Zimmerman Home Cookin'

Biscotti

2012-01-07T06:11:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Mom

Yield: 1 loaf or about 20 slices

Ingredients

1 C sugar
1/2 C butter
1 T brandy extract
1 T almond extract
1 T vanilla
2 t water (as needed for texture)
1 C chopped almonds
3 eggs
2.5-3 C flour
1.5 t baking powder
.25 t salt

Instructions

Cream everything except the last three ingredients, and then add the last three.
Form into a wide, flat loaf on a greased cookie sheet.
Cook 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Slice the loaf. Put slices back on the cookie sheet on their sides.
Cook 15 minutes at 350 degrees, until turning golden brown.
Flip and cook 15 minutes at 350 degrees, until turning golden brown.

Chimichangas

2011-10-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

Original recipe from here.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground turkey
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 large diced bell pepper
1 can whole kernel corn
1 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups taco sauce
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
8 (12 inch) flour tortillas
Shredded cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted, or cooking spray

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Brown the ground meat in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess grease, and add the onion, bell pepper, corn and spices. Cook for about 5 more minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in the taco sauce. Cook until heated through, then remove from heat, and set aside.
Open the can of beans, and spread a thin layer of beans onto each of the tortillas. Spoon the beef mixture (less than you think) down the center, and then top with as much shredded cheese as you like. Roll up the tortillas, and place them seam-side down onto a baking sheet. Brush the tortillas with melted butter.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Hamburger Buns

2011-10-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Directions

Combine the milk, 1 cup of water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let stand until lukewarm. If the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until the dough starts to pull together. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. After the rolls sit for a minute and relax, flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. You may want to oil your hand first. Set rolls aside until they double in size, about 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a cup or small bowl. Brush onto the tops of the rolls. Position 2 oven racks so they are not too close to the top or bottom of the oven.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the rolls from the oven and return them to different shelves so each one spends a little time on the top. Continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom.

Cilantro Ranch Dressing

2011-09-28T20:09:00.001-07:00

1 packet Ranch mix (not buttermilk)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno

Mix all ingredients together in the blender.

Sweet Pork

2011-09-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

2 pounds pork
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can diced green chilies
3/4 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

Seasoned Chicken

2011-09-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

2-3 Chicken Breasts
1 tablespoon dried parsley, crushed
2 teaspoons of dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Cook chicken with seasonings. Shred if using on tzatziki sandwiches.

Tzatziki Sauce

2011-09-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Epicurious

3 cups plain yogurt (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
1 English hothouse cucumber (about 16 ounces), peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 large tomato, quartered, seeded, thinly sliced

Apple Crisp

2011-08-06T11:34:00.001-07:00

2 C flour
2 C oats
1.5 C brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 C melted butter
Mix these ingredients and press half of the mixture into a 15x10" jelly roll pan (cookie sheet that has sides works too). Set aside the remaining to add to topping.

2 1/2 C apple slices
I put a lot more apples on than this because I was trying to use up some soft apples, just go with what ever you have. You'll need to bake it a little longer if you add extra apples.

1 1/2 C Carmel ice cream topping
1/2 C flour
Whisk together, heat to thicken a little. Pour over apples.

1/2 C craisens
1 C chopped nuts (pecans were great)
Add these to the topping you held back and that's the last layer.

Bake 350 degrees for 25 - 35 minutes or until the apples are soft or it's looking brown enough. Basically you just want to crisp up the topping.

Snickerdoodle Dessert Hummus

2011-07-16T21:34:00.002-07:00

http://www.thewannabechef.net/2011/01/17/snickerdoodle-dessert-hummus/

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dessert Hummus

2011-07-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.thewannabechef.net/2011/01/11/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-dessert-hummus/

Summer Pizza

2011-06-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

From The New York Times

Make your pizza dough.
When ready to cook, press one ball into about a 10-inch round. Use a little flour, if needed, to prevent sticking and a rolling pin, if desired. Film a 10-inch skillet with olive oil and turn heat to medium. When oil shimmers, put dough in pan and adjust heat so it browns evenly without burning. (If dough puffs up unevenly in spots, push bubbles down.)
Turn dough, then top browned side with tomato sauce, cheese, a bit of salt and pepper, and, if you like, prosciutto and/or basil leaves. If top is now heavily laden, cover pan and continue cooking, or run it under broiler, just until toppings become hot. With only a couple of toppings, just cook until bottom browns. Repeat with remaining dough; serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Maple Salmon

2011-05-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound salmon

Directions

In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, garlic salt, and pepper.
Place salmon in a shallow glass baking dish, and coat with the maple syrup mixture. Cover the dish, and marinate salmon in the refrigerator 30 minutes, turning once.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the baking dish in the preheated oven, and bake salmon uncovered 20 minutes, or until easily flaked with a fork.

Fish Tacos

2011-03-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Kelly

Ingredients

1/2 to 1 pound of tilapia
garlic salt, cumin, dill and parsley to taste
Coleslaw (directions below)

Directions

Thaw tilapia or other mild-flavored fish. Heat oven to 450.
Rinse fish and pat dry. Place on greased baking sheet. Season with garlic salt, cumin, dill and parsley.
Bake until fish is cooked (no longer transparent and easily flakes or pulls apart). Flake the fish into chunks.
Heat crunchy taco shells per directions on box.
Put fish and coleslaw in each taco.
Add your favorite salsa on top and there's dinner!

Coleslaw- Kelly style

Ingredients

finely shredded cabbage
2T mayonnaise (I used light)
1 t lemon or lime juice
garlic salt to taste

Directions

I buy a bag of finely shredded cabbage (about a dollar here).
Add mayonnaise, lemon juice and garlic salt to taste.
Blend with your hand. You want enough "sauce" to have a little bit on each piece of cabbage but not drenching it. It really just comes down to what you like.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

2011-03-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

Original Courtesy of AllRecipes

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups peanut butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Melt butter or margarine over low heat.
Add peanut butter and vanilla. Mix well.
Add sugars. Mix until smooth but be careful not to burn.
Spread into a 9 x 13 inch pan.
Spread chocolate chips over the top. Cool.

Tiffany-Is-Sick Chicken Noodle Soup

2011-03-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

8 C water
7 cubes of chicken bullion
1 large bay leaf
2 t rosemary
chicken
1 can of cream of chicken soup
vegetables
noodles

Directions

Boil chicken in the water, bullion, bay leaf and rosemary.
Add cream of chicken soup.
Add vegetables and cook until soft.
Add noodles and cook until done.

Better-Than-Classic Stuffed Shells

2011-02-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Julie Lindstrom
Makes 24 shells

24 dried jumbo pasta shells
2 cup ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella or pizza cheese
2 eggs
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 or 3 garlic cloves, pressed
Salt and pepper
1 jar spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook pasta according to package directions, to al dente. Drain and reserve shells.
Mix ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, spinach and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Evenly spread about 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish.
Spoon ricotta mixture evenly among them, about 1 heaping tablespoons each.
Lay the shells side by side, open side up, in the dish. Spoon remaining spaghetti sauce over top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over the marinara sauce.
Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Pizza Hut Pizza Dough

2011-01-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

Pizza Hut Dough
1 package yeast
1T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C non fat dry milk
1 1/3 cup warm water
2 T veg oil for dough
4 cups flour
9 ounces veg oil for pans

Put yeast, sugar, salt and dry milk in large bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Let sit for 2 minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir. Turn out on flat surface and knead 10 minutes. Divide dough into 3 balls. Oil pans on bottom. The recipe would have you use 3oz / pan. Its a lot. Just put a good layer in the bottom of the pan so the dough doesn't stick. Roll dough out in circles and place in pans (dough doesn't need to come up the sides of the pans very much - or at all). Cover with dish cloth and rise 1 1/2 hours. ( we skipped letting them raise and they turn out great).
Cook at 475 -- I think we cooked them about 13 minutes -- it's hard to tell when - I say overcook a little so that they are cooked through the middle.

