Alfredo

I made this again last night.  It is so easy, creamy, and yummy! Give it a try.

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce

SUBMITTED BY: DAWN CARTER PHOTO BY: sarah

"I experimented with this until I found a quick, cheap, and easy Alfredo sauce combination -- the secret is cream cheese!"

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PREP TIME	5 Min
COOK TIME	5 Min
READY IN	10 Min

SERVINGS

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Servings
US METRIC

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 cups milk
• 6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

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DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

Smothered BBQ Chicken

• 4-5 Chicken Breast Halves
• 1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
• 6 Slices cooked Bacon, cut in half
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, chives, or olives (optional)

Grill the chicken breasts until tender but not pink, (I use my Forman) about 6 minutes on each side on medium heat. Prepare bacon and set aside. Place chicken breast halves onto a cookie sheet and use a spoon to spread on BBQ Sauce on top of the chicken breast halves. Place 2 pieces of bacon on top of the breasts and use about 1/3 cup of shredded cheese to smother each one. Put in oven until cheese melts. You may add the sour cream, tomatoes, chives, or olives to you liking.

Monkey Bread!

3 cans refrigerator biscuits, quartered

1 C brown sugar

1 T cinnamon

1 stick butter, melted



Combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll biscuit quarters in melted butter, then in sugar mixture. Arrange in bundt pan. Pecans or other nuts may be sprinkled in bottom and between each layer. Combine butter and sugar mixture that remains and bring to a boil. Pour over biscuits. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand about 10 minutes and turn out.



This recipe is from a friend from collage and is really good. I made it last Christmas and thought I might do it one morning during the Thanksgiving Holiday. Hope you enjoy. Lallie also has a really good monkey bread recipe...maybe she will share!!

Easy Manicotti

• 1 package Manicotti
• 2 cups Cottage Cheese
• 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon Parsley
• 1 jar Spaghetti Sauce

Boil Manicotti as directed on package. Drain and put in cold water. Mix cheeses and parsley then stuff into manicotti shells. Place in greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Cover with spaghetti sauce and top with additional mozzarella cheese. Make at 350 for 30 minutes.

Bruschetta Chicken!

My Neice posted this recipe on her Blog- I tried it and it is Yummy! I served it over Pasta. Test your chicken because as I recall it took a little bit longer to bake then the recipe calls for.


Bruschetta Chicken

1/2 c. flour
2 eggs lightly beaten
3 chicken breasts
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c. dry bread crumbs
1 Tbsp melted butter
2 large tomatoes chopped
3 Tbsp minced fresh basil
2 garlic cloves minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in flour, then in eggs. Place in a greased 13x9 baking dish. Combine the parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and butter, sprinkle over chicken.

Loosely cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 375 for 20 min. Uncover, bake 5-10 min or until top is browned.

Meanwhile, in a bowl combine remaining ingredients. Spoon over the chicken. Return to the oven fir 3-5 min or until tomato mixture is heated through. Enjoy!

Chicken and White Bean Stew

I found this recipe on Rachael Rays website after we had it at our friends house one night. I made it last night and was reminded of how good it is...and easy!

Chicken and White Bean Stew

4 slices of bacon, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 pound red potatoes (or just regular baking potatoes)

1 32 ounce container of chicken stock/broth (I used this plus an extra smaller can of chicken stock)

1 whole rotisserie chicken

2 15.5 ounce cans small white beans, rinsed

5 ounces arugula (5 cups)

salt and pepper

1. In a large soup pot cook the bacon over medium heat until cooked but not crisp, about five minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about five minutes. Add the potatoes and chicken broth and simmer until the potatoes are tender about 15 minutes

2. Pull meat off the chicken; discard skin. Add the chicken and white beans to the stew after potatoes are done and cook until heated through. Just before serving, stir in the arugula and season to taste with salt and pepper. It looks like a lot of arugula but it shrinks a lot when you stir it in.

This is so good! It is probably my favorite soup! Enjoy!

