Broccoli Beef

Recipe is HERE

Will gave this 4 stars, and thought it could've marinaded longer than the said 15 minutes. Maybe overnight even. I didn't have Linguine noodles on hand so I used spaghetti and it worked fine. Kids seem to like ok (The older ones) the younger had a burrito with me :P

Sweet n Sour Chicken

Recipe can be found HERE

Ok, this one got RAVE reviews from my Hubby & kiddos :) William & Joseph requested it for their B-day dinners also :)

I used Chicken tenders instead of breasts, and I didn't cut them up because.....well I'm a vegetarian and cutting raw meat AINT MY THANG ;) this batter was wonderful and worked well on my tofu as well...
Enjoy!

Indian Fry bread tacos

Recipe can be found HERE

YUMMY!!!! These are more like Indian fry bread tostada's but who cares, they were super yummy!!!

I made the fry bread with 2C self rising flour, and 1C buttermilk, and they turned out perfect.

*make sure if you use buttermilk that you do NOT add the salt it calls for, that would be NASTY as the buttermilk already has enough salt.

Everyone loved these! Enjoy

Sloppy Joes

Recipe can be found HERE
William gave this recipe "as is" 3 stars... he seems to think the ketchup kindof ruined it. He thought Heinz 57 sauce in lieu of most of the ketchup would be much better... Kids all ate it fine though :)

Super tasty mini yellow cupcakes with sticky chocolate frosting

Recipe is HERE

Have I ever mentioned how much I HEART the Pioneer woman?!?!?!?!! I have yet to get a "bum"recipe off her blog. :D

Ocean wanted to make some cupcakes with mommy so we picked these and got a crackin. We followed the recipe to a "T" minus the foil wrappers... I just didn't have any mini ones. :(

These have an incredible shortbread flavor, and the frosting is delicious and sets up perfect :) Hope you enjoy!!

CORNBREAD, (southern style)

Recipe is HERE
We have our "own" recipe that we usually use, but PW adds buttermilk, and well, buttermilk just makes everything taste better Right??!?!?! ;) So her recipe is VERY similar to the one we'd normally make anyway, the only difference really is the buttermilk in lieu of plain ole milk. and we DON'T DO SWEET CORNBREAD HERE EITHER....BLECH!!! (another southern quirk, I actually don't mind the sweet...but alas my hubby thinks sweet cornbread is well.... Nasty ;P )
*Also the cast iron skillet is VERY important here... I don't know why, but being that I'm married to a born and raised southern boy-THERE IS NO OTHER WAY :)

Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast

You can find the recipe HERE
This is a good standby, never fail recipe... always gets rave reviews, and I don't think it could be easier...
I usually DON'T add the water because I use a frozen Pot Roast 98% of the time :)
Leftovers are great for sandwiches as well... Enjoy!!

Oh so delicious Nanaimo Bars

Recipe is HERE
If you've never experienced a nanaimo bar before you ABSOLUTELY MUST! Well of course only if you love chocolate and all things decadent :) My beloved Aunt Elaine (a native Canadian) made these while I was growing up, and I just LOVE them... I tend to only make these once or twice a year due to their supreme deliciousness, and my lack of self control with these babies... ;) The only variation in this recipe is I did NOT add the almonds, I just don't like them in these, and instead of butter to melt the chocolate with, I used heavy cream instead as to make a ganache type topping instead of a rock hard chocolate... It still had a shell but it is soft.... I apologize for the sloppy pic as well, these were put into a ziplock bag by my hubby before I could get a pic, soooo... they aren't as beautiful as I like but they were....D I V I N E!

The Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's true these are the BEST Chocolate chip cookies EVER! (IMO) :) But if you don't believe me, try it, and let me know what you think! The recipe was on ALLRECIPES.COM The only change I made was that I chilled the dough prior to baking, as suggested by multiple reviewers, oh and I added 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar... I really don't know why but I did, and these are perfect yumminess tasting like they came from a bakery.

Chickpea Curry, Saffron rice, & Homemade Naan bread

Well this was my first attempt at actually making Indian food :{ I usually just go to the restraunt with my mom and sis, since we're the only people we know that enjoy it. Well darn this pregnancy but I HAD to have Indian food... curry namely so I decided to give it a whirl... I found the CHICKPEA CURRY recipe at ALLRECIPES.COM the recipe *as is* is not very good, but I added a few alterations that made it good. I added 1 tsp. of curry only a sprinke of cayenne (as I wanted my children to eat it) I added one small potato, and half a sweet potato for variety. After it was done though I was wishing I added a cauliflower... Next time. I did add some salt but I think that veggie broth would've added the flavour I was looking for.

