Thanksgiving!

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I've added and tabbed my absolutely favorite Thanksgiving recipes. You can click on Thanksgiving to view them all. Please add yours! What things HAVE to be on your Thanksgiving table? Please share so we can all benefit next year. :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you all! I love you!

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

The Pioneer Woman is a genius, I tell you. We made her version of mashed potatoes a few years back, with her magical ingredient - cream cheese! - and find these are the best mashed potatoes EVER. You must try! :)

• 5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
• ¾ cups Butter
• 1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
• ½ cups (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half
• ½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• ½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.

Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.

Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Turkey Brine

Last year, I brined my turkey for the first time, and I will do it forever now! Brining makes the turkey extraordinarily tender and juicy and flavorful. Again, I have Pioneer Woman to thank for her brining recipe.

• 3 cups Apple Juice Or Apple Cider
• 2 gallons Cold Water
• 4 Tablespoons Fresh Rosemary Leaves
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-½ cup Kosher Salt
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Peppercorns
• 5 whole Bay Leaves
• Peel Of Three Large Oranges

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and cover.

Allow to cool completely, (this took a LOT longer than I expected!) then pour into a large brining bag or pot. Place uncooked turkey in brine solution, then refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours. (I have a large pot that is no longer safe for cooking with (I burned the bottom badly.) I use this to brine my turkey in, and it's a LOT simpler than a bag, which I've also tried. I've also heard of people using coolers, though I've never tried this myself.)

When ready to roast turkey, remove turkey from brine. Submerge turkey in a pot or sink of fresh, cold water. Allow to sit in clean water for 15 minutes to remove excess salt from the outside.

Discard brine. Remove turkey from clean water, pat dry, and cook according to your normal roasting method. (I like to put mine in an oven bag in the oven.)

Pioneer Woman has more details about brining here and here.

Sweet Potatoes

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I've decided to post the recipes that have become my absolutely must-haves at the Thanksgiving table. This recipe for sweet potatoes comes from the Pioneer Woman, and this recipe is solely responsible for turning me from a sweet potato hater to a sweet potato lover! Because how can you hate anything prepared like this? Oh, yummy!

Ingredients

4 whole Medium Sweet Potatoes
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Pecans
½ cups Flour
¾ sticks Butter

Preparation Instructions

Wash 4 medium sweet potatoes and bake them in a 375-degree oven until fork tender, about 30-35 minutes. When they are finished cooking slice them open and scrape out the flesh into a large bowl.

Add 1 cup of (regular granulated) sugar, 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of salt. With a potato masher, mash them up just enough—you don’t want to be perfectly smooth.

Now, in a separate bowl, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup pecans, chopped (that means measure a cup of pecans, then chop them), ½ cup flour, and ¾ stick of butter. With a pastry cutter or fork, mash together until thoroughly combined.

Spread the sweet potato mixture into a regular baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Wendy's Chili

Melissa gave me this chili recipe. We tried it last night for our ward's chili cook-off, and we really liked the recipe! It is similar to "Wendy's Chili" from the fast food restaurant.

1 lb. Ground Beef (browned)
1 lb. Italian sausage (browned)
1-29 oz. Tomato Sauce
1 29- oz. Can Kidney Beans
1-29 oz. Can Pinto Beans
1 C. Onion Diced
1/4 C. Diced Celery
1/2 C. Diced Green Chilies
3 Medium Tomatoes, diced up
1 Tsp. Cumin
3 TBSP. Chili Powder
1 1/2 tsp. Pepper
2 tsp. Salt
2 C. Water

Add all ingredients into crock pot or onto stove top. Simmer for a a few hours.

**I would always half this recipe unless you are cooking for a really large group!

Homemade Mac n' Cheese

I cannot remember EVER liking macaroni and cheese, though I probably did as a child. (Did I, mom?) But as far back as my memory goes, I've found it revolting. Katelee and Gerald like it, though, so it is (very rarely) made around here at times. I ate a bite of Katelee's once - blech.

But recently Katelee ordered mac n' cheese at a restaurant. I could tell it was the REAL thing (no Kraft from a box, thank you), and it was yummy! I don't think I'd ever tried mac n' cheese that wasn't from a box before. So lately I've been craving a nice bowl of real macaroni and cheese.

Martha Stewart's recipe for macaroni and cheese showed up on Yahoo this week, and I was excited to try it. But when I went shopping I found I was going to have to spend about $40 making this one meal if I bought the expensive cheeses listed in her recipe - no thank you!!

So my friend shared THIS recipe with me and we tried it for dinner tonight. It's from the Pioneer Woman! I LOVE her. (In fact, why didn't I think to look there for a mac n' cheese recipe first?) It's simple, made with everyday regular ingredients, and it was yummy. A great dinner on a fall Sunday evening. :) Hope you enjoy! (You can see step by step photo instructions on her blog here.)

Ingredients

4 cups Dried Macaroni
1 whole Egg Beaten
1/4 cup (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
2-1/2 cups Whole Milk (I used 2%)
2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
1 pound Cheese, Grated (I used sharp cheddar, but want to try a blend next time.)
1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Preparation Instructions

Cook macaroni for only about 5 minutes, until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.

In a small bowl, beat egg.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.

Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick, almost like a cream gravy. Reduce heat to low.

Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the egg. Whisk together till smooth.

Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.

Add in cheese and stir to melt.

Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.

Pour in the drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top. (You can serve it without baking - it will be very soft and creamy. I chose to bake mine.)

Our New Favorite Meatloaf Recipe

Gerald LOVES meatloaf. It is the one meal he requests on special occasions (maybe because I don't make it otherwise). :) We were recently invited to dinner at a friend's house, and they served a DELICIOUS meatloaf. Yum! This is going to be my new go-to meatloaf recipe. :)

Recipe from Cathy Burgoyne via Sarah Burgoyne 10-4-11

• 2 1/2lb of hamburger (I used 3 the other night)
• ¾-1c. bread crumbs (I usually use old bread and my food processor to make the crumbs, freeze the rest)
• 2 eggs well beaten with 2 Tbsp of water
• ½ small onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ c. ketchup or bbq sauce (I used bbq sauce the other night- just what ever I had in the fridge)
  

Sprinkle bread crumbs and onions over meat and mix. Premix all other ingredients and then add to meat mixture. Mix with hands until incorporated. Form into a loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Homemade Applesauce

Today I made and bottled homemade applesauce. I haven't done applesauce in a few years, and I had almost forgotten how much better it tastes than store-bought applesauce! Oh, it's heavenly!

This website here has TONS of great information about making applesauce: from choosing apples to making and bottling the sauce, etc. I'm not going to talk about choosing apples, since she already does all that. But I'll give instructions for how I made and bottled the sauce.

Things You'll Need:

• apples (You'll get 12 - 16 quarts of sauce per bushel of apples. A bushel weighs about 42 lbs.)
  
• cinnamon (optional, but I like it!)
  
• sugar (optional - I don't usually use any sugar unless the sauce just seems too tart. With the right apples, you shouldn't need any.)
• washed and piping hot mason jars with lids and rings
• water bath canner
• food strainer/saucer. I have this one here. If you plan to make a lot of applesauce, I highly recommend it! I hear you can make applesauce with just a plain metal strainer, too, but luckily I've never tried it. Sounds like a headache. :)

Instructions:

Soak your jars in hot water so they will be nice and hot when you need them. Put the lids in a small sauce pan of water to simmer. Fill your waterbath pot with water and start heating to a boil.

