Tropical Paradise Smoothie

Frozen strawerries, mangos, pineapples, and peaches (I buy a blend of these fruits by Dole at Walmart)
Knudsen's Coconut Pineapple juice (main ingredients: pineapple, apple, and white grape juice, coconut milk, creamed coconut)

Blend ingredients
Devour the deliciousness

Orange Julius

1/2 can frozen orange juice concentrate (6 oz)

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

lots of ice

Blend it all together, adding ice cubes a few at a time until you reach the consistency you want

*variations- add 1 cup water, add 1/2 cup sugar, add half regular sugar and half powdered sugar

German Pancakes

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
butter

Beat the eggs with the sugar. Stir in flour and beat until smooth. Pour in the milk and beat again. Heat a non-stick skillet (I bought a small crepe skillet that I love) and melt a small amount of butter with it.

Pour enough of the pancake batter onto the skillet to cover the whole pan in a thin layer. Once the edges have tiny bubbles, it's time to flip.

Use a large spatula for this. It doesn't take much time on the second side. Continue baking the rest of the pancakes like this.

The pancakes do not fluff up like typical American-style pancakes.

Top with your choice of applesauce, cinnamon sugar or syrup. After adding topping, fold pancakes in half with the topping on the inside and lightly sprinkle cinnamon sugar over top.

I used cinnamon and agave as well as making whipped cream. They were sooooo good. Halfing the recipe made about 7 with my little skillet, which was enough for me and Cory for breakfast.

Found here.

Chicken Peanut Thai Noodles

Yes, this dish will kill some of our family members, but maybe you could try it with sunbutter?? Anyway, I thought everyone else should enjoy this as much as I do.

Originates here.

1 lb whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
½ Cup smooth peanut butter
¼ Cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 Cup hot water
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ Cup finely chopped white onion
½ Cup finely chopped red or orange bell pepper (I used 1/2 of a green pepper and 1/2 of a red pepper, and next time I would use more, but I didn't finely chop them either)
1 Cup cooked, shredded chicken breast
¼ Cup finely chopped cilantro leaves (Cory and I don't like cilantro, so I only added 1/8 cup, and it was great)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
¼ Cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped (optional) (I love these)
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

1. Cook noodles according to package. Drain, rinse with cold water, place in large pasta bowl and toss with sesame oil. Set aside.

2. Place garlic and ginger in food processor until well chopped. Add peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Pulse until well combined and slowly add hot water. Set aside.

3. Place olive oil in hot skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in chicken breast, cilantro and salt. Stir until heated through. (I cut up 3 raw chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and cooked them with the peppers and onions after they were almost done, THEN I added the cilantro).

4. Add sauce and chicken mixture to noodles. Toss to coat and garnish with peanuts and sesame seeds if desired.

6 servings

For leftovers you may need a little extra sauce, so do this - mix 1 Tbsp water, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon peanut butter in a small dish. Drizzle over hot noodles. The peanut butter melts when you mix it in the noodles.

Easy pizza

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons honey

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, honey and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
4. I covered mine with sauteed zucchini, squash, and onions, and slightly cooked chicken. I should have made the dough a lot thinner, but it was still good and easy. I'm sure Tripp has a much much better recipe :).
   

Biscuits

I made these this morning and it didn't take very long and they were really good. I used whole wheat flour to make them a little healthier :)

2 1/2 cups (325 grams) all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon (14 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Topping:

1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (use pastry blender, two knives, or fingertips). Add the milk and slightly beaten egg and stir until just combined. (The texture should be sticky, moist and lumpy.)

Place mixture on a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently until it comes together and is a smooth dough.

Roll out dough to 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thickness. Cut out biscuits with a lightly floured round cookie cutter. Place on prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with the beaten egg and milk mixture and bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the biscuit comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Serve warm with butter.

Makes about 12 3-inch (7.5 cm) biscuits.

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

I got this great recipe for aspargus here! She has lots of pictures (and tons more amazing recipes) so I highly recommend checking it out.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Take a bunch of asparagus and, after washing, cut off the bottom inch or so. Pat dry well.

Spread it all out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.

Generously drizzle olive oil over them all (4-5 Tbs).

Sprinkle generously with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes (I accidentally left mine in a few minutes too long and they were kinda floppy, but still really good).

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups diced celery
• 1 cup diced onion
• 3 cups baby carrots, chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 pound chopped, cooked chicken meat
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen corn kernels
• salt and pepper to taste
• seasoned salt to taste
• 1 cube chicken bouillon

DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix eggs and milk together until well beaten and then add salt and flour. Dough should be stiff. On a floured surface roll dough out really thin, 1/8 of an inch. Let dry 30 minutes and then cut into thin slices. Place on wax paper and let air dry.
2. In a large stock pot add chicken broth, celery, onion, baby carrots, and garlic. Fill stock pot, 2 inches from the top with water. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 2 hours.
3. Add chicken and corn. Season with salt, pepper, seasoning salt and chicken bouillon granules. Simmer for 30 minutes, checking to see if water level has decreased. Add water if needed.
4. Bring to a boil, add noodles, stirring often. Noodles should be done in 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I made this for dinner tonight and Josh declared it the best thing I've ever made....although he did fast all day today so that might have something to do with it;)

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1 large red potato - cubed
  
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (and some extra if you want it; see recipe below)
  
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, potatoes and celery. Add water and/or extra chicken broth to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Prick one of the crusts with a fork and cook for about 5-6 minutes.
5. Mix the sauce and the chicken and veggies together and add a little extra chicken broth if it's not saucy enough for you.
6. Pour the filling into the cooked crust and cover with the uncooked crust. Seal the edges and cut slits in the top for steam.
   
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. (Mine only cooked for a little over 20 minutes before the top crust was really brown.)
   

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.