Corn & Cheese Chowder

This is a new favorite of mine....  Right from The Pioneer Woman's website.  Seriously I haven't made one thing from her site that isn't incredibly delicious!!

This soup is definitely not healthy. Butter, half and half, bacon, etc. BUT-- man is it delightful. :)  It warms my tummy right up!

Here's the RECIPE.

Torilla Soup

This is my current favorite soup!  We buy this little mix at Cost Plus World Market. If you can get to one of those stores, get there fast. This is the best, easiest soup ever!  Here's how we make it:

1 soup packet (pictured above)
7 1/2 cups of water
1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken (I use 8-10 frozen chicken tenders from Costco)
1 bag frozen corn

Pour water in a crock pot. Add entire contents of packet. Stir. :)  Then toss in the chicken (uncooked) and the corn.  Put the lid on, cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.

Just before serving, take out the chicken and shred. *Awesome trick: put the hot chicken in the kitchen aid and mix with the beater for a few minutes. The chicken will be perfectly shredded. :)

Then serve!  We like to top it with shredded cheese and fritos!

I guarantee you will love this stuff. It is SO good! Enjoy

**If you don't have a World Market close by, you can buy it online HERE

The Best Cinnamon Rolls!

If you've been lucky enough to have our famous cinnamon rolls... then you'll be glad we're posting this one!!  These are one of our most requested items.  The teachers I work with never seem to get enough of these babies!!  I'm not gonna lie-- they are delicious.  I spent a long time perfecting them. :)  Makes me hungry just thinking about them!


Dough:

2 cups milk, scalded
2 cubes butter
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup warm water
4 packages or 9 teaspoons yeast
9 cups flour

• Scald milk and add butter, sugar, and salt.
• Beat 4 eggs and add to milk mixture.
• In a separate bowl, dissolve 1 cup warm water with yeast.
• Combine both mixtures.
• Add flour-- start with 5 cups, then add 1/2 cup at a time. Mix until sticky and soft (but not sticking to your finger!) You may need more flour.
• Cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour)
• Divide into 2 sections.
• Take 1 section and roll out to a large rectangle. Spread filling (recipe below).
• Roll up, slice into 1-1 1/2 inch slices. Place close together on a greased cookie sheet.
• Repeat with the rest of the dough
• Bake at 325 degrees for 15-18 minutes.  
• Frost with either vanilla or cream cheese frosting (it is totally okay to use pre-made frosting!)

Filling:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

• Mix together, divide in half.
• Spread half of filling mixture on one rectangle of dough.
• Nuts and/or raisins can be added, but my kids have never liked them!

Enjoy!!  You can also use this dough for a very tasty crescent roll. Just brush with more melted butter when you take them out of the oven!

Cafe Rio's Sweet Pork Salad Copycat!

Life has been pretty crazy busy these days. But, the first week of school is almost over so we are all adapting to our new/old schedule. The college kids are all gone :(  Before Kevin headed back to Provo, we had a Cafe Rio night with family friends.

This recipe is the best and nailed the Sweet Pork Salad that I LOVE to eat when I'm in Utah. (or in Oxnard, California)  I love this salad so much I would plan a trip around it!!

If you already love Cafe Rio or if you want a GREAT new dinner, follow the link for all the recipes!

It's a lot of different things so it is best if you invite a few others and share in the cooking.

Enjoy!!


http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2007/11/jared-and-i-love-cafe-rio.html

Barf Casserole

Riley and Kevin have been forced to cook for themselves some of the time this summer. It's a tough situation, but they have managed to survive. There favorite creation is called 'Barf Casserole.' I'm sure you are excited to try out this recipe!

Barf Casserole:

1 slice white bread, torn into 'Sacrament' size pieces (buttered, if you'd like)

2-3 eggs

1 hot dog, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 slice pepper jack cheese, cut into bite-sized pieces

pinch of salt & pepper

salsa (optional)

2-3 T parmesan cheese

2-3 T ranch dressing

Mix the first 6 ingredients in a frying pan. Sprinkle the ranch dressing and parmesan cheese while cooking and add more if you'd like. Hot sauce is another great addition.

Kevin & Riley

Snickerdoodles

What is better on a summer day than a fresh batch of SNICKERDOODLES??? Pretty much nothing can top the Wagdog Snickerdoodles. They are soft and delicious :) If only you could upload the smell onto blogs....

I'm sure you're pretty jealous of the OVE-GLOVE that Andrea is sporting!! (It's really her dad's) It is quite the stylish way to handle all your hot items :D
Oh yeah.... we are loving Andrea for baking us these great treats. Too bad we always eat way too many!
One important tip on baking snickerdoodles is to take them out of the oven when they are ALMOST done. Let them finish cooking for 2-3 minutes on the tray. Then they stay soft forever. If you overbake them, they will be crunchy. We try to take them out before the edges turn golden.

SNICKERDOODLES:

2 cups shortening

3 cups sugar

4 eggs

5 1/2 cups flour

4 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

8 Tablespoons prepared cinnamon sugar (4 T sugar mixed with 4 T cinnamon)

Mix together the shortening, sugar, and eggs. Then sift together the dry ingredients and add to the shortening mixture. Mix well. Roll into a ball the size of a walnut (or scoop with a cookie scooper and you can make them bigger!), dip the top side into the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Place one inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Enjoy!!

P.S. my mom always taught me to only put the top 1/2 in the cinnamon sugar mixture so the sugar won't burn on the bottom... which results in a crunchy, not soft snickerdoodle.

Dot's Buttermilk Syrup

Many years ago when we moved to Bakersfield we fortunate to become friends with Dot. Dot is one very talented lady. She is also a great cook-- especially the good old home cooked comfort foods!! One day Dot made us some of this syrup. Holy Moly... it is the better syrup we had ever had in our lives!! And thus began a great Wagdogz tradition! We love to have this syrup (especially with whole wheat pancakes) whenever we have a special occasion, or whenever we make up a special occasion so that we can have it!! Ha!

A diet syrup it is not, just so you know. But the crazy amount of butter is worth it and we always justify it by adding the whole wheat pancakes ;) We especially love this breakfast when we are camping! Somehow it even tastes better when eaten amongst the pine trees! Enjoy

Dot's Buttermilk Syrup:

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter (2 cubes)

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon light Karo syrup

Combine these four ingredients in a large pot on the stove. Boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add:

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

This mixture will bubble up and become foamy (thus the need for a large pot!). Serve immediately.

The syrup can be stored and reheated, but I think it is always best when fresh. :)

~Mamawags