A Taste of Thai

Well I am no cook =), but just wanted to let you know that the "Taste of Thai" products make some pretty descent Thai Food. I used their peanut sauce and added carrots, chopped peanuts, sprouts and green beans. Here's a pic:

P.S. We had Edamame and Egg drop soup as side dishes

Raspberry bars

This is the easiest dessert you will ever come by :), Karen

1 roll of refrigerated sugar cookies
1 bag of white chocolate chips
1 cup of raspberry jam, warm it
1 T veg. oil

soften the tube of refrig. sugar cookies to room temp. slice a hole in one end of the tube. Squeeze the dough into a 9 x 13 in. pan...press the dough to cover the ungreased pan. (flour your fingers a bit)
Evenly spread 1/2 the bag of white chocolate chips on the dough.
Bake this at 350 deg. for 15-17 min...to lightly browning.
Take out, pour the cup of jam over the white chips, smooth it out.
Bake another 10-12 min. til edges slightly brown
Mix remaining chips with oil, microwave 45 sec...stir til blended, drizzle at angles over the bars.
cool before serving...excellent!!

Another yumm pasta dish

Not bad, coming from an Atkins fan....two pasta posts in one day!!
Karen

Nutty Pasta (a great vegetarian entree)
8 oz Spinach Linguini
1/4 cup Olive Oil to cover pasta when cooked
1 Stick of butter
1 clove fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 C each of sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and chopped walnuts
Salt and pepper to taste
I/2 C Italian bread crumbs
1/2 - 3/4 C Fresh chopped parsley
8 oz cream cheese in 1 inch cubes,
Cook Liguini , mix with olive oil and set aside.Melt butter in a skillet, Mix in garlic and nuts and sauteMix in in bread crumbs - mixture should be slightly thickRemove from heat and mix into pasta, Add the fresh parsley and stir in the cream cheese.

Grown Up Mac and Cheese

Hi folks...
don't waste this yummy dish on kids :)

Smoky Mac and Cheese
1/2# each, mild Italian Sausage, and lean ground beef
3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (12 oz)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream Substitute evap. non fat milk, for lower fat recipe
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
8 oz smoked Cheddar cheese, shredded (in my deli case, it is Hoffmans smoked Cheddar)
2cans (14.5 oz each) Muir Glen® organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, well drained Natural food aisle...it matters, these have a smoky flavor)
1/4 cup sliced green onions (4 medium)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons olive oil
Preparation Directions
1. Cook and drain fat from meats.
Cook and drain macaroni as directed on box. Return to saucepan; keep warm.
2.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 2-quart saucepan, heat cream, mustard, salt and red pepper to boiling. Reduce heat; stir in Cheddar cheese with wire whisk until smooth. Pour sauce over macaroni. Stir in tomatoes and onions. Pour into baking dish. In small bowl, stir together Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs; stir in oil. Sprinkle over top of macaroni mixture.
3.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are bubbly and top is golden brown.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 18-23 min.
Success Tip:
Be sure to use whipping cream when making the sauce for this decadent mac 'n cheese. Milk or half-and-half are more likely to curdle when combined with acidic ingredients like tomatoes, unless you use NF evap milk, which doesn't curdle, or non fat half and half (what is that stuff)

Apple Dip

Beware!!! This dip is addicting!!!

2 pkg cream cheese
1 TB vanilla
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp milk
1/2 bag heath bits

Slightly soften cream cheese and whip until smooth. Add vanilla, brown sugar, milk, and mix. Add heath bits and mix. Great with any kind of apples!

Out of this World Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay so I know everyone has their favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe but this is my fav!

1 c crisco
1/2 c butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 TB vanilla
2 tsp hot water
4 1/2 c flour
1 pkg chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, crisco, and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, and hot water. Mix dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture. Mix well and then add chocolate chips. Drop on a ungreased cookie sheet and cook for 7-10 minutes.

Baked Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes and Pears

I normally don't like sweet potatoes but I love them in this recipe!!!

2 cans 15 oz sweet potatoes, drained
1 can 15 oz pears, drained
1/3 c chopped pecans
1/3 c brown sugar
3 T plus 1/2 cup flour
2 eggs beaten
1 c Italian bread crumbs
1 T McCormick chicken herb seasoning
4 pork chops 3/4 inch thick

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 8-inch square baking dish, combine pears and sweet potatoes. In a small bowl, combine pecans, brown sugar, 3 TB flour and the butter to make a paste. Crumble mixture over pears and sweet potatoes and set aside.

Spray roasting rack then place on baking pan. Place eggs in a bowl. Place 1/2 cup flour on another bowl. Mix bread crumbs and herb seasoning and place in another bowl. Dredge pork chops into flour, then egg mixture, and last bread crumbs. Arrange chops on rack in prepared pan and coat lightly with cooking spray.

