Orange Honey Butter

Have you ever had Indian Fry bread? Or what Utahns call scones? It is just fried dough. Like thin stretched out bread dough that has been fried to golden perfection but whatever. We love it around our house. Even the kids eat it up. There are crazy easy to make too. As a matter of fact all I do when I make them is use rhodes rolls that have been thawed. No bread dough making for me! The best thing about them is that they are a blank slate. You can use them for something more filling like navajo tacos or just sprinkle them with some powder sugar.  

For a fun twist I made some orange honey butter. Holy bananas it was delicious! 

Orange Honey Butter

1/4 C butter, thawed to room temperature

1-2 Tbsp powdered sugar

1-2 Tbsp honey

6-8 drops doterra wild orange oil

1-2 tsp vanilla paste

Whip honey and butter until pale in color. Add sugar, orange oil, and vanilla paste and whip until well combined and a consistency that you like.

So all my measurements are to your taste. Some people like it more sweet, others like it less sweet. We liked it sweet. Make sure your butter is really room temperature. If it isn't room temperature the butter and honey have a hard time combining. 

Peace Out!- AnneMarie

Caramel Pretzel Magic Cookie Bars

Every year our family does a treat exchange at our Bitner Family Christmas party. The basic gist of it is that you make a plate of treats for every family to take home with them. Then you have a bunch of yummy treats to celebrate your holiday without the fuss of having to make them all. I love it! It is like getting to take the party home with you. Not too mention all the goodies. Oh the goodies! 

This year I was going to do a bag of our favorite frozen potstickers from costco- easy peasy but then I saw these bars. So I decided to try and make them on a whim. Best whim ever! They are buttery and sweet and salty and caramely. Oh baby! They are crazy easy to make too. So now these are a serious contender for our treat exchange. I typed up the recipe because I slightly adapted the original recipe. I added nuts. Thats it! HA!

Caramel Pretzel Magic Cookie Bar

6 tbsp butter, melted

1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs

25-50 pretzels

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 C pecans, chopped

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 C sweetened coconut flakes

1 C caramel bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the can of sweetened condensed milk in a bowl of hot water to help it pour easily. Do not pour it into bowl-leave in can!! Mix and press graham cracker crumbs and butter in a 9x13 pan. Pack down firmly. Drizzle half of the can of sweetened condensed milk over crumb crust. Layer pretzels tightly over sweetened condensed milk. Sprinkle pecans, chocolate chips, coconut flakes and caramel bits over the pretzels evenly. Pour the remaining sweetened condensed milk over the top. Bake for 25 minutes or until slightly browned. Let cool completely before cutting!

They are awesome!

Butter Pecan Raisin Bread Pudding!

My Hubby and I have a favorite dessert that we may or may not sneak away to a certain Famous restaurant to order and share. It is their yummy  BREAD PUDDING! Now...I have had my share of bad bread puddings too. Some that are some slimy and so squishy that they are not enjoyable at all. I am happy to announce that this recipe is AWESOME!! Its nice firm but still soft if ya know what I mean...HAHA!!

BUTTER PECAN RAISIN BREAD PUDDING

 1/4 cup butter, melted
 2 cups half-and-half
 2 cups milk
 1 (1 pound) loaf soft raisin bread, torn into small pieces
 3 eggs, lightly beaten
 2 cups white sugar
 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

 Butter Pecan Sauce
 1/2 pound unsalted butter
 1 cup heavy cream
 1 cup brown sugar
 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 13x9-inch baking dish with 1/4 cup melted butter.
Pour half and half and milk over bread in a large mixing bowl; let soak for 10 minutes before gently stirring. Stir eggs into the bread mixture until incorporated. Add sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon, stirring each addition into the mixture before adding the next. Spoon bread mixture into prepared baking dish.
Bake in preheated oven until bread mixture is firm and pudding-like, about 50 minutes or more until the bread appears firm.

BUTTER PECAN SAUCE
Stir 1/2 pound unsalted butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar together in a heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, stir pecans into the cream mixture, and simmer until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes; pour over each serving or over entire pan depending on preference. Can be served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream... ENJOY!!

