Halloween Photo Contest

I'm entering us in a Halloween photo contest at www.datingdivas.com! Here is our entry picture! It's from last year - Gnomeo & Juliet and our little purple babies! Help us win by voting for us between October 16-30!

Hawaiian Joes - the Dinner to DIE For

We have been eating a lot of tomato/seasoning/pasta or rice concoctions recently. All a little different, all a lot the same. Tonight, we decided to mix things up and have sloppy joes.

Now, back in the day, we bought some ground turkey, ground pork, ground beef, and ground chicken when it was on sale. We decided to use turkey and chicken to make our sloppy joes. We didn't have enough beef and we've been using the meats we have a lot of, so chicken/turkey combination it was. (Why the combo? Why not?)

We made the sloppy joes the way we usually do (except I forgot the mustard) - brown the meat, salt and pepper it, watch it cook. Then we spiced things up a bit and added some garlic and some Worcestershire sauce. Why not, right? After the garlic made our house smell divine, we added ketchup and brown sugar and let it all meld together into what we assumed would be sloppy joe heaven.

And then we tasted it. And it did NOT taste like sloppy joes. (Guess we missed the rule about using beef for sloppy joes. Oops.) I was not very excited, but Patrick tasted it a couple times and then he had this great idea - add some pineapple! Truth be told, he wanted the pineapple on the side because he hates pineapple with his meats (or something like that??), but that's what we are always doing, so I begged him to let me add it straight to the meat. I am SO glad he agreed.

We made the most delicious accidental meal I have eaten in a VERY LONG time. And the most delicious pineappley meal I've eaten in a long time.

It was so good that I am sharing the recipe with you now, as in, I JUST finished eating and the dishes are not even done yet.

Allow for some guestimations and whatnot because when I cook I pretty much just throw things in, and Patrick is getting good at that too. :)

Oh, and I apologize for not having a picture - I thought of that as the last bite was in my mouth. That's right, it was so good we don't even have leftovers.

Hawaiian Joes

1 lb ground birdy (we used chicken and turkey)

salt and pepper, to taste

1 1/2 T Worcestershire sauce (this is my guess, maybe it was closer to 1 T)

1 tsp minced garlic

1/3 - 1/2 C ketchup (to taste)

1/3ish C brown sugar (to taste)

1/2 - 3/4 can of pineapple chunks (again, to taste)

1. Brown the meat in a large frying pan. Salt and pepper it to taste while browning.

2. Add in garlic and Worcestershire, stir, and continue to brown meat.

3. Once meat is fully cooked (we don't want to risk any food-borne illnesses, here, folks), add ketchup and brown sugar. Honestly, I just dumped until it was the consistency of sloppy joes.

4. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, allowing the flavors to blend and soak into the meat, about 5 minutes.

5. Stir in pineapple chunks.

6. Simmer on low (or medium-low), stirring occasionally.

7. Here is the fun and VERY IMPORTANT part. Let some of it burn, er, caramelize. The brown sugar and the pineapple juices will caramelize and create this DELICIOUS burn that makes you think you grilled your dinner... or ate at Tucano's. It is important that you do not stir it too frequently, or you won't get that divine crisp on your meat/pineapple.

8. Eat it until you can't eat anymore, or until it's gone. We served ours on whole wheat pieces of bread. We are simpletons when it comes to what's under our sloppy's.

And the whole wheat added to our fairly healthy meal: ground birdy, better for ya than fatty beef; whole wheat bread, yum; diced fresh strawberries; green salad, leafy greens are so good for ya and this was the real-deal lettuce, not iceberg.

Dinner was a HUGE success and we felt good eating it. I hope you make this and enjoy it as much as we did! We will DEFINITELY be adding this to our menu more often. And then I'll take a picture of it. :) Yum!!!

Now go make some tummies happy!

Best Breakfast Side Dish - Potatoes and Onions

I grew up on potatoes and onions, pan-fried in bacon grease or butter with salt and pepper.

I know what you're thinking. That sounds ridiculously delicious and healthy. Well, it is. Okay, and isn't. But who doesn't love bacon? Or butter, for that matter? Yeah, that's what I thought.

So here you have it.

