Sweet Koky's Yam Chips

These Sweet Yam Chips are brought to you by Mrs. Carmen (Koky) Bermudez. I walked past her home one day and this incredible smell was emanating out her windows. I had to knock and find out what it was. When I asked her what that smell was she looked at me like I was asking the silliest question in the world and said, "It's just some chips."(Like duh, what's the big deal?) Really though it's not just chips. These are sweet and salty and are like a fun appetizer rather than a fried after thought. The beautiful thing about making these is that it's sooo easy, so without further adieu, here's the directions Carmen gave to me...

1-2 Medium size straight as possible yams
2 cups vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a shallow pan suitable for frying, heat 2 cups or about 1/3 of you pan full of vegetable oil to medium high. Peel the outside of the yams with a vegetable peeler then slice as thin and evenly as possible. I used my Kitchen Aid slicer attachment for this to make the slices even. The reason for even slices is so that everything cooks at the same pace. Once the yams are sliced, check the oil. Take a small piece of yam and put it into the pan. If it starts to bubble then your oil is ready. Depending on the size of your pan gently drop the slices into the oil until about 3/4 of the top of your pan is filled. DO NOT OVER CROWD YOUR PAN! There are two reasons for this. If the pan is too crowded the oil will bubble over the top rim of your pan and start a fire and second if it is to0 crowded you loose tons of heat and you will have soggy chips. FYI when you put your slices into the pan it will make the oil bubble. Now ,it is time to take the chips out when you see they have started to darken in color. Don't wait until they are too dark because then they taste burnt. Once they are out of the pan spread them out over a layer of paper towels or a layer of paper sacks and sprinkle on the salt and pepper. You might want to go easy the the seasoning for the first batch. Soon you will be able to see my favorite part of the cooking process. When you very first put the slices in the bubbles get all orange. It's a really cool thing to see! Thanks for this recipe Koky, we've used it a few times!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie (the Kathy Bils cookie)

This is my favorite cookie ever! I really really like the Chocolate Chip Pumpkin ones as well and they come in a very very close second but this one takes the...cookie? There's a really sweet story that goes with this sweet treat. When Emma was in kindergarten I sent these cookies into her teacher as a little surprise. Up to this point I had been volunteering in the class room for a short while but really hadn't gotten to know her teacher very well. The day I sent the cookies in was mid week and I volunteered on Friday's. When Friday rolled around and I went in to volunteer Ms. Bils (Emma's teacher) grabbed me in an arm lock and told me that the cookies were her favorite. During lunch we got to talking about the cookies again and then one thing lead to another and then another and then eventually to a grand friendship. Just recently Emma invited Kathy (yes we're on a first name basis now) to her baptism. Now every time I make these sweet cookies, I think of my sweet friend Kathy Bils! Here's how they go...

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tps vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups uncooked quick cooking oats
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; slowly pour and stir flour mixture into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12 minutes. I like to let the cookie set up on my stoneware for a couple of minutes after it comes out of the oven and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Turkey or Chicken Dumplings

It's an "almost" guarantee that after turkey day, my mom will make Turkey Dumplings. If you've never had dumplings before you might think that boiled dough in broth sounds a bit on the odd side but TRUST ME it is one of those recipe's that calls you back year after year! It seems every time I think about Turkey Dumplings, my mind wanders back to my mom's kitchen where deboning the Thanksgiving turkey happened. There was always one of us kids talking with her as she sat in front of the big turkey roaster picking off every last tiny morsel of turkey for later use. Mom is almost always around in the kitchen or sitting at the table doing one thing or another and it was and still is the best place for a chat or in some cases a deep heart felt discussion. Whether at one in the afternoon or one in the morning, quite a few of the most important visits with my mom took place right there at the kitchen table. (Addendum-2015 This past Thanksgiving as things were quieting down and the turkey was settling us into a nice slumber I saw that the turkey hadn't been deboned yet so I took it upon myself to do my mothers job (as she was in Las Vegas and I was in Corinth). Sitting there in the quiet I realized that this job was not only something that needed to get done but it was so satisfying as well and memories of years past watching Momma do this job came quickly to mind. I'm was awfully thankful for the times I spent visiting with my mom while she deboned the turkey!) After those now memorable visits, and after the turkey had been deboned, those tasty morsels typically found their way into this dish and this is how she always make it so warm, homey and delicious...

