From My Kitchen to Yours!

Semi-spicy Chicken Legs

2011-05-12T08:16:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that I have jumped on board the coupon train. I have been loving the savings, and being a long-time stay-at-home-mom, it just gives me something to do that challenges me a little. Extreme Couponing on TLC is NOT how I got involved in this, however. As a matter of fact, we don't have cable or satellite, so I don't even get to watch it! I got interested when several other moms I know where posting their cheap grocery purchases on Facebook. I had to figure out how they were doing these amazing transactions. Turns out, a mom I used to attend church with had started doing free coupon classes and had started a blog. I got on her blog and taught myself a few of her tricks. Since then, I've been hooked! If you're interested in learning about couponing, I highly suggest you check out Carrie's blog. She also has a Facebook page called "Coupon Closet."

Some of the cheapest things I consistently purchase are chicken legs. I can get a package for under $1, so I have a freezer full. I was trying to figure out what to do with all of them when I came across a recipe that sounded interesting. I tweaked it and came up with something that was perfect for my family. The meat was so moist and tender, and they were just slightly spicy. My kids and my niece gobbled them up!

Ingredients:
12 chicken legs
1/4 cup butter (cubed)
5 ounces hot sauce (Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place the chicken legs in the bottom of your crockpot. Mine had to sit on top of each other, but they cooked fine! Toss in the cubed butter pieces, and pour in the hot sauce, trying to evenly cover each leg. This sounds like a lot of hot sauce, but there is really very little spice after it cooks. Sprinkle with all of the seasonings, and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for three (this is what I did).

Santa Fe Chicken

2011-03-07T16:12:00.003-06:00

Wow! It has been so long since I have posted a recipe. I promise that I have been feeding my family, but we've been going the simple route lately (lots of sandwiches and frozen foods). With a new baby in the house and three other small children needing attention, cooking has been the last thing on my mind. I'm so thankful for amazing friends who have helped keep us well-fed over the last month. We had several nights of delicious homecooking thanks to them! One of the meals that was brought was this Santa Fe Chicken. My friend Jordana made it for us, and we all just loved it! It is super-easy and extremely kid-friendly since it involves chicken and chips. I'm making two batches of it tonight to "pay it forward" to a friend of mine who is having health issues and who also has four small children. Hopefully they enjoy it as much as we did!

Here's a treat for you all for being so patient with me. Our sweet Nella had a photoshoot with Randy Coleman Photography when she was eleven days old...isn't she gorgeous? Of course I think so!

http://video214.com/play/lldVWzBIcZrsYSr1Udzt3g/s/dark

Ingredients:
1 package boneless/skinless chicken breasts (I used tenders.)
mayonnaise
1/2 bag Chili Cheese Fritos (crushed)
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.

Coat both sides of the chicken with mayonnaise. Dip the coated chicken into the crushed Fritos. Make sure to get chips on both sides. Place the chicken pieces in a 9x13 casserole dish. Spray the tops of the chicken pieces with cooking spray. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes, or until chicken is done.

Thanks for your recipe, Jordana!

Introducing...

2011-02-17T21:23:00.003-06:00

Nella Caroline
Born: February 5, 2011 @3:32 a. m.
7 pounds 6 ounces
20 inches long

My very precious reason for not blogging or cooking much these last nine months!

Weekly Meal Plan

2011-01-09T14:47:00.002-06:00

What's the weather like where you live? Here in Oklahoma City, we are having the first snow fall of the season. So far, it's light and not sticking around, but another storm is supposed to bring more in tomorrow.

Cold and snow make me want to cook lots of calorie-filled, delicious, comfort foods. Are you like that? I also LOVE using my crockpot when we are "hibernating" during the winter. Smelling our dinner cooking all day just makes our home seem even cozier!

Here's what's on our plan for this week...a lot of these are repeats from last week because I ended up doing very little cooking again.

Monday--Buffalo chicken chili (I didn't get to make it last week.)

Tuesday--Chicken and cheese quesadillas, avocado slices

Wednesday--Our big baby girl turns seven, so we'll take her out for her birthday dinner!

Thursday--These ham and cheese pinwheels, salad

Friday--Homemade pizza night, broccoli and cauliflower salad

Saturday--Taco soup with tortilla chips and avocado, cornbread

Sunday--Breakfast for dinner

I'm going to be baking this easy pumpkin bread and these M&M cookies this week, too.

Overnight French Toast

2011-01-03T11:16:00.002-06:00

I mixed this up last night after I put the kids to bed and then baked it this morning. I thought it would be good, but I had no idea that my family would eat every.last.bite. Oh my! I can already see the day when I'll be making two casserole dishes to feed these hungry mouths. Heaven help our grocery bill!!

I wasn't even able to get a picture of it because it was gone that fast! This recipe was adapted from Mommy's Kitchen.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (melted)
12 slices bread (I used wheat, but any kind will do.)
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 eggs
1.5 cups milk

Directions:
Pour the melted butter into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Place six slices of bread over the butter.

In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle half of it over the bread slices. Place the remaining slices on top of the first six slices.

In a larger bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and milk together. Pour this mixture over all of the bread, making sure it is all coated evenly. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture over the entire pan. Cover with foil and allow to chill in the refrigerator all night.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350. Take off original foil and replace with a new piece. Bake for 30 minutes. Take out of oven and remove foil. Place back in the oven for 15 minutes uncovered. Remove and pour syrup over the top. Place back in the oven for five minutes to allow the syrup to warm.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T10:48:00.003-06:00

I am resolving to start posting more this year. For the last six months, we have been in "survival mode," as my husband calls it. I was super sick for the first 23 weeks of this pregnancy, then I was on bedrest for three weeks, then Thanksgiving and Christmas hit, as well as birthday parties for two of my three kids. I just have not been cooking much. We have eaten a lot of sandwiches, frozen pizza *hangs head in shame,* and take-out. No wonder I've gained more weight with this baby than any of my others! ;)

Anyway, I am resolving to get back in the kitchen to share some more great recipes with you. I also intend to start back up with my Meatless Monday posts and Monday Meal Plans, though I actually think I'm going to make them into Sunday Weekly Meal Plans. All of this will start happening this week, but then I will take a few weeks off when our baby arrives (which probably won't be much longer based on my previous births). Please bare with me as we transition into a family of SIX!

So, let's start off with this week's meal plan, shall we?

Monday--Creamy spinach & artichoke pasta, tossed salad, French bread

Tuesday--Buffalo Chicken Chili, cornbread

Wednesday--Pepperoni pizza (using this recipe for crust), Caesar salad, carrot sticks with ranch dressing

Thursday--Split pea soup, crackers, and Chocolate Sheath cake for dessert

Friday--leftovers night

Saturday--Hard tacos, pinto beans, sliced avocados

Sunday--Mexican cornbread, leftover pinto beans, and coleslaw

Red Velvet Cookies (for Santa!)

2010-12-24T10:54:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas Eve! This month has just flown by. We've had stuff going on pretty much every day and night recently, so I apologize for the lack of posts. The kids and I just made these super-easy cookies for Santa. I love that they are red and white like Santa's wardrobe. :)

Ingredients:
1 box red velvet cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 cup white chocolate chips (0ptional)

Frosting Ingredients:
1 package cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup butter (softened)
2 teaspoons milk (I added a little more than this.)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the cake mix, oil, and eggs. Stir in the white chips. Spoon dough onto cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until tops are crackly. Let cool completely.