- Peel, wash, and grate some potatoes. Think one potato a person (you're going to want to eat all of them, I promise).

- Dice an onion, yellow or white.

- Use the same pan you used to cook your bacon (but get rid of some of the grease...) or melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a skillet. (This is pretty scientific, huh?)

- Toss in your grated potatoes and diced onions, add some salt and pepper, and let them babies cook on medium heat.

You'll want to flip them over. I like mine a little on the brown and toasted side. If you toss them around or mix them too much, they get mushy. Just FYI. It helps if you just let them fry for a few minutes, then kind of flip them over. Just cook them until everything is soft and cooked, and even a little brown.

Eat them with a lovely over-medium egg and a piece of toast (you have to have the toast to dip in the egg yolk). They're really good with my grandma's chili sauce, but, unfortunately, I don't have the recipe for that. They're also good with salsa or ketchup. Seriously, you can't ruin these. They're just SO good!

(And so not healthy... and who cares. :D)

Pumpkin & Chorizo Enchiladas with Cinnamon-spiced Crema

This is a fun recipe that my aunt shared with me, from the Food Network magazine. Yum! It is actually meant to be butternut squash and chorizo, so I'm going to post the original recipe first and then tell you about my modifications. Also, I doubled the recipe because I bought 2 things of chorizo and my husband is a cow. :) I now have an 8x8 of enchiladas (about 6) that I'm going to freeze for a later date. So here we go!

Butternut Squash and Chorizo Enchiladas with Cinnamon-spiced Crema

Sauce:

2 oz butter

5 T flour

2 C beef broth

4 T chili powder

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 C Cacique Crema Mexicana

Melt butter in saucepan and whisk in flour. Cook for 2 minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in broth. Add remaining ingredients, except Crema Mexicana, and whisk thoroughly. Bring to a slight boil and remove from heat. Let cool, let mix in Crema Mexicana.

Filling:

10 oz Cacique Chorizo (pork or beef - this is one tube of it)

1 small butternut squash, or 1 - 16 oz bag frozen butternut squash, cooked as per package instructions

Cook chorizo according to package instructions and drain well. Set aside. Split squash in half, remove seeds, poke holes in surface, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Allow to cool, then scoop out tender flesh and meat. Add cooled chorizo. (see, this would be SO much faster with frozen or canned squash, like the pumpkin)

Topping:

12-16 corn tortillas

1/2 package (5 oz) Cacique Queso Quesadilla, shredded

Lightly coat bottom of a baking dish with sauce. Scoop filling into tortillas, roll and place in baking pan. Cover the tops of the enchiladas with sauce and top with shredded Queso Quesadilla. Bake uncovered at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is browned/melted.

So... my adjustments.... I used canned pumpkin puree, flour tortillas, and the Mexican blend of shredded cheese from Walmart because 1. I wanted to make it with pumpkin because that is how my aunt recommended to make it and because Patrick would NEVER eat it if it had butternut squash in it (though I think that would be good), and 2. because those are the things I had and this way I didn't have to buy more. Use whatcha' got! :) I do think it'd be really good with the corn tortillas and I'll do that next time for sure.

Here is our chorizo and pumpkin blend. Next time I make this I will use HALF the amount of pumpkin/squash it calls for. With the pumpkin you get a sweet pumpkin pie taste (no, I didn't use pumpkin pie filling, I used pumpkin) and Patrick didn't like it. We like a little more kick in our food. My aunt said her's had quite the kick, so maybe I just put too much pumpkin in. However, there is another kick... just wait....

Here is our Cinnamon-spiced Crema. YUM! It reminded me a lot of enchilada sauce you might find served at a restaurant. In all honesty, I think this entire thing could be on a restaurant menu - it's that good! This stuff has a little kick because of the chili powder in it.

See? This is what happens when your little one wants to taste the food even though you tell her it's spicy.

Don't worry, we gave her some milk and she is fine now. :)

Here is our mixture going down on the tortilla. Fill 'em up! Yum!

And this is a happy kid who thinks she's helping SUPER MUCHO! :) She was stirring the Crema while I poured it into the baking dish.

(We're working on keeping eyes open for pictures. :p)

And here we are laying the enchiladas in the pan. Remember, I made double what the recipe called for. Or I made fatter ones than they would be... Either way. :)

Put the crema and cheese on top. Looks so good!

