Ginger Crinkles

These cookies were my Grandpa Luebke's favorite. He passed away one year ago this coming Sunday. Since I have been thinking about him I thought I would post these.

1/2 C. Canola oil
1 C. sugar
1 egg
3 T. molasses
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 C. granulated sugar for dipping
Mix oil and sugar thoroughly. Add egg and beat well. Stir in molasses. Sift dry ingredients together and then add. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into sugar and form balls coated with sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet 3 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes at 350˚. Makes 5 dozen. Cookies will flatten and crinkle.

Mexican Chicken Lasagne

This recipe is from my sister-in-law Clarissa. She made it for us a few years ago. It is very good! I just came across the recipe she e-mailed to me and thought I had better post it.

2 tbsp. Vegetable oil
1 large Onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cans(10-3/4oz.each) condensed tomato soup
1 can (10oz.) Enchilada sauce
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 pkg. (10oz.) lasagne, cooked and drained
4 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite size pieces
6oz. sliced sharp cheddar cheese
6oz. sliced jack cheese
*Cheese Filling Recipe*
In a bowl, stir together 1 pint (2cups) small curd cottage cheese, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup chopped parsley, and 3 to 4 tbsp. diced canned green chilies.

Heat oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper; cook, stirring, until onion is soft. Stir in soup, enchilada sauce,salt, pepper, chili powder, and cumin. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until thickened (about 10min.); stir often.
Prepare Cheese Filling.
Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and spread with a thin layer of sauce. Arrange half the lasagne noodles in an even layer over sauce. Spread half the cheese filling over noodles and top with half the remaining sauce. Arrange half the chicken pieces over sauce and top with half the sliced cheeses.
Repeat layering ending with cheese slices . (at this point, you may cool, cover, and refrigerate until next day.)
Bake, covered, in a 375* oven for 35min. (50min, if refrigerated) or until bubbly. Let stand, uncovered, for about 5 min before cutting into squares. Makes 10-12 servings.

Refreshing Salad!

I had an idea of what I wanted in this salad but I didn't know what dressing to use. So I found some ideas online.

Fresh from the Garden...
Small tomatoes
Red Onion sliced
zucchini sliced
cucumbers sliced
snowpeas

Combine in bowl and add red wine vinaigrette. Toss salad and chill. I seriously LOVE this salad.

Crispy Cookie Treats

I have seen something like this on Picky-Palate. I made these for our Halloween carnival Cake Walk. I used the devils food cake cookie recipe ( add 1/3 C. oil & 1/2 C. water). I added chocolate chips and baked in mini & regular muffin tins. When they are cooled, just top with rice krispie treat balls (6 C. melted marshmallows w/ 2 Tbs. butter + 5 1/2 C. Rice Krispies). Top with melted chocolate chips (melt & then scoop chocolte into a small ziploc bag, cut the tip of the bag and squeeze chocolate onto treats). These tasted better the next day. YUM!

Monster Mouths!

I made something similar to this last year using marshmallows and almonds. But- I saw the Candy Corn teeth and had to try it! I love candy corn!!!

Quarter and core apples. Slice part out of each quarter. Fill with peanut butter and place candy corn on as the monsters teeth.

these made a great treat for Dallin's class. They loved them!

White Chicken Chili & Corny Cornbread

1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped* (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups chicken broth
2 (15.5 ounce) cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
(you can start with dry beans- just give yourself enough soaking time. I ended up using a pressure cooker to cook the beans through)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup cold water
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken

Directions
Cook chicken in crock pot (on low for 6 hours) with some chicken bouillon. In a large saucepan, cook onion, jalapeno if desired and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in broth, beans, parsley, lime juice and cumin; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shredded chicken. Heat through and serve with cornbread.


Cornbread
½ cups Cornmeal
1-½ cup Flour
⅔ cups Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
⅓ cups Oil
3 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
2 whole Eggs Beaten
1-¼ cup Milk
1 can whole kernel corn (Drained!)

Mix dry ingredients, make a well and add oil, butter, eggs, corn and milk into the center. Stir until just mixed. Bake in an 8″ square pan at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Chicken, black bean & tortilla salad

4 chicken breast- boneless skinless
1/2 C. zesty italian dressing
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot.
Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred with fork. Return meat to crock pot and heat through. Keep warm.

Serve with black beans on tortillas with fried tortilla strips, cheese, olives, lettuce, salsa, tomatoes, avocado, etc. Can serve with mexican rice and pico de gallo.

