Red, White, and Blue Trifle

I of course found this on Martha. It is delish and looks so pretty. The new thing to do is put your treats in a mason jar.  Haha, like I really know what the new thing to do is.  I loved doing it this way.  You can serve it in a bowl but the mason jar is so fun. I love the 4th of July and wanted to make something extra special.  This really was a lot of fun for me. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice and 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 store-bought pound cake (12 ounces), cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 bar (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 cups fresh blueberries (three 1/2-pint containers), rinsed and dried
• 3 cups fresh raspberries (two 6-ounce containers)

Directions

1. Make lemon syrup: In a small saucepan, bring 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool completely, then brush over both sides of cake slices. Quarter each slice.
   
2. With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese with remaining 1/3 cup sugar, and lemon zest on high speed until lightened. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add heavy cream in a steady stream; continue beating until mixture is light and airy (mixture will be like a very soft whipped cream).
   
3. Arrange half the cake pieces in the bottom of a 2-quart serving dish or in a small mason jar. Spoon half the cream-cheese mixture over cake in dollops; spread to sides of dish. Scatter half the blueberries and raspberries on top. Repeat layering with remaining cake, cream-cheese mixture, and berries, piling berries in the center.  If you are using a mason jar cut a 2 in square to put in the bottom and layer just like above only in smaller amounts. 
   
4. Cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.  

I hope you have a fabulous 4th of July and remember to ENJOY!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Back when I was 16 I took Home Ec.  I loved when we were in the kitchen mainly because you might get paired up with some cute boy.  The food was so bad either.  I found an old recipe that I held onto.  I hadn't made them in years.  I had to tweak some of the ingredients and add a few but I think it turned out pretty good. 

3/4 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 cups peanut butter chips

In a large mixing bowl mix together butter, sugars, vanilla, peanut butter until creamy.  add beaten egg.  Mix.  In a smaller bowl add all the dry ingredients together.  Stir lightly.  Add to the mix.  Once you have completely mixed it add in the peanut butter chips.  Scoop onto a ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool on pan completely.  Yields about 4 1/2 dozen.  Enjoy!

Fresh Tortilla Chips

I love chips from Mexican restaurants.  I have found that there are NO chips that compare that you can buy at a grocery store.  Recently I have started making tortilla strips for one of the salads.  It took me a minute to realize I could make chips.  It is really simple.  And we LOVE them.
 

5-10 Corn torillas (I use mission)
1 1/2-2 cups canola oil
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a small fry pan on medium heat.  While that is heating cut tortillas into 8 triangles.  Once the oil is hot place the tortillas in the oil about 8-10 triangles fit in mine.  Be careful it does splatter.  They will boil and come to the top.  Once they start to brown remove from the oil and place on a paper towel.  Immediately shake salt over the top.Repeat until you have desired amount of chips.  Enjoy.

Lime Cilantro Salmon

I'll have to be honest this is only my second time cooking fish EVER!!!! Yes, I know I'm so unhealthy, crazy, and WHAT!!! I have a husband that is well to put it nicely a food freak. That was nice I promise. He starts to dry heave if you even mention fish. So, I am just a little worried to see what would happen if there was actually fish on the table. When he got home tonight the first thing he said when he closed the garage door was "Something smells fishy." My heart sunk. Then he came up took a look at it and said "...hmm, that smells...good." It made my little heart smile. And after a couple of nervous bits he said "mmm, this tastes pretty good. No, really good." Ahh, sweet SUCCESS!!

1 pound salmon or 4, 6 ounce fillets.  
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp. coriander
coarse salt and ground pepper to taste
Heat grill to medium high, rub the salmon with coarse salt, ground pepper, coriander, and olive oil.  Lightly oil the grill; place salmon skin side UP on the grill.  Cook for 5 minutes.  While cooking make your sauce.  Turn over with a spatula and cook 4 more minutes or until opaque and flaky.  Serve salmon and drizzle with Lime Cilantro sauce.

Sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 T soy sauce
3 tsp sugar

1 T Fresh cilantro chopped

Stir all ingredients together except cilanto. Then fold in the cilantro.  Spoon over the salmon. ENJOY

German Berry Pancakes

My family loves German Pancakes. I have decided if we are going to have these delicious but not good for you meals I need to at least start adding something good. It is the exact same recipe as the other German pancakes with the addition of berries. My kids LOVED them. They are getting antioxidants and I can't complain about that.

1/4 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
4-6 eggs
2 cups frozen berry mix

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the butter in a 9x13 pan and place in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating. While the butter is melting mix all of the ingredients together until well mixed. I use a hand mixer, my mom uses a blender. Either works well. Once the mix is mixed together, stir in the berries, get the pan out of the oven with a hot pad and roll the melted butter all over the inside of the pan. Then pour in the mixture. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Place a toothpick in the middle and it should come out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar right away.

We used coconut syrup. It is delish. Mmmm Enjoy.

