Too hot?

Funny how I changed my dinner plans...all because it just seemed too hot to have my oven on for too long today.  But the idea of making cookies for Garrett and his buddy when they get home from school...not a second thought about that same oven heating up my kitchen!  :)  Apparently my love for chocolate wins out over my air conditioning bill OR my dinner preparations!!!  

That being said, you wouldn't be able to resist either.  They're good.  Real good.

One of the greatest things about staying in Utah for a few extra years to get a Masters Degree out of the way for Steve, was the fact that we got to live minutes away from my little sister.  (My baby sister came to UT after we had left...so we missed out on the fun with her...sorry Dawnia!!!)  But it was so fun to have Dana close by...and NOT just because she passed this cookie recipe on to me, but because we had great times...lots of them!  One day we were dropping baby Garrett off at Dana's apartment, (see I told you it wasn't just for the cookies that I love her...it's the babysitting too!), and she came out with a plate of the best cookies I had ever eaten.  I demanded the recipe and have never looked back.  I even still use the same scrap of paper recipe that she wrote out for me that day...mostly because I love that it's in her handwriting and it makes me think of her the whole time I'm making them!  With my luck, the cookies probably wouldn't turn out as well if I transferred the recipe into my recipe book anyway!!! :)  

But, if YOU want to take your chances and try it from the 'typed' recipe...here you go!  

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 cup butter 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 2 1/2 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1-2 cups chocolate chips Cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars together.  Add in the eggs and vanilla.  Mix well.  Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.  Add to creamed mixture and mix till combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 for 9 minutes.

Roasted Potatoes

So I found a new tasty recipe the other night - thank you Lipton Onion Soup package! Onion-Roasted Potatoes...so so good! I served it with grilled BBQ chicken (got to love those grilling nights!) and corn on the cob, but they were so good, you could put them with a more elegant meal and completely get away with it! This really was a super easy recipe too...I love the ones that are easy and quick to prepare with not a lot of clean-up or dishes involved! Who has time for that?!?!

I (of course) tweaked it a bit...but here's the recipe! Give them a try! And check out the back of the Lipton box if you want the real thing w/o my random notes!

Onion-Roasted Potatoes
4 medium potatoes (about 2 lbs) , chopped into bite-sized pieces (I used 7 small potatoes)
1 Lipton Onion Soup packet
1/3 cup olive oil (I think next time I'll use less...maybe 1/4 cup?)
I also added:
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
Parsley - sprinkled on to add some color

Mix all ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish (I used a cookie sheet). Combine well. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Stir occasionally while while baking for even cooking.

***Edited to add: While glancing at the Lipton box sitting by my computer, I happened to glance at the ingredient list. MSG! What a bummer! Sorry for promoting such a scandalous recipe - loaded with icky things like that!!! So, here's to hoping that there is an MSG free type substitute for the onion mix, because these potatoes are tasty!

Yumm-o!

...to take a quote from good ol' Rachel Ray! THIS is what I made for dinner last night. I know it sounds kinda different, but it was REALLY GOOD - everyone loved it - well, besides Ethan, but he wouldn't even try a bite and he doesn't like anything anyway!
Pair it with THIS and you're good to go! So good and so easy!

Friday Favorite

This week's fave is another recipe...sorry to all you out there who are tired of me sharing my random tasty treats!

It's an apple syrup recipe. And it sounds a bit weird, but trust me...it is sooooo good! It's easy and quick and will make your pancakes this weekend (or whenever you make them) a special treat!

Apple Syrup

1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 cups apple cider (or juice)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 - 1 TBSP butter

Mix first 4 ingredients in saucepan. Stir in cider and lemon juice until thick and boiling. Boil and stir 1 minute and remove from heat. Stir in butter. Serve warm. Makes 2 ½ cups.

*The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup butter...but I usually just put in a tbsp or so - or I omit it all together. In my opinion, it really doesn't need it all, and especially not 1/4 cup of it!!! But feel free to add it back in if you feel the recipe is lacking something!!!

Yum!

Last week I tried my hand at making my own pita bread! It was amazingly simple and turned out soooooo good! I used Peppy's Pita Bread from allrecipes.com. I made them pretty much as the recipe stated, though I substituted whole wheat flour for 1/2 of the white flour and they were fantastic! They were fun to make with Garrett too, they puff up while cooking so it looks like your baking balls in the oven! Give them a try the next time you're in the need of pita bread - way better than the store bought ones!!!

Friday Favorite...proceed with caution!

