Taco Soup-- new & improved

2 cans beans, drained & rinsed (any variety)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can green chilies
1 cup water
1 pkg. guacamole seasoning mix
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tbsp. dried cilantro
1 cube beef bouillon
1/2-1 lb. ground beef, browned & drained

Mix ingredients together in a crock pot & allow to cook on high heat for 2-3 hours or on low heat for 3-4 hours. Topping suggestions: fresh cilantro, dollop of fat free sour cream, tortilla strips, green onions, olives.

Dad's Sunday Supper Waffles

2 cups All Purpose Flour
4 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
2 cups Milk
4 eggs,Separated
1 cup Melted Butter, Margarine, or Salad Oil
1 tsp. Vanilla

■Start by heating waffle iron.

■Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

■Combine milk and egg yolks. Beat egg whites until stiff.

■Add flour mixture to milk and egg yolks and beat. Beat in melted butter, margarine, or oil.

■Add vanilla.

■Fold in Egg whites carefully to form batter. A few “pillows” of egg whites may remain. (This is similar to an angel food cake batter but with no sugar.)

■Cook on griddle until golden. Stack on their sides to keep them crisp. (If you don’t like crisp just pile them up).

Pork Roast Carnitas

(this is Jessica's recipe; we love it dearly)

1 Tbsp. beef base
1 Tbsp. dried cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. oregano leaves
1 tsp. coarse or kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 4-lb. pork roast, trimmed
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1 fresh orange
Juice of 1 fresh lime
2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

In a small bowl, combine the beef base, cilantro, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Brown pork roast on all sides in a large cooking pot over medium heat.

Reduce heat & evenly coat the roast on all sides with spice mixture.

Add the water, orange juice, lime juice, and soy sauce. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer over low heat for 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until roast is so tender it falls apart.

Discard any fat and pull roast apart with 2 forks, allowing meat to absorb any juices left in the pan. If needed, continue cooking until all juices have been reduced and absorbed into pulled meat (but DO NOT overcook; keep meat moist). Makes 16 servings.

Note from Amy: I usually cook it in a crock pot over low heat all day. I start it after breakfast & let it cook until about an hour before dinnertime before I pull it apart. Then I let it soak in the juices until ready to serve.

Serving Accompaniments & Toppings:

Fresh corn or flour tortillas, warmed
Fresh cilantro
Pico de Gallo
Lime wedges

Note from Amy: I love to serve this with Cowboy Salsa, also known as black bean salsa. They go very well together.

Yam Balls

This is a recipe Marianne made for Thanksgiving years ago. Very good.

Yam Balls

2 pounds sweet potatoes (yams)

Brown Sugar topping:
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
3 T margarine
3 T water

Prepare and cook sweet potatoes: Heat enough salted water to cover sweet potatoes (1/2 t. salt to 1 c. water) to boiling. Add potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Boil until tender, 30-35 minutes. drain. Slip off skins.
Mash potatoes. Scoop up a handful of potatoes (please wash your hands first, you slob) and put a large marshmallow in the middle of it. Roll the ball in crushed Raisin Bran or corn flakes. Place ball in a 9 x 13 pan. Continue until all the potatoes are used up. Pour brown sugar mixture over all the balls. Bake at 350 until the potatoes are heated through.

Note: Marianne said she was guessing at the amount of yams, so you may need to make more of the brown sugar topping. I think you should just make more anyway. How could you ever possibly have enough brown sugar topping?

Slow Cooker Creamy Corn Chowder

Some of my best recipes have come to me during the "What am I going to make for dinner?" moments. I look in the fridge, pantry, freezer, and just throw a bunch of ingredients together. This is also how my very worst concoctions have come to pass, but that's another topic for another day. Here is the chowder I came up with on a Sunday afternoon when it was almost time to leave for church & I realized I hadn't started anything for dinner. I liked it because it came out creamy in the end, but this was achieved through patience instead of through using heavy cream or something else I shouldn't be eating.

