Fay's Jello

1 large pkg lemon pudding, cooked according to package instructions
1 large pkg jello dissolved in 3 cups boiling water
Cool whip

Mix the jello and pudding together and refrigerate until set.  Top with cool whip and serve.
Peach or raspberry jello are my favorites, but any flavor works.

Penny's Meatballs

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I usually use crushed ritz crackers)
2 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 T Italian seasoning(to taste.. I think I use less)
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper

Mix all together until well combined(sometimes I mix by hand, or if I'm making a big batch I'll mix in my bosch).  Use a spoon or cookie scoop & roll in balls.  Place on cookie sheet with cooking spray or parchment paper. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes until done.  1 recipe makes about 24 meatballs depending on how big you make them.  I like to make a double or triple batch and then freeze the leftovers for a future easy meal.

Homemade Nacho Cheese

My kids have been loving nachos lately… I've made this nacho cheese several times and feel better about them eating this rather than the processed cheese kind.. The original recipe included cayenne pepper, but I leave that out.  Also, I've gotten to where I don't really measure, I just throw everything in & it turns out well.  I've also used medium cheddar instead of sharp & as long as its good quality cheese(like tillamook), it should turn out.  I have reheated leftovers in the microwave & Neil told me he likes it even better reheated.  You may have to add a little milk when reheating it if its too thick.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup whole milk (I use 1%)
1/4 tsp salt
8oz block sharp cheddar cheese, grated (the original recipe warned against using pre- grated cheese, as it has some additives and won't be as creamy)

Directions:

Melt the butter in a medium size skillet over medium flame. Once the butter is melted add the flour. Whisk until it combines into a smooth blond paste and starts to bubble around the edges.

Add the milk to the skillet and continue whisking. Once the milk is incorporated, raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once the milk has reached a boil, quickly lower the heat and reduce to a simmer. Allow the sauce to thicken slightly.

Add the salt and whisk to combine.

Add the cheese and gently stir, allowing the cheese to melt. When the cheese is completely melted and the mixture smooth in consistency, the nacho cheese sauce is ready to serve. Enjoy immediately, as the sauce will get firm as it sits.

Citrus Soy Pork Tenderloin

The pork tenderloin that we served at the family Christmas party.. 

From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

• 2-3 pounds pork tenderloin
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all the ingredients except the pork and mix well. Pour the marinade into a ziploc bag or baking dish and add the pork tenderloin, making sure the marinade completely covers the pork. Marinade for 8-10 hours.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill (charcoal or gas). Grill the pork tenderloin about 3-4 minutes on each of its four sides (the exact time will depend on the temperature of your grill) or the internal temperature is about 150 to 155 degrees. Remove from the grill, tent with foil, and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Doctored Cake Mix

1 box of cake mix
1 large box of pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup sour cream

Cook as a cake or cupcakes or whatever form you choose according to the cake mix directions on the box. It will be much more moist and taste less like a cake mix.

Pecan Pie

This is the recipe that I always use for pecan pie.  It was from my boss during my health department days.


~3/4 cup pecans
3 eggs, well beaten
1 c. dark corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1 t. flour
1/4 c. melted butter

Combine ingredients(except pecans), mix well and pour into a pie shell.  Top with pecans(whole pecans look better).

Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center is set.

Quinoa Burgers

Original Recipe

Ingredients

2 rounded cups cooked quinoa
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or other variety, if you prefer)
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 medium carrot, grated
3 eggs
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 green onions, including white parts
1 /2 teaspoon Splenda or sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Olive oil for frying

Directions
In a large bowl combine the 2 rounded cups of cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, green onions, sugar, pepper, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.

Heat a frying pan and a couple teaspoons olive oil over medium-low heat.  (To help them stay in patty form and not fall apart, it’s best to cook the patties on medium-low heat so they have longer to set-up without burning. This makes them easier to flip, too.) The mixture will be slightly sticky, so using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and lightly flatten to 1/2 inch thick. Fry until golden-brown, about 4-6 minutes each side. When done cooking, place patties on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain off any excess oil and serve warm.

Pretzel Rolls

These pretzel rolls (or pretzel buns) have a definite pretzelish flavor. I assume you could roll them into a snake and cook as a soft pretzel, although I think you could actually make a pretty decent bagel this way as well. I made these as hamburger buns, so I shaped them more flat, but for an actual roll, you'd shape them more spherical. In the blog post, Mel's husband asked if she bought them from a fancy store; Kirsten also asked if I had bought them somewhere. I made half the recipe and ended up with 8 well-sized hamburger buns. Also, I cooked them on our pizza stone with a little cornmeal under each.