Tortellini Soup

2010-12-26T09:52:00.000-08:00

1 pkg fresh spinach (prepare by taking off stems while soup is cooking. Can also chop if you want)
1-49oz can chicken broth
2pkgs 8oz tortellini (cheese or meat filled) I prefer cheese
1 lb of italian sausage cooked (reg flavor works too. just buy the tube)
1/2 lb. of mushrooms sliced
1 onion diced
1-2 carrots, diced
1 can Italian tomatoes chopped up
2 t dry basil
Parmesean cheese and salt and pepper to taste (add some salt and pepper while cooking and just put cheese on table when serving)

Cook and set aside sausage. in 8-19 qt. pan saute onion, mushrooms, carrots in 2-3 T of butter. Add broth, meat, tomatoes, basil to vegetables and cook 20-30 min. May add salt and pepper to taste or let people do it themselves.

Add tortellini and cook 6-8 min more or until done. Add spinach and cook an additional 2-3 min. Serve with parmesan cheese.

try Jicama Salad

2010-12-21T11:30:00.001-08:00

1/2 large jicama, peeled and cubed
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 orange pepper, diced1 large cucumber, seeded and chopped
1/2 c. diced red onion
2 oranges, peel cut away and cut into small wedges
1/2 c. finely-chopped cilantro
1/3 c. fresh lime juice
2 T. olive oil
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of paprika
Salt to taste

Fast Food Recipes

2010-12-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

http://lifehacker.com/5665491/top-10-fast-food-recipes-you-can-make-at-home

try Frosty

2010-12-21T11:27:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of eHow.

Half gallon of chocolate milk
12 oz whipped topping
1 can of sweetened condensed milk

Ice cream freezer/maker, rock salt and ice.

1. Pour the chocolate milk, whipped topping and sweetened condensed milk into the ice cream freezer tank.

2. Insert the mixing paddle and stir up the contents until it is thoroughly mixed. Place the lid on tight.

3. Place the tank into the bucket.

4. If you are using an electric ice cream maker, put the motor in place, lock it in and turn it on.

5. Add a layer of ice in the bucket, about 1/4 full and pour a layer of rock salt on top of the ice. Repeat this step three more times until the ice has reached the top. As the ice melts and settles, you will need to add more ice and salt to ensure it is covered.

6. The ice cream is finished when the motor slows down to a crawl or stops completely. Stop the motor, remove the lid and enjoy!

Icebox Butterhorns (Rolls)

2010-11-25T09:39:00.001-08:00

Via my awesome brother

1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast

2 tablespoons warm water (110 to 115 degrees)

2 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees)

½ cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

6 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup butter or margarine, melted

Additional melted butter

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, sugar, egg, salt and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Beat in butter and remaining flour (dough will be slightly sticky). Do not knead. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Punch dough down and divide in half. On a floured surface, roll each half into a 12-inch circle. Cut each circle into 12 pie-shaped wedges. Roll into a crescent. Place rolls, point side down, 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, (about 1 hour). Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately brush tops with melted butter.

Yield: 2 dozen.

Or, if you are in a hurry…let rise in a warm place (covered) for about an hour. Roll out into wedges and cover as said above and let rise until doubled.

Chunk-a-poo Cookies

2010-11-25T09:38:00.000-08:00

Wet

------

1/2 Cup Butter

1/2 Cup Butter Flavored Crisco

2 Eggs

1 Tsp. vanilla

1 Cups sugar

1 Cups brown sugar

1/8 cup milk

Dry

------

2 Cups flour

1 Tsp. Soda

1 Tsp. baking powder

2 1/2 Cups blended oatmeal (measure it then blend it).

1/2 Tsp. Salt

12oz. Chocolate chips

Blend, then add to Dry mix

-----------------------------------------

1 Bag M&M’s (regular sized or 1 big handful from Costco bag)

1 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

1 Skor (or Heath) Bar

(all candy bars should be blended into powder)

Other

---------

1 package or Rolos

Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips and candy bars. Roll into balls with a Rolo in the center—place about two inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.

If mixture isn’t quite “moist” enough, add an extra egg in (especially if you are using medium eggs).

Fried Rice

2010-09-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Kelly

I'm changing this to be written as I made it. The original recipe link is at the bottom though.

Ingredients
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 C onion, chopped
2 cups cooked rice, cold
3/4 C carrots, shredded or grated
2 tablespoons soy sauce
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped ham

Directions
In a small bowl, beat egg with water. Pam spray a large skillet over medium low heat. Add egg and leave flat for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from skillet and cut into shreds.
Heat oil in same skillet; add onion and saute until soft (Kelly note: I always cook onion with garlic salt). Then add rice, carrots, soy sauce, pepper and ham. Stir fry together for about 5 minutes, then stir in egg. Serve hot.

2 notes
1. The ham I used was very finely diced, so you may want to add more ham if you use bigger pieces
2. I cooked the rice while I chopped the onion, cooked the egg, etc. You can't put the rice in warm (don't know why) but I rinsed my rice in cold water a couple times to get it cold which worked fine. That way you won't have to make the rice far ahead of time.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chinese-Chicken-Fried-Rice-II/Detail.aspx

Enchiladas

2010-09-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

1 or 2 Chicken Breasts
Taco Seasoning
8oz Cream Cheese
1 Medium Onion
Cheddar Cheese
Tortillas
Red Enchiladas Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese

The yield is about eight enchiladas. An 8x8 pan holds four or five enchiladas.

Cook chicken and season liberally with taco seasoning. Shred.
Combine cream cheese, chicken, diced onion and shredded cheddar. Sprinkle with pepper.
Coat the bottom of your 8x8 or 13x9 with enchilada sauce. Coat each tortilla with enchilada sauce, put in filling and roll.
Place in pan. Pour more sauce over the top and sprinkle with cheeses.
Bake until warm and melty.
Serve with sour cream, salsa, pico de gallo or fresh tomato.

Vegetable Penne

2010-08-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Pasta
Ground turkey
McCormick's Montreal chicken seasoning
Tomato sauce seasoned with Italian seasoning or Spaghetti sauce
Mushrooms
Onion
Zucchini
Frozen spinach
Parmesan

Directions

Cook pasta to al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water. Move to large bowl.
Brown ground turkey and season liberally with the chicken seasoning. Mix in with pasta.
Melt butter in skillet and add garlic. Saute mushrooms and onions in butter and garlic. Add zucchini and spinach until zucchini is cooked. Mix in with pasta and turkey.
Put mixture in your pan. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese.
Cover with seasoned tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce.
Cook until heated through.

I didn't note quantities for the ingredients because I made a huge batch (an 8x8 and a 13x9) for a potluck.

Quinoa and vegetables

2010-07-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

Made up by me. Use at your own risk.

1 Cup of Quinoa
2 Cups of chicken broth
Half a zucchini
Onion
Mushrooms
McCormick Montreal chicken seasoning

Directions

Toast the quinoa for better flavor (optional).
Start the quinoa cooking in the chicken broth.
While quinoa is cooking, briefly sautee the vegetables over high heat. Should be crips-tender.
Sprinkle seasoning over vegetables.
Combine vegetables and cooked quinoa.

Notes: Might be good to add lime wedge and crushed peanuts.

Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

2010-06-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis (“Everyday Italian,” Food Network)
Makes one 9x13 pan

* 2 red peppers, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
* 2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
* 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced large
* 1 onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
* 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
* 2T extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt, divided
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
* 2 tablespoons dried Italian herb mix or herbs de Provence
* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
* 1/2 pound penne pasta
* 3 cups really good marinara sauce
* 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
* 1 cup grated mozzarella
* grated Parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

2. On a baking sheet, toss the peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Drain.

4. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Add the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix, until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.

4. Pour the pasta into a greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Top with the cheeses. After the pasta has been in the oven for 10 minutes, turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about 25 minutes.

Tamarind Paste

2010-06-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of the BBC.

We couldn't find tamarind paste (= pulp) anywhere, so we made some.

Purchase a some tamarind. Looks like a shrink-wrapped brick of prunes.
Break the tamarind brick into pieces.
Pour boiling water over the pieces. Use as little as needed to cover the tamarind.
Leave over night if you have time.
Pour the tamarind over a strainer with a bowl underneath.
Mash the tamarind against the edges of the strainer for force the pulp through.
The stuff that comes through the strainer, into the bowl is the paste.
A lot of pulp will stick to the bottom of the strainer, so be sure to scrape it off before throwing out the fiber and seeds.

