Pratt Family Cooking

Garbage Cookies

2012-01-28T12:45:00.000-08:00

Enticing, right?

Well this is as seen on one of those Food Network shows where the celebirty chef personality goes around to local shops and talks about how great they are. One of the shops made what they called "garbage cookies". They took their extra cookie doughs and added them to a basic cookie recipe along with all of the leftover fixin's from their kitchen. They were throwing everything from licorice chunks to potato chips into that giant industrial sized mixer. It looked glorious.

And then this morning I was thinking about how I needed to used up the peanut butter cookie dough in my fridge and I wanted to get rid of the coconut that is starting to go stale and I remembered the show and decided to give it a shot.

I started with my own cookie dough base. Its a little like the recipe on the chocolate chip bag, only with my own twists and turns. If you don't have your own cookie recipe, start with the nestle toll house recipe. To make it softer, shift to a little less brown sugar and a little more white. (Only if you trust yourself though. Brown sugar adds a lot of flavor, and since you are going to dump all sorts of extras in there, you might want a little more bland base.)

Ok, when your base is ready, go to town. Clean out your cupboard. I threw in the end of the oatmeal container, the rest of the peanut butter cookie dough from the fridge, the rest of the coconut leftover from the holidays, two half-bags of chocolate chips (one milk chocolate, one semi-sweet) and several handfuls of pretzels that I crunched just a little as I threw them in. Oh. And a couple of chopped up fun sized candy bars.

Guys.

Yum.

I might make pretzels in the chocolate chip cookies my rule from now on.

And all I was doing was cleaning out my cupboards.

Here's the deal. How many times do you want to make cookies but there are no chocolate chips in the house? I know it happens to me more often than I like to admit. (Tangent: I don't know what I'm more ashamed of, the frequency with which I like to make cookies, or the fact that I don't have chocolate chips in my cupboard.)

I don't know why this never occured to me before. We all have stashes of some sort of junk food or another, and its likely there for use in "emergencies" because we don't ever really feel like eating that particular thing. Seriously. Try throwing it in the cookie dough!

That is all the wisdom I have to expound for the day. I need to refill my mug of milk.

chocolate m'n'm pretzels

2011-12-31T20:37:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-28T14:33:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-08T12:36:00.001-08:00

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

2011-09-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-05T15:27:00.001-07:00

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

2011-07-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

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)

2011-06-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

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

2011-02-26T15:13:00.001-08:00

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

2011-01-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

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.

The Challenge

2010-12-27T05:29:00.000-08:00

I had a chance to explain to some of you, but not all of you. So here it goes.

I gave you each a cookbook for Christmas. Nothing overly exciting, but we all love Taste of Home, right? Each of you got a different edition. I can't remember exactly who got what but I do know there was a diabetic, casserole, crockpot, shortcut, and penny pinching cookbooks.

Your challenge is to simply use the cookbooks and post the recipe here. If you take the time to post a picture, great- and yes, it does count if you just pull the picture off of the TOH website. Thats fine. Make sure that you also include any adjustments you make to the recipe- I know that I make them to pretty much every recipe I try.

Get cookin!

Mitch & Deb's Buffalo Dip

2010-12-10T14:35:00.000-08:00

This one's from my boss & his wife - we traded it for the sausage dip recipe. We'll be trying it out this Christmas and let you know how it goes. I called it Buffalo dip for two reasons: One is that the recipe looks like it probably comes out tasting a little like the buffalo sauce on spicy chicken fingers or wings (which my boss has ordered for lunch every time we've ever eaten out... for 11 years). The other is they are from Buffalo (MN, not NY)...

2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks® Red Hot®
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
1 (8 ounce) box chicken-flavored crackers

DIRECTIONS

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

Almond Chicken, South Beach Style

2010-12-07T17:27:00.001-08:00

Tom and I voted this a keeper. The kids scraped the breading off, and then voted it to be a keeper.

Found here.

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/8 cup (1/2 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 cup finely chopped almonds
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch of ground black pepper
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2" thickness and cut into 6 pieces
Sprig Italian parsley, for garnish

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cheese, almonds, parsley, garlic, salt, thyme, and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Place the oil in a shallow dish. Dip the chicken first in the oil, then dredge in the crumb mixture. Place the chicken in a shallow baking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the center of a piece registers 170°F and the juices run clear. (Do not turn the chicken during cooking.) Garnish with the parsley.

Nutritional Information:
383 calories
16 total fat (4 g sat)
91 mg cholesterol
15 g carbohydrate
41 g protein
1 g fiber
730 mg sodium

Russian Tea Cakes

2010-12-07T17:24:00.001-08:00

aka Mexican Wedding Cakes aka "Brushin' your teeth cakes"

1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar (for rolling at the end)

Cream butter ane vanilla. Mix sugar, flour, and walnuts in a seperate bowl. Combine the two together. Mix until it is no longer crumbly. Roll into 1 inch balls. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 12 mins. Remove and roll in sugar. Makes 36.

Apparently these are very freezable, too. I didn't get a change to try, though, because every time I pulled a batch out, they disappeared.

Homestyle Green Bean Casserole

2010-11-26T16:00:00.000-08:00

From the South Beach Diet Cookbook- This is much healthier than the normal version, and I think it tasted better. I think it could have used more seasoning in the sauce, but I put it down here like it is in the book.

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup ground walnuts
1 onion, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices (onion rings)

Preheat oven to 500. Mix bread crumbs and walnuts together. Dip rings in buttermilk first and then bread crumb mixture. Be careful not to keep liquids in the crumbs to the bare minimum. Once it gets wet, the crumbs won't stick to the onions any more. Lay on a baking sheet that was sprayed with cooking spray. Spray onions with cooking spray, and baked for 20ish mins until golden brown.

Meanwhile, saute:
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt

Saute until mushrooms release their liquid (about 3 mins). Sprinkle with 1/4 cup whole wehat flour and stir for 1 min. Then, add 3 cups 1% milk and stir constantly for about 3 mins until thick.

Add 1-16 oz bag of frozen green beans. Stir until beans are coated.

Place beans in baking dish (sprayed with cooking spray). Lay onions on top. Baked for 25 mins in a 400 degree oven.

Egg Nog Pie

2010-11-26T15:57:00.000-08:00

I realize all may not be fans of egg nog. I wasn't, until a pregnancy did that weird thing when it changes your taste for something. So, thanks to my second child, Tom now has to share the egg nog with me. His family all loves it, so this little invention I came up with for Thanksgiving was a huge hit. The egg nog flavor isn't too strong. I have a feeling this will make a repeat performance later this year.

1 1/2 cup egg nog
1/4 cup milk
1 large package vanilla pudding

Mix together. Add in:

1/2 bag toffee chips (with or without chocolate, doesn't matter)
1 tub cool-whip

Mix with pudding.

Pour into a baked and cooled pie crust. You could also use a graham cracker crust.

Commit now...

2010-10-29T07:56:00.001-07:00

To keeping the camera in the kitchen this holiday season.

AHP

English Muffin Breakfast Pizzas

2010-09-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

This looks really yummy. I'm going to cheat and just give you the link. http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/09/english-muffin-breakfast-pizzas.html

A Plea and A Challenge

2010-09-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, this pregnancy, for some reason, I have developed an intense adverse reaction to anything chicken. So, please, please please- can we post some non chicken recipes?

The challenge is that for every non-chicken recipe you post, you get a point. The person with the most points wins. Something cool. I'll send you a brownie mix or something. You have until September 30th at midnight.

If you actually bring me something non-chicken, I'll give you 50 points automatically. Just saying. You'd totally win that box of brownies...

BYU Mint Brownies

2010-08-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

When I worked in the CES office during college, there were a few weeks in the year that were absolute nightmares. The opening week of EFY registration, Education Week and the worst, Women's Conference. While Women's Conference is probably a very uplifting time for most women, my office dealt with the special needs women. Like the woman who was disappointed in President Hinckley's talk and demanded her money back because she didn't feel the spirit. Oi. Anyway, mint brownies are the holy grail during this week. Its nearly impossible to buy them because any place that sells them is out within the first 30 seconds of opening their doors. One day, I had an assignment from my supervisor: the on-site registration desk in the WILK had an entire pan of mint brownies hidden away, cleverly disguised in a nametag holder box. My mission was to get a dozen brownies from the WILK to the Harmon building. Now, this isn't the longest distance wise trek across campus. The WILK is in the middle of campus, and the Harmon building in on the north side of campus. There's no fast way there. If I was on the south side trying to get to the north side, I could hop in a car, but from the WILK, the nearest parking lot is almost as far as the Harmon building. So I had to walk. I managed to time it so that the bulk of my walking was while most of the women were in classes. I miscalculated one thing: the women who were skipping classes, waiting in line at the Marriot Center to make sure they got prime tickets for President Hinckley's devotional. As I approached the Marriot Center, I clutched the plate of brownies to my chest (don't worry, they were covered in many layers of plastic wrap). I had women grabbing at the plate, pulling on my back pack, even offering large amounts of money (I think I got offtered $20 at one point) trying to take these brownies from me. I had some women yelling obscenities at me because I was just a student and could have mint brownies anytime, but this was their only chance each year to get some. My supervisor saw me being accosted, pushed his way through the large group of women and helped me escape from a very dangerous situation. The brownies were smushed, I had some bruises on my legs, but we made it. Recently, BYU published the mint brownie recipe in the alumni magazine. While many will think this was a very magnanimous action, I'd like to point out that they didn't publish their chocolate frosting recipe, which I think is really what makes the brownies good.

