Cherry Smash

I got this recipe from a co-worker. It's pretty good. This last time (Wednesday) I cooked it too long and the cherry part was really crumbly, oh well. It still tasted good. I also just used Chunky peanut butter, instead of adding peanuts, and that worked well. I keep forgetting to take pictures. Maybe next time....

1/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
12 large marshmallows, (or 1 cup mini marshmallows)
12 oz pkg cherry chips (or any other flavor)
1 tsp vanilla
6 oz (1 cup) chocolate chips
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Mix together in a sauce pan butter, milk, sugar and marshmallows.
Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Boil for 5 minutes, or until “soft-ball” stage. Removed from heat and mix
in vanilla and cherry chips until completely melted. Spread into greased 9x13 pan. Let Cool.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips and butter** in double boiler or in medium microwave safe bowl in microwave
very carefully. Then stir in peanuts and peanut butter. Spread over cherry layer and chill until set.
**Hint for melting chocolate in the microwave: Use 50% power stirring every 45 seconds, or normal (high)
power for 30 seconds at a time.

Peach and blackberry cobbler

Aaron made this on Sunday, and I never got around to posting it. He kind of combine some classic recipes and this is his really easy recipe.

2 c. peaches, sliced
2 c. blackberries
1 box yellow cake mix
1-12oz can lemon-lime soda
1/4 c. butter

Place fruit in the bottom of the Dutch oven sprinkle cake mix over top. Pour soda over cake mix. put little pieces butter scattered over the top. Bake at 350 F for about 1 hour until the top springs back when poked.

*We usually line the dutch oven with foil to make it easier to clean up.

Thai Peanut Chicken

I made this last night and everyone loved it. I doubled the sauce (not the cayenne) as suggested by others but only used 2 large chicken breasts, and less oil. I didn't use as much rice either. I wish I had fresh ginger, but instead I had some ground ginger. It was quick and easy, and doesn't heat up the kitchen too much.
Thai Peanut Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups uncooked white rice
• 4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into thin strips
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions
• 2 1/2 cups broccoli florets
• 1/3 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the rice and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until rice is tender. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, peanut butter, vinegar, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet or wok over high heat. Add chicken, garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is golden on the outside, about 5 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium, and add green onion, broccoli, peanuts, and the peanut butter mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until broccoli is tender, and chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice.

Mussels with Basil Cream

Aaron made this with the mussels we bought after camping. We looked for a recipe that resembled the dish I had at a great French restaurant in H* (not paid for by us). We substituted the wine with apple juice and the heavy cream with half and half. It was so good. Someone recommended doubling the sauce, and we did, but I think it would have been fine with the amount in the recipe. We did deplete my basil plant though. We'll have to wait a few days before any leaves will be ready to pick.

Mussels with Basil Cream

1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 lb mussels (preferably cultivated), scrubbed and beards removed
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cook onion and garlic in butter in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine and mussels and cook, covered, over moderately high heat until mussels just open wide, 6 to 8 minutes. (Discard any mussels that have not opened after 8 minutes.) Transfer mussels with a slotted spoon to a serving bowl, then transfer cooking liquid to a blender along with cream, basil, and pepper and blend until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Season sauce with salt and pour over mussels.

Makes 2 main-course or 4 first-course servings.

Covered Wagon Special

This is a recipe I got from outside of Macey's when we lived in UT. Camping and Dutch oven are synonymous for me. I was glad we got to try this one out. It was really good. Aaron reduced it a little to about 2/3 of the recipe since there was only 4 adults and 2 kids, and no fridge for leftovers. We also added about 2 Tbsp of butter on top.
2 lbs cubed round steak or chicken (we used steak)
10 medium sliced potatoes
2 lbs carrots, cut in spears
4 medium onions cut 1/2" thick
2 med green peppers, cut in rings (we had one green, and one red)
1/2 lb sliced bacon
salt and pepper
Place the steaks on the bottom of the dutch oven, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue this seasoning with each layer of potatoes, carrots, onions and green pepper. Place individual strips of bacon over vegetables. Cover and put dutch oven on 12 coals. Place 12 coals on the lid. Cook about 1 hour. Turn bacon over when brown on one side.

Chicken Rolls

This a favorite recipe of mine. From my MIL once again, so I made it when family came over for dinner on Sunday. Jen loves to use left-over turkey in this recipe and it works really well. I use a basic roll recipe and then put the mixture inside after it has risen. It will fill about half of the rolls and the rest of the dough can be used for regular rolls.

2 cups chicken, cooked and diced or shredded
6 oz cream cheese with chives, softened (I add in my own chives instead of buying it with the chives already in it)
1/4 c. butter, softened
4 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. pepper.

Mix all ingredients together and place *into roll dough. Place on a greased baking sheet. Let rise 30 - 40 minutes and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

*I will flatten out the roll into a circle, put the filling in the middle and bring up the sides and pinch together, so nothing leaks out the sides. Oh, and don't put them side by side, they don't need to be touching, like rolls usually are- I forgot on Sunday, and the filling came out the sides of some when I pulled them apart - oops.

You can also make a sauce for them by taking 1 c. chicken broth and thickening it will cornstarch in a small sauce pan.

I've been bad about taking pictures. I'll have to remember next time I make them!

Chicken Pot Pie

I've never made a chicken pot pie, believe it or not. Maybe it's because of the amount of shortening I have to use (mmm transfat!), I should invest in the transfat-free kind. But the kids loved it. They even wanted leftovers at lunch today. (They usually complain about leftovers) I think it was really good too.

