EASY Scalloped Potatoes and Onions

This is such a simple recipe. Most if not everything is stuff that you would find in any pantry. Plus the recipe is so tasty! 

5 Large Potatoes sliced thin

1 small onion chopped

3 tablespoons butter

¼ cup flour

3 bullion cubes

1 ½ cup water

1 Tablespoon parsley (or any green fragrant spice that compliments your main dish)

1/3 cup Mayonnaise (I always use the olive oil mayo)

½ teaspoon paprika

Layer potatoes and onions in a large greased casserole dish.

Dissolve the bullion cubes in the water.

In a medium saucepan melt butter and stir in flour until smooth and frothy (like you would when your making a gravy). Gradually add the broth and the mayo until smooth and frothy. Add the parsley and the paprika, mix them in.

Pour gravy mixture over the potatoes.

Bake at 350 for one hour.  

Night before Peaches and Cream Baked French Toast

This is a dish you need to make the night before. Its wonderful for brunch. The taste is AMAZING and the smell that wafts through the house is to die for. It has this wonderful peaches and cream flavor but not sugary. We made this for Christmas morning breakfast and will  make it again and AGAIN!

2 cans of sliced peaches packed in light syrup

1 loaf of french bread sliced into about 1” slices

2 cups milk

¼ cup white standard sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup heavy cream

spray a 9”x 13” baking dish with pan spray and arrange bread in a tight layer in the dish. If they overlap a little it works fine.

Mix eggs with milk, white standard sugar and vanilla until WELL blended.

Pour mixture over the bread and then arrange the preaches on the top evenly. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cover the dish and refrigerate over night or at least 8 hours.

Be sure to bring dish to room temperature before baking, 30 – 45 min sitting on the counter. Preheat oven to 350. While the dish is coming to temperature. Pour the cream into a small pan and bring to a boil, then cook until reduced by half. It will be thick. Drizzle over the dish and bake uncovered until lightly browned on top and cooked through about an hour. Let stand for 10 min before serving (as it is still cooking in the 10 min that its out of the oven)

Ooey Gooey Pull Apart Danish Rolls

I modified an online recipe to fit what I had in the pantry and it turned out amazing! This is the link to the original recipe 

http://shopgirlmaria.blogspot.ca/2012/09/raspberry-swirl-rolls.html 

The following is how I made the rolls 

Dough

1 1/4 cup milk

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons active dry yeast

1 stick butter, softened

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Make sure the milk is lukewarm. Pour it into your mixer bowl, and add the sugar and yeast. Flip the mixer on for a few seconds, then let sit until the mixture is frothy, usually a few minutes. Turn the mixer on low, add in the softened butter, eggs and salt. Add the flower slowly until a soft dough forms (if the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour). Using the dough hook attachment, beat the dough on medium-high speed for about 8-10 minutes. Cover and let sit in a warm place for about 1 to 2 hours, until it doubles in size.

Filling

I cheated on my filling :) I used a can of cherry pie filling and it turned out AMAZING! You could use what ever canned pie filling you prefer for this recipe. It was the perfect amount of filler and just the right amount of sweet ooey gooey goodness for this recipe.

Glaze / Icing

You can either make your own glaze with the following recipe:

3 cups confectioners sugar

3 tablespoons milk

stir together sugar and milk until smooth

Or you can use about a ½ container of white or cream cheese pre-made store bought cake frosting. I heat it up in the microwave until its warm and smooth but NOT hot and bubbly.

Directions

Roll out your dough on a flowered surface until it forms a very large rectangle. Spread the filling over over it and roll up until it resembles a jelly roll. Just like you would if you where making cinnamon rolls. I like to cut them thinner into about 14-16 thin slices and place them in something about twice the size of a cake pan, make sure it has been greased well – a cookie sheet with nice tall sides or a large Pyrex dish would work well.

Let rise about 1 hour

Bake at 425 until nice and golden – about 25-30 min.

let the rolls cool till warm and and drizzle glaze over the top of warm (not hot) rolls.

Buttermilk Substitute > Make your own!

Buttermilk Substitute

I hate when a recipe calls for something that I don't have on hand. Buttermilk always seams to be the one that I need.

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

one cup or larger measuring cup

Milk

Place a tablespoon of Lemon Juice in a measuring cup. Fill with milk to the one cup mark. Let stand for 5 minutes and you have your buttermilk substitute

Backyard chickens in BOISE!

