Artichoke Dip

My mom and I made this delicious (SINFUL!) recipe for a friend’s wedding reception.  It was soooo good!!  We found it on food.com, recipe #18257.

1 14-oz can Artichokes, drained and chopped
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Mayonaisse
2 cloves Garlic, crushed (The recipe indicated you can use 4 cloves if you like garlic)
1 dash Lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Jalapeno pepper, chopped finely (We seeded the jalapeno, but it must have been an old jalapeno because our mouths were burning!!)
1.  Purée everything in a blender. Or, if you’re cooler than I am, you can use one of those cool puréeing thingies you can use right in the bowl!
2.  Cook on high in microwave for 2 minutes, or bake at 350*F in the oven for 20 minutes.  I think it’s better in the oven, but microwaving is so fast and easy!
3.  Serve hot with crackers, or with cut-up French bread.  Chewy French bread.  Hands down the best of the two options, though crackers are yummy too.

Italian Night Soup

This thick, hearty soup was served at a church function and we all BEGGED (on our KNEES) for the recipe.  It’s delicious hot, my husband thinks I’m nuts, but I think it’s delicious cold, too.  You can probably only reheat it once because of the noodles, but good luck having leftovers.  I have modified it just a bit (to make it my own, of course).

Preheat: --
Category: Soup, Italian, Partially Homemade

Meat, cooked (I have used ground turkey, cut-up pork chops and both were amazing)
6 c. Water
1 can Diced Italian-style tomatoes, undrained
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 box Hamburger Helper – Lasagna
1-2 Tablespoons Olive oil
Zucchini, diced
Carrots, diced
Onion, diced

1.  Cook the meat in a small soup pot.  Or if you spill everything, like me, use a large soup pot.  Drain fat if necessary and set aside.  Also, I like to drain the juice from the can of tomatoes in to cook with the meat.  Yum!

2.  In the soup pot, add the olive oil and add diced vegetables.  Sauté until soft.

3.  Add the cooked meat, the water, the diced tomatoes, the Hamburger Helper seasoning packet, and the noodles.  Boil for 10 minutes, or until noodles are al dente.

4.  Turn the heat down to simmer and allow the soup to thicken for 5-15 minutes.  This is the perfect amount of time to throw together some AMAZING HOT BISCUITS (my mom’s recipe) and bake them!

Crockpot Beans (revisited!)

My friend Jolinn shared her recipe for crockpot beans with me about two years ago.  They were soooooo good!  But my kids wouldn’t eat them!!  So last night, as I was pouring beans and water and salt and pepper into the crockpot, I thought to myself, “What if we switch up the seasoning a little?”  So I did.  My kids CHOWED DOWN their lunches today!  First time in a week that they’ve really eaten their food!  My really picky eater said he loved it, so that tells you something.  :)

I have leftovers for another 2 meals for us, and two containers for my husband to take to lunch!

Preheat: --
Category: Crockpot, Beans, pictures

This recipe can be cut or multiplied easily.  Leftovers are AWESOME, AND you can make healthy, homemade refried beans by mashing them (not to mention far CHEAPER than the store!).

8 cups Water
4 cups Beans (Pinto are my fave, but you can use Great Northern, Black beans with this recipe… also, for chili, you can do a mix of Pinto, Great Northern, Kidney beans and have your beans uncanned!)
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Pepper
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1/2 Tablespoon Garlic powder (you could use fresh garlic, too)
1 Tablespoon Onion powder (fresh onions minced are yummy, too!)
1 Tablespoon Chili powder

1.  Throw everything into the crockpot.

2.  Give it a quick stir.  Be sure to break up those powders if you use them!

3.  Set the crockpot on high for 8-10 hours.  Nine hours is about the sweet time.

4.  To eat it like us, serve it hot with a scoop of hot, cooked rice, with a Tablespoon of Reduced fat sour cream, and 1/8 cup Grated Extra Sharp Cheese.

Whipped Honey

This whipped honey recipe is reminiscent of my grandparents.  When they lived in California, they would drive to Utah and buy commercial whipped honey.  It is such a treat!  I was shocked at how EASY it is to make it, and it stores in the pantry so well.

