Traditional White Bread

I wanted something to go with the lasagna today and I figured that slices of bread would be a good addition, it was something that I could make beforehand and would still be good without being warm. This is actually the recipe from my breadmaker cookbook. It's really simple and I've made it 6-7 times now with perfect results every time. I'm a huge fan of warm bread with a little bit of butter...favorite thing to do, put the ingredients in the night before and then put it on delayed setting so that it finishes right as I'm waking up....yum!

1.5 pound loaf

1 cup and 2 tbs water

1 tbs butter or margarine

1 3/4 tsp salt

3 cups flour

1 tbs dry milk

2 tbs sugar

2 3/4 tsp active dry yeast

2 pound loaf

1 1/3 c. water

4 tsp butter or margarine

2 tsp salt

4 cups flour

4 tsp dry milk

2 tbs sugar

2 tsp active dry yeast

1. Measure and add liquid ingredients to the bread pan.

2. Measure and add dry ingredients (except yeast) to the bread pan.

3. Use your finger to form a well (hole) in the flour where you will pour the yeast. Yeast must NEVER come into contact with a liquid when you adding ingredients. Measure the yeast and carefully pour it into the well.

4. Snap the baking pan into the breadmaker and close the lid (I put the pan in the maker before I put the ingredients because I don't want the liquid to get jostled and touch the yeast).

5. Choose the setting for bread and crust color and then start.

Crockpot Lasagna

My apartment was asked to make a lunch for some of the leaders at church today as they have to stay for several hours and don't have time to go home and eat. We were asked to do some sort of crockpot dish so that it would stay warm for whenever they had a free moment to dash in and eat. I got to looking for some kind of crockpot dish that would involve lots of other things besides the crockpot (such as tortillas, rice, noodles, etc.) and found this recipe for Crockpot Lasagna. I'm a little bummed as I'm trying a new recipe and not tasting it before giving it away to others but it smells good and looks good so I'm going to have to go with faith that it is ;).

*Update: There ended up being a little leftover so I did get to try it. It was pretty good, the only change that I would make is to make a little more of the cottage cheese/egg/milk mixture. I felt like there wasn't very much and it was a little dry because of that.

Crockpot Lasagna

Recipe came from Tasty Kitchen

Crockpot Lasagna

1 pound Hamburger (browned)

1 whole Onion, Diced

2 cloves Garlic, Diced

1 jar (24 Oz. Jar) Spaghetti Sauce

½ cups Water

1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes

½ teaspoons Italian Seasoning

½ teaspoons Dried Parsley

½ teaspoons Salt

¼ teaspoons Pepper

8 ounces, weight Mushrooms, Sliced (optional)

2 cups Ricotta Cheese (I was too cheap so used cottage cheese)

¼ cups Milk

1 whole Egg

5 ounces, weight Shredded Parmesan Cheese

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese

1 pound Lasagna Noodles

1. Brown hamburger, onions and garlic. Drain grease and set aside.
2. Mix spaghetti sauce, water, and tomatoes together in a bowl. Add Italian seasonings, parsley, and salt and pepper. Dump meat into the sauce. Add mushrooms if using them.
3. Combine ricotta cheese, milk and egg together. Add parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, mixing completely.
4. Line the bottom of the crock pot with 1 cup of sauce. Place uncooked noodles on top of the sauce, completely covering the bottom. Add cheese mixture on top of noodles. Top with 1 ½ cups of sauce. Repeat two more times, ending with sauce. Add a handful of cheese to the top.
5. Cook for 4 hours on low heat.

Chicken Nachos

I have to admit I was a little nervous about this recipe, I've never done much with Velveeta, not because it isn't good but it was not something that I grew up using. This recipe came together really well and quickly, I adapted it from a crockpot recipe, I had planned on doing it in the crockpot but ran out of time and did it over the stove top. It was a little spicy, if you aren't a fan of that omit the Rotel.

Chicken Nachos

Recipe came from A Year of Slow Cooking

(adapted from) Chicken Nachos

2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 package Velveeta

1 Can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)

Bag of Tortilla Chips

Other Nacho stuff: beans, sour creams, onions, olives, tomatoes, etc.

1. Cook chicken (I boiled)

2. Cube Velveeta and put in sauce pan with rotel over medium heat.

3. Add chicken to Velveeta mixture as it begins to melt, turn heat down a little.

4. When Velveeta completely melted and warm put on top of tortilla chips along with other yummy toppings!

Creamy Chicken Pasta

WARNING! Extremely fatty goodness!

