Apple Cranberry Sauce

3 cups apples, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp grated orange rind
2 cans whole berry cranberry sauce, 16 oz each


Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and simmer until apples are soft.  I never time it, so I'm guessing it'll take 15 - 20 minutes.  I usually just start the sauce while I'm cooking the rest of my meal and let it simmer until we're ready to eat.  The sauce is awesome for Thanksgiving and wonderful over pork chops.  Mmmm...

Roasted Asparagus with Parmigiano-Reggiano

We just tried this recipe tonight and it was so yummy!  I'm always on the lookout for ways to make veggies more exciting - it's so easy to fall into a rut.  I found the recipe in a magazine that Wegmans (a local grocery store) sends out.  They always have fantastic recipes, and you can get them from their website as well.  I borrowed their picture - I was in a rush to get dinner on the table and didn't have time to pull out my camera :)

Ingredients:

1 bunch (about 1 lb) asparagus, trimmed
2 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Arrange asparagus in a single layer on baking sheet; drizzle with olive oil, rolling to coat.  Roast about 10 minutes, until asparagus is tender.  Remove from oven.  Season generously with salt and pepper; sprinkle evenly with cheese.  Return to oven.  Roast about 5 minutes, until cheese begins to soften and brown.  


*I just had regular Parmesan on hand, but it was still great.  I also had some shredded Asiago cheese, so I sprinkled a little of that on just before serving.

Bacon-Almond Green Beans

Here's another fantastic recipe from Taste of Home. I was looking for some way to dress up my veggies for dinner, so I hopped online and started browsing. One look at the ingredient list for this dish and I knew it would be yummy! It was a big hit - in fact, Chris told me that from now on this is how he wants his green beans to be prepared. We'll see about that...

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2-1/4 teaspoons soy sauce
2-1/4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 to 5 tablespoons real bacon bits
4 to 5 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted (I substituted walnuts)

Directions:

Place beans in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for 1 minute or until sugar is dissolved

Drain beans; add to the skillet. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with bacon and almonds; toss to coat. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Yield: 6 servings

*I was positive that I had sliced almonds in the cupboard, but when I pulled out the ingredients for this dish there weren't any to be found! Luckily, I had some walnuts so I used those instead. Awesome! I think either way would be delicious.

Veggie Noodle Side Dish

Ramen noodles. Does the mere mention of it make you shudder? It reminds me of my early days in the kitchen, cooking lunch for my siblings. Back then though, it was just the noodles and broth. I think we've all had enough of that particular dish to last a lifetime.

I thought it was time to step it up a bit, which is why I was willing to try this recipe after finding it in Taste of Home. Have I mentioned that it's a favorite magazine of mine?

Anyway, I could tell my hubby was apprehensive and in the end I enjoyed it more than he did, but I think that was due to the fact that this dish includes zucchini and squash - two things he dislikes. Maybe if I used brussel sprouts instead... I know - I can't believe he likes them either. But to each his own!

Ingredients:

• 1 small sweet red pepper, julienned (I actually used frozen roasted peppers - yummy!)
• 3/4 cup cut fresh green beans
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced fresh carrots
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion (I'll be honest - I left that part out)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 package (3 ounces) ramen noodles
• 1 yellow summer squash, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fajita seasoning mix

Directions:

In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry the pepper, green beans, carrots and onion in oil for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions (discard seasoning packet or save for another use).

Add the remaining ingredients to the vegetable mixture; cook and stir until vegetables are crisp-tender. Drain noodles; add to vegetables and toss to coat.


Serves 4

Summertime Raspberry Salad

I could eat this salad every day for the rest of my life and die happy. Fresh fruit salad, mmmmm.... I paid through the nose for these fresh raspberries! I stood there in the produce section of Sam's, missing my mom's raspberry patch, but mostly my mom. In the end, I was glad I bought the raspberries - even though they were ridiculously overpriced. Can't wait for summertime!

Ingredients:

2 cups torn romaine (I substituted artisan lettuce)

1 small red pear, diced
1/2 cup fresh raspberries or halved strawberries
10 pecan halves, toasted
2 tablespoons dried cranberries or orange-flavored dried cranberries
1/4 cup raspberry vinaigrette

Directions:

Divide romaine between two salad plates. Top with the pear, raspberries, pecans and cranberries. Drizzle with vinaigrette.

2 servings.

*I found this recipe in Taste of Home's Cooking for 2, but it's an easy recipe to increase if you're cooking for more.

Easy Funeral Potatoes

A good Funeral Potatoes recipe is a must have for any Mormon girl's recipe box. That's a little inside joke - if you've never heard of Funeral Potatoes, it's just a cheesy potato recipe that is served often at church dinners and funerals - hence the name. It seems like everyone has a different version of the recipe! Although this one isn't too much different from most that I've tried, it turned out really yummy and was fast to put together.

