BBQ Chicken Pizza

This is what we had for dinner tonight and it was tasty! And it wasn't really any harder than our normal pizzas (pepperoni, hawaiian, etc.), besides the fact that I had to cook the chicken beforehand. I will definitely be making this again. If you need a good pizza dough recipe, go here.

Apple Walnut Feta Salad

So this recipe stemmed from a need to bring a salad to a church event and having to think of something with what I had on hand. Luckily I had some pretty good stuff on hand. :) Of course you can substitute things with what you have on hand. For the dressing I was just doing a basic oil/vinegar dressing and then I thought it would be fun to juice a mandarin orange to give it a little extra flavor and I really liked it, so I include that. Of course, you could dress it without that, but if you have one around, give it a try.

Orange Zest French Toast

Yummy! I knew this bread would make excellent french toast. I got this recipe from a lady at my bridal shower almost 5 years ago and this is the first time I've tried it. Oops. I definitely should have tried it sooner. However, I also got this amazing syrup recipe from her which I make all the time, so I guess that kind of makes up for it. Anyway, I really liked this. Usually when I make french toast, I just use egg, milk and cinnamon, but this has some orange zest and vanilla that make it a fun change.

Pizza Dough

This is my Aunt Marilyn's recipe (introduced to me by my sister Amy) and it is delicious, fast, and easy. Great for any pizza!

Country White Bread

Yum. I don't usually make white bread (besides french bread or bread sticks or that kind of thing), but I wanted to try this recipe. Jeremy really likes white bread so every once in awhile I'll make it instead of the usual whole wheat, and boy am I glad I did! This smelled sooo delicious while it was baking and my house still smells like it. The bread is delicious and has such a tasty flavor. I don't know if it's because of the eggs in it or the buttermilk or what, but it is really yummy. Give it a try! You won't be disappointed.

Souvlakia

Last night we had some more tasty Greek food. After making that Greek Chicken Salad a couple weeks ago, I was really wanting to make Souvlaki again. For those who are wondering, I got the whole scoop from Jeremy tonight about Souvlaki vs. Gyros.

Pita Bread

Tzatziki

Tzatziki

16 oz. (2 cups) thick Greek yogurt
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 English cucumber, small diced (I usually peel all but a little of it)
1 T. olive oil
2 tsp. lemon juice
1-2 T. fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare all ingredients in advance. Combine oil and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl. Fold the yogurt in slowly, making sure it mixes completely with the oil. Add the garlic, according to taste, and the cucumber. Stir until evenly distributed. Garnish with a bit of green and serve well chilled.
Yield: about 2 1/2 cups
This makes a ton, so I recommend cutting it down unless you're feeding a bunch of people.
Source: About.com

Stuffed Mushrooms

I love stuffed mushrooms. My in-laws got me hooked. They always do fun hor d'oevres around the holidays and this has been one of them. Usually they stuff them with cream cheese mixed with some herbs and green onions. I was planning doing just that until I was perusing through recipes online and came across several that used the stems in the stuffing. Hmmm. Sounded tasty and better than just throwing the stems away, so I decided to try it. I bought baby portabello mushrooms in a 24 oz. package at Costco, and there were 47 mushrooms in the package. I only used about 32 (that's all that would fit on my baking sheet), but I also have some leftover stuffing, which I plan on using today. I think you could use the same amount of stuffing for a smaller number of mushrooms, and just stuff them more.

Bean Salsa

Yum!!! That's all I can say about this dip. I love it so much. Every year for Christmas Eve, my family gets together with another family that my parents met back when they lived in Pittsburg, CA and the past few years, they have brought this dip. It is sooo tasty. I asked for the recipe and found out it comes from the daughter's sister-in-law (make sense?), so I'm crediting this to Suzy Varga Patey, whoever and wherever you are! :) Anyway, this makes a GREAT party food and it's super easy. You only have to chop a few things and everything else you just dump in from a can. But don't be fooled....it is DELICIOUS.

Cheese Straws

I found these over at Smitten Kitchen and thought they looked like a fun party food. And fun they were! They were incredibly easy and tasted a whole lot like cheez its with a little kick. They came together in no time at all and were fun to have out on our spread. Try them!

