Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This is a really easy meal! I got the idea from Kraft. You can make your own meatballs. You can use store bought meatballs, or click here to make my favorite meatball!

In a large skillet heat up 4 T oil. Saute for about 7 minutes:

1/2 onion
2 bell peppers
1 carrot, cut diagonally

Now add:

1/4 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup Catalina dressing
2 T soy sauce

Now add your meatballs (about 16). Heat through. Serve over rice or spaghetti noodles.

Pumpkin Cake Roll

Beat with a whisk:

4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla

Slowly add and beat:

1/3 cup sugar

In a mixer beat until stiff peaks form:

4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar

Fold into the egg white mixture:

1/2 cup pumpkin
egg yolk mixture
flour mixture (below)

Flour mixture:

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Pour into a greased jelly roll pan (slightly smaller than a cookie sheet). Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Remove immediately with a pancake spatula. Place cake on a towel covered in powdered sugar. Roll.

Allow the cake to cool like this. Once it is cool unroll the cake and spread on the cream cheese filling. Roll back up without the towel and place in fridge for 2 hours.

Cream cheese filling:

mix:

8 ox cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Spinach Lentil Saute

Ok, now I'm not promising that your children will eat this. But hubby and I enjoy it! Plus it is really good every now and then to eat a meal that is nutritionally rich and free from sugar. If I still haven't convinced you to try it, hubby says it tastes like the topping off a vegie pizza.

In a large pot bring to boil:

4 cups water

Add:

1/2 cup lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup rice, rinsed

simmer the lentils and rice for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally

In a pan saute for 3 minutes:

4 T butter
1 cup onion
1 garlic clove

Stir into onion saute and cook for 10-15 minutes:

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
10 oz frozen spinach, defrosted and juices squeezed
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne (I used red pepper for more heat)

Stir drained lentils and rice in with vegies. Garnish with shredded Swiss cheese

Olive Garden's Black Tie Mousse Cake

I found this recipe from Cooks.com several years ago. I don't know if it it the exact recipe from the Olive Garden. But it tastes just like it! This cake is very involved. I would suggest you make it the day before you want it. Or start very early in the morning. Warning: Do not leave the house the day you make it. It requires a lot of babysitting. Now that I have thoroughly scared anyone from ever trying this recipe, here is how you make it! There are four layers.

Layer one -

1 package devils food cake - make up batter according to instructions. Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 pan and a 9 inch round pan. You want this layer to be thin. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until toothpick clean. Cool completely

Layer two -


melt the following on stove top over very low heat:
1/2 cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet
8 oz cream cheese


In a small dish combine:
1 tsp gelatin powder
1 T cold water
let this gelatin water sit for 1 minute. Then add:
2 T boiling water. Stir till clear. Cool

Whip until thick peaks stand on their own:
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp sugar

Now add to the whipped cream the cool gelatin water. Mix together. Now fold in the chocolate cream cheese mixture.

Spread this on top of the cooled cake. (There are two cakes. Eye ball how much should go on each cake.)

Layer 3 -

beat until pale:
3 egg yokes

Now beat into the yokes:
1/4 cup sugar
3 T flour
1 tsp gelatin powder

On the stove bring to a slow boil over very low heat(mix constantly):

1, 3/4 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
egg yoke mixture from above

When this mixture becomes thick turn stove off and allow this pudding-like mixture to cool completely on counter. Pour this third layer on cake. Put cake in fridge for two hours.

Layer 4 -


Take cake out of fridge. I like to take the cake out of the cake pan and place on a serving platter. But you don't have to.

Bring to a slow boil:

2 T butter
1, 1/2 cup whipping cream

Pour this hot cream over:

1, 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips. Mix until smooth. Poor over cake. Allow to drizzle down the sides of cake (if you took it out of the pan).

Press chocolate chips into the sides of cake. You need the chocolate chips for texture! If you didn't take the cake out of cake pans, then just put the chips on top of the cake. In my pictures I put chocolate chips in a food processor and made dusting chocolate. (I've already dirtied the kitchen. What's another mess, right?)

