Sizzlin Sonya

FALLin for Roast Chicken

2011-11-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

My Oh My!! This is AMAZING and SO Super easy!!

1 large sweet potato

3-4 small apples

4 carrots

2-3 stalks of celery

1/2 large onion

Chicken - I used frozen thighs and drumsticks because my kids love the "handle chicken"

Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper

Cut veggies and apples in to chunks and dump into roasting dish. Place chicken on top and coat everything with olive oil salt & pepper.

If you want more flavor you could add poultry seasoning, or herbs. My family tends to prefer the "raw" taste.

Roast in 350 oven for 1 hr or until chicken juices run clear.

After it came out I took the apple skins off and mushed the apples into the juices in the bottom of the pan and it made the best "sauce"

Make this TONIGHT!!! Your family will be warm, happy and ready for November!

Fully loaded Chicken Salad

2011-08-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

I made this for a block party and everyone really liked it.

Now as I have mentioned before, I don't measure (except when I bake) I just throw stuff together till it tastes good. So all of these "measurements" are a guess as to how much I used =)

What was in it:

1 pkg Salad noodles, 3 carrots, 1 rib celery, 1 small can olives, 1 small apple, 1 can Mandarin oranges, 1 C. Grapes cut in half. 1/2 Can Pineapple tidbits, 1 Can chicken

Dressing (again...none of this was measured):

1-2 C mayo, 1/4 C Mandarin orange juice, 1 tsp Orange extract (Or substitute Mandarin orange juice and extract for 2-3 tbl frozen orange juice concentrate) 3 Tbl Pineapple juice, 2 tsp ginger, Salt and pepper.

Pour over salad ingredients in big bowl and stir.

Ravisanga

2011-03-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

I was really wanting some lasagna yesterday, but didn't have ricotta cheese in my fridge, so I thought, "Hey! I have cheese ravioli....why can't that work?!" So I tried it, and it does!! It was even something Bubba could help with, which I always Love (and so does he). Here's it goes:

To make a 9x13 pan

1 1/2 pkg cheese Ravioli

1 1/2 jar Spaghetti sauce

3 links turkey sausage (remove case and cook to a crumble)

Shredded cheese to top

Boil ravioli until they just start to pop to the surface. You don't want to boil them for the full 7-10 mins as directed on pkg otherwise you will end up with mushy raviolis and that makes it hard to layer, and wont make for a very good ravisagna

Layer sauce

Ravioli

the reason some are different colors is because my 1/2 pkg was mushroom ravioli.

Crumbled turkey sausage, more sauce,

One more layer of ravioli and sauce, top with cheese

Bake at 350 for 30 mins.

Let it set for 15 mins before cutting

The nice part about this is, it's easy, fast, very kid friendly, and pretty inexpensive. You can cut it like a regular lasagna or scoop it out, depending on how you put the ravioli down they will be on top of each other for optimal scoopage! It taste just like Lasagna! Enjoy

Vegetable Soup

2011-03-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

I've started a diet (insert *Gasp* here). It's a soup based diet, and so far it's pretty decent.

Here's the recipe for the soup. It's a pretty good soup and the whole pot is only 1150 calories, and it makes a HUGE pot!!!

1 Bunch of Celery (I like the Celery Hearts)
2 lbs Carrots
3 Large Green Onions (I used 1/2 yellow onion)
2 Green Peppers
-Chop veggies and put into a LARGE Soup Pot and cover with water. Boil for 10 mins.
-Dump in remaining ingredients
1 Large can (1 32oz Box) Beef broth (Low sodium/fat)
2 Cans Cut Green Beans Drained
1 can Stewed Tomatoes (I used Italian Style) I squish them in my hand before dumping them in.
1 pkg Lipton Soup Mix (Chicken Noodle)
-Bring back to boil and simmer until veggies are tender.
May season with Salt and Pepper, curry, parsley, bouillon, hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce.

Because you eat this soup all day long for 7 days I like to season it differently every day to keep it from getting old. Yesterday I put the hot sauce in it, and today I'm adding Curry. So far so good!

