Beef Stroganoff

It's been a few years at least since I made this recipe but it's a favorite of mine and it tasted wonderful tonight so Here goes!

(Serves 6-ish)

1 lb ground beef
1 med onion diced fine
1 pkg sliced mushrooms (for me I leave them sliced for the family I chop them very small!)
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 can's Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Can Milk
8 oz tub of Sour Cream (or half of the 16 oz container etc. you may like it with more or less...)
1 T Worcestershire sauce (or more!)
2 t. Parsley Flakes

salt
Pepper


Proceedure:
In a large Skillet
Brown 1 lb of ground beef When it is about 2/3 Cooked add:
Onions
Mushrooms
Cook till they are soft and add Salt and Pepper to taste
NOW add the minced garlic...yum
Add the Worcestershire sauce
(If your meat had a LOT of fat you may wish at this point to drain that off and add a little more sauce)
When the meat is all cooked add:
Soup
Milk
Cook for 10 min on med/low to a nice consistancy

This is a good time to boil your noodles! I use a 1 lb bag of curly noodles. I have heard that mashed potatoes or rice will work too.

When your noodles are done add the sour cream and Parsley Flakes to the gravy and stir to combine. Serve over the noodles and enjoy!

White Chicken Chili

6-7 cooked and shredded chicken tenders (I cook in olive ol and season with salt and peper)
1/2 half large onion chopped
1 16 oz. chicken broth
1 regular/large can green enchilada sauce
1 small can green chilis
1-2 limes (juice)
1 16 oz. sour cream
4-5 cans great northern beans (drained and rinsed)

Crock pot on low 6 hours
-Cook everything but the beans
-After 4 hours add the beans

OR

Cook on high 3-4 hours
-Combine everything except beans
-Add beans after 1 1/2 hours

*Enjoy with tortilla chips, shredded cheese (colby jack), and sour cream

Strawberry Salad

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I found this on All Recipes and wanted to share.

Prep time 10 min

Original Recipe Yield 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 bunches spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 4 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions

1. In a large bowl, toss together the spinach and strawberries.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, paprika, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Pour over the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat.
3. We like to add about half a bag of candied nuts.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 235 | Total Fat: 15.9g | Cholesterol: 0mgPowered by ESHA Nutrient Databas

Steak Gorgonzola-Copycat

Olive Garden® Steak Gorgonzola-Alfredo

Another Authentic recipe that comes right from the source OLIVE GARDEN.
Included are two Balsamic Glaze recipes for you to choose from. A few reviewers suggested making the glaze first to cool while you do the rest.



Olive Garden® Steak Gorgonzola-Alfredo

Menu Description: Grilled beef medallions drizzled with balsamicglaze, served over fettuccine tossed with spinach and gorgonzola-alfredo sauce.

Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo

Serves 4

Cook time 10 minutes (depending on doneness of steak)

Prep time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Marinated steak 2.5 pounds

Pasta uncooked 1 pound

Spinach gorgonzola sauce 16 fl oz

Gorgonzola cheese 2 tablespoons

Chopped sun dried tomatoes 2 tablespoons

Balsamic glaze* 2 tablespoons

Procedures
Steak

1 boneless top sirloin 2.5 pounds

1.5 cups Italian dressing

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Cut beef into 1 inch cubes and set aside

2. mix the dressing, rosemary and lemon juice together

3. Add the marinade to the beef toss and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

Spinach Gorgonzola Sauce

16 fl oz Alfredo sauce*

4 cups chopped spinach

½ cup chopped green onion

3 tablespoons gorgonzola cheese crumbled

1. Heat Alfredo sauce in a large saute pan.

2. Add onion, spinach and gorgonzola cheese.

To put the dish together:

Grill steak to preferred doneness.

Cook 1 pound pasta according to the directions.

Place drained pasta in saute pan with heated sauceToss pasta with sauce and place on a large platterPlace grilled beef on pasta and sauceDrizzle with balsamic glaze. Sprinkle remaining gorgonzola cheese and sun dried tomatoes

*OLIVE GARDEN ALFREDO SAUCE

1 1/2 cup(s) White Milk

1 1/2 cup(s) Heavy Cream

1/2 cup(s) Imported Parmesan Cheese, grated

1/2 cup(s) Imported Romano Cheese, grated

6 Egg yolks, fresh jumbo eggs

Salt and black pepper

*BALSAMIC GLAZE #1

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Simmer until thickened, cool to room temperature.

