Tommy's Easy Butterscotch Breakfast Rolls

18 frozen rolls
1 small package butterscotch pudding (not instant)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
1 stick butter or margarine

Arrange frozen rolls in greased bundt pan. Sprinkle with dry pudding. Mix cinnamon, brown sugar, and nuts together. Sprinkle over pudding. Pour melted butter on top. Cover with foil, tenting high so raised rolls wont touch it. Let stand overnight in warm place. Do not refrigerate. Boil before baking, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert onto serving dish while still warm.

Note: I've also made this in a 9x13'' pan. Add a few more rolls and increase the cinnamon, brown sugar, nuts, and butter.

Baked Ziti with Sweet Turkey Sausage

1 pound ziti noodles
1 pound sweet turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes with seasonings (green pepper and onion or garlic and oregano, or any flavor you want)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1 (15 oz) container regular or part-skim ricotta cheese
4 cups grated part-skim mozzarella cheese, reserve 1 cup, for topping
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup grated parmesan

preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a hot skillet over medium heat until golden brown on all sides. Add tomatoes, thyme and rosemary and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and garlic powder and mix well. Spoon 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 4-quart casserole with 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Repeat layers (remaining ziti and remaining cheese mixture). Top with remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese over top. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until cheese os golden and bubbly.

Famous Irvine Stake RS Candied Walnut/Pear Salad

2 bags of lettuce/different kinds (one European, one traditional)
craisins
Asian pears
candied walnuts*
feta cheese
(can add chicken if you want to make it more of a meal)

I use Girard's Champagne dressing -- very good

*candied walnuts can be made by adding 1/2 cup sugar to a skillet and heating on medium heat. When sugar starts to get warm and melt, add in 1 cup of walnuts. Stir constantly till all sugar is melted. Be careful as it is easy to burn the sugar. Let sit on wax paper and then add to salad.

Pizza Dough

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 warm water
2 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 pkg yeast
1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)

Makes 2, 18'' crust pizzas or calzones

If mixing by hand, combine 1 cup flour, oil, water, salt, and yeast and mix until combined. Continue to add the rest of the flour until all the flour is incoroprated.

If mixing by a food processor combine all ingredients and mix until combined.

Your dough should be smooth and elastic.

I roll my dough out on a clean surface in about 1 tblsp of olive oil. You can also roll it out on a lightly floured surface.

For a crisp crust you can roll out your dough at this point and put your toppings on and cook it.

For a fluffier bread type crust allow to rise 30-60 minutes and then add toppings.

Cooking your pizza:

While rolling and adding toppings, set oven to 425 Degrees F.

Cook pizza for 14-18 minutes depending on your oven. I usually rotated my pizza halfway thorough the cooking process because the oven cooks unevenly for me.

You can place the pizza on the bottom of the oven for a good dark browning on teh bottom of the pizza. Only do this for 2-4 minutes as it can burn this way. I usually do this for the 1st 2 minutes then place the pizza on the middle rack for the rest of the time.

Clam Chowder

Serves 8

2 6-oz cans minced clams
1 c. onion, finely diced
2 c. celery, finely diced
2 c. potatoes, diced
3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. flour
1 qt. milk
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste

Drain juice from cans of clams and pour liquid over vegetables, adding enough water just to cover. Simmer over medium heat until vegetables are barely tender. Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Add flour, making a roux, blend until smooth. Stir constantly while slowly adding milk. Cook and stir with wire whisk until thick and smooth. Add vegetables, juice, and clams. Heat through. Add salt and pepper.

All Gone Soup

6 slices bacon, cut off excess fat
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 lb. ground beef
Partially cook bacon, add onions and beef, cook until beef is browned.
Drain off fat.
Add:
1 can stewed tomatoes (I put in blender first)
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can mushrooms of use fresh
1 can beef stock
1 pkg. frozen mixed vegetables (10 oz.)
1 c. celery, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Simmer for 45 minutes
Mix 2 cups cold water with 2 T. corn starch, add to soup
cook 15 minutes longer

White Bean Chili

5-6 chicken breasts
16 oz. of salsa
4 oz velveeta cheese or 8 oz if you want it really cheesy
4 oz of monterey jack cheese
4 oz pepper jack cheese
5-6 cans of great northern beans

This will make a big batch.
Bake the chicken first, you can salt and pepper it when its baking. Take it out just before you think its completely done because it will cook more in the pot with the rest of the stuff. It will make it tender.
After you take it out, put the beans, salsa, and cheese into the pot to start warming and melting. then start shredding the chicken.
Once you are done shredding, add the chicken to the pot and let cook until all the cheese is melted. Put stove on about medium, or med high. Bake chicken at 425 degrees.

