Chocolate-Lemon Truffle Fudge

I got this from Cooking Pleasures magazine and it is amazing. I modified it a little bit, but not much--I beg you to eat this.

1 1/3 C sugar
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream (fluff) (I make my own fluff--it is much cheaper and tastier than the storebought stuff. Just google homemade marshmallow fluff)
2/3 C evaporated milk
1/4 C butter
1/4 t salt
1/4 C lemon juice
12 oz bittersweet chocolate (the original recipe used semi-sweet)
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate (the original recipe used milk)
1 T lemon zest
(The original recipe used 1 t lemon extract, but I chose to omit this because I don't like the fakey taste)

Line 8" square pan with foil, folding excess over sides for handles
Combine sugar, fluff, milk, butter, salt in large saucepan over med heat until melted, stirring occassionally
Increase to med-high heat and add lemon juice. Bring to a fast boil; boil for 5 minutes or until temp reaches 212 degrees, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Stir in chocolate, until melted. Stir in zest. Pour into pan and refrigerate overnight or until firm

Butternut Squash Risotto

This is a new recipe I tried recently and really liked.

Butternut Squash Risotto
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: about 40 minutes

2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped butternut squash
3/4 cup arborio or short grain rice
32 oz chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add garlic and shallot; cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in squash and rice; cook and stir until rice grains are coated with butter. Slowly stir in broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, cooking over low heat and stirring until broth has been absorbed before adding more. When all of broth has been absorbed, stir in cheese and sage; cook for 1 minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Enchilada Soup

My grandmother only refers to any soup that tastes even slightly Mexican as "Sopa." You can do that, if you want, and feel all West-Jordan-Authentic.

This makes a ton--you can halve it if you want, but really, just freeze the leftovers and feel all righteous when people ask you to bring some lady dinner when she has sprained her spleen or something. It also tastes better each successive day.

½ c oil--I use olive
¼ c Chicken base (base is different than stock. It looks like a paste. I get mine from penzeys. I have also used Pork stock when I wanted to be faboo.) I suppose you could use stock or powder or granules, but you would have to fiddle with the consistency. I would do at least 1/2 the recommended water to make the stock thicker when you add it.
3 c Diced yellow onions--about 1 1/2 big onions
Cumin--at least 2 T, I just dump a bunch in because I loves me the cumin
Chili powder--same as above
Granulated garlic or garlic cloves all chopped up--same as above
Cayenne pepper--same as above.
***When I am feeling lazy I just pour in Penzey's pork taco seasoning and omit all of the other spices except for the Chili and Cumin. It works better, I think.**
2 c Masa harina--I use Harina Pan, which is finer. I would not use just plain corn meal, though.
4 qt Water (divided)
2 c Crushed tomatoes
½ lb Process American cheese; cut in small cube
3 lb chicken,
Cook and cube chicken.
In large pot, place oil, chicken base, onion and spices. Saute until onions are soft and clear, about 5 minutes In another container, combine masa harina with 1 quart water. Stir until all lumps dissolve. Add to sauteed onions, bring to boil. Once mixture starts to bubble, continue cooking 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. This will eliminate any raw taste from masa harina. Add remaining 3 quarts water to pot. Add tomatoes; let mixture return to boil stirring occasionally. Add cheese to soup. Cook stirring occasionally, until cheese melts. Add chicken; heat through. Makes 1 1/2 gallons or 16-20 servings.

Garlicky Tortellini, Spinach and Tomato Soup

Soup weather is here! This easy-to-prepare recipe is a favorite of ours. If you like garlic...this soup is for you!

Garlicky Tortellini, Spinach & Tomato Soup (Serves 2 to 3)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 to 8 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups (1 quart) homemade or low-salt chicken broth
6 oz. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini (I've used ravioli also)
14 oz. canned diced tomatoes, with their liquid
10 oz. spinach, washed and stemmed; coarsely chopped if large
8 to 10 leaves basil, coarsely chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese, preferably parmigiano reggiano

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook halfway, about 5 minutes for frozen pasta, less if using fresh. Add the tomatoes and their liquid, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook just until the pasta is tender. Stir in the spinach and basil and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with the grated cheese. Easy!

More Fall tastes...

Here is a recipe I make every Fall after we go to Apple Hill. It is easy to make and so delicious all through the Fall!

All Day Apple Butter

5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and mix well.
Cover and cook on high 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Use an immersion blender to make it extra smooth after it's done cooking.

Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate or freeze.

What fall should taste like

Pumpkin-Apple-Spice Bread

For topping:
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
5 Tbs sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
A shake of Pumpkin pie or apple pie sasoning
1 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
For bread:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt2 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon---*
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg---*
1/4 tsp ground cloves---*
1/4 tsp ground allspice---*
(--*OR 3 t of pumpkin pie or apple pie seasoning)
1 (15-oz) can solid-pack pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie in a can)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (2 cups) OR whatever apples you have OR take two cups of the food storage dried apples and soak them for 5 minutes or so and add them in
MAKE THE TOPPING: Blend together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a small bowl with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.
MAKE THE BREAD: Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 350F. Butter two 9 X 5 inch loaf pans.
Combine all ingredients, fold in apples at last
Divide batter between buttered loaf pans. Sprinkle half of topping evenly over each loaf.
Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of bread comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.
Cool loves in pans on a rack for 45 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, about 1 hour. Or eat right away and burn your tongue. Whichever.

