Favorite Homemade Pizza Recipe

It's been awhile, but I just had to share this homemade pizza recipe that I came across on Jen Hatmaker's blog.  I've tried lots of pizza recipes and many have failed me for one reason or another.  I'm just not good with dough.  But this recipe I loved.  and you have to make the sauce....such yummy, sweet sauce.  Makes the recipe my favorite!

So without further ado, here's the homemade pizza recipe that you must make!  I promise you won't regret it.

Homemade Pizza by Jen Hatmaker  (see pictures and the recipe below on her blog)

Dough (2-3 hours before you are ready to make the pizza)

(It is so worth it to make your own dough. This is so easy, even a caveman can do it in his electric mixer.)

1 tsp active yeast (or half of a package)
1 tsp sugar
4 C flour
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 C olive oil
1 T honey

Sprinkle yeast in 1 1/2 cups of warm water with a tsp of sugar. Let it proof and bubble while you do the rest.

In your electric mixer (or a bowl), put in flour and salt and mix on low. While still mixing, drizzle in the olive oil until incorporated. Stir the yeast water and drizzle into the dough mixture while mixing on low. Add the honey. Let your mixer knead for around 4-5 minutes, or you can obviously do this by hand. (The fatal dough flaw: undermixing. If you knead it long enough, it will become pliable and smooth. Not enough and it is sticky and crumbly.) Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a clean bowl, put the ball of dough in and coat it all around, and cover the bowl with a damp towel for 2-3 hours to let it rise. I usually keep this near my stove where it is warm.

This whole thing takes 10 minutes. 

House Sauce (1 hour before Pizza Time)

You know how much I abhor being dramatic (sarcasm font), but this sauce is LIFE. I make this once a week. I'll include the doubled recipe quantities, because if you aren't doubling your House Sauce to freeze for next time, I guess you just hate yourself.

1/2 C extra-virgin olive oil
1 T red pepper flakes
6-8 cloves chopped fresh garlic
28 oz can organic tomato puree*
15 oz can organic crushed tomatoes*
Some balsamic vinegar (I don't know...3 T?)
Sugar (this is to taste...I probably use 1/4 cup)
S&P

* First, a word about the tomatoes. I use Muir Glen, and there is really nothing you can ever say to make me change my mind. DO NOT GET SOME JANKY TOMATO SAUCE FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF. I am so serious. This sauce is only as good as the 'maters. Cento is a 2nd place brand if my store punks out on the Muir Glen. Fresh, homegrown peeled tomatoes are the Prom Queen of this recipe in the summer obvs, but how many of us are going to boil and peel 20 tomatoes when we could open a can? We are already making our own dough. Good lord, what do you want from us??

On low heat (LOW! If you burn that garlic, there is no point in living), put in the olive oil, red pepper flakes, and chopped garlic for 3-4 minutes until it starts to smell like Jesus' corner of heaven. Add everything else and - this is my least favorite part - whisk until all that oil is incorporated. This takes longer than I am happy about. I usually have to switch to left-handed whisking to get through it. #thestruggleisreal

Taste and adjust (I usually like more sugar than the average bear), but remember that this develops after cooking. Keep the heat low, cover, and let it bubble and simmer for at least an hour. Taste, taste, taste. A good home cook should be very familiar with Scorched Tongue Syndrome because evidently we cannot wait 10 seconds for our spoonful to cool.

Note: If you like your sauce a little thicker, make a quick slurry of 2 T of cornstarch whisked into a bit of water and stir it in at the end. It will thicken up the whole pot like magic.

Pancakes...yum.

We love pancakes.  Often we make them on Sunday nights.  The kids love them with mini chocolate chips in them.  We do that mainly for special occasions, like birthdays.

Our favorite recipe is from the Favorite Family Foods blog.  "Buttermilk Pancakes"
They are fluffy and delish and way better than a boxed mix, yet just as easy to make.

I highly recommend this recipe.

“Buttermilk” Pancakes1 1/2 c. milk
3 TB. vinegar
2 c. flour
1/4 c. white sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp.  baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/4 c. butter, melted
cooking spray
Combine the milk with the vinegar in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to “sour”. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the egg and butter into the “soured” milk.  Pour this over the flour mixture and mix just till lumps are gone. Heat your griddle to about 350*, spray with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto griddle, cook till bubbles appear on surface. Flip with spatula and cook till light brown on the other side.  Serve warm with butter or syrup OR whatever you like! Serves 4-6. Enjoy!

