Mexican Noodle Soup

Ximena's Favorite!

Ingredients: 

         *1 cup"LA MORENA" Mexican Pasta (you can can get this at a mexican store or even at walmart in the mexican seccion) 

         * 1/2 a cup of onion
         * Olive oil (I use Extra virgin, but you can use regular too)

         * One roman tomato 

         * 1/2 a bouillon cube (available at a mexican store or at walmart)

         * 3 cups of water
         * half a clove of garlic 

Direction: 

First you chop a Tbs of the onion. Then, in the blender you add the garlic, tomato, bouillon, the rest of the onion, and water. Blend until liquidly. Next, in a pot you put a small amount of olive oil, the chopped onion, and the mexican pasta. Toasted on the stuff on medium low for about 3 minutes and mix it while in fire (do not let it burn :)). Finally, you add the blend covering the pot, reduce the fire and let it boil for about 10 minutes (you can be checking if the pasta is ready by taking out a little bit of the pot).
ENJOY!!

HOMEMADE MAPLE SYRUP

I loved Heather's pancake recipe, and thought this was the perfect chance to share the easiest homemade maple syrup recipe ever. It's so heavenly, we don't buy it at the store anymore!

1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
{you can make as much or as little of this as you want, just keep everything in equal parts}

Stir water and sugars in a sauce pan on medium high heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Let it boil for about 5-7 minutes. Then add to your boiling mixture:

2 tsp maple flavoring
4 tsp vanilla

Stir well and allow to boil for another 2 minutes or so. Promptly remove from heat and pour syrup into a bowl, bottle, or container {if you leave it in the hot pan, it caramelizes and gets too thick} and it's done! Enjoy over waffles, french toast, pancakes, etc.

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

My husband is a breakfast traditionalist (it is his favorite meal after all) and when he found out I was going to make these pancakes instead of the store bought pre-packaged stuff he was EXTREMELY hesitant. He begged me not to do it.

I did it anyways.

Now he begs for these. The pre-packaged stuff is now a last resort when I'm too lazy to cook and he has to do it himself.

I HIGHLY recommend these.

Ingredients:
1 C flour
1 T sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C buttermilk
2 T & 2tsp milk
1 egg
1 T and 2 1/4 tsp butter
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
1) In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt

2) In a seperate bowl beat buttermilk, milk, eggs, vanilla, and melted better. (**Make sure the melted butter is cooled a bit. If not the buttermilk will clump and you risk cooking the egg.)

Keep mixtures separate until you are ready to cook the pancakes. Combine and cook on a griddle.

Enjoy!

Helpful Tip:
Did you know you can freeze buttermilk? Poor 1 tablespoon portions of buttermilk into an ice cube tray and freeze. Now, whenever you need buttermilk for a recipe just pull out the right amount of cubes.  No more wasting buttermilk!

Baked Potato Soup

This recipe was given to me by Cassie Goodman who received it from Cami Miller.

(The recipe is HUGE but I make the whole thing and freeze the leftovers).

8 baking potatoes
1 1/3 cup of butter
1 1/3 cup of flour
12 cups of milk
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
8 green onions
24 slices of bacon
2 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp)
16 oz sour cream
2 Tbs chicken base

Wash/scrub and poke potatoes. Bake at 400 for 1 hour or until done. Let cool. Cut into cubes (as small as possible without falling apart--think bit size). Leave skins on.
Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Gradually add milk. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture is thick and bubbly (takes about 20-30 minutes to get thick). Add potato cubes, salt, pepper, green onions, crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, and chicken base. Cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in sour cream. Add extra milk if necessary for desired thickness. Garnish with addition bacon, cheese and green onions.

It is a little time consuming but so worth it! Great for a chilly fall day. Yum!

BROWN SUGAR GARLIC CHICKEN

Another easy crock-pot dinner that is delicious! This dish can be as spicy or mild as you wish. It's tangy and sweet all at the same time. It's a staple in our house.

Ingredients:
4 Chicken breasts
1 C brown sugar
2/3 C vinegar
1/4 C Lemon Lime Soda
2-3 T minced garlic
2 T soy sauce
1 t pepper
2 T cornstarch
2 T water

Rice or noodles cooked
Red pepper flakes

Instructions:
1) Spray slow cooker with cooking spray, place chicken breasts inside

2) Mix brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, pepper together and pour over chicken.

3) Cook low 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

4) Take chicken out, poor sauce into saucepan

5) Add cornstarch to water (mix well), add to sauce and bring to boil. Cook until a glaze. Shred chicken if desired. Serve over rice or noodles (we always do rice). Add red pepper flakes on top if desired. 

**My husband and I like our food spicy so I always add about 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes to step 2, and let it cook with everything else.

Enjoy!


This recipe originally came from Six Sister's Stuff. They have lots of delicious recipes, check them out! 

SMASHED POTATOES

picture via the pioneer woman

YOU GUYS!

I made these for the Elders last week and they seriously licked their plates. They were SO GOOD!

Find detailed instructions HERE

You'll need:

• 12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Black Pepper To Taste
• Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste {I used a garlic herb mix I had on hand}

Instructions:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.