking. Let roast stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

This was so moist and delicious. I forgot the salt and pepper, forgot to turn the produce, forgot to crush the rosemary; it still turned out great. Advice: use one less apple and one less onion. Oh, and I just used a 9x13 which worked fine.

Chocolated-Dipped Macaroons

This is straight from a Baker's Coconut package but it is delicious! The kids and I made them last week and liked them so much that we just made another double batch.

1 pk (14 oz) sweetend, shredded coconut
2/3 c sugar
6 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract

Mix coconut, sugar, flour and salt in large bowl. Stir in eggs whites and almond extract until well blended. Drop by rounded tablespoontulls onto greased and floured cookie sheets.
Bake at 325 for 20 min or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Immediately removed from cookie sheets to wire racks. Cool completely.

Then melt 1 package (8 squares) of Baker's semi-sweet baking chocolate as directed on the package. Dip cookies halfway into the chocolate; let excess chocolate drip off. Refrigerate on wax paper-lined tray until chocolate is firm.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Winter Squash Soup

This is a fall/winter favorite for me and I always make it for Thanksgiving. The original recipe is from epicurious.

• 1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
• 4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh sage
  

• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and sugar; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.)

Chuck's Favorite Mac and Cheese

Very easy and super yummy! I usually leave off the topping to save a few calories.




Ingredients

* 1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni
* 1 (8 ounce) package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
* 1 (12 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
* 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup milk
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 cup dry bread crumbs
* 1/4 cup butter, melted


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add pasta, and cook until done; drain.
2. In 9x13 inch baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, milk, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

Baked Ziti with Spinach and Tomatoes

I made this the other night for the missionaries and we all loved it! I was worried when I put in so much spinach that it might taste a little odd, but it was really great! From one of my favorite sites, epicurious via stephmodo.

3/4 pound hot Italian sausages, casings removed (I used ground turkey and added some flavoring...)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 28-ounce can diced peeled tomatoes
1/4 cup purchased pesto sauce

10 ounces ziti or penne pasta (about 3 cups), freshly cooked (you could add a bit more...)
8 cups ready-to-use spinach leaves (about 2/3 of 10-ounce package)
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)

Heat heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage, onion and garlic and sauté until sausage is cooked through, breaking up meat with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices to pan. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in pesto. Season sauce with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly oil 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish. Combine pasta, spinach, mozzarella and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese in large bowl. Stir in hot tomato sauce. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese over. Bake until sauce bubbles and cheeses melt, about 30 minutes.

All American Quiche

Quiche has been my favorite food since I was a kid (in 3rd grade all the other kids were writing down their favorites- pizza, apples, spaghetti- and I have my paper that says 'keesh'). This recipe is cobbled together from what my mom made growing up, what I like, and is based on the Joy of Cooking recipe. It is unapologetically not French. I never measure, but I know that drives Bonnie nuts, so I've estimated here.

Place pie crust in pie pan. Bake for 8 min at 375, if desired (less soggy). When it comes out, throw in:
1/4- 1/2c chopped onion
1/2-1c chopped ham or bacon
1c chopped fresh broccoli
1/2c cheddar cheese

In a separate bowl, combine:
3 eggs
1 can evap milk (a little less, a whole can always overflows my pan)
1t salt
1/2t pepper
dash of nutmeg

Pour the milk & eggs over the top of the meat & veggies. Bake at 375 for 45 min, or until set in the middle. Let sit for a few minutes, then serve!

Suggested substitutions:
-Any meat and veggies you have on hand or particularly like will work. I've made it with chicken & summer squash, red bell peppers, spinach, etc. I regularly substitute frozen veggies for the fresh, but be sure to defrost them first or you'll have a watery quiche. David liked it when I put garlic in once.
-Any melting cheese will work. David liked it when I put in mozzarella once, and I've used Gruyere before (a little stinky for my taste). Use what you like/ have.
-As for the milk, Joy of Cooking calls for 1 1/2c cream or half & half. I never use/buy those, so I've substituted the evap milk. I've also used 1 1/4c whole milk fortified with 1/3c dry milk with good results. You don't get the fabulous airy custard texture, but that's not really my thing anyway. If you do use the cream/ half & half, you might have to reduce the cooking time to 35 min.

Southwest Chicken Soup

This one is from my sister and it is amazing!

2-3 chicken breasts
4 quarts chicken broth
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 large onion, diced
1 large red pepper, diced
1 yam, diced
3 medium red peppers, diced
1 small can Mexican tomato sauce (I use El Pato)
1 t. pepper
2 T. oregano leaves
1 1/2 T. cumin
1 T. chili powder
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 can hominy

Garnishes:
limes, halved, then quartered (8 sections)
colby jack cheese, shredded
tortilla chips
sour cream
1 avocado, diced

Heat olive oil and cook and sear chicken. Add lemon juice and 1 T. garlic. Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces while chicken is cooking. Add broth to chicken and simmer 1 hour (I usually get away with less). Saute onion, add pepper and cook until tinged with flecks of black. Add 1 T. garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add yam through chili powder. Simmer 1 hour (again...I usually do less. I cook it a bit higher temp with the lid on, until the veggies are soft). Add chicken, cilantro and hominy. Simmer 10 minutes.
Serve with garnishes. Squeeze lime juice in to soup. I find the soup to be a bit hot, and the sour cream helps cool it a bit.

