Family Favorites for Feeding Frenzies

Cookies and Cream Dessert

2012-01-21T12:16:00.000-08:00

This has to be the easiest, most delicious dessert ever.

I don't know why I don't make it every day.

Below are the ingredients you'll need and where I purchased them:

Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers - I bought them at Albertson's in the cookie aisle
whipping cream - any grocery store
maraschino cherries -any grocery store, I got mine from Smart and Final
plastic champagne cups - I purchased these cups at Smart and Final, but you could probably pick them up at a party good's store (you don't need to make the dessert in these cups - a bowl would work. Using a champagne cup presents the dessert in a beautiful way.)
milk, to dip the chocolate wafers in

Directions and a picture explaining how to make the dessert:

Whip the whipping cream with vanilla flavoring and powdered sugar. If you don't know how to make whipped cream from scratch click here to learn.
Put a heaping tablespoon of whipped cream into the champagne cup
Dip the chocolate wafer cookie for a few seconds into the milk
Shake cookie over the milk bowl to get off excess milk
Put cookie that was dipped in milk on the cream dollop
For the next layer, put a heaping table spoon on top of the cookie wafer that you just placed in the champagne cup
Repeat above process so you have three layers of cookies and then end with a dollop of cream
Top with a drained maraschino cherry
Put in the fridge for about 4 hours to let the cookie wafers soften
Enjoy!

Below is the finished dessert project. Have fun licking the cream bowl!

My mother used to make this dessert for special occasions. I made 15 desserts today to serve at a dinner Scott and I will be attending tonight. 1 cup of cream, 15 chocolate waffers, and 5 maraschino makes 5 servings.

7 Layer Bean Dip

2011-12-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

3 medium ripe avocado, peeled,cored,mashed

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1/2-1 package taco seasoning mix

*2 cans bean dip

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 bunch green onion, chopped

1 (3 ounce) can black olives (sliced or chopped)

1 (8 ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Mix avocados, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

2. Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, and taco seasoning mix.

3. Layer ingredients as follows.

4. Bottom layer: Bean Dip.

5. Second layer: Avocado mixture.

6. Third layer: Sour cream mixture.

7. Fourth layer: Tomatoes.

8. Fifth layer: Onions.

9. Sixth layer: Olives.

10. Seventh layer: Cheese (I like to use Colby Jack cheese).

11. Top with extra sour cream/olives/salsa, etc. if desired.

12. Serve with tortilla chips.

13. **This seems to be a little bit better if you can chill it for a few hours or over night to let the flavors intensify**.

The recipe was taken from this link: http://www.food.com/recipe/7-layer-bean-dip-31639#ixzz1gYVCkhtH

My changes *Instead of 2 cans of bean dip, I use 2 cans of refried beans and mixed a little salsa and cilantro into it.

Alligator Drink

2011-12-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

1 can limeade concentrate

½ cup water

½ cup apple juice

1 large avocado peeled and cubed

8 large ice cubes

Blend in blender until smooth.

Serve immediately as it’s best when ice cold

One of Rachel’s friends gave us this recipe when he saw that we had a lime tree and our neighbor had an avocado tree. There is nothing like fresh ingredients to make this drink.

This is my modified version of the recipe using fresh squeezed lime juice.

Juice about 6 limes (enough to make ¾ cup of fresh lime juice)

One large avocado peeled and cubed

3/4 cup apple juice

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

Enough ice cubes to fill up a 5 cup blender.

Blend in blender until smooth

Serve immediately

You can take the leftovers in put in Smart and Final 5 ½ oz container with lid and freeze until ready to eat. Just before eating, slightly defrost in microwave for about 30 seconds until slushy.

Makes 5 cups

Cheese-Finger Food

2011-10-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Mozzarella string cheese
Green bell pepper
Cream cheese

Instructions

1. Wearing plastic gloves or sandwich bags over your hands to keep the cheese as smudge-free as possible, use a paring knife (parents only) to cut each string in half and then carve a shallow area for a fingernail just below the rounded end of each half.

2. Mark the joint right below the nail as well as the knuckle joint by carving out tiny horizontal wedges of cheese, as pictured.

3. For the fingernails, slice a green bell pepper into 3/8-inch-wide strips. Set the strips skin side down on your work surface and trim the pulp so that it's about half as thick. Then cut the strips into ragged-topped nail shapes and stick them in place at the ends of the fingers with dabs of cream cheese.

I got this off the familyfun.com website. I like it because it is a fun, healthy halloween treat that you can serve for a holiday that is filled with too many sweet treats.

Click here to see the source for the recipe from familyfun.com. Be sure to click onto the comment section to get alternative ideas to using the green peppers (like using olive halves)

Face Paint: Halloween Makeup and other Halloween Ideas

2011-10-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

In a tiny container, combine 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 1/2 teaspoon water. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon cold cream and 1 to 2 drops food coloring to create your desired color. Find an old watercolor paint box, or other similar compartmentalized container to make an entire array of face paint colors.

I got the above recipe out of yesterdays newspaper in Mary Hunts column that was titled "Ways to Save for Halloween". (Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com)

I thought it was interesting what she said about how much money people spend on celebrating Halloween:

"How much do we enjoy the holiday that comes on the last day of October? Americans spend more on celebrating Halloween than Thanksgiving or Easter, second only to Christmas. How scary is that? Not to worry. There are dozens of ways to cut the cost without cutting out on the fun." (Mary Hunt)

Familyfun.com is another good resource for ideas about celebrating holidays. Click here to see ideas from familyfun.com for making home made halloween costumes.

You can click here to get loads of halloween recipes from familyfun.com.

I'll have to agree that halloween is a fun holiday to celebrate, especially when it come to making halloween food treats. One that I enjoy serving around halloween time is Demon Eyes Deviled Eggs. You can find the recipe by clicking here.

BBQ Chicken Chop Salad

2011-09-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

(click on the recipe to enlarge the print)

This was served at the General Relief Society Meeting for the Arcadia Stake. Thanks to our new Stake RS Presidency for the delicious dinner.

Apple Cake with Carmel Sauce

2011-09-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

(click on the recipe to enlarge the print)

This was served at our Annual Arcadia Stake General Relief Society Meeting on Sept. 24, 2011. A wonderful night, thanks to our new Stake RS presidency.

Macaroni and Cheese

2011-09-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

4 cups elbow macaroni

4 Tbs butter

4 Tbs flour

1 teas salt

3 cups milk

4 cups grated mild cheddar cheese OR 4 cups sharp cheese (you decide what kind of cheese flavor you want)

Cook macaroni until tender (follow the direction on your macaroni package)

While the macaroni is cooking, make white sauce with the next 4 ingredients. (To make a white sauce: melt butter in sauce pan. Add flour salt and stir until not lumpy. Then add milk and stir. Cook over medium heat on the stove until it gets thick, stirring constantly. When white sauce is thickened, add grated cheese.

Drain the macaroni and then add cheese sauce.

I made up this recipe when my kids were little. Everyone loves boxed mac and cheese, but when I had mac and cheese for dinner, I wanted to feed the family something more substantial and filling than the boxed kind.

This recipe makes a BIG batch. It feeds the whole magpad gang with leftovers. This is a recipe you might want to cut in half.

I did another post about macaroni and cheese on this blog. Click here to see it.

After I discovered Mrs. Dash seasoning, I decided that I like to sprinkle some Mrs. Dash on my mac and cheese after I dish it up on my plate.

Bubblegum Soda!

2011-09-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

Yep, you read the title right...Bubblegum Soda.

Lisa has been in the MTC (Missionary Training Center) for the past 5 weeks where she is learning the Spanish language and preparing to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We love getting her letters while she is there in the MTC and enjoy hearing her stories of being with the 19 year old elders.

In her email home yesterday, she wrote about how to make bubblegum soda. When I read the "recipe" I knew I had to post it on my recipe blog. Below is a cut and paste from her email:

the elders learned how to make a bubblegum flavored drink from the soda machines in the cafeteria: one part fresca, one part orange-strawberry-banana juice and a shot of rootbeer. so crazy. but it really does taste like bubblegum.

Thank you, Lisa, for the "recipe".

Fruit Leather

2011-08-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

Puree fruit in a blender. Today I used figs from my friend's tree, but I have also used apricots and strawberries.

Tape parchment paper (I purchased mine at Walmart. It is pictured above) to a baking sheet. I found that painter's tape works the best. (You can use plastic wrap instead of parchment paper, but be sure that it is very thick plastic wrap [ie: Saran Wrap brand]. If the plastic wrap is too thin, it will stick to the dried fruit leather.)

Pour the puree onto the covered baking sheet.

Tilt the cookie sheet from side to side to make the puree thin.

Put the cookie sheets outside in the sun to dry into fruit leather. It will take several hours.

Once completely dried, pull the leather off in strips. Enjoy!

I learned how to do this when I was a college student. You can make fruit leather out of any summer fruit. You can also add a banana to your fruit puree to sweeten it up a bit (I always add banana to my strawberry puree).

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

2011-07-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

1 baked pie crust

Make crumbs out of the following:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

Spread 1 cup crumbs over the bottom of crust, save the rest to put on top of cool whip.

Filling:

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

1 container of cool whip

1 1/2 cups milk

Mix pudding and 1 1/2 cups of milk together. Put on top of crumbs in crust. Top with some cool whip and a little more of crumbs. Refrigerate.

When we went on our Church History tour we had dinner served by an Amish family. (see past post here and read a little about the Amish people at the end of the post.) They served peanut butter cream pie for dessert.

I made it the other night and I would make the following changes to the original recipe. I would use crunchy peanut butter. I would also use real cream that has been whipped and sweetened instead of cool whip.

Tres Leches

2011-07-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Yellow cake mix with pudding (plus the ingredients to make it)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (Eagle brand)

2 cans evaporated milk

whipped cream

strawberries, sliced (optional)

Make the yellow cake according to directions on the box. Let it cool, then use a fork to poke holes throughout the top. Mix the sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk in separate bowl. Pour milk mixture over the cake (make sure to get around the edges) and put in the fridge for several hours or overnight. The milks should be absorbed and the cake should be moist and spongy. Frost with the whipped cream just before serving. Garnish with strawberry slices, if desired.

I had a friend who was on an eternal quest to find a recipe for Tres Leches that was just as good as Cafe Rio's. He said this was a close contender. I hear that the recipe found here is even better, but it has WAY too many ingredients for me. So, I'll let you be the judge.

Mango Chip Dip

2011-07-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 oz) bottle Pace Picante sauce
1-2 avocados, diced
2 mangos, diced
juice of 2 limes

Mix. Eat with chips of your choice.

I love mango salsa. I have never tried this recipe, but found it in a ward Relief Society recipe book and thought it looked delicious.

Overnight Potato Salad

2011-07-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

12 eggs - hard boiled and shredded

12 cups shredded potatoes

1 1/2 cups onions diced

1 1/2 cups celery diced

Dressing:

3 cups salad dressing

3 Tbs. mustard

3 Tbs vinegar

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 tsp salt

Cook potatoes until almost done, but still firm. Cool.

Shred chilled potatoes and eggs with shoestring potato shredder. Add onions and celery. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over potatoes. Mix well. Let set overnight for flavors to blend.

