Cream Cheese "Blondies"

My husband called these 'blondies' because they look like brownies, only they're blond...
They are sortof naughty, because they start with a cake mix...I very rarely bake with premade mixes like that. But these are so yummy, and worth the exception. (Or, if you're resourceful, you could probably figure out how to make a from-scratch 'cake mix' and use that!) Since cake mixes come in gluten-free varieties, this recipe can easily be adapted for that.

Base layer:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
2 eggs
Mix together. It will be pretty thick, like cookie dough. Press it evenly across the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.

Top layer (frosting):
8 oz (on package) soft cream cheese
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
3ish cups powdered sugar (a little more if it seems thin)
Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and eggs and mix well. Gradually add the powdered sugar. It should be about the consistency of frosting--very easily spreadable, but not thin enough to pour. Spread it over the base layer in the pan.

Bake at 325 for about an hour.

Fish (or Chicken) with Veggies & Green Sauce

I couldn't decide what to call this so I enlisted the help of some facebook friends. They suggested "Halibut Fishatore," "Pesce Verde" and, inevitably, we wound up at "Green Fish." Call it what you like, it's yummy!
I had thawed some halibut to make another dish, but when I got ready to begin cooking I realized I had forgotten one of the parts of the recipe (which involved marinating the fish for two hours prior to cooking!). So I had to scrap that recipe and just threw this together on the spot. It may look a little complicated because it has several parts, but really they are all pretty simple. The only thing that's complicated is the sauce (which can burn), but so long as you keep an eye on it and stir it a lot you should be fine.
For those of you who for whom halibut isn't your 'cheap, always-on-hand' meat, you can use tilapia or another white fish, or chicken will also work nicely.

Serves about 6
Prep time--about 30-60 min, depending on whether you use canned/frozen veggies, and whether your meat is thawed.

MEAT

• About 2-3lbs thawed halibut (or chicken breasts/tenders/pieces)
• olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Breadcrumbs

Put about 1/4inch of water in the bottom of a baking dish (1/2" if using chicken since it will cook longer). Put the fish in the dish and shake a little olive oil onto the fish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and breadcrumbs. Put in the oven to bake (about 15-20 min for halibut, 30-45 for chicken, depending on size of pieces...just check it periodically)
Once the meat is in, start on the veggies.

VEGGIES

• 2 potatoes, chopped into 1/2in cubes (peel first if they have tough skins)
  
• 3/4 c peas
• 3/4 c chopped carrots (I used a frozen pea/carrot mix)
• other veggies if you prefer (asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, etc)

Put everything in a little water and steam it until soft/warm. (About 7-10 min should be plenty.) Once that's in, make the sauce. 

SAUCE (this is a homemade version of Costco's spinach-artichoke-parmesan dip, so you could use theirs, just warm it up and thin it with a little milk...but of course homemade always tastes better)

• 4Tbs butter
• 4Tbs flour
• salt, pepper, garlic powder (I did about 1/2tsp salt and 1 Tbs garlic powder...I don't measure.)
• 1 1/2-2 cups of milk (whole is best of course, or cream would be good...)
• 3/4-1 cup of grated cheese (parmisan is ideal, but I didn't have any so I used monterey jack and it was good)
• 2/3-3/4c chopped spinach (I used frozen)
• 1/2-2/3c chopped artichokes (I used canned)

Mix the butter and flour in a saucepan over medium heat to make a rue. Be careful not to let it burn! Mix in spices. Slowly add about 1/4c of milk at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the cheese a little at a time, mixing often. Reduce heat to med-low. Add the chopped veggies and mix well. Let it sit on low heat if the other parts are not ready yet, otherwise bring it all to the table and serve immediately.

Serve the meat and veggies side by side, with the sauce poured over the top of everything.
It's pretty much awesome. All my kids liked it and the four-year-old asked for thirds.

