Peanut Butter Fingers

From the Kitchen of: Stephanie Jensen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup soft margarine

1 cup Sugar

2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups flour

3 1/2 cup oats

Frosting:

1 cube butter

1/4 cup cocoa

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3-4 T. milk

Directions:

1.      (Fingers)  Mix together and pour into 11X17 greased pan. Bake at 325 for 25 min. Don't over bake! Top with chocolate frosting

2.      (Frosting)  Melt butter and cocoa. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Mix together til smooth

Avocado Basil Pasta

From the Kitchen of: Colie Morby

Ingredients:

8 oz. bowtie pasta

2 avocados halved, seeded, peeled, and coarsely chopped

6 slices crispy bacon, drained and crumbled

2/3 cups chopped basil (sometimes I use dried basil but only about 1 Tbs.)

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt (I don’t add any salt to anything I cook and it’s still good)

½ cup shredded Romano cheese (Parmesan works too)

Directions:

1.       Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.

2.      Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine avocados, bacon, basil, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt.  Add the hot pasta and toss to combine.

3.      Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle with cheese.

Hard Pretzel Bites

From the Kitchen of: Emily Balling

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups warm water (105-110 degrees F)

2 tsp. of active dry yeast

1 Tbs. sugar

4 ½ cups flour

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. baking soda

1 egg

Directions:

1.      In a large bowl, combine water with yeast and sugar and let sit for 5 minutes till foamy.

2.      In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and salt.  Add to the yeast mixture with a wooden spoon till dough forms (Personally I just add the flour and salt to the yeast mixture.)

3.      Turn dough out onto a flour-dusted work surface and knead for about 5 minutes until elastic.  (I just knead in the bowl to save on mess.)

4.      Place dough in oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm spot for 30 minutes till doubled in size.  (I add oil to the bottom of my used bowl.)

5.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6.      Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda to it, stirring well.

7.      Pinch off walnut sizes of dough (we do a tad smaller) and roll in your hands.  Lightly oiled hands help.  About 75 pieces, unless you are making the traditional shaped pretzel for some of your pretzels.

8.      Using a slotted spoon, transfer pieces into boiling water,(you will have to do a few batches for all 75.) and parboil till they float, about 30 seconds.  If they float right away still parboil 30 seconds.

9.      Make an egg wash by beating 1 egg with 1 T water.  Brush the egg wash over each bite and sprinkle with coarse salt.

10.  Lay the pretzels on an oiled baking sheet or parchment-paper covered baking sheet.  Bake 55-60 minutes until golden and brown and hard.  If they aren’t as crunchy as you like turn off the oven and let them sit in a while more…but watch that they don’t burn.

11.  Cool for 15 minutes and store in an air tight container for up till a week, if they last that long!

*** We make pretzels as a tradition for the fourth of July.  We learned from Mary Jane Farm Girl’s magazine, that the twisted pretzel originally symbolized folded arms, so this tradition reminds us of our lovely rite to worship as we may in this country.  Since they are some work, it’s a one time a year ordeal, and Riley my husband helps to boil them and the children all roll balls for the bites and snakes for the pretzels.  It’s a fun family activity!

Easy Teriyaki Chicken

From the Kitchen of: Kristie kano

Ingredients:

2-4 Chicken Breasts

Salt and pepper to taste

½ Cup Soy Sauce

½ Cup Sugar

Pinch of ginger powder (or a couple of thin slices of fresh ginger)

Rice

Directions:

1.       Cut chicken into 1 inch chunks.  Salt and pepper the chicken.  Fry chicken in pan till cooked.

2.      While chicken is cooking. Stir soy sauce, sugar, and ginger together.

3.      When chicken is nearly finished, pour sauce over chicken till fully cooked and the sauce is warm.  Serve over rice

**Soy Sauce and Sugar are always equal parts.  If you are making dinner for more than 2, I would increase both of those and the amount of chicken made.  I always cook for leftovers because this is a great meal for lunch the following day.  We make this meal weekly because it’s extremely easy and beyond delicious.

PF Chang's Dali Chicken

From the Kitchen of: Emily Balling

Ingredients:

2 Yukon gold potatoes

3 chicken breast fillets

6-8 dry red chilies

1 tsp. of corn starch

3 tbsp. of hot sauce

3 tsp. soy sauce

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

2 tbsp. cumin

3 tbsp. rice vinegar

1 tsp. fresh ginger

1 cup chopped leaks

Salt to taste.

