Cobbler

So I found this recipe for cobbler on Pinterest. It was blueberry, which I love. I tried it and really like how simple the recipe is, plus it's delicious. I've actually made it 3-4 times. The last time I made it though I thought I'd try switching out the blueberries for apples. It turned out great as well...the only change I made was a little more fruit than the recipe called for and a teaspoon of cinnamon.

The photo isn't the best, but I'm all about pictures with recipes. :)

Oh, another note I use regular granulated sugar for the 'dough' and turbinado sugar for sprinkling on the top...I like the texture.

You can find the recipe here.

Mexican Wedding Cookies!

I think I had cookies like these about a year ago and thought they were SO good, so when I came across them on Pinterest and saw how easy they were to make I decided to try it! I'm so glad I did and kinda sorry at the same time! I could eat them all by myself in one setting!  Luckily Dallen likes them too so I don't end up eating them all but that's still a lot for just two people ha ha! …I took these to Relief Society too :) Enjoy!

Skillet Scalloped Potatoes

The Church was giving out 50 lb. bags of potatoes so Dallen and I have a lot of potatoes…so I've been looking up new recipes that use potatoes! Found this one here! It didn't turn out too bad, next time I'd add more cheese and maybe chicken or mushrooms! Its pretty easy and quick and as you can see I didn't do it exactly the way they did; no skillet and its not round, so for each layer I just changed the direction I laid the potatoes out! Oh yeah... Ive also never heard of Gruyere cheese so I looked up substitutions and used Swiss! 

French Toast Sticks

The 10th was mine and Dallens 2 month anniversary (monumental accomplishment, I know lol.) which we didn't really get to be together for so we decided to celebrate on Saturday and I figured what better way to celebrate than having french toast for breakfast with orange juice! Once again I found the recipe on pinterest! I have never made the egg mix the way they did but it turned out really well and although the sticks are fun next time Id just use a whole piece! 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, so who doesn't know how to make chocolate chip cookies right?!?…well apparently there are lots of different ways to make them, I found this recipe on pinterest, here. I thought it was odd it asked for cream cheese but they turned out really good! So good I decided I should take some to Relief 

Society so Dallen and I wouldn't eat them all!

They are really soft and fluffy! It called for corn starch which I also thought was strange and didn't have any on hand so I just didn't use any and they turned out just fine! 

Risotto

 This stuff is so good, I love it! I have to admit I was kinda surprised it turned out so well! While you are cooking it, it doesn't look very appetizing but don't worry once you add the cheese it starts to look the way it should!

Risotto is a side-dish and although it is quite good alone I think it should probably be eaten with some sort of meat. We went for chicken! I enlisted Dallen to help to me and he did a great job with the chicken! We just happened to have half a lemon in our fridge so we had lemon chicken! It was tasty!

This is my first time making Risotto (but not my last :)) and although we had it plain I think its one of those dishes you can pretty much add whatever you want to it; corn, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots…whatever floats your boat really! It did call for parsley and although we didn't have any fresh parsley my grandma gave us a lovely spice rack that just so happened to have dried parsley so we added that later. I'm not really sure it adds any flavor as it just makes it look pretty. Also it only calls for 1 cup of Parmesan cheese but the bag was a 1 1/2 C. so I just used it all! 

Simple Parmesan Risotto -By the Food Nanny

5 cups chicken broth
4 tbs butter (divided)
11/2 cups finely chopped onion
11/2 cups arborio rice
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tbs chopped fresh italian parsley
Shaved parmesan cheese

1. Bring the broth to boiling in a medium saucepan. Decrease the heat to low and cover the pan.

2. Melt 2 tbs of the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion; cook and stir until very tender but not brown, about 10 min. Increase the heat to medium. Add the rice and stir for 1 min.

3. Add 11/2 cups of the hot broth. Boil gently until the broth is absorbed, stirring frequently. Add another 1 cup broth; stir until broth is absorbed. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups broth, 1/2 cup at a time, allowing the broth to be absorbed before adding more. Stir frequently until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy, about 20 min.

4.Stir in the remaining 2 Tbs butter and the grated parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with the parsley and shaved parmesan.

Loaded Nachos!

