Popcorn Balls That Smell {and Taste} So Sweet

Braden needed to take a treat to a youth activity...but we didn't remember until 1 hr before he had to leave.  Thank goodness for popcorn balls!  We used a great recipe with a couple modifications and we LOVED it!  And of course, we just had to share it too...

AWESOME POPCORN BALLS


¾ cup corn syrup
¼ cup butter
2 tsp cold water
2 ½ + 1/8 cup powdered sugar
1 cup mini marshmallows
½ Tbs vanilla
20 cups popped popcorn
1 cup mini marshmallows

Pour popcorn into very large bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine corn syrup, butter, water, powdered sugar, and marshmallows until melted and bubbly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and stir well. Pour sugar mixture over popcorn. Stir well, making sure to coat all pieces, including bottom of the bowl. Add remaining cup of marshmallows and stir to evenly distribute. Form into balls by pressing into lightly greased measuring cup, removing, and placing on piece of waxed paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Sorry there are no pictures...he had to run out the door!

2 Great Meals, 3 Recipes to Share

Thanks to my Stuck in a Rut post, I got great ideas (see next post), so I put one into action last night. Then tonight, I made another dish that turned out great, so I wanted to share them with you. I wish I had a picture of all 3 recipes (2 meals, 3 recipes), but I only have a picture of one. Sorry!

The first is Indian/Thai curry. Braden LOVES curry, well yellow curry, and always wants to eat at Thai restaurants. Needless to say, we haven't been to a Thai restaurant in over 3 years when we went to the one next door to our little Provo house and there was a huge centipede crawling across the table. Anyway, when my friend suggested curry, I begged for the recipe and she said I could share it. Thanks Nicole!

As with everything we do, I am modifying this recipe a little bit because it made a TON of sauce, way more than we can ever use. The original recipe also called for 1 can each of cream of chicken and mushroom, but I hate cream of mushroom soup, so I did 2 cans of cr. of chicken. Also, it called for mushrooms as an option, which I omitted too. It also called for butter, but I used oil so Taryn could have it and I put in 3 tsp. curry paste instead of 1 tsp curry powder. And I put in carrots and potatoes. So, here's my final recipe.

YELLOW CURRY with CHICKEN, CARROTS, and POTATOES

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup onion, chopped

2 chicken breasts, sliced or cubed

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 cup potatoes, cubed

3/4-1 cup milk (depending on your preference)
1 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream

3 teaspoon curry paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in large skillet and sauté onions until tender. Add chicken and cook thru. Add carrots and potatoes and cook until tender. Combine all other ingredients in a saucepan and heat thru. Serve over rice.

Second, tonight I made another attempt at Pasta Carbonara/Primavera. I make this a lot and each time, there's some complaint about it. Not enough flavor, not enough sauce, not enough pasta. Whatever. But tonight, it turned out great! So I thought I'd jot it down, even if its just for me to reference later.

PASTA CARBONARA/PRIMAVERA

1 pkg pasta of your choice (but I wouldn't recommend spaghetti, linguine, or fettacine. Stick with radiatore, penne, rigatoni, etc.)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 tsp pre-minced garlic)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1 pkg grape tomatoes (or cherry, or roma chopped if you prefer), sliced in half

1/2 cup ham cubes (I used our frozen ham from a ham we bought at Christmas time but you can use thick lunch meat or ham steak or anything else. Sometimes we use bacon, but the ham provides more flavor and less fat)

3/4 cup fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 1 inch strips

1/2 cup peas (optional)

Boil water in saucepan and prepare pasta according to directions.Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet. Add onion and saute until tender. Add garlic, salt, basil and oregano. Saute and stir well. Add tomatoes, cover, and let simmer until tomatoes are tender and have released their juices (there won't be an overwhelming amount of juice...). Add more oil if necessary or desired. Add ham, beans, and peas and let simmer for 10 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Toss with sauce until well coated.

It was so yummy! And no complaints this time! (Except maybe there's not enough leftovers!)

And third, with our pasta carbonara, I made a smoothie to help get more vitamins in. One of the best things that came from my trip to Chicago last fall was learning to make smoothies without milk! Duh, I know, but we'd always made smoothies with milk so I just didn't think about the alternative, except water, which I had done and didn't like. So, with Taryn's allergy, I was delighted to learn my mom's way. Her basic recipe is this: 1 cup juice, frozen bananas, frozen orange juice concentrate, frozen fruit. She makes a smoothie practically every day and each time it comes out different, yet totally delicious! She often will add powdered milk to get the calcium in there, but we obviously don't do that.

