Easy Pesto Pasta

8 ounces spaghetti, Or any type of pasta you prefer
3/4 cup Pesto
3 tablespoon Parmesan, grated
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Cook chicken breasts in a skillet on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side, until no longer pink. Cut chicken into bite size pieces then return to pan. Add 1/4 cup pesto sauce and allow to simmer while cooking pasta.

Cook desired type of pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse. Return to pan and add remaining pesto sauce. Mix gently. Mix in chicken with pasta. Top with parmesan cheese.

Quick & Easy Alfredo Sauce

Just in case I'm not the only one who craves the Olive Garden at inopportune times... like no budget for such frivolity or 3 kids and no babysitter. I found this on the internet last night and the ingredients were all things I had on hand. I really liked it. Enoch loved it. Thus, a new family favorite is born. And, a lot easier on the pocket book than the OG... although I won't say that it was better than the Olive Garden. That'd be pretty hard to do. It was right up there though.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 cups milk
6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't have fresh Parmesan laying around, so I used the last 1/2 of my 8 oz canister of Parmesan cheese and it worked fine)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions: Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese & garlic powder, stirring w/ wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

(It noted that the cream cheese was the secret ingredient.)

The Best Rolls, No Arguments (Mum's Famous Rolls)

Because I love you all, I will post my mother's roll recipe. Now, I know for a fact that very few people have tried these that read this blog. But I challenge you to find a roll that tastes better. Go ahead and try, I dare you.

1 tbls yeast

1/4 c warm water

2 eggs

2 c scalded milk

1/2 c butter

1 1/2 tsp salt (or a little less with salted butter)

1/2 c sugar

6 c flour

1. In a bowl put yeast and warm water together, let that dissolve. Only stir a little at the beginning then let dissolve. Go ahead and stir before adding to other mixtures.

2. Milk, butter, salt, sugar mixed together. Make  sure it is warm, not hot, and then add eggs.

3. Stir until well blended.

4. Stir in 3 c flour, beat until smooth after each cup of flour.

5. Add in 2 more cups of flour.

6. Sprinkle third cup of flour on counter and knead it into bread dough.

7. Place in a greased bowl and cover. Place in a warm place to let it double in size.

8. Let rise, and then punch down. Allow to rise again (for a more fluffy roll).

9. Roll out dough. Use the open side of a cup to cut out rolls. Butter both sides of the rolls (I never said they were healthy). Use a knife to crease the center of your circle and then fold the circle along that line. Place on a cookie sheet.

10. Place the rolls so they have a little room to rise and allow them to do so before you place them in the oven.

11. Back on 400 until golden brown (about 15 to 20 minutes).

12. When rolls come out of the oven, butter the top and enjoy!

Sugar Cookie Frosting

2 cubes butter (soft)

2 c pd sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 tbls flour

Mix together. (For best results, use white vanilla, it is divine!)

Sugar Cookies

1 c butter (soft)

1 1/2 c pd sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1. Mix butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and almost extract.

2. Min in flour, soda, and cream of tartar.

3. Chill.

4. Cook at 375 for 7 to 8 minutes.

Brown Sugar Muffins

Beat together: 1/2 c shortening, 1c brown sugar, 1 egg.

Then add: 2 c flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 c milk, 2 tsp vanilla.

Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full and bake at 350.

Pumpkin Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 c pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 c water
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves

Mix everything and bake according to package directions. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Pork Chops with Apple Onion Stuffing and Maple Butternut Squash (The Fall Meal )

Pork Chops

4 t oil
1 small red onion, diced
1 Granny Smith apple, cut into 1/3” cubes
1 to 1 1/4 lbs boneless pork chops
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t thyme
2 t flour
14 oz chicken broth
2 c stuffing mix

Squash

2 pkg (10 oz each) butternut squash, partially thawed (or cook fresh squash)
4 t butter
1 T maple syrup
1/2 t salt

Heat oven to 200. Heat 2 t oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and apple about 5 minutes…until soft. Transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until browned (5 minutes). Turn chops, sprinkle with thyme and cook until pork is very faintly pink. Transfer chops to serving plate and place in oven. Heat remaining 2 t oil in skillet and stir in flour. Cook 1 minute; add 1/2 c broth and cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Pour sauce over pork chops, return plate to oven. Add onion and apple mixture to skillet, pour in remaining chicken broth and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in stuffing mix. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare squash. Heat medium skillet over medium heat. Add squash and cook, mashing with spoon, 1 minute. Stir in butter, maple syrup and salt; mix well. Cook 2-3 minutes more.

Cinnamon Rolls

This is my mother's most delicious recipe. These rolls are heaven on Earth. Enjoy!

