Monday, December 26, 2011

Our Christmas eve dinner!

This is our traditional Christmas eve dinner
Orange Glazed Salmon Salad
this will take approximately 30 minutes
Baked Salmon (bake at 350 20-25 min) with a bit of butter and lemon pepper
Grilled Pineapple (make sure you get nice grill marks)
Fresh Spinach
tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
bleu cheese crumbles with craisins
(and usually I would put a fan of avacadoes but they were too hard)
Glaze:( to taste)
pineapple juice 
orange juice
honey 
Ginger
soy sauce
brown sugar
corn starch (to thicken)

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Crunchy chocolate covered caramel popcorn!

Here is my sisters recipe of caramel popcorn, I just tweeked it a bit!
3/4 C popcorn unpopped
1 cube butter
1C brown sugar
1/4 C Carro syrup
a few dashes of salt
sweet caramel sprinkles (pampered chef) (optional)
large brown paper bag
pop the popcorn and put in bag
mix ingredients in a microwaveable bowl
microwave 1 1/2 min..stir
repeat 2 min...stir
add 1 tsp baking soda...stir
pour over the popped popcorn
stir with wooden spoon
put entire bag into microwave 2 mins
take out....shake 
pour over two large strips of wax paper or foil on counter
cools in minutes..
drizzle melted chocolate over top
(Nestles semi sweet)
place in fridge for 15 minutes



Monday, December 19, 2011

I was inspired


I saw this idea on pinterest and I loved it, here is my version...Hot Chocolate Bar, hope you like it!

Monday, October 24, 2011

chocolate popcorn mix

Here is a easy treat for fall, to share with neighbors and friends
Air popped popcorn
pretzels
honey roasted peanuts
semi sweet chocolate chips 
white chocolate chips

 finished product

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Thai lettuce wraps with peanut sauce

Here is a recipe that is a little lower in fat and very yummy!

Thai Lettuce Wraps

1/2 small onion diced
1/2 red pepper, minced
1 carrot, shredded
2/3 cup bean sprouts
4-5 washed whole bibb lettuce leaves (butter lettuce)
handful of dry roasted peanuts
Thai Peanut Sauce

Thai Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup  peanut butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 t. sugar
2 T. lime juice
1/2 t. hot chili oil or hot sauce
2 t. low sodium  soy sauce
1 T. minced cilantro  
1/4 tsp Ginger
2 T. warm water
I put this on stove and brought it to a boil
then added a little starch to thicken then set it aside to cool and serve



 I made brown rice with this as a side and also a small cup of fruit with fat free cool whip on top

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Mexican Meatball soup

some things are meant to be repeated and this is definitely one, I posted this last year and since it is the start of soup season and this is a favorite of my family, here it goes!

Mother Theresa's Albondigas Soup

My kind of comfort food!


This is one of my favorite soups ever!!!
this will feed easily 10-15 people
3lbs hamburger (lean)
1 onion 
3/4 of a  bunch of fresh Cilantro
2 bay leaves
2 eggs
2 hand fulls of rice
2 green zucchini's
1 yellow squash
1 lrg can Hominy (drained)
4 carrots
1 can corn (drained)
1 lrg can whole tomatoes (diced)
5 beef bouillon cubes
about 6-8 cups water
1 jalapeƱo devained and seeded
2 lrg potatoes diced
2 cloves of Garlic

in large bowl mix your meat with eggs,rice, 1/2 yellow squash &1 zucchini minced very small and 1/4 onion.
season meat with cumin,parsley,oregano,garlic salt, thyme, rosemary and salt and pepper
in the pot of water put tomatoes undrained, onions chunked
beef boullion ,hominy and corn.
then start making your meatballs and drop each one in the water. once all your meat balls are all in the pot then cut up and add the rest. bring it all to a boil and then back down to med/low for at least a good 1 -2 hours. serve with a slice of lime and good white corn tortillas(warmed)
Yummy!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Catalina Salad Dressing:)

I am making Taco salads for dinner tonight, we love Catalina dressing  with a dallop of  sour cream on top!
3 c. catsup
2 c. oil
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1 lg. onion, chopped fine
Pinch garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste

      Mix well and refrigerate.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

frozen Burritos :)


I was talking to a friend the other day (Rebecca Richards) and she gave me this idea for a quick breakfast. You know my family loves my breakfast burritos, but I never thought of freezing a bunch to make life just a little bit easier. so here is what I did.....
I browned 2 lbs of hamburger 1 lb of sausage
4 red potatoes diced
1/4 purple onion diced 
1/4 bunch of cilantro minced
sautee in olive oil

