Manhatten Rolls

This is a family recipe from Chris's family, it brings back lots of memories from his childhood. This is an AWESOME recipe for kids. They think they are getting a really yummy homemade roll from mom, but when they bite into it, it's a cheeseburger. You can double the batch and freeze the second batch and pull them out for "emergency" meal days. They are soooo yummy!

2 pkg. (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
3/4 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)- I never check the temp., if it's warm, not hot, it's good!
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2-4 cups flour
1 1/2 Lb. ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
8 slices American Cheese

In a mixing blowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, sugar, shortening, egg, salt and 2 c. flour, beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

In a skillet, cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce. Remove from heat, set aside. Punch dough down, divide into 16 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll out and stetch each piece into a 5 inch circle. Cut the cheese slices in half. Top each circle with one slice (1/2 piece) of cheese and about 3 Tbsp. beef mixture. Bring dough over filling to the top center and pinch the edges real tight to seal it.

Place seam side down on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes. Bake at 400 for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Refrigerate or freese leftovers. 16 sandwiches.

Mom's Lasagna

My mom came into town this weekend and so I made one of our family favorites and took it up to her and my grandpa to munch on. When I used to work at Bear River Head Start I would take leftovers for lunch the next day and I always had to bring an extra piece for my friend Kelli. It's the BEST!

9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 to 1 1/2 pounds lean beef
Tomato Sauce
Tomato Paste
Garlic Salt
Italian Seasoning
Mozzerella
Cheddar
4 cheese Italian blend (parmesan, Romano, etc.) I just buy the wal-mart brand
olives

Cook your lasagna noodles as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook up your beef. Mix together 1 can of Tomatoa Sauce (just a small size) and 1 can Tomato Paste (small size)-mix them together so the paste is nice and smooth. Add this to your beef. Add quite a bit of Garlic Salt and Italian Seasoning. Let it come to boil and then simmer 5-10 minutes
Layer 1:3 noodles, meat mixture, mozerrella, cheddar and 4 cheese blend
Layer 2: same as Layer 1
Last Layer: Same as Layer 1 and 2, but top with sliced up olives (use a whole can) the salt in the olives makes this recipe Yum-O.

Bake 350 for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the center is hot.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

So I can't take the credit for this fab recipe, so I give all credit to my friend Haley. I did change a few things so I can add this to my cooking light recipes. But, I also love this recipe because I changed it from grilled chicken to using Rotisserie Chicken. Every other Monday I make a trip to Wal-mart to get 2 weeks worth of groceries. I hate grocery shopping soo bad, and it helps me stay on a budget to plan for 2 weeks. By the time I am done grocery shopping the last thing I want to do is spend another hour of my night cooking and cleaning up dinner. So, every other Monday is my Rotisserie Chicken night, I pick one up at Wal-mart and it's an easy dinner. So, this is one of my new Shopping Monday recipes. Enjoy!

So this is a no measurement recipe....but just do what tastes right.

1 Rotisserie Chicken OR Instead of using Rotisserie chicken, used grilled and chilled chicken.

Next add some celery. chopped.

Green onions. chopped.

Toasted Walnuts or Slivered almonds. (Great for crunch)

Purple grapes cut into halves or quarters

Add garlic salt.

Pepper.

Add a few dashes of lemon Juice.

Fat Free Cream Cheese at Room Temp. (make sure it's at Room Temp.)

Add softened cream cheese and Light mayo...maybe equal parts. It gives your chicken mixture a great rich taste.

Mix it all together, making sure that there is plenty of the mayo/cream cheese mixture...so it doesn't taste dry, and serve on a croissant or if you want it to be a light recipe, serve on Wheat Bread

Butter Caramel Popcorn

Okay, this is so far from a Cooking Light recipe. But, this weekend Chris and I had a movie night and made my dad's famous caramel popcorn. Most caramel popcorn I have tried is done by baking it and making it crunchy. This is more of a glaze that's poured over the top of air popped popcorn, and it's heaven. Enjoy this yummy splurge!

