Christmas Morning Rolls

I got this yummy recipe from my friend Mindee who makes these every year for Christmas or New Years, and boy are they delish!!!!  Delish and easy because you do all the work that night and let them sit over night and pop them in the oven in the morning!  How nice is that?!??!  This year, I put them on my list to make for Christmas morning, just to make sure I didn't miss out on them!!!  YUMM!!

22-24 Frozen Rhodes Rolls
1/2 package Butterscotch pudding (cook and serve)
1/2 Cup butter
1/2 - 3/4 Cup brown sugar
Cinnamon

First you grease your bundt pan and sprinkle with almonds.  Above I had slivered almonds, but you could used sliced or whatever you have.  Put your frozen rolls on top of the almonds.  Sprinkle with your dry pudding mix and lightly with cinnamon.  Bring your butter to a boil then take off heat and stir in your brown sugar.  Pour over your rolls.  Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let raise over night.  So you want to make sure it's the last thing you do before you go to bed.
In the morning, place bundt pan on a cookie sheet to catch any spillovers.  Turn your oven to 350* and Bake for 25-30 minutes.  When you remove from oven, turn the pan upside down on a platter and the sugar with cover the rolls.  Enjoy while warm!!!!!

Sweet & Sour Chicken Stir Fry

You can never have too many stir fry recipes right?  I like this one because it's a bit different than THIS recipe I have, and it tastes oh sooo good!

First you cook up your chicken...

 Chop up all your favorite veggies

 Cook them in oil until they are crisp tender

Simmer up that sauce!

And look at that yummness!

2 Breasts Chicken - Diced and cooked in olive oil, salt & Pepper
3 tsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 garlic cloves - minced
3 Cups broccoli
1/2 Pepper - Sliced
1/2 Onion - Sliced

1 tsp Cornstarch
1/4 Cup Water
 18 ounce Can of Pineapple - juice and pineapple seperated
3 T ketchup
1 T Soy Sauce
2 T Brown Sugar
1 tsp Rice Vinegar

First start with browning your chicken in a saute pan.  In a separate saute pan, add your oil, then your onions.  After they cook for 1-2 min, add in your garlic for 1-2 min.  Then add in your peppers and broccoli.  Cook on medium for about 5 minutes or until Crisp tender.  When veggies are done, add in whatever amount of pineapple you want from the can just long enough to warm it up.
In a separate sauce pan dissolve your cornstarch into your water.  Add in your pineapple juice ( not the pineapples), ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar and rice vinegar.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 3-5 minutes.
If serving over rice, layer your rice on the bottom, then add your veggies and chicken, then smother with sauce.  Enjoy!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Biscoff Cookies

Well I didn't think I would post another pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookie recipe on here again because I already have 2 recipes I love!  BUT. I. LOVE. THESE. COOKIES.  The combination of the pumpkin and the Biscoff is sooo smooth and creamy!  They are probably the most moist pumpkin cookies ever!!!  I've had Biscoff spread sitting in my cupboard for probably 6 months not knowing what to do it with it, so when I  stumbled across this recipe on pinterest, I knew I had to try it!

1/2 Cup unsalted butter - room temperature
1/2 Cup Biscoff spread
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 Cup Libby's Pumpkin Puree (not the pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 Cups - Flour ( I did 1 1/2 cup white flour, 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat your oven to 350*.  Lightly spray your cookie sheet with Pam.  Cream your butter, Biscoff spread and sugars in a mixing bowl.  Add in your egg, & vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.  Add in your pumpkin and mix well, then scrape down sides.  Add in your spices, soda and salt.  Then last, slowly add your flour until just mixed ( you don't want to over mix the flour in)  Then add in your chocolate chips.  Drop by spoonfuls on your cookie sheet and cook for 10-12 min or until set up.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack!
Enjoy!!!

