Edit to Cheesecake bar recipe

I m not sure if anyone has looked at my last post of the Caramel Apple Cheesecake bars, but for those that did I have since edited the recipe. I had several interruptions while typing the post and skipped a whole section. So it is now the correct recipe. Sorry! :)

Carmel Apple Cheesecake Bars

My photos are never very good but this one is really not good, sorry. But they do taste good, and that is the important part right.
I found this recipe over at Melskitchencafe. This recipe is delicious as is, but I think the next time I make it I will only make 1/2 the amount of the streusel topping.
I know this is a lengthy recipe but don't let that scare you off. Enjoy!
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping
Base:
2 c flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter, softened

Cream cheese Layer:
2 (8oz.)pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
2 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Streusel Topping:
1 c light brown sugar
1 c flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c quick cooking oats
1/2 cup butter, softened

1 c caramel sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl stir together the "apple"ingredients, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 9 x 13 baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 min. or until lightly browned.

While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 c sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.
Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes, until the filling is set.
Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle the topping one by one.)

Caramel sauce:
4 TBS butter
1 c light brown sugar
1/2 c half-and-half or cream
Pinch of salt
1 TBS vanilla
Mix butter, brown sugar, half-and-half or cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 min. until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. If the caramel sauce has cooled in the fridge long enough to harden, warm slightly before drizzling on bars.

Cookie Turkey

My son's birthday is close to Thanksgiving so we thought it would be fun to send turkey treats for his school class. I saw the idea at Ourbestbites .
They would make a cute place card for Thanksgiving and be a great project for the kids while dinner is cooking!

What you will need:
Double stuffed Oreos
Whoppers
Candy Corns
Mini Peanut butter Cups
Black sprinkles (for pupil)
Yellow Icing
Brown Icing
Red Icing
For step by step instructions click here Ourbestbites.

Farmers Birthday Cake

I have two boys with birthdays in November. This is the cake I made for my 2 year old this year. He loved it! Birthdays around here aren't a real big production so this is just one way we celebrate is with a fun cake. I found this idea at family fun. It was fun to make and fairly simple. Of course mine isn't as cute as the one at family fun but my kids thought it was great! Click here for the instructions :Familyfun.

Salad Dressing

I found this recipe at JanDee Crafts. It is supposed to be an Olive Garden take off but I didn't find it to taste the same (Da). At any rate we liked it so I am sharing. I would not suggest using a light or fat free mayo as it needs the full flavor and thickness of regular. I do not like parsley flakes so did not use them.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

1/2 C mayonnaise
1/3 C white vinegar
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 TB corn syrup
2 TB Parmesan Cheese
1/4 tsp garlic salt or one clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1 TB lemon juice

Mix all together and enjoy. Keep refrigerated

Penne With Sausage and Peppers

Clark has had a dish similar to this at Olive Garden and really liked it so I combined several recipes I found and this is what I came up with. Most of the recipes I saw used spaghetti, which would be good, but he likes the penne. Depending on the type of sausage you use, it can be pretty spicy. Clark likes the spicy. If you use a mild sausage you may want to increase either the cayenne or the hot pepper sauce. Just a matter of taste.

Penne with Sausage and Peppers

1 lb. smoked sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 medium green peppers, thinly sliced
2 medium sweet red peppers, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cans diced tomatoes with liquid
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 to 8 drops hot pepper sauce
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 C chicken broth
2 TB cornstarch
12 oz. penne cooked and drained
1/2 C cream (optional)

Brown the sausage and then add the peppers and onions. Saute for 2 minutes and add tomatoes, garlic, hot pepper sauce, paprika, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are tender. Combine broth and cornstarch; add to sausage mixture. Bring to a boil and cook and stir until thickened. Add penne and cream and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes enough for 6 - 8, depending on whether they are big eaters.

Pretzels

I got this recipe from mom. These made the perfect snack to go along with my activity day lesson on prayer. I found a story of how the pretzel came to be. A monk used the scrap pieces of dough and shaped the pretzel to resemble folded arms and used them as rewards for the children as they learned their prayers. The girls ate them right up!

Pretzels
1 TBS yeast
1 1/2 c warm water
1 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 c to 4 c flour
1 egg, beaten
Coarse salt

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the sugar, salt and enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. (I just mix mine in my Bosch) Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces by cutting with a knife. Shape into a traditional pretzel shape. Place on greased baking sheets. Brush with egg and sprinkle with coarse salt. I like to let mine rise for just a bit (the recipe doesn't require time to rise).
Bake at 425 for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Serve with nacho cheese or your favorite dipping sauce.

Granola Bars

Granola Bars

This came from Taste of Home, sent in by Sally Haen of Wisconsin. They are good and pretty good for you. I didn't have sunflower seeds so substituted chopped pecans and that didn't hurt them a bit. I think you can add whatever your taste buds desire when it comes to nuts or fruits.

3- 1/2 Cups quick cooking oats
1 Cup chopped almonds
1 egg, beaten
2/3 Cup butter, melted
1/2 Cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 Cup sunflower kernels
1/2 Cup flaked coconut
1/2 Cup chopped dried apples
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon.

Combine oats and almonds in a 15 inch x 10 inch x 1 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally.
In a large bowl, combine the egg, butter, honey and vanilla. Stir in the sunflower kernels, coconut, apples, cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in the oat mixture.
Press into a 15 x 1- x 1 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 13 - 18 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 3 dozen bars.

Pumpkin cake Roll

Don't know for sure where I got this recipe, have had it for years. I believe that Clair brought it home to me from school when he was going to Ricks so you can see it has been a while. At any rate we like it and hope others may enjoy it as well. It is easy and doesn't take a lot of time.

