Roasted Broccoli

2 c Chopped Broccoli florets
2 Tbs yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic, chopped
sea salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 375°. In a roasting pan, drizzle 2 tsp olive oil over 2 cups chopped broccoli florets; toss with 2 tbsp chopped yellow onion, 1 tsp chopped garlic, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake broccoli until edges are golden, about 20 minutes; shake pan and bake 5 minutes more. In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup breadcrumbs; 1 tbsp pecans, coarsely ground; and 1/8 tsp each sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. In a second bowl, whisk 1 egg white until just foamy. In a third bowl, place 1 tbsp all-purpose flour. Dredge 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders in flour; dip in egg white and press both sides into breadcrumb mixture to coat. On a baking sheet coated with vegetable oil cooking spray, cook chicken at 375°, turning once, until golden brown, 15 minutes. Serve with broccoli.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

4 c. Flour
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbs. Shortning
1 1/2 c Hot water

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Cut in shortning. Mix in hot water. Kneed for a few minutes on a lightly flowered board until smooth.  Divide and roll out to desired size and thickness.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

3 c rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 c water
1 (6oz) pkg strawberry gelatin

• 3 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 cup water
• 1 (6 ounce) package strawberry gelatin
• 1 cup sliced fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1 (1.3 ounce) envelope whipped topping mix
• 1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust
• whole fresh strawberries (optinal)
• 
  In a saucepan, bring rhubarb and water to a boil; remove from the heat. Add gelatin and stir until dissolved; cool. Stir in sliced strawberries; chill until it begins to thicken. Prepare whipped topping according to package directions; fold half into rhubarb mixture. Pour into crust. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Top with remaining whipped topping and whole strawberries.

Dairy Free Pineapple Upsidedown Cake

2 c. Flour
1.5 c. sugar
1/2 c. coconut oil
1  c. coconut milk
3.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 can pineapple rings
1 jar maraschino cherries
1/4 c. coconut oil
2/3 c. packed brown sugar

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In 9-inch square pan (or pan of your choice), melt 1/4 cup coconut oil in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted oil. Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice, add extra cherries to gaps between rounds if desired.
2. In a large bowl, cream sugar and 1/2 cup coconut oil until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating just to combine. finally, stir in vanilla. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake a few minutes so brown sugar mixture can drizzle over cake; remove pan. Serve warm. Store cake loosely covered.

This is the other dairy free dessert I made yesterday, also a big hit.  For most things I have found that I like coconut milk as my replacement for regular milk, I think it is because it has a higher fat content than other non dairy milks and adds a great flavor to baked items.  

Pineapple-Coconut Dairy-Free Ice Cream

3 cups Coconut milk (Silk, Blue Diamond, etc.)
1 cup canned full fat Coconut milk
8 large egg yolks
1.5 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 can crushed pineapple.

Place the two milks into a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and then remove from the heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color.  Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine.  Temper the milk mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts until about a third of the cream mixture has been added.  Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F.  Pour the mixture into ice cream maker canister and allow to cool to room temperature (can use an ice bath to speed the process).  Stir in vanilla extract.

Process according to manufacturer's directions (25 to 35 minutes).  When the ice cream is almost done add the crushed pineapple and allow the ice cream maker to run for another 5 to 10 minutes or until done.  Serve as is for soft serve, or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

I made this one yesterday because we had our nephew here in Logan, Adam, over for dinner and he can't have anything with any milk products, so he doesn't often get desserts.  I enjoy trying new things, especially experimenting to make dairy free desserts for Adam.  This was my first attempt at a custard based ice cream as I didn't have fresh eggs and it was Sunday and I didn't want to go to the store.  It went fine up until I returned it to the heat after tempering the egg mixture.  It had just got to where it was coating the back of the spoon and I thought I had turned it off.  I was also making a cake at the same time and was getting that ready to go in the oven when i when to check the custard and it had started to boil and had chunks of cooked eggs in it.  I got the cake in the oven and looked online for information about over cooking the ice cream base.  There was a lot of mixed information so I strained the mixture to get the solids out and processed it like regular ice cream.  I was worried that the texture would be off, but it turned out just right.  It was a big hit with everyone we had over.

