**My Excuse**/ FRESH MARINARA SAUCE

I apologize I haven't made a daily post for the last week. It's been absolutely crazy around here! We knew that it was going to freeze yesterday and I was panicking that our tomatoes were all going to freeze so we went out in the garden and pulled each and every single tomato plant and pulled every tomato off them. Wow! Talk about a family activity! It took all four of us a couple hours, but it sure felt good when we were thru. So, it was frozen pizza for dinner! And then knowing that I was going to be gone for yesterday and today, Mike helped me get some canning done Monday night before I left. It was great! He helped me so much and I told him that if I die tomorrow, he is expected to keep up my traditions! Ha ha! We did 34 quarts of pickles and hot veggies in 2 hrs. Record time! And we were able to spend some very awesome time together in my element! I Love him!

Anyhow, I left yesterday and went to the Taste of Home Cooking School in Lehi, Utah with my Mom and it was AMAZING! I got some great new recipes! And it's always nice to just have a break! We had front row VIP seats and it was a blast! Mom and I went to the Thanksgiving gardens, since our VIP pass included a ticket thru the gardens! OH MY! Can I tell you how beautiful that place is! An absolute paradise! We spent two hours driving a golf cart thru the gardens and we could have spent so much more time there but we didn't have it! Then we stayed there, went to IKEA today on our way home, then made our way home. It was a great time and too short-lived! Anyway, I have to tell you that I have enjoyed not cooking for a couple of days but I am so anxious to get back in the kitchen now that I've had my break! :-)

So, keep looking for new posts and PLEASE DON'T HESITATE to leave comments! I like knowing that people are actually reading it! :-)

So here is a recipe I got from the cooking school! I have not been able to try it yet, but I will tomorrow, since I have just a FEW tomatoes that I need to use up :-). It looked amazing and smelled soooo good!

FRESH MARINARA SAUCE:

3 large carrots, finely chopped

2 large onions, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup olive oil

15 medium tomatoes (about 6 pounds), peeled and chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil

3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a Dutch oven, saute the carrots, onions and garlic in oil until tender. Add tomatoes and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until thickened and reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Store sauce in airtight containers.

Yields: 7 servings

I made this recipe then put in 2 sterilized quart jars while still boiling hot. I put the lid and ring on and tipped it upside down to seal. Should work great in the food storage!

Happy Cooking

**Teauna**

CHOCOLATE DESSERT CUPS

So, I have been canning and life has been totally crazy!!! But last night, in the rush while making dinner and trying to figure out what I should make for dessert, a light bulb went off in my head! Hey! CHOCOLATE! So, I looked thru my freezer and came up with an idea! Imagine that! :-)

Here it is!

First, get a box of Puff Pastry Shells... I get the Pepperidge Farms brand and you can find them at any grocery store.

Follow the directions on the back to bake the Puff Pastry Shells...

* Preheat oven to 400

* Remove all wrapping. Place pastry shells on ungreased baking sheet with "top" up.

* Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and puffed

* Cool on wire rack 5 minutes

* Use table knife to remove "top" and soft pastry underneath.

While the pastry shells are in the oven, mix together a box (I used the large box) of your choice of flavor of pudding. I mixed together chocolate pudding! Yummy!

When your pastry shells are cooled and cleaned out, fill with pudding and top with whipping cream. Or use cool whip. Then garnish with the lid.

These are wonderful and so refreshing. My kids liked eating the pudding out of the center and using it as a bowl and refilling it. Then they ate the pastry.

I also thought they would be good with chopped up fresh fruit and whipping cream...

Happy Cooking!

*Teauna*

CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE

Thursday nights always present a time issue for dinner. I'm trying to get Mike ready to go to work and we're just attempting to spend as much time together as humanly possible. I do, however like to make a good meal in as little time as possible because I have to get the rest of Mike's meals for the weekend at work prepared and it's also good to have some left-overs to throw some in a freezer container for him. One of our favorite casseroles is this one, the Cheeseburger Casserole. I have made this since Mike and I were first married 12 years ago. I have no idea where I got the recipe, but it just stays in my mind and every now and again it presents itself. It freezes exceptionally well also. It's kind of a different twist on the good ole- tater tot casserole!

