Mom's Lemon Bars

This is my ALL TIME favorite dessert ever.  My mom makes them in double and quadruple batches, and they never make it to the 24 hour mark.  Which is a shame, because they really do taste better on Day 2, and I would imagine, Day 3.  The hardest part is not eating them right away when they are fresh out of the oven- they really need to set for a few hours first.  But they are oh so worth the wait. 

Mom's Lemon Bars

1 C. flour
1/2 C. butter or margarine, softened (NOT melted)
1/4 C. powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Powdered sugar for sprinkling on top

Heat oven to 350.  Mix flour, butter and powdered sugar using a fork or pastry blender  It should be sort of crumb-y.  Press into ungreased 8x8 pan, building up the edges.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Beat remaining ingredients for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Pour over hot crust, and bake an additional 25 minutes longer, until no imprint remains when touched lightly in the center.  Cool, cut into 25 squares, and dust with powdered sugar. 

OK, that is the directions exactly from the recipe.  The true last sentence goes like this:  Cool, dust with powdered sugar, and sit down on the couch with a loved one and two forks.  Enjoy!  :-)

Salads

So I am now a dressing snob.  I like the Brianna's brand A LOT.  Lots of success so far with both the Blush Wine Vinegairette and now the Poppyseed flavor.  Add grilled chicken and make it a meal!  Here are a couple of my standby salads, that are so good and healthy and filling, and versatile.  Forgive the run-on sentence, please. :-)

Spinach leaves (always my favorite for any salad)
Dried cranberries
walnuts (candied, or more than often, not)
crumbled gorogonzola
Brianna's Blush Wine Vinegairette, or the Poppyseed

Spinach leaves
Chopped bell pepper (yellow, orange or red- not green)
slivered almonds (the curnchy kind, not the flat "sliced" ones that stick to the top of your mouth)
mandarin oranges (opt.)
gorgonzola, optional - not sure what other cheese could go here... ideas?

Spinach leaves
fresh sliced strawberries
fresh blueberries
slivered almonds

Organic spring mix or whatever greens
avocado
dried cranberries
blue cheese, crumbled
red onion, sliced
tomatoes
sunflower seeds
raspberry dressing

One Cup of Everything Cookies

I found this recipe years ago and only this weekend finally got around to trying it.  Very easy and very good, and I think you could add to it without messing it up.  Let me know in the comments if you have any other ideas of things to throw in these cookies! 

One Cup of Everything Cookies


1 C. margarine or butter flavored shortening
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. white sugar
1 C. peanut butter
3 eggs
1 C. oatmeal
1 C. flour
1 T baking soda
1 C. chocolate chips
1 C. pecans or walnuts
1 C. M&M’s

Some other ideas that I am not too hip to, but others may enjoy…
1 C. coconut
1 C. raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Beat margarine, both sugars, peanut butter and eggs until creamy. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

Makes A TON of big cookies, original recipe says 9 dozen.

How to Keep Your Cookies from Going Flat...

This is from my teacher friend, when I asked her why some cookies are super flat.  Yummy, but flat. :-)

Okay, so there could be a couple of things going on with the cookies.  First would be that you have to make sure to cream the fat before you add other ingredients.  Then if you mix too much and put too much air in them they will go flat.  The other would be the type of fat used.  Butter will melt more and make them flatter, margarine will do kind of the same thing but not as much and shortening will help them keep from getting flat but the texture is a little off.  My recommendation is no matter what the recipe says you should use half shortening and half butter (not margarine).  That combination is how I get the best results in my cookies.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Thumbprints / Susans

These are an attempt at the thumbprints that they make at the SoCal chain, Bristol Farms.  They are definitely better from there, but these are pretty good too.  Very easy to make, and the Nutella does fine in the oven.  I've heard of "peanut butter and jelly" cookies that could be good too, made this same way- but I just love chocolate too much to ever try that.  I'll stay on the lookout for a good shortbread cookie recipe for making true "Susan's," but this hits the spot too. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Thumbprints

3/4 C. peanut butter
1/2 C. butter flavor Crisco (I use the sticks)
1 1/4 C. firmly packed brown sugar
3 T. milk
1 T. vanilla
1 large egg
1 3/4 C. flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
Nutella

Preheat oven to 375.  Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Beat until well blended.  Add egg, beat until blended.  Combine dry ingredients and then add to wet mixture.  Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet in whatever size you like, as long as it's consistent.  Last time I went for about 2 rounded tablespoons each.  So I drop them all, then roll them all into a bowl.  Then use your thumb to make a "thumbprint" in each cookie, and add a small (or big!) scoop of Nutella.  Then bake for about 8 minutes, but pull out before they look ready- if you like moist cookies like me.  Let them finish cooking on the cookie sheet but outside of the oven.  They taste much better once they are cooled off, and especially the next day, if they last that long.  Yum! 

Kate's First Swear Words

Ever wonder what it sounds like to get cussed out by a baby? Check this out! (For the record, I am a good mom and picked her up after the video ends...)

She is about 5 1/2 months old here, taken in October 2010.  I am just posting this here now because I know eventually I will be wondering when this was, like I always am with the "That's Not My Name" post of Christopher. :-)

Conversions

To convert:

One 6 oz. can of tomato paste to tomato sauce, add one cup (8 oz.) of water, then use the amount you need and freeze the rest!  When I make taco soup, I do this, and I freeze the other half for next time.

Wines

Hereis a short list of wines that I like, that are also easy on the budget:

Concannon Chardonnay, Grocery Store, Under $10
Barefoot Chardonnary, Trader Joe's, about $3.99
Robert Mondavi Reds, Grocert Store, Affordable
Ménage à Trois Shiraz, $12ish at Fry's and Costco

Here are some that are a little pricier, but my neighbor with great taste in wine recommends:
Great whites worth the cash are Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay, anything from Wente or White Crane.

Reds worth the splurge: Artessa, Saintsbury Carneros and Chandon.

Tamale Pie

This is adapted from a Pampered Chef recipe.  I made it last week and it went over well, and it was super-easy to do with ground turkey that I had cooked and frozen previously.  This could also be done with canned or homemade leftover chili.   

