Oregano Chicken

We made this the other night, kinda just whipped it up as I went along, but it turned out yummy so I wanted to share.



Ingredients:

1 TBSP Canola Oil
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Oregan
3 chicken Breast cut into small pieces
1 Carrot
1 Celery stick
3-4 Brocoli Pieces
3-4 Cauliflower Pieces

Brush the oil in skillet, sprinkle garlic and oregano on bottom, then add chicken. Cook thoroughly. Finely chop all veggies and add to chicken until cooked. That's it! EAt!

Kinda like a stirfry, but the tiny veggies were super yummy, I cooked mine till they were a bit crispy, but having it smaller seemed to make them easier for my kids to eat. We had Salad that more fresh veggies with Ranch dip with it, but you could even add this over some pasta tossed with a little oil and more garlic and oregano. Very healthy and VERY tasty.

Pig Cake

I just had my sons 2nd birthday and we had a farm birthday party. I made a pig cake and again, I'm not posting an actual recipe but more just some ideas of what I did.

1. Chocolate Cake with STrawberry Icing. Totally yummy flavors together! NEver did it before, loved it and would probably make really yummy cake balls! Also I didn't put any oil in the mix, added a Sugar Free Choco pudding mix to it. Came out of the pan great, tasted great....thus you DO NOT need oil! Yay for less fat and calories
2. For the nose I was out of cake batter and wanted something wide and remember seeing often on CAke boss them use rice crispy treat. I didn't have rice crispies but I did have Chex, so I mixed some marshmallows, butter and crushed chex, and it was perfect!
3. I used pre-made fondant for the ears and just cut out the shapes by hand, no cutters. Although the stuff tastes awful it worked good. It's even a year old and I just had to put it in a little baggie with a few drops of water, warmed up in the micro for 15 seconds and it was really easy to work with.
4. Smoothing the frosting. Someone once mentioned using a blow dryer...didn't work as well. Tried it on the cupcakes, but went back to my old method for the cake. After the cake with frosting sitting in the freezer for about 15 minutes you use a tiny bit of water on your fingers to smooth out. I use warm water, but I don't know that it matters. Then you could use the dryer after to help make it shiny again, but I forgot to do that before I put the dryer away.

Other things....I used chocolate chips for the eyes, black sugar sprinkles for the nostrils and more fondant for the border. On the cupcakes I just made animal picks from my cricut. If I had some black licorice string I would have done a little smile at the bottom.

A plethera or things! Or at least 3

OKay, so I have a few things to add on here, but since I just posted them on my blog I'll just attach a link here that you can follow to there!

Christmas Cookies



Cookie Cutter Sandwhiches



Cake Balls

Restaurant taste, in your own kitchen!

Okay, so I haven't tried this yet, but it just looks so dang yummy! But I thought I would share it!
Here is the blog where I found it!

Cake Pops

So I'm not going to post this recipe, but I'm going to give you the link, because why should I re-type it when all you have to do is click! But I'm attaching two links, one to my blog so you can see our fun pictures of making these cake pops, but then to the original bakerella website where you can find the recipe just waiting to be used! Honestly these are so fun, easy and yummy you will have to some time in your life try them!

Here's a picture of my final cake pops for my music class



and a much better picture of the ones she made on bakerella!

Roasted Carrots

I have made these a few times recently and LOVE LOVE LOVE them! The kids love them too and that's the best part.

Of course depending on how many people you are feeding adjust accordingly, but I'm going to do for 1 lb carrots which will feed a good size group.

1 lb peeled and cut carrots
2 tbsp canola or olive oil
1 tbsp Garlic Salt
1/2 tbsp corriander (or oregan0....I have done both)

Just dump all ingredients into a gallon zip lock, mix well coating all carrots. Dump on a foil lined pan and cook at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes depending on how small you cut the carrots.

You really can use whatever seasonings you perfer. EAch time I make them I try something new!

Beef Stroganoff

So I know all my recipes are kinda shady lately. That's how I cook, just throw in some of this, some of that and then when it turns out good I want to share it! This is the same stroganoff I make all the time except usually I use ground beef, but because of my beef excursion lately we had the REAL stuff!

