Easy Tiramisu Pie

I love Tiramisu! But I never have the time to make it the real way. I found this easy yummy recipe at www.kraftrecipes.com. They have a ton of fun recipes that are super easy! So it's not a completely real tiramisu, but it's dang close and less expensive! I also added strawberry slices to the top of mine for a pretty garnish.

48 NILLA Wafers, divided
1/4 cup brewed Coffee, cooled, divided ( I use Pero, a coffee substitute)
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups cold milk
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 tub thawed COOL WHIP Season’s Delight French Vanilla Whipped Topping
1 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, grated

Arrange 36 wafers on bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp. coffee. Beat cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; beat 1 min. Gently stir in 2 cups COOL WHIP. Layer half each of the pudding mixture and grated chocolate in crust; cover with remaining wafers. Drizzle with remaining coffee. Repeat layers of pudding and chocolate. Top with remaining COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well to blend after each addition. Add in the vanilla. Blend in the sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the dough and mix until just blended. This recipe makes a lot of dough, so don't over mix. Working in batches, roll the dough out onto a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, until evenly distributed. Also flour your cookie cutters before cutting into shapes. Cut dough into desired shapes. Bake at 325 degrees F for 5-7 minutes, or until lightly golden. Do not over cook, or else you'll get hockey pucks. Cool and frost with a butter cream frosting. Makes 48-50 cookies.

Sugar Plum Pudding

Pudding:
2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon allspice 1 Tablespoon allspice
3/4 cup Wesson oil
1 cup milk
1 cup of cooked, pitted prunes
1 cup of chopped nuts

Icing:
1 stick of butter
1 Tablespoon of vanilla flavoring
1 Tablespoon of Karo syrup

For pudding: mix all ingredients and cook on 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. For icing: cook over medium heat or until boils for about one minute. Pour over cakes.

Berry Gingerbread Waffles

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
• 3 eggs
• 4 TBSP butter, melted
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 TBSP molasses
• ½ cup berries – blackberries, blueberries or raspberries

Preheat waffle iron. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and ginger together. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, butter, buttermilk and molasses. Stir egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until moistened. Fold in berries. Spray waffle iron with a non stick cooking spray. Pour mixture onto waffle iron and cook until steam no longer rises.

Cranberry Chutney

• 1 (12 ounce) bag fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 large cooking apple, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

In a saucepan, combine all ingredients; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer for 15-20 minutes or until apple is tender and mixture thickens. Cool completely. Store in the refrigerator. Serve over cream cheese with crackers or as a condiment with turkey, pork, ham or chicken.

Dulce De Leche Bars

• 2 (16.5 ounce) rolls of refrigerated sugar cookies,at room temperature
• 1-3/4 cups quick cooking oats
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 14 ounces caramels, unwrapped
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 tablespoons caramel topping and 3 tablespoons chocolate topping

Heat oven to 350°. In large bowl stir together 1 roll of cookie dough, ¾ cup oats 1/3-cup brown sugar and 1-teaspoon vanilla until well blended. Press mixture evenly into bottom of ungreased 13X9-inch pan to form crust. Bake 15 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, in same bowl add remaining roll of cookie dough, 1-cup oats, 1/3-cup brown sugar and 1-teaspoon vanilla until well blended. Set aside. In large saucepan add butter, milk and caramels. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth and creamy. Spread over cooked cookie crust. Crumble remaining dough mixture evenly over caramel. Bake additional 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 1 hour then refrigerate 1 hour. Cut into bars and drizzle with caramel and chocolate toppings before serving.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

FRENCH ONION SOUP

¼ cup Butter
2 lbs Onions, thinly sliced
1 TBSP Sugar
7 TBSP All-purpose flour
3 (14.5 ounce) cans beef broth
2 cups Water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Dried minced onion
1 tsp Beef bouillon granules
¼ tsp Garlic salt
¼ tsp Ground black pepper
8 slices French bread, toasted
2 cups Swiss Cheese, shredded

Melt butter over low heat. When butter is melted, saute onions and sugar until tender. Sprinkle flour over onions and stir until blended. Gradually stir in broth. Add water, salt, dried onion, bouillon, garlic and pepper. Bring to a boil, boil and stir for 2 minutes. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Ladle soup into single serving size ovenproof bowls. Top with a slice of toasted bread, sprinkle generously with cheese. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve while hot!