Calzones

This is a family favorite! I often half this recipe for a smaller crowd (like just our family) and make the whole thing if we invite someone over for dinner.

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
4-5 cups flour
3 T. sugar
1 t. salt
2 packages yeast

Heat wet ingredients in microwave for 1 minute. Addyeast and let dissolve. Gradually add dry ingredients and knead. (I use my kitchenaid). Let rise on counter top for 15-30 minutes. Take about 3/4 cup sized portions and roll them out VERY thin. Fill with your favorite ingredients and pinch the edges together. Place on a greased jelly roll pan or cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Aunt Mae's Boiling Water Pie Crust

I know the title is a mouthful, but this is a great crust recipe. It is no-fail. It supposedly makes a two crust pie, but it would be a very small two crust pie, so I normally 1 1/2 the recipe. But this is perfect for a single crust pie--like quiche.

1/2 c. shortening, butter, lard, or combination
1/2 c. boiling water
3/4 t. salt
1 1/2 c. flour

Whip the shortening in the water until it has melted. (With shortening it creates a nice whipped look).) Add salt and flour. For the most tender, flaky crust, refrigerate for at least an hour (my mom rolls it out in the pan before chilling the crust). Roll out crust to desired size and place in pan. (I like rolling it out on my silpat.)

Basic Quiche

This is a multi-purpose quiche recipe, which means that I rarely make it the same way. But this is the basic bit.

9 eggs
1/2 c. milk
6 slices bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
salt
pepper
3 c. cheese (our favorites are varieties of Swiss--Emmental, Gruyere, etc.--but I use anything on hand)
any other additions (we love adding thawed frozen chopped spinach)

Beat the eggs with the milk. Add the crumbled bacon and salt and pepper. Fold in cheese and any veggies. Pour into a prepared pie pan that has been pre-baked for a 10 minutes (I only do this occasionally, but it yields a slightly crisper crust). Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes.

Recipe Request: Quiche

Looking for a no fail, yummy quiche recipe (w/homemade pastry). Just something fairly standard. Thanks, Bonnie

Triple Threat Cookies

A combination of a peanut butter cookie, and oatmeal cookie and a chocolate chip cookie. These cookies seem to have just the right amount of peanut butter and oats. They are very good.

Triple Threat Cookies
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup peanut butter
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 egg
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup rolled oats
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoonfuls on to lightly greased cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 10 in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Fresh Pasta Toss

4 cups cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil
2-3 T balsamic vinegar
2-3 minced garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
pinch of red pepper flakes
generous pinch sea or kosher salt

Put everything in a bowl, toss together. Put a dish towel over the top and let it sit on the counter for 1-3 hours. The flavors will meld and tomatoes will soften. All ingredient amounts are approximations. Toss with spaghetti or whatever pasta you desire, top with parmesan cheese and serve. Yummy with fresh bread. Add grilled chicken slices if you'd like. So good!

Naan

For this recipe, you will need:

• 4 cups white or all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons warm milk
• 2/3 cups plain yogurt
• 2/3 cups milk
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander

Prepare the Naan Dough

Mix together yeast, warm milk, and sugar, and leave it in a warm place until the mixture becomes frothy. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Make a depression in the center, and pour in your frothy yeast mixture. Then add milk, yogurt, egg, and ghee. Mix everything together until you get a smooth ball of dough.

Let the Dough Rise

Knead the dough well for 10 to 15 minutes. Oil a medium bowl, and place the dough into the bowl and turn the dough over so it is well covered in oil.

Cover the bowl with a towel, and place it in a warm place for two hours until the dough has doubled in size.

Shape and Roll Out the Dough

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Flour the surface, rolling pin, and your hands. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until it is smooth.

Divide the dough into eight pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Then roll out the ball to make an oval about 6 inches long. Pull the ends to stretch the dough into an oval shape.

Bake the Naan

Brush your naan with melted butter or ghee and sprinkle it with chopped coriander.

Oil your baking sheet, and place your naan sprinkled side up. Place your baking sheet into the oven for 10-12 minutes until the naan turns golden brown.

Lemon Rice

My sister and I tried this a few weeks ago and really liked it. Plus, your kitchen smells great while you are making it.

Lemon Rice is a delicious South Indian dish you can easily put together
when in a hurry. You can also make it with leftover rice. Serve Lemon
Rice with a Raita (yogurt salad) and Poppadums for a simple yet tasty
meal.

2 cups cooked basmati rice
2 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp Coriander
1 tsp mustard seeds
3-4 curry leaves
2 green chillies split length-wise
1" piece of ginger, grated
1/2 cup peanuts (roasted and unsalted)
1 tsp tumeric powder
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt to taste

Gently roast and then coarsely powder the coriander seeds. Set aside

Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies. Fry until fragrant then add the ginger and the peanuts. Fry for another minute. Add the tumeric powder and remove from heat.