I added 1/2 small jar of salsa
garlic salt
salt/pepper
scrambled up about 7 eggs
mixed everything all together
and started filling up my burritos!
topping them off with half a handful of cheese
put them on this cookie sheet for a quick flash freeze for approx. 1/2 hour
then started bagging them.....bye bye burritos see ya in the AM!
that will make 20+ burritos:)









Friday, July 8, 2011

Chicken Chow Mein & Crab/cream cheese Won Tons

Ingredients: 
CHOW MIEN
1 lb spaghetti noodles
1/4 head cabbage
2 stalks celery (sliced diagonally)
vegetable oil 
sesame oil
Ginger
2 chicken breasts (browned and seasoned with ginger salt/pepper)
2 cloves of garlic

I then do a quick fry of the garlic, cabbage and celery

After boiling noodles
I do a quick fry of the noodles
sesame oil
vegetable oil
then I make a mixture of brown sugar and soy sauce & ginger (by Taste)
and add into noodles
then I added the cabbage mixture
and then the chicken
and toss!
WON TONS
Won Ton wrappers
1 block cream cheese 
2 cans crab meat
3 tbs minced red bell pepper
2 tbs fresh parsley
3 tbsp minced red onion
this will make 60-70 Won Tons

Deep Fry till Golden brown
DIPPING SAUCE:
1/3 C rice wine vinegar
4Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs Ketchup
1tsp soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 4 tsp water


Turned out Fabulous












Friday, June 10, 2011

Chicken cordon bleu Sandwiches

Here is my version of Chicken Cordon blue Sandwiches

First I marinade the chicken with olive oil and McCormick Grill Mates for Chicken
then Bake @350 For 1 hour (covered)

thinly Sliced Ham, Swiss Cheese, Sliced Tomatoes and Lettuce

Place your Chicken,Ham and Cheese on a half Ranch roll and Microwave for 3o seconds
the other half spread mayo on it (of course "Best Foods" )


Yummy! I served this with Orange slices :)

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Sweet find and a little altering!

I found this wall candle holder at a little place in Springville yesterday, it did have crystals hanging off of it but I had Taken them off before i took this picture.
BEFORE
AFTER
Here is where I put it
Right over my Tub

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Spring wedding I catered


Menu:
Chicken Alfredo w/Penne Pasta
Marinara Sauce
Green Garden Salad 
rolls
Lemonade

Lemon squares
Double Fudge Brownies

The weather was perfect
Food was yummy
SUCCESS!
I can only take credit for the Food tables :)
THIS TIME!





Centerpieces


And Of Course the FLOWER-GIRL :)
!


Monday, May 23, 2011

One of my families favorite.....strogonoff bake!

Ingredients:
1-2lbs hamburger
1/2 onion diced
1/2 can sliced olives
1/2 red bell pepper Diced
1 pkg. Strogonoff  seasoning
Cheddar cheese
1 cup fresh mushrooms
2-3 tbsp, Sour cream
loaf of French Bread

Directions
Brown hamburger with the onion
add in seasoning pkg 
water as directed on pkg
add bell pepper
add mushrooms
add olives
add sour cream
mix all together 
place on top of French Bread
top with cheddar cheese
bake in oven 350 15-20 mins




Friday, May 20, 2011

Chicken noodle Soup in crock pot

Ingredients:
2 chicken Breasts
3 potatoes
3 carrots
1 celery stock
4 cups of water
4-5 Bouillon cubes Chicken
salt and pepper to taste
handful spaghetti noodles

Driections:
First place water frozen Chicken and bouillon cubes in crock pot
let cook on high 4-5 hours
then add in potatoes, celery, and carrots
at the last 45 minutes add in spaghetti noodles
the season with salt and pepper! Yummy
I serve with warm biscuits:)




Thursday, May 19, 2011

Lemon Coconut bars



Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup cold butter or margarine
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup flaked coconut
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan with foil or parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a bowl, combine flour and confectioners’ sugar; cut in the butter until crumbly (I used my food processor and pulsed the ingredients until thoroughly combined).
3. Press into the bottom of a lightly greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and baking powder until well mixed. Pour over crust; sprinkle coconut evenly over the top.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.




Friday, May 13, 2011

Chicken Divan........ my way!

I have never made this before because I wasn't too thrilled about any one recipe that I found,
 so I made one up myself
2 cups broccoli (blanched)
2 cups cooked boneless chicken breast chopped
1 can cream chicken soup
1 can cream mushroom soup
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup cooking white wine
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 







Bake @ 350 for 40 minutes

my family loved it!.......no leftovers here:(