1/2 Lb. Butter (yes, you read that correctly, that's why it's so delicious!)
1 1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. Light Corn Syrup

Bring to a boil for 1 minute
Take off heat and add 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Pour over large bowl of popcorn. I do 2 batches of popcorn in my popper, and that makes the perfect amount for this recipe.

Crackers and Cheese (a new twist)

I don't know if I would really call this a "recipe" but I had to share it. This weekend we headed to the lake with Chris's family. My sister in law brought up a box of

Wheatable crackers or Reduced Fat Ritz (or your favorite cracker)
Low fat Cottage Cheese

I know this sounds like an interesting combination, but I am so hooked. All you do is dip your crackers in the container of cottage cheese, and it's soooo yummy.

Homemade French Fries

Believe it or not this is a Cooking Light Recipe, and sooo yummy. Every time we have a BBQ at my in-laws, I'm requested to bring these French Fries.



Potatoes (as many as you want)
Extra virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Ground Pepper
Paprika
Emeril's Orignal Essence
Chilli Powder
Season All Salt
Cayenne Pepper


Cut your Potoatoes in half, and then each half, you can get about 4-6 slices of fries.
Coat a Cookie Sheet with PAM spray and then spread out your frech fries so they don't overlap. Coat them lightly with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and then sprinkle all of your seasonings on top.

Bake 350 for 1 hour. Half way through toss them so both sides get cooked. After one hour if they aren't as crispy as you'd like them, broil for a few minutes to make more crispy

Blackened Beef Stir Fry

Okay, so I have been a total slacker about adding new recipes to my blog. But with Young Women's camp and my parents coming to visit for the 4th of July who had time to cook. And let's be realistc, my cooking days are limited in the summer, who wants to cook when you can be outside soaking up the sun!!

But here's a new recipe I tried this week, it was delic and it's a Cooking Light Recips. the only confusion I had on this was that it called for Blackened seasoning. I had never heard of this, the closest thing I could find was seasoned black pepper. If anyone knows what this ingredient is, please let me know!!!

* 12 ounces boneless beef top sirloin steak or top round steak
* 2-1/4 teaspoons blackened seasoning for beef
* 2/3 cup water
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 2 teaspoons cornstarch
* 1/2 teaspoon instant beef bouillon granules
* 1 tablespoon cooking oil
* 1 16-ounce package frozen stir-fry vegetables (any combination)
* 3 cups hot cooked rice

Directions

1. If desired, partially freeze beef for easier slicing. Trim fat from beef. Thinly slice beef across the grain into thin bite-size strips. Sprinkle steak strips with 2 teaspoons of the blackened seasoning; toss to coat well.

2. For sauce, in a small bowl stir together the water, tomato paste, cornstarch, beef bouillon granules, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon blackened seasoning; set aside.

3. In a wok or large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Add stir-fry vegetables. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove vegetables from wok. Add beef strips to hot wok. (Add more oil as necessary during cooking.) Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until desired doneness.

4. Push meat from center of wok. Stir sauce. Add to center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return vegetables to wok. Stir together to coat all ingredients with sauce. Heat through. Serve over rice.

5. Makes 4 servings

Taken from Better Homes and Garden

Iron Gate Grill Salad

1 pg. (5 oz.) mixed baby greens, I buy an extra bag of Spinach because this is really good with lots and lots of spinach greens

fresh sliced strawberries
crumbled feta cheese
toasted chopped walnuts

Dressing:
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. dry minced onion
3/4 cup vinegar (add more to thin)
Blend
Slowly pour in 2 cups vegetable or canola oil, then add 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Mix just right before you are ready to serve otherwise the strawberries get really soft and also turn the feta cheese red. So add the strawberries 2nd to last and mix real well with dressing, and top with feta

Mormon Strawberry Ice Tea

2 lb. fresh strawberries or 2-16 oz. pkg. frozen
1 cup packed br. sugar
1 cup water
2 lemons
3Tbsp. snipped fresh rosemary (opt.)
Ice Cubes
1 Liter CLub soda, chilled
Fresh strawberries (opt.)

