Peanut Butter Banana Bread

from Cooking Light magazine. I didn't have the peanuts so I left them out and it was still great.

1 1/2 c mashed ripe bananas
1/3 c plain yogurt
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 sugar
1/2 brown sugar
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 c ground flaxseed (this is really healthy, but if you don't have any you can use flour)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Combine first five ingredients, beat in sugars until well blended. Combine dry ingredients and add to wet, then stir in peanuts. Pour batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for about at hour, cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove and cool on wire rack.

Glaze:
Combine 1/3 c powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and 1 tablespoon peanut butter with a whisk. Drizzle over bread.

Banana Cake

This is divine.

1/2 c melted butter
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c sour cream (I used plain yogurt, it was amazing)
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 bananas, mashed
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Beat butter, sugar, and eggs, add sour cream, vanilla, and bananas and mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture. Spread batter in a greased and floured sheet cake pan (bake 25-30 minutes) or 9x13 (bake 45 minutes) and bake at 300.

Cream Cheese Icing
6 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c soft butter
3 c powdered sugar

Mix together and spread on the cooled cake.

Go Bananas

It has been awhile, and I don't know if anyone reads this anymore, but I had an idea for a new theme: bananas. I purposely buy too many bananas so that they will start to brown and I just have to make banana bread with them. How about some favorite classic banana bread recipes and anything else that you love to make with bananas?

Old-Fashioned Raspberry Jam (www.epicurious.com)

I made this jam a couple weeks ago with some fresh raspberries I picked. It was AMAZING! The key is taking the time to make the jam WITHOUT added pectin.




Old-Fashioned Raspberry Jam (www.epicurious.com)
by Eleanor Topp and Margaret Howard
The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving

Ingredients:
6 cups raspberries
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Preparation:
1. Place berries in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a full boil or high heat, mashing berries with a potato masher as they heat. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

2. Add sugar, return to a rolling boil, and boil until mixture will form a gel, about 5 minutes. (To determine when the mixture will form a gel, dip a cool metal spoon into the hot fruit. Immediately lift it out and away from the steam and turn it horizontally. At the beginning of the cooking process, the liquid will drip off in light, syrupy drops. Try again a minute or two later- the drops will be heavier. The jam is done when the drops are very thick and two run together before falling of the spoon)

3. Ladle into sterilized jars and process in hot water canner (with boiling water) for 5 minutes. Allow jars to sit in the canner for approximately 15 minutes prior to removing them. Once removed, place jars in a draft free location to cool completely.

August: Potlucks!

For August, I'm thinking we share our Potluck favorites.  It doesn't have to be fancy or complicated.  If you pick up cookies on the way, tell us what you get.  We just want to know what your favorite things to take with you are.

And I'm running out of ideas, so if you have any for future months, post them in the comments.

Gummi Beary Juice (for July)

My niece got this recipe from the Gummi Bears cartoon.  They altered it a little, but it gives you power!

1 package of red berries
1/2 package of blue berries
4 T orange juice concentrate
1 can grape juice concentrate
1 can water (add more if you need to dilute it more)

According to the Gummi bears you put it all together and stir slowly to the right, stir slowly to the left and BANG!  (But we put it all in a blender and blend until it's smooth.)  Enjoy!

Macaroni & Cheese (for June)

My dad got me this cookbook a while back, but I haven't tried any of the recipes because  . . . well . . . cheese is expensive.  Especially specialty cheese.  But I decided to bite the bullet, buy the cheese, and try one.  And because they all looked so good, I just went with the very first recipe.  

Macaroni with Wisconsin Asiago

7 tb butter, plus extra for buttering dishes

1 lb cavatelli (which I couldn't find so I used the mini-bowtie pasta)

1/4 cup plus 2 tbs flour

1 qt whole milk

2 tsp dry mustard

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

dash of Tabasco

1 tbs Worchestershire sauce

Kosher salt

freshly ground pepper 

2 cups (1/2 lb) grated aged Wisconsin Asiago cheese (I couldn't find genuine Wisconsin, but I found some good Asiago from a less "authentic" brand)

1 cup (1/4 lb) grated sharp white cheddar cheese

1 1/3 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

3/4 cup coarsly chopped flat-leaf parsley (I forgot to buy this and used dried)

1/3 cup minced fresh chives (forgot this too, I used some chopped green onions)

1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Preheat oven to 350*.  Butter six individual gratin dishes (I used a 9x13 pan)

Cook pasta to al dente.  Drain and cool.