Ingredients:

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 cup Sour Cream
1/2 onion
1/2 cup mushrooms (canned or fresh)
Beef (any variety really)
5 cups cooked Rice or Pasta

Slice thinly your beef and then cook in a large pan. Saute onions with your meat and then add the mushrooms. Once meat is thoroughly cooked add the cream of mushroom. Bring to boil (it's thick at this point) then add the sour cream. Cook at medium until heated through then keep warm until ready to serve.

Cook rice or pasta accordingly. Any pasta will do, but we prefer egg noodles.

I use the fat free soups, low fat sour cream and usually a very low fat ground hamburger or turkey. I also use wheat pasta or I think it's smart something? Anyway lower cal, higher fiber so any WW enthusiasts, it's only 3 points per cup instead of four! Anyway with these modifications you can enjoy your stroganoff for a reasonable amount of calories! Not to mention such an easy meal. We love some kind of bread and this week served it with our roasted carrots again...yummy!!

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

This is something that I came up with, obviously it's nothing original, but it had been a very long time since I had been Grocery shopping, and running out of food, I raided my cupboards, fridge, & freezer, to find anything to make a decent meal for dinner! And Viola.........



They turned out so good! Thanks to my mother in law who gave me the hogie buns, and luckily, I had some leftover steak in my freezer. There is no set recipe to this, but I'll explain what I did!

Start out with a hot frying pan, with some oil. Add the Strips of steak, once halfway cooked, add the sliced onions and green peppers! (It would even be good with mushrooms!) Add salt and pepper to taste. I had a lot of juices left in the pan, so I dissolved a little bit of corn starch in water and added it to the steak mixture to thicken the rest up!

Then take your Hogie Bun, spread some cream cheese on top and bottom, use as much or little as you would like! I also prefer the low fat cream cheese! Once cream cheese is spread, pile on the steak mixture, then sprinkle on some shredded mozz. cheese on top! With both sides open, broil on high in the oven, just till cheese is melted! Close the sandwich up, and enjoy!

Serve with french fries, or a side salad! Very tastey, very easy, and very quick meal!

-Janine

Tiny Spicy Chicken

4-5 chicken breasts cute into bite size pieces
1/2 t. garlic salt
Corn Starch
Oil
Sauce:
2 t. Sambal Oelek chili paste
1/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. white vinegar
3 t. soy sauce
1 1/2 c. sugar
6 t. brown sugar

Cut semi-frozen chicken into bite size pieces and sprinkle with garlic salt. Refrigerate 2 to 4 hours if you have time. Then coat chicken pieces with corn starch making sure that each piece if heavily coated. Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of a pan and deep fry chicken on medium heat until brown. Place deep fried chicken in a baking dish and pour sauce over the chicken. Place chicken and sauce in oven and cook for 45 minutes @ 350º, stirring every 15 minutes. Serve with rice or fried rice.
Sauce:
Place all the ingredients in a pot and cook on medium heat until sugar is dissolved stirring constantly. Do not boil or double the sauce recipe.

This is one Daniel would request once a week! We love it. The chili paste is easily found by the soy sauce or Chinese food section of your grocery store.

Cutting the meat!

So, I have to apologize, this isn't a recipe. But, this weekend we purchased a LOT of meat and I mean a lot. Like....golly, I think 40 pounds? Maybe more? Beef was .99 cents a pound, the pork was 1.89, and then chicken was like 1.50. So I stocked up. I think about 34 pounds was just beef. Now I'm not a big beef eater, mostly I prefer chicken, but for that deal I could handle throwing some in the freezer.

Another thing, I HATE touching raw meat and dealing with it. So, this post is not necessarily about HOW to cut the meat, but how to cut it and not have to touch it! REad on, laugh at my ridiculousness, but then next time you buy meat and remember this you will love me! (I hope)

So you start with your HUGE slab of meat, or hopefully for your sake much smaller.



Find a large cup for sandwhich size baggies, or bowl for larger baggies.