Banana Bread

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired
chocolate chips, if desired

1. Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 inches, or 1 loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.
2. Mix sugar and butter into large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Stir in nuts/chocolate chips. Pour into pans.
3. Bake 8 inch loaves about 1 hour, 9 inch loaves about 1 1/4 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

Prophet's Dessert

1) Combine 1 c. margerine, 1 c. flour and 1 c. chopped nuts. Press into 9 x 13'' pan. Bake 15 minutes @ 350 degrees. Cool.
2) Combine 8 oz. cream cheese, 1 c. powdered sugar, 1 c. Cool Whip. Spread in pan.
3) Combine 2 small packages of lemon instant pudding with 4 cups of cold milk. Stir until set. Add 1 small can well-drained crushed pineappe. Spread in pan.
4) Spread remaining Cool Whip on top and garnish with chopped nuts.

VARIATON: In place of lemon pudding-pineapple layer, use 1 small package instant vanilla and 1 small package instant chocolate pudding with 3 cups cold milk.

Porcupine Meatballs from Grandma

Spanish rice and meatballs.

Mix 1 lb. hamburger with 1 egg. Add 1 cup rice. Brown over medium heat, careful not to break balls.
Pour 1 quart tomato juice over balls and simmer one hour until rice is tender.

Crepes

Serves 10

2 cup flour
2 cup milk
8 eggs
2 t. salt

Mix all ingredients in a blender. Put some butter in a frying pan. When it melts, pour in enough batter for a thin coat in the bottom of the pan. When the edges peel away, flip the crepe over for a second.

Pumpkin Bread

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin, cooked or canned
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)
chocolate chips (optional)

Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. In a large bowl, cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin and beat until smooth. Add sifted dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with milk and vanilla. Don't overbeat. Fold in nuts or chocolate chips. Bake at 350 in a greased loaf pan for 1 hour.

Ginger Snaps

I only really want to bake cookies at about Christmas time, and I found this awesome recipe that I did last night! The cookies turned out more fluffy than I was expecting, but still really great.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/10757/moms-ginger-snaps/


1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp clove
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, molasses, and egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; stir into the molasses mixture. Roll dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Roll each ball in white sugar before placing 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until center is firm. Cool on wire racks.

Super Easy Butternut Squash Recipe

I just pulled this one off right now. I was going to buy ingredients for a more complex soup, but never got around to it. So I was glad to have these ingredients on hand, and it is REALLY good! Tastes almost like chicken noodle soup. I even didn't puree the squash, I just microwaved it beforehand then mashed it down with a potato masher after the 20 minutes of cooking.
http://www.food.com/recipe/quick-butternut-squash-soup-17987

INGREDIENTSNutrition

SERVINGS 6UNITS US

• 1teaspoon olive oil
• 1clove garlic, minced
• 1⁄2cup chopped onion
• 1teaspoon fresh sage, chopped (or 1t. ground dry sage)
• 1⁄2teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3cups fat-free chicken broth
• 1 1⁄2lbs butternut squash (peeled, seeded, cubed)
• parmesan cheese (Garnish)

DIRECTIONS

1. Add oil, garlic and onion to large stockpot over medium heat.
2. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add sage, salt, pepper, broth and squash.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes (or until squash has a tender consistency).
6. Use stick blender to lightly puree, leaving some chunks, or puree half of the soup in a food processor or blender and return to pot.
7. Garnish with parmesan cheese and more fresh sage (if desired).

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Bowls

Ingredients

• 1½ lbs. chicken breasts $2.90
• 1 (16 oz.) jar salsa $1.99
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained $1.19
• ½ lb. (8 oz.) frozen corn $0.57
• 1 Tbsp chili powder $0.15
• ½ Tbsp cumin $0.07
• ½ Tbsp minced garlic $0.10
• ½ tsp dried oregano $0.03
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper $0.02
• ¼ tsp salt $0.02
• to taste cracked pepper $0.02
• 2 cups dry rice $0.66
• 8 oz. shredded cheddar $2.49
• ½ bunch cilantro (optional) $0.45

Instructions

1. Add everything except the rice, cheese, and cilantro to the slow cooker along with ¼ cup of water (for good measure). Give everything a good stir and make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.
2. Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hrs.
3. Near the end of the cooking time, cook the two cups of rice according to the package directions (Bring the rice and 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot with a lid in place, as soon as it reaches a boil, reduced the heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving).
4. After 8 hours of cooking, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Stir with a fork to shred the chicken (it should be super tender and will shred easily). Build the taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.

This was from Budget Bytes (one of my new fave food blogs!) and I loved these and it was super easy. Delicious!

