Waikiki Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2/3 cup cracker crumbs
1/3 cup minced onion
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 cup milk
Sauce:
3 T cornstarch
1 (13oz) can pineapple tidbits, save syrup for sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1/3 cup chopped green peppers
3/4 cup sliced carrots/parboiled
1/2 cup sliced celery parboiled

Mix meatball ingredients throughly.  Shape mixture by rounded tablespoons into balls.  Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes
Mix cornstarch and sugar.  Stir in reserved pineapple syrup, vinegar, and soy sauce until smooth.  Pour into skillet.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil and stir 1 minute with chopped green pepper.  Add meatballs, pineablle tidbits and parboiled carrots and celery heat through.  Serve over cooked rice.

Raspberry Cake

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1-2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Frosting:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese/softened
1/2 cup butter/softened
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raspberries

Preheat 350.  Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a small bowl and set aside.  Cream together the sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk.  Gradually add in flour mixture.  Mix in the raspberries.  Pour into 9x13 pan and bake for 30-35 min. 
Frosting: cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.  Mix in the vanilla and gradually stir in the confectioner's sugar.  Add in the raspberries.  May need more powdered sugar to thicken frosting depending how much liquid is in the raspberries.

Ben's Super Secret Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:
6 Tbsp  chopped onion
4 Tbsp butter
6 cups of pumpkin or squash
3 cups water
4 cubes of chicken bullion
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp cayenne
2 pkgs of cream cheese
Optional: Super Secret (gives soup a sweet and spicy flavor)Add:
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup agave syrup

Directions:

Saute onions and butter.  Add all other ingredients except cream cheese.  Remove from heat and add cream cheese (do not cook the cream cheese).  Blend everything in a food processor or blender.  Serve.

Potato Cheese Soup

Ingredients:
5 cups diced potatoes
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cups water
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
3 cubes chicken bouillon
4 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Directions:
In large pot boil potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, and water. Boil about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. DO NOT DRAIN.
In a separate large pot, melt butter, flour, chicken bouillon, milk, and cheese. Stir this mixture with a whisk the whole time it is cooking to keep it from getting lumpy or burned. Cook at medium heat to thicken. Add to other pot with potatoes and vegetables. Cook 10 more minutes.

Gingerbread cookies

Photo courtesy of my 3 yr old : ) This is a delicous gingerbread recipe. Many years ago we used to make gingerbread houses and this was a great recipe to use for those as well.

Ingredients:
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp ginger
3 T cinnamon
1 1/8 tsp baking soda
1 cup shortening
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
1/3 cup water

Directions:
Sift together 1 cup flour, salt, spices, and soda into a bowl. In mixing bowl cream shortening, sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add egg then slightly warmed molasses. Stir water into mixture. Stir in flour and spice mix gradually. Add remaining flour a cupful at a time just until dough is soft and moist to the touch. Chill dough 6-8 hours ( I chilled for maybe an hour and it was fine). Remove dough, roll out onto waxed paper until 1/8 inch thick. Cut into shapes and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Bake as dark as you can without burning (more important for crispy cookies or gingerbread houses I think--I wanted mine more soft so I just cooked for 8 min)

Royal Icing (for use for gingerbread house) Beat 2 egg whites, 1 tsp cream of tartar, 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar on high for 7-10 minutes. Put in a tightluy covered bowl or bowl covered with a wet cloth.

Peanut Butter cup cookies

Oh my, these cookies are soooo good! I saw these on Annie's Eats website and knew I had to try them right away. Imagine all my favorite things in one cookie--it was divine. I changed the recipe up just a little by using my sister-in-law's recipe for the cookie part and then used the idea of melted marshmallows topped with ganache and m&m's from Annie's Eats. Seriously, you must try these cookies.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
Reese's mini peanut butter cups
mini marshmallows
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp water
mini M&M's

Directions:
Combine white sugar, light brown sugar, and softened butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter, egg (room temp), and vanilla; blend for several minutes. Add flour, baking soda, and salt; fold in. Batter will be fairly loose. Chill for a couple hours (I didn't do this and my cookies were fine). Preheat oven to 350. Scoop 1/2"-1" balls into cup of mini muffin pan. Bake for 6-7 minutes or until edges turn brown. While cookies are baking make sure candy is unwrapped, easier to do if candy is cold. Remove pans from oven (cookie will be puffed). Firmly place buttercup into middle of each cookie. Edges should be even with or above candy. Top each cookie with 3-4 mini marshmallows. Return the pan to the oven and bake 2-3 minutes more, until the marshmallows have puffed up. Transfer the pans to a wire cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool completely in the pan before removing them. (This is important! I tried removing them while still slightly warm – not a good idea.)