Pumpkin Cake Roll

3 eggs
1 C sugar
2/3 C pumpkin
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 C walnuts, chopped, (optional, I never use them)

Beat eggs for 5 minutes, then add the sugar gradually. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Fold in dry ingredients. Grease well a jelly-roll pan and sprinkle with flour. Spread batter into pan and top with walnuts if using them. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees
Turn cake onto a terry towel that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll towel and cake together beginning at short side, and cool on a rack. When cooled, unroll and spread cake with filling. Roll cake up again, wrap in plastic wrap and chill.

Filling:
Mix together and spread on cake;
1 C powdered sugar
1/4 C butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 oz. cream cheese, softened

Eye Balls

Eye Balls (Oreo Truffles)

Last weekend Eric & I went to a Halloween party and I took these eye balls for treats. I forgot to take a picture, so this is from the Family Fun website. They used doughnut holes dipped in white chocolate for theirs, which is the easy route if you are short on time. I made mine with the Oreo Truffles recipe I posted some time ago. I used mini M&M's for the pupils just to add a little color. Have a Happy Halloween!

Rebel Bars

These bars are so yummy! They are good warm but I think I prefer them after they have had time to cool and set up a bit. Those of you who are lucky enough to own your own copy of my ward and community cookbook "A Taste of Heaven" this recipe is in it.

Rebel Bars
Dough:
1 c butter
2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 c quick rolled oats

Filling
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 c chocolate chips
2 TBS butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Place all filling ingredients in a pan and cook over low heat until chips and butter are melted. Mix dough ingredients in the order listed. Grease and flour 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan. (I put mine in 9x 13) Spread half of dough in pan; spread with filling and then put remaining dough on top of filling by spoonfuls. Bake at 350 for approx. 25 min. Don't over bake. Cut in squares after cooled.

Fluffy French Toast

Mornings are a bit hectic around here (I'm not a morning person) so most mornings cold cereal it is, plus the school also provides breakfast for the boys so I don't make a nice breakfast most days. Sundays aren't much different since we are rushing to get to church on time. So when we had General Conference a few weeks ago and had the morning at home with all of us I decided to try out this french toast recipe. We have decided to make it a tradition for future Conference Sundays. You can't beat a good breakfast.

This recipe comes from the Tasty Kitchen site.

Serve with your favorite topping.

Fluffy French Toast

2 TBS vegetable oil

1 c flour

1 c milk

2 eggs

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp maple flavoring

12 slices Texas toast

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and brush on just enough veg oil to coat the entire skillet. Whisk together all the dry ingredients, and in a separate bowl, mix together all the milk, egg, and flavorings. Combine the wet and dry ingredients; stir until just combined.

Dip single pieces of bread into the batter, flipping to coat both sides. Place on the hot skillet and flip when browned. Mix batter in between batches of dipping bread so the flour doesn't settle to the bottom of the dish.

Apple Studel Muffins

I was actually searching on Allrecipes.com for another recipe when I found the basis for this recipe. (Submitted by nmariea) After reading the reviews for the recipe I decided to make a few additions and changes. These are delicious, packed with great flavor!

Apple Strudel Muffins
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 c butter
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
3 apples, peeled (1-shredded and 2 chopped)(I used Galas)
1/2 c Hersey's cinnamon chips

Topping
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tbs flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin pan.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In another bowl, beat together butter, sugars and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples and cinnamon chips. Gradually blend in the flour mixture. This is a pretty thick batter. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.

In a small bowl mix the topping ingredients: brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like course crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.

Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Yields: 12-18 Depending on size.

Cider Cheese Fondue

We had a Girl's Night at our house last night while the men were at Priesthood session of General Conference. I wanted to try something fun to eat, so after looking through several recipes, I decided upon cheese fondue. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, and it was submitted by Kim Marie Van Rheenen. We have done cheese fondue before, but this recipe is our favorite so far. A lot of fondue recipes call for wine, but this one uses apple cider. We thought the cider added a very nice flavor to the fondue. We had several items to fondue besides the French bread, including peppers, mushrooms, cooked potato, sausage slices, apple chunks, cooked carrot chunks. Very good!

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 C apple cider or apple juice

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 C shredded Swiss cheese

1 T cornstarch

1/8 t pepper

dash of salt, as desired

1 loaf French bread, cubed


DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large saucepan, bring cider to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. toss the cheeses with cornstarch and pepper; stir into cider. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Transfer to a fondue pot or slow cooker to keep warm.

Chili Rellenos

My husband loves Mexican food and when it comes to gardening he always over does it especially with tomatoes, tomatillos, and all kinds of peppers. He took some of our excess up to the school to give to one of the teachers he told her she could have this bag of "goodies" on one condition, give some instructions to make chili rellenos. So we used her advice and instructions and this is what we come up with. They were quite delicious!

Chili Rellenos

Yellow chilies

Cheese (any flavor, cheddar, mozzarella, Monterrey jack)

Eggs, separated, mix whites till stiff peaks then fold in beaten egg yolks add a couple pinches of salt (I used 3 eggs and there was plenty for 5 chilies)

Flour

salt

First roast the peppers and then put them in a bag to sweat and then remove the skins. Just below the stem make a slice down the side just big enough to slide the cheese stick in. Put the flour on a plate and lightly coat the pepper. Then dip the pepper in the egg. Place in a pan of hot grease to cook till golden brown. Place on a paper towel to remove excess grease.

Penne Pasta With Tomatoes and Basil

This is actually a recipe I got from Christine when she lived in South Dakota. One of our favorite pasta recipes. The red pepper flakes give it a kick so if you don't like spicy, you might want to cut that in half.