Place entire finished cake in fridge for 4 hours.

Multi-Grain Pumpkin Muffins and Bread

This recipe makes 2 loaves and 6 muffins. Or just mix it up the way you would like.

Mix the following:

2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup milk (1 cup water, 3 T pwdr milk)
4 eggs
2/3 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar

Add and mix the following:
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup wheat
1 cup white flour
2 T baking powder (oops. I just realized I forgot to add this. This explains the flat muffins)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger

Add and mix:
2 cups white flour (making 4 cups flour in the entire recipe)

Add:

1, 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Grease bottom only of 2 bread tins. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. Muffins bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Let bread cool for 20 minutes and then remove from tins.

Granola Bars

These are a bit crumbly. Hubby likes to crumble these in a bowl and pour milk on top.

Cream for 2 minutes:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

Add and mix:

2 T honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg

Add and then mix quickly:

1, 1/3 cup wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1, 1/2 cup rice crispies
1, 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup craisins or raisins
1/2 cup sliced almonds

press mixture into greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 22 minutes. Cool on top of stove.

Hone Glazed Pork Chops with Garlic Roasted Vegies

The vegies in this dish are yummy enough to be the meal itself. The pork and vegies together should just fall apart in your mouth! I made up the vegie roast. I adapted the pork recipe from Miss Vickie's pressure cooker recipes so I could use in the oven. I tried pork in the pressure cooker and wasn't that thrilled. In fact, I had just about given up on pork chops until I tried this in the oven. The secret is not over cooking!

Honey glazed pork chops



In a big ziplock bag dump shake up until coated:

1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
6 pork chops, 3/4 inch thick

In a 13x9 baking dish melt 2 T butter.Place the 6 pork chops on top of the butter. Bake at 350 uncovered for 15 minutes.

Once the pork goes in the oven begin making the honey glaze.

In a small pot on the stove dump the following in and simmer for 15 minutes.

3 T butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup lemon juice (I just use the bottled)
1 tsp ginger

After the pork cooks for 15 minutes. Take the dish out of the over and turn the chops over. Then pour honey glaze over the pork. Put the dish back in the oven for 20more minutes. Uncovered.

Garlic Roasted Vegies

In a 9x13 dish dump:

6 cut up potatoes (I used new potatoes)

3 carrots
1/2 onion, cut into chunks
6 cloves garlic, peeled

2 T butter cut up

lightly salt and pepper

Cover with foil (or the carrots will shrivel up) and bake at 400 for one hour.

Tomato Tortellini Souop

Easy!

Bring to a boil:

28 oz chicken broth (2 cans)

Add and cook for 7 minutes. Stir often because this isn't a lot of liquid:

1 lb tortellini (I use Buitoni 3 cheese)

place 8 oz cream cheese in a bowl and mix with 1/2 cup hot liquid from soup. Then dump the cream cheese mixture back in with the tortellini.

Add and heat through:

26 oz tomato soup (or 3 small cans)

I like to dress my soup with fresh basil. My basil has frozen in the back yard. I improvised with dry basil.

Granola

In the largest mixing bowl you can find dump and mix in the following:

12 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup powdered milk
1 cup sliced almonds

In a microwave-safe bowl mix:

1, 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 TBL honey
3/4 cup water
2 T butter
1, 1/2 tsp salt

Heat the brown sugar mixture for 3 minutes. Stir every minute. When the mixture is done in the microwave add:

3 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract

Poor the wet syrup over your dry oats. Using two large wooden spoons toss the oats until all coated with syrup. You are going to think that the oats are too dry, but trust me, just keep mixing. Spread granola into two cookie sheets. No need to grease. Bake at 275 for one hour. Let cool in the cookie sheets. Remove granola with pancake turner. Store in airtight container. I add craisins or raisins to my granola after it is done cooking.