Pad Thai

2010-06-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of The New York Times.
Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

4 ounces fettuccine-width rice stick noodles
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 to 4 tablespoons tamarind paste
1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 eggs
1 small head Napa cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1/2 pound peeled shrimp, pressed tofu or a combination
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 limes, quartered.

Put noodles in a large bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let sit until noodles are just tender; check every 5 minutes or so to make sure they do not get too soft. Drain, drizzle with one tablespoon peanut oil to keep from sticking and set aside. Meanwhile, put tamarind paste, fish sauce, honey and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and bring just to a simmer. Stir in red pepper flakes and set aside.
Put remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; when oil shimmers, add scallions and garlic and cook for about a minute. Add eggs to pan; once they begin to set, scramble them until just done. Add cabbage and bean sprouts and continue to cook until cabbage begins to wilt, then add shrimp or tofu (or both).
When shrimp begin to turn pink and tofu begins to brown, add drained noodles to pan along with sauce. Toss everything together to coat with tamarind sauce and combine well. When noodles are warmed through, serve, sprinkling each dish with peanuts and garnishing with cilantro and lime wedges.

Lynn's Soup

2010-05-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Lynn Rowley

1/4 C butter melted
2 med onions (fry onions in butter until translucent)
1 t curry
2 T flour (add and cook 2-3 min)
4 C Chicken Broth
2 C diced potatos
1 C sliced/grated carrots
1/2 C celery
2 T parsley
1/2 t poultrey seasoning (cook 25 min until veggies are tender)
3 C cooked chicken breast chopped
1/2 C uncooked rice
2 C half & half
10 oz frozen chopped spinach (cook 25-30 min)

Spinach Basil Pesto

2010-04-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup toasted almonds
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
extra-virgin olive oil as needed

Blend the spinach, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and lemon zest in a food processor until nearly smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Add 1 tsp of olive oil per serving, and water as needed until pesto is the desired consistency.

Notes:
-- Original recipe called for 1/2 cup of olive oil.
-- Original recipes suggests freezing the pesto in ice cube trays so you can use it for single servings later. I just put blobs on a cookie sheet, put the in the freezer until the were solid, and the moved them to a plastic bag.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

2010-04-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Courtesy of seriouseats.com

- makes about 10 servings of about 1/2 cup each -
Adapted from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

10-ounce bag fresh spinach
6 ounces (3/4 block) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
6 ounces (3/4 block) fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1 1/2 cups part-skim mozzarella, shredded
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed (not minced)
6 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese, divided

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Tear spinach into bite-size pieces, removing any thick stems. Rinse in a colander, leaving a little water on the leaves. In a large nonstick skillet or Dutch oven, sauté the spinach over medium heat until wilted. Drain in the colander, pushing a little of the extra water out.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheeses with a potato masher. Add sour cream and mash more. Add spinach, mozzarella, artichokes, pepper, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of the parmesan. Stir everything until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour mixture into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan on top. Bake 30 minutes, or until parmesan is melted dip is all bubbly. Remove from oven and give it a minute or two to cool down. Serve with baked tortilla chips to applause.

Mindy Casserole

2010-03-12T20:52:00.000-08:00

6 breasts of chicken
(boil and chop)

12 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
(mix and pour over chicken)

2 tubes of ritz crackers, crushed
1 T poppyseeds
1/2 C butter, melted
(mix and sprinkle on top)

Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 min. Serve over cooked rice

Kelly suggestion--bake with cooked rice under chicken

Black Bean Hummus

2010-02-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

Ingredients
* 1 clove garlic
* 1 (15 ounce) can black beans; drain and reserve liquid
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon of Garam Masala

Directions

Puree black beans, garlic and lemon juice.
Add reserve liquid as need to perfect texture.
Add tahini and spices to taste.
Process until smooth.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

2010-02-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

Recipe from OurBestBites

1 C butter flavored Crisco
1 C creamy peanut butter
1 C sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
1 t vanilla
3 eggs
3 C flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

filling:
1 C creamy peanut butter
1/2 c real butter, softened
4 C powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
5-6 T milk

For the cookies:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
Add in vanilla, and eggs one at a time.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to dough. Mix to combine. The dough will be very soft- that's normal!

Roll into balls, roll in sugar, place on cookie sheet (no need to grease it) and do the little forky criss-cross thing.

Now, not only are these cookies doubly sweet because they're sandwiched, but the dough spreads, so make your balls small. I use a regular size 40 cookie scoop and I separate each scoop of dough in half to form 2 cookies, and they're still pretty good sized. A mini scoop is perfect.

Okay, so pop the cookies into the oven and bake for 6-7 minutes. You want them to say super soft, so don't let them get brown. In my oven, and for the size of cookies I do, 6 minutes exactly is perfect. Remove them from pan and cool on a cooling rack.

To make the filling:
Whip the peanut butter and butter together until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Then add milk one T at a time. You may not need it all. You want the filling to be on the thick side, it should just have enough milk in it to make it easily spreadable. If you add too much milk (like a normal frosting consistency) it might squish out of the cookies when you take a bite.

I put the filling in a piping bag, or a hefty zip-lock with the edge cut off to make filling easy. Place filling on one cookie and sandwich another on top. I designed the recipe to have enough filling to be generous :)

With the size I do, I get about 8 dozen cookies, which makes about 4 dozen sandwiches.

Just a note: I think these are actually even better the 2nd day. The flavors mellow together and you get a cool sweet n' saltly thing going on. Plus, after they sit with the filling in them, the cookies get really soft. Mmmm...

Snickerdoodles

2010-01-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Mrs. Sigg on AllRecipes.com

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 10 Min
Ready In: 1 Hr

Yield: 4 dozen

Ingredients
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

Naan

2010-01-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

Original recipe courtesy of allrecipes
Makes 14 servings

Ingredients

1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour (3 1/2 if using bread maker)
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional, helps make the bread bubble when cooking)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
1/4 cup butter, melted (for brushing)

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. (Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy.) Stir in milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Tip: If cooking in a pan on the stovetop, cover pan with lid to help create bubbles in the naan. Naan should be browned in spots, but majority should be pale in color. Do not overcook or thin parts of bread will become crispy.

Chicken Korma

2010-01-26T07:53:00.000-08:00

We really like Chicken Korma and Tikka Masala, and ever since having it from the restaurant down the street, I've wanted to try making it at home. Armed with some extra time and new spices I got in my Christmas stocking, I decided to have a go using some recipes I found online.

The below is a combination of the following two recipes.
- Main Recipe followed is from AllRecipes
- It was slightly adjusted with information found from McCormick's

Ingredients

1/4 cup cashew halves
1/4 cup boiling water
3 cloves garlic, peeled (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic paste)
1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped (or 1/8 teaspoon ginger paste)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 bay leaves, crumbled (or 4 whole and pulled out after)
1 stick of cinnamon (broken into two pieces)
1 large onion, minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Curry Powder

OR...
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream (or lowfat coconut milk)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with equal parts water

Directions

Place cashews in a small bowl, and pour the boiling water over nuts. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Place garlic and ginger in food processor and blend until smooth; set aside.
Heat oil in wok over medium heat. Cook the bay leaves and cinnamon stick in hot oil for 30 seconds. Stir in onion, and cook until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in garlic/ginger paste, and season with garam masala, turmeric, and McCormick Curry Powder (cumin, coriander, chili powder). Stir in chicken, and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in tomato sauce and chicken broth. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, place the cashews, along with the water in which they were soaked, and the cream and yogurt into food processor. Process until smooth.
Stir the cashew mixture into the chicken and onions. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cornstarch mixture, and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes.

OPTIONAL...
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Serve over Basmati rice with a side of Naan.

Shakshuka

2010-01-18T15:26:00.000-08:00

We use to have a really good recipe we got from The Hummus Place, but we seemed to have misplaced it, and they no longer have the recipe posted on their site. This looked like a promising alternative recipe to try/use as a base.

