Homemade Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup milk or half & half
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons rock salt
1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc)
1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
Ice cubes

How to make it:Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes.
Wipe off the top of the small bag, then open it carefully. Enjoy!

Tips:
A 1/2 cup milk will make about 1 scoop of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don't increase the proportions more than that

~Enjoy! Alyssa Yandow

Chex Muddy Buddies

By Request....

9 cups of your favorite chex cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup peanut butter
1/4 cup margarine
1tsp. vanilla
1 ½ cup powdered sugar

Pour cereal into large bowl and set aside. In small sauce pan over low heat, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and margarine until smooth, stirring often. remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal, stirring until all pieces are evenly coated. Pour cereal into a ziploc bag with powdered sugar. Seal securely and shake until all pieces are well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool.

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
1 Cup instant rice
2 Cups water
2 Chicken bouillon cubes
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can black beans
1 cup frozen corn

Toppings:
sour cream
shredded cheese
tortilla chips

In a large pot, combine all ingredients except toppings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with toppings!

Super easy...that's the way to do it!

Pizza

Seriously, the easiest recipe for pizza. And really good too!

Ingredients:
1. loaf of Rhode's frozen pizza dough
2. jar of pizza sauce
3. Mozzarella cheese
4. toppings of your choice

You have to spray a large bowl with Pam or something and put the loaf of frozen dough in it and cover it with saran wrap. You need to give it about 8 hours to rise, so I usually put it in the bowl when I wake up and it is ready to use by 4 or 5.

Knead dough and roll it out to desired shape. Make sure and roll a nice crust on the outside of crust. Put it on a pizza stone (or regular cookie sheet if you don't have one...I've never done it this way but I'm sure it will be just as good) that is covered in corn meal.

Spread desired amount of pizza sauce on dough, put cheese and toppings on top.

Cook at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. It is usually different timing every time I make it (not sure why) so I typically keep a close eye on it while it is in the oven.

Enjoy!

Molten Chocolate Cake

I just made this for Valentine's Day. I got the recipe off of kraft.com. It looks cool and is yummy too. Next time I think I will try it with strawberries on top :)

Ingredients

• 4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 6 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2 cup thawed Whipped Topping

PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Butter four 3/4-cup custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place on baking sheet.

MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Blend in eggs and egg yolks with wire whisk. Stir in flour. Divide batter among prepared custard cups.

BAKE 13 to 14 min. or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 min. Carefully run small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Serve immediately, topped with whipped topping and a side of ice cream - depending on your oven you may need to cook it less. DO NOT overcook. I cooked mine for 12 minutes.

If desired you can store the batter in the fridge - just make sure to let it sit at room temperature for an hour if you do so.

Broccoli Potato Cheese Soup

This makes a fair amount of soup, but it makes for good leftovers. It is pretty easy to half. I had a recipe that is similar, but I revamped it, added potatoes and changed a couple things - enjoy!

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 tsp salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 Pinches nutmeg
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves – or 1/4 - 1/3 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 - 2, 12 oz packages frozen broccoli, thawed
• 3 medium potatoes quartered then sliced - cooked
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese – grated

Directions

In a medium pot, melt the 6 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme cook, stirring, until fragrant, for 20 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring until the mixture is well blended and smells fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the chicken and vegetable broths, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add one package of broccoli and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and puree with a hand-held immersion blender or normal blender.

Add the cream and bring to a simmer add the remaining ½ - 1 package of broccoli depending on how chunky you want your soup and simmer for 7 minutes (if you don't want chunks of broccoli, don't add the extra package, it is still very delicious!). Add cooked potatoes and once the broccoli is tender, add the cheese and cook over low heat, stirring, until melted.

Serve and top with grated cheese.

*To make even more delicious and unhealthy – add pieces of bacon when you add potatoes and remaining broccoli.

Pineapple Cheese Ball

This is the best cheese ball ever! I love it!

