Prestons Favorite Recipe

Sometime ago Ruby made the family Shepherds Pie. She got the recipe from a cookbook, that we had bought her, for kids. We have modified the recipe somewhat since then but we still make it often. It is absolutely Preston's favorite recipe. He often ask for it, and when we do have it he always has seconds, and sometimes thirds!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Fresh From the Oven

Each year at Halloween, Angela makes us a batch of roasted pumkin seeds! The kids and I love them. They are easy to make, the hardest part is getting the gunk cleaned from the seeds.

Photo taken: November 1, 2008

Whats for Dinner?

Angela had dinner cooking all day in the crock pot. She was cooking up chicken stew for us. This afternoon I saw her mixing baking soda with water. "What are you doing with that?", I asked. "Making the gravy", she said. I thought it odd, but shrugged it off. She's the cook she knows what she is doing.

"It's never done this" I heard Angela say. I looked over at the stove and the stew was foaming over the top! It hit me! "You used baking soda instead of cornstarch"!

She is going to kill me for posting this, but sometimes I just can't help myself!

Not one of my favorite recipes! ;-)

Baking Soda Stew

Photo taken: October 26, 2008

Pico De Gallo

While on or recent trip to Las Vegas, cousin Patty Larez put on an awesome feed for us. One of the dishes she made was Pico De Gallo. Since returning we have made it several times, and it has become a family favorite!



The kids love it! It makes for a great after school snack. We also use it as a filler for taco's. Some how it disappears during the middle of the night. Hmm... wonder where it goes?

You can adjust the ingredients to your own taste. Again thanks to Patty for this great recipe!

Picture taken: October 24, 2008

South Carolina Cobbler

Grandma Marie (Angela's side) use to sell Avon and I bought several cookbooks from her. One year on my birthday she gave me a cookbook. In it I found this recipe! It is awesome. We use to make it all the time. Tonight Angela wanted me to type up the recipe so she could take it to Relief Society to share. This is truly my favorite cobbler recipe. Try it, you will like it!

The recipe is from the 1999 Taste of Home Annual Recipes.

Pluot Jam

Angela spent a good part of the day making pluot jam. What is a pluot you ask? It is a cross hybrid of a plum and an apricot, being 3/4 plum and 1/4 apricot. You can read all about it here, if your so inclined. They are very delicious. We have never tried pluot jam before, but if licking the spoon is any indication of how good the finished product is going to be, it will be a hit with our family. We used a recipe that I found online. Check it out here. Ruby helped by pulling off all the stems and washing the fruit.

Ruby Washes the Fruit

Angela Chops it Up

Cooking It

Poured Into Pint Jars

Pulling it From the Hot Water Bath

Here Those Lids Pop!

I will let you know how good it is in a day or two!

Photos taken: September 20, 2008

Potatoes au Gratin

Preston likes this dish so much, that when there is leftovers he will have Angela heat it up for his after school snack! It is a top family favorite! Try it, it may become a favorite in your family too!

Navy Bean Bacon Chowder

Angela made this chowder a couple of Sunday's ago. Sunday usually means something from the crockpot and this recipe was an instant HIT! We all loved it!

Craig's Southwestern Pork Stew

This is a great stew! The cumin and green chilies give it a bit of a Southwestern flair!

I hope you enjoy it!

The Dinner

Saturday afternoon we had a holiday dinner. Boy were there some good food served up. Racheal made her pomegranate fruit salad, we had turkey, garlic mashed potato's, and all the trimmings. I am going to share some of our families best recipes starting with Kerrie's stuffed sausage mushrooms. They are the best! She certainly wins the award for the best appetizer! Yum Yum!

Photo taken: December 22, 2007

Hot Cocoa Deluxe (with caramel)!

There is nothing quite like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold winters night! It has been very cold and snowy the last week, and snow is in the forecast for the next several days. So tonight we made our special hot cocoa. It is oh so much better than the powder and hot water stuff from the store. I hope you enjoy our families recipe for the best hot cocoa you'll ever taste!


Photo taken: December 15, 2007

Blueberrie Cheese Pie

This is absolutely a family favorite! Angela has made this cheese pie for many occasions and it is often requested from others for her to make! I love it! and it is great for the holidays!

It has two parts. First a recipe for the crust, and then the recipe for the pie.

Try this one, you will not be disappointed!

Apple-Orange Crannberry Sauce

There are many of you who would be surprised how much I cook. I often cook breakfast for the family, especially on weekends, but even during the week on occasion. And of coarse many of our summer time meals come straight off the grill, of which I am the Chef!

And then there are the special occasions. I usually end up baking pies or cooking some of the side dishes, while Angela takes care of most everything else. This cranberry dish is one that I found and tried for Thanksgiving several years ago. It comes from a Williams Sonoma cookbook. It is very very good, and I have cooked it up for thanksgiving meals many times over the past years. This year is no exception. We will be in Ely at Grandma and pa Howes' house, and I have been volunteered to make the cranberry sauce.

I would recommend having someone other than the head chef do this one. It does take some time and attention to complete it. That is why I usually end up with the assignment!

