Make Cookies - Mix together brownie mix, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of water and softened butter by hand or beat for 1 minute until blended.
Place heaping tablespoons of batter on lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes and allow to cool completely.
Make Topping - Toast coconut in a 350° F for 3-5 minutes until coconut is lightly browned. Remove from oven and hold.
In a microwave-safe bowl put caramel pouch, 6 oz of caramels and 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk. Microwave on high for 11/2 minutes and stir. Continue melting caramels in microwave at 10-second intervals until caramels are smooth. Stir in toasted coconut and spread on top of cookies.
Melt chocolate pieces in microwave-safe bowl for 20 seconds or until melted and smooth. Do not over heat. Drizzle over top of coconut topping. Allow to cool and enjoy.
Tips:
Use a small ice cream scoop to get even sized cookies.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper for easy clean up
Place chocolate chips into a zippered plastic bag, melt chips in microwave for 30 seconds, squeeze to help melt chips, continue on 10-second intervals till chips are all melted. Cut corner of baggie and drizzle chocolate on cookies. ENJOY!!!
ok...there are three recipes coming at you today!!! We had Sunday dinner and celebrated Alex's birthday. I hadn't made pot roast in quite a while, and decided to try Julia Child's recipe.
Julia Child's Pot Roast 1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika 1 boneless chuck roast 3-5 lbs oil for browning meat and onions 2-3 cloves garlic, minced, sliced or crushed 1 T. Worcestershire sauce 2-3 T Soy Sauce 1/4 cup tomato paste 1/2 cup Red Wine 1 cup --or more beef stock or broth rosemary, thyme, bay leaf Place seasoned flour on plate and dredge the roast in it, coating all sides well. Heat oil in roasting pan and brown meat well on all sides. Remove meat and brown onions in same pan until the onions are well caramelized. Add wine, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce to pan with onions, turning heat down, and cook, stirring to deglaze and scrape up any brown bits. Add tomato paste, 1/2 cup broth and 1 tsp of rosemary, thyme and 2-3 bay leaves. Put roast in pan and cover. Cook in 325 degree oven for about 3 hours or until meat is fork tender. Every so often check liquid in pot and add more if needed. Remove meat and pour liquid through sieve with pan underneath. Bring liquid to boil. Add 2 T cornstarch to 1/4 cup water. Add this to liquid, whisking until thickened. Some of my family loved the gravy but others said it was "interesting" ha! Politically correct way to say...."I didn't like it"!
I usually make these fantastic rolls for Thanksgiving....but decided to make it an extra special dinner for Alex. I originally got this recipe from my dear friend, Ann Thornton...who has since passed away. These are mouth wateringly delicious!!!
Cresent Rolls
2 T. yeast 2 cups lukewarm water 1 cup melted margarine 1 cup sugar 6 eggs 1 1/2 tsp. salt 8-9 cups flour mix yeast and water. Let it set and proof (about 5-10 minutes) Add sugar, eggs and margarine. Add flour and salt. Let rise till double. Stir down and refrigerate overnight. Divide dough in half. Roll one half into a circle. Spread with butter. Cut into 16 pie shaped pieces. Roll up from outside edge. Roll out other half the same way. Let rise till desired size. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
These are Tiffany Porter's fabulous Lemon Bars!! They are the best I have ever had!
Lemon Bars
Crust- 2 cups flour 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 cup butter (probably why they are so fab!) Combine until crumbly. Press into the bottem of a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until light golden brown
Filling- 4 eggs--slightly beaten 2 cups sugar 1/4 cup flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/4 cup lemon juice Combine eggs, sugar, flour and baking powder. Mix well. Add lemon juice. Pour over warm crust and return to oven. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool completely.
Glaze- 1 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tsp lemon juice. Spread over completely cooled bars ENJOY ALL!!!
I got a request for this recipe... they are everyone's favorite ....it seems! Guys especially love them! So here they are
Snickerdoodles
1 cup margarine 1 cup shortening 2 1/2 cups sugar 4 eggs 4 3/4 cups flour 4 tsp. Cream of tartar (not an option!!) 2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp salt sugar/cinnamon
Cream margarine and shortening, sugar and eggs together. Blend in other ingredients. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls and roll in sugar and cinnamon. Bake @ 350 for 8-10 minutes.
Valentines Day!! Ken was home and Alex came over for dinner, so I tried a new recipe! AND it is way amazing!! Served with rice and snow peas and a fresh green salad with grapes and mandarin oranges!! Also fat free corn muffins shaped like hearts! Delish! (and the guys didn't even know they were fat free! ha! of course they put enough butter on for an army!!! kinda defeating the purpose! LOL)
Sweet & Spicy Chicken!
