Fresh Salsa

I have been trying multiple fresh salsa recipes and wasn't able to make one that we really liked.  A friend then told me a few things she puts into hers and I gave it a shot.  Neither Megan or Krista are big fans of fresh salsa (they don't like the chunks) but I made this when they were over and they devoured it.  Definitely a winner.  You can put in as much or as little of each ingredient as you like.  

Ingredients:

• 5-6 Tomatoes 
• Green Pepper 
• White onion
• Jalapeño 
• Uncooked corn (I used red corn from my Bountiful Basket in the picture below)
• 1/2 peach 
• Salt and Pepper 

Enjoy! 

Lemon-Zucchini Loaf with Lemon Glaze

This bread was made by my mother and is delicious.  Even if you aren't a big fan of lemon, you will still love this bread. 

Makes one 9x5" loaf

Ingredients: 

• 2 c flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c canola oil
• 2/3 c sugar
• 1/2 c buttermilk
• Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 T of lemon juice)
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 c grated zucchini

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 9x5" loaf pan

• In large bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt; set aside 
• In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs well, then add canola oil and sugar and blend well.  Then add buttermilk, lemon juice and lemon zest and stir.  Fold in zucchini and stir until evenly distributed.
• Add this mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl and mix everything together, don't over mix.
• Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes

Lemon Glaze: 

• 1 c powdered sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon 

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until well blended.  Spoon glaze over cooled loaf.  

Homemade Freezer Jam

My mom has made this recipe probably since she married my dad. I have a hard time eating store bought Jam because of this! You can use any fruit you want for this recipe.

 Put your strawberries in a sink full of water. Cut off the stem and place in your blender. You want 3 cups of blended fruit.

 Add 5 cups of sugar to a big bowl. Add your blended fruit. Stir for 1 minute. Let it sit for 20 minutes.

 This is the only kind of pectin we use. Mix 1 package of MCP pectin with 1 c. water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute while stirring. Pour boiling mixture into fruit and sugar and stir for 2 minutes.

Pour your jam into freezer containers. Let it sit overnight on your counter. Put lids on and place into your freezer.

The Best Bundt Cake. Period.

A lady in my neighborhood made this for a church activity and I immiately fell in love! I am a succor for any kind of Bundt cake! She told me where she got the receipe: www.thepioneerwoman.com

Ingredients:

5 whole eggs

1 package fo white or yellow cake mix

1/2 cup oil

1 package (small) instant vanilla pudding

1 cup half and half

1 t. almond extract

2 T sugar

2 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Beat eggs well until foamy. Add all remaining ingredients, except for the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Prepare a bundt pan with spray oil and coat the pan with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Pour batter into the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

To get cake our of the pain in one piece, allow it to cook for only 3-5 minutes. Then invert the bundt pan onto a plate and allow to cool and for the cake to slide out of the pan.

The recipe didn't have a frosting to go with it. I made a simple powdered sugar and water frosting. At the church activity, they made homemade whipped cream and put it on top of each slice.

Spicy Beef Tacos

This recipe is YUMMY!!! ( And not spicy like it says in the title) It is now me and my husband's favorite way of having tacos.  The meat is so flavorful!

If you are doing weight watchers it is 7 points for 2 tacos.

Ingredients:

cooking spray

2 cloves Garlic

1 pound of ground beef

1 1/2 t ground cumin

1 1/2 t ground coriander

3/4 t salt or to tast

1 1/2 c canned diced tomatoes with green chilies (or with jalapenos if you want it more spicy)

8 small corn tortillas

lettuce

cheese

salsa

anything else you want on your tacos

 Coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add beef and cook until browned. After about 5-6 minutes add cumin, coriander, and salt. Once beef is browned add diced tomatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed.

 Place tortillas on a cookie sheet. Spray tops of tortillas with cooking spray, lightly. Heat in oven at 300 degrees until slightly crisp but not too crisp that they break when folded. I think I had them in the oven about 3-5 minutes.

The recipe says add 1/4 cup of meat to each tortilla but that way too much for me. Make your taco and enjoy!!

Bunny Cakes

It has been a tradition in our family to have Bunny Cake for Easter. It just wouldn't be the same without it!! My mom decided 2 or 3 years ago that we all needed to know how to make them so now we get together every year to make them. They turn out SOOO cute!

Make a cake mix of your choice. Morgan and I (Krista) split a chocolate cake and yellow cake so our cakes would have both flavors. Make them in 9 inch round pans. When cooled down, cut the cakes in half and place them up against each other, with the flat part down. See picture above. Put frosting in the middle of the halfs so they stay together and on the bottom so it stays on the pan or cake plate.
Now frost and decorate anyway you want!

We cut the ears out of paper and color toothpicks black for the wiskers. We use those hostess cakes that are covered in marshmallow and coconut for the tail.

Enjoy!!

Happy Easter!

Veggie Enchiladas

I needed a quick meal and had no meat thawed and wanted enchiladas. I had no enchilada sauce so I got one Krista had made before and then made up my own enchiladas based on what I had and they turned out amazing.

Enchilada Sauce:

2 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 c chicken or vegetable broth (can also use water)

1 8 oz can tomato paste (I used tomato sauce)

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

-- Heat oil, flour and chili powder. Then add the remaining ingredients. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring consistently.

Enchiladas:

2-3 c cheese

1 can black beans, rinsed

Spinach (as much or as little as you like. I did about 2 large handfuls)

1 can corn

3-5 green onions

1 tsp cumin

10-12 tortillas

-- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Leave a little cheese to add on top. Fill tortillas up with mixture in a 9x13 pan. Add enchilada sauce on top and add the remaining cheese. Cook on 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.