Marshmallow Popcorn Bars

I made these popcorn bars for our FHE treat tonight. It was a great choice because they were easy to make, I had all the ingredients on hand and everyone enjoyed them. Serve them up with some hot cocoa and you have yourself a fast and festive treat.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for dish
1/2 cup popcorn kernels or one 3.5-ounce package plain microwave popcorn
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows

Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Pop the popcorn according to the package directions.

Melt the butter and marshmallows in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth, 5 to 7 minutes.

Fold in the popcorn until coated. Press into the prepared dish and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into 24 bars.

**The bars are best served within 6 hours but can be made and stored at room temperature, covered, up to 1 day in advance.

Enjoy!

Crisp-and-Creamy Baked Chicken

So so yummy. Break out the Shake'N'Bake!

3-4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2-1 pouch Shake'N'Bake Extra Crispy

2 cups instant white rice, uncooked

1/2-1 can condensed cream of celery soup

1/4 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

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PREHEAT over to 400 degrees. Coat chicken with coating mix as directed on package; place in greased 9X9 baking dish.

BAKE 20 min or until chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile, cook rice as directed on package.

BEAT soup and milk with wire whisk until well blended. Pour evenly over chicken; sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 min. Serve with rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Calfornia Grilled Veggie Sandwich

I'm always on the lookout for good vegetarian recipes. This one is great. I've made it a couple of times now - including for my sister and my dinner co-op - and it has been thoroughly enjoyed every time!

I think the sauce really makes this sandwich what it is. The bread helps, too. This recipe is slightly adapted from a highly-rated one I got on All Recipes. The original calls for foccacia bread which I've tried and is good. I prefer (homemade) ciabatta because the flavor of the sauce and veggies really comes out that way. You can also swap veggies (add mushroom or eggplant) and cheeses (feta, provolone, Parmesan...) to suit your desires.

Ingredients:
Sauce -
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Sandwich -
1 T. olive oil
1 red bell peppers, sliced
2 small zucchini, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1 small yellow squash, sliced
Good bread (foccacia, ciabatta, etc...)
Your choice of cheese (optional; I've used Parmesan and Provolone)

Directions:
1. In a bowl mix sauce ingredients (mayo, garlic, lemon juice); refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Preheat grill or broiler.
3. In a separate bowl, toss veggies with olive oil until all are coated.
4. Grill or broil, turning as necessary and watching carefully until veggies are done to your likely.
5. Assemble sandwich: put sauce on bread, top with veggies, add cheese (if desired).
6. Enjoy the vegetarian goodness!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

I had Brian make me these pancakes for Mother's Day and then I was craving them again over the weekend so I thought I'd post the recipe. I changed it only slightly from the original recipe via You Got Served. I think regular maple syrup kind of ruins these, but that's the way Brian likes them. I've tried them with regular and lemon glazes (powdered sugar and milk), but they're good on their own too!

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Flour (try whole wheat, for extra benefits!)
1 tea. Baking Powder
1/2 tea. Salt
3 T Sugar
2 Eggs
1/3 Cup Milk
1/3 Cup Canola Oil
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese (I used part-skim)
Juice and Zest of 1 Lemon

Directions:

1. Preheat griddle or skillet to medium heat.

2. Combine dry ingredients.

3. In a separate bowl whisk the wet ingredients.

4. Whisk the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.

5. Add lemon juice and zest.

6. Pour approximately 1/4 c batter on griddle or skillet. (I let them cook slowly.)

7. Cook pancakes until golden brown, flipping once.

15 Minute Rice and Taco Skillet

1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. (1-1/4 oz.) Taco Seasoning Mix
2 cups water
2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 large tomato, chopped


BROWN meat in large skillet; drain.

ADD seasoning mix and water; stir. Bring to boil.

STIR in rice. Sprinkle with cheese; cover. Simmer on low heat 5 min. Top with lettuce and tomato just before serving.

Serves about 4

German Pancakes or Crepes

2 eggs
2 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk

1. Mix sugar and flour, then add milk and eggs. Beat until smooth. (Will be liquidy but that's ok.)

2. Heat large skillet over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into pan then tilt the pan to achieve a round shape. Heat until golden, then flip and brown on other side. Serve immedieately with syrup & powdered sugar, or fresh berries & whipped cream.

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Servings: About 4

This is the best recipe I've found for these to date. They are so yummy, even when not prepared correctly. Plus, the ingredients are in your pantry all the time! This is a great go-to meal for breakfast.

Peas and Carrots Alphabet Soup

I made this last night and Madison thanked Heavenly Father in her prayers for "the delicious soup that she loves so much." I thought it was good too and super easy.

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 carrots, diced

1 cup alphabet pasta (Can be found at Trader Joe's)

Kosher salt

1 10-ounce package frozen peas (2 cups)

Place the broth in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the carrots, pasta, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Simmer until the carrots and pasta are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the peas and cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Bon Apetit!