Finished product after hubby started at them. Pour a little crema on top (I know, I did such a pretty job at that part!)

We actually ate ours with Valentina and sour cream on top. The Valentina hot sauce countered the sweetness of the pumpkin and the sour cream helped to cut it as well. The Valentina is in the same family of heat and peppers so it went really well - better than Chalula, my current love. :)

So there you have it! Enjoy! They were MIGHTY tasty!! In fact, I'm going to go have one right now! Yummmmmm.....

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Another cupcake from the glorious cupcake book! :) This is quite the tasty - and fun! - cupcake! I think this would be great for a birthday party, served with root beers on the side.

Root Beer Float Cupcake

1 white cake mix (I had funfetti, so that's what I used)

1 c of your favorite root beer (I just bought A&W, but this would be FABULOUS with Brick Oven rootbeer, and next time I'm going to dish out the pennies for IBC)

- Mix together root beer and cake mix. Pour into paper liners and fill 3/4 full. (Yes, that's really all there is to the cupcake! How cool is that, right?)

*Hints! Use a mixer. Using the funfetti cake mix with the sprinkles in it made it hard for the batter to all get moistened by the rootbeer. But even with a regular cake mix, your batter would be smoother and more even if you use a mixer. You don't want pockets of dry cake mix in your finished cupcake! :)

I added an extra ounce or two of root beer. Why not right?

Next time I will also add 1/2-1 tsp root beer extract or flavoring. See below...

- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes (or about half of that for mini cupcakes) or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool.

Now for the frosting..... :)

Root Beer Buttercream Frosting (which is actually vanilla buttercream frosting with a little root beer flavoring)

1 stick butter, room temperature

3-3/4 c powdered sugar, sifted

304 T milk or cream (again, I used cream... so smooth, yummy)

1 tsp root beer flavoring (Is there a different between extract, concentrate, and flavoring in the final result? I don't know. Haven't tried them all.)

Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer before adding sugar to avoid a large mess.

Add sugar, milk or cream, and root beer flavoring. Beat frosting, starting slow and increasing your speed until frosting is nice and creamy. Add more milk or cream if frosting is too thick.

*Hints! I added a little more flavoring because I didn't think the cupcake had enough of the root beer flavor that I wanted. That's why next time I'll add a little flavoring or extract to the batter as well, though I do understand because it's meant to be a root beer float, not a carbonated can of root beer. :) Using a higher quality root beer in the batter may help as well.

The frosting is REALLY sweet!

Overall, this cupcake was a huge success! I actually doubled the recipe since it was safe to eat the batter (no eggs!) and my little one and I enjoyed it as we were making the cupcakes. :) Friends and family seemed to enjoy them as well!

Yummy Italian Chicken Crockpot Dump

Sounds delicious, no? Haha, keep reading.

Remember that crockpot chicken salsa stuff I like to make? (the one where I get to put frozen chicken in the crockpot and cover it with salsa and corn and black beans and cream cheese? yummm), well this is like that... but Italian-ish. :)

I forgot to take a picture, but it was SOOOO good everyone had seconds! (We had 4 missionaries over too!) So it makes a lot. :)

- Just take your crockpot.

- Put some frozen chicken in. (I had 3 breasts and didn't want to use a lot of our meat, so it's all I put in)

- 2 cans cream of chicken soup

- 1 can cream of mushroom soup

- 2 cans diced tomatoes (maybe of the seasoned sort - like with basil, oregano, and garlic)

(go ahead, just dump them all in)

- Italian seasonings (stuff like crushed basil leaves, oregano, marjoram, thyme, etc... whatever is in that blend called "Italian Seasoning")

- Black pepper

- Maybe some other seasonings... like coriander... or cumin... or garlic salt.. you know, whatever you feel like dumping in.

- Maybe a cup of water, if you feel like it.

- A block of cream cheese (put it in in the beginning or save it for later.... either way. - I ended up doing half and half, actually. I wasn't sure how much cream cheese I wanted, but I ended up using the whole 8 oz)

- Turn that puppy on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6+ hours. Just cook it until that chicken is cooked through.

