Parmesan Rolls With Rhodes Rolls

My Mother in law makes these and they are my favorite roll in the whole wide world, I think I can eat 10 of them! I sometimes I use my own roll recipe or most times I don’t have time so I use frozen Rhodes rolls. These are easy and taste so yummy, a favorite at our house!

Ingredients

-Rhodes dinner rolls

-1 cup of Parmesan cheese

-1 cube of butter

Directions

There is really no measurements, Just Melt butter a cube of butter in the microwave, then add parmesan cheese and stir. You don’t want it too thick, but thick enough that it sticks to the roll…

Roll frozen roll in mixture and put on cookie sheet to rise normally.

Follow directions on Rhodes Rolls Package and Enjoy yummy parmesan rolls.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This picture is a couple years ago in our old house, but we do this madness every year! My mom made this when we were younger. My husbands mom makes the same soup but uses turkey. This soup is great for freezing and an easy meal for later, just leave the noodles out and cook it together with the soup when you are ready to eat it! I love after thanksgiving to use the leftovers and make this soup. We make it everytime we have chicken or turkey and it is yummy and feels so good on the soul! The turkey is not as soft as the chicken but I think the turkey is better because the meat stays together better! I guess it just depends what time of year you make this!

Ingredients

· 1 precooked Roasted Whole Chicken or Turkey with carcass and meat on it

· 5 stalks of celery washed with leaves (will need more for finished soup)

· Whole onion cut in half with peel left on

· 6 carrots peeled and chunked into 3rds (will need more for finished soup)

· 1 T whole peppercorns

· Water to cover

· 1 can of Cream of Celery Soup (to be added later to finished broth)

· Egg Noodles ( I get mine at Costco or Walmart they are called Country Pasta Homemade style egg Pasta)

· Chicken Bullion Cubes to taste

· ¼ cup of sugar

Directions

Use stockpot and put the chicken and first seven of the above ingredients in and cover with COLD water. (If using left over turkey put the turkey carcass in with a good amount of meat on it!)

Put lid on and bring to a hard boil and then just turn down and let boil slowly for 2-3 hours.

After boiling for several hours drain the soup with all the ingredients into a strainer with a pot or big bowl underneath to reserve and to strain your broth. Then you will have a pot of yummy homemade chicken broth.

Throw away all the boiled vegetables and save the chicken on a platter to cool so you can remove the meat.

In the meantime put the broth back on the stove on high. I add a little sugar about ¼ of a cup for flavor and then you need to salt and pepper to taste. I also add a couple of chicken bullion cubes or powder to make it a little stronger. Put the can of Cream of Celery in the broth and mix in. It will take quite a bit of salt; just keep tasting it, throughout the process of making the soup keep tasting the broth and adding salt and pepper as needed in small increments (**do NOT put all the salt you need in the beginning of the process or by the end when some fluid has evaporated our broth will be too salty..just add a bit at a time!

Now add FRESH vegetables..For Chicken noodle soup I just use carrots and celery and I slice them really thin. Be sure to add some celery leaves and chop them up really small and add them to the soup as well.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle take chunks of chicken and add it to the broth with the vegetables.

Bring soup to boil with the vegetables and meat and then you can add egg noodles. Just add the noodles to the boiling broth and let boil slowly for another hour. You can leave this cooking on low for several hours.

You will have a big pot of wonderful homemade chicken noodle soup, tastes even better the next day!

Tortilla Lasagna

This is a favorite of mine. We eat this regularly in our home. It is easy and very yummy, and feeds an army!

1 Lb. ground beef
½ onion chopped
1 jar spaghetti sauce 24-26 oz.
16 oz. Cottage cheese
1 egg
½ pound grated Mozzarella cheese
½ pound grated cheddar cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 package flour tortilla shells

Brown hamburger and onion in a pan and drain well.
Combine with the spaghetti sauce. In large bowl combine beaten egg, and all the cheeses. Save a little of the Mozzarella and cheddar for the topping.
Put a layer of the tortilla shells in a 9x13 pan. Tear them to fill in all the spaces. Then add a layer of sauce and a layer of cheese. Repeat several times ending with the sauce and a topping of the grated cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot. On your individual plates top with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, green onions and chopped olives as desired.

Old-Fashioned Soft Sugar Cookies and Frosting

 

My best friend growing up ERIN and her MOM would make these all the time.  I always got to help eat and make the cookies and I love them!  These cookies are very soft and freeze really well also. 

