Easy Roasted Potatoes

This is another of my favorite easy recipes! These go with anything and are great for when you are tired of mashed potatoes. Just chop up your potatoes, (I like the red because they cook faster) then melt some butter, as much as you like to put on, and then add salt, pepper, and any other seasonigs that you want. I have started adding either dill or oregano and it is really good! Josh loves to put cheese on these as well. Mix your potatoes, butter and seasoning well, and bake in the over at 425 for about 45 min., stirring occasionally. I like to malke these with the chicken and I can bake them at the same time and be done with dinner all at once! (Sorry the picture is sideways)

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Here is a recipe that I have found and vastly simplified, but it tastes great and is so quick and easy! All you do is put your chicken in a glass baking dish, dice up 1-2 small apples, slice some mushroooms and throw those on top, and then add a bottle of Kikomann's Sweet and Sour sauce,(or any brand, or make your own) if you do use the bottled kind I add just a little bit of water to help spread it, stir everything around and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked! We love it! (Yes, the pink sauce tends to make the chicken still look a little questionable!)

Fantastic Black Bean Chili

{So good. So easy.}

• 1 Tbls. Oil
• 1 Onion, diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Ib. Ground Beef
• 3 (15 oz) Cans Black Beans
• 1 (14 oz) Can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 1/2 Tbls. Chili Powder
• 1 Tbls. Dry Oregano
• 1 Tbls. Dry Basil
• 1 Tbls. Red Wine Vinegar

In large pot, heat oil. Add beef, onion, and garlic. Cook until meat is done. Add all other ingredients and simmer 1 hour or more.

{This is a good 3 month supply recipe, since most of the ingredients are easy to store.}

The Old Black Pot

I have poo, poo'd the idea of having seperate pots for sweet and salty dishes but last night's meal has helped me see the light! Previously I baked cinnamon rolls in my 10 inch oven (see below post) then last night I baked chicken breasts with green chili, onion and garlic. This dish had a very strange taste...I mean it's edible but where is the "Spanish" flavor. I doctored it with cumin, oregano, garlic salt and yet there persisted an oddly sweet taste. Perhaps this dilema can be solved by using foil as a barrier for sweet dishes. I'll update this after I experiment a bit more.

Crockpot Banana Nut Bread

This is a recipe, that has been altered just a tad, from 365daysofcrockpot.blogspot.c0m. This is the bread baking nicely...notice all of the moisture on the lid.Bread is very moist. If you increase the size of the picture you may wonder what in the world I have added to the recipe...that would be cracked wheat and pecans.

Original Bread Recipe

1/3 c. butter

2/3 c. sugar

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas

1-3/4 c. whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

I added 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1/2 c. pecans. I also substituted flour; 1 c. white, and 3/4 c. cracked wheat. The longer this sat on the cutting board the softer the wheat kernals bacame. I liked it, Mel was iffy.

Spray crock with nonstick spray and dust with flour.

In mixing bowl; cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar, eggs, mashed bananas, vanilla; beat til smooth. Sift dry ingredients together then add slowly to cream mixture. Add nuts last.

Pour into crock, cover with lid and bake on high 2 to 3 hours. Test with toothpick for doneness.

Let cool in crock then tip out on plate, cutting board or whatever.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

In mixing bowl put...1 C. Regular Shortening, 1 C. White Sugar, 1 C. Brown Sugar, 1 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring, 2 eggs....Mix well. Add: 1 C. Peanut Butter (creamy or crunchy) Blend well.

In a seperate bowl put 3 C. sifted flour and 2 tsp. baking soda. Mix this then add to batter mix.

In a muffin tin for mini muffins drop dough balls...I think these are about 1 &1/2 tsp.

I then pressed them flat.

Bake these in 375* oven. Approx. 8 min. These will puff up and then fall in the middle...just right for these...

As soon as you place cookies in oven get busy unwrapping cups! When cookies are baked or nearly so remove from oven and let cool just a bit then pop the cups in the center.

Or just make plain old peanut butter cookies! These are fantastic!

What you need for Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Mini muffin tin

Peanut butter cups

1 cup regular shortening

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla flavoring

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter

3 cups sifted flour

2 tsp. baking soda

Bake @ 375* between 8 - 10 minutes.

