Broccoli Salad

This salad is so yummy!! My grandmother's on both sides of my family made it very well!!! I hope you give it a try and enjoy it as well!


                             Photo Credit: Taste of Home

5 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 small onion (red or white), chopped
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds (you could also use chopped walnuts or pecans)
1/4 cup bacon bits
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
dash of pepper

Place broccoli, onion, raisins, almonds and bacon bits in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar and pepper and stir until well combined. Pour over broccoli mixture and mix until everything is well coated. Serve!

Note:
-If you make this ahead of time and refrigerate it until you're ready to serve it, you will want to make more dressing to add to it right before you serve it, because the longer it sits, the dressing soaks in, and then it may be a bit on the dry side. I usually mix up the salad in one bowl and the dressing in another and store them separately in the fridge. Then I dress it right before I serve it.
-Although there are measurements for everything, this is a very forgiving salad. The amounts of anything can be adjusted. Feel free to use more or less of any ingredient and add whatever else you might like to make it your own unique salad!!!!!

Tonight's Menu:

-Grilled Hamburgers
-French Fries
-Broccoli Salad

Peanut Butter Syrup

There's about 3 of us here that LOVE to spread peanut butter on our pancakes or waffles and then top it with maple syrup. So when I came across this recipe, I knew I had to try it! It was very good and SO easy! I hope you will give it a try!


                      Photo Credit: Taste of Home

1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup maple syrup (real or imitation - it doesn't matter)

Place ingredients in a microwave safe dish and heat for 1 minute. Stir. Heat for 30 additional seconds or until warm and smooth. Drizzle over pancakes or waffles!

Tonight's Menu:

It's breakfast for dinner tonight!!

-Crisp Waffles
-Eggs

Note:
-For something different; scramble your eggs, cut your waffle in half and drizzle with some mayo and/or mustard. Place the eggs on half of the waffle, top with a slice of cheese and the other half of the waffle and you have a very yummy scrambled egg sandwich (a personal favorite!)!!!!!!!

Experiment that worked!!!!!!!

I made the Broccoli Chowder for dinner tonight. Earlier in the afternoon, I cut up all the veggies except for the potatoes; I thought I would just do those when I was ready to cook the soup. But I completely forgot about the potatoes until my broccoli and carrots were almost done, so there was no time to cook them now. So after I added the milk to the recipe, I also added about 1-1/2 cups of mashed potatoes that I had leftover from yesterday's dinner. I stirred and simmered the soup on low, until the mashed potatoes and cheese were completely melted. It didn't make the soup any thicker than normal or give it an overly potato flavor; just gave it a very creamy texture! The soup turned out great!!!!!

So even though it's not a recipe, I thought I would share that with you!!! I hope someone can use it and get great results!!!!

Note:
-I just added this to my "tips" page, but while we're on the potato thing, if you are making soup and it doesn't turn out as thick as you wanted it, stir in small amounts of potato flakes until the desired consistency is reached!

Tonight's Menu:

-Broccoli Chowder
-Honey Cornbread Muffins

Today's Menu:

-Slow-cooker Turkey Breast
-Mashed potatoes & Gravy
-Shell Beans
-Green Beans
-Corn

Tonight's Menu:

-Speedy Chicken Marinade
-Chef's Salad
-Chocolate Pudding

Note:
-Of course you can use whatever you want on your salad, but I thought I would give you a list of some of the things we like on ours:
Lettuce
Spinach
Carrots
Onions
Broccoli
Peas
Hard cooked eggs
Chopped nuts
Raisins or dried cranberries
Shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped meat - ham, turkey, roast beef (it's chicken tonight!)
Dressing
-I can not eat salads because of some health reasons and I have actually met others who can't either. I can have all of the toppings, I just can't eat them all together, so this is how I eat a salad. I like to take the meat and cheese and make a lettuce wrap with it. Then all of the other vegetables I would just dip individually in the dressing. It's not as tasty as a nice big, fresh salad, but when it's all you can do, it's good!!!!!

Speedy Chicken Marinade

I hadn't planned on posting this recipe so soon....I thought it would be a good summer post! But with the "summer" weather we've been having this March, I decided to go ahead! My family loves this and it's very easy.

