Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Originally from Betty Crocker, then Mom, then Josie

Here's the recipe with my notes on how I make it healthier:

3/4 cup shortening (I don't use shortening, I do 1/4 cup butter and half a cup of applesauce)

1 cup sugar (I only use 1/2 cup)

1 egg beaten

1 1/2 cups flour (I use half wheat)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp salt

1tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 3/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup mashed ripe bananas or 1 cup well drained crushed pineapple

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Bake 375 for 12 min.

The healthier version is still really tasty and the kids gobble them up!

Cheddar Leek Soup

In last weeks bountiful basket I got (among other things) a 5lb bag of petite golden potatoes, broccoli, and leeks. Now, I know what I can do with potatoes, and I know what to do with broccoli, but leeks? I actually had to ask someone what they were because I didn't recognize them. I mean I've heard of them, but never used them.
So what do you do with leeks? Make soup! I found this recipe on allrecipes (thanks Talena!) and actually I just glanced at the recipe and then did what I usually do to make soup, but it turned out delicious so I wanted to share.

Garlic Cheddar Leek Soup

Ingredients:

2 leeks
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion (roughly)
butter
olive oil

Sautee those veggies in a large pot in the butter and oil until tender (about 5 min)

Add:

5 cups water
2-3 chicken bouillon cubes
6-7 petite golden potatoes, cubed

Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Actually before the potatoes are quite done, add:

Broccoli, chopped (however much you want, I did one bunch)

Boil until the broccoli and potatoes are tender, meanwhile whisk:

1 cup milk and
1/3 cup (roughly) flour together

Add the milk mixture to the soup and stir until thickened then add about:

1-1/2 cups cheese

Stir until the cheese is melted. Add:

Salt and pepper to taste

And you have a delicious soup! Seriously, it tasted as good as some soups I've had at restaurants. I really liked it.

Chicken Nacho Soup

I came across this recipe from Valerie Phillips, editor of the Food section in the Ogden Standard Examiner newspaper, and before that for the Deseret News, for a Slow Cooker Nacho Chicken soup. I decided to make it for dinner last night, so here is how I did it. 

First of all, I mixed up my own taco seasoning mix from what I had in my cupboard based on this recipe from allrecipes.com. But since the original soup recipe called for TWO cans of chicken broth and TWO cans of chopped chili, in my mind I was doing TWO recipes of taco seasoning mix. Then I realized I should have only done one. Oh, and also since I didn't have chicken broth, then I just did water with chicken bouillon powder in it, so I added the bouillon into the taco seasoning mix. So, whether it's "right" or not (I'll let you know later), here's what I did for the taco seasoning mix:

1 tablespoon chili powder (I just did one tablespoon instead of doubling it so it wouldn't be so hot)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (again, I'm afraid of the heat!)

1 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin (didn't double this one as ground cumin smells like stinky socks to me, so I have a hard time adding a lot of it, even though I always like the end product)

1 teaspoon black pepper (also didn't double this one, plus I left out the salt that the recipe calls for because I figure that between the bouillon and the canned goods that I'll be adding there will be plenty of sodium in this soup.)

I also noticed that in her recipe, the two cans of diced chili are 7 oz. each, but my cans of diced chili are 4 oz. each. I still only added two of them, again not wanting to make the soup too hot.

Another adaptation: I didn't start the chicken in my crock pot until 4 p.m., which means that I didn't do it in the crock pot, but instead cooked it in the broth and soup and seasonings in a pot on the stove so it would cook faster than it would have in the crock pot. But, you know, I bet two hours in a crock pot on the high setting would have been plenty of time to cook the chicken thoroughly.

