* Symphony Bar Fudge *

I got this fudge recipe from my mother-in-law. It is so creamy and soft and delicious... It is the perfect treat for the holidays. (I halved the recipe this time and it still fit into a 9x13 pan and it's still fairly thick)

* Symphony Bar Fudge *4 1/2 c. sugar
1 can evaporated milk
3/4 c. butter
2 8oz Symphony Bars
1 bag (11 oz) milk chocolate chips
7 oz marshmallow cream
1 c. nuts (optional)

Cook sugar, evaporated milk, and butter to boiling. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add chocolate bars, chocolate chips, and marshmallow cream. Stir until smooth. Add nuts. Spread into a buttered 9x13 pan.

* Ooey Gooey Brownies *

I don't know if I've said it one here or not but my mom is THE BEST food maker ever! I know most people probably think that their mom is the best. Some people might even say it out of obligations...but not me. My mom really is amazing :) I got this recipe from her at a bridal shower that my in-laws gave me. It was a recipe themed shower where you bring a recipe and the ingredients to make it. I remember the first time I made this recipe...it was my first time "entertaining" after my husband and I got married. We lived in the dinkiest hallway-sized apartment and we invited friends over to eat dinner and watch a movie. I made these and they turned out so great! Our friends raved about them and it's been one of our favorites ever since. Thanks for the recipe Mom :)

* Ooey Gooey Brownies *
1 box German chocolate cake mix
3/4 c. butter, melted
1 bag chocolate chips
25 caramels
2/3 c. evaporated milk, divided into half

Unwrap and melt caramels with 1/3 c. evaporated milk in microwave (I microwaved it on high in 30 second increments until melted and combined).
Mix cake mix, melted butter, and 1/3 c. evaporated milk together. Spread 1/2 to 3/4 of cake mixture into bottom of an ungreased cake pan. Bake at 350* for 6 minutes.
Pour melted caramels over cookie mixture. Sprinkle chocolate chips over caramel. Spread remaining cake mixture over chocolate chips (I personally think it's kind of hard to "spread" so I just drop teaspoon amounts of the cake mixture over the top until its mostly covered). Bake for 15 more minutes.

* Tomato Tortellini Soup *

This soup rocks! It's a gourmet tomato soup and would still be perfect with grilled cheese sandwiches...or paninis (don't they sound gourmet too?)
The first time I had this soup was at our Relief Society Souper Saturday and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I finally found a recipe for it on Pinterest (recipe here) and we thoroughly enjoyed after church yesterday. I had to make a few ingredient changes and I also let it cook in the crockpot.

* Tomato Tortellini (or ravioli) Soup *

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) reduced-sodium condensed tomato soup, undiluted
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups 2% milk
2 cups half-and-half cream
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (I didn't have sun-dried tomatoes so I just used a can of drained stewed tomatoes)1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Additional shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Cook tortellini (or ravioli) according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven (or crockpot), combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Drain tortellini; carefully add to soup. Stir in cheese. (I just threw it all in the crockpot and let it cook on low for 4-5 hours) Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired.

Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

* Spinach Salad *

This salad is delicious! My cousin brought it to my son's baby blessing dinner a few years ago and we have been eating it ever since (Thanks Melissa!). We took it to my in-laws as a side for Thanksgiving this year and it was a hit!

The only thing that I think I might change with this recipe from here on out is to only mix in half the dressing and if you or your guests want more dressing to pour it on after you dish up...or maybe don't mix any in at all and just pour the dressing on like a regular salad. I find that the salad gets way too soggy (for my taste) after a while and especially if you have leftovers.

* Spinach Salad *
(I forgot to take a picture but it is such a pretty salad with the green spinach/lettuce, red cranberries, white lettuce, and the brown peanuts/bacon!)
2 lb. bag spinach
1 head of iceberg lettuce
6 oz. craisins
1 c. honey roasted peanuts
8 oz. grated monterey jack cheese
1 lb. pkg. cooked bacon, crumbled

Dressing:
3/4 c. rasp. vinegarette dressing
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. veg. or canola oil

Add all the salad ingredients and dressing just before serving.

* Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars *

My husband is a HUGE fan of appley-Streuselly desserts. When I saw this recipe on pinterest (found here), I knew he'd love it! This is a bit more of an involved recipe than you're used to seeing on here but it was well worth the effort. Don't let all the steps (and dishes) scare you...it is so good! I halved this recipe and put it in a smaller pan...but I wish I would've had all the stuff on hand for the whole recipe (although I'm sure my body is thanking me for not eating the whole pan).

* Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars *
1/2 cup caramel topping (I used ice cream topping...)

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel topping:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks/knives) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, combine all Streusel topping ingredients using pastry blender or 2 forks/knives.

In another bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy!

* Chicken, Spinach, & Tomato Alfredo *

This recipe came to be thanks to a few different recipes. Our ward puts out a newsletter at the beggining of each month and this last month there was a recipe for Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo (it didn't say who's recipe it was...thanks to whoever you are, ward friend!). I didn't have broccoil but I had a lot of spinach and cherry tomatoes to use up so then I found this recipe here that uses spinach and tomatoes and I combined the two to make a new recipe. Be forewarned that this is not "real alfredo." This is poor man's alfredo. My hubby was a little disappointed that it wasn't the authentic stuff but he still liked it.

*Chicken, Spinach & Tomato Alfredo *

1/2 lb linguine (or any other pasta)
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 T. olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic (I used one...you could easily use garlic powder instead)
fresh spinach (however much you want...I used maybe a 1/4th of a bag)
1 handful halved cherry tomatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. parmesean cheese (I used the stuff in the green bottle...you could use the real stuff too)
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
(I also added a dash of onion powder and garlic salt)

Prepare pasta according to directions. While pasta is cooking, cook chicken in skillet. Shred or dice chicken and set aside. Mix soup, milk, cheese, and spices together and set aside. Heat oil in skillet and add garlic. Allow to cook (but don't burn) for a minute or two. Add spinach and saute until wilted. Add tomato halves and soup miture. Allow to simmer for 5-8 minutes. Drain pasta when done and add into alfredo sauce. Heat through and serve!

* Fried Rice *

I LOVE fried rice! It's my favorite part of my restuarant chinese food meals...although I do like the main entree as well. This recipe is really easy and is perfect for using up leftover rice! It also goes great with the Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken I posted a few days back! The recipe is found here.

* Fried Rice *
3 cups cooked white rice
3 tbs sesame oil (I used regular canola oil)
1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed (My bag of mixed veggies had corn in it so I threw it in too)
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled. Now add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated!

* Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken *

This recipe is so good! My husband and kids gobbled it right up!! I found the recipe here.

* Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken *
(this picture is off the recipe's website (Life as a Lofthouse)...I forgot to get a pic of the chicken)
The chicken coating:
3-4 boneless chicken breasts
salt + pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil


The sweet and sour sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
4 tbs ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat your oven to 325*. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs. Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.

* White Chocolate Popcorn *

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I love EASY (lazy) recipes that taste great. I ALWAYS get asked for this "recipe" when I take it places. It's really not even a real recipe--but it's oh so good! My roommate from college (hey Melissa!) used to make this for us...mmmmm!

* White Chocolate Popcorn *
1 bag white chocolate chips (or bark....whatever)
2 bags microwave popcorn (or air popped...whatever you want)

Pop popcorn and pour into big bowl (try to keep out the "old maids"--unpopped kernals). Melt chocolate chips according to package directions (I do mine in the microwave). Pour over popcorn and stir until evenly coated. Spread popcorn on waxed paper and allow to cool. Return to big bowl and mix with your favorite candy (think candy corns, red and green m&m's, etc.) and eat. (you don't have to mix it with candy...I just like the color pop)

* Cheesy Garlic Toast (like Sizzler's) *

Have you ever been to Sizzler? Their salad bar is pretty good and my husband really likes their hibachi chicken! Anyways, they serve this yummy toast as an appetizer. I honestly can't remember where I got this recipe (sorry to whomever I owe credit to but thanks!) but it is such a fast and easy side to a meal. We used to have it all the time and then I forgot about it for a year or two. I remembered it one day and I'm glad I did!

*Cheesy Garlic Toast *
bread slices
butter or margarine
parmesan cheese (just the kind out of the green canister)
garlic salt or powder

Heat a pan over medium heat. Butter one side of each piece of bread. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over butter and spread evenly over slice of bread (don't use too much...) Sprinkle lightly with garlic powder or garlic salt. Place the bread butter/cheese side down on hot pan. Toast bread until golden brown.

* Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies *

These are the easiest pumpkin cookies EVER! I found the recipe here.

* Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies *1 spice cake mix -OR- 1 yellow cake mix
If you use a yellow cake mix, I add 2-3 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice. (I made my own pumpkin pie spice following this recipe here)
1 small can pumpkin (15 oz size)
1 cup chocolate chips or more if you like

Mix together cake mix and canned pumpkin. Spray your pan with PAM. Drop by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 10-15 minutes. The cookies will be soft. Leave on cookie sheet for a few minutes. Store in airtight container. Yield: 2-3 dozen

* Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta *

While browsing Pinterest one day, I found this recipe here. It was a hit with the husband and the kids even ate some too! Super easy and yummy!

* Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta *
1 lb. pasta (I used penne-you could use any fun shaped pasta)
1 cup chicken, cooked and cubed
1 cup ham, cooked and cubed (I just used deli sliced ham cut into pieces)
1 1/2 cups milk
8 oz. cream Cheese (softened)
2 Tbsp. dried minced onion
2 cups swiss cheese, shredded (I used the cheese I had on hand: colby jack)
salt & pepper
cayenne pepper
1 cup panko crumbs (I ran out of bread crumbs so I used ritz crackers)
1/2 cup butter, melted

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over med-high heat. Salt it and add the pasta; cook until al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Add in the chicken and ham and toss to combine.

Preheat the broiler. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream cheese and minced onion over low-medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until it becomes a smooth texture (about 5 minutes). Stir into the pasta mixture. Stir in the Swiss cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer pasta to a baking dish and top with Panko crumbs. Pour melted butter over crumbs and broil until browned (I gave it 4 minutes)

* Marv 'n' Joe *

Most of you have no idea what a Marv 'n' Joe is...nor would I expect you too. I learned about the greatness called a Marv 'n' Joe while attending college at USU (go aggies!). I had a super great roommate (hey Sara!) who worked at Hazel's (the yummiest bread store ever) at the USU Hub. She would make the best samples for people to try--and that was when I first tried the Marv 'n' Joe...and I never turned back (although I did also get the amazing cinnamon swirl bread, toasted and topped with cream cheese and raspberries quite a bit too...mmmm!). I remember plenty a time stopping between classes for a snack, getting up early to study and grabbing on of these to munch on...) Aside from the wonderful things I experienced at Utah State (my education, finding my hubby, amazing friends, spring breaks (what up Puerto Penasco!), football/basketball games, etc), I am so glad I found out about the Marv 'n' Joe!

For a USU history of the Marv 'n' Joe, click here!

* Marv ’n’ Joe *
The Marv 'n' Joe starts out with a slice of Hazel’s bread (any bread--white, wheat-cheese-etc), topped with garlic butter, a tomato slice, oil & vinegar, salt & pepper, and a slice of provolone cheese. Toast and then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

(Mine is obviously not the exact replica (I didn't have the provalone cheese or the toaster oven--I baked mine in the oven til it was crispy-ish)...and it really didn't taste as amazing as I remember these tasting--but it was still delicious! What a great combo of tastes.)

* Canning Ground Beef & Beef Chunks *

The last day of canning week here! Today we are going to talk about canning meat...most specifically beef. We are so lucky that my in-laws are cattle ranchers. They are amazing people and they are so nice to provide us with beef throughout the year. We have a lot of beef in our freezer and I always rationalize that my food storage is in the freezer. This last year, I started thinking about what I would do if our power went out. All of the stuff in our freezer would go bad fairly quickly. So I decided to learn how to can some of our beef in case of an emergency!

I found a website called Preparedness 365 and it is awesome! She has recipes, instructions, and great ideas on how to be prepared for emergencies. Here are her links for canning ground beef & beef chunks.

* Canning Ground Beef & Beef Chunks *(I realize this picture does not look super appetizing but they really taste pretty good and think about how nice it would be to have your dinner meat cooked already!)
For the beef chunks, you could use steaks (I did all of my beef chunks out of round steak since it is a tougher cut of meat and this process is supposed to tenderize the meat very well), or roasts (which you could cook in a crockpot).

The process for both of them is pretty much the same. Always have your jars & rings washed (waiting in the dishwasher), & new lids (you'll have them heated in a bowl of hot water by the time you use them).

Thaw the meat overnight in the sink. Cut your steak/roast into chunks. Cook the ground beef or meat chunks by putting them in a large pot with a little bit of water. Cook until the pink is gone. Rinse the meat to get as much of the fat out of it as possible.

Pack meat into jars (quart or pint--whatever you have or want to use) up to the neck of the jar. After packing the meat in, fill each jar with boiling water or beef broth (I used the beef broth--it adds more flavor). Run a knife or small spatula around the edge to get air bubbles out and to fill in the cracks with the liquid. Wipe the jar rims with a clean cloth, and put new lids & the rings on. They are then ready to process in a pressure canner. Always follow your pressure canner's instructions but a general guideline is to process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes.

