byu cremery ranch dressing

Recipe adapted from: The Crafty Blog Stalker

This stuff is so, so good...it tastes sorta like Chiz's! I even used light mayo, light sour cream and made buttermilk from skim milk so it's a little bit healthier. :)

1/4 c. black pepper

1 1/2 c. parsley flakes

1/2 c. garlic salt

2 T. salt

1/4 c. garlic powder

3/4 c. onion powder

2 T. dill weed

Combine all ingredients in a quart size mason jar and shake it up really good. It makes about 3 1/2 c. of dry mix.

To make dressing, whisk together:

2 c. mayo

2 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 c. sour cream

1 t. lemon juice

2 T. of your dry ranch mix

Refrigerate for 2 hours in a washed out half-gallon milk jug.

two recipes: lemon dill chicken kebobs and roasted carrots

This is our very favorite meal to eat right now, and it's so healthy and low in calories!! And bonus...all three kids loved both of these, it was a hit! :)

Lemon Dill Chicken Kebobs

8 chicken tenders (we like the ones from Costco)

1/3 c. lemon juice

2-3 sprigs of fresh dill

salt and pepper to taste

Soak 8 skewers in water. You want them to soak for at least 15 min. so if you start that first, you'll be good to go when you're ready to bake. Cut up each chicken tender into 4 different sections and put them all in a bowl. Pour lemon juice over the top and mix together with your hands. Let sit for 5 min. Mince up your dill, then sprinkle over the chicken. Add salt and pepper (we love pepper, so we add a good amount). Mix again together with your hands. Let sit for 5 min. Skewer 4 pieces of chicken for each kebob and set aside. We like to grill on our indoor panini grill, but you could grill outside or even bake in your oven. We grill ours inside at 350 for about 4 min. (since it cooks both sides at the same time)

Serves: 4

Calories each kebob: 118

Roasted Carrots

5 fresh medium sized carrots

pam cooking spray (or similar)

dried oregano

salt and pepper

Peel your carrots and cut them into two-three inch sections and either half or quarter each one of those...so you have a bunch of little fry looking carrot sticks. Add them to a bowl and spray a few times with the pam so the oregano, salt and pepper will stick. Season to taste. Lay on a pan and roast in the oven at 425 for 20 min. rotating once halfway through.

Serves: 2

Calories per one cup: 52

Baked Ziti

 

Here is what we had for dinner tonight.  It was super easy and yummy!

1 jar (24 oz.) Prego pasta sauce

(we chose the tomato, basil, & garlic kind)

5 cups pasta, cooked and drained

Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Boil noodles.  Combine noodles, sauce, and mozzarella cheese in a bowl.  Mix together, then pour into baking dish.  Top with more mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 min or until bubbly.

ENJOY!

Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Banana Bread Pancakes

As a tradition we always make breakfast for dinner on Friday nights. We have found some great recipes but thanks to Pinterest (again!) I think we have found our favorite! Seriously these are the best pancakes I've ever had! They taste like bread and I love that they don't have eggs! And they're so good you could probably eat them without syrup! Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Banana Bread Pancakes

(makes 12 pancakes)

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cup milk (I ended up adding probably about a cup or so more cause it was too thick- I like my mix a little runny)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Measure out the milk and add the vanilla extract to it. Whisk together the dry ingredients and add in milk and vanilla, stirring to combine. The mixture will still be dry. Add in mashed bananas and mix. Add in melted butter and stir until batter is somewhat smooth.

Heat a skillet or grilled on medium heat. Using a 1/3 cup measure, spoon batter into rounds and cook until bubbles form on top – about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for a minute or two more. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve hot with butter and syrup, or the vanilla maple glaze.

Note: if you don’t have/can’t find whole wheat pastry flour, use 1 cup of regular whole wheat and 1 cup of all purpose. Or 2 cups of all purpose.

Vanilla Maple Glaze (I didn't make this but it goes with the recipe)

1/2 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth. Pour over pancakes.