In a medium saucepan over moderately low heat, melt 6 tbs butter.  Add the flour and cook, stirring, 3 minutes.  Whisk in the milk and raise the heat to high.  When the milk begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium and ocok, whisking occasionally, until thickened.  Add the seasonings.

In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, sauce, asiago, cheddar, 1 cup of parm-regg, parsley and chives.  Spoon into buttered dishes.  Mix the breadcrumbs and remaining parm-regg cheese and sprinkle over the pasta.  Dot lightly with remaining butter and bake on the middle shelf until crumbs are lightly browned and sauce is bubbling,  25-30 minutes

The Verdict:  Mike and I LOVED it!  It was so creamy and wonderful with just a little kick.  The boys were indifferent.  I think they would have been just as happy with the Kraft stuff.

Strawberry Bruchetta

This is an old Pampered Chef recipe, and it is great for brunches or bite-sized dessert parties.

1 loaf thinly sliced french baguette

2 T melted butter

Place bread slices on cookie sheet and brush with melted butter. Bake at 350 until golden brown (about 5 min or so)

In a mixing bowl, combine the following:

4 oz cream cheese

1 Meyer lemon, zested and juiced

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In another bowl, slice or chop 1 lb washed and hulled strawberries.

In a non-stick skillet, lightly toast 1 small package blanched slivered almonds.

To assemble, place thin layer of cream cheese mixture on toasted bread, add strawberries, and sprinkle almonds. To garnish, grate white, milk, or dark chocolate over top and dust with powdered sugar.

Berry Punch

This is my favorite frozen drink in the summer. It needs two days for the mixture to freeze, but well worth the advance preparation!

In a large pitcher, mix together 2 cups sugar and 8 cups water. Add 1 can raspberry lemonade concentrate and add the amount of water it says to add (usually around 3 cans). Mix well. Pour into quart freezer bags and freeze at least 24 hours.

To serve, place in large punch bowl, chunk with a fork, and add sprite or ginger ale. Mix until slushy consistency. Add 1 pint fresh raspberries.

*In the winter, I use regular lemonade concentrate and instead of sprite or ginger ale, I use the cranberry splash Sierra Mist and it is delicious!

"Cakey" Cobbler

Yeah, I'm a day late, but this recipe is totally worth it!

I love berry and peach season because it also means COBBLER season!!! My friend, Kirstin, got this recipe from her friend, Julie. It is cakey and just the ratio of fruit to cake.

1/3 cup butter

melt in 8x8 pan in the oven at 350

In a bowl, mix together:

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup milk

when butter is melted, pour over butter in pan and DO NOT MIX!

In separate bowl, toss 1 quart berries with a little bit of sugar and spoon over the top of the batter and again, DO NOT MIX!

Sprinkle with sugar (if you like the sugary crust) and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Some of our favorite fruit combinations include:

peaches and raspberries

blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries

peaches and blackberries

*If you are using peaches, remove the skins and cut them into slices or used canned and drain the juice first. I also like to toss peaches with brown sugar and cinnamon instead of white sugar.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Hucklebuckle

Hucklebuckle

My mom makes this a lot during huckleberry season, and I don't know where she got the original recipe. I have done it with blueberries and it works like a charm, so my next try will involve raspberries or blackberries. As is the rule in my house, serve it warm with vanilla ice cream!

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

cream together in a bowl, then add:

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

spread in an 8x8 square pan

In a separate bowl, combine:

2 1/2 cups huckleberries

3/4 cup sugar

pour on top of batter

Mix together 1/2 cup boiling water and 1 Tbsp butter and pour over berries. DO NOT MIX!

Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes. Serves about 6.

No Berries (sorry), but Cake/Brownies/Sugar Cookies and Delicious!

I've made fun cakes before, but this was the stinkin' funnest thing ever! So I had to pass it on. This is sugar cookie fries, and cupcake/brownie "hamburgers" which are so stinkin' delicious! The idea is on http://www.bakerella.com/ in the cupcake section. She made them for Father's Day, I made them for my husband's birthday, so I chose to make a big one too, it's about the size of a real cheeseburger.

These were easy and fun, and bakerella has a template for a fry holder, and tray, etc. too. I did my own by looking at hers because my printer wouldn't work. Anyway, for the burgers, you make yellow cake cupcakes, and a pan of brownies. The brownies you cut into circles the size of the cupcakes using a biscuit/cookie cutter. Then you slice the cupcake in half, insert the brownie, do red/yellow/green frosting, put the top on, and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top! It's easy and doesn't require much patience at all!!

