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.

Daddy's Steak Sauce (Brent Ross)

A long time ago my Dad invented the yummiest steak sauce. For as long as I could remember I have been eating his steak sauce with his perfectly BBQ steaks. It's tangy and a touch spicy and perfect! I might be biased but I think he's brilliant! I thought for a long time that it was a family secret and that I could not have the recipe but I found that like a lot of my Dad's recipe's, this one is inside his head and changes with what is in the refrigerator so sorry you just get to look at the picture and wonder how to make it. Just kidding, I made him sit down with me and go over all the ingredients and figure out amounts so that I could share this "brilliant" recipe with my friends. It's super easy and super quick to mix up. I have to add a short story with this. The night this picture was taken Emma invited a friend to eat with us. She (the friend) is notorious for being a picky eater. I told her that it is a rule in our house that you must try everything at least once and if you don't like it, you never have to try it again. She was so unsure about this sauce. She dipped a very small corner of her steak into the sauce and sorta put it into her mouth with a napkin at the ready to spit it. All the sudden she explodes into praise about how good it was and how her mom had to try it. She carried on and on and ended up being the last one to finish because she kept dipping every little morsel of food into this steak sauce. If that's not a compliment, I don't know what one is! Here's how my Daddy mind works!...

1 cup Ketchup
4 tbsp Horseradish or more if you like it a bit more spicy
1 Heaping tbsp Chopped Garlic
1 tbsp Parsley
8 good splashes of Worcestershire
1 good splash of Lemon juice or to taste
1 tbsp brown sugar - optional for sweeter taste (I've never added this)
Mix together and serve!

-For an easy shrimp cocktail, mix just 4tbsp of finely chopped celery and another good splash of Lemon.

Herb Infused Potato Chips

This recipe is so easy. It's just like frying up normal potato chips but this time they will taste so yummy. I only had rosemary and garlic when I tried this but you could add anything you feel like, throw in your favorite herbs. Here's how to make them taste the best...

First start by filling a large pot that can be used for frying, half full of vegetable oil. Add your favorite herbs into the cold oil and bring it all up to temperature for frying which is at about 350.
Preparations for the potatoes are to first cut thin slices. I use my Kitchen Aid attachment because that's what I have to cut them with but if you have a mandolin it might work better. Rinse your potatoes well and then dry them well on paper towels. There are two reasons for this. The starch in the potatoes keeps them from getting nice and crispy and if they are not dried well they will splatter oil all over the place. Oil and water don't mix! When the oil is ready, remove the herbs and fry your potatoes for approximately 3-5 minutes. Test the first batch for time and doneness and remember that your oil will drop in temperature which will do two things if it drops too much. Take longer to cook and maybe drop so much that it will only make them soggy and not crispy. Don't add to many chips at a time, basically don't crowd your pot. As they come out dry them on paper towels and salt and pepper or just salt if you're me! Enjoy, I did.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I'm so excited to be adding Chicken Cordon Bleu to my list of favorites. I starting making this dish about 15 years ago. I saw the recipe for the first time while helping a friend in her kitchen and really wanted to try it. When the whole thing came out and it was delicious I was so excited. Looking back I think that this dish might have been the start to my love of cooking. Since then I have been asked to make it for different occasions and festivities. One of the most memorable was after Emma's baby blessing. It's something that people cut into and are amazed at what they find inside and are amazed that you could make such a thing. So here it is the start of my cooking adventures...