Wash your apples and cut them them in quarters. LEAVE THE SKINS AND CORES ON - no need to remove them! (YAY!) Just cut them into quarters or use one of those metal apple segmenter thingys to slice the apple quickly.

Throw the apples into a pot of water and bring to a boil. When it gets really going, turn the heat down to medium-high and let cook until the apples are nice and soft through and through. (This took about 10 - 25 minutes per batch.)

Now, if you have a food saucer like I do, just stick the soft apples in the top of your saucer, crank and voila! APPLESAUCE! Again, if you do not have a food saucer, you can still make applesauce, especially if you're just doing a small batch. Click here to read all about how to do this with no special equipment.

Now, if you want to bottle the applesauce, put the applesauce into a large pot. Keep the sauce hot. Season with cinnamon and/or sugar as needed to taste. Note - a little bit of sugar goes a long way! The sauce doesn't need to cook, it just needs to be kept hot until you have enough to fill your jars.

Fill the jars to within a 1/4 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims well and put a lid and ring on each jar. Place in a waterbath canning pot and when the water comes to full boil, start timing. How long you keep them in the waterbath depends on your elevation. I processed mine for 30 minutes.

When done, remove the jars and set in a safe place to cool and seal overnight. You're done! Yay!

Soft Molasses Cookies

Last night I had a Halloween-themed piano recital. It was so fun! For the refreshments, I baked cookies that reminded me of fall. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, toffee and butterscotch (using Darla's chocolate chip recipe and substituting the chocolate chips with toffee and butterscotch chips), and THESE amazing cookies that my friend, Sarah Burgoyne makes. I am so glad that Sarah shared this recipe with me. These cookies are soft and chewy. They are pretty. And they taste like fall or Christmas to me. They got the most compliments at the recital last night - everyone loved them and there were none left at the end of the night. ;)

¾ c. shortening
1c. packed brown sugar
1 lrg egg
1/2 c. molasses
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg

Cream sugar and shortening. Stir in egg and molasses. Fold in dry ingredients and stir. (I like to mix spices, salt and baking soda together before adding to flour.) Cover and chill for 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into small balls and roll in white sugar. Place on a cookie sheet (I like to cover mine in foil- keeps cookies from getting too dark and easy clean up). Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes (I do 9 minutes). (Jenn's note: I think I made mine a bit smaller than Sarah's and so I baked them for 8 minutes. You want them soft - so be careful not to overcook!) Leave on sheet one minute to set, remove to cooling rack

A few notes from Sarah:
*I usually double the recipe.
*I tend to substitute ground cloves for the allspice, also if I am ever low on one of the spices I just try end up with the same amount of tsp of spices. I’ll up the cinnamon or ginger if I am out of nutmeg for example.

Coconut Cake

We had dinner a friend's house recently, and she served this yummy cake. Gerald LOVES coconut, and especially loves this recipe! The recipe is originally from another woman in my ward, Julie Dixon.

Ingredients:

• Pillsbury White Cake mix
• Can of Cream of coconut*
• Whip cream (Cool Whip Light)
• Shredded coconut
  

Make a Pillsbury White cake mix according to high altitude directions. Bake in an oblong cake pan – I like to use a foil lasagna pan ( 9 X 11) because it’s slightly smaller than a 9 X 13 cake pan and therefore makes a slightly plumper cake. If you use the foil pan, bake for 45 minutes instead of the time listed on the cake mix box. While cake is hot, punch holes every two inches with the handle of a wooden spoon. Into the holes pour a can of cream of coconut (Coco Lopez is one brand name). Let cake completely cool. Frost with whip cream (I use Cool Whip Light) and top with shredded coconut.

*At King Soopers the cream of coconut is located in the mixed drink area. I guess they use it to make pina coladas.

Fast and easy pizza dough

We eat lots of homemade pizza at our house so I am always trying different dough recipes. This is by far my favorite. Even better its super quick and easy. I found this from a blog called
realmomkitchen.com

3 C. flour
1 Tbl. honey (heaping)
1 Tbl. oil (heaping)
1 C. warm water
1 Tbl. yeast
1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Preheat oven to 475 if using a pizza stone let heat in oven for 30 min. Mix everything except flour then slowly add flour until all combined. Knead for a min. press into pan or roll out for the pizza stone. put dough on stone add sauce and toppings. Cook 12 min if using pan, 8 min if using stone

Chocolate chip pumpkin cookies

These take a little longer then the shortcut pumpkin cookies where you use the box mix, but they are well worth it. Plus it makes a lot so you can freeze them. They freeze great and are still soft when frozen. So far my favorite pumpkin cookie.

1 C. butter
3 C. sugar
2 C. canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
5 C. flour
1 bag choc. chips

Cream together butter and sugar ten add pumpkin eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients. Combine with wet mix well then add choc. chips. Bake at 350 for 12-14 min.

Mexican Haystacks

1 pd. hamburger

1 diced onion

1 1/2 cups medium salsa

1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 chicken bullion cube

rice

lettuce

cheese

tomatoes

diced olives

sour cream

Brown hamburger & onion, add salsa, tomato sauce, & bullion cube. Bring to a boil.

Make rice.

Layer individual servings with rice, hamburger sauce, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, olives, & sour cream.

Yummy Coconut Pecan Frosting for German Chocolate Cake

For Mom's birthday she decided she wanted a German Chocolate Cake, so the search was on for a good frosting recipe to make the perfect cake. I found this particular recipe on the blog called "Sweet Pea's Kitchen," and I have to admit, it was pretty dang good.


4 egg yolks
1 can evaporated milk (12 ounces)
1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (1 3/4 ounces)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2  1/3 cups sweetened shredded coconut (7 ounces)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans (6 1/2 ounces)


In a medium saucepan, whisk yolks; gradually whisk in evaporated milk. Add sugars, butter, and salt and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is boiling, frothy and slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Transfer mixture to a heat proof bowl, whisk in vanilla, then stir in coconut and pecans. Cool until just warm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

Image from www.sweetpeaskitchen.com 

Hope you like it as much as we did! Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

Pear Pie

I had 6 pears left over after canning yesterday, and a dinner invitation today to which we were supposed to bring a dessert. The result? We tried this delicious recipe from allrecipes.com for the first time, and everyone raved about it! Every single piece was gobbled up. I know pear pie sounds strange, but we loved it so much I think we'll be making this for Thanksgiving this year and many other times in the future. It has a similar taste and texture as apple pie, only it's not as tart and the filling was cinnamon-y and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe for a 9-inch double crust pie
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 5 cups peeled and sliced pears (about 6 pears)
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  

Directions:

1. Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon rind in mixing bowl. Gently stir in the pear slices until the sugar mixture has evenly coated the pears.

2. Roll out the pie dough, and place in a 9-inch pie dish. (I use this recipe.)

3. Arrange pears and sugar mixture in the the crust. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Roll out remaining dough. Place top crust over filling; cutting slits for venting. Fold edge under bottom crust, pressing to seal. Flute edge.

3. Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes.

(picture from allrecipes.com)

Bottled Pears

My canning adventures for this year aren't over yet! I just finished bottling pears this morning. We LOVE pears. Oh, yumminess... Here is how I do them.

Start with nice, ripe pears. I haven't given an amount of pears because -- if you're like me -- you can whatever amount of pears you want. This recipe is so easy you can adjust it to fit a small batch of 6 or 8 pears, or an entire 40 lb. box like I did.