Fettuccine with Spinach, Butter, and Cream

10 oz Fresh spinach, trimmed, washed and dried
4 Tbs butter
1/2 c. cream (heavy, light or half-and-half)
1 lb. spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine
Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Chop spinach coarsely. Over medium heat melt 2 Tbs of the butter in a large skillet that can later be covered.  Add the spinach along with some salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Cover, reduce the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is very tender, about 10 minutes.  Uncover and add the cream, and cook gently for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, salt the boiling water and cook the pasta util it is tender but firm.  When it is just about done, put the remaining butter in a large warm bowl and add a couple tablespoons of the cooking water.  Drain the pasta and toss it with the butter and half of the Parmesan a\Add the Spinach sauce and serve, passing the remaining Parmesan at the table.


I got this recipe a few years back from a recipe-a-day calendar from Ben's mom and finally got around to making it a few months back.  It has become or go to meal when we really don't want to cook because it is fast.  I cook the spinach in our cast iron skillet that doesn't have a lid and always forget about covering it, but it turns out just fine.  The nutmeg is my addition to the recipe as I've had other Italian dishes that use it with spinach and we really enjoy the flavor.

The Best Granola Bars revisited

Several posts down I put in a recipe for granola bars. I make them often (not often enough according to my household) I made some the other day that we really liked, so I thought I'd post my alterations here:

I substituted Nutella (doesn't have to be name brand, over half of what I used was the walmart brand) for peanut butter and did a little less honey.
I substituted dark chocolate M&Ms for chocolate chips and left out the craisines and just did raisins...they are awesome!!

I am also going to start cutting the rice crispies back by about 1/2 cup or so because they usually end up too crumbly because there is too much of the dry ingredients. I did that for the nutella ones and they held together better. I did have some of my dry mix leftover from the nutella one and I saved it to add to cookies. Today I finally got the few granola bars left bagged up for lunches and took all the broken bits and crumbles and added it to the dry mix and tossed it all in to my chocolate chip cookie dough with some more chocolate chips. I think they taste okay...we'll have to see what Brian and Joshua say when they get back from stake conference or what the younger two think when they try them. :)

Parmesan Chicken Bake

Parmesan Chicken Bake
(adapted from Food.com) from http://www.mykitchenescapades.com/2012/07/parmesan-chicken-bake.html

6 chicken breasts
1 C light mayonaise or greek yogurt (I have done 1/2 of each as well)
1/2 c fresh parmesan cheese, plus more for the top
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt (This is NOT regular table salt. It is a mixture of seasonings)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray the inside of a 9x13 glass pan. Lay the chicken inside the pan.
2. Mix together the remaining ingredients and spread evenly over each piece of chicken, being sure to cover all the exposed raw meat (so it doesn't dry out.) Sprinkle on a bit more fresh parmesan over all the chicken.
3. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. This dish is even better the next day, so just reheat in the microwave!

**BETH’S NOTE: I substituted garlic salt for the season salt. I only did 4 breasts and had to cook it an hour plus. Next time I will probably slice the breasts.

I found this on pinterest...it's on my dinner board (whatever I call it) and on my Things I've done from pinterest board if you want to see a picture of it...I didn't have time to take a picture tonight because it took longer to cook than the recipe said and we had to eat so Brian could get to work. This was a huge hit! Even Grace loved it and gave it two thumbs up!

Dorito Casserole

Dorito Casserole

from Peggy Maciel, Grants Pass

 

1 bag Doritos

3 c. cooked chicken, cubed

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 c milk

1 c sour cream

1 ½ c shredded cheese

 

Mix soup, milk and sour cream together. Add chicken to mixture. Crush up Doritos.

Layer crushed Doritos and mixture. Top with cheese. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.

 

**BETH’S NOTE: we had this with regular Doritos. We (well, the rest of the family but me) think it would be good with Cool Ranch Doritos. 

Butterscotch Bonanza Bars

Butterscotch Bonanza Bars

 

½ c. butter, melted

2 c. brown sugar, packed firmly

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 ½ c. flour

OPTIONAL:

Add 2 cups of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, white chips, chopped nuts, etc.