In a large saucepan combine fresh or frozen strawberries, br. sugar and water and cook and stir over med. heat until sugar dissolves.

Using a veggie peeler, remove strips of peel from lemons, juice the lemons (should have about 1/2 cup)
Add strips of lemon peel, lemon juice and rosemary to mixture in saucepan. Bring mixture just to boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cover, cool to room temp.

Press mixture through fine mesh sieve, dissolve solids. You should have about 1 qt. syrup. To serve, fill glass with ice. To each glass add 1/2 cup club soda and syrup. Garnish with fresh strawberries.

Strawberry Lime Punch

1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen sliced strawberries with sugar, thawed
4 1/2 cups lemon-lime soda

Add all juices an sugar. Mix well. Add strawberries. Slowly add lemon lime soda. Garnish with fresh lemons or limes

Yields 16 (1/2 cup) servings
Approx, 86 calories

Clam Dip

This is really good with any kind of potato chips, but we really like the kettle cooked potato chips with these!

1 pkg. cream cheese
2 tsp. grated onion
1 tsp. worchestshire sauce (however you spell it)
1 can clams (7 oz.), drained, set juice aside
2 tsp. lemon juice
4 drops Tobasco
1 Tbsp. parsley
pinch salt

Mix and chill. As you mix add necessary juice from the clam juice to make it the right consistency.

Fried Ice Cream

This is soooo yummy!

3 cups crushed corn flakes
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar

mix 3 ingredients with melted 1 cube of butter

sprinkle 2/3 on bottom of 9x13 pan
spread 1/2 gallon SOFTENEND vanilla ice cream (I use a frosting spreader, dipped in warm water, it spreads the ice cream really smooth)

Sprinkle remaining topping

Drizze with Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel topping

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I have been a slacker for a couple weeks, but I have been on vacation, and who cooks while they are on vacation? I am back and this is what we had for supper last night. It was delic, and healthy!!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup prechopped fresh onion
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Dash of ground red pepper
2 (15.5-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken
1 cup thinly sliced green onions, divided
1/2 cup sliced ripe olives, divided
18 (6-inch) corn tortillas, divided
Cooking spray
2 cups (8 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (16-ounce) jar green salsa
10 tablespoon reduced-fat sour cream
Cilantro sprigs (optional)


Preparation
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add prechopped onion; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute. Stir in beans; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add chicken, 1/2 cup green onions, and 7 tablespoons ripe olives; stir well.
Preheat oven to 350°.

Layer 6 tortillas on bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread 2 cups chicken mixture over tortillas; sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining 6 tortillas.

Combine milk, chopped cilantro, and salsa in a blender, and process until smooth. Pour over top of tortillas. Cover and bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, remaining 1/2 cup green onions, and remaining 1 tablespoon olives. Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with sour cream. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Yield
10 servings (serving size: 1 casserole slice and 1 tablespoon sour cream)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 353(30% from fat); FAT 11.8g (sat 4.2g,mono 4.2g,poly 1.8g); IRON 2.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 45mg; CALCIUM 396mg; CARBOHYDRATE 45.8g; SODIUM 734mg; PROTEIN 23.5g; FIBER 7.9g

Maureen Callahan , Cooking Light, MARCH 2006

Southwestern Chicken Wraps

These were so so fast and easy! This was taken from my Better Homes and Garden Cookbook.