Mel's Kitchen Cafe: Pretzel Rolls

INGREDIENTS

Dough:
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 2 cups warm milk (about 100-110 degrees F)
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (about 100-110 degrees F)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 1/2 - 8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Water Bath and Extras:
• 3 quarts water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• Coarse salt for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or you can do this by hand in a large bowl), stir together the yeast, oil, milk and water. Add the salt and two cups of the flour. Add the rest of the flour gradually until a soft dough is formed and knead for 3-4 minutes. You may not need to use all the flour depending on many different factors - add the flour until a soft dough is formed that clears the sides of the bowl. It is similar in texture to bagel dough and should be slightly more stiff and less sticky than, say, roll dough, but definitely still soft and not overfloured.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover it with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size (1-2 hours).
3. Portion the dough into 16 pieces and roll each piece of dough into a lovely little round ball. Here's a great tutorial on how to do that quickly and efficiently.
4. Lay out the rolls on lightly greased parchment or a lightly floured counter. Make sure the dough balls won't stick! Let them rest for 15-20 minutes.
5. While the dough rests, bring the water, sugar and baking soda to a boil in a large 5-6 quart saucepan.
6. Working with one piece of dough at a time, carefully take it off the parchment or counter, flip it over in your hand and pinch the bottom to form a little pucker and help the dough form a nice, taut ball. Take care not to deflate the dough; you should pinch just the very edge of the dough.
7. Place 3-4 dough balls in the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side (the longer you boil, the chewier the baked pretzel roll will be).
8. With a spatula, remove the dough from the boiling water and let the excess water drip off into the pan. Place the boiled dough balls onto lined baking sheets (lined with parchment or a silpat liner).
9. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
10. Using a very sharp knife or razor, slice 2-3 cuts into the top of each unbaked roll about 1/4-inch deep or so. It's important to use a very sharp blade so that it cuts the dough without deflating it. It's ok if the dough looks wrinkly and kind of funny. It will work itself out during baking. Lightly sprinkle each dough ball with coarse salt.
11. Bake for 20-22 minutes until the rolls are deep golden brown. These rolls definitely taste best the same day they are made; however, lightly warmed in the microwave for a few seconds will do wonders for pretzel rolls 1-2 days old.

Coconut syrup

Christie and I are on a coconut kick right now. My neighbor gave me this recipe for coconut syrup and brought me some over, it is delicious. Here is the recipe 2 cubes of butter 2 cups of sugar 1 cup buttermilk add to medium saucepan and heat on medium heat until boiling. Boil for 2-3 minutes then remove from heat. Add t teaspoon of baking soda and 2 t coconut extract.

Feeding 11 year old boys

So Caleb had a small gathering for his birthday with 16 of his closest friends. He actually invited 21, but ONLY 16 came. I will say I was pleasantly surprised at how well behaved they all were, they said please and thank you and complimented me on the mint brownies. So anyway, I wanted to write down how much pizza etc, I bought so I could remember. No comments on having Little Caesars, but hey they are 11 and they don't care about gourmet pizza. So I bought 6 pizzas, 3 pepperoni and 3 cheese, 5 crazy bread and 4 liters of soda. There was 1 pizza left and 2 pieces of crazy bread. I bought 2 orange soda, 1 root beer and 1 cream soda. Cream soda was the favorite. The rest of my family was eating too and one of Zach's friends. In case you want a stomachache, they also ate 5 batches of popcorn and who knows how much candy. I also made a cookie sheet sized batch of mint brownies and there was 1/3 of those left.

Lemonade

1 C. Sugar
1 C. Water

Bring just to a boil, so the sugar is completely dissolved in the water.  Remove from heat.

1 C. Lemon Juice (from freshly squeezed lemons or from the bottle, may substitute all or part with lime juice)
4-5 C. Cold Water and Ice

Combine additional water and lemon juice with syrup.  Most of the ice will melt fairly quickly.  Taste and add additional water if it's too strong still or a little more lemon juice if it's too sweet.  Refrigerate and serve.

You can blend up and add fresh strawberries, mango, or other fruit or some sprigs of mint for a flavored lemonade.

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe is adapted from a recipe from a friend of mine. She makes her own crust and steams her veggies, I made it simpler with frozen veggies and a store bought crust. My kids love it. Filling: 2 cups of frozen peas and carrots onion 1 potato, peeled and chopped 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, boiled in salted water, then cubed 4 Tbsp. butter 5 Tbsp. flour 2 1/2 c. chicken broth 2/3 c. milk 1/2 tsp. salt dash pepper 1 egg, beaten I use dehydrated onions, but if using fresh you would probably want saute them in some butter in a pan. Cook potatoes in boiling water til tender. In a separate large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, remove from heat and add flour and whisk together until smooth. Add chicken broth and milk and continue stirring over high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for an additional minute or so until thick, then reduce heat to low. Add cooked chicken, frozen peas and carrots, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Lay dough in dish of choice. Spoon filling into dish. Cover with another layer of pie dough. Press edges together. Brush beaten egg on the dough of each pie. Bake at 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the top crust is light brown. For some reason this all ran together, but I don't have time to deal with it right now, so I will later.