Soup stock ingredients:
3-4 cups cooked chicken or turkey
2-3 Chicken Bullion cubes or to taste
Water to cover 2 inches above meat
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dumpling ingredients:
2 1/4 Cups of Bisquick
1- 1 1/4 Cups of Milk

In a large stock pot, mix the soup ingredients together and warm to taste. You will want to taste the broth before bringing it to a boil so that you can add bullion or salt and pepper if needed. After you are satisfied with the taste bring stock to a boil. While waiting for the stock to boil, mix together the dumpling ingredients. Dough should be sticky and mushy. Once the stock has come to a boil, using a large spoon, spoon medium to large dough balls into the boiling soup. When all the dough has been spooned in, lower to simmer and cook uncovered for ten minutes. Then cover the pot and cook for another twenty minutes. The dough should be fluffy not doughy and the broth should have thickened. Add salt and pepper to individual bowls to taste and its time to serve! Watch out that first bite usually burns my tongue! This recipe serves three to four people.
Note: For easier prep time, buy a precooked rotisserie chicken. They are relatively inexpensive and EASY to debone! Also if you want to cut back on the salt you can add low sodium canned chicken stock instead of the water and bullion cubes. One last thing...if you want to start from scratch you can do that too! Just boil your chicken like normal the strain the yuckies out of the stock and set it aside then add as much water and more spices as needed once your chicken is shredded and your ready to start your soup.

Rhubarb Pie

If you read the post before on my Grandma Abbott's Rhubarb, you'll know my intense love of this interesting menu choice. Just to expand my horizons, (ya right!) I talked my husband into making rhubarb pie. Brent, since the beginning of our marriage, has made all different varieties of these beautiful pies. I'm still not sure after 10 years of marriage what the draw for pie is but I'm certainly not complaining. In fact I love that he finds this fun to do and because of that I'll be his sous chef anytime!

Here's how he makes it so sweet...
6 Cups Fresh Rhubarb
3/4 - 1 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Flour
1 Box pre-made pie dough from the refrigerated section of your local grocery store!
(no he doesn't make his own and I used to have a great recipe but it's been lost through the years.)

Preheat oven to 375 degree's. In a large bowl stir together flour and sugar then add the Rhubarb and toss gently until the rhubarb is coated with mixture. Set aside. Unroll one package of pie dough and press lightly and evenly into a 9 inch pie dish. Using the mixture from before spread the rhubarb into the pie dish. Now the next direction is up to the artist. You can place the 2nd pie dough over the top, cutting a few air vents into it and crimping the edges or you can go with a lattice top or even a crumb topping if that's what your heart so desires. Seeing as how this was for the blog, I begged Brent to make a lattice top. I've also read that if you are making a dough topping that you can brush it with egg or milk to make it pretty and shiny. Unfortunately I don't have a recipe for a good crumb topping but the Better Homes and Gardens cook book does and I'm sure Martha does! Google it as a last resort! After you figure out the top to your pie place the uncooked pie on a cookie sheet. Wrap the top of the pie loosely in foil covering the dough. Bake for 25 minutes then remove the foil and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes until topping is golden and the filling in the center is bubbly and smells like heaven! DON"T TRY TO TASTE THE BUBBLY GOODNESS RIGHT THEN! Let you pie stand on a wire rack or in our case on the unheated hot plate until the pie is cool throughout. Serve a la mode or don't worry it can stand on it's own! One thing is for sure however, you are going to need a cold glass of milk to accompany it! Enjoy!

Clark Richter's Baby Back Pork Ribs

A few months back I attended a week night Relief Society Meeting (Formerly known as Enrichment, formerly know as Home, Family and Personal Enrichment, formerly known as Homemaking etc...) all about cooking great meat in your home. It might sound a bit different to some to have an entire night dedicated to meat and the many ways to cook it BUT it was incredibly eye opening, informatively educational and down right delicious! The carnivore in me still is pining for another taste of the kinds of meat served that night! Our Relief Society meeting coordinator (is that the title we're going with now? formerly known as Enrichment leader) Maren Reece brought her parents all the way from Arizona to give the instructions. They in and of themselves were completely entertaining and I can't remember the last time I laughed and cried almost in the same sentence. This recipe as well as a few others I got that night are like I said earlier, down right delicious and yes I plan on adding them as well. Clark Richter is Maren's dad and so when you see his name in front of the recipe you will know that's where I got it from. Maren said that she wasn't sure where these inspired words from her dad came from and since she doesn't know we'll just give the credit to him! This is also his directions as were written. I decided not to put them in my own words. Here's how I was taught to make these yummy carnivorous baby back pork ribs at home....