Brown 2 lbs of ground beef in a skillet. I like to season with garlic salt, salt and pepper. You could certainly add onions at this point and brown them with the hamburger. Drain the hamburger WELL and put back in the skillet.
Add:
1 can GOLDEN MUSHROOM SOUP(do not mistake this for cream of mushroom soup)
1 can CHEDDAR CHEESE SOUP
Stir well!

Spread into a greased 9x13 pan. Top with frozen tater tots or crinkle cut fries.( I like the crown tater tots. The 1/2 size ones... because they cook up until they're kinda crunchy) Then top with 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Sooo easy and soooo good! Easy cleanup too. I like to serve this with garlic bread and corn.

This serves 6-8 people and costs about $7.00 with garlic bread and toast!

That is only about $1.00 a person for a good, fast, home-cooked meal!


Happy Cooking

*Teauna*

VEGETABLE PIZZA

This is an AWESOME appetizer and it is soooo easy to make! Enough said....

Here's the recipe!

Take 2 tubes of the refrigerated CRESCENT ROLL DOUGH.

Press into a cookie sheet. Bake as directed on packaging.

Cool Completely!

Mix together:

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup mayo ( not miracle whip)

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

Spread onto cooled & baked crescent roll dough.

Chop up:

1 small head broccoli

1/2 head cauliflower

1 bunch of sliced green onions (optional)

carrots (5 baby)

Top with chopped veggies and shredded cheese. I like to use colby jack. But use whatever you have on hand. You can also add diced tomatoes if desired.

Cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

I will admit this is a bit more expensive but everyone will thank you for it! It's mmmm mmmm good :-)

Happy Cooking!

**Teauna**

MASHED POTATO CASSEROLE

So, one of my family's favorite side dishes is "Mashed Potato Casserole". It is soooo yummy. But better yet, it is sooooo simple! This dish goes great with any main dish. Now I have tried using potato flakes and even real mashed potatoes and even tho they work, they still don't have the same taste and texture as the potato pearls. If you have never used potato pearls, you can find them at the Family Home Storage Center. They are located on 165 East 2200 North in North Logan. They sell them in a case of 12 28-ozpackages. They have a great shelf life and are a wonderful food storage item. If you don't want that many, get a few friends together and go in on the case. They are well worth the $43.10 you'll spend on the case.

In a bowl, combine:

4 cups potato pearls

8 cups HOT water

MIX WELL!

Add:

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup grated cheese

*I use whatever cheese I have available. I used grated parmesan and medium cheddar tonight!*

PLACE IN A 9X13 CASSEROLE DISH.

Sprinkle with garlic salt.

<---My favorite garlic salt is the "California Style" variety.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese, however much you desire. :-)

*Now it's optional to top with french fried onions. My family doesn't particularly care for them and they're just an added expense, but they do look nice and there are many people that do like them. Of course, if I take this dish somewhere or to someone I do put the onions on top. They just look pretty :-)*

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Happy Cooking!

*Teauna*

*Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies*

At least once a week I like to give my kids the opportunity to pick out a kid-friendly recipe and I simply supervise as they make it. While I was baking pumpkin sheetcakes, they were wanting to help in the kitchen and there was really nothing for them do, so I asked them what they wanted to make. To my surprise, they both answered "NO-BAKE COOKIES MOM!" They must have been talking about it before they made their way into the kitchen to bug me :-). So I looked thru my recipes and found one with peanut butter. Might as well try and add the goodness into the goodies as much as possible, huh?! Here it is!

In a large pot, add:

4 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup milk

1 cup butter

bring this mixture to a boil, stirring constantly so it won't scorch. Once it is boiling, boil for 1 minute. Take off heat and add:

2 tsp vanilla

2 pinches of salt

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups quick oats ( I used old fashioned oats because that's what I had! They work fine)

Stir well to combine all ingredients. Drop on waxed paper by teaspoonfulls. I have a small cookie scoop and the kids take turns dropping them on the waxed paper. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

We got about 4 dozen cookies! I know that some never made it to the waxed paper! :-) This is a great project for the kids. So, go......make some memories in your kitchen!