10 Chicken Breasts
20 slices of Lunch Ham
1 lb Swiss cheese
1 bag of cheap Corn Flakes
2 sticks of Butter
Lots of toothpicks

Sauce
26 oz can cream of chicken
16 oz tub of sour cream (fat free works the same)
3-4 tbsp lemon juice or enough to taste

Rinse chicken and pat dry really well. The drier and colder the chicken, the easier it is to work with. Trim the chicken fat away. Butterfly each chicken piece. Using a meat tenderizer pound each piece one at a time under a sheet of plastic wrap until the piece has even thickness. This is important! The chicken needs to be an even thickness so that it will cook evenly. Before you remove the plastic wrap place your hand on top of the pounded chicken. By wiggling your hand on top of the chicken you can feel any larger bumps that may not have been pounded down. If you don’t cover it with plastic wrap, chicken pieces will fly all over the place.
Now set the chicken aside, it’s time to prep for the roll.
Cut 10, 3/4 inch square strips of cheese. This will be enough for each piece of chicken to get one strip. Set aside 20 pieces of ham. Get out your toothpicks. Arrange everything in order of how it will go on to the chicken. First the chicken, then ham, then the strips of cheese, then the toothpicks. The toothpicks really need to be taken out of the box and set at the end of your assembly line so you are not reaching into the box with raw chicken on your fingers. You want to lay the top widest part of the chicken near you then place 2 pieces of ham on top of that. The cheese goes on top of the ham on the end closest to you. Roll everything together squeezing tightly as you roll and repeat with each piece of chicken. You will need toothpicks to hold the roll in place. Don't be afraid to use more than one toothpick.
Now set the chicken rolls aside, it’s time to prep for the crust.
First preheat your oven to 400. Melt the butter in a covered dish in the microwave. Pour the corn flakes in a zip baggie and crush down to ¼ the original size. Both the butter and corn flakes need their own individual shallow bowls. A pie tin works great. Bathe the roll in the butter and then transfer to the corn flakes making sure the roll is completely covered by the corn flakes, then place in a 9x13 baking dish and repeat with each roll. You want to put the chicken pieces close together so that there will be enough room for all the rolls.
Now bake the chicken uncovered in the oven for 45 minutes at 400 degrees.
While chicken is baking mix the sauce. You will need to taste your sauce to make sure there is enough lemon. Only add lemon by the tbsp! Warm the sauce either covered in the microwave or over a medium low heat on the stove top.  Remove the chicken from oven, check for doneness and let sit for a few minutes while you set the table. Remind those eating with you that there will be toothpicks.  You can spoon the sauce over the top right before serving or let each person spoon as much as they want themselves. 

This whole process is lengthy and my back usually hurts afterward. From start to finish it takes me 2 ½ to 3 hours including cooking time but I have done it several times. Plan ahead and be prepared to need a lot of dishes. Be careful with what you touch as you are handling raw chicken a lot! While the chicken is in the oven, CLEAN AND DISINFECT EVERYTHING YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE TOUCHED. If you are like me you will need to clean the entire kitchen because you have had to spread out over everything. This chicken presents beautifully and is an elegant main dish. I hope you love it as much as my family and I have over the last several years.

Curtis' Triple Burn Jalepeno Poppers

This appetizer is so tortuously fantastic. It sends your taste buds into a frenzy of excitement and leaves you wanting and craving more. These tasty little poppers however come with a warning label. Yes it's true the jalapenos are a little spicy but that is not the warning. No, no my friends the warning comes in three. The title really should give you some kind of a clue. They burn going down, they burn coming back up, and you better believe they burn coming out! You've been warned! I gotta shout out to my big bro Curtis for turning me and the heat on to these tasty morsels. Here's how he does it...

26 oz. can whole jalapenos
1/2 - 3/4 cup favorite salsa
8 oz. cream cheese
1 lb. bacon

Start by setting the cream cheese out to come to room temperature. Then cut the stems off the peppers and halve them lengthwise to make a little boat. De-vain and de-seed the peppers then lay them out on a toweled cookie sheet and refrigerate to crisp. While the peppers are cooling, cook the bacon. Render the fat, making sure the bacon crisps but doesn't burn. Drain and let cool. At this point I crumble my bacon in the food processor and then pat it again on paper towels to get rid of more grease. If you don't have a food processor just crumble by hand. Then in a medium large bowl, mix together bacon, cream cheese, and salsa. Mixture should be fairly thick and not runny. Make sure you start with less salsa at first and add more if needed! Fill the peppers by piping the filling into each half pepper. (If you don't have a piping bag, fill a gallon size baggie with the mixture and snip one bottom corner to the preferred size. You can spoon the mixture in as well.) Once the peppers are stuffed, refrigerate again for 1-2 hours so the mixture can set and the flavors can marry.

