WCA Muffins (Walnuts, Coconut, & Apples)

The ingredient combination is slightly unusual, but the flavors really enhance one another. These muffins are extra moist and slightly healthy given all the apples!  They make a great treat for any Sunday School class and if you're lucky you'll have some leftover for yourself!

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Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 2 cups finely chopped apples
* 1 cups chopped walnuts
* 1 cup flaked coconut

Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar and oil. Stir in chopped apples, walnuts and coconut. Stir apple and egg mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased and floured muffin cups about three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes then remove to a rack.
Makes about 18 muffins.

Tortilla Chips

When you have leftover corn tortillas, try making some homemade tortilla chips! These things are super easy and taste great!

 Cut your tortillas into fours and lay them on a baking pan. Sprinkle some sea salt and pop them into the oven at 350 degrees.

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Ingredients
Corn Tortillas
Sea Salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut your tortillas into fours. Lay your tortillas on a baking pan and sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake for 15-25 minutes or until desired crispiness. Keep an eye on the tortillas so they do not burn.

Then combine with Carol's salsa and your day will be complete.

Coconut Cake Cupcakes

Ben likes coconut cake and someone had a baby, so why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I prepared this recipe just as directed, but I made a batch of cupcakes (12) to send to a friend and a small round cake (for Ben). He said it was good, but most importantly they were really pretty!

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Ingredients
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
• 1 (14 ounce) can cream of coconut
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (8 ounce) package flaked coconut

Directions
1.Prepare and bake white cake mix according to package directions. Remove cake from oven. While still hot, using a utility fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake.
2.Mix cream of coconut and sweetened condensed milk together. Pour over the top of the still hot cake. Let cake cool completely then frost with the whipped topping and top with the flaked coconut. Keep cake refrigerated.

PW Enchiladas

Ya’ll, this was a lot of work. At least more work than I’m used to in the kitchen. The end result was delicious, so I guess the work was worth it.

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Ingredients
• FOR THE SAUCE:
• 1 Tablespoon Canola Oijavascript:void(0)l
• 1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
• 1 can (28 Ounce) Enchilada Or Red Sauce
• 2 cups Chicken Broth
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro
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• FOR THE MEAT:
• 1-½ pound Ground Beef
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
• 2 cans (4 Ounce) Diced Green Chilies
• ½ teaspoons Salt
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• FOR THE TORTILLAS:
• 10 whole (to 14) Corn Tortillas
• ½ cups Canola Oil
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• TO ASSEMBLE:
• 3 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• ½ cups Chopped Black Olives
• 1 cup Chopped Green Onions
• ½ cups Chopped Cilantro

Preparation Instructions
Step #1 – The Sauce
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.

Step #2 – The Meat
Brown the meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

Step #3 – Tortillas
Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper—towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

Step #4 – Assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

Easy as Lemon Pie

This was the easiest pie ever. I am talking EASY. Neil's favorite pie is lemon. I am not that big of a fan, but I wanted to make him one for Valentine's Day. I searched the Internet and found this totally easy recipe that only has 4 ingredients! He said it was good, but not as good as his grandmothers... We have a long running joke about lemon pie. He brought me a piece of his grandmothers "wonderful" lemon pie when we first started dating. Well, I took one bite and tossed it. I guess it had been sitting out for a while. Neil came over later to visit and saw the pie in the trash. He thought I had maybe dropped it on the floor because NO ONE would EVER throw away Grandmothers Lemon pie! Well...I did and I will never hear the end of it. So, here is a tasty lemon pie...and EASY.

small can sweetened condensed milk

1 container Cool Whip

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 graham cracker crust

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into crust. Put in the refrigerator until set (about an hour).

Italian Breaded Pork Chop

If you're planning on cooking pork chops, please consider this wonderful recipe!  Quick, easy, tons of flavor. Enough said.
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Ingredients

* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 2 tablespoons dried parsley
* 1/2 tsp garlic salt
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 pork chops

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. In a separate small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and garlic salt.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat.
4. Dip each pork chop into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly. Repeat again. Place coated pork chops in the skillet, and brown abut 5 minutes on each side.
5. Place the skillet and pork chops in the preheated oven, and cook 10-15 minutes, or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

Click here for a printer friendly version.

Chocolate Covered Oreos

I found a cool website a few weeks ago that has molds to make candy, soap, cookies, etc. For Bennett's Valentine gift, I made chocolate covered Oreos using this heart shaped mold. The website even gives this great tutorial...but I thought I would post my own, too!

I bought the already colored melting candy at Michaels because coloring anything red is so hard!

You just put a little spoonful of candy in the bottom of the mold.

I found after a few tries, to tap the mold on the counter to get the air out...it also spreads it out evenly.

Place the Oreo on top of the melted chocolate.

Put another spoonful on top of the Oreo.

Tap it against the counter again and it spreads out so nicely! I put mine in the fridge to let them set and it only took about 10 minutes. I think they turned out so cute!

I hope they taste as cute as they look!

Carrot Sticks

Weelicious sure does know how to disguise vegetables. That wasn't my intention, but a huge bag of carrots fell into my lap and I needed to put them to good use. If any of you are parents and would like to incorporate more veggies without the actual veggie taste, then try these carrot sticks.  They actually taste like cheese biscuits. Yum!

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1 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Carrot, finely shredded and thin
2 Tbsp Canola or Vegetable Oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the first four ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Using your hands, add the carrots to the flour mixture coating the carrot pieces with flour.
4. Add the oil and work with your hands to bring the dough together.
(You really have to be patient with working this dough together so that the flour absorbs the oil. If you are concerned that it is not coming together, just add 1 extra tsp of oil to the dough and work it with your hands forming a ball until it comes together.)
5. Form the carrot parmesan dough into a flat rectangular disk and allow to rest for 1-2 minutes then roll out 1/2 inch thick on parchment paper or a dry clean surface.
6. Using a knife, cut the dough into sticks, 2 inches long by 1/4 inch wide.
7. Bake on a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet for 15-17 minutes.
8. Cool and serve.

Cinnamon Muffins

Makes 12+ muffins

4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
cinnamon sugar - for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare muffin tins.

Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix only until moistened. Fill muffin cups and top with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean.
**Note: I used a mini muffin pan and they baked for 10 minutes.**