Happy Cooking!

*Teauna*

** PUMPKIN SHEETCAKE**

So, it's fall and for some reason, I just crave ANYTHING PUMPKIN! I have to take dessert for 40 to our ward's Super Saturday tomorrow, so pumpkin sheetcake it is! You can get 24 large slices out of each sheetcake. This cake is so moist and if you are a frosting lover, you may want to double the frosting recipe...


cream:
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 cups sugar

blend in:
15 oz pumpkin
2 cup flour
1 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

pour into lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Let cake cool completely before frosting!

Frosting:
3 oz cream cheese
3/4 stick margarine
1 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Frost the cake, cut & enjoy!!!


Happy Cooking!

**Teauna**

**Homemade Oreos**

So, tonight I decided that I should make some goodies for my hubby to take to work with him. So, I made one of family's favorite recipes! Homemade OREOS! They are so easy that anyone can make them!

All You need is:

2 boxes chocolate cake mixes (whatever you prefer)
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs

Mix these ingredients together and drop teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes until they start to crack. Do NOT overbake! Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

For the frosting, combine:

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/3 cup butter
2 2/3 c powder sugar (+/-)

Mix well, frost and sandwich the cookies! Serve with milk :-) Everyone will LOVE YOU!!!

Happy Cooking!

Teauna

Tacos with Homemade tortillas

Have you ever had one of those nights that you have absolutely NO idea what you are going to make and you have an hour to get dinner on the table and cleaned up? Well, tonight was one of those nights for me! I've had a crazy day, to say the least! So after going thru the freezer and my brain, I decided to go for TACOS!!! Now wait a minute---- these aren't the average soft-shelled taco. You'll make these once and never want to go back!

First of all, if you're anything like me, when you go to the grocery store, you stock up on seasoning packets, of course TACO seasoning being one of them... well I often forget that I am out. I have come up with a solution for this dilemna that happens often in my kitchen.... HOMEMADE TACO SEASONING!

So, first go get that ground beef browning on your stove! I used 2 lbs of ground beef because I like to make sure we have left overs for tomorrow's lunch :-). While it's browning, go to the SPICE CUPBOARD!

In a small jar, combine these spices together:

6 tsp chili powder

4 1/2 tsp cumin

5 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp ground oregano

1 1/2 tsp onion salt

2 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

STORE IN AN AIRTIGHT CONTAINER... I like to use a small jelly jar.

FYI: 1 tsp of this mix is equal to 2 tsp store-bought mix. 1 pouch of store-bought mix contains approximately 12 tsp.

Now, once your ground beef is browned, drain it well! I like to place my ground beef in the strainer and rinse it under hot water. I don't like any extra grease. I also rinse my pan out before putting the drained ground beef back in it. Now turn your burner on low heat and add 6 tsp of seasoning and 1/2 cup water per pound of meat prepared. Stir and simmer...

Now it's time to make the star of the meal! HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS! YuMmY!

In a mixing bowl, combine:

1 cup water

3 cup flour

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbsp baking powder

shake of salt

Mix well until soft dough forms. I throw all the ingredients in my kitchenaid and let it do all the work for me until the dough cleans off the sides of the bowl. I have also mixed it by hand. Just knead it until its well mixed. This is simple. Don't overthink it!

Now, divide the dough into 12 equal balls. They should be close to golf-ball size. On a floured surface, take one ball at a time and roll it out, rolling from the center out. You want it to be about 10" in diameter and thin... Don't worry if it's not a perfect circle... I promise they won't care! However, if you are a perfectionist or trying to impress a certain someone, go ahead and take a dinnerplate out of your cupboard and use it as a template for your perfect circle using a knife or pizza cutter to cut around it.




<---- when it's thin enough, the outer edges will look like this...