Coconut Syrup

When we went to DC last fall, my cute little sis made me the yummiest breakfast I have ever had. I have been wanting to make this since but for some reason it took until this Sunday for me to finally do it. It was just as good as I remembered. Everyone in the family with the exception of one loved it.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cool whip
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp coconut extract

Heat all ingredients except coconut extract in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil.  Let boil 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in coconut extract. We serve over German Pancakes, or French Toast.   Enjoy.

Exciting News

I have been doing this blog all by my lonesome for some time now.  My first 50 posts were easy enough, but lately I have been struggling to come up with recipes I haven't already done.

I kept thinking it would be fun to do this with my cute little sis.   

Well, she has FINALLY agreed to become part of this with me.  

cheer!!

WAHOO!!

I begged, and begged asked her a few times to join and she thought she didn't really make anything all that special.  That is where she was wrong.  She doesn't think this but I know she is the talent in the family.  She tries things I have never even dared to attempt.  In fact she is going to show me up.  You might think it isn't fair that she gets the looks and the talent but really if Ive come to terms with it YOU should too.

Enough of my rambling,

here is the girl we have all been dying to meet....

My cute baby sister

MAREN

She is married to the love of her life Ryan.

She has been blessed to be a mother to a beautiful little girl Lucy.

She lives in our nations capital.

She enjoys the big city life.

She is preggers with her 2nd child.  Yipee

She is tall, dark, and beautiful.

She is freakishly smart.

She is good at every thing she does.

and she can COOK!

I could go on and on but that would be bragging about my most favorite sister.

I hope you are all as excited as I am.

Now go get your cooking on, and ENJOY

Black Bean Enchilada's

My mom saw this recipe on KSL a few years back and she thought it looked pretty good.  We have fallen in love with this one and it is now a family favorite.  I love enchilada's but this one just taste unique to most that I have had.  It is a fairly easy recipe and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand.

2-3 chicken breasts diced
8 slices of bacon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 16 oz can black beans
1 red pepper
1 1/2 cup salsa
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
12 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

In a large fry pan cook chicken and bacon, add the remaining ingredients except green onion, cheese, and tortillas.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat add in the green onion.  Fill the tortillas with the sauce amount to your liking, add cheese.  Roll.  Place in a 9X13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 min.  Use the remaining sauce on top.  Place this on after 15 minutes will just a little more cheese.  Cook on broil for about 3 minutes or until the tortillas start to brown.  Serve with lettuce, guacamole, and sour cream.Enjoy.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Our good friends and us always have a dinner in December. We trade off every year the house we go to. One of the years we went to their house and Jana made the yummiest Sweet and sour chicken. My mom also makes a very scrumptious sweet and sour chicken recipe. The other day I was thinking this sounded like a great idea. That was until I went to make it and I didn't have the right ingredients. I hate when that happens. Luckily for me I had to recipes to go off of and so I tweaked them to make a recipe I had all ingredients for. So in this post you are getting to recipes of Sweet and Sour Chicken. Both of them are tried and true and both are yummy!!

Mom's Recipe:

1/2 Cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup chicken or pork tenderloin cubed

Mix dry ingrdients then mix with water and oil to make a batter. Dip chicken pieces in batter. Fry in small amount of canola oil.

Sauce:

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 T corn starch
1 can (8 0unces) pineapple tidbits, drain and reserve liquid
1/4 cup vinegar
2 T ketchup
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup green pepper, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced

In 2 quart sauce pan mix sugar, cornstarch. Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to measure 1 cup. Stir syrup mixture, vinegar, and ketchup into cornstarch mixture. Cook and stir constantly until it boils and thickens. Stir in pineapple, onions, green pepper, and celery. Cook until tender. Add chicken and serve over rice.

Jana's Recipe

5 chicken breasts cut up
Marinate in garlic salt

Sauce

1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup vinegar
3 T ketchup
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chicken broth

mix together

roll chicken in corn starch then egg deep fry. Set on paper towel. Dip in sauce place on cookie sheet. Pour remaining sauce over chicken. Bake at 350 30-40- min.

I hope you enjoy these to wonderful dishes.

10296

Easy peasy Spaghetti Sauce

I have been making this sauce since we first got married. I really do love it. It is simple, SIMPLE! There are fantastic spaghetti recipes out and this is definitely "Americanized", but it is yummy. I just love that it tastes great and is so easy. Everyone in my family likes it. Well except for Boo but she hates dinner. Who hates dinner? Weird child. My other child actually has this for her birthday dinner.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion or 2-3 T minced onion
1 16 ounce can tomato sauce
1 16 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef on medium heat add onion and mix together. Once the meat is all brown and the onion softened drain any excess grease. Add the sauce and diced tomatoes. Add all the spices (make sure to crush them in your fingers as you add them. This brings out the flavor) and bring to a boil. Place a lid on top and let simmer 30 minutes on medium low. Stirring occasionally. Enjoy!