BYU MINT BROWNIES

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts

12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)

MINT ICING
5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.
2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.
3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Really good brownies.

2010-07-18T14:53:00.001-07:00

2/3 C Cocoa
2/3 C Shortening, Melted (NOT NOT NOT butter flavored)
4 Eggs
2 C Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 teaspoon baking POWDER
1 teaspoon Salt
1 to 1 1/2 C minature marshmallows
1 C Chopped nuts (optional)
Mix Cocoa and melted shortening in bowl. In separate bowl beat eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add to cocoa mix. Add dry ingredients EXCLUDING marshmallows to cocoa mixture. Mix well. Stir in marshmallows. Pour into 9x13 pan and bake @ 350 for 25-35 minutes. Your fork or toothpick won't come out super clean because of the marshmallows.

Chicken and black beans

2010-07-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

I was partially inspired for this by one of the posts here, and by some recipes on all recipes. It is a combination of several recipes, but it was a hit.

2-3 chicken breasts
1 jar salsa (we used homemade)

Dump in a crockpot together. You can put it on high if you want it done faster, or low if you want it done slower. I did it on low, and the chicken took 3-4 hours. When the chicken is done, shred it and stir.

Either in the crockpot or on the stovetop (depending on how soon you are serving it), mix in:

2 cans black beans, rinsed
1 can corn
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic salt, or garlic and salt
chili powder to taste

Heat together. Then, just before serving, add half a brick of cream cheese. Stir to combine.

We served this on chips with lettuce, tomatos, olives, and other normal taco topping. I used the leftovers on tortillas with spinach.

Egg rolls

2010-07-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

The other day, as I was reheating Sam's Club egg rolls, Tom said that it was too bad they couldn't be homemade. I said I could make them, but didn't, because this was easier. That led to a conversation where Tom first learned that, yes, egg rolls can be made at home.

Which means, next time it was his night to pick dinner, homemade egg rolls were it. I didn't actually use much of a recipe. I just started dumping things together, and it turned out pretty good.

Ingredients:

egg rolls wrappers
1 lb ground hamburger (that's what I used this time. I may try ground sausage next time for more flavor)
1/2 head of cabbage
5-6 carrots
cumin, garlic salt, and one of those packet seasonings for sweet and sour sauce (you know, the place in the grocery store that has a shelf full of packets, which are a big pain for employees to dela with? Yeah, they had a sweet and sour sauce one)

Fry hamburger. Drain. Shred cabbage and carrots and add to meat. Add seasonings. Sometime, I may actually narrow down the best seasoning combination, but I didn't measure this time. But, you all can taste it out and figure out what you like.

Place in egg roll wrappers and seal with a beaten egg. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place egg rolls on it. Spray egg rolls with cooking spray. This makes it lightly oiled so that they are still crispy even though you aren't frying them. You could fry them, but we are trying to be healthier here.

Bake at 375 for 10 mins. Flip and bake 12-15 mins more. Let sit for about 10 mins, long enough for them to crisp up a little, but not long enough to get cold. Serve with sweet and sour sauce or whatever else you want to dip them in.

A note- make sure your filling isn't very wet. Moisture will cause steam as it cooks, and that will cause them to split open. Another note- the egg adheres to the wrapper, not to egg, so you only want to wet one side of your seam.

I made 20, and we ate about 10 at dinner. The rest were placed in a plastic bag and put in the fridge. The mysteriously disappeared quite quickly over the next day.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

2010-06-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

Our family has committed to never ordering a pizza again. In fact, we want to make as much of our pizza as possible. So, today, we tried to make our own pizza sauce! It was fabulous. Way cheaper than buying a jar and it mixes up in a snap. It may be even faster than trying to open one of those stubborn jars. So here you go:

1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp paprika
1 tablespoon garlic (we used the kind you get in a big jar from Sam's club. It helps to have a lot of the juice with this recipe).

Mix it all together. We used an immersion blender to make sure we got the paste blended in well. But you could do it with some patience and a spoon as well.

Yield is enough sauce for 4 pizzas. Its also way cheaper than a jar of sauce. From my calculations, this recipe costs less than $1.50 and a can of good sauce costs around $2.50. And you can really only get two pizzas out of a jar of sauce. So, instead of spending $1.25 per pizza for sauce, you're only spending about 36 cents.

Comments

2010-06-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that we tend to get a lot of spam comments on this blog. Anything we can do to eliminate those?

Bread

2010-06-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

My friend Analisa came over last week, and we made bread together. She has a great recipe that is super easy to make. Here it is:

First, make a sponge out of

3 1/2c. Wheat Flour (can also substitute 1/2c. of a grain mix for 1/2c. of this flour)

2 1/2c. Water

4tsp. Yeast

by mixing together the ingredients in your mixer until everything is wet. I remove the paddle after mixing, and throw a tea towel over the bowl.

Wait at least 20 minutes, but as long as 12 HOURS!! When you have a two-hour block of time that you know you'll be around for, finish making the dough by adding

4Tbsp. Butter (softened is best)

1tsp. salt (unless you use salted butter, then you leave this out)

1/4c. Plain Yogurt

1/4c. Honey

2 1/2c. Bread Flour, more or less (start with 2c.)

to the sponge. Use a dough hook to mix it together, and add remaining 1/2c. of flour a little at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is no longer sticky. You'll probably knead it for around 5 minutes, scraping the bowl down after additions, if necessary.

Next, spray two loaf pans with cooking spray. Flour your counter. Divide your dough into two. Roll the dough out as wide as the length of the pan, and as long as you can easily get it. Roll it up tightly, and stick it in the bread pan. Let rise until you get a nice crown, which should take around an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool on a rack until you can't stand to wait any longer, and enjoy!

AUNT WINNIE'S RAISIN CAKE

2010-05-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

AUNT WINNIE'S RAISIN CAKE, from the 'Chez Burnham ' recipe book.

*Aaron's Note: I found this in Grandpa's Journals, and thought it belonged here.

(A favorite request on birthdays. The caramel icing was best - like candy. Her children would peel it off and save it to eat last.)

Boil 2 c. raisins in two c. water. If not enough juice afterward, add water to make 2 cups. Let cool slightly.

Add 1 c. shortening 2 c. sugar

Stir in (sifted):

5 c. flour

2 t. soda

1 t. salt

spices:

½ t. nutmeg

½ t. cloves

1 t. cinnamon

Bake at 350° about 30 minutes.

Caramel icing: (Good on spice cake)

3 c. sugar 1 c. cream* ½ c. water

Melt 1 c. sugar in large fry pan or saucepan. When melted, add enough water (½ c.) to dissolve sugar. To this, add 2 c. sugar and 1 c. cream (sweet) and let cook until it forms a soft ball in water. set aside till it stops bubbling, abt. 5-10 minutes. Whip with spoon till thick for cake. Don't wait too long!

* Can subsitute rich milk. (Half and half?)

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

2010-05-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

Oops. I posted my recipe on my blog instead of this one. I'm too lazy to redo it, so here's the link.
http://mamamubba.blogspot.com/2010/05/easy-philly-cheesesteak-open-face.html

Clafoutis

2010-05-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

Dallin copied this kind of wierd recipe off a cooking show, and wanted to try it. Then he mixed the batter while I was out getting cherry pie filling for it, without help, so I was doubly surprised when it turned out to be really good.

Spread 12 ozs cherry pie filling in a buttered cast iron pan.

Mix 2 eggs
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c flour

Pour over cherries.

Bake uncovered 30 min at 400 deg.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Cheeseball

2010-04-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

(by request)

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened (you can use light cream cheese)
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp. finely chopped green onions
1/4 c. finely chopped bell pepper (any color; I used red and orange mini peppers because I like the color and, well, I had some lying around the house that needed to be used!)
2 tsp. seasoning salt
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained very well (you may want to press in a fine-mesh strainer)
1/2 c. pecan pieces, chopped (you can also use pecan "chips")

Shred the cheese yourself. Preshredded cheese won't mush into the ingredients. Chop other things very finely! Mix everything but the pecans together. It takes using your hands to get it all thoroughly mixed.

Shape into a ball and roll in the pecans. Put it in the fridge to set. Serve with crackers or veggies.

Crock Pot Chicken

2010-03-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

So, even though we're back into our apartment now, we're still having some issues. Like, our oven only broils, and we're short one burner- which wouldn't be a big deal, except its the one big burner. Fortunately, we did get our crock pot replaced, so I've been doing a lot of experimenting with it.

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Add one chicken breast per person eating, or if you're being healthy and want to split the chicken breasts, you do math.

Cover with one jar of salsa. I like Newman Peach Salsa. It gives it a nice sweet flavor.

Cook for 4 hours on low.

Add 2 cans of drained black beans. Cook on low for another 4 hours ish.

Serve with cheese and sour cream. Its kind of a goolash. Add fritos if you're feeling frito-ish.

