Black Bean Soup

1 T olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
3/4 C diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)
3/4 C diced celery (about 2 ribs)
1 C diced onion (about 1 sm-med onion)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 3.5oz can green chilies
2 cans low-sodium beef broth
1 t kosher salt
1 dash black pepper
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t cumin
1/2 t dry oregano leaves (if you use ground oregano, use 1/4 t)
1 bay leaf

Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese

Add olive oil to a large stock pot on med-high heat. Saute carrots, celery, onion, and garlic about 4-5 minutes.

Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.

Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are soft.

Remove from heat. Find that bay leaf and pull it out. Don't forget or it will be very bay-ish. Yes, that's a word.

Place all the soup in a blender. (You could use an immersion blender in place of this step) Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the middle. Place a paper towel over the hole though to avoid getting black bean soup burns all over your face. That would be an embarrassing story to tell.

Puree soup until completely smooth.* I leave it in for several minutes. Return to pan and make sure it's heated through completely. Squeeze in the juice from one big lime.

*Several people in the comment section noted that they wanted a chunkier soup so they only pureed half of it. That works too!

Ladle into bowls and top with grated cheese, tortilla chips, etc. Serve with extra lime wedges.

*D: I don't do anything differently. I make this recipe exactly as it's posted. Be sure to remove the center cup of your blender lid. The reason you do this is because your soup is so hot, and once you start blending it, the hot air will expand. If you cap the lid, the hot air will have nowhere to go and will force it's way out, showering you, your counter, and everything else within a five foot radius with black beans. Trust me on this: it's not fun.


We ALWAYS eat this with tortilla chips. It's a MUST.


When you put in the beans, you have two options: drain them for a thicker soup, leave them undrained for a runnier soup. I prefer it thicker (the ONE soup I'll admit is better thicker), but if you like runny soup, then don't drain your beans.


This is definitely a family favorite! It's easy and fun and delicious. I made this for my family when I was visiting this fall: I used chicken instead of beef broth, and we had no bay leaf. It was nasty. Don't omit any ingredients and it'll be great! Pin It

Rosemary Chicken w/ White Beans

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 c sliced fresh carrots
½ c sliced celery
1 1/2 c italian dressing
2 t dried rosemary
½ t salt
1 t pepper

Place the beans, carrots and celery in 5 qt slow cooker; top with chicken. Combine the salad dressing, rosemary, salt and pepper; pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until the chicken juices run clear.

*D: I didn't have any white beans, but I live in Idaho. So I used the Idahoan substitute of potatoes and it was AWESOME!!! To be honest I was shaking in my boots because Tyler's parents came over for dinner and I'd never made this before. But it was seriously amazing. It did my heart good to see my FIL "licking" the plate clean. (He used a fork, but I watched him spoon up every morsel and DROP off that plate!)


Tyler says I may have used too much rosemary. I didn't tell him that I thought the chicken looked bland, so I sprinkled it with rosemary after everything was in the crock pot. Don't do that.


So, for the potatoes, I used maybe a cup and a half, possibly two cups. We chopped them into smaller pieces because we wanted them to cook at the same rate the beans would have.


The flavor was amazing, it took me maybe 10 minutes to put together, and I did cook it for 4 hours. That was possibly too long because the chicken was a little dry. I basted periodically, and I don't know if it helped but it made me feel better. I cut the chicken into halves rather than whole breasts, and that may have been part of the problem as to why it was so dry.


I got this from my SIL's sister's blog, and it was posted as a freezer meal. So you can make this and then freeze it. I don't know anything about reheating, but I imagine you could either microwave it or put it back in the crock pot. Pin It

Vanilla Cupcakes

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon (optional)
1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk






Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. If you want flat topped cupcakes then slice off the dome of each cupcake, with a sharp knife, before frosting. If you want to pipe the frosting, I like to use a large Wilton 1M closed star decorating tip.

Makes 12 cupcakes

*D: I LOVE these cupcakes! They might need a little more sweet, if you ask me. So I would probably add just a dash more sugar...maybe bring it up to a whole cup. I know that's more than a dash, but really I don't think it'd do anything but help.

I used the Butter Cream Frosting that came with the recipe. You can find it here. Please make sure you follow the directions or else your frosting will come out clumpy and funky. But still RATHER tasty. I ton't have a piping bag or tip, so I shoved all the icing in a plastic bag, cut the tip, and voila.