Cut your meat as you desire it. I had large pieces cut for roasting, small pieces for kabobs, smaller pieces for stew, and even small pieces for stroganoff. I also cut slices for steaks on the grill which I placed on a pan lined with foil, froze for a few hours, then placed in Gallon ziplocks. This way I can pull out however many or little I want.

I used a fork and a knife making most efforts to NOT touch anything.



Then I use a spatula to scoop up the raw nastiness



Then as you spatula you dump into cup or bowl lined with your baggie! I double bag mine, so I had one bag already labeled with date and what was inside. The greatest part is you don't have to touch the meat, and the zip lock part of the baggie doesn't touch the meat.




And if you are bagging larger pieces , just turn the bag inside out, and place your hand inside then grab the meat., then just slide the bag up around your meat and seal!

Nothing super ingenious about all this, just a few little tricks I learned since I didn't have gloves and I HATE to touch the meat! (have I said that enough times?)

Whatever you want soup!

So lately I have been making this soup in my crockpot a lot! I made it first about 6 months ago and Duck loved it so much he asked for it for FAthers DAY! I thought he was crazy, but whatever. We like it served over rice, but we also have it just as soup with some french bread or crackers. But the recipe is SOOOO s imple

3 Chicken Breasts (fresh or frozen, or even canned I guess{technically ANY meat that you think would taste goo})
3-4 cups cut Veggies, frozen, fresh, or canned! (Or 2 cans with juices)
2 Cans Cream of Soup any variety

Dump in a crock pot and let simmer away. Keep it at low for about 6 hours, or high for 3. Super Yummy, super easy and so many variations. Our favorite is a mixed can veggie and creamed corn with Cream of chicken, then served over rice. But we have done the cheese broccoli soup with broccoli....cream of celery with beans and corn, yesterdays was cream of mushroom with mixed veggies, creamed corn AND green beans. My kids LOVE it, my husband LOVES it and I LOVE how dang easy it is! ONe day I even added a cup of Sour Cream during the last hour to make it a bit creamy. Try it your style and share what combinations you liked!

Oh, and this serves our family twice, which is 2 adults and three kids under 5....so probably would be good for a larger family once.

White Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

So, I can't wait to make these. It was featured on the talk show Good Things Utah for winning the state fair I think. If you click on the link below it will take you to the website where I got this recipe and it also has a video of the preparation if you'd like to see that.

abc4.com

Prepared by viewer Heather Merrill

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup white granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup shortening
• ¼ cup butter or margarine softened
• ¼ cup white chocolate chips melted
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips

• 8 oz package cream cheese softened
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1-2 Tbsp milk

• 1 can cherry pie filling

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In large mixing bowl cream together sugars, shortening, margarine, vanilla and eggs. Add in slightly cooled melted white chocolate. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Beat at low speed until soft dough forms. Stir in white chocolate chips.

Cream together softened cream cheese , powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in milk until blended.

Drop dough by heaping teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Make an indention with your finger or spoon in top of dough. Drop a teaspoon of cream cheese mixture into each indention. Bake for 10 -12 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool for 1-2 minutes before removing from cookie sheet. Let cool. Spoon on cherry pie filling. Store in refrigerator.

Makes about 3 dozen

Hawaiian Chicken (POrk would be yummy too!)

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup soy sauce

3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (could substitute with other garlic sources)

1-2 tsp fresh oregano

1-2 tsp fresh rosemary

1-2 tsp fresh basil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black or lemon pepper

Chicken Breast

Combine all ingredients minus the chicken. Thinly slice chicken breast horizontally then cut again into strips. Place in a bag with marinade for at least 15 minutes, but the longer the better. I used about 1.5 lbs of chicken, but there was enough marinade you could probably even use as much as 4 pounds for this recipe.

Grill at a low heat setting allowing a nice color, but not over cooking your thin chicken slices.

Variation: Wine vinegar may be substituted for the lemon juice (I actually added both though!). If fresh herbs are not available, substitute 1/2-3/4 tsp dried.

Serve with Rice or other grilled meats and veggies. Enjoy!

