Molly's Rolls

So...I love bread any bread!! I can eat an entire loaf when it is warm right out of the oven! I have been blessed with a fast metabolism, but I am sure that when I am no longer chasing 4 boys around all day, everyone is going to KNOW how much I LOVE bread:) Actually now that I am getting older and after recently having baby #4, you can already see that I love my carbs:)

I have never had much success with baking my own bread and rolls. I never seem to get it to rise very well and end up with a roll that is too heavy and just not good!! Anyone that knows me may wonder why I can't make bread when my mother makes such WONDERFUL bread and rolls! Guess I was too busy with other things in high school to really sit down and learn.

I have really been working on my bread making skills and made some bread last night that was SO yummy! Wonderful texture too! I did have one major problem with it though....I put my bread pans too close together to rise and the dough stuck together, so when I pulled them apart and put them in the oven to cook the tops fell. The bread is delicious though, so I will try it again this week and try to get a good picture to share with the recipe.

I got the recipe for these rolls from my friend, Molly, a couple of years ago and have adapted it so that it is a small enough batch that I can make it using my Kitchen-Aid. These rolls are wonderful and believe me when I say that if I can make them.....than anyone can!!

Molly's Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 package yeast(2 1/4 teaspoon)
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/2 T salt
• 1 egg
• flour

Directions: In mixer combine yeast, sugar, and warm water; let grow until bubbly(about 5 minutes). Add milk and mix. Mix in oil and egg. Slowly add 2 cups flour, mix and then add salt. Add 1/2 cup flour at a time until it comes away from side of bowl. Let rise in mixing bowl for about 30 minutes. Form rolls as desired and place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise and additional 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. (Rotate pans after 7 minutes.) Brush hot rolls with melted butter.

Have a GREAT evening! I'm off to get kids fed and dressed for Cub Scouts Pack meeting:)

Mississippi Mud Cake

I needed to take a dessert to the Scouting Roundtable Opening Social the other night and thought, who doesn't LOVE marshmallows, brownies and chocolate frosting? These brownies are SO yummy!! Unfortunately my camera battery was low and my pictures just don't do justice to this dish!! I got this recipe from a 'free recipe card' that I got in the mail from Gooseberry Patch Country Cooking Recipe Collection. You've got to try this one:)


I like to put the brownies under the broiler after topping them with the marshmallows until they start to toast up a bit. Gives them a roasted marshmallow look and taste. I make them both ways, toasted and not. If you do put them under the broiler, watch them very carefully they toast up REALLY fast and you'd hate to burn them!!

Mississippi Mud Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. baking cocoa
• 1 c. butter or margarine, melted
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 2 c. mini marshmallows
• 1/4 c. butter or margarine
• 1/3 c. baking cocoa
• 2/3 milk
• 16 oz. box powdered sugar, sifted

Directions: Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add melted butter, eggs and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Spread batter into a greased 13"x9" pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle hot cake with mini marshmallows.

Combine 1/4 cup butter, 1/3 cup baking cocoa and milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, and boil one minute. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar. Immediately pour chocolate mixture over marshmallows. Let cake cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Makes 15 servings.

You can substitute a 19.8 oz package of brownie mix for the cake batter. Prepare mix according to package directions and spoon into 13" x 9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes and proceed as directed in recipe.

I usually have extra frosting that I save for a treat with crackers for the kiddos:)

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

I don't have a lot of time today, but I wanted to post this yummy recipe!! We love to have these for a quick healthy breakfast. I have a lot of whole wheat kernels that I have been storing and this is a great way to use/rotate my storage. My husband usually just grabs a few on his way out the door and eats them plain. The rest of us drown them in syrup and a couple hours later my 2 year old comes asking to eat some like a cookie(plain). I have seen several versions of this pancake and this one is our favorite and seems to work best for us.

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

Blend on high in blender for 2 minutes:

• 1 cup whole wheat kernels
• 1 cup milk

Add the following and blend for 2 more minutes:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 t salt
• 1 T honey or sugar

Just before frying on hot griddle, add:

• 1 T baking powder
• additional liquid to desired consistency(if needed)

Fresh Peach Jam

I LOVE any homemade jam, bottled for frozen! I usually like to wait for the fresh Utah peaches to come around to make jam, but our local Basha's had them on sale for 78 cents a pound last week. These were some yummy peaches and I wish I would have bought more before the sale ended. Oh well, shouldn't be too long until I get a call asking if I want to buy a case of Utah peaches. This recipe is easy and simple ingredients. It is SO yummy too, I couldn't even wait for it to cool down in the jar before I had to taste it.