Add lemon juice and mix well
Add rice, roasted coriander powder and salt and mix.

Pineapple Fried Rice

1 lb small cooked shrimp, cut in half
8 rings canned pineapple, drained, cut in wedges
1/2 carrot, grated
red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1-2 tsp. chopped jalapenos
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. grated ginger
2 cups cold cooked jasmine rice
1-2 T soy sauce
1 t. curry powder
sugar, to taste
2 T. peanut oil

Heat wok, add oil, coating bottom and sides. When oil is hot, add garlic, ginger, jalapenos. Stir fry for 30 seconds, then add yellow onion. Stir fry for 1 minutes, then add bell pepper and carrot. Add pineapple and shrimp. Stir fry briefly. Add rice, cook for 2 minutes, continually stirring and tossing until it becomes shiny. Stir in soy sauce, curry powder and sugar, separately. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Stir in green onion, or use as garnish. Other garnish suggestions: toasted coconut, crushed peanuts, fresh mint sprigs or cilantro.

Marinated Chicken with Roasted Tomato Topping and Mozzarella Cheese

I found this recipe in the AJC a couple of weeks ago and thought it looked interesting. The chicken passed my taste test - which means it didn't taste a bit like chicken. We enjoyed it.

3 Tbl. lemon juice
3 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 lbs. chicken (cut into med. pieces)
3/4 c. onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic, minced
3 Tbl. canned drained gr. chilies
2 c. grape tomato halves
1 c. fresh spinach
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper
1/3 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a ziploc bag, combine lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, and paprika. Add chicken and refrigerate at least one hour. After marinating, cook chicken until juices run clear.

Cook onion and garlic in skillet until tender. Add chilies and tomatoes and cook a couple minutes longer. Add spinach, cook until it wilts. Season with salt and pepper. Divide spinach mixture and spoon on top or each breast; sprinkle with cheese and broil until cheese is melted.

Key Lime Pie

Another favorite! This is the best summertime dessert!

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I use fat free)
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. key lime juice
Graham cracker crust

Combine milk, cream cheese and key lime juice in large bowl. Mix until smooth. Pour into crust (I love the little individual crusts) and freeze.

Makes 1 pie or 12 individual pies.

Silky Choc. Chip Cookies

This is my new favorite cookie recipe...it's egg less which makes the dough oh so tasty!

4 Tbl. butter
1/4 c. vanilla soy milk
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. flour
Chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Add soymilk and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add to creamy mix. Fold in chocolate chips. Place teaspoon full drops on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Ledys' Mom's Oatmeal Cookies

I loved these growing up and even now. Every once in a while, my Dad would show up to the kitchen and request that I made these (probably not because I did a good job, but to get me cooking, hehe)

1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt 1 cup sugar
2 cups oatmeal

Mix, then add:
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix very well and drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. You can add raisins, nuts, etc. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until they begin to brown. They're good!

(Allison, thanks for setting me up! And thanks everybody for the awesome recipes :-P )

NieNie's Mud Cake Magnifique

um....yes please! If you read nie then you have probably already seen this, but man alive! I want to try this.

NieNie's Mud Cake Magnifique

with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse & Ganache Bittercream

*

How does one go about making the PERFECT chocolate cake? I'd never done it before, and therefore went about it quite deliberately. I consulted cookbooks and cooking websites. Call friends. Window-shopped the pastry sections of my favorite bakeries. The perfect chocolate cake, I decided, (and one inspired by someone so delectably adorable) had to be simple. No frufru decor or garnish. It should be easy enough to whip up for grilled-pizza Friday's, but elegant enough to entertain at a garden party lit by candles hanging from trees tucked in baby food jars. It didn't come out right the first time, a bungled mess of brownie-like bits. It didn't work the second time. However, as it is with many worthy endeavors, a lot of tinkering and winkering was ultimately worth the price of patience. Nie's Mud Cake is everything Nie is: divinely beautiful inside and out.

*

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate (8 squares)
¾ c. olive oil
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 c. powdered sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ c. cocoa powder
1 c. flour
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. baking powder*
½ tsp. baking soda
In a microwave, melt squares of chocolate with olive oil. Once melted, beat until smooth then add sugars and egg. Beat again until well creamed. Add remaining ingredients. Beat just until all ingredients are incorporated. (If you are baking BELOW 5000 feet altitude, double baking powder). Pour batter into two 9-inch cake pans that have been generously greased & dusted with cocoa powder. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 26-28 minutes, or just until center of cake springs back to the touch. Remove from oven. Allow to cool before inverting on a cooling rack and removing from pan. Before layering cake, use a knife to gently cut away any uneven parts at the top or sides of the cake. You'll want a nice, even surface to begin with in order to have your finished product look amazing.
*
Mascarpone Mousse
1 c. whipping cream
¼ c. sugar
1 c. 60% Bittersweet cacao chips
8 oz. mascarpone

In a large bowl, whip whipping cream until fluffly. Add sugar & mascarpone and whip until smooth. In a small bowl, melt chocolate chips in microwave, stirring every thirty seconds until smooth. Chocolate should not be warm to the touch, if it is, allow it to cool just slightly before spooning the melted chocolate into the whipping cream mixture & beating until light and fluffy. Spoon carefully atop one layer of cake. Spread evenly, then top with the second layer of cake. Refrigerate until ready to frost.