Frosting Directions:
In a mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add in the milk and vanilla and mix well. Pour in the sugar and mix until combined. Frost the cooled cookies. Store cookies in the refrigerator.

Teriyaki Drumsticks & Easy Veggie Fried Rice

2010-12-03T20:06:00.003-06:00

I made this meal tonight and our six-year-old daughter claims that it was the best dinner she has ever had! We even went out for ice cream afterwards and she said that the dinner was better than her ice cream. Ha!

Teriyaki Chicken Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
10 drumsticks
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 cup water

Directions:
In a large saute pan, heat the oil. Place the drumsticks in the hot oil and brown for a few minutes.

While the chicken is browning, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour the sauce over the drumsticks and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Spoon the sauce over the chicken when serving.
Easy Veggie Fried Rice Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups Minute Rice
1/2 bag frozen mixed veggies
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 eggs
6 tablespoons olive oil (divided in half)

Directions:
In a wok or saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil. Scramble the eggs until done, but not too dry. Remove them from the pan and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium-sized pot, bring the water, veggies, and soy sauce to a boil. Add the rice and cook until tender and liquid has been absorbed.

Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and transfer the cooked rice to the wok. Add the eggs. Stir fry the mixture for about five minutes.

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

2010-11-24T15:02:00.004-06:00

I made this on Sunday and it was gobbled up so fast! This was actually my first baked cheesecake. I couldn't believe how easy it was. If you need a fast and friendly Thanksgiving dessert recipe for tomorrow, try this one. I found it here and tweaked it to fit the ingredients that I had on hand.

Have a terrific Thanksgiving holiday!!
Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of the batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Taco Pasta

2010-11-21T09:23:00.005-06:00

It's been a while since I have posted an actual meal, hasn't it? It's not that I haven't been cooking meals...it's more that I haven't been experimenting too much. I guess I was in a slump, but this is COOKING week, and I am in the mood to try stuff out!

I found this recipe here. She posts a ton of gluten-free recipes, so her blog may interest some of you a lot. This particular recipe caught my eye because it was so simple, yet sounded perfect to make since all of the ingredients were already in my kitchen. The best part was that it took only minutes to prepare. I love meals like that!

We are having this for lunch today, so I can't say if it was a hit or not, but I'm sure it will be!

Pics to come. :)

Ingredients:
1 pound ground meat
1 package mini shell pasta noodles
1 can chopped green chilies
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning
cheddar cheese (grated)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Boil the noodles al dente and drain. Brown and drain your ground meat. To the ground meat, add the taco seasoning, chilies, and tomato sauce. Mix well. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with shredded cheddar. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Fruit and Yogurt Muffins

2010-11-15T16:39:00.003-06:00

I got out of bed a few minutes early to bake these muffins this morning. We are out of groceries, and I mean OUT. Tomorrow is grocery day...thank goodness! Thankfully, I had one egg, one container of yogurt, and 1/2 bag of frozen blueberries. This worked out perfectly for a super-delicious breakfast! They only took about five minutes to mix up and then 25 minutes to bake, so by the time the kids were dressed, we had a hot breakfast. These muffins were seriously so moist, and may just be our new favorite!

These could be adapted with any flavor yogurt and any fresh or frozen fruit. I think I'll try strawberry yogurt with frozen strawberries next time.

My husband took a picture of them, but we haven't downloaded it yet, so I'll post it soon.

I found this recipe here. She's always posting great recipes!

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 8-ounce container yogurt, any flavor (I used strawberries and cream.)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups fresh or frozen fruit (I used blueberries.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

Stir together flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, egg, vanilla, butter and fruit. Stir mixtures together just until combined (batter will be very thick). The batter was so thick that I had a hard time stirring it, so I poured in a tiny bit of milk to thin it out. Scoop into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Meal Plan Monday

2010-11-08T09:23:00.002-06:00

We're taking things down to a very simple level with the cooking that is going on in our kitchen. I've been having some minor pregnancy complications, which put me on modified bedrest for the last two weeks. Ugh! We had an ultrasound two weeks ago, and baby girl looks perfect, so no worries. My pregnancies are just never "typical," which is hard to accept when you're as busy as I am. I am out of bed now, and just taking it easy, which is why our dinners are simple enough for my hubby to whip up for us if he needs!

Monday--Chicken & Biscuits using this filling and canned biscuits, steamed broccoli, S'mores pie for dessert. I really want to try Kate's entire pot pie, but I don't want to make the crust from scratch right now. I can't wait to try it soon, though!

Tuesday--Sandwich night since Jer is at the station

Wednesday--Spaghetti noodles, meatless marinara sauce, frozen garlic bread, carrot sticks with ranch

Thursday--Bacon mac and cheese, salad, orange slices

Friday--Waffles, fruit salad, orange juice

Saturday--Take-out or pizza delivery

Sunday--Sandwiches again since Jer is back to the station

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T14:59:00.004-05:00

We had our neighborhood trick-or-treat last night, so today we're all coming down from a candy high. :) I hope you had a fun time with your little "treats"...we certainly did. I didn't get to go trick-or-treating (Daddy took all three), but I enjoyed having friends over for a potluck dinner and then passing out candy to the kiddos.

The past week was a busy one! We had the kids' school carnival and their class parties. I had signed up to bring cookies for my daughter's first grade class, with big intentions of baking something fun. Well, pregnancy complications have me off of my feet, so I had to come up with something else. Thankfully, one of my Facebook friends posted a picture of these cute little goodies and I immediately knew that I could easily sit at the table and prepare them. I seriously made them in less than ten minutes! So simple and cute!!

Ingredients:
1 package fudge stripe cookies (My friend used Keebler mint cookies instead.)
1 package Hershey kisses (unwrapped)
1 tube gel icing (I used green, but any color would work.)

Directions:
Turn the fudge stripe cookies upside down so that you see the chocolate coating part of the cookie. Use the icing to make a circle around the hole in the cookie. Place a Hershey kiss on top of the icing. Allow a few minutes to set.

A Day Late on My Meal Plan...

2010-10-26T15:08:00.003-05:00

I'm just going to get right on it since I'm a day late. Our days go by so quickly that sometimes I lose track of which day is which...is that a sign of old age?? I'm having to keep things pretty simple, as I'm not supposed to be on my feet a ton. With three previous preterm babies, my OB doesn't take any chances.

Monday--Pork Chops with Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Apples, steamed broccoli

Tuesday--Bacon, eggs, and biscuits We have spent all day at our four-year-old's field trip, so we're tired!

Wednesday--Grilled cheese and tomato soup

Thursday--Cheese quesadillas, pinto beans, avocado slices

Friday--Pizza night

Saturday--Mummy dogs, corn on the cob, fruit salad

Sunday--Dinner at my parents' house...yay!

Pork Chops with Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Apples

2010-10-25T18:06:00.006-05:00

I recently had my hair cut by a new girl named Michelle. While she was cutting, we were discussing food. She told me about this recipe that she had recently made. I'm normally not a fan of pork, but this sounded too good not to try. Boy, am I glad I tried it...the apples alone are to die for! We never discussed measurements, so I don't have an actual "recipe" today. I eyed everything and it turned out great!

Pictures to come!