The rest of the diet
Day 1- soup and Fruit (except bananas)
Day 2- Soup and Veggies (except corn, peas and beans) I'm putting extra veggies (mushrooms, red peepers, zucchini, yellow squash) in the soup to make it extra chunky.
Have a baked potato with butter for dinner. (Do NOT eat any fruit today)
Day 3- Soup, fruit and veggies. No baked potato Today I plan to eat the leftover super veggie filled soup and make fruit smoothies using frozen fruit, milk, and 100% Cranberry juice (I got mine from the natural foods section to make sure it was unsweetened)
Day 4- Soup, Bananas, Skim Milk. Eat at least 3 bananas and drink as much milk as you can. I plan on freezing the milk and making banana smoothies (just bananas and milk) Because I really, highly dislike eating bananas and drinking milk. But I can drink a banana smoothie
Day 5- Beef and tomatoes: you may have 10-20 oz of beef and up to 6 tomatoes. Eat the soup at least once today. I bought steak and Cherry tomatoes for this. I can pop cherry tomatoes all day where it's hard for me to sit down and eat a whole tomato
Day 6- Beef and Veggies. Eat all the beef and veggies you want today. You can even have 2-3 steaks if you like with green leafy veggies, but NO baked potato. Be sure to eat the soup at least once today. I plan on making the super chunky vegetable version in the crock pot and throwing steak in the soup.....I am very excited about this day!
Day 7- Brown rice, unsweetened juice and veggies until full. (don't forget about your soup) I plan on putting the rice in the leftover super chunky veggie soup. also putting veggies in with the rice.

Drink allowed
Unsweetened juices
Tea
Coffee
Cranberry juice
Skim Milk (for those who don't know, because I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't, that's 1% milk)
Lots of water (I've been drinking water non stop. My hubby brought me home a cup that is hard plastic with a straw and I carry it everywhere and fill it up constantly)

Magic Toffee

2011-01-18T21:21:00.000-08:00

My brother called and gave me this recipe. Super easy, Super yummy, and I bet you have everything you need right now!

This is so easy that I included step by step pics, because you're not gonna believe me!

Seriously!

1 Pkg Saltine Crackers

1 C. Butter

1 C. Brown Sugar

1 Pkg Chocolate Chips

Line cookie sheet with foil

Layer crackers

(I sprayed mine, but you don't need to)

Melt Butter and Brown sugar in pan.

When it starts boiling, stop stirring and boil 3-4 mins.

Seriously. Don't stir it! Resist the urge

Immediately pour Carmel over crackers

Put in 400 Degree oven for 8 Mins

When it comes out put choco chips on top, wait a min, spread chocolate

Cool. This takes 30-45 mins.

Break up and enjoy

Thanks bro for this awesomly easy recipe! It's a total Keeper!

Veggie Noodles

2011-01-12T12:09:00.000-08:00

I made this for lunch today and we LOVED it!! It's fresh. It's healthy. It's full of veggies. It's good! I asked the Hubs if there was anything he would want changed and he said "This is a no talking meal" - Which I took as a No. =)

The best part. You could make this Veggie style super easy!

1 Small Zucchini

1/2 Small Yellow Squash

8oz sliced Baby Bella mushrooms

2-3 carrots sliced on a diagonal

4 Chicken Tenders

1 C Chicken Stock

1/2 C Cream of Chicken Soup

3 Tbl Butter

2-3 Tbl Flour

1/2 pkg Spaghetti noodles

Heat oven to 350, Cook frozen chicken tenders 20 mins. Chop.

Get water boiling for noodles

Heat lg Skillet coating the bottom with 2 Tbl Olive oil. Saute Carrots for 5 mins, Add Butter and mushrooms, cook till Mushrooms are brown and tender. Add Zucchini and squash until tender. add sprinkle flour on veggies, stir, add chicken stock and simmer till thick. Add Soup and chicken. Simmer 5 mins (or until your noodles are cooked to your liking). Add noodles. I like to use the starchy cooking liquid from the noodles to thin out sauce if needed.

Serve, Enjoy!!

I guarantee this will become a family fav.

To make it more vegetarian friendly, just leave out the chicken. Use Veggie stock, and Cream of Mushroom soup, instead of chicken.

