German Pancakes

Mexican Haystacks

Grilled Asparagus

Honey Mustard Chicken

Fruit Pizza Bar

I had to use my cell phone for this pic I left my actual camera at home!

Cinnamon and Sugar Pull Apart Muffins

French Onion Soup

Smores Brownies

Monkey Bread

Valentines Fun and Gifts

Lumberjack Breakfast Cake

Fajita Seasoning

Party Drink

Shrunken Head Cider

My husband and I love making shrunken head cider.  It is easy and fun!  We found the recipe on MarthaStewart.com. 

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 8 large Granny Smith apples
• 32 whole cloves
• 2 gallons apple cider (we always use honey crisp apple cider, it costs a little more but it is definitely worth it!!)
• 2 (12-ounce) cans frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together lemon juice and salt; set aside.
2. Peel apples and cut each in half through the stem; remove seeds and core. Using a sharp paring knife, carve a face, as desired, on the rounded side of each apple half. Place apples in lemon mixture for one minute; transfer to paper towels to drain.
3. Place apples, face-side up on prepared baking sheet and transfer to oven. Let bake until apples are dry and begin to brown around the edges, about 90 minutes. Remove apples from baking sheets and press cloves into the "eye" sockets.
4. Combine cider and lemonade in a pot on stove and heat to desired temperature and transfer to a large punchbowl; float shrunken heads on top.

Here is my version of a picture tutorial.

There you have it.  I hope you have fun making your own little shrunken apple heads.  My sister Megan hates cider and she loved this recipe.  It is so delicious.


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I am jealous I don't have a ruler like that and I want one!!!  I am definitely going to have to use the discount code.

Garden Fresh Tomato Soup

Yesterday my husband wasn’t feeling well and he asked for soup. Let’s back up a bit. All growing up I hated soup but realized in the past couple of years that I just didn’t like the soups my Mom liked and made. I don’t have many recipes for soups but have tried them here and there and have loved some.

So… my husbands sick and he asked if I would make him soup. Of course I wanted to help any way I could. I called a wonderful friend who is an amazing cook and asked for help, she gave me hands down the best soup recipe that I have ever tasted. Remember I am picky.

Why is this tomato soup so great? I have a few tomatoes from the garden (not enough to can) and it was perfect to throw them in, peal and all. It had a very rich flavor and it was a great comfort food.

With fall just approaching I thought you might want the recipe too.

The recipe is from allrecipes but I made a few modifications that contributed to my newly founded favorite soup.

Garden Fresh Tomato Soup

Ingredients 

         4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

         1 sliced onion

         2 large scoops of minced garlic

         2 cups chicken broth

         4 tablespoons butter

         2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

         1 teaspoon salt

         2 teaspoons white sugar, or to taste

Directions

1.             Saute onions, garlic and butter over medium heat until the onions caramelize and are soft.

2.              In a stockpot, over medium heat, combine the tomatoes, chicken broth, and sauted onions and garlic. Bring to a boil, and gently boil for about 20 minutes to blend all of the flavors. Remove from heat and put in put in a blender until smooth.

3.              In the now empty stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux, cooking until the roux is a medium brown. Gradually whisk in a bit of the tomato mixture, so that no lumps form, then stir in the rest. Season with sugar and salt, and adjust to taste.

I paired it with some fantastic quick and easy Divine Bread Sticks from Mel's Kitchen.

The whole family enjoyed!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

This is more of a recipe review. I found this recipe at a linky party at Be Different Act Normal (I love linky parties. So much fun stuff). The recipe was posted on I'm Topsy Turvy.  My family really enjoyed these. My husband who does not like pancakes was really into these.

Just a couple things before I post the recipe. These took a lot of time; not like a normal pancake. You have to make three separate things: pancake batter, cinnamon filling, and glaze. If the cinnamon filling spills out of the batter onto your griddle it burns-quickly-and smells awful. Also, the filling gets super hot! I may or may not have burned myself. The pancake recipe is totally delicious even without the filling and glaze.

I'm not going to post a full tutorial here, but over at I'm Topsy Turvy she has an amazing tute! Check the whole thing out here.

Picture from I'm Topsy Turvy

Here's what you need:

Cinnamon Filling
1/2 C butter, melted
3/4 C brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Glaze
4 Tbsp butter
2 oz cream cheese
3/4 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pancakes (Can be doubled or cut in half easily)
3 C flour
6 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Wisk together in a bowl
2 1/2 C milk
6 Tbsp melted butter
4 Lrg eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Wisk together in a separate bowl

Cupcakes

It is my mother in law's birthday today.  While trying to come up with a present for her, I got to thinking about what her favorite things are.  She always says that when she dies and goes to heaven, there had better be chocolate covered strawberries, or she doesn't want to go.  We have made her chocolate covered strawberries before, so I decided we need to make her something different.