Herbed Roast Turkey

I am well aware that Thanksgiving was 3 months ago, but I just made this turkey last night and it was amazing. If we ever host Thanksgiving at our house, we will definitely be using this recipe. We brined the turkey over night and then let it air dry in the fridge for hours and then rubbed this amazing herb paste all over and under and in, and then roasted it in the oven. It was SO moist and flavorful with a crisp crust and it really was amazing. Jeremy swears this is the best turkey he's ever tasted, but he's been known to exaggerate, so who knows. :) Either way, it really was delicious. We felt so guilty that we didn't invite anyone over to enjoy it with us, but now we have a lot leftover! Put this one in your file and try it out next Thanksgiving or be crazy like us and try it now! You won't be disappointed.

Great-Grandma Hiatt's Rolls

(Parkerhouse Method)

I was about to write that these are my mom's rolls, but then I remembered that the recipe I have is written in a recipe binder my Grandma gave me (my mom's mom) and in it, it says "My Mother's Rolls". I love these rolls! I also think it's neat that I learned to make them from my mom, and she learned from hers, and so on. I'll be sure to pass these on to my children too. They are fluffy, flavorful, and amazing. I think of the movie "Julie and Julia" when I make and eat these, because I believe what makes them so amazing is an abundance of a certain lovely ingredient: BUTTER. Mmmm. They are buttery and amazing. It may take some time to get the hang of roll-making if you haven't done it before, but it is worth the time and effort. I made these on Christmas Eve at my in-law's and I made them again yesterday, and I'm happy to say that I have now mastered them. I'll try to include lots of tips. By the way, at Christmas I used my mother-in-law's KitchenAid and yesterday I used my Bosch. Both were equally delicious.

Spinach Feta Bread

Doesn't that just make your mouth water? I knew the moment I saw this recipe I had to make it. We had this last night with a Greek Chicken Salad (posted below) and it did not disappoint! It makes 2 loaves and we put one in the freezer for later. You have to do a little part the night before, so plan accordingly. Also, it says to mix everything with a wooden spoon and then your hands - which I did. However, if I make this again I plan on being lazy and using my Bosch, so if you make use of modern technology the first time, I will not think any less of you. I'm sure it will still be great. Enjoy!

Greek Chicken Salad

Last night we had a delicious Greek-inspired dinner. I made spinach feta bread (which I will post the recipe for next) and this Greek Chicken Salad to go with it. I should probably say that the other way around - the bread was to go along with the salad. But when I found this bread recipe, I thought, "hmm, what dinner can I make that will go with this bread?" Anyway, I digress...

Chocolate Heart Cake

So Valentine's Day is coming up and I thought you might like an idea for a DELICIOUS cake. I made this last year, so my pictures are from last year (and they're pretty lame), but I still remember how amazing this cake was. In fact, looking at these pictures makes me want to go make it right now! It takes a long time so plan accordingly, and it dirties a lot of dishes (I don't usually like recipes like that), but it's worth it - especially if you only do it once a year. It's a chocolate chiffon cake with a layer of chocolate whipped cream in the middle, topped with an amazing chocolate ganache, garnished with raspberries and served with fresh whipped cream and raspberry sauce. Convinced? Yeah, go make it.

Welcome!

I have no idea who will end up reading this, but I wanted to do this mostly for myself. I have grown to love cooking and rather than hoping I remember all the recipes I've tried or have them stashed in random notebooks, I decided to start this blog. I copied and pasted all the recipes I had put on our family blog, so they are all on here now. Thanks for looking and enjoy some cooking!

Oatmeal Buttermilk Wheat Bread

I love homemade bread. I've been making it a lot ever since my amazing husband got me a Bosch for Christmas a few years ago. In fact, I very rarely buy bread anymore. It's healthier, cheaper, and tastier to make it myself. Of course it takes a little longer, but I'm home a lot so it works out. Anyway, I often make a whole wheat bread recipe that I got from my mom, but lately I've been itching to try some new bread recipes. This one from "Annie's Eats" caught my eye. Jeremy loves oats and keeps saying we should make oat flour, so even though this doesn't call for oat flour, it does have oats in it. It is so tasty. It's actually really fluffy and it has a great taste and texture. I think this would be a great bread for sandwiches because it's not nearly as heavy as a lot of wheat breads. I've included my edits in italics. Try it out!