A Recipe For Christmas Cheer

Important: Do not make until after Thanksgiving is over!

First, Take one happy couple. Then, add Christmas music, lights, and a tree. Decorate the tree thoroughly before doing next step. Watch a few Christmas movies. Walk around a freezing Temple Square at least twice. Hang up Christmas cards and add a few carefully wrapped presents beneath the tree. Plan for several family parties, but not before finishing finals. Be sure to create new Christmas traditions as you go, such as making an ornament for the tree out of your wedding announcement. Last, carefully preserve every moment with a camera and relive the memories as often as needed. Serves: Everyone but Scrooge and the Grinch. Merry Christmas!

Texas Fudge Cake (from Sarah Page’s family)

I made this tonight for my husband's birthday tomorrow!!! He doesn't know how lucky he is. . . it has 3 sticks of butter in it. . .  yes.

 The top got a little crinkly. I think I had a little too much powdered sugar in the icing, so it got hard faster than I wanted it to. But it doesn't matter, because I know how wonderful it will taste!

Boil mixture:
1 cup water
2 cubes butter
4 T. cocoa

Dry ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar

Mix top two mixtures together and then add to it:
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Bake at 370 degrees for 30 minutes.

For the icing, boil:
6 T. milk
1 cube butter
4 T. cocoa

And pour on top of:
16 oz. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

*put icing on while the cake is still hot*

**hint: it tastes even better the day AFTER it is made!** . . .which is why I made it tonight for his birthday tomorrow.

I also made two of these cakes for my roommate Sarah's birthday one year.  One of them didn’t get eaten that day, and we ate it the next.  It really is better the next day.  This is one of Sarah’s favorite cakes.  I love it too!


Husband's reaction: To Be Determined. . . 

Chicken & Cream Cheese Roll Ups

I totally LOVE these! Best dinner ever.

adapted from the recipe here: http://jennasjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/chicken-roll-ups.html

• 1 pkg cream cheese (8oz)
• 1 pkg crescent rolls (6 ct)
• 2 shredded cooked chicken breasts
• 1 C grated chedder cheese or whatever cheese you have around
• Spices: salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, basil. 
• Olive oil to brush on top

Combine chicken, cheeses, and spices to taste. Spoon onto crescents. Put lots of filling in, but make sure you can still roll them up. Try not to let the filling spill out the sides, but if it does it's ok. Brush tops with olive oil and sprinkle garlic salt and paprika. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly brown on outside. They are better when they are not as brown as the ones pictured above.

My husband isn't home yet, so I can't give you his reaction. But this is what I texted him:

"Dude, I just made the best dinner ever! It's so so good!"

If that doesn't make you want to try this recipe, I don't know what will. Do it.

Italian Chicken and Potatoes from Nikki S.

Italian Chicken and Potatoes


I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet! It's one of the easiest to make, and one of my favorites to eat. I've made it probably 3 times since I started this blog, but I just never got around to taking a picture of the finished product so I could post it. Well, today's the day!


I got this recipe from a Young Women's activity where we swapped favorite recipes and put them into books. This one came from Nikki S. (she's married now, so I guess she's Nikki C. now). I don't know if she even remembers bringing this recipe, but I've used it so many times. So, thank you, Nikki, for sharing!

4-6 red potatoes

4 chicken tenders or as much chicken as desired, cut into strips

1/3 cup parmesan cheese-grated

1 Tb Italian seasoning

1 bottle Italian dressing

In a casserole dish place cut potatoes and chicken.  Sprinkle Italian seasoning and dressing over mixture.   Spread cheese across the top.  Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.  (Brown potatoes can be used, but will need to be cooked longer).

I usually use half a bottle of Italian dressing and add a little water to keep the dish moist. I also don't usually cover it while it cooks, but this can make it more brown on top than you might like. It's better with red potatoes, but the brown ones work too. I usually just cut them into smaller pieces. 