After processing, allow the pressure on your canner to drop to zero before removing your jars. Place on towel and let cool (24 hours).

The ground beef is good for tacos, sloppy joes, spaghetti, chili, etc. The beef chunks would be great in stew, used in straganoff, quesadillas, etc...basically any ways you use your beef in!

* Canning Green Beans & Peaches *

Canning week...so fun! There really isn't much to tell you about canning green beans and peaches. Neither of them really have a "recipe" per say, but I'll let you know the process I used--it might be different for others! I'd love to hear any variations you use!

* Peaches *
(for great instructions and step-by-step pictures--this website is awesome!) A bushel of peaches (about 48 pounds) and will yield about 16-24 quarts or 32-48 pints (depending on how full you pack your jars). We got 2 boxs of peaches, about 1 bushel, but ate maybe half a box so we technically canned 3/4 of a bushel and got 40 pints of peaches.

As always, your first step is to wash all your jars and rings. Leave them in the dishwasher to keep them warm until you are ready to fill them. Bring a large pot of water to boil. This will be the water we blanch our peaches in to peel them. Also, fill your waterbath with water and start warming it up on low.

Next you need to make your syrup to pack your peaches in. Peaches can be packed in light, medium, or heavy syrup or even fruit juice (usually grape juice).

Sugar Syrup
for a Light syrup: 2 cups sugar + 6 cups water
for a Medium syrup: 3 cups sugar + 6 cups water
for a Heavy syrup: 4 cups sugar + 6 cups

I used a light syrup for my peaches. I brought 6 cups of water to a gentle boil and then added the sugar to it and stirred until it was dissolved. Keep it hot until ready to use.

Next, wash and peel your peaches. Wash in lukewarm water. Dip the fruit in your pot of boiling water for 20 to 45 seconds. (I usually do about 8 at a time) Remove from the boiling water using a slotted spoon and put into a large bowl or pot of cold water and ice for several minutes. Keep doing this process until all of your peaches have been blanched and cooled in ice water. Once you pick your peach out of the ice water, the peel should slip right off...so easy!!!

Now, remove the pit and slice up your peaches however you want. You can cut them in half, quarters, slices, chunks, etc. (some people like to soak their peaches in a lemon juice/water mixture to keep them from browning...I don't worry about it because...well, it's just another step. But feel free to do so if you want to!) Fill your jars with the peaches leaving one inch headspace. Pour syrup over peaches being careful to leave the one inch headspace. Run knife or small spatula around the jar to get air bubbles out.

Wipe rim with clean cloth and place hot lid on jar. Screw on ring and put into water bath canner.and process 30 minutes for pints and 35 minutes for quarts. Once processed, remove from canner and put on towel or cooling rack to cool completely (24 hours). Make sure jars sealed (if not, put it fridge and eat soon or reprocess it using a new lid) and enjoy!

* Green Beans *
(for great instructions and step-by-step pictures--this website is great!)We grew our own green beans in our garden but you can get them from a local farmer's market, grocery store, pick your own farms, neighbor, etc. Generally speaking, you need one pound of green beans for each pint or two pounds per quart. A bushel of green beans (about 30 pounds) will make 26-40 pints or 13-20 quarts.

As always, your first step is to wash all your jars and rings. Leave them in the dishwasher to keep them warm until you are ready to fill them. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to boiling. You will use this water to pour over the beans after you fill the jars. Fill up your PRESSURE CANNER/COOKER (different than a water bath) with 4 inches of water and start heating it up on low heat.

Next, wash your beans in cold/lukewarm water. Trim the ends and cut into smaller pieces, if desired (mine usually end up being about and inch long). You can cut them with a knife or snap them with your hands.

Pack your jars with the beans. Pack them pretty tightly and leave one inch headspace at the top of the jar. Pour 1/2 tsp. salt in each jar--this is optional but we like them seasoned. Pour water over the beans, being careful to leave one inch at the top. Using knife or spatula, run it around the edge of the jar to get air bubbles out. Wipe around edges of your jars with a clean cloth. Put hot lids (soaked in hot water for a few minutes) on jar and screw lid on.

Place jars in the PRESSURE CANNER/COOKER and add more water if needed. Put lid on pressure canner and twist to seal. Build pressure up to 11 pounds. Once the steam starts spurting out, let your jars cook for 25 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts. When the time is up, turn off the heat allow the pressure to drop to zero before opening your canner. Remove lid and place jars on a towel or cooling rack on the counter. Allow to cool completely (24 hours). Check to see if your jars sealed.

*NOTE*--technically, I do not have a pressure canner! We use a pressure cooker. I have seen a lot of resources that say that a pressure cooker will not work at well as a pressure canner (saw these after we bought it) but it has worked fine for me. We have not had any problems with getting sick or anything but it is probably best to stay on the safe side. If you are planning on buying a pressure canner...make sure it is a canner--not a cooker. Just to save you some money since we will probably have to invest in a real pressure canner some time soon :)

* Salsa and Tomatoes (for canning) *

Day #2 of canning week is about tomatoes! I love a good home canned salsa. There are so many amazing recipes out there but I picked this one because it made a smaller batch (good for us because we didn't have a major major amount of tomatoes) and you don't have the peel the tomatoes with this recipe (let's face it...I'm a lazy canner). This blog has step-by-step pictures directions...it was awesome!

* Zesty Canning Salsa *10 cups (6 lbs) chopped tomatoes
5 cups (2 lbs) chopped and seeded green bell peppers
5 cups (1.5 lbs) chopped onions
2.5 cups (1 lb) chopped and seeded hot peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Using a hand immersion blender, blend all ingredients to desired consistency (thus making it so you don't have to take the peels off). Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 20-25 minutes in a boiling water canner.
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I also canned 7 pints of tomatoes (not a whole lot but like I said, we didn't have an insane amount of tomatoes). I used the instructions found here and it was also great because she had great step-by-step pictures of how to do it! I also liked this recipe because the tomatoes are raw packed (although I do love good stewed tomatoes in recipes...) so I was able to complete the entire canning of tomatoes while my kids were napping. The instructions she gives are for a large amount of tomatoes and she packs them in quarts. I only packed them in pints so I adjusted the recipe accordingly.

* Canned Tomatoes *
tomatoes
lemon juice (1 T. per pint-2 T. per quart)
salt (1/2 tsp. per pint-1 tsp. per quart)

Wash and core all of the tomatoes. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute (easier to do it in "batches"). I submerged mine in ice water after blanching although her recipe didn't call for it. After blanching, peel skin off all tomatoes. Dice the tomatoes. Put lemon juice and salt in the bottom of each jar. (I did it as I was filling the jars because I wasn't sure how many jars I was going to get). Fill jars with diced tomatoes up to the neck of the jar. Top off with a few tablespoons of boiling water. Run knife or spatula around the edges of jar to get air bubbles out. Clean rims and top with new lid (heated in boiling water). Add rings and twist them so they are snug (not overly tight though). Process in hot water canner for 30 minutes for pints and 35 minutes for quarts.

