Breadsticks

1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)

1 Tblsp. sugar

1 Tblsp. active dry OR bread machine yeast

1/2 tsp. salt

3-4 1/2 cups flour

In a large bowl (of a mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar and yeast.  Let stand 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.  Add salt and stir.  Add 1 1/2 cups flour and mix well.  Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and humidity), until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.  Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough (formed into a large ball) inside.  Cover and allow to rise 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.  *I've had to make this ahead of time long before I have to bake these breadsticks, so I just put the bowl in the fridge.  Remove from dough and place on a lightly-floured surface.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray OR line with parchment paper.  Roll into a rectangle and cut into 12 strips with a pizza cutter.  * Time-out here for just a minute.  Instead of placing on a floured surface, I just grease my glass cutting board really well, roll the dough out on this, & then cut it into strips.  For me it's a lot easier.  Now back to where I left off.  Roll out each piece of dough into a snake and then drape it over your forefinger and twist the dough.  Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining pieces of dough.  Try to space them evenly, but it's okay if they're too close.  Cover pan with a clean dish towel and allow dough to rise another 30 minutes.  When there's about 15 minutes to go, heat oven to 425 degrees.  When done rising, bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Rub some butter on top of the breadsticks and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and/or garlic salt, if desired.

I've made these 3 times at my house now and we all LOVE them!  They're great with soups & spaghetti dinners especially.  Tyler told me that I should keep this recipe for sure.  Thank you Our Best Bites!  :)

Ranch House Pork Chops with Parmesan Potatoes

6 pork chops, 1/2-inch thick

1 packet dry ranch seasoning mix

1 can (10 oz.) cream of chicken soup

4 lbs. peeled & cubed potatoes *

5 Tblsp. butter

1 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese *

6 cloves roasted garlic *

1-1 1/2 cups warm milk *

salt & pepper to taste

Place pork chops in a crock pot sprayed with Pam or lined with a crock pot liner (LOVE these things!).  Sprinkle ranch seasoning mix over pork chops and pour soup over all.  Cover and cook on high heat for 3-4 hours OR low heat for 5-6 hours.  Place potatoes in a large pot of cold water.  Place onto stove top over high heat and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Drain and transfer to a bowl.  Mash potatoes and add butter, Parmesan, milk, salt & pepper.  Season to taste, if needed.  Scoop potatoes onto plates and top with pork chops and soup gravy from the crock pot.  Yummy!

* When I saw that this recipe called for 4 lbs. of potatoes I knew that would be WAY too much for my family, so I'd suggest just using however many potatoes you think your family will eat.  I also divided amounts of Parmesan and garlic in half.  I hate it when my mashed potatoes are too runny, so I only added a splash of milk & for me that was enough.  I've been addicted to Pinterest for weeks now, and I came across this recipe, courtesy of Real Mom Kitchen (I just tried finding the link for this cooking blog & Google Chrome is giving me issues right now; sorry!).  I highly recommend this dinner.  Not only can you just add everything in & then have dinner ready whenever you want it, but the potatoes are fantastic! 

Quick & Easy White Chicken Chili

1 jar salsa (my favorite brand is La Victoria)

1 (16 oz.) container sour cream

4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

1 can great northern white beans *

2-3 cups cooked chicken OR 1 large can chicken, well-drained

1 tsp. cumin or cumin to taste (I used 1 1/2 tsp.)

garlic powder to taste (I used 1 tsp.)

pepper to taste (I used 1/4 tsp.)

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot & heat on low until warmed through.  Alternately, heat on the stovetop on medium until hot, stirring occasionally.  If too thick, thin with chicken broth or water.  Serve with tortilla chips.  * The original recipe didn't say to drain the beans, but I drained and rinsed mine the first time I made this & the chili was a lot thinner, so next time I'll probably try it without draining.

First off, again I apologize for the horrible picture.  I'm desperate for a new camera, but unfortunately that'll have to wait a while.  I found this on What Megan's Making.  Thanks to Google Reader & some helpful hints from Annie's Eats, I know have access to even more recipe blogs w/ yummy new recipes to try (this can be both a good and a bad thing).  My kids turned up their noses at this when I first put it in front of them, but they eventually ate it & didn't complain.  The tortilla chips were an especially nice touch, because they both LOVED dipping their chips into the chili.  YUM!

