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Porcupine Meatballs

Lynnae

1/2 c uncooked riced
1/2 c water
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp celery salt
dash of pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 lb ground beef

Sauce:
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 c water
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine the rice, water, onion powder, celery salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Add the beef and mix together.  Form into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls.  Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a skillet and brown the meatballs.  Drain off any oil.  Combine the ingredients for the sauce and pour over the meatballs.  Cover and simmer for 1 hour. 

(Adapted from Taste of Home Porcupine Meatballs recipe.)

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English Almond Toffee

Lynnae

English toffee is one of my favorite candies to make and eat at Christmas time.  I’ve been known to buy the big containers of the stuff from Costco and then hide them and sneak one (or two) every now and then.  Don’t judge.  🙂   Anyway, the candy is not that hard to make.  Here is my mother-in-law’s recipe.

2/3 c. butter

½ c. sugar
1/3 c. water 
½ tsp salt
2/3 c. raw chopped almonds
¼ tsp baking soda
½ c. chocolate chips
¼ c. chopped roasted almonds

Add butter,sugar, water, and salt to a heavy sauce pan. Cook over low to medium heat,stirring constantly until it boils.  Cookwithout stirring to 236° F.  Add 2/3 cup raw almonds.  Cook to 290° F stirring constantly.  Stir in ¼ tsp baking soda.  Pour onto cookie sheet ¼” thick.  Immediately put ½ cup chocolate chips on topand spread as chocolate melts.  Sprinklewith chopped almonds.

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Cinnamon Rolls

Lynnae

My husband grew up having cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa for breakfast 3 times a year–the first Sunday in April, the first Sunday in October (General Conference Sunday mornings), and Christmas morning.  We have carried on the tradition in our family.  This recipe comes from my mother-in-law, Lorinda Hymas.

One key ingredient we use is King Arthur Bread Flour.  We started using it about a year ago in all our breads, and I still can’t believe what a difference it makes.  The bread has a soft and light texture that it never had when I used all-purpose garden variety flour.  It also rises like gang busters when you combine it with a good yeast (SAF or Red Star are my favorite).  The flour costs a little more, but it is worth every penny, I promise.  I just found it at Wal-Mart for $4 for 5 lbs.  Bon Appetit!

Cinnamon Rolls

2 tbsp yeast

1 tsp sugar
1 c. lukewarm water
2 c. milk, scalded
⅔ c. melted shortening (no substitutions)
1 c. sugar
4 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
7-10 c. flour

2 cubes butter
brown sugar
cinnamon
 
Dissolve sugar and yeast in water; add milk cooled to lukewarm, shortening, sugar, and salt.  Add eggs; beat well.  Add flour to make soft, slightly sticky dough; be careful not to add too much.  Let stand 10 minutes; knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.   Place in greased bowl, cover.  Let rise until doubled in bulk.

Divide dough in two.  Roll dough out ½” thick rectangle and spread 1/2 cube melted butter over top.  Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and brown sugar.  Roll up and slice into 1” thick pieces.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Repeat with the other half of the dough.  Allow rolls to rise until about double in size.  (Tip: You can speed this process by preheating the oven to 170° F, turning it off, and placing the rolls inside).
When the rolls have doubled, preheat oven to 400° F, and bake in hot oven for 12-18 minutes until slightly golden brown on top. Add your favorite frosting.  We use simple butter cream.
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Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

Lynnae


I haven’t make this recipe in a long time, but it is simple, easy, and delicious.  I love being able to throw some ingredients in the crock pot in the morning and having a delicious dinner in the evening.

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken


3-4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

4 oz cream cheese

½ packet Dry Italian Salad Dressing Mix

Place chicken in crockpot.  Mix soup, cream cheese, and Italian dressing mix.  Pour over chicken.  Cook for 5-6 hours on low.  Serve over white rice.

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Buttercream Frosting

Lynnae


Buttercream Frosting


1 c. butter, room temperature

4 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

¼ c. heavy cream

Cream the butter with an electric mixer.  Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended.  Increase the speed to medium and add the cream in a thin stream.  Increase speed to high and then whip until the texture is light and smooth.  Add more sugar or cream to adjust texture as needed.
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Sour Cream

Lynnae

It turns out making sour cream is really easy. With all of my other dairy making projects I decided to give it a try. Put a quarter of a cup of plain yogurt or buttermilk in a glass container, then add 1 cup of cream on top. You don’t even stir it up. Let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours and then refrigerate for 24 hours to set.

