Basil-Garlic Oil

I love this simple flavored oil on fresh pasta. It is very refreshing.

Basil-Garlic Oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6-8 whole cloves garlic
10 whole fresh basil leaves
Generous pinch crushed red chili pepper flakes

Heat a small saucepan over low heat with 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic cloves, basil leaves and pepper flakes. Keep the heat on low to allow the ingredients to warm slowly and release their flavors. When the garlic is lightly browned, turn heat off and let cool for 10 minutes. The longer you let the oil sit, the more infused the oil. Strain the oil, discarding the solids.

Homemade Fruit Snacks

Today I attempted another Pinterest find. I can't say that I am completely sold on these. The idea was a good one, but I'm just not sure it is worth the effort or cost. Perhaps if my kids were younger and I fed them fruit chews on a regular basis as a snack I would feel different, but my boys are 15, 14 and 10. We buy fruit chews on occasion but they are no longer a staple in our home. That being said, I know I have friends who do have little ones who may find this recipe useful and I also know lots of my friends repinned this on their own Pinterest boards so I thought I'd post my results.

Homemade Fruit Snacks (original recipe can be found here, with other comments and discussion)
1/3 c. 100% fruit juice
3 pkgs unflavored gelatin
molds
As you can see I was prepped and ready to fill up quite a few molds! (Kristi, I was going to use those cute football molds I borrowed and need to bring back, lol) I TRIPLED this recipe and still didn't fill up one of the jello bean molds. It was about that time that I became discouraged because I used almost 2 1/2 boxes of the Knox gelatin and hadn't filled one tray. Because of that, I did not pay as much attention to detail about how I filled it up. You can see in the picture below that I didn't trim it up any so they aren't as pretty as they could be. My oldest son is the only one who has tasted them so far, he says they aren't bad, he actually likes them. I used the cherry juice and he could taste the flavor. Overall, not a bad idea, just not sure its worth it for my family.

Pour-It-On-Peanut Butter Smoothie

We have this little cookbook of sorts that I bought one day, years ago while grocery shopping. You know, the ones that are in the checkout aisle that entice you with the glorious pictures on the cover? This one is all about drinks, it's called Smoothies and Summer Drinks. My 10 year-old is always wanting to try a recipe from it so this morning I made him this Peanut Butter Smoothie...changing it a bit of course.

The original recipe:

Pour-It-On-Peanut Butter Smoothie
2 cups vanilla frozen low-fat yogurt
2 bananas
1 cup fat-free skim milk
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tablespoons honey
2 cups cubed or crushed ice

1. Combine all ingredients in blender, process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides.

2. Pour into 4 glasses, serve immediately.

Nay's adapted recipe..

Pour-It-On-Peanut Butter Smoothie
2 containers Vanilla Honey Greek Yogurt (I don't think I have ever bought frozen yogurt)
2 bananas
1 cup fat free milk
1 cup homemade honey peanut butter (that's what's in the red container)
2 cups Sonic ice (what? You don't have Sonic ice in your freezer??)1. Combine all ingredients in blender, process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides.

2. Pour into 4 glasses, serve immediately. (You only see 2 glasses, but there was plenty leftover for a couple more glasses)

Daniel and Kevin both gave this recipe two thumbs up!

Cinnamon Orange Pull-Apart Bread

One of my favorite Pampered Chef Recipes ever..my kids always want to take this to breakfast events!

Cinnamon Orange Pull-Apart Bread (Monkey Bread)
1 orange
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
18 frozen bread dough rolls, thawed (1/2 of 48 oz pkg)
1/3 cup light corn syrup, divided

Spray fluted pan/bundt pan with vegetable oil. Zest orange to measure 1 tablespoon zest. In small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and zest; mix well. In microwave safe bowl, melt butter on high for 3 seconds or until melted. Cut each roll in half. Dip half of the cut rolls in butter, rill in sugar mixture to coat. Arrange in pan. Drizzle with corn syrup. Repeat with remaining rolls and corn syrup, sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over rolls. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80-85 degrees F) until they double in size, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover; bake 30-35 minutes or until top is deep golden brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Carefully invert onto serving plate. To serve, pull apart or slice with knife.

Homemade Poptarts

My kids beg for these...really, they love them that much!

Well this morning I went to the fridge for a drink and I saw all these jars of jams/jellies. It made me crazy. Yes, we love jam and jelly as you can see but I can only take so many open at the time. So I pulled them out and decided it would be a good morning to make poptarts for the boys. This is super easy!

Homemade Poptarts
2 pie crusts (the refrigerated kind from the store work great or if you are that good, make your own...I personally dislike making pie crust)
Different kinds of jam/jelly/preserves (make sure your jelly isn't too runny, otherwise you'll have a mess)
Egg (for egg wash)
Sugar (I use raw sugar, I'm sure regular sugar would work great too)

We don't frost ours, they are that good without it, but if you wanted to, just mix up some powdered sugar and milk and make a glaze.

Lay out the pie crust and cut it in fours,then you’ll have to cut off some of the edges to make them square. (I combine the extra pieces and reroll to make more, see how resourceful I am, haha)

Place a spoonful of jam/jelly/preserves on one side.

