Basil & Lemon Shortbread

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 T. fresh basil, chopped (or 3 1/2 T. dried basil)
2 T. grated lemon zest, divided
2 3/4 cups flour
pinch of salt
Lemon Glaze

Directions:

1. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add basil, lemon zest, flour and salt. Gently stir until combined.

2. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour. On a floured surface, roll chilled dough to 1/3 inch. Cut out circles or rectangles, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

3. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. Cover with lemon glaze while cookies are slightly warm.

Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar
4-5 drops pure lemon essential oil or lemon extract
2 t. (or more) water

Directions:

1. Gently whisk all ingredients together until all lumps are gone. Drizzle over cooled basil cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Ham, Cheddar and Red Onion Bread Pudding

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That’s right, it’s a savory bread pudding! You could serve this during a brunch or have it for dinner. I served this to some kids I was babysitting, and they gobbled it up and asked for seconds (they did pick out the onions, but hey, I still count it as a win)! Here’s the recipe:
 
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
 
Oil for the dish
4 large eggs
1 1/2 C. whole milk
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 12 oz. loaf French or Italian bread, cut into 1-in. pieces
1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-in.-thick wedges (go ahead and leave the layers together, imagine you are slicing an apple)
1 crisp, tart apple, cut into 1/4-in.-thick wedges (the original recipe calls for a red apple like gala or braeburn, but we found it to not have much flavor after baking, so try a tart apple like granny smith.)
4 oz. sliced ham, torn into pieces (I bought a packaged ham steak, so the ham was nice a thick)
2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
 
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 2 1/2- 3 quart baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, nutmeg, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.

3. Add the bread and let sit, tossing occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
 
Before soaking:
After soaking:

4. Fold the onion, apple, ham, cheese and the rest of the salt and pepper into the bread mixture.

5.Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Cover with foil or lid. Bake 30 minutes then remove foil or lid. Bake another 15-20 minutes until set (a knife inserted in the center comes out clean) and top is browned.
 
Source: adapted from Women’s Day Magazine

D.I.Y. Foaming Hand Soap

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This method of refilling your soap helps reduce and reuse since you’ll use less soap over time and can use an old bottle.

Ingredients:
foaming soap dispenser
water
liquid soap
1. Add water to the soap dispenser, about 3/4 full. Keep in mind the size of your container and the size of the pump when the top is on.
2. Add several pumps of soap or 1-2 squeezes of a large refill container to the water, enough so that once shaken (see step 3) it’s the same watery consistency as it would be if you bought the foaming hand soap as is.
3. With one hand covering the top of the bottle, shake it so the water and soap mix. You don’t want to put the top back on before shaking because if water gets in the pump, it won’t make foam anymore.
4. Screw the top back on and test your soap. It may take a couple pumps to get the right foaminess. (Did you know foaminess is a word? I looked it up to make sure it didn’t need quotation marks.) If it’s still not quite right, adjust soap and water as needed (this part may take some experimenting).
When I first starting using this method, I stuck to clear liquid hand soaps. After experimentation I’ve found it also works with the moisturizing type with a pearly sheen appearance (as pictured), but these soaps do make it a bit harder to get the right soap:water ratio since they’re thicker–so be careful not to add too much.

Source: Myself, basically. Years ago my mom bought some soap pumps from Pampered Chef that caused liquid soap to foam. All you had to do was add soap to a certain line, add water to the top line, and shake. (Yes, my instructions have you put the water in first…I think it sort of “pre-mixes” the solution for you.) So I figured I’d try it on an empty Bath and Body Works dispenser one day, and it worked!

Scones

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2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup brown sugar-packed
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (that’s 1 stick)-and it has to be butter. No margarine.
1 beaten egg yolk
8 oz. sour cream
Mini chocolate chips (I have always used regular chocolate chips), amount desired

Mix together the flour, cocoa, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2-In another bowl cream the butter, egg yolk, and sour cream.
3-Add the two mixtures together and mix.
4-Add chocolate chips & fold those in.
5-Drop by 2 tablespoons on a lined cookie sheet.
6-Bake 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Source: A patron at the library that my sister worked at during school.

Grandma’s Banana Bread

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I’m a simplest when it comes to Banana Bread. No spices, nuts, or chocolate. Just bananas. This recipe is a winner. It’s my grandmas, probably my great-grandma’s. You can’t go wrong with a recipe that has been passed down generations.


Grandma’s Banana Bread 

Ingredients
1 stick margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 large mashed ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Directions
-Cream margarine and sugar, add eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy, add mashed bananas.
-Mix the flour, salt, and soda together and add to the banana mixture. Mix well.
-Bake in sprayed loaf pan at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Mini loaves take about 30 minutes.

Orange Creme French Toast

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We went to Utah’s State Fair several years ago and watched a nice woman make this. It’s so simple and so delicious that we can never go back to the “old flip-flip-fry” way of baking french toast. Take a look, give it a try, and let me know what you think!
 
