Grilled Potatoes

This is a staple for my family whenever we eat meat...which is a lot! These potatoes seem to please everyone, we never have enough to go around! Amanda made them for us first, and now they are made in every home! I like to add sweet potatoes in...but Cody doesn't like them so I don't do it every time.

From: Amanda

10 yukon gold or red potatoes

1/2 cup EVOO

Alpine touch

Dry ranch seasoning

Slice potatoes into 1/8 to 1/4 in slices and place in large bowl. Toss potatoes with EVOO, and desired amount of Alpine touch and dry ranch seasonings. We are rather generous with the seasonings! Spread in a thin layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes to create even cooking. The longer you cook them the crispier they get...Cody would probably like it if I baked them for over an hour!

Grilled then Baked Porkchops with stuffing and gravy

This is a go-to meal for us. It is definitely not fancy, but it mixes up from our normal menu of chicken, chicken, and more chicken!

2 porkchops

1 box stove top stuffing

1 package pork flavored gravy

Cook the stove top stuffing according to directions. Meanwhile, lightly grease a fry pan and cook porkchops for about 3 minutes on each side, or until almost cooked through. 

Place the cooked stuffing in the bottom of a 8x8 baking dish, and top with the pre-cooked porkchops. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until stuffing has crisp edges and pork is cooked through.

Prepare pork flavored gravy and pour over the top of the baked meal.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Laurel taught me how to make cinnamon rolls. I have never made them before, isn't that a shame!? She was a wonderful teacher. The best part of our cinnamon rolls was our Cream Cheese frosting...it was to die for! So, I thought that I would share this o-so-yummy recipe with you all.

From: Laurel and Chelsea

1 1/8 cup powdered sugar
1/2 stick cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 Tbs. milk
2 Tbs. butter

Cream the cream cheese and butter, then add the milk. Mix in electric mixer. Add powdered sugar and mix. Add vanilla when all is well combined to avoid discoloration.

Caramel French Toast

Okay, honestly, SUGAR BOMB! However, it is a very worthwhile sugar bomb! I think this is a great sweet breakfast to make if you have a lot of people to cook for. It is super easy and fail-proof! Talk about an awesome meal! 

From: Mom

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

3 Tbs. corn syrup

Texas toast bread

5 eggs

1 1/2 cups half and half

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Melt 1/2 cup butter, brown sugar and corn syrup.  Spread into a 13 x 18 cookie sheet. 

Place bread slices in syrup in pan. Mix eggs, cream, salt and vanilla and pour over bread. 

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Tuna Noodle Bake

I have been absolutely, 100% craving this meal for about 3 weeks now. Actually, for about 1 1/2 years! My husband is an anti-tina, anti-casserole kind of man. I honestly think he would laugh, barf, and run out the door to get some fast food if I made this for him for dinner. No, I KNOW that he would do all of those things! However, I adore this meal. My amazing friend made this for me all the time when we were roomies, and I am still addicted. It was a blast from the past...and a delicious one! 

From: Brianne

3 Tbs. milk

1 can cream of chicken soup

12 oz. noodles

1/2 cup shredded cheese

1 can tuna

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and rinse. Mix noodles, milk, tuna, soup, and 1/4 cup cheese together and put into a casserole dish. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake for 20 minutes and Enjoy!

B.S. Cake

Get your mind out of the gutter! It is Bottom Sauce Cake! You silly goof! This is just chocolaty yumminess! (Yumminess must be one of my new fav words...I have been using it quite often!) You absolutely have to serve this with ice cream, or it is too rich for the weaklings...I, on the other had, could down the whole cake plain jane! Like "Bake or Break" said, this will probably not be the prettiest dessert that you will ever serve, but no one will even CARE!

From: Bake Or Break

• 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided into 3/4 cup and 1/2 cup
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons cocoa, divided into 3 tablespoons and 4 tablespoons
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 & 1/2 cups hot water

Stir together 3/4 cup sugar, flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, butter, and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Pour into an ungreased 8-inch square glass baking pan.