Note: Chilling of potatoes is the secret to this recipe. If not chilled they will crumble instead of shredding into long firm strands.

Our family just returned from a Church History tour. One night we had a wonderful dinner at an Amish home in Ohio. The family served a chicken dinner with the above recipe of potato salad as one of their side dishes. I was intrigued with the texture of the potato salad. When I read the recipe I realized the different texture was from the potatoes being cut with a shoestring potato shredder. I"m now on the lookout for a shoestring potato shredder. Does anyone know where I can pick one up? Maybe at the local Amish shop?

When I get a chance to make this salad, I'm going to cook my potatoes in the oven. I'm also going to use Mayonnaise and not Miracle whip.

".....In the beautiful hills of Pennsylvania, a devout group of Christian people live a simple life without automobiles, electricity, or modern machinery. They work hard and live quiet, peaceful lives separate from the world. Most of their food comes from their own farms. The women sew and knit and weave their clothing, which is modest and plain. They are known as the Amish people...." Pres. James Faust April 2007 General conference.

The Amish family served all 50 of us from our tour in the sun room of their house.

Below is a picture I took of their family carriage.

To finish the story that Pres. Faust tells about the Amish community, click here.

Window Cleaner

2011-06-04T10:04:00.001-07:00

Someone asked me the best way to wash windows... You know, as in spring cleaning type washing the windows. I found webpage: ehow.com and liked their washing solution and procedure of using the solution with a rag to get off the dirt and then newspaper to dry the window without leaving streaks.

Click here to see the vinegar solution recipe and the procedure on how to do the job. (A tip at the end of the article suggests that you wear latex gloves to prevent the dye from the newspaper from staining your hands.)

A Wake Up Call From Mother Nature

2011-05-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Did you see the news this week?

What were you thinking when you saw the photos from

Joplin Missouri?

I'll tell you what I was thinking.....

WAKE UP!

How come I've let my pantry dwindle?

A quick trip to Costco and $150 later = peace of mind.

Do you remember how to store food in Pete recycled containers?

For a refresher course, click here.

Remember, you can never have enough water!
Read more about water storage by clicking here.

Lemon Fluff Dessert

2011-05-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

1 pint chilled whipping cream

2 cups homemade lemon curd

2 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (or a little more depending on your taste)

2 T. grated lemon peel

Beat cream in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Mix lemon curd, lemon juice and peel in another large bowl to blend. Fold in whipped cream. Can be made 2 hours ahead. Serve by dolloping on a slice of pound cake or angel food cake. You may want to mix in some raspberries or just top with berries.

Lemon Curd

3 lemons (about 1/2 c. fresh lemon juice)

2 large eggs

3 egg yolks

2 Tbsp. milk

1/2 c. sugar

6 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Wash and dry lemons. Before juicing, grate the zest of one of the lemons. Beat eggs, yolks, milk and sugar together. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Set the mixture over medium-low heat and whisk until the eggs are thickened and warm. Add the butter a few pieces at a time, stirring until each addition is blended into the eggs. Continue stirring until mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon. When thick, pour into a bowl or glass jar to cool. Cover with plastice wrap touching the surface so a skin doesn't form and refrigerate. Makes 2 cups.

Always Moist Pound Cake

1 Duncan Hines brand all butter cake mix

4 large eggs

3/4 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. granulated sugar

8 oz. sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

All ingredients should be at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350*F. Combine cake mix, oil, sour cream and sugar. Add eggs one at a time until thoroughly mixed. Stir in vanilla. Spray (or grease) bundt pan and sugar coat the inside of pan (this creates the crisp crust found on the old fashioned pound cakes). Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until cake test is done.

April Steimle served this at a pre-ward conference meeting with Arcadia Ward bishopric. It was delicious! April topped it with berries. It looked so nice. Thanks, April for sending me the recipe!

Artichoke Spinach Cheese Dip

2011-05-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

6 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 cups chopped baby spinach

1 cup drained and chopped canned artichokes

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

5-6 slices pita bread, grilled

Heat the cream cheese in the microwave for one minute or until hot and soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except the bread) and mix well.

Cut the grilled pita bread into 8 triangles per slice.

Serve the dip hot with the sliced grilled pita bread.

6 servings

I got this from the LDS Living Magazine--it's a recipe from "the Roof" in Salt Lake City. SO YUMMY. I served it with wheat thin crackers instead of the pita bread.

Limeade

2011-04-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

One of the blessings of living in Southern California is the abundance of citrus trees that are around. This is our neighbor's lime tree that hangs over our fence. My son is getting ready to pick a few limes.

We had quite the harvest that day.

We have an electric Black & Decker Handy Juicer that makes the juicing fun and easy.

After we are done squeezing the juice, I put the juice into little 5 1/2 oz or 3 1/2 oz containers that I get at Smart and Final. Then I put the containers in the freezer to use for a future time when a need a little lime juice for my summer fruit, my homemade salsa, or in other recipes. (I wrote in permeant marker on the top of the container the name of the juice and the date)

My friend gave us a big box of their citrus fruit the other day. By the time I was done juicing what was in the box, I had 1 gallon of fresh juice. I went searching for another way to store all my citrus juice. I ran across this recipe webpage for engineers.

www.cookingforengineers.com

Having a brother and a couple of brother-in-laws who are engineers, I found this site pretty funny. Click here for their recipe for limeade.

Below is my simplified version of their recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup lime juice (squeezed from limes)

Lime juice consecrate:

Make a simple syrup by heating 1-1/2 cup water and 1-1/2 cup granulated sugar. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture has turned clear. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of lime juice to the simple syrup.

Now you have limeade concentrate. You can refrigerate this or even freeze it into ice cube trays or containers for a cup of instant limeade whenever you want. I put some of the the concentrate in 2 cup containers for larger servings and the rest in 5 1/2 oz containers for single servings. On top of the lids, I wrote with a marker: 1 part juice, 2 part water

Limeade:

To convert the limeade concentrate into limeade, simply add two cups of water for each cup of concentrate. (Another way to think of it is: one part concentrate to two parts water) If you desire a little less tartness and sweetness, just add an addition half cup of water to the mixture.

Here are some more recipes for lime drinks:

Sparkling Limeade

1/2 cups granulated sugar or more, to taste
1 1/2 cups freshly-squeezed lime juice
1 quart sparkling water

Beginning with the 1/2 cup sugar, add to the lime juice and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the sparkling water, stir and taste for sweetness; add more sugar if needed. Pour over ice to serve.

Strawberry Limeade

1/2 cup lime juice
2 cups cold water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries, thawed
5 ice cubes

Put all ingredients except 5 ice cubes in blender container; cover and run at high speed until smooth.

Meanwhile, while blender is running, add ice cubes one at a time.

Makes 6 servings.

No Fail Rolls

2011-04-03T08:42:00.000-07:00

1 cup milk, heated

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

1 TBS dry yeast

2 eggs

4 cups flour

Put the milk in a saucepan and turn on low heat on the stove. While it's warming, combine butter, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in a large bowl. Then add warmed milk (it should not boil). In another bowl combine warm water, 1 tsp sugar, and yeast. Make sure the water isn't too hot, just warm. Stir. Add 2 eggs and flour and stir with wooden spoon. Combine everything in a large bowl and stir. Refrigerate dough overnight. This helps it to rise. If you need it same day, you can put in fridge for 3 hours or in freezer for 1 1/2 hours. If you put it in freezer, let it thaw on counter for about 15-20 minutes. Take dough and divide in half and roll it out with a rolling pin to form a circle. Use a pizza cutter or knife to divide dough in fourths and then into eighths. Roll into a crescent (start with wide end and roll onto itself). Place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise for another 1-2 hours at room temperature. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

This is Aunt Lynn's famous recipe. She's been known to make hundreds of rolls at a time!!!

Click here for Amy Gray's roll recipe. This recipe is the roll recipe I usually use when I make homemade rolls.

Click here for Loraine Lindstrom's scone/roll recipe

Our Winter Garden - Part 2

2011-03-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

....Continuing the saga of our winter garden. You will recall here that we had some critters that enjoyed our previous winter garden. The animal control man suggested that we put down wire and replant. The wire prevents our little animal friends from digging up our tender seedlings. And it worked!

Scott preparing the wire

The garden plot after the seeds were planted

The seedlings growing through the chicken wire

Peas

Cilantro

Carrots

Picked lettuce ready to prepare for tonight's dinner

Below is a picture of our garden today. With the chicken wire down, it makes it so the raccoons are not able to dig up the plants. It also makes it hard to weed the garden. If you click on the picture, you'll notice that weeds are growing along the wooden fence, not lettuce.

Please pass the salad.

Salad in a Jar

2011-03-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

This has to be the coolest idea. Salad in a jar. Check out the recipe here. As as long as you are checking out the recipe, check out Paula's web page.

Waldorf Salad

2011-03-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

chopped apples - to taste

chopped celery - to taste

drained crushed pineapple - to taste

*strawberry poppy seed dressing - to taste

Mix everything together.

We have been eating this salad a lot lately as a side dish for dinner. It is easy to make and tastes so good. I usually have some poppy seed dressing already made up in my fridge. I also have lots of canned crushed pineapple on hand in my cupboards.

Below is a picture of my chop wizard (In the picture it is chopping a red pepper. Don't get confused. There is no red pepper in this recipe. I just used this picture for another post.) I quarter and de-seed the apples and chop them using the chop wizard. I also use the chop wizard to chop my celery. As I said in a previous post, I use my chop wizard a lot. I got it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

*Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing

2 C Mayonnaise
1/3 C half and half (if I don't have half and half, I just use milk)
2/3 C sugar
3-4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
3-4 tablespoons strawberry jam
A few drops of red food coloring

Chicken Croissant Sandwich

2011-03-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

1 Costco rotisserie chicken - de-boned and cut into small bite size pieces. Add the chicken drippings from bottom of the rotisserie container to make the meat moist.

Add:

Lawry’s seasoned salt to taste*
Mrs. Dash to taste*
1/2 bunch of Celery cut into small pieces
1 red pepper cut into small pieces
Best Foods Mayonnaise (add enough to coat the chicken so that it is moist)
1 cup cashews (optional) -best if broken in pieces or halfs

Just before serving the sandwiches, add cashews (if you use them) and spread on croissant rolls that have been cut in half. Add a piece of leaf lettuce to each sandwich.

This is a modified version of Debbie Jones' recipe that you can get here.

I like to use the small setting on my chop wizard to cut my vegetables. You can get a chop wizard from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. (As a side note, I use my chop wizard all the time for different recipes such as making vegetable soup or salsa)

*When putting this together, I like to use generous amounts of seasonings. You don't need to use croissant rolls to put the chicken mixture on. I like the rolls that Smart and Final has available.

**One added bonus from making this recipe is that you can also make a pot of chicken broth from the chicken carcass and skin.

**How to get chicken broth from rotisserie chicken: After de-boning the meat, put the chicken carcass and skin into a pot. Cover with water and boil on the stove for 30 - 60 minutes. When it has cooled little bit cool, take out bones and skin with a slotted spoon. Then put the broth into the fridge. The next day, skim off the fat that has risen to the top. Put the broth into a ziploc bag or another container and put it into the freezer for for future use. Or you can leave the broth in the fridge if you are going to use it within the week. You now have a batch of nutritious chicken broth to use as a base for any other soup recipe such as cream of broccoli soup or chicken noodle soup or any other chicken soup found in my soup section.