Place the rolled-out tortilla into a warm frying pan.. I use medium heat. You will start to notice bubbles, then turn it over. You want it to be golden brown. Don't cook too long or it will be able to be used as a frisby :-) 1-2 minutes on each side should be plenty of cooking time! I place the cooked tortillas between paper towels on a plate and cover them with a dish towel while I'm cooking the rest.

Of course, now all you have to do is grate cheese, cut lettuce and tomatoes, and prepare whatever other toppings you like for your soft-shelled tacos....

Simple and easy to clean up! This is my kind of a meal for a day like I've had!

*Using 2 lbs of ground beef, this meal cost about $5.00. It served the 4 of us tonight and will serve us lunch tomorrow and we'll still have left-overs in the fridge! These tortillas also work great for breakfast burritos, cheese snacks, wraps, etc...*

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

**Teauna**

***** Yummy Fingersteaks *****

My family is a "meat & potatoes" kind of family. So I like to shake it up and make something different with the meat part every now and again. One dinner that I really like to make is fingersteaks! You can use a cheaper cut of steak and marinate them and they end up just as tender or even MORE tender than a more expensive cut of meat. When I make fingersteaks, I like to use ROUND STEAK. I went this morning to the local butcher and had them cut me 2.5 pounds of round steak. They vacuum pack them for me so they freeze well but I had no intention of freezing them today :-) The round steaks were $2.79/lb versus $4-6/lb for the more expensive cuts of steak.I brought it home and the first thing I did was trimmed the fat off around the edges. There wasn't much, however I really don't like to bite into any fat when I'm eating meat. The other thing I do to make it easy to trim the meat and cut it into strips is I use kitchen scissors! Cut the steak into approximately 1/2"-1" strips. Place them in a large bowl...

add to the meat:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp A-1 steak sauce

Sprinkle of Accent (optional)

Mix this all together and marinade meat for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours. Of course, the longer you marinade, the more tender your meat will be. During the day, turn the meat several times and make sure to keep it covered. You want to make sure that all the meat has an equal opportunity to be marinated :-)!

Place in a collander to drain. Shake in flour. I like to use a gallon-size ziploc with flour in it and add a few fingersteaks at a time and seal the bag then shake. Deep fry in oil until cooked. Place on a paper towel to soak up excess oil.

These are delicious. I like to serve them with scalloped potatoes and corn! This will serve a family of four with a good chance of left-overs and will cost approximately $10.50... Not a bad price for a good meal of steak and potatoes!

Happy Cooking!!

*Teauna*

I'm doing it!!!

As you have obviously already heard, I have decided to go ahead and start a cooking blog. For those of you who know me, I just LOVE to cook! It's certainly one of the top things on my 'favorites' list. I have soooo many cookbooks and I just love to go thru them. My kids always laugh when they come in the house and there are cookbooks scattered from one end to the other with little sticky notes in the pages that I want to try.

So many people enjoy to cook, but not bake or vice versa- not me... I like it ALL! I am always coming up with new things to try and I would love to have someone to share it with. I think that starting a cooking blog is the way to do this.

So, here I go. I have been contemplating starting a cooking blog FOREVER, but just didn't know where to begin. Well, I have decided to begin in the kitchen! Is there any better place in the home than the kitchen? Exactly what is a kitchen anyway?


Well according to the dictionary a kitchen is:


kitch-en


\'ki-chen\

NOUN


1. a place (as a room) with cooking facilities


2. the personnel that prepares, cooks, and serves food


3. CUISINE


To me, the kitchen is where our family spends our most cherished times together. It's in the kitchen where we prepare meals and sit at the table and share our stories of the day and laugh together. It's in the kitchen that I teach my children important skills that they will be able to use throughout their lives. It's in the kitchen where I can continue the traditions of canning and baking as my Mom and my Grandma Kay have always done. I feel that the work I do in the kitchen is always appreciated... I was always told the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Of course, LOVE helps get to his heart, but the goodies from the kitchen helps keep it. :-)

I will plan on posting a recipe a day!

Hope to see you soon!

*Teauna*