Meatball Subs

Robert used to think I was really wierd for getting a meatball sub when we'd go to Subway. Then he tried one and now he understands they are really quite good! We have them every now and then at home.

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
dash of salt
1 egg
1/4 cup shredded cheese

1 can spaghetti sauce

Mix in a bowl until blended. Shape into medium sized meatballs and cook in a greased 9 x 13 dish. Cover with spaghetti sauce (use as much or as little as you like). Bake at 400 degrees for 45 min.

Serve on hoagie rolls (I usually get mine off the day old rack - they are much cheaper that way!). The meatballs are usually too big, so we cut them in half - 2 meatballs are enough for a sub.

The kids prefer theirs just plain - not on a hoagie.

Mom's Creamy Fudge ( 5 STARS)

Heat over medium heat:
4 1/2 c. sugar
1 can evaporated milk
2 cubes butter
Bring to a boil, cook for 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Meanwhile in a Large bowl empty:
18 ozs. semi-sweet chocolate chips ( I use one pkg. semi-sweet and 1/2 pkg. milk chocolate) and one 13 oz. jar marshmellow creme.
Pour the milk mixture over the chocolate chips and marshmellow creme, add 2 teaspoons Vanilla. Mix by hand until well blended. Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts if desired. Pour into a 9X13 pan and let cool. Then enjoy !!! (I pour out 1/2 without nuts and then add the nuts and pour it out in the other half of the pan.)

Hot Fudge Sauce (5 STARS)

1 6 oz. pkg. milk chocolate chips
1 stick (1/2) margarine or butter
1 1/3 cups evaporated milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat in a medium sauce pan. Add milk and sugar; bring to a boil. Cook about eight minutes, stirring constantly. Add vanilla, stir and serve warm. Keeps well in the fridge. Just reheat in microwave, but watch so it doesn't burn.
I got this from Annalee Church. She doubles the recipe and uses one pkg. milk chocolate chips and one pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Chicken (Turkey) Soup

A friend of ours passed this recipe along. We made it last night with our left-over turkey and it was really good. Hope you like it.

Chicken Soup

1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs Butter
4-5 Red Potatoes, cubed with skin on
1 Onion, diced
2 Ribs of Celery, finely chopped
2 Carrots, cut into small pieces (I just used half a bag of baby carrots cut in half)
2 Bay Leaves
1 tsp Chicken Bouillon (I only had chicken base, it worked fine)
1 Tbs Flour
1 49.5 oz can Chicken Broth (Swanson is best)
4 Chicken Breasts, shredded (Cook chicken in half of the chicken broth and save for your soup)
1 5 oz can Evaporated Milk

1. Heat Large Soup pot over medium heat. Add Olive Oil and Butter. Let the butter melt into oil.

2. Add onions, potatoes, celery, and carrots as you chop them up.

3. Add Bay Leaves and chicken bouillon and cook for about 5 minutes until veggies are softened up.

4. Add flour and cook for another minute.

5. Add chicken broth, including broth used to cook chicken. Put lid on pot and raise heat to bring to a boil.

6. Add chicken and let cook for 15-20 minutes.

7. Once the veggies are soft enough add evaporated milk. Let simmer for 3-5 minutes.

I am actually posting something. As you all know Clark and I LOVE Martha Stewart recipes (not that she comes up with them or anything). We have a subscription to Everyday Foods and we own one of her cookbooks and we really enjoy the outcome of most of those recipes. Anyway, this is one that we have made a tradition, it's rich and delicious, one slice goes a VERY long way. AND it's pretty darn easy.

Prep: 30 minutes
Total: 2 hours 30 minutes, plus chilling
Ingredients

* 1 package (9 ounces) chocolate wafer cookies
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
* 4 bars (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 4 large eggs
* 1 cup sour cream
* 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
* Chocolate Ganache, for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Assemble a 9-inch springform pan with the raised side of the bottom facing down.

2. In a food processor, pulse cookies until finely ground. Add butter, and pulse to moisten. Transfer to prepared pan, and press crumbs firmly and evenly into the bottom. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet; bake 10 minutes, and set aside.

3. Wipe out bowl and blade of food processor. Add cream cheese, sugar, and salt; blend until smooth. With motor running, add eggs, then sour cream, and finally chocolate; blend filling until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

4. Pour filling onto crust, and bake just until set, 1 hour. Turn oven off, and let cheesecake sit 1 hour in oven, without opening (this helps prevent cracking).

5. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan (this helps prevent cracking, too); leave in pan, and cool completely on wire rack. Cover loosely and refrigerate, at least 6 hours or up to overnight.

6. Prepare Chocolate Ganache. Unmold cheesecake. Spread ganache in center of cheesecake; let set before serving.

This is another we really like. It's more for the springtime though.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
• 1 pound sugar snap peas, strings removed
• 1 pound bow-tie pasta (farfalle)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint, parsley, or basil
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan or pecorino cheese, plus more for serving, if desired

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook asparagus until bright green, about 2 minutes. Add snap peas; cook 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon or a small sieve, scoop out vegetables; transfer to a bowl.
2. Return water to a boil; add pasta and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water; set pasta aside in colander.
3. In pasta pot, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add asparagus, snap peas, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, cooked pasta, avocado, herbs, cheese, and reserved pasta water. Toss to combine; season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with additional cheese, if desired.

