Whole grain carrot muffins

Dont let the ingredient list fool you. These muffins are soft and moist and sooooo delicious! Healthy and homemade can be good!


Whole grain carrot muffins

1 cup fresh ground wheat flour (I used a mixture of soft white, buckwheat and spelt. I think any whole grain will work fine here)
1 cup white flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/4 cup coconut oil (you could use canola or vegetable oil)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup 9 grain cereal (or oats)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 cups shredded carrots

Combine all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix until combined. You could also add raisins or nuts to the batter.

Bake 350 for 25 minutes. Makes about 18 muffins.

If you have extras, they can be frozen and taken in lunches or as a snack on an outing.

Spiced Banana Topping

3 T. orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1 t. sugar
sprinkle cinnamon
sprinkle nutmeg
3 sliced bananas
2 T butter

combine everything except bananas. Stir well and heat thru until combined well. Add bananans and heat til warmed thru, just a few minutes. Serve over pancakes.

I have made this a few times and added different amounts of all the ingredients each time. It is not a scientific recipe, just add what you have to the pan, it will taste good. I have omitted the butter before and the sugar, you could opt to do that if you wanted.

Buttermilk Syrup

I usually dont have buttermilk on hand. Mixing milk and lemon juice will do the trick if you dont have it either.

This stuff is delicious and a million times better than any syrup you buy at the store. It has a totally different taste and color than regular pancake syrup, but such a good replacement. Thanks for the recipe Shari.

BUTTERMILK SYRUP

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp lemon juice
(if you have buttermilk, use it instead of the milk and lemon juice)

mix milk and lemon juice and let sit for 10 minutes

Combine butter, sugar, milk and lemon juice mixture in sauce pan. Bring to a boil stirring frequently. When it begins to boil, remove from heat. Add vanilla and baking soda. The mixture will foam when you add the soda, so be sure to use a big enough pan.

Mix well and cool a bit. Serve over pancakes, waffles, ice cream. Extra can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks.

Gingerbread Pancakes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 t ginger
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
3 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup milk
2 tsp lemon juice

mix milk and lemon juice and set aside. measure and mix all dry ingredients together. Stir in wet ingredients. Add milk and lemon juice mixture to batter.

Cook on griddle. Serve with spiced banana topping or buttermilk syrup...YUMMM!

Homemade granola bars

These are so good! A great alternative to the junk filled granola bars you buy at the store. I have made quite a few granola bar recipes, and finally found one I like. So I have to share it!

The idea for these came from Sisters Cafe. I adapted it just a bit. They turned out so great. We are going to double the recipe and make a big batch tomorrow.

1/2 cup butter, softened (I had to add a few extra TBS to make it all stick together)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups rolled 9 grain cereal

1/2 cup rice krispy cereal

1/4 cup coconut

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup ground flax or wheat germ (can omit if you dont have)

Cream butter, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add rest of ingredients to bowl and mix well.

Press into an 8 x 8 pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Cool completely at cut into bars. YUMMMM!

THE BEST dinner rolls

Whoa doggie! These rolls are delicious! I found a recipe on line and adjusted and adjust and changed until they were finally perfect (in my opinion). I could eat 5 of these for dinner and forget everything else on my plate.

Dinner Rolls

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tbs. yeast
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tbs. butter, softened
3 eggs
1/3 cup powdered milk
About 6 cups flour

Combine water and yeast, set aside.

In mixer combine sugar, butter, eggs, powdered milk, and about 4 cups of flour. Slowly pour in yeast mixture. Mix until incorporated. Then add enough flour til dough pulls from the sides and the bowl is clean. The dough will be soft and a little sticky. Knead for about 4 minutes. Cover and let raise in bowl til doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. (this is important, if you dont let them raise long enough they will be dense and crumbly) Punch down and shape into rolls. Let raise another hour or so. Bake 350 for 14 minutes or until brown. Brush with melted butter when they are fresh out of the oven.

Eat 10 of them and enjoy every bite! If you shaped these into traditional rolls, they would be yummy with homemade jam on them or even used for a little turkey sandwich!

*If I make these rolls in the winter, I turn my oven on to 350 and set the dough in a bowl on top the stove while it raises. Its just enough warmth to encourage the raising process. I know this means I have to leave my oven on for more than 3 hours, but I dont mind in the cold months. If the dough does not get a little warm, it will not raise, so just setting the dough on the counter does not work for me. Its important to get it warm, but NOT HOT so dont stick it in the oven even at a low temperature.

Sloppy Lentils

I know -it is meatless and those that are married to Hymas boys might have a hard time convincing them that it can still be good without meat. When I told Mark what we were having I was sure he was serious about stopping at IN n Out on the way home from work. But believe it or not - Mark really enjoyed it!

2 cups water (the original recipe uses 3 cups, so notice the change for crockpot preparation!)
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
salt to taste (optional)
1 cup chopped onion
15 oz can diced tomatoes (drained), tomato sauce or 2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste, optional (as needed to thicken – especially if using tomato sauce)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons rapadura, molasses, or honey
1 Tbsp white vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 whole wheat hamburger buns, split
cheddar cheese, grated (to top your lentils when serving)

Combine all your ingredients in the crockpot (besides the buns and cheese!). Turn on low and cook for approximately 5 hours, until lentils are tender and the mixture has thickened and absorbed most of the liquids. Serve on open faced hamburger buns and top with melted cheese, as desired.

Pumpkin pizza

I used regular pizza dough (cooked and cooled) and topped it with the following layers:
base layer
whip together:
6 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
top layer
whip together:
1/2 cup milk
1 small package vanilla pudding
1/8 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup pureed pumpkin

Spread layers over crust and top with white chocolate chips, whipped cream, ice cream, cream cheese frosting, or nothing at all. DELICIOUS!!

