Monday, December 15, 2008

Leftovers, the yummy way

So, I pulled out our frozen Thanksgiving leftovers, and made a cute and yummy dinner last night!

Spray mini muffin cups.
Layer potatoes, chicken/turkey, stuffing, then cheese. Smoosh down to mold into shape. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Pop into mouth............
I also made a casserole for us big folks, but the cute muffin casseroles were more fun!
I am sure this would work for other leftovers too.

This was an easy Sunday dinner (desperately needed) and helped us work through those leftovers in a new and yummy way.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Best Ever Crock-Pot Chicken

A few weeks ago Greg and I ate at my Mom's and she made this delicious chicken that was so easy to make. So I told her I needed the recipe to put up here. It's easy and you just leave it in the crock-pot! Awesome, huh?

"Best Ever Crock-Pot Chicken"

The "best ever" got my attention, plus the fact that it called for five ingredients -- EASY!

6 chicken breasts
1 8 0z pkg cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg Good Seasons Italian dressing mix

Put chicken in crock pot. In a separate sauce pan, add next four ingredients and heat until melted together. Pour over the chicken that is in the crockpot. Cook on LOW all day. Serve with rice, pasta or potatoes. You can also use chicken tenders instead of the breasts.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Ice Cream Ornaments

I thought this would be a fun activity for kids at Christmas time.
Raylene

Homemade tomato soup

Oh yeah, this is gooooooood.

Tomato soup

1 T olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, grated
Garlic or garlic powder to taste
1 can 28 oz tomato crushed tomatoes
1 can 14 oz chicken broth
½ tsp salt
½ tsp thyme
¼ tsp pepper
1 T red-wine vinegar (I left this out cuz I didn’t have it!)
Optional: sour cream on top

Heat oil and sauté onions and carrots with garlic powder.
Stir in crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, salt, thyme, and pepper.
Heat to boiling and then simmer for 15 minutes.
Let cool and stir in vinegar.

Makes 4 cups
Nutrition per cup: 109 cal, 3 g protein, 4 g fat, 18 g carb, 87 mg calcium, 2 g fiber

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Chicken enchiladas

Chicken enchiladas

You can half the recipe, or make a ton and freeze for a future busy night's dinner.

Filling:
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans cream of chicken soup
½ can enchilada sauce (red)
1 small container of sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese
Take 1/3 of filling and set aside for topping
Add 1 pound cooked diced chicken to the 2/3 mixture
Spoon into tortillas (usually makes 18 or so depending on how generous the spoonfuls are!)
Put some filling from the “aside” bowl in pan (usually I use 2 pans)
Place tortillas in pan(s) and top with the “aside” filling
Add more cheese to the top and the rest of the red enchilada sauce if you want more spice!
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 and serve with rice.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Broccoli Ham Quiche

This may be more of a breakfast dish, but I made it for dinner tonight. We had ham for Sunday dinner and I had some left overs I needed to use. Anyway, it was very well received by everyone. That's right, it pleased 7 out of 7 people. The kids didn't even know there was potatoes in it. I guess it's a keeper. Next time I make it I will have to double it and cook it in a 9x13 inch pan. It is a microwave recipe too, and though I prefer to cook in the oven...sometimes in a pinch it's nice to have a quick microwave recipe. Hope you like it!

2 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup diced fully cooked ham
1/2 cup chopped fresh broccoli
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teas. dried minced onion (I didn't add this because I didn't have it on hand, but I'm sure it would be good in there)
1/2 teas. garlic powder
1/2 teas. salt
1/2 teas. pepper (I only added 1/4 teas. since we are not big pepper fans.)

1. Place hash browns in a greased 9 inch microwave-safe pie plate. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 4 minutes or until thawed. Press onto the bottom and halfway up the sides of the plate. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, ham and broccoli.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk and seasonings; pour over ham mixture. Cover with waxed paper. Microwave at 70% power for 10-12 minutes, or until set. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Makes 4-6 servings.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Meatloaf

This is Bob's favorite meatloaf, and if I do say so myself, it is realllllly easy and good!

