protein balls (another yummy recipe!)

1 C cooked and COOLED organic quinoa
2 C quick cooking Steel Cut Oats (uncooked)
2 scoops Chocolate protein powder
1/2 C organic sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C unsweetened organic coconut flakes
1/4 C ground flax
1/4 C chia seeds
1/2 C all natural almond butter
3/4 C all natural crunchy peanut butter
1/3 C Agave
sprinkle of dried blueberries
mix all ingredients well and form balls. keep in Tupperware in fridge!   

Steak Gorgonzola Fettuccine (Olive Garden Style)

Grilled beef medallions drizzled with balsamic glaze, served over fettuccine tossed with spinach and gorgonzola-alfredo sauce.

Serves 6
Cook time 10 minutes (depending on doneness of steak)
Prep time 30 minutes

Ingredients

2.5 pounds marinated steak (recipe follows)
1 pound uncooked fettuccine pasta
16 fl oz spinach gorgonzola sauce (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons chopped sun dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic glaze (recipe follows)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Grill steak to preferred doneness.
2. Cook 1 pound pasta according to the directions.
3. Place drained pasta in saute pan with heated sauce.
4. Toss pasta with sauce and place on individual plates.
5. Place grilled beef on pasta and sauce.
6. Drizzle with balsamic glaze, and sprinkle gorgonzola cheese and sun dried tomatoes.

Steak marinade
1.5 cups Italian dressing
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Cut beef into 1 inch cubes and set aside
2. Mix the dressing, rosemary and lemon juice together
3. Add the marinade to the beef, toss, and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

Spinach Gorgonzola Sauce
16 fl oz Alfredo sauce* (you can make fresh or use bottled, I recommend fresh)
4 cups chopped spinach
½ cup chopped green onion
3 tablespoons gorgonzola cheese crumbled

1. Heat Alfredo sauce in a large saute pan.
2. Add onion, spinach and gorgonzola cheese.

Easy Alfredo Sauce

1/2 cup butter 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 2 teaspoons garlic powder Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

2 cups milk 6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

BALSAMIC GLAZE #1
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Simmer until thickened (15-20 min), cool to room temperature.

Classic Herb Stuffing

Serves 18

1 Cup Butter

2 Cups Celery, diced

2 Onions, diced

2 tsp. Thyme

2 tsp. Sage

1 1/2 tsp. McCormick poultry seasoning

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

12 Cups dried bread cubes, unseasoned

4 Cups chicken broth

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir 5 minutes. Stir in thyme, poultry seasoning, seasoned salt and pepper.
2. Place bread cubes in large bowl. Add celery mixture and broth; toss gently until well mixed. Spoon into lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish.
3. Bake 45 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned.

Yummy Swedish Meatballs

6 ServingsPrep: 30 min. Cook: 40 min.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Eggland's Best Eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 pounds ground beef
• GRAVY:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2-3/4 cups 2% milk
• 2 cans (10-1/2 ounces each) condensed beef consomme, undiluted
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• NOODLES:
• 1 package (16 ounces) egg noodles
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Add beef; mix
• lightly but thoroughly. Shape into 1-1/2-in. meatballs (about 36).
• In a large skillet, brown meatballs in batches. Using a slotted
• spoon, remove to paper towels to drain, reserving drippings in pan.
• 
  
• For gravy, stir flour into drippings; cook and stir until light brown (do not burn). Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Stir in the consomme, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
• Return meatballs to pan. Cook, uncovered, 15-20 minutes longer or until meatballs are cooked through, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain; toss with butter. Serve with meatball mixture; sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 6 servings. 

Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon French Toast

NOT Weight Watchers......not even close!


1 loaf Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon Bread cut into 8 thick slices (you can substitute this bread for any type of cinnamon swirl bread recipe)
8 eggs
3 C. Milk
1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
2 Tbsp. Butter

Butter a 9 x 13 glass baking dish generously.  Place the bread flat in the baking dish.  Mix all remaining ingredients, reserving the butter.  Dip the bred thoroughly in the egg mixture, then place flat in the baking dish.  Cut the butter into pieces and dot over the top.  Refrigerate over night or at least one hour.  Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees.  Serves 8.


Kneaders Caramel Syrup
1 C. Brown Sugar
1 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
1 C. Light Karo Syrup

Blend together and heat on stove top until sugar is smooth.  Serve warm.  I like to add fresh strawberries and make homemade whipping cream to make this french toast perfect!  Enjoy.

Verde Chicken Mexican Lasagna!

