Capers (optional)

Homemade Mayo

2014-07-11T20:36:00.000-06:00

Oh hai!

remember me?

no??

To be fair, I'm not even sure I remember how to do this.

Life happened, also lots of changes dietarily speaking, but lets just start with the farm fresh eggs I got my hands on, and my new-found avoidance of all things processed. They obviously add to homemade mayo right?

I found two recipes online that sounded promising and sort of blended them together. (get it?)

SUCCESS - oh so yummy!!!

Recipe 1 olive oil mayo from The Clothes Make the Girl

Recipe 2 coconut/olive oil blended mayo from Wellness Mama

There were things I liked about both, mainly using the entire egg and not just the yoke like recipe 1, and blending two kinds of oil like recipe 2.

All ingredients were room temperature. The eggs actually haven't been refrigerated at all since being laid this morning. (it's not weird)

2 whole eggs

1 TBS lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground dry mustard

1/4 tsp himalayan salt

2/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup coconut oil

I used my ninja ultima blender at a 2 speed setting.

Start with just eggs and blend until smooth

add lemon juice, mustard and salt, blend until smooth.

with blender going slowly, slowly drizzle in the olive oil first. I should have timed myself but it felt like several minutes just for the olive oil.

With the coconut oil since it is solid at room temperature I heated it just enough to make it liquid and then drizzled that in.

That's it!!

Want to know what I plan to do with it?

veggie dip

chicken salad

coleslaw

creamy veggie salads

deviled eggs

egg salad

and obviously a plain ol' condiment

Sunscreen

2014-07-02T12:09:00.002-06:00

Natural Homemade Sunscreen Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond or olive oil (can infuse with herbs first if desired)
1/4 cup coconut oil (natural SPF 4)
1/4 cup beeswax
2 Tablespoons Zinc Oxide (This is a non-nano version that won’t be absorbed into the skin. Be careful not to inhale the powder). This makes a natural SPF of 20+ or more can be added.)
Optional: up to 1 teaspoon Red Raspberry Seed Oil
Optional: up to 1 teaspoon Carrot Seed Oil
Optional: up to 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil
Optional: 2 tablespoons Shea Butter (natural SPF 4-5)
Optional: Essential Oils, Vanilla Extract or other natural extracts to suit your preference

How to Make Natural Sunscreen

Combine ingredients except zinc oxide in a pint sized or larger glass jar. I have a mason jar that I keep just for making lotions and lotion bars, or you can even reuse a glass jar from pickles, olives, or other foods.
Fill a medium saucepan with a couple inches of water and place over medium heat.
Put a lid on the jar loosely and place in the pan with the water.
As the water heats, the ingredients in the jar will start to melt. Shake or stir occasionally to incorporate. When all ingredients are completely melted, add the zinc oxide, stir in well and pour into whatever jar or tin you will use for storage. Small mason jars (pint size) are great for this. It will not pump well in a lotion pump!
Stir a few times as it cools to make sure zinc oxide is incorporated.
Use as you would regular sunscreen. Best if used within six months.

Additional Notes:

This sunscreen is somewhat, but not completely, waterproof and will need to be reapplied after sweating or swimming
Make sure not to inhale the Zinc Oxide- use a mask if necessary!
This recipe has an SPF of about 20, though adding more Zinc Oxide will increase the SPF
Add more beeswax to make thicker sunscreen, less to make smooth sunscreen
I recommend coconut or vanilla extract or lavender essential oils for fragrance
Store in a cool, dry place or in the fridge
I prefer to store in a small canning jar and apply like a body butter. It will be thicker, especially if you use coconut oil in the recipe.
remove the Zinc Oxide and this makes an excellent lotion recipe!

An Even Faster Way To Make Sunscreen:

Get a bottle of your favorite lotion (that doesn’t contain citrus oils!)
Add a couple Tablespoons of non-nano Zinc Oxide
Mix well
Use as Sunscreen

You can also make Sunscreen Bars by using many of the same ingredients and which are easier to apply!