1 pkg. Italian seasoning (check the label)
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce (check the label)
4 large chicken breasts

Place the seasoning, vinegar and soy sauce in a gallon zip-lock bag. Squeeze to mix it all together. Pierce the chicken all over with the tip of a knife and then place in the bag. Seal the bag and shake, flip and squeeze to make sure all the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate for 1-8 hours (the longer the better). Grill  or broil until the center is no longer pink.

Note:
-Use the chicken as a whole breast, cut the breast in half lengthwise or I personally like to cut the breasts in half to make them thinner and then in half again to make strips. The smaller it is, the more marinade flavor you can taste and it will cook faster. Plus, no one in my family except my dad and brother eat a whole chicken breast anyways!

Tonight's Menu:

-Taco Baked Potatoes
-Applesauce Jell-O

Taco Baked Potatoes:

My family loves these!!! It's a great change of pace between tacos and a baked potato bar. Plus, you can make them super personal to your tastes! Add or leave off whatever you don't like! Hope you give them a try and enjoy them as much as we do!

 

 

4 medium potatoes, washed

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 cup taco seasoning

1/2 onion, chopped

3/4 cup water

3 cups cooked broccoli florets

sour cream

ranch dressing

salsa

shredded cheddar cheese

(tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms, additional chopped onions.....so many ingredients would be fabulous on these)

With buttered or oiled hands, rub all over the potatoes until well greased. Pierce the potato several times all over. Pour about an inch of water in the bottom of a slow-cooker. Crumble a piece of foil (big enough to be crumbled and still cover the water) and place over the water in the slow-cooker. Add potatoes (the potatoes should not touch the water) and cook on high for about 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours until fork tender.

In a large skillet, cook beef until no longer pink; drain fat. Add onion, taco seasoning and water. Cook and stir until onion in tender. This can be placed in a slow-cooker on low until you are ready to serve, or it can simmer on the stove.

To serve: cut the potatoes in half and top with meat and broccoli and other desired toppings!

Note:

-Cooking time on the potatoes will vary depending on the size of your potatoes. Don't worry about over cooking them. Over cooking is better than under cooking and it would take a long time before they will be too soft to eat. It would be better to allow extra time and if need be, put them on warm for the remainder of the time, than to try to cook them quickly.

-If I am short on time, or forgot to put the potatoes in the crock-pot early enough, I will peel and dice them and cook them in water on the stove. Once they are fork tender, I drain off all the water, and fry them in a small amount of butter (2 tablespoons or so, depending on how many potatoes you did) on medium heat, until they start to get a little crispy. It tastes just as good if not better than a baked potato!

 

 

Sloppy Joes

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large skillet or saucepan, brown meat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes (or as long as you want!), stirring occasionally. Serve!

Note:
-Serve this on bread or biscuits.
-We also like to use the Scoop corn chips and eat it like that.
-Place it in a slow-cooker on low to have ready whenever you want...be sure to stir every so often.

Grilled Hamburgers

It's feels like the middle of June here, so we've been eating accordingly!

2 pounds ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
2-3 teaspoons ketchup

In a medium bowl, mix together egg, oats, garlic powder, seasoned salt and ketchup. Crumble beef over mixture and mix until well combined. Divide into portions (I use a half cup measuring cup). Shape into patties. Grill for about 5 minutes and then flip over. Grill an additional 3-5 minutes or just until no longer pink in the center. Serve!

Note:
-If you like rare or medium rare...more power to you!! I don't!!
-I put all the toppings on my burger, and then wrapped it in a large romaine lettuce leaf...it was super yummy and was like eating it in a bun!!
-You can also of course make/buy your own gluten-free bread and have an actual sandwich, but we haven't had a sandwich for years now, so when we try to eat one, it's SO filling, we can't begin to finish it! Plus we're used to eating it without bread and are fine with it now!

Tonight's Menu:

-Sloppy Joes
-Macaroni Salad
-Vegetables

Tonight's Menu:

It's breakfast for dinner today with:

-Sausage Gravy
-Biscuits
-Eggs

Pumpkin Granola

I know this seems more like a recipe I should post in the fall, but that's a long time from now and I really want to share this!! I just made it for the first time today and it was SO good! I hope you'll give it a try and enjoy it as well!

