Chicken & Noodles

A classic from my childhood. Sooo easy! You can do the oven version or the easy crock pot version and make as much or as few packets and chicken pieces as you want.

5-6 chicken pieces (legs, thighs-dark meat on bone.)
1/4 cup finely chopped onions (optional)
soy sauce/ teriyaki sauce
Seasonings: garlic powder, pepper and parsley flakes
3-4 packages of dry ramen noodles

Oven Directions
Place chicken in a 9x13 or 8x8 cover with about 1/2 cup soy sauce and sprinkle with seasonings and chopped onions. Cover and bake for 1 hour at 325-350.

Crockpot Directions
Place chicken in a crockpot cover with about 1/2 cup soy sauce and sprinkle with seasonings and chopped onions.

10-15 minutes before you eat boil water and make ramen noodles WITHOUT seasoning packet. Remove chicken from pan and pour juices into separator and separate oil from juice. Pour remaining juice and cooked noodles into dish. Stir well. Place chicken on top and serve with green beans.

Really easy yummy asian inspired dish.

10/10

Lazy Man's Pork BBQ Sandwiches

I steal this also from my Sno. 2nd ward cookbook. SOOOO good!

5 lb boneless pork butt (shoulder)
14.5 oz can beef broth
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

SAUCE:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup yellow mustard

Place pork butt in bottom of slow cooker. Mix together the 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce and pour over the pork. Cover and cook on high setting for 5 hours of 8-10 on low. Until pork is very tender.

Prepare sauce by combining ketchup, molasses, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, and mustard in large saucepan. Set aside. Place pork on cutting board. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid from slow cooker. Coarsely chop pork, combine with reserved cooking liquid and sauce in saucepan. Heat over medium heat until warm. Spoon onto sandwich buns and enjoy! SOOOOO good! 12/10

Perfect Meatloaf

1 envelop Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 lb hamburger
3/4 cup crushed ritz crackers
3/4 cup oats
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1 TBS. Worcestershire sauce
dash of pepper and salt

In a bowl kneasd all the ingredients together until completley mixed. Shape into a loaf and cook at 350 uncovered for 1 hour. Serve with baked potatoes and salad. Top with BBQ sauce.

Jello Frosting

3 ox pkg of Jello (any flavor)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg white
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Put all ingredients in a metal or glass stand up mixer. Pour in 1/2 cup BOILING water. Cover mixer and beat on high for 5-10 minutes. It should be light colored and fluffy. Great on cupcakes for kids.

Parmesan Breaded Fish

3/4 cup panko
1 TBS. parsley-dried
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 TBS. grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp of each-pepper, oregano, basil
lots of olive oil
4-6 fillets of white fish (we prefer tilapia because it's cheap but doesn't taste like eggs like swai does)

In a shallow bowl combine dry ingredients. Preheat oven to 400. Dip fish fillets into olive oil, roll in crumb mixture place on greased cookie sheet. Spray with a little more oil then bake for 15-22 minutes.

I put baby red potatoes quartered and in olive oil and tossed with fresh crushed garlic and pepper on one half the pan and start heating the oven. Then I prepare the fish and cook it on the other side. Always ends up being ready at the same time. Serve fish with some tarter sauce if you like too.

Mexican Gumbo

Modified from my Snohomish 2nd Ward cook book.

4 cups water
3 cubes chicken bouillon
2 medium chicken breasts
1 medium onion chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup (or 1 cup of my cream of something)
1 can diced green chiles (include liquid)
1 can pinto or black of kidney beans (mostly drained) (whatever you prefer the kidney bean skin is thick)
1 can stewed tomatoes ( include liquid)
1 cup cooked rice ( love with cilantro lime rice)
Whatever seasoning you prefer.
Cholula chili lime hot sauce
Nacho cheese mix
Tajin flavor
Salt/ pepper

Whatever you decide it's a hard one to mess up.

Bring water, bouillon, chicken breasts and onion to a boil. Shred cooked chicken and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a light simmer. Top with these extras: Chopped avocado, cilantro, a little bit of sour cream and little hot sauce if you'd like.

Brandon LOVED this. 10/10

Life-Changing Pumpkin Bars

These are soooo good! I combined two recipes and found it to be just right. It doesn't seem like it will be enough frosting but it's perfect.

Pumpkin Bars

2 cups sugar
3/4-1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg (on the last 3 spices I kind of go off of what I prefer don't go too crazy.
sometimes I leave those 3 out).
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt

4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
1 cup oil ( I did 1/2 oil and 1/2 applesauce)

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix together. The mix should be pretty much a little bit thicker than a cake mix consistency. Pour into a greased 13X18 baking jelly roll pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. It will be golden and light brown on the edges. No over baking!

Cream Cheese Frosting
3 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar.