Wellnessmama.com

Toothpaste

2014-07-02T11:50:00.003-06:00

Yep, here's a recipe for homemade toothpaste. Why not!

3 Tbsp Redmond's Clay
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp whole ground stevia (green one)
3/4 tsp unrefined high mineral salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp distilled water
1/4 tsp peppermint essential oil

Blend coconut oil, stevia, salt and baking soda and peppermint oil in a glass bowl. Mix in Redmond's Clay and slowly add water and stir until smooth.

Crock pot Chicken Taco soup--The recipe I used at Brighton

2014-06-30T13:14:00.002-06:00

1 onion, chopped

1 (16 ounce) can chili beans

1 (15 ounce) can black beans

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (12 fluid ounce) broth

2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning. I make my own so it’s gluten free. I’ll post the recipe later.

3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

shredded Cheddar cheese(optional)

sour cream (optional)

crushed tortilla chips(optional)

Directions

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Amish Friendship Bread

2012-05-17T12:53:00.000-06:00

This isn't a bread, per se, but much more like a moist, sweet cake!

General Guidelines

Do not use any metal spoons or bowls for mixing.
Do not refrigerate.
Do not forget to let the air out of the bag every day or two.
Do not flip out if you forget about it for a couple of days.
It is normal for batter to rise, bubble and ferment.

Instructions

Day 1: Do nothing
Day 2: Mush the bag
Day 3: Mush the bag
Day 4: Mush the bag
Day 5: Mush the bag
Day 6: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk to the bag. Mush it all together well.
Day 7: Mush the bag
Day 8: Mush the bag
Day 9: Mush the bag
Day 10: Bread baking day! Read the rest of this page thoroughly and get to cooking.

Pour your mix into a non-metal bowl.
Add 1½ cup flour, 1½ cup sugar, and 1½ cup milk. Mix it well.
Measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cup each into 4 one gallon sized Ziplock bags. Keep a starter for yourself, and give the other 3, along with a copy of these instructions, to friends. Write today's date on each bag so your friends will know what to designate as Day 1.
Preheat your oven to 325
To the remaining batter in the bowl add the following:

3 eggs
1 cup oil (or ½ cup oil and ½ cup applesauce)
½ cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 large box of instant vanilla pudding

Grease 2 large loaf pans and then mix ½ cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a bowl. Dust your greased pans with half the cinnamon/sugar mix. Split batter evenly between the two pans and sprinkle the tops with the remaining cinnamon/sugar mix. Bake for 1 hour and cool for 20 minutes before turning out the loaves.

Chili Sauce

2010-09-30T12:43:00.004-06:00

Per tradition we always do peaches. They are a family favorite, we have an ample supply because of Grandma's fruit trees and they are the most YUMMY. But also every year we try and do a tomato based sum'in sum'in. Stewed tomatoes, Spaghetti sauce, Salsa...

This year is was Chili Sauce.

We got the recipe by one of Dad's old buddies Greg Amidan

Chili Sauce

6 Lg Onions

4 green Bell Peppers

2 red Bell Peppers

20 large Tomatoes

1/4 cup McCormick Pickling Spice ground finely in blender

1 cup Cider Vinegar

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp Salt

1 tsp white pepper

Scald and peel tomatoes and pulse in food processor 5-6 pulses

Peel and quarter onions and pulse in food processor about 10 pulses.

Quarter and seed peppers and pulse in food processor about 10 pulses.

Place all veggies and pickling spices in a large stainless steel stock pot bring to a boil stirring every 10 minutes.

Boil exactly one hour continue stirring every 10 minutes.

Add vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper stir well and boil for another hour or until thickened.

Put into hot sterile jars, wipe rim with clean wet cloth, and add sterile flats and put rings on as tightly as you can.

Process in cold pack canner for 45 min for quarts 35 min for pints.

Enjoy on cream cheese with crackers, or with tortilla chips or use as an ingredient in sweet chili or over a crock pot roast. ENJOY.

