Mexican-ish Rice

This is the rice I usually make for burritos, but it's also really good by itself as well.


Ingredients:
1 C Rice
2 C Water
1 T Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil
1 T Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 t Taco Seasoning
1 T Lemon Juice (Mine is frozen cubes)


Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a pot on the stove, set temperature at medium. When the water comes to a boil, turn the heat down low for 15-20 minutes until rice is cooked. Taste it to see if it is too crunchy or not!

Pizza Dough

Making homemade pizzas as a family can be fun and productive. We've made them for parties too.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 - 3 C Flour
1 Package Yeast
1/2 t Salt
1 C Warm Water
2 T Cooking Oil or Olive Oil

Directions:
In mixing bowl combine 1 1/4 C flour, the yeast, and salt.

Add warm water and oil.

Add as much of the remaining flour as you can.

For Thin Crust Pizzas don't let it rise, for thicker crust let the dough rise for 30-45 minutes.

Separate dough into two balls, place one on floured (or oiled) surface. (I just clean my counter top really well and do it there. Oil is much easier, but flour is healthier!)

Roll out the dough into a 12-14 inch circle and place it onto a pizza pan, cookie sheet or circle pan.

Add your sauce and your toppings. The possibilities are endless!

My favorite topping combination is tomato sauce, sprinkled with Italian herbs, with pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and covered in mozzarella. Another idea is my barbecue chicken recipe, located over at Arizona Mama.

Turkey and Noodles

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3 Tasty Berry Recipes

Today I am over at Arizona Mama sharing the three recipes that I made from berries we picked while camping!

We made Ben's Berry Banana Smoothies, Berry Turnovers and Wild Berry Jam. Check out all three recipes here.

Classic Camping Tin Foil Dinner

Tin foil dinners are a staple for us camping. They are easy to prepare ahead of time and can be thrown right on the campfire. Our friends that went with us said they were hooked on them now too! One thing to remember is to not cheap out on the tin foil. If you do, you will want to add extra layers.

The Anatomy of a Tin Foil Dinner

These are a great assembly line meal, whether you are making them yourself or if you have help!

First you will want to lay out your first layer of tin foil. It should be about 18 inches by 18 inches, depending on what you are putting in your tin foil dinner. This is a good starting point. More is better though! If your tin foil is too skinny, you can overlap two pieces to make it the side you need. Make sure they overlap by 3-4 inches.

From here you can start putting on your food. (See the recipes below) After the food is on you will want to roll up the sides. Grab the top and the bottom edge and put them together, and roll them up. Next, do the same to the two sides.

Next, you will need another large piece of tin foil that will wrap your tin foil dinner a second time. You can wrap it the same way or just fold it around the first. They should be wrapped separately so that it is less likely that they will spill out.

Classic Tin Foil Dinners

Ingredients:
Onion (A thick slice for each tin foil dinner)
Ground Beef(1/2 pound-ish for each dinner)
Baby Carrots
Potato Chunks
Montreal Steak Seasoning (Or other seasoning as you wish)

Directions:
Slice your onion into thick slices. Even if you don't like them, you want this on here. It flavors it and protects the meat from getting burnt. I eat the onion (it turns out perfectly caramelized most of the time and is delicious) but my husband hates eating onions and wont eat it. That's another reason that it's in a big slice is so that it is easy to find for the ones that pull it out.I have also heard of people using cabbage to cook their dinners in to keep it moist and from burning like I do with the onion, but I don't like the smell of cooking cabbage so it ruins it for me a little.

Next take a ball of the ground beef and squish it into a patty on top of the onion. Make them whatever size you want, but try to keep them from being too thick to make sure that they will cook easily.

Sprinkle your seasoning on next, then add your veggies. Now you can wrap it up and it's ready to go!

Tomato Basil Soup

I was craving some good soup, so I searched Pinterest for something I could make with stuff I had on hand. I'm pretty proud of what I came up with! The idea for this was taken from this BlendTec Video.

Ingredients:
1 Bag of Frozen Tomatoes (As prepared Here)
1 Can of Tomato Sauce
1/2 Cup of Milk
1/3 Cup of Chopped Frozen Green Peppers
3 Tablespoons of Basil Flakes
1 teaspoon of Montreal Chicken Seasoning
1 Tablespoon of Butter
2 Cups of Cooked Rice, Seasoned with Garlic and Onion (I would have done a little less rice, but I used a premeasured package)

Directions:
Defrost Tomatoes until pliable. Put tomatoes, tomato sauce, milk, green peppers, 2 T of basil, and Montreal chicken seasoning in Blender. Blend at "Soups and Fondues" setting or equivalent.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add soup mix from blender to it. Add the rest of the basil, and the cooked rice. Heat until simmering, then cook for 5 minutes or so. Serve hot!

I also served it with these Olive Garden Copy Cat Bread Sticks.

