I have been feeding my family...

 So it's been a year since I've posted.  My family has been eating in that time. Ha! My hubby isn't home tonight and I'm doing some blog clean up. Thought I'd share a few pics of food I have.  I'll do better about sharing recipes since I love to get new ones from other people!

Homemade freezer jam. If you think that this is too hard.. you are WRONG! I bought some fresh strawberries at the beginning of the summer.  Get some sure jell, some jars (even plastic containers will be ok if you'll use them up in a month or two) or some plastic jelly jars, sugar and follow the directions. It is not hard at all. I like mine smoother so I chop my berries on a food processor but you could use a masher.  Seriously..  homemade goodness all year.  I made some last week with Aldi strawberries too- just as good and they were only $.99 a quart!

 When my friend Gretch was over her son Owen helped me make some.  He loved eating "his" jam!

My mom had given me her bread machine and I just couldn't get a good loaf out of it, so I gave it away.  Then my friend gave me one and I tried this recipe. and it worked great!  I used wheat flour and baked it in the oven.  So basically the bread machine does the kneading and rising.  I don't want to brag (ha ha) but I was pretty proud of my loaf of bread!   I tried rolls in it too, but they were just ok. Need to keep trying.

There you go!  An updated recipe, or semi recipe post from me.

Ice Cream Cake!

Ready for the easiest but tastiest ice cream dessert ever? I've made this a handful of times and it always gets rave reviews. My mom found it somewhere and I was skeptical but I love it!

Ingredients

2 boxes ice cream sandwiches

2 reg. sized tubs of cool whip

choc. syrup caramel syrup

in a 9x13 pan open and lay out 1 box of ice cream sandwiches. I cut up 1 to fit the sides. Then put 1 tub of cool whip on top, spreading around. You don't have to use the whole tub if you don't want to. Drizzle choc on top of cool whip (or caramel, or both, whatever)

Lay second box of ice cream sandwiches on top of cool whip. Smooth cool whip on top and then top with caramel and choc. You can also add crushed candy bar (any flavor) on top. Put in fridge and serve frozen. YUM!

No bake energy bites (there must be a better name?!)

Energy Bites

makes approximately 2 dozen depending on size NOTE-This is the recipe copied from the website. I'll put my changes in blue. LOVED these!

• 1/2 C nut butter(almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter or any other nut or seed butter. Anything will work here) I used natural PB once, and regular once. Both were great.
• 1/3 C honey(I believe brown rice syrup would also work. I’m not sure of thinner sweeteners such as maple syrup and agave though as they may not hold together as well) used honey
• 1 C old fashioned rolled oats(you can toast for a nuttier flavor at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes)
• 1 C shredded unsweetened coconut(you can substitute any dry ingredients for this, wheat bran or germ, oat bran, some ground flax seed(I wouldn’t recommending using an entire cup!), any kind of ground nuts or seeds. For a cookie dough type bite try adding a few tablespoon of your favorite whole grain flour) used 1/2 cup coconut (we only have sweetened, but oh well) and 1/4 cup ground flax seed, and 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1-2 tsp vanilla
• pinch of sea salt if using a natural nut butter with no added salt
• 1-2 tsp your favorite spices or spice combinations(optional) cinnamon
• 1/2 C other addins(any kind of whole or roughly chopped nuts or seeds, dried fruit, good quality chocolate chips, etc) choc. chips (mini, or I also chopped a few dove dark choc. pieces) and poppy seeds. :)

In a large bowl add the nut butter, honey or other sweetener, vanilla and salt if needed. Use less vanilla if yours is very strong or more if you really enjoy the vanilla flavor and don’t buy an alcohol based kind. If all your ingredients are room temperature you should be able to stir to combine. If this is difficult you can warm in the microwave for a few seconds or even place the bowl in an inch or two hot water for a few minutes to soften everything. Once this is combined add the remaining ingredients.

In this case I used almond butter and for my addins I used equal parts sesame seeds, poppy seeds and mini chocolate chips. Mix well. Once it’s all combined place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then remove from the fridge, scoop out some dough and roll into a ball. I find it’s much easier, and works better to squeeze the handful together to compact it and then roll it into a ball.

If yours are too sticky you can considering adding more dry ingredients into them or rolling them in something like ground nuts, coconut, etc so they aren’t as sticky. Place the balls in an airtight container either in the fridge or freezer for quick and easy snacks.

Molasses Choc. Chip Cookies-YUM!

I got these from this website. I don't know how I found it, but I LOVE these! I'm in search of the perfect choc. chip cookie. I have my friend Jo's, my friend Jodi's, my friend Minda's and now this one. So far I love all of them but this one ranks up to the top. What is your all time favorite choc. chip cookie recipe?

