Chocolate Chip Cookies

Whip:
1 C. Sugar
1 C. Brown Sugar
2/3 C. Butter softened
2/3 C. Shortening
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla

Mix:
3 C. Flour
1 1/2 C. Oats
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 C. Chocolate Chips (we use more)

Mix until barely blended
Bake @ 375 for 8-10 minutes

Made for me by Payton

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Recipe from Made It Ate It Loved It

2 lbs beef stew meat
8 oz whole mushrooms, cut in quarters
2 packets of onion soup mix
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup worchesteshire sauce
8 oz cream cheese
16 oz sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
egg noodles or rice

Place the stew meat in the bottom of crockpot.  Top with mushrooms.  Add 2 packets of dry onion soup mix.  Add beef broth and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook on low for 6 hours.

Add cream cheese, sour cream, and heavy cream. Cook on high for 1 hour or until melted. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Oriental Slaw Salad

2 (16 oz) packages slaw

½ cup green pepper-diced

½ cup yellow pepper-diced

½ cup radish-chopped

½ cup green onion

2 pages oriental ramen noodles

¾ cup sunflower seeds

¾ cup slivered almonds

2 TBS. butter

Melt butter and mix with nuts and crushed ramen noodles.  Bake at 350 degrees. Be careful not to burn. Cool.

Dressing:

1 cup canola oil

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 TBS. soy sauce

2 packages of ramen noodle seasoning packets 

½ cup sugar

Mix all ingredients together, making sure the sugar dissolves.  Right before serving, mix all ingredients: vegetables, nuts and dressing.

Greek Pasta Salad

1 lb. rotini or other small pasta
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
8 oz Persian cucumbers, diced
1/4 cup sliced red onion
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 (8 oz.) chunk feta cheese, cubed
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives

One Hour White Bread

One Hour Bread (from Cooking Classy)

Makes 2 small loaves.

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups (780g) bread flour , then more as needed
• 3 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp rapid rise yeast
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3 Tbsp butter, diced into 1 Tbsp pieces
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. In a bowl or in a large liquid measuring cup combine water, milk and butter. Heat in microwave until it reaches 120 - 130 on an instant read thermometer, about 1 - 2 minutes (it's okay if butter doesn't fully melt). 
2. Meanwhile add 5 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast to the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix for about 10 seconds to blend.
3. Pour warmed water mixture into flour mixture then pour in lemon juice. Mix on a fairly low speed for 1 minute. 
4. Scrape dough from paddle and switch to hook attachment, scrape sides of bowl. Set to a fairly low speed and let knead 4 minutes, while adding a little more flour if needed until dough consistency isn't sticky (it can stick to the bottom of bowl but shouldn't stick to the sides).
5. Meanwhile spray two 8 by 4-inch or 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
6. Divide dough into two equal portions, and shape into logs each 8-inches long. Transfer to prepared loaf pans.
7. Cover loaves with a large container such as a cake carrier or spray a sheet of plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray and drape over loaf pans. Let rise until doubled in volume, about 25 minutes. 
8. Meanwhile preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
9. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown on top and hollow when tapped, about 22 - 25 minutes. Invert loaves onto wire racks to cool. 
10. Store loaves in an airtight container once they are almost finished cooling.

Almond Sheet Cake with Butter Frosting

2 cups flours

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup butter

1 cup water

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. almond extract

sliced almonds, for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 15 x 11 jelly roll pan.  In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and set aside.  In a small saucepan, combine butter and water-bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Add to flour mixture and stir to combine.  

Stir in sour cream, beaten eggs, and almond extract .

Pour into buttered pan and bake 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Spread warm (not hot) cake with butter frosting (recipe below). Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Cut into squares and serve.

Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup milk (the higher the fat content, the richer it will taste)

1/2 tsp. almond extract 

3 cups powdered milk

In a medium saucepan, combine butter and milk.  Bring to a soft boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat as soon as it boils.  Whisk in almond extract, then gradually whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.  Frost warm cake. 

Junk Mix (cereal mix)

In a large bowl add:
6 cups Golden Grahams
6 cups Corn Chex
2 cups coconut
2 cups slivered almonds

In a medium saucepan add:
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup butter

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Let boil for 2 minutes. Pour over cereal and mix. Pour mixture over waxed paper to cool and store in air tight container

*instead of Golden Grahams you could try Smore cereal and Fruit Loops

Disneyland Cornbread

from Six Sisters' Stuff blog

Disneyland's Sweet Cornbread Recipe

This sweet cornbread was served at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ until it closed at the end of 2015. Once you've had this cornbread, you won't ever go back to any other recipe!

