Hush Puppie Madness

Not too long ago I was insanely crazy about hush puppies. We had gone out to eat and we had some with our dinner. And I wanted more! So when I got home I did an internet search and found two really good recipes. I tried them both and have to say they are equally good.

So if you get hungry for some good ol' hush puppies go ahead and fry some up.

Mmmmmm....

Paula Deen Hush Puppies
1 1/2 Cups Self-Rising Cornmeal
1/2 Cup Self-Rising Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 small Onion, chopped
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 Egg, lightly beaten

Using a mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the onion. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and egg. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Drop the batter, one teaspoon at a time, into the oil. Dip the spoon in a glass of water after each hushpuppy is dropped in the oil. Fry until golden brown, turning the hushpuppies during the cooking process.

Vicki’s Hush Puppies
2 Eggs, beaten
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1 large Onion, diced
1 Cup Self-Rising Flour
1 Cup Self-Rising Cornmeal

In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, and onion. Blend in flour and cornmeal.
Drop batter by rounded teaspoons in hot oil, and fry until golden brown. Cook in small batches to maintain oil temperature. Drain briefly on paper towels. Serve hot.

*If you don’t have self-rising flour add 1 tsp Baking powder and 2 tsp Salt
If too dry add about 1/4-1/2 Cup Milk or Buttermilk.

Cheesy Chicken Empanadas

I love Kraft Food & Family magazine! I get four a year and they ALWAYS have good recipes.

This is one of our family favorites. It is soooo easy and tastes really good.

Cheesy Chicken Empanadas
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese
1/3 cup KRAFT SANDWICH SHOP Chipotle Flavored Reduced Fat Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 egg
1 Tbsp. water
1 pkg. (14.1 oz.) ready-to-use refrigerated pie crusts (2 crusts)
1 tsp. chili powder

HEAT oven to 375ºF.
COMBINE first 4 ingredients. Whisk egg and water until well blended.
UNROLL pie crusts on lightly floured surface. Use rolling pin to roll each to 12-inch circle. Cut each crust into 8 (4-inch) circles with biscuit cutter, re-rolling dough as needed. Place on parchment-covered baking sheets. Spoon 2 Tbsp. chicken mixture onto center of each circle; brush edge with egg. Fold dough circles in half. Press tops lightly to remove excess air; seal edges with fork. Brush tops with remaining egg. Sprinkle with chili powder.
BAKE 15 min. or until golden brown.

Kelli's Peanut Butter Bars

I put this recipe on my family blog not too long ago...but I thought I would share with all of you. These are AMAZING!!! If you have ever been to Terrel's Bakery in Mt. Pleasant, Utah they taste just like them (maybe better)!

Peanut Butter Bars
Cookie Recipe:
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
3/4 Cup Shortening
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Measure peanut butter, shortening and brown sugar. Add sugar, egg and vanilla; beat until thoroughly combined. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add to peanut butter mixture;, mix well. Press the dough onto baking sheet with your hands, it is very soft dough, until it covers the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Frosting:
2 Cups Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup Peanut Butter

In a saucepan place ingredients and melt on medium heat until blended. layer over cooled cookies.

Kelli's Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I was about 12 years old I decided to make my very own chocolate chip cookies recipe.

I have become the master cookie maker, ask my siblings...they will vouch for me. :)

I wrote it down and history...Kelli's Chocolate chip Cookies. I have learned some things about cooking the last couple of years, so the recipe has improved some over the years.

Mmmm...they are might tasty!

The best part...cookie dough :)

Kelli Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 Cup Butter
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
4 Cups Flour, plus more
Chocolate Chips

Cream the sugars, butter and eggs. Mix in the vanilla, dry ingredients and chocolate chips. When adding flour, do it a little at a time. Mix it until the dough is workable with fingers. Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees

Crumb-y Old Fish Tacos

My daughter hates it when I announce we're having fish tacos. She does a fair amount of whining and complaining but, being the evil mom that I am, I make them anyway. She has consistantly refused to even taste them...until now!
One thing my daughter does like are Ritz crackers. I am currently out of breadcrumbs so I thought, 'Hmm...wonder what a fish breading with Ritz would be like.'
Delicious and Savanna-approved is what it is.
"It tastes like a chicken nugget, mom!"