Most Amazing Wrap EVER

Teriyaki Chicken Wraps



Ingredients:


4 boneless, skinless 6 oz. chicken breasts (cleaned, washed)
¼ cup of low-sodium teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. chili-garlic sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ginger
2 green onions,
diced1 cup shredded lettuce
½ cup brown rice, cooked
4 spinach wraps

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 2. In a medium bowl, mix teriyaki sauce, sesame oil, chili-garlic sauce, garlic, salt, and ginger. 3. Place chicken in a 9" x 13" baking pan. Brush sauce over chicken. 4. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Then turn chicken and brush with sauce. Continue baking until chicken is cooked through. 5. Remove chicken from pan and evenly distribute chicken, onions, lettuce, and rice over wraps. Baste with any remaining sauce from pan.
Total Calories: 269Protein: 31 g (124 cal)Carbs: 25 g (100 cal)Fat: 5 g (45 cal)



So this recipie is so so so good if you like Teriyaki Chicken. I din't have 1/2 the ingredients this recipie called for and it still was amazing and healthy 2.



What I used:



Tyson frozen plain chicken strips
a few thin slices of red pepper
a few thin slices of white onion



I combined 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce, 3 tsp sesame oil and a spray of garlic powder into the sauce. Poured over the chicken, peppers and onions and baked for about 15-20min. Put on tortilla with lettuce, rice, chicken and veggies.


This was the most amazing wrap I have ever had. :)

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

I found this recipe on another food blog~

although I haven't tried it, it sounds tasty!

• 2-3 chicken breasts
• 1 (12 oz.) bottle of Lawry's Mesquite marinade with Lime
• 16 oz. bow tie pasta
• 1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 Tbsp pepper
• 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c. butter

Marinate chicken breasts during the day (atleast 4 hours) in mesquite marinade and refrigerate until ready to cook. Grill chicken and cut into strips. Boil pasta according to directions on package. Melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes. In a large serving bowl combine pasta, chicken and sauce. Serves 6-8.

What's for Dinner??

I've been cooking a lot more lately and I would love to get some more easy dinner recipes! I have made the sloppy joe's, creamy salsa chicken and the shepard pie which are all on this site. Does anyone have any other ideas?? If so, please share!

Thanks!

Brownies

OK, here is the brownie recipe!

4 squares unsweetened Baking Chocolate
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan.

Melt chocolate and butter in pan on low heat, stirring constantly...don't burn the chocolate!

In another bowl put sugar in and add the chocolate mixture and vanilla. (I try to let the chocolate cool a bit, but this doesn't always happen!)

Add eggs one at a time, just to make sure you don't scramble them!

Add Flour and stir. Bake 30-35 minutes...do not over bake. Mine only take 28 minutes so you will just have to test it out in your oven.

This is M's favorite treat! If I make boxed brownies she says she doesn't like them and wants "real" brownies!! They really aren't that hard to make and are just as easy as boxed! Hope you enjoy!

A chocolate craving...

Zeeny makes the best homemade brownies I've ever tasted...

I totally think she should post her recipe!

Pioneer Vanilla Ice Cream

2 qts. milk
3/4 c. flour
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
2/3 tsp. salt
1 1/3 T. vanilla
2/3 tsp. lemon extract
4 c. half and half

Combine small amount of cold milk with flour and stir until smooth. Heat remaining milk and stir flour mixture into it; stirring and cooking until slightly thickened.

Beat eggs and sugar together, then stir into hot milk mixture. Cool thoroughly and add salt, vanilla, lemon extract and whipping cream. Freeze in a 4 quart ice cream maker. This is an AUTHENTIC pioneer recipe!!

This ice cream is delightful topped with fresh raspberries, blueberries or strawberries.

Happy Pioneer Day!!

berry pie

for raspberries, blackberries, or boysenberries. or mixed berries. so yummy!

filling:
6 c. berries, washed and patted dry
1/2 to 1 c. sugar (depending on sweetness of berries)
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. minced lemon zest (optional)

mix together dry ingredients. toss with berries. add lemon juice and lemon zest and stir.


never-fail pie crust:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. shortening
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/3 c. cold milk

stir flour and salt together. cut with shortening until it forms pea-sized crumbs. stir in vinegar and milk. roll out half of dough to line pie plate. fill with berries. roll out the remaining dough to cover. pinch together edges. slit several vents in the top of the crust to provide steam escape. brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar.


bake at 450 for ten minutes.

reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40 - 50 minutes (until top crust is golden brown). let cool before serving.

i made this with fresh, home-grown boysenberries for a friend's birthday last week. it was delicious. especially with the coconut ice cream we ate alongside it. enjoy!

