self clean

don't you wish your house had a SELF CLEAN mode like on your oven. Your bedroom door locks...leaving you trapped inside to do whatever you want...as your home gets cleaned all on its own! hmmm...then what would i have to do all day if I didn't have my mommy chores? awww...the possibilities. :) don't get me wrong...I DO NOT clean all day...especially since my new tiny home takes so little time to clean up. saaaweeet.

i'm making STUFFED POCKETS for dinner tonight and I'm soooo excited. They are made with frozen bread dough and I've been putting off making these puppies cause its been so cold lately...and I live at 6000 feet elevation so high altitude cooking surely applies, plus i'm not the best cook...blah blah...excuses excuses...so TODAY IS THE DAY! I'm cooking those stinkin pockets.

I wanted to have the bread rise for 6 hours like the package said...but I was worried that it was too cool in my house...so I had this brilliant idea to put my oven 0n a self cleaning mode and have the dough on the range above the oven (not IN the oven...on top...) Brilliant right? helps with keeping it a little warmer...um HELLOOOO the self cleaning mode freakin stinks...so I have to turn on the little fan thing PLUS open the patio door...letting in the cool air outside...oh my...I hope this bread thing works.

the recipe...As usual I was worried about trying a new recipe and then I saw the author...My Amazing Aunt Shauna who makes super yummy food! yay! So...I'm so excited for dinner tonight!

The recipe...

Stuffed Pockets
by: Shauna Kerr

1 lb. fresh bread dough or frozen dough, thawed
12 c. frozen chopped broccoli thawed
1/2 c. part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 c. part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
1/2 c. dices Canadian bacon

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Cut dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll or pat each piece on floured surface into 8x6-inch ovals. Squeeze out excess liquid from broccoli. Place in bowl along with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, pepper sauce and Canadian bacon; stir to combine. Spoon filling lengthwise down center of each piece of dough. Fold dough over to cover filling, pressing edges together to seal. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cut 2 slits in top of each to vent steam. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.


Yay! I'm so excited...if I can pull off this recipe...I'll be making another batch this week to see how they freeze...yummy homemade HOT POCKETS...sweet.

j

Chicken Pasta Salad

Recipe from Haily Warren

1 16oz pkg. Bowtie Pasta
2 cans of chicken
5 apples - peeled and chopped (i've only tasted it with green apples)
1 c. chopped celery
1 lg can pineapple tidbits
*drain the juice into a bowl...soak the cut apples in pineapple juice for a few minutes
1 c. mayonnaise

Dressing:
1 bottle of Coleslaw Salad Dressing - add just before serving.

OR

Make your own dressing with Miracle Whip, milk, cider vinegar, sugar. Click HERE for directions.


This salad is so yummy! Haily brought it to our craft night last night and sent me home with leftovers...yumm! I had it for lunch today. Thanks Haily!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Cookies

I feel so guilty! I got a comment from a friend requesting this recipe and I totally forgot! Rude---sorry!

Here's it is :D

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Cookies
Shauna Kerr
Yields: a ton! Let me know if you find out--I always eat too much dough.

3/4 c. shortening or margarine
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. water
3 mashed bananas - slightly brown
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3 c. oatmeal
1 (120z.) pkg. chocolate chips

Beat together shortening, sugar, egg, water, mashed bananas and vanilla. Add: flour, salt and baking soda that have been sifted together. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.


My comments:

This recipe gives me great memories of my aunt Shauna Kerr - she loves to bake and has such a talent for it! I can remember warm cookies at her house and yummy rolls on holidays. I think my favorite is her orange rolls. Mmmm. Thanks Shauna!

Optional variations-
-Half flour, half wheat.
-Half old fashioned oats, half quick oats.
-Put the oats in a food processor or blender first, to hide them a little from the kiddos.

Good as a breakfast snack or a dessert.
Also yummy served with a scoop of ice cream and a few fresh sliced bananas.

CrockPot 365----awesome site!

http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/

New post of a super yummy--looking--recipe. I really want to try this one...



Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup CrockPot Recipe

Let me know if your try it -- I'm so excited. What did you think?!

Yucky Bananas = Happy Lexi

Drunk with happiness----love the look in her eyes.

The pictures are in order---backwards. Lol. Whatever---you get the picture.