Fresh Pears, Mmmmmmm...

I haven't posted any recipes for awhile, life has been a little hectic, but I have tried a few new things lately that I had to share. We got some fresh pears from the Church's pear farm in Medford and a couple of things I have made are here:

Pear Cranberry Salad

1 pear peeled and diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 head lettuce chopped (add other greens it would be delish!)
1 grilled chicken breast (I have used chicken cooked with a variety of marinades in this salad and they have all proven to be great!)
1/2 cup chow mein noodles
Poppy Seed dressing

Pretty much mix it all up! The dressing amount is to your taste. I prefer this salad with less dressing as you already have a lot of sweet flavor with the pears and the cranberries, and flavor from the chicken as well. I could eat this every day and it probably would be even better with a little gargonzola or other crumble cheese!


Slow Cooked Pear Cobbler

3-4 Medium Pears peeled and sliced

1 cup all-porpose flour

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1. Spray inside of 2 to 3 1/2 quart slow cooker wtih cooking spray.

2. Mix pears with 3/4 cup of sugar and add to the cooker.

3. Beat the remaining ingredients with spoon until smooth. Spread batter over the pear sugar mixture

4. Cover and cook on high heat setting 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

(If you want to bake in the oven, add 1 egg to the mixutre and add pears over the batter instead under. Cook at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until nicely browned and pears are tender.)

Serve with Ice Cream or Whipped Cream.

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

This is my first post to this blog...but I had to share this delicious recipe. We have it all of the time in the summer. To me, it is the ultimate summer dessert. Just top with really good Vanilla Ice Cream and you are in heaven!





I'm not going to put quantities because it depends on the size of your Dutch Oven. Just make sure your peach layer and your cake layer are about the same depth size.

Peaches (canned or fresh)
White or Yellow Cake Mix
Butter


Place sliced peaches in bottom of your dutch oven using about 1/3 of the juices (if using fresh, pour in a small amount of Sprite for the juice). Evenly sprinkle the cake mix over peaches, making sure to cover them completely. Slice up a cube of butter and place evenly over cake mix. Cover with lid and put coals on both top and bottom (again, depends on how big your dutch oven is, usually around 12 each). Let bake for about 30 minutes or until cake is golden brown. Watch closely and serve with ice cream.

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

My sister-in-law grabbed this recipe from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine and it is divine. Every time I've made it, I have used more oreo cookies than it calls for, and I have also tried it in a 9x13 cake pan and a cookie sheet. It has been yummy no matter how it is done. When I do it in a longer pan though, I usually need more cool whip too. ENJOY!


Strawberry Whipped Sensation

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tub (8oz.) cool whip, thawed and divided
8 Oreo cookies, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. Butter, melted


Line 8x4 inch loaf pan with tin foil.
Slice all of your strawberries. Take out 2 cups and set aside to use for the top. Put the other 2 cups of strawberries in a bowl to be mashed. Chop your oreos.
Mash the 2 cups of strawberries in a large bowl. Stir in condensed milk, juice and 2 cups of the cool whip; pour into pan lined with tin foil.
Top with combined chopped cookies and butter; press into mixture. Cover.
Freeze at least 6 hours. To serve, invert onto plate. Remove foil. Frost with remaining cool whip. Top with remaining strawberries, sliced.

Makes 12 servings

Cake Cookies

There are so many variations you can do with this easy cookie recipe. This oreo style includes the frosting recipe.

Ingredients:
-1 box devils food cake mix (you can use other flavors too)
-1/3 c. oil
-2 eggs

Mix all together. Put in ball shape on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 350º for 10-12 minutes

Other Additions: Chocolate chips, mint chips, white chips, peanut butter chips, or raisins.

Frosting Recipe:
4 oz. Cream cheese, softened
1/4 cube butter (2 Tbs.), softened
Powdered sugar to desired consistency like frosting

Mix well.
Put frosting on bottom of one cookie and add a cookie on top, Oreo style.
These taste really good well chilled!

Easy Chicken Parmesan

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

6 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.)

