Welcome

It is too easy to get stuck in a rut of cooking the same meals over and over. I often get requests for my recipes and people ask where I get all my ideas. I thought it was time I compile my recipes, ideas, and suggestions into one place to share with others. In this blog, you will find tips I have for success in the kitchen, kitchen gadgets that I recommend, and recipes. Recipes are tagged with the main ingredients along with cooking style to make searching easier. Enjoy!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Morning Glory Muffins

I had someone ask about muffin or bread recipes that are low in sugar and have lots of vegetables in them. These still have 1 1/4 c. of sugar, but have lots of good for you things in them. And I'm sure you could reduce the sugar if you wanted. I think I may make a batch of these tonight. I haven't had them in years and used to have them at my grandma's house. They freeze very well.

2 c. Flour
1 1/4 c. Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 c. Grated Carrots
2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 c. Raisins
1/2 c. Coconut
1/2 c. Chopped Pecans
3 Eggs
1 c. Vegetable Oil
1 Apple, peeled and shredded

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the carrots, raisins, coconut, and pecans. In another bowl, beat the eggs, add oil, apple, and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture only until combined. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until muffins test done.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

This is another recipe that gets credit from my friend Shelley. These are wonderful, easy to make, and feed a lot of people. They are also wonderful reheated.

4 lbs sliced potatoes
2 tsp. chili pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup diced onion (optional)

mix in greased 9 x 13 pan.

add 2-3 tbsp. melted butter.

bake covered with aluminum foil at 400 degrees for 1-hour, or until potatoes are tender.

mix in 1 c. ranch dressing

add 2-cups shredded monterey jack cheddar cheese.

cook uncovered for 10-minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

This is my favorite Zucchini Bread recipe. I haven't had a chance to get any zucchini this year to make some, but hopefully soon. This also freezes amazingly well. To freeze, wrap cooled loaves first in saran wrap, and then in aluminum foil.

3 c. Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
3 tsp. Cinnamon
3 Eggs
1 c. Vegetable Oil
2 1/4 c. Sugar
3 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 c. Grated Zucchini
1 c. Chopped Walnuts, optional

Grease and flour two 8x4 in bread pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a bowl. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared bowls. Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on cooling rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and completely cool on racks before storing.

I also made this adding a brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, rolled oats topping. Unfortunately, I don't have an exact recipe for it. I just combined the ingredients together to my liking and sprinkled on top before baking.

Enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin Marinade

This is a marinade my husband created. He started off with a recipe he found online, but changed several ingredients to what we had in the house (some not even close to what the original recipe called for). The results: amazing!

2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
2 Tbs. Sesame Ginger marinade
1 Tbs. Peach Juice
1/2 Tbs Cointreau
1/2 Tbs. Lemon Vodke
1 Tbs. Brown Sugar
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp. Honey
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
2-3 lbs Pork Tenderloin

Mix together all ingredients. Pour over pork and marinate in refrigerator for 6-8 hours, or overnight. Cook on low in crockpot for 6-8 hours or until tenderloin is cooked through. You can also remove from the marinade and grill for 35 minutes, basting with the remaining marinade.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Brownies

These are some of the best brownies I have ever made. They do take a little extra work, but in the end it is totally worth every second. I have to give credit for these to Gluten Free Girl. Her blog is amazing. If you or someone in your family is on a gluten free diet, you MUST check out her recipes. www.glutenfreegirl.com

8 Tbs. Unsalted Butter
4 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate
1 c. Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 c. Brown Rice Flour
1/4 c. Tapioca Flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and 8in square pan. Chop the chocolate into small slivers. Slice the butter into one-inch pieces. Combine the two flours together.

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Place a large metal bowl over the top of the saucepan. Put the chocolate and butter into the bowl and stir, occasionally, as they both begin to melt. As they come to a full melt, stir vigorously until you have a cohesive mixture.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the sugar and eggs, whisking vigorously until they are creamed together, with a silky consistency. Add the vanilla extract and alt and stir well. Add in the gluten-free flours and stir. Finally, pour in the melted chocolate-butter mixture and stir, carefully, with a rubber spatula until the mixture has become smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with the spatula. Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes.

