Marshmallow Popcorn Bars

Makes 24 bars

Hands-On Time: 10m

Total Time: 20m
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
1/2 cup popcorn kernels or one 3.5-ounce package plain microwave popcorn
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Directions
Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Pop the popcorn according to the package directions.
Melt the butter and marshmallows in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth, 5 to 7 minutes.
Fold in the popcorn until coated. Press into the prepared dish and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into 24 bars.

Happy Halloween!

Sweet Potato Fries & Dipping Sauce

Made this after church today. Grand. Plus, this week in my health class I discovered sweet potatoes were the best veggies! Who woulda thunk?

P.S. I'm a "little bit of this & little bit of that" cooker. I don't measure & I eye ball my stuff in the oven. So this is going off of what I think I put together. Hopefully you can trust me on this one...

Directions for fries:

Cut up sweet potatoes into fries.

I put them into a pot of boiling water to soften them up for a little over 10 minutes.

Lay them out on a cookie sheet.

Put a little olive oil, salt & pepper on top.

Set the oven to 375 & stick them in for about 15 minutes. Once again, I would keep checking to make sure they don't burn!

Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Sour Cream

1/4 teaspoon lime zest

1/4 teaspoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

cilantro

Mix all together.

Chomp down.

This was good guys.

Quick Fall Minestrone

Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
2 1/2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled baking potato
1 cup (1-inch) cut green beans

1/2 cup diced carrot
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups chopped kale
1/2 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
1 (16-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 2 1/2 minutes or until tender. Add broth and the next 7 ingredients (broth through salt); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Add kale, orzo, and beans; cook 5 minutes or until orzo is done and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.
Nutritional Information
Calories:
212

Fat:
5g
Protein:
9.6g
Carbohydrate:
36g
Fiber:
3.9g

Ginger Snaps

You guys, these really are divine and my roommate nailed it, "It's like Christmas in your mouth..."
So it's only October... but I was aching to make these bad boys for our picnic today & for more Mason Jar give aways. I'll admit, they make me a little homesick because my family makes them every Christmas Eve & they're still the cookies I give to Santy Claus. Here it is:

1 1/2 cups veggie oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molassas
4 cups flour
4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tab. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
sugar for coating
Beat first three ingredients together. Add dry ingredients. Chill for 1 hr. Roll 1 12" balls-roll in sugar...cook 6-8 minutes @ 350.

Tip 1: Take the cookies out of the oven when they're starting to "crack" on top or else they'll be crunchy. No bueno.

Tip 2: When adding the molassas to the recipe, spray the measuring cup first with Pam and then the molassas will slip right instead of STICKING to the measuring cup which is totally annoying.

Enjoy!

Parmesean Zucchini Sticks with Smoky Roasted Romesco Sauce

My love for zucchini will never die.

*to save time, use your own marinara sauce instead of making the one from the recipe. Yield 8 servings (serving size: 6 zucchini sticks and 1/4 cup sauce)
Ingredients:
Sauce:
3 medium red bell peppers
2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup (1/2-inch) cubed French bread baguette, crusts removed
1 1/2 tablespoons smoked almonds
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 large garlic clove
Zucchini:
3 large zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup egg substitute
Cooking spray
Preparation:
1. Preheat broiler.
2. To prepare sauce, cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place bell pepper halves and tomatoes, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten bell peppers with hand. Broil 10 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and coarsely chop, reserving any liquid.
3. Combine bell peppers, reserved liquid, tomatoes, and next 8 ingredients (through garlic) in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.
4. Preheat oven to 400°.
5. To prepare zucchini, cut 1 zucchini in half crosswise; cut each half lengthwise into 8 wedges. Repeat procedure with remaining zucchini. Combine breadcrumbs, panko, cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Dip zucchini in egg substitute; dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place zucchini on a wire rack coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat zucchini with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately with sauce.

*recipe from cooking light

Southwestern Soup

LOVE the Southern Living Magazine. I devour our stack everytime I go home. The January 2009 issue had a little gem. Southwestern Soup. MMMhMMM good. It has a lot of ingredients but is totally worth it. For all you Provo dwellers, make it on a depressingly cold day. It is a COZY COMFORT food.

Prep: 15 min., Cook: 45 min.
Yield
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (16-oz.) cans light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes and jalapeños, undrained
1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes and mild green chiles, undrained
1 (14-oz.) can beef broth
2 cups frozen yellow and white whole kernel corn
1 (1-oz.) envelope taco seasoning mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Toppings: sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro
Preparation:
1. Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 to 12 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink and onion is softened; drain.
2. Stir in kidney beans, next 8 ingredients, and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in cilantro just before serving. Serve with desired toppings.

so obsessed with....

Halloween cupcakes right now.

Ms. Stolworthy will have so many Halloween cupcakes in her classroom next fall.

Quick King Ranch Chicken

Made this one last night. Not healthiest, but quick & easy.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup margarine
1 medium green bell pepper, diced fine
1 medium yellow onion, diced fine
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cans Milder Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed (i use the canned chicken)
12 whole wheat tortillas, torn into bite-sized pieces
2 cups shredded cheddar or velveeta cheese
preheat oven to 325 degrees. in a large saucepan, saute the bell pepper and onion in the margerine until tender (about 5 minutes). add both soups, the rotel and chicken pieces and stir until the mixture is well-blended. in a 10x10 lightly oiled casserole dish, start making thin layers with the corn tortillas first, then the cooked chicken mixture and last the cheese. repeat about 3 times with the cheese on top. bake for 40 minutes, covered, or until hot and bubbly. Serve over rice with sour cream on top.

cookie monster

Don't worry, Sara & I have still been doing our weekly Mason Jar give away. I've just been bad with updates. These are our projects for the last two weeks:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add pumpkin, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla; beat on medium speed until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 13-14 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Cool for 2 minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

*The cookies are baked in the exact shape you put them on the pan. Since the batter is sticky, Sara & I put a little oil on our fingers & smoothed out the cookies before baking.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups dried cranberries
2/3 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate
Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Put oats in the blender & blend until a they are fine. Combine oats, flour, salt, and baking soda; stir into butter mixture one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.