Just about perfect

French Toast

2012-02-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

I know that there are a lot of fancy french toast recipes. But I like simple and easy. And good. So.. I always use the recipe in the little recipe book that came with my griddle that I got as a wedding gift. How's that for long winded intro.
Anyways.. . here it is:

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon butter (I always use margarine)
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon (sometimes I leave this out)- I'm not a fan of cinnamon ever since my college days and a prank gone very bad. Maybe that will be a story for another day.
8 slices of bread

Preheat griddle to 350F. Melt butter in griddle. Mix eggs, salt, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl. One at a time, dip slices of bread in the egg mixture to coat thoroughly on both sides. Place bread onto the griddle and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Repeat the process with additional bread slices.

Enjoy!

Basic Fried Rice

2012-01-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Chinese New Year! There is a celebration at the school, so my daughter volunteered that she'd bring fried rice. She's super excited to bring it. I made it a few weeks ago and the kids weren't too excited to have it, but once they tried it, they liked it. This is another recipe from Catherine!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped onions (or green onions)
2 cups chilled, cooked rice. The rice has to be cold, or the grains will stick together.
1 cup diced raw or cooked vegetables
1 cup diced cooked ham
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1-2 eggs, slightly beaten

In a large skillet, melt butter. Add onions and rice. Then stir in diced vegetables. Saute about 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add ham and soy sauce. Scramble egg in a separate skillet and add to rice mixture. (Makes 4-6 servings)

I made fried rice way back in the day and added way too much soy sauce and it was gross. So.. I hadn't made it since then, but am glad I tried again and that my kids can now enjoy it for their Chinese New Year.

Enjoy!

Fried Chicken with Creamy Gravy

2012-01-22T20:53:00.002-07:00

This recipe from the Better Home & Gardens New Cookbook. It was a success, (meaning everyone ate it without complaint), so I'll add it to our rotation of meals.

Ingredients:
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 Tablespoons milk
1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed (I just had the thyme spice)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 to 3 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks)- (I used 5 chicken breasts)
2 to 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1 recipe Creamy Gravy (below)

1. In a small bowl, combine the egg and the 3 Tbsp milk. In a shallow bowl combine crushed crackers, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper. Dip chicken pieces, one at a time, in egg mixture, roll in cracker mixture to coat.
2. In a very large skillet, brown chicken in hot oil over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, turning occasionally, drain well.
3. Add the 1 cup milk to skillet. Heat just to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover tightly. Cook for 30 minutes more or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken, reserving drippings for gravy. Cover chicken, keep warm.

CREAMY GRAVY: In a screw-top jar combine 3/4 cup milk, 1 tablespoon flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; cover and shake well. Add to drippings in skillet. Stir in 1 cup milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. (if desired, stir in additional milk to make desired consistency).
Strain gravy.

Serve gravy with mashed potatoes.

Mine looked NOTHING like the picture, so I'm not sure what I did different. But everyone liked it the way it was. When I added the milk, I poured some on top of the chicken and maybe it's not suppose to be on it, just around it? I'll try that next time. But either way.. it was still good.

Enjoy.

PS. For anyone reading my other blog- I'm almost done 2011. yea!

Focaccia Bread

2012-01-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the recipe for Facaccia bread, that I used for the Focaccia Deli Sandwich. I've never made it before and wasn't really sure how it was suppose to turn out, but it was easy. The recipe was from This & That, who linked it to here.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (this is about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with flour; stir well to combine. Stir in additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of the flour is absorbed. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for about 1 minute.

3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).

5. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface; knead briefly. Pat or roll the dough into a sheet and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with salt.

6. Bake focaccia in preheated oven for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on desired crispness. If you like it moist and fluffy, then you'll have to wait just about 10 minutes. If you like it crunchier and darker in the outside, you may have to wait 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Baked Deli Focaccia Sandwich

2012-01-06T21:16:00.001-07:00

I have a lot of recipes to share, but I always ALWAYS forget to take a picture, and then I don't want to post it without a picture. But, I've decided that I'm just going to post away, and maybe one day I'll remember to take a picture and I'll add it.

I love to try new recipes, and if they meet my criteria of easy to make and at least a few other family members like it and eat it, then I keep it and we'll add it to the dinner rotation. This recipe is one that was on a great blog This & That. I trust her, so I tried it and it was a success. Everyone ate it and dh said it was the best sandwich. Yea! So here it is: (without a picture of course, but if you click here, you can see the one from Catherine's blog because she is good and does take pictures).