Bread Bowls for soup

2011-02-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

2 TBS yeast

2 1/2 cups water

4 TBS sugar

1 TBS salt

5 TBS oil

7 cups flour

1 TBS dough enhancer

Start yeast in 1/2 cup warm water and set aside. In Bosch, combine 2 cups warm water, sugar, salt, oil and half the flour. Mix well. Add yeast mixture, dough enhancer and the remaining flour Let rise. Mix down and let rise again if time permits. Shape dough into 8 equal balls and place on two large cookie sheets. Brush with egg whites. Let rise until double. Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes until golden. Cut tops off and hollow out for soup.

Seriously, who doesn't love soup in a bread bowl?? This recipe comes from the wife of a counselor in the bishopric. Maybe someday when I have more time on my hands and a Bosch to do all the dirty work, I'll actually try making these myself!

Cranberry Salad

2011-02-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

2 large (6 oz) pkg. Raspberry Jello

2 cups boiling water

1 cup sugar (can use less)

2 Tbs lemon juice

1 can 20 oz crushed pineapple, undrained

2 cups cranberries (fresh)

2 oranges peeled

2 apples

2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

Dissolve jello in water. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add lemon juice and pineapple. In food grinder, grind cranberries, oranges and apples together. (Or you could use a grater or put in a food processor.) Add cranberry mixture and nuts to jello mixture. Chill until set in 9x13 pan.

This is a Magnusson Family recipe from Great Grandma Cula Magnusson that is traditionally served at our Magnusson's Thanksgiving meal. My friend, Melissa, requested that I post this recipe.

Sesame Twist Bread

2011-02-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

Use a Bosch bread mixer or a heavy duty Kitchen Aid

Place the following ingredients in mixer with dough hook:

3 cups very warm water

2 TBS dry yeast

4 TBS sugar

Wait 3-4 minutes, then add:

2 eggs

6 cups bread flour

1 TB dough enhancer

1 TB salt

Place splatter ring on bowl; quick stir to mix everything together; then turn mixer on #1 (slow speed) then add:

2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups of flour, a little at a time. If dough remains too sticky, add a tiny bit more flour. Stop when you can see the dough coming away clean from the sides of the bowl. It's better if the dough is a tiny bit on the sticky side rather than dry. Test by stopping your mixer and touching the bread dough.

Then turn mixer on #2 speed and run for 10 minutes.

On lightly floured board divide dough into 4 parts. With a rolling pin, roll each part into about a 4 x 12 rectangle, cut each loaf into 3 strips, then braid the strips, tucking ends under the loaf.

Spray bread pans with Pam and place loaves in pans. Cover with a damp thin cloth and let rise 35-40 minutes. Before baking brush tops gently with 1 egg yolk diluted with 1 TB water. Then sprinkle tops with sesame seeds.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake about 20 - 25 minutes or until golden.

Remove bread from pans immediately and place on a wire rack to cool.

Tips: When adding the salt always put it on top of the flour then mix it in. Salt added to yeast can kill the yeast and dough won't rise well. To check doneness, use two oven mitts and tilt the bread out of the pan to see if the bottom of the loaf is light brown. If it isn't return to oven and bake another 2-3 minutes.

I got this recipe from Donna Corrigan. She made several loaves for the Acradia Stake Women's conference last month. It was so delicious I asked Donna for the recipe. She said Carol Moore gave her the recipe 30 years ago to use with her Bosch bread machine.

I've never used dough enhancer. If I can't find any in our local stores, I saw that you can buy it online... just google dough enhancer.

I don't have a Bosch machine, so I'm going to knead the bread myself. I also haven't ever braided bread before and look forward to trying that. After I make a loaf, I'll post a picture. It was a beautiful looking and great tasting loaf of bread.

Dijon Chicken Strata

2011-02-03T08:47:00.001-08:00

1 8 oz loaf French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (8 cups)

2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey

1 4 1/2 oz jar sliced mushrooms, drained (I USED FRESH MUSHROOMS...canned mushrooms are NASTY.)

1/2 cup sliced green onions

3 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese or American cheese

5 beaten eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

3 TB Dijon-style mustard

1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Place bread cubes in a greased 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Layer chicken, mushrooms, and green onions over bread; sprinkle with cheese.

2. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, and pepper. Carefully pour over layers in dish. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours.

3. Bake, uncovered, in a 325 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

My sister-in-law got me hooked on dijon mustard! This is from a "Better Home and Gardens Cookbook." It is SO YUMMY. Have it for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner!

Shake and Bake Potatoes

2011-01-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

10-12 medium red potatoes
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 package dry ranch dressing mix or dry Italian dressing mix (I used ranch) (Click here for a homemade dry ranch dressing mix)
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450F.
Wash and dry potatoes. Cut potatoes int 1 inch cubes.
Place potatoes in a large bowl or gallon-size bag and drizzle with olive oil. Toss or stir well until potatoes are coated with the oil.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and stir together.
Add dry ingredients to potatoes. Shake in the bag or stir in the bowl until all potatoes are coated with the seasoning mix.
Place on a baking sheet (at least a 10×15 sized) 45 minutes at 450, stirring and flipping potatoes halfway through.
Remove from oven, salt to taste and serve. Potatoes should be light and golden brown when they are finished. Bake time may vary depending on the size of potatoes. Makes 10 servings.

I like potatoes and so when I saw this recipe on realmomkitchen.com, I decided to post it. Click here for the link to the original recipe that Laura posted.

Slime

2011-01-19T12:30:00.000-08:00

My friend, Julie, did a post about slime on her family blog.

Slime....It looked like fun, so I asked her for her recipe.

Here is it:

SLIME!

· water

· white glue (like Elmer's™)

· borax

· food coloring (unless you want uncolored white slime)

There are two components to slime. There is a borax and water solution and a glue, water, and food coloring solution. Prepare them separately.

· Mix 1 teaspoon borax in 1 cup of water. Stir until the borax is dissolved.

· In a separate container, mix 1/2 cup (4 oz) white glue with 1/2 cup water. Add food coloring, if desired.

After you have dissolved the borax and diluted the glue, you are ready to combine the two solutions. Stir one slime solution into the other. (I poured the water/borax into the glue solution.) Your slime will begin to polymerize immediately.

The slime will become hard to stir after you mix the borax and glue solutions. Try to mix it up as much as you can, then remove it from the bowl and finish mixing it by hand. It's okay if there is some colored water remaining in the bowl.

Store your slime in a sealed ziplock bag, preferably in the refrigerator. Insect pests will leave slime alone because borax is a natural pesticide, but you'll want to chill the slime to prevent mold growth if you live in an area with high mold count. The main danger to your slime is evaporation, so keep it sealed when you're not using it.

Thanks, Julie for the recipe.

A New Recipe Blog Link

2010-12-17T14:39:00.001-08:00

I just stumbled across another great blog. It's called: Fun with Food Storage, Finances and More.

The web address is: http://positivelyprepared.blogspot.com/ or you can click here to get to it.

The blog has links to and posts about:

Food storage lesson
Dave Ramsey's financial advice
Emergency preparedness ideas
Canning tips
Delicious recipies

I will also put link to the site on the side of this blog.

Thanks Katie and Lori for the great blog.

Thanksgiving Dinner 2010

2010-11-29T21:26:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't heard,

I became a grandmother last week.

Savannah Page Anderson

was born on November 19th.

She was 8 lbs 15 oz

She is so precious.

I traveled 10 hours by car

and then 6 hours by shuttle bus

to meet her in Idaho.

I was there over the

Thanksgiving holiday

and got to make the

Thanksgiving dinner

for David, Janelle,

and David's Grandmother.

We had:

Turkey

Gravy

Stuffing

Rolls

Mashed potatoes

Green bean casserole

Cranberry Jello salad

and

Punkin crunch for dessert

Several years ago, I figured out that making the turkey the day before relieved a lot of stress on Thanksgiving day. It allows you to get the turkey all cooked, carved and cleaned up without having to worry about all the last minute things that go on with serving the holiday meal. After I have cooked the turkey, I carve the whole bird and put the sliced meat in one or two 9 x 13 pans (depending on how big the turkey is) with a can or two of Swanson's chicken broth to keep the meat moist. Then I put tinfoil over it and heat it up the next day 15 to 20 minutes in the oven before dinner is served.

After the turkey is carved, I put the carcass in a big pot and cover it with water and add onions, carrots, and celery. I let it boil for about 45 minutes. After it cools down I remove and discard the bones, and cooked vegetables and put the broth in the fridge or freezer. You can use this broth to make turkey vegetable soup or creamy turkey soup for the days ahead with some leftover meat, new vegetables, noodles and spices (such as Mrs. Dash).

Why Eat Together?

2010-11-29T20:54:00.000-08:00

When we were in Utah last week for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Deseret News had an excellent article entitled: It's Time for Dinner (with family) by Carolyn Campbell . I would suggest that you click onto the link and read the whole article.

Here is a little section of the article that I thought was interesting:

So why eat together?

Family bonding

Eating a family meal creates an environment that fosters conversation. During dinner, the family has the opportunity to spend time together, author Janet Peterson says.

"Because they are sitting down together at the table, looking across at each other, it is a level playing field, with the parents not standing taller than the children, which creates a more relaxed atmosphere," she says.

Saving money

"Restaurants are in the business to make money," Peterson said. "Their labors, real estate and profit margin all cost. If they don't make money, they don't stay in business." She says if you multiply the average of $812 spent annually per person on eating out, it doesn't take a CPA to tell you that it's costly, especially for a family with children.

"Restaurant prices in recent years have risen slightly faster than inflation, making it even more expensive to eat away from home," Peterson says.

Healthier meals

A study published in the British Archives of Family Medicine found that having a family dinner was not only associated with a healthier way of eating, but also had a positive effect on the family's physical and emotional health.

The study reported that those who ate dinner with their families were more likely to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables daily. The home-cooked meal is more likely to contain a variety of food groups. Milk or water is more likely to be served, and less soda pop or high fat foods are typically offered.

Commercially prepared foods are notoriously high in sugar, starch and fat, although some restaurants do list low-fat items on their menus, says Peterson. She adds that home cooking allows a family to select healthful ingredients, tailor meals to suit their own particular nutritional needs and tastes, serve portions appropriate to age and activity level, and monitor methods of preparation.

We also eat more when we eat out.

"Everything is super-sized," Peterson says. "Restaurant portions continue to increase. The usual restaurant plate used to be 10 inches in diameter and now it is 12 inches."

Learning

Preschool children who eat with the family have better language skills, according to the Rockford Clinic. Dinner-time conversation exposes them to a broader vocabulary, especially as they listen to adults and older children. Eating together as a family can teach good communications skills, such as listening patiently and expressing one's opinion in a respectful manner.

According to researchers at the University of Illinois, children age 7-11 who did well on school achievement tests ate the majority of their meals and snacks with their families.

One study points out how family dinners are strong preventative medicine. Joseph A. Califano Jr., president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, reported: "Intensive research and teen surveys have consistently revealed that the more often children eat dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs."

Family tradition

Food served at the family table helps shape and give lasting meaning to our cultural heritage, says Katherine Carson, associate professor of food science at Pennsylvania State College.