 

Old-Fashioned Soft Sugar Cookies Recipe

1 c. butter or margarine, softened

2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. sour cream

4 1/2 c. flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Combine butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and sour cream, and cream well.  In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add creamed mixture and blend well.  Chill for 1 hour.

Roll our on lightly floured surface, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.  Cut as desired.  Baked on greased cookie sheet at 350 for 8 to 9 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Bake until LIGHT golden brown-no more than 10 minutes. When you take them out they will seem underdone but aren't. Let them cool on the pan and they will be perfect and moist. It you like them harder and more crunchy just bake them a little longer.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 of an 8 oz block) softened
1 tsp vanilla (I used almond extract for half of the frosting)
¼ tsp salt
4 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk OR LESS
food coloring (if desired)
For frosting combine butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk a little at a time (YOU DO NOT WANT TO MUCH, I usually just add 3 TBSP) and mix until smooth and spreading consistency. You may not need all the milk!

7-UP Chicken Marinade

This is one of my favorite Chicken Merinade’s. It makes the chicken so yummy and is perfect for grilling!

Ingredients

1 can 7up or 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup canola oil

1 Tb horseradish sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Blend all ingredients and add chicken. ( I usually do this in a big zip loc bag) Let marinate over night or at least 6 hours, in your fridge. (You can also marinate chicken then slice it into strips and fry with onions and sweet peppers for fajitas.)

Navajo Tacos in 10 minutes

When we were first married we lived in Davis County, Utah. They had a dick’s grocery store that sold scone dough! It was a staple at our house to have Navajo Tacos, in fact my friends still call and ask if we are having navajo tacos for dinner! We love them, but now that we don’t live by dick’s we make our own dough and you can’t tell the difference, EASY and YUMMY and it is something you always have in the cupboard!

Navajo tacos are often called fry bread, or fried scones that you can pile on the toppings. Even without the toppings, just fry them up and eat them with a little butter or jam.

I, however, prefer mine piled high and drizzled with sour cream and salsa!

The dough is simple enough, I bet you have all these ingredients in your house!

• 2 cups flour (or a little more)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• oil/shortening for frying
• Taco toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, green onions, sour cream, avacodo, or whatever you have in the fridge)
• 1 can of chili

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the milk and mix until the dough comes together. add flour if needed, should form a perfect ball with not being to sticky. Knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth, then let it rest for 5 minutes. I roll them out with a rolling pin or you can stretch it with your fingers until it's the size you want. You'll want it a little bit thinner in the middle so it doesn't puff too much. ( I roll mine really thin, thin with my finger put holes in the middle it frys better) Heat about 1/2 inch to 1 inch oil in a large skillet. Fry it in vegetable oil and turn on both sides. Fry until brown on each side. Let drain on paper towels. Top with taco toppings. Makes about 5-6.

For a dessert, use smaller pieces of dough and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture right when they come off the stove, a yummy dessert!

Vanilla Pudding

I tried this recipe from Sisterscafe and it was excellent! I loved every bite of it and it is nice served warm, warm the soul!

Submitted by Erin ~ www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

1/3 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 c. milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 T. margarine or butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir in milk gradually. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir at least half of the hot mixture gradually into egg yolks. Blend into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir one minute. Remove from heat; stir in margarine and vanilla. Pour into dessert dishes. Cool slightly and serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 4 servings.

Ham Fried Rice

Seems like I always have a little extra rice after I make a meal or I buy a huge Ham (like I did yesterday..We had ham dinner and I bought an 8 pound ham for just 2 of us, so getting creative and having some different meals with left over ham is so exciting). I LOVE ham fried rice and this is my Mom’s recipe and it is FANTASTIC, great with those pot stickers you get at Costco!

Ham Fried Rice Ingredients

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

2 cups of rice/4 cups of water in rice cooker----- You want the rice to be cold so cook it 2 or 3 hours before you start or if you have left over rice that is great (4 C cold rice)

1 small onion

3 green onions chopped

1 1/2 C chopped ham

5 eggs (scrambled small)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of frozen peas

Sauce for Ham Fried Rice:

1 teaspoon of garlic

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of soy sauce

2 T olive oil, divided

1/4 teaspoon of Powered Ginger

Put all ingredients together and stir for a good minute

DIRECTIONS

1. Chop your onion and ham (I cut ham into chuncks but not to big).

2. Heat up a large skillet and add 1 T olive oil, onion and ham, saute until ham starts to turn slightly brown

3. Add another 1 T olive oil to veggie and ham mixture then add cold rice

Stir well to incorporate all of the ingredients together since the rice is cold it will take a while to get the clumps out.