Baked Deli Focaccia Sandwich

1 loaf (12 oz.) focaccia bread (recipe for that to come)
1/4 cup prepared pesto
1/4 pound sliced deli ham
1/4 pound sliced deli turkey (smoked, honey roasted, whatever....your choice)
1/4 pound sliced deli pastrami
5 slices process American cheese (I use whatever cheese we have in the fridge. I used old cheddar and swiss).
1/3 cup thinly sliced onion (red or yellow)
1 small tomato, sliced (ooops.. I forgot the tomato. I'll try to remember it next time)
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Cut focaccia horizontally in half; spread pesto over cut sides. On bread bottom, layer the ham, turkey, pastrami, cheese, onion and tomato. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Replace bread top; wrap in foil. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges. Serves 6-8

Enjoy!

Turkey Dressing Casserole

2011-12-26T12:02:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas.
I sure did.
One of my favorite things about Christmas (and Thanksgiving) is the leftovers. Usually I'm not the one making anything, so I usually don't get any leftovers. But sometimes (like yesterday) I do. Then I love to make this casserole. So so so simple. Easy to make, and really the recipe doesn't have to be exact to work. You can make do with what you have. And I love that!

Ingredients:
-4 cups cooked turkey (or chicken) cut in small pieces. I sometimes use less (depending what I have) and it's still good.
-1 can cream of mushroom soup
-1 Tbsp margarine, melted
-1 cup sour cream
-2-3 cups (or whatever you have or want) homemade dressing, or Stove Top dressing (made).

-In a 9x13 pan, put cut up turkey.
-Mix together soup, margarine & sour cream and spread over the turkey.
-Put dressing on top
-Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes at 400F to crisp it.

Enjoy!

(picture to come after I cook it tonight. yum)

Orange Julius

2011-12-22T20:21:00.001-07:00

I hadn't had this drink for years and years, and then I tried it again (with some modifications) and the kids all love it. So I think it may become a regular for special brunches we have.

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate (1/2 of a normal size can)
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup (slightly less) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
8-9 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients except ice cube in blender
Blend for about 1-2 minutes, adding ice cubes one at a time

Enjoy!

Granola

2011-11-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

I know there are lots of different Granola recipes out there. This is one from my sister Kristi, that is easy and I usually have all the ingredients. So it's the one I use.

Ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds (I usually omit)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup oat bran
1/4 cup sesame seeds (I omit)
1 cup chopped nuts (whatever you have. I usually do almonds. But walnuts and pecans are great too).

Mix all above together in a bowl.

Sauce:
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup oil
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon. (Kristi's recipe says 1 Tbsp, but I'm not a huge fan, so use less).

Boil all ingredients together. Then pour over the granola mixture.

Spread granola out on cookie sheets (usually need 2).
Bake at 325F for 10 minutes.
Stir.
Then bake for 10 more minutes.

You can add raisins or dried fruit at this point (I don't). And put in an airtight container. An icecream bucket works good.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Bisque

2011-11-03T07:56:00.002-06:00

ETA: picture finally added:

So.. I finally made the strawberry bisque. We actually had it for Halloween and I called it blood soup. It was a hit. Little man thought it was yogurt and had several helpings. It is kind of like liquidy yogurt. Or melted strawberry icecream. Can't go wrong with that.
And simple to make!

Ingredients:
-2 cups frozen strawberries
- 1 cup milk
-1/2 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
-1/2 cup sour cream
-2 Tblsp sugar
-fresh mint for flavor and garnish (which I did not have)

1.Puree strawberries, milk, cream and sour cream in blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Stir in sugar.
3. Chill 8 hours or overnight in refrigerator before serving.

Enjoy!

Skor Cake

2011-10-21T10:33:00.000-06:00

This recipe is from my old roommate Stacey. She's awesome.. and so are the recipes I got from her.
I made this for Matt's birthday cake.

Here we go:

Bake 1 chocolate cake mix as directed. (Devil's food is best). I made my super easy chocolate cake recipe found here. (My cake recipe makes a 9x9 cake, so you can double it for this, or adjust the amounts of this recipe for a smaller cake).
When cake is cooled, poke holes in it.
Mix 1/2 can caramel ice cream topping and 1 can condensed milk together and pour over the cake.
Put real whip cream (500 ml mixed with 1 Tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla) on top.
Top with a broken up skor chocolate bar.

Enjoy!

Sweetened Condensed Milk

2011-10-20T10:32:00.000-06:00

Do you ever not have a particular ingredient for a recipe you want to make?

Happens to me much more than I'd like. Which is why I love when I know how to make that ingredient from scratch, or substitute it. This is something I'm not very good at.. yet.

