This is my favorite egg roll recipe because it is so simple. We have tried different meats and veggies inside and it always turns out delicious.

Egg Rolls

6 cups shredded cabbage and carrot mix
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 celery stalk (diced)
2 tablespoons green onion (minced)
1/2 pound ground pork (cooked and drained)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg (beaten)
cornstarch
20 egg roll wrappers
vegetable oil (for deep frying)


In a large bowl combine cabbage and carrot mix, bean sprouts, celery and green onion. Stir in pork, soy sauce, garlic powder and black pepper.
Heat a skillet to medium high and fry and pour beaten egg into it and fry like a pan cake on one side and then flip. cool. Chop egg up finely. Stir the egg into the cabbage mixture. Sprinkle the top of the cabbage mixture with cornstarch and mix well.
In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Lay out an egg roll wrapper. Place 1-2 tablespoons of filling in the corner of the wrapper, but not so the filling is actually touching the corner. Fold over that corner and roll about half of the way up. Fold over the left and right corners to the middle. Using a brush or the bottom of a spoon, brush the cornstarch/water mixture on the edges of the wrapper. Finish rolling up tightly and secure to make sure there are no leaks. Repeat until all the egg roll wraps are used.
Heat oil for frying in deep pot to 360 degrees. Deep fry egg rolls in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry

When I lived in Pocatello, I had some awesome neighbors. One in particular lived right next door just 10 steps away. We both had a love of cooking and baking that had us finding, and testing recipes together. This is a favorite that she's been asking me to blog since last January.. So without further ramblings.... Morgan, this ones for you... love and miss you my friend!


Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry

3 TBS cornstarch (divided)
1/2 cup water, plus 2 TBS water (divided)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb boneless round steak or chuck steak cut into thin 3 inch strips
2 TBS vegetable oil
4 cups broccoli florets
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
Hot cooked Rice

1. In large bowl, combine 2 TBS cornstarch, 2 TBS water and garlic powder until smooth.
2. Add beef and toss.
3. In a large skillet or wok over medium heat, stir-fry beef in 1 TBS oil until beef is cooked; remove and keep warm.
4. Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes.
5. Return beef to pan.
6. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger ad remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to pan.
7. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
8. Serve over rice.


serves 4

photo from Campbells Kitchendaily.com

Asian Ramen Noodle Salad

I found a couple of recipes for this on the internet and then messed around with them a few tries before I got the mixture that I love. Some people put mandarin oranges in this salad although I prefer it without. This is such a light yummy salad it feels guilt free to eat as much as I want.

Asian Ramen Noodle Salad

1 medium head cabbage
2 packages chicken ramen noodles
2 cans chicken meat (drained)
1/2 c slivered almonds
1 small bunch green onions
1/2 cup olive oil
1 TBS sugar
1 tsp seasoning salt
3 TBS vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Chop up cabbage and onion into small bite-sized pieces. Place in large serving bowl and add chicken meat and almonds. In small bowl combine oil, sugar, seasoning salt, vinegar, and seasoning packets from ramen noodles. Stir until combined and pour over cabbage mixture. Stir until coated and place in refrigerator until ready to serve. Right before serving break up dry ramen noodles and mix into salad.

Chow Mein

I LOVE Chinese food. I hardly ever get it and don't get to make it often at home. This is one of those dishes I get more than others because the kids really love the noodles, not to mention it is really quite simple to make. I always add a few pea pods and take a few liberties with the veggies. I've made this with chicken, pork, beef and even shrimp. If you want a GREAT Chinese Food recipe.. this is it.

Chow Mein

1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
2 boneless chicken breasts sliced thin
2 TBS oyster sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 TBS cornstarch
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 pound dry wonton noodles
2 medium celery cut in medium chunks
1/2 medium size white onion cut in medium slices
2 cups cabbage cut in medium slices
1 green onion
2 clove garlic chopped
4 TBS sesame or olive oil

1. Cut chicken into thin strips and set aside.
2. Soften the noodles by placing them in boiling salted water. Plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process and drain thoroughly.
3. Heat a wok or frying pan over medium to high heat. Add 2 TBS of oil. WHn the oil is hot, add noodles, Fry in batches until golden. Remove noodles from the pan.
4. Heat 2 TBS oil in a wok. Add garlic and meat. Let the meat brown briefly, then stir-fry until the redness is gone and the meat is nearly cooked through.
5. Add the rest of the vegetables (except the green onions) and mix well for 3-4 minutes.
6. In a small bowl combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken broth, cornstarch, and salt and pepper. Make a "well" in the middle of the wok for the sauce. Quickly stir and mix everything together. Stir in noodles and green onions.
7. Serve and enjoy!