Ingredients:
4 boneless pork chops (salt and pepper each side well)
3 apples (peeled and thinly sliced) I used Red Delicious apples.
1/2 stick butter
brown sugar
cinnamon

Directions:
In a large sautee pan, spread the sliced apples in a thin layer. Sprinkle with a generous amount of brown sugar and cinnamon. Top with the butter cut into pieces. Cover the pan and cook over low-medium until a syrup begins to form.

When the syrup forms, move the apples over enough to give each pork chop a place to rest. Replace the lid and allow to cook for about seven minutes. Flip the pork chops/stir the apples and leave the lid off. Cook the chops for another 15 minutes or until done. I served this with a side of steamed broccoli. Simple and delish!

Pumpkin Spice Cake

2010-10-24T13:26:00.004-05:00

I know that I've been swamping you guys with lots of baked good and not so many meals. I apologize. I have actually cooked quite a few new meals, but just haven't felt like posting them. Hopefully I'll get around to posting them this week.

With Halloween just six days away, I decided to "treat" you guys with another fantastic pumpkin and cream cheese recipe (this is for you, Amanda!). I was in the mood to bake earlier today, and I mixed this up in about ten minutes. So quick, so easy, and so delicious!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 3/4 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin
1 cup oil
1/2 cup pecans (chopped) *I didn't have any today. :(

Frosting:
1 package cream cheese
1 stick butter (softened)
4 cups powdered sugar
1.5 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon milk (more if needed)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, pumpkin, and oil. Blend in the nuts if you have them. Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish or mini loaf pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until done. Let cool completely. Frost. Refrigerate to store.

Meal Plan

2010-10-12T14:22:00.002-05:00

I'm a day late, but I just didn't have much energy yesterday to even think up my weekly meal plan. I hope this Tuesday finds you all well!

Monday--My brother made us goulash, so I didn't have to cook!

Tuesday--Maple Glazed Meatballs over rice with steamed broccoli (Our friend made us these when I was so sick earlier this summer. I'm just taking them straight from the freezer to the crockpot. They're great freezer-friendly meals!)

Wednesday--Ranch mac & cheese (recipe coming!) with steamed peas

Thursday--Hot dog & marshmallow roast with our friends 3DudesandaDiva after she takes our family Christmas card pics

Friday--Leftover spaghetti sauce from this recipe over pasta (It makes a ton!), with a salad

Saturday--Grilled chicken drumsticks, baked potatoes, green beans

Sunday--Sausage & potatoes and ?? side

Pumpkin Bars

2010-10-11T14:25:00.004-05:00

October means pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin waffles, and pumpkin bars. I'll admit that I probably overuse pumpkin during the fall, but my kids love the taste; it's healthy, and great in so many recipes!

This was actually my first time to make pumpkin bars, but they are a new favorite! I got this recipe here. She has so many great recipes to try, and she agrees that these pumpkin bars are fabulous!

I do have pictures, but haven't downloaded them quite yet. They should be up later this evening.

Bar Ingredients:
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Frosting Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional, but definitely needed, in my opinion!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs well, add in the sugar and butter and mix well. Add the pumpkin and vanilla and mix. Add the flour and spices and mix well. Spread in a 9 x 13-inch greased pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until done. Allow to completely cool.

For the frosting: In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar until just mixed. Stir in pecans. When the bars are cool, frost. Cut into squares and serve.

Meal Plan Monday

2010-10-04T16:59:00.002-05:00

It's time to plan our meals for the week. Tomorrow is grocery day for us, so I have to put lots of ingredients on my list! I shop once every two weeks, with quick trips in between for milk, bread, and bananas. Some of the links below are to my recipes, and some are recipes that I plan to try for the first time.

I don't usually plan out our breakfasts and lunches, since we usually eat leftovers for lunch (the kids take sandwiches to school) and I make whatever strikes my fancy for breakfast. The meals below are for our dinners.

Monday--Leftover turkey sausage & spinach lasagna (made by a friend) with toast

Tuesday--Spicy cheese soup (recipe to come)

Wednesday--Chicken stuffed shells (This recipe is for chicken lasagna, but I'm using jumbo shells instead.), Caesar salad, French bread

Thursday--Roasted chicken, steamed veggies, Sweetie Pie's mac & cheese

Friday--Use leftover roasted chicken in this white chicken chili

Saturday--Sandwiches & leftovers night

Sunday--I'm making a big batch of Carie's Marinara Sauce, so we'll eat some of it with a pasta.

Granola Bars

2010-09-29T11:23:00.005-05:00

My online friend Carie shared this recipe, and I just had to give it a try. I'm always looking for new breakfast ideas for my kids, and these should be great for that. I do have to say that I don't think they have the typical granola bar texture. They're more of a "healthy cookie" texture, but my kids will love that! I'll just wrap them individually in plastic wrap and voila--quick and healthy breakfast!

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ or ground flax seed (I used milled flax seed.)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour (or ¾ cup all-purpose flour & ¼ cup soy flour or sorghum flour)
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I forgot to set it out for the picture.)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands or a spatula. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Menu Planning

2010-09-27T13:11:00.004-05:00

I love to menu plan. It makes my grocery shopping *so* much easier, and our evenings run much smoother if I have something in mind before going into the kitchen. It also allows me to set out frozen meat if need be, or put dinner in the crockpot before heading out the door. Life with three kids is crazy enough without flying blind at dinnertime!

Having said all that, I am going to start listing my menu plans for the week each Monday. It'll be great to have it written here for my own use, but it might also give you an idea for dinner if you're in a slump.

I'm still planning to return to Meatless Monday posts as soon as I feel good 100% of the time. I just can't commit to coming up with new meatless recipes at this point in my pregnancy, but it shouldn't be too much longer before I can ditch the meds and get back to normal!

Monday--Pinto beans cooked with ham pieces, cornbread, butter cake for dessert (recipe soon!)

Tuesday--Beef stroganoff, green beans

Wednesday--Soft tacos with all the fixins', leftover pinto beans

Thursday--Date night for Jer and I, so the kids will have leftover soft tacos

Friday--Round steak in tomatoes, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli

Saturday--Spaghetti, tossed salad, French bread

Sunday--Sunday pot roast

Baked Ziti

2010-09-21T09:05:00.003-05:00

I love to have family over for big Sunday lunches. This Sunday I decided to try out this baked ziti recipe from Cassie's Craves. It was wonderful because by using beef rather than sausage, I already had everything I needed for this recipe in my pantry and fridge! It made enough to feed six adults, four children, and several days of lunches for me! I actually prepared it first thing in the morning, and then baked it right before our guests arrived. I served it with a spinach salad and French bread, as well as a lemon cake that I'll share with you another day. Delicious!

This could easily be a meatless meal by simply eliminating the ground beef or sausage. I think it would be just as tasty!

Ingredients:

1 pound ziti pasta (Is this the same as rigatoni, because that's what I used.)
1 pound ground hot Italian sausage (I used ground beef that I had on hand.)
1 small onion, chopped
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I used Hunt's garlic and herb.)
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
1 14.75-ounce can diced tomatoes
8 ounces ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (divided)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook ziti in salted water according to package directions; drain. Add about 1 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese directly to the noodles; stir until butter and cheese are melted.

Meanwhile, brown meat in a large, high-sided skillet. Add onion and saute until onion is translucent and meat is cooked through.

Add pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, sugar, and diced tomatoes to the sausage mixture. When sauce is heated through, stir in ricotta cheese. Once the ricotta is incorporated, add the ziti to the sauce mixture.