Eat. This gets better with age. Optimal age is 2 days, I wouldn't recommend more than 4.

Cream Cheese Dip

2010-03-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

I made this to dip my cinnamon chips in last night, and it was a hit. It could be used as a fruit dip, too.

2 blocks of cream cheese
1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
a splash of vanilla (to taste)

Let cream cheese soften. Throw it all in a mixer and whip it together.

Contest time

2010-03-26T10:41:00.001-07:00

Okay, we need more recipes.

Here are the rules:

1. One point per dessert recipe.
2. Two points for non-dessert recipe.
3. A bonus point per picture that YOU took. (So, make the recipe, take pictures along the way, like fancy cooking blogs do, and you can get a whole bunch of posts.)
4. All recipes must be tried by you, and may not have been previously posted.
5. You lose all points for that recipe if you don't label it.

Contest ends Saturday, April 3oth at midnight.

Winner will receive a prize, of some sort. I'm thinking chocolate. You also get bragging rights.

Edited to change end date. After Emma's comment, I realized that, with all that is going on, one week just isn't enough. We'll go for just over a month.

Hot Pockets

2010-03-13T17:41:00.001-08:00

I made these for Amy's crew, and I heard they were a hit. My kids love them, too. They are very freezable. Just cook them up, and toss them in the freezer, and they easily reheat in the oven. (Don't reheat them in the microwave, though. They are chewy and weird.)

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 1/2 cups flour

Combine water, sugar, and yeast, and let stand about 10 mins. Mix in salt and 1 1/2 cups flour. Add flour gradually until it forms a sticky dough. (You want it a little stickier than normal bread dough, but not so sticky you can't work with it.)

Let it rise until double in size (45 mins -1 hour).

(Note: If you want to, right here, make these into breadsticks, cinnamon sticks, or pizza dough, that works, too.)

Pull off small balls and roll them out into a disc. I do one hot pocket at a time. I tried rolling out half the dough and slicing it into sections, but that didn't work as well. Put filling in (see below), and pinch the edges. Brush with egg wash. Bake at 425 for about 12-15 mins.

Now, for fillings, I have tried the following:

-chicken, spinach, cream cheese, and seasonings. I thought it was great; kids weren't fans.
-pepperoni, cheese, pizza sauce.
-sausage, cheese, marinara sauce.
-ham and cheese (Tom's favorite)

I've found 2-3 tablespoons of total filling is about right. It depends on how big of a pocket you make. My next ones, I want to do some dessert ones with pie fillings and a cinnamon/sugar sprinkle on top.

Popovers

2010-03-12T09:03:00.001-08:00

These are not that hard to make! I don't know why I don't make them more often. Makes about 10.

2 Eggs

1 C.Milk

1 Tbsp Melted Butter

1 C Flour

Pinch or two of salt

Half fill muffin cups. Put them in a cold oven (I think this also works better if the eggs and milk are at room temperature. The idea is to raise the temp gradually). Start the oven going towards 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then another 20-25 minutes turn it down to 350 degrees.

Pork Tenderloin in Sauce

2010-03-12T09:00:00.001-08:00

My own invention:

1 Pork Tenderloin (remove silverskin and cut in to chunks)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Butter

Salt

Pepper

Melt the Butter and Olive oil together. Sprinkle salt and peper on the Pork Tenderloin pieces. Fry. You could stop here, and they would be tasty. But I used a Cast Iron Fry Pan because it could go straight from the stovetop to the oven:

Add

1 can Chicken Broth

4-5 Tbsp Ketchup

Put it in the oven, stirring occasionally until the Broth and Ketchup are heated and combined. You could stop here, but it gets better:

Mix

2-3 TBSP corn starch

1/2 C. Milk

Add it to the sauce. Put it back in the oven. Let it cook down and thicken. You can cover it loosely with Aluminum foil if you like.

Serve over noodles or bread or potatoes or whatever starch you feel appropriate. (I made popovers to go with it, and it was all yummy.)

Spinach & Tomato Pasta Salad

2010-03-12T08:54:00.001-08:00

Sautee minced garlic in olive oil.

Toss in a lightly chopped pile of spinach and some halved cherry tomatoes. Salt & Pepper.

Add some pre-cooked spiral pasta, lightly salted. Sprinklie on Grated Parmesan and Asiago cheese.

I think the basic idea came from Giada (Food Network) but I can't find it online. But it was very tasty, served as a side to broiled salmon.

All purpose cleaner

2010-01-25T10:55:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: This recipe is NOT edible. I will not be held responsible for any eating of it.

I got this for Christmas from a friend, and it works really, really well. She made hers with Palmolive, and it's really sudsy. She said she normally uses Dawn, and it's better. When I make it, I will try using Dawn.

1/4 c vinegar
2 tsp borax
3 1/2 cups hot water
20 drops of essential oil (lavendar, tea tree, lemon, peppermint)
1/4 c dish soap (add last)

Put it all in a spray bottle and shake.

I use it in our kitchen and bath, and it's been really great.

Yam Casserole

2010-01-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

This one definitely does not meet Melissa's challenge. In fact, it is preparing fruits and veggies much like Aaron and Tom prefer to- coated in a thick layer of sugar.

4-5 medium yams boiled and peeled
4-5 Apples Peeled and sliced
Alternate Yams and apples in casserole dish.

Boil Together:
1 c. white sugar
2 c. water
4 Tb. cornstarch
1 tsp. salt

After thickened add 1/4 c. marg./butter
Pour sauce over apples and yams and cook 1 hour at 350
Add grated orange rind to sauce for flavor.

Be sure not to overboil yams-mushy is no fun! :)

A New Challenge

2010-01-04T09:52:00.001-08:00

Okay, so as most of you know, I'm cutting out refined sugar from my diet. Like totally. I will spare you the details, but even the smallest piece of sugary cereal makes me incredibly sick. I do okay with brown sugar, but no white sugar at all. Right now, I know there's probably more that I can't eat, but the only thing I've been able to pin down for sure is sugar.

Having been raised in this family, I'm sure you can all see the problem this presents. So I need recipes that don't use sugar.

Ready go!

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

2010-01-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

I made this last night, and Tom said it was better than the storebought ones he loves. I may try making lots next time, and freezing them. They were a hit, though. I got them from www.ourbestbites.com, which is my favorite cooking blog. They have recipes that taste good, and can be cooked by the normal person.

Here's the link, because I'm lazy like that. (Actually, for some reason, I just haven't been able to copy and paste it here, and I don't have time to type it out.)

Variations on a theme

2009-12-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

Crazy Holidays. I wonder, if we didn't manage to find time to post while the holidays were not in full swing then how will we ever post stuff during the month of december?

Not to mention that we already posted all the beloved standards last year...

But lets make a quick musical analogy. What do great composers do when they get bored or run into a creative block? What always brings a smile to the audience when 21st century composition is just too much effort (both to write and hear) and yet we've all heard Beethoven's 9th a few to many times to be really thrilled by it (unless Osmo Vanska is conducting, of course)? It's easy. Take a familiar tune and warp it just a little. Elaborate here, throw a disney tune mash up there, make Mozart sound like Rachmaninoff for the rest of it, and voila! The musically discerning audience is thrilled with your cleverness and their own ability to appreciate it! They leave the concert saying pridefully pompous things like "the baroque flavor in that exposition reminded me of Whitacre's Cloudburst as if set by Jean-Baptiste Lully!", and "I felt that the coda in the style of Brahms was the perfect commentary on the Schubert-style quartet, especially considering Clara!" Yes, Variations on a theme are always a crowd pleaser.

I submit to you all that baking is not so different than music. Just consider Mom the Osmo Vanska, who recreates the classics with perfection. And the rest of us could become the discerning audience, who whines unless Osmo is conducting, or we could create our own variations on the theme.

So post some ideas you have and let's see if we can work through them. Or post the whole recipe and we'll applaud wholeheartedly. I've recently begun to love lime flavored things, do you think lemon bread could become key lime bread? This summer I made quite a few trifles, and now that fresh fruit is hard to come by, I wonder if I could pull one off using brownies and coconut. Emma and I were discussing oreo truffles the other day and I realized that I could quickly alter a cookie dough recipe to create cookie dough truffles, dip them in brown chocolate, and mix them in with the oreo truffles for variety in gift giving.

This is more of a quest for creativity than it is a challenge in the kitchen. Let's see what we can come up with!

Chicken Nuggets

2009-11-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

go to the freezer section.

buy a bag of frozen chicken nuggets. (I personally prefer the dino shaped ones)

follow the directions on the back.

wait...no...

So, this recipe is AMAZING! And it is super easy. Me and me roommates eat dinner together on sundays, and my roommate Megan offered to do it this past week. We were all a little skeptical because her idea of domestic is slapping some pre-made cookie dough on cookie sheets, and waiting for someone (usually me) to remind her that they are done, and making an incredibly large mess in the process. How you do that with pre-packaged cookie dough, I don't really know. But it happens. Bless her heart. :)

It turned out to be one of the BEST dinners ever! And you cannot just skip the honey mustard sauce with these. In fact, if your going to choose between the nuggets and the sauce, pick the sauce. It makes the whole recipe worth while.

