Garlic Chicken Pizza

One of my favorite pizzas and I'm so glad I can finally make it at home.  This was delicious and is definitely on my top pizzas list.

4 oz light cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup light sour cream (Daisy = all natural and no soy!)
2 cloves garlic, mashed or 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup cooked chicken, diced
1/2 cup red onion, cut in slices
1/2 tomato, diced
1/2 cup mushroom, sliced
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1 pizza crust (see my homemade pizza crust recipe)
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Slightly precook pizza crust (if it is fresh) in 425* oven for 7 minutes.

Mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, and garlic until smooth.
Spread on pizza crust.
Top with onion, tomato, mushrooms, cheeses and chicken.
Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Sweet Golden Cornbread

The yummiest cornbread I have ever had.  I love this stuff smothered in butter and honey... and now I think I need to bake me up a batch for dinner tonight... sure hope there is some left after I've taken a little taste...
 
1 c flour
1 c yellow cornmeal
1 c milk
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/3 c melter butter or oil

Allow cornmeal to soak in milk for 10 minutes.  Add additional ingredients and mix until well combined.
If you are going to cook this separately from your meal, you will want to cook this in a 400* oven for 20-25 min. or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.

Cowboy Cornbread Skillet Casserole

Big name for a big, delicious casserole.  We have fallen in love with this casserole.  It is so easy, versatile, and quick to make (and cheap! and who can deny cheap?).  So here you have it, let me know what you think.

1 lb ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper
1 can beans (baked, black, chili, or pinto)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
2 tsp flour
1 1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp beef bouillon or 1 bouillon cube
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp cumin
8.5 oz pkg cornbread mix or see my cornbread recipe

Brown ground beef and onion over medium high heat, until onion is translucent in a large oven proof skillet.
Add remaining ingredients and cook until heated through.
While this is cooking prepare cornbread mix according to directions, with the addition of an egg and 1/3 C milk.
Spoon cornbread over meat mixture and spread evenly.
Place skillet in oven and bake at 350* for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cornbread layer comes out clean.
*a few notes: I don't always have a bell pepper, so don't always use it.  The corn and tomatoes are optional.

Puff Pancakes

Today I was thinking I would add my kids' favorite breakfast item. It is referred to by many names: puff pancakes, dutch babies, german pancakes. No matter the name, they are pretty good and very simple to make.  My kids love watching it puff up and then deflate as it cooks.

1 1/2 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C milk
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar or honey
6 eggs
6 Tbsp butter

Turn on oven to 425*.
Place butter in 9 x 13 pan and place in oven and allow to melt.
While melting the butter, mix the remaining ingredients.
Pour over the melted butter and cook for 25 minutes.
*We like to sprinkle powdered sugar over it and then drizzle syrup over top.

Costa Vida/ Cafe Rio Sweet Pork copycat

I love both Costa Vida and Cafe Rio Sweet Pork burritos. Could eat them everyday, but unfortunately, because of Trae's allergies to their tortillas I don't get the opportunity to go there often. Here is a recipe I found to get that yummy stuff at home.

4-6 lbs pork roast (butt/shoulder works well)
19 oz. can red enchilada sauce
1 can or 20 oz Dr Pepper (NOT diet, I usually double this: see below)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 1/2 C brown sugar
1 can diced green chilies

You can cook this 2 different ways; crockpot or oven.
Crockpot: Place roast, dr pepper, salt, garlic salt in crockpot and cook on High for 4-6 hours. Take out of crockpot and shred. I usually will dump out the juices in the crockpot before putting the shredded meat back in. Pour Dr pepper, brown sugar, green chilies, and enchilada sauce on top and cook on high for another 30 minutes.
Oven: Season meat as desired and wrap in foil. Cook in 275* oven for 5 hours. Pull meat out and allow to cool slightly. While it cools mix remaining ingredients together. Shred meat and pour sauce on top and mix.

**Okay, so I've been trying something new with this recipe.  I've been cooking the meat in my crockpot as usual, but now I've started boiling the sauce ingredients on the stove until thickened.  Then I pour this over the shredded meat in the crockpot.  So yummy and the sauce actually sticks to the meat.  A must try!

Serve on salad or in tortillas with beans and your favorite toppings.