* Apple Pie Filling, Chunky Applesauce, & Apple Butter (for canning) *

To start of canning week, here are a few basic canning tips I've found useful (this is really only my 3rd year of canning so I'm still a newbie. Feel free to offer any tips or suggestions of your own or to let me know if I'm doing it wrong, etc.)

*Run jars and rings through dishwasher cycle to sanitize them. Leave them in the dishwasher until you are ready to fill them so that they will stay warm and clean.

*After filling the jars, run a small plastic spatula or knife around the jar sides and through the middle of filling to get air bubbles out of the jar.

*Heat water in a bowl in microwave until boiling. Put new lids in boiling water for a few minutes before putting on filled jars. Make sure the wipe the jar rims off with a clean dishcloth before putting the hot lids on them.

*Bring the jars in water bath pot to a boil and start timing them once the water starts boiling

*Place processed jars on a towel on the counter after they are done processing. Do not let a fan or open window blow cool air on the hot jars…they will burst.

*Lids should “pop” when they are sealed although not all of them will make that sound. After 24 hours, you can test the jars 3 ways to make sure they are sealed.
1) Push on lid. If it pops up and down, it is not sealed.
2) Using a metal spoon, tap on lid. If it makes a high pitched ping, it is sealed. If it makes a low pitched sound, it is not sealed.
3) Take of ring and pick jar up holding onto the lid. If it pops off, it is not sealed.
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Onto the recipes:

I found this apple pie filling recipe here. Random story about Apple Pie Filling: when I first moved to Idaho, a super nice girl by the name of Natalie befriended me. She taught me how to sew, can, etc. She is amazing! She gave me a similar recipe for canned Apple Pie Filling. It was the same as this recipe but didn't call for the 10 cups of water. Everytime I made it, it turned out SO THICK and gelled up. I couldn't figure out why until I looked up a recipe online and realized that the water had been left off the recipe. It still tasted good but it's definitely better with the water :)

* Canned Apple Pie Filling *
4 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. cornstarch
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
10 c. water
6 pounds of apples, washed, peeled and thinly sliced

Note: Slice apples into a solution of 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to 1 quart of water to avoid discoloration. Drain the fruit well before packing in jars.

In a large pot, blend together sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the water and lemon juice with a wire whisk. Cook and stir until bubbly and thick; remove from heat. While the filling cooks, slice the apples and add them into a solution of 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to 1 quart of water to avoid discoloration. Drain the fruit well before packing in jars. Pack apples into clean, hot canning jars leaving an inch from the top of the jar. Fill with the hot syrup, leaving 1/2 inch space from the top of the jar. Remove air bubbles by running a knife around the insides of each jar. Close the jars with hot, sterile lids and rims. Process in a boiling water bath for 20 -30 minutes Use a jar tongs to remove the jars from water. Place the jars on a dish towel to dry and allow the jars to cool for several hours Check the seals to make certain the lids are sealed properly (the lids should be lowered in the middle and not move up or down)

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This next recipe is from my Grandma Williams (and my mom...after I lost the one from my grandma) I LOVE this stuff and so do my kids! It is so yummy and the pieces are cut into the perfect size for kids! I'm not sure why it is called "sauce" since it is definitely not "saucy"...it should probably be called Baked Apples. My grandma uses this as a side dish, in jellos, etc. My sister and I were also thinking you could use it in apple cake, cinnamon roll filling, etc.

* Chunky Applesauce *
6 quarts apples: peeled, cored, cut into chunks
2 c. water
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in large pot. Bring to simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes until soft. Bottle and process for 25 minutes. Makes 8 pints. (on this one, I don’t worry about cutting the apples into a lemon juice/water solution to stop them from browning because you are going to cook them in cinnamon so they will turn brown anyways.)

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Lastly, apple butter. So so yummy! Ill be honest...I haven't technically made this yet. I am in the process of it as I type! The apples are cooking in the crockpot and it smells heavenly! I used the recipes found here and here (I found the allrecipes one first but used the second one for the canning directions)

*All Day Apple Butter *
5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and mix well.
Cover and cook on high 1 hour.
Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Stir with a whisk, if desired, to increase smoothness. (can also puree with a hand blender)
Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate, freeze, or process in waterbath for 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts.

A special thanks for my parents for providing us with the apples :)

* Canning Week! *

These past few months have been busy-busy-busy as I've been trying to "put up" some food for the winter. Canning is not necessarily "fun" but it is rewarding to see all your time and effort pay off. I love hearing the little "ping" of the canning lids as they seal...that sound is one of my favorites :) This week I'm going to post some of the recipes and directions I've used for canning this year. Here's the schedule for our
* Canning Week! *

Tuesday: Apple Pie Filling, Chunky Applesauce, & Apple Butter
Wednesday: Salsa & Canned Tomatoes
Thursday: Green Beans & Peaches
Friday: Ground Beef & Beef Chunks

Should be fun! Although this is really for my own sake (so nice to have everything written down in the same place), I hope someone somewhere will be able to learn something too :)

* Menu Monday (#6) *

Here's what's up for dinner this week:

Monday: Crockpot Fajitas & Black Beans
Tuesday: Salisbury Steak, Rice, & Veggies
Wednesday: Hamburgers/Hotdogs, Fried Potatoes, & Green Beans
Thursday: Pollo ala Crema & Salad
Friday: Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta & Cucumbers
Saturday: Tin Foil Dinners
Sunday: White Chicken Chili & Rice

* Menu Monday (#5) *

As you've probably noticed, we pretty much eat the same meals all the time. So this Menu Monday thing is probably going to get pretty boring for most of you but like I said in my first Menu Monday post, it will be so nice FOR ME to be able to randomly pick posts and have my dinners planned. So...in conclusion, sorry if this is boring for you all.

Monday: Taco Soup, Chips & Homemade Salsa
Tuesday: Crockpot Orange Chicken, Rice, Cucumbers & Tomatoes
Wednesday: Hamburgers, Fried Potatoes, Zucchini
Thursday: Poppyseed Chicken, Rice, Green Beans
Friday: Stuffed Pizza Rolls,
Saturday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Tomato Soup
Sunday: Navajo Tacos

Also, I don't always stick to these meals. Sometimes I switch days, or some days I feel super lazy so instead of the planned meal, we have waffles or pancakes or something....just FYI.