Directions:

1.      Cut the 2 Yukon gold potatoes cut up in thin slices then cut in half (so they looked like half-moons), toss the potatoes in 1 Tbsp. cumin

2.      Sauté them in a pan with some sesame oil and vegetable oil and some dried red chilies. Cook them in two batches and until they are somewhat browned and add leaks. Drain them on paper towels and salt to taste.

3.      Cut up 3 chicken breasts into cubes and season with salt, garlic powder, cumin, and onion powder to taste.

4.      Sauté the chicken quickly on high heat until just cooked. Lower heat to medium and add the chili paste mixture (recipe below) or the Sriracha hot sauce if you can find it at the store. Add the soy sauce and a tsp. of corn starch mixed into it, with rice vinegar and brown sugar. Throw the potatoes back in the pan and toss the mixture until nicely coated. Take it off when the potatoes and the chicken are done, approx. 6-8 minutes.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

From the Kitchen of: Alyssa Potter

Ingredients:

2 eggs

Desired amount of chicken (breasts or tenders)

Corn starch

Vegetable Oil

½ cup chicken broth

¾ cup sugar

1 Tbs. soy sauce

¼ cup catsup

3/8 cup vinegar

Directions:

1.      Beat eggs and dip chicken into egg and roll in corn starch.  Brown in vegetable oil on the stove. Transfer into oven safe dish.

2.      Mix chicken broth, sugar, soy sauce, catsup, and vinegar together.  Pour over chicken.

3.      Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  (Less time if using tenders)

Salsa

From the Kitchen of: Alyssa Beveridge

Ingredients:

2-14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes

2 large fresh tomatoes, diced

1 can sweet corn, drained

1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

1/2 purple onion, diced

4 avocadoes, diced

Fresh cilantro to taste

1 packet good seasons Italian salad dressing mix

Juice from 2 limes

Salt to taste

Directions:

You can do all fresh tomatoes if you want and they can be cut either minced or chunky, however you like your salsa.  Just mix everything together and serve with chips!

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

From the Kitchen of: KamiAnne Dastrup

Ingredients:

6 cups potatoes cooked and ready to be mashed

½ cup milk

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp. parsley

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ lb. bacon crumbled

Directions:

1.       Mix first 5 ingredients in mixer until creamy.

2.      Spoon into greased 9x13 pan.

3.      Top with cheese and bacon.

4.      Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Fantastic Potato Salad

From the Kitchen of: Jessica Bright

Ingredients:

6 medium red potatoes

1 small onion, finely chopped (can use green)

1 cup celery, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

6 hard-cooked eggs, diced 

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup white sugar (can be reduced to 1/3)

2 teaspoon cornstarch (Can increase the amount of corn starch for thicker dressing)

salt to taste

1/2 cup vinegar (can use ¼ apple cidar vinager, and ¼ white vinegar)

1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk

1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard

1/4 cup butter

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. of celery seed for the dressing

*can add ¼ to ½ cup of chopped dill pickle, or ½ cup sweet relish to dressing before adding it to the potatoes

**you can also add 4 strips of crumbled bacon

Directions:

1.      Place the potatoes into a large pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain. Cool, peel and dice. Transfer to a large bowl, and toss with the onion, celery, 1 teaspoon of salt, and hard-cooked eggs. (if you are adding bacon, this is where you would add it)

2.      While the potatoes are cooking, whisk together 2 eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Stir in the vinegar, milk, and mustard. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the butter. Refrigerate until cool, then stir in the mayonnaise.

3.      Stir the dressing into the bowl of potato salad gently until evenly coated. Chill several hours or overnight before serving for best flavor.

Ramen Noodle Cabbage Salad

From the Kitchen of: Allie White

Ingredients:

1 head cabbage shredded

4 cups cooked chicken

2 packages of ramen noodles (Chicken flavor) Just noodles at this point

4 Tbs. sliced almonds

Green onions to taste

Dressing:

4 Tbs. sesame seeds

¾ cup oil

4 Tbs. sugar

6 Tbs. rice vinegar

2 flavor packets from ramen noodles

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

Directions:

Combine first set of ingredients for salad, and second set for the dressing.

