Another recipe...

Here is a new main dish that we've put on our favorite list...

Simple Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wraps
from allrecipes.com

1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup chopped cucumber, seeds removed
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
black pepper to taste

Mix above and refridgerate until later.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs chicken, sliced into strips
1 cup salsa
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Cook chicken until browned in oil. Add other ingredients and simmer.

8 flour tortillas and 1 bag of baby spinach.

Warm tortillas or make your own. Layer the chicken, sauce, and spinach into the tortilla. Wrap and eat. It got two thumbs up!

Blessings,

Jon's Eggroll Recipe...

Supplies required are as follows:

1 bag of shredded coleslaw cabbage
1 bag of precooked frozen shrimp (you can buy raw, just prepare that like you would for shrimp cocktail)
Soy Sauce
1 package of eggroll wrappers (I recommend having 1 extra)
Vegetable oil

Preparation:

Use just enough oil to cover the bottom of your favorite skillet and pour in the bag of coleslaw cabbage, along with your desired amount of shrimp, fry it until the cabbage is fully cooked and add a good splash of soy sauce. Drain out excess oil and put the cabbage and shrimp in a bowl. Now that it is all cooked, this is when I normally remove the tails from the shrimp and cut them into chunks. Now get your eggroll wrappers out along with a bowl of water, take a decent amount of cabbage/ shrimp and place it in the lower/middle of the eggroll and follow the wrapping directions on the package. Now just fill a saucepan with enough oil to half cover an eggroll and fry untill they are golden brown.


Jon

(I'll take some photos of the process sometime this week.)

Have No Fear...

I've finally twisted my dear son's arm and he posted his Lemon Cream Puff recipe on his blog. I'm no longer a big fat meany for not sharing the recipe.lol

http://homeschoolexperience.blogspot.com/


Enjoy,

Recipe...

A blurry, chocolate covered toddler...



I got this recipe in my inbox a few days ago from MarmeeDear and decided that it'd be a fun project for the kids and I to do.
----------------------------

Glazed Doughnuts

Into the BOSCH mixer bowl add:
2 cups warm water (115 degrees)
2 eggs (I warm my eggs before cracking into the water in a bowl of very warm water - just let them sit a few minutes in the warm water and it takes the chill off them - you want everything in your bowl nice and warm to help your yeast rise.)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
2 heaping Tbsp. yeast (I use SAF yeast)
1 Tbsp. salt (we use sea salt)
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I like King Arthur)


Mix on medium speed until combined. Now add in up to almost 3 cups more flour until you have a soft workable dough. (Don't keep adding more and more flour as too much flour will make heavy and tough doughnuts! - just enough (right at about 6 cups total for the whole recipe-- to make it soft and just slightly sticky) Let the mixer knead the dough on speed # 2 for 3-4 minutes. Take dough out and put on a lightly floured surface. Roll out with a pastry roller and cut out with a doughnut cutter. Carefully place cut out doughnuts and holes on a lightly floured cotton cloth or tray. If you have little helpers it might be easier just to make all HOLES! Who doesn't love to pop a donut hole in their mouth? Betcha can't eat just one!


Let rise for 45 minutes in a warm spot. Use a large pot with cooking oil about 3" deep. Turn oil on medium / high and let it heat up. (Never leave hot oil unattended!) Drop in a doughnut hole after about 3 minutes. If the doughnut hole floats and browns quickly - your oil is ready to fry up your doughnuts. Add them a few at a time by dropping carefully into the hot oil. Turn once carefully as they brown. Do not overbrown. Drain each lightly browned doughnut on paper towels. While someone is frying the doughnuts have another helper stir up the doughnut glaze.


DONUT GLAZE:

Place1 bag of powdered icing sugar into a medium/large bowl. Add in milk, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until the sugar is smooth and the consistency of thin gravy. Sink each doughnut into the glaze mix after it is drained while still hot. Shake off excess glaze and place glazed doughnuts on a large tray. Serve while hot. Cover leftovers and reheat in the microwave just momentarily. But these are best served fresh and hot. Makes a big batch of doughnuts for lots of growly tummies! If you don't have a lot of them around why not take a tray of warm doughnuts to a friend or neighbor

------------------------------
Yum!