Bittercream Frosting
1 pint heavy cream
11.5 oz. 60% Bittersweet cacao chips
½ c. butter
4-5 c. powdered sugar

In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate chips and heavy cream until a thick, smooth ganache forms, to keep the mixture from burning, stir constantly. Put in fridge until chilled. Remove from fridgidaire and beat in butter & powdered sugar until frosting is a spreadable consistency. Frost. Chill cake. To serve, remove from fridge 10-15 minutes before serving.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Flax Bread

This is my sister's recipe and it is really yummy.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Flax Bread

1 3/4 c water
1 T yeast

2 t salt
1/3 c honey
1/3 c oil
2 1/2-3 c wheat flour


Boil 1 c water
Add 1/2 c oats--set aside and let cool

1 egg
1/4 c flaxseed
2 1/2- 3 c white flour

Put yeast in the water and let sit to begin working. After the oats are cooled add honey, oil, egg, salt and wheat flour to yeast mixture and begin mixing. Add white flour until mixture pulls away from the bowl and dough is no longer sticky. This dough will be soft and pliable. Knead for 10 minutes. Split the dough into two (3?) loaf pans (spray with Pam). Let rise until double in size and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Take out of bread pans and turn on sides to let cool. Cover with a clean towel to keep crust from getting hard.

Blueberry Muffins

We went Berry Picking this past week and wanted to make some muffins when we got home. I found this recipe on allrecipes and really liked how they turned out. I thought I would share.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Lona Simon's Whole Wheat Crescent Rolls

The term 'whole wheat' is used loosely here.

1pckg dry yeast proofed in 1/4c warm water
2 eggs
1/2c sugar
1/2c oil
1/2t salt
1c scalded milk (slightly cooled)
1 1/2c whole wheat flour
2 1/2c white flour

Beat eggs, sugar, oil and salt in electric mixer for 2-3 min. Add cooled milk and dissolved yeast. Gradually add both flours and mix completely. Let stand overnight (or at least 6-7hrs) at room temp with a clean cloth over the bowl. Next morning, punch down the dough and on a floured board knead for minute or two. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12in circle. Cut each circle (I use a pizza cutter) in 12 weges for dinner rolls or 8 wedges for sandwich rolls. Roll wedges from big end to little end. Shape into a crescent and place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise 30-45 min (depending on the temp of the kitchen). Bake 350* for 10-12 min.

**Portions of white/wheat flour can be varied according to taste and warm powdered milk can be substituted for the scalded milk.

Sesika's Mom's Tahitian Coconut bread

This is really good with Raspberry Sorbet. They serve this at the Tahitian village at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii.

2c coconut flakes
4c Flour
2tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2c sugar
1 1/2c water

Combine coconut, sugar, and water. Blend flour and baking powder together. Mix all ingredients to a doughy texture adding a little flour as needed so it is not too sticky. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake in oven at 350 for 1-1.5hrs. Makes 3-5 loaves.

***Alternately, you can bury the loaves in hot coals for several hours if you're doing the open pit cooking thing.

Chocolate Cacao Nib Cookies

If you need some cacao nibs to try this recipe, I have some you can use. I really love the texture they add!

Chocolate and Cacao Nib Cookies
2 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fleur de sel
4 tbsp cacao nibs

Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Melt together 1 1/2 oz of the chocolate and the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let cool for ten minutes. Meanwhile , combine the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder in another mixing bowl and set aside. Finely chop the remaining chocolate, and set aside.
Whisk the eggs into the cooled melted chocolate. Add in the brown sugar and mix again. Sift in the flour mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. The batter will be thick. Fold in the chopped chocolate, cacao nibs and fleur de sel.
Scoop out rounded tablespoons of batter, shape them into balls with the tips of your fingers, and line them up on the cookie sheet, leaving a one-inch space between them. Sprinkle a few grains additional salt over the top of the cookies. Put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for ten minutes (if the sheet and batter are cold, the cookies are less likely to spread). Put the cookie sheet into the oven to bake for eight to ten minutes, until the tops feel just dry to the touch.

Makes about 15 two-bite-size cookies.

This recipe is from: We Heart Food

Corn Casserole

My sister and I tried this Corn Casserole this week and really liked it. We made it as a side dish and instead of corn bread. It is a new favorite. We served it with BBQ, rolls, cole slaw and watermelon. Yum.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn
• 1 (8.5 ounce) package corn bread mix

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the sour cream, butter, creamed corn, corn nibblets and corn muffin mix.
3. Pour into a 1 quart casserole dish and bake for 40 minutes.

