Cream of Wheat

Greg made the best cream of wheat on Sunday. It was the best because he added 12 white chocolate lindor truffle balls!!! Yeah, very bad for you but it was OH SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!! :)

Magic Cookie Bars with a Twist (or Swirl)

We had these on Sunday and Bob wanted the recipe so here it is.

1 1/2 C chocolate graham cracker (or cookie) crumbs
1/2 C butter
1 1/2 C swirl white/chocolate chips (or use half chocolate and half white chocolate chips)
1 1/3 C shredded or flaked coconut
1 C coarsley chopped pecans
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Melt butter in 9x13 baking dish. Add chocolate graham (cookie) crumbs. Mix until well moistened and press evenly in pan. Sprinkle swirl white/chocolate chips over crust. Layer coconut over top. Sprinkle nuts on top. Cover with sweetened condensed milk. Bake at 375 until lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Beef Chowder

My Mom made this for us this past Sunday and it was EASY, and TASTY!

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 C chopped celery
1/2 C chopped onion
1/3 C chopped green pepper
2 16oz cans of tomatoes cut up
2 10 3/4oz cans of condensed cream of celery soup
1 17oz can of cream style-corn
1/4 C snipped parsley
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions
-In skillet, cook beef, celery, onion and green pepper until meet is browned; drain well. Transfer mixture into crockery cooker.
-Stir in undrained tomatoes, soup, corn, parsley, thyme and salt. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 10-12 servings.

My mom added extra corn but it was extremely tasty and I love that you just plot all that stuff in a crock pot and leave it for 8 hours and then you get this tasty meal.

Enjoy! :)

Soon I'll be posting pie recipes - Greg's been experimenting to find some good ones for Thanksgiving :-D Which means I need to loosen my jeans a bit haha.

Delicious, easy Apple Crisp

Last night we got a whole lot of yummy apples from Joe and Melanie and came home and made apple crisp - and it was so delicious! It was pretty darn easy too, except for the peeling the apple part since we don't have a peeler (idea for a Christmas gift haha!).

Ingredients
"Apple Part"
-10 Cups all purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
-1 Cup white sugar (we used splenda and just used 1/2 a cup - still yummy!)
-1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/2 Cup of water

"Crisp Part"
-1 Cup quick-cooking oats
-1 Cup all-purpose flour
-1 Cup packed brown sugar
-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 Cup butter/margarine, melted

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tbsp flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 C flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Extra Yummy Ideas:
We found that drizzling caramel on top and a dab of whipping cream makes this extra tasty!

Have a happy fall! Definitely try this recipe :-D

French Toast Casserole

I found this online... It is so yummy and easy and you can even make it the night before a busy morning!

All Jonas had to do this morning was pop it in the oven for 40 minutes and then the kids enjoyed a delicious breakfast!

French Toast Casserole Recipe Ingredient List

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
8- to 9-inch round loaf country-style bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 shake of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powder Sugar to taste!

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking dish.

Cut six 1-inch thick slices from center portion of bread, reserving ends for another use, and trim crusts.
Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 350° F. and bring bread to room temperature.

Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve hot French Toast Casserole immediately.
(or freeze in an air tight container! Can last for one month in freezer!)

Rice Pudding - Arroz Doce

A few weeks ago, Greg and I got a serious craving for Portuguese/Brazilian rice pudding. We looked online and got an amazing recipe that is quite delicious :)

1 cup short grain white rice
5 cups water
1 slice lemon peel
1 tbsp butter or margarine
a pinch of salt
2 cups hot milk
2 cups of sugar (we're trying Splenda tonight as we are making this)
5 egg yolks
cinnamon to garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil with the lemon peel, butter and pinch of salt.

Add the rice and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. When most of the water has evaporated, add the very hot milk. Simmer for 5 more minutes and add the sugar.

In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks and add a few spoonfuls of the rice mixture to temperate the egg yolks. Then add the now warm egg mixture to the saucepan and stir quickly until even.

