Taco Seasoning Mix

Why buy taco seasoning packages when you can mix your own?



2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano

Mix together in small container and use as you would any store bought taco mix. Then congratulate yourself for saving a buck!

Marshmallow Fondant

This is a fabulous fondant recipe and tastes yummy too! This was my first time working with fondant and I will use it many, many times in the future, I'm sure. Don't get intimidated by the word "fondant"! It was easy!

(P.S. Fondant is 6 bucks a pound or more in the store...this only cost me 4 bucks to make 3 pounds!)

Ingredients

16 ounces white mini-marshmallows (use a good quality brand)

2 to 5 tablespoons water

2 pounds C&H Powdered sugar (this brand has the best results)

½ cup Crisco shortening (placed in a very easily accessed bowl)

Directions

Over double boiler, add 2 Tbsp of the water and the marshmallows. Melt marshmallows completely, stirring constantly. Once the marshmallows are all melted, remove from heat and pour in 3/4 of the powdered sugar and give it a quick stir or two.

Generously grease the counter with some of the Crisco. Repeat as necessary.

Carefully dump the marshmallow and powdered sugar mix on the counter. It may be a little bit hot so be careful.

Generously grease your hands as it is sticky. Repeat as necessary.

Knead the powdered sugar into the melted marshmallows like you would knead bread dough. *Wear an apron. °Ü° * Gradually add the remaining 1/4 package of powdered sugar. It takes about 8 minutes to incorporate all the powdered sugar. (I actually didn't get all 2 pounds of mine mixed in but I liked the doughs consistency so I stopped trying to get it all to mix in.)

If your dough is tearing easily it needs a bit more water, added 1/2 Tbsp at a time, kneaded into it. Get it to a firm, smooth elastic ball.

When the dough is finished you can give it a quick coating of Crisco and double wrap it in plastic and store it in the refrigerator. When you want to work with it, just remove it from the fridge a few hours before you need to use it so it will be easier to knead. You want it to be about body temperature to roll out and place over cake. You can store it in the fridge for weeks.

To add color to the fondant, use a toothpick to add in paste type icing colors. Just drag them through the dough and then knead in. (Lightly Crisco your hands again to avoid the stickiness.) The colors actually wash off your hands easily if you don't use too much so don't worry about that. Also, be sure to keep any fondant dough that you aren't working with wrapped up in plastic so it doesn't dry out.

To glue one fondant piece to another, just get barely get it wet with a small amount of water and it will stick to itself. (I really couldn't believe that worked!) Be careful not to over wet it or the color may bleed, run or smear.

There are lots of fondant tips on the web so look around. I got my recipe from this website and she has great directions and tips. Also, I learned how to make the puppy for Riley's cake from this three part video. Wilton's web-site has tons of fondant tips, ideas and directions, too. Have fun!

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

1 yellow cake mix
1 Cup peanut butter
1/2 Cup oil
2 Tbsp water
2 eggs

Mix all ingredients together. Roll into balls. Smash lightly with fork dipped in sugar to make criss-crossed fork marks.

Bake for 12 minutes at 350° or until golden.

Yummy with creamy or crunchy peanut butter!

Pumpkin Muffins

(from the inside label of the Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix)



Makes 24 muffins 400° 16 minutes

Muffin Ingredients
4 Cups baking mix
1 Cup raisins (optional)
2/3 Cup quick or old-fashioned oats
2/3 Cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 can (30 oz) Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix
2 large eggs

Streusel Topping
3 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 400°. Paper line muffin cups.

Combine streusel topping ingredients and cut butter in thoroughly with fork in small bowl.

For muffins, combine baking mix, raisins, oats, sugar, and cinnamon in large bowl. (If only half like raisins, omit now and stir in 1/2 cup to batter after half the muffin cups have been filled.)

Combine pumpkin pie mix and eggs in medium bowl, mixing well.

Stir into oat mixture just until moistened.

Spoon batter into muffin cups 3/4 full.

Sprinkle with streusel topping.

Bake for 16 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool slightly, serve warm.

Baking Mix

(Like Bisquick)

9 Cups flour
1/4 Cup sugar
3 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp salt
2 Cups shortening

Mix until flour and shortening are thoroughly mixed together. Store in a tightly closed container. Makes about 12 Cups.

*When I only need a little bit, I cut the recipe into thirds. 3 Cups flour, for the sugar I just eyeball what looks like a third of 1/4 Cup, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 2/3 Cup shortening. Makes just over 4 cups.