Once the cookies are completely cooled, transfer them to a wire rack over a sheet of wax paper or aluminum foil. Place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream, sugar and water to a boil, then pour the liquid over the chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds. Gently whisk the mixture together until smooth. Leave the glaze to sit until it thickens a bit to your desired consistency, then drizzle over the tops of the cookies. Sprinkle with mini M&Ms before the glaze hardens.

Chicken Feed aka Chex Mix

Ingredients:
1 box Cheerios
1 box wheat Chex
1 box Rice Chex
1 box Corn Chex
1 bag pretzels (straight)
2 lbs mixed nuts (we left this out : )

Melt together and pour over the above
1 lb butter
1 cup oil
2 T Worcestershire
2 tsp garlic salt

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in sauce. Bake in oven for 2 hours at 250 degrees. Stir every 15 minutes.

7 layered lettuce salad

This recipe comes from my mother in law. Anything with bacon is great in my opinion. It's easy to put together and a little different from the usual green salad.

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped celery
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup green onions, chopped
1 package frozen peas, uncooked

1 head of lettuce
6 hardboiled eggs, chopped
1 cup cheese, grated
6-7 pieces crisp bacon, crumbled

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream

Directions:
Mix together: celery, green pepper, green onions and frozen peas.
Layer half the lettuce (torn or chopped) on bottom of 9x13 pan. Layer half the celery mixture, the entier 6 eggs, chopped. Then layer the remaining lettuce, remaining celery mixture. Top with mayonnaise mixture. Then sprinkle with cheese and bacon.
Can be refrigerated overnight.

Oatmeal Cookies

This is a recipe from my sister in law. It actually calls for raisins or craisins but I'm not a big fan of either. But I love chocolate so I used chocolate chips in mine.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups quick oats
1 cup raisins or craisins
1/2 cups chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Combine flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Then add to creamy mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly brown. Cool on baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to wire racks.

Sour Cream-Cinnamon Coffee Cake

This recipe is from my brother-in-law. It is so delicious. I added a few things to his recipe just to make it more fattening and sugar-y.

Ingredients:
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding
1 stick butter
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
Filling/topping:
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
Glaze:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbsp milk

Directions:
Thow in a mixing bowl: cake mix, pudding, butter, sour cream, eggs. Beat 7 minutes. Meanwhile mix filling--mix the cinnamon, brown sugar, and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Grease 10 inch tube pan. Place 1/3 of the cinnamon filing along the bottom of the pan, then put half the cake batter into the pan on top. Take 1/4 of the cinnamon filling and sprinkle it on the batter. Put the rest of the batter into the pan. Put around in spoonfuls and leave bumpy. Sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon filling. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes. If you'd like a little more sugar you can make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and drizzling it on top of the cake when it is cooled.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 cup salsa
2 cans black beans
1 can black refried beans (optional)
1 can vegetable broth
2 tsp lime juice
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
sour cream--as topping
Optional:
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
1/2 jalapeno, chopped

Directions:
Saute onion and garlic. Add in salsa, beans, broth, lime juice, cilantro, onion, garlic, and cumin. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve in bowls and top with sour cream, cheese, and/or green onions.

Meal in a Pumpkin

My mother-in-law introduced me to this recipe many years ago. It is a fun one to make for Halloween. We have had this every year since the kiddoes were very small. I personally love it.

Ingredients:

1 10" pumpkin

1 onion, chopped

2 T oil

1 1/2-2lbs ground beef

2 T soy sauce

2 T brown sugar

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 8oz can water chestnuts, drained

1 4 oz can mushrooms, drained (I like fresh)

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

Directions:

Saute onion in oil, add meat and brown. Drain and add all ingredients but the rice, water chesnuts and mushrooms. Simmer 10 minutes. Add rice, water chestnuts and mushrooms. PUt in cleaned out pumpkin. Bake at 350 for 1-1 1/2 hours with lid on. You'll know it's done when the pumpkin is soft.

Zuppa Tuscana

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup ground Italian sausage

2 medium potatoes cut in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices

3/4 cup diced onions

6 slices bacon

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

2 cups Kale leaf, cut into half and then sliced

2 T chicken base

1 qt water

1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Cook ground sausage in skillet until done. In separate saucepan, cook bacon and onions. When bacon is crisp remove bacon. Leaving onion. Add garlic to onion and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken base, water, and potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer for 4 minutes.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie

This cookie was sooo yummy and sooo easy to make. Fall foods are really my very favorite type of comfort food. I love making all the pumpkin, apple treats this time of year. I needed a fast and easy yet yummy treat to serve to my daughter's girl scout troop and this fit the bill. The girls all raved about how delicious they were and came back for more and more.