Chocolate cookie Cheesecake!

2011-01-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

This is the best Cheesecake I have ever made! granted it's the first cheesecake I've ever made....
I stayed up all night New Years Eve making this one and it was Totally worth it!! My hubby and I Rocked out while we waited for it to bake. We watched the fireworks at the Space Needle at Midnight. And all though I made this for a New Years Day celebration we were going to it was worth the tired eyes! This one is For SURE a keeper! Super rich, super addicting, Super Yummy!!!

Best made 1-2 days in advance!!! Serves 14-20 depending on slice size.

Adapted from this recipe

1 C. Chocolate cookie Crumbs (1-1 1/2 rows with center removed)

1 C. Chocolate Graham Cracker Crumbs

4 Tbl melted Butter

1/4 C Brown Sugar

Combine in a medium bowl and press evenly on to bottom and up 1 in up the side of a 10'' spring form pan. Bake 350 for 5 mins. Set aside

2 lb (4, 8oz squares) Cream Cheese softened

1 1/4 C White Sugar

1/3 C Heaven whipping Cream

2 Tbl Flour

1 ts Vanilla

4 Eggs

In a large bowl beat Cream Cheese until smooth (5 mins) Gradually mix in sugar, cream, flour, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Beat eggs in 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

Pour 1/3 of the batter into pan. top with Chocolate, cream filled, cookies.

Pour remaining batter on top of cookies.

Bake at 350 for 65-70 mins. I baked mine in a water bath*. If you choose to NOT use the water bath. Only bake for 45 mins.

Combine 16 oz Sour Cream, 1/4 C white sugar, 1 tsp Vanilla.

When Cheese cake is done baking, pull out of oven and carefully top with sour cream mixture. Return cake to oven and bake for 15 mins (7 mins w/o water bath). Turn oven off and leave in oven for 30 mins. Remove cheesecake.

Combine 1 C whipping Cream and 1 1/2 C chocolate chips in saucepan. Stir over low heat until Chocolate melts then stir in 1 tsp vanilla. Pour mixture over cheese cake while still warm. Let cool completely on wire rack, Move to Refrigerator and chill at least 8 hrs! remove 30 mins before serving.

The best way to cut this is to have a glass of HOT water and a napkin or towel. Dip sharp knife in hot water, wipe dry, cut. Do this before EACH cut and you will have perfect slices of cheesecake every time!

What are you waiting for?! Make this, NOW! and prepare yourself for some serious compliments!!

*Water Bath. This is how I do mine. I use a roasting pan with rack. I wrap the outside of my spring form pan in foil (because I'm paranoid about water getting in) and I set my cheesecake in the pan on the rack. Fill it with hot Hot HOT water till it's just about an inch up the side of the pan.

Pizza 101

2011-01-06T19:12:00.000-08:00

Pizza Dough
2 Tbl Yeast
1/2 C Warm Water
2 tsp sugar
put in bottom of mixer and let dissolve and foam
while that's working heat, melt and dissolve
1 1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Shortening (I use Olive Oil)
4 Tbl Sugar
Microwave for 2 mins, stirring after 1 to make sure your sugar is dissolving. Add to your yeast slowly while mixing, then add 4 C Flour and 1-2 tsp dried pizza seasoning. Mix well. Dump onto floured surface and knead. roll into ball and let rest.

Toppings:
Whatever you would like. We used (because it's what we had on hand):
Olives
Tomatoes
Ham
Mushrooms
Cheese

Sauce:
Your fav. Spaghetti sauce.
Here's how you do it:

Spread dough out to desired size

Spread sauce

*sample sauce if desired*

Spread Cheese

Dump on toppings

Bake for 20 mins

Enjoy!!

My boys had so much fun making their own pizza! It is work but Totally worth all the clean up!

Snowy cocoa

2010-11-22T20:31:00.000-08:00

What do you do when your house looks like this?!

Make some of this!

I cheated with this one. My neighbor gave me a big tin of Starbucks Hot Cocoa mix. If you know me at all, you know that I'm a sucker for Starbucks Hot Cocoa! I love this because the ingredients are, Cocoa, sugar, vanilla. It's makes just like any other mix. A mug of milk 2 Tbl of mix. I added a big spoonful of homemade whip cream and sprinkled a little extra mix on top to make it fancy.
Enjoy!