Home-canned Beans!

Another recipe from Joe's Mom. I love the way these turn out. It is so nice to have beans ready to eat and they taste delicious!

Clean quart jars. Rinse beans (Pinto or Anasazi). Fill jars with 1 1/4 C. beans, 1 tsp. salt & fill with boiling water. Tighten lids and rings onto jars. Read & follow instructions for Pressure Canner. Fill with 2 quarts of water (different size canners will need different amounts of water). Place jars in canner and put lid on. Bring to 15 lbs. pressure and keep at 15 lbs. pressure for 75 minutes. Then turn off heat and let canner sit until pressure is out. Do not speed the cooling process.

Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

This is a recipe from Taste of Home.

2 1/2 C. flour ( I use 1/2 whole wheat)
1/2 C. sugar
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 C. canned pumpkin
1/2 C. buttermilk (add 1 tsp. lemon juice to milk to substitute)
1/4 C. Canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. chopped pecans
1/2 C. mini chocolate chips (not in original recipe)
Crumb Topping:
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
1/3 C. finely chopped pecans
1/4 C. flour
1/4 c. cold butter

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in pecans. Fill six greased jumbo muffin tins 3/4 full. Do not over fill!
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans and flour. Cut butter in until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. This is the best part of the muffins!
Bake at 375˚ for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm. Yield: 6 Jumbo muffins or 12 regular muffins.

Spinach Strawberry Salad

This recipe is from my sister Rebecca. It has become a fast favorite! SO delicious!

1 lb. fresh spinach
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
4 oz toasted sliced almonds (you can use Almond Accent brand honey-roasted)

dressing:
1/2 C. sugar
2 Tbs. sesame seeds
1/4 C. red onion, minced
1/4 tps. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 C. Canola Oil
1/4 C. white vinegar

Combine spinach, strawberries and almonds in a large salad bowl. Combine salad dressing ingredients in a glass jar and shake well. Shake dressing each time before pouring on salad ( it will separate). If you are serving the salad for a dinner, wait until the last minute to add the dressing. It is only good for a few hours and then the spinach begins to wilt.

Sausage and Summer Squash

This recipe is from Better Homes & Gardens. It was a quick & simple dinner.
1/3 to 1/2 cup bottled Italian salad dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. cooked Kielbasa halved lengthwise, sliced diagonally
3 small yellow summer squash and/or zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup coarsely shredded Parmesan Cheese'

Brown Kielbasa in skillet. Drain any grease from pan. Add squash or zucchini and cook until they are crisp-tender. Sprinkle with green onions and parmesan cheese and serve with garlic toast.

Pork Gravy over Mashed Potatoes

1 lb. diced pork
salt & pepper
1/3 C. flour
2 C. milk

Cut any fat off pork. Brown pork in skillet. Sprinkle flour over pork and stir until pork is coated. Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Let simmer until thickened. Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Bread Braid

This recipe was just an experiment. It turned out beautifully!
I used the Never Fail Rolls recipe for this bread.
For the filling I used:
8 0z. softened cream cheese
1/2 C. powdered sugar
chopped pecans
Let dough rise once or twice. Roll dough out into a long rectangle. Use pizza cutter to slice into three strips. Fill each strip with filling and close the dough around it. Pinch edges to seal lengthwise and ends. Lay three filled strips next to each-other and braid them together. Leave straight or bring ends together for a wreath. Bake at 350˚ for approx. 25 minutes or until golden brown. Drizzle with icing (powdered sugar with milk until desired consistency.)

Easy Corn Chowder in Bread Bowl

This is an easy and yummy chowder (*a pampered chef recipe). I never have ham on hand so I either skip it or use slices of ham lunch-meat (browned in skillet) in it's place. It is a good soup to serve in a bread bowl. Bread bowls make any thick soup or stew special. You can find them at local grocery store bakeries if you don't want to make them. Just toast them in the oven before serving.

2 medium potatoes peeled and dicced(if using red, don't peel)
1 C. cubed cooked ham
1/2 C. diced red bell pepper (or any color)
1/2 C. coarsley chopped celery
1 teaspoon butter
2 Tbs. flour
1 can chicken broth (14 oz) ( can substitute water & chicken bullion)
1 can (12oz) evaporate milk
1 can (15oz) creamed corn (can substitute with fresh or frozen corn)
Salt & Pepper to taste
cooked & crumbled bacon (optional)
2 Tbs. chives

Prepare vegetables (dicing). Heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add bell pepper and celery. Cook and stir until vegetables are crisp- tender. Stir in flour and heat until bubbly. Gradually add broth , evaporate milk and corn. Whisk until blended. Add potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook (uncovered ) for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in ham and heat through. Remove from heat; stir chives into soup and season with salt and coarse black pepper. Top with bacon.

