Spicy Cheese Fondue

1 lg onion, chopped

2 cubes butter

8 oz. diced green chilies

12 oz. stewed tomatoes, with juice

2 lbs. Velveeta Cheese, cubed

1/2 lb. cheddar cheese, cubed

Tabasco to taste

Saute' onion in butter. Add chilies & tomatoes. Add cheese gradually to sauce to melt, and then add Tabasco. Cook over low heat or in a double boiler so as not to burn. Goes nicely with French bread cubes, apple wedges, celery chunks and cubed ham.

Egg Nog French Toast

Slices of Texas toast (I use regular bread)

Egg Nog

Eggs

Nutmeg

Vanilla (optional)

Mix egg nog, eggs, nutmeg & vanilla. Dredge slices of bread in mixture & brown on both sides. Serve with butter & syrup. This is really yummy on Christmas morning. It also is great for dinner with bacon or sausage. Our family gobbled it up a few nights ago!!

Enjoy!!

Almond Rocha

I made a bunch of Almond Rocha this week. I'm giving it away as Christmas treats so if you like it and want the recipe here ya go:

1 pound salted butter ( I used the unsalted one time and um, use the salted stuff)

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups almonds coarsely chopped

1/2 cup almonds for topping

2 bags of milk chocolate

I use a cast iron pot because of the high temperature, there will be less burning. ( mine is enameled coated, but you can use an old fashion one)

turn stove top on to medium a 4 or 5 no need to rush.

Melt the Butter

add the sugar

beat with wire whisk. This is the most important step. Make sure you butter and sugar don't separate.

After you start to see boil, use a high temperature spatula and occasionally sir.

bring to 300 degrees. It will be a dark amber color, and will smell like its burning.

Take of burner.

Add coarse almonds, stir

pour into a jelly roll pan ( smaller than a cookie sheet, you can use a cookie sheet but it will be thinner) you might want help with this step. Someone holding the pan while the other uses the spatula to help pour.

Spread out the mixture

Sprinkle milk chocolate over the mixture

wait until the chocolate is melted and spread with a knife or spoon.

dust with finely chopped Almonds

let cool. ( I cover it and set it in the snow outside sometimes you really wanna cover it so you don't get extra protein)

If you want you can carefully pop out the cool Rocha and spread melted chocolate on the other side.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1 pork loin roast
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
Liquid Smoke (optional)

Put roast in crock pot with about 1/2 c. of water. Let simmer on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Just before serving, drain excess liquid, and shred pork with a fork. Don't over do...it can get mushy and just get really stringy. Then add BBQ sauce. This is great for a crowd. But I like it because you can make any amount. Serve on crusty rolls or super soft ones. We love both.

(NOTE: the butcher at Costco suggested the liquid smoke. He says that he uses it all the time. I've never tried it, only because I don't own any. But it sounds good)

Enjoy!!

Pulled Pork...

We didn't make it to PJ's at all during the summer

and now I've found myself craving a yummy

Pulled Pork Sandwich!

Does anyone have a good recipe -

perhaps one that I can use regular pork chops

(only because I have some frozen...)

Try this...

MORTAL SINS or Almond Rocha

40 saltine crackers
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter (must use butter)
1 c. chopped nuts
1 (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate morsels

Place saltines on cookie sheet WITH SIDES. Melt butter and brown sugar and boil gently for 3 minutes. Pour over saltines. Bake 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with 6 ounce chocolate morsels and 1 cup chopped nuts which have been mixed together; return to oven and bake 5 more minutes. Cool on rack.

Does anyone happen to have Camille's recipe for the YUMMY treat made with saltine crackers, chocolate & nuts? I've got a serious craving!! Thanks

Melena's Pot Roast Recipe

I got this pot roast recipe from my daughter. It is made in the crockpot and makes its own gravy which is a plus! You can use either a beef or pork roast. I personally like the pork roast. You can even use the cheaper butt roast cut. Take about a 6-7 lb. roast and brown the outside in a pan. This seals in the juices. Place the roast in a crockpot and add two cans- cream of mushroom soup, one envelope of dried onion soup mix along with a can of water. [I like to mix the soups and water in a bowl and whisk first but it isn't necessary.] The recipe says to cook on low 9-10 hours but I find you may have to alter the times to suit your own cooker. The longer you cook it the more tender it gets. If you want you can also add a can of mushrooms and a cut up onion to the recipe. People usually "ooh" and "ahh" over this recipe. Enjoy!