Pitas

I got this recipe from ehow here, however it was lacking in specifics (such as how much yeast to use) so here is my modified/improved version. ☺
These are very simple and easy to make, but do require some patience. Plan to start them at least a couple of hours before you want to eat them.

1 cup warm water
1 pk yeast (2ish tsp)
1 tsp salt
2+ cups of flour

Put warm water into the bowl and carefully sprinkle the yeast over the surface, trying to make every grain get wet. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and then stir to dissolve the yeast. (I often let it sit for 10-15 min, just until it's a bit bubbly)
Add 1 tsp. salt to the yeast mixture. You may choose to add herbs at this point to flavor your pita. Mix until well incorporated.

Add 1 cup of flour and mix until batter cascades down the back of a spoon (or just until it's smooth but not terribly thick--you can use a whisk up to this point). Then, carefully mix in about 3/4 c. flour (you'll need to switch to a wooden spoon) until all the four is absorbed.

Gradually add more  flour 1/4 c. at a time until dough is no longer sticky. You many have to use your hands at this point.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead dough for about 5 minutes. Pour a small amount of oil into a bowl and toss dough in the bowl until lightly coated. (Really, do this, it's worth it.) Cover bowl and let sit in a warm place free from drafts for about 1 hour or until dough is doubled in size.

Punch down dough and knead a couple of times to work out air bubbles. Divide into 12 equal parts.

Dust each piece with flour and roll into circles about 6 inch diameter and 1/ 8 inch thick. Dust each side with flour again and set aside. Allow rolled dough to rest about 10 minutes.

Do NOT stack up the rolled-out pitas for their 10 minute rest. They will stick to each other like crazy! I just roll out a few at a time, setting them in a row on the counter, and as I cook each one, I roll another and stick it in its spot. DO make sure you make it into a ball before rolling it, otherwise you'll get some really weird shapes...

Heat pan on medium-low to medium heat. Allow to reach full heat before you start cooking.

Back off, don't touch it yet!!

Place a pita round on the skillet. When it begins to bubble, rotate it slightly.

NOW you can flip it!

Allow the pita to puff up completely before turning it over to cook on the other side for a minute.

Cool on wire racks.

Beef & Broccoli (in a crockpot)

I adapted this recipe from these two here and here (the links show a standard way to make it in a wok, but this is my crockpot version). My biggest complaint about the B&B I've usually gotten is that the beef is tough and chewy. Using a crockpot seemed like the obvious solution for this, and it works beautifully!
The first time I did this I put the broccoli in at the start with the beef and it turned to grey mush. Don't do that! Save it for the end like the directions say. Also, I found that this really only needed to go for about 4-5 hours, but I had put it in too early so ended up putting it on 'warm' for a few hours in the middle of the day to slow the cooking...it worked, but next time I'll just put it in later in the day. So this is not a leave-it-all-day recipe, but it can be put in in the early afternoon. ☺

[my apologies, I forgot to get a photo of this...but it looks awesome I promise!]

Cooktime--about 4-6 hours

Marinade:
1/3 c oyster sauce (don't try to substitute this, it really is the magic ingredient--you can find it in the Asian section of the grocery store)
1 Tbs Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1-2 tsp soy sauce
1/4-1/3 c rice wine vinegar (in the Asian section) OR rice wine OR cooking sherry (the recipes call for the wine/sherry, I didn't have it so I used the rice vinegar and it was fine. You could probably get away with plain white vinegar, but if you cook much Asian you'll want the rice stuff on hand anyway, so just get it!)
1 Tbs cornstarch (or 2 Tbs flour)
2-4 cloves minced garlic (or 1-2Tbs garlic powder)
1 thin slice of ginger root, shredded (or about 1/4 tsp powdered ginger)

3/4-1 lb beef. Ideally steak cut into strips (can be raw or leftover), but you can also use stew meat or pretty much any cut. I don't recommend leftover roast as it will shred rather than staying in nice chunks.
1 smallish onion, cut into strips
1 small head broccoli, cut up (or about 3/4 lb frozen florettes)

Mix up all the ingredients of the marinade. Put beef in the crockpot (I used a 4qt) and pour the sauce over it and stir around until the beef is well coated. Turn on low. After the first couple of hours, check in on it and see if it's getting done. The meat should be all browned though not thoroughly cooked at this point. Stir it around to keep the sauce distributed, and adjust the cooking temperature up to 'high' or down to 'warm' if you think it's going too slow/fast for when you want to serve dinner.
At about 90 min before dinner time, put in the onion and stir it all around.
At about 60 min before dinner time, put in the broccoli (or 40 min for frozen florettes). Stir it all around.