Swedish Pancakes

My Mom served a mission for our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) when she was 21. This recipe comes from her friend Monica in Sweden. I grew up loving these pancakes (more like crepes). My Mom made a cookbook for me when I graduated from high school and she included this recipe.

2 eggs
2 1/2 C. milk
2 T. oil
1 1/4 C. flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Whip up the eggs together with milk and oil, adding the flour and salt while mixing.
Cook on skillet that has been sprayed with a little vegetable oil spray or has a little melted butter on it. Pour batter in center of skillet and turn skillet so batter thins into a large circle (my Mom is an expert at this!) Serve with strawberry jam, frozen peaches, whipped cream (optional) and sprinkle with powdered sugar. The trick to this recipe is making them faster than they are eaten. It's almost impossible!

Spaghetti Squash Pasta!

A healthy alternative to pasta....Spaghetti Squash! Dallin thought it was spaghetti until he tasted it. We planted some in our garden this year... can't wait!

1 spaghetti squash
1/2 lb. ground beef (browned)
1 Can Italian Diced Tomatoes ( or spaghetti sauce) warmed in small saucepan

Cut spaghetti sqash in half. Scoop out seeds. Boil for 10-15 minutes. Drain water. Scoop out squash and serve with ground beef and sauce.

German Pancake

This is a fun breakfast for the kids to help with!

6 eggs
1 C. milk
1 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 C. butter
Beat eggs until thick and lemon colored. Add milk, flour and salt.

Heat butter in 9x13 pan. When melted, pour batter in. Bake at 450˚ for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot with maple syrup. Yum!

Fondant!

This fondant recipe is from my friend Lyndsie Field. I thought I'd give it a try for Laurie's birthday cake. It worked really well. The worst part was working in the food coloring (it took a while!). When you roll it out just sprinkle the table with powdered sugar.
There are so many possibilities with fondant!

the easiest & probably best tasting fondant recipe:

1 (2 lb.) bag powdered sugar
1 bag of mini marshmallows
2 Tbsp. water
crisco

*put marshmallows & water in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until the marshmallows are smooth with no lumps. (stir between each microwave session)

*then gradually add powdered sugar. once it is workable (not super sticky, pour it onto the remaining powdered sugar. (you may want to grease your counter top & hands with crisco to prevent sticking.) knead it until it is the consistency you want. you'll end up using most of, but not all of the powdered sugar. :)

This recipe was enough for a lot more than I used for this cake. I could have halved it.

Strawberry Freezer Jam!

This is the new package for Freezer Jam pectin. This is by far the best kind I have ever used. It is SO easy and uses a lot less sugar. I usually chop the strawberries in a hand chopper. I found this at Wal Mart and I usually stock up. You never know when strawberries might be on sale.

Pepper & Penne Pasta

This recipe is one I modified from a fashionably foodie recipe. It was YUMMY! I served it with couscous (seasoned with basil, olive oil & garlic).

8 oz. Penne Pasta (cooked according to directions- don't overcook!)

1/4 C. butter
1 Tbl flour
1 C. milk
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 C. parmesan
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne
Melt butter in saucepan. Mix in flour and heat. Add milk & garlic and barely bring to a boil. Stir in parmesan. Sauce will thicken as it cools. Pour over pasta.

Blackened Chicken (Chicken breasts pressed into mix of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper then cook in skillet) When chicken is cooked through add 1 coarsely chopped red pepper. Cover skillet and let cook until peppers are crisp tender. Serve over Pasta.

Something Quick & Yummy for dinner

1 can black beans
1 avocado diced
3 green onions sliced
2 Roma tomatoes diced
1/2 red bell pepper sliced
1 Tbl. lime juice
Pepper
Combine above ingredients
Serve in fresh cooked tortillas with fresh spinach leaves. Top with cheese (optional)

Easy Peach Blackberry Cobbler

I needed a quick dessert for company...this is what I made. It was super was easy and delicious!