*BALSAMIC GLAZE #2

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

Mix together ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly and becomes syrupy, whisking often, about 15 minutes

Lasagne

For Christina and Lindsay!

I think everyone has their own perfect vision for lasagna. The following is mine! My female children prefer this without the cottage/ricotta cheese layer....poor misguided souls....

Make a big batch of your favorite spaghetti sauce! When it's done and simmering away boil 9 or 12 lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain.

Layers in a 9x13 pan:

very light amount of sauce on bottom of pan

3 noodles

Sauce to cover each noodle well

Generous amount of mixed cheese (I like cheddar/jack/mozzarella)

3 noodles

Cottage cheese or Ricotta mixture (1lb container of cottage cheese, one lightly beaten egg, 1 tsp itallian seasoning, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese mixed together)

3 noodles

Sauce to cover each noodle well

Cheese

if your pan is deep enough:

Sauce to cover each noodle well

Bake for 30 min at 375

cover with generous amount of cheese and bake an additional 15 to 20 min or until cheese is the way you like it.

LET IT REST! Cover loosely to keep the bugs (husbands) away.... Serve with garlic bread or rolls! YUMMM

Homemade Marshmallow Easter Eggs

Christmas version above!

This is one of those recipes that I pull out once or twice a year and then wonder...why don't I make this more often!! I got it from someone in Relief Society when we lived in San Jose.

It's easy but you have to follow directions exactly and at points move quickly, so, get your ducks all in a row before you begin this process!! You will need a candy thermometer and a stand mixer. 

First:

Get out 3 9x13 type pans, or things that will work like them. (I have some larger pans that hold 18) and fill half full with regular flour. (you will be able to sift this back in your flour container after we are done!)

Take a plastic Easter egg I like the medium sized ones not too small, but not too large. Make indents (molds) into the flour with the egg. You should be able to get 12-18  in one pan depending on the size of your pans. Set these aside on a counter not too far away from the action.

Step 1: Sprinkle 2 envelopes of unflavored Gelatin in 1/2 C. COLD water and set aside.

Step 2:
      Mix in a medium sauce pan:
      3/4 C. Light corn syrup.

1/2 C. hot water

2 C. granulated sugar

Bring this mixture to a boil WITHOUT stirring to 240 degrees. Remove from heat immediately and pour into a stand mixer. Add shield and start beating. Bring to high speed and while mixing add softened gelatin 1 T. at a time. It will turn white.

Add: 1 T vanilla (or you can get creative and use another flavor if you like)

Continue to beat till stiff peaks form.

Now you have to work fast!!
Step 3:

Pour mixture into a large (12 or 18 inch) pastry bag, snip off about an inch of the bottom and pipe into your flour depressions ASAP. you must do this as quickly as possible before the mixture cools and it's just a sticky mess. Sprinkle a little flour over the top of the marshmallows in the molds. Let sit 4 to 6 hours or overnight.

Step 4:

When you are ready to dip these little pillows of pure joy into chocolate make sure to trim up all the little imperfections and dust off most of the flour.
The easiest way to dip these is to get the Chocolate wafers from the craft store and melt in microwave per directions. I usually put them in the chocolate flip them over take out with a fork and tap most of the chocolate off making sure it's well coated then transfer to a cookie sheet to harden.
Decorate with sugar flowers (purchased) or while still melted add sprinkles, or use royal icing or melt some white chocolate or color wafers to decorate with (those harden quickly though). 

Makes about 30 small/Med eggs or 18 large.

For Christmas Version I used round ornaments for the depressions and santa candies etc.

Don't forget to sift out the little bits of marshmallow before re-storing your flour.

