Fondue

I have not actually made this, but a friend of mine sent me this and said it was just as good as the stuff she's had at the Melting Pot, I'm going to try it sometime soon hopefully!

2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced (Tripp would probably use more since he's obsessed with garlic ;o)
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp black pepper
2 cans beef broth (I used Campbell's, which is what the original recipe recommended)
1 packet French onion soup mix (I used Lipton Recipe Secrets Beefy Onion)
Half a bottle of dry red wine (I used Merlot)

Mix all ingredients in a medium saucepan and simmer 1 hour. Bring broth to a boil when ready to start cooking. Yummmmm!!!!

Easy Southern BBQ

What you need: 1 pork tenderloin, 1 bottle of bbq sauce, 1 crockpot

What you do: Put pork tenderloin and bbq sauce in crockpot, cook all day, shred and serve.

Seriously, it's that easy.

Ok, here's a little more detail: I buy the two pack of pork tenderloin at cosco. I use one and freeze the other. I use Trader Joe's bbq sauce but you can use any kind (or make your own if you're Tripp). The first time I made it, the pork was not frozen, I put it in with most of the bottle of sauce and cooked on low for 5 hours, shredded it, added the rest of the sauce, and cooked on high for 2-3 more hours. The second time I made it the pork was frozen so I cooked on high for the first 3 hours (with most of the sauce in it) and then low for the next 5-6 hours. I shredded it and added the rest of the sauce about an hour before it was done. Both times tasted exactly the same (and were delicous). I'm pretty sure you can't mess this recipe up so do it however you want.

Orange Chicken!

Made this in my cooking class at BYU, really tasty.

4 chicken breast halves
1 beaten egg
1 Tbs water
1/4 c. cornstarch
2 Tbs butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. orange juice
1/4 c. vinegar
1 Tbs cornstarch in 2 Tbs water

Dip chicken pieces in egg wash made of beaten egg and water, then coat with cornstarch. Brown with butter until golden brown and place in shallow baking pan or casserole. Combine remaining ingredients except cornstarch and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch slurry as needed for a thin sauce. Adjust seasonings. Pour over chicken pieces and bake, covered, for 20 minutes, then remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Yield: 4 servings

I serve it with rice!

Cinnamon Rolls

Mmmm, I got this recipe here, a great food blog! My frosting was in the fridge overnight and we didn't have powdered sugar, so we took regular sugar and put it in the food processor :), so it didn't spread as nicely as hers does, but they were really really good! I kept eating the frosting by itself. Nothing like butter, sugar, and cream cheese.

Ingredients:
DOUGH:

4 cups flour (I sift 4 cups of whole wheat flour)
1/2 oz yeast
1/2 cup hot water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt

FILLING:
1/2 cup butter, creamed (which apparently means mix it for 10 minutes with a little sugar)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve 2 packages of yeast in 1/2 cup of very warm (not more than about 100F) water and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let sit. In a small saucepan, warm butter and milk to about 100F. Using an electric mixer with a dough hook (or by hand with a spatula) combine dissolved yeast and the butter mixture on low. Slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar, then the egg.
Add salt and 2 cups of flour on low, mix until smooth. Slowly mix in the remaining 2 cups of flour. The mixture should become a sticky dough at this time. Scrape out the dough onto floured counter top. Knead dough until it doesn't stick to your hands, adding small amounts of flour (up to 1/2 cup) as needed.
Place in a greased bowl. Cover with damp cloth and let rise for about 45 minutes or until it doubles in size. Preheat oven to 350. Remove dough from bowl and place on a floured counter. Roll out in a 12 by 24 inch rectangle. The dough should be about an inch thick.
Using your fingers or a spatula, spread 1/2 cup of the very soft, creamed butter over dough. In small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough. Roll dough into a tight log. Cut into 1 inch thick slices.
Place in 2 ungreased, 9 inch round cake pans, forming a circle with one roll in the middle. Allow to rise about 1/2 hour until they are about level to the top of the cake pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, then test for doneness. Pay careful attention to the creases where the rolls touch each other. Return to oven 5-10 additional minutes as needed. Remove to a wire rack or invert on a plate and ice.

Cream Cheese icing

Ingredients:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly. Spread over warm sweet rolls.

Before:
After:

That Wife's Bean Soup

This is from my friend Jenna. I made it and it was really good!

Ingredients

(All ingredients are optional and interchangeable. Go ahead, mix it up a little bit!)

Lots of cans of beans (In this batch I used chickpeas, black, kidney, pinto, and ranch style)
1 Can of crushed tomatoes
1 Onion, diced
1 Packet of ranch salad dressing mix (the dry stuff)
1 Packet of onion soup and dip mix

Directions

1. Find a really big pot.
2. Pour some water in the pot. I probably use like 6 cups or something (I'd suggest using more than this, at least a cup or 2 more).
3. Pour all of the beans in the pot, with their liquid, except the black beans (you should drain and rinse those).
4. Add everything else to the pot.
5. Boil for hours. I’m not joking, for hours. Once I boiled it for 4 hours. Just boil it down so that it is nice and thick and a little bit salty. Stir often enough that it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pot because then it tastes bad.

Nutrition Stats

(As weighed, measured, and calculated by me)
Serving Size: 1/2 lb, or 8 oz

Calories: 209
Fat: 2g
Sat Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 513 g (This number may be off because I’m not sure that it includes the salt used in the preservation of the beans)
Potassium: 501 mg
Carbohydrate: 38g
Dietary Fiber: 11g
Protein: 11g

Dinner Rolls

I made these tonight and they were so good. Not healthy, but good :). I halved it and made a little more than 2 dozen, which 6 people devoured (made it with the taco soup).

1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbs yeast
2 cups scalded milk (microwave 1 min per cup or do this) cooled for 5 minutes
1/4-1/2 c. sugar
1/4-1/2 c. butter
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
5-6 c. bread flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Set aside. Combine scalded milk, sugar, butter, and salt with 3 c. flour. Beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and dissolved yeast, then add additional flour to make a soft dough. Knead well. Let rise until double (30-45 minutes). Shape as desired. Let rise again. Bake dinner rolls at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Yield: 4 dozen dinner rolls.