I tried both the yogurt and the buttermilk. The yogurt seemed slightly thicker after a few days. I seriously doubt I’ll ever buy sour cream again, unless it is an emergency. 😉

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Parmesan Rolls

Lynnae
18 frozen Rhodes Rolls
¾ c. Parmesan cheese
½ tsp garlic salt
2 tbsp parsley
¾ c. melted butter

Melt the butter in the microwave.  Mix the Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and parsley together in a separate container. Dip the frozen Rhodes Roll in the butter, then the cheese mixture so that the cheese sticks to the whole roll.  Let rise six hours in a warm place.  Bake at 375° F for 12-15 min. or until golden brown.

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Blendtec Blender Product Review

Lynnae

4-5 years ago, my husband was at Costco and got sucked into one of those blender demos that they do there sometimes.  It was for the Blendtec Blender.  He was really impressed and ended up buying one.  My reaction was something like, “How much?  For a BLENDER?”

However, I really must say, this little baby is by far my favorite and one of my most frequently used kitchen appliances, along with my Kitchenaid Mixer and toaster.  I use it for everything!  The counter says 851 times.  My favorite feature of this wonderful machine is the ease of cleanup.  I don’t think I would ever use it if it was hard to clean.  I used to avoid using a blender because it was hard to clean.  Not so with this wonderful machine.  Rinse it out, put a little dish soap and water in, and pulse it for 10 sec.  Done!

The other amazing thing about this machine is that it really does blend anything.  Seriously.  We started out with smoothies, of course, but I use it for everything.  I make pancake batter, baby food, salad dressing, whip cream, and make a killer raw vegetable soup that comes out HOT with soup mode.  It will even grind wheat.  I recently found a blender recipe for butter that I’m thinking about trying and seeing if it’s cheaper.

I’ve heard the Vitamix blender is very comparable, and Costco also sells that, but I haven’t ever tried it.  It would be really fun to do a side by side comparison and give you my review.  Maybe someday.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a cool kitchen gadget, this definitely fits the bill.  If you have one (or even if you don’t) please let me know what you think (I’d love some comments).

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Buttermilk Pancakes

Lynnae

So, if you haven’t noticed, we really like to make things from scratch around here.  It’s not because I’m against “prepared foods.”  It’s just that I think from scratch stuff tends to taste better, and I just like to cook.  Knowing what goes into your food is an added bonus.  This morning, I made buttermilk pancakes for breakfast.  They really aren’t that much harder to make than from a mix, so why not?  I usually double the recipe and freeze the leftovers.  I just throw them in the toaster for the picky two year old who would live on pancakes and milk if I let him.  And of course we serve it with homemade buttermilk caramel syrup.

Here’s the recipe (adapted from Better Homes and Garden’s recipe book):


Buttermilk Pancakes
1 c. flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 beaten egg

1 c. buttermilk

2 tbsp vegetable oil

I like to mix my batter in the blender.  I put the eggs, buttermilk, and oil in first, then put the dry ingredients on top.  I blend it for about a minute.  Cook over medium heat in a heavy skillet, turning to the second side when the pancakes are bubbly and dry on the edges.

Variations:  You may substitute 1 c. of milk for the buttermilk, but increase the baking powder to 2 tsp and omit the baking soda.  You can also add some cinnamon chips to the batter after it’s blended. 
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Mozzarella Cheese

Lynnae

After the success with our homemade yogurt, I decided that I really wanted to try to make homemade mozzarella.  I’d seen some recipes on Pintrest, and I wanted to give it a try.

I ordered my supplies (citric acid, vegetable rennet tablets, and cheese salt) from www.cheesemaking.com, and I gave it a whirl yesterday.  I’d call it a successful failure.  I ended up with lots of tiny little curds that tasted like mozzarella, but that wasn’t what I was going for.  So, I read everything I could about what may have gone wrong with my cheese on cheesemaking.com, used their recipe, and then I tried it again today.  And, IT WORKED!  It feels so good to have been successful.

I’ll try this a few more times, and then I may try a different kind of cheese soon.