From: Recipe Zaar

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon jalapeno, minced and seeded (or more to taste)
2 red peppers or green peppers, roughly chopped
8 fresh plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 (28 ounce) cans Italian plum tomatoes, strained (peeled)
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika or cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, more to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup canned tomato juice
1/2 cup vegetable broth
4 large eggs
za'atar spice mix, for serving
4 pita breads, warmed

Directions

Place large saute pan over medium heat, add and heat oil. Add onion and saute until lightly browned.
Add garlic, jalapeno and bell peppers, and saute 2 minutes more.
Add fresh and canned tomatoes, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add hot and sweet paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper and sugar. Stir for 1 minute.
Add tomato juice and vegetable broth and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until mixture is very thick and has little liquid left, about 1 hour; stir occasionally to make sure vegetables do not stick to bottom of pan, and add more tomato juice or vegetable broth as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Gently crack eggs into pan, taking care not to break yolks. Simmer until whites solidify but yolks remain runny, about 8 minutes, or as per personal preference (I would put this under the broiler for a couple more minutes because I hate undercooked eggs).
Ladle equal portions of vegetables and eggs into 4 serving bowls. Sprinkle with zaatar to taste, and serve with warm pita bread.

Pumpkin Chili

2009-11-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

Brown 1 lb. ground beef. Drain.
Add 1 green pepper and 1 onion, chopped. Saute for 5 minutes.
Add:1 small can of pumpkin, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 2 cans black beans, 1 can white kidney beans, 1 can red kidney beans (all of the above standard size 14-19 oz), 1 can 46 oz. of tomato juice (added to desired consistency), 2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice, 1 TBSP chili powder, 2 TBSP white sugar, 2 TBSP brown sugar, 1 tsp garlic salt.

Brown ground beef. Drain.
Add green pepper and onion, chopped. Saute for 5 minutes.
Add everything else. Add tomato juice to desired consistency.
Simmer 1 hour.

Butternut Squash Soup

2009-11-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

Original Recipe from AllRecipes.com
(changes marked in green)

Ingredients
* 6 tablespoons chopped onion
* 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (about one squash)
* 3 cups water
* 4 cubes chicken bouillon
* 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
* 1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

Directions
1a. Cut squash in half, remove goop, and bake cut-side down at 375 for 45 minutes.

1b. Cut squash in half and microwave for 8-10 minutes.

1c. Peel and cube the squash. (It's harder to peel uncooked.)

2. In a large saucepan, saute onions until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook until squash is tender (about 20 minutes if starting squash is raw).

3. Puree squash and cream cheese in a food processor in batches until smooth.

4. Put in fridge for later, or return to saucepan to heat for eating. Do not allow to boil.

Vegetarian Chili

2009-10-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

From AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
24 oz turkey burger (one pack)
3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

Hamburger Patties

2009-10-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
* 1/2 onion, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup shredded Colby or Monterey Jack cheese
* 1 teaspoon soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 egg
* 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon dried parsley
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat a grill for high heat.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion, cheese, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, egg, onion soup mix, garlic, garlic powder, parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Form into 4 patties.

Try Simple Corn Pudding

2009-09-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

Courtesty of NPR

Makes 4 to 6 servings

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 or 6 ears of corn, husked (depending on size)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream or milk
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the butter in a baking dish (an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish or iron skillet works well) and slide into the oven so the butter melts while the oven is preheating.

Using a box grater, coarsely grate the kernels off four ears of corn. Use a sharp knife to cut the kernels from the remaining ears. Combine the corn kernels, sugar, cream or milk, flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Lightly beat the five eggs and add to the mixture.

When the oven has preheated and the butter in the baking dish has melted, carefully tilt the melted butter from the baking dish into the corn mixture and combine with a few swift strokes. Then tilt the buttered corn mixture back into the baking dish.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a golden crust has formed and the interior has set.

Mom's Meatloaf

2009-09-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Mom
2 lbs Ground Turkey
1 lbs Sausage
1 pack French Onion Soup Mix
1/2 C Dried Onion
1/4 C Pepper
2 C Carrots
1 pack Spinach
1.5 C oats
2 Eggs

try cream puffs

2009-09-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Tiffany Sorenson

Puff Pastries:
1 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter
1 c boiling water
4 eggs

Sift flour with salt. Combine butter and boiling water in saucepan; cook on low heat until butter is melted. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan. Cook about 2 minutes until mixture is very dry. Remove from heat. Add unbeaten eggs one at a time, beating well with hand mixer after each addition. Continue beating until a thick dough forms. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. (I used a small cookie scoop and it made about 36) Bake at 425 degrees about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 15 more minutes. (Mine only baked a total of 25 minutes) Bake about 30-40 minutes total, or until beads of moisture no longer appear on surface. Do not open oven door during early part of baking. Remove to wire racks to cool. When cool, cut slit in side of each puff'; removed doughy centers, if necessary.

Cream filling:
3 c milk
1 large instant vanilla pudding box
8 oz cream cheese
Mix together and fill cream puffs. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

try coffee cake pastry

2009-09-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/apple-cream-cheese-coffee-cake?WT.dcsvid=MjA5MzgyNzg2MwS2&rvrin=CD0A145D-0A83-DC11-920E-00110A5B41E6&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_Bisquick_09_17_2009

Macaroni Grille Bread

2009-09-05T09:08:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of Natasha Brenchley

1 T. dry yeast
1 T. Sugar
1C. Water (105-115')
2 to 2 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 T. FRESH Rosemary minced
2 T. Melted Butter

Put yeast, sugar and water in a bowl and allow to become bubbly
Mix in salt, rosemary and 2C. of the flour. Knead for 10 min.
Oil bowl, place dough in and cover. Let rise until double
Divide dough in half and let rest for 5 min.
Spray baking pan with cooking spray. shape dough into 2 round loaves
brush with melted butter. Cover and let rise until double
preheat oven to 450'. Sprinkle loaves with salt
Bake 20-25 min or until they are golden brown.
Brush with melted butter as soon as you remove them from the oven.

Serve warm and dip in olive oil and balsamic Vinegar.

Oatmeal Bars

2009-08-29T15:53:00.001-07:00

1 cube butter
1/4 c oil
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1/4 c water
1 tsp vanilla Mix well. Add remaining ingredients.

3 c oats
1 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
Add raisins, nuts or chocolate chips as desired. Mix well.
Bake in a well greased 13 x 9" pan at 350 for about 20 minutes.

try blackberry sauce

2009-08-25T13:21:00.001-07:00

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112179487

Italian-style Cream Pudding

2009-08-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1 env. unflavored gelatine
1.5 cups fat-free half-and-half
.5 cup granular sweetener
.5 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups Ricotta or Cottage Cheese (Ricotta = vanilla flavor; Cottage = cheesecake flavor)

Directions

SPRINKLE gelatine over 1/2 cup of the half-and-half in medium saucepan. Let stand 5 min.
Stir in remaining half-and-half, the granular sweetener and vanilla. Cook on low heat until gelatine is completely dissolved, stirring frequently. (Do not boil.)
Add ricotta cheese; cover. Blend until pureed.
POUR gelatine mixture into blender or food processor.
BLEND thoroughly.
Pour evenly into eight 6-oz. custard cups or souffle dishes. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set.

Chiles Rellenos de San Joaquin

2009-08-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of here.

Ingredients

6 poblano peppers, halved lengthwise, stems and seeds removed
1 lbs of ground meat
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes
2 T ground cumin
12 ounces cheese

Directions

Place chiles skin side up on a baking sheet, and broil until skins blister, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to let them burn. You may need to rotate so so more areas of skin will blister.
Remove chiles from the oven and place in a glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let chiles steam until cool.
Remove and discard the skins.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, cook ground beef.
Stir in sliced onions and tomatoes.
Season with cumin.
Put cheese into each chili.
Place rolled chiles into a baking dish and top with the meat mixture sauce. Crumble any extra cheese on top of the sauce.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the sauce is bubbly.