Cauliflower fries

So once again pinterest came to the rescue! These were so yummy and really did kinda taste like fries! Especially with a little ketchup.

I call them cauliflower fries!

2 heads of cauliflower
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Wash cauliflower and cut into small pieces. Drizzle with olive oil in bowl. Put cauliflower on lined and greased cookie sheet. Bake for one hour turning cauliflower 3 times throughout. I added the salt and pepper last but you could add it with the oil at the beginning. I also halved the recipe!

Chloe preferred it raw, but maybe it could be a way to get your kids to eat cauliflower I they don't normally like it! :)

pretzel bites

These are so easy and yummy!

Recipe from: Get off Your Butt and Bake

Texas size Rhodes Frozen roll dough

*as many as you like – each roll makes four bites

coarse salt, parmesan, garlic, cinnamon & sugar

Vanilla glaze (optional)

Take a thawed roll.  Cut it in four equal sections.  Place dough bites on greased sheets. I placed five across and five down on large baking sheets.  Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, and let dough rise until double in size. (about 35-45 minutes) Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil.  When dough has risen, plop about 10 pieces into the boiling water, tossing gently for about 45 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon, and place bites on paper towels to drain slightly.  Move bites to greased baking sheets, and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until done and golden brown. 

Brush bites with melted butter, sprinkle with Kosher or Sea Salt, garlic and toss in Parmesan cheese.  

You can also make Cinnamon and Sugar bites. Make a mixture of Cinnamon and sugar:  About 1 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, and mix together well. After you butter the pretzel bites, toss in cinnamon and sugar mixture.

You can serve the Parmesan Pretzel bites with a cheddar dip, and the Cinnamon and Sugar Pretzel bites with Vanilla glaze.  So yummy . . . so simple!

VANILLA GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract.

Combine sugar, milk, butter and vanilla and mix well. 

CHEDDAR DIP

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 1/2  to 2 cups of grated Cheddar Cheese.

Melt the butter in a med. size saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour and stir until blended, and

butter has turned lightly golden brown.  Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened slightly.  Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar Cheese until smooth and all of the cheese has melted.  Season with salt and pepper.  Shake a few red pepper flakes into sauce for added zing!

toasted almond parmesan dip

This stuff is amazing!

Recipe from: How Sweet It Is

6 ounces cream cheese

2 ounces mascarpone cheese

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cup sliced toasted almonds

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine cream cheese, mascarpone, salt, pepper, nutmeg, parmesan and 1/2 cup almonds. Mix with a spoon to combine, then press into a baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and top with remaining almonds. Serve with crackers and pita chips!

pizza cupcakes

Miles named these because he called them cupcakes....so now they are Pizza Cupcakes. :) My kids LOVE these...they could eat all of them by themselves. 

Recipe from: Pinterest (don't know the original source)

1 pkg. refrigerated biscuits

pizza sauce

cheese

pepperoni or other toppings

Flatten each biscuit out a bit and push them into a greased muffin tin. Take one tablespoon of pizza sauce and spoon it on top of the biscuit. Top with cheese and whatever topping you desire. Try using different sauces, such as alfredo and different toppings too!

Pork Tacos

I know I've sent this to everyone but this is seriously our favorite dinner dish! It is so delicious!


Pork Tacos

1 pork tenderloin* (2-3 Ibs)
1-2 cans green chilies
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2-1 TB chili powder (this would be really spicy, I only add 1/2 tsp.)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1-2 can chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies with lime and cilantro(ROTEL)

Corn tortillas
sour cream
Cheese
Lettuce or Cabbage shredded

Put all ingredients into crock-pot except the ROTEL tomatoes,
tortillas, sour cream etc. Set on low for 8-9 hrs or set on high for 4-6
Hrs or until the pork shreds. Shred the pork in the crock-pot so it can
soak up some of the juices. When you are about ready to serve, add the
ROTEL tomatoes to the crock-pot and mix into pork. Serve with the
Corn tortillas, sour cream, cheese, lettuce etc. Anything your family
likes. You can adjust the amounts of chilies or chili powder to your
liking as well.