Squash Pasta

2010-10-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is my family's all time favorite fall dish! I like it because it's easy and fast to make.

1 Butternut Squash
Olive Oil
S & P
Cheese Tortellini (or whatever kind of pasta you have on hand)
Chicken Stock, or Broth
cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice (or whatever your favorite fall spices are)

Preheat oven to 375
Cube Squash in big chunks. coat in olive oil, S&P, and put in oven 20-30 mins.
cook and drain pasta.
When Squash is golden brown and soft, remove from oven and put into blender with spices. Add Chicken Stock, blend until desired consistency. Pour over Pasta and enjoy.

I like to add cubed chicken to it as well, although I did not do that tonight. . . .because, well, Life happened.

Smokey Bacon and Cheesy Mac

2010-07-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this stuff!! I made it for our little Bear's 2nd Bday and fell in love! I was so proud of my self because this is an original Recipe, and I.ROCKED.IT.
Keep in mind. I made this for 11 people. Adjust amounts according to what will fit your family.

1 22oz Bag of Large Elbow Macaroni
6 Strips of Bacon
3 Tbl Butter
1-2 C. Milk
1/2 lb Colby Jack Cheese -Grated
8 oz Smoked Mozzarella Cheese -Grated

Cook and Strain Macaroni. I had to cook mine in 2 batches because I don't have a pot big enough to accommodate such a HUGE amount of noodles. While it sits in the strainer I also like to put a Tbl of butter in with the noodles so that they don't stick together (you could also drizzle them with Olive Oil and get the same effect)

Cook Bacon in a Large pot.

When the bacon is all crispy and yummy looking, Add Butter and flour.

After a minute or 2 slowly add milk while stirring

When you've added enough milk (I never measure this step so I honestly have no clue how much milk I used) to make a sauce consistency Add the cheese

I added all the cheese except for about 1 c Colby Jack and 1/2 c. Smoked Mozzarella

Add noodles, Stir. Pour into Baking dish and sprinkle with remaining Cheese

Bake at 350 for 15 mins, or until cheese is all melty and gooey!

The best part about this dish is that it can be made the day before. When you hit the baking stage, Instead of putting it in the over, cover it with tin-foil and stick it in the refrigerator. When you're ready to cook, Bake in a 350 oven for 30 mins with foil on, remove foil and bake an additional 15-20 mins!

ChunkyChickenNoodleSoup

2010-05-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

A staple for any cook (good or bad) is a recipe for Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup!! It's simple, inexpensive, super tasty and insanely comforting! This is the fastest CCNS I have ever made! Not to mention the easiest. And on a rainy, drizzly day like to day, while my kiddos are down with cold, it's just what the Mommy ordered!

2 Stalks of Celery (preferably with the leafy tops) chopped

2 Carrots Chopped

1/4 yellow onion chopped

-Saute in 2-3 Tbls of Butter until soft

Pour in 6 Cups (1 3lb box or can) of Chicken stock (I use low sodium)
Sprinkle in 1 tsp Marjoram, thyme, and poultry seasoning
Bring to a boil then add:
4 Chicken tenders that have been cooked and chopped
1 1/2 cups (1/2 lb) of Wide egg noodles (or whatever kind of noodles you like or have)
Boil till noodles are tender and the sprinkle with 1 Tbl fresh Parsley!

Serve hot with Rolls and you have an instant Family Favorite!!

5-Minute Chocolate Cake

2010-05-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

A friend shared this on Facebook and I just had to try it! Chocolate cake in 5 mins?! C'mon!!
This is the Link to the website (which is an awesome DIY Website for anything and everything)
My boys love this! Mainly because they can help make it, or they can do it with some adult supervision (and help counting). And who doesn't love to eat stuff out of a mug?!
It's pretty good for a cake that's made in the microwave! A nice little indulgence!

