Choco Coco Nut Ice Cream

It's no secret I love coconut but the kids...... not fans.  So instead of putting toasted coconut in this ice cream like I would do if it was all for me, I just used some coconut milk in addition to regular milk and cream.  It gives it that coconut flavor I crave, but it isn't so strong that it bothers the kids.


Choco Coco Nut Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

½ cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

2/3 cup white sugar

1 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup canned full fat coconut milk

2 tbsp. vanilla

½ cup finely chopped pistachios for garnish

Directions:

In a bowl, combine cocoa powder and both sugars, whisking to combine.  Add milk and whisk thoroughly until sugars are completely dissolved.  Stir in the heavy cream, coconut milk and vanilla.  Pour the mixture into the freezer bowl of ice cream maker.  Run for 30 minutes and transfer to an airtight container and freeze.  When serving, garnish ice cream with pistachios.  (Again, if it were for me, these would be IN the ice cream, but..... kids.  Enough said.)

Easy One Pot Sausage Alfredo

This recipe is so fast and yum!  The whole family loves it!!

Easy One Pot Sausage Alfredo

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. butter
3 green onions cut into 1" pieces
1 pkg. beef or chicken sausage 12oz - cut into rounds or on the bias to desired thickness
8 oz. dry noodles (farfalle, penne, spiral, any kind you like)
2 cups water
1 cup heavy cream
Black pepper to taste
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. fresh Italian parsley minced
Salt to taste

Instructions:

Melt butter in frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry sausage and onions until sausage is browned.  Add noodles, water, cream, pepper, garlic and Old Bay seasoning. Stir to combine. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. After the pasta mixture comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Check the pasta after 9 minutes. If it is not tender, cook an additional 1-3 minutes. When pasta is tender, remove from heat and stir in cheese and parsley. Taste for salt and pepper. You can add additional boil seasoning if you want this to be spicy/salty.

Zucchini Brownies

I made these delicious brownies for Family Home Evening this week and I am laughing so hard because no one knew that THEY ARE MADE WITH ZUCCHINI!  Ha ha family!  Because heaven knows if they knew that they wouldn't have even tried it!  Since they didn't know they all scarfed it down!  Sometimes it's so fun to be sneaky!!

These brownies are delicious!  They are so chocolatety and the m word.  Um, I try not to use that word but you know which one I mean right?  I just really hate that word.  So it starts with M and it basically means the brownies aren't dry.  At all.  Pretty much that word is banned in our house because I hate it so much, but I digress.  These brownies are delicious!!


Zucchini Brownies


Ingredients:

8 oz. zucchini (about one 8" fresh zucchini, trimmed), cut into chunks (about 1 1/2 cups shredded)
3 tbsp. butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips


3/4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream or 3 tbsp. milk


Preheat oven to 350 and grease a square 9" pan.  For the brownies, combine the zucchini, melted butter, eggs and vanilla in a food processor bowl and process until smooth.  Add the sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and flour and process briefly, just until combined.  Add the chocolate chips and pulse several times to break up the chips a bit.  Pour batter into the pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
For the frosting, combine the chocolate chips and cream in a microwave safe bowl or in a saucepan.  Heat until the chips are soft and then remove from heat, stirring until the chips are all melted and it is smooth.  Spread frosting on top of the brownies and refrigerate for one hour to set.  Can be stored at room temperature after that.

Look how m......... not dry it is!!!

Granola

For the past several weeks I have been playing around with granola recipes, trying to make the perfect one for me.  I think I am getting really really close!  I am loving this one.  I customized the nuts and added ones I like (and had on hand).

Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup nuts/seeds (any combination of nuts and seeds - sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, pecans, whatever your favorites are)
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
Dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, etc)(this is optional of course)

Directions:

Heat oven to 250 degrees.  Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.  (I use a sheet cake pan and it fits perfectly).  Mix oats, nuts, coconut and cinnamon in a large bowl.  In a blender, combine brown sugar, syrup, oil and salt.  Fold into the dry mixture until well combined.  Spread onto baking pan.  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Add dried fruit in the last 5 minutes of baking.

Slow Cooker Au Gratin Potatoes

These potatoes are easy and DELICIOUS!!!  It's the only way I will make them now!

Slow Cooker Au Gratin Potatoes

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes (I have used Yukon Gold and regular both with great results)
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Wash and peel the potatoes.  Slice them to about 1/8 inch thick. Spray or butter your slow cooker to prevent potatoes from sticking to the sides.  Add one layer of potatoes to the slow cooker and season them.  Continue layering and seasoning until you have used all the potato slices. (I vary the seasoning each layer.  Some layers I just use salt and pepper, some I add onion powder and some I use a favorite seasoning blend, 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe's). When all the potatoes are in the pot, melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan.  Add the flour and whisk over medium heat until mixture starts to bubble up, then cook for 2 minutes whisking constantly. Slowly pour in the milk and whisk until thickened.  Add the cheese and stir until melted.  Pour cheese mixture over the top of the potatoes, no need to stir the potatoes.  Place 2 paper towels across the top of the slow cooker and put the slow cooker lid over the paper towels. Turn the pot on high and leave it for an hour. You can leave it on high for two more hours or turn it to low for 3-4 hours.

