Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This tastes like a restaurant meal. Really good!!

3 red bell peppers
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used whole milk instead)
Flat leaf parsley, finely minced
Fresh Parmesan, shaved or grated
1/2 to 1 pound pasta: orecchiette, penne, fusilli, etc.

Roast red peppers, then place in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. (Put the peppers under the broiler and broil until they are charred and black. You will need to rotate to blacken them all of the way). Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then removed seeds. Set aside. Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet. Set aside. Puree peppers with pine nuts. Set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions. In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper puree and stir together. Add plenty of salt. Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. (You will need lots of salt). Add cooked pasta, then stir together. Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and plenty of shaved Parmesan.

From: pioneerwoman.com

Shamrock Cupcakes

Maybe all of you moms out there already know how to do these shaped cupcakes, but I had to post them so I know how to do them in the future. We made them in our life skills cooking class. So fun!

Ingredients:

	Cupcake batter
	Cupcake tins and liners
	Aluminum foil
	White frosting
	Green food coloring
	Toothpick
	Green licorice (we used Twizzlers Rainbow Twists sold in a pack with other colors)

1. Place paper liners in 32 standard muffin cups, then fill each halfway with the batter.

2. For each cupcake, roll three balls of foil (ours were 2/3 inch in diameter) and insert them evenly around the perimeter between the liner and the tin, as shown.

3. Bake the cupcakes for a few minutes less than the package suggests (because there's less batter per cup than usual), or until a toothpick comes out clean.

4. Allow the cupcakes to cool, then remove them from the tin.

5. Cover each with green frosting (our ratio was 1 teaspoon of green food coloring to one 16-ounce can of white frosting).

6. Use a toothpick to draw leaf veins, and insert a 2-inch-long piece of green licorice for a stem.

From: familyfun.com

Salmon

This is just a good salmon recipe. I like putting it in a white sauce too.

1 lb salmon
1 T lemon juice
1 T vinegar
1 t basil
1 t parsley

Put all ingredients on top of salmon. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

From: I can't remember....

EZ Wheat Bread

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tblsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup honey or 1/3 cup sugar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour or whatever combination white/wheat you like
1/4 cup wheat gluten (I made it without the gluten but had to add extra flour)
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat non instant dry milk
1 Tblsp butter/margarine/oil
1 Tblsp vinegar
1/4 cup potato flakes (NOT potato pearls)

Mix ingredients in order listed in mixing bowl of mixer with dough hook attachment (like kitchen-aid) for 12-15 minutes. Let rise until double, 1- 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, and shape into loaf or rolls. Let rise again until double and bake 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped. If you are making this recipe in a bread machine, follow your bread machine’s directions for wheat or whole grain selection and add the ingredients in the order listed for their recommendations.

From: everydayfoodstorage.net

Crock Pot Pinto Beans

Ingredients:
amount of pintos that you want
salt
pepper
garlic powder

Directions:
First figure out how many beans you want to cook, then wash them several times until the water runs clear. Put beans in a pot with water to cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat off and let sit for 1 hour. Pour beans and water into your crockpot add water just to cover (water doesn't evaporate in a crockpot). In my crockpot it takes 4 to 5 hours to cook on high. After about 3 hours season the beans. They will be done when the juice is a dark rich brown. The secret to good beans in a crockpot is to take out a cup or so and mash them and then return them to the bean pot. This makes them thick and good.

Adapted from: kountrylife.com

Blender Wheat Pancakes

These are pretty good and are a good way for a rookie to use her wheat from her food storage- which makes it perfect for me!

1 Cup Milk (translation for powdered milk is 3 T. Milk and 1 C. Water)
1 Cup Wheat Kernels, whole & uncooked
2 Eggs (2 T. powdered eggs 1/4 C. Water)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 Tbs. Oil
2 Tbs. Honey or Sugar

Put milk and wheat kernels in blender. Blend on highest speed for 4 or 5 minutes or until batter is smooth. This will NOT break your blender (no matter how cheap it is) because you are blending it with water. Add eggs, oil, baking powder, salt and honey or sugar to above batter. Blend on low. Pour out batter into pancakes from the actual blender jar (only one thing to wash!) onto a hot greased or Pam prepared griddle or large frying pan. Cook; flipping pancakes when bubbles pop and create holes.

From: everydayfoodstorage.net

Roasted Chicken

Easy recipe but surprisingly fantastic!

4 chicken breasts
1/3 c. mayo.
3 T Dijon mustard
1-2 cloves garlic

Place chicken breasts in a baking dish. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and spread over the chicken. You can also add veggies such as carrots, onion, and potatoes. Bake on 350 for 30-35 minutes. It may take longer if you add veggies.

From: Mom Sangster