This recipe is simple and can be altered to feed fewer or more people. You could even use different seasonings, make your own dressing to pour on top, etc. I've said it before, but I LOVE recipes that are easy to mix up and make your own. This one is definitely that way!


*Can also be made in the crock pot. Just dump it all in and cook as long as your crock pot needs to get the chicken all the way cooked.


Husband's Reaction: HE LICKED HIS PLATE CLEAN!!! . . AND THEN HE LICKED MINE TOO! haha silly husband.

Family Goulash (I call it "Deliciousness on a Plate")

Family Goulash

So, I'm having a little trouble with the word "goulash." It sounds disgusting to me. And this dish is far from that. I tried to come up with a better name for it, and all that kept coming into my head was the word "delicious," so that explains the title up there. You can call this meal whatever you like, but you MUST make it. It's too easy and yummy not to.

Ingredients: 

1 lb. Lean ground beef

1/2 cup sliced onion

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 cup water

1/2 cup ketchup

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 t. brown sugar

2 t. paprika

1 t. salt

1/2 t. dry mustard

dash ground black pepper

1 T. cornstarch or flour blended with 2 T. water

6 cups American Beauty Extra Wide Egg Noodles, uncooked (can you tell where this recipe came from?)

Directions:

In large skillet, brown beef; drain. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is tender.

Combine water, ketchup, Worcestershire, brown sugar, paprika, salt, mustard, and pepper; stir into meat mixture. 

Cover; simmer 15 minutes.

Add cornstarch and water to meat mixture. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until sauce thickens and begins to boil.

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. 

Serve goulash (shudder at the word) over hot cooked noodles. Makes 4 servings.

Husband's reaction: This is very good. Thanks, honey. (He sounds way more polite in writing than he is in real life sometimes).

I was surprised  by how much I enjoyed this. I substituted a little onion powder for the onion (I didn't have one on hand) and some barbecue sauce for the Worcestershire sauce. I used cornstarch in the second to last ingredient. And I can see how this recipe could work with many other substitutions: different noodles, no mustard, more salt and pepper to taste, different spices if you're feeling adventurous, etc. I love recipes like that, and this one is a keeper!

Halloween Pizza

 We tried making a jack-o-lantern pizza like Papa Murphey's does. It ended up looking more like a hippie man once we added the olives, but that's ok. He was delicious!

Happy Halloween!

Roasted Halloween Pumpkin Seeds

*from a recipe at Food.com

Ingredients:

• 
  1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons melted butter (olive oil or vegetable oil work well) or 2teaspoons melted oil (olive oil or vegetable oil work well)
• salt (This is all I used)
• garlic powder (optional)
• cayenne pepper (optional)
• seasoning salt (optional)
• cajun seasoning (optional)

Directions:

1. 1
   Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. 2
   While it's OK to leave some strings and pulp on your seeds (it adds flavor) clean off any major chunks.
3. 3
   Toss pumpkin seeds in a bowl with the melted butter or oil and seasonings of your choice.
4. 4
   Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on baking sheet.
5. 5
   Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
   
   
   YUM!!!!!
   
   Also, check out those pumpkins that these seeds came from. Can you guess which one I carved and which one was Danny's?

I Forgot to Mention . . .

My wonderful husband took me to Tucanos for my birthday! (Erica, we did sign up for the free birthday meal). We also had a gift certificate to use there, so it ended up costing us nothing! The waiters were a little awkward this time since there were few people in the restaurant, but we had lots of fun anyway. My Tucanos dream has come true!

Toffee Crunch Grahams

*From a recipe on allrecipes.com*
Toffee Crunch Grahams:

Ingredients

• 12 whole graham crackers
• 1 1/2 cups butter (no substitutes)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 cups sliced almonds (optional---because I am poor and can not afford such luxuries at this time)

Directions

1. Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with heavy-duty foil. Place graham crackers in pan. In a saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Carefully pour over graham crackers. Sprinkle with almonds.
2. Bake at 400 degrees F for 4-6 minutes or until bubbly (watch them so they don't burn). Cool in pan for 4 minutes. Cut each cracker into four sections; transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

I cut this recipe in fourths (which means I used 3/4 of a cube of butter and 1/4 cup of brown sugar and about 3/4 pack of graham crackers), because it is completely unhealthy and two people do not need to have that much butter and sugar in one sitting. :) I was happy this recipe worked out so well. Just make sure the butter and sugar combine together when it is boiling. You don't want a layer of melted butter on top of the sugar (this is how it is before it begins boiling). 