Facebook Brownies

This recipe was making the rounds on Facebook.  I'm posting it here mainly so I can find it again easily rather than having to search through the Facebook archives for it.  I didn't make it as a mix.  I just mixed it all up at the same time.  It's a pretty thick batter, so if you sprinkle chocolate chips on top, they stay on top, unlike most box mixes where the chocolate (or, even better...mint) chips all sink to the bottom.  I did it in a pie pan, and it worked well in that.

Facebook Brownies

Never buy boxed brownie mix again! Follow the recipe below and make brownies for approximately .30 a mix! So simple, so easy. Not just frugal but cuts out the unknown ingredients.

1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Cocoa
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Powder

Put mix in plastic bags or mason jars.

At baking time add:

2 Eggs
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Vanilla

Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan.

It was a Pampered Chef rep who was circulating the recipe, so she recommended using the Pampered Chef brownie pan, which supposedly cooks faster.

Check after 12-15 minutes of baking and remove when brownies are done!

Dinner for 200

I was in charge of dinner for our ward Christmas party & need to record my notes on feeding dinner to 200 people in case I ever have to do it again.. Or in case this could be useful to someone else at some point.

The menu:
Roast beef
Mashed potatoes & gravy
Green beans
Salad
Rolls
Jello
Cookies & punch

My notes:
Roast beef:  We ordered 4 cases (20lbs each) of precooked roast beef, figuring 1/3 lb of meat per person.  This amount was good.  We did have one foil pan of meat left, but I felt like we got this amount right.  The meat came frozen & we took it out and let it thaw the night before, put it in roaster pans (3 roasts per pan) & let it heat for 2 1/2 - 3 hours, sliced it with an electric knife & served in foil pans.

Mashed potatoes:  bought 3 cases of premade mashed potatoes, spread them in foil pans covered with foil & heated in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours & served them from the pans.  We had 1 pan left over.

Gravy:  bought 2 containers of brown gravy mix from Costco.  Each had 99 servings.  I only ended up making 1, but should have done both.  We came close to running out, but I mixed some of it with the juice from the roast beef so it would go farther.  This worked fine and there was enough.

Green beans:  bought bags of organic frozen green beans from Costco.  According to the package, each bag contained 25 servings.  I bought 7 bags.  We would have been fine with 5 or 6.  We boiled them and served them from foil pans.

Rolls:  ordered from the lion house.  18 dozen & we had a few dozen left over.  I would stick to this amount.

Salad:  the salad was made with spring greens, sliced pears, gorgonzola cheese, toasted pecans & a homemade vinegarette.  We plated & served the salads.  For 200 salads, we used nine 1 lb boxes of spring greens from Costco, 3 dozen pears ( they were big, so we only used 2 dozen), 2 lbs of pecans, toasted in the oven, and two 1.5 lb containers of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese.  The dressing was as follows:
4 cups real maple syrup
2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups fresh lime juice(yes, I squeezed them by hand)
1 T + 1 t salt
1 T + 1 t pepper
Blend together.  This was plenty of dressing & we didn't use it all.  Just dress the salad right before serving.

Jello:  we assigned 10 people to bring their favorite jello.  This was enough & was mildly entertaining to see the jello creations.

Cookies:  assigned 12 people to bring 2 dozen cookies.  This was enough without having tons of excess cookies.  Wished there were more homemade cookies, but greatful that people were willing to help.

Punch:  2 parts cranapple juice mixed with 1 part sprite.  I bought 12 64 oz bottles of cranapple and 6 bottles of sprite + ice.  We were able to dump it directly int the drink dispensers, add ice & serve.  This amount was good.  We bought 8 bags of ice, which was also about right.  We also served water.  We had 2 drink dispensers with punch & 3 with water.

Lentil & Rice Pilaf with Yogurt Sauce

A recipe from my friend Wendy.  This has become a regular at our house- healthy, meatless & tasty.


Lentils & Rice

1 cup small french green or brown lentils (I've used both-- the green have a little better texture, but brown is just fine too)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 t minced garlic
3/4 cup long grain white rice
1 t salt
3/4 t cumin
1/2 t pepper

1-In a 3 qt sauce pan, bring lentils and 2 1/2 cups water to a boil.  Cover and let simmer until tender - about 20-25 minutes. Drain.

