Baby Shower Yummies

Cream Cheese Won Tons (makes 48)

2 (8 oz) pkg Cream Cheese, room temp.

1 C Sugar

2 Tbsp Snipped Fresh Chives

4 Dozen Won Ton Wrappers

4 C Peanut Oil (we used Olive Oil)

1 Egg White

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and chives till smooth. Rub egg white on edges of wrappers. Place spoon full in center of each wrapper. Fold wrappers so all corners are touching and press to seal. Preheat oil to 375 F. Cook till golden.

Chicken Egg Rolls

1 lb Minced Chicken Breast

4 C Shredded Cabbage or Jicama

1 Carrot Grated

1 Bundle of Bean Thread

2 Tbsp Wooded Ear Mushrooms

1/2 C Chopped Onion

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp Granulated Sugar

1/8 tsp Pepper

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Egg, Separated

1 pkg Egg Roll Wrappers

4 C Oil

Put bean thread in hot water and microwave 2 minutes. Soak in water till cool, drain and cut into 1-1/2 in. pieces. While threads are soaking, soak wooded ear mushrooms in hot water (i failed to mention they will probably be dehydrated). Drain and chop. Mix all remaining ingredients with egg yolk. Put 2 Tbsp of filling at one corner of wrapper. Roll and glue edges with egg whites. If using Rice egg roll wrappers, make thin batter and use instead of egg whites.

1 tsp Cornstarch

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

water

Deep Fry in Oil (350 F) 3 minutes each side. Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

We used the same oil and temp. to cook won tons and egg rolls.

Sweet & Sour Sauce

2 C Orange Juice

1 (8 oz) can Crushed Pineapple

1 tsp Chicken Granules

1/2 tsp Fresh Grated Ginger Root

1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

2 Tbsp Tomato Sauce

1/2 tsp Salt

3 Tbsp Rice Vinegar

1/4 C Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Cornstarch

Combine all ingredients. Bring to Boil, reduce and simmer 5 minutes. Remove and let cool before serving.

Tofu, what?!

Okay Em-here is the recipe I tried with tofu. It was surprisingly really good. Tofu is kind of tasteless and we both really liked the texture. If you're feeling bold I would recommend it.

Artichoke Pasta
1/2 lb. tri-colored pasta (or elbow macaroni)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. firm or extra-firm tofu, diced
1 (14-oz.) can artichoke hearts, quartered
1 (12-oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce

•Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
•While the pasta is cooking, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the diced tofu and sauté for 2 minutes, then add the artichokes, tomatoes, and tomato sauce.
•Drain the pasta and combine all the ingredients.

Makes 4 Servings

Creme Brulee French Toast

We are having this tomorrow after Stake Conference. It looks to me like a dessert,but my Mom is super excited about it. Her first experience with creme brulee was at Lauren's reception, and she thinks it will taste like that. She cut it out of the Deseret News. If you are interested in how it turned out call tomorrow. It is chilling in the fridge as I write.

Creme Brulee French Toast
1/2 c. unsalted butter
2 T. corn syrup
Bread sliced to cover butter mixture
5 large eggs
1-1/2 c. half and half
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
In a saucepan, melt butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Pour into a 9x13 glass baking dish. Arrange bread pieces on top. Beat together eggs, half and half, vanilla and salt. Pour egg mixture over the top of the bread. Cover and chill overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning, bake uncovered at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Yummy Yummy Salad

Annie made this salad last year in Monticello and it made such an impression on me that I made it for our friends Easter dinner on Sunday:) Everyone like it.

Spinach and Bacon Salad

10 oz Baby Spinach

1/2 lb. Bacon, cooked and crumbed

1 sm. Red Onion, thinly, thinly sliced

3-4 oz Slivered Almonds, toasted

1 can Mandarin Oranges

Dressing

1/3 c. Sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp. Vinegar (I used Apple Cider Vinegar)

1 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice (I used Lime)

1/2 c. Olive Oil

2 1/2 Tbsp. Honey

1/2 tsp. Paprika

1/2 tsp. Ground Mustard

1/8 tsp. Salt

Mix salad and add Dressing right before serving or the Spinach will wilt.

I didn't use all the Spinach the first time so I made it again a couple of days later but I also didn't have all the ingredients for the salad so I made this one.

About 4 oz Spinach, Quarter of a head of Cauliflower broken into florets. I cut the Dressing recipe in half, omitted the Lemon Juice and added a crushed Garlic Clove for a kick. The onion I minced real fine. So, I mixed the Dressing, added the garlic and onion to it then mixed it with the Spinach and Cauliflower. It was really yummy also:)

Thanks Annie!!!