Buche De Noel 2! Meringue Mushrooms

This is the recipe I use to make the mushrooms but I am including the entire thing since it's got good information!

http://www.baking911.com/recipes/cakes/buchedenoel2.htm

FOR THE BISCUIT (Cake):
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
Granulated sugar, scant 1/2 cup
Whole milk, 1/2 tablespoon
2 large egg whites
Cake flour, 1/3 cup
Powdered sugar, for dusting

FOR THE CHOCOLATE PASTRY CREAM:
1/2 recipe Pastry Cream (see below)
Dove Promises Dark Chocolate, finely chopped, 3 1/2 ounces

FOR THE SOAKING SYRUP:
Simple Syrup flavored with Grand Marnier (see below)

FOR THE MUSHROOMS:
3 large egg whites
Granulated sugar, scant 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar, sifted, scant 1 cup
Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting, 1/2 cup

PREPARE THE BISCUIT (Cake): Preheat oven to 420 degrees F. Place the whole eggs and yolks in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar and the milk. Whip with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, until the mixture lightens in color and triples in volume, about 6 minutes. Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl, and whip at medium speed until foamy. Make French meringue by adding the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. When all the sugar has been added, increase mixer speed to medium-high and whip to stiff but not dry peaks, about 5 minutes.

Use a rubber spatula to fold the egg mixture in batches into the meringue, incorporating it gradually so as not to deflate the meringue. When all the yolk mixture has been incorporated, place the flour in a fine-mesh sieve and sift over the mixture. Gently fold this in with the rubber spatula. Spread the batter evenly on a parchment-covered baking sheet, liberally dust the top of the biscuit with powdered sugar and place in the oven. Bake just until biscuit begins to brown on top, about 5 minutes. This will lock in the moisture, allowing you to roll the cake later without cracking it. Immediately after removing from the oven, run a knife around the inside of the baking sheet to loosen the cake from the sides. Remove cake from baking sheet and allow it to cool.

PREPARE CHOCOLATE PASTRY CREAM: Make pastry cream as directed and let cool. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or a mixing bowl placed over a bowl of simmering water, stirring it occasionally as it melts. When all of the chocolate is melted and smooth, remove it from heat, and add the cold pastry cream to the warm chocolate. Mix them together with a rubber spatula.

PREPARE THE ROULADE: Place the biscuit on your work surface and soak with the flavored syrup. Spread the chocolate pastry cream evenly over the cake, spreading it all the way to the edges. Start at one long end and, rolling toward you, roll it into a tight cylinder. Place the roulade on a parchment covered baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for a few hours to set.

PREPARE THE MUSHROOMS: Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add the granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have volume, then add the rest of the sugar. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and whip until you have stiff but not dry peaks. Gently fold in the powdered sugar. Place the meringue in a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip. Pipe the mushroom pieces onto a parchment covered baking sheet. Make the stems by squeezing out a dime-sized mound of meringue, then pull the pastry bag straight up, leaving a small tail. Make the caps by piping 1/2-inch mounds onto the sheet. Sprinkle the caps with a little cocoa powder and place in the oven. Bake until firm and dry, about 1 hour, leaving the oven door cracked so moisture can escape. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE TREES AND FENCES:
Bittersweet chocolate, tempered, 16 ounces, see below

FOR THE COFFEE BUTTERCREAM:
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg
Water, 1/3 cup
Granulated sugar, scant 1 cup
Cold unsalted butter, cubed, 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon
Coffee extract, to taste
FOR THE IVY AND FLOWERS:
Red, green and yellow liquid food coloring as needed

TO FINISH THE BUCHE:
Powdered sugar, for dusting, scant 1/2 cup
Chocolate shavings

PREPARE CHOCOLATE TREES: Make a cornet from parchment paper and fill half full with tempered chocolate. Pipe a long thick chocolate raindrop on a sheet of parchment paper. Draw a cake comb through the chocolate, starting at the center of the raindrop and moving from left to right. Repeat, starting at the center and moving from right to left. You should have a chocolate pine tree. Repeat for as many trees as you want. Allow the chocolate to set before peeling the parchment paper from it.

PREPARE THE CHOCOLATE FENCE: Fill a cornet half full with the tempered chocolate, and pipe a 3 to 4-inch long railroad track, with the outside rails spaced about 2 inches apart and the inside rails spaced about 1/2-inch apart onto a sheet of parchment paper. Allow the chocolate to set before peeling the parchment paper from it.

