chocolate m'n'm pretzels

These are great for holidays; just put them in a bowl and on the counter top, and you're set. You need:

Pretzels, M&Ms and Hershey's Kisses.

Place the pretzels on a cookie sheet. Then, place one kiss on each of them. Put them in the oven at 325 degrees (long enough to be melted, but maintain their shape). Immediately place the m&m's in the center of the chocolate and press them down a little. Let cool until the chocolate is holding the m&m in place, or about 30 minutes. To store, put in Ziploc bags and freeze.

Pizza Crust

Since I have a long history of killing yeast breads, I needed something really simple for pizza crusts. Here it is:

Mix together
1 Cup of Warm Water
2 Tsp Sugar (Brown or white)
1 Tsp Salt

Add 1 Tsp Yeast, Let it sit 10 minutes.

Add 2 Tbsp Oil, then 3-1/2 Cups Flour.  Knead until it makes a smooth ball.

Let it rise 1 hour.

Throw the crust and bake 20 minutes with toppings at 450 degrees.

Crockpot Egg Casserole

I will be trying this one soon. I'll let you know how it goes.

Use your imagination when making this recipe. Try Canadian bacon instead of ham. Use Havarti or Swiss cheese instead of Cheddar. Add some minced jalapeno peppers if you like hot foods. Then enjoy!

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 9 hours

Total Time: 9 hours, 25 minutes

Yield: Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 32 oz. bag frozen hash brown potatoes
• 1 lb. cooked ham, cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 12 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Preparation:

Spray inside of slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. In small skillet, cook onion and green pepper in olive oil until crisp tender. Let cool about 10 minutes. Place one third of the frozen hash brown potatoes in the slow cooker. Add one third of the ham, onion, green pepper and cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk and seasonings until well mixed. Pour over the ingredients in the slow cooker, cover and turn on low. Cook for 8-10 hours, until casserole is set and eggs are thoroughly cooked. If you want to cook on high, it should take 4-5 hours, or 3-4 hours if you have a newer, hotter cooking crockpot. Check the temperature of the eggs to be sure it's done.
If you have a new hotter cooking crockpot, you'll need to check this after 6 hours. It will probably be done after 7 hours. The eggs should reach a temperature of 160 to 165 degrees F.

Baked Chicken Bacon Alfredo

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/04/baked-chicken-bacon-alfredo/

This one is good. Next time, I think we'll leave the artichoke out. My kids didn't like that part.

A call for recipes

You may or may not be aware that I'm returning to college in about 2 weeks. I'm returning to the whole super-duper-extra strength budget plan and buckling in for 3 years of taking the bus, mending my clothes, and dollar movie social gatherings. Woot. But the eating. Oh the eating. You see, between choir and work, the past year of my life has been spent in restaurants rather than the kitchen. And let's face it, it's actually more economical for one person to get their veggies from a $5 half salad at Zupa's than it is for them to dump $30 on fresh produce at the grocery store in order to make a salad only have most of the salad go to waste. And $1 fish taco night at Rubio's is ever my Tuesday night fare. But outside of the really great deals and charitable souls willing to buy my food for me, I'm going to have to give up the whoppers, Wendy's, and whims. And cafe rio. *sniff* oh cafe rio.

Plus. I've been eating school lunch for the past 3 years, and I won't have that anymore either. It wasn't great. But it was free.

So as I sit here polishing off the last of my chocolate ice cream, I ask you: what did you eat in college? Favorite, fast recipes for one singular sensational person, priced comparative to a package of ramen or box of Mac and cheese (the generic store brand).

Please. Help out the girl who just dumped $408.09 on 4 textbooks.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

My SIL pointed me in the direction of these cookies. They are really good.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

From:
http://ldsliving.com/story/64185-food-dish-cookie-recipe-contest-winner-recipe

The Quotable Crackpot: Katherine (for Stefany)

Aaron wrote a wonderful poem for me for Mother's Day. I still can't read it without tearing up.

The Quotable Crackpot: Katherine (for Stefany): "Those toes, but stubs of pinkish tone, poke out of the blanket’s grasp, and though wanting for a warmer home, are too beautiful to wrap. ..."

Turkey Hummus Spirals

I'm posting our first hummus recipe.  I should get points for that.

1/2 lb deli turkey, thinly sliced
1 container flavored hummus (I like the roasted red pepper)
Bag of baby spinach
Tortillas

Spread hummus on the bottom two thirds of a tortilla.  Spread one piece of turkey and then a layer of spinach.  Roll up, and cover in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate 30 minutes or until ready to serve.  Slice to make little spirals.

