Caramel Frosting

Well the sugar rush of Christmas is over, but I thought I would share this yummy frosting recipe for next year?!? I got this off of the internet somewhere, not sure where. I had a not so good attempt at cinnamon rolls last week and I think this is the only thing that made them pretty good--darn yeast not rising properly!

Caramel Frosting
¼ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp. milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt
½ to ¾ cup sifted powdered sugar

In small saucepan, heat butter until melted. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Cool over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and cool mixture slightly. Stir in vanilla, salt and powdered sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended. If necessary, add more powdered sugar for desired consistency.

The Smell of Christmas

Last week I found a recipe for The Smell of Christmas!! Yummy!!

3-4 cinnamon sticks
1 Tbsp. whole cloves
1 Tbsp. allspice ( I didn't have this and it still turned out well)
orange rind (or 2-3 clementime rinds!)
3 c. water

Put in sm. pan on stove on LO. Simmer and enjoy!! Add more water when it gets low. I bet you could put in your crockpot too! Merry Christmas!

Rahm Sauce spiced up

...well, it is not spicy but it is just a different way to make it and it is AWESOME!

two boxes of the Rahm sauce powder mix
500ml of water
one diced onion
half an apple diced
some olive oil

pasta
spinach

On the small boxes of sauce (the ones that have like 2-3 tablespoons of powder mix) there is a recipe for Apple and Spring onion Rahm sauce. You just sauté diced onion and some diced apple in olive oil until the onions are cooked and then add the powder and water like normal and mix well, let it boil and there you go! It is an interesting smell when you are cooking the onions and apple, but it works so well.

We just ate this over normal pasta and then had some spinach on the side that ended up getting mixed in and it was soooooooo good. I think it is better than the normal Rahm sauce.

*this made enough for the two adults and the girls and we still have left overs for lunch for today...I am so excited!

Spinach and ham Frittata

6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 oz cheese
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cup spinach (I used the frozen kind)
1/2 cup cooked ham cubed
(1/4 cup cream fresh) not in recipe, but I added and it was great
Pour into greased pan and bake 20 minutes on 375 degrees

Eat with French bread and a salad.

** Even Elsa likes this. I made it for the first time tonight and decided I love it and it will be in my rotation of weekly meals!!!

This makes enough for 4 people

Creamy Spinach Veggie Soup

Well, this recipe is a knock off of Grandma Jackson's Cream of Potato Soup. I was trying to make that but I did not have like half of the ingredients so I had to improvise and it turned out awesome. (As shown in the picture of Leah overjoyed at eating it and smearing it all over herself)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
4-5 cups milk
spinach
peas
broccoli
potatoes
carrots
one onion
grated cheese, if you have it

Melt 1 cup butter in large pot, add 1 cup flour and mix well. Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar. Mix up some chicken broth (or if you have the cans, add one can or so) I think I added 3 cups of chicken broth. Mix well and let thicken. Add some milk to desired consistency, I added about 4 cups of milk. It needed more than that but that is only how much my tiny pot could take.

Add some spinach, I had the frozen kind, just a few handfuls or as much as you want really. Add cut up broccoli and one cup frozen peas and take off the heat.

Boil water and cook desired veggies- I did carrots, onion and potatoes. Add cooked, drained veggies to sauce mix.

The recipe then called for cheese, but I forgot, it still turned out very creamy and awesome.

This made too much sauce for my small pot to hold with all the veggies added so I just froze the cream sauce with the spinach in it to use for something later.

This makes very good bread dipping soup! It made about 6-8 servings.

Serch for a recipe

Does anyone have a good stir fry recipe? I tried one last night that I just made up with what I had. It was ok but not really worth trying again.

How about crock pot recipes with ground beef??

Oh so yummy Southwest Chicken Rolls

So anyone had those southwest rolls from Chilis? Well, these are pretty dang close to those and very delicious. I made them in big tortillas for dinner, but they would be good appetizers if you bought so of those cute little tortillas and did those instead. I got the recipe from http://www.melskitchencafe.com/-- and I really like this cooking blog, so if you need some more ideas.

Southwestern Chicken Rolls

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow or red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 (about 1 1/2 pounds) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 green or red pepper, diced small
1 jalapeno pepper, membranes removed, seeded and finely minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
10 ounces frozen, chopped spinach, defrosted and liquid squeezed out (wringing through a kitchen towel works great)
1 can corn
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2-3 cups shredded cheese
Tortillas

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheets with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the cubed chicken breasts and peppers and cook over medium or medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the rinsed and drained black beans, spinach, corn, cilantro and seasonings. Mix well and cook until the mixture is heated through. Add the cheese and stir well, cooking, until the mixture is hot and cheese is mostly melted.

