Bundt Pan Monkey Bread

 

I got my aunt's recipe for this but decided to make a couple changes.  I loved that her recipe had homemade dough for the bread.  I've usually only seen this recipe with canned biscuits or frozen roll dough so I was super happy to get this recipe.

Add 1 1/4 cup warm water to 1 TBL yeast.  Mix well and add 1 tsp salt, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 egg.  Add 2 cups flour and mix.  Add 1 1/2 - 2 cups more of flour.  Cover and let raise.  Make small dough balls (I had to add a bit more flour to my dough at this time because the dough was so sticky) and roll each ball in cinnamon and sugar mix.  Place in greased bundt pan.  Melt 1/2 cup butter in a pan.  Add 1 cup brown sugar and mix well.  As it starts to boil, add about 1/4 cup of milk.  Stir in chopped nuts (if desired).  Pour over dough.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  

I covered the dough and placed it in the fridge to bake the next morning.  It raised a lot in the fridge but it still worked out just fine once I cooked it.

Green Chicken Enchilada Soup

 

One of my co-workers makes this soup when we have soup days.  It's delicious.  I made it myself finally when we decided we wanted a chicken tortilla soup this week.  I made it in my crockpot.

Place chicken (abt 2 1/2 lbs), a 28 oz can of green enchilada sauce (I did mild this time.  Next time I would do medium), and 24 oz of chicken broth in a crockpot.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Shred chicken.  Note to self:  I took it out and shredded it using my kitchen aid.  I did it a little too much so the chicken was a little mushy as it sat.  So next time I will cut it or not shred it as much.  Add the chicken back into the juices in the crockpot along with 1 cup milk, 1 can of corn (drained), 2 cups monterey jack cheese, 4 oz. cream cheese (cubed and softened), and 6 oz. green salsa.  Turn to warm and stir.  To our bowls, we added avocado, cilantro, and crushed tortilla chips.  Delicious!  Next time I will definitely add a can of green chilies at the end.  We needed a bit more kick!

Chicken Souvlaki

This is another delicious meal that we use naan bread for!  YUM!

 

2 cups plain yogurt                                                     1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, peeled,

1 ¼ tsp salt                                                                  seeded, & grated

1 clove garlic, minced                                                Fresh-ground black pepper

¼ tsp dill weed                                                            2 TBL olive oil

1 ½ tsp lemon juice                                                    1 TBL dried oregano

1 1/3 lbs. Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts            4 pocketless pitas

cut into 1 inch cubes                                                   6 TBL butter, at room temperature

1 small onion, cut into thin wedges                            2 tomatoes, cut into thin wedges

1/3 cup black olives, halved

Put yogurt in a strainer lid with cheesecloth or a paper towel and set it over a bowl.  Let drain in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.  In a medium glass bowl, combine the cucumber with 1 tsp of the salt; let sit for about 15 minutes.  Squeeze the cucumber to remove the liquid.  Put the cucumber back in the bowl and stir in the drained yogurt, garlic and 1/8 tsp of pepper, and the dill.

Light the grill or heat the broiler.  In a small glass bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, oregano, the remaining ¼ tsp of salt, and ¼ tsp of pepper.   Toss the cubes in the oil mixture and thread them onto skewers.  Grill the chicken over high heat or broil, turning once, until done, about 5 minutes in all. (Grilling seems to take about 15 minutes or more.  Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Spread both sides of the pitas with the butter and grill or broil, turning once, until golden, about 4 minutes in all.  

To serve, put the pitas on plates and top with the onion, tomatoes, and chicken skewers with any accumulated juices.  Top with tzatziki (the cucumber/yogurt mixture) and olives.

Serve with the Classic Greek Salad.

Microwave Brownies

Here's a quick and easy dessert.

2 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ c butter, melted

½ cup flour

½ cup cocoa

In a medium mixing bowl, mix eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla for one minute on medium speed.  In a dinnerware bowl, microwave butter for 30 seconds or until melted.  Add melted butter. Mix well.  Add flour. Mix on low speed until blended.  Add cocoa.  Mix on low speed until blended.  Pour mixture into a greased, glass pie plate.  Place in the microwave.  Cook on high for 6 minutes.  The brownies are finished when it springs back after being lightly touched.  Using oven mitts, remove the pie plate from the microwave and place on a cooling rack.  Cool for 4-6 minutes.  After cooling, cut the brownies into 1-inch square pieces. 