Put a small pot of water to simmer on the stove top and put the lids in to simmer on a medium heat. Start heating the water in your big pot where you will process the jars so it can begin to boil. Be sure your jars are cleaned and ready to go, and keep them in hot water so they are nice and piping hot when ready to use.

Using a potato peeler, peel off the skin. Cut lengthwise in half, then use a melon baller or measuring spoon to scoop out the inner section with the seeds, the stem, and the section of the stem that extends into the pear. You'll see it when you cut the pear in half.

I put a skillet or bowl on the counter and fill it with water, then squeeze a lemon into it. This liquid is where you'll place the pears after you've peeled and cored them -- it keeps them from browning.

Prepare a very light, light, or medium syrup or pack pears in apple juice, white grape juice, or water. I chose to use a light syrup.

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 cups water
  

Mix the two together in a pot and stir them over a medium-low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase your heat to high and bring this mixture to a boil. I usually start my sugar syrup when I'm about halfway finished with preparing my pears. The syrup will be boiling by the time I'm finished and ready for it.

Raw packs make poor quality pears - you need to cook your pears a bit. When the sugar syrup boils, put your prepared pears into it and bring it back to the boil. This won't take long -- and boil the pears for a few minutes in the syrup.

Remove your HOT jars, and carefully pack them with the hot pears. I use a slotted spoon to remove them from the hot syrup.

Using a funnel, pour the boiling sugar syrup over the pears. Make sure that the pears are fully covered by the sugar syrup, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Clean the rim of your jars well and then place a lid on top of it. Screw your bands onto the jar. Lower the hot fruit-filled jars into the hot water in your water bath processor pot. Bring to a boil.

Again, processing instructions and times vary depending on the elevation you live at. You can use the table on this website to see how long you should process your pears. I processed mine for 35 minutes. Start timing after the water comes to a full boil.

My latest batch is sitting on the counter top. I love how they look; bottled pears are SO pretty.

Grape Jelly Meatballs

Sounds weird, but really good!
A friend brought this dinner over to me when I had Trey. This is really good and super easy.

Bag of frozen meatballs
jar of grape jelly
12 oz chili sauce
Rice

put in crock-pot and let heat for 5 hours. Serve over rice.

* I made this again since she brought it to us but instead of using frozen meatballs I made my own.
Here's how I did them.
Hambuger, 1 egg, 1/2 C. bread crumbs combine cook uncovered in oven for 30 min. Then put in the crock-pot with the jelly and chili sauce and cook for a few hours.

Vermicelli Salad

Here is the salad recipe Lindsay made from Trey's baby blessing. I know a lot of people wanted the recipe. It is really good.

16 oz vermicelli noodles
1 T accent seasoning
2 T Lawreys seasoning salt
1 T lemon juice
3 T Wesson oil ( I just use any Veg. oil)
4 oz jar chopped pimentos (optional)
1 Cup chopped green pepper
3/4 Cup chopped onion
1 can chopped olives
2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups mayo

Chop up all the vegetables pretty small while the noodles are cooking. When noodles are done rinse in hot water. Add oil, seasonings, and lemon juice into the noodles. Add chopped veggies and then add mayo. Mix well .
* I usually half this recipe unless i am making it for a big crowd.

What to Make for Breakfast

This isn't exactly a recipe. Rather, it's a list for me to refer to in the future, and hopefully the start of a discussion about breakfast.

In an ongoing effort to spend less money on groceries, I have changed how we do breakfast. We love breakfast cereal, but it is SO DANG EXPENSIVE unless you are a master shopper and use lots of coupons and match the ads . . . which I'm not very good at doing. We also eat through cereal extremely fast. In an effort to change, I am proud to say that we have only eaten cereal 5 times in the last month - WOOT! This is HUGE for our family. We also do not buy other 'instant' breakfast foods. I have discovered that making breakfast for my family is really rewarding, extremely cheap, and actually doesn't take as much time as I thought. And I love sending Katelee and Gerald off to school knowing I've fed them a healthy and hot meal.

So, here is a list of the top breakfasts we recommend that's good for your budget, your health, and your busy schedule.

• Oatmeal - we use quick oats, which only take a couple of minutes to make and add our own favorite toppings - brown sugar, raisins, frozen blueberries, fresh fruit such as diced apples, cinnamon and other spices.
• Toast. This is especially good if made from homemade bread and spread with jam, honey, or agave. We also really enjoy this cinnamon toast recipe.
• Waffles or pancakes. They really don't take that long to make, and are so much tastier and cheaper than their frozen counterparts. Leftover waffles reheat well in a toaster the next day. These pumpkin waffles are especially yummy if you have a bit more time.
• Breakfast rounds - always a HUGE hit with everyone.
• Crepes - which we call "rolly-up pancakes" around here - are a favorite around here, and I've gotten really fast at making them. I love them with fresh fruit and whipped cream, or buttered with a sprinkling of lemon juice and powdered sugar (AMAZING!). Gerald likes his savory, stuffed with ham and eggs. Katelee's favorite way to eat them is buttered with jam or maple syrup. So many options, but all of them delicious.
• Muffins. I've taken to making a batch of quick banana or bran muffins when I have a little time during the day, and freezing them. We can pull them out for a quick and delicious breakfast on a busy morning. Here's a fun muffin recipe. I also like to make my mom's banana bread recipe and bake it up as muffins rather than in a loaf.
• Eggs. Katelee LOVES her eggs hard-boiled, and so does Gerald. I'll boil several extra and we will eat them up over the next couple of days. Scrambled or fried eggs are also a quick and easy breakfast idea.
• Fruit smoothies. What else is there to say - YUM! Coupled with a muffin, this is a great and very quick breakfast!
• Puff-Over Pancakes. 4 ingredients. 3 minutes. Let it bake while you get ready. Our family LOVES this for breakfast.

Let the discussion begin! What do you eat for breakfast that is 'homemade', inexpensive, and yummy? For example, does anyone have a good granola recipe? Anyone have any other fabulous ideas?

PLEASE SHARE!

Jenn's Wheat Bread

With the rising cost of groceries, we are trying to save money on our food bill. I've made a goal to start making all our bread again - something I did once upon a time but haven't done now for years.

To me, a good bread recipe should require relatively simple ingredients, have a light, tasty flavor, be healthy, and cut into slices well for sandwich-making. I experimented with a new recipe today that I tweaked for my own purposes, and we LOVED the results. Katelee and I enjoyed a warm, fat slice with homemade jam for lunch today - and it was heavenly. :) This bread cuts easily and smoothly for excellent sandwich-making. And I like that it is quite healthy and seems to freeze well.

• 3 cups warm water (about 110 degrees F)
• 4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (OR 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast)
• 1/3 cup agave or honey (I used agave, but the original recipe called for honey)
  
• 5 cups bread flour
  
• 3tablespoons butter, melted
• a few more Tablespoons of agave (the original recipe called for 1/3 c. honey)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 egg, slightly beaten (this was not in the original recipe, but I think it helps to add an egg)
  
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  

1. In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup agave. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

2. Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey (or, I just squirted about a few tablespoons worth of agave instead), salt, and I added an egg at this point because I've heard that adding an egg helps bread not be so crumbly. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. (I used my KitchenAide and just added wheat flour until it no longer was sticking to the bowl. Be sure to use your dough hook.)

3. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

4. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch. (I used my monster-long wilton loaf pan, which is 16 x 4 inches, and put all the dough in there at once. I probably should have only put about 2/3 of the dough in there, and reserved 1/3 for a smaller bread pan, but it worked. ;)

5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely. (Or don't. We can't resist eating some of it while warm!) Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Just tried this recipe for the first time, and we LOVE it! I highly recommend that everyone try this one. This if from "Our Best Bites" cookbook by Sara Wells and Kate Jones.

"It's pretty rare for reduced-calorie alternatives to traditionally fried foods to taste as satisfying as the original, but these are an exception. The creamy filling is quick to throw together and can be made ahead of time. The tortillas bake up so crispy and flavorful that you won't miss the deep-fried calories for even a second! This is definitely one of the most popular recipes with our readers."

• 1/3 C. (3 oz.) cream cheese
• 1/4 c. green salsa
• 1 T. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
• 3 T. chopped cilantro
• 2 T. chopped green onions
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 1 c. shredded pepper jack cheese
• 6-inch corn or flour tortillas, as fresh as possible (the longer they sit, the more likely they are to crack - we used flour and had no problems with cracking)
• 2 T. vegetable oil, optional
• cooking spray
• Kosher salt (I substituted regular salt here)
  

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it lightly with cooking spray. Heat cream cheese in the microwave for 20 - 30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro, green onions, chicken, and pepper jack cheese.

Wrap 3-4 tortillas at a time in damp paper towels and microwave for 20 - 30 seconds so they are soft and pliable. If you find your tortillas are cracking when rolled, used damper paper towels and increase the microwave time.

Place 2-3 T. of the chicken mixture on the lower third of each tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges, and then roll it up.

Place seam-side down on the baking sheet in a single layer. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or brush with vegetable oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of Kosher salt on top. Place pan in the oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes (mine only needed 15 minutes) or until crisp and the ends starts to get brown. Cool for 5 - 10 minutes and then serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, or pico de gallo. Makes approximately 16 Taquitos.

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: Place unbaked Taquitos in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for 2 hours or until frozen enough to hold their shape. Pack in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. (I used a gallon-sized freezer bag.) To bake, follow the regular instructions, extending the baking time by about 10 minutes.

Strawberry Jam

I've continued with my canning efforts this week with some strawberry jam! Homemade jam tastes so much better than store-bought, not to mention that making a jar of jam costs MUCH less money than buying it.

Here is the basic jam recipe I use.

5 cups hulled mashed strawberries
7 cups sugar
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 49g package powdered fruit pectin

1. Place 8 or 9 8-ounce mason jars in a large hot water bath canner (or pot). Cover with water and bring to a simmer.
2. Simmer center lids in separate saucepan full of water.
3. Place mashed strawberries and lemon juice in a separate pot. Stir in pectin until dissolved. Bring strawberries to a strong boil.
4. Add sugar and a pat of butter (measure beforehand so you can add it all at once), then return mixture to a full (violent) boil that can’t be stirred down. Boil hard for 1 minute 15 seconds.
5. Skim foam off the top.
6. Remove one jar at a time from the simmering water. Pour water back into the pot. Using a wide-mouth funnel, fill each jar with jam, being careful to keep the liquid/fruit ratio consistent. Fill jars so that they have 1/4-inch of space at the top.
7. Run a knife down the side of the jar to get rid of air bubbles.
8. Wipe rim of jar with a wet cloth to remove any residue or stickiness.
9. Remove center lid from simmering water and position it on top.
10. Put screw bands on jars, but do not overtighten!
11. Repeat with all jars, then place jars on canning rack and lower into the water.
12. Place lid on canner, then bring water to a full boil. Boil hard for 10 to 12 minutes.
13. Turn off heat and allow jars to remain in hot water for an addition five minutes.
14. Remove jars from water using a jar lifter, and allow them to sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
15. After 24 hours, remove screw bands and check the seal of the jars. Center lids should have no give whatsoever. If any seals are compromised, store those jars in the fridge.

Otherwise, fill your pantry with your newly canned goodness.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is the first time I've ever made chicken cordon bleu, and I was surprised at how easy it was. Also, Gerald and Katelee really liked it, so I think we'll definitely be having this again! I'm really working on getting my freezer stuffed full with ready-to-eat freezer meals for all our late and busy weeknights, and this is a recipe I found in a freezer cookbook called "Fix, Freeze, Feast" by Kati Neville & Lindsay Tkacsik. (I think it's a great cookbook, if anyone is interested. I just found it at my local library.) Anyway, we didn't freeze all of this meal - we saved some of it and took it camping and cooked it fresh in our dutch oven (which worked really well!) - and froze the rest. A great meal, either way.

12 fresh chicken breasts
1 c. flour
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 c. dry bread crumbs
12 slices Swiss cheese
12 slices deli ham
wax paper
plastic wrap
freezer bags (if planning to freeze)

Rinse and trim chicken as desired. Lay out three shallow dishes (I just used sturdy paper plates for easy clean-up). Measure the flour into one, eggs into another, and breadcrumbs into a third. Lay each piece of chicken, smooth side down, between two sheets of wax paper. Using a rolling pin or a meat tenderizer, pound each chicken piece to 1/2 inch thick. (Katelee thought this step was awesome! We had fun beating up the chicken together. :) Take one piece of chicken, coat with flour, dip in egg and then coat with breadcrumbs. Set aside. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Discard remaining flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. Fold one piece of cheese into a small bundle and place in the middle of a slice of ham. Fold the sides of the ham in, enveloping the cheese. Place a ham/cheese bundle on the narrow end of a breaded chicken piece, roll chicken into a packet, and secure tightly by wrapping with plastic wrap. (Note: I created the ham/cheese bundles before dipping any chicken, and also pre-cut a stack of plastic wrap, so I could do the whole process in one fell swoop - bread the chicken, roll, wrap, repeat.) Repeat with remaining chicken breasts. Divide chicken rolls evenly among the freezer bags, seal and freeze. OR, if using some for tonight, throw in the freezer for an hour or two just to help the roll to solidify in place, and then bake as directed. Remove desired number of chicken rolls from freezer, discard plastic wrap while chicken is still frozen, and place the rolls in a greased baking pan. Place in the fridge to thaw completely. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush each chicken roll with 2 tsp. melted butter (I skipped this step and it was still yummy!) and bake for 45 minutes, or until thickest part of the chicken is 170 degrees F. Enjoy!

Side note: Some rolled chicken breast recipes call for toothpicks to secure the bundles. In my experience, toothpicks do not do a very good job of sealing the rolls tight enough to prevent the cheese from leaking out. I like the idea of using plastic wrap in this recipe, because it makes the rolls nice and tight. Take care to pull in the ends to create a snug bundle, and it should stay together on it's own when it comes out of the freezer. Nice!

Killer Nachos

I've had this recipe from Josi S. Kilpack's book Devil's Food Cake in my pile of To-Try-Soon meals. We tried it earlier this week, in our own way. The fun thing about this meal is that it is so super fast and easy to make, and Katelee thought it was like eating junk-food for dinner. :) Okay, it's not super healthy, but every now and then something like this just hits the spot! Below is the original recipe. We used shredded beef that we already had prepared and frozen, the half-empty bag of chips from the pantry, whatever cheeses we already had in the fridge, and added refried beans. We didn't include the chilies, olives, or onions. Everyone enjoyed it! Nice for something a little different on a busy weeknight!

