Pancetta Pasta

1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin

1 lb. spaghetti

1/2 cup pancetta, diced

1 garlic clove

4 Tblsp. heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tblsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. chopped fresh chives (optional)

Clean mushrooms and slice. Cook pasta to al dente. Saute pancetta, mushrooms, and garlic over medium heat for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta and cream. Stir over low heat until well mixed. Sprinkle with cheese and chives and serve.

Natalie's White Chicken Chili

This is a recipe from my sister-in-law...she has brought it to a few family functions, and it is always the first one gone!

3-4 chicken breasts, cubed

1 medium onion, chopped (or 1/2 cup dehydrated onion)

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

3 cans Great Northern white beans, rinsed and drained

1 can white beans (these are smaller than the Great Northern's), rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cans chicken broth

2 cans chopped green chilies

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I think I only did 1/8 tsp. because I don't like much spice)

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 cup whipping cream

Put everything in the crock pot except the sour cream and whipping cream. Cook on low heat 8 hours or until chicken is cooked. The last half hour add the sour cream and whipping cream. Serve.

Sweet and Salty Salad Wrap

I got this recipe from Our Best Bites, and ate it ALL the time last summer!

baby spinach

cooked/shredded chicken (I use leftover rotisserie)

craisins

crumbled bacon (I use the crumbled Kirkland bacon from Costco)

feta cheese

poppyseed dressing (homemade or Brianna's)

Toss together the above ingredients, then wrap in a tortilla, pita, or flatbread wrap.

Perfect Baked Potato

1 Large Russett Potato

Oil (vegetable or canola)

Kosher salt (I use coarse sea salt)

Heat oven to 350 degrees and place racks in top and bottom thirds of the oven. Wash potato (or potatoes) thoroughly with cold water. Dry well, then poke 8 to 12 deep holes oll over it with a fork. Place in a bowl and coat lightly with oil. Sprinkle with salt and place potato directly on the rack in the middle of the oven. Place a cookie sheet on lower rack to catch any drippings.

Bake one hour or until skin feels crisp, but skin underneath feels soft.

If you are cooking more than four potatoes, you may need to extend the cooking time by up to 15 minutes.

Perfect Corn on the Cob

This recipe is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, which I love!

7-8 ears of corn, husked and silky threads removed

2 Tblsp. white sugar

2 Tblsp. white vinegar

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add the sugar and vinegar and bring to a full boil again. Add the husked corn, submerging all the ears in the water the best that you can. Bring the water to a full boil again. This is important! It may take a few minutes for the water to come back to boiling temperature once the corn is added but let it come to a full boil before moving on. Once the water is at a full boil, cover the pot, remove from the heat and let the corn sit in the hot, steaming water for 10 minutes. (The corn can stay in the water for up to 20 minutes without becoming pithy and dry.)

Elise's Homemade Vanilla Granola

I got this recipe from favorite family recipes, and took it to a ward Christmas Party...I can't even remember now how many people asked for the recipe!

8 cups oats

2 cups sliced almonds

1 cup wheat germ

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

craisins or raisins, to taste (optional)

3/4 cup canola oil

1 cup honey

3 Tblsp. vanilla (the real stuff!!)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine first 8 ingredients (dry ingredients) in a large bowl. In a saucepan combine oil, honey, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute then pour over oat mixture. Mix until all ingredients are moistened. Divide and spread mixture over 2 large cookie sheets and bake at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes (I did it the full 30). Remove from oven and leave on pans until the granola hardens (it will be a little chewy when it comes out of the oven...if you don't like it chewy at all then let it dry on the cookie sheets completely before storing it...that's what I did because I like it pretty crunchy). Break up granola and store in large Ziploc bags or containers. Serve plain, with yogurt, or with milk.

Red Berry Risotto Oatmeal

1/2 cup regular rolled oats or steel-ground oats (steel-ground will make it gluten free)

1 cup Arborio rice

1/2 cup heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk (it won't be as creamy with milk, but still yummy)

6 cups water

1 Tblsp. pure vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean scraped

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup ripe raspberries

1 cup ripe strawberries, quartered

OR

1 bag frozen raspberries, thawed and lightly drained

In a rice cooker or large pot add all the ingredients, except the fruit. Cook until done in rice cooker. If using a pot, bring the mixture to a quick boil and lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the raspberries and stir to combine. If using fresh fruit, stir in the strawberries and continue to stir until the berries have turned the risotto pink, 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately. If you are planning on saving leftovers and heating up in the morning, only add berries to each individual serving and not to the whole batch.