Almond Granola

 My friend made this for me and it is so yummy. It's even yummy to just snack on plain.

*Sometimes I do 1 1/2 times this recipe or double it. If you double it you may want to use two pans.

 

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup oil (one thing I do is to measure the oil first, then the measuring cup is oily and the honey slides right out)

1/4 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

1 t. almond extract

4 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup slivered almonds (or you can use just one cup of one kind or almonds if you don't have both)

Mix sugar, honey, oil, salt, vanilla, almond extract. Add to oats and almonds and mix well. Spread mixture on a greased rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes, then stir. Bake another 10-12 minutes or until very lightly browned, stir again and let cool completely, then store in a covered container or Ziplock.

Inside-out Stuffed Peppers

This is a family favorite at our house. We eat it all the time! And its super easy!

1/2 lb. Ground beef/turkey
1/2 onion, chopped
1 (16oz.) can stewed tomatoes, cut up
1 large green pepper (I use red or yellow sometimes too, cut up
1/2 c. Uncooked long grain rice (we like to use quinoa instead)
1/2 c. Water
2tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
Cheddar cheese

Brown meat and add onions, cook until onion is done. Remove any grease. Add remaining ingredients, except cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until grain is done. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven until cheese melts.

Home Made Peppermint Patties

Homemade Peppermint Patties


Makes: About 30 Candies

14 ounces Sweetened Condensed Milk

6 ½ cups Confectioners Sugar

1 tablespoon Peppermint Extract

3 cups Dark Chocolate, Chopped

2 tablespoons Shortening

In the bowl of stand mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk, 3 cups of powdered sugar, and the peppermint extract. Add the remaining powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, until the dough is stiff but still easy to handle.

Using your hands, grab a small 1-inch piece of dough and roll it into ball. Flatten the ball into a round disc and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the discs into the freezer to chill for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, melt the chocolate. Place the chocolate in a heatproof and microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds, then remove it and stir. Place it back in the microwave and repeat microwaving for 30 seconds and stirring until the chocolate has completely melted and is smooth. Add the shortening and stir until it has completely melted into the chocolate.

When the patties have hardened and are thoroughly chilled, remove them from the freezer and place them on the counter next to melted chocolate. Place a large piece of wax paper next to the melted chocolate.

Place one patty on top of one fork and dip into the chocolate. Using another fork, coat the patty completely and carefully place it onto the wax paper. Repeat with the remaining patties.

Allow the patties to cool on the wax paper until hardened. To speed up the process you can place the patties in the refrigerator to chill. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!

These peppermint patties last up to 2 weeks when kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator
 
Sooo yummy, makes great neighbor gifts!
 
Jenny

Beef Stroganoff

My boys love Stroganoff. I make it about once a year for them, but I've never really liked it, and making the rue makes me mad. I'm not a fancy french cook so I don't try to be. Anyhow I've been searching for easy ways to make it for years and through a combination of several I've found one that not only works, I actually liked the taste of! That's a big deal. I honestly think it's the lemon that did it for me.

1 package wide egg noodles, cooked
2-3 palm-sized steaks cut into strips
1/2 c. water
beef boullion
1/2 c. milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 onion, chopped or 1 Tbsp dried
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 c. Sour Cream

Cook the steak in a frying pan with salt and pepper until they are browned. Meanwhile mix the boullion and hot water then add to the pan, add the soup, milk, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and onion and let simmer. I let mine go for at least 30 minutes to soften the meat and blend the flavors. Then fold in the sour cream and heat through. Serve over noodles (or rice).

I love a good easy recipe.

O my amazing pretzel bites!!!

Holy moly. These babies are bad. You won't be sorry.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites (Dipped in Chocolate!)
Adapted from 17 and Baking
Makes around 45-60 bite sizes sandwiches

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp butter, room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Pretzels
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips





In a small bowl, beat the peanut butter and butter together until smooth and creamy. Beat in the powdered sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract until well mixed – you may need to add more to get the filling thick and stiff enough to hold its shape.
Roll teaspoons of the peanut butter mixture between your palms to form balls. Sandwich between two pretzels and put on a plate or cookie sheet. Freeze the pretzel sandwiches for half an hour.
Melt the chocolate chips, using the microwave (30 second intervals) or a double boiler. Dip half of each pretzel sandwich in chocolate. Return the tray to the freezer and chill until the chocolate sets. Store the Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites in the refrigerator until serving time.

