A Favorite Party Pleaser

As promised . . .  this is one of my family favorites.  Someone requests it every time we have a family gathering.  

Corn & Black-eyed Peas Salsa

1 can black-eyed peas with juice

1/4 c. vinegar

1 pkg. Italian dressing seasoning (like Good Seasons)

3 T. chopped cilantro

1/2 c. chopped green onion

1 can corn

2-3 chopped Roma tomatoes

2 medium avacados, diced

Corn or Tortilla chips

Mix all in medium bowl; prepare and add avacado

 just before serving.  Servie with corn or tortilla chips.  (We like whole wheat crackers, and the new veggie chips you can get at Costco)

Tres Bien!

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It's What's for Breakfast . . .

Ever since our family discovered this new recipe for Banana / Chocolate Chip Muffins, we've never had our old bananas go to waste again! These are so delicious and I received the recipe from a woman in our neighborhood who makes wonderful muffins. My college kids and even my husband who is not fond of bananas loves these muffins! Very easy to make also . . .

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

3 large bananas mashed
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg slightly beaten (but I just throw it in)
1/2 c. butter or margarine melted
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
3/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 c. chocolate chips
1/2 t vanilla
sprinkle of sugar to top them off

After smashing bananas, stir in sugar. Add butter or margarine, and stir well by hand with wooden spoon. Stir in egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients all at once to banana mixture. After batter is almost mixed add chocolate chips. Drop into muffin cups that are coated with PAM cooking spray, or use muffin pan liners. Sprinkle tops with additional sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20-22 minutes. Remove from oven an let cool 5 minutes. Then remove from baking tin. makes 10-12 large muffins.

Voila!

It's what's for breakfast!

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Prepare to be Amazed . . .

Have you ever tried this?

I have ONE better!

Chocolate lovers . . . Prepare to be Amazed!

Cake in a Cup

4 T. flour

4 T. sugar

2 T. cocoa

1 egg

3 T. oil

3 T. milk

3 T. chocolate chips (I used Semi-sweet)

1 small splash of vanilla

1 medium MUG

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in milk and oil, mix well. Add chocolate chips and vanilla, mix well.

Put mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 Watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed. Let cool for about 1 min, then turn on to a plate. Yummy! Serves 1-3 people.

Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it turns into this. Wow! It is so yummy, so easy, and so inexpensive. Just a few pennies compared to what you pay for the prepared mix at the grocery story.

Okay, everyone off to your kitchens!

You have these ingredients in your pantry. Give it a try! The chocolate lovers in your household will be in heaven.

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Soup . . . Good for the Heart & Soul

This is really the Weight Watchers Zero Point Soup -

This soup is so easy, you can put it together in a few minutes, just chop your veggies and gather the rest of the ingredients . . . That's why I make it all the time. It goes really well with whole wheat bread or rolls, and you have a meal. With these ingredients it's obviously "heart healthy" and a bowl of hot soup is always good for the soul!


Carrots
Celery
Onions
EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil)
Chicken broth
Chicken Bullion
Garlic Powder
Salt Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Green Cabbage
Green Beans
Zucchini
Stewed Tomatoes / Diced Tomatoes - actually any kind


I've made it without the recipe for so long, I'll just tell you how I do it.

Chop one onion into a pan with a large amount (how ever much you want) of sliced carrots and celery. Add about 4T EVOO and stir on medium heat for like 5 minutes until vegetables soften. I also add about 3t. garlic powder to this mix and let it cook for a few minutes.

Then I add two cans of chicken broth, about another 2-3 cups of water, 3T of chicken bullion, and like about 5C. of chopped green cabbage, and 3t. of Italian Seasoning.

Then I put two 15oz cans of a tomato product (stewed, diced etc) into the blender and blend just for a few seconds, then add it to the soup. If my green beans are frozen, I add them now, like 2 cups. If they are canned I add them at the end.

Simmer the soup for like 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add two sliced zucchini and cook for about 5 more minutes. If I have time, I will saute the zucchini in EVOO first until browned, or you can just throw them in.

That's all!

I found this great link, it's a website for healthy veggie recipes and it also has a real recipe, very similar to mine -

"A Vegie Venture".

