Creamed Spinach and Pasta

 My sons and I recently discovered a library within walking distance of our house.  We finally decided to walk to it and get ourselves a library card.  It has become one of our weekly activities to walk to the library and check out books for Griffin.  Since I don't read books, I quickly found the cookbook isle.  It's so fun to check out a different cookbook each week to read and get recipes from.  This recipe is adapted from one of the cookbooks I checked out recently.  I didn't have all of the ingredients so I changed it a bit.  It's a super quick and easy dish.  And mighty tasty!

Creamed Spinach and Pasta

2 Tbs. butter
1/2 bag fresh spinach leaves
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
garlic salt

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat.  Add spinach and saute until wilted.  Pour in cream.  Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and add cheese.  Stir well and let simmer until sauce begins to thicken, about 3 minutes.  Remove from stove and season with salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Serve over pasta.  (I used orzo pasta).

The Best Pot Roast

This is the pot roast that I made on Father's Day.

It really was the best.

It's no secret that we the people of Becoming Betty are not food photographers or food stylists...just food lovers.

So instead of posting my not-so-appetizing picture, I'm just going to linky-dink you on over to Hold the Onions where I got the recipe.

Try it!  You will love it.

Scroll down for really yummy chicken recipe from Bonnie.

Somehow it published under the pie, but we don't want anyone to miss it!

Hope you are all surviving the heat today!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

This is the dessert we had on Father's Day.

BC loves strawberry pie and since his mom makes such a good one,  I have never attempted to duplicate it.

But then I saw this recipe in my ward cookbook and it looked so easy I had to try it.  I'm not much of a pie-maker, so I was kind of nervous, but BC loved it and wants me to make it again so we'll call it a success!

1 (9 inch) baked pie shell
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar

*Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar together really well and spread in the bottom of pie shell.  Set aside.

2 boxes strawberries
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs. lemon juice
4 Tbs. cornstarch
whipped cream for the top

*Crush up enough berries (I used a food processor) to make 1 cup.  Set aside the crushed berries.  Cut up the rest of the berries into bite-sized pieces.  In a small saucepan, combine water, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch.  Stir well and add the crushed berries.  Stir well again and then cook over medium-high heat until boiling.  Cook for 2 minutes until thick and clear.  Cool.  Press the cut-up berries into the cream cheese mixture and then pour cooled strawberry mixture over berries.  Chill until ready to serve and then top with whipped cream.

*When I made the strawberry mixture on the stove it was really thick and didn't look like it was going to work so we ended up adding more water to it until we liked the consistency.  I'm anxious to try this recipe again and see if that happens a second time.

HONEY MARINATED CHICKEN

Easy summer favorite at our house. Serve with roasted potatoes and fresh green beans. That's what we're having today...results of my visit to the farmer's market yesterday.

1 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. honey
2 T. Dijon style mustard
2 gloves garlic, finely chopped
2 t. salt
1/3 c. red wine vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. freshly ground pepper

Pour all into blender and blend well. Pour over boneless, skinless chicken breasts and marinate overnight in a plastic bag. Discard marinade and grill chicken 6-10 minutes, or until done. Baste during grilling with equal parts honey and soy sauce during last 5 minutes. Also good served over rice.

turkey, avacado and cheddar sandwich

my latest obsession has been a turkey sandwich that my friend bonnie introduced me to. there's nothing too fancy about it. the secret is the dressing...

toasted bread

turkey (i prefer Columbus from Trader Joes)
cheddar (i prefer Tilamook)
avacado
Briannas poppy seed dressing
*other toppings of your choice

put it all together and its declicious! Trader Joe's hawaiian style potato chips go great with it!

Cheesy Pesto Dip

My favorite part about eating at Paradise Bakery is the bowl of pesto and bread chunks to sample right when you walk in the door.  I'm not even that in love with pesto, but I look forward to that free sample every time I go there.  I think my sister, Rach, could bathe in pesto.  She loves it.  I can only handle it in small doses.  I like it as a dip and that's all.  That's why I couldn't wait to try this recipe.  It is a Kraft recipe.  It is so simple and so delicious!  Perfect amounts of cheese and pesto.  And perfect for a summer party!  Or you can eat it by yourself in your kitchen and hope your husband doesn't smell it so you can devour the whole thing.  Not that I did that.

Cheesy Pesto Dip

1 8oz. pkg. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/4 cup pesto
1/4 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (I used half mozzarella and half parmesan)
1 small tomato, diced

Heat grill to medium heat.  Place block of cream cheese on 2 sheets of foil.  Pour pesto over cream cheese.  Sprinkle with tomatoes and cheese.  Gather up the 4 sides of foil to make a tent over the dip.  Seal sides together.  Place on grill and close lid.  Let cook for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with crackers, bread chunks or pita chips. 

OR

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Put foil covered dip on oven rack and cook for 20 minutes.  This is what I did and it worked great!

Happy Fathers Day!

Tomorrow we will honor our fathers and what better way to do that than to feed them what they love?
My man is a meat and potatoes man all the way, so this is the menu he requested for dinner on his special day:

*Pot Roast (trying a new recipe, wish me luck)
*Mashed potatoes and gravy
*Roasted zucchini
*Rolls (thank you Sister Shubert)
*Green salad with tomatoes and carrots (his exact words)
*Cream cheese strawberry pie (another new recipe)

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY FEEDING THE FATHERS IN YOUR LIFE!