Chocolate Chip Cake Bar

1 package yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 Cup packed brown sugar
1/4 Cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 Cup water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1/2 Tbsp shortening

-In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
-Stir in 1 3/4 cups of chocolate chips and nuts.
-Spread in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan.
-Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
-Cool pan completely on a wire rack.
-Cut into bars. (About 24)
-Melt shortening with the remaining 1/4 Cup chocolate chips (about 45 seconds in the microwave); drizzle over the top.

***Allow drizzled chocolate to set completely before stacking on a plate.***

Toffee Bars

1 Cup real butter, softened
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 Cups milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely crushed Heath bar

-Cream butter and brown sugar with mixer.
-Beat in egg yolk and vanilla.
-Gradually add flour and salt, beating until smooth.
-Spoon into lightly greased 15x10 pan. (Use 13x9 if you want thicker shortbread, but it may require a slightly longer bake time.) Press down in pan until dough is even.
-Bake at 350° for 17-19 minutes, or until LIGHT golden brown.
-Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over top.
-Return to oven for about 2 minutes.



-Gently spread melted chocolate evenly over bars.
-Sprinkle crushed heath bar evenly over the top.

***If plating bars, place in refrigerator to cool for about an hour. Remove and slice into bars. Cover and place back into refrigerator for a few more hours or overnight or until the chocolate on top is no longer soft so they can be stacked on a plate and not stick together.

German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake
350° 30-40 minutes
3-8"cake pans

1 (4-oz.) package of Baker's Sweetened Chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Take one package of Baker's sweetened chocolate and mix it with 1/2 cup of boiling water. You are done mixing the chocolate once it is all dissolved. Let this cool before adding it to the following sugar/butter/egg mixture.

Mix 1 cup of butter with 2 cups of sugar until they are fluffy and rich. This should not take but a few minutes.

Slowly add in your egg yolks while beating the mixture. Once no more streaks, or spots of yellow remain they have been mixed in well enough.

Add cooled chocolate liquid and 1 teaspoon vanilla to the batter.

Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the flour.

Add the buttermilk and flour to the mixture at the same time, but alternating between the two (buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, flour...) Don't stop mixing as you do this. Once you are done beating in the buttermilk and flour, make sure that it is smooth.

Take your four egg whites and beat them in a separate bowl at a high speed. When you lift the beater out of the bowl it should have a peak, or pointed tip at the end of it. This means they are done being whipped. (TIP: Make sure that there is no egg yolk mixed into your egg whites.)

Now fold in your egg whites SLOWLY. DO NOT STIR OR BEAT THEM IN. This would ruin the cake.

Pour equal amounts of batter into three 8 inch cake pans.

Put the cakes in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Do not open the oven until the cake has been in for the required time, if you do it may fall in the middle. Stick a tooth pick in your cake after baking. If it comes out clean your cake is done, if it comes out gooey then it needs another five to ten minutes.

Cool cake completely before frosting.


Coconut Pecan Frosting
(Double if frosting sides of cake)

Mix the following ingredients in a medium saucepan on a stove set on medium heat for about 12 minutes:
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 beaten egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Once you are done cooking the above ingredients add:
1 1/2 Cup coconut
1 Cup chopped pecans

Cool the frosting until it is firm and easy to spread.

Oatmeal Cake

This cake is so moist and yummy, it's sure to become a family favorite.

Oatmeal Cake
350° 35-40 minutes

1 Cup sugar
1 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 Cups flour
1 1/2 Cups boiling water
1 Cup oatmeal (quick-oats, not old fashioned)
(For top- 1/2 container vanilla frosting)

In a medium bowl, combine baking soda, salt, cinnamon and flour. In a separate bowl, pour boiling water over oatmeal. Let stand for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, blend sugars, shortening, eggs and vanilla in large bowl. Add flour mixture to the sugar and blend. Add oatmeal and mix fairly well.

Bake in lightly greased 13x9 pan @ 350° for 35-40 minutes. Frost immediately with 1/2 can vanilla frosting (it will melt on the top) and serve in about 20-30 minutes, while still warm.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

This recipe comes from The Next Food Network Star and was featured in the Bon Appétit magazine. I tried it out for a Sunday dinner and EVERYBODY raved over it. My sister even sent me a text later in the evening thanking me for the awesome dinner and said she was going to have fanciful dreams about it all night. She especially loved the vegetables. (WOW.) When I made it I served it with a simple grilled teriyaki chicken and jasmine rice. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo after it was baked, but you get the idea. It's a yummy recipe! There were no leftovers.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 or 2 red onions, halved, thickly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 eggplant, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
2 yellow squash, cut into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
3 zucchini, cut into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
Salt /Pepper

Whisk vinegar and mustard in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Stir in garlic, thyme, and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss all vegetables in large bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add dressing; toss to coat. Divide between 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Roast until vegetables are tender and slightly brown around edges, about 35 minutes.

