Cake Mix Brownies...Don't Do It!

I tried this wonderfully easy recipe last night that I had clipped out of the newspaper. It was a recipe for brownies made out of a cake mix and had three ingredients...but they were AWFUL.

The batter tasted like cake, not brownies. The final product tasted like cake, not brownies. But it was also dry, crumbly, and grainy. So I frosted it, but it didn't help. It ended up in the trash can, much to the shock of my children.

So, next time I will stick to another recipe I know is good...Cake Mix Cookies.

Bean and Cheese Burritos

This is a recipe from my childhood. My mother used to fry these burritos, and we would dip them in a mixture of ketchup and Texas Pete hot sauce. I've started making them again because it is a very budget-friendly meal.

I can make about 8 burritos with one small can of fat-free refried beans and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese. Instead of frying them, I spray both sides of the burrito with nonstick cooking spray and cook them on a skillet until they are golden brown on each side (see the picture). The kids are crazy about them, and our family of 5 eats all 8 burritos in one meal!

Homemade Pretzels

This was a fun afternoon activity. It involved only 2 timeouts and 10 handwashings! This is an easy pretzel recipe because you don't have to wait for the dough to rise before you bake them.

Mmmmmm!!!

1 envelope (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup honey
5 tablespoons sugar, divided
4 1/4 cups flour
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with foil.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast and warm water. Add the salt, honey, and 1 tablespoon sugar and stir well. With an electric mixer, blend in the flour at low then medium speed.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it's smooth (about 5 minutes). Divide dough into 16 equal pieces and roll into a 10 to 12-inch-long rope. On the foil, shape each rope into a letter, number, or other design.

Bake the dough for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. In small bowl, combine cinnamon and remaining 4 tablespoons sugar. Brush pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Makes 16 pretzels.

Ice Cream in a Baggie

This is a recipe we had to try out at home because we are making it at a Primary activity on Saturday, and we had to make sure it worked. It did work, and we had a lot of fun doing it! After 5 minutes, the ice cream was a milkshake consistency and very yummy.

1/2 cup milk or half & half (we used whole milk because that's what we had on hand)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 teaspoon vanilla
squirt of chocolate syrup or other optional add-ins like mini chocolate chips

Place ingredients in sandwich-sized baggie and seal. Place in quart-sized baggie that has been filled halfway with ice and 3 tablespoons of rock salt. Seal.

Shake and dance around for 5 minutes or until the ice cream reaches the consistency you would like. We ate the ice cream right out of the baggie after wiping the salt off the outside with cool water.

Fish Sandwiches

I came up with this dish by using a technique I saw on the Food Network Channel (and tweaked some myself). Our family is tired of eating salmon, so we've switched to tilapia. The technique could be used with any kind of fish. The whole family loved this recipe.

4-4 oz. tilapia filets (we buy the 1 pound bag in the freezer section at Wal-Mart for around $3.50-there are 4 individually vacuum-packed tilapia filets in them)
flour in dipping bowl
1-2 eggs, cracked and whisked in dipping bowl
Italian-style breadcrumbs in dipping bowl
rolls (we prefer Sister Schubert's yeast rolls you can buy in the freezer section at Sam's Club)
tartar sauce

Thaw the filets per package directions. Dredge them in flour. Dip them in egg mixture and then coat in breadcrumbs. Place them on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Spray the tops of the filets to get the fried effect. Bake them at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes (I think) and place them on rolls with tartar sauce. Yum-o! Everyone loved the recipe.

Corn Pudding

I brought this dish to a ward swimming party that turned into a ward thunderstorm under a metal tent! I had many comments about this "unusual" dish I grew up with. Our family considers this a vegetable side dish and not a dessert. You decide your own preference. This is one of those recipes you can make for last-minute dinner guests, as long as you have a can of creamstyle corn on hand.

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk (original recipe called for 1 cup milk)
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 cups (1 can) creamstyle corn

Melt butter in baking dish. Add eggs, sugar, flour, and milk and mix well. Stir in corn. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or microwave 4 1/2 minutes, stir, and cook 4 1/2 more minutes.

Spinach Lasagna Rollups

I made this dish for a recipe exchange. This is the recipe card I made for it on smilebox.com.

Garlic-Cheese Biscuits

I also got this recipe off the Bisquick box. It is our favorite biscuit now. They taste just like the biscuits at Red Lobster.

2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese
2 TBS. melted margarine
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Combine Bisquick, milk, and cheese. Place dough on ungreased baking sheet by rounded spoonfuls. You can roll out and cut if you have time. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Combine margarine and garlic powder. While biscuits are still warm, brush with margarine mixture and serve immediately. They are not as good leftover.

Ultimate Chicken Fingers

These chicken fingers are even better than the ones I love at Rock-ola! I got the recipe off of the Bisquick box. You've got to try them with the Honey Mustard Sauce.


2/3 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt or Garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Heat oven to 450ºF. Line cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.

Mix Bisquick mix, cheese, salt and paprika in 1-gallon resealable plastic food-storage bag. Dip half the chicken strips into egg; place in bag of Bisquick mixture. Seal bag; shake to coat. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken. Drizzle butter over chicken.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes, turning after 6 minutes with pancake turner, until no longer pink in center.

Honey Mustard Sauce

This sauce is fantastic; it is restaurant-quality honey mustard. We used it on the Ultimate Chicken Fingers. It came from Anica's food blog.

1 cup mayo (Kraft mayonnaise, of course)
1/2 cup mustard
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. honey
1 T. onion powder

Mix together in a bowl and refrigerate 30 minutes.