Wedding Punch (Jello Slush)

Wedding Punch (Jello Slush) - From Janalee


1 1/2 cups sugar
6 cups water
2 (3 oz.) packages strawberry Jello
1 (46 oz.) can pineapple juice
2/3 c. lemon juice
1 quart orange juice
2 (2 liter) bottles Sprite or 7-Up

Mix sugar, water and jello together and bring to a boil.  Dissolve all the sugar.  Stir in pineapple juice, lemon juice, and orange juice.  Split into two different gallon size freezer bags.  Freeze.

When ready to serve, set out for at least 30 minutes (60 minutes is better) so you can break it up.  Combine each gallon bag of frozen slush with a 2 liter bottle of pop.  Serve in a punch bowl. 

Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Spinach Salad (from Bobbi)

1 head lettuce
1 bunch spinach
3/4 lb. Swiss cheese
1 red onion (medium)
3/4 lb. sliced mushrooms
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked & chopped
1 large can mandarin oranges (drained)
1/2 c. sugared almonds

Mix lettuce, spinach, cheese, onion, and mushrooms together.  Add the bacon and oranges on top, and add dressing and almonds  just before serving.

Sugared Almonds:

1/2 c. slivered almonds
3 Tb. sugar
1/4 c. butter

Melt butter and sugar.  Add nuts. stir until nut are coated.  Arrange on cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

Poppy Seed Dressing:
3/4 Tbs. poppy seeds
1/3 c. white vinegar
3/4 c. oil
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. onion (chopped)
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs. prepared mustard

Put all ingredients in a mixer to blend.

Orange Julius

Orange Julius

1/2 can frozen orange juice
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. sugar
Ice Cubes

Blend in a good blender.  My family of 7 requires a double batch.  Unless you have a Vitamix or Blendtec, I recommend making single batches at a time.

Holiday Party Drink (Wassail)

This is a favorite at our house in the winter.  We got the recipe from the Friend magazine, December 2008 issue.

5 quarts water
3 c. sugar
12 oz. frozen orange juice (thawed)
1 1/2 c. bottled lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbs. almond extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves

Heat all together over the stovetop in a large pan.  Simmer, but don't boil.

Note: I now only use 2 1/2 c. sugar.  I've tried using less, but it wasn't as good.

Fried Mozzarella Sticks

Super easy, super good, but not super healthy!  My kids love these as an after-school snack.

Fried Mozzarella Sticks
String cheese sticks cut in half
Italian seasoned bread crumbs
flour
beaten egg
oil for frying

Sorry, there are no measurements because this is kind of a no brainer, and it just depends on how many you want to cook.

Cut the cheese sticks in half.  Then prepare a small bowl of flour (I use a cereal bowl with no more than 1/2 c. flour), a small bowl of beaten egg, and a small bowl of Italian Bread Crumbs.

1. Dip the cheese in the flour, tap the side of the bowl to remove excess flour.
2. Dip the cheese in the egg.
3. Dip the cheese in the Italian bread crumbs.
4. Dip the cheese back into the beaten egg.
5. Dip the cheese back into the bread crumbs.
6. Fry on low heat about 2-3 minutes, or until a nice golden brown.

Remove from the hot oil onto paper towels to blot excess oil.

If the oil it too hot then the cheese won't melt very much inside before the breading is done.  If the oil is too cool then it will take a long time to cook the outside and will result in greasy cheese sticks.

Potato Wedges

This recipe is from a Facebook feed from "Tasty". For the original link, click here.

Potato Wedges

-3 large potatoes, cut into eight wedges

-3 Tbs. olive oil

-salt to taste

-2 tsp each of paprika, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

-1/2 c. Parmesan

Coat potatoes with oil in a large bowl.  Mix together the seasonings, and then sprinkle over top the wedges and mix well.  Sprinkle on the parmesan. 

Place on Tin foiled cookie sheet. Bake 400 degrees 30-40 minutes.