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake from Marci Steffes

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups of VEGETABLE oil (not canola, not corn oil)

4 large eggs ( I think they mix better when they are taken out before using them to take the chill off)

2 cups of flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups of grated carrots (I used the carrots that are already grated, if they are a little dry you can soak them in warm water until you are ready to add them to the cake mix,  make sure to drain well)

Preheat oven to 350.

Directions:  (It is imperative that you follow theses directions EXACTLY as they are written)

Mix sugar and oil together.  Mix really really well.  Add eggs, 1 AT A TIME, until each egg is mix well.  Mix together in a bowl the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.  Add to the sugar and egg mixture.  Mix well.  Add carrots and mix.  Grease and flour a rectangular cake pan.  Bake at 350  Depending on your oven cake should be done in 45 -50 minutes.  Check center until cake tester, toothpick or paring knife comes out clean.

Cream sugar frosting:

1 package cream cheese (room temperature)

1 stick of butter (room temperature)  (not margarine) 1lb box of powdered sugar (or 2 cups)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix cream cheese, butter, and vanilla.  Add powdered sugar mix well.

Stromboli

This was a freezer meal made by my friend, Katie.  Yum!!!!!  

She got the original recipe from this blog.  I will DEFINITELY be making this again and freezing the other half for later.  

1 cup warm water

4 1/2 tsp yeast1 tsp salt2 1/2 cups room temperature water4 TBL oil8 1/2 cups flour (more or less)Toppings: shredded cheese, pepperoni, sausage, ham, salami, onions,  peppers, mushrooms, etc.

Place 1 cup warm water in a mixing bowl with yeast. Let sit until bubbly. Then add 2 1/2 cups room temperature water, salt, and oil. Slowly add in flour. The dough shouldn't stick when you touch it. Cover the bowl and let rise for about an hour.  Prep filling while dough is rising. (Saute veggies, cook sausage, etc.  Cool before freezing for next time.)  When dough has risen, divide into 4.  (My family will eat two, and I'll freeze two.)  Roll dough to about 12 x 18.  Add veggies, meats, cheese, etc in the middle.  Cut strips on each side and braid strips over top of fillings.  Brush with egg white and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until top is brown..  

(Side note:  When I used this as a freezer meal, I let it sit out on the counter to defrost.  I cooked it for 20 minutes, and it still wasn't brown so I broiled it on high for 5 minutes.  There was a lot of liquid on the bottom of my pan.  I assume it was from everything not being completely defrosted.  I wiped that off the pan before I broiled it.)

Peanut Brittle

Sierra really wanted to make peanut brittle for the Christmas season so I asked my mom for her recipe.  I don't ever remember being the one to actually help my mom makes this holiday classic so there were times that we had to FaceTime her or call in Dave (yup, he made peanut brittle growing up but he used the microwave) to come check out what we were doing to see if we were doing it right.  It turned out delicious!

Peanut Brittle

1 cup karo syrup

1/2 c water

2 c sugar

2 c raw peanuts

1/2 TBL butter

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking soda

Cook syrup, water and sugar to soft ball stage. Add peanuts and continue cooking, stirring constantly until syrup turns a light color and the mixture begins to thicken. Turn off heat, add butter, salt vanilla, and baking soda. Pour out onto a greased (oil)  cookie sheet. Let cool and then break apart.

This just made me want to make more holiday goodies!!

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Casserole

This meal was from our freezer meal swap.  We all really liked this meal.  Syd was telling the rest of us it was nasty so she could eat it all herself!

We will definitely be making this again as a meal and a freezer meal!

1 lb. chicken, diced and cooked in a skillet with a little salt & pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can diced green chilies (4 oz. or 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup milk (fill up the soup can about halfway)
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup sour cream

Layer soup mixture in a small casserole dish with:
corn tortillas--about 9
shredded cheddar cheese (abt 1/2 lb.)

Spray dish with cooking spray.  Tear corn tortillas to cover bottom of pan, layer 1/2 soup mixture, then cover with cheese.  Repeat so there are three layers of tortillas, soup mixture and cheese, ending with shredded cheese on top.  Bake at 350 until warm thoroughly and bubbly on the edges (30 minutes or more).  Serve with plain cooked rice.  Can also top with shredded lettuce, diced fresh tomatoes, and/or pico de gallo.