6 chicken breasts 1 131/2 ounce can pineapple tidbits- drained (reserve syrup...I also used an extra can of pineapple juice) 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tsp Chinese Chili paste 1 T. shortening 1 tsp. cornstarch
Make sauce with soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and chili paste. Pour into a zip lock bag with chicken and refrigerate at least 4 hours...turning the bag over once. Drain Chicken. Make another batch of sauce. In frying pan, melt shortening. Brown chicken. Add 1/2 cup of sauce and cover and cook on low for 30-45 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. In small sauce pan mix cornstarch and water. Stir in remaining sauce. Heat to boiling stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Simmer 5 minutes. Add pineapple and serve with chicken! ENJOY!!
Alyssa and I visited Grandma Porter on Monday and made cinnamon rolls....boy did her home smell lovely!!! (Alyssa...what a beauty!)
Yummy, yummy cinnamon rolls!!!
GG and sissa!! Two fabulous women!!
I got this recipe many years ago from a lady and dear friend in Tucson, Wally Bishop. I have tried many recipes...but this one is the very bestest!
CINNAMON ROLLS 2 cups warm water 1 cup sugar 2 T. yeast 2 cups flour 3/4 cups oil 2 eggs 4 1/2 cups flour 2 tsp. salt Mix water and yeast. Wait until bubble (usually takes 5 minutes) Mix in sugar and 2 cups flour. Let rise 1 hour. Add rest of ingredients. (I let my eggs sit out during the hour to get room temp) Cover and let rise till light. Make into desired sweet rolls. Let rise. Bake @ 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. ENJOY!!!
Sunday we all got together to celebrate Alyssa's homecoming and birthday....a little late on the birthday part! We are so glad to have her back, close to us! We had Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon for dinner...it was a huge hit!!! (I even wore my pearls!)
Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon
Serves 6 1 6oz piece of chunk bacon 3 1/2 T. Olive Oil 3 lbs. lean stewing beef, cut into 2 inch cubes 1 carrot (I used baby carrots) 1 onion, sliced salt and pepper 2 T. flour 3 cups red wine (I used cooking wine) 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock 1 T tomato paste 2 cloves garlic, mashed 1/2 tsp. thyme 1 bay leaf 18-24 mini white onions 3 1/2 T Butter Herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, one half bay leaf, 1/4 tsp thyme, tied in cheesecloth
Directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees cut bacon into lardons (sticks 1/2 in thick and 1 1/2 in long). Simmer in 1 1/2 qts water for 10 minutes. Drain and dry. Saute lardons in 1 T. olive oil for 2-3 minutes to brown lightly. (mine never did brown!) Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat until almost smoking. Add beef a FEW pieces at a time. Saute until nicely browned on all sides. Add to bacon. In the same fat, brown the carrots and onions. Pour out excess fat. Add your bacon and beef to the pan and and toss with 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Then lightly toss the flour to coat. Pour all into a 3 qt. casserole ( I tried a 2.5 qt and it was not big enough!!) that has a cover. Set uncovered in the middle rack of oven for 4 minutes. Toss meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes. (this browns the beef and covers it with a light crust. Remove casserole and turn oven to 350 degrees. Stir in wine and enough stock so that the stew is barely covered. Take 1/2 cup stock and mix in the tomato paste, garlic and herbs. Pour over stew and mix. Cover casserole and set in middle of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3-4 hours (I had to turn my oven down 3 times so it wasn't boiling! Also, I only cooked mine for 2 1/2 hours....because of time) While the beef is cooking, prepare onions. Heat 1 1/2 T butter with 1 1/2 T of the oil until bubbling in a skillet. Add onions and saute for 10 minutes so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful NOT to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly. Add 1/2 cup stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly fpr 30-40 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape (this was actually my favorite part!) Set aside. When the stew is done, pour contents of the casserole into a sieve with a saucepan underneath. Wash out casserole and return stew to it. Spread onions over the top. Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce. Pour sauce over stew. Cover and place in oven for a few minutes. Baste the sauce over stew before serving. Serve in casserole OR on a platter with potatoes, buttered noodles, or rice. We had ours with potatoes. We cooked a whole bag of golden potatoes and it wasn't enough!! ha! ENJOY!!!
OK...so, I thought Alex would hang out with Holly on Sunday.....but, about 11 am I get this text from him asking about dinner! So, I sat in Sacrament Meeting thinking about how little food I have at home and wondering what on earth I can come up with! When I got home, I looked in the frig and freezer and the pantry.....pretty blank!! I turned to my recipe books, knowing what I had on hand...and this is what I came up with. It is a new recipe, but, the gravy is what makes this mouth watering!!! We were both so hungry, that we devoured it! Total comfort food!!