Suckers or lollipops?

When I was little my mom used to make suckers

with us! My older sister has continued the tradition

with her girls, helping them earn a little bit of cash for Disneyland, new clothes, and the expensive things that teens think they need! For a while it was hard for them to find the different types of flavors that they wanted. My mom found where she could buy the flavors and has started her own little internet business. I think I might try to make a batch of suckers...

Here is the link to... My mom's candy making website!

pot roast--in a pot.

i mentioned in the comments on chellae's post that a friend had made a delicious pot roast for me last summer. i emailed him to request his recipe. i'm posting his email below:

Dr. Rob's Pot Roast:
Use a chuck roast or a 7-bone roast no smaller than 3 pounds...bigger if you can. Salt and pepper the meat well...I sometimes use seasoning salt as well.

In a heavy Dutch oven or pot just a little bigger than the meat heat some oil (2-3 Tbs any kind) and brown the meat on all sides...this will help develop a rich flavor...add 1-2 cups of red wine (there is no alcohol in it at the end) which is needed for the acid component for tenderizing and a can or two of beef broth (homemade is better...and chicken broth will work too!) until there is liquid covering half way up the meat...add a couple of quartered onions on top and bring to a simmer...

cook covered on low (also can be done in the oven at 320F) for 3-5 hours turning the roast after 2 hours...the meat will be almost falling apart when it is done...remove meat from pot and wrap in foil and keep warm...

in the pot with the remaining liquid, add quartered waxy potatoes and baby carrots (one medium potato per person and about 1/8-1/4 pound of carrots per person) as well as 2-3 quartered onions (the ones you used before are almost mush by now) and a little salt and pepper and cook until just done (sometimes you need to add some more broth)...Remove vegetables and keep warm...

Thicken gravy/jus if you like (Burre blanc or a little flour and water slurry) and return meat and vegetables to pot to warm...

Serve with a salad and crusty bread...


i can attest to this roast's tastiness. it was absolutely delicious.

Holiday Help!

I have to make a desert for the ward Christmas dinner, any ideas? And I have a reunion with the side of family that I haven't seen in forever on Christmas day; I have to bring a dish, any ideas?
Thanks Ladies!
Bonster

A decent pot roast recipe

I need a good pot roast recipe. Ingredients, brands of those ingredients (if it's important), anything that will make my pot roast less dry and more flavorful. If you know of a good cut of meat that makes a good pot roast that isn't too greasy that would be great, too! My husband complaines that pot roast is too dry and too greasy (weird combo, I know).

brining

so this is perhaps a bit late, given that yesterday was turkey-day, but i wanted to try it out before sharing it. this year we brined our turkey--which means, essentially, that we submerged it in a sugar, salt, and water solution for several hours before cooking it. i could spell out all the details of how it works, but they're kind of boring. so i'll just say that the idea is that brining the turkey makes it both more moist and tender and more flavorful. and having done this to my family's turkey yesterday, i can attest that we had the most delicious turkey ever, complete with moist, tender white meat (which almost never happens). so here's the details:

the best candidates for brining:
CORNISH HEN: whole, butterflied
CHICKEN: whole, parts, butterflied
TURKEY: whole, breast, parts, butterflied
PORK: loin, tenderloin, chops, fresh ham
SEAFOOD: whole side of salmon (when grill-roasting or smoking), shrimp

how to brine:
1. Mix cold water, salt, and sugar in brining vessel and stir to dissolve salt and sugar.
2. Immerse food in brine, seal, and refrigerate. (If not refrigerating, add ice packs before covering.) When brining a turkey or whole bird, make sure the air bubble in the chest cavity comes out.

formula for basic brine:
1 quart cold water
1/2 cup Diamond Crystal kosher
OR 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Morton kosher salt
OR 1/4 cup table salt
1/2 cup sugar

use 1 quart of brine per 1 pound of food, not to exceed 2 gallons brine**

brine for 1 hour per pound, but not less than 30 minutes or more than 8 hours


formula for brine for high-heat roasting, broiling, or high-heat grilling:
1 quart cold water
1/4 cup Diamond Crystal kosher
OR 3 tablespoons Morton kosher
OR 2 tablespoons table salt
2 tablespoons sugar

use 1 quart of brine per 1 pound of food, not to exceed 2 gallons brine**

brine for 1 hour per pound, but not less than 30 minutes or more than 8 hours


**when brining multiple items, time based on weight of single item (for example, use weight of 1 of 4 pork chops being brined)