This recipe was so delicious but next time definitely needs the salad to offset all the different dairies that are put into it. It's a good thing that I served this at dinner group because if I tried eating it all by myself I would have been in major trouble!

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Recipe came from Tasty Kitchen

Creamy Chicken Pasta

1-1/2 pounds Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breast

2 Tablespoons Mrs. Dash seasoning

1 pound Pasta

8 Tablespoons Butter

1 medium Onion, finely diced

1 teaspoon Salt

Pepper, to taste

4 cloves Garlic, finely minced

8 ounces Light Cream Cheese

1/2 cup Sundried Tomatoes (packed in Oil), finely diced---I was too cheap to buy these

2 cups Low Fat Half and Half

1/2 pound Cooked Bacon, crumbled (I didn't measure this I just put a handful in of Costco's pre-cooked and crumbled bacon)

1-1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Sprinkle Mrs. Dash Italian seasoning on both sides of skinless boneless chicken breasts. Place breasts in a medium sized skillet and cook on medium high heat until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes depending on thickness. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes. Shred meat with two forks or by hand. Then set aside. If the pan is dry, while cooking, I usually add a couple Tablespoons of water to the pan.

In a large Dutch oven bring some salted water to a boil to cook the pasta to al dente (according to package instructions for al dente). Drain pasta but reserve 1 cup of the pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add onions, salt and pepper to butter and saute until onions are soft and starting to “melt” in the pan, about 10 minutes. Do not let onions brown. Add garlic and cook for 5 more minutes at low to medium low heat. Add the cream cheese to the pan in pieces and stir until melted. Add the diced sundried tomatoes to the pan along with the half and half. Stir until combined. Bring to a low simmer. Add the shredded chicken, bacon and parmesan cheese to the pan. Stir until cheese is melted. Season sauce with additional salt or pepper if necessary.

At this point add in pasta water if it is needed. Add water bit by bit. You do not want the sauce to become too thin. (I have added a bit more half and half as well if I forgot to hold back the pasta water.) Add the cooked pasta into sauce and toss. Pour this into a beautiful pasta bowl and garnish with a little fresh cracked pepper on top. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you haven't been able to tell yet I am a huge fan of making cookies and muffins! I love trying new recipes but I also love doing the old favorites that never seem to fail you. One of those is good ol' Chocolate Chip Cookies, I am a huge fan of having them soft and maybe even a little on the doughy side in the middle...yum!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 25 minutes Bake Time: 8-10 minutes per batch

Oven: 375 Degrees Fahrenheit Makes: about 60 cookies (I've decided that cookbooks must make their cookies really small to get the numbers that they say you should.)

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened (I actually just use all butter or margarine)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 12-ounce chocolate chips

1. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening and butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, sugar, and baking soda. Beat until mixture is combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375* oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Snickerdoodles

Tomorrow my FHE group is going to the Testing Center on campus and are going to hand out cookies to people as they leave after their tests. In honor of that I decided to start making cookies yesterday afternoon.

Snickerdoodles

Prep: 25 minutes Chill: 1 hour Bake: 10 minutes per batch

Oven: 375*F Makes: about 36 cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a medium mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat i n egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle.

2. Combine the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat. Place 2-inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 375* oven for 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili

It was my turn to make dinner! If you don't realize I read probably somewhere around 20 different cooking blogs regularly and I found another one yesterday, as I was looking through what they had made before this little number jumped out at me and sounded delicious (or as my roommate likes to say DE-LISH!). I ran to the grocery store and grabbed the ingredients this morning and threw it in the crock pot before I left for work. Because it was my first time trying the recipe I followed it exactly and didn't make any changes. It was really good but there are a couple of things that I would do a little differently next time I make it, it was really meaty, I would scale it back to 2 or 3 chicken breasts instead of 4; and it felt like there wasn't a lot of it besides the meat so I would probably put in another can of corn and at least one more of beans. This recipe was really good but I think it could be made even better by making those little changes.

Recipe came from Sprinkled With Flour

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili
Prep: 5 min; Cook: 8 hr; Servings (1 cup): 10

1 onion, diced (optional)
1 16-oz can black beans
1 16-oz can kidney beans
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 8-oz can corn
2 (14.5-oz) cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder (can reduce this amount for less spiciness)
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package shredded cheddar cheese

~ Combine beans, onion, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, garlic, taco seasoning in crockpot.
~ Place the chicken on top and cover.
~ Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 6-8 hours.
~ Before serving, use a fork to shred the chicken, and stir to mix.
~ Serve over cooked rice and top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Tip: This is also great topped with fresh cilantro, sour cream, and jalapenos. It keeps very well in the refrigerator and tastes even better the next day. For additional flavor, squeeze a little fresh lime juice (to taste) into the meat and stir.