PREPARE THE COFFEE BUTTERCREAM: Place the egg yolks and whole egg in a large mixing bowl, and whip until thick, light, and tripled in volume, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour the water and granulated sugar into a 1-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan and place over medium heat. Insert a candy thermometer into the mixture. The sugar is ready when it reaches 250 degrees, or the soft ball stage. Pour the cooked sugar down the side of the bowl into the whipping eggs. Continue whipping the mixture until the outside of the bowl is warm but not hot, about 2 or 3 minutes. Add the butter all at once, and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Now whip on medium-high speed until thick, smooth and shiny, about 10 minutes. Remove about 1/3 cup and set aside. Add the coffee extract to the remaining buttercream and whip until well combined.

ASSEMBLE THE BUCHE: Place the rolled cake on the platter you will use to serve it. Use a sharp knife to slice a 11/2-inch-thick slice from one or each end of the roll. These will become gnarls on the log. Spread a thick layer of buttercream over the buche. Place the ends or gnarls on top of the log, 1 at each end, if desired, and cover with buttercream. Run a cake comb through the buttercream along the length of the buche, to make it look like bark. Place the buche in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to let the buttercream set.

MAKE THE IVY AND FLOWERS: Divide the unflavored buttercream evenly among 3 bowls and color each with 1 of the food colorings. Make 3 cornets from triangles of parchment paper, and fill one with pink buttercream, one with green, and one with yellow. Remove the buche from the refrigerator. Use the green icing cornet to make the ivy, by piping long curved lines along the length of the buche.

Place small yellow dots along this stem, for the flower centers. Surround these with pink dots for the flower petals. Cut the tip of the cornet diagonally to make a point and fill it with green icing. Squeeze a dab of green buttercream out of the corner of each leaf.

FINISHING THE BUCHE: Stick together the caps and ends of the mushrooms, using a dab of buttercream. Place the mushrooms, chocolate trees and chocolate fence on the buche. Dust the buche with powdered sugar and sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Refrigerate for 1 hour,then serve and enjoy!

PASTRY CREAM:
Cornstarch, 2 tablespoons
Granulated sugar, scant 1/2 cup
4 large egg yolks
Whole milk, generous 2 cups
1 vanilla bean
Unsalted butter (optional), 1 tablespoon

Sift together the cornstarch and half the sugar in a medium bowl, add the egg yolks and whisk until well combined. Pour the milk and remaining sugar into a 2-quart nonreactive heavy-bottomed saucepan and place over medium-high heat. While milk is heating, slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Separate the seeds, and add both seeds and skin to the milk. Bring it to a boil. Carefully pour about half of the milk into the egg mixture, whisking so eggs don't scramble. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and continue to whisk, as pastry cream thickens. Bring to a boil and continue to whisk and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat, strain through a fine-mesh sieve, and add butter in small chunks if desired. Stir butter into cream until well incorporated. Pour pastry cream into an airtight container and put plastic wrap on top to prevent a skin from forming. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days, until ready to use.

SIMPLE SYRUP: Water, scant 1 1/4 cups Granulated sugar, 2/3 cup Liqueur, 2 1/2 tablespoons

Place the water and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. The sugar should completely dissolve. Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl. Cool before adding the liqueur.

TEMPERED CHOCOLATE: When you melt chocolate, the molecules of fat separate. To put them back together, you temper it. One way to temper is to place the chocolate in the microwave, and microwave it on high power for 30 seconds at a time until the chocolate is melted. As it recrystallizes, it becomes tempered.

Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 1 hour

Buche De Noel

The recipe I use for my Yule Log Cake is at the following site:

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Make:-A-Buche-De-Noel-Quickly-and-Easily&id=367109

I added 3/4 C. Sifted dutch coacoa to the cake and went a little light on the flour by about 2 T.

I use a different recipe to make the meringue mushrooms and the owl is by Moonstruck Chocolates.

Here is the text.

Christmas is coming soon and you are wondering what to prepare for this occasion, right? Why not try a "Buche De Noel"?