Verde Chicken Mexican Lasagna 

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded
1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups green salsa
1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed and drained
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (plus additional for garnishing)
12 soft taco size flour tortillas
1 (8-ounce) package shredded Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 
Mix chicken, sour cream, black beans, salsa, corn, cilantro and spices in a large bowl. Taste and adjust

seasonings to your preference. Cut tortillas in half with kitchen shears.
 
In a 9x13 dish, scoop 1/3 of the chicken mixture into bottom of pan. Spread evenly. Place one layer of cut tortillas (about 4 tortillas) on chicken mixture to cover. Top with 1/3 of the amount of shredded cheese. Repeat with chicken mixture, tortillas, shredded cheese two more times. There should be three layers total.
 
Bake in oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and casserole is warmed through. Serve with sour cream and additional chopped cilantro.

Swig Sugar Cookies

If you're not in St. George, and need to eat and eat and eat and re - eat this cookie, I found an amazing copycat recipe, made them for lunch with a friend, and they were amazing!

Here is the link to where I found it - http://www.vintagerevivals.com/

Thanks April for taking us there!

Swig Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
1 C Butter (room temperature)
3/4 C Vegetable Oil
1 1/4 C Sugar
3/4 C Powdered Sugar
2 T Water
2 Eggs
1/2 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Cream of Tarter
1 t Salt
5 1/2 C Flour

Cream together Butter, Vegetable Oil, Sugars, Water, and Eggs.

Combine dry ingredients and slowly add to butter mixture.

Mix until everything is combined. Your dough should be a little crumbly and not sticky at all.

Roll a golf ball sized ball of dough and place it on your cookie sheet

Now its time to give these babies their signature rough edge. Put 1/4 c of sugar and a pinch of salt in a dish (this is in addition to the sugar and salt listed above.) Stick the bottom of a glass in it. This is going to be your cookie press.

Firmly press it into the center of your dough ball. You want your dough to spill out over the sides of the glass. If there is a lip its even better.

Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. They should just barely be browning on the bottom. Move cookies to a cooling rack. Once they are cool put them in the fridge.

Sour Cream Frosting

1/2 cup room temperature butter

3/4 C Sour Cream

Approx 1 2lb Package of Powdered Sugar (I never use the whole thing but love having extra on hand just incase I add to much milk!)

1 t salt

1/4 C Milk

Red Food Coloring

Start by creaming together butter and sour cream and salt. Slowly add powdered sugar. When it gets so thick its not frosting like add a splash of milk. Alternate this process until your frosting is the desired consistency. Add 1 drop of red food coloring and whip on high for 1 minute.

Keep cookies in a sealed container until they are ready to serve. The magic of a Swig Sugar Cookie is that the cookies are cold and the frosting is room temperature. Frost right before serving (if you make them in advance and need to refrigerate the frosting make sure you give it time to warm up before serving)

 

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

We were scared to try it, and ended up loving it!

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. uncooked fettuccine noodles
• 3 small heads cauliflower
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 cup starchy boiling water from pasta pot

Instructions

1. Chop the cauliflower. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil over medium high heat and add cauliflower. Cook until cauliflower is soft, about 15 minutes. In my experience, the longer you cook it, the smoother the sauce will be. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes or until soft and fragrant.
2. As the garlic and cauliflower are cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the fettuccine according to directions on package, reserving some of the starchy water to add to the sauce later.
3. Transfer cauliflower to a blender with about 2 cups of the broth. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender. Add the sauteed garlic, salt, nutmeg, and black pepper and puree until very smooth, about 5 minutes. Once the mixture is moving, stream the olive oil into the blender. Add more broth or water if the mixture is too thick to move through the blender. You want it to turn through the blender easily. When puree is very smooth, transfer back to the butter/garlic skillet.
4. Add the cream and cook over low heat. Add the starchy pasta water (or regular water if you’re not making pasta) and keep warm until ready to serve. Combine noodles and sauce in a large pot or skillet and serve immediately.

Notes

The sauce will “dry out” a little bit as it cools on the pasta. Adding a little water to the leftovers will help make it creamy again. Serving size is ⅛ of the noodles with about 1 cup of sauce

Pesto Pasta

The perfect light summer dish!

spaghetti
basil pesto (I just use the Classico brand from the store)
real parm cheese shreds
cilantro
tomatoes
cooked shredded chicken


Cook and drain spaghetti, add a little pesto at a time- until it tastes just right. A little goes a long way. Add cheese, cilantro and tomatoes to taste - Easy peasy and oh so tasty!  (it's good warm or cold)
 

Quick, easy, and delicious alfredo sauce

1 stick butter

1 8 oz. brick cream cheese (can use low fat)

2 tsp. granulated garlic powder

2 C milk

6 oz. grated or 8 oz.shredded parm cheese

1/8 t gr. black pepper

 

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

 

This is easy and yummie. I always keep bricks of cream cheese on hand for whatever anyway, like frostings, sauces, or stuffing's and who doesn't have parm cheese in the fridge or granulated garlic in their spice cupboard. This sauce is awesome and so versatile. Add broccoli, spinach, peas, grilled chicken, shrimp, or sundried tomatoes to your pasta of any shape, or make your own chicken alfredo pizza with it. Mmmm......alfredo.