Cut each potato into 8 wedges.

Place in a bowl and coat them with oil.

Sprinkle all the seasoning over top and coat them evenly.

Arrange onto a cookie sheet that is lined with foil  Sprinkle on  the Parmesan cheese.  

Bake!

1 Hour Dinner Rolls

My new favorite roll when I'm in a hurry!  This is an excellent recipe.

1 c. warm water

2 Tbs. yeast

1/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. oil

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

3 1/3 c. flour

Add warm water to a stand-up mixer.  Sprinkle yeast over top, and the sprinkle the sugar over top of that.  Mix it around briefly so that the yeast all gets wet.  Add oil, salt, egg, and 2 cups of the flour.  Mix until smooth, then slowly add the rest of the flour until a soft dough forms.  Knead at least 5 minutes.  Shape and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Let rise in a slightly warm oven until almost double in size.  Take them out of the oven, and heat the oven to 375.  When preheated, bake 10-12 min.

Note:

I have a double oven, so I proof the rolls in one oven and then bake in the other oven.  If you have a single oven, turn it to the lowest possible temperature (100 degrees is ideal, but most ovens only go as low as 170).  Let the oven heat just a little and then turn it off.  Add the pan of dough and let the rolls rise about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and then turn the oven on to 375 to preheat for the rolls.    

Banana Bread

This is my friend Jill's recipe.  You can visit her blog at http://jbeanrecipes.blogspot.com/.  I will note that you HAVE to use the little foil pans for the best results with this banana bread.  I have tried it in large loaf pans, and it really just doesn't work.  I bought 5 foil loaf pans at my local grocery store for $1.25.  They are supposed to be disposable, but if you are careful, you can use them quite a few times. 

Banana Bread
2/3 c. oil
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. white sugar
3 ripe bananas, mashed
3 eggs
1/2 c. cold milk
1 tsp vanilla


1 3/4 c. flour
scant 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Mix oil and sugars together, then add bananas, eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Add in the dry ingredients: flour, salt, soda, and baking powder.

Grease and flour pans well.  Pour batter into 5 mini loaf pans.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  (Watch closely, my convection oven takes about 10 minutes less).

Tips:
Mini chocolate chips and/or nuts can be added.  Stir in with a spoon after all other ingredients have been mixed together. If you don't use mini chocolate chips the chips will all sink to the bottom. I've even tried just sprinkling them on the top and not mixing them in, but they still sink.

Stew in the Slow Cooker

This stew can also be made in the crockpot if you don't have a pressure cooker. 

Stew
2 cans tomatoes or 1 quart home bottled tomatoes (put them in a blender for about 20 seconds)
1 can tomato sauce
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut fairly large
1 1/2 cups cut and peeled carrots
1/2 onion, chopped
*1/2 - 1 lb. meat of your choice (hamburger, cut pieces of steak, or leftover roast)
3 Tbs. stew seasoning (see recipe below)
3 c. water
Optional: 3/4 c. pearl barley


Prepare the meat: If you are using hamburger, brown first with salt and pepper.  For steak pieces, heat about 1 1/2 tbs. oil in a frying pan and brown the meat.  Sprinkle a little of the stew seasoning to flavor it.  If using leftover roast from Sunday dinner, just cut it into small pieces since it's already cooked.

If you are using pearl barley, boil it in a pan of water on the stovetop while you prepare the meat and vegetables. 

Cook about 4 hours in a crock pot on low. 

Stew Seasoning:
2 cups Flour
4 teaspoons Oregano
2 tablespoons basil
4 1/4 tablespoons salt
4 1/4 tablespoons black pepper
4 1/4 tablespoons Garlic Powder
4 1/4 tablespoons Paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 T Celery Seed
4 1/4 tablespoons Onion Powder
2 tsp. rosemary

Whisk all the ingredients together and put in an airtight container or bag.  Use 2-3 tbs. per pound of meat in your stew.  Personally I use 3 Tbs. for stew for my family.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

These only look like Oreo's, they don't actually taste like them.  They have their own delicious flavor. Super easy cookies!