Pambazos

The past month or two every time Colby is asked what his current favorite meal is his answer is always the same - pambazos.  Since I am still making Mexican food every Monday in honor of his mission to Mexico, I decided I would try to make them!  They were easy and DELICIOUS!!!

Pambazos

Ingredients:
15 dried guajillo chiles
1 clove garlic
1⁄2 small white onion, roughly chopped
2 1⁄4 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1⁄2" cubes
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1⁄2 cup canola oil
1 1⁄4 lb. fresh chorizo, casings removed
6 soft pambazos, teleras  or kaiser rolls, split
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
1 cup grated queso Oaxaca or mozzarella
Cotija cheese for the top
Avocado, onion and tomato for garnish

Directions:
Heat a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chiles, and cook, turning once, until toasted, about 2 minutes. Transfer all chiles to a large bowl; pour over 4 cups boiling water, and let sit until chiles are soft, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 1⁄4 cups soaking liquid, and remove stems and seeds from chiles. Transfer chiles and reserved soaking liquid to a blender along with garlic and onion; purée until very smooth, at least 2 minutes. Pour sauce into a bowl; set aside.
Bring a 4-qt. saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat; add potatoes, and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat; add chorizo, and cook, stirring to break up into small pieces, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Add potatoes, and cook until potatoes are very tender, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Using your fingers, scoop out and discard the insides of rolls, leaving a 1⁄2"-thick shell. Place about 1 cup potato-chorizo mixture on roll bottoms, and cover with tops; press sandwiches lightly to flatten and compact filling. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Submerge two  sandwiches in chile sauce until thoroughly soaked, at least 10 seconds; place in skillet, and cook, pressing constantly with a metal spatula to flatten and flipping once, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board; repeat with remaining oil, sandwiches, and sauce. Open
sandwiches and divide lettuce, and cheese among sandwiches; add avocado, onion or tomato if desired. Close sandwiches again and serve warm.

Easy Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

This is exactly the kind of thing I've been wanting to cook lately:

Easy  -  (Check!!  You just throw all the ingredients together!)

No heating up the kitchen  -  (Check!!  All it takes is 3 1/2 hours in the slow cooker, no oven or stove!)

Yummy  -    (Check!!  Definitely yummy!)



Easy Slow Cooker Orange Chicken


Ingredients:

4-6 chicken breasts (amount depending on family size!)
1 18oz jar of Sweet Orange Marmalade
1 bottle of barbecue sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's but to each your own)
1/4 cup of Aloha Shoyu low sodium soy sauce (this is the best soy sauce everrrrrrrrrr)


Directions:

Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours.  Remove from slow cooker and dispose of liquid.  You can shred, chop or keep the chicken as is.  Place the chicken back into the slow cooker.  In a bowl mix together the marmalade, barbecue sauce and soy sauce and pour over the chicken.  Cook on high for a half hour (make sure you remember to put the lid back on!)  Serve over calrose rice cooked in a rice steamer, yay for sticky rice!!!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal

I'm not sure if this was a dessert or breakfast...... oh yeah, it was breakfast!!  This is so delicious!!


Coconut Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal


Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats
Salt to taste
1/4 cup applesauce
Smidgen of turbadino sugar (just a smidge!!!)
Few drops of coconut extract
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp. melted butter
Dark chocolate chips and unsweetened coconut (as much or as little as you want,need,DEMAND!)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all ingredients.  Pour all ingredients into a small pan or ramekins - or a vintage yellow Pyrex!  Cook for 20 minutes or until firm.

Southwestern Chopped Salad

It's hot outside so I've been making salads.  After Caleb had this one the other day he said "That was the best salad I ever had.  Only make this salad for the rest of your life."  I responded "What if I make it Asian....".  He quickly said "No." I countered again with "But what if I..."  "No!" I tried again with a "Wha....." and got a "NO!!"  Caleb can be a brat sometimes..........  but I get it.  It's a delicious salad.  I put all the topping options in bowls so the kids could choose what they wanted to put on it and it was a total hit.


