Lion House Caramels

This recipe is almost exact to my microwave caramels, the only difference is that this recipe takes a little more time and patience, but in the end is a little better than my microwave caramels because the consistency of the caramels are perfect. I take these caramels to all our Christmas parties, and everyone always asks for the recipe, this is for you uncle Dave. The recipe calls for 2 cubes of butter, but I have found that a little margarine makes caramels so much richer and yummier!

1 cube salted butter
1 cube margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
Dash of salt (and since I use salted butter, I literally mean a dash, just a tiny tiny bit barely in the palm of your hand)...then throw it in.

Butter a 13x9 pan....I use at least 2 or 3 Tbsp to butter the pan really good, this will prevent any sticking. Combine butter, margarine, sugar, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, and salt in a heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil over MEDIUM heat STIRRING CONSTANTLY to firm ball stage 245 degrees. Mixture forms a ball when dropped into cold water and won't flatten when removed). This will take 15 to 20 minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Cool, then cut into squares and wrap each piece in waxed paper.

Recipe taken from Lion House Cookbook

Melt away cookies

I went to a Girls Night Out a couple of nights ago and my friend Janelle made these insanely cute and yummy cookies. I don't have a picture to post on my blog, she e-mailed me the recipe so I can make them.....let me just tell you that as soon as these cookies hit your tongue, they instantly melt....they are sooooo good. These would be a cute little cookie to put on a decorative plate during a holiday party for people to munch on...Enjoy!

Melt-away Cookies *

1 cup butter

3/4 cup corn starch

1/3 cup powdered sugar

*Beat then add:

1 cup flour

*Flour your hands and roll dough into balls slightly larger then marbles. Place onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Top cookies with frosting when cool.


Frosting:

4 oz cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

*Beat together until smooth

Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con Pollo......or chicken and rice to all you gringos. This is one of my favorite recipes, and it's soooo healthy. You will never want to order this at a Mexican resteraunt after tasting the homemade version!

1 chicken (Two options......I either buy a rotisserie chicken, or when Lee's put's their whole 3-4 Lb. chickens on sale. for 3.99 each, I pick a few up and freeze them. Either will work. But if you cook a whole chicken I season it with a little salt and pepper and garlic salt and cumin)

1 cup frozen peas

1 tsp. salt and pepper

1/2 tsp. dried leaf oregano, crushed

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 of an onion, chopped

1 cup uncooked long grain rice (non instant rice or brown rice.)

10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes (this is a can with tomatoes and jalepenos)

2 Cups Chicken Broth

Shred chicken with fingers. Add peas, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, garlic, and onion. Mix.

Coat a non stick pan with non stick cooking spray, add the rice and saute until light golden brown. Add the Rotel tomatoes-undrained. Press into rice and let simmer 3-5 mins. (I added 1 couple Tbsp. of water so it didn't get too dry). Pour into 13x9 pan. Add the chicken and gently toss to mix. Pour 2 cups of chicken broth to cover the rice and chicken. Add more if necessary to complete cover the mixture. Cover and bake 1 hour on 350 degrees.

Note:When you pour the mixture into the pan, it won't look like a lot of food, but once that rice soaks up all the broth, it will fill the entire pan.

Serve with warm corn tortillas.....salt the arroz con pollo and corn tortillas well before eating....enjoy!

Scared Shrekless Popcorn

Tonight is the premier of Scared Shrekless, and we are so excited to watch it. My 3 yr old and I whipped up some Shrek popcorn for the big event...we are going to have so much fun.


4 quarts popped corn (go through and pick out the unpopped kernals)
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup light corn syrup
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
green food coloring (Use alot, because when you add the baking soda afterwards, it will lighten up the color...so go overboard!)

