Seasoned Pretzels

These pretzels are easy and tasty. You can whip them up for a party appetizer or just for the kiddos to snack on. They are delicious and a little zesty! Enjoy. 

Seasoned Pretzels
Printable Version

1 bag of pretzels
1/2c. oil
1/2t. garlic powder
1/2t. cayenne pepper
1/2 package of ranch dressing mix (approx 1.5T)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Put pretzels in a large bowl. In separate small bowl, mix oil, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and ranch dressing mix until combined. Pour over pretzels and stir until evenly coated.

Spread pretzels onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 1 hr. Stir every 15min.

Store in an air tight container. 

Almond Joys or Mounds

 

Chocolate-Covered Coconut Bars
Printable Version

2 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
12 ounces chocolate (your favorite, milk, semi or dark)
Almonds (optional)

Line baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, combine the coconut, powdered sugar, butter and corn syrup. Divide mixture into 15 mounds. Shape each into compact 2" bars. Refrigerate 10 min.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate. Working one at a time, dip into the chocolate. Let sit until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes.

Breaskfast Pizza

 

We used bacon and sausage and did a half and half pizza.  This was so good!  Even good reheated!

Ingredients

• 1  (8-ounce) can reduced-fat refrigerated crescent dinner roll dough
• Cooking spray
• 12  ounces  turkey breakfast sausage or bacon or regular sausage... whatever you please
• 1  cup  frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
• 1/4  cup  fat-free milk
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1  (8-ounce) carton egg substitute or (we used 6 eggs and added the milk to the eggs)
• 2  tablespoons  grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.
Separate dough into triangles. Press triangles together to form a single round crust on a 12-inch pizza pan coated with cooking spray. Crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim.
Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain.
Place the sausage, potatoes and cheese on top of the prepared dough.  Combine milk, salt, pepper, and egg substitute, stirring with a whisk. Carefully pour milk mixture on the top of the pizza crust and toppings. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until crust is browned.

When we made it... we pre-cooked the dough on the pizza pan for about 7 minutes and then followed the steps.  We still cooked it for the full 25 minutes.

Pizza Rolls

These are a fun variation for pizza night! :) You just pull these apart and dip in marinara sauce. Inside each roll, there is a center that is warm and oozing with pizza toppings. They are delicious and the kids have fun dipping them. There is no pizza sauce in each roll which is nice. Unlike your traditional pizza rolls, the sauce wont scald the inside of your mouth. Plus, we have some "anti-pizza sauce" people at our house, so this was perfect! We did the pepperoni, green pepper version. I will definitely be making these again and trying a variety of fillings. Enjoy!

Pizza Rolls

Printable Version

Ingredients:
frozen rolls or homemade pizza dough

Pizza sauce
Shredded cheese of choice

Any meat/veggie pizza toppings of choice, diced small
(We mainly do pepperoni (cut into 1/4ths) &cheese and plain cheese)

Defrost frozen roll dough for about an hour. It should be cold but soft. Flatten each roll. First put a light smear of pizza sauce in the center of the roll. (Don't get the sauce on the edges or it wont want to seal) Next, layer the shredded cheese or any diced small topping that will have a tendency to fallout. Finally, press a few quarters of pepperoni to hold cheese in place and wrap the rest of the roll around the toppings. Pinch to seal edges. The more toppings you use, the harder it gets to tuck them all within the dough. Now place seam side down in a lightly greased casserole dish or glass baking dish. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle generously with garlic salt and Italian seasoning. (oregano, basil and thyme, etc) Bake in a 400 degree oven until rolls are light brown (12-15min). Watch carefully. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.


Recipe by SistersCafe

No Bake Cookies

For those of you who don't live with Dad or Slade, this recipe is for you!

You too can have good no bakes any time you'd like ;) 

Another "must have" recipe for the food blog.