So here it is, Ritz Fish Breading
Take a sleeve of Ritz and dump it in the blender. Blend until smooth. Add some lemon and pepper seasoning, dried cilantro and whatever else you feel like adding. Blend again.
Get three bowls similar in size.
In one bowl, put about a cup of flour. The second, whip up a few eggs for a dip. Third bowl, put your Ritz mix in it.
Take about a pound of your favorite fish (I had cod that night because it was on sale. Tilapia is my favorite normally.) Thaw as directed (if frozen).
Drench fillets in the flour then the egg wash then coat in Ritz breading. Add a few tablespoons olive oil to a big pan. Fry the fillets until the flesh flakes with a fork, until the breading is golden brown.

Meanwhile...
here is a super fast pico de gallo recipe I whipped up.

Four roma tomatoes, chopped.
Two handfulls cilantro, chopped.
A few tablespoons white onion, finely chopped.
A nice big splash of lime juice.
A few shakes of black pepper.
Mix well.

We always use warmed white corn tortillas, a squeeze of La Victoria mild red sauce and a smear of sour cream (or Rubio's white sauce) along with our pico and fish. Kelli has the great Rubio's sauce recipe for fish tacos but I'll leave it up to her to give it you!
Love fish tacos!

Ham n' Bean Soup

After Easter I had a TON of leftover ham. We ate it for a week and I wanted to make something with it. So I called Amy and she gave me a quick recipe for Ham n' Bean Soup. I added some things and know what I will do differently next time (more water/broth). But it was quite good.

Here is what you will need: potatoes, onion, garlic, ham, great northern beans, pepper, oregeno

and not pictured is water and chicken broth.

I decided to add the celery after looking in my fridge...it made quite a difference. Add it!

YUMMY!

Ham n’ Bean Soup

2 cans Great Northern Bean Soup
2-3 Cups Ham (with bone okay), cut into small pieces
2 Potatoes, cut into small pieces
Onion, finely chopped

Celery, finely chopped
1-2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Chicken Broth
Seasonings to taste; pepper, salt, oregano, basil leaves, etc…

Saute the onions and celery in a pan with olive oil or butter. In a crockpot add the beans, ham, potatoes, water and chicken broth. Add the vegetables, garlic and seasonings. Cook on high in crockpot for 4 hours or leave all day.

Channa Masala

Hey there, Erin again. About a month ago, my sisters and I went to the Holi Festival down in Spanish Fork and while there, we ate some Indian food and fell in love with the food. My favorite dish was Channa Masala which is chick peas (garbanzo beans) in a curry sauce. I went on a search for a fairly easy recipe to make this dish and this is what I found.

Channa Masala

1 tbsp butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
1/2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
3 tbsp chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp salt
juice of 1/4 lemon

Toss the butter in a skillet set over medium heat. When melted, add the onion and cook unti lsoft and beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the coriander, cumin, cayenne and turmeric. Stir until combined and cook for 30 seconds or so, or until it is very fragrant.

Stir in the tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Dump in the chickpeas and pour in the water. Stir until combined and then bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the paprika, garam masala, salt and lemon juice. Cover and cook at a simmer for 10 minutes.


You might ask what garam masala is. I wondered too. Apparently it's a mixture of spices, kind of like curry. I couldn't find any, so I just used curry powder. I will warn you, it was very spicy and I even cut the spices in half. My kids aren't big on spicy so next time, I will probably cut the 1/2 in 1/2 again. But it still was very good.

I complemented the meal with Uncle Ben's Basmati Ready Rice and french bread. Yummy!!

Chocolate Chili Cake

Hey there! It's Erin. As many of you know, I love to bake!!! My sisters are so good at cooking but my specialty seems to be baking...so most of my contributions will be cakes or treats of some kind or another.

At work tomorrow for CINCO DE MAYO, we are having a potluck and I'm always asked to contribute a cake. I wanted to go for something different this time so here is a cake creation that is yummy but it definitely has a kick.

Chocolate Chili Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix
ingredients to make cake from the box (eggs, oil, water)
1 box chocolate pudding
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp chili powder
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients together til combined. Add wet ingredients and mix for at least 2 minutes. Bake as directed on box.

I frosted my cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. ENJOY!!

