Caramel Apples

This is a new tradition for my family. These caramel apples turned out so perfect and it was so fun. Happy Halloween!!

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cube butter

Boil these ingredients for about 1 minute while constantly stirring.
Then add:

1 can sweeten condensed milk

Continue stirring and bring mixture up to 245 degrees, then remove from heat.
Then add:

1 tsp vanilla

Let sit for about 5 minutes. Get your apples ready (I like Granny Smith) by putting Popsicle sticks in the tops. Also get your toppings ready (nuts, neath bar, sugar, cinnamon, chocolate). Dip and roll each apple in the caramel, then dip in desired toppings, then place apples on a cookie sheet covered with a generous amount of sugar (that way they won't stick). Let cool and enjoy!

Raspberry Chipotle Bean Dip

So yummy! We made this for the BYU game the other day... so awesome! The best part about this, we had enough left over that I used it the next day to make killer quesadillas! Loved it!


2-3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic (yeah, I used garlic from the jar... it's just so much easier to store and I can't tell the difference)
1/2 onion chopped fine (and yeah... I used dehydrated onions for this)
2 cans black beans {drain & rinse}
1 can corn {drain}
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 bottle roasted raspberry chipotle sauce (I found this at target by the bbq sauces)
1 small can green chilies
1 small can sliced olives

mix butter, garlic, and onion together.
spread on bottom of deep 9x13 dish
layer with black beans, corn, cream cheese, 1/2 the chipotle sauce, green chillies,
olives, cheese, and then the rest of the sauce.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Fruit Dip

2 pkgs cream cheese softened (if you need to soften the cream cheese, just throw it in the microwave for 30 seconds)
1 cup brown sugar
1 small package white chocolate pudding mix
16 ounces vanilla yogurt

Mix ingredients all together until no lumps, chill in refrigerator until served. I like mine with strawberry, bananas and apples. **Tip: Spray lemon juice on bananas and apples to keep from turning brown.

Cookie-Dough Brownies

Here is another recipe from my friend Brooke. They sound absolutely amazing! Chocolate and cookie dough... A girls best friend!! Can't wait to try them...

Cookie-Dough Brownies

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

(for cookie dough/filling:)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

(for glaze)
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
MAKE THE BROWNIE LAYER:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9 X 13 pan. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugar, cocoa, flour and salt. Add oil, eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed for about three minutes. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.*

MAKE THE COOKIE DOUGH/FILLING:
In a medium bowl, combine butter with white and brown sugars. Add milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Then add the flour. Spread this over the cooled brownies and then top with glaze.

MAKE THE GLAZE:
Microwave the semisweet chocolate chips with a tablespoon of butter until lightly melted, but with chunks of chocolate still in tact. Spread over brownies.**

Garlic Chicken Pizza

I got this recipe off of dealstomeals.com... the same lady that does myfoodstoragedeals.com. Again, she is amazing and always has awesome recipes. I think the next time I make this, I will switch it up a bit. It was a little too "ranchy" for me. So I think instead of ranch, I will substitute alfrado sauce. Other than that... it was great!

Garlic Chicken Pizza

1 Pizza dough recipe (see below)
1 1/2 c. ranch dressing
1 T. garlic cloves, minced
2 t. basil
½ c. shredded Parmesan Cheese
2 lbs. cooked and cubed chicken (crumbled sausage is also good on these pizzas)
Green onions
Vegetables (Mushrooms (I dehydrated a bunch of mushrooms this week so that is what I used on my pizza... dehydrating is so addicting and a whole other story but that will have to wait), Zucchini, yellow squash (thanks to Andy's moms garden I had some), onions, etc.), diced or cut thin
Tomatoes diced



Pizza dough

1 c. and 2 T. Hot tap water
2 T. Olive oil or vegetable oil
3 c. flour (start with 2 ½ c. and add other ½ c. only if dough is too sticky)
1 t. sugar
3 t. salt
2 ½ t. yeast

Make sure you add the Hot tap water, yeast and sugar together. Allow to grow 5 minutes. Then slowly add the flour one cup at a time until each cup as been incorporated, and add the salt after the first cup of flour. Touch dough to make sure it is soft and bouncy to the touch. Mix and let rise until it doubles in size. For more Italian flavor add basil and garlic powder to the dough.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Muffins