Ingredients:
1 (15.25 oz) yellow cake mix
2 (8.5 oz each) Jiffy corn muffin mixes
Ingredients called for on the back of the cake mix (eggs, oil, water)
Ingredients called for on the back of the corn muffin mixes (eggs, milk)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, dump in all three boxes of dry mixes (the 1 cake mix and the 2 corn muffin mixes). Add in the ingredients called for on the back of the cake mix box (usually 3 eggs, water, and oil). Now add in the ingredients called for on the back of each corn muffin mix (usually 1/2 cup milk and 1 egg per box).  Mix all the ingredients together until completely combined (but try not to over-mix). Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 28-33 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake mix comes out clean.  Serve warm with butter and honey.  Serves: 16

Sweet Potato Pomegranate Salad

recipe from www.twopeasandtheirpod.com

yield: SERVES 6 

prep time: 10 MINUTES

cook time: 30 MINUTES

total time: 40 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE SALAD:

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup pomegranate arils

1/2 cup pepitas

1/2 cup feta cheese

FOR THE POMEGRANATE DRESSING:

2 tablespoons pomegranate juice

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss until sweet potatoes are well coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Roast for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until sweet potatoes are tender. Remove from oven.

Place the sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Add pomegranate arils, pepitas, and feta cheese.

In a small bowl, whisk together pomegranate juice, red wine vinegar, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle dressing over sweet potato salad. Gently toss. Serve immediately.

Pomegranate Jell-O

1large pkg Raspberry Jell-o
1⁄2 cup sugar
1pkg cranberries, freeze then chop 
1 c. pecans, chopped
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 large pomegranate

Mix Jell-o according to package directions, add the sugar. Soft set in 9x13 pan. Add other ingredients. Set until firm.  Top with sweetened whipped cream.  

Zucchini Bread

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 cup oil

Mix and add:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Mix and add:
2 cups grated zucchini
2 tsp. vanilla

Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Makes 2 loaves of bread
*Recipe from Sheralee Moore

Miguel's Jalapeno Cream Sauce

This is a copycat recipe of a white queso dip from a yummy little restaurant called Miguel's on Coronado Island in CA.  It's pretty much the best thing ever created to dip tortilla chips in or pour over any Mexican dish. 

2 c. whipping cream
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. chicken boullion
2 TB clarified butter (I just used regular butter and it was fine.)
1 TB flour
1 jalapeno, minced (seeds and ribs removed)
1 TB jarred jalapeno juice
1 ounce Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 ounce sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Heat whipping cream over high heat.  Stir in sour cream when it's ready to boil.  After sour cream dissolves, reduce the heat to medium.

Stir in boullion and jalapeno juice, and simmer.

Meanwhile, make a roux by adding the flour to melted butter in a small sauce pan.  Whisk until the mixture turns a pale gold.

Increase the heat on the cream mixture until almost boiling and add the roux.  Whisk briskly and constantly until the roux is incorporated. 

Remove from heat and stir in minced jalapeno and the cheeses.

Notes:  I added about double the jalapeno juice than the recipe calls for (depending on how hot your juice is) and some chopped up jarred jalapenos too.  Just play with it until it's as spicy as you like. 

Beef Brisket

3-4 lbs. beef brisket (Costco)
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
2 TB. beef bouillon

Sprinkle or rub the boullion and soup mix on both sides of the brisket.  Double wrap the roast in foil and place in a baking dish.  Cook at 250 degrees all night or about 8-10 hours.  Take the brisket out of the foil, save all the juices, and let the meat rest.  Remove fat, and slice against the grain.  Return the meat and juices to the pan and keep hot.  Serve with mashed or baked potatoes.

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes (about 2 c. chopped)
3 tbsp. butter
1 c. diced white onion
2 tbsp. flour
4 c. chicken stock
2 c. water
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 1/2 c. instant mashed potatoes
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. basil
1/8 tsp. thyme
1 c. half-and-half

Garnish:
cheddar cheese
cooked, crumbled bacon
green onions

Preheat oven to 400 and bake the potatoes for an hour or until done. When the potatoes have cooked remove them from the oven to cool. As the potatoes cool, prepare soup by melting butter in a saucepan, and saute onion until light brown. Add flour to the onions to make a roux (similar to a thick paste). Transfer to a large pot. Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the contents with a large spoon (or just peel the potatoes). Discard skin. Chop baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about 1/2 in. in size.  Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the pot. Bring soup back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until it has thickened. Spoon about 1 1/2 c. soup into a bowl and top with shredded cheddar cheese,  crumbled bacon and chopped green onion (if desired).

Bran Muffins

2 cups boiling water
5 tsp. baking soda
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 quart buttermilk
5 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
4 cups all bran cereal
2 cups 40% bran flakes
2 cups chopped dates (optional)
1 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Add soda to boiling water and cool.  Cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time; stir in buttermilk, then add flour and salt.  Add water and soda to above mixture.  Add cereals, dates and nuts.  Spoon into well greased muffin tins.  Never stir or beat, just fold ingredients together.  Store unused mixture in refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.  Bake at 375 degrees fro 20 minutes.