Penne Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil

6 TB olive oil
1 1/2 Cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
2 quarts tomatoes
2 tsp dried basil or 1/4 C finely chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp chicken bouillon (can use chicken broth if you drain the tomatoes)
1 lb. penne or rigatoni
2 12 Cups grated Havarti cheese (I use mozzarella or Monterrey or cheddar)
1/3 C sliced olives (optional)
1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese

Saute onion in 3 T olive oil. Add tomatoes, basil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and break up tomatoes. Add bouillon and simmer for an hour and ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made ahead of time and kept in refrigerator two days or frozen. Reheat before using.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta and drain. Toss with 3 T olive oil. Pour sauce over pasta and stir to blend. Mix in shredded cheese. Pour into greased 13 x 9 pan. Sprinkle with olives and then Parmesan cheese.

Bake about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh chopped basil.

Summer Squash Casserole

Summer Squash Casserole

Got this recipe from a Taste of Home some time ago. It was sent in by Katherine Metz of Florida and is a recipe for two servings. Even though there are only two of us at home, I frequently have guests for dinner so double or triple the recipe. I forgot to take the picture till after dinner was over and all that was left was the tiny serving that appears above.

2 small yellow summer squash sliced
1/4 C chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 egg
1/4 C mayonnaise, (not light or fat free)
2 tsps sugar
pepper to taste
1/4 C shredded cheddar cheese
2 TBS crushed cornflakes
1/1/2 tsps butter, melted

In a small saucepan, combine squash, onion and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 minutes or until squash is crisp-tender. Drain.

In a bowl, beat the egg, mayonnaise, sugar, pepper and remaining salt until well blended. Stir in cheese and squash mixture. Transfer to a greased 2-cup baking dish. Toss the cornflakes and butter and sprinkle over top. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. 2 servings.

Onion and Cheddar Biscuits

This recipe is from Elaine Sweet in Dallas, Tx., and out of Taste of Home. I made a few changes as I think the altitude makes some difference in the liquid. They are tender and delicious.

Onion and Cheddar Biscuits

1/2 C finely chopped sweet onion
8 TBS butter, divided
1/2 C balsamic vinegar
2 C flour
2 TBS sugar
1 TB baking powder
!/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 C buttermilk (I had to add more, probably used 2/3 C)

In a small skillet, saute sweet onion in 2 TBS of the butter till tender. Add vinegar;cook and stir until liquid is evaporated. Let cool.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and seasonings. Cut in remaining butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the onion mixture, cheese, and green onions. Stir in buttermilk with a fork just until moistened.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 6-8 times. Pat or roll out to 1/2 in. thickness; cut and place 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

This is another great recipe from Sisterscafe. A great twist for zucchini bread.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Beat 3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. oil
2 tsp vanilla

Add:
2 c. grated zucchini
2 1/3 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c. cocoa
choco. chips (optional if you just can't get enough choco. I use mini chips.)

Pour Batter into greased and sugared loaf pans. (this makes a sweet and crispy crust)
Bake at 350 for 40-45 min.

Sausage Pasta

This is a super easy recipe that I found on allrecipes.com, submitted by Tammy. It makes 4-5 good sized servings. Emily would have preferred not quite so much spinach, but Dillon and I thought it was great. We didn't have the Italian sausage that this recipe called for so I substituted cheesy bratwursts that I had on hand. Other vegetables could be added for different variations. I will make this one again.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 pounds pasta

1 T olive oil

1 pound spicy Italian sausage

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth

1 t dried basil

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach

1/2 C grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta (penne works great) and cook for about 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and reserve. In a large skillet, heat oil and sausage; cook through until no longer pink. during the alst 5 minutes of cooking, add onion and garlic to skillet. Add broth, basil and tomatoes with liquid. cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to slightly reduce. Add chopped spinach; cover skillet and simmer on reduced heat until spinach is tender. Add pasta to skillet and mix together. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.

Garlicky Baked Butternut Squash

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, and it was submitted by Anita Bukowski. The mild garlic flavor in this dish makes for a deliciously different treatment for butternut squash. Serves about 6 people.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T minced fresh parsley

2 T olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, bombine the parsley, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Add squash and toss to coat. Transfer to an ungreased shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until squash is just tender.

Tuna Swirls

I made this for dinner this evening and it is a fast and easy meal for when you don't know what to make and you are running out of time. It comes from an old cookbook I have had since I got married. It is Betty Crocker's "Good and Easy Cookbook" and I have made it through the years and enjoyed it. I have made a few changes each time I make it so will give you my latest version with the changes listed as optional. I didn't have celery tonight so left that out. I also left the mushrooms out of the gravy as my men-folk don't appreciate them. Might seem like a lot to do with three recipes to create this dish, but they are all very quick and easy to do.

Tuna Swirls

2 - 7 oz. cans Tuna, drained (could use canned chicken)
1 C diced celery
1/2 C mayonnaise
2 TBS finely chopped onion
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS chopped red pepper (optional)
1 boiled egg, chopped (optional
1 recipe of Stir-N-Roll Biscuit Dough (recipe follows)
1 recipe chicken gravy (recipe follows)

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Roll biscuit dough into an oblong, 1/4" thick, between sheets of waxed paper. Mix rest of the ingredients together and spread over dough. Roll up dough, beginning at wide side; seal by pinching edge of dough into roll. Place sealed edge down on baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 min. Slice and serve with gravy.

Stir-N-Roll Biscuit Dough

2 2/3 C flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 C salad oil
1 C milk

Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl. Pour oil and milk into measuring cup (do not stir). Then pour all at once into flour. Stir with a fork until mixture cleans sides of bowl. Roll as directed.

Chicken Gravy

4 TBS butter
4 TBS flour
2 C water
2 tsp. chicken bouillon or 2 cubes
dash of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 can mushrooms, drained (optional)

Melt butter and blend in flour. Add water, bouillon, and seasonings and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Serve over tuna swirls.