A few years ago I got a recipe from my sister Kristi, for sweetened condensed milk. And today I got to use it because I'm making a cake (which I'll share tomorrow) for Matt's birthday (which is today) and I didn't have any. Plus I love any recipe that uses milk powder. Makes me feel good to use it up for some reason. So... here's the recipe.

In a blender, place the following:
-1 cup dry milk powder
-2/3 cup sugar
-1/3 cup boiling water
-3 Tbsp butter (I usually don't have butter, so I used margarine, but I think it still worked out ok?)

Blend until smooth and store in the fridge until you use it.

Enjoy!

Last of the food

2011-10-18T12:33:00.000-06:00

I promise, this is the last post about cruise food.
Most mornings we went to the buffet. So nice to just get whatever. Pancakes, grapefruit, honeydew melon, muffins, oatmeal (I tried grits once), yogurt, boiled eggs, pastry's. Lots to choose from.

Meatloaf with some mashed potatoes and grilled stuff. Wasn't so great.

Bad photos, but delicious side of veggies. I love asparagus.

In Mexico, we went on an excursion to go kayaking and snorkeling. It was way too windy and choppy water, so we didn't get to do it. But we did get a delicious snack of chips and salsa and guacamole. I could eat that for lunch every day.

A turkey roll from the deli, and red velvet cupcake

There was a chocolate buffet one day. I had a chocolate churro (gross), fudge (delish) and chocolate cheesecake (yum). Then a strawberry shake, although it was really runny.. so more like strawberry milk.

These are frog legs. I didn't try them. Looked a little too realistic. Apparently tastes like chicken. haha.

hot chocolate:

And that concludes some of the food. There was so much more. It's always nice to not have to cook and to just pick whatever you feel like eating. Very good food was consumed by us all.

Hope you enjoyed.

More food

2011-10-16T21:13:00.000-06:00

For dessert you can choose a cheese platter. So here it is.

Some delicious spaghetti:

The most amazing Strawberry Bisque. I found a recipe that is suppose to be the same, so I'll try it out and share if it is. The best cold soup I've ever had. I tried asparagus soup (cold), but it was gross. Sad. But the strawberry... yum.

Stuffed pepper with some rice. Not good. It was too spicy for me.. and just weird.

Ribs and fries.

Chocolate melting cake with ice cream. YUM!

Food and more food

2011-10-14T10:09:00.000-06:00

Here is a sampling of some of the food we ate the first few days of the cruise.
The photos are bad, but hopefully you can still enjoy.

This was from the Mongolia Grill. Not my favorite... but I tried it.

The sandwich spot. Great sandwiches!

This was at the stake house. A mini burger compliments of the chef!

French Onion Soup.

Tomatoes with melted mozzarella.

Baked potato with some toppings:

Hazelnut cheesecake:

From the rotisserie.... chicken, baked potato, salad and the most delicious macaroni I've had!

Something or other that Matt ate:

More to come! Oh ya.. much more!

Delicious food

2011-10-12T06:16:00.000-06:00

I just got back from a cruise.
And wow- the food!
Amazing. Delicious. And so much of it. All the time.

It's hard to get back to real life without the menus and buffets and having to actually cook and clean up.

Ahh.. it was good while it lasted.

Lasagna

2011-09-30T09:28:00.000-06:00

(by Matt)
I never made Lasagna because it seemed so scary with all the layers and such. But Matt told me it was so easy and gave me this recipe. I've now ventured out and tried some others too. But this is simple and still tasty.

Sauce: (basically make a bit more liquidy spaghetti sauce)
brown 1 lb ground beef
Add chopped up onions if wanted (1/8 cup).
Add pasta sauce (I'll have to measure how much I add. Usually to the top of my pan. )
Add 1/8 cup sugar
And any spices. I'm not so good at this, but I usually add garlic and oregano.
Bring to boil and simmer for a few minutes.

Cottage Cheese Mixture:
1 container of cottage cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Mix all together

Then layer the following in a 9x13 pan:
spaghetti sauce
lasagna noodles (I never cook them before)
spaghetti sauce
noodles
cottage cheese mixture
noodles
sauce
grated mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups) to cover the top.

Cover with tin foil. Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes, and then remove foil and cook for 10 more minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes once out of the oven before serving.

And I always make 2! Freeze one for later.

Enjoy

Apple Crisp

2011-09-29T09:28:00.000-06:00

This recipe is from my Mom.

Here we go:

4 cups sliced apples (fill the 9x9 pan 1 inch deep)
Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon on the apples.