 

                               Photo Credit: Elizabeth Ours

 

5 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins, optional

1/2 cup pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds), optional

 

In a large bowl, combine oats, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, pumpkin, oil, maple syrup and vanilla; whisk until smooth.

Pour pumpkin mixture over the oats and mix until well coated - this will be very moist.

Spread onto a well greased baking pan (jelly-roll pan works best). Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Stir. Bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and stir in the cranberries and pumpkin seeds. Let sit until completely cool (stirring every now and then will keep it from cooling into one large clump and help it cool down faster).

Store in an airtight container!

 

Note:

-You can also substitute any kind of chopped nut for the pumpkin seeds, but I hope you give them a try! They are so healthy for you and taste really good with this.

-Add nuts as well if you want!

-Serve this in a bowl with milk or try sprinkling it on top plain yogurt!

Caramel Chocolate Chunk Blondies

A friend of mine recently gave me a new cookbook that has tons of great looking recipes! This is the first one we have tried and it turned out really yummy!

(sorry no picture, but they disappeared before I remembered to take one! Will try to get one next time!)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/3 cup caramel ice cream topping

Combine flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
In a mixing bowl, cream together sugars and butter. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed until well blended. Add the chocolate chips.
Spread the batter evenly in the bottom of a greaased 9x13 baking dish. Drop spoonfuls of caramel topping over batter; swirl into batter with a toothpick.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan. Cut into 2 inch squares. Serve!

Note:
-If you like an extra sweet treat, serve this warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!  

Tonight's Menu:

-Beef Stroganoff over Pasta
-Peas
-Chocolate Banana Muffins

Peanut Butter Cake:

We got this delicious recipe from a relative of ours. It's SO easy and very yummy!!! Pretty rich though, so don't cut it too big!!!

                                               
In a large saucepan, bring to boil:
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil

Stir with a whisk until a rolling boil is reached. Remove from the heat and stir in:
2 cups flour
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix well until there are no lumps. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Right after you take the cake from the oven, start on the frosting.

1/3 cup milk
3/4 stick (6 Tablespoons) butter
1/2 cup peanut butter

Melt together in a small saucepan, whisking continually until a full boil is reached. Remove from the heat and add:
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb. (3 3/4 cups) powder sugar

Whisk until no lumps appear. Spread over cake. Let stand until cooled. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

Note:
-I hope the way I wrote this recipe isn't too confusing!
-It's a Wagner Family "thing" that cake can not be eaten without being served in a bowl of milk. I don't personally care for it, but I am of a very small minority in this "thing"!!! It does help to cut down on the sweetness of it, though. So, do you like your cake with or without milk?

Crock-Pot Roast

This is our Sunday Dinner staple!!! It's very easy and yummy!


                     Photo Credit: Google Search

1 (2-3lb.) Beef Roast, frozen
1 package dry onion soup mix
Water

1/2 cold water
1/3 cup cornstarch

Place roast in the bottom of a slow-cooker. Pour enough water over the roast, so that there is about 2 inches of water in the bottom of the slow-cooker. Sprinkle the soup mix over top the meat. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork. In a small glass, mix together water and cornstarch. Stir into the roast broth until thickend (this works best if the broth is boiling or at least very hot). Serve!

Note:
-IMPORTANT!!!!!!!! The directions for this recipe are for a frozen roast. It can be done with a fresh roast as well, you might just want to cook it for about 4 hours and then turn it on low until you're ready to serve it.

Today's Menu:

-Crock-Pot Beef Roast
-Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
-Green Beans
-Corn
-Pickled Beats

(Yes, we are big meat and potatoes fans as well as liking our veggies.....a lot!!!)

Tonight's Menu:

-Hot Dog Casserole
-Green Beans
-Applesauce Jell-O

Hot Dog Casserole

This is a not so healthy, but absolutely delicious family favorite!!!


                  Photo Credit: Taste of Home

3 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups milk

4-6 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
8 Hot Dogs (make sure to read the label!), quartered and cut into small pieces
1/3 cup cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Whisk in cornstarch, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk and whisk until mixture begins to boil. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened (usually it's thick enough by the time it reaches a boil for me, but you'll just have to see what it does for you).

