Southwest Eggrolls

I've been meaning to make this recipe for quite some time and I finally got around to it this past weekend.  I'm glad I did, because these little eggrolls are delicious!  They even tasted great as a leftovers the next day!  I left out the cayenne pepper because I don't like my food too spicy.

For the egg rolls:
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1-9 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry with paper towel
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
1-7oz can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 package of egg roll or wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 425F. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix together corn, beans, spinach, cheese, chiles, onions, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Using a small spoon, scoop a small amount of filling onto the wrapper. Starting at a corner, carefully start to roll the wrapper. When it’s slightly rolled, tuck in the two side and continue rolling to the last point. Wet your finger with water and dab a bit on the corner to seal the egg roll. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling, placing them slightly apart on the baking sheet.

Lightly spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes, flipping them at least once during baking.

For avocado ranch:
3/8 cup mayonnaise
3/8 cup sour cream
3 Tbs buttermilk
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 green onion, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 avocado, peeled and pitted

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Use immediately.

Easy White Cake

I had to make a bunch of cupcakes for a baby shower this week and didn't want to use a plain old boxed mix.  So I went to my favorite recipe blog Our Best Bites and found this adjusted box recipe that I tried out.  It turned out great!  It was super easy, but definitely had a more homemade taste and texture.

Easy White Cake

1 box white cake mix (Duncan Hines super moist is best)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp salt
4 egg whites
1 1/3 cups water
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (use clear vanilla if you want a pure white cake)
1 tsp almond extract

Mix all dry ingredients with a whisk, then add wet ingredients. Beat for two minutes until fluffy.

For Cake: Pour into greased, floured pans (fills two 8 or 9″ rounds) and bake according to cake package directions.

Tip:  When cakes come out, cool for 5 minutes on wire rack, then cover with two sheets of plastic wrap (in a “+” sign), turn them out and wrap the plastic around them. Allow to cool all wrapped up (keeps the moisture from evaporating out) then pop in freezer on a cutting board to keep them flat. Once they are frozen, they are super easy to frost and defrost in about a half an hour.

For cupcakes: fill paper liners 3/4 full and bake according to box directions.  Makes 36 cupcakes.

Mom's Banana Bread

My Mom has been making this delicious banana bread for years and it's just so yummy.

Sometime I buy a few extra bananas and leave them around to go brown just so I can make this!

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease one loaf pan.

Sift together:

2 cups flour

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. salt

Cream together separately:

½ cup softened butter

¾ cup sugar

beat in two eggs, mix until foamy

mix in 2 cups of mashed bananas (4 bananas)

Add the flour mixture in 2 additions

Bake 1 hour  and 10 min. at 350 degrees 

Crisp Waffles

We had these waffles for breakfast in Idaho a few months ago.  They tasted great to me so I got the recipe and we've made them a few times since.

2 eggs
1 3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. butter, melted
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour

Heat waffle iron.  Beat eggs until fluffy.  Beat in remaining ingredients until just smooth.  Pour batter into center of hot waffle iron.  Bake until steaming stops. about 5 minutes.  Makes 3- 10 inch waffles.

Maple Glazed Carrots

Everything tastes better coated in sugar!  Right?  My kids certainly think that cooked carrots taste better that way.  This is our favorite way to prepare them!

2 pounds carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

4 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. maple syrup

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. fresh parsley or you can use dried

Use a steamer to cook sliced carrots until tender.  Drain water and return carrots to pan.  Add butter and stir gently until melted.  Add brown sugar, syrup and parsley and saute gently for 2-3 min.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Be amazed at how fast these carrots disappear from your dinner table!

Herbed Sourdough Stuffing

I know it's been months, but Thanksgiving this year was a small affair at my house.  My dear Mom did the turkey (thank goodness-I really hate dealing with raw meat), but Justin and I did most of the rest of the meal.  We decided to try some new and different recipes just for fun.  My Our Best Bites Savoring the Seasons recipe book has a recipe for herbed sourdough stuffing that I decided to try and it turned out fabulous.  Definitely different that the type of stuffing we usually have. I'll certainly be doing it again though!