2 - 8 oz packages of cream cheese (room temperature)
1 can - crushed pineapple, drained
1 Tbs - seasoning salt (I actually put less so it's not so salty)
2 Tbs -green onions - finely chopped
1/4 cup - green pepper - minced

Mix together in a large bowl until well blended. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours to set back up. Take mixture out of the bowl and using your hands - mold it into a ball or log. Once it is the desired shaped roll it in chopped pecans. Serve with a variety of crackers.

Mini Pizzas

Okay this is kinda a stupid recipe but it's good for poor starving college students ha ha ha

Tortillas
Spaghetti Sauce
Pizza cheese (mozzarella and cheddar)
any toppings you like: mushrooms (yuck!), grilled chicken, pepperoni, etc

Okay super easy:
1. On the tortilla spread 1 to 1 and a half scoops of sauce
2. Put the cheese on top. Be careful to not put too much or it will be gross. I put only enough to barely cover the sauce, you want to be able to see the sauce through the cheese
3. Put the toppings on
4. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees until the crust of the tortilla is browned and the cheese is melted.

Enjoy! ~Alyssa Yandow

Cake Bites

Ingredients:

Cake mix (and everything you need for the cake--oil, eggs, and water)

A tub of frosting

Chocolate chips

Crisco (shortening)

Something to set-up the balls on

To make the cake bites, bake a cake just like you normally would.  After it is done baking, crumble the cake and mix it with a whole thing of frosting.  This will make it sticky, and you can roll it into balls.  You have to squeeze them to make them stick--you will get nice and messy!!

In the mean time, melt a bag of chocolate chips.  The best way that I have found to do this is to fake a double boiler by putting a glass bowl hanging from a pot.  Put water into the pan and put the bowl on top of the water.  As the water boils underneath, stir the chocolate chips (they are in the glass bowl).  (The consistency of the chocolate will be better if you put a scoop of Crisco in it.)  After the chocolate is melted, roll the cake balls in it and place them on wax paper on a tray.  After you have a whole tray, put the tray in the refrigerator to set-up.  

You can use any combinations of cake mixes, frostings, and chocolate.  Here are some favorites that my friend and I have discovered:  

• Just so you know--she prefers semi-sweet chocolate, and I like milk chocolate, so that just goes to how sweet you want it.
• Funfetti cake, Rainbow chip icing, chocolate
• German chocolate cake, coconut icing, chocolate
• Strawberry cake, strawberry icing, white chocolate (but just know that white chocolate reacts a little differently than the others, so it can be tricky)

Let me know if you find any other amazing combinations!!  =)

Pizza Salad

Here is one of my favorities! It's pretty easy, delicious and makes great leftovers! It's a little much for two people, but nothing except the dressing really needs to be exact. Just put in the quantities that look good for you.

Pizza SaladI pound spiral macaroni, cooked and drained
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 pound cheddar cheese cubed
1-2 bunches green onions, sliced
3 ounces sliced pepperoni
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Croutons, optional

In large bowl, combine macaroni, tomatoes, green onions, cheddar cheese and pepperoni. In a small bowl combine oil, Parmesan cheese, vinegar and seasonings. Pour over macaroni mixture. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Top with croutons just before serving, if desired. Yield: 16 servings

Black Bean Pizza

So this sounds weird and my roommates used to mock me for it, but it is WONDERFUL!!  Everyone who I have made try it, loves it!  Enjoy!

Pizza Crust: (You can use premade crusts or you can make this recipe that is really easy.)

1 TBS (or 1 packet) yeast

1 tsp sugar (white or brown)

1 cup hot water (but be careful, too warm will kill the yeast)

2 TBS oil (I prefer olive oil, but vegetable oil works)

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

Mix the yeast, sugar, and water together, and let it sit for 5 minutes.  After it starts to bubble and has sat for the 5 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Put the crust on a greased pan, and cook for 3 minutes at 450 degrees.  This will allow the dough to rise.  Add the toppings and cook for 10 more minutes at the temperature.  