In this articles I'll show you a step by step method to get this done in record time. So check this out...

The Recipe: Buche De Noel
Yield: 16 Servings
Occasion: Christmas

INGREDIENTS:

For the Buche De Noel:

~ 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

~ 1/4 teaspoon Salt

~ 3/4 cup Sugar

~ 3/4 cups Cake flour

~ 3/4 teaspoon Baking powder

~ 5 Eggs

Chestnut Butter Cream Filling:

~ 1 Egg yolks

~ 1 pinch Salt

~ 1/2 cup Butter

~ 1/2 cup Superfine Sugar

~ 1-1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

~ 2 cups Powered Sugar

~ 2 tablespoons Butter

~ 30 Chestnuts (whole cooked)

~ 4 tablespoons Heavy Cream

Mocha Silk Frosting:

~ 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

~ 1-1/2 tablespoons Corn syrup

~ 1-1/4 c Sugar, powdered

~ 2 tb Heavy Cream

~ 2 teaspoons Instant coffee

~ 3 tablespoons Cocoa powder

~ 5-1/3 tablespoons Butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

For the Buche De Noel:

Utensils: Cookie sheet larger than jelly roll pan and clean lint-free dish towel.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the 10"x15"x1" jelly roll pan by greasing it, the line base and sides with wax paper. Grease the wax paper. Bring the 5 eggs to room temperature and then separate the yolk and the whites. Combine salt, flour, and baking powder; place aside.

Beat yolks until thick and pale. Slowly add 6 teaspoons of sugar, beating well after each addition. The mixture should fall in thick ribbon when beaters are lifted. Add the 1 teaspoon of vanilla and beat again. Beat egg whites until foamy with clean dry beaters.

Slowly add residual sugar while beating continuously, until whites stand in firm, glossy, moist peaks. Fold 1/3 whites into yolk mixture to lighten it, then fold remaining whites in too.

Slowly fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture; fold in smoothly but thoroughly. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan, making sure to get it into the corners. Place pan into oven right away. Bake around 10 minutes or until the top is golden and tester comes out clean. Make sure you do not overbake.

This part should be done very quickly: remove from oven, the immediately cover jelly roll pan with clean towel, then with the inverted cookie sheet. Turn over pan, towel, and sheet to turn out cake. Remove jelly roll pan; peel off wax paper.

Slide towel and cake onto counter so that the cake is wrong side up. Slice any crisp edges, fold one end of towel over short end of cake, and roll cake in towel. Place rolled cake seam side down on wire rack or cookie sheet to cool completely.

Chestnut Butter Cream Filling:

Mix salt, vanilla, sugar, cream and egg yolk; beat for around 7 minutes at medium speed. Cream butter until light in the beaters without washing it. Add yolk mixture little by little, beating well after each addition.

Slowly add the powdered sugar, while beating well after each addition. Put the basic buttercream aside. Puree chestnuts with powdered sugar, butter and cream. Mix chestnut puree into buttercream thoroughly. I sometimes add a little more cream to bring to very spreadable consistency.

Mocha Silk Frosting:

Place instant coffee in a plastic bag and crushing it with a rolling pin until powered. Combine coffee, sugar and cocoa. Add the remaining ingredients and beat for 1 or 2 minutes at medium speed.

You can also add a little more cream to make frosting easy to spread (optional). Unroll cooled cake, leaving it on towel. Spread 1/2 cup frosting evenly over cake, all the way to the edges.

Spread 2 cups filling over thin layer of frosting, pushing generous amount into curved end. Roll up again, without towel but using it to help roll. Put cake, seam side down, on tray or cake plate. Get rid of any excess villing from ends and seam edge. Chill for 1 hour to firm filling.

Trim and remove (or eat) a thin slice from one end of chilled cake; cut and keep wedge from other end. Spread a little amount of filling on top center of cake and press reserved wedge on it to make the "knot-hole." Frost entire cake with remaining frosting, building frosting up around sides of "knot-hole." Do not cover knothold top. Work frosting as far under roll as possible.