Recipe from the cookbook “Tried and True”.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of my favorite soup recipes.  I got it from Amy's Ailments and I'm always nervous she might delete her recipe blog, so to make sure I don't lose this recipe I'm posting it here.

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

• 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 1/2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 T. chili powder
• 5 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth
• 3 c. frozen corn kernels
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 c. chopped onion
• 2 1/2 T. lemon juice
• 3 c. chunky salsa
• tortilla chips and shredded mexican blend cheese for garnish

Place chicken and onion in a large pot and sauté until chicken is cooked through and onion becomes transparent.  Add cumin and chili powder, then remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce burner to low and simmer for 30 more minutes.

To serve, crush tortilla chips into bottom of bowl, pour soup over top, and then sprinkle with cheese and more crushed tortilla chips.  Serves 10-12.

I wanted my soup a little thicker, so I dissolved 3 heaping T. cornstarch in a little cold water (like making gravy from drippings) and slowly stirred it into soup that I had brought back up to a boil.  Don’t do this until soup is done and you know the end consistency.  Also, start by adding half the cornstarch mixture, check consistency, and add more if you’d like.

NOTE: This would work well in a crock pot.  Throw raw, uncut chicken breasts into crock pot and cover with remaining ingredients.  Leave on low while you’re at work and then when you get home take the chicken breasts out, shred, and add  back in.

Southwest Potato Corn Chowder

I took this recipe from Pillsbury.com. I double the recipe since it said it was for only 2 servings. It is quite filling and very delicious. It also freezes great.  I made 4 batches of this recently and it was a great thing to give to friends who just needed a break from cooking or were sick, etc.  This tastes quite yummy with a good loaf of homemade bread (I love good bread…if only I new how to bake good bread).

Here is the recipe for 2 servings:

INGREDIENTS

3 unpeeled medium red potatoes (3/4 lb), cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 1/2 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

3/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Pinch ground red pepper (cayenne) - (I omitted this since I don't like things very spicey)

3/4 cup frozen corn

2 tablespoons chopped roasted red bell pepper (from a jar), well drained

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

1/3 cup Greek Fat Free plain yogurt (from a 6-oz container)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 medium green onions, finely chopped (2 tablespoons)

2 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

DIRECTIONS

• 1In 2-quart saucepan, place potatoes. Add water just to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and boil gently (simmer) about 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain. Reserve 1/2 cup potatoes; return remaining potatoes to saucepan. In small bowl, mash reserved potatoes with fork.
• 2Stir reserved mashed potatoes back into remaining potatoes in saucepan, along with broth, sugar, garlic salt, pepper, ground red pepper, corn and roasted red bell pepper. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 3In small bowl, stir flour into milk with whisk until well mixed; stir into potato mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in cheese until melted. Remove from heat; stir in yogurt, cilantro and green onions. Serve topped with bacon and, if desired, additional green onions.

For a healthier topping to use instead of the bacon, top off bowls of steaming chowder with seasoned croutons or fish-shaped crackers.

You can substitute fresh red bell pepper instead of the roasted red bell pepper.

Cinnamon Rolls…finally!

After 11 years of marriage and trying to find the perfect cinnamon roll recipe that make those big, puffy, yummy cinnamon rolls.  I have finally found it!  My husband loves cinnamon rolls and I have tried and tried to make them but they often just don’t rise and aren’t that great for being homemade. 

But then as of 2 days ago I came across this recipe.  These things were rising in 10 min and were nice and big and fluffy just how I have always imagined they should be. 

So here it is, the BEST Cinnamon Rolls Recipe EVER!!!

It comes from Fabulously Frugal’s website so I’ll just link you directly to her post.  It’s THE BEST CINNAMON ROLL RECIPE I’ve EVER MADE!!!

http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/homemade-cinnamon-rolls/

A few tips:

Use  a BIG Bowl…not your mixer.  Mix it all by hand (or with a large spoon)

Buy “Dry Active” yeast, not quick rising

You will need about 10 cups of flour…yes a LOT.

This recipe makes about 3 dozen.  So be prepared to freeze a ton or make cinnamon rolls for everyone you know.  I was able to share these yummy treats with Seth’s teachers this morning.  Although our family and a few friends gobbled down 1 dozen yesterday

Also, I made my own frosting made up of 1 block of cream cheese, softened and several cups of powdered sugar (til you get the right consistency and taste you want) plus a bit of milk.  You can make more of this if you really like to douse your cinnamon rolls in frosting. 