Tamale Pie

1 1/4 lb. ground turkey, cooked (about 2 1/2 - 3 cups)
1/2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. salt
1 jar (16 oz) salsa
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained, optional
1 c. frozen (or canned) corn, optional
1 package of Jiffy corn bread mix, plus the egg and milk that it requires
cheddar cheese to taste (mix into bread mix)
olives, sour cream, taco sauce, all optional
Preheat the oven to 375.  Cook the turkey, if not already prepared.  Add to skillet, along with spices and salsa, beans, corn.  Stir together and warm.  While the meat is warming up, prepare the corn bread as directed on the box.  Stir in the cheddar cheese.  Transfer the meat mixture to a sprayed 9x13 pan, and then top with cheesy corn bread mix.  Spread the corn bread evenly over the top, and bake until lightly golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.  Let stand for a couple of minutes before serving, and enjoy!

Granola

My wonderful neighbor made a batch of this granola, and I don't think I will buy pre-made granola ever again.  This is so easy and so delicious, and it doesn't have any of the preservatives or mystery ingredients in the commercial stuff.  She made hers plain, but you could add dried fruit, nuts, chocolate or whatever else.

Granola

1/2 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 C. Honey
4 C. Oats (Regular, not quick)
1 T. Vanilla (or a touch more)
1 T. Cinnamon (or a touch less)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and spray cookie sheet.  Mix all ingredients and spread out on a single layer on cookie sheet.  Cook for a total of 30 minutes, but VERY IMPORTANT, flip the granola around with a spatula every 10 minutes of cooking.  The edges will start to cook first, so move them to the middle, etc.  The granola she made was very fine and perfect for mixing in to greek yogurt but if you want it more clumpy, then drizzle some honey and stir it a little in the middle of cooking.  Yum.

Chocolate Croissants

These are super easy to make and usually we have the ingredients on hand.  If you have an unexpected guest sleep over, you can whip these up in the morning and impress with very little effort. 

Chocolate Croissants
1 roll of Pillsbury crescent rolls
1/2 c. or so of chocolate chips
sliced almonds, if you have them

Roll our the crescent rolls into triangles.  Put a small amount of chocolate chips on the wider side and roll into croissants.  Add some toasted almonds on top, if you like.  Cook according to package directions, I think it is 375 for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.  Serve warm, although I am sure they would still be good if they cooled off.  Only thing is that they wont last that long- they are really good hot and people will definitely eat them up long before they cool.

Turkey Meat Loaf

In my former meat-eating days, I was NEVER a meat loaf person.  But I made this and it was REALLY really good, pretty easy and very satisfying.  Great with mashed (or roasted) potatoes and any veggie.  Using ground turkey makes this a little healthier than the ground beef version too, and the flavor is still great. 

Turkey Meat Loaf
1/2 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1-1 1/4 lb. ground turkey
strong heaping 1/3 c. of bread crumbs (1/2 of 3/4)
1 egg
1/2 of 3/4 c. water
1/6 c. spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 350.  In large bowl, combine all ingredients.  In a 13x9 pan, shape into loaf.  I did mine kind of rectangular, probably an inch and a half high and maybe 5" wide and 11" long, maybe.  Bake 1 hour or until done, let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

If you want to, you can drizzle some ketchup (or spaghetti sauce?) over the top for the last 10-15 minutes so it cooks on in a glaze form.  We dipped ours with ketchup and it was also really good.

Our family of 2.5 ate about half the loaf on the original night we made it.  A few days later, I reheated the leftovers, wrapped in foil- in the oven for probably 45 minutes or so at 350, and the leftovers were JUST AS GOOD as the original!  I halved the recipe above because I knew it would be WAY too much to use 2 lbs. of meat for just us- but I think you could double this and pre-cook both loaves, and re-heat the second one later. 

Enjoy!

Real Simple Meal Finder

This is a cool little tool that my sister sent me.  It is called "Dinner in 15 Minutes Flat" and you choose your main meal component (beef, chicken, pasta, etc.) and then the type of dish you want (no cook, soups/salads, surprise me, etc.) and then it generates a list of ideas.

Less Than 15 Minutes and No Planning List

OK, I am going to have a new baby in a couple of weeks and I need to have a list of things to make that require no thawing or planning ahead of time but still at least partially satisfy hunger pains- so here goes.  I plan to add to this list as I think of new things, and if you have any ideas, please add them in the comments!

Ravioli with Marinara Sauce
 Serve with frozen garlic bread (Texas Toast) and a green salad.  Freeze the fresh raviolis (or tortellini), buy them on sale.

Meatball Subs
Microwave and then broil frozen meatballs, put on hamburger or hot dog buns, add marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.  Serve with a pasta-roni and a green salad.

Chili Cheese Fries
Make a can of chili, pour on top of cooked frozen french fries.  Sprinkle cheddar on top.  Can also do this with nachos.  Definitely not the most figure-friendly idea, but if you throw a green salad next to it- that will cancel out the rest, right?

Spaghetti with Meatballs
Use frozen meatballs and jarred marinara sauce.  Serve with frozen garlic bread and a green salad.  So easy but I forget that this is an option and rarely do it.

4-Way Bean
Make spaghetti, top with a can of kidney beans (optional) and then a can of heated up chili, and then sprinkle with finely shredded cheddar.  An old Cincinnati Chili standby.

Breakfast for Dinner
Beg Jason to make pancakes, french toast, waffles, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, veggie sausage.  Add some fresh fruit if you can find it, or open a can of fruit if really necessary.  Or if you're really in a bind, go for cereal with milk.

Pizza BagelsSpread some marinara sauce on top of bagel halves, then top with mozzarella cheese, and bake for 10-12 minutes at 400.  Can do this with bread if you are really hard up, but bagels freeze so it should be manageable as is.  Don't forget to slice the bagels before you freeze them!

Silliman Swim Center

This morning Christopher and I went to the Silliman Swim Center in Newark. It was about half an hour from San Ramon, off of the same exit as Fry's Electronics. We went for the Mini-Recreation Swim, where they just open the "small" activity pool. The funny thing is that this pool was HUGE, probably 40' wide by 80' long, with half of it being 2.5' deep, or 3' at the max, and the other half was probably 12-15" deep with an awesome play structure with two slides and water shooters and ropes to climb. One side has a beach entry and the other side has steps, and they had tons of water rings and kick boards for people to use. The facility was very clean, there were family changing rooms complete with a shower and enough room that you could comfortably get ready. Oh, I forgot- it is very reasonably priced: $7.50 for adults and $4.50 for kids ages 3 - 5th grade! There are other prices in between there if your kid is older but it felt like a miniature water park, except it was indoors and the water was heated! Speaking of that- I like my water a touch warmer than this water was- but it was definitely swim-able. Christopher and I swam around for almost the entire two hours. Definitely a worthy family trip if you get a chance. I am not sure how busy it is on the weekends and during the summer months but there was plenty of room for everyone today. Oh, there are lifeguards on duty too, and they have life vests free for anyone (kids) to use too. Check it out if you get a chance!