Add soy sauce mixture a little at at time it should look dry the more you stir the more the white rice will turn lightly brown, then add frozen peas and Stir and cook until all of the rice is heated through and starts to brown just a bit or the peas are warmed.

4. Add scrambled egg and chop to small pieces, keep on warm for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the green onions. Serve and enjoy!

Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Dip

This dip comes from Our Best Bites, and it is great for a party! The men loved it and ate the whole bowl…Good with bread or we ate it with fritos also!

Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Our Best Bites

7 oz jar roasted red peppers (about 1C diced)

4 C grated pepper jack cheese (3/4 lb)

8oz cream cheese (can use low-fat)

3/4 C mayonnaise

2 T minced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350. Remove peppers from jar and blot excess water with paper towels. You want to make sure they are dry so they don't add moisture to the dip. Then dice 'em.

In a bowl, soften cream cheese in microwave so it will be easier to stir. Add in mayo, onion, garlic, and dijon. Stir to combine and then add in grated cheese and the diced peppers. Place in an 8x8-ish dish (pie plate works). At this point you can pop it in the fridge if you're going to cook it later and you can even make it a couple of days ahead of time. Place in the oven and cook for 30-45 minutes. Baking time depends on the dish. It will start to bubble and brown on the outside edge, and you want it to be bubbly all the way through to the center. It will be nice and golden brown on top, especially around the edges. Mine usually takes 40-45 min. (I made mine a day ahead, then brought it to room temperature and baked. I also doubled the recipe for a 9 x 13 pan and cooked it for the same amount of time)

Serve immediately. If the dip is done and your party hasn't started, just keep it warm in the oven. If you're eating left-overs, or you cooked it ahead of time, reheat in the oven as well. Funky things happen in the microwave. You can serve it with anything that sounds good- tortilla chips, pita chips, crackers (choose a plain flavored one) or veggies. However my favorite is soft, warm baguette slices.

Yummy and Easy Brownies

These seriously are the perfect brownies in my opinion. They are fudgy and delicious so easy to make. You only use one bowl and a wooden spoon! We had these twice this weekend. cream again instead. He actually made them himself and his teacher told him that it was her favorite dessert:) He was thrilled!

Perfect One Bowl Brownies

submitted by Melanie from Sisters Cafe

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

4 eggs

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 cup chocolate chips (although I never measure--I just sprinkle them on top)

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl melt butter in microwave, then stir in oil, sugar and cocoa. With a wooden spoon stir in the remainder of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips. Spread into a 9x13 pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. If your toothpick comes out clean you have cooked them too long! DO NOT OVERCOOK!

THE BEST Wheat Bread

We Love bread and are always looking at finding a good recipe. We have tried many upon many and came across this recipe and LOVE IT! I think bread is a little tricky so I have written some secrets to make the perfect wheat bread recipe! This makes 3 bigger loafs

Favorite Wheat Bread recipe

Add the following in this order:
4 cups hot water
1/3 cup of oil
2/3 cup of honey or sugar but honey is very good or you can add just a little more 2 tablespoons to get more sweetness
2 ½ tsp. salt
¾ cup dry milk
1/3 cup of lecithin (this is a preservative and is great when you don’t eat your loaf very fast, the recipe is still good without it.)
8 cups of whole wheat flour

Mix all of these together well (we use our kitchen Aid mixer)
After it is all mixed let it sit for 15 minutes with towel over bowl. I use a Kitchen aid mixer so after this part change your hook to a bread hook.

In a bowl add ½ cup of warm, needs to be about 110 degree water not to much higher or lower
1 ½ tsp of quick yeast, if it is not quick yeast wait until carbon dioxide bubbles are forming all over top of liquid, Add this to your bread mixture

Then add 2 cups of bread flour
Mix well and then start testing for moisture level.

HOW TO CHECK FOR MOISTURE LEVEL?? Depending on the day the dough may be have varying degrees of moisture level i.e. if it is a stormy or a sunny day.
You check the moisture level by inserting your finger into dough; it is just the right level when you have a little ring of dough with a dry small circle in the middle. You adjust the moisture level by adding more water or flour ( this will not affect the taste but will make all the difference in the way your bread turns out.