Rasberry Cream Cupcakes

This is what we had to celebrate Kalea's 2nd Birthday... the cupcakes are fluffy and light. I love that it uses fresh rasberries and strawberries (I used both...)

Raspberry Cream Cupcakes Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 18 cupcakes

1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix (recommended: Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)
1 1/3 cups water
3 large eggs whites
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (6-ounce) containers fresh raspberries, cut in half or 1 (16-ounce) container fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus additional for dusting

Line 18 muffin cups with muffin papers. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, water, egg whites, melted butter, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a large bowl for 2 minutes, or until the batter is well blended. Using about 1/3 cup of batter for each cupcake, spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake the cupcakes until they are very pale golden on top, about 15 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely on a cooling rack.

Using a fork, coarsely mash 1 1/2 containers of raspberries in a medium bowl. Beat the cream and 1/3 cup of powdered sugar in a large bowl until firm peaks form. Fold the mashed raspberries into the whipped cream.

Remove the muffin papers from the cupcakes and cut the tops off of each cupcake. Spoon the raspberry whipped cream atop the cupcake bottoms. Place the cupcake tops on the cupcakes. Dust with more powdered sugar and serve with the remaining berries.

Episode#: EI1F06
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Beef and Veggies

I recently got a mailer about a company that was delivering organic fruits and veggies to homes. So I signed up for this month. My first delivery came with 3 bananas, 10 Gravenstein apples, salad greens, a baby pineapple, a mango, 10 little potatoes, green onions, swiss chard, a tomato, red grapes and a spaghetti squash.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the swiss chard...but I went online to figure out what to do with the spaghetti squash and found a great recipe on allrecipes.com (click on the title to go to it - I added mushrooms)- and... there's something fun about discovering why a squash is called a spaghetti squash... this is what it looks like when you shred the pulp after it's been baked.



And this... is what we had for dinner tonight... delish.


...any ideas on swiss chard???

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

I got this recipe in 2004 from the San Jose Mercury News. They said this is the same recipe used at the famous Serendipity 3 (http://www.serendipity3.co/food.htm) cafe in New York. But if you go there, a glass of this costs $8.5o...you can make it for much less!

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

3 ounces of your favorite chocolate

2 teaspoons store-bought hot chocolate mix (good quality)

1½ tablespoons sugar

1½ cups milk

3 cups ice cubes

Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Chocolate shavings

Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in top of double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Add chocolate mix and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup milk, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature. In blender, place the remaining 1 cup milk, room-temperature chocolate mixture and ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy with a spoon or a straw.

I see your cookies, Jill of all trades, and I raise you these.

Number of Trader Joe's Cocoa Joe Joe's I can eat in a day: 7
Number of these I can eat in a day: 300

8 T (one stick) butter at room temp
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 firm brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 C flour ***I use pastry flour and it makes a HUGE difference. They stay oven soft for days longer. Regular flour will be just fine, too, and you won't notice it unless you try the pastry flour and then you will smack your head and say "She was right!"***
2 rounded (really rounded, I say) t cinnamon. (you can also add 1/4 t of cocoa if you want, to make it spicier.)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 c oats
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c chocolate chips

Preheat 325
Cream butter, sugar, egg until light and fluffy
Add vanilla
Add dry ingredients, except for oats and crans and chips. Stir until just combined, then add the rest. blend well.
Drop by roundend spoons onto your baking sheet and bake for 20-22 minutes. They will crisp up a little after they come out of the oven, so make sure that they are still soft a little.

I got this from the Hay Day Country Mkt Cookbook, but tweaked it to my liking.

Pig Picking Cake

The title comes from the south. Something about BBQ, I think. Yes, the name is grody, but the cake is amazing, perfect for the summer. Trust me.


INGREDIENTS:
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple
1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 - 8 inch pans.
2. Prepare cake mix according to package directions with the addition of mandarin oranges and nuts. Pour into 3 - 8 inch pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
3. To make the filling: In a large bowl, combine crushed pineapple with juice and pudding mix. Fold in the whipped topping. Spread between cooled cake layers. Chill in refrigerator

Or, if you don't feel like doing a layer cake, just put the thing in a 9x13 and put the filling on top for frosting. Not as pretty, but much simpler in the heat.

2 EASY Summer Recipes to help beat the heat!

Hey everyone! Been keeping meals simple and cool for the summer. Here are two easy faves we've been enjoying. Both very adaptable to what you have on hand.

Romaine Caeser Wraps
(Courtesy of the the Tanimura & Antle bag at Costco!) ;-)

• 2 heads of romaine hearts
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken (approx. two 8oz boneless chicken breasts-- but canned chicken is so worth it for summer-- who wants to spend time cooking in a hot kitchen??!)
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (mmm Parmesan! Actually, I substituted mozzerella once and we fell in love with it so we use that a lot instead)
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup creamy Caesar dressing (I usually use Ranch just cuz we have it on hand.. of course, then you can't call it a "Caeser Wrap")
• 8 9-ince flour tortillas, plain or flavored
• Anything else you have on hand that sounds good and doesn't require cooking! Last night we had avocado in ours-- thanks Tia for the avococado tool-- freakin' amazing!!!!!! ;-)

1. Chop Romain hearts into bite-size pieces: place in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except tortillas, and toss well to coat.
2. Soften tortillas in microwave oven (about 20 seconds on high)
3. To make wraps, place tortillas on plates and spoon Casear salad along center. Drizzle with additional dressing if desired. Roll tortilla from one side, burrito style, folding bottome up and in to hold in salad. Repeat for remaining tortillas. Makes 4-6 servings.
4. Eat 'em up while they're nice and crunchy!
   