Mix in a bowl:
1 pound uncooked ground beef, salt and pepper
1/4 cup onions (pre-cooked is preferred at our house)
1/4 cup crushed crackers (we like to use goldfish crackers to get the kids interested in eating)
2 eggs
1/2 the sauce (see below)
You can add other items too, I have added fresh cut up tomatoes or mushrooms before.

Mix sauce in separate bowl:
1 can tomato soup
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs mustard

Put the meat mixture in a pre-greased pan of your choice (pie pan/loaf pan/or muffin tins)
Pour the remaining sauce over the meat mixture in pan.
Bake for about an hour at 350 (check the middle of pan for browned meat - I like to use glass pie pans for this purpose...)
OR you can microwave this recipe for 15 minutes on high power.

Enjoy!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

TONGANS (it's a sandwich not a person)

These are called Tongans because they were handed down from missionary to missionary and it started with a Tongan Elder...or so the legend goes. They might look and sound strange, but the sandwiches are very flavorful and quite filling. It goes a little something like this:

You need:
One pack of Ramen Noodles (flavor of your choice.)
2 eggs
sandwich fillings of your liking (i.e. bacon or sandwich meat, cheese, onions, tomatoes, etc.)

What you do:
Start boiling your water. Take the 2 eggs and crack them open and put the contents into a bowl. Then you open the flavor packet from the noodles and mix it with the eggs. Once the water is boiling, put in the noodles, but only for like 10 to 20 seconds. Just enough to where you can unfold the noodles. Then you put whatever you want in between the two halves of the noodles and fold it back over. Get a frying pan and put a dab of butter on it. Once it's hot pour half of the eggs onto it and place your noodle sandwich thing in the eggs. As the eggs cook, use a spatula to form them around the noodles. Then lift the sandwich, pour on the rest of the eggs and repeat. When it's all cooked, put in between some bread with your desired sauces or condiments and enjoy! By the way, these are Blythe tested and Blythe approved. Very tasty and very filling. We just did some blt's with chicken ramen and ranch and it was supreme.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Baked Amish Oatmeal

Amish Baked Oatmeal

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter melted
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Toppings:

Warm milk
fresh fruit and/or brown sugar, optional
yogurt

Combine the first eight ingredients; mix well. Spread evenly in a greased 13 in. x 9 in. x 2
in. baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Immediately spoon into bowl and add various toppings.


This is yummy! I put it in a preheated cast iron pan which made it crispier. I like the leftovers on top of my yogurt the next day.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Brigadeiros

This is a fantastically delicious Brazilian treat. Here is one way to make them.

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 stick butter
2 T Nestle Quik OR 1 T Quik + 1 T Hershey cocoa (darker chocolate taste)

Mix together and add butter in saucepan. Heat and stir continuously on low heat until it is a rolling boil and you can scrape and see the bottom of the pan. Stir for an additional two minutes. Cool, and then place in fridge to cool overnight. Roll into balls and roll in one of the following toppings: chocolate sprinkles, any kind of sprinkles, slivered almonds, graham cracker crumbs, white chocolate shavings, dark chocolate savings, or any yummy topping. Put in mini baking cups and try to share with others.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Chicken salad in tomato cups

1/4 cup low fat mayo
1 tsp. dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 cup cooked and diced chicken breast
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup celery (I used cucumbers tonight!)
4 tomatoes

Combine mayo, mustard, salt, pepper, chicken, carrots and celery.
Cut the tops off tomatoes and save them. Scoop out the seeds and pulp. Fill with chicken salad and plate tops on as lids.

Yummy way to use up our tomatoes from our garden!

Whole wheat bread

YUM. Enough said.

2 packages dry yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water
2 T brown sugar
3 T oil
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups flour
6 T soft butter

1) Dissolve yeast in water (wait for the poof!)
2) Add brown sugar, oil, honey, salt, and 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. Mix well.
3) Stir in remaining whole wheat flour and enough flour to make a stiff dough (it is less dry the less flour you add - it just is stickier dough)
4) Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface for 10 minutes. Cover in bowl and let rise for 1 1/2 hours - this process can be sped up by letting it rise on a warm oven (OR put in fridge and leave overnight)
5) Divide into equal parts depending on loaf pan size. Shape into loaves and let rest for 10 minutes
6) Place in loaf pans (or shape into rolls and place in pan)
7) Cover and let rise till doubled. You can brush the dough with egg wash to give it a golden crust)
8) Bake in a 375F oven for 12-15 minutes. Brush with milk or butter while warm
9) EAT!