Latter this week I will share an awesome creamed onion recipe for the holidays!

Enjoy!

Baked Parmesan Chops

This is - by far - my favorite recipe for pork chops! I absolutely love them! Simple but oh so good!

Bleu Cheese Dressing

If you like bleu cheese dressing this is the recipe for you. I love this recipe! I often make this to enjoy my hot wings with, but it is also very good as a salad dressing.

For another great recipe that is a little out of the ordinary try Oyakudon. I found this dish from Tiffany at the Schmelter family funny farm. I am not sure how you pronounce the name, but it sure is good!

Grape Weenies

This recipe has been a family favorite for a very long time. My mother-in-law makes these Delicious weenies for many occasions. From summer picnics to New Years Eve these weenies are sure to please! Yummy!

Hawaiian Chicken Wings

I love chicken wings. Mostly hot wings, but I have tried them all. I eat a batch of wings at least once a week.

This recipe is one of my favorites. It is not very hot at all, even with the jalapeno peppers, but it sure is good. They are MUCH BETTER when they are HOT AND FRESH. They just are not as good when they are cold or re-heated.

Enjoy!

Antelope Steak Deluxe

I have never cared much for Antelope. When Angela told me she was making Antelope for dinner tonight, I wasn't very thrilled; However, when dinner was served I was pleasantly surprised. It was very good.

The recipe is from the book above. This is another book that I acquired from Mr. Behling.

Busy Day Swiss Steak

Craig's Favorite Recipes

In 1988 I accepted a position with British Petroleum Minerals America (BPMA) at their Alligator Ridge gold mine in Eastern Nevada. There I met a Mining Engineer by the name of Thomas Behling. Tom and I became close friends. BPMA was bought by Rio Tinto and the name of their North American operations where changed to Kennecott. In December of 1989 I transferred to their new operation, the Denton Rawhide Mine near Fallon Nevada. Tom transferred to Rawhide a few months after I did.

Tom was a very intelligent individual. His social skills were lacking, so he didn't have many friends. He use to talk on the phone with Professor Stephen Hawking on a somewhat regular basis discussing his theories with him. Tom wrote a book titled "Introducing Life into Physics". He was a devout catholic, but never married. In 2001 Toms health took a turn for the worse. He had some serious heart problems. Soon he was force to retire. He just couldn't work with his poor health. In 2002 Tom was traveling in Minnesota to visit family. I received a call from Toms sister to let me know that Tom had taken ill and had lost his life. Tom was in his early 50's.

Soon after Toms death I was surprised to learn that Tom had willed many of his possessions to me. Mostly his hunting, fishing, and camping equipment. But also all his books. The books included some cookbooks of his. Tom had on occasion invited Angela and I to his house for dinner. This recipe was found in one of those cookbooks, Southern Living, Cookbook from 1967. We have often cooked this dish, because it is easy, it taste great, and it is good for the tougher meats, like round steak. It makes them very tender.

Now that was a long story to get to a short recipe, but here goes;

Busy Day Swiss Steak

1 tbsp. butter
1 pkg. of dry onion soup mix
2 lbs. of steak (top round, cube steak)
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

dot the center of a large sheet of heavy duty foil with the butter. Sprinkle half of the dry soup mix. Place the steak over this; spread with the mushroom soup. Sprinkle the remaining dried soup mix. Fold the foil over tightly closing, making sure to pull the ends up to avoid leaking. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 1 hour.

This dish is great with either mashed potatoes or baked potato. There is lots of 'gravy'.

Enjoy.

Cream Cheese Chicken

Craig's Favorite Recipes

I have decided to share some of my favorite recipes. Most of these are going to be a recipe made by someone other than myself, but I have thoroughly enjoyed. I have been the benefactor of many great dishes from three great cooks. My wife Angela, my mother, and my mother-in-law.

This first recipe is one that Angela made last Sunday. Sunday usually means a dinner from the crock pot. Angela throws in a roast and some vegetables, or some other dish, and sets it to cook before church. When we get home dinner is ready. This works out quite nice especially when, like now, we go to church in the afternoon. Currently church for us starts at 11:00 am and is over at 2:00 pm. So we miss lunch and have an early dinner.

Last Sunday we had Cream Cheese Chicken. The first time I was treated to this dish was at my sister Susan's house. I am not sure that the recipe is exactly the same as Angela uses, but Susan's is close. Here is Angela's recipe;

Cream Cheese Chicken

4 - chicken breast (boneless skinless)
2 - 8 oz bricks of cream cheese
2 - envelopes of dry Italian dressing mix
2 - cans of cream of chicken soup

Mix the last three ingredients together thoroughly in the crock pot.
Place the chicken on top.
Set the crock pot to low and cook for 4 hours.

We like it served on wheat Penne pasta, but you can serve it with any pasta or rice you like.

Personally I like it on noodles, not rice. I am sure you great cooks out there can adjust the recipe to fit your family. 4 chicken breast is just right for us.

Give it a try, and if you like, let me know what you think.