In a large, greased baking dish, layer a third of the potatoes and a third of the hot dogs. Repeat layers twice. Pour sauce over entire dish. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until potatoes are fork tender. Sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until melted. Serve!

Applesauce Jell-O

I'm really not sure what made me think of this, but I'm so glad I did and was brave enough to give it a try!! It's become a favorite here!!! And what could possibly be easier?

1 large jar applesauce
1-2 packages any flavor gelatin (we like strawberry and orange best, but use whatever you want)

Pour applesauce in a large bowl. Add gelatin and whisk together until well blended. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note:
-We use a very large container of applesauce and I use 2 packages of jello. For a small container, you will just want one package.

Chicken a la King:

I have always loved Chicken Potpie, but it is usually a very time consuming thing to make!

This recipe by no means replaces a good Chicken Potpie, but it definitely helps to curb the craving!

It's comes together in a matter of minutes, and it's the perfect comfort food! Warm, creamy and just good!

We like to serve it with biscuits, but you could also use rolls or even toast!

I hope you try it out!

6 tblsp. butter

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3 cups chicken broth

1 & 1/2 cups milk

2 cups cubed, cooked chicken

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

Prepared biscuits (here's my recipe)

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in cornstarch and pepper until smooth. Gradually pour in chicken broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.

Stir in chicken and vegetables; heat through. Serve over biscuits!

Note:

-You can substitute the chicken for Turkey, for an equally delicious dish!



Tonight's Menu:

There's a flu bug going around here, so I thought a nice chicken dinner might taste good tonight!

Tonight's Menu:

-Chicken a la King over biscuits
-Applesauce

Crisp Waffles:

                    Photo Credit: Google Search

4 eggs
3 1/2 cups milk
1 cup oil

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
8 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until fluffy. Add milk and oil and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour small amounts onto hot, greased waffle iron. Bake for approximately 5 minutes (or according to your waffle iron instructions) until golden brown. Serve!

Note:
-Make these ahead and freeze them in between layers of wax paper in an airtight container. Reheat in the oven, waffle iron, microwave or toaster! This makes for a very fast and easy breakfast!

No-Bake Cookies

These are my brother, Kaleb's, signature cookies. He's the only one that makes them, because he makes them so well!!! They are quick, easy, and don't require an oven!

1 stick butter (8 Tablespoons)

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 cups oats

In a large saucepan, melt butter, sugar, cocoa and milk together. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and oats. Mix well. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper. Allow to set up. Store in an airtight container.

Chicken Nuggets:

These homemade chicken nuggets are super easy and super yummy!

Whether you are a gluten-free eater, and miss chicken nuggets, or you simple want to make them at home, this is the place for you!! My sister started making these years and years ago, and we never get tired of them!

We like to dip them in ranch dressing, ketchup, mustard (honey mustard) and even Arby's sauce and steak sauce!!

I hope you give them a try!

3 cups crushed cornflake crumbs
1 & 1/2 cups grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
6 teaspoons dried basil
6 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Mix altogether and store in an airtight container in the freezer.

To Make chicken nuggets, you'll need:

Desired number of chicken breasts
1-2 eggs
Crumb mixture

Beat the eggs and place in a shallow dish. Cut the chicken into nuggets or strips. Pour a small amount of the breading mixture in another shallow dish. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg first, allowing excess to drip off. Roll in breading mixture until evenly coated. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces, adding more egg and breading mixture to the individual dishes as needed. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until chicken in no longer pink inside. You can flip the chicken pieces over half way through the baking time, if you want. Sometimes the top of the breading will get golden brown, but the bottom will be soft.

Today's Menu:

Unfortunately, today's menu was nothing exciting.....or healthy! Mom and Dad are away and we always feel that with just 5 kids at home, there is no reason to cook!!!!! Plus, some of the kid's aren't feeling very well, so we REALLY didn't feel the need to cook! So today's menu:

-Hot Dogs
-Baked Beans
-Ranch Doritos

Like I said, nothing healthy, but it tasted pretty good and didn't take long to make or clean up! So, this proves that you can have quick meals and still eat gluten-free! Just make sure you ALWAYS read the label for the Hot Dogs and Baked Beans!!!!