Blueberry Cinnamon Doughnuts

• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 TBSP melted butter
• ½ cup rinsed blueberries
• Vegetable oil for frying

Beat together the eggs, 1 cup of sugar, and the buttermilk. Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, nutmeg and 2 tsp of cinnamon. Stir into egg mixture, add butter and fold in blueberries. Roll or pat out dough on a floured board to ½” thick. Using a well floured cutter, cut shapes and allow them to rest for five minutes on a floured surface. Heat enough oil to fill 3 inches of a frying kettle. When oil is 365 degrees F on a deep-fat thermometer, drop in 2 or 4 doughnuts. As soon as they float to the surface, turn them over. Fry until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel. Combine the remaining cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on doughnuts while warm. Yields about 30 doughnuts.

Mint Truffles

1 10 ounce package mint chocolate chips
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter
1 3.5 ounce container chocolate sprinkles

Line a baking sheet with wax paper, set aside. Melt mint chips with cream and butter in a heavy sauce pan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. Pour onto prepared pan and refrigerate until semi-firm, about 1-2 hours. Shape 1 tbsp of mixture into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place sprinkles in a shallow bowl and roll chocolate mint balls in the sprinkles until entire surface is covered in sprinkles. Place is fluted candy cups. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve or gift!

Happy Autumn!

It's official everyone! Autumn is finally here! I love fall time, the colors, foods, the smells and the crispiness in the air. Well, I love fall! Along with loving fall, it's officially the start of soup season! I eat soup anytime of the year, but fall and winter make soup that much better! Here's one of my faves, my kinda spin off from a certain Italian restaurant...

ZUPPA TOSCANA

• 1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
• 1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 6 potato, thinly sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 bunch fresh spinach or kale, tough stems removed

Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

It Is Time....

APPLE FRITTERS

• 1 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
• 1 cup beer
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 2 eggs, separated
• 5 large apples
• 2-4 cups vegetable oil for frying
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• Confectioner’s sugar

Combine the flour, beer 1 TBSP vegetable oil, sugar and egg yolks in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least one hour. Core and slice apples in to ½ inch rings. Pour at least 2 inches of oil into a large skillet and heat to 375 degrees F. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl, until stiff. Stir the batter and fold in the egg whites. Dip the apple rings first in ¼ cup flour to coat both sides, then in the batter. Fry a few at a time in the hot oil for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. Serve immediately with Apple-Maple Sauce.


APPLE-MAPLE SAUCE

• 2 cups applesauce
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Blend together all ingredients until mixed well. Serve with Apple Fritters.

Favorite Summer Salad

Ranch Tortellini Salad

1 9oz package Buitoni Three Cheese Tortellini
1 package grape tomatoes or 2 large tomatoes diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped finely
1 avocado, peeled and diced
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup BYU Ranch dressing

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain well and place into a medium bowl. Add in veggies and toss lightly. Add in lemon juice and then ranch and toss until everything is covered in ranch dressing. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or until chilled. Serve and Enjoy!