Baked German Apple Pancake

Baked German Apple Pancake presented by Red Forest Bed & Breakfast

Brian and I had a bunch of apples from apple picking yesterday so I decided to try this recipe I found on the Internet. We really enjoyed it and didn't think it needed any kind of topping. Since the egg whites are beaten, the end result seems very light...which can cause you to eat more! It's supposed to serve 4, but Brian and I basically ate the whole thing by ourselves.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup milk

Dash of salt

3 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons margarine

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 large or 4 small apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Place 9" ovenproof glass pie dish with deep sides in preheated oven. (I used an 11x7 retangular Pyrex.)
3. Beat egg whites until stiff.

4. In a separate bowl, mix flour, milk, salt and egg yolks with a hand mixer.

5. Gently fold egg white mixture in.

6. Sauté apples, sugar, margarine and cinnamon in skillet for 2-3 minutes until apples are well coated.

7. Pour apples into heated glass pie dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

8. Pour the batter over apples slices.

9. Bake for 20 minutes at 350° until the pancake is brown and puffy.
1o. Remove from oven and loosen sides.

11. Invert on plate, if desired. Cut and serve with maple syrup, if desired.

Zucchini Cakes

I am not a big fan of zucchini, but I tell you what, these are delicious! I found the recipe on http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/ a couple of weeks ago. And today lo and behold a dear friend dropped off the biggest zucchini ever, so what else could I do but make this delectable little cakes.

1 large zucchini

1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs

1 heaping Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2-3/4 c. Italian cheese blend

1-2 eggs

a pinch of kosher salt

olive oil

black pepper

Chop the ends off the zucchini and then use a cheese grater to shred it. Place the shredded zucchini in a clean towel and squeeze out the liquid. I was very surprised how much came out. Next place the semi-dry zucchini in a large bowl. Add the garlic, bread crumbs, cheese, 1 egg and salt and pepper then stir with a fork. If mixture is to dry, add another egg. If it is too dry, the mixture will fall apart when you try to cook it. In a frying pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Use enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan by about 1/4". When the oil is hot, drop the zucchini batter by large spoonfuls into the pan and then flatten with the back of the spoon. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. The PW recommends serving these with Ranch dressing for dipping sauce, of which I had none last night, so we ate without and they were still fabulous on their own.

Using Leftovers

I HATE wasting food and when we were preparing for a trip a few weeks back, I realized we had 1-2 pieces of three different types of chicken leftover from dinners in the past week. We also had several items that would not wait until we made it home. I didn't feel much like cooking or anything heavy that night, so this fit the bill. It's nothing too exciting, but I guess i hadn't spent much time thinking about making salads as entrees.

a few leftover chicken tenders or slices of ham or salami
(we used marinated ones)
green leaf lettuce
green pepper
sugar snap peas
tomato
anything else you need to use in your fridge that works

My husband and I used different chicken leftovers to top our salads. Prep salad. Cut chicken tenders in slices and heat up in microwave for 25 seconds. Top salad with chicken and drizzle with dressing. It was filling and a great way to get our veggies. It's so simple, it's easy to overlook using leftovers in this way.

Cinnamon French Toast

Every time we try to make French Toast we always put cinnamon in the egg mixture and that never really works out very well. I came across this cinnamon bread and it's really good as French Toast and gets rid of the putting the cinnamon in the egg issue. I'm not really sure it can be found everywhere, but I found it at our Wal-Mart and our Costco (although we didn't have it at our last Wal-Mart). Anyway, it's really easy and good!

Ingredients:

-Cinnabon cinnamon bread

-Eggs

-Milk

Directions:

Make like you normally make French Toast! Voila!

Seasoned Oven Fries

I made these last night and this is just one pre-cooked potato. They say the amount of ingredients should yield 6 potatoes but I must have had a big one. Very very yummy.
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Ingredients:

6 medium baking potatoes
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (I used Mrs. Dash and it worked great)

Directions:

Cut each potato lengthwise into thirds; cut each portion into thirds. In a large reasealable plastic plastic bag, combine the butter, oil and seasoned salt. Add potatoes; shake to coat. Place in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until tender, turning once.

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Buttermilk Pancakes

*From my sister-in-law* These aren't thick, heavy, cake-like pancakes, they are light and delicious. Great for kids. The recipe is easier than I expected and not too hard to memorize b/c there's 1 of almost everything.

Whip the following with hand mixer in a large bowl:

-1 egg

-1 c. sour cream (can use Light)

-1 c. buttermilk (or 1 c. milk & 1 TB lemon juice)

Add the following and mix by hand:

-1 c. flour

-1 tsp. baking soda

-1 tsp. baking powder

-1 TB sugar

-1/2 tsp. salt

Drop batter 1/8 c. at a time onto greased griddle warmed to med-high heat. Cook until top bubbles, then flip and cook until done. Makes about 24 small pancakes.

BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

I used to have a similar salad at TGI Friday's every time I went there in college and then they stopped making it. Big mistake. I have no reason to go to TGI now. Luckily, it's easy to re-create, super good, and hard to mess up!

