Butterscotch & Spice Cookies

1 c softened butter (real)
1-1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 c molasses
Beat till creamy.

Combine:
3 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Add gradually to wet mixture.
Add
11oz. bag butterscotch chips

Bake for 7-8 minutes at 350. Drop cookies, look good made very small, half dollar size.
Sorry there is no pumpkin in this I thought that it tastes a little like pumpkin because of the ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Sorry. I don't know the actual name, but they are SOOO good. The picture doesn't do them justice.

Curry Chicken

3 chicken breasts (sprinkle with season salt)
1 pt. sour cream
1 c mayo (less if you want, Best Foods w/ green lid, less cal)
1/2-1 TBS curry
1 can cream of chicken
Optional: (makes it alot better)
cut carrots and potato.
Spread sauce on bottom of pan, then cover chicken. 350 for 1 hour.

I cook this in a crockpot for a few hours with the sauce in, tasted great. Add potatoes and carrots later so they aren't too soft. You can add as much curry as you like, just taste as you go. The potatoes and carrots really made this great. I did not like curry, but I am beginning too. Try it out.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (the BEST)

2 sticks butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
Cream the above together.

Seperate bowl combine:
2 c flour
2 c oats (not quick)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Add to wet ingredients along with 12oz. bag (or less) chocolate chips.
Bake for 11-13 minutes at 350.

Pancakes

My husband does NOT like "just add water" pancakes. These are great.

1-1/4 C Flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS sugar
1 C milk
1 TBS oil
1 egg
MIX!

I can't remember how much it makes, worth mixing up a bunch and keeping on hand.

Cashew Chicken Sandwiches

2 chicken breasts, halves
1C cashews, chopped
3/4 C mayo
1 bunch alfalfa sprouts
1C celery, diced
1 apple, diced
2tsp powder ranch dressing
24 small croissants

Wrap chicken individually in foil, Bake for 1 hour at 350. Dice chicken very small, place in large bowl. Add all ingredients, except sprouts. MIX. Slice croissants in half (butter opt.) and spread large tablespoon of mix onto croissants, top with sprouts. DELICIOUS!! GREAT FOR PARTIES.

Pot-Stickers (gyoza) (sway-jow)

8 oz ground lean pork
1/4 C green onion, finely chopped
1C finely shredded green cabbage (must be squeezed firmly to remove water-i use nylons (clean) or cheesecloth)
1TBS Asian sesame oil
2tsp Sugar
1TBS soy sauce
3/4 tsp salt
1TBS MSG (opt)
24 round wonton wrappers

Combine in bowl and place quarter size onto wrap and seal edges with water.

Sauce: white vinegar (lots, we like it) & soy sauce, and some green onion. Just mix to your liking.

Cook in pan with a mix of oil and water, cook on one side. Can also be steamed, or boiled. We like them crispy.
This is a recipe from my husbands mission. SOOOOOOOO GooD!

granola!

This is the most delicious granola ever! It comes from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. You can do anything with it, like add whatever nuts you want, do part honey part syrup, add in raisins or whatever. We eat it for breakfast with milk, mix it with yogurt and fruit, or eat it just as a snack. It's really sweet without any sugar, so it's fantastic.

2 c. oats (instant or rolled)
1 c. coconut (I use unsweetened)
1/2 c. diced or sliced almonds
1/4 c. pumpkin seeds or other seed
1/8 c. sunflower seeds or other
1/2 c. honey or maple syrup
1/3 c. cooking oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix in honey/syrup and oil (I put the oil in first, then use the same measuring cup for the honey b/c then it doesn't stick). Spread mixture on a cookie sheet with edges or a casserole dish. Cook in oven at 300 for 10-15 minutes (or until granola is getting golden brown). Take out, stir it so browned part is no longer all on top. Cook again for another 10-20 minutes. Take granola out and spread it on wax paper or something similar b/c it will stick to the cookie sheet if left to cool there. Granola hardens as it cools.

Tip: I have found that if your layer of granola is too thin as you bake it the bottom will burn, so you want it to be about a 1/2 inch thick or more, preferably more.

Try this quantity and see how fast your family consumes it, then you may want to make more! There are only two of us eating solids at our house and we usually triple it.

Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad

Serves 6

12 oz. corkscrew or penne pasta
¼ c. sesame seeds
3 T. sugar
½ c. olive oil
¼ c. soy sauce
1/3 c. white wine vinegar
salt/pepper to taste
3 c. cooked chicken cut into small pieces
½ c. sliced green onions
4-6 c. baby spinach

1. Fry sesame seeds in olive oil, being careful so they don’t burn.
2. Combine dressing ingredients.
3. Combine pasta, dressing and chicken and refrigerate overnight.
4. Just before serving toss spinach and green onions.

