White hot chocolate

This was a hit at a recent Relief Society dinner and we love it.   It makes for a great Christmas morning goodie.

Try it and see if you agree! 

White hot chocolate

 

1 c. white chocolate chips

1 c. heavy cream

4 c. half-n-half

1 tsp. vanilla

 

Combine all and stir until chips are melted and it is heated through.

Caramel Pumpkin Pie

I had a sample of this pie at Publix last week and thought it was wonderful. I'm planning to make it for Thursday, I hope you can use it too. Happy Thanksgiving!

1/4 cup + 2 TBSP caramel ice cream TOPPING (not sauce etc.)
1 ready-made graham cracker crust
1/2 cup + 2 TBSP chopped pecans
1 cup cold milk
2 - 3.75oz. boxes Jell-O vanilla INSTANT pudding/pie filling
1 cup Libby's canned pumpkin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 - 8oz. Cool Whip (thawed)

Pour 1/4 cup caramel into the bottom of the graham cracker crust. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of chopped pecans on top of the caramel. In a bowl add both boxes of vanilla pudding mix and the milk--beat with a whisk. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin--mix well. Add 1 1/2 cups of Cool Whip--stir well. Pour pumpkin mixture on top of the pecans in the crust. Add remaining Cool Whip on top of pumpkin mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then drizzle the 2 TBSP caramel and 2 TBSP chopped pecans on top. Refrigerate overnight.

Thanksgiving Recipes anyone?

Hi all! Have something you want to share that we will all love for Thanksgiving?

This is a big hit in our home.  If you try it - let me know what you think!

Pam McCosh’s Sweet Potato Soufflé

 

6 large sweet potatoes

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 c. evaporated milk

1 stick butter, melted

3/4 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

 

TOPPING:

 

1 c. light brown sugar

1/3 c. flour

1/3 c. melted butter

1 c. chopped pecans

 

Cook potatoes; drain.  Remove the skins (good luck with that part.  They're hot!)  

Blend potatoes until creamy.  Add eggs, canned milk, one stick butter, vanilla, and sugar, and the put it in a casserole dish. 

Mix all the topping ingredients and spread evenly over top of the sweet potato mixture.  Bake at 350 F for about 35 minutes.

 

HSM

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Get Thee Behind Me, Bagged Salad!

Let me explain...no, let me sum up: I hate making salad. Hate it with a passion. Whenever we invite someone over for dinner and they ask if they can bring something, I always tell them SALAD! For some reason, to me, salad always tastes better when someone else makes it. Don't get me wrong, I like salad, I just hate making it. The washing, the chopping, the tossing. It's all far too much work for a vegetable.

So, along came bagged salad. Behold! Here is the lettuce already cut up and washed! One step saved! All you do is throw some vegetables into a bowl, and voila! Salad! I've been using bagged salad for a while now -- there are all sorts of yummy varieties: Baby Greens, Spring Mix, Italian Style, etc. with all sorts of interesting and unusual lettuce types. However, I've noticed a disturbing trend: the salad in bagged salad goes bad quickly. Like, a day after you open it. It's not cheap either. So, if you open a bag, make a small salad, and return said bag to the refrigerator, the next day you will have a runny mess of arugula, and there's $3 down the drain.

In the past few months, gas prices have been high, and consequently, food prices have been high. I've seen my food expenditures go up, up, up and Z isn't even on formula anymore. To counteract this, I've been clipping coupons and shopping sales. I realized that one of the things I'd have to give up was the bagged salad. It was MUCH more cost-effective to buy a head or two of lettuce, do your own rinsing and tearing, and just suck it up. So I did. I still don't like making them, though, but at least I feel like I'm saving money.

Dinner at my house tonight!

I know some of you have been wondering, "Do I HAVE to give my kids dinner before trick-or-treating?"

Quite simply, the answer is, "No." The more thorough answer is, "No," coupled with, "You are the mom now and no one is the boss of you anymore."