AND its gluten free. thats important in my apartment :)

All thanks and compliments go to our dear southern friend, Paula Deen.

Ingredients

2 cups crushed sour-cream-and-onion-flavored potato chips
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
6 chicken breast fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup butter, melted
Honey Mustard, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spread the crushed potato chips in a shallow dish. Beat together the egg and milk in a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken cubes into the egg mixture and then dredge them in the chips. Place the chicken nuggets on a baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown. The chicken nuggets can be frozen after baking. Serve with your favorite sauce, such as honey mustard or ranch dressing.

Honey Mustard:

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice or juice from 1/2 lemon

Horseradish, to taste (We didn't put this in, because we all think its gross)

2 tablespoons orange juice (more or less as needed)

Combine all ingredients except orange juice; stir well. Thin to pouring consistency for dressing or dipping consistency for dips with orange juice. Cover and chill for 2 or 3 hours.

Yield: 1 1/4 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: None

Ease of preparation: Easy

6 girls and 1 guy finished them all off, with more room to spare, although we all had a sufficient amount to eat.

Halloween Layer dip

2009-11-01T07:13:00.000-08:00

I had requested spider recipes, and Amy called and gave me a few suggestions, ( I think this was at the point when she couldn't post because she had forgotten her password or something....) Anyways, she suggested layer dip with olive spiders, and I decided to give it a try. I piped on sour cream to make the web and cut up jumbo black olives to look like the spiders. I think it turned out pretty awesome.

Aaand, lets get a close up of my creepy friend in the middle there....

Aaron's Chili

2009-10-30T13:53:00.001-07:00

This is a good chili… a nice gentle burn that sets in slowly, and a definite deep flavor to it.

2 Yellow Onions Sauteed in Olive Oil
2 Lbs Ground Meat (Pork & Beef combined, coarse grind is best) Browned

28 Oz Crushed Tomatoes
28 Oz Tomato Sauce
12 Oz Tomato Paste
15 Oz Beef Broth

4 x 15 OZ Dark Red Kidney Beans

Heaped TBSP Each of
Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened)
Ground Cumin
Cayenne (Red Pepper)
Garlic Powder

Cumin and and Red Pepper are of course a critical constituent of any chili. The Beef Broth and the Cocoa are the 'secret' ingredients. Cocoa sets off the Cayenne nicely. It does not make the chili ‘chocolatey’, although if you know it is there you can detect it.

The balance isn’t perfect yet, it didn’t win the office competition, but I had three bowls of it myself, and my coworkers had kind things to say about it (even the ones who don’t report to me directly)…

French Dip

2009-10-15T07:33:00.001-07:00

I decided to use Melissa's French Dip recipe a couple of weeks ago, in response to her challenge (2 points). I just didn't upload pictures from my camera until now.

I have never made French Dips before (5 points). And this is not a dessert (1 point). I did make a few changes to the recipe, basically because I had a roast in the freezer (from a quarter beef we bought a few months ago - food storage - 1 point) and I didn't want to buy au jus in a packet, for digestive reasons I'd prefer not to get into. For starters, I put sliced onions and chopped garlic in the crock pot,

threw the roast on top of it, added a little water, salt and pepper,

and let it go all day. So, it wasn't exactly sliced roast beef - more like shredded, but it was fabulous. I'll mention here that the onions were some transplants from Amy's Worthington house's garden that I grew in my garden this year (1 point). They are terrific in a roast. The garlic was also grown in my garden (1 point).

The second great part of this plan was that I didn't have to buy a packet of au jus. It was a natural by-product of making the roast myself.

The hoagies were store-bought. I had originally thought to make my own, but didn't get to it that day. Next time, I'll make them myself. They cost a fortune at the grocery store.

We melted mozarella on them (from our deep freezer - food storage - 1 point). They were really good. It is funny how a meal this good could have escaped my brain for so long. I think this will be at least a monthly dinner item in our household. Yum!

And if I can claim 12 points when I didn't really follow her recipe all the way, I'll take it!

Chris's Salsa

2009-10-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

By request:

5 qts tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 lg green tomatoes, chopped
10 jalepeno peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
6 onions, chopped
2 cups celery (about 1/2 stalk), chopped
1/4 cup saltscant
1/4 cup honey (it says 3 Tbls, but I just usually dump in about 1/4 cup)
2 green peppers, chopped
1-2 cans tomato paste to thicken it up, if desired (I add 1 or 2, and it's still pretty thin.)

Tomatoes- wash them, and then put them in a pot of boiling water until the skins crack a little. Take them out, let them cool a minute and then peel the skin off, and cut the stem out, and cut any bad spots out. Throw them in the food processor. I do the tomatoes first because it gives me how many batches I'm gonna make. One 5 gallon pail of tomatoes makes about 2 batches, give or take. All of the veggies get chopped up in the food processor. Do the jalepenos last, because it's just easier to get everything else done, in the pots, and then do those. Be sure you wear gloves and don't touch your face!!! After you have everything in a pot, bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for at least 15 mins (but you can let it go all day, too, just don't let it burn. Stir it!) Here, you can play with it to adjust heat and flavor. This recipe, as is, is pretty spicy. I water bath can them. Quarts need 50 mins, pints need 40. One batch makes 8ish quarts, depending on how long you let it boil down.

Taco Dip

2009-10-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Every Christmas, growing up, we enjoyed this wonderful taco dip on Christmas Eve. My aunt, Teri Kukachka, made it, and she spread it in a Santa-shaped platter. I don't have a Santa-shaped platter, so I put it in a Christmas tree-shaped platter. I'd say it is about a 12"x8" size.

8 oz cream cheese, softened

8 oz sour cream

8 oz guacamole or avacado dip (use store-bought or make your own)

Lowry's Seasoning (garlic, salt & pepper)

Cream these ingredients and spread on platter.

taco sauce or salsa (I use Pace Mild Picante Sauce)

shredded lettuce

shredded cheddar cheese

sliced green olives

chopped onions (omit if you don't like crunchy little onions in your dip - I leave them out)

diced tomatoes

Spread a thin layer of taco sauce or salsa on top. Add a layer of each of the other ingredients on top of each other, in order. It looks quite festive, as well as being tasty.

Spider Web Dip

2009-10-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

I saw this in Taste of Home. Disclaimer, I have not tried it. But, I do know the recipe portion of it quite well. This is really just a creative idea to do with the recipe. I figured Nancy could maybe use it.

Make guacamole. (We all know mom's, right? Is it on here somewhere?)

Put it in a round pan or plate.

Put some sour cream in a plastic bag, cut the corner, and pipe circles around the guacamole. Run a toothpick from the center out, to give it a web design.

Take some colossal olives. Pipe two small dots on half for eyes. Place two next to each other on the web. (Repeat for as many spiders you want on there.) Add black food coloring (like, the real stuff, because that's the only way to actually get black), and draw legs on the spiders.

My other thought was, you could take the method of making lots of things with raisins in it. And, at random points during the evening yelling "ugh, I just ate a dead spider. It was in my cookie!" That would make everything with a raisin, also a spider-themed food. For added effect, have one or two guests also participate.

Bisquick Mix

2009-10-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

I promised Tom chicken and dumplings for dinner tonight, and found myself without Bisquick. I remembered seeing a recipe for my own mix on hillbillyhousewife. I decided to give it a try. It passed. The texture of the dumplings were slightly smoother, which I liked better. And, they did cook a few minutes faster than usual. No biggie, there. Considering what we saved on with this recipe, it's a keeper. (She has a bunch of other convenience food recipe, which I haven't tried, but probably will now.)

White Flour Biscuit Mix

9 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1/4 cup baking powder
2 cups solid vegetable shortening

(Or, you can do 10 cups of self-rising flour and the shortening instead)

Mix the first three ingredients. Add in the shortening. Mix together with your hands until it resembles lumpy cornmeal.

Store in a tightly sealed container. It makes 11-12 cups. You can use it anywhere you see Bisquick or Bixcuit Mix called for.

Spiced Banana Walnut Muffins

2009-09-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

Grandma Burnham is now on. I put on her first post. I made these yesterday and they are wonderful. - Mom

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/4 salt

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c softened butter or veg. oil

1 c (2-3 whole) mashed bananas

1/4 c unsweetened applesauce

1/2 tsp orange zest (or more)

1/2 t vanilla

1 egg

1/4 chopped walnuts

Prepare as ususal.

Bake 25 min at 350.

Fake Oreos, Fake Spiders

2009-09-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so you know the recipe for fake oreos. Make those.

Then dye your frosting red. Use it to draw little black widow markings on your sandwich cookies. Chocolate chips for the eyes, and chocolate dipped pretzel sticks for the legs. Or you could use black licorice if you wanted to ruin perfectly good cookies.

Chocolate Spiders

2009-09-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

alright, I am enjoying the recipes people are coming up with, and getting all sorts of ideas for fun and exciting challenges (how about : only recipes you invent yourself, imagine the possibilities!) But Halloween is approaching, and other more significant celebrations that follow shortly after.
So there is this party coming up, Halloween themed and with a circle of friends that have a whole lot of inside jokes. What I need are dishes (healthy and not) involving spiders. Spider looking, spider web looking, even perhaps spider leg looking. Whatever. I know I could take a ritz cracker, stick 8 pretzel sticks to it with peanut butter, then dip the whole thing in chocolate, but I would like to branch out a little more, and come up with perhaps an entire meal of spider foods.