We LOVE our backyard chickens! 

I had wanted chickens for YEARS but was worried about city codes. I live in a small subdivision with close neighbors and figured we just couldn't have them in the city. I WAS WRONG! You may need to look up individual code in your town or county but Boise City Code says that we can have 6, yes SIX chickens! That is plenty for a medium sized family to benefit from.

This is a link to the new updated city code:

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/04/18/2079570/love-bees-chickens-and-ducks-youre.html

I had been asking my husband to build me a coop for the last 6 months with ZERO success. He is a construction guy that can build anything and make it look beautiful. However, its like the mechanics wife that drives the clunker.... when he gets home he is exhausted and the little things don't get done. So I started it with the help of my 3 year old daughter! We scavenged the scrap wood that has accumulated on the side of the house and begun construction! I honestly thought that it would turn out better :( My hubby calls it the "leaning box".... oh well! The chickens love it! I will also be painting the coop this spring when I paint our fence.

 

Since its colder out I installed a red heat lamp for egg production

The girls who where shy at 1st great me at the gate when ever I am near the coop. They are very quiet and don't bother anyone. 

I have been getting about 5 eggs a week out of the one hen that is of laying age. 

Fresh Eggs are Yummy!

Farm fresh eggs have seven times more beta carotene, twice as many omega 3′s, three times more Vitamin E, a 1/3 less cholesterol, AND 1/4 less saturated fat than store bought eggs! I almost forgot to mention that the flavor is so much better then store bought eggs!

Bet you can guess what egg is from the hen house. The man who slacked on the coop building gets great omelets now! 

Original and Crispy my Leghorns 

Fluffy my Silkie

Lucy and Ethel my Silver Laced Wyandottes 

We are getting one more to complete our Brood! 

The girls found the garden :) This spring I will be putting up a gate so they cant get in. I don't always let them out of the run but when I do they love to investigate! 

My husband was tired of the girls roaming the back yard so he actually constructed a run gate out of scrap from a few of his jobs. I designed it and he built it just like my drawing. He is wonderful and it turned out amazing. 

Now when I stain the fence in the spring I will stain the coop and this beautiful run fence/gate that he made. 

Baked Bay Scallops with Artichoke Hearts

Baked Bay Scallops with Artichoke 

This is a VERY rich dish and can be served with Garlic Toast, over Pasta even over a green such as arugula or spinach!

2 Cups Bay Scallops - Be sure they are drained of water. Place them in a dish with a few paper towels under them to soak up as much moisture as possible. 

1 can quartered Artichoke hearts drained

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Mayonnaise ( I always use the Olive Oil based Mayo)

3 minced Garlic cloves

1 tablespoon fresh chopped Parsley  

1 tablespoon white cooking wine

Mix all this together until it has the consistency of tuna fish

Put in a greased dish

You can use a variety of different dishes depending on how you will be serving the dish. It will change the baking time depending on the size of the dish. A smaller dish will take less time.

Cook until the edges and part of the top are golden. In a larger dish 30 min or so is about more then enough time. 

Bay Scallops do NOT take long to cook. 

This is a wonderful dish! It also makes a GREAT appetizer served with toasted garlic croutons :)

Easy 10 min Caramel Popcorn

 Easy Caramel Popcorn

3 cups mini marshmallows

½ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

2 bags of microwave popcorn ( no butter )

1 cup peanuts (optional)

Bring marshmallows, brown sugar and butter to a boil. Pour over popped corn. I add one bag of the popped corn to a bowl then pour 1/2 the sauce and 1/2 the nuts over it. Toss and add the remaining corn, sauce and nuts. Let cool and eat! This takes less then 10 min!  

Baked Chili Relleno Casserole

Ooey, gooey, cheesy, and chili roasted goodness.

Its the end of the harvest season and I found myself with a bunch of Anaheim Peppers (and some random others) from the garden. Since I am trying to keep my weight gain with this pregnancy down I didn't want to fry them in batter. I did some research and found a recipe for baked Chili Rellenos. I did my own modification and this is what I came up with! 