Frequently draw narrow metal spatula lengthwise through frosting to create rough texture of bark. Cut pieces of angelica into leaf shapes and cut glace cherries in half to make log decorations. Keep cake refrigerated until serving; it is much easier to slice when cold and firm. Prior to serving, surround cake with cranberries and holly.

Et voila! Your Buche De Noel is now ready! :-)

Merry Christmas! :o)

Jonathan Is The Webmaster Of Quick Easy Recipes & Author Of A Famous Cookbook Called America's TOP Secret Recipes [http://www.easy-recipes-secrets.com/copycat-recipes.html] Revealing The Insider Secrets Of World Class Restaurant Dishes. You Can Also Check His Brand New Website: Favorite Recipes [http://www.recipes3.info]. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Teng

Easy Crock Pot Roast

For my Large crock pot this is what I do:

Add in this order:

1 med. bag of Baby carrots
5 to 6 med white potatoes (cleaned and chopped into cubes) Other potatoes work too.
1 med. onion rough cut
1 lg. roast
1 beef/mushroom gravy mix, mixed with 1 cup water. I pour this over the entire bowl.
Liberal amount of Worcestershire sauce on just the roast.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook on high 6 hours or low 8 hours. About half way through I stir the veggies and turn the roast and add more Worcestershire sauce to it and more salt and pepper to taste. (Make sure to TASTE it!)

For a smaller crock pot I would half this recipe!

If you like more carrots, or more potato add it! If  you want to try some herbs I would try Thyme maybe a very small amount of rosemary or toss in some itallian seasoning. It's very easy to adjust to your family's taste!!

GRAVY!
When done, remove veggies to a bowl, beef to a cutting board and cut up. Heat the remaining juice in a microwave safe bowl to boiling with 2 beef bullion cubes. Add mixture of 1/2 C. Water and 1/4 C. flour well whisked and cook 1 min, whisk, cook 1 min more, whisk and taste for salt. Add more if necessary .... serve!

Calzones

Hey all! It's Christina. I just wanted to share a recipe that's been a recent hit in my family lately. They are DELISH!

We have been dividing the dough into four small-medium size Calzones. we just cut four even parts of the dough then roll each out to make a circle, fill it with whatever we want inside and then fold it in half and tuck the edges.

since we make smaller Calzones the bake time is closer to twenty minutes.

Ingredients for Dough
1 1/4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon dry milk powder
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

For fillings (remember this should make 4 individual calzones)
3/4 cup pizza sauce
4 ounces pepperoni or sausage.
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Any other favorite toppings...
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
Place water, salt, bread flour, dry milk, sugar, and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select Dough cycle. (if you don't have a bread maker you can do this in a mixer or by hand by mixing the dough and letting it rise for 60 min before the next step!)
After cycle ends, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface; cut into 4 equal parts. Roll each one out into a circle.  Transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet(I just put mine on parchment).
Add Pizza sauce to half of the dough (you will be folding the other half OVER it making sure to leave a good inch or so on the edges to fold over.
Add toppings!
Mozzarella cheese, Pepperoni, olives etc....(whatever you like on pizza, but don't overfill!)
brush the edge with water and fold over the other half of the dough and seal the edges.
 Brush top with melted butter. (I forgot to do this to mine!!)
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 min and check for doneness. They should be pleasantly browned on top and bottom.

This one is waiting for Dad to get home....

This was mine, just sauce, cheese and pepperoni! yum!

Family Style Greek Salad

I can't remember where I found this recipe but we love it!

Dressing:

1/2 C. Olive Oil

1/4 C. red wine vinegar

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. dried oregano

Salad:

1-2 heads of romaine lettuce chopped to 1 inch pieces

2 med. cucumbers peeled chopped

4 lg tomatoes cut to thin wedges (or we sometimes use 2 boxes of little tomatoes)

1 lg. red onion sliced thin and cut in quarters

12 oz. crumbled fetta cheese

3/4 C. Kalamata olives (i like them pitted but it's your choice)

1/4 C. Lemon Juice

Whisk dressing and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Combine salad ingredients and drizzle with the Lemon Juice

Add dressing to taste! TOSS and EAT!

Sue's Chocolate Sauce

This recipe is from my good friend Sue! We made this in Young Women's one night and I was amazed and awed!