Stop by Blissfully Domestic for more Blissful Domestication:)

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Cookies NOW & LATER

Last month I had the opportunity to visit with my parents in their home in Southern Utah. My daughter and I flew in for a long weekend and we all had such a great time. I was able to help my mom with some scrap booking and teach her how to use some of my favorite photo sights (shutterfly & snapfish). Then sadly, it was time to go home.

Before I left, I wanted to leave them with something fun they could have available as a treat when all their friends came by to visit. They have many friends living nearby that they gather with regularly.

So I whipped up a large batch of our absolute favorite cookies! Since, we all love warm cookies right out of the oven, we baked a large batch just for us to nibble on right now, then I put one zipper baggie of cookie dough into the refrigerator so them could surprise all their friends with hot cookies later, on their next visit. Then I decided to also put one baggie of cookie dough into the freezer. That way it would last for several weeks and they could pull it out when they needed it.

We had an opportunity to return recently for another visit. I heard nothing but RAVE reviews from everyone about how delicious the cookies were. So apparently it was a BIG hit!

Here's the cookie recipe that I baked:

Grandma Glenna's Ranger Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
2 cups Special K cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat together shortening, sugars, eggs, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in flour mixture on low speed until just combined. Stir in oats, cereal, chips, and coconut.Drop rounded tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.

Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, in middle of oven until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.




Cookies now & later . . . that's the way I like 'em. Warm cookies hot out of the oven, cookie dough in the fridge, which I also love to nibble on (disclaimer - I'm sure you're not really supposed to recommend nibbling on cookie dough . . .) and some in the freezer for later. Enjoy!

For a great time . . . stop By 11th Heaven's Homemaker Monday Carnival -

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Heavenly Dessert - Recipe to Share!

Thank you to my friend Donna Sterzer for this new favorite recipe. In fact, so many of the family's favorite recipes have come from her originally. She is a wonderful and inspiring cook! Thank you Donna for bringing this to our New Years Eve celebration, it was an instant favorite.

Kelsie and I later made it for her Girls Preference Dinner - and it was the hit of the evening!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake -

Crust: (I used one Oreo pre-made pie crust, dumped into the prepared cheesecake pan and pressed into the pan and up the sides) OR:

1-3/4 C crushed chocolate chip cookies or chocolate wafer crumbs

1/4 C. sugar

1/3 C butter, melted

FILLING:

3-8 oz pkg cream cheese softened

1 C sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 C sour cream

1/2 t. vanilla extract

COOKIE DOUGH:

1/4 c butter softened (I used margarine)

1/4 C sugar

1/4 C packed brown sugar

1 T water

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 C flour

1-1/2 C miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and up 1" on the sides of a greased 9-in springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low until combined. Add sour cream and vanilla; beat just until blended. Pour over crust, set aside. In another mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add water and vanilla. Gradually add flour. Stir in 1 C. chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls over filling, gently pushing dough below the surface (dough should be completely covered by filling. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 min (I baked for only 40) or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan. Sprinkle with remaining chips. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield 12-14 servings.

Stop by 11th Heaven's Homemaking Monday for more great HOMEMAKINING ideas!

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I'm Thankful for Thanksgiving!

I'm so thankful for warm fuzzy holidays.

I get really excited about almost every holiday. I think that came from growing up in a household where my mom always went to a lot of work to make the holidays special days. I've been looking forward to Thanksgiving since about hmmmm . . . the day after Halloween, the most recent holiday we celebrated at our home. Every couple of years we host a family gathering at our home for Thanksgiving. That usually ranges anywhere from a dinner for 10-40 people depending on the year and the family. This year I think were expecting about 27 people, a mixture of our family, my husbands family (it's the Klein year), and many of our BYU student friends.

I'm thankful for the blessing of having everyone gather in our home.

We host many events and dinners at our home throughout the year and most of them are pretty casual affairs. But not Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving for me is an opportunity for a sit down dinner for everyone. Everyone gets to mix and mingle amongst family members and friends, complete with beautiful tables (that doesn't mean everything matches - quite the opposite in fact), real plates and silverware, real glasses - none of the paper stuff, although sometimes I dream about how much easier the clean up would be, but then it wouldn't be Thanksgiving!