Place some of the filling on each tortilla and roll up tightly, egg-roll style, folding in the edges. Place seam side down on the prepared baking sheets (secure with a toothpick if needed).

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, until the rolls are lightly browned and heated through. Serve immediately with dipping sauce-- sour cream, guacamole or salsa are good.

Edible finger paint and playdough

...well I have not tried these recipes yet but I think they will be awesome. Stella, I know you have been dying to find a good finger paint recipe!! hehe. If you get around to trying it before me, let me know how you like it.

Edible Finger Paint:
1/2 cup flour
2 cups cold water
Stirring constantly, bring to simmer
Add 2 TBS cornstarch and 4 TBS cold water that has been mixed together previously.
Cook until to a finger paint consistency (a few minutes)
Allow to cool then add small amount of food coloring as desired.

Makes 2 1/2 cups of paint. Can store in fridge for a few days...so use it up fast and make a beautiful wall mural!

Perfect Play dough
1/2 cup water
1tsp cream of tartar1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup flour
1/2 TBS veg. oil
few drops food coloring
Put all in a pot and cook over med. heat, stir constantly until pulls away from sides. About 2-3 minutes. Knead until smooth

Keeps indefinitely in an airtight container.

Makes enough to put in a snack size Ziploc bag.

** Both of these recipes came from this blog:
http://toddlerteachingthemes.com/
It is a toddler teaching blog. Very cool blog, you should check it out.

Tortellini Tomato Spinach Soup

1 TBS olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
saute in med. heat in pot
Add 4-6 cups chicken or vegetable broth and 1 can crushed tomatoes
Turn up heat to boil.
Add one package tortellini and cook until almost done
(I add diced carrots here too, but it is up to you)
Add 9 ounces of fresh or frozen spinach
(I add diced zucchini here, again optional)

Taste and add salt and pepper as needed
Serve with Parm. cheese

This soup is awesome! The girls love it too, so that is a plus. Super easy and fast to make. If you don't have tortellini you could just use regular noodles I guess and it would still be great.

-recipe from Foodnetwork.com

Creamy Chicken Rice Soup

I was intrigued by this recipe because it has evaporated milk in it. And I think it turned out really good! Give it a try:

1 tsp of olive oil
1/2 sweet yellow onion
2-3 carrots, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5 cups of chicken stock
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp dried basil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced ( I put some garlic powder and salt and pepper on the chicken)
1/2 cup rice
1 can corn, drained
2 tbsp corn starch (this didn't make it that thick, so you could do more)
1 12 oz can evaporated milk

Heat oil in the bottom of a big soup pot. Add diced onion, carrots and celery. Cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir constantly for one minute. Add the chicken stock, boullion, basil, bay leaf, chicken, and rice. Cover and let cook for 20 minutes over medium heat. Add corn. Stir together evaporated milk and corn starch until well incorporated. Add milk mixture to soup. Let soup simmer for a few minutes before serving.

P.S. I got this from fortheloveofcooking.blogspot.com.

Crescent Rolls

This is like, the best roll recipe I have ever tried! They are soo soft and tasty! The recipes makes a lot, but it is easy to just do half. Today I did the whole recipe and I froze 3 dozen rolls. So we'll see how well they freeze. They really don't take that long to make- here's the breakdown: 20 minutes to mix up, 2-3 hours raising, 15 minutes cutting and shaping the rolls, and 20 minutes for baking.  Not bad for such good rolls.

Crescent Rolls
(from the Food Nanny- Liz Edmunds)
makes 2 cookie sheets- 48 rolls

4 T. yeast
1/2 c + 2 T. warm water
Mix together and let sit for 10 minutes.

Mix together very well in separate bowl:
6 eggs
1 c. oil
1 c. sugar

Warm 2 c. milk in microwave- just til warm NOT scalding!

Add egg mixture and warm milk to yeast mixture. Mix all together until combined.

10-11 c. flour
2 T. salt

 Add 1-2 c. flour at a time until combined together. Mix/knead for 5 minutes. Allow to raise 2-3 hours.


...2-3 hours later...

