Trent's Easy Soda Syrup

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 packages of Kool-Aid

Stir sugar into water until dissolved. Bring sugar and water to a rolling boil.  Remove from heat.  Stir in Kool-Aid packets and let cool. 

Use 1/2 cup of syrup with 1 liter of carbonated water to make flavored soda.

Refrigerate remaining syrup.

Snappy Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients:
20 Cherry tomatoes
2/3 C cheddar cheese, shredded
½ C whole kernel corn (I use frozen)
1 pkg. of cream cheese, softened
2 green onions, sliced
½ tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Cut top off of each tomato. Using a spoon or melon baller, remove the seeds and pulp. (I pick bigger cherry tomatoes…it makes this step SOOO much easier!)
2. Combine cheddar cheese, corn, cream cheese, onions and cayenne. Mix well.
3. Fill tomatoes with cheese mixture. (I piped mine.)
4. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
5. Garnish with cilantro and green onions, if desired.


*These are super yummy! It won me a Magic Bullet at a Relief Society mid week meeting!

Kathy's Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 pkg chocolate cake mix (I absolutely think that Betty Crocker is the best)
1 pkg instant pudding (vanilla or chocolate)
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix all above ingredients together. Beat for 3 minutes. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Bale at 350 for 45 minutes (sooner if your oven cooks hot, you don't want it to be dry). Cool.
Frost with chocolate frosting or buttercream frosting with chocolate shavings.
(Kathy)
 
VARIATIONS:
 
Too Much Chocolate Cake
from AllRecipes
1 pkg devil's food cake mix
1 pkg (5.9 ounce) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
(Merideth)
 
Wendy's Variation
1 pkg chocolate cake mix
1 large package of instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
 
Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 T. butter
1 T. corn syrup
1 t. vanilla

Snickerdoodle Bars

2 1/3 Cup Flour
1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Margarine (soft)
1 1/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup packed Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla


Cinnamon Filling
2 T Sugar
1 ½ T Cinnamon


Glaze
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
2 T Milk
1/4 tsp Vanilla


Preheat oven to 350. Spray/ Grease 9x13 pan. Bottom only!
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. (set aside) Beat margarine until creamy, beat in sugars. Gradually add in eggs and vanilla. Then add slowly to dry ingredients.
Spoon 1/2 batter into pan- spread evenly then sprinkle with cinnamon filling.
Dollop teaspoons of remaining batter over the cinnamon filling.
Bake 20-25 min until golden brown.( the last 5 min go really fast don't overcook)
Cool completely then mix glaze and drizzle over bars.
Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
1 Cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 Tablespoons pure vanilla
1/4 Cup burnt caramel sauce (you can use any caramel sauce here)
3 3/4 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
12 oz bag mini chocolate chips
1 1/2 Cups chopped good quality chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in the eggs and vanilla following the caramel sauce until well combined.
2. Place the flour, salt and baking soda into a large bowl; mix. Slowly add to wet ingredients then the chocolate chips. Save chunks for later.
3. Place 1/4 Cup of cookie dough and place into muffin top cups. Press down then sprinkle with a pinch or two of sea salt then press chocolate chunks over top. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until just golden around edges. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Serve with milk!!
18 Large cookies

Merideth’s note: I don’t have a muffin top pan, so I just made regular cookies on a sheet. They were plenty big. I also just used regular caramel ice cream topping.

Apple Dippin’ Peanut Butter Cookies

1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
3/4 Cup vanilla flavored granola clusters
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup diced apples, about 1/4 inch, I used fuji
1/2 Cup turbinado sugar, or other sugar of choice to roll cookies in

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until light mixed well. Beat in peanut butter until combined then add the egg and vanilla until well combined.
2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, granola, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix into the wet ingredients following the apples until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough, roll into sugar then place onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. With tines of a fork, press down slightly making an X on top of each cookie. Bake for 8-9 minutes, cookies should look somewhat soft inside when you take them out. Let cool/finish baking out of oven for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
3. Grab some milk and dig in!

3 dozen cookies

Blue and White Oatmeal Chippers

1 Cup softened unsalted butter
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 Cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 Cup quick oats
1 1/2 Cups frozen blueberries
1 Cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 bag white chocolate chips (12oz)

1. In a stand mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar and sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Slowly add flour, baking soda, salt, quick oats, blueberries, coconut and chocolate chips until just combined.
2. Chill dough for a few hours until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Drop or scoop dough by the Tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet and Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges start to crisp. Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Date Nut Bread (for bread machine)

nonstick cooking spray
1 cup chopped dates
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
¾ cup granulated sugar
1¾ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped walnuts

Coat the inside of the bread pan fitted with the kneading paddle with nonstick cooking spray. Place all ingredients, in order listed, into the bread pan and secure the pan into the Cuisinart® Automatic Bread Maker. Press menu button to select the Cake/Quick Bread program. Press Start/Stop to mix and bake. While the batter is mixing, scrape the sides of the bread pan with a rubber spatula to fully incorporate ingredients. When cycle is complete, remove from bread pan and place on wire rack to cool completely for best slicing results.

Apple Pie Muffins

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3 cups diced apples

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 18 cup muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups.

In a large bowl, stir together 2 1/4 cups flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the egg, buttermilk, 1/2 cup melted butter, vanilla and 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar until sugar has dissolved. Pour into the flour mixture and sprinkle the diced apple into the bowl as well. Stir just until everything is blended. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin, filling the cups to the top.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour and cinnamon. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of melted butter while tossing with a fork until well blended. Sprinkle this over the tops of the muffins.

Bake for 20-22 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed.

Brownie Chunk and Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups cubed prepared brownies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment or silpat liner.