Pour half of the ziti mixture into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. Top with 2 cups mozzarella cheese. Pour the rest of the ziti on top of the cheese layer, and top with remaining mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes; remove foil and baked for an additional 20 minutes. Turn broiler to high and broil for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese begins to blister

Pioneer Woman's Best Baked Beans Ever

2010-09-18T14:30:00.004-05:00

This is a PW recipe. She made it over the Fourth of July, and I saved the recipe knowing that one day I would make it. I was WAY too sick in July to even consider making it then, but now that I'm back on my feet, I decided to give it a try. I have sneaked into the kitchen four times to *try* bites of it...truly amazing baked beans! These would be a great football food for all you college football fans! We're eating ours with homemade mac & cheese. Can't wait!

Ingredients:
8 slices bacon, halved
1 medium onion (diced small)
1/2 medium green pepper (diced) I used a jalapeno instead.
3 large cans (28 ounces each) pork and beans (I used six small cans.)
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup distilled or cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dry mustard or 2 tablespoons Dijon

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Fry bacon in a large, deep sautee pan until bacon has partially cooked and released about 1/4 cup drippings. Remove the bacon from your pan and drain on paper towels. Add onions and peppers to the drippings in the pan and sautee until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.

Pour flavored beans into a greased 9x13 pan. Top with the bacon, then bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours. Let stand to thicken slightly and serve.

Monkey Muffins

2010-09-12T11:18:00.002-05:00

Good Sunday morning to ya! It's a rainy, beautiful day here in Central Oklahoma--the perfect day to wake up to a warm breakfast. I found this recipe here. She says it's a Pioneer Woman recipe...what more should I say?! These were a hit with me and the kids. I made them in mini muffins, which were the perfect size for young children. So sad my handsome husband is at the station today...he really missed out on a terrific breakfast!

I didn't get a chance to take a picture this morning.

Ingredients:
1 can biscuits (I used Grands)
1/2 stick butter
cinnamon and sugar mixture (I just eyed it, so I'm not sure of the measurements)
sweetened condensed milk (Oh yeah!!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.

Place a small cube of butter in the bottom of the muffin tins.

Cut the biscuits in thirds (for regular biscuits) or fourths (for Grands). Roll the biscuit pieces in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place two (for mini muffin tins) or three (for regular muffin tins) of the pieces in the muffin tins.

Place another small cube of butter on top of the biscuits.

Bake for 15-18 minutes. Drizzle with sweetened condensed milk, or make up your own icing from powdered sugar and milk. I highly suggest using the condensed milk, though. :)

Can't Leave Alone Bars

2010-09-08T13:45:00.003-05:00

After school snacks--they're a big part of why I love being a stay-at-home mama. When I was growing up, I always anticipated what my mama was going to have ready for us when we walked in the door from school. I was especially pleased if it was some sort of baked good! Our four-year-old started all-day PreK this year, and every day when I pick him up he asks me "what I cooked for him." He has only been in school for three weeks and he already anticipates his after school snack...I love it! He's going to be thrilled to smell this when he walks in the door.

I don't know which of the recipe sites that I visit offered this recipe up, but I do thank you! I have had an ongoing love affair with sweetened condensed milk since I was a tiny girl. My mama has the same love. She actually asked her grandma for a can of it on her eighth birthday, and she received it. Ha! Anything made with this ingredient is a sure-fire hit for me

Ingredients:
1 box white or yellow cake mix (I used white.)
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 cup chocolate chips
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 stick butter (cubed)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, eggs, and oil together. Press two-thirds of the mixture in a 9x13 baking dish. You'll probably need to use your fingers for this part!

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the milk, chocolate chips, and butter. Microwave uncovered until the chips and butter are melted (about 2 minutes on high). Stir until smooth. Pour over the crust.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the remaining cake mixture over the top of the chocolate. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light brown. Cool before cutting.

Blueberry Snack Cake

2010-09-02T12:51:00.001-05:00

I am posting this from my phone ,so

I'm going to keep it short. This recipe is from www.mommyskitchen.net. It tastes like a blueberry poundcake. So good!

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
1teaspoon baking powder
1cup milk
2egg yolks
2egg whites--beaten until soft peaks form
2cups blueberries--don't thaw if frozen

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut the butter into pieces and add to flour mixture. Blend using a fork until it's crumbly. Set aside 3/4 cup of this mixture to use as a topping.

In another bowl, add the powder, milk, egg yolks. Mix well. Add this to the flour mixture and mix together Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.

Pour into 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with the blueberries and add the reserved topping. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
-- Post From My iPhone

Mustard and Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

2010-08-25T09:16:00.002-05:00

My friend Amanda told me about this ham glaze that her family was crazy about, so I decided to let my family try it out. Wow...huge success at dinner last night! It was so simple, too. We will definitely be doing this again! I served it with this hashbrown casserole and some okra & tomatoes. Delicious supper!

Ingredients:
1 ham of your choice (I just used 1/2 of a ham from the meat section of my grocery store.)
equal parts yellow mustard and brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the mustard and brown sugar together. Pour it over the ham. Bake for 45 minutes.

Pear Bread

2010-08-20T10:19:00.003-05:00

My mom brought over two huge bags FULL of fresh pears from my aunt's tree. I gave some away, and am going to make a couple of these pies with some of the others. I still had some that needed to be used before going bad, so I found this bread recipe that sounded too good to pass up! It makes two loaves, so this will be great to eat for breakfast for several days!

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup pecans (chopped) You could also use walnuts.
3/4 cup soft butter (or 3/4 cup oil)
3 eggs (slightly beaten)
2 cups sugar
2 cups ripe pears (peeled and grated)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of the mixture and use it to coat the pecans. Then add it all back together.

In a separate bowl, combine butter, eggs, sugar, pears, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry. Stir it until the batter is evenly moistened.

Pour into two loaf pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until done.

Peach Butter

2010-08-09T09:51:00.003-05:00

I'm baaaack! It has been six weeks of constant nausea and vomiting for me. I'm still suffering from hyperemesis (extreme nausea & vomiting during pregnancy), but my OB has me highly medicated on anti-nausea medication, so I can finally function again. I still haven't been able to cook a meal, but I think that I'm going to try it out tomorrow when my husband is home from the station. *Fingers crossed*

We took our children to a peach orchard on Friday morning to pick fresh peaches. We brought home a ton of them, and I was afraid of them going bad, so I got up this morning and got this peach butter in the crock pot. I've never canned anything before, so my mom is going to come over later to show me how it's done. Let's hope it turns out! So far, it's been really easy.

Ingredients:
25-30 peaches (not too ripe/not too hard)
4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Wash your peaches thoroughly. Place them in a large pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Remove them and place them in a large bowl of ice water for two minutes. After this, the peel should slide right off.

Take the seeds out of the peaches, remove any brown spots, and put the "meat" into the food processor or blender. Blend the peaches until you get the desired consistency. Mine is the consistency of not-so-chunky salsa.

Pour the peach puree into a large crockpot. Add the sugar and spices and stir well.

You don't want the lid completely covering the crockpot, so I used two butter knives laid over the crockpot to keep the lid slightly elevated. Cook on low heat for 6-12 hours. The mixture will cook down at least by half.

Pour into canning jars (with new seals). Place them in a canning pot (you can use a large pot if you don't have one) of boiling water for 20 minutes. Remove from water and let cool overnight. These should have a shelf life of 12-18 months.