Needless to say, everyone enjoyed them!




Jon did all the cooking...



Afterwards, Sophia played Lounge Lizard...


Poor Isaac missed all the fun. He's come down with a high fever and has been sleeping most of the day. I'm praying that he's the only one to come down with this. We've all had enough illness to last us a year!

Blessings,

Questions? You all have questions?lol

I'm just jotting this down quickly as I'm sure you all are too busy to read right now.LOL

I'm making Kristine's No Fail Standing Rib Roast. I made this a few years ago down in Miami and it turned out fabulous!

1 standing rib roast, any size

About 3 hours before you plan to eat (but this is flexable), preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place roast in oven and cook for one hour. Turn oven off and KEEP DOOR SHUT. This residual heat is what will cook your roast. 45 mins. before serving** turn the oven on to 300 degrees. Your roast will be perfectly medium rare every time.

We like ours a little more done so we leave it cook for 15 more mins and then let set for 15 mins before serving.



For the Chocolate Dipped Oreos...

Take your favorite oreo brand. We used an organic kind. Take some milk chocolate chips (we used Ghiradelli) and heat them slightly in the microwave and then stir until melted. Dip oreos into the chocolate and let dry overnight on a cookie sheet. If you want to get fancy, melt a little chocolate of contrasting color and drizzle on top of drying cookies. (We like semi-sweet or white. ) You can also do dark chocolate or white chocolate dipped cookies. Voila! Done and easy. Looks fancy but takes no time at all.

Blessings,

Recipe...

This is my family's new favorite soup...found in a book called One Pot Recipes by Linda Doeser

Bacon and Lentil Soup

1/2 lb bacon, diced
1 onion, diced (I used 1 tbsp dried onion)
2 carrots, sliced (used two handfuls of baby carrots)
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 potatoes, chopped
1/2 cup red lentils
1 bay leaf
6-8 cups water or chicken broth ( I used half canned/half water w/3 boullion cubes)
salt and pepper to taste

Brown bacon. Dump everything into your crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove bay leaf. Serve with bread and salad. YUM!

I will double it next time. We had NO LEFTOVERS and people were scraping the crockpot out.LOL

Blessings,

My Daily Ramblings...

What a GREAT week! It has been so nice to have healthy little ones! This week I was able to bake banana bread, two kinds of cookies (chocolate chip and oatmeal crispies) and make 3 gallon bags of Tic Tac Toe Mix. Yum!

Today we got up late. lol First time in a MONTH! It was so nice to wake up before Sophia. As soon as I was dressed for the day, we loaded everyone up and I took them to the park. It was such a nice day. We all had a great time! After the park, I took the kids to Larry's Giant Subs for lunch and then ran into FoodLion. They were having a sale on whole chickens. I bought 8 and have them all cooking right now.LOL 5 in my big roaster, 2 in my big crockpot, and 1 in my little crockpot. Guess what we're having for dinner? LOL

After they are all done, I'll make some chicken broth and get everything in the freezer. It sure is nice to have this in the freezer for busy or sick days! It sure saved me this past month.

Once I got the chicken cooking, Allison and I made Tic Tac Toe mix. It's sooooo good! Just mix chex cereal, cheerios, pretzels, and m&m's together in a bowl and then pour melted white chocolate chips on top. Mix and spread on to baking sheets and let dry. I got this recipe on SHS a few years ago. It makes a wonderful Christmas gift!

Right after we got that mixed up, I ran to WinnDixie. They were having ground beef on sale, along with sugar and their brand of canned veggies. I bought 12 pounds of beef, 20 cans of veggies, and 2 bags of sugar.LOL I don't think I'll be needing chicken or beef for a while.lol

I came home divided up the meat and got that into the freezer. Then I started cleaning up the mess. What a mess we made! I'm thankful to have all that done though!

Well, here's my fancy schmancy cookie recipe...these are my kids very favorite cookie of all time! It was the very first cookie they asked for me to make...

Oatmeal Crispies...

3/4 pound of butter (3 sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/8 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats(regular)
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients together in separate bowl and then add to wet ingredients slowly. Mix until combined.