Easy Oniony Crockpot Porkchops

4 half inch thick porkchops

1 10.5 oz. Can Cream of Mushroom Soup, undiluted

1/2 pkg. dry onion soup mix

Mix the last 2 ingredients together in the crockpot. Add meat layering the soup in between pieces, like so-

Cook on low 4 to 6 hours. Serve with mashed pototoes and veggies.

This is an easy meal to throw together before church, and the sauce makes a great gravy.

College brainiacks say, "Yum!"

Meatloaf...alittleofthisandthat Syle

In a large bowl mix 3 lbs. ground meat (this happens to be oryx), 1/4 lb. sausage, 1pkg. onion soup mix, 1 large carrot (grated or chopped fine), a handful of oatmeal, 2 Tbls. dried onion, 1 slice bread, 1 egg, 1 Tbls. worchestershire sauce, 2 Tbls. catsup, 1 Tbls. mustard, 1/2 cup milk, pepper and seasoning salt. Oops...I almost forgot....parsley flakes. Mix until well blended.

Use half of the meat mix and mold it to your pan...again I love this in cast iron.

On top of this I sliced about 1/4 lb. of cheese, 1 can sliced mushrooms, and green chili.

Top it with the remaining meat mix. It should be like a big, stuffed hamburger patty. Pull it away from the sides of the pan and with the edge of your hand divide the patty into quarters. Not too deep...you don't want to expose the stuffing.

Top the patty with bacon and place in the oven and bake for about an hour at 425 degrees. Uncovered.

In a small sauce pan mix equal parts catsup and honey. Heat to blend. When the meatloaf is done spread this mix on top and turn on the broiler for a few minutes. This is also good to spoon over individual servings.

I apologize...I totally forgot to take a picture until after we served up to the Elders. Now I know this looks really oily but it's not (I mean after all it's still in the pan not on your plate.) If you are concerned about that sorta thing use low fat cheese and leave off the bacon.

I love this! I hope you do too. Let me know your variations and/or stuffing ideas.

Cinnamon Rolls

Using the Monkey Bread recipe below: I used the other half of the bread dough and made cinnamon rolls. Roll out dough approx. 1/4 inch thick and spread butter on it. Top with cinnamon, brown sugar...if you spill toppings don't worry just toss it on with the rest. ;) Add raisens, and nuts.

Roll up.

Now get some fishing line (preferrably clean) and use it to cut your rolls. Take an end in each hand, pull it taut and slide under roll approx. 1 -1/2 inch, cross string over top, switch hands and pull.

Viola...this will give you a clean cut.

Place in oiled pan. Smash down to about 1 inch thick. Let rise and fill pan.

Half of the dough filled 2 ten inch dutchovens.

With lids on bake at 375 degrees until done (just until beginning to turn tan on top..20 to 25 min.). (Don't over bake because they will finish on the cooling rack.)
While still warm but not hot take out of dutchovens and place on foil. When cooled, add icing.

Have you ever tried elastic in the waistband? ;)

Monkey Bread...MmmmmMmmmm!

In mixing bowl place 2 cups HOT water, 2 Tbls. butter flavored Crisco shortening, 1/2 cup sugar, 1&1/2 tsp. salt. This should bring water temp down enough that it will not kill your yeast. Add 1 Tbls. or 1 package yeast. Let yeast dissolve and begin to work. I then put 5 cups flour in and begin to mix.I continue to add flour by half cups until I get to the right texture. (Usually about 6 to 6-1/2 cups...of course because I don't measure very well you may need more.) You want the dough to be soft yet not sticky.

This recipe will make 2 loaves of bread. But this is usually how I use the dough. Divide the dough in half. Roll it out on a floured surface until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Take your pizza cutter and very carefully cut it into strips about 2 inches wide, ...

Then cross cut at an angle. (Use your own judgement while cutting, just be gentle with your counter top!)

Melt a cube of butter (or whatever amount you will need.)

Dip individual pieces of dough in butter then place in baking pan. (These will be swimming in butter by the time you're done.)

I like crunchy crust so cast iron is my favorite pan to bake this bread in. Layer pieces...I generally don't do more than 3 or 4 layers. What I learned last night....I baked this on the top shelf (right under the broiler) because I had two other dutchovens in the oven also...more on that later. The top was really crunchy and the bottom pieces were very nicely baked, soft and saturated with heavenly butter! Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes.

You can use this recipe for rolls, loaves, and another favorite of mine...roll out, use a drinking glass (whatever works and depending on how large you want) cut into circles. Again, dip in butter and bake....great little snackers, if larger; hamburger buns.

