Carmel Corn

We decorated our Christmas Tree tonight for family night, so I tried making something that I've never tried before-Carmel Corn. It was pretty easy. It worried me when I found the recipe in the Candy section of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. I don't consider myself adept enough to make candy. All of that exact temperature, etc. is too much pressure. But this was pretty simple. My kids loved it, and it was a good family night treat. (Cheap too.) If you have any left over, store it in an air-tight container.

Ingredients:

7-8 cups popped popcorn*
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
6 TBSP butter
3 TBSP light corn syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Grease a sheet pan with cooking spray or butter. (I covered mine with aluminum foil and then greased the foil.) Pour popcorn onto sheet pan and spread out. Heat oven to 300 F.
In medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Over medium heat, stir until it begins to boil. Stop stirring and allow to gently boil for 5 minutes undisturbed. Remove from heat, and stir in soda and vanilla. Drizzle over popcorn and stir gently. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Remove and stir gently. Bake in oven an additional 5 minutes. Stir gently to make sure popcorn is evenly coated. Transfer to cold sheet pan covered with aluminum foil and cooking spray. Allow to cool before eating!

*You can use any kind of popcorn you like. I was out of microwave popcorn, and I don't own an air-popper, so I heated some oil in the bottom of my big pot until it was about 350 F. (At this temperature the oil moves more like water. It doesn't look thick like oil.) Then I added 1/2 cup of unpopped, popcorn. I covered the pot with aluminum foil and continued to move the pan until the popping was almost done. Then I transferred it to a large bowl. I was amazed at how few unpopped-kernals I found. 1/2 cup made about 10 cups of popcorn. So I think for this recipe you could get away with 1/3 cup.

Super Easy Biscuits

So this week I've been trying some different biscuit recipes. We had a neighborhood breakfast on Saturday, and we were supposed to bring biscuits. I was just planning on making Bisquick ones, but discovered (morning of) that I didn't have enough. So I made a recipe that I found online. It wasn't great and it was a pain to make, but it worked. Well, this morning I tried a different recipe, and it was very tasty. Biscuits aren't my favorite, but I actually liked these. Plus, they were the easiest. (As easy as Bisquick, but so much tastier.) So, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, little extra for dusting
1-1/2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 F. Line sheet pan with parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray.

Mix dry ingredients together in bowl. Pour in cream and mix just until combined. Lightly flour work surface and knead dough just until it forms a ball. Roll out to 1-2 to 1 inch thick. Cut into biscuit rounds, or use a pizza cutter and cut into wedges. (I rolled mine into a kind of square, then used a pizza cutter to cut it into 9 squarish shapes. Easy.)

Bake for 15 minutes, turning pan halfway through baking time.

We had these with sausage gravy for breakfast, and they were well received. Summer just likes them with a little bit of butter. Honey and or jam would be good too. Fax suggested brushing them with melted butter prior to baking them, so they would brown-up a little more. I might try that next time.

Baked Spaghetti

I made Baked Spaghetti for dinner last night and was pleasantly surprised. It's like Spaghetti meets Lasagna. I don't have pictures cuz it wasn't a pretty dish to look at but it was quite yummy.

So if you are curious you can find the recipe HERE!

recipe fyi : I added ground beef and used the ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese.

Orange Julius

I got this recipe from my friend, Amy, a couple of years ago at a recipe exchange. I didn't try it until a couple of months ago, and it has been a family favorite ever since. Today we had some neighborhood friends over to run through the sprinklers and I didn't have enough ice cream for ice cream cones. (The kids looked a little worried.) So, I pulled out the blender and we made these. All the kids liked them. Just a note: Don't try to double the recipe in your blender. It will overflow. Just make two batches. It's way easier than cleaning up the mess all over your counter!

Orange Julius

Ingredients:
6 oz. frozen concentrated orange juice*
1 cup milk
1 cup cold water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar or Splenda (optional)*
10 ice cubes

Directions:
Add all ingredients to blender, and blend until smooth.

