Nana's Baked Beans

INGREDIENTS

1 c. onion, chopped

5 (15 oz) cans pork and beans

1 (15 oz) can chili

3/4 c. brown sugar

2 T. molasses

1/2 c. ketchup

1 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled

DIRECTIONS

Sauté onion in 2 T. oil. Combine pork and beans, chili, brown sugar, molasses, ketchup, sautéed onion and bacon in a large bowl. Pour into a large casserole dish and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours. (can also be cooked in a crockpot)

Riley's Alfredo Recipe

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
2 T. white base soup mix or substitute with cream cheese
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste (around 1/4 tsp. or less of each)
2/3 c. dry grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
In medium sized pan, melt butter and then add minced garlic.  Stir, and then add the white base soup mix or cream cheese. Stir in heavy whipping cream, garlic powder, grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes on low heat, stirring consistently. Do not let temperature rise more than 165 degrees or soup will break. If sauce is too thin, you can add more parmesan cheese or slowly dissolve a simple rue. Let stand for 3-5 minutes before serving to let sauce thicken up.

Simple rue (only if needed): Mix 3 T. room temperature softened butter and 3 T. all-purpose flour. Whisk and dissolve into hot sauce to help thicken.

Tayler’s Solid Chocolate Cake

Tayler REALLY wanted a solid chocolate cake for her birthday this year. We melted chocolate bars and filled 2 lined cake pans with melted chocolate. After the chocolate was re-set we removed them from the pans and set one on top of the other.

 Tayler thought it would be fun to use Kit Kat bars to line the outside of the cake so we used melted chocolate to "glue" the Kit Kat bars to the cake.

The cake needed color so we thought it would be fun to added red sprinkles, Hersey's hugs and chocolate covered strawberries.  She LOVED her cake and we had fun making it together.

Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings

INGREDIENTS
Frozen Chicken Wings
Canola or Vegetable oil
Salt
Pepper

Franks Hot Sauce
Ranch or Bleu Cheese dressing

DIRECTIONS 
Turn oven on to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Dump chicken wings into a separate bowl and pour 2-4 T. oil over chicken wings (depending on how many you plan to cook). Season chicken with salt and pepper and toss until chicken is evenly coated. Take chicken pieces out of the bowl and line them onto cookie sheet. Place in oven and cook for approximately 1 1/2 hrs. We like our chicken wings crispy on the outside and well done. If using thawed chicken wings, reduce cook time to approx. 40 minutes. Drizzle Franks sauce over chicken pieces and eat with preferred salad dressing.

Garlic Bubble Bread

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. frozen Rhodes rolls, thawed
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/4 tsp. dried basil, crushed
2 T. fresh parsley, chopped
2 T. green onions, chopped
2 tsp. garlic, minced
1 T. parmesan cheese, freshly grated

DIRECTIONS
Grease bundt pan and arrange thawed rolls into the pan. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, basil, parsley, green onions and garlic. Pour over the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise until doubled in size.

Sprinkle cheese over bread. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a serving plate. Pull apart to serve.

Frito Corn Salad

 INGREDIENTS
2 cans corn (drained)
1 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. chopped red onion
1/2 c. chopped red and green bell pepper
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 T. finely chopped jalapeño (optional if you want to add some heat)

1 bag Chili Fritos

DIRECTIONS
Combine everything into a bowl except the Fritos. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Add Fritos at the last minute to avoid becoming soggy or serve Fritos on the side and add to individual plates as desired.

King Crab Legs

INGREDIENTS
thawed king crab legs
1 c. whole peppercorns
1 c. soy sauce

1/2 c. butter
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

We like to use a giant pot outside to cook crab legs. If allows you a lot of space to work with and doesn't smell the kitchen up with a fishy smell. Fill a large pot a little less than 3/4 full with water. Add peppercorns and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Add crab legs and cook for 5 minutes. Use large tongs to remove the crab legs and let rest in a colander for several minutes until you are able to hold them in your hands to crack the shell and pull out the meat. We like to use heavy duty kitchen shears to cut the shell and my husband does all the work so yay for the rest of us!!

Heat butter in a smaller bowl until melted and add lemon juice. Use this as a dipping sauce for your crab meat.

Arugula Salad

My current favorite salad is anything with Arugula. I love this recipe because it is healthy and light and I always find myself going back for another serving. 

INGREDIENTS
1 container Arugula
1 c. Fresh shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 c. Strawberries, sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Lemon

DIRECTIONS
For the dressing: Combine 1/3 c. EVOO, 1/3 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice, and freshly ground salt and pepper (to taste).

Add arugula, parmesan cheese and sliced strawberries to a bowl. Add desired amount of dressing to the salad or to individual servings on plates.

Funnel Cakes

INGREDIENTS

3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

3 eggs

2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Heat a dutch oven fry pan (or any other deep pan) with oil to fairly hot. 