Next mix:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter

The sprinkle over the apple mixture.
Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

In my opinion.. this should be eaten warm and with icecream on top!
I'm off to make some now.

Enjoy!

Brownies

2011-09-19T11:23:00.000-06:00

I love easy (and tasty) recipes, and this is another one.

In a saucepan, melt:
1/2 cup margarine
1/4 cup cocoa

Stir as it melts, then remove from heat.

In medium bowl beat 2 eggs until frothy.
Then add:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I've left these out before)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (can also be omitted and still be delish)
1/8 tsp salt

DO NOT STIR YET!

Pour cocoa mixture over top and then stir all together.
Pour into greased 8x8 inch pan
Bake 350F for 30 minutes.

You can add icing if you want. Usually I don't, but I have and it's good either way.
So here's the icing recipe.

1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
3 Tbsp soft margarine
5 tsp water

Beat all together.
Spread on brownies when they are cool.

Enjoy!

Beef on a Bun

2011-09-14T08:52:00.001-06:00

This is from my sister Kristi. We don't make it much, but it's delish and great for a crowd of people.

Place the following ingredients in a slow cooker:
-roast
-1 chopped onion
-1/2 chopped green pepper
-1 chopped celery stalk
-1 Tbsp beef boullion

Cook on low for 8 hours. (My crock pot always seems to cook fast, so I usually do 6-7 hours. Depending on size of roast). Shred the roast. Then....

Mix together:
-7 1/2 oz can tomato sauce
-1 cup bbq sauce
-1/2 cup brown sugar

Add to roast and cook for another hour or so.
Serve on buns.

Japanese Chicken

2011-09-13T08:44:00.000-06:00

We love chicken and rice in our house. So here's another good one.

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup vinegar
-3 Tbsp soy sauce
-3 Tbsp water
-1 cup sugar

Mix all above ingredients together. Double sauce if serving more than 5 people.

-5 chicken breasts (or as many as you need/ want)
-1 egg
-3 Tbsp milk
-1/2 cup or so of flour
-vegetable oil

Dip chicken in egg and milk mixture and then cover them with flour. Brown each breast in hot oil. Place each piece into baking dish and pour sauce on top.

Bake at 300F for 1 hour. Serve with rice.

Italian Crock Pot Chicken

2011-09-12T11:44:00.002-06:00

I think this is the easiest recipe I have ever used.
And the best part is my kids love it. So they actually eat it. And lots of it.
So we have it often.

Here we go:

In crock pot combine:
-2 cans of cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom)
-1/2 pkg of Italian dressing mix (I use 1/2 because I'm a wimp, and cheap. But if you like spicier, than use the whole pkg)
-2 chicken breasts uncooked. They can even be frozen. (See.. super easy!!)
-1/3 block of cream cheese cut into chunks

Cook for 4-6 hours on low. When almost ready to serve, stir so the cream cheese breaks down into the gravy mixture. With two forks, shred the chicken. Serve over rice.

Enjoy!

Super Easy Chocolate Cake

2011-08-31T12:26:00.001-06:00

I seem to post a lot of dessert recipes eh? We really do eat other things.
We're having a back to school party, so I made this cake. It's our favorite easy peasy cake that's not a cake mix (not really a fan of those).

Here you go:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup hard margarine (or butter), softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup hot water

Measure all 10 ingredients into large bowl in order given. Beat on low until moistened. Beat on medium for about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl, until smooth. Turn into greased 9 x 9 inch pan. Bake in 350F oven for about 35 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool. Cuts into 16 pieces. (I've never taken it out of the pan before).

I've also made it into 22 cupcakes. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Banana Bread

2011-08-25T22:16:00.000-06:00

Wow- it's been a while. I've been busy getting our house ready to sell. Anyone need a great house??

Anyways...I love banana bread, but I'm not a fan of it taking an hour and then the middle is always raw and the outer edges are burned. Which is why I love this healthy smaller loaf from the "Eat, Shrink and Be Merry" cookbook.

This recipe makes 2 smaller loaves. Here we go:

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup oat bran
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3-4 bananas)
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I never add these due to my kids not being allowed nuts at school)
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (I never have mini, so I use regular)

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 8 x 4 inch loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and brown sugar on medium speed of electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add bananas, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat again until well blended.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not use electric mixer for this step. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips. Do not over-mix batter.

Divide batter evenly among load pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean. Cool loaves in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and slice and eat warm, or cool completely on rack, then store in covered plastic wrap.