- Then shred the chicken with a couple forks and mix it all together. Let it sit another 30 min to an hour (or longer) so the chicken will absorb all the flavor.

- Serve it over rice.

YUM!!!!

SO easy, SO simple, and seriously, dump it in and let it sit. Cook your rice in a rice cooker and it's even less work! Man, I love food that cooks itself. :)

Emeril

Ahh, Emeril. BAM!

Okay, so I'm actually not THE biggest fan of Emeril, like a crazy fanatic fan, but I do like a lot of his food.

In one of my classes at BYU we used a cookbook of his that he designed with kids in mind. The recipes and directions are simplified and I just plain LOVE the book! I used recipes from it when I student taught and I use one particular recipe from it ALL THE TIME! It's heavenly! It's for fettuccine alfredo, but this version is actually a lot like a carbonara. Anyhow, here you go.

Emeril's Fettuccine Alfredo My Way

Donut Cupcake + 3 Frostings

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but it sounds delicious! I've also added the recipe for three different frostings.

Donut Cupcake

1 box yellow cake mix

1 (4-oz.) pkg vanilla instant pudding mix (powder only)

1/4 c mashed potatoes (instant works)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 c milk

Mix together all ingredients until well combined. Fill paper liners 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting suggestions:

Caramel Cream

Vanilla Buttercream

Chocolate Buttercream

Caramel Cream

4 T butter

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c dark brown sugar

2-3 T whole milk

1 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

*You're going to want to use a wooden spoon with this. If you have a steel pot/pan, use that - basically, preferably not non-stick. But use what you have. :)

Place butter and brown sugars in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir and cook the mixture until it comes to a boil.

Add milk and bring the mixture back to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove pan from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat mixture with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy.

Allow cupcakes to cool slightly before frosting. Frosting will harden when cooled completely.

Vanilla Buttercream

1 stick butter, room temperature (NOT melted!)

3-3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

3-4 T milk or cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

Place butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop beating before adding sugar to avoid a large mess.

Add sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla extract. Beat frosting starting on slow, increasing your speed until frosting is nice and creamy. Add up to 1 more T milk or cream if frosting is too thick.

Chocolate Buttercream

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/3 c cocoa

3-3/4 c powdered sugar, sifted

304 T milk or cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop mixer before adding cocoa to avoid a large mess.

Add cocoa, sugar, 3 T milk or cream, and vanilla extract. Beat frosting starting on slow speed and add up to 1 more T milk or cream is frosting is too thick.

Cupcake Heaven

When I student taught, one of my cooperating teachers was AMAZING! I swear she was just plain Heaven-sent. She was even so kind as to give me a cupcake recipe book (anyone who knows me knows how much I love a good cupcake... and if you didn't know that, well, now you do).

This recipe book is called "101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes" - how perfect is that? I love pretty and tasty things and I love saving time. This book is brilliant! Take a cake mix and turn it into cupcake heaven!

So this past week, we had the missionaries overfor dinner and I made two different cupcakes. Patrick wanted to have a cupcake decorating contest, it being close to Halloween and all, and I wanted tasty cupcakes.

Here are the recipes, and my personal notes to go with them. :) Enjoy!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake (these are like Reese's Heaven, really. And I realize I've used that word a lot in this post.)

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Devil's food)

3 eggs

1 c milk

1 bag chocolate PB cups (Reese's - yes, the big ones. Yum! Get the jumbo bag.)

- Mix together cake mix, eggs, and milk. Pour 2 T batter into paper liners and place a Reese's cup on top. Fill paper liners 3/4 way full. (I used Pampered Chef scoops and used the medium scoop, which is the perfect size!)

- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire ra

ck. When completely cooled, frost.

- Frost with PB frosting or chocolate buttercream.

It took the full 15-18 minutes or so. I had one batch that I cooked for that time and they sunk, but they were SUPER moist. Another batch I let cook too long, they were still good, but kind of dry - though they were tasty after they sat in the fridge for a day. The first 6 I made were HEAVENLY moist, so somewhere around 20 minutes, I'm guessing. Or whatever your oven does because maybe it's my possessed gas oven. :) And it made 18 cupcakes, but they're BIG full cupcakes because you have to use a good amount to cover the Reese's. Next time, I'll double the batch and let them sink a little and I think they'll be just plain perfect - besides, who complains when there's a little extra frosting on top to cover up a sunken center? (Not Miss B!)