Serve in a large dish or small shallow dishes and sprinkle with ground cinnamon to garnish (Greg likes to spell the first initial in people's names with the cinnamon - like a big "B" for Blythe with a heart)

ENJOY! It is sooooo yummy :)

Random Recipes

Chicken Divan - healthier thanks to Marcy
1 chicken, boned and skinned (save broth) - about 2 cups of chicken, diced
1 bunch broccoli
1/2 c plain yogurt (instead of sour cream)
1/2 c mayo
1/4 t curry
1 t mustard
1/4 grated cheese
1/4 c margarine
1/4 c flour
3/4 c bread crumbs
Melt 1/4 c margarine in sauce pan. Add flour and mix, let bubble. Add 1 1/2 C chicken broth. Cook stirring constantly until thickened. Cut broccoli and cook until crisp-tender. Layer broccoli in 9x13 dish. Add to thickened cream mixture yogurt, mayo, curry, mustard and pinch of paprika. Layer diced chicken over broccoli. Pour sauce over chicken. Melt 1/4 c margarine and bread crumbs and 1 T parsly flakes. Sprinkle over top. Bake at 375 about 20min or until hot and bubbly.

Yummy Chicken Tortilla Soup - thanks to Kiersten (feel free to edit if you want, I actually never cooked this)
3 1/2 c chicken broth
32 oz can of salsa
1 lb chicken
1 can corn with juice
Cook chicken and add ingredients together in a pot. Cook until hot and then garnish with cheese, sour cream (or plain yogurt!) and tortilla chips.

Smoothies
1 c vanilla yogurt
1/2 c skim milk
6-7 ice cubes
fruit of your choice
Blend yogurt, milk and ice cubes together until smooth. Chop up fruit of your choice and place in blender with yogurt, milk, ice mixture and blend until the consistency you like. We've had berry smoothies, mango, peach, strawberry banana etc. If you was a low calorie sweetner, use a yummy 0 calorie sweetner called Stevia and enjoy!

Very Low Calorie but Yummy Foods!

As most of you know, Greg and I have been doing a pretty drastic HCG diet wherein we could only eat 500 calories a day while taking HCG. It was a pretty good diet - I lost 16lbs in 5 weeks, and Greg lost 12lbs in 2 weeks (men - grrrr!). But while on this diet we found some tasty low calorie recipes! So here they are:

Tomato basil chicken

Ingredients

100 grams cubed chicken (109 calories)

1 cup chopped tomato (around 25-35 calories / 5 cal per oz)

¼ cup water or chicken broth

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1-2 cloves garlic sliced

3 leaves basil rolled and sliced

1/8 teaspoon oregano fresh or dried

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon onion powder

Cayenne to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Lightly brown the chicken in small saucepan with lemon juice. Add garlic,

onion, spices and water. After chicken is cooked add fresh tomatoes and

basil. Continue cooking for 5-10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, garnish

with fresh basil.

Makes 1 serving (1 protein, 1 fruit or vegetable)

Total Calories: Between 134-144 calories. Would be very yummy if you add cheese or serve on top of pasta!

Chili

Ingredients

100 grams lean ground beef (less than 7% fat) (172 calories)

1 cup chopped tomatoes (around 25-35 calories / 5cal per oz)

½ cup water

2 tablespoons minced onion

2 cloves garlic crushed and minced

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of onion powder

¼ teaspoon chili powder

Pinch of oregano

Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Brown ground beef in small frying pan, add onions and garlic. Stir in

tomatoes and water. Add spices and simmer slowly until liquid is reduced.

The longer it cooks the more tender and flavorful. Add a little water as

needed to prevent burning. Serve with chopped green onion or tomato

garnish and salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 1 serving (1 protein, 1 vegetable or fruit)

Total Calories: Around 197 to 207 calories. Would be totally delicious with a dab of sour cream, cheese and fritos or whole wheat crackers!
Probably my favorite recipe is one that we made up though! It's a strawberry lemonade slushy.
Put about 6 ice cubes, about 1 cup water and 2 packets of stevia (natural 0 calorie sugar) and blend in a blender. Squeeze half a lemon in separate bowl, remove seeds and add to blender with about 4 or 5 strawberries. Blend together and enjoy! Very refreshing and would be great with any type of berry, or really probably any fruit! And it's only about 30 calories for a large glass :)

Potato bar

I am so tired of my kids NOT eating potatoes that I decided to give them a positive potato experience...

Tonight we had a potato bar: baked potatoes, and then toppings of all kinds. The kids could put whatever they wanted on the potatoes (and I was surprised they actually did a decent job loading up - some had more toppings than potato, but I just wanted them to have a happy potato experience...!)

We had pepperoni, ham, cheese, sour cream, Chick-Fil-A sauce, ranch, peas, broccoli, corn, and even some random leftovers to use on our potatoes.