Super Easy Lemon Chicken

I recently bought some raw breaded chicken patties to try to convince myself to cook more. Having the chicken already prepared makes things so much easier! Even if you can't cook, this recipe is for you. Some instant mashed potatoes would go great with it but I was too lazy today. (Yes, I do know how easy instant potatoes are. I would much rather lay on the couch.)

Ingredients:
Raw Breaded Chicken Breast (Comes in the freezer section by the chicken nuggets)
Lemon Juice (Frozen, Fresh or Bottled. See Also: Making the Most of Fresh Lemons)

Directions:
Heat Oven to the temperature stated on the package of chicken.

Put the chicken on the cookie sheet. I really like the stone ones because you can't wash them.

Put the lemon juice on top of the chicken. If frozen, just set the cube on top. If bottled or fresh douse the entire top of the chicken.

Put in the oven and cook for as long as the package of chicken tells you. When you bring it out of the oven, cut it open to make sure that the chicken is cooked inside. It should be white not pink.

Can you tell I ate a piece before I took the picture? It was so good, I couldn't wait!

Check out these other dishes:
Ridiculously Easy Chicken Parmesan
The Original Lemon Chicken (Easy,but not SUPER Easy :)
Egg Salad Sandwiches

Mentioned Above:
Making the Most of Fresh Lemons

Not Fried "Refried Beans"

I know it says refried in the name, but I never really realized that beans were fried until my neighbor said that they had to buy vegetarian beans because the normal refried beans were fried in lard. That's a little gross, but it won't keep me from eating them occasionally. But if I can be a little healthier and have something that tastes good I may as well. Really my "refried beans" are just pureed but I think I make them in an awesome way. This is a little time consuming, in a do a little bit and then leave them for a long time way, so you want to make them a day (and a night) before you need them.

Ingredients:
1 lb dry pinto beans
1 cup salsa

Small Appliances Used:
Crock Pot
Blender

Directions:
Put the beans and 8 cups of cold water in a large bowl and let them soak for 6 to 8 hours.

Drain and rinse the beans, then put them in the crock pot with 6 cups of water or more. Set to low and let them cook for 8 to 10 hours.

Let the pot cool for an hour or so, and then drain the beans by pouring them into a strainer and then rinse them.

Put half of the beans and half of the salsa into the blender. Blend until it looks like refried bean consistency. In the blender, it looks like it could be confused for a chocolate milk shake. That might be a great idea for an April Fool's Day joke.

If the beans cooled too long they may need to be reheated, and that can be done on the stove or in the microwave.

To store them, you can put them in the fridge for about a week or so, or you can freeze them. I freeze them by putting them in ice cube trays and put those cubes in a bag after they are frozen. Canning would also be an option.

I hope this helps you be a little healthier, save some money and to have some great tasting bean burritos!

For other food tips check out these posts:
Making the Most of Fresh Lemons
The day after a Farmer's Market
DIY On-the-Go Applesauce

Frozen Lemon Pie

We have this dessert every couple of months. It's easy and delicious!

Ingredients
Graham cracker crust
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
8 ounces Cool Whip
6 ounces undiluted lemonade frozen concentrate
Juice and zest from 1 lemon

Directions
In a large bowl, combine softened ice cream, Cool Whip, lemonade concentrate, and the juice and zest of lemon. Stir until blended. Pour in pie crust. Freeze overnight of for several hours.

Serves 8 - 12

Taken from: The Essential Mormon Cookbook

Crunch Top Ham Casserole

Taken From: A Taste of Home
Ingredients:
1 package (32 ounces) frozen cubed hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 cups cubed cooked ham
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups crushed cornflakes
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Combine cornflakes and butter; sprinkle over top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour or until heated through.

We make this a lot, sometimes I use other meats, or lunch meat if that's all we have. I also have substituted another can of cream of something for the sour cream. I also use freeze dried hash browns, and it takes two cartons of those.

Chicken a la King

This recipe has moved! Go see it here at Monzanita's!

Fantasy Fudge

I make this every Christmas and sometimes more often. It freezes well, so I usually make a double batch and pull some out as I'm craving it.

Ingredients:

3 Cups sugar
3/4 Cups butter
2/3 c. evaporated milk

2 Cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow cream
1 Cups chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Stir together butter, sugar and milk in heavy 2 1/2 to 3 quart saucepan; bring to full boil, stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes over medium heat or until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in chocolate until melted. Add remaining ingredients; mix until well blended. Pour into greased 9 x 9 inch or 13 x 9 inch pan. Cool at room temperature; cut into squares.

Prep time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 15 minutes. Makes 3 pounds. High Altitude: Decrease recommended temperature (234 degrees) 2 degrees for every 1, 000 feet above sea level. NOTE: Do not substitute sweetened condensed milk for evaporated milk.

Taken from: Kraft marshmallow cream label

Tried and Liked: Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

These muffins actually come from a cake recipe, but I like muffins better!