Old Fashion Soft Pumpkin Cookies

SOFT is the key word in this recipe. These cookies are like a mini piece of cake. They are yuuuumy!
2 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 1/2 cups fresh ground red wheat and 1 cup white)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Beat sugar and butter until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet

Bake 350 15 minutes (a little longer for larger cookies)

Cool and glaze with:

1 cup powdered sugar 3 TBS milk, 1 tsp melted butter

Bean Quesadillas

I subbed for the dinner club this month and this is one of the dinners we got. I have eaten it for 3 days in a row. It is yummy! And now that avocado dont cost $25 each, it tastes even better with a mashed avacado on top. I should have gotten a better picture, but I was too excited to eat!


1 cup sliced onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
15 oz can black beans, drained (or bust out the beans from your food storage, that is what I will do when I repeat this recipe!)
15 oz can pinto beans, drained (same thing, think food storage!)
1 cup chopped tomato
cilantro to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, garlic, and cumin in a skillet with 2 Tbs. oil until crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans to skillet and mix. Add tomatoes and cilantro and stir.

warm one tortilla on stove top. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and put a heap of the bean mixture on top. Let warm thru a bit and toast the tortilla. Top with another tortilla and flip, crisping up the other side as well. Cut in wedges and serve with salsa, sour cream, or avocado.

If you double the recipe the filling freezes well and thaws out quick.

Orange rolls

I got this recipe from my talented friend Heather. These are some yummy rolls! I especially liked the dough I am going to use it and make cinnamon rolls this Sunday with it.

1 1/4c milk
1/3c butter (not margarine, BUTTER!)

1t salt
1 package of yeast
1/3c sugar
1 egg
1/2t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
3 1/4c. flour

Scald the milk and butter, until butter is melted- do not boil. Let cool on counter about 10 min then add yeast, salt & sugar. Mix well and let sit about 10-15min, until yeast is all bubbly.

Add egg and beat well. Mix in remaining ingredients- you may need to add a few more tablespoons of flour until the consistency is right. Knead dough two or three times and let rest in bowl for about 15min.

Roll dough into a rectangle about 1/4″thick. Spread with 3-4Tablespoons of softened butter, zest from a whole orange, and sprinkle with 1/2c sugar. Roll and cut like cinnamon rolls (you should have about 12 rolls). Place in pans and set into a warm oven (I preheat mine to 170, then turn it off) to rise for about 15-20min.

Bake at 425 for 12 min, or until slightly brown on the edges. For the frosting I blended 3-4Tablespoons of butter with 2 cups or so of powdered sugar and about 2 teaspoons of orange juice.

Creamy White Chili

This recipe originated from Shari.
You should take the time to read her post on chicken broth.
I didnt really follow the recipe in exactness. I just threw in what amounts looked good and it was delicious!! I think this recipe can be adapted easily to what you have on hand. If you are the type of person who needs to follow a recipe, go to Sharis blog and follow hers, dont skip this one! It is soooo yum!

Creamy White Chili

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
few red potatoes, cubed with peels still on (I used 4 pretty big spuds that I dug out of my garden)
1 clove of garlic
4 stalks of celery, chopped
32 oz chicken broth
2 cans of white beans, rinsed and drained
1 small can of green chilis
1/2 cup quinoa
few shakes of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
dollop of sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large pan, saute onion, potatoes, celery, and garlic. Add chicken broth, spices, and quinoa to pan and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes and celery are tender. Remove from heat and add a little sour cream and whipping cream. Stir until combined and serve.

White rolls

Every week, I make dinner for a group of people attending a parenting class. This week, I made rolls to go with dinner. They are 100% white flour rolls, and they are SO GOOD! They were soft and fluffy and chewy and tasted great! Thanks for the recipe Annett!

Its been forever since I made white rolls, so I had to search my house for white flour, as I usually dont keep it around. I had to bust out the one and only bucket of flour I have in my food storage. If you are just making this recipe for your family (or using a Kitchen Aid), I would suggest halving it. I ended up with a total of 70 rolls. If you do have extra, they freeze well.

WHITE ROLLS

5 c. warm water

3 T. yeast

¾ c. honey

3 T. salt

½ c. powdered milk (this can be omitted without problems)

½ c. potato flakes (this can be omitted without problem if you knead very well)

½ c. oil

4 eggs

Optional: Add any leftover cooked cereal like oatmeal, etc. up to one cup.

Flour till enough (about 14 cups)

Shape into rolls and let rise 1 hour.

Bake 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Stuffed Pizza

I got the idea for this pizza here. Her website puts me to shame. Her food sounds spectacular and she takes great pictures!

Anyway, here is my version of her stuffed pizza.
I think it turned out pretty good. And we devoured it. It was filled with only vegtables, which made Andy grumble, but he ate a good portion of it anyway!
First off, you know I can not bring myself to buy most premade stuff, so I made my own crust. I used this recipe for the crust:

1 1/2 cup water
1 cup sour dough starter
2 cup spelt flour
1 cup amaranth flour1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon Real salt
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon yeast
2 cup white flour
(thanks to the talented Kara for sharing)

I mixed the crust up and let it rest while I picked spinach, peppers, and tomatoes from my garden. Then I chopped them up and steamed some broccoli.

For the inside I used:

1 small crown of broccoli, chopped and steamed
1 small red pepper
2 big handfuls of spinach, cooked on the stove until just wilted
2 tomatoes, chopped
pinch of salt
Ricotta Cheese
5 blend white cheese blend shredded cheese

After I had that all finished, which really was not a lot of work, I assembled the pizza.
I rolled the dough out into 2 9 inch rounds. (i used a 9 inch pie plate) Put one crust on the bottom and them smear some ricotta cheese on the bottom of the crust. Then I added in all the veggies and a bit of salt, and sprinkled a lot of the white cheese blend on top of that. I put the top crust on and sealed all the edges, tearing off any excess dough. I brushed the top with olive oil and sprinkled on some italian seasoning.

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.
Since the crust was enough for 4 medium pizzas and I used the equivalent of 2, I rolled out the extra and made cinnamon sticks with it.