My sister is a cake decorator and showed me how to frost the tops in what I lovingly refer to as "little poops." The secret is to start on the outside and swirl to the center, making sure not to leave gaps between the frosting loops that you'll have to fill in later.

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Easy Butter Cream Frosting

2 cups (230 grams) confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk or light cream
Assorted food colors (if desired)


In an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed. Tint the frosting with desired food color (you can use the paste food coloring that is available at cake decorating stores and party stores).

Make sure you follow the directions. This is a VERY simple recipe for butter cream frosting, so that's fantastic! (Some recipes call for you to add eggs and cook it down...)


However, if you don't whip long enough, your frosting comes out clumpy and funky looking. Not so awesome if you ask me. Still tasty, but not impressive. Pin It

Tuna Salad

2 small or 1 large can(s) whit albacore tuna
head lettuce, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
Frozen petite peas, rinsed with hot water
Red onion, chopped
Chinese noodles
Mayonnaise
Seasoning salt
Pepper

Toss the first 5 ingredients. Mix mayonnaise, seasoning salt and pepper to taste. Mix dressing with salad ingredients. Add Chinese noodles. Serve immediately.

You may notice something is missing. What could it possibly be?...How about measurements? Yeah, how about 'em? This time, it's not my fault. I got this recipe Wednesday night at an Enrichment meeting. We taste tested it and I just about died it was so good. I'm not kidding. Good enough that the very next day I made it for dinner and ate it all. Ok not all by myself, Tyler helped.


Here's what I used:
1/2 head lettuce.
1 can of regular tuna - completely and utterly drained
1 tomato
0 peas - I laugh (and gag) at the thought of putting peas in my salad
1/4 red onion, diced (this was too much for me. I'll cut it down even more in the future.)
1/2 can (about 5 oz) of Chinese noodles
about 8 heaping TBSP of mayo
a lot of seasoning salt and pepper


Toss, serve with French bread and enjoy.


This was a perfect main dish for Tyler and I. We both had two helpings. But if you're feeding a larger family, you may want to double my quantities. I did not use albacore tuna, I just used a regular (small) can of tuna. It was a little more fishy, but overall it was still delicious!! I think you could substitute a can of chicken or ham and it'd still be awesome.


Mmmm! Pin It

Pad Thai with Shrimp

4 cups water
1 package (6 - 8oz) linguine-style stir-fry rice noodles (rice stick noodles*)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup water
3 TBSP packed brown sugar
3 TBSP fish sauce or soy sauce
3TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP rice vinegar or white vinegar
3/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
3 TBSP vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium shallot, finely chopped or 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs, beaten
12 oz frozen cooked peeled deveined medium shrimp, thawed
1/4 cup finely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
4 medium green onions, thinly sliced (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup firmly packed cilantro leaves


*Thin or thick rice stick noodles can be substituted for the linguine-style stir-fry rice noodles.



Tyler and I couldn't decide which one we wanted to try...so we got both. Pictured above, the ones on the right are the noodles the recipe is talking about. But on the left are also rice noodles that are delicious! Below you can see close ups to see the difference between the two.




Neither one is very expensive. They run just a few dollars a package at your local grocery store. I know that seems like a lot (especially since it'll only make one meal, maybe two), but this dish is relatively cheap if you mostly use what you have at home.


1. In a 3-quart saucepan, heat 4 cups water to boiling. Remove from heat; add noodles (push noodles into water with back of spoon to cover them with water if necessary). Soak noodles 3 to 5 minutes or until noodles are soft but firm. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir lime juice, 1/3 cup water, the brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper and 1 tablespoon of the oil until well mixed. Set aside.

3. In a nonstick wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat.

Cook garlic and shallot in oil about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until starting to brown. Add eggs. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring gently and constantly, until scrambled but still moist.

4. Stir in noodles and lime juice mixture. Increase heat to high. Cook about 1 minute, tossing constantly with 2 wooden spoons, until sauce begins to thicken. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro (note from D: that includes shrimp, peanuts, bean sprouts and green onions). Cook 2 to 3 minutes, tossing with 2 wooden spoons, until noodles are tender. Place on serving platter. Sprinkle with cilantro. Garnish with additional chopped dry-roasted peanuts and green onions if desired.

PAD THAI WITH CHICKEN: Substitute 2 cups chopped cooked chicken for the shrimp.

I'll just give you a second to let your mouth water.