Oreo Cookies (Yields about 20-22 cookies which will make 10-11 sandwiches)

1 box Devil's Food cake mix

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

Mix all together and then either roll into balls or scoop with a cookie scooper.  Place on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten the balls just slightly with the bottom of a glass.  Try to keep all the cookies uniform in size and shape so that they match together well.  

Bake at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes.  Cool completely on a rack, and then fill with frosting.  

Frosting:

1/2 package cream cheese, softened (4 oz)

2 Tbs. butter

1 tsp vanilla

Powdered sugar

Mix together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth.  Slowly add powdered sugar to the right consistency that you like.  Add a little warm milk if you put too much powdered sugar in.  

Roll the dough into balls and the. Flatten just slightly with the bottom of a glass.

Goulash

This recipe is adapted from Paula Deen's Goulash recipe.  It is quick and easy, and it's very kid friendly.  I've changed a lot from her original recipe mostly because her recipe takes 1 hour and 45 minutes!  The main thing I like about this recipe is how quickly it can come together.  The way I do it will take a total of about 30 minutes, which is much more reasonable to do on a school night when their is homework and scouts and everything else to do.

Goulash
1 lb hamburger
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

-Brown the hamburger and onion together, and then add the garlic when the hamburger is almost done. Season with salt and pepper.

Add:
3 c. water
2 cans tomato sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes or 1 quart home canned tomatoes
1 1/2 Tbs. Italian Seasoning
3 bay leaves
3 Tbs. soy sauce
2 c. frozen corn
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Simmer for 10 minutes, and then add:

3 c. elbow macaroni (uncooked)

Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until noodles are tender.  Remove bay leaves and then serve.

Tips:
-Sprinkle with cheese while still hot if desired.
-Sour cream can also be added if yo want.
-This is for a thicker, dryer goulash.  If you want it a little runnier then add another can of tomato sauce or tomatoes, or you can reduce the amount of dry macaroni noodles you put in.

Carrot Cake (Mom)

Carrot Cake

4 c. grated carrots
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. oil
4 eggs
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
(optional nuts and raisins)

Cream together sugar and oil, and then add the eggs. Mix in dry ingredients just until blended and then add the carrots and stir.  Add nuts and raisins if desired, or you can even just put them in half the cake like you see in the pics below.  

Grease and flour bottom of large cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 30 min.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
1 cube butter
powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cream together sugar and oil, and then add in the eggs.  Mix in the dry ingredients just until blended, then add the grated carrots.  

Poor into a greased and floured cookie sheet. 

I added nuts and raisins to only half of the cake in case there is someone allergic to nuts or just doesn't like them.  I am taking this cake to a birthday party. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until fork inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Frost the cake; I add nuts on top to the half that has nuts in it so we know which side is which.  As it turned out, every piece with nuts and raisins got eaten at the party, and nobody ate the plain side! 

 And here is the birthday gal in the bottom center, Miss Norma Wardell.  She loves carrot cake, and this happens to be the only time I really make it.  

Almost Fresh Salsa

I like fresh salsa best, but in middle of the winter when tomatoes aren't great, this recipe is a good substitute.  Especially if you can use canned tomatoes from your garden!  I got this recipe from my friend Jill.  Check our her recipe blog http://jbeanrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/02/restaurant-style-salsa.html.

Salsa
1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice ( I use 1 quart bottled tomatoes)
2 cans tomatoes with cilantro and lime, such as Rotel
¼ cup Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 Jalapeno 
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cups Cilantro
Juice from one lime

Put it all in a food pocessor and chop to your desired consistency.  

Note:  All measurements are estimates,  and you can adjust them to your taste.
I don't always have a jalapeno or lime on hand, but the salsa stll turns out pretty good.  Just add a little extra cumin.