Buy pork back ribs, not spare ribs or beef ribs
Costco has Cryovac 3 slabs/package for around $30
Remove from package; season with Lawry’s or other favorite seasoning.
Place 3 slabs on a cookie sheet and add 1/2 cup water for moisture
Cover tightly with heavy duty foil
Bake at 300 for 3 hours our until tender
Ribs must be tender but the slab must not fall apart
Remove ribs from oven; rest meat for 15 minutes
Transfer to another cookie sheet and baste with barbeque sauce:
KC Masterpiece Original is a good mild sauce
Bullseye is a good spicy sauce
Use tongs to lift ribs onto grill and cook on low for 10-15 minutes
Use grill protectors (Home Depot, etc) and cook with lid closed.
No need to turn ribs over

I want to just add a few little tips that I learned that night. When he says season with Lawry's seasoning he doesn't mean just sprinkle it on. He means pour a bunch on and rub it into the ribs on both sides. The other thing that we found was that if you planned on being gone longer, like when you have ward council in the morning but you want ribs for dinner after church and you are going to be away from the house for more than 3 hours, just lower the temp 50 degree's for every extra hour you plan to be away. We have done this a few times and it turns out great. One more tip that we learned is that when we first did this we didn't have a BBQ so we basted the ribs with the BBQ sauce after they rested for 15 minutes and in that time we turned on the broiler in the oven and put the ribs uncovered under the broiler for 10 minutes. That made the BBQ sauce hot and acted sorta like a real BBQ. Dude! After typing this up I'm gonna have to go get me some more ribs to cook! Oh BOY!

Grandma Abbott's Rhubarb

Momma says that rhubarb grew like a weed in the garden at Grandma Abbott's house. Grandma was the first one to ever give me rhubarb at least that I remember. I ate it plain, in a little white Corelle bowl, cold from being in the fridge or warm from coming right off the pantry shelf. Either way it was always poured out of a tall Mason jar that Grandma had canned herself. It wasn't something we got all the time. It...was...special. I remember coming into Grandma's tiny kitchen, smelling rhubarb cooking on the stove, (because once you've smelled it you know the smell forever) standing tippy toed on the stool, barely able to peer into the pot of simmering rhubarb. Stringy, chunky and all sorts of sweet, Grandma smiled down at me and said that it was almost ready but then told me we had to wait for it to cool. TORTURE!!! As soon as she said that though she opened her little fridge, got out an already opened Mason jar and poured me a small amount of liquid gold! Oh Grandma how I miss you so. Momma said that she remembers it best the same way as I do but that they also had it often over Vanilla ice cream so that's how I took my picture. Now you may be wondering why mine looks a little like boiled celery. This bunch was given to us by a sweet couple in our ward and they said it never turned red. It may not be red but it is certainly rhubarb and tastes just as sweet and wonderful as I remember Grandma making it. Here is her legendary (to me anyway) rhubarb recipe...

4 Cups of Cubed Rhubarb
1/2 - 1 Cub of Sugar
Water

Start by cutting off the very end of the rhubarb then cube the stalk. Place the rhubarb cubes in a large stock pot. You want a pot that the cubes can be in a single layer (if a few are above the single layer it won't hurt anything) Add the water. The water should NOT cover the cubes. Pour only enough water so that it comes about half way up the cube. Start with 1/2 cup of sugar. You might want it sweeter so once it's finished you can add more to taste. Bring to a boil and then once at a boil lower to medium. As soon as you can squish the cubes up against the side of the pot you are done! Remove it from the heat, taste, add sugar if needed and let cool. Your rhubarb should last in the fridge for awhile. I don't ever let it stay in the fridge for very long! If you've never had rhubarb before watch out, it's bitter. It's kinda like saying have a little rhubarb with your sugar! If you don't add enough sugar though, you'll regret it!

Anita's Holy Cow Cake

Holy Cow Cake (Also known as Better Than Sex Cake in some circles but not this one) has quickly become my favorite cake. I first had this at Mom and Dad's when my sister randomly made it for us one night. I've found that it gets randomly made more often than for an actual event. Like the other night when we randomly had it at our house because my sister thought it would be fun! We made up the excuse that it was our early birthday cake seeing as we weren't going to be together for our birthdays for the first time in many a year. (August 9th and 10th) Honestly though, it was just a delicious whim and to tell the truth I'm so glad it was just that! Sometimes random is the best way! At any rate, here's how to make it...