Use as a spread on bread, bagels, English muffins, etc.

Chicken Salad

2010-06-26T15:34:00.004-05:00

Long time no post! Summer school has me very busy. I'm thankful that it is only three more weeks! I also haven't been cooking much food because I've been pretty sick. I have been cooking a baby, though! We are thrilled to be expecting baby #4, and our babies like to make their mama sick for the first 20-22 weeks. I'm only in week six, so I have a long road ahead of me. I'll post as often as I can. Thankfully I have some things that I have made but not posted about yet. I'll use those for as long as I can.

This chicken salad recipe was given to me by my friend Kathy Draper. It makes a ton! I actually ate this for lunch every day for a week, and it seems to get better as it ages. Kathy says that it is less fattening because you use Cool Whip, so that's a plus, huh?

Ingredients:
2 large cans cooked chicken
grapes (cut in half)
almond slivers
celery (cut in small pieces)
1 container cool whip (dethawed)
salt and pepper to taste
I also used garlic powder, but that was for my own tastes.

Directions:
Drain the chicken and use a fork to shred it well. Add the cool whip, almonds, celery, and grapes and mix well. I served mine on croissants topped with baby greens. Keep refrigerated.

Tortellini Casserole

2010-06-14T15:23:00.004-05:00

Hello old friends! I'm so sorry that I've been MIA for over a week. Before becoming a stay-at-home-mom, I was an elementary school teacher. I haven't worked since our oldest was born over six years ago, but I decided that I wanted to dip my toes back in for a little bit. I am teaching first grade in an inner-city school for a six-week summer school session. Man, you working moms have my admiration! The juggling and dodging and running is more than I was planning for! Not that SAHMs don't also have lots to juggle, dodge, and run from...it's just that I was in a SAHM groove, and now I'm out of any kind of groove. Oh well, it's just six weeks, right? So, needless to say, the blog has taken a back burner. I actually have several recipes that I have made and are ready to be blogged about, so be on the lookout for more in the coming days.

I'm ready to post a Meatless Monday dish. I made this ten days ago (before I started working) and am just now able to post about it. The recipe was given to me by my online friend, Shaun. She has given me tons of delicious meatless dishes (she's a vegetarian). This is so good...it's almost like a pot pie made with tortellini. Yummy!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 medium onion (chopped--I didn't have one.)
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Gouda cheese (4 ounces)
3/4 cup frozen sweet peas (thawed)
9 ounces refrigerated tortellini
1/2 cup Ritz crackers (crushed)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Cook the carrots, onion, and mushrooms in the butter for about five minutes. Stir in the flour and salt. Gradually add the milk; stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is bubbly, and then remove from heat. Stir in cheese, peas, and tortellini. Spoon into 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle with crackers. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.

Grilled Steak with Baby Arugula & Parmesan Salad

2010-06-04T13:45:00.003-05:00

Oh my gosh--this meal is incredible! Thanks to my friend Kate, who writes this blog, for giving me the recipe. It might just be my new favorite salad. I literally licked the remainder of the dressing from my bowl. The citrus of the lemons mixed with grated Parmesan, over a big bite of seasoned steak and arugula...yumm! It was quick and perfect for a hot summer day.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (divided)
4 (4 oz) flat iron steaks
2 lemons (halved)
1 tablespoon fresh chives (chopped)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups loosely packed baby arugula
1/4 cup fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (shaved)

Directions:
Preheat your indoor or outdoor grill.

Rub thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper over both sides of the steaks. Put them on the grill for about four minutes per side (longer if you prefer them more well-done). Add the lemon halves to the grill and let them cook for three minutes.

Cut the steaks into thin slices. Set aside.

Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, chives, oil, lemon juice, mustard and 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt and whisk together.

Drizzle over arugula and toss. Arrange one steak, one cup of arugula and one lemon half over each plate. Top each salad with cheese.

Grilled Bananas

2010-06-02T19:49:00.004-05:00

Oh yes, people...grilled bananas. We enjoyed a cookout with our friends the Millers last night, and Bobbie introduced us to these. I'm not normally a huge banana-lover, but these take delicious to another level! Jer and I grilled up some more tonight just because they were that good.

Ingredients:
1 banana for each person
butter
brown sugar
splash of rum (optional: I didn't have any when making mine tonight, so we did without and weren't disappointed at all.)
Directions:
Place each peeled banana on a piece of foil. Cut a slit down the length of the banana. Place several dabs of butter in the slit and then sprinkle it brown sugar. Make sure you get some inside. If using rum, give the banana a good splash. The alcohol cooks out, so don't worry about the children. :) Make a foil pocket around the banana and cook on the grill for about seven minutes. When the butter and sugar are melted, you're ready. We served ours with vanilla ice cream.

Cream Cheese & Jalapeno Stuffed Burgers

2010-06-01T11:30:00.004-05:00

I love, love, love cheeseburgers! These are on the grill as I'm typing this. I found this idea on allrecipes.com yesterday and just had to try them out. I cant wait to eat them for lunch!

Ingredients:
1 package hamburger meat
1 package cream cheese
1 jalapeno (chopped finely)
seasonings

Directions:
In a small bowl, cream together the cream cheese and chopped jalapeno. You might add a little seasoning if you like your burgers well-seasoned (like we do!)

Make the hamburger patties like you normally do, but press them to 1/4" thick.

Spread a layer of the cream cheese mixture on one of the patties. Top it with another patty, and press the sides together to form a seal.

When you grill them, it may take a little longer before they're done because of the filling.

Caprese Salad

2010-05-31T15:56:00.003-05:00

Happy Memorial Day, friends! What's everyone doing today? I hope you're enjoying your day off, soaking in the the sun, and remembering those lost.

Since Memorial Day is the unofficial kickoff to summer, I decided that I needed to post this Caprese salad recipe. It is meatless, so it goes along with our Meatless Memorial Monday...perfect! It's so simple, delicious, healthy, and pretty. It has all kinds of summertime flavors and is perfect to take on picnics.

I just made a portion that would feed as a side dish for two or a main dish for one. You can double or triple the recipe easily.

Ingredients:
6 cherry tomatoes
several fresh basil leaves (10 or 12 leaves)
4 or 5 slices of fresh mozzarella
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Dice the tomatoes and mozzarella into bite-size pieces. Chop the basil up. Toss these three things together in a salad bowl.

In a small bowl, mix the oil and vinegar. Drizzle over the tomato, basil, and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss well.

Blondies

2010-05-29T08:51:00.003-05:00

My husband came home from the station yesterday talking about these. Another firefighter had made them the night before and he wanted me to try them. Those firefighters have good taste! These were delicious and really simple to throw together. They taste like cookie cake to me, and for those of you who know me in real life, you know how I love some cookie cake! It's one of those recipes that you have everything for almost all the time.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans. The firefighter used walnuts.)
1/3 cup butter (melted)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, powder, soda, salt, and chopped nuts. Set aside.

In a larger mixing bowl, mix the brown sugar and melted butter together well. Add the beaten egg and vanilla and stir well. Add in the flour mixture, a little bit at a time, mixing everything well.

Spread in a small baking dish (8x8) and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Lemon Marinade

2010-05-28T15:18:00.005-05:00

I found the recipe for this summery chicken marinade on Jaimie's blog. She's always cooking up something good up there in Boston! I'm going to be trying out her Cheesy Muffins soon.