I found a recipe for chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes from the site The Girl Who Ate Everything.  If you haven't checked out her site yet you definitely should.  I mean 'wow' she is amazing!  

I think this is a great idea for anyone on a budget.  They are cheap to make and look really impressive.  Mine don't look as good as the originals but I thought they turned out pretty good.  All you would have to do to spruce this up is go buy a plate at the DI or dollar store and arrange a few cupcakes on it.  Then wrap it all up with cellophane and tie it with a cute ribbon.  

Frozen Tomatoes

Who planted a garden this year? What did you plant? Have you harvested anything yet? What are you most excited to eat from your garden? My husband went crazy this year. Our garden is about six times bigger than we need and I love it! It's been a lot of work to keep the weeds somewhat under control, but I think they are winning right now. This year I was most excited for the green beans and zucchini we planted. I knew one zucchini plant would be enough for us, but I planted two; I just picked the first one yesterday! The hubs planted eight tomato plants! All I can say is, wow.

I know how to can and I don't hate doing it, but it is so hot right now and standing in front of the stove for a few hours canning tomatoes does not sound like my idea of fun. A neighbor told me that she freezes her tomatoes! I am new to the amazing world of freezing fresh foods, and so far I am in love. I'm embarrassed to admit that I just learned you can freeze bananas this summer. One of the best things to happen to my life. So when my neighbor told me what she does to get her tomatoes ready to freeze, I knew I had to tell all you as well!

• Wash the tomatoes
• Cut the stems out
• Quarter or half the tomato depending on how large it is. If you have cherry tomatoes don't worry about cutting them at all. I do half Romas though.
• Put them in a food processor with the blade attachment (I'm not sure if a blender will work since I haven't tried it)
• Turn the food processor on and liquefy the tomatoes.

You can be done at this point but if you know what you will be using the tomatoes for, you can add other ingredients: jalapenos, garlic, onion etc. Just make sure you mix them together well.

My neighbor stores her tomatoes in plastic bowls with lids. I measure mine into Ziploc Freezer bags. Before pouring the tomatoes in, I label each bag with the date and what is going inside. Sometimes I add extra ingredients. Sometimes I just use tomato so I need to know what I'm going to be using. I also write on the bag how many cups are inside. Side note: I do not buy the less expensive zipper bags for the freezer. Ziploc makes a great product and the freezer bags help prevent freezer burn so well. Before I zip the bag closed, I press out as much air as I can.

I use frozen tomatoes for anything tomato based: chili, spaghetti, soups etc.

One last thing, did you know you can freeze celery as well? Wash and cut it down to sticks. Lay it out on a cookie sheet and freeze for several hours before you place it in Ziploc bags. You can use it later in soups and stews. Great to know for when celery is on sale!

French Toast Casserole

I love breakfast foods. Breakfast has got to be my favorite meal. Next to cold, highly sugared, cereal I love French toast. A few years ago I was on a camp out with my church. Our bishop was in charge of making breakfast. He made this casserole in a dutch oven; it was so good! We had it later at a Christmas party as well. I enjoy it so much!

 

I had to take a picture in the pan because my family was already picking at it even though it was still so hot!

What you need:
1 Loaf of cinnamon swirl bread or Texas toast bread cut into cubes
6 Eggs beaten
3 c Milk
2 t Vanilla
2 t Cinnamon
1 c Fresh Raspberries or Blueberries optional

• Place cubed bread into a greased 13x9 pan
• Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon and berries if you choose to use them
• Pour over bread
• Refrigerate covered overnight or at least one hour (Overnight is the best)
• Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes
• Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve with syrup

My husband liked this because it reminded him of bread pudding. I am going to put raspberries in next time and try to find a custard recipe to put on top. I think that would make it just like the bread pudding we love at Kneaders.

Clarks Dip

My Uncle-In-Law came to a family party and made this dip. His name is Clark and we've always just called it Clarks Dip. It is awesome. This is one of the only foods I actually have cravings for! We usually dip Wavy Lays in it, but saltine crackers and veggies are also good! It is also another one of those super easy, super fast things. Perfect for parties or watching a movie.

What you need:
24 ounce container Small Curd Cottage Cheese
8 ounce block Cream Cheese
1 Lemon
6 Green Onions
Garlic Salt

• Soften the cream cheese in the microwave 15-25 seconds
• Mix softened cream cheese with cottage cheese
• Chop the bottom 3-4 inches of the green onions and add to cheese mixture
• Juice lemon over cheese and onion mixture
• Season to taste with garlic salt
• Mix well

Serve with your choice of chips, crackers and/or vegetables.