PS- the key to these? Let them sit in the fridge overnight. And I used choc. chunks. :)

Ingredients 4 cups flour (18 ounces) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 sticks butter, softened (8 ounces) 2 cups sugar (15 ounces) 2 tablespoons molasses 3 large eggs, at room temperature 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate discs

Directions 1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. 2. Beat butter, sugar and molasses until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. 3. Beat until well mixed. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate discs. 4. Let sit in refrigerator overnight before baking, and may be stored this way for up to two days. Yes, I realize this is the very hard part. 5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper. 6. Gently form dough into 1 1/2 to 2-inch balls and place 2 to 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes on middle rack. 7. Remove from oven and let cool on pan for 2 more minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely if you have any will power left.

Lentil Casserole

We are having meatless Mondays at our house. (well, that's the goal, with Shane being gone, we had a lot of PB &J Mondays! I found this recipe here . Just go to the lijit search and type Lentil Casserole. This picture is after the cheese had cooled but guess what it was good! And guess what else? My WHOLE family ate it (even Graham, even Shane!) It was good as leftovers and also super easy to make.

Lentil Casserole

Ingredients
¾ cup lentils
½ cup rice
½ tsp basil
¼ tsp rosemary
¼ tsp oregano
¾ tsp garlic powder
3 cup chicken broth (can use water)

Directions
Mix all ingredients in casserole dish. Cover and bake on 300* for 1hr. 45 minutes to 2 hrs. (I stir after 30 minutes to mix in the seasoning.)

Serve over salad and top w/ sour cream. Goes well with tortilla chips. Or serve as a dip w/ tortilla chips and a with salad.

Read more: http://www.5dollardinners.com/2010/03/lentil-casserole.html#ixzz1NNP5rIB1

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

I got this recipe from here . I really liked them and felt like they were a bit more healthy since they are filled with good things. Ok so I did add chocolate chips and butterscotch chips- but that balances things out to zero right?

My only thing about these cookies is that they were really dry. I read the comments on Elizatbeth's post and someone said the same thing so they added an extra egg. I did too. The results were still good but I'm wondering if they would have been better if I didn't do that? I had to cook them about 2 minutes longer (didn't use a silpat either, but I'd love to have one- they are on my amazon wish list!) If you try them let me know what you did about how dry they are. :)

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup rolled, old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter with sugars, cinnamon, baking soda and salt until well combined, scraping sides of bowl at least once. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes). Add flour and stir in oats, flaxseed meal and wheat germ. Stir in butterscotch and chocolate chips.

Drop dough onto cookie sheets (I like using Silpats) and bake for 9 minutes.

Shan's Enchiladas and hummus!

I had friends over on Tuesday night and made enchiladas and hummus! It was so very good. This is my plate for leftovers on Wednesday, but they are still great as leftovers (served with a good ole box of spanish rice and veggies)

The original recipe of the enchiladas can be found on cooks.com under "Charlotte's sour cream enchiladas". We had it for my birthday with my girlfriends years ago but we changed it so much that I have it in my recipe book as Shane's birthday Enchiladas. :) The original calls for beef and red enchilada sauce. I use chicken and green sauce and mix the sour cream in. I'll give you the way I make it

2 Tbs veg oil

2 cups cooked and cubed or shredded chicken (I had this cooked before)

1 med. onion chopped ( I like it chopped fine)

1 can, 16 oz. black beans, drained

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp garlic salt

1/3 cup mild taco sauce

1 c. pitted black olives, quartered (omitted them this time, Jo doesn't love olives :) )

2 cans, 10 oz each, mild enchilada sauce,(I used green)

12 flour tortillas (mine works out to be like 9 or 10 in the pan)

3 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese (used a two cup package and it was fine)

1 cup sour cream

I also add chopped peppers (whatever I have, red, green, yellow) and sometimes green chilis- just a little for flavor)

In large skillet, brown onions and peppers in oil. Add chicken, then beans, salts, and taco sauce and olives. Heat until bubbly. Add chilis if using

IN separate pan, heat enchilada sauce. Pour half of the sauce into a 9x13 casserole dish. Spoon 1/3 cup filling onto each torilla (I use like 1/2 cup) roll like a crepe.

Pleace tortillas, seam side down, in casserole. Mix 1 cup sour cream with remaining enchilada sauce. Pour over top making sure sauce covers all tortillas. Top with cheese. Garnish with sliced olives if you wish. Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until hot. Serve with more sour cream if desired.

YUM!

Here's the hummus recipe. My friend Eva gave it to me. I LOVE it! I use my large food processor and used less oil but then added a little more and also a little more garlic. Once in the bowl to serve I sprinkled more cumin on top. So good!

1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas)

1/2 c. olive oil (I often just do 1/3 and add more tahini)

1/4 (or 1/3 c) c tahini

1/4 c. lemon juice

2 large cloves of minced garlic

cumin (to taste - I do about 1/2 T.)

Salt (to taste)

Mix in food processor. Great to dip tortilla chips, veggies or pita in!