*What I usually do, is just lay the container on its side and cut it in half. Then I have 6 oz., and I can just put the other half in a sandwich bag and back into the freezer.
If you use 100% orange juice, you kind of need the sugar. Two of our favorites are Dole 100% juice orange, peach, mango and Dole 100% juice strawberry, orange, banana. These are naturally sweeter, so I usually half the amount of sugar for these. I've never tried an apple based juice or a concentrate with added sugar. I would assume that if you used these you'd need less sugar also.

"Special Occasion" Blueberry Muffins

I call these "special occasion" because they were kind of a pain to make, but definitely the best blueberry muffins I've had. We were going to buy a box mix yesterday, but I noticed it was leaking when I got to the cash register. It wasn't worth running all the way back, so I just didn't buy one. Before I went to bed I checked my email, and there was a blueberry muffin recipe from America's Test Kitchen. I happened to have all the ingredients, (except I had frozen blueberries instead of fresh) so I figured I'd give it a go this morning. They were VERY sweet! I felt kind of guilty for eating one. But Fax and the kids really loved them.

First, you need to make blueberry jam. Combine 5 oz. (1 cup) blueberries and 1 tsp. sugar in sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for about 6 minutes until reduced to 1/4 cup. Set aside and bring to room temperature.

Next, you need to make lemon sugar by combining 1/3 cup sugar with the zest of half a lemon. Mix together well, and resist the temptation to eat this by the spoonful. ;) Set aside. Preheat oven to 425 F.

Now mix the dry ingredients: (In separate bowl.)
2-1/2 cups flour
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt (I used a 1/2 tsp. because I used salted butter.)

Time for the wet ingredients: (In a separate bowl.)
Wisk together for about a minute,
2 eggs
1-1/8 cups sugar
Then add and mix:
4 Tbsp. butter, melted and slightly cooled
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

Combine wet and dry ingredients with blueberries and mix only until dry ingredients are wet. (If you are using frozen blueberries, dust the blueberries with a tsp of the dry mixture, and add them after you've combined the wet and dry ingredients.) DO NOT OVER MIX! THE BATTER WILL BE QUITE LUMPY. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. (I would suggest NOT using muffin liners.) Use all the batter to fill the muffin tin. It will look really full. Then add a teaspoon of the blueberry jam to the center of each muffin and swirl with a knife. Top each with the lemon sugar. Bake for 9 minutes, rotate pan, and bake for another 9 minutes. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. I had to loosen them from the pan so that they wouldn't fall apart. I used a plastic spoon for this so that I wouldn't scratch my muffin tin.

I think the next time I make these, I'll add some of the lemon juice from the lemon I zested to the blueberry jam, or possibly to the muffin batter.
P.S. If you eat more than one of these, you may need an insulin shot to compensate.

If you want to watch the video from America's Test Kitchen, click here.

White Spaghetti

This is actually called Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo, but my kids have always called it White Spaghetti. I found it in a Campbell's Soup recipe booklet that I got for free at Costco many years ago. It's pretty easy to make, and you can use a variety of different kinds of chicken. Tonight I made it with chicken breasts that I cut up and fried in some olive oil. But I've also made it with left-over rotisserie chicken or canned chicken, that I reheated in the pan. I use the freshly grated parmesan cheese instead of the Kraft, powdery kind because I like the flavor better. But you can use either. Although I'd use a bit less of the powder kind. Just a note also, I always double this recipe. I don't usually double the amount of chicken, but for sure the sauce and noodles. I do this because we also like left overs.

Ingredients:

1 lb. of chicken, cubed
2 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper
8 oz fettucine, linguini, or spaghetti
1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package directions. Add broccoli for last 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain. While noodles are cooking, heat oil in skillet. (At this point I like to add some salt and pepper to the oil and even some Italian Seasoning or Chicken Seasoning. But that's totally optional.) Add chicken and cook until browned. (If using pre-cooked chicken, just heat it up a bit.) Add soup and milk to chicken and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add cheese and stir over medium-low heat. When noodles are done and drained, add them to the sauce and stir to combine. Serve immediately. If you have left-overs, it's a good idea to add a little milk before reheating.
This is one of my kid's favorites, and Fax likes it too. Let me know what you think!