Side notes... San Marcos is a great brand of jalapenos if you can find them because they are not cooked as long giving them a more crisp bite. Also the bacon can be cut by half if you feel there is too much. Another ingredient you can try is green onions either mixed in or on top to garnish, be careful though, they can pack an oniony wallop! Enjoy!

Angie's Chimi's

CHIMICHANGA!!! The mere mention of this tasty dish makes my mouth water and my mind swim with lovely memories of my dear friend Angie. One weekend Angie and I took off to Magic Mountain and the only thing we ate all weekend was these chimi's. They were cold but de-lish! I know the sound of cold chimi's doesn't sound appetizing and maybe it was just being young and silly but we had the best time and downed the whole batch we made. It's true this recipe isn't mine but you blog followers of mine know I am not opposed to putting someone else's recipe as one of my faves. This certainly qualifies! Not only that but my family loved this dish and gobbled it up! IF you have left overs they freeze or refrigerate well. Just wrap them individually in a paper towl and then in a plastic bag. They keep great for another meal, hehe even straight out of the fridge. Here's how Angie does it...

2 packages of burrito flour tortillas 12 count
30 oz can of refried beans.
15 oz can of chili beans - no meat (Hormel)
8 oz box of cream cheese
15 oz can of corn - drained
4 oz can green chilis
8-10 good sloshes of Tapitio hot sauce
Tons of grated cheese , like a mountain on a paper plate amount.

In a large bowl mix together beans, cream cheese, corn, green chilis, and Tapatio. Warm up the tortilla's in a towel for 30 secs so they don't crack when you roll them up. Put about 1/3 cup of filling, sprinkle with cheese and more hot sauce of desired. Fold in ends, turn and fold in other side ends. Fry on medium high in a pan coated with 1/8 inch oil. You'll need to keep replacing oil. Fry til nice and golden, make sure you fry seam side down first. You don't want filling leaking out in the oil or it will pop and sizzle and burn the crap out of you. Put in a cake pan lined with paper towels and keep warm in oven. Layer towels as needed. Serve with Sour Cream, salsa and chopped lettuce and tomato. This makes a bunch of good sized chimi's. Just add more beans and cream cheese if you want a bigger batch.

Garlic Hasselback Red Potatoes

I saw this recipe on a TV show and wanted to try it. I am so glad I did. I loved it and have made it a few times since. The presentation is amazing and the garlic is so yummy.

Here's how the recipe goes:
6-8 Small Red Potatoes
3-4 Cloves Garlic
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt or Table Salt if you don't have sea salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper

Preheat your oven to 400*. Cut slits approximately 1/8 inch apart only cutting 2/3 the way down. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH. Thinly as possible slice the garlic and stuff 3 or 4 slices of garlic into the slits of the potato. You might need a knife to separate your slits. Once all of the potatoes are stuffed, roll each potato in olive oil and place in a bake safe pan. I usually pour the olive oil in the pan I am going to bake in and roll the potatoes around in the pan. Then crack pepper and salt over the top of the potatoes and bake for 1 hour. Serve just like a baked potato with butter or the works. This recipe is great for three to four people as a side dish and it looks to impress!