"Positive food memories created during childhood are cherished for life," she says.

Peterson adds that food provides a connection among families.

Meatball Soup

2010-11-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

20 meatballs (homemade or store bought)

1 TBS olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced OR 1 tsp crushed garlic from jar

1/2 cup diced carrots

4 cups chicken broth

3 cups spinach, de-stemmed and chopped coarsely (1 cup if using frozen spinach)

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil. Saute onions, garlic, carrots.

Add chicken broth and meatballs. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add spinach and boil for 5 minutes longer.

Ladle into soup bowls. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4-6.

This soup is from Trader Joe's cookbook and is officially called "Italian Wedding Soup." My friend Carrie invited me over to have some when I was having a very bad day. It filled my tummy and evening with happiness!

Homemade Eye Glass Cleaning Spray

2010-11-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

1 cup of water

1/4 cup vinegar

1/8 cup rubbing alcohol

2 drops of dish soap

Combine above ingredients and fill into a spray bottle.

To clean glasses:

Spray both sides of each lens and rub clean with a soft cloth. Never use paper towels, toilet paper or kleenex as they contain harsh abrasives that will scratch your lenses.

Scott cleans his glasses every day, sometimes twice, so he asked if I could find a recipe for a cleaning solution for his glasses.

The above recipe is a combination of two recipes that I got off the Internet. It takes pennies to make this compared to the cost of picking up something from the store.

Breakfast Casserole

2010-11-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

½ lb cooked bacon, ham, or breakfast sausage(or any combination of the 3)
chopped veggies (optional. We like to use broccoli & tomatoes. You can also do red peppers and onion if you want even more flavor)
12 eggs
1 c. milk
1 pkg. (1 b.) frozen shredded hash browns
1 c. cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp pepper

In a bowl, beat eggs and milk. Stir in all other ingredients. Put in greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 45-55 min or until well set. Serve topped with salsa.

Scott's secretary served this at a work breakfast the other day. He mentioned how good it was. When I asked Jo Ann for the recipe, I recognized that is was the same recipe that was posted on Family Favorite Recipes that can be found on my blog list (on the side of this page).

Pumpkin Crunch

2010-11-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

1 package Yellow cake mix

1 can (15 oz.) solid pack pumpkin
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup nuts

1 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350°. Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bow. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture. Then sprinkle with nuts. Drizzle with butter. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown. Cool, served chilled. Serve with whipped topping.

I saw this recipe in the paper this morning. Once again I got off livingonadime.com

Later....I was looking for another pumpki1n recipe on this blog and noticed that I already posted this recipe in 2008 here. Silly me

Someone's been eating my.......

2010-10-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

You all remember the story of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears.... Someone had been intruding on the poor bear family and ate their porridge, sat in their chairs, and slept in their beds.

I can relate to the bear family because someone has been eating my winter garden of peas, carrots, and lettuce. The tender sprouts were growing so nicely. It was a little unnerving to get up each morning and see my tender plants plucked and dug right out of the ground. Ugh!

I called our city's animal control and they said if I caught the critter, they would release him into the hills. My neighbor came to the rescue with the trap and advice. The little critter was caught red handed and is now roaming the hills above the beautiful city of Duarte. We'll see if he has a mate, and if he does, hopefully we'll be able to reunite them soon.

Pumpkin Muffins

2010-10-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 egg

1 cup raisins (optional)

Pre-heat over to 400 F. Stir flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients with beaters (milk, pumpkin, butter or margarine, egg). Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir in raisins last if desired. Line muffin tins with liners or grease with spray. Fill each up 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 min. Makes 12 muffins.

Cookie Sandwiches

2010-10-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Purchase the boxed cake mix of your choice + whatever frosting you would like to pair with it (or make your own!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine:

Cake mix of your choice

2/3 cup shortening

2 eggs, beaten

Place walnut-sized balls of dough onto a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam (or whatever you prefer). Bake cookies for 8 - 10 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, move to a cooling rack until completely cool. Spread frosting onto the backside of a cookie and top it with another.

Typically makes about 45 cookies = 22 cookie sandwiches, plus a bonus cookie to eat as you frost. :)

Try these AMAZING combinations!!!

spice cake mix w/cream cheese frosting
chocolate cake with peanut butter (or cherry...or vanilla...) frosting
lemon cake with vanilla frosting

My coworker made the lemon cookies w/vanilla frosting and they were AWESOME!

Hiker's Stew

2010-10-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Potatoes, peeled and diced (or leave on the skins if you use red potatoes)

Onion, cut into big slices

Carrots, peeled

Celery, cut in large chunks

Beef of some sort (I used browned ground beef. Stew meat would be awesome. Leftover roast would work, I'm sure.)

1 can golden mushroom soup

1 pkg. onion soup mix

Water

Seasonings to taste (I used pepper, Mrs. Dash, and Creole seasoning)

Throw everything in a crock pot and turn on low. Leave and go for a long, long hike. Come home, salivate as you pull into the driveway because you can already smell it, and eat three big bowls.

Ok, so maybe you can enjoy this even if you haven't been hiking all day. But it definitely tastes ten times better if you have.... :)

Halloween Cupcakes

2010-10-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

If you have some time on your hand, and want to make some cool Halloween cupcakes check out how to make them here . This web site has some pretty amazing ideas. I have a link to www.makeit-loveit.com on my sidebar to the right.

Another Recipe for Happiness....

2010-10-17T07:26:00.001-07:00

...Be grateful for the beautiful things in your life.

Click here to see the video

Click on the image below to see the music

Business Cards

2010-10-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

What gift do you give your mom on her 54th birthday?

Blog business cards.

Thanks Renee! No more writing down my blog address on a scrap piece of paper when someone asks me for a copy of a recipe.

Canned Tomatoes

2010-10-14T17:07:00.001-07:00

Pilar Fonbuena taught a canning class in Relief Society and told us about this recipe that she got years ago. I asked her to email me the recipe. Below is a copy of the email she sent me.

Here's the recipe for the Tomato Soup. I got this from Pam Hadfield in 1980 or 1981

1 lug tomatoes = about 15 lbs (I used 23 lbs in the last batch I made)

Cook the following vegetables separately

5 onions, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 bunch celery, sliced

15 medium carrots, sliced

1 bunch parsley chopped - add to carrots after carrots are cooked

1 pkg pearled barley (I used 2 cups) - cook 10 minutes, then rinse

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup salt

Add all ingredients together with 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup salt and simmer 10 minutes.

Bottle and process 15 minutes in steamer or water bath canner

Measurements are not exact, but turn out OK each time.

Eat soup as is, warmed up, or do the following:

I sauté garlic, onions and ground beef, then add soup, for a complete meal. May also use meat balls.

Can also stir fry zucchini, yellow crook neck and patty pan, then add soup. Delicious!

Love,

Pliar

Banana Bread

2010-09-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

I got this recipe off allrecipes.com. Click here for the link. The bread has a nice banana flavor because it uses lots of bananas. When I made the recipe this morning I used 5 medium sized bananas to get the 2 1/3 cups of mashed bananas called for in the recipe. I made muffins out of them instead of bread. I just lined muffin tins with cupcake papers and cooked them for 15- 18 minutes.

Click here for another banana muffin recipe found on this blog. It doesn't call for as many bananas, but I'm sure it's a good recipe too.

Green Salad

2010-09-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

Lettuce mixture:
mixed baby greens

dried cranberries

chopped red apples

green grapes

almonds

Dressing:

3/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 1/2 cups olive oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 tsp. salt

Add vinegar to sugar, whisk well. Add oil and salt Whisk everything long and fast unti it thickens to the consistency of Karo syrup.

Sugar almonds:

3 cups slivered almonds

1 cup sugar

Heat sugar in teflon coated sauce pan on low heat until melted. Add almonds and mix to coat. Remove from heat and let cool.

I was cleaning out my email inbox and saw this recipe from April Steimle that she sent last summer. We had it at the dinner that was served between stake conference sessions last August. I remember that it was really good. I would substitute rice vinegar for red wine vinegar. No one has officially taught me how to sugar almonds. I was happy to read the detailed instructions. I never knew the ratio of almonds to sugar and I didn't know that you should start melting the sugar before you add the almonds.

7 Things You Should Always Buy Generic

2010-09-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

I read this post this morning about a money saving tip and was excited to share it here.
Be sure to click onto the video.

Have fun saving money.

Fruit Salad

2010-09-10T08:25:00.001-07:00

Hello Fall! Goodbye summer!

Fall is my favorite season. I love the fall weather, starting of a new school year, and planting my fall vegetables garden.

The one thing I will greatly miss about summer are the summer fruits. Almost EVERY DAY for dinner this summer I have served a fruit salad. Below is a picture of one we had last night.

Included in this salad is:

Watermellon
Cantalope
Honey dew melon
Green grapes

Other fruits that I have included in other salads are:

Pineapple
Bananas
Strawberries
Kiwi
Red grapes
Apricots
Peaches
Nectarines
Mango

In our town of Duarte, we have local food markets that sell produce at a fraction of the cost of grocery store chains. I can go into one of these markets and for $20 have a basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables to last the week.

We have a lime tree in our neighbor's yard that hangs over our fence. We love to slice a few up and squirt some lime juice our our fruit salads to give it a lime zip to the salad.

Lisa served fruit for a work event the other day. She said she served about 100 people for $22. She went to a local market that sold fresh fruit. She bought watermelon, cantaloupes, honey dew melons, grapes, and pineapple. She said she would have bought strawberries but the market didn't have any that day. Then she cut the fruit into big chunks and put them on skewers, and served the skewers off a serving platter. That was a great idea to serve lots of people fruit.

Goodbye summer and fruit salad. Hello fall and homemade apple sauce and apple crisp. (Made from apples grown on our apple tree in our back yard.)

Tub and Shower Spray

2010-09-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

I saw this in the paper from Mary Hunt's column entitled: Ordinary Ingredients Can Produce Magic Results .
debtproofliving.com

If you haven't experienced the power of original blue Dawn plus white vinegar, you are in for a treat. Remove the top of a plastic spray bottle, and fill half of it with white vinegar. Carefully heat it in the microwave until the vinegar is hot, taking care not to melt the bottle.

Fill the rest of the bottle with blue Dawn liquid dishwashing soap. Apply the top tightly. Gently shake the bottle to mix. That's it. You now have a powerful cleaning product that will melt soap scum and tub and shower buildup and clean sinks, appliances, and just about anything else. Just spray it on, scrub, rinse and be amazed. For tough soap scum buildup, spray the mixture on and allow it to sit as long as overnight. The scrub and rinse.

9/17/10 I made this and used it to clean my tub and stovetop. I thought that 50/50 ratio of Dawn to white vinegar is too strong on the Dawn. I since have tried a 10% Dawn to 90% vinegar ratio and it worked a lot better. The other way was just too soapy.

Weed Killer

2010-09-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

I saw this in the paper from Mary Hunt's column entitled: Ordinary Ingredients Can Produce Magic Results .
debtproofliving.com

Here's a recipe for weed-killer that has the power of Roundup for a fraction of the price. Mix 2 cups of ordinary table salt into 1 gallon of white vinegar that has 5 percent acidity. Add 8 drops of liquid dish washing soap.