I don't know if this really counts as a recipe but I seriously LOVE these nachos! My family always just had normal nachos with cheese and salsa…and then I started dating Dallen and his mom made these for dinner one night. They are so so so good! 

Loaded Nachos 
-Chips, whatever kind you like.
-Sour Cream
-Cheese, I use the Fiesta mix.
-Salsa, also whatever kind you like.
-Refried beans or chili. (We've been using chili because Dallen made enough to feed an army and we are trying to get rid of it but personally I like the chili more anyway)

You really can put whatever you like on them…olives, peppers, etc.

  Put all ingredients on a plate and put it in the microwave until the cheese melts. Except the sour cream…that goes on last! Enjoy!

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Two recipes in a row, who would've believed it? I made Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup. This recipe was pretty darn good! Again, I picked it because it looked easy (it's in the Crock Pot after all) and I already had everything. Plus the ingredients in this recipe are mostly stuff you'd normally just have hanging around in the pantry, which makes it even more awesome in my opinion.

 

CrockPot Version of the Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup 

Makes 8 servings   |   Ideal slow cooker size:  6 quart   |   Cooking time:  5-7 hours on low 

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice

1 cup finely diced celery

1 cup finely diced carrots

1 cup finely diced onions

1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano

1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil

4 cups chicken broth

½ bay leaf

½ cup flour

1 cup Parmesan cheese

½ cup butter

2 cups half and half, warmed

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

 

1.  Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.

2.  Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.

3.  About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper.  Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don’t be afraid to always season to taste at the end).

4.  Ladle into serving bowls and enjoy!

This is one of my pins from Pinterest, you can find the recipe here. And instructions for making it on the stovetop. A few notes, the parmesan cheese did not melt in well, in fact it was in stringy lumps at the bottom of the Crock Pot, maybe she used the powdered kind? Also, Mackenzie tried it before step 3 and said even that was good.

Easiness:
Yumminess:

Spiral Apple Bread

I had to stop Shaylee from hounding me about not posting anything on here yet. ;) So, here is my first recipe. I found this on Pinterest here and I mostly chose it because I already had all the ingredients, mostly. I didn't have cider but I figured it would be okay with water.  I did do a few other things different, I used honey crisp apples because that's what I had. Second, I don't see the point in peeling an apple, plus it gives the spiral color.

Pre-Oven

Overall the recipe was pretty easy to follow (I did make one big mistake but if you pay attention you can avoid this....hint it actually makes two pans, I kinda shoved it all into one haha.) It was easier to assemble than I thought, I suppose I could've taken a little more time to beautify the rose part, but hey we're just gonna eat it right?!?

 

The final product.

Easiness : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Yumminess: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Im not a Turtle Maker…yet.

I married into a good family that introduced me to loaded nachos (SOO good!) and Turtles ( To DIE for!!!) I LOVE them! They are incredibly addicting. So I asked Sue (Dallen's mom) for the recipe and she briefly explained it to me, gave me some chocolate and the carmel recipe and then we headed back to Cedar! 

Yesterday I decided to give it a whirl. Let me tell ya…I don't know how she does it by herself and I wouldn't recommend trying it your first time alone unless you're with a professional candy maker ha ha!   Or maybe you could cut the recipe in half so you don't end up with a whole bucket of hard "chew your jaw off carmel" so if you mess up and cook the carmel too long like I did you won't feel like it was such a waste. 

So I went to the store bought me a nice new candy thermometer and when I got home went to work. 

Chopped 2 pounds of nuts and spread them out on a cookie sheet! Not hard.

Started making the carmel and after I dropped my brand new thermometer in the carmel twice, which says "Do not submerge" and then rinsed it off so now its all foggy on the inside and practically unreadable I started to get discouraged and ditched the dang thing and just waited till I thought the carmel was the right consistency and then dropped little spoonfuls onto the nuts. Harder than it sounds. I wasn't quite quick enough and some of the carmel got over cooked…ok so the majority of it got over cooked but if you like your carmel like peanut brittle please do come over and take it off my hands! 

The chocolate was easy. Melt it, let it set up and then melt it again, add some coconut oil and then dip the turtles in the chocolate! I tried to pick out the softest turtles and dipped them till the chocolate was gone. Then put them in the fridge to help set them. I think Sue said it was bakers chocolate and it is really quite delicious! I licked the bowl clean and it was my favorite part of the whole experience ha ha! 

