Orange Chicken ~ By Caroline

This recipe is very similar to the Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken only with a distinctly tangy flavor! The red pepper also makes it pleasantly spicy! : -)   I prepared the chicken almost the same way as in the Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken, but decided not to bake it to keep the chicken's "crunchy" coating.

Sauce
4 1/2 c. water
2/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 TB grated orange zest
3 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. red pepper
1 tsp. salt
4 TB cornstarch
3 TB water

Chicken
4 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup cornstarch
3-4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.  Place cornstarch and beaten eggs in separate bowls.  Dip chicken into cornstarch then coat in egg mixture.  Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until browned. Place on paper-towel covered cookie sheet to allow drainage. Mix all sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch/water to sauce until the desired thickness. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until chicken is ready. Once all chicken has been cooked, combine with the sauce and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Source: Unknown

The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe . . . Ever☺- By Valerie

Our parents' special 25th wedding anniversary was on Tuesday and I wanted to make a cake to celebrate.  We have several "tried and true" cake recipes, but I wanted to try a new recipe. I was hoping for a chocolate cake that would be very moist and have a really dark chocolate color and rich flavor.  I looked up the "best☺" chocolate cake recipe and found  this one!  We all really enjoyed this cake and I think it has definitely become a new favorite.  The recipe calls for espresso powder in both the cake and butter-cream frosting which was all new to us and we didn't have any on hand.  So, we did some research on possible substitutes and found that you can use instant coffee granules after they have been ground in a food processor.  Also you should double the amount of instant coffee as espresso powder. Hope you enjoy!

 

Chocolate Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 cup milk

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
2. For the cake:
3. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
4. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
5. Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.

Perfect Chocolate Butter-cream Frosting

 Ingredients

• 1½ cups butter (3 sticks), softened
• 1 cup cocoa
• 5 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ½ cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon espresso powder

Instructions

1. Add cocoa to a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps.
2. Cream together butter and cocoa powder until well-combined.
3. Add sugar and milk to cocoa mixture by adding 1 cup of sugar followed by about a tablespoon of milk. After each addition has been combined, turn mixer onto a high speed for about a minute. Repeat until all sugar and milk have been added.
4. Add vanilla extract and espresso powder and combine well.
5. If frosting appears too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. If it appears to wet and does not hold its form, add more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.

Source: Addapinch.com

Pizza Crust ~ By Victoria

My family enjoys pizza on a regular basis... at least a couple times a month! 

We double this recipe, but if you like thin crust pizza,

just use the recipe as written below. :)

I doubled the recipe for the pizzas in these pictures.

 

2 cups of flour

2 1/2 tsps. of yeast

3/4 cup of hot water

1 TB of sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1 TB of canola oil



Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Mix everything in a mixing bowl together as it is listed. 

Once the dough is well blended and looks smooth,

roll out your crust and bake it on a pizza pan for about 5 minutes.

After it has cooked for a few minutes, put the pizza sauce and other desired toppings on.

Bake the whole thing for another 15 minutes or so.

 

Source:  Dear friend from church.  Thanks, Vicki!  : -)

Sugar Cookies - By Valerie

We LOVE these sugar cookies!!  It has been a family favorite ever since my mom received the recipe from her grade-school friend's grandmother.  (We usually double the recipe because we know these cookies do not last long around our house.☺)  They are especially fun as you can decorate them with different sprinkles for any and every celebration/different season! This is a very special recipe, as the nutmeg adds such great flavor!  We are thrilled to share it with you and hope you enjoy trying it out sometime.

1/2 cup Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Beat the Crisco and sugar together until light and fluffy then add the vanilla and eggs and mix until combined.  Whisk together the four remaining ingredients and then add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix.  Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness.  Bake for 5-8 minutes.  Once cooled frost with your favorite frosting and decorate.

No Bake Energy Bites~ By Lydia

1c. Oatmeal 
1/2 c. Peanut Butter
1/3 c. Honey 
1 c.Sweetened Coconut Flakes
1/2 c. Dried Cranberries 
1/2 c. Ground Flax seed
1tsp. Vanilla

Mix all ingredients and chill for 30 minutes.  Roll into balls and store in the fridge. 

Variations:  I used an extra cup of oatmeal instead of the coconut flakes and 1/4 c whole flaxseeds instead of ground because I love the "crunch!"  The original recipe uses chocolate chips instead of dried cranberries, but I didn't have any chocolate chips on hand and the cranberries are delicious!

These are a perfect sweet snack before or after a run.  I also like to grab one early in the morning before milking to help me wake up!

Adapted from: www.gimmesomeoven.com

Glazed Meat Loaf ~ by Caroline

Our family is very thankful to have fresh-off-the-farm ground beef.  And since it is relatively inexpensive to feed to our large family and easy to use, we seem to use it quite a bit! We like this meatloaf recipe, as it is very tasty and has a vegetable hidden in it!  It is also handy on busy days to make it early, refrigerate, and then cook just before dinner.  Then, if there are any leftovers, it makes for great meatloaf sandwiches the next day!

2 eggs, beaten
2/3 c. milk
1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. crushed saltines (about 30 crackers)
1 c. finely shredded carrots (we use our mini food processor)
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp, salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 pounds lean ground beef

Glaze
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. ketchup
2 TB Dijon mustard

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, cheese, saltines, carrots, onion, salt, garlic powder and pepper.  Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.  Shape into a loaf.  Place in greased 13 X 9 in. baking dish.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.

For glaze, in a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, ketchup and mustard to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes or until heated through.  Spoon over meat loaf.  Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.  Drain; let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.  Makes approximately 12 servings. 

Source:  Taste of Home magazine

Banana Bars ~ By Victoria

 

These moist and flavorful banana bars are certainly a favorite around here, even for Daddy who won’t eat bananas plain! J They are super easy to make and this is a great way to use over-ripe bananas!

1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3-4 bananas, mashed
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Cream shortening and sugar, then add milk, vanilla and bananas.   Mix flour, baking soda and salt together.   Add to wet mixture and stir just until moistened.

Pour into greased and floured jelly roll pan.   Bake for approx. 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Glaze (We double this)

2 TB. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
2 TB. milk.

Source:  This recipe was handed down from our beloved Gma Jerke, who went to be with the Lord Dec. 7, 2013.  We took the photo on a table runner she gave us a few years ago.  : -)