* Crockpot Meatloaf *

Oh crockpot...why do I love thee? Let me count the ways:
I love that almost every meal I cook in you requires hardly any real prep work--I usually just dump stuff in and I almost always put all my meat in frozen...so easy! I love that my house smells yummy all day while you cook for me. I love that I don't have one of those "Oh crap, it's 5:00pm and I don't know what to make for dinner...again" moments when I remember to use you. I love you crockpot..."don't you go dying on me!" (name the movie)

When I saw the recipe for crockpot meatloaf (found here) I thought, really? Won't it turn out all mushy or weird cooked in the crockpot? Well, I'm here to tell you, my friends, that it turns out AWESOME in the crockpot! I halved this recipe and it was the perfect amount for our family dinner and for leftovers in the hubby's lunch the next day.

*Crockpot Meatloaf *
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 lg. bell pepper, chopped (didn't use this...I'm not really a pepper person)
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup of milk
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs or cracker crumbs
1 envelope onion soup mix
2-3 lbs ground beef

Line crock pot with foil

Mix together the eggs, milk, dry crumbs, & onion soup mix. Add meat and onions (and peppers)and mix all thoroughly. Shape into loaf, put in crock pot and cook on low for 6-8hrs.

2 hrs before done you can put ketchup on top of loaf and let cook the last 2 hrs. (instead of doing just ketchup, I mix ketchup, mustard, and a bit of brown sugar together...so good!)

* Potato Slabs *

My husband loves potatoes...he's a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. Therefore, I have to find new ways to cook them so I don't get bored of them (can you believe in live in Idaho?...I'm pretty sure real Idahoans don't get sick of Idaho potatoes). This is super easy and tasty. You could even serve them as an appetizer! Recipe found here.

* Potato Slabs *
2 Russet Potatoes
Salt, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste
1/3 Cup Colby-Jack cheese
5 Slices Bacon, cooked and diced
Green onions for garnish (optional)
Sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Clean and scrub potatoes well. Slice the potatoes into 1/4″ thick slices.

Place potatoes on lightly buttered baking sheet and season each side with salt, black pepper, and paprika.

Cook for 30 minutes. Flip potatoes over and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and place a pinch of cheese and bacon on top of each potato round. Return the pan to the oven and cook until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10 minutes.

Serve with green onions and sour cream, if desired.

* Homemade Gourmet Vegetarian Pizza *

When I worked at Papa Murphy's, there was a pizza there that I swore I'd never try. It was the Gourmet Vegetarian. It had zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, atrichoke hearts, & onions. That sounded ridiculously gross to me and I have to admit now that I WAS WRONG! Who knew that vegetables could taste so good on a pizza? (probably most of you out there) I decided to make it on my own last week and it was seriously so good! Try it out...you will enjoy it!

*Homemade Gourmet Vegetarian Pizza *(you will notice that mine does not have onions or mushrooms on it...I did not have those toppings so I didn't use them but I am sure they would've been good! Also, don't mind the pepperoni. My kids won't eat those veggies.)

pizza dough (I used my calzone pizza dough recipe...so good!)
white sauce (found in this post)
cheese (I used colby jack because that is what I had on hand. Papa Murphy's uses mozzarella on top of the sauce, and a mix of provalone and cheddar on top of the toppings, topped with parmesan cheese)
zuchinni (sliced)
artichokes (chopped into smaller pieces)
spinach--can use fresh or frozen. If using frozen, cook spinach until tender and drain.
muchrooms (sliced)
tomatoes (sliced or chopped)
onions

Make pizza dough according to recipe. Roll out onto pizza tray, sheet, or stone. Top with 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. white sauce. Top with cheese. Spread desired toppings (don't over do it on the toppings, Since they are vegetables, they have a lot of water/juice in them and too many toppings will make your pizza soggy). Top with more cheese. Bake (usually between 400* and 425*--depending on your recipe) for 12-18 minutes.

* Menu Monday (#4) *

Dinner anyone? Here is what's up this week:

Monday: Crockpot Meatloaf, Potato Slabs, Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Tuesday: Costa Vida Chicken Tacos, Beans, Rice
Wednesday: Sloppy Joes, Green Beans
Thursday: Crockpot Round Steak & Gravy
Friday: Winger's Chicken, French Fries, Salad
Saturday: Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Sunday: Creamy Corn Chowder, Rolls

* Buttermilk Caramel Syrup *

One weekend while visting my parents, they made us a delicious breakfast of Gingerbread pancakes with Buttermilk Caramel Syrup. They recieved the recipe at a food storage enrichment night from Liesa Card, author of "I Dare You To Eat It" (she blogs here at this site). This recipe is SO SO yummy! You have to try it! It is worth the extra effort (because if you know me, you know I use the store bought Western Family maple syrup) and you won't be disappointed!

* Buttermilk Caramel Syrup*
3/4 cup buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk so I used the substitution of 3/4 c. whole milk plus 3/4 T. lemon juice)
1/2 cup butter (I used margarine)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
Place first five ingredients in extra large saucepan. Bring to boil and cook for 7 minutes (mixture will foam like crazy), stirring to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

My syrup was a bit thinner and less caramelly than my mom's. I know it is because I used the margarine and the buttermilk substitution but it was still SO GOOD--although I think the real version is better.

* Menu Monday (#3) *

Here is what we will be eating this week:

Monday: Sweet & Sour Meatballs, Rice, & Zucchini
Tuesday: Hamburgers & Green Beans
Wednesday: Homemade Gourmet Vegetarian Pizza & Salad
Thursday: BBQ Ranch Quesadillas, Spanish Rice, & Beans
Friday: Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches & Corn
Saturday: Breakfast Burritos & Fruit Smoothie
Sunday: Taco Soup & Fritos

* Oven Roasted Red Potatoes *

While our garden produced a plethora of russet and yukon gold potatoes, our neighbors grew an INSANE amount of red potatoes. They were nice enough to give us some of their red potaotes and we made this yummy side dish with them...recipe found here.

* Oven Roasted Red Potatoes *
6 to 8 medium red potatoes, washed and diced
8 to 10 baby carrots ( we did not use the carrots because we didn't have any but I'm sure they would've been good too!)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 (1oz) package dry onion soup
2 cloves garlic, minced
coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Thoroughly wash potatoes and pat dry. Dice into 1″ pieces and place into large ziploc bag. Add carrots.
In a small mixing bowl combine dry onion soup, olive oil, and garlic and mix to create a marinade. Pour mixture into ziploc bag with the potatoes and carrots. Close ziploc bag securely and toss potatoes and carrots until they are evenly coated with the marinade. Store vegetables in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350* and prepare a large baking sheet, line with heavy duty foil and spray a light layer of Pam.
On prepared baking sheet with foil, pour vegetables out a spread evenly. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.
At the 30 minute mark, stir the vegetables. Then turn the oven up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to bake for 20-25 minutes until browned and crisp.
Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm

* Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches *

While browsing Pinterest (my new FAVORITE website), my hubby was looking over my shoulder at the computer and we saw this recipe posted. He loves buffalo chicken stuff so he wanted me to "pin" this recipe for future use. The original recipe is found here. We tried it out and it was good! I am not so much a buffalo chicken-spicy type of girl but this was pretty good. We halved this recipe and it was the perfect ammount for our family.

* Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken *3 lb. bag of frozen chicken breasts
1 bottle Frank's Wings Buffalo Sauce
1 packet Ranch Dip Mix
2 TBSP butter

Put frozen chicken, wing sauce, and ranch dip mix into crock pot.
Cook on low at least 6 to 7 hours
Using two forks, shred chicken & return to crock pot.
Add butter.
Cook on low for an additional hour.
Serve on buns and enjoy!

* Menu Monday (#2) *

Here's what's on our dinner menu this week:

Monday: Fettucini Alfredo, Garlic Cheese Biscuits, Salad
Tuesday: Easy Sweet Pork Tacos, Black Beans, Spanish Rice
Wednesday: Sloppy Joes, Sauteed Zucchini
Thursday: Chicken Roll-ups, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Cucumber Tomato Salad
Friday: Omelets (with ham, cheese, and tomatoes), Hash browns, Fruit Smoothie
Saturday: Grilled Steak, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans
Sunday: Crockpot Orange Chicken (recipe coming soon), Rice, Salad

What are you having?

* Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies *

Are you sick of all the zucchini recipes yet? Sorry about that...you can tell we have a lot of zucchini, right? There might be a few more coming...I apologize in advance. This recipe came from here and it's pretty good! The recipe doesn't have any salt in it and I kind of think it could've used it but I had no idea how much to add so if you have any suggestions, I would love them!

* Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies *
1/2 C. butter
3/4 C. white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (About 1 1/2 zucchini's, oddly)
1 1/2 C. flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 C. quick cooking oats
1 -1.5 C. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350* F.

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in the egg and vanilla, mix well, then stir in the shredded zucchini. Sift together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon, stir into the zucchini mixture. Finally, stir in the oats and chocolate chips.

Drop dough from a teaspoon onto an unprepared cookie sheet. Bake for about 11 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies will stay soft and moist because of the zucchini.

* Sauteed Zucchini and Tomatoes *

Another zucchini recipe, as promised! :) This is really so good...I love the sweetness of the tomatoes paired with the zucchini. We usually leave the cheese off (mostly because we don't usually have mozzarella cheese around--although we have put colby jack cheese on it before and it was good too). The recipe comes from here.

* Sauteed Zucchini and Tomatoes *

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, cut into approx. 1/4"-1/2" slices
a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in halves
1/2 cup (approx.) shredded mozzarella cheese
kosher salt and coarse ground pepper

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, season with salt and pepper. Let cook until golden brown on one side, about 3-5 minutes then flip and cook on the other side, 3-5 minutes more.

Add the tomatoes and heat through. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and heat until cheese melts. Season again with salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately.

* Menu Monday (#1) *

Well, I'm starting something new this week. This may not help anyone but me but I am going to start posting my weekly dinner Menu Plan every Monday. That way, when I got to plan my weekly menus in the future, I can look back in the archives, pick a week,and my menu is planned! And since we pretty much eat the same meals over and over, I think this will work great! So here we go...

MONDAY: Navajo Tacos & Corn on the cob
TUESDAY: Stromboli (with pepperoni, ground beef, and tomatoes) & Sauteed Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes
WEDNESDAY: Marinated Steak, Baked Potatoes, & Corn on the Cob
THURSDAY: Costa Vida Chicken Tacos, Black Beans, & Rice
FRIDAY: Whole Wheat Blender Waffles, Scrambled Eggs, & Fruit Smoothie
SATURDAY: Hot dogs, Hamburgers, & Corn on the cob
SUNDAY: French Dip Sandwiches & Green Beans

* Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zucchini and Cheese *

My sister told me about a food website called SkinnyTaste.com and can I say that this website makes healthy foods look YUMM-O!?! So as I was browsing through the recipes, I found this one here. It is so good and different from anything I usually make. I did make a few changes though...I didn't have mozzarella cheese so I used cream cheese (which of course makes it less healthy but tasty anyway). I also didn't use the lemon juice but I do think it would've tasted wonderful. Give it a try...your tastebuds and wasteline will thank you...unless you use the cream cheese.

* Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zucchini and Mozzarella *
(click on the link to see the picture that sold me on it...mine just doesn't do it justice.)
1 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups (1 medium) zucchini, shredded
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Romano cheese (or parmesan)
3 oz part skim shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste
8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each (I just used the frozen tenderloins)
1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 lemon, juice of
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
olive oil non-stick spray

Wash and dry cutlets, season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add oil when hot then saute garlic a minute, or until golden. Add zucchini, 1/4 cup Romano cheese, salt and pepper and saute about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool. When cool, add mozzarella cheese and mix to combine. ( I cooked the zucchini with the garlic and then mixed it in with the cream cheese).

Lay chicken down on a working surface and spread 3 tbsp of zucchini-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.

Combine breadcrumbs and grated cheese in one bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper in another bowl.

Dip chicken in lemon-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks needed). Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spraywith oil spray.

Bake 25 - 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

* Fresh Salsa *

/My dad is awesome! He does so many things so great and one of them is this salsa! He gave us this recipe and it has been a favorite ever since! This year was so nice because we were able to use stuff from our garden to make it. The tomatoes were from my husband's Grandma's garden, the onion, peppers, & chilis were from our garden, and the cilantro was from the store (although we did grow some cilantro in our garden but it got too long and had weeds in it so I opted to get it from the store). It is so yummy and fresh and healthy...I LOVE it!

* Fresh Salsa *
3 lbs. Tomatoes (about 30 roma--if using regular tomatoes, squeeze out some of the juice before using)
3/4 Onion
1/2 bunch Cilantro
1 Green Anaheim chili
2 Yellow Anaheim chili
3 Jalepeno peppers
1 T. lemon juice
2-3 tsp. salt (to taste)

In food processor, chop all ingredients except tomatoes. Add tomatoes and chop to desired consistency. Salt to taste.
(I usually pour the chopped stuff into a bowl before adding the tomoates. I then chop half of the tomatoes up really fine and pour them into the bowl. Then I chop the remainder of the tomatoes more chuncky and add them to the bowl. I stir it all together and then add the salt a teaspoon at the time until is tastes just right.)

