Homemade Honey Dill Sauce

Marshall told me that he knew how to make honey dill sauce. I'll be honest I didn't believe him and then he proved it to me.

He didn't use a recipe and just said "Well you just put mayo, honey and dill together until you get it right". It's so not like him to not follow a recipe because he's not a master in the kitchen but boy is he good at this!

DIY: Chocolate Bowls

Don't these look tasty? And so easy to do! Check out the full post over at Bakerella

Scalloped Potatoes

6 thinly sliced raw potatoes
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup fine bread crumbs or 2 1/2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups hot milk

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/2 tsp Sage

1 cup Cheddar Cheese (graded)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Arrange alternate layers of potatoes and onions in a buttered casserole dish. Over each layer, sprinkle bread crumbs or flour and the spices. Add salt to milk and pour over all.

Top with remaining bread crumbs and dot with butter.

Cover and bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until browned on top and until potatoes are tender. Add Cheese to the top and broil until melted.

Baking My Way: Pillsbury Pecan Blondies with Browned Butter Frosting

Wow, are these good!! If you want a really decadent dessert that's not very hard to make here's a great suggestion. I don't do a lot of baking with nuts because I don't like spending that much money to bake (most nuts are pretty expensive) but I told myself I would follow the recipes in this book and not cheap out and I'm glad I did. And this icing, I'd never even heard of browned butter frosting but boy is it good!!

BARS
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

FROSTING
2 tablespoons butter (do not use margarine)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 4 tablespoons milk

GARNISH
36 pecans halves, if desired


1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 1x9-inch pan. In large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and eggs; blend well. Add flour, baking powder and salt; mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans. Spread in bottom of greased pan.


2. Bake at 350°F. for 23 to 33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.

(Ollie just taking it easy while I work. He likes to be right in the way. Above him is the silk. My feet were on either side of him until I realized how cute he was and I decided to take a picture)

3. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until light golden brown. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and enough milk for desired spreading consistency; blend until smooth. Spread over cooled bars. Arrange pecan halves over frosting. Cut into bars.

Beer Battered Fish

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I love fish and chips, and this is yet another things that I don't know why I haven't tried to make it at home myself! I have the french fries down, but now it's time to learn the fish!

Ingredients:
1 bottle beer
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg (lightly beaten)
1 pound cod fillets (or halibut, or haddock, etc., cut into serving sized pieces)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
oil for frying

Directions:
1. Mix the beer, flour, baking powder, salt and egg into a batter in a bowl.
2. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
3. Dredge the fish in the flour and shake off any excess.
4. Dip the fish into the batter.
5. Fry the fish in preheated 375F oil until cooked, about 4-5 minutes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Droll right? I am so going to make this for Marshall sometime. He's in love with peanut butter. 

Check out the recipe over at The Pioneer Woman

Candida Diet Breakfast: Mung Bean Pancakes

2 cups mung beans soaked overnight

3 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon chopped ginger root

Dill or scallion or other herbs to taste

Water

Crush everything in food blender until you have smooth a paste/batter. Then drop pancakes onto a hot skillet, with a small of coconut or olive oil.

Tip: Try putting a little spinach in for a little something extra

Baking My Way: Pillsbury Cranberry Cookies

These cookies are SO good! I made them with naturally dried cranberries (I didn't chop them up at all) and pecans and wow, so tasty! They are really light too. A great spring cookie!

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts


Directions
- Heat oven to 375
- Combine sugars and butter; beat until like and fluffy
- Add milk, lemon juice, vanilla and egg; beat well
- Add flour, baking soda and powder and salt; mix well
- Stir in cranberries and nuts
- Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart
- Bake for 8-12 minutes
- Immediately remove cookies from sheet

Make Me Happy Monday: Un-Iced Wedding Cakes

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Candida Diet Lunch: Roasted Vegetable Salad with Boiled Egg

For 2 servings:
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4 boiled eggs
2 Bell Peppers (any color)
2 tomatoes
1/2 a zucchini
6 shallots
3 cups of baby spinach
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place chopped up peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and onions in a roasting pan. Toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper to mix and coat. Spread in a single layer in the pan. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender.

Hard boil the eggs, peel, cut in half and set aside.

In a large bowl add 3 cups of baby spinach, chopped up vegetables, egg halves and serve. Add some extra olive oil and a squeeze of lemon if you like.

Baking My Way: Pillsbury Oatmeal Carrot Cookies

I'll be honest, I wasn't too sure what I thought of these at first, I mean when I got baking I picked another recipe and this was it, and well, I love carrot cake so why not? And you know what, they're great! I bit of a healthier cookie and they're nice and soft too!