Cabbage Soup

I Know!  Cabbage Soup doesn't sound very enticing does it?!?!?  But believe me you wont be sorry if you try this soup, and your bodies wont hate you either!!!  I'm sure you've all heard of the Cabbage Soup diet, right?  Well this is that, but on steroids and tastes way better!  My mom used to make it a lot and so I've never had a problem with it and I actually really liked it!  And just recently I had stinky cabbage in my fridge that had to be cooked asap, so I started searching for recipes, and combined my moms recipe with a few extra ingredients and absolutely LOVE this soup!  And so does Chris if that tells you anything!  Most recipes don't tell you to put ground beef in it, but I think it's a must and it definitely fills your belly a lot quicker!  This recipe is PALEO.  If you are crazy strict paleo and think beef broth from a can is bad for you, then go ahead and make your own beef broth.  But I let this one slide :)

1/2 lb ground beef
2 bottles stewed tomato's - blended
1 Can Beef Broth
1 Cup Chopped Cabbage
1/2 Cup chopped zucchini
1/2 Cup Chopped onion
1/2 Cup sliced carrots
1/2 Cup chopped celery
1/2 tbsp olive oil
Oregano - 1/2 tsp - to taste
Basil - 1/2 tsp - to taste
Salt & pepper to taste

Start with Browning your beef with your onion.  I like to do it in my big stock pot so I only have to use one pan.  Once beef is browned add your olive oil and the rest of your vegetables.  For the carrots, this time I just used baby carrots and stuck them in my salad shooter and sliced them thin so they would soften fast.  For the stewed tomato's, I used my own bottled tomatos and blended them in my ninja, juice and all and add it to the stock pot.  Add your beef broth and your seasonings to taste and let simmer for 20-30 min.  Long enough to let the flavors marinate, and the veggies to soften up.  Enjoy!

Stromboli

Once again, another fabulous recipe I aquired from Bunco a good 3 years ago!  This meal is a great meal to make when you want to bring a meal to another family and keep some for yourselves because it makes two loaves!!!  So actually that is the only time I make this dinner!!! Or if I want to invite people over for dinner.  This might sound weird to most but this pizza stromboli doesn't actually have pizza sauce in it, which is probably why I love it sooo much.   I've always had a hard time finding a pizza sauce that I liked.  This one is  smothered in egg and oregano!! 

You start by splitting your dough into 2 equal parts, and rolling into large rectangles.

 Then you mix your egg and oregano and smother all over both rectangles.

 Add your pepperoni

 mozzarella cheese

 ham

 provolone cheese

 Roll it up and slit holes in the top.

 Bake until golden brown

 Then slice up and serve!!! Yum

Dough:
5 3/4 to 6 1/4 Flour - I always use 1 cup of Whole Wheat flour
1 Pkg. Dry Yeast
2 1/2 Cup Milk
2 T Sugar
1 T Butter
1 tsp Salt
Stromboli:
2 eggs - seperarted
2 T flake Oregano
70 Pepperoni - 1 Package
1 Med Bag Mozzarell Cheese - shredded
8 Deli Ham Slices
8 Provolone Slices

For the Dough, put 3 C flour in a mixing bowl along with your yeast and sugar.  Scald 2 1/2 C milk (Dont get the milk too hot or it will kill the yeast).  When milk is warm enough add 1 T butter and 1 tsp. salt.  Stir until melted together.  Add to flour mixture & stir until blended. (Mix on low speed for approx 2-3 min)  Then using 1/2 cup at a time slowly add in the remaining flour until you get a tacky texture.  Turn out on floured surface and knead for a min.  Let raise for 30-45 min.
Cut dough into 2 equal parts and roll in a rectangle shape.  Take your egg and oregano and mix together well and brush onto the dough.  Next lay out your pepperoni then cover in mozzarella cheese.  Add your ham slices then your slices of provolone.  Roll up like a cinnamon roll (pictured above).  Close the ends.  Do an egg white wash (using 1 egg white and water and stirring quickly until slightly foamy and brushing over the the entire roll.  Sprinkle with flake oregano.  Cut about 4-5 slices on top of loaf to allow the heat to escape while baking.
Spray or grease cookie sheet.  Place loaves on cookie sheet with seams down.  Bake at 375* for about 40 minutes uncovered..
You can make this ahead and freeze in aluminum foil.  Grease foil before you put loaf on it to prevent sticking.  Prior to cooking take out of freezer and allow to thaw.  Bake Uncovered.

