Cloud Biscuts

We had these last night with Zuppa Soup. These are the only biscuts I have attempted to make. They are quick, easy and taste good. Recipe is from my mom :)

2 c flour (I havent tried it yet with whole wheat flour but when I do I will put 1c white 1c wheat)
2 T sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (I only put a dash of salt in)
1/2 c cold butter
1 egg beaten
1/2 c buttermilk

In a large bowl, put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter. Cut in butter until mixture is cumbly. Make well in center, set aside. Beat egg until light and frothy. Mix buttermilk and egg and then pour into well. Stir lightly to form a soft dough. Add more buttermilk if you need to (I usually need to add more). On a floured surface, knead dough 8-10 times. Roll out 3/4 inch thick. Cut with cutter (I use a glass drinking glass to cut them). Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 450 for 12 min. Makes 14-16 biscuts.

~Tia

Zuppa Soup

This is Zac's favorite soup from the Olive Garden. My friend Amber Mason made it for her hubby and gave me the recipe. 

1lb ground Italian sausage

2-4 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half, then cut into ¼ inch slices (the more potatoes the thicker the soup)

1 large onion, chopped

½ c bacon bits (I cook bacon and use actual bacon or if I am lazy I use the bacon pieces that they sell next to the salad dressing. I dont use bacon bits)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 c kale, chopped

2 cans chicken broth

4 c water

1 c heavy whipping cream

Cook sausage, set aside.

Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water and garlic in large pot and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done

Add sausage and bacon

Salt and pepper to taste

Simmer for another 10 min

Turn heat to low

Add kale and cream

Heath through and serve

~Tia .....It may not look yummy but I promise it is!!

Taco Soup

2 lbs ground beef
2 (15 1/2 oz) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2 oz) can red kidney beans
1 (15 1/2 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can Rotel tomatoes
2 (14 1/2 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 (4 1/2 oz) cans diced green chiles
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg ranch salad dressing mix

Brown the beef (you can add onion if you would like). Drain excess fat then place been into a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add all other ingredients and cook in slow cooker on low for 6 hour or simmer over low heat for about an hour in a pot on the stove.

The soup can be somewhat thick so you can add some chicken or beef broth to think out. This makes about 12 servings. What I do is use 1 lb of beef and use 1 can of everything else -  it makes enough for dinner, lunch and then another dinner for our family.

We like to put Fritos chips at the bottom of our bowl, top with the taco soup, then put a dap of sour cream and cheese on top! You can also put green onions or jalapenos on top as well, just depends on how spicy you like it. I love this dinner with a side of cornbread.

Recipe is courtesy of.....my mom :)

~ Tia

Raspberry Muffins

I bought a ton of raspberries when they were on sale at Fry's. We didn't eat them all so I froze them and decided to make some muffins with them. This recipe is from the cookbook Muffins and More. We got the cookbook when we were kids from my Grandma who lives in Canada. This cookbook is a huge hit up there and has so many wonderful recipes! I borrowed it from my mom and I am going to have to buy myself a copy because there are too many recipes I want to try.

1 3/4 c. flour (I used 1c white 3/4c wheat)
3 tsp Baking powder
dash of salt

1/4 c. softened butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla

1 c. raspberries, fresh or frozen (original recipe called for blueberries)
1 T. flour

In large bowl put flour, baking powder and salt. Stir together thoroughly, make a well in center

In another bowl cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg until smooth. Mix in milk and vanilla. Pour into well. Stir just to moisten - will be lumpy

Lightly stir raspberries and flour. Fold into batter. Put muffin cups into muffin tin, fill 3/4.

Bake 400 for 25 or until brown - Mine took 18 min

~Tia

Corn Bread

I could eat this cornbread for breakfast lunch and dinner. It is sweet and tastes so good. This recipe is from my mom


2/3 c. cornmeal

1 3/4 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Mix all together in bowl

In another bowl mix :

1/2 c. oil

1 1/3 c. evaporated milk beaten with 2 eggs

Add the liquid to the dry ingredients.  Stir barely to mix. Put in 9 x 13 buttered pan.  Bake for 30 mins or so at 350 degrees.

As soon as I take out of oven I take a stick of butter and run it over the top so it doesn't get dry. This goes really well with the Taco Soup...I will post that recipe soon!