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This is another easy slow cooker recipe. Serves great with chips or a green salad or corn on the cob. It is also perfect for a party, because you can make as much as you want with the exact same amount of effort, and if you use sweet rolls or small buns for the bread, then you have little mini "slider" burgers. Enjoy!

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Pork roast, or pork loin- whatever is on sale
BBQ Sauce, whatever your favorite is
Buns for serving, I prefer Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

Put the meat in the slow cooker and drizzle liberally with BBQ sauce. As much as you like, but save some for adding on top the burgers when you serve. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours. When meat is done, shred with two forks. Add more sauce if you are so inclined. Slice your sweet rolls in half and serve beside the crockpot for people to make their own dinner! Yummo, and so easy.

Cake Balls

This is one of the very easiest recipes ever and still very tasty, sort of like a donut hole bite but better. And did I mention it is easy? Also, you can do any flavor combo that you want- i.e. chocolate cake and chocolate frosting, carrot cake and cream cheese frosting, etc... Enjoy!

Cake Balls

1 (18.25 ounce) package cake mix

1 (16 ounce) container prepared frosting

Almond Bark or Chocolate Chips, melted for dipping

Directions

Prepare the cake mix according to package directions using any of the recommended pan sizes. When cake is done, crumble while warm into a large bowl, and stir in the frosting until well blended. Use a melon baller or small scoop to form balls of the chocolate cake mixture. Roll the scoops into "balls" and then put on a cookie sheet in the fridge or freezer until they hold together a little better. Melt chocolate coating in a glass bowl in the microwave, or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Dip the balls in chocolate using a fork to hold them. Place on waxed paper to set.

P.S. Check out the photos on this AllRecipes link for creative ideas- everything from reindeer with pretzels for antlers, eye balls and ghosts for Halloween, shamrocks for St. Patty's, etc... Lots of creative stuff that is adorable!

Chocolate Ganache

So my friend made me some "going away" cupcakes before my last day of student teaching, and she used Chocolate Fudge cake mix for the cupcakes and frosted it with this ganache, and they were AMAZING. Dare I say that ganache is even better than your standard frosting? It seemed a little dressier but still just as tasty- which I find that sometimes you have to sacrifice for the pretty stuff. NOT that it is a worthy sacrifice in those cases! Anyway, next time I make chocolate cupcakes, I think I will use this recipe to top them. Enjoy!

Chocolate Ganache

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (Bakers makes this)***
1/4 cup butter
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powder sugar (more if needed)
cream (or milk will work) to thin to consistency you desire.

Melt chocolate and butter in microwave safe bowl. Add salt and vanilla. Stir in powder sugar and add enough milk to make it liquid but not too thin. Dip whatever you'd like in it. Cupcakes, marshmallows, graham crackers, strawberries, bananas... yum!

***I just discovered today that you can also do this with melted butter and semisweet chocolate chips- just add the sugar until it seems right.  Good to know, because I always have chocolate chips on hand but rarely do I have unsweetened chocolate!  

Easy Enchiladas

This is a great recipe to use up leftover shredded chicken or beef. You can also fill the enchiladas with cheese or canned chicken if you really needed to. You can also split this into two pans and freeze the second one before cooking.

Easy Enchiladas
Red enchilada sauce, one 15 oz can
Corn tortillas, 5-10 depending how much filling you have to use up
Leftover meat for filling*
Cheese, shredded (I usually use cheddar but cheddar jack would be good too)
Scallions, optional
Black Olives, optional

Preheat the oven to 400. Spray an 8x8 pan (for 5) or 13x9 pan (for 10) with cooking spray. Get a bowl that is big enough to put one corn tortilla flat in the bottom, and pour about 2/3 of the can of sauce into the bowl. Dip one tortilla in the sauce and flip to coat both sides. Then fill with a pinch of your meat or cheese filling, roll up and place seam side down in the pan. Repeat until you have used all of your meat filling or you run out of room, whichever comes first. (In the 8x8 pan we used the other night, we had to have four going one way and one smashed up against the top of the row. Whatever works.) Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top and then coat with cheese. You can add scallions or black olives if you like now. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake or brown for another 5 minutes. Let stand for 5 - 10 minutes before serving. Yum!!!

*An easy way to cook the meat is to put whatever you are going to use (beef roast, pork, chicken) into the slow cooker and top with one 4 oz. can of diced green chiles. Maybe sprinkle some taco seasoning and salt and pepper on top too. I also like to add a can or two of DRAINED pinto or black beans, especially if I am not making a ton of meat. Cook all day on low (or half day on high) and then DRAIN the juice out of the crock pot before shredding the meat with two forks. Then add the shredded meat to the enchiladas as before. Very easy and you can make double if you want to, and then freeze the second half, or pre-make and freeze your second batch of enchiladas! Enjoy!

Grandma's Pot Roast

This is such a basic recipe, but SO good to have on a cold weekend night. The trick seems to be in two things: browning the meat first, and using the Pampered Chef Deep Covered (Stone) Baker dish. My mom has made beef jerky instead of pot roast a few times when using different but high quality dishes, so if you have the stoneware, you are probably in better shape. Here is what I do:

Grandma's Pot Roast
Beef or Chuck Roast Meat, not sure how big but pretty decent size
Packet of Dry Onion Soup Mix
Potatoes (Yukon or Red or those one-bite potatoes are yummy)
Onion, roughly chopped
Carrots (I usually use a bag of baby carrots)

Olive oil for browning
salt and pepper

Preheat the onion to 300. Get the meat out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you start working on it. Open it, salt and pepper it and then throw it in a skillet with some preheated olive oil (just a splash) and brown it on all sides. You aren't cooking it really, just getting some nice color and texture on the outsides. Meanwhile, chop your onion, potatoes and carrots if needed. It will probably take 7-10 minutes per side to brown. Transfer the meat to your baking dish, and then fill in your veggies all around the meat where they will fit. I usually go onions on the bottom, then potatoes and then carrots, but you can do whatever you like. I then sprinkle the onion soup mix over the top of everything and bake for 2.5 to 3.5 hours or so. I wish I would remember one of these times, but it may be interesting to toss the veggies with the onion soup mix and then add them all around. What I do seems to work, though. You will be able to smell when it is done. Let the meat stand for 10 minutes or so before serving. Mmmmmm....