Fajita Pitas

ok So I have been trying to lose some weight since having the baby and I have been doing the curves diet, and I tried this recipe for dinner and it was really good and healthy.

Ingredients
tomato
cucumbers
peppers
lettuce
fajita seasoning
boneless skinless chicken
whole wheat pitas

I first boiled the chicken in just water. When it was all cooked I cut it into smaller pieces, then put it in the fry pan and added the fajita seasoning, and about 1/2 cup of water. cook until all of the water is gone. THen you just load up your pita bread with chicken and all the deifferent veggies. It was absolutely wonderful.
Sorry this recipe isn't an exact, just just throw it all together. I don't think you can mess it up. so good luck.

BBQ ribs

I made this last night, my friend gave me a rack of ribs and told me how to cook them. They turned out so moist and yummy!
I would recommend getting a lot more than one rack of ribs, it did not fill up Jared, he ate almost the whole rack, the kids ended up having hot dogs.

Remove large middle bone from ribs, remove excess meat/fat not attached to ribs. Using a butter knife remove membranes from the back side of the ribs.
Using any kind of rub you want (I used one called sweet and smoky) rub both sides of meat.
Fill the bottom of a cookie sheet with water, place ribs on cookie sheet and cover with foil. Bake at 290 degrees for 3 hours. Half way through cooking add BBQ sauce to meat, continue baking. After three hours they are ready for the grill. Add more BBQ sauce to them while they grill on medium heat for about 5 minutes, enjoy!

Grain pancakes

This is Raygon's whole wheat pancakes recipe just changed a bit.
1/2 c wheat flour
1/2 c white wheat flour
1 c kamut flour
1/4 c buckwheat flour
1/4 c coconut flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c powdered milk

1/3 c oil (I use olive oil or coconut oil)
2 1/2 c water (because the kamut seems to absorb the moisture, I have to add a little tiny bit more water, a few tablespoons maybe)
2 eggs

These pancakes are so delicious!

Thai Lettuce Wraps

I know I always say I am amazed at the yummy-ness of recipes. This is another one. I could eat it every meal. And they were easy to whip up! Kaleb surprised me and kept eating and eating and eating. He ate as many wraps as I did. Andy even devoured them (which is unusual for him when it comes to something so closely related to a salad!)

There is not a good Asian food (Thai, Chinese, Mongolian...anything!) restaurant around here. After making this, I will stop searching and just make my own.

Lettuce Wraps
2 - 3 chicken breasts, minced (i think you could use canned chicken if you are in a hurry)
half red onion, finely chopped
2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup shredded carrot (or more if desired)
2 cloves garlic, minced
soy sauce (I used amino acids instead)
lettuce cups (cut ice burg in half and peel cups apart) wash and chill ahead of time
2 cups cooked rice

saute onion in hot oil until tender, add chicken and cook til no longer pink. Add the rest of the ingredients, except soy sauce, and saute about 2 minutes. Dont over cook the veggies, you just want to get them tender, not mushy. sprinkle with soy sauce for flavor.

Scoop into chilled lettuce cups and enjoy. I had some wheat sprouts on my counter, so we loaded ours with sprouts. We also added those little crunchy Asian noodles. I dont have a very good camera, I took about 20 pictures and none of them do these wraps any justice. They are delicious!!

You could serve them with peanut sauce if desired. I liked the flavor just fine without the sauce, but Andy ate it.
Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter
1/4 cup sugar
3 T soy sauce
3 T water
2 T olive oil
chili paste if desired

cook in sauce pan on low heat until sugar dissolves. whisk smooth. stir and keep warm.

I have no idea how to add to the right column, so sorry for writing here, just wondering if any of you have a great recipe for oat bread.

Manchos

This is so simple! It's just something that I throw together if in a hurry for my husband.

All you need to do is pile a bunch of tortilla chips on a baking sheet and top it with all kinds of fun stuff. Jalapenos, meat (I usually use left over roast that I might have), green onions (white would be fine) refried beans and cheese. Pop it in the oven until the cheese it melted and the beans are heated through. It's that easy!

Turkey Meatballs with Spinach in Cheese Sauce

Make this dinner and I can guarantee you will never buy pre made meatballs or white sauce again. This is the best there is!!

meatballs: this made a lot of meatballs. We ate half and I froze the rest.
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed
2 lbs of turkey
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
3/4 c bread crumbs
salt and pepper
olive oil

wring spinach with paper towel and combine all ingredients in large bowl (minus the olive oil) form into bite sized meatballs and drizzle with a little oil. Bake in oven 400 for about 20 minutes

While meatballs are baking, make sauce

white sauce:
2T butter
2T flour
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth
8 oz shredded provolone cheese

Melt butter in sauce pan, add in flour, cook for one minute. Then whisk in cream and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then stir in provolone. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve meatballs and white sauce over egg noodles and enjoy!

Brownies

We had Andys birthday dinner last night. He requested Aunt Claudines tacos and brownies. I made 45 tacos and some chips and between 8 of us, there was not a crumb left. I knew the tacos would get devoured.

I was nervous about the brownies. I made them from scratch for the first time. Not always a good idea to give something a trial run when you are cooking for a crowd. But to my delight, they turned out great! Andy commented on them and I will never again turn to a box when I want brownies. These were SO EASY, soft and delicious! Thanks to Kobie Jo for sharing her recipe.

Brownies
1 cube butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
2 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder

Cream all ingredients together. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan and bake at 350. Check at about 18 minutes. I doubled the recipe and baked them in a 9 x 13 dish. They took about 35 minutes.

Stromboli

This is the recipe for the lunch Andy and I made at the reunion. I have not made it in a while, but am happy to reintroduce it to my repertoire.

Stromboli

1 can refrigerated french bread (if I was at home, I would just whip up my own dough by halving this recipe)
8 slices of ham
4 slices Swiss cheese
4-6 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 or 3 green onions chopped

roll dough out and spread all ingredients on top. Roll dough up sealing the edges and ensure all ingredients are tucked inside. Cut a few slits in the top of the roll and bake 350 for 25 minutes.