Sloppy Joe's

My sister asked me for this recipe...

It is such a yummy meal for the summertime!

• 1 lb Hambuger, ground
• 1/2 Onion, chopped
• 1 8 oz. can Tomato Sauce
• 2/3 cup Ketchup
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Mustard
• 1 Tbsp Vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce

Brown hamburger and drain excess oil, add onion and saute until soft. Add all other ingredients and simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes until thick. Serve on buns. Makes about 8 sandwiches.

Lemon Cake

This cake is so good! Hope you all enjoy!


Lemon Cake

1 yellow cake mix
3 oz. Lemon jello
¾ cup vegetable or canola oil
¾ cup water
4 eggs

Mix until smooth. Place in a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Glaze topping: Poke holes in cake with a knife and drizzle over
2 cups powdered sugar the top of the cake while still warm. Also great 1/3 cup lemon juice served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Italian goodness

Last weekend we had an Italian themed dinner to thank all who serve in our Primary. Our Primary president happily shared the following family recipes for us to prepare and serve. Try them out--they are absolutely delicious, quick and easy to prepare!

Pasta Casserole

(reminds me a bit of Baked Ziti, or a super alternative to homemade Lasagna)

Cook a 1 Lb. box of Rotini, drain

Brown 1 Lb. hamburger

Cut up ½ Lb. pepperoni (cut into quarters)

Cover with 1 Lb. shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix all together with one large jar of spaghetti sauce.

Put in baking dish.

Cover with 1 Lb. shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (until top is melted and lightly browned)

Italian Tomato Salad

5 Roma or Plum tomatoes (quartered)

1 Whole cucumber, sliced (skinned or not skinned, you decide)

1/2 Small onion (sliced)Mix with olive oil and salt to taste.

Best when served with Italian white bread for dipping in the juices and oil!

Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread

I know today is St. Patrick's Day...but you could make this next year! My family has celebrated this holiday heartily since I can remember. Maybe it's because my great-grandparents both hail from the beautiful isle of Ireland. We make Irish stew or corn beef, with a veggie tray that looks like the Irish flag (carrots, cauliflower & broccoli or cucumbers), steamed fresh string beans, boiled new potatoes with butter & fresh chopped parsley on top. My family looks forward to this yummy treat each year. Hopefully, yours will too. This bread is really moist and is delightful served warm with butter. Enjoy!!

3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. caraway seeds (I usually omit these for the kiddos)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 eggs

2 c. (16 oz) sour cream

3/4 c. raisins

In a lg. bowl, combine the flour, sugar, caraway seeds, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a sm. bowl, whisk eggs and sour cream. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in raisins.

Spoon into a greased 9 inch spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cook on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing sides of pan. Cut into wedges & serve warm.

Iron Chef for Teenagers: Ideas?

Our ward is having an Iron Chef competition for a combined young men/young women activity in a few weeks. I've honestly never seen more than fifteen or twenty minutes of the show, but have been doing a lot of reading up on it. It sounds like fun. How do I pull off a cooking competition for roughly 15-20 teen age boys and girls (mostly girls), especially on a very limited budget and in around 45 minutes? My biggest fear is that two or three will do all the work and the rest will wander the halls playing with their cell phones and ipods?

Any ideas for simple foods that will keep everyone interested and involved?

Here are a few that I've come up with. Maybe that will generate some ideas from all of you, too!

Set up a "grocery store" and give each person a set amount of money. Everyone has to buy something that will contribute to the meal.
Have some sort of secret ingredient like pineapple or potatoes (any other good ideas?) that everyone has to use in some way
Have each team make crepes: they get to choose the ingredients to make the fillings--one dinner crepe, one dessert crepe.
Have each team designate two head chefs, one girl and one guy. Do you think that would help the kids pay closer attention and keep themselves more occupied?