Slow Cooker Creamy Corn Chowder

1 bag frozen corn
1/2 cube margarine or butter (you can use light & you can also use less)
Baby carrots (as much as you want to add)
Milk (I used fat free; you just use enough to cover all the ingredients)
1/2 package ranch dressing mix (or more, according to your deepest desires)
Freshly ground black pepper
Dill weed to taste
1 tsp. or so paprika (I believe in precise measurements, as you can tell)
1 tsp. or so seasoned salt
Bacon (just add as much as your little heart desires)(sorry, I don't mean to suggest you have a little heart; your hearts are all very big, but not in an unhealthy way)

Dump everything except the bacon into the crock pot. Stir a little. Put the lid on & let 'er cook while you go to church (or, if you're a heathen--no offense to heathens-- let 'er cook from about lunch time to about dinner time). When you get home from church, add crumbled bacon & serve.

Quiche

In a former life I hated quiche. I thought the texture was weird. I finally gave it another try a while back and decided I do in fact like it. But I never make it, mostly because all the recipes seemed to call for heavy cream, which just is not an ingredient that I tend to have on hand (plus, who really needs the calories?). In my search for an easy and semi-healthy quiche recipe, I was glad to find this one, which calls for milk (I usually only have 1% on hand, and this worked out pretty well, although I had to bake it for a little longer to get it to firm up).

Instead of bacon I used breakfast sausage, and I used cheddar cheese instead of swiss. I also added some sauteed green bell pepper. In short, you can make this recipe your own--it's a great base.

Quiche Lorraine

Wicked Good Spice Apple Cake

They served this cake, topped with freshly whipped cream, at a stake leadership training I attended last week & it is singlehandedly responsible for me falling off the sugar wagon. It's that good. Be careful.

Spice Apple Cake (from Deanne Lamont)

1 spice cake mix – I used Duncan Hines brand
3 eggs
1 can apple pie filling
3 T. water
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

* * *

½ cup sugar
½ cup flour
1 t. cinnamon
¼ cup margarine or butter - ½ stick

Mix cake mix, eggs, and water well. Add pie filling (and nuts if desired) last so some of the apples stay in small chunks. Pour in a 9 X 13 inch pan (sprayed with cooking spray). Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon and margarine (or butter) together with a pastry blender in a small bowl. Sprinkle mixture on top of cake evenly to cover. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or cool with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream.

Sweet Potato-Peanut Bisque- BEST SOUP EVER!!! (*okay maybe it depends on your tastebuds)

Cindy made me think of this, i actually just had it at work the other day. AND.I.LOVED.IT.! My friend Katie showed me this website eating well. I would put a link on here, but i never can seem to get it right so... here goes:

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/sweet_potato_peanut_bisque.html

Ingredients

* 2 large sweet potatoes (10-12 ounces each)
* 1 tablespoon canola oil
* 1 small yellow onion, chopped
* 1 large clove garlic, minced
* 3 cups reduced-sodium tomato-vegetable juice blend or tomato juice
* 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles, preferably hot, drained
* 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
* 1 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1 15-ounce can vegetable broth
* 1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
* Freshly ground pepper to taste
* Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Preparation

1. Prick sweet potatoes in several places with a fork. Microwave on High until just cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until it just begins to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Stir in juice, green chiles, ginger and allspice. Adjust the heat so the mixture boils gently; cook for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes and chop into bite-size pieces. Add half to the pot. Place the other half in a food processor or blender along with broth and peanut butter. Puree until completely smooth. Add the puree to the pot and stir well to combine. Thin the bisque with water, if desired. Season with pepper. Heat until hot. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Tips & Notes

* Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Thin with water before reheating, if desired.


Nutrition

Per serving: 291 calories; 16 g fat (3 g sat, 8 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrates; 1 g added sugars; 10 g protein; 6 g fiber; 474 mg sodium; 1011 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (300% daily value), Vitamin C (100% dv), Potassium (29% dv), Magnesium (15% dv).

1 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 1/2 high fat meat, 1/2 fat

Chili?