We rate these 12/10

Easy French Bread

Made this french bread today and it's AWESOME! I did less salt and I think I might skip on the cornmeal next time. I also halved it and it turned out great. I typically suck at baking things. In fact I wanted this to work so bad I even prayed it would turn out. For the first time ever something I baked from scratch did. Wahoo! Heavenly Father knows us even our simplest prayers. This is my modified version.


French Bread recipe (this amount makes 6 small loaves or 3 large):
2 1/2 c. warm water
2 T. yeast
3 T. sugar
2 T. white vinegar
Add the above ingredients together and let sit until bubbly (about 3-5 minutes). Then add:
3/4 T. salt
1/3 c. oil (I use Canola)
6-7 c. flour (or a little more if it's too soft), one cup at a time--add enough until the dough is soft, but firm enough to mold into dough loaves
Need also, 1 egg, cornmeal (optional)

Knead for 2-5 minutes and then put in the oven with a small pot of boiling water. The water will keep the dough moist. Watch the dough and punch it down when it gets to the top of the mixing bowl. Do this every time it gets to the top of the bowl, as long as you have time to babysit it (2-5 times). Put the dough on a greased countertop and divide into 3 sections. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal on the bottom of the sheet. Roll the dough balls into rectangle/long French bread shapes. Slash tops of bread diagonally 3-5 times and cover with a beaten egg. Let rise 30 minutes (or until doubled)on the counter, or you can put them in your oven at 170 and wait until they are the size you want to cook them at. Once they are to the right size, turn up your stove to 375 (without opening the door!) and let them bake until done. Or, just raise on the counter and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Enjoy! Dough--can be a little soft, if too sticky, add a little more flour. Put the boiling water in the oven with your bowl of dough to help it rise faster. Cut the dough into two equal parts (or three if you are making smaller loaves). --pictures are of a doubled batch. Slice the dough diagonally and white wash with 1 beaten egg.Bake and serve warm out of the oven!

Mini German Pancakes

I found this recipe on "Our Best Bites." LOVE THEM! They have excellent recipes a tips! I made them just as the recipe is written but in regular sized muffin pans. Makes enough for two people. I would probably double it...depending on how hungry we are. But they had a great texture! They might even be great as a puff for a dessert or appetizer puff with filling on top. 5/5

Mini Puffed Oven Pancakes with Berry Sauce
recipe by ourbestbites.com 

Ingredients
3/4 cup flour (*see note below)
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons butter, melted
powdered sugar

Berry Sauce
6 large frozen or fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons berry jam
optional: sugar if needed, to taste

*Since so many have made these and love them, I didn’t want to alter the recipe from its original posting.  however, since making these more often, I have found I prefer the texture of the finished puffed pancakes when I decrease the flour to 1/2 cup.  Try it both ways and See how you like it!

Instructions
Place mini muffin pan (or cast iron skillet) in oven and heat to 400 degrees.  While oven is heating, place flour, milk, eggs, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.  Carefully remove the pan from the oven (don’t forget it’s hot!) and quickly spray the wells with non-stick spray, or brush with melted butter.  But we’re going for quick and easy here so I just grab the spray.  (If using cast iron pan, coat entire pan surface with butter).  Fill muffin wells 3/4 full with batter.  Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and slightly golden on top.  Remove puffs and place on plate or platter.  Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Drizzle with berry sauce and top with cool whip or whipped cream, or serve with sauce and/or maple syrup for dipping.

Quick and Easy Berry Sauce

If using frozen berries, place berries and jam in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for  about 1 minute.  Use a fork to stir and mash everything together (cut strawberries if necessary), or place everything in a blender and pulse a few times until desired consistency is reached.  Add sugar to taste for sweetness and a few teaspoons of water or juice only if needed for consistency.

Yields about 24 mini muffin pancake puffs

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

We made this for General Conference and it was really good. Here is my recipe. I decided to not do the butter and syrup but to use just over a half a cup of of the Taste of Home buttermilk syrup...it would make it perfect. Make sure you use Grands and not the flaky ones....I hear those suck. 

Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring

1 tube Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits 

*3 Tbsp. butter, melted

*1/2 C. pancake syrup (any brand you like, I used Mrs. Buttersworth)

*Or see Buttermilk Syrup recipe

1/3 C. packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 C. chopped pecans, optional

1/4 C. chopped almonds, optional

• BUTTERMILK SYRUP:
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Confectioners' sugar

Instructions:

Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if desired). Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top. Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring. Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter and enjoy!

5/5

Blueberry/Cranberry Sauce

We found this recipe on Allrecipes a while back and have LOVED this sauce on anything pancakes, waffles, crepes, and french toast. It's also good on ice cream too. It doesn't make too much either. I think it's less than 3 cups total. Today we had some leftover fresh cranberries and decided to use those instead of blueberries. DELICIOUS! 6/5

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries/ cranberries or other berries (we have done blueberry and cranberry)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1/4 cup of water, orange juice, and sugar. Stir gently, and bring to a boil.
2. In a cup or small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries so as not to mash the berries. Simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract and cinnamon. Thin sauce with water if it is too thick for your liking.