The Testament

This is a good book to read for pleasure. The plot is interesting, but doesn't make you overtax your brain. It about an extremely rich man who dies and doesn't leave any inheritence to his family members. Instead he leaves all of his money to an illigitimate daugher no one knew he dad. Unfortunately she is a Christian missionary deep in uncharted territories of Brazil. A lawyer who has just been released from drug and alcohol rehab is sent to Brazil to try and find her. The book is about his struggles to find her and all of the legal proceedings surrounding the will. It was different from other Grisham books I have read. I found it to be a great read for the end of the day when I needed to relax.

I Am America (And So Can You!)

Ricky bought me this book for my birthday, and it has been enjoyable.

Read it if:

• You are a Colbert fan - the whole book is written exactly as he would speak. I can hear his voice as I read.
• You enjoy political comedy.
• You need a good laugh.

Beware of:

• There are some parts of the book that you wouldn't want to read to small children (a little bit of language and somtimes some innuendo). However, if you want to read a completly clean version come to me. I edited mine :).
• If you haven't watched Colbert the book might not seem as funny/clever to you as it was to me. Watch the show (free episodes online) and become a fan before the open the book and it will be so much better.

No-Knead to Roll Dinner Rolls

If you don't feel like kneading dough, and you don't have the energy to roll out dough and cut individual rolls this is the recipe for you. It is so easy. You can cut this recipe in half if you don't want to make quite so many rolls.

4 tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups skim milk
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs, slightly beaten
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole-wheat flour

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water and allow to rise for about 5 minutes.

2. Heat milk until it almost boils. Remove from heat and combine with other all other ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the yeast and flour last.

3. Place dough in a greased mixing bowl. Allow to rise one hour. Punch down dough after one hour.

4. Drop by tablespoons into greased muffin tins, filling each about 3/4 full. Let rise one hour.

5. Bake at 400 for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned. When I made the recipe it produced 24 regular sized rolls and 18 mini-muffins.

Hot Fudge Cake

Here is the dessert Ricky and I made for V-day. It made so much though, and we have been eating it nearly every day since. The recipe comes from the Top Secret Restaurant Recipes book again. It's a very easy dessert to make.


1 18.25-ounce box devil's food cake mix
3 eggs
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 half-gallon box ice cream (MUST be in a box) (the cookbook suggests plain vanilla, but we used vanilla ice-cream that had chocolate covered peanuts and pieces of waffle cone in it - use whatever ice-cream you prefer)
1 16-oz jar chocolate fudge topping
1 container Cool-whip or 1 can whipped cream
12 marachino cherries

1. Mix the batter for the cake as instructed on the box (use the cake mix, eggs, water and vegetable oil).

2. Measure 4 cups of the batter and pour it into a well-greased 13x9-inch baking pan. This will leave about 1 cup of batter you can either discard or use to make cupcakes (we added white chocolate chips to the extra batter and made chocolate mini-muffins).

3. Bake the cake according to the instructions on the box. Allow the cake to cool completly. (I let it cool for half a day).

4. When the cake has cooled, carefully remove it from the pan, and place it right side up onto a sheet of wax paper. With a long knife (a bread knife works great) slice horizontally through the middle of the cake, and carefully remove the top.

5. Pick up the wax paper with the bottom of the cake still on it, and place back in the baking pan.

6. Take the ice-cream from the freezer and, working quickly, tear the box open so you can slice the ice-cream like bread.

7. Make six 3/4-inch-thick slices and arrange them on the cake bottom in the pan. You might have to cut some of the ice-cream slices to make them fit on the cake. Do whatever you need to do to make it fit.

8. When you have covered the entire bottom cake half with ice-cream, carefully place the top half of the cake onto the ice-cream layer. You now have ice-cream sandwiched between two layers of cake. Cover the whole pan with tin foil and pop it into the freezer for at least a couple of hours. It will keep for weeks as long as you keep it covered.

9. When you are ready to serve the dessert, slice the cake so that it will make 12 even slices. You may not want to slice what you won't be serving at the time so that the remainder will stay fresh. Leave the cake you are using out for 5 minutes to defrost a bit.