Ingredients:
6 Slices Thick Bread*
6 Eggs
3/4 Cup Milk
1/2 tsp Orange Flavor
1/2 tsp Mexican Vanilla**
6 Tbsp Sugar
Squirt of fresh orange juice or a few teaspoons of orange juice (optional)
6 Tbsp Butter
 
 

1. Preheat a griddle to 300 – 325 degrees F. (Or a frying pan on your stove to Medium – Med/High heat.)
2. In a shallow dish whisk together eggs, milk, both flavorings, sugar and orange juice.
3. Dip one side of the bread into egg mixture and flip over (as you would normally).
4. Prick the egged side all over with a fork. Flip the slice back over in the egg mixture.
5. Prick the other side all over with a fork.
6. Carefully lift the bread onto a medium-hot griddle, frying pan, etc. Don’t worry if the bread falls apart a little. Just put it all together on the griddle and it’ll cook back together.
7. Cook for 3 – 5 minutes. Flip over. Lather with 1 Tbsp Butter. Cook for another 3 – 5 minutes or until puffy and done. The toast will be soft, but not gooey.

Serve Hot with POWDERED SUGAR.  Please, please, I BEG YOU, do not ruin this with syrup! (Ok, you can if you want. Just don’t tell me, ok?)

*Texas Toast is too thick, Wonder Bread too thin. We use Nature’s Own 100% Wheat Bread, but my FAVORITE when I’m not worrying about calories and fiber and all is Grandma Sycamore’s White Bread (found in Western U.S.). I think Pepperidge Farm’s Country White is excellent, too. Just use a good hearty bread.

**The lady who did the cooking show insisted that imitation vanilla would ruin this recipe, and while I’m not arguing that Mexican Vanilla is DIVINE, imitation is fine.

Source: Utah State Fair–Owner of The 1887 Hansen House Bed and Breakfast Inn, Sandy, UT

~Kara

Key West Chicken

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I <3 (heart) Lime

A little limey marinade, a little heat on the grill…it’s just like you’re in Key West!  And who doesn’t want to be there this time of year?!  
Ingredients:  
3T Soy Sauce
1T Honey
1T Vegetable Oil
1tsp (or more…I like more) Lime Juice
1tsp Chopped Garlic (bottled minced is ok too)
4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
1.  Preheat your grill for high heat. If you’re using thicker whole chicken breasts, use medium or low heat– says the love of my life glaring over my shoulder.  =)  
2.  In a shallow container, blend together the soy sauce, honey, oil, lime juice and garlic.  Slap that chicken in there, flip it a few times like your drenching it in suntan oil, and marinate refrigerated for at least 30 minutes.  The longer you marinate it, the stronger the flavor.  We usually go for about 4-5 hours.  
3.  Lightly oil the grill grate, and grill the chicken for 6-8 minutes (longer for thicker breasts) on each side, until juices run clear.  
4.  Where’s my piña colada? 

Pepperoni Roll Ups

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These pepperoni roll ups are delicous! We have added this recipe to our list of family favorites. I can see so many possibilities with this roll up! You can add anything to these, and everyone will love them!

Pam
cling wrap
Rhodes White Bread Loaves
Olive Oil
1/2 lb. Pepperoni Slices, thin slices from the DELI

*if too spicy for you, then use salomi slices – not spicy and delicous!
1 bag grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of less of parmesean cheese, or romano
Italian Seasonings, a light sprinkle is all you’ll need
Garlic powder
4 TBSP melted butter
marinara suace, optional

Spray baking sheet with Pam and place two frozen loaves onto pan. Spray cling wrap with pam and place over top of the loaves. Let loaves rise for about 7 hours.
Roll dough out to 11×11 square. Brush with olive oil. Lay pepperoni slices out cover the entire square. Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesean cheeses over the pepperoni slices. Don’t over do the parmesean cheese. Sprinkle, very lightly, the italian seasoning over the square. Sprinkle garlic powder over the square. Roll up loaves. Brush butter over tops of the pepperoni Rolls.
Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees. for 15-25 min. The tops of the pepperoni rolls should be lightly brown and hollow when you thump them.
Serve immediatly. You may serve this with marinara suace for dipping.

Cottage Ranch Dip

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In an attempt to eat healthier and also to sneak some more protein in my diet, I came up with the recipe for veggie dip.  It’s easy and even cottage cheese haters (like my husband) will be fooled that it’s not a traditional fatty dip.

It helps tremendously to have a Magic Bullet-type blender thingy, but you can use a regular blender too.

Ingredients:
16-ounce container small curd cottage cheese (lowfat)
1 envelop ranch dip or dressing mix (I used Hidden Valley Harvest Dill Dips Mix)
sour cream to taste (I used about 1/4 cup)
milk to thin

1.  Place ingredients in a blender, adding milk to thin to the desired consistency.  (With the Magic Bullet type blender, you may have to place half the cottage cheese in, blend, then add the rest, and blend.)
2.  Refrigerate for a few hours for flavors to blend.  Serve with your choice of veggies.

Makes about 2 1/4 cups

Source:  a Julie original

Love: The Lodestar of Life

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“Love, like faith, is a gift of God. It is also the most enduring and most powerful virtue.”

“Love is the only force that can erase the differences between people or bridge the chasms of bitterness.”

“Love is the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is not found only at the end of the rainbow. Love is at the beginning also, and from it springs the beauty that arches across the sky on a stormy day. Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. How rich are those who enjoy it in their associations with family, friends, and neighbors!” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing For Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Our Homes, pg 3.)

I am thankful for the love my Heavenly Father has shown me through those around me. Love shown through the countless acts of kindness rendered in my, and my family’s behalf–each appreciated immensely. I hope that I can repay those kindnesses by serving those around me with love and compassion. With Charity. For isn’t this why we’re here on earth? To buoy one another up?

For “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40)

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