Okay, the results are in. The soup was yummy! A little on the hot side, but that can be adjusted. As I went through the recipe, I realized that she has the ingredient of "2 cups crushed tortilla chips" listed twice. But in the directions, she talks about adding "the cheddar." So I think that one of those chips listings must really be for cheddar cheese. But it doesn't matter to me; I think it tasted fine without the cheese, and is likely better for me anyway. (In fact, I'm wondering if the cream of chicken soup is even necessary. Leaving it out would eliminate some fat.) Also, I'm glad I didn't add the salt to the taco seasoning mix that I put together, as the soup had plenty of flavor and was salty enough. Here's how I would do it next time:

Chicken Nacho Soup (Does it count as "Nacho" soup if there's no cheese?)
1 or 2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
3 1/2 cups water
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans (4 oz. each) chopped green chilies
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup fat free sour cream
a couple handfuls crushed tortilla chips

In a small bowl combine the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika, ground cumin, black pepper, and chicken bouillon powder.Put the water, soup, green chilies, combined seasonings, and chicken pieces in a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, then cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 to 2 hours until chicken is done. Half an hour before serving, turn off the heat and remove chicken to a platter with a slotted spoon. Stir the beans, corn, cilantro, sour cream, and chips into the soup pot. Shred the chicken with a couple of forks, or chop it on a cutting board with a knife, and then return to soup pot. Stir all ingredients and serve.

Blitz!

Oops! Wrong blog!! Sorry!!!

Determined!

I am determined to use all the food from my basket this week, so that means trying some new things. It is actually getting me pretty excited about cooking again!  I was really excited about making Sunday dinner. Here's what we had:

Orange chicken served over mashed cauliflower, grilled asparagus with Parmesan cheese, green jello, and Rhodes rolls.
The orange chicken atop the cauliflower was surprisingly tasty. The rolls were to die for! The green jello was pretty good. The asparagus was a flop! I accidentally messed it up. I should have just stuck with what I usually do with asparagus (grill it in butter for about 3 min then add salt and pepper) but I wanted to experiment and I ruined it. Wayne still ate all his, but I ended up throwing half mine out because I couldn't gag it down, and that's saying something because usually I can eat anything.
My sister was the one who suggested that I mash the cauliflower like mashed potatoes. I could not get it to the consistency of mashed potatoes, it was more like, well, tiny broken up cauliflower, but it was fine, especially with all the butter and salt and pepper I added to it ;)

So tonight I need to finish the other half of the bunch of asparagus and then we'll have either a spaghetti squash or sweet potatoes. Any suggestions on how to cook those????

Bountiful Baskets

Today I ordered my first bountiful basket. I am really excited! It was $16.50 (including shipping and handling) plus a $3 fee for a first time buyer. I ordered on Monday and got my food today. Here is what I got:

2 spaghetti squash

2 (gigantic!) sweet potatoes (seriously, they are bigger than my kids head!)

1 head of cauliflower

1 bunch of asparagus

10 clementine oranges

1 bag apples

7 bananas

1 (10.5 oz) package of mini tomatoes

5 pears

1 (8oz) package of sugar snap peas

Do you think I got my moneys worth? I hope I did! I am excited to use it all. One kid opened the peas and ate half a package already and another kid gobbled down two oranges and an apple and declared the apples "better than the best apples that I've had!"

If you want to sign up for a bountiful basket too, you can go here: http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

I am not even going to try to explain it, just check out the website.

Granola and Granola Bars

Melinda asked me to post the recipes I use for granola and granola bars. Actually yesterday I made granola for my first time ever. Why have I never made it before? Because in Idaho there was this fabulous most wonderful grocery store called Winco and they had this magnificent bulk section with tasty granola for a good enough price for me. It was easier to just buy it then to make it.
Well, yesterday Briella asked me why I never buy granola any more and I said it was because they don't have it here. She felt immense sympathy for the people of our new town who have never even heard of or experienced granola. We decided to make some. I found the easiest recipe I could find and gave it a shot. It turned out delicious, if only I hadn't burned it. Oh well, I still like it. Here is the recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/baked-honey-granola-176753

I'll re post it here with my changes

Granola

2 cups oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

about 1/3 cup sunflower seeds

(mix all those)

Microwave:

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup coconut oil

Mix the wet and dry stuff. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 for about 15-25 min, stirring once.

So the mistake I made was that I thought it would get crunchy while baking so every time I checked it and it still seemed moist I just kept baking it. It ended up getting slightly burnt. I guess when you take it out to cool it will finish hardening up for that crunchy taste? I don't know, like I said this is my first time making it. But I will use this recipe again because even burnt it was delicious. I ate it like a bowl of cereal for breakfast this morning with milk on top. Mmmmm!