Homemade Salsa - Canning

If your like me, I'm ALWAYS on the hunt for the perfect Salsa!!!  I've found some good ones along the way, some vinegary ones, some sweet ones, some spicy!  Some that I like and my husband doesn't, but this one my friends, was the perfect consistency and taste, and we BOTH love it!!!  Thank you Jen Casey for providing me with this yummy recipe whom she got from a relative in Idaho!  A recipe well worth passing on to others and to store on my blog!!!

I actually halved this recipe, and changed up the peppers and used what I had!  I'll give you the original version along with my tweaks!!!  MY VERSION FIRST!!!
Karie's Version - 1/2 recipe - Made 10 pints

16 Cups chopped tomatoes -  Blanch for 20 sec in boiling water to remove skins first.  Then I chopped and  stuck in the ninja and pulsed a couple of times
3 green bell peppers - chopped
1 red bell pepper - chopped
3 jalepeno peppers - chopped
1 hot yellow pepper- chopped
1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped celery
2 Medium size onions - chopped
3 cloves garlic - chopped fine
1/2 TBLS paprika
1/3 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup vinegar
1 T ground pepper
1/4 Cup pickling salt
1 tsp cumin
2 small cans of tomato paste.
I just simmered everything together for 1 hour.  The processed in pints for 25 minutes!  YUMM

Makes 30 pints - Shaunna's Salsa

10 quarts tomoatoes, peeled and chopped.  (Blanch in boiling water for 20 seconds to remove skins)
6 red or green bell peppers
6 yellow peppers
5 jalepeno peppers
4 long 6-8 in. green peppers
4 long 6-8 in. red peppers
1 quart diced celery
4-6 diced large onions
6 cloves garlic
Remove seeds from peppers and dice.  Add to tomatoes along with celery, onions and garlic.  Cook all together for 1 hour until soft.  Add the following:
1 T paprika
3/4 cup sugar
1 C vinegar
2 T course ground pepper
1/2 Cup salt
2 tsp. cumin
2 quarts tomato paste
Simmer for 1 hour.  Bottle in pints and process for 25 minutes.

Fruit Salsa

Really?  It took me 3 months to post a recipe?!?!?!  Let me tell you, I've had a crazy summer.  A crazy summer that included getting pregnant, having a cyst rupture and hemmorage and have emergency surgery that put me out for 3 weeks, major morning sickness to accompany the surgery recovery, and the very thought of concocting or searching for a new recipe just made me want to ummm, excuse me, but heave!!!!! Then when I finally do decide to post a recipe I forgot to take pictures until everybody dug into the dish so it doesn't look nice and pretty any more.... but it sure did taste good!!!

Fruit Salsa:
1 Pint Strawberries - washed and diced
1- 2 Golden Delicious apple - washed and diced
4 Kiwis- peeled and diced
1 Tbls sugar
2 Tbls brown sugar
2 Tbls strawberry preserves or jam

Just prep all your fruit then add the remaining ingredients and give a good stir!  Refridgerate when done.  Use with the following tortilla chips:

Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips
1 Package flour tortillas
1/2 Cup Melted Butter
1 Cup Sugar
1-2 Tblsp Cinnamon - depending on how cinnamony you like it.

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine your Sugar and Cinnamon.  Melt your butter and brush onto your tortilla.  Sprinkle your Sugar/Cinnamon mixture on top with as much as you would like.  Cute your tortilla with a pizza cutter in triangles or use a cookie cutter like I did above and layer on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Yum!!!

Cilantro Lime Chicken - Crockpot

I am such a HUGE fan of chicken crockpot recipes that aren't smothered in cream sauces!  Do you remember my 3 ingredients recipe called  CROCKPOT CHICKEN SALSA?  I think I got the most feedback from that recipes saying how much they loved the recipe not only because it was sooo darn easy, but because it tasted sooo darn good!  Well this recipe is basically that recipe.... on Steroids..... minus the black beans....  Get it?  This will spice it up a bit, and give it a little bit of tang that changes it enough to call it another name!  Enjoy!  Oh and yes, this was inspired by Pinterest!

