Friday, October 26, 2007

Pumpkin Bread...

  • -1 cup of olive oil(not extra virgin)
  • -4 eggs
  • -2/3 cup of milk
  • -1 can 15 oz. of libbys pumpkin
  • Mix in mixer for a few minutes
  • -3 cups sugar
  • -2 tsp. baking soda
  • -1.5 tsp of salt
  • -1 tsp of cloves and nutmeg
  • -2 tsps of cinnamon
  • Mix again
  • -31/2 cups flour
  • Mix one more time until just blended scraping sides if needed

Put in 2 loaf pans and bake at 325 for an hour or so. Middle should look a little mushy. DON'T overcook. :) Enjoy!

* Sometimes I throw in one cup of quick oats. Great for Breakfast!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Chicken-Asparagus Marsala


I made this Sunday night, and it is sooo good! I even liked it better than Macaroni Grill's Marsala. Anyway, it is super easy and delicious...one of our new favorites. I paired it on top of whole wheat Linguine, but it would be really good with rosemary garlic roasted or mashed potatoes as well.

4 Chicken Breast (I use the thinly sliced ones...they cook faster)
2 Tbl Butter
1 Pound Fresh Asparagus
1/2 Pound Fresh Mushrooms
1 Clove fresh minced Garlic
1/4 Cup Marsala Wine
1/4 Cup Water
Salt and Pepper (however much you want to lightly season)
Fresh Chopped Parsley (for garnish)
Grated Parmesan Cheese

In a Saute' Pan, place butter and heat to medium-high temperature. Add chicken and cook, turning until browned and thoroughly cooked. Remove Chicken and set aside.

In same pan, add mushrooms and garlic an cook until mushrooms are heated and cooked through (about 6-8 minutes). Add Marsala Wine, water, and season with salt and pepper. Return Chicken to pan and arrange mushrooms on top of chicken.

Arrange Asparagus over chicken and mushrooms. Heat to boiling and then reduce to medium and cover until asparagus is steamed through (about 8 minutes).

Transfer chicken to a serving platter and spoon sauce and mushrooms on top. Serve asparagus along side the chicken. Sprinkle fresh parsley over chicken and Parmesan cheese (if desired).

Enjoy!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Ruby Tuesday Potato Cheese Soup


I made this soup tonight and had forgot how much I love it. It has been raining here all day and the weather has been cooling off so it was the perfect night for soup!

2 large potatoes
2 TBSP finely minced celery
1 TBSP finely minced onion
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt
2 tsp white vinegar
2 TBSP flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup plus 1 TBSP shredded cheddar cheese
1 TBSP Monterey Jack Cheese (optional)
2 slices of bacon cooked
1 TBSP chopped green onion

1. Peel potatoes and chop them into bite-size pieces- you should have about 4 cups. Make sure the celery and onion are minced into small pieces. The carrot should be grated small also, not shredded.
2. Combine the vegetables with the chicken broth, salt and vinegar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat, cover the pan, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Whisk together the flour and milk in a medium cup or bowl.
4. Remove the saucepan of vegetables from the heat and add the flour and milk mixture. Put the pan back on the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until the soup has thickened.
5. Add 1 cup cheddar cheese to the soup and simmer until melted. By this time the potatoes should be tender an falling apart. If not, continue to cook until the soup is as thick as you like it.
6. To serve spoon the soup into bowls. Divide the remaining 1 TBSP of cheddar and the Monterey Jack and sprinkle on the soup. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle it evenly on top of the cheese. Top off each bowl of soup with green onions.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

New Layout

Hi Girls! Since Matie Kay deleted all of her blog layouts, our cooking blog layout ended up just pink so I jazzed it up a bit, but feel free to change anything you want...I was just playing with some new layouts. Thanks :) I will be posting a new reciepe soon, I have totally been slacking, sorry!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Chicken lime tacos.

I made these the other night for the boys in the family after priesthood session and they were so good. I put everything in the crockpot and once the chicken was cooked I shredded it. Just make sure that there is enough liquid in the crockpot so the meat doesn't dry out. We had it in tacos and I used corn tortillas.
INGREDIENTS

* 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
* 1/8 cup red wine vinegar ( I used about 1 1/2TB)
* 1/2 lime, juiced ( I used a whole lime)
* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 green onions, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon dried oregeno (I used cilantro instead)
* 10 (6 inch) flour tortillas
* 1 tomato, diced
* 1/4 cup shredded lettuce
* 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
* 1/4 cup salsa


DIRECTIONS

1. Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano. Simmer for an extra 10 minutes.
2. Heat an iron skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan, warm, and turn over to heat the other side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese and salsa.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Yummy Brownies!

I have never made Brownies from scratch before, I'm not sure why because I love to bake but I guess it's because my Mom never did and you know how that goes, for some reason if your Mom didn't do it, you don't either. Well I love brownies so I decided to try a recipe from scratch and they turned out DELICIOUS. They are so rich because they have frosting on them too but I love chocolate so I thought it tasted yummy. You can leave the frosting off if that's too much chocolate for your taste.










BEST BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Frosting
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 21-24 minutes. Do not overcook.
To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar and beat with mixer. (The frosting will be really thick so add a drop of milk to it until it's the consistency that you like). Frost brownies while they are still warm and enjoy!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Whole Wheat Muffins

Okay....I am so sorry I haven't posted a recipe yet! My husband has been working ALOT lately from home & he is on the computer a ton, so I don't get to blog as much...but, hey at least my house is cleaner! Here is a really good recipe for Whole Wheat Muffins, from my mother-in-law, but I like to claim it as my own recipe ;-).....

Whole Wheat Muffins
1/2 butter or margarine
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
2 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c milk
1/2 c chopped nuts, opt.

Cream butter and sugar, add egg. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture alternately with milk and vanilla. Spoon into muffin tins. Bake at 425 for 12 minutes.