***when brining a turkey or fresh ham, rinse it well to remove excess sugar (extra sugar can make the outside of the meat burn)


what you'll need:
in addition to the ingredients (water, salt, sugar), you'll need a few other things, including:

some kind of brining vessel. for small pieces of meat, you can use ziploc bags, usually one- or two-gallon size. for larger pieces of meat (whole turkey, whole chicken, etc.), use some kind of tub or cooler. you need to make sure the meat is completely submerged in the brine, which means either expelling all the air from the bag or weighting the meat in a tub/cooler so it's submerged. you can also put a large piece of meat inside a trash bag and tie it off so there's no water left.

a method for keeping your meat cold. when you're working with a big piece of meat, especially for a holiday meal, it's not always possible to store a big tub of brine + meat in the fridge. you can put your brining bird (pig, fish, etc.) in a cooler full of ice packs so it stays down around 40 degrees. we used a trash bag for the turkey and brine and surrounded it in a cooler with ice, which worked great. make sure you don't let ice melt and dilute the brine if you take the cooler option.

after it's brined:
you can put your meat right in to cook after brining. however, if you like crisp poultry skin, you probably won't get it if you cook right away. instead you should brine ahead of time so you can let the bird air dry for at least several hours (best if you can let it air dry overnight) before cooking it. to let the bird dry, remove it from the brine and rinse well (to remove excess sugar). pat it dry with paper towels. place on a rack inside a rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan. refrigerate. the rack allows air to circulate around the bird.


so there it is. how to brine your bird (or pig or fish). it's not effective for red meat or fattier birds (duck, for instance) because those meats have sufficient fat to compensate for the drying that happens during cooking. i can't tell you how much it improved the turkey yesterday. my brother-in-law was carving the turkey and i was stealing snippets of white meat, amazed at how tender and juicy it was. try it for christmas!

ROLLS!!!

OK, here is the roll recipe:

1 package yeast (1 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup milk, scalded (warm it up but take it off the heat when it is steaming but not boiling)
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
3/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups of flour (This is an estimate)


Dissolve yeast and 1 Tbsp sugar in 1/3 cups of warm water. (I use pretty warm water) Set aside. Scald milk and butter together and set aside to cool a bit. In a mixing bowl place 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and eggs. Add cooled milk mixture (It will still be a bit warm, just don't scramble the eggs!) and yeast. Add part of the flour and beat in until thick. Add additional flour to make a soft dough. (It will still be pretty sticky at this point). Let rise until double-usually about two hours depending on how warm the room is. Roll out dough on floured surface (I usually have to add quite a bit of flour here because the dough is so sticky. I actually add flour to the dough in the bowl and then dump it out on the counter and knead it in). Roll out and cut to the shape you want. I use a big cup/glass and cut the rolls into circles. I then dip half the roll in melted butter and fold it over on itself. If you do it this way you don't have to grease the pan since the rolls have butter on them. Let rise until light and the right size...use best judgement! Don't let them get too big. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I usually start checking mine around 12 or 13 minutes.

The flour isn't an exact measurement but just put in enough so it looks right! The secret to these rolls is not using a ton of flour. That way the rolls stay light and fluffy! Good luck and I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. Let me know if you have any questions!

Do Not Peek Chicken

Chicken to serve your family...I always use bone in chicken for this recipe
1 C. rice...not instant
2 cans cream of chicken soup...can be reduced fat. The original recipe calls for one can cream of celery/1 can cream of mushroom...but we like the chicken soup
1/2 soup can of milk
1 envelope of dry Lipton onion soup mix

Sprinkle rice evenly over a 9x13 pan. Mix milk and soup together and pour over the rice. Sprinkle half the onion soup over rice. Place chicken pieces over rice and cover with pieces of chicken. Sprinkle remaining onion soup over the chicken. Seal with foil and back for 2-2 1/2 hours at 325 degrees. Enjoy. This is actually one of M's favorite meals.

Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can chicken broth
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 c. salsa
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 c. cheddar cheese
1/2 c. sour cream

Put chicken in crock pot. Pour in broth, salsa, corn, beans and taco seasoning. Cover and simmer on low for 6-8 hours. Once done, shred chicken, add cheese & sour cream. Heat until cheese is melted. Serve over rice.

Crock pot season is upon us. I love crock pot cooking. Here's a recipe our family LOVES. Hope yours does too. This goes great with a green salad or spinach salad!!

A few requests...