Ingredients

• 1 cup All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup (1 medium) shredded carrot

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheets. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine all ingredients except nuts and carrot at low speed until well blended. Stir in nuts and carrot. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets.
2. Bake at 350°F. for 8 to 12 minutes until edges are light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

Recipe Source

Cowgirl Cookies in a Jar from Bobbi-Jo

My girl friend Bobbi-Jo made up a bunch of these and gave them out at Christmas time and I was lucky enough to get one! I wanted to save baking them for a special occasion and so I waited for our road trip. I made them and serious before we even got to California they were gone! These cookies are wonderfully good! So if you're looking for a fun gift idea or just another cookie to try you have to go with these!

Dry:
- 1⅓ cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cooking oats
- ¾ cup m&ms
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
-½ cup white sugar
- ⅓ - ½ cup chopped pecans




Wet:
- 1 slightly beaten egg
- ½ cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla


- Stir all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

- Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Use the back of a large spoon to work it all together. You may even need to use your hands to get everything incorporated.

- Then roll the cookie dough into 1½ inch balls, place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

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St. Patrick's Day Jello Cream Cake

Doesn't this look so tasty? I love the different Jello deserts The Food Librarian does and here's yet another great example! I'm not much for this holiday, I think it's great and all but I guess I just never celibate it but I thought what a fun desert, maybe I'll take up a little bit of a the celebration! I saw recipe last year, but I thought I'd share it with you now!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Crust:
1 1/2 sticks - butter, softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c flour
1 c chopped walnuts or pecans

Cream Layer:
1 - 3 oz package of lemon Jello (small box)
1 c boiling water
1/2 c sugar
8 oz package of cream cheese (one block), softened
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Jello Layer:
1 - 6 oz package lime Jello (large box)
2 c boiling water
1 c cold water

1. Make the crust. Cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add flour and nuts to the mix. Press dough into buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. I use the Pyrex pan. Bake crust for 10-15 minutes in pre-heated 375 degrees oven or until crust is brown. Let cool.

2. Make cream layer. Dissolve lemon Jello with 1 cup boiling water. Let this mixture cool. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and cream cheese. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks (but don't make butter). Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Don't worry about it blending perfectly. Add the cooled lemon Jello and hand whisk together. Pour cream mixture over cooled crust and chill until firm in the refrigerator.

3. Make the Jello layer. In a large bowl, dissolve lime Jello with 2 cups boiling water. Add 1 cup cold water. Let this mixture cool. Pour on top of cheese mixture and return to refrigerator to cool completely.

4. Cut and enjoy!

5. Notes: You can, of course, change the color to suit your mood or holiday. This makes a bunch and can get pretty tall! When you add the cream layer, make sure you leave space for the top Jello layer. I usually place the 9 x 13 pan on a half-sheet pan in case I have spillage when placing the top layer on the cake!

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Baking My Way: Pillsbury Butterscotch Freeze n' Slice Cookies

These cookies, to me didn't look that good from the picture in the book. They looked pretty boring and I wasn't that interested ever in making them for that reason but of course now I had to make them and I'm glad I did. They turned out really well and they are great with tea or coffee (they also freeze really well so you can make them ahead of time and pull them out when you have company, which I love to do). They have a nice butterscotch flavor from the brown sugar but it's not over powering.

Ingredients:

5 5

Servings Size

• dozen
  

Yield: 5 dozen

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups margarine or 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Prep Time: 3 hrs
Total Time: 3 1/4 hrs

1. In large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar and margarine until light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup;level off.
3. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
4. Line two 8x4-inch bread pans with foil, allowing foil to extend above sides of pans; press half of dough into each pan.( see tip) Fold foil to seal; freeze 2-3 hours or until well chilled.
5. Heat oven to 350°F Lightly grease cookies sheets.
6. Unfold foil; lift dough from pan. remove foil; cut dough into 1/4-inch thick slices.
7. Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.
8. Bake at 350 F for 8-12 minutes or until light golden brown. cool 1 minute, remove from cookie sheets.

Recipe Source

Make your own Kettle Corn

The other night Marshall and I were settled in for a movie and I got a serious popcorn craving. I wasn't sure at first what type I wanted but then decided on Kettle Corn. I've only ever bought it or made it from microwave popcorn. I'm not eating microwave popcorn anymore (I don't recognize most of the ingredients in there!) and now that I have a wonderful popcorn popper I decided I'd give it a go. I found the following recipes:

Kettle Corn

Tip: Homemade Kettle Corn is much, much tastier when you prepare it with butter-flavor oil.
1/2 cup popcorn
1/4 cup vegetable oil or butter flavor oil
1 1/2 - 3 tablespoons sugar (lightly sweet to very sweet)
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan. Pour in the popcorn, sprinkle sugar on top, and cover. Once the popcorn starts popping, shake the pan continuously until the popcorn is popped. Transfer the kettle corn to a serving bowl and salt lightly. Makes 8-10 cups.