Also, make sure you take the grahams out of the pan while they are still warm and malleable. I can just imagine trying to get hardened toffee grahams out of the pan later...impossible! 

These are addicting and terrible for you, so of course I'm putting this recipe on my blog! 

It was that kind of day today. :)

Husband's Reaction: "This is really sugary. They are really good!"

P.S. the little extra toffee pieces are so good. I didn't share many of those.

FHE and No-Bake Cookies

If you know me and Danny really well, you know we made probably a hundred or so no-bake cookies while we were dating/engaged. And we haven't stopped there!

Danny loves making these from his "ancient" recipe that he used as a teenager. He has it memorized. I think in the last month alone we have made them at least every week. They are easy and we both love them! (sometimes it's not always easy to find a treat we both LOVE). 

We made them for Family Home Evening a little while ago, and I took pictures. You can also see us enjoying our new *old* video game thing (I don't know what it's called. I don't know how to play most of the games) that Danny's brother shipped to us. Danny was very excited to play NBA Jam? Or something like that. Anyway, it's fun!

 See those wrinkles on my forehead? I used to worry a ton in 6th grade, and my teacher told me I was going to have permanent lines on my forehead when I was older because I would scrunch up my forehead when I worried. Don't worry (haha), they aren't permanent yet, but this will give you a visual of what I'll look like when I'm older. . . .you can even imagine I'm missing my teeth the way my mouth looks in this picture.

 We were playing MarioKart. It says "congratulations" on the screen, so Danny must have just beat me again. I never even make it to third place.

And here is Danny's memorized recipe for his favorite no-bake cookies: (I often cut this recipe in half for just us. Half makes about 14 small/medium cookies).

2 cups sugar

1 stick butter

4 Tbs cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

Stir these ingredients in a heavy saucepan until mixed. Bring to a rolling boil. Let it boil without stirring for 1.5 minutes. 

Remove pan from heat and add:

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 1/2 cups oats

2 tsp vanilla

Drop by spoonful onto parchment paper, waxed paper, or we just use saran wrap over a cookie sheet.

Let cool so they harden and enjoy!

Tucanos. . . A Place Only In My Dreams

I wish I had something to post here. Sadly, I am now a student again and I barely have time to put pasta with canned sauce on the table. I would post a picture of that, but would it even be worth seeing? No.

So, I'll dream about going out to eat instead! I've been wanting to go to Tucanos since April. It's overpriced, it's not like amazing, but it has special memories for me. Danny took me to Tucanos when I graduated. He didn't have the money for it, and I protested, but he still did. And I secretly loved that he took me.

(Except, now he knows cuz he just came up and sat by me while I am typing this...oops. :)

Anyway, since I have no pictures of real food, here:

Come to Tucanos with me in my mind and eat whatever is on that huge skewer held by a college-aged man. It'll be fun! :)

Potato Chip Chicken Nuggets

Potato Chip Chicken Fingers--From Lisa Summers' mother, Betty

1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast---adjust amount depending on how many mouths you must feed

5 to 6 oz. potato chips (plain, sour cream and onion, barbecue, or sour cream---I used plain)

1 egg

2 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut chicken into finger-size pieces. Fill a large sealable plastic bag with potato chips and mash with wooden spoon. . . or your fist if you're feeling feisty.

In small bowl, whisk egg and milk. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then put in bag of potato chip crumbs. Shake to cover chicken. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping once during cooking time. Serve with barbecue sauce or honey mustard. (or fry sauce: ketchup, mayo, and Worcestershire sauce mixture)

Husband's Reaction: "Nobody has ever made chicken nuggets for me that weren't frozen."
Me: "That's how you know that I love you more than anyone else, right?"
Husband: "Yes."