Ready, set, brainstorm.

Brotschnitte und Eier

2009-09-26T05:17:00.002-07:00

This is a German breakfast that my roommate Tia used to make for us in the German house. Its pretty simple-but for some reason, tasted amazing.

You take a couple pieces of bread (preferably wheat) and cut them into 1 inch squares. In a fry pan, heat up a little bit of olive oil. Add some pepper to it, and then throw in the bread. Pan fry it until the bread is toasted.

In another pan, at the same time, make scrambled eggs.

Serve both hot, with ketchup and orange juice. I know it sounds weird, but its really really good.

Mubba's Green Bean Casserole

2009-09-26T05:10:00.000-07:00

I know Nancy posted our usual recipe for this, but I learned a trick in college from my roommate Kim. This makes green bean casserole absolutely amazing- even Brody will eat it this way. I made it the other night and there were no leftovers.

Here's my secret:

Use the same recipe that Nancy posted, but add 1 dollop of miracle whip and 2-3 dollops of sour cream to the cream of soup before you mix it with the green beans. Thats for one of mom's oval casserole dishes, so for a 13x9, I'd at least double it.

It does make it incredibly less healthy. In fact, health wise, you'd probably be better off eating that cheesecake that Aaron posted earlier.

(Nearly) Vegan Mexican Goolash

2009-09-25T17:18:00.000-07:00

Here it goes:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar salsa
1 can rotel
1 can shoestring corn
1 can yello corn
2 cans black beans
1 can olives

Spray your crockpot with PAM first, trust me. Then put the chicken breasts in and cover with the jar of salsa and can of Rotel (undrained). Cook for 2 hours on high if not frozen, 4 hours if they are still frozen. After they're done cooking, remove and shred. To the crockpot add the corn and beans (drained and rinsed) and the can of olives (drained). Add the chicken and stir. Cook on low for a little longer, until heated through.

If you want to, serve it with some cheese and sour cream. Its really not necessary though, and it adds extra fat and makes it non-nearly vegan. This is also really good cold as leftovers. Mmm...

Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

2009-09-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

The ingredients and steps are simple. But getting it just right... a little trickier.

2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

5 Tablespoons Melted Butter

Make the crust, press it in a 9" springform pan.

Filling:

3 8z Pkgs Cream Cheese

1 C White Sugar

5 Eggs

Best if you beat these together with a paddle not a beater, because air is bad (makes cracks). Also, don't go adding a lot of the liquid (in this case the eggs) until you have the cheese beat smooth. It's almost impossible to get lumps out of anything once you have too much liquid.

Pour half or so of the mixture in to the pan, then melt 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and mix it in to the rest. Pour it in the pan in a swirly pattern or cut it in with a knife (careful not to disturb the graham crackers).

Bake at 3o0 degrees until the top isn't too jiggly. It's supposed to take 50 minutes, I find it is more like 75 minutes.

By the way, cheesecake is the only cake that should NOT be eaten warm. No matter how badly you want to. It isn't worth it. Let it be. Cool it to room temp, then put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Lock the fridge.

I'm told a good frosting for this is 3/4 cup of melted chocolate mixed with 1/2 cup sour cream. But who frosts cheesecake? At some point doesn't it just become ridiculous?

BLT Pizza

2009-09-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

This is an invention of yours truly, with a little help from mom. This summer, I did the linger longer food every week for the singles branch. I wanted to make this salad stuff I had at some random baby shower in Worthington, but it was in cute little pastry cups, which i could not afford for the linger longer. so it got all twisted around and made into BLT Pizza!!

You need:
Cresecent Rolls
Sour Cream
Cream Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Bacon

Okay, its like vegetable pizza, where you take pillsbury crescent rolls (You know, the little tubes that *POP* when you squeeze em) and bake them flat on a cookie sheet. Then you make an amazingly unhealthy spread with cream cheese and sour cream.

Then you pile lettuce on top ( I liked using romaine, because its pretty :) ) and some tomatoes, and some bacon pieces and VOILA! bacon lettuce tomato pizza. Its amazing.

Raspberry or Strawberry Salad

2009-09-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

I made a most lovely salad this summer for movie night at my friend Becca's house. It was the first original recipe I have made, I think. I used Merle's salad with the mandarin oranges and almonds as a basis for thinking of the ingredients, and then found my own combination. It was extremely easy, and I got so many compliments, I have made it a few times now.

Spring Greens bagged lettuce (no, not iceburg - this texture is important to the berries, plus it is healthier by far)

1 Pint Raspberries or Sliced Strawberries, whichever is in season

1 Cucumber, peeled and sliced

Butter Toffee Glazed Almonds (found in the salad toppings area near the produce section)

Ken's Steakhouse Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (this is a fabulous brand - it makes the salad, so I won't guarantee your results unless you buy this brand).

Rinse and dry lettuce. Add berries and cucumber slices. Sprinkle on almonds - I normally use about 1/3 of the bag. Add the vinaigrette just before serving.

Cookie Salad

2009-09-20T19:25:00.001-07:00

Nancy's salad post reminded me that nobody has posted Cookie Salad yet. This isn't dessert, no way! It has been served on the table with the meal every time I have eaten it, so it can't be dessert. Besides, it has fruit in it, so it is healthy.

Instant Pudding

Whipped Cream

Bananas

Mandarin Oranges (optional)

Keebler Fudge-Striped Cookies

Mini Marshmallows (optional)

To start, make some instant pudding. I like vanilla. Do as many servings as you have people who are going to eat it.

Stir in a container of whipped cream.

Cut up some bananas into slices. Add them to the pudding. Some people like some drained mandarin oranges, too, but others don't. Just make sure they are really well drained, or they will water down the salad, and we don't want that!

Just before serving, break up some Keebler Fudge-Striped Cookies and mix them in, but save enough whole cookies to decorate the top of the salad. Don't ever try adding these more than an hour in advance of serving, or they will be soggy. However, I have been known to enjoy a bowl of leftover cookie salad for as many as three days after making it. I just wouldn't serve it to guests that way.

Mini Marshmallows could also be added at this time. I haven't had it that way more than once, and I could take them or leave them.

The vinaigrette

2009-09-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

In a shameless attempt at garnering more points and further procrastinating my paper, I am posting the vinaigrette for the preceeding salad as a seperate recipe.

In my defense, lest you judge to harshly, it applies to much more than this salad, and has so many possible variations that it was a cumbersome addition to the salad post.

You really need to know one major principle in the making of any vinaigrette. Are you ready? Its a ratio. 2:1.

Tough, right?

That's 2 parts oil for one part vinegar. This is your base.

You can use whatever kind of oil you want, although olive oil is both traditional and healthy, peanut oil can make for a nice flavor, and canola oil works if you are a poor starving student forced to improvise on a crappy budget or on the leftovers people have in the cupboards.

And, while the options for the vineagar are infinite, I must warn you to not eliminate the possibility of using just plain white vineagar. It has its benefits, and it depends on the salad.

Next you need to think about the essence of your vinaigrette. Do you need a citrus feel to it? Add some lemon juice. Are there crasins in your salad? Try a little orange juice in your dressing. Is the salad mostly made up of tart or bitter ingredients? Put mustard in the dressing. (Weird logic? not really. Mustard is very good at drawing out sweet flavors, especially if you are just putting that yellow "French's" stuff into it. Which I give you permission to do, as long as you tell NO ONE.) The rule for any of these additions is that however many you use, one or 5, the amount should equal your vinegar.

(Incidentally, if you insist on making the vinaigrette without adding these flavors, you should increase the vinegar to equal the oil, making it a 1:1 ratio.

But thats not all! Simply mixing oil and vineagar will never impress anyone, so start thinking spices. Salt and pepper, yes, but you know that spice rack you got as a wedding present that you never really touched except for the cinnamon which is now empty? Yeah, open that up and start smelling things. If you like the smell, throw it in. It only takes a couple of tries before you find a combination that really expresses your flavor. Or, if you don't have a spice rack at your disposal, start digging through the cupboards and discover the random spices you have accumulated over the years.

Make the dressing a few times and put it on the side, pretty soon you will find the simplicity of mixing it as easy as grabbing a bottle out of the fridge, and you might even start preferring it so much, you stop buying dressings altogether.

Tomato Mozzarella salad

2009-09-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

I am avoiding a paper, and by doing such, noticed that other's neglect gives me ample opportunity to win this particular challenge.

So let's talk salad for a moment. An important pronciple I learned from the French is that salad does not always mean lettuce and dressing. In fact, since salad really just refers to the blending of various fresh things, it doesn't even necesarily have to refer to vegetables at all, meaning fruit salad could simply be referred to as salad, and if you wanted to, say, create a salad using pudding and cookies, it could simply be referred to as a salad as well. Although I don't know anyone who would do such a thing, and if they did, there would be GREAT debates as to whether it counted as a salad or as a dessert.

But I digress. My favorite salad from France is one I had my very first week there, and many many times after.

