Aunt Karin's Caramel Popcorn

I love caramel corn this time of year! It's one of my favorite treats (that I sadly, can't eat) and it's really easy to make.

You will need:

• 1 cube of butter
• 2 Cups of brown sugar
• 1 Cup of Karo syrup
• 1 Can of sweet&condensed milk
• 3 bags of popcorn

Pop the three bags of popcorn and remove ALL kernels.

In a sauce pan melt butter. Then add sugar and syrup and bring to a boil, make sure sugar is completely dissolved then add can of S&C milk and boil for 4 minuets. Stir occasionally.

Add to your popcorn and ENJOY!

Chocolate zucchini cupcakes

I found this recipe (and many others) on a fellow bloggers website. She has some yummy stuff. Click here to check it out! I'm sure many of you are sick of seeing recipes on zucchini, but this one was pretty tasty!
2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar for about 10 minutes or until thickened and pale. Blend oil and cooled chocolate into the beaten egg mixture.
In a small bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir flour mixture into egg mixture until just blended. Stir in zucchini and mini chocolate chips. Using an ice-cream scoop, spoon batter into 24 paper-lined or greased muffin cups, filling the cups 2/3 full (I think mine were fuller than 2/3).
Bake for 20 minutes or until fork or toothpick inserted in a cupcake's center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans; let cool completely. Spread with chocolate cream cheese frosting below frosting and garnish with walnuts.

Semi-homemade Carrot Cake

Okay, so this is easy and delicious and it tastes like you made it from scratch. (Except I only half made it from scratch!- Which makes this baby SEMI-homemade!)
1 box carrot cake mix + ingredients that it calls for
1 cup shredded coconut

Cream cheese frosting:
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup margarine
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
hot water, as needed

Walnuts, crushed

Mix cake mix according to package directions. Stir in coconut. Bake as directed on box.
Allow cake to cool.
Cream together cream cheese, margarine, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add a little hot water, one teaspoon at a time, until you've reached desired spreading consistency. Spread over cake.
Sprinkle walnuts over top, if desired.

Cool Ranch Salad

This is one of those recipes that comes from a friend of a friend. My good friend, Corey brought this to a shower and everyone inhaled it. It was sooo yummy. I made it the following Sunday to go with my Mexican menu. I just omitted the chicken when I served it, since I already had meat as a main dish. It is good either way. This one is a MUST try!!



1 green pepper diced
1 yellow pepper diced
1 red pepper diced
diced chicken
1 Can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2-1 red onion-diced
1 can jolly green giant white shoe peg corn
1 cucumber diced
2-3 limes
1-2 T rice vinegar
lettuce
tomatoes
1 Avocado (optional)
Cheese (Optional)
One bag cool ranch Doritos

Dressing for salad

1 pkg. dry hidden valley ranch
1 cup mayo
1 cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic
3 tomatillos
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 t cayenne pepper

Directions:
Mix peppers, onion, cucumber, black beans, and corn. Squeeze limes over the top. Add the rice vinegar and chill. Chop up lettuce and tomatoes,and chicken and mix with the chilled mixture. Serve on the side Avocado, cheese, and Chips.

For the dressing just put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Chicken Cream Cheese Soup

1 lb. chicken
1 onion, diced
1-2 tbsp. butter
2 cups baby carrots, sliced small
3-4 potatoes, diced small
1 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
8 oz. package cream cheese

Put chicken in pot and cover with water; boil until cooked. Take chicken out of water but keep the broth. Shred chicken when cool.

Saute onion in butter. Put onion in pot and add carrots and potatoes. Add 4-5 cups of broth or enough to cover vegetables. Add 1 chicken bouillon cube for every cup of broth you add. Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender.

Mix flour with milk and add to soup. Add cream cheese to soup, little pieces at a time and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

*Slow cooker method: Add all ingredients raw into crock pot, except use 3-4 cans chicken broth or until all ingredients are covered. Cook on low 8-10 hours.

Cafe Rio Pork Burritos

The picture here really doesn't do these babies justice. These burritos are the best thing you can imagine. Try them for your next Fiesta or just if you're hankerin' for some good Mexican!

(These were reheated the next day when the picture was taken. These taste- and look- better when they are fresh out of oven!!)

1 Can or small bottle of Coke (not diet)
3 pound pork
1/2-1 cup brown sugar
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 (15 oz.) cans mild green chile sauce, divided
2 cups Mexican cheese or Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic to taste
1 (10 count) pkg. flour tortillas

Garnishes:
chopped tomatoes sour cream
salsa guacamole
lettuce

Marinate the pork overnight in coke in a ziploc bag. In the morning, place pork in slow cooker with the coke marinade. Cook on low approx. 7 hours. Remove pork from slow cooker and drain out liquid. Shred pork in a bowl. Stir in 1 can (or 1 cup) of chile sauce and brown sugar. Place back in slow cooker and let cook for 30 min- 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350*. Spray 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Warm tortillas in microwave so that they are easy to roll.

Pour 1/2 cup chile sauce into prepared pan. Place 1/3 cup of meat mixture down the middle of each tortilla. Sprinkle 1-2 tsp. black beans and 1-2 tsp. cilantro on top of meat. Roll burrito and place seam side down in baking dish. Continue until you've used all tortillas/meat. Pour remaining chile sauce over burritos and sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil and bake 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with desired garnishes.