In heavy saucepan on medium heat melt butter then add sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt. Increase temperature to medium high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Once mixture boils, add in food coloring and stop stirring. Boil for 5 minutes (Do not stir). Mixture should be about 250-260 degrees. Remove from heat and carefully stir in vanilla and baking soda. Working quickly and while mixture is foamy, pour mixture over popped corn and gently stir to coat popcorn. Place popcorn into a large roaster or rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray) and bake at 200° F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Recipe from: Skip to my Lou.org

Caramel Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

I have 3 words for this recipe.....OH MY GOSH!!!
Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon, Ground

3/4 teaspoon Ginger, Ground

1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg, Ground

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

7 ounces (1/2 of 14-ounce package) caramels, unwrapped

2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, oats, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices in large bowl. Add butter; stir until mixture is well blended and forms coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/2 (about 2 1/4 cups) for the topping. Add pumpkin and vanilla to remaining mixture in bowl; stir until well blended. Press evenly into bottom of greased foil-lined 13x9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

2. Microwave caramels and milk in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 to 3 minutes or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after every minute. Let stand 1 minute. Pour over pumpkin mixture in pan, spreading to within 1/2-inch of edges. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Lift from pan. Cut into bars.

Here are the changes I made: Since I use salted butter, I only put in 1/4 tsp. of salt. I used 3/4 package of caramels instead of 1/2 bag (you can never have to much caramel....since I used 3/4 bag of caramels I used more mile and I used 3 Tbsp. milk. Instead of using the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, I used 1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice. Another tip I have is I never use imitation vanilla, I use PURE vanilla-you can find this in the mexican isle at the grocery store, it makes the biggest difference in your cooking.


Recipe taken from Mccormick Website

Donuts

This weekend was our annual Halloween party, and I wanted to make something really fun for the kids. So, I got this recipe in my Better Homes and Garden Magazine a couple month ago and tried em' out! They were a hit!

Ingredients
3 -1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sugar
Vegetable oil for deep-fat frying
Cinnamon-Sugar or sifted powdered sugar
Directions
1. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; set aside. In another bowl combine milk and melted butter. In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, and sugar; beat with electric mixer until thick (about 5 minutes). Add milk mixture; stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Add flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cover dough; chill at least 2 hours (dough will remain slightly sticky).

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut dough with a floured 2-1/2-inch round cutter. Use a 1-1/4-inch cutter to cut the hole for the doughnut. (You can also use a standard doughnut cutter.)

3. Fry 2 or 3 doughnuts at a time in deep hot fat (375 degrees F) for 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until brown, turning halfway through cooking with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and doughnut holes. Makes about 15 doughnuts and doughnut holes

4. Shake warm doughnuts in a bag with Cinnamon-Sugar or powdered sugar. Serve warm (or reheat each doughnut 8 to 10 seconds in microwave on high).

Cinnamon-Sugar: Stir together 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon.

Homemade Chicken Noodle

There's nothing better on a cold fall night than a hot bowl of soup....I have tried a bunch of different recipes and I took the best parts of all the recipes I have tried, and I concocted this ...enjoy! I served a side of breadsticks with this soup, and you can also get the breadstick recipe here.

2 large chicken breasts

2 Chicken Bouillion cubes

3-4 stalks celery, chopped

3 large carrots, chopped

1 onion

parsley

2 Bay leaves

2-3, 32 oz. containers chicken broth

1 Bag of Country Pasta (At Wal-mart I buy the Extra Wide Homestyle Amish noodles)

1 can 98% Fat Freed Cream of Chicken Soup

Salt and Fresh ground Pepper to Taste

-Fill a large pot with water, throw in 2 chicken bouillion cubes and add chicken. Cook until center is no longer pink. Cool. Run chicken through food processor on chop mode...it makes the perfect consistency for soup.

-Drain pot, and add 2, 32 oz.containers of chicken broth to pot. Add carrots, celery, onion, 2 bay leaves, and parsley (I don't measure my parsley, I just throw in enough to make it look pretty...it's atleast a Tbsp. or two...I use dried, but you can use fresh or dried). Add salt and fresh ground pepper. Add a little at a time and taste.

-Before the vegetables are completely tender, throw in the noodles to start cooking. Cook until noddles are tender. If the soup looks like it's getting dry, add a little bit of the 3rd container of Broth, I usually don't need to.... but, I don't like to add water, I like to keep the rich flavor of the chicken broth. Right before serving add a can of cream of chicken...it will thicken it a little and make it rich.