Zeeny - Do not peek chicken (because I always forget)

Brandi - Breakfast burritos

Carrie - Spaghetti (when you made it at Wolf Creek)

Zippy - Guacamole

Whitney - Taco Soup!!

Zucchini Bread

I have been making tons of this, my husband and I are now addicted!
Mix:
3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. apple butter OR apple sauce
2 c. grated Zucchini
1 tsp. vanilla
In another bowl mix:
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
*IF you are using apple sauce and NOT apple butter than add
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon

Add dry ingredients to wet and stir well. You can add 1/2 c. nuts if you want.
Add to 2 greased bread loaf pans and bake 325 for 1 hour.

A good friend gave me the idea to make a dinner menu weekly and stick to it. So far its working and I'm hoping now that classes have started back up I'll be able to stay on top of dinner with this method! So every Sunday night I get input from the family and we make our choices for the week. This week we are having:
Mon-Chicken Alfredo
Tue- Homemade chili and cornbread
Wed- Am for Pm (pancakes, eggs, bacon)
Thurs- Spaghetti with maple sausage and garlic bread
Fri- Homemade pizzas, one with Hawaiian, another with the works
Sat- Chicken Chili
Sun- Lasagna and garlic bread

Pepper Steak

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 bell peppers any color (red, green,orange)
1 medium onion cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic
1 pound of thinly cut steak
1 can of campbells condensed beefy mushroom soup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ginger
hot cooked rice

In hot skillet with oil stir-fry peppers onion and garlic then set aside. Then brown the steak and combine the soup soy sauce and ginger when hot, put peppers and onions back in heat through. serve of rice.



I usually don't like bell peppers but this is really good!!! Scott and i tried it a couple of weeks ago and we loved it. The first time i tried it with white rice and the second with brown rice and I think i prefer the brown rice. This is a really easy recipe and hardly takes any time and bell peppers are supposed to be really healthy!! I hope you enjoy!!!

ham & bean soup

a few years ago i got on a kick of making "experimental soul" for the missionaries. i'd feed them once a month and each month i made a new soup i'd never tried before. in december that year, i came home from our ward christmas party with a hambone that had plenty of meat on it. so i went looking for a soup to make using my hambone. this is what i found:

1 lb. white beans, prepared
8 c. water
1 hambone
2 c. ham, diced
1 c. celery
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf

combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 12 to 14 hours.

modifications: i used white beans and 15 bean mix. there are a couple of ways to prepare beans; the bag should say how. i usually soak them overnight. because i had more beans than it called for, i ended up using only about half the water it called for, which resulted in more of a chili consistency soup than a soupy soup. it was tasty. i also season to taste rather than measuring out my salt and pepper. and knowing me, i probably threw in other seasonings--whatever looked good at the moment. i had a very meaty hambone, meaning there was a lot of meat left on it, so i didn't bother with the 2 cups of diced ham. when i came home from work that day and tried to pull the hambone out, it fell apart. and i've never tasted ham that tender. delicious. enjoy!

Never Fail Pie Crust

With Thanksgiving around the corner I thought this pie crust recipe might be useful. It is a really easy...really good crust. I put any left over bits into a pie tin/ pan and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on them and eat them like a cookie! Yum. Hope you enjoy.

Never-Fail Pie Crust

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 cup shortening

Cut shortening into flour until crumbly.

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1/3 cup cold milk

Add and mix with a fork. Divide dough and roll out. For shell, prick and bake at 450 degree's for about ten minutes. Makes 3 (8 or 9 inch) pies or a large double crust pie. My mom can get 3 pie crusts out of it but I usually just get two with enough left to make a yummy cinnamon sugar cookie!

Sweet Carrot Mashed Potatoes

3-4 large sweet potatoes
2-3 cups of russet mashed potatoes (or instant)
1 cup mashed carrots
½ cup butter

pinch of garlic power

pinch of dried chopped onion
Salt and pepper to you liking
1 tablespoon of sugar ( I used Splenda)

I microwave the sweet potatoes (I think the skins are easier to peel) But you can boil them. Boil until soft. Boil carrots until soft. Boil white potatoes until soft. Peel skin of potatoes and mash all together. Add butter and season to your liking.