 

Melt butter in microwave or on stove top. Stir in brown sugar. Add baking powder and salt. Beat 2 eggs, add them to brown sugar mixture. Add vanilla. Add flour in ½ cup increments, mixing well after each addition. Mix in your addition of choice.

 

Spread in greased 13x9 baking dish. (Batter will be stiff). Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. It will look done, but the inside will still be jiggly. Bake a little longer until mostly baked. They are moist cookies.

 

From “Devil's Food Cake Murder” by Joanne Fluke (I reworded a lot of it and cut out all the ‘editorial comments’ by the title character in the book…though it did have a couple of handy tips on how to make your own brown sugar if you run out…)

***I made two batches of these today (I finished the book yesterday or Saturday) because Brian wanted to take cookies to the people he home teaches and I had to take dinner to some new person I got to Visit Teach that just had a baby...and I needed to have some for us, of course!  My first batch I did with 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips - might go with just 1 1/2 c next time. My 2nd batch I did 1 c ss chocolate and 1 pkg (8 oz) chocolate covered Heath toffee bits - yeah, those were my favorite!  They are supposed to be good without anything added if you want, too.

Homemade Magic Shell

I've been making this quite often the past few weeks since I made it and took it to a Relief Society dinner. I found the recipe on Pinterest (surprise, surprise) and thought I'd share it here...it is so incredibly simple.

1 c. chocolate chips
2 T. vegetable oil

Melt chocolate chips in microwave (anywhere for 60 sec to 3 mins...mine always take longer 'cause I keep my chips in the freezer)...stir until smooth. Drizzle (I just dump it in 'cause I'm usually hurrying because the horde is breathing down my neck) oil in as you stir. Serve immediately over ice cream and it will harden JUST like the store bought stuff. If it solidifies, zap it in the microwave for 30-40 seconds.

Notes...
1.the recipe says to use within two days and don't store in the refrigerator...well, I've kept it longer than two days and in the 'frig and no problems. You just might have to reheat it a little longer than 30 seconds or let it sit out for a bit before reheating.
2. When I made it for RS, I doubled it and did 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of peanut butter (or something like that, I don't think it was 1:1)...it was really good. You could do mint chips or add some peppermint flavoring if you wanted.
3. The missionaries in our ward (both the sisters and the elders) think it is the most magnificent thing ever :)
4. This is a husband pleasing recipe :)

Italian Chicken Sandwiches (crock pot)

This isn't really a recipe.  It's a dinner that I did using leftovers once and now is a family favorite. I'd cooked some chicken breasts in the crockpot with some spaghetti sauce. The next day for lunch, wanting something different and the griddle was still out, I butter both sides of 2 slices of sourdough/french/italian bread - something like that - and toasted them both on the griddle. Then I put some of the partially shredded up leftover chicken, spaghetti sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese on it and made a sandwich. It was delicious. So that night I offered it up for dinner. Lots of thumbs up - except for Grace, of course.  Last week I was trying to think of something for dinner that would be quick and easy to a degree because there were a million things going on almost every night. While at Walmart I cheated and grabbed a bag of frozen chicken breast tenders (not the breaded ones, just the regular ones). When I got home I dumped them in the crockpot with about half a large bottle (costco 2 pack size) of spaghetti. I think there were a dozen or so chicken pieces in there...Gave us enough for 2 dinners and some for the freezer...maybe there were more than a dozen pieces. Again - lots of thumbs up except from her royal highness. And told I was the best mom and cook ever...love that. To appease my 1 kidney and high blood pressure, I use no salt butter :) SO that makes it healthy. Anyway, I don't have a picture of this, they didn't last long enough. But it's simple, quick, not overly expensive..and you dont' have to toast the bread on a griddle - toaster worked well too :) And the crockpot does all the work...I had it on low for most of the time...and the chicken just fell apart - so nice and done and perfect.

Anadama Bread

This is probably on of my all time favorite breads to make (and eat).  It's the one I remember most growing up, though I know my parents made several different types of bread.  Doing a little research I found a little on the history of Anadama Bread HERE Next time I need to make dinner roll's I think I'm going to use this recipe instead of my usual recipe.  I usually use coarse, home ground cornmeal (can also us polenta) but all I had yesterday when I was making it for Relief Society was store bought, fairly fine cornmeal.  The coarser cornmeal makes the bread nice and crunchy, but I liked how soft and tinder the bread came out with the finer cornmeal...might also have to do with the fact that I'm back at higher elevations so my bread actually rises without having to alter the recipe like I had to do in Sacramento.