Remove bay leaves and serve.

Crispy Bean and Cheese Burrito

I got this recipe from my family circle magazine, and it was a really tasty dinner that my kids loved! And for those of you cutting back on meats...this was a meatless dinner.



Ingredients

1 bag (3-1/2 ounces) boil-in-bag brown rice (I just used brown rice from a box and cooked up enough to stuff 6 burritos....the instructions for 4 servings is plenty).
1 cup salsa
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 ripe avocado, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon lime juice
6 soft taco-size flour tortillas
1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
Directions
Prepare rice according to package directions, about 10 minutes. Drain and place in a medium-size bowl. Stir in salsa and cilantro; set aside. In a small bowl, gently stir together avocado pieces with lime juice; set aside.

Place tortillas on work surface and sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese in center of each, from left to right. Top cheese with a heaping 1/4 cup black beans. Place a heaping 1/3 cup rice mixture over beans then divide avocado pieces among tortillas. Fold up like an envelope; repeat with remaining tortillas.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat top and bottom of burritos with nonstick cooking spray. Place 3 burritos in skillet, seam-side down; cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Turn burritos over and cook another 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining burritos, reducing heat if they get too browned.

Recipe taken from:Family Circle Magazine

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Sorry, I have no picture, we devoured this for Chris's birthday cake last night. He hates cake, but LOVES this pie...it's not your traditional pumpkin pie...it's fluffy and.....beyond delic!

Crust: Use your favorite crust recipe, or even easier, buy a frozen pie crust at the store.

1 baked 9" pastry shell
1 1/2 c. mashed pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar, packed
dash of salt
2 eggs yolks
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup cold water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 egg whites (We use the "just whites" dry egg whites that you buy in a can...so you don't have to use raw eggs, on the can it tells you how many Tbsp to water=2 egg whites).
8 oz. carton of light cool whip

Combine pumpkin, beaten egg yolks, sugar, spices and salt in top of double boiler. (NOTE: I don't have a double boiler, I just boil water in a saucepan and place a glass bowl on top of saucepan and make sure the glass b0wl isn't touching the boiling water...just steaming it.).....cook stirring often over hot water for 10 minutes. Soften gelatin in cold water, blend into hot mixture, stir until dissolved. Pour into bowl, and chill until it thickens and starts to set (this will take about 2 hours....stir it about 4 times during that 2 hour period). Beat egg whites until stiff, carefully fold into chilled mixture. Fold cool whip into mixture. Pour into pie crust. Chill several hours...serve with more whipped cream. Store leftovers in fridge.

Easy Breadsticks and Scones

I thought I would share a couple more of my favorite ways to use Rhodes Rolls. This week I made homemade Chilli, you can get my chilli con carne recipe here. But I like to make breadsticks or scones with my chilli.


To make these breadsticks, defrost your Rhodes rolls, turn the rolls over half way through defrosting so they get evenly defrosted. Make sure you pay close attention to the defrosting, you want them to still be pretty cold, but pliable, anything more than that they get a weird consitency.

Roll the rolls into little long snakes. I used a 13x9 pan, and did 2 rows of 6.
Preheat the oven to 350 and cook for 15 minutes or until light golden brown.
Remove from oven. Using a pastry brush, brush butter over the tops of the breadsticks and sprinkle with parmesan, or your other favorite topping (garlic salt, oregano...anything!)


For the scones, I heat my deep fryer. I flatten my Rhodes Rolls so they look like a mini pizza. Once the oil is hot enough I drop a couple in, I turn them over every 30 seconds to make sure they don't overcook. Remove from oil once golden brown on both sides and serve with butter and honey..yum!

Caramel Apple Empanadas

I think I may add an "Ode to Rhodes" seciton in my cooking blog, because I use Rhodes Rolls ALL the time for so many things. I have already put the mini pizza, the cinnamon pull aparts, and sticky bun recipes on this blog, which all use Rhodes Rolls. I will post a few more Rhodes recipes in the near future. I ALWAYS have a bag of Rhodes in my freezer, it's a staple at my house! Here's another good one....