Easy Tomato Soup

2 cans Campbells Tomato soup

Make soup according to directions. I do half milk half water.

Add:
noodles-any kind. Just eyeball it. Boil noodles like you would in water, but in the soup.

Add:
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. shredded Romano cheese (and any other kinds of cheese you want!)
Fresh Basil sliced up (or dried).
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper

Really, you can throw in whatever you like!

Serve with your favorite salad and bread!

Pasta Salad

Steve is in love with this salad that every one seems to be making currently so I thought I'd share in case you haven't had it (or a version of it).

Ingredients
Bow tie pasta, cooked
String Cheese,cut into semi-circles
Pepperoni, cut into triangles
Red Onion, diced
Cucumber, diced
Green Bell Pepper, diced
Italian Dressing

Add the amounts you like, but definitely don't use the light dressing. Also not too much pasta or its too mild, otherwise the flavors are super good. I know Holly has a version she does, feel free to add comments with your changes.

Cake Mix Cookie II

I have made Mary's Cake Mix Cookies about a million times since she posted it here. It's simple and delicious. I've even gotten to be a bit of an experimenter with it and my favorite one thus far was a white cake mix, banana extract and then I pressed white chocolate chips on the tops.

However, my neighbor brought me some that were delightful and I thought I should share. Also very good and easy and quick.

CAKE MIX COOKIES II

1 Cake mix box

1 16 oz container Cool Whip

1 egg

Beat together. Roll into balls (roll in powdered sugar to make them a smidge fancy) Bake at 325 for like 10 minutes. Done. The main difference is these ones are chewy, which I really like.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Boil 3-4 chicken breasts, cut up celery any kind of grapes, chopped up nuts (almonds or walnuts). Add a little red onion. Mix it all together. Add a little mayo and seasoning salt and BAM! Chicken Salad.

These are yummy in pita bread!

Mexican Haystacks

This is my own little creation of Mexican Haystacks. Made with the Whole Mojo Chicken recipe. 

Pile up:

Mojo Chicken 

Rice: Add (white or brown) rice, with chicken boullion, fresh cut up cilantro, sprinkle in some Mexican Chili Powder (plain chili powder, or taco seasoning would probably work) and some cumin spice to the rice as it's boiling.

Refried beans, pinto beans or black beans

Tomatos

Avacados

Lettuce

Cilantro

Enjoy!

Whole Mojo Chicken

This is so, so good and it will make your house smell delish!!!

The chicken recipe is from Florida Coastal Cooking, they grill it, if you want to see the directions on grilling it go here.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (4-5lbs) OR you could just use chicken breasts/tenders or whatever you have.

1 bottle Mojo (or you can make your own but I used Goya brand)

1 lime

Sea salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder

Olive oil

Directions

Cut the backbone of the chicken out using kitchen scissors and gently pull the skin off, pull any giblets out-if they are included in your chicken.  There may be some spots you will need to use the scissors for this as well.  

***To cut the backbone of the chicken out, simply place the chicken breast side down on a cutting board. Place your kitchen scissors as close to the backbone as possible and cut along the line about 1/3 the way down.  Do the same on the other side; alternating sides until the backbone is completely removed. 

Pour the marinade in a large bowl and gently add the chicken, turn to coat.  Zest some of the lime over the marinade and chicken, quarter the lime, squeeze the juice and throw the entire lime in there.  Marinate for 1 hour or longer (the longer the better!).

 

To cook in the oven, place the chicken on a rack on a tin foil-lined baking sheet.  Put the limes from the marinade inside the chicken while it bakes. Bake at 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes (or whatever the instructions on your chicken say). Cut and if juices run clear it's done! You can also check with a thermometer, it should say on the package what temp it's finished.

Moroccan Roasted Delicata

 This tastes very similar to Moroccan Delight. It is so yummy. You have to try it.