1 yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
6 Cups Peaches (if using canned- partially drain them)
6 oz blackberries

Melt the butter and mix into cake mix until moist. Spray 9x13 pan with nonstick spray. Pour peaches and blackberries into pan. Crumble cake mix topping evenly over peaches. Bake @ 350˚ for 30 minutes. Option: cook in crock pot on low for several hours. Option: add chopped walnuts to cake mix.

Lasagna

This is my Mom's lasagna recipe. She got it from a newspaper. It is a delicious CLASSIC lasagna!

Mix together in saucepan:
1 pound browned ground beef
(brown in 1 tsp. olive oil)
1 clove garlic, minced (or use garlic powder)
1 T. parsley flakes
1 T. basil
2 teaspoons salt
1 No. 2 can Italian Crushed tomatoes (2 1/2 C.)
1 6 oz. can tomato paste

Simmer, uncovered until thick- no more than 1 hour.

Cook 10 oz. lasagna noodles in boiling salted water until tender; drain. Rinse in cold water.
Meanwhile, combine:
3 C. cottage cheese
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 T. parsley flakes
1 pound grated mozzarella cheese
Place half of the noodles in a 13x9 in. pan. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture over and then half of the meat mixture. Cover with half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Bake at 375˚ for 30 min.

CINNAMON ROLLS!!!

This recipe comes from my mother-in-law. Her cinnamon rolls are famous- no kidding! But- I have learned that just because I follow the same recipe doesn't mean they turn out quite as incredible as hers. Last night I decided to make a batch and they turned out really good.... almost as good as Merlene's! Here is MY version of her cinnamon rolls.

Start by making this dough:
Never Fail Rolls
2 Tbl. Yeast
1 tsp. sugar
Dissolve in 1 Cup lukewarm water
6 Cups flour
1/2 C. Sugar
1/3 C. Canola Oil
1 Tbl. salt
3 Tbl. Powdered milk

Mix together, add yeast mixture after it has raised a few minutes. Add 1 1/2 Cups lukewarm water. Add flour until you can knead it. Knead 5 minutes, raise once or twice depending on time.

1 1/2 C. sugar

1/2 Cup cinnamon

1 C. butter

Mix sugar, and cinnamon together, and melt butter on stovetop. Roll dough into 18” x 27” rectangle. Spread dough with melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Start rolling from the short end, and roll into a log. Cut cinnamon rolls with serrated knife about 1 ½” thick, put in pan that has been coated with butter.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Frosting:

4 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

1/4 c. butter

Kielbasa Pepper Pasta...YUM!

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. It was delicious! I really couldn't get enough of it!

1 16oz pkg. Penne or Linguini noodles
1 lb. fully cooked Kielbasa (or Polish sausage), cut into 1/4" slices
1 medium green pepper, julienned
1 medium red pepper, julienned
1 medium onion, halved & sliced
1 Tbs. Olive oil
1 15oz. can Italian Diced Tomatoes (with Basil, Garlic & Oregano)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the sausage, peppers and onion in olive oil until vegetables are crisp-tender. Drain pasta.
Serve pasta topped with tomatoes & sausage mixture.

Pepper Avacado Quesadillas

I made these quesadillas with what I had in the refrigerator. They were delicious! I don't have exact measurements...sorry.

Chicken (cooked & diced)
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
green onions chopped finely
1 avocado diced (slice both ways while still in peel. Use a spoon to scoop out the avocado)
Cilantro (about 1/4 C. chopped)
Salt & Pepper
Tortillas
Cheese

Warm skillet on stove; spray skillet with olive oil spray. Brown tortilla on one side. Flip over and sprinkle cheese, chicken and pepper mixture. Top with more cheese another tortilla. Let cook for 2-3 min. on medium heat. Flip entire Quesadilla and cook until the cheese is melted. Repeat for remaining tortillas.

Ham & Cheese Roll Ups

This is a new recipe that was quick and easy. Serve with a green salad!

• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
• 4 flour tortillas (10 inches)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced provolone or swiss cheese
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced hard salami or pepperoni
  
• 1/2 cup julienned roasted sweet red peppers
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Marinara sauce!! (1 can Italian diced tomatoes with 1 tsp. garlic salt and 1/2 tsp italian seasoning- heated in saucepan)
  

Brush 1 tablespoon oil on one side of tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Layer tortillas with ham, provolone cheese, salami, red peppers and mozzarella cheese. Fold in sides of tortillas; roll up. Secure with toothpick.
Place seam side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with remaining oil; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425° for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

Irish Pasties

An Irish meal, pronounced "PASS-tees." I found this recipe when I needed a dinner with ground beef. It's a keeper!