No Bake Cookies

2c. sugar
1/2c. milk
1/4c. cocoa
1/2c. butter (1 stick)

Simmer for 2min. Remove from heat and add:

2/3c. peanut butter
1/2t. vanilla
Add approximately 4c. oats (or until desired consistency)

Drop by the spoonful onto foil, wax paper or parchment (whatever you have will work) Let them cool slightly and enjoy!

I know you have been waiting for this recipe so.....You are welcome! :)

Comfort Corn Pudding

Why do I like corn pudding?

1) Basically...it's delicious!
2) You can serve it with almost any type of meal. We make it to go with hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken or bbq sandwiches. We even make it to go with a roast or pulled pork for a Sunday dinner.
3) It's SUPER SUPER easy! You can throw it together in 5min or less and let it bake while you prepare the rest of the meal.
4) Anytime I make this it gets rave reviews and gets gobbled up. Who doesn't like compliments to the chef? (That's you!)

Give it a try and let me know how much you love it too! :)

Comfort Corn Pudding

Printable Version

1 (8 oz) box corn muffin mix

1 (16 oz) can whole corn, undrained

1 (16 oz) can cream corn

1 cup sour cream

1 sick margarine or butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix until blended.

Pour mixture into a shallow, 2 quart baking dish

Bake, uncovered, for 45 – 50 minutes. Serve immediately.

Seriously... how easy does that sound? (PS It's delicious!)

Recipe from A. Trzeciak :)

Buttercream Icing

Buttercream Icing

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk or water

Makes: About 3 cups of icing.

Cream shortening, butter and vanilla. Add sugar. Add water until desired consistency, may not use all 2 tablespoons.

Note: I always half and half the shortening and butter, but you don't have to. All butter is super delicious but is more yellowy and all criso is not so good to me. Just remember 1 cup butter/crisco to 1 lb sugar!! You also can use other flavorings instead of vanilla, like almond or butter.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Everyone in my house is singing my praises when I make these. We aren't huge fans of the potato, but these are a hit! Make at least two per adult... you will want more than one. Also, I think the smaller the potato you use, the better because you get a higher crispy to mushy ratio. (The crunchiness is our favorite part!) Enjoy!


Hot Crash Potatoes
Printable Version

12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt to Taste
Black Pepper to Taste
Herb Of Choice to Taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender. (I used yukon gold potatoes for this picture. I have also used the small red ones and they were also delicious.)

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh herb. (rosemary, chives, thyme or whatever herb you have available.) I used green onion out of my garden.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Recipe from Pioneer Woman Cooks

Double Broccoli Quinoa

This is delicious. It's light, healthy and packed with all the good stuff. Enjoy!

Double Broccoli Quinoa
Printable Version

3 cups cooked quinoa
5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems
3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream

Toppings: slivered basil, fire oil (optional)**, sliced avocado
crumbled feta or goat cheese

Cook the quinoa according to it's package's directions. Set aside. (I successfully made it in my parent's rice cooker. 2 parts water 1 part rice... same ratio... turned out great)

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.

To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Serves 4 - 6.

**To make the red chile oil: You'll need 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. If you can, make the chile oil a day or so ahead of time by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan for a couple minutes - until it is about as hot as you would need it to saute some onions, but not so hot that it smokes or smells acrid or burned. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let cool, then store in refrigerator. Bring to room temp again before using.

Recipe from 101Cookbooks

Beef Stroganoff

Yummy! Blake's Favorite!

Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 lb steak
6 Tbl flour
1 Tbl Kitchen Bouquet gravy (use a packet of brown gravy mix because I can never find Kitchen Bouquet)

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 Tbl oil
2 cps beef broth
1 cp sour cream

Optional toppings:
1/2 lb mushrooms
1 onion
4 Tbl butter

Preheat oven to 350

Cut steak into bit size pieces if not already, stew beef is perf for this recipe!
Mix flour, salt and pepper in mixing bowl or large plastic bag, add beef and
coat. Heat oil in large skillet. Brown beef pieces, once browned add remaining
flour mixture to beef in skillet, stir and remove from heat.