Drum roll, please...I am about to reveal my top-secret cinnamon roll recipe. Okay, it's not so top-secret since anyone who asks for it, gets it...but these babies are sooooo good, they should be top-secret! (This is for you Kelley...since I always think of you when I make any kind of cinnamon rolls! I blame you for my freshman(and sophomore!) weight gain!!!)

Beware!!! It is entirely possible to gain 10 pounds just by looking at these pictures! And a word of advice...only make these when you have reason to deliver them to neighbors, give them to multiple friends, or have a big group gathering...they are so rich, you really can't (or shouldn't) eat more than one (or two!) :)

They look tricky...but if you have a breadmaker (and I firmly believe that everyone SHOULD have a breadmaker!) just throw all the ingredients in there and let it do the work for you...just set on the dough setting and take out, fill with cinnamon sugar filling and roll into shape! Couldn't be easier!!!

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:
1 ¼ oz pkg active dry yeast
1 c warm milk
½ c sugar
1/3 c margarine, melted
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 c all-purpose flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. In a large bowl, add the sugar, margarine, salt, eggs, and flour and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball using your hands lightly dusted with flour. Put in bowl, cover and let it rise about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. (Or put all ingredients in breadmaker on dough setting.) Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about ¼ inch thick.

Filling:
1 c packed brown sugar
2 ½ tsp cinnamon
1/3 c margarine, softened

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough and then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar over the surface. Working carefully from the top (a 21 inch side) roll the dough down to the bottom edge. Cut the rolled dough into 1 ¾ inch slices and place 6 at a time, evenly spaced, in a lightly greased baking pan. Let rise about 20 minutes (or until they look like they're ready!) Bake at 400 for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown.
While rolls bake, combine icing ingredients.

Icing:
8 TBSP margarine, softened
1 ½ c powdered sugar
¼ c (2 oz) cream cheese
½ tsp vanilla
½-1 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt

Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy. When rolls come out of the oven, coat each generously with icing. (the recipe says it makes 12 rolls, but I must make mine much smaller because I usually get about 20 rolls)

Okay, and just one more handy hint...use dental floss or thread when cutting your rolled cinnamon rolls. I keep a package of floss in my kitchen just for times like these! Does everybody already know how to do this??? Just get a good working length (about 18 inches) of floss. Place the middle of it under your cinnamon roll dough (after it's already rolled into a spiral) where you want to cut it. Bring up both ends of the floss, cross them, and pull tight so that the floss cuts right through your dough. This way you don't end up with smashed cinnamon rolls. I know it sounds crazy, but it works like a dream!!!

Favorites

My favorite for today is another great recipe that I've come across lately. It's from the Kraft Foods website - which always has some great and easy quick meal ideas, complete with the user ratings!!! While you're on their site (http://www.kraftfoods.com) sign up for their free quarterly 'Food & Family' recipe magazine! It is a great thing to browse through...and they have some tasty recipes in there! I always LOVE when my issues come in the mail!!!

Okay...back to the recipe. Check out these Cheesy Pepperoni Pulls. They're a tasty little spin on pizza. They were a hit a few weeks back, and in fact, we're making them again tonight! Garrett loves them...especially since it's upside down pizza...what kid wouldn't love that!?! I'll give you the direct link here, but post the recipe below as I made them since I never can follow a recipe exactly!!!

Cheesy Pepperoni Pulls (aka...Upside Down Pizza!)

4 oz. Pepperoni slices
1 green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped (I left these out!!!)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes (or one chopped tomato)
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 pkg. (13.4 oz.) refrigerated pizza dough (or one batch of your favorite homemade dough)

PREHEAT oven to 400ºF. Combine pepperoni, peppers, onions, tomatoes and dressing in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cheese.
UNROLL pizza dough; cut into 2-inch pieces with sharp knife or kitchen shears. Place evenly over cheese.
BAKE 30 min.; cool 10 min. Invert onto platter; carefully remove dish.

(We've tried a ham and pineapple version of this and it was pretty good too...I'm sure you could do any sort of toppings that you like on your pizza!)

Great Treat for FHE...

Garrett and I made a yummy treat last night while we were waiting for Steve to get home. It is a yummy, gooey peanut butter popcorn! And it would be a great treat for FHE - tasty and quick to make - those are my qualifications for a Monday night treat!

Peanut Butter Popcorn

1/4 cup butter

1/2 - 2/3 cup brown sugar

20 large marshmallows

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 bag microwave popcorn - or 1/2 cup popcorn kernals popped in an air-popper (this was Garrett's favorite part!)

Cook butter, brown sugar and marshmallows over medium heat until marshmallows are melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Pour over popcorn and stir till all popcorn is covered. If you don't want it as gooey...bake it in a 200 degree oven for 15-30 minutes (stirring every 10 minutes or so) to crisp it up a bit!