Drop by tbsps onto baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between. They will spread. Bake until browned and crispy around the edges, about 8-10 minutes. Remove promptly from baking sheet onto paper towels to cool.

Makes about 48.

Blessings,

Recipe...

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Combine in a large bowl...
2 1/2 cups flour (I used 2 whole wheat and 1/2 cup quick oats)
1 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon


Blend in a blender or shake in a tupperware bowl with a lid...
1 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Now add liquids to...
1 large apple, grated

Add liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Don't over stir!

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes but check on them at 15 just in case.

Enjoy!

Lisa

Recipe...

Playdough

1 cup water
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup salt
1 tbsp cream of tartar
1 cup flour

Mix first 4 ingredients together and heat just to boiling in a pot. Add food coloring if desired. Stir in flour and mix quickly. Turn out on table and knead as it cools. It will be a wonderful texture and it doesn't stick in carpeting. I got this recipe long ago from a Preschool activity book.

Blessings,

Lisa

Recipe...

This is for Kathy.LOL

I've found that the best secret to Pot Roast is to start early. I started my roast at noon for it to be served at 5:30. It was so tender, I cut it with a fork.

As for meat, anything labeled pot roast is going to be a tough cut unless you cook it to death.LOL If you're short on time, buy an Oven Roast. Anything labeled for the oven will be more tender even with less cooking. I usually buy whatever doesn't have that weird gummy line of fat running through it (lol) and I buy about 4 pounds.

First, put a little oil in your pot. Get it really hot. Sprinkle your beef with salt, I use Kosher for a better crust. Brown your meat in the hot oil, turning to make sure it gets a nice browning on each side. Don't miss any parts and don't worry if it's a little too brown, it'll be good.

Now add your water. I use about 4 cups at first. Turn your heat down after the water comes to a boil and cover it with a good lid.

Prep your veggies. I use a whole bag of potatoes, almost a whole bag of carrots, one large onion, and a clove of garlic. Chop and peel everything and put it in a bowl full of water. Now add the veggies and the water to the pot. Your pot should be pretty full. Recover, turn the heat up a little until the water comes to a boil, and then turn down to a simmer. Do not touch until 30 minutes before dinner!

30 minutes before serving, taste and season your broth. I usually add about 1 tsp of salt and a good sprinkling of pepper and call it good. I really believe less is more when dealing with roast.

Serve with biscuits and enjoy! It'll be so tender and have great flavor. I usually serve it with the broth over it and some sourcream on the side for dipping. YUM!


*Now, if you want to do this in the crockpot, just brown the meat and then add everything to the crock. Cook 6-8 hours.

Blessings,

Lisa

Recipe...

O.k. folks, this is starting to seem very funny to me, but I've found the secret to really good Oriental Beef with Broccoli......

Italian dressing!LOL

Here's my new recipe....

Oriental Beef w/Broccoli

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Italian dressing (I use Good Seasons all made up)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh ginger

1 1/2 pounds round steak, sliced thin(or whatever beef you have on hand)

2 heads of broccoli, chopped thin

a good number of carrots sliced thin

1/2 an onion, sliced thin

Make the sauce and set aside. Cook the beef on med-high til browned. Add veggies and saute until the broccoli gets dark green. Add the sauce and stir. If it's not enough sauce, add some more soy sauce. Turn to low, cover and let simmer until the veggies are done to your liking. Serve over rice. Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Recipe...

Granola (I got this recipe from SHS in 2005, can't remember from who though)

4 cups regular oats
1.5 cups coconut (sweet) (we leave this out)
1.5 cups wheat germ
1 cup brown sugar
.75 cup raisins (we leave this out)
.5 cup pecans, chopped
.5 cup almonds, chopped
.25 tsp salt
.5 cup water
.25 cup oil
2.5 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients and pour over dry. Leave out raisins until cooked. Bake on two 9x13 jelly roll pans at 275 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Stir in raisins and cool. Keep in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Lisa

Why would I take time to make my own tortillas...

In one word...YUM! They are soooo much better than store bought.
All you need is a rolling pin. Make sure that the dough is a little sticky, if not then add a little more water to the mix. It should look like this...

Spongy and slightly sticky...

Take a ball about this big...