 6 rounded 1 cup servings

**7 Pts Plus

Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Nut Free

Ingredients

1 delicata squash, seeded and diced
1 sweet potato, diced
1 onion, diced
Coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic powder
2 tsp Garam Masala (click link for recipe)
1 cup white quinoa, I used Ancient Harvest Organic
2 cups vegetable broth
1 14oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup raisins
1/8 cup cranberries
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 green onion, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and place the squash, sweet potato and onion on the pan.  Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder; bake for 40 minutes.

2. Heat quinoa, vegetable broth and Garam Masala in a medium pot to a boil, reduce heat and cook to package directions.  Stir in garbanzo beans, raisins and cranberries.  Cook an additional two minutes.  Remove from heat; add roasted squash mixture and stir in vinegar and green onion.

From Florida Coastal Cooking.

Fresh Cilantro-Carrot top Tabbouleh

From Florida Coastal Cooking

 

Ingredients

3 cups chopped carrot tops
3 cups chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 3/4 cups cooked bulgur wheat (I used chicken broth in the preparation as the cooking liquid)
2 large carrots, shredded
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup chopped green onion
1/3 to 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 clove garlic, minced
1 packet stevia powder
Coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, to taste


Directions

1. Mix the carrot tops through green onion in a large bowl; whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, stevia, garlic, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a smaller bowl and pour over carrot top mixture evenly. Toss mixture gently, taste and add additional seasoning, if needed. Divide evenly between 6 bowls.

Makes 6 1-cup servings.

This is yummy with toasted whole wheat pita bread! 

Won Ton Salad

Dressing:
1 c. oil
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Boil all except oil and then add oil.

Salad:
1/2 pkg. won tons cut into strips and fried
1 c. slivered almonds, toasted
1 bunch green onions, sliced
4 chicken breasts, boiled and torn (I didn't add chicken to the salad I made you, but it's really good if you want a heartier salad.)
2 heads lettuce of choice (I used red leaf lettuce.)
1 can mandarin oranges, drained

Toss all just before serving.

Alfredo Chicken Pasta

This definitely isn't a healthy recipe, but it's so good you'll be licking your plates!

1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. butter
1/2 pkg Good Season's dried Italian Dressing mix
1 c. chicken, cooked and diced (canned works too)
1 pkg. wide egg noodles
2 c. cooked asparagus (optional, but delicious)

Mix together and heat: cream cheese, cream of mushroom soup, butter and seasoning package. Add cooked/canned chicken. Add cooked asparagus. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with milk.
Serve over hot cooked noodles.

Crock Pot Chicken Curry

This is one of our favorite crock pot dishes!

3 peeled and chopped potatoes

5 peeled and chopped carrots

1 sm. Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves

1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)

1 tsp. chicken bullion granules

3 T. flour

2-4 T. curry (4 makes it pretty spicy. You can always add more to an individual's dish)

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken pieces

1 (10 oz) can coconut milk

Place first 7 ingredients in crock  pot in written order. Combine remaining ingredients except coconut milk, in a bag. Shake to coat the chicken. Pour all in the crock pot and add 1 c. water. Cook on high 3-4 hours, or low 6-8 hours. The last 30 minutes add coconut milk. If cooking on low, switch to high for the last 30 min. Serve over rice, or add extra potatoes to serve as a stew.

If desired, substitute the coconut milk with an equal amount of evaporated milk and 1/2 tsp coconut extract.

Chef Kate's Blonde Brownies

We had these brownies at a RS Birthday Dinner this year and they were just amazing!

They are sweet, moist and addicting!

• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated cane sugar
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter chips
• 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Using an electric mixer (counter-top or hand-held), cream together the butter and sugars.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, combining well after each addition. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the coconut, peanut butter chips and marshmallows (it’s an arm workout).
Using a rubber spatula, spread the batter evenly in a nonstick or parchment-lined standard cookie sheet (12" x 18") with a 1" rim.  Bake for 15 minutes, cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil and bake for an additional 12 minutes. Let cool completely and then cut into 60 squares; they will be soft and chewy on the inside.

Rainbow Cupcakes

These are just plain awesome. Not hard to make, just takes some extra time. You could change it up and do different colors, like red, white and blue for the 4th of July. These are so fun!

White cake mix.
White frosting.
Food coloring.

Mix the cake mix according to package directions. Divide into 6 bowls.
Follow chart below.