If you want to turn some delicious summer fruit into something a little more special:

Lime-Ginger Honeydew

• 1 lime
• 1 tsp finely grated, peeled fresh ginger
• 1 large honeydew melon, cut in chunks (approx 10 cups)
• 1/3 cup Sugar & 3 Tbsp water

1. Bring 1/3 cup sugar and 3 Tbsp water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; stir to dissolve sugar. Refrigerate 5 minutes to cool.
2. Grate zest and juice lim. Stir 2 tsp zest, 1 Tbsp lime juice and the ginger into the sugar syrup. Pour over melon chunks and stir gently with a rubber spatula to mix and coat.
3. INDULGE! =)

I rarely have everything on hand for this (fresh ginger and limes). For a cheater version of this I will just blend up some honey, bottled lime juice and powdered ginger, then toss in the honeydew and coat. A bit different, but very tasty. I love honey on fruit! The lime zest really does add a nice dimension if you're choosing between buying lime or fresh ginger.

Sort-of Cafe Rio Steak Salad

Dying for the Cafe Rio, I adapted a recipe from ~j for the dressing. (Because I am lazy and do not want to measure.)

So, take a good cut of steak--strip or skirt or whatever, but not very fatty. Cut it into strips. Put a round of Olive Oil in a skillet, and put the strips in. Sprinkle about 3 T cumin and a package of Sazon on top. Fry over medium heat intil done as you like. (We likes the rare, so we cooks for about 4 minutes.)

In a blender mix:
1 block of cream cheese (we used the fat free ghetto kind)
2 T sour cream
7 oz (the little can with the pop top) of tomatillo salsa. You can get this in the salsa section--don't need to be fancy, just get the one that costs 67 cents.
1 pkt of Sazon
as much cilantro as you want

Add water if you want it watery-er. Add spices if you want it spicier.

Get your lazy bag of salad, throw it in a bowl, add some black beans and some choppy vegies if you have them, the steak, and the sauce.

15 minutes max.

Dill Vinaigrette

Here's a great dressing with just a hint of sweetness (due to the honey). Perfect for your next green salad. Enjoy!

Dill Vinaigrette

¼ cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

2 tablespoons honey

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp dill weed

½ tsp dried parsley flakes

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp celery seed

Salad greens and vegetables of your choice

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the first ten ingredients; shake well. Serve with salad. Refrigerate leftovers; shake well before serving. Yield: 1 cup.

Treintenera pork

So easy, and so delish. I promise.

1. Get a pork shoulder or picnic roast, about 6-9 lbs.
2. Put it in a roasting dish or a pyrex or whatever you have that will fit.
3. Sprinkle adobo all over the top. (Again, Penzeys, or you can get lesser versions on any spice aisle)
4. Pour about 1/2 cup of Mojo Criollo** on top, and with the spicy paste that now exists, rub it in.
5. Flip and repeat.
6. Put in oven, uncovered, on 250 for 9-12 hours.
Eat all week.

**Goya makes the Mojo--you can often get it on the spanish aisle at Walmart, or at any Latin food stores. It is in a bottle and is an awesome marinade for anything.

Cowboy Cookies???

Does one (or more) of you have a good Cowboy Cookie recipe? I have to make some for a Girls Camp activity tomorrow!! Please post it if you do.
Thank you, thank you.

Grand German Chocolate Bars

I made these yesterday with my kids for our FHE treat. They are rich, gooey and yummy! Had to share the recipe.

Grand German Chocolate Bars

CRUST
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut up, softened

BARS
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped toasted pecans

TOPPING
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped toasted pecans**
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Line 8-inch square pan with heavy-duty foil, leaving extra foil extending over edges. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In medium bowl, with fork, mix together all crust ingredients until crumbly; press into pan. Bake 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place chocolate and 6 Tbsp butter in medium heat-proof bowl; place over medium saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from saucepan; let stand until cooled slightly.
4. In small bowl, stir together 1 cup flour and salt. In large bowl, beat 2 eggs and 1 cup brown sugar at medium speed 1 minute or until well-blended and lightened in color. At low speed, beat in chocolate mixture and 1 tsp vanilla until blended. Add flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. Stir in 1 1/2 cups coconut and 1 1/2 cups pecans. Spread batter over crust.
5. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from edge comes out with moist crumbs attached (toothpick inserted in center comes out with thin fudge coating.) Top of bars may crack around edges. Cool completely on wire rack. (Bars may sink slightly during cooking.)
6. In medium saucepan, whisk together cream, sugar, 1 egg and 1 Tbsp butter. Cook over medium heat until bubbles form around outside edge, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in 1 1/2 cups coconut, 1 1/2 cups pecans and 1 tsp vanilla. Spread over cooled bars. Cool completely.
7. Using foil edges, lift bars from pan. Slide bars off foil onto cutting board; cut into 16 pieces.

TIP **To toast pecans, place on baking sheet; bake at 350 F for 6 to 8 minutes or until slightly darker in color. Cool.

Not Abuela's black beans and rice.

These are of my own making, and are, without boasting, the most delicious black beans that have ever been made. Please don't tell Abuela. Like most of my cooking, the measurements are imprecise and can be modified. Bear with me.