Hey Hey Hey Yogi

The kids and I went to Yellowstone National Park this weekend. We went through the West Yellowstone entrance. After we barely drove into the park, a nice little herd of Bison had traffic stopped as they meandered down the road. We also saw some elk too, but the bison are pretty neat to see so close!
Our first stop was at Fountain Freight Trail and we walked a little ways in to see the Ojo Caliente Spring. John's first comment was why does it smell like breakfast? The Ojo Caliente Spring runs right down into the river and it was a really deep blue color. Next we stopped at the Fountain Paint Pots and walked around there and saw a mud pot glurping, and also the Red Spouter Pot, and the Fountain Geyser also. Carol really liked the color of Silex Spring. We then drove into Firehole Lake and saw Surprise Pool, White Dome Geyser and Firehole Lake.
After FireHole Lake, we finally made it to Old Faithful! This was the one the kids wanted to see the most! We waited forever, but it was worth it! The kids got to help a Ranger with his demonstration about Old Faithful. then Old Faithful exploded!!! It was so awesome, like always and Carol and John both loved it! It was so extremely busy at Old Faithful. The kids and I then went into Old Faithful Inn and saw the interior of the old lodge. We then loaded back up into the car and had lunch while we drove to Upper Falls.
As we drove to Upper Falls, we saw Yellowstone Lake, Fishing Bridge, Sulphur Cauldron, trees, bison, a lot of tourist and finally made it to Upper Falls. What beauty! I've been past Upper Falls before, but never took the time to stop and look. The noise the falls made was amazing!
We turned back around after seeing Upper Falls and as we drove back down towards West Thumb, we happened to see a BEAR! So lucky for us! It was right by Elk Antler Creek and was so amazing to stop and watch. There weren't too many tourists there yet and the Bear had just woken up from a nap. I've seen bears before, but this was the first time that I have seen a bear in Yellowstone Park. It was just a small Grizzly, but still a Grizzly! We watched him wander around for a little bit until he went over a ridge and disappeared from sight. So Amazing and Awesome! Definitely one of the major high lights of the trip!
Along with driving around Yellowstone, we met up with my parents at Flagg Ranch and camped for the night! It's pretty cool camping in Papa's big tent with Papa and Gram. We had fun burning hot dogs and marshmallows on the campfire while Papa cooked edible hamburgers on the Coleman grill. The kids went for a walk with Papa to the Flagg Ranch store and came back with ice cream for everyone! The mosquitoes about ate us alive! I finally gave up and went and hid in the tent behind the mosquito net. Poor John and Carol have at least 20 bites, even though they were doused in spray.
Super early Saturday morning we went fishing on Lewis Lake with Papa and Gram. Talk about cold and wet weather! Even though we felt like drowned rats we enjoyed the good fishing on the lake. I caught several lake trout, my Mom caught several, including a huge one that broke the line once it got too close to the boat and the kids each caught a few fish. Papa was the fishing guide and kept our hooks loaded and the boat trolling. At one point we watched the mist come in on the lake and then move off.
After fishing we stopped at Crawdad Creek and caught crawdads! At first the kids where extremely freaked out over the crawdads since my Dad had told them that if the crawdad pinches you you will go blind from the poison. Of course my kids believe anything that Papa tells them, so when Dad caught a crawdad and went to go put his fingers in the pincher, John jerked Papa's hand away and shouted "Don't Papa!" We laughed over that! Both the kids finally got brave and held the crawdads.
Driving home was pretty nice, we drove home through Jackson Hole. I had to stop and get a New York Sub Shop sub. Yum! We also drove by my old schools, including my now non-existence High School. The new high school looks really nice and they've built a new elementary school where my high school used to be. We also drove on Martin Lane and the kids got a good giggle about that. We stopped at my old childhood home on KDC Lane and I showed them where Momma used to live and play. The kids liked that and liked seeing Munger Mountain.
All in all, it was a really fun trip, but we are very glad to be home and showered!

Camping

We went camp last night in the Targhee National Forest and had so much fun! Note for future camping trips:

Don't forget toilet paper

Flame Broiled Bacon isn't too Bad

John is a Maniac

A cheap griddle doesn't work so great, it melts

Carol becomes a total Daddy's Girl

Don't forget to charge the lantern battery

Thomas and John revert back to their primal selfs

A knife, hot pad and hot chocolate mix would be nice to bring along

All in all, we had a riot! Even though we forgot a few key items, it turned out wonderful anyways! It's always so relaxing to listen to the wildlife, watch the flames and just chill! Watch out National Forests here we come!!!

Kinda Big Update

Lots has happened in the past months, and I guess I better get this darn blog updated!
Our biggest news, we've moved from Orem, Utah to Small Town Idaho! We absolutely love it up here! Thomas transferred his job to up here and we were able to move into a bigger place which is really really nice! There's a field right behind us, and plenty of room to play! Thomas is home from work most nights by 6pm instead of 8 or 9pm.
Another note of joy, I'm a stay at home mom for the summer! I do miss working sometimes, but I'm really enjoying this Mom gig! I find that I have a lot more time to focus on what I need to focus on and it's really working for us right now! The kids and I have been having a riot exploring! We've gone to a museum, to parks, visited family, and we are trying to learn the different birds that are coming into our bird feeders! We've been down to the farm in Bear Lake with Papa and Gramma Kunz and we are going to Yellowstone this weekend to fish with Papa and Gram Martin!
Yesterday being Father's Day, we went for a drive with Thomas up to Kelly's Canyon and found the perfect camping spot! I'm used to the mountains being so busy in Utah it was really nice to be in the mountains up here in Idaho and not see very many people! We saw this beautiful bird, with a red head, yellow body and black back and wings. It's was amazing! We are going to be hiking a bunch this summer in search of the elusive huckleberry patches. Oh, we are addicted to huckleberries right now! Yum!
I've enjoyed being closer to my sister and her husband and son! I've missed being around my sis, and even though we haven't had much time to get into trouble, I'm sure it's coming! We have huge plans for the holidays! It's also very nice to be close to some of my Aunts and cousins, they are all a riot! I do miss Mom and Dad, a lot.
In my spare time from unpacking and exploring and being Mom, I've found all my recipes again and I'm in the process of tweaking a few, including a mozzarella cheese stick recipe! Yum! OK, so I think I've typed enough for now! Enjoy!

