Caramel Puffed Corn

We are back! And we have a great recipe for everyone. This year, while crabbing in Oregon, my sister introduced us to this really good caramel popcorn type treat that is made with a type of popped corn called Cosmos that doesn't have the husk or unpopped corn. It was really good but we could only find it at the Oregon Coast. The other day, Laura and I were walking in the local grocery store and we found this huge bag of the same popped corn puffs that Cosmos is made out of. We decided to try our hand at making our own version of Caramel Popped Corn. So here is our version of the recipe. We liked a version of caramel popcorn that Laura's mom makes because it's really caramely and soft, not a hard caramel glazing that some caramel popcorn gets. It turned out SO good!!! It's crazy addictive and we'll never use popped corn again.

Caramel Puffed Corn

1 Stick of Butter
2 Cups of Brown Sugar
1 Cup of light Corn Syrup
1 tsp. of vanilla
1 can of Sweetened Condenced Milk
1 large bag of plain corn puffs

Melt the butter in a pot then mix in the brown sugar and corn syrup. Stir on medium heat until all incorperated together and the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the sweetened condenced milk and the vanila. Stir constantly to avoid the caramel burning. After a few minutes of stiring the caramel with darken a little. Cook until the caramel reaches the soft ball stage. (If you don't have a candy termometor, Laura's mom taught me a trick: fill a little cup of water and as the carmel is cooking pour a little from your stirring spoon and after a few seconds you can touch the carmel in the water and see if you can form it a little bit in your fingers, it's ready when it can be bunched up in your fingers) When your caramel is ready, pour it over the corn puffs in a large bowl and mix it all together. Cool a little and enjoy!

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Amazing Homemade French Bread

Laura and I have a semi-obsession with bread. We seriously cannot get enough. We love to get french bread from the store and use it for so many meals. French toast, garlic bread, sub sandwiches, and when it's warm and fresh, it's good just eating as a snack with a little butter. In the past month we've noticed that the price of french bread has gone up almost 50%. That got me thinking about how hard it would be to make my own. So I looked around, did some research, and tried my hand at making some. They actually turned out really good. The first batch was a little bland, but I tweaked the recipe and added my own twists and now we have a really good french bread recipe. I hope you all enjoy it!

French Bread (Baguettes)

2 cups warm water
2 1/2 pkgs yeast
2 Tbls sugar
5-6 cups bread flour
3 tsp salt
1 egg yoke
1 tsp. water

Proof the yeast by mixing the warm water, sugar, yeast and let sit for 5 minutes. In a mixer with a bread hook add the yeast mixture with the flour and the salt, adding the flour in cup by cup. Dough is ready when it is not sticky anymore. Knead the dough for a few minutes and then place in a greased bowl and cover to rise for 30 minutes. When doubled in size, punch dough down and roll out into a big rectangle. Cut the rectangle in two. Take the long side and start rolling as if you were making cinnamon rolls . Shape the sides to taper the ends. Place the two rolls on a greased pan. Take a knife and cut 3 or 4 diagonal slits in the top the dough. Cover with a towel and let rise for 30-40 minutes. Mix the egg yoke and 1 tsp of water to make a egg wash. Paint the egg wash all over the loaves and place in an oven preheated to 375 degrees. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown.

TIP: A tip that I learned while researching is that if you want french bread with a really crisp crust you can spray the sides of the oven walls with water (watch out for the electric element on the bottom) every minute for the first 8 minutes of baking. I've never tried it because we like a soft crust, but if it works, let us know.

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Really Good and Easy Pork Chops

The other night Laura decided to take a quick run with her friend Kim so I decided to be a really good husband and make her dinner. Our friends were moving so they gave us some pork chops so I decided to try out something I found and add my own ideas. These pork chops turned out great and they were so easy!

Yummy and Easy Pork Chops

2 cups Italian dressing
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 or three onion ring slices
4 or 5 pork chops

Heat a little oil in a large skillet at medium/high. Mix the Italian dressing, soy sauce, and minced garlic in a bowl. lay the onion slices on a large skillet and then lay the pork chops on top. Cover the pork with the marinade. Cover the skillet and let cook for 8-10 minutes. Flip the pork and cover for another 5 minutes. Take off the cover and cook the pork until desired doneness.

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Taco Salad...