You will need:
Tomatoes (Roma work really well for this)
Mozzarella (I like to get the fresh kind, packed in water, for this, since its more of a feature of the dish than just grating it over the top)
A vinaigrette. You can use a pre-mixed kind, but if you want to make a really nice one, I will give you the recipe for that as well.
You can add fresh basil as well. It brings the flavors together quite nicely.

Slice the tomatoes and the mozzarella so that the slices are basically the same size (and if you got the fresh mozzarella in the round packages, then they are nice and uniform!) Layer them out on a plate, in a pretty pattern, alternating between the tomato and mozzarella. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and the chopped fresh basil and some salt and pepper.

Yup, thats all there is to a marvelous salad. I might add that if you are particularly wealthy or trying to impress someone, Havarti cheese works well too.

And, I might add again, that its in our blood, in our own heritage to love this salad. After all, how many times did we have tomatoes and cheese for lunch at Grandma and Grandpa Pratt's house? Remember how you could just pick a tomato and eat it like an apple, catching the juice dribbles with that unreasonably large hunk of yellow cheese that Grandma would cut for you? This is simply less portable and less messy.

Pumpkin Bread the Easy Way

2009-09-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

Another one shamelessly stolen from John Kline. I hope he doesn't mind me using his recipes here, but I justify it thusly: 1. I've credited him with them. 2. I've voted for him.

This is the quick way to make pumpkin bread: Mix 1 can of canned pumpkin, 1 tsp of Allspice, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup of milk, and a package of pound cake mix from the store. Bake 1 hour in a loaf pan (greased/floured) at 350 degrees.

I've only tried it with pumpkin, but I bet it would work with banana too. Although I would leave out the allspice for that.

Someone should really post mom's pumpkin bread recipe though - the easy way out will never be as good. By the way, if you tell someone how it is made, they are more likely to think it tastes like pound cake mixed with pumpkin. So let's keep the secrets to the magic to ourselves.

I'm labeling this one 'bread' so I don't get docked points for posting another dessert. But I was just thinking, a little cream cheese frosting would put this one over the edge...

Nancy's Boeuf Bourgingnon

2009-09-07T20:21:00.001-07:00

So in response to my own challenge, I offer this new recipe that I created all by myself, based in principles I learned from a woman named Solange and a cookbook I received from a very attractive man named Jean-Charles. (Note here, I listened to these people particularly, because French women frighten me just a little and because attractive French men are a rarity to be savored. I'm just sayin'.)

The recipe came up because I was in need of an accompaniment cd, so I cohersed my very busy friend Bryan to spend part of his saturday afternoon playing for me, and in exchange he and his wife requested that I cook a real French meal for them. (I offered to pay them, but they wanted services for services, and I obliged, since cooking for people isn't something I get to do very often.) I had short notice and no access to a real recipe book, so I went to the grocery store on a blank slate ans simply started wandering the aisles.

You have heard that necessity is the mother of invention? Well, I like to think that this was sort of this, but more of a love and service beget creation, you know, like Elder Uchtdorff's talk last year in the RS session. Which everyone should read/listen to/ download to their ipod, or whatever it is you do these day.

But I am rambling, so onward to the recipe!

You will need:
Some cuts of Beef, not ground. a cut for each person, whichever style you like, although cheap and thing work really well, because no matter what you do, the recipe will turn out tender.

Kite string (or cooking twine, whatever. I like kite string, its cheap and everyone has several spools laying around)

Beef bouillon or beef stock or beef soup base. Get the kind in the pourable box, you will want a lot of it!

Bacon, one slice for each cut of beef

Fresh Basil

Various spices, although the best are italian, pepper, mustard seed, caraway seed, celery salt, and garlic

or if you are feeling lazy, you could try it with the lipton onion soup mix. haven't done that yet, but the blend would work in this.

Now, you are finally going to get to use that meat tenderizer that just sits in your knife rack or utensil drawer, lonely and waiting for you to cook something real! (Of course, if your lonely meat tenderizer has given up and run away, then cover your rolling pin with saran wrap.) Smash (smoosh?) that meat so it is flat and malleable.

put your spices on it (except for the fresh basil and mustard seeds, those need to wait) and then lay a slice of bacon across on side of it. Fold it over so it sandwiches the bacon, and then roll it up and tie it into a little ball with the kite string.

Put your beef bouillon/stock in a stock pot or pan big enough to hold all your servings with a little wiggle room. (I used 1 box of stock in a saucepan with 3 servings, anything more and you will have to move to a bigger pan and perhaps more bouillon)

put some mustard seeds and chopped fresh basil and whatever other spices you like into the stock as well, and then drop the beef in.

Let it boil and simmer for about 20 minutes (depending, of course, on size and thickness of meat) Even if you go too long, you are cooking the meat by boiling it, so it won't get dry. And you are cooking it by boiling it in its own juices, so it won't get slimy.

Serve it hot, and its a really great idea to put a little ramekin of the extra au jus (that's fancy for spicy bouillon) on the side of each serving, so that the meat can be dipped in it and drizzeled with it.

Yummy.

Oh yes, if you have small children eating this, you probably want to cut the kite string off before you serve it.

And it goes really well with a nice tomato mozzarella salad (which I suppose I will have to post as a seperate thing.... someday, when I have time)

A little balance...

2009-09-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

I was just noticing in the tags that we seem to have a weight issue, and I mean that on so many levels. Go ahead, look at it, and see if you can notice the problem...

...

...

That's right, there are 44 desserts, and the other sections barely even acheive half that.

Unbalanced, for sure.

Now, to be fair, I have, I am sure, contributed to the problem, and in addition, it seems like a reasonable thing to have more recipes for the things we like to eat and create.

But why don't we see if we can't step it up a little in the other areas. Perhaps Aaron could do some more point tallying this time notfying us in advance of the rule that a dessert post is a negative point. This means, if you are going to post a dessert, it would be wise to post a non dessert as well.

(Not that the fat content will be any less, since we all know that brussel sprouts taste better when broiled in bacon fat)

Air Freshener

2009-09-07T17:04:00.000-07:00

For when you need an air freshener... Not really a recipe, but sort of like Febreze.

1 Tbsp Baking Soda

2 C Warm Water

1/4 C Liquid Arm & Hammer Fabric Softener

Dispense in Spray Bottle.

Clean Sprayer by pumping water through after each use.

Nauvoo Bread

2009-09-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

Picked this one up when we went to Nauvoo for the big family reunion. It's from Sister Prince, I believe she was one of the missionaries there. Everyone loved the fresh bread at the family living center. But I haven't tried recreating it yet.

5 Cups Hot Water

1/2 Cup Potato Flakes

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Powdered Milk

1 1/2 T. Salt

1/2 C Oil or Shortening

2 T Yeast

10-14 Cups Flour

Combine hot water, shortening, potato flakes, powdered milk, and sugar. Stir to dissolve shortening. WHen temperature is tepid, add yeast. Mix in 5 cups of flour an dthe salt. Stir to a smooth sponge. Add flour to make a smooth and elastic dough. Let rise until double, about 45 minutes, punch down and let rise again. Shape into loaves, let rise. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes.

Parmesan Picnic Bread

2009-09-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

We all liked this one. Also from Congressman Kline:

1 Loaf French Bread, sliced in half lengthwaise.

Combine

1/2 C Refrigerated Creamy Caeser Dressing

1/3 C Grated Parmesan Cheese

3 T Finely Chopped Onion

Spread on bread halves. Brown 4 inches under oven broiler.

Oven Fried Chicken

2009-09-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, this doesn't really taste fried to me. But I like the parmesan/italian breading, and it keeps chicken breasts moist if you want to bake them. We have to double the recipe. It comes from our U.S. Congressman, John Kline. I've worked on his campaigns, and he used to hand out these recipes to his constituents, as sort of calling cards.

6 Chicken Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Patted Dry

Mix together

2/3 C Dry Breadcrumbs

1/3 C Parmesan Cheese

1/2 T Garlic Salt

Pour 1/4 C Italian dressing in a separate bowl.

Dip chicken breasts in dressing first, then in crumbs. Bake 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-08-27T06:20:00.001-07:00

Alright, Mubba. Here's my contribution to your chocolate cult meeting. One of the boys discovered this recipe a couple of weeks ago, and I'm afraid I made a decent contribution to the consumption of them.

2 C Butter

3 C White Sugar

4 Eggs

1 Tbsp +1 Tsp Vanilla

4 C Flour

1-1/3 C Cocoa Powder

1-1/2 Tsp Soda

1/2 Tsp Salt

4 C Chocolate Chips

Cookie mixing is standard procedure. Baking is too - 8-10 min @ 375.

Walking Tacos

2009-08-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Several Small Bags of Nacho Cheese Doritos (1 for each person)
Shredded lettuce
taco meat
sour cream
salsa
shredded cheese

Crunch the doritos inside the bag and then open it. Add which ever of the other ingredients that suits your fancy. Eat with a fork (or spoon if you enjoy a challenge) straight out of the bag.

These are great for big groups because they don't make much mess- you don't have to worry about balancing a plate and the what not.

I hadn't ever tried these until this summer. Occasionally Valleyfair treats their staff to these and we visit Matt at the park and I eat all of his. We made them for dinner here, and the kids really enjoyed them. Just a piece of advice though- don't eat one of these and then go on the Octopus.