Like most recipes, there are numerous variations, but here is my family's recipe for Anadama Bread.

1/2 C. Corn Meal
2 C. Water
1/3 C. Shorting
1/2 C. Molasses
1 Tbs. Salt
2 Eggs
2 Tbs. Yeast
5 1/2 - 5 3/4 C. Flour

• Combine 3 cups of flour and the yeast in mixing bowl - set aside
• Bring water to boil, slowly stir in cornmeal, then add molasses, shorting and salt - let cool
• Add cooled mixture to flour and yeast - mix until combined
• Add eggs - beat on high for about 3 minutes
• Add  enough flour to make a soft dough (you want the dough to be tacky, not sticky)
• Place in greased bowl in warm, draft free place and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour)
• When doubled, punch down and let rest 10 minutes
• Divide dough and shape into loaves and place in greased pans
• Let rise till doubled again (about 1 hour)
• Bake @ 375 for 35 - 40 minutes

Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders

4 oz Chicken breast tenders
1 Tbs. Pecans, coarsely ground
1/4 c breadcrumbs
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 egg white
1 Tbs flour


Combine pecans, breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper in bowl, in a second bowl, whisk egg white until just foamy.

Place flour and chicken tenders in zip lock bag and shake to coat.

Dip each tender in egg white, then press both sides into breadcrumb mixture to coat.

Bake on greased cookie sheet for 15 minutes (or until done), turn half way through.

Serve with Roasted Broccoli, or sides of your choice.

Egg Plant Pizza

Eggplant sliced into 1/4" thick slices
Egg

Bread Crumbs

Marinara Sauce

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Shredded Mozzarella

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Heat oven to 350°. 


In a bowl, whisk 1 egg. In a second bowl, place 1/4 cup breadcrumbs. 
Dip eggplant slices in egg and press both sides in breadcrumbs to coat
Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes (10 minutes each side).
Toast whole-wheat English muffin, place on baking sheet. 
Top each muffin half with 1 eggplant slice, 1 tbsp marinara sauce, 1 tbsp each shredded mozzarella and shredded Parmesan
Bake until cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

Crock Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu

Stuffed Chicken Rolls

The wonderful aroma of this moist, delicious chicken cooking sparks our appetites. The ham and cheese rolled inside is a tasty surprise. When I prepared this impressive main dish for a church luncheon, I received lots of compliments. The rolls are especially nice served over rice or pasta. -Jean Sherwood, Kenneth City, Florida

6 ServingsPrep: 25 min. + chilling Cook: 4 hours

Ingredients

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each)
• 6 slices fully cooked ham
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• Chopped fresh parsley, optional

Directions

• Flatten chicken to 1/8-in. thickness. Place ham and cheese on each
• breast. Roll up and tuck in ends; secure with a toothpick.
• 
  
• In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, cheese, sage,
• paprika and pepper; add the chicken. Seal bag; toss to coat. Cover
• and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• 
  
• In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil over medium-high heat.
• Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Combine soup and broth; pour over
• chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken is
• tender. Remove toothpicks. Garnish with parsley if desired. Yield: 6
• servings.
• 
  

© Taste of Home 2011

2 of 2

Stuffed Chicken Rolls (continued)

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 525 calories, 26 g fat (10 g saturated fat), 167 mg cholesterol, 914 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 60 g protein.

© Taste of Home 2011

Never Fail No-Bake Fudge Oatmeal Cookies

From California Gold: Calfironai State Grange cookbook. Gifted to me by Grandma Darlene in 1993, though I did not discover this recipe until a few years ago. Oh so good, and unlike other "no-bake" cookies I have tried, this one ALWAYS sets up and isn't too dry.

Fudge-Oatmeal Cookies
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup baking coca
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar, baking cocoa, milk and butter in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in oats, peanut butter and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let stand until cool.

Tips & tricks:
None. It is perfect. Just be sure to watch the time you boil it. Not enough and it won't work right, too much and it won't work right. They set up quite fast and are AMAZING!