We didn't double the recipe but we did do 4 batches of it at one time - yeah baby!
We ended up with something like 7 quarts, 25 pints and about 6 half pints.
all things averaged out I would guess each batch does about 10 pint jars...

Pickled Peppers

2010-09-30T12:39:00.000-06:00

Set out sterile jars, flats and rings.

Fill canner with a several inches of water and start warming.

In a sauce pan warm up a ratio of 2 cups of water, 1 cup of vinegar, 1 Tbsp salt' and 1/2 tsp of dill weed. bring to a boil.

Wash peppers (I used an assortment of hot peppers.) shoot no picture of the sack of before.

PUT ON PLASTIC GLOVES.

Slice peppers and put into jars.

Pour in pickled water. top with flat, ring and tighten.

Put in canner and cover with enough water to come over lid about an inch.

Process 25 min for half pints, 35 min for pints 45 min for quarts.

Enjoy on sloppy joes, chili, sandwiches, nachos, anything that needs a slight kick.

Canned Peaches

2010-09-25T13:09:00.004-06:00

This year, we've had fun picking and canning 12 jars of tomatoes, 12 jars of grape juice and 49 jars of peaches. Apples from my old house are next, and hopefully some peach jam and chili sauce.

Mom's going to write step by step instructions I can put on here so we'll always have it, RIGHT MOM?

1. Pick the peaches at Grandpa Porter's house

2. Blanch the peaches in boiling water and peel the skins off

3. Sneak a few bites--warm fresh peaches are YUMMY

4. Fill the jars to the top with sliced peaches, then fill with sugar water (mom, how much sugar to water and fruit fresh)?? She responded fast...

light syrup is 1 cup of sugar to 8 cups of water and a couple tablespoons of fruit fresh. bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. This is approximately how much you need for 7 quarts of peaches. so we double, triple, or quadruple according to our needs.

5. Wipe the tops of jars clean and put a sterilized new lid on top. Soak the lids in boiling water for a minute or two. Put the ring on as tight as you can.

6. Boil the jars completely covered in water in a canner for 30 minutes

7. Take the jars out straight up out of the water (do not tip like my mom is doing here :) LOL and place on a towel until the POP!!

Ah, don't they look great!! Enjoy all winter long

Tomatoes cover with boiling water to slip the skins. shove into jars up to the neck. add a tsp of salt and a tsp of vinegar. wipe of jar, add sterile lid and tighten the ring. bring to boil in canner. boil for 45 to 50 minutes. tada

Grape juice. fill juicer with cleaned grapes. no need to stem. Steam for an hour. pour out into sterilized jars and top with sterile lid and tighten the ting. listen for the fun pinging sound. tada.
to serve. pour into pitcher and add a bottle of 7up type soda. regular or sugar free. enjoy.

Banana split breakfast

2010-08-10T09:33:00.003-06:00

Needless to say, your kids will eat it.

All it is is a banana cut in half and spread with peanut butter and put back together. I topped it with Light and Creamy Yoplait yogurt so it was thick enough to look like ice cream. Then I drizzled it with a bit of chocolate syrup. The kids ate it up. I would have put nuts on mine. YUM!!

My son eats and sleeps with his trains. Literally.

Pretzels

2010-08-03T10:50:00.004-06:00

A while ago, I was craving those nice, big pretzels you get at the mall or Sam's Club (or wherever....). I went through a dozen different recipes and this one looked the easiest. :) We all know that I am all about easy! :D I just have to say, though, I got the recipe from here, and my pretzels didn't look anything like those. But they tasted great!

Ingredients

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour (I didn't have that, so I just used regular flour-and they still turned out fine)
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast, brown sugar and salt in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Stir in flour, and knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. (Or, if you are impatient like me, feel proud of yourself if you last 3 or 4 minutes.) Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let rise for one hour.
Combine 2 cups warm water and baking soda in an 8 inch square pan.
After dough has risen, cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 3 foot rope, pencil thin or thinner. Twist into a pretzel shape, and dip into the baking soda solution. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets, and let rise 15 to 20 minutes.
Bake at 450 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with coarse salt, garlic salt or cinnamon sugar.