Label it, and keep it out of the reach of children. This is not toxic, but it will kill any and all vegetation, even the good stuff, so be careful where you spray it.

Another caution: Spraying this multiple times in the same area will sterilize the soil so that nothing will grow there for a long time. It is ideal for killing weeds that grow between cracks in your sidewalk and other areas where you don't want vegetation.

I think I'll whip me up a batch and spray the brick path in my front yard!

Cafe Rio Chicken

2010-09-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

4 chicken breasts

1/2 bottle Zesty Italian Dressing

1/2 cup water

2 t. chili powder

2 cloves of garlic

1 pkg Ranch dressing

2 t. cumin

Place chicken in crock pot.

Mix all other ingredients together and pour over chicken.

Cook on High for 5-7 hours.

Remove chicken and shred with fork. Serve on flour tortilla, with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa...the works.

My sister-in-law, Brittney, is queen of finding AWESOME recipes. I don't have to look for recipes...I just wait until she serves a yummy dish to Dave and I, and then I know it's a good enough recipe to steal! "The boys" LOVE this meal...and "the girls" love how easy, quick, and satisfying it is!

Another New Recipe Blog

2010-09-01T07:09:00.000-07:00

Lisa discovered another new recipe blog that I will include on my blog list. It is called, Favorite Family Recipes.

http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/

or click here to go to it.

Happy cooking!

Dawn Wells Potato Peeling Video

2010-08-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

Sam asked, "Isn't it easier just to peel the potato with a potato peeler?"

Garden Pasta Salad

2010-08-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked tri-color spiral pasta
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup Italian-style salad dressing
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water until al dente. Rinse under cold water, and drain.
Mix chopped carrots, celery, cucumber, green pepper, tomatoes, and onion together in large bowl.
Combine cooled pasta and vegetables together in large bowl. Pour Italian dressing over mixture, add Parmesan cheese and mix well.
Chill for one hour before serving.

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com at this link. The original recipe called for 2 (16 ounce) bottles of Italian-style salad dressing. That was way too much dressing, so I changed it to 1 cup. That might even be too much. You could just add it to taste. Also, the recipe didn't call for sliced olives, but I noticed in the picture that was posted with the recipe that olives were added. I bet you could add what every garden vegetables you would like to this recipe that you think would make it taste good.

How to Freeze Tomatoes

2010-08-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your tomato crop explodes ?

1. Give some to your friends and neighbors who would like some fresh garden tomatoes.

2. Freeze the rest to use later when you make a pot spaghetti or chili on a winter's night.

This post will tell you how to get from this....

....to this.

I found a web site that explains how to freeze tomatoes much better than I could. You can get to the site by clicking here or you can read how to do it below.

Freezing is the easiest and safest way to preserve tomatoes from your garden or the farmers market. Freezing locks in summer fresh flavor and nutrients so you can enjoy delicious tomatoes in soups and sauces all winter long!

Things You'll Need:

Fresh tomatoes
Serrated paring knife
Stockpot
Boiling water
Large bowl of ice water
Zip closure freezer bags

Step 1

Vine ripened tomatoes taste best fresh or frozen. If you didn't grow your own tomatoes, pay a visit to your local farmer's market for a wide selection of ripe tomatoes. Pick tomatoes that are fully colored and tender, but not mushy or soft.

Step 2

Clean the tomatoes by rinsing them individually under a stream of running water. Gently rub the surface of the fruit to remove any soil. If you aren't sure if the tomatoes are organic, wash them with a mild fruit and vegetable cleaner to help remove pesticide and herbicide residues, then rinse well.

Step 3

Pop the stem off the tomatoes. If it is stubborn, use a knife to carefully remove the stem.

Step 4

Fill a stockpot with water and bring it to a rapid boil. Dip 2 to 3 tomatoes at a time into the water. Remove the tomatoes from the pot with a slotted spoon when the skins begin to loosen (after about 30 seconds).

Step 5

Plunge the tomatoes immediately into an ice water bath. This stops the tomatoes from cooking and further loosens the skins.

Step 6

Slide the skins off the tomatoes and compost them. Use a serrated knife to remove any stubborn bits of peel and cut out the core of the tomato. At this point you can freeze the tomatoes whole or cut them into halves or quarters.

Step 7

Pack the tomatoes into freezer bags, leaving one inch of headroom at the top of the bag. Freezer bags that have a zipper seal work best. Squeeze the air of the bag and zip the top close.

Step 8

Save room in your freezer by laying the bags of tomatoes flat on a freezer shelf. Once frozen, stack the bags wherever you would like in the freezer. Frozen tomatoes stay fresh for up to one year and taste best cooked into soups, stews, and sauces.

When I do step 6, I take it one step further and after I quarter the tomatoes and put them in a big bowl. Then I take my clean hands and squish them all up. (who likes big chunks of tomatoes in your spaghetti sauce? Not my kids!) Then I ladle them into a quart ziploc bag. Walmart brand are a cheaper price. (Be sure you squeeze the air out of the bag.)

Enjoy!

Banana Split Cake

2010-08-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Mix and spread into 13x9 pan. Chill

Filling:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar

Cream together. It will crumble at first, but keep mixing until smooth. Spread on crust.

Topping:

1 container of whipped topping
1 can (15 oz.) pineapple, crushed or chunks (your choice)
1-2 bananas
Strawberries or other fruit
Ice cream topping
Nuts or toffee bits
Maraschino cherries

Slice bananas on filling, top with pineapple and then any other fruit you want. Spread with whipped topping. Drizzle with either chocolate, caramel, butterscotch sauce or favorite ice cream topping. Sprinkle with nuts and garnish with cherries.

I got this recipe off:

www.LivingOnADime.com

Pasta Veggie Fruit Salad

2010-08-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

This is a super dish to make up in the morning. Then, when dinner time comes and everyone is hot and tired, just set this dish on the table. Voila! Dinner is served.

Pasta Veggie Fruit Salad

1 1/2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
1 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 cup green grapes, halved
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (6 oz.) water chestnuts, drained
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped

Dressing

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ranch dressing
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta. While it is cooking, chop rest of ingredients and mix. Mix dressing together. Add pasta and mix everything. Chill. Garnish with toasted slivered almonds if desired.

Living on a Dime Newsletter has done it again. I found this in my email and it looks like a great, easy, delicious summer time dish. www.LivingOnADime.com

Forgiveness: A Great Recipe for Peace in the Midst of Tragedy

2010-08-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

Table Center Piece

2010-06-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

We had a work party at our house this this past week. I used these flower blooms from our yard as table center pieces. I was happy with the way they turned out and you can't beat the price....free! (You could also use canning jars with raffia bows to put the flowers in.)

Does any one know the name of the flowers? They are always in bloom around the 4th of July and make great center pieces this time of year.

Julie Cole let me know that this type of flower is called, agapantha. She said, "They come in purple and white....once you grow them, the 'bulbs' multiply. They are easy to separate and then you have more. Very easy to grow." Thanks, Julie for the information!

White Trash

2010-06-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 lbs quality wh ite chocolate
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
3 cups Cheerios toasted oat cereal
3 cups corn or Rice Chex
3 cups small pretzels
2 cups nuts (I use unsalted dry roasted peanuts from Walmart)

In a double boiler, melt white chocolate and shortening.
Stir chocolate mixture until blended and smooth.
In the meantime, combine all the cereal and nuts in a very large bowl.
Pour melted white chocolate over the cereal and nuts, gently stirring to coat all pieces.
Scoop mixture out onto large cookie sheets or jelly roll pans to set.
After the white chocolate has hardened, break into pieces and store in a large airtight container or Ziploc-type bags.
Enjoy!

I had this treat years ago when I attended a PTA function at Temple City High School when Scott was working there. I was told that the delicious treat I ate was called White Trash. I have looked for the recipe on and off since then but couldn't ever find it. I was so happy when I ran across it at this site the other day.

My input for the recipe is this: For the quality white chocolate that is listed above, I used Almond Bark that I got at Walmart. (It came in a 1 1/2 lb. pkg) I didn't use the shortening because the packaged said to use the shortening to thin the bark. I followed the microwave melting direction on the back of the Almond Bark package.

You will love this treat!

ps Someone asked me why I used Almond Bark instead of white chocolate. I used it because they looked like they were the same thing, except white chocolate chips were A LOT more expensive. I looked up the definition of Almond Bark on wikipedia and this is what it said:

Almond Bark (also known as vanilla flavored candy coating) is an artificial chocolate made with vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter and with coloring and flavors added.^[1] It can be found in 1.5 pound packages, in blocks, or in round discs where candy supplies or holiday nuts and crackers are sold. The confection is commonly used to cover or dip fruits, nuts, cookies, or crackers, in place of real chocolate.^[2] It can also be used with peanut butter and crackers, as with this recipe ^[3].

Whipped Cream

2010-05-31T09:26:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 cup powdered sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Whip cream until almost stiff. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until cream holds peaks. Spread over top of cooled pie or dollop on bread pudding, gingerbread, cobblers, or other desserts.

When I grew up, I learned how to make whipped cream by watching my mom put in a glug of vanilla and a bit of powdered sugar into the whipping cream. Several people have asked me how to make whipped cream, so I looked it up on the Internet and posted it here. Beware: if you whip the cream too much you'll turn it into butter. I think every cook has done that at least once. (I have) When ever a recipe calls for cool whip, I'll usually use whipped cream instead. Cool whip is too fake for me.

Lunches

2010-05-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

Click on the above newspaper and read the letter to the editor: Lunches by mom

In case you can't read the article, this is what it says:

Lunches by mom

The Guest View article by Trulie Ankerbery about school lunches caught my eye. (May 5) She said, “Millions of families do not have the funds to send their children to school with nutritious homemade lunches.”

I disagree with that statement.

It is possible to make nutritious homemade lunches for a minimal cost with a little time, effort, and planning. My six children are living proof of that. We don’t need another government program feeding our children their school lunches.

What we need is mothers and fathers taking care of their families.

Californias Mormon Helping Hands Day.mp4

2010-05-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

I know this isn't a recipe post, but SERVICE is a sure recipe for happiness. Our family was privileged to participate in the Helping Hands Service Day in California and Hawaii. A fun time was had by all. Our stake helped at the Peck Road Water Conservation Park in El Monte.

This video (produced by another stake) captures the spirit of the day. Just watching it will make you happy.

Red Potatoes

2010-05-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

2-3 red potatoes per person, depending on size
Butter
Parsley or green onions

Peel a strip around the middle of each potato if you want to prevent cracking. Boil potatoes until tender (about 15 minutes). Drain. Toss with butter until coated. You can sprinkle with parsley or green onions.

I got this recipe off

www.LivingOnADime.com

Bacon Pea Salad

2010-05-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen peas, thawed
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 cup cauliflower, in small pieces
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup sour cream
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Combine first four ingredients. Combine dressing and sour cream; pour over salad and mix well. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Before serving garnish with bacon and sunflower seeds.

I got this recipe from Living on a Dime Newsletter. ( I haven't tried it yet, but you can be sure I will.)

www.LivingOnADime.com

Lemon Custard Cake

2010-05-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

1 prepared angel food cake (about 10 inches)
1 (3.4 oz.) box lemon pudding
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1 can (21 oz.) cherry or strawberry pie filling

Tear cake into pieces and place in a 13x9 pan. Mix pudding, milk and sour cream, beating until thick. Spread over cake, then spoon pie filling on top. Chill until ready to serve.