1 onion, diced
butter
1 Lb. ground beef (you can use shredded crock pot roast instead)
3-4 potatoes, thinly sliced (you can also use bagged frozen, cubed hash browns)
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
black pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. parsley flakes
Double Pie Crust recipe
brown gravy, prepared (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Saute onion in a little bit of the butter. When onions are clear, add ground beef. When beef is browned, stir in potatoes. Add garlic salt, garlic powder, pepper, and parsley. Cook until potatoes are a little soft (skip this part if using the frozen hash browns), but still have a TINY crunch.Divide dough in two and roll into circles; put a good amount of the filling on half of the crust. Fold the crust over the filling, seal, and place on a greased cookie sheet (so it looks like a big calzone). Make a couple small slits in the top of each crust. Place in pre-heated oven for 14-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven, spread a little butter over the top, cut in half, and serve (each pie crust will make 2 pasties, so 4 total..). Serve with gravy or ketchup.

Tin Foil Dinner

A traditional Tin Foil dinner...only in the oven instead of a campfire!

Lay tin foil in bottom of baking dish. Layer whole cabbage leaves, sliced potatoes, sliced carrots & onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Crumble ground beef over top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with another layer of cabbage leaves. Cover with tin foil and seal edges. Bake @ 375˚ for 50 minutes to an hour. Check to see if potatoes and hamburger are cooked- cook longer if needed.

Apple Peanut Butter Cookies

This is a recipe that my sister Jessica found and modified. They sound different but were really yummy!

1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
3/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup diced apples, about 1/4 inch

1/2 Cup sugar to roll cookies in

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until light mixed well. Beat in peanut butter until combined then add the egg and vanilla until well combined.

2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, granola, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix into the wet ingredients following the apples until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough, roll into sugar then place onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. With tines of a fork, press down slightly making an X on top of each cookie. Bake for 8-9 minutes, cookies should look somewhat soft inside when you take them out. Let cool/finish baking out of oven for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops w/ Parmesan Potatoes

This recipe is one I found at Picky-Palate. It looked too good not to try. It was easy and really yummy!

6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
10 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup

4 lbs peeled, cubed potatoes
5 Tablespoons real butter
1 Cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
6 cloves roasted garlic
1- 1 1/2 Cups warm milk
Sea Salt & Coarse ground black pepper to taste

1. Place pork chops, Ranch seasoning and soup into a medium sized crock pot over high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.

2. Place potatoes into a large pot of cold water. Place onto stovetop over high heat and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and transfer to the work bowl of a stand or electric mixer. Mix on low until potatoes are mashed then add butter, parmesan, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Season to taste if needed. For thinner mashed potatoes add more milk, slowly until your desired consitency.

3. Scoop mashed potatoes onto serving plates and top with pork chops and soup gravy from crock pot. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip OREO Cookies

This is yet another recipe that I saw on Picky-Palate
I was looking for something to make with oreos and remembered seeing this recipe a while back. They were really good....especially with a glass of milk. And no- I didn't eat the whole plate of cookies....at once :) Just the right treat for our weekend at Stake Conference.

1 stick softened butter
6 Tablespoons sugar
6 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ Cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 broken pieces Oreo Cookies
1 Cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients then stir in oreos and chocolate chips until just combined.

3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until cooked, but still soft.

Asian Noodle Salad

This recipe is adapted from a Pioneer Woman's recipe. I tried it even though I didn't have bell peppers or cilantro. I served grilled chicken breasts on the side and we ended up breaking that up to eat with the salad. It is delicious- and I'm sure even better with cilantro! It would look much prettier with the added color- check out the Pioneer Woman's site for step by step instructions....and much better pictures!

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

6 oz. packages linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

1/2 head sliced Napa cabbage
1/2 head sliced purple cabbage ( I didn't use any in this photo)
1/2 to 1 bag baby spinach
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
3 green onions sliced (including green)
1 peeled, sliced cucumber
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
1/2 C. Cashews & 1 Tbs. Sesame seeds lightly toasted in skillet

DRESSING:

Juice of 1 lime
4 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. sesame oil
3 Tbs. soy sauce
3 Tbs. brown sugar
2 Tbs. fresh ginger, chopped
1 clove chopped garlic
1 jalapenos, (seeded & chopped)
More chopped cilantro

Mix together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on platter.
Enjoy!

