Happy Halloween!

Halloween is always soo much fun. Last night I found this great recipe for chicken.

Southwestern Chicken

1 envelope GoodSeasons Italian Dressing mix

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

Mix all ingredients in a plastic bag and marinate 4-6 skinless boneless chicken breasts.

Grill until done.

Slice into strips and serve in burritos, quesedilla's, or on a salad.

It's good enough to eat alone too.

This is Halloween!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We had such a great time on our trip October 7-11, 2008 that I forgot all about cooking and obviously blogging. I do want to share my favorite thing to eat from the trip. They serve it at the New Orleans Cafe, or you can get it at the Blue Bayou, it is the Monte Cristo Sandwich. If you don't know what it is, it is a ham, turkey, and cheese sandwich on french toast and then deep fried. They sprinkle it with powdered sugar and put some raspberry jam on the side for dipping. OOhhh it is heavenly. Unfortunately due to the nature of my pregnancy I was only able to enjoy it for about 20 minutes. Oh well, it was worth it!

Mone Cristo Sandwich
Ingredients for 1 servings

Batter
1 1/2 cup
flour all purpose, sifted
1/4 teaspoon
salt
1 tablespoon
baking powder
1 1/3 cup water
1 egg

Sandwich
1 ounce Sliced white turkey
1 ounce Sliced Swiss cheese
1 ounce ham sliced
2 slices Egg bread

recipe preparation
Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Add water to beaten egg, then add to flour mixture and mix well. Set aside. Make a sandwich using turkey first, then Swiss cheese and then ham. Cut sandwich into quarters using tooth picks to hold sandwich together. Dip sandwich in egg batter and fry in 360@ canola oil until golden brown. Remove toothpicks and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with raspberry jelly or maple syrup.

I have to admit I made this once and it was pretty good but nothing compares to eating it at Disneyland!

Event Baking

I just don't have it in me right now to bake for fun, but I had an event that needed dessert. I found the recipe for these "Kisses Candy Corn Autumn Cookies" on the back of a package of Candy Corn flavored kisses. Yep they reall look and taste like candy corns. I don't usually experiment for events so I made these and another cookie bar. The other recipe came from a Young Woman's leader back in the day. They are called Immoral Bars and are true to their name.

Candy Corn Kiss Cookies


Here is the link for this recipe... Kisses Candy Corn Autumn Cookies

Next are my personal favorite-

Immoral Bars

48 light caramels
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup quick oats
1/3 teaspoon salt
2/3 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/8 cup brown sugar
1 1/8 cup melted butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts (opt.)

Melt caramels and cream and set aside. Combine flour, oats, salt, soda, brown sugar, and butter then blend. Pat 1/2 mixture in and ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chips and nuts evenly. Pour caramels over top. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over the top (Do not spread). Bake 15 - 20 minutes more. Let cool before serving.

I hope you enjoy these recipes, they are perfect for fall!

Oktoberfest 2008

We were invited to Jeff's brother's house for an early Oktoberfest celebration. Jeff is usually a pretty big time fun hater but something got into him.....he actually agreed to join me and Molly in some customary German get ups

Our little family!

Portia, Molly, and Isabelle

I way out did my self for the evening and made something that resembles a donut hole. They are called Kreppeln. I remember family reunions at Bear Lake where there was always a giant basket full of these delicious treats.

Kreppeln

4 cups flour

1/2 cup vanilla sugar (or 1/2 c. sugar with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

4 teaspoons baking soda

1 egg

rind of 1 lemon grated

1 1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla or rum extract

Mix all ingredients slowly until forms a thick dough.

Drop by teaspoonful into hot oil, fry on both sides until golden.

Roll in granulated sugar.

They are best while still warm

MMMMmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!

WOW, Molly is 4!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Well yesterday was quite the celebration, yep I cooked again with the help of Jeff! Sloppy Joe's, artichoke dip, and lots of salads thanks to everyone's help. The highlight of the party was the awesome "Barbie" cake Grandma Barb made. Despite some "melting" it was a work of art and the cutest thing I have ever seen. I couldn't have bought it, because it would have cost hundreds of dollars, and i just don't have the creativity to have made something so cute! Thanks Grandma!

Happy Birthday to our Little Princess!

So for the most requested recipe. This is an easy one but oohh sooo good! We had this at a work shower, thanks Jill for sharing the recipe. This is a definite party hit!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

2 8 oz. cream cheese

3/4 cup half and half

1 Tablespoon finely chopped onions

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

10 oz. chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained

13 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

2/3 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

Put all ingredients ina crock-pot. Cook on low for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve warm with tortilla chips, crackers, crostini breads, and/or french bread. Enjoy!

Yack....Food!

Well only under certain circumstances do I despise food and the main one is when I am pregnant. Well lack of time hasn't been the real reason for the few and far between posts, it has been the dreaded pregnant sickness. It's not just in the morning or at noon or lunch, it is ALL DAY LONG! My poor husband the saint has had maybe 2 meals cooked for him by me in the past 13 weeks. He has been feeding himself and Molly. I don't just get nauseated but I vomit at least 2 times a day. I have been trying to loose weight...how about 25 pounds. I haven't really enjoyed the method however. Breakfast usually stays down, but anything after the noon hour I get to enjoy twice.
Today, however was the second meal I have cooked, not sure what really got into me. I guess I have felt a lot of guilt for being a terrible, unmotivated, and unproductive wife and mom. Molly has been soo good to me! "Mom are you going to puke?" is usually her response when I start to cough, then she runs to the bathroom and puts up the toilet seat for me. What a girl! I did disappoint her last week when we were at the Spaghetti Factory and I wasn't able to make it home and left a mess in the parking lot. She really reprimanded me and said mom "you aren't supposed to puke in the street!" We are so excited though, despite the trials for this new "little bundle" we are expecting.
Hope I didn't gross you out too much!
Of all the pungent things to make, why did I choose this????? Oh well Jeff and Molly liked it!

Chili Pasta Casserole Recipe

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 can (15 oz) vegetarian chili with beans
1 can (14 1/2 oz) Italian style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
8 oz. cooked pasta

Instructions: Cook ground beef and onion in large skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown beef until no longer pink. Drain fat. Stir in chili, tomatoes with juice, 1 cup cheddar cheese, sour cream, chili powder and garlic powder.Add chili mixture to pasta and stir until pasta is coated. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover and cook 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Who has time to blog???

Well I have obviously been way to busy to blog! Between scapbooking trips, work, studying, planning a Disneyland trip (yeah!) and keeping Miss Molly busy it just hasn't been the priority. Well I made this casserole last weekend at scrapbook get away. As always it was a hit. It works well for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner especially if there are leftovers.

French Toast Casserole

1 loaf french bread (cut into 1 inch cubes)
2 8oz cream cheese (cut into 1 inch cubes)
10 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Place half of the cubed bread and on cube of cubed cream cheese in a greased 9x13 pan.
Layer with a second layer of bread and cream cheese. Combine rest of ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Pour over top of bread. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 350 degrees
Bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake 40 more minutes. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving to let it set. Serve with syrup if desired.