Hope you all enjoy!

PS. You may want to buy a larger size pair of pants! ;) And keep the lecithin handy!

Refried Beans without the Refry

Today I learned to make refried beans, and my husband can't stop raving about them, so I thought I'd share the recipe. I'll post a picture when I figure out how to take a semi-cute shot of a food that is not very picturesque. Until then, please use your imagination!

Here's the link to the allrecipes recipe I followed.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Refried-Beans-Without-the-Refry/Detail.aspx

And here is what I did after reading the comments:

Refried Beans without the Refry {crockpot recipe}

1 onion, peeled and halved

2 C. dry pinto beans, rinsed

1 C. dry black beans, rinsed

1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped

2 Tbls. minced garlic

1 Tbls. Salt

2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. ground cumin

9 C. water

Step 1: Sort the beans carefully, looking for rocks or anything else that shouldn't be there. It only takes a minute and could save a trip to the dentist! Rinse the beans.

Step 2: Peel and halve the onion.

Step 3: Seed and chop the jalapeno, using a plastic baggy as a glove.

Step 4: Add minced garlic - I use the pre-minced stuff from a jar (walmart brand) and I love it. So much quicker than mincing by hand or using one of those press thingies. But if you must, mince away!

Step 5: Add seasonings.

Step 6: Add water.

{Maybe I should have clarified that you would be putting all of these things in a crockpot, preferably a 6 quart, but it might fit in a four quart if you are a very lucky person.}

Step 7: Turn crockpot to high, cover and cook for eight hours adding water as needed.

Step 8: Strain the beans, saving the water by catching it in another bowl under the strainer.

Step 9: Mash, adding reserved bean water as needed. I used my kitchenaid mixer for this and added about one and a quarter cups of water.

I think all those steps might make it look harder than it actually was. Short story: Put a couple of things in the crockpot in the morning. Let it simmer all day. Mash in kitchenaid. Feast. Easy- peasy. You can freeze some of this if you need to. It does make a lot.

I don't know why, but I was intimidated by the thought of making refried beans for a long time. Maybe it was the whole lard thing. Seriously, what is lard and where do you find it? This recipe is great in it's simplicity, and it tastes wonderful. The jalapeno gives it just enough kick without being too spicy - for adults that is. My two-year-old didn't seem to dig it, so maybe next time I'll try it without the hot stuff and see how it tastes.

Green Chili Soup

Yummy I love this soup

1 lbs. of what ever meat you like.... I usually do what is on sale or no meat at all

6 potatoes peel and dice

2 7 oz cans of green chili (do what you want depending on what you like)

1 onion

4 tablespoons of chicken bouillon

3 bay leafs

1/2 tablespoon of pepper

1 1/2 cups of cheese

a bushell of cilantro

put your meat, potatoes, green chili, onion, bouillon, pepper and 1/2 of the cilantro in your pot and than fill it 75 % full of water.... let boil...when the potatoes are done add the cheese and keep stirring until it is all melted and then add the rest of the cilantro and let simmer for about 15min and then it is done!

I put more cheese on top when I serve it and I eat it with a tortilla or chips!

Half Baked is the winner

Kristy won! Um I dint have you a cool winners suprise.....but i am trying to think of one so who knows you might get a cool something in the mail someday!

And also if you are posting recipes without pictures that is fine but next time you make that recipe or someone Else tries it...post a picture please.

Tortilla Soup

We love this soup!
2 1/2 Cup Chopped Raw Chicken

1 Can (15.25 oz.) Corn, drained

1 Can (10.5 oz.) Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Can (4 oz.) Diced Green Chile

2 Tbls. Fresh Cilantro

1 1/2 tsp. Taco Seasoning

1 Can (14 oz) Chicken Broth

1 Cup Water

Mix in pot & cook until the chicken is done.

THEN, take 1 cup soup juice & 1 Cup Sour Cream & mix together until smooth & add back into the soup. Serve with sliced strips of tortilla.

Hot-and-Sour-Cabbage-Soup

If-you-like-chinese-food-you'll-like-this-soup!-So-yummy!

4 (15 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 pound crumbled ground pork
1 small head green cabbage, cored and chopped-to-bite-size
1 1/2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn
10 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 cup Szechwan sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS
Pour chicken stock into a large pot. Stir the crumbled ground pork into the stock, and simmer over medium heat until the pork is cooked through and no longer pink, about 15 minutes. Stir in the cabbage, bean sprouts, green onions, corn, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil, Szechwan sauce, soy sauce, and cayenne pepper, and cook 5 minutes more. Adjust seasonings to taste. Makes-about-6-servings.