White Chocolate Pumpkin Tiramisu

My sister Nina saw this original recipe created by Amy Richardson on Studio 5 KSL in SLC, Utah and decided to give it a try for our after Thanksgiving get together. Not only is it absolutely beautiful, but if you are a pumpkin lover the flavors make your mouth sing! An amazing recipe for the Fall. (She substituted pumpkin bread for the pumpkin pound cake and made her own pumpkin butter from the recipe HERE.) This recipe is super easy and delightfully delicious!


White Chocolate Pumpkin Tiramisu

Ingredients:

* 9-inch Spring form pan lined with parchment
* 1 vanilla pound cake cut in ¼ inch slices; and cut in half again
* 1 pumpkin pound cake cut in ¼ inch slices; and cut in half again
* 3 cups heavy whipping cream (2 cups for tiramisu, 1 cup reserved for serving)
* 1- 8 oz. package cream cheese at room temperature
* ¾ cup sugar
* 2 oz. white chocolate, or 7 squares of Ghirardelli vanilla bean white chocolate; melted.
* 3 tbs. prepared pumpkin butter
* ¼ cup apple cider or apple juice

Method:

Beat whipping cream and sugar until soft peaks form.
Add cream cheese until smooth.
Divide mixture in half.
To one half, add white chocolate and beat until well blended.
To the other half add the pumpkin butter and beat until well blended.

To assemble the tiramisu:

Line bottom of spring form pan with pumpkin pound cake; crowding to fit.
Brush cake with apple cider and cover with a layer of white chocolate cream.
Arrange a layer of vanilla pound cake over the cream, and top with a layer of spiced pumpkin cream.
Repeat these alternating layers, ending with pumpkin spiced cream.

Cover and chill overnight to set firm. May keep refrigerated for up to two days.

Loosen spring form and remove parchment. Smooth sides with a spatula.

Serve with whipped cream and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Whipped Cream
Ingredients:

* 1 cup whipping cream
* ¼ cup powdered sugar
* ½ tsp. vanilla extract

Method:

Whip ingredients on high till soft peaks form.

Pumpkin cookies

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart. It is a moist delicious cookie with great flavor. We like to add a cup of chocolate chips or pecans. Sometime we frosted them and sometimes we eat them plain. Which ever way you like them they are sure to be a hit.


Pumpkin Cookies

3/4 cup real butter
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 375. Beat butter and brown sugar until blended and add egg. Beat until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, milk, and vanilla and mix until well blended. Stir in baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add flour and stir until just combined. Drop by tablespoon on cookie sheet (dough will be very soft).Bake about 12 minutes or until cookies spring back. Cool on wire rack.

Downeast Pumpkin Bread

I lost my pumpkin bread recipe that was my go to for this time of year. Hard to believe but true I was the only one with the recipe. AAAUUGGHH! Now what? After searching and testing many recipes from the internet and friends I think I have finally found a similar Pumpkin bread to what I love. This recipe has just the right amount of spice and a great pumpkin taste. The very best part is that it is melt in your mouth moist. mmmmmmmmm. The flavor is almost better the next day if you can get it to last that long. Great add ins are pecans or walnuts or chocolate chips.

Downeast Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (DO NOT OVERBAKE)
   

Pumpkin Streusel Bars

Pumpkin Streusel Bars

Crust:

1/2 cup quick oats
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup butter (room temp)

Combine ingredients and mix until crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of crumb mixture and press the remaining into a 13x9x2 baking pan. Bake 375 for 10 minutes.

Filling:

2 cups pumpkin (16 oz can)
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup light brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamin
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice

Beat filling ingredients until well blended and smooth. Spread filling over baked crust; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Bake additional 25 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Black Bean Salsa

This recipe comes from Noreen's sister-in-law. It became a a fast family favorite, easy to make and I can never keep it around. There are two versions. We tend to lean toward the italian dressing one but like them both. (Depends on what I have in my fridge at the time)
This is great in tacos, on enchiladas or just eaten with tortilla chips. Give them both a try, one version is bound to be a new favorite.