So tonight, I made the smoothie, but wanted to try sneaking in some zucchini...and it worked! It did taste a little "green" but it was sweet and Keara had 3rds, so at least I knew she was getting full servings of fruits and veggies for dinner. Here's the smoothie we had tonight. Nothing is exact, and everything can be substituted for other things. Add more bananas or less juice to reach your desired consistency. Also, add powdered milk, flax seed oil, wheat germ, or whatever odd things you want to to suit your fancy. I know fruits have a lot of natural sugars, but I love giving my girls a delicious treat that has no added sugar or any other added ingredients. Just straight fruit! I took the leftovers and poured it into our popsicle molds. Keara's so excited to have that tomorrow!

MILKLESS FRUIT SMOOTHIE

2 cups apple juice

2 frozen bananas

1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup zucchini, grated

Blend it all up and serve!

Three More Recipes

I have three more recipes to share. They are on opposite sides of the spectrum, but each holds its own charm.

*****

The first I actually got off a gal's website where she is trying to make something in her crockpot every day of 2008 without repeating anything. Since I love my crockpot and how it takes so much time out of dinner, I perused her site and found this recipe. As you know, Braden and I are trying to like fish, so I'm willing to try just about anything.

CROCKPOT PESTO FISH

1-2 lbs white fish
Bottled pesto
Shredded parmesan cheese
Aluminum foil

Spread a layer of foil on the counter top. Put a piece of fish in it. Cover it with a spoonful of pesto and sprinkle on some cheese. Fold over the foil to create a little packet. Put the packet in the Crockpot. Continue to layer in the foil packets until you run out of fish. Do not add water. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. Check it after 3 hours. The fish is done when it is fully white and flakes nicely with a fork.

Verdict: This was good. Considering I don't really like fish, I ate the entire thing. Braden, on the other hand, likes fish even less tham me and he still didn't like this. But, if we're going to eat fish again, I will probably try this recipe again. He also says the picture looks like someone's lung, so sorry if it looks too gross to eat.

*****

This recipe is a variation of one I found on allrecipes.com. Braden LOVES fried chicken. I do not. It's not that I don't like the chicken part, it's that I don't like the fried part. So, if he's lucky, I make fried chicken once a year. Because I knew he would really love it if I made it, I was looking for a recipe that used less oil. I also wanted a better "crust" on the chicken. This is what I found with the changes I made. I also have an eggless option, which was really good.

FRIED CHICKEN

30 Saltine Crackers
2 Tbs Flour
2 Tbs dry potato flakes
1 tsp season salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp paprika
2 eggs
¼ cup flour
3 chicken breasts, pounded and cut into strips
¼ cup oil (truly)

Place crackers in a large resealable plastic bag or food processor; seal bag and crush crackers until they are coarse crumbs. Add flour, potato flakes, seasoned salt, pepper, garlic salt, and paprika to crumbs and mix well. Beat eggs in a shallow dish or bowl; pour crumbs in another bowl; heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Pour ¼ cup flour into resealable plastic bag and put all chicken strips in the bag and shake until well coated. One by one, dredge chicken pieces in egg, then dip in crumbs to coat. Reduce heat to medium and cook coated chicken in skillet for 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown and juices run clear.
For eggless: Dip floured chicken in ranch dressing or other sauce and then coat with crumbs.

Verdict: Excellent! Oh so good. And beautiful too. The coating was perfect and delicious. Braden really enjoyed it the next 2 days for lunch by putting a couple strips on a hamburger bun with some pickles so it was like his favorite sandwich at Chik-fil-A.

*****

We were invited to our neighbor's for dinner last week (where they made the most amazing ribs...I'll get the recipe). They asked us to bring dessert. I have this thing about going to people's houses for dinner. If they ask me to bring something, I think I should put in as much effort as they are going to put into the dinner. I think it's tacky to show up to a big Sunday dinner with a plate of cookies, especially if they are store-bought. So, I'm going to make pies, cakes, or something beyond ordinary. Well, I needed something simple and cheap but fun, so I came up with this.

