Natalie's Recipe

I've mentioned before Natalie's love for being a "cook" and inventing her own recipes. This one is a strawberry cream cheese sandwich with a grape suspended in the air by a toothpick. She seriously comes up with all this stuff on her own and never ceases to amaze me with her creative and "fancy" little brain. (o: What a hoot!

Pigs in a Blanket

This one is a family favorite that everyone loves.

Ingredients:

I used to make the dough from scratch, until I discovered the wonderful fresh made pizza dough at Winco. If you don't have a Winco nearby you can use Rhodes or your favorite dough.

hot dogs

2-3 slices American or cheddar cheese

Slit each hot dog 3/4 through (not all the way)

Cut hot dogs in half lengthwise to make them shorter and cuter. (o:

Cut the cheese (ha!) into strips and place a cheese strip inside the sliced hot dog

Divide dough into enough sections to wrap around each hot dog/cheese

Put the blanket on the piggy.

For the dipping sauce mix:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. mustard

Heat over stove or in microwave for 1-2 minutes (covered) until sugar dissolves.

Wrapping the piggy with the blanket is the girls' favorite job.

Sometimes we get creative with how we put the cheese in - this is actually a bit much.

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees or whatever temp. the roll dough directions tell you.

Turkey Cabbage Casserole

This is a quick and yummy casserole we have about once a month. The girls will eat the meat, but hopefully will appreciate the cabbage more someday. Ned* and I LOVE it!

This was originally Hamburger Cabbage Casserole, but I hardly ever use ground beef anymore. I always replace it in any recipe with ground turkey. So here's the turkey version...

1 lb ground turkey

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

1/2 cup uncooked instant rice (brown or white)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed tomato soup

1/4 cup water

4 cups shredded cabbage

sour cream, if desired

chopped chives, if desired

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Cook turkey and onions in skillet until browned. Drain. Stir in rice, salt, pepper, soup and water.

Place cabbage in ungreased 2 quart casserole dish.

Spoon turkey mixture over cabbage.

Cover and bake 45 minutes or until hot/bubbly.
Top with sour cream and chives if desired.
Serves 6

Asparagus Appetizer Roll Ups

I LOVE cool appetizers. This is a fun and yummy way to make asparagus a little more snazzy (and fattening, but don't think about that).
Ingredients:
12 slices white bread - crusts removed
8 oz. softened cream cheese
2 Tbl chopped green onions
8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
24 fresh asparagus spears
1/4 cup butter melted
3 Tbl grated parmesan cheese
Flatten bread with a rolling pin. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, onions, and bacon. Spread mixture over bread slices. Cut asparagus to fit bread; place two spears on each bread slice. Roll up bread and place, seam side down, on a greased baking sheet. Brush with butter, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve immediately. Yield: 1 dozen.

Natalie is my only child who will eat asparagus - she loves it.

Yum!

Banana Muffins

Has this ever happened to your bananas?

Well, it happens to ours all the time and we have the perfect solution - banana muffins!!
These are a staple at our house and the kids always cheer when it's a banana muffin day.
My recipe comes from an old Martha Stewart Kids magazine that I got years ago. It never fails and it calls for half white/half wheat flour, so it's a little healthier. Well, adding the sour cream probably nixes that, but what the heck - the wheat flour makes me feel better about myself!


You will need:

4 overripe bananas (one extra for garnish if you like - you can cut thin slices of banana and place a slice on top of batter just before placing in oven. I think it looks cool, but my kids don't ever eat that part, so the pics won't show this snazzy garnish idea.)

1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbl. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

First peel the bananas - great job for "helpers".

Place in large bowl and use a mixer to mash the bananas.

Add brown sugar, oil, and egg. Beat until smooth.

Reduce speed to low (If you are lucky enough to own a Kitchenaid - not me yet, I just use Natalie.) Or just set down the beater and add flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until smooth.

Oops - this picture is out of order! Line muffin tin with paper liners (Angela's favorite job!)

Add sour cream (we're partial to anything Tillamook brand!) and vanilla (Kirkland brand is our favorite) and beat until combined.

Did I say Angela's favorite job was putting in the paper liners - I forgot about THIS important job! Licking the beaters!!

I like to use my cookie scoop to pour in the batter.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes (20 for mini muffins)

This recipe makes 18 muffins.

MMMMM - so good! These never last long at our house.

Eggstuff

I had this idea to start taking pictures of and recording some favorite recipes while the girls are little. I am hoping to put together a cookbook with all these recipes and pictures of them helping me make the foods for a keepsake to take with them when they leave the "nest". I thought that would be a fun and useful way to pass on some of our family recipes.

The first recipe is "eggstuff". This is a recipe that has a lot of sentimental meaning to me because my grandma (mom's mom) used to make it and my mom made it for me and my siblings while we were growing up (and still does) and now I make it for my kids. My mom's family used to come up with funny nicknames for foods - funeral potatoes, chicken boobs (o: and eggstuff are examples that come to mind. (o:

We always had a lot of food and a lot of laughs at our get-togethers at grandma's house. We make this special every Christmas morning just like my mom always did and my grandma did. We also started making it for conference Sundays. It tastes really good, but it is so easy to make. You do have to think ahead the night before, but the best part is that the only work you have to do in the morning is stick it in the oven. That's what makes it such a perfect Christmas/conference morning dish.

Ingredients:

8 slices good quality white bread

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. mustard

4 eggs

3 cups grated cheese

Grease casserole dish Cut crusts off and cube bread Spread across the bottom of casserole dish.

Beat eggs, milk and remaining ingredients together.
Pour cheese/egg mixture over the bread.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.