You could make this in layers in a large glass bowl for something special. This is also a good recipe to store in with your Christmas or Fourth of July recipes.

I got this recipe from Living on a Dime Newsletter. ( I haven't tried it yet, but you can be sure I will.)

www.LivingOnADime.com

Play-Dough Recipe

2010-05-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 tsp cream of tarter
1 cup water
Few drops of food coloring
1 Tbs. oil

Mix dry ingredients. Mix water, food coloring and oil. Combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with large spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of pan and forms a ball. This takes only about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Remove to counter with a little flour on it and knead until smooth. This makes a soft dough that keeps it's shape when molded.

It will dry out but not enough to make things like jewelry. If kept in a plastic bag or airtight container in the refrigerator, it will keep for many months.

I used this recipe a lot when my kids were little. You can give the kids a rolling pin, cookie cutters, and plastic knives to use when they play with the play-dough. Add a Disney CD or other children's music and they'll be entertained for hours.

Another fun activity to do with kids that will keep them entertained for hours on a summer afternoon is to give them a paint brush (from the dollar store) and a bucket of water and have them "paint" outside. They can "paint" the sidewalk, fence, garage wall, etc.

Potato Salad

2010-05-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Boiled potatoes – generally one medium or large per person
1 hard boiled egg – per person – for a large crowd ½ egg per person
Cut up sweet pickles – to taste
Green onion – to taste
Miracle Whip salad dressing thinned down with sweet pickle juice and add a little prepared mustard.

I learned to make potato salad by watching my mom make it. I will add some more direction here. Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Cover and boil in salted water. When tender, drain off the water and put the pot back on a low burner to dry out the potatoes. Then just start adding "stuff". I have also used baked potatoes or red potatoes and added different things like celery, yellow or purple onions, Mrs. Dash seasoning, etc. That is the beauty of potato salad. Each batch is unique.

No, I'm Not Anti-Facebook - I Just Want Be Informed About It

2010-05-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

This post is very off topic for a recipe blog, but I do want to share the message with parents of middle-schoolers.

I heard Dr. Laura read this email the other day on the radio and was happy when I saw she posted it on her blog. I found it very interesting. I agreed with what the principal of the middle school said about facebook. What do you think?

Principal Says NO to Social Networks for Kids

May 6, 2010 on 7:00 am

I am very happy to tell you about my hero, Anthony Orsini, the principal at Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He recently sent the following email to all parents of children attending his school:

Dear BF Community:
When I arrived in Ridgewood, Facebook did not exist, YouTube did not exist, and MySpace was barely in existence. Formspring (one of the newest Internet scourges, a site meant simply to post cruel things about people anonymously) wasn’t even in someone’s mind.

In 2010, social networking sites have now become commonplace, and technology use by students is beyond prevalent.

It is time for every single member of the BF community to take a stand!

There is absolutely no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site!

Let me repeat that - there is absolutely, positively no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site! None.

5 of the last 8 parents who we have informed that their child was posting inappropriate things on Facebook said their child did not have an account. Every single one of the students had an account.

3 students yesterday told a guidance counselor that their parents told them to close their accounts when the parents learned they had an account. All three students told their parents it was closed. All three students still had an account after telling their parents it was closed.

Most students are part of more than one social networking site.

Please do the following: sit down with your child (and they are just children still) and tell them that they are not allowed to be a member of any social networking site. Today!

Let them know that you will at some point every week be checking their text messages online! You have the ability to do this through your cell phone provider.

Let them know that you will be installing Parental Control software so you can tell every place they have visited online, and everything they have instant messaged or written to a friend. Don’t install it behind their back, but install it!

Over 90% of homework does not require the Internet, or even a computer. Do not allow them to have a computer in their room. There is no need.

Know that they can text others even if their phone doesn’t have texting capability, either through the computer or through their iPod Touch.

Have a central “docking system,” preferably in your bedroom, where all electronics in the home get charged each night, especially anything with a cell or with wi-fi capability (remember when you were in high school and you would sneak the phone into your bedroom at Midnight to talk to your girlfriend or boyfriend all night - now imagine what they can do with the technology in their rooms).

If your son or daughter is attacked through one of these sites or through texting, immediately go to the police! Insist that they investigate every situation. Also, contact the site and report the attack to the site - they have an obligation to suspend accounts, or they are liable for what is written.

We as a school can offer guidance and try to build up any student who has been injured by the social networking scourge, but please insist the authorities get involved.

For online gaming, do not allow them to have the interactive communication devices. If they want to play Call of Duty online with someone from Seattle, fine. They don’t need to talk to the person.

The threat to your son or daughter from online adult predators is insignificant compared to the damage that children at this age constantly and repeatedly do to one another through social networking sites or through text and picture messaging.

It is not hyperbole for me to write that the pain caused by social networking sites is beyond significant. It is psychologically detrimental and we will find out it will have significant long-term effects, as well as all the horrible social effects it already creates.

I will be more than happy to take the blame off you as a parent if it is too difficult to have the students close their accounts, but it is time they all get closed and the texts always get checked.

I want to be clear - this email is not anti-technology, and we will continue to teach responsible technology practices to students. They are simply not psychologically ready for the damage that one mean person online can cause, and I don’t want any of our students to go through the unnecessary pain that too many of them have already experienced.

Some people advocate that the parents and the school should teach responsible social networking to students because these sites are part of the world in which we live.

I disagree. It is not worth the risk to your child to allow them the independence at this age to manage these sites on their own, not because they are not good kids or responsible, but because you cannot control the poor actions of anonymous others.

Learn as a family about cyber safety together at www.wiredsafety.org for your own knowledge. It is a great site. But then do everything I asked in this email - because there really is no reason a child needs to have one of these accounts.

Please take action in your own home today.

Sincerely,

Anthony Orsini
Principal, BFMS

Now Principal Orsini is MY kind of principal, and my kind of leader in the community. This should go nationwide.

The sites have become a tool for children to do psychological harm to each other; it has become a menace to children. Much of what guidance counselors have to deal with these days regards social networking issues. It is time for you parents to ACT.

__________________________________________________

Click here for another article about facebook from Focus on the Family's webpage: pluggedin.com

Click here for another blog post from Dr. Laura about facebook.

Benefits of Meal Time

2010-04-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

I stumbled on another good recipe blog. It is called:

http://familyeatstogether.blogspot.com/

Click here to go the the site.

I'll also put a link to this site on My Blog List.

Speaking of meal time, there is all kinds of research that talks about the benefits of eating meals together as a family. Click here for a good article on the subject.

Yogurt Parfait

2010-04-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

Once every few months, Scott brings breakfast to his administrative staff meeting at his work. A few times I have made yogurt parfaits for him to bring. They are so easy to make, yet look like a gourmet treat.

Below are the supplies you"ll need to make them and my commentary on where to buy what brands. You can use any brands you want. The suggestions below are just my favorites.

Smart and Final

Plastic wine glasses - package of 50 (They look like a parfait dessert cup. I also have pictured a clear plastic cup from Costco which is cheaper to buy but doesn't look as fancy)

Smart and Final brand Honey & Oats Granola w/almonds - 3 lbs. box. (You could use any brand of granola. I just like the cost and taste of Smart and Final's granola)

Fresh &Easy

I like the taste of Strawberry and Peach Yogurts from Fresh and Easy. 32 oz containers are cheaper to buy. (I also like Yoplait brand of yogurt. Usually the different grocery stores have their name brand of yogurt which is inexpensive compared to name brand yogurts.)

Layer ingredients in the glass, starting with the yogurt. As you put the middle layer of granola, use a spoon and place the granola around the edge of the cup so it will look nice from the outside of the cup after you put on the third layer, which is yogurt. Then the final layer is granola.

Delicious and yet so easy.

Pies Baked in a Jar

2010-04-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

I ran across this recipe by accident. It looked so clever and cute I had to post the link to the recipe. Click here to see how to make these pies in a jar.

Freezer Jam

2010-04-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

There are a couple of signs that let us know when spring is here at the Mag Pad.

One, is when the flowers on our front hill are in bloom.
(click onto the picture to get a better view of the flowers)

Another sign of spring is when we replenish our strawberry jam supply.

Making homemade freezer jam is so easy. Just follow the directions that come in the Sure-Jell Fruit Pectin box for freezer strawberry jam. I buy the Sure-Jell Fruit Pectin box from Smart and Final along with the 8 oz plastic containers that I put the jam in. You can be sure we always make enough jam to last us until next the spring.

Please pass the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (made with homemade strawberry jam, of course!)

Easter Eggs Post #2

2010-03-31T18:48:00.001-07:00

Our neighbor, Rebecca, invited Sam over to dye eggs with her boys the other day. Sam came home with these beautiful eggs. (see picture above) She had Sam use electrical tape to make square cutouts and then he placed them on the eggs. Then he dipped the egg in a light color dye. Next, he removed a few of the cutouts and patted the egg dry. Then he dipped the egg a second time in another color. The eggs I just described how to make are the bottom two in the picture above. The top egg was made to look like a cracked shell. He cut the electrical tape in a jagged shape and wrapped it around the egg and then dipped one half of egg in one color and the other half of the egg in another color.

Rebecca reused the electrical tape by placing the used tape on wax paper in between doing each egg.

The homemade dye recipe Rebecca used is:

1 cup water
2 Tlbs vinegar
6-8 drops food coloring

She made the dye in the 8 oz plastic containers with lids that you can get at Smart and Final. She kept the dye in these containers and saved the dye to use for several different egg coloring sessions.

Rebecca got the idea off of Matha Stewart's Living Magazine. You can watch these eggs being made on a how to video on her webpage: marthastewart.com/dyeing-eggs
or you can click here to go to the web page.

Rebecca's husband, Landon, was REALLY cleaver and figured out how to make this egg:

Now that is a manly Easter Egg!

Easter Eggs

2010-03-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

About 15 years ago Virginia Teater taught me how to color Easter eggs using all natural materials. We have been doing our Easter eggs this way every year since she taught me this method. I have taught the children in my kids' elementary classes, neighbors, ladies in my church, and now the blogging world how to do this. Every egg is beautiful and unique.

Material needed:

Raw eggs
An old pair of nylons
String
Onion Skins
Flowers with spaces between the petals

We have Marguerite flowers growing in our yard, which work great.

Put a flower in the toe of a nylon sock - facing toward you.

Put a raw egg on top of the flower in the stocking.

Bring the nylon over the egg

Twist the stocking and tie a knot at the top of the egg with the string.
This is a two person job.

One person holds the nylon with the egg and the other person ties the string.

Repeat the above procedure several times up the stocking.

Put a layer of onion skins on the bottom of a pot.

Lay the eggs that are in the nylon on top of the onion skins (remember these are raw eggs at this point.)

Cover with water and boil the eggs for 10 minutes. (You are basically hard boiling the eggs at this point. The onion skins are coloring the eggs a beautiful golden brown color.)

When the eggs are done boiling, lift them out with tongs.

Cut the stockings.

Reveal your beautiful Easter egg

Happy Easter!