** This will make a lot!!! I always cut it in half!

Easy Cinnamon Pancakes

From the Kitchen of: Britlyn Case

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups flour

3 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 ¼ cups milk

½ stick butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 tsp. of vanilla

1 tsp. of cinnamon

Directions:

1.      In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2.      Then whisk in the milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. 

3.      Lastly, once that is all combined, add the cinnamon.

4.      Ladle ¼ cupfuls onto a hot buttered skillet and cook until bubbly.  Flip and cook until golden on the bottom.

Chili in a Biscuit Bowl

From the Kitchen of: Britlyn Case

Ingredients:

2 cups biscuit mix

2/3 cup milk

½ teaspoon ground red pepper

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped

2 (14 ½-ounce) cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 teaspoons chili powder

Toppings: sour cream, sliced green onions

Garnish: green onions

Directions:

1.     Stir together first 3 ingredients. Turn dough out onto a surface sprinkled with biscuit mix. Shape into a ball, and knead 3 to 4 times. Divide into 6 portions.

2.     Invert 6 (6-ounce) custard cups several inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. (Or use an inverted muffin pan.) Coat outsides of cups with vegetable cooking spray.

3.     Roll or pat each dough portion into a 6-inch circle. Place each on a custard cup; press into a bowl shape.

4.     Bake at 450° for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly; remove biscuit bowls to a wire rack.

5.     Cook beef, onion, and bell pepper in a Dutch oven over medium heat until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomatoes, beans, and chili powder.

6.     Bring beef mixture to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes. Spoon into biscuit bowls, and serve with desired toppings. Garnish, if desired.

Stove Top Kettle Corn

From the Kitchen of: Sarah Allred

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. canola or vegetable oil

1/3 Cup popcorn kernels

3 Tbs. granulated sugar

Kosher salt

Directions:

1.    Place a large stock pot on the stove top.  Set heat to medium-high.  Add oil. While your oil is heating (it won’t take long), measure out your popcorn into a small bowl.  Add sugar to the kernels.  When it’s time to cook, everything moves very quickly, so it’s important to have it all ready to go.

2.    Wait until you see your oil smoke.  This is one little trick that a lot of people overlook, but it’s important.  The smoke is very faint, but if you just stare at the pot (it helps to get down parallel to it), you’ll see little billows of smoke coming up.  That’s your cue! Pour popcorn kernels and sugar into the pot.

3.    Immediately stir using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scraping sugar from bottom of pan.  This step should only take about 10 seconds.  Cover pot with lid.  You will need to shake the pot with your hands and you’ll want to make sure the lid stays on.  So I get a dish towel and drape it over the top.

4.    Hold the pot by the handles in a way that you’re securing the lid on as well.  Shake the pan side to side in all directions and up and down a few times.  Do this every 20 seconds or so.  It will keep the sugar from burning on the bottom and help the kernels to be evenly coated.

5.    After a few minutes you should start hearing the pops.  (If it doesn’t start popping after a few minutes, crack the lid to let some of the pressure out.  Chances are when you put the lid back on, it will pop away).  Continue the shaking every 20 seconds or so until you can tell almost everything is popped.  Remove the lid and stir immediately.

6.    Sprinkle Kosher salt to taste and then keep stirring.  You can eat it warm right out of the pan (Disclaimer: caramelized sugar is HOT so don’t eat it right away.) or let it cool completely.  It’s great either way!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

From the Kitchen of: Stephanie Jensen

Ingredients:

2 Cups cooked chicken

2 small cans of cream of chicken soup

2 soup cans of water

4 tsp. flour

2 tsp. chicken bouillon (or 2 cubes)

Black pepper to taste

1 can of biscuits (8 biscuits)

Directions:

1.    In crockpot mix together Cream of chicken soup and water.  Stir in chicken, flour, bouillon, and pepper.

2.    Cut biscuits into quarters and mix in gently.  Cover; cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.  (Great for Sunday Dinner J)

Corn/Bean/Chicken Salsa

From the Kitchen of: Laura Morrow

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts (Depending on how many you are feeding)

2 Tbs. lemon juice

2 tsp. paprika

Can of corn

Can of Black beans

1 cup of salsa

Directions:

1.     Put chicken breasts in the crockpot and add lemon juice and paprika (just enough to cover chicken).

2.    Turn the crockpot on high for 2 to 3 hours (enough time for the chicken to cook all the way through).

3.    When chicken is cooked, shred it with a fork and add corn, black beans, and salsa. (You can change the amounts on these ingredients to what you prefer)

4.    Mix it all around and turn it down to low and leave it in the crockpot for 1.5 or 2 more hours

5.    After this, it’s basically done.  Now you can do a few different things.

A)   Wrap it up in tortillas and you can add cheese and lettuce.