*I like to make mini loaves because they are a bit easier to slice, they are so cute, and my kids consume food really well if it is so cute and small...
*I usually triple the recipe, and freeze any remaining bread after the first day. Then I can get it out, thaw, and it is like we have fresh bread again.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Homemade Corndogs

My kids love corndogs, but they are so expensive if I splurge and buy them from the store. I made them today for about $2 for 8. A bit of savings, but also a lot of fun for the kids to watch mom try to figure it all out.

1 pack of hot dogs
1 package of corn muffin mix made with only 1/2 the milk or water on package directions
skewer sticks, broken in half
(I might make mini corn dogs next time - maybe even without the stick swords)

Slowly slide the stick through the hot dogs, then roll/spread batter on the hot dog. Heat oil in pan on top of stove. Keep it at medium heat (this takes about 20 minutes to heat it slowly) until a test drop of batter browns in about 30 seconds. You don't want to have it heat up too fast (or too slow either). Place skewered hot dogs in oil and brown on all sides, turning every few seconds. This will cook and brown quickly so don't walk away!
Lift out of oil with slotted spoon or spatula, and drain/cool on plate. Serve with corn dog toppings of your choice!
(Cool the oil and save for another frying adventure, or discard - in a container - to the trash)
The kids loved this kitchen adventure and even said they were as good as store bought corn dogs. I even made a fried cornbread for Evelyn who doesn't like hot dogs, but likes the fried bread.

You can also make your own Chinese spring rolls this way - cabbage mixed with ground pork and a bit of seasoning/sauce rolled up in the thin papery wraps - then fried. (Google this for a specific recipe!) Yummy. Happy Frying!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

We had all this leftover ham from Sunday's dinner and Greg told me to find a recipe online with ham in it and try it out. So I found this recipe for a Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole and it turned out to be simple and quite yummy!

Ingredients:
2lb chicken breasts cut into chunks
bread crumbs
1 egg
8oz. swiss cheese, cubed
8oz. ham, diced
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 C milk

Directions:
Whisk together the egg and 1/2 C of milk. Dip chunks of uncooked chicken in egg mixture, then into bread crumbs, coating well. Brown in a little oil until golden. Place chicken chunks in baking dish, add cubes of swiss cheese and small pieces of ham. Mix cream of chicken soup with 1 C milk, mix well and pour over all. (I added some bread crumbs on top as well)
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until tender and bubbly.

Enjoy :)

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Pasta sandwiches

We got this idea from Brandon and Laura, and since we are a pasta loving family, we love this idea too!
Cut out the innards of hoagie rolls. Insert warmed pastas and sauces of your choice. Yummy. Last night I made 4 different kinds of pastas and sauces and we had a major noodle night. I think an easier way of doing it would be to save up all the leftover pasta dishes (freezing if necessary) and then dishing them up inside rolls to fancy up the leftovers. Live and learn.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Chicken enchiladas

2 chicken breasts cooked in frying pan with onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small container of sour cream
1/2 small can of red enchilada sauce
optional small can of green chilies
2 cups cheddar cheese (or more!)
10 tortillas

Mix soups, sour cream and enchilada sauce (and optional green chilies), and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese together.
Save 1 cup for covering the top of tortillas at the end.
Stir cooked chicken into soup mixture and spoon into open tortillas.
Roll up and place in greased 9X13 pan.
Cover with remaining soup mixture and smother with cheddar cheese.
You can also add more enchilada sauce for those who like a bit more kick.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
We like this with rice and corn on the cob and a fruit salad.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Fast and Easy Stroganoff (Yummy too)

This is finished in 20 minutes. This is a great recipe - my kids left nothing for dad tonight... Poor Bob.
*NOTE* I always pre-cook my meat as soon as I buy it from the store - if you don't do that, then add on 10 minutes for browning the meat with onions and salt and pepper.
Boil water for bowtie noodles and cook according to package directions.
Heat up sauce:
browned beef with onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
Add 1 cup of sour cream at the end
(And Bob likes ketchup on his... to each his own!)
VOILA! Dinner! We like green beans and salad with this one, obviously anything you like will work too.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Summer smoothie

A friend shared this with us. This is so good!
In a blender combine
1 peeled cubed lime
1/3 bag of frozen raspberries
3/4 of a can of frozen apple juice
some water
lots of ice
serve and enjoy!
Dresden

Friday, June 6, 2008

German Pancake

2005_11_09-big-pancake.jpg

This can be halfed easily. Use cast iron, it is the best! It is fun to see how the pancake forms. Good for breakfast or dessert. The girls LOVE IT!