For dinner club last week we wanted to make something Mexican but also healthy. So we decided to go with Taco Salads. We found a few recipes and tips from different sources and mixed their ideas together to make the concoction that was delicious. Probably the best parts were the taco seasoned chicken and the homemade tortilla bowls. Here's the recipe:

Chicken Taco Salad

4 Chicken breasts
2 Cups Chicken broth
1 Packet of taco seasoning
1 Package of uncooked tortillas
Toppings:
- Lettuce
- Salsa
- Cheese
- Olives
- Sour Cream
- Guacamole
- Lime
- Beans (Refried or kidney)
- Ranch

Okay, it's really simple. Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Mix the chicken broth with the taco seasoning and pour over the chicken. If that doesn't cover the chicken add more water until the chicken is submerged. Cook on low for 7 hours. Use a fork or tongs to shred the chicken in the broth. Let sit and absorb the broth for about a half hour, then strain out the chicken. Now mix all of your favorite toppings together with the chicken to make a salad!

For the Taco shells we cooked the tortillas on a pan until they were almost done, then we rolled up tin foil balls and draped the tortillas over them on a baking sheet. Place them into the oven at 350 degrees. In a few minutes they will begin to crisp up around the ball and turn brown. Pull them out and let cool. Note: Some of ours puffed up while baking, so watch them carefully and pop any bubbles forming in the tortilla with a knife or some sort of poking device.The Shells were so good, Kjell just wanted to eat it raw!

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Cincinnati Chili

In continuing with meals that are inspired from our missions, Laura and I decided to make one of my most favorite meals ever. Cincinnati Chili. This chili is not anything like what most people think of as chili. This chili is a Greek meat sauce made with cinnamon, allspice, chocolate, and chili sauce, that's placed over spaghetti and topped with either cheese, onions, kidney beans, or all three. It so good and we are so glad that everyone loved it! Here's the recipe:

Cincinnati Chili

2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 large onions finely diced
2-4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbls chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 Tbls salt
6 oz. can of tomato paste
1 1/2 Tbls apple cider vinegar
1/2 Tbls all spice
3 Bay leaves
3 pints of water

Take the raw meat and put it in a pot with 2 pints of the water. Mush the meat into the water with your hands until it is a mealy consistency. Cook the meat until it has turned brown, about 20 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and last pint of water and mix well. Cook for 1-2 hours. Serve over spaghetti.

Here are the different ways to make it:

Three-way: Spaghetti, chili, and cheese

Four-way: Spaghetti, chili, cheese, and onions

Five-way: Spaghetti, Chili, Cheese, Onions, and kidney beans

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Frittata

The other day we were watching Food Network (our daily food inspiration channel) and discovered a new breakfast dish called a Frittata. A frittata is basically like a fluffy omelet that you bake. We were intrigued and Laura remembered seeing a recipe on one of her favorite blogs a few months back. So we looked it up and finally made it today. And it was so good! Fluffier than scrambled eggs but still dense enough to fill you up. It's like a whole breakfast in one! We loved it.

Breakfast Frittata

7-8 eggs (depends on the size of the eggs)
half a bag of cubed hash-brown potatoes
2/3 Cup of grated cheese (usually cheddar but feel free to use anything, we hear ricotta is actually pretty good)
2-3 scallions, finely shopped
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 cup of chopped ham (or bacon, or anything that you want pretty much)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 350. Cook the potatoes in a oil sprayed, oven-safe pan until they are fully cooked and lightly browned. Add the ham to the cooked potatoes and heat thoroughly. While that is heating, in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheese, onions, baking powder, salt, and pepper until well mixed. When the potatoes and ham is fully heated, remove from heat and pour the egg mixture over the potatoes. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until it becomes fluffy and you can stick a fork in it and it comes out clean. Cut in wedges and serve. Yum!

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Chocolate Almond Ice Cream

This past Christmas, Laura bought me an ice cream maker. We wanted to make our own healthy sorbets and ice creams, but then we found this recipe for a chocolate ice cream that we wanted to try. I wanted to spice it up since I think just vanilla or chocolate ice cream is boring, so I roasted some almonds and threw in some almond extract and Wow! It turned out amazing. I don't think we have bought ice cream since we made this recipe.

Chocolate Almond Ice Cream

1 Cup of Milk
1/2 Cup of granulated sugar
8 ounces of chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup of chopped almonds

Heat the milk either in the microwave or on the stove top until it is bubbling around the edges but not boiling. While the milk is heating, combine the chocolate chips and sugar in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add hot milk and mix in the processor until blended and smooth. Transfer to a bowl and put in the fridge to cool. When it is completely cooled, add the heavy cream and both extracts. mix well and chill for 30 minutes. While the cream is chilling, chop the almonds and place them under a broiler for 2-3 minutes until roasted. (be careful because it's really easy to burn the almonds, my tip is: if you can smell them roasting, you've burned them. so watch them carefully!) Place the almonds into the freezer to cool them down. After the cream has been chilled, place it in your ice cream maker and turn it on. About 15-20 after you started the machine, add the almonds. when the ice cream has thickened, place in a container and freeze for at least an hour.

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BBQ Pulled Pork

Today, Laura and I are making dinner and taking it to the other counselor in our bishopric and his wife. They got in a bad accident two weeks ago and his wife, who was 7 months pregnant, had to have an emergency C-section. Everything turned out great and their son is doing amazingly well! But she broke her sternum in the accident, so it's hard for her to do a lot of things still. So we are going to make them a special treat! A few months ago, Laura started to get this weird craving for BBQ pulled pork. So I decided to have my try at making our own. It was so good that we ate it almost every day for a week. So here is the recipe for it. It's actually not that special and gormet, and it's really really simple, but it's still really, really good.

BBQ Pulled Pork

1 Pork Roast (from Costco...I'll explain why later)
1 large bottle of BBQ Sauce (Any kind will do, but we love honey BBQ or Sweet BBQ sauces)
Lots of water
Salt & Pepper
Beef Bullion or stock
All Season
1 clove of minced Garlic

So first you need to buy this pork roast that is sold at Costco. It's sold in packs of three and is relatively cheap, but it's the best pork we've ever had. Place the pork roast in a crock pot and fill it with water until it almost submerges the roast. Take the roast out and add some pinches of salt, pepper, all season, and beef bullion. Also add the minced garlic. Next, pour in about a 1/4th of the BBQ sauce into the water and whisk the ingredients until they are mixed well. Place the roast back into the crock pot and cover. Turn the crock pot on low and cook for about 7 or 8 hours. (If you are in a crunch for time, you can turn it on high and cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, but I would recommend the slow cooking version so much more) After cooking, drain out all the water. Start pulling apart the pork with two forks or tongs. At this point the pork should be so soft that it should just fall apart when you touch it. after it's pulled apart, add the rest of the BBQ sauce and serve on buns or hoagie rolls.

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Chicken Romano

A few weeks ago, we went to our favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory, with our friends Matt and Rebekah. I decided to try something new so I got the Chicken Romano, and I was speechless. It was so good!!! So we decided to try and make our own version of it last night. It's actually pretty easy to make, and although it wasn't as good as the Cheesecake Factory's version, it was still pretty dang good nonetheless. So here is the recipe:


Chicken Romano

2 Chicken Breasts
1 1/2 Cup of Romano cheese (shredded or grated)
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup or Parmesans Cheese (shredded or grated)
2 eggs
1/3 Cup of milk
Salt and Pepper
Oil

Okay, so I really didn't measure when I made this last night, so this is just an approximation. Start out by pounding out the chicken breasts until they are about 1/4" to a 1/2" flat. Heat some oil in a pan, enough to coat the bottom. Make sure the oil is really hot. Now in a bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. In another bowl mix the Romano cheese, the parmesan cheese, the bread crumbs, and some salt and pepper. Now dip the chicken in the egg mixture, making sure that you get it fully submerged. Then dip it into the cheese/breadcrumb mixture, making sure that the chicken is fully coated. Then place in hot oil and pan fry until golden brown on both sides. Serve alone, with your favorite pasta and sauce, or with mashed potatoes (which is what Laura is making here, she makes the best!)

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White Chicken and Cilantro Chili

Last summer, we started a dinner club with two other couples in our ward. Once a week we all meet at someones place and share dinner with each other. We started this club thinking that it would only last a month or so, but we've all enjoyed it so much that we've faithfully been doing it week after week. I think we all actually look forward to it each week. Tonight, it was our turn and we decided to try a new recipe that we found, and of course we had to mix it up to make it our own. It turned out so good!! Probably one of my favorite recipes we have made lately. So here it is...

White Chicken and Cilantro Chili

1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cans of chicken broth
2 cans of great northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup of cold water
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
*1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped (optional) - if you like to have a kick, although we love it without

In a pot, saute onions, jalapeño(optional), and garlic. Stir in the chicken broth, beans, parsley, lime juice, and cumin. Bring to boil. Add cilantro and chicken and reduce heat. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix the cornstarch and cold water until smooth, add to the pot and bring to a boil. Cook until chili has thickened.

This recipe is easy and quick, which we love. We also like to serve this with sour cream, fresh cilantro, extra lime wedges, cheese, and crushed tortilla chips to add in the chili. It's so good! We hope that you try it and love it!

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Amazing Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

The other day, I came home from classes and found that Laura made me these awesome valentine sugar cookies. They were so good that it was really hard limiting ourselves to just a few. They were so perfect, and we want to share them with everyone! But first we have to give credit where credit is due: this recipe was given to us from our good friend Kari-Lynn. It's funny how we know Kari-Lynn, She grew up and went to high school with me in Lake Stevens, WA. I was actually good friends with her two younger brothers. Years later, just before Laura and I got married, Laura started working at the barbershop at BYU. It was here where she met Kari-Lynn as she was a hair stylist there also. Funny how small the world is in the church. But anyways, this is her awesome recipe and we want to give her all the credit for it. Way to go Kari-Lynn!

Amazing Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter (softened)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups flour

Mix butter, sugar, and eggs. Then all the rest of the ingredients and mix until a dough forms. Place in a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight. (or a few hours, but overnight is best)
Roll out the dough and cut into shapes using cookie cutters.
Cook in a 350 degree oven for 6-10 minutes, but watch them carefully because if they get brown, they will turn out too hard.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Crisco
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Powdered sugar
Food coloring

Mix the butter, crisco, milk, salt, and vanilla together. Now add lots of powder sugar until it gets to be the consistency and taste that you like. Add food coloring to make your favorite color of frosting.

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Sweet and Sour Chicken

Tonight, I decided to be adventurous and make Laura's favorite Chinese food - Sweet and Sour Chicken. I found a great recipe and tried it out fully expecting it to be underwhelming. It actually turned out really, really good! We both loved it, and I sure this will now go in our normal rotation of dinners. It's easy to make, but can take a long time. So here it is:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 egg
• 2 cups water
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
• 4-5 Large Chicken Breasts

Take the large chicken breasts and cut them up into small 1 inch cubes. Place frying oil in a wok or pot and heat up to 365 degrees. Mix the flour, oil, cornstarch, salt, pepper, egg, and water in a bowl. Dip each cube of chicken in the batter , making sure it is fully covered, then place in hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Take out and place on a cooling rack. Serve with your favorite Sweet and Sour Sauce.

This recipe also makes really good and much more healthy chicken nuggets. Way better than fast food or freezer nuggets. Just leave out the sweet and sour sauce.

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Banana Perfection

Here is an oldie but a goodie: We got this from one of the neighbors that came to Laura's parents 4th of July BBQ. We call it "Banana Perfection." It's basically a really good Banana pudding trifle. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
- 1 5.1oz of Instant Vanilla Pudding
- 1 Pint of real whipping cream (or 1 container of Cool Whip)
- 1 1/2 Cups of cold water
- 1 Can of sweetened condensed milk
- 3 Bananas
- 1 Box of Vanilla wafers (like Nilla)

Instructions:
Mix the box of pudding, water, and sweetened condensed milk in a large bowl. Put the pudding mix into fridge to set for 5-10 minutes. When pudding is set, gentle fold the most of the whipping cream in with the pudding, setting aside enough whipping cream to make a layer on top of the trifle. In the serving dish, place a layer of wafers, then a layer of sliced bananas, then a layer of pudding. Repeat these layers three or four times. Finally finish the trifle with a layer of the left over whipping cream you set aside earlier. Now garnish with vanilla wafers and bananas. Place in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Well, There you have it. Enjoy! Let us know if you like it. We sure did! Also, If anyone has a special request for a recipe, let us know!

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Penne Rustica

For the past few days, Laura and I have had a strong urging for some pasta. And not just any pasta, the best pasta on the planet! I've had an obsession with the Penne Rustica at Macaroni Grill for quiet a while and wanted to try and recreate it. However, all the recipes online were really complicated and very time consuming. But one day, my friend Matt showed me a recipe book that his family had in North Carolina and in it was a pretty easy looking recipe for Penne Rustica. We tried it, and have loved it ever since. So here is that recipe with a few minor adjustments from us: Enjoy!

Penne Rustica

Gratinata Sauce-

- 3 Tbls. Butter
- 2 Tbls. Minced Garlic
- 2 Cups Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese
- ½ Cup Milk
- ½ Cup Chicken Broth
- 1 ½ Tbls. Corn Starch
- 1 Tbls. Dijon Mustard
- 2 t. Rosemary
- ½ t. Salt
- ½ t. Thyme
- ¼ t. Ground Cayenne Pepper
- 2 t. Sugar

Main Ingredients-

- 1 lbs. Penne Noodles
- 3 Chicken Breasts
- ½ Cup diced Prosciutto (or bacon for a cheaper substitute)
- 4 large shrimps for each person (or more if love shrimp!)

Gratinata Sauce-

Melt butter. Add garlic and sweat for 5 minutes. Add all the rest of the ingredients and whisk until smooth. When adding the cornstarch, mix it well with the chicken broth before adding to avoid lumping. Simmer for 5 minutes until thick.

Main Dish-

Cook penne in boiling water until al dente and set aside. Grill or bake chicken until done and cut in strips. Fry prosciutto or bacon until done, cut into small bits. Grill or cook shrimp for 2 minutes or until done. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Load pasta in a large casserole or individual over safe bowls. Place some strips of chicken prosciutto, and shrimp on the pasta and cover with sauce. Toss. Garnish with diced prosciutto and parmesan cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Serves 6-8.

Yeah this recipe makes a ton so expect some good leftovers for lunches after making it. Yum!

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Mile High Apple Pie

We made this awesome pie for thanksgiving and it was so good that we couldn't stop eating it. (And I am not a fan of apple pies, so that goes to show how good this really is!)

Recipe For The Mile High Apple Pie (Adapted From Paula Deen)

For the Deep Dish Pie Crust:
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups butter-flavored solid shortening (recommended: Crisco)
1 tablespoon salt
3/4 cup cold water

For the Filling:
18 apples, preferably Golden Delicious or Granny Smith, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced*
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

For the streusel:
1 cup (2 stick) butter, softened
2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup pecans
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons sugar

1 recipe Caramel Pecan Topping, recipe follows - Optional
*The number of apples depends on the size of the pie.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

For the Deep Dish Pie Crust:
Cut flour into butter-flavored shortening. Add salt and stir in enough water to make stiff dough. Knead slightly together. Chill dough before using. Use 1/3 of pie dough for bottom crust. Roll bottom crust. Lay in pie pan.

For the filling:
Combine apples, flour, sugar, and cinnamon and mix lightly with spatula.
For the streusel:
In a small bowl combine together butter, brown sugar, flour, pecans and cinnamon. Layer this mix every so often between apples.

Using a stainless bowl, begin layering apples slice by slice, slightly overlapping starting at the outside circle of the bowl and working towards the center. Push firmly as the layers build. Round off top layer of apple slices when you reach the top. Put a single layer of sliced apples in the bottom crust.

Take the pie pan with the bottom crust in left hand and the stainless bowl of sliced apples in right hand and invert. Put finger tips under edge of bowl to release the air and gently lift off. Press and firm apples and straighten. Add slices of apple to take away sharp edges (so as not to puncture the pie dough). Add slices of apples to top of pie to round off.

Add 4 tablespoons of butter pats on top of pie.

Roll out top crust using remaining pie dough. Gently place top crust over the mound of apples. Smooth the sides of pie crust towards bottom of pie pulling out on extra crust. Pinch down to seal 2 layers together. Crimp pie for first time. Cut extra crust with the back of a sharp knife. Re-crimp the edges and push towards the pie.

Brush with milk and sprinkle sugar rubbing your left hand from the bottom up to evenly spread your sugar.
Put 5 steam vents with a small knife towards the upper part of the pie. Do not vent at the top as it will cause the pie to split open as it bakes.
Bake between 350 to 375 degrees F for 1 hour, 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let cool for at least 1 hour

Spread warm Caramel Pecan Topping on top of crust beginning at the base of the pie above the fluting and working towards the top.

Serving suggestions:
Drizzle caramel pecan topping with semisweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate.

Caramel Pecan Topping:
2 (12-ounce) cups melted caramel
3 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 1/2 cup chopped pecan pieces

Melt caramels completely in microwave. Add evaporated milk and stir until smooth consistency. Add chopped pecans and stir. Spread over pie starting at base and working in.

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Welcome to Our Recipe Blog!

Laura and I were thinking about how much we love to cook, and how so many of our friends have begged us to post our recipes online. So we have started this blog to share our love of cooking with everyone! So we will be posting all of our favorite recipes online soon!

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