I also had some homemade bread (see recipe for sabotage bread...) to stuff everyone's faces AFTER the potatoes were gone.

THEY DID GREAT!!! Almost everyone said "This is so yummy!" after one bite of their specialized potato.

Just thought I'd share an easy dinner success!

Pioneer Woman's BBQ meatballs

This is a new found favorite, especially for Joe. I cheat and use Costco Italian Meatballs.

It is from the Pioneer Woman. She has lots of recipes I want to try someday, like this lemon pasta


BBQ Meatballs - Comfort Food to the Max

Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup oats
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons very finely minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
plenty of ground black pepper

Sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
4 to 6 tablespoons onion
Dash of Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.

Remove from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.

Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.

Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty french bread.

Enjoy!

Shout out for more recipes PLEASE!!!

I am in such a dinner rut...

My kids are so into pasta that I can't handle it! What would be some fun/easy/kid friendly summer recipes?!?!?

THANKS in advance!!!

Best Ever Cherry Cobbler

Greg makes the best cobbler! Here's the delicious and horribly bad for you recipe:

Ingredients:
-cherries (but probably any fruit would do)
-sweetened condensed milk
-white chocolate chips
-golden butter cake mix
-1/2 stick of butter
-whipping cream

Directions:
Pit cherries and have enough to cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan about halfway up. Mix cherries with sweetened condensed milk, white chocolate chips, a little bit of whipping cream and also a bit of the cake mix. Layer with half of the bag of cake mix, then drizzle on top 1/2 stick of melted butter. Place in oven at 350 for 40 minutes, until it looks golden brown on top. Let cool for a bit then serve with scrumptious ice cream.

It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good!!!!!!!

Dieting...

Has anyone ever tried counting calories of what they eat every day? It is so hard!!! I have no idea how many calories I eat each day unless I eat the same thing every darn day. Any advice...? It's just exhausting! Sorry, this is not necessarily a recipe, but it's kind of about food :)

Alfredo sauce

This is everyone's favorite alfredo sauce with Bob's yummy addition of garlic powder. Our kids devour this right up!

(To make it "healthier" you can substitute fat free cream cheese and skim milk)

Melt together:
1 stick butter or margarine
1 box of cream cheese

Add in 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup any other kind of cheese (we like mozarella or sharp cheddar cheese)
Add in garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste
Add in 1/2 cup of milk (percentage of your choice) and whisk slowly and thoroughly. If the sauce is too cheesy/stringy or too milky thin, then continue adding cheeses or milk depending on the consistency you'd like.

This is great on noodles, but it also works well for an alfredo pizza or for a fondue dipping night (those would be thicker sauces).

YUM!!!

Dalva's stroganoff

This a tomato based stroganoff sauce, named after our favorite maid in Brazil. Everything she made was so yummy, but this is really good!

1 pound or so of cooked cut up beef (or ground beef works too)
1 can mushrooms drained
1 T corn starch mixed with 1 cup water
1 cup ketchup (I know, I know...wow...)
Simmer the sauce until bubbly and then add 1 cup whipping cream (yup!)
When it is all mixed in it is an orange-ish color and can be served over rice or noodles.

Enjoy!

Chicken Artichoke Parmesan

1 can artichokes cut up with juice from can
2 chicken breasts cooked and cut up (I also had celery and onion in my pre-cooked chicken)
1 can tomato sauce
garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste
enough parmesan cheese to make you happy

Simmer all this together for about 15 minutes and serve over your favorite noodles.

(Any leftover sauce is also good for a salad topping for the next day.)

Another soup recipe...

Yes, this is Zupa's cauliflower soup! I searched on the internet, and this is a decent copy of it!

Wisconsin Cauliflower-Cheddar Soup
Yields: 9 cups or 8 first-course servings

2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 package (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (2 cups)

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

Broccoli Soup and Homemade Bread Bowls

We had this at Laura's house - she is an awesome cook so how do we add her to this blog???

BROCCOLI SOUP

2-3 stalks of broccoli (I used frozen)
4 T butter
1/2 onion finely chopped
6 T flour
1 pint half and half (I substituted skim milk and it was just as good)
1 can chicken broth
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp pepper
1-2 tsp salt

Cut broccoil into bite-sized pieces. Steam in a pan or in the microwave. Do not overcook. Melt 4 T butter in a saucepan and saute onion. Add flour to make thick paste. Add in half and half and chicken broth. To alter thickness of soup, use flour to make it thicker and milk to make it thinner. Add broccoli, 1 cup cheese, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat. Garnish each bowl with cheese.