Fresh Peach Jam

Ingredients:

• 5 cups chopped peaches (approx. 5 peaches)
• 2 cups sugar
• juice of one lime
• 1/4 cup water

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a large pan. Bring everything to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes. I like my jam smooth, w/out many chunks, so I poured everything into my food processor after it had cooked for about 10 minutes and chopped very fine. Then I added it back to the pan to continue cooking. While the jam was cooking I boiled and dried my lids. I also put my jars in the microwave for a minute so that they would be warm when I added the jam. I added the jam and put the lids on.

In less than an hour I hear the popping sound of jars sealing!! Isn't' that a wonderful sound?!! I have to tell you though, I added a little more than 1/4 c water:) My little 2 almost 3 year old was helping me out. I turned my back for literally a second until I heard him say, "there that is enough." He had gotten some water out of the fridge and poured it in the jam in the pan:) Not sure how much he added, but it must not have been much:)

This little guy is a BIG help in the kitchen. Earlier in the day he was eating a piece of wheat bread that I made a few days ago and I hear him tell the cat, "you can't have any, this is homemade wheat."

Have a great day!!

Caramelized Beef Skewers

This is a quick and easy summer dinner. I served these skewers with some yellow summer squash sauteed with a little butter, garlic salt and a lot of fresh cracked black pepper. I also sliced up some fresh garden tomatoes, cucumbers and some homemade wheat bread w/butter. Yummy and light meal.

Caramelized Beef Skewers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. beef sirloin, thinly sliced
• 1/4 c A1 Steak Sauce, divided
• 1/4 c. BBQ sauce
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• veggies(I used gr. bell pepper and zucchini)

TOSS steak with 2 Tbsp. of the steak sauce; let stand 10 min. to marinate. Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 Tbsp. steak sauce, the barbecue sauce and mustard; set aside.

PREHEAT grill to medium-high heat. Thread steak(and any veggies you have on hand) onto eight long soaked wooden or metal skewers.

GRILL skewers 6 min. or until steak is cooked through, turning after 3 min. and brushing generously with the barbecue sauce mixture.

(recipe from Kraft Foods)

Zucchini, Zucchini, Zucchini.....bread and cake

One of my husband's clients brought him this load of veggies. Check out that zucchini on top! I started shredding the zucchini and got 10, yes 10 cups of shredded zucchini from the one LARGE zucchini and that is after I took the center seeds out. This zucchini was quite mature so I took the seeds and spongy center out. I still have 5 cups of the shredded zucchini in my freezer:) I found both of these recipes at allrecipes.com. I followed the chocolate cake recipe as written and made minor changes to the zucchini bread. I was very surprised by the chocolate cake. It is very moist and delicious. At first my 8 year old didn't want to even taste it because it had zucchini in it. When he finally decided he could try a bite, he loved it!!

Oatmeal Cinnamon Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/3 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup cinnamon chips

Directions: Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans(I used 4 mini loaf pans). Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Stir together dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and cinnamon until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Original recipe

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan(I used a bundt pan). In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well. Fold in the nuts(I left the nuts out because I didn't have any on hand) and zucchini until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting(I just dusted with some powdered sugar).

Original Recipe

Taco Salad

It sure seems like we eat A LOT of Mexican food!! We love tacos! They are fast, easy and cheap.

Taco Salad

For the shell: Place a flour tortilla over a large(empty and clean) can. Spray the tortilla with cooking spray and bake at 375 for ~10 minutes. Keep an eye on it and when it just starts to turn brown and is crispy. After you take it out of the oven it will crisp a little more, so if it is still a little pliable when you take it out, that's okay.

Taco Meat: Cook 1 pound of hamburger. Drain off grease. While taco meat is cooking mix together the following(or you can just use a package of your favorite taco seasoning). 2 t. chili powder, 1 1/2 t. salt, 1 t. garlic powder, 1 t. corn starch, 1 t. ground cumin, 1 t. cayenne pepper(more or less according to taste). Add the seasoning to the meat and add approx. 1/4 cup water. Cook until hot.

Assemble: Use whatever you like and have on hand. I serve mine with lettuce, meat, beans(if I have them), cheese, sour cream and LOTS of salsa. This would be great with some of Amber's Pico!