~Tia

White/Whole Wheat Bread

I did it! I made bread for the first time and it actually turned out I was soooo excited! I wasnt sure if Zac would eat 100% whole wheat bread so I did 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat (fresh ground). Next time I am going to try all whole wheat.

Once again I got this yummy recipe from my friend Raygons blog. You can find the recipe here. I liked this recipe because I was able to use my Kitchen Aid. So many of the recipes call for 10-14 cups of wheat and my Kitchen Aid can only handle 7 cups or so. This recipe was just right!

3 cups wheat flour (you can use less or more)
1/3 cup molasses (or you can use honey)
1/3 cup oil
1 T Salt
1 T Yeast
2 3/4 c warm water
3 cups white flour (I use King Arthurs Bread Flour)

Proof your yeast. I took 1 cup of the water and mixed it with the yeast and waited 10 min for it to proof. I put the molassess oil, salt and the rest of the water in my Kitchen Aid. I then added my yeast mixture, slowly added the flour (it took 6 1/2 cups for the dough to stop sticking to the bowl). Then I kneaded it for 10 min, took it out of the Kitchen Aid and put into a bowl.

Let it rise until double in size (took about an hour)
Form into greased (I greased with butter) loaf pans. The recipe says it makes 2 loafs but it made 3 for me :)
Let loafs rise again until loafs are 1 1/2 times in size about 30-60 min (took mine 30 min to rise)
Bake 350 for 30-40 min - took 30 min for me

Once its out of the oven I took a stick of butter and spread it ontop of each loaf of bread - SO YUMMY. Zane and I ate 1/2 a loaf before Zac even got home from work

~Tia

Mexican Meatballs

Im not sure why these are called Mexican Meatballs because they are not the least bit spicy but they are yummy. This recipe is from my mother in law

1 lb ground beef
2 cans chicken and rice soup
1 egg
1/2 c. - 1c. bread crumbs (you can always use more if you need) - You can get whole wheat bread crumbs at Trader Joes
1 grated onion (I use 1/2 an onion)
1-2 celery stalks minced or a dash of celery salt
dash of parsley
dash of chili powder

chicken broth - set aside

Strain chicken bits and rice etc from soup broth and set broth aside.

In a bowl combine your chicken bits and rice, uncooked ground beef and all other ingredients except the bread crumbs. Mix ingredients together with your hands, add bread crumbs until the mixture stops sticking a lot but is still moist. You can add more than 1 cup if you need to.

Form mixture into small balls (smaller than the size you would make for cookies).

Put olive oil in a skillet (you can also use butter or a mixture of olive oil and butter)and cook until all sides of the meat balls are browned. I usually make sure they are cooked all the way through, add the reserved soup broth (its not enough and it cooks out so I add chicken broth so there is still some sauce). Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over rice (I use brown rice)!

~Tia

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

1 pint sour cream                                                                                      

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

2 diced green onions

8 oz medium cheddar cheese grated ( keep out enough to sprinkle on the top)

1 (4 oz) can green chile

1 can El Past Salsa de Jalapeno

8 chicken breast cooked and cut into chunks

Flour tortillas

In a large pan put all the ingredients except for the chicken and El Pato Sauce. Heat the ingredients until the cheese is melted. Then add the chicken you have cut into chunks

Then you start adding the El Pato sauce-

**You will need a can of El Pato Salsa de Jalapeno**

I just start putting it into the mixture a tablespoon at a time – tasting as you go to see how hot you want it to be -  Whatever is left over I put out if people want to put on top of their serving.

Line bottom of 9x13 with mixture

Then cut some tortillas into strips

Lay a layer of strips the length of pan – then a layer going the width of the pan.

Put another layer of mixture

Lay a layer of strips the length of pan – then a layer going the width of the pan.

Layer of mixture – this is last layer of mixture – it does not need to be really thick – just to cover the tortillas nicely so they don’t dry out.

I usually put a little criss cross on top- maybe 2 strips each way or you don’t need to bother

Sprinke with cheese – cover with foil and bake for 1 hr at 350

After I take out of oven I remove foil and let it sit for about 15 minutes so it sets up a little better.

Good Luck !

~Tia