Microwave Carmel Corn

3 qts. popped corn (12 c.)

In small bowl (microwave) :

1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white corn syrup
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Boil for 2 minutes, take out and add 1/2 teaspoon soda. Put popped corn in brown grocery bag and pour syrup over it. Shake bag real hard. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes on high - take out and shake well. Turn bag in opposite direction and microwave 1 1/2 minutes on high. Open carefully (full of steam). Put on waxed paper or cookie sheet to cool. Yields 1 ice cream pail.

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients: 

3 eggs
1 C. oil
2 C. sugar (1C white/1C brown) or 1 C. brown sugar & 1/2 C. honey
2 C. grated zucchini
2 C. flour
1/4 teas. Baking powder
2 teas. Baking soda
1 teas. Salt
3 teas. Cinnamon
3 teas. Vanilla

Beat eggs.  Add sugar, oil, zucchini, and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients.
Pour into greased loaf pan.
Bake 1 hr at 350 degrees.  (It takes a bit longer when you use honey.)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast (I like to cook it with some of my fave Garlic! :) ) 

1 cup chicken broth

2 can cream of chicken

2 can of cream of mushroom

1 can of diced chiles

1 can of diced Jalapenos (optional)

1 onion

1 bag of tortilla chips

3 cups of cheese

1 Can Black Olives (optional)

Directions: 
Chop and saute onion till brown. Mix in crm of chix, crm of mush soup, and Chicken broth. mix until blended. add Jalapenos and chiles. add 4 cooked chicken breasts to sauce and let simmer to a slow boil. in 9x13 casserole dish or baking dish layer chips sauce cheese and repeat for two to three layers or until out of ingredients.Top Layer should be cheese, and sprinkle chopped black olives on top of cheese if desired. Bake in the oven at 350 for 30-45 min until cheese is completely melted. 

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe makes a lot but you can freeze the leftovers in individual servings for later!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, chopped

1 large can of chopped tomatoes

1 can of tomato sauce

1 large onion, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 can black beans, drained (or about 1.5 cups cooked black beans)

1.5 cups frozen corn

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 Tablespoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

4 cups water (or chicken broth)

Optional: 2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder (or 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce chopped fine)

Optional: 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (if you hate cilantro just leave it out, don’t add parsley)

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Additional toppings:
lime wedges
chopped green onion
cilantro
avocado
tortilla chips (or homemade baked/fried strips of corn tortillas)
shredded cheese (cheddar or jack are good!)
salsa
sliced black olives
sour cream (we use Tillamook fat free sour cream and it tastes like full fat to me!)

Directions:

Throw everything into the slow cooker and stir it up.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours. It’s not a big deal if its more like 8-9, you just may want to add a tiny bit of water at the end.
Serve with a squeeze of lime juice, chopped green onion, cilantro, cut up avocado, crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, extra salsa, sliced black olives, and sour cream.

You don’t need to brown anything before throwing it in the crockpot. Just toss it all in. See, didn’t I tell you it was EASY?!
Also, I have a pretty large slow cooker. You can cut the recipe in half if you want to but the leftovers keep well. You can freeze them in individual servings for later!

recipe by http://forealsmom.com/

Molasses Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup whole grain flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon pure maple syrup

white sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375F. In a medium bowl, sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Then add in your molasses and egg; mixing until combined. Slowly add your flour mixture to your wet mixture, mixing until just incorporated. 

Roll dough into tablespoon size balls, then into the white sugar for a coating. Lay your cookies on your lined baking sheet, and place baking sheet in freezer for 5-7 minutes. When you remove your cookie sheet from the freezer, lightly flatten out your dough, just slightly. Bake for 8-9 minutes. If you like your cookies chewy, bake for only 7-8.

From http://www.withloverachel.com

Peanut Butter-White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter, crunchy

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon almond milk (regular milk is fine)

1 tablespoon maple-agave syrup (or vanilla)

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line your baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat. In a large bowl, whip peanut butter, butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, maple-agave, and milk. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Slowly, pour the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in white chocolate chips. Drop tablespoon-size balls of dough onto your baking sheet, about 1-inch apart, and bake for 10-15 minutes. Start checking at 10. Bake until a golden brown. Then, cool.

From http://www.withloverachel.com

Berry Tart Bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Earth Balance (or just butter), room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup preserves of your choice

1 - 1 1/2 full cups of chopped fruit

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish; set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder; set aside. In a large bowl, mix butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Then add your egg yolk. Slowly add your flour mixture to the wet mixture, stirring until fully combined. (** here I normally start to use my hands. You don't want the mixture to be too soft or too wet that it turns into a ball or cookie dough-like. This dough should look a bit crumbly, like cornmeal, in order for the "tart-like" crust to develop. **) Press 3/4 of your dough mixture into the baking dish.

In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup preserves to loosen up. Spread on top of the dough in baking dish, leaving about 1/4 - 1/8 inch room from edges. Cover the entire top of your dough with chopped fruit of your choice, in this case Strawberries and Blueberries. Sprinkle the remaining amount of dough on top of your fruit. 

Place in the oven and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until a lightly gold brown. 

Serve with ice cream on a warm Spring day.

From http://www.withloverachel.com/