Homemade Wingers

Hey there, this is Kelli. Do I have a tasty delight for you tonight. Have you been to Wingers?

It is one of my husband's favorite restaurant's and so while trolling the web I happened upon this recipe....and thought, hmmm...I will try this. I am telling you now that we LOVE these. They are so good!

First, make the sauce. It makes a lot, you can do probably two pans full with all the sauce you make with this recipe.

I found these chicken tenders at Smith's. I was looking in the frozen chicken section and was having a coronary over the prices. Then I walked over to the meat/butcher section and they had these lovely chicken tenders for the wonderful price of $4.

Put some foil down over your baking sheet, put on your chicken and you can just pour the sauce over the chicken. I did that and then I went back with my tongs and pulled the larger pieces and dipped them so they were coated.

They turned out wonderful. We just dipped them in ranch. Also, nice little tidbit...if you like the Winger's creamy sauce. All I did was mix some of the sauce with the ranch and mix. Yummy...good for dipping too. :)

Homemade Winger's Sticky Fingers

Breaded Chicken Tenders

2 Cups Brown Sugar, packed

1 Cup Water

3/4 Cup Vinegar

1/2 Cup Ketchup

3 Tbsp Soy Sauce

4 Tbsp Cornstarch

1/4 Cup Franks Hot Sauce (less if you want less spice)

Fill 9x13 pan with desired amount of breaded chicken tenders. In a bowl mix remaining ingredients together and pour over top of chicken. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until center of chicken is no longer pink. Sauce will thicken upon standing (turn pieces after they come out of the oven to evenly coat with sauce-but if not they are still good).

Serve with celery sticks and ranch dressing.

You'll-Never-Miss-The-Meat Cassarole

Hello there, furry friends! This is Sister #3 (a.k.a Amy) and do I have a recipe for you!
If you are anything like me then the day or three before the 'big' grocery shopping trip can mean meager meals made of whatever hasn't been eaten. Mostly, my husband and kids put up with these nights and try to humor me. (Scratch that, my five year old daughter has no problem telling me how tasteless my cooking is)
The solution? Well, creativity and a willingness to experiment have kept my family from starving but until last night when I threw this little gem together, I hadn't quite gotten the standing ovation I deserved.
If you don't believe vegetarian can be full-flavor, I would kindly like to direct you to any Indian-food restaurant to prove to you otherwise. But seeing as curry isn't in my cupboard, I went with a more acceptable Americanized southwest dish and TA-DA! My daughter said loudly, "Mom, I love this!"
I consider that an ovation in itself.
On to the food!

You'llNeverMissTheMeat Cassarole A'La Amy

6-8 corn tortillas, torn into bite-size pieces

1 can low-sodium corn

(too much sodium = health problems later in life. Accept it now)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

(unless you like the look of tar in your food?)

1 can mild Rotel or

1 small can green chilies (if you hate tomatoes.)

(But honestly, who hates tomatoes?)

1 can cream of chicken soup

6 oz. light sour cream

1 box rice-a-roni Spanish rice (or any flavor variety of your choosing)

*a few ounces of frozen spinach

*a few ounces of pictsweet's seasoning blend

1 cup shredded cheese of choice

Spray down a 13x9 glass pan with some cooking spray and spread the torn tortillas on the bottom.

Cook the rice according to directions, adding the frozen spinach and seasoning blend just before setting it to simmer.

Mix the cream of chicken soup, black beans, corn, rotel, 1/2 cup cheese and sour cream in a large bowl.

Spread rice over the tortillas in the pan then layer the mixture over top the rice. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes and voila!

*As you probably noticed, I say 'a few ounces' of frozen this or that. I like to hide additional vegetables in food to tie up that pesky pyramid and add some serious flavor. The seasoning blend adds alot of flavor so you don't need the whole package. Yay! Some for later! And the spinach in the recipe...you will never know it's there! If I have snuck in an entire bag of frozen spinach throughout two weeks, I consider it a good deal.



Hello

Welcome to our new blog!

My sisters and I love to cook and bake and I thought it would be fun to start blogging the recipes we find and the things that we cook and bake.

I just want to send out a quick nugget to all of you that Kroger now makes Nutella in their brand. The best thing about it is that is over a dollar less and tastes just as good. :)