Family Fun Magazine has an article about other ways you dye eggs naturally. Click here to see the link. AND there is another blog that talks getting colors naturally. These other links talk about using vinegar. I've never used vinegar in the procedure illustrated above and the color has worked out OK.

Deseretnews.com had an article about using onion skins to color Easter eggs. One on their last steps was to "Finish the eggs off with a light coat of olive oil." I tried doing that this year and it added a nice shiny touch to the eggs.

Spring time is a reminder of the Resurrection
"...these things....testified of the coming of Christ..."
Heleman 8:22
Book of Mormon

Red Velvete Cake

2010-03-22T15:04:00.001-07:00

Click onto the above recipe to see a larger view.

I'm de-cluttering my piles of papers and came across this recipe I wanted to make, but haven't had a chance to yet. It looked yummy, so I thought I'd post it. If anyone tries it, let me know how it turns out.

Fruit Biscotti

2010-03-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Click on the above picture to see a larger version of the recipe.

I got this recipe from my Sister-in-law, Lynn, when I asked if she had a good "healthy appetizer". When she sent this recipe, she said, "It tasted yummy and wasn't very hard either. It was a little card we get in the mail, every so often, from our Real Estate guy."

I just made this recipe and in the section for the top/filling I replaced the 1/4 cup sugar with 1/2 cup powdered sugar. It made the white top/filling a little more light and fluffy.

How Long Will This Food Store and Stay Fresh?

2010-03-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

You've got questions. There are answers.

Moms always have all the answers and my mom has proved it once again.

(This is a picture of me and my mom that was taken this past Christmas time.)

She sent me an email with a link that has all the answers - thousands of them. Check it out by clicking here.

Below is a cut and paste of the email she sent.

How long can that bottle of ketchup stay in your fridge before it goes bad? I'm thinking 5 or 10 years. But if you want an expert opinion, go to the web site below. This site lists all kind of foodstuffs and how to keep them fresher, longer: As well as when to get rid of them. If you have a question, just click on the particular picture, and a whole list of great things appears!! WHAT A GREAT SITE THIS IS!!

www.stilltasty.com

How to Prepare for Financial Emergencies

2010-03-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a great web page on providentliving.org about how to handle handle family finances. This web page has many links that will take you to topics on:

Paying Tithes and Offerings
Avoiding Debt
Using a Budget
Building a Reserve
Teaching Family Members

I like what our First Presidency has to say on the topic:

"We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. . . . If you have paid your debts and have a financial reserve, even though it be small, you and your family will feel more secure and enjoy greater peace in your hearts."
—The First Presidency

Click here to go to that web page.

Here's another post on how to handling financial emergencies from:

www.LivingOnADime.com

Click here for the link that was posted on March 9, 2010 on how to be financially prepared. Below is a cut and past of the article.

How to Prepare For Financial Emergencies

The best way to survive unemployment or any financial challenge is to be prepared ahead of time. Many of us prepare for all kinds of emergencies -- keeping an emergency supply of food, first aid kits and other emergency supplies. Here in Kansas, we keep one room prepared where we can go in case a tornado hits. But few of us prepare for something that is almost guaranteed to hit every one of us at some time-- unemployment.

I hope that today's ideas will inspire you to prepare for a financial emergency that is sure to happen at some point in your life in the same way you prepare for other emergencies.

As hard as it was at the time, I can honestly say that I'm glad I had the various experiences that I had with unemployment. I really wouldn't be the person I am now if I hadn't. At the time, you wonder why God is allowing these things to happen in your life and think it is so unfair but, years later, you find out many of these things taught you something that really helped you in the long run.

If my husband hadn't been laid off the first time, we wouldn't had started a business he loved. That business enabled him to be at home with the kids and me. I restarted that same business years later, which helped me save my home and helped us avoid living out on the streets. In fact, this web site wouldn't exist if it hadn't been for the job losses I experienced in my life and the things I learned from them.

The best way to rid yourself of fear and panic is to be prepared for a situation. I love the story of Joseph in the Bible (Gen. 41) where God told Joseph that there was a famine coming. What did Joseph do? Well, he didn't pay any attention to the news of the day, nor did he worry about what others were saying. He also didn't just sit there knowing that tough times were coming and say, "Que Sera Sera, what will be, will be".

He started preparing-- preparing in a big way. Maybe we don't have grain elevators to fill like he did (Well, on second thought lots of people in Kansas do :) ), but we can take practical steps now to prepare in case a "famine" should come in our lives.

I am so tired of listening to people moaning and groaning about what is going to happen to the world financially. Stop complaining about it! Take the time and energy you are wasting pointing out how awful things are and do something constructive about it in your life.

Here are a few things you can do to insulate yourself against potential financial emergencies:

Get rid of credit card debt. I know I sound like a broken record, but credit card debt is something that can make or break you when money is tight. Once we had a gas card and furniture card, both of which were maxed out for a total of $500. The thing that hurt us the most when we had a job layoff was that credit card debt. We could have paid most of our bills with a part time job, but each month we had to make that credit card payment. It almost broke us-- and our debt was nothing compared to some others.

Don't take this lightly. You can lose everything just because of that debt. I don't care what you need to do. Get serious and aggressive about paying if off. Visit our web site and refer to our books where we give you thousands of ideas about how to do it.

It may seem impossible but stop buying on credit now. Lots and lots of people don't buy on credit and do just fine. You can too. If you don't have cash to pay for something, live without it until you can save enough for it. We can live without most things that we think we can't live without. My daughter and I have each gone through a winter without a refrigerator until we had the money to buy one. It was a pain keeping the frozen stuff in the cold garage, but we survived.

Pay off your mortgage. If you are barely making your house payment, you may have to consider buying a less expensive house in order to accomplish that goal. The thing that saved me more than once was never buying a house I couldn't reasonably afford. Also, except for a couple of years after losing a lot of money on one house sale, I have had my house paid off since I was in my middle 30's. You can usually make enough money for minimal food and utilities in tough times, but it is the house payment that can make or break you. Pay it off and you won't have to worry about that anymore.

During the depression, the people who survived the best were the ones who had their homes paid for and had no debt.

Save. It's a toss up when it comes to deciding whether to save first and then pay your mortgage or visa versa. For me, having my mortgage paid lifted more of a burden from me. Additionally, the interest I made on my savings was so much less than the interest I paid on my mortgage that I was better off getting rid of my house payment.

Different people feel differently about their situations so do what is most comfortable for you. The most ideal thing, of course, is to pay your house off and have a small nest egg.

Don't panic when you hear the word "savings". It is so easy to think "there is no way I can save" but even if you save only $5 a week, that is something. Most people waste significantly more than that each day. I found out that having even an extra $25 helped because it could buy an awful lot of bread and bologna to feed us.

Stop worrying about things like college funds until you can get your finances under control. Those are nice to have but they aren't as big a necessity as most people think, especially when you're trying not to lose your home. If your child wants to go to college, he can go to a community college, get a scholarship or even work to pay his own way (What a concept).

Learn useful skills. Learn how to do basic sewing, home repair, car repair, cooking and yard work. Learn to grow a garden. You may not have a need to do these things now, but someday you could find yourself thinking "I wish I knew how to ____, because it would save me so much money." Teach your children life skills as well.

This last suggestion may seem a little odd but install a wood burning stove in your home if you don't have one. For those of you in colder climates, this can save significant money on your heating bill.

When we were in our toughest times, I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had a wood burning stove to heat my home (or at least part of my home). The heating bill would have eaten me alive, but I could always find free wood. Even when I had to have the heater on to keep the pipes from freezing, I could keep it low enough to save me huge amounts of money.

There are so many things in our lives that we have no control over. Life happens, but there are some things we can prepare for and unemployment is one of them.

Get serious with your money and stop being foolish with it. God didn't give us prosperity solely to satisfy our "wants". It is important to use it wisely, to provide for your needs in good times and bad. Use the money you have to build a strong foundation for you family so, when the storms come, your family will be safe and can ride it out better.

Don't be selfish, spending too much of your money on things that give you instant gratifications and pleasure for the moment. Yes, you do enjoy that big screen TV, that golf game or those expensive shoes and purses, but what will you feel like further down the road when you have lost your job and have no clue on how you are going to save your home or feed your kids?

People who aren't prepared react very badly to losing their jobs. They play the blame game. It's the fault of the boss, the company, the government, the bank or these hard economic times. We play the blame game when we are caught doing something foolish or wrong. You may say, "but I did nothing wrong by losing my job." No but did you do something foolish by failing to prepare in case you did lose it?

I'm not saying any of this to judge or condemn anyone. You know your own circumstances. I'm just telling you this to try and open your eyes to the importance of being prepared, and not just because of what is going on now. Unexpected things happen all the time, but the more prepared we are, the better equipped we are to handle any financial challenge that presents itself.

Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

2010-03-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

I ran across this recipe this morning. It look so good, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post it.

Click here to get the recipe.

Lentil Soup

2010-03-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups chicken stock

2 cups dry lentils

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 large onion, chopped

2 tsp ground cumin (more or less to taste)

Other assorted chopped veggies - carrots, celery, potatoes, yams, etc.

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Lime or lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Bring chicken stock and lentils to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
2.	Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 3 minutes.
3.	Stir onions into the lentils and season with cumin and cayenne. Continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 10 minutes. You can also add other chopped veggies like celery, carrots, potatoes, canned tomatoes.
4.	Stir in cilantro and lime/lemon juice to taste before serving. Lentils are low in fat, high in protein and fiber and CHEAP. This soup is especially yummy if you eat it with cooked rice.

BYU Mint Brownies

2010-03-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

Brownie layer

1 c. margarine

1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts

MINT ICING
5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

Chocolate Icing (can also use a can of store frosting)

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup margarine, softened

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

approximately 2 TBS milk

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. While waiting, mix up the chocolate frosting (dump all ingredients in bowl except milk and beat with mixer. Add milk to consistency desired - not as stiff at mint layer). Remove from the freezer and carefully add layer of chocolate icing.

YUMMY!

Some people don't like mint brownies because the mint flavor is overpowering. Who wants to think of toothpaste when eating dessert?? Not so with these - it's minty,but not overkill. Although I'm a BYU grad, I don't know if I ever had a BYU mint brownie in Provo.

Informational booklet on Emergency Survival

2010-03-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

(Click onto above picture to be able to read about what you can learn from the booklet available on the link below.)
Can you tell I'm betting ready to do another class on emergency preparedness? There is such a wealth of information out there on the Internet. I came across a booklet from the Los Angeles County, Office of Emergency Management that has simple short ideas that a family can go through to get themselves emergency prepared.

Each chapter has a simple 1-2 paragraph explanation of what to do. On the next page they have a check list of how a family can get prepared in that area.

Here is a list of the chapters:

Step 1. Family Emergency Plan
Step 2 Supply Storage
Step 3 First Aid Training and Supplies
Step 4 Drop, Cover and Hold On
Step 5 Car Kit and Office Kit
Step 6 Emergency Cash and Important Documents
Step 7 Camping Out Earthquake Style
Step 8 Freshen up your Water and Food Supplies
Step 9 Focus on Children
Step 10 Learn not to Burn
Step 11 Emergency Lighting
Step 12 Gifts of Life

This is an excellent booklet to go through as a family to set some goals for emergency preparedness. They have thought of everything in this booklet in a simple uncomplicated way. Click here to see the link to this booklet.