It's hard to want to cook dinner when you know the fam will be full as fritters just on candy alone. And heck - it's one night a year. So here is your permission to skip cooking a meal tonight! Feel free to let the chil'uns eat Resee cups and Smarties for dinner and make them a veggie milkshake tomorrow as penance.

Or you could overachieve and make a solid meal. But what's the fun in that, really?

Crock pot roast with gravy

I tried this a Sunday or two ago and have been wanting to pass it along. It was one of the easiest and best Yankee-style pot roasts I've had ever - you don't even have to brown the roast first. Don't let the extreme ease fool ya - it's super tasty.

You'll need:

a 1 and 3/4 lb. beef roast (I used a cheap old chuck - my favorite)

1/2 c. flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 envelope brown gravy mix

2 c. cold water

Rub the roast with about 1/4 c. of flour (or more, if needed) and salt and pepper. Place in a 5 quart slow cooker.

In a bowl, combine soup, gravy mix and remaining flour; stir in water and continue stirring until well blended. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. Slice roast beef and serve with gravy.

(I haven't tried cooking the veggies in with the roast because it is a very thick sauce, but when I do, I'll report back.)

Crock Pot Lasagna

This recipe might be old news to many of you, but I tried it out for the first time a few weeks ago and really liked it! Your lasagna isn't going to come out of the crock pot in a pretty nice square like Stouffer's, but I firmly believe the messier the food looks on the plate the better it tastes!

-1 lb. ground beef
-1/2 cup chopped onion
-1-2 garlic cloves minced
-2 cans (15 oz. each) tomato sauce
-1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
-salt, oregano, basil and/or Italian seasoning to taste
-12 oz. lasagna noodles, uncooked and broken down to fit in crock pot
-12 oz. cottage cheese with a dash of dried parsley added to it
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-8-12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown beef and onion in skillet; drain off excess fat. Add garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, seasonings and cook long enough to heat thoroughly.

Spoon a layer of meat sauce onto the bottom of crock pot. Add a double layer of broken lasagna noodles and top with a layer of the cheeses. Repeat with sauce, noodles and cheeses until all are used up. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Aunt Nena's Enchiladas

Growing up, at most family gatherings we had these wonderful cheese enchiladas. They were one of my most favorite dinners, and their flavor still reminds me of being a little girl at my grandmother's house.

It wasn't until I was older that I learned a little bit of the history behind these enchiladas. My grandfather was one of 12 children, and his father was Rey L. Pratt (a direct descendant of Parley P. Pratt) who once served as the mission president over the Mexican mission. If you have ever seen an old Spanish LDS hymn book, you will notice that most of the hymns, including "Nuestro Querido Santa Clos" (Our Beloved Santa Claus) were translated by him. The family story goes that once, Pancho Villa was terrorizing the countryside and made a stop at the mission home. My great-grandmother Mary Stark Pratt had just given birth and was still in bed when she gathered all the missionaries and had them lay down on the floor of her bedroom for safety. Pancho Villa shot up the place, and one of the bullets lodged in her head board. After the excitement, she dug the bullet out of the head board and wore it as a necklace.

It's no wonder that his family came back with several delicious Mexican recipes, including the one below:

Aunt Nena's Enchiladas
3 cans Beef Consumme'
24 oz tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 - 4 tablespoons chili powder
3/4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
1 teaspoon smooth peanut butter
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1 dash MSG

1 cup corn oil
24 corn tortillas
2 cups (or more to taste) grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated onion (if desired)
2 cups shredded lettuce

Combine consomme', tomato sauce, sugar, chili powder, chocolate, peanut butter, cumin, and MSG in a large sauce pan. Allow sauce to simmer while tortillas are being prepared. Heat the corn oil in a frying pan. Saute' each tortilla separately in the hot oil; do not allow tortillas to become too crisp. Drain excess oil by holding tortilla up bwteen two forks, and stack each tortilla between paper towels. When tortillas are all cooked, dip each tortilla in the sauce, then add about 1/4 cup cheese and 1 teaspoon of onion. Roll the tortilla around the filling and place in a baking dish. When enchiladas are complete, cover with the remaining sauce and top with more grated cheddar cheese. Bake in a warm oven (300 - 350F) until thoroughly heated -- about 15 - 20 minutes. Serve with lettuce and extra sauce for those who desire it.

