Granola

If you are a granola fan, this is amazing and suprisingly easy. I got it from my friend Martha's magazine. We're close friends.
3 Tbsps unsalted butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. honey
2 tsps. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. water
4 1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. wheat germ
1/2 c. bran
2 1/2 c. tropical trail mix ( like from costco, or i got mine at walmart for 4 bucks)
1/2 c. coconut
Preheat over to 250 degrees. Melt butter in saucepan over medium-low heat. Add sugar, and gook until melted. STir in honey, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and water. Add remaining ingredients and toss. Spread on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake stirring occasionally, until golden brown and dry, about 1 1/2 hours. Let cool on sheets. This can be stored in an air tight container for up to 3 weeks, but I doubt it'll last that long if you have a hungry husband. Enjoy! EMily

Emily's Healthy Zucchini Bread (no, really, it is)

This is spin off another recipe i found to make it healthy so that I wouldn't feel guilty eating it. Try it, it's great!
You will need:
3 eggs
1 c. apple sauce
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 c. shredded zucchini
1/4 c. honey
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1 c. raisins if you want(you could try choco. chips)
1 c. chopped nuts
1/4 c. oats or wheat germ

Preheat oven to 350. Combine eggs, apple sauce, zucchini and vanilla. Mix welll. Add flour and rest of ingredients. Stir in nuts and raisins. Bake for 60 minutes. makes one loaf

Cake, Cake, Cake, I LOVE CAKE!

This is Sarah, and I love cake! I made this cake for Wendy Wallace's birthday this past weekend, and boy was it a lot of work! It was my first fondant cake! I didn't take pictures along the way, because it would have taken even longer! But it was a lot of fun! I used rice krispies for the head, and cake for the body. I then dirty frosted the whole thing with buttercream frosting, and then covered it with fondant. My fondant was really shiny, and sticky, anybody have any ideas how to fix that? As soon as i finished the cake, honestly like an hour later, I had the privledge of be-heading Eeyore. He tasted pretty good :)

Homemade Pizza Pops

Hello Again!
Annie here. I just thought I would share with you a great recipe: especially for all those who are gearing up for a new school year and want some quick lunches! Since Josh is in Florida starting grad school, with a very busy schedule, and wifeless, I thought I would make him something he could pull out of the freezer every morning and have ready by lunch. So here they are:



Cast of characters: your favorite pizza dough recipe, pizza sauce, diced onions, hamburger, pepperoni, olives (yuck!), mushrooms, and cheese of course. You can make whatever kind you would like. With these ingredients I made Deluxe, Pepperoni mushroom, and Meat Lovers. I've also thought of Hawaiian, BBQ Chicken (use BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce, and add some pineapple with the chicken and cheese and onions), Chicken Alfredo...so many choices!



Divide your pizza dough into equal pieces. I separated mine into eight pieces, which is how many pieces of pizza it makes. Roll out one of the sections into a circle. Spread sauce on both sides and then deck out half with the ingredients you want inside. Be generous with the pizza sauce so that it doesn't end up being dry. Moisten the edge of half the dough circle with dabs of water. Fold over the dough so that the moistened side lines up with the dry side. This will help seal the dough. Pinch it tight and place on cookie sheet.



Cook at 400 for about 15-20 minutes until crust is golden.
Let cool. Put in Ziplocs and throw in the freezer.
They will thaw during the day so that by lunch all you have to do is toss them in the microwave for about 3 minutes.
Enjoy!

Les Poissons, Les Poissons!

This is Sarah! The weather up here in Canada has been fantastic, so Dad, Abby, Don Holloway, and I decided to go fishing yesterday! It was amazing! We went to a "secret" lake, way out in the middle of no where, we actually had to carry the boat through a very small trail to reach the lake. Unfortunaly the photo uploader is being retarded, and my pictures are all mixed up, and there is nothing I can do about it, but once you catch your fish, gut them, and clean them, then cover the outsides with flour and salt and pepper, and fry them up in a frying pan. They'll be delicious! The lake was beautiful! There was a time where the fish weren't taking our hooks, but luckily we had some Diet Coke to keep us happy, and Abigail luckily had a good book to keep her happy! It was great!Oh and the hooks Don found for us were called "mormon girls" so he thought it would be funny for Abby, and I to fish with them! Unfortunaly we didn't catch anything on them, the spinners were our lucky hooks! Happy Fishing!