Porcupine Balls

In some ways I hate posting recipes. I find it really hard to figure out exact measurements when it comes to recipes. I cook more intuitively. Which is not to say I am a good cook it just means I throw in whatever sounds good. Guess what happens half the time? You guessed it! It doesn't work. I throw in one too many weird ingredients and it ruins the whole thing. But alas I continue doing it. I love the tossing and tasting experimenting of cooking. It feels freeing and grown-up. Ha! Yes you read that right, I said grown up. I throw caution to the wind with ever teaspoon of celery seed and dash of soy sauce I toss in. I do it like I have experience. It brings me joy.

So here is a recipe for porcupine balls that is really meant as a guideline. 

Porcupine Balls

2 pounds ground meat

1 cup instant rice

1 tsp celery seed

1 egg

1 onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

2 tbsp parsley

1 12 ounce can tomato sauce

1 small can crushed tomatoes

Mix meat, rice, celery seed, egg, onion, garlic and parsley until completely combined. Make into even sized balls. Cook in large sauce pan or electric skillet turning to brown each side. Once brown add 1 cup water, crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Simmer 25 minutes or until rice is fully cooked. Then enjoy!

This boy loved them! I also sprinkled some garlic seasoning and italian seasoning over them will they were simmering. I used half ground turkey and half ground beef to add some richness. Next time I make them I am going to make half with brown gravy and half with tomato sauce just to please our varying palates. Lola does not groove on tomatoes. We served them with crock pot mashed potatoes and green beans. YUM! 

PS!! Don't forget to enter our giveaway for a 50 dollar Amazon gift card!  

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

It is November 7th and I am finally making my first pumpkin recipe of the year. Which is coo coo go nuts cause I am a girl who loves pumpkin. This is an easy and fast cookie recipe. They go together wicked fast. They only have three ingredients for cripes sake! I love the texture and consistency of these cookies. Instead of chocolate chips we used butterscotch chip this time which is a nice twist. It seems to make them extra sweet. I hope you try this recipe and love it!

1 spice cake mix

1 15 oz can of pureed pumpkin

1-2 cups butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 375. Mix the pumpkin and cake mix until thoroughly combined. Throw in the chips and stir up. Drop on to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until they no longer look wet. Immediately transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy!

A note! I baked mine at 375 but I think that our oven bakes at a lower temp than it says it is cooking at. Does that make sense? So I think that our oven is about 25 degrees cooler than what the gauge says. So if your first batch come out over cooked then turn your oven down. 

Mock Abalone-A family traditional Recipe

Do you know what Abalone is?? Let me tell you...:) it is the meat inside the shell that mother of pearl comes from. 

It looks like this...

after meat is removed

the meat 

the whole complete abalone

My husband Jason's grandparents (who lived near the ocean) would eat abalone occasionally but the price was and is still daunting! $70 to $105 a pound approx. A delicacy worth the price from what I understand although I have

 never had the privilege of eating it myself. 

(it may as well cost a million dollars at that price. I could afford it as easily LOL!)

Enter the invention of Mock Abalone...

Thank you Grandma Hill!

It is delish!

Do give it a try! 

You will love it and it tastes a lot like abalone with the price of good ol' chicken! YAY!

MOCK ABALONE

2 jars of clam juice

3lbs boneless skinless chicken (cut into strips or nuggets)

1 Cup masa herina

Oil for deep frying

Seasonings to your tastes and desires...We like to use seasoned salt, creole seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, old bay, black pepper, etc etc. Whatever suits your fancy.

Instructions

Soak the chicken pieces in the clam juice for as long as you can preferably over night. When you are ready to cook, put the masa herina and the seasonings in a gallon size zip lock bag. Drain the juice away from the chicken and add the chicken to the masa mix.  Shake to coat. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile heat your oil to 375. Place a few pieces in the oil and cook for about 3.5 minutes or until the internal temp reaches 160 degrees. Placed the cooked chicken on a plate or tray lined with paper towels to drain. Repeat the cooking until all the chicken is cooked. 

Enjoy!

Loves 

Emily

Quick Easy 25 min Homemade Chili

This is a go to recipe for our family! We love chili but just flat out don't have the time to do all that soaking the beans etc that a traditional chili would take. This recipe is adapted from a cooking genius friend of mine who taught me a lot of domestic things in my earlier years whom will forever be thankful for!! 

Quick and Easy 25 min Chili

3lbs ground meat 

(we used chicken we had ground ourselves but hamburger or turkey works great too!!)