In a large casserole dish add beef, beef broth and gravy.

Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

While baking start your rice or noodles, whatever you prefer to eat under your
stroganoff. Also saute any additional toppings, always mushrooms for Blake!
Heat butter in pan and add mushrooms, cook till golden brown. Do same for onions.

After stroganoff has baked, add sour cream. Some people are pros and don't need to temper their sour cream, I'm not and think it's easier to get clumps out that way. If your stroganoff is not as thick as you would like, you may whisk in additional flour till as thick as you desire! Just remember it will thicken as it cools!

Serve over rice or noodles.

Blake's favorite side for stroganoff is corn and is recommended!

Crockpot instructions: Brown steak in skillet. Add all ingredients to crockpot except for the sour cream. Cook 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Add sour cream right before serving.


Recipe by Kerry and Jeanne Thackeray

Hamburger Soup

This soup doesn't seem like anything special but it may surprise you. As a child, I would ask for this soup and chew bread on my birthday for my "special dinner." I have made it for my family and friends and have gotten positive feedback. Bottom line, we have to include it on our family cooking blog. What Thackeray doesn't love hamburger soup? Yummm....


Hamburger Soup
Printable Version

1lb ground beef
1c. chopped onion
4c. water
1c. diced carrots
1c. diced celery
1c. diced potatoes
1t. salt
1/2t. pepper
2 beef bullion cubes
1T sugar
1t oregano
1 bay leaf
2 cans tomatoes, blended
1 8oz can tomato sauce

In a stock pot, heat ground beef and onion until beef is cooked through. Add water, carrots, celery, potatoes, salt, pepper, bullion, sugar, oregano and bay leaf. Cook for approx 30min or until veggies are tender. Remove bay leaf and add blended tomatoes and tomato sauce. Serve with bread or crackers.

You can brown your beef and onions, throw in rest of veggies raw and let it cook in the crockpot 8-10hrs on high.

OR

You can brown the beef and onions. Add water, carrots, celery, potatoes, salt, pepper, bullion, sugar, oregano and bay leaf. Boil for approx 30min or until veggies are tender. THEN, put in crockpot to keep warm until ready to serve. It keeps well in the crockpot until ready to serve.

YUM!

Recipe by Jeanne Thackeray

Josie H's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Late one evening a group of my high school friends got together and Josie made these. I, to this day, don't understand how a cookie can be so heavenly :) Because of this act alone, I believe every family should name their first born daughter Josie.

I love these cookies so much I changed their name to "chocolate chip treats", in my house, so that when you refer to these cookies, you refer to ONLY these cookies. :)


Chocolate Chip Cookies
Printable Version

1 1/2 c butter flavored shortening
1 c + 1T brown sugar
1 c + 1 T white sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 t water
3 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 bag milk Chocolate Chips
1/2 bag milk Mini M&Ms

Preheat oven to 375. Cream the shortening and the two sugars. Add the eggs, vanilla and water. Mix until well combined. Combine flour salt and baking soda and add them to the mixer. (I don't like to make things any harder than they need to be, so I always add 3 cups of flour, the salt, the baking soda, and then the last of the flour to my mixer... THEN mix until almost combined.) Mix until almost combined. Add chocolate chips and m&ms and mix until combined. (We like to mix it up and use half peanut butter chips, or mint chocolate chips, or really large chips, or JUST chocolate chips, or press regular M&Ms in the top after baking, do your favorite) I use my mini ice cream scoop to make perfect little cookie balls. I have also seen my sister drop by the spoon full to make exceptionally beautiful cookies. Bake for 9 min, or until they have barely begun to brown on the sides or on the tops. Don't over bake, to ensure maximum deliciousness. ENJOY.

Recipe by Josie H.