The INDIAN SAFFRON RICE recipe is HERE

I followed suggestions and used veggie broth (you could use chicken) in lieu of water, and added my saffron that I ground with my beloved Mortar and pestle. (Saffron threads are very delicate, you don't need a M&P to grind.... I just love any excuse to use mine..lol...) This rice is so tasty, and complimented the curry nicely. I reccomend it highly. I buy my Saffron at "mediteranian specialties deli & resturant" in fairhaven... (they have lots of great things for a great prices.)

NAAN BREAD recipe is HERE

This recipe is fabulous, and was easy to make authentic Naan. I didn't use my grill due to the torrential downpour that was/is occuring outside. But I used our ever trusty cast iron skillet. and it turned out perfectly. As previous peeps had suggested I used a lid to cover the naan as I cooked the first side, in order to get those lovely bubbles. I found that keeping the cast iron on a med-low temp kept my naan from scorching... my naan making skills improved greatly with each one...but they all tasted great & authentic. The pic unfortunatly is of my first one... The others were just golden brown and beautiful :)

and the verdict with the kiddos you wonder??? Well my 2 year old couldn't get enough... My 3 year old thought it was nasty (before she tasted it) My 8 year old said "Oh yummy mommy" and then took 40 minutes to eat it, so I'm not sure with her. My 15 year old wouldn't touch it...lol.. and Hubby couldn't get enough as well. So all in all it was a success, but until my kiddos are older I'll save my Indian cravings for the resturant.

Buttered Beef

Recipe can be found at Allrecipes.com

Family LOVED again... I really love allrecipes, because everything is rated pretty fairly. If something has 4 or 5 stars you can pretty much guarantee that you'll have a hit. At least with my experience.

Will gave this 4.5 stars and kept saying how wonderful it was. I served it with salad and homemade French Bread recipe HERE I ALWAYS cook my french bread a special way to get a crusty crust and soft inside... (Ice cubes) put a few handfulls into the bottom of your oven when you put the bread in, and the steam makes it super crusty yummy on the outside...

Pioneer Womans Penne Pasta, Breadsticks, and of course a salad :D

This Penne recipe can be found on the Pioneer Woman's website HERE
It is super scrumptious, and the whole family enjoyed, Liam pigged out, and everyone ate the onions...YUMMERS! The Breadstick recipe can be found HERE with the Garlic Butter recipe HERE
ENJOY!

EASY & DELICIOUS PORK CHOPS

The recipe is found HERE

Ok, so I know this recipe calls for beer, but we don't drink beer and I really didn't feel like getting it for this recipe.... It's not like wine in a recipe right?

Well I put 6 or 7 FROZEN pork chops into my slow cooker. Dumped a can of Cherry coke in all over them followed by 1 1/2 bottles of good ole Kraft Hickory BBQ sauce (our fav) I left out the steak seasoning, due to the amount of people who reviewed the recipe and liked it better without. I also forgot the onion... (I forgot a lot on this recipe...lol) I added a capful of smoke flavouring and cooked on high for 6 hrs.
Got rave reviews from the family. I don't eat that mess so I can't tell you how great it was, but even my babes ate it! WILLINGLY! that says a lot right there...lol...
Meat is VERY tender, and came right off the bone...no problem. Served with salad, and some homemade wheat rolls.

Coconut Poke Cake

Recipe is found on ALLRECIPES.COM

I made my White cake from scratch with the recipe found HERE
I followed the suggestions in the review from April 5, 2008 (very important)

I would've used coconut milk in my cake in lieu of regular milk to give it more coconutty flavour. Also in the Cream of Coconut/sweetened Condensed milk mixture I would've thinned it a bit with coconut milk to have it more easily soak into the cake.
(I also used a whole can of "cream of coconut" but only about an 8th of a can of the sweetened condensed milk, as I would've found it too sweet to add the whole can....)

(I easily found "cream of coconut" in the mixed drink section of Walmart) coconut milk though is found in the asian foods section of grocery stores.

Hamburger Soup

Recipe can be found on ALLRECIPES.COM
Will gave this 4 out of 5 stars... I don't eat meat, so I cannot judge, but the family ate it up.

Yummy Butternut Squash Soup

Recipe can be found ALLRECIPES.COM
I chose to make without the cream cheese, though I'm sure that it would make it even that much more delicious.

Rich and Creamy tomato basil soup

Recipe at Allrecipes.com So super yummy Ok, what I do to make this soup is take a #10 can size of crushed tomatoes from Costco, and put LOTS and lots of basil leaves in it along with the other spices... I adjust to taste, the recipe as is, is a little too bland for me, so I just add...well, more basil mainly : ) I also add some sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, maybe 2 Tbsp. or to taste. I also add oregano, garlic and onions : ) I simmer for 30 minutes, and then take my hand blender to the pan, and puree it, (Hubby doesn't like chunks) Garnish with a drizzle of cream and more yummy basil leaves... Enjoy!

