Dogfood

Dad requested that I post this one.
I got it from Pam Simmonds (music teacher at Cole)

Brown 1 pound ground beef & a little chopped onion.
Add and let cook with cover on:
2 to 3 carrots - peeled and diced
4 potatoes - peeled and diced
1 can corn (drained) or frozen corn
When vegetables are cooked (not mushy but firm) add 1 can evaporated milk and simmer (without lid) until thickened a little.

Swedish Farmer's Omelette

From Linda Christensen
Mix in 9X12 pan sprayed with Pam:
1 pkg. shredded potatoes (Simply Shreds, etc.)
1 medium diced onion (or less)
2 cups diced ham
1 cup grated cheese (cheddar/jack, etc.)
Mix together in a bowl:
12 eggs
2 tsp. dried dill weed
1 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
Pour over potato mixture (Can set like this overnight).
Bake at 35O0 for about an hour.
Top the omelette with slices of tomato and pepper and then cover with cheese. Return to the oven until cheese has melted.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

From Ann Crandall
Crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cub oatmeal
1/2 cup firmley packed brouwn sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
Mix until crumbly. Press into 9X12 pan. Bake at 35O0 for 15 minutes.
Filling:
1 (1 lb) can pumpkin (2 cups)
1 (13 1/2 oz) can evaporated milk
2 eggs
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsps. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Mix well. Pour over crust and bake at 35O0 for 20 minutes
Topping:
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbs. butter
Combine and sprinkle over pumpkin filling. Return to over 15 to 20 minutes longer.
Cool. Cut into squares. Serve with whipped cream.

Rachael Ray's Mac and Cheese Lorraine

We had this for dinner this week and it was yummy! I actually burned the onions (I only used 1/2 of an onion anyway), so we left those out and we used shells for the pasta. Oh, and I just used some extra chicken stock instead of dry white wine. The Gruyere was yummy, but took a few bites for me to get used to. I'm sure you could use cheddar if you wanted too. It warmed up well for leftovers too. I stored the bacon separate. The recipe is from Rachael Ray's Just in Time cookbook and is a 30 minute meal.

Salt
1 pound gemelli pasta or other short cut pasta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
2 onions, quartered and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
Black pepper
2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese
A little freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 rounded tablespoon Dijon mustard

Preparation
Heat water for pasta, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.
While pasta water comes to boil, heat the EVOO, one turn of the pan, in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. When EVOO is hot, add bacon and crisp, 5-6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain off some of the fat if you have more than 2-3 tablespoons. Add onions and cook for 10 minutes, until soft and beginning to caramelize. Add wine and cook out, 1 minute.
While onions cook, heat a saucepot over medium heat. Add butter, melt, then whisk in flour. Cook for 1 minute, then whisk in chicken stock and milk and bring to a bubble. Thicken for a few minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Melt in cheese, stirring it in a figure eight motion with wooden spoon. Add nutmeg and mustard and adjust salt and pepper.
Drain pasta, toss with onions and stir in cheese sauce to coat. Top with crispy bacon and serve.

Speaking of dinner, I better go start it. I'm glad you two are willing to participate! I'm excited to get some new recipes (and clean out my files in the process).

Buttermilk Syrup

Oh, this syrup is soooo good. It is too sweet for our chocolate chip pancakes, but we really like it on French toast. We got it from Shawn's grandma when we visited her in Spokane.

Buttermilk Sauce for pancakes
Betty Thurber

1 cube butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk or soured milk (add 1/2 Tbl. vinegar or lemon juice to milk and let set for a minute.)
bring to a boil and boil for one minute.
Remove from heat and add
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda.
It will foam up. Let it sit for a few minutes and it is great.

Spinach lasagna

We like this one at our house. It's a good meatless lasagna. I'm too lazy to type it all out so I'm linking it! Yay for being lazy! This will give all the nutrition info, too.
http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/spinach-lasagna-51636.aspx

Best Zucchini bread ever!

I got this from a blog too - sorry, don't remember which one. But it is the best ever! Is David allergic to coconut too?

Zucchini Coconut Bread
3 Eggs
3/4 C. Oil
1 1/2 C. Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 C. Grated zucchini
2 1/3 C. Flour
1/4 tsp. Soda
1/4 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 sm. Pkg. Pistachio pudding
1 C. Coconut (optional)

Beat together eggs, oil, and sugar. Add the vanilla and zucchini. Mix all dry ingredients together and add to the other mixture. Pour into 2 greased bread pans.Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes.