Earthquake Preparedness

2010-03-05T07:10:00.000-08:00

For some reason, earthquake preparedness has been on my mind. I wonder if this news story has anything to do with my thoughts?

A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Chile early on Saturday, February 27, leaving hundreds of people dead, destroying parts of southern Chile and triggering tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin. cnn.com

I found a blog post from Emergency Essentials on earthquake preparedness that is worth reading. click here to read the post.

Kristine's first hand experience with emergency preparedness

2010-03-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

Janelle wrote about Kristine's experience with the tsumani warning in Hawaii this weekend. Click here to read about it.

Hot Punch

2010-02-19T14:39:00.000-08:00

2 quarts orange juice
2 quarts apple juice
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks and a little bunch of cloves and allspice in a cheese cloth.

Simmer all together for a hour or two.

French Chocolate

2010-02-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

3 unsweetened baking chocolate squares
1/2 cup water

Mix together in pot and simmer 3 minutes while stirring.

Add:
1 cup sugar. Cook 3 minutes and cool

Whip 1 cup whipping cream that's been sweeten with a little powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla

Fold two mixtures together.

Use about 1 TBS + chocolate mixture per cup of hot milk. Chocolate mixture can be frozen.

This is my favorite hot chocolate recipe . When my mom's friends gave her a baby shower when she was pregnant with my youngest brother, they served this drink. (He was born in November). When it's cold outside, this is the drink to serve. I always make at least one batch of this during the Christmas holiday season.

Lasagna Spinach Roll-Ups (Vegetarian dish)

2010-02-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

2/3 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cups small curd cottage cheese

2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach

2 eggs, lightly beaten

6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce

2 teaspoons dried marjoram

1 teaspoon white sugar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add lasagna pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and pat dry.

In a large skillet saute in butter the red bell pepper, mushrooms and onion until tender. In a bowl combine the sauteed vegetable mixture, cottage cheese, spinach, eggs, 4 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese and pepper; mix well.

In a large skillet, heat tomato sauce, marjoram, sugar and garlic powder for 5 minutes.

Spread 1/3 cup filling on each noodle. Roll up and place in greased 9x13 baking dish. Pour tomato sauce mixture over lasagna rolls. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes.

I got this recipe off of allrecipies.com. I served it for dinner last night because we had someone for dinner who is a vegetarian. It was delicious! The only downside to this recipe is that it was very labor intensive to make. Luckily, I allowed plenty of prep time and so it turned out fine.

I didn't use the frozen chopped spinach. I used a package of fresh spinach. Before I added it to the cottage cheese mixture, I cooked it in the microwave for 1 minute. Then I chopped it up.

I also always like to use Knudsen cottage cheese. It's not runny like the cheap store brands and it has a good flavor.

Winter gardens are one of the blessing of living in So. California.

2010-02-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

Winter gardens are the best!

There's nothing like a fresh lettuce salad for dinner.

For the lettuce, you just pick the outer leaves and they grow all season long until the plants start to go to seed. If you have home grown lettuce a salad spinner is a must. You can pick a spinner up at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Target or Walmart might also carry salad spinners.

In the front row are carrots, then lettuce and then peas. (The peas are growing up a wooden frame with fishing line going from the top to bottom for the peas to climb up.) I also wanted to plant broccoli, onions, and cilantro but I just didn't get around to planting them this year. ...maybe they will make it into my spring garden.

Lunch Sack Ideas

2010-01-31T20:44:00.000-08:00

• Buy paper sacks and baggies for sack lunches at Walmart or Smart and Final. It’s cheaper.
• Look for good deals on boxed drinks and stock up.
• Buy reusable box drink containers (Rubbermaid makes one) and fill with Koolaid or Crystal Light.
• Make your own fruit cup: Buy 5 ½ oz disposable container with lid from Smart and Final. Put in fruit from #10 can, available at Costco, Sam’s Club, or Smart and Final. Our favorites are applesauce or pineapple. Put in freezer. When ready to use, put in zip sandwich bag (in case it leaks in lunch bag). Don’t forget the plastic spoon. Smart and Final has small cheaper plastic ware.

Fold corner of napkin and cut heart shape to let your kids/husband know you love them.
Include a note in lunch sack to brighten someone’s day.
Use large heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out brownies or rice krispy treats
Make “carrot coins” by cutting carrots circles for a lunch treat.
Make ‘orange smiles” by cutting oranges in circles and then in half.
Roll up ham slices with grated cheese in a flour tortilla
If a microwave is available put leftovers from the night before in a container to be heated up for lunch the next day.

My daughter, Janelle, wrote a college essay about the power of lunches.

“This I Believe”

I believe in the power of lunches.

My mom has six children and a husband, all of who needed a lunch for school and work. And so mom made seven lunches every day for twenty five years. That’s over 63,000 lunches.

Love seems to be expressed in two ways: word and action. Over the years, I began to realize that mom’s lunches were full of love. Every day, my brown paper bag held basically the same thing: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, apple, tortilla chips, and water bottle. But it also held something more.

Each and every lunch held time. Mom’s day began earlier than mine. She would be up early in the kitchen, spreading peanut butter and washing apples while in her pink robe. Making lunches only took a few minutes, but those were precious minutes that I could use putting on makeup instead of bagging my own sandwich. Mom never called attention to this time she spent serving. She just did it because she loved me.

Each and every lunch held acknowledgment. Mom wrote our individual names on all the paper lunch sacks. Kind of elementary, I know. But mom liked writing our names. She would say them out loud as she wrote, writing them phonetically: “Janelllllllllllllllllle” for Janelle. “Li-a-sa” for Lisa. There is love in a name spoken and heard—something so personable and individual. Sometimes kids at school called us names, or made us feel as if we did not have one. But at lunch time, there was our name in front of us. It was a mother’s acknowledgment of who we were. And we knew that it was spoken and written with love; because of that, nothing else mattered.

I think I first began to realize what lunches meant to me in elementary school. Some kids brought things like “lunchables,” which was the unspoken “cool” lunch to bring. These included yummy treats like candy and mini pizzas, and they didn’t come in brown paper bags. I remember sometimes wishing I could walk into the cafeteria with a “cool lunch.” But then, my brown paper bag occasionally held homemade cookies or rice krispy treats. All of a sudden, I was the spoken of bringer of a cool lunch! My friends would “ooo” and “ahh” over my good fortune of a mom who would actually make treats for me. And then my cookie would get split into eight different shares and passed around the cafeteria table.

Love is spoken through acts of service, and my mom served me every day of my school career. Not only did her lunches fill me nutritionally, but I was also daily filled with reminders of her love. Now I live away from home, and so I make my own lunch every day. What do I make? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Though they aren’t spread with a mother’s love, I don’t think I will ever eat a sandwich again without thinking of my mom.

Homemade Fruit Smoothies

2010-01-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

2 cups milk or 1 cup milk and 1 cup yogurt
1 cup ice cubes
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

In a blender combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Makes 2 smoothies.

You can make any combination of the following for your smoothies. When using juice, substitute juice for milk in recipe.

Top off any smoothie with ginger ale or sparkling water.
strawberries, blueberries, peaches and a sprig of mint
strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries
strawberries, raspberries and banana
orange juice, pineapple juice, banana
crushed pineapple, 1/4 tsp coconut flavoring
apple juice, coconut and 1/4 tsp. grated ginger
banana and 2 Tbsp. peanut butter
banana, strawberries, 2 Tbsp. chocolate syrup
strawberries, banana, peaches and apple
mixed berries and peaches or pears
bananas and kiwi fruit
watermelon
cantaloupe
peaches and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup mint extract, 1/4 cup chocolate syrup
4 tsp. malted milk powder
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened grape juice

Other add ins:

1/4 cup oatmeal
1 Tbsp. wheat germ
1/4 cup bran cereal
flaxseed oil
bee pollen
breakfast powder
protein powder
powdered milk
cocoa mix
instant pudding mix
powdered soft drink mix
2 Tbsp. fruit juice concentrate
cinnamon
nutmeg
any flavorings such as cherry, strawberry, peppermint etc.
whipped cream

I got this recipe off of webpage Living on a Dime (Click here for the link). During the summer I make lots of smoothies, and every time I make them, they are different. When I get out the blender to make them up, I make several batches, put them together in a gallon pitcher, and then pour what we don't drink in 5 1/2 oz containers with lids that I get at Smart and Final. Then I put them in the freezer to be taken out later. Then later, when someone gets a smoothie from the freezer, they pop it in the microwave for 25-20 seconds to defrost it a little.

When I make smoothies, I usually use orange juice or pineapple juice as the liquid along with the fruits and ice cubes or anything else I decide to put into my smoothies.

Strawberry Salsa

2010-01-26T23:50:00.000-08:00

SALSA:

2 granny smith apples

1 kiwi

1 cup strawberries (fresh is best, frozen will work)

2 TBS jam (raspberry/strawberry)

2 TBS orange juice

Chop fruit into tiny pieces. Mix in jam and orange juice. Let set in fridge for at least one hour.

CHIPS:

10-15 medium sized flour tortillas

butter

cinnamon sugar

Butter entire tortilla. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top, covering entire tortilla. Cut into chip-sized pieces. Place on cookie sheet. Heat in oven at 375* for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before serving.

Oh my heavens! If it's this delicious in the middle of January when the fruit is out of season, I can't wait to try it during the summer! I found this recipe in my former roommate's family cookbook. (Thanks, Nancy!)

German Chocolate Bars

2010-01-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

2/3 cup butter softened
1 pkg German chocolate cake mix
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tub coconut pecan ready-to-spread frosting
1/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350
Grease/spray bottom of 13x9 pan
Cut butter into cake mix in medium bowl using pastry blender or fork
Press 1/2 of mixture (2.5 cups) in bottom of cake pan
Bake 10 min
Sprinkle chocolate chips over baked layer
Drop frosting by tablespoonfuls over chocolate chips
Stir milk into remaining cake mixture
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto frosting layer
Bake 25-30 min or until cake portion is slightly dry to touch
Let cool, then cover and refrigerate until firm

This is another treat that was on the Simmon's goodie plate. Yum, Yum! Thanks Melody!

No-Bake Rocky Road Chocolate Bars

2010-01-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

1/2 cup butter
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup peanut butter
4 cups rice crispy cereal
3 cups miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:

In stock pot over low heat, combine butter, chocolate chips & butterscotch chips.
Stir constantly until melted (4-6 min)
Stir in peanut butter until well blended
Remove from heat
Stir in rice cripies and marshmallows until well blended
Press into bottom of buttered 13x9 pan
Refrigerate until firm (about 30+ min)
Store refrigerated

The Simmons family gave us these bars on a Christmas goodie plate along with other tasty treats. These bars were so good I asked Melody for the recipe so I can put post it.

Chinese Chicken Salad

2010-01-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

I found a great recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad. The blog page where I got it from is copyrighted so I'll post a link to the page instead of copying the recipe onto my blog. Click here for the link.

The blog page is called, Make It and Love It. Click here for the link. It is a very interesting blog. The author is very creative. Browse around her blog pages and get inspired for some pretty cute projects.