I have also modified this recipe slightly by using shredded chicken with cheese and flour tortillas instead of corn and they have turned out yummy as well!

Enjoy a little bit of the Pratt family history!

Is That Homemade Spaghetti?

1 Lg Jar of Rago Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb. of ground beef
Spaghetti
Boiling Water
Garlic Bread
Salad

Okay, I have spent hours making spaghetti in the past. It wasn't until recently that I decided to let Rago, and their famous chefs, do the work for me. I brown ground beef (drain) and pour the contents of the Rago bottle over the beef.

Butter bread, sprinkle with dried garlic and broil for 5 minutes or so.

Throw a bag of salad in a bowl and add dressing.

Viola!!!

Dinner tonight SLOPPY JOES!

OK I am finally jumping on the dinner blog bandwagon but I find I am not as witty and cute as you other cute contributors! So here is my boring dinner that we had tonight...Sloppy Joes. My friend made fun of my easy little recipe and said I could make it even easier if I would just buy the already made in a can by the one and only Chef Boyardee. But here is my easy, but not the easiest, recipe :)

• Brown hamburger
• put in a can of Chicken Gumbo (it has rice in it too)
• put some ketchup and mustard in and heat it up

And ta da!!!! Sloppy Joes! I like to put provolone cheese on the bun or something with it. Then I cut up vege's and we had chips and that was the Rose family dinner on this fine windy, rainy night!

What's for Tea, Mother?

"Chips!"

This is a very common question that kids ask here in the UK and chips (what you all call French Fries) is often the reply.

Tea means dinner, in case you didn’t know. Historically, it was “Afternoon Tea” and was just that, tea and cakes and was served around 4 pm. Somehow, the name became synonymous with dinner and dinner became the name for lunch. So, when your kids ask, “What’s for tea?” they mean dinner, and when you ask your children “What did you have for dinner?” you mean lunch. And yes, my kids are British, so I get to do all of that translating! Oh, and they still do a "proper" Afternoon Tea here, which makes it even more confusing.

Yes, the Brits are a confusing lot, and I’ve had the fortune, or misfortune (take your pick) to live amongst them for 14 years. I’m Afton, AndreaRed’s little sister, and hopefully I will be able to blog some of the interesting and fun things about British food that can be made out there in the US of A and the foods I miss and my various cooking woes and wishes.

My next blog will be, “Victoria’s Sponge Cake”... Yes, like my sister, I am also addicted to cake and it is all our Grandma’s fault. She made the best Graham Cracker Cookies when we were kids.

My Name is Andrea, and I'm a Cake-aholic

"...Hi Andrea..."

Welcome to the first meeting of Cake-aholics anonymous. For all those of us who enjoy the deliciousness of sweet, moist cake topped of with ambrosia-like buttercream frosting, this is your place of refuge and of sanctuary. For all those for whom birthday cake is not enough, who must celebrate every occasion with cake (anniversaries, national holidays, your friends' birthdays, Arbor day, Bastille day, triumphant completion of triathlons, Guy Fawkes Day), we understand you. For all those who when having a cake craving will just go down to Super Target and get one of their little 1/8 sheet cakes and bring it home to snack on all weekend, we welcome you.

Unlike all those other "anonymous" groups, here at Cake-aholics anonymous, we encourage your addiction, we share your cravings, your need for frosting, and we're here to help. The latest and greatest place to give in to your cake fetish is at Sweet! By Good Golly Miss Holly, (www.sweetbyholly.com), conveniently located in the Waterford Town Center between Too Jay's and Bose. There you will find a very large and delicious selection of gourmet cupcakes, just the right size to satisfy your cake-related needs without completely ruining your diet. Check out their website and marvel at the many specialty cupcakes that range from Red Velvet and Cookies & Cream to White Out and Dulce De Leche. In addition to these reasonably priced ($3 per cupcake) morsels of ambrosia, they also serve ice-cold milk with free refills to cleanse your palate and prepare you for your next confectionary delight.