Granola Bars

And for Granola bars I just use the recipe on the Heavenly Homemakers website found here: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/homemade-chewy-granola-bars-without-corn-syrup

We love these so much we don't buy the chewy sunbelt granola bars any more. For the 1 cup of "other stuff" I like to use rice crispies, crunched up pretzels, sunflower seeds, and chocolate chips. 

Gourmet Pizzas

Remember how I said that my family would be happy if only I fed them pizza 4 days a week? Well, I don't mind pizza so much as long as it's not pepperoni. Actually my favorite pizza combo is pineapples and black beans or kidney beans. Mmmmmm!
But, if we are going to have pizza so often I am going to experiment with my options. I really like the Papa Murphey's chicken garlic alfredo pizza or whatever it's called. So this week I made an Alfredo pizza using my regular Alfredo sauce recipe and adding broccoli and chicken chunks. Here is the sauce recipe:

Alfredo Sauce

2 Tbs Butter
2 Tbs flour
(melt the butter and wisk in the flour)
Slowly add:
1 cup water and 1 tsp bouillon (I really like the vegetable broth powder on the simple healthy tasty website)
1/2 cup milk
Keep stirring as it thickens
Add:
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (Use freshly shredded. DO NOT buy the already shredded stuff. Gross!)

So that's the basic recipe. You could also add mushrooms, pepper, parsley, garlic, whatever you want.

So I made that recipe and I added in some chopped steamed broccoli, chopped green onion and half a can of chicken chunks (If I had had some tomatoes I would have chopped those up and added them too). I spread it on my pizza crust and then sprinkled garlic salt and parsley over the top and baked it at 400 for about 12 min.

The consensus:  If I were to rate this recipe I would give it 2 out of 5 stars. It was ok. Wayne said it has potential. It was a bit too soupy for a pizza sauce, but we still ate and finished the pizza, so it was fine. HOWEVER! The Alfredo sauce recipe is 5 out of 5 stars on noodles, served with freshly made bread sticks. I'll just have to work on the gourmet pizza recipe.

Ranch Dressing Mix

Still Mom, another recipe from Gay. She got this one off of Pinterest, and then adapted it to her liking. For example, the Moo's Dry Milk at the end is what she added, probably just to make it richer.

Ingredients:
1/8 cup black pepper (use less if desired)
3/4 cup parsley flakes
1/2 cup salt
1/8 cup granulated garlic
1/3 cup granulated onion
1 tablespoon dill weed
1/2 cup Moo's Dry Milk (optional) (why based dry milk)

Procedure:
Combine all ingredients into a ziplock bag, close bag tight to mix. Store in an airtight container. (Quart/pint jars work great) Makes about 2 cups of dry mix. Store in dry place for up to 6 months.

To Make Dressing--
Whisk together:
1 tablespoon Ranch Dressing Mix
1 cup each of Mayonnaise and Buttermilk
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
(1/4 cup Sour Cream can be added for thicker dressing or for Ranch Dip)

Pour into container. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Makes 1 Pint (2 cups).
Keep refrigerated--use prepared dressing within two weeks.

Brownies

This is Mom posting in Talena's name. I'm at Talena's house, and Gay just made brownies. Here is her recipe!!! She says she adapted this recipe from a brownie mix, when she needed to make more than the mix would make, so she could fill the bigger pan. These will make brownies for one of those big half-sheet size pans, you know, like you would make Texas Fudge Brownies in. Only these aren't Texas Fudge Brownies. So you start with the brownie mix and add to it. Here goes:

BROWNIES
1 Family-Size Betty Crocker Brownie Mix
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup oil

Place mix in large bowl add all of the other dry ingredients and stir with a wire whip to combine. Add eggs oil and water to dry mixture and stir still stiff batter is made. Spread into greased and floured 1/2 sheet baking pan. (12x18).
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

FROSTING
1/2 Cup of softened butter
1/2 Cup of shortening
4 Cups powdered sugar
6 T Cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbls. milk
Hershey chocolate syrup - add enough to make smooth spreadable consistency frosting.
Mix all ingredients together and spread on cooled brownies.