Ryan's Fajitas

Serves 4-6

2 lb. chicken breasts
2-3 peppers, cut in thin strips
1 onion, cut in thin strips
flour tortillas

For the marinade:
2 limes, juiced
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
3 cloves garlic
¼ tsp. salt
½ c. olive oil

1. Combine ingredients for the marinade and marinate for at least an hour.
2. Grill the chicken and then cut in thin slices OR cut in thin slices and sauté.
3. Sauté the onions and peppers for a few minutes.
4. Combine chicken and vegetables and serve with tortillas.

Chicken in a Cashew Nut Sauce

This one is delicious!

2 medium onions
2 T. tomato puree
1/3 c. cashew nuts
1 ½ t. garam masala
1 t. garlic pulp
1 t. chili powder
1 T. lemon juice
¼ t. turmeric
1 t. salt
1 T. plain low-fat yogurt
2 T. corn oil
1 T. sultanas (golden raisins)
1 lb. chicken, cubed
1 ¼ c. water

1. Cut the onions into quarters and place in a food processor or blender and process for about 1 minute.
2. Add the tomato puree, cashew nuts, garam masala, garlic, chili powder, lemon juice, turmeric, salt and yogurt to the processed onions.
3. Process all the ingredients in the food processor for a further 1-1 ½ minutes.
4. In a saucepan, heat the oil, lower the heat to medium and pour in the spice mixture from the food processor. Fry for about 2 minutes, lowering the heat if necessary.
5. Add the sultanas and chicken and continue to stir fry for a further 1 minute.
6. Pour in the water and bring to a simmer. Cover the saucepan and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes.
7. Check to see that the chicken is cooked and the sauce is thick. Cook longer if necessary.
8. Serve over rice.

SKINNY LASAGNA

There is this cooking show here called "Cook Yourself Thin" and they have the most delicious recipes for at least half the calories if not MORE! This one is one of my absolute FAVS! I didnt use the redwine I found that the juice in the tomato can was plenty and I also used turkey mince which is even lower in fat! Check out the website for more recipes!

http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/C/cook-yourself-thin/recipes.html

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

400g lean beef mince (must be the best quality, or you could try and get a butcher to mince it for you)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

315ml red wine

400g tin plum tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato purée

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 zuccinis, thinly sliced lengthways

4 sheets of lasagne

For the cheese sauce

500ml semi-skimmed milk

A good grating of whole nutmeg

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons cornflour

1 teaspoon English mustard

80g mature cheddar cheese

Heat up a big saucepan and add the olive oil. Sweat the onion, celery, carrot and garlic for around five minutes over a medium heat.

Heat a frying pan up until very hot and cook the seasoned beef, without any oil, in batches. Then add the beef to the saucepan.

The point of cooking the beef in batches is to get a good colour on it because this adds more flavour.

When all the beef is in the saucepan, turn up the heat and add the wine.

Cook until the wine has all been absorbed and then add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, bay leaf and oregano.

Season and simmer for 30 minutes or until rich and tasty.

Preheat a conventional oven to 180ºC, or a fan-assisted one to 160ºC.

Heat a griddle pan. Season the zuccinis and lightly chargrill or sear on each side, then leave on a plate until assembling time.

Now make the cheese sauce.

Heat the milk up gently with a good grating of nutmeg, some salt and pepper. Mix the cornflour with 50ml of the milk and whisk back into the milk, continuing to cook for two to three minutes until thickened.

Add the mustard and half the cheese. Check the seasoning and set aside.

Now for the fun part.

Take a baking dish and start layering up the ingredients. Start with a layer of meat, then meat, then zuccinis, then meat, then pasta and finally cheese sauce.

Top with the rest of the cheese and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until bubbling.

tomato soup

I'm Jenn and since I was invited to contribute to lazy girl gourmet today I decided to commemorate by adding one of my very favorite recipes.

I've never been a fan of tomato soup until this one, it is incredibly good and easy. You just need good produce, a blender, and a pot. I bet it would be really good with the french peasant bread recipe posted earlier. Here it is...

3 c. vegetable broth
5 or 6 c. tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 large-ish carrot
1 or 2 jalapeño peppers (can omit if you're not into spicy stuff)
1 large-ish zucchini
2 T. butter
3/4 c. chopped onion
2 T. flour
thyme, salt, or any other spice you want
grated cheese, if desired

1. Bring the broth to a boil. Add the tomatoes, carrots, and zucchini--everything should be cut up, but it doesn't need to be small, just smaller to fit. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Add the jalapeños in toward the end so they cook just a little bit. Add thyme or whatever spice you like (I bet cilantro or basil would be good). Set aside.

