A Yummy Drink

My buddy Stephanie made this drink for my baby shower. It was super simple and went over really well. Bonus: you can make it Diabetic friendly or regular:) It's perfect for any get together.

Yummy Drink

2 Liters Sprite or 7up (Steph used Sprite Zero cause she loves me)

1 Packet Raspberry Crystal Light (not the single serving kind)

2 or 3 sliced strawberries

Mix the packet into the Pop and add strawberry floaties for garnish:)

Easy.

Aunt Steph's Pasta*

*Moved it for you, Mom. :)

Chicken Garlic Pasta
6-8 cloves of fresh garlic
1 T. plus 1 t. oil
chicken bullion
1 purple, red, or yellow onion ( we ended up using a yellow onion)
1 yellow or orange pepper sliced very thin (again we had to go with a green pepper)
2 green onions sliced
1/4 t. dried red pepper lakes (add more for more spice)
1 lb. penne pasta
2 bunches of broccoli (cleaned and cut into flowerets)
12 cherry tomatoes, halved (didn't use because Annie thinks they are poisonous)
pinch of ground nutmeg
Fresh, shredded basil ( fresh is best, but we used dried)
2 c. cooked chicken, cubed ( She usually grills it with jsut salt and pepper--we stir fried it in a little olive oil-still very good)
Freshly ground parmesan cheese ( we used 6 oz.)
Fresh ground pepper

Heat olive oil to medium heat and add garlic and chicken. Add the opinion, peppers, pepper flakes, green onion. cook , tossing until onion is crisp and tender.

Boil pasta until partially cooked. Add the broccoli to the pasta pot and let it cook for 5 more minutes until still slightly crisp. Scoop our the broccoli and set aside and save 2 cups of the boiling water and add 2 bullion cubes to it until dissolved. Thoroughly drain pasta.

Return the pasta and broccoli over low heat to the onion and the pepper mixture. AD the 2 cups of bullion, cherry tomatoes, nutmeg, basil and ground pepper. Stir just until tomatoes are hot and serve with fresh parmesan cheese.

We loved this for dinner tonight. Annie was the cook, but we all gobbled it down.

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 :)