Makes 2 large pancakes, 4-6 servings each

4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Topping suggestions:
Lemon wedges
Powdered sugar
Berries
Maple or Fruit syrup

Preheat oven to 425°F with the cast iron in the oven.

Whisk eggs, milk, flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Remove cast iron from the oven and divide butter between two 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillets (I've done 8" and 12"). Swirl butter to coat sides. Divide batter between pans. Bake on lowest rack until golden brown, set on center rack and allow to bake until sides rise high above the sides of the pans, 12-15 minutes.

Cut Big Pancake into wedges and serve with dusting of sugar, berries and a squirt of lemon juice, or just some maple syrup.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

No knead bread

This is as hands off and easy as it gets - and it has the name of "heavenly bread" given by my kids.
Enjoy!

Recipe: No-Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street BakeryTime: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting¼ teaspoon instant yeast1¼ teaspoons saltCornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Ice Cream Cake Roll

1/3 Cup cake flour
1/3 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tblsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
4 large eggs, separated
3/4 Cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 15 x 10 inch pan with waxed or baking paper. Grease and flour lined pan, tap out excess flour.

In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well. In a separate bowl, using mixer on medium speed, beat egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar until fluffy. This takes several minutes.

In a small mixing bowl, using clean beaters, beat egg whites on high until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. They should hold their shape well. This also takes several minutes.

Fold 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into egg yolk mixture. Alternately fold in remaining whites and flour mixture. Pour batter onto pan, it will be thick. Smooth top as level as possible. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 15 minutes.

Dust a clean cloth very lightly with powdered sugar, or white sugar. Turn cake onto prepared cloth, remove baking paper.

Starting with long side tightly roll up cake with cloth. Transfer cake, seam side down to a wire rack to cool.

Unroll cake, remove cloth. Slice slabs of ice cream and lay them on cake until it is covered to within 1/4 inch of edge. Re-roll cake, place seam side down on large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly and freeze until firm. Slice and enjoy!

Use vanilla or chocolate or whatever flavor you like. Try serving on a chocolate drizzled plate and top with more chocolate sauce or berries. Another variation is to fill the roll with Cool Whip rather than ice cream.

It may not be as good as Farr's but it is very yummy!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Quesadillas

Quesadillas are so yummy!

An easy and fast way to fix them up is to place the tortilla on a baking sheet, chop up veggies, meat, and cheese and layer it thinly on 1/2 the tortilla. Fold the tortilla over in half, and place the sheet in the oven on broil (set the timer for 1-2 minutes or it will BURN) and then voila! you have food ready to eat! My kids like to eat them in 1/4 or 1/8 slices, using two tortillas stacked together with the yummy mixture inside. I really like zucchini and mozarella cheese quesadillas.
Another is chicken, broccoli, and mozarella quesadillas.

This is a super fast, super easy lunch or dinner. There are too many combos to type up, again, creativity is key. Post additional ideas in the comments section, and we can get some great easy meals out of this!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Experiment with salads

Bob and I love to experiment with salads. We usually just start with the plain bagged salad, and then scrounge around the pantry for interesting additions. Yesterday for lunch I made the following:
I started with some bagged romaine salad. Then I added 1/2 chicken breast, a handful of cut up orange, a handful of apple cut up small, some pineapple, crushed pecans, 1 T shredded cheddar cheese, 1 swirl of ranch around the bowl, and a dash of lime juice. Sorry about the un-measured ingredients, but it just was a bit of experimenting. I mixed all together and it was yummy!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

One of my favorite recipes.

One of my absolute favorite recipes is so simple and easy.