Yesterday I took the kids to the grocery store for a few things. I guess I'm on a lemon kick because I purchased three whole lemons, one lemonade mix, and one bottle of Simply Lemonade. It's summertime, folks!

Our chicken is marinading in this now. Later, my fantastic husband is going to work his magic on the grill and we have supper. Easy as that! I think I'll have a glass of lemonade to go with it.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Chicken breasts

Directions:
Mix everything together with a whisk. Pour it into a ziploc bag and add your chicken. Allow to marinate for 2-8 hours. Grill.

Work, Work, Work

2010-05-27T14:03:00.004-05:00

Work, work, work...there has been a lot of it going on in our little yard this week. We're making big changes and loving it! We had our storm shelter installed yesterday. These are pretty important to have here in Oklahoma! You should have seen the amount of dirt that they dug up in order to put that thing in! I'm planning to plant some ivy and other plants around the sides. It needs it...you see all that red clay we deal with? Not pretty! Any suggestions for shelter landscaping???
My zinnias are just beautiful already. They haven't bloomed yet, but they look gorgeous anyway. I think I'll be planting some of them around the shelter.
We planted two trees in our backyard this week. One is a plum tree--can't wait for that to start fruiting. The other is this one...can anyone guess what type of tree it is?? We're hoping it produces lots of shade for us to enjoy.
Aaaaah, dirt. I have been working with a lot of dirt this week. We pulled out last year's garden and stole the soil. We're going to build a compost container in its spot. I'm using the soil in this year's garden, so the wheelbarrow and I have become good friends.

Poppyseed Chicken

2010-05-23T16:03:00.005-05:00

I hope you're all having a great Sunday! We definitely are!! We spent the morning hiking at a nature center. It was a beautiful day for it. I normally cook Sunday lunch, but since we were gone, I am doing a Sunday dinner. This poppyseed chicken is always a hit whenever I serve it. My sister-in-law, Shannon, gave me this recipe before we were married. It is a great one to take for friends in need.

This is not my picture. I stole it offline and will add my own later. I just wanted some color in the post!

Ingredients:
1 package chicken breasts (boiled and cubed)
1 can cream of chicken
6 ounces sour cream
1/2 can chicken broth
1 stick butter (melted)
1 sleeve Ritz crackers (crumbled)
2 teaspoons poppyseeds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and broth until combined.

Place the cubed chicken in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Pour the sauce over the top of it.

Mix the melted butter, crackers, and poppyseeds in a bowl. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the chicken and sauce. Bake for 30 minutes.

Blossoms, Stakes, & Coffee Grounds

2010-05-20T21:07:00.006-05:00

It's time for my garden update. I wish you all could see how much everything is growing! The picture above is one of our four pumpkin plants that are growing in our front bed. We planted pumpkins last year and had four return this season. I think those big, green leaves are so pretty!
These are some of the petunias that my kids bought me for Mother's Day. The other green plants that are growing in there with them are zinnia sprouts that I am growing from seeds. I cannot wait to watch them bloom! I anticipate that it will happen in the next couple of weeks, so I'll be sure to get pictures of them.
We staked our tomatoes and noticed that we have our first tomato blooms. That pretty yellow flower will *hopefully* be a juicy red tomato very soon.

Did you know that you can get used coffee grounds from Starbucks to use in the soil of your garden? This kind of thing is right up my alley! We try to be as "green" as possible in our home, so using something "old" to give life to my plants is awesome. Check out this web post to find out more information on this subject.

Growing a garden is truly one of life's simple pleasures. The children and I are excited to see the growth every day, and they are more than eager to help any way they can. We're already brainstorming on how we can make a bigger version next year!

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

2010-05-20T13:31:00.004-05:00

I hosted a playdate today, so I made this yummy cake for us to munch on. Oh wow--it is so yummy! The chocolate chips make it extra moist. Prepare yourself for some serious indulging with this one. I need to thank Mommy's Kitchen again for this recipe. She has some good stuff on her blog!

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (I used salted butter, so I left out the salt.)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt.

In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon set aside.

Using a electric mixer, beat together the remaining 1 cup sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the sour cream and vanilla.

Fold in the flour mixture in two parts until just combined. Pour half the batter into a small cake pan (8x8 or oval shaped) and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture and half of the chocolate chips. Spoon the remaining batter as evenly as possible over the filling. Spread gently and evenly. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon mixture and chocolate chips.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Perfect Pancakes

2010-05-19T12:53:00.003-05:00

I found them! I have been searching for the "perfect" pancake recipe my entire adulthood. I absolutely love the pancakes at Cracker Barrel (they are actually the only ones I truly even like), and I think that these are as close as I've found. The secret? Cake flour. I was browsing Mommy's Kitchen when I came across this recipe. After our grocery shopping trip this morning, we came home and made these. What a yummy lunch! If you love pancakes, you have to try these!

Ingredients:
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups milk or buttermilk (I just used milk, but I'm sure buttermilk would be amazing!)
2 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons butter (melted)

Directions:
Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix together milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring very gently until just combined. Melt butter in the microwave and add it to the batter, stirring gently to combine. Cook on a greased skillet over medium-low heat until golden brown. I grease my skillet with a little oil and about a tablespoon of butter. Serve with butter and syrup.

Au Gratin Potatoes

2010-05-17T21:05:00.003-05:00

It's a late post for Meatless Monday today. We have had a full day of running and playing, so this is the first chance that I've had to actually sit down at the computer. There are pictures, but they'll have to wait. I'm a tired mama. *Yawn*

We are at the end of our groceries (tomorrow is grocery day!), so I had to use what we had laying around to prepare my dinner tonight. I had several potatoes and part of a block of Colby-Jack cheese, so I decided to make these potatoes to go along with the rest of our meal. I wish that I would have made double what I did because they were gone so fast! I'll know better next time.

Ingredients:
6-8 medium-sized potatoes (peeled and thinly sliced)
olive oil
garlic powder
pepper
Tony Chachere's
dry minced onion flakes
Colby-Jack cheese (shredded)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, toss your potatoes with a generous amount of olive oil. You want each slice covered with the oil.

Spread the potatoes in the bottom of a large baking dish. Use PLENTY of seasonings on the potatoes. Shake the onion flakes all over the potatoes, as well. There really is no need to measure anything. Just add the seasonings to taste.

Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Brown Sugar & Oats Muffins

2010-05-16T10:24:00.004-05:00

I found these muffins on Kaitlin's recipe blog. She often has really delicious-looking things that she cooks up in her kitchen! I made them this morning for breakfast and there is only one left. They were just slightly sweet and the oats gave them a nutty flavor. They are truly a perfect way to start the day. Oatmeal is one of our favorite things, and I'm always trying to find new recipes to use it in. If you have any, let me know!

Ingredients:
1 cup oatmeal
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400.

Line a dozen muffin cups with paper liners.

In a mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla together. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until moistened. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full and bake for 15-17 minutes.

Sprinklers, Strawberries and Spring Storms

2010-05-13T13:11:00.006-05:00

It's time for my garden update. I've been linking up each Thursday over at The Inadvertant Farmer's blog. There are several bloggers who write about their gardening endeavors, so go check them out! I've found lots of great gardening tips while reading through them.