Cheesecake Cups

We made these at school a few weeks ago and they were SO good, especially after cooling for a day or two.

You can garnish with chocolate chips (or sauce) or fresh strawberries, or a strawberry glaze, or cherry pie filling, or caramel, or anything you want. Or you can go au natural and enjoy them pure and simple. So good and worth the multiple steps involved. You can also use this recipe to make a single cake using a spring-form pan- and I am sure the cooking time will have to be adjusted. The cupcakes make an excellent presentation- we served company with them and then had little single serving sizes for the next couple of days. Of course, we had more than one at each sitting- but in theory, we COULD have stopped at one. :-)

Cheesecake Cups

Topping
¾ cups sour cream
1 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Mix together and refrigerate until cheesecake is cooked.

Crust
1 ½ cups graham crackers, finely crushed (about 20 squares)
1/3 stick margarine or butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Get out muffin tin and put papers in each. Mix crumbs, margarine and sugar. Press mixture firmly against bottom of muffin tin. Bake 6 minutes or until light brown, cool.

Filling
2 Eggs
1½ c. Sour cream
½ c. Sugar
2 8oz pkgs. of Softened cream cheese (cut into cubes)
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 tbs. Melted butter

Blend eggs, sugar, vanilla and sour cream for 15 seconds until liquefied. With motor on, remove cover and gradually add cut up cream cheese and melted butter. Pour mixture on crust in each muffin tin. Bake 325º for 16 min. Take out topping and spoon on top of cake. Bake again 3-4 min. Refrigerate over night. Place strawberries on cake just before serving.

Strawberry Sauce
1 ½ cups frozen strawberries, thawed and drained
Sugar to taste
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Place strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in food processor. Blend until pureed and sugar is dissolved. Pour over dessert just before serving.

Tilapia

These are the ways that I know to cook tilapia. I buy the bag of frozen tilapia loins from Costco and thaw for a few hours (or overnight) and then get to work.

Spicy Lime TilapiaBrush filet with olive oil, after patting dry.
Sprinkle on some lime juice.
Rub with cajun seasoning.
Can garnish with fruity (mango?) salsa if you have it.

or

Breaded Lemon Pepper TilapiaBrush filet with olive oil, after patting dry.
Rub with lemon pepper seasoning.
Rub on some bread crumbs.
Spray with olive oil spray.
Sprinkle with lime juice after cooking.

I have not had the chance to get this fancy yet, but I read that you can slice lemon or lime and put the slices over the fish while it is cooking. I bet that is really good.

Bake either of these at 400 for about 30 minutes. I am sure you could broil quicker but this was easy to do yesterday and gives your other food a chance to cook as well.

Update:
I just dicsovered that you can make tilapia in your crockpot in foil packets!  Here are two recipes I know:

Mix up some mayo (Miracle Whip in my case), minced garlic, shredded (or grated) parmesean cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Coat both sides of filet and then wrap up in the foil packet.

Drizzle balsamic vinegar and honey over filet, in additon to salt and pepper.  If you have fresh sliced oranges or lemon, add that too- or you can use mandarin oranges.  Close up foil packet.

Cook in slow cooker on high for 2 hours, or in oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Easy and NO clean up!

Pumpkin Bread

OK, this bread was amazing. It is fairly involved, I had to get out the food processor and had three bowls going at the same time. I spilled about a tablespoon of cinnamon all over both me and Christopher- but we had a lot of fun. My only advice or change is to only fill the bread pans about 1/3 of the way full at the beginning before adding your frosting layer. I overfilled on accident and my frosting layer soaked through to the top, and while it still tasted amazing, I wasn't able to get the pretty white ribbon through the middle of the bread. Yummo. Oh, it also freezes well, so you can eat one loaf in the 24 hours after you make it, and save the other one for another day, or another person.

Pumpkin Bread

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature or cold if you have a food processor
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Pumpkin Bread:
1 cup pecans or walnuts (I used pecans)
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 - 15 ounce can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Pumpkin Bread:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter and lightly flour two - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans. Set aside.

To toast nuts: Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Cool completely and then chop coarsely. Set aside.

Cream Cheese Filling: In your food processor, process the cream cheese just until smooth. Add the sugar and process just until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, processing just until incorporated. Do not over process. Stir in the flour. Set aside.

Pumpkin Bread: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the sugar and melted butter and whisk until blended. Whisk or stir in the pumpkin, water, vanilla extract, and nuts.

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined. (A few streaks of flour is fine.) Do not over mix as it will make the bread tough.

Divide the batter in half. Take one half and divide it evenly between the two prepared pans. (Only put in about a third of your batter, not half!) Divide the cream cheese filling in half and place each half of filling on top the two pans of batter, smoothing the tops. Top with the remaining half of batter.

Bake the breads for about 55 - 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Place pans on a wire rack and let cool for about 10 minutes before removing breads from pans.

Can serve warm, cold, or at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator or else freeze for later use.

Makes 2 loaves.

Healthy Turkey and Black Bean Chili

So I made this today, for Superbowl Sunday, and I lost count of how many bowls I have had. It is very healthy and very tasty, so a good combo.

Healthy Turkey and Black Bean Chili

1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 1.5 lb ground turkey, cooked
3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, undrained
1 large (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Cook the turkey on the stove. While you are doing that, add all of the other ingredients to the crockpot and stir. Add in the turkey when it is cooked through and cook on low for 4-8 hours.

Garnish with cheese, sour cream, chives, fresh diced onions, whatever.

We dug in after about 4 hours, it smelled so good! I am sure that it would just keep tasting better, the longer you let it go- but we couldn't wait. I am sure that it would freeze well too.

I have heard some people say that you can put uncooked ground meat into the slow cooker, like in this recipe, and it will cook up just fine. I don't have the guts to try this! I like my meat pretty well done and just afraid that it might be mushy if I didn't pre-cook it.

Also, this picture shows corn in the chili. I didn't add it, since corn just adds calories and doesn't even count as a vegetable. I am sure it would taste great in it, though.

