jessica's orange julius

the summer after my freshman year of college i went to phoenix to visit my roommate jessica. (here's a picture of us goofballs from that trip at the mesa arizona temple). while i was there she made me an orange julius--better than the real thing, and cheaper to boot. i looove this drink and had sort of forgotten about it until thursday night. we record about 12 shows that night and i always want something yummy to have while watching shows--and this was exactly right. the sweetness of the sugar, tanginess or the orange juice, and crunch of the ice chips was perfect. go make your own tonight--it's soo delish.

all you need is a can of frozen concentrate orange juice, sugar, water, milk, vanilla, and ice cubes. most orange juice cans are 12 oz. but you only need six (ounces). so grab a spoon and scoop half the can into your blender--and use the blender your ex-boyfriend gave you for your wedding. it makes it taste better.


next add a cup of milk,


then a cup of water (i reused my milk measuring cup, hence the cloudy water. i swear our water is clean),


and 2/3 cup of sugar.


pour in a teaspoon of vanilla and then blend for 15 or 20 seconds.


once it's well blended, add 2 cups of ice


and blend again until the ice is chopped up and mixed well with the rest of it.


pour into a fancy glass and serve. you can get about 6 small-ish servings (or 4 generous servings)...or in my case, 1 very very big orange julius. okay, so i shared with my husband. a little bit. now picture this with an orange-slice garnish and a dollop of whipped cream and it would be the perfect party drink.


jess's orange julius

6 oz. frozen concentrate orange juice
1 cup milk
1 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups of ice

combine orange juice, milk, water, sugar, and vanilla in a blender. blend well for 15-20 seconds, then add your ice and blend until ice is all chopped up. serve immediately.

p.s. if you don't like orange, you can use any frozen concentrate juice with this. in fact, the time jess made this for me it wasn't orange. it was some sort of strawberry-banana juice blend, and she cut up a real banana and added it to the mix to make it even healthier/thicker like a smoothie. the possibilities with this are endless.

my version of applebee's clubhouse grill

i was a hostess at applebee's my junior year of high school. one of my favorite things to eat there was the clubhouse grill...basically just a glorified grilled cheese sandwich. here's my version. it's one of the only things i willingly eat at home for lunch. i would rather skip lunch most days if i can't go out. for some reason i don't really like lunch foods (unless it's a burger and fries).

basically, just butter your bread. on the non-buttered side, pour your favorite bbq sauce. put the pieces of bread together to spread the sauce and get some on both sides. then open and put your favorite cheese in (i used colby jack) followed by deli ham. applebees puts mayo and tomato on, but i leave those off. cook in a pan on the buttered side over medium heat until the cheese melts and the bread browns. enjoy!


so really, this is just a ham and cheese sandwich with bbq sauce. and it's SO good. make one today!

cheesy chicken and rice

okay, i'll be honest. this doesn't look all that appetizing in the making. i'm debating just taking the pictures off altogether and giving you the recipe. because this is so delicious that you need the recipe. but if you start making it and think "this looks disgusting" you might stop making it. so let's get your disgust overwith here on the blog, and then you can enjoy it without worrying about it later. let's get started. you'll need one or two chicken breasts, cream of chicken soup, cheddar cheese soup, and a crock pot. that's it, folks.
toss in your chicken,

then mix your soups together,and pour on top.
cook on low all day or high 4-5 hours.
about an hour before we eat i like to add some broccoli, but that's just me. i love cheesy broccoli.
serve over rice.

one of my favorite and easiest dinners ever.

cheesy chicken and rice

two chicken breasts
one can cream of chicken soup
one can cheddar cheese soup
broccoli (optional)

lay the chicken breasts in the crock pot, then pour the combined soups on top. cook all day on low or 4-5 hours on high. add broccoli if desired an hour before eating; serve over rice.

breakfast burritos

you can stop at easily 15 places in albuquerque and get a really great breakfast burrito on a saturday morning. not so in utah, i've found. but sometimes i just gotta have one, so i make my own. super easy, super delish, for breakfast OR dinner. let's get started. you'll need hashbrowns, breakfast meat, eggs, grated cheese, green chile or salsa, and flour tortillas. let's start with hasbhrowns. make some oreida from the package or make your own. i like to do my own. just peel a potato and grate with a cheese grater. use plenty of butter, salt and pepper. melt the butter in the pan first, then add the potatoes. leave them--don't stir!--for a few minutes (4-5) to let them brown and get crispy, them flip them over for a few more.

