Perfect Corn Bread

(sorry for the lame picture, I was in a hurry!)
This is seriously the best corn bread ever! It's not dry and crumbly, it's moist and, well, perfect!

Here's what you will need:
1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. yellow corn meal
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
Sift flour with sugar,baking powder, and salt. Stir in corn meal. Add eggs, milk, and oil. Beat just until smooth. Pour in 8x8 greased pan and bake @ 425* for 20-25 min.

Wheat Chili

Last year we had a sister from the ward came and taught us how to use wheat more. The food she prepared was delicious but I forgot all about it until we had the class again at a stake activity. I decided that I really want to make it a goal to incorporate wheat into my diet at least once a week. this chili is very easy and delicious, plus wheat is really cheap and makes your meat go a lot farther.

Here's what you will need:
1/2 lb. hamburger
1 large onion chopped
1/2 green pepper chopped (I used a red pepper because it was on sale and it was still delicious, just not very colorful)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic salt or 1 clove garlic
1 tsp. oregano or cumin
1 28oz. can stewed tomatoes
2-3 c. tomato sauce
2 c. whole wheat- uncooked
4 c. water
Steam wheat in water for about an hour. Brown hamburger, onion, and green pepper until cooked. Add wheat and other ingredients. Simmer for 30 min. or cook in crock pot on low for 4 hours.

White Bread

I NEVER have luck with bread. I have tried a million times and it either turns out too dense, or not cooked in the middle, or the crust is too dark. I found this recipe on my sister-in-law's recipe blog (doublethedeliciousness.blogspot.com) and the girls and I gave it a try. Turns out, I just needed a little help from some cuties with the magic touch.

Here's what you will need:
2 Tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups HOT water
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
5 Tablespoons oil
6 cups flour, divided

Put the yeast in the 1/2 cup of warm water and let sit. Mix together the Hot water, sugar, salt, oil and 3 cups of the flour in a mixer (kitchen aide or bosch or whatever you have). Mix with whips until dough is smooth. Pour in the yeast and rest of the flour and trade in your dough arm in your mixer. Turn mixer on and add more flour if needed (the dough should "clean" your bowl) and let it knead the dough for about 10 minutes.




Meanwhile, grease 2 bread pans (I just spray mine!). When the dough is finished kneading separate it into 2 loaves and work it into a loaf. I've seen people roll their dough out and then roll it and pinch the ends...it's supposed to make it so there are no air pockets, but I just work mine with my hands and I've never had a problem with air pockets so whichever you perfer I guess!:) Place each loaf in a pan and cover with a dish towel and let raise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place loaves in oven and cook for about 35-40 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and butter the top while still warm. You can now take them out of the pans and eat. They are a little hard to cut when it is so warm, but so yummy.

Roca Triangles

Warning! This product might contain highly addictive ingredients. Proceed with caution.

This recipe is from Carol Earl's Fabulous Fakes. I'm telling you, once you start you can't stop.

Here's what you will need:
Saltine Crackers
2 Cubes BUTTER (not margarine)
1 C. brown sugar
1-2 C. milk chocolate chips

Spray a cookie sheet with vegetable spray. Put a single layer of Saltine crackers, cutting crackers to fit, on the cookie sheet.

In a pan, bring butter and brown sugar to boil and cook for 3 min. Pour over crackers and spread to cover. Bake in a 375* oven for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. When the chocolate has melted spread evenly. Set and break into desired pieces.

Grasshopper Cheesecake

The other day I bought this For Women First magazine because it had a big article by Dr. Oz on how to lose stubborn belly fat. Turns out the article was a total snoozefest but the magazine did have this delicious Grasshopper Cheesecake recipe that we just had to try. It probably did not aid in my quest to lose stubborn belly fat though.

Here's what you will need:
42 Oreos
1/2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
2/3 c. melted butter
4 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, at room temp.
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. peppermint extract
pinch of salt

3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 c. heavy cream
3 T. flour
1 c. whipped topping

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove and discard (or secretly eat when no one is looking) cream filling from cookies. In food processor, pulse cookies, chocolate chips, and butter until fine crumbs form. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9" springform pan. Chill 30 min.



With beaters, beat next 5 ingredients until smooth. Add next 4 ingredients and beat until smooth. Add 2 drops green food coloring.



Pour batter into prepared crust.

I have an 8" pan so we had a little batter left over so we whipped up some graham cracker crusts in Haylee's cute little pie pans and made mini cheesecakes. I kind of liked those ones better.


Place pan filled with hot water on lowest oven rack. Place cake on upper rack. Cover cake with foil; bake 1 hour. Remove foil; bake 15 min. more. Let cake cool in oven with door slightly ajar 1 hour. Let cool completely and chill for 4 hours. Remove cake from pan. Pipe whipped topping border onto cake and garnish with chocolate curls.

(It took our cheese cake more than an hour and 15 min. to bake. it probably took closer to an hour and a half and the top was a little brown so I had to cut it off so it didn't look as pretty as the picture in the magazine, but it was so yummy!

Crescent Rolls

I was nervous to make these rolls because I've never made them before, but despite a few mishaps they turned out light, fluffy, and delicious.

You will need:
3/4 c. boiled milk
1 C. butter
1/2 c. sugar
4 c. flour
3 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. yeast
1/4 c. water

Drop butter into milk while boiling, take from stove, add sugar and salt. Let cool. Beat eggs till light and fluffy. Add milk mixture and yeast. Add flour and mix well. For best results let stand overnight in fridge in covered tupperware or cover with cloth. Roll half at a time and spread with butter, cut into triangles and roll into crescent shape. Put on a baking pan and let rise 1 hour. Bake @ 375 for 12-15 min. or until lightly browned.

Aloha Shoyu Carne Asada

This is my sister-in-law Candy's recipe and it it amazing and really in-expensive. I bought the carne asada from Winco for about $8.50 but there was enough meat to freeze half for another meal. The Aloha Shoyu sauce was $2.50 and has enough sauce to make his marinade 3 times, and the rest of the ingredients are things I always have in my kitchen. Altogether, with a vegetable, rolls, meat and a little side pasta this meal only costs about $7.00 to feed my family of 6. Way cheap! Not to mention incredibly easy.
Here's what you'll need:

1/2 c. water
1 c. Aloha Shoyu Sauce (found near the soy sauce at the grocery store)
1 c. sugar
3 T. fresh minced garlic
2 T. ginger

Marinate for a few hours and grill.

Crockpot Lasagna

This is one of my all time favorites because it is so easy! It's basically the same as a regular lasagna but you put it in the crockpot so it is super moist and yummy.
You will need:
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb. cooked ground hamburger or turkey burger
1-2 cups fat free cottage cheese (more or less to taste)
Spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes (opt)
6-10 uncooked lasagna noodles depending on crockpot size




Mix meat with sauce and tomatoes and spread a little on the bottom of crockpot. Next layer noodles, meat sauce, cottage cheese, and cheddar cheese. Repeat layers but don't add the last layer of cheese until 30 min. before eating. If needed pour 1/2- 1 cup of water over the top and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.