Honey Cornbread Muffins:

I know there's a thing in the south about how it's not cornbread if there's sugar in it. And you might feel the same way!! However, I love a lot of southern food (Okra, grits...you get the picture!), but I also happen to love cornbread with sugar in it!!! So here is a recipe that we have used for a while now. Whenever we serve these to non gluten-free eaters, everyone is SO surprised that something that tastes so good, could possibly be gluten-free!

                               This is not my photo

1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey

In a large bowl, combine first six ingredients; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil and honey. Stir into dry ingredients and mix until well combined (I like to use a whisk to do this to get all the lumps out).
Fill greased muffin tins or paper muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator after they have completely cooled.

Baking Powder Drop Biscuits:

Biscuits where tricky to figure out when I first went gluten-free, because the best biscuits are rolled and cut out. But with gluten-free recipes, if you roll it out, then when you bake it, it will be SO dry and crumbly, you couldn't eat them even if you wanted to! So drop biscuits are the perfect solution, and these are so moist and fluffy!! I hope you enjoy them!!!

 

 

3 cups flour
1 tblsp. xanthan gum
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 tblsp. baking powder
1 tblsp. cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
2 cups milk
2 eggs

Place flour, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt in a food processor and pulse once or twice to mix everything together. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles course crumbs. Add milk and eggs and mix until well combined. Drop onto greased cookie sheets, using an ice cream scoop. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until dark golden brown. Serve!

Note:
-Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Flour for the locals

I just posted my bread recipe, and I wanted to tell you where I get my flours. There's a lot of places on-line you can order them, but who wants to pay to ship that? You can sometimes find them in bulk food or health food stores. I get my flours at a Bulk Food Store. Around here, we have several bulk food stores, and they have all the different flours. At this store, we buy 25 lb. bags of rice flour and other things bulk like that. It lasts a long time and is cheaper to buy in bulk. I will give you the information for the store I use, so if you live near you can check it out!!!

Springs Store
1726 Springs Road
Springs, PA 15562
Phone: 814-662-4175
(This is about 1 mile out of Grantsville, MD)

If you have questions about what they carry or any questions about eating gluten-free, feel free to call the store and ask for "Twila." She is very knowledgeable about gluten-free things. The store also has a whole section with tons of gluten-free things like crackers, cookies, pasta, etc.

Basic Gluten-Free Bread:

Update:
So it's been a few years and a lot of experimenting has taken place, and I would recommend ditching this recipe, to go straight over HERE to the best gluten-free bread recipe ever!
I'm serious. It's puts this flat slab of so-called "bread" to absolute shame.

Let's compare:


This
vs.
This!



I am thankful for the recipe below, as it served us well over the years, while we had no other options!

This is the best bread I have made so far in my gluten-free cooking experience! It is fabulous warm, and the taste is good when it's cold, but it's a little crumbly. I am stilling working on trying to find a bread that works good warm or cold and still tastes good and doesn't cost a small fortune to make!! For now, we thoroughly enjoy this! BUT! Before you read down through this and determine that it takes WAY too many ingredients and is WAY too much work, let me tell you; it is a lot of ingredients, but it doesn't take very much of any of those ingredients, so one package of any of these things, will last you a long time. As far as it being too much work, it all depends on how long you've been on the gluten-free diet. If it's been a long time, you're probably willing to spend a whole day making a decent piece of bread! If you've just started, you probably think there is an easier way; don't worry, you'll change your mind in a few months!!! But seriously, if you follow the directions, it's really not a huge ordeal! We can have a batch of this done in 2 hours and that's including rising and baking time!! I hope you will give it a try and see what I mean!!

And as always, leave me a comment if you have any questions!

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup Brown Rice Flour

1/2 cup White Rice Flour

1/2 cup Sorghum Flour

1/2 cup Tapioca Flour

1/2 cup Milk Powder

1/4 cup Potato Starch

1/4 cup Millet Flour

3 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 Tablespoon Sure Jell (found with the gelatin)

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1/2 teaspoon salt

Proofing Ingredients:

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Wet Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup warm water

2 egg whites

2 eggs

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Combine the dry ingredients; set aside. Combine the proofing ingredients. Whisk to dissolve the yeast; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the Wet ingredients and beat well. When the yeast has risen, add to the wet ingredients. Add the Dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pour into a greased jelly-roll pan and spread evenly. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Once the temperature is reached, turn the oven off. Place the bread in the oven and allow to rise for 45 minutes. Leaving the bread in the oven, preheat to 350 degrees. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the bread is dark golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 30 minutes in pan before cutting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or toaster.