I also think that next time, I'll stir in some m&m's or something to complete the whole flavor!

And just for clarification...for those of you who don't know what FHE stands for...it's for Family Home Evening. It is a tradition in our church...every monday night is devoted to families. We do things like study the gospel together and then we play games or just do something fun together! I have great memories of growing up and having these Monday nights with my family!!!

Another Friday Fave!

This one comes from my intense love of Cafe Rio - a fresh-mex type of restaurant for those of you who are out of the Utah scene. (Thanks Megs for the excuse to go there while I was in town!!!) It also comes from my dire need of crock-pot recipes...my oven just quit working yesterday and I'm desperate! Seriously, how does an oven just quit...isn't that it's main purpose in being?!?!?! It's definitely not just something to sit in my kitchen and look pretty...I need heat!!!
So anyway, back to my favorites, in my search for the perfect recipe to match Cafe Rio's really tasty sweet pork, I've stumbled across this great recipe. And even better than the taste, is the fact that it is probably the easiest recipe on the face of the earth! Seriously, does it get better than that?!? I'm not saying it's the perfect match to Cafe Rio...but it is VERY good regardless!

Sweet Pork
1 (3-5 lb) pork roast – boneless pork loin recommended (I've also used chicken breasts or a beef roast - you really can't go wrong!)
1 cup salsa – use Pace or one similar, not the fresh salsas
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

Place ingredients in a greased 3 ½ -4 ½ qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW heat for 8-10 hours. (Or on HIGH if you forget about starting your crock-pot until it's too late for the slow method! Honestly, am I the only one who does that?!?) Shred pork with a fork or potato masher before serving. Keep lid off after shredding for about 15 minutes so juice will thicken. Use meat in burritos, tacos, or salads. If freezing, keep juice and freeze with meat.

Now you can really eat this any way you want...but I just have to add that it is to DIE for if you use the tortillas from Costco that you cook yourself (another HUGE FAVE in our family which I could devote a whole favorite blog to by themselves!) Add a little green taco sauce, lime juice and cilantro when serving - it really doesn't get better than that!!!

Tasty Tuesday

Here's my latest fave...Sour Cream Waffles (courtesy once again of Allrecipes.com and holly jg). And as always, since I am apparently unable to follow any recipe as written...I've added my notes in red!

These really are some of the best waffles I've had in a while...I love how moist they are...not the dry eggo-type waffle! Yum!

Sour Cream Waffles

Ingredients

1 cup water

1/2 cup sour cream (I've often omitted the sour cream and just added more yogurt)

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I've used vanilla or even strawberry yogurt and like it even better than plain!)

1/4 tsp white vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour (I'll often use whole wheat flour - they turn a bit more dense...but they had a yummy nutty, wheaty flavor instead)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

(I also add a few tablespoons of sugar - just cause I like mine sweeter!)

Directions -

1. In a bowl, mix together water, sour cream, yogurt and vinegar.

2. Sift flour in a separate large bowl. Stir in baking powder, baking soda and salt. (I never sift the flour.)

3. Add sour cream mixture and eggs to flour mixture, blend until smooth. (Don't over mix!)

4. Cook on a lightly greased waffle iron until golden brown, lift off with a fork.

Tortilla Soup

This was soooo good! It totally hit the spot, so I thought I'd share. Once again though, I cannot claim any of the credit...it comes from the Kingwood Third Ward cookbook and all the kudos go to Randie Krogel!

Tortilla Soup

3 chicken breasts
6 cups chicken broth
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 c onion
1 c. tomato (I used a bottle of diced tomatoes)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 head fresh cilantro (I forgot this and it still turned out great...good thing I'm using my herbs from my garden!!!)
1 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper (I only did 1/8)
1/4 tsp red pepper sauce (Tabasco)
1 can corn, drained

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and boil with onion in chicken broth until onions are tender and chicken is cooked. Add remaining ingredients and boil until green pepper is tender. Serve with grated cheese and tortilla chips.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Okay, so I just have to share...I made these and they were soooo yummy! They are from my favorite recipe website - allrecipes.com - of course! This is where I get all my new recipes these days! So kudos to Ruth and her delightful Pumpkin Pancakes! (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Pancakes/Detail.aspx) Here's the site if you want to browse the original...and read all the reviews! My personal recommendation...add chocolate chips...sooooo good!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar (I added a bit more - just to satisfy my sweet tooth!)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake (spread out each pancake after pouring to help it cook all the way through). Brown on both sides and serve hot.