* If you are in a pinch and don't have a tenderloin, you
can use Pork chops as well. You can also adjust this recipe for more or
less people very easily

*We like to make ours more like a cafe rio/chipotle thing so I make black beans and rice to go with mine

Chili Dog Casserole

Yes believe it or not I am finally posting!! :) We made this when Mom and Dad were here for Christmas and really liked it and I made it for dinner again tonight. My kids love it! It's really easy too! Oh and I can't take the credit for it, I love Pinterest!


Chili Dog Casserole

2 (15 oz) cans chili with beans (I actually use the walmart brand hot dog chili sauce and it's only .50!)
1 (16 oz) package hot dogs
10 (8 inch) flour tortillas (the fajita sized ones)
1 (8 oz) package Cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Spread 1 can of chili and beans in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Roll up franks inside tortillas and place in baking dish, seam side down, on top of chili and beans. Top with remaining can of chili and beans, and sprinkle with cheese.

Cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

Dijon Chicken with Mushrooms

This is one of the yummiest meals we've ever had...it's got such a yummy flavor. In fact, I think we're going to have it for dinner tonight!

Recipe adapted from: Rock Recipes

1 pkg. pasta (we use penne)

8 chicken tenders or 4 chicken breasts

1 cup chopped mushrooms

3 T. olive oil

4 cloves minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. toasted slivered almonds

1/4 chicken broth

2 c. whipping cream

3 T. Dijon mustard

Toast your almonds, set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan over medium low heat. Add chicken breasts, garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue to fry the chicken until completely cooked.

Remove chicken from pan and hold in a warm oven.

Add broth to the pan. Simmer until it's reduced by half. Add in whipping cream, dijon and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat a metal spoon. 

Return Chicken to the sauce, add the chanterelle mushrooms and simmer for an additional 2 minutes. Serve over cooked linguine. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.

Green Smoothie!

Ok, so pinterest is amazing! This little gem was on there and I just tried it this morning and I definitely think it is going to be my breakfast everyday!! We all love peanut butter so I thought you all would like it too, plus it's healthy!! If you're worried about the spinach, you can't even taste it! It just gives so many nutrients!!

via iowagirleats


Ingredients:

1 frozen sliced banana

1 Tablespoon peanut butter

1/2 cup 0% Vanilla Greek yogurt (or protein powder)

1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (or other kind of milk, I used skim)

4 cups baby spinach (or more, or less)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Nutritional stats:

350 calories, 10g fiber, 21g protein


P.s. I think it would be fun if when you make the food, try to take a picture of it too! You don't always have to, but it might be fun! :)

P.p.s. If you can remember maybe we can label the post too. Like if it is a dinner beef dish, label it beef and dinner. Etc. :) (thanks Emily for doing that already!!!)

Rincomdiddi

I'm not posting a recipe but I made Rincomdiddi for dinner tonight and it brought back A LOT of memories.  With this blog, I was thinking about things we use to eat when we were little and this one is simple but one I love! 

Thanks Ashley for coming up with this blog idea!  Keep them coming!

Wingers Chicken

This stuff tastes exactly like the real thing. It's our favorite quick go-to meal when I'm in a hurry!

Recipe adapted from: Favorite Family Recipes

10 Tyson breaded chicken tenders

1/3 c. Frank's hot sauce (needs to be Frank's...others don't taste the same!)

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1 T. water

Cook the tenders according to the package. During the last half of cooking time, make the sauce. 

Heat up hot sauce, brown sugar and water in a sauce pot until all the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temp before adding to wings OR prepare ahead of time and refrigerate. The wings turn out best if you don't pour warm sauce over them. You want it nice and thick.

Dip each piece of chicken in the sauce and plate it up. Serve with Ranch Dressing or Blue Cheese Dressing.