We are finally starting to get a lot of tomatoes off our garden plants!! I am so excited to get making salsa, marinara, and spicy vegtable juice!! I have also been given a lot of zucchini! Tomorrow I will share 2 sweet and tasty zucchini dishes! This picture makes it look like I have more cheese than anythings else. Ha, Ha, maybe I do:)

Pico

I know I have been slacking lately, and I think Amy really thought she would get more help from me then she has been getting. I hope to start being a little bit better about posting. It just means I have to actually think about dinner before I start throwing it together, and it also means that I won't be able to get away with Mac and Cheese for dinner everynight. I hope you enjoy this Pico as much as me and my family do. I don't really measure out anything just depends on how many people you are feeding, and personal taste. Personally if I were making it for myself I would do it with about a 3:1 ratio of avacados to tomatos.


Here is what you need:

Avacados
Tomatos
White Onion
Cilantro
Salt and Pepper

You just want to chop your onion and cilantro really fine, dice avacado and tomato, and salt and pepper to taste. When I made this the other night I used 2 tomatos, 2 avacados, probably about a 1/4 cup of onion and cilantro (maybe a little less). This is so yummy, everyone is sure to love it. Goes great with anything mexican, I love it just for a snack too.

The Chewy Brownie Cookie

What an evening!! I have finally got the kids in bed after back to school night and catching and releasing the bird that flew in through an open window while we were at parent teacher conference. My husband caught the bird in the kids butterfly net. The kids thought it was great! I couldn't wait to just get it out. I wanted to get a picture, but missed the chance. Once the kids heard us talking about it, there was no holding still....for the kids or the bird.

These cookies are great! As I was eating the first one, I thought these would be GREAT with chopped up Andes mints instead of the chocolate chips or even better....some mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiched between two cookies. Unfortunately the cookies didn't last long enough to get to the store for the ice cream...maybe next time:)

Chewy Brownie Cookie

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Crisco
• 1 1/2 c brown sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 T water
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1/3 c baking cocoa
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 c chocolate chips

Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine Crisco, brown sugar, water and vanilla. Beat at medium speed. Beat eggs into creamed mixture. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Mix into creamed mixture on low speed until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 7-9 minutes.

I'm off to watch the Olympics have a great night!

Black Bean Chili and Corn Bread Muffins

I still had some black beans from this weeks big batch to use up and decided to make some chili. I know it is not really chili weather, but the monsoon storms have kept the temperatures nice and mild here. I took advantage of one of those stormy nights to whip this one up. Ever since my sister sent me some silicone mini-muffin pans, I love making all kinds of muffins in them. I love to just walk by and grab a mouthful:) Unfortunately I probably eat a lot more that way, actually not probably....definitely:)

Black Bean Chili

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of cooked black beans
• 1 can petite chopped tomatoes
• 1 T Cajun seasoning
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 4 oz can of green chili
• 1/2 chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef

Directions: Saute onion and bell pepper in olive oil until tender. Add meat and cook. Depending on the % of fat your meat has, you may want to drain off some excess fat. When you have finished cooking the meat add green chili, beans, tomatoes and seasonings. Cook until hot. Serve with cheese, sour cream, cilantro and corn bread muffins.

I used fresh roasted green chili that I pulsed a few times in my food processor. I also added one fresh tomato that needed to be used from the garden.

For the Cajun season I mix up the following: 1/4 c salt, 3 T garlic powder, 3 T fresh ground black pepper, 1/4 t cayenne pepper, 1 T paprika. I put this in a jar and use it for all kinds of things.

Mini Corn Bread Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c corn meal
• 1/2 c flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 2 T sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c milk
• 2 T canola oil

Directions: Mix dry ingredients together. Beat egg slightly, add milk and oil. Combine with dry ingredients, stirring only until moist. Spoon batter into mini muffin pans. Bake at 425 for approx. 10 minutes(adjust time if making regular size muffins).