Now, most of you probably have the same reaction that Matt had: "Hummus is nasty!"  Buts its not.  Its really good for you, and the flavored kinds are quite palatable.  Brody ate one of these- spinach and all- and didn't hate it.  If you think of the hummus as more of a mayo type spread, its not a big deal.  I told Matt that he had to eat them if we wanted Brody to try it and he actually ended up enjoying them.  1/2 lb of turkey does about 4- 10 inch tortillas. 

DarLee's Birthday Bars

These came from a Relief Society activity our stake did. They are homemade granola bars.

2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cups crisp rice cereal
1/2 cup flax seed
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1 cup unsalted roasted almonds

Mix together in a large bowl.

In a sauce pan, bring to a boil:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4-1/2 teas salt
2 Tbl butter
3/4 (+) raw honey

Boil 3 mins for soft bars or 6 for crunchy.

Remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla. Quickly stir into dry ingredients.

Shape into a rectangle on a piece of wax paper. (Use wax paper or buttered hands to do this.) Let sit for 5-10 mins. Cut with a sharp knife. Store in an air tight container. These can also be frozen.

Variations:
different fruits and nuts (or, omitting them all together)
cheerios instead of rice cereal
add 1/2 cup peanut butter when you add vanilla
mix cocoa in
use other flavorings
walnuts, dried apples, and sprinkle bars with cinnamon

Popcorn Cake

20 cups popped popcorn
1 bag marshmellows
1/2 stick of butter
1 bag M&Ms

Mix popcorn and M&M's in a large bowl. Melt marshmellows and butter like you would for rice krispies. Mix it together. Put it into a sprayed angel food cake pan. Let sit. Flip the pan over and take it off.

The longer you let it sit, the more solid (and easier) it will be to cut. That means that if you want to snitch little pieces, it's best to do that while it's all still warm. It's easier to hide the holes then.

Mothers' Day Salad

Chicken, Grilled and cubed (season with lime juice, chili powder, and salt)

Canned whole kernel corn
cherry tomatoes
sliced radishes
cubed avocados
mixed greens

Toss with spicy dressing - combine italian dressing with cumin, ground red pepper or chili posder, and black pepper.

Rootbeer Cookies

Update: I made these this weekend, and they were a hit with my book club and at mom and dad's house. I'm hanging on to this one! Ingredients (Cookies) •1 c. butter •2 c. brown sugar •2 eggs •1 c. buttermilk •3/4 tsp rootbeer concentrate (Make sure if you're using a bottle of concentrate that has already been in your cupboard for awhile that it isn't old. I've known people who have used old concentrate and they end up pouring almost the entire bottle in before they get even a hint of rootbeer flavor. That and the color doesn't turn out nearly right.) •4 c. flour •1 tsp baking soda •1 tsp salt Ingredients (Frosting) •3 1/2 c. powdered sugar •3/4 c. butter •3 Tbsp water •1 1/4 tsp rootbeer concentrate Directions 1.Combine all ingredients for the cookies in a large bowl or in a KitchenAid. 2.Drop the dough onto a greased cookie sheet (about a tablespoon size of dough balls) and bake for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees. 3.While the cookies are baking, place the dough in the refrigerator. (It is good to keep your cookie dough in the refrigerator between batches to keep the dough firm.) Combine all the ingredeints for the frosting in a medium bowl and mix together well, whether it be with your KitchenAid or an electric hand mixer. 4.Frost the cookies after they have been given time to cool. Enjoy!

Mediterranean Chicken and Artichokes

From the cookbook we got from Mubba for Christmas, but slightly altered :

Make a rub from
4 parts Dried Thyme
4 parts Grated Lemon Peel
1 part Salt
1 part Pepper

Apply to some chicken Breasts, then brown them in olive oil and set aside.

Saute the following in the same pan:
2 Large Onions, Chopped
4-6 Garlic Cloves, Smashed

Once the onions have softened up, add in a couple of cans of artichoke hearts, quartered, and some sliced olives  (black and green), and a can of chicken broth.  Add the chicken breasts back in and simmer until, well, done.

Quite a flavorful dish. And very healthy. Go easy on the thyme and lemon though... I may have overdone it a bit.

Chocolate Chip SourCream Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Cream:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  

Premixed Dry Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
•  
• Middle Layer:
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 
  
• I know, it's a cake, but use the creaming method (butter, sugar, then eggs/sourcream/vanilla, then premixed dry ingredients).  It comes out as a doughy batter that is difficult to spread, but make the sacrifice; the sugar/cinnamon/chocolate chip should go in the middle between two halves of the batter.  
• 
  
• Makes a good 'coffee cake', which roughly translated from our childhood is 'cake we can have for breakfast even though it isn't really any healthier than a regular cake'.  
• 
  
• Bake at 350 in a greased 13x9.  Good luck with the timing; it's supposed to be 25-30 minutes, but it took me more like 40.  Toothpick test or shake it a little and hope it doesn't fall.