Homemade Kettle Corn

3 Tbs. canola oil
3 to 4 Tbs. sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup popcorn
Salt

Heat oil in large pot with handles until oil is really hot, almost smoking.  While oil heats up, combine popcorn and sugar in a bowl.  When oil is hot enough, add sugar & popcorn, and stir around in pot to make sure sugar doesn't clump.  If your heat is on high, you might want to turn it down just a little to prevent burning.  Place lid on pot and slide pot back and forth over burner quickly to help unpopped popcorn kernels reach the bottom and also to prevent sugar from burning to the bottom.  As soon as popping slows down, remove pot from heat and take off the lid.  Add salt as you stir popcorn, and dump the popcorn into serving bowl ASAP to get it out of the hot pot.  Every stove is different, so don't get discouraged if you burn the first couple of batches!  Just play with the temperatures a bit, and you'll figure it out.  I've had several people tell me this is the best popcorn they've ever had, so try it!

Almost Texas Caviar

This is our favorite sunday afternoon snack.
 2 cans black beans
1 can black eyed peas
1/2 onion chopped
1 red bell pepper seeded & chopped
2 large tomatoes chopped (or two handfuls grape tomatoes chopped)
1 mango peeled, pitted, & chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 avocado peeled, pitted, & chopped
2 Tbs. lime juice
3-4 Tbs. red wine vinegar
3/4-1 cup light zesty italian dressing (I use the cheapest brand at Walmart)
1-2 Tbs. sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together and dig in with your favorite dipping chips (tostito's hint of lime tortilla chips or Juanita's tortilla chips are our favorites). You can adjust the amounts of each ingredient to your particular liking (e.g. more onion, more bell pepper, etc.) Be careful, it's addictive!!

Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Pizza Grilled Cheese

4 slices of bread
butter or margarine
4 slices of mozzarella cheese
pepperoni (I used reg and cut in half but mini size would be good too)
Italian seasoning or basil
Parmesan cheese (opt)
pizza sauce for dipping


*Warm a medium/large skillet over medium heat. Butter each piece of bread on one side. When skillet is hot place a piece of bread butter side down on the skillet then add one slice of cheese and small shake of Italian seasoning or basil (add a small shake of parmesan cheese here too if desired). Top with a desired amount of pepperonis (I used about 8 -10 whole regular pepperonis per sandwich) If any other toppings are desired, add now. Add another slice of mozzarella and top with slice bread butter side up. Repeat with second sandwich. When bottom slice is golden brown then flip over carefully. Once both sides are brown remove from pan cut and serve with pizza sauce if desired. Make 2 sandwiches

This is a recipe that I got off pinterest. It was originally posted by Amber. We served these to the missionaries and they loved them. I only used one slice of cheese but layered the pepperoni well. I did not add the parmesan but did spread some left over pizza sauce on the bread before layering.(instead of dipping) I cooked them in my George Forman and they were delicious. I tried them again for just Will and I and instead of using butter, I sprayed the outside of the bread with butter flavored pam and they tasted just as good to us - plus save some calories.

Mom's Rolls

Mom’s Fluffy Potato Rolls:
¾ c. water
½ c. mashed potatoes
warm water & potatoes in microwave until hot, not boiling
¼ c. sugar
 ¼ c. olive oil
 Combine sugar and Oil in mixer add potatoes to oil & sugar
1 egg
2 c. whole wheat flour,
2 tsp. yeast
Add egg to mixer. After egg is incorporated, add flour and yeast. Mix together. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add 1 tsp. salt to dough.
Add 1 to 1 ½ c. white flour.

Add last little bit of white flour slowly, until dough doesn’t stick to sides of mixing bowl. Divide into half, then in half, then in half. (8 equal balls) Do three rolls out of each ball, rolling into ball shape with palms of hands. Or you can divide dough into half once, roll out into a circle (like a pizza crust), then cut like a pizza into 8 equal slices. Roll up slices starting with the wide end, and pinch small end to roll once rolled up to hold shape. This makes a crescent roll. *Note: you may need to spray dough/hands with cooking spray to keep dough from sticking to everything while you are working with it.

Place rolls in greased 9x13 pan. Let rise until double. Bake in oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until tops are browning.

