English Toasting Bread

11 Cups flour
5 ½ Cups water
2-3 Tbs. sugar
3 Tbs. yeast (rounded)
2 Tbs. salt
Mix dough and let rise. Divide into 4 loves. Let rise again and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
(dough is sticky)

I have to be honest here...I've never actually made this. But my mother-in-law makes it and I absolutely love it, so I finally got the recipe from her. She says it is simple to make and I can't wait to try it!

Snowy Day Treat!

In honor of the great winter weather we've been having here is my kids favorite snow day treat:



Snow cones:

make a simple syrup using 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, cooking until sugar dissolves. You can also do this with fresh squeezed orange or lemon juice. Today we did it with fresh squeezed orange juice and a little bit of zest (strain before serving) and then I added 1/2 tsp vanilla once I had removed it from the heat. It tasted so yummy.



Next take some bowls outside and fill with well-packed fresh, clean snow. Pour syrup over snow (some of snow will melt so make sure you have plenty) and enjoy. The kids think it's so cool that you are actually giving them a bowl of snow to eat and it tastes pretty good too! An added bonus-I just read that kids who eat snow have stronger immune systems (see the Deseret News)! So, as long as it's not yellow or brown, let 'em eat it!

Pecan Crunch And Cranberry Dip

If any of you like Peanut Brittle. This is even better because it is made with pecans and so easy.

In a heavy saucepan stir with a wooden spoon, cook the following over high heat:
1 cup + 2 Tablespoon sugar
scant cup butter ( just under a cup)
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon vinegar
pinch of salt

Cook until the color of a brown paper bag
Turn off heat and add:
1/2 teaspoon soda
1 3/4 cup frozen pecans

Work fast. Spread on cookie sheet, use 2 forks to spread. Don't need to grease pan.


Also another dip that is very good.

Cranberry Dip

1 bag fresh cranberries (12 0z)
1 cup sugar
1 cup apricot preserves ( smooth kind with no chunks in it)
1 cup chopped pecans

Put cranberries in baking pan with 1 cup sugar. Stir to coat.
Bake at 350 covered until cooked down into a liquid ( 25-30 minutes)
Remove from oven.
Stir in 1 cup of chopped pecans and 1 cup apricot preserves.
Refrigerate overnight.
To serve, pour over half mixture a brick of cream cheese. (80z)
Serve with Ritz crackers or small pretzels for dipping.

Ham help!

I am attempting to bake a ham for Christmas this year (for the in-laws...yikes) and I need a good recipe. I keep hearing that it's so simple but I am having a hard time believing that. Any great and EASY recipe ideas out there??

Two of our favorite soups:

Baked Potato Soup (Fat free - ha ha ha)
2/3 C butter
2/3 C flour
7 C milk
4 Large baking potaotes, baked, cooled, peeled and cubed (Sometimes I use 6 med or 8 small)
4 green onions sliced
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (I use Costco Real bacon bits)
1 1/4 C shredded Cheddar cheese
1 C Sour cream
3/4 Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

In a large soup kettle, melt butter and stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until thickened.
Add potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; stir until cheese is melted. Serve immediately. (Makes 2 1/2 quarts)

Homestyle Chicken Noodle (Kimber Crosland's w/o the bouillon (3 tsp) I don't like x-tra salt)
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/4 milk or evap. milk
2-3 chicken Breasts (cooked, cooled and cubed) I just use 1-2 cans of Costco canned chicken
1 small onion (diced)
2-3 carrots (diced)
2-3 celery stalks (diced)
Grandma's brand frozen egg noodles

Put veggies and broth in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Then add soup, milk, chicken and frozen noodles. Simmer for 30-45 minutes. (You can also put all the ingredients in a crock pot and simmer on low all day)

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This is a total comfort food. Not super healthy (not extremely bad either), but sooo yummy and even better in a bread-bowl. My mom and I came up with it after having some at einstien's years ago and not being able to find a recipe to match it. I hope the recipe makes sense, I just wrote it from my head.

4 chicken breast halves or equivalent amount of tenders

1 box Long Grain and Wild Rice mix (Near East Brand is best but Uncle Ben's is easier to find)

1 quart chicken stock or broth

1 quart evaporated milk

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1.5 Tbs cornstarch

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

salt and pepper

cook the chicken in a tiny bit of olive oil over medium heat with 1/2 of the poultry seasoning and some salt sprinkled on it. Cover while cooking to avoid drying out. At the same time cook the rice according to the directions on the box. In a large pot melt butter. Add carrots and celery and pepper to taste and saute for about 10 minutes until tender. Add flour, cornstarch and the rest of the poultry seasoning and whisk together quickly (it will clump together and stick to the veggies). Add stock and milk whisking quickly as you pour. Cook over medium-low heat stirring often, until chicken and rice are finished. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces and add to soup. Stir in cooked rice and serve!

p.s. this could easily be converted to a food storage recipe by using oil instead of butter and canned chicken as well as dehydrated or canned veggies

Twice Bake Bacon Potatoes

Super yummy and easy! (I just got it from Kraftfoods.com, they have yummy foor recipes too!)

What You Need:
4 baking potatoes (2-1/2 lb.)
1/2 cup milk
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, cubed
4 slices Bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled

Make It:
HEAT oven to 400°F. Prick potatoes in several places with fork. Bake 1 hour. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
CUT thin slice from top of each potato. Discard tops; scoop out centers into medium bowl, leaving 1/8-inch-thick shells. Beat potatoes with mixer 1 min. Add milk and cream cheese; beat until fluffy. Spoon into shells; top with bacon. Place in shallow baking dish.

BAKE 20 min. or until heated through.

Coconut Chicken Curry

Coconut Chicken Curry
Oh wow, I'm in coconut curry heaven! This meal was so good. I'm definitely going to put it in our regular rotation.

Chicken Curry
slightly adapted from Favorite Family Recipes

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks or strips
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (substitute cayenne pepper if you like the heat)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 red potatoes, cut into small chunks
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
Jasmine rice (cooked)
Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.

Heat oil, curry powder, and paprika in a large skillet over medium-low heat for two minutes, until fragrant (but don't let it burn). Turn the heat up to medium and stir in onions and garlic and cook ten minutes more or until onions are very clear. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through. Add potatoes, then add coconut milk, tomatoes (I lightly crushed the stewed tomatoes with my fingers before adding), tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30-40 minutes or until sauce thickens. The sauce thickens upon standing, but is great served piping hot (and a bit thinner), too. Serve with Jasmine rice (or your favorite rice) and garnish with cilantro, if desired. .

Garlic Chicken Pizza

I made this last night (much to Spencer's skepticism) and it was a surprising hit. We practically fought over who got to eat the leftovers today! It's a basic chicken alfredo pizza recipe with some added flavors and toppings.

1 pizza crust
1 1/2 cups of your favorite alfredo sauce (I used a canned roasted garlic alfredo because I didn't have all of the ingredients to make my own)
1/2 envelope of Italian dressing mix
2 cups shredded chicken
3 T minced garlic, divided
Italian seasoning
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
3 green onions, chopped

1. Heat oven to 425 F
2. Make your favorite pizza crust. (I have one we always use if you don't have one) Roll out onto pizza pan or stone to desired thickness
3. Saute chicken in a pan with 1 T minced garlic. Season with Italian seasonings to taste
4. Mix 2 T minced garlic and Italian dressing mix with alfredo sauce. Spread onto pizza dough.
5. Add chicken on top of sauce. Then top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Then top with chopped tomatoes and green onions. Bake for 5 more minutes