Doesn't that look amazing? It was. My friend, Melanie, made this the other night and we invited ourselves over for dinner. Literally. It was so good we left with full bellies and the recipe.


Melanie used the thin noodles, and it was divine. The thicker noodles soaked up the flavor more, but the thin noodles had a lighter flavor and feel. So they're both delicious and wonderful.


I used fish sauce, only because I had it in my fridge. Melanie did not use fish sauce, and her Pad Thai was less sweet than mine. In the future I'll use soy instead. We also used rice vinegar, but I think Mel used white. Use whatever you have. Don't go out and buy rice vinegar unless you use it on a regular basis. I use rice vinegar for sushi, so I usually have it on hand. But like I said, don't go out ant buy it. Just use white vinegar.


Tyler put in the red pepper and even asked me before he did it, "Are you sure you want this much red pepper?" I told him yes because I think Mel is a recipe-follower and hers wasn't too hot. Well, I don't know if she cut back or if our red pepper is more potent or if Tyler used 3/4 of a tablespoon rather than a teaspoon...but ours was burning hot! In the future I will cut back to probably half a teaspoon of red pepper.


You are always welcome to use jarred garlic rather than fresh. The flavor will be different (some say maybe not as good), but use what you have in your fridge. We always have both, so it doesn't matter to us.


We usually have shrimp in our freezer too (I love Shrimp Scampi!), but if you don't have shrimp, don't go buy it just for this dish. It's expensive! Use chicken. Melanie made hers with chicken and it was delicious! I don't know which one I prefer more, but the chicken will probably be what we make in the future because it's less expensive. If you use chicken, though, a little more preparation will have to go into making it because you'll have to do that before you even start on the noodles.


I did not use peanuts because I didn't have any. I always have cashews on hand because of we love Cashew Chicken. So I used those instead. I'm not sure it made a huge difference. We had peanuts at Melanie's house, but both were good.


I didn't know what bean sprouts were as apposed to alfalfa sprouts. Bean sprouts are bigger. Before you use them, be sure to was them carefully. Who knows where they've been?! I rinse them in cool water until they're no longer slimy. I did not measure them (what a nightmare!). I just took too handfuls and called it good.

And lastly, I thought the dish looked a little bland until I put on the cilantro. I did not sprinkle it on top before I served it because Tyler doesn't love cilantro, so I knew he'd ask me to leave it off if it wasn't mixed it. And I think it added to the flavor of the dish because I let it cook for another minute or so after adding the cilantro.


This is a great and EASY dish. I know all my instructions make it look hard, but it really isn't. It just takes a little effort because you have to chop cilantro and onions and garlic. But once you get all the ingredients together, it literally takes 5 minutes to cook.

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Horchata

1 cup uncooked white long-grain rice
5 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup white sugar


Pour the rice and water into the bowl of a blender; blend until the rice just begins to break up, about 1 minute. Let rice and water stand at room temperature for a minimum of 3 hours.

Strain the rice water into a pitcher and discard the rice. Stir the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar into the rice water. Chill and stir before serving over ice.

I LOVE horchata! (Pronounced or-CHA-ta) It's a Mexican rice drink, and it tastes like rice pudding. I don't love rice pudding...in fact I hate rice pudding. But I love horchata. This is a very easy drink, and very festive (sorry I'm late on the Cinco de Mayo post).


Changes to the recipe: cinnamon. That is a LOT of cinnamon! I had to add another half a cup of milk and a few tablespoons of sugar to cut through the cinnamon, and it still didn't work. I even scraped off the excess cinnamon floating on the top. So I'd cut it down to about a teaspoon. Ground cinnamon will float to the top or sink to the bottom. That's the nature of the beast. So if you'd like, you can soak 2 cinnamon sticks in the rice water for three hours, and that should give you a nice flavor. Or you can just use the ground cinnamon and stir your drink before serving.


I love horchata. Who needs Bajio's when you can make horchata at home? Now if I could only figure out how to make their lime chicken... Pin It

Hillary's Carmel Sauce

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk (1/2 cup regular milk with a dash of vinegar)
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp baking soda
vanilla to taste - about 1 1/2 tsp

Melt butter, add buttermilk. Mix in sugar and vanilla. Add the baking soda. The sauce will rise, cook in a tall pan.

This sauce is more like syrup. It's divine on french toast, pancakes, ice cream...pretty much anything. Like I said, it's more like syrup than sauce.