*****After this we always add more like 1 cup more of wheat and I cup more of bread flour, sometimes more just check if your finger comes out without anything to sticky on it……

When you get the moisture level right knead the bread for 3-4 minutes in your mixer with the dough hook (or we like to take it out and knead with our hands because we don’t want to blow up our machine!, we just spray some cooking spray on the counter, NOT FLOUR). Kneading it for the right amount of time develops the gluten strands and will make the difference in soft chewy bread instead of dry crumbly wheat bread.

*******GLUTEN----Gluten are the strands of amino acid proteins that bind together in a bread dough after the mixture of water, and the creation of longer and stronger chains of gluten through mechanical mixing (kneading). The higher the protein content, the more gluten can be developed. These chains of gluten are important for bread, as they are what allow the dough to capture the created gasses during the cooking and leavening processes, and expand from dense to light.

You then take the bread out of the mixing bowl and place on a sprayed grease counter; you do not want to put it on a floured counter because you finally have the moisture level.
You knead it into a smooth ball and then carefully lift the ball and place into a large greased glass bowl. (This will make the difference in having bread with a smooth top.

Let this rise in bowl until it doubles in size. When it has doubled in size you carefully put dough on greased counter and divide into 4 equal parts (for small loaves or 2 equal parts for big bread pans).
You then knead the 4 equal parts into loaves by bringing the dough into the center into a rectangle shape. Just knead into the center to get rid of the air bubbles. You won’t knead very long this will make the dough tough.

Place dough into greased loaf pans.
Let rise for about 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. Picture is before rising and after rising

Make a little slit in the top of the bread with a sharp bread knife.

Immediately place into a 370 to 375 degree oven and cook for 25 to 30 minutes.
Pull out of oven when finished and let sit in pan for several minutes, then slip bread from pans and place on cooling rack. Wait to cool before cutting bread and if you can’t wait just dive in and eat it.

Brush with butter to make the crust soft and then eat this delicious, healthy wheat bread and share with those you love most!

Shrimp Stir fry with Coconut Sauce

I have been on a serious Asian food kick lately and this is one of the new recipes I tried. The coconut sauce was delicious and creamy and the tender shrimp went great with the crunchy snow peas and peppers. The best part of this meal is it only takes about 30 minutes and the frozen shrimp you just run under water until thawed so it is a great meal right after work!

Ingredients

1 recipe Coconut-Curry sauce (below)

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced (any type will do)

8 ounces snow peas, strings removed

1 can water chesnuts

1 cup bean sprouts (optional)

½ onion, sliced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon of butter

½ carton of mushrooms

Coconut Sauce

1 can coconut milk

1 cup of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of garlic or 3 small garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 tablespoon crushed chili peppers

Salt to taste

Heat butter in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté then add bell peppers and sauté a little more. Add shrimp, and everything else including coconut sauce.

Cook and cover for 5 minutes until mushrooms and snow peas soften, bring to a light boil until softened. If sauce is still to runny add cornstarch until thickened.

Dish up with rice, and enjoy

Crock Pot Beef Stew

I love to use my crock pot especially on a cold day..This is one of my favorite Fall and Winter dishes!

Ingredients

• 3 pounds cubed ( I like mine sliced thin) beef stew meat
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup baby carrots diced
• 4 large potatoes, cubed
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 cups of beef stock
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 onions, sliced (half of them used for large skillet with meat, the other half for crock pot)
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp garlic salt of powder
• 3 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce
• 1 bag of peas
• 2 tablespoons of flour

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add stew meat, onions and some garlic salt, black pepper, and salt, and cook until evenly browned on the outside. Transfer to a slow cooker along with the carrots, potatoes, parsley, and pepper. In a small bowl, stir together 2 cups of boiling water and dry soup mix; pour into the slow cooker.
2. In the same skillet, melt butter and saute onions until softened; remove to the slow cooker. Pour red wine into the skillet, and stir to loosen browned bits of food on the bottom. Remove from heat, and pour into the slow cooker.
3. Cover, and cook on High for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to Low, and cook for 6 hours, or until meat is fork tender. In a small bowl or cup, mix together 2 tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup warm water, and put peas into the stew. Stir into stew, and cook for 30 minutes, or until thickened.