I made this for my ward chili cook-off, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't really count as chili. It has beans. That's about the only similarity. HOWEVER, I did get lots of compliments and had a couple people ask for the recipe, and Eric liked it, so I guess it was a success. I didn't win, though. Haters. Just kidding :)

Warm Heart Stew

Pumpkin Curry Soup

1 small onion
2 large cloves of garlic
2-3 teaspoons curry powder
2 Tblspoons butter
3 cups chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth or bullion cubes with water)
15 oz. canned pumpkin (be sure you don't get pumpkin pie mix)
12 oz. evaporated milk
white pepper and salt to taste (you can use black pepper instead)

in a largish pot:
-saute onion and garlic in butter until onions are clear add curry (saute for 2-3 min)
-add broth and pumpkin and bring mixture to a boil reduce heat and simmer for 15 min
-add evap. milk and cook for another 2-3 min

cup soup into a blender and whip on high for a few min (make sure the garlic and onions get mixed well) don't put too much of the soup in at a time because it should fluff up a bit and because it's super hot--and it won't mix as well.

cake balls ....from well.... sept 2009 i think ;)

on a total side note i was looking for a recipe that was posted way back when and went back to my cake balls recipe and saw the comments. sorry i am not good at checking those- seeing as it was well over a year, but...if anyone is still curious and never ventured to try them... the dipping is challenging but what i found was the easiet was to freeze them for a long while and only pull out a few at a time so they are still super cold. The warmer they get the harder they are to dip. AND...i only use dipping chocolate, because choc chips NEVER work for me, but....there you go :)

Sweet Potato Bake

I really like this recipe for Thanksgiving. I was having trouble trying to get my candied sweet potatoes to turn out anything other than runny here in our humidity. This was my solution & I must say I don't really miss the candied version much at all.

Kraft Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Cafe Rio Knock-offs

They served the following recipes at our R.S. Meeting last week & it was delicious. Almost as delicious as Lisa's...

Café Rio Dressing

1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet
1 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk
2 tomatillos (tomato like vegetable with a husk around them)
½ bunch of cilantro
3 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeño (Use the seeds too if you like it spicy. You could substitute a few drops of green tobasco for the jalapeno.)

Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.


Cafe Rio Chicken

1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic—minced
5 lbs chicken breast

Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.

(Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing has 2 grams of sugar per serving. I try to avoid dressings with sugar, but this is a very small amount. You're only using 8 ounces of the dressing per 5 pounds of chicken if you follow this recipe, so it should be fine, even for South Beach Dieters.)


Café Rio Rice

3 cups rice - Follow directions on your package of rice for the amount of liquid to use to cook your rice. (I used brown rice and it turned out fine. I did back off on the amount of liquid I added because the other ingredients added have alot of moisture and the first batch I made had too much liquid so my rice was mushy and over cooked.)


Liquid for rice- you can use just water or I used chicken broth

4 t chicken bouillon
4-5 cloves garlic

½ bunch cilantro
1 can green chilies—or equivalent fresh
¾ t salt
1 T butter
1 small onion

Blend cilantro, green chilies, garlic and onion together in food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered 30 minutes or until the rice absorbs the liquid.



Cafe Rio Pork

Pork Loin or Pork Roast -

Sauce: 18 oz Coca-Cola Classic or Dr. Pepper (do not use diet or generic)
1 Cup sugar
1 7 oz can Chipotle Chilies in ADOBO Sauce (since you use the sauce and not the chilies, it is important that you get exactly that.)
1 tsp dry ground mustard - heaping

1 tsp ground cumin - heaping
1 Tbsp. minced garlic - heaping


Rub Pork Roast with olive oil then salt and pepper outside. Sear Pork Roast in pan on high heat on all sides until brown crust forms. Place Roast in pre-heated crockpot and pour sauce over and cook in crock pot on low for 7-9 hours or on high for 5-6 hours in sauce or until it pulls apart.


