Cook Challenge: Dinner in November!

Get ready for our first Cook Challenge: Dinner in November!

How to play:

* Pick 7 consecutive days during the month of November where you will blog about each evening's dinner, whether it was Fillet Minion, PB & J or McDonald's.

* Post a recipe and picture for each meal (no need to post the recipe to McDonald's Double Stack Quarter Pounder--what? you don't get that?--just post a picture of it. How fun is that?).

* Title your post like so: "MONDAY at Gina's house: Lasagna with Green Salad" or "THURSDAY at Gina's house: Take Out from Joy Luck"

* Add this label to each of your posts: "Cook Challenge: Dinner in November"

Have fun!

cake in a cup

Ingredients-
1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg beaters)
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil (or applesauce)
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
you can nuts to if your a nutty kind-o person.

Small splash of vanilla

Directions-

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
put some ice cream on top or caramel, or hot fudge, the possibilities are really endless :)

Butternut Squash and Curried Apple Soup

I love fall, because I love soup!

Again, I cooked for others, so didn't think to take a picture until I was all cleaned up. But standing on the right, that's my newest toy. I've always wanted one. Pouring hot soup into a blender or food processor has never been a talent of mine. I finally got a handy dandy hand blender.However did I survive without it? (I can actually answer that - with burns spotting my arms and hands whenever pureeing soup.)

Ingredients
4 T butter

2 c yellow onion, finely chopped

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 T curry powder

2 green apples, peeled, seeded and chopped

3 c chicken broth

1 ½ t Tabasco sauce

1 t salt

¼ t marjoram

¼ t rosemary

1 c apple juice

Salt and pepper

Sour cream

Instructions

Melt butter in pot. Add onion and curry. Cover and cook for 20 minutes on low.

Add squash, apples, broth, sauce, salt, marjoram and rosemary.

Bring to boil, reduce and simmer for 25 minutes.

Puree soup in processor, return to pot and add juice.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with dollop of sour cream and apple slices atop.

apple bread.

a perfect autumn treat! it turned out delicious.

ingredients:

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white or brown sugar {i used brown}
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup chopped, unpeeled apples
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp grated lemon zest {optional}
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
sugar for sprinkling

directions:

beat oil, sugar and eggs together. sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt. add to apple mixture. do not overmix. pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. sprinkle top with sugar. bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes.

note:

if you don't want large apple chunks, i'm sure you could use grated or more finely chopped apples.

Navajo Tacos

When my mom use to live on the reservation in southern Utah, she learned how to make some great Indian food including fantastic, authentic Navajo Tacos. However, I'm sorry to disappoint because this recipe is not the authentic one (I gave up hand-making my Navajo Bread about two years into my marriage), this is the quick 'n easy version using my favorite thing in all of the world: Rhodes Rolls. Just as yummy. And waaaaay quicker. Don't tell the Navajo Indians though, because I'm sure my method is on the brink of being deemed sacrilegious. :)

However, I still follow Navajo tradition by making a small hole in my dough before I fry it to "let the evil spirits out". Try it, it's fun!

Enjoy!

ingredients:

1-2 cans of your favorite chili

lettuce, sliced and diced

tomatoes, diced

cheddar cheese, shredded

sour cream

Rhodes Rolls (approx. 2 per/person)

veg. oil for frying

instructions

Thaw your frozen Rhodes Rolls (I put my frozen rolls in a Ziploc baggie, then place it in a sink full our lukewarm water for about 30 minutes). Pour about 1/2-1 inch thick of oil into a small frying pan. Allow oil to heat (on medium heat) for about 5 minutes or until you think the oil has reached a moderately hot temperature. Stretch out thawed roll into a circle just a bit larger than your hand (Don't forget to make a small hole in it to let the evil spirit outs!). Place in oil to fry, flipping it over and over until both sides are golden brown.

Serve each fried taco with chili and other optional taco toppings.

Time: prep=30min, cooking=20min

Serves: as many as you cook!

Sweet Chex Mix

Sweet Chex Mix

1 c. Karo Syrup
1c. Sugar
3/4 c. butter (not margarine)
A pinch of baking soda
18 c. of mixed Golden Grahams and Rice Chex*

Preheat oven to 250.

Bring first three ingredients to a boil on the stove top, then add the baking soda.
Stir over the cereal mix to coat evenly.
Spread over a large cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread on a sheet of wax paper to cool, breaking up the pieces.

*You can use any combo of the two cereals to equal 18 cups, or you can change it up a bit, using some of your favorite cereal or nuts.

Swedish Tea Ring

This is a General Conference tradition that started for me in college. My roommate baked this treat for us, a lifelong tradition in her family. Now I keep it going in my life, sharing it with other roommates and friends over the years. Now I share it with you.

Swedish Tea Ring (in order of preparation)

Ingredients and Instructions #1
1 package (or 2 1/4 t) Dry Yeast
1/4 warm water

*Combine and set aside to rise

Ingredients and Instructions #2
1 c scalded (boiled) milk
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c butter
1 t salt

*Combine in pot and bring to a boil. Set aside to cool.

Ingredients and Instructions #3
3 1/2 c flour
1 egg

*Add 1 1/2 c flour to the warm milk mixture and mix well (I just use a wooden spoon). Add the yeast mixture and the egg (still using the spoon). Then gradually add the rest of the flour (now I use my hands to knead it).

*Allow dough to rise for an hour, it should double in size. Punch down and divide into two or you can just make one huge ring with all the dough.

Ingredients and Instructions #4
1/4 c melted butter
brown sugar
cinnamon

*Roll the dough out into a rectangle (think cinnamon rolls here). Spread the butter over the dough and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. (optional: you can also add raisins or nuts, etc). Roll the dough up like cinnamon rolls or a jelly roll.
*OK, now stop thinking cinnamon rolls. Set the roll in ring shape into a 9" pie dish, if you are making two rings, or onto a cookie sheet, if making just one. Pinch the ends together creating a full ring/circle with the dough.
*Take a pair of kitchen scissors and cut 3/4 of the way into the center of the ring all around the ring (I space out my cuts 2-3 inches - as pictured below)


*Allow the dough to rise as you heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes for one ring and 22-25 minutes for two.

Ingredients and Instructions #5
1 c powdered sugar
Enough milk to create a glaze

*Pour the glaze atop the hot bread and serve.

Yummy!