I went on a really fun date in high school where we had a cooking competition. We all went to the grocery store with $1 each. My team made stone soup (broth and veggies mostly) and had gummy peach rings for dessert. I think the other team made hotdog cut up in tomato soup or something.

I've been reading about hosting grown up iron chef dinner parties. I wonder if we'd end up with hot dog soup with a bunch of thirty something husbands making dinner.... (To his credit, my husband is an excellent and creative cook who loves to try new things. And he doesn't really like hot dogs any way. Grilled cheese is more his style.)

Deutsche Butterplätzchen (German Butter Cookies)

So I don't know much about Germany, except they make really cool castles, cars and dogs. These cookies however, are awesome. I got the recipe from culinary institute. The theme was left over Easter eggs. I would suggest making these... they are yummy


GERMAN BUTTER COOKIES

this is a large ( ward size) recipe you can cut in half, or fourths.
8hard boiled egg yolks, mashed.
1 lb softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp almond flavoring
4 cups flour (sifted)
Cream butter, adding sugar gradually. Add egg yolks and almond flavor. Add flour slowly, mixing well, but DO NOT OVER KNEAD.Using a cookie shooter we made them into little balls and flattened, press onto parchment-lined baking sheet. If you are using a flower-shaped shooter, you can put a smudge of jelly, or a small chocolate morsel or 1/2 a maraschino cherry in the center of each one - but don't use sprinkles, they just detract from the cookie. Bake at 400 degrees until the edges are JUST brown. Any more than that, and they are over baked

Guacamole

Ages ago there was a request for this recipe...I didn't remember until I made it to go with tacos the other night. Hope you can still use it. Enjoy!

• 3-4 large, ripe avocados
• Salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3-4 green onions, chopped
• Lime or lemon juice, preferably fresh
• 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (chop the stems as well as the leaves, that's where a lot of the flavor is stored...in the oils contained in the stems)
• 1 med-large tomato, chopped

Cut each avocado in half. With a spoon, scoop out the avocado seeds and set aside, do not throw them out as you will use them later. Next, scoop out the meat of the avocados into a medium bowl. Mash the avocado with a fork or potato masher to make a slightly chunky mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix in garlic and green onion. Add lime/lemon juice to taste, mix well. Stir in tomato and cilantro, mix well. Once you're happy with the taste of your mix, add back into the mix the avocado seeds. Leaving the seeds in the mix will help keep it from turning brown. Refrigerate until ready to serve. When ready to serve, seeds can be removed or left in bowl. Serve with tortilla chips as a dip, or as a garnish with tacos, burritos, enchiladas, sandwiches, burgers, etc.

Crockpot Chicken with Rice

Tonight for dinner we are having this meal. It is one of my favorites so I thought I would share!

Chicken tenders (enough for you family and left overs! I usually use about half a bag of tenders from BJ's/Cosco)

2-3 cans of Cream of Chicken soup (I use 98% fat free)

1 carton sour cream (I use light)

1 cube of softened cream cheese (I'm using fat free and will let you know how it works!)

1-2 packets of Italian dry seasonings...the kind you make salad dressing with.

Rinse Chicken and put in crock pot (still frozen) Combine all other ingredients. If I am cooking a lot of chicken, the whole bag worth, I'll use three cans of soup. Usually I just use one or two. If the sauce is a bit thick you could add a bit of milk. The chicken will let off juices while cooking and thin the sauce out a bit. I usually add about half a cup of milk.

Cook in crock pot on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

When the chicken is done take two forks and shred the chicken. Serve over rice! I hope you all try this...it is really good and is good for a crowd

Bran Muffins

this is my moms recipe and my favorite muffin!

2 cups All Bran
2 cups boiling water

Pour boiling water over all bran and let set

2 cups sugar
1 heaping cup shortening

cream together well in a very large mixing bowl.

4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 qt. buttermilk
4 cups all bran

Add to creamed sugar and shortening. Mix thoroughly. Add all bran mixture (bran and water). Mix well.