For the sauce remove chilies from the can of adobo sauce. Rinse chilies with the coke to get all the sauce off. Discard whole chilies and only use the sauce. Also rinse can with coke to get all remaining sauce. (I left the chilies in once, and it was so potent I cried when I lifted the lid of the crock pot. If you like super-spicy foods, leave one or two chilies in. If you want to clean the system, go ahead and use them all . . .)
Put all ingredients in blender. Blend, pour over pork in crock pot. After cooking, pull apart with forks into bite size pieces. Leave in sauce while you serve it.

Request

With the Holidays right around the corner, would you all mind posting your favorite Holiday recipes? I'm always looking for new ideas.

Cornbread Muffins

2 packages Jiffy (or other brand) corn muffin mix
3/4 cup fat free or low fat sour cream
1/4 cup buckwheat flour

Mix according to the Jiffy corn muffin directions, then add 1 cup sour cream & 1/2 cup buckwheat flour. Bake according to package directions.

The sour cream adds a heaviness to the cornbread & the buckwheat flour gives it a rich, nutty flavor. I also highly recommend you experiment with adding these two ingredients to any other muffin recipe you enjoy.

Beef Chili

1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
2 small cans tomato sauce (or 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained & 1 can tomato sauce)
1/2 cup brown sugar (add more or less depending on how sweet you want it)
1 package McCormick chili seasoning mix
1 lb. ground beef, browned & drained
Dash of Tabasco sauce (optional)

Mix it all together & simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Serving suggestion: top with green onions, shredded lettuce, a dollop of sour cream & a sprinkle of shredded cheese.

You can use any kinds of beans you like; these are just the two I like best.

More cookoff recipes

Jessica's Barbecue Pizza

Pizza Crust

1 packet of active dry or fresh yeast
1 tsp honey
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, more for brushing

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in 1/4 cup of warm water. In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and the salt. Add the oil, the yeast mixture and the remaining 3/4 cup of warm water and mix on low speed until dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and clusters around the dough hook, about five minutes. Turn out the dough onto a clean, lightly floured work surface and knead by hand for two to three minutes, until it is smooth and firm (you may need to add a little more flour to the dough as you knead). Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled mixing bowl, cover it with a clean, damp towel and leave it at warm room temperature to rise for about thirty minutes. When ready, the dough will stretch as it is lightly pulled. Divide the dough into four equal balls, about six ounces each. On a smooth un-floured surface, roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the top of the dough is smooth and firm, about one minute. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for fifteen to twenty minutes. At this point, the balls can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to two days.

Put a pizza stone on the middle rack of the oven (or use a regular cookie sheet). Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Dip a ball of dough into flour and shake off excess flour. Place the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface and start to stretch the dough out into an even 8-inch circle, or another shape that you like of a similar size, with the outer border of the dough a little thicker than the inner part. If you find it id difficult to stretch out the dough, use a small, lightly floured rolling pin. Lightly brush the inner circle of the dough with some sauce and arrange the toppings of your choice, first adding about one cup of shredded cheese per pizza and then any other toppings of your choice. Slide the pizza onto a lightly floured rimless flat baking tray, and then carefully slide it off onto the baking stone in the oven. Bake until the pizza crust is nicely browned, about ten minutes. Transfer the pizza to a firm level surface and cut into slices.

Meat

Pork sirloin roast
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce

Brown roast and braise until it falls apart (8-10 hours crockpot on low, 4-5 hours crockpot on high, about two hours on stove on low--preferred method, but watch liquid level to prevent scorching) in water and BBQ sauce. Pull meat with two forks until shredded and mix with sauce.

To assemble pizza:

Spread dough with BBQ sauce and top with shredded meat and sliced red onion. Top with cheese (mozzarella, parmesan, asiago). Bake according to crust instructions. Top with fresh chopped cilantro.

Jessica's Salad

one head red leaf lettuce
two pears, sliced
sliced red onion
toasted cashews
dried cranberries
asiago cheese

Dressing:

5 Tbsp oil (I do 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus 3 Tbsp canola)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey
2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
thinly sliced green onion (1 tbsp)
Whisk together until slightly emulsified.