1 pound hamburger
1 packet taco seasoning
1/4 cup water
1 bag corn tortilla chips

Toppings
4 cups of cheese (a combination of Monterrey Jack, cheddar, mozzarella, and Colby work the best)
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
1 (4-ounce) can sliced black olives
1–2 diced fresh tomatoes
1/4 cup diced onions
Sliced jalapeños, to taste (optional)

Garnish
1/2 cup guacamole
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown hamburger, drain, and add taco seasoning and water. Simmer and stir until water is well incorporated. Layer half of the corn chips in a 9x13 pan and bake for ten minutes to make chips crispy. Remove from oven and add a layer of hamburger mixture, cheese, and other topping ingredients as desired. Cover with the remaining chips and bake 6 minutes, until cheese begins to melt. Remove from oven and top with remaining toppings. Bake an additional 8 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Garnish hot nachos with a dollop of guacamole and sour cream and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.
* Nachos can be made in the microwave, but the chips won’t be as crispy.

Fresh Peach Pie

About a year ago I posted this on my family blog. It's such a great recipe, though, I decided to re-post it here! I'm craving peach pie right now . . . YUM!

Hello, and welcome to the sweetest cooking show of them all:

Cooking With Katelee!

Today, the talented and beautiful Katelee is going to demonstrate how to make a delicious and gorgeous fresh peach pie that will WOW your guests on any occasion!

Start with a simple recipe for a pie crust. Katelee has used her always perfect pie crust recipe, and has just pulled her dough out of the fridge.

See how she rolls the dough out so nicely, using lots of flour?

Then transfer the roll dough into a pie dish. Spread it out evenly and cut off the excess. Katelee has even made a beautiful design on the edges.

Now, take 8-10 ripe peaches, cut into nice slices. (Katelee had her crew peel her peaches, too, by submersing the peaches in boiling water for 1 minute and then immediately transferring them to a bowl of ice water. The skins peel right off!) Lie the peaches neatly forming the bottom layer of the pie.

Mix the pie filling: 1/3 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, 1/4 c. butter (softened), and Katelee always recommends a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Mix until it resembles the consistency of crumbs.

Sprinkle half the butter mixture on top of the peaches. Add more peaches until the pie is heaping full. Sprinkle the remaining butter mixture on the very top.

Now, roll out the remaining pie crust dough to form the lattice top of the pie. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into strips, as evenly and straightly as possible. :)

Using the strips, lay them in a nice criss-cross pattern on top of the pie. Oh, isn't this looking beautiful?

If you have any extra pie crust dough, don't let it go to waste! Find your favorite cookie cutter, and cut out as many shapes as you can. Katelee particularly loves hearts.

Carefully place the extra decorations in the perfect spots on your pie.

Show off to your family how absolutely gorgeous your pie is looking at this point!

Cover the edges of your pie with tin foil so they won't burn and set your pie on a baking sheet in case it spills over a bit. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, turn the oven off but allow the pie to cool and set up in the warm oven for an hour or two or until ready to serve.

GORGEOUS!

And gooey, sweet, warm, and sooooo delicious.

Thank you, Katelee for showing us how to make such a lovely peach pie!

Until next time . . . happy baking!

Bottling Peaches

I spent my afternoon yesterday bottling peaches. I LOVE bottling fruit. It gives me such a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. Every year I have to look up the times and amounts again, so this year I thought I would post step-by-step directions on here. Maybe this will help someone else who wants to can their own fruit, but if not at least I'll know where to find all the info easily next year. :)

Also, for those of you trying to eat on a budget, if your family likes to eat canned fruit, this is a MUCH cheaper way of providing that for them.

Supplies Needed:

• fruit (peaches)
• sugar
• water bath canning pot
• clean mason jars and rings
• new lids for the jars
• wide mouthed funnel (optional but nice!)
• pots, bowls, ice, and other kitchen tools such as measuring cups, ladle, washcloths, etc.

1. Fill the water bath canning pot about 2/3 full with water and start heating to a boil.

2. Put the new jar lids in another small pot with water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Leave this pot gently simmering throughout the process, making sure the water doesn't get too low.

3. Fill a clean sink with HOT water and put your clean jars into the water to soak. (Your glass jars need to be hot when you put them into the boiling water bath or they will break. You may have refill this with hot water occasionally throughout the process as the water cools.)

4. Take a third large pot of water and start heating to a boil. (This is to blanch the peaches in.)

5. In a fourth pot, begin making your syrup.

RECIPES FOR SYRUP:

I grew up on my mom's medium/heavy syrup recipe, which I must say is delicious! She uses 7 cups of sugar to 5 cups of water. Since I've been canning my own peaches, however, I've been using a light syrup to help reduce the amount of sugar I give my family. I do a ratio of 1 cup of sugar to 2 cups of water. I still think this is plenty sweet, and we like it this way. However, if you are used to a heavier or sweeter syrup, you may prefer my mom's ratio. Stir the sugar and water together, heating over medium heat, until it begins to simmer and the sugar is completely dissolved. Then turn the heat down to low and stir occasionally until you need the syrup.

6. Prepare a large bowl (use the largest you have!) by putting in cold water and some ice.

7. Wash the peaches. Be sure the peaches are ripe and at their best. :)

8. Dip the peaches a few at a time into the boiling pot of water meant for blanching. Leave them in there for 1 minute. Fish them out and put them directly into the bowl of ice water. (I use a ladle for this.)

9. Peel the skins off the peaches. They should peel right off easily. If you are having trouble peeling the skins, try leaving them in the boiling water for a few more seconds. Remove the skins and pit (I put this waste into an empty bowl next to the ice water) and then slice the peaches to desired size. Leave the slices in the bottom of the ice water bowl for now. Repeat steps 8 & 9 until you have enough peaches prepared to fill a batch of jars.

10. Remove your jars from the hot water one at a time. Put the funnel in the top of a jar and load peach slices into the jar until pretty full. Then, ladle some of the prepared syrup over the peaches until there is only about 1/2 inch of space left at the top.

11. Carefully wipe down the top rim of the jar so that it is clean and the seal will work properly.

12. Fish one of the new lids out of the boiling pot of water (they are in the simmering water to help the rubber get ready to seal) and carefully place on the jar. Secure the lid with a ring.

13. Repeat steps 10 - 12 until you have 6 jars prepared. Place them carefully into the rack in the water bath canning pot of boiling water. Gently lower the rack and place the lid on. Check over the next few minutes to see when the water resumes it's full boil. Once it is boiling, begin the timer.

HOW LONG TO PROCESS

Process is the canning word for "boil in the canning pot."

The amount of time you leave your peaches in the canning pot depends on the type of food, size of your jar, and your elevation. Because I am at a high elevation, and because I was doing quart-sized jars this time, I let my peaches boil (process) for 35 minutes. Here is a link to the the National Center for Home Food Preservation website, where they have a chart to look up how long to process your food depending on all these factors.

14. Once the peaches have processed for long enough, remove the lid (CAREFULLY - there will be lots of hot steam!) and lift the rack up. (I like using 2 forks to lift the rack up.) Carefully remove the jars using canning tongs or an oven mitt. Place the jars on a clean, dry bath towel in a spot where they won't be moved or touched. Allow them to stay there undisturbed for about 24 hours. The lids should seal (you may hear them pop). Press on each lid after the next morning (I usually can't wait this long :) to be sure they all sealed tightly. Label them with the date and store away! If you had any seals not pop, eat them immediately or put in your fridge to eat soon.

