Soy Marinade or Basting Sauce

Our family has been looking for a really good marinade for Pork Loin, most recipes use a rub, but to our surprise we found this one, and it is really good.  It is a general marinade for any meats.
It is also really good with Chicken.  Try it!

1 clove garlic
1 lemon or 2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. brown sugar


Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl or just put 2 tbsp. lemon juice in a bowl, add garlic and mix all the other ingredients together.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.   Marinate chicken or pork chops, fish or steak.

The recipe makes enough for one chicken or enough fish or meat for four.

Chicken Cauliflower Curry

I just tried this recipe on my family and it was surprisingly wonderful. The combinations of spices and vegetables are really good together. Most of them really liked it. It may have been a little spicy for the younger children but the rest of them really enjoyed it. CHICKEN CAULIFLOWER CURRY 12 oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional) 1/4 tsp salt 2 Tbsp mild curry paste 1 can diced tomatoes 2 cups cauliflower florets 1 Granny Smith apple, diced 1 cup frozen peas 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander or cilantro Preparation Cut chicken crosswise into strips. In a medium size skillet heat 1 tbsp oil on med-high heat. Brown chicken until tender, then take out of the skillet and place in a bowl for later. In the same skillet cook onion, jalapeno pepper and salt, stirring occasionally until tender, about 3 minutes. Add curry paste stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Drain tomatoes and add tomatoes to the skillet. Return Chicken to skillet and add cauliflower florette's, and diced apple; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender. About 10 minutes. Add peas and half of the coriander, stir and simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors blend. Sprinkle remaining coriander on the top. Most of my children liked this with a dollop of sour cream on the top, this helped decrease the jalapeno heat. I tweaked the recipe a little bit by doubling the amount of cauliflower, and putting in extra peas. I scraped out the membranes and seeds of one jalapeno pepper and that was still a little spicy for my younger children, it was perfect for the older ones though. ENJOY!

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

We just had a Relief Society class on using wheat flour in our recipes and they had a sample of this banana bread there for us to try. YUM! YUM! I am not sure whether to put this under the title of Dessert or Bread, it is SO good, it tastes like a dessert but it has wheat flour in it. You can't even tell. I LOVE RECIPES LIKE THIS!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas (about 3)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350. Spray bottom of an 8x4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2.Beat sugar, eggs, and oil in large bowl at medium speed until combined. Beat in banana and vanilla at low speed. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; beat into banana mixture at low speed just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Spoon batter into pan. Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am constantly looking for ways to include wheat in recipes and this recipe is really WONDERFUL. I am not even kidding, it is SO good. I was happy this recipe was shared with me.

WHOLE WHEAT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Step 1-Beat together:
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

Step 2- Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Step 3 - Mix in:
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, you may want to add another 1/4 cup to get a good cookie consistency.
1 bag miniature chocolate chips.

Scoop with a cookie scoop if you have one and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
I noticed that the miniature bag of chocolate chips is the key to making the recipe really good. Having the small chocolate throughout the cookie makes it so you don't even taste the wheat.
It is REALLY good.

LEONHARDT Favorite Chocolate Cake

I mixed two different recipes to make this cake and adjusted the oil. Most of the recipes just have powdered sugar on the top of the cake when it is complete but I found one recipe for the frosting and used a different recipe for the cake and it was a HUGE hit for our family. Even Nate said "That's easily the Best Chocolate Cake I've ever had". That is saying something for someone that doesn't necessarily love chocolate and doesn't impress easily.
This recipe is rich and very chocolaty.

LEONHARDT FAVORITE CHOCOLATE CAKE
Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate fudge cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup light sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/2 cup applesauce & 1/2 c. veg.oil to cut down on the fat and it worked out beautifully)
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.
3.Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.


Fudge Frosting:

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine first 3 ingredients in a heavy saucepan; stir in milk. Add butter; bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until spreading consistency.
Yields 2 1/4 cups.

Pour the frosting over the top of the bundt cake, there is so much frosting that it will make a puddle in the middle of the cake. We didn't use all the frosting, and it was still very tasty.

O Henry Bars

If you need a easy, quick, yummy treat recipe this is the one to try.

O HENRY BARS

1 c. Karo syrup
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. crunchy peanut butter (can use creamy, but it is SO much better crunchy)
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
4 c. rice krispies or cocoa krispies, Both are good.

1/2 bag Chocolate Chips
1/2 bag Butterscotch Chips

Cook Karo Syrup & sugar together until the sugar dissolves, take the pan off the stove and mix in the peanut butter & vanilla (if desired) until it is smooth. Pour mixture over the rice krispies and mix together until the rice krispies are well coated. Place in a greased 9 x 13 pan.