Note:

-I used to make this in a loaf pan, but it would tend to get over done on the top, but not quite done in the center. So I started using a jelly-roll pan and it worked much better. I just cut it into squares to use as a sandwich. I cut each square in half length-wise (making two roughly 4" x 4" squares that are about 1/2" thick). I hope that make's sense!

Taco Salad

This is what's on the menu for tonight!! It's one of those things that's hard to have a recipe for, because you can just put in what you like and leave out what you don't!!! We don't have too many adventurous people in our family, so our Taco salad is pretty much just basic stuff. I'll share with you our recipe, but feel free to tweak to your tastes' desire!!!!


                This is not my picture

1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
Ranch Dorito chips
shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes
chopped onions
chopped bell peppers (in the summer when we have a garden full of them!)
black olives
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
salsa
ranch dressing

In a large skillet, brown beef until no longer pink; drain fat. Add taco seasoning and water; stir. Simmer for 2-20 minutes (as much as you want!!!!) or place in a slow-cooker on warm/low and serve whenever you want it with your desired toppings!!!!!

Note:
-Try it with shredded, cooked chicken heated with the taco seasoning and water!

Broccoli Chowder

Definitely comfort food!!!


                       This is not my picture

1 1/2 cups water
4 cups small broccoli florets
2 medium potatoes, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery stock, chopped
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons chicken seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup cubed Velveeta cheese

In a large saucepan, combine water, broccoli, potatoes, carrots, onion and celery. Bring to a boil, and cook for 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Combine milk, chicken seasoning, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Add to vegetables. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in cheese until melted. Serve!

Homemade Tartar Sauce

This is really easy and really yummy!


                      This is not my picture

1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use miracle whip)
1 1/2 teaspoons parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons zuccini or pickle relish
4-5 Green, piminento stuffed olives
3/4 teaspoon dried minced onion

In a small dish, combine all ingredients and mix until well combined. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

Cranberry-Orange Chex Mix:

This is my mom's absolute favorite!!

4 1/2 cups Rice Chex Cereal
4 1/2 cups Corn Chex Cereal
1 cup sliced, slivered or halved almonds
1/4 cup butter
1/4 brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1/2 - 1 cup dried cranberries

Heat oven to 300 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine cereal and almonds.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine butter, sugar and juice. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir. Microwave in 30 second intervals until sugar and butter are melted and smooth.
Pour over cereal; mix until evenly coated.
Pour onto a greased jelly-roll pan. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Stir in cranberries and pour onto wax paper to cool. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container.

Muddy Buddies Chex Mix

Just looking at this makes me want to go and make some!!!!

4 1/2 cups Rice Chex Cereal

4 1/2 cups Corn Chex Cereal

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 -2 1/2 cups powder sugar

Place cereal in a large bowl; set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate, peanut butter, and butter. Microwave 1 minute; stir. Microwave 30 seconds more; stir. Continue in 15 second intervals until chips are melted. Add vanilla. Pour over cereal and stir until well coated. Transfer to two gallon zip-lock bags. Divide the sugar between the two bags. Seal bags tightly and shake and toss until well coated, adding more sugar as needed until everything is coated nicely. Pour onto wax paper to cool. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container.

Chex

Check out the "CHEX" Cereal website! They have a lot of great cereal that is gluten-free and really yummy, plus a lot of great recipes!!!

Crispy Caramel Chex Mix

I just love this stuff!! It's so easy and super yummy!

4 1/2 cups Rice Chex Cereal
4 1/2 cups Corn Chex Cereal
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 - 2 cups M&M chocolate candies

Place cereal in a large microwave safe bowl. In another microwave safe dish, microwave sugar, butter and corn syrup for 2 minutes, stirring well after 1 minute, until all melted together and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour mixture over cereal; stir until coated evenly. Microwave 5-6 minutes, stirring every minute, until cereal is lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes. Stir in candy. Pour onto wax paper to cool. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.