Zucchini Brownies

Don't let the name fool you! These are the best dang brownies EVER! I should have posted this while everyone had there gardens pumping our more zucchini then they could handle but better late then never!
*P.S.* If you shred your zucchini then freeze it, it will last long into the winter season for you!
BROWNIES:

• 1 1/2 Cup sugar
• 1/2 Cup canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. Vanilla
• 1/4 Cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Cups flour
• 2 Cups finely grated zucchini

FROSTING:

• 1 cube of butter
• 2 tsp. cocoa powder
• 3 cups powder sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1-2 tsp. milk

Brownies: In a large bowl cream together the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine remaining dry ingredients in other bowl and slowly add to cream mix. Mix until combined, don't over mix. Lastly, stir in zucchini.

Bake in 9x13 pan at 350 for 25-28 min

Frosting: Cream everything together until smooth. Add additional milk 1 tsp. at a time if frosting appears to thick. DON'T spread until brownies are completely cooled.

Yield: 12-15

ENJOY!

Coconut Crusted Salmon

4 salmon fillets
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup panko or dried breadcrumbs
1/4 cup sweetened flaky coconut
salt and pepper
Lemon Pepper seasoning (opt.)
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350* F
Coat 9x13 in. baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
Put buttermilk in a shallow bowl and dredge salmon in it, covering completely.
In another shallow bowl combine, breadcrumbs, coconut, and seasonings. Place salmon, one at a time in breadcrumb mixture; coat completely.
Place salmon in baking dish and cover salmon with any remaining crumb mixture. Spray salmon with cooking spray so salmon will be crispy.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until salmon is flaky. Last 5 minutes remove foil.

Garden Fresh Salsa

Mmmm! Nothing like fresh, straight from your very own garden, salsa! (Okay, so I DID have to buy 2 limes and some cilantro, but other than that, it's my very own home-grown goodness!)

The great thing about doing your own salsa is, there is no wrong way to do it. It's pretty much just adding a little of this, a little of that. So, if you don't like the measurements provided, do it your own way. It's your salsa after all. We loved it this way. Not too spicy, but enough of a kick which is perfect for me. Hope you enjoy!!


(15) medium tomatoes
(2) jalapeno peppers, seeds removed
juice from 2 limes
(1) yellow pepper (or green)
(1) green chili
(2) sweet onions (white)
2-3 Tbsp. Cilantro
2 tsp. minced garlic
Salt and Pepper, to taste (We had to add LOTS of salt. Start with approx. 1 tbsp and go from there)



After you're done with all your choppin', throw it all in a big bowl and give it a taste test.
Again, this is all approximate. So do it your own way and you can't go wrong. My husband likes his salsa chunky, so we just chopped his batch. I like mine more pureed, so after we were done choppin' we throw it into a blender. Both ways work great!

This amount of salsa will give you approximately 5 medium sized Kerr jars full. (refer to picture above)

What to do with acorn squash!!!

Cut squash in half

scoop seeds out

In the hollow add:

1 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. honey

1 tbsp. brown sugar

salt and pepper

cook at 375 for one hour on a cookie sheet

SUPER yummy! I even ate it and liked it!!

Posted by: MEG

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Anyone sick of zucchini yet? Well you won't be with this delicious treat. This recipe is from the "Pioneer Woman Cooks" blog. Great stuff.
The zucchini in this cake makes it very moist and with the chocolate is a perfect mix. You'll be wanting seconds with this recipe.



2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1-1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
2 cup zucchini shredded (do not peel)

Grease 9x13 cake pan and preheat oven to 375*.
Combine together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a small bowl mix together vanilla and milk.
In a large bowl, cream with a mixer, sugar, oil and eggs until smooth.
Slowly mix in the dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating with milk and vanilla.
Mix all this until smooth.
Then HAND STIR in the zucchini.
Pour into the baking pan and bake for 25 minutes (or until toothpick inserted comes out clean)
Ice the cake while it is warm. (Not hot)

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa
6 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

In the microwave, melt butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Add in milk, cocoa and vanilla; stir. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Cheesy Zucchini

2 large zucchini, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp. grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook zucchini in hot oil in large skillet on medium heat 3 min., stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook an additional 3 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender.

Remove from heat; stir in mozzarella cheese and basil.

Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese

Easy Chicken Marinade

1 bottle Italian Dressing
1 packet "Crockery Gourmet" seasoning mix for chicken
6 chicken breasts

Place chicken in Ziploc bag. Mix dressing and seasoning in bowl with a wire whisk. Pour over chicken. Close bag and massage bag to cover the dressing over the chicken. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours and then grill. Very tender, juicy and flavorful!

Lion House Zucchini Bread

Anyone like me, have excess zucchini from their garden that they don't know what to do with? Simple solution... make zucchini bread! It's yummy, nutritious, and easy!!






3 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
1 TBSP. vanilla
2 cups zucchini, grated (1 1/2 med. zucchini)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 325*. Grease well 1 large bread pan, or 2 small bread pans. Set aside. In a medium bowl mix together flour, soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a separate, larger bowl beat eggs until light and foamy. Add oil, sugar, vanilla, and zucchini; mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix just until moist. DO NOT over mix. Fold in nuts.
(I did nuts in one pan and chocolate chips in another)
Pour into greased pan(s). Pans should be about 2/3 full. Bake for 45-50 minutes for large pan and 30-35 minutes for small pan or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don't over bake.

Tuna Noodles

Does this website still work? Seems like years since anyone's posted anything. Well, don't worry kids. We're back in business. (For all 4 of you that even look at this blog!)

Now about this dish.....
Sounds weird... looks weird.... tastes delectably delicious. Not a tuna fan? Don't worry. You will LOVE it in this recipe. The best part about it? Takes like minutes to make it. It's one of those "don't feel like cookin" kind of dishes.




1 box Macaroni N' Cheese, cooked to package directions
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tuna fish

Mix the above 3 items together and..... Voila! That's it. Piece of cake. Mmm.... cake. That might have to be my next post!