Peanut Butter Bars

From Cake Mix Cooking for Kids by Stephanie Ashcraft
page 28

Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients: 1 yellow cake mix
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/3 cup water

Topping:
1 container (16 oz) chocolate frosting
1/2 cup peanut butter
chopped peanuts or chopped peanut butter cups

Preheat over to 350F. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, 1 cup peanut butter, egg and water until dough is formed. Spread dough into a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Allow bars to completely cool.

In a medium bowl, combine chocolate frosting and 1/2 cup peanut butter. Frost bars and then cut into 24 bars. Top with peanuts or peanut butter cups.

Things I did different: Didn't have pre-made frosting. So I used the "No-Cook Fudge Frosting" from the Better Homes and Garden cookbook. p. 148. I am typing the full recipe, though I halved it and had more than enough for the peanut butter bar recipe.

Ingredients:
41/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened coca powder
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine powdered sugar and coca powder. Add butter, boiling water and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed till combined. Bear for 1 minute on medium speed. Cool for 20-30 minutes or till mixture reaches spreading consistency.
(I put it in the freezer to speed cooling)
 I did not add the peanut butter or additional topping. And they were yummy. I also proved that this is the perfect recipe for a kids cookbook, Geddy (age 5) did a lot of it and was so pleased with the results. We will try them again doing the topping just like the original recipe said.

The BEST Granola Bars

The Best Granola Bars

2 ½ c. rice crispies (also have used other crushed dry cereal, Krispix, etc.)

2 c. oats

½ c. dried cranberries

½ c. raisins

¼- ½ c. mini chocolate chips

½ c. brown sugar

¼ tsp. salt

½ c. honey

1 c. peanut butter

 1 tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Combine cereal, oats, craisins, raisins, chocolate chips in very large bowl.

Cook brown sugar, honey, and salt in pan until it boils.  Add peanut butter, vanilla and cinnamon. 

Pour over dry mixture and stir until combined.

Put into a 13” x 9” pan (or a cookie sheet for thinner granola bars) and press flat.  Let cool and then cut into bars.  Package individually and store in a large ziplock bag.

Cheese Garlic Biscuits

I think what really makes them great is using Homemade Bisquick :)

Joshua made these the other night to go with our Pollo con Piña.

2 c. bisquick

¼ c. margarine or butter, melted

2/3 c. milk

¼ t. garlic powder

½ c. shredded cheddar cheese

· Heat oven to 450. Mix baking mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms; beat 30 seconds.

· Drop dough by 10 to 12 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

· Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix melted oleo & garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm.



**I sometimes add a little garlic powder to the bisquick as I mix in the milk. These taste a lot like the biscuits at Red Lobster. They go great with spaghetti. Joshua’s always turn out better than mine!







Homemade Bisquick Mix


Makes 7 cups

3 cups white flour

3 cups whole wheat flour

3 Tbsp baking powder

1 Tbsp salt

1 cup shortening


1. Whisk flour together in a large bowl with baking powder and salt until well blended.

2. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs.

3. Store mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.

4. Use whenever your recipe calls for BISQUICK.


**the original recipe that I found on the Internet had you sift the dry ingredients together three times…using a wire whisk is much easier and gives the same results. It also called for 6 cups of white flour, but we like doing half whole wheat and half white flour.



Inside Out Pizza

Inside Out Pizza (from Lacie Benton~Winters)

Crust:

5 c. flour

2 T. sugar

2 t. salt

2 T yeast (2 pkgs)

1 ½ c. warm water

½ c. warm milk

2 T melted butter

Filling:

 Any pizza toppings you desire.  Can include pizza sauce in it and have extra for dipping, or can just have it for dipping and not put any inside the pizza.

Mix dry ingredients (use only ½ total amount of flour) and then add wet ingredients.  Beat on medium for 3 minutes.  Slowly add remaining flour.  Change to dough hook when needed.  Let rise 1 hour.  Roll out, put filling on half of dough.  Fold over and seal.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  Brush top with egg whites if desired.

Sarah's Taco Salad

Sarah & Dave made this for me on the day I went over and did laundry at their house while Brian was in the hospital.  It was so incredibly good!!  I keep talking about it to mom and Brian :)  I told her I'd put it up here.  Or she could.  But I'm blogging today, so I added it.  When I make it I'll take a picture and add it.  So delicious!!

