Julie Renteria's Artichoke Dip

Julie was in the Relief Society presidency in my ward a couple of years ago, and she made this dip every couple of months for birthday parties that they did for the sisters. Everyone loved it. It makes a lot of dip, maybe 2 quarts, so it could be scaled down a bit... Ingredients: 4 - 8 oz packages of creme cheese 3 Cups of grated Swiss cheese 1 Cup of grated Parmesan cheese 1 - 4 oz package of crumbled blue cheese 1 bunch of green onions, chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 tsp fresh ground pepper 1 - 8 oz bottle artichoke hearts, chopped 1 Cup sour cream Mix all ingredients together, cover and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Yum!

Cinnamon Rolls or Orange Rolls

This is the best recipe we have found for cinnamon rolls and even better orange rolls. The dough is really easy to work with and it tastes great. We make the dough in the bread machine which takes a lot of the work out of it.

Dough:
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten (use eggs that are room temp.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
5 cups flour
3 tsp yeast

To bread machine: add milk, water, vanilla, butter, eggs, salt, and sugar then flour, place
yeast on top of flour. Set on dough cycle. When cycle is complete remove dough and let
stand 10 min.
(To make without bread machine: Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, margarine, salt, and eggs. Add flour and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.)

Roll out dough into 15 x 24 inch rectangle. Brush on melted butter then sprinkle on filling (orange or cinnamon depending on what you are making). with the long edge of the rectangle, roll up the dough and pinch the seam to seal. (be careful not to roll the dough too tight). Cut into 1-1/2 inch rolls and place in pan. Let them rise for 45 min or until they double in size. Cook at 350 degrees for 20-25 min or until golden brown. Remove from oven, spread cream cheese frosting over rolls.

Yield: 15 rolls. (I use 13 x19 x1 inch cookie sheet to bake them, if you use a 9 x 13 do not cook more than 12 rolls at a time) If you prefer the rolls to have a more crunchy edge put 9 to a 13 x 19 inch sheet.

Orange Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter
zest from 2 oranges
1/2 cup sugar

Orange Roll Frosting:
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp orange juice (from oranges used for the zest)

Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Roll Frosting:
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Candy Bar Salad

This is yum, yum, yum; although it really shouldn't be called a salad, that makes it sound healthy. I made it for a ward party and have had many requests for the recipe.

Candy Bar Salad

2 small (3.4 oz) boxes White Chocolate instant pudding mix

2 cups milk
1 12 oz. container Cool Whip

4 large apples, cut into small pieces

4 regular size snickers bars, chopped into small pieces.

Prepare pudding using 2 cups of milk. Gently fold Cool Whip into pudding. Fold apples then candy bar pieces.

Refrigerate until chilled.

Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo Sauce (serves 6)

1 cup butter
1 cup whipping (heavy) cream
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in medium sauce pan over low heat. Add cream and increase heat to medium, stirring frequently, until mixture starts to bubble. Reduce heat to low, simmer 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Stir in cheese until melted. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper. (The cheese is salty and if you used salted butter you may not need to add any salt. I like to use a little bit of garlic salt to add garlic flavor)

I like to add chicken to the sauce. I cut a few chicken breasts into small pieces then saute them in a frying pan with a little bit of oil, garlic salt and pepper.

Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies

I'm typing this recipe as I lick the spatula and beaters clean from their heavenly gooey-ness. Anyway, I found these brownies on All Recipes.com and BOY are they awesome?! The perfect blend of fudgey chewyness and the perfect level of succulent richness. Top with a scoop of Bryer's Natural Vanilla Ice Cream, and you'll wonder if you've died and gone to heaven!!!

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. reheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting.

Happy baking!! Gotta run - the timer is about to go off!!! :)

Enchiladas

I didn't like enchiladas when I still lived at home--now I love them. I found this in Mom's recipes and now it is one of my staples! Chili powder can differ in potency by brand and age so you may want to adjust by taste. The recipe makes enough sauce for two batches--I usually half it so I've included those measurements in parenthesis.

Enchiladas

Sauce
1/3 cup salad oil (1/6 cup)
1/4 cup (or less) chili powder (2 tsp.)
1 cup flour (½ cup)
1 Tbsp. cumin (½ Tbsp.)
1 Tbsp. garlic salt (½ Tbsp.)
2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce (1 can)
5 cups water, approx. (~3 cups)

Put oil and chili powder in pan and simmer. Stir in flour. Add other spices, tomato sauce, and water to make a gravy (not too thick).

1 lb. ground beef
chopped onion
cheddar cheese, grated
tortillas

Brown ground beef and onion. Drain and season with onion salt and pepper. Use half the sauce. Dip tortillas in sauce and fill with ground beef and cheese. Roll very tight and place in a baking dish. Cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with more grated cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes. Makes 1-1½ dozen enchiladas.

French Dip Sandwiches

This is one of my favorite meals. And it is so easy! If we have leftovers, I use it the second day to make a sort of Philly Cheese Sandwich with sauteed peppers, mushrooms and onions. I usually butter the rolls and toast them under the broiler before I put the meat and cheese on and then again afterward. This recipe came from Taste of Home magazine--July/Aug 1999.

French Dip Sandwiches

2 large onions, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup butter
1 boneless bottom round roast (3-4 lbs.)
5 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 1/2 tsp. browning sauce, optional (I don't use this)
1 garlic clove, minced
12-14 French rolls, split
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded swiss cheese (I usually use sliced)

In a skillet, saute onions in butter until tender; transfer to a slow cooker. Cut the roast in half; place over onions. Combine water, soy sauce, soup mix, browning sauce if desired and garlic; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or until the meat is tender.

Remove roast with a slotted spoon and let stand for 15 minutes. Thinly slice meat across the grain. Place on rolls; sprinkle with Swiss cheese. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 1 minute or until the cheese is melted. Skim fat from the cooking juices; strain and serve as a dipping sauce.

Makes 12-14 servings.