Sugar cookie fries, with frosting dips. The fries are so cool! I recommend cutting them just under an inch wide and cutting them in half after they cook because the cut texture really helps with the fry look! See bakerella for further instructions.

So cool! I think I'll do them for my son's school treats for his birthday if he's allowed to bring some in!

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

We inherited an ice cream maker a few weeks ago and have had a lot of fun with it! This is our favorite that we have made so far.

2 cups vanilla yogurt
1/2 c milk
1/4 c sugar
1-2 c fresh blackberries, pureed and strained
1 T lemon juice

Combine ingredients and place in ice cream maker.

July's Theme

So I still haven't posted my June recipes.  Hopefully I'll get to that this week.  But I thought I'd go ahead and change the theme for July.  You ready? 

BERRIES

Can't wait to see what you have to share!

EZ Wheat Bread

I got this recipe from everydayfoodstorage.net and it is very easy to make and hard to mess up!

1 1/4 cup warm water

1 TBS active dry yeast

1/4 cup honey or 1/3 cup sugar

2 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or do a combination with white)

1/4 cup gluten

1 tsp salt

2 TBS non fat non instand dry milk

1 TBS butter or oil or margarine

1 TBS vinegar

1/4 cup potato flakes (do not use potato pearls)

Mix ingredients in the order listed in mixing bowl with dough hook for 12-15 minutes. Let rise until double, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down. Shape into loaf and place in loaf pan. Let rise till double again. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes.

Kale

I don't think that I had ever tried kale before this, but I read about how nutritious it is and so I wanted to try it. Collin and I both liked it better than cooked spinach. It reduces a lot as it cooks, so don't worry that it seems like a lot. I think this was from cooks.com.

1 large bunch kale, washed, dried, and shredded (make sure to fold the leaves in half and rip out the tough stems)
3 Tbl olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c bread crumbs

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook until soft, add the kale and cook until it gets a little wilty. Mix in the breadcrumbs. Serve over rice or as a side dish.

Chocolate Cherry Cake

Here is a fun new one that I tried. I thought it really improved the cake mix and made it yummier and fancier. From the Lion House Bakery book.

1 chocolate cake mix (I have also tried it with yellow and it was yummy)
1 can cherry pie filling
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13. Combine ingredients with a large spoon (a mixer will break up the cherries). Spread batter into pan and bake 30-40 minutes.

Frosting:
1 c sugar
1/3 c milk
6 T butter
1-2 cups chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

While cake is baking, combine sugar, butter, milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add chips and vanilla. Stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over warm cake and spread evenly.

Food Storage Helps

Tracking our food storage inventory has seemed, at times, to be an unsurmountable task. I have tried several methods which were difficult to update without making an entirely new spreadsheet. Now that my school schedule is not quite as busy time wise, I have decided to do some searching for various inventory suggestions. While searching this afternoon I found these four websites which when combined, offer a plethora of useful information:


If you are interested in the whole enchilada (storage methods, amounts to store, inventory suggestions, and menu planning) this has a lot to offer. It is a 124 page booklet published by Utah State University's Extension program.
http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/fn_503.pdf


This website offers inventory suggestions, a small collection of recipes, 72-hour kit suggestions, and spending plans.
http://www.dealstomeals.com/free_downloads.cfm

For those of you that would like to plan everything this website offers an excellent step-by-step tutorial of how to organize a "complete grocery and food storage planner." You could definetly spend a few hours browsing through all the information available on this site.
http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com/2008/12/simple-food-storage-notebook.html

I really liked the 3-month and long term food storage spreadsheets available on this website. They offer a tutorial to help clarify how to impute your information into the spreasheet. I have found that there are a few portions I will be tweaking a bit, but overall, this is what I have been looking for.
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net

I found another website that offered an excellent collection of recipes. I saved the cookbook, but forgot to write down the web address. I will post the link when I find it again.

Happy reading!!

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

I have been looking for a good chicken enchilada recipe that didn't use cream of chicken soup and I think I have found a great one! Chris really enjoyed it and thought that I had used lots of cream of chicken soup because it was so creamy. This recipe comes from my favorite recipe website. www.melskitchencafe.com

Almost (not quite) everything I try from her postings always turns out great! I use at least 1 or 2 recipes from this website every week.