Asian Chicken Wraps

This past week I was "lucky" enough to get 13 baby bok choy (Asian cabbage) in my basket. Once again something I had never tried before. I was unsure of the hoisin sauce in this recipe since I had never cooked with it before either. My mother-in-law just happened to have some so I figured I would give it a try. This first picture in the pan is before adding the hoisin sauce. I did taste a bite before adding the hoisin sauce and thought it was quite good. Actually I liked it better before adding the hoisin sauce. Next go around I will either cut back the amount or just omit it all together. We still enjoyed the meal, but just a personal preference on the sauce.

It was a much darker color after adding the hoisin sauce.

Asian Chicken Wraps
Source: My Kitchen Cafe

Chicken:
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 TBS rice vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch
3 (about 1 1/2 lbs) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin, 1/2-inch, strips
1 TBS olive oil

Vegetables:
1 TBS olive oil
8 oz sliced white button mushrooms
3 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 c sliced cabbage or coleslaw mix (I used 3 baby bok choy)
2 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS hoisin sauce

4-6 flour tortillas, slightly warmed
For the chicken, mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add the chicken strips and mix to thoroughly coat the chicken. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring often until it is cooked through, about 4-5 min. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

For the vegetables, heat the oil in the same skillet over medium heat. ( I had to wash my pan in between due to the corn starch getting to dark on the bottom of the pan.) Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they begin to brown, about 3 min. Stir in the green onions and the garlic, and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the cabbage and soy sauce. Add the chicken. Cook, stirring often until the cabbage is slightly wilted but still has a bit of crunch, and the mixture is heated through, about 3 min. Stir in the hoisin sauce. Serve immediately, rolling up the mixture in flour tortillas.

Chicken with Avocado and Roasted Pepper Cream

This is a recipe I f22ound on the internet about 5 years ago so I have no idea where it came from or who to give credit to. Sorry! But it is delicious it is one of Jared's favorite dinners but I only seem to make once every six months or so I don't know why because it is really quite simple, although not real good on the waistline but that's what makes it good I guess.

Chicken with Avocado and Roasted Pepper Cream

1 1/2-2 red bell peppers
2 Cup uncooked rice
1 1/2 C heavy cream
1 tbsp olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper to taste (which is usually alot of salt)
2 avocados
1/3 C sour cream

Char all sides of peppers in oven under a hot broiler till skin turns black. Once charred remove peppers and put in ziplock bag and close tightly to allow to steam for 10 minutes. When peppers are cool enough to handle slip off and discard charred skin easier to do under cold running water. Then chop peppers coarsely and put in food processor (or I use my little electric chopper) and the cream and process until smooth.

Heat frying pan with the oil then brown the chicken (seasoned with S&P) on both side then pour the cream and pepper mixture over the top season with plenty S & P and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Once done, add 1/3 cup sour cream to sauce. Serve chicken and sauce over rice and top with avocado slices and enjoy.

Sugar Cookie Bars

I've seen a few recipes for sugar cookie bars floating around out there. I choose this one from Annie's Eats. I love a good sugar cookie and sometimes I actually have time and the patience to have my boys help me to make them. Yesterday was not the case so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try this recipe. I'm so glad I did. I thought they turned out delicious! I loved the lemon zest flavor! I didn't have a vanilla bean but I'm sure that would make them even better. I used my favorite powdered sugar frosting recipe click here for the link.

Sugar Cookie Bars

1 C butter, room temperature

2 c sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

zest from 1 lemon

5 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Powdered Sugar Frosting Recipe

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13 x 18" rimmed baking sheet. Cream together the butter and the sugar until smooth. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla, seeds from the vanilla bean, and lemon zest. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir till well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Mix just until incorporated.

Press the cookie dough into an even layer into the prepared baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, until light golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Powdered Sugar Frosting

This recipe is from Grandma Geraldine Andersen. It is definately the favorite at our house. I don't usually add the crisco, due to pure laziness. Enjoy!
Powdered Sugar Frosting
1 lb. powdered sugar (or 3 1/2 c.)
1/2 c butter, softened
3 TBS Crisco
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
Sego milk (about 1/4 to 1/3 c)
Beat until fluffy, adding sugar or milk until desired consistency. This isn't meant to be too thick.

Apple Pie

Made this for Clark's birthday and even though it is a basic recipe Cheryl thought I should publish it so here it is. The crust and filling recipes are found in Grandma's Gracious Goodness, my mothers cookbook.

Good and Easy Pie Crust
Makes 4- 9 inch crusts

3 C flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/3 C lard or shortening

Combine first four ingredients and then cut in shortening .

Mix together and add:
1 large beaten egg
1 TBS vinegar or lemon juice
7 TBS cold water

Mix into dry ingredients with a fork. Smooth with hands and divide and roll out on floured cloth or surface.

Filling:

3 C peeled, sliced tart apples
3/4 C sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
2-4 TBS butter

Mix dry ingredients and pour over apples in a pastry lined pan. Dot generously with butter. Wet edges of under crust; cover with upper crust and press edges together and flute if desired. Make slashes in top crust in a flower design or other design to let steam out while cooking. Sprinkle a little sugar on top crust and bake at 425 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes

Sauerkraut Salad or Relish

This recipe is from an old cookbook put together by our Ward years ago when we were just two Wards in Lyman. It was contributed by Dot Gill. It keeps well in the refrigerator and can be used as a relish or as a salad.

Sauerkraut Salad

1 can sauerkraut
1 C grated carrots,
1 C grated onion.
1 C sugar and 1 C vinegar.

Combine sauerkraut, carrots and onion. Bring the sugar and vinegar to a boil and pour over all other ingredients while hot. Cover and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.
Son Clark liked this very much and suggested that next time I add some baby corn. I will be doing that.

Key Lime Pie

This past week we received a bunch of key limes in our "bountiful basket". I knew exactly what I wanted to make with them, Key lime pie. I don't think I had ever tasted one before. This was delicious and so simple. I actually just bought a graham cracker crust for the sake of time. (If you do purchase a crust omit the first baking, just add the filling.) We got together with the neighbors for dinner and it was a hit! I found the recipe at Two Peas and their Pod, who adapted it from Epicurious.