2-Meanwhile, add oil, onions and garlic to a 12 inch frying pan over medium heat.  Stir and cook until onions are golden.  Add rice, salt, cumin & pepper.  Stir until rice looks opaque- about 3 minutes.

3- Stir in drained lentils & 2 more cups of water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover & simmer.  Stir occasionally until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.  (Sometimes i have to add a little extra liquid to get the rice tender.  Serve with Yogurt Sauce


Yogurt Sauce
1 c plain lowfat yogurt
1/3 c finely chopped, seeded cucumber
1/4 t minced garlic
1/4 t dried mint
1/4 t pepper

Mix well & serve over lentils & rice.

You could serve this as a side dish with chicken or fish, but I serve it as a main dish, usually with some wheat toast and fruit.  Love the leftovers for lunch.

Falafel

Ingredients
2 16 oz cans chickpeas, rinsed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves coarsely chopped
1 handful fresh cilantro, leaves coarsely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons flour
1 egg

Vegetable oil, for frying

Pulse chickpeas to coarsely grind in food processor, not until smooth but with no whole chickpeas remaining either. Add the baking powder, onion, garlic, spices, and herbs; process until the mixture is pureed; scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add flour and egg and mix well.  Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate while heating the oil, this should take about 15 minutes.

Pour 3-inches of the oil in a deep fryer or deep heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F. Roll the falafel mixture into ping-pong size balls. Carefully slip a few at a time into the hot oil, making sure they don't stick to the bottom. Fry until the chickpea fritters are a crusty dark brown on all sides, turning as needed, about 5 minutes per batch.  You can optionally smash slightly and pan fry in a very small amount of olive oil.

Remove the falafels with a slotted spoon and drain on a platter lined with paper towels.  Serve immediately with pitas and tzatziki or tahini sauce.

Cucumber Sauce (Tzatziki)

1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, chopped cucumbers
8 warm pitas, store bought or homemade

My favorite banana bread

1 1/4 c sugar
1/4 c butter
1/4 c applesauce
2 eggs
1/2 c plain yogurt
3-4 mashed ripe bananas
1 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 1/2 c flour
Chopped nuts(optional)

Cream butter, applesauce and sugar, add bananas, eggs, yogurt, vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients until just mixed.

Pour in greased pans and bake at 350. Time depends on pan size. I usually do 2 small pans and 1 medium sized pan. The small ones bake for 30-35 min, until done. The bigger pan bakes for about 40-45 min. If you did 1 big pan, it would take about an hour.

Soft Sugar Cookies

My favorite sugar Cookie recipe to date(adapted slightly from my friend Allison's recipe):

Soft Sugar Cookies
Cream together:
1 cup softened butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

ADD
1 cup sour cream
6 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

Refrigerate an hour to overnight. Roll out and cut with cookie cutters. This dough is much easier to work with than my previous recipe. Bake at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes 'till just barely brown (do not overcook). Makes 4-5 dozen. Frost with your favorite frosting (I like cream cheese).

Chicken with Romesco Sauce

We've been making a lot of recipes out of the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook lately, and this is one of our favorites. The chicken is kind of an afterthought to the Romesco sauce. Its rich, bold flavor is nicely accented by the crunch of the almonds. Possible side dishes include rice, salad, veggies, etc.

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 slice firm whole grain bread, crust discarded and bread torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup drained roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped
• 1 tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Toast the garlic and bread in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add the almonds and continue cooking and stirring for 3 minutes, or until the almonds are toasted. Transfer to a food processor fitted with a metal blade or a blender. Add the peppers, tomato, vinegar, paprika, salt, and oil and puree. Set aside.

Coat the same skillet with olive oil cooking spray and return to medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, for 5 minutes, or until browned. Remove to a plate. Add the reserved almond mixture and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Return the chicken to the skillet. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until chicken is done. 4 servings.

Cookies & Cream Popcorn

Recipe and photo from Sing For Your Supper.

• 1 bag popcorn, popped (Tender/Fluffy White variety)
• 6 oz white chocolate baking squares
• 10 Oreos, crushed

Place the popped popcorn and Oreos in a large bowl. Heat the white chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted and smooth.

Drizzle the white chocolate over the popcorn/Oreo mixture and stir to coat. Dump out on a large sheet of wax paper and spread into a single layer. Let cool and harden. Break into small pieces and serve.

My Variation
I made a double batch of the recipe as listed above, but when I sampled it I thought it was a little too sweet. So I popped an extra bag of popcorn and mixed it in. In my opinion, the extra touch of saltiness made it just right. So the ratio I ended up with was as follows:

• 3 bags of popcorn
• 12 oz white chocolate
• 20 Oreos