Preheat: --
Category: Honey, butter, egg yolks

2 Egg yolks
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Cups Honey
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1.  Beat until honey until spreadable.  Store in a cool, dry place.

Baking Powder Biscuits

These are the baking powder biscuits my mom made while I was growing up.  I made them once several years ago and they were…  well, they were HOCKEY PUCKS.  We couldn’t even bite into them, no kidding!  After that disaster, it took me a few years and a bit of added confidence to try again, with SPECTACULAR results.  Just like mom’s, only better because I can have them ANY. TIME. I. WANT.

Preheat: 450*F
Categories: Bread, Mom’s recipes

2 cups – 4 cups Flour
1 Tablespoon – 2 Tablespoons Baking powder
1 teaspoon – 2 teaspoons Salt
1/4 cup – 1/2 cup Shortening
3/4 cup – 1 1/2 cup Milk

1.  Measure out flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.  Measure out shortening and then cut it in.  “Cutting” in shortening can be done with a fork… but my favorite is a pastry blender.

Just make sure that the shortening is evenly distributed.

2.  Add milk and stir until smooth.  With a doubled recipe, I had to add a handful of flour to get my dough smooth.

3.  Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch.  The dough will rise in the oven…

4.  Cut with a cookie cutter or cut the dough into approximated squares with a knife.  Of course, my favorite shape is a circle.  I have found that using my kids’ plastic drinking cups is the perfect size biscuit.

5.  Bake in a 450* preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.  I almost always have to go the full 12.  Of course all ovens are different!

Eat your biscuits hot, maybe with butter or whipped honey, yum!

p.s. The reason I had an epic fail the first time was.... OLD BAKING POWDER!  Yep, that'll getcha every time.

Meal Idea: Spinach salad, Sautéed chicken strips, Biscuits, Whipped honey, Mixed fruit

I have been giving it some thought and it is time to step up a little.  When I come to look at my blog, which I created for me, but am happy to share with everyone else, I made it to make menu planning easier.  What are we going to eat?  I have chicken... so I click on chicken and VOILÀ!  I have several chicken recipes.  I have potatoes... so I click on potatoes and... well, yeah.  But then, I have a recipe and no clue what to put with it.  On the days that the meal seems balanced, I am going to start sharing... then when I am fretting over a menu, I can click on meal ideas and fill in my chart!

Today's menu?
Spinach salad - baby spinach leaves raw, cherry tomatoes from our garden, a skiff of grated sharp cheese, a drizzle of ranch dressing.  I sautéed the chicken strips with a tablespoon of olive oil.  When chicken is cooked in strips, it goes so. quickly.  The olive oil is good for you, and the simple salt and pepper make the chicken so yummy.

Biscuits - I used my mom's recipe for Baking Powder Biscuits.  They. are. so. good.  Especially when topped with a spoonful of whipped honey. 

Mixed fruit - We bought a watermelon, I cut and chilled it.  I served a spoonful of watermelon pieces and a half spoonful of canned fruit salad.  That was the preferred item of the meal for the kids, with the biscuits coming in a very close second.

Carpet Cleaner for Steam Cleaning Machine

Look what my friend Susan found at this website!  I just cleaned my carpets three weeks ago, but yesterday, my lovely 4-year-old daughter got into my make-up foundation and there's a mess the size of a dinner plate in her room from where she tried to rub it out of the carpet.  Let's just say that I have high motivation to try out this recipe!

Preheat: --
Categories: Homemade cleaners, steam cleaning

1/4 cup lemon-scented ammonia  Susan used plain ammonia.
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 teaspoons non-moisturizing dish soap
Hot water

1.  Stir together ammonia, vinegar and dish soap in a gallon-plus size container.  Susan said that the ammonia stank when mixing up this part, but that the water diluted the ammonia amply.  Also, the ammonia did NOT smell after being used on the carpet.

2.  Add water; enough to equal a gallon.  One gal, in the comments, said that when she steam cleaned, she would turn her water heater on to the hottest setting.  Then she'd use the hottest water in her cleaning.  Makes sense to me!  Just be careful not to scald yourself!

3.  Use according to steam cleaner's manufacturer directions.  Except for the part of just using the brand-name, expensive cleaner, of course!