 

Makes enough for I think about 6-8 servings

Banana drop cookies

Oven to 375

Mix:
1 1/2 C flour
1 C sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 ground ginger
1/4 t nutmeg

Then cut in 3/4 C butter until mixed
Add:
1/2 C chopped walnuts (*optional)
1 3/4 C oats
1 egg
1 C mashed, very ripe bananas (about 3)

Bake 12-15 minutes until cookies brown around edges.

Glaze when mostly cooled with glaze made up of: 2 C powdered sugar, 2-3 T milk, and a little bit of vanilla.

Crockpot Cheesy Tortellini

Ingredients:

1 lb. of roll sausage
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1 small bag of fresh spinach
2 cans of italian style diced tomatoes
1 box or 4 cups or chicken broth
1 block of cream cheese (1/3 low fat works)
1 bag of frozen tortellini

Brown the sausage and garlic. Drain. Put all ingredients in crockpot chunking up the cream cheese.  I put tortellini's on top so they don't over cook. Cook on low for 3-4 hrs. Serve with italian bread (bruchetta if you're ambitious). Yum! Serves 5-6

Protein power balls

Okay, these are so yummy and the perfect little snack to grab during crazy busy days, which I'm pretty sure all of us have crazy busy days EVERY day!

In a big bowl, combine:

1 C dried old fash oats
1/2 C peanut butter - Jif Natural is a good one (organic isn't sticky enough)
1/2 C almond butter
1/3 C Agave (I use Blue Organic)
2 T Honey
1 C coconut flakes (I use unsweetened organic)
3/4 C flaxseed (ground or seed - I do half and half)
1/4 C Chai seeds
1/4 - 1/2 C mini choco chips (I use sweetened organic)
1 tsp vanilla
2 scoops of protien powder (I use Elite chocolate or vanilla)
Optional: dried berries or nuts (I use dried blueberries)

Mix everything well together in a bowl. Refridgerate for 30-40 min. Once chilled, roll into whatever size balls you want, and store in fridge in airtight container. YUMMY and HEALTHY!

Saute`d Mushrooms

A simple but yummy recipe for mushrooms!  Even my picky eaters like these.  Perfect for steak or just as a side dish.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 tsp. dried oregano

1 Lb. Button mushrooms, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Stir in balsamic vinegar, garlic, oregano, and mushrooms.  Saute for 20-30 minutes, or until tender.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

This Makes TWO 8×4-inch loaves
(The caramel frosting itself, is divine!  My hubby was trying really hard to eat it by the spoonful)

You can make this cake in one 9 or 10-inch bundt pan, but I love the idea of having two cakes out of one recipe.  I served one cake the day I made it and wrapped and froze the other one.  The cake should be frozen unglazed, so if you do this, be sure to cut the glaze recipe in half.

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325ºF.  Butter and flour two 8×4-inch loaf pans, knocking out excess flour.  Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.  Set aside.

Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes, until whipped looking.  Slowly add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes, increasing the speed to medium-high.  The mixture should look very light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beat well after each one.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again.

Combine the milk with the vanilla.  Add the flour in 3 portions alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour.  Fold the last flour addition in by hand with a rubber spatula.  Turn the batter into the prepared pans.  Bake for 1 to 1½ hours, checking after 55 minutes and every 5 to 10 minutes thereafter, until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out with just moist crumbs attached.  If the cake is very brown after 55 minutes but not yet fully baked, cover the top with a sheet of aluminum foil.  When done, the cake will be springy to the touch and pulling away from the sides of the pan.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.

Brown Sugar Glaze

Remember, this amount will glaze both cakes.  If you are only glazing one, cut the recipe in half.

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

½ cup firmly packed ligbrown sugar

¼ cup whole milk

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 to 1½ cups confectioners’ sugar

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, then add the brown sugar and raise the heat to medium.  Boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.  Add the milk and return to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in the salt and vanilla.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

Sift 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar over the mixture, stirring with a whisk until smooth.  If the glaze is thick enough for your liking, you can stop there.  If not, sift the additional ½ cup sugar in.  Place the cake (still on the wire rack) over a wax paper lined baking sheet.  Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and allow it to drip down the sides.  Allow the glaze to set completely before slicing and serving.  Wrapped carefully, this cake will keep for several days at room temperature.  If you happen to have some homemade caramel sauce on hand, it is amazing poured over top.