You can substitute or add different types of meats and cheeses inside the Stromboli, just use a combination you like.

Secret Salad Dressing

I can't believe that I am about to put this on the Internet! It's sort of a secret recipe that came from my Grandma but after I made some last night I just thought I had to share! I hope you like it!

1 packet Italian dressing mix
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 vinegar
1/4 cup honey

Mix it all up and enjoy!

If it's too sweet add a little more vinegar and if it's not sweet enough add a little more honey.

If you don't have any orange juice on hand just substitute water.

Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies just might be my new favorite. In my opinion, chocolate chip cookies are the only kind of cookie that should be eaten. And since these are filled with good stuff, I dont feel bad about eating a lot of them! We made them small, like chippers, and they turned out perfect!! Kaleb ground some flour for me and we mixed white and red wheat, kamut, and spelt.

Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies

mix together until light and creamy:
1 c soft butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 t. vanilla

then add:
2 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour (or 2 cups of spelt)
2 1/3 cups rolled oats
2 t. baking soda

mix until incorporated then add:
1 pkg. chocolate chips
chopped nuts (if desired)
1/4 cup raw millet

bake 350 for 10-12 minutes. If making them smaller, bake for 6-8 minutes. They turn out soft and chewy and so delicious! We had some fresh goats milk that was ice cold and it was the perfect combination.

This recipe is courtesy of the Enlightened Homemaker, Shari Goodman.

Broccoli and Chicken

this recipe is pretty good. Even Steve likes it, so that is saying something.

6 chicken breasts
3 pkgs. frozen Broccoli (can use fresh)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 Cup Mayonaise
1/2 Cup milk
3/4 Cup Cheese
1 T. lemon juice
3/4 tsp. curry powder (opt.)

cook chicken and cut into small peices ( can substitute leftover turkey). Layer broccoli and chicken in a 9x13 inch oiled pan. Mix sauce: soup, mayonaise, milk, cheese, lemon juice and curry. pour over broccoli and chicken. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

I don't really have a name for this because it's just a concoction that I came up with the other day out of desperation. I knew I wouldn't be home in time to make dinner so I went through my fridge and pantry and came up with this.

2 chicken breasts
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar green chili salsa

All I did was season the chicken with garlic salt and season, throw them in the crock pot and cover them with part of a jar of green chili salsa and about 2-3 of a can of diced tomatoes. I cooked it on low and when it was ready I shredded it up for burros. I also added a few spoonfuls of salsa, just for the heck of it.

I made some homemade tortillas and filled them with meat, lettuce and avocado. Yum!

Salsa Grandpa Miller's Way

The other day my husbands grandpa threw together some salsa for me. It isn't what I'm used to but it was still pretty darn tasty!

1 large tomato
1 med onion
1 can diced green chilies (or you can use what ever you might have in your garden.)
salt

It so simple! Just chop up the tomato and onion, throw them in a bowl with the chilies and season it with salt. I was pretty surprised at the amount of salt he added, I thought it would be WAY too salty, but it was just right!

Banana Bread

I decided to attempt Banana Bread the other day, and it actually turned out pretty good.


Banana Bread
3/4 C. butter
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. mashed bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
1 tsp. soda
3/4 tsp. Salt


Cream butter and sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients. pour in a greased loaf pan. bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Rice Pudding

Rice pudding reminds me of my days living in the Philippines. While I was there I ate rice nearly everyday. Usually for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Occasionally, I would splurge and buy a piece of bread and a Coke, but for the most part, my diet consisted of mainly rice.

We cooked a pot of rice and ate from it until it was gone. Sometimes, it would take a few days to empty the pot and the rice would get moldy. When that happened, we just rinsed it really well, laid it out on a towel to dry and ate it when it dried.

Often times, we would have to get creative with the rice, using it in cakes, casseroles, desserts, drinks, ect. I learned a lot of new ways to eat rice.

I attempted rice pudding many times in the Philippines, but cooking over an open fire left me with something similar to a warm milk drink with rice in the bottom. I did not have the patience to wait for the mixture to boil and them simmer. Either way, I enjoyed it and was reminded of those days when I whipped up some rice pudding the other day.



RICE PUDDING

3 cups of left over rice (cooked) white or brown works fine
about 2 cups of milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
handful of raisins
walnuts
any spices you like: cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, etc.

Add the milk, rice, raisins, salt and sugar to a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until desired consistency. The rice will absorb alot of the milk. Add walnuts, and spices. Serve warm or cold it is delicious either way! This is an excellent way to use leftover rice from a meal.

Betty's Spaghetti and Meatballs

All the credit for this one goes to my mom's best friend, Betty Walker. She passed this recipe onto my family and it's the only way we eat spaghetti now.

Meatballs:
1 lb. lean hamburger or turkey burger
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 slices bread
2 heaping tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Soak bread in milk. Mix meat, eggs, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. Drain any excess milk from bread and add to meat mixture. Roll into balls about he size of walnuts. Drop into boiling sauce. Simmer for one hour. Extra meatballs can be frozen raw and used later.

Sauce:
1 large can whole tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper

Blend tomatoes, add remaining ingredients and simmer for one hour.

Goulash

I am such a creative cook.(insert sarcasm)

Yesterday, it was 5:30 pm and we were still outside playing before I realized the time. I had to scramble to pull something together for dinner.

I searched my fridge and found some ground turkey, tomato sauce, fresh cherry tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, corn, and cooked quinoa. With some whole wheat pasta noodles in the cupboard, I was set for a fast dinner. I cooked up the noodles, chopped the veggies, dumped everything together and (I think) ended up with goulash.

My kids devoured it.

I am not sure what the exact recipe for goulash is. I could probably google it. Here is a basic idea:

noodles
tomato sauce
meat
veggies
salt and pepper to taste

combine in any quantities and warm up. It was fast and easy and balanced. Carbs, protein, and vegetables. Easy Peasy.