Ingredients:
1 box spice cake mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
chocolate chips to taste
Optional: (I used these)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1/4 cup softened butter

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together adding chocolate chips last. Place heaping Tbsp on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 10 min.

Quiche Lorraine

This is a recipe from my mother-in-law. It made a fantastic dinner and the leftovers made a fantastic breakfast.

Ingredients:

pastry for a 9 inch one crust pie
8 slices bacon, crisply crumbled
1 cup shredded swiss cheese (I don't like swiss so I used cheddar)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
4 large eggs
2 cups whipping cream or half and half
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne


Directions:

Prepare pastry for a 9 inch one-crust pie. Sprinkle bacon, cheese, and onion in pastry lined pie dish. Beat eggs slightly, add remaining ingredients. Pour into pie dish. Bake for 15 minutes at 425. Reduce oven temperature to 300 and bake 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/4 cup celery
1/4 cup onion
1 tsp butter
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken (I used 1 can chicken)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp marjorum
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp parsley
1/8 tsp pepper
1 1/4 cups egg noodles
1/2 cup frozen peas

Directions:
In a large saucepan saute carrot, celery and onion in butter until tender. Add broth, chicken and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Add noodles and frozen peas; cook for 10 minutes or until tender.

Carrot Cookies

I made these cookies for my daughter and her little friends. I thought they could be a safe cookie for me to make and not pig out. I have horrible self control when homemade cookies are around and I've been trying to eat healthier. Carrot cookies just didn't sound that good to me--how good could a carrot cookie be really? Well it turns out--very good. The recipe made about 30 cookies. My daughter and her friends ate maybe 10 of them. And me? Well I had the other 20 before my older kids got home from school. So 20 cookies within a few hours. I amaze myself sometimes. Hopefully the carrot in the cookies helped a little with the nutritional value. It was the frosting that took these cookies over the top for me.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup finely shredded carrots

Frosting:
2 oz cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
3 T orange juice
zest of one orange

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add in flour, baking powder, salt. After those are combined add in the shredded carrots. Drop by Tablespoon onto baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until set. Add frosting on while cookies are still warm.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

I have a cookbook that my sister-in-law put together last year with contributions of favorite recipes from the family. It's definitely my favorite cookbook so I am going to attempt to post each recipe on this blog. This is one of those recipes. I can actually remember making this cake with my husband when we were dating. This is a fun recipe to make with kids. Mine were amazed how the hot fudge sauce ended up on the bottom of the pan beneath the cake.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 T cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 T vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts (optional)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cup hot water

Directions:
Turn oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, 2 T cocoa, baking powder. Then mix in milk, oil, and vanilla into dry ingredients until smooth. It will be like brownie batter. Pour into an 8x8 square pan. Then sprinkle brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa on top then pour hot water on it and put in oven. Bake for 40 minutes.

Sour Cream Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (you could use chicken too)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small can chopped green chiles

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 pint sour cream

shredded cheese

corn tortillas

1 T oil

Directions:

Brown ground beef. I cooked my onions with the beef but I think my mother in law just uses raw onion. Place chicken soup, chopped chiles, and sour cream in a saucepan and heat to boiling point. Meanwhile, place tortilla one at a time in hot oil, let fry just until hot, place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. On tortilla add sauce, cheese, onions, and meat. Roll tortillas and place in 9x13 baking pan. Pour leftover sauce over rolled tortillas, sprinkle with cheese. Place in 350 oven to heat through and cheese to melt.

Italian Saute

This is a recipe I've had for a long time. I used to make it quite frequently but Shane started complaining about all of my spinach recipes. I'm a big fan of spinach, the rest of my family--not so much. It was nice pulling this recipe out of retirement. I liked it as much as I remembered and no one complained about the spinach.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I put in a lot more than that)
1 0z can tomato sauce
2 T parsley flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 10oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions:
In large skillet cook ground beef and drain off extra fat. Add onion and mushrooms and continue to cook until moisture is absorbed. Add tomato sauce, parsley flakes, garlic powder, basil, oregano, and seasoned salt. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Combine spinach and cottage cheese. Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese over meat mixture. Spoon cottage cheese mixture evenly over meat. Spread remaining mozzarella cheese on top. Cover skillet and simmer 15 min. Serve.