As a side note, I have to say that I did NOT follow the directions to roll each piece into a 3 foot rope. I just kind of rolled them out until they seemed fine to me, and they were not anywhere near "pencil thin." My pretzels were smaller than what they have in the picture, and I'm sure this is why. However, they were still really good and REALLY filling. Also, I didn't have the right kind of salt, so I used cinnamon sugar, which was also fine. :)

I also didn't follow the directions about the parchment paper. I sprayed a pan really well, then just set them right on that after dipping them in the water mixture. And they still came off the pan just fine after cooking. Oh, and P.S., they really aren't all that great the next day, so do yourself a favor and just eat them all when you make them. ;) Trust me, after one bite, you'll want to.

Birthday Cake Surprise!

2010-07-06T11:19:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday AMERICA!

Looks can be deceiving!

My Genius mom made the BEST B-day cake ever! I was going to log in as her to do this post in her name - but then I would sound boastful and conceited instead of proud and impressed! She saw it on Studio 5 and instead of thinking "man those girls are crazy!" she thought "Hey! I think I can make that!" Now who's the crazy one? The original cake was created by Elissa @ 17andbaking.com

They both used 9" baking pans and now I see the wisdom in that but we wanted to feed a crowd so we went with an 11". It made stacking the thin layers tricky and it sort of broke apart as we served it. I think a smaller pan would have remedied both problems - but otherwise we really had a glitch free success!

To the instructions already!

3 separate bakings, 3 separate cakes!

one red velvet,

one white {dyed blue}

and one more white (no egg yolks to keep it pure white!)

The original also dyed the red layer from a white cake mix - we got the idea to use a red velvet mix from make it & love it

Slice the red and white layers horizontally into 2 pieces

White layer down first - FROST

Red layer down - FROST

Set aside

Layer without frosting the remaining red layer, white layer and uncut blue layer

Center a cylindrical object on top - we used a cereal bowl, and cut straight down through all 3 layers!

Place the blue ring on top of your frosted layers

frost the inside of your blue ring and then place in your red and white circles

Frost to finish!

we kept it simple to up the 'WOW' factor!

Cut dramatically, make sure all eyes are on you!

voila!

If my instructions were confusing check out this studio 5 video:

Happy Birthday AMERICA!

The Slotted Spoon

2010-05-05T13:51:00.001-06:00

Doing what I can't...

...and I love her for it!

My new food blog hero! Thanks for the tip Tina...

My first recipe to try : Costa Vida Sweet Pork!

Hawaiian Haystacks

2010-03-16T12:27:00.002-06:00

This is one of those make up as you go, add what you have, type of meals, made entirely out of staple foods!

For the chicken and gravy base I just cooked chicken in my crock-pot on low with a little water, veggies and seasonings. 6 hours later I drained & rinsed the chicken and put it back in the crock-pot with cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom ~~or both!!~~) thinned with some chicken stock.

Used my rice cooker to make about 3 cups white rice

then prepared my toppings...

crunchy chow mein noodles

shredded cheddar cheese

toasted coconut

toasted almonds

green onions

raisens

celery

Pineapple

Mandarin oranges

anything tropical really or with and interesting texture (crunchy, chewy etc!)

Just pile it all on there - they go together surprisingly well

for little kids I make individual piles, they seem to take to it a bit better if it is all separated, maybe so they can eat all of the cheese and oranges and no celery idk!

Chocolate mayo cake-just try it!

2010-03-09T14:14:00.006-07:00

Ok, I promise not to do anymore posts for a while to give everyone else a turn. :) Sorry! This is yet another hand-me-down, but from my other grandma who grew up in Germany during WWII. It is the most moist and delicious cake you will ever eat....well, that's homemade. And I absolutely PROMISE it tastes NOTHING like mayonnaise! I tried it out on my in-laws, and you don't do anything to upset in-laws. :) (They loved it, by the way.) So, just try it.