I have found a couple things out from making this.
1-It doesn't stay all puffy and above the rim (I think that might have to do with the fact that my mugs are too big.
2-It falls fast. I took this pic maybe 10 secs after taking it out of the microwave.
3-2-3 toddler size hand fulls are the perfect amount of chocolate chips!
4-It's good. What more do you need?!

Dinner Pockets

2010-04-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

I made these one day and they have been a HUGE hit ever since. A once a week go to for me! They are super simple and you can fill them with anything you want! Start with your favorite pizza dough recipie. Here's mine taken from a friend of the family, Thanks Connie:
2 Tbl Yeast
1/2 C Warm Water
2 tsp sugar
put in bottom of mixer and let disolve and foam
while that's working heat, melt and disolve
1 1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Shortning (I use Crisco)
4 Tbl Sugar
when the shortning has melted add to your yeast slowly while mixing, then add 4 C Flour and 1-2 tsp dried pizza seasoning. Mix well. Dump onto floured surface and knead. roll into ball and let rest.

Filling:
I use a chicken mixture and a taco mixture.
Chicken mixture:
3 Chicken tenders cooked ( I bake mine in the oven for 15-20 mins/frozen 10 mins/thawed)
1/2 can Cream of chicken soup
1/2 C Cheese
1/2 tsp Dried Pizza seasoning

Taco Mixture:
1/2 lb Hamburger
1/2 can Refried beans
1/2 Pkg Taco Seasoning.

Take a handfull of dough and roll it out to the size of a personal pizza, or the size of your hand.

Take a scoop of your filling, and put a little pile in the middle to one side of the dough

This is an example of that Taco with the cheese on top. Next fold the dough over the top and seal it by pressing the sides together. I like to put cheese on top of it before I put it in the oven so that I can tell the Taco apart from the chicken

Bake for15 mins or until golden brown!

These will be an instant favorite! They are perfect for lunches and meals on the go!

I store leftovers (on the off chance that there are any) In a ziplock bag in my fridge.

They would also be good filled with chicken pesto, alfredo, mushrooms, spinich cream. . .the possiblities are endless! Good luck!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2009-12-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

You can also do this with French Toast! It's so good the only topping you need is butter and whip cream!

Your Fav Pancake Recipe!
My kids like the Krusteaz, just add water stuff. I like it to because it's easy.
A spoon full of Can Pumpkin.
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Allspice
Whip Cream
Graham Cracker Crumbs
Make your pancakes, Add pumpkin and spices to your liking! They take just a little bit longer to cook then regular pancakes because of the density but SOOO worth the wait.
Butter when they come off and top with whip cream and graham cracker crumbs. The graham cracker crumbs were Isaac's idea. when he first asked for crackers on his pancakes I told him he was silly, but figured what the heck...we'll give it a shot and it turned out awesome! Like eating pumpkin pie for breakfast!

Variation - Pumpkin French Toast
Add pumpkin and spices to your egg mixture and cook. I like to cook these low and slow because the pumpkin makes these super thick and yummy!!

Festive Cupcakes

2009-10-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

This was a super easy, Super fun treat for the boys to help me with! All you need is:

1 Box Chocolate (or your fav flavor) Cake mix

1 Container chocolate Frosting

1 pkg white Fondant

Food Coloring

Make cupcakes, Frost Cupcakes, Color Fondant to your desired color, roll out, cut out and decorate!

Hot Chocolate!

2009-10-28T08:45:00.001-07:00

I LOVE Hot Chocolate! How much?! This much! This is the best hot chocolate I've EVER had (next to my dad's Mexican hot chocolate)

1 c. Marshmallows

1/4 c. Cocoa

1/4 c Sugar

3 3/4 c. Milk (I don't use 4 c. because I like to cool it down once in mug with cold milk especially since I have small ones)

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt Marshmallows into Milk, cocoa, cinnamon, and sugar. remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour in to mug 3/4 full add milk to cool down. If desired add extra Mallows on top!

The NEW Baby Cassarole!

2009-08-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I amaze myself! A Gal in our ward just had a baby and I was asked to bring her dinner! I love doing stuff like this so I very willingly accepted this opportunity to serve. I racked my brain of all the things I could make, chicken noodle casserole, spaghetti, lasagna....you know the usual "congrats you had a baby, here's some dinner" meals. Well I decided that I would make something that you usually don't get when you have a baby. I decided to be brave and make something that was a little special! I made a creamy chicken pesto casserole! Woah!! I know!! So here is how I did it!