Separate dough into 6 even balls. Roll each ball into circle the size of a dinner plate. Cut into 8 pizza wedge pieces. With each wedge, start rolling from the wide end, tucking the skinny piece on the bottom. Place 3 rolls across and 8 down on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover with clean dish towel and allow to raise til doubled, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 deg. with rolls raising on top of oven. Bake one sheet at a time. Now the recipe says to bake 6 minutes on bottom shelf of oven, and then 5 minutes on middle rack. I think this made the bottoms WAY too brown. So the 2nd time I made these, I just did 10 minutes on the middle rack. Bake until PERFECTLY golden brown. Brush tops with melted butter when done baking. Voila Stella- its your new roll recipe for the Wengels! :)

Oh, and I bought dough enhancer and tried it- I am not sure what it really does, but whatever it does, the texture was a lot lighter and softer when I used it. So if you see it at the store, give it a try!

Italian Wedding Soup

This soup is yummy! And it is officially fall-- I turned the heater on and made soup.

Italian Wedding Soup (from allrecipes.com)

1 pound ground beef or turkey
2 eggs
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 tablespoons minced onion
2 1/2 quarts chicken broth (10 cups)
2 cups spinach--packed, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 cup seashell pasta
1 cup diced carrots

1. In a medium bowl, combine the beef, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, basil and onion. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls and set aside.
2. In a large stockpot heat chicken broth to boiling; stir in the spinach, pasta, carrot and meatballs. Return to boil; reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, at a slow boil for 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente, and meatballs are no longer pink inside. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

P.S. I made some meatballs a few weeks ago and froze them and just put them in the soup to heat up instead of making some more. Also, I used frozen spinach, but fresh is better.

Berry Crumble Pie

So, I called Germany on Monday and they were making a lemon pie for FHE which totally inspired me to make pie too. Except I think this was way easier than making a lemon pie!! This recipe called for fresh berries, but I used mixed frozen berries (blueberry, raspberry and blackberry) and it was just fine. Just take them out to thaw for a while before. I don't think the picture is that great, but the pie tasted really good.




Berry Crumble Pie

1 3/4 cup flour
3/8 cup butter (what kind of measurement is that?? Don't worry I figured out it is 7 Tbsp)
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
7 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1 egg
3 cups fresh or frozen berries, any combination

Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender or fork until mixture is fine and crumbly. Add baking powder, vanilla, sugar and egg. Let dough rest 25 minutes. Press half of dough evenly over the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie pan. Prick holes in dough all over with a fork. Let dough rest another 25 minutes. Put berries on top of crust and crumble the rest of the dough over top. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Meal Planning & Pizza Salad

So I am in a posting mode, check out our family blog for pics! I was thinking I would write about meal planning, because I looked at our calendar and realized the month is gone.I was experimenting this month with meal planning. I wrote in meal ideas for the entire month. It averaged 4-5 meal ideas per week, with several leftover nights penciled in, and our old favorite- FFY. It means "Fend for yourself!" It worked well when it was just Scott and I, but with kids its still good to do once in awhile. They usually end up with cereal if there isn't something they like though. That way we can clean out cupboards and the fridge or do what sounds good that night. Overall I decided that it was a good way to do planning. I can just sit down at ONE time and think of a bunch of things I want to make and put it on the calendar. Then when its time to grocery shop, I can make a quick list, and  be able to have the things to make a couple weeks worth of dinners pretty much. I think it was a success too because I was able to stay within our grocery budget!  Any tips on how you do your meal planning??

Here is a recipe for a salad that is yummy too- I made it today for a family luncheon.

PIZZA SALAD
sorry this isn't exact, you'll just have to play with it til it looks good to you!

lettuce, cut up
pasta ( I like radiatore or rotini)
olives, sliced
pepperoni slices
green pepper, cut up
grated mozzarella
diced tomatoes
italian dressing (we tried the Kraft Tuscan House Italian, it was good)

Mix approximately equal parts lettuce and pasta together. Add other ingredients, toss with dressing, and voila! Its a pizza salad. You could experiment with other "toppings" too. Maybe some red onion, more peppers, or feta cheese? This is my kind of recipe, really its more guidelines and then you just play with it till you get it like you like it!

Black Bean and Corn Couscous

So, I inherited some couscous from Curt's brother when they moved. It has sat in the pantry for a couple months, so I figured I should do something with it. I think this recipe would easily work if you substituted any pasta too. I kind of liked the couscous though.