While the Karo Syrup and sugar are dissolving put the Chocolate Chips and butterscotch chips in a microwave safe bowl and warm them up until they are completely melted. The trick to not scorching the chocolate is to only do it in 1 - 2 minute increments and stir inbetween each minute.

Spread over the top and WHALLAH, you are done.

It is easiest to cut them when they are warm. You can wait until the chocolate is more solid to eat them or just eat them warm. My kids usually can't wait.

Eagle Brand Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I was looking for a good recipe for a Young Women activity and this one popped up. I don't think you can ever go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate.

EAGLE BRAND CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BARS

Ingredients
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 3/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 large egg, beaten
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter

Directions

1.Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder and baking soda. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until dough resembles fine crumbs. Stir in peanuts. Set aside 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture.
2.Stir egg into remaining crumb mixture. Press on bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.
3.In small bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter until well combined. Pour evenly over crust.
4.Stir together reserved crumb mixture and chocolate chips. Sprinkle evenly over peanut butter layer. Bake 15 minutes. Cool. Cut into bars. Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperature.

Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 344 | Total Fat: 16.3g | Cholesterol: 35mg

Herb Chicken Marinade

We just got back from a trip to Utah for EFY training and we were able spend some time with our dear friends Willard and Dawn Gummersall. Every time we go there we are treated to great company and amazing food. She is a fenominal cook. I got this recipe from her.

HERB CHICKEN MARINADE

3/4 c. Miracle Whip
1/4 c. grape juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. finely chopped green onions
2 tsp. basil leaves crushed
1 tsp. dried thyme
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Marinate for 4 hours and grill

This is SO good.

Spinach Crescents

I haven't tried this recipe yet but it looks like it would be a great way to have the kids eat some spinach because they LOVE crescent rolls.

SPINACH CRESCENTS

1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 pkg (10 ounce) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tsp light olive oil or canola oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 pkg (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls

In a food processor or blender, finely chop the almonds. Add spinach, Parmesan cheese, onion, oil, salt and pepper; cover and process until well blended. Unroll and separate the crescent dough into eight pieces.

Spread spinach mixture evenly over dough to within 1/8 in. of edge. Roll up and place on a greased baking sheet.

Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: 8 servings.

Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake

Cheesecake is always yummy and this recipe is WONDERFUL.

BLUEBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp corn starch
1 Tbsp cold water

CRUST:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 16 squares)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp butter, melted

FILLING:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until he berries are softened. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into the blueberry mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. Transfer to a blender; cover and process until smooth. Set aside.

For crust, in a small bowl, combine the crumbs and sugar; stir in the butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9 in. springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in sour cream, and vanilla. Pour into crust. Drizzle with blueberry mixture; cut through batter with a knife to swirl. Place pan on a baking sheet

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove sides of pan. Refrigerate leftovers.

This makes about 12 servings

Raspberry Cream Dessert

When I saw this I had to try it because it has cream cheese. Anything with Cream Cheese in it is a big hit with our family. It also looked easy and fun for a Family Home Evening Treat.

RASPBERRY CREAM DESSERT

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 package (10 ounces)frozen sweetened raspberries, thawed
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Gradually fold in whipped cream. Pipe mixture into two dessert dishes or spoon into two 4 in. spring form pans coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. I am going to use my trifle dish.

Drain raspberries, reserving juice, set berries aside. Add enough water to the juice to measure 3/4 cup. In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and juice mixture until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly.

Stir in reserved raspberries. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with cream dessert.

This makes 2 Large serving.

Spicy Rice, Bean & Cheese Skillet

Our newspaper had a section "taste of home" that had some great recipes I thought I would add to the blog. Let me know what you think of this one.

SPICY RICE, BEAN & CHEESE SKILLET

1 1/2 cups green bell peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 1/4 cups water
2 cups Minute Brown Rice, uncooked
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup low-fat Colby and Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Cook and stir green peppers and garlic in hot oil in large skillet on medium high heat 1 minute. Add tomatoes, beans, and water; mix well. Bring to boil.
Stir in rice. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in cilantro; top with cheese. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.
If you would like this as a main dish you can add cooked diced chicken.

Famous Pork Chops

FAMOUS PORK CHOPS

Ingredients
1 cup crushed butter crackers
garlic salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
3 eggs, beaten
4 pork chops
1/2 cup butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a shallow bowl combine crushed crackers, garlic salt and pepper; mix well. In a separate bowl beat eggs.
Dip your pork chops in the egg batter and then in the cracker mixture. Place the pork chops in a casserole dish. Place chunks of the butter around the pork chops. Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Thai Peanut Chicken

I LOVE Peanuts, actually, any kind of nut will do. So when I found this recipe I had to try it.
http://www.sugardoodle.net/melsrecipes/archives/265

Rolo Cookies

There was a sweet seminary student in Vernal who made these cookies for the teachers and my hunny loved them so much she shared the recipe with us. They are really yummy!