Glazed Poppy seed Bundt Cake

I have a serious obsession with desserts and this is one of my FAVORITES and it is super easy. This cake is moist and light and the buttery glaze is delicious without being too heavy. My husband LOVES this cake and can eat half of the cake!

1 yellow cake mix

1 (5.1 oz) Large box of instant vanilla pudding

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1/2 cup pineapple or orange juice (I use pineapple)

1/2 cup oil

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs

Mix yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding and poppy seeds. Add juice, oil, and sour cream and mix. Add 4 eggs one at a time, mix well. Grease I use cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes (don't over bake).When the cake is about 10 minutes from being done start the glaze

Glaze:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup butter (1 cube)

Bring ingredients to a boil and keep bubbling until ready to pour over cake. Then pour the glaze overtop of cake, Give it a few minutes to soak in and then turn it out onto a cake plate. Optional: dust top of cake with powdered sugar.

Nutter Butters

These are fun to make for any holiday!

1 package Nutter Butter Cookies
1 14oz bags of white chocolate candy coating
1/4 cup red candy coating
Blue colored sugar (instructions below)

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
To melt the candy coating, empty contents of the bag into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals stirring between until the chocolate is melted consistently. Place the Nutter Butters into the coating, covering them completely. Use a fork to "fish" the cookies from the coating shaking the fork back and forth lightly to remove any extra. Place the cookies on the parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with blue colored sugar. Cool completely until coating hardens.
Melt red candy coating using the same method as above. Transfer to a plastic bag. Using scissors, cut the very tip off the sandwich bag. The smaller your cut, the smalled the drizzle. Use the sandwich bag to pipe the red coating back and forth over the cookie until you reach the desired look. When the drizzle has hardened (you can put them in the freezer to speed up the process) brake off any extra chocolate with your fingers.
Colored Sugar

Blue Colored Sugar:

This is so simple. All you have to do is put some sugar (1/4 cup) into a sandwich bag. For good measure it is best to double bag the sugar. Then place some food coloring into the bag w/ the sugar and squish it around and shake it until the color is blended with the sugar. Add more food coloring until you reach the desired color.

Sunshine Jell-o

I got this recipe from Mike’s aunt Laurel…It is Divine, and it is so easy and quick. It seems like I always need to take a salad to some family or church event and this one is quick and really yummy! It reminds me of the sunsets that we are having in Arizona! Gorgeous!

Ingredients:

1 large package of orange jell-o

2 small packages of cook lemon pudding

1 large package of instant vanilla pudding

1 large cool whip (8 oz)

3 small jars of mandarin oranges

4 cups of milk

Directions:

Cook lemon pudding over stove using 4 cups of milk, bring to a boil. While lemon pudding is trying to cook, have 2 cups of water boiling for orange jello. Mix the 2 cups of boiling water to the orange jello make sure the gelatin is dissolved. In a large baking pan mix the lemon pudding together with the orange jello. Mix the jello and pudding mixture together with a wire whisk or mixer. Place into refrigerator and let it settle (firm). After the jello is settled, in a large bowl mix 2 cups of milk with the large package of instant vanilla pudding. Pour pudding mixture into a separate bowl or into the cool whip container (if there is enough room to mix). Mix the cool whip and vanilla pudding together. Pour over jello and decorate the top with mandarin oranges. Keep refrigerated.

Mexican Chicken

This is a regular in our house. I love to use the crock pot it is so easy! (We halved this recipe, There are only two of us!)

(Makes 10-12 servings)
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups frozen corn
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 cups Pace salsa, divided (we used the black bean and corn salsa)
Tabasco sauce (or any other hot sauce), to taste.. (**optional.. this isn't part of the original recipe but we added it for an added kick)
10 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 (8 oz) pkgs. cream cheese, cubed
cooked rice (I made a Spanish rice of sorts by adding a little tomato sauce, cumin, onion, and garlic powder to the rice while cooking, but I love regular rice with it to and you can just stick it in the rice cooker)
shredded cheddar cheese

Combine beans, corn, garlic, cumin and 1/2 of the salsa in slow cooker. Arrange chicken breasts over top. Pour remaining salsa (and optional hot sauce) over top of chicken. Cover. Cook on high 2-3 hours or on low 4-6 hours. Remove chicken and cut into bite size pieces. Return to crockpot. Stir in cream cheese. Cook on high until it melts. Spoon chicken and sauce over cooked rice. Top with cheese. Yummy!