4 chicken tenders

1 box whole grain rotini pasta

2 pkgs creamy pesto mix. (I use Knorr brand)

1 8oz ball of mozzarella cheese

cook pasta according to pkg directions and drain, place chicken tenders (mine were frozen) on baking pan and cook for 20-30 mins until completely done. When done, remove from oven and cut into cubes. add to noodles. Mix up pesto sauce according to pkg directions and pour over noodles and chicken. Pour into a 9x13 *dish! Top with mozzarella cheese that you've "Crumbled" (more or less broken into pieces. I suppose if you wish you could grate it")
*Glad makes these AWESOME oven safe containers! Makes it SOOO easy to take dinner to your friends because you, and more importantly THEY don't have to worry about getting the dish back to you!

Add a note on top to give baking directions which are Bake at 350 for 30 mins and let it sit for 5 mins. I was feeling particularly clever at the moment to I went the distance! Here's what my note says. Feel free to adopt this!

Welcome Sebastian Lehi Boyer!!!

I know life is CrAZy
But don't you fret
cuz when it comes to dinner
I've got you all set!
Into the over is all that it takes
350 for 30 is all that it bakes!
When the cheese is all melted
Just let it set 5
Then into this meal
Your family can dive!

I added a note about the pan at the bottom because you have to put those Glad containers on a cookie sheet or the oven will melt the pan. I also added that they need not worry about returning it to me!

Try it! You'll like it! And so will your friends!

Baby Friendly Fancy Fakeout

2009-07-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Even my 1 yr old loved this one!

1/2 box of Rotini pasta

2-3 Tbl Sun dried Tomato Paste

3 Sun dried tomatoes (not in oil)

1 Tbl Butter

Cook pasta to your liking. The last minute of cooking time add sun dried tomatoes. Drain pasta and put back into pot. add butter and tomato paste. cut up tomatoes and toss with pasta. Enjoy!

LIGHT-AS-AIR MEATBALLS in CREAMY TOMATO SAUCE

2009-07-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I made these light, tasty meatballs and the creamy tomato sauce for some girlfriends of mine. One friend was down with a thrown back, another requested some of my cooking as payment for a haircut for my daughter. They (and their families) loved this dish! I made it all again tonight and thought of Sonya's invitation to contribute to her blog. So here's my first contribution to Sizzlin Sonya!

I found a similar recipe on the 99 Cent Chef website and modified it.

LIGHT-AS-AIR MEATBALLS

1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground pork (pork sausage)
1 6 oz. package spinach (chop it coarsely, or tear it a bit)
1 egg
1/2 bell pepper (optional) chopped
1 onion chopped
1 stalk celery (optional) chopped
2 tbsp. crushed garlic
2-3 slices toasted bread
2 tbsp. Italian herbs, fresh or dried, including basil, oregano and parsley

Saute the pepper, onion, and celery in frying pan till just tender. Add spinach till wilted.

Meanwhile, mix both ground meats with egg, garlic, spices, and crumbled toasted bread (tonight I had to use bread crumbs and a corn bread muffin - cooking is an ART. Don't be afraid to color outside the lines!). Add the sauteed veggies to the meat mix. Combine. Form into meatballs - any size you wish. Cook on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes (or till cooked through). These meatballs are so delicate and fluffy that cooking them in a fry pan seems too rough to me. They'd likely break apart. When they're done put them in a bowl and keep the drippings on the pan.

CREAMY TOMATO SAUCE

1/2 cup cooking wine (any kind - white or red or burgundy...or maybe some balsamic vinegar if you refuse to cook with wine)
2 tsps Worcester Sauce
Meatball drippings
1 can diced tomatoes
1 or 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream or half & half
1 small can tomato paste
(may add whole or 2% milk if needed to thin sauce)
Fresh or dried Italian spices, especially basil, also Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano)

In the frying pan used for the sauteed vegetables add the cooking wine and the Worcester sauce and boil for a minute or two. Add all the meatball drippings from the cookie sheet. Add canned and fresh tomatoes, cream, tomato paste, spices, and milk (if needed - I used about 3/4 of a cup tonight, maybe more).

