Rice Krispie Treats

Such a classic for the 4th of July.

Ingredients:
3 Tbs butter
1 pkg (10 oz) marshmallows
6 C Rice Krispies

Directions:
*Melt the butter in a pan on low heat
*Add marshmallow, melt completely (yes it seems to take forever but it will be worth it)
*Remove from heat
*Add Rice Krispies, stir until well coated
*Using a buttered spatula or wax paper, press into a cookie pan or something similar
*Let cool and cut into squares.
Try not to eat them all in one day

Cookie ice cream sandwich

Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich

I am going to make these for Aaron and the girls on Sunday.

Ingredients

Peanut butter
12 cookies -the recipe calls for oatmeal raisin cookies but I am going to use Chocolate chip cookies

1 pint of vanilla ice cream

mini chocolate chips ( I think that mini m&m's would be good also)

spread peanut butter over bottom of 6 cookies. Top with a scoop of ice cream. Top with another cookie, press down gently. Roll sides of ice cream sandwich in chocolate chips.

Serve immediately or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze

butterscotch parfaits

I think this sounds so yummy!!!!

2 cups cold milk
1 package butterscotch pudding mix
18 vanilla wafers
1 carton cool whip thawed
6 maraschino cherries,optional

In large mixing bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set

In six parfaits glasses, alternate layers of pudding,wafers crumbs and whipped topping. Garnish with cherry if desired

serves 6

Southwest Chicken

So I noticed my last week's recipe was the last post. What's the deal? Did everyone run out of recipes already or do you just have more of a life than I do?

Anyway, this is what I made for dinner tonight. I was trying to find a recipe to use things we had on hand and this is what I came up with. We didn't quite have all the ingredients so I had to modify it a little bit but we both really liked it still so here it is. I'll post the actual recipe because it looks really good and I want to make it once we do have everything for it. Then I'll put what what I did differently.

6 boneless chicken breast halves

6 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 2" x 1/2" sticks

2 cans (4 oz.) chopped green chiles, drained

1/2 c. dry bread crumbs

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1 T. chili powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

3/4 c. flour

1/2 c. butter, melted

Flatten chicken to 1/2" thickness. Place a cheese stick down the middle of each and top with chilies. Roll up and tuck in ends; secure with toothpick. In a shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, chili powder, salt, and cumin. Coat chicken with flour, then dip in butter and roll in crumb mixture. Place roll ups, seam side down, in a greased baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 25 minutes or until chicken is done. Discard the toothpicks.

We didn't have any cheese or green chilies so I skipped the whole flattening and rolling up part and just breaded them and baked them. Then I made a sauce out of Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chilies, a can of cream of chicken soup, and about 1/2 cup sour cream. We heated the sauce in a saucepan and put it on top of the chicken when it was done baking. Yum!

Chiken Fajitas

Okay, this can't really be considered a recipe but I'm just going to tell you how we prepare our chicken fajitas.

We use the Walmart brand packet of Fajita seasoning, preparing our fajitas according to package directions. All you need with this is a pound of chicken, an onion, and a green pepper.

While this is cooking, we also prepare a box of Rice-a-Roni fajita flavored rice.

Once those are done, we layer the rice, the chicken and vegetables, shredded cheese, sour cream and guacamole on top of a fresh baked fajita-sized tortilla. There is a grocery store here called H.E.B. that bakes their own tortillas and they are amazing.

I'm not usually a huge guacamole fan but I'm really addicted to homemade guacamole. Laurie and Cade taught us a shortcut for making it. I guess this can count as a recipe. Mash up your avocados with pace picante sauce (or whatever salsa I suppose), salt, and lime juice, all to taste because I don't know the exact amounts. It is my favorite thing right now.

Anyway that is chicken fajitas, Casey and Kristi style! Happy Father's Day everyone!

P.S. Just to clear things up--no I am not pregnant!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sorry about the lack of posting my recipe lately. WE MOVED!! Yay! I love our new house but it has kept me pretty busy. Now that things are settling down I can be more consistent.

(I have made these and they are good)

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger or turkey burger
1/2 C rolled oats
1 egg
1/3 C finely chopped onions
1/2 tsp. Salt
Few grains of pepper
3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 C milk

Directions:
*Combine all ingredients, mix well.
*Form into balls
*Place in casserole dish single layer
*Cover with sauce
*Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour

Sauce:
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C vinegar
1/8 C barbecue sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
*Combine all ingredients and blend thoroughly
*Heat and pour over meatballs

'Pluck It' Bread

Andy's mom made this for us on Sunday and it was SOO good! It is very similar to monkey bread, but a little different. It almost had a toffee flavor to it when it was done.

1/2 cup of Sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 cube butter, melted

3 cans of refrigerated biscuits

Cut biscuits into fourths. Combine sugar and cinnamon in bag. Shake and coat biscuits. Melt butter and brown sugar. Put coated biscuits in a bundt pan. Pour sauce over. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and enjoy!

Artisan Bread

My dad called me a few weeks ago with this new bread recipe he had been making that everyone was going crazy over. I've made it several times now and it is always so good. It seems complicated just because there are very specific steps but it really is the simplest way to bake bread. I've had several people request the recipe from me so here it is...