Coconut crusted chicken w/ orange dipping sauce

I am such a saucy girl! I love a sauce with a side of entree! :) This was SO easy and so tasty!

Ingredients for 6 chicken breasts:

1 egg
1.5 C sweetened coconut flakes
3/4 C flour
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp salt
a little less than 1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 C melted butter
3/4-1 C orange marmalade
3-4 Tbs Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat egg in medium bowl; set aside. Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt and peeper in a shallow bowl. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture.

Place on the baking sheet. Once all the chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

Prepare the orange sauce by combining the marmalade and the mustard together. Serve with rice or quinoa.

GRANDMA'S EASY CHICKEN POT PIE

Ingredients:
1 2/3 C. frozen mixed vegetables
1 C. cut up chicken (or canned)
1 can cream of chicken soup
milk or broth
garlic powder, poultry seasoning, rosemary to taste

1 C. baking mix (like Bisquick)
1/2 C. milk
1 egg

Directions:
Heat oven to 400*. Mix veggies, chicken, soup and seasonings of choice in an ungreased pie pan or baking dish. Add a bit of milk or broth to thin it to the consistency of a thick chowder. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over the top. Bake 30 minutes until golden brown. Serves 5-6.
This is a super easy dish and takes about 40 minutes to make and bake. You can substitue whatever veggies you might want to use from the fridge, but chop and saute' for 5-10 minutes. This is a good "whatever you have on hand" recipe.
Linda Hicks

Easy Fried Ice Cream

Ingredients

• Container Vanilla Ice cream (I am using 48 oz size)
• 3 Cups Honey bunches of Oats Cereal or a mix of this and corn flakes
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoons cinnamon

Instructions

1. Scoop frozen ice cream (abt tennis ball size) out onto waxed paper lined baking sheets and place in freezer for at least an hour, or until hardened.
2. During that time, place cereal in gallon zipper bag and crush. Melt butter in microwave and stir in sugar and cinnamon, pour into bag with cereal and seal. Knead with hands until well mixed. Pour out onto lined baking sheet and place in oven at 350 just until toasted, about five minutes. Keep close watch as cereal will burn easily.
3. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Roll hardened ice cream balls in mixture, pressing lightly as you do so. Place coated ice cream in 9x13 dish and return to freezer or serve immediately.
4. For serving, drizzle with chocolate syrup and caramel sauce and top with whipped cream and a cherry.
5. Yields about ten scoops of ice cream.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Sauce:

1 sml onion

4 cubes of butter

2 C flour

3 Quarts of 2% milk

1/4 C fresh lemon juice

1/3 C Yoshida Gourmet Sauce (found @ costco or sams club)

around 8 chicken breasts cooked (I usually boil them in water) and cut into cubes

Brown onion in a little bit of the butter, then add the rest and melt. Slowly add flour to make a RUE. Let RUE bubble for a minute then slowly add milk, lemon juice & Yoshida's sauce, constantly stirring. Stir for a while until it warms and thickens, then add chicken. Stir, salt to taste and add small amounts of more milk at a time, depending on how thick you want the sauce. This recipe makes a huge amount so I usually half the recipe. It's easier to control that way :)

Rice - I love sticky rice!

Toppings:

mandarin oranges

pineapple chunks

green peppers

chopped celery

shredded cheese

olives

Chinese noodles

shredded coconut (broiled for a min)

almond slivers (broiled for a min)

Swai Fillets with Strawberry salsa

Credit for this recipe goes to the cute Walmart sample lady. She sold me on these yummy frozen Swai fish fillets topped with this salsa (which I'm sure would be good with chips or other fish or even other meat). It was yummy and fresh and healthy!! Perfect for the up-coming swimsuit season (for me anyhow)!

Strawberry Salsa:

Dressing-
1/3 C zesty Italian dressing
1/4 C cilantro
2 1/2 T jalapeno
*blend well in a blender or food processor

Salsa-
2 lb. diced strawberries
1 med orange, diced
1/4 C chopped purple onion
1/4 C cilantro, chopped
*stir dressing in, let sit for 2-12 hrs. in fridge. This makes alot!

Swai fillets-
Thaw, pat dry, and pan sear with a little salt, pepper, & olive oil. Or you can coat with salt, pepper, egg wash and panko bread crumbs and pan sear in olive oil. Top with salsa.  I tested it w/o the bread crumbs but the sample lady says she does it w/ the crumbs at home, so that's how I will try it when I make it.