Then let it rest that 10 minutes. You'll have an easy pliable dough. Roll it out with ample flour under and over it and make it thin.

Roll it thin...
Now, have your pan already hot and just lightly grease it, I use Pam. Throw your tortilla in and wait until it gets some light brown spots on it and flip. Wait until that side is speckled and it's done! Each tortilla will only take about 1-2 minutes to make. I usually make my next tortilla while one is cooking.

It'll get bubbly and rise slightly, then flip it...

Now it'll rise some more, when it gets speckles, it's done...

The finished product. I got about 22 from my dough...

Here are some ideas that we are going to try this week or things we've done last week...

Lentils and Rice (yum)
Eggs and Bacon (yum)
Potatoes and Pintos (Dorothy)
Beef and Refried beans
Chicken Salad
on the side with soup (Split Pea is good!)
BBQ Pork or Beef
Taco Stuff
PBJ

Really, anything goes!

Tortillas

3 cups flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup hot water

Combine first 3 ingredients. Add Shortening and combine until it looks like little peas. Add hot water and knead together to form a ball. Let rest for 10 minutes. Roll out in 10-12 tortillas and cook on a med hot skillet.

Here are some updates on my tortilla making...

I LOVE making tortillas! I make them once a week right now. The recipe is on my blog and since then I've perfected the cooking.I make the dough and then roll them all out at once and drape them over my plastic bowl rim. Then I get my pan nice and hot. I've found that you need to cook them pretty fast. I set my burner on med high and put the tortilla in the pan. Watch it puff up quickly and turn it. It should be spotted brown but not blackened. If it is, turn your heat down a little. Each tortilla should only take about 30 seconds on each side. Then I flip, wait a few seconds and flip it onto my waiting plate. Now this is another secret...cover the tortillas with foil. Just lift the foil and add the newly cooked tortilla on top of the previous one and replace the foil. It steams them and makes them very soft

Enjoy! We are. :)

Blessings,

Lisa

Recipe...

Tortillas

3 cups flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup hot water

Combine first 3 ingredients. Add Shortening and combine until it looks like little peas. Add hot water and knead together to form a ball. Let rest for 10 minutes. Roll out in 10-12 tortillas and cook on a med hot skillet.

YUM!

Lisa

Recipe...

My recipe for Drinkable Yogurt

1/2 cup organic vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup whole milk
1 generous tbsp organic strawberry jam

Blend in a blender of your choice. Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Recipe...

Southwestern Chicken and White Bean Soup
from a Swanson broth pamplet...

1 lb chicken, cubed
3/4 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 can chicken broth
1 cup salsa
1 can small white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn

Cook chicken, til browned. Add onion, garlic, and cumin. Cook til onion is soft. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 20 min.

I served it with a dollop of sour cream for the littles so it wouldn't be as spicey.

Enjoy!

Lisa

Recipe...

I got this recipe from http://www.babyfit.com/ I haven't tried it yet, but I think it's something that we'll all like. I'll let you all know how it goes....



Spicy Black Bean Burgers
by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer
www.GoVegan.net

Serves: 6
Serving Size: 1 patty


INGREDIENTS (We're topping ours with cheddar cheese)

1/2 cup flour
1 small onion, (I'm using onion powder)
diced 2 cloves garlic,
minced 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 small hot or jalapeno pepper, minced (I'm skipping this)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium red pepper, (I'm using green)
diced 2 cups cooked or canned black beans, mashed
1/2 cup corn niblets
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp parsley, minced (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. On a small plate, set aside flour for coating. In a medium saucepan, sauté the onion, garlic, oregano, and hot peppers in oil on medium-high heat until the onions are translucent. Add the peppers and sauté another 2 minutes, until pepper is tender. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a potato masher or fork. Stir in the vegetables (including the corn), breadcrumbs, cumin, salt, chili powder, and parsley. Mix well. Divide and shape into 6 patties.

3. Lay down each patty in flour, coating each side. Cook on a lightly oiled frying pan on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes or until browned on both sides.

NUTRITION INFO
Calories: 189.5
Fat: 3.5 g
Carbohydrates: 32.5 g
Protein: 8 g

Recipe...