Heat through and serve over meatballs.

We served this with angel hair pasta, a fresh green romaine and spinach salad, and garlic bread. It's also great over rice or other pastas.

Laughing Brownies

2009-05-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

3/4 C. White sugar
1/4 C. Powdered sugar
1/3 C. cocoa
1/3 C. Melted butter
2 Unbeaten eggs
1/4 tsp. Salt
3/4 C. Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 t. Vanilla
12 Bite size or 6 fun size Snickers Frozen! (get it...cuz their laughing brownies)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 8x8 pan.
In a bowl mix sugars and cocoa
Add melted butter and mix
Stir in eggs and vanilla
Add salt, flour, and baking powder
Stir in snickers and bake at 350 for 25-30 mins.
Let cool for 15-20 mins.
Cut and enjoy!

Chick 'N Pea Pasta

2009-05-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

*Sorry about the name Mom. It's the one I just kept coming back to!* LoL!!

1 lb of bow-tie pasta (Farfalle)

6 Chicken Tenders

1 box frozen peas

1/2 small onion chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1 c. ricotta cheese

2 c. chicken broth

1 tsp dried bay leaves (2 fresh bay leaves)

1 tsp dried mint (4-5 fresh mint leaves) (1 small drop peppermint extract)

Boil Pasta. Salt and pepper chicken and bake in 350 degree oven for 15-20 mins. In a saute pan cook onion and garlic till soft. Add peas and 1 c. chicken stock. simmer for 5 mins. CAREFULLY pour pea mixture into a blender or food processor. Blend till it looks like a sauce, adding chicken stock as needed to thin it out. Pour pea sauce into a bowl and add ricotta cheese, chopped mint and bay leaves. When chicken is done remove from oven and cut into bite size pieces, add to sauce. add pasta. if sauce is still to thick, add chicken stock (or milk if you ran out of chicken stock) and serve.

Carribean Chicken Salad and Drink

2009-05-12T12:14:00.001-07:00

I made this meal for my mommy for Mother's day and everyone loved it. I liked it so much that I made it again the next night! This is a new "go-to" summer meal for our family.
2-3 Chicken Tenders per salad
Teriyaki marinade
1 bag of mixed salad greens
1 8oz Pineapple chunks
Tortilla Chips

Salsa:
2 tomatoes chopped
1/4 onion
1-2 tsp. Cilantro minced
1 lime

Salad dressing:
1/4 c Dijon Mustard
1/3 c Honey
1 1/2 Tbl Vegetable oil
1 1/2 Tbl Apple cider Vinegar
1 1/2 tsp (1/2 lime) Lime juice

Marinate Chicken in Teriyaki sauce at least 2 hrs. Chop tomato, onion, and cilantro, combine in bowl with 1/2 lime of lime juice and zest. cover and refrigerate. In a bowl (I used a cereal bowl) mix, honey, mustard, vegetable oil, cider vinegar, the other 1/2 of lime juice and zest. whisk till combined and refrigerate. Cook chicken (bake it, grill it, fry it. Don't care how, just cook it). On your plate put Salad greens, salsa, chicken, dressing and chips.

Tropical Drink
2-3 c Cold Water
1 tub (the kind that makes 2 qts) Crystal light Lemonade
46 oz Pineapple juice
1-2 tsp Grenadine per glass

Mix water and lemonade, then add pineapple juice and chill. Pour into glass then add grenadine and pineapple skewer. Stir before drinking.

Pork Loin with Roasted Raspberry Chipoltle Sauce

2009-04-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

Don't get intimidated by the name! It's not as complicated as it sounds. I got the sauce when I was down at my Gramas. She had an extra bottle and I loved it so she sent it home with me. It has a smokey, sweet and spicy kind of taste to it. My 2 yr old LOVED it!! I made it for 3 ppl (well 2 1/2 because we have a toddler) but can easily be doubled for more.