next, brown some sausage. i just used half a package of the tubular kind for our small family, but if you love sausage, go for the whole thing! you can even do links if you want, just slice them like you would a hot dog for a little kid when they're done. bacon also works in these. so really, just get some of your favorite breakfast meat and cook it next.
browning...
there. this is removed to a paper towel to drain while the eggs cook. sorry about the dark picture, that's about status quo for my kitchen: dark.

next you need scrambled eggs. i like to use my greasy sausage pan for this. break 4 eggs, combine with milk and salt and pepper. stir, then pour into a medium-high pan. stir, scramble, knock yourself out.
mmmm. eggs.
if you've got the real thing, get out some green chile. if not, open a can of hatch. it's the next best thing.
now, assemble. warm up some flour tortillas in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds. add potatoes, eggs, meat, grated cheese, green chile (or salsa works too). don't overdo it, or you won't be able to close the tortilla...kinda like i did here.
now wrap it up, and inhale.
yum.

emily's breakfast burritos

hashbrowns, cooked
breakfast meat, cooked (sausage or bacon)
scrambled eggs
grated cheddar cheese
green chile or salsa
flour tortillas

combine hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, cooked sausage or bacon, grated cheese, and salsa or green chile. wrap in a flour tortilla and enjoy--and make sure you eat over a plate and have plenty of napkins on hand!

another bonus: assemble your hasbhrowns in bulk, then wrap them individually in foil and freeze. then you have a quick and handy breakfast when you're in a hurry!

chinese sundaes

or hawaiian haystacks. call them what you will.

i'll just call them "delicious".

this is something easy and fast and customizeable (yeah, i just made that word up, what's it to you?--i just said "word up". sooo word girl of me) and so good. i didn't do step-by-steps of this because it's just that easy. what you'll need: chicken (breasts or strips), rice, cream of chicken soup, milk, chow mein noodles, and toppings that you like. i like tomatoes, green onions, cheddar cheese, pineapple, mandarin oranges, and raisins. you could do green pepper. my mom adds hard boiled eggs, coconut...the list is endless people. seriously. you think it, you add it.

on this night, i didn't have a ton of things on hand, so i stuck with the classics: grated cheddar cheese, pineapple, and green onion. three things i always have on hand. start by boiling your chicken for 30 minutes or until no longer pink. cook your rice, and mix one can of cream of chicken soup with one can of milk and mix together. bring it to a low boil and remove from heat. now put all of your toppings into ramekins (isn't it pretty?) and serve.



let's start building (oooh, now i'm bob the builder. i must really love pbskids):


start with rice,then add your chow mein noodles,

and some diced chicken,

now your gravy goes next.

then add whatever toppings you can think of. i like to add the cheese first to the gravy because it's hot and melts the cheese and...well, is there any felicity in the world superior to melted cheese? (name that movie...before the cheese part)

next i did some green onion,
and topped it all off with my favorite part, the pineapple. i can't get enough of it. it's better with fresh, but i rarely have fresh pineapple on hand. just too tricky to cut up. so this time, it's just straight out of a can.
couldn't be easier people.

this is perfect for a party because it's easy, inexpensive, and very easy to make a lot of, and people can pick and choose their toppings. feeding 20 people? just make more chicken and rice. on the other hand, on this night dave was at class and my boys don't eat, so it was just me. i used 2 chicken strips and a tiny amount of toppings and it worked out great for one. the crunch of the noodles and the sweetness of the pineapple makes for a delectable, delightful dinner. try it, you won't be disappointed.

chinese sundaes

1 package of chicken strips
1 can of cream of chicken soup
milk
cooked rice
chow mein noodles
toppings (grated cheese, pineapple, green onions, mandarin oranges, diced tomatoes, raisins, etc.)

boil the chicken for 30 minutes or until no longer pink. cut into cubes. cook your rice. mix the cream of chicken soup with a can of milk with a wire whisk and bring to a boil. remove from heat. place toppings in ramekins and serve.

aunt arlene's no-bake cheesecake

this is an all-time favorite. it's so easy, and really really good.