Key Lime Pie

For the crust:

1 1/4 c graham cracker crumbs

3 TBS sugar

5 TBS butter melted

For the filling:

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

4 large egg yolks

Zest of 1 large lime

1/2 c lime juice

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter with a fork. Mix until graham cracker crumbs are moist. Press Mixture into a 9 inch pie plate or dish. Pat down the bottom and sides. Bake for 12 min. or until golden brown.

2. While the crust is baking prepare filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Whisk until well combined. Add in the lime zest, and lime juice. Whisk well. Set mixture aside. It will thicken up as it sits.

3. When the pie crust has cooled to slightly warm or room temperature, pour the lime filling over the pie crust. Bake for 15-17 mints. Remove from oven and cool on cooling rack. When cool, chill the pie in the refrigerator. The filling will set up as it cools. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

4. Serve cold.

Sausage & Potato Pasta

My brother C.J. lived in Italy for 2 years and came home with some great recipes. I couldn't find my original instructions (which were vague), so after a brief conversation with my sister this is what I came up with. So there are some variations to how C.J. would make it. I added some onion. This is a very filling meal!

Sausage & Potato Pasta

1 lbs ground pork sausage

2-3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 tsp rosemary

1 lbs favorite pasta

olive oil

2 c cream

1/4 of an onion, diced

salt

pepper

In a large frying pan combine the sausage and the onion and cook till meat is browned and cooked through. Remove the onion and sausage mixture to a bowl and set aside. Add the potatoes to the pan and cook them in the sausage grease. If needed add some olive oil. Sprinkle the potatoes with rosemary, and season with salt and pepper. Cook the potatoes till they are tender to a fork. Add the meat and onions to the potatoes in the pan, and add the cream. Stir till well combined. Let simmer (while pasta is cooking) stirring occasionally. Check your seasonings you may want to add more rosemary and salt and pepper.

Cook your pasta and serve with the sauce.

Lemon Meringue Pie

This recipe is found in "Grandma's Gracious Goodness", my mother's recipe book so is available to all the family. The reason for the post is that I have a husband that doesn't cook much but loves pies. When I finally got tired of granting his frequent requests for pies, (I am not much for pie), he decided to make his own and started with apple and then moved to lemon. Problem for me is that lemon pie is the only kind that I truly love and I ate more than my share. Well, he now claims the title of king of the lemon pie in our home and he has made some delicious ones that I have enjoyed very much. So, here is the recipe.

Grandma's Lemon Pie

1/2 C sugar
4-5 TBS cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/1/2 C water
3 egg yolks (or 2 eggs if you are not making meringue)
1/2 C sugar
2 TBS butter
1/3 C lemon juice
grated rind of 1 lemon
3 egg whites
6 TBS sugar

Combine 1/2 C sugar, cornstarch and salt in double boiler. Gradually blend in water. Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly until thickened. Cover, cook 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Beat together egg yolks and 1/2 C sugar. Blend a little hot mixture into egg yolks mixture, then stir all into mixture in double boiler. Cook 2 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add butter, lemon juice and rind. Cool. Pour into baked 9 inch pie shell. Top with sweetened whipped cream if not making meringue.
Meringue:
Beat 3 egg whites until foamy. Add the 6 TBS sugar, 1 TBSP at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until stiff peaks form when beater is raised. Spread meringue over top of pie, making sure that it touches crust all around. Bake until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes, in a 350 degree oven. Cool at room temperature away from drafts.

Naan Bread

After talking with son, C.J., about Turkish breads and other foods that he enjoys, I got on line and found this recipe for Naan bread. It was posted by Lola Mansurov and she also had recipes for some of the other dishes that C.J. mentioned. I will be trying those dishes in the near future.
This is a flat bread that is baked on a pizza stone although it can be done on baking sheets. I did mine on a pizza stone and by the time I finished I had gotten better at shaping the bread. I had to throw the first try away as it was such a mess. This is time consuming as you bake each piece separately (on a baking sheet you can do two) but I thought it fun and we liked the results.

Nann Bread

2 C warm water
1 C warm milk
1 TBS yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 egg
2 TBS oil
4 1/2 C flour
sesame seeds (optional)
butter (optional)

Mix together the first six ingredients plus 1 TBS of the oil. Mix well. Add flour and quickly mix into a dough. It should be a soft dough and relatively sticky. If it is too sticky, rub oil onto your hands to knead in bowl till smooth . (I had to add more flour as it was a rainy day with lots of moisture in the air). Rub remaining oil over dough and cover. Place dough in a warm place to rise till double, about 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. If using a pizza stone, place it on center rack of oven while heating. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and divide into tennis ball size pieces. Flour fingers and work quickly to keep dough from sticking. Let dough balls rest 10 minutes.

When dough is rested, work one ball at a time on a floured surface, pressing it to a 6-7 inch circle. Gently pick it up and toss it from left palm to right palm several times. This creates a triangular or oval shape. If you wish you can spread the dough with butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. (I used spray butter and the seeds). Open oven and gently place dough on pizza stone. (I put the dough on my pizza paddle and slid it onto stone). Bake for about 3-5 minutes (It took mine 5-6 min.) and take out when the top has golden brown spots. Use wooden spatula or pizza paddle to remove from the oven. Continue with remining dough balls.

If you are using a baking sheet instead of a stone, you can fit two pieces on and it will take a bit longer to bake.

Peach & Raspberry Crumble

This is another Giadda De Laurentiis recipe with a few change ups. She used strawberries, which I'm sure is delicious too.