15. Enjoy the fruits of your labors! You are amazing. :)

Chocolate Pound Cake

I wanted to make a birthday cake for my friend, and she so generously shared her favorite cake recipe with me to make for the occasion! This is DELICIOUS!!

Cake

• 1 package Devil's Food cake mix
• 1 package small (3.9 oz) chocolate pudding
  
• 4 eggs
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. (one cube) butter, softened

Combine all ingredients and beat at medium speed for 5 minutes. Pour into greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. (I feel confident that you could make this in another cake pan, not just a bundt pan - but it looks so pretty as a bundt cake if you do have a bundt pan.)

Fudge Frosting

• 4 3/4 c. sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. boiling water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  

Combine sugar and cocoa. Add butter, boiling water and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined. Beat 1 minute on medium speed. Cool 20 minutes (approximately) until mixture reaches spreading consistency.

Moist Pumpkin Cake & Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

With fall in the air, this is a seriously amazing dessert to make for your autumn parties - personally one of my very favorite cakes and definitely one of my most requested flavors. These are also great as cupcakes!
Pumpkin Spice Cake

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1/2 c. applesauce
• 4 eggs
• 1 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a cake pan. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, sugar, baking soda, and spices. Make a well in the center and pour in pumpkin puree, oil and eggs. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Stir in chopped nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 12 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Beat in powdered sugar until smooth. The recipe only calls for 2 c. of powdered sugar, but I have successfully added as many as 8 cups and still thought the recipe was great! Just add as much sugar as you need! Stir in the cinnamon and vanilla. Frost on cooled cake.

Breakfast Rounds

With school started up again, I've been experimenting with coming up with some new quick and healthy breakfasts to feed Katelee before sending her off to school. This one is definitely a KEEPER! It's fast, easy, pretty healthy, and oh, so delicious! I'm sure it will become a staple meal or snack around our house.

• 4 English muffins, split and toasted (we use whole wheat)
• peanut butter
• 1 apple, cored and sliced
• 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 2 T. butter or margarine
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Throw the English muffins in the toaster and toast them. When they come out hot, spread 1 T. or so of peanut butter on each one. Meanwhile, core and slice your apple (I put it on my corer/slicer gadget so they come out in nice little flat circles, perfect sized for an English muffin, but cutting them in thin slices would work just as well). Top the peanut butter with apple. In the microwave, melt and stir together the brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. (I put my microwave on defrost so that it melts without exploding and I stir frequently until smooth.) Drizzle the cinnamon mixture over the apple slices. Enjoy! Seriously, kids and adults will gobble these up.

Sugar Cookies & Glaze Icing

I just finished making 200 sugar cookies for a wedding reception, and thought I would share the recipe on here for what I consider to be the best sugar cookies ever! These cookies are soft, buttery, and perfect! I got this recipe from ourbestbites.com, and have copied the following post directly from their website. (My own comments are in red.)

1 C real butter (no substitutions!)
1 C sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp almond extract (you could use vanilla instead but use almond if you can - it's amazing!)
3 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes. Add in eggs and extract and mix to incorporate.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt and whisk to combine. It's important that you measure the flour properly - spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level off the top. If you scoop the flour up the amount will be different and could make the cookies dry. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined.

Shape the dough into 2 flat disks and wrap in waxed paper and place in the fridge to chill for 1-2 hours. If you want your cookies to hold their shape well, the dough needs to be chilled properly. A great tip to speed things up is to immediately roll dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper and place on a flat surface in the fridge. It will chill super fast and be ready to go in no time. I highly recommend rolling the dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper. It took me a bit of practice at first, figuring out how to hold the wax paper down so it wouldn't slide while rolling, but once I got the hang of it it was fast and easy. And then when you remove the dough from the fridge, it's time to cut into cookies and bake immediately. This helps the cookies retain their shape better, because the dough is colder, and it means NO FLOURING the countertop - so much cleaner and faster!

When you're ready to roll out dough lightly sprinkle flour onto your work surface and roll out dough with a rolling pin. (Unless you followed the wax paper tip from above.)

Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes. The baking time really depends on how you like them. If you like them really soft under-bake them. This is how I like them so I baked them for 8 minutes - perfection! However if you're making large cookies, or ones with small parts or heavy frosting, you might want to be careful because they might break when they're super soft.

About 8 minutes will get you a really soft cookie, a few minutes longer (when they start to just brown around the edges) and you'll get just a little crispiness around the edges and then a soft center, bake even longer (and roll thinner) and you'll get a buttery, crispy cookie that will just melt in your mouth. Any way you do it, they'll taste good. Remove onto cooling racks when you're done and let cool completely. I honestly think these even taste better the second day.

I love this delicious icing recipe because it dries hard enough that the cookies can be stacked and/or individually wrapped. On the other hand, it's not rock hard like royal frosting, so when you bite into the cookies it's still nice and soft and chewy.

Glacé Icing

1 lb powdered sugar (about 3 3/4 C)
6T whole milk (low-fat actually works, but use whole if you can)
6T light Corn Syrup (6T is equal to 1/4 C plus another 2 T)
1 t extract (I use almond because I use almond in my sugar cookies)

With a whisk, combine sugar and milk until smooth (no lumps!) Then stir in corn syrup and extract.

You will use this same recipe for both glazing and piping. The way it is right now is the consistency you want for glazing. It’s smooth and thin, it easily runs off the whisk in a pretty thin drizzle.

To prepare the icing for piping, you just add more powdered sugar. Just eyeball it. You can’t really mess it up because if it’s too thick you just add more milk and if it’s too thin, you add more powdered sugar. I add it in small amounts until it’s a good consistency. For me, it’s when it gets to a point where it’s relatively hard to whisk it by hand. When I pick up the whisk, it still runs off, but in a very slow, thick stream now.

Take your glazing icing and separate it into bowls if you want to color it. I decided to do red (more pink, but I love it!), green, and blue. And I left my piping icing white. Use gel food coloring (you can find it at craft or cooking stores) for more intense colors.

There are many ways to decorate you cookies at this point. I suggest looking at the ideas on www.ourbestbites.com for inspiration, or just decorate as you wish! ENJOY!

I've also used this recipe to make cookie-pops. You can see them here. Such fun!

P.S. This cookies freeze really well! In fact, I almost like them better after being frozen!! I've even frozen them frosted, and they have worked very well.

Mini Pizzas

Katelee had a little lunch party with some friends recently, and I decided to let the girls all make their own english muffin pizzas. The kids LOVED it so much, and I was actually very surprised at how good these tasted! (I thought they would be nasty, but they were quite tasty!)

I know that this isn't exactly a 'recipe,' and is about the easiest thing to make ever, but maybe it will give someone else an idea of what to make for dinner one busy night, and I hope posting this here will help me to remember to make it again someday!

• english muffins
• pizza sauce (there's a good homemade recipe here, though store-bought sauce also works!)
• cheese (I like mozzarella or an Italian blend)
• pizza toppings of your choice

Split the english muffins in half and lay on a baking sheet. Spread pizza sauce on top of each muffin half. Add cheese and whatever toppings you want. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 - 10 minutes, or until all the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Cheesy Ham & Potato Casserole

I took dinner to a friend tonight, and made one of my favorite casseroles that I often use when I need to take dinner to someone else. I didn't realize until now that this recipe wasn't on this blog, so I'm happy to share it! This meal always gets rave reviews - people usually ask for the recipe. I really love to use this recipe when I'm taking dinner to someone else, because kids and adults love it, it's a "comfort" food type of meal, and because it's unique enough that people will rarely have another similar meal brought to them. Also, our family just happens to love this for ourselves. ;)

(This serves 4-6, so double if you want to share!)