Cilantro Lime Chicken - Crockpot

About 4 boneless chicken breasts
1 small jar of your favorite salsa
juice from 1 lime
1 packet of taco seasoning
1/4 Cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno - finely chopped (optional)
Tortillas - I use corn (gluten free & less carbs)

Just add all the bottom ingredients in your crockpot and mix it really well.  Add your chicken breasts on top.  Set your crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.  When ready, shred your chicken and put back in the crockpot and let marinate for about 10 minutes.  Then add to heated tortillas with melted cheese, with your favorite toppings such as sour cream, avocado and fresh cilantro!  Enjoy!

Chicken Pasta Salad

 Once again, you can't go wrong with adding another salad to your BBQ list right?  I stole this recipe from someone in my ward that brought it to a ward party, and the sad thing is, I can't even remember from who!!  But I do know that it is an awesome salad, and I always get compliments on it!  This makes a HUGE batch so be prepared to take it to a party!

CHICKEN PASTA SALAD
12 oz box of bow tie pasta
12 oz box of cork screw pasta
20 ox can pineapple tidbits with juice
2 Cups chopped celery
4 chopped green onions
1 Cup cashew peices
1 1/2 Cups Red grapes (I cut them in half)
3-4 boneless chicken breasts - chopped and cooked

Dressing:
1 Cup Mayo
16 oz Bottle of Coleslaw dressing

Cube your chicken and cook until well done.  Cook your pasta according to the directions on the box.  Make sure both the chicken and the pasta cool before you add the other ingredients.  Just dump everything together in your bowl and mix it really well.  It's always better to let it sit the refridgerator for at least an hour before you serve.

Roasted Asparagus

So if you haven't noticed I have found this new love of Roasting vegetables rather than sauteing them and find that it gives off the best flavor ever!!!  This is just something simple really, but it definitely has to be added to my list of foods to make OFTEN!

1 Bunch Asparagus
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Pepper
Parmesan Cheese

Preheat your oven to 400-425*.  Wash and snap off the the hard ends of your asparagus.  Get out a cookie sheet and spread the asparagus on it.  This list of ingredients is used to your liking of how seasoned you want it.  Just drizzle your olive oil over your asparagus, then lightly cover with your salt and  pepper.  Stir it around until its completely covered then lay evenly on pan and stick in the oven.  Roast in the oven for about 10 Minutes sprinkle your Parmesan cheese on, and roast for a couple more minutes until melted.  Wonderful!!

PALEO CRUNCH

Here is a another yummy granalo - Paleo Style!  I think I LOVE this one more that the first one I made:  Fall Trail Mix - Paleo. I'm sure the first thing your going to do is scan the ingredients, and if your not a coconut lover you will immediately turn away and choose not to make this.  But that is a HUGE mistake, because I for one, am NOT a coconut lover, never have been.  But this Granola is seriously soooo good and worth trying.  It makes 2 huge cookie sheets worth so if you don't want to have excess saved in the freezer like I do, cut in half.  But I'm always up for having extra around!

My favorite is the Flaked Coconut from Bob's Red Mill.

And this is my Absolute favorite low Carb yogurt to eat it with.  It's Kroger Brand from Smiths called CARBmaster - Vanilla.  It only has 60 calories, 4 carbs & 3 sugars.  So WAAAY lower than your leading brands, but WAAAY more flavorful than GREEK yogurt.

PALEO CRUNCH

4 cups slivered almonds - I use whole raw almonds and blend them up in my ninja until they have a chopped texture

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1 1/5 cups almond meal/flour

2 tsp sea salt

½ tsp baking soda

¾ cup raw organic honey

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp pure Almond extract (just use vanilla if you don't have Almond)

1/2 - 3/4 cup liquefied coconut oil (easiest to add this last) 

1 tsp cinnamon

Agave (optional)

Preheat oven to 240F

Mix  all ingredients except Agave.  You might have to heat your honey a little to get it to spread.  You will have to heat your coconut oil too if has turned solid.  Spread/press onto 2 rimmed baking sheets lined with Parchment Paper.  Drizzle with your Agave. Bake for 1 hour (or until nicely goldish)

*stir up once about 1/2 through baking time.  Do not stir again until completely cooled!  That way it keeps it chunky.  I actually like to turn off the oven after 1 hour, then leave the Paleo Crunch in their for another 10 min until it browns a little and it comes out in big chunks!  LOVE it that way!