Here's the original recipe:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
(Adapted from Something Edible)
The usual suspects:

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups grated zucchini, loosely packed
3/4 cup pecans roughly chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons light brown sugar

The prep:
Preheat oven to 350º.
Cream butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy (stand mixer, hand mixer, elbow grease…) Add eggs and vanilla and continue beating/whisking until creamy. Add salt, baking soda, and cocoa; continue whisking until incorporated. Slowly add in flour in thirds, stirring after each addition until fully incorporated. Fold in the grated zucchini. Pour into a greased 9×13″ dish and top with brown sugar, pecans and chocolate chips. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake. Keeps nicely covered at room temp for a few days.
Eat up!

I did a few things differently, I obviously put them into a muffin pan instead, and because of that I had to make more topping. I didn't really measure the topping but I would probably do about half of the recipe of topping extra. (Wow I don't know how to say that right, I'm a little tired!) I also added walnuts to my topping and it was so good!

Taken from: Whisk Flip Stir

Chili Dog Casserole

This recipe has moved! Please click here to be redirected to Monzanita's for the full Recipe.

Chicken Italian Sandwich

I love a good sandwich. You know it's good when I have to post about it as I'm eating it! (See also: Chicken Salad Sandwich) Ohh it's good! SO amazing. Anyway... here's the recipe, or just the idea of it. I got the original recipe from What Meegan Makes and changed it up a bit to fit what I had on hand. Hers is probably better so go check it out here.

Ingredients:
(Can be adjusted to whatever you like/ what you have on hand!)

Cooking Oil
Bell Peppers (Mine were sliced and frozen, from the Market on the Move a few weeks ago)
Onions (Also chopped and frozen)
Chicken (Mine was already cooked and shredded, leftover from lemon chicken the other night. Did you know you could shred chicken in the kitchen aid?!? It's so easy!)
Montreal Chicken Seasoning
Bread (I was sad I only had cheap bread, but it was still delicious!)
Italian Dressing
Cheese (I used Mozzarella, sliced)
Tomato Slices

Directions:
Pour a small amount of cooking oil in a frying pan and saute your peppers and onions.

Meanwhile toast your bread, and spread some Italian dressing on it. Afterwards, put your sauteed vegetables onto your bread.

Heat chicken in the frying pan, season as much as you like. When heated/cooked thoroughly put it onto your bread as well.

Add cheese and tomato slices and enjoy! I finished eating mine mid-post and I really wish I had made two!

If you need any other sandwich ideas, check out my post at Arizona Mama on How to Make an Amazing Sandwich or Sub.

Ritz Peanut Butter Sandwiches

I don't like to pay extra for something I can easily make. Just like those crackers and peanut butter sandwiches you can buy. I do them myself. These ones I added just a little bit of semi-sweet chocolate to the inside and they were delicious! You'll have to try it!

Almond Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
1 can French-style green beans
1 pound cooked egg noodles
8 ounces of plain yogurt
½ Cup mayonnaise
1 Cup chicken broth
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon parsley
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
3 Cups shredded, cooked chicken
1 Cup slivered almonds
1/3 Cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a bowl, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, broth, salt, parsley, and garlic powder.

In a 3 quart casserole layer half of the noodles, green beans, chicken, almonds, cheese and yogurt mixture; repeat.

Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serves 6 - 8

Source unknown

Tried and Liked:Cresent Rolls and French Dip Sandwiches

I made something really delicious tonight, and it was pretty easy! The rolls my mom started making this thanksgiving, and they have been a family favorite ever since (as in everyone tries to get mom to make them as often as possible!) The rolls are great, and then turning them into french dip sandwiches made them even better. Next time I have to remember the cheese. My au jus didn't turn out too great this time, but I know how to make it better next time, and I can't wait!

Click here to see How Does She's Delicious Dinner Rolls.

Click here to see Mama Love Food's French Dip Cresents.

Breakfast Cake

Most people call this a coffee cake with a struesel topping, but that name confused my children since we don’t drink coffee. So I started calling it Breakfast Cake.

Ingredients:

3 Cups flour

1 ½ Cups sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 beaten eggs

1 ¾ Cups milk

½ Cup cooking oil

Topping:

2 Cups chopped nuts

½ Cup packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

3 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

Stir together 3 Cups of flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Combine eggs, milk and oil in separate bowl, then add to flour mixture and mix well.

Pour into a greased 9” x 13” pan.

Combine nuts, brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons of flour, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle over cake batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean when poked in the center.

Taken from: Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook

Hot Chocolate Cookies

These are great winter cookies!

Ingredients:

1 C Butter, room temperature
1 C granulated sugar
⅔ C packed brown sugar
2 whole large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3-¼ C flour
4 packages (1 oz. Packets, NOT Sugar-free) Hot Chocolate Mix
1 tsp salt
1-¼ tsp baking soda
1 C white chocolate chips
1 C milk chocolate chips
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugars together until well blended. Add in eggs and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, hot chocolate mix, salt and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 to 4 parts, making sure all is incorporated.
Fold in chips.

Scoop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. (I pressed the dough a little to help flatten it out.) Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Taken from: Your Homebased Mom