Carmel Candy Cookies

These cookies are very yummy!! They are a little time consuming, but worth it. This recipe makes a lot of cookies. I gave three dozen away and probably ate about 3 dozen myself:)

Carmel Candy Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 package(10 ounces) Milk Duds

Directions: Cream the butter, peanut butter, 1 1/2 cups of sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Chill for at least an hour. Use enough dough to wrap around the milk dud so that the milk dud is completely covered. Rolls balls in remaining sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Black Bean and Chicken Burritos

Like I've said before, we love black beans. When I cook beans, I usually make a big pot and use them for a couple meals. This way I only have to sort and soak once a week. We had some leftover dutch oven chicken that needed to be used up so I decided to make some yummy burritos. Not really much of a recipe for the burritos. Super easy and a good way to use up any leftover chicken you have or you can cook some chicken just for this.

Directions: Heat 1 T oil and cook 2 or 3 cloves of chopped garlic and a teaspoon of cumin. When the garlic is cooked add 2 cups of beans and cook until hot. Mash your beans, but leave some whole. Layer down the center of your tortilla: cheese, shredded chicken, beans, salsa and sour cream. Fold in two side or tortilla, roll up and fry in a little bit of canola oil. Serve with additional salsa, sour cream and shredded lettuce.

Frozen milk chocolate shake

This is a fun and easy summer snack! This was a BIG hit with my boys(and me). Fast, easy and low fat.

frozen milk cubes

my #1 helper

the finished product

my #1 taster

Frozen Milk Chocolate Shake

Ingredients:

• 2 trays of frozen milk cubes
• 1/4 c chocolate drink mix
• 2 cups milk(I used 1%)

Directions: Fill 2 ice cube trays with milk. Freeze. Put frozen milk cubes into blender. Add chocolate drink mix(I just used generic brand) and milk. Blend and serve. Makes appox. 4 servings.

Cajun chicken pasta with blush sauce

I created this recipe with some leftover Cajun BBQ chicken that I had grilled for another yummy recipe(I'll post that soon). This is an easy recipe using things that you will probably already have in the fridge or pantry.

Cajun Chicken Pasta with Blush Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• Cajun seasoning
• your favorite BBQ sauce(I like Bull's Eye original)
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 slice bacon
• 2 T butter
• 3 T flour
• 2 1/2 cup milk(I use 1%)
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese + some to sprinkle on top
• juice from one can of tomatoes and 1/2 of the tomatoes(I used tomatoes with gr. chili)
• handful of fresh chopped spinach
• box of Gemelli pasta(or whatever is your favorite)

Directions: Prepare pasta according to package directions. Pour approx. 2 T of olive oil into a large skillet. Add peeled smashed garlic. Cook over med. low heat until tender. Remove and smash or chop, then return to pan. When garlic is almost finished cooking add 1 slice of bacon to cook. While garlic and bacon are cooking, coat chicken breast with Cajun seasoning. Cook chicken on grill when almost finished cooking give chicken a light coat of your favorite BBQ sauce. When garlic and bacon are finished cooking add juice from the can of tomatoes. Let the juice cook and reduce. Add butter and flour to the skillet(w/garlic, bacon and tomato reduction) to make a roux. Add milk and stir continuously until it starts to thicken up, if it gets too thick add a little more milk. Slice the chicken and add the chicken and parmesan cheese to the sauce. When the cheese is melted add the tomatoes. Add the spinach and pasta, cook just until spinach starts to wilt. Serve with additional parmesan cheese on top.

For the Cajun season I mix up the following: 1/4 c salt, 3 T garlic powder, 3 T fresh ground black pepper, 1/4 t cayenne pepper, 1 T paprika. I put this in a jar and use it for all kinds of things.

More Salsa

Is there any better way to eat your veggies? Salsa is one of my favorite foods!! I could eat chips and salsa or fresh tortills with salsa all day long! This is the salsa that I make all the time! I usually use canned tomatoes, unless I have fresh tomatoes in the garden.

Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/2 jalapeno
• 3-4 scallions
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 2 cans tomatoes w/green chili
• 1 sm. can green chili
• 1/2 T. garlic salt
• 1/2 T. seasoning salt
• 1 t. crushed red pepper
• 1/2 - 1 t. cayenne pepper

Directions: I add everything to the food processor and pulse a few times until desired consistency.

Sweet Pork Quesadilla

What a great day!! ...until I got a huge rock chip in the windshield of the truck....oh well. My 2 month old slept for 9 1/2 hours last night, that's right 9 1/2 hours straight!! He slept from 8-5:30. Also...the other three boys slept all night without getting up to use the potty. I was afraid I would be washing the sheets of the 2 almost 3 year old this morning, but nope, no accidents:) I am a happy mommy today:)

Just thought I'd share another way that we like to use up our sweet pork, black beans and cilantro lime tomatillo ranch dressing! Basically the same ingredients as the salad, just a different look.