1 Pork Loin

Salt and Pepper

Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce (I use a bottled sauce) *thanks Grama*

1 bag steam fresh rice with veggies

Place pork loin in a baking dish, just find one that fits. Sprinkle with S&P. Cover and bake at 325-350 for 45 mins, turn over and spread a thin layer of sauce over and return to oven covered, for 30-45 mins or until done. Remove from oven and let stand in pan for 10-15 min. Cook steam fresh rice according to pkg directions. (Mine is 4 mins in the microwave). When rice is done, dump on plate, slice pork loin into 1/4 -1/2 in. slices, line on plate and pour extra sauce over top!

*I'm not sure how to make this a meat free meal, sorry

Traveling Cookies

2009-04-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

We recently made a trip down to California (a 7.5 hr drive) so I made these cookies and my family LOVES them! Not as much as the Chocolate chip ones (recipe coming) but they were really good and held up the jostling of traveling really well.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup sweetened coconut

½ cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons honey

½ tablespoon baking soda

2 tablespoons water

Combine flour, oats and coconut. In a medium saucepan melt butter then add sugar, and honey to saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil 2 mins. In a small bowl (I used a 1/4 c. measuring cup.) dissolve baking soda in water. After sugar, honey and butter have boiled 2 mins pour Baking soda/water mixture in to saucepan. Do this away from your face and OFF the heat!! It will bubble up and turn a caramel color. Stir until the bubbles subside and then add to flour, oats and coconut. Mix until combined. Roll into 1-1/4 inch balls and place on a LINED cookie sheet. Your cookie sheet MUST be lined with either greased tin foil or parchment paper (if using paper you don't need to grease it). Bake at 325 for 12 mins. Let cookies stand for a min or two to set before removing onto a cooling rack.

I would suggest rolling all the balls on to 2 sheets of foil or parchment, that way when the cookies come out of the oven you can pull the lining with the cooked cookies off and slide the new one on to put right into the oven.

These cookies have a sort of caramel taste to them. They are very good and even my 2 yr old loved them!

From Isaac

2009-04-19T09:04:00.001-07:00

I had to post it not as a serious recipe but more as my life a as a mom! This is recipe comes straight from my little bud, Isaac!
Cumin PB toast and Milk
2 pieces of toast topped with Peanut Butter (creamy or chunky)
1 Sippy cup of milk
1 Container Cumin
2 Shelves

Take toast, Put peanut butter sides together to make a peanut butter toast sandwich. Sprinkle Cumin onto shelves until you get caught and it's taken away. Place peanut butter toast sandwich on 1st shelf and your milk on the other. Enjoy!

No Spoons Allowed Taco Soup

2009-04-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

1 can (16oz) Refried Beans
" Black Beans (Drained and rinsed)
" Mexican Stewed Tomatoes
1 3/4 C. Chicken Broth (14 oz Can)
1 1/2 C. Frozen Corn (1 can)
1/2 C. Salsa
1/2 C. Water
1 Tbl. Cumin
1 lb. Hamburger (4 Chicken Tenders Cubed)
2 C. Shredded cheese (8 oz. pkg. Mexi blend)
Toppings (optional):
Frito Chips
Sour Cream

In a Soup Pot (mine is 4 qt.) Brown Hamburger (or cook chicken). Add chicken broth, tomatoes and Refried beans. Break up tomatoes and stir in beans with a wooden spoon. Add black beans, corn, salsa,water and cumin. Bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for 10 mins. Stir in cheese to melt. Serve with chips, sour cream.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

2009-04-16T20:19:00.001-07:00

30-45 Mins

*These are approximate measurements. I don't measure anything*

1/2 box Whole Grain Pasta

1 can Tuna

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

2 c. Frozen peas

1 Tbl Lemon pepper

1 c. Bread crumbs

1-2 Tbl Parm Cheese

1 Tbl Butter, melted

Cook pasta and drain. Add Cream of chicken soup and thin with milk till desired consistency. Add Lemon pepper, drained tuna and peas. stir. Pour into 8x8 casserole dish. Combine bread crumbs, cheese, and melted. Sprinkle over pasta and bake for 15-20 mins, or until hot all the way through.