I love to make my aunts Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. Mmmmm. The bananas on the right actually weren't used---a little too brown for my taste....but the others were just perfect. Yummy---half the plate is gone! Email me if you want the recipe---its in the Hidden Springs "green" cookbook. Love it.

Looks Like You Bought It!

Picture from The Polka-dot Apron!

Even you can make an Easter treat that looks like you bought it! Oh my goodness I love this! Like little eggs. awwww. Click HERE for the HOW TO. Thanks to Melissa for posting this on Polka-dot Apron

CrockPot Pumpkin Cheesecake

Thanks to CrockPot 365 - Here's a fun way to make cheesecake. Cute picture huh?! Check out the Website for the full recipe & good tips. Its ginger snap crust....yummy! I really want to try this!

Another good one:

Little Dipper CrockPot Peanut Butter Fondue

Here's another recipe I found on this site. I have a little dipper crockpot and never really know what to do with it other than cheesy dips or chocolate. (oh, good recipe for a chocolate and marshmallow one too: HERE) Check out this fun recipe that is great for kids! I love the pictures on this site.

Yummy Cookies --- No Butter Required...

I needed to make cookies for some families that my husband will be visiting and I forgot to buy Butter!!! My friend Jen and I were brainstorming (she's so sweet---she offered to pick up butter for me :) but I decided to make Crinkle Cookies. Mmmmm. You only need 4 ingredients and NO butter! (I uploaded my picture to recipezaar.com and its awaiting approval - how exciting :D)

The author of the recipe wrote:

Fudge Crinkles

(A Great 4 Ingredient Cake Mix Cookie)
Recipe #32614 15 min 5 min prep

These are chewy, fudgy, SUPER EASY cookies that you can probably make right now! I have watched these disappear time and again and everyone is always asking for the recipe. It is almost embarrassing to give it out, it is that easy Enjoy! (12/14/06: I wanted to add that Betty Crocker has updated this recipe by adding 1 tsp. vanilla extract, but I don't want to change the original recipe.) *12/22/07: Please see my tips at the end of the recipe!
30 -48 cookies

Ingredients
1 (18 1/4 ounce) box devil's food cake mix (Betty Crocker Super Moist suggested)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs

confectioners' sugar

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350°.
2 Stir (by hand) dry cake mix, oil and eggs in a large bowl until dough forms.
3 Dust hands with confectioners' sugar and shape dough into 1" balls.
4 Roll balls in confectioners' sugar and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
5 Bake for 8-10 minutes or until center is JUST SET.
6 Remove from pans after a minute or so and cool on wire racks.

To keep them nice and thick and to get the most "crinkled" or "crackled" look is to make them bigger. When I roll them at about 1.5 inches they look prettier.
Note from the writer of the recipe: The confectioners' sugar was consistently being absorbed by the dough. The last time I baked them, I rolled them into balls without rolling in the sugar and let them "dry" for a few minutes. Then I rolled them in sugar and baked. These came out with a nice coating of sugar that didn't disappear.

***

To make mine a little more festive I'll probably put them in a Halloween sac and add Halloween M&M's to the bag. (M&M's & sac free from Walgreens, cake mix .50 from Staters, oil & egg?---cheap but thoughtful gift right?)

Dessert Anyone?

Warm Caramel Apple Cake

HERE is the recipe. Doesn't it look yummy!?

I get emails from Betty Crocker and here's the latest yummy they sent me.

Anniversary Dinner

Heath and I made dinner together tonight. I made the potatoes and zucchini. He made the amazing ribeye steak and mushrooms. Much much better than the Mexican restaurant we had last night for our "Anniversary Dinner". Ahhhh----Heath my live in Chef. Thanks for dinner.

Mmmmmm.

Another Fabulous meal from Heath.

Breaded Chicken Tenders

If it were me cooking - I would just cover the frozen chicken in bread crumbs and bake it. But Heath - oh goodness - he used like 10 ingredients and the chicken was to die for! The veggies were just a package of (FREE) Stemfresh and they were a little crunchy (just like I like them) and super yummy!

The gist of how he did it...

Thawed the chicken tenders a little.