The best chocolate chip cookies

I have tried a lot of cookie recipes in my time and these cookies are incredible. The best. Delicious. Sooo sooo good.
1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1-3.4 oz. box of instant pudding
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3- 4 cups soft white wheat flour, freshly ground
1/2 to 1 bag of chocolate chips

Cream butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs. Beat in pudding. Add dry ingredients and mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake for 9 min. @350 degrees. These are even better if you refrigerate overnight or freeze up to 6 months before baking

I have used chocolate pudding and vanilla pudding. Both turned out great! Dont make the cookies too big or they spread out on the pan too much and the edges get crisp. Make em small and eat more!!

original recipe from one of my heros, Kara

Feijao Preto

I got this recipe from a friend. It is soooooo easy and tasty! I cant believe how good it was! And cheap? Heavens, one of the cheapest meals I have made. Definitely get the most bang for your buck with this.

(this is not my picture, it came off a google search. I can not recall where it was from.)

Here is the "recipe" and an explanation of the dish from my friend:
This soupy bean dish was a staple lunch served to my husband when he was in Brazil. Everyone made Feijão Preto, and they used whatever they had to flavor it. The better off they were, the more meat they put in. The poorer families would have no meat. True to tradition we make this to use up left- overs and have never really written down a recipe before. We have learned that roast beef, pork, bacon, sausage, and hamburger taste good, ham and chicken do not. For flavor, use as much or little as you like of each, it really depends on whether you like onion or garlic more, or if you like more salt or pepper.

Basic recipe:
some black beans
a little meat
a few garlic cloves
an onion
salt and pepper to taste
serve over rice

rinse and soak beans overnight. In the morning add meat, garlic, and onions to beans. I cooked mine in the crock pot about 4 hours on high then turned them down for an additional 4 hours on low. Add salt and pepper before serving over rice.

**I put this all in the crock pot and let it cook for at least 24 hours. I prefer using a little pork roast. I think it lends the best flavor. Soak the beans, rinse them well and then toss everything in the crock pot. No need to precook your meat, it will cook along with the beans.

Frosy Orange Cream Layered Dessert

Steve requested this recipe. I think if I try it again I will replace the orange sherbet and juice with lime. Both sound delicious to me. This is my kind of summer dessert. It does not have to go in the oven!

I got the recipe here, instead of copy and pasting it, just follow the link.

Loaded Sloppy Joes

I got this recipe from one of my idols. I love this girls blog and her cooking style.

The original recipe can be found here. I had to make a few minor adjustments. My version is as follows. This is a fantastic way to add whole grains into our families diet. I have not eaten many sloppy joes in my life, now that I have this recipe I will be eating them more often. I thought they were really tasty. I threw the leftovers in the freezer and we had them for lunch today. This recipe freezes and reheats well.

1/2 pound ground beef
1 cup cooked millet
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, chopped - use the real thing, onion powder just is not the same.
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic - use real garlic here too
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook vegetables. Add garlic, grains, red wine vinegar and worcestershire sauce to meat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook mixture 5-10 minutes longer or until desired consistency.

Pico Burgers

Sorry, no picture!

This is something that my husband's grandpa used to make. It is a nice way to change up a regular hamburger.

Mix up your favorite pico de gallo and simply mix it in to your hamburger. Season with garlic salt and season all.

Top with some yummy guacomole instead of the usual condiments.

Banana Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins

1 c. sugar

3/4c. oil

1 egg

1 c. mashed banana

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2c. flour

1 3/4c. oats

1 c. chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients and finally fold in the chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 17 minutes.

You can also throw these in the freezer and when you want one just pop it in the microwave until it is warm.

Yesterday I worked on making a healthier version. Here's how I did it:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup applesauce + 1/4 cup light tasting olive oil

1 egg

1 cup mashed banana

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2-3-4 cup chocolate chips

I also added about 3/4 a cup or so of cooked millet.

They taste great but next time I think that I might add just a little more sugar.

Lentil Salad

Of course there are no measurements, again. This is just something you throw together and season to taste. That's why I love it!

Cooked lentils (You can cook them in water or if you want a little something extra, use chicken or beef bouillon cubes)
Rice Vinegar
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Cucumber
Tomatoes

Let your lentils cool after cooking, either by letting them sit or running cold water over them. Season with rice vinegar (found in the Asian Section) and olive oil.

Now you can get creative. You can really add any spices you would like, but if I am making it for lunch I usually just add garlic salt. Top with cucumbers and tomatoes.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins

I got this recipe from a book labeled "Fast and Healthy Cookbook"

These muffins went together pretty fast, but I dont know about being healthy. Either way, they were good.

Next time, I would omit the cream cheese completely as I dont think it added anything to them.

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup oil
2 egg whites
4 oz cream cheese cut into cubes
brown sugar for topping

Heat oven to 400 and line muffin tins or spray. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix well.

In another bowl combine pumpkin, milk, oil, and egg whites. Blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once and stir until just incorporated. Spoon batter into muffin tin. Top with pat of cream cheese and top each with 1/4-1/2 tsp brown sugar.

Make 14 - 18 minutes Immediately remove from pan and serve warm.

Taco Soup

If you have big eaters, use the big cans of beans. A smaller family can use the small cans of beans. I use dry beans from my food storage that I have cooked, about 2 cups each.

1/2 lb ground turkey, cooked (use ground beef or you can leave out the meat completely)
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 packet of taco seasoning

cheese, sour cream, chips

Add all canned ingredients to pot. Do not drain anything. Add browned turkey to pot. Bring to a boil.

top with cheese and sour cream or guacamole. scoop up with chips and enjoy!

I double the recipe and stick 1/2 in the freezer. Next time just reheat and serve.

Homemade Oreos

(sorry for the teeny picture, I got it from somewhere on the Internet.)

There is not one nutritional thing about these cookies. But man, they taste yummy! And everything about them is kid friendly. Kaleb had a blast helping with these. Andy even lent a hand.