Fish Tacos

Ingredients:
4 fish filets (I used mahi mahi--any flaky fish will do, but NO salmon)
cabbage, green or red
cider vinegar
mango
red onion
cucumber
cilantro
limes (or lime juice)
avocados
black beans, drained & rinsed
cajun seasoning
corn tortillas

Cut up (thinly shred) about a quarter to a third of the cabbage head.  Pour 2 or 3 tablespoons of vinegar on the cabbage, then season with salt & pepper and set aside.  Peel then dice up entire mango and put in a serving bowl (you're making a mango salsa).  Peel then dice up about a cup worth of cucumber and add to the mango.  Dice up about a third of the red onion and add to mango salsa.  Add 1/4 cup chopped cilantro to mango salsa.  Squeeze 2 limes into the mango salsa and mix everything up nicely.  The avocado is to garnish the taco, so just chop that up into a bowl of it's own.  Season fish with cajun seasoning, spray both sides of fish with cooking spray, and spray your cooking surface (I used our sandwich grill).  Cook about 4 minutes each side; depending on the thickness of the filet, maybe a little longer or shorter.  Don't overcook fish!  It should fall apart pretty easily but still be quite moist.
Put about half a filet in each warm tortilla.  Garnish with cabbage, mango salsa, black beans, avocado, and even tomatoes if you want.  Enjoy!!  (I had to eat mine with a fork--my tortilla wouldn't fold.  I suppose you could put less fish in each tortilla and less of the toppings, then it might actually fold up :))

Italian Pizza Bread

I found a couple of recipes I liked and decided to mash them up.  Here is the resulting delicious recipe--
For innards:
8 oz. pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 Tbs. italian seasoning
grated cheddar cheese (optional)

For bread:
3 1/2 teaspoons yeast
2 cups warm water
2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbs. salt
1 Tbs. dried basil
1 Tbs. dried oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups white flour
1 egg white, beaten

Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar.  Mix well, then let sit for 5 minutes, or until mixture starts to foam.  Add olive oil, salt, and spices--mix together.  Add whole wheat flour, mix for a minute until well incorporated.  Add white flour 1/2 a cup at a time, mixing in between.  You may need a little more or a little less flour.  Dough should be stiff.  Knead for 10 minutes, until smooth and rubbery. Place dough in an oiled bowl, spray dough with PAM olive oil spray, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for about an hour, or until dough has risen to twice it's original size.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Punch down dough and divide into two equal portions.  Roll out dough into a long rectangle (like french bread length).  Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan on each loaf along with 1/2 Tbs. italian seasoning.  Then place 4 oz. pepperoni on each rolled out loaf, sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese (just put how ever much you want).  Pull long sides together and pinch dough together to seal (make sure all openings are closed up well, or all of your stuffing will ooze out while cooking).  Place on oiled cookie sheet, seam-side down.  Brush beaten egg white all over loaves.  Place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until brown.  Let cool a little, then slice and serve with marinara sauce (for dipping).

Fresh Peach Pie

Fresh Peach Pie - Delicious for a summer dessert. I forgot to put in the nutmeg, but it tastes good either way. I cheated with a pre-made pie crust. It doesn't take too long to skin the peaches if you cut them in half and put a couple at a time in a few inches of boiling water. Leave them in 5-10 seconds (until the skin slips off easily) then put them in cold water to cool them down. I added a few ice cubes to speed the process because Florida water out of the tap doesn't really get that cold. Make sure you leave time for it to set in the fridge to firm up.

Ingredients:

1 9 inch pie shell baked - I used the deep dish kind

1 cup of white sugar

1/2-1 c water

4 Tbs corn starch

1/4 c butter or marg.

2 c of fresh peaches, pitted, skinned and mashed

1/4 tsp nutmeg - optional

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups peaches - pitted skinned and sliced

1/4 cup lemon juice

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Combine sugar, water, cornstarch, butter, mashed peaches and nutmeg in a saucepan. Cook over med heat until clear and thick. Stir in vanilla - let cool to room temperature

2. Stir in remaining peaches. Refrigerate 2-3 hours until set

Serve with whipped cream or cool whip