Step one: Put some rice in the rice cooker. If you are feeling sassy, add some lime zest to the water.

Step two: Pour about 1/2" of olive oil--MUST be olive oil--into the bottom of a pot. Cook on medium until the oil starts to get little wavy lines in it and smells pungeant.

While the oil is heating, chop some bells and onions and garlic and tomatoes. I use three or four each, but you can use whatever you have on hand, and can skip the bells and tomatoes if you have none.

Step three: Add the onions and bell peppers to the oil, and sautee for a few minutes. Then add the tomatoes and garlic. Turn heat to low to simmer.

Step four: Add two cans of black beans with the liquid. (You could use the dry, but you would have to prepare them early and I am not that prepared.) There will probably be a decent amount of liquid in there, so that it looks a little like a stew. (If you used dry, you will need to add about a cup of water)

Step five: These parts are the most important, so don't mess around with them:
1. Add two packets of Sazon con achiote y culantro. I use Vigo or Goya brand, but I know that Knorr makes is as well. Orange box. You can get it at Walmart, or at any Latin food store. I get it in the jumbo box at the PX.

2. Add a healthy soup spoon full of cumin. I get my cumin from Penzey's because it is the best spice store ever, and I use a lot of it.

3. Add a healthy soup spoon of beef soup base and seasoning. Also from Penzey's but the Utah Costco sell big containers of it. This is not cube kind, but it is a paste of real beef. I have not been able to find it anywhere in EP, so I get it online. (Cjane can omit this, but it adds the perfect touch. When I make it for the veg's, I just pull a few cups from the pot and set them aside, and add the beef to the rest of it.)

Step six: Let the whole thing simmer until it is thick and saucy and perfect. You can let it simmer for an hour if you want, or you can let it simmer for 15 minutes. Just until it is as thick as you want.

Serve over white rice. Please don't use Instant Rice--it hurts my soul.

I am going to go make some right now...

Easy summer salad (healthy!)

My husband and I don't care for many vegetables but I found this recipe we both liked very much and surpise, surprise...it includes broccoli! It is truly a miracle to see us eating broccoli. My young kids don't eat meat (due to pickiness) and so this recipe wasn't a hit with them but I hope as they get older, they will enjoy the recipe too. A mother can only hope. Enjoy this easy, healthy and very delicious salad for summer!

Chicken Vegetable Salad

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1/4 cup bottled reduced-fat ranch salad dressing

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey

1/2 cup chopped broccoli

1/4 cup shredded carrot ( to make this easy, I use the pre-shedded carrots that I store in my freezer)

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt and salad dressing. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, broccoli, carrot, and, if desired, nuts. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken mixture; toss to coat. Cover and chill up to 24 hours. Makes 4 (small) servings. I suggest you double or triple the recipe.

Southwest Chicken Wraps

This is a recipe I have made several times and I just love it. They are delicious and pretty easy to make. And there's always a good amount of leftovers (for our family) to enjoy for lunch the next day.

Southwest Chicken Wraps

3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
8 ounces picante sauce
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
14 1/2-ounce can black beans, drained
8 flour tortillas
1 medium tomato
1 cup shredded lettuce
2 Tbsp chopped green onions (I've never actually added these)
1/2 cup guacamole
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro (I don't like cilantro, so I leave this out)

1. Combine chicken, picante sauce, chili powder an dgarlic powder in a large skillet and mix well. Cook over medium heat until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Add 3/4 cup cheddar and beans to mixture and mix well.
3. Wrap flour tortillas in a kitchen towl. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute.
4. Spoon equal portions of th ehcicken mixture onto each warm tortilla.
5. Chop the tomato. Top chicken mixture with remaining cheddar, lettuce, tomato, geren onions, guacamole, sour cream and cilantro. Roll to enclose filling. Serve immediately.

**If you want a meatless version, replace the chicken with refried beans or red kidney beans, then add grilled peppers and onions and sliced black olives to the filling.

HoneyBaked Easter

I've never done the Easter dinner myself... so I enlisted HoneyBaked Ham for help.

YUM! The line was out the door and around the corner on Saturday. And once you got in... there were 7 more lines. The 20-30 minute wait was worth it.

It was dinner for my hubby, my parents, Kalea and myself - ordered the quarter ham combo with turkey. YUM! And I picked up some sides: ambrosia, mac salad, cranberry salad and stuffing.

I made my Mom's Crescent Rolls, a green salad... and we had mini-strawberry cheesecakes.

No fuss... no muss.... easy and got to hang with the family.

I had no idea how distinctly, delicious the HoneyBaked Ham flavor was. You can bet I'll be visiting there more often.

What'd you do for Easter?

Molly's Chicken

Since we have church from 2-5 p.m., I'm always looking for crockpot recipes so dinner is ready when we get home. I recently made this one and it was easy and good and the kids loved it. So I thought I'd pass it on. I got it from allrecipes.com.

Molly's Chicken
3 1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks, skin removed
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1. Place drumsticks in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and tomato sauce. Pour sauce over chicken.
2. Cover, and cook on Low heat 8 hours.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

As requested by Her Majesty, Queen Scarlet.

1 cup sweet cream, unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Cream together.

Add:
2 large eggs
3/4 teas. salt
1 teas. baking soda
1 teas pure vanilla
Mix.

Slowly stir in:
3 cups all purpose flour

Dough should be smooth and creamy (yum!). Add chocolate chips to taste (I really like the Ambrose chocolate chips from Costco. They're not too sweet and not too bitter).