1 pkg devil’s food cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs

Topping:
1 – 8 oz jar caramel topping
1 – 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
4 Heath candy bars, crushed
1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Place cake mix, water, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer until well blended. Pour batter into a 13x9 cake pan that is lightly misted with vegetable oil. Bake 35 to 38 minutes at 350o. After removing from oven, immediately poke holes in the top of the cake with a drinking straw or chopstick. Prepare the topping by mixing the sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping in a small bowl. Spoon this mixture over the cake so that it can seep down into the holes. Measure out half of the crushed candy bars and sprinkle the pieces over the cake. Place the whip topping on the cake and sprinkle the remaining crushed candy bars on top of the whip topping. Chill cake in refrigerator for about 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. The cooler the better! Thanks Sis!

Daddy's Sauteed Mushrooms

If there is one meal that my Daddy makes and makes so well that it surpasses all other meals it would be BBQ steak with Sauteed Mushrooms and his oh so famous Steak Sauce. The man seriously has this meal down pat! If you even SORT OF like mushrooms you will like this! When I was younger there would be times when I would walk into the house and from the smell of the mushrooms cooking on the stove I would know we were having BBQ steak! You could always count on a big portion of steak, a nice helping of mushrooms and Daddy's steak sauce! Sometimes there would be potatoes or other delectable items but you could always count on the classic three! Thinking about these mushrooms makes my mouth water!!! Here is how the man makes it great...

¼ cube butter or ½ cube of chicken bouillon with ¼ cup water
1 Package of fresh sliced mushrooms (or slice them yourself)
¼ Onion
3-4 cloves garlic or ½ tsp garlic powder
½ diced celery stalk or ¼ tsp celery salt
1 tbsp dried parsley
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Hard pinch of crushed chili pepper for extra heat if desired

Start by putting into a pot the butter, onion, and garlic all together and cooking over medium high heat until the onions become translucent. If you are using fresh celery, now would be the time to throw that in the pot as well. Once the onions have gone translucent add in everything else and let sautee for as long as possible or until the juices reduce by half. If you are trying to watch your figure then use the chicken bouillon instead of the butter and use fresh celery instead of the celery salt. The thing about using the fresh celery is that you have to let it cook down for a little longer. Daddy says you can always add more salt or pepper later but you can't add garlic after it's finished so don't forget to add that in the beginning! Serve over steak or eat alone but whatever you do....Enjoy!

Brent Ross' Beef Stew

This is one of my all time favorite recipe's. Not only is it a favorite recipe but it is a favorite memory as well. More than once we gathered together as a family, on a chili Sunday afternoon, over a steaming bowl of Beef Stew that my dad had made before we went off to church that morning. I would walk into the house and BOOM, I was hit with the most wonderful aroma and I couldn't wait until my spoon hit that bowl and sure enough, every time, I would burn my tongue on the first bite! The first time I made this was as a newly married bride. I wanted my sweet Brent to be so impressed with my cooking skills. I carefully cut out all the ingredients and lovingly filled the crock pot, expecting to come home to that heavenly smell and have my brand new groom be so impressed with my culinary skills. Well the stew was bland and the meat was tough! I was an utter failure! I called my dad near to tears, nearly weeping misfortune and he simply told me two things....I was missing the secret ingredient and I was missing the point of the name. The name is STEW meaning you let it stew....all day! The secret ingredient, however, he was not so willing to quickly share. After prodding him a bit he gave in and told me that the secret was an entire bottle of my favorite BBQ sauce?! He said that besides a few bay leaves, salt and pepper, that was the only spices he added. I couldn't believe it. The next time my stew was a hit and every year when I am feeling lonely for my Daddy and the temperature is just nicely chili outside (and I find a good price on beef) I whip up a batch of the best stew out there, my Dad's! Here's how to make your stew as good as my Daddy makes his...