I served these in homemade bread bowls. Delish!

HOMEMADE BREAD (or "sabotage" bread as Bob calls it) This is from a sister in my ward, she makes the best bread! By far this is better than the recipe I have used the past few years, and WAY easier. This is all I make now.

2 cups really warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 T yeast
1 T salt
2 eggs
6 cups flour, divided (I have used 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat with success!)
4 T vegetable oil

Mix water, sugar, salt, and yeast and let set until bubbly. Add eggs and 3 cups of flour. Add oil, then 3 more cups of flour. Dough will be sticky. Cover and let rise until doubled. Divide dough into loaf pans (about 2) or you can make rolls or pinwheel bread/pull apart bread too. (She melts margarine into her pans, I just use a spray). Let rise to top of pan. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. ENJOY!

To make bread bowls, I made slightly larger rolls, cooled them, sliced the top off, and scooped out the innards for extra dipping.

Thanks for the tip Kiersten, the kids enjoy soup this way!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

A friend of mine made this and brought it to a lunch bunch activity. I usually shy away from things like this for fear of too much spiciness or too much onion or too much...you get the idea. This smelled pretty good so I decided to give it a try and then I couldn't stop. My friend was nice enough to let me take some home. This is very tasty.

1/2 large sweet onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic (a little less than a tbsp from the garlic in a jar)

1 lb roma tomatoes, chopped

15 oz can black beans, drained

15 oz can black eyed peas, drained

15 oz can corn, drained

16 oz bottle Zesty Italian Dressing

1/2 tsp coriander (opt)

chopped green onions to tase (opt)

chopped jalepeno to taste (opt)

Mix and refrigerate 4 hours. Serve with corn chips or lime chips. (I put in about 2 green onions and no coriander or jalepeno.)

Tasty, Easy and Cheap Recipes

Since we've moved into our new apartment, I've been working on my cooking skills. A few months back I got a Campbell's 1-2-3 Dinner recipe book and it is so good! Just with a few ingredients, it's amazing how tasty the food's ended up being. So here are just a few that I know you'll love!

CREAMY PESTO CHICKEN AND BOW TIES (soooooooo good!)
Prep/Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
3 Cups uncooked bow tie pasta
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 Pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 Can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup (or knock off brand)
1/2 Cup Pesto Sauce
1/2 Cup Milk

Directions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned, stirring often.
3. Add soup, pesto sauce and milk. Bring to a boil. Cook over low heat 5 minutes or until done. Stir in drained pasta and heat through.

Makes 4 servings (but it was a lot... pretty big serving sizes I guess)

POLYNESIAN PORK CHOPS (sounds hard right? wrong!!)
Prep/Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
4 Boneless pork chops, 3/4 inch thick
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Can Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup
1 Can (8oz) Pineapple chunks
1/4 Cup water
1 tbsp honey
2 Cups cooked instant rice
Optional sliced green onions for garnish

Directions:
1. Season chops with garlic. Heat oil in skillet. Add chops and cook until browned. Add onion.
2. Add soup, pineapple with juice, water, soy and honey. Heat to a boil. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until done.
3. Serve with rice and garnish with green onions.

Makes 4 servings. (I made this Tuesday and we still have leftovers)

FLASH ROASTED CRISPY RANCH CHICKEN (Definite repeat!!!)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 Can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
1/4 Cup milk
1 envelope (1oz) ranch salad dressing mix
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 Cups finely crushed tortilla chips
2 tbsp margarine or butter, melted

Directions:
1. In shallow dish mix soup, milk and dressing mix. Reserve 1 Cup for sauce.
2. Dip chicken into soup mixture. Coat with tortilla chips. Place chicken on greased baking sheet. Drizzle with margarine. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
3. In small saucepan over medium heat, heat reserved soup mixture to a boil. Serve with chicken.

Makes 4 servings (I served it with rice and a mixture of cooked veggies. delicious!)


You all have GOT to try these recipes. They are SO easy and extremely tasty. I almost want to say I guarantee you'll love them! We've also discovered that grilled ham and cheese with pesto sauce is quite tasty (found that out from Zupas restaurant). Enjoy!