1 Serving = 13 Points! YIKES!!!

Shepherds Pie

Recipe at Allrecipes.com It made more like 8 generous servings for us. Instead of beef broth I used 1 cup of the potato water, and some "beef base" Turned out great EVEN with the layer of mashed carrots... (I didn't think my family would like that, but they did :) Hubby said, I can make this anytime, so that is a good review... I gave this 5 stars, due to my families reaction. I don't eat meat, so I really can't tell you how yummy this was lol... : )

1 Serving = 10 Points

Cool Whip cookies

Ok, These have got to be one of the easiest cookies out there!

*Take 1 normal size tub of *Cool Whip (WILL NOT work with lite or reduced)
*1 Box of Chocolate cake mix.... Or whatever you like, but these are chocolate, and they are yummy ; )

*Mix until you reach a "Taffy consistensy" may need to add a tsp or 2 of water

Roll into balls and place on nonstick sprayed pan.

Bake in oven @350 degrees for 8-10 min ( I did 10 on the nose... cooled for 5 on pan, and then moved to cooling rack... Hubby loved these...

1 Cookie = 1 Weight Watchers point

Soft Ginger cookies, with Orange glaze

Recipe is HERE I made these on my trusty airbake pans... (I love those things) and the recipe for the glaze is HERE (I added orange extract... about a capful)

I ended up doubling both recipes and got about 50+ cookies

1 Cookie= 3 points.... without the glaze probably 3.5 with

Whipped DK Chocolate Ganache to make Mousse filling

Recipe is HERE
I made it with Hershey Dk. chocolate chips (most of a 12oz. bag)
I ommitted the rum
I whipped the Ganache for over 10min in kitchenaid to get the MOST PERFECT mousse....
For regular ganache make as directed. : ) ENJOY

Easter story cookie

Easter Cookie Story
Serves: 4
To be made the evening before Easter.
You will need:1c. whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
a pinch salt
1c. sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
Bible
1. Preheat oven to 300.

2.Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

3.Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

4. Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

5. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

6. So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1c. sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

7. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

8. Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.

9. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt.27:65-66.

10. GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.11. On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Blarney Stones (An Irish Tradition)

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

FROSTING:
2 pounds confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 cups finely chopped peanuts

DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick and lemon-colored, about 4 minutes. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to egg mixture. Beat on low speed just until combined.
Add the milk and butter; mix well. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Cover and freeze overnight.
For frosting, in a mixing bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, milk, vanilla and salt; beat until smooth. frosting the top and sides of frozen cake squares; roll in peanuts. Place on wire racks to dry

Yummy Honey Butter

1/2 C. softened Real butter (right out of the fridge, I'll microwave for 12 seconds)
1/3 C. Honey

*Mix with electric mixer for 2+ minutes, making sure there are no lumps

Enjoy!!! YUMMY

Canned Apple Pie Filling

INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
10 cups water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 drops yellow food coloring
6 pounds apples

DIRECTIONS
in a large pan, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add salt and water and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and food coloring.
Sterilize canning jars, lids and rings by boiling them in a large pot of water.
Peel, core, and slice apples. Pack the sliced apples into hot canning jars, leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.
Fill jars with hot syrup, and gently remove air bubbles with a knife.
Put lids on and process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.

Original recipe yield:7 quarts

* I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm going to, and it had good reviews so I thought I'd share

EASIEST BISCUTS IN THE WORLD!!!!

2 Cups Self Rising flour
1 Cup milk
1/4 Cup Mayo

Mix all together, drop onto baking sheet

Bake @ 400 for 12 min.

Soooo good quick easy, and works great for dumplings too!

Spencer W. Kimball casserole ; )

I came across this recipe from my lds families msg. board... Kinda cool ( Try it out, and post your comments below.)

March 1, 1979
Dear Bishop Bennett,
I should tell you first of all, that to select a favorite recipe for Pres. Kimball is a difficult task. He is so easy to please and enjoys most any well cooked food that anything you select would please him.
I have selected this enclosed simple Chicken Casserole hoping it may offer a suggestion for your celebration of the President's birthday. I'm sure he will appreciate your novel idea for increasing activity.
Sincerely,Camille E. Kimball
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is the recipe that followed:

Chicken Casserole
2C cooked rice
2C diced chicken
1C finely chopped celery
1can Cream of mushroom soup
2 hard boiled eggs diced1
/2 finely chopped onion sauteed in butter with the celery (do not brown)Combine all (except rice) with 1 TBSP soy sauce
Alternate layers of mixture and rice in baking dishBake at 350 for 30 minutes