Banana Cake

This is my husband’s favorite desert and it seems every time I get bananas there are a few that do not get eatin’ so here it is..A great recipe to use with those bananas that are left over!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 1/8 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.
4. For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. Spread on cooled cake.

Raspberry Velvet Jell-o Salad

I made this for the 4th of July last year and it was yummy and patriotic! Now it is a tradition to make this every year for the 4th of July!

For the Raspberry Velvet

2 (6 oz.) box raspberry gelatin
1 (6 oz.) box vanilla pudding
4 c. water
1 pkg of fresh raspberries

1 3/4 c. milk

1 pkg of fresh blueberries
1 (9 oz.) frozen whipped topping

Mix vanilla pudding with pie instructions 1 3/4 cup of milk, set aside. Boil 2 cups of water then mix with raspberry gelatin, mix well. Combine pudding and gelatin really well and put it fridge set up.

Decorative Top

Whipped cream in can

Blueberries

big raspberries

Put the blueberries in a sqaure, I tried to get it exact but had to do more blueberries not the original flag!, then Layer raspberries. For the cream that is in between the raspberries do a stop and go action with the whipped cream, and it is ready! So festive and very yummy, I love to serve it with a little more cream on top…Enjoy!

Caramel Popcorn

My Husbands Mom and my sister in law make this occasionally and we love to eat it! It is sticky and yummy, and fun for ANY party

1 can sweet condensed milk

1 cube of butter

1 ½ cups of brown sugar

1 cup karo syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Cook until kind of hangs together, but not quite the soft ball stage (put in really cold water to see if ball forms) usually 6-7 minutes of boiling. Pour into popped popcorn and mix well.

Add tsp. vanilla after it has cooked

Add tsp. vanilla after it has cooked

Makes around 6 quarts or big Tupperware

Bruchetta

I got this from a lady in my ward in Draper. She made it for a party and it was sooooo yummy! Since then I can't even count how many times people have asked me for the recipe. I could probably eat it for a week straight and still LOVE it!

Combine:

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. fresh basil

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

3 cloves of minced garlic

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 T. sugar

1 T. parsley or chives

Mix well then add 1/2 c. olive oil, 5 to 6 Roma tomatoes (diced) and 1/2 red onion sliced very thinly. Marinate for several hours or overnight.

When ready to serve mix 3/4 c. mayonnaise & 3/4 c. Parmesan cheese in a bowl.

I also love cream cream cheese

Cut 1 loaf baguette bread into thin slices. Spread with mayo-cheese mix (or cream cheese). Top with one tablespoon of tomato mixture then sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Broil about 5 minutes till crusted and serve promptly.

No Bake Cookies

 

Yummy dessert and one of my favorite recipes, and it is quick under 5 minutes to fix!

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups Sugar
• 8 tablespoon Butter
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa
• 1/2 cup Peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1/2 cup Nuts, if desired chopped
• 1/2 cup Coconut, if desired
• 3 cups Quick Oats

Preparation

In large saucepan, combine sugar, butter, milk and cocoa. Heat, stirring frequently until boiling. Boil 1 minute; remove from heat and cool 1 minute. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla & salt and mix well. Add oatmeal (and nuts/coconut if desired). Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper and let cool until it hardens.

Winger’s Sticky Fingers and Sauce

I'm not kidding, I can't tell a difference between the real deal and these. This has got to be the exact recipe they use in the restaurant. We can whip these up in less time than it would take to go to Winger's and order them! They are SO easy to make! Great for Football season or for the holidays

For the sauce:
**Covers about 8 sticky fingers
3 Tbsp. Franks Hot Sauce (It has to be Franks Hot Sauce... no other sauce will taste as good)
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. water

Heat up hot sauce, brown sugar and water in a saucepot until all the sugar dissolves (we actually doubled the recipe and it was the perfect amount for the chicken and for dipping).
That's IT for the sauce! Isn't that easy??

For the Sticky Fingers:
1 c. oil
1 pkg. frozen breaded chicken fingers ( I get mine at Sams Club and it comes in a huge box so I just use a little at a time and keep the rest in my freezer)
In a frying pan, heat oil and cook chicken fingers until crispy and warm. Pour sauce over (or put them in a Tupperware with some of the sauce and shake it up until the chicken is completely covered in sauce).

