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!