Carmel Popcorn

1 1/2 cubes Butter
3/4 cup Karo Syrup
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar

~ Boil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes. Pour over large bowl of popcorn.

Baked Ziti

•  
  
• 1 pound dry ziti pasta (or really any kind of pasta would work- I actually used Penne pasta)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef (season with pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and minced garlic)
• 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce (I added a zucchini to my sauce just for more veggies!)
• 8 slices provolone cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray 2 8x8 inch pans with non-stick cooking spray. Layer as follows in each pan: 1/4 of the ziti, 1/4 of the sauce, 4 slices of Provolone cheese, 1/2 of sour cream,  1/4 of ziti, 1/4 mozzarella cheese and 1/4 of sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake covered for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted

Banana Bread Bars

• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¾ cups (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
 
Browned Butter Frosting:
• ½ cup butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• about 3 tablespoons milk 
  
  
  Instructions
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 10x15 jelly roll pan or line with parchment paper (for thicker bars use a 9x13 pan). Beat first four ingredients until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla for one minute. Add dry ingredients and blend for one minute. Stir in nuts and spread in pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool slighty until warm but not hot and frost with Browned Butter Frosting (recipe below)
• For the Browned Butter Frosting: Heat butter in saucepan over medium heat past the melting point until it is boiling and a delicate brown. Remove from the heat and immediately add the remaining ingredients. This should be thicker than a glaze and thinner than frosting. Using a spatula smooth over the top of the Monkey Squares immediately. The frosting will be easier to spread once it's on the warm bread.

Butter Lemon Shrimp

2 packages, uncooked,  peel and eat shrimp (31-40 count)
1 stick butter
2 lemons, washed and sliced thin
1 packet Italian Dressing and Seasoning Mix

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Make sure shrimp is thawed out, if you bought them frozen.  Lay sliced lemons down in 13x9 casserole dish. Peel shrimp, if desierd. Place uncooked shrimp on top, spreading evenly. Pour butter over top of shrimp. Sprinkle Italian seasoning all over shrimp. Bake uncovered 15 minutes. You could even broil for a few minutes to sort of caramelize the Italian dressing on top. No more than 2 minutes

Oven Baked Tacos

1 lb lean ground beef
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion, diced
1 (1 oz) packet taco seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chunky salsa
12 hard taco shells
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large skillet, heat oil and add onion and garlic – saute for about 5 minutes until soft.  Add beef and taco seasoning, cooking until meat is browned. Add beans and salsa.  Mix well and let cook for a couple of minutes so that the flavors can meld and the mixture can thicken.
In a large 9x13" baking pan, line up all the taco shells. Fill each one with a couple of scoops of the beef mixture and pack down into the shell. Repeat until all the shells are filled. Top each taco with shredded cheese.
Bake for 8-10 minutes (or until all the cheese is melted).
Serve with your favorite taco toppings (tomatoes, lettuce, olives, sour cream, hot sauce, or whatever you like!).

Freezer Jam

 

What You Need

3-1/4 cups  prepared fruit (raspberry or strawberries)

1/4 cup  lemon juice

1 box  MCP Pectin (Must be MCP Pectin this is the secret)

1cup  corn syrup

4-1/2 cups  sugar, measured into separate bowl

Make It

RINSE clean plastic containers and lids. Dry thoroughly.
CRUSH strawberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. Measure exactly 3-1/4 cups crushed strawberries into large bowl. Stir in lemon juice. Stir in pectin; let stand 30 min., stirring every 5 min. Stir in corn syrup. Gradually add sugar, stirring until well blended. Stir an additional 3 min. or until sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)
FILL all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.

* How to Measure Precisely:To get exact level cup measures of sugar, spoon sugar into dry metal or plastic measuring cups, then level by scraping excess sugar from top of cup with straight-edged knife. 

** Best canning/freezing supplies are at Allen Grocery. (Springville Utah)
***DO NOT DOUBLE RECIPE*** (the pectin will not set properly if doubled)

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Better than Take Out)

The chicken coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

The sweet and sour sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

       Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.  

Mongolian Beef

Ingredients

• 1 lb. stew meat
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, thickly sliced
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup soy sauce 
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. fresh minced ginger
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce 
• 
  

Instructions

1. Freezer directions- dump all ingredients into a labeled freezer bag, seal, mix up, freeze flat. It's as easy as that!
2. When you're ready to cook- take the bag out of the freezer the night before and let it defrost in the fridge. The next morning dump the bag into the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. If you're going to be longer just add a bit more water so it doesn't dry out. Serve with fresh slice green onions and rice. Yum!

Seasoned Cucumber Salad

Ingredients: (This is for a large batch, if you don't want it so big, just cut it in half)
6 large cucumbers, sliced thin
1 medium tomato diced
1 medium onion diced
1 Tbsp salt

Dressing:
1/2 cup cider vinegar
4 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2-1 tsp salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Couple dashes of cayenne pepper

Put sliced cucumbers in a strainer and toss with 1 Tbsp salt. Let stand for 30+ minutes. (This draws all the water out of the cucumbers, so either put it on a plate to catch the water or in the sink. I like it on a plate in the fridge so the cucumbers stay cold)
In a large bowl, combine diced tomatoes and onions.

In a small bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients. When you are ready to serve, rinse the cucumbers to get all the salt off and drain. Add to tomatoes and onions. Toss with dressing