10. While the cake is defrosting heat the hot fudge topping.

11. Pour the hot fudge over the cake slices and then add a mountain of whipped cream.

12. Top each slice with a cherry.

Alice Springs Chicken

The picture doesn't do it justice. I promise this chicken tasted like heaven in your mouth. It was so good! It's adapted from a recipe found in my Top Secret Restaurant Recipes cookbook (a great cookbook). We had this chicken along with smashed potatoes, salad, and garlic bread for Valentine's Day dinner.

Honey Mustard Marinade:
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Chicken:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups canned mushrooms (or 10-12 sliced fresh mushrooms)
2 tablespoons butter
pepper
paprika
1 cup bacon bits (or 8 slices cooked and crumbled bacon)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
parsley

1. Use an electric mixter to combine the Dijon mustard, honey, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, and lemon juice. Mix for about 30 seconds.

2. Pour 2/3 of the marinade over the chicken breasts and marinate them, covered, in the fridge for at least two hours (we did our's overnight). Chill the remaining marinade for later.

3. After the chicken has marinated, preheat the oven to 375. At the same time heat a frying pan large enough to hold all of the chicken and 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Sear the chicken in the pan for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown.

4. As the chicken is cooking, drain the canned mushrooms and them saute them in a pan with the butter.

5. Put the chicken in a baking dish and brush each piece with a little of the left-over marinade (do not use the marinade the chicken soaked in). Be sure to save a little extra sauce to serve on the side of the chicken.

6. Season the chicken with pepper and paprika to your liking (you can add salt too if you want).

7. Sprinkle the chicken with bacon bits.

8. Spoon the mushrooms evenly onto the bacon.

9. Spoon the cheese onto the mushrooms.

10. Bake the chicken for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to bubble.

11. Sprinkle each piece of chicken with parsley before serving. Put extra honey mustard in a small bowl to serve on the side. (We mixed the extra sauce in our potatoes instead).

PB & J Muffins

If you ever run out of bread, don't worry you can still have your PB & J -- in the form of a muffin.

Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup creamy low-fat peanut butter (I'm sure regular creamy PB would also work)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup jam, jelly or preserves of your choice (I use grape jelly)

Topping:
1/4 cup sugar

1. Heat oven to 375. Spray muffin pan with no-stick spray. Stir together flour and baking powder. Add milk, eggs, sugar, PB and oil; combine ingredients on low speed with electric mixer, just until moistened. Do not over beat.

2. Fill muffin cups evenly with half of the batter. Place two level teaspoons of jam in the center of each muffin. Evenly divide remaining batter between muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan.

2/3 cup sugar

Tag --- I'm It!

I've been tagged by my friend and cousin Heidi (actually our husbands are cousins, but that makes us cousins too right?) at heidi'recipes.blogspot.com. It's got tons of great recipes and links to other great food sites, so if you've never visited the site check it out now. I've been asked to list 5 facts about myself. Anyway, here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules. 2. Share 5 facts about yourself. 3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them). 4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

MY FACTS

• I never add salt to food I am cooking. Even if a recipe calls for salt, I don't add it. Nobody has ever noticed. I also never put butter/margarine on toast, rolls, etc. I just like it better that way. However, I could add ranch dressing, salsa, or cheese to just about anything. As far as desserts and quick breads go, I could add chocolate chips to just about anything. I always add a full 12-oz bag of chocolate chips to any recipe even if it calls for less chips. I love chocolate!
• I edit the books I own. When I buy a book I use a special felt-tip gel pin thingy to cross out any words, phrases sections I don't really like (because of bad language or inappropriate scenes). This sounds weird, but I have so much fun doing it. So in the books I own no one swears, takes the Lord's name in vain, or uses sexual innuendo. If you want to read profanity-free versions of your favorite books just borrow them from me.
• I love everything about grocery shopping (except for paying). I think I inherited this love from both of my grandfathers. They loved to look at the ads and then go to grocery stores. So do I. I love the entire process. I love searching through cookbooks and on the internet for recipes to cook in the upcoming week. I love looking in my cupboards to see what ingredients I already have and then making a list of the things I need to buy. I love looking at the grocery ads when they come. I love the trip to the grocery store. I go down every aisle and look at all the food. I love bringing the food home and putting it away and having a full pantry. I love cooking the recipes I have found.
• I am NOT accident-prone. I've been fortunate in my life to avoid many common injuries and maladies. I've never had a broken bone, concussion, broken nose, bee sting, etc. I never had stiches until my C-section last February. I haven't had anti-biotics since 1st grade.
• I have to multi-task. This sounds weird, but I have a hard time doing only one thing at a time. It is virtually impossible for me to just sit and watch a TV show or movie. I have to be doing something else at the same time (reading, using the computer, working on a project, cleaning, etc.). When I was in college I took a ton of notes, not because I needed them, but I because it was too boring to just sit and listen. At home with the boys right now I generally have NPR on in the background or have a list of topics in my head to think about. I am usually in the middle or 4-5 different books and a million projects. I just have a hard time only doing one thing at a time.