Homemade Strawberry Poptarts

So this recipe is really easy and quite delicious. It would be delicious with any type of preserves or even fudge topping to make chocolate pop tarts. I also like that you can individualize each pop tart if you wanted to. Yum!

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour plus additional for shaping and rolling
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 tablespoons ice water
12 tablespoons strawberry preserves (preferably organic homemade)
Powdered sugar
Fresh strawberries

Whisk 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour, coarse salt, and sugar in large bowl. Add butter. Using fingertips or back of fork, blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water by tablespoonfuls, tossing until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball. Divide in half; shape each half into disk. Wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour.
Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on floured surface to about 13x11 inches. Trim to 12x10-inch rectangle, then cut into eight 5x3-inch rectangles.
Arrange 4 rectangles, spaced apart, on each sheet. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons preserves in row down center of each rectangle. Top preserves with second dough rectangle. Using fingertips, gently press all edges of each tart to seal; press all edges with tines of fork to double-seal. Using toothpick, poke a few holes in center of top dough rectangle. Cover; freeze tarts on sheets at least 2 hours and up to 1 week.
Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake frozen tarts uncovered until golden, reversing sheets after 15 minutes, 25 to 30 minutes total (some preserves may leak out). Immediately transfer tarts to rack. Sift powdered sugar lightly over. Serve warm or at room temperature with fresh berries.

**I was too impatient to freeze it and it still turned out delicious :)

Strawberry Cake

A friend of mine gave me this recipe and I made it for my family while I was home. It is incredibly delicious.

Ingredients:

Cake
-solid vegetable shortening for greasing pans
-flour for dusting pans
1 package plain white cake mix
1 package (3 oz.) strawberry gelatin
1 cup mashed fresh strawberries w/ juice (about 1 1/2 c. whole berries)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans (very optional-- I've never put these in)

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Please note that the following ingredient list is to make frosting for  the layer in between the cakes, and the outside of the cake. To make just enough frosting for the layer in between, (and use an alternate
frosting for the rest of the cake, like a store bought chocolate fudge) you can fourth the cream cheese and butter, and guesstimate on the strawberries and powdered sugar. I had enough leftover ingredients to make a little extra and pipe it on top for decor.

1 package cream cheese, room temperature
8 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
3/4 cup fresh ripe strawberries, rinsed, capped, and mashed to make
1/2 cup, then drained well.
3 and 1/2 cups of powdered sugar (about, add enough to achieve
desired consistency. frosting tends to be runny)
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup pecans (optional)

1. Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 9" round cake pans 1/ shortening, dust with flour then shake out excess. (Or just spray with Pam for baking) Place aside.

2. Place cake mix, strawberry gelatin, oil, milk and eggs in large mixing bowl and combine. Then add mashed strawberries and juice and blend with electric mixer on low for at least one minute. Increase speed and beat 2 more minutes, scraping sides as needed. Strawberries should be blended well into batter. Fold in coconut and pecans (if you'd like).
Note: While some may feel coconut is an option in any recipe, I stress that in this one it is not. Because of the overall moistness of the cake, something about the coconut helps it solidify. Without the coconut, the cake is just as delicious, but be forewarned, more than likely it will cave in the center, or have structural issues. There is so little coconut in the recipe, that most people don't notice.
Divide batter into pans, and place on same rack, side by side in oven.
3. Bake cakes until they are light brown and just start to pull away from the pan, 28 to 30 minutes. Be careful not to overcook. Remove cakes from oven, and place on wire racks to cool completely. Seriously, walk away for awhile, or make the frosting, and walk away for a while. When it comes time to remove them from the pan, run a dinner knife around the outside edge and invert.

4. Meanwhile, prepare frosting. This is much much easier when your cream cheese and butter have been sitting out the entire time you've been baking. Combine cream cheese and butter until well blended with
an electric mixer. Then add strawberries (this time without the juice-- if you leave the juice in, the frosting will be more runny) and blend. Slowly add powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency--the more powdered sugar, the stiffer the frosting will be. You'll be reaching a desired consistency when the frosting lightens noticeably.
If you're frosting the inner layer, and the entire outside cake, I suggest folding in the coconut. Again, something about the coconut makes it stick together better. You can leave it out, but it will be runny. If you're just doing the inner layer, and maybe piping for decoration, I'd leave the coconut out.
5. To assemble, put a little frosting on the serving platter to hold the cake in place. Put down one cake, frost with strawberry cream cheese frosting, then put the next cake on top. Frost with chocolate or with additional strawberry cream cheese frosting. To pipe a heart as decor, place excess strawberry cream frosting in ziplock bag, snip one corner and pipe away.
6. Chill cake. I promise you, you won't get the desired taste if it's room temperature or warm. Chill it. It's delicious.

help!

I need a good recipe to make for 10 people. Something that is tasty and filling. ideas?