Best Flan EVER

[I got this recipe from the internet and it is FABULOUS!]

Flan Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
• 2 - 12oz cans of Evaporated Skim Milk
• 1 1/2 cups of Sugar
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Caramel Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Sugar

Making the Caramel

1. Put the 2 cups of sugar into a pan (frying pan or pot). 
2. Cook over med-high heat until the sugar melts and becomes a nice golden brown. (You need to watch this carefully and adjust the heat as needed. The sugar will boil as it melts, this is normal. don't let it scorch or it will have a bitter taste)
3. Put the caramel in a 9x9 cake pan. Allow it to cool slightly while you make the flan.

**WARNING: Most plastic utensils will melt before the sugar does. It is best to use a wooden spoon or some sort of metal utensil.

Making the Flan

1. Crack 6 eggs into a large bowl. Mix the eggs together using a fork or a whisk.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth. You (Jou) can use a mixer, but all you really need is a fork or whisk.
3. Pour this over the caramel in the cake pan.

Cooking the Flan

1. This flan must be cooked in a water bath. Find a pan that will fit your flan pan. Make sure there is space around all sides of the flan pan. I usually use a roaster pan or lasagna pan for this.
2. Put the flan pan with the flan ingredients into the outer pan. Put water into the outer pan high enough to come about 3/4 of the way up on the flan pan.
3. Place the pans in a pre-heated 350 degree F oven and cook for 1 hour. Check the flan with a toothpick in the middle to ensure it is done. The flan may not look exactly firm, but if the toothpick is clean it is done.

Eat the Flan
Let the flan sit until mostly cool. Put a plate over the top of the flan pan. Make sure the plate is big enough for the flan and the caramel.

Turn the flan pan and plate over quickly, holding the plate over the top of the flan pan. Let the flan cool, the caramel will not harden. Jou now have a wonderful, delicious treat to serve! ( I refrigerated mine.)

Home Made Pizza Sauce (Updated)

We didn't have any pizza sauce, and we had some leftover tomato sauce in the fridge, but no tomato paste.  We enjoyed a recipe from Frank Sweterlitsch on AllRecipes.com, and were able to adapt the recipe to be a lot simpler and still very tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil (optional, since the Italian Seasoning already has some)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed (optional, since the Italian Seasoning already has some)

Directions

Mix together all ingredients and let stand several hours to let flavors blend (20 minutes worked well enough for us). No cooking necessary, just spread on dough.

Frozen Fruit Smoothie

A modified version of what Dad and Mom made for us.  Thanks for the inspiration, we now have one every day too!

Ingredients

• 2 c. frozen fruit (the blends and Sam's and Costco are perfect)
• 2 c. fruit juice (we prefer prepared orange juice from concentrate, apple is good, or you can use the juice from some opened canned fruit)
• 1 banana (essential to get a smooth consistency and flavor)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Yields: Enough for two adults and two very small kids.

Chocolate Chip Cookies/M&M Cookies

1 1/3 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 brown sugar
1 tbl. vanilla
2 eggs
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups chocolate chips
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Cream sugars and butter. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Sift flour, soda and salt and add half of dry mix to creamed mixture. Blend in remaining dry mix. Add chocolate chips and nuts and distribute well.
Bake at 350 for 11 to 13 minutes.

**This recipe makes the best m&m cookies I have ever made!Use two bags of m&ms in place of chocolate chips.

Almond Bars

These are a very rich, flavorful treat. A little bit goes a long way, but they are so good and just melt in the mouth

Crust:
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix well.
Pat into even layer in a 9 x 13 pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract

Beat together well and pour over crust while it is still hot.
Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes.
Cool.

Frosting:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tablespoon milk
1 tsp almond extract

Whisk together
Spread evenly on cooled cookies.
Cut into bars.

I lightly sprinkled sliced almonds over the top and put a whole almond on each bar

Oriental Napa Cabbage Salad

Ingredients

1-2 (3 ounce) package ramen noodles (seasoning packets are optional)
1/4 cup butter or combination olive or canola oil and butter
1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted (optional)
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds (or regular sliced)
1 large head napa cabbage, shredded
6 green onions, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (olive or canola)
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/8 cup white sugar ( use Splenda for a low calorie version)

Directions

Crush noodles, place them in a medium skillet and brown in butter over medium heat. Add almonds and sesame seeds. Stir often to prevent burning. (Some people and the seasoning packet here, but I prefer not to.) Set aside until ready to serve salad so they stay crunchy.

Slice and chop or shred the napa cabbage. Add green onions if using.

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar. Pour over salad, toss, add noodles and onions, toss again and serve.

These are the official directions. This is my little variation. I used two packages of crushed ramen noodles and half a cup sliced almonds. (I didn't have sesame seeds and it was fine.) I put them in a frying pan with three tablespoons hot olive oil and three tablespoons butter. I stirred them constantly over high heat until browned. You might need to remove the pan from the heat periodically to keep them from burning. some people coat them with the oil and roast them in them oven.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

This is a great whole wheat pizza dough recipe I created. It produces a thin, crispy crust because it doesn't raise. It is quick, easy to work with, and tastes great! You can use the dough to make breadsticks too. Slight adjustments to the dough may be needed depending on your altitude and humidity.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 t active dry yeast
• 1 C warm water
• 2 C whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C white flour
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 T oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. Place all ingredients in a mixer in the order listed.
3. Mix with dough hook until dough pulls away from bowl.
4. Add more flour or water until dough is not sticky but moist and stretchy.
5. On an oiled surface, roll out dough into large circle.
6. Roll up edges to form desired size crust.
7. Bake on preheated pizza stone for 5 minutes or until outer crust is just barely cooked.
8. Remove crust from pizza stone and fill with toppings.
9. Cook pizza as directed or until cheese is melted and starts to bubble.
10. Let cool 5 minutes before cutting--eat and enjoy!

Yields: 1 med pizza crust