When I was in Ecuador, I'd make myself french toast and carmel sauce every morning after a Noc shift (Noc was the night shift, so we'd go at night and leave when the next group of volunteers got there in the morning).


It's called Hillary's Carmel Sauce because Hillary was one of the project managers, and she introduced us to this recipe. I have since come across it in other cookbooks, but to me it'll always be Hillary's recipe. Pin It

Mustard Sauce

Mix in saucepan:

1/2 cup sugar
5 tsp dry mustard (powder)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cornstarch

Add:

2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vinegar

Mix over medium heat. Add:

2 TBSP butter

Cook over medium heat for fifteen minutes. Yields 1 1/2 cups.

We put this mustard sauce over ham. I would literally make a ham JUST so I can have mustard sauce. When I visited my parents over Christmas and we had ham, I had to phone my mother-in-law to get the recipe just so I had mustard sauce to go with my ham. If you find something else to eat mustard sauce with, please be sure to let me know! Pin It

Yummy Rolls

Mix together: 1 cup margarine - melted
2 cups water
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs

Add & Mix: 2 TBSP yeast - then let it sit until it bubbles up (around 7 - 10 minutes) See picture:



Mix, add, and mix again: 1 tsp baking powder

Mix in gradually: 6 1/2 cups flour


Let rise until dough doubles (about an hour). Divide dough into thirds, or if you want smaller rolls you can do fourths. Roll out into a circle. Cut into 12 equal triangles. Start at the top and roll as tight as you can. Put on a pan, about three rows of six rolls. Let rise for a little bit but not too much. About 15 minutes. Bake for 12 minutes at 400 degrees F or until golden brown.

Rolls are soft and fluffy, not flaky like a croissant.


Fun Varieties: Still bake for 12 minutes at 400 degrees F or until golden brown.

Almond Rolls: (note by Deborah: This is the only way I make these rolls. They are to die for. You will crave them for days afterwards.) Mix together 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup rolled oats, 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle.

Spread about 4 TBSP of melted butter on dough (note from D: I don't bother with melted butter. It's too messy to me. I just spread regular butter and it melts in the oven.)

Then sprinkle with mixture.

Follow directions from original recipe. Cut into triangles. Starting from fat end, roll tightly.

Put on a pan (note from D: I've never sprayed the pan for fear of making the rolls soggy on the bottom, but I think you probably could) and let rise for 30 - 40 minutes. (Note from D: Yeah right! As soon as I get those puppies on the pan they go in the oven! They'd probably be bigger and fluffier if I let them rise, but I can't wait that long.)

You can sprinkle a little sugar, or the mixture, on top to give it a little extra something. Or you can frost it while the rolls are still hot.

Eat these with dinner, for breakfast, or as a snack. Eat them, and you'll always want more. Mmmmmm.

Cinnamon rolls: Instead of using almond roll mixture, put butter and then sprinkle whatever toppings you want inside: brown sugar, cinnamon sugar, nuts, raisins, craisins, coconut. Let rise for 30 - 40 minutes. Bake and frost while hot.

Chicken roll-ups: Mix together 4 oz softened cream cheese, 2 cups cooked and cubed turkey or chicken, 1 can of mushrooms drained and diced, and chopped onions. Roll out half the dough into a rectangle, cut so that the pieces are in smaller rectangles (about a dozen of them). Put some of the mixture onto the dough, fold over and pinch the edges. These don't have to rise. After they are done baking, serve with a hot gravy made from cream of chicken soup and milk.

This dough can also be used for scones or pizza dough (just roll out onto sprinkled dry corn meal).

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Mom's Five Chip Cookies

1 cup Crisco shortening or butter
2 eggs
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c white sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
chips: butterscotch, milk chocolate, semi sweet chocolate, white chocolate, mini kisses or peanut butter or swirls or vanilla.

Beat together shortening and eggs. Add flour, salt and banking soda and mix. Add sugars and vanilla and mix. Stir in chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes.



These cookies are absolutely a favorite in our house! My mom sent them to me while I was in Ecuador. Every time we go on a family trip Tyler says, "Are you going to make your mom's cookies?" I think there would be mutiny if I ever tried to make a different kind.