While the brownies are baking, fill the sink with ice cubes and 1 inch of water. When the brownies are finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and place it immediately into the ice-water bath, being careful not to splash any water onto the brownies. Leave in water until completely cooled. Refrigeration. These taste great right away but truly are better after sitting in the fridge for a night.

Enjoy!

Crockpot Apple Glazed Pork Loin

This is a great Fall recipe when apples are in season and the weather is just starting to cool...

4 boneless pork loin chops
6 apples (cored, peeled, and quartered)
1/4 c. apple juice
3 Tbs quick-cook tapioca
3 Tbs packed Brown Sugar
1 tsp All Spice
Salt and Pepper, to taste

In a crockpot, lay out the apple slices. With a meat mallet, pound chops to tenderize. Place chops on top of apples. Mix salt, pepper, and tapioca. Sprinkle over chops. In a glass bowl, combine apple juice, brown sugar, and all spice. Pour over chops, making sure to moisten all. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Enjoy!

Apple Cake

Here is a very delicious and simple recipe for an apple cake. Sometime I want to try making it with peaches instead of apples. I'm sure you could try just about any pie filling you like.

1 pkg. Yellow Cake Mix
3 Eggs
1 (21 oz) can Apple Pie Filling
3/4 c. packed Brown Sugar
1 Tbs. Flour
1 Tbs. Butter
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 c. Chopped Walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and Flour and 9x13" pan. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, and apple pie filling. Pour into the prepared pan. Combine the Brown Sugar, Flour, Butter, Cinnamon, and Walnuts. Sprinkle over the top of the batter. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

I will admit, I started eating this straight out of the oven and it was well worth the burns on my tongue, hehe!

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

As we are preparing to move, I am doing a bit of organizing. I have so many recipes on loose papers that I'm trying to condense. Either by putting on recipe cards or posting on here. So, I thought I would add this to my long list of muffin or muffin top recipes on here.

Batter:
1 1/2 c. Flour
3/4 c. Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 c. Milk
1/3 cup Butter, melted
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1 cup finely chopped apples

Topping:
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
1/4 c. Rolled Oats

Heat oven to 375. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add all remaining batter ingredients. Stir just until flour is moistened. Spoon batter into muffin liners. Combine all topping ingredients together in a small bowl using a fork or pastry blender. Sprinkle on top of batter. Bake 18-23 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks.

If you would like to make muffin tops, back at 350 degrees for 13 minutes.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Homemade Spaghetti-o's

The other night, a friend of mine posted that she was making homemade spaghetti-o's. Someone asked her for the recipe and when she shared it, I realized that I've had it before. Only, when I had it, it was made with spaghetti noodles. This friend recommends elbow or small shells, which I think would taste better with it. I apologize that once again, I don't have exact measurements, but it is pretty much by sight/taste.

Elbow or Small Shell noodles
1 can Tomato Soup
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Shredded Cheese

Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain the noodles and stir in the can of tomato soup. Then, add the remaining ingredients to your taste preference.

Quick and Simple.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Oatmeal Cookies to Increase Lactation

I still have not had the opportunity to try this recipe, but have heard from many friends that these taste amazing. The best part about them is that if you are breast feeding and having supply issues or just want to increase your supply to freeze more breast milk, these cookies will help with that! I know there are teas that you can buy to do the same thing. But personally, I would take an Oatmeal Cookie over tea any day! I received this recipe from a friend who has a son the same age as mine. I will definitely be trying these after my next little one is born.



* 1 cup butter
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 4 tablespoons water
* 2 tablespoons linseed (flaxseed) meal
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 cups flour (whole wheat is best, but regular is ok)
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 cups oats, thick cut if you can get them
* 1 cup or more chocolate chips
* 2 tablespoons of brewers yeast (be generous)


Directions:

Preheat oven at 375 degrees F. Mix together 2 tablespoons of linseed meal and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mix well. Stir linseed mixture and add with vanilla to the butter mix. Beat until blended. Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and chips. Add to margarine mixture. Stir in oats & chips. Scoop onto baking sheet greased or lined with baking paper.


Bake 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies. (shorter time = softer cookies, longer time = crispier cookies)


Serves: 6 dozen cookies (a huge batch)

I like Oatmeal Raisin cookies so I will probably try substituting the chocolate chips with raisins when I make these.