Honey Glazed Carrots

1 lb. pkg. baby carrots
1 Tbls. butter
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. honey

Boil carrots in water until tender. Drain the excess water. Add the butter soon after draining the water as it will melt faster. Add the salt. Drizzle honey over the carrots. Mix to coat.

We enjoy finding new ways to eat our vegetables, even if it does taste more like a dessert!
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

1/2 cup margarine (I used butter)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
about 24 miniature peanut butter cups

Cream margarine and peanut butter. Add sugars and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, salt and soda. Chill one hour, shape into 1 inch balls. Spray mini-muffin pans with Pam. Put balls into pans and bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Remove and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into the middle of the cookies. Enjoy!

These are SOOO easy! My 6 year old daughter Addi made these ALL BY HERSELF for our family night treat. You HAVE to try these! Enjoy!

Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

5 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1 c. shortening

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. sour cream

2 eggs

2 tsp. baking powder

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Sift in dry ingredients. Chill 1 hour. Roll out the dough and cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

I'm a sucker for soft sugar cookies. I have a FANTASTIC buttercream frosting recipe that compliments these cookies wonderfully, just look it up.

My Favorite Butter Cream Frosting Recipe

3/4 c. butter

3/4 c. shortening

4 2/3 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 c. water

In your kitchen aid (or other mixer) combine butter, shortening, and powdered sugar. Beat until creamy. Add almond extract and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Add water and mix until light and fluffy. Add desired food coloring.

I use this frosting for EVERYTHING! Cakes, Cupcakes, Cookies, Graham crackers, etc. The almond extract gives it a unique and wonderful flavor. Enjoy!

**Great with my homemade soft sugar cookie recipe***

Caramel Apple Dip

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. brown sugar, packed

1/4 c. sugar

1 pkg. (10 oz) English toffee bits (or a couple of crushed scor candy bars)

1 tsp. vanilla

6 medium Tart apples

In a kitchen aid (or other mixing bowl), beat cream cheese, sugars, and vanilla. Fold in toffee bits or scor bar. Serve with apple slices. Serve chilled.

Yummy caramel goodness! Enjoy!

EASY Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box spice cake mix (cake mix only, Do not add ingredients for cake mix such as eggs, oil, or water)
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
12 oz bag mini chocolate chips

Mix ingredients together and drop onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes.


We love these EASY moist autumn time snacks. We hope you do too!

Erika's Pork Chops

This is inspired by my moms "Sunday Pork Chops", but revised by me.

4 boneless porkchops
1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 Tbls. garlic salt

Gravy:
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 Tbls. reserved flour and garlic salt mixture
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 2/3 c. milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. milk

Wash pork chops. Coat the porkchops in the flour and garlic salt mixture. Spray skillet with pam.Brown the pork chops on each side. Put pork chops in the crockpot.
add the reserved flour and garlic salt mixture to skillet with any pork chop drippings. Add 1 1/3 cups milk and chicken bouillon. Stir with a wire wisk until smooth and thickened. add cream of mushroom soup to 1/2 c. milk. Stir. Add gravy mixture to crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours, or until done.

*Serve with rice.

I love this dish. My mom used to make something similar to this growing up. Hunter isn't a big fan of pork, but he absolutly LOVES this dish.

Breadmachine Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Wow! That was a mouthful!

1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees)
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 pkg. active dry yeast

Add ingredients to bread machine in the order listed above. Press dough cycle. When cycle is done take out dough and roll into a long rectangle. Roll up starting with short end and tuck under ends to form a loaf. Let rise in greased loaf pan. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Immediately remove loaf from pan and cool on wire rack

I got this recipe from my cousin JADI's cooking blog. My only complaint, is that I didn't make more!! By the way, this made theeee best toast the next morning! We will be making this often!

Soft and Moist Banana Bread

1/4 c. butter
1 1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. mashed bananas

Cream above Mixture together

Add:

3/4 tsp. salt
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix well


Grease bread pan with pam, and add banana bread batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. This makes 2 loaves.


We LOVE eating warm banana bread with melted butter on top. Ummm. We always like to double the batch and make some for the neighbors.



*Growing up I remember seeing brown bananas on the kitchen counter and being so tempted to throw them away, but I know if I mentioned it to my mom, she would quickly reply.."Don't throw the bananas away, I'm planning on making banana bread". I was so happy when she actually did make the banana bread!