Pancakes

A while back I was watching Rachael Ray's show and they had this guy on there who makes pancake for his daughter, and they were so cool. He made flowers in flower pots, her name, etc. So he showed how to do it and I decided to try it night before last for dinner.

Basically you make your pancake batter but make it a little thinner, add food coloring, put it in one of those bottles that they used to have in grade school that hold ketchup and mustard. Then you draw on your griddle. It was quite fun, but my pancakes didn't turn out as fancy or as cute as they were on the show. Oh well... Brooklyn still loved it!

"B O" didn't make a K or a Y because I knew she wouldn't eat them

Zach's initials and a "heart balloon" from Boky.

Cookies...

I had so much fun making cookies this holiday season. I don't know why I don't make them more often, they aren't that hard. Brooklyn loves making them too, mostly because of the flour and the stirring but hopefully I can spark an interest in cooking and by the time she is a teenager she will be able to make dinner ;)

Recipe for the best sugar cookies ever (modified because I didn't write the recipe down word for word)

Ingredients: 3 1/4 cups flour, 1 tsp soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup butter, 1 egg, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 cup sugar.

Mix flour, soda, and salt in a small bowl.

Mix bitter, sugar, egg, and vanilla in large bowl and cream for 2 minutes.

Scrape bowl and add sour cream and half of the flour mix, blend for 2 minutes.

Add the rest of the flour mixture.

Roll out to approximately 1/4 inch thickness and use cookie cutter.

Cook on greased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Let cool, frost, and decorate!

Cake Cookies

This one I tried to make by memory but I got it from my Aunt Stef. (So Stef if this is wrong let me know.)

1 box cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients together. Use spoons to make blobs on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Salsa Chicken

One of my favorites to make because it's effortless.

4 frozen chicken Breasts
1 bottle salsa
1/2ish cup water
*1 can black beans, rinsed
*One can corn undrained (if you do this don't add the 1/2 cup water)

* These ingredients are optional

Put everything in the crockpot on medium heat for about 4 hours. Stir every now and then.
Serve over rice or shred chicken and serve in tortillas.

Ham Fried Rice

Ingredients:

-		2 eggs
-		1 tablespoon butter or margarine
-		1/4 cup soy sauce
-		1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
-		salt and pepper - to taste
-		1/2 onion - chopped
-		1 1/2 cups ham - cooked and diced
-		2 green onions - chopped
-		3 cups rice - cooked
-		1 can pineapple tidbits (8 oz.)
-		2 teaspoons garlic or 2 cloves garlic, chopped

Directions:

• In small skillet, heat butter or margarine over medium-high heat.
• Whisk eggs in small bowl. Pour into pan, and scramble until soft cooked.
• Remove from heat, set aside.
• In large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil. Over medium-high heat add onion, ham and rice.
• Stir fry 5-10 minutes until rice is crisped brown.
• Add garlic, soy sauce and teriyaki sauce. Continue stirring another 2-3 minutes.
• Add in green onions and pineapple, salt and pepper to taste, and scrambled eggs. Heat through, stirring to combine.
• Serve hot.

Note: you can also use leftover chicken or turkey.

I tried this one for the first time this last week and we really liked it. I altered the recipe a little and I added peas to it (I suppose you could also add carrots) I didn't put the pineapple in either. I really liked it and so did my family. My dad even gave it the stamp of approval :O)

I got this recipe online at: http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--3803/fried-rice-with-ham.asp (because I didn't have a fried rice recipe)

Good Dinner...

I decided I'm gonna start putting recipe's on here that I love and think you all might love too...

So here goes the first one...

Home made BBQ's (from my momma :O))

1 lb hamburger
1/2 lg onion chopped
2T flour
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 T mustard
1 1/2 t vinegar
1/4 C ketchup
2 T brown sugar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 green pepper diced
1/8 t chili powder
2 ribs of celery
1 can (10.5 oz) chicken gumbo soup

brown meat and drain. saute onions and green pepper
add rest of ingredients and simmer 1 hour with lid on