This recipe is from allrecipes.com

Deli-style pasta salad

This is the salad I made for Spencer's birthday; also I will be bringing it to the TO ward activity 5/30.
Pasta salad
12 oz pkg corkscrew pasta, cook and rinse
6 oz sliced, cubed provolone
6 oz sliced, cubed Genoa salami
1 sm zucchini, thinly sliced
1 sm red onion, thinly sliced rings
1/2 c. chopped green peper
1 3 oz can sliced olives
1/4 c. shredded parmesan
1/4 c. snipped parsley
Combine above in a large bowl.
Dressing
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1 1/2 t. dry mustard
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
1 clove minced garlic.
Combine above; whisk well. Pour over salad, toss lightly. Cover and chill 4 hours or overnight.

US Senate Bean Soup

From the Joy of Cooking. 'This soup has been on the US Senate restaurant menu since 1901.'

Rinse & soak
1 1/4c small dried white beans, such as pea or navy

Drain and place in a soup pot along with:
7c cold water
1 small ham hock

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the beans are tender, about 1 1/4 hrs. Remove the ham hock. Discard the bone, skin, and fat; dice the meat. Return it to the pot along with:
1 large, diced onion
3 medium celery stalks with leaves, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2t salt
1/2t ground black pepper

Simmer until the potatoes are quite soft, 20-30 min. Remove from the heat and mask with a potato masher until the soup is a bit creamy. Stir in:
2T chopped fresh parsley

Ladle into warmed bowls and serve! Makes about 6c.

Whole Wheat Bread Recipes?

I would really love to hear everyone's all-wheat bread recipes. Sidsie gave me her's which I will post here because she's too lazy to, but it will mess up all the Labels and sorting. Sorry.

Sidsie's Whole Wheat Bread
1/3 c oil
1/3 c honey or ½ c sugar
2 ¼ t salt
2 ¾ c steaming hot tap water
¼ c gluten flour
1 ¼ T instant yeast
7-8 c whole wheat flour

Mix together first four ingredients in mixer with a dough hook. Add ½ of flour and beat. Put in 1-2 more cups flour, gluten flour, and yeast. Beat again. With mixer on medium speed, add remaining flour just until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead 10 minutes on medium-high speed.

Pre-heat oven for 1 minute to Luke Warm and turn off. Spray or oil 2 pans. Pour dough out onto oiled counter, divide and shape into loaves and put into pans. Let loaves rise 35 minutes in warmed oven. Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Tip out of pans and cool on cooling rack.

***I used 4c red wheat and 2c white wheat for my last batch, which turned out really well. The key is the 10 min of kneading. A lot, I know, but it makes loaves instead of bricks.

Salsa Lentils

I found this on the Publix website and have really enjoyed it. I've used it as a filler in Enchiladas and served it over tortilla chips as well.

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) bag dried lentils
6 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 (24-ounce) jar thick and chunky salsa
1 (4 1/2-ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 (1 1/4-ounce) packet taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package fresh cilantro

Steps

1. Rinse and sort lentils. Place water and lentils in large saucepan; cover and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
2. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Place oil in pan; stir in onions and garlic. Cook 8–10 minutes, until onions and garlic begin to brown, stirring occasionally.
3. Drain lentils and return to saucepan. Stir onion mixture, salsa, green chiles and dry taco seasoning mix into lentils. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.
4. Remove large stems from (rinsed) cilantro; coarsely chop, and then measure (1/3 cup). Stir into lentils; remove from heat and serve.

Bolognese Sauce

I found this one, like many others, in Real Simple magazine:

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 carrot, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds combined ground beef and pork, or meat-loaf mix
1 cup milk
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
6 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. In a large skillet, combine the onion, celery, carrot, and olive oil and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the meat and cook, stirring frequently, until it loses its pink color. Add the milk. Increase heat to high and cook until the milk has evaporated.
2. Transfer the mixture to 4- to 6-quart heavy casserole. Return the skillet to the heat and add the tomato paste; cook over low heat to reduce its bitterness, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste to the casserole, along with the tomatoes, salt, and nutmeg.
3. Cook the sauce over low heat, uncovered, for 2 to 3 hours. Stir frequently.
4. I like to puree this one a bit to make it a smoother sauce. There is also a slow cooker version here.
   

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Easy and Yummy!

Serves 4

Ingredients

Quickie Green Chile Sauce
1 cup light gluten-free vegetable broth
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch dissolved in a little cold water (corn starch)
1 generous cup chopped roasted green chiles, hot or mild
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin or chili powder, hot or mild, to taste

Enchilada Filling
1 (15-ounce) can organic black beans, rinsed, drained
4 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh lime juice from 1 big juicy lime
2 heaping cups cooked diced sweet potatoes
1/2 cup chopped roasted mild green chiles (roast under the broiler)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder mild or spicy
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Assembly
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, as needed
8 white or yellow corn tortillas
4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Choose a baking dish that would hold 8 rolled enchiladas. Make your Quickie Green Chile Sauce by combining the broth, dissolved arrowroot, green chiles, garlic and spices in a sauce pan and heating over medium-high heat. Bring to a high simmer. Simmer until thickened. Taste test and adjust seasonings. Set aside.