Servings: 12
Skills: Intermediate
Prep Time: 15 min (not including thaw time)
Bake Time: 15 min
Ingredients

12 Rhodes™ Dinner rolls, thawed to room temperature (I use the defrost option on the
microwave, and watch the closely so they are barely thawed, otherwise it starts
to cook them and they are ruined)
10 caramels, cut into 6 pieces each
1/3 cup flour
2 cups peeled, chopped Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
melted butter
cinnamon/sugar or powdered sugar

Instructions

Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Flatten each roll into a 4-5 inch circle. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest while preparing filling. In a medium bowl, combine caramels, flour, apples, pecans, ice cream topping and lemon juice. Remove wrap from dough and place 1-2 tablespoons of filling on each dough circle. Brush edges of dough with milk and fold in half. Seal edges with a fork. Place on a sprayed baking sheet and bake at 350°F 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar or powdered sugar.

Recipe taken from Rhodes website

Single Serving Peach Crisp

Last month in my Better Homes and Garden magazine, there was an article that had 50 ways to use peaches. The reipes were simple and quick. I tried one tonight, and it was so yummy!!!

-Remove skin from peaches

-Cut peach in half and remove core

-Mix some instant oatmeal, butter and brown sugar and sprinkle on each slice of peach

-I added some cinnamon to the top

-Bake at 375 until brown and bubbly

-If you want you can add some topping, like whip cream, ice cream, or vanilla frozen yogurt

Cheesy Chicken noodle skillet

I just love comfort foods, and Mac N'Cheese is just one of those foods. I like to try homemade mac n cheese recipes, and I think a lot of them bomb because they can just end up tasting too weird. I really liked this one, it's super quick and easy for those nights you need a quick fix, and bonus...there is a green veggie in it!

What You Need:

3 cups Egg noodles, uncooked

1 lb. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

2 cups Frozen chopped broccoli

1/2 cup Fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed

1/4 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

BRING large saucepan of water to boil on high heat. Add noodles and chicken. Cook 8 min. or until chicken is cooked through and noodles are tender, adding broccoli to saucepan after 6 min. Drain noodle mixture; return to saucepan.

ADD broth, cream cheese and mayo. Heat just to simmer on medium-low heat. Simmer 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is melted and sauce is well blended, stirring constantly. (Note: I would have the cream cheese at room temp, that way you don't have to keep stirring the cream cheese into the noodles, eventually the noodles get a little starchy and start sticking together, so this will help to avoid that!)

ADD shredded cheese; stir 1 min. or until melted. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

Wheat banana bread with Streusel-Nut Topping

Okay, so last week you may remember that I posted a banana bread recipe, and I mentioned that next time I wanted to try it with a crunch topping? Weirdly enough a few days later I was looking through my BHG magazine and there was a recipe for banana bread with a streusel topping...it was a must try....and it was a definately yummy recipe. I have been wanting to try banana bread with wheat flour and it turned out really good with this recipe, enjoy!!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup whole wheat)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 cups mashed banana (4-5 medium)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter or margarine (I used 1/4 a cup of butter which is a 1/2 cube butter and 1/4 cup applesauce instead)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts ( I ommited the walnuts in the bread and left it for the topping)
1 recipe Streusel-Nut Topping

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of one 9x5x3-inch or two 7-1/2x3-1/2x2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, banana, sugar, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). If desired, sprinkle Streusel Topping over batter.

3. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes for 9x5x3-inch pan or 40 to 45 minutes for 7-1/2x3-1/2x2-inch pans or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

4. Makes 1 loaf

5. Streusel-Nut Topping: In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/3 cup chopped walnuts.

Chicken Tacos

Forget going out to a a fancy Mexican resteraunt, these are killer and really easy. If you are intimidated to make Mexican food, don't be, this is a great one to try! Funny little story to go along with this recipe. Every time Chris's aunt comes to town, she begs Chris's mom to make these, and because she only gets a chance to eat these when she comes to town, she consumes like 12 of these babies, they are that good!!