Thai-Style Ground Beef

I found this recipe, tried it and liked it. I think I was hesitant to try it because of the strange ingredients, but I was limited on time and refusing to head out to the grocery store where I knew I would buy more than I needed. So here it is, let me know what you think.

1 lb ground beef
onion, diced
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp curry or red curry paste
1 can tomato sauce
1 can coconut milk
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp grated lime rind (I don't always have a lime on hand & will use 1/2-1 tsp lime juice)
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce or asian fish sauce

Brown ground beef and onion over med-high heat.
Stir in remaining ingredients and cook for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
We serve this over hot, cooked white rice. (2 C rice/ 4 C water)

Corn Flake Cookies

We love cookies at our house, especially chocolate chip, but because of Trae's allergies we end up paying $7.98 for chocolate that Trae is able to eat for each batch of cookies. Not very economical and they are now sadly reserved for special treats. I'm always in search of a yummy cookie that doesn't call for chocolate chips. I think we have found a winner with these cornflake cookies. They are now one of my favorite cookies. Beware of eating too many due to a tummy ache and calories. ;)

1 C butter
1 C vegetable or canola oil  (we use canola)
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 C crushed cornflakes
1 C chopped nuts (optional)
1 C quick-cooking oats
3 1/2 C flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, sugar, egg, and then add in oil.
Mix in dry ingredients.
Form dough into walnut sized balls and flatten with fork.
Bake in 325* oven for 10-12 minutes.

Ham and Potato Soup

Because we are starting to get into the cooler weather, I thought I would post my family's most favorite potato soup recipe. We have even had success with converting soup haters into soup lovers with this recipe. Love, love, love it. We had it just last week. I will note that I usually double this soup for us and only end up with a smaller size tupperware bowl full left.

3 1/2 C peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 C diced celery
1/3 C chopped onion
3/4 C cooked ham
3 1/4 C water
2 Tbsp chicken bouillon granules (can replace with 4 cubes)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
5 Tbsp butter
5 Tbsp flour
2 C milk

Combine all items to the pepper in a stockpot, bring to boil, and then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender.
In separate sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk and continue stirring until thick, about 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into soup and cook until heated through and desired thickness.
Can sprinkle cheese on top as you are serving it up.

Scones / Navajo Tacos

Thanks to the reminder from our friends of the existence of Navajo Tacos, I went in search of a great scone recipe. I think I have found it with this one. For those that are not dealing with soy allergies, an easier solution would be to flatten refrigerated biscuits and fry. And don't forget to sweeten the extra scones with either honey butter or a butter, cinnamon and sugar mixture!

Scones:
2 1/2 C warm water
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
8 tsp oil
6 C flour

Combine first 3 ingredients and let rest 5 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, but add flour a little at a time until dough is no longer sticky ( I usually use the whole 6 cups)
Allow to rise 1 hour. (I find throwing it into a 100* oven works really well for this... remember to turn off oven once it has reached this temperature)
Break off pieces of dough that are about the size of an egg and "flatten out" with hands to around 1/4-1/2 inch thickness.
Deep fry until golden brown on both sides.

At this point you have some options, meaning, what to top them with...
2 cans chili (homemade is once again our friend here)
lettuce
onion
cheese
beans (black, chili, or pinto)
diced tomato
cheese
sour cream
guacamole
salsa

**A quick solution I usually use is to brown a lb ground beef and diced onions, then add a can of diced tomatoes (mexican flavored), spices, and black beans into a pan and top our tacos with this.

40 Minute Rolls/ Hamburger Buns

These are the easiest rolls ever and the fact that you only have to let them rest for 5 minutes makes them quick!  Make sure and pay special attention to the amount of yeast because that is no typo.

2 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 C warm water, plus
2 Tbsp warm water
1/3 C oil
1/4 C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3-3 1/2 C flour

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
Add oil and sugar and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Add egg, salt, and flour to form a soft dough.
Kneed on a floured surface for 3-5 minutes until dough is smooth.
Divide into 12 pieces and roll into balls.
Place on greased pan, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Bake at 425* for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Loosemeat Sandwiches

So one of my mother's favorite meals is sloppy joes, my least favorite meal is sloppy joes. Guess who won that war? Okay, so it might have been close to a tie, but maybe I pulled a little ahead after she "forced" me to eat it and I threw it all back up across her kitchen table. Yep, what memories. haha! My poor mother.
My children and husband love the sloppy joe, but I think I have only brought myself to make them once. We have finally come to an agreement and I am willing to make them this tasty little sandwich.