In the meantime, for the Enchilada Filling, using a mixing bowl, combine the drained black beans with minced garlic and lime juice. Toss to coat the beans and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the cooked sweet potatoes (I prick the potatoes with a fork, cover them with saran wrap and microwave them for 8-10 min) with the chopped green chiles; add the spices. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the Quickie Green Chile Sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

To assemble the enchiladas, grab a skillet and heat a dash of oil. Lightly cook the corn tortillas to soften them, one at a time, as you stuff each one.

Lay the first hot tortilla in the sauced baking dish; wet it with the sauce. Spoon 1/8 of the sweet potato mixture down the center. Top with 1/8 of the black beans. Wrap and roll the tortilla to the end of the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Top with the rest of the sauce. Top with a sprinkle of shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the enchiladas are piping hot and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

Those Darn Danishes

Kris asked for the recipe, and I told her how labor intesive it is (time intesive really more than labor), but she insisted, so here it is.

Danish Pastry Twists (stolen from The Pie and Pastry Bible)

Note. Does not work well with a Bosch mixer

Dough:
2/3 c. milk, divided
2 T. sugar, divided
1 ½ t. yeast
2 ¼ c. flour, divided
½ t. salt
1/8 t. freshly ground cardamom
1 large egg
17 T. unsalted butter (1 T. softened)

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
3 T. honey
preserves (you really want the sugar-added preserves; All Fruit just clumps)

chopped chocolate

Glaze:
¼ + 2 T. powdered sugar
1 T + ¼ t. water
1 ½ freshly squeezed lemon juice

Icing:
½ c. powdered sugar
1/8 t. vanilla
2 T. heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Proof the yeast in small bowl with 2 T of the milk (slightly warmed), ½ t. sugar, and the yeast. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes until bubbly and foamy.

In a heavy mixer, add all but 1 T. of the flour, the remaining sugar, salt, yeast mixture, and cardamom. Add the remaining milk, the egg, and the 1 T. of softened butter, and mix on a low speed until well combined (dough will be a little sticky and shiny). Put dough in an oiled bowl, turn over once to cover all over with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Gently deflate dough, recover with plastic, and refrigerate for 2-8 hours.

On a large sheet of plastic wrap, place the remaining 1 T. of flour. Mix in with the remaining butter (I use 2 cubes). Once flour is incorporated, shape butter into a 5 inch square.
Take dough out of fridge, roll out to an 8 inch square, put butter diagonally in the middle mark it, roll out the flaps a little more, moisten with water, and wrap the dough around the butter. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

Gently roll the dough into a 7 by 16 inch rectangle. Brush off all the flour from the surface of the dough and fold into thirds. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-40 minutes. This is the first “turn.” Do two more turns refrigerating the dough 20-40 minutes between each one. After all turns are done, allow dough to rest in refrigerator for 2 hours (or overnight).

Take dough out of fridge, allow to warm for 15 minutes before working with it so butter can soften a little and not break through the dough. Roll the dough to a 6 by 14 inch rectangle. Cut ½ -inch wide strips from the dough. Twist the dough and then coil it like a snail’s shell on a baking sheet 2 inches apart. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with a nonstick spray. Allow to rise for 1-2 hours. With your fingers press down the middle two inches of the twist. In the indention, spoon cream cheese mixture and/or preserves and/or chocolate.

Heat oven to 400. When you bake twists, immediately lower temperature to 375. Bake for 18-20 minutes, switching pans half-way through. (It is good to have a baking stone to help maintain the oven temperature in the oven. Another hint is to have an oven safe bowl with boiling water on the lower oven rack or to throw a handful of ice cubes on the bottom of the oven before shutting the oven door. Or you can just not do anything.)

When twists come out of the oven, brush with glaze. Remove to wire racks to cool. About 20-30 minutes after pastries come out of oven, drizzle with icing.

You can freeze these and reheat them for 5 minutes in a 300 degree oven, or for about 7 seconds on 1/2 power in the microwave.

Baked apple "donuts"

Don't let the name fool you, these are not good for you at all.

1 1/2 cup flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup grated apple
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted (do not use vegetable oil spread with less than 60% fat)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Grease muffin pans - do not use paper liners. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl or sifter. In a seperate medium bowl, mix beaten egg, milk and grated apple. Mix in, using low speed on mixer, shortening and sugar. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Drop into greased muffin pans. Bake at 350 for 20 min. Cool slightly and remove from pans. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll the muffins in melted butter and then in the sugar mixture. Serve on a pretty plate. Makes 12-16 regular sized muffins.

FYI- I perfer using a silcone muffin pan so that I can pop them out from the bottom. They break easily while warm but you dont want them completely cooled before doing the butter/sugar step. Takes some trial and error. The crumbs that break off in the butter and sugar are the best part.