1 6Qt Crock Pot (or as big as you have)
6-8 Potatoes depending on size or 3-5 lbs
1lb Carrots
3 Celery Stalks
1-2 Large Yellow Onions
4-6 lb Beef
3 Bay leaves
1 Bottle BBQ Sauce (your favorite)
2-3 Cups of your favorite cheese (Brent likes Mozzarella)

Start by peeling the carrots and potatoes. Then cut everything into 1/2 inch cubes. I like to try and make everything the same size for this dish so that each bite is about the same and so everything cooks even. After cutting all the ingredients, put them all in to the crock pot and add water that just covers the top of the ingredients. Add in the Bay leaves and the entire bottle of BBQ sauce. I like to pour a little water into the last of the bottle and shake it up to get all the saucy goodness out of it! Let that stew for 8 hours on high. It may spill over so you might want a cookie sheet under your crock pot to catch any spillage. Every so often you can lift the lid and stir in around. Make sure your ingredients are always covered with water but try not to lift the lid to often. If you are leaving it for the day while you are out don't worry about having to check on it. I've left it often enough and never had a problem with it. Oh one more tip...I buy the beef that I find on sale. I've used London Broil or a roast. I've used stewing meat before but it was expensive and I didn't find that I liked the results any more than the London Broil and plus it's easy to cut up since it's not to fatty. This dish is good the next day as well but you know what the best thing about next day stew is? All the fat coagulates to the top so you can scoop it out and have it be just that much more healthy! Oh sorry one other thing...this is a bit on the thin brothy side. If you want it thicker you can add a slurry of water and corn starch and that will thicken it up a bit but we find that once you add in the cheese right before serving, it does a good job of making it just a bit thicker. I also found a great bread recipe that I am excited about trying out for next time and might add it to the blog if it comes out pretty good so if you are interested in that just click here. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have all these years.

Applesauce Muffins

Does this picture look familiar? It should, I used it for the Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins. This is just about the same recipe but using apple sauce instead. Go to the other muffin recipe (Click Here) but instead of using pumpkin use the same size 15 oz. can of natural, no sugar added, applesauce. They turn out great. There's probably not as much fiber with the applesauce as there would be with the pumpkin but if it's March and you are craving these muffins and can't find canned pumpkin because the stores won't stock CANNED pumpkin, USE APPLESAUCE!

Black Bean Brownies?

Yup that's right, Black Bean Brownies. This recipe is figure friendly! My dear sister Anita turned me on to these dense tasty chocolaty treats. She is always looking for something that reduces calories and brings in more fiber and these do just that! At our house growing up, it seemed like, every Sunday night was time to make treats. It was a time when everyone would wake up from their naps and it would be a little to late to make a full dinner so instead, usually Anita would be the one think to make some tasty delightful treat. Brownies on Sunday night were and still remain such a favorite of mine. So let me tell you how she taught me to whip these up quick...

1 Brownie Mix
1 15 oz can Black Beans

Puree the entire can including the liquid of black beans in the blender until really smooth. Mix Brownie Mix and pureed beans only until it's just mixed. DO NOT OVER MIX. This will cause the brownies to be more like cake than brownies. Then follow the cooking directions from the Brownie mix box. Yup that's it. No other ingredients necessary! They come out a little flatter than typical brownies but are so good especially if you are trying to watch the waist but need a snack! TRY THEM! I promise they won't be dissapointing!

Sweet Chicken Salad Pita Pockets

This recipe is for those people who like a little sweet with their chicken salad. I personally loved how these pita pockets turned out and when ever I have a little chicken left over I always want to whip up this recipe. Here's how it goes....

12 oz. Cooked Chicken
1 Apple
5 Tbsp Celery (include the leaves)
4-5 Tbsp Light Mayo
2-3 Tbsp Favorite Preserves ie. apricot, raspberry
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Zest of 1/2 a Lemon
1 Package of Pita Bread

Cube the chicken and apple and chop celery semi fine. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Refridgerate for one to two hours. Now I didn't peel the apples because I like the peel but you might want to peel them first. Also I chopped the leaves of the celery because there is so much flavor there. The lemon zest is optional but again add so much flavor. The mayo you may want to add one tbsp at a time because you really don't want to over do the mayo. I slightly warmed the pita bread just to get it opened and more maneuverable to fill them. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Chili de Arbol Sauce

I'm supposing this spicy recipe could be added into any dish you wanted to make spicier but initially it was intended for one of our favorite soups... Posole! I'll warn you this is quite spicy but the flavor is intense if you can get past the burn in your mouth! Here is how we made it...