1 lb ground beef or ground sirloin
2 tsp salt
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
water

Salt bottom of skillet. Brown ground beef and start crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. You want the meat to end up being cooked into small crumbles.
Add chopped onion while browning meat.
When meat is browned, add mustard, vinegar, and sugar.
Add enough water to barely cover meat in pan.
Simmer until water is cooked out (about 15-20 minutes)
Serve on rolls/buns (Look for my 40 minute roll recipe!) with mustard and pickles.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I have been on the search for the peanut butter cookie recipe that I used for the Judy Family Party last month and I'm not sure that I found it, but maybe someone could make them for me and let me know?  ;)  My Aunt Susan begged me to get her the recipe and she is one person that I would do anything for.  So if she wants a recipe, she gets a recipe.  Now, hopefully, this is the right one.  I'm 99.9% sure that it is.  Enjoy! 

1 C butter
1 C peanut butter
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Cream together the butter, sugars, and peanut butter.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Mix dry ingredients and add slowly (or if you are like me... stop the mixer, add dry ingredients and mix slowly so the flour doesn't coat your kitchen.) 
Roll into balls and then roll into sugar.
Place on cookie sheet (do not mash with fork) and bake in 350* oven for 11-13 minutes.

*Now to get the full effect of the cookies I made for the party, you should place an unwrapped Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie immediately after taking out of the oven.  YUM!

Melt In Your Mouth Pumpkin Bread

I'm just about to throw in two pans of this bread and realized I haven't added this recipe here yet.  This bread is delicious and it doesn't get much easier than this!  The recipe doesn't call for the brown sugar, but because I love brown sugar and butterscotch I add it.  If you don't want to use brown sugar just add an extra 1/4C of white sugar.  Mason is currently licking his reward for helping me mix it all up.

2/3 C oil
2 eggs
1 C pumpkin
1C flour
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1 (3.5 oz) box of pudding (I suggest coconut, butterscotch, vanilla, or cheese cake)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix oil, eggs, and pumpkin together and then add the rest of the ingredients.
Bake in 9x5x3 greased loaf pan in 325* oven for 1 hour.

No-Bake Granola Bars

These bars are so versatile, easy-peasy, and so darn yummy!  We used cocoa crispies for the cereal (what I had on hand) and sunbutter in place of peanut butter.  You could replace some or all of the corn syrup with honey.  I've also thought you could add in/ replace some of the dry ingredients with flax seed, wheat germ, almonds, pecans, crushed corn flakes, craisins, coconut, sunflower seeds... the variations are endless, but they are amazing just as is.

2 1/2 C crispy rice cereal
2 C oats
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C corn syrup
1/2 C peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

In large bowl, combine cereal, oats, raisins and set aside.
In small saucepan, combine brown sugar and corn syrup.  Bring to boil while stirring constantly.
Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.
Pour over cereal mixture and mix well.
Press into 13x9
Allow to cool and cut into bars.

Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes!

I love pancakes on a lazy Sunday morning.  The brand we've always bought has now stopped selling the soy free pancake mixes, and have now had to find a recipe so my family could still enjoy this favorite breakfast item at home. 
I'll share that recipe in a moment, but I wanted to tell you about a mix we stumbled upon yesterday.  A man was in Harmons giving away samples of pancakes.  He happens to be the owner of this little pancake mix business and was trying to get it off the ground.  They were delicious!  So, if you hate making homemade pancakes and want to stick with the semi-homemade kind and you live in Utah, check out his product at Harmons.  Also, he has a gluten free pancake mix. The pancake mix is Tree Street Grains.  It lists a website, but looks like he doesn't have it up and running yet.

2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat eggs until frothy.
Add buttermilk, butter, and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients and mix just until blended (a few lumps are okay)
Heat lightly greased griddle to 350*

Pour 1/3 cup of batter onto griddle for each pancake.
Cook until tops of batter are covered in tiny bubbles, then flip, and cook until undersides are a golden brown.

Pizza Crust

My family loves this crust and what is better than homemade?  Maybe, only the fact that this pizza has no rising time, so can be thrown together in a flash. 