Ranch Dressing Mix

I'm not sure if this will interest anyone or not. Some of my sisters are trying to avoid msg in all its forms. It's in pretty much every store-bought salad dressing in some form or another. So I happened to see this recipe in an old ward cookbook and gave it a try. This functions the same as a ranch dressing mix packet you would buy at the grocery store. The recipe makes a lot of mix so if anyone wants to try some of mine you are welcome to. One thing I like about this is that when you combine the mix with buttermilk/mayonnoise or sourcream you can make as little or as much as you want. I pretty much always half it - which makes one cup of dressing/dip. I also have used buttermilk from the freezer in this recipe (I freeze leftover buttermilk in icecube trays since I don't use it all that much) and it was fine too.

Ranch Dressing Mix

15 saltine crackers
1 C dry minced parsley flakes
1/2 C dry minced onions
2 T dry dill
1/2 C onion salt
1/2 C garlic salt
1/4 C onion powder
1/4 C garlic powder

Put crackers into blender on high until finely powdered. Add parsley flakes, minced onion and dill. Blend until fine powder again. Dump into a bowl and mix remaining ingredients in with a whisk. Put in an airtight container and store at room temp. Makes 42 T. To use combine 1 T. mix with one cup of buttermilk and one cup of mayonnaise. For best flavor make the dressing at least a few hours ahead.

Double Tree Cookies

If you've never had a cookie from the Double Tree Hotel, you should go out and try one...or try this recipe, because they are delicious!

3 cubes unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 egg white
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 package mini morsels
1 cup chopped walnuts
3-3 1/2 cups flour

Cream butter, eggs and sugars until fluffy. Add lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and vanilla. Mix well. Mix in oats, mini morsels and walnuts. Add flour. Form into 1 inch balls with a cookie scoop and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes.

For official cookie info go here. For another knock-off recipe go here.

Herbed Rice

I think this recipe is worth posting. I stumbled onto this recipe from Ina Garten on the food network. It's simple and instead of just plain old rice you get something really good. Basically your just adding chopped herbs to your rice after you cook it - simple and yummy.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 cup uncooked long-grain (white) basmati rice (recommended: Texmati)
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh curly parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh scallions, white and green parts
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Combine the rice, 1 3/4 cups water, the salt, and butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to low, stir once, and simmer, covered tightly, for 15 minutes. (I need to pull the pot half off the burner to keep it from boiling over.) Turn off the heat and allow the rice to sit covered for 5 minutes. Add the parsley, dill, scallions, and pepper. Fluff with a fork, and serve warm.

The only thing I did different on this was that I used cilantro instead of dill (it's just what I had). It was really good. Also here's a link to the recipe.

Cinnamon Rolls III

per Cecily's request:

PREP TIME 2 Hrs
COOK TIME 20 Min
READY IN 2 Hrs 20 Min
Original recipe yield 16 rolls

INGREDIENTS

* 1/4 cup warm water
* 1/4 cup butter, melted
* 1/2 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
* 1 cup warm milk
* 1 egg, room temperature (I actually never wait until the egg is room temp)
* 1 tablespoon white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 4 cups bread flour
* 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 3/4 cup chocolate chips

* 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 teaspoons milk

DIRECTIONS

1. In the pan of your bread machine, combine water, melted butter, vanilla pudding, warm milk, egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, bread flour and yeast. Set machine to Dough cycle; press Start.
2. When Dough cycle has finished, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 17x10 inch rectangle. Spread with softened butter. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over dough. Then sprinkle chocolate chips over sugar mixture.
3. Roll up dough, beginning with long side. Slice into 16 one inch slices and place in 9x13 buttered pan. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. While rolls bake, stir together cream cheese, softened butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk. Remove rolls from oven and top with frosting.

I know this is a bread machine recipe, but I am sure you could convert it to hand mixing easily. If not, the first review on the site explains.

Italian Vegetable Soup

I found this one on a blog (orangette) and really liked it:

Fretwell (Italian Vegetable) Soup

This soup recipe comes from the Fretwell family, longtime friends in Oklahoma, and they in turn discovered it somewhere in Italy. I have only a blurry Xeroxed copy of the recipe (which the Fretwells had faxed to them from wherever they first ate it), and so I thus cannot give credit here to its original author. That’s a true shame, because this is one of the most delicious vegetable soups I’ve ever tasted. The Fretwells brought us many meals while my father was ill, and this was one we requested repeatedly. But consider yourself warned: this recipe makes a veritable cauldron of soup. If you don’t have a stockpot that can hold twelve quarts or so, do this in two batches, or halve the recipe.


1 ½ lbs. dried cannellini or Great Northern beans
Olive oil
Salt
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves
1 or 2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
2 or 3 medium yellow onions, chopped
8 medium carrots, sliced into ¼-inch coins
5 celery stalks, trimmed and sliced into ¼-inch crescents
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into ¼-inch half-circles
1 bunch red Swiss chard, washed, dried, and sliced
½ head green cabbage, cored and chopped roughly
1 quart vegetable broth (I used Imagine brand)
1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes, juices reserved and tomatoes chopped roughly


Soak the beans overnight. The next day, drain them, put them into a large pot, add water to cover by 2 inches, and cook, with sage and garlic, for about one hour. As the beans cook, skim off any white foam that rises to the surface, and halfway through their cooking time, add ½ Tbs salt.