3 Handfuls of dried Chili de Arbol
1/2 an Onion
1 Large dallop of Chopped Garlic
1/4-1/2 cube of Chicken Bullion
1/4-1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Start by wearing gloves! The chili's are hot and you seriously don't want to touch your bare hands to these because the oil from them transfers to everything. Use gloves until they go into the blender! Next toast the chili's in a dry saute pan over high heat. WATCH OUT..... they will smoke and burn really easy. Don't let the chili's burn because it will make them bitter. They just need to be toasted for a few seconds. You might want to toast them in small batches because the larger the batch the harder to control. After they are toasted, keeping your gloves on, cut the stem off and slice them through one side to remove as many seeds and as much pith as possible. The more you remove the less heat there will be. When every pod has been cleared of pith and seed quickly rinse them in hot water. You don't necessarily want them to soak in the water so a quick rinse in all you need. From there put them directly in the blender. Also in the blender add in your garlic, bullion, and onion. With the blender on a low speed start to blend all the ingredients. Slowly add in the oil as it's blending. Go easy on the oil. I got a little to much the first time (as seen in pic). Too much oil isn't a terrible problem it just looks a bit unsavory and once it goes in it's hard to get out! Once everything is blended you can use the sauce immediately but Brent liked it better when we left it over night. When using the sauce go lightly at first. Add it in a little at a time until you have enough spice. Also remember if you want to cook with it in a dish that the longer it cooks typically the hotter it becomes so add it in as an after thought instead of in the beginning. Here's burning to you!!!

Curry Puffs

My parents used to take us to this great Chinese food restaurant years ago that we all loved. They had a great menu and would let you order family style. These curry puffs were part of an appetizer that included soup and egg rolls. As always my Dad is pretty friendly with all the staff and they knew him by sight fairly well. I'm not sure if he got this recipe out of them or being the clever man he is just figured it out on his own. The second would not be surprising really. These curry puffs were a big part of why we frequented the restaurant. Unfortunately the restaurant closed a few years back ending an era of great curry puffs and Mom and Dad had to find alternatives to their Asian food cravings! These curry puffs are so Cynfully easy to make. Not only are they easy to make and cook but if you want to make them ahead of time and cook them later, they freeze really well. I think this is how my Dad and the restaurant used to make them and now how we make them...

1 Package Won-ton Wrappers
2 Bricks Cream Cheese
Curry Powder to taste
side bowl of water

Start by softening the cream cheese to room temp. When cheese is softened slowly whip the cheese with an electric mixer. You can do this by hand but it takes forever. Now the curry powder gets a little tricky. Some people like it strong but go easy with it. We like it a very very pale yellow color once mixed. I would suggest adding only one tbsp at a time and mixing only that tbsp then tasting the mixture to see if that is enough. This last time I WAY over did it and I could only have a few before my stomach was churning. Once you get the right mixture put that mixture back in the fridge to re-cool. I like this because I find it's easier to manipulate the cheese onto the won-ton wrapper if it has cooled. Assembling the wrappers takes a little practice. I lay several (8 or 9) wrappers on the table at a time and then using the front of one spoon and the back of another spoon I scoop and place about a half tbsp full onto the middle of each wrapper. This is where it gets a bit messy. Using clean fingers I dip a finger into the water and spread a thin layer of water on two connecting edges of the wrapper. Fold the non wet edges over onto the wet edges and seal the edges together creating a triangle. I also try to squeeze out any extra air so they won't puff to much when cooked. For this next part you need to use your imagination and refer back to the picture at the top. If your imagination won't work for this just keep the won-ton as a triangle, you don't have to do this last step and truthfully you can fold these anyway your heart desires, this is just how we have folded them in the past. Using the long side of the triangle bring the two corners from the long side together and seal one half length on top of the other half length using the water to seal. Set aside and let the water dry for just a few moments before you cook them. There is flour on the wrapper and once you connect it with water you'll be a mess. In the mean time bring a half pot of oil up to 350 degrees. Depending on the size of your pot you can cook four or five at a time. Don't over crowd the pot. This would make the temperature drop and not cook as well. Cook until golden brown and serve with a sweet and spicy sauce or on it's own. Watch out, this will stink up your house and smell for days but if you like curry, it's so worth it!

Scalloped Potatoes

Meatloaf and Scalloped Potatoes! Mmm.... Ok so there is no recipe or picture for Meatloaf right now but don't worry that will come soon! I finally got a picture of meatloaf that wasn't disgusting looking. This is another one of the those dishes that Mom makes that has become not only a classic but a family favorite! One does not go without the other and if I ever can get a picture of meatloaf that looks appetizing I'll put these two up together!!! Until then you just have to enjoy this by itself! These potatoes are not figure friendly but oh boy are they great!!! As kids we always got to pick what we would have for our birthday dinner and it seems like often this was one of the items chosen. Good times!!! Here is again how my Mom does it so great....

