There’s a war going on in my house. And it’s all because Anthony’s taste buds are dying? dead? deranged? insane? disturbed?
I don’t know, all I know is they’re just not right! Pumpkin is one of the best flavors in the world when paired with sugar… and chocolate chips (unless it’s pie, because… EW!). But seriously, it causes me much anguish that he doesn’t love pumpkin the way I do.
Maybe I should have screened him better before entering into this lifelong commitment… I kid, of course 
Every time I make a pumpkin dish (besides pie because he already likes the pie) I force it down his throat and I just know that this will be it!! This will be the time that he says, “WOW! That is great! I love it, give me more.”
No such luck. He always politely eats (if you can call his unacceptance as ‘polite’… psh!) and then says something like, “I just don’t love that flavor combo.”
Who is this man?
Ugh!
Anyway, I found a recipe that I LOVE! (Original recipe found HERE) I modified it slightly because the original recipe made a gigantic batch and I like my pumpkin treats to be full of spicy flavor. And I lowered the temp of the oven as well.
These are TO DIE FOR, moist and delicious! I promise you’ll love them (unless you’re my husband, then you’re just a weirdy! )
Mix together the following:
- 1 c. softened butter
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
Add:
In a separate bowl, combine:
- 2 1/4 c. flour
- 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 – 3/4 tsp. cloves
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/2 tsp. allspice
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Add to butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix…
Add:
Once all is combined well, stir in:
Bake at 325* for about 20-25 minutes. This made 24 muffins.
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The other day I realized that I hadn’t made chicken fajitas for way too long. They are seriously amazing and my whole family LOVES them! It’s now on our regular rotation for dinner… again. (Forgive the picture. I didn’t stage it. Just took a pic last minute  )
- 1/4 c. olive oil
- 1/3 c. lemon juice (or juice of 1 fresh lemon)
- 1 large onion, diced
- salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp.)
- 2 tsp. chili powder (or more if you prefer, we keep it right at 2)
- 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 c. cooked, shredded chicken
- 1 red pepper, cut into strips
- 1 green pepper, cut into strips
- tortillas
Mix olive oil, lemon juice, onion, salt, chili powder, oregano, and thyme in a large frying pan. Cook over medium heat until onion is tender but still has a bit of a crunch. Add garlic. Add chicken and cover to cook for about 10-15 minutes.
Add peppers and toss until they are still crisp but tender. You don’t want them to be mushy.
Serve on warmed tortillas with your choice of garnishments: cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa
Recipe source: The Diet Rebel’s Cookbook
This is how awesome I am at decorating and getting things up on my walls….
Christmas 2011 we got a Family Home Evening board from my aunt. We’ve always wanted one, finally get one, and it sat. It sat until just last month. For over a year it sat and collected dust.
Our intentions were good. We loved the gift and planned to hang it right away. The problem is, Anthony and I are 90%-ers. It’s a sad story, really. Every project we start gets done 90%. The last 10% of the project gets left out completely. And after all, actually owning the FHE board and planning to hang it up is 90% of the battle, right?
But we did it!! Be proud! Sure, it’s a year late BUT it’s hanging up and getting used. The kids love knowing who’s in charge of each part of FHE and I love not feeling like I have to plan the whole thing. Being a 90%-er is hard work!
Last week it was H’s turn to make the treat. That’s the job that all the kids want each week because I don’t let anyone help except that one person. Normally they have to take turns pouring ingredients in.
Taking turns… ICK! Nobody likes to do that. At least not around these here parts.
But I digress.
H chose a recipe that we had never tried before from one of my cookbooks. I’ve had peanut butter bars before but these were super yummy! Better than any I’ve ever tried before. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. It makes a HUGE batch… a large cookie sheet full. Anthony couldn’t keep his hands off of them!
BARS:
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 1 1/2 c. butter
- 1 1/2 c. peanut butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 c. flour
- 1 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 3 c. quick oats
Preheat oven to 325*. In large mixing bowl cream first 4 ingredients. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl and add to wet mixture. Mix well and press into the bottom of a large cookie sheet. Bake at 325* for 10 minutes then raise temperature to 375* and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
FROSTING:
- 3 T. cocoa
- 1/2 c. butter
- 3 – 3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 6 T. milk
Melt butter with coca in a saucepan. Remove from heat. Add sugar, vanilla and milk. Stir with whisk until smooth. Poor over COOLED bars and spread. Refrigerate to harden frosting.