ROLLS:

4 c milk

1 c sugar

4 tbs yeast

1/2 c water

4 eggs

4 tps salt

1 c oil

12-14 c flour

FROSTING:

1 stick butter

1 1/2 c pd sugar

1/4 c (2 ounces) cream cheese

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

(I usually triple this)

1. Dissolve yeast in water.
2. Scald milk and allow to cool to luke warm.
3. Mix yeast mixture, milk, beaten eggs, sugar, and 4 c flour.
4. Let rise for 20 min.
5. Add salt, oil, and remainder of flour. (Add the flour one cup at a time and make sure each cup is thoroughly mixed before adding another. The last few cups should be kneaded in.)
6. Knead and let rise until double in bulk.
7. Roll out on a floured surface.
8. Cover in butter and a cinnamon and sugar mix.
9. Roll up, cut, and placed on a greased cookie sheet with a little space in between each roll. (Pam works fine for greasing the pan.)
10. Bake at 350 for 20 min.
11. Mix all the ingredients together to make frosting and smother it all over your rolls.

This is a delicious treat. Ammon and I enjoy them every fall. I hope you enjoy them too!

Rolls

Here are the rolls Hannah requested. We usually had these for Sunday dinner growing up and always when we had company. Our mom taught us early on that when you have company and everyone seems to be done eating, pass around the rolls and meat again because people may want more. They always did want more of her rolls. Could be the butter...

1 T plus 1 t yeast dissolved in 1/2 c warm water and 1 t sugar
Beat:
3 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1 c warm water
2 t salt
1/2 c shortening (melted)
5 1/2 c flour

Knead and let rise twice its size then knead. Let rise again. Make into rolls and rise until twice its size.

Bake 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees

My mom and therefore my sisters and I make these in the parker house rolls style. Roll out, dip circles in melted butter, fold over. We also brush more melted butter on the top when they're straight out of the oven.

Amazing Crock Pot Chicken

This is a newfound favorite at our house. Enoch raved about it. I got the recipe from a neighbor who brought this in for me while I was sick after having Savannah. It was as simple as you can get and SO good. I'm on the lookout for more good crock pot recipes... I'm finding that it's next to impossible to have a decent dinner if I wait until right before dinner to start cooking with grumpy children at that time of night. So, any good crock pot recipes you can share, I'd love them.

Put the following in the crock pot:
3-4 pieces of boneless chicken
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 8 oz. pkg of cream cheese
3/4 package of dry Italian dressing mix

Cook on low for about 5 hours, or on high for 2-3 hours.

(My friend's recipe says to serve over rice and that it makes great leftovers. I can't vouch for either of those thoughts. I didn't serve it over rice, but I'm sure it'd be good, and we didn't have leftovers because Enoch ate every last drop.)

Hodge Podge Soup

This is soul food and comfort food all rolled into one. We were raised on this soup. I know my children are genetically linked to me because they swoon when I make it. It's best served with homemade wheat bread for dipping. Whenever I eat it I feel transformed to my parents' kitchen sitting at the table with a red checked vinyl tablecloth. Marianne was on my left to conspire with and Tabor was on my right side, making me laugh.



1 1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t dried oregano
3 cans minestrone soup
32 oz pork and beans
clove garlic

Cook ground beef, onion, garlic until brown. Stir in soup, beans, three cans water, spices, etc—simmer covered approximately 15-20 minutes.

Linguine Vegetable Supreme

mmmm....I wish I had some right now

This qualifies as a good recipe for me...it's easy, everyone (including me) really likes it and hey, it includes vegetables. What more can you want?

6 oz linguine
2 T butter
2 c (2 medium) shredded zucchini
1/2 c (1 small) shredded carrot
1/2 c chopped onion
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c milk
1/2 t salt
1/8 t garlic powder
1/2 t basil

Cook linguine. In a large skillet, melt butter. Add vegetables; cook 3 minutes. Add linguine and remaining ingredients. Toss until cheese is melted.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

As per request of Hannah I am adding my spinach salad recipe. It's super easy and extremely yummy. My mom and I discovered it when we were living in California. A good friend of ours, Ludwiga Covert, was kind enough to give us the recipe. I hope you enjoy.

Spinach
Strawberries
Slivered Almonds
Mayonnaise
Orange Juice Concentrate

Take your slivered almonds and place them in a frying pan on medium-high heat (nothing else in the pan). Stir continuously until the almonds are toasted a nice light brown. Pour them out on a clean surface and allow them to cool.

Place the desired amount of spinach in a bowl and start slicing up strawberries until you are happy with the amount. After the almonds have cooled you can add them in as well.

Take 1/2 cup mayonnaise and mix it with 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate for dressing. You can either pre-toss the salad or set the dressing on the side so your spinach doesn't get soggy.