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 c peanut butter (smooth or chunky - I used smooth)

1/2 c butter, room temperature

2 c powdered sugar

3-4 T milk or cream (I used cream because I have some)

1 tsp vanilla extract

- Combine PB and butter in a large bowl, mixing together until light and fluffy. Stop mixer before adding sugar.

- Add sugar, 3 T milk or cream, and vanilla. Start slow and mix together, gradually increasing the

speed. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add more milk or cream (1-2 T) if frosting is too thick.

I made this batch and was immediately taken back to my childhood. Every Christmas, or some Christmases, we'd make these peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. They are basically a stiff version of this frosting, dipped in chocolate and frozen. I could sit in front of the tv and eat this frosting from the bowl. Yummmmmmmmmm.

Rob and Elder Siegfried enjoying their cupcakes. Elder Siegfried won the decorating competition! Look at the detail! (it's about baptism :p)

Harvest Pumpkin (Pumpkin Spice) Cupcakes

1 box spice cake mix

1 c pumpkin puree (I put the rest in the fridge to use later this week)

1 tsp vanilla xtract

2 eggs

1/2 c milk

1 c chocolate chips (I used milk choco)

1 c butterscotch chips

Mix together all ingredients. Pour batter into paper liners and fill 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until cakes are light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely on wire rack.

Frost with cream cheese frosting (or you can use chocolate ganache, chocolate buttercream, or vanilla buttercream).

Made about 2 - 2 1/2 doz regular sized cupcakes. You know, not spilling over the top, but not too small either. These cupcakes were seriously Heaven-sent. Really, I know you're going crazy with my lack of vocabulary, but I wanted to eat them all after I tasted just one. In fact, I think they tasted better without the cream cheese frosting. Next time I'm going to try the chocolate ganache frosting. The chocolate and butterscotch chips add an extra tasty and rich element to these cupcakes, so make sure every cupcake has some! I used my Pampered Chef scoop again. It is seriously a brilliant purchase - the scoop - in case you're wondering. So fast, so easy, so clean! I hate messy cupcake trays and uneven cupcakes in the same pan. Hello, even baking!

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 c butter, softened

3-3/4 c powdered sugar (I think I read this wrong when I made them and only used a couple cups, haha, still tastes good)

1 tsp vanilla extract

- Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth and light.

- Stop mixer and add sugar and vanilla.

- Start mixer on low and gradually increase the speed until frosting is fluffy.

- Frost and refrigerate.

I actually doubled this recipe since I had 2 1/2 doz cupcakes. Good idea. Well, I like a good amount of frosting on my cupcakes, no skimping there! I did have extra frosting, but it's a great dip for graham crackers!

I refrigerated both of these cupcakes since their frosting is more prone to perishing and let me tell you, the Reese's cupcake is SOOOOO good cold! In fact, I'm going to go get the last one from the fridge right now. Enjoy!

Elder Harward and Rob showing off their cupcakes.

I've Been in a Kitchen Mood

I've wanted to cook and bake a lot recently. So here I am, posting a bunch of links to things I want to make.

I actually went to 365daysofcrockpot and put a bunch of her recipes in a word doc, but I didn't feeling like doing that right now with Our Best Bites recipes.

So here's the reminder for me... and the inspiration for you. :)

Reese's Bars (No Bake!) - yummmm I'm totally craving these RIGHT NOW.

Chipotle Chocolate Chili umm YES PLEASE!

Baked Potato Soup Right now I have a couple crock pot potato soup recipes I'm working with, so this is going to have to wait until I feel like being more "labor intensive", but it looks amazing!

BBQ Bacon Sliders This just looks gooood.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup {Chunky Monkey Pancakes!} The name was too long for me NOT to just copy/paste. :)

Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies - holy yum! I've totally been a pumpkin kick this Fall - my pantry is stocked!