Artisan Bread

2009-08-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Kelly

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky (do not knead). Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I used corn meal on the bottom, and half whole wheat flour. I couldn't really tell a taste difference from using all white flour. For some reason, when I baked this it was done after the first 30 minutes with the lid on (I think my oven runs hot). So don't be too surprised if your bread gets done quicker than the recipe says. This makes the crusty bread that you would get at a nice italian restaurant- the kind people dip in balsalmic vinegar and olive oil. Enjoy!

Tostadas

2009-08-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Cindy Elison

1/2 cup Chicken (1.5 breasts)
1/2 t Chili Powder
1/2 t Oregano
1/2 t salt
1/4 t Cumin
8 oz Tomato Sauce

1. Cook and shred the chicken.
2. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat on the stove.

Serve with taco fixings.

Chewy Flour Tortillas

2009-08-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

From Texascooking.com

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1.5 t baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup lukewarm milk

Directions

Stir together the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
Add the salt and vegetable oil to the lukewarm milk and whisk briefly to incorporate.
Gradually add the milk to the flour, and work the mixture into a dough. It will be sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with flour and knead vigorously for about 2 minutes (fold and press, fold and press). The kneading will take care of the stickiness.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rest for 15 minutes. (This dough will not rise, but it needs a rest.)
Divide your dough into eight balls of equal size, cover them, and let them rest again for about 20 minutes. Avoid letting them touch, if you don't want them to stick together.
Dust your work surface with flour. Working one at a time, remove each piece of dough and pat it into a 5-inch circle. With a rolling pin, roll out the tortilla, working from the center out, until you have a 7- or 8-inch tortilla a little less than 1/4 inch thick.
Transfer the tortilla to a hot, dry skillet or griddle. It will begin to blister. Let it cook for 30 seconds, turn it, and let the other side cook for 30 seconds.
Remove the tortilla, place it in a napkin-lined basket and cover with aluminum foil. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.

Although best eaten right after they are made, these tortillas freeze well. Wrap them tightly in plastic, and they will keep, frozen, for several weeks. To serve tortillas that have been frozen, let them thaw and come to room temperature, then wrap them in aluminum foil and heat them in a warm oven. Microwaving tends to toughen them.

Tips:

Do not use bread flour. You want flour with a low gluten content.
You don't want to over-flour your work surface, but you don't want your rolled-out tortilla sticking to it either. Dough adheres less to an unvarnished wood surface (like an old cutting board).
When rolling out tortillas, dust your rolling pin with flour, and don't be afraid to apply pressure. Flour tortilla dough is pretty sturdy; but not to the point of rerolling. You don't want tough tortillas.
Be sure to rewrap your fresh tortillas each time you add another to the stack.

Ways to spice up the recipe:
A tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs (like oregano or rosemary)
A teaspoon or so of dried herbs
Freshly ground black pepper
A tablespoon of minced jalapeños
A little garlic powder (or substitute garlic salt for the salt)

Nutrient Per serving (8 tortillas)
Calories — 119.5
Protein (gm) — 4.9
Carbohydrate (gm) — 22.9
Total Fiber (gm) — 3.6
Total Fat (gm) — 1.7

Peanut Butter Camp Cookies

2009-08-09T16:30:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of AllRecipes

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup peanut butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T milk
1/2 t vanilla extract
3/4 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS

Cream peanut butter, sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla.
Add oats until consistency of play dough and sticks to self.
Roll into 36 balls about 1 inch in diameter.
Dip balls into confectioners' sugar.

Chocolate Camp Cookies

2009-08-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of AllRecipes

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T milk
1/2 t vanilla extract
3/4 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS

Cream peanut butter, sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla.
Add oats until consistency of play dough and sticks to self.
Roll into 36 balls about 1 inch in diameter.
Dip balls into confectioners' sugar.

Fajita Seasoning

2009-07-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

Invented by Shawna and Leah

3 lbs of chicken or steak
2 packets of Western Family fajita seasoning
1 packet of Western Family spicy chili seasoning

Buttery Steel-cut Oats

2009-07-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

From NPR.org

1 C steel cut oats
1 T butter
3C water
1C milk

Saute oats in butter. Simmer in water and milk for about 20 minutes.

Granny Smith Salsa

2009-07-03T15:37:00.000-07:00

3-4 medium tomatoes
3/4 C sweet onion
Juice from 1 lime
1 jalapeno, with of its seeds
1 granny smith apple
salt (more than you expect) and pepper

Longer it sits, the more mild it gets.

Green Beans with Water Chestnuts

2009-06-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

From "Easy Diabetic Recipes"

16oz green beans
1/2 C water chestnuts, drained
1/4 C green onion
2 T soy sauce

Cook green beans according to package directions. Drain.
Transfer green beans to medium skillet or saucepan. Add water chestnuts, green onions and say sauce. Mix well.
Cook and stir mixture over medium heat until hot.

Serving Size 1/2 C
Servings per Recipe 6
Calories 26
Fat 0
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 174mg
Total Carbohydrate 5g
- Dietary Fiber 2g
- Sugars 2g
Protein 1g

Asparagus with Garlic

2009-06-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

From "Easy Diabetic Recipes"

1.5 lbs asparagus, washed and trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t dried crushed basil
1 T soy sauce

Heat 1/3 C water in 10-inch skillet until it boils.
Cook asparagus covered for about five minutes until tender-crisp. Drain and set aside.
Put garlic and basil in sprayed skillet. Cook and stir for 1–2 minutes.
Stir in soy sauce and water if needed.
Put asparagus back in pan.

Serving Size 1/2 C
Servings per Recipe 6
Calories 26, Fat <1 gram
Cholersterol 0mg
Sodium 98mg
Total Carbohydrates 5g
- Dietary Fiber 2g
- Sugars 2g
Protein 3g

Better Together: Healthy Food Combinations

2009-06-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes & Avocados
Oatmeal & Orange Juice
Broccoli & Tomatoes
Blueberries & Grapes
Apples & Chocolate
Lemon & Kale
Soy & Salmon
Peanuts & Whole Wheat
Red Meat & Rosemary
Turmeric & Black Pepper
Garlic & Fish
Eggs & Cantaloupe
Almonds & Yogurt

Vitamins that are considered fat-soluble include A, D, and E. Carrots, broccoli, and peas are all loaded with vitamin A and should be paired with a healthy fat such as the kind found in olive oil. Vitamin D—rich products include fish, milk, yogurt, and orange juice.

Farmers' Market Barley Risotto

2009-05-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of BettyCrocker.com

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 min

Total Time: 1 hour 15 min

Makes: 4 generous servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 medium bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms (4 oz)
1 cup Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ Niblets® frozen corn
1 cup uncooked medium pearled barley
1/4 cup dry white wine or Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
2 cups roasted vegetable stock or Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half (if large, cut into quarters)
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In 4-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and corn in oil about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is crisp-tender. Add barley, stirring about 1 minute to coat.
Stir in wine and 1/2 cup of the vegetable stock. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until liquid is almost absorbed. Repeat with remaining stock and 3 cups water, adding 1/2 to 3/4 cup of stock or water at a time and stirring frequently, until absorbed.
Stir in tomatoes, 1/3 cup of the cheese, the basil and pepper. Cook until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup cheese.

Nutrition Information:
1 Serving: Calories 360 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 8g (Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 10mg; Sodium 740mg; Total Carbohydrate 57g (Dietary Fiber 11g, Sugars 8g); Protein 13g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 50%; Vitamin C 70%; Calcium 20%; Iron 15% Exchanges: 3 1/2 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 1 Vegetable; 1 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 4

Chipotle Guacamole

2009-05-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Epicurious.com

2 large ripe avocados (about 1 1/2 pounds), halved, pitted, peeled
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 ear of fresh corn
1 plum tomato, seeded, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1 canned chipotle chile, finely chopped*
1/4 cup sour cream

Mash avocados with lime juice in medium bowl. Using sharp knife, remove corn kernels from cob and add to avocado mixture. Stir in tomato and green onions. Combine chipotle and sour cream in small bowl; whisk to blend. Stir cream mixture into avocado mixture. Season with salt. Do ahead: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Place plastic wrap directly onto surface of guacamole and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Baked Falafel

2009-05-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

Original recipe from Chow Vegan

1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 Bell pepper
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Coarsely chop onion and pepper in food processor
Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Add in food processor.
Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl.
Add dry ingredients, lemon, olive oil and fresh herbs to food processor.
Mix minimum amount needed to combine ingredients and created the desired texture.
Form into small balls, about 1 1/2″ in diameter and slightly flatten. Place on a greased baking pan.
Bake 15 minutes on each side. If not brown enough, remove from oven and toast in a skillet.

Serving Suggestion:

Hummus

2009-05-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Elder LaFleur, from Food Illustrated

1 large can of chickpeas
3 T juice from a lemon
tahini, stirred well (see note), to taste
2 T extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 small garlic cloves, pressed (about 1 teaspoon)
1 t table salt
1/2 t ground cumin
Pinch Cayenne
1 T minced fresh cilantro or parsley leaves

Drain chickpeas and save 1/2 C of juice. Microwave chickpeas for about two minutes to tenderize.
Combine lemon juice, bean juice and spices in the food processor and mix briefly.

Add microwaved chickpeas, to food processor mixture and beat the heck out of it.
With machine running, add the oil and the tahini mixture in steady stream through feed tube; continue to process until hummus is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.
Transfer hummus to serving bowl, sprinkle reserved chickpeas and cilantro over surface, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand until flavors meld, at least 30 minutes.
Drizzle with olive oil, cilantro and whole chickpease as a garnish.

Tips:
The hummus can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 5 days. If you do not plan on serving it immediately, refrigerate the hummus and garnishes separately. When ready to serve, stir in approximately 1 tablespoon of warm water if the texture is too thick.

Cream Cheese Icing

2009-05-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Janet Marshall

Makes enough for two layer cake.

1lb powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
1/c C butter or margarine
2 t vanilla

Mix butter and cream cheese.
Add vanilla.
Add powdered sugar.
If too thick, add tiniest amount of milk.

Zucchini Bread

2009-05-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Janet Marshall

3 Eggs
1 C oil
2 C sugar
2 C grated, peeled zucchini
1 t vanilla
3 C flour
1 t salt
1 t soda
2 t cinnamon
1/4 t baking powder
3/4 C chopped nuts (optional)

Beat eggs until foamy.
Add oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla. Mix well but lightly.
Add dry ingredients, mostly mixed together. Mix well blended.
Stir in nuts.
Pour into two greased loaf pans.
325 for one hour or until done. Just barely pulls away from the edges like a cake does.

Smoothie I

2009-05-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

2 C Vanilla Soy Milk
1 Can Orange Juice Concentrate
5 or 6 black berries
15 or so blue berries
3 strawberries

Mix. Freeze for several hours to thicken.

Mom's Meatloaf

2009-05-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

2 lbs Ground Turkey
10 oz Sausage
1 pack French Onion Soup Mix
1/2 C Onion
1/4 C Pepper
1 C Carrots
1 pack Spinach
1 1/2 C oats
2 eggs

Pork Chops

2009-05-08T14:00:00.001-07:00

Use pork ribs, chops, steaks, roasts or loins. Best: 4-6" long sections of boneless rib.

1 can cream of mushroom
1/2 can of water
1 envelope of onion soup mix

Brown pork in frying pan with salt and pepper. (Don't cook through.)
Combine other ingredients above.
Put in crockpot. Insert meat so it's covered in sauce.
Put large onion sections on top.
Cook on low.

Apple Pie

2009-05-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Cindy Elison

Filling:
4 Granny Smith apples
2 Red apples
1/2 C Flour
Cinnamon, sugar, butter and lemon juice to taste
Tip: Do not prepare ahead of time.

Topping:
1/2 C butter
1/2 C brown sugar
1 C flour
1/2 t cinnamon

Mom's Pie Crust

2009-05-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Cindy Elison

2 C Flour
1 C Shortening
6 T Cold Water

Cut shortening into flour. Set aside 1/2 cup of crumbs. Add water to remainder.
Roll out thin. Sprinkle on the crumbs and roll like a cinnamon roll.
Cut in half. Stack and re-roll flat (so crumbs are layererd throughout).
Tip: Roll the dough onto your rolling pin to transfer it to the pan.

Couscous-Vegetable Salad

2009-05-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Betty Crocker.com

Prep Time: 10 min
Start to Finish: 15 min
Makes: 6 servings

1 cup uncooked couscous
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices (2 cups)
1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 1/4-inch slices (1 1/2 cups)
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 container (7 ounces) refrigerated pesto with sun-dried tomatoes or Basil pesto
2 tablespoons balsamic or cider vinegar

1. Make couscous as directed on package.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper and onion in oil about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender.
3. Toss couscous, vegetable mixture, pesto and vinegar in large bowl. Serve warm or cool.

Nutrition Information:
1 Serving: Calories 310 (Calories from Fat 180 ); Total Fat 20 g (Saturated Fat 4 g); Cholesterol 5 mg; Sodium 300 mg; Total Carbohydrate 29 g (Dietary Fiber 4 g); Protein 8 g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 42 %; Vitamin C 50 %; Calcium 14 %; Iron 8 % Exchanges: 1 Starch; 3 Vegetable; 3 1/2 Fat *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Cookie Tips

2009-05-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of NPR.org

Cookies that are soft when fresh, but a box of crumbs with time
Add a tablespoon of water to a cup of flour that's going to be used in the cookies. The two proteins in flour — glutenin and gliadin — grip water and make "springy stretchy, strong elastic sheets of gluten." The gluten will hold the cookies together.

Flat chocolate chip cookies
Use an unbleached flour or a bread flour because they're higher in protein. More protein sucks in more water when they join together to make gluten.

Make cookie batter the night before, a method adopted for the original Toll House recipe. Overnight, the proteins and the starch soak in liquid, the enzymes break the starches into sugar and big sugar breaks down into smaller sugar. Small sugars brown well, she says.

Chocolate crinkle cookie
"My secret weapon is I roll the dough balls in plain table sugar first," she says. "Then I roll them heavily in powdered sugar, so it stays snow white and really dramatic against the black cookie dough. When you bite in, they're crisp on the surface and gooey and doughy inside."

Mom's Cinnamon Bread

2009-05-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Cindy Elison

Bread
2 pkg yeast (4 1/2 t)
2/3 C warm water
1 1/3 C ice cold water
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C butter
1 t salt
6+ C flour

Caramel
1 C brown sugar
2 T light karo
1/2 C butter

Mix bread ingredients together. Knead for 10 minutes. Let dough rise until doubled, 30 to 40 minutes. Punch down. Put in two greased loaf pans. Rise 20 minutes to 3/4 inch above side of pan.

Bake 350 for 35 to 40 minutes. (rolls, 30 min)

Chick Frick

2009-05-07T21:02:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of Cindy Elison

1C flour
2 t salt (optional)
1/4 t pepper
2 t paprika (optional, adds color more than flavor)
chicken pieces up to 4#
veg oil
1 C water
1 onion chopped
1T lemon juice
Spices (rosemary, thyme, poultry seasoning, etc)
3 T flour
milk

Mix 1 C flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Coat chicken with flour mixture. Heat thin layer of oil in skillet. Cook chicken until brown on all sides. Drain fat from skillet; reserve. Add water and, if desired, chopped onion, lemon juice or herbs, such as dried rosemary or thyme leaves , to chicken. Cover and cook over low heat, adding water if necessary, until chicken is done, 2.5 to 3.5 hours. Remove chicken to warm platter; keep warm. Drain liquid from skillet, reserve.

Heat 3 T reserved fat in skillet. Blend in 3 T flour. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Add enough milk to reserved liquid to measure 3 C; pour into skillet. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Return chicken to gravy.

8 servings

Cheesy Enchiladas

2009-05-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

2 cups small curd creamed cottage cheese
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
4 small tomatoes, chopped (2 cups)
8 medium green onion, sliced (1/2 cup)
4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 small garlic clove, finely chopped
8 flour tortillas (1 pack)
4 cups jarred Old El Paso® taco sauce

1. Heat oven to 375ºF. Spray two 14-ounce shallow oval casseroles or one rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2 inches, with cooking spray.

2. Mix cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese, the tomato, onions, chili powder, salt and garlic. Spread about 1/3 cup of the cheese mixture on each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; place seam side down in casseroles. Spoon taco sauce over tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese.

3. Bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.

Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Soup

2009-05-07T20:59:00.000-07:00

2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup chopped onions
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli
1 1/3 cups mashed potatoes (dry)
2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (8 ounces)
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat broth, onion and frozen broccoli to boiling in 3-quart saucepan. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in potatoes until well blended; stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Heat over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot and cheese is melted.

Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Pancakes

2009-05-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Substitute: Oatmeal and cottage cheese for pancake mix

1/2 C oatmeal
1/4 C cottage cheese
2 eggs (or equivalent)
dash of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg

Process in a blender until smooth. Cook the mixture like a regular pancake.

Portebello Pizza

2009-05-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

Substitute: Portobello mushrooms for pizza crust

Cut the gills out of the inside of the mushroom.
Place the mushroom on an oiled cookie sheet and bake for 5 to 10 minutes so it dries out slightly.
Add tomato sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni or other toppings and broil until the cheese begins to melt.

Carbs eliminated: About 20 g per slice

Butter Almond Popcorn

2009-05-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Cindy Elison

1/2 C Butter
1 C Sugar
1/4 C Lite Karo
1/4 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 t vanilla
2 1/2 Quarts, 10 C popped corn
1 1/2 C toasted almonds

0. Preheat Oven at 250.
1. Melt butter in sauce pan, stir in sugar, karo, salt.
2. Heat to boil stirring constantly.
3. Keep lowest boiling heat for 8 minutes stir once.
4. Remove. stir in soda and vanilla. gradually pour over popped corn, add almonds, finish pouring.
5. Turn into a large, shallow baking pan. Bake 30 mins. Mixing well after 15 minutes.
6. Cool completely.
7. Break apart and store in air tight container.

Banana Bread

2009-05-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Kelly Elison

1-2 C Shortening
1 C sugar
2 Eggs
3 ripe bananas
2 1/2 C Flour
1 t Baking Powder
1 t soda
pinch of salt
1 t Vanilla

Bake in loaf pans 1 hour @ 350 Degree

Aunt Vicki's Corn Bread

2009-05-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

1C Buttermilk (1 C milk + 1 t lemon juice/vinegar)
1/2 t baking soda dissolved in the milk
2 Eggs
1/2 t salt
2/3C Sugar
1/2 C butter softened
1C Flour
1C cornmeal (i used fine cornmeal but I like it with coarse)

Mix everything.
Pour into greased 8" square or round pan.
Bake 375, 25-30 minutes.

Cream of Gravy

2009-05-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 C Sour Cream

Add milk it's too thick.

Chicken Pillows

2009-05-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of EmmaLee Bowling

Stuffing:
Chicken, boiled and shredded
8 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 C butter, soft
Diced mushroom, peppers, onions or other vegetables as desired
Salt, pepper, italian seasoning to taste

Pillowcase:
2 packages of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Butter, melted
Italian seasoning or regular breadcrumbs

Combine the chicken, cream cheese and butter. Everything will mix better if the chicken is still warm (not hot) from boiling.
Add your choice of vegetables and seasoning.
Lay out the crescent rolls flat. Put in a blob of stuffing and wrap in crescent roll, pinching tightly shut. Avoid stretching the rolls too thin.
Brush each "pillow" with melted butter and coat in bread crumbs
Bake at 375 until golden, about 15 minutes

Excellent served with gravy.

Banana Bread

2009-05-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of a friend of Yancy's
Makes one loaf

Cream:

1/3 cup shortening
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs

Mix separately:

1 3/4 flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all and add:

1 cup mashed banana

Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 in greased pan.

Italian Pasta Salad

2009-05-04T05:55:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Cindy Elison

Dressing:

1 C miracle whip (If you're using mayonnaise instead of miracle whip, then use 1C Italian dressing and 2 C mayo)
2 C Zesty Italian dressing
2 T grated Parmesan

For best flavor, make the dressing a day or at least a few hours a head of time and let sit in the fridge. Don't put the dressing on until just minutes before serving or the pasta will get soggy.

Salad:

2 C (8 oz) corkscrew noodles (do not overcook. Definitely al dente. Run cold water over the noodles immediately after draining to prevent further cooking/softening. To prevent the noodles from sticking to each other, spray with cooking spray.)
1 C broccoli (again, just barely cooked. Boil for only 2-3 minutes and cool immediately.)
1.5 C crab
.5 C yellow or red pepper
.5 C tomato
1.4 C green onion
black olives, if wanted, to add another color

Mix salad ingredients together with minimal mixing. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Serve with pepper.

Granola

2009-05-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Kathy Roesler

Mix:
8-10 C of quick cook oats
cardamom (or cinnamon or nutmeg) to taste
1 C bran, oat or wheat
1 C sunflower seeds

Heat:
1 C of safflower oil
½ C honey
t vanilla

Combine the above.
Spread evenly on a roasting pan.
Cook at 325 for 15 minutes.
Flip so it browns all around.
When it’s golden, remove.
Put in big bowl.
Add any dried fruit.
Cover and save.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

2009-04-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Michael Edwards
Serves 4

1/2 lb fresh asparagus
1/2 C chopped onion
2 T butter with salt
2 T all-purpose flour
2/3 C water
1 1/3 C hot milk
1/3 t salt
1/8 t white pepper

Snap off and discard tough asparagus bottoms and break off the asparagus tips. Slice the stems.
Sweat with onion in butter until the onions are translucent.
Sprinkle with flour and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
Add water while stirring constantly and continue to cook until thickened, and flour cooks out.
Blend soup with milk.
Strain and season.
Add salt and pepper.
Heat gently but don't boil.
Saute asparagus tips in butter until tender and add to soup.

Mexican Casserole

2009-04-28T18:39:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of EmmaLee Bowling

Spanish Rice mix
15 oz. black beans
chicken
cheese
tomato
avocado

1. Make spanish rice according to package.
2. Combine rice and black beans in a greased 8x8 baking dish.
3. Cover with cheese.
4. Cook at 350 or so until cheese is melted (just cooking cheese)
5. Cut up and cook chicken. Flavor with something Mexican.
6. Pull casserole out of oven. Layer chicken, tomato, avocado.

Serve with salsa and chips.

Creamy Italian Chicken

2009-04-28T18:36:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of EmmaLee Bowling

2 T butter
2 Chicken breasts
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 packet of Italian dressing mix
8 oz cream cheese

1. Cut up chicken. Cook in butter. Add crushed garlic just before done.
2. When cooked, lower to medium heat. Dump in cream of chicken soup, ranch packet and cream cheese. Add water until ideal consistency.
3. Serve over rice or noodles.

Aunt Jan's Bread

2009-03-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

Aunt Jan's Bread

Ingredients:

3 1/3 level cups of flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 T yeast (11/4 T if it's old)
1 cup warm water
2 T margarine or butter
1 egg

Instructions:

Put about 1/2 of the warm water in a mug. Add yeast and one tsp of the sugar. Let it set while you begin mixing the other ingredients.
Put the dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix lightly.
Make a well in the center and add the egg, rest of the water, and margarine cut into small pieces.
When you can see the yeast is growing add it into the well. If it doesn't grow don't even bother making the bread. Mix all ingredients well.
Knead for 10 minutes. If dough is a little sticky you can add some flour but it is better to be on the sticky side than the dry side. You know what consistency it should have. After you have kneaded it for 10 minutes it should be elastic and stretch when you pull it, not break.
Put it back into the bowl and cover it with a plate sprayed with Pam so it won't stick to it (Not necessary, but nice for clean up). Set it in a warm place until it has doubled. ( I turn my oven on 200 for about 30 seconds and then turn it off to create a warm place. In a window in the sun would be good, too. If you put it in the oven put a pan of hot water in there too it will increase the humidity and make the dough happier. Make sure you would be comfortable if you had to get into the oven. If it's too hot for you it will kill the yeast.)
Punch down the dough and knead it once again, for 1 or 2 minutes or until all the big bubbles are out of it.
Shape it into a loaf. Put it in a loaf pan. Let it rise until it is about 1 inch above the pan. (It will rise some while it bakes. If you like your bread really light and fluffy you could let it rise a little more.)
My oven is a little cool, so I bake my bread at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. I am thinking 30-33 minutes would be good if your oven is correctly calibrated. Take the pan of water out before you preheat the oven.
You can check it for doneness when you smell it. It should be brown on top.