Black Bean Salsa

1 can black beans (drained)
1 can olives (drained)
1 can corn (drained)
2 avocados
4 tomatoes
1/2 red onion
1 pepper (green, red or yellow)
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro (rinsed and drained)

Pour beans and corn into a large bowl. Chop olives, avocados and tomatoes into small pieces. (size depending on how chunky you want your salsa) chop up cilantro and add to ingredients.

Version 1: Add 1/2 bottle of italian dressing and sprinkle with salt to taste. Mix well.

Version 2: Add 2 TBS ranch dressing, squeeze juice from 1lime and sprinkle with garlic salt to taste. Mix well

Split Pea Soup

It's hard to get kids to try split pea soup. Its green and chunky and looks like baby food. However, once my kids got the "EEWWW, you want ME to eat that?" out of the way, they found that it really is quite tasty. This is our favorite version. We like it a little bit chunky so we cut the vegetables a little bigger. Its simple to make and tastes great on a cool day.

Split Pea Soup

2 cups split peas
1 medium carrot (diced)
1 medium potato (diced)
1/2 medium onion (diced)
1/2 meaty ham bone or 1 1/2 cups cooked ham (diced)
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste

Rinse peas and place in to a large stew pot. Add all other ingredients. Cover with water about 2 inches above the top of ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours, or intil peas are pureed and slightly thickened.

Creamy Tomato and Basil Soup

I just got this recipe from a lady at our church. It is so easy and very yummy. I used my leftover potatoes and tomatoes that needed to be used in my fridge. Then we enjoyed it with some hot out of the oven Honey Wheat Bread

Cream of Tomato and Basil Soup

1 Tbsp butter
2 C Chicken broth
15 oz Diced tomatoes
11 oz tomato puree
1/2 C Plain mashed potatoes
1 C Half and half
3 Tbsp Fresh basil, chopped*
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine butter, broth and tomatoes, simmer until reduced by half.
Decrease heat, add tomato puree, potatoes and half and half.
Blend the mixture until smooth in food processor or blender.
Stir in basil and season to taste.

*I dry fresh herbs from the garden in the fall, chop it up and keep them in the freezer. It tastes fresh and is extremely handy, not to mention...great for the budget.

Tater Tot Casserole

You know how you have those dishes that you make all the time and you don't even think about the recipe because there really isn't one. Tater tot casserole is one of those. I have been making this dish about as long as I remember. Recently I had a neighbor ask, "Can I get your recipe for that tater tot thing? My daughter Loves it!" (Of course. It has tater tots, what kid wouldn't?) I had to think a minute and then wrote down the 5 ingredients. So, for an easy dish that requires mostly no memory, has very few ingredients and is a snap to make, This is the dish for you.. and your tater tot loving children.

Tater Tot Casserole

Brown 1 lb hamburger. Add 2 cans cream of mushroom soup. Fill soup can halfway with milk and add to mixture. Stir until mixed through. Open 2 cans cut green beans. drain. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with hamburger mixture. Top this with 1 bag tater tots. (16 oz). Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes or until tater tots are brown and cooked through.

* Just a note: You can easily cut this recipe in half or better yet, make the entire thing and freeze half. Also, some people add onions to the hamburger or cheese to the top before baking.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

With the nights getting cooler we have soup on the brain. Josh loves anything that is thick and creamy and always asks for Broccoli Cheese Soup. I finally found a recipe that is souper easy and doesn't call for processed cheese. I like to make this and let it sit overnight in the fridge then heat it up and serve with some of those yummy Dinner Rolls.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 Can (family size) Cream of Chicken Soup

3 TBS Grated Onion

2 TBS Butter

2 Cups Shredded Chedder Cheese

3 Cups Milk

2 1/2 cups Broccoli Florets, steamed until tender

In large pot saute onion in butter. Over Low heat add can of soup (undiluted) to pot and stir. Add cheese and stir until thouroughly melted. Add milk and whisk until smooth. Add broccoli and stir. Simmer until bubbly.