* Zucchini Brownies *

Have I ever mentioned how awesome I think Allrecipes is? If not, I'll say it again. I think Allrecipes is pretty sweet! Anyways, I needed to make some more stuff with zucchini (since we have A LOT of zucchini coming our way) and I decided to make zucchini brownines. I'm sure everyone has their own zucchini brownie recipe but mine is just so-so. So I typed "really good zucchini brownies" into google and this recipe popped up...and, with a 4.5 star rating out of over 1000 people, how can this recipe not rock? We tried it and it was delicious! (It is a little bit more like cake than a brownie just FYI) So if you need to use up some zucchini and want to branch out from your stand-by zucchini brownie recipe, try this one!

* Zucchini Brownies *1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan. (batter will be very dry and weird looking...I promise it is normal)
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.
To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

* Popeye Pancakes *

Some people call these German Pancakes or Hootenanies. We called them Popeye Pancakes because of the "muscles" they grew as they baked (and it was called Popeye Pancakes in the cookbook we used)! Growing up, it was my little brother's favorite meal (I loved them too) and my dad would often make them on weekends for breakfast. He always made them in the cookie sheet pan but you can also make them in the 9x13 pan. They cook in the same amount of time but they are obviously thicker in the smaller pan.

* Popeye Pancakes *

(my Popeye Pancakes obviously didn't eat their spinach...they didn't turn out as bumpy as they usually do. Disclaimer....there is no spinach in this recipe)
6 T. butter/margarine
1 c. flour
6 eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 tsp. salt

Melt 6 T. butter in either cookie sheet or 9x13 pan over low heat. Make sure the entire bottom and lower sides of the pan are coated with butter. Pour the remaining butter into mixture below. (I also spray the sides of the pan with cooking spray, just to be safe) Combine and blend flour, eggs, milk, salt, and butter until bubbly and frothy. Pour mixture into buttered pan and bake at 400* for 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with maple syrup --or-- lemon juice and sift with powdered sugar.

* Fresh Apricot Crisp *

We bought some fresh apricots from a guy selling them out of his truck at my husband's work the other day. We made 12 pints of apricot freezer jam (mmm!) and then used the rest to make Apricot Crisp. We love a good 'crisp' here at our house. My husband is always making apple crisp or peach crisp. This was delicious! It was so tart and sweet...a perfect summer night dessert (except for the heating up of the oven...) We found the recipe here. Does anyone else love Allrecipes?

* Fresh Apricot Crisp *
(I had my 'crisp' all ready to take a picture of and then I couldn't find my camera! Meanwhile, the ice cream melted all over and it pretty much turned out to be an ugly picture...but you all know what a 'crisp' looks like, right?)
4 cups apricot halves
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2-1 t. cinnamon (the original recipe didn't call for this but it makes it so good!!)
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350*. Arrange the apricots in a 9x12-inch baking dish and sprinkle with white sugar. Mix together brown sugar and flour in a bowl; cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Lightly stir in the rolled oats and spoon the mixture over the apricots. Bake in the preheated oven until the fruit is soft and the topping is browned and crisp, 35-40 minutes.

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

* Garlic Cheese Biscuits *

I LOVE these! I seriously could eat the entire batch myself. They are so fast and easy and perfect to go along with any italian dish or soup or with whatever your little heart desires. You can actually find this recipe off the Bisquick box but I originally got it from my sister at a bridal shower...thanks for the 5 1/2 years of yumminess, Tarese :)

* Garlic Cheese Biscuits *
1 1/2 c. Bisquick mix
1 c. cheddar cheese (or whatever you have on hand...I usually use Colby jack)
2 shakes garlic powder
shake or two of parsley
1/2 c. milk
-------------
3 T. butter
garlic salt
Parmesan cheese
parsley

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. When combined, drop by spoon onto cookies sheet. Bake at 450* for 7-9 minutes. While baking, mix melted butter, garlic salt, cheese, and parsley together. After biscuits finish baking, pour or brush butter mixture over the tops. SO YUMMY!

* BBQ Ranch Quesadillas *

This recipe is delicious! We love mexican food around here (and by "we" I mean "me"--although my hubby and kids do eat it well, they just don't LOVE LOVE-LOVE it like I do) and this recipe did not disappoint. I think it's going to be one of my new "go-to" recipes. I found it here at Cooking a la Mode. I didn't use these exact measurements--I pretty much just threw in what looked good. I also forgot to put the rice in (and we love rice so that was kind of a weird thing to do) and it still turned out good! I even used fresh cilantro from our garden...mmmm!

* BBQ Ranch Quesadillas *
1/2 c. white rice, cooked
1/2 c. black beans
1 c. chicken, cooked and shredded
3/4 c. frozen sweet white corn
1 diced tomato
1/4 c. diced green or red onion
1/4 c. minced cilantro
2 c. shredded cheese
1/3 c. - 1/2 c. BBQ sauce
10-12 flour tortillas
butter
salt
1/2 c. bbq sauce
1/2 c. good ranch dressing

In a large bowl, combine rice, beans, chicken, corn, tomato, onion, cilantro, and cheese. Fold in bbq sauce and mix until evenly distributed. Add more bbq sauce if needed. The mixture shouldn't be drenched, but should be fairly well-coated.

Butter one side of tortillas. Place about 1/3 c. of chicken mixture on half of the tortilla and fold over. Place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle tops of quesadillas with salt.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-14 minutes, or until light brown and slightly crispy. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine desired amount of ranch and bbq sauce for dipping.

Cut each quesadilla in half and serve with bbq ranch dipping sauce

* Zucchini Fritters *

Wow...two zucchini recipes in one week. I never thought that would happen. I don't really care for zucchini and neither does my hubby. Don't ask me why he has 5 zucchini plants growing in our garden. I usually have to hide it in something...think bread, brownies, cookies, etc. I saw this recipe and it actually sounded good to me--weird, I know. And guess what! It was actually good! Even my picky almost-three-year-old loved it and ate 1 1/2 of them! I found this recipe here at Real Mom Kitchen. She is having a "Zucchini Week" this week so go check out her recipes!

* Zucchini Fritters *
2 cups grated zucchini squash
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 small onion, finely chopped (I just sprinkled onion powder generously over the top)
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 egg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place zucchini inside a tea towel or flour sack towel and squeeze out excess moisture. (I forgot this step and it still turned out yummy!)
In a bowl, add zucchini and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the remaining ingredients. The mixture with be sticky and thick. Continue to stir, it will thin down. You want it to look like a thick cake batter.
On a parchment lined baking sheet, divide batter into 6 mounds on the parchment using a spoon or ice cream scoop. Then flatten each mound with a spoon or your hand to form 4 inch rounds.
Bake for 15 minutes or so, until the fritters are deep golden brown on the bottom. Then turn to broil and place on the second highest rack in your oven. Broil on high for a few minutes, you want to crisp them up but watch carefully so they won’t burn. Serve with ranch dressing or marinara. Makes 6 fritters.