Edible Modeling Dough

2009-08-20T14:21:00.001-07:00

Dug this one up for family home evening. Sicky-sweet and peanut butter, only a child could like it.

1-1/4 Cups Powdered Sugar
1-1/4 Cups Powdered Milk
1 Cup Corn Syrup
1 Cup Peanut Butter.

Mix.

Vaguely reminiscent of actual peanut butter cookie dough, just similar enough to be disappointing when you realize that it is realy just peanut-butter-flavored-diabetes-in-a-bowl.

onion dip

2009-08-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

Personally, I think the new year doesn't happen until you actually consume an entire container of french onion dip and ruffles potatoe chips.

And you have to get the ruffles with ridges. Because the ridges hold more of the onion dip goodness and stay crunchy. If you get the non ridgy kind then the chips get soggy between the dip and your mouth.

Its easy.

1 container of sour cream

1 packet of lipton french onion soup

mix it up. well. don't let any pockets of spice collect up, and make sure to scrape the bottom so that it mixes up entirely.

Grean Bean Casserole

2009-08-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ah the Thanksgiving staple. I'm surprised you requested this, aren't you the one that refuses to allow it on the table? It was always my job to get this one going, probably because I would generally be the one to consume half the pan. Between this and mashed potatoes, I didn't eat a whole lot else on thanksgiving.

For the record, the green beans really should be the french cut ones. The others work, but they don't quite bake into the sauce the same way.

four normal sized cans of french cut green beans
2 cans campbells cream of soup. (you know the routine, chicken or mushroom. the recipe calls for mushroom, but SOME people won't eat the mushroom stuff, so you have to consider who you are serving this to)
Frenchs fried onions
salt and pepper

drain the beans, mix them with the soup and some milk and about half the can of onions, salt an pepper to taste. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then scatter the rest of the onions on top so they get crispy during the last 5 minutes of bake time.

Reeses Peanut Butter Bars

2009-08-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Seriously, you didn't know this one by heart? Come on, I remember a time in Warroad when Aaron made these at least weekly. And then I made them for the seminary open house last year, and again they were a hit. There was a time we could whip these up in less time than it took for the toyota to drive from the library to 306 virginia street....

But you do need a food processor... (Ok, remember the Christmas of the food processor? I know you all have one. Well, Emma and I don't, but that just means you have to make them for us and mail them to us. Whatever happened to care packages?)

I'm posting the 13x9 recipe, because there is no point to making any less...

2 1/2 cups of graham craker crumbs (remember that food processor?)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup margarine
1 cup peanut butter

mix it all up and press into the bottom of the 13x9.

Melt 2 TBsp of peanut butter with
6 oz chocolate chips (thats 1/2 package)

Boom Baby

The bestest homemade syrup I have ever tasted in my whole entire life...

2009-08-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

Seriously, you know how at a restaurant the butter and the syrup sort of melt together and there is this hint of melty goodness that sits on top and you wish all of your syrup could taste like that first bite?

This is that syrup.

1 cube butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup sugar

Boil it together, then once it boils, remove it from the heat. Add:

1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda

Yummmmmmmmmmm.

Nancy's very own Mac and Cheese

2009-08-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

I have been working on this for a few weeks now. It started with an Alton Brown episode, and then a Paula Dean Recipe, and I just started to manipulate it to be all my own! (I'm very proud of this, and frankly, its really good.)

Noodles (I prefer stuff called campagnolle, it sticks to the cheese nicely. Shells work pretty well too, but its not as much fun to say as campagnolle. Come on, you know you want to say it out loud. Campagnolle!)

Flour
Butter/Margarine
Onion, cut up tiny
Milk (or cream if you feel gourmet)
as many different kinds of cheese as you want, shredded. I like to use mozarella and cheddar.
Garlic/ seasonings

Boil the noodles, put them in a collinder, put some butter in the pan and sautee the onions. cook them up until they are a little beyond clear, but not brown. Add the spices while you are doing this. Garlic is the best thing, and then it is up to you to branch out from there.

Add a splash of milk and some flour, stir it up and while it is still liquidy add the noodles back in. the flour will start to thicken up, so continue to add a little more milk to keep it stirable. Start to add the cheese in and keep stirring it while you watch the cheese get all lovely and melting.

Serve it hot!

Grandpa and Nancy's Stir Fry Stuff

2009-08-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

This is one I came up with for our Sunday Night Scrabble games. It is cheap and fast and conforms to most thing I always have around the house.

Frozen Mixed Veggies
Ramen Noodles
Eggs
Chicken

I'm poor, so I don't often actually use chicken, but if you have to feed protein to children, or to grandpa, then cut up a few chicken breasts into bite size chunks and cook them up in olive oil. Leave them and their grease in the pan while you continue to the next steps.

Start with the veggies and some water in a frying pan (I suppose a wok if you have one...) start them thawing/steaming which may take longer depending on how freezer burned the veggies are. If they are leftover from the last roommate that you lived with, it could take up to ten minutes. Once the veggies are reasonably frostless, add two cups of water per package of Ramen noodles, and add the ramen noodles as well. Continue to stir them around (that's why its called stir fry) until the noodles are soft, then toss in the ramen noodle spice packets. let the water reduce a bit while you stir it around, then crack some eggs in and continue to stir it around. I suppose the eggs are optional, but they give a little more protein to the whole experience, as well as kind of bind it together.

Once the eggs are done, then so is your stir fry!

For the Record...

2009-08-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

I did make the bacon wrapped chicken. And let me tell you, it was good. So thats another point.

Mississippi Mud Bars

2009-08-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Make a pan of 13x9 brownies. Just before they're done, sprinkle marshmallows on top and continue baking until the marshmallows are toasty brown. Let them cool (mostly) and frost with chocolate icing.

Here's the stories:

I remember when we were bringing these to a ward/branch function and the pan was sitting uncovered on the padded console between the front seats in the Toyota. Dad was getting overly excited as he was driving and put his elbow into the pan of them. We got to eat them all ourselves, since we couldn't really serve them after that.

I brought some to school one day and someone (Justin Solie) asked me what they were. I told him it was Mississippi Mud. He said it was impossible that it was from the Mississippi and I told him it was. Then I convinced everyone at the lunch table that Dad had flown down there the day before (which he probably had) just to get some mud from the river so my mom could make them (which, as we all know, he didn't. I'm just dishonest. I got it from my brother who adjusted the score from last month...).

Salami, Pickles & Cream Cheese Appetizer

2009-08-06T09:43:00.001-07:00

Aaron requested this recipe be put up, so here it is. It is a favorite holiday appetizer, as long as it is made right. An example of making it wrong is making it with Oscar Meyer salami instead of deli salami. We learned by experience that this does not work. So, when the grocery store is out of deli salami, find another grocery store.

Ingredients:

Salami or Cotto Salami circles

Small pickles or pickle spears, the same length as the diameter of the salami

Cream Cheese

Toothpicks

Slather cream cheese on a piece of salami. Place a pickle on it and roll it up. Secure with a toothpick. Done!

A few we're missing...

2009-08-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

In the interest of closing last month's little competition, I declare myself the winner.

Okay, in fairness Jessica posted 12 recipes, and I only posted 11. But one of Jessica's is a repeat from earlier (Divinity).

Melissa posted seven, but I disqualify two because she hasn't made them (this is me making up the rules after the fact, a process you should all be well acquainted with by now given our shared childhood experience). However, I added two points because she did post two pictures.

Then, just to be fair, I had to give myself a point for my picture posted, which brings me back to my original point: I win. Not by a landslide, but if it takes adjusting the rules to suit me, I'm not above that.

Now, I expect Emma Jane and Nancy and Amy to step up to the plate (PUN!) this month. Of course, Amy has had nothing interesting take her focus off Pratt Family Cooking in the past month, so I can't imagine why she has been so neglectful (other than that whole job change/moving her family across the state thing, which is a pathetic excuse).

This month's challenge: Who can post each of these critical missing recipes first. Of course, since these each form an integral part of our upbringing, the recipe is not complete without some form of explanatory note.

You may begin.

Mississippi Mud
Peanut Butter Cup Bars
Green Bean Casserole
Playdough
Guacamole
Fruit Shakes
Daddy Pratt Hamburgers
‘Kentucky Fried’ Chicken (8 of the 11 spices are salt…)
Mom’s bread
Stef’s pickles/creamcheese/summersausage
Sunday Roast
Onion Dip
Bouche de Noel

Birthday Cake, the Ice Cream lover's way

2009-08-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

This is how Tom prefers his birthday cake, and I suspect it is how Aaron would like one, too.

Springform pan
Two kinds of ice cream that work together
Cookies
chocolate sauce (or, another kind if chocolate doesn't work with the ice cream)
Cool-whip

Soften one kind of ice cream. Line the springform pan with plastic wrap. Fill the bottom of the pan with ice cream. Be sure you push it into the edges. Freeze again.

Crush the cookies. Soften the next thing of ice cream. Take the cake out and put a layer of crushed cookies in. Drizzle with chocolate sauce. Put the next kind of ice cream in.

Freeze solid.

