Crunchy Pomegranate Salad

I need to stop telling you all my best recipes, so I have something good to make when you visit!! I'm getting really excited for the Holiday's and have to share one of our favorite, and most requested recipe. Oh yeah, and about visiting and holidays...mark your calanders because I am planning a BIG and FANCY, Thanksgiving 2012 since we'll be done with school and have a house (crossing fingers), most likely in Idaho. Everyone is welcome to come!

Anyways- on to the recipe...
This comes from Taste of Homes Holiday Celebrations 2009.

Crunchy Pomegranate Salad

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups pomegranate seeds (about 2 pomegranates) * I only use 1 and it's plenty!!*
  
• 2 medium apples, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

• In a large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in pomegranate seeds and apples. Sprinkle with pecans. Serve immediately. Yield: 16 servings (1/2 cup each).

If you like this then you better come see us for 2012!!

Kaitlyn's Recipe

Kaitlyn and Sarah both love to "cook", and they make up their own recipes all the time. When we got back from taking the big kids to school this morning, she decided that instead of the usual cereal and milk, that she would make her own recipe. I let her do it completely on her own. At the end she tasted it, and thought it was pretty good. I tasted it too, and honestly it wasn't that bad. Though I don't really recommend anyone actually making it, she was just so proud of it, I told her she should write down her new recipe. She was super excited about that, and got out her school writing paper and a pencil. I helped her with the spelling. So, here's Kaitlyn's recipe for your veiwing pleasure

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Homemade Hamburger Buns

This is the most tastey bread I have ever made. I love these homemade hamburger buns. I won't buy store bought ever again. I like to make a double batch and freeze a bunch so I have them on hand. They are so mouth watering good. Whenever I make them we just have to have sloppy joes or a hamburger.

This recipe is from Annie's Eats. And if you're cool like me and don't have a kitchen aid then you have to mix it by hand, which isn't too bad on this recipe.

Light Brioche Burger Buns
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. warm milk

1 cup warm water
2 tsp. instant yeast
2½ tbsp. sugar
1½ tsp. salt
1 large egg
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2½ tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

For topping:
1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp. water, for egg wash
Sesame seeds

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt and egg. Mix briefly to combine. Add the flours to the bowl, and mix until incorporated. Mix in the butter. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for about 6-8 minutes. The dough will be somewhat tacky, but you want to avoid adding too much extra flour which will create tough buns.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Using a dough scraper, divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each portion of dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart. Cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise again, 1-2 hours, until puffed up and nearly doubled.

Set a large metal pan of water on the lowest rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F with a rack in the center. Brush the tops of the buns lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake the buns about 15 minutes rotating halfway through baking, until the tops are golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Remember they freeze well! Make a double batch!

Easy Yummy Bean Soup

A friend of mine just told me how to make this last week. She was watching our kids one evening at dinner time, and had made this soup that she said they loved. I couldn't believe how easy it was. While I was making it, I kept thinking, "This can't be good with such basic ingredients" . But it is.

Ingredients:

1lb package of dry beans-can be lentils, or a combination pack. I use a 15 bean bag.

1 package of hot dogs- The yummy kind.

1 link of sausage -I'm talking the big fat link sausage that's like 6-8" long and 1" thick

Directions:

1. Rinse the dry beans to eliminate any small stones or debris.

2. Place the beans in a large pot and cover them with 2" water.

3. Bring to full boil then turn down but keep it boiling for an hour to soften the beans. You may want to skim off some of the foam after a while.

4. Cut up the hot dogs and sausage and put them in with the beans. Let simmer for another 1 1/2 hours. Add water as necessary for desired thickness.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

We're making this for dinner tonight since it's soooo cold down here!! This came from allrecipes.com. I changed it a bit, it called for beer which I substituted with chicken broth. It also originally called for 2 cans of the tomatoes and green chilis, but I thought that would make it too spicy for us, so I just put one in. We're looking forward to it tonight!

Ingredients
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can of chicken broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (ro-tel original)
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• crushed tortilla chips (optional)
Directions
1. Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn,  chicken broth, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours. (If your in a hurry, just boil the chicken breasts on the stove top, shred them and then add them to the rest of the soup)
2. Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

I found this recipe off the Food Network. It's Alton Brown recipe for The Best Ever Green Bean Casserole. We loved it! Much better than the canned stuff and pretty easy to do. However, I did try to make my own onions like the recipe shows but I only cooked them for half the time and they were all burnt and nasty. I then looked up the reviews on this recipe and everyone had problems with the onions. So we did like many of them, just make the bean and sauce and added the French's onions. It was very yummy. Will be making this instead of the canned stuff from now on.

For beans and sauce:

• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup half-and-half

Directions

For beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

McGiffin family stuffing

Here's a post on our blog of how we make our family's old-fashioned sage dressing. It's a very plain recipe, but it something all the kids can help with and it tastes like home on Thanksgiving.
http://hfdozenroses.blogspot.com/2010/11/stuffing.html