Salad Ingredients:
-Chicken (prepared any way you like; I just "browned" mine on the stove top)
-Lettuce (I just used a bag to make it super easy)
-Can of corn, drained (or you can use frozen, I'm sure)
-Can of black beans, drained and rinsed
-Tomato
-Shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack)
-Avocado
-Crushed up tortilla chips and/or onion straws (depending on preference)

Note: you'll notice there are no measurements because it's up to how many people you're serving and how much you want of each thing - I just guessed it all out. Like I said, it's hard to mess up.

Dressing Ingredients:
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup Ranch dressing (I used Hidden Valley, I'm sure whatever is fine)

Directions:
1. Put chicken, lettuce, corn, beans, and tomato in a bowl and mix up, set aside.

2. In separate bowl, mix up BBQ sauce and Ranch (you may like more or less BBQ or Ranch, up to you).

3. Put lettuce mixture in bowls or on plates and top with shredded cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips (or onion straws).

4. Put dressing on and mix up and eat!

(See, it's so easy I had a hard time making directions...it's pretty self explanatory. Also, you don't have to have avocado, but it makes it so good - especially if you're lucky enough to have good avocados in your area! Californians!)

Spaghetti Primavera

I tried this out today from Kraft Foods but had to modify due to our lack of supplies and money. Robby said it was fantastic!

Ingredients:

2 cups cut-up fresh vegetables (bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, carrots)

2 Tbsp oil

4 oz. spaghetti, cooked, drained (about 2 cups)

3/4 cup spaghetti sauce

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook and stir vegetables in hot oil in large skillet 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Add spaghetti and spaghetti sauce. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stillring occasionally. Add cheese; mix well.

Kraft Kitchen Tips

Subtitute 2 cups frozen mixed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots for cut-up fresh vegetables.

I used frozen peas because that was all I had on hand. It also only serves 3 so I guess it would just be for you and the hubs.

Enjoy!

Szechwan Shrimp

4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup sliced green onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces cooked shrimp, tails removed

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, stir together water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, crushed red pepper, and ground ginger. Set aside.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in green onions and garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in shrimp, and toss to coat with oil. Stir in sauce. Cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickened.
Serve over hot cooked rice.
This is a surprisingly easy and quick recipe. Ready in 30 minutes or less. I would suggest doubling the liquid ingredients for extra sauce. If you do not like spicy food or are serving to children, I would suggest decreasing the crushed red pepper or taking it out all together. I personally love the extra zing it gives the dish. You can also add carrots or stir fry vegetables to the sauce for a little change.

Brushetta Chicken Bake

I found this recipe on the back of a box of Stove Top and it's awesome. I've already made it 3 times. Once for myself, once with Angie and Hill in San Diego, and then I made it to take over to a sister in our ward who had a baby. Seriously, it's so great because it's super easy, pretty healthy, and it tastes really good. I highly recommend it as an option when you have to take meals to people since it's more of a healthy casserole. It worked out great for me!

Ingredients:

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 pkg (6 oz.) chicken Stove Top

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup hot water

1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tsp. dired basil leaves

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Put first four ingredients in a bowl and mix until moistened.

3. Place chicken in 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with basil and cheese.

4. Top with stuffing mixture.

5. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Seriously...SO easy and really good. Enjoy!

Chocolate Sour Cream Waffles

Technically these are "dessert" waffles but I make them for breakfast and just eat them as is without syrup or anything. My husband uses syrup, but I think that might make them too sweet. Either way, they're really yummy even though I'm not generally a chocolately breakfast person.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 T. unsweetened cocoa
2 tea. baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter (I've used margarine as well)
1 egg
1 tea vanilla

Directions:
1. Heat waffle iron to medium-high heat (or you can make pancakes).

2. In large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa and baking powder.

3. In medium bowl stir together sour cream, milk, butter, egg and vanilla until smooth. (It's definitely important to mix the flour mixture and liquids separately first.)

4. Stir liquids into flour mixture until well blended.

5. Cook on waffle iron or griddle.


Note: they turn out pretty flimsy looking and soft...not hard and crispy like your average waffle. I liked them that way though.

Can be also be served as a dessert with ice cream, frozen yogurt, strawberries, etc...

Grilled Turkey & Cheese Sandwich

I stole this idea from Jenna but she used avacados and swiss cheese instead.

Prepare just like a regular grilled cheese sandwich and add turkey, ham, or whatever your fancy. I added turkey and Kraft singles (off-brand). It was so easy and you can add whatever you have on hand.

I give all the credit to Jenna as she's my secondary mentor for cooking, and my mom is my first.

AND this is the first recipe I've ever made just flying by the seat of my pants. I think I should get a pat on the back for that.

Hope you enjoy! It's so quick and easy, I don't know how you couldn't!

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 cups milk
6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

I never knew Alfredo sauce was this easy to make!