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches I actually have a recipe from 365daysofcrockpot for BBQ pulled pork right now waiting to used this weekend. I think I will combine the two and see what glorious concoction happens. :)

Bacon-wrapped Cocktail Sausages Man this is so easy! And who doesn't love bacon?? Yumm....

Sweet Potato Fries with Honey-Lime Sauce Oh, heaven help me....

French Dip Sandwiches (a la Crockpot) I love French dip sandwiches.

Goodness me, I should just stop and pick a recipe on their site and start. It all looks SOOOOO good!

Easy Pumpkin Muffins These look like they're a lot like the cupcakes I just made the other day....

Stuffed Bleu Baked Potatoes

Crispy Shoestring Onions Good to know!!

Muddy Buddies My sis-in-law-in-law was craving these the other day

Sweet & Sour Meatballs yummmmmm

Okay, I really need to go eat some lunch before I eat my computer instead. Head on over to

Our Best Bites and fall in love for yourself!

And a special thanks to my friend, Jessica, for introducing me to this GLORIOUS website. I'm eating my fingers off right now!

Chicken Salsa Crockpot Goodness

I got this recipe from one of my friends, Brittany. I absolutely love it! And it is SOOOO incredibly easy that there are no excuses NOT to have it! (okay, if you don't have a crockpot, that's a good reason.... go borrow one :p)

-- 4-5 FROZEN boneless, skinless chicken breasts (isn't that great? FROZEN - you can use any part of the chicken you want, but boneless, skinless would be best)

-- 16 oz. jar of salsa (we prefer medium but you can use what you want)

-- 1 can drained black beans (here's a trick for you - drain what you can, then put some water in the can, shake a bit, drain, repeat until the water is pretty much clear... that'll be good enough - and you don't have to get a strainer or sieve out!)

-- 1 can drained corn

-- 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese

Put the frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot. Pour entire jar of salsa on top, then add the drained cans of black beans and corn. Cook in the crock pot on high for 4 hours (or on low for 8). 30 minutes before it's finished cooking, fork apart the chicken and put the cream cheese on top of the mixture. Let it soften, then mix everything together and ENJOY!

Helpful hint (for me, at least): take the chicken breast out to fork it apart. It's so much easier for me this way! I want it shredded pretty finely, so that's one more reason to take it out. Make sure you replace the lid while you're doing this. An unbelievable amount of heat is released when you take that lid off and slows the cooking process... at this point, you're just working to melt the cheese into the mixture, but you want all the heat you can get, right?) Put your chicken back in, put the cream cheese in there, let it sit for half an hour and then YUM!!!

We eat this with chips (like a salsa dip), on tortillas, or on rice. It's SO yummy! And it makes a lot so you can freeze it or have lots of leftovers/lunches! It's just as good when you reheat it in the microwave, too.

Oh Zucchini!

My 7-month-old daughter LOVES zucchini! Especially when it's cooked with Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup (dry soup) packets and onions.

This is a VERY SIMPLE recipe.

Chop zucchini - 4 small, 3 medium, whatever you want.

Chop an onion or two (depends on how much zucchini you have)

Saute these two ingredient in butter or olive oil, with salt and pepper, until mostly or all the way cooked.

Add the dry soup mix (I use about 4-4 zucchini, a couple onions, and then 2 soup mixes) and a little bit of water - just enough to all the noodles to cook, but not so much that you have soup. I added about 1-1/2 -- 2 cups.

Cook the noodles thoroughly, bringing it all to a boil for a few minutes. Let any extra water you don't want evaporate using this method. Then allow it to simmer until it comes to the consistency you want - I like mine kind of thick.

You can leave it on low heat or turn it off with a lid on it to keep it warm until serving time.

Don't forget to stir while you're making this so that everything gets evenly cooked.

Then enjoy!!! :)

***And this is a great way to get kids to eat zucchini because the chicken noodle flavor really takes over - in a good way, of course - and makes kids want more and more and more. :)

Better-than-Anything Cake

I love this cake!  LOVE it!  It's quite rich, though, so keep that in mind.  I love it because it is so full of flavor and is so moist, so I have made it many a time.  I feel like this is the chocolate version of Tres Leches Cake, which is also delicious!

Better-than-Anything Cake

1 devil's food (or chocolate) cake mix

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 medium bag crushed toffee candy pieces (or mini kisses, Reese's, your choice of candy - toffee candy is best!)