Bake chops alongside sweet potatoes and pears for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Black Bean Soup

This is so good and so easy. We just started a dinner group in our ward so if there are good recipes I'll pass them along.

1 cup jarred tomato salsa (plus extra for garnish)
2 15 1/2ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth

Optional Toppings
sour cream
cheese
tortilla chips
lime

Heat the salsa in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently for about 5 min. Stir in beans and broth, then heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 min. Cool slightly then spoon half the soup in to a food processor or blender and puree. Return the pureed soup to the saucepan and heat through. Serve with sour cream, tortilla strips, salsa, and lime.

Serves 4

Pastrami & Swiss on Rye

We ordered this at Schlotzsky's Deli & decided to make it ourself. It's just a simple sandwich that's really tasty!

Ingredients:
rye bread
turkey pastrami
sliced swiss cheese
spicy brown mustard

You just broil on high in your oven, only bread first (2 slices). Then put on the cheese & meat each on their own slice of bread, broil. Put the mustard on & combine both slices. You only need to broil for maybe 2 minutes each time.

White Chicken Chili

I just tried this new recipe out tonight, very good, but very spicy (& I like spicy stuff)!!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
3 (15 ounce) cans white beans
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:
1.Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2.Remove the mixture from heat. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Serve warm.

Changes coming

I will be gone for about a month to California and then to Idaho. When I get back I hope to organize the recipes into categories so they will be easier to find. I will also add some yummy recipes that I've been excited to post. See you all then!

Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago Cheese

1 pound fusilli pasta (that's the curly kind)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 mince garlic clove
1 bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped (big pieces)
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (I just used the cheap Kraft)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
(I added chicken that had been cooked in Fat Free Italian dressing and cubed - I always have some in my freezer so it didn't add any time)

Brink a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite (8-10 minutes). Drain pasta but keep 1/2 cup of the liquid.

Meanwhile, microwave precooked chicken (or cook chicken). Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Turn down heat to medium and add the spinach and tomatoes and cook until the spinach wilts (just a bit) - about two minutes. Add cooked pasta and chicken and toss. Add the cheeses, salt, pepper and the pasta cooking liquid. Stir and serve. Yummy.

OK - so I'm finally making a contribution! This is a recipe that I am using all the time these days. You would be surprised just how easy and versatile this recipe is. Plain yogurt can often be substituted for sour cream in recipes. Mix it with fruit, make smoothies - there's just all kinds of stuff you can do!

Traditional Yogurt

3 1/2 cups milk (I just make powdered milk - great way to use the food storage and your taste buds won't know the difference - really!)
1/4 - 1/2 cup powdered milk (in addition to what you may have just used - this makes the yogurt thicker)

Place in a microwave safe bowl (I use my 1.5 quart pyrex casserole), place in microwave and bring to a boil. This takes 10-12 minutes. This is to get rid of any possibility of undesirable bacteria. After the milk has come to a boil let the milk cool to 115 - 120 F.

In a small bowl place a couple of heaping tablespoons of live culture yogurt - doesn't have to be fancy, just make sure that the yogurt says, "live culture yogurt," on the container. I've used the kids stuff in the tubes before to start my yogurt! Pour a little of the warm milk in with the yogurt and mix, then return to the main container. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap and incubate for 6-8 hours at 110-115 F. The longer you incubate, the more sour tasting the yogurt will be. After the yogurt has reached the desired thickness, store in the refridgerator.

Incubation: You do not need to have anything fancy to incubate your yogurt. Basically, you need a source of heat (very low heat) and insulation. I use a heating pad on the lowest setting inside my insulated carrying case for my 9 x 13 pyrex pan. I've heard of people putting the yogurt inside the oven with the oven light on (just don't forget it's in there and turn on the oven!). I've also heard of people using a cooler with a heating pad inside.

Orange Julius

1 (6 ounce) can orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk (do not use skim milk)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 T sugar
8 ice cubes


Place all ingredients except for the ice cubes into a blender.
Add the ice cubes one by one until smooth. If you have a Bosch then just throw in all the ice cubes.
Serve immediately-- enjoy!

Orange Rage

Okay so I was REALLY upset when I found out that they don't have any Jamba Juice's in the Fort. So I purchased the book Jamba Juice Power and it has a lot of amazing smoothies. Here's one of my favs.

Orange Rage
1 cup orange juice
1 small banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 container of vanilla yogurt
6-7 ice cubes

Blend together. If you would like to use fresh strawberries, then use 1 cup of nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt instead of the container of yogurt.