I served this with corn bread muffins, using the Jiffy Mix. I like to make "corny corn bread" by adding some frozen corn in with the batter before cooking it. Jason doesn't like it like this, so muffins are a great compromise- some of them have it, some of them don't. Just remember to reduce your cooking time from what it says on the back of the box! 10 minutes is probably enough.

Food Storage Information

Still Tasty

This website has a ton of information about how long food will keep- everything from ketchup to produce. It also tells you the best way to store things, which is really helpful to me.

Easy Brownies

I don't think that I will ever buy brownie mix again, these are so good and so easy! I still love the Caramel Toffee Brownies from this site- and they are my favorites- but these are easy and I always have these ingredients on hand. And IF you can resist eating them on the first day- or at least SOME of them- they get better on Day 2 and Day 3.

Brownies

1 1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. cocoa
2 C. sugar
4 eggs
1 C. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 C. chocolate chips
optional - walnuts

Mix all ingredients. Spread in greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe makes 4 dozen cookies, and they are really moist and tasty, and any time I can sneak a "vegetable" into a baked good, I think it is a good idea. I like to add semi-sweet chocolate chips too- to balance out the nutrition.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 stick of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 15 oz. cup canned pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups rolled oats
optional - chocolate chips
optional - chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350. Beat together butter and sugars. Add pumpkin, eggs, vanilla; beat. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients and then mix in to wet mixture. Stir in oats. Drop rounded tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes.  These cookies don't really spread at all, so you can pile them on the cookie sheet.
74 calories, 2.6 g fat per cookie (excluding chocolate chips, of course)

Breakfast Potatoes

These are really good as a breakfast side dish. To be honest, they are good later in the day too. I have a rosemary plant in my backyard that I haven't managed to kill yet, so it is nice to send Christopher out to get some fresh herbs.

Breakfast Potatoes

potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper
rosemary, chopped, fresh if you have it

Preheat oven to 425. Chop potatoes to about 1/2" cubes. Toss in olive oil and rosemary, stirring to coat. Lay out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with coarse ground pepper and sea salt. Roast in the oven on a high rack for about 15 mibnutes or so, until fork tender.

Garlic and Dill Salmon

Garlic and Dill Salmon

salmon
chopped garlic or garlic powder
dill weed
lemon wedge or juice

My Vietnamese friend turned me on to this combination and salmon all together for that matter. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Rub the fish with pre-chopped garlic in your fridge, or use garlic powder if you like. Then sprinkle liberally wih Dill Weed. Squeeze some lemon juice on top when it comes out of the oven, if you have it.

Dijon Salmon

Dijon Salmon

salmon
dijon mustard (I like Grey Poupon)
bread crumbs
olive oil spray

Spread salmon with a layer of Dijon Mustard. I use Grey Poupon. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. This gets really crispy- I always hit it with a blast of the olive oil spray to help that along. The original recipe I read said to melt butter to pour on top- which I am sure is good but is not necessary in my opinion. Also, it is not spicy at all somehow when it cooks. Christopher and Jason both like this one too.

Shredded Beef Tacos

Just made these tonight for the first time and they were amazing! We will definitely need to have salad tomorrow night to make up for it, but it was well worth it. He told me it tasted as good as he would expect at a nice authentic Mexican restaurant! I definitely recommend frying your own taco shells. It just wouldn't be right to put this meat into a pre-made taco shell. My opinion, anyway.

Shredded Beef Tacos

2-4 lb. beef roast
taco seasoning
1 can (4 oz) green chiles in juice
corn tortillas
canola oil
cheddar cheese, shredded
salt
optional - sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, taco sauce

Put the roast in the slow cooker and sprinkle with taco seasoning. Dump can of chiles on top and set the slow cooker for low. Mine was cooked after 5-6 hours on low, and the roast was NOT thawed out ahead of time. I have heard that you can do this with frozen meat too and it may just take a little longer. When you notice that the meat is done, shred it with two forks. It is easiest to take a chunk out and shred in a separate bowl, and then put it back. This was definitely the hardest part of the meal for me. I tried to scrape away the fatty pieces that were present too... I just know that the texture would kill me to bite into. Yuck. So put all the shredded beef back in the crockpot until ready to serve, still in the juices.

In a small skillet, heat up about an inch or so of oil. When you put the top of a wooden spoon in the skillet, it should get bubbles around it, and that's how you know it is hot enough. Place one tortilla in the oil and let it cook for a minute or so, and then with tongs, fold the tortilla in half and form it into a taco shell. It wont be perfect but that is part of the beauty. When it starts to get a little hard and before it browns too much, take it out of the oil and put it on a paper towel on a plate to dry. Salt it lightly too when it is fresh out of the oil.

Drain the juices out of the crockpot before serving. Place some shredded beef in a taco shell and then top with cheese and whatever other toppings you want.

The leftover beed would be great in Easy Chimichangas (also on this site) or maybe enchilladas or even quesadillas. Lots of optons. You can also freeze the leftover cooked shredded beef to use another day.

Santa Fe Rice and Beans

I made this once and modified the original recipe so much that I am going to call it my own. This reheats really well and is a tasty and filling lunch as leftovers.

Santa Fe Rice and Beans

1 T. olive oil
1/2 C. onion, chopped
2 C. long grain rice*
2 C. water
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken brother (water is OK if you are in a pinch)
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
black pepper to taste
1 cup corn, thawed
1 can black beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can enchillada sauce, I use red
1 can (4 oz) diced chiles, drained
1/2 C. sour cream
2 cups cheddar jack cheese, shredded

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm oil and saute onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat. Stir in water, broth, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 25 mintues. Remove lid and cool slightly. Gently stir in corn, chiles, beans, enchillada sauce and sour cream.

Preheat oven to 350. Transfer rice mixture to a sprayed casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake uncovered until heated through and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

*You can probably make this with pre-cooked rice too. I have a rice cooker that I love and I think that might be easier and still taste just as good. Omit the water and chicken stock if your rice is cooked already.

Minestrone Soup

My sister turned me on to this recipe, and I haven't made it in far too long. Serve it with a crusty bread and some fresh grated parmesean on top... yum.

Minestrone Soup

1 can kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 1/2 C. uncooked small pasta (shells, spirals, ABC's, etc.- I use whole wheat)
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 T olive oil
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 C. onion, chopped
1 C. celery, chopped
1 C. carrot, chopped
1 C. zucchini, chopped (I leave this out sometimes for Jason)
2-4 medium red potatoes
1-2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
5 C. water or vegetable stock

In a large kettle, saute the garlic and onions until soft. Add celery, carrots, salt, oregano, black pepper, basil. Mix well and cook covered over low heat for 10 minutes.