Serve with ranch (we like to make the Hidden Valley Packet Ranch prepared with buttermilk instead of milk) or blue cheese dressing.

Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. They are so soft, chewy and DELICIOUS!

3 1/2 cubes real butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 1/4 c. brown sugar packed
4 eggs
2 Tbsp. vanilla
6 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 bag small chocolate chips (1 lb.)
Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add to sugar mixture. Add chocolate chips. Scoop with small ice cream scoop. Bake at 325 for 8-9 minutes. Do not over bake!

Cafe Rio

I LOVE Cafe Rio. We have tried and tried to duplicate the Cafe Rio pork salad.. and tonight.. we nailed it! It was DELICIOUS!! We have tried different sweet pork recipes but something seemed to be missing from each one.. so we combined a few and made our own! I promise, we are VERY VERY picky about our Cafe Rio pork and this tasted EXACTLY like it. We also played around with the rice, the beans, and the ranch. At dinner tonight, we felt like we were having Cafe Rio take-out.

It really is easier than it looks. It only took me about an hour to make (after the pork was in the crock pot). The rice and beans are SUPER easy, you definitely want the beans and rice to get the whole experience! Also, be generous with the cilantro! Try it and let me know what you think! I KNOW you won't be disappointed!!

What you’ll need:

Tortillas (about 6.. we like to use the uncooked tortillas from Costco so we can fry 'em up ourselves, but regular tortillas work great too!)
Cheese
Cafe Rio Rice

Cafe Rio Black Beans
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork
Lettuce (NOT iceberg, use leafy green or Romaine)
Diced tomato, onion, and cilantro (pico de gallo)
Guacamole
Sour cream
Tortilla Strips (can be found by the produce section at Smith's or Fry’s if you live in Arizona)
Parmesan cheese
Cafe Rio Cilantro Ranch

Here is how we put it all together: First of all, we bought the aluminum deep-dish pans (they had these at the grocery store, you will know when you see them.. they look JUST like the Cafe Rio tins). Lay a tortilla in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle cheese on it, and put in the oven at 375 for about 5 min or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, add beans, rice, pork, then lettuce and a little scoop of diced tomato and onions (pico de gallo).

Pico de Gallo recipe

2 tomatoes (diced small)

1/2 onion (diced small)

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp of Salsa (i like pace)

Guacamole Recipe

2 ripe avocados

1/4 tsp. of garlic powder

1/4 tsp. of lemon juice

1/4 CUP of salsa (picante pace)

Dash of Salt

Mash the avocados then add all ingredients and stir well!

Add guacamole (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) and sour cream. Add crushed tortilla chips, a shake of Parmesan cheese, and top with a few cilantro leaves. Serve with the cilantro ranch dressing and there you have it!
(scroll down to see the rice, beans, pork, and ranch recipes all together...)

SWEET PORK

2 pounds pork
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness)
1 c. brown sugar
Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.
Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.
In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about 1/2 cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.
Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

CILANTRO-LIME RICE
1 c. uncooked rice
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine 1 tsp. lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.
BLACK BEANS
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can c. tomato juice ( 5.5 fl oz)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

CILANTRO RANCH
1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1/2 lime
1 jalapeno (we like it SPICY so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)
Mix all ingredients together in the blender, let refridgerate for 1 hour. That's it!

Nothing Bundt’ Cake

 

This is our own version of Nothing Bundt’ Cake. I love that place, they have the best moist cakes. In the middle I put some decorations like a flower or something, sorry I will take a picture next time I make it with decoration!

Love, this recipe

Chocolate batter
1 chocolate cake mix (darker chocolate version preferred)
1 small package chocolate fudge instant pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup sour cream
1 t vanilla
Combine all ingredients. This makes a rich, delicious and thick brownie like batter.
Grease and flour a standard size bundt pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. In my convection I started checking at 40 minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/8 cup vegetable shortening (this helps the frosting to harden)
1 t vanilla
1 tsp salt
3 1/2-4 cups powdered sugar
Blend on high until you get the desired consistency. You want it thick. To frost, spoon frosting into a gallon freezer bag. Snip off the corner (start small and test it until you get the desired thickness). Frost cake in back and forth zig-zag pattern. Last but not least, add a silk flower.
**Note: I thought this cake was especially good served COLD. Place in refrigerator for a couple hours before serving. It is extra moist and the cream cheese frosting is to die for!