Salsa

Just in time for the Big Game in a week! This salsa is so fast and easy to make, and the happy thing is, people will never know you did it in 5 minutes!!!

Salsa

1 lg can of Hunt's whole tomatoes
1 Serrano or jalapeno pepper
1/2 of a small onion, cut into chunks
1/4 tsp garlic salt
pepper to taste
chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Drain the juice from the tomatoes into a blender. Add the Serrano or jalapeno (for a milder flavor, remove the seeds) and the onion and salt. Blend well. Then add the tomatoes and pulse 2-3 times. Add pepper to taste and chopped cilantro if desired.

*Note* If you get a spicy pepper and would like to make the salsa more mild, you can add 1 can of tomato sauce. This is really good with the Tostitos Lime Chips!
Also, we like the Hunts brand of tomatoes. This is one thing that I buy name brand on. We bought the Kroger brand once and there was literally a lot of juice and 3 tomatoes out of that whole can.

Recipe courtesy of Debbie B.

Skirt Steak Marinade

This is one of our favorite marinades. It was on Alton's Brown's Good Eats show for Fajitas. It is also fabulous if you use a pork tenderloin and cut it into medallions.

Skirt Steak Marinade

1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 green onions, washed and cut in 1/2
2 large cloves of garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes (to your taste)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 Tbsp dark brown sugar (or reg brown sugar is okay too)
2 lbs skirt steak (or whatever meat you want)

Combine all ingredients except for the skirt steak in a blender and blend until smooth. Put meat in a zip lock bag and pour marinade over meat. Squish around a little to make sure everything is coated. Put in fridge until you are ready to BBQ it.

Lime Butter

For the picture, you are just going to have to close your eyes and imagine this since the corn was devoured so fast! On the Food Network, I have seen a variety of different chefs flavor the butter for the corn. Well, we decided to try it with our Labor Day Weekend Steak Grill Off. It added an extra layer of flavor to the sweetness of the corn. So yummy!!!

Lime Butter

1 stick of salted butter, that is at room temperature (you can soften it in the microwave until it is almost melted)
the juice of 1 lime, or if it is really juicy, just half a lime
3-4 shakes of Cayenne Pepper (or more to taste if you like it spicy)
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Using a hand mixer, stir on low speed to mix. Let it rest while you cook the corn.

Years ago, Wendy taught us how to cook corn without having to boil it.
Take a piece of wax paper, put the corn on, roll up, then twist the end like a piece of candy to keep it closed up. Doing 3-4 ears of corn, microwave on high for 4 minutes, then rotate the corn (if you have some in the middle, move them to the outside) and microwave again on high for 5 minutes.
To serve, put the Lime Butter on the corn with a pastry brush.
We had to move the bowl with the Lime Butter away from my 5 year old daughter because she kept trying to dip her corn with every bite. Like I said...so yummy!

Creamy Fruit Dip

There is nothing better than dipping strawberries into a creamy dip on a warm summer day!!

Creamy Fruit Dip

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 regular size Cool Whip

Mix together the condensed milk and the cream cheese with an electric mixer then with a rubber spatula, fold in the Cool Whip until well mixed. Dip with Strawberries or any other favorite fruit. This freezes really well too!!
This recipe was given to me from Holly M.

Orange Waffles with Buttermilk Syrup

Orange Waffles

6 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz can orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 c butter, melted
3 3/4 c flour
3 c milk

In one bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix egg yolks, salt, orange juice, butter and sugar. Beat until smooth. Alternate adding flour and milk. Fold in egg whites into batter. Bake in waffle iron. Serves 5.

This recipe is in the WorldWide Ward Cookbook in the Breakfast Section, listed by Janice Richards Call from Rexburg, ID.


Buttermilk Syrup

1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter

Cook in a pot over medium low heat until bubbly. Take off the burner and add:

1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda

Stir until foamy. Serve over waffles, pancakes, french toast or vanilla ice cream.

These waffles were perfect on a warm spring day with their citrus taste. I have to admit that we love breakfast for dinner, especially those days when we have school, homework, scouts and FHE all on the same day! We cheated an added additional calories by topping the waffles with whipped cream. Just posting this recipes makes me hungry for them all over again! Stay tuned for Creme Brulee French Toast to be coming soon! :-)..... (those are drops of drool! heehee)

Matthew's Chicken Nuggets with Dipping Sauce

Mc What? Matthew prefers these homemade nuggets and sauce to any breaded, deep-fried mystery meat meal. Chris and I really like them, too. More sauce, please!

CHICKEN NUGGETS:

1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken tenders or chicken breasts sliced into strips
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. honey mustard
1/4 c. light mayonnaise
6 c. cornflakes

SAUCE:

3/4 c. peach or apricot preserves (we're slightly partial to peach)
3 Tbsp. light mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey mustard
1 tsp. rice vinegar, or to taste

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl or ziploc bag, mix together the chicken, salt, pepper, mustard and mayonnaise.

To make the coating, place the cornflakes in a sealed bag and crush them. Then transfer the crushed cornflakes to a large shallow bowl or plate.