ROLO COOKIES

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
9 oz. bag of Rolo candy ( 48 rolos)

Combine flour, cocoa, and soda in a small bowl. In large bowl, beat sugars, and margarine until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs to sugar/butter mixture, beat well. Add flour mixture, blend well. Stir in 1/2 cup of chopped pecans (optional).
Shape 1 Tbsp of dough around one Rolo candy, covering completely. Put 1 Tbsp of sugar in small bowl and roll cookie ball around until covered with sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes. (they are better undercooked than overcooked)
After a day or so, if there are any left over, we love to put them in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up again. Good, Good!

Key Lime Meltaways

A few years ago a good friend introduced me to Key Lime Pie and ever since that I have loved just about everything with Key Lime in it. I just saw this recipe in the Midland Daily News and thought I would try it and share it with you.

KEY LIME MELTAWAYS

1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp. key lime juice
Zest of 1 lime (or 3 key limes)
1 1/2 cups all- purpose flour
1/2 c. corn starch
1/4 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and butter until creamy. Mix in the lime juice and zest.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Drop teaspoon size balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your thumb to indent the tops of the cookies and create a "nest" for the frosting to sit in. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until set. These cookies should not brown or spread, and will be quite fragile.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet before frosting.

FROSTING

1/2 c (4 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. key lime juice

To make the frosting, in a medium bowl use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese with butter, scraping the bowl several times to ensure there are no lumps. Mix in the powdered sugar and key lime juice. Frost each cookie with a dollop of the frosting.
Cookies can be stored for 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Swiss Chicken

This is a recipe that one of my children always ask for when it is there dinner night.

SWISS CHICKEN

6-8 Chicken breasts
8 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup (can use cream of chicken)
3/4 c. milk
2 c. dry seasoned stuffing
1/3 c. melted butter

Put chicken in a baking dish. Put a slice of cheese on each piece of chicken. Combine milk, and soup; pour on top of chicken. Spoon stuffing on top. Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 50 minutes.

Ham and Swiss Loaf

This recipe is from the ward cook book. It is from a great friend and my family LOVES it.

HAM AND SWISS LOAF

Bread Dough (can use your own or see recipe below)
8 thin ham slices, fully cooked
1/2 c. shredded (2 oz.) Swiss cheese
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
2 tsp. mustard

Roll bread dough into a 9 inch square. Mix mayonnaise and mustard; spread onto dough. Lay ham slices and Swiss cheese on bread dough. Roll up tightly into a loaf; pinch edge of dough to seal. Pinch ends as well - fold ends under loaf. Place, seam side down, on cookie sheet; cover. Let rise in warm place 40 to 45 minutes. Cook at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into 1 inch slices to serve.

For my family I always have to double this recipe

BREAD DOUGH

3/4 c. water
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 c. flour
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. yeast

Mix all ingredients together and set aside for about 30 minutes.

Strawberry Cream Freeze

I found this recipe on the inside of the Philadelphia Cream Cheese box. We love anything with Cream Cheese and this was so yummy and refreshing.

STRAWBERRY CREAM FREEZE

1 pkg. (8 oz. ) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping
20 Reduced Fat NILLA wafers, coarsely broken
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced, divided
1/2 cup strawberry ice cream topping
1 OREO Pie Crust

Beat cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; beat 2 minutes.

Stir in Cool Whip, wafers and 1 cup berries. Swirl in ice cream topping.

Spread into crust. Freeze 6 hours until firm. Remove dessert from freezer 15 minutes before serving. Top with remaining berries.

I had some chocolate graham crackers and just made the pie crust. It is easy.

CHOCOLATE PIE CRUST

1 cup chocolate graham crackers crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. margarine, melted

Combine crumbs, sugar and margarine; press into the pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

Meat 'n' Cheese Stromboli

Brooke came home the other day from school with this recipe in her backpack. First thing she did was pull it out and say "I want this for my dinner night". It looks wonderful so we will try it.

MEAT 'N' CHEESE STROMBOLI

1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 medium green pepper, sliced into rings
1 Tbsp. butter
2 loaves (16 ounces each) frozen bread dough, thawed
1/2 pound thinly sliced hard salami
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli ham
1/2 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound sliced mild cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. poppy seeds

In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in butter until crisp-tender; set aside.

On two greased baking sheets, roll each loaf of dough into a 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Arrange the salami, ham and cheeses lengthwise over half of each rectangle to within 1/2 in. of edges. Top with onion mixture; sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and pepper. Fold dough over filling; pinch edges to seal well.

Brush with the egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 400 degrees for 15- 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool loaves for 5 minutes before slicing.