• 2 c. potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 2-3 potatoes, depending on the size. I have also successfully substituted frozen hash browns for the potatoes.)
• 2 c. cooked ham, cubed
• 1 can corn (I have also used frozen sweet corn instead)
• 1/4 c. fresh parsley, finely minced
• 1/4 c. butter
• 2 T. onions, chopped finely
• 1/3 c. flour (I have used both white and wheat successfully)
• 1 3/4 c. milk
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 4 oz. cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil the potatoes until tender, but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Combine the potatoes, ham, corn, and parsley. Set aside. Melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the onion in butter for 2 minutes. Slowly stir in the flour until blended well. Gradually add the milk and the pepper, stirring. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over the ham mixture. Pour the whole mixture into a greased baking dish and cover. Bake covered for 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 5 - 10 minutes longer, until cheese melts. Enjoy!

FREEZER NOTE: We have made this recipe to freeze, and it turns out well. Just freezer in a disposable casserole dish before baking, thaw, and bake as instructed. Keep in mind that the potatoes will be a little mushier after freezing, so sometimes I slightly under cook the potatoes when I am planning to freeze this meal.

Honey Butter

1 c. honey

1 cube butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

Beat all the ingredients together until creamy. This is especially delicious on hot rolls! :)

Ice Box Dessert

This is a truly yummy dessert that everyone will love - the recipe is from my friend Karen.

3/4 lb. vanilla wafers, crushed

1/2 lb. butter

3 c. powdered sugar

4 eggs

1 pt. whipping cream

1 large can crushed pineapple

Line a dish with layer of crushed vanilla wafers. (Leave some crumbs for the top.) Cream the butter and gradually add the sugar. Add one egg at a time until all is mixed well. Spread the custard over the crumbs, then spread the pineapple on top. Add a layer of whipped cream and sprinkle the top with the remaining vanilla crumbs. Put in the refrigerator for 6 hours to overnight. Serve and enjoy!

Chocolate Waffles

Our friends invited us over for dessert and made these for us - they were SO yummy!

2 eggs, separated

3/4 c. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. sugar

6 T. cocoa powder or 2 squares unsweetened chocolate

1/2 c. butter, melted

toppings (such as ice cream, chocolate syrup, nuts, caramel, etc.)

Beat the eggs yolks with the milk. Mix in vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix cocoa powder and melted butter. Add the chocolate mixture to the other ingredients. Beat egg whites until fluffy and fold in with the rest of the batter until blended. (If batter is too thick, thin with milk.) Bake in a waffle iron and serve warm with ice cream and other toppings.

Wake 'Em Up Breakfast Casserole

This recipe is from the book Devil's Food Cake by Josi S. Kilpack, and my friend made it for a potluck breakfast we had. It's delicious!

1 lb. sage sausasge or ham or crisp bacon

8 eggs

1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder or 1 tsp. prepared mustard

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 c. small-curd cottage cheese

1 c. shredded Swiss cheese

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (sharp is best)

4 c. frozen shredded hash browns

1/2 c. of your favorite vegetable (optional) such as steamed broccoli, onions or mushrooms

In a skillet, brown sausage or cook bacon until crispy; drain well. In a large bowl combine eggs, mustard, green pepper, salt, pepper, and cottage cheese. mix until eggs are slightly beaten. Add cheeses and has browns, mix well. Add meat and any optional veggies. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is well-set and edges are browned. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting. Serves 8.

*The casserole can be made the night before and kept in the fridge. Add an additional 10 - 15 minutes to the baking time.

*You can bake in muffin tins to make individual casseroles that are perfect for brunch. Decrease cooking time to 25 - 35 minutes.

BBQ Turkey Marinade

Pretty sure this is the grilled turkey recipe that they serve at the Manti Pageant. Anyway, it's a great recipe either way!

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 c. soy sauce

1 can 7 -Up

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. horse radish powder

5 lbs. of turkey breast

Mix the first 5 ingredients together and marinate the turkey breasts in the mixture for 24 hours. Grill until done. Enjoy!

Honey-Glazed Banana Chips

We have a food dehydrator that we enjoy using. Generally we do grandma's dried apples dipped in Jell-O powder. :) But we have also tried these banana chips and really liked them.

peeled bananas (green bananas work best)

about 1 c. lemon juice

honey

cinnamon

Slice bananas into 1/4 inch slices. Prepare a mixture of lemon juice (about 1 cup) and honey (to taste). Soak banana slices in the mixture of lemon juice and honey for a few minutes. Place banana slices on the trays and sprinkle with cinnamon. Dry until crisp - 8 - 36 hours (time amount depends on thickness of bananas, climate, dehydrator, etc.)

Never-Fail Pie Crust

• 2 c. flour
• 1 c. shortening
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. milk

Sift and stir the flour and salt together. Blend in the shortening with a pastry cutter. You can use two knives if you don't have a pastry cutter. Add the milk and mix it all together with a fork. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

This makes one double-crust.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is one of my very favorite summer (or spring!) salads.

1 bunch spinach, rinsed

10 large strawberries, sliced

1/2 c. white sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/3 c. white wine vinegar

1 c. vegetable oil

1 T. poppy seeds

In a large bowl, combine the spinach and strawberries. In a blender or food processor, combine the sugar, salt, vinegar, oil and blend until smooth. Stir in poppy seeds. Pour enough for salad to coat and toss together well.

Wingers Sticky Fingers

This recipe really does taste just like wingers sticky fingers it is so good! The other great thing about it is it is one of the easiest meals to make.

• Frozen breaded chicken tenders (I use Tyson brand)

Cook according to directions on bag.

• 1/3 cup Frank's hot sauce (it has to be frank's)
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. water
• dash of salt

Heat up and allow sugar to dissolve. Remove from heat and let cool. It will coat chicken better if it sits and thickens.


When chicken is cooked coat with sauce on all sides. We like to dip our chicken in ranch. I just make the hidden valley ranch.

Orange Chicken

This is a family favorite at our house.

12 chicken tenders
3 eggs
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup Flour
garlic salt
oil

Sauce:
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 Tbsp. ketchup

Mix cornstarch, flour and salt together in a bowl. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Cut up chicken into small pieces. Pour oil in frying pan and dip chicken into the eggs, then coat in the flour mixture. Put in the pan and quickly fry on all both sides until golden brown. place chicken in a baking dish. For the sauce combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Pour over the chicken. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 min. to an hour. Eat over rice.
Extra notes:
We like to have a lot of sauce so I usually double or triple the sauce recipe. We use jasmine rice. If you haven't tried it you should it is so yummy especially with Asian type foods. it is found by all the rest of the rice at the store. I usually buy it at walmart and it comes in a yellow bag.

