Too Good To Be True

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Source: www.mealsmatter.org

When you're tired of oatmeal, cold cereal and bagels, it's time to shake things up and make a coffee cake. This recipe makes an incredibly moist coffee cake with a crunchy topping. With cream cheese and chocolate chips as important ingredients, you'll want to add some eggs or fruit to the menu to make the meal count as healthy. But it's worth it.

1 C butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 C sugar, divided

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C milk

6 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 C chopped pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and 1 1/4 C sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Pour into a greased 9 inch spring-form pan.
4. Combine the pecans, cinnamon and remaining sugar. Sprinkle over batter.
5. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen. Remove sides of pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Ole'!

Recipe: Mexican Stuffed Shells
Source: Renea Hubbell

"These are great to make in advance and as with most pasta dishes, it tastes better the next day."

24 jumbo pasta shells

1 lb lean ground been

2 C salsa

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 C frozen corn (thawed)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 C shredded Mexican cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a non-stick pan cook beef; drain. Stir in salsa, tomato sauce, corn and beans. Spoon into pasta shells. Place in a 13x9x2" baking dish coated with non-stick spray. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve topped with black olives, sour cream, green onions and extra salsa.

Sweet Party Mix

Recipe: Sweet Party Mix
Source: Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book 12th edition

I made the traditional Chex Party Mix for a family gathering this weekend and wanted a sweet version to bring, too. I found lots of great recipes on the Chex website but the one I chose came from my trusty BH&G cook book. It takes 10 minutes to make and 20 minutes to bake and, best of all, the ingrediants can all be found at Aldi!

4 cups bite-size corn square cereal
4 cups bite-size rice square cereal
2 cups pretzel knots
1 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp light-colored corn syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup dried cranberries, blueberries or cherries

1. In a large roasting pan combine corn cereal, riace cereal, pretzels, and almonds; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, without stirring, for 5 minute more. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in baking soda. Pour over cereal mixture; stir gently to coat.
3. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes; stir cereal mixture and bake 5 minutes more. Remove from oven; stir in dried fruit. Spread on a large piece of buttered foil to cool. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container. Makes 12 cups.
   

English Scones

Recipe: English Scones
Source: "A Christian Teacher's Guide to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by Christian Ditchfield
Why I like this recipe: "This delicious pastry is a cross between a cookie and a muffin."
These scones were easy to make and turned out nice. They can be made for a tea party for little girls or for a brunch. We made one batch with raisins and one without and the kids preferred the batch without.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces butter
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup raisins

Ingredients for Step 4
1 lightly beaten egg
1 TBSP sugar

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together by hand. If they don't blend well, add a splash of milk.
2. Pat out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into circles with a cookie cutter or jar lid.
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Flip scones over, brush tops with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar; bake another 8-10 minutes until lightly brown.
5. Allow scones to cool completely; serve plain or topped with butter.
   

Cheesy Sausage and Potatoes in the CrockPot

Meal- Dinner
Recipe Source- Liz Reimer
Reason I like this dish- This meal is simple and delicious! Give it a try and it will become one of your new "comfort foods".

1 package O'Brian frozen potatoes (or any cubed hashbrowns)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 lbs kielbasa sausage, sliced

2 cups shredded cheese

Add all to crockpot and cook on high 4 hours. It's as easy as that.

Chinese Fried Rice

Side Dish: Chinese Fried Rice
Source: The Everything Kids' Cookbook 2nd ed. by Sandra K. Nissenberg, M.S., R.D.

My daughter received a cookbook for Christmas and chose two recipes to make for dinner last week. Both recipes had the Difficulty Rating of Hard so she couldn't make these independently but the result was a fun meal that she was SO proud of. We're going to try the Orange Chicken again to try and improve on our first attempt but the Chinese Fried Rice turned out very well.

2 cups cooked white rice
1/4 cup oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce

• Cook the rice according to package directions. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet.
• Add the onion, garlic, ginger, carrots, zucchini and peas.
• Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Remove the skillet from the heat and put the vegetable mixture into a large bowl.
• Add the beaten eggs to the skillet. Cook eggs until they are scrambled.
• Combine the egg mixture and the mixed vegetables.
• Put the cooked rice into the skillet and stir.
• Add the soy sauce to the rice, then add the vegetable and egg mixture back into the skillet.
• Stir with the spatula until everything is heated through.
• Makes 4-6 servings.
  

Whole Wheat Soft Pretzels

This is a favorite snack at our house, and surprisingly simple. I have tried several other soft pretzel recipes and they were such a production! The last thing I need is more stress...so this simple recipe was just the thing. I don't remember where I got it (something that I am notorious for) but, just want to say that I did not create the actual recipe. :) I use my stand mixer, so in my kitchen, the process is tweaked a bit so I'm not even kneading by hand. I also like to make the ropes half the suggested size to make smaller pretzels. Just take 5 minutes off the baking time for that option. The original recipe...

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water 2 1/2 to 3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
3 TBSP canola oil
1 TBSP honey
coarse sea salt

In a bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add 2 cups of the flour, oil and honey. Stir until smooth. Mix in small amounts of the remaining flour until a dough is formed that is not too wet to handle.

Place dough on a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl and let stand in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Punch down dough.

Divide dough into twelve equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, about 18 inches long.

Twist each rope into the shape of your choice and place on a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Yield: 12 pretzels.