Kool Aid Play Dough

This is one of the softest play doughs ever!  It doesn't hurt that it smells amazing either!

1 cup flour                                                                   1 pkg unsweetened Kool-Aid

¼ cup salt                                                                    1 cup water

2 TBL cream of tartar                                                 1 TBL oil

Mix together in saucepan first four ingredients.  Then stir in water and oil.  Stir over medium heat until it forms in center of pan.  Take off heat and knead on flour surface.  Store in refrigerator.  Great play dough!  Smells like flavor and doesn’t leave salty film. 

Roast Beef French Dip Sandwiches

I made this last Sunday to try out for my freezer meal swap.  We loved it!

Roast  (I used about a 3 lb. chuck roast)

1 can of French onion soup

1 can of beef broth1 TBL worchestire sauce

Cook in crock pot in high for 8 hours. (Maybe less depending on your crock pot). Shred meat. Pour drippings into a pot and boil about 5 minutes (mine boiled in the crock pot enough that I didn't do this. Toast buns and serve with meat inside. Dip in sauce. Could add a slice of provolone cheese to your sandwich.  This made enough for 10 sandwiches with plenty of leftovers.

We had a lot of left overs so I just put it in a bag with the extra drippings on top. It would even just be a great roast!

ETA: We had the leftovers for Sunday dinner yesterday just as a roast (I froze the leftovers from last week's meal). I added a cup of beef broth to my crock pot since most of the liquid was used from last Sunday's meal and just cooked it on low for 6 hours.   It was AWESOME and so tender!!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

My family was in the mood for cinnamon rolls today after church so we made these!  I'm always looking for cinnamon roll that's soft and light.  These were awesome!  Probably because I had a good helper and we were patient in the rising!

2 cups scalded milk                                                     1 cup warm water

2 heaping TBL yeast                                                   2 tsp salt

½ cup sugar                                                                 2 eggs

7 cups flour (approx.)                                                  1 TBL oil

Put sugar and salt in pan.  Add milk.  Add water; when body temp, add yeast, dissolve.  Add 2 cups flour or until spongy (sometimes 4 cups...we had to do 4 cups).  Add 1 cup raisins then oil and eggs.  Gradually add rest of flour.  Let rise 1 hour.  Roll out.  Line with butter.  Fill with cinnamon and brown sugar.  Roll up and slice.  Let rise and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

We made one pan with just cinnamon sugar and brown sugar in the middle and the other pan we added cinnamon sugar, brown sugar, coconut, and chocolate chips.  They were both soft!  YUM!!!

For the glaze I just mixed powdered sugar (approx. 2 cups) with milk (approx 2 TBL), about 1 TBL butter, a dash of salt, and a dash of vanilla.  Sorry about the approximates but that's just how I make glaze.  Add more powdered sugar if too thin.  Add more milk if too thick.

Baked/Crock pot Meatballs

This recipe came from my friend, Gina, from our freezer meal swap.  This is the second time she's made them.

1lb ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated/shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
1 cup panko or bread crumbs - Italian seasoned
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients with hands.
Form into golfball sized meatballs.

Cooking Method 1:
Thaw meatballs and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. (If frozen – add about 10-15 minutes to cooking time)
Add your favorite pasta/marinara sauce on top or simmer meatballs in sauce once they are finished baking

Cooking Method 2:
Place in crockpot and cover with your favorite pasta/marinara sauce
Low – 4 to 5 hours
High – 2 to 3 hours

Serve with spaghetti or make meatball sandwiches.

Pansit

Tonight our women's church group got together and some of the Filipino ladies taught us how to make pansit.  My family has definitely become fans of this awesome dish.  I will try making it on my own soon!!!

The amount of ingredients is completely dependent on how much you plan to make.  It doesn't keep more than a day I'm told so less is more, I would imagine.  I'll try to add how much we used tonight.  While the two ladies were showing us how to make it, I was standing by another lady that would give me other tips so I'll add those in the parenthesis.

