Casey's Chicken Wraps

Casey came up with this and I think it's brilliant. Randy was hesitant the first time we had it for dinner, but was pleasantly surprised.

Frozen chicken nuggets- cooked to your liking (or you can use left-over frilled chicken)

Flour tortillas (We like homemade or the Costco, cook yourself tortillas

Lettuce

Shredded cheddar cheese

Ranch dressing

Roll it all the flour tortilla and there you go! With the chicken nuggets, it's easy enough my kids can do it. And if you stuff it full enough, it's a great meal, even for dad!

Lion House Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 3/4 cups softened butter
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
5 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
6 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups chocolate chips

In large mixing bowl cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, water, and vanilla; mix until creamy. Addd flour, salt, and baking soda; mix well. Gently fold in chocolate chips, mixing only until chips are evenly distributed. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 5 to 6 dozen (or if you do it like Jessica you make heaping tablespoonfuls and make only 18 large cookies).

Chocolate Oat Squares

I found this on Becky Higgin's website (she has a cooking section). They were devoured at the baptism I took them to.

1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened, divided
2 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
3 c. quick-cooking aots
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1 tsp. baking soda
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
2 c. (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped walnuts

In a mixing bowl, cream 1 c. butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and 2 tsp. vanilla. Combine the oats, flour, 1 teaspoon salt and baking soda in a separate bowl; stir into creamed mixture. Press 2/3 of oat mixture into a greased 9" x 13" baking stone (or pan). It's also fine in an 8" x 8" pan. You'll just have taller squares. In a saucepan combine milk, chocolate chips and remaining butter and salt. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from the heat; stir in walnuts and remaining vanilla. Spread over the crust. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool. Cut into squares. Yield: 4 dozen.

Easy Cheesecake

1 graham cracker crust
1 box (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tub cool whip

Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth, then add cool whip and whip again until smooth. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Top with fresh berries. Mmmmmm! I've used fresh strawberries sliced and whole blackberries. It is so good that I don't even put sugar on the berries.

Waffles and Cream

I can't post things (I am a kid) but this is a good desert/breakfast. I made it up myself.

(sorry I am not doing real measurements)



1 Strawberry Eggo waffle

a spoonful of whip cream

a handful of chocolate chips




Take the strawberry waffle and heat it for about 35 seconds in the microwave. Then put the chocolate chips on and the spoonful of whip cream.


Enjoy!

Five Minute Chocolate Cake for One!

This came to me via e-mail. I thought it was worth posting.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well..
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT ! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

Red Chicken Enchiladas

Casey requested this for his birthday dinner. I think Hannah is the only one that doesn't eat it. But then, she doesn't eat anything.

This is one of those recipes that I just kind of wing every time, so forgive the vagueness. It's hard to mess it up though....

About 2 cups shredded cooked chicken

About 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

some sour cream

Big can of Rosarita enchilada sauce

Mix the chicken with just enough sauce to cover the chicken. Mix in some sour cream if you want a milder flavor (with kids, I recommend this....) Mix in the cheese. Scoop onto corn tortillas and roll them up. Place in a 9x13 baking dish (cover the bottom of the dish with sauce) and pour sauce all over the top. Sprinkle cheese on the top. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is bubbly.

Deviled Eggs

6 hard boiled eggs
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. prepared mustard

Cut eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks without damaging the white halves. Mash yolks with a fork. Stir together mayo, vinegar, and mustard; add salt to taste. Blend this mixture into masked yolks. Stuff egg white with yolk mixture. Garnish with paprika if desired.

Potato and Corn Chowder

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 cups milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Place potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and salt in a large pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine butter, milk and flour in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until smooth and thick.

Pour milk mixture into cooked vegetables. Stir in corn and cheese until cheese is melted. Serve.

Note: I have done this with the Steam and Mash potatoes found in the frozen veggie isle. Just don't add them until the last 5-10 minutes of the first step.

Dana's turkey burgers and homemade fries

This is the easiest recipe but it went so well together I have to post it. A great alternative to burgers when you can't use your grill in the winter.
Turkey burgers (I only buy these when they are on sale)
Whole wheat buns
Lawry's seasoning, sprinkilled to taste onto the burgers
Swiss Cheese
Cook the burgers until they are done, usually 5 minutes on each side. Put mayo and all the fixings and cheese onto the buns.

Fries
Wash and slice your potatoes (I leave the skin on). I slice them into the size you'd get fries from a restaraunt. Lay them onto a cookie sheet. Drizzle a little olive oil over the potatoes. Then sprinkle with Lawry's. Cover with foil and cook at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes. If they seem tender after 10 minutes, take off foil and sprinkle with real parmesian cheese. Let cook without foil until brown and a little crispy- about 5 minutes. Adjust cooking times as necessary.