Peach & Raspberry Crumble

2 TBS fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 large lemon)

1 1/2 TBS arrowroot flour (I used corn starch)

2 cups raspberries (I used frozen) (or 1 lbs strawberries, halved)

1 1/2 lbs yellow or white peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (I used white)

1/2 c light brown sugar

Topping:

2/3 c flour

2/3 c oats

1/2 c sliced almonds

1/4 c light brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c butter chilled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Butter an 8x8 glass baking dish. Set aside.

For the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and arrowroot until smooth. Add the berries, peaches and brown sugar. Gently toss until the fruit is coated. Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared pan.

For the topping: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, oats, almonds, Brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until mixed. Add the butter. Pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Sprinkle the mixture over the filling and bake for 40 to 45 min. until the filling is bubbling and the top is light golden. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Honey-Peanut Butter Cookies

These are the cookies to make if you like sweet things. They are just a bit too sweet for me but everyone else seemed to enjoy them. They came from Taste of Home, submitted by Lucile Proctor. The main change I made in them is to add chocolate chips. Nothing like a bit of chocolate to put temptation in your way.

Honey-Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 C shortening
1 C creamy peanut butter
1 C honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 C flour
1 C sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Chocolate chips, (optional)

In a mixing bowl, combine shortening, peanut butter and honey. Add eggs and mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to peanut butter mixture, mixing well. Roll into 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a fork dipped in flour. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen.

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Some of you are probably familiar with "Bountiful Baskets". We tried it out this week. What it is, is you pay your $15 and you get a variety of fruits and veggies. This week Brussels sprouts was one of the things we got. I have to be honest I had never eaten one, let alone tried cooking one. I'm determined to not waste anything we received, so this will be a week full of trying new things! I adapted the recipe from Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network.

My husband and I enjoyed them. The little boys at first said they liked them, due to the novelty but by the end of dinner it was a "have to eat item" which they did finish what was on their plates. :)

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta (bacon)
1 lbs fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed
2 TBS olive oil
3 ounces paper-thin slices pancetta, coarsely chopped (I used bacon)
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 c low-salt chicken broth
1/8 c Roasted Pine nuts (optional-I enjoyed this addition)

Partially cook the Brussels sprouts in a large pot of boiling salted water, about 4 min. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta (or bacon) and saute until beginning to crisp, about 3 min. Add the garlic and saute until pale golden, about 2 min. Add the Brussels sprouts to the same skillet and saute until heated through and beginning to brown, about 5 min. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the broth and simmer until the broth reduces just enough to coat the Brussels sprouts, about 3 min. Add the pine nuts if desired at the end, long enough to warm through.
-I added additional time to the boiling of the Brussels sprouts and the simmering at the end because mine looked on the big side and I also cut them in half after the initial boiling.

Lemon Bars

I have been wanting to make these for weeks. They bring back childhood memories. (We didn't have them often.) I looked at a few different recipes and they were all basically the same, so I combined and omitted what I wanted and this is what I came up with. Enjoy!

Crust:

1 C butter, softened

1/2 c powdered sugar

2 c flour

For the crust mix the above ingredients in a bowl, then press into a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Filling:

4 eggs, beaten

4 TBS flour

2 c granulated sugar

2 lemons, juice and zest

pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder

Mix the filling ingredients together then pour over slightly cooled crust. Bake again for 20-25 min at 350. They may seem a little bit runny but they will firm up as it cools. I store mine in the fridge and eat them chilled.

Tortillas

Being tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo I have the perfect recipe for you to try. I got this tortilla recipe from a friend (Vonie, who I believe got it from one of the local Hispanic ladies). Every time I make these I think -how easy and delicious, why don't I make these more often! I'll post a picture with in the week. I usually cut the recipe in half for my family. Enjoy!

Tortillas
4 c flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c shortening
Mix the above ingredients together like a pie crust. Add 2 cups warm/hot water. Roll into 24 balls. Roll out thin and cook on non-greased skillet.

Meatballs in Dill Cream Sauce

The original recipe came to me from a beef mini-cookbook that was sent from Taste of Home and was submitted by Mildred Sherrer from Texas. I have tweaked the ingredients for the meatballs to suit my own taste but the sauce is as the original. I rarely have ground pork,(original recipe called for half beef and half pork) so have substituted just ground beef for the meat portion and added the milk and the egg. I like that the meatballs are cooked in the oven instead of frying.

16 oz. ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1-1/2 C fresh bread crumbs
1/2 C milk
1 egg

Sauce 2 TBS butter or margarine
2 TBS flour
1-1/2 C beef broth
2 TBS snipped fresh dill or 1 tsp dill weed
1/2 C half-and-half cream

Cooked buttered wide egg noodles, optional (would be good served on mashed potatoes as well)

Combine the first 10 ingredients and shape into 1-1/4 in balls. Place on a rack over a baking pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, for sauce, melt butter in a large skillet. Blend in flour and cook stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes. Add broth, stirring until thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in dill and meatballs. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. Pour in cream and continue stirring until thick and smooth. Serve over noodles or potatoes or use as an appetizer with wooden picks. Yields 6 main-dish servings.

I used my cookie scoop to make the meatballs and it made 42.

English Muffins

Today I tried a new recipe for English Muffins and got so excited with the way they turned out. Clark just sat and smiled at my enthusiastic reaction. I got the recipe from the food network and it is courtesy of Alton Brown. These are quick and easy unlike other recipes for English Muffins I have tried, and so delicious. We are having bacon-egg-muffins for breakfast in the morning and I can hardly wait. No more store-bought muffins for me! Makes 8-10 muffins. (I made 9).

English Muffins

1/2 C non-fat milk powder
1 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
1 TBS shortening
1 C hot water
1 envelope dry yeast
1/8 tsp sugar
1/3 C warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted (I used half white and half wheat)
Non-stick vegetable spray
Equipment needed: electric griddle or frying pan, 3 inch metal rings (can use tuna cans with both ends cut out.)

