Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

Wet Ingredients
2½ -Sticks Butter
¾C -Brown Sugar
½C -Sugar
1 -Egg
1 tsp -Vanilla

Dry Ingredients
1½C -Flour
1tsp -Baking Soda
1tsp -Salt
1tsp -Cinnamon
¼ tsp -Nutmeg

Oats & More
3C -Oats
1C -Craisins


In separate bowl combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

In another bowl combine all of the wet ingredients blend well.

Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixing in between.

Once all is blended well add the oats one cup at a time mixing after each addition.

Once the oats are mixed in add the craisins and nuts and whatever else.
Mix well.

Spoon onto a lined cookie sheet. You can fit about 20 cookies onto a sheet. A double batch yields over 100 cookies.

Bake at 350º for about 12-15mins or until golden brown.

Pumpkin Buns

I found this one on Lisa's Craft & Food Blog. She has some great ideas and recipes you should look through.

I am always looking for new ways to use pumpkin so I HAD to post this one. Enjoy!

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 15 oz. solid packed pumpkin
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt

Filling: 1/2 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze: 2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons milk

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in karge bowl. Add 1 teaspoon sugar; let stand til foamy, about 5 minutes. Beat in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, the eggs, butter and pumpkin.

Gradually add 5 cups of the flour and the salt, scraping side of bowl, until soft dough forms. Turn out onto floured surface and knead remaining 1/2 cup flour onto dough. Dough will be soft.

Grease a bowl; add dough. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 1/4 hours.

Coat 2 13x10 inch baking pans with nonstick cooking spray. Make filling: Mix butter, sugar and brown sugars, cinnamon in a bowl.

Punch down dough. Roll out half onto lightly floured surface to form a 16x10 inch rectangle. Spread with half of filling. Starting on one long side, roll up jelly roll fashion. Pinch seam to close. Repeat with second half of dough and filling.

Cut each log crooswise into 12 generous 1 inch pieces. Arrange 12 pieces, cut side down, in each prepared pan. Cover with plastic; let sit in a warm spot until buns double in size, about 30-45 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover pans and bake buns until they are golden brown and bubbly, 28-33 minutes. Tranfer to wire rack; let cool 10 minutes.

Glaze: Blend confectioners sugar and milk. Drizzle over buns. Serve warm.

Rainbow Cake

Well I've posted about the Rainbow (Tie-Dye) Cookies so now it's time for a Rainbow Cake!

My friend posted all the steps you need to know to make this beautifully FUN cake that even the kids can help you with!


Rainbow Cake

Quick & Easy Taco Salad

This one comes from my mom. Super simple, fast, and easy! Just the way we like it, right?!

*1lb Cooked & drained hamburger
1pkt Taco Seasoning
1 Head lettuce
2 Roma Tomatoes diced
1 pkg Shredded Mexican Cheese
1000 Island Salad Dressing
1 Bag Doritos
Sour Cream

If you haven't already cooked and frozen your hamburger so it's ready to use then you'll have to cook your hamburger and season it now with the Taco Seasoning. Otherwise take your bagged frozen hamburger out open it and add the taco seasoning and then nuke it for 2½mins. Shake to mix the seasoning in and around and nuke again for 2½mins again. Hamburger should be thuroughly heated. If not continue to cook for 1 min incriments.

Shred or cut your lettuce up for the salad and place into a large bowl.

Dice your roma tomatoes and add to the salad bowl. Roma tomatoes have less seeds and "juice" which make them ideal for this.

Add to the salad bowl the seasoned hamburger, shredded cheese (reserve some for toppings) and 1000 Island salad dressing and mix well.

Crush the Dorito chips and add to the salad before serving and stir again.

Serve with a dollup of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese and you are set!

This was one of my favorite dinners my mom made and now it's one of my kids favorites.

*Change it up with some chicken instead of hamburger and make it a little healthier and add a different taste.

(picture coming soon)

Chicken Asiago Orzo Pasta

Ingredients
2 cup water
2 (16-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
24 ounces skinned, boned chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
2 ½ cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Asiago cheese, divided
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried rosemary, basil, or oregano
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Preparation
Combine water and broth in a big pot; bring to a boil. Add chicken and pasta; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in peas, 1/4 cup cheese, salt, herbs, and pepper. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.

Click HERE to watch this dish be made by http://foodwishes.blogspot.com

Breakfast Casserole

A large family rarely can afford those quick grab & go breakfast sandwiches or toaster meals. Still when we were a smaller family we did like them from time to time. But once we out grew them I came up with my own version that has become a timeless classic for our family.

This dish is super simple and completely versatile.

There are 2 main parts to this dish. The egg base and the bread base.

First, the Egg Base:
Scramble some eggs together. For our family this is about 12-18 eggs.
Add favorite extras - for example:
*sausage
*bacon
*cheese
*green pepper
*red pepper
*onion
*ham
*turkey
*broccoli

Mix whatever you want together and then put into a 9x13 baking dish.
Add a layer of your favorite cheese and then top with 1 package of cressant rolls, unrolled flat on top of eggs.

Bake at 350º until golden brown and serve!

Yep, it's that simple!

The fun part of this breakfast is there is no need for toast and for some reason the cressant rolls add to the fullness of the meal so the dish lasts longer than regular eggs.

Peach Melba

Ok I love The Food Network and as you can tell my most recent entries have been from said site/channel. I love finding those easy, simple recipes that help me to try new things or add to my menus. This Peach Melba one really struck me as a simple, easy family dessert that could easily be treasured for years to come. We love peaches and this recipes makes it easy to add to a menu with some fun and flair.

Ingredients

Peaches:
3 cups water
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
8 peaches

Raspberry sauce:
3 cups raspberries
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

To serve:
1 large tub vanilla ice

Directions
Put the water, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla pod into a wide saucepan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Bring the pan to the boil and let it bubble away for about 5 minutes, then turn the heat down to a fast simmer.

Cut the peaches in half, and if the stones come out easily then remove them, if not then you can get them out later. Poach the peach halves in the sugar syrup for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side depending on the ripeness of the fruit. Test the cut side with the sharp point of a knife to see if they are soft, and then remove them to a plate with a slotted spoon.

When all the peaches are poached, peel off their skins and let them cool (then you can remove any remaining stones). If you are making them a day in advance then let the poaching syrup cool and then pour into a dish with the peaches. Otherwise just bag up the syrup and freeze it for the next time you poach peaches.

To make the raspberry sauce, liquidize the raspberries, confectioners' sugar, and lemon juice in a blender or a food processor. Sieve to remove the pits and pour the puree into a jug.

To assemble the Peach Melba, allow 2 peach halves per person and sit them on each plate alongside a scoop or 2 of ice cream. Spoon the raspberry sauce over each.