Coconut Glaze
1/2 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Water
1 T. Butter or margarine
1/2 tsp. Coconut extract (or almond)

Bring sugar, water, and butter to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add extract. Pour over warm bread and let it cool completely before removing from pans.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Here's a list of possible toppings for this great "Pile-Upon" meal. I ususally saute cubed chicken in oil with some garlic powder, then add the cream of chicken soup and a little milk to make a gravy. The toppings we usually add are in the first group.

chicken "sauce" (chopped chicken and cream of mushroom soup)
almonds
Chinese noodles
pineapple
coconut
cheese
peas

green onions
bell peppers (saute)
raisins
sunflower seeds
creamed mushrooms
tuna
sweet corn
ham
carrots (shredded, saute, etc)
chicken or meat mixture
fresh chopped tomatoes
celery
cashews
mandarin oranges
broccoli
water chestnuts
sunflower seeds
peanuts
sweet and sour sauce
bamboo shoots
grapes
dried cranberries
olives
pecans
Maraschino cherries (this is what Shawn remembers growing up)
julienne zucchini (sauté or steam lightly)
summer squash (sauté)onions (sauté)

CORNFLAKE CANDY SURPRISE

This would be a no-no at Gina's house (little man has peanut allergies), but I love the coconut in it!

6 Cups Cornflakes,
3/4 Cup Light corn syrup,
3/4 Cup Peanut Butter
3/4 Cup Brown sugar
1 Cup Coconut.

Use a large pan melt the corn syrup and sugar-bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the peanut butter & stir in the corn flakes and coconut. Press into 9x11 pan. Store in an air tight container, you can also add nuts, chocolate chips or raisins. Note: if you need a double batch just make it twice, for some reason it just doesn't turn out as well if you try to double it.

3 Can Soup

Made this a long time ago, but I seem to recall it was super easy and yummy. Kind of like a tortilla soup. You could add tortilla chips and grated cheese when you serve it too.

3 Can Soup

1 can corn
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

Combine in a pot and heat. It's that simple! Add a cheese quesadilla and dinner is served. Easily serves 4. Sprinkle cheese on top if desired. Can be easily doubled or tripled for a crowd.

Drain leftovers, wrap in a tortilla with some cheese and microwave for a quick lunch the next day!

Heavenly Chili

Here's the recipe for Heavenly Chili again...

White Chicken Chili or Heavenly Chili
Karen Meeker - BYU

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, cubed
1 med onion, chopped (or dried, minced onion)
¼ tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbl. Vegetable oil
3 cans (15 ½ oz.) Great Northern Beans, drained
1 can (14 ½ oz) chicken broth
1 sm. can chopped green chilies
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. pepper
1 cup sour cream
½ cup whipping cream (or evaporated milk)

Saute chicken in oil. When well cooked, add the spices, green chilies and broth and bring to a boil. Add the beans and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. Remove form heat and stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Serve immediately for rave reviews!

Thirst Quenching Drinks

Here are some drink recipes that are perfect for parties. I got them from the girls at the Over the Tipsy-Top Design blog.

LEMON WATER
1 Tbsp. Citric Acid
1 Tbsp. Lemon Extract
2 1/2 Cups Sugar
5 Qts. Ice Water
*Mix together and add a few lemon slices.

CRANBERRY COOLER
1 Liter No-Name Brand Diet Sprite
1 Can Cran-Raspberry Concentrate
1 Can White Grape Juice Concentrate
*Mix and add ice (Sonic is the best of course, we just buy it by the bag full) Add some berries for a fun flare.

BRAZILIAN LIME-AID
3 Cups Water
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Lime - cut into fourths
* Blend in a blender using the "PULSE" button, pulse 10 times (Do NOT blend more then this or it will leave a rind taste.
Then add:1 Tbs. Sweetened Condensed Milk- Pulse 2 more times. To remove large pieces of lime pour through a strainer and serve over ice. ( Note: I had to make 3 or 4 batches to fill a punch bowl.)

It's a Keeper

My 2 sisters-in-law and I have been emailing about recipes and meal planning this week and I thought it might be fun to start a blog where we can share our tried and true recipes. It will also give me an opportunity to learn a few more tricks of the blogging world - like adding labels (categories) and multiple participants on one blog-site.

The title comes from the question I ask my family each time I try a new recipe - "Is it a keeper, or not?" I am by no means an incredible cook, but after 11 years of marriage, we've found a few "keepers."

So, we'll see how this goes.