1 pound sliced rustic sourdough bread, cut into 1 inch squares
8 tbsp. butter
1 c. diced celery
1 med. onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 tbsp. minced fresh sage (I didn't use fresh and it was still great)
1 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried crushed rosemary
1/4 tsp. ground marjoram
2 medium lemons ( you need 1/4 c. juice and 2 tsp. lemon zest)
1/4 c. fresh minced parsley
1 c. chicken broth, more as needed


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spread bread cubes on baking sheet and toast 10-12 minutes until lightly toasted.
Turn oven down to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in skillet, then add celery, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Saute 6-7 min.
Add sage, rosemary, and marjoram and cook another 2-3 min. til everything is tender.
Add lemon zest and juice and parsley to mixture then toss together with bread pieces in a large bowl.
Slowly add chicken broth while tossing.
Place in a 9x13 baking dish and bake for 20 min.  After 20 min. gently toss, then bake another 20 min. until lightly browned on top.  Cover with foil it too brown.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

I found this recipe on Pinterest.  It originally came from LDS Living's website and it's delicious!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies 
Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

My twins requested spaghetti and meatballs for their big family birthday dinner in the fall and since I didn't feel like I could serve everyone noodles covered with Ragu I went searching for a fabulous homemade recipe.  Of course, the first place I looked was my favorite site Our Best Bites and they didn't let me down.  I found this fabulous recipe and it was a huge hit!

Spaghetti and Meatballs
Recipe by Our Best Bites

Italian Meatballs:
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. Italian sausage (I would have preferred less sausage I think)
1/4 c. dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. dehydrated onion
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. parsley
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt*

*If you want, you could substitute all the Italicized ingredients with 3 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning found here.

Gently combine meatball ingredients in a medium bowl. Shape into balls, whatever size you like, but I prefer using my standard cookie scoop (about 1 Tbsp.) to shape meat into balls and then rolling it between my hands to make them even more round. Place on a broiler pan

and broil until the meatballs start to brown–I actually use my toaster oven. Just because I can. Remove from oven and set aside until ready to use (or freeze for later use).

Sauce
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
Olive oil
2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes
16 oz. tomato sauce
1-2 Tbsp. sugar (to taste)
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of baking soda (to help neutralize the acid)

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant. Add remaining sauce ingredients and combine well. Bring to a simmer and add meatballs. Simmer on low, uncovered, until desired consistency is reached–about 25-30 minutes for a sauce that’s of medium consistency (my husband, bless him, likes it very thick while I like it a little on the thin side. Whatever will we do??)

Serve over hot spaghetti (shhhhh…I used linguine!), maybe with some breadsticks and some freshly grated Parmesan on top. Serves a lot–like probably 12 regular people or 2 teenage boys.

FREEZER MEAL INSTRUCTIONS:
Prepare meatballs as directed, but divide the meatballs among two freezer-safe containers. Prepare sauce through adding all ingredients to the pan, but don’t simmer; rather, divide the sauce among the two containers. Freeze until ready to use. When ready to use, place in slow cooker and cook on low for about 5-6 hours, although you’ll want to keep an eye on the sauce and make sure it’s not burning if you go for the whole 6 hours.

Chocolate Cake Roll

Unlike me, my husband isn't a big cake eater.  However, this is his favorite!  This recipe came from my mother-in-law Derra Ball.

3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. water

2 pints of whipping cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar

Line a sheet cake sized pan with foil and grease the foil.  Pam spray with flour works great.
Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt- set aside.
Beat eggs for 5 min. or until very thick.
Add sugar gradually to eggs.
Blend in water and vanilla on low speed.
Gradually add flour mixture.  Beat until smooth.
Bake 13 min @ 375 degrees.
Invert cake onto a towel that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar and remove foil carefully.
Gently roll cake while still hot and cool on a wire rack.
Whip cream while waiting for the cake to cool.  Add 1/2 c. of powdered sugar to cream.
When cake is cool, unroll and remove towel.
Spread whipped cream onto cake and roll again.  Reserve some whipped cream for serving.
Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and serve within a few hours.

Mushroom Rice Pilaf

This is a Ball family favorite.  It's quick to prepare, easy, and delicious.

1/2 c. butter
2 cups rice
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped celery
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
32 oz. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
pepper
1/2 c. chopped parsley

Feel free to play with the quantities a bit! It tastes good lots of ways.  Sometimes I add chopped carrots. I often leave out the mushrooms.  The celery and onion give it lots of flavor though, so I always use those!

Melt butter.  Add rice and stir.  Add onion, celery, and mushrooms and saute for 5 min.  Add liquid and additional ingredients and simmer for 25-30 min. until rice is tender.  Tastes great served with a favorite chicken or fish dish.

I always make mine in a rice cooker and just throw everything in and press start!  Super easy!

White Corn Salsa

My awesome neighbor Jessa brought this over as a gift years ago and it's been a family favorite ever since!

1 can black eyed peas, drained

1 can white corn, drained,

1 package Italian dressing mix

1 avocado, chopped

2-4 green onions or chives, chopped

5 roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped (I prefer less)

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve with favorite tortilla chips.  Best if eaten immediately.  Makes about 4 coups of salsa.