Easy Easy Fruit Dip

Here's a really easy fruit dip recipe that I just love!

EASY FRUIT DIP

• 1 part Cool Whip
• 2 parts strawberry yogurt (or any other berry flavor)

Whip ingredients together and chill before serving.

Poached Salmon Salad

4 salmon fillets
1 bay leaf
½ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped carrot
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
½ cup white wine
2 teaspoons fresh dill weed, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In baking dish place all ingredients including the salmon. Add water to cover half way up. Cover with parchment paper and poach for 15 minutes in oven or until temperature of salmon reaches 145 degrees. Cool salmon at least one hour.

CUCUMBER SAUCE
1 cup cucumber, peeled, cored and diced to ¼”
¾ cup sour cream
2-teaspoons fresh dill weed
1-tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 mint leaves, chopped
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons capers
2 teaspoons lemon zest
sea salt to taste
8 cups assorted lettuce leaves, roughly chopped

Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a spatula. Arrange lettuce on four plates. Top with chilled salmon fillet and then top with dill sauce to taste. Serve immediately.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

Here's a great easy recipe from work, if you want add some pineapple salsa for a finishing touch!

GRILLED TERIYAKI CHICKEN

· 4 Harmons Recipe Ready Whole Chicken Legs

· 1-cup teriyaki sauce

· ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

· 2 teaspoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Place all ingredients in a gallon zip block bag. Seal well and shake to coat. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours, turning every so often. Preheat grill to medium. Lightly oil the grate. Remove legs from bag, discarding and remaining marinade. Place legs on grill and cover, reducing heat to low. Grill about 20 to 30 minutes, turning twice. Cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Also, for anyone interested, I'm making, my own cook book, starting at $25 each. They are full of recipes I've collected, tried out and tweeked, with room to add your own recipes and tweeks! Let me know if you're interested!

Avocados!

Yum! Avocados are one of my favorite fruits ever! Most people think that they are bad for you, but they are not! Woot! Hass avocados are extremely healthy, full of fiber and other good stuff. It's recommenced to only eat about 1/2 cup as a serving at a time. one of my favorite recipes with avocados are as follows:

1 grilled chicken breast
2 pieces of multi grain bread, toasted
3 tomato slices
some green leaf lettuce
a small smear of mayo
3-4 slices avocado

Put together and enjoy a wonderful sandwich!!!

Curried Carrot Bisque

• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 4 1/2 cups sliced carrots
• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth - low sodium
  
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
  
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup milk
  
• 2 TBSP freshly chopped chives, or more if you like chives
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a Dutch oven, saute onion in butter until tender. Add carrots, potato, broth and ginger. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Cool for 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor in small batches; cover and process until smooth. Return all to the pan; stir in the milk and half and half, curry powder, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until heated through. When serving, garnish each bowl with chives. You may omit the milk and half and half and just add a bit more broth to make the texture smoother if you want to cut out the extra calories.

Citrus is the Bomb!

I found this great recipe on www.allrecipes.com for a citrus salad! I added some grilled chicken, subtracted the black olives (yuck) and also added in some sections of clementines and moro blood oranges! What a nice refreshing salad, especially with citrus being in season! Yummy!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Arugula-Fennel-and-Orange-Salad-2/Detail.aspx

My Favorite Snack

Ok, so maybe it's not my very most favorite snack, that being chocolate, but I am trying to be good, so this one is my favorite being good snack:

Yogurt and Granola

1 serving strawberry yogurt
1 serving favorite granola
1 kiwi, peeled and sliced
1/2 c strawberries, cored and quartered

Place yogurt in bowl, then layer fruit on top of yogurt and sprinkle granola on top! Simple, easy and very satisfying! I also like to do this with vanilla yogurt, granola, and tangerines and oranges. Very easy to mix it up, just make sure you keep your serving sizes in the right range!