Pancake Syrup

MAPLE SYRUP!

1 3/4 c. white sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 c. water

Combine these in a saucepan and bring to boil, cover, and cook 1 minute. Cool slightly.

Add:

1/2t. vanilla

1/2t. maple flavoring

Cover saucepan for a few minutes as syrup cooks to melt down crystals. This helps prevent syrup from crystalizing later in storage as well.

ESSENTIALS

The Next set of recipes are from my essential collection. I want to have a place to store these as well as access them easily!

Mama's Meatloaf!

2 lbs. ground meat 1 can canned milk 2 tsp.salt 2 eggs 2 cups corn flakes 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 green pepper mix and cook 10 min. at 350. Add sauce. Bake 1 hour or till done, baste with sauce. Sauce 4 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce 4 tbsp. Brown sugar 4 tbsp. vinegar 1/2 cup water 1 cup ketchup 1 can tomato soup small onion chopped

Not over the Slump... but hopeful

I'm not completely ready to start cooking again... I don't know what happened, but sometime last year I lost my love for cooking! I just couldn't stand to do it for a while! I hope that my search for some new recipes will help encourage not only my diet, but also my love to cook!

Get ready!!!

Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken

Start with 3 or 4 frozen chicken breasts. Add an entire bottle of your favorite teriyaki marinade. Add one whole can of pineapples. Turn your crock on low for 6-8 hours.

EAT and ENJOY!!! For an extra something if you can handle the carbs, when it's cooked completely put it over brown rice!

Empanadas Appetizer

You will need:

1 box refrigerated pie crusts (2)

4 oz. cream cheese

2 T. fresh chopped cilantro

2 T. salsa

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. garlic powder

1 c. finely chopped cooked chicken

1 egg, beaten

Additional salsa for dipping!

Let crusts thaw for about 20 minutes out of fridge.

Heat cream cheese in microwave until soft, add cilantro, salsa, cumin, salt, garlic. Stir until smooth. Add chicken and stir until well-mixed.

Unfold pie crusts; remove plastic. Roll out slightly and cut 3 inch rounds using biscuit cutter or drinking glass. Reroll pie scraps until you have used it all to make as many rounds as you can.

Preheat oven to 425 . Place about 2 t. of chicken mixture in center of each round. Brush edges slightly with water. Pull one side of dough over filling to form the half circle; pinch the edges to seal.

Place 10-12 empanadas on a foil-lined baking sheet; brush lightly with egg. Bake 16-18 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve with salsa.

(Makes 10 appetizer servings)

Cooking Slump

Lately I've been in a cooking slump! I can't seem to get over it! I just don't find joy in cooking right now. I know I should be thinking of new and tried and true recipes to share, but I just can't seem to get it together at the moment! I am planning my son's birthday party soon though! I have a few more details to work out, but I will share pictures when I can get everything together. The theme for this year's party is STARS! Everything is also going to be centered around the color BLUE since it has been his favorite all year! :) I hope to have star-shaped cereal, star-shaped sandwiches, cheetohs (a must-have), M&Ms, Twizzlers, and Cupcakes (blue ones, with star sprinkles!).

Hope to get these pics up as soon as I get everything going!

:) Happy Cooking!