50 Free Christmas Cards!

Shutterfly is giving bloggers 50 holiday cards of their choice for blogging about them. Who doesn't love free stuff--especially if it helps fulfill that long list of things to do for the holidays?!? I know I do! I've been looking through all of their holiday cards & I think I'm going to have a hard time choosing--they have so many cute options! I think one of their calendars would be nice to have too or would make a great Christmas gift. They also have personalized thank you cards which would be great to have for Christmas thank you's or also for wedding gifts! Now comes the hard part--deciding what card I want to get! Go here if you want to get some free holiday cards too!


Check out their Christmas photo cards here and

Check out their calendars here and

Check out their personalize thank you cards here

Broccoli & Chicken

This is a simple & yummy dinner!

Broccoli & Chicken


chicken, cooked & cut-up (about 1 cup)

broccoli, cooked & cut-up (1-2 cups, I just put mine in a pan & cover half-way with water & cook for about 7 minutes)

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 to 3/4 c. milk

salt & pepper (to taste)

shredded cheese




Stir soup & milk together & put in bottom of a greased 9x9 pan. Add in chicken & broccoli & then season with salt & pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until it is bubbly. Take out of oven & sprinkle with shredded cheese. Serve over rice (I like to use brown rice).




recipe from Mom

Chicken Chef Salad

So yummy! One of our favorite dinners--simple & healthy too!

Chicken Chef Salad


cooked chicken breast, cut up (we like to make extra of this chicken & use the leftovers)

lettuce (we use romaine)

veggies (we use carrots, celery, broccoli, & cauliflower, but you could do whatever you want)




*This is also good with boiled eggs too--I'm just too lazy to make them :)




*I like to make these Garlic & Cheese biscuits to go with.

Pear Crumble Pie

This is my favorite pie! It's my mom's specialty & we always have it for Thanksgiving & Christmas--it's a must try!

Pear Crumble Pie


6 medium Bartlet pears (ripe)

3 Tbsp. lemon juice (fresh is best)

1/2 C. sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. lemon zest

9-inch pie crust (unbaked)



Wash & peel pears & cut into thin slices (it works best to have a big bowl of cold water with some lemon juice (I used bottled) & a little bit of salt to put the pears in as you slice them, that way they don't turn brown.  Then just drain the water when you are all done cutting & ready to use them). Stir lemon juice into pears. Combine sugar, flour, & lemon zest & add to the pear & lemon juice mixture. Put into pie crust & cover with crumble topping.



Crumble Topping

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. flour

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. mace (not a commonly used spice, but it really adds to the flavor of the pie)

1/4 C. butter (cold)



Mix the sugar, flour, & spices together. Cut in cold butter. Crumble topping on top of pears. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes then turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until pears are tender & the pie is browned & bubbly.  You may need to cover the outer edges of the crust (with a pie shield or tinfoil) so it doesn't burn. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.




*These pies freeze great (for several months--wrap in 2 layers of saran wrap & 2 layers of tinfoil), so it's smart to make a bunch of pies all at once & then freeze some (I did a triple batch & it made 4 pies). Just put the pie into the oven straight from the freezer. It will just take longer to bake & you may need to cover the edges of the pie crust so it doesn't get over-done.






Pie Crust Mix


12 1/2 C. flour

2 Tbsp. salt

5 C. crisco (regular or butter-flavored, I use regular)




Combine all ingredients with a pastry blender (or use a fork) until you reach the consistency of cornmeal. This can be stored for several months in a cool place & in a container with a tight fitting lid.


* I did a quarter of a batch & it makes 4 pie crusts.  Here's the amounts:

3 1/8 C. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 C. crisco



Pie Crust


2 1/2 C. pie crust mix

1/4 C. very cold water

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar (I use fresh lemon juice)


Mix all ingredients together until just combined.  Roll out on a floured surface until you reach desired size & thickness.  The dough is quite sticky, so you will need to sprinkle it with a little flour (just not too much because you don't want the crust to be tough) before rolling it out. 


Makes two 9-inch pie crusts. Bake at 425 degrees for approximately 10 minutes (if you're making a pie that needs an already baked pie crust) or follow the pie recipe instructions for baking.



*You could do a smaller recipe of the pie crust mix if you wanted, but it's nice to have when you want to quickly make a pie crust.







recipe from Mom

Pumpkin Bars

These are so yummy & moist--definitely a must try!

Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs

2 C. sugar

1 C. oil (I did 1/2 unsweetened applesauce)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin

2 C. flour (you can do 1/2 whole wheat flour)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. nutmeg




Mix all ingredients together thoroughly, but don't overmix. Pour into a greased jelly roll pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Make sure you don't overbake, so watch closely! Frost with cream cheese frosting once the bars have cooled completely.




Cream Cheese Frosting


3-4 C. powdered sugar

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 C. butter, softened (optional--I don't use it)

1 tsp. vanilla



Mix all of the ingredients together with a mixer until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if needed.



