Frog-eyed Salad

 I LOVE this salad. Most of my kids don't! The extended family asks for it all the time.

Frog-eyed Salad

1/2 pkg. acini di pepe

1 pkg. french vanilla pudding
1 1/2 c. milk

1 T. vanilla

1 1/2 c. whipping cream

1/3 c. powdered sugar

2 t. vanilla

2 cans pineapple tidbits, drained
3 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 c. coconut
1 sm. pkg. mini marshmallows

Boil acini di pepe for 10 min and drain, then rinse in cold water to cool down. 

Make pudding with milk and vanilla. 

Whip cream with sugar & vanilla.

Add all ingredients together. 

Transfer to fresh bowl if you want to serve more neatly. =)

This is how you improvise when you forgot to buy cream. Haha

This is also how you improvise when you forget to buy mini marshmallows!

You cut large marshmallows with scissors.

1/10 Do not recommend. Do NOT touch the pieces with your fingers. 

Tip: Dip scissors in pudding for each marshmallow so they won't stick.

And here's an updated pre-mixed picture:

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Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Ok. This recipe is straight from the back of the package of Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips. But they now have other recipes on the packages, so I had to search the internet the year they replaced it. This cookie has everything, and is my favorite baked cookie. No-bake cookies are my all-time favorite.

Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookies

2 sticks butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 3/4 c. flour
1 c. oatmeal
1 c. coconut
1 1/4 c. pecans, chopped very small
1 pkg. Andes Peppermint Chips

Oven 350. Mix butter & sugar very well. Add all ingredients through flour & mix. Add rest & mix.

Bake 10 min. for regular size cookies. 9 min. for small. Don't overbake!

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Coconut Cupcakes

Once upon a time around 2014, I stumbled on this coconut cupcake recipe. I'm still trying to scour my brain for the origin of it. If you know, please tell me! It is SO GOOD. So dense, yet cakey... addictive.

Coconut Cupcakes

3/4 c. butter, room temperature
1 1/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 c. canned coconut milk
1 t. coconut flavoring
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
less than 1 t. baking powder
1/2 c. shredded coconut

Optional: pinch sea salt

Oven 350. Mix butter and sugar very well. Mix all other ingredients very well. Save some coconut milk for frosting. Fill liners 3/4 full or a little more. Bake 14 min and check. 

These do not have to be smooth when filling cups. They look funky but bake smooth.

Middle should "pop" up, but do NOT overbake. They will cool flattened.

To make a cake, just pour into 9x13 or round cake pan and adjust time, no problem.

Frosting

1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
2 t. coconut flavoring
2 T. coconut milk
3-4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. shredded coconut 

Had to get the Little Miss Lydia in the background eating her yogurt with Cheerios breakfast!

They can look funky before they go in the oven. They will cool off flattened.

Completely cooled off above.

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The Best Zucchini Bread Ever

Tracy Madsen introduced this zucchini bread to the family, and I have never been able to find a better recipe. Also used as a banana bread. We gobble it up!

The Best Zucchini Bread Ever

4 eggs
4 c. zucchini, shredded (or banana)
3 c. flour
2 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. oil
1 T. vanilla
1 T. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. baking powder
Optional: 1 c. walnuts, chopped

Oven 325. Beat eggs. Add all other ingredients and mix for at least 2 min. Pour into loaf pans. 
Bake 1 hour, and check. If needed, bake up to 15 min. longer. The top should split, but don't overbake!

I halved the recipe, and it filled a large and small loaf pan, so this may make 3 loaves.