So enjoy my friends!!!  I still can’t believe they rose so nicely.  I’m so excited.  I was jumping up and down in the kitchen after seeing how in 10 minutes the dough had risen and it rose again after I made them into rolls.  Yay!!! 

Beef Tips

This is a recipe from a friend, but I don’t have exact measurements just ingredients.  But it is such a tasty meal that I just have to put it here.

 

Stew meat or Sirloin Tip or Chuck Roast, cut into pieces

Place in crockpot

Add Worcestershire Sauce

Dales Seasoning (in a liquid bottle…I think I found it in the BBQ sauce section???)

Water

Pepper

Pour over meat and cook on Low for 6-8 hrs until meat is nice and tender and melts in your mouth.

Serve with rice and/or veggies on the side.

Seriously, this is mouth watering goodness…

YUM…

Asian Chicken Salad

I love this salad and you can eat it as a main course with some veggies on the side.  It’s so yummy.  I got it from a friend and I don’t want to lose it so here it is…

4 pkg oriental ramen noodles, broken (**I couldn’t find the Oriental kind so I bought a different flavor and didn’t use those seasoning pkts.  Instead I did THIS recipe but I’d only use half the pepper next time.)

2 bunches green onions choppped

2 15 oz bags cole slaw

3 cups toasted almonds

1 bottle sunflower seeds

4-5 chicken breast shredded (one whole rotisserie is what I use)

Mix above ingredients.

Dressing:

All flavor packets from ramen noodles

1 cup olive oil

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

Refrigerate.

Tastes Better if you mix and let sit for a while-overnight is great.

**PLEASE NOTE: THIS RECIPE MAKES A TON!  SO HALVE THE RECIPE UNLESS YOU ARE MAKING THIS FOR A BIG GROUP.

Freezer Cookin’

A friend and I just started swapping freezer meals.  We did 2 meals last week and this week we will do 2 more.  We invited a couple of other women in our neighborhood to join us so that the next time we’ll swap 4 meals!  Honestly, this is the best thing ever.  I cook one or two meals but make a bunch of it…enough for both families or more.  Then swap with the friend and I have 4 meals for the week and we aren’t eating the same thing 2 weeks in a row. 

So far we’ve had chicken taquitos, creamy tortellini soup, chicken broccoli rice casserole, chicken noodle soup.

This week we will be having: stuffed shells, penne w/ chicken and roasted tomatoes,  chili and burritos.

I’m looking forward to when the other women join in and we just make one recipe each and make enough of it for all 4 of us or do two meals and we each will get 8 meals!!!  Makes life easier for us moms with little ones. 

I’ll keep you posted on all the wonderful meals we’ll be eating

I’m so excited!!!

Homemade Baby Wipes

Another recipe I want to make sure I don’t lose, so I’m saving it here.  I got this from my sister, Michelle, along with the perfect size containers that she got for super cheap.  I’m finally almost out of all the baby wipes I was given as a shower gift and so it’s time to make some of these homemade baby wipes.  It looks pretty easy and I’m about to make some right now. 

1. Cut a roll of Bounty Big Roll or Bounty Super Mega in half (I use an electric knife for this...you can use a serrated knife, but it's a LOT more work) and place one half in each wipes container.
2. Mix these three ingredients together and pour over each container of wipes (* you will have to mix up two batches of this if you're making two containers of wipes...this recipe is just for one container):

    2 Tbls. Baby bath

    2 Tbls. Baby oil

    2 C. water

      3.  Pull cardboard out of the center of the roll. When using wipes, pull wipes from the center of the roll.

Chewy Granola Bars

Another recipe I want to keep.  I’ve made these before and they are now our favorite recipe for Granola Bars. 

Recipe taken from: Cooking up a Sale

Ingredients:
3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 C honey
1/3 C brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C ground flaxseed
1 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 C mini chocolate chips OR any mix-in such as coconut, raisins, etc.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium-size mixing bowl, cream together the butter, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.  Add flour, flaxseed, baking soda, and oats. Stir until well-mixed. (Use a wooden spoon or other heavy-duty utensil for this.)  Stir in chocolate chips or other mix-ins.  Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, or lightly grease it.  Press mixture into the pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 18-22 minutes, until edges are just starting to brown. Bars will puff up and look like a regular brownie-type bar.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  After granola bars have cooled for 10 minutes, use a smooth-bottomed measuring cup or glass to press the bars flat. (I put a piece of wax paper over the bars and then press them flat to avoid smearing the chocolate.) Allow to finish cooling and then cut into 18 or 24 bars using a pizza cutter or thin sharp knife.