Dredge the chicken in the cornflakes and arrange the pieces on a cookie sheet. (Or on a rack over a baking sheet, if you are lucky enough to have one of those). Try to space the pieces an inch or so apart for even cooking and browning.

Bake the chicken for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and crispy on the outside (they will crisp even more as they cool).

For the sauce, mix together the preserves, mayonnaise, mustard and vinegar in a small bowl. Refrigerate until it's time to eat!


Adpated slightly from "Crunchy Chicken Tenders With Apricot Dipping Sauce," Family Fun Magazine, June 2008, p. 88.

Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce

2 lbs ground beef, or you can do 1 lb ground beef, 1 lb italian sausage
2 onions, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 (16 oz) cans of Tomato sauce (I do 2 of the big cans)
3 (6 oz) cans Tomato paste
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 tsp dried oregano
3 tsp dried basil
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp marjoram

Brown the hamburger then drain. Rinse the pan of fat the add olive oil and onions; cook until translucent. Add cooked hamburger and minced garlic. Warm through; when you can smell the garlic, add the tomato sauce and tomato paste and seasonings. Stir to combine. Simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over pasta or use for homemade lasagna.

*This recipe freezes really well. You can certainly brown the meat and onions together, but I like to do them separately to avoid the fat.
This was originally made for our family by the MiaMaids in our ward right after Cory's brain surgery. They brought dinner that night and 2 more bags of sauce to put into the freezer. It is my kids' favorite sauce, and mine as well. Not only is it yummy, but it reminds me of the thoughtfulness of my family-away-from-family.
Recipe courtesy of Nell W.

John's Pizza Rolls

We're on an ultra-tight budget, and a lot of the little extras are just not happening right now. Instead of pulling a long face about it, John got creative. He popped into the kitchen, pulled a few things out of the pantry and *voila*, we were having pizza rolls, all hot, melty and yummy out of the oven! They were a real treat! These are perfect teen food -- they're fun and easy, and I could see Katie and her friends making these.

I like 'em better than the processed ones you buy in the store -- they're healthier too. Way to go, John! You rock. ♥

Pizza Rolls (aka Poor Man's Pizza)
2 points per roll (including the sauce) .

1 can homestyle biscuits
cheddar or mozzarella cheese, sliced into thin rectangles
pepperoni slices
Pizza Sauce for dipping (see recipe below)



Preheat your oven, and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray; set aside. Open the can of biscuits. Stretch the biscuit from a round shape to a rectangle shape.



Place one slice of cheese and 2-3 pepperoni slices on one side of the biscuit. (We used cheddar, 'cause that's what was in the house. Mozzarella would be really yummy here, too!) Fold the other side over and seal.


Cook according to your biscuit's package directions (ours were 400° for 10 minutes), or when golden brown. While cooking, make your pizza sauce ... this is our *favorite* pizza sauce; we think it tastes better than any canned stuff out there. You've already got all the ingredients for this in your pantry -- it takes only 5 minutes! Give it a try!)

When your pizza rolls are done, spritz lightly with butter spray. Sprinkle on top with Parmesan cheese. Dip rolls into pizza sauce. Enjoy!



Pizza Sauce
.
16 oz tomato sauce
1 tablespoon dried onions (minced)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for five minutes. May also be microwaved for 4 minutes, stirring once.

Pizza Sauce: Bright Impressions Busy Family Cookbook, p.66

Peach Syrup

Peach Syrup


12 cups pureed fresh peaches
1 can frozen orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple with the juice
1 pkg Pectin

Bring to a boil then boil for 1 minute. Then add:

7 1/2 cups sugar

Bring to a boil then boil for 4 minutes.

To can:
Water Bath: 30 minutes
Steam canner: 15 minutes
Inversion: 5 minutes

Makes 12 (12 oz) jars or about 4 1/2 qts.
*note* We tried the inversion method for canning, but we had less seal that way. I would recommend trying the other two.
Yea! We found out about a orchard near St. George that has great peaches! So we made a whole bunch (3 20 lbs boxes worth!!)

Buttermilk Syrup

1/2 c buttermilk
3/4 c sugar
1 cube butter

Cook in pot over med-low stove until bubbly.
Take off burner and add:

1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda

Stir until foamy. Pour hot over pancakes, waffles or French toast.
You can also put it on vanilla ice cream and it is yummy!

*I got this recipe from Debbie B., who got it from a friend, so I don't know who to give the credit to.

Recipe Labels

For those of you new to blogging, this post will give you some hints on labeling your recipes. After you type in your recipe to share (hint! hint!), look down at the bottom of the box. You'll see "Labels for this post:". If you click on "Show all", a list will pop up and you can choose from there to classify your recipe. The blog will organize our recipes for us. Easy peasy.

Here are some that Rebekah and I came up with:

Allergy Friendly, Appetizer, Bread, Breadmaker, Breakfast/Brunch, Canning, Cooking Basics, Desserts, Dips/Sauces, Drinks, Gluten-Free, Heritage/Family Recipe, Holiday, Main Dish Beef, Main Dish Chicken, Main Dish Pork, Main Dish Seafood, Main Dish Turkey, Pasta, Salads, Side Dishes, Soup, Snacks, Vegetables

Can you come up with any more that we missed?