German Pancakes and Orange Syrup

German Pancakes
5 Eggs
2/3 cup Flour sifted
2/3 cup Milk
2 Tbs Butter softened
1 Tbs Sugar
1/2 Tsp Salt

Beat eggs until they are yellow.
Add the rest of the ingredients, beating the mixture until it is smooth.
Spray two 9 inch round pans with Pam.
Pour batter evenly into both.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
When they are done, they will be puffed up and slightly brown.

Orange Syrup
6 oz. (half a can) of frozen Orange Juice Concentrate
1 Stick of Butter
1 Cup of Sugar

Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then let boil for a minute or so to let the sauce thicken slightly.

Serve Orange Syrup over pancakes for a delicious meal.

Best Ever Mac & Cheese

This is not a super cheap meal, nor is it for those who are on a diet. But man is it GOOD!

Ingredients:
12 oz. Wide egg noodles
3 C. Whipping cream
1 1/2 C. Whole Milk
1 T. Flour
1/2 t. Salt
1/4 t. Black pepper
1/2 T. Italian seasoning
1-8 oz. Bag Italian 5 cheese blend
4 oz. Cooked diced ham (optional, and yes, you may add more or less.)

Directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 in. pan, set aside. Cook noodles in salted water until tender, but still a little firm, approx. 5 min. Drain.
Whisk cream, milk, flour, and spices. Mix in Cheese 1/2 the bag of cheese. Add noodles until coated. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle noodles with ham and remaining cheese. Bake until cheese melts, and sauce bubbles, approx 15-20 min. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

I'm not kidding when I say that this is so good. My Grandma use to make this when we lived with her. 4 of us would finish off the entire pan. The leftovers are great to. I always like to add extra milk to the leftovers so that they are still juicy. Enjoy!

Squash, anyone?

With this pregnancy, I'm addicted to squash of all things. But despite its apparent simplicity, I have no idea how to make it.

Anyone have any nice and easy squash recipes/preparation tips? I'm talking all kinds of squash. And while you're at it, I'll take any other veggie side dish recipes.

Tomato Bisque Soup

I snagged this recipe from another recipe blog I watch, and I have to share because it is just SO good. It comes from a caterer, and makes a fairly large batch (maybe 8 servings or more), but I just freeze individual servings in plastic bags and use them for a quick lunch with a grilled cheese or quesadilla.

Tomato Bisque Soup

1/2 c onion, diced
1/2 c butter, divided
2 garlic cloves minced
1 1/2 t dill weed
1 t oregano
1 t basil
5 c canned crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz can) tomato paste
4 c chicken stock or broth (2 cans)
2 T flour
2 t salt
1/2 t white pepper
4 t honey
1 1/4 c heavy cream
2/3 c half & half

In a large pot, melt 6 T butter. Saute onions, garlic, and herbs on medium low for about 5 minutes, until onion is SOFT and translucent. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken stock and heat to simmer. In a separate small saucepan, make a roux with the flour and remaining 2 T butter, whisking constantly over medium heat for 3 minutes, without browning. Add roux to stock, whisking to blend. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil to thicken, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Add honey, cream, and half & half.

Peanut Butter Fingers

Remember back in elementary school, when the cafeteria people actually cooked? Not just warmed up pre-packaged meals, but actually made things from scratch? I always looked forward to tacos ... and peanut butter fingers. Apparently peanut butter fingers are a 'western' thing, because no one out here on the east coast has ever heard of them. And no, they're not a Mormon thing either, since no one in my ward had heard of them either. So, without further adue, here's the recipe, as received from someone who worked in a Davis County School District cafeteria (back when they actually cooked...)

Peanut Butter Fingers

Cream together:

¾ cup margarine (I use butter)

¾ cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

Then mix in:

2 eggs

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup peanut butter

Mix then add:

2 cups flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

Mix then add:

2 cups quick oatmeal

Spread on a greased cookie sheet (17x13)

Bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes. Don’t over bake, they will look slightly underdone when you take them out. While they are still warm, spread a layer of peanut butter on top. Let cool then top with chocolate icing.

Chocolate Icing

½ cube butter

1/6 cup milk (half of a 1/3 measuring cup)

2 T. cocoa

Approximately ½ bag of powdered sugar

Melt butter and milk on stove, then remove from heat and beat in cocoa and powdered sugar (I use an electric mixer). Spread on peanut butter fingers.

*this icing recipe works really well for a chocolate sheet cake – just double it*

Super easy fettucine alfredo sauce

Super Easy Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:
½ cup whipping cream
½ cube butter
1 cup sour cream
4 oz. cream cheese
(I always add some grated parmesan cheese and some garlic salt to taste)

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil then turn down the heat and cook for 5 more minutes on low heat. Add cooked chicken cubes, if desired. Serve over cooked fettuccine noodles.

Blueberry Muffins

My ward is putting together a cookbook, so I've typed up a few of my recipes. I figured I'd post them on the blog, since that what the blog is for! So you'll be getting a few recipes from me in the days to come.

First up, blueberry muffins. This is the best recipe I've ever found, hands down.

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
2/3 c. sugar
3 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 egg
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. milk
Blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add all wet ingredints at the same time and stir. Add blueberries last. Put in muffin cups and bake at 400 for 20 minutes, or until muffins are done.

Sticky Buns

Have some old bananas but not all the ingredients for banana bread? Make some Sticky Buns.

1 stick of butter, melted
brown sugar
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups Bisquick

Mix bananas and Bisquick until it becomes a sticky mixture. Pour melted butter in bottom of cupcake holder. Add spoonful of brown sugar. Drop Bisquick banana mixture in each mixture to half full. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Best eaten warm.

Consider the first time you make this a pleasant experiment, and subsequent times you can adjust the amount of butter/brown sugar to your liking. When I make it, I get about 12 Sticky Buns, but you can easily stretch it to more.

Jamba Juice Raspberry Refresher

Got this recipe from a former employee. I'm sad they don't have this anymore...

1 1/4 Cups raspberry juice
2 scoops raspberry sherbet
1 cup ice
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup strawberries

Blend to desired consistency

Edit: To make it more healthy, use 1/2 -1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt in place of the sherbet

Any suggestions?

I'm buying myself a Magic Bullet and I want to start making smoothies for myself (mostly for breakfast). I'm really trying to eat better, and I could use more fruit in my diet. So if anyone has a favorite smoothie recipe, please share. Thanks!