Black Bean and Corn Couscous

1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
8 green onions, chopped (I just used regular onions)
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 can corn
2 cans black beans, drained
salt and pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth to boil. Stir in couscous. Cover pot and remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and cumin. Add onions, peppers, corn and beans. Toss to coat. Fluff couscous, breaking up any clumps. Add couscous to bowl and mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Eat immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.

LEMON POTATOS!

Well i love lemon stuff so ya, anyways these potatos are amazingly yummy. I made them when i made an entirely lemon meal. Katie knows :) I didnt take this picture but that is how they look.

Lemon Potatoes
2 pounds baby red potatoes, scrubbed and cut up
2 garlic cloves peeled and smashed, plus 2 cloves minced
1 1/2 teaspoons grated zest and 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablesppons olive oil
2 tablesppons finely chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Rinse and drain potatos. Bring potatoes, smashed garlic, lemon juice, chicken borth and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil in nonstick skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook(covered) untill potatoes are just tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove lid and increase heat to medium. Cook for 5 mins. Take out garlic cloves and add oil to pan. Cook untill golden brown, 6 mins. Off heat stif in parsley, lemon zest and minced garlic. Serve

Waffle Cookies

Monday night- its family night! Time to teach a 2 minute lesson while the kids cry or sometimes listen. Then we play capture the flag, or stormtroopers, or animals. And then time for a treat! Here is a easy recipe to let the kids help you mix up. We do it sunday nights too if we need a sweet treat with no left overs to eat the next day! This recipe is from the old Landstuhl ward cookbook.

1/2 c. melted butter
6 T. cocoa
Mix til smooth.
Add:
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. flour
1 T. vanilla
Beat til smooth, but quite thick. Drop by spoonfuls onto preheated waffle iron. Close and bake about 1 minute. 
You can add any kind of chips- chocolate, peanut butter, white chocolate, mint, skies the limit!

Freezer Biscuits

Hello sisters (and Mom-- I think you should participate too if you want)! Well, I love cooking blogs, so this will be fun I think. I already told Liza about these--so here they are: Freezer Biscuits. These are sooo good! I made a half batch while Curt was gone and I ate them all over the last four days. They are kind of tangy from the sour cream and taste similar to Popeye's biscuits except they are probably healthier 'cause they are homemade. And they taste way better than the frozen biscuits you can buy.

I got the recipe from another sister blog: sisterscafe.blogspot.com. They have a lot of good recipes on there if you need more ideas.

Freezer Biscuits

4 cups flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
16 oz. sour cream
3-5 tsp water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in the butter until there are small blended pieces. Add sour cream and water, mix well. (When I halved the recipe, I had to add more water than it called for, so just until it sticks together and looks like biscuit dough). Knead and roll out to 1 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter. Freeze individually on a cookie sheet. When frozen solid, place in a freezer bag to store. When ready to use, place frozen biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for 15-17 minutes. Makes about 20 biscuits.

Crunchy Chicken Casserole

Ok, this recipe is a total classic. Every time I eat this wonderful meal I think of Wymount and one particular phone call around the time of Liza's birthday. Remember that call, Scott? I miss your long and very awesome messages.

Does anyone else remember eating this at the Wickum's house when we lived in Bruchmulebach? I remember Nicole and I picking out the broccoli (which is an optional ingredient) and trying to hide it in our napkins so her mom would not make us eat it.

It also turns out great if you mix half of the stuffing into the chicken and sauce mix. Makes it a bit thicker. I guess I don't have any pictures of food I make...maybe the next time we eat this I will get a picture. But I think we all know what this amazing casserole looks like.



Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
2 cut up carrots
8 oz cheese
1 can chicken broth
4 cups cooked chicken
1/4 c flour
1 box stuffing

Directions:
Melt butter, add flour then add carrots and broth. Cook chicken and cut up or shred When sauce is thick add chicken and cheese. Heat oven to 375 Mix some melted butter with stuffing Place chicken mixture in casserole dish, put stuffing ontop. Cook for 30 min.

Welcome Sisters Dear

Here we go! Its time for us to start sharing our FAVORITE recipes, or ones that the kids LOVE, and even the ones that we LOVE even if its not very good for us! So here is the plan girls- lets all try to post one recipe a week so that we can all try something new once in awhile, K? We could even share weekly meal plans so that we have meal ideas.

Cooking should be a fun part of the day, not something to dread, cause we all know that we have to do it and will enjoy the food once it is on the table. So if we share recipes, we will have some that we know that are good 'cause someone in the family loved it!