1 garlic clove

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. oil, vegetable or canola

3 1/2-4 cups shredded chicken (I just boil 4 chicken breasts, and then run them through my food processor, so easy!(

12-15 corn tortillas (I just buy a big bag of corn tortillas-I will tell you what to do with them below)

Pinch of pepper

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 onion, chopped

2 (10 oz.) cans Rotel tomatoes (I drain one of the cans, and not the other)

grated cheese

shredded lettuce

Sour Cream

If you want, homemade guacamole, click here for recipe.

Mash garlic with salt to make a paste. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic paste. Cook unitl onion is tender. Add tomatoes, pepper and cumin. Stir in chicken. Cook uncovered, sitrring occasionally until liquid is obsorbed into meat. Taste and add more salt and cumin if needed.

For corn shells, get a skillet (or I use fajita skillet), and place a corn tortilla on it, cook 20 seconds on each side...this will make the corn shells sorft. Once cooked place in between 2 paper towels to keep warm and soft. Enjoy!!!

Cinnamon Banana Bread

I apologize if you want something besides bread recipes, but I have been on a bread kick lately. I don't know if it's because Fall is quickly approaching, and the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg cooking in my kitchen gets me real giddy for the fall. I don't know, either way, here's another recipe for ya!

By the way, this recipe called for 2 cubes of butter, yes, 2 cubes. But, I couldn't bring myself to cook with that much fat. So I used 1 cube of butter and 1/2 a cup of applesauce, and this cake was soooo moist! You are going to love it!

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup of butter (1 cube)

1/2 cup of applesauce (next time I am going to by the cinnamon applesauce to give it even more spice.)

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I didn't add this, but it would be yum!)

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup flour (next time I am going to try half of it using whole wheat flour)

2 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Cream sugars and butter. Add bananas and egg, mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake 350 for 30-35 minutes, or when toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Cool in pan.

PS-when I dumped my batter into the pans, it looked like it wasn't going to be enough batter, don't worry, it bakes fine, it's not a HUGE fluffy bread, but it will rise a little.

EXTRA options:

-Next time I bake this, I am going to try combining some cinnamon, sugar and br. sugar and lightly sprinkling it on top of the bread, and then baking it, to kind of give it a coffee cake crunch

OR

frosting the bread with a cream cheese drizze.......either sounds like heaven

ENJOY!!

Zuchinni Chocolate Chip Bread

I LOVE trying new bread recipes. My neighbors brought me some huge Zuchinni's from their garden the other night, and the only thing I like to do with Zuchinni is make bread!! I grate it up and freeze them in ziplock's and then I can get quite a few batches of bread throughout the year. This recipe is so yummy because it has orange zest in it, and gives it an awesome flavor!!


Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon orange zest


Directions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Note: I didn't mix the pecans in with the bread, I did a nutless loaf for my kids and then I just sprinkled some pecans on top of the adult loaf.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove loaves from pans and cool.

Recipe taken from Food Network-Paula Deen

CranApple Crunch Muffins

I made these for breakfast this morning, and the kids loved them. I served it with Cran-Raspberry Juice, and it's a perfect combination.




CranApple Crunch Muffins

Ingredients
Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray

TOPPING
2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons Martha White® All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons old fashioned or quick-cooking oats

MUFFINS
1 (7 oz.) package Martha White® Whole Grain Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup milk

Preparation Directions
1. HEAT oven to 425°F. Lightly spray 6 medium muffin cups with no-stick cooking spray or line with paper baking cups. Combine topping ingredients in small bowl until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
2. COMBINE muffin mix, cranberries and walnuts in medium bowl. Add milk; stir just until moistened. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle topping over batter. Bake 14 to 17 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool slightly. Serve warm or cool.

Prep Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 15 min
Serving size: 6 muffins

Recipe taken from Martha White muffin mix

Roast with Creamy Ranch Gravy and New Potatoes

I made this for dinner last night, and I Loved how different this recipe is. The cream cheese and ranch make the potoes and gravy soooo yummy! Enjoy!