RAINBOW COLOR	DROPS OF FOOD COLORING
Purple	9 red and 6 blue drops
Blue	12 drops
Green	12 drops
Yellow	12 drops
Orange	12 yellow and 4 red drops
Red	18 drops

Bake, frost and be amazed!

Recipe from FamilyFun.

Peaches...and Quinoa?

For a tasty treat, try steaming ½ cup red quinoa; add a dash of sugar, some fresh peaches, and a little cream!

Super Quinoa Cookies

From www.westmountainwheat.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa flour

1 ¼ cup fresh ground spelt flour

½ cup pure maple syrup

2 tsp. vanilla

1 Tbsp. Rumford baking powder

½ cup coconut oil

3 eggs

1 tsp. sea salt

Directions

Whip together the eggs, oil, syrup, and vanilla.  Add the flours, salt, and baking powder.  Mix well and drop on a parchment covered cookie sheet.  Bake for about 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

 From Jenny:

Ingredients

• 7 3/4 cups boiling chicken broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed italian tomatoes, cut up
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and/or one zuccini chopped, half of an onion chopped
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt + any additional spices you might enjoy.
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, combine the broth, tomatoes, spinach, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes; add the tortellini and chicken. Cook for 5 minutes or until tortellini is heated through.

Columbian Enchiladas

Chicken (boiled and shredded)

3 cans cream of chicken

1 onion, chopped

1 can green chiles

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 can black beans

1 can corn

cheese

tortillas

 

Boil and shred chicken.  Add remaining ingredients and fill tortillas.  Sprinkle cheese inside each tortilla.  Save one can cream of chicken for bottom and top of enchiladas. Pour half of can in bottom of 9X13, place enchiladas, and cover with remaining half of cr. of chicken and cheese.  Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes.

 

Just as a side note, if you use the full can of beans and corn and the full onion, it will make ALOT of mix.  I used half a can of each and half an onion and had enough for about 8 enchiladas.  So, this recipe is very versatile as well.

Italian Chicken & Pasta

2-4 chicken breasts

8 oz. bottle Italian dressing

1 can cream of chicken

1 8 oz. package cream cheese

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Place chicken and Italian dressing in crockpot and cook on low 4-6 hours or until tender and able to shred.  Shred chicken and remove about half of the Italian dressing (you can actually leave all of it if you'd like a really strong Italian taste).  Add cream of chicken and cream cheese until melted.  Add Italian seasoning.  Serve over your choice of pasta.  Bow tie pasta or spiral pasta is fun.

This recipe is actually very adjustable.  If you'd like it to be a bit more saucy, you can add another can cream of chicken, or chicken broth, or a little milk.  Just experiment and see what you like.  Very easy meal prep though!

Sweet'n Sour Chicken with Veggies

Chicken (I usually use about 4-6 tenders, so probably 2-4 chicken breasts)

1 Tbsp. oil

2-3 carrots, sliced

1 clove garlic minced

1 onion, chopped

4 Tbsp. corn starch

1 1/3 cups water

2 Tbsp. oil

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup vinegar

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

small can pineapple chunks

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 green bell pepper

Cut chicken into 1" cubes. Saute in oil with onion, garlic, & carrots. Remove from heat.  Combine sugar and corn starch in sauce pan, stir in water. Add oil, vinegar, and soy sauce. Heat and stir and thickened (this takes about 5 minutes- and you need to be continually stirring it until the thickening happens).  Add sauce to chicken and carrots. Add peppers and pineapple and heat until softened.  Serve over rice.

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Baked)

This is really yummy. It looks like it's fried, but it's baked. It's quite sweet, I think it could use less sugar. I made too much sauce, but was able to freeze it and use it again and it turned out perfectly!

4 chicken breasts
1-2 eggs, beaten
Cornstarch
Oil
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. ketchup
1 c. white vinegar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed (or minced from a jar)

Cut chicken into strips or pieces. Dip in egg, roll in cornstarch. Heat oil in skillet and brown chicken in hot oil. The more you brown it (don't burn it!) the crispier the chicken will be, after it's baked. Place in 9x13 dish. Combine other ingredients and pour over chicken.  Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 30 minutes, or until chicken looks crispy enough for your liking. Serve over rice.