If you notice, there are no measurements for the chips. That's because I don't know how much is supposed to go in. I usually just pour in a bit of all the chips until it looks like there are enough. Maybe a fourth to a half a cup of each. And I usually just use whatever I have in my freezer for variety. That means my cookies are usually four chip: milk, semi-sweet, and white chocolate and butterscotch. Yes, I always have those kinds of chips on hand because Tyler loves cookies, and he loves these cookies.


The recipe says to bake for 8 - 10 minutes. I pull them out right at 8 minutes because I've found that even at 9 minutes they flatten out and turn crispy. So if you like flat, crispy cookies (and some people do!) then you can let them go for a little longer.


Enjoy! Pin It

Q-tip: Spaghetti

Spaghetti is boring. The same old same old. Right?

*shrug* Depends on who you ask. If you're askin' me, no. It's not boring. But that's probably because We don't just eat warmed spaghetti sauce from a jar on top of noodles.

Spaghetti is a very versatile thing. Add meat and the whole thing changes. Ground beef is a normal choice for sure. We usually brown a pound of hamburger, then I save half of it and freeze it for future spaghetti uses. Or try making it with meatballs instead of just browning ground beef. That'd be a treat.

Bored with beef? Try ground pork. Tyler LOVES spaghetti with ground pork. My mom used to make it with sausage. That's a favorite of mine. Or try chicken.

Chicken? Yes. chicken.

So you've tried all the meat options and decide you love it with beef, but it's still boring. What now? Try changing the pasta. There's an idea. Eat spaghetti with angel hair, bow tie, elbow macaroni, penne, or rotini (the swirly pastas). They all taste pretty much the same but you'd be surprised how much of a difference it will make.

So you decide you like the chicken and the rotini the best. What now?

Here is my new favorite idea. Add a jar of Alfredo sauce to your spaghetti sauce. Yes, Alfredo. My sister, Maura, does this all the time and calls it tomato cream sauce. I just ate it tonight for the first time and loved it. Tyler loved it too. He even went back for seconds. It's easy, it's delicious, it's new. What more could you ask for?

Let's say you make regular spaghetti and beef, but you make too much. Dreading leftovers? Don't. Butter fry your left over spaghetti and it will taste better the second night than it did the first. Just melt some butter - a lot of butter - in a skillet and dump in your leftovers. Heat until warm and the noodles have turned orange. Oooooohhh, it's so delicious.

So. Now you have some ideas for ways to dress up your spaghetti.

Enjoy! Pin It

Dangerous Chocolate Cake

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips, optionals
mall splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug





Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high).

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?

Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time - day or night!

I'm eating this right now. I'm surprised to discover that's it's light and fluffy. I expected it to be dense and rich. It's pleasant and I don't feel all that bad about eating it all because it's so light.

It may look gross, but trust me, it's delicious. I topped mine with a little chocolate syrup. Next time I'm going to put some cherries on top. Mmmm.

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Sweet and Sour Chicken

chicken breasts, sliced into 2"strips
cornstarch
1 dash salt
oil
egg
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
3/8 cup vinegar
1 TBSP soy sauce

Dip chicken in beaten egg, then coat in cornstarch. Fry in oil until brown on edges. Place in pan. Combine remaining ingredients in a sauce pan to make sauce and bring to boil. Pour over the top of the chicken and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Baste while baking.

I won't lie, this recipe is deceiving in it's easiness. The first part is kind of hard and very messy. It uses a LOT of cornstarch, so to cut it back a little, try mixing in a bit of flour. The consistency will change just a bit, but not too much.


I usually double the sauce (as usual) and make plenty for leftovers. This is such an amazing dinner! I promise, you'll never go to Fong's again...or whatever cheapo Chinese food place you frequent. This is a hundred times better.


Serve with Fried Rice. Pin It

Fried Rice

1/4 cup oil
2 eggs, well beaten
1 - 2 cups chopped ham
3 cups cold, cooked rice
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
2 TBSP soy sauce

Scramble eggs in oil. Add meat, saute for 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Cook, occasionally stirring, until warm. Serve with your favorite main dish, like Sweet and Sour Chicken or Teriyaki Meatballs.

We generally follow this recipe as is. Why mess with perfection? We do not use real ham because that's too expensive. We use the fake ham ("meat" that's molded, dyed and flavored to look and taste like ham) and it's a lot cheaper.


Occasionally we won't have green onion and we'll use a yellow onion instead. The flavor isn't as good, but it still works just fine.