Notes:
That is all I can think of as far as tips. Oh, I do let it set in the pan for 10 minutes before I dump it out, but if I am in a hurry I dump it when it comes out. It is just kind of tender and prone to sagging until it cools a bit. I wrap it in a dish towel to tran sport it when it is warm. If it is completely cool you can wrap it in plastice wrap.

Aunt Carole's Crescent Rolls

2009-03-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Aunt Carole's Crescent Rolls

Ingredients

2 packages quick-rise yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 cup potato flakes
2/3 c sugar
2/3 c butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
6-7 cups all purpose flour

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix in large bowl 3 cups of flour, yeast, potato flakes, sugar, and salt.
In a different bowl/pan, combine water and butter and then heat (in microwave or on stove) until butter is melted. Butter-water combo needs to be 115 degrees (pretty much exactly) before proceeding.
Pour entire butter-water mixture into the flour mixture and immediately start blending (use bread hooks rather than regular beaters). Mix with bread hooks for three minutes, then add the two eggs and continue to beat until they are blended in.
Add more flour gradually, adding no more than you have to to create a very soft dough.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rest in a warm place for 20 minutes.
Divide in half, rolling out each half (on a lightly floured surface) into a circle about 14" across. Brush the two circles with melted butter, then cut each circle into wedges like a pizza.
Roll each wedge up, beginning at the wide end, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Allow to rest for 17 minutes.
Bake for about 18 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown.

Notes:

Altitude makes a big difference

Lemon Chili Tilapia

2009-03-15T19:03:00.001-07:00

From Betty Crocker

Fish

1 lb medium-firm textured fish fillets (such as tilapia, cod or haddock), about 3/4 inch thick
1 cup Fiber One® original bran cereal
lemon pepper to taste
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup milk

Sauce

1/3 cup combination of mayonnaise/sour cream
1 T lemon juice
1/4 tsp chili powder
Dash ground red pepper (cayenne)
Dash salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Oven Directions

Heat oven to 450°F. Grease 13x9-inch pan. Cut fish crosswise into 2-inch-wide pieces.
Finely crush cereal.
In shallow bowl, mix cereal, lemon peel, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper. In another shallow bowl, place milk. Dip fish pieces into milk; coat with cereal mixture; place in pan. Drizzle oil evenly over fish.
Bake uncovered 10-15 mins or until fish flakes easily with fork.
Meanwhile, mix all sauce ingredients except cilantro until blended. Stir in cilantro.

Stove Top Directions

Cut fish crosswise into 2-inch-wide pieces.
Finely crush cereal.
In shallow bowl, mix cereal, lemon peel, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper. In another shallow bowl, place milk. Dip fish pieces into milk; coat with cereal mixture; place onto hot, liberally sprayed skillet.
Reduce heat to medium and cook covered for a few minutes to cook fish, then uncovered, turning occasionally, to get the outside crisp.
Meanwhile, mix all sauce ingredients except cilantro until blended. Stir in cilantro.

Grilled Black Bean and Rice-stuffed Peppers

2009-03-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

From Betty Crocker

15 oz black beans, drained, rinsed
3/4 C cooked rice
1/4 C green onions, sliced (4 medium)
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro
2 T lime juice
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
3 large bell peppers
1 plum (Roma) tomato, diced

Cut the stem out of each pepper, creating a whole big enough to stuff the pepper through. Remove the seeds and inner cartilage. That's right, cartilage.
Completely immerse the peppers in boiling water for about three minutes. In a green or red pepper, the color will become brighter. Set aside.
Mix beans, rice, onions, cilantro, lime juice, garlic and salt.
Stuff mixture into peppers. I like to pack it in so each pepper is really full.
Place peppers upright in a baking dish. Cook for 1 hour at 350 degrees. They're done when a fork goes easily into the pepper.
Sprinkle with chopped tomatos, and add cheese and additional cilantro, if wanted.

Lime Garlic Chicken

2009-03-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

From Betty Crocker

Prep Time: 10 min

Total Time: 10 hours 10 min

Makes: 6 servings

1 package (1 pound 4 ounces) bone-in skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (2 limes)
1 1/2 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-ounce carton)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Chopped fresh parsley, if desired

1. Place chicken in 3- to 4-quart slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients except rice and parsley.
2. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours. During last 15 minutes of cooking, stir in rice.
3. Remove chicken from cooker. Place cooked rice on each serving plate. Top with chicken. Spoon any remaining juices over chicken. Garnish with parsley.

The Cinnamon Bread Recipe

2009-03-15T18:52:00.001-07:00

From Kelly

This made 3 loaves for me, so you'll probably want to scale it back, unless you want to freeze loaves for later or give some away.

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup warm water (warm on wrist)
2 (.25 ounce) packages (or 2 tsp.) active dry yeast
3 eggs (You could probably do 4 egg whites instead to cut fat,
but don't do that and cut all of the margarine out)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup raisins (optional- I left this out)
8 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water, and set aside until yeast is frothy (if you listen closely, you can actually hear the yeast). Mix in eggs, sugar, butter or margarine, salt, and raisins. Stir in milk. Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough.

2. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. Place in a large, greased, mixing bowl, and turn to grease the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled. (I did this in the oven on low)

3. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Moisten dough with 2 tablespoons milk. Mix together 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon, and sprinkle mixture on top of the moistened dough. Roll up tightly; the roll should be about 3 inches in diameter. Cut into thirds, and tuck under ends. Place loaves into well greased 9 x 5 inch pans. Let rise again for 1 hour (I did 20 or 30 minutes).

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes (less for my oven, I prefer to watch and smell for it to be done), or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Remove loaves from pansand let cool before slicing.

Zimmerman Home Cookin'

Biscotti

Chimichangas

Hamburger Buns

Cilantro Ranch Dressing

Sweet Pork

Seasoned Chicken

Tzatziki Sauce

Apple Crisp

Snickerdoodle Dessert Hummus

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dessert Hummus

Summer Pizza

Maple Salmon

Fish Tacos

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Tiffany-Is-Sick Chicken Noodle Soup

Better-Than-Classic Stuffed Shells

Pizza Hut Pizza Dough

Tortellini Soup

try Jicama Salad

Fast Food Recipes

try Frosty

Icebox Butterhorns (Rolls)

Chunk-a-poo Cookies

Fried Rice

Enchiladas

Vegetable Penne

Quinoa and vegetables

Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

Tamarind Paste

Pad Thai

Lynn's Soup

Spinach Basil Pesto

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Spinach and Artichoke DipCourtesy of seriouseats.com

Ingredients

Procedure

Mindy Casserole

Black Bean Hummus

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Snickerdoodles

Naan

Ingredients

Directions

Chicken Korma

Ingredients

Directions

Shakshuka

Ingredients

Directions

Pumpkin Chili

Butternut Squash Soup

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients

Directions

Hamburger Patties

Try Simple Corn Pudding

Mom's Meatloaf

try cream puffs

try coffee cake pastry

Macaroni Grille Bread

Oatmeal Bars

try blackberry sauce

Italian-style Cream Pudding

Chiles Rellenos de San Joaquin

Artisan Bread

Tostadas

Chewy Flour Tortillas

Peanut Butter Camp Cookies

Chocolate Camp Cookies

Fajita Seasoning

Buttery Steel-cut Oats

Granny Smith Salsa

Green Beans with Water Chestnuts

Asparagus with Garlic

Better Together: Healthy Food Combinations

Farmers' Market Barley Risotto

Chipotle Guacamole

Baked Falafel

Hummus

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Courtesy of seriouseats.com