1 onion diced

2 cloves diced garlic or to taste

4 cans of chili beans undrained

1 15oz can of tomato sauce

2 TBS cumin or to taste

1/2 TBS chili powder or to taste

2 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp chipotole powder

6 drops Tabasco or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

grated cheese for garnish

Brown meat with onion and garlic until meat is no longer pink and onion is translucent. Drain if it is needed. Add chili beans and tomato sauce. Add all seasonings to taste. :) Serve with a little cheese on top. PS this makes a huge pot,  Feel free to adjust the amounts to fit your needs.

Fancy Puff Pastry Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie-Great for Entertaining!!

This is really a cool concept! The first time I saw this idea was at the Lion House Pantry. Unfortunately I have no idea what their recipe is but I really love how mine turns out! This is just my recipe for chicken pot pie filling and a great puff pastry square! It is great for serving at a party too! So much less complicated! 

Fancy Puff Pastry Deconstructed 

Chicken Pot Pie

Makes enough for 12 squares

2 sheets of puff pastry thawed

2lbs of chicken breast cooked and diced

1 Cup of sliced carrots

1 C peas

1 C sliced celery

2 potatoes peeled and diced

1 onion diced

1/3 C butter

1/3 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp thyme

2 C chicken broth

1 C milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a pan with parchment paper. Cut your puff pastry sheets into 12 squares and place on the parchment. Place the carrots celery and potato in a sauce pan and cover just barely with water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for approx 15 min or until the veggies are fork tender.Drain. Meanwhile, melt the butter in another sauce pan and onion and saute until the onion is translucent.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and thyme. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat. Mix milk mixture and veggies together.  Add the peas and the chicken. Allow to heat through. Place the puff pastry in the preheated oven and cook until the pastries are golden and puffed. 15-20 min approx. 

 Once the pastry squares have rested about 5 min. place one in an individual serving dish and ladle the chicken pot pie mix over the top with the desired amount of "gravy". Enjoy!! 

PS wouldn't it be cool if we cut the pastries out in fun shapes too!

Loves,

Emily

Quick Baked Pasta

That up there is my family's current absolute favorite meal. I say current because that seems to change every time I turn around. However, this seems to be a contender for favorite of all time. I mean we have eaten this twice in a weeks time. WHAT? That is crazy go nuts in my family. Best part? It is 4 ingredients. So lets hope it stays high on the list. Quick and easy- just how I like it! 

Quick Baked Pasta

1 lb pasta- we use rigatoni

1 lb italian sausage

1lb ball mozzarella cheese, cubed

1 jar pasta sauce

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta until al dente. While pasta is boiling cook and crumble sausage until it is no longer pink. Mix pasta, sauce, mozzarella cheese and sausage in pasta pot until well combined. Pour into 9x13 pan and bake 30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I leave the sausage in rather large hunks. That is how we like it. I also cook the pasta until a pretty firm al dente. We like it to be a little less mushy when cooked and it continues to cook while it is baking in the oven. One last thing! If you like your food a little more saucy- add more sauce and cover with foil before baking. We like it crisp so we leave the foil off.     

Cheesy sort of au-gratin potatoes

I have a hard time with side dishes. It has been my goal this year to really expand my side dish repertoire. It has been rough. I am finding that it is not easy to make dishes that please the whole family. At this point if I get 3 out of 4 people to like it I am pretty pleased. Then I made these cheesy yummy garlicky potatoes. They were a hit. I say sort of au gratin because they don't have onion and most au gratin recipes call for it. Onion is not a kid pleaser in my house. Which is nuts! Onion is awesome!! What can I say? They are little weirdos. 

To start this recipe out you need to really scrub your potatoes clean. Slightly dirty potatoes and you will get some grey spots in your sauce. Not appetizing! After you scrub the tar out of your potatoes you are ready to slice. I used a mandolin. I don't like using the safety guard on it and it freaks my husband out. I like living dangerously! But you shouldn't. Use the safety guard. Then stack those babies in your pan. We slivered up some garlic cloves and stuck them randomly in between potatoes. 

Next the roux to start the bechamel sauce. Roux's used to be very intimidating to me. But basically all it is is flour and butter. The goal is to cook the flour until you lose the raw flour taste. No big deal! Especially if you always use equal parts flour and butter. 