1/2 C butter

3 squares unsweetened choc.

2 C sugar

1 C light cream

1/2 C light corn syrup

1 tsp. real vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 bar good quality dark chocolate

Melt butter and the 3 squares unsweetened chocolate on low heat. When completely melted, add sugar, cream, syrup, vanilla, and salt. Turn heat to medium and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil and boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Take off heat and add 1/2 bar of dark chocolate or milk chocolate if you prefer. Serve warm over ice-cream or your finger!

When this is cold, its like the center of a really good truffle....be warned you should hide this from your kids!!

Janey's Split Pea Soup

This is my almost final product after years of playing with this recipe. I like to buy the bags of split peas at Grocery Outlet and I have taken the recipes on the bags and basically picked them apart and made them better.

First you must beg, borrow or buy a honey baked ham bone...ok I guess another would work, but these are my favorite! A good way to get one or two (freezable by the way) is to hang around the kitchen after a ward dinner where they are serving ham!

Dig out that large crock pot and add:

the ham bone

8 cups of water (more if you like it soupy)

2 C. rinsed split peas

Now!

Dice:

one onion

3 stalks of celery

2 carrots

Saute these for 3 min in about 1 T. Butter and 1/4 t. sage powder, dash of red pepper flakes!

(you can omit this step and just toss in if you prefer but I think it adds a nice flavor)

Add this mixture to the crock pot

Add 2 t. kosher salt, dash of pepper

and lastly, 2 bay leaves

Turn on High or low and get some housework done!

When done, remove the bay leaves and the ham bone remains, you may also need to skim off any fat if your ham had a lot on it!

OPTIONS:

I like to chop up the meat(only the tender parts) and add back to the soup. I Smoosh up the peas with the back of a spoon cause I like my soup chunky.

OR!

You can puree and strain soup for a smooth consistency.

OR/AND

you can add milk...

I will often puree up half of the mixture and add it back in for the smooth/chunky look!

This soup can also be made quicker by simmering for 45 min to an hour on the stove top!

Pictures to follow, I am making this today since I had to make room in the freezer and the ham bone was in my way!

Parmesan Crusted Salmon

Buy your Salmon the day you would like to make this....Or! you can get the frozen individual packed salmon at costco and thaw it the day you want to make this!

This is for 4 medium portions so adjust accordingly. This recipe works best if all the portions are similar in size. If you have a big fat piece you may need extra cooking time.

Combine about 1/2 Cup grated parmesan (freshly grated is best but get the good stuff at the store if you can't)

1/4 C. seasoned bread crumbs

dash of pepper

You can stop here...

I always grab a few fresh leaves of thyme and parsley from my herb garden and chop fine and add to the mixture.

I don't usually dredge the Salmon in anything but I do rinse with water before I crust it.

Lightly (because the Parmesan is salty) season the salmon with salt and pepper. Generously coat 1side of the salmon with the finely grated Parmesan. In a non-stick saute pan, add approximately 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and place over high heat. When the oil is hot, carefully place the salmon in the pan cheese side down. Turn temperature down to medium heat and allow the salmon to cook about 4 minutes before flipping over. The idea is to form a nice crispy, lightly brown crust. Turn salmon and allow to cook another 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside in a warm place until plating.

I like to Serve with brown rice and lemon wedges.

Snickerdoodles

Pre-Heat oven to 375

Cream together

1 C. butter at room temp

2 C. Sugar

Add:

2 eggs

1/4 C. milk

1 t. vanilla

Sift together and add:

3 3/4 C. flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. cream of tartar

Mix in a shallow bowl

3 T. granulated sugar

1 T cinnamon

Use greased cookie sheets or parchment lined.

Form dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the shallow bowl of sugar.

Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the

bottom of a cup.

Bake 8 min till light golden.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I always double the regular recipe so I am just going to post this doubled!!!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Pre-Heat the oven to 375

Cream together:

1 C. Butter

1 C. Chunky peanut butter

1 C. Granulated sugar

1 C. Packed Brown Sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

Sift together and Add:

2 1/2 C. flour

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Form into 1 inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined

cookie sheet. (or and ungreased cookie sheet)

criscross with the tines of a fork.