Note: You absolutely must use ripe bananas (with brown spots) for this recipe. Most recipes use a lot more sugar, so the sweetness from the ripe bananas is really important.

(I'll add a photo soon. Batteries died. sad.)

Enjoy!

Amelia Bedelia's Sheet Cake

2011-08-15T11:26:00.001-06:00

Love the Amelia Bedelia books. The other day my little girl came and asked if we could make a bed cake. She then brought me the book, that had this recipe at the back. I'm always skeptical of recipes in books, but this one was really good AND super easy. So here it is:

3 cups flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup cocoa
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tblsps vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups water

Put the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa directly into an ungreased 9"x13" pan. Add oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour water over all ingredients. Mix with a fork until smooth.

Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes

Cool the cake and ice it in the pan with your favorite frosting.

Saskatoon Berry Pie

2011-08-06T07:41:00.001-06:00

This is the most delicious pie ever, and as soon as I go and find some Saskatoon berries to pick, I'll make this.

4 Cups Saskatoon berries (called Service berries in the US??)
3/4 Cup sugar
3 Tblsp flour
1/4 Cup water
2 Tblsp lemon juice
Pastry for double crust pie

In a saucepan, simmer Saskatoon berries in water for 10 minutes. Add lemon juice. Stir in granulated sugar mixed with flour. Pour into pastry lined pie plate. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust; seal and flute edges. Bake in 425 F oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 F oven and bake 35-45 minutes longer or until golden brown.

I love mine served with icecream on top.

Enjoy!

Broiled Asparagus

2011-08-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

I love asparagus. So here's a recipe that's super easy and delicious. (From the Friend magazine April 2009)

20 asparagus spears
1/4 cup olive oil, or melted butter or margarine
salt

1. Remove the tough end of the asparagus by holding one end in each hand, then bend asparagus into the shape of a U. The asparagus will break in two near the tough end. Throw away the tough ends.

2. Rinse the asparagus in cold water and let dry.

3. Place the olive oil in a bowl. Roll the asparagus spears in the oil until they are covered.

4. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt. Broil in the oven about 3-5 minutes, or until brown and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Matt's Meatballs

2011-08-04T11:34:00.000-06:00

Matt mixed a bunch of recipes together, switched and added and deleted things until he came up with a meatball recipe that we all like. Not too spicy, not too bland. So here it is...

Ingredients:

1 large egg
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup oatmeal (or breadcrumbs if you like)
2-4 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 lb ground beef

Beat egg and salsa in medium bowl using fork. Stir in oatmeal and taco seasoning. Mix in ground beef. Shape into 1 inch balls. Arrange on greased baking sheet. Bake in 350 F oven for 15-20 minutes until beef is no longer pink in center.

While those are cooking, make the sauce:

1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Heat and stir on medium until boiling. Reduce heat. Add meatballs. Simmer for about 3 minutes until meatballs are heated through.
Serve with rice.

Just pretend there is a picture here, and one day there will be:)

Enjoy.

Homemade White Bread

2011-07-28T13:09:00.001-06:00

First I must express my love for my "borrowed" Bosch. My mom went on a trip for a month, and so I borrowed her Bosch while she was gone to see if it really was better to make bread in than my KitchenAid (which I saved for many years and love). I was skeptical. But wow- it's amazing. I can make the whole bread recipe. Before I had to make only half because that's all that would fit. I LOVE it, and I'm not sure I'll be able to part with it.

Anyways...
on to the recipe. This is a no fail bread recipe. As in it will always work out. Sometimes better than others, but it's easy peasy.

6 cups warm water
2 Tbsps salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup oil (or melted margarine- I always have used oil)
3 beaten eggs
14+ cups flour
4 heaping Tbsps of instant yeast

Mix ingredients until dough is easy to handle. On a flat surface, knead, adding flour until right consistency. (or I just put all in the Bosch and mix until it's right). Put in bowl and let rise 30-45 min. Beat down. Separate into 6 portions, shape and put in bread pans. Let rise 30-45 min. Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-35 min. Take out and smear with margarine.

You can also make pizza crust, cinnamon buns, elephant ears, buns and so forth.
Love it!

All ready to rise in the pans:

Done!

Hello

2011-07-23T17:47:00.000-06:00

Hello.... Anyone out there?

So.. this blog is now going to be a place for me to put recipes that I love.
I've always wanted to do a recipe blog, but I have a hard time taking pictures of food to go with the recipe. But I've decided that who cares if there's no picture. One day, before I make it into a book, I'll attach a picture.

So coming tomorrow will be my favorite bread recipe.
Exciting stuff I tell ya.