Wet your finger and run it along the sides of the dough, it helps it stay closed. Press down the edges with a fork.

Then egg wash and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.

Banana Bread (Minus Sugar & Oil)

I tried a fabulous new recipe today that I found on Pinterest...are you addicted to Pinterest yet?? I'm always trying to find healthy recipes for my family and this one would fall into that category! Instead of using sugar and oil, it calls for applesauce and honey! This was seriously the moistest banana bread I have ever had and the flavor was amazing! What I loved about making it is that I used my own homemade applesauce that I canned this past fall, I used local honey, and wheat flour that was ground by a friend of mine. That seriously made me happy. As you can see in the picture, the bananas were not as ripe as I usually like them to be but I still used them. They didn't mash as well as overly ripe and soft bananas but I have to say I'm happy they didn't! (Okay I probably could have put more effort in the mashing aspect but I was lazy!) My mashed bananas were kind of lumpy but it made the finished product so much more delectable! Seriously, the little banana chunks were quite delightful!

The recipe comes from this website.

Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar free applesauce
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 mashed overripe bananas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together applesauce and honey. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

I just love the color of honey so I had to take a pic...

Homemade Marshmallows

(My son packed them up this morning and took this picture)

I am rather fond of marshmallows, my husband hates them. When I found a recipe a couple years ago for homemade marshmallows I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Even my husband likes them! They are glorious! I apologize ahead of time that the pictures are HUGE and not great quality. I have a cheap digital camera and I didn't feel like editing. You'll still get the idea of what I'm trying to say. And if the pics are too much, you can scroll to the end of the post for the recipe that is all in one place with no pictures.

Homemade marshmallows area easy and so good. This is an Alton Brown recipe. If you don't know who he is, you are missing out, I love him! (Google his name, you'll be impressed).

Anyway, here is the step by step recipe. My 15 year-old helped me. I think that should be a requirement for making marshmallows...having a handsome young man helping you out.

Homemade Marshmallows.
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Ingredients

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray

Directions

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.


In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt.

Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes.

Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high.



Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes.

Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping.

While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan.

Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

We dipped ours in chocolate so my son could give them to some girls in school....


For miniature marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Line 4 half sheet pans with parchment paper, spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the confectioners' sugar mixture.

Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round piping tip. Pipe the mixture onto the prepared sheet pans lengthwise, leaving about 1-inch between each strip. Sprinkle the tops with enough of the remaining cornstarch and sugar mixture to lightly cover. Let the strips set for 4 hours or up to overnight.

Cut into 1/2 inch pieces using a pizza wheel or scissors dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining sugar mixture and store in an airtight container for up to a week.


You MUST lick the whisk....homemade marshmallow fluff is the BEST!

Homemade Marshmallows!

Ingredients

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Nonstick spray

Directions

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

For miniature marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Line 4 half sheet pans with parchment paper, spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the confectioners' sugar mixture.

Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round piping tip. Pipe the mixture onto the prepared sheet pans lengthwise, leaving about 1-inch between each strip. Sprinkle the tops with enough of the remaining cornstarch and sugar mixture to lightly cover. Let the strips set for 4 hours or up to overnight.

Cut into 1/2 inch pieces using a pizza wheel or scissors dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining sugar mixture and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Ham & Bean Soup

We're having a snow day here in MO. The snow is falling (about 3 1/2 inches right now) and it's cold! What better than a bowl of hot soup to warm us right up? The hubby looked in the fridge and saw that we still had a baggie of ham from a luau we did last year with his unit (we had an entire pig roasted, it was delicious!) We decided on some ham and bean soup with cornbread.

Ham and Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 8 cups water
• 1 pound Great Northern beans or navy beans
• 2 cups cubed ham
• 1 ham bone or ham hock, optional
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped or sliced thinly
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

Preparation:

Bring water and beans to a boil; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour.

Stir in ham, ham bone or hock, pepper, bay leaf, carrot and celery. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until beans are tender (skim foam from top), about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If soup is too thick, add a little water.

Remove ham bone or ham hock (if used) and trim meat from bone. Return meat to soup with tomato sauce and salt; simmer for about 15 minutes longer. Remove bay leaf.
Ham and bean soup serves 6.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

This is a very versatile recipe. You can use the sauce on pretty much anything, beef, pork, jerky, whatever.


Baked Teriyaki Chicken

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce (I usually use low-sodium, just to cut the saltiness)
  
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I keep fresh ginger in my freezer so I already have it on hand and grate it into the sauce)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 12 skinless chicken thighs (if you don't like thigh meat you can use whatever makes you happy. I use it on chicken tenderloins or boneless, skinless chicken breasts).
  

Directions

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. (You may need to adjust your temperature based on what you are baking. For smaller pieces of chicken like the tenderloins I'm using tonight, I use 325, when I bake thighs, I use a slightly higher temperature like 350 or 375).
3. Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish (for easy cleanup, I recommend lining your pan with foil). Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over, and brush again.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over, and bake for another 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes during cooking. (Sometimes I just pour it all over and just let it bake, no basting)