5 cups flour
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Add to preceding and stir together well. Fill greased muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 11 minutes for small muffins or 14 minutes for larger muffins. This recopied makes one gallon of batter, which makes about 7 dozen muffins. This stores really well in a container in the refrigerator for up to six weeks! I sometimes make a batch and pull it out and bake a few at a time. Super good with butter on warm muffins or jam! Hope you enjoy!

On the Menu this Week!

This week for suppers our family had:
Baked Pork chops
Baked Ziti
Tacos
Spaghetti
New England Boiled Dinner
Chicken Stir Fry
Pancakes and sausage
I agree that this time of year you can feel like you're in a cooking rut! The kids love the Pancakes and sausage and my husband is adjusting to the Breakfast for dinner idea. We usually do it about once a month and do Omelets, Waffles etc.. This time we topped the pancakes with chocolate chips, syrup and fruit.

Chicken Stir Fry

1 pound cut up Boneless Chicken breasts
Fresh Vegetables (Chopped/Grated Carrots, Snow peas, Broccoli etc) and/or
Frozen Vegetables
Water Chestnuts(optional)
Can of Baby corn (optional)
3-4 Crushed Garlic cloves
Oil

Heat Oil in skillet, add Chicken, chopped up Onion and Crushed garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the Vegetables, Fresh first then a couple minutes later frozen. Add Water Chestnuts and Baby Corn. Mix all together and cook until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through. Stir Fry sauce is optional also. This is great served over any type of Rice.

On the Menu this Week...

I find myself in a rut this time of year because I am so tired of casseroles and am looking forward to BBQ season. These are my typical meals... ones that we are all getting way too much of lately!

• Spaghetti
• Taco's or Taco Salads
• Chicken and Rice
• Homemade Pizza (kids love it, but I'm tired of it)
• Sunday Roast

This week I did make a Family size Chicken Pot pie (which was delicious - recipe to come), and I bought one of those Bertolli frozen pastas (not for those counting calories), I added a cup of peas and it spruced it up and it too was delicious!

So - what are some easy ideas for dinner... ones that will take me through to when I can pull out our grill?

What's for Dinner???

Okay ya'll...what are you having for dinner tonight?! I thought I would post the recipe I was using tonight and post a few other ideas I had. If you would like one of the other recipe's just let me know! If you would do the same, just post what your family ate this week or last, that would be great.

On the menu tonight: Waikki Sweet and Sour Pork

• 1 1/2 pound pork shoulder, cut into chunks (I use pork chops)
• 1 can pineapple chunks (20 0z)
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 2 T cornstarch
• 2-3 T soy sauce
• 1/4 c vinegar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 small green pepper, cut in chunks
• 1/4 c thinly sliced onion

Brown pork in a small amount of oil. Add 1/2 cup of water; cover and simmer (do not boil) for about 1 hour. Drain pineapple, saving syrup; combine sugar and cornstarch. Add pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, and salt. Cook; stir until thickened. Add pork. Add pineapple, green pepper, and onions the last few minutes. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Enjoy over rice!

One the menu the past week(s):

Stove Top chicken and mashed potatoes, Roast and potatoes, fish and rice, shrimp alfredo, sloppy joes, do not peek chicken, spaghetti, pizza, and stroganoff.

Weight Watchers Pineapple Angel Food Cake

I've talked with several people who are trying to keep up with New Year's Resolutions to shed a few pounds. There is nothing worse than trying to stick to a diet and having a sweet tooth at the same time.

My hairdresser shared this secret weight control recipe with me. I made it and it is wonderful!

Pineapple Angelfood Cake

1 package angel food cake mix

1 can crushed pineapple in water -- 20 Ounce Can

1. Combine both ingredients in large bowl.

2. Mix on medium speed with electric mixer.

3. Bake in accordance with cake mix box.

Calories: 136.5
Fat grams: 0.2
Fiber grams: 0.1

W/W Points: 3

If you cut the cake in eighths the following nutritional information apply:

Calories: 204.7
Fat grams: 0.2
Fiber grams: 0.2

W/W Points: 4

YOU CAN ALSO MAKE IN CUPCAKES (MAKES 24 CUPCAKES) and THE FOLLOWING NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION APPLIES:

Calories: 68.2
Fat grams: 0.1
Fiber grams: 0.1

W/W Points: 1

Monte Carlo or Cristo

Jason and I had this for the first time while on our honeymoon. It's now a faviorte in our house.