2. (For this next step I just put my broth and veggies in a blender to get them out of the way and use the same pot.) In a saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, cook until softened. Stir in the flour until absorbed.

3. Blend the broth, veggies, and flour/onion mixture all together. You can do it in 2 batches if needed. Return to the pot and salt to taste. Then add cheese if desired and serve!

The beautiful thing about this recipe is that I do it without really measuring anything and it turns out delicious every time. Enjoy!

A great potato salad recipe...

In response to the inquiry for a great potato salad recipe, this one is definitely one of my favorites. It is simple, and doesn't have a lot of funky ingredients (unless you hate eggs in your potato salad, as my mother does.) Handed down from a Bishop's wife in our Salt Lake City ward, it always gets compliments.

World's Best Potato Salad
8-10 medium red new potatoes
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. chives
1 tsp. celery seed
1 Tbsp. prepared mustard
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2/3 cup miracle whip
2/3 cup mayonnaise
3-4 eggs, hard boiled
Cook potatoes about 45 minutes. Cool completely. Scrape off skin and chop into bite-sized pieces. Combine the rest of the ingredients and then add to chopped potatoes. Best flavor when you make this the day ahead.

Herbed Basmati Rice

From this month's Cooking Light magazine.  So good!  And I didn't even do most of it correctly.

1 t olive oil

cooking spray

1 c uncooked basmati rice (i used jasmine instead)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 c water

1 c low sodium chicken broth

1/4 t salt

1/4 c chopped green onion

1/4 c pine nuts, toasted

3 T freshly grated parmesan cheese (leave it out for non-dairy folks or add individually)

1 T chopped fresh basil

1 t chopped fresh thyme

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

Spray medium sauce pan, heat the oil. Add rice and garlic, saute about 2 minutes, or until rice is lightly toasted. Add water, salt and broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender (I had cooked rice so I just added the rice and garlic to the oil, added a little water, stirred it a bit, called it good).  Remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes, then stir in onion, nuts, cheese, herbs and pepper (I also left out the cheese completely and it didn't lack any flavor...).

If you don't have fresh herbs, dried will work just fine. And though I'm sure it is better if you start with raw rice, it was great for using up leftover rice.

French Peasant Bread

From the Ivory Family Favorites Cookbook

1 package dry yeast
2 c warm water
1 T sugar
2 t salt
4 c flour
oil
corn meal
melted butter

Place yeast, water, sugar and salt in warm bowl and stir until dissolved. Add flour and stir until blended. Do not knead. Cover and let rise one hour or until doubled in size. Flour hands, removed dough from bowl and place in 2 rounds on an oiled cookie sheet sprinkled with corn meal. Let rise an additional hour. Brush the top with melted butter and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 375 and cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush again with butter. Serve warm.

This is our favorite bread, and it's so easy!

Tips: I use a large rubber scraper to divide the dough in the bowl and scoop it out, the dough is very sticky. I spray the pan with Pam because it's faster and healthier than oil. I usually use about 2 T butter. Sometimes I like to substitute 1/4 c whole wheat flour for white, gives it a nice flavor and texture. It also works great to halve or half again this recipe, depending on the crowd size.

Orange Carrot Cookies

I love sneaking veggies into Luke's food.  These taste like regular sugar cookies if you don't frost them; with the frosting they are extra yummy and citrus-y.  The credit for the recipe goes to Britney Swensen. I had them at her house and now crave them regularly. Also they have no dairy :) so I can eat all I want.  Just in case you are a freezer fanatic like me, I thought I'd mention that I made the whole recipe but baked just one pan of these and froze the rest (including leftover frosting) to use another day.  Worked perfectly.

3/4 c shortening (it has no trans fats now)

3/4 c sugar

1 egg

1 c cooked, mashed carrots

1/2 t vanilla

2 c flour

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

Frosting: 

1/4 c butter

2 c powdered sugar

3 T orange juice

1 T orange zest

(Beat all together until light and fluffy.)

Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg; beat until light and fluffy.  Add carrots and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture. Mix well.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-15 mins. Frost when cooled (or when still a little warm if you like the gooey glaze look). 

blog maintenance

Well we are doing quite well here!   So many great new ideas!  Make sure to put a few labels at the bottom of your post to categorize your recipe.  That way, when we have *thousands* of recipes we'll be able to search by category and find what we are looking for.

Also I have just been putting comments on recipes when to ask/answer questions. Is this the best way to do this? It seemed better than making a new post.