Bakin' Bacon

Do you hate frying bacon as much as I do? Do you love bacon as much as you hate frying it? Well, a few years ago, my sister-in-law Maureen, turned me on to cooking it in the oven. It ROCKS!! And yes, it gets crispy. Even Fax likes it! And it really frees you up to make other things while it's cooking, instead of standing over a hot, spattering pan for 20 minutes. Plus, it's WAY easier to clean up and you don't get grease all over everything. So here is how I do it:

What you need:
1/2 sheet pan or cookie sheet
Heavy duty aluminum foil
1 lb. bacon (not thick-sliced)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line sheet pan with heavy duty aluminum foil so that it completely covers the entire pan. (See below. You can try this with regular foil, but it always rips and then you end up having to clean out your pan anyway. Which is why you use the foil in the first place.) Next line up bacon as shown below. You can really scrunch them up and shove them close together because there will be shrinkage. I can always get the whole pound on the pan. Bake for 10-11 minutes, and then flip them over. Bake an additional 10-11 minutes. (Keep an eye on them for the last few minutes. There's a fine line between crispy and burned.) Remove from pan and let cool slightly, on a paper towel-lined plate.
If you need crumbled bacon, just wait a minute or two for it to cool and will be plenty crispy.
If you want to use thick-cut bacon, I suggest reducing the temperature to 400 F, and maybe letting it cook a few more minutes. Again, keep an eye on it. It's sad to throw away a pound of bacon!

Prior to baking

Finished product
(Minus a few pieces-the kids and I were hungry!)

And here is one of the best parts. Leave the pan on the back of your stove, and once it has cooled, fold the foil into a ball and throw it away. That's it for clean up!! No trying to find a can to dump the fat into and then scrubbing the pan. Just throw out the foil and your pan has stayed perfectly clean. Seriously, it's a good thing Maureen showed me how to do this or my family would only get bacon when Fax wanted to fry some!

Sugar Cookies

These are my absolute favorite sugar cookies, and here's why:
1. No eggs. You can give your kids a ball and let them create their own cookies, and it doesn't matter if they eat the dough. It's like tasty play dough.
2. I've never had this dough crack and get too stiff because of the flour you have to use to roll it out. It rolls out perfectly every time.
3. There are only six ingredients.
4. You can use this recipe to make a variety of other cookies. (Which I will post later.)

The Easiest Sugar Cookies EVER!

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter or butter-flavored Crisco
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
2-1/4 cups flour

Directions:
Beat cream and butter until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, vanilla, and baking soda and mix until combined. Mix in flour. If you need to, use a large spoon to completely stir all the ingredients together. Form into a ball and refrigerate for at least an hour. (I usually make this the night before.) Preheat oven to 350 F. Roll dough as thick as you want, because it doesn't matter if these don't cook all the way through. I usually do between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes and bake on greased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. (You can also use parchment paper instead of greasing. Way easier to clean up!) Allow to cool before frosting.


I've used lots of different frosting on these. Cream cheese frosting is always tasty, which you can find here. I also use this one, which is kind of a pain-in-the-butt, and doesn't taste as good. But it does give you that professional look. Today I used store-bought because my mixer broke last night. I know, bummer...

Royal Icing

Ingredients:

3 oz pasteurized egg whites (They're by the eggs in a little milk carton)
1 tsp vanilla or milk
4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

In large bowl combine egg whites and vanilla (or milk) and beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take about 5-7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired. For immediate use, transfer icing to a ziploc bag or pastry bag, and pipe as desired. Store in refrigerate, in air-tight container for up to three days. If it has been in the refrigerator, bring to room temp before attempting to pipe or spread.

Amanda & Dave's Chicken Chili

A few weeks ago, we were up in Farmington visiting Amanda and Dave. I've known Amanda for over 20 years. I know, I can't believe it's been that long either. Our friend, Michele, was there too. It was really fun because Amanda just had her second baby, and I hadn't seen Michele for years. Moving on, Amanda served us Chicken Chili for dinner. It was very tasty and all my kids really liked it. Fax seemed to like it too. So I tried my hand at it this week when Amanda emailed me the recipe. I used a couple of different things, just because that's what I had, but my kids still liked it, and it's very filling. I served it with cornbread. (If you want my recipe for cornbread click here.)