1-1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

HEAT oven to 375°F. Pour sauce into 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir in 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) Parmesan. Add chicken; turn to coat both sides with sauce. Cover with foil.

BAKE 30 min. Uncover.

TOP with remaining cheeses; bake 5 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF) and cheese is melted.

{This is delicious over your favorite pasta!! Tonight we are trying it with the Large Shells kind.}

Thai Red Curry!

Here is a recipe I found on another blog! I am currently into trying out new cuisine and this one looks promising! :)

Warning: very spicy dish!

2 potatoes (sliced or cubed)

1 large sirloin steak- sliced thin

1 packet "A Taste of Thai" red curry paste

1 can coconut milk

1/4 cup fish sauce

1/2 cup raw peanuts

salt to taste

Stir together full packet of curry paste, fish sauce, and half the can of coconut milk in a saucepan on medium heat. (Use less curry paste if you don't like it too spicy).

Stir in potatoes and steak and let it cook in the curry mixture. Slowly stir in the rest of the coconut milk as needed. Potatoes should be soft but not mushy.

Add peanuts and salt then let cook a few more minutes.

Serve over rice. Drink milk with this to balance out the spiciness!

Chewy Granola Bars

I got this recipe off of Her blog, that I love...

Chewy Granola Bars Recipe:

• 2 1/2 c. Oats - quick rolled oats
• 1/2 c. Rice Krispies
• 1/4 c. coconut
• 1/2 c. M&M minis
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Add all of the ingredients and mix together until combined. Press into a square 8×8 pan. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars. Let it set completely and then cut into bars. For thinner bars, press mix into a 9×13 pan. They seem to set a little better in the 9×13 pan. For additional topping ideas visit my Mini Chip Granola Bars post.

You can do different variations like add 1/4 c. peanut butter instead of honey or add raisins and cinnamon instead of chocolate. Let me know if anyone tries something different!!

WW chili

I wanted to post a recipe that represents comfort food (especially on those snowy days like today) that actually is not too harmful to the hips. So here you go : "Hearty Turkey Chili"

For those who count points 1 cup = 4 pts. (There are 6 servings per batch)

Don't be scared away by the list of ingredients- it really is an easy recipe.

	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	1 tsp canola oil
	1 large onion(s), chopped
	2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
	2 medium carrot(s), thinly sliced into rounds
	1 pound(s) lean ground turkey
	2 tbsp chili powder
	1 tbsp paprika
	1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
	1 tsp ground cumin
	2 medium tomato(es), chopped
	1 cup(s) canned tomato sauce
	1 cup(s) canned chicken broth
	1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
	1 1/2 cup(s) cooked kidney beans, rinsed and drained
	1 medium green pepper(s), chopped
	1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
	1/4 cup(s) scallion(s), chopped

• Coat a large pot with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add oil and onion; sauté onion until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and carrots; cook until garlic is softened, about 1 minute. Add turkey; brown meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Stir to break up lumps.
  
  
• Add chili powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, vinegar, beans and green pepper; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until meat and vegetables are tender, about 30 to 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper; garnish with scallions. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Enjoy!

Recipe Websites

These are good recipe-finding websites!!

foodnetwork.com

verybestbaking.com

tyson.com

craftsfoods.com

americanbeauty.com

quakeroats.com

chefs.com

familyfun.go.com

stouffers.com

bhg.com

honeybakedonline.com

veryvera.com

tasteofhome.com

cerealfoodsusa.com

campbellsoup.com

garlicvalleyfarms.com

about.com/food/

allrecipes.com

pillsburybaking.com

homesolutionsnews.us/recipes

kswheat.com

simplifysupper.com

oprah.com

edibleeats.blogspot.com

crockpot365.blogspot.com

For those of you who want to...

If anyone would like to post recipes to this blog, then leave a comment with your email address and I will add you as an author of this blog.

Candied Sweet Potatoes (YAMS)

Here is Nate's recipe that he used for Thanksgiving. I've been meaning to post it forever ago. Here's his comments of how he did it differently that the recipe.