2 eggs

2 tbsp. milk

4 slices bread

4 tbsp. butter

4 thin slices ham and or turkey

4 slices Swiss cheese

1 tbsp. powdered sugar

Mix together eggs and milk. Dip bread in egg mixture, coating thoroughly on one side. Heat butter in large skillet over medium to low heat, place bread egg side down in skillet. Place the swiss down on the bread in the skillet, and then the ham followed by another peice of cheese. I really like provolone with this too. I guess you can use any cheese.
Cook until the bottom is done to your liking. Dip another peice and put it egg side up on the sandwich allready in the skillet. Then flip the entire sandwich to brown the other side.

Cut in half and sprinkle powered sugar over the top. I like to have a small amount of syrup to dip in.

Sunday Crock Pot Roast

Someone asked for a roast recipe awhile back and I'm just getting around to it. My sister gave me this recipe and it has become one of our favorites:

1 large roast- I use a chuck roast...they seem to be the most tender and I like when roasts fall apart
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/4 cup catsup
1 small onion
1 small bag of baby carrots
1 envelope of Lipton onion soup mix- you don't have to have this but I always add it

Season roast with salt and pepper and brown in a little melted butter. Put carrots in bottom of crock pot and add roast on top. Put sliced onion on top of roast. Mix soup and catsup (and I usually add about 1/2 cup of water) and pour over roast. Sprinkle Lipton onion soup over ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low 10-12 hours or high for 5-6 hours. When done skim grease off the drippings and make a gravy out of it. Serve with mashed potatoes! Supper Yummy!

Cheddar Chicken Pot Pie~

1 cup cooked diced chicken
1 cup frozen broccoli (or vegetable of your choice)
1 (15 ounce) can of cream of mushroom soup
1 (9") pie shell, frozen
Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Gently combine chicken, vegetables and soup in medium bowl. Pour mixture into pie shell. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 45-60 minutes, until cheese is melted and mixture is bubble.

Granola

GRANOLA

2 C flour (wheat)
4 C rolled oats
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C oil
1/4 C honey
1/4 C molasses
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix with a fork. It should be lumpy and have bits about the size of a pea up to the size of a penny. Spread mix on large cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Stir the mix and turn it with a spatula. Bake 10 more minutes. Add raisins, cranberries, or other dried fruit and nuts after baking. Store in a sealed container.

Foolproof Bread

A couple of you have asked for my bread recipe. It is one of the easiest and yummiest recipes I know of for whole wheat bread (or rolls or bread sticks or pizza dough or cinnimin rolls). I have a Bosch Universal mixer and can make five loaves at a time. It cost about $2.50 for the whole five loaves. If I have my wheat already ground into flour, I can do it, start to finish, in an hour and a half--roughly 15 minutes of actual work time, 10 minutes of kneading in the mixer, 5 minutes to put dough in pans, 30 minutes to rise, 30 minutes to cook.

I think two things are key to a moist bread: (1) use half apple sauce, half oil and (2) try to use fresh (or as recently as possible) ground flour. Take several cups of wheat berries (the unground stuff you get from the cannery or, if you live in Utah, the grocery store) to a friends house and borrow her wheat grinder and then store it in your freezer to keep it fresh. I have a Nutrimill wheat grinder, also made by Bosch, in which I am happy to grind wheat for anyone who lives near by.