Seriously, Katy

Can you name this blog already?

South of the Border Salad

This is the award-winning salad recipe from our family reunion. (sorry to rub salt in fresh wounds, losers).

1/4 head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed & drained
1 bag frozen sweet white corn, thawed
2-3 avocados, diced
1/2 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 bunch chopped green onions
1/2 red onion, diced
3-4 roma tomatoes, seeded & diced

Dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing/seasoning mix
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Toss the salad ingredients & dressing in a large bowl. Top with your favorite tortilla chips.

Laura's White Chili Recipe

I know I'm not the only one who wanted this recipe! Laura (Michael's wife) made this for us when we were visiting in Nevada. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

White Chili

1 lb chicken; cooked, cubed (you can also use ground beef or ground turkey)
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cans great white northern beans
1 can chicken broth
2 cans diced green chiles
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp white pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whip cream


Cook chicken, onion and garlic powder until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chiles, seasonings, whip cream. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Mix in sour cream. Serve.

I'm addicted

To The Pioneer Woman recipes. This one, at least, does not have any butter. I used fresh tomatoes and crumbled bacon to garnish.

Pasta with tomato blue cheese sauce.

Prayer cake

So when Eric made book shelves for our living room, he used his friend's shop. The family is one we met in our previous ward here in Virginia, and they are really nice and very good people. The wife is a convert to the church, and she's pretty devout, even taking into consideration some things I've never thought much about. For example, when Eric went back over to make a coffee table for our living room, he discovered that they have taught their kids that it's not a coffee table, it's a prayer table.

Lots of people think coffee cake has coffee in it, so I guess I should start calling it prayer cake.

Anyway, here's a link to Pioneer Woman's "prayer" cough* coffee* cake. I made it on Sunday for company, and it's absolutely divine. And the best part is, I bet most of you already have all the ingredients in your pantry.

The Best Coffee Cake. Ever.

Gooey Butter Cake: A St. Louis Tradition

Here is a healthy recipe to help you all with your diets.

Kaldi's Gooey Butter Cake
Kaldi's

Yield: 12 servings

For crust:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons water
1 (18- to 19-ounce) box yellow cake mix (I personally like to use lemon cake mix, but you pick your favorite)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For topping:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 pounds (about 5 1/2 cups) powdered sugar, plus more for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch metal pan with foil; coat foil with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Prepare the crust. Combine butter, 1 egg and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla; beat with an electric mixer until well blended. Add water, cake mix and flour; beat until combined. Place dough into the prepared pan, and press into an even layer.

3. Prepare the topping. Beat cream cheese at medium speed about 2 minutes, until very smooth. (then realize the eggs you bought at Wlmart didn't make it home with you, so run & borrow some from the neighbors)Add 3 eggs and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and beat until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating just until blended and smooth. Pour topping over crust and spread evenly.

4. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool completely. Just before serving, sift 3 to 4 tablespoons powdered sugar over cake.

Per serving: 630 calories (I wish I'd never read this part); 24g fat; 12g saturated fat; 125mg cholesterol; 7g protein; 96g carbohydrate; 75g sugar; 1g fiber; 400mg sodium; 100mg calcium.

Adapted for home kitchens by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Yummy shortbread

I got this recipe from Food Network Magazine and it's actually a lot easier than I thought it would be to make shortbread. Yum.

Oat-Walnut Thins

2 sticks butter
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 c flour
1 c ground oats
3/4 c finely ground walnuts
1 tsp salt

Beat butter, sugar and powdered sugar until fluffy. Whisk flour and salt together, add walnuts and oats, then combine with butter and sugar mixture. Divide in half and press into two 8-inch square pans, score and bake about 1 hour at 300 degrees. Cool and slice; drizzle with melted chocolate.

Perfect French Toast

This is not recipe, sorry.