You will need:

3-3 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast

1 1/2 Tbsp. salt

6 1/2 cups flour

Large bowl with lid ( I bought a cheap plastic one at Wal-Mart for $1)

Corn meal

Mix flour, salt, and yeast in your large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the water. Mix with a spoon just until it is all mixed. It will be really wet and sticky and won't really look like bread dough.

Leave dough mixture in the bowl on the counter for 2-5 hours. It will rise and probably flatten out a bit.

Set the lid loosely on top of the bowl so that the bread can still breathe. Place dough in the fridge. It is best to at least leave it in the fridge a few hours or overnight because it is easier to handle, but I've left in in there for just a couple hours and it has still turned out great. You can leave it in the fridge for up to 14 days. It is supposed to taste more like sourdough the longer you leave it but I haven't left it that long yet.

Once dough has chilled, sprinkle some flour on top and pinch off a grapefruit-size piece. Use as much flour as needed to be able to handle the dough without it sticking to you (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup). Each batch makes 3 loaves of bread so just put the rest back in the fridge.

Shape your dough piece into a disc, making sure the top is smooth. It doesn't matter what the bottom looks like. Place dough on a flat surface covered with corn meal. It needs to be flat because you will be transferring it to the oven once it is done rising. Using a serrated knife, make 4 slices across the top of the dough about 1/4" deep.

Let dough rise for 40 minutes. After 20 minutes, start heating the oven to 450 with a pan inside also covered with corn meal. I usually use a pizza stone but I've also used a cookie sheet. The heat will scorch the pan a little just as a warning. Below the pizza stone you are also going to heat another pan (not glass). I use an old cake pan that I don't really care about.

After the oven has heated for 20 minutes (even though it won't quite be at 450 yet) you are going to transfer your bread from the sheet it is rising on to the pizza stone in the oven. You will also pour about a cup of water into the other heated pan to create steam. Close the oven door immediately.

The recipe says to cook the bread for 30-35 minutes, but here in Houston I only cook it for 20 so I don't quite know exactly what to put. I guess just until it turns golden brown.

Pull bread out of the oven onto a cooling rack. I will feel like a brick at first but continues to soften as it cools. You cool it to about room temperature and enjoy.

There are several variations to this basic recipe. I think the website for it is www.artisanbreadinfive.com in case anyone wants to venture out.

As always, anything we like that Ashlynn will also eat is a bonus for me!

I'm sorry about last week. It seems the days just blur together out here and I lose track of time really easily. I've had a real sweet tooth lately, big surprise! Andy always says he doesn't like brownies, but he loves brownies with frosting. I decided to start trying brownie recipes until I find one we both like. This is the one I'll be starting with.

Ingredients

• 8 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 cup butter
• 5 eggs
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. Place 8 ounces of baking chocolate with 1 cup of butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High until the chocolate is soft and the butter has melted, about 2 minutes. Stir to mix.
2. Place the eggs, 3 cups of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract in a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and beat in the melted butter-chocolate mixture. Beat in the flour until just combined (do not overmix), and stir in the chopped walnuts. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgy crumbs, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pan before frosting.
4. To make frosting, combine 1 1/4 cup of sugar with the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer for 7 minutes without stirring.
5. Remove the cream mixture from the heat, and stir in 5 ounces of baking chocolate and 1/2 cup butter, stirring to melt and blend the chocolate. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; whisk until smooth. Place the frosting in the refrigerator and stir every few minutes until the frosting is chilled and thick, about 30 minutes. Frost the cooled brownies, and cut into squares.

6 kids

Tonight I am watching my friends 4 kids. So with 6 kids to feed a new recipe was not going to happen. I gave them Dino chicken nuggets and french fries. Bake both in the oven at 450 degrees. :)

Fruit Pizza

I am trying this Sunday. My neighbor Becky gave me the idea

Sugar cookie dough
vanilla pudding
fruit

bake your favorite cookie sugar cookie dough on pizza stone. Let it cool completly.
wash and dry fruit. Fruit needs to be 100% dry

cover cookie with pudding and top with fruit. Slice it like a pizza and enjoy

Trifle

Sorry I didn't post anything last week. It was our official moving day and I didn't even think about the fact that we wouldn't have internet until it was too late.

So this recipe didn't quite turn out as well as I thought it would, but I've been sick and my taste buds are all messed up. Casey says it was good so I will post it anyway.

1 pound cake or angel food cake or just box cake

1/2 cup orange juice

2 cups prepared vanilla pudding

3-5 cups favorite fruit(s)

1 cup whipping cream OR

1 small container Cool Whip

1 package jello, optional

Whip cream if using, sweetening to taste with powdered sugar. Chop fruit into bite-size pieces if necessary. If using Jello, prepare according to package directions but do not chill. Break cake into bite-size pieces. Put 1/2 of cake peices into large bowl or trifle bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 of orange juice. Pour in 1/2 of the Jello if using. Continue layering with 1/2 of the pudding, then 1/2 of the fruit, then half of the sweetened whipped cream or Cool Whip. Repeat the layers.