ANGEL FOOD PUDDING CAKE

1 Angel Food cake (from a mix, homemade, or store bought), cooked and cooled

1 pkg instant pudding, any flavor, made according to directions on package

2 cups whipped cream (I used whipping cream, but you could use cool-whip. I think Dream-whip would be too soft)

Fruit

Hershey chocolate bar

Powdered sugar

Cut the cake in half, horizontally. Place the bottom half on serving plate. Divide the pudding into two portions, one being about 2/3 and the other about 1/3 of the total. Divide the whipped cream the same way. Mix 2/3 pudding with 1/3 cream (in other words, this mixture will be predominantly pudding). Spread mixture over top of the bottom layer of cake. Top pudding with fruit of your choice. Place the top half of the cake on pudding/fruit. Mix 1/3 pudding with 2/3 cream (to make a predominantly cream based frosting). Spread this over the entire cake as a frosting. Grate the chocolate bar to create shavings or curls. Sprinkle over top of cake. Dust with powdered sugar.

Verdict: This was delicious. It looks good, tastes good, but even looks like it takes a ton of time when it doesn't. Also, it doesn't have a lot of fat or calories, depending on what you put in it. Ours was banana pudding and bananas, because that's what we had on hand. But we're looking forward to trying white chocolate pudding and raspberries. Mmmm. My sister made a chocolate variety last night, so I can't wait to hear how it turned out. Oh, and as you can see in the picture, I swirled in some chocolate angel food batter before I baked it. All I did was take a tablespoon or so of unsweeted cocoa powder and mixed it in about 1 cup of batter. Then I swirled it in the cake. It was a great addition. It made it taste like a very light non-donut boston cream donut.

Another Great Recipe

The other night, we had "Crepes" on the menu. But I felt like I was copping out by making just fruit filled crepes. I really wanted to find a recipe like my sister-in-laws great spinach filled crepes, just without the spinach. I had broccoli and wanted something that used that. But I found nothing. So I made it up. I got this crepe recipe off allrecipes.com and it's the best crepe recipe I've had. The filling is a variation off a filling my sister introduced us to. Rolled in the crepe, it is delicious!! Try it if you want and let me know what you think!

Savory Broccoli Chicken Crepes

Crepes:

4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cup milk
2 Tbs butter, melted
1 cup flour
2 Tbs sugar
½ tsp salt

Whisk or blend all ingredients together until smooth. Grease pan or griddle with a little oil or butter. Cook 3 Tbs per crepe on medium heat 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden.

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese
2 Tbs cream or milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp basil
¼ tsp garlic salt
1-2 Tbs parmesan cheese (grated or shredded)
1 cup cooked and diced chicken (small but not too small)
1 cup steamed and chopped broccoli

Melt cream cheese and milk over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese. Stir well. Add chicken and broccoli and cook until heated thru. Fill crepes, wrap and serve.

Recipes Galore!

We have had a GREAT time trying new recipes lately and just have to share.

The first stemmed from our friend's who brought this last week. They got the idea from another friend. We've made it twice and are excited for all the other possibilities to make varieties:

PIZZA ROLL (or Inside Out Pizza)














Pizza Crust (this is my all time favorite pizza recipe...delicious!)

1 1/8 tsp yeast
1/4 tsp brown sugar
3/4 cups warm water
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs olive oil
1 3/4 cups flour

Dissolve yeast and brown sugar in water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in salt and oil. Mix in 1 1/2 cups of the flour. Add more flour until no longer sticky. Turn in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise til double. Punch down and roll out until 1/4 inch thick.

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Pizza Toppings
Marinara Sauce

Sprinkle dough with cheeses and toppings (NO marinara sauce--you can use any of your favorite toppings). Roll and tuck in ends. Place on cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with cookind spray. Let rise 20-30 minutes more. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce as a dip.

It is so so so good and you can pretty much fill it with whatever you want. Try chicken, broccoli, and dip it in a chicken sauce. Or put in scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheese. Or make BBQ chicken pizza with the chicken, peppers, and onions inside and dip in BBQ sauce. The sky is the limit.