I've put a lot of time into experimenting with my French toast recipe (and this explains my gut) & I have the following tips:

1. Instead of whisking the egg mixture, whip it with a hand mixer. The bread will get soaked through instead of getting coated with a slimy layer of eggs. And your french toast will have a much better consistency when it's done cooking.
2. Add some vanilla & cinnamon to the egg mixture for extra flavor or just sprinkle the cinnamon over the top of each slice as it is cooking.
3. Let the bread sit out overnight.
4. Use a crusty bread (although any bread will be fine, a nice, crusty bread will be better) & slice it into thick slices.
5. Fry the bread in whatever you like (oil or butter) as opposed to simply browning it.
6. Your syrup should be warm, not cold.

That is all.

Huckleberry Lemon Scones

I substituted frozen raspberries in this recipe because I already had some at home. They worked well. These were so yummy.....

(recipe from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup half-and-half cream
3/4 teaspoon lemon zest
3/4 cup fresh huckleberries
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
2.Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter and lemon juice until evenly mixed and slightly crumbly. Whisk together the eggs and half-and-half in a small bowl; add 3/4 teaspoons lemon zest with the egg mixture to flour mixture, and mix gently just until well blended and forming a dough. Fold in the huckleberries.
3.Divide dough in half, and on a floured surface, shape each half into a ball, then flatten slightly. Cut each round into six wedges; place on prepared baking sheet.
4.Bake in the preheated oven until tops are golden brown, about 12 minutes. Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze. Drizzle glaze on cooled scones. Sprinkle with remaining lemon zest for garnish.

Seriously?

What are we teaching our children about healthy foods if we have to have commercial after commercial about all the products that make fruits and vegetables "bearable." Seriously? You need to hide your veggies in spaghetti sauce? And fruits in a sugary drink?

Positive attitudes about healthy food will make a world of difference in our own diets as well as our children's. Fruits and vegetables are great, and I will celebrate eating them! :)

Spit pea soup

Do you guys remember that story that Mom always tells about how she accidentally called it spit pea soup? How embarrassing ;)

One night it was definitely time to go to bed, but Good Eats was starting and Alton Brown was talking about how to get people who don't like peas to eat their peas, and since my husband is one of those people, we decided to stick around.

I was glad we did, because he started out with a split pea soup recipe that sounded pretty easy--and would help me use up some of the split peas I'd gotten from WIC checks...anyway, it turned out really yummy, and even my dubious husband gulped down his share. Now the new mystery is how to make it look more appealing!

Click here for the recipe!

Unreliable?

Yeah, I'd say I'm a little unreliable. I was going to post my menus on here and I've done it--hmm--once! Oh well. I have been creating menus, just not posting them.

Here is the pancake recipe I mentioned earlier. It's from Bakerella. They are seriously amazing. Buttermilk and cornmeal do amazing things to pancakes. By the way, I've only done the orange maple butter once; I'm not really a person who thinks that far ahead all the time. It was good, but I wouldn't say it makes the pancakes.

Give 'em a go and let me know how you like them!

I decided I'm going to start posting my weekly menu plans on here. One of the few good, organizational things I do on a regular basis is plan our menus, and I'm fairly faithful at following them. When I don't follow them it is always Richard's fault. He is constantly messing with my plans. Husbands.



My menu planning has no rules of order. I choose what I feel like, and try to keep a variety of food in there. I also like to try new recipes once a week, although I don't always because new recipes tend to be more expensive.


Here's my menu.


Wednesday
Pork Tacos



Thursday
Baked Salmon (or maybe grilled? Can I do salmon on my little countertop grill?) with rice



Friday
Almond Chicken




Saturday
We are feeding our primary kids pizza. Note to self: Don't promise kids a party when you're really too lazy to host such a thing. Katy, you should have known better!



Sunday
Super Bowl Sunday. This means hamburgers/hot dogs. I am considering making PW's pico de gallo.

Monday

Pasta. This menu needs some pasta. How about... I'll try the PW's spaghetti casserole thingy.

We will also have cornmeal buttermilk pancakes one morning, which, by the way, are AMAZING...and that's coming from a girl who's not a pancake person. Anyone want the recipe?