Vanilla-Buttercream Frosting

This is Sarah, and you can thank me for finding the most amazing butter cream frosting ever! This frosting recipe is to die for! But who wouldn't love it? It's pretty much pure butter! Yummy! I found it on the martha stewart website, you can find some fabulous cupcake recipes on there too! It also keeps excellent form, and has great consistency! It would be great for creating frosting flowers!

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 7 large egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 lbs. unsalted butter (I used salted, it doesn't seem to make too much of a difference), cut into tablespoon- sizes pieces, softened
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine sugar, egg whites, and salt in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar has dissolved and mixture registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
2. Return bowl to mixer; fit mixer with whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, and mixture is cool, about 10 minutes.
3. Switch to paddle attachment. With mixer on medium speed, add butter, 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until mixture is smooth. Mix in vanilla extract. Use immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days.

Chicken, Chicken...Scones

Hello All!

Its Annie here. I have some great recipes that I have found over the last couple of weeks to share (and they aren't sweets -that seems to have been the trend so far. Clearly we Allred girls like our sugar!) I apologize that they aren't fancy with step by step pictures- I've been pretty busy lately, so when I'm cooking I'm usually multi-tasking. Either way, just wanted to share these recipes!

First up is Salsa Chicken. I made this last night and it is so easy. You really don't need a recipe for it, but just for kicks, here it is:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

4 teaspoons taco seasoning mix

1 cup salsa

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)

Preheat to 375 degrees. Place chicken in a lightly greased 9x13 inch pan, sprinkle taco seasoning on both sides of chicken breasts, and pour salsa over all.

Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes, or until chicken is tender and its juices run clear.

Sprinkle chicken evenly with cheese, and continue baking for 3-5 more minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Top with sour cream if desired.

Serve with rice and corn.

* I made a few changes to this recipe: I did my own taco seasoning with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and seasoning salt. I cut down on the cheese and just sprinkled a little bit on top of the chicken, and I used mango salsa, which I highly recommend! It was delish.

Next up is Baked Honey Mustard Chicken ( I went a little crazy with chicken the past couple of weeks). This is another really simple, but good recipe.

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup prepared mustard

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon paprika ( I omitted this)

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste, and place in a greased 9x13 inch pan. In a small bowl, combined honey, mustard, basil, paprika and parsley. Mix well. Pour 1/2 of mixture over the chicken and brush to cover.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and brush with the remaining mixture. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until juices run clear.

*I served this with a garden salad and savory scones (recipe below).

The last recipe I wanted to share is Savory Scones. I had never tried them before, but for some reason had a craving for them the other day. I found a recipe on Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen, and altered it a bit to my liking. Here is my version of the recipe. Enjoy!

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup butter, cut up

1 egg

2/3 cup buttermilk

dried rosemary

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix flour sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, rosemary, and cheddar cheese.

Add cold butter to dry mixture and, using a fork, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs.

Light beat egg with buttermilk. Add to mixture and stir with a fork until the mixture comes together. Turn out onto a floured board and knead the dough 5 or 6 times.

Place the rounded dough onto a greased baking sheet, and press into a circle. Cut into 8 pie-shaped segments.

Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes or until golden.

*TIP: Buttermilk can be substituted. 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes. Voila!

Fudge Sauce Splendor

ATTENTION: SUGAR COMA AHEAD

This is Sarah announcing the most delicious chocolate sauce known to man, with perfect flavor and consistency. We first start out with semi sweet, and unsweetened chocolate. Take 5 squares of the semi sweet, and 2 1/2 bars of unsweetened chocolate.
On low heat melt chocolate in medium sized pan, pot, what exactly do you call it? I'm going to say pot. Melt the chocolate in a medium sized pot. Once the chocolate is melted, add 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs of margarine or butter. Melt.
Melt butter. Add 1 1/4 cup white sugar.
Stir, and melt.
Take one can evaporated milk and pour into chocolate mixture, while stirring.

Bring to mixture to a bubble, just before boiling, and add 2 1/2 tsp. vanilla.

And now you have a sugar coma in a pot! Enjoy over ice cream, or whatever your heart desires.