Chicken and Broccoli

Chicken and Broccoli
Printable Version

4 Chicken breasts halves (boneless skinless)
3 10 oz pkgs of frozen broccoli or 5-6 fresh bundles
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c milk
1/4 c mayo
1/4 c miracle whip
1 c grated cheddar cheese
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Simmer chicken breasts in water until done. Break meat into golf ball size pieces when cool.

Place broccoli in bottom of 9x13 pan. Lay chicken over meat.

Combine soup, milk, mayo and miracle whip. Heat and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and add cheese and lemon juice. Pour mixture over chicken and broccoli and top with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove foil for the last 30 minutes of baking.

Serve on top of a bed of rice.

Julie's Comments/Suggestions:

I don't like boiled chicken so I skipped the "simmering chicken" step. I cut raw chicken into golf ball sized pieces then put the raw pieces of chicken on top of fresh broccoli. (I only did 3 broccoli florets and it wasn't nearly enough - I would recommend cramming as much fresh broccoli in there as possible b/c it cooks down quite a bit)

I also didn't want to take the time to warm the soup, milk, miracle whip mixture in a pot so I put it in a bowl and mixed it with a wire whisk until it was smooth. I poured it over the broccoli and raw chicken. Top with parmesean.

I baked as directed except I didn't pull foil off until last 10 min or so b/c I figured the fresh broccoli would give off less water than the frozen variety.

Even though I did a bunch of "step skipping" my chicken was really tender and it was a very delicious meal that my family has requested again! :)

Recipe by Sharon Lyons

Aunt Renee's Chicken Stir Fry

This is a family staple. I made it the other day and decided to snap a picture so it could forever be apart of our family meals :) (via the blog)

The way I made it this time reminded me of the "chicken and broccoli" dish you'd typically get from a Chinese restaurant. You could serve it with fried rice or egg rolls or crab rangoon and have fortune cookies and make it an oriental meal. (Not that I have ever done this, but sounds delish, huh?)

I have made a few changes from the original recipe out of the ward cookbook.

Aunt Renee's Chicken Stir Fry
Printable Version

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
3T EVOO
2T minced onions
1 clove of garlic
2c chicken broth
2T brown sugar
2T soy sauce
2T fruit juice (any kind)
2T cornstarch
16oz frozen broccoli* (approx 4cups)
peanuts to garnish*
2c rice

Heat oil in skillet. Add chicken, garlic and minced onions. Cook until chicken is done. Add frozen broccoli and 1 cup of chicken broth. Put lid on and simmer until broccoli is desired tenderness.

In a separate bowl (I use a 2 cup liquid measuring cup) mix brown sugar, soy sauce, fruit juice and cornstarch. Stir with with fork until cornstarch is no longer lumpy.

When broccoli is ready, pour in the soy sauce mixture. (Stir soy sauce mixture right before you pour it in your skillet b/c the cornstarch will settle to the bottom and you need it to thicken your sauce) Stir soy sauce mixture into your skillet. As this heats throughout, the sauce will thicken. If it gets too thick add some of the remaining chicken broth until desired consistency.

Serve over rice. Sprinkle with peanuts.

*Note: The original recipe called for blanched sliced carrots and sliced green peppers. My kids do much better with the broccoli. You can use fresh veggies if you'd rather. You can also use the California mix of frozen veggies (cauliflower, carrots and broccoli). My kids would just pick out the broccoli and carrots. I would've used carrots the day I made this but I was out. So really you can use your family's favorite stir fry veggies. This meal is super versatile and any veggies you have in fridge and freezer would probably work fine. (I wouldn't personally use corn or peas... just a personal opinion)

Also you could use cashew instead of peanuts if you wanted to do like a cashew chicken dish.

Again, very versatile!

Recipe adapted from Aunt Renee T.

Pomegranate Cheesecake

Pomegranate Cheesecake
Printable Version

Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream (reduced fat worked great)
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds

Topping:
1 1/2 cups sour cream (again, reduced fat worked great)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pomegranate Glaze:
1-16-ounce bottle pomegranate juice (usually found in the refrigerated section of juices)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (tutorial on de-seeding here)

For the crust: preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl beat butter on medium high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined. Add egg; beat well. Beat in flour until combined. Divide dough in half. Cover one portion and set it aside.