1 box deviled food cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter
beat together and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, the dough will be sticky and easier to work with if its cold.

roll into balls and bake. 350 for 9-10 minutes. let cool on a rack and fill with cream cheese frosting. Store bought tastes best with them. You can do homemade too.

Filling:
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 oz cream cheese

Oven BBQ chicken

This is quick to put together, but has to bake for a while. It is worth the wait. I usually make a big batch of it, as I think it tastes yummy cold. What ever is leftover, I stick in individual bags in the fridge and they are quick to take when I am on the go or stick in Andys lunch.

Oven BBQ Chicken
6-8 chicken breasts
Sauce:
6 Tbs ketchup
4 Tbs white vinegar
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tsp dry mustard
3 tsp salt
4 tsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
Mix all the sauce together in a bowl. Line a large dripping pan with foil. Be sure to have the foil long enough to cover the top of the chicken too.
Dip each piece of chicken in the sauce then place it in the foil lined pan. Pour remaining sauce over chicken in the pan. Seal tightly so juices dont run out. (this is important so the chicken wont dry out!) Cook 500 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce to 375 and cook for an additional 1 1/2 hours.

Well worth the wait and it makes your house smell so yummy! You could probably do this in a crock pot too.

10 Minute Pizza Crust

1 cup warm water

2 tsp. yeast

1/3 cup oil

1 tbs. sugar

1 tsp. salt

3 cups flour

Stir water, yeast, oil and sugar together. Let rest 5 minutes. Stori in salt and flour. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead 3-4 minutes. Divide dough in half. Roll into large circle or rectangle greased pan. Pour sauce over dough and sprinkle with cheese and toppings. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is browning and crsut is golden brown.

To make breadsticks, roll out and brush with melted butter, garlic salt and Italian seasonings. For cinnomon strips, brush with butter and sprinkle with connamon and brown sugar. Cut into strips and bake.

Tips and Tricks:

*This is not the ULTIMATE pizza dough recipe (although it is still very tasty) but it is great if you are in a pinch and don't have much time. It's so fast!

*I usually do half white and half wheat flour and it's delicious!

*I cook the pizza at 500 for about 8 minutes.

Honey Glazed Chicken

2 lbs of diced uncooked chicken breast
1/3 cup flour (I use half wheat)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
4 TB butter
1/4 cup honey
3 TB lemon juice
2 TB soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ground ginger (I always leave that out. We hate ginger!)

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flower and seasonings. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.

Melt 2 TB butter in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt remaining butter and add honey, lemon juice, soy sauce and ginger.

After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.Serve over rice.

The lady that originally shared this recipe also included some "trade secrets":

I used three chicken breasts and it made enough to feed two adults and two children (who actually ate quite a bit). Also, Kristin says she normally doubles the sauce. I did just that but made the mistake of only pouring half the sauce over the chicken and leaving the rest on the stove to serve on the side. Next time, I will definitely pour all the sauce over the chicken because it "glazes" nicely (hence the name) in the oven. On the stove, it stayed too thin and potent for my taste. One other thing I did, mostly because I was running late, I baked the chicken for 30 minutes at 350 degrees first and then after pouring the sauce over the top, I cranked the oven to 375 for 20 minutes to finish it off, instead of the 30 -40 minutes at 350. It gave the chicken a nice browned crust and thickened the sauce - which may happen with the original instructions but I just thought I'd include exactly how I made it.

Another tasty recipe from My Kitchen Cafe.

Stir Fried Chicken Noodles

I found this recipe in an issue of Light and Tasty and few years ago and it has become one of our favorites.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine or additional chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups julienned carrots
2 cups shredded Chinese or napa cabbage
1 cup fresh or frozen snow peas, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 ounces spaghetti, broken
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions: In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; set aside 3/4 cup. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag; add remaining marinade. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Drain and discard marinade. In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry chicken in 2 teaspoons oil for 3-5 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. stir-fry broccoli and carrots in remaining oil for 6 minutes. Add cabbage and peas; stir-fry 3 minutes longer or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

Combine cornstarch and reserved marinade until smooth; add to vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. drain pasta; stir into vegetable mixture. Return chicken to the pan; cook and stir until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.

Don't feel like you can't make this if you don't have every vegetable. I usually don't add everything, just what I have on hand.

Peppy's Pita Bread

1 1/8 cup. warm water
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. oil
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. yeast

Mix like regular bread dough. Let rise about 30 minutes. Punch down and divide into 8 balls. Roll out into 6-7 inch circles. Cover with a towel and let rise 30 more minutes. Place on a rack and bake in a preheated oven at 500 degrees for 4-5 minutes. Take out and place in a damp towel until softened. Slice open and stuff! It should create it's own pocket.

Try stuffing it with these things:
Chicken (grilled is yummy!)
grilled onions
bell pepper
tomatoes
lettuce
cucumber
cheese
Ranch dressing

Burrito Enchiladas

Acutally, I don't know what they are called!

2 1/2 cup diced chicken, cooked

2/3 cup salsa

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup water

8 flour tortillas

1/2 cup butter, softened

Shredded cheese

Combine and simmer the first 6 ingridents until most of the liquid is gone. Brust one side of tortillas with butter. On unbuttered side, put a spoonful of meat and shredded cheese. Fold like a tortilla and place seam side down in a pan. Top with cheese and bake at 475 for 13 minutes.

Beef Stroganoff

2 lbs. sirloin (I usually use stew meat)
1/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups of water
2/3 cup sour cream
Rice or fettuccine


Cut meat into thin strips. Brown in skillet in half the butter. Remove meat and add remaining butter. Add onions and mushrooms; cook for 5 minutes. Add meat back and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Add water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat is tender. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Stir in sour cream and serve immediately over cooked fettuccine or rice.


This recipe is great because all of these measurements are just estimates. Add as little or as much as you want of everything!

Breadsticks

I got this recipe from my sister a few years ago and have given up every other breadstick or french bread recipe. These are so fast and easy! They also freeze well. If you have extras throw them in a freezer baggie and when you are ready to use them the next time, just toss them in the microwave for a minute or two.