Chocolate Mayo Cake

1 C warm water
3 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 1/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 C flour
2 tsp. soda
1 C mayo
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix everything together in one bowl.

Pour into greased pan(s). (Random note: I always coat the pans with butter (or tons of spray), then sprinkle some flour over that. This way, the cakes just slide right out of the pans.)
For two layers bake at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes.

For one layer? (We don't bake one layer cakes at my house, so I have no idea how long to cook one layer...just keep checking it and don't let it burn.) :)

Frost with cool whip, frosting, or cream cheese frosting. (also, at this point, you will probably lose your camera that you gave to your two year old to take pictures with, so revert to using your camera phone...)

(you can just buy the cream cheese frosting from the store, but I've never tried it and this kind is superb)

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened. (HAS to be Philadelphia brand-spend the extra 20 cents-trust me)
2 Tbsp. butter, softened (margarine is fine)
2 tsp. vanilla
4 C powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together except the powdered sugar.
When mixed well, slowly add the powdered sugar.
If too thick, add a few drops of milk.
If too thin, add more powdered sugar.

TA-DA! Enjoy!!!

Grandma's Rolls

2010-03-07T07:22:00.006-07:00

At my family's Thanksgiving and Christmas get together's, you will want to eat a minimum of 10 rolls. They are DELISH! I realized the other day that I am a big girl now and can make the rolls whenever I want.....except that I need the recipe. I called my grandma and asked for the coveted recipe, so now I am going to share with you! Your welcome. :)

Easy Grandma's Rolls

1 pkg yeast (or 1 tbsp)
1/4 C shortening (NOT butter or margarine!!)
1 tsp salt
1 C milk
1/4 C sugar
3 1/2 C flour
1 egg, well beaten

Soften yeast in 1/4 C warm water. (I wasn't sure how to "soften" yeast, so I just dissolved it like I normally would do for bread.) Put shortening, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Scald milk, pour over shortening, sugar and salt and stir until shortening is melted. Cool until lukewarm. Add 2 C flour and beat 1 minute at medium speed; add softened yeast and the beaten egg. Beat batter smooth at medium speed for 1/2 minute. With a WOODEN spoon, stir in 1 1/2 C more flour and beat batter for 2 minutes until smooth.

Cover and let rise until double (about one hour).

Then stir down and beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Let rise again until double in bulk (about 30 minutes). Stir down and shape into rolls of your choice.
(In my family, it's a tradition do always do these kind-with the three sides to make it easy to pull apart.)

But, just know, if you are going to do these this way (which I totally recommend), make SURE you have extra Crisco ready. It will help tons when rolling the dough into balls.

Place on sheet (or in muffin tins) and let rise again until they are the size that you want.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes (ovens do vary, so watch carefully). When they start to brown on top, they will be done all the way through.

I know that you are asking why these are so special since they are so super easy (like everything I make...), but seriously...you HAVE to try them at least once. You'll never be satisfied with store-bought rolls again. :) Enjoy!!

Cheesy chicken casserole

2010-02-24T20:59:00.007-07:00

I did NOT grow up a fan of casseroles. So, naturally, when one of my neighbors brought me one after I had my second baby, I was more than a bit worried. After I pretended to be totally excited about it and she left, I told Shane he needed to go out and get us pizza. He made me try this, though, and it is hands down my all time FAVORITE meal EVER. I am IN. LOVE. with this. So, for those of you picky eaters/busy moms out there...this one is for you. This is easy and super fast! P.S. If something is bolded, it is my personal opinion/suggestion, so feel free to completely ignore it. :)

Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole

4 C egg noodles (uncooked) (the wide ones are usually the best)
2 small cans of cream of chicken soup
2 C sour cream
2 C milk
3-4 tbsp of bottle lemon juice (or to taste)
1/2 tsp garlic salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper (to taste)
12 oz bag crunchy chow mein noodles (LaChoy)
13 oz can chicken breast (I have only been able to find 12.5 oz cans, which work just fine)
3-4 C grated cheddar cheese (I usually only use 2 cups and it is still uber cheesy and less fattening)

In a large pan, cook 4 cups of egg noodles as instructed on the package.