Usually we double this recipe so that we have plenty of leftovers. Pin It

Q-tip: Meatballs

Meatballs are awesome. I love meatballs. You can put them in spaghetti, serve them over rice, make a bunch of them at once and freeze them...the possibilities are endless! And don't get me started on flavors.

The thing I've found with meatballs is that it's the sauce that really makes the dish. I have a generic recipe for meatballs and I switch it up depending on the sauce.

I always use seasoned bread crumbs, egg, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, and dehydrated onions. Sometimes I add some wheat germ or corn meal for extra folic acid or something. Occasionally I put rice in them, though I don't have a ton of luck with that.

The biggest trick with meatballs and making them healthy is this: bake them instead of fry them. My mom always baked her meatballs, so it was weird to me to see a recipe that called to fry the meatballs. That's just crazy talk! Bake them for less oil, less grease, and better chances of having your meatball cooked thoroughly. Also, make them smaller so they'll cook faster.

Cheers! Pin It

Teriyaki Meatballs

3 lbs ground beef
3 cups quick oats
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 large onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup oil
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup vinegar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 cup brown sugar
a/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 TB flour

Combine onion and oil in fry pan. Cook onions. Combine ketchup, vinegar, mustard, garlic salt, brown sugar, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and flour in saucepan. Mix together with onions and simmer for 1 hour. While sauce is simmering, make meatballs: mix ground beef, eggs and oats.

*D: That's the recipe. Here's how I do it:


I disregard the recipe. Honestly. I make meatballs the way I make them: ground beef (one pound for the two of us, but I'd use three pounds if you've got more than four people eating), an egg per pound, seasoned bread crumbs, garlic powder, dehydrated onion, pepper, Mrs. Dash, and Worcestershire. I mix it up, form the meatballs, put them in a glass baking dish, pour the sauce over the top and bake at 350 - 400 degrees for about a half hour.


The sauce I do NOT simmer for an hour. No thanks. I mix the ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce and heat until mixed (about 5 - 10 minutes). The dry mustard gives it a little more of a kick, so I don't always add it. I do not add the flour or garlic salt. I just don't.


Serve these bad boys over rice or pasta or with steamed potatoes and corn. Mmmm. Pin It

New York Cheesecake

15 graham crackers (1/2 grahams, so 7 1/2 whole crackers)
2 TBSP butter, melted
4 packages of cream cheese, 8 oz each
1 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c milk
4 eggs
1 c sour cream
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1/4 c flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9" springform pan. This is a springform pan:



There's a glass, or metal, disc in the bottom or the pan and then the latch is released, the disc is removable.

Put the graham crackers in large plastic bag and crush them. I use a rolling pin and it works marvelously. In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and butter together. The mixture will be that of moist crumbs. It will not be wet, and it won't even clump together.

Press the crumbs into the bottom of the greased pan. Press them slightly higher along the edges to create a very shallow lip.

In a large bowl mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Blend in milk and then mix in eggs one at a time; just enough to incorporate them. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth.

Pour filling into prepared crust. As you can see, it's very near the top. Yes, it does rise. I have never had it over flow, but I'm not willing to risk it. I put a cookie sheet under the cheesecake just in case.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn oven off and let the cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 - 6 hours. This prevents cracking.

Chill in refrigerator until serving.

Here you can see the cake has risen out of the pan.

Once it cools, it will condense again. It is important to read the instructions. But it's even more important to follow them. Leave the door closed on the oven, otherwise this will happen:

I wasn't too worried because it all tastes the same. But your cake will not crack if you leave the oven door closed. I promise.

It still looks good anyway, if I do say so myself.

Next you just need to slice it up and "doctor" it (as my in-laws say) to perfection. My drug of choice? Cherry pie filling and chocolate sauce.

Mmmm.

Tell me your mouth isn't watering right now...

Aren't you impressed? If you make this for company or your spouse or your in-laws, they will be impressed too.

And trust me, it tasted as good as it looked.

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Turtle Cookies

2 eggs
1 cup flour
3 TBSP cocoa
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients and spoon into waffle iron. Cook until done. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.


This is such a fun, delicious treat. They're so stinkin' easy to make (you don't even have to preheat the oven!) and boy are they good. They use and entire stick of butter...they have to be good! A word of caution: don't fill the waffle iron with dough like you would if you were making waffles. You just get giant chocolate waffles. Spoon a little amount in and you get fun "turtle" shaped cookies. Pin It