I am not a big fan of Teriyaki anything usually, but with this homemade Teriyaki sauce, these meatballs are delicious. They seem to turn out better when Ryan makes them, than when I make them, so this is kind of his thing if I can get him to do it! We have made them with ground turkey (they seem to be a little more mushy with this than beef) and our regular is with ground beef. We have substituted the bread crumbs with ground oatmeal or ground cashews (the cashews were good because it gave it a crunch instead of making them kind of mushy with bread crumbs). Note: do not use Progresso Panko Bread Crumbs. I had these on hand last week when I made them and they turned out really mushy. It is best to use fresh made bread crumbs from fresh toast. We usually 1 1/2 the Teriyaki sauce to make them a little more moist and it calls for 6 green onions, but I only do maybe 4 and cut them up really small. I don't have crushed red pepper, so I have used seasoned pepper, or just omitted this ingredient all together. It is great with rice (we use brown rice) and a side of fresh steamed broccoli or peas! Enjoy!

Found on Comeandgetem.blogspot.com

• 1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef)
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced (optional, but tastier with)
  
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• prepared teriyaki sauce (see recipe below)
  
• 1 cup bread crumbs, fresh (or I use nuts ground up in the blender or food processor, flax seed flour, or ground up oats)
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• dash garlic
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• dash crushed red peppers
• Cooked rice
  

Make teriyaki sauce (recipe below). Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, scallions, carrot, 1/3 of prepared teriyaki sauce, bread crumbs, and spices. Blend well. Using a 2-ounce scoop (or large spoon), form meatballs and place in a shallow glass baking dish (or on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil). Sprinkle meatballs with sesame seeds. Pour remaining teriyaki sauce over meatballs. Roast in a oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown on the outside, cooked through, and sauce has thickened. Serve over rice.

Teriyaki sauce:

• 6 T brown or white sugar (you can use less if desired)
  
• 4 T organic catsup (no high fructose corn syrup)
  
• 6 T soy sauce
• dash garlic (or 1 tsp minced garlic)
  

Combine until mixed thoroughly.

I found this recipe a year or so ago and have not wanted to try any other blueberry muffin recipe. I have now gotten my sisters hooked on them. Boxed muffins have no comparison to these. They go so quick in my house, it is hard to keep them around. We decided to have these the other morning and treat ourselves with some scrambled eggs and sausage. YUM! I have made the batter and added in raspberries, and those are delicious too! Use either fresh or frozen berries, they are good either way. The recipe is from All Recipes, but I have tweaked it a little, as I always do. We try to cut down on our sugar, so I usually do about 1/2 cup sugar instead of 3/4 cup, and when I half the topping ingredients (it makes WAY too much if you do the whole amount called for), I do a little less than 1/4 cup sugar. I usually make these with 1 cup whole wheat, 1/2 cup white flour and then I add a little bit more milk so that the wheat flour doesn't dry them out too much. I have been tempted to try apple pieces in them, but just haven't gotten to that yet. Let me know what you try!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• _____________________
• Topping
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 
  
• 
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done. This makes about 10 muffins.

We made this last night and it was very good. I will do a few things different next time though. We were running out of time so ended up frying this to make it cook a little faster. Next time I will bake it in the oven to make it a little healthier. The recipe did not call for any seasonings on the chicken other than salt and pepper before it is cooked, so I sprinkled the chicken with season salt after it was cooked. I think I will maybe get seasoned bread crumbs next time too to give it a little more flavor. I also waited until right before we ate to make the mango salsa (which was delicious!!!), but I think I will make it a couple hours in advance next time so the juices all soak together to give it more flavor. Basically though, this is just a fancy type of fried chicken, but if you eat the mango salsa with it, it is great and has a good crunch from the macadamias! We ate some sweet potato fries with it too and all the flavors mixed pretty well together. Pretty healthy meal if you bake it in the oven (which I will do next time!).

These are delicious and easy to make!  Your kids will love helping you make them as well as frost them, or like mine, mostly to just eat them!

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup softened butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour (may need to add an extra 1/2 cup flour if dough is too sticky)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

Heat oven to 375

Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, almond extract and egg.

Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Divide dough into halves.

Roll each half 3/16 inch thick on a lightly floured board.

Cut into shapes; sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake until edges are light brown, 7-8 minutes.

Makes about 5 dozen (If making them very small.  More likely if they are the size as above, there will be about 2 1/2 dozen.

Frosting:
1 stick softened salted butter
about a half of a bag of powdered sugar
a drop of vanilla
a little milk (a couple Tbs??)