1 package yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 cup very warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
several good shakes of Italian seasoning and garlic powder

Combine yeast, sugar, and warm water.  Stir until dissolved.
Add remaining ingredients and let rest for 5 minutes.
Roll dough out on preferred baking pan and shape it.

Bake at 425* for 8 minutes.  Add toppings and bake an additional 8 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.

Pepper-Jack & Spinach Pizza

Okay, to be honest, when my husband told me this is what we were making for dinner, and it had NO sauce, I was extremely skeptical.  So skeptical that I almost told him a straight out no and didn't make it, but I would have seriously missed out on an awesome pizza.  It is so good.  Don't be worried about the pepper-jack cheese because it gets toned down by the other ingredients and is not hot at all.

10 slices bacon (sliced in 1/4 inch strips)
2 (10 oz) packages of frozen spinach (drained well) or 3 lbs fresh spinach with stems removed
2 1/2 cups shredded pepper-jack cheese
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2 prepared pizza crusts (see my pizza crust recipe)
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425*
Cook bacon in large frying pan until crisp and drain on paper towels.
**If you are using fresh spinach, throw it into the pan of bacon grease and saute until wilted.
Brush pizza crusts with olive oil.
Layer the spinach, pepper, cheese, and bacon on pizza crusts.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Bake the pizza until the cheese has melted, about 10 minutes.

*We served with Hidden Valley Ranch Dip mix made with canola oil mayo and milk = soy free!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Duo

I saw these yummy looking cookies on a site called http://picky-palate.com   She has some fun recipes on her site.  I decided to throw them together and boy are they good and really simple to make!  I mean really, how can you resist peanut butter and chocolate?  They are truly a match made in heaven.

Peanut Butter Cookie
1 cup peanut butter (Skippy Natural Peanut Butter = soy free)
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Mix until well combined and set aside.

Chocolate Cookie
1 cup or 2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips, optional (chop up Nestle Chocolatier Dark Chocolate Bars = soy free)

Preheat oven to 350*
Cream butter and sugars until well combined.
Slowly beat in eggs and vanilla.
Place flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl and mix with fork.
Add to wet ingredients, as well if chocolate chips if you are using, and mix until just combined.

Take a tbsp of peanut butter dough and a tbsp of chocolate dough and gently press together to form a "not so perfect" ball and place on baking sheet. (Or if you are a cheater such as myself, take your cookie scoop, scoop a gob of peanut butter and a scoop of chocolate, making sure the dough fills the scoop, and release it onto a cookie sheet)
Bake for 9-11 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the baking sheet.
Now, enjoy the yumminess!

Easy Peasy Pie Crust

Yummy.  Flaky.  Slightly sweet.  Easy. 

1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup oil  (we use canola because it is soy free)
2 Tbsp milk

Mix dry ingredients together with a fork in a pie pan. 
Make a well in center and add oil and milk.
Mix with fork until it makes a ball.
Flatten and press into pan until it reaches the desired shape. (flute edges if you are crafty enough to do this)

Bake at 375* for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Meat Loaf Pie

A few months ago we had a bad experience with meatloaf.  Let's just say I don't want to even see meatloaf on my plate for another few years! But this pie sounded so delicious we had to give it a try.  I'm so glad we did.  Don't be stressed about the pie shell.  I'll post my pie crust recipe and let me tell you it is as simple as you can get!  Which is good because I can't roll out a pretty shaped pie shell to save my life.

1 lb ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 egg
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce  (Lea & Perrins is soy free)
1 can whole kernel corn
1 unbaked pie crust (see my pie crust recipe)
2 cups mashed potatoes
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350*
Brown ground beef and onion and season with garlic and season salt.  Drain and allow to cool slightly.
Mix in egg, ketchup, and worcestershire sauce.  Spread in bottom of pie crust.
Next layer the corn, mashed potatoes, and top with cheddar cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

I have so many soy free recipes that I would love to share, but I don't want to inundate my blog with them, so now I've decided to start a soy free recipe blog and can now post recipes as my heart desires. 
We found out my oldest was severely allergic to soy a few years back.  We had him tested on a whim and boy did that whim pan out. 
So now, we live soy free (okay, okay, maybe not if you count in those late night Pillsbury cinnamon buns, but we'll just pretend that I don't eat those because of course, I never leave any evidence behind.  Therefore, it can never be proven.... Other than I suppose, I just gave myself away.... You never read any of this....)