Chicken Stroganoff

This is really yummy! I guess if you're not a mushroom fan you could just leave those out, but it won't be as good!

4 bacon strips

1 lb. chicken, cut up

1 med. onion

2 cloves garlic

1 pkg fresh mushrooms (the original recipe calls for 2 cans of mushrooms drained, but I detest canned mushrooms.)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp paprika

pepper to taste

1 cup sour cream (don't worry Darwin, you can't even tell it's in there - it just gives it a little zing)

2 T flour

In a skillet cook bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels and drain some of the drippings, reserving 2 T, set bacon aside. When cool enough to touch, break up into small pieces. Cook the chicken, onion, garlic, and mushrooms until chicken is no longer pink. Add the broth, salt paprika, pepper and bacon back in. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Combine flour and sour cream until smooth; add to the skillet. Bring to boil, cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Serve over egg noodles or rice, whichever is your family's preference.

Does anyone have a recipe for Pumpkin Bread???

My Sun-dried Tomato Chicken

2-3 Chicken breasts cooked and cut into small cubes
1 Can petite diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
1/3 Cup julienne carrots
2 to 3 Tbs. Sun-Dried tomato pesto
1/2 package Penni pasta cooked. (Or enough for your family)

Boil pasta, drain and set aside. (I keep mine in warm water) Cook the chicken in large frying pan, when cooked transfer to plate to cool then cut up. Empty can of tomatoes into pan, add pesto and mix. You can add more pesto to your taste. Add carrots and cook til carrots are tender. Add cut up chicken and mix in. Serve over the penni noodles and top with grated parmesan cheese.

I made this up one night, I didn't have Italian tomatoes. I did have the herbs but I had bought this pesto stuff and decided to give it a try. Darwin loved it so it's a keeper.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

How do you feel about Sweet and Sour Chicken? This is a good recipe, and really pretty easy... you just have to plan enough time to let it cook for an hour before you want to eat.

SAUCE:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (or regular vinegar)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 Tbls. ketchup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp accent (I leave this out if I don't have it)

Stir ingredients together and set aside.

CHICKEN:
3 chicken breasts
1 cup cornstarch or flour
1 tsp. garlic salt
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir sauce ingredients together and set aside. Combine cornstarch or flour and garlic salt. Dip chicken into cornstarch mixture then into egg, and back into cornstarch. Brown in hot frying pan, in a small amount of oil.

Place chicken in a dish, pour the sauce over it, and cover and bake for 1 hour. Serve with rice and veggies.

The Best Sweet Potatoes Ever

Here you go Mom...

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups cooked sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup melted butter

Mash the sweet potatoes. Add sugar, eggs, butter, salt, milk, and vanilla. Mix and spoon into a shallow 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Prepare topping and sprinkle over the potatoes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (a little longer if there is a turkey in the oven)

I usually make this and put it in a 9x13 dish. If you choose to go this route you may want to double your topping just to make sure it all gets covered.

Chicken Taco Salad

This one is A LOT easier and probably much more healthy...

2-4 chicken breasts
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 cup water or chicken broth
Toss all in a crockpot for 3-4 hours. Shred chicken with a fork. We like to put this on tortilla chips with cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, olives...(whatever mexi-type stuff you like).

You could also use this for chicken enchiladas, which are super good, but a bit more work...

Chicken Chardon

I don't know how healthy or easy this is but I really like it!

2-4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (i use the green bottle of lemon juice)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley (i've used dried and it's fine)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a shallow bowl, beat the egg with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. In a separate dish, mix bread crumbs with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
Mix together the melted butter and lemon juice. Pour about 2/3 of the butter mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Tilt pan to coat the bottom. Spread mushrooms in an even layer in the bottom of the dish. Dip each chicken breast into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. Place on top of the mushrooms. Drizzle remaining butter over the chicken, and sprinkle with parsley.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear.

Request

Hey, does anyone have some good EASY and relatively healthy chicken recipes? If so, please share!!!

Lion House Pumpkin Bread

I am on a quest to find the perfect pumpkin bread recipe. I liked the one I posted a week or so ago, but then I found this one. I'm not sure which one I like better.

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil or applesauce
5 eggs
1 16-oz can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
2 3 oz. pkg vanilla pudding
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 large 8x4 in loaf pans. Set aside. Mix oil, eggs and pumpkin in a mixing bowl and beat well. In another bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda. Add in to pumpkin mixture and blend well. Add in pudding and nuts and chocolate chips. Bake for 1 hour. Makes 2 loaves.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

3 cups white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce for less fat)
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 1 pound size coffee cans, or three 9x5 inch loaf pans.

-In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Fill cans 1/2 to 3/4 full.

-Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from cans or pans.

I'm not really sure what this would be like to bake in coffee cans. I wonder if you can use food storage cans? :) I read that you can also substitute a grated zucchini for one of the eggs. Who would have thought!