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

*Serves 4-6

Filling:
3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
2 (4 oz.) cans of green chiles, lightly drained
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed
1 can white or black beans, rinsed and drained (you can really use any type of bean you prefer here)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can (7 ounce) green chile enchilada sauce
½ cup sour cream

8 ounces (about 2 cups) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 medium (soft taco size) flour tortillas
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine. Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about ½ cup of the chicken/cream cheese filling. Top with a small handful of shredded cheese, a couple tablespoonfuls for each enchilada. Save at least 1/2 cup cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling enchiladas until the dish is full (I can easily fit 8 enchiladas in one pan).

Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve.

Recipe Source: My Kitchen Cafe (melskitchencafe.com)

May and June

Since we're more than half way through May, I'm thinking we'll combine it with June.  This theme, should you choose to participate, is a New Recipe Challenge.  Find a new recipe that sounds fun.  It can be from a website, a cookbook, a friend . . . and try it out.  Post it or link to it and tell us what you thought.  Heavenly?  Good?  Bad?  So bad that it made even the least picky eaters go running away screaming?

My New Life

This brings me to tears every time I watch. Stephanie's faith is amazing. It's true what Elder Holland says at the end.. our trials do make us stronger.

My New Life

(and I am so buying Mindy's CD when it comes out!)

Kid-friendly ideas

-The kids like egg salad/chicken salad/whatever kind of sammy but use cookie cutter shapes to make the bread "cool". Dinosaur shapes, fish, dog, pretty much anything is fun for them.

-I've found that my kids don't like eating whole, adult-sized burritos, so I take a pizza slicer to a tortilla and make smaller sized ones for them.

-The kid will eat almost anything if it has some fun dip or topping associated with it. I put different toppings in ramekin's and let them put what they want on their food.

-mini quesadillas with broccoli, sweet peppers, etc. in them are usually a hit.

-personal pizzas made on a Skookie pan.

-I sneak ground flax seed in homemade pancakes, bread, etc and the kids don't even notice it's there.

-homemade chicken nuggets. They are good made with crushed Fiber One cereal as the coating. (misplaced my recipe, but it's in the Hungry Girl book.)

-Laughing Cow Light cheese wedges and crackers (Costco has the cheapest price on the cheese)

-hummus with fresh veggies for dipping

-homemade yogurt popsicles

-a really yummy and healthier substiture for sour cream is called Fage ( it's greek yogurt.) Tastes just like sour cream and my kids and hubby eat it like crazy. Works great in any recipe that calls for sour cream or use as a topping. (I buy mine at Costco)

-we've bought Veggie Straws from Costco before. They are chips, taste yummy, and have veggies in them.

　

Amost Oreos

I think these are better than oreos!

1 box devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
3 T water
3 T oil
1/2 c cocoa

Preheat to 400. Combine ingredients. Form into balls and place on greased cookie sheets. Flatten and bake 6-8 minutes. While they cool, make the filling.

Filling:
1 c shortening
about 1 pound powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c water

Beat shortening. Add one cup sugar, vanilla, and water. Beat, add half the sugar, beat, add the rest, beat again.

Make into sandwiches.

Green Drink

This is my mother-in-law's tried and true trick that she used to get her kids to eat some greens. She said to put celery in, but I thought it made the texture weird, so I leave it out. I think it is pretty good, and Jeanette(who refuses to eat vegetables) doesn't exactly guzzle it, but she drinks it.

Place in the blender:
a handful of spinach
a sprig of parsley
a cup of pineapple juice
Blend until very smooth (you don't want them to detect any bits or chunks!).

Killer Mac and Cheese

You can do this recipe in a crock pot or in the oven. It freezes really well, so small containers are pretty handy to pull out during the summer and just microwave. My kids are the pickiest bum eaters on the planet, and they scarf this down.

1 lb macaroni elbow noodles (or shells are fun, too)

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1 can milk

4 T butter

6 cups shredded cheese (whatever you think your kids will like--I normally use some cheddar and some colby/jack blend)

Boil pasta until almost done (overdone pasta will be nasty!), then strain and add some olive oil to keep from sticking.

In the pot you just boiled the noodles in, put butter and cheddar cheese soup and whisk together on med-low heat. Add milk and rest of cheese. Whisk until cheese is completely melted, about 5 minutes. You can add more milk to make the sauce thinner if you wish.

Mix with pasta noodles.

From here, place mixture in a crock pot on low for 3 hours or bake in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

*Try other things in it like ham or just use white cheese. One of my family's favorite things to do with this is ladle hot tomato juice or tomato soup over the top of the macaroni in a bowl and eat it that way.