Momma's Dinner Rolls (Eileen Ross)

I don't remember the first time we had Mom's rolls and I don't ever remember a Thanksgiving or Christmas without them. It seems as if they have been around forever. Mom's rolls are something special in my family. They are a time honored tradition that every single person in my family cherishes. I have only made them twice. Not because they are super difficult but I want to keep the tradition alive of only having them on special occasions. They are warm and sweet and so succulent. Mom says that she originally go the recipe from Aunt Karen and that they are her rolls but I don't ever remember having them at her house so from now until forever, in my heart, they are Mom's rolls! Mom, thanks for always taking the time to make these part of our tradition and thanks for passing it on to us. Here's how it goes:

Yeast Mixture
2 tbsp dry active yeast
½ cup warm water
Pinch of sugar
Bread Mixture
½ Cup of Margarine
2 Cups Hot water
2 Beaten Eggs
½ Cup of Sugar
1 Tbsp Salt
5-7 Cups of Flour

Start by mixing the Yeast mixture together and setting aside. If using a Kitchen Aid start with the paddle attachment. Cut up ½ cup of margarine into small pieces and combine with 2 cups hot water (as hot as you can get it from the sink) in your mixing bowl. Add the 2 beaten eggs to cool the water. Then add ½ cup sugar, 1 tbsp salt, mix ingredients and then add yeast mixture. Then start to add 5 cups of flour. Change to the dough hook and then add more flour until desired consistency slightly pulls from the bowl starting from the top. Form into a ball inside the bowl and then cover with a towel.  When the dough has doubled in size after about an hour, punch it down and then grease a pan with Pam spray and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Form dough into half fist size balls leaving a finger width apart in pan then cover and let raise another hour. Bake 15 min @ 375 then check. The rolls are done when tops are golden brown.

Posole' (A Mexican Soup)

Posole' (Po as in the Dragon Warrior Panda, sol like soul food, "e" sounds like lay - like lay me down in a bowl of Posole', all with a Spanish accent!) Brent and I first had this dish at a little boy's birthday party whose family were straight out of Mexico. We either had bad instructions or knew not what we were doing because our first attempt was pretty bland. Since then we've tweaked it here and there, had it from other people and in restaurants and now it's truly our own. We love the way it turns out. We REALLY love the way it turns out. The thought of making this especially during the winter and especially when we get to have it with friends, AND especially when it's our friends first time trying makes me go around saying stuff like, "Ah, Posole!" and "Ole' ole', ole' ole' ole'!" It's one of my favorite things to watch as my friends take that first bite of meat and hominy with the little taste of the corn tortilla chip and some cilantro and the zing from the lime and then the heat from the pepper jack cheese and the chile de arbole sauce, oh boy I'm salivating just writing about it! Guess I need to stop writing and tell you how it goes:

1 Whole Chicken cut up
1 Large Pork Roast
1 #10 (very large) can of Hominy, drained
1 Head Cabbage cut into ¾ inch squares
2 Bunches Cilantro, chopped medium fine
2 Bunches Green Onions, chopped medium fine
6 Cubes Chicken Bullion
1 Block Pepper Jack Cheese Shredded
1 Bag Tortilla Strips
4 Limes, 2 for juice and 2 wedged
Chili de Arbol Sauce

Cook chicken and pork the day before in a crock pot until meat is falling off the bone (at least eight hours on low). Skim stock and fat. Save stock for later. Cool and shred meat. Next morning in a very large pot combine chicken, pork, hominy, 1 bunch of cilantro, 1 bunch of green onions, chicken bullion, saved stock and the juice of two limes. Cover with water almost to top of pot; bring to a boil then lower to simmer. Let simmer for at least two hours but longer is better. We try to let it simmer all day. Serve in soup bowls and let each person add which condiments they prefer to the soup. This is a labor intensive recipe and makes enough to probably feed ten adults. It’s full of flavor and good for two or three days worth of left- over’s if you are just cooking for your family.

Condiments
1 Bunch of Cilantro
1 Bunch of green onions
Cabbage
Pepper Jack Cheese
Tortilla Chips
2 Limes wedged
Chili de Arbol Sauce

By the way we served this to a huge group recently and figured out that one batch makes enough for 12 adults, 5 teenagers, and 4 kids!