Golden Graham S'mores

An amazing cook in my ward made these last week up at Girls Camp.  I haven't stopped thinking about them since.

I'm not even a huge s'mores lover (like Holly) but these just hit the spot.  So gooey and crunchy and chocolatey.  A perfect treat for summer (no baking) and so easy, too!

I owe a big thanks to Ty for introducing these to me and I can't wait until she starts her own food blog!!!!!

1 (12 oz.) box of Golden Grahams
1 bag chocolate chips (I used dark, but any kind will work)
3/4 cup light Karo syrup
4 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups mini marshmallows

*Pour cereal into a big bowl.  On the stove, melt chocolate chips, butter and Karo together just until hot but not boiling.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Pour over cereal and mix well.  Add marshmallows and stir really well until it's all coated.  Press into a greased 9x13 pan and let sit for one hour before cutting.

Easy Elephant Ears

If you're looking for a super easy, three ingredient treat to make, look no further.  Here it is.

I saw this idea in a magazine and tried it out on my kids.  These little puppies vanished in about 3 seconds, before I could even take a picture, so I think the kids liked them.

It was my first experience with puff pastry and it wasn't scary like I thought it was going to be.  I am kicking myself for not trying this stuff out sooner.

Next time we're going to make chocolate pastries with Nutella.

photo from Taste of Home

1 pkg. frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

*Roll out  one sheet of pastry on a lightly floured surface.  Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle half of it over pastry.  Working from both sides, roll up each side toward the center until the two side meet.  Cut into 1/2 inch slices.  Place on a cookie sheet and then repeat with the other pastry sheet.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

*Next time I'm going to make some icing to drizzle over them.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwich

 I love me a juicy, tender pulled pork sandwich.  Especially in the summer.  Not sure why, but it just seems to go with the season.  I got this idea from one of our favorite blogs, The Girl Who Ate Everything.  But instead of root beer, I used Coke because that's what I had in the cupboard.  The meat was fork tender and made for a tasty sandwich.  And it all cooks in the crockpot which makes it so easy and doesn't heat up your whole house.

image from Rachelleb.com

Pulled Pork

1 pork tenderloin
1 bottle Coca-cola or Rootbeer
1 bottle BBQ sauce

Put pork in crockpot.  Season with salt and pepper then pour Coca-cola to cover meat.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.  When meat is cooked, drain soda and add BBQ sauce.  Shred meat and serve on toasted buns with a slice of provolone cheese.

Outback Rub

With grilling season in full force, I wanted to re-post this delicious rub recipe.  We use this rub on everything - hamburgers, chicken, steak, pork.  We love it!  It gives the meat so much flavor with a little spice.  Perfect for summer grilling!

Outback rub

4 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. paprika
1 Tbs. coarse, black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. turmeric

Mix together and rub on meat before grilling or baking.  Store in airtight container.

Oven Roasted Broccoli

Sometimes, ok, all the time I get obsessed with something and have to have it over and over again.  Like the cookie dough dip.  I don't even want to admit how many times I've made it.  Or the pork enchiladas.  Or the cereal I've been eating for breakfast for a year straight.  I'm crazy like that.  Anyways, I recently tried oven roasted broccoli and now I can't stop making it.  It comes out of the oven with the perfect tenderness and taste.  Griffin loves it too.  I like to think it makes up for all the other crap he eats.  I've since roasted green beans and those were heavenly too.  Looks like a summer of oven-roasted veggies for us!

Oven Roasted Broccoli

3 heads of broccoli, cut and chopped
extra-virgin olive oil
garlic salt

Place broccoli on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Mix around with hands to make sure most pieces are coated with oil.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.  Bake at 400 for 18 to 20 minutes.

Chicken Sauce Without Cream of Chicken

When we got married back in 1997, most of the dinners I made involved either cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup.  That is what our moms cooked with, so that is what I cooked with.

Fast forward to about 5 years ago when I realized how grossed out I was by those soups that just plop out of the can and who knows what is in them anyway.  I decided I needed to start cooking with fresh, real ingredients that don't have a shelf life of forever.

So one day I was talking to Brett's sister, Sherri, who was telling me that she makes her own cream of chicken sauce.  Sherri has six kids and 5 of them are boys and she is a great cook, so I knew I had to try this out.  So easy and so good and no weird additives or preservatives that you can't pronounce.  Thanks Sherri!

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
chicken broth
milk or half and half or cream
cooked, shredded chicken
salt/pepper
garlic or other spices you like

*Melt butter over medium heat and add flour.  Stir together until it's nice and pasty.  Add as much chicken broth (I used 2 cans) and milk (I used about 1 cup of milk and some half and half because that's what I had) until you have as much sauce as you want.  Add chicken (I used about 2 cups) and stir over heat, adding more milk if it's too thick.  Add salt and pepper to taste. You can add fresh garlic or whatever spices you want to season it.  I added some Ranch dressing powder and we ate it over rice.  You could also use it as a base for Hawaiian haystacks and add toppings.