Drain, set aside.

Combine soup, sour cream, milk, lemon juice, garlic salt, and pepper in a large pan.

Stir ingredients together over medium heat until smooth.

Add cooked egg noodles, 1 C crunchy noodles (or more as desired), and the can of chicken breast.

Stir until mixed together well and chicken breaks up a little. (or if you are a cheater/impatient like me, use a knife or fork or whatever to break the chicken up beforehand)

Spray a lasagna pan with cooking spray. Pour noodle mixture in the pan ~~while trying to hold the camera in the other hand and not drop it in the sink~~,

cover with more crunchy noodles, then spread the cheese on top of this (DON'T SKIMP!).

Drizzle a little more lemon juice (or water, or milk-whichever you prefer) over the casserole, then cover and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour, until the cheese is completely melted and the casserole is heated through. (Important!: Usually I only have to cook it about 30 minutes--sometimes 45--until the cheese is melted, but it varies from oven to oven. Check it after 30 minutes and see what you think. Don't let the cheese burn, though. Yuck.)
All done!! Enjoy!

The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it whenever you have time during the day, then stick it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. It only takes about 15 minutes to prep everything, then you are good to go!

Easy Peasy Cinnamon Rolls

2009-12-06T08:43:00.006-07:00

So, for my very first post on here, I decided to start you ladies out with a wonderful (INSANELY easy) homemade cinnamon rolls recipe. :) Hope you enjoy these as much as we do! *Some notes about this that are totally optional-purely what I prefer-with the frosting, don't double it (that's waaay too much), but just what the recipe calls for never seems like enough, so 1 1/2 it. Also, wait to frost the rolls until they have cooled almost all the way. Otherwise, you end up with more frosting melted on the pan than the rolls. And one last thing-when it says roll dough into a rectangle, an oval is good enough if you can't get those edges quite right. :) Let me know if you have any questions.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

2 (.25 oz) pkgs active dry yeast

2 1/2 C warm water

1 (9 oz) pkg yellow cake mix

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 C all-purpose flour

The inside goodness:

1/2 C butter or margarine-melted

3/4 C white sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Frosting:

3 C confectioner's sugar

1/2 C butter or margarine-softened

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 Tbsp milk

Directions: In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it stand until creamy (about 10 minutes). Then combine the yeast mixture with the cake mix, salt, and vanilla; stir well to combine. Stir in the flour; beat well. Cover bowl and let rise in a warm place for one hour. Deflate dough and turn it out onto a well floured surface. Roll dough out into a rectangle and spread with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (combine in a bowl beforehand to make things real easy). Roll up dough and cut into 3/4 inch thick rolls. Place rolls in two lightly greased baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes. While rolls are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a medium bowl, stir together everything for the frosting. After the rolls have cooled a bit, spread with the frosting. Enjoy!!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

2009-12-02T13:55:00.004-07:00

...Make Sandi's Wonderful Hot Cider Drink!!!

1/2 Gallon Apple Juice
1 small can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 small can frozen lemonade concentrate {get it!?!}
1 quart water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp allspice
3 sticks cinnamon
8 cloves

Mix and heat in crock pot

I've been blah, blek, blue lately and very much in a blogging shlump so I knew to get out of it I needed to blog something, anything...

voila!

It's been 15 days since Gramps passed away.

Most all of his Grandkids and Great-Grand Children last saw him on Halloween, dutifully parading costumes in exchange for a king sized candy bar (oh, baby!) And while it is still a fresh and vivid memory I am afraid it will fade so I have found something bright to connect with it and keep it alive. Minutes after visiting Gramps we went to my Aunt Sandi's and she had the most delicious aroma in her home, and offered us her Hot Cider. Warm and delicious I spent many weeks craving it so I decided to serve it at my ThanksGiving dinner. I hope to make my own tradition from it somehow and have its home-filling scent help me keep Gramp's memory alive for my girls.