Chicken, beef, shrimp or pork--abt. 1 1/2 lbs. (usually you stir fry the meat, but you can boil the chicken if you are using chicken thighs with bones.  If you boil the meat, then you can save the broth to use for later.)
Carrots--4
Celery--4 Cabbage--1 headGreen beans--1/2 lb.?Onion--1Garlic--6-8
Vegetable OilOyster SauceSoy SauceBihon Seasoning--1 packetBlack PepperSuper Bihon Noodles--We used 1 packages of rice noodles and 2 packages of corn starch noodles combined.  If you use the corn starch or rice noodles, SOAK noodles in water in the bag while cooking chicken and veggies (you don't want the noodles to be soggy...just lightly moist.)  If you use the flour noodles, no need to soak them in water first!

Cut veggies into slivers (long & thin...it's important for presentation to have them all cut the same.) and mince garlic.  Cut meat into strips.  Pour oil into a hot pan.  When oil is hot, add onions and garlic.  When they have started to saute, add your meat.  When meat is almost fully cooked, add a few drops of oyster sauce and stir fry.  Add carrots, green beans, celery and cabbage.  Keep mixing.  Add water as needed (you can add a little seasoning from the bihon seasoning packet or use the meat broth if you boiled your meat).  Mix and add a few drops of soy sauce and a dash or two of black pepper.  Stir fry for about 10-15 min (don't overcook...the veggies should still be firm).  Remove veggies and put to the side.  Leave any liquid broth in the pan.  Add seasoning to broth (should be about 1 cup...may be more if using a lot of noodles).  Add noodles to broth and cook.  Lower heat and cook approx 10 min until soft.  Add in veggies and keep mixing.  Be VERY careful not to burn the noodles.  Add more soy sauce as needed.  (You can also squeeze lemon over top and mix in.)  Pour in serving dish.  Leave open.  Do not cover while it's hot or it will spoil.

I see lumpia and pansit replacing something on our monthly menu VERY soon!!!!!

July Menu

1.  Carne Asada w/ Southwestern Salad (marinaded carne asada grilled, chopped, and add into a bag of Southwestern Salad Mix from Food 4 Less)
2.  Chicken Enchiladas
3.  Chicken Fajitas
4.  Hamburgers & Hot dogs
9.  Lasagna
10.  Roast w/ Mashed Potatoes
11.  Roast Beef Burritos
12.  Grilled Chicken
13.  Carne Asada
14.  Cheesy Veggie Chowder (freezer meal)
15.  Super Nachos
16.  Salmon
17.  Meatloaf
18.  Pork & Bean Sandwiches
19.  Fried Chicken
20.  Tin Foil Dinners
21.  Chicken Rollups
22.  Orange Chicken
23.  Fiesta Stack
24.  French Dip Sandwiches (apparently, I need to add the recipe to my blog)
25.  Grilled Pizza
26.  Cheesy Chicken Strips
27.  Flank Steak
28.  Garlic Tomato Pasta
29.  Kabobs
30.  Taco Salad (Make taco meat & serve over green salad and crushed tortillas or fritos.   Add salad dressing and/or salsa)
31.  Chicken & Dressing Casserole

June Menu

1.  Korean Beef
2.  Honey Soy Pork Tenderloin
3.  Party
4.  Reception
5.  Boneless Ribs
6.  Lumpia & Honey Lime Grilled Chicken
7.  Spaghetti & Scones
8.  Beef Enchiladas
9.  Stir Fry
10.  Pizza
11.  Hamburgers
12.  Roast  (slice up carrots, potatoes, and an onion to add to the crock pot w/ the roast, add garlic salt, DONE)
13.  Chicken Curry (freezer meal)
14.  Creamy Chicken Alfredo (freezer meal)
15.  Tacos
16.  Ham & Twice Baked Potatoes
17.  Chicken Enchiladas  This is a dish that shows up on my list EVERY month
18.  BBQ Chicken Drumsticks (I need to remember to take a pic so I can add it to the blog.)
19.  Steak & Shrimp
20.  Chicken Tikka Masala (freezer meal)
21.  Crepes
22.  Tator Tot Casserole
23.  Chicken Cacciatore (freezer meal)
24.  Strognaff
25.  Hawiian Haystacks
26.  Crock pot Porkchops
27.  Garlic Ranch Grilled Chicken
28.  Teriyaki Chicken (freezer meal)
29.  Beef Noodle Bowl
30.  Santa Fe Salad

Lumpia

For the past 6 (maybe more years) we've helped with the Varsity Scout Lumpia fundraiser.  This year we rolled just over 1800 lumpia.  This is the only picture I have of proof of our activity this year ;-)  My rolling fingers stayed busy!

