Creamed Tomato Bisque

from my sister in law-stephanie sanders

1 stick butter
1 C chopped celery
1 C chopped onion
1/2 C chopped carrot
1/3 C flour
56 oz can diced tomatoes
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1 bay leaf
4 C chicken broth
1 C whip cream
1 C milk
1/2 tsp paprika
dash curry powder

saute carrot, onion, celery in butter. stir in flour. cook 2 mins. stir while adding tomatoes, sugar, basil, marjoram, bay leaf, broth. cover/simmer 30 mins. stir occasionally. discard leaf. puree 1/3 at a time in blender-still little chunky. add salt to taste. add to pot cream/milk, paprika, curry, pepper. serve hot.


i do this a little different than the recipe says. i use a hand blender and just stir it around the pot until it is smoother. and you can always lighten it up by using whatever milk you like.

delicious with a yummy grilled cheese sandwich!

Friday night pizza

We started to have pizza about once a week on our movie night. Levi really likes it and everyone will eat it. I tried to make the recipe a little healthier by adding a bit of whole wheat flour. It's pretty good. I got the original recipe from an issue of Taste of Home-Italian Cheese Bread.

Combine the following ingredients and add more flour if needed to form a soft dough. I just use a wooden spoon to make sure all ingredients are mixed and dough is kneaded for about 2 minutes. Put a little oil on top of dough ball and turn to make sure it is coated evenly. Leave in bowl and then cover so it can rise for about 20 minutes.

2 C all purpose or bread flour
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 t salt
1 t sugar
1 T quick rise yeast
1 C warm water(120-130 degrees)
1 T oil

Punch down the dough and then spread onto a cookie sheet to the edge. Just use your fingers.

Spread on your favorite sauce and toppings.

I use a can of tomato sauce and then sprinkle salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried basil, and oregano evenly over the sauce.

My kids only like cheese topping.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. I then use my other pan and place upside down over the top of pizza pan to prevent it from getting too dark. You can use foil, but the cheese always sticks when I do that. I bake for another 6 minutes or so. Cut into squares for little hands.

Veggie Pizza

I think this was a pampered chef recipe, but I got it from my friend, Sara Viramontes, who got it from her mom.

2 pkg. crescent rolls-roll out flat on a large cookie sheet or baking stone and bake until golden brown for crust, about 10-12 minutes

Blend the following and then spread onto cooled crust
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
2-8 oz. cream cheese-I use neufchatel
1 C mayo

Top with your favorite chopped veggies, chopped very small with your chopper if you have one.
I use:
bell pepper-any color
brocolli
cauliflower
black olives
tomato
mushrooms

then top with 1/2 cup shredded carrot
and 3/4 cup fine shredded cheese

Refrigerate and then cut into small pieces. Enjoy! It is sooooo good. I look forward to Sara's parties because she always serves this!

Christmas Wassail

Kristin Reese shared this with us at a Relief Society holiday function. It tastes so good and it really makes the house smell good when it is warming on the stove.

1 gallon apple cider
1 t each-cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon
1-16 oz. can frozen lemonade
1/2 C brown sugar

Mix 2 C apple cider w/ spices and bring to boil. Add rest of ingredients and warm.

Can you smell it? Are you ready for the holidays?

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

I have only seen this served in the Imperial Valley where Lance is from. The people there eat Mexican food whether they are Mexican or not. But down there the food is good. When you are away from it, you start to crave it. This recipe was given to me by my sister in law, Stephanie. It is great served as an appetizer or a light meal with tortilla chips.

Mix together in a big bowl:

2 cucumbers, diced
1 chopped onion-I use less and I chop small
2-3 avocados, diced
2 tomatoes seeded and diced
3 celery ribs, diced
1/4 bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice of 4 lemons-to taste
2 T horseradish
jalapenos-optional

Pour over:
1/2 jar of Clamato

Just before serving, add 50-70 count precooked shrimp from Costco or the like. If you add too early, the shrimp gets tough because the acid in the juices start to cook it.

This is so good, I am craving some right now!

Cinnamon Rolls

Jonathan helping to spread the filling-brown sugar and cinnamon.

The rolls before the last rise.

The boys love to make a mess!

Price was covered in flour.

Sethie cleaning up the flour mess.

Lance loves Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, so I was on a quest to find a recipe for them that I could make at home. Well of course the actual recipe is safely guarded somewhere, so I had to go with a clone recipe that I found online. There is a family in Texas that has done tons of research and testing and came up with this recipe that is very delicious. I am sure if you did all of the steps that they require and use all of the special ingredients that they call for, the rolls would taste very similar to Cinnabon, but I have altered the recipe a bit to fit my bread maker and took out some ingredients that I don't have in my pantry. They still come out absolutely to die for and we love them. We have made it a tradition to make them every General Conference weekend. It gives the boys something to look forward to! For the actual recipe click here.

Here is the version that fits in my 1 1/2 lb. bread maker and makes about 10 rolls:

Put in bread machine:

3/16 C water

3/4 C whole milk

3/8 C butter, melted, then cooled

1 beaten egg

3/4 t vanilla

3/8 t salt

3/8 C sugar

3 1/3 C bread flour

2 t rapid rise yeast

Run machine on dough cycle. Mine goes for about 1 hour 20 minutes. When dough is finished, roll out into a rectangle about 18x20 inches. It's a little tricky because the dough wants to go back to its original size, but just keep working at it, it will come.

Then spread on the following:

6 T margarine-room temp so it is spreadable

Mix together and sprinkle over margarine:

3/4 C brown sugar

4 T cinnamon

Roll up the 20" side very tightly to make a long roll. Cut off ends and then cut into 10 even sized rolls. Place rolls into 8" square baking pans 1" apart-one roll in each corner and one in the center.

Cover and let rise until doubled-about an hour. Bake at 335 degrees for 20 minutes, one pan at a time.

Frosting

Mix together:

6 T margarine

3 oz. cream cheese

1 1/8 C powdered sugar

3/4 t vanilla

Spread on top of warm or cooled cinnamon rolls and devour!

Sugar Cookies

This recipe is from Cindy Himes. I love it! Thanks for sharing, Cindy!

Cream together-

1 C shortening
1 cube butter
2 C sugar

Then add one at a time-

4 eggs

Mix in-

2t vanilla
2 t baking powder
2 t salt

Then add 1 cup at a time-

5 C flour

I use a wooden spoon to mix this together. It is ready when the dough becomes one big blob and all sticks together. Chill for at least 1 hour in refrigerator. Roll dough to 1/4-5/16 thick and cut into desired shapes. Bake at 400 degrees for 6-9 minutes. 6 minutes for small cookies and 9 minutes for bigger cookies. You do not want the edges to brown, so keep an eye on them. The cookies are fine if they are brown, but sooooo good if they are not because they stay softer.