I'm so thankful for all our family and friends!

Usually we haul out the living room sofa and rearrange to make room for the 4 or more tables needed to accommodate the holiday crowd. While a formal dinner for 27 could be overwhelming, it usually works out just beautiful by the time everyone brings something to contribute towards the meal. I always reserve my favorite food items for our family to prepare and let everyone else bring the rest. So far our menu looks about like this:

Thanksgiving Menu
Roast Turkey with Sausage Craisin Stuffing
Spiral Honey glazed ham
Baked Potatoes with butter & sour cream
Sweet Potato Casserole
Rolls
2 different salads by family members
Green Bean casserole
Gravy
Fresh Cranberry / Orange Sauce
Pumpkin Cobbler with whip cream
Grandma Kleins famous pies
Vanilla Ice Cream

Wow, just seeing the whole list, that looks like a lot of food! Don't all of you wish you were coming to my house! :) Thankfully, everyone is so helpful with dinner and clean up - it will be a wonderful day. I just thought I'd share a few of my very favorite Thanksgiving recipes just in case anyone is looking for something new this year. Almost all of these recipes come to me from dear friends or family members that have inspired my cooking over the years.

Mashed Sweet Potato Casserole

(a favorite, wish I could remember who I got the recipe from!)
6 C. cooked / mashed sweet potatoes
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. milk
2/3 C. butter - melted
2 t. vanilla
4 eggs beaten
Topping:
1 1/2 C. coconut
1 1/2 C. brown sugar
2/3 C. Flour
2/3 C. butter - softened
1 1/2 C. chopped pecans
Blend the first 6 ingredients with a mixer. Pour into 81/2 x 11 size baking dish. Briefly mix the topping with a fork and sprinkle on top of potato mix. Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 min or until hot and bubbly, and topping starts to brown.

 (photo credit - A Sweet Pea Chef)

Crock pot Honey Glazed Spiral Ham
(one of my friends gave me this great idea!)
1- Spiral cut ham 7-10 pounds

Place ham in the crockpot with:

 1/2 C. apple juice
 1/2 C. orange juice
 1/2 C. brown sugar
 1/2 C. honey
Heat on low for 6-8 hours, brushing with glaze occasionally.
(See comments below for additional tips)

Cranberry Orange Sauce 
(thank you Dee Aullman
 I always thought canned cranberries were wonderful on Thanksgiving until you 
shared how easy this was to make!)

1/2 C. sugar
1 orange, zest and the juice
1/2 C water
 12 oz fresh cranberries
 1/4 t. salt 

Shred zest from orange and then juice the orange. In a medium pan combine the zest, juice, water, sugar and salt, warming and stirring until dissolved. Stir in the cranberries, bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until cranberries burst and sauce has thickened somewhat. Cool and serve. This can be made the day ahead and served cold from the refrigerator.

 (photo credit - Two Peas and Their Pod)




Sausage Craisin Stuffing 
(Thank you dad, I added the Craisins)
 
1/2 C. chopped onion 
1 1/2 C. diced celery
 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
1/2 C. butter or margarine
 1/2 lb. Jimmy Dean spicy hot bulk sausage (browned)
1/2 C. Craisins


 
2 t. poultry seasoning
 1 t. sage
 2 t. salt 
1 t. pepper
 3/4 C. chicken broth
 8 C. dry unseasoned bread cubes. 

Cook onion, and celery until almost tender in the butter or margarine. Add sliced mushrooms for the last 4 minutes and finish simmering until tender. Stir in the seasonings and craisins. In a large bowl combine the bread crumbs with the sauteed vegetable mix. Stir in the chicken broth just before stuffing the turkey. For convenience - the stuffing can me made the day before and stored in the fridge overnight covered in the large bowl. In the morning, just add the broth, mix and stuff the turkey. I always double the recipe and make extra that I cook at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes in a greased casserole dish. 

 Hopefully you all are down to your last preparations. 
Here's to a Happy Thanksgiving for all of you and yours!


Time to set the table - 
So many wonderful ideas for lovely Autumn table settings.
I thought I'd share some of my favorites
 to get you started!

 (Photo credit - Fancy Cribs)








I'm so thankful for Thanksgiving!

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