1 2-1/2- to 3-pound boneless pork shoulder roast
Nonstick cooking spray
1 pound new red-skinned potatoes, halved
1 10 3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup (I used 98% fat free)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cubed and softened (I used a lighter cream cheese)
1 0.4-ounce envelope ranch dry salad dressing mix
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Directions
1. Trim fat from meat. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat skillet over medium heat. In hot skillet brown roast on all sides. Remove from heat.

2. Place potatoes in a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Place meat over potatoes. In a medium bowl whisk together soup, cream cheese, and salad dressing mix. Spoon over meat and potatoes in cooker.

3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 9 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4-1/2 to 5 hours. Serve with freshly ground black pepper, if desired. Makes 6 servings.


Alternative Recipe:
Creamy Ranch Potatoes: Prepare as above, except omit pork roast, use 2-1/2 pounds potatoes, and substitute one 8-ounce carton dairy sour cream for cream cheese. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3-1/2 to 4 hours. Stir before serving. Makes about 6 (1 cup) servings

Recipe taken from Better Homes and Garden Cookbook

No Fail Bread/Cinnamon Chip Bread/Cinnamon Rolls

Tuesday night we taught the girls how to make this for our YW's activity. This recipe was given to me by my friend Sharisse. This recipe can make 3 different recipes, and I will include all of them. If you are local and like Great Harvest bread, you have to try this recipe, it's a lot like theirs.






1st Recipe (The no Fail French Bread)



2 1/2 cups WARM water

2 Tbsp. yeast

3 Tbsp. sugar (add a little more for cinnamon rolls)

1 Tbsp. salt

1/3 cup oil

6 cups flour (if you want you can divide this into 5 cups white+1 cup wheat)



Add ingredients in order and mix well. Let stand for 10 min's and mix again. Do this 5 times. Form dough into 2 big loaves, cinnamon rolls, cinnamon chip bread, or 4 small circle loaves (and these are still pretty big). We took these around to our bishopric members, and they make cute gifts!!!



****When I make this bread at home, I am going to frost it with Cream Cheese frosting, yum!



****To make this into the cinnamon chip bread, just add 1/2 a bag of cinnamon chips with the last mixing. You can find cinnamon chips at the grocery store next to chocolate chips, or you can go to Kitchen Kneads or any specialty store and buy them.



****For the cinnamon rolls (after you follow the above items, except for adding the cinnamon chips)....

-Roll into rectangle

-Melt some butter and pour on top of dough

-ADD LOTS of cinnamon and sugar

-Add Dark Brown Sugar

-roll up lenthwise

-cut into cinnamon rolls

-let rise 20-30 min's

Bake 12-15 mins', and then frost with your favorite frosting recipe.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

I am on a baking kick lately, maybe it's because we don't have a yard to play in this summer, we are stuck inside, and I can't let my kids watch TV hour after hour, so we have been baking a lot. I LOVE oatmeal cookies, but I hate raisins in cookies, so I found this recipe on the back of a Hershey's chips bag, and I LOVE this recipe! Enjoy!



Ingredients:1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Cinnamon Chips
3/4 cup raisins (optional, and I totally opted out!!)

Directions:1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour and baking soda; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips and raisins (batter will be stiff). Drop by heaping teaspoons unto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes on until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. About 4 dozen.

BAR VARIATION: Spread batter into lightly greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F. for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool; cut into bars. About 3 dozen bars.

Recipe taken from Hershey's

Lemon Lime Bars

Tonight I made a batch of these. This is a good summer recipe. We had grilled salmon at Chris's parents and I wanted to make something that would go good with it. This is a keeper recipe for sure. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons grated lime peel
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

FILLING:
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
Confectioners' sugar
Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in lime peel. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for 13-15 minutes or just until edges are lightly browned.
Meanwhile, in another large bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Combine the flour and baking powder. Gradually add to egg mixture. Stir in lemon juice and peel; beat until frothy. Pour over hot crust.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator.

Recipe taken from: Taste of Home

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

2 new posts below!