I made these for the Culinary Institute and everyone liked them. I kinda made it up as I went along I added the white potatoes because I thought I wouldn't have enough... and I really like the 2 mixed. And I really needed to use the carrots up so I added them too. Enjoy

Penne w/Cabbage, Sausage and Marinara

We are having this for dinner tonight with garlic bread, haven't ever tried it before, but it sounds good. (I love, love, love trying new things!) I got it off the Good Morning America website. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/4 C. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
1 lb. Italian sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 lb. Savoy cabbage, cooked and chopped into bite-sized pieces
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 C. Marinara sauce
1 lb. Penne pasta
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in large saute pan over med. heat. Add sauasage and saute until done.
2. Add cabbage, salt, pepper and saute for 1-2 min. Stir in marinara sauce and cook 3-5min. until flavors have blended.
3. Meanwhile, cook penne in a large pot in rapidly boiling salted H20 until al-dente.
4. Drain pasta, and return it to the pot with 1/2 cup of sauce. Stir for 1 min over high heat, then place sauced pasta on serving platter and pour remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with Romano cheese.
Serves 4.

Shepard's Pie

With the weather turning colder, Samson tells me it is time for Shepard's Pie. I know there lots of different ways to make Shepard's Pie. This is the recipe that we like to use ~ Samson loves it!

1 lb Hamburger (ground - lean)
1/2 small Onion (chopped)
1 can Beef Gravy
2 cups Veggies (frozen)
Mashed potatoes (instant)
Cheese


Brown hamburger and add onions to cook until soft. Mix in gravy and heat until warmed through. Put beef mixture on the bottom of a casserole dish. Spread frozen veggies (we use peas, carrots, and corn) over beef mixture. Make mashed potatoes according to the instructions on the box - or if you can make your own from scratch. My kids love mashed potatoes so I mound it on until it reaches the top of the casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake (covered) at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

What's for Dinner?

What is everyone making for dinner this week?

Let's post some recipes...

Tasty Sausage Dip!!!

2 cans of rotell tomatoes (original)
2 packages of cream cheese
1 roll of original style sausage (jimmy dean)

Brown sausage and then put all of the ingrediants into a crock pot and cook until warm then serve with tostitos scoop chips!!!

Armadillo Eggs

Armadillo Eggs
From Lois Smith, of Boise, Idaho
This recipe came to Good Morning America from Lois Smith, of Boise, Idaho, who frequents the GMA recipe message board. She is part of a group of recipe exchangers and friends who met on the board and now call themselves, "The Taste Buds."
Ingredients
1/2 pound Monterey Jack Cheese
1/2 pound Cheddar Cheese
1/2 pound bulk hot sausage
1 1/2 cup Bisquick Mix
1 to 2 Tablespoons of Water
15-20 canned jalapeno peppers (do not rinse)
1 egg
1 package Shake & Bake (pork flavored)

Directions:
1. Grate both kinds of cheese and mix together. Then, divide in half. Set aside one portion.
2. Mix together the second portion of cheese mixture, raw sausage and Bisquick mix with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
3. Knead until still dough is formed.
4. Stuff each pepper with remaining cheese. Pinch pepper together to seal.
5. Then, pinch off a bit of dough mixture and pat into a pancake approximately 1/4" thick.
6. Place stuffed pepper in middle and roll in hand to form egg shape.
7. Roll each ball in beaten egg and then in Shake and Bake.
8. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. (These may be frozen ahead of time, then re-heated).
Recipe courtesy of Lois Smith, © 2000
**I just thought I would put this on here 'cuz it sounds so cool! I haven't tried it, but I'm going to!! (hope its good) :-)

"Pumpkin Pie" Pancakes

I have become inspired by Jessica Seinfeld's idea of putting pureed vegetables into everything you cook. Some are hits among our family and some are complete failures. Here is one that my kids and even my husband loves.

1 cup pancake mix
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup carrot puree
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup sugar

Mix all together and cook on skillet preheated to medium high. My kids eat these with nothing on them. I like a little maple syrup or apple butter. These also freeze well and reheat a few weeks later on those many mornings that we are running late or those nights that I don't feel like cooking with a 3 year old and an 19 month old as my "assistants".

Thanksgiving Stuffing

1 (14 oz) pkg cubed Stuffing

1 lb ground Sausage

4 Tbsp Butter

1 Onion (chopped)

3 stalks Celery (chopped)

1 can (small) Water Chestnuts (sliced)

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 can (16 oz) Chicken Broth

2 Carrots (grated)

Sage

Salt & Pepper

• Brown the sausage
• Melt butter and saute celery and onion
• Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl
• If mixture is too dry - add more broth or melted butter
• Season with salt, pepper and sage
• Place in a large casserole dish and cover with foil
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes