Taco Sauce

I found the keys to this taco sauce were doubling the recipe and letting it cook down. Delicious.

Chicken Taco Salad with Homemade Chipotle Sauce

I saw this recipe about 2 months ago, printed it off and put it in a pile. I was so glad I tried this recipe out today. I loved the dressing.

Quick Sesame Whole Wheat Buns

This recipe is delicious and easy. A keeper recipe.

Polish Easter Meal

On Monday we had our Polish Easter meal.

Mascarpone Cheesecake

I made this wonderful cheesecake for Easter. If you like cheesecake , you will love this easy delicious recipe. The cheesecake is great with or without the caramel and topping.

Resurrection Cookies Happy Easter! He has Risen!

We made these Resurrection Cookies last night and had them for breakfast this morning. These cookies taste like a light pecan pie. Yummy.

Ingredients:
1 c. whole pecans1 tsp. vinegar3 egg whites

Pinch salt

1 c. sugar

Zipper baggy

Wooden spoon

Tape

Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F Place pecans in zipper baggy and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested the Roman soldiers beat him. Read John 19:1-3.Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1-tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1-c. sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read ISA.1: 18 and John 3:1-3.Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt. 27:65-66.GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matt. 28:1-9.

Easter Nests with Jelly Bean Eggs

These little nests whip up in a jiffy and they are cute!

Lemon Ginger Dressing

1 dash granulated garlic

1 tsp. jarred, minced ginger

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

1/2 tsp. dried basil

salt&pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. red pepper sauce

1/4 C vegetable oil

2T sesame oil

1/4 C fresh lemin juice

Mix above ingredients and chill until you are ready to serve.

Easy Hot Cross Buns

This recipe is from King Arthur Flour's website. I used cranberries for the dried fruit.

Golden Chicken Nuggets

This recipe is from Taste of home magazine. The kids really enjoyed this recipe as well as the dipping sauce. The only change I made was substituting fishy crackers for the sesame snack crackers.

For the dipping sauce: 1/2 C mayonnaise and 1/2 C salsa

Crock Pot Dulche de Leche

This recipe was even better than the stove top version and you do not need to keep adding water.

No Ordinary Tuna Casserole

1 5 oz. package egg noodles

1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 5 oz. can of evaporated milk

1 6 oz. can of solid white tuna

1 C frozen peas

1/3 C finely chopped onion

1 C cheddar cheese with porter or regular cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1C fishy crackers

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles according to package directions, drain. Stir in soup and remainder of ingredients, except crackers. Spoon into a lightly greased 8" square baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Top with fishy crackers and bake another 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Whole Wheat Pretzels

I wanted to make pretzels this Lent and these were great.

"the chewy pretzel became the bread and symbol of the times. They'd always been a Christian food, ever since Roman times, their very shape being the creation of monks. The three holes represent the Holy Trinity, and the twists of the dough represent the arms of someone praying. In fact, the word "pretzel" is a German word deriving ultimately from the Latin "bracellae," meaning "little arms"

Crown of Thorns

1C Salt

4C whole wheat flour( you can use all purpose)

1-1 1/2 C water

Mix up and knead until dough is similar in texture to a bread dough. When you are finished molding your desired artwork bake in a 275 degree oven for 1 hour.

Homemade Nutella

This tastes even better than the grocery store product. You will not be disappointed.

Stonyfield Farm Boston Brown Bread

A hearty spicy loaf or if you double the recipe, like I did, 2 loaves and 12 muffins.

Peanut Butter Blondies

Tomorrow for breakfast the kids will try these treats. I used whole wheat flour instead of the all purpose flour and I used white chocolate chips instead of the peanut butter chips.

Nigella's Mozzarella in Carroza

I found this recipe in one of Nigella's cookbooks. I can not remember what the cookbook title was, because i borrowed it from the library. I found the recipe on the net here.

Creamy Bow Tie Pasta

I saw this recipe in the newest Taste of Home magazine. I had all of the ingredients on hand so I figured i would try this recipe. I switched the pasta to shells and i doubled the ingredients. Tasty quick dish.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

First spray a 9"X13' pan with cooking spray.

In a food processor pulse into fine crumbs 22 Oreo cookies. Add 1/3 c melted butter and pulse a few times.

Pat down cookie crumbs into pan. Spread 1/2 gallon softened ice cream of your choice ( I used vanilla) on top of cookie crumbs. Freeze for 30 minutes. Heat slightly 1 jar of hot fudge. Spread on top and freeze for 30 more minutes. Cut into squares and serve with whipped topping. I also served Chocolate Peanut butter Fudge Sauce( on the stovetop: combine 3/4 c heavy cream, 1/4 C semi sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 C smooth peanut butter, 3 T sugar and 3 t water. Bring to a boil and turn down heat to simmer for 5 minutes, serve) and sprinkles.

easy Party Hats

Here is a great crafting website. She gives a very descript tutorial on how to make these easy party hats. the Martha stewart bone is very useful for this craft.

Hearts of Palm Dip

To celebrate Palm Sunday I made this delicious dip. If you like artichoke dip you will really love this dip. The dip was flavorful and not overly rich. I sprinkled parsley on the dip prior to baking.

Slow Cooker Spare Ribs

Excellent Slow cooker recipe. The ribs were tender as could be! This recipe is a real keeper.

Palm Sunday

today marks the beginning of Holy Week. Here is a website for making Palm Crosses (the website is non Catholic) Here is a brief article on Blessed Palms in the House:

The procession at Mass with the palms was a public display of homage and loyalty to Christ our King and Redeemer. Christ is the King of our home, so we should incorporate the blessed palms and a family prayer service as part of this day.
Palm trees aren't readily available in some vicinities, there are other plants like olive branches, box, yew, spruce, willows and pussy-willows that are blessed and used the same way as palms for Passion Sunday.

Reverence for Blessed Palms Because the palms are blessed, they are now sacramentals, which "are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare [us] to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1667). Sacramentals should be treated with respect and never be thrown away. Palms may only be burned or buried.

Palms and olive branches are kept in the home as a witness to faith in Jesus Christ, the messianic king, and in his Paschal Victory."Palm Crosses Family members can gather the palms from Mass and make little palm crosses, one for each member of the family and one for each room in the house. There are a variety of ways to make the cross. The simplest is to take two small pieces, one a little longer than the other, crisscross the pieces in shape of a cross and staple at the middle. Another way is to make two small slits near the top (where the crossbeam would be) in the longer piece of palm and slide the cross beam through the slits. This could be a challenging project for the family members to try various methods.
Each person is given a palm cross to wear on their coats or clothing throughout Holy Week, to remind us to carry our cross patiently so we may share Christ's Easter glory.

Easter Nests

2T butter

3 C miniature marshmallows

Coconut

4C Fruity Pebbles

In a pot melt butter and add marshmallows. Remove from heat and stir in the cereal. Place mix in 12 buttered muffin tins. Form cereal to make nests with buttered fingers. In a gallon ziploc bag place desired amount of coconut with 4-6 drops of green food coloring, shake until the coconut is all tinted. Place coconut in each nest for your grass and add either jelly beans, bunnies or another type of candy.

Vegetarian Lentil Soup

I made a few changes to this recipe: I used double the amount of carrots, I cooked the soup for 2-21/2 hours for a thicker soup and I omitted the croutons. Excellent, simple recipe.

Red Lobster Maryland Crabcakes

I really liked these crab cakes. The only change i made was omitting the celery and i used celery salt in place of.

Ingredients:1/2 tsp. garlic minced 1 tbsp. onion minced 1 tbsp. celery diced 2 tbsp. mayonnaise 1 whole egg 1/8 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning 1/4 cup bread crumbs 1 pound lump crab meat 2 tbsp. oil for sauteing Maryland Crab Cakes Preparation:In a large stainless-steel bowl, combine all ingredients except crab meat and bread crumbs. Using gloved hands, gently mix in crab meat, then add bread crumbs. Spread a thin layer of plain bread crumbs on your work surface. Form crab mixture into equal balls, approximately two inches in diameter. Place on crumbs. Gently flatten the ball of crab mixture and round the edges. Form cakes about one-half inch thick and three inches round.Refrigerate. In a saute pan, melt 2 tbsp. of oil until hot. Gently slide in crabcakes 2 at a time. Brown on one side approximately two-to-three minutes. Turn and brown on the other side. Turn down heat to simmer and cook crabcakes another 5-8 minutes. Chef's Tip:While you may be tempted to increase the amount of bread crumbs used, you'll receive the best sauté results with the thin layer as described above.

This recipe is from :www.recipesecrets.net

Artisan German Hard Rolls

Each recipe I have tried from the website and the book has been amazing! These small hard rolls were pretty easy and tasted fantastic.

Peanut Butter Muffins

These muffins were delicious, not too sweet. Some of the muffins i sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

Emeril's Chili

This was an excellent chili recipe. I wanted to try something a little different from our normal chili recipe and we all were very pleased.