Add potato, zucchini, kidney and garbanzo beans in their juice, and stock. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes and their juice. Keep at low heat until you are ready to serve.

If you want to freeze some of this- STOP HERE and add the pasta when you are ready to eat.

10 minutes before serving, add pasta and boil gently for 10 minutes. Top with parsley and grated parmesean cheese, if you like.

Calzones

This is one that Jason and I actually made up on our own. It is really easy to customize each calzone for whatever each person likes. For toppings, I like frozen spinach (make sure and get out all of the moisture!) and frozen broccoli (heat it up first in the microwave), Jason usually uses meatballs and black olives.

Calzones

1 package of pizza dough (we usually use the Pillsbury roll kind but any would do)
toppings - about 1/2 - 3/4 cup TOTAL per calzone
small amount of pasta sauce
mozzarella cheese

Preheat to 400. Lay out the pizza dough and make two sections. You can do triangles if you are fancy, although ours are usually rectangles. Put your dough on a cookie sheet. Place your toppings in the lower half of one of your dough pieces and then top with a few spoonfulls of pasta sauce. Sprinkle cheese on top of that, and then fold over the top and seal along the edges. We just press with our fingers but you could probably make it prettier with a fork. If you like, you can add some parmesean cheese and Italian seasoning on top of that, but I have never done it that way. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown on top.

I serve with ranch and/or extra pasta sauce.

Molasses Cookies

A friend of mine made these and they are different. I wouldn't want them all the time, but every now and again they hit the spot.

Molasses Cookies

3/4 C. shortening (butter or margarine)
1 1/2 C. sugar + extra for rolling
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
4 T. molasses
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cloves

Cream the sugar, butter, egg and molasses. Add the dry ingredients. Make dough into balls the size of walnuts and roll them in granulated sugar. Place the balls on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes.

Pumpkin Dessert Squares

This is a recipe from a sample I had at Williams Sonoma. This recipe is specific to their pumpkin pecan butter, although I would imagine that any "pumpkin pecan butter" would work just as well.

Pumpkin Dessert Squares

1 box yellow cake mix
1 jar Muirhead Pumpkin Pecan Butter
3 eggs
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 C. sugar
3/4 C. butter
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp. cinnamon

Reserve 1 cup of the cake mix and set aside.

Mix remaining cake mix with 1/2 cup of melted butter and 1 egg. Press mixture lightly into the bottom of a 13x9 pan.

Mix pumpkin pecan butter with 2 eggs and 3 T. milk and pour over cake mixture in pan.

Mix to a crumble reserved cake mix with 1 T. flour, 1/4 c. sugar, 1/4 c. soft butter and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Crumble over the top of the pumpkin layer.

Bake 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees until golden.

Cool and serve!

Tuxedo Cookies

These are also some of my favorites. They present really well and they are even better after you let them cool or the next day, if they last that long!

Update: I forgot to give proper credit when I did this entry, so here it goes: My sister Kat is the originator of this recipe.  I am not sure where she got it, but it was hers originally, with semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I suggested white chocolate, and the "tuxedo cookie" was born.  Joint effort.  :-)

Tuxedo Cookies

2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 C. white chocolate chips
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter
1 C. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 C. flour
1/3 C. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Melt 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips and set aside. Cream butter and sugars, add melted chocolate and eggs. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt. Gradually add to the wet ingredients and then mix in white chocolate chips. Cook for about 20 minutes.

Kat's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are some of my favorites. I like my cookies extra moist and chewy, so I always pull them out before they look ready and let them finish cooking on the countertop. Yummo.

Kat's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C. butter/margarine
1 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 C. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 C. oats
1 1/2 - 2 C. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. Beat together margarine, brown sugar, white sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually beat flour mixture into the egg/sugar mixture. Use a spoon to mix in the oats and then chocolate chips. Bake for 8-12 minutes.

Eskimo Cookies

This recipe came from Jason's mom and they are so good. One time we made a huge batch of these and set them on the floor in our living room before cozying up for a movie. Jason went to get some milk and I went to the restroom, and when we came back, Daisy had demolished the entire plate. It was probably a lot of chocolate for our girl, and we were crushed, but thats my funny Eskimo Cookie story.

Eskimo Cookies

1 1/2 sticks of butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp Vanilla
3 Tbsp Cocoa
2-3 cups Oatmeal

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in water, vanilla and cocoa. Add oats until proper consistency, I usually go closer to 3 cups. Refrigerate for 3 hours or so and then form into small balls, just smaller than golf balls. Roll in powdered sugar and serve.

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

No cookbook is complete without this recipe included. I actually prefer Grandma Squire's recipe to this one lately, although it is made with shortening. These are of course, amazing too. Chocolate chip cookies- you can't really go wrong.

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts


COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Triple Layer Chocolate Pudding Pie

This is really good and easy, and is a perfect and light summer time dessert.  You can do two or three layers, depending on your mood. 

Easy Pudding Pie
1 1/4 c. cold milk
1 pkg (6-serving size) INSTANT chocolate pudding
1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed
1 prepared Oreo pie crust, 9"

Pour milk in large bowl. Beat with a wire whisk pudding and half the tub of Cool Whip. Spread into prepared crust. Spread remaining half tub of Cool Whip over the top. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

Cool Caramel

This is a long time favorite and goes over really well at picnics. You have to remember to make it ahead of time- that is the only problem. It is worth the hassle, though!

Cool Caramel

1/2 C. brown sugar
2 C. flour (I go a little light)
2 sticks of butter, melted (1 cup)
1/2 C. oatmeal (I go a little heavy)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. chopped walnuts
1 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
1 jar of caramel sauce

Mix all ingredients except for ice cream and caramel sauce. Press into a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes (until golden brown) at 400 degrees. While still warm, crumble with a fork. After crumble has cooled, sprinkle half into a 9x13 pan. Drizzle with half of the caramel sauce and then scoop the vanilla ice cream over the crumb mixture. Top with the rest of the crumb mixture and the rest of the caramel sauce. Freeze overnight (or at least for 4 hours or so) before serving.