Caramel or butterscotch syrup

Chocolate syrup

1 large tub of whipped cream topping (or make homemade whipped cream topping)

Prepare and bake the devil's food cake mix as directed on the package.

When cake is baked, take the small end of a plastic/wood mixing spoon and poke holes all over the cake every inch or two.  Pour one 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk over the cake.  I also like to pour some chocolate syrup and caramel or butterscotch syrup on at this point.  Sprinkle 1/2 - 3/4 of the toffee pieces on the cake.

Allow to cool for a few hours.  (After it cools you can also put it in the fridge to cool up more.)

Add whipped topping on top like frosting.  Decorate top with syrups and remaining toffee pieces.  Best if decorated shortly before served.

Also best when refrigerated.  

Enjoy!

What is Your Favorite?

Well, it looks like the favorite for readers of this blog are dessert and dinners! 

I love dessert too, so I'll definitely remember to post dessert recipes, but I am also going to post parts and whole dinner recipes - for the reader!! :)

Thank you for following and I'd love to hear your comments and ideas!

Lemon Bars

Finals are over and spring term has started.  And I sort of have more time. :)  Here is another recipe from the day Bella was blessed.

LEMON BARS

From a classmate in SFL 110; we used this for our final project in the class.

1 c. butter or margarine

dash of salt

1/2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

Mix above ingredients and press into a 9" x 13" pan.  Bake at 350˚ for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

4 beaten eggs

¼ c. flour 

2 c. sugar

5-8 T. lemon juice (lean toward 8 T, but add to taste) 

Mix above ingredients and pour on crust.  Bake at 350˚ for 25 minutes.  Sprinkle with sifted* powdered sugar after it has cooled a little bit.  

Cut into small pieces because they are rich and full of flavor!

*Sifting: scatter or sprinkle over the top using a sieve or sifter. (If you don't have a sifter or a sieve, you can sprinkle the powdered sugar over the top by hand.  Sifting creates a more even distribution and 'prettier' look.)

Cinnamon Rolls

This is a family recipe that my sister-in-law made for a big family get together we had on Sunday.  They are delicious!

Cinnamon Rolls

(Neva Mae Brandt Herbert) 

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c sugar

1 egg

1 T yeast in 1/2 c warm water & 1/2 tsp sugar (let sit 10 minutes)

8 c flour

2 c warm water

1 1/2 tsp salt 

Combine all ingredients.  Raise and knead down.  Rise again and roll out on floured surface.  Cover with butter, cinnamon, and sugar (You can use brown sugar).  Roll up and cut into 1" wide slices.*  Melt butter in pans and dip top of roll in butter and turn up in pans.  Bake at 425 for 10 - 15 minutes.  Cover with icing immediately as they come out of the oven. 

Icing:

2 c powdered sugar

4 T water (not more than)

(If you want to make it richer 2 T butter or cream cheese [both of these need to be at room temperature] – this can be more if you want) 

Don’t make it too runny.

*Tip for cutting rolls into 1" wide slices.  Use a piece of floss (no flavor, plain, waxed) about 12" long.  Place under the rolls, then cross on top in a tying motion.  This creates a clean, fast, and easy cut.

Definition:

Knead: to work dough into a uniform mixture by pressing, folding, and stretching.

Quick Coffee Cake

I love family recipes!  Now, this is one I haven't tried yet, but it does sound delicious.  I got it from my mother-in-law and she said it's good, so it must be!

Quick Coffee Cake
Cake:
2 c biscuit mix
1 can (1 lb 4 oz) apples
1/3 c brown sugar firmly packed
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 c milk
1 egg
2 T Salad oil
Preheat oven at 400 degrees - grease 9" square pan
Put biscuit mix, sugar and cinnamon in bowl. 

Mix milk, eggs and salad oil in separate bowl.
Combine both mixtures and stir until mixed but not smooth. 
Add apples and stir again.
Pour batter into pan.

Topping:
1/4 c margarine*
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 c flour
Mix all together all ingredients until crumbly
Sprinkle over top of coffee cake and bake for 35-40 minutes.

*Often margarine and butter can be substituted for each other.