B)    Eat it by itself!

C)   Or my favorite – Eat it as a dip for tortilla chips.

Slow-Cooker Carnitas

From the Kitchen of: Loni Andrus

Ingredients:

1 (6-8 pound) pork butt, also called pork shoulder

2 tablespoons coarse salt

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

8 whole cloves garlic, smashed

4 chipotle peppers (canned or dried)

1 cup tomato juice

1 cup orange juice

Directions:

1.    Trim excess fat from the meat and discard. Place all ingredients in the slow-cooker. Set to cook on LOW for 8 hours. Meat is done when it literally falls off the bone. When cool enough to handle, lift the meat from the juices and place in a large bowl. Remove the bone, then shred the meat.

2.    Skim the fat from the juices and keep as a medium for re-heating the meat.

3.    For carnitas tacos, reheat the meat and serve in corn tortillas with sour cream, cilantro, chopped red onion and lime wedges.

**Makes 20-30 taco-sized servings

***I have never used the chipotle peppers and I think it is delicious without. I usually do burritos with cilantro lime rice, black beans, and corn pico, chipotle style! This is an awesome summer meal!

Skillet Creamy Mac n' Cheese

From the Kitchen of: Heather Godfrey

Ingredients:

3.5 cups of water

1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk

3 cups of macaroni

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cornstarch

Hot sauce to taste

1.5 cups of cheddar cheese shredded

1.5 cups of white cheese shredded (like Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, etc.)

2 Tbs. of butter cut into small chunks

Pepper to taste

Red cayenne pepper to taste

Frozen peas and diced pre-cooked ham (Optional)

Directions:

1.    Bring 3 1/2 cups water, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, the macaroni, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. Cook at a vigorous simmer, stirring continuously, until the macaroni is tender and the liquid has thickened, about 9 to 12 minutes. I can't seem to ever get it to not burn on the bottom, so be sure to not mix the burned part in with the rest of the food!

2.    Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk, the cornstarch, mustard and hot sauce together in a small bowl, then stir into the skillet. Continue to simmer slightly thickened, about 1 minute. The hot sauce is really what gives the flavor, so don't be too shy with it.

3.    Off the heat but still hot, stir in the cheddar and white cheese, one handful at a time, adding water as needed to adjust the consistency of the sauce (I don’t need any additional water when I make it). Stir in the peas, ham, and butter. Season with salt, pepper, and red cayenne pepper.

** So my husband is definitely a 2 year old at heart. His favorite meal is any variation of macaroni and cheese. I love this recipe because it's (fairly) healthy, takes less than 30 minutes, and is sooo yummy.

*** It seriously is such a great fast meal! Yummy and makes a ton.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/03/skillet-creamy-macaroni-and-cheese.html

Fried Rice

From the Kitchen of: Kristie Kano

Ingredients:

2 cups of rice

1 cup Diced Cooked Ham (Or any other meat)

2-3 Green onions, chopped

1 Egg, scrambled

1 large carrot, shredded

½ cup frozen green peas

Soy sauce to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

*All ingredients can vary to how much you are making and what your preferences are.  You can also add whatever you like.

Directions:

1.    Cook rice as directed.

2.    In a large frying pan, combine all ingredients.  You can do it in whatever order you like.

**This is a very simple recipe that we definitely LOVE!!!

Strawberry Cookie Salad

From the Kitchen of: Alyssa Beveridge

Ingredients:

1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding (dry mix)

1 can of pineapple tidbits (drain and save the juice)

1-12 oz. cool whip (soft not frozen)

1 can of mandarin oranges (drained)

1 large banana (optional)

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

1 pkg. fudge stripe cookies (crushed)

Directions:

1.    Place pudding in bowl.

2.    Add pineapple juice to moisten.

3.    Add cool whip.

4.    Add oranges and pineapple.

5.    Add strawberries and cookies last (Fold in gently).

6.    Serve immediately... It doesn’t keep well but it tastes delicious!