BLT Salad

One of my favorite salads. If you don't like one of the ingredients, just leave it out. For pretty presentation, it is fun to put each serving of salad into a pint-size canning jar with a pretty tie at the top. This can be served as a meal with rolls to top it off.
6 cups romaine or leaf lettuce
4 cups cubed turkey or chicken
1 1/2 cups chopped tomato
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups shressed cheddar cheese
10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup red onion
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1 avocado, chopped
Dressing:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp. garlic powder (I find that is pretty strong- you can even try 1/2 or 3/4 tsp. instead)

In a large salad bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients. Just before serving, whisk the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad, toss to coat. For me, it would feel like my salad is swimming in dressing, so I usually only use about 1/2-3/4 the dressing. Then I save the rest for dipping fresh vegies, which my kids love, for another day.

Grapefruit Cake

No- it isn’t healthy, which is what everyone always asks me. After Jessica confirmed that it was NOT healthy, she tried a piece—and loved it! It is the perfect cake during grapefruit season!
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 ¾ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. grated grapefruit peel
3 cups cake flour (or 3 cups regular flour minus 6 tbls.)
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ cup fresh squeezed grapefruit
¾ cups milk
Citrus Frosting (see below)
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each additions. Stir in vanilla and peel; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with grapefruit juice. Beat just until combined. Stir in milk. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9-in. baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Citrus Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter
About 2-3 tbls. lemon juice (bottled is fine). If it is still a little dry, add a tbls. of milk.

Mix powdered sugar and butter. Stir in lemon juice. When cooled, frost the first layer of cake. Then put the second layer on and frost.

Apple-Raspberry Jello

This is my favorite jello (and one of the only kinds I like). It is the perfect way to use home canned applesauce.

3 cups applesauce (unsweetened is best)
1/4 cup orange juice
2- 3 oz. pkgs. raspberry jello
12. oz. lemon-lime soda

In a large sauce-pan, bring applesauce and orange juice to a boil. Remove from the hear; stir in jello until dissolved. Slowly add soda. Pour into mold (or a pan). Refrigerate until firm.

Labeling

Hey guys! I am loving all the recipes! I have tried several and am happy to report that our menu is expanding! Yay!!!

We have a couple new authors. Diane is my friend from BYU..the good ol' days. And Dana is my new friend (Rnady's friend from high school.)

I was looking back through the posts and I saw that I am horrible at labeling my posts. But I reailized that for this blog, labeling will make it so much easier to find recipes. (Notice the left hand column has the labels you can click on to find the recipe.)So in doing that, maybe if the lables were a little nore general...like: chicken, pork, cookies....it will be easy to find what you want. You can also be sepcific like: fajitas, chocoalte chip, etc... but having a broad category would be helpful.

What do y'all think?

Ham on Biscuits

My kids' favorite breakfast.

1 cup flour
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tbls. cold butter
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
3 tbls. milk
8 tsp. butter, softened
ham slices for each biscuit

In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add cottage cheese, milk and agg until blended.

Turn onto slightly floured surface; knead 8-10 times. Get about a tablespoon full like you would a normal biscuit. Place 1 ince apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Split biscuit in half; spread with softened butter and place ham in between the 2 halves. Makes between 6-8 biscuits. Double for a larger family.

Chocolate Truffles

Here it is! My visiting teacher brings these to me every year for Valentine's Day. She finally taught the young women how to make them so Jess brought the recipe home last night. All I have to say is: these are so Dang good!

Chocolate Centers
1 cup plus 2 tbls. heavy cream (not whipped)
3/4 cup unsalted butter
32 oz. chocolate chips (semi-sweet OR part milk and part semisweet)
3/4 cups sour cream
flavoring- (optional) 1 tbls. orange extract or 1 freeze-dried raspberry powder.

Bring cream and butter to a boil, reduce heat to medium and stir until butter melts. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sour cream and flavorings. (If you want to make both flavors, divide the chocolate mixture after adding the sour cream and then flavor each half seperately). Pour into a 9x13 baking dish if one flavor, or two 8x8 glass dishes if you have 2 flavors. Cover and refrigerate over night (or longer).

Coating

• Real chocolate sprinkles


• Milk or white chocolate coating wafers


• A mixture of 1 1/2 cup cocoa and 1 cup powdered sugar sifted together.

To make the actual truffles, take little round scoops of the cold chocolate center mixture with a melon baller. Use spoons and coat with melted chocolate, or roll balls in choc./powdered sugar mixt. or choc. sprinkles. The dipping choc. gets grainy, so you may have to replace it frequently to coat all the balls. As you do each one, place on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. After coating has hardened, put each one in a candy cup and store in fridge. This recipe makes about 90+ truffles. (Small candy cups and boxes can be purchased at candy stores or Michael's).

White Chicken Chili

3- 15 oz. cans great northern beans or cannellini beans, drained
2 cups cooked chicken (I usually crock-pot my chicken in the morning and make this when the chicken is ready).
1 med. onion
2 med. red peppers
1-4 oz can diced green chilies
3 cloves garlic (or scant ½ tsp. garlic powder)
3 ½ cups chicken broth
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano

Cook onion, peppers, and garlic in pot with a little oil or butter until tender. Combine all other ingredients and heat until simmered through, about ½ hour. Don’t boil or else the chicken will get tough and beans will get mushy. If your kids have an aversion to onions or peppers, just leave them out (it is still so good with either of those omitted!) Good by itself, or served with sour cream, tortilla chips, or cheese quesadillas.

