Funnel Cake

The first time I tried a funnel cake was at East Side Mario's restaurant and thought they were so good. Then we saw them at Lagoon Amusement park in Utah and tried them there. So delicious! Since East Side Mario's isn't there anymore and we are not in Utah anymore we figured we better do the next best thing and make our own. These were very yummy and you could put whatever topping you like on it. Traditionally it's powdered sugar, strawberries and whipped cream. Mmmmm!

Ingredients

(makes 6)

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (or coconut flour to make gluten free)

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Canola oil , enough to cover the bottom of a heavy skillet. 

Powdered sugar for topping

Fresh Strawberries

Whipped cream

Directions

- Mix egg and milk in a medium sized bowl. 

- In another smaller bowl sift flour and baking powder and blend together.

- Gradually add the flour to the milk mixture beating until smooth with a whisk. 

- Preheat oil in frying pan to 375 F. 

- With your finger on the bottom pour batter in a funnel with a 1/2" or 3/4" hole. You can just use a large Ziploc bag or decorator bag with circle tip on the end. I did the Ziploc bag and snipped the end off to make a hole being careful not to let the batter out until ready. 

- When oil is ready, let the batter drizzle into hot oil. Spiral to create a circle and overlap a couple times to seal things together stopping the batter in between cakes. This is easier with two people if you do it this way. If you use a funnel you can just put enough batter to make one cake. About 1/2 cup. 

- Cook for about 1 min or until golden brown then flip carefully to cook the other side. 

- Remove and drain on paper towels. 

- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with fruit and cream or whatever topping you wish. 

Acini De Pepe Salad

This is my daughters favorite salad and wants me to make it for every pot luck gathering. It`s like frog eye salad meets ambrosia salad. I got the recipe from my Aunt Marlene and not sure where she got it from but it`s so yummy everyone will love it!

The picture is not exactly how it looks like but could not find one. 

picture courtesy of jamhands.net

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 3/4 cups pineapple juice

2 Tbsp flour

3 beaten eggs

1/2 tsp salt

Cook over medium heat until slightly thickened, don`t burn! Set aside to cool. 

1 1/2  cups acini pasta

5 cups water

tiny bit of oil to prevent sticking

a little salt

Cook the acini 7 mins, then rinse in cold water. Add acini to sauce. Set in the fridge 8-10 hours. I usually do this the night before and leave it overnight in the fridge. 

1 large can crushed pineapple drained (you can do this the night before and use juice in first step)

1 can orange sections, drained

1/2 jar maraschino cherries (optional)

1 cup coconut

1 can fruit cocktail, drained

Strawberries, sliced 

Purple grapes, sliced in half

1 small Cool Whip

Mini marshmallows (optional)

Add all ingredients including acini sauce in a large bowl and blend well adding the fresh fruit last so it wont break them apart too much. 

This makes a pretty good sized bowl full which you`ll need because everyone will love it! 

Meatless Chili

Get your can opener ready because this recipe calls for many different canned items. It is so easy to put together and so yummy. Honestly I`ve done this recipe many different ways so I will give you options you can try. But let me tell ya this is a great dish to boost you up on a dreary day. 

Thanks to ezrapoundcake.com for the picture.

Ingredients

1 large can or 2 small diced tomatoes (I prefer Rotel Chili Fixin or Hot)

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 can beans in tomato sauce or navy beans (not baked beans as they tend to have a BBQ flavor) 

1 can sliced mushrooms

1 can or frozen corn

fresh Jalapenos or green peppers (optional)

1 pkg of chili seasoning (I like McCormick Hot Chili)

If you don`t want to use the packaged seasoning you can add 1 Tbsp cumin & 1/4 cup chili powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)

sour cream

shredded cheese

pickled jalapenos (cuz we like it hot!)

In a large pot add all the canned ingredients without draining and chopped fresh peppers if using and heat through on med-high heat. Add chili seasoning. 

Add the brown sugar and maple syrup if using. This can cut down on the acidity of the canned tomatoes and the heat of the chili seasoning if using a hot kind. 

Turn the heat to low and simmer with a lid for about 15 mins or more. 

Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheese and pickled jalapenos if desired. 

Fry Bread & Indian Tacos

One of the great benefits of living next to the largest Indian Reserve in Canada is the fact that Indian Tacos are around all the time. I have learned however that there are many ways to make them depending on family background and personal tastes. The Navajo Tacos tend to be more flat and used like a taco in hand rather than on a plate eaten with knife and fork. They also tend to use refried beans with their meat mixture to give it a more Mexican taste with perhaps a saucy Mexican red sauce.