After milk is added. When you add the milk your roux can get a little lumpy. I have found that if you just whisk it like crazy it smooths itself right out. After it is smooth and has come to a slight boil you turn it off and add the cheese. I always use sharp because I feel like the creamy sauce needs the sharp cheddar to cut into the richness. 

Pour your beautiful bechamel sauce over your potatoes. Cover it all with aluminum foil and toss that bad boy in the oven. Half way through we take the foil off and let it get a little brown. 

MMMMMM! Yum. They are so good and the smell in the house was just lovely. I am pretty partial to potatoes though. They make me happy!

And the finished product. This picture leaves something to be desired, I know. But don't let that discourage you from trying them! Because these potatoes are awesome!

Cheesy Sort of Au Gratin Potatoes

2 1/2 pound potatoes, cut into thin slices

4 garlic cloves, cut into slivers

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

3 cups milk- I used fat free with no issue

1 3/4 cups sharp cheddar

Preheat oven to 375. Generously grease 9x9 pan. Stack potatoes into pan. Stick garlic slivers in between potatoes randomly. In large sauce pan combine butter and flour. Cook over medium heat until bubbling. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, whisking almost constantly. Pour milk into sauce pan and whisk until smooth. Let sauce come to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Do not let sauce get too thick to pour. Remove from heat and add cheese. Whisk until smooth. Pour over potatoes. Cover casserole with aluminum foil and put in oven. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and let bake another 30 minutes. Test potatoes for doneness. Pull out of oven if they are cooked to your liking and let rest for 5 minutes. Then Enjoy!

Award winning homemade Crock Pot Pasta Sauce

This sauce is GOOD! We use is as our sauce for lasagna, baked ziti, cheese ravioli etc. It makes a lot so its likely you will have left overs to throw in the freezer which is always nice.

Crock Pot Pasta Sauce

 1 pound sweet Italian sausage

 1 pound lean ground beef (we use ground turkey)

 1/2 cup minced onion

 2 cloves garlic, crushed

 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

 1 12oz can tomato paste

 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce

 1/2 cup water

 2 tablespoons white sugar

 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

 1 tablespoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned and place in your crock pot.

 Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning,salt, and pepper.

 Simmer in crock pot, for approx 3-4 hours on high, stirring occasionally. Enjoy!!

Vanilla Simple Syrup

I have a simple and quick recipe today. Vanilla simple syrup. Simple syrup can make a big difference in the recipes you make. I mostly use it for tea and cocoa. It can also be used in cocktails and mocktails. It is a great way to sweeten and add a little oomph of flavor to iced tea because it doesn't need to dissolve. No more sugar crystals at the bottom of your sun tea jar! Simple syrup is crazy easy to make and in my opinion it is totally worth the 20 minutes it takes to cook up.

Look at those lovely brown flecks!

Vanilla Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Add vanilla. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Boil 10-15 minutes. Cool and store in airtight container. Keeps for one week in the fridge. Enjoy!

One comment: you can use vanilla extract instead of pure vanilla bean paste. I would encourage using the paste. Emily and my mom turned me on to vanilla bean paste and holy bananas! It is good. I admit that in baked goods I can't tell the difference between the paste and the extract. However in something like the simple syrup you can taste the difference. Plus I love the color and the vanilla flecks in it. 

Freezer Breakfast burritos (great for camping!!)

I don't know about you but my summer mornings are meant to be slept through. HAHA!! Unfortunately, they mostly don't get to be BUT I can still hope and try right?? When I do manage to sleep/get my way I like knowing that my children who prefer to get up instead of sleeping (WHAT??) have something they can eat for breakfast that isn't cold cereal or pop tarts. Enter Freezer Breakfast Burritos!! 

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

18 Eggs

2lbs Sausage

 1 Yellow Onion

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

4-6 chicken bouillon cubes

12 Med. Potatoes, chopped

4 Cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded

24 Tortilla Shells

 Salt & Pepper to taste

 Foil for wrapping

Optional: Salsa and extra cheese  

Chop potatoes and boil with bouillon cubes until soft. Crack eggs and cook over low heat until you have soft, scrambled eggs.  Salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile Saute sausage yellow onions and garlic in 2 T. olive oil until fragrant and cook all the way through and no longer pink.  In large bowl combine Sausage mixture, scrambled eggs, drained and squashed a smidge potatoes,  cheese, and Salt & Pepper.  Divide ingredients into 20-24 tortilla shells.  Roll and wrap in tin foil -- freeze. ready to unwrap and microwave for a soft shell or fry in butter for a crisp shell or throw on the fire. Serve with salsa and extra cheese if desired. (makes 20-24 burritos)

ENJOY!!

