Avacado Bean Wraps

This is my new favorite recipe I found in a magazine, though I can't remember which one. These are seriously so so so good, sooooo quick and easy to make and heart healthy. I could eat them everyday.
2 ripe avocados
1 cup salsa
2 tsp oil
1 red pepper, chopped
1 c. shredded carrots
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 can low sodium black beans, rinsed
1/3 c. shopped cilantro
4 whole wheat wraps
4 c. coarsely chopped romaine lettuce
Coarsely chop 1 avocado; mash the other in a small bowl and stif in 1/4 c. salsa until blended. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Saute pepper and carrots 3 minutes. Add cumin and cook 30 seconds. Add beans and remaining 3/4 c. salsa; heat through. Stir in the chopped avocado and cilantro; mix well.
Spread about 3 Tbsp mashed avocado-salsa mix on each wrap, some of the bean mixture and lettuce. I've never done it but i'm sure it would be delicious to squeeze some fresh lime juice on top. If you have leftove bean mixture I love to dip wheat thins or saltines in it.

Sugar Cookies

This is Sarah coming in from Canada, with a whole lot of snowThese are the most delicious sugar cookies ever! So yummy! Do not eat the cookies dough! once you start you'll never stop!

2 cups margarine 1 tsp baking powder

3 cups sugar 3 tsp vanilla

4 eggs 1/2 cup milk

6 cups flour

Mix by creaming margarine and sugar. Add eggs and remaining ingredients. Roll out and bake at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes.

Meatballs

This post is in request of my dad. The whole family came down to Ridgecrest the week before Christmas and I made these which were a huge hit, especailly with dad. He later send me an email asking for the recipe so here it is. I can't take credit for them, they're from my pioneer woman cookbook. Ree calls for ground beef, but I always make it with ground turkey. They're kind of a labour of love but are so worth it.

Meatballs:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 c. oats
1 c. milk
3 Tbsp minced onion
1 1/2 tsp. salt
plenty of ground black pepper

4 Tbsps canola oil
1/2 c. flour

sauce:
1 c. Ketchup
3 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
4-6 Tbsp minced onion

In a bowl, combine ground beef with oats. Pour in the milk and add diced onion and salt. Add pepper and stir to combine. Roll mixture into balls and refrigerate 30 minutes or stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dredge meatballs in the flour. Brown them in batches until light brown, not completely cooked. Place them in a baking dish.
Mix the sauce together and drizzle evenly over the meatballs. Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly and hot. These are so good with rice and a salad or skip the sauce and have with spaghetti and red sauce. Enjoy!

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!