So this is kind of a throw together, not really measured.  Sorry.  Just whip everything together with a beater until smooth.  If too runny, add more powdered sugar.  If too buttery tasting, add more vanilla and powdered sugar.  Good luck! 

This is a note to myself and anyone else who tries the Creamy chicken & tomato chowder. DO NOT PUT IT IN THE CROCKPOT! I did this last night and it was so blah! No flavor at all. It could have been partially the brand of italian tomatoes I bought, but I think the main reason is that I didn't cook up the onions and celery in olive oil before I put them all together with the soup. So, just a forewarning. Maybe if you did put it in the crockpot, cook everything up first in a pan on the stove, then transport it to the crockpot. But then again, who am I to say what will work? I am no expert, so it is all trial and error. Hope you have better luck!

I have made this recipe a few times and LOVE IT! Another great bhg.com recipe. The recipe calls for shrimp, but my kids eat chicken better, so I substitute. I just cook up the chicken in a pan with some salt, pepper, minced garlic, and season salt. Then dice and add to the soup. This calls for foccacia wedges to dip in it, but I have used rosemary olive oil bread and that is delicious too. And tonight with this chowder, I am trying some of my hurry-up biscuits with rosemary added to them. YUM!

• 2 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained (I chop these before adding into the soup)
  
• 8 oz. medium peeled cooked shrimp
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup water
• Ground Black Pepper
• Slivered fresh basil
• Foccacia wedges

1. In a large saucepan cook celery and onion in hot oil just until tender. Stir in tomatoes; heat through. Add shrimp, whipping cream, and water. Cook over medium heat just until hot. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

2. Ladle chowder into bowls; top with basil. Serve with focaccia wedges. Serves 4 (1-1/2-cup servings).

* I am not a fan of basil so I usually omit that step. It is still delicious!

These are a great go-to for a bread to go along with dinner. They are easy and yummy. And the best part... I can make a big batch and freeze the dough (make the dough into balls and freeze on a cookie sheet/pie sheet for a little while, then transfer to a freezer bag) so they can be pulled out individually anytime I need them. I have tried these with half whole wheat, half white flour, I have added shredded cheese, and tonight I am trying them with Rosemary added for a nice flavorful biscuit to eat with our Creamy Chicken & Tomato Chowder. But no need to make them fancy and add more ingredients. These are great with a little butter and honey or homemade jam. I found this recipe online at bhg.com. This makes about 12 biscuits.


1 1/2 Cup flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Cup whipping cream

Mix all dry ingredients. Then add whipping cream. Bake at 375 for about 12-17 minutes or until golden brown.

If you are in the Boise, ID area, you should really check this out. It is my friend Charise's business of custom cakes and confections. I had never had a filled cupcake until I met Charise about 6 months ago, and LET ME TELL YOU!!!! They are DELICIOUS!! Charise made mini cupcakes for our Grand Opening and they were so yummy (not a very good picture, I know. Sorry!). So, if you need a really good treat, a wedding cake, sheet cake, birthday cake (here is my son's 3rd birthday cake that she helped me make), you name it, and she can do it; drop her a line.

This is a recipe from the Grover Family Cookbook, a family cookbook we received from some friends for our wedding. I am hooked on these pancakes and won't use box mix anymore! This picture is actually chocolate chip pancakes (for my son's 3rd birthday breakfast!), but we have done all variations. The recipe calls for buttermilk, but I have always used regular milk. We have made these whole wheat, whole wheat with oatmeal, half whole wheat, half white flour, etc. Add homemade maple syrup on top with fresh ground almond butter, and YUM!!!!

Pancakes

Mix together:
1 1/2 cups flour (white or whole wheat, or combination)
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbs sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 Tbs baking powder
3 Tbs oil
1 1/2 cups milk (buttermilk or regular)

* note: I can usually save the batter for a day in the fridge and it is a little less fluffy, but is still decent. However, I have switched to using Aluminum Free Baking Powder and it has made a difference. My batter the first day was almost overflowing because it puffed up so much and was so airy. They were some of the best fluffy and light pancakes I have made! But when it came to making them the next day, they were completely flat and without air at all! I am guessing the aluminum is kind of a preservative?? Anyone know? Just watch what kind of baking powder you are using as to how it turns out. Good luck!

I have been putting this off for a while and while discussing recipes and what to cook for dinner with my friend the other night, I decided... it's time to start a food blog. Now I don't want this to be only food and recipes I have tried, but if any of you have come across something delicious or have some great cooking/baking tips, PLEASE SHARE!!! So, here it goes....