Here are our strawberry plants. We haven't seen any fruit yet, but I don't think it will be long! Aren't the containers so cute? I found both of them in someone's trash. *hangs head in shame* Yes, I guess I'm a dumpster diver, but I could not pass these up! They are made of cement and have a rustic look that I just adore. Don't judge!
Our sprouts are really growing! We now have several from each of the seeds we planted. It won't be long before we're eating fresh cantaloupe and slicing up cucumbers for a snack. That will be so awesome!
The kids bought a soaker hose and a shower-type head, along with a flat of flowers for me for Mother's Day. They are so enthusiastic about growing things, and I love that gardening instills a love for that in them! Great life lessons growing along with our plants. Josie and Rhett love using the shower head sprinkler to help water the garden.
I don't know if you all saw the tornadoes that the Oklahoma City area dealt with earlier this week, but along with the high winds came some ginormous (is that a real word?) hail. I stole this picture from my friend Mandi. We weren't able to take pictures of any of it, because we were driving through it at the time. What a night! My poor little tomato plants didn't appreciate that hail one bit! I think that everything survived, but the weather was definitely rough on them. By the way, we called the day after those tornadoes to have a storm shelter installed on our property! That will be in next week. Now if we can make it through tonight's storms....

Bacon & Eggs Pizza

2010-05-09T11:44:00.004-05:00

Those of you who know me in real life and those of you who have followed my blog for some time know that my kids love breakfast food. My friend Teri told me that her family made this breakfast pizza and devoured it, so it sounded perfect for us to try! Usually when I make pizza, I use this crust recipe, but Teri used a ready-made crust for hers, so that's what I used. I think I would prefer it on the homemade crust a little more. This is definitely a must-try for one of those "I don't feel like doing a whole lot of cooking" nights!

Ingredients:
1 pizza crust
salsa (I didn't measure this. I simply spread a thin layer.)
3 eggs (scrambled, but not fully cooked--You want them watery since they'll finish cooking in the oven.)
6+ pieces of bacon (cooked)
shredded cheese

Directions:
Preheat your oven according to the crust packaging (or your recipe.) I preheated to 350.

Spread a thin layer of your favorite salsa on the crust. Top that with the (not fully cooked) eggs. Crumble your bacon into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle those on top of the eggs. Sprinkle lots of shredded cheese on top.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T10:14:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow Mamas! Enjoy your day with your special little people...I am definitely enjoying mine!

Come back in a bit to see a fun breakfast pizza recipe!

Some Plugs

2010-05-07T18:32:00.006-05:00

Hey guys--this is just a quick post to let you know that I have set up a Facebook fan page for my blog. I'd love it and be extremely honored if those of you with Facebook pages would "like" it.

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Secondly, I am walking in the March of Dimes walk-a-thon in the morning with my husband and three precious kids. March of Dimes raises money for premature babies and their families. All three of our children have been born prematurely, though only one has had to spend time in the NICU. We are so grateful for the care that he received while there, and are happy to be raising a little money for this cause. We just signed up for it this afternoon, so we haven't raised any money yet. If you feel like donating, the secure site is http://www.marchforbabies.org/brandicastle. Thank you all and have a great weekend!

Sprouts

2010-05-06T09:27:00.003-05:00

See my sprouts? These are in our flower beds. They're zinnia flowers that Jeremy's grandmother gave to me. They're so cute, don't ya think?

There is something miraculous about watching things that you care for grow and thrive. I think that's why I love having babies! Babies, puppies, sprouts...I love to watch them grow!

We noticed our first sprouts sprouting two days ago. Josie and I were so excited. She is a little mini-me and is fascinated by growing things, as well. We have been going out to check on our newest "babies" several times per day. There are cucumbers, summer squash, cantaloupe, and one tiny sunflower sprout growing in our garden. What a thrill!

I read somewhere that egg shells were a good calcium source for tomatoes. The kids and I saved a dozen shells and sprinkled them with our tomato plants. I have worked them into the soil, and am hoping that I'm going to have some monster tomatoes in a few weeks.

Artichoke Bread

2010-05-05T12:02:00.004-05:00

Oh my goodness--we just ate this bread for lunch, and it was so, so, so good! It's not actually supposed to be a lunch, but that's what we ate it as, and I am super-glad we did. It is cheesy, with chunks of artichoke, and crispy French bread. Good golly, it is yummy.

I found this recipe on Jaimie's blog. She has lots of great recipes to check out! Funny, small-world story to go along with Jaimie...she found my blog and it turns out that she's from the same town in Louisiana that I lived as a child. We are friends with several of the same people, but would never have connected had it not been for this blog!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
4 garlic cloves (minced)
1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
4 oz Monterey Jack cheese (shredded)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 oz cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 french bread
salt & pepper to taste or Tony's

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Melt butter and add garlic, cook the garlic until it is fragrant. Add the artichoke, Monterey Jack cheese, Parmesan cheese, and sour cream. Stir to blend. Remove from the heat and cool.

Slice bread lengthwise and scoop out some of the center. Crumble the pieces of bread and add it to the mixture. Spoon the artichoke mixture on the bread and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese. Place each half on the baking sheet and cover lightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes then remove the foil and bake for another 5-8 minutes until the cheese melts completely. Cut into slices and serve warm.

Monterey Chicken

2010-05-04T09:41:00.004-05:00

Have you ever tried the Monterey Chicken at Chili's? If so, you know that it is full of all kinds of delicious flavors. I recently tried to replicate, and was very successful (if I do say so myself!). The best part was how easy it was.

I took pictures of it, but haven't uploaded pictures in a few days. I'll try to do that this evening.

Ingredients:
1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded almost flat)
1 bottle bbq sauce (We use Head Country because it is the best!)
2 pieces of bacon for each breast (cooked and drained)
Monterey Jack cheese (shredded--I only had cheddar on hand, so that's what I used.)
1 tomato (freshly diced) This is optional. I didn't have any, so we did without. Can you tell it's time to buy groceries?
salt and pepper for seasoning the chicken

Directions:
Preheat your outdoor grill or George Foreman grill.

Put the breasts in a ziploc bag and pound them until nearly flat. I used the end of a heavy knife (wrapped in a hand towel) for this. Pull them out of the bag and salt & pepper them well.

Cook the breasts on your grill until done. While they are cooking, brown up the bacon, shred the cheese, and dice the tomato.

Turn the broiler of your oven onto high. Place the cooked chicken breasts on a cookie sheet and place 2 strips of bacon on each. Pour a generous amount of bbq sauce onto each breast and then sprinkle with cheese.

Place under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Pull out and sprinkle with diced tomato.

Coconut Cake

2010-05-03T09:32:00.005-05:00

Is it okay to share a dessert on Meatless Monday? Afterall, it doesn't contain any meat! I found this recipe on Kelly's blog, and since I'm hosting a playdate today, I thought I'd try it out. It is baking as I type, and I am so excited to eat some! One small problem with it, though...I forgot to get shredded coconut! Uh-oh! I think it will still taste awesome since it has the cream of coconut in it. We shall see!

Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
1 can cream of coconut (You can find it in the mixed drink section of the grocery store. It doesn't contain alcohol.)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 package shredded coconut (I forgot!)
1 container whipped topping

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350.

Bake the cake according to the back of the box.

Pull the cake out, and while it is hot, poke holes all over the top of it with a straw. Mix the sweetened condensed milk and cream of coconut together and pour over the top of the cake.

Allow the cake to cool and then top with whipped topping and sprinkle with coconut flakes. Store in the refrigerator.

