christmas fudge

my mom's recipe. it's just plain chocolate fudge, and it's REALLY really good. pretty simple, but after seeing what goes into it, you may want to limit your intake. and fyi, barometer matters to fudge, so don't make this on a cloudy day. sunny only, or it won't set. so let's get started. you'll need 1/2 pound of butter, 8 oz. marshmallow creme, a large can of evaporated milk, 4 1/2 cups sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, a large package of chocolate chips (i use semi-sweet), and an 8 oz. (HUGE) Hershey bar.

start by putting the chocolate chips, hershey bar, marshmallow creme, and vanilla in a large bowl.
then in a large saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, and milk.

boil for 8-10 minutes.

after 10 minutes, pour your mixture into your chocolate/marshmallow bowl. this is important! don't add the chocolate to the saucepan, or the fudge won't set. add the hot mixture to the chocolate.
and stir.
and stir some more.
and stir some more some more.
once it's well-combined and completely mixed together (and the chocolate is all melted), pour into a 9x13 pan.
smooth with a spatula, and....you're done! leave it for 4-6 hours to set.
pretty easy, and really good!

mom's fudge

1 large bag of chocolate chips
8 oz. hershey bar
7 oz. jar marshmallow creme
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 lb. margarine or butter
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 large can evaporated milk

in a large bowl, put the chocolate chips, chocolate bar, marshmallow creme, and vanilla together. set aside. in a large sauce pan, melt 1/2 lb. butter, then combine with sugar and milk. boil 8-10 minutes. pour the hot mixture into the mixing bowl with the chocolate and marshmallow. mix well, making sure it is well combined and the chocolate is all melted. pour into a 9x13 and leave it several hours to set.

mom's sugar cookies

beware, folks. these are an all-day thing. like ALL DAY. i was still frosting cookies at 11 pm and started them in the morning. but, well, it's christmas. we're supposed to spend the day in the kitchen at christmastime, right? so here we go. i'm giving you the regular recipe, but i doubled it. as long as i'm going to this much work, i might as well make a ton of them. so you may want to double the portions i show you here. you'll want 3/4 cup butter, softened; 1 cup of sugar; 2 eggs, beaten; 1/2 tsp. vanilla; 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt.

i like to soften my butter in the bowl (just slice it up and leave it for twenty minutes or so);

toss in your sugar,

then mix up your eggs and add those too, followed by the vanilla.

mix until well combined.now i added flour, one cup at a time. after i poured in the first cup of flour i also added the baking powder and salt. (well, noah did. notice the transformers band-aid).
mix well, then keep adding flour a cup at a time until you have the right consistency.





not quite ready, keep adding. since you have to roll these out, it has to be stiffer than regular cookie dough.

once you've added all your flour in and the dough is relatively stiff, stick your dough in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

once it's good and cold, clean your countertop really well (i use several clorox wipes, then let it dry) and sprinkle it with flour. rub your hand over the flour to get it all over the countertop, then rub your hand on the rolling pin to flour it up as well. grab half of your dough (1/4 if you doubled it) and roll it out into a circular shape. not too thin, these are really better if they're a little thicker. then the fun part: cut out. my kids had a blast helping with this part.



you'd think i'd have a picture of the shapes cut out on the pan. you'd be wrong. i thought i did...somehow i missed it. anyway, lay them on a baking sheet and bake at 400* for 8-9 minutes.

once they're cool, start frosting. you can make your own, but really, why bother? it's like eighty-nine cents for a can of frosting and sooo much easier. just add 3-4 drops of food coloring and get frosting.



there. masterpiece, no?
they're actually really, really good, and they freeze! just lay them on a baking sheet and flash-freeze for 30 minutes, then toss them into a ziploc. easy as pie. one tip: make sure not to overbake the cookies. if they get brown at all, they're crunchy, and nobody likes a crunchy sugar cookie. they should be soft. so test a few out, if they're cooking too fast you likely made the dough too thin. either adjust your cooking time or the thickness of your rolled-out dough. have fun!

mom's sugar cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt.

(you may want to double those portions to make a larger batch).
mix the butter and sugar together until well blended. add your eggs and combine, then add the vanilla. once it's all combined, add one cup of flour, the baking powder and the salt. mix well. continue adding flour a cup at a time until it is well-blended and semi-stiff. refrigerate dough for 3-4 hours. clean and flour your countertop. roll 1/2 of your dough into a circle, then use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. bake at 400* for 8-9 minutes (don't let them turn brown on the edges); cool; frost; enjoy!

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!

sara's fresh peach cobbler

this is a recipe my sister sara got from our mom, but my mom has no recollection of this, so i'm calling it sara's. it's so good. i woke up saturday morning thinking about it and had to have it. so let's get started. you'll need 5-6 fresh peaches, 2/3 cup sugar, a tablespoon of cornstarch, 1/4 cup of water, a white cake mix, and a stick of butter.

peel your peaches.
then slice across the middle, all the way around the peach.
grab both ends and twist, then remove the stone.
slice the peaches, and peel the red stuff out of the middle.
then add 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tbsp. cornstarch, and 1/4 cup of water.
cook and stir until the mixture is thick and bubbly.
now pour your cake mix into a separate bowl and add your stick of (melted) butter.
then cut the butter into the cake mix with a knife. don't mix, just cut while you spin the bowl until the butter is mixed and the mixture is crumbly.

like so!
now pour your peaches into a square pan,
and add the cake mix on top. spread it around, then toss it into the oven at 400* for 20-25 minutes or until the cake mix is browned.
like this. mmmmboy.
normally i would serve this with vanilla ice cream but i forgot to buy it, so this is fresh whipped cream (which was delicious, by the way).
enjoy!

sara's fresh peach cobbler

2/3 cups sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup of water
4 cups of fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (5-6 peaches)

combine together and cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. pour into 9x9 pan. in a separate bowl, add a white cake mix, one stick of butter (melted), and cut in with a knife until crumbly. sprinkle cake mixture over fruit. bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until topping is brown. serve warm with vanilla ice cream.