Dallen came home and I told him they didn't turn out very good. He went into the kitchen and said that they looked like his moms and I said taste them! He said they taste fine but I think you cooked the carmel too long ha ha! Yes indeed. If you need a jaw workout and possibly are trying to get rid of a few fillings give me a call I have just the thing ;)

I will not be trying this again unless I have a professional by my side but if you are feeling ambitious here's the carmel recipe. Good luck! Hopefully yours turn out better than mine! 

Cream Caramels (For Turtles)

2 Cups sugar

1 1/2 C Karo-dark, light or a combination of syrups

1 C butter, unsalted

2 C whipping cream

1 C chopped nuts

1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, syrup, butter and 1 cup of cream. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add another cup of cream and cook slowly to 240 degrees. Add Vanilla and nuts, pour into buttered pan, cool and cut. 

Easy American Lasagna

I got this recipe from my "Food Nanny" cookbook! Ive never made lasagna before unless manicotti counts but they are quite different. I also felt like there just wasn't enough sauce and "cheese mixture" or I'm just really bad at dividing in thirds. (Most likely) So if I made it again I would do more of those! Also when she says 16 noodles, she means 16 noodles. I figured Id just cook them all because what would I do with the extras and "I can just add more noddles it'll be fine…" wrong! As I started assembling the lasagna I decided it wasn't a good idea to add more noodles especially with my sauce and cheese mixture dwindling so fast! So it was a waste of noodles. 

Can you save already cooked noodles?

Anyway it ended up tasting just fine :)

Easy American Lasagna
 1 pound mild bulk Italian sausage or ground beef
 1 (26 oz) jar meatless spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce
 1 pound uncooked lasagna noodles
 1 (15 oz) package ricotta cheese
 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
 2 eggs
 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
 3 tablespoons butter (optional)

1. Brown the meat in a large skillet. Drain off the fat. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and simmer for 10 min. 

2. Remove 16 noodles from the package and cook according to package directions. Drain. Lay out the cooked pasta in a single layer on a 15 inch sheet of aluminum foil to cool. (The foil will be reused to cover the baking dish.)

3.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 in baking dish.

4. Mix the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, and pepper in a large bowl.

5. To assemble the lasagna, spread one-third of the meat sauce in the prepared baking dish. Arrange one-third of the noodles lengthwise over the sauce, overlapping the edges. Spread one-third of the cheese mixture and sprinkle one-third of the mozzarella cheese over the pasta. Repeat the layers two more times, ending with the mozzarella. Dot the edges with butter if desired. 

6. Cover the foil and bake 35-45 min or until bubbly. Let stand 5 min before serving. 

Super Easy Granola

I'm going to be the first to post a recipe! Woot woot!

 

A couple weeks ago I tried making granola for the first time. I was surprised at how easy it was (I'm all about easy!) and it made quite a lot. Dallen and I still haven't finished it off…although we are close!

At "first taste" I wasn't really that fond of it, it kinda tasted like the stuff that goes on top of apple crisp but maybe that's because it was still warm?…who knows but after that I was addicted to it! I ate it plain and then decided to try it as cereal and lemme tell ya it makes pretty good cereal! Even Dallen will eat it :) 

If you're a yogurt person, Id try it with yogurt or if you're going on a hike I would most certainly throw some chocolate in there. You can also eat it with ice-cream! Best thing about this recipe is you can pretty much do whatever you want with  it! If you don't like walnuts you can use different nuts or if you wanna add multiple kinds you can do that too. If you're a dried fruit kinda person, raisins, craisins... (gross;)) you can do that! 

Here is where I got the recipe!

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 cup pecans, halved (almonds or walnuts work well for a substitution)
• 1 cup flour
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup oil
• ½ cup honey

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 320 degrees.
2. Mix first 6 ingredients together. Whisk the oil and the honey together and add to oats mixture.
3. Spread on a baking sheet (it’s helpful if it has raised edges) and bake for 35 minutes, stirring all the way down to the bottom of the pan a few times during baking. Bake longer for more crunch, but don’t let it burn! Allow granola to cool completely after baking (this is when it clumps together). Serve with milk, yogurt, fruit, ice cream, or just plain snacking!

Testing, Testing

This is just a test. ;)