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...)