Baked Ziti

A friend made this one time for us and it was really good. It is so easy to make and these days, I sneak a box of chopped spinach in it and it goes over really well! It is easy to make vegetarian too. I always use whole wheat pasta too- you can't really tell when it is all baked together and you may as well get the protein/fiber boost. I like to serve this with a green salad and garlic bread. Also, if I am making this for just us, I use two 8x8 pans and freeze the second one before cooking it.

Baked Ziti
Italian chicken or turkey sausage, cooked
16 oz. penne pasta, cooked (short tubes)
15 oz. Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
Garlic Salt
Italian Seasoning
frozen chopped spinach, thawed, as much as you think you can get away with
1 28 oz. jar your favorite pasta sauce (I like Trader Joe's Three Cheese)
mozzarella cheese, shredded

Cook the pasta just short of the package instructions, by only a minute or so. Drain. Cook the meat and drain on a paper towel. Get all of the moisture out of the spinach. The best way I have found is to dump all of it in the middle of a clean dish towel and then run water over it and squeeze the spinach in the middle of the towel until it is pretty much dried out.

In a large bowl, mix ricotta, egg, garlic salt, spinach, Italian seasoning and pasta sauce. Stir in cooked pasta to coat as well as cooked meat. Pour into a 13x9 pan (or two 8x8 pans) and cover with mozzarella cheese and foil. Bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes until cheese is melted. I like to take off the foil and brown it a little under the broiler, but watch it so you don't burn it!

Cheesy Baked Tortellini

This is a recipe from Everyday Italian (Giada) on the Food Network. Can I just say that she is pretty enough to be a model? And don't you love how they play the porn music whenever she takes a bite of anything and moans about how good it is? :-) It cracks US up. Yes, I said US, she is one of Jason's favorites too, even though he wouldn't eat most of what she makes. This recipe is AMAZING, really good. Make sure that you chop your fresh herbs well or it will look like spinach throughout your pasta- which actually sounds good, but not with herbs.

Cheesy Baked Tortellini

Ingredients
Olive oil
2 cups marinara sauce
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 pound purchased cheese tortellini
2 ounces thinly sliced smoked mozzarella
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish.

Whisk the sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top the mixture with the smoked mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melt, about 30 minutes.

Baked Brie

Here are a few things that I know how to do with Brie. The picture is of the Baked Brie.

Brown Sugar Brie
This is really good and really easy. The heat carmelized the sugar a little and it is really tasty, but it is easy to eat too much!

Brie
Brown Sugar
Bread and Pears for dipping

Cover a brie round in brown sugar and bake in 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve with french bread and pears.


Baked Brie
1 brie round
dried cherries (or cranberries)
brown sugar
sliced almonds
puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

Slice brie through center in half. Cover with dried fruit and almonds. Sprinkle a little brown sugar over. Cover with other half of brie and push down a bit. Roll out one sheet of puff pastry and place brie in center. Fold puff pastry up and over brie, trim off excess (twist to cover).

If making ahead - cover with saran wrap and store in fridge until ready to bake.

If ready to serve - beat with a fork one egg and 'wash' outside of puff pastry. Place in pie dish (it 'leaks' during baking), and bake 30-40 mins at 350 or until golden. Serve with baguette.

Disneyland 2010

We just got home today from our trip to Disneyland! We went on Monday and had a fabulous time. It was Christopher's first visit and I think for Jason and me, our favorite visit so far. We got there right around 10 AM and even though it looked really busy when we were walking in, the lines all day were not long at all and we were even able to just walk on to a bunch of rides! The first ride we went on was the one where you go into the whale's mouth, I think it is called the Storybook Land Canal Boats. After that we went to do the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which was really cute, and of course, Christopher loved. Anything where you get to drive around in a car and shoot at "bad guys" has my boy hooked. After Buzz, we did the Astro Orbitor planes that fly around in a circle way up high. It wouldn't be possible to fit three people comfortably in those tiny planes so me and Christopher went alone. I just have to say that those planes fly HIGH and FAST!!! I let Christopher control everything and it was fun, but I was glad that it was a short ride.

We were standing right next to Star Tours and Jason was remembering how fun of a ride it was, so him and Christopher gave it a try. Unfortunately I was not allowed to ride Star Tours being pregnant and all, so I waited outside and worried a little about Christopher enjoying it. Turns out it was one of his favorite rides of the day! Waiting in line, some random robot talked to Christopher, which he loved. When they finally went on the ride, in the beginning when you turn to go down through the doors and the ride says "Stop! Do not enter!" Christopher shouted out "No Daddy!" and Jason just snuggled him close and told him it was just pretend and that everything was OK, and that was it- they had a blast for the rest of the time. I was so proud of my boy, and he had a great time. After that we did Autopia, the driving ride, which I was also not allowed on.

It was almost time for the Jedi Training Academy to start, so we got a seat on the ground and waited. When the people came out, we all took turns shouting "Jedi!" as loud as we could and then finally a Jedi Master came out, did some cool Light Saber tricks and then called up kids to be part of the show. Christopher jumped up and down and raised his hand and was selected! He was front and center on the main stage, right next to the Jedi Master. Jason and I were smiling so big for the entire show- it was definitely the highlight of the whole day. I even teared up with pride a few times- it was so crazy seeing my boy up on stage, following directions and "activating" and "deactivating" his light saber with all the big kids. He even got to fight the "real" Darth Vader! I can't even tell you how cool that was.

Christopher vs. Darth Vader

We took our Jedi to Mickey's Toontown, which was really cute. We got to meet Mickey and tour through the houses. The Chip n' Dale Treehouse was a big hit for Christopher and he had fun taking me through the house and showing me "his house." After that, we stopped in a shop and picked up a sword that Christopher played with for the rest of the day. We went on Pirates of the Caribbean and Christopher waved to all of the animals that we saw. He snuggled close to Jason again but enjoyed it.



Next stop was for ice cream, and that was the longest line of the day at about 15 minutes. We went back to the Buzz Lightyear ride again and then after that, Christopher wanted to buy the Star Wars gun that he had seen earlier in the day and go home. So that's what we did! Jason did stop for a corn dog, which was one of the best he has ever had. We headed home at about 5:15, just in time for rush hour- but luckily we didn't have too much traffic and made it home in good time, with a happy tired boy snoring loudly in the back seat. It was a fantastic trip and I am so glad that we went.