I looked for a recipe that didn't call for heavy cream. It was pretty simple to put together. I even made the pie crusts, now that I've got the hang of it. I would have followed the recipe exactly if I had all the right stuff. I only had one carrot (about 1/2 cup), and no frozen peas. So I made up the difference by using frozen mixed veggies (peas and carrots and more) in place of the frozen peas. And I didn't have celery seed, just celery salt. Oh and my chicken broth is the left over water from the boiling with some chicken bullion added. It it turned out great even though I added the onions to the boiling veggies instead of sauteing them -oops, and I forgot to up the temp to 425 and instead baked it at 350 for 25 minutes and wondered why it wasn't browning!!! It took it up to 425 for 15 minutes and it was fine. But I would recommend starting it at the right temp!

Chicken Pot Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Lemon Butter Seasoned Vegetables

This was very quick and easy. And very tasty. I little too much lemon so the recipe show what I would try next time. I also reduced the butter from 6 to 4 Tbsp. And I cooked the vegetables separately.

Lemon Butter Seasoned Vegetables

INGREDIENTS

• 6 potatoes, unpeeled and chopped
• 1/2 pound carrots, quartered and cut into 2-inch long pieces
  
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS

1. Place potatoes and carrots in a steamer over boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. (I would do it separately - the potatoes cook faster.)
2. To the melted butter add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Pour over potatoes and carrots and toss.

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

I got this from our HP ward cookbook. Submitted by Kimber S* I love this recipe and use it fairly often. I'm surprised I haven't used it since I started this blog.

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 oz tomato sauce
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Place chicken in bottom of crockpot. Mix remaining ingredients together. Pour sauce over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve with or over hot cooked rice.

I used less chicken (2 breasts) and cut them into small chunks. Then I cooked it on high for an hour and medium for 1 1/2 hours.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

The boys and I made these Friday. I don't have any nuts at the moment, or that would have been a good addition. They were yummy. I brought some to one of the ladies I visit teach, other wise I would have eaten too many!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chicken Rotini Stovetop Casserole

I made this last night. It was great. I just wish I had more Parmesan. I dumped the entire can and it wasn't even 1/3 cup :( I also didn't have half-and-half, just milk, so it wasn't very creamy and I had to add 2 Tbsp of flour to thicken. But I did get to use my fresh herbs, chives, parsley and basil!!! I also used whole wheat rotini.

Chicken Rotini Stovetop Casserole

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (12 ounce) package rotini pasta
• 2 cups half-and-half cream
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
2. Combine half-and-half and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Boil gently, stirring, until mixture has reduced to 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups. Remove pan from heat; whisk in cheese, basil, oregano, chives, and parsley. Cover, and set aside.
3. Saute chicken in a large skillet until lightly browned on both sides. Stir in green and red bell pepper, and cook until vegetables are tender, and chicken is no longer pink in the middle.
4. In a casserole dish, combine the hot cooked pasta, chicken mixture, and sauce. Mix well, and serve immediately.

Blackberry Cobbler

Aaron made this out of our yummy blackberries. We don't have self rising flour so Aaron added 1 Tbsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. salt. It was so good especially with cool whip on top, but it would have been even better with ice cream.

Blackberry Cobbler

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 3 1/2 cups blackberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Once oven temperature is reached melt butter in a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, sugar and milk; batter will be slightly lumpy. Pour mixture on top of melted butter in baking pan. Do not mix butter and mixture together.
3. Drop blackberries into batter; if more crust is desired add less blackberries. Bake in preheated oven for one hour or until golden brown.

Veggie Pizza

This is a recipe we got from Aaron's Grandma P*. It has become a Superbowl party necessity. It's great for a get together. We took it to Pia's for a Sea Fair party to watch the fireworks.
2 pkg. refrigerated biscuits
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1-3 Tbsp. mayo
Worcestershire sauce
1 capful lemon juice
chopped veggies and cheese (eg olives, green pepper, green onions, celery, tomatoes etc.)

Spread biscuits onto a greased large cookie sheet to make a crust. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool.
Mix cream cheese, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice together and spread onto crust. sprinkle veggies and cheese all over. Cut into squares. Makes about 24 (depending on how big you cut them).

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

I used some more of my fresh basil for this one. So yummy! I used whole wheat rotini instead of the penne, and canned tomatoes (14.5 oz) in place of the fresh romas (I didn't have that many) the dressing was also fat-free. It turned out great even with the substitutions I made. Some people recommended adding minced garlic. I didn't, but that would have been a nice touch.

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (16 ounce) package dry penne pasta
• 8 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup Italian dressing
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place the penne pasta in the pot, cook 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
2. In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta with the tomatoes, Italian dressing, basil, red onion, and Parmesan cheese.

banana bread

This is a great simple recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I made it this morning with the boys, because I had ripe bananas and I felt like it.

1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. oil
1 c. mashed banana (about 3 medium)
1/2 c. nuts (optional)

Mix the first five ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, make a well in the center and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl beat together remaining ingredients, except for nuts. Pour egg mixture all at once into the well in the dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed, may be lumpy. Fold in nuts, if desired. Bake in 350 oven for 1 hour.
I put it into 4 mini loaves and baked for 35 minutes. I forgot to take a picture until I was typing this up so there were only 2 loaves left. Ha Ha!!

Ashley's bean salad

This is a great recipe from a friend of ours from med school. I wish we could have afforded the avocado ($1.50 each, when I'm used to 3 for a $1 or cheaper) and remembered to get the jalepeno. We took this to an international medicine meeting. Yum, lots of good food!

1-2 cans black beans
1 can white shoe-peg corn
fresh cilantro -
1/4 c. red onion, diced
tomatoes, chopped (add at the end)
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and diced
1-4 garlic cloves, minced
avocado chunks (optional)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste

I should have taken a picture. I used regular corn because... that's stuff's expensive! And Aaron hates cilantro, so I used fresh parsley - from my herb garden!