Easy Alternate Directions:

Sprinkle salt and sugar to taste over hot, lightly buttered popcorn.


I took the easier alternative but instead of having the grains of salt and sugar (I hate that) I melted butter and sugar together and then put it over top of the popcorn. It made for a little bit sweeter of a Kettle Corn but still very very good (I think next time I'll put a little more salt on, instead of just the salt that's in the butter)

Spinach Zucchini Spaghetti

I have been trying to make different meals lately, more health options, with lots of veggies. I heard of something like this before, and me being the type of person that I am I just sort of started throwing stuff together and came up with something pretty good. Sometimes it's hit and miss but this time worked out well so I wanted to share it with you. It's not totally exact because, well like I said I made it up as I went, but you'll get the idea.

- 1 pack of frozen chopped spinach (1 cup)
- 2 medium zucchinis chopped
- 1-2 pounds of ground beef cooked
- 1 large can of tomato sauce
- 3 cups of chopped tomato (canned, fresh or frozen, doesn't matter)
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
- 2 tablespoons thyme
- any other spice you like!


Cook beef in a frying pan (once done drain out the fat/oil).

In a slow cooker combine veggies, tomatos and spices. Put on medium heat.

Once the meat is cooked add it to the slow cooker. Cook on simmer/low for 4 hours. (I cooked mine over night, it just made it that much better)

I used whole wheat noodles, and raw mozzarella cheese, so tasty!

Candida Diet Supper: Shrimp and Broccoli Stir-fry

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For 2 servings:

1 lb. frozen raw shrimp, thawed
1 head fresh broccoli
1 chopped red pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup water
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger root

In heavy skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and vegetables and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add water, ginger root and thawed shrimp. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for an additional 4-5 minutes until vegetables are hot and shrimp is pink.

How to make honey lemon troat lollies

Don't these look great? I'm going to give it a go once I've eaten through all the ones I have in the house (I'm trying not to buy/make in excess!)

Honey Lemon Throat Lollies

2 C. sugar
1/2 C. honey
3/4 C. water

juice of 1/2 lemon

1-2 Zinc tablets, crushed (optional)
1-2 Vitamin C tablets, crushed (optional)

Looks yummy right? Get all the details from the original post at Heart, Hands, Home: Putting Proverbs 31 Into Action

Baking My Way: Pillsbury Rhubarb Pastry Bars

I have had rhubarb in my freezer since last summer and I thought it was time to use it. And it just so happened that there was just one recipe in the book with rhubarb so it worked out perfectly.

I don't know if you can tell in the photo below but my rhubarb was like rubber. I tried to cut it with a knife and that was useless. Then I tried to chop it in the blender but it was super stringy and just got caught up in the blades. I was starting to think it wasn't going to work out and I was wondering if I could maybe use blueberries instead (?) but then I got out the scissors and tried that out. The blender worked a little so between the two I managed to get pretty small pieces. I mixed it all together and spread it on the pastry and crossed my fingers.


It didn't need to cook nearly as long as it said in the recipe but it turned out super great! I didn't have any icing sugar in the house when I made these but you know they taste great without the glaze too!

INGREDIENTS

Pasty

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup margarine or butter

3/4 cup warm milk

Filling

4 cups finely chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb

3/4 cup sugar

1 (3-oz.) pkg. strawberry flavor gelatin

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

I thought I would hit three birds with one stone and watched Breakfast at Tiffany's and had a smoothie while I baked.

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 400°F. Grease 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan. In small bowl, soften yeast in warm water (105 to 115°F.). In large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar and salt. With pastry blender or fork, cut in 1 cup margarine until crumbly. Add yeast mixture and 3/4 cup warm milk (105 to 115°F.); mix well.

Divide pastry dough in half; shape into balls. Between sheets of waxed paper, roll out each ball of pastry to 17x12-inch rectangle. Remove top sheet of waxed paper from 1 rectangle. Place pastry rectangle in greased pan; remove remaining waxed paper. Press pastry over bottom and slightly up sides of pan.

(I didn't have any yeast, and I don't like it anyways so I used this substitute)

In medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients. Spread evenly in pastry-lined pan. Remove top sheet of waxed paper from remaining pastry rectangle; place over filling. Remove remaining waxed paper. Seal edges securely. Prick top pastry with fork in several places.

Bake at 400°F. for 25 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown.

In small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients, adding enough milk for desired glaze consistency; blend until smooth. Drizzle over warm bars. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Cut into bars.

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