OR- if you have 2 cups prepared chicken, put the cooked chicken along with everything else in the crockpot on high 4-5 hours or low 8-10 hours. No need to precook the veggies. This recipe may be doubled or tripled.

Melissa's sugar cookies.

These are the best sugar cookies for at least two reasons. First, you don't have to roll them out or frost them. Second, they taste REALLY good - (kind of doughy)

Melissa Johnson's Sugar Cookies
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400. Mix sugar, butter, and sour cream. Add vanilla and egg. Add rest of ingredients. Dough should be very soft. Take spoonfuls of dough and roll into a ball. Roll ball into sugar. You can use colored sugar or sprinkles - whatever you have on hand. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 7-8 minutes. The cookies will be done when they are barely brown around the edges. Do not over bake.

If you want to roll this dough, it works great too. I refrigerated it to make the dough easier to work with. And I made sure there was plenty of flour on the counter and rolling pin. Try not to add too much flour though because the more flour you add, the less tender your cookies will be. Don't roll out too thin. The ideal sugar cookie for me is soft and thick. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until barely brown around edges. Frost.

The BEST roll/dough recipe!

Hi guys! I'm new here. But I am excited to look over your recipes and add a few of my own. Hooray for good ideas!

I have been asked for this recipe several times now. It is so versatile. I have baked cinnamon rolls and fried scones with the all white flour version. The half white/wheat version makes fabulous rolls. They are very moist and taste really really good.

One thing I like about the recipe so much is that it doesn't have to rise twice. Make the dough, shape into whatever, and then let rise and bake. It makes for a fast roll since the dough really raises fast. I rarely get dinner started early enough to make a full fledged twice rising dough.
Here it is....

Suzy's Spectacular Rolls

1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
Blend together well and add -

2 c. scalded milk
2 eggs

Dissolve yeast in water and then add to the slightly cooled mixture.
2 TB yeast
1/2 cup water

Then add 7 c. flour. (3 c. wheat, 4 c. white or any combination) Just as a side note, if I do more than 3 c. wheat, the rolls don't turn out quite as good. I like the texture of the 3 c. wheat/4 c. white combination. With all of the flour white, it makes excellent doughnuts, scones, and unbelievable cinnamon rolls.

Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes (or until golden brown) depending on what you are making. Do not overbake!

*To make crescent shaped rolls (my favorite) cut the dough into two sections and roll/shape each section into a circle about 10 - 12 inches in diameter. Brush with softened butter. Cut into pizza slices (8 slices per circle) and roll from the wide end to the narrow end. Bend slightly to make crescent shape and place on a cookie sheet with the pointy part under the roll.

Yum!

No Egg Cookie Dough

These make yummy egg-free cookies if you have an allergy. Or, for those of us who don't care to re-live salmonella episodes, you can eat this dough!


1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
Cream butter and brown sugar, then add:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups oatmeal

You can add chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and coconut. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Banana Bread- No Oil

I can't stand pouring cupfuls of oil into my cakes and such. The thought of it really makes me ill. In cake mixes, I just omit it all together. I don't substitute applesauce or anything, and you really can't tell.

Now, banana bread is a little trickier. It is a little heavier than normal, but I love the taste of it and it doesn't leave my mouth or hands greasy. It is filling and a slice makes a good breakfast. This recipe came from the dessert cook at the Morris Center at BYU. When I worked there, she developed a whole menu of low fat entrees, and was kind enough to give me this recipe:

3 egg whites
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup water
3 mashed, ripe bananas
4 cups flour (you can even substitute 1 cup with whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda

Mix it all together. Spray pans with Pam and dust with flour. Pour in mixture. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes (30-35 in mini loaf pans.)

Alfredo, from scratch (GASP!!)..

This is what I have figured out..
- butter
- cream
- garlic
-salt
-cheese (I like the blend of parm, asiago, and romano..)
You cook your noodles, drain them and return them to the pot. Melt about 2-4 tablespoons of the butter in the warm noodles, add garlic to taste (I like to use garlic salt too..) and return to the stove. With the heat still on medium, add the cream and stir until it bubbles. Then add the cheese. Usually a half cup to a cup. Stir well.. This has worked better than any packaged mix, everyone loves it! It is Lynn's favorite and she's the pickiest eater in the house..

Help!

OK, ladies. I need your help. I need a fabulous alfredo recipe. I haven't found a packet I like...or anything from a jar. So I'm thinking I need I need to start from scratch (gasp! I know!) Any and all recipes you have would be much appreciated!

Triple Berry Delight

This is a recipe that became a favorite of all the missionaries and other workers at the Polynesian Culture Center in Laie, Hawaii when we were there. It came from Sister Wilcox of Farmington, and though it was very expensive to make over there, especially if you had to double to batch for the office crowd, it is more reasonable here in the States.

1 package of Mixed Berries (Costco)
1 12 oz container of Cool Whip
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

Remove berries from freezer one hour before serving. Mix the Cool Whip and condensed milk together by hand in a large bowl thoroughly. Softly blend in the berries and serve. This can be used as a salad or a dessert. It will store well in the refrigerator if you should have leftovers. Serves 12 large servings.