Options and Tips:

• If you don't have ground flaxseed in the house and you don't want to buy it, just use a full cup of whole wheat flour.
• Tammy (where Cooking up a sale get the recipe from) recommends cutting the pan into 18 bars, but these bars are extremely filling, so I cut ours into 24.  To form that classic granola bar shape, start on the short side of the 9x13 pan and cut 5 long lines to form six long strips.  Then, starting on the long side of the pan, make 2 or 3 short cuts across the pan so that each strip is cut into 3 or 4 bars, depending on how many bars you want to make.
• Tammy says that these bars keep for up to a week at room temperature, but on our recent trip to Colorado, these bars travelled well, and then kept for over 2 weeks without a noticeable change in taste.  The texture was slightly less chewy and a little more crumbly after 2 weeks, but still acceptable.

Cinnamon Rolls

I got this recipe from a friend and I need to try it, so I’m posting it here so I won’t forget about it.

6oz milk
1 egg
3c bread flour
3tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbs butter
2 tsp yeast

Filling:
1/3c butter or margarine (I just spread it *soft room temp* on the dough in stead of melting it)
1/2 c sugar (I use brown sugar)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 nutmeg (I don't put it in)
1/2 c nuts (I dont put this in either)

Icing:
1 c powdered sugar
2 tbs milk
(but cream cheese icing is much better. If I have time I do cream cheese, if not I do sugar.)

She’s also gave me a Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe that looks good too.

Oven Roasted Mushrooms & Potatoes

Awesome recipe that my friend, Sally, made for us when we were at their house for dinner.  It was so delicious I had to pass this along...

Oven Roasted Mushrooms and Potatoes

1.5 pounds potatoes cut in 1/2 inch chunks (about 4.5 cups)

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb fresh white mushrooms halved or quartered (about 5 cups)

1 c bell pepper cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 c sliced green onions

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450.  In a large 9x13 pan toss potatoes with oil.  Bake uncovered 10 min.  Stir in mushrooms, pepper, garlic and bake uncovered until potatoes are nearly tender, about 15 min.  Stir in green onions, salt, thyme and pepper, bake until vegetables are tender, about 10 min longer.

I usually leave out the thyme and use kosher salt.  You can play with the proportions pretty easily, too, and just bake a little longer or add more oil if it looks too dry.

Fall = Time for Soup

I love the colors of Fall and the crisp weather.  Makes me want to snuggle up with a cup of hot chocolate and a warm blanket and a book.  It also is a great time for soup.  I recently made this soup recipe from a friend and it is so delish.  Goes great with yummy bread for dunking in the sauce.

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

1 lb Italian sausage (I use turkey sausage to reduce the fat/cal)
1 c coarsely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, sliced
5 c beef broth
1/2 c water
1/2 c dry red wine (or water)
2 c (4 med) chopped, seeded, peeled tomatoes (or 1-15 oz can diced tomatoes)
1 c thinly sliced carrots
1/2 t basil leaves
1/2 t oregano
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 1/2 c sliced zucchini
3 T chopped fresh parsley
1 med green pepper, cut into 1/2 in pieces
8 oz (2 c) frozen meat or cheese filled tortellini or small ravioli (I usually just pour in the whole bag)
Grated parmesan cheese (for serving)
If sausage comes in casing, remove. In Dutch oven, brown. Remove sausage from pot, drain, reserving 1 T drippings in pot. Saute onions and garlic in drippings until onions are tender. Add beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 min. Skim any fat from soup. Stir in zucchini, tortellini, parsley, and green pepper. Simmer covered an additional 35-40 minutes or until tortellini are tender. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Ham & Cheese Sliders

I made these Ham & Cheese Sliders with a recipe I found from Kats Kitchen.  I so enjoyed their ooey gooey goodness that I just had to pass this recipe along.  They are a bit messy and sticky, but I love how the sauce adds an extra flavor to a basic ham & cheese sandwich.  So yummy.  Even better...my boys gobbled them up too (although they were a bit unsure about the stickiness getting on their hands, but once they took a bite they inhaled them). So here's the recipe...enjoy!