Recipe Source: Worldwide Ward Cookbook: Mom’s Best Recipes
Beans intimidate me. Not because they cause gas, though that should scare me enough to keep them out of our meals considering a certain somebody that I live with. I won’t mention names. I’ll just say it’s one of my husbands .
But seriously, I have never soaked a bean in my life. I prefer canned. My mom tells me it’s not a big deal but for a Brooke like me, it is. Soaking beans makes me nervous. What if I mess up? It’s part of the perfectionist in me. Something I am working on in 2013. Because I know that if I mess up it’s not the end of the world but somehow I can’t bring myself to try something that I think I will be horrible at. Negative self-talk. That’s all it is. Bad!
So, I don’t make chili often. In fact, I’ve only ever tried one other recipe (another cheater version) before this one. And it was pretty good but after trying this one I’ll never turn back! We all loved it!
Make it, you’ll like it…
- 2 large cans (28 oz.) chili beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 large can diced tomatoes
- 1 – 15 oz. can tomato sauce
- 28 oz. tomato juice
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped (I used green)
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 2 T. chili powder (I used heaping Tablespoons)
- 1 T. red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Saute the onion and bell pepper in a little olive or vegetable oil until fragrant. Add the ground beef and brown. In a large pot combine all ingredients together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour, uncovered. Garnish with sour cream and cheese if desired.
Oh Oreos…
What more is there to say? Who doesn’t love a good ol’ fashioned Oreo? Man! I could really go for some Oreos right now. Too bad we don’t have any 
I was supposed to bring a dessert for the ward campout a couple weeks ago and in light of the Pinterest Challenge I was doing (Yes, I did it. Maybe not every day but I did what I could and made a few yummy things) I looked up a recipe from my dessert board.
I’m pretty sure it was a smash hit considering that it was the first dessert gone and trust me, there were MANY!
And it was so easy, too!! Didn’t even have to turn on the oven! {Quality of pics is poor… I only had my cell phone handy}
1 pkg of regular Oreos, crushed (divided)
1/2 c. of butter
1 lg box of instant chocolate pudding
2-8 oz Whipped topping (Cool Whip)
8 oz. of cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
Crush a whole package of cookies in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Reserve 1/2 cup. Pour crushed cookies into a bowl, melt butter and pour over crumbs. Stir and press crumbs into 13×9 pan. Make chocolate pudding according to package directions. Refrigerate until set up. Blend softened cream cheese with powdered sugar and fold in 1-8 oz tub of whipped topping. Spread evenly over crushed Oreo layer in pan, then spread pudding evenly over cream cheese layer. Finally, top evenly with second tub of whipped topping. Sprinkle reserved crushed cookies over the top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Recipe Source: House 344
Yes, I’m a couple days behind. Forgive me!
Well, a couple of days ago my kids and I were at home wondering what the heck we were going to eat for dinner. It was one of those days that we had practically nothing in the house, a trip to the grocery store was MORE than overdue, and Mom (that’s me) refused to take all the kids to the store so…. we had to do some serious scrounging to figure out what we were going to eat.
Never mind the fact that we had already done the scrimping and scrounging for lunch. It was time to do it again.
The only thing we knew we could have for sure was corn on the cob. We have some awesome friends/neighbors who left to go out of town for 12 days and they were worried about the produce in the fridge going bad. And we were the lucky recipients of their food! Woohoo!
So, the search was on for the main course. So glad there is Pinterest in my time of need! First I searched my own boards but for every recipe I found that might work I was always missing a few key ingredients. I finally resorted to the Search Bar (it still counts for my Pinterest challenge, right?). I had crescent rolls in my fridge and a couple of cans of chicken. I searched for ‘Chicken Crescents’ and a whole bunch of things came up.
Then I saw one for Cranberry Chicken Crescents. PERFECT!! I had a can of cranberry sauce downstairs in our storage room.
This was probably the simplest of simple recipes. First preheat your oven to the temperature noted on your 2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls (if you’re afraid of opening the tube {like I am} your kids will be happy to do it for you ). Mix together 2 cans of chicken (drained) and a can of cranberry sauce (whole or jellied). Put a large spoonful into each crescent, roll, and bake for amount of time noted on package.
TADA! Now you’ve got what makes for a GREAT… lunch. Except that we had it for dinner and everyone loved them! I was surprised. Even Anthony (who claims to hate cranberries) loved it!
Does anyone else watch The Next Food Network Star? LOVE that show!! There were so many people I was rooting for this season but my absolute favorite became Yvan.