Chicken and Dumplings
1 cup flour 3 tsp paprika- divided 2 tsp salt 5 lbs chicken pieces 1/4 cup butter 3 T. celery flakes 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 1/2 cups chicken broth DUMPLINGS 1 1/2 cups flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1 egg 1/2 cup milk GRAVY (best part) 2 T. cornstarch 2 T. water 1 cup sour cream 2 T. parsley
Combine flour, 2 tsp. paprika and salt; dredge chicken. Brown in a large skillet in butter. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, saute onions and celery flakes until tender. Add broth, chicken and the rest of the paprika. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until juices from chicken run clear. Remove chicken to a serving platter. Keep warm. For dumplings, combine all ingredients. Drop dough, 2 T at a time, into simmering broth. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove dumplings and keep warm. For gravy, combine cornstarch and water; stir into broth stirring constantly until thickened. Remove ffrom heat and add sourcream and parsley. Serve with chicken and dumplings. YIELD: 6 servings. I served this with Strawberry Green Salad and Baby Carrots. ENJOY!!!
This recipe I got from my sister-in-law, Laurie Sherratt. She got it from her Grandmother. We had it when we stayed with them one time and fell in love with it.
Nani's Chili
2 cups dry beans (I use 1 cup red and 1 cup pinto)
6 cups water
2 cans tomatos - blended
1 1/2 lbs hamburger - browned (I sometimes use ground chicken-which I like better)
1 bell pepper - chopped
1/4 cup onion flakes or 1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/4 tsp season salt
1 T. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp. Chinese chili paste
Rinse dry beans. Pour hot water over beans and cook on low till tender. Add all ingredients and let simmer for an hour. Enjoy!
Today Alex came over for dinner and we watched the Golden Globes....and now I am a happy girl cause Avatar got best Director (James Cameron) and won best picture!!! So yay for that.
What I made for dinner was...Chicken More. We first had this delightful meal at the home of the Sulzen family when we had only been here a short time. It was on a General Conference weekend and they invited us over and this is what Linda made.
Chicken More
1 1/2 to 2 ilbs chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 can water
2 boxes Stove Top Stuffing
1/4 cup butter
2 cups chicken broth
Cook and cut up chicken into small pieces. (Save the broth from cooking the chicken for the 2 cups of chicken broth needed) Spread chicken in the bottom of a 9x13 pan that has been spayed with Pam. Mix the 2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup, sour cream, and 1/2 can water together. Spread this over the chicken. Pour the dry Stove Top on the top. (If the Stove Top has a seasoning packet...then sprinkle that on top of the dry suffing.) Melt butter in the 2 cups of chicken broth. Pour over entire stuffing. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Enjoy!!
This is a recipe that I got watching Martha Stewart a few years back. It is probably the best meatloaf recipe I have ever made!!!
Martha's Meatloaf
4 slices bread (crumbs...to do this just put slices in a 150 oven on broil and let dry. Put in a ziplock bag when cool and roll with a rolling pin and voilla...bread crumbs!)
2 lbs of any ground meat (my fav is chicken.....I LOVE how it turns out)
1 cup each of the following...grated
onion, green pepper, carrot, celery
1/2 cup parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup katchup
1 egg
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp peper
mix all together and form into loaf. Cook @ 350 for 1 hour.
Glaze
2 T. Brown Sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp dry mustard
After meatloaf bakes for an hour, spread glaze on loaf and bake for 10-15 minutes more. Take out and let set for 10 minutes before slicing! I love it with baked potaoes. Meatloaf and baked potatoes was my dad's favoritest meal!!
This is a recipe that I actually made up myself about 11 years ago. I kind of took a snickerdoodle recipe and tweeked it a bit. I figured that everything is better with chocolate!
so.....most of you know I really do not care for peanut butter....but, if it has chocolate surrounding it, then, I am there! This recipe is an amazing one I found a couple of summers ago. One of the cast members of HONK! brought them to a cast party and, although they are peanut butter...I fell in love with them! I asked him for the recipe and he said "ask my mom!" ha! luckily I know their family!! Jessica is a great friend of Alyssa's and Julie (used) to work at the same school as me. This is Julie Daye's sisters recipe. Well now, how's that for a round about recipe! O! and I was thinking today that this blog is fabulous for another reason...in that, the recipes are tried and true. Most are favorites even!
PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES
1 cup margarine (I always use butter)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup peanut butter
3 1/2 cups flour
about 30 small peanut butter cups (1 bag of Walmart brand work best)
Mix all ingredients except peanut butter cups. Form into golf ball size balls, flatten and wrap around peanut butter cups. Bake 350 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. (My oven makes them perfect in 9 minutes.) ENJOY!!
these cookies are so amazing!!! Just found them! Make sure you drop by a SMALL teaspoon though as they spread!