Combine powdered milk, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, shortening, and hot water. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 tsp of sugar and 1/3 C of warm water and let it rest till yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture and add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle (or electric skillet) to 300 degrees.

Add the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Using # 20 ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove lid and flip rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 - 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Split with fork and serve.

I cooked mine in an electric skillet and used the lid to cover. I don't have a clue what size my ice cream scoop is so had to experiment with the amount I needed to fill rings with. My first ones were just a little big but the last ones were perfect. When I turned mine over, the rings just fell off so they finished cooking without the rings.

Lemon Chicken Pasta

I love chicken, I love pasta, and I love lemon so I decided to combine them and make my own recipe with all those loves. It is quick and simple and probably similar to something someone else has tried but it is original for me and it turned out very good. Clark liked it as did Clinton so that makes it a keeper.

Lemon Chicken Pasta

8 oz. angel hair pasta, cooked
2 cooked chicken breasts, cubed
1/4 C chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
zest from one lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 C chicken broth
1/2-1 C cream, to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Cook onion in butter but don't let it brown. Then add garlic and cook till garlic is warm. Add broth, lemon juice, zest, bouillon, cream and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and let thicken a little. Add chicken and heat till chicken is warm. Serve over pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.

Blueberry Banana Bread

I'm starting to enjoy blueberries, now that I'm nearing the end of my supply in my freezer (enough for 3 or 4 more recipes). I found this recipe in the Taste of Home June/July 2003. It was submitted by Sandy Flick.

Blueberry Banana Bread

2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c shortening

1 c sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

1 c fresh blueberries

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Beat in bananas. Gradually add the dry ingredients, beating just until combined. Fold in blueberries.

Pour into three greased 5-3/4 in. x 3-in. 2-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 30-35 or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 3 mini loaves. (I used 2 medium size loaf pans and baked for about 45 min. after greasing the pans I coated them in sugar for a little extra goodness!)

Quick Potato Chips

This recipe came from Taste of Home, June, July, 2009. I tweaked it a bit for my own taste but will list the original recipe. Instead of brushing the chips with olive oil, I sprayed the plate, put the chips on it and then sprayed the chips with cooking spray. I used only salt on mine but will try some of the other spices next time. I cut my chips in my food processor and the picture shows the amount that was made from one medium potato, minus a few tastes by me as well as husband. They can be made ahead of time, but it is a time consuming process as the potatoes must not be overlapped. Might be fun for kids to try sometime when they are bored. Mom would have to be in charge of the potato slicing.

3 medium red potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
curry powder (or garlic, cumin, chipolte or any other spice you might like)

Layer three paper towels on a microwave-safe plate; set aside.

Scrub potatoes and cut into 1/16 inch slices. Brush slices on both sides with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with salt and spice. Arrange on prepared plate (do not overlap).
Microwave on high for 3 minutes; turn and microwave 2-3 minutes longer or until chips are dry and brittle. Repeat with remaining potatoes, oil and seasonings. Let chips cool for at least 1 minute before serving. Store in an airtight container.

Watch them carefully after turning them over as they can burn easily and each time will be different.

Creamed Eggs Over Toast

If you need another recipe to help down size your boiled eggs from Easter, this one is for you. We just finished our eggs from Easter the other day with this recipe. My family enjoys this meal, I should make it more often. My mother gave me this recipe years ago, maybe even before I was married, so I 've made some quantity adjustments to feed the ever growing boys at my house. They never cease to amaze me by how much they can eat, Im getting scared for the teenage years!

Creamed Eggs Over Toast

5-6 hard boiled eggs

4 TBS Butter

4 TBS Flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 C Milk

Pepper

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Blend in the flour and the salt. Continue stirring for 1 min. as it is bubbling (boiling). Add the milk. Slowly bring back to a boil, stirring constantly till thickened. Turn the heat down. Add the cut up eggs and warm through. Serve over toast.

Mexican Haystacks

I would guess most of you have made "Hawaiian haystacks" but have you tried "Mexican haystacks"? I had never even heard of such a thing till I got married, my in-laws introduced them to me.
My parents and brother will be getting back from their cruise to Mexico tomorrow so I thought of them. (Not that this is remotely authentic, to my knowledge.) Welcome back Mom!
This is a good go-to-meal-fast and easy!

Mexican Haystacks
1 lbs ground beef
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained (kidney, white, what ever kind you like)
2-3 TBS taco seasoning (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 1/2 c rice

Toppings:
Corn, frozen or canned, warmed then drained
lettuce
Cheese, shredded
Tortilla chips, broken into bite size pieces (which I forgot in the picture above)
Olives, sliced
Onions, chopped
Tomatoes
Salsa
Use what ever your family likes on tacos (My one son likes his with ranch.?.)

Get your rice cooking first. Then brown the burger and add in the drained beans and sprinkle the taco seasoning on top. Stir till evenly coated and cook till beans are warmed through.

I don't suppose it really matters what order you go in but I put the crushed tortilla chips first then the rice and the meat and bean mixture, then corn. I like my cheese to get a bit melted so I put it on next. Then just layer the cold toppings on top of that.

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

I still have blueberries in my freezer so I went searching for a new recipe to try. I adapted the recipe from Tasty Kitchen (submitted by fcopeland). We enjoyed it.

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

For Cake:
2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 c shortening
3/4 c milk
1 whole egg
2 c blueberries
For crumb topping:
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c flour
1/4 c butter, softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon
For the glaze:
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tsp hot water
Preheat oven to 350. Mix the first seven ingredients together then gently stir in the blueberries. (I put mine in frozen) Then pour into a greased glass pie plate. (This is just a little to much batter for a pie plate so two options: put it in a bigger baking dish or bake it with a cookie sheet under it to catch the overflow.)