Fried Rice from Miserly Meals...

2tbsp oil
3/4 cup diced onion (I used very little, maybe 1/8 of a cup very thinly sliced)
2 cloves garlic, pressed (I used minced)
4 egg whites (I used 2 eggs)
2 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1/2tsp ground ginger ( I used fresh)
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

(I also added 2 cups leftover BBQ Chicken, diced, that had sauce on it.)

On medium heat, cook up the onion and garlic in the oil. Add peas and carrots, ginger, chicken, and soy sauce. Cook egg separately and set aside. Add in your rice to the meat and veggies, adjust seasonings. (I added more soy sauce) Add egg and serve.

This was sooooo good! I think the added BBQ sauce really added an authentic taste to this dish. I think I've found the secret to good fried rice....American BBQ sauce!LOL

Enjoy!

Lisa

Recipe...

California Porkchops are by far my favorite recipe for chops right now. I have a very stringent policy on recipes.LOL

1. They have to be easy. I don't have time for 300 ingredients or 50 different procedures just to get the end result. I'm lucky if I get 15 minutes in the kitchen at one time.lol

2. Everyone has to like it. I'm not a short order cook. It's o.k. if some kids don't like something every once in a while but if it happens too often, then I end up with hungry kids at bedtime or hungry kids at dawn. I don't like either.lol

3. I really like it if it's cheap. Need I say more?LOL

4. It must fill everyone up. It's even worse when I cook a meal, everyone eats like there's no tomorrow, and then are hungry about an hour later. It ends up costing me more than if I'd just served something expensive, like steak.LOL

5. Healthy is a priority but I guess I mean this from the old-fashioned view. All food groups must be represented, low fat is good but not always a standard, and I like for it to be made as natural as possible.

So here's the recipe....I got it from Tam on Xanga...

Crockpot California Pork Chops With Rice (I double this recipe)

4 bone-in pork loin chops (1" thick)
1 to 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine or chicken broth
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
Hot cooked rice

In a skillet, brown pork chops on both sides in oil; transfer to a crock pot. Add garlic to drippings; cook and stir for about 1 min. or until golden. Stir in soy sauce, wine or broth, brown sugar and red pepper flakes; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over chops. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hrs. or until meat is tender. Remove chops. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; gradually stir into slow cooker. Return chops to crock pot. Cover and cook for at least 30 min. or until slightly thickened. Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings


Blessings,

Lisa

Sophia with her new toy. She looks quite amused, doesn't she?LOL Oh, well. Maybe she'll like it when she's a little older.

Kate's Peanut Chicken...

Peanut Chicken

Cook, cool, and cut into bite size pieces several boneless chicken breasts. You can use leftover chicken if it isn't strongly seasoned. I usually toss severalof the Tyson breasts in a 9x13 covered tightly with foil and cook them untildone at 350 or so earlier in the day. You can add salt and pepper.

Put rice on to cook. I use jasmine rice and toss in a couple of spoonfuls ofvirgin coconut oil for flavor, but any rice will do.

Mix together in a saucepan:

1 can of coconut milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 - 1 t ginger

1/8 t red pepper if desired(couple cloves garlic if desired if you aren't Lisa LOL)

Heat until mixed and bubbly and then add chicken.

While sauce heats, chop some green onions and cucumber. These are best ice cold.

To serve, scoop rice onto each plate and top with chicken and sauce. Top liberally with onions, cucumbers, and lots of salted cocktail peanuts.

If we serve this for the family, I put each component on the table individuallyand don't add the chicken to the sauce. Some children like it the way Idescribed while others prefer their own combo or prefer to have the plainchicken, the rice with some butter and salt, and the cucumbers and peanuts intheir own piles. Can't have our food touching LOL.

This is very versatile. You can double it or triple it. You can go light orheavy on the meat. You can freeze the sauce with or without the chicken. Iusually make a big double batch, serve it just for Jeff and I for date night andfreeze two more dinner's worth. That gives me two date nights where all I haveto do is cook rice and chop cukes and green onions. :-)

I really liked this! It was different than what I normally serve but everyone enjoyed having something new. I can't wait to serve this to my dh tonight!

Blessings,

Lisa