Southwestern Chopped Salad


Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, grilled and diced into 1 inch pieces
1 bell pepper, diced (any color - I like red but received some complaints I didn't use green)
1 14oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup sweet corn (fresh or frozen, if frozen make sure to leave time for it to defrost)
1 tomato, diced
1 package of romaine hearts (wash and chop into smallish pieces)
1 avocado, diced
Tortilla chips
Salsa
Spicy ranch dressing

Directions:

You can add all the ingredients together in a large bowl, or you can do like I did and let your family pick and choose what they want to add to their salad.  To make the dressing, Hidden Valley Ranch makes a Spicy Ranch mix that you can use, or you can also add about a tablespoon of taco seasoning to regular Ranch mix when you make your ranch dressing.

Laundry Detergent

I've been making laundry detergent for a couple of years now and I love it.  It lasts for a long time and works well with our family members who have sensitive skin.  There are a lot of recipes out there for it, this is the one I have been using.  (This last time I made it I substituted one of the bars of Fels Naptha with Zote, that is the pink grated soap in the last picture.  If it doesn't work as well as the Fels Naptha I will update).  Some people put scent crystals in theirs (you can buy them in the laundry aisle) but I feel like that adding those extra chemicals in it is defeating the whole purpose of making the detergent yourself (unless you are making it for economical reasons).  You could always add essential oils to it if you HAVE to have it smelling pretty!

Homemade Laundry Soap

Ingredients:

Borax, 4 lb. box

Fels Naptha soap, 2 bars

Arm & Hammer baking soda, 4 lb. box

Arm & Hammer Super Washing soda, 55 oz. box

Oxy Clean Free Stain Remover, (half of a 3 lb. container)

Directions:

Grate the soap with a hand grater.  If you want the soap smaller you can even pulse it in a food processor after grating, but it isn't necessary, as soon as water hits the soap it starts to dissolve.  Find a large container to mix all the ingredients in (like a bucket, I use a ginormous bowl).  I mix them together by adding about a quarter of each ingredient and then mixing them together, then adding the next quarter and mixing it together and so on.  Transfer it to a container with a lid to store it in.  Use 1 to 2 tbsp. per load depending on the size of your load.  Easy!!!

Fruit Salad

Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

2/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups cubed fresh pineapple
2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 bananas, sliced
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 cup seedless grapes
2 cups berries

Directions:

Bring orange juice, lemon juice and brown sugar to a boil in a saucepan.  Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, around 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Let cool.

Layer the fruit in a large bowl (you will want to put the more delicate ones like the berries on top).  Pour the cooled sauce over the fruit.  Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Caleb, my teenage food snob, declared this chicken to be 'on point' and a 'flavor explosion in my mouth.'  Either he has watched way too many Guy Fieri cooking shows or this chicken is just that good!!  (Or possibly both could be true, let's go with that!!)


Sweet and Sour Chicken


Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 in. pieces
1 1/2 cup cornstarch
3 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tbsp. ketchup
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce (Ahola brand is the best!)
1 tsp. granulated or minced garlic

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place cornstarch and beaten eggs in separate bowls.  Dip chicken into cornstarch and then dip in beaten eggs.  Meanwhile, make sure the canola oil is heating up in a large pan over medium high heat.  After all the chicken has been covered with the cornstarch and egg fry it in the oil until browned.  Remove chicken from the pan when browned and place in a 9X13 greased pan.  In a bowl whisk together sugar, ketchup, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce and garlic.  Pour over the chicken and bake for one hour.  Yum!!

Carne en su Jugo

Since Colby is serving a mission in Mexico, we have enjoyed embracing the Mexican culture.  Every Monday we have Mexican Food Mondays - it is our favorite day of the week because that is the day we hear from Colby via email and we get to eat delicious food as a bonus!!  In one of Colby's emails we asked what his favorite meal he had so far was, and his answer was Carne en su Jugo.  Thom decided right then he was going to make it and we were SO GLAD he did.  It is delicious.  It is a popular soup in the city of Guadalajara, where Colby was living close to at the time.


Carne en su Jugo


Ingredients:

4 fresh tomatillos, husks removed
3 serrano chile peppers, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled
3 cups water
6 slices bacon
2 pounds flank steak, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
2 (15 oz.) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 onion, chopped
6 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
Black pepper to taste
Limes and radishes for garnish

Directions:

Combine the tomatillos, peppers, garlic and water in a saucepan over medium high heat; bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.  Transfer the contents to a blender and blend until smooth.  Set aside.

Cook the bacon in a skillet until crispy, about 10 minutes.  Drain on a paper towel lined plate.  Crumble the bacon and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and cook the flank steak until browned.  Pour the tomatillo mixture over the beef and bring to a boil.  Stir the chicken bouillon into the mixture and reduce heat to medium.  Cover and simmer until tender, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, heat the pinto beans in a saucepan over medium heat until warm; reduce heat to low to keep warm until needed.  Stir the bacon and pinto beans into steak mixture.  Serve with possible garnishes of onion, cilantro, black pepper, lime and radish.  (We also used avocado and cotija cheese).