Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies)

I'm not sure why we call this Puppy Chow, but we do and it is good!

1 Box Rice Chex (12.8 oz)
2 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cube Margarine (Room temp)
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
Powdered Sugar

In a pan, melt chocolate, peanut butter, and margarine that is room temperature together over medium heat. Constantly stir. Do not over cook. When melted, remove from heat and add vanilla. Mix with cereal until evenly coated. Place in Zip Lock bag and add powdered sugar. I do about 1/4 of the batch at a time. Be generous with your powdered sugar so all you see is white, but not too much.

Funny story, a few years ago I was making this and while melting the chocolate mixture, it turned into fudge. Which was actually really good. The next few times I made it, it did the same thing! The only thing that I did differently was that I used butter and it wasn't room temp. It may have been on too high a heat or cooked for too long, too. Anyway, I added some marshmallows and graham crackers to the "fudge" and it was really yummy.

Turkey Steak Sandwiches

Turkey Steaks
Rosette Buns
Litehouse Thousand Island Dressing
Olive Oil
DeVerle's Seasoning
Tomatoes
Lettuce
And whatever else you like on a sandwich

Soooo yummy. And living in Arizona, I've been deprived of these for too long.
For those in Cache Valley, Utah, or anyone who has ever been to Juniper Take Out or Maddox, you know what I'm talking about.

When I was in high school, I worked at a restaurant in Logan, Utah, called Juniper Take Out. I may have been the best employee ever. Every penny I ever made went straight back into their pockets because I could not stay away from their food. I basically worked for food. Sadly, their prices have sky rocketed, and as a poor med student's wife, I can no longer afford their extremely delicious food. (Hint Hint, Kirk) So I have found an alternative. You can buy at almost any local (northern Utah) grocery store, frozen turkey steaks from Maddox. I then buy some of the best buns out there, rosette buns from the bakery that's located in Macey's in Providence. And honestly, they're better buns than what Juniper uses. Sorry Juniper.

And then this is what I do.

Defrost turkey steaks in microwave completely.
Warm up your griddle that you would normally use for pancakes, etc. to medium high. If you don't have a griddle, a frying pan works just fine. With a griddle you can cook a lot more at one time and it's easier to handle.
Cover the surface you'll use in olive oil.
Place the turkey steaks in the olive oil making sure they're completely coated. Move the steaks over and place more olive oil on the griddle. Then flip the turkey steaks, covering the other sides in olive oil. After each side is oiled up, generously sprinkle the DeVerle's Seasoning on both sides. Turn occasionally until browned to your liking. Then turn the heat down to medium and let them cook through without burning.
Place on rosette bun with Litehouse Thousand Island Dressing and if you'd like to add tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and whatever else, please do.

Meatball Subs

I've never had a meatball sub, but the idea came to me today and it sounded pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised and this will definitely be coming back.

Hoagie Buns
Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 Cup Olive Oil

Meatballs:
1 lb Hamburger
1 Egg
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 Tbsp. Garlic Salt

Put all ingredients for meatballs in a bowl and mix well. Form into 1 x 1 inch balls. Place olive oil on a 9 x 13 baking sheet and put the meatballs on that. Cook at 350 for 20 minutes.

Warm spaghetti sauce in a pan, do not add meatballs.  Many recipes that I read said to do that, which I did but some of the grease from the meatballs thinned the sauce and made it runny.

Cut hoagie buns almost all the way through and put face up on a 9 x 13 baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Cover both sides of the hoagie bun with mozzarella cheese. Broil in the oven until cheese is melted.

Place meatballs and sauce on hoagie buns. To make it easier to eat, you can cut the meatballs in half and lay flat side down.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

My boys wouldn't eat a meatball sub so they opted for Spaghetti & Meatballs. Sorry it's not the best picture, the steam kept getting in the way.

Navajo Tacos

Fry Bread:
1 batch of my Mom's Homemade Roll dough
Vegetable Oil

Filling:
1 lb Hamburger
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1 Tbsp. Mustard
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 can Tomatoes
1 can Pinto Beans - drained
2 tsp. Garlic Salt

Topppings:
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream
Guacamole

Make roll dough recipe.
About 20 minutes before the dough is finished, start browning the hamburger. Remove grease and add all ingredients except the garlic salt. Cover and let simmer for about 20 mintues. Then add garlic salt.

Fill frying pan about 1 inch tall with vegetable oil and get it hot. Then fry the bread one at a time unless your pan is big enough. Place on paper towels and pat dry. When finished, place the filling and whatever toppings you would like on top of the fry bread.

An easier way to do this (and probably what I'll do from now on just for the sake of time and effort) is to use cans of chili instead of making your own filling. It was pretty good, though!

Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies

For the addicts and soon to be addicts of the Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies



At a relief society planning meeting, the host bought us Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies. It was one of the most addicting and delicious sugar cookies I've ever had. And of course, I thought to myself, I'm sure I can find a recipe for those online. Which I did. Yay! I googled Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies and this site came up. I will say that they don't taste 100% the same but like 97%. Pretty close.

Don't substitute regular flour for cake flour. I couldn't find it at Walmart, but did find it at Albertsons. Follow the directions exactly!


Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups shortening
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg, beaten
4 1/3 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
sugar, for decorating

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugars and shortening using an electric mixer.
3. Mix on slow speed 30 seconds, then scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
4. Increase speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes.
5. Slowly add vanilla and beaten egg while mixing.
6. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, mixing on slow speed until just blended. Do not overmix.
7. Scoop with an ice-cream scoop and roll in sugar.
8. Place directly on cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with palm of hand.
9. Bake at 375° for 9-10 minutes. Cookies are done when small cracks appear and are pale golden. Ideally, the edges do not brown.

I was following the directions for baking them, but they just didn't seem done so I let them go a couple minutes longer. I should have stopped sooner. The first batch are the ones on the right with bigger cracks. The following batches I cooked for just enough time. They're both really yummy, though.

Strawberry Salad

This is a very summery salad but it's still 80 here in AZ so I think it's still ok.

1 Head of Romaine
1 lb of Stawberries
1 Cup of sliced Red Grapes

Poppy Seed Dressing:1/2 Cup Mayo
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Poppy Seeds

Add all ingredients for poppy seed dressing and wisk until well mixed. Put in fridge until salad is put together.

Wash lettuce, strawberries, and grapes. Cut lettuce if not already. Slice strawberries & grapes and add to salad.
Wisk dressing again and add to salad right before serving so the salad won't wilt.