I wish I would have taken a picture of this meal, because KRAFT food and family didn't have a printable picture, it's such a pretty meal when it's all cooked!!!

4 small Boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
1/4 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing, divided
1 Tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil

HEAT grill to medium heat.

COVER half the grill with sheet of heavy-duty foil. Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag. Add 2 Tbsp. dressing; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. Remove chicken from bag; discard bag and dressing.

PLACE chicken on uncovered side of grill; cover with lid. Grill 6 min. Meanwhile, combine remaining dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.

TURN chicken over; place on foil. Top with tomato mixture. Grill, covered
grill 8 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF)

Note: I used my George Foreman to cook this mean, let's be honest...my hubby is the one who runs the grill and he wasn't home from work yet. It still turned out yummy, but this would be KILLER on the grill. If you are looking to make something fancy for a cookout with friends or family, this one looks super impresive but is rediculously easy. ENJOY!

Recipe taken from KRAFT Food and Family Magazine

Chicken Bow-Tie Pasta Salad

This was such a yummy recipe for summer time! My husband usually hates pasta, but he loved this recipe, this one's a keeper!

2 cups Farfalle (bow-tie pasta), uncooked

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

1 pkg. (6 oz.) Grilled Chicken Breast Strips (find this in the frozen section or you can grill your own chicken and slice it up.

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes or 1 large tomato, cut into chunks

1/2 cup KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Dressing

1/2 cup KRAFT Natural 2% Milk Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese Crumbles

1/4 cup sliced black olives

1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Make It
COOK pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the cooking water for the last 2 min. of the pasta cooking time; drain.

TOSS chicken, tomatoes, dressing, cheese crumbles and olives in large bowl. Add pasta mixture; mix lightly.

SPRINKLE with Parmesan cheese.

Recipe taken from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

Grilled Chicken Wraps

This is a new recipe I tried, and my family loved it! It's a great summer recipe!
Prep: 25 minutes Total: 34 minutes

1 Lb. Boneless Chicken Breasts
2 tsp. oil
1 cup Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese (But, I used my favorite cheese for this. If you are local, I went to Gossners and picked up a bag of their nacho cheese. It has a kick!)
1 tomato, chopped
3 Tbsp. Zesty Italian Dressing
2 tsp. chili powder
4 flour tortillas (8 inch)

PREHEAT grill to medium heat. Brush chicken with oil. Grill 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove from grill, let stand 5 minutes before cutting into strips. Place in medium bowl.

NOTE: I used an indoor grill, you could also use a george foreman, if you didn't want to grill outside.

ADD cheese, tomatoes, dressing and chilli powder, mix lightly. Spoon evenly down centers of tortillas. Fold like a burrito.

GRILL wraps, seem side down, until grill marks are charred on tortilla on both sides.

Recipe taken from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

Homemade oreo cookies

For Father's Day I wanted to make something extra special, these are it! If you have never made homemade Oreo's before, this recipe is a must, beware, if you have a hard time with self control.... DO NOT MAKE THESE!! LOL!!



Cookie:
2 boxes Devil's Food Cake Mix
2 squares margarine
4 eggs

Stir above ingredients together. Roll into 1" balls and bake 350 for 10-12 minutes, long enough that the center is baked. After they cool, spread frosting on top of one of the cookies and top it off with another cookie.

Recipe for Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
splash of vanilla (about a tsp.)
one stick of butter-melted
powdered sugar, about 3/4 a bag

Enjoy!
These are better a day later, when they have time to sit and get super soft....yum!

Strawberry Shortcake waffles

These are the killer waffles that we ate on Easter morning....it put's Bisquick to shame!!!



2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups Gold Medal Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. shortening

Heat waffle iron. Beat eggs; beat in remaining ingredients with beater until smooth.

Pour batter into waffle iron and cook until golden brown.

For the strawberry shortcake, we just cut up strawberries and pour sugar over the top and let them sit all night in a tupperware bowl. Then stir really well the next morning, top off the waffles with the strawberries and light cool whip. Enjoy!