Mix the crumb topping ingredients together. Crumble it over the top of the cake before putting it in the oven. Bake it for 45-50 min.
To make the glaze just simply stir the ingredients together till sugar dissolves and it is smooth.
Once cake is removed from the oven drizzle with the glaze.

Parmesan Chicken

This is one of my favorite ways to eat chicken. The recipe came from Taste of Home Magazine several years ago and was sent in by Shelby Thompson of Florida. It calls for boneless chicken breasts but I do it with bone in breasts, legs and thighs as well and it is just as delicious. I also like to bake it in my clay baking dishes that I bought when we were in Turkey last year. The baking dish holds two large breasts or thighs, or three smaller thighs. I only did two thighs in the picture. Since there are only two of us to eat I cut the recipe down. I have done it so many times, I no longer measure but guestimate the amounts and judge by the smell. Not too professional I realize but it works for me. The chicken turns out really moist and tender.

Parmesan Chicken

1/2 C butter or margarine melted
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 Cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese
6 to 8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

In a shallow bowl, combine butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and salt (I omit the salt as I am not that into salt). In plastic bag, combine crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then shake in crumb mixture. Place in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan that has been sprayed. (original recipe says ungreased pan but I like easy clean-up.) Drizzle with any remaining butter mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or till chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce

This recipe comes from Food network courtesy of Stacy Lamons. When I made this I actually cut the recipe in half and had plenty. This sauce would go great with many different dishes. So far I have enjoyed it with Southwestern egg rolls, Mexican haystacks, and I plan to try it with my mock Cafe Rio burritos the next time I make them.

Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce

2 (10 oz) cans Mexican-style diced tomatoes (I used Rotel w/green chilies)

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

2 c loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves (about 1 bunch)

1 c sour cream

3 garlic cloves, minced

Place ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Yield: 3 cups

Baked or Fried Southwestern Egg Rolls

My family really enjoyed these egg rolls. There was a tiny complaint about the spinach (mostly me), so I might fore go the spinach next time. I liked the idea of making them healthier by baking them, which they tasted good but I like a good fried egg roll as well, so suit yourself and pick your cooking method.

Southwestern Egg Rolls

Recipe Adapted from Annie's Eats

2 c frozen corn, thawed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (10 oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 c shredded Mexican cheese blend (I used cheddar, cause that's what I had on hand)

1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies, drained

4 green onions, chopped (I cooked 1/4c reg. onion w/the chicken)

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

In a large bowl combine the above ingredients. Mix well.

1 pkg egg roll wrappers

2 Chicken breasts

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili pwd

Salt & Pepper

Cut up chicken into bite size pieces. Add chicken to an olive oil coated pan. Season with salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp cumin, and 1/4 tsp chili powder. Cook till chicken is done. Shredd or chop into smaller pieces. Add the chicken to the filling mixture. Stir till well combined.

Place 1/4c of the filling mixture in the center of an egg roll wrapper. Follow the instructions on the egg roll pkg to make a beautiful egg roll.

Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake for about 15 min, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking. Serve warm with salsa or Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce (recipe posting tomorrow).

Homemade Postum-type Drink

My friend, Terri, loves Postum and since it is no longer available in the stores I set out to see if I could duplicate it. I found several recipes for homemade Postum on the internet at several sites but then I found that I didn't have wheat bran as such and there wasn't any at our store. So, the following recipe is a combination of the recipes that I found on line. It isn't quite the same as the real thing but fairly close.


Homemade Postum

4 Cups of cracked wheat, do not sift out flour, use it all
2 C coarsely ground corn meal
1/2 C molasses

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well with your hands. Make sure the grain and bran and corn are well combined and that the molasses is thoroughly mixed in. This takes awhile, probably 5 to 10 minutes to make sure the molasses is distributed evenly on all the grains, no lumps. Spread the mixture onto two baking sheets with sides on them and bake in a 300 degree oven for about 5 hours. You must stir the mixture every 20-30 minutes to make it bake evenly. Bake till a dark mahogany color. It may have some smoke during the last hour or so. Do not use a hotter oven as it will burn. Place the pans on wire racks to cool, stirring the mixture occasionally to cool faster. Store in airtight containers

This is not an instant hot drink and has to be either brewed the same as coffee or steeped like tea. Since we have a coffee machine in the lodges at the KOA, we tried that and it worked very well. However, I do not want to have a coffee machine on my cabinet so tried boiling it and steeping it. I didn't like the boiling method but did like the steeping. I put the mix in a tea ball and poured the hot water in the cup and let it sit as one would a tea bag. Worked well.

Use 2 tablespoons of mixture to 1 1/2 cups of water.

Reuben Sandwich-Pressure Cooker

Happy St. Patrick's Day! At our house we have the tradition of making Reuben sandwiches on or around the 17th, depending on work schedules. In the past I have always cooked my corned beef on the stove for hours till it becomes tender. This year I cooked it in my pressure cooker. Who knew, ok maybe all of you. I found this to be a great technique for cooking corned beef.

It was simple. Put your 3lbs corned beef in the cooker, cover meat with water and add the seasoning packet that comes with it. Secure the lid and bring to pressure (15lbs) and cook for 1 hour and 15 min.

This is our take on the Reuben sandwich. My mother cans her own sauerkraut and so kindly shares so that makes this even better.

Reuben Sandwich

3 lbs Corned Beef

Sauerkraut

Thousand Island Dressing

Swiss cheese

Rye bread

butter

Butter one side of the pieces of rye bread. Place sliced or shredded corned beef on the non buttered side of the bread, then layer Swiss cheese, then the sauerkraut. On the other piece of bread, on the non-buttered side spread some thousand island dressing and place the bread on the top of the sauerkraut. Cook on a panini grill, fry pan, or griddle, a waffle iron is kind of fun if you don't mind a greasy mess to clean up. Cover with a pan lid to help the cheese melt. Cook on both sides till browned and crisp.