Take it out, pop the edge off, and put it on a plate. "Frost" it with the cool-whip. You can color the cool-whip with food coloring, and use a plastic bag with the corner snipped to decorate the cake. It looks like a real birthday cake, but it is just ice cream.

Divinity

2009-07-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Yeah, right, like I can actually make this like Mom's. I can put the recipe here, but I have yet to meet anyone who can duplicate it just right.

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla

In 2 quart saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 cup water. Cook to hard ball stage (260 degrees) stirring only till sugar dissolves. Meanwhile, beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Gradually pour syrup over egg whites, beating at high speed on electric mixer. Add vanilla and beat till candy holds its shape, 4-5 mins. Quickly drop from a teaspoon onto waxed paper. Makes about 40 pieces.

Salt Water Taffy

2009-07-24T14:55:00.001-07:00

No one story would work for this one.

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oil of peppermint
7 drops green food coloring

Combine sugar, syrup, salt, and 1 1/2 cups water in 2 quart saucepan. Cook slowly, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook to hard ball stage (260 degrees) without stirring. Remove from heat; stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into buttered pan. Cook till comfortable to handle. Butter hands; gather taffy into a ball and pull. When candy is light in color and gets hard to pull, cut into fourthes. Pul each piece into long strands about 1/2 in thick. With buttered scissors, quickly snip into bite sized pieces. Wrap each piece in wax paper.

Aunt Julia's No Bake Cookies

2009-07-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

Mix together:
3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup coconumt
1/2 cup nuts
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 tsp Vanilla

Heat over stove:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup evap. milk
1/2 cup margarine

Stir together; drop by tsp on waxed paper. Let age one day.

Middlebro Manitoba Shepherd's Pie

2009-07-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

Middlebro is a little town in southern Manitoba, not far across the border on hway 12 (312 in the US) from Warroad, Minnesota. To people in southern climates, like Fargo or Minneapolis or Denver, the US/Canada border is something real and political. To natives of Warroad and Middlebro, the border station is an inconvenient annoyance; a place you have to stop on the way to visit relatives because some city yokel in Washington DC (or Ottawa) decreed it. Middlebro has a church, a couple of businesses, and a population of 317 people, some of whom work at Marvin Windows. Residents of Middlebro use the Warroad Library, and one of them donated a brand new copy of the Middlebro community cookbook. Reo was in the Library browsing and knowing tha the had to do dinner that night because the Librarian was working late, idly flipped though the cookbook looking for ideas, and saw this, or its approximation. It quickly became a family favorite.

6 to 20 potatoes
2 to 4 lbs cheap round steak
1 hot pepper
1 to 3 onions
1 or 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can creamed corn
1 to 2 lbs mild cheddar or colby cheese

Slice the meat into stroganoff strips, and start browning them in a fry pan (like the good Revereware pan Aunt Nancy gave Reo for Christmas) while you dice onions and pepper. Brown everything together (in olive oil) while you peel and cut potatoes. Let the meat and seasons (pepper, onions, and a little something from your spice cupboard) simmer together for as long as you have. The meat could be hamburger if you are in a hurry, or venison if you don't tell Melissa, but it needs to simmer in a covered pan fo ra good half hour if it's cheap round stake, which we buy here for less than hamburger. The number of potatoes depends (notice I spell POTATO like a democrat, which is not capitalized) upon th esize of the pyrex pan and the number of people and the size of the potatoes. Whip or mash the potatoes like you would for mashed potatoes and spread them in the (13x9 or bigger) cake pan. Stire the canned soup into the simmering meat, layer the creamed corn on top of the potatoes and spread the meat and soup on top. Layer the cheese on top and bake for 15 to 20 mins at 300 to melt the cheese. The whole thing can be refridgerated or frozen like lasanga and used the next week or month. Obviously, if it is frozen or refridgerated it would have to bake longer. The hot pepper came from the garden behind the hanger at the airport in Dyersburg, Tennessee.

Oh yeah, the reason the residents of Middlebro come to Warroad to the Library, instead of Roseau, is that they think the assistant librarian in Warroad is so nice and helps them find good things to read.

(as written by Reo Pratt)

Pizza Dough

2009-07-24T14:35:00.001-07:00

This is the best pizza dough recipe I've found.

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose four
1 Tablespoon cornmeal

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add salt, olive oill and 2 1/2 cups flour. Mix together. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until it clings to the side of the bowl. Knead.

Cover and let rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.

Push down. Brush 14 inch pan with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Press dough into pan. Top as desired.

Bake at 450 for 15-20 mins.

Cinnamon chips

2009-07-24T14:32:00.001-07:00

flour tortillas
cooking spray
cinnamon and sugar mixture

Preheat oven to 425. Spray the tortillas with spray. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar. Cut into wedges. Bake in the oven until crisp. These make a good after school snack. The place I got them from suggested using chopped up fruit as a "salsa" for them. I haven't done that yet, but sounds good.

Crockpot Apples

2009-07-24T14:27:00.001-07:00

Baking apples
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
cinnamon

Slice and peel the apples, and put them in a crockpot. Slice the butter on top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook on low for 8ish hours, or high for less than that. You do have to stir this! The apples will get all mushy and yummy and will produce a lot of juice. They taste a lot like Mom's baked apples.

Put on top of vanilla ice cream with a dollop of cool whip. Or, serve it however you want, but that is what we make it for.

I believe that would put me at...

2009-07-24T05:44:00.000-07:00

11 recipes, one picture. We'll work on the pictures thing. But you's'all gonna hafta run t'catch up.

By the way, I also spent some time putting labels on our recipes as per (Jessica's) suggestion, and I added a label gadget on the right so you can now see our recipes by category, hopefully making our site more useable -

Muddy Buddies

2009-07-24T05:41:00.000-07:00

These are a favorite. We often make them for school teachers as a thank-you at the end of the year.

9 cups Chex
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/4 Cup Butter
1 Tsp Vanilla
1-1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

Stir together Choc Chips, Peanut Butter and Butter and microwave on high 1 minute. Stir, microwave and stir in 30 second intervals until smooth. Stir in vanilla, pour over cereal and try to stir without crushing. Pour mix in to 2-gallon ziploc. Put powdered sugar in ziploc and shake. Spread out on waxed paper to cool, then store in tupperware in fridge.

Potstickers

2009-07-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

We love these in our house - in fact, Tristin went so far as to figure out how to make Wonton Wrappers from scratch one day so that we could have these:

40 Wonton Wrappers
2/3 Lb Ground Pork
1 Cup Chinese Cabbage - Minced
2 Green Onions - Minced
1 Egg
1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
Dash of Salt
Hot Chili Oil (to taste)
1/2 Cup Peanut Oil
1 Cup Water

Combine Pork, Cabbage, onion, egg, soy sauce, chili oil in large bowl, mix well.

Lay out won ton skins on dry surface, put 1 tsp filling on each. wet outer edge of won ton skins with water for seal. pinch together in semicircles.

Place 2 heavy fry pans on low heat, add half of oil to each. arrange potstickers so that they are close together, then raise heat to medium high.

Cook uncovered until bottoms are golden brown - it takes a couple of minutes, then steam by dumping 1/2 cup of water in each pan and covering immediately. Let steam until wonton wrappers are semi-transparent, then take cover off and cook until bottoms are crisp and brown.

The Standard for Sugar Cookies

2009-07-24T05:29:00.001-07:00

We got these ideas from a cooking shows, and it has become a regular standard in my house. My office at work has pictures of each of my children making them. They're very simple:

2 sticks of butter
1 Cup of Sugar
Cream together well

Add 1 Tbsp Milk, 1 egg, mix

Mix together:
3 Cups of Flour
1/4 Tsp Salt
3/4 Tsp Baking Powder.
Add slowly to wet ingredients

Refrigerate

Use a sifter to sprinkle powdered sugar on your rolling surface, then roll out the dough. Using powdered sugar instead of flour for rolling means not only do you eliminate the floury dust on sugar cookies, but it bakes over in a very subtle, sweet glaze-like finish in the oven.

Roll out 1/4 inch deep, cut with cookie cutters.

Bake for 8 minutes at 375, rotate half way through.

Grandma Burnham's Butter Cream Frosting

2009-07-24T05:22:00.000-07:00

Grandma Burnham's wedding cake decorating capabilities are nationally known. She creates the finest wedding cakes using all kinds of tricks (a couple that I can remember are that she sifts the cake mixes themselves if she is working from a mix, and she uses jams to hold layers together, combining interesting flavors like raspberry jam with chocolate cakes, apricot with vanilla, etc.). She freezes her cakes to make them easier to frost. Then the artist goes to work with the frosting:

1 Tsp Clear Vanilla
2 Tablespoons Cream, Milk, or Water
1/2 C Solid Vegetable Shortening (Crisco)
1/2 C Butter or Margarine, softened
1 Lb Confectioners' sugar

Sift the sugar into large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Blend until creamy. Do not over beat.

Thin with white syrup to do writing or do string work, also to make frosting easier on a cake which is not frozen or has crumbs.

For a pure white frosting substitute 1/2 C Solid Vegetable Shortening and powdered cream for the butter or margarine. A dash of salt will improve the flavor. 1/4 Tsp Butter flavor can also be added.