I got this recipe from http://www.myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com/. This lady is a genius so I always follow her blogs. I love this recipe I tried this week. These muffins are a little dense but are great for using up your wheat and oats (and I have a ton of applesauce in food storage). They tasted great!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Muffins



1 1/2 c. flour (I used 1/2 wheat flour and 1/2 white flour)
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. nutmeg
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
3/4 c. applesauce
2 c. smashed bananas (about 2-3 bananas)
1 3/4 cup oats
1 pkg. chocolate chips

Mix eggs, sugar, applesauce, bananas. Add everything else then chocolate chips.
Put in muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

This recipe comes from one of my high school friends, Brooke. It sounds super yummy and I know my husband will love it!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

2 Packages reduced sodium Stuffing mix

1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 lb sliced deli ham, cut into 1 inch stips
1 cup swiss cheese shredded

2 cups cheddar cheese shredded

2 cups cooked chicken ( I used shredded--but I think cubed would be better)

Prepare stuffing mixes according to directions on box. Meanwhile in a bowl, combine soup and milk. Put chicken in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with pepper. Layer with ham, swiss cheese and 1 cups of cheddar cheese, soup mixture and stuffing. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. At this point you can freeze. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer.

This is what Brooke had to say about some alterations she made.

*** I altered the recipe a bit and it still turned out alright. I didn’t have ham that thick so I layered a few pieces on top of eachother. I would suggest making sure they are cute up a bit. I also didn’t have any swiss cheese on hand. I just used a mexi blend cheese that I had in my fridge and it turned out good. When I make it again I would try to find the low sodium soup and maybe only use 1 and a half boxes of stuffing. It is a bit over powering.

Thanks Brooke, can't wait to try it out!

Mango Salsa Chicken

This recipe come from my friend Mindy. This sounds so easy and tasty. I love Costco mango salsa. So excited!

2 lbs chicken breasts (cubed)
1 onion (chopped)
1 Green Pepper (chopped)
1 – 2 T olive oil
½ bottle of Mango Salsa (Costco Size)
Shredded cheese

Chop onion and green pepper into large pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Sauté onions and peppers for 3-5 minutes (I like them still crunchy). Take out the onions and peppers, put in cubed chicken and cook until done. Add the peppers and onions back in, pour in salsa, stir and cook until heated through. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top, cover, and cook until cheese is melted. Serve over rice.

Variations: You can grill the chicken (we used Montreal Chicken Seasoning), cut it into cubes, then add it to your peppers and onions. You can also use whatever salsa you like, I just happen to love the sweetness of the mango salsa.

Big Bad Costco Chocolate Muffins

This recipe comes from my friend Mindy. I'm so excited to try these because let's be honest... who doesn't like Costco chocolate muffins.


1 Devils food cake mix
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt (I have also used plain)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (maybe my oven is just too hot, but 400 was burning mine so just keep an eye on them, next time I will probably do them either rat 350 or 375). Lightly grease muffin pan (this makes about 20 muffins) or use muffin liners. Set aside. In a mixing bowl combine cake mix and pudding mix. In a separate bowl combine yogurt, water, oil, and eggs. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake 20 -22 minutes or until center springs back. Cool on wire rack. These muffins will store for a couple of days, if you can avoid eating them that long.

***UPDATE***

So I (AmyLyn) made these on 8/13/09 and they are to die for. So yummy!! They are so easy to make so I probably won't be buying any at costco anytime soon. You have to try them and let me know how they go :)

AmyLyn's Ice Cream

I made this ice cream back in achievement days (long time ago) and it has been a favorite in my family since. We call it AmyLyn's ice cream and the name has just stuck. It's so creamy and wonderful. We love it!

2 cups cream
1 12 oz can of evaporated milk
1 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
4 cups whole milk
1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding
3/4 cups sugar
4 teaspoon vanilla
toppings (we like raspberries from the garden, mint oreo's, and butterfingers... not together of course!)

Mix in ice cream maker and enjoy!

Gooey Orange Rolls

My husband had a "boys night" this last Saturday so and I had to find something to entertain myself. I was completely content watching Pride and Prejudice (for about the millionth time) and making these super yummy orange rolls.

Gooey Orange Rolls (make sure to half this)

2 c Hot water (from the tap)
3 c Orange Juice
1 c. sugar
1 T orange Zest
3 T yeast
2/3 c. oil
2 T salt
3 T lemon juice
10-12 c white flour (see why I said to half it... it makes a ton!)