In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, and 4 tablespoons cocoa. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour hot water over the top. Do not stir.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Let stand for 15 minutes, then serve. Use the chocolate sauce in the bottom of the pan to spoon over servings. 

Provolone & Pancetta stuffed Chicken Breasts

Cheesy, juicy, crispy goodness...all in one dish. We spotted this recipe in a Williams-Sonoma Magazine...one of me and my husbands obsessions! They have some of the most amazing recipes. Of course, we all change a thing here and there about recipes...so this is my father-in-law and my rendition of provolone and pancetta stuffed chicken breast! We had so much fun making it together and I learned A TON. Thanks Bert!

From: Williams-Sonoma Mag

1 tsp. plus 2 cups olive oil

6 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4 inch dice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs. minced fresh sage

5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/2 inch thick

Salt and Pepper

3 oz. provolone cheese, grated

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 egg whites, lightly beaten

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

3 1/2 cups bread crumbs

In fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 tsp. oil. Cook pancetta until crispy. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Drain on paper towels. Transfer pancetta mixture into small bowl and stir in egg yolks and sage.

Create a pocket in each chicken breast by laying the breast on a work surface with the rounded end closest to you. Insert the knife in the center and move the knife around to enlarge and deepen the opening, forming a pocket, like below.

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Stuff each chicken breast with desired amount of pancetta mixture. The more the better according to the men in the family!

The end farthest away from you is too slim to stuff mixture into without breaking. Using a toothpick, pull end to center of breast and secure.

Put flour, egg whites and bread crumbs in separate bowls. Dredge chicken in flour, then dip into egg whites and coat evenly with bread crumbs, pressing so they adhere. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a wide, shallow pan over high heat, heat 1 1/2 cups oil. Fry chicken in batches for 5-6 minutes. Turn chicken; brown opposite side for 5-6 minutes. 

Bake for approximately 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until cooked through. Drain on paper towels prior to serving.

BBQ Chicken with Citrus Vinaigrette

Good old BBQ Chicken...it can't get any better! For those of you who read my blog regularly, you know that we are big chicken fans. In the summer especially, it is all about the BBQ. My mom tried a new sauce to top our chicken with, and it was o-so-yummy! It is different than others that I have tried, and it is GREAT!

From: Healthy Living Mag and Mom

1 1/2 cups orange juice

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbs. honey

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 Tbs. sesame oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Whisk together first 7 ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low, and simmer, whisking occasionally, 20 minutes or until reduced by half.

Transfer to a medium bowl: cover and  chill one hour, whisking occasionally. Whisk in vegetable oil and remaining ingredients. 

Top already BBQ'd chicken with desired amount of sauce and eat up that BBQ yumminess!

(Sauce can be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 5 days.)

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato fries...is there anything better?! Honestly! Cody and I first ate these at Rumbi Island Grill in Utah. I am sure that there are multiple ways to cook them, this one adds a little flavor. I am also going to try just olive oil and salt and pepper next time to catch more of just the sweet potato flavor. It was a fun way to mix up our meal, and the flavor is just wonderful!

From: Mom

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and washed

1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. onion powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut sweet potato in half lengthwise(1), then in slices from top to bottom(2), then turn onto sides and cut into fry-like strips(3).

Combine olive oil, cumin, chili powder, salt and onion powder in a large bowl. Toss cut strips in sauce.

Next, spread strips on cookie sheet in a thin layer. We ended up having to do 2 cookie sheets instead of one. 

Place sheets in oven and turn strips every 5 minutes. Remove from oven when at desired texture. We like ours a little crispier, this takes 20-30 minutes.

Banana Cream Pie

How do we get fat in the Winerholler home?! PIES! Just kidding! Laurel actually wanted to make this for a neighbor, and it was successful. I L-O-V-E bananas, so this is right down my alley! Once more, thanks to Laurel for teaching me her yummy pie-making skills! I am going to be a pie pro by the end of the summer...Enjoy the recipe.