PS they were absolutely amazing for camping!! I just put the frozen still wrapped burritos over the fire and they were great! AND they helped keep things frozen and cold also! WIN WIN!!

Taco Pizza!!

I love finding great recipes on pinterest! Especially when they end up being as good as they sound! My family really enjoys this recipe for taco pizza!  Especially my dear daughter Lindsay. This pan was actually made by her to take to a friend.  

Doesn't it look tasty?

Taco Pizza Serves 12

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
2 (8 oz.) cans crescent rolls
1 (16 oz.) can refried beans 
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced black olives
4 green onions, chopped

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Brown ground beef and drain. Add taco seasoning to the ground beef according to the package directions.

Unroll crescent rolls into rectangles. Place in ungreased 11 1/2 inch x 16 1/2 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Press dough over the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides to form crust.  Bake at 375 oven for 11 to 13 minutes or just until golden brown.

  Carefully spread beans over warm crust creating a thin layer.
Top with cooked beef mixture, sprinkle with cheese followed by tomatoes, black olives and green onion.  Return to oven for 3-6 more minutes until cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.  Makes 12 main dish servings or 48 appetizers.

Baconated Green Beans

I have a pretty good handle on main dishes come dinner time. I can whip up a bunch of frozen chicken breasts with gusto. Give me some pork chops and I can wow you. That being said my side dish repertoire is a little lacking. I am working on it though!  Hence this recipe. Now I like to think that this is healthy but really it isn't. I use a lot of bacon in it. The amounts are just suggestions. You can reduce the amount of bacon. It is crazy good like this though!

Baconated Green Beans

24 oz fresh green beans prepared for cooking

12 oz bacon

1 med onion, diced 

Boil six quarts of water in medium pot. Throw in green beans and bring back to boil for 4-5 minutes. Take green beans out and immediately cool down in an ice bath. Cook and crumble bacon. Remove bacon from skillet and all but 1 tbsp bacon grease. Saute onion until translucent. Mix green beans, bacon and onion in serving dish. Enjoy! 

You want to cool the beans down immediately after they are cooked. That helps them keep that bright green color. I cheated a little too! I bought onion that was already chopped. It is a little more expensive but the time and effort it saves is worth it in my eyes. It makes getting dinner on the table that much easier.  

Key Lime Pie

My hubby loves lime! So to be the good wife I aspire to be, I am always looking for ways to deliver the limey goodness he enjoys! 

Welcome to Key Lime Pie! 

Easy and delish! 

I must say when I use the term easy that does NOT include attempting to juice a bag o key limes. Those yummy sweethearts each gave about a tsp of juice a piece and with this recipe calling for 3/4 C of lime juice I would suggest:

A)have some lime juice on hand so when you get tired of juicing you can make up the difference and get on with it  

B) recruiting help (my dear hubs was and angel and did the juicing)  

C) pop a half a lime into a garlic press and squeeze for the quickest results.

OR if you aren't too concerned with having actual fresh key lime juice just buy enough key limes for the zest and use all bottled lime juice.

KEY LIME PIE

1 nine inch graham cracker crust

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

1/2 C sour cream

3/4 C lime juice

1 TBS lime zest

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice and lime zest. Mix well. Pour into crust. Bake for 5-8 min until little pin sized bubbles pop on the surface of the pie. DO NOT BROWN. Chill and serve. Adding whipped cream is a lovely touch too I might add!! :)

Yummy Hotdog Topping

We love hot dogs at our house. We probably eat them once a week. I threw together this concoction one day when I was feeling a little bored with sauerkraut and mustard. And we never looked back! We like it hot so we add lots of jalapenos.  

Yummy Hotdog Topping

1 medium onion chopped

5 roma tomatoes chopped

1/4 to 1/2 cup pickled jalapenos

Saute onions in sauce pan until translucent. Add tomatoes and cook until hot and softened. Next add jalapenos and saute until hot and well combined. Put over your favorite hotdogs. Easy peasy!

ENJOY!