This is not a recipe...do not try to eat...

Hey family... I thought I'd show you what I've been up to this month. I didn't want to put it on my blog though since they will be gifts for women in our ward who read our blog sometimes... Our Relief Society Presidency is making Bitty Booties for all the ladies having babies. Here are the two pair that I made:



These were kind of fun to make. They're made out of felt. If you want to give them a try you can find the pattern here, http://www.heatherbaileydesign.com/Booties.html.

...And since there are all these ladies having babies there has been an abundance of baby showers. So I decided to try to make some flannel blankets. I think they turned out ok. I am sewingly challenge so this was a big feat for me. Is that how you spell feat? or is it fete? no, I'm pretty sure it's feat. I think fete is a party and feet are things you walk on. Anyway, they were all fun to make even though it took me a while. i just got some more ribbon from Laura today so back to making bows!

We Love Tamale Pie!

Lincoln gave this an "A". So, I thought I'd share. You have to sing the title to the tune of "I love rock and roll". It makes it more fun that way.

Tamale Pie - Crock Pot

1 lb. ground beef
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (28 oz.) can enchilada sauce
1(6.5 oz.) pouch of golden corn muffin and bread mix
1/3 c. milk
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
sour cream (optional)

-In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, season with salt and pepper. Put the browned, ground beef in a crock pot along with the kidney beans and enchilada sauce, stir together.
-In a small bowl combine the muffin mix, milk, butter, egg & cheese. Stir until moistened. Spoon over the beef mixture in the crock pot.
-Cover and cook on low setting for 5 to 6 hours or until toothpick inserted in center of corn bread comes out clean. Top individual serving with sour cream.

Oatmeal Cookie Granola

I recently got this recipe and I really like it. I thought I'd share:

Oatmeal Cookie Granola

8 cups oats
1/2 cup ground golden flax seed
1 cup sugar (or sucanut if you want it really healthy)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
8 TBS butter (or coconut oil if you want healthier stuff)
2/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp butter flavor (if you use coconut oil rather than butter)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine oats, flax, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Melt butter, honey and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix well once all is melted and pour over the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly and coat well. Place on two large, greased cookie sheets and bake for 20 min or so, stirring once. When finished, let it cool and then add rasins or other dry fruit if you'd like. Place into an airtight container.

Can be used as cereal, trail mix, topping for yogurt or ice cream etc...

Banana Nut Bread

I made this one when Tori and Katie were out here in May. Katie wanted the recipe...so here it is...

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 medium bananas, sliced or mashed (your preference)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Finally, fold in the sour cream, walnuts and bananas. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

butterscotch cream cheese brownies

We just tried these and they're yummy. The only thing I would change is to put them in a 9x13" pan instead of the cookie sheet - they turn out pretty flat, but either way they're good.

**from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Cream Cheese Filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 Tbls flour

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg and beat well. Add flour and combine. Set aside.

Bars:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 cups butterscotch chips (1 pkg)

2 cups packed brown sugar

4 large eggs, at room temp.

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12"x18" jelly roll pan.

In a medium saucepan, melt butterscotch chips and butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in brown sugar. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, to butterscotch/butter mixture. Add vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until well combined. Stir in walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Drop the cream cheese filling by teaspoonfuls over the batter. With a small knife, swirl into the batter. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool to room temp. before cutting into bars.

Makes 24 3-inch bars.

Cheesecake Supreme

Cheescake Supreme (this is Bekah's)

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (I just did one pkg.)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
5 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 Tbls. flour
grated rind of 1 lemon
3 tsp vanilla extract
5 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup heavy cream

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Butter a 10-inch spring form pan 2 1/4 inches deep and press crumb mixture onto bottom and sides of pan. Beat cheese until fluffy. Mix sugar and flour; gradually blend into cheese. Add grated rind and vanilla. Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in cream. Turn into crust. Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake 1 hour longer (bake until the center is just about set). Remove from oven and place away from drafts until cooled. Refrigerate until cold, then remove sides of pan and put cake on serving plate. Makes 12 servings.

Salsa

Salsa
1 gallon tomatoes (about 10 lbs) - Roma's work best
3 jalapeno peppers 7 peppers (we use red, yellow, and green)
3 cups chopped onion (white, red or yellow - take your pick)
3 TBSP salt
1 1/3 TBSP garlic salt
1 TBSP sugar
1 cup white vinegar

Boil tomatoes until skins crack. Put into a sink full of cold water. Peel skins off. Chop all ingredients (you can use a food processor to chop or do it by hand). Put in a big stock pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 3-5 hours until salsa is at desired consistency (the more time it simmers, the more liquid-y it will be). That's all there is to it. Good stuff! This will make about 12 pint-size jars.

Bottling: During the last hour your salsa simmers, run your jars, lids and rings for lids through the dishwasher with the heat-dry cycle on. The cycle should end just as the salsa is ready to be bottled. Fill the bottles almost full (leave about 2 in. from top), then immediately put on the lid and ring. Screw the ring/cap as tight as possible. Let it sit for a few hours and it should seal.