Heat 2 or 3 Tbs olive oil in a large soup pot, add onions, carrots, and celery, and sauté for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, salting lightly, and adding more oil if necessary. Add the zucchini and the vegetable broth, cover, and bring mixture to a simmer. Then add Swiss chard, cabbage, tomatoes, and tomato juices. Cover the pot, and simmer over low heat for half an hour or so. Add the beans and their cooking water, salt to taste, and simmer, covered, over low heat for one hour, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve over slices of day-old crusty bread, and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil if you like.

Serves scads—but scads!—of people.

My Neighbor's Rolls

My sweet neighbor, Maria Elena, came to my house the other day to teach me how to make these yummy rolls. I thought I would share the recipe.

2 cups water
2 eggs
1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 stick of butter, melted
7 cups flour (HTML is her favorite)
1/8 c. saf instant yeast

Heat water in microwave for 1 minute. Put in blender and add eggs. Mix well. Add sugar, salt and mix. Add butter, 5 cups flour and yeast. Mix well, then add approximately 2 more cups flour (until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl) Let Rise in the mixing bowl, covered with a towel, until it reaches top of bowl.
Shape into rolls and place in a greased 9x13 pan. Let rise until rolls reach the top of pan.
Bake at 300-325 for 20-30 minutes until tops and bottoms are golden brown.
Enjoy!

Ice Cream Syrup (aka: buttermilk syrup)

This is a breakfast syrup, one you would use on pancakes or waffles. I realize the name might be confusing. We call it Ice Cream syrup because the boys think it tastes like ice cream. Yummy, right? It is now the syrup of choice for breakfast around here.

Ingredients:
1 C sugar
½ C butter
½ C buttermilk (or sour milk - 1/2 C milk + 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice, let sit for 5 min.)
½ tsp. baking soda

Combine into a large saucepan.
Cook until sugar melts and is caramelized in color.
Remove from heat.
Add ½ tsp. vanilla.

Macaroons

Cecily was nice enough to say she loved my macaroons, even though I've only made them once (maybe twice?) in my life and I thought they were not that impressive. But, here's my recipe from the Joy of Cooking for all you Samoa lovers who can't afford to subsidize Girl Scout programs in order to sate your sweet tooth (like us- we ration them amongst the adults). Another good chocolate-coconut-sweetened condensed milk cookie is my mom's Ooey Gooey Cookies Recipe.

Coconut Macaroons

Stir together:
2/3c sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg white
1.5t vanilla
1/8 t salt

Stir in:
3.5c flaked or shredded sweetened coconut

Drop the dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment or well greased foil spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake 1 sheet at a time until the cookies are nicely browned (it suggests in the top 3rd of the oven), 20-25 min at 325. Remove and let stand until cool. Carefully peel the cookies off the paper or foil.
Then I like to drizzle them with melted chocolate.

So now I have a question for you. What do you do with the leftover sweetened condensed milk?

Fabulous Homemade Wheat bread

Stephanie - I saw you started a post and never published it. I thought I would post this in case you were still looking.

This isn't 100% whole wheat but close enough. And we do think it is yummy. The original is done the old fashion way. I, of course, converted it to a bread machine. (I have no confidence doing bread by hand) Anyway, like usual I do the dough in the machine and then let it rise in a bread pan and bake it in the oven. The original recipe makes 6 loaves but I scaled it down to fit into my machine. This makes 2 big loaves or 3 smaller loaves.

2 1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup veg. oil
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup white flour
5 cups wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp yeast (you might want to experiment with that, depending on personal taste)

Put wet than dry ingredients in the bread machine. Set to dough cycle. Punch down, remove, shape according to desire and let rise. Bake at 350 for 35 min or so. Watch the top of the bread so it doesn't get too brown.

Oh, one other note. I have added wheat germ and flax seed to this without it changing the taste. Not too much, maybe about 3 Tbsp. It is worth experimenting to find your own personal taste.

Exquisite Pizza Sauce

We make homemade pizza fairly often in our house. This is our absolute favorite sauce and really ups the yummy of the pizza. Chaz finds it is a bit spicy but Brian and I love the kick so every other batch I leave out the cayenne pepper and pepper flakes. I can get at least two pizzas out of a batch. So I just freeze the leftovers and thaw them in the microwave when I need them.

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
6 fluid oz warm water
3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (I have left this out with no problems but we prefer it in there)
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp honey
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Mix everything together in a small bowl, breaking up any clumps.

Let sit for at least 30 mins, then spread over dough and prepare pizza as desired.

Request: hot chocolate mix

In an effort to save money and satisfy cravings, I want to make hot chocolate mix at home. I have tried several and will admit that they are seldom up to snuff. But I was hoping someone(s) here has one they make over and over again for me to try. Please and thank you.