Not only did Yvan have a great story but I loved his POV (point of view… for those of you who are as slow as me to figure out what the heck that meant!).
FAMILY STYLE!
Probably because I am a mom with a quite a brood running around which means I have quite a few mouths to feed. It just goes so well with me! And everything I saw Yvan make was something I wanted to try.
Of course, there were others with fun POV’s as well… take Justin (the winner) for instance… Rebel With a Culinary Cause! He was just kind of a strange boy with weird views on food… good weird. And I liked him! But I really wanted Yvan to win because while the fun things are great, I really want someone on the network that makes something the basic home cook can make without having to run out and buy all kinds of strange ingredients.
Like fish heads… or using fish bones as ‘chips’. Yes, Justin did that. No thank you!
On the second to last episode, the remaining contestants were asked to make a pilot of their new shows, then they showed the viewers a quick version with recipes included. Yvan made Sweet Corn Mac ‘n’ Cheese and I knew I had to try it!
If you’re like me you’ve been looking for a great Mac n’ Cheese recipe FOREVER! I’ve never loved any recipe that I’ve tried until this one. Please note, I did make some changes per the reviews on this recipe and a personal twist and it turned out great! And wouldn’t you know it, even my ever-so-picky kids who hate all things homemade mac & cheese loved it. They even asked for seconds!
Umm, who are you and what have you done with my children?
And now, without further ado, let’s get on with the recipe, shall we?
- Two 8-ounce cans creamed corn
- 1 c. milk
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 – 1 tsp. mustard powder
- 3 – 5 dashes hot sauces (or to taste)
- 3 cups elbow macaroni
- 12 oz. medium cheddar cheese
- 8 ounces grated mozzarella
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 cup croutons
- 1 T. olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Move one rack to the top of the oven.
Simmer the corn with the milk, onion powder, and garlic powder for 5 minutes.
Stir cornstarch into 2 tablespoons water. Add the cornstarch to the corn mixture. Whisk for about 3 minutes (or until thickened) over medium heat. Add nutmeg, salt, pepper, mustard powder, and hot sauce if using. Remove from heat, cover and keep warm.
Boil macaroni for 5 to 7 minutes. Drain, and add to corn cream. Add the cheese and the egg. Stir well. Pour into a casserole dish or 12-inch cast-iron skillet.
Lightly crush the croutons inside zip lock bag using a small mallet or rolling pin. Add oil and crushed croutons and spread over the top of the macaroni mixture. Cook on the top rack until golden… about 15-25 minutes.
Once upon a time I promised a cinnamon roll recipe that was super duper delicious and oh so divine.
And then I didn’t deliver.
Am I too late? I think not. It’s never too late for a delicious recipe!
I got this recipe from a blog that I follow called 71 Toes. I already had a recipe for cinnamon rolls that I loved and adored but when I saw this recipe I just knew I had to try it. Boy, am I glad I did! I just knew it would be good because of the sheer fact that it’s got a whole cup of butter just in the dough!! Butter makes everything better. Just sayin….
The only thing I changed was the amount of filling in the dough before rolling it up. Hers was pretty skimpy on the filling… so I just beefed it up a bit
- 2 sticks of butter, melted
- 2 c. milk
- 1/2 c. warm water
- 2 heaping T. yeast
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 7 c. flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water and add just a teaspoon of sugar, set aside until bubbly and foamy. Melt butter and let cool slightly. Warm milk slightly. Combine butter and milk and add the yeast to the milk mixture until well mixed. Add the egg.
Add sugar and salt then slowly add flour until soft bread dough consistency. Knead for about 5-10 minutes by hand or about 2 minutes by machine. Let the dough rise until doubled.
Filling:
- melted butter (to make cinnamon/sugar mixture stick)
- 1 c. brown sugar
- 4 tsp. cinnamon
Once dough has doubled in size, roll out into two rectangles. Butter dough and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. And no, you don’t have to let the dough rise a second time. It will rise plenty in the oven.
Butter-cream frosting:
- 1/2 c. butter
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 4 c. powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbs. milk
Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add milk slowly and mix until smooth consistency.
Last year I discovered Resurrection Rolls per the tip from a friend. We had made Easter Cookies (which are also a great way to teach about the resurrection of Jesus Christ) but had never heard of Resurrection Rolls. Guess what… they are even better than the cookies! And quicker, too.