8-10 regular size potatoes
1 Family Size Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1-2 Cups Flour
1/4 cup Butter
Salt and Pepper

I have a deep dish oven safe bowl with a lid that I like for this dish. You could use a cake pan as well if you didn't have a deeper dish and just use a sheet of tin foil over the top. I like to start by spraying the bottom of the dish with oil to prevent sticking. Slice your potatoes on a medium thickness so they will cook even. This is a layering dish and the first layer is the potatoes spread evenly and thinly on the bottom. Second, scoop out spoonfuls of the mushroom soup and place three or four scoopfuls over the potatoes for every layer. The butter is the 3rd layer. Slice off small pieces of butter and place them all around the potatoes so the butter will melt evenly everywhere. Fourth is the flour. Sprinkle a thin layer of flour over everything then lastly salt and pepper each layer. Continue these steps until you run out of materials or space. Cover and bake for 30 - 45 minutes @ 400. Oh one other thing... I typically don't measure out the flour. I just use this scoop that I have in my flour bucket to sprinkle it over the top. I don't think I actually even use 1 whole cup of flour! Try this recipe, it's so good!

Chicken DeVan

For as long as I can remember my mom has been making Chicken DeVan. I actually remember thinking it was called Chicken DeMAN and thinking she used a chicken and a man but I could never find the man part of the casserole. Finally one day as she was making it I saw her recipe and realized that there was no man in it. Thinking back now I should have been relieved there was no man in it but I guess that wasn't how my mind worked! With or without the man this is a tasty casserole and a great one to give away to someone in need of a dinner brought in. Here is how my mom has made it for years and years...

6-7 Chicken Breasts or 1 whole chicken de-boned
10 oz Fresh or Unfrozen Broccoli cut into cube size chunks
1 1/2 Cup uncooked Rice
1 Cup Mayo
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Tbsp Melted Butter
2-3 Cups of Mozzarella or Cheddar Cheese

Cook rice and chicken separately and set aside. In a large bowl mix mayo, lemon juice, chicken and mushroom soups and melted butter then set aside. Cut the chicken into cube size pieces. In a 9X13 casserole dish spread the rice on the bottom followed by the broccoli and then the chicken chunks. Pour the sauce mix over the top of layers and then spread cheese over the top of everything. Bake uncovered in the oven for half an hour @ 350 and until the cheese is bubbly and starting to turn golden. Most likely you will need to salt and pepper this individually. Also I taste the sauce mix for lemon. Sometimes I add and sometimes I don't. If you buy a bag of frozen broccoli just let it thaw and use it like that but if you buy fresh you might want to steam it for a few minutes until it's Al dente. Granted this is not the healthiest dish in the world but it is certainly comfort food. Thanks Mom for always giving us great meals at home!!!

Anita’s Monkey Bread

My awesome sister made this special breakfast for me this past year on my birthday. I had to laugh at her because as she was measuring things out she had a little brain fart and accidentally added all the cinnamon into the big plastic container we keep our sugar in. I'm not talking about a little bit of sugar here I'm talking about a plastic container that holds approximately 5lbs of sugar and everyone knows that once you add cinnamon into sugar there is no getting the cinnamon out! Well she felt really bad about that but after all it's only sugar right? It is pretty funny, however if you ever want to make cinnamon toast or cinnamon rolls let me know we have plenty mixed cinnamon sugar for you! The Monkey Bread was so incredibly delicious and I loved my special breakfast. Thanks sis for thinking of me! I really don't know if this is hard to make or not because I didn't really watch her do it but here's the recipe and some day I'll get around to making myself...