*I like to double the frosting



recipe from Mom

Amish Friendship Bread

I love Amish Bread, especially in the fall! Plus, it's a great way to share with friends--either with a starter or bread or both!



With cinnamon & sugar

With chocolate chips

Amish Friendship Bread Starter


2 1/4 tsp. yeast

1/4 C. warm water

3 C. flour, divided

3 C. sugar, divided

3 C. milk, divided


In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a container (glass, plastic, or ceramic--don't use metal), combine 1 C. flour & 1 C. sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 C. milk & dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely & let stand (it should get bubbly). Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.

On days 2 through 4, stir starter with a spoon (don't use metal). Day 5, stir in 1 C. flour, 1 C. sugar, & 1 C. milk (batter will be slightly lumpy). Days 6 through 9, stir only.

Day 10, stir in 1 C. flour, 1 C. sugar, & 1 C. milk. Remove 3 C. of batter to give to 3 friends (or if you want more bread again soon, keep 1 for yourself). I like to put the batter to give to friends in a gallon ziploc bag & write the date on it & make sure you give them the following recipe with the starter. Use the remaining batter (there should be about 1 C. left, give or take) to make a batch of Amish bread.





Amish Friendship Bread


Do not use any type of metal bowl or spoon for mixing. Do not refrigerate. If air gets in the bag, let it out. It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble, & ferment.


Day 1: Do nothing. This is the day you receive the batter. Make sure the bag is dated.

Day 2: Mush the bag.

Day 3: Mush the bag.

Day 4: Mush the bag.

Day 5: Mush the bag.

Day 6: Add to the bag 1 C. flour, 1 C. sugar, 1 C. milk. Mush the bag

Day 7: Mush the bag.

Day 8: Mush the bag.

Day 9: Mush the bag.

Day 10: Pour entire contents of the bag into a non-metal bowl & add 1 1/2 C. flour, 1 1/2 C. sugar, & 1 1/2 C. milk. Mix together.


In 4 ziploc bags labeled "Day 1" measure out 1 C. of mixture and place it in each bag. Date the bag & give it to 4 friends with the recipe.


With the remaining batter add:


3 eggs

1 C. oil (I do 1/2 unsweetened applesauce)

1/2 C. milk

1 C. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 C. flour (I did half whole wheat flour)

1 large box instant vanilla pudding (or whatever flavor you want)



Grease 2 loaf pans. Mix an additional 1/2 C. sugar & 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in a non-metal bowl. Dust the greased pans with half the mixture. Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans & sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon & sugar mixture. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes & then remove bread from the pans. Store in the refrigerator.


Options: Add 1 C. chopped nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips (I did 1 loaf with cinnamon & sugar & 1 loaf with chocolate chips & they were both good! I didn't sprinkle cinnamon & sugar on top of the one with chocolate chips, but I did use it to dust the pan with).


Should the batter not be passed on the 10th day, be sure to date the batter for the recipient--they can use the date lines to keep track of what day they are on. If you keep a starter for yourself, you'll be baking bread every 10 days.








*Starter recipe from Ginny Lee & I don't know who I got the bread recipe from--someone in Rexburg when I received my very first starter :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup is SOOO good! It's a new favorite in our house, so I'll be making this again very soon! Don't let the long list of ingredients deter you--all you do is dump everything into the crockpot, it's really quick & easy!

This is the garlic that I use. It's just like using fresh garlic, but so much faster & it was only $4 & will last me a long time (1/2 tsp. equals 1 clove of garlic).

Chicken Tortilla Soup


2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I just put mine in frozen or you could use chicken that is already cooked & shredded)

1 can black beans, drained

1 (15 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed (my can was actually bigger & it worked great)

1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce (whatever heat you want--I used mild, we don't like things too spicy)

1 medium onion, chopped (I just dumped in some onion powder)

1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chili peppers (I just used 2 oz. & froze the rest to use next time)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 C. water

1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth

1 tsp. cumin (I just used 1/2 tsp.)

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt (I just used 1/2 tsp--trying to cut back on the salt :)

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen corn (I just used a can of corn & drained it)

1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro (if you use fresh make sure to add it only one hour before serving)





Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies, and garlic into large crockpot. Pour in water & chicken broth & add cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, & bay leaf. Stir in corn & cilantro. Cover & cook on low setting for 6-8 hours or on high setting for 3-4 hours (if you're putting in frozen chicken, make sure you give it enough time to cook and then take out the chicken & shred it 1 hour before serving).




Baked Tortilla Strips


7-10 corn tortillas

Pam

salt



Cut corn tortillas into thin strips using a pizza wheel. Spread onto a baking sheet & spray with Pam & sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake at 400 degrees until crisp, about 10-15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.








*You could also garnish this soup with shredded cheese, avocados, and a splash of fresh lime juice.





recipe from Elena