Grandma's Fudge Recipes

These are ranked in order of delicious-ness. They are recipes directly from Jason's Grandma Squires, who is one of the best candy makers I know. OK, she is also one of the ONLY candy makers I know- but she is still amazing. Aside from the last one, I haven't made these myself- but I do plan to one day, and they are certainly worthy of my list.

Old Fashioned Fudge (Cooked)
A little more iffy, but still the best according to Grandpa!

2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups sugar
1/8 t. salt
1 1/2 cups milk (half evaporated makes it creamier)
4 1/2 T BUTTER
1t vanilla.

Combine cocoa, sugar salt and milk; bring to boil stirring frequently, cook to 234 degrees on candy thermometer, or soft ball stage. Remove from heat, add butter, cool to about 110; add vanill, nuts if you want, beat until thickens. Pour into buttered pan and cut into squares. MUST USE BUTTER.

SEE'S Fudge

41/2 cups sugar
1 12oz can evap. milk
2 cups choc. chips
8oz marchmallow creme or 8oz mini marshmallows
1 cup of butter or margarine.

Bring sugar and milk to full boil and boil ten minutes. Turn heat down enough to contine hard boil, and use whisk to stir, because it scorches easily. Remove from heat and add chips, marg., marshmallows, and nuts if desired. Pour into buttered 9x13 pan.

Creamy Fudge
Not quite as good as SEE's, but lots easier and still yummy.

3 cups semi sweet choc. chips. (I use some milk choc. ones. not quite as chocolatey)
1 140z can sweetened condensed milk
dash of salt
1 1/2 t vanilla
1/2 cup nuts.

Melt choc. Add mild, salt, vanilla, and nuts. Stir until smooth. Spread in waxed paper line 8x8 pan, chill 2 hours. Turn out, cut into squares. Store tightly covered.

And here is one more that I made in Culinary Arts that is better than the sweetened condensed milk version but not as much work as a few of the others:

Microwave Fudge

1/2 C. butter
3/4 C. cocoa
4 C. powdered sugar (yes, it's a lot)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. evaporated milk
1 C. walnuts or whatever

Melt the butter in the microwave, add sugar, cocoa and milk, alternating and stirring. Then add in the vanilla, microwave one more minute, stir, fold in nuts.

Spaghetti Pie

This is a fun way to jazz up spaghetti and is made with ingredients that you probably already have on hand. When I make this for me and Jason, I split it into two 8x8 pans and cook one, cover the other with foil and then freeze it before cooking it. When you are ready for the frozen one, pull it out of the freezer, throw it in the fridge for a day or so and then cook as normal! Doesn't get much more convenient than that.

Spaghetti Pie

16 oz. (1 box) dry spaghetti
2-3 T butter
1 cup parmesan cheese
4 well-beaten eggs
1 lb. + ground turkey, cooked
1 (28 oz) jar of your favorite pasta sauce
2-4 (32 oz) cups cottage cheese - however much you like, it is a nice protein boost with minimal calories and doesn't affect the taste
1 cup mozzarella or italian blend cheese, shredded

Cook spaghetti. Drain. Stir butter into hot noodles until melted. Whisk eggs and parmesan cheese. Mix meat in with pasta sauce. Form pasta mixture into a crust shape in a buttered 9x13 pan, or two 9" pie plates. Spread cottage cheese over bottom of spaghetti crust. Top with tomato-meat mixtrue. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes until cheese is lightly browned.

Chocolate Covered Peanuts

Chocolate Covered Peanuts

Plenty of Melting Chocolate*
Peanuts (or almost anything else)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, usually for about 90 seconds total. Have a spoon nearby and stir it after a minute and then again every 15 seconds. It should be smooth and creamy.

Dump some peanuts into the bowl that you microwaved the chocolate in. Stir to coat.
Scoop by rounded tablespoons and let dry on wax paper. RESIST the urge to eat them when they are all melted! They are even better dry!

These will keep for a while in the freezer, perhaps three months or so, but they will never last that long because they taste great frozen too!

*Melting chocolate usually comes in big bricks or bars, one brand is "Almond Bark." It works better than chocolate chips as it doesn't make your hands sticky. The uses for it are endless- strawberries, pretzels, nuts, etc.... I usually buy extra and freeze it for use throughout the year.

Taco Ring

Taco meat and crescent rolls- what's not to like? I have never made the cool bell pepper filled with salsa but I think it would present beautifully for company! I often will make extra ground turkey and freeze it in bags until I need it- and this is a perfect use for that frozen meat also. This is really good with a salad, or you can save some extra meat and make my favorite taco salad to go alongside it.

Also, when I am cooking this for just our family, one can of crescent rolls is plenty.

Taco Ring

Ingredients
3/4 lb lean ground turkey (or beef )
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
2 tablespoons water
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

Optional - salsa, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, onion, black olives and 1 Medium Bell pepper if you want to serve the salsa that way

Directions

Cook ground beef in large skillet over medium heat 7-9 minutes or until beef is no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning mix, cheese and water.
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Unroll crescent dough; separate into triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle on Classic Round Pizza Stone with wide ends overlapping in center and points toward outside. (There should be a 5 inch diameter opening in center.) I use my Pampered Chef pizza stone, but any flat round pan should work--perhaps even a pizza sheet, but I'd spray it with Pam before adding the crescent rolls.

Scoop meat mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling will not be completely covered).

Bake at 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Shred lettuce and chop tomato, onion, olives, and bell pepper (if desired). If you want to do something fancy, scoop out a bell pepper and fill with salsa and put into center of ring. Add your toppings to top of ring and finish with more shredded cheese and sour cream.

Baked Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Style

This is pretty advanced. It is easy enough to make and it really does taste good- not the same but good. But I know Jason wouldn't touch this with a 10-foot pole. You can tell that it is healthy when you are eating it- and I don't mean that in a bad way! Give it a try next time you are motivated to live on the edge.

Baked Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Style


Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 (28 oz) jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). The EASIEST way to prepare your spaghetti squash is to cut it in half, lengthwise, and discard the seeds. Place face down on a microwave safe plate and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave it for 7-10 minutes, until a knife slides in easy.

Meanwhile, spray a non-stick saucepan with cooking spray. Warm the spaghetti sauce.
Remove squash strands with a fork, reserving the shells. Layer each half with a spoonful of the sauce, a layer of spaghetti squash strands, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers until shells are full, or until all of the ingredients are used. Top with Parmesan cheese. Bake in an 8x8 pan for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until Parmesan cheese melts.

From AllRecipes.com