Pizza Crust

This is my mom's pizza recipe (with the change of olive oil...her recipe calls for shortening). My mom always made pizza with this crust, her homemade ragu sauce and then pepperoni, Canadian bacon, canned mushrooms and mozzarella cheese when we were growing up. When Adam and I moved to Connecticut our world view changed when it comes to pizza. Last night we had pizza with grilled eggplant, red pepper and onions. We like to conjure up all sorts of pizza topping combinations. Adam also cooks the pizza on a pizza stone on our grill. He heats the grill to about 500 degrees (with the pizza stone inside) then he slides the pizza onto the stone (he has one of those wooden paddles and he's very clever). He only cooks the pizza about 5 minutes. It is wonderful!

2 t yeast
1/4 c warm water
1 c scalded milk
2 T olive oil
1 t salt
1 T sugar
3 c flour

Knead for 10 minutes. Let raise an hour. Bake pizza at 375 for 15 minutes

Stephanie's Pizza Dough

This is my neighbor, Stephanie's, pizza recipe. It's similar to my mom's but the spices and cheese add a nice change sometimes.

1 T sugar
1 c warm water
1 envelope yeast (2 1/4 t)
3 c flour
1 t salt
1 T basil
1 T oregano
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c olive oil

Knead for about 10 minutes, let raise. Roll out to make into pizzas.

Strawberry Pudding/Jello

Another one of my staples. This is the recipe I brought to the Dahl Family Party last year and a few of you asked for the recipe. For those I forgot to give it to, here it is. My kids love it... which, as you all know says a lot for the picky eater population.

2 and 3/4 c. water - bring to a boil
Once the water is boiling, add the following 3 pkg of pudding/jello:

• 1 box tapioca pudding (small box)
• 1 box cook & serve vanilla (calls for small box, but I can only find cook & serve in a large box and I use the whole thing and it works fine)
• 1 box strawberry jello (small box)

Boil the three pkgs of jello/pudding for 4 minutes. Put in refrigerator until thick (I've found that an hour is perfect - no more or it gets too thick, no less or it doesn't set). Add a medium tub of cool whip at the end of that hour and at least 2 cups of sliced frozen strawberries.

I've never tried anything but the strawberry, but my friend suggested using different jellos and fruits. i.e. sub out the strawberry jello for orange jello and instead of strawberries, use mandarin oranges, or blueberry jello with blueberries, etc.

Parmesan Chicken

This is one of my staple recipes I got from a neighbor in Riverton. She made it for us twice when Relief Society brought meals in for us. I got the recipe when we moved and now this is what I take in to neighbors when they need meals. It is quick and easy and is VERY yummy. Good comfort food and good for serving company.

1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
Italian-seasoned bread crumbs (I like the Progresso brand)

Combine the mayo and parmesan cheese. Pat dry each breast with a paper towel so the sauce will stick to it better. Spread on each chicken breast then roll it in the bread crumbs. Place each breast on a baking sheet (line the baking sheet with tinfoil and spray it with Pam first). Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes. Serve with pasta and spaghetti sauce. Double recipe if you need to serve more than 4 people (or an Enoch).

Peace on Earth on a Cupcake Frosting

Possibly why this frosting is so good?

5 T flour
1 c milk
1 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 t vanilla

Whisk flour and milk in a saucepan until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cover and refrigerate. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add chilled milk mixture;

the chilled mixture will be weird and gelatinous--don't worry

beat for 10 minutes or until fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

You can make this frosting chocolate too. Add about 1/2 c of cocoa powder when you add the vanilla. Less if you're not so into chocolate.

Teriyaki Steak on a Stick-An Ammon Favorite

1 1/2 pounds London broil or flank steak, about 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/ cup vegetable oil (optional)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Cut the steak on the diagonal in 1/4-inch slices and place them in a seal-able bag. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl, then pour into the bag. Seal the bag with no air pockets, shake, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or freeze until ready to use.
When you're ready to cook, skewer the meat ribbon style with 3 to 4 pieces on a skewer (soaked bamboo skewers work well). Broil or grill the meat about 3 minutes on each side. Makes 10 to 16 skewers.
Can also just use as a marinade on any steak or chicken dish you like.

Welcome Summer-Chilled Strawberry Soup

Serve this sweet soup as a starter or as a light dessert.

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen strawberries in lite syrup, thawed
1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half (can also use whole milk (we like lactose free whole milk))
1/4 cup unsweetened white grape juice
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Place first 3 ingredients in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Cover and chill.
Ladle soup into serving bowls and top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup).

Calories 160 (11% from fat); Fat 2g (sat 1.2g, mono 0g, poly 0g); Protein 1.4g; Carb 22.8g; Fiber 0g; Chol 8mg; Iron o.8mg; Sodium 43mg; Calc 63mg (This is for the other health nuts out there, besides me, who care about this information)

Taken from Cooking Light