We had chicken nuggets, baked french fries, and mango slices for lunch. . . . like 2 months ago! I'm just barely posting it now, because I have not had time or energy to cook many new things lately. Plus, the heat makes it almost unbearable to even think about turning on our oven. Here is what our thermostat looked like two days ago around 7'o'clock p.m.:

I refuse to cook in such conditions! :) Don't worry, we cooled it down...eventually.

This recipe is a winner; it's easy, tastes good, fun, and Danny said it was way better than going out to eat and seemed to feel good that it was *a little* healthier than the fast food versions of the same meal.

I'm Back!

So, I kind of just left you all hanging without any explanation.

Explanation now: This past week I've been out of the country on a cruise to Mexico!

While on this cruisey little adventure of mine, I got to sample some pretty interesting dishes.

Don't worry, I took pictures! :)

My favorite thing was this creme brulee I had one night at dinner for dessert. I've been craving it ever since!

I got to go to a cooking demo done by the head chef on the cruise ship. That's him on the right. He has a white handkerchief tied around his neck, which shows he is the highest chef. Blue handkerchiefs are the lowest, and red are in the middle. When asked what his favorite color was, the head chef said white...then he pointed to his necktie. Pretty clever, chef. :)

The head chef made this roasted chicken with potatoes and mac and cheese during the demo. The macaroni and cheese was sooooooooooo good. The best I have ever had! Bonus: I got to taste two dishes that had truffle oil in it. I have never tasted truffle oil. It's very decadent.

I honestly don't think I had ever tried lobster before the cruise. I've had crab several times, but lobster was a new one. They kind of turned the lobster tail inside out so that the meat was easily accessible. Not the prettiest looking lobster, but it was fun to try. And those mashed potatoes hiding on the side were so creamy and yummy. Ohhhhh yes.

 I had this dish for dessert one night. It had apples and puff pastry in it. The caramel sauce had a slightly burnt taste. Those at our table who tasted the sauce gave it mixed reviews. Most hated it, but I thought it was ok.

I don't even remember what this was, but it was good. I love the presentation.

I tried a lot of dishes on the cruise that I would rarely get a chance to eat someplace else. Lobster, frog legs, alligator fritters, smoked salmon, sushi, and, yes, snails. AKA escargot. I had tasted escargot before, actually, but I wanted to try it again. Hey, why not? Things like these cost tons of money at a restaurant. We had already paid for our tickets. We didn't pay anything extra for these delicacies. I took advantage. And they were pretty good. Danny made faces while I ate them, but his favorite food is still pizza so I didn't pay too much attention. :)

The Perfect Combination

Okay, so, this picture doesn't look that great. These are actually some day-old bagels I brought home from a work conference. But! As I was eating them I got some flash-backs to my first year of college when I would buy a bagel, cream cheese, and a bottle of orange juice and savor my breakfast in the food court on campus. 

It was the perfect combination.

I guess I'm kind of a "perfect combination" kind of girl, because there are other combinations that are similar in my life.

1. Popcorn and sprite at a movie in a movie theater...my perfect combination!
2. Chicken and honey....I know, kind of weird, but I ALWAYS get out the honey when we have chicken. It's one of my perfect combinations. Must be from eating honey with chicken nuggets when I was little.
3. Ice cream and french fries...you know what I'm talking about. If you don't---try it!
4. Chocolate and peanut butter.
5. Tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole.
6. Rice and black beans.

And so on...

So tell me: What are YOUR perfect food combinations?

Pizza Fondue with Breadstick Bites

Yes, of course we got a fondue pot for our wedding. No, of course we had not used it yet. . . until tonight! We broke out the fondue pot and whipped up some pizza fondue! It was fun, fairly easy, and (best of all) I already had all the ingredients in the apartment! We didn't have much on hand to dip in the cheese sauce, so we used zucchini bits (one zucchini plant in our garden and it seems like we eat it every day!) and I made some little breadsticks too. So fun!