Bake at 350 for 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool for 8-10 minutes before removing from sheet.

Molten Marshmallow-Chocolate Cakes

This is a recipe kids will have fun helping you prepare. Be careful to not overcook these or the hidden marshmallow surprise will “disintegrate”.

Molten Marshmallow-Chocolate Cakes

1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup (1/8 lb) butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

6 large marshmallows

Powdered sugar (optional)

In a 3- to 4-quart pan over very low heat, stir chocolate chips and butter until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour. Fill six buttered, floured ramekins (1/2 cup capacity) or muffin pans (1/2 cup capacity) about halfway. Press a marshmallow into the center of the batter in each ramekin. Spoon remaining batter equally over marshmallows, completely covering. Bake in the center of a 350 degree regular or 325 convection oven until tops are puffed up and crackly, 12-15 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes, then run a knife along inside of ramekins and invert to release cakes. Place right side up on plates. Sprinkle tops with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve warm.

Making it easy...

Yesterday Nicole and I went to Dream Dinners... check it out. I made 6 meals and had the Chicken Enchiladas last night... serves six people and we had my parents over ... delish... mmm yum. Leftovers for lunch today after it snowed in El Dorado Hills. Perfect.

There's also other shops that do this Dish It Up and Super Suppers...

No more... what the heck am I going to make for dinner...YAY!

Q: How can BYU mint brownies be any better? A: Dark chocolate ganache.

Yes, my friends, I have a gift. It is the gift of dark chocolate ganache. No longer are the BYU mint brownies too sweet; I have made them PERFECT. Please send your praise and money and join my cult of ganache.

Brownies (from BYU recipe):
1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 c. chopped walnuts (or not.)

Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts, or not. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

Now here is where I come in (Mwah-Ha-Ha.):
While the brownies are cooking, clear out a space in your freezer large enough for the pan.

As soon as they are done, put the pan in the freezer. Then

Mix together in a small saucepan:
3/4 c best quality unsweetened cocoa powder. (I get mine from penzey's spices)
1/2 c heavy cream
6 T butter, cut into bits
3/4 c powdered sugar
tiny pinch of salt

Cook over low heat until combined and thickened, about 10 minutes.

As soon as this is thickened, pour it over the pan in the freezer. Just a thin layer, you will save some in the pan. Close the freezer and make the mint icing

5 Tbsp. margarine, softened
dash of salt
1 Tbsp. dark corn syrup
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract, or more to taste.
1-2 drops green food color, or as green as you want it. You don't even need it if you are of the "Bryers mint ice cream with no added color" persuasion.
3 Tbsp. milk, or enough to make it the right consistency

In a bowl, use your mixer to blend together first 4 ingredients until creamy. Add flavoring and coloring, and the milk. You want the consistency to be as thin as the ganache, so you may need to add more milk, depending on how it all goes. As soon as it is done, spread it on the layer in the freezer.

Wait five more minutes or so, and then layer the last bit of chocolate and the last bit of mint in the freezer. You can make it all swirly like mine, or you can leave it with the scary green on top.

I am telling you, you will be sorely disappointed the next time you have the Cannon Center ones--you will cry "Why does Jen not work here?" And I will say "Because I finally graduated and do not need to be the office secretary any longer."

San Francisco Chops

I haven't been great at posting on here, but now that I'm approaching my second trimester and the thought of food doesn't bring me to the verge of "tossing my cookies" (to put it discreetly since this is a food blog), I'll try to include more recipes and comments! And hopefully be trying more recipes!

So here is one we really like. I usually double or even triple the sauce. My husband loves the sauce and wants plenty of it.

San Francisco Chops

4 bone in pork loin chops
1-2 T veg oil
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine or chicken broth
2 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 T corn starch
1 T cold water

In skillet brown chops on both sides in oil (sear them). Transfer to crockpot. Add garlic to drippings in pan. Saute for 1 min or until golden. Stir in soy sauce, wine or broth, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Heat until sugar is dissolved. Pour over chops. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 5 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Combine corn starch and water until smooth; add to crock pot. Cover and cook at least 30 minutes more or until thickened. Serve with rice or potatoes. Yield 4 servings.

Cheesy Broccoli and Noodle Soup (Crock Pot)

Got this recipe from my friend Ginny Thuesen. It's yummy for a rainy day. (this time around I'm adding potatos and carrots...)

Cheesy Broccoli and Noodle Soup
(Crock Pot)

2 cups chicken broth
2 ½ cups broccoli
½ cup onion
1 can cream of chicken
12 oz evaporated milk
1 ¼ cups uncooked egg noodles
2 cups cooked chicken
½ tsp lemon pepper
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Spray crock pot with pam.
Mix chicken broth, broccoli and onion and cook on LOW for 3 hours
Stir in cream of chicken, milk, uncooked noodles, chicken and lemon pepper
Cover and cook for 2-3 hours on LOW
Stir in cheese until it melts and serve

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese and Caramel Frosting

OK, peeps, here is the cake. It is a pain in my bunsies to make, but it is also un-freakin-believeable.

Cake: Butter and flour two parchment-covered 9" cake pans.

Sift together and set aside: 2 3/4 C flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

In another bowl, mix the following together:
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 c) butter
1 2/3 C sugar

Add in 4 eggs, one at a time

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture.