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

This is the best banana bread...I don't make any other kind anymore because it's that good!

Recipe from: Our Best Bites

2 C flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C sugar

1/4 C (4 Tbs) real butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 1/2 C mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large bananas)

1/4 C sour cream or plain yogurt

3 Tbs apple juice or milk*

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 C coconut

Topping: 2 Tbs additional coconut

Glaze: 1/2 C powdered sugar whisked with 1 1/2 Tbs fresh lime juice

*as in: don’t go buy apple juice just for this recipe.  If you don’t already have some, just use milk!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until blended.  Add eggs and beat to combine.  Add banana, sour cream or yogurt, apple juice (or milk), and vanilla.  Beat until blended.

Add flour mixture and beat at a low speed until just combined.  Stir in 1/2 C coconut.

Pour batter into a 9×5″ loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle additional 2 Tbs coconut on top.

Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until a knife or skewer inserted in center comes out clean.Note: Check bread after about 40 minutes.  If the top has browned and the coconut pieces are looking toasty, cover top of bread lightly with a piece of foil.  Continue baking until done.

When done, remove pan from oven.  Let cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes and then carefully remove from pan.  Whisk powdered sugar and lime juice together for the glaze and then drizzle over top.    Cool for another 15 minutes before slicing.

No-Bake Boston Creme Pie Strata

Remember having this as a kid??? YUM!! Mom, you'll have to let us know if this is the same recipe you made!

Recipe from: The Kitchn

About 20 ounces (4 sleeves) graham crackers

For the custard

3 tablespoons cornstarch 

2 large eggs 

3 egg yolks 

5 tablespoons unsalted butter 

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt 

4 cups half-and-half

2 teaspoons vanilla

For the chocolate frosting

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

1/4 cup milk 

2 cups confectioners’ sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with graham crackers, using about a quarter of them and breaking some in half if necessary. Set aside.

2. To make the custard, place the cornstarch in a small bowl. In a second small bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Set both aside.

3. In a deep, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and stir in the sugar. Add the salt and half-and-half, and stir. Warm over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges of the liquid. Do not let it boil. When the half-and-half mixture is hot, turn off the heat.

4. Pour a ladleful of the hot half-and-half mixture into the small bowl holding cornstarch. Whisk vigorously to combine. The mixture should come together smoothly, with no lumps; if there are any lumps, add a little more liquid and whisk them out. Pour this cornstarch mixture into the beaten eggs. Whisk vigorously to combine.

5. Pour the egg mixture into the pot, and turn the heat on to medium. Whisk continuously and vigorously, working all the angles of the pot and scraping the bottom. Continue whisking for about 5 minutes, or until the custard becomes very thick and starts to boil, with large bubbles that slowly rise to the surface. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.

6. Spread one-third of the pudding evenly over the graham crackers. Top with a layer of graham crackers, and spread half of the remaining pudding over that layer. Add a third layer of graham crackers and top with the remaining pudding. Cover the top of the pudding with a final layer of graham crackers. Set aside.

7. To make the frosting, melt the butter with the cocoa powder in a small saucepan. Bring to a light simmer over medium-low heat and let it bubble for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook for 3 more minutes, letting the mixture bubble up around the edges. Remove from the heat and beat in the confectioners’ sugar with a whisk or hand beater. When the mixture is smooth, beat in the vanilla. While the frosting is still quite hot and liquid, pour it over the top layer of graham crackers and smooth with a hot knife or spatula dipped in hot water.

8. Cover the layered dessert with a lid or aluminum foil and refrigerate. (If using foil, be careful not to let it touch the top of the dessert, as it will stick to the frosting and spoil the look.) Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours and up to 2 days before slicing and serving. Serve chilled.

Blueberry-Buttermilk Breakfast Cake

Ray and I made this for the kids for breakfast on Saturday and it was a hit...Miles especially loved it!

Recipe from: Alexandra's Kitchen

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon

7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

½ cup buttermilk

* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons

** This 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.

4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.