Snickers Bar Cookies

I needed to make cookies for a Young Women's activity. Since we had some Almond Snickers bars- I came up with these. They turned out yummy!

1 C. sugar
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. butter
1 C. peanut butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
3 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
Snickers Brand candy bars

Cream together sugar, brown sugar, butter and peanut butter. Add vanilla and eggs; mix. Add dry ingredients. Cut regular size snickers into twelfths. Roll dough into 1" balls, then roll in sugar. Place balls in mini muffin tin. Bake @375˚ for 6 minutes. Press one piece of snickers into each cookie and bake for 2 min. more. Enjoy! These go fast!

Variation: Use Reese's Peanut Butter Cups instead of Snickers.
Variation: Bake on cookie sheet and press one Hershey's kiss into each cookie

Biscuits & Gravy

Biscuits and Gravy is one of Joe's favorite breakfasts. I don't make it often, to say the least. But it is delicious! Homemade biscuits are the best. In this photo I used Krusteaz mix for convenience. It took a long time before I was confident enough to make the gravy. Once I thought I would add some flavor since the sausage we had didn't have much flavor. So I added chicken bouillion. That wasn't a big hit. In fact- it was horrible. Using a good flavored sausage is worth it.

Gravy
1lb Pork Sausage
1/4 C Flour
about 2 C. Milk
Salt and Pepper

Brown sausage in large skillet. Drain grease into bowl. Return sausage to skillet and up to 2 tsp. drained drippings. Sprinkle flour over sausage and mix around until sausage appears coated. Add milk. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. The gravy will thicken. Once gravy reaches desired thickness, shut off heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Buttermilk Biscuits

1 C. all-purpose fluor
1 C. whole wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbs. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 C. butter softened
1 C. milk

In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt; mix well. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk just until moistened. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 8 to 10 times. Roll to 3/4-in. thickness; cut with a cup or mason jar and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 9-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.
Tip: If you don't have a rolling pin handy- you can use a pint size jar to roll the dough and the use it to cut out the biscuits. When it's time for clean up you can us the open end of the jar to scrape the counter clean.

Sugar Cookie Cut Outs

1 1/2 C. butter, softened
2 C. White Sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
5 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Directions:

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on powdered sugared surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on un-greased cookie sheets. **
  
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

** TRY THIS: Place parchment paper on cookie sheet. ROLL THE DOUGH OUT DIRECTLY ON THE PARCHMENT-LINED COOKIE SHEET. Make sure the dough is still chilled. After making the 'cut-outs', appropriately spaced on the dough, PEEL AWAY THE EXCESS DOUGH from around and between the 'cookies' and bake as directed. The parchment helps keep the bottoms of the cookies from getting too dark, eliminates any need for greasing the pan, allows you to remove the cookies from the sheet by simply sliding the parchment carefully off the side (which is especially helpful with extra large or delicate cookies), and CAN USUALLY BE REUSED IN BAKING THE REST OF THE COOKIES. You can also roll dough out on the parchment without having it on the cookie sheet, do the cutting and trimming, and then slide the parchment onto the sheet for baking, which helps when you're short of cookie sheets -- the next batch is ready to pop into the oven as soon as the first comes out.

Maple Apple Pork Chops

I got this recipe from Joe's Mom. She uses pork tenderloin. I remembered the recipe, but had pork chops out for that night. So I modified it a little and it turned out delicious! Really, really yummy!

1 1/2 lb Pork Chops with or without bones
1/3 C. McCormick's French Onion, Pepper & Herb Crusting Blend (can use seasoned bread crumbs)
2 Tbl. Olive Oil
2-3 medium tart apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 C. apple Jelly (can substitute with 2 C. apple juice- then omit the water)
3/4 C. water
1/4 tsp. maple flavoring + 1/4 C. water (original recipe calls for 1/4 C. pure maple syrup- use whichever you have)
1 Tbl. prepared mustard

Coat pork chips with Crusting Blend. In a large skillet, cook pork in oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes on each side. Add the apples, jelly and water; cover and cook for 10 minutes or until apples are tender. Combine the maple flavor, mustard, salt and pepper; pour over pork mixture. Cook, uncovered, for 2 minutes or until heated through.

Serve with salad or over rice.