Sloppy Joe Seasoning

8 Tbsp dried minced onion
3 Tbsp green pepper flakes
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp granulated garlic
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp celery salt
2 tsp chili powder

Mix together and store in airtight container. Makes about 1 Cup. To use, substitute about 1/3 cup for store bought Sloppy Joe package.

(Recipe from The Amazing Wheat Book )

Chile Relleno Casserole

Chile Relleno Casserole
350° for about an hour

1 Cup half and half
2 eggs
1/3 Cup flour
3 cans (4oz each) diced green chiles
8 oz - 1 pound grated Colby-jack cheese (depends on how cheesy you like it...I use a pound)
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

Lightly grease casserole dish with spray oil. Spread green chiles evenly in bottom of 13x9 casserole dish.

Beat half and half, eggs and flour until smooth. Pour evenly over chiles.

Top with half of the cheese, then drizzle tomato sauce evenly over top.

Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake uncovered at 350° for about 1 hour or until egg mixture is firm and casserole is golden. If desired, serve with spanish rice.

Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad

1 bag (12-16 oz) garden rotini pasta, cooked, rinsed and cooled in cold water, drained

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 red or yellow pepper, chopped

1/3 Cup chopped celery

1/2 Cup chopped carrots

2 red apples, chopped, I leave the peel on

1/2 Cup chopped onion

8 oz cubed Monterey jack cheese

1 bottle Light House Italian dressing, I use Kraft or Wishbone

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and chill for at least two hours. Add more Italian dressing as desired as the pasta tends to soak it up after awhile.

Vanille Hoernchen - German Christmas Cookie

I got this recipe here while searching for a cookie recipe for a class I was doing on Germany. I had the darndest time converting it since I don't have a kitchen scale. It does have a converter on the recipe site (click "Change Servings") but then it converted everything in grams to ounces and well, flour in ounces is different than fluid in ounces so I still had to dig a little bit to get the right measurements. Plus I tripled the recipe because I needed/wanted about 90 cookies. If you want the recipe for 30 cookies in metric, go to the link above, otherwise I am posting it below in cups, triplicated. It worked for me like this, even though my conversions may be slightly -or more than slightly- off. They are so yummy, you'll want 90 cookies so you have plenty to share.

Vanille Hoernchen --Bake at 350° for approx 10-12 minutes

4 1/3 Cups flour
2 1/4 Cups finely ground almonds (I used a food processor)
2 1/3 Cups butter (not margarine)
1 1/3 Cups sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar (for coating after baking)

Mix all ingredients except powdered sugar in a bowl. Knead dough just until it is mixed. Mine looked like this;



Divide dough into manageable sections and roll into logs or snakes and cut into even sections to about 1 1/2 inch balls. Shape into horns. I didn't have a cookie cutter so I rolled each section into kind of a log pointed on each end and set in onto the cookie tray and turned into a moon/crescent shape and then flattened and evened it out a little bit.



Bake in oven preheated to 350° for about 10-12 minutes or until golden. Gosh I made these in April and can't remember for sure but I think I had to cook them a little bit longer to get them golden on the edges. Carefully coat them in powdered sugar. They are still so warm that they will break easily so I just dipped the top side into the powdered sugar in a bowl and then let them cool on aluminum foil. Mine still got a little bit sticky (powdered sugar melted a little bit) but it didn't EVEN matter because they were so yummy!

Potato Rolls

Makes 48 rolls. Bake 12-15 minutes at 375°

3 Cups scalded milk
3/4 Cup sugar
1 Cup instant potato flakes
1 Tablespoon salt
1/2 Cup shortening
1/2 Cup margarine
4 eggs

Bring milk almost to boil in pan. In a very large bowl combine the sugar, potato flakes, salt, shortening and margarine. Add the milk and stir to melt the shortening and margarine. When slightly cooled (about 5 - 7 minutes) add the eggs and stir.

1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
1/4 Cup very warm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar

While waiting to add eggs, sprinkle water over yeast and sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

8 Cups flour (approx)

Once the eggs are mixed in, add about two cups of flour and the yeast and mix by spoon. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour by spoon or hand. I knead the dough right in the bowl by putting my hand under the mixture and folding the dough in half while turning the bowl about a quarter turn as I go for about 5 - 10 minutes.

Put the dough into a greased bowl and cover with lightly greased saran wrap and let rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until double.

For crescent rolls, separate dough into 4 equal sections and roll each into a large circle.

Lightly butter. I use a sandwich bag to spread the butter on the dough and the baking pans.

Cut into 12 even pie slices.

Roll from the largest side towards the point.






Put onto a buttered tray and cover loosely with greased saran wrap and let rise another 30 minutes. If your kitchen is cold and you need to force the rise, warm the oven to 175° and then shut off and place rolls in warm oven to rise.



