AAAAH-tumn!

This was the title to an article in our paper today and it sums up my love for this time of year. Even though our temps are still hanging around the upper 70's and low 80's (still too warm for my taste), I have been in the mood for some yummy, fall, comfort food. Last nights dinner was so good.....



The creamy chicken soup recipe came from this book (which is awesome by the way), so I can't share it, but the bread bowls were so good and the perfect way to enjoy this soup. That recipe came from here. I had some leftover bread bowls, so I froze them to eat next week with another yummy fall comfort food...my favorite chili! YUMMY!

30 meals...

I just came across this idea for 30 meals. I think that it is well thought out and I love the idea of having your most frequently requested meals on hand to make planning dinner a little easier. I also love the idea of the recipe box for the fridge so that you know what you are making each week. So I have been working on compiling my 30 recipes, but so far I only have 20 (does cereal count for one of your 30 meals?!). So I thought that it would be fun to share recipes with any of you who may wish to play along. If you have a favorite family recipe or two, just post it in my comment section and then we can all have some new ideas to feed our families.

*Just a side note, once you have your master list compiled, when you go to the store, by 3 of all your ingredients (especially when they are on sale) and soon enough you will have built up a 3 month supply for your food storage. Love that idea! Here are the links for the 3 step 30 meal dinner plan

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

I will start by sharing one of our favorite recipes:

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos (from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
10 (6 inch) flour tortillas
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup salsa

DIRECTIONS
Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano. Simmer for an extra 10 minutes.
Heat an iron skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan, warm, and turn over to heat the other side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese and salsa.

**Try it in the crockpot. Just throw all your ingredients in the crockpot and let it cook until the chicken is done. Then shred the chicken and build your tacos. Doesn't get any easier than that!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I made this bread yesterday and Erik told me that it was so good that I should open a bakery! Well, since that's not going to happen, here is the recipe so you can make some for yourself!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm milk (70 to 80 degrees F)
1/4 cup water (70 to 80 degrees F)
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
5 cups bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

FILLING:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

**Next time I make this I am planning to double the filling.

GLAZE:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
4 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

**This glaze was a little thin and I like my glaze to fall somewhere between a glaze and a frosting, so I added about 1T butter and about another 1/2 C of powdered sugar and it came out just right!

DIRECTIONS
In bread machine pan, place the first eight ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons water or flour if needed).
When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 10-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Brush with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough. Roll up tightly jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place seam side down in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Cover with foil; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove form pans to wire racks to cool completely. Combine glaze ingredients; spoon over loaves.

You can also view this recipe here www.allrecipes.com

**I didn't make this in my bread maker, I used my kitchenaid and it really was easy! Once the dough was made, I let it rise for an hour and then when I formed the loaves, I let it rise for another hour.

**It makes awesome toast too (Not that I ate 2 slices this morning slathered in butter and I would know first hand or anything...)

ENJOY!

Sunday night treats!

On Sunday nights, we like to have a special dessert. So Brett was reading the paper today and he saw an ad for BJ's (a restaurant in CA) and he saw that they had a new " Triple Chocolate Pizookie". It was a big chocolate cookie baked in a pizza pan topped with scoops of chocolate ice cream and fudge on the top. So of course, we had to make our own version with what we had on hand. So I found a recipe for chocolate chocolate chip cookies, then I took the dough and baked them in our skookie pans . When they were done Brett piled on triple vanilla ice-cream and drizzled caramel sauce over the top. Needless to say the boys devoured it like a pack of hungry wolves! Brett and I managed to get a couple of bites ourselves, and I have to say that it was pretty delicious. So our treat to you....the recipe so that you can make one for yourself.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies from Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar (I used 1 C white sugar and 1/2 C. brown sugar)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate
chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
(optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

If you don't have skookies pans, just spread the dough in a metal pie pan and bake until cooked through completely. Pile ice-cream and whatever toppings you want on top and eat! Enjoy!

Waiting patiently:



Digging in:



Cleaning up:

It's official......

A is now in nursery! Today was his first official day in nursery. The past couple of weeks, he has wandered into nursery on his own and didn't want to leave and wouldn't you know it, today he cried when Brett went to leave. He did great though and shortly after Brett left him there, I went to check on him and he was doing just fine. He was sitting on the floor happily playing with toys. He looked so cute in there. Then at the end of church when I went to pick him up, the nursery leader told me that he did great and that he is a sweet boy. Yes, he is a sweet boy (most of the time.)

We had a nice day at church today. I am really enjoying studying the Book of Mormon this year. We decided that we wanted to read the Book of Mormon as a family this year, so we have set aside some time right after dinner to read the scriptures together as a family. I am happy to report that so far we have followed through with this really well. We have only missed a couple of times and the boys (especially C) remind us when we forget. I found this great reading schedule in the Friend this month. It breaks down the Book of Mormon month by month so that by the end of the year you will have read the entire book. Since the boys are still a little young, we are reading the younger children version and just adding in a few more chapters as we see fit. Anyway, it has been fun to read the scriptures together.

Last, today I actually made a yummy Sunday lunch (and no, it wasn't cereal). I made....wait for it...Chicken Cordon Bleu! Now anyone who knows me, knows that I have an aversion to touching raw meat, especially chicken, with my bare hands, so this was a big deal for me to actually have to touch the chicken to roll the ham and swiss cheese in it, but I did it and it came out awesome! Here is the recipe that I used:

Cordon Bleu Chicken Rolls
INGREDIENTS
8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
8 slices cooked ham
4 slices Swiss cheese, cut into 1 inch pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup cornflakes cereal crumbs
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Place each chicken breast half between sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to about 1/8 inch thickness. Place a finger of cheese on each ham slice and sprinkle lightly with thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Roll up seasoned ham and cheese 'jellyroll-style', then roll each chicken breast with ham and cheese inside. Tuck in ends and fasten with toothpicks.
Place melted butter in a small bowl and place cereal crumbs in a shallow dish or bowl. Dip each chicken roll in butter or margarine, then roll in crumbs, turning to coat thoroughly. Place coated rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for about 40 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear. Serve with cordon bleu sauce, if desired.
To Make Cordon Bleu Sauce: In a small saucepan mix together the soup, sour cream and lemon juice. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, and serve hot over chicken rolls. Makes about 2 cups; 8 servings of 1/4 cup each.


I didn't make the gravy (as we aren't fans of gravy with this meal), and I made a few other changes. I let out the thyme and just seasoned with salt and pepper. Then instead of the cornflakes, I used dry breadcrumbs. Anyway, this was really yummy and I will be making this again. I also made these awesome Parmesan Knots which would be really yummy dipped in marina sauce with an Italian style meal


Parmesan Knots

1/2 C vegetable oil (I used melted butter instead)
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese (I just used parmesan in the can)
1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes (I left this out as I didn't have any)
1 1/2 tsp Oregano (I used a little less oregano per our taste)
1 tsp garlic powder
dash pepper
3 cans (12oz each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (I used Grands original flaky)


In a small bowl, combine oil (or butter), cheese, parsley, oregano, garlic powder and pepper; set aside.
Cut each biscuit in half. Roll each portion into a 6" rope; tie in a loose knot. Place on greased baking sheet.
Bake at 450 degrees for 5-8 minutes (I baked mine at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes) or until golden brown; immediately brush with the parmesan mixture.

Here is a pic of the end result

What did our picky boys eat you ask?
Dino chicken and apples. C did try the Cordon Bleu and he said "This is homemade?" I take it that he liked it, but he didn't want a portion of his own.