Before making the rolls you can read John 19 in the Bible to remind everyone what Jesus went through as he was crucified. However, because most of my kids are still pretty young and unable to sit through a long chapter like that, I just tell them about it and what each ingredient represents.
You’ll need the following:
- Crescent rolls in a tube (such as Pillsbury) – tomb
- large marshmallows (1 per crescent roll) – Christ himself, purity
- cinnamon/sugar mixture – Spices used to prep his body for burial
- melted butter – embalming oils
Preheat the oven to 350*. If you have strange phobias like myself, have one of your children open the tube of crescent rolls. Yes, I’m scared of them….. balloons, too. Let’s not talk about it.
Moving on, take marshmallows one at a time and roll them in the melted butter. Once coated, roll them in cinnamon/sugar mixture and place on large end of a crescent roll. Roll it up and pinch all sides closed tightly. There should be no holes or gaps if possible.
Place on cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 12-15 minutes. – The three days.
While it’s baking, read John 20:1-18
When they are cool enough to eat (but still warm because they’re best that way) open one up and show the kids that Jesus (the marshmallow) is no longer there! He is risen!
And now eat because they’re delicious!
And on a side note… these pics did not turn out quite the way I had them envisioned in my mind. I’m going to get this photography thing down if it KILLS me! I’ve decided that FOOD-tography is even tougher than people photography.
This is the bread that K says is better than any other. She even helps me make it now. It’s her favorite and let me tell you, it is sooo easy! I’ve only recently started making yeast breads again because for some reason they’ve never agreed with me before. Either it wouldn’t rise properly or it just came out dense and brick-like. I had come to the conclusion that I just didn’t have the right touch for making breads no matter how hard I tried.
Then one day, someone explained to me that the best way to tell if a bread dough has enough flour is that it should feel slightly tacky but not sticky. It shouldn’t stick to your hands while kneading but it shouldn’t be so stiff and dry that you can’t knead it properly.
So that’s the problem?! I’m adding too much flour??
Yup!
Turns out, that theory has proven to be true. I don’t know how I didn’t know this before. I’m a little slow sometimes, I admit it.
There have been no bread mishaps since I’ve resisted the urge to add more flour than is necessary. I just always thought it needed more. Also, I never knew what ‘warm’ meant when referring to the water temp. How warm? Hot warm? Cool warm? Somewhere I learned that it should be about the temp that would feel comfortable on your head in the shower or if you were washing your hair over the sink… warmer than I would have thought. Seems to work so that’s the ‘warm’ I go with now.
This recipe came from my Worldwide Ward Cookbook (awesome book!). I only adjusted the temperature and the baking time because the first time I made this it was still doughy in the middle… YUCK! The temp was way too low and the time was too short.
Whole Wheat Bread
Combine 4 1/2 tsp. (2 packets) yeast and 3/4 c. warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of whole wheat flour and stir vigorously. Now you need to ‘sponge the dough’ by allowing the mixture to sit for about 45 minutes, covered with a towel.
Add 2 1/2 c. warm water and 2 c. of whole wheat flour. Mix well.
Add 1/2 c. wheat gluten, 1/3 cup honey, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, 2 1/2 tablespoons oil. Mix well.
Add another 4-6 cups whole wheat flour (mine always takes 4-5), one at a time and mixing well inbetween, until it is good bread consistency (slightly tacky but not sticky). You’ll have to mix the last bit in by kneading.
Knead for 10-15 minutes.
Shape loaves and place into 2 greased loaf pans. To shape my loaves I like to roll it out like cinnamon rolls, making sure that it’s at least as wide as the pan is long. Does that make sense? It doesn’t have to be pretty or perfectly rectangular. Roll it up like cinnamon rolls (not too loose or too tight, just firm) and tuck under where needed to fit properly into pan.
Allow to rise until double in size (about 45 minutes to 1 hour).
Bake in preheated 350* oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from pans onto cooling rack. My whole family LOVES this bread. We haven’t had to buy a loaf from the store for about a month now.
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My Goal: To become SuperMom, SuperWife, and official Domestic Diva! Am I there yet?
Welcome to my little corner of the web. My name is Brooke and this is my zoo... er, family. Anthony is my handsome husband. We have been blessed with 6 beautiful children. 3 girls, 3 boys... in that order. They are currently ages 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, and 4 months.
I blog about whatever I want. Sometimes it's a recipe, a random thought, real life, homeschool (yep, we're crazy like that), and my faith.
Hope you'll check back often!
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