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

I really wanted to make something tonight and so I asked my roommate what I should make--oatmeal muffins, baked doughnuts with cinnamon glaze, or blondie brownies with brown sugar frosting. She told me that I should make the oatmeal muffins this week because they are healthier and she can eat them but to make the others next week (she is finishing up a project for a class and is eating semi-vegetarian and as healthy as she can). So I went with the oatmeal muffins...though I'm not sure how healthy they are when you put the cinnamon sugar on top :)

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

1 cup flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup shortening (I used oil)

1 cup quick oats

1 egg

1 cup milk (I used soy milk)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup raisins (I didn't have any so didn't put them in)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine flour, baking powder and salt; cut in shortening until like coarse crumbs. Stir in oats. Combine egg, milk, and brown sugar; beat well. Stir into dry ingredients; add raisins. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over batter. Bake in 425 degrees oven for 15 to 20 minutes (I did mini muffins and 7 minutes worked perfect!). Serve warm. Makes 12 muffins.

Recipe came from Mom

Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole

I think that I need to start spending more time on All Recipes, my roommate always finds delicious dishes from it. Tonight she made a yummy casserole with salsa, chicken, rice, and cheese---how could you go wrong? She had a mixture of cooked veggies on the side-corn, peas, carrots, and beans; it was really good mixed in with the casserole also. I ate way too much of this and I'm sure it will be something that I will make sometime soon!

Recipe came from All Recipes

Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole

• Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole
• 1 1/3 cups uncooked white rice
• 2 2/3 cups water
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups mild salsa

Place rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place chicken breast halves into a large saucepan, and fill the pan with water. Bring to a boil, and cook for 20 minutes, or until done. Remove chicken from water. When cool enough to handle, cut meat into bite-size pieces.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses. In a separate bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, onion, and salsa. Layer 1/2 of the rice, 1/2 of the chicken, 1/2 of the soup and salsa mixture, and 1/2 of the cheese mixture in prepared dish. Repeat layers, ending with cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until bubbly.

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

When I heard from my roommate that she was making sweet potato burritos I was a little hesitant and not sure how I was going to like them...but they turned out being really good. I was even disappointed when I came home the next day and there were no leftovers to eat for dinner. I love that my taste buds are changing and that I'm becoming more willing to try other things that when I was younger I would have never even given a chance. I'm learning that sweet potatoes are a great starter also and that you can do many things with them.

Recipe came from All Recipes

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

A blog that I read added this today...looks super yummy too! Sweet Potato Burrito

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
• 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
• Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.
• Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve.

Peanut Butter Cream Filled Cookie Cups

I made these peanut butter filled cookie cups for FHE tonight, I'm pretty sure they were a success (if there only being 4 left out of 24 is any measure). I didn't add the heart on top or the sprinkles but I think that they came out pretty good. I cheated and used Betty Crocker cookie mixes (only had to add egg and butter), but I got compliments on how good the cookie tasted :)

Recipe came from Sweet Treats and More

Peanut Butter Cream Filled Cookie Cups

Peanut Butter Cream Filled Cookie Cups

For the Cookie Cups:

1 tube Pillsbury Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough

1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

2 tsp vegetable oil

Sprinkles

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease one mini muffin pan and set aside. Pinch off and make 12 1/2-inch dough balls out of the refrigerated sugar cookie dough and press dough balls into the muffin pan. Bake @ 350 for about 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool completely before removing {you may need to use a spoon to scoop out}.

Place chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted and smooth, stopping to stir every 15-20 seconds.

In another bowl, place sprinkles of your choice (need about 1/2 of a bottle)

Once the cookie cups have cooled completely dip the rim of the cup into the chocolate, then immediately into the sprinkles. Set the cookie cups aside to allow the chocolate + sprinkles to dry before filling with peanut butter cream filling.

While those are cooling, make the filling.

For the Peanut Butter Cream Filling:

3 tbs butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup confectioner's sugar

3 1/2 tbs heavy cream

Place butter, peanut butter, and cream in a bowl and beat on medium speed. Slowly add confectioner's sugar until combined. Beat on high for 1-2 minutes until fluffy and creamy.

Place the peanut butter filling in a Ziploc bag, cut off one of the corners, and squeeze a dollop of filling into each cup.