I tag: Amber http://ambersonlinejournal.blogspot.com/

Tiffany http://tiffanymeetsworld.blogspot.com/

Carolyn http://mattandcarolyndetro.blogspot.com/

Mindy http://adayinthelifeofthegratnys.blogspot.com/

Brynn http://br2stewarts.blogspot.com/

Gigantic Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

I made these Saturday night and Ricky and I ate the entire batch by Sunday night. Yum!

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 bag butterscotch chips

1. In a large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add both sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Beat until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour until combined. Beat in oats. Stir in butterscotch chips.
2. Use 1/4 cup measure to drop mounds of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press down slightly. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. The middles should still be kind of gooey. Let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.
s

Healthy Meatball Soup

This meal is a pleaser for the whole family. Our little boys love to eat this.

5 ounces whole-wheat pasta (any shape you like)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (28-oz) can diced peeled tomatoes, with their juice
1/4 cup shredded carrot
2 cups chicken broth (preferably the reduced-fat, low-sodium kind)
3 slices whole-wheat bread, cubed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup sweet potatoe puree
1/4 cup skim milk
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 pound lean ground turkey

1. Cook the pasta according to directions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Coat a large pot with cooking spray and heat on medium-high heat. When the pot is hot, add the oil, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened but not browned (about 3-4 minutes).
3. Add the tomatoes with their juices to the pot. Next add the broth and reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for 10-15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, put the bread in a large bowl. Add the egg, sweet potato puree, milk, Parmesan, pepper and paprika, and let soak until the bread is very soft. Stir to break up the bread, add the turkey. Mix until smooth. Form into mini-meatballs (1/2-inch in diameter).
5. Add meatballs to the pot. Simmer, covered, until the meatballs are no longer pink in the middle (12-15 minutes). Stir in the pasta. Serve with extra Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Angels and Demons

I finished reading this book a couple nights ago and really enjoyed it. I had previously listened to it on CD's in the middle of the night when the boys were in the NICU. I guess I must have been more asleep than I thought while listening to the book, because the plot twists and turns still surprised me. I like this book a lot better than Da Vinci Code. I thought the storyline was more interesting than Da Vinci - it deals with physics and the election of a new Catholic pope. I found myself drawn into the story. I could easily picture the characters and what they were doing. In fact, Robert Langdon looked exactly like Harrison Ford in my mind. What movie character does Robert look like in your mind? The book was also interesting to read because a new leader of my church was just sustained. The book made me very grateful for the way my church leaders are chosen. So all in all, I would recommend this book as a fun read. It's good for vacations, plane rides, or just curling up on the couch to read a book that makes you think (but not too hard), has surprises (but not too many) and is just about the right length.

Banana-Flower Bread

This moist bread has two kinds of flour and one kind of flower. It tastes great and packs a nutritional punch.

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups smashed bananas
1/2 cup cauliflower puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, mix the flours with the baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.

3. In a mixing bowl, mix the sugar and oil with a wooden spoon until well combined. Mix in the egg whites, banana, cauliflower puree, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined.

4. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake 55-60 minute or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn the bread out of the pan to cool before serving.

Ultimate Double Chip Cookies

These cookies taste great right out of the oven or cooled. I bet you can't eat just one of these.

1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup (or more) semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (I added almost the whole bag)

1. Heat oven to 375. Combine sugar, shortening, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat egg into mixture.

2. Add flour and baking soda. Mix until just blended. Stir in butterscotch and chocolate chips.

3. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto ungreased baking sheet.

4. Bake 8-10 minutes for chewy cookies (the way I like them) or 11-13 minutes for crisp cookies.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.