Dipped then in a mixture of eggs and milk (he wanted cream - but cuuuummon - no way)

The coated with a mixture of Italian bread crumbs (16oz for $1), "other spices", garlic powder, a dash of red pepper, and I think he said more - But hmmmm? He never really tells me how he does it and I'm usually juggling kids while he cooks. But WOW! Then when I ask how he did it he just sorta tells me while we eat. I need to write this stuff down for me to duplicate.

I've been thinking - what if I tried to make my own chicken nuggets? Any of you ever tried that?

Fresh Veggie Pasta from Parents.com

This looks so fresh and yummy!

Fresh Veggie Pasta

Makes: 8 servings Cook: 7 minutes Prep: 10 minutes Grill: 12 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound penne pasta
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes in juice, broken up with a spoon
1 medium-size zucchini, trimmed, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 medium-size sweet yellow pepper, cored, seeded and cut into strips
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 pound bocconcini (small fresh mozzarella balls), quartered
Directions

1. Lightly coat grill rack or grill pan with nonstick cooking spray. Heat grill or grill pan to medium high. Cook pasta following package directions. Season chicken with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Grill chicken, about 6 minutes per side until cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly, then cut into thin strips. When pasta is done, drain and toss in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Set aside.
2. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes with their juice, zucchini and yellow pepper; cook 3 more minutes. Add vinegar, tomato paste, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 3 minutes. Stir in chicken and heat through. Remove from heat. Toss sauce with pasta, basil and mozzarella and serve.

Dinner

Mmmm. Yummy. Thanks Heath.

Teriyaki Salmon cooked with lemon and tomatoes

Served with rosemary potatoes and green beans

I definitely shouldn't write for a food magazine because I tried to make that sound appealing and it probably sounds gross to everyone else. But it was soooo amazing.

This was dinner recently and we took a picture because it looks so yummy and colorful. I love my husband's cooking.

I love love love Corn Chowder and I usually use a recipe from my childhood. But I just went to Mimi's the other day for date night and I ordered yummy Corn Chowder and loved it!! They totally have the recipe online!!! Click here to go to their website and view this recipe and others including the French Market Onion Soup -yum! Or view below:

Mimi's Corn Chowder
(Yields 2 1/2 quarts)

4 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 cups frozen corn, thawed
6 tablespoons onion, chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup celery, large dice
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups hot water
1 pinch white pepper
2 cups raw potato, peeled and cut in 1/2" cubes
3 tablespoons flour
1 quart Half & Half

Method
On medium heat, melt butter, then simmer onion and celery for 5 minutes until soft, but not brown.Add water, potatoes, corn and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are barely tender.Whisk the flour into 1 cup of the Half & Half, and stir into the soup. Add the remaining 3 cups of Half & Half. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the soup has thickened to a creamy consistency.Correct the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed. In order to correct the consistency or the soup you may add a little milk to make it thinner. To make the soup thicker, simmer another 5-10 minutes.

Bon Appetite!

- - - - - Julie's Cafe - - - - -

Here's My (other) Favorite Corn Chowder

*I don't know where my mom got the recipe....mom?*

1/4 c. water
1/4 c. finely chopped onion (no onion for Heath)
1/2 c. finely chopped broccoli
1 c. finely chopped cauliflower
1 c. finely chopped (or shredded) carrots
2 chopped large potatoes (optional)

Simmer the above ingredients together in salted water. Add:
1 17 oz. can corn, drained
1 17 oz. can creamed corn
1 can cream of corn soup (if you can't find this, just add another can of creamed corn)

Stir all ingredients together. Then, make cheese sauce as follows:
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
3 c. milk
4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese

Melt the butter; add flour to make a roux. Slowly add milk so that mixture stays thickened as it cooks. Add 4 oz. shredded sharp cheese and stir until smooth. Add cheese sauce to soup mixture and heat through. If you like thicker soup, double the butter and flour (but NOT the milk) for the cheese sauce and it will make a thicker soup. Soup thickens as it cools.

Mmmm. Yummy recipe's for the cold months.

Brownies in your CrockPot? What?!

CrockPot 365 has this way funny recipe to cook brownies in your CrockPot. Yikes!
Take a look HERE.
FHE dessert all the way! Maybe it would be fun for kids to help too.

Mmmmm. Homemade Marshmallows

Didn't know you could make marshmallows.

Don't they look yummy. I can't wait to try them! Check out this recipe. Here.
Thanks to Handprints on the Wall