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Showing posts from April, 2010

Homemade Hamburger Buns

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1 cup milk 1 cup warm water 2 Tbls butter 1 Tbls white sugar 1 1/2 tsp salt 5 1/2 cups bread flour 1 envelope yeast (about 2-1/2 tsp) 1 egg yok 1 Tbls water Combine the water and yeast, allow to proof for 5-10 minutes. Add all ingredients (except for egg yolk & 1 Tbls water) to mixer with dough hook attached, knead for 5 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down and divide into 12 portions. They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls out of the odugh by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching at the bottom. Place on baking sheet. After the dough sits for a few minutes flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3-4 inches wide. Let rise until double in size, about 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix egg yolk and 1 Tbls water and brush ont othe tops o fthe rolls. Position 2 oven racks so they are not too close to the top or bottom of the oven. Bake for 10 minu

Creamy Cilantro Dressing

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1 16 oz jar of La Victoria green salsa (or any green salsa with tomatillo as main ingredient) 1 pkg buttermilk ranch dressing (dry) 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise 1/2 cup buttermilk (or regular milk) 1 cup fresh cilantro 2 cloves pressed garlic 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp salt 2 T fresh lime juice 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 cup sugar few drops tabasco sauce (optional) Blend all together in blender until smooth and creamy. According to Jeremy this is the best dressing in the world. You can use this lots of ways, use your sweet pork to make a salad and use this for the dressing, I used this instead of sour cream in my sweet pork burrito. So delicious, and a tad bit spicy!

Lime Rice

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2 T butter 1 1/4 cup rice 2 1/4 cup chicken broth 3/4 tsp salt Pepper Juice & zest of 1 large or 2 small limes 2 T chopped cilantro In a skillet melt butter with rice, add liquid, and other ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 min. Oops, I added too much salt (didn't measure) and didn't cook long enough (didn't use a timer), but it was still yummy. Will have to make again using the right measurements and timing! Also, I added this to my sweet pork burrito, so good!

Sweet Pork

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4-8 lbs pork roast 40 oz tomato sauce 3 tsp pressed garlic cloves 1 1/2 to 3 cups brown sugar 4 tsp cumin 4 cups Dr Pepper 2 to 4 T. molasses 1/2 tsp salt pepper to taste Place all ingredients (except pork) into LARGE crockpot. Stir. Place pork into crockpot, turn over so it is covered in the sauce. I turned my roasts every hour, so one side wasn't out of the sauce all day. Cook on low for about 8-9 hours. Pull apart with fork when done cooking, letting the meat sit in the sauce. I used about 6-7 pounds of pork roast (the ones you can buy at Costco for $2/pound) and 3 cups of the brown sugar (I wanted it sweet!). I used caffeine free Dr. Pepper, too. Mmm, mmmm, so yummy! Be warned, this makes A LOT. Perfect for a large crowd, or freezer the leftover for later meals. Serve this any way you want, we did it with tortillas and hamburger buns (will post my recipe).

Mushroom Ravioli with Butter Sauce

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(image & recipe from here ) I saw mushroom ravioli at Costco and it sounded like something Jeff would like so I decided to try them and Jeff loved it and I thought they were pretty good. This is how I served them: 1 package of mushroom ravioli 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped 1-2 garlic cloves, minced 4 tablespoons pine nuts 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg grated Parmesan Melt the butter in a small pan over med/medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, you want it to turn golden. Add the fresh basil and garlic, fry for about 2 minutes. Add pine nuts and nutmeg. Then I prepared the ravioli according to the directions. (I had my water boiling before I started the sauce) Then spoon butter sauce on top of ravioli and sprinkle Parmesan on top and serve.

Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Chicken

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I got this recipe from Tiffany's blog (http://tiffskitchen.blogspot.com/) and we had it with Josh and Meagan. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Meagan suggested that some green onion would be a tasty addition as well as breading the chickens after putting them all together may add a nice crunch to them. Ingredients: Chicken breasts Deli Ham slices Cheddar cheese block 1 pkg. cream cheese 1 pkg regular bacon (the cheap stuff works best) Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pound chicken breasts SUPER thin...even to the point where it's tearing a bit. Place a piece of ham, a sliver of cheese block (as much as you want) and a ribbon of cream cheese on the raw chicken. Roll up tightly. Start at one end with a piece of bacon and secure it with a toothpick. Spiral wrap the bacon around the chicken and pin end with another toothpick. (Try to close the ends so the filling doesn't seep out). Place chicken in a non-greased dish (I use a 13x9 glass dish) and bake for about 30 minutes o

Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

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(image & recipe taken from delish.com) We just tried these with a few adjustments and really enjoyed them. Good for warm weather food. I'll give you the original recipe and then write what we did. Serves 4, takes about 30 min Ingredients 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 tablespoon canola or olive oil 2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce ( I used a serrano pepper, because I didn't have cannec chipotle chiles) (I added 1/2 - 1 tsp hot sauce) 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups shredded red cabbage 1 medium carrot, shredded 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I think I did more like 1/3 cup) 1 can (15 ounce) white beans, rinsed 1 ripe avocado 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (we did more, maybe 3/4 cup) 2 tablespoons minced red onion 4 whole wheat tortillas (or any kind of tortilla/wrap, and we had enough for more than 4) Directions 1. Whisk vinegar, oil, chipotle chile and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage, carrot and cilantro; toss to combine. 2. Mash beans an

Almond Squares

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(image from allrecipes.com) I made these for a church thing back in September. These turned out good & easy. I cut out about 1/3 cup sugar and some of the butter and they turned out good. (a sister in the ward didn't cut the sugar and thought hers turned out too sugary) I'll post the original recipe though and you can decide if you want to make any adjustments. Prep: 25 minutes Bake: 20 minutes Broil: 1 minute Oven: 350 degrees Servings: 32 bars Ingredients: 2 eggs 1 C sugar 1 C butter, melted (you can also use margarine, but I suggest only for half of the amount) 1 C flour 1/2 C butter 1/2 sugar 1/2 sliced almonds 1 T flour 1T milk 1 - Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and lightly flour a 13x9x2 inch baking pan; set aside 2 - For crust, in a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs and the 1 C sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 8 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Stir in the 1 cup melted butter and the 1 cup flour. Pour into prepared pan. 3 - Bake for 2

Pancit

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This is a Filipino dish that's as common as burger and fries here in the states. (only better for you) You can change this recipe to any liking these are just some basic instructions. However, the noodles are best when you use the ones requested here. 4 cloves garlic minced 1/2 onion, sliced thin 1/2 cup chicken breast, sliced (you can use shrimp or tofu for vegetarian) 1/2 cabbage,sliced thin (napa is good) 2 carrots, sliced thin 1 celery stalk, sliced thin bean sprouts if you'd like soy sauce 1 can of chicken or vegetable broth (14 oz) 1 package rice sticks (8 oz) they are in the Asian section and they are clear looking lemon or lime sliced salt and pepper to taste In a large frying pan, saute garlic and onion, then add chicken or what ever you're using. Add cabbage, carrots, celery. Pour in half of the broth and simmer until veggies are crisp. If using rice sticks; Soak sticks in water to soften. In a wok or similar pan, add a little oil and saute th