Place hot water, OJ (make sure this is hot/warm), sugar and yeast in a bowl. Mic and let stand for 5 minutes grow. Add oil, lemon juice, and salt. Slowly mix in flour 1 cup at a time (or 1/2 if you are 1/2'ing the recipe). Once flour is mixed in, knead with your dough hook for 4-5 minutes. Dough should be a little sticky (mine was REALLY sticky!!). This makes lighter, fluffier dough. Cover bowl and let rise to the top of bowl. Once dough rises to top, punch down and divide dough in half and roll out dough in large rectangle.

Filling:
1 cude butter
1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding
1/2 c granulated sugar
3 T orange CONCENTRATE - not juice

Melt the butter and OJ together and drizzle half of the micture on the rectangel dough and spread around (save other 1/2 for other rectangle of dough). Sprinkle 1/2 packet of pudding and 1/4 sugar (again saving the rest for the other rectangle). Roll up the dough into a long log, cut 1 inch sections, and place in grease cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cude butter, softened
1 8 oz. cream cheese
2 T. orange juice CONCENTRATE
1/2 - 3/4 of a 32 oz. bag of powdered sugar

Drizzle over warm rolls and enjoy!

Chili Verde Chicken Tacos

My husband and I fell in LOVE with this recipe. He is already asking when I will make it again. Crockpot meals are just so perfect. You dump all the ingredients in and just let it cook. Every Sunday is crockpot day in my house. I dump it all in before I go to church and it is all ready when I walk in the door. I love that I can smell it cooking from my garage when I pull in. It's just perfect! I've posted 3 crockpot recipes in all today so make sure to check them out below.

Chilli Verde Chicken Tacos

4 T Oil
2-3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can diced green chilies
1/2 tsp. Cumin
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2-1 cup salsa
14.5 oz Chicken Broth (make this from a Bouillon... it is so much cheaper!)

Dump it all in and cook for 4-6 hours or until chicken shreds.

Tortillas (definitely use raw ones that you have to cook)
Cheese
Sour Cream
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Green Onions
Cilantro

The other thing that is so good about this recipe... I freeze about half the left overs and the other half I use throughout the week to make chicken quesadillas. So handy and so yummy!

Carne Asada Tacos

I tried this one today for the first time and absolutely loved it. My husband says it tastes like the beef they serve at Los Hermanos. Sounds good to me!

5 lbs Roast beef or 5 lbs streak, grilled and sliced thinly
1 T. Montreal Steak Seasoning (this is a must have for pantries!)
1 onion, sliced thinly (you could use cannery dehydrated ones if you want)
2 limes, sliced thinly (If you aren't using 5 lbs of meat, reduce the number of limes to 1)
1 T, beef broth or liquid from beef bouillon (so much cheaper to use bouillon)

Throw everything into a crock pot and cook for 4-6 hours or until meat shreds.

Then to make homemade Pico de Gallo Salsa to go with it... heaven!

5 large Tomatoes, diced small (it's almost tomato pickin' season!!)
1 bunch of Cilantro, diced coarsely (My husband doesn't like Cilantro too much so I cut this down to about 1/2 the bunch... still turned out great)
1 large onion, dice small
1/2 c Lime Juice (I just used the juice from 2 limes)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start stacking your taco!

Tortillas (I don't know if your family has discovered raw tortillas that you buy at Costco or Wal-mart... they are heavenly and I will never go back to cooked tortillas like Mission tortillas. These raw tortillas take about a minute to cook and are so worth it. Definitely try them if you haven't... you will be converted!)
Cheese
Lettuce
Sour Cream
Your tasty beef
Your yummy Pico de Gallo

This is definitely a keeper in my family. It makes a lot so I freeze half of it for another meal and then I'm planning on using the other half to make beef quesadillas and more beef tacos for this week. Saves time and money! Hope you like it!

Apricot Chicken

My husband's parents have an apricot tree in their yard so we are forever making apricot jam. I absolutely love it but we have a ton and I'm always on the look out of ways to use it! I was so excited when I came across this recipe. It's so quick and easy!

Apricot Chicken

1 package Lipton onion soup
1 bottle Russian dressing
1/2 jar apricot jam
4 - 6 chicken breasts

Throw all the ingredients into a crock pot and cook for 4 - 6 hours. Shred chicken and serve over rice. See I told you... so easy! You can also add veggies like onions, peppers, carrots, pineapple, etc. to make it more of a stir fry dish.