* Homemade Biscuits and Sausage Gravy *

I am not a "made-from-scratch" kind of girl. I am all about shortcuts (think Bisquick, gravy mixes, jarred spaghetti sauce, etc.) and although I generally think that made-from-scratch things taste better, I am too lazy just not confident enough in my cooking abilities to try homemade things out. So the other night I decided to try to make homemade biscuits and gravy...not because I necessarily wanted to but because I was out of Bisquick and gravy packages and this was the dinner the hubby requested. It actually turned out pretty good, if I say so myself! So if you're a "made-from-scratch" kind of person, give it a try :)

I found the biscuit recipe here and I got the sausage gravy recipe out of the "Worldwide Ward Christmas Cookbook" (yes, the Christmas one...they didn't have the regular "Worldwide Ward Cookbook" at the library so I settled for the holiday version.)

* Homemade Fluffy Biscuits *
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg with milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times. Roll to 3/4-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

* Sausage Gravy *
1 lb. sausage
4 T. grease from sausage (add 2-3 T. butter, if necessary)
4 T. flour
2 c. milk
1 dash hot pepper sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Cook sausage. Remove from pan and drain grease from sausage. If there is not 4 T. of grease, add 2-3 T. of butter and put back into pan. Mix flour and grease/butter until it forms a ball. Stir in milk. Whisk together until incorporated and let it cook until it thickens. Add sausage, salt and pepper to taste, and a dash of hot sauce. Serve over biscuits.

* Zucchini Bread or Muffins *

We got our first zucchini out of our garden this week so I decided to make muffins for breakfast one day. The kids LOVED it and it was a nice way to get rid of our zucchini...how sad is it that I am already saying "get rid" of our zucchini when it was our first one? :) I got this recipe out of a cookbook we received in Young Womens years ago.

* Zucchini Bread or Muffins *
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. shredded zucchini
3 T. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Beat the eggs and then add the oil and sugars. Add vanilla and zucchini and stir well. Add dry ingredients. Bake at 325* for 35-45 minutes in greased and floured bread pans ---or--- 25-28 minutes in lined or greased muffin tins.

I actually halved this recipe and it made 12 muffins and a small loaf of bread. If you do the whole recipe, I believe it makes two loaves.

* Soft Caramel Popcorn *

Wow...I am not doing so hot with this recipe blog, am I? Has anyone else noticed that when I do manage to post a recipe on here, all of my recipes are pretty much unhealthy and require no skill to make them? Well, the recipe I am posting today is no different :)
I was in the mood for a treat again (that happens to me all the time...no, I'm not pregnant but when 8:45pm hits around here, I NEED a treat.) Most recipes for Soft Caramel Popcorn out there require sweetened condensed milk...and it was a Sunday night and we didn't have it so I found this recipe and it was pretty good! It makes A LOT of caramel for the amount of popcorn they suggested you pour it over so I'd either add another bag of popcorn or just eat the caramel that settles on the bottom of a spoon (which is what I did).

* Soft Caramel Popcorn *
2 bags of microwave popcorn, popped, or about 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels, popped in an air popper (I'd say 3 bags...unless you want to eat just caramel at the end)
2 sticks of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugars and corn syrup; stir on medium heat until it comes to a boil. (Make sure the heat is not too hot - if it boils too soon, the caramel will be grainy.) Once it starts boiling, boil for 1 minute. Take off the heat and mix in the baking soda. Pour over popcorn and stir until coated.

* Pollo A La Crema *

There is a Mexican restaurant in Evanston, Wyoming called Don Pedros. I first went there with my family when I was a teenager, shortly after gettting my braces off. We had gone fishing for the day and then randomly decided to go eat at Don Pedros for dinner. I remember thinking it was pretty good! After leaving the restaurant and getting almost home (about 2 hours away) I remembered that I left my retainer there! Lucky me, I was a nerd and had my name and address on my retainer case so the nice people at Don Pedros mailed it back to me.

Fast forward like 7 or 8 years. I marry a country boy from northern Utah. His hometown is about 45 minutes away from Evanston and my hubby's family's favorite Mexican restaurant is Don Pedros. Their favorite dish to get there is Pollo A La Crema. I decided to try to make the recipe at home but there are not a lot of recipes out there for Pollo A La Crema. This recipe is the closest I could find to resemble Don Pedro's version.

It was pretty good! Both my husband and I really enjoyed it. I still feel like there could be a little something more added to it but I'm not sure what. If any of you have any suggestions, let me know :)

* Pollo A La Crema *
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 c. boneless chicken breasts, cut in strips
1 sweet onion, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced fairly thick
1 tablespoon paprika (or more if desired)
2 tablespoons chicken base
1 cup heavy cream (Mexican cream works best but I just used regular cream and it was good too!)
2/3 cup sour cream

Heat oil in large frying pan. Saute chicken and onion until chicken is no longer pink & onions are translucent.
Add cream, mushrooms, paprika & chicken base. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until chicken is tender.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Mixture will be somewhat thin, but should be a creamy texture like the consistency of a white sauce. Serve hot with warmed flour tortillas and Spanish Rice.

* (My In-Laws) DoritoTaco Salad *

When I think of taco salad, I usually think of chips (or a hard shell) topped with meat, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, cheese, etc. At my in-laws, they make their taco salads different--but still good! I've seen this recipe around so I know other people eat it this way too...in fact, you can find a similar recipe here.

* Dorito Taco Salad *
1 lb. hamburger
1 can red kidney beans (I used black beans because that's all I had on hand)
1 c. grated cheese
1 head ice berg lettuce
Dorito chips
1 bottle of Thousand Island dressing (to taste...depends on how dressing-y you want it)
sliced olives
(none of these measurements has to be exact...do more of what you like and less of the stuff you don't like as much)

Brown beef in skillet and drain off fat. Add beans and cook for a few minutes. (You can add taco seasoning to it the beef and beans but the chips and dressing give it plenty of flavor.) Mix all ingredients together, except lettuce and chips, and allow to sit in fridge for an hour or so. Just before serving, add chips and lettuce (don't add too soon or they will be soggy) and enjoy!

When we make this, it is always too much for us to eat for one meal so we usually have it for leftovers the next day. The problem is the chips get soggy so I've started to just mix the meat, beans, cheese, and dressing together. When we're ready to eat it, we put the amount of salad we need for our own serving on our plate, top it with the meat/bean mixute, and then crumble doritos on top and it turns out just as good and a lot less soggy for future meals.