Sarah’s Taco Salad

1 can kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can petite diced tomatoes (I think)
1 red bell pepper diced
1 cup diced mushrooms

You sauté the mushrooms and bell pepper until they are tender (I normally do onions too but we left that out this time). I generally sauté in safflower oil or grape seed oil. Then drain all the canned stuff through a strainer and rinse thoroughly and put into the pan. Sautee that a little bit as well then add taco seasoning (I think we used the Tones Taco Seasoning from Sam’s Club) and water. Then you just let it simmer for awhile until the beans are nice and tender.

Serve over your favorite lettuce w/cheese and whatever else you like on the taco salad.

*Beth’s note: This was so delicious…I’d not have noticed there was no meat in it, if Sarah hadn’t mentioned it!  I think this would be good over rice.  And maybe sauté a zucchini or yellow squash or something, too. 

Taco Ring

One that we like - hot or cold - Joshua will take a wedge to school in his lunch the next day! When I had Nathaniel, Jeannie Martinez brought us dinner and this is what they brought.  She told me she got this recipe from Pampered Chef.

 

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. ground beef or turkey

2 tbsp. Southwestern seasoning mix (taco seasoning spices)*

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 tbsp. water

2 pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls

1 md. green bell pepper (optional)

1 cup salsa

3 cups shredded lettuce

1 md. tomato

Sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. In frying pan, cook and stir beef over med/high heat until meat is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain. In bowl, combine meat and taco seasoning. Add cheese into meat mixture. Add water and mix well. On a baking stone, or pizza pan, arrange crescent triangles in a circle with bases overlapping in center and point to the outside. There should be a circle of about 5" in diameter in center. Scoop meat mixture evenly onto the widest end of each triangle. Bring outside point of triangles down over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center. (Filling will not be completely covered) Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut off top of pepper and discard membranes and seeds. Fill with salsa. Place pepper in center of ring (optional). Arrange lettuce and tomato around pepper. Garnish with sour cream.

Of course, as Brian always says, I can't follow a recipe exactly. I add sliced olives and a can of yellow corn (drained of course, though sometimes I use cream corn, then I don't drain it) to the meat mixture. You could add a (drained) can of black beans as well. Since my kids aren't thrilled with putting salsa on their food, we never do that step. But I like it best with sour cream on top. And in addtion to chopped lettuce and tomato, if avocados are reasonably priced when I make it, those go nicely with it too :)

Lemonade Cake (aka lemon gelatin cake)

I put a couple of recipes on my blog yesterday and thought I'd share them here as well...

I love this cake at any time, but it is one that I always have to make at least once a summer. Last year Mom and I tried it with orange jello and orange juice. It was pretty dang good. This year I used a strawberry cake mix instead of yellow. Strawberry Lemonade cake - yum!! But the original is still the best. (The picture is my Strawberry Lemonade cake that I made last weekend). Mom's recipe actually calls it Lemon Gelatin Cake, but I always refer to it as:

Lemonade Cake
1 pkg. yellow or white cake
1 3 oz. pkg of lemon jello
1 /2 c. oil
4 eggs
1 c. water

Combine cake mix, jello, oil and water. Beat for 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour into a greased oblong (9x13) pan, Bake at 350 for 45 minutes (give or take). Cool and poke holes in the tope with a fork. Then pour glaze over the top.

Glaze
2 c. powdered sugar
2 T lemonade concentrate, thawed (I usually end up using more - closer to 4 T)

Whisk together and pour over the top.

This picture came out a little blurry...but it shows the glaze on top well :)

Chicken Stroganoff - Macey's Family Meal Deal

Ingredients:
6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Halves
1 - 16oz  Sour Cream
1 - 2oz envelope dry onion soup mix
1 - 10oz can Cream of Mushroom Soup
Wide Egg Noodles

Directions:

*  Place chicken in crock pot
*  Mix sour cream, soup, and soup mix together and pour over chicken
*  Cook on LOW for 4 to 6 Hours or until chicken is tender
*  Serve over cooked noodles with steamed broccoli


http://maceys.com/Chicken