Sauteed Corn, Spinach, Bacon, and Scallions

So I have been working on getting through a cookbook (thanks Alyse for the suggestion!). I have been doing the "Mom 100" cookbook I got a while ago, and just hit the JACKPOT with this recipe. Even Mr. Not-a-Fan-of-Vegetables went back for seconds. Here is the link where you can see some of her recipes: http://www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com/2012/07/sauteed-corn-spinach-bacon-and-scallions-sundaysuppers-2.html

But here is the printout of instructions.

4 slices bacon, cut into 1-strips

1 tablespoon butter

1 shallot, minced 

3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (from about 4 ears corn)

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper 

Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 scallions, both white and light green parts, sliced

4 cups baby spinach leaves

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally,

 until browned.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.  Pour off all but 1 teaspoon of the fat from the skillet.

Add the butter to the skillet and melt over medium heat.  Add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes.  Add the corn and the red bell pepper and red pepper flakes, if using.  Season with salt and black pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring often, until the corn is tender, about 5 minutes.  Crumble the bacon and add it along with the scallions and the spinach.  Stir until the spinach leaves have 

wilted and combined with the corn, about 1 minute.

Ginger Cookies

I usually only make these around Christmas, and it never fails that people ask for the recipe when I make them.  They are deceptively simple and delicious.

1 1/2 c. crisco
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. molasses
2 beaten eggs
4 c. sifted flour
4 t. soda
1 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. ginger

Roll into ball about th eisze of a walnut.  Roll in sugar.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Giada Rigatoni with Squash and Sausage.

Ingredients

• 1 pound mezzi rigatoni pasta
• 1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/3 inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 cups roughly chopped baby arugula

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until just al dente. Drain well reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

In a large skillet,cook the sausage breaking it up with a wooden spoon into bite sized pieces, until the sausage is cooked though. (drain fat). Add the diced squash to the pan and stir to combine. Add the water and season with the salt. Using the wooden spoon, make sure all of the squash is submerged. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the squash is tender and the liquid has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and 3/4 cup parmesan. Stir vigorously to combine, breaking up the squash slightly as you go and thinning with pasta water as needed until the pasta is coated in a light and creamy sauce. Stir in the arugula.  Cook just until the arugula is wilted. Serve topped with the remaining Parmesan.

(Giada calls for lots of olive oil that I cut out.  She also did not mention to drain the fat from the sausage so I put that in.  I think it would be healthier with turkey sausage and also some whole grain pasta, but whatever way you like it).  

10 crockpot freezer meals

So I've been wondering how I can be better at planning meals, and thinking of ways to make meals for when the baby comes. I found this blog post on Pinterest, and it's pretty easy to do! More crockpot freezer meals.
http://ashleynoelbarnes.blogspot.com/2013/05/10-freezer-to-crockpot-meals.html

Apple Butter and Croissants

I made these on Saturday for an apple-themed potluck dinner, and they were awesome! I really loved this. I want to make them again... just need to get some more pastry sheets. This recipe comes from Southern Living--I saw it while I was at the doctor's and took the page with it (oops! But I'm actually using it instead of just leaving it there to be recycled...) The apple butter really just seems like applesauce, but still delicious.

Easy Apple Butter
Ingredients:
3 lb. crisp and sweet apples (Gala, Honeycrisp, etc.), peeled
1 cup apple cider
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

1. Cut apples into one-inch pieces. Bring apples, cider, and 1/2 cup sugar to a rolling boil in a Dutch oven (or a big pot) over high heat. Cover, leaving lid slightly ajar, and boil 20 minutes or until apples are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated; stir every 5 minutes.
2. Process cooked apples and cooking liquid in a blender until smooth (or use an immersion blender) until smooth. Stir in cinnamon, cloves, and remaining 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, uncovered and stirring often, 15 minutes or until thickened. Cool about 45 minutes, and then spoon into airtight containers and refrigerate up to 2 months or freeze up to 6 months.

Note: I'm not sure why the puffs recipe tells you to do it all in two stages. I did them all at once--it makes a lot more sense. You can fit them all on one large baking sheet.

Apple Butter and Cheddar Puffs
Ingredients:
1 (17.3 oz) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
2 egg whites, beaten
1/2 cup Easy Apple Butter
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Parchment paper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unfold pastry sheet, and cut into 9 rectangles or squares. Brush edges of rectangles with a small amount of egg whites. Stir together apple butter and thyme leaves, and spoon about 1 tsp apple butter mixture into the center of each rectangle. Sprinkle each with about 1 tbsp cheese. Fold 2 opposite corners together, and pinch to seal.
2. Gently transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush pastries with egg whites, reserving remaining egg whites for second batch; spring each pastry with about 1/2 Tbsp cheese.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. While first batch bakes, repeat procedure with remaining pastry sheet, egg whites, apple butter, and cheese. Serve immediately.