In the recipe below I have listed two measurements for the ingredients. The first is from the original recipe, intended for a large (6 qt.) mixer. The second is for a smaller mixer (like a basic Kitchen Aid) that will make 2-3 loaves. If it is confusing I have a Word document with a nice table I can email to you. Just leave a post for me.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

Warm Water: 6 c or 3 cups
Salt: 2 T or 1 T
Oil/Apple Sauce: ¼ cup each oil and apple sauce (large) or 2 T each oil and apple sauce (small)
Honey: 2/3 C or 1/3 C
Dough Enhance: 2 ½ T or 3 ¾ t (I can't find this in NY so I just leave it out)
Vital Wheat Gluten: 2 T or 1 T (buy in any grocery store probably in baking or health food)
Flour: Start with 8 ½ C (use 12-15 total) or Start with 4 ¼ C (use 6-7 ½ total)
Yeast: 2 ½ T or 3 ¾ t

MIXING INSTRUCTIONS:

Wheat: Combine 8-9 (or half that for smaller mixer) cups gresh wheat flour and warm water. Using the dough hook, mix to paste consistency. Mix in yeast and then add salt, honey, oil/apple sauce and gluten. Turn on mixer. As the motor bears down, turn up the speed. Add additional flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl (careful not to add too much flour). Let knead 7-8 minutes then add dough enhancer, knead 2 more minutes. (Total 10 minutes). Use shortening or oil on your hands to form loaves (not flour!). Take dough immediately from bowl. Fill non-stick loaf pans ½ to 2/3 full with shaped loaves. Cover with plastic wrap to keep moist. Let rise until doubled (approx. 1 ½ inches above top of pan--about 30 minutes). Place in cold oven. Turn oven to 350◦. Bake 30-40 minutes. Yields: 5-6 or 2-3 1 ½ lb loaves.

Cinnamon Rolls: Same mixing instructions as Wheat bread. Remove the dough once it’s kneaded, and roll it out on a lightly oiled surface into a large rectangle about 16X36 inches and approx. ¼ inch thick. Melt ¾ cube butter and spread it evenly over the dough. In a separate bowl mix 1 ½ cups brown sugar with 3 tsp. cinnamon. Spread mixture evenly over dough. Spread 1 cup shredded pecans and 1 ½ cups plumped raisins evenly over dough. Roll up dough to form a roll starting with the long side. Seal the seam by pinching dough together. With seam side down, cut into 1 inch slices using fish line or floss. (Slide string under the roll, cross it over the top, and pull apart.) Place rolls on a non-stick baking sheet. Let rise until double in size. Bake: 350◦ 13-18 minutes. Yield: 32 rolls (or more).

breakfast decadence

one of my favorite breakfast indulgences is french hot chocolate (chocolat chaud). it's darker and more frothy than the traditional american hot chocolate. and it's typically eaten with dry, unbuttered toasted bread--an egg bread like challah or brioche works best--which is dipped into the chocolate. not something to be consumed daily (trust me). but chocolate chaud with toast makes for a positively delicious breakfast (or late night) treat.

chocolat chaud (hot chocolate)
adapted from the recipe used at ladurée.

ingredients:
3 cups (750 grams) whole milk
1/3 cup (80 grams) water
1/3 cup (65 grams) sugar
6 ounces (175 grams) bittersweet chocolate (at least 80% cocoa), finely chopped

to make chocolate:
bring the milk, water, and sugar just to the boil in a medium saucepan. remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the chocolate. the hot chocolate needs to be blended at this point. at ladurée, this is done with a hand-held blender (also called an immersion blender). if you have an immersion blender, leave the hot chocolate in the pan and whip it for 1 minute. if you don't have an immersion blender, transfer the hot chocolate to a traditional blender and whip on high speed for 1 minute. serve the chocolate immediately while it is still hot and frothy.

to reheat chilled hot chocolate:
the chocolate can be made up to two days ahead and kept tightly covered in the refrigerator. to reheat, warm the chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring gently, just until the first bubble pops on the surface. pull the pan from the heat, whip the chocolate for 1 minute with an immersion blender (or in a traditional blender), and serve immediately.

to make cold hot chocolate:
chill the hot chocolate until it is very cold, then stir in 3/4 cup (200 grams) cold milk. whip the cold chocolate for 1 minute with an immersion blender (or in a traditional blender). serve the cold hot chocolate over an ice cube or two. the cold hot chocolate allegedly makes for a yummy ice cream float, too.


make yourself a pot of chocolat chaud, toast yourself some strips of brioche, and indulge in a perfectly decadent breakfast or late night snack.