Amanda & Dave's Chicken Chili

1 small onion, diced
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed

In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in butter until soft. Then add:

2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
2 cans Bush's Northern Beans
2 cups water
3 chicken bullion cubes
1 can sweet white corn
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Cook and stir until hot. Serve with grated cheese.

Here are Amanda's notes she sent me:
I hate getting stinky hands from cutting onions and using real garlic. So I always use dehydrated onion and garlic powder. And I use Costco canned chicken breast (2 cans, I think they're 12 oz. each). Great food storage meal - everything but the cheese and sour cream is canned or dry.

These are the changes that I made, with what I had:
I diced two very large chicken breasts (1-1/2 pounds) because I got a great deal on chicken this week. Anyway, I cooked the onion for about 5 minutes, then I added the chicken and cooked them together until the chicken was almost done. Then I added the garlic for the last 2 minutes or so. (I used 1 TBSP of the minced garlic you can buy in the jar.) I also substituted one can of navy beans, because I only had one can of Northern Beans.

This was very yummy and also not too spicy for kids. I think if you really wanted it spicier you could let people add some hot sauce to their bowls. Thanks Amanda and Dave!

Chicken Pot Pie

I found this recipe on Kraftfoods and it looked tasty, so I figured I'd try it. Well, I've made some slight changes, mostly with the amounts. All my kids gave this recipe a "thumbs-up." Fax liked it too, although he usually isn't home in the evenings to eat with us. I tell you this because I made this recipe in an 8x8 square baking dish and it feeds me and the kids with some left over, but if Fax were going to be eating with us, or if I had another child, etc. I would consider doubling it or having some additional side dishes.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

1 to 1-1/2 pounds of chicken, cubed
1/4 cup Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
3 cups frozen vegetables (I used broccoli, peas, and carrots - but use what you like)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. Velveeta, cubed (Yes, generic brand is fine.)
1 sheet of puff pastry

Directions:

Remove one sheet of puff pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw on the counter for about an hour. (Puff pastry is located in the freezer section by the Cool-Whip and ready-made pie crusts. It comes in sheets and dessert cups. There are 2 sheets per box.) Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a large skillet, heat the dressing and add the chicken and veggies. Cook and stir until the chicken is cooked through. Add the soup and stir. Add the Velveeta and give it a quick stir. You don't have to let it melt; it will do that in the oven. Pour into a greased 8x8 square baking dish.
Open thawed pastry sheet and cut vents in it. I usually cut four leaf-shaped slits because they're easy, and then I put the pieces I cut out in between the slits. But you can be creative and even use tiny cookie-cutters if you wanted.
Place baking dish on a sheet pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. If one side is browning faster than another, just rotate it. You definitely want the baking sheet under it because it will very likely ooze out a bit. And don't put this on your top rack in your oven, because the puff pastry really does puff.

I didn't serve this with anything because I think it's pretty complete on its own. But you could serve it with a salad, rolls, or biscuits. Let me know if you try it, and if you like it or not!

P.S. JoAnna, I'm so excited you read my food blog. I didn't know anyone read it! I'm flattered, and I LOVE comments. (Hint, hint...)

I'm-not-sure-what-to-call-this Chicken & Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Andy and Christy were over tonight for dinner. I'm not doing dinner rotation anymore, so instead we do a swap each week with the Fosses. This week was our turn. I made some chicken that I tried a couple years ago, but haven't made recently. The recipe is from Kraftfoods and it's called, "Simply Saucy Chicken." I don't really like that name. If you (does anyone actually read this blog?) have a suggestion for a catchy name for it, please comment. AGAIN, PLEASE COMMENT! I had a picture, but it didn't turn out very well, so I deleted it. Sorry.

....Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup Cesear dressing (I used Kraft)
Italian seasoning (a shake or two)
cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half (amount up to you)
pre-cooked and crumbled bacon (I use my old stand-by, see post below)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Cook chicken on medium-high heat, on each side until browned. (4-5 minutes each side.) Mix broth, dressing, and seasoning and then add to chicken. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 F. (I got a great little digital thermometer at Target for around $10.) Then add tomatoes and bacon. Turn to low a continue to cook for 2 more minutes.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes or yams
2-4 TBSP butter (more or less to taste)
salt and pepper

Directions:

Peel and cube sweet potatoes. Steam them until tender. In mixing bowl add cooking sweet potatoes and butter. Mix with hand blender until desired texture. Salt and pepper to taste.

The adults and Jacob seemed to enjoy the chicken. I think the other kids would have too, minus the tomatoes, but I was being lazy and served them chicken nuggets. Summer didn't like the sweet potatoes, but Brook and Jake had seconds. I think I prefer mashed sweet potatoes to regular mashed potatoes.

Red Velvet for Valentine's Day!

My daughter is in Kindergarten and getting better at reading and writing. She wanted to make a Valentine, and this is how it turned out. Anyway, Valentine's Day is not my favorite. It all seems so forced. If you really love someone you shouldn't be made to express your love on one particular day in the year. That being said, I do appreciate the interruption in mid-winter. As my brother, Andy, said so eloquently last week, "They just created this holiday so that fewer people would want to kill themselves in the middle of February."
So, I made two New Year's Resolutions for this year. #1 No sugar. #2 Have the dishes done before I go to bed, so that I can wake up to a clean kitchen and clean dishes. Both have been going well. Historically, Valentine's Day really screws with any kind of diet I'm attempting to stick to, because as we all know, it's a candy holiday. Like Halloween. So, I, of course, wanted to make something that was red like all the cute and delicious candy I've been seeing. I've been wanting to try my hand at red velvet cake. I figured if I made cupcakes I could give some away which would help with goal #1. Point being, I haven't tried them. My kids chowed down on them, and I think they look pretty cute. They weren't that hard, so maybe give them a try and let me know how they taste. Thanks!

Some to give away!

Red Velvet Cake (Or Cupcakes)

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups cake flour
4 TBSP cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 TBSP butter, room temperature
1-2/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs, and 1 egg yolk
1 cup buttermilk, plus 2 TBSP.
1 oz red food coloring (yes, the whole bottle)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBSP white vinegar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. If using foil liners, spray with cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. (If possible, repeat a few times.) In a large bowl gently beat together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Slowly mix in buttermilk. Then add remaining food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla. Be sure to scrape sides thoroughly. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
8 oz of cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature (1 stick)
2 tsp. vanilla
4-1/2 cups powdered sugar
food coloring, optional

Directions:
Cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and mix in well. Add powdered sugar 2 cups at a time, mixing on low until sugar is incorporated. Add food coloring if you want. Once all the sugar is mixed in, give it a good mixing on a higher speed for about 30 seconds. Use immediately. Refrigerate left overs. For these cupcakes, I spooned the frosting into a Ziploc bag and cut a corner off, then used it as a piping bag to apply the frosting. My kids were pretty impressed. They thought I bought them at the store. Whatever happened to homemade being better?

These would also be cute on the 4th of July with white frosting and blue sprinkles.

8 Minute Lasagna

I'm not kidding, it really only takes 8 minutes to make this. It takes an hour to bake, but only 8 to make. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

6 oven-ready lasagna noodles (I use Great Value brand from Walmart)
12-16 oz. Italian sausage (You can also use ground beef, but it doesn't have as much flavor.)
1 can of garlic and herb spaghetti sauce (I use Hunt's)
1 egg
16 oz. cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 TBSP. dried parsley flakes
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 F. Brown sausage in pan and crumble into small pieces. Mix with spaghetti sauce. (There is no need to heat spaghetti sauce.) In separate bowl combine beaten egg, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Place 3 dried, oven-ready lasagna noodles in bottom of pan. Center as much as possible. Top with half the cottage cheese mixture, then half the sauce mixture. Repeat with remaining noodles, cheese mixture, and sauce mixture. Top with mozzarella cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Fax isn't a fan of lasagna, but the rest of us like it. Plus, I like that you can make it in the morning, stick it in the frig, and bake it when you're ready. I usually serve it with some bread and a salad.