Noodles and White Sauce

I love the theme for this month. I am looking forward to all of your ideas. Here is one of my favorite kid lunches.

bowtie or spiral pasta
Alfredo sauce from a jar mixed half and half with pureed cauliflower
chopped chicken (from a can or leftovers)
peas and carrots (my philosophy is even if they get picked out, at least you tried!)
whatever else you have laying around and think your kids will eat!

I also like to make breakfast foods for lunch: cheesy omelets, waffles, breakfast burritos.

Polynesian Coconut Rolls

Coconut milk is amazing. It makes everything taste so yummy and exotic.

1 can coconut milk
1 c water
6 T sugar
4 tsp corn starch
dough for 12 rolls

Combine coconut milk, water, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl, stir well until cornstarch dissolves. Coat a 9x13 with spray. Pour in mixture. Place rolls on top of coconut mixture. Let rise until double in size (1 hour or 25 minutes in a warm oven), then bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
from The Lion House Bakery cookbook.
I used white whole wheat in my roll dough and it was still great.

The Best Carrot Cake You've Ever Had

So when I was in high school, I used to babysit for a family in our ward twice a week, every week.  One day when I went over there, I saw a carrot cake on the counter.  I was never a huge carrot cake fan, but it was right after school and I was starving so I tried a piece.  Oh my goodness!  It was AMAZING!  So moist . . . so tasty . . . Heaven!  I scoured her cupboards and drawers looking for the recipe and finally found it.  I copied it down and have been making it ever since.  And because Easter is coming up, here it is for you too. 

Beat together:

3 ¼ c grated carrots
4 eggs
2 ¼ c sugar
1 ½ c oil
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 (8 oz) package softened cream cheese

In a separate bowl combine:
2 ¼ c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
A dash of allspice

Add dry ingredients to carrot mixture. Pour into a 9x13 pan and bake on top rack at 350° for about 55 minutes. Frost when cool.

Frosting:
1 package softened cream cheese
½ c softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 c. powdered sugar

Buttermilk Syrup

This one is perfect with the oatmeal pancakes recipe below.  It's also heavenly with pumpkin pancakes, and buckwheat pancakes, and Bisquick pancakes, and ice cream, and just with a spoon . . .

Buttermilk Syrup
3/4 c. butter
3 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
3 Tbsp. light corn syrup
3 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. vanilla

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a large pot.  (And I mean large.  Don't think you can get away with a little sauce pan.  It really does froth up quite a bit!)  Remove pot from the burner; add baking soda and vanilla. Mixture will froth up and rise considerably. Stir regularly and let sit until the syrup settles and bubbles are gone. Serve warm.

Pancakes

This is from the book Deceptively Delicious, which I am really enjoying. The idea is that you add vegetable and fruit puree to everything so that your kids get some vitamins even if they are refusing to eat their vegetables. I'm not sure if its enough to really make a big difference, but its worth trying. You can always use baby food if you don't want to go to the trouble of making the purees. These are really yummy.

1 cup water
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pancake mix

Mix the batter and cook the pancakes. Serve with whatever you like.

Cinnamon Burst Bread

I got this recipe from Everydayfoodstorage.net

I made some the other day and it didn't turn out too bad. I didn't have enough cinnamon chips though, so it could have been better. It is great to make french toast out of too!

(The picture of the bread is not what I made)!

3 T. yeast
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs, beaten lightly
3 3/4 cup warm water
4 1/2 tsp. salt
3 T. vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups cinnamon bites
11-12 cups flour (you can use white or wheat or a combination of both)

Combine in mixing bowl 4 cups flour, yeast, and sugar. Add water, eggs, and oil. Beat well to “cake batter” stage. Stir in salt, cinnamon bites, and 7 more cups flour to make bread-dough consistency. Let mixer knead it to the right texture (add up to 1 more cup flour if needed). Place dough in greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour. Shape dough into 4 loaves. Let rise for another hour or until doubled. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.

This recipe is similar to the one Heather posted, but different and still really good!

1/2, cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, use 1 cup regular milk + 1TBS lemon juice)
1/2 cup skim milk
2 egg whites (I use 1 egg instead of egg whites)
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1/ 2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 /2 teaspoon baking soda

In a medium bowl, combine the oats, buttermilk, and milk. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes to let the oatmeal soften.
Beat in the egg whites and oil and mix well- Add the sugar, salt, and cinnamon, then the baking powder, baking soda, and flour.
Stir just until moistened.
Heat a lightly oiled or nonstick griddle over medium-high heat (375 degrees for electric frying pan). Pour batter onto the griddle. Turn when the tops are covered with bubbles and the edges look cooked, Turn only once.