Cream Cheese Chicken

Here is one from my friend Ashlie... it sounds super tasty. I can't wait to try it!

Cream Cheese Chicken
1 lb. of chicken (I prefer cut up but whole breasts or whatever are great too.)
1 pkg of italian seasoning dressing mix (found by the ranch packets)
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 container of sourcream

Cook your chicken in the butter and seasoning and then once it is not pink anymore add everything else and cook for a couple hours on low.
Serve over rice or pasta. It is equally as good over either!!

Thanks Ashlie!

Homemade pancakes and syrup

Love, love, love, this! I will never go back to store bought syrup, ever!

Homemade syrup

1 c white sugar
1/2 c butter milk
1/2 c butter
1/2 tsp baking soda

cook until thick (rolling boil for about 1 minute)

take off heat and add:
1 tsp vanilla extract

Homemade Pancakes

Mix:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp salt

then add:
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs (if you use dry eggs, just add the dry egg mix to the dry ingredients and add the water in with the wet ingredients)
1/3 cup oil or melted butter (butter is better)

I like to add blueberries to this... yum!

A-1 Meatloaf

This is my husband's favorite recipe. He is always asking me to make it. Try it out and let me know if you love it as much as we do!

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (we've tried this with ground turkey and it tastes great!)
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg (you can use powdered eggs here, so much cheaper!)
1 dash ground black pepper
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup A-1 cause (you can use any steak sauce, this is just our favorite)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease bread loaf pan.

In mixing bowl, combine the ground meat, slat, egg, black pepper, and bread crumbs. Pour in the milk, 3 tablespoons of steak sauce (you will use other to top the loaf), onion and green pepper.

Place the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and shape into a loaf. Brush the top with the remaining steak sauce.

Bake in ove for 1 hour or until done. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

**This meal goes perfectly with a lettuce green salad and oven baked potatoes. Yummy!

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

I love the smell of homemade bread... it is just perfect. Try this recipe and let me know how you like it. Also, I would love to hear of your homemade bread recipe. I always like to try new ones. I've stuck with this recipe for a while cause it's pretty dang good :) Also, you will need a pretty good mixer for this recipe, especially if you are making all four loaves.

Makes 4 8/4 loaves... I usually half this recipe. If you make the full thing, just freeze a couple of loaves.

7c. whole wheat flour (grind your own if you have a wheat grinder... I desperately want one. If you have one, let me know what you think of the brand you have.)
2/3 c. vital wheat gluten
2 1/2 T instant yeast

5 c. steaming hot water (120-130 F)

2 T. salt
2/3 c. oil
2/3 c. honey or 1 c. sugar (I like honey the best!)
2 1/2 T. bottled lemon juice

5 c. whole wheat flour

Mix together the first three ingredients in your mixer with a dough hook. Add water all at once and mix for 1 minute; cover and let rest for 10 minutes (this is called sponging). Add salt, oil, honey or sugar, and lemon juice and beat for 1 minute. Add last flour, 1 cup at a time, beating between each cup. Beat for about 6-10 minutes until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This makes very soft dough.


Pre-heat oven for 1 minute to lukewarm and turn off. Turn dough onto oiled counter top; divide, shape into loaves place in oiled bread pans. Let rise in warm oven for 10-15 minutes until dough reaches top of pan (mine always takes a little longer... about 30 minutes). Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 F and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks.


There you have it, let me know how it goes!

Peanut Butter Granola

I honestly make this once a week. I absolutely love granola in yogurt, with milk and a strawberries, bananas, raspberries, or blueberries, as well as just to munch on. This recipe is so quick and easy to make. It is super tasty and so much less expensive then store bought granola. And as a bonus, it doubles as a food storage recipe! Try it, I know you will love it.

Mix and heat in a 4-cup class jug for 4 minutes on HIGH:
1-1/2 c white sugar
1-1/3 c margarine
1/2 t vanilla extract
2/3 c peanut butter
1/2 t salt
1 c water

While that is heating...
Mix:
12 c rolled oats
1 t cinnamon

Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix quickly and well. Put onto two greased LIGHT cookie sheets (the darker color burned for me so I just stick with my light colored ones). Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Stir granola and exchange cookie sheets in oven; cook for another 10 minutes. Turn the oven off and let granola dry for several hours.

Once the granola has dried out, I put it in a #10 can next to my cereal. As the week goes on, it will quickly disappear. Enjoy!