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 (peanut allergy for us here).  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.

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.

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! 

2 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!

Loosemeat Sandwich (including 40 minute bun recipe)

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 came to an agreement and I am willing to make them this tasty little sandwich.

Loosemeat 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 with mustard and pickles.

40 Minute Hamburger Buns

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.

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.

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.
Going to be trying a new cheeseburger soup tonight, will let you all know how it turns out.

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.

Cornflake 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 oil, we use canola
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 C crushed cornflakes
1 C chopped nuts (optional, we don't do nuts either)
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.

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)

Costa Vida/ Cafe Rio Sweet Pork copycat recipe

I love both Costa Vida and Cafe Rio Sweet Pork burritos. Could eat them everyday, but unfortunately, because of Trae's allergies 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

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

German Pancakes/ Dutch Babies

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.



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.