There are a few different ways to make fry bread as well. Some use milk while other just use water. Some use baking powder while other use yeast and some use eggs and some don't. This fry bread recipe came from my mom who got it from one of her Native friends that she use to work with and it has always been a hit when I serve it. 

You can add whatever toppings you like I'll give you a few suggestions. Hope you enjoy!

(thanks to Manly Kitchen & The Pioneer Woman for the pictures)

Ingredients

Fry Bread (makes approx 15 depending on size)

4 cups flour

4 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups milk (can use 2/3 cup of powdered milk and 2 cups water)

2 eggs 

Oil or Crisco

Taco Meat

Basic:

1-2 pounds of ground beef

1 pkg of taco seasoning.

water as indicated on pkg

Fry up the meat and drain off grease (I put mine in a colander and rinse with hot water then put back in frying pan)

Add taco seasoning and water and cook on low heat until ready. Add other ingredients below if you wish)

optional things you could put in your meat:

Can of Rotel "Hot" or "Chili fixin" tomatoes or just regular diced tomatoes

1 can kidney or navy beans

diced onion fried with hamburger

salsa added to meat

one time I had left over meatless chili in the fridge (on blog) and added that to the meat- so good!

Toppings 

Lettuce - chopped fine

Tomatoes-diced

Cheese - shredded

Sour cream

Jalapenos

Salsa

or whatever you like on your tacos

Directions

-In a bowl (I use my kitchen aid with bread hook) add flour, baking powder and salt. 

-In another small-med bowl add eggs and whip a bit. Add 2 cups of milk. If using the powdered milk method then add the powder then the water and use a whisk to blend then add the eggs and whisk again. 

-Add the milk to the flour and combined with either the kitchen aid or the tools God gave ya (your hands). The dough will be quite sticky. 

- Put some flour on a clean surface and dump the dough onto the flour. 

- Knee the dough just until blended still having a bit of stickiness you don't want too much flour to make it stiff, then mound the dough into a ball. 

-Brush the extra flour aside with your hands and get out the oil. 

- Rub the oil lightly onto the ball of dough, cover and let sit at room temperature for a bit. 

- Add about 1 inch of canola oil to a frying pan (you can melt Crisco in the frying pan as well if you prefer) and heat up on med high -high heat (about an 8 or 375 in electric pan). To test you can add a small piece of dough you don't want it too hot that it cooks too fast or too low that it soaks up too much of the oil as it cooks. 

- Pour some of the oil onto a clean surface (or somewhat clean from where you were kneeing) and rub some onto your hands as well.  

- Take a small piece of the dough and make into a ball. 

- Using your hands flatten out the dough on the oiled surface to make a nice round piece. Then gently pull it up and carefully add it to the oil. It's ok if it has some tiny holes in it as you pull it up they tend to cook together. 

Watch the dough carefully and turn over with tongues when golden brown. 

 Hold the fry bread over oil to let it drain a bit before placing on a paper towel lined plate.

These are very good with honey butter, jam or cinnamon sugar or use them for your Indian Tacos. 

No Bake Cookies

I do have the healthier version of these on this blog but sometimes ya just want the original so here they are. I've had this recipe for years so I'm not even sure where it came from. It's just a yummy classic in my household and so simple to make for a quick treat. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

3 Tbsp cocoa

1/8 tsp salt

3 cups oatmeal

1/2 cup walnuts

1 cup coconut

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In a medium saucepan add butter and melt then add next 3 ingredients. Bring to a boil on med-high heat. Take off heat and add the rest of the ingredients stirring to combined. 

On a parchment lined cookie sheet drop cookies by the spoonfuls into mounds. Place in the fridge to cool and to firm up. 

Enjoy this yummy chocolaty treat. 

Greek/Mediterranean Salad

Such an easy and yummy salad. There are many ways you can do a Greek/Mediterranean salad. I'll give you some other option ingredients you can try as well. I also have no idea the amounts I just chuck stuff in until it looks good.  

Ingredients

1-2 long English cucumber

1 pint cherry tomatoes or 3 Roma tomatoes

1/2 Red Onion, cut in quarters and slice thin

Feta Cheese

Kalamata Olives

Optional: 

Garbanzo beans

Romaine lettuce chopped 

Red or Green Pepper

Couscous or Quinoa 

Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp minced garlic (optional)

Mix the dressing ingredients together. Add the sliced onion and toss leaving them in to marinade while you do the rest. Chop and mix all the vegetables, crumble or chop feta and add to salad. Add olives and lastly the onions drizzling as much or as little of the dressing over top as you would like. Mix well. Enjoy with some yummy bread sticks!