I did make a few changes to it, as I kind of had a vision of the "perfect" yams before I started. I pretty much did everything the same as this recipe says except for I used a whole bag of mini marshmallows instead of just 1-1/2 cups, and I boiled the sweet potatoes till they were pretty much fully cooked before I did anything to them. Then instead of slicing them in 1/4 round slices, I chopped them into little 1" cubes or smaller. I wanted to do this so they would soak up more of the flavor. (personally, I think that's the "secret ingredient" that made these so good. You pretty much don't even know you're eating sweet potatoes) And that's pretty much all I did different. Otherwise, here is the exact recipe as I found it on the internet. Have fun!


-----------------------------
CANDIEDSWEET POTATOES (YAMS)
-----------------------------

6-8 medium-sized sweet potatoes
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup melted butter, plus 2 tbsp. melted butter
1-1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup pecan chips

Slice sweet potatoes into 1/4 inch round slices. Arrange
potatoes in a lightly greased baking dish (approx.
13"x9"x2").

Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans in a bowl. Sprinkle
each layer of potatoes with the mixture. Pour 3/4 cup
melted butter over potatoes evenly. Cover and bake at 375°F
for 30 minutes.

Remove, and baste with remaining 1/4 cup butter. Cover and
continue baking for 30 minutes. (If transporting dish, stop
here and continue last step at remote location – warm 5-10
minutes in oven before adding marshmallows).

Remove, sprinkle marshmallows evenly on top and continue
baking without cover for 5 minutes.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

This soup kind of reminds me of the "Fire Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup" that you get at Paradise Bakery and Cafe. I guess it's more of an Italian flavor with the basil, but I thought it tasted kind of similar. Anyway, we love this one!

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

2 cups chopped onions
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. basil
3/4 cup butter, divided
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cans (1 lb. 15 oz.) Italian tomatoes
4 Tbsp. tomato paste
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot saute onions, thyme, basil in 1/2 cup butter and olive oil until onion wilts. Add tomatoes and paste, simmer for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix 5 Tbsp. broth to flour until smooth. Stir in flour mixture to soup. Add remaining broth and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Put soup through blender, food processor or hand blender. (Hand blender works great) (Soup can be prepared ahead of time up to this point.) Just before serving, add sugar, cream and 1/4 cup butter, salt and pepper to taste. Yields 8-10- cups

The Best Brownies

My cousin posted these on her site and they looked so yummy that I just had to share. I'm really looking forward to making these soon. Thanks Jessica! (and if you go to her site, you can see the cutest grins ever that will totally brighten your day)


The Best Brownies
-Seriously, they are the best you will ever taste. just one bite and you will be addicted. You will never go buy the boxed kinds again. Add a scoop of ice cream and you will be in heaven. I have a few friends who have a standing order for these brownies. No joke. Blue ribbon material!-

½ cup Butter 1 cup Sugar 2 Eggs 1tsp Vanilla 1/3 cup Cocoa
½ cup Flour ¼ tsp Salt ¼ tsp Baking Powder
Frosting: 3Tbl. Butter- soft 3Tbl. Cocoa 1Tbl. Honey 1tsp Vanilla
1 cup Powder Sugar

Preheat oven 350°. Grease and Flour 8” square pan. In a sauce pan melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat in cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter in pan and bake 25-30 minutes.
Frosting: Combine butter, cocoa, honey, vanilla, and powder sugar. (I add maybe a tablespoon of milk too.) Spread frosting over warm brownies. Let cool and serve.
Double recipe for a 9x13 pan.


--Jessica Mortensen

Homemade Oreos

Hello! I am new here, but am excited to post recipes. Here is one I tried this week from another recipe blog!
I have tried other versions before, but this is the best I have had yet. Hope you enjoy!


Homemade Oreo Cookies (Big Batch)

2 packages Devils Food Cake Mix
1 cup margarine-softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese-softened
1 cube butter or margarine-softened
1 pound powdered sugar (3 cups)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together into cookie batter texture, roll into balls as big as desired (walnut size). Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Do not over-cook. Leave cookies on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes after removing from oven. Cool and assemble cookies spread with cream cheese frosting in the middle.