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Tbs. Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 Tbs. Yeast
1 1/4 Cups Warm Water
1/2 cup butter
Garlic Salt
Parmesan Cheese

Mix together water, yeast and salt. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add flour and sugar and mix until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.

Melt butter and pour half onto the bottom of a cookie sheet. Roll out dough and lay on top of butter, streching it until it touches the sides. Cut into slices and top with remaining butter. Sprinkle with Garlic Salt and Parmesan Cheese if desired. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes.

I have also made this with about half the butter (and sometimes even less than that) and they still turn out great. I have also substituted the white flour for wheat and it worked great as well.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

(I don't like fried food so I usually use Pam instead of the Canola Oil)

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons
ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

*From My Kitchen Cafe

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

1/4 cup Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing, divided
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil leaves

Marinate chicken with 2 Tbsp of dressing. Refrigerate 10 min ( I usually marinate over night).Grill chicken. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil and remaining 2 Tbsp. of dressing.When chicken is almost done, top evenly with tomato mixture. Close grill lid and cook until chicken is cooked through.

Raspberry Swirl

3/4 C. graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbs. sugar
8 oz. cream cheese (at room temp.)
1/8 tsp. salt
1 (10-12 oz) pkg. frozen raspberries
3 Tbs. butter
3 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream

Mix and press in a 7x11 inch pan the graham crackers, butter, and 2 Tbs. sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Beat egg yolks until stiff; add cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and salt. Beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, whip cream until stiff. Add egg whites and whipped cream to cream cheese mixture and fold gently until smooth. Pour into crust. In blender, crush raspberries and pour over cream cheese mixture. Swirl in with a knife. Freeze overnight before serving. If using a 9x13 inch pan, double the crust but not the topping.

Baked Oatmeal

I got the original recipe for this from Rachels blog

This makes a big pan, if you have a smaller family you could half it and do it in a 9 x 9 pan. We ate it hot for breakfast and then had it later in the day as a snack and I think it tasted even better cold.

My kids and I eat oatmeal a lot, this is a yummy variation. Even Andy, who detests oatmeal, scarfed some down!

I switched the recipe just a bit. The original can be found at Rachels food blog (see above link)

I wanted to snap a quick picture of this before I served it up. Apparently Holden thought I was getting a shot of him. See his little squinty face in the back? I think he liked this the most, he ate 2 more pieces than I did!!

Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups 9 grain cereal (or regular oats)
1 cup raisins (or craisins)

Mix all together. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon, if you'd like. (I skipped this) Refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, put it in a cold oven and set it at 350 degrees. Bake about 40 minutes.
This is a little cake like, not like regular oatmeal.

Bread

I know. I post a ton of recipes for bread.

Bread used to be a daunting task for me. I could rarely get a batch to turn out, so I never wanted to make it.

Now I have found a few fool proof recipes. They work great and I think they deserve to be shared. I got this from a friend who is a master bread maker.

I made some substitutions in this recipe and it still worked very well. I will post what I used.

6 c. water
2 T. yeast
2 T. salt
2/3 c. oil (I used coconut oil)
2/3 c. honey
2 cups whole flax seed, ground (I just dumped it into my grinder and ground it along with the wheat)
1 egg (I used this in place of dough enhancer)
Flour till enough (about 15 cups. I used about 9 cups of my fresh ground white wheat and flax mix. 3 cups of ground red wheat and the remainder was good ole Gold Medal white flour. I kept running out of flour! But the mixture seemed to work well. I think any combination will work, this recipe was meant to use all whole wheat flour. Just keep adding it til the dough pulls away from the bowl. again, about 15 cups)

Let rise one hour.

Make into four loaves.

Let loaves rise 30 minutes.

Bake 350 degrees for 35 minutes

Thai Chicken Salad

There are a lot of ingredients to this recipe, but it is delicious and, I think, well worth the effort. I would suggest preparing ahead of time as much as possible so you don't spend and hour and a half getting it all ready. Cook the chicken, chop the vegetables, make the dressing and refrigerate. Cook the won tons ahead of time. Then start the rice in plenty of time before dinner (brown rice takes longer to cook). Then you just have to throw it all together. ( I don't know what the problem is, but it won't save my spacing. So sorry it is all bunched together!)

Bowls:

8 (6 x 6-inch) egg roll wrappers (won tons) Cooking spray

Dressing:

1/4 c original seasoned rice vinegar

1 tbsp canola oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger (I just used regular ginger from the spice section)

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp honey

(I added one and a half times more peanut butter and ginger, but you can do what you want)

Salad:

1 c frozen shelled edamame beans

2 c chopped cooked chicken breast

3 c chopped red leaf lettuce ( I just doubled the cabbage and left this out, but again, do what you want)

1 c cooked long-grain brown rice

1 c finely shredded green cabbage

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (I would suggest putting a whole red bell pepper if your families like them, I think it makes it tastes so much better)

1/4 c diagonally sliced green onions

1/4 c chopped unsalted peanuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. To prepare bowls, lightly coat one side of each wrapper with cooking spray. Fit 4 wrappers, coated sides up, into the 4 corner cups of a nonstick muffin pan; press wrappers into sides of cups. ( I learned this the hard way. Don't try to do them all at once, they will just fall over into each other. It is better to make these ahead of time and space them out with an empty muffin cup between them. You eat them cooled anyway, so there is no rush) Bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove wrappers from pans; cool completely on wire rack.

3. To prepare dressing, combine vinegar and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add peanut butter and honey to vinegar mixture, stirring with a whisk.

4. To prepare salad, cook edamame in boiling water 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Combine edamame and next 6 ingredients (through onions) in a large bowl. Toss well. Drizzle dressing over chicken mixture, tossing gently to coat.