Recipe:

~5 semi sweet chocolate squares

~2 1/2 unsweetened chocolate squares

~1/2 cup + 2Tbs butter/margarine

~1 can evaporated milk

~1 1/4 cup white sugar

~2 1/2 tsp vanilla

m&m chocolate chip cookies

I do believe the quest for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie has ended with these. Oh my gosh! These are AMAZING! I got the recipe from my mother inlaw and they are perfect; the only cookie i can compare it to is the cookies you can get from Costco. Make these for your husbands and they will promise to wash the dishes for the rest of your life. OK, that's probably too far, but at least until you make them again. To all the single ladies, make these and you will no longer be single. These are that good. I made them for Gavin's basketball team that plays tonight. It's the final game and they wanted some victory cookies because they're sure they've got this one. All i can say is they are going to love me. oh and annie, this is for you and josh. You are going to love me and josh will love you even more so you'll love me even more because he's goint to love you even more.

Here's what you need.

• 3/4 c. Butter flavoured shortening ( must be butter flavor)
  11/4 c. Firmly pack brown sugar
• 2 Tbsps Milk
• 1Tbsp Vanilla
• 1 Egg
• 1 3/4 c. Flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp Baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate chips (best with milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet. You can mix it up with peanut butter chips, mint, butterscotch etc. anything will work).
• M&M's if you wish. I think it adds a nice touch.
  

First cream together the the shortening, sugar, vanilla and milk. Beat in the egg.

In a seperate bowl combine the flour, salt and baking soda and mix into shortening mixture just until combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips. The dough will be alot wetter than most cookie doughs. It's almost like brownie dough. Don't worry, you added the right amount of flour. Chill in the fridge for an hour or in the freezer for 20 minutes. This will make it easier to work with. While they're chilling, go to the gym like i did to make yourself feel better for eating so much dough. By the time you get back, you'll feel all better and be ready to have some more.
I like to make monster cookies out of this recipe so i scoop out a little less than a 1/4 c, roll it into a ball, flatten it slightly and place onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. This is kind of meticulous, but i'm a meticulous person when it comes to detail so i take the m&ms and press them on top of each cookie. Be generous because the cookie will spread out along with the m&ms on top.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. The time will vary depending on the size of your cookies. Cool on a wire wrack if you can wait that long.Look at that. Perfection. This should be in a museum.

Ok, these are better than Costco cookies. I think i've decided this will be the recipe i whisper into my grand daughter's ear on my death bed. There you have it, the ultimate chocolate chip cookie. Enjoy and happy baking. and eating. Love, Emily

key lime limeade

I had a whole bunch of key limes in the fridge that I needed to get rid of because Gavin and I are leaving to Canada on thursday. I thought about a key lime pie or cheesecake but then i'm stuck with a whole pie or cheesecake, which isn't really a downer but i also want to be able to fit into my clothes so limeade it is.

Here's what you need. 3 cups of cold water, 3/4 cup of sugar or splenda and a bunch of key limes.
First roll the limes between your hand and the counter with pressure. This makes it easier to get all the juice out. Cut them in halves. Next squeeze all the juice out either with your hands or a juicer(i got mine at walmart and it works really well). Squeeze enough juice to make one cup. Don't worry about seeds because you'll strain the juice as you pour it into a pitcher.Pour the strained juice into a pitcher of 3 cups of cold water. Next add the sugar and stir. If it's too tart just add some more sugar.There you have it. Homemade limeade. Mmm!

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Emily here, reporting live from California. I have been on a quest to find the best oatmeal raisin cookies forever (i've also been on the best chocolate chip cookie quest, but that's for another post)and these fit the ticket. If you love oatmeal and raisins, you'll love this recipe. They're thick, they're chewy and they're delicious. Make these today, you can thank me later.

Here's what you need.

1/2 c. softened BUTTER
2/3 c. brown sugar1egg
1/2t. vanilla3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 c. rolled oats

3/4 c. raisins

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (i don't usually add walnuts, but i had them on hand so i went ahead and added them to this batch. i prefer to not use them). I apologize for the formatting there. My computer went crazy

First, cream together the butter, egg and vanilla.
Add the brown sugar and mix until smooth.



Next combine the flour, salt baking soda and cinnamon in a separate bowl and add to the butter mixture.


Stir in the walnuts, oatmeal and of course, the raisins.


The dough should look like this. Yum. You may want to put your finger in it and taste it. You probably should. Maybe once or twice or 10 times.
The secret to thick cookies is to chill them. Do this in the fridge for an hour, or if you're impatient like me, put the dough in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Feel free to laugh at my old, fake metal flaking temperature adjuster.

Roll the chilled dough into 1 1/2 '' balls and place on a parchment-lined or greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. DO NOT OVER COOK! just keep checking on them.

Cool on a wire cooling wrack.

Voila! The most delicious oatmeal raisin cookie you will ever eat. Enjoy.