There you have it. This is what we're eating this week!

Turkey Burgers with Horseradish and Cheddar Cheese

This is the first recipe I have tried from the three Rachael Ray cookbooks that I've had for years. These actually are Yum-O. There, I said it.

4 Servings

1 package ground turkey breast
2 rounded tablespoons prepared horseradish
1/3 pound sharp white cheddar cheese, diced or crumbled into 1/4 in pieces (I only had medium reg cheddar on hand, worked great)
2 scallions, finely chopped (are green onions the same?)
1 rounded palmful grill seasoning, such as McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
EVOO, for drizzling
Spicy Brown Mustard
4 poppy seed Kaiser rolls, split
1 tub or can of good quality whole-berry cranberry sauce
Romaine lettuce leaves, for topping burgers
Gourmet potato chips (We had sweet potato fries)

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

In a medium bowl, mix together the meat, horseradish, Cheddar pieces, scallions, and grill seasoning. Form 4 patties and drizzle them with EVOO. Cook the burgers for 5-6 minutes on each side. Spread mustard on the bun bottoms and cranberry sauce on bun tops. Place the burgers on the bun bottoms, top with romaine leaves, and set the bun tops in place. Serve fancy chips alongside.


FYI, apparently Rachael doesn't count calories. Sorry, no nutritional info.
Also, I've never cooked burgers on the stove top, only on the grill. I was nervous, but these were moist and delicious. Who says you can't have burgers in January?

Winter Squash and Sage Sausage Chili

I came across this recipe while I was sitting in bed reading cookbooks, the only books I read ;) It's from Better Homes and Garden's new Annual Recipes 2009.

Start to finish: 20 minutes

1 lb. bulk sage saugage or other sausage
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained (I used great northern beans)
1 12 oz. pkg. frozen winter squash puree, thawed (I cooked one of dad's squashes in the microwave and pureed it in a blender)
1 cup chunky chipotle salsa or other salsa
1 1/2 cup water
1 3-5 oz. pkg. herb flavored goat cheese, crumbled (I used feta)
Fresh sage, optional

1. In a large saucepan cook sausage over medium heat until brown and no pink remains, stirring to break up; drain fat. Stir in beans, squash, salsa, and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve in bowls; sprinkle goat cheese and fresh sage. Makes 4 servings.

Each Serving: 385 calories, 14 g fat (7 g sat. fat), 119 mg chol, 1466 mg sodium, 34 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 39 g pro. Daily Values: 99% vit. A, 19% vit. C, 32% calcium, 23% iron.

I would highly recommend

I've been meaning to share some links for a while now, and Katy's post encouraged me to go through with my plans. These are recipes I've tried since I've started to feel like a human being again after being pregnant and having a baby. They're keepers!

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
Bacon Spinach Salad
Apricot Glazed Porkchops
Chicken Pot Pie

They're all pretty easy, too. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Curry Soup

Because no one has been posting (including me) and this blog is so sad, plus I had the most amazing soup this last week, I'm going to share. I call this soup Happy Soup. That's because I'm so happy when I'm eating it. Call it a natural antidepressant. Call it comfort food. Call it whatever you want to, it's good. And even better: it's so easy! Make it tonight, and your family will wonder where that scowling, crusty, nagging old woman went and where this beautiful, smiling, happy person came from.

Here it is. In all its beauty.

First you need a medium yellow onion and 4 cloves garlic. Chop 'em up. Then saute them in 2 Tbsp butter until onions are clear.

Add3 tsp curry powder and 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 2 mins.

Now add:
3 cups chicken broth
15 oz pumpkin (one of the small cans)

Simmer for 10 mins.

Add one can of evaporated milk. Then, working in small batches, puree the soup in a blender. Pureeing makes it...indescribable. Frothy. Smooth. Divine.

Now eat it and love it.

**This recipe came from Betsy, a fellow interpreter. I will forever love her for bringing it into my life.