Ham and Cheese Sliders (serves 6)

1/2 lb deli ham

1/4 lb Swiss cheese

12 rolls (I used Haywain rolls)

1/4 cup butter

1 T prepared mustard

1/2 T Worcestershire sauce

1/2 T poppy seeds

2 T + 2t brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

Make sandwiches with rolls, ham and cheese.  Fit the sandwiches into a 9×9 pan squeezing them in there as needed.  In saucepan, bring butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, seeds and sugar to a soft boil.  Pour over sandwiches.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 min.

Summer Salsa..YUM!

I’ve again been inspired by Pinterest and am making several recipes for dinner tonight.  I already made the Summer Salsa and can I get a double Yum!  I love this stuff.  I’m also making Cheesy Taquitos.  I hope my boys like them.  We’ll see.
Also, I made this yummy Pasta Salad as a side to brats on Saturday and Italian Beef on Buns on Sunday.  LOVE this pasta salad.  If you don’t like the grapes, it will taste good without them.  But I love that sweet crunch every now and then.
Now that you are in the mood for some Summer Food…here are the recipes! Enjoy!!!  (Click on each heading to go directly to the recipe site).
Summer Salsa

1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 lime, zest & juice
pinch of salt
drizzle of olive oil
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 orange bell pepper, chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded & diced
1 c. black beans
1 c. frozen corn
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1.  In a large bowl, combine the chopped onions, garlic, lime zest & juice, and salt.  Stir to mix well and let sit while the rest of the ingredients are chopped.  This will soften the bite of the onion and garlic.
2.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Baked Creamy Taquitos

Yield: 12 taquitos
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese
small flour or corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray
Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic. Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.
(If you decided to prep this in advance, refrigerate the mixture at this point until ready to continue.)
Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).
Spoon 2-3 Tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.
Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone.
Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other.
Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.
Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.
**To freeze:  Before baking, flash freeze the taquitos in a single layer on a baking sheet then place in a labeled freezer bag and store up to 3 months.  To bake a frozen taquito (no need to thaw first): Preheat oven to 425˚F and bake for 20 minutes.  (Flash Freeze means freezing the taquitos in a single layer for 15-20 minutes (until hardened) so that when you add them to the freezer bag, they will not all stick together).

Yummy Pasta Salad

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 (16-oz.) package farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
• 1 pound fresh broccoli
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup diced red onion
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
• 8 cooked bacon slices, crumbled

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.  (**I didn’t bake my pecans and they tasted just fine).
2. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets from stems, and separate florets into small pieces using tip of a paring knife. Peel away tough outer layer of stems, and finely chop stems.
4. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; add broccoli, hot cooked pasta, and grapes, and stir to coat. Cover and chill 3 hours. Stir bacon and pecans into salad just before serving.

(**Photos taken from the individual websites)

Warning...this is addicting...

A friend recently made this yummy snack for us and I asked her for the recipe.  She actually gave it to my husband for "Teacher Appreciation Day" but he took it home and I may or may not have eaten the entire bag.. So just to warn you, this stuff is quite addicting.  I haven't made it yet, but when I do I will definitely need to share it with friends because otherwise I'll have tummy ache.  So enjoy!

FAVORITE SNACK MIX

6 cups Crispix Cereal  (i usually use about 7 cups)

1 can (10 oz) mixed nuts

1 pkg. (10 oz) pretzel sticks (i put in less pretzels because I am not a pretzel lover)

3/4 C butter or margerine (i always use butter, but marg is probably ok...)

3/4 C packed brown sugar

   In a large bowl, combine the cereal, nuts and pretzels. In a small sauce pan over low heat, melt butter.

   Add brown sugar: cook and stir until dissolved.

   Pour over cereal mixture, stir (rubber spatula works well here) to coat.

   Place a third on a greased cookie or baking sheet (i just divide mixture in half and use 2 cookie sheets)

   Bake at 325 for 8 minutes; stir then bake for 6 more minutes.

   Spread on waxed paper to cool. Repeat with remaining mixture.

Yummy Salad

Well, it seems my blog is becoming a recipe blog...not what I intended, just what I seem to be posting lately :) I just had to post this salad recipe before I forget to write it down somewhere. Thanks to my SIL for sending the recipe. It's quite delish!

I don't even have a title for what it's actually called, so I'm just going to call it...Yummy Salad.

Ingredients:

1 bag spring mix greens

Candied Walnuts (or I used candied pecans because I prefer pecans and I couldn't find any other candied nuts at Walmart)

Thinly Sliced Apples (my favorite are Gala Apples)

Craisins (Dried Cranberries)

Honey Mustard Dressing (I used Newman's Own Salad Dressing...Light Honey Mustard).