If rising in oven, remove rolls from oven and preheat to 375°. Remove saran wrap and bake for 12 - 15 minutes. I switch the trays in the oven halfway through baking so they brown evenly. Makes 48 rolls, 24 on each cookie sheet.

Shredded BBQ Pork

I usually buy thick sliced boneless pork loin, I have also used regular pork chops bone-in, it would probably even work with a pork roast...not sure, I haven't tried that.

-Put pork chops into a crock pot. (I figure about 1/2 pork chop per person serving, maybe a little more.)

-Pour 1 to 1 1/2 bottles of your favorite BBQ sauce over the top. I use hickory flavor. Then, sometimes if I remember I throw a whole peeled onion in. Doesn't really matter.

-Pour about 1/2 can of soda over that...I know, weird, huh. My original recipe called for coke. I use Sprite or 7-up.

-Put the lid on, put it on high for about 6 hours or low for about 10.When I pull the pork out to shred it is usually very easy to take two forks and almost mush it apart on a plate. If it's too hard to shred, it hasn't cooked long enough. If you used pork chops with bone, be very careful to remove all the bone pieces.

-Discard the liquid (and the onion if you used one) and return meat to crockpot, then add another bottle (or more) of Hickory BBQ sauce to the meat and stir it all in. You may wish to put the crockpot on low to keep the meat warm.

-Serve on hamburger buns.

It's really easy. We always have this for New Years so I don't have to cook and it can sit in the crock pot all day so we can all eat whenever we feel like it.

Ham Salad

2 cups finely chopped ham

2 stalked (haha I put stalked, I mean stalks) celery, finely chopped

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1 hard boiled egg...again finely chopped ;)

1/3 cup mayonnaise (+/-)

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp mustard

Tapatío hot sauce, to taste

salt and pepper to taste

I use a food processor to, wait for it -finely- chop everything (separately I should add) but it isn't necessary. Just chop everything up really well if you don't have one. Mix it all up in a medium to large bowl and serve on soft yummy bread, lightly mayo'ed.

When I first made this (because my Grandma Foster always made this when I was little and I was craving it one day) I thought my kids were going to turn their noses up to it...but they LOVE it. My teenagers even pack lunches when I make this. And brag to their friends! WOW.

White Chocolate Popcorn

Start with popped popcorn, your favorite brand, about 3.3 oz bags. I buy the Nestle white chocolate morsels. I was once tempted to make it with the much less expensive generic store brand and it never did set up unless I kept it in the fridge and was a gooey mess while eating. My advice is, wait until the good stuff goes on sale and then stock up!

Remove the unpopped kernels. They get disguised once the white chocolate goes on and HURT YOUR TEETH! (This was from ONE bag!)

Okay, the back of the bag has melting directions but I will post them here anyway. Put 1 cup of white chocolate morsels [morsel is such a funny word to me :)] (per bag of popped popcorn) in a microwave safe container and heat in microwave for 1 minute at 70% power. The morsels will mostly retain their shape. Stir. If they need 10 or so more seconds, go ahead. (Mine did.)

If you want color, add a few drops BEFORE melting in the microwave.

Melted chocolate will still be a little bit thick. That's okay as long as the chips are melted and are stirred smooth. Pour/scoop onto popcorn.

Stir, stir, stir, stir, more stirring, stir...stir. Still stir...ya get the point. Just mix very well (kinda gently) until there are no large lumps of chocolate and the popcorn looks evenly coated.

Pour out onto tray to set. Takes maybe 20 minutes. Use that time to MAKE MORE!!!!!! Store in airtight container or plastic bags, or your tummy. (That's where we keep ours.) °Ü°

Kongo Cookies

Ingredients:
1 lb brown sugar (2 1/4 cups packed)
2 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
6 oz butterscotch chips (or chocolate chips)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix dry ingredients completely. There should be no lumps of brown sugar left.



Add oil and eggs. Mix well, then add chips and nuts. (Don't add extra chips, I tried it once and yuck, it was a greasy mess after it baked.)
Press mixture into a lightly greased 13x9 pan.



Bake at 350° for 25-28 minutes. Careful not to overbake.
Cool and then cut into cookie bars.

Pineapple Glaze

I should have put this up BEFORE Easter. Sorry, I just wasn't thinking. It was a big hit over our Easter ham this year.

2 cups packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn starch (I add a pinch more)
1/2 tsp salt
1 (20oz) can crushed pineapples with juice

Mix in small saucepan. Bring to boil and stirring constantly, stir one minute more, then add-

4 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp mustard

Stir constantly over medium heat, return to low boil and stir until thick. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.