Don't-use-red-cabbage!-It'll-turn-the-meat-purple-and-freak-your-family-out.

Sherral's-Favorite-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies!

This makes a huge batch. (About 6 dozen! Yeah, plan on freezing some or giving some away.)

Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 C. butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 C. sugar
1 1/4 C. packed brown sugar
1 T. vanilla
2 eggs
4 C. flour
2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 bag (24 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix 'til fluffy butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs. Add dry ingredients and last of all the chips. Bake 11 to 13 min. Don't be afraid to add nuts, oatmeal or whatever you like!

Chicken-Ranch-Tacos

Ok,-I've-been-wanting-to-go-gangbusters-on-this-blog-and-put-up-a-bunch-of-recipes,-but-alas,-my-computer-is-a-bit-dysfunctional-and-makes-me-type-like-this.-So-for-now,-I'll-just-be-putting-up-recipes-that-I-can-copy-and-paste.-Hope-you-like-'em!

Chicken-Ranch-Tacos

Bake taco shells according to package directions.
This recipe is good for 10-12 tacos.

3 C. cooked chicken, chopped in bite sized pieces - I microwaved a few chicken breasts for this.
1 package (1 oz.) Old El Paso taco seaoning mix - I used a generic brand.
1/2 C. Ranch Dressing

Mix the chicken and taco seasoning and microwave 'til hot (about 2 min.), then stir in the ranch dressing.Stuff shells with meat and top with your favorite taco toppings (cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, etc.) You can also drizzle a little more ranch dressing on top. Then you feast!

Yummy! Cauliflower Soup

I just made this soup for dinner. It's easy! I must admit that I altered the recipe just a tad. I'll review in just a second and get back to you.

I am stuffed! I thought is was very tasty, creamy, and too hot to gobble up... my tongue is a little scorched. :( Thankfully not burnt or I would look like this />{o} ....just goofing.

I followed PW's recipe pretty close, although I don't usually measure. I added some ham chunks and sauted that with the veggies. Mel thinks it would be better with picnic ham...saltier I guess but what does he know he double salts everything and besides that he has a terrible head cold! ;)

The veggies were probably chopped up finer than PW's because I didn't use a knife...that was fine but next time I will leave the cauliflower chunkier. Cheese would also be nice and next time I may have to make it NM style...green chili, anyone?

Pick the name--------

Alright I put the four winners on the left So vote which one you like!!!! Thank all of you for your input on what the Book should be called.. You will have one week to vote as many times as you want!

Gallbladder Woes....

Sorry Cadie, but this old woman needs to pass this tip along.

We know the fifth food group is butter and other high fat content foods. If your gallbladder is starting to give you fits...try taking 1200 mg. of lecithin with your meals. I don't leave home without it!

House Keeping Details...

Please add a label for your post. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, side dish, tips, etc.
That way, when we publish the blog, hopefully labeling will make things easier. Thanks.

Twice-Baked Potatoes

I guess that I can start off the blog! Apperently Cadie requested this recipe, so I'll start with it, and maybe I'll get a picture to add later.

1.Scrub and bake medium to large sized potatoes and bake in the oven till soft.

2.Cut in half lenth-wise and scoop the insides out into a bowl or an electric mixer, set aside the peel shells for later.

3.Add butter, a splash of milk (to get the "These potatoes are so creamy" comment!), and whatever you like to have on your baked potatoes like, sour cream, bacon bits, salt and pepper, etc.

4. Mix all together and blend the potatoes until smooth I really like to use my kitchen-aid to do this!

5. Scoop potato mixture back into peels and top with cheese, then bake at 350 until cheese is melted and potatoes are hot!

I don't have much experience at writing recipes, so if any of this isn't clear let me know and I can re-write it!

Jensen cook book

Hey everyone! Me and Lacie thought this would be so fun to do! So if we all could post some recipes every once in a while by Christmas time we should have a cook book ready! How fun! I am so excited! So we didn't know what to call the blog so we are going to have a contest.... so post as many titles as you can and the winner is going to get a really cool surprise! So lets here it! If you don't want to do this well to bad its fun and you will love it when it is all done! So lets have fun with this even if you just post a couple recipes.