Black Bean Sauce: (use this instead of normal pizza sauce)

1 can of black beans (partially drained--completely drained is too dry and not drained at all is runny)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4 cup salsa

Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender.  Pour some on top of the pizza crust, add salsa on top of that, cheese on top of that, and then grilled chicken on top of that.  Bake for 10 minutes at 45o degrees.  

Good Link

Hello everyone! I will post recipes of my own soon, but in the meantime here is a really good link. This is my cousins blog, she is a dietitian and has some really good ideas!

http://thehealthybite.blogspot.com/

Orange Julius

This is one of my most favorite things!

1/2 can - frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup - milk
1 cup - water
3/4 cup - sugar
1tsp - vanilla
12 - 18 ice cubes

Blend until smooth.

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef

1 chopped onion

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 can kidney beans

1 can chili beans, drained

1 small can chopped green chilies

1/4 c water

1 28oz can diced tomatoes Brown and drain the beef Chop the onion The all you have to do is dump everything into the crock pot and stir it together Then enjoy with a bag of tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream! Enjoy! ~Alyssa Yandow

Homemade Oreos

Ingredients:
1 box Devil's Food Cake mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tub Cream Cheese Frosting- (whipped or regular works great)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix devils food cake mix, and oil, then add in eggs. Make small (1- 2 inch) balls and place them on a cookie sheet. (Try to make an even # cause they each need a match!) Bake for 7-10 minutes. Let cookies cool then frost one cookie and put another on top! Eat with milk :)

These are so easy and everyone loves em!
by Melanie Park

Apricot Chicken

This is a yummy recipe and it is super easy, aka, the best kind of recipe!

4-6 Chicken Breasts
1 Cup Apricot Jam
8 oz Russian Dressing
1 package dry onion soup mix

All you do is mix all of the ingredients and pour it over the chicken in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350* for 45min-1hour. You can serve it with potatoes, rice or pasta! Easy, easy, easy!!!

Magic Bean Soup

My husband and I absolutely love this and it's actually healthy! We always double the recipe so we can have left overs later.

2 cans - black beans drained and rinsed (reserve one cup)
1 - 1 1/2 cups - chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup - salsa
1 tsp - cumin
1 - 2 cloves - minced garlic
1/4 cup - chopped onion
1 Tbs - fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1/2 cup - cilantro

*Top with*
Sour Cream
Thinly sliced green onions (I actually add this into the soup instead)
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Tortilla Chips

Put ingredients into blender and blend until there are no big chunks (I actually don't chop the onions or garlic, etc since they are going to be blended anyways). I also add extra cilantro since I love it! Add the blended ingredients into a pot along with the one cup reserved beans - when I double it I reserve one of the four cans of beans. Heat the soup over medium to medium high heat until hot. Make sure to stir soup occasionally and right before serving. When doubling the soup make sure to do one batch at a time in the blender. Enjoy!

Italian Baked Chicken

Okay this is a very easy reciepe that my whole family loves!

4-6 Chicken Breasts (bone-in makes it more juicy)
1 bottle Zesty Italian Dressing
Rice
Steamed Veggies

• Put the chicken breasts in a 9x13 glass baking dish
• Cover the breasts with 1/2 the bottle of Italian dressing
• Cover dish with tin foil
• Bake at 375 for 45 minutes
• After the 45 minutes remove foil and baste chicken (pour dressing in pan over chicken)
• Bake another 15 minutes or until chicken is brown
• Serve with rice and steamed veggies. I like to pour the dressing left in the pan over top of the rice, it is really yummy.

Enjoy! ~Alyssa Yandow

Welcome!

Hey everyone! I decided to start a blog where people can post recipes, tips, tricks, decoration ideas, etc. We welcome all of your ideas and if you wish to become an author e-mail me: madelynwayment@gmail.com and I will be happy to add you. I look forward to all the fun things that will be posted.