Bake for 10 min. Cool 1 min before moving to wire rack.

Banana Cookies

Banana Cookies,

My kids love these almost as much as banana bread!!

Sift together:

2 C. Flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. cloves

Set aside

Beat for 30 Sec:

1/2 C. Butter

Add

1 C. sugar

Beat till fluffy

Add:

2 eggs

1/2 t. vanilla

Add a little at a time alternating:

1 C. mashed ripe bananas (2 med bananas or equivalent)

Flour mixture

Beat in between additions

Drop on a greased cookie sheet or parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.

Bake for 10 to 12 min.

Cool on a wire rack.

Banana Butter Frosting

(If you want to add this I would omit the cinnamon sugar step)

Stir together

2 C. sifted powdered sugar

1/4 C. mashed banana (1 small)

2 T. softened butter

1/2 t. Vanilla

Mix well and add more sugar if needed to get to the consistency you prefer.

Lemon Squares

Lemon Squares

Pre-Heat Oven to 350

Grease 2 8x8x2 pans or a larger than 9x13 baking pan

Crust:

3/4 C. Butter at room temp

1/2 C. Sugar

2 C. Flour

1/2 t. Lemon Zest

Filling:

4 eggs

1 1/2 C. sugar

1/2 t. lemon zest

6 T. lemon juice

1/2 t. Baking powder

beat butter for 3o seconds, add the 1/2 c. sugar and 1/2 t. salt beating till fluffy.

Stir in the 2 C. flour and lemon zest, pat the dough into the bottom of the pans evenly. Bake for 15 min.

Meanwhile beat the eggs and add the sugar, flour, lemon peel, lemon juice, and baking powder.

Beat 3 min or till slightly thickened. Pour over baked crust. Bake for 25 to 30 min longer till light golden brown around the edges and center is set. Cool. Sift Powdered Sugar over top if desired.

Cut into squares makes 32.

Note: If you add some cornstarch to your powdered sugar and sift together it will hold up longer on top without melting! (not sure of the proportions but I would start with adding say 1 t. to one cup)

Pumpkin bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Everyone seems to have a recipe like this, but this is my favorite by far. Thanks to Connie Lowder for the recipe!

Cake/bars

Pre-heat oven to 350 Degrees

Cream Together:

1 C. Oil

4 eggs

1 16 oz can Pumpkin puree

1 2/3 C. Sugar

1 t. salt

2 t. Cinnamon

1 t. Soda

1 t. Baking powder

Add:

2 C. Sifted Flour or Cake Flour

Bake in a Jelly roll pan (10x15x1) I use a cookie sheet with a 1" side

for approx. 20 min.

Frosting:

3 oz cream cheese

1/2 C. Butter

1 t. vanilla

2 C. powdered sugar

Cream together, gradually adding powdered sugar
I always double or use recipe below:

Frost cake when it's cooled. Cut into Bars.

We sold a lot of these at the bakery!!

Store in refrigerator. It's actually better on the next day! Serves a lot!

My frosting recipe for this cake:

8 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 C. Unsalted Butter
1 t. Vanilla
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 box of powdered sugar

I pipe it onto the cake then spread it.

Cheesy Potato Soup

Cheesy Potato Soup

This recipe is from my good friend Lisa Hansen! They introduced it to us at Young Women's last year on our Soup and Bread night now we are addicted!!

4 medium potatoes, diced

1 large onion, chopped

1 quart water

¼ cup (½ stick) butter or margarine

3 tablespoons flour

½ cup milk

1½ cups (6 oz.) shredded sharp cheese

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon seasoned salt

¼ teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

Chopped chives

Combine potatoes, onion and water in heavy saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. In heavy skillet melt butter; add flour; cook and stir until mixture bubbles. Remove from heat; stir in milk. Return to heat; cook and stir until thickened. Stir mixture slowly into potatoes; cook and stir until thick. Add cheese and seasonings. Serve topped with chopped chives. 4 to 6 Servings

*I also add about ½ cup chopped celery and ½ cup chopped carrots along with the potatoes and water. I also garnish with sour cream.