2. Place butter and sugars into the bowl of a stand or electric mixer, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until well combined.

3. Place flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips and brownie chunks until just combined.

4. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until cooked through. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chunk Blondies

1/4 Cup butter
3/4 Cup white chocolate chips
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup white chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons sour cream
1/2 Cup pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
pinch of kosher salt
1/4 Cup chopped crystallized/candied ginger
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
4-5 Tablespoons heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in a microwave safe dish until melted and hot. Pour in chocolate chips, let sit for a minute then stir until melted. Set aside. In a large bowl add sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and white chips. Stir in melted chocolate. Beat eggs and sour cream into a small bowl, then mix into main bowl. Stir in pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until just combined then pour into a foil lined 8×8 inch baking pan that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with 1/4 Cup chopped candied ginger. Bake for 28-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool completely, cut into squares then refrigerate (so much better chilled, trust me on this one

2. Mix heavy cream and powdered sugar in small bowl until smooth, drizzle over blondies just before serving.

**I have never made it with the ginger and it is GREAT without!

Cranberry Jello Salad

1 (16 oz) can jellied cranberry sauce
1 (16.5 oz) can pitted dark sweet cherries, drained
10 1/2 oz crushed pineapple with juice
1 (6 ox) package cherry jello
2 cups boiling water
1 C chopped pecans (optional - I didn't put them in)

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the cranberry sauce.
2. Cut cherries in pieces and add them to the melted sauce. Stir in the pineapple with its juice. Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, pour boiling water over gelatin. Stir until dissolved.
4. Add the jello to the cranberry mixture and stir. Stir in optional nuts. Pour into a 9x13 and chill until set.
5. Top with sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

*This is mom's recipe. I made it for Christmas and it was a hit!

Canned Chicken

Our local stores have chicken breasts for $1.39 this week so I pulled out my never-used-before pressure cooker and tried canning chicken. I was a little nervous because of an infamous family story of my Grandma Coombs' pressure cooker blowing up while full of red beets (no one was hurt, but the walls were RED!).

I thawed the frozen chicken by placing it into a bowl of warm water for about 20 minutes. This is about five pounds of chicken. I did a total of 20 lbs. My 16-quart pressure cooker states that it will process 10 pints at a time, but it really only did 8 - maybe because I used wide-mouth jars. Each jar held about one pound of chicken.

When it was completely thawed, I trimmed off any fat on the chicken (which wasn't much). I then put the raw breasts into clean jars with about 1 inch of head space. I didn't add any water. I could have added a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, but because the chicken had already been injected with some broth, I choose not to add the salt.

After fastening lids and rings onto the pint jars, I placed them into my pressure cooker with 3 quarts of water and fastened the lid (the water amount will vary - see your own pressure cooker manual for specific instructions).

My pressure cooker manual states to cook meats at 13 pounds of pressure (adjusted for my own altitude of 5700 feet) for 75 minutes (90 minutes for quarts).

I think this was the hardest part of processing the chicken. Every pressure cooker works differently. I had to carefully read the manual several times. Make sure to read yours carefully for water amounts, pressure required, and processing times (always adjusting for altitude as described in your manual). I vented mine for 10 minutes, added the weight, processed for 75 minutes and then let the cooker drop pressure and cool. It required some watching to maintain the pressure at 13 pounds. By the third batch, I had a pretty good idea of where to set my stove top and was able to get some other things done.

This is the result! I did 20 pints of chicken (each pint is about one pound of chicken). Prepping the chicken was easy. Learning to use the pressure cooker was a little harder, but now that I've done it, I won't be hesitant to do it again!

Liege Waffles

We were introduced to these at Bruges in Salt Lake City. I got a Belgian Waffle Maker for Christmas so tonight we gave it a try. These are NOT a traditional batter waffle. Instead, they use yeast and rise like a bread dough. Pearl sugar, which is not easy to find, adds a caramelized crunch. They are more of a dessert than a breakfast. Divine!

Liege Waffle Recipe:

2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
3 eggs
1 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups pearl sugar

1.Sprinkle the yeast and white sugar over warm milk in a small bowl. The milk should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 15 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
2.Whisk the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract into the yeast mixture until evenly blended; set aside. Stir together the flour and salt in a separate large bowl, and make a well in the center. Pour the egg mixture into the well, then stir in the flour mixture until a soft dough forms. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Gently mix in the pearl sugar.
3.Preheat a waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.
4.Place a baseball-size ball of dough on the preheated waffle iron. Cook waffles until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Allow waffles to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

Source: All Recipes

Strawberry Colada Cookies with Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

1 box strawberry cake mix
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 TB Cream of Coconut
1 tsp coconut extract
2 eggs

Frosting:
6 oz softened cream cheese
1 TB + 1 tsp softened butter
2 1/4 C powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp milk

1C shredded coconut toasted in the oven until golden brown (@ 350*)

1. Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl, mix cake mix, oil, eggs, extract and cream of coconut until combined. With a cookie scoop, scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Do not press down. Bake for 11-15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

2. Place cream cheese and butter in a bowl. Mix until smooth. Slowly add in powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Spread frosting on top of cookies, then sprinkle or dip in toasted coconut.

Makes about 30 cookies

Orange Lovelies

3/4 C shortening
1 C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 C flour
1 C cooked carrots (basically 1 can drained)
1 C nuts (optional)

Cream sugar and shortening. Add egg and beat well. Add all other ingredients, mix well. Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes. While warm, ice with frosting.

Frosting:

3 TB tangerine juice
1 C powdered sugar
grated tangerine rind (to taste)
pinch of salt