Punkin Waffles

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 cups vanilla soymilk

4 eggs

1/4 cup butter or oil

Mix Dry ingredients.

Mix Wet ingredients

Mix all together

Use your waffle iron as directed

Eat or freeze 

Cake Mix Cookies

I've made these before, then Pat re-introduced me to this gem of a recipe!  Easy and good!

1 cake mix
1 stick of butter
1 egg

Mix well.  Roll into teaspoon size balls. 

Bake 350.  9-12 minutes.  Remove to cooling rack after 1-2 minutes

So far I've made...
Lemon with lemon glaze
Spice with pecans & raisins with white frosting (with sprinkles)

Yellow with chocolate frosting(with sprinkles)

Chocolate with peanut butter chips
Cherry Chip with white frosting (with sprinkles)

Soft Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients


1-1/2 cups water (70° to 80°)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3 cups white whole wheat flour

1-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

2-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select basic bread setting. Choose crust color and loaf size if available.

Bake according to bread machine directions (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed). Yield: 1 loaf (16 slices, 2 pounds).


Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 slice) equals 158 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 296 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Soft-Oatmeal-Bread

Grandma Yearwood's Coconut Cake

I couldn't wait to make this cake, I don't know why because on my diet I can't eat it, but this recipe from Trisha Yearwood's cookbook - ONE WORD: WOW!! People who are always happy to get a piece of my cake, were raving and going nuts over this one. Oh boy, let me tell you, not good for you!

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (12-ounce) box vanilla wafers, finely crushed

1 (6-ounce) package frozen grated coconut, thawed

½ cup chopped pecans

Coconut Lemon Glaze (recipe follows)


Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease and flour a 9-inch tube cake pan.

Cream butter and sugar until light and smooth. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well. Mix in vanilla wafer crumbs, coconut and pecans. Pour into the pan and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes. Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack.

Transfer cooled cake to serving plate. Using a toothpick, poke several holes in top of cooled cake and pour glaze over the cake. Makes 12 servings.

Coconut Lemon Glaze: In a medium saucepan, mix 2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, a pinch of salt, grated zest of 2 large lemons, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, 1 ½ cups water and 1 (6-ounce) package frozen grated coconut, thawed. Cook over medium heat, stirring until thickened, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Cream of Anything Soup

Ok, so really? Could I love the Family Feasts for $75 a week book anymore? i don't think so! it's my favorite gift to give, you'd think that seriously I get a kick back, but NO i don't, but I love love love it!

Today I made the mix for Cream of Anything Soup. I like a lot of things about this.
#1 its $.40-$.50 a 'cans worth' cheaper than the 'regular store'
#2 I know what's in it. The more I make my own 'stuff' the more I taste chemicals in the stuff I buy. YUCK! Really? That can't be good for you!!

3 c powdered milk (I got a big box at Aldi's for $4.99)
1 c cornstarch (1 16oz box is around a buck)
1 c powdered chicken boullion (just picked it up at Kroger, used 1.5 containers, $1.89 each)
2 T onion powder
1 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t black pepper

Combine all ingredients in large bowl, mix well. Store tightly covered at room temp for a year.

To make soup, in a pan mix 1/2 c mix with 1 1/4 c water, 1T butter, blend well and bring to a boil cooking 2-3 minutes. Thickens as it cools

Cream of Chicken: as directed
Cream of Celery: add 1/2 c minced celery. YOu can puree soup when it cools if you wish
Cream of Mushroom: 1/2 c minced mushrooms

Panda Style Orange Chicken

I got this recipe from here! YUMMY!!

Chicken

2 lbs chicken, cut up in bite size pieces
1 egg
1 ½ t salt
½ t pepper
1 T oil, plus additional for frying
½ c cornstarch
¼ c all purpose flour

Sauce

¼ sugar
¼ white vinegar
2 T soy sauce
2 T water
zest from orange
1 T from above orange (I added this!)


Stirfry

1 T grated ginger
1 t minced garlic
dash red pepper flakes
¼ c green onions
¼ c water
1 T sesame oil




Place the cubed chicken in a large bowl. Stir in the egg, salt, black pepper, and 1 tablespoon oil. Mix well. Stir 1/2 cup of the cornstarch and the flour together in a large shallow bowl. Add the chicken pieces, a handful or two at a time, and stir to coat evenly. Tap off any excess

Pour about 1 inch of oil in a wok or deep, heavy skillet and heat to 375 F. If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the oil until it starts to ripple in the pan. Add the chicken pieces, a small handful at time, and fry until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside. When cooking the next batch, you will probably need to turn the heat down to keep the chicken from cooking too fast and possibly add a bit more oil.

Once all the chicken is cooked, reserve a couple tablespoons of the oil remaining in the wok in a separate bowl (I just used fresh oil because the excess oil I had was gross with burnt chiky crust in it). Clean the wok.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a large measuring cup and whisk until the sugar dissolves.

Heat the wok for 15 seconds over high heat. Add the reserved oil back into the pan.

Add the stirfry ingredients to pan. Heat through.

Add the sauce and bring to boil. Add the cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed.

Serve with rice or low mein noodles

Hummus

Got this recipe from Family Feast under $75! Seriously, GREAT BOOK! Pick it up on Amazon!

1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 T sesame oil
2 to 3T olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic (you could use just two)
1 t cumin (this scared me a little, but good!!)
1/2 t salt
1/4 pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender, process until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add a little water to preferred consistancy. Serve at room temperature. Store in fridge for 1 week in sealed container.