Pizza Fondue- from http://fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.blogspot.com/2010/04/pizza-fondue.html


Enough for 4 people as their meal
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 jar (24 ounces) marinara sauce (use our favorite kind)
3 cups mozzarella
1 cup cheddar
1 cup parmesan
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup white wine (I used plain old water)
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

In a medium sized pot, saute the garlic and olive oil over medium/high heat for about 30 seconds. Add the white wine and marinara sauce. Once the mixture starts to boil (about 3 minutes), reduce the heat to medium.

In a large bowl mix the cheese and cornstarch. Add the cheese to the marinara mix. Stir over medium heat until all the cheese is melted and smooth (about 5 minutes). Add the fresh basil. 

Pour into your fondue pot and start dipping.

AND WHAT WILL YOU DIP IN THAT DELICIOUS CHEESY GOODNESS????


I made little breadstick bites that were really awesome, using a recipe from http://www.grouprecipes.com/71559/pizza-dough-or-bread-sticks.html.

This was before they were cooked. I didn't get an "after" picture of just the breadsticks.

Pizza or Breadstick Dough

Ingredients

---

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or vegetable oil)shopping list
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder, optional

• How to make it

  ---

  • Put the warm water and sugar in a mixing bowl, stir to dissolve sugar. Sprinkle yeast onto the water. Let sit for a 5-10 minutes.
  • In a separate bowl, combine together the flour, salt and garlic powder.
  • Stir the oil into the yeast and water. Stir in about 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in the other 1/2 of the flour and then turn out onto a floured counter and knead for 6-8 minutes until you have a smooth and elastic dough; add flour a little at a time, if necessary.
  • Cover and let rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes.
  • For Pizza Crust: Oil two pizza pans and sprinkle with cornmeal. Divide the dough in half . Pat and stretch the dough out until will fir your pan. Place on the pan and finish stretching with your fingertips until it fills the pan. Pinch a bit of a thicker edge. If dough is resistant to stretching, let rest for a few minutes and then continue stretching.
  • Par-Bake for about 10 minutes at 425*F. Top with sauce and toppings of your choice. If desired, brush the edge with garlic butter. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until cheese melts and just starts to get golden brown.
  • For Bread Sticks: Roll dough into a rectangle about 1-inch thick. Cut into desired number of strips. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter (you can add more garlic to the butter) and sprinkle lightly with salt. Allow rise for about 20 minutes,
  • Bake in a 425*F oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
  • For leftovers, re-heat in the oven (350*F) wrapped in foil for about 5 minutes or place in the toaster oven for a quick reheat.
  Husband's Reaction: "Mmmmmm! You can write that on your blog: 'Husband's reaction: Mmmmmm!!!'"

Healthy Homemade Cornbread

Healthy Cornbread from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/excellent-and-healthy-cornbread/detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1 cup cornmeal (If you are going to make homemade cornbread, you have to buy this. I had been planning on making some of this stuff for a while, so I bought it. BONUS: You can put it on the bottom of pizza to make it like the real kind. HA! ---sorry, it's late)
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt (Yeah, who has this in their fridge? I sure didn't. I substituted sour cream. Worked out perfectly!)
• 2 eggs, beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, soda and salt. Stir in yogurt and eggs. Do not over mix, stir only until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until center of the bread springs back when gently pressed.

This was a really good recipe. I could tell it was a little healthier than normal cornbread (less sugar), but it tasted good anyway. . . of course, I drenched mine in butter and honey because I have no will power, but that's just me. 


My husband really liked it. I could tell because he kept eating it every time I brought it out as a side dish for chili, soups, and pasta. We made so much I was afraid we would never finish it, but he kept on eating it every time. Usually when I bring out leftovers he ignores them if he has the chance. 


So, ladies and gentlemen, this one's a keeper.

Husband Approved!