Beat eggs and then add sugar and milk. In a separate bowl combine 2 cups flour, salt, and baking powder. Then add the flour mixture to the milk, sugar, and egg mixture.

Mix while adding more flour until the batter is smooth and not too thick. Your funnel should have an opening of at least 1/2 inch and be able to hold approximately 1 cup of batter. Put your finger over the bottom and add about a cup of batter. Remove your finger and allow the batter to pour into the center of the hot oil. Be careful! The hot oil may splash!

Gradually swirl the batter outward in a circular motion or criss-cross back and forth to make a cake about 7 to 8 inches around.

Check it with a pair of tongs and turn over when the bottom becomes golden brown.

When both sides are done, remove with tongs and let the funnel cake drip on a paper towel.

Serve with powdered sugar sprinkled on top, with your favorite fruit topping and whipped cream, or combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.

Makes 6-7 funnel cakes.

Better than "ANYTHING" Cake

One of my husband's favorite desserts! He reminded me that I made this for his birthday when we were engaged so 12 years later we made it for his birthday again! This time I had a cute helper to assist me. We always use Heathy candy bars for the topping but my husband's favorite candy bar is Butterfinger so this time we tried 1/2 and 1/2. Both were better than "ANYTHING". 

INGREDIENTS

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix (plus ingredients on the box)

1- 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 12 oz. jar or caramel sauce

1-8oz. tub cool whip

1 bag of Hersey's toffee bits (approx. 4-5 Heath bars or your favorite candy bar.)

DIRECTIONS

Bake cake in a 9x13 baking dish according to the directions on the box. Take the cake out of the oven and let cool.    

  

  

Using the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes into your cake. Lots of them!

Drizzle caramel sauce and sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake, letting the sauces soak into the holes. Make sure the cake is completely cooled and then spread cool whip over the top.

Crush candy bars and sprinkle on top of the cool whip. Refrigerate until ready to eat! 

Colleen's Whole Wheat Bread

A delicious homemade whole wheat bread recipe that you can make in a little over an hour! 

INGREDIENTS

5 c. hot water

1/2 c. canola or vegetable oil

1 T. salt

2/3 c. brown sugar or honey

1/2 c. powdered milk

3 T. dry yeast

10-12 c. fresh ground whole wheat flour

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, combine the water, oil, salt and powdered milk. Blend together well with beaters (or use your Bosch bread mixing bowl). Gradually add 5 cups of the whole wheat flour and then add 3 T. of dry yeast. Continue to add the flour 1 cup at a time until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for 10 minutes gradually adding additional flour if needed.

After kneading the dough, preheat oven to 150 degrees. Divide the dough into 4 to 5 loaves. Spray your loaf pans with Pam (or other vegetable spray). Shape loaves and place in loaf pans, turning loaf over one time (to coat with Pam). Turn off oven, place loaves into the oven. Allow bread to raise 20 minutes in the oven (time precisely- don't forget!).

After 20 minutes, turn the oven back on to 350 degrees and bake the bread for 30 minutes. Remove bread from pans immediately after taking pans from the oven. Place on a cooling rack and brush with butter if desired. Enjoy!

Crustless Quiche

Eating low carb in our house is not easy. I love breads, crusts and carbs. I love baking them and I love eating them! Whenever I try to go without, I think i'm going to die! This quiche recipe was super flavorful, healthy and low carb. I didn't miss the crust at all and I loved that I could pop the leftovers in the fridge and reheat them the next morning for breakfast. This recipe is so versatile that you can switch out the meat for sausage or bacon. Also we have fun mixing up the veggies for things we like such as spinach, mushrooms, onions or peppers. 

INGREDIENTS
1 c. lowfat cottage cheese
12 egg whites
1/2 c. broccoli, cooked and chopped
1/2 c. lean ham, diced
1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Spray a 9 1/2 inch pie dish and pour ingredients in. Bake for 45 minutes or until center is set.

Lilacs

One of my favorite times of the year is Spring when all the blossoms begin to emerge from their sleep. I LOVE lilacs! They are so full and fragrant and my favorite color has always been purple so I just think they are beautiful. My sweet neighbor across the fence grows the most beautiful lilac bushes and they always stretch higher than the fence spilling over into my backyard. We always get to enjoy the beautiful color and fragrance for a month or so. The kids love to help me cut and arrange bouquets to bring into the house. Enjoying a little bit of outdoors inside is so refreshing and just makes us all happy! 

The kids this year had fun helping to arrange some flowers from the yard to take to their teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. 

Lilacs come in an assortment of colors: pink, purple and white. Lilac bouquets usually don't last more that a couple days. One tip is to cut with the flowers when they are no more than a 1/2 inch open. Make sure the stems stay submerged in water and they will last longer if kept out of direct sunlight.