5. Spoon about 1 cup salad into each won ton wrapper bowl. Top with peanuts if desired. Serve immediately.

White Bread

5 c. warm water (any warm liquid can be used, milk, juice, etc.)
3 T. yeast
¾ c. honey
3 T. salt
1/3 - ½ c. powdered milk (this can be omitted without problems)
1/3 – ½ c. potato flakes (this can be omitted without problem if you knead very well)
½ c. oil
Optional: Add any leftover cooked cereal like oatmeal, etc. up to one cup.
Flour till enough (about 14 cups)

Rise one hour before make into rolls.
Makes two cookie sheets of rolls.
Let rolls rise 30 minutes.
Bake 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Note: To make white bread loaves use this recipe. Eggs are not necessary for loaves. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Spelt Cookies

Spelt is high in gluten so it can be exchanged completely for wheat. It is more easily digested than wheat and is 60% higher in protein. It is high in B vitamins, iron, potassium , magnesium and fiber. Spelt is easily tolerated by those who might have sensitivity to wheat. In my opinion, spelt makes cookies softer and pancakes more fluffy.

I followed a recipe for whole wheat cookies, but made my own moderation. The original called for raisins and I substituted chocolate chips. It also called for chopped nuts and I replaced them with 9 grain cereal.

Spelt cookies
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2 3/4 cups fresh ground spelt
1/3 cup dry powdered milk
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup oats or 9 grain cereal
2 cups chocolate chips

Add additional oats or ground spelt if the consistency feels too runny.

Cream brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs. Stir in flour, dry milk, baking soda, and salt. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake 350 for 10-14 minutes.

Crepes

Basic Crepes

1 c cold water
1 c cold milk
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 c flour (I used whole wheat flour)
4 Tbs butter melted

Put ingredients into a blender in order listed. Whirl one minute. Scrape down sides and blend another minute. Refrigerate batter at least 2 hours.

Makes about twenty 8 inch crepes

Blintz Filling:

4 oz cream cheese
2 Tbs sugar
2 cups cottage cheese
1 tsp vanilla

blend and refrigerate. serve with fruit.

Steak and Everything Sandwich

1 lb Deli style roast beef, shredded
1 onion, sliced
1 pepper, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/3 pkg. cream cheese
6 hoagie buns
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Saute veggies in a little oil. Add shredded meat and cream cheese. Heat until cream cheese is melted and meat is warm. Toast or broil buns. Spoon meat mixture onto buns and top with mozzarella cheese.

Serve with salad or chips

Whole wheat pancakes

I make these a few times a month. I stick them in the freezer and pop them in the toaster when we are ready to eat them. This is another recipe from Rachel

Whole Wheat Pancakes

3 cups white wheat flour (freshly ground)
1/4 cup of sugar
2 T baking powder
1/2 cup powdered milk
2 cups water
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs

Mix all together and cook on griddle.

Lion House Rolls (variation)

I used to make these all the time. They were the one recipe I liked and never had it fail. I got bored of it and branched out to other recipes and almost forgot about this one. I made them again for Sunday dinner and was reminded why I like this recipe so much. They are yummy!!!

Lion House Dinner Rolls
2 Tbs. dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, margarine or shortening (I always use butter)
2 1/2 tsp salt (I usually omit salt)
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
5 - 6 cups flour ( I used 2 cups wheat and 4 white)
1 egg

Combine yeast and water let it sit for 5 minutes to soften. Meanwhile combine sugar, butter, salt dry milk, 2 cups flour and egg. Add softened yeast. Beat together until very smooth. Add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls from the sides of your bowl and looks satiny. Place dough in an ungreased bowl and let it rise for about an hour. Punch dough down and knead a few times. Roll into desired shape.

Brush the rolls with melted butter, then let them rise again for about another hour. Bake 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. When I lived in AZ, I let these bake about 18 minutes, but in Idaho 12 minutes is enough. Watch them close, they brown easily.

I didnt get a picture of the finished product, we dug into them too fast!

Mini MeatLoaf

These were a hit last night. I was surprised when even Andy commented on how good they were. Double the recipe and stick half in the freezer for a quick meal in the future.

1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbs. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
1 egg
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups Chex cereal, crushed
2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 lbs. ground turkey

In a large bowl combine ketchup, brown sugar and dry mustard. Set aside 1/3 cup. In separate bowl (I used my Kitchen aid) mix together the remaining sauce, egg, Worcestershire sauce, crushed cereal, onion powder, seasoned salt, garlic powder and ground turkey. Press into muffin tins (about 1/3 cup each). Spoon the sauce you set aside earlier on top of each one. Bake 375 for 35 minutes.

If freezing: flash freeze the mini meatloaves in muffin tins. (dont bake them first, freeze them while they are raw) Leave them in the freezer about an hour. Remove and place in zip lock bag. Seal and re freeze. You can also freeze the 1/3 cup sauce you set aside for this batch. Just spoon it into a small zip lock bag and after it is thawed, snip a corner of the bag and pipe it on top of the mini meatloaf. Bake on a baking sheet after they are thawed at 375 30-35 minutes.

mom's famous Chicken Corden Bleu

Growing up, this was my birthday dinner by request for as long as I can remember!
I LOVE THIS MEAL!!

8 boneless Chicken Breasts
8 slices swiss cheese(about 1 lb.)
8 slices ham (about 1 lb.)
8 strips of bacon
1 can cream of Mushroom soup
1 can cream of Chicken soup
1/2 carton sour cream


Pound Chicken breasts flat. Place one slice of ham and one slice of cheese on top of the chicken. Roll up the chicken and wrap a bacon strip around the chicken with seam side down to keep the chicken from unrolling. Place in baking dish. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken. Cook uncovered for 3 hours @ 300 degrees. Serve over rice

Stuffed Peppers

image from here
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup non instant rice (I used brown rice)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 peppers
1 can tomato soup
1 Tbs. worcestershire sauce

Wash peppers and cut of top. Scrape insides clean.

In a bowl mix turkey, rice, salt and pepper. Stuff mixture inside of pepper.

Place peppers in a crock pot. Pour tomato soup and worcestershire sauce over peppers. Cook on low 6 hours.