Ingredients:

1 bag (2 lbs) frozen hash browns, southern style
1/2 c. melted butter or margarine
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1-2 Tbsp dried minced onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:

Pour hash browns in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix remaining ingredients together, then pour mixture over the potatoes and mix together. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees, covered, for 30 minutes then remove foil and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

*the original recipe didn't say to cover the potatoes and of course, as it was cooking I decided to check my email. As you can see, I let the cheese get a little too brown on top. I think it would be better to cover the potatoes for a bit, so I added that into the instructions.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

This recipe is the perfect side dish for Sweet Pork, or any Mexican themed meal. I don't have a picture, but one of these days I'll remember to take one and add it to this post :)

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked rice

1 tsp. butter or margarine

2 cloves garlic, minced

zest from 1 lime

1 (15 oz) can chicken broth

water - add to chicken broth to make 2 cups

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tsp. granulated sugar

3 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Directions

In a saucepan, combine rice, butter, garlic, lime zest, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and 15-20 minutes until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and, using a fork, fluff rice until cilantro is mixed in.

Orange Chicken and Fried Rice

This is so yummy you won't want to stop eating it! My mom found the recipe on SparkPeople.com and I waited awhile to make it because I thought it would take extra time. It turns out that the sauce is super easy to throw together and the only time consuming thing is cooking the chicken. So don't wait - try it soon!! I promise you'll be glad you did.

Ingredients (for the orange sauce)

1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar (in a pinch you can sub 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar)
2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1 tsp orange extract
1 cup tightly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp freshly minces ginger root (or 1/4 tsp powdered)

1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

3 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water to create a slurry 

Directions

Mix all ingredients, except cornstarch slurry, in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. After it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and slowly add in the cornstarch mixture and continue to stir as it thickens. Lower heat to keep warm.

*I serve this over Tempura Chicken. You can buy the Tempura batter in the Seafood section of your grocery store. It's just in a box and I only use half of the mix. I probably use a 1lb or so of chicken tenders, cut into chunks. The batter makes enough for more than that though so you could make more if you wanted. I throw a bunch of the chicken into the batter and then put them one at a time into the fryer to keep them from sticking together. I think I put about 10 or so in at a time to cook. Maybe more - I've never counted. As I said earlier, this is the part that takes the longest, but it's not that bad. I start cooking the chicken and then work on the sauce and rice. If you have someone to help in the kitchen that's even better! Put them in charge of the chicken and then you can focus on the rest. :)

Ingredients (for the Fried Rice)

1 cup cold, cooked brown rice (or white, I've tried both)
8 oz frozen shrimp, with tails off (or diced ham)
1/2 cup frozen peas & carrots
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1egg, beaten
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
pepper to taste


**Can also substitute 8oz of cooked chicken, beef, or pork. For Vegetarian style add 1 cup assorted chopped fresh vegetable such as asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, or cabbage.**

Directions

In a small bowl beat egg, set aside.
Heat olive oil in large skillet on med high, add cooked rice, peas and carrots, shrimp (or ham), green onions, garlic powder and ginger. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp and veggies are warmed through. Clear out the center of pan by pushing rice mixture to the sides, pour egg into space. Scramble egg until almost firm about 1 min. Mix egg and rice mixture together cook additional 1 min until egg done through. Add soy sauce and pepper. Serve immediately.

*Chris and I are definitely not seafood fans, so I always use ham. You can buy ham that's already diced and it's much faster! I also double the recipe so that we have leftovers.

Make sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Cranberry Almond Salad

I head of romaine lettuce

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 Kraft creamy poppy seed dressing

Wash lettuce; dry, then rip into small pieces. Toast almonds in a frying pan until golden brown. Add cranberries, almonds and mozzarella to lettuce. Just before serving, add poppy seed dressing and toss until well mixed. Enjoy!

*I came up with this recipe and it's a nice change from the normal garden salad I usually make. I had to guess at the measurements - normally I just add the ingredients together until it looks good, so you may need to adjust them to your preference.

Cheesy Pepper Potatoes

I found this recipe in the Wal-mart Family Cookbook and my picture may not look like much - but trust me, it's so yummy!

8 medium baking potatoes, peeled and quartered

8 oz Velveeta, cut into cubes

1/2 cup butter, cut into quarters

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

No-Stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a large saucepan cook potates, covered, in enough boiling water to cover for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender; drain. Quickly mash with a potato masher, adding cheese and butter. Add salt and pepper. Transfer potato mixture to prepared casserole dish and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top.

6 servings

*I cook my potatoes in a pressure cooker - it's just easier and faster. I also mashed my potatoes using my mixer - again, it's just easier. Besides, I like my mashed potatoes creamy rather than lumpy and I inevitably get tired and leave lots of lumps if I try to mash them by hand.

Oddly enough, my husband isn't a big fan of potatoes, but he gave this 4 out of 5 stars! My sister gave it 4 1/2 stars :)