Remove the sides from a 10-inch springform pan and set aside. Spread first portion of dough on just the bottom of ungreased springform pan base, spreading dough almost to the edges. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, attach sides of pan. Press chilled dough onto the sides of the sprinform pan to a height of 1-3/4 inches, using a thin metal spatula, like an offset spatula, to spread dough.

For the filling: reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. In an extra-large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the flour on low speed until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla all at once, beating on low speed just until combined. Mix in sour cream and lemon peel. Then, using a wooden spoon or a spatula, gently fold in pomegranate seeds (if you use the electric mixer for this part, the seeds will burst and stain the filling with the juice - and it won't look as pretty).

Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 65 minutes or until edges are puffed and center jiggles slightly when gently shaken. Remove from oven. (It doesn't matter if the cheesecake cracks on top since it will have a sour cream topping.)

For the topping: stir together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Spread sour cream mixture over top of baked cheesecake, spreading gently to the edges. Return to oven; bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool completely. Cover; chill 4 hours or overnight.

For pomegranate glaze: in a medium saucepan bring pomegranate juice to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, until reduced to 1 cup (12 to 15 minutes). In a separate bowl, stir together brown sugar and cornstarch. Add to juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Transfer to a medium bowl; cover surface with clear plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature. Store, covered, in refrigerator until serving time.

When ready to serve, remove cheesecake and pomegranate glaze from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Spoon some sauce over top of cheesecake; pile remaining pomegranate seeds in center of cheesecake. To serve, slice cheesecake. Pass remaining sauce. Makes 16 servings.

Recipe by MyKitchenCafe

Rainbow Jello

Rainbow Jello
Printable Version

2 small packages of red jell-o
2 small packages of orange jell-o
2 small packages of yellow jell-o
2 small packages of green jell-o
2 small packages of blue jell-o
2 small packages of purple jell-o
1 lb sour cream

Step 1
Boil water on stove. Take 1 cup of boiling water and mix with with 1 small package of purple jell-o until dissolved. Add 1/3c sour cream. Mix with wire whisk until creamy. Pour into bottom of 9x13. Refrigerate until set. (approx 1hr)

Step 2
Boil water again. Take 1 cup of boiling water and mix with other package of small purple jell-o until dissolved. Add 3T of cold water. Pour on top of the set creamy purple layer. Refrigerate until set (approx 1hr)

Repeat steps 1 and 2 for all flavors of jell-o.

The obvious: You can use any flavors of any colors in any order you desire :)

Julie's Tips:
In a traditional 9x13 I can only get 10 layers (5 creamy/5 clear). If I use a 9.5x13.5 or 10x14 I can get all 12 layers (6 creamy/6 clear).

If going for a high level of presentation, spoon off all air bubbles that are formed from mixing jell-o as you pour each new layer. It gives each each layer a much sharper look. (If I am just making it for this or that I will just spoon off air bubbles for the top two layers (creamy red/clear red).

I think ENDING with clear red is the prettiest.

I always put them in order of the rainbow from top down. ROYGBV.

I pick flavors that I like. If you don't like lemon, leave it out. There are usually tropical flavors such as pineapple, green apple, etc. (Beware of peach, it doesn't give a true 'orange' color.) Also, going with traditional strawberry for red gives pretties top layer.

Give yourself 2 days to make this. You can make it in one day but the longer you let each layer set up the better off you will be. Plus, for one day, you have to stay pretty close to your stove ALL day. Do half a day, much more enjoyable. :)

Make sure the shelf in your fridge is level, or each layer will look like a wedge.

When pouring hot jell-o on chilled layer pour slowly and not all in one spot or the hot jell-o will break the top layer, thus mixing the layers you were trying to keep separate.