Oriental Chicken Salad

When I think about this tasty salad, one particular night sticks out in my mind. My best friend Shelly was over and we were having three of my most favorite things. Oriental Chicken Salad, Artichokes, and my moms Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream. Shelly and I sat on the floor in the front room, devouring all three items and scheming up a way to convince her mom to let her come with me to Orem, Utah for a wedding that I had to be in. We ended up bringing her mom a bowl of salad and a bowl of ice cream and begging. Shelly got to go! This is a great salad. Good enough to convince a mother to let her 15 year old daughter go all the way to Orem with a barely 18 year old in the middle of winter! Need to bribe someone to do what you want? Here's what you do to make it:

Ingredients for Salad:
1 Head of finely chopped Cabbage
3 Packages of non cooked broken up Chicken flavored Ramen Noodles
3 Cups Chicken Diced
4-6 Green Onions Chopped Finely
1 Cup Sliced or Silvered Almonds
1 Cup Sunflower Seeds

Ingredients for Dressing:
6 tbsp Vinegar
3/4 Cup of Salad Oil (Olive Oil if you can)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp of Season salt
3 Spice Packets from Ramen Noodles

You will want to start with the biggest bowl you can find. Trust me! I don't have one big enough and I have to use two. I like to cook the chicken before hand in a little chicken broth or chicken bullion. Gives it just a little bit more flavor. While it is cooling you chop everything up and add it all in together. The onions are kind of by taste. If you are a big onion fan do all six, if not, tone it down a bit. The original recipe calls for a lot less nuts but well we are a bit nutty and we like more. Don't forget to cut up your chicken and add it in before you pour the dressing over the top. Also if you want to have everything be really crisp and crunchy, plan on having it finished about three hours before serving and don't put the raw noodles in until right before. We like the noodles to soak up a bit of the oil and flavor so we throw everything in to get all happy together. When you make the dressing, add in all the ingredients and then whisk together really well, then immediately pour over the salad. You'll want to mix the dressing through the salad to cover everything well. Let your salad sit covered in the refrigerator for at least a few hours to completely cool. Right before serving mix it through one last time to bring the dressing back around from the bottom where it will most certainly settle. It's one of those dishes that you will keep eating because you never really feel full after just one bowl. It's extremely addicting as well. One last tip. It keeps pretty good for a few days, that is if you can get any left overs, so don't be afraid of it going limp. The cabbage goes a little limp but it's not bad. Just remember to stir it back around and get all the dressing that has fallen to the bottom.

Bacon and Spinach Quiche

I tried something new and loved it. Quiche is often called a "girly" food. Girly food or not my family woofed this down. It's so easy to make. Here's how it goes.

1 Pre-made pie crust.
1 Frozen box of spinach
1 Package of bacon
6 Eggs
1 Pint of heavy cream
1-2 Cups of cheddar cheese
1 Onion optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut bacon into small squares and cook. (optional - cook diced onions with bacon) Set aside to drain. Defrost spinach and drain in cheese cloth. Try to get as much moisture out of the spinach as possible. Whip together eggs and poor in about 1 cup of cream. You don't want to much cream because then the eggs will take forever to bake. Layer in the pie crust first then the spinach, bacon and cheese. Make nice even layers of all the ingredients. After everything is layered except for the egg mixture, poor the egg over the top to just fill in all the spaces in between. Cook for about an hour or until the quiche no longer wiggles. Let sit for about 5 minutes and serve to a hungry family. This also warms well the next day!

Dark Chocolate (Pumpkin) Muffins

Mmmm I love these muffins. I had never tried to make muffins before until I got this recipe. It's not entirely by scratch but whoever said it had to be? These tasty morsels are just right in the sweetness department and guess what? You don't hardly know the pumpkin is there but what you will know the second you bite into one is how dense and chocolaty it is. Anyone who loves dark chocolate will loves these. Here's how it goes...