In another bowl, mash 3 really really ripe bananas, 1/4 C sour cream, 1 t vanilla

Fold banana mixture into main bowl

Divide mixture into two cake pans, bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Cool completely.

Now for the tricky, messy part:

In a skillet, sprinkle 1/4 c sugar and heat on high, stirring or shaking occasionally, until carmelized. Add 3 T butter and stir constantly until butter is melted. Turn heat to medium and add three ripe bananas that have been sliced lenghtwise. Cook about 2 minutes on each side.

To assemble the cake:

One layer
Carmelized bananas
Other layer

Frost with any cream cheese frosting that you like, although I would make it instead of buy it, just because the store-bought ones tend to be very sweet, and this is a sweet cake already. Whatever.

You then want to pour caramel sauce all over the cake, and all over each piece that you cut. I made the sauce for this one but, in retrospect, would just use caramel ice cream topping next time because making caramel sauce chaps my hide.

Keep refrigerated while you are not eating this.

Creamy Lemon Chicken Soup

Creamy Lemon Chicken Soup
allrecipes.com
Submitted by: Pam Anderson


Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 30 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

"Spinach, chicken and lemon juice make this hearty Greek-style soup a one pot meal."

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
3/4 cup orzo pasta (and I added some rice)
1/2 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (I used fresh baby spinach)
3 eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring chicken and broth to a boil in a small soup kettle or Dutch oven over medium-high. Add orzo; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add spinach, reduce the heat and simmer 8 to 10 minutes.
2. While soup simmers, beat eggs and lemon juice until frothy in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk several ladles full of the hot soup into the eggs, being careful not to curdle the eggs.
3. Turn off the soup kettle; return egg and soup mixture to the pot and stir well. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2005 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 2/19/2006

Sauteed Shrimp and Vermicelli

Quick recipe. I include the nutrition info because I got this recipe from a Weight Watchers magazine. But really, who only eats one cup of pasta at a time.


Sauteed Shrimp and Vermicelli

2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
1 (0.7-ounce) package dry Italian dressing mix
3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
4 cups hot cooked vermicelli (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta), cooked without salt or fat
Note: I add parsley and top with Parmesan cheese.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; stir in dressing mix. Add shrimp; sauté 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Combine shrimp mixture and pasta; toss well. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup). Cal 320, Fat 7.4g, Carb 41.7, Sodium 834mg.

Chocolate Cherry Bars

These are super yummy for Valentine's...or any holiday...or anytime because they are so yummy to eat.

Chocolate Cherry Bars

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa or Hershey's Dutch Processed Cocoa
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup Hershey's Mini Kisses Semi-Sweet or Milk Chocolate Baking Pieces
(*I used 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 cup chopped maraschino cherries, drained

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat; stir in cocoa until smooth. Remove from heat. Add sugar, 3 eggs, 1 1/2 cups flour, and almonds; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together remaining 1 egg, remaining 1/3 cup flour, sweetened condensed milk and almond extract. Pour over baked layer; sprinkle mini kisses and cherries over top. Return to oven.
4. Bake additional 20 to 25 minutes or until set and edges are golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate until cold, 6 hours or overnight. Cut into bars. Cover; refrigerate leftover bars.
Makes about 48 bars.

Slow-Cooker Barbecue Chicken

This is a favorite of ours. Easy, delicious, versatile.

Slow-Cooker BBQ Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts (can be frozen)
2 C ketchup
4 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix all ingredients (except chicken) in crock-pot. Add the chicken, coating
each piece in sauce. Cook on high 4 hours. Remove chicken and shred/pull
with forks. Return to pot and stir in sauce to coat. Serve on buns.

**leftovers can be frozen and re-heated for sandwiches, or used to make BBQ
chicken pizza (put on a pizza crust, top with favorite cheeses, onions,
etc.) or used to make BBQ chicken burritos (put on tortillas, add refried
beans, cheeses, etc.)

My favorite Chicken Casserole

My Mom got this recipe from a fellow ward member and we've loved it ever since she made it for us. ENJOY!

Afton’s Chicken Casserole

1 cup butter
4 cup herb seasoned dressing (prefer Parisian French Bread Stuffing), dressing should be finely crumbled, not cubed [sometimes you can’t find the Parisian one – so Mrs. Cubbison’s works too]
½ tsp. poultry seasoning
Sprinkle of Italian seasoning
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cram of chicken soup
1 large can evaporated milk
2 cups cooked chicken (about 4 breasts)
½ pkg. Jimmy Dean sausage [I always end up using the whole pkg]
½ cup cooked minute rice [I use regular rice and add as much as I want]
2 Tbsp minced onion (dry is ok)
½ cup finely chopped celery (1 large stalk)
1 jar chopped pimento (optional)
1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Melt butter and mix with dressing mix. Spread ½ of this mixture in a 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle with poultry seasoning and Italian seasoning. In separate bowl mix soups and milk together. Add chicken, sausage, rice, onion, pimento, and peas. Pour chicken mixture over the crumbs in pan. Top with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Serves 10. Serve with chicken gravy if desired.

NOTE: This casserole can be made ahead of time, covered tightly with foil, and frozen. Allow an extra 15 minutes cooking time if frozen.

Quick Tuna Munchy

Slice of Wheat Bread with a slice of Cheddar Cheese (Tilamook) and then Tuna (the ones in the pouch...Starkist I think, the ones that have all the diff't flavors) Broil until the cheese melts and munch....

My Three Favorite Fondues!!!