Smothered Burritos

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 (4.5 oz.) can diced green chilies, drained (my kids hate these things so I left them out)

1 (16 oz.) can refried beans

half a can condensed tomato soup

1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce

burrito-sized tortillas, warmed

shredded cheddar cheese

Garnishes:

shredded lettuce

diced tomatoes

shredded cheddar cheese

chopped green onions

sliced black olives

cilantro

avocado

sour cream

Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain.  Stir in chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Stir in green chilies and turn off heat, but keep warm.  Warm the refried beans over low heat & keep these warm also.  In a saucepan, combine enchilada sauce & tomato soup.  Mix well and cook over medium heat until heated through.  Place a warmed tortilla on a plate and spread some of the refried beans in the center.  Sprinkle with cheese, then spoon some of the ground beef mixture into the center.  Tuck in the ends of the tortilla and carefully fold into a burrito.  Spoon some of the enchilada sauce over the burrito and top with additional cheese and desired garnishes.  Repeat w/ remaining tortillas.  Serves 4-6.

Thanks to Google Reader, I can now follow even more cooking blogs than I ever have before; I'm like a kid in a candy store w/ these things.  :)  I found this recipe on a blog called Sing For Your Supper.  I'd never heard of it before, but I'm seriously hooked.  I want to try almost all of the recipes posted here.  This is the first one & it was a HUGE hit with my family.  Tyler orders smothered burritos almost every time we eat at a Mexican restaurant, so I was pretty happy to find a yummy homemade version of his favorite Mexican dish!

Raspberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 1/8 cups sugar

2 eggs

3 cups flour, divided

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch baking soda

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups fresh raspberries

sugar (opt.)

Cream the butter with sugar and add eggs.  Reserve 3 Tblsp. of flour and combine remaining flour with baking powder, salt & soda.  Combine milk and vanilla.  Alternately add the milk and flour mixture to the creamed butter and egg mixture.  Sprinkle reserved flour over berries and gently fold into the creamed mixture.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

One of the things I LOVE about Facebook is whenever friends post about a yummy recipe that they've just tried.  I got this from Rochelle Bartschi, who was a friend of mine in my previous ward.  She had just made these for her sons for breakfast & she even let them spread homemade raspberry jam on their muffins!  To me that sounds divine!  Still, these muffins taste just as good plain or with butter.  Tyler came home from work with a raspberry bush only a couple of weeks after we first moved into our house because he's wanted to grow our own raspberries for as long as he can remember.  Now I'll know what to do with any extras if they become too numerous!  :)

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 1/2 cubes butter

2-3 bunches broccoli, chopped (I used a full 16 oz. bag of frozen broccoli & just defrosted in the microwave).

1/2 cup flour

3 14-oz. cans chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

8 oz. Velveeta

1/2 tsp. salt

pepper to taste

Melt butter in saucepan and add chopped broccoli.  Heat on high for 3-5 minutes, then stir in flour.  Gradually add chicken broth while stirring.  Cover & simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in heavy cream.  Heat & add Velveeta.  Add salt & pepper & serve.  

I apologize for the picture.  I know it's bad & my camera isn't the greatest!  Whenever it starts to get a little nippy outside I start making homemade soups at least once a week, sometimes more because they taste SO GOOD in the cold weather!  I've been looking for a really good broccoli/cheese soup recipe & I finally decided to try this one, which was found on a blog called Eighteen 25.  

Everyone in my family LOVED this soup & the next time I make it I'll definitely put it into bread bowls instead when it's time to serve it.  Yum yum YUMMY!  :)

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 Tblsp. vegetable oil (I used canola)

2 Tblsp. vinegar

2 cups flour

3 Tblsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground allspice (I didn't add this)

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

chocolate chips (opt.)

whipped cream (opt.)

Mix together milk, pumpkin, oil & vinegar.  Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl.  Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.  Add chocolate chips last, if desired.  Pour or scoop onto hot griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.  Top with cream or syrup.

My friend Michelle posted this on her Facebook page.  I'm SO glad she did, because these things are so, SO YUMMY!!!  The best thing about them is that they aren't just a breakfast food.  We've had these for dinner a couple of times since I got the recipe & it's almost like having dessert for dinner.  ;)  I never add allspice or anything else that gives sweet food any kind of a spice flavor (except the cinnamon, of course), but believe me, these taste just fine without it.  These things are just the thing I need to help satisfy the pumpkin cravings I end up getting every year around this time.  :)  Enjoy!  :D