1 Box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Cake Mix (because that's only one that I could find in Dark Chocolate!)
1 15 oz Can of Pumpkin.
1 Bag of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips - optional
THAT'S IT!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix cake mix and pumpkin in an electric mixer or by hand in a bowl if you prefer. You will want to add an egg or some milk or something because it will look to thick but DON'T! When the two ingredients are mixed well fold in Chocolate Chips and spoon in spoonfuls of batter into a pre greased muffin tin. ( I use my cooking Canola oil spray. It works the best) You can use muffin paper cups but it just means that it will waste some of the batter and these hold up without the paper. With the chips added in it will make the cups nearly all the way full. Again don't worry this is normal. Bake at 400 for approx. 18-20 minutes. Stick a toothpick in to see if it comes out clean. Don't forget though that the chips might make it look like it is uncooked. I let them cool on the counter and then put them in an airtight container for a few hours. I think they are best after a night in the Tupperware. They will nearly melt in your mouth. The original recipe came out of a book called Hungry Girl and it is the same except for the chips. Also for a change of pace add in Reeces Chips instead of Chocolate Chips. YUM! Also without the chips each muffin is supposedly only about 150 calories. One last thing, they freeze! Throw them all into a Ziploc then into the icebox to chill out. I love pulling them straight from there!

Steak Fries

Thank you Rachel Ray, I love your Steak Fries! I changed them a bit for me however. I won't tell you how she did hers instead I'll tell you how to do mine! Here's how it goes.

4-8 Large Potatoes
Spray Canola Oil
Extra Spices from your meat
Large Cookie Sheet

I start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Spray your cookie sheet thoroughly with the canola oil. Wash your potatoes well then cut the potatoes in long thick slices. Lay them down close with one another so that you can get as many as possible on the sheet. Once your sheet is full spray the canola oil again over the top of the potatoes. Then use your spices like salt and "salt" your fries. The other day we used Menudo spice mix for our BBQ and I took some extra, mixed it with a bit of salt and then sprinkled it all over my potatoes. Other times I have just used Lawry's if it's for nothing specific. These will crisp up nicely. Watch them however. The thinner the slices the faster they cook. Also if you want them done faster turn up your oven to 450 an reduce the time by 15 to 20 minutes but again watch them. Cook them at 400 degree's for 1 hour. Serve with a mix of mayo and ketchup for fry sauce. Delish and your family will gobble them up!

Mexican Casserole

This dish is basically just enchiladas laid out flat and layered. I forgot to take the finished picture sorry. It ends up not looking pretty anyway. It is really so delicious though. It's one of those "Thirty Minutes Meals"(Not from Rachel Ray though). I included the pic of all the cans so that you could see just what I use. I've used different brands but for the enchilada sauce I like La Victoria the best for this recipe. Here's how it goes.

1 lb Cooked Ground Beef
2 - 3 Cups Cheddar Cheese
Put some cheese to the side for the top
6-7 Flour Tortillas
1 Large Can of Refried Beans
1 Large Can of Enchilada Sauce
1 Small Can of Diced Olives
1 Small Can of Diced Green Chili's

I have a great round microwavable "glass" dish that fits my flour tortilla's but any microwavable dish would work. This recipe will definitely stain a plastic dish. Start out by pouring just a little sauce in the bottom of your dish. This helps the tortilla's not stick. Then start to layer your ingredients, tortilla, beans, meat, cheese, olives, green chili's to prefered level of heat. (I typically don't add the whole can of chili's and I usually leave some on the table for Brent to add to his). Then pour a bit of sauce to cover and continue with layering. Finish the top with one more tortilla, the rest of the sauce and then the rest of the cheese. You may use more tortilla's but that is all my dish will hold. Also I use the canned olives because it is convenient. I love my Pampered Chef Large Rubber Spatula with this dish because it is so easy with the beans and sauce and meat. My hands usually end up in the mixing and it sometimes gets a little sloppy. This is a fun recipe for kids to help with because it's easy prep. Prep time is minimal and cook time is 20 minutes in the Microwave. It will end up looking nothing like what it started off as but it will smell and taste fabulous.