Shannon's Peanut Butter Balls

You need: 5& 1/4 C of powdered sugar, 2 sticks of margarine, 2 cups of creamy peanut butter, 12 oz of milk chocolate pieces, 1/4 square of paraffin wax.


Melt the butter and mix with sugar and peanut butter


Mix and then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.


First you melt the paraffin wax over low heat and then add the chocolate and melt mixing together (this is my make shift double boiler)


Make 1 inch peanut butter balls and dip in chocolate using a tooth pick. Set on wax paper to cool.

Thanks for the recipe Shannon! These were great!

Wedding Punch

I call this wedding punch, because it is the one my mom made for my wedding. I made it for a friend's baby shower last month.


Mix 5C of water with 2 C of sugar stirring the water until the sugar melts


Puree a carton of strawberries in a food processor


Mash 3 large ripe bananas


Add a carton of concentrated orange juice to the water mixture


Add in one large can of pineapple juice


Add in the strawberries and bananas


Mix together


I'm sure there is some other way to do this, but pour the punch into plastic cups and place in the freezer. Before you serve take out and defrost under hot water. Put in punch bowl and mash frozen punch into sprite. Makes 28 cups with this recipe + 2 liters of sprite. It is so good!


Here we are at the shower and the punch.

Breakfast Casserole

My mom makes this on Christmas morning. It is one of my favorites!


You will need 2 C of milk, 8 eggs, 6-8 slices of bread, cheese, and sausage or ham.


Butter the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan and lay the pieces of bread so that they cover the bottom.


Together in a bowl wisk 8 eggs and 2 cups of milk until completed mixed together


Layer the cooked sausage on top of the bread, and cover with grated cheese


Cover with the egg and milk mixture.
Cook at 325 for 45 minutes. You can also make this the night before and refrigerate until the morning.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

I made our mom's enchiladas the other day. This ended up making 4 servings (4 pans of 4 enchiladas in square pans), but if I am making it for a group of people I use a 9X13 pan.


Ingredients: 7 chicken breasts (amount can be adjusted depending on size and how many you are making), 1 large can of enchilada sauce, 1 small can of sour cream, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, monterey jack cheese, and 16 tortillas (also can be adjusted)

First begin by boiling water to boil the chicken


Mix together the enchilada sauce, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup. (My sister has this fun immersion blender I probably need one too! :)


Pour out 1/3 of the mixture in a separate bowl


Chop or shred the chicken into small pieces. I dislike this part the most...not enough to use rotisserie chickens just yet.


Mix the chopped chicken into the larger amount of sauce


Add a little bit of cheese and mix


Fill your tortillas with the mixture, roll them up, and place in the pan


Add a cup of milk to the smaller sauce mixture and mix together


Pour over the top of the enchiladas and cover


Cover with cheese and either cook at 350 for 20-30 minutes or freeze and cook at 350 for 45-55 minutes. Just cook until hot in the middle.


And eat. Great with side salads, rice, beans, or chips and salsa

Parmesan Oven Fries

We made these the other night as a side with our burgers, and they were GREAT!

Preheat your oven to 475
Mix together:
1/4 C Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. paprika
1/8 t. cayene
and salt to taste

Then:
Cut three russet potatoes each into 8 wedges

Coat the wedges in:
1 T of olive oil and then add the parmesan mixture and toss to coat
Coat a baking sheet with 2 T of olive oil and place wedges on pan



Roast the wedges until golden, 15 minutes on each side; Directions say to return fries to bowl after cooking and toss with parsley- I took that as optional.


AND then eat!

Our very own make-and-take kitchen

My sister and I got together and cooked over the weekend. It was fun and the time went by very quickly.


Here we are in her kitchen.


The best part: for only $26 each we had food for 7 meals (without sides), 8 servings of brown rice each, and each had left overs of a 1/2 lb of hamburger meat and 2 chicken breasts!!
This was our first time to do this, and sometime I hope to organize something like this with lots of people to make and freeze lots of meals.
Check back soon for the recipes and guest blogging by my sister.

Fiber one muffins

I tried this mix out last week. I thought the muffins were "pretty good". Michael really liked them and asked me to buy more mix. The muffins are 3 points each and have 5 grams of fiber.

Latest favorite

I used to have this size glass pyrex bowl and a 1 cup size until about a month ago. I lost my balance getting them from one of the top cabinets, dropped them both and found myself in the middle of a sea of glass. Michael carried me out of the kitchen -and cleaned the mess- there was glass all over the floor, cabinets, in my kitchenaid mixer, glass pierced through the bag of amish friendship bread I was making and got inside there...quite traumatic! :) BUT- I missed them because they were handy for measuring out ingredients, making the perfect chai, etc.

Then I saw these in a real simple magazine and thought they might be safer for me.

The formal description: Made of firmly flexible silicone, these sturdy measuring cups have a textured outer surface that provides a secure grip. When the handle-free cups are held, their flexible rims automatically form spouts for pouring liquid or dry ingredients with pinpoint control. Easy-to-read calibrations on both sides afford precise measuring. The cups’ narrow shapes are especially helpful when gradually adding ingredients to the bowl of an electric mixer, and the large cup can double as a mixing bowl for use with an immersion blender. Heat resistant up to 490°F, the food-grade European silicone won’t yellow over time, and the bowls nest for compact storage. Microwave and dishwasher safe. 1, 2 and 4-cup cap.; 6 1/2", 7" and 8" high. Set of 3, one of each size.

So they have the measurements on the side, you can squeeze them to control the amount you pour, have high heat resistance, and best of all unbreakable!

Parmesan chicken and rice casserole

I got this recipe from Cooking Light, and cut it down for the two of us. I will attach the original at the end.

Preheat your oven to 450


Saute some onions on high heat in some olive oil


Add some fresh garlic and saute


Add some cooked brown rice (it works great to cook a bunch and freeze to have on hand)


Lower the heat to medium and add 1/3 C of white cooking wine and cook until the liquid evaporates


Coat a baking dish with cooking spray and pour rice mixture into the bottom of the pan


Place chicken on top of the rice. The recipe calls for chicken thighs, but I just used what I had on hand.


Measure out 1 1/2 C of fat-free, less sodium chicken broth


Add 3 T of whipping cream to the broth and stir together


Pour over chicken and cook for 15 minutes. Then take out and cover with 1/3 C of parmesan cheese and cook for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through


We really liked this one and will have it again.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1714619

11 WW points

5 Can Soup

This is an easy, healthy soup I sometimes make for my lunches. It only requires 5 cans and a little warming time.


the 5 cans are: corn, tomatoes, black beans, mixed vegetables, and minestrone soup


Mix together in a pot on low until warmed through


I portioned these out for my lunches. I will probably freeze one because after eating the same thing I get sick of it. Michael won't touch this stuff, but it is easy, healthy, and cheap. It is good with a little grated cheese on top or served with corn chips.

1 Cup= 2 points