What words can we here at Cake-aholics anonymous use to describe Sweet! you ask? Shangri-la, Nirvana, the Garden of Earthly Delights, Paradise. Come and delight in the deliciousness.

If You Are What You Eat, Then I Am Fast, Cheap, and Easy...

It was an exhausting afternoon at SliderZone, and what to make for dinner? Something fast, cheap, and easy, of course! So, here's my latest pathetic attempt at dinner:

• Chicken breasts seasoned with Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning and grilled for about 8 minutes a side under the broiler until they reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees F.
• Steamed Broccoli
• Instant Mashed Potatoes

...and for dessert? Break and Bake Nestle Toll House Cookies!
(Note: all items are available for purchase at your local Super Target)

Deep-fried thoughts, by Amy H.

Easy Sunday Dinner

So - what did you have for Sunday dinner?

We had Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, biscuits and corn on the cob (with my super secret corn sauce.)

If you haven't tried Swiss steak on a Sunday, I'd love to recommend it. It's easy peasy lemon squeeze-y and when you are done, it looks something like this.

For this ridiculously simple meal, all you will need is a round steak large enough to suit your family (lately, I've preferred a small chuck roast for this since I am cooking it a long long time) and a few cans of pre-seasoned tomatoes.

There are fancier versions of this recipe, but the Amy-version goes like this:

Season the steak (I use garlic powder, salt and pepper.)  Coat it in flour and brown it well.  (If you have a cast iron skillet, that would be best and would make this a one pan entree.)

Once it is browned on both sides, remove the steak from the pan and drain the excess oil. 

If using cast iron, return the steak to the pan and just add a couple of cans of pre-seasoned tomatoes to the top of the meat.    It  will look about like this (looks gross - tastes good!)  For my family, usually one large can and then one smaller can of the tomatoes does it. If you aren't using cast iron, just put it all in a casserole dish.

Cover the skillet (or casserole dish, if you needed to use one) and I cook it at 250 from when I leave for church (usually 10:30 am) until whenever we are all home (usually 4:30 or so.)  

Growing up, I think my mom added mushrooms and onions to the mix, but you know Shawn's not going to touch that with a 10-foot pole.  But mushrooms and onions are great in it, if you ask me.

That picture isn't uber appealing, but I tell ya, it's pretty tasty. It'll fall apart to the touch of your fork and is one of those Southern comfort foods that lots of families enjoy.

Later, I'll reveal my super secret corn sauce recipe.  But you'll have to pinky swear to tell it to no one outside of our circle.  

Confessions of a Dinner-Making Slacker

A little over a year ago, when my 3rd son was born, my wonderful Mother-in-Law bought us a month's worth of meals at "Let's Eat Dinner!" (www.letseatdinner.com) and I was instantly hooked. The meals were tasty, easy to prepare (a quick heat up in the skillet or oven and done!), and fairly reasonably priced. Each meal feeds 4-6, and can be split into portions feeding 2-3 people. Add a side (hey, I can do rice or instant mashed potatoes!) and a vegetable (salad out of a pre-made salad bag? Sure!) and you're all set. Since my husband and I were the only ones eating the dinners, a month's worth of meals cost us under $200. There is an extra charge to have them prepare the meal for you, but there are often coupons online or in that Val-pak coupon thing you get in the mail that covers the price of preparation. I highly recommend Let's Eat! to anyone who has a stressful life, a new baby, or just needs a break. The customer service was fantastic -- the woman that owns the Waterford Lakes store was always so nice to us, and once when they forgot a part of one of our meals, they delivered the missing component to our front door with a free side thrown in! The best part of this whole deal was that I DID NOT HAVE TO COOK. Since I teach school two nights a week, dinner was a snap. I didn't have to plan meals, I only had to shop for the side items to go with the meal, and I didn't have to think about it. Beautiful.