Cinnamon Toast

We LOVE this way to make cinnamon toast, thanks to Pioneer Woman's genius. I warn you: once you try making it this way you'll never go back! It's sooooooo yummy. It has just the right blend of flavors (I love that it includes vanilla!) and ends up with this glaze-like gooey/crispiness that is so delicious! So, if you're looking for something to make for breakfast, give this recipe a try! Although, if your family is small like ours, you might need to 1/4 the recipe. :)

16 slices of bread (we use whole wheat)
2 sticks of salted butter, softened
1 cup of sugar (more to taste)
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla extract (more to taste)
optional: 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg (I've never added nutmeg...if you try it let me know how it is!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix butter, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and optional nutmeg until combined completely. Spread on slices of bread, completely covering the surface all the way to the edges. Place toast on a cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown and bubbling - which won't take long (maybe a few minutes) so watch so it won't burn! Remove from the oven and cut slices into halves diagonally.

Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad

I had this salad at a friend’s house, and it tasted perfect; I felt like I really was at Applebee’s! J

Dressing:
3 T. honey
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1/8 tsp. sesame oil
1 1/2 T. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. Grey Poupon Dijon mustard

Blend together all ingredients for dressing in a small bowl with an electric mixer. Put dressing in refrigerator to chill while you prepare the salad.

Salad:
4 Tyson crispy chicken strips
1 c. purple cabbage, chopped
3/4 c. carrot, shredded
2 T. sliced almonds
3 c. romaine lettuce, chopped
1 c. cabbage, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 c. crispy chow mein noodles

Bake chicken strips according to package directions. In a bowl, prepare the salad by tossing the romaine with the cabbage, carrots, and onions. Sprinkle almonds over the salad, then add the chow mein noodles. Cut chicken strips into bite sized pieces and place on top of the salad. You can serve the dressing on the side or mixed in. Serves 3-4.

Melissa's Tasty Tossed Salad

I made this salad the other night for a ward party, and it was really good!

2 c. iceberg lettuce
1 c. fresh cauliflower
1 c. fresh broccoli florets
1 c. shredded carrots
1/3 c. chopped red onion
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Dressing
3/4 c. mayo
3 T. sugar
2 T. lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine everything but dressing. Combine the mayo, sugar and lemon juice in a separate container. When ready to serve, pour dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serves 6.

Fondant

Ingredients & Recipes

It is important to use high-quality ingredients when making fondant. Using a store-brand powdered sugar or marshmallows can make the fondant come out with tiny rock-like lumps of sugar in it or change the consistency. I always use the brands named below.

Marshmallow Fondant Recipe
16 oz. white mini-marshmallows (Jet-Puffed brand)
2-5 T. water
2 pounds C&H Cane Powdered Sugar
white Crisco shortening

Chocolate Marshmallow Fondant Recipe
1 batch Marshmallow Fondant
1 oz. top-quality bakers chocolate, melted
1 T. cocoa powder (use the best powdered cocoa you can get. The cheap brands take shortcuts on grinding the cocoa so you might get a grainy fondant if you use a cheap brand.)

Decorating Frosting Recipe
2 tsp. vanilla extract (or other flavors; you could use almond extract, mint extract, etc.)
8 T. milk or water
2 c. shortening
2 T. Wilton Meringue Powder (optional)
2 lb. (approximately 8 c.) powdered sugar

Cream shortening, flavorings and milk or water. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together. Blend an additional minute or so, until creamy.

Chocolate Decorating Frosting Recipe
1 batch of decorating frosting
1 T. cocoa powder
1-2 oz. melted bakers chocolate

Mix all together as directed for the decorating frosting recipe, just adding in these ingredients.

Making your Fondant

1. Generously grease a large, microwave-safe bowl, a spatula, and your countertop. If you are using a stand-mixer, grease the bowl and dough hook of the mixer instead of your counter.

2. Melt the marshmallows and 2 T. of water in a microwave, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.

3. Pour the melted marshmallows onto your greased countertop and then pour about 1/2 your bag of powdered sugar on top. Be carefully, the marshmallows will be HOT!

4. Grease your hands generously. Seriously. Be generous. Between your fingers, both sides…

5. Start kneading the powdered sugar into the marshmallows, just like bread dough. Keep kneading! Slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar and knead some more. Re-grease your hands as needed.

6. It usually takes about 8 minutes to incorporate all the powdered sugar and get the fondant to a good consistency.

*Note – The consistency of fondant is very important. You do NOT want it to be sticky. If it is sticking to you at all, you need to add more powdered sugar. On the other hand, you do NOT want it to be dry and tearing. If it feels too dry, try adding some Crisco, or add more water about 1/2 T. at a time.

7. If you want to store the fondant, coat it with a good layer of Crisco shortening, smother it in plastic wrap and then put it in a air-tight Ziploc bag. You can refrigerate it for weeks, if needed.

8. If you want to use the fondant now, color it if desired by adding food coloring and kneading it in.

Decorating with Fondant

1. On a clean surface spread plenty of powdered sugar.

2. Put your disk of fondant on the powdered sugar and begin rolling it out like a piecrust. You probably want it about 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch thick. (If you don’t have a non-stick rolling pin, coat your rolling pin with powdered sugar.)

*Note - If you notice a bubble in the surface, take a thin sharp needle and poke a tiny hole, at an angle, in the bubble. If you poke straight down, you can almost always see the hole even after the most careful smoothing. The angled hole lets the air out of the bubble, and with a tiny bit of rubbing you can reseal the hole.

3. As you roll out the fondant, continually pick it up and flip it over and move it around to make sure that it’s not sticking to the countertop. Add more powdered sugar as needed.

4. When the fondant is rolled out to the desired size, pick up half the fondant and fling over your arm or your rolling pin. Quickly place one edge of the fondant over the cake, unrolling as you go, letting the fondant fall onto the cake.

5. With your hand, begin smoothing the fondant onto the cake. Start with the top. Then begin smoothing the edges. If doing a round cake, pretend it’s a clock. Smooth the edge at 12 o’clock, then move to the edge at 6 o’clock, then 3 and 9, etc. If a wrinkle is developing, pull on the bottom of the fondant and re-smooth. Keep working it out until all wrinkles are gone and the fondant is smooth.

6. Trim the edges with a sharp knife or pizza cutter.

7. Decorate as desired! Cut out and shape your own decorations out of fondant. A drop of water on the back of a piece of fondant is the perfect glue and all that is necessary to hold it in place.

Storing Your Fondant Covered Cake

Most decorators feel that a fondant covered cake will hold the moisture in the cake for 3 to 5 days, depending on your atmosphere. I personally have never done a cake more than 1 or so days in advance. I like the cake to have a fresh taste.

There is no need to cover your fondant covered cake for moisture reasons; the fondant itself acts as a cover and keeps the cake moist and fresh.

Do not refrigerate your covered cake! When you take the cake out of the refrigerator, moisture will condense and destroy your beautiful surface. If you don’t want to leave the cake just sitting out, your best option is to store the cake in a sealed bakery box. The cardboard sides of a box will keep the dust in the air off the cake, but allows the Fondant to breath.

Other Resources

If you want to see some pictures of what fondant is, and look at some fondant cakes I've done, you can view my cake blog at www.CakesByJenn.blogspot.com

Also, if you want to learn more about fondant and cake decorating, here are some great resources where I have learned a lot!

YouTube – type in fondant or decorating a cake or whatever you are interested in learning about and watch videos demonstrating these skills. Very useful!

www.wilton.com - Has tons of great information about making and decorating cakes, including fun ideas!

www.whatscookingamerica.net/Peg@/DecoratingFondantQA.htm - probably the most useful site I used when first getting started!

www.ices.org - a fun and useful site!

www.cakecentral.com - a fun gallery of pictures and ideas!