It involves the following ingredients.

Phone.
Money.
About a 1/2 hour of waiting.

Call Papa Johns and get a Hawaiin pizza!! :)

Just kidding (sort of). Here is really one of my favorite recipes:

Monkey Bread

Heat to warm 1 cube butter and ¾ milk.

Mix 3 eggs, ¾ C sugar and 1 tsp salt.

Add to milk and butter.

Dissolve 1pkg dry yeast in ¼ C lukewarm water and 1tsp sugar.

Add to milk, butter, eggs etc.

Add 2½ C flour and mix well.

Add another 2½ C flour to make soft dough. Knead well. Place in buttered bowl and cover. Let rise 1 hour. Punch down and shape as follows: Roll out the dough to about ¾ inch thickness. Cut in strips about 1 inch width. Cut in pieces about 2 inches long. Dunk in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place in tube pan and let rise another 45 minutes. Bake at 350. Cool for 10 minutes and invert.

Served best with hot chocolate and it is a very good seasonal gift during the holidays. You can only eat it with your fingers - no slicing the monkey bread allowed!!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Creamy Chicken Pasta Soup

This recipe is from Jeanene Davey, who is a fantastic cook.

3 T butter
4 oz. button mushrooms (sliced)
1 cup celery (Bob thinks these are optional!)
1 cup shredded carrots
3 T flour
6 cups chicken stock
1.5 cups half and half
2 T parsley
1.5 pounds chicken breasts, cooked and cut up
1 cup penne pasta
1/4 cup sugar snap peas, halved (or you can use green peas)
3 T lemon juice

Cook penne pasta according to package directions and set aside (10 minutes or so). Melt butter in pot, add mushrooms, celery, carrots and onion. Cook until tender (5 minutes). Add flour and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add half & half and parsley. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add chicken, simmer another 5 minutes. Mix in cooked pasta and peas. Mix in lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Total time 25 (provided that you have pre-cooked chicken!)

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Alfredo Lasagna

Can you tell we have been having a noodle fest?

Ingredients: Lasagna noodles, 1 stick of butter, 1 pack of cream cheese, milk, Parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, spinach, mushrooms, chicken

Cook noodles according to directions, lay out to cool.

Make sauce: 1 stick of butter, 1 pack of cream cheese, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Melt and boil softly in pan. Add more cheese or milk to make it creamy - you don't want it too buttery or thick. (This should make a nice creamy alfredo sauce - my kids favorite noodle topping! Adding other cheeses is fun and delicious too - we have tried all sorts!)

Layer sauce on bottom of pan, then noodles, cottage cheese, thawed spinach, mushrooms, and bite-size (cooked) chicken. Repeat layers 3 times. Bake in over at 350 for 1/2 hour or until golden brown.

Dresden

Lasagna

Boil noodles according to directions, lay out to cool.
Make Raylene's yummy spaghetti sauce (I'm assuming we all have that essential recipe)...
Make cottage cheese mixture with 1/2 cottage cheese container, 1 T italian seasoning, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. This can be modified also, depending on what you have in the fridge!
Layer in a 9X13 pan:
Sauce on bottom

Noodles
2 spoonfuls of cheese mixture per long noodle
Sauce (enough to barely cover the noodle)
Mozzarella cheese (or other cheese)
Freshly cut tomatoes (this really was the yummy part!)

Repeat 3 times, and end with sauce and mozzarella cheese on top.
Put in fridge for the NEXT day's dinner. This lets all the flavors mix in really well and "solidifies" it so that it is not lasagna soup.

Bake at 350 for about an hour, or until it starts getting golden on top and you can smell it!
Enjoy!
Dresden

Oatmeal Cake

Yummy Oatmeal Cake

Pour 1 1/4 cup boiling water over 1 cup quick oatmeal. Let stand for 20 minutes.
Cream 1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
Add oats
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
Bake in a greased 9X13 pan at 350 for 35 minutes
While cake is warm, spread and broil:
6 T melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup coconut (can be skipped or sub cookie crumbs)
1 cup nuts

Today, my kids didn't eat all the oatmeal, and so I subbed the leftovers in the pot for the beginning step. Way better than storing it in the fridge to be dumped out later. Who eats leftover oatmeal?
Dresden

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

BBQ sauce

This is our favorite BBQ sauce. This smoky version of the traditional sweet & sour sauce is delicious with BBQ chicken, pork and seafood. As a dipping sauce, try it with crispy egg rolls or chicken nuggets, French fries or onion rings. Use in place of ketchup on burgers. Use with bacon. It really should be a mainstay in every refrigerator.