Tonight I cooked some up.  I must admit that I usually wait a few months to cook it because it's not my favorite thing.  I decided to just cook it tonight to go with our dinner. 

Fresher is DEFINITELY better!

This is the recipe we use every year:

2 ½ pounds pork sausage

1 egg

1 cup carrots (chopped)

1 cup onions (chopped)

2 cups potatoes (chopped)

1 TBL garlic

1 ½ TBL soy sauce

1 TBL oil

1 TBL salt (less is fine…but no more)

1 TBL black pepper

Makes about 35-40 lumpia.

Cooking Instructions:

 *Do not cook in microwave or conventional oven.

*Keep frozen until ready to cook.

*Slightly thaw before cooking.

 Lumpia must be deep fried.  In a medium-size frying pan or skillet, add about 2 1/2 cups of oil.  Heat oil to medium heat.  Test the oil if it’s hot enough by dipping an uncooked lumpia into the oil.  The oil will bubble or sizzle when it’s hot and ready for cooking. Place lumpia pieces into the pan.  Cook until lumpia turn golden brown, about 3-4 mins.  Place cooked lumpia on a paper towel to drain excess oil.  Serve plain or with your favorite dipping sauce.  

Manicotti & Spaghetti Sauce

I wasn't so sure on this freezer meal dish because my kids are NOT fans of ricotta cheese but they all liked this dish.  I didn't mind at all that I had to eat the leftovers. ;-)

8 oz. pkg. manicotti
2 beaten eggs
2 cups shredded mozz. cheese
1 1/2 c. ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBL parsley
1/2 tsp pepper

2 cups spaghetti sauce
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Cook manicotti according to package directions, drain, and rinse in cold water.  Stir together mozz. cheese, eggs, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper.  Stuff about 1/4 c filling into each shell.  Arrange manicotti in a greased 9x13 dish.  Pour sauce over and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.


Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 capful of spaghetti seasoning
1/4 cup worcetershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 lb. ground beef/turkey, browned & drained (the manicotti we had was meatless and it was still yummy)

Put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker, mix together and simmer on low for 2 hours or all day if desired.  Serve over your favorite cooked pasta.

Honey Soy Pork Tenderloin Crock Pot

My friend Katie made this for our freezer meal group.  We didn't add carrots, but next time I think I would because I was scrambling for a veggie to serve with it at the last minute.

½ cup Olive Oil

¼ cup Soy Sauce

½ cup Honey

4 TBSP Steak Seasoning

½ TSP Garlic Powder

⅛ TSP Ground Ginger

⅛ TSP Red Pepper Flakes

2-3 lb Pork Tenderloin

Place the pork tenderloin at the bottom of the crock pot. You CAN add in some baby carrots.

In a small bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and mix. Then pour over the pork tenderloin.

Cook on low 6-8 hours

Boneless Ribs Crockpot

My friend Candi made this for our recent freezer meal swap.

In one bag combine:
boneless ribs
1/2 cup apple juice
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

In a second bag combine:
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1 TBL Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 TBL apple cider vinegar
3 cloves crushed garlic

When it's time to cook, put the ribs in a crockpot on low for 8 hours.  The last hour, dump the liquid in the crock pot, and add the second bag.

I added the second bag at about 2 1/2 hours cooking on high.  I didn't dump the liquid.  We ate it 4 hours later.  It was GREAT!  I served this dish with rice because Dave grew up eating BBQ short ribs over rice so it's one of his favorite meals. :)

Freezer Meals I've Made

So far here are the freezer meals I've made (I think):

Korean Beef
Chicken & Dressing Casserole
Party Potatoes (Funeral Potatoes) w/ ham
Chicken Stir Fry
Naan Pizzas
Crockpot Chicken Dinner
Chicken Enchiladas
Monster Cookies
Cheese Chowder w/ rolls
Honey Lime Grilled Chicken
Beef Enchiladas