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AUNT PHYLLIS' SLOPPY JOES

Okay, I know that most people do not like sloppy joes. I don't either and Braden especially hates them. But a year ago, we visited my aunt and uncle in California and they served us sloppy joes for lunch. We were nervous because we dislike them so much. But they were the BEST sloppy joes we have ever had. So we've been trying to track down the recipe for a year and finally got it yesterday. We made it for dinner last night and they were every bit as good as a year ago! You've got to give it a try.

2 lbs hamburger
4 Tbs margarine
1 Tbs worchestershire sauce
4 Tbs mustard
2 small green peppers
1 can tomato sauce
5 Tbs brown sugar
2 medium onions
1 tsp salt
¾ cup ketchup

Add mustard and brown sugar to taste. Brown meat. Add other ingredients and simmer.

I let it simmer for 2 hours because I made it early and because it was too liquidy. Simmering for that long made it perfect though if you took out some of the liquid and served it right after making it without the simmer time, it would still be great. I also made homemade hamburger buns because ours were looking sad and it made it even better! They can be used for sandwhich buns too, and I'm sure they'd be great.
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HOMEMADE BUNS

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoons butter
1/2 tablespoon white sugar
3/4 teaspoons salt
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Combine the milk, 1/2 cup of water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let stand until lukewarm. If the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast. (**I mixed them in a glass pyrex and microwaved for 2 minutes. Then I let it cool 5 minutes in the fridge then put it in an ice bath for 5 more minutes because I was in a hurry. When it was cool enough that I didn't burn myself, I added it to the dry ingredients. It worked great**)

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until the dough starts to pull together. Knead for 8 minutes or until springy. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom. Place on a baking sheet lined sprayed aluminum foil. After the rolls sit for a minute and relax, flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. Set rolls aside until they double in size, about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a cup or small bowl. Brush onto the tops of the rolls. (**This is unnecessary and is only for aethetic purposes) Bake for 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven or until nicely browned. Makes 8-10 buns. Cut in half and serve.

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I hope someone tries some of these and loves them as much as we did! I know the buns sound like a lot of work, but I started them at 5:45 last night and finished them by 7 pm for dinner, including rise and baking time. However, you'll have to read my "Why I Love Arizona" post to understand why.

The Chicken or the Egg

One of my all time favorite treats, above ice cream and pretty much everything else, is cookie dough/cake batter/brownie batter/muffin mix. I love batters. I would rather eat the cookie dough than the cookie and sometimes set aside half the brownie batter to eat rather than bake. Mmm...delicious. Just typing it is making me salivate. While my sister pointed out that is isn't the only reason to NOT eat all the cookie dough, I often hesitate to eat it because of the raw eggs. Especially since Keara also LOVES the batters too. What kind of a mother lets her 2 year old eat raw eggs!? Oh wait...I do.

I've done some research on salmonella and eggs to find out how dangerous it really is, more for justification than for education. What I found was the concern about salmonella in eggs is really minute compared to a decade ago, thanks to improved processing and packaging. Hooray! Justification.

But then I think I developed an allergy to raw eggs. I don't know if that's really possible, but I started noticing about 5 months ago that every time I would eat cookie dough or cake batter, my tongue and lips would be raw and so painful for 7-10 days. I didn't realize I was making batter every week or two and every time my mouth was almost better, it would come back with a vengence. I didn't connect it to the batters until the end of July when it dawned on me that that's when it showed up. And then, a week and a half ago, I made cookies again and sure enough, within 2 hours, my mouth was killing me.

So, needless to say, I'm grateful that I've been learning about eggless baking. So far, we've made homemade muffins, muffin mix, pancakes, and cookies with our egg substitute and I really think I like the eggless better! The end result, especially for the muffins, is so smooth and soft and delicious.

Then, I started thinking about how high cholesterol apparently runs in my family and I thought, there just might be others who, either for health or for an excuse to eat more batter, would like to know the recipe for the egg substitute. So here it is:

2 Tbs flour
2 Tbs water
1/2 Tbs oil
1/2 tsp baking powder

Whisk together and add to the recipe where it calls for eggs. This is the equivalent of 1 egg. I have only substituted up to 2 eggs. I'm sure you could get away with 3, but they don't really recommend going to high.

Obviously, as my sister pointed out, you can't substitute this for egg products like omelet unless you want to eat flour, water, oil, and baking powder. But for all your baking needs, I think it's great! Happy eggless baking!