Monday, June 28, 2010

Oriental Chicken Salad

1 cabbage (or 2 if they are small)
4 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
4-5 green onions (when i can i just use the chives out of my garden)
2 pkgs top ramen, crushed (or 3, my family likes a lot of crunch)
4 TBS sunflower seeds (or more)
4 TBS slivered or sliced almonds (or more)
3 TBS sesame seeds
4 TBS brown sugar
4 TBS soy sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
3 TBS white vinegar
1/2 C vegetable oil

Cook Chicken chunks in butter, garlic salt and basil (to taste). Put in strainer and let cool. Combine; top ramen noodles, sunflower seeds, almonds and sesame seeds on cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 5-7 minutes; stir after 3-4 minutes, when browned, set aside to cool. Chop up cabbage and green onions and put in large bowl. Mix well the brown sugar, soy sauce, pepper, white vinegar and oil for the dressing. I put the cooled chick in with the cabbage but keep the rest separate so that each person can add the amount they want plus it keeps the noodle stuff from getting soggy! YUM!

LaVon - June 2010 - Jessica's house

Carmel Apples

10 - 12 Granny Smith apples

Wash and dry apples, put stick into apples and set on cookie sheet with parchment paper or wax paper over cookie sheet. Set aside.

1 can condensed milk
2/3 C heavy whipping cream
1/2 C butter
1 C Karo syrup
1 C brown sugar
1 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix syrup and sugars together in pan. Put on high heat until mixture boils. Add butter; after butter is melted and is boiling hard, turn heat down to medium-high. Gradually add milk and cream, keeping the mixture boiling at all times. Stir constantly. Carmel should reach 244* F on thermometer. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Dip apples (twice) then set back on cookie sheet and put in fridge to set. You can also pour the Carmel into a pan but butter it first so it is easier to get out, or you can just put the rest in a bowl and spoon it out like my family does!

****NOTE: These temperatures are based on water boiling at 212* F. So for the first time you will want to boil a pan of water and see where your water boils at. If your thermometer shows water boiling 10* less than that, you should adjust the Carmel temperature by that much. For example mine does boil 10* less so I boil my Carmel to 234*.

And once again, this is one of Korrie's family's yummy recipes!

LaVon - May 2010 - Ariane's house

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Apple Dumplings- June Jessica's house

2 Granny Smith apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter (I KNOW - 2!!!)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
1 small can Mountain Dew (about 8 ounces)

Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream (or whipped cream), and spoon some of the sweet sauce from the pan over the top. You can use sprite or squirt instead of Mountain Dew. I did and it turned out great. Enjoy!

Pizza Crust & Sauce

Dough--
1 1/4 cup warm water (not very warm at all)
1/2 T yeast
1 1/4 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp olive oil
2 3/4 to 3 1/4 c high-gluten flour (I get my flour from the Honeville company up in Brigham City).

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water. Dont go very warm at all because you don't want to activate the yeast too quickly. Add the salt and olive oil. Begin mixing and slowly adding flour. I use the flat beater attachment on the mixer until the dough starts to form a ball (after about 2 cups of flour) and then I switch to the dough hook and add the rest of the flour. Add flour until the dough is your desired consistency. If you take the ball out and rest it on the counter, it should slightly relax but not fall. Then I sprinkle with flour and place in a gallon zip lock bag and place in the fridge (overnight). If you add a little less yeast then keep it in for two nights (the dough ages a little longer and has more flavor).

When making the pizza, the less you use a rolling pin and more you use your hands to stretch the dough and even throw it, the more body the crust will have.


Sauce --

1 14.5 oz can of diced, peeled tomatoes (blend them up--juice and all)
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1-5 tsp brown sugar (I used 5 because Jess likes it sweet, but sweeten to your liking)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp fennel (depends on your taste/preference whether you add or how much)

Mix it all together and simmer for at least half an hour so the flavor blends well.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Spicy Garlic Green Beans - June at Jessica's

Ingredients

* 3/4 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
* 1 teaspoon honey
* 2 teaspoons canola oil

Directions

1. Arrange a steamer basket in a pot over boiling water, and steam the green beans 3 to 4 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, garlic, garlic chili sauce, and honey.
3. Heat the canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the green beans, and fry for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour in the soy sauce mixture. Continue cooking and stirring 2 minutes, or until the liquid is nearly evaporated. Serve immediately.

NOTE: I was out of chili sauce, so I used tomato paste and red pepper flakes!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

June 16, 2010 - Jessica's House

Texas Sheet Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup water
1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 tsp vanilla

Grease a 15x10x1-inch cookie sheet; set aside.  In a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine butter cocoa powder, and 1 cup water.  Bring mixture just to boiling, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add the flour mixture to the cocoa mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.  Mix together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and add to mixture, stirring until combined.  Pour batter into the prepared pan.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter
6 Tbsp cocoa powder
6 Tbsp buttermilk or cream
2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar **
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a medium saucepan combine butter, cocoa, and buttermilk.  Bring to boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Spread warm frosting over warm cake.

**You may need more or less powdered sugar, depending on the consistency you want.  This frosting sets up pretty quickly so I usually like the frosting a little on the thinner side but not as thin as a glaze.  I don't usually measure the powdered sugar but add and mix until the frosting is the consistency I want.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Banana Cake

1½ c. sugar
¾ c. buttermilk*
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. mashed bananas (3 med. bananas)
½ c. butter, softened
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 c. sifted flour (put this in last, beat well)

Preheat the oven to 350º.
Mix all ingredients, beat well, pour into a greased 9x13” pan. Bake @ 350º for 30-35 minutes.

ICING:
¼ c. butter, softened ½ tsp. vanilla
½ lb. powdered sugar 2-3 T. milk

Cream together and spread on cooled cake.

**To make buttermilk substitute:
Put 2½ tsp. vinegar or lemon juice in the bottom of the measuring cup, fill up to ¾ cup with regular milk. Let it stand 5 minutes.*

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Southwest Chicken Burritos- Eilyn hosted 2010

4-6 frozen chicken breasts
2 c. salsa
1-2 cans black beans, rinsed/drained
1 can olives, drained (whole, diced, or sliced)
1 c. frozen corn OR 1 can of corn, drained
package of cream cheese


Place frozen chicken on bottom of crock-pot. Then add remaining ingredients, except the cream cheese , and cook on low for 6-8 hours (or on high for 4 hrs). 20 minutes before serving stir in the cream cheese and shred the chicken. Fill tortillas and top with cheddar cheese and any other favorite burrito toppings.


Eilyn did this when she hosted at Julie's house in April.

Peach Crunch Cake (Bakerella)- May 2010

24.5 oz jar of sliced peaches in light syrup
1 package yellow cake mix
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), cut into 16 pieces
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Layer ingredients in a 13 X 9 dish, in order starting with the peaches.

Bake for about 40 minutes.

Serve warm or cold… with or without ice cream.

Ariane's house- May