**if you have to put one cookie sheet on lower shelf, pull this out to stir about 30 minutes in and keep an eye on it, it will bake faster and could be over-cooked if you leave it in the full hour. Let it cool.  Eat it dry or with coconut or almond milk as cereal, or on top of Vanilla yogurt.   Store with paper towels/napkins to absorb excess oil.  

Homemade Tortillas

This week I had the opportunity to demonstrate how to make homemade tortillas to our Relief Society!  I was really excited because I had two great recipes in mind, and kind of combined the two into my liking to share!  My Aunt DeAnne has a wonderful authentic recipe that she got from my uncles mother who is mexican.  The other recipe I have, I  found from Barefoot and Baking who's Grandmother is also mexican.  So I've got a great recipe here to share!

After you mix the dough, you shape them into balls about this size and let rest at least 15 min....

 Rolling them into a nice circle is the hardest part!!!

 Stick them on a griddle or a cast iron skillet....

 And wahla.... you have a yummy tortilla to go with any meal you choose!

 Then I also did a test, one with Crisco and one with Butter because I am not  a big fan of Crisco.  I choose not to cook with it.  But as you can see, Crisco wins this contest.  The one on the left is made with Crisco, and it it's light and fluffy and you get the bubbles that brown.  Where as the one on the right was made with butter, and it almost has the texture of flat bread instead of a tortilla.  Just heavy and not as pliable, so it breaks and cracks when you try and roll it.  So I guess I have one exception with Crisco when it comes to making tortillas....

Approximately 16 tortillas

4 Cups Flour
2 Tsp Salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 Cup Crisco
1 1/2 Cup Hot Water

Start with mixing your Flour, salt & baking powder.  Cut in your shortening until well combined.  It will still be flakey.  Slowly Add in your Hot water until you get a Play dough like texture.  It wont be sticky at all.  I usually only add about 1 1/4 cup water.  You will just have to watch it.  I then pull it out of my mixer and knead it a couple of times, then I pull apart small rounds of dough and roll them into little balls.  Keep them in a bowl and let rest at least 15 min but up to an hour is great.
Flour your surface area really well then take your ball and start rolling from the center each time.  That is the key to get the circle shape.  As much as I flour the rolling pin it still sticks to it and I just pull it off and rotate the dough, and roll again.  Then stick your tortilla on a heated griddle ( pretty hot) wait until it starts to bubble and the bubbles have browned on the bottom side.  Then flip and repeat.  Serve Warm.  You can freeze them in a freezer zip lock baggy if needed!  Enjoy!!!

Chicken Oriental Salad

Here we are at BBQ season again, and we always need to take a salad of some sort.  If your like me, I get sick of bringing the same salad every time, so here is a new yummy one to tack onto your list!  I got this recipe from my Aunt at least 12 years ago, and I still come back to it time and time again!!!

You'll want to chop your cabbage into small pieces like this:

 And mix all your ingredients together for your sauce:

Throw everything into a bowl like this:

 Give it a whirl, and Bam!!  You get this!!!  Yummy!!

Salad:
1/2 Head Cabbage
1/2 Cup Sliced almonds
2 Green Onions - chopped
1 Package Chicken Ramon Noodles
2 Chicken Breast- Cooked and cubed

Sauce:
1/4 Cup Sugar
2 Tblsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1/8 tsp Salt
1 Chicken Ramon Noodle Seasoning Packet
Start with Grilling your Chicken Breast on a grill or stove top, or I use my George Foreman a lot!  Cube it up and throw it in the fridge to cool off.  You can do this ahead of time to make things easier.  Now for the Ramon Noodles.  Some people throw their noodles in the salad hard, but I personally do NOT like it that way.  My little trick to get the perfect texture is to get a small sauce pan and get your water boiling.  Break up your package into chunks and throw them in the boiling water for 20 seconds.  Hurry and drain the water, break it up a little more and throw that in the fridge with the chicken as well. It seriously is worth the yummy texture!!
Then start chopping away at your cabbage & onions.  Throw in your almonds.  Then add your cooled chicken and ramon noodles.   In a bowl add all of your sauce ingredients and stir with a whisk until combined.  If you want to get real techy then throw the sauce ingredients in a blender then it will REALLY blend.  Just dump it over your salad and stir until well combined.