Southwest Sandwiches

My husband claims that "This is the best sandwich EVER." These sandwiches definately have a KICK, but you can mellow them out for the kiddos. This recipe is great for leftover Roast. Don't worry if you cook your Roast with Lipton Onion soup, it will still work, in fact it's heavenly with the seasoning. So, buy a huge roast enjoy it while it's hot, stick it in the fridge and enjoy the leftovers the next day. Note: you actually want a leftover roast, or a roast that has been cooled in the fridge and is easy to slice.

Sourdough bread
Roast Beef
Whole Green Chillies (these are the large, long green chillies) about 1 chilli per sandwich.
Montery Jack Cheese

First take whole chillies and put them under a broiler. Check them every 2-3 minutes. Once they start getting dark and blistering, you will want to turn them and let all the sides of the chillies blister. (Note: Chris's family always grows chillies and jalepenos in a garden, and they always grow in a huge ABUNDANCE. You can put these in a ziplock bag and freeze them and use them all winter...they are great!!!)

Once your chillies are blistered, put them in a ziplock bag and let them sweat and cool down. Then (and you may want to use gloves), peel the skin off and then slice down the center of the chilli and open it up.


To assemble: butter 2 pieces of sourdough bread, then layer on thin slices of roast beef, then the chillies, then salt them pretty well, then add the cheese. (Note: We use I can't believe it's not butter spray, it's a pretty healthy sandwich!)

Here's what it will look like assembled (and yes we leave the seeds in, they are yummy, but if your a wuss, you can remove the seeds!!!)



Toast the sandwich on a skillet until both sides are brown and cheese is starting to melt.

**For the kids version, omit the chilli. Montery Jack isn't too hot, Isabella loves this sandwich!!! Enjoy!

Pretzel Salad

This is one of my favorite salads. Let's be honest, it really should be catogorized as a dessert. It's to die for, it hits the spot when you are having a salty/sweet craving. Enjoy!

crust:

2 cups crushed pretzels

2 Tbsp. sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

-mix together and press into 9x13 pan. Bake in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes. Completely cool.

Mix together:

1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 15oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

Fold in 8 oz. container of Cool Whip and put on top of crust.

Pour over crust

Dissolve 2 small pkg. raspberry jello into 2 cups boiling water. Add 2 10 oz. pkgs. frozen raspberries and let set until syrupy. Pour GENTLY (and I mean gently, so it doesn't mix with cream cheese mixture) over cream cheese mixture. Set in refrigerator.

NOTE: pretzel sticks are easier to crush

Cafe Rio's Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

This ranch dressing tastes exactly the same as Cafe Rio's, I LOVE it!

1 Hidden Valley Ranch buttermilk ranch dressing mix (prepare as per package)
2 tomatillos
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalepeno (with seeds if you want it spicy)
Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Add ranch that you prepared and blend 15 more seconds.

Enjoy!

Gooey Turtle Bars

What is it about this cold crappy weather that makes you want to stay inside and eat an entire pan of something covered in chocolate, is it just me?? Well, if you like chocolate (and caramel) here's a recipe for you!!

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs ( I did a little more than 1 1/2 cups I was closer to 1 3/4 maybe even 2-I really like my graham crust thick!!!)

2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate morsels (I used the mini chocolate chips, they are just so cute!)

1 cup pecans (I bought the pecans that are already cut up really small)

1-12 oz. jar caramel topping (I prefer Mrs. Richardson brand, either butterscotch caramel or just plain caramel-it's really rich!) They come in 16 oz. bottles, and for those of you that know me, know that I think if 12 oz. of caramel is good, 16 oz. has got to be better, so I used ALMOST an entire jar.

COMBINE butter and wafer crumbs together and press firmly into a 13x9 pan. Sprinkle with chocolate morsels and pecans.

REMOVE lid from caramel topping, microwave at high for 1 minute. Stir and microwave another 30 seconds. Drizzle over pecans.

BAKE 350 for 12-15 minutes or until morsels are almost completely melted ( I like the look of the mini chocolate chips, so I let mine semi melt)

COOL in pan. Chill at least 30 minutes. Cut into squares.