Week 24 -- Honey Butter

This is so simple and such a hit not only at our home, but everywhere I take it.

1 cup butter
1 cup creamed honey
1 tsp vanilla

Mix well in your mixer. Spread on bread, toast, cornbread, waffles and more.

Week -- 23 Yummy Salad Dressing

Dressing:
1/2 cup oil (I use olive)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. onion salt
mix it up and serve or refrigerate ( make sure to mix it up before you serve it, sometimes the sugar will settle to the bottom.)

This dressing was served with a salad with craisens, blue cheese, and mushrooms and it was delicious!

Week 22 - Apple Almond Pudding Cake with Nutmeg Sauce and Whipped Cream

The picture does not do this dessert justice.

From the New Canaan Ward Cookbook --

Pudding Cake:
1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped almonds (if desired)
4 cups grated apples (peel skins and grate or chop)

Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Add eggs and combine well; set aside. Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, soda, salt and flour; add butter mixture. Fold in apples. Bake in 9x13 inch pan for 1 hour. To serve, crumble pudding cake and top with warm nutmeg sauce.

Nutmeg Sauce
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbs vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Stir sugar, butter and cream over low heat until butter melts and sauce is hot. Add vanilla and nutmeg.

Top it all with fresh whipped cream.

A delicious dessert for the fall!

Week 21 -- Cauliflower soup

I made this soup after getting the idea from pioneerwomancooks.com (here is her recipe).  Because I am not the best "recipe follower"  I will give you the version I actually made. 

I used a food processor and chopped up all of the following.
almost 1 whole yellow onion
the top half of one celery bunch
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
about 15 baby carrots
2 heads of cauliflower

Dump all of the chopped up stuff in a large sauce pan and add 3 cans of chicken broth.  Bring to a simmer for about 25 minutes (or until everything is tender). 

In a separate sauce pan, make a white sauce
4 TBS of butter (melt in the pan)
6 TBS of flour (whisk into the butter)
Add 2 cups of skim milk and 1 1/2 cups of light cream

Whisk until thickened and then pour into the other sauce pan. 

At this point I tasted it and added 2 Tbs of chicken base and 2 tsp of chicken boullion and some salt and pepper. 

It was delicious.  Even most of the kids liked it.

Week 20 -- French Dip Sandwiches with au Jus

These make everyone in my family happy!


And they are easy. EASY, Easy, easy.

In a crockpot, put in whatever beef you may have in your freezer. I often use round steak, but I have used skirt steaks, flank steaks, rump roasts, you name it. Sometimes I use a crazy combination of those -- like when I have 1 small flank steak and 1 small skirt steak which would not be enough for one meal by themselves, I just throw them in the crock pot. Add 3 cups of water, 3 tsp of beef base (or beef boullion cubes) and add 3 tbs of soy sauce.

Let it cook all day.

Take out the meat and chop / shred it. Strain the broth in the crock pot for your au jus. Serve on a toasted roll.

Sometimes I add cheese, sometimes I sautee mushrooms and add those too. But most of the time it is just bread and meat and dip. (and of course some healthy fruits and veggies on the side!)

Week 19 - BYU Mint Brownies -- kind of

 

I had to take a dessert to an activity and had printed a recipe for BYU mint brownies a while ago -- however the prep time, cook time combo was 90 minutes -- and I did not have 90 minutes -- I had 45 and then I had to run out the door to soccer, then I would have only 5 minutes before leaving for the event. So I mixed and matched favorite recipes to create my own mint brownies.

They were AMAZING. I don't think I have ever gotten more compliments about something I have made as I did with these.

First, make the brownies. This is a very yummy, very easy chocolate brownies recipe. Once I discovered this recipe (in the Katy Third Ward cookbook -- calleed Cindy's Brownies and submitted by Wendy Peterson) I have never bought a brownie mix.

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Melt butter. Add 2 cups sugar, beat well. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Blend well. Add flour, cocoa, and salt. Mix thoroughly. Add chocolate chips if you want. (Sometimes I put them straight into the batter, sometimes I sprinkle them on top). Spray a 9x13 pan. Pour in batter and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

While the brownies are cooking, you must make 2 frostings. The first one is the green mint frosting (and this is the exact recipe from the "official" BYU mint brownie recipe). The second is for the chocolate frosting (and this one is from a family cookbook -- as the "official" BYU mint brownie recipe ends with the line "Then frost with chocolate frosting" and doesn't even include a recipe.

The Mint Frosting

5 Tbs margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbs milk
1 Tbs light corn syrup
2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp mint extract
2-4 drops of green food coloring

Soften the margarine, Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.


The Chocolate Frosting

4 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup boiling water
1 tsp vanilla

Beat with mixer, beat at medium speed. Let cool.


Once the brownies come out of the oven, let them cool a little -- put on the mint frosting and spread. Put pan into the freezer. The mint frosting must be frozen firm to be able to spread the chocolate frosting on top -- so you have to leave the pan in the freezer for at least an hour or so and then do the chocolate frosting. Cut and Serve. Sit back and graciously recieve the compliments!

Week 18 - Maple Granola

This recipe is from my Aunt Tami. My mom made it and I LOVED it. I am not a big breakfast person or cereal eater, but I love this in a bowl with milk. It is also good with icecream and yogurt and berries!

I have made one change to the original recipe -- which is adding Rice Crispies -- it makes the granola just a tad lighter in texture and feel.

12 cups rolled oats (I used quick rolled oats) -- this is exactly the amount in a #10 can)
8 cups of chopped nuts (in this case I did 2 2/3 cup chopped walnuts, 2 2/3 cup chopped pecans, and 2 2/3 cup slivered almonds)
4 cups Rice Krispies (I used a generic brand of puffed rice cereal)

Mix all of these in a very large bowl.

In a small bowl combine the following

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups maple syrup (I don't use the REAL maple syrup, just maple flavored breakfast syrup)
1 cup vegetable oil
3 tsp salt

Pour the sauce over the dry ingredients until they are all slightly damp from it. Then spread over jelly roll pans (or 9X13 pans) to place in a 250 degree oven for about one hour and 15 minutes. Take out the pans and stir every 20 minutes or so. When they are crunchy and not wet they are done. The picture is of 2 batches of this recipe.

If you would like to start small-- here is the recipe in small amounts
3 cups oats
2 cups nuts
6 Tbs brown sugar
6 Tbs maple syrup
1/4 cup oil
3/4 tsp salt