Hubby and I used to love having little fondue parties back in the pre-kid days. We'll have to start that up again! It's so fun!! I just served these three fondues at our last Enrichment Night. They are my faves!!

Somerset Fondue
1 small onion, halved
1 cup apple cider
1 tsp lemon juice
3 cups (12oz) shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons apple juice
Dash white pepper

To Serve:
wedges of apple (green works best!), cubes of bread (crusty breads/baguettes work nicely)

Rub inside of fondue pot with cut side of onion.

Pour in cider and lemon juice; cook over medium heat until bubbly. Turn heat to low and gradually stir in cheese. Continue to heat until cheese melts.

In a small bowl blend mustard and cornstarch with apple juice. Blend into cheese and continue to cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture is thick and creamy. Season with white pepper. Serve with apple wedges and cubes of crusty bread. Makes about 6 servings.

Blue-Cheese Fondue
1 cup milk
1 (8-oz) okg. cream cheese, room temp
2 cups (8oz.) crumbled blue cheese
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 TBS cornstarch
2 TBS half and half

To Serve:
cubes of ham or sausage and crusty bread

Put milk and cream cheese in fondue pot and beat with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth.

Place fondue pot over low heat and gradually stir in blue cheese. Continue to stir over heat until smooth.

In a small bowl blend garlic salt and cornstarch with half and half. Blend into cheese and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes longer or until thick and creamy. Serve with cubes of ham or sausage and cubes of crusty bread. Makes 4 to 6 servings.



Chocolate-Nut Fondue
12 oz Swiss Chocolate bar (with or without nuts)
1 cup whipping cream (you heard me, WHIPPING CREAM, you KNOW this one is gonna taste good!)
2 TBS rum flavoring (I've done this one without- still yummy but the flavoring really does add a nice rich touch)

To Serve:
selection of fruit (orange slices, banana, strawberry, apple), shortbread cookies, hard peanut butter cookies, pretzels, cubed angel food cake, marshmellows Honestly... anything will taste good dipped in this stuff!!!

Break up chocolate and place in fondue pot. Add whipping cream and heat slowly, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts. Stir in flavoring. Place fondue pot over burner at the table serve.

All recipes taken from:

Easy Caramel Fondue

So for the girls night in, last night I made a Caramel Fondue... I threw some stuff together because I couldn't find one on the foodnetwork.com or fineliving.com... so here it is!

Caramel Fondue

14oz bag of Caramels (I used the Kraft ones in the candy aisle)
1/2 cup milk
1/2-3/4 cup Marshmallow Creme

Heat Caramels and milk in a double boiler on medium until melted and mixed. Transfer into Cusinart fondue and heat on setting 3. Add marshmallow creme and mix until melted and color/texture is fondue friendly (;-)... Lower heat to setting 2.5 or 2 and serve with...

Pound Cake
Angel Food Cake
Apples
Pears
Marshmallows
Strawberries
Pineapple
(whatever you feel like)

Cream Cheese Crock Pot Chicken (EASY!)

This recipe is quick, easy and totally delicious! For a lower calorie dish, substitute with low-fat cream cheese and fat-free cream of mushroom soup (but who wants to sacrifice flavor for a few measly calories?!!)

Cream Cheese Crock Pot Chicken

4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) or 8-12 chicken tenders
1 package dry Italian dressing mix (or Zesty Italian)
1/2 cube butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Cook chicken, dressing mix and butter in crock pot on LOW for 6-7 hours or 3-4 hours on HIGH. Half hour before serving, blend cream cheese and soup and add to crock pot. Stir and serve over rice or noodles.

Panko-Crusted Chicken

Reading Stephanie's Christmas Dinner list (yum, by the way), reminded me of a recipe we really like that uses Panko (Japanese bread crumbs). I found it on Safeway's website when I first got married and tried it on a whim. It's been a favorite ever since. And it's quick and easy.

Panko-Crusted Chicken

1/4 c. Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 c. Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. parsley
4 chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 tsp. mustard seeds

In a medium size shallow bowl, blend 2 Tbsp. of the mustard with
vinegar and garlic. In another shallow bowl, stir together panko,
cheese and parsley.

Rinse chicken and pat dry. (I usually cut the chicken in long, thin
strips) Turn each piece in mustard mixture to coat; then roll in panko
mixture, pressing firmly to coat chicken well on all sides.

Arrange chicken in a single layer in a lightly oiled 9x13 pan; drizzle
evenly with butter. Bake at 500 degrees until coating is golden and
meat in thickest part is no longer pink; about 15 minutes.

To make sauce: In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, remaining 2 Tbsp.
mustard and mustard seeds. Dip chicken in sauce as desired.

What we had Christmas Day

Been meaning to post this... it's so easy.