An new favorite use: Cook diced onion in the sauce and then use it on a hot dog with cheese, tomato, some mayo

I hope you have a grocery store near you that carries it. Macey's and Albertson's have it here in Utah.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Sesame Chicken & Teriyaki Chicken

Jan requested I post the recipe for Sesame chicken. I found it in the Warner Robins Relief Society recipe book a long time ago. It was submitted by Carol Anne Daniels. I decided to go ahead and post my teriyaki chicken as well.

Sesame Chicken

Uncooked cubed chicken (2-4 lbs.)
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. chopped green onions
1/2 c. toasted sesame seeds

Mix together all ingredients and marinate chicken for at least 2 hours. Place chicken and marinade on a large cookie sheet in a single layer. Broil until brown, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Serve over rice.

I have made it this way, but I have also tweaked it a little and now I will usually add a little oil and instead of cut up chicken I will marinate whole chicken breast tenderloins, then I will put it in a 9x13 pan and cover with foil. Then I cook it at 400 for about 1 hour. A lot of times I will do one pan of sesame chicken and one pan of teriyaki chicken. My teriyaki marinade is below and then I just cook them the same way. I have also cooked the teriyaki on the grill before, very yummy.

Teriyaki Chicken Marinade

1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped green onions
1/3 c. oil
1-1 1/4 tsp ginger
2 cloves garlic (1 tsp. minced)

Sorry for the long post, but I think I remember Bob and Dresden requesting these recipes before too.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Oven Barbecue Chicken

This is one of our family favorites. Some of you probably already have this recipe, sorry. When I make it I usually triple it and then freeze 2 containers of it so the next 2 times I make it, all I have to do is defrost the sauce and pour it on the chicken and cook it. Hope you like it.

1 stick butter
1/2 tsp. mustard
1/4 c. chopped onion
1/4 tsp. chili powder
3 T. vinegar
1 T. Worchestershire sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. water
chicken breast tenderloins (frozen or thawed)

Melt butter in medium saucepan, add onion and cook over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients (except chicken) and simmer for about 2 minutes. Place chicken in 9x13 inch baking dish and pour barbecue sauce over chicken. Cover tightly with two layers of foil and cook in 400 degree oven for an hour and a half.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Red Pepper Cashew Chicken

Joe and I really like this. If I were to cook, this is what I would pick (this week). We haven't had it in a long time.

1 box Jasmine rice (2 cups of the rice)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
combine chicken in bowl with:
1 T. (once around the bowl) sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced and mashed
2 T. (a couple of glugs) rice wine vinegar, or dry sherry
a couple of red pepper flakes, crushed
black pepper to taste
[add 1 ½ T. sugar]

set it aside and let I hang out

1 T. sesame oil
1 lg. carrot, peeled diced in small cubes
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 can (7oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
3 heaping T. scoops of Hoisin sauce
A couple handfuls salted cashews
3 green onions, thinly sliced on an angle

Start rice according to directions on the box.
Heat oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat until it smokes. Add carrot and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the coated chicken and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the coated chicken and cook another 3-4 minutes. Toss in red pepper and chestnuts. Heat through for 1 minute. Add hoisin sauce and toss to coat evenly. Dump chicken out over a bed of rice. Top with cashews and green onions. Feeds 4 well.

30 minute meals by Rachel Ray


Let's Get Cooking!

I started this blog to help get new ideas or suggestions for one of my main tasks as a wife/mother...cooking. Sometimes I get bored with the same old stuff and want to try something new. Hopefully we can all help each other and have some fun doing it. It should be pretty simple, if you make something that goes over well, share it. If you need a suggestion, ask for it. If you tried something new, let us know how it turns out. There's no limit on how often you can post, and no requirement on how often to post...whenever you want really! So Let's Get Cooking!