Also, in full effort to unshlumpitize I took my OWN picture of the cider:

{even though I was overwhelmingly tempted to deceitfully post a google image search picture as my own!}

And it is scandalously possible that if I would have seen this picture

before taking my own, I would have tried it!!!!

It looks so much like my mugs it is scary!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

2009-11-14T21:24:00.004-07:00

Moist Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe and Instructions:

Be sure to use ultra ripe bananas for this. Their skins should be mottled black and they should feel soft to the touch. Using what you would normally consider to be ripe bananas will diminish the bread’s rich flavor.
½ cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter
½ cup (3 ¾ ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (~ 12 ounces) mashed ripe banana (3-4 medium to large bananas)
¼ cup (3 ounces) honey (I used sugar – works fine)
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat (I found that 2 cups was closer to 10 ounces – guess my whole wheat is heavy)
½ cups (2 ounces) chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and nuts, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered for 10 minutes.
Bake the bread for 50 minutes. Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

www.breadtopia.com

Chili Teaser

2009-10-12T10:28:00.001-06:00

No recipe (it's a secret!)

but trust me, it is the best chili in the universe!

Cheesy Broccoli and Potato Soup

2009-10-06T22:57:00.003-06:00

The breads, the soups, the naughty treats, are all coming out from hiding because Fall is here!!!
This soup is kind of like a mix between a chowder and a baked potato smothered with broccoli and cheese!

YOWSA, YUMMY!!!!

Another one of moms recipes, I take no credit...
...except for taking the picture
{because y'all know what a great photographer I am}
and nudging her to add in the recipe
{ya, ya! and I am pushy - get over it!}

{insert recipe here}

Conference Popcorn

2009-10-03T12:08:00.002-06:00

Moms caramel recipe + air popped popcorn (1 cup unpoped) + a much too small bowl

= nostalgic conference viewing bliss

My kids favorite Tomato Soup

2009-10-01T16:56:00.004-06:00

This easy recipe calls for a jar of Mom's famous salsa, a baggie of frozen corn from Grandma, and a can of black beans. Heat them up and if your lucky your mom will decorate it with sour cream and chives. YUMMO!

Caramels

2009-10-01T15:41:00.006-06:00

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup of naughty light corn syrup
1 cube of butter
1 can (15 0z) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

in large sauce pan, melt butter add corn syrup and bring to a boil. add brown sugar stir well and bring up to a boil again. add sweetened condensed milk simmer and stir until it reaches 228° for popcorn or 229° for apple dunking or 230° for caramels take off the heat and stir in vanilla (don't forget nuts for the bottom of the pan) It thickens as it cools.

German Pancakes

2009-10-01T09:55:00.005-06:00

Alright...since my sister STOLE my whole wheat bread post (which I totally deserved because I wasn't on the ball and it needed to be blogged about...

and she did a way better job on the post that I could have...
and her first attempt at bread looked a whole lot better than mine did...
sigh

I let mine raise too much and it fell a bit in the oven...
but aren't those hamburger buns just so cute!!)

I decided to get with it and post our new favorite ALTON BROWN recipe...
German Pancakes.

Ooh, doesn't that look good!!! It was. I had it for breakfast. My cute hubby made it. Jealous???

Ingredients

3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup milk, warmed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
Confectioners' sugar
Marinated Berries or Glazed Apples and Pears, recipes follow
Serving suggestion: Maple syrup

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, sugar, milk, vanilla, and butter. Whisk in the flour to make a smooth batter. Set aside.

Heat a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and brush the inside with the shortening. Pour in the batter and bake for 15 minutes.

Lower the oven to 350 degrees F. and continue baking until puffed and golden brown, about 13 to 15 minutes more. Run a knife around the edge of the skillet. We love the food network because even in a small kitchen...
You can make something like this... YUM

Top it with butter, maple syrup, and powdered sugar. Or for a healthier side, top with berries, or applesauce.
Even the kiddies will love it.

Going

Going

Gone!

It think there's one piece left. Anyone want to come over. Better hurry!!