Drink: Pomegrante juice mixed with Hansen's Grapefruit Soda

Appetizer: Baked Potstickers with Sweet Asian Dipping Sauce (Pampered Chef)

Potstickers
1 can (10 ounces) chunk white chicken, drained and flaked
1 can (8 ounces) water chestnuts, drained and finely chipped
½ cup thinly sliced green onions with tops
¼ cup grated carrot
1 tsp peeled and finely grated fresh gingerroot
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 egg white, lightly beaten (I just use the whole egg)
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, pressed (I always use more than 1)
24 square wonton wrappers (which is why I don’t understand why they’re called potstickers… potstickers use the round wrappers)
Basil Oil

Dipping Sauce
½ cup red jalapeno jelly
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl combine chicken, water chestnuts, green onions, carrot, gingerroot, soy sauce, egg, mayonnaise and garlic; mix well.
2. To assemble potstickers, place 12 wonton wrappers onto smooth surface. Lightly brush edges of each wonton with water. Place a mounded scoop of filling onto center of each wonton. For each potsticker, fold one point over filling and overlap with opposite point. (or get creative…) Repeat with remaining two points, folding envelope style. Place potstickers on cookie sheet or Pampered Chef’s large round stone. (I baked in my cuisinart toaster oven with foil on the cookie sheet) [they also suggest you spray with basil oil – I didn’t] BAKE 12-15 minutes or until edges of potstickers are golden brown; remove from oven.
3. For dipping sauce, place jelly in small bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 30-40 seconds or until warm; add vinegar and soy sauce. Whisk until well blended. Transfer potstickers to serving platter; serve with dipping sauce.


Salad: A Zesty Citrus Salad (I combined some ingredients from two other recipes)
For five of us I used 2 grapefruit, 3 oranges and 2 avocados

I plated each salad individually.
Spinach
Romaine
Carrots (use a peeler to get the nice pasta like strands)
Lay slices of avocados 2-3 or however many you prefer
For the grapefruit and oranges - slice off the peels so that you're able to slice wedges off of them. Do so over a bowl to catch all the juices. Save the juice for dressing. I placed about 3-5 slices of citrus on each plate.
Sprinkle blueberries over the salad

For dressing - combine the grapefruit and orange juices and mix in 1-2 tsp of chili oil. That's it!

The meat of things:

Morton's Marinated Tri-tip (thank you Costco) Just stick it in the oven for an hour or another add'l 10-20 min and it's done.

Chicken Tenders (originally frozen from Costco) marinated in Chinablue Red Pepper Flakes Sauce and a packet of Ling Ling's Potsticker sauce.
For the chicken - after marinating I breaded the chicken with Panko crumbs and then fried those babies.

Sides:
Green Beans...So Emeril did this show where he did a green bean and fennel relish. Well - this is a modified version. There's no fennel. I did bake the onions at 350 for 20 minutes - after they had been sliced and tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper. Then I blanched the green beans and tossed it with the onions and a can of already heated cream of mushroom. Add some of the French's onions and it's done.

Potatoes... Ryan's best friend's wife made this for Thanksgiving - and it was so good ... Betty Crocker Chives mashed potatoes... hello EASY!

Dessert:
Leann Bertoch's Cinnamon Rolls
My Mom used to make these all the time... and they're so good.

1 cup milk
½ cup sugar
1 cube butter
1 tsp salt
Put into a saucepan and bring to almost a boil – take off stove and let cool

In a small bowl combine ¼ cup warm water, 1Tbsp yeast and a pinch of sugar and flour

In a large bowl
4 cups flour
½ cup (or more) raisins

Beat three eggs into milk and add all ingredients together. Stir well. Let raise 2 hours.

Roll out on floured board 1/4” thick to a large circle (I’ve been making it a rectangle because it makes the rolls more even)

Pour ¼ cup melted butter on top. Sprinkle sugar on top (about 1 cup). Sprinkle with cinnamon on top of the sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-13 minutes.

Glaze with 2 cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla and approx. ¼ cup butter.

And an apple pie from Apple Hill

Chicken Satay stir fry

I got this off of Rachel Ray and modified it to make it better and less "I live in New York and can get lots of ingredients" and more "I live in El Paso and can barely get labels with English on them" It is delish. I don't use a lot of measurements, so good luck with that...

Make a pot of rice, but add a bit of orange zest to it while it is cooking. If you don't have orange zest, add a tiny spoonful of citrus-flavored jam to the water while it cooks. If you haven't got a ha-penny, then God bless you.

Thinly slice some onions and garlic--however many you like. I tend to do 5 or 6 cloves and a whole onion, but you can increase or decrease.

Chop a chicken breast or two into bite size pieces--just use what you have. I have made this heavy on chicken and light on chicken, and it all works out. Throw the chicken and the onion/garlic mix into hot oil in a stir-fry pan. When the chicken browns, add whatever you have on hand for stir-fry. Bell peppers are good, carrots, whatever. Throw in some tofu if you want, whatever.

While that is stir frying:

Combine: 4 T chunky peanut butter, 1 minced clove of garlic, 3 T Tamari or soy sauce (Tamari is better, but dark soy will work), 3 T honey, some crushed red pepper flake, and a healthy spoonful or two of apricot, peach, or orange marmalade or jam. (You can use orange juice instead, but it will not be as thick. I am a fan of apricot jam.) Combine these over low heat, stirring so it does not burn. Glop on top of stir fry. Garnish with some peanuts and some cilantro, if you have it.

Indian food anyone?

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com awhile back. We really liked it. I love anything with curry. You can serve it on rice or I like to serve it on couscous and some Indian Fry Bread on the side. And it's a pretty quick recipe to make.

Chicken Papadoris

Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup butter
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 (14 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

Directions
1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add pine nuts, and cook stirring frequently, until evenly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the chicken, and cook 5 to 10 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

3. Stir onion and garlic into the skillet, and cook until tender. Stir in the pine nuts, soy sauce, and coconut milk. Season with paprika, cumin, and curry powder.

4. In a small bowl, blend the cornstarch and water. Mix into the skillet. Stir constantly until a thick gravy has formed.