Mix the above ingredients, drizzle on however much dressing you like and enjoy. Such a yummy combination for a salad. I've become addicted to it. Especially since Aldi is selling a nice mix of small lettuce heads in their veggie section only for $1.99. It stays fresh longer than the bagged stuff.

Other than that, it's been an interesting week here. The boys have had colds and I finally took Seth to the doctor on Thursday morning. Turned out he has a double ear infection and has now been diagnosed with bronchitis/asthma. So he's been on breathing treatments every 4 hours and the morning and evening treatments will continue indefinitely. So that was a bit more than I expected when I took him in. The treatments make him all hyper afterward. Joe & I just laugh because he's running all over the place with this big grin on his face. It's quite funny to watch. Thankfully when I have to get him up for his nightly treatments he doesn't wake up much and actually falls back asleep while I'm giving him the treatment. I'm exhausted to say the least. Being pregnant, getting up 3 times a night and oh, Isaac's cough is back and he ended up throwing up last night in bed...so that was a nice thing to add to the evening. Basically it's been a long week with not a lot of sleep for this prego momma. Thankfully I just have the sniffles since Joe has gotten the cold too. Hopefully mine doesn't get worse.

Well, I'm off to make sense of the pile of medical bills since we just got another one that wasn't on the insurance statement. I get to call the insurance company again on Monday and find out what's going on because this bill has put us way over what we should have to owe. Oh the joys.

I shouldn't complain so much. I am so thankful to have my health back. I know it could be so much worse. We are definitely blessed beyond measure. Just some days it's hard for my human mind to see that. Thankfully God shows me in His way that He is a gracious, good, loving God that is in control of all things. May I strive to keep my eyes on things eternal where in the end there will be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more health issues, etc. Where we will be one day worshiping and praising our Lord.

Honey Mustard Chicken

Our pastor's wife made this meal for us awhile back and it has become one of our favorites. I've made it in the crockpot (like I'm doing today) and it works great that way also. The sauce and flavor is so yummy and it's such an easy recipe. Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Chicken

6-8 chicken thighs (I've used breasts too...any kind of pieces of chicken will work)

1/2 c honey

1/4 c mustard

1 tsp salt

1 tsp curry powder

Mix ingredients together and pour over chicken in a baking dish. Baste ever 15 min. Bake the chicken at 400 degrees for 45 min to an hour. Serve with rice. The sauce is great to pour on the rice.

Crockpot version: Put chicken in crockpot. Pour mixed ingredients over the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4. Serve with rice.

Creamy Tortellini Soup

First I have to say (and I may have said it before), that I LOVE Pinterest! It's one amazing site. Anyways, back to my original post. I made Creamy Tortellini Soup (from www.bhg.com) today for the fellowship meal at church. It was an easy recipe and tasted pretty yummy. Two things that I love in a recipe....easy & yummy. Here's the recipe for those interested. and I loved dipping french bread into the sauce..yum!

Creamy Tortellini Soup

ingredients

• 1
  1 1/2 - 2 ounce envelope white sauce mix
• 4
  cups water
• 1
  14 ounce can vegetable broth (I used half chicken broth, half beef broth bc I didn't have veg broth)
• 1 1/2
  cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/2
  cup chopped onion
• 3
  cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2
  teaspoon dried basil, crushed
• 1/4
  teaspoon salt
• 1/4
  teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1/8
  teaspoon cayenne pepper (I just put a dash)
• 1
  7 - 8 ounce package dried cheese tortellini (about 2 cups)
• 1
  12 ounce can evaporated milk
• 6
  cups fresh baby spinach leaves or torn spinach
• 1/2 lb
• ground turkey, browned (I added this - so you can add it or leave it out---optional)
• ground black pepper (optional)
• finely shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
  
  
  directions

  1.Place dry white sauce mix in a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Gradually add the water to the white sauce mix, stirring until smooth. Stir in broth, mushrooms, onion, garlic, basil, salt, oregano, and cayenne pepper.

  I also browned ground turkey and added it to the mix.

  2.Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

  3.Stir in dried tortellini. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 1 hour more or high-heat setting for 45 minutes more.

  4.Stir in evaporated milk and fresh spinach (I cooked my spinach in the pan I used toc.

  cook the turkey and added it to the soup after it had been on low 2 hrs). If desired, sprinkle individual servings with black pepper and Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings (I'd say more like 6-8 servings...unless you eat huge bowls of soup...this recipe filled my regular size crockpot).