Fast forward to now...even though the Let's Eat! meals are yummy, we've tried them all, and honestly, we've gotten a little bored with them. At the beginning of this month, we took a look at the menu, and we thought, "Been there, done that..." It was like eating at your favorite restaurant for a year, and after having tried everything on the menu TWICE, you're ready for a change. So now I'm in a panic. What do I make for dinner? Are we back to tacos/spaghetti/macaroni and cheese? Trying to plan menus for the week is a nightmare for me. I can't come up with interesting ideas on the fly! I'm totally out of shape from cooking and planning -- I've been lounging on the menu planning couch eating bonbons for over a year now, and my dinner making muscles are all flabby. Bertolli's is always a good standby. It's almost like a Let's Eat! meal -- you take it out of the freezer, heat it up in the pan, and presto! Pasta dinner.

So, here's my pathetic attempt at re-entry into the dinner making world. I have a cookbook called "Eating For Life" that has easy, low fat meals that are surprisingly tasty. Here's the recipe for Asian Chicken Salad (slightly modified by me to my own personal tastes):

4 portions cooked chicken (about 1 lb) cut into bite-sized pieces. I sautee' mine with a bit of garlic powder and ginger powder for flavor
1 bag (16 oz) coleslaw mix
4 green onions, chopped (optional: we are not onion-eaters at my house)
2 Tbsp sesame oil (olive oil works ok, but sesame oil has a much richer flavor)
1/3 rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup crisp chow mein noodles

In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked chicken, coleslaw mix, and green onions. In a small mixing bowl, combine sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger. Drizzle over chicken mixture and toss to coat.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes (Yeah baby! That's what I'm talking about! Fast prep!)

Talking to myself...

....OK - someone has to play with me soon and tell me what to make for dinner. Otherwise, I'll have to keep doing what I did tonight!  I just ordered Philly cheesesteaks from Brianto's.  They deliver, and Lorraine told me their turkey Philly's are great.  So - I'm going for it.

I'll report in if they are tasty or if Lorraine is a liar.  It will make me only too happy to call Lorraine a liar.  It's the little things in life that make me happy.....I'm a simple girl...

Jammin Tunes

Our player (featured at the bottom of the blog) is dying to spit out our favorite food-y tunes. Andrea and I got it started.  My favorite at the moment is "C is for cookie!"  

We take requests - so report in and we'll feature your recommendation!

(No penguins were harmed in the making of this blog picture...)

Tacos tonight!

Every mom wants to make something tasty for dinner that's relatively inexpensive that everyone in the family will enjoy. If it's also healthy, then the woman deserves an award for Mother of the Year!

This is a fun meal we enjoy a lot on Sundays.   I serve it as a buffet and everyone can either fill it all into a burrito or they can eat a pork taco with other "stuff" on the side.  I usually have all the typical taco fixings (sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, green chiles, etc.) and then rice and beans, and finally chips and salsa.

Here ya go!  If you have a variation or improvement, I'd love to see it!

SLOW-ROASTED PORK FOR TACOS

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

10 garlic cloves, peeled

2 pounds pork shoulder, preferably boneless and in 1 piece

1-2 teaspoons peppercorns

2-3 teaspoons oregano

2-3 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

To prepare pork: Sliver 4 garlic cloves. Using thin-bladed knife, poke holes all over pork. Insert garlic slivers into holes.

Rub the peppercorns, oregano, cumin and salt into the pork.  (Those spices are really "to taste" so add as little or much as you like.)  Put the roast in the crock pot and then pour the juices on it.

To cook pork: Set the crock pot on high for 6 hours or so.  It should be very tender and you can pull it apart with a fork when it's ready.  (If you notice the pork is getting dry, you could always add more juices, but I've never seen that happen.)