4 cans –refrigerated white rolls quartered
¾ cup White Sugar
¼ cup Cinnamon Powder
1 ½ cups Brown Sugar
1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 ½ cups Chopped Nuts
1 ½ cubes Melted Butter

Mix the white sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl and roll each quarter section of the white rolls in this mixture. Divide the rolls into two equal portions. Mix the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, chopped nuts in a bowl and divide into three equal portions. Place the first 1/3 of this mixture in bottom of a bunt cake pan. Place the 1st portion of the rolls on top of mixture. Repeat by placing the 2nd 1/3 of mixture on top of rolls then place the last half of the rolls in the pan followed by the last 1/3 of the mixture. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Taco (Compassionate) Soup

This recipe comes from my parents through my cousin Lynette. As with most of the recipes on my blog this one has a memory. It's a recipe and a memory that teaches me about compassion and service and I'm so happy to be sharing it with you. When Emma was about one and a half years old I came down with a really bad virus of some type or the other. I wasn't getting better, we had no insurance, and all I could do was feel yucky. Luckily I had been eating ok but even that had taken a turn and I really didn't want anything. It was a Saturday night and my parents being the very sweet people they are brought Brent, Emma and I this soup. I'm pretty sure it was the first time I had eaten it because I remember not being sure if it was exactly the right thing to be eating when I wasn't feeling well. In truth it was the perfect thing. It was the perfect thing because first my parents drove across town to bring it to me and second because I really wanted my Mommy to take care of me. Everyone wants their mother to come and feel their forehead and pay special attention to them and worry over them and that is just what happened but for me it was both parents. They didn't stay long but what they brought me was like I said earlier, compassion, service, and of course love. We never ever stop learning from our parents and this certainly proves exactly that. Here's the recipe to that "compassionate" soup...

1 lb ground beef or ground turkey (lean)
1 Large onion chopped
1 8 oz. can fat free re-fried beans
1 16 oz. can whole kernel corn
1 15 oz. can Mexican style chili beans
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies
1 Pkg taco seasoning
1 Pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Cook the meat and onions together. DO NOT drain any of the cans but use the liquid in the soup. Once the meat is finished cooking mix all the ingredients together and heat in the microwave or over medium low heat. Garnish with fresh chopped scallions and or cheese. Serve with Chips or fresh corn tortillas.

Vanilla Crepes

Pancakes are one of Emma's favorite foods and not only are they one of her favorites but she wants them every Saturday. Now I love pancakes and there is nothing wrong with pancakes but after having them time and again, Saturday after Saturday, it gets a little well, old. One Saturday I couldn't stand the thought of pancakes and decided we would instead have crepes. I found this fantastic recipe for Vanilla crepes. We, especially me, loved the different breakfast. Here is that recipe with a minor change. I hope you enjoy them as much as we have. Oh one more thing...I will tag them as both breakfast and dessert because they would be so yummy with whipping cream and caramel or other varied dessert items. We didn't have any fresh strawberries that day but any fruit goes well including the jellied type! Anyway here is the recipe....
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons melted butter
Spray Canola Oil

Whisk everything but the spray oil into a bowl and let stand while your pan heats up to medium. I like using two different fry pans because it goes faster, however you may not be able to keep up that pace. I like to use a 1/3 cup or 1/4 cup to pour the batter in the pan. Start by spraying your pan with the canola oil. Most likely you will have to do this for each one. Then pour your batter into the pan starting with the pan tipped to one side pouring from the top so the batter can spread a thin layer over the bottom of your entire pan. Don't worry it took me a few times before I could get it right. One the bottom starts to bubble and the edges start looking dried out. carefully lift one edge with the spatula and then once you have the edge quickly flip the crepe over and finish on the other side. I found that I could stack the crepe's on top of one another easily without them sticking together, that is if your family doesn't eat them up before you can get them stacked! We liked plain powdered sugar or jelly on ours. That is the beauty of it though because you can add as much as you like or keep them plain and simple. Hope you love 'em.

Fried Bananas

There is this Chinese place around the corner and down the street from us that has these really good fried banana's. I think they might actually be plantains but whatever. I've really wanted to make them on my own for awhile now and finally have figured it out. If you do not like banana's this recipe is totally not for you. If you only sort of like banana's give this one a whirl. Here's how it goes...
4 Banana's
1 Orange cut in half
2 tbsp Butter
3 tbsp Sugar

Heat frying pan to medium high heat and let the butter melt in the pan. Cut the banana's with a bias-cut at about 1 1/2 inches long. When butter is melted put the banana's in the pan and let the butter coat them. Within a few minutes you will see the banana's start to change color. At this point you don't want to wait because you can over cook them quickly. Sprinkle the sugar over the tops of the banana's then squeeze the juice from both sides of the orange into the pan again over the top of the banana's. The orange juice mixed with the sugar and butter will help them to caramelize and the banana's will start to have a bit of color. Watch them, they will turn mushy if over cooked. Once the juices start becoming a little thicker and the banana's have a little color on them take them out and serve promptly! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.