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Beef Enchiladas

I entered my adult life knowing how to make one really good dinner. And this is it. I made it for every special occasion. So this, besides "beans & chips," is the first dinner I ever learned to make. It's all thanks to my mom, who had us help assembly-line style, because she dipped each tortilla in warm oil, then warm enchilada sauce, then rolled each one with the meat and cheese inside. Over the years, I had to pare down the process, while still preserving the flavors I needed. Here's my lasagna-style version:

Beef Enchiladas

10-12 corn tortillas
1 can Rosarita enchilada sauce 
1 lb. lean hamburger
1 small onion, diced
1 T. red chili powder 

Garlic salt
Shredded cheese
Optional: cooked rice, seasoned with 1 t. chicken bouillon powder per c. water

Optional: canned or frozen sweet corn

Oven 350. 
Cook meat, onion, and chili powder with garlic salt to taste. 
In a 9x13 pan, pour in a layer of sauce to protect tortillas from adhering to bottom of pan. 
Tear up tortillas and spread an even layer, then top with 1/2 of the meat, rice, corn, cheese, and sauce. 
Repeat in different order: tortillas, rice, corn, sauce, meat, cheese. 

Cover and bake 30 min, then bake uncovered 10-15 min. longer.
Serve with lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, onion, olives, salsa, guacamole.  

Here is when I made it smaller for just me while I was alone for the week. I had left-over cilantro lime rice, and I just put the extra meat on the top.

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Funeral Potatoes

Although funeral potatoes seem to be born in Utah and they get made fun of a lot, they still get requested at so many meals. If you make them right, they are deLISHous.

Funeral Potatoes

1 bag frozen hash browns
2 cans cream of chicken soup 
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 large onion, minced 
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 stick butter, melted

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

2-3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Oven 350. Spray casserole dish and bake frozen hash browns for 20-30 min. It's okay if they start browning. You do NOT want crunchy, raw potatoes at the end. 

Cook onion and garlic in butter for 4-5 min. or leave this step out, adding them in fresh. Mix all ingredients together, except some of the cheese for the top. 

Spray pan again and put mixture into dish. Sprinkle with last cheese and cover with foil. Bake 30 min., then uncover and bake for 15 more OR Broil for 3-5 min.

Options: Some people put a crunchy topping on instead of extra cheese. For this, mix 2 c. of crushed cornflakes or potato chips with 4-6 T. melted butter, and sprinkle on before baking.

Grandma Madsen puts in 1/2 c. dried onions instead of fresh.

Leave out the fresh garlic and add 1.5 t. garlic salt instead of the salt.

Here they are for Easter with ham. =)

Here's the option of cooking the onion & garlic in the butter. You can't tell below very well, but on the left is the cooked onion & garlic, middle is baked hash browns, everything ready to be mixed together.

I didn't cover the funeral potatoes this time, and I think they're over-baked. 

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Shoyu Chicken

When Miranda was born, one of my favorite people came over and made Shoyu Chicken for me while she talked to me. Alisha was Samoan, and when she was in my home, her laid-back attitude about life made me feel like everything would be alright. All these years later, I made the recipe again, and realized that "shoyu" literally means soy sauce. Like, this mysterious and scrumptious meal is one of the most basic recipes for them. Hahahaha. So don't be afraid of it! Simplification below recipe.

Shoyu Chicken

6 bone-in chicken thighs (2-3 lbs)

1 c. soy sauce
1 c. sugar

1/2 c. water

2 T. rice vinegar
5 cloves garlic, minced
3-inch piece ginger, shredded/ grated

4 green onions, cut into 2-in pieces

3-4 large carrots, peeled & cut OR handful of baby carrots

Cornstarch

Rest of the green onions, sliced thin to garnish

Sesame seeds

Rice for serving

Place thawed chicken in medium pot with soy, sugar, water, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and carrots. I take off the skin on some of the pieces for those of us who don't like to eat it. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on LOW for 25-30 min. Start rice cooking. Take chicken out and broil on cooking sheet 4-5 min. to crisp skins. Remove carrots, discard onions, and boil sauce 5-10 min. to reduce, OR add a cornstarch slurry (1 T. cornstarch, 2 T. water) and bring to a boil for a minute or more. Serve with rice, fresh green onion, sesame seed, drizzling reduced sauce over all.

Option: cook carrots separately

To simplify: leave out rice vinegar, onion, or sesame seeds, and use ground ginger & garlic instead of fresh. Don't broil at the end. Whatever makes it sustainable for you, but preserves the flavor of soy, sweet, garlic & ginger. You do need the sauce to drizzle, but could use it runny.

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