Sweet Pork Quesadilla

Directions: Place a burrito size flour tortilla on the griddle. Spread some cilantro lime tomatillo dressing on the tortilla, add sweet pork, black beans and cheese. Top with another tortilla cook for a couple of minutes on one side, flip and cook on the other side until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa and shredded lettuce.

My boys went fishing last night so it looks like we will be eating some delicious trout for dinner tonight!! Have a great day!

Cilantro lime tomatillo ranch dressing

Long title, oh my!! This dressing is my version of the Cafe Rio creamy dressing. I love this dressing!! It is so good on a salad, but also very yummy to dip chips or tortillas into....mmmm!!! This dressing has a very strong flavor. If it is too strong for you, adjust the sour cream and buttermilk to your taste.

I love garden fresh cilantro!!

Cilantro Lime Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 tomatillos(husks removed)
• 1 large clove of garlic
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• large bunch of cilantro
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper(more or less depending on the heat level you like)

Directions: Put all ingredients into food processor or blender and blend away until smooth and creamy. I usually don't have buttermilk, so I put 1 T vinegar into measuring cup and add milk to the 1/2 cup mark.

Black beans with cilantro

Our family really enjoys beans and especially black beans! My husband spent 2 years in Guatemala serving a mission for our church and ate SO many dishes of black beans. He still LOVES them and I love to find new ways to fix them. This is another recipe that my wonderful Mom sent to me:)

Black Beans w/Cilantro

Ingredients:

• 1 can balck beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/3 cup tomato juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 Tbs olive oil

Directions: In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in cilantro...mmmm

Sweet Pork Salad

Our family LOVES Cafe Rio or Costa Vida...whichever happens to be nearby. We always order the sweet pork burrito or salad. My mom sent me this recipe awhile ago and we think it is pretty close to Cafe Rio.


Sweet Pork Ingredients:

• Pork Loin
• 1 can El Pato Tomato Sauce(yellow can found in the Latino section)
• 4 cans tomato sauce
• 2 cups brown sugar

Directions: Cook pork loin in crock pot until it can be shredded. Drain all liquid out of crock pot. Put tomato sauce, pato sauce and brown sugar into crock pot. Add shredded pork. Heat and serve. I usually cut this recipe in half and it still makes a lot of pork...mmm...but it is SO good!!
To assemble the salad...I put a flour tortilla in a bowl, add lettuce, cilantro black beans, salsa, lime cilantro rice, pork, cheese, and cilantro lime tomatillo ranch dressing. I also added some crunchy tortilla strips. To make the tortilla strips I cut up some corn tortillas into strips, fry in a little canola oil, drain and then shake in a gallon size ziploc bag with garlic salt and cumin.
Tomorrow I will post the recipe for the Cafe Rio style black beans and my cilantro lime tomatillo ranch dressing.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I made this freezer jam yesterday and it is SO yummy. It is the recipe right off the sure-jell package. Since strawberries were not on sale this week, I used frozen strawberries. I actually like using the frozen strawberries, I think they are usually sweeter than the fresh ones that you buy at the grocery store.

If you want to make this jam, you will need:

• 1 quart of strawberries, it will puree down to 1 pint
• 4 cups of sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 box of fruit pectin

Directions: Crush fruit(I pureed mine in my food processor), add 4 cups of sugar to the fruit. Bring the fruit pectin and water to a boil on high heat and boil for one minute, then add the hot pectin to the fruit and sugar. Stir until sugar is desolved. Let sit for 24 hours before you move it to the freezer.

Banana Bread....with or without chocolate

I LOVE banana bread. I especially love it with chocolate!! I have one son that will not eat it with chocolate chips and two that are like me and love it with the chocolate. I always make the banana bread in my 4 loaf mini loaf pan and make one without chocolate. The bread doesn't last long around here!! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour milk(1 T vinegar)
• 3 large mashed bananas
• 2 cups flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 1 t vanilla

Directions: Cream shortening, sugar and eggs. Mix in sour milk and bananas. Add flour, baking soda, and salt and mix well. Mix in vanilla. Add chocolate chips(if desired). Bake at 375 degrees for approx. 30 minutes in 4 mini greased loaf pans or approx. 1 hour in one regular greased loaf pan.