Fondant

This recipe is from about.com.

Marshmallow Fondant is an easy fondant made of marshmallows, water, and powdered sugar. It’s simple to make, and many prefer the taste over regular fondant, since it tastes like very sweet marshmallows. You can use marshmallow fondant as you would regular fondant, to cover cakes, form shapes, and make candy. Be warned that it tends to get sticky in moist places, so it doesn’t hold up as well as regular fondant when placed over frosting and refrigerated for days. This recipe yields 1.5 lbs of fondant, and can easily be halved or doubled.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces miniature marshmallows (4 cups not packed, or half of a 16-ounce bag)
• 1 pound powdered sugar (4 cups), plus extra for dusting
• 2 tbsp water
• Food coloring or flavored extracts, optional

Preparation:

1. Dust your counter or a large cutting board with powdered sugar. Place the marshmallows and the water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded.

2. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If some unmelted marshmallow pieces remain, return to the microwave for 30-45 seconds, until the marshmallow mixture is entirely smooth and free of lumps. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. If you want to create multiple colors or flavors from one batch of fondant, do not add the colors or flavors now. Instead, refer to step 6 below for instructions.

3. Add the powdered sugar and begin to stir with the spatula. Stir until the sugar begins to incorporate and it becomes impossible to stir anymore.

4. Scrape the marshmallow-sugar mixture out onto the prepared work surface. It will be sticky and lumpy, with lots of sugar that has not been incorporated yet--this is normal. Dust your hands with powdered sugar, and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, working the sugar into the marshmallow with your hands.

5. Continue to knead the fondant until it smoothes out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary, but stop adding sugar once it is smooth--too much sugar will make it stiff and difficult to work with. Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it, or wrap it in cling wrap to use later. Well-wrapped fondant can be stored in a cool room or in the refrigerator, and needs to be kneaded until supple before later use.

6. If you want to add coloring or flavoring to your fondant, flatten it into a round disc. You might want to wear gloves to avoid getting food coloring on your hands during this step. Add your desired amount of coloring or flavoring to the center of the disc, and fold the disc over on itself so that the color or flavor is enclosed in the center of the fondant ball.

7. Begin to knead the ball of fondant just like you did before. As you work it, you will begin to see streaks of color coming through from the center. Continue to knead until the streaks are gone and the fondant is a uniform color. Your fondant is now ready to be used or stored as outlined above.

Cheesy Zucchini Boats

I have been looking for other things to do with my zucchini and I found this recipe on a allrecipes. I loved it!! Aaron liked it too. I cut each in four pieces and I only ate two. Aaron ate the rest! So If you have company or kids who eat veggies I would double the recipe. I ate this with grilled chicken and couscous, It turned out just right.

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• 1 medium zucchini
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup soft bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup small cherry tomatoes halved
• 2 tablespoons shredded cheese
• I tried mozzarella on one half and feta on the other. Both really yummy!

Directions

1. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; scoop out and reserve pulp, leaving 1/4-in. shells. Place zucchini shells, cut side down, in a skillet. Add water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes or until tender; drain.
2. Turn shells cut side up; sprinkle with salt. Chop zucchini pulp, onions and tomatoes; saute in a small saucepan in butter for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in bread crumbs and any seasoning you want, garlic powder, pepper, and basil works well. Spoon into the zucchini shells; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook over medium heat (with no added water) for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
3. You can broil it too to melt the cheese.

BBQ Meatballs

Teresa's Yummy BBQ Meatballs are so good!! I found the picture. Its franks hot meatballs but they look the same right?? Okay I like the picture.

11/2 lbs hamburger
sm. evaporated milk
1cup of oats
1/4 tsp.pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 egg
1/2 cup onion
1tsp. salt
1tsp.chili powder--sometimes i leave this out if i don't have it.
mix all ingredients and form into balls into a greased 9x13 pan
make a sauce with next 4 ingredients

1 cup ketchup
1cup tomato sauce
1cup brown sugar
2T of liquid smoke

Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 for 50-60 min. I always double this and hardly ever measure anything, but you get the general idea.

Enchilada Casserol

I got this recipe from a craft magazine. I made this a few nights ago and Aaron asked me to make it again and it hasn't even been a week. He really liked it. I made it under 30 mins too. I added black beans in my layers too because Hali loves them.

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion (I used dried)

1 can 8oz tomato sauce ( I made some)

1/2 cup water

2 tsp chili powder

4 corn tortillas

1 cup shredded cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

1 can black beans (optional)

Cook in a frying pan the beef and onions. When done drain and add seasonings, sauce and water. Let it simmer for a few minutes until its not so liquidy. Then layer in a microwavable dish-tortilla, meat and cheese. Heat in the microwave for 3 mins or until cheese has melted. Then on top add sour cream and a few diced tomatoes and olives if you want.

French Dip with Au-jus

We love french Dip! We make it when ever roast beef goes on sale. Yummy! I had never had it until Aaron and Jared made it for our first valentines together. It's quick and feeds a lot of people. Great with a nice Cesar salad and homemade French fries!!

1 Loaf French Bread

8 -12 oz of mushrooms

1 onion

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 pkg Au jus 0r bullion

1 lb roast beef

Saute the mushrooms and onions in a large frying pan. In the mean time cut open the loaf of bread, spread out the roast beef, sprinkle 1 cup of cheese on each side of the loaf of bread. Then when the onions are pretty clear spread it over the cheese. Then put it in the oven on a cookie sheet @ 400 F for 10-15 mins.

Roasted Chicken with Acorn Squash

• 1 acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick

• 1 pound mushrooms, trimmed and halved

• 1 large red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges

• 8 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

• 4 bone-in chicken breast halves (10 ounces each)

• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the squash, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and oil in a roasting pan; season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast until the squash is beginning to soften and all the vegetables are heated through, about 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, lift up the skin from the chicken breasts; rub the flesh with rosemary and some salt and pepper. Replace the skin; season the chicken all over with more salt.

3. Remove the roasting pan from the oven, and place the chicken, skin side up, on top of the vegetables. Return to the oven; continue roasting until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 35 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Put 3/4 cup of couscous in a glass bowl; pour in boiling water. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; let stand 5 minutes. Uncover; fluff with a fork. Serve couscous with squash, mushrooms and chicken. Use the sauce at the bottom of the pan for rich flavor

I got bountiful baskets this week with acorn squash and mushrooms. So I decided to make dinner with them and chicken and some onions This recipe just fit perfectly with what I was thinking. This recipe is from Martha Stewart. I used regular breast with no skin and they turned out very moist and wonderful tasting. This recipe was so good my kids even loved it. I added the couscous and it went perfectly. I can't wait to make it again.

Crunchy Honey Mustard Chicken Fingers

Serves 4

1 pound chicken tenders

1/4 cup honey, warmed

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1 cup corn flakes, crushed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a small bowl, mix mustard and honey together. In another bowl, place the crushed corn flakes.

In assembly line fashion, dip the chicken tender in the mustard mixture, then roll in the corn flakes and place on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.