From: Laurel

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups milk

3 egg yolks

2 Tbs. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 9-inch baked pie shell

1 cup whipping cream

1-2 bananas

Find the Yellow Pie Shell recipe here.

Mix sugar, flour, and salt in a saucepan. Add milk gradually, stirring to blend throughly. Make sure to scrape the sides of the saucepan after adding the milk to prevent the flour mixture from scorching to the side while cooking. Bring mixture to a full boil over medium heat, stirring constantly (about 12 minutes). Reduce heat to a low boil and continue to stir for 4 minutes (mixture will be pudding texture). Temper the egg yolks gradually then add to the cooked filling. Bring again to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Cool about 5 minutes.

Pour a small amount of pudding into pie shell and top with a layer of bananas. 

Repeat 3 times or until desired amount of banana is in pie.

When layers are complete, refrigerate for approx. 1 hour.

Remove the pie from the refrigerator and top with sweetened whipped cream!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Laurel, my mother in-law, and I made a lemon meringue pie! We had a lot of fun making it because neither of us has made this kind of pie before! It was fun to experiment and put our heads together to see what we came out with...however, it was pretty much just Laurel's head because this is only the second pie I have made in my ENTIRE LIFE! It was pretty much delicious! And, once more, the credit goes to...WENDY! Thank heavens for amazing sister in-laws!

Yellow Pie Crust Recipe From: Laurel

Meringue and Filling Recipe From: Wendy Winterholler

Yellow Pie Crust:

1 1/8 cup flour

1 Tbs. sugar

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup butter flavored crisco

2 Tbs. cold water

Combine flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in crisco like so:

When all mixture is crumbly, add water, 1 Tbs. at a time, and toss with fork after each addition. Mix lightly. After dough is throughly mixed, press dough into a loose ball. DO NOT TIGHTLY PACK DOUGH. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

After refrigeration, roll dough out until approx. 1/4 inch thick. Place into pie pan. Leave 1-inch rim of dough along outer edges of your pan. Form a  rim on edge of pan by pinching with fingers. Prick bottom and side thoroughly with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool prior to adding filling.
Meringue:

3 egg whites

2 t. cream of tartar

1/2 t. vanilla

6 Tbs. sugar

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and vanilla until foamy and about double in volume. Soft peaks will begin to form. Gradually add sugar one Tablespoon at a time, beating at highest speed until sugar dissolves and meringue forms firm peaks. The color at this time will also change from white to glossy.

Filling:

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 Tbs. cornstarch

3 Tbs. flour

dash salt

1 1/2 cups HOT water

3 slightly beaten egg yolks

2 Tbs. butter

a light 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice (aka...not quite 1/3 cup)

Mix the sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt in a sauce pan and gradually add hot water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over high heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat and continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes more. (Make sure that you do the full 2 minute cooking times, this allows the fillings to cook and hold its shaped when cooled).

After the mixture has cooked for the above 2 minutes, crack eggs yolks into a DIFFERENT BOWL. Add a small amount of hot mixture to gradually temper the eggs. (Temper=slowly warm up the eggs before adding them to the boiling mixture, if they are added while cold they will immediately cook, yuck!) Then add the eggs to the boiling mixture and bring to a boil again. Cook and Stir for 2 minutes. Remove the hot mixture from the heat and add butter and lemon juice. Stir until well blended (the butter will be melted).

Pour the hot mixture into the pie shell.

Spread meringue over pie fillings making sure to seal the edges completely to the shell to prevent shrinking. We used a small spatula and plopped ping pong ball sizes of meringue on top, then smoothed so there were no holes. I felt like we were getting TOO close to the edges, I was wrong! Exaggerate sealing the meringue to the shell!

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until meringue is a delicate brown. Allow pie to cool for AT LEAST 4 hours on rack away from a draft.

Serve and be amazed!