Aunt Jane's Baked Beans

1 Large can of Pork and Beans
1 15 oz can of Kidney Beans
8 Tbsp Brown Sugar
3 slices of Bacon, cut small
3/4 Cups of Ketchup
3/4 tsp Dry Mustard
1 Medium Onion, minced

Mix well. Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours covered.

*For bacon, I bake it and it comes out perfect every time, click here for directions In this recipe I take it out a few minutes early so it's still squishy.
*I also like it saucy and add and an extra small can of pork and beans and cook it for a little over 1 hour instead of 2.

Avacado Mango Salsa and others

These recipes are so good! I got the first two from Kashann Casper. The last one is my mom's recipe, which I love.

Avocado Mango Salsa:

Dice one avocado, 1-2 roma tomatoes, and one mango

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 c. onion, diced

Juice of one lime (or lemon juice if that's what you have)

Several dashes Frank's Red Hot sauce (all the rage around here)

salt and garlic salt to taste

Coconut Rice

1 1/2 cups rice (Jasmine is best)

1 3/4 cup water

1 can Coconut Milk

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

more chopped cilantro leaves

Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

Teriyaki Marinade
1 C sugar
1/2 c soy sauce
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp ginger

Mix together until sugar id dissolved. Marinate chicken 2 to 6 hours.
I used this recipe and marinated the chicken in strips for 2 hours. I then put them on skewers with pineapple and grilled them. Delicious!

Sausage Gravy

My cousins Melie and Cam made this for us back in Utah, and we tried it out for ourselves here. Delicious, fast, and easy breakfast worth every calorie!

1/2 Tube of Pork Sausage
2-3 Cups of Milk
3 Tablespoons of Flour
1 Tube of Biscuits (Pillsbury usually has a coupon for them for free or $.37 at Aldi's)

Brown sausage in a large skillet. Add enough milk so that the meat is swimming. Boil. In a lidded jar, shake together the flour and 1/2 cup of cold milk. Add it to the pan and let it thicken. You can add more milk if it is too thick. Serve over biscuits.
(picture off Hyde and Seek)

Ranch Mac and Cheese

A great new twist for all you mac and cheese lovers!!

1 pkg(16oz) elbow macaroni
1 c. 2% milk (I used buttermilk because that is what I had)
1/4 c. butter, cubed
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp garlic pepper blend (I mixed black pepper and garlic powder)
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning (I totally forgot this)
1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 c. shredded Colby cheese (I just used 2 c. of colby because I didn't have the other)
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. crushed saltines
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a dutch oven, combine the milk, butter, dressing mix, and seasonings; heat through. Stir in Monterey Jack and Colby cheeses until melted. Stir in sour cream.

Drain macaroni; stir into cheese sauce with saltines. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Looking back it is pretty amazing that it still tasted good with everything that I did different. You can try it my way, or the way that it is supposed to be. Have fun. My kids loved it!!! (picture and recipe from taste of home )

Granola

In response to the request... This is my mom's granola recipe and I LOVE it. I've been making it a lot recently and it is SO easy.

Granola
6-7 c regular rolled oats
1 c wheat germ (or more oats)
½ c flaked coconut
1 c chopped walnuts
½ c cashews (or other)
¾ c brown sugar
¾ c cooking oil
1/3 c water
2 tsp vanilla
1 c raisins (after baking)

Combine dry ingredients and mix well. Mix oil, water and vanilla; add and mix with all. Spread in large, shallow pan and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently (I do it about every 20 mins). Add raisins after baking. Cool and store in a covered container. Servings: 11 cups, Prep time: 10 min, Cook time: 30 min

Homemade Granola Bars

I got this from my sister who got it off Super Baby Food via mormonchic.com. She recommends adding ground flax seed in and cutting down on the butter and honey.

GRANOLA BARS

1 ½ cups rolled oats
¼ cup wheat germ
¼ cup ground nuts
¼ cup nonfat dry milk
¼ cup melted butter or oil
5 tablespoons honey
1 beaten egg
¼ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup dried fruit

Mix all dry ingredients. Mix honey, oil and vanilla into dry mixture. Add more honey to moisten or dried oats to dry mixture if necessary. Press mixture into 8x8 baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, cool and cut into bars.

Cornbread

Several people have asked me for this recipe, so here it is!

CORNBREAD

1/2 c butter or margarine, room temp

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 c yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c milk

Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. In a seperate bowl blend cornmeal, flour, baking powder, nad salt. Combined creamed mixture, dry ingredients, and milk. Blend. Bake in a greased 8x8-inch pan at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

3 Sticks of String Cheese (Aldi's has an amazing brand)

1 beaten egg

1 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 cup of oil

Optional: Spaghetti Sauce for Marinara

*This recipe is easily doubled for more

Cut string cheeses in 1/2 horizontally. Put them in the freezer for over an hour (this is so they don't melt when you fry them). Roll frozen cheeses in egg. Mix the Italian bread crumbs with the garlic powder in a separate bowl and roll egged cheese in this bowl. Repeat these two steps two or three more times until the stick of cheese is completely breaded. Put oil in a frying pan and heat up until a drop of water will sizzle, then put it on medium. Fry and occasionally rotate the breaded cheese until golden brown (takes about 1-2 minutes). Transfer to a paper towel covered plate and pat off grease. Enjoy :-)

Poppy seed dressing

Ingredients:

1 cup oil
2/3 cup vinegar
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 green onions
dash of salt
3 Tbsp poppy seeds

Combine ingredients in the blender. Makes enough for 2 salads.

I like this best over fruity salads. My favorite is salad greens mixed with mandrine oranges, candied pecans, craisins and feta cheese.