Serve over rice.

Eggnog Pie

 I got this recipe from allrecipes but of course I tweaked it a bit.We love this pie. Enjoy!

* 1 1/4 cups white sugar
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 cups eggnog
* 3 eggs, beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
* 1 (9 inch) pie crust, uncooked (I used a deep dish pan and that was perfect, I think this would be too much filling for a regular 9inch pan)


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Mix the sugar and flour together in a mixing bowl. Beat in the eggnog, eggs, and vanilla to make a smooth mixture. Stir in the butter. Pour into the prepared pie crust.
3. Bake in preheated oven until the custard is set, 45 to 60 minutes. (The original recipe says a shorter time, but I had to go this long, and most of the people who commented on the recipe said they had to cook it this long as well.) Yes, the top will get kinda dark, but follow the 'set up' guideline, not the color, and you'll get a good pie.

can you see how flaky that crust is? I'm lovin my coconut oil crusts!

Crockpot Omelet Casserole

I got this from a cookbook compiled from ladies at church, but I've modified it quite a bit since then. The original recipe was huge, so I've adapted it to serve about 6 people.
This has some 'western' ingredients, and we like them so we just do it this way...however I'm sure it would be good with olives, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, or whatever you like best in an omelet.
I didn't include a photo because the truth is this one isn't very pretty...the eggs especially end up looking quite weird. But it tastes great! It's convenient to be able to put it in before we go to bed, and then have a hearty breakfast waiting for us when we get up. We like to do it for Christmas morning.

• 2 cups of cubed potatoes (I like using red or gold, with the thin skins, or else peel them. Cut to about 1cm cubes. The original recipe called for using a bag of hash browns, if you do, we like 'country style' best)
• 1/2-3/4 lb pre-cooked meat (cubed leftover ham, sausage, etc)*
• 1 medium onion (about 1/2-3/4 c) chopped 
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped (about 3/4-1c, I often use frozen strips chopped up)
• 1-1 1/2 c grated monterey jack cheese
• 8 eggs
• 2/3 c milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

*the original recipe calls for ham. This last time we didn't have any though, so I used sausage and it was really good. The spiciness did permeate all the other foods, so the other flavors were not as clear...but it was still good!

I used a 4 qt crockpot

Chop all the ingredients. Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the crockpot, followed by a layer of meat then onions, peppers, and cheese. Repeat the layering process two or three more times, ending with a layer of cheese.
In a separate container, beat the eggs, add the milk, salt, and pepper. Pour the mixture around over everything in the crockpot, cover, and turn on low. Cook about 8-10 hours (we find it always gets done in the lesser time).

Pinwheels

 I encountered this idea at a local cafe. It's very simple, and really good! They served the rolls plain, or you could get it sliced in half and get it as a sandwich filled with ham, melted cheese, peppers, onions, and other veggies. 
It's a nice food for taking on picnics and sack lunches, because the whole sandwich is rolled into the bun before it's baked--nothing slides apart en route!

Use your favorite roll recipe (not a sweet roll, just a regular dinner roll)
Roll out the dough as though you were going to make cinnamon rolls, but instead of putting in butter and cinnamon and sugar, put in cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, spinach, bits of ham or bacon, or whatever other savory thing strikes your fancy.
I did ham, spinach, and mozzarella in these ones.
Try turkey with cranberry, beef with swiss, or all kinds of veggie combinations!