6 - 8 Roasted peppers

8 oz Mexican cheese shredded

6 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Raise the top rack of your oven and turn the broiler on. Lightly coat the peppers in oil and place on a baking sheet (I have a sprayer that I can add my own oil to. I gave them a light spray of Olive Oil - pictured above) . Broil for about 5 minutes a side, flipping 2 times to char each side of the peppers. Remove from the oven and place in a Tupperware then seal. Let sit for about 15 minutes to steam the skin and become cool to the touch. Once the peppers have cooled, hold them by their stems and gently peel off their waxy skin. Pull off the stem and gently cut a slit through one side of the pepper, taking care not to cut all the way through. Using a spoon, gently scrape the membrane and seeds from the peppers. Chop into 1" chunks.

Mix the eggs, milk, flour and baking powder. Grease a baking dish. Add the shredded cheese and chopped peppers to the dish and fold in the egg mixture. 

Bake at 350 for 30-40 min until its set in the center. 

This is more like a Spanish souffle. Its still has the flavor of a Chili Relleno without all the grease from frying. It would taste delish with some red sauce drizzled over the top. Since I didn't have any red sauce on hand I served it with some of my homemade salsa and chips. The guys LOVED this for lunch on a cold rainy fall day! 

Skinny Greek Yogurt Parmesan-Crusted Baked Chicken

 This is such an EASY dish. Its low fat and can be served with so much stuff. I served it with a risoto type pasta and my Summer Bruschetta.... its such a fresh flavor. I use Greek Yogurt in place of Mayo A LOT its a great low fat alternative.  

Skinny Greek Yogurt Parmesan-Crusted Baked Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used ½ graded and ½ canned junk)

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Place Greek yogurt and cheese in a small bowl and mix

3. Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise

4. Put chicken breasts on baking sheet

5. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 165F.

6. Top with Tzatziki Sauce 

We use this sauce for almost EVERYTHING. Its a wonderful refreshing sauce for sandwiches and dips. Very versatile and a great alternative to Mayo based dips and sauces.  

Tzatziki Sauce

2 cups Greek PLAIN yogurt

1 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons lemon juice (or juice of one lemon)

3 garlic clove, minced1 large cucumber,Minced (seeded and cut into chunks)¼ Cup fresh Cilantro

1 tablespoon olive oil

I add the Olive Oil, garlic cloves, cucumber and cilantro in a food processor or blender. I blend till its smooth then put in a Tupperware. In the Tupperware I add the remaining ingredients and stir. Let sit in the fridge for an hour and wallah! Delish!

The last Garden Harvest of the season .... till next year delicious tomatoes :(

HOLY GREEN TOMATOES BATMAN! 

The last harvest of the season always makes me sad. I love having herbs and veggies handy to pick and use. Buying those bland tasteless tomatoes at the grocery makes me sad. I usually store a portion of my green tomatoes till they ripen and make a delightful Green Tomato Salsa with the rest. I have been meaning to make a large batch for weeks but have been slacking. This baby I am gestating is sucking the energy out of me :( ! 

Ingredients

• 5 lbs green tomato (chopped small as you prefer for salsa)
• 6 yellow onion (chopped 4 cups)
• 3 jalapenos (chopped with seeds 12 cup)
• 4 red bell peppers (chopped 2 cups)
• 6 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
• 1 cup juices (lime)
• 12 cup vinegar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 12 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp dried oregano (leaves)
• 2 tsps pepper
• 14 tsp cayenne (optional to taste)
• 1 12 tsps sugar

This is a link a recipe very similar to the one that I use:

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Green-_Un-Ripe_-Tomato-Salsa-for-Canning-Food_com-116303

I will add the photos once I get off my lazy butt and make it, hopefully this weekend 

What do you do with your green tomatoes? 

Delicious Oatmeal Molasses Bread

I modified a recipe that I found for Oatmeal rolls that I had come across and this is what I ended up with. Its a light fluffy bread that is wonderful for sandwiches and can be made into rolls or loafs

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup old-fashioned oats

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

2 1/4 teaspoons active-dry yeast

5 cups all-purpose flour

In mixer - Mix together boiling water, oats, vegetable oil, and salt. Let side for about a minute; add cold water. Stir until slightly cooled.

Add brown sugar, molasses, and yeast. Add 1/2 the all-purpose flour and beat till smooth (you can use the dough hook for the whole process) Add remaining flour and continue beating until the dough comes together. Allow the mixer to knead the dough for 6 - 8 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer dough to a large oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Divide into what ever portions you would like, place in greased pan/pans. Cover and let rise for another hour, or until doubled.

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, or until browned. Brush with butter as soon as they come out of the oven if desired.

My kids LOVE this recipe!