4 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup dairy sour cream (I use fat free, so that might make the nutritional value in fat and calories even lower)
Guacamole (Just purchase the packet in the produce isle, and 2 avacados)

4 10-inch dried tomato, spinach, and/or plain flour tortillas (I purchased Jalepeno and Cheddar tortillas from Wal-mart and they ended up being more healthy than plain tortillas)
2 5.5-ounce packages Southwestern-flavored refrigerated cooked chicken breast strips (I couldn't find this, so I purchased Chipotle flavored at Lee's marketplace, and they were just as tasty)
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
2 cups shredded lettuce
Directions
1. In a small bowl stir together sour cream and guacamole. Divide sour cream mixture among tortillas, spreading over one side of each tortilla. Divide chicken, tomatoes, and lettuce among tortillas. Roll up. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving:
Servings Per Recipe 4 servings
Calories 395
Total Fat (g) 13
Saturated Fat (g) 4
Cholesterol (mg) 49
Sodium (mg) 1015
Carbohydrate (g) 45
Fiber (g) 2
Protein (g) 25

Black and White Strawberries

I had a sick baby this week, so i didn't have a lot of time to try new recipes. I did make my Chicken Pesto Salad Sandwiches, so if you haven't tried that one, it's a must. It's under my cooking light recipes. But, I can always find time for some good chocolate. I tried this recipe out of a weight watcher's cookbook. How can this be bad??? Strawberries and chocolate, yum! And yes, this will be listed under my cooking light recipes. Also, I eliminated the raspberry liquer and I think next time I am going to try milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet. I am kind of a sucker for milk chocolate. I made these for our playdate, so I also used the chocolate to dip Animal Cookies. I just dipped the bottoms of the animals feet.They turned out really cute.Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
1½ teaspoons raspberry liqueur (framboise)
1½ teaspoons water8 large strawberries, with stems
½ ounce white chocolate, chopped, or 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips
1. Line a large baking sheet with wax paper. In a small microwavable bowl, combine the chocolate chips, liqueur, and water; microwave on High, stirring twice, until melted and smooth, about 1½ minutes. Holding a berry by the hull, dip the berry halfway into the chocolate; set on the wax paper. Repeat with the remaining berries and chocolate.
2. In another small microwavable bowl, melt the white chocolate in the microwave on High, stirring once, until melted and smooth, about 1 minute. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle over the strawberries. Refrigerate until the chocolate hardens. Serve chilled.

Per serving (2 dipped strawberries): 97 Cal, 4 g Fat, 2 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 0 mg Chol, 4 mg Sod, 15 g Carb, 2 g Fib, 1 g Prot, 21 mg Calc.
POINTS value: 2
Tip:Try this with other fruits, too: Grapes, orange sections, apple or pear wedges, or banana chunks (soak the apples, pears, or bananas for a minute or two in a mixture of lemon juice and water to prevent browning). It’s also delicious with fat-free pretzels.
from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook. Copyright © 2005 by Weight Watchers Staff.

Super Burritos

Okay, so i probably won't put this one under the Cooking Light Tab. It sounded really good in my Better Homes and Garden Cookbook, but I failed to look at the nutritional value. But, every diet deserves a splurge night and I would highly recommend this one! It was so yummy!



Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 small)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon medium or hot chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooked rice
1 4-ounce can diced green chile peppers, drained
8 10-inch flour tortillas
1-1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
1 cup chopped tomato (1 large)
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 recipe Guacamole or frozen avocado dip (guacamole), thawed
Bottled salsa (optional)

Directions
For filling, in a large skillet cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in water, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook about 5 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked rice and chile peppers.

Meanwhile, wrap tortillas tightly in foil. Heat in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes to soften. (When ready to fill tortillas, remove only half of them at a time, keeping remaining tortillas warm in the oven.)

Spoon about 1/2 cup filling onto each tortilla just below the center. Top filling with cheese and tomato. Fold bottom edge of each tortilla up and over filling. Fold opposite sides in and over filling. Roll up from the bottom. Secure with wooden toothpicks.

Arrange burritos on a baking sheet, seam sides down. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until heated through. Remove and discard toothpicks. Serve warm burritos on lettuce with Guacamole and, if desired, salsa.