1 small tub of cool whip
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 graham cracker crust

mix the cool whip, cream cheese, lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk together with a mixer until well blended. pour into the crust and refrigerate at least one hour. serve with cherry pie filling, raspberries, or chocolate sauce on top.

ellen's easy stuffed mushrooms

my sisster ellen guest blogged for me a while back and posted some recipes that have become tried and true favorites. one of which was these easy stuffed mushrooms:

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
30 large fresh mushrooms (or more or less, whatever)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 pound sausage cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (the recipe calls for swiss but I've never tried it)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 T melted margarine or butter
2 T finely chopped onion
2 T spicy brown mustard
1 t garlic salt
1 t cajun seasoning
1 t Worcestershire sauce

Remove mushroom stems; set caps aside.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Stuff into the mushroom caps. Place in greased 13 in. x 9 in. x 2 in. baking dish(es). Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 16-20 min.

ellen's lemon-berry pitcher punch

this is another of my sister ellen's guest blog recipes. i love drinks like this on holidays because i don't drink alcohol, so it's kind of fun to have a yummy sparkling drink to celebrate with. this is the one i'll be making on new year's eve:

My Favorite EASY Drink:
Lemon-Berry Pitcher Punch
1/2 cup sweetened lemonade drink mix
4 cups cold water
2/3 cup cranberry juice
1 1/2 cups lemon-lime soda

In a pitcher, combine drink mix, water and cranberry juice. Stir in soda. Serve chilled.

chili cheese dip

1 can of chili
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/4 diced onion
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
frito chips

combine the chili, soup, onion and cheese together in a saucepan. crush a handfull of chips in, then mix together and heat in a saucepan until warm and bubbly. serve with large dipping fritos. it is SO good. i promise!

real simple's baked ziti

my friend jen is very cool. we met in albuquerque right after her mission to korea. we were both working as interns at sandia labs that summer and became fast friends. we lost touch after i attended her baby shower 3 years ago, and recently decided to look her up. i was shocked to discover she lives in clinton, about 3 miles from me. she invited me to her house one night to make this tomato sauce from real simple. i was so excited to go! everyone who came was supposed to bring 6 pounds of tomatoes, and we would make the sauce and eat and have fun, then take some home to freeze. i ended up not being able to go, but still took over my tomatoes, and jen brought over two tupperwares full of sauce. it was SO good. i highly recommend it, especially if somebody else does all the work! i think the party idea is fun too, because you can print out cute labels from real simple and even little recipe booklets. fun.

so this is a recipe from real simple based on this tomato sauce recipe, but you can also use a jarred tomato sauce if you don't want to go to all the trouble of making it. let's get started.

you will need 12 ounces of ziti pasta, 2 cups fresh tomato sauce (or jarred pasta sauce), 1 bunch fresh spinach, 1 cup grated mozzarella, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup ricotta. start by washing a bunch of spinach.
then tear off the stems. i actually just cut mine. probably wasteful but much faster.


cook your ziti according to package directions until al dente. i used a large saucepot, but it wasn't big enough. i recommend using your biggest soup pan, because you end up adding everything in here.when finished, drain into a collander.

and then put it back into your pot.
add your sauce, 1/2 cup of ricotta,

your spinach (i could only put in about half a bunch because i simply didn't have room for more, but it would have been better with the full amount of spinach).
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese,
and mix.
well.

then pour the mixture into a 9x13 pan or 4 large ramekins. i don't have ramekins big enough but i think that would be so cute and fun for a party or small get-together.
and spread out evenly.
sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese
and 1/4 cup of parmesan.

oooh, pretty.
bake in a 400* oven for 15-20 minutes, until cheese has melted.
so easy and so delish.
YUM.
baked ziti with fresh tomato sauce and spinach
12 ounces ziti (about 4 cups)
2 cups fresh tomato sauce (or jarred pasta sauce)
1 bunch spinach, thick stems discarded
1/2 cup fresh ricotta
1/2 cup grated parmesan (2 ounces)
1 cup grated mozzarella (4 ounces)

heat oven to 400*. cook the pasta according to package directions (in your very biggest pot). drain and return pasta to the pot. add the sauce, spinach, ricotta, and 1/4 cup of parmesan to the pasta and mix to combine. spread the mixture in a 9x13 baking dish or 4 large ramekins. bake until pasta is heated through and cheese has melted, 15 to 20 minutes.