Oatmeal Pancakes

February is breakfast month, right? This is a recipe from Angela, and I LOVE it!

2 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups buttermilk

Place in a bowl and mix together. Cover and leave on the counter at least 6 hours or overnight.

Add in:

4 beaten eggs

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

Stir together. Then add:

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Stir mixture well, then cook on hot griddle.

I like to serve with buttered maple syrup (place maple syrup in a small saucepan and add some butter and melt together on low heat), blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, etc. I LOVE these pancakes!

Ice Cream Cake

Not all freezer meals have to be for dinner!  I made an excellent ice cream cake for my husband's birthday that can easily be made in advance.  I posted more pictures of this "cake" on my craft blog:  sewincrediblycrafty.blogspot.com

Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream "Cake" (I doubled the recipe)

1/2 cup fudge ice cream topping warmed

1 tub cool whip divided

1 pkg (4oz) jellow chocolate instant pudding (I used Cookies & Cream)

12 Orea Chocolate sandwich cookies

12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches (When I doubled the recipe I got 12 Cookies & Cream sandwiches plus 12 vanilla sandwiches)

Pour the fudge topping into a medium bowl.  Stir in 1 cup whipped topping with a wire wisk until it's well blended.  Add in the dry pudding mix, stir 2 minutes or until well blended.  The consistency of fudge topping can vary depending on what brand you purchase.  If your fudge topping mixture is too thick to spread easily, add in 1/4 cup milk.

Chop Oreo cookies roughly into chunks.  Stir into the pudding mixture.  Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches side by side on a 24x12 inch piece of foil; top with half of the pudding mixture.  Repeat the layers.  Top the pudding mixture with the remaining 4 sandwiches.  The layers create a neat striped effect when sliced.  Frost the top and sides with the remaining cool whip.  It doesn't have to look perfect.  Bring up the foil sides.  Double fold top and ends to loosely seal the packet.  Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.  Let stand at room temperature to soften before serving.  Makes 12 servings.

Chicken Enchiladas

I posted my enchilada recipe in 2008, but you can click here and go right to it. I always make extra and freeze them.

One thing I did differently this time is that I took the chicken and marinated it in olive oil, lime juice, kosher salt, seasoned pepper, garlic, and cumin for an hour. Then I browned the chicken in a skillet, diced it on a cutting board, sauteed diced onions in the same pan I cooked the chicken in, and then added the rest of the ingredients. It was pretty yum-o-riffic and I think I'll do chicken that way more often and just slice it on top of a salad or something.

Spinach Chicken Lasagna

I made this recipe up about three years ago when I had to bring dinner to two different families and feed mine in one night. It was really easy! This recipe freezes beautifully in an 8X8 pan covered with foil. I love using the cheese ravioli instead of lasagna noodles. You can also tweak it to make more of a "lasagna" taste and use meat ravioli and ground beef instead of chicken. Another way I like to tweak this recipe is to add in a layer of ricotta (or you can put cottage cheese in a food processor and it works, too) mixed with garlic and oregano. YUM!!!!

2 lbs chicken, diced, and then sauteed in olive oil with garlic and onion and oregano

1 bag fresh spinach, rinsed and dried (you can also use frozen spinach, just thaw first)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 bag frozen cheese ravioli

1 jar of your favorite alfredo sauce (you can also use marinara if you desire)

Assembly:

Place 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of the dish and spread around so it covers the pan.

Layer 1/2 ravioli, 1/2 chicken, 1/2 spinach, and 1/2 cheese.

Cover with sauce.

Layer the rest of the ravioli, chicken, and spinach.

Use the rest of the sauce

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

To freeze:

Cover with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil.

To serve:

Thaw in fridge for 24 hours, then bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes or until done.

English Toffee

This one is my candy recipe from last month. It's perfect for neighbor gifts!

Butter the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Use real butter. Cover with nuts if desired.

Combine:
1/2 lb butter
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP water

Cook until sugar turns brown like a paper bag. Pour mixture over nuts. Spread 1 bag of chocolate chips over the mixture. Let cook and then cut or break into pieces. Enjoy!

January Theme

Sorry I'm late this month. I've been freezing in Florida for the last week.

This month we'll be sharing all those recipes that keep well in the freezer. Or those that are easy to double . . . one for tonight . . . one for the freezer. Can't wait to see what you ladies have to share!

What does everyone think about doing breakfast recipes in February?