Makes 8 burritos

Chicken or Steak Burritos: Prepare as above, except omit the ground beef. Partially freeze 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or 1 pound beef flank steak for easier slicing. Cut chicken into thin, bite-size strips and cut beef across the grain into thin, bite-size strips. Heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil in skillet. Cook chicken or beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil until desired doneness for steak or until chicken is no longer pink and onion is tender. Stir in water, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook about 5 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked rice and chile peppers. Continue with step 2 as above.

Per Burrito: 415 cal., 20 g total fat (6 g sat. fat), 52 mg chol., 472 mg sodium, 37 g carbo., 5 g fiber, 24 g pro.
Daily Values: 32% vit. A, 44% vit. C, 26% calcium, 17% iron

Hernandez Fam Guacamole

If you have never had fresh guacamole, you have to try this recipe. It puts all the mexican resteraunts recipes to shame!! Remember Avacados are loaded with the "good" fat, so if you eat this in moderation, without a lot of tortilla chips, this is healthy for you!

2 ripe avacados, pitted and peeled
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Roma tomato, chopped
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Run all the ingredients together in a food processor. Make sure you don't over puree it, you want it to be a "little" chunky.

Note: I add the green chilli seeds in with this, but if you are a wuss, you might want to remove the chilli seeds and then taste the guacamole, then if it still needs a kick, then add the seeds. Also, depending on the ripeness of all the fresh ingredients you may want to add more lemon juice and more salt, just add a little at a time until it tastes just right. Enjoy!

Shredded Pork Tacos

I really like this recipe, it was reallly yummy, it just takes awhile for the roast to cook in the oven, but other than that, it was really simple to make.

1 pork roast
cumin
onion
salt
pepper
garlic powder
12 taco shells or six 6- to 8-inch flour tortillas
3/4 cup bottled salsa
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese or anejo enchilado cheese (2 ounces)
Dairy sour cream (optional)
1 recipe for Guacamole (look at Guacamole Recipe)
Directions
1. I sprinkled my roast with cumin, dried onion (you could probably use a half of lipton onion packet if you don't have dried onion,) salt, pepper and garlic powder, just enough to cover the top of the roast. I put it in a roasting dish and added a little bit of water and baked it for 30 minutes on 325, and then turned it down to 275 and let it cook for another 1-2 hours.
Shred pork using two forks to pull through meat in opposite directions. Drain pork and return the pok to the stove top. Stir in salsa, additional cumin, garlic powder and salt and pepper and a little water. If you would rather use a small can of whole tomatoes instead of adding water that would taste even better. Then just let it cook slowly on the stove stirring, to make sure that it stays moist and doesn't get dry.
2. To assemble tacos, place pork mixture in warm taco shells. Top with lettuce, cheese, and guacamole. (If using flour tortillas, place pork mixture in center of warm tortillas and add remaining ingredients; fold tortillas in half.) If desired, serve with sour cream.
4. Makes 12 tacos

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Ingredients
Dressing:
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 cup light sour cream
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, rinsed and drained


Preparation
To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stirring well.
To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Tip: Add a spoonful of adobo sauce for a spicier salad. Kidney or pinto beans also taste great in this dish.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 2 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 249(30% from fat); FAT 8.2g (sat 2.8g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 23.3g; CHOLESTEROL 50mg; CALCIUM 106mg; SODIUM 650mg; FIBER 7g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 25.1g

David Bonom , Cooking Light, AUGUST 2006

Chilli Con Carne

1 1/2 pounds of extra lean beef (we use turkey because it's healthier)
2 medium onions-chopped
28 oz can whole tomatoes
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 Beef Boullian cube
2 Tbsp. diced bell pepper (I like it hot so we use one whole pepper)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. oregano
1 Tbsp. Chilli powder
1 whole Bay leaf
4 16 oz. can peans (a mix of pinto, kidney and black)

Brown hamburger and onions in a large pan. Drain fat. In a slow cooker add meat mixture and all other ingredients. Cover and simmer 2-3 hours on low/med. Remove bay leaf and serve.

***Your house will smell so yummy as this cooks really slow!!