Taco Rice

2010-04-29T14:40:00.003-05:00

My friend and neighbor, Teri, sent some of this over for us to try, and my kids ate three bowls each! It is so, so good, and so, so easy!! It's not the typical kind of recipe that I share, but I know that there are some nights where a)we've run out of fresh veggies, b)we have whiny, hungry kids, and c)we just want to throw something on and sit down for a minute. I have those nights anyway...am I alone in that?

Ingredients:
2 boxes Spanish rice-a-roni
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 package hamburger meat (cooked and drained)
1 package taco seasoning

Directions:
After cooking and draining your hamburger meat, add the taco seasoning and stir well.

Cook the rice according to the package directions. Add both cans of tomatoes and the seasoned meat. Mix well and allow it to warm thoroughly over low heat.

Garden Update

2010-04-28T14:11:00.004-05:00

This was the first time I had used a drill. Lame, I know, but I was excited!

The kids loved planting their seeds!

Our garden

Remember how I told you that I was going to build my own raised beds? Well, I did it! It was so much easier than I even dreamed, too. We pretty much just made it up as we went. I was going to do it like the Pioneer Woman did, but decided that I would make one to better fit my needs. The whole family is thrilled with it! We all worked on it together, and it looks so cute. Now for the crops to grow!

How did we do it? Well, I'll tell you! We went to Lowe's and purchased four pieces of wood measuring 8 feet long x 5.5 inches wide for $2.97 each. Along with that, we bought four wood corner brackets (@2.88 each) and a package of wood screws ($3.97). The whole bed cost us less than $30! We didn't do any cutting of the wood. We simply drilled the corner brackets to make a perfect square. We set it up where we wanted and put cardboard boxes down to keep the weeds out (but the cardboard allows drainage). We also bought 20 bags of top soil ($1.29 each) and two bags of compost ($4.97 each). The dirt cost about $35, so for around $65 we were ready to plant! The kids and I made several rows. They planted their seeds while wearing their pajamas. Ha!

What are we growing? Let me think...tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, cantaloupe, summer squash, cucumbers, lettuce, sunflowers (Josie is excited about those!), basil, cilantro, and strawberries. The strawberries are in their own pots. I transplanted them from our old garden to the pots up front so I could keep up with them better. I tried transplanting my onions, but they didn't make it. I'll have to go get some more onion plants later this week. We also have our pumpkins growing.

I am now in the middle of researching how to grow my own potatoes. I am really excited about those! One of my fondest and earliest childhood memories is digging potatoes with my Paw-Paw. I loved it, and am looking forward to digging for them with my children. I love a good treasure hunt!

So there you have it. Our garden is now up. We are anxiously awaiting the fruits (or veggies) of our labor. I'll update you when we have our first harvest.

Lime and Cilantro Rice (for burritos)

2010-04-26T14:49:00.002-05:00

This Meatless Monday recipe can be eaten as a side-dish to your favorite Mexican meal, or wrapped up in a tortilla for a burrito. A reader sent me a link to this recipe early in my blogging adventure. Thanks so much! Burritos are so versatile. You can make them with or without meat, beans, rice, veggies only, and mix and match everything. Use this tortilla recipe or use your favorite store-bought tortillas.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 cup long grained rice
2 cups water
1 handful cilantro (chopped)
1 lime (juice and zest)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Throw in the garlic and saute until fragrant. Pour in the rice and toast in the oil for a few minutes.
Add the water and let it come to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes for white rice or 40-50 minutes for brown. Remove from the heat and mix in the cilantro, lime juice and zest.

Sunday Pot Roast

2010-04-25T11:38:00.003-05:00

Do you all have memories of Sunday lunches at your home or your grandparents' home? I do! My Maw-Maw Morgan could fry some chicken and make some rice and gravy like no other. She still can, by-the-way. We moved away from her when I was ten, but I can still recall the smell of her house after mass on Sundays. I try to make a big Sunday lunch as often as I can. My parents and my brother and his family often join us, and I love having my house smell so "homey" while everyone is chatting. I even fry chicken that is *almost* as good as Maw-Maw's!

My husband is at the station today, so I didn't make a large lunch, but I did make a pot roast last night and wanted to share how I make it. I did eat the leftovers for lunch, so it still counts as my Sunday lunch, right? It's really easy (I mean REALLY!), and is the most delicious way that I've found. I've experimented with different roast recipes since I was first married, but this one hasn't let me down yet. How do you prepare your roast?

I didn't take pictures today.

Ingredients:
1 beef roast (You could probably use a pork roast, but I don't like pork.)
1 potato for each person you're serving (peeled and cut into large cubes)
2 carrots for each person you're serving (peeled and cut into large pieces)
1/2 bottle ranch dressing
1 package dry onion soup mix

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. If you want to cook it faster, you can up it to 350.

Place your roast in the center of a large baking dish. Surround the roast with your carrots and potato pieces. Pour 1/2 bottle of ranch dressing all over the roast and the veggies. You don't want it soaking, but make sure each piece has some on it. Pour the package of onion soup mix over the top of everything. Place foil over the dish. Bake for 3 hours (the longer and slower it cooks, the more tender the roast). It makes a fantastic gravy-like sauce. Yummy!

Kinder Gardens

2010-04-23T18:31:00.009-05:00

This just makes me all kinds of happy! I ran across this contest (but really it's a lifestyle!) on Kim's blog, and just had to start participating. You see, we are *very* amateur gardeners, but we absolutely love the idea of growing our own food. We especially love the lessons that it teaches our very urban children.

If we had our way, we would be raising them in a small town on 20 acres with trees to climb, ponds to swim, farm animals to care for, and a large garden to tend. In reality, we live in a large town on a small lot with one small Bradford pear tree, a kiddie pool in the summer, two dogs and a cat, and an itty-bitty garden. *Sigh* One of these days, right?

Two days ago, we took a trip to the farmer's market, where the two older ones helped pick out pepper plants and they each picked their own flowers to plant. They have asked me for the last two days to plant them, but I'm waiting to build (yes, I'm going to build something...eek!) raised beds. I'll get pictures up of those when they are completed. We may also try straw bale gardens if we can find a few straw bales for sale.

The planters are going to hold a "salsa garden" full of delicious veggies like jalapenos, bell peppers, cucumbers, peas, onions, tomatoes, basil, cilantro (I had to get herb-growing lessons from one of the farmers at the market since I am always killing herbs.). My husband is a phenomenal salsa-maker, so I'm hoping to load him up on all of the necessary vegetables so that we always have fresh salsa on hand this summer. We will also have some strawberries. Strawberries are hearty little boogers! They were planted last year, and survived one of the harshest winters Oklahoma has known. My kids snack on those like popcorn!

Last year, our then three-year-old son insisted that we purchase pumpkin seeds. They were less than a dollar, so I bought them, thinking that they would never grow in the small space that we had for them. Well, I was wrong! Those pumpkins grew and produced, and I used them in several recipes, and it was one of the most satisfying things I have ever experienced. Really. And guess what...there are three little pumpkin plants sprouting right now! Looks like we will have pumpkin bread again all fall, Amanda. I know that makes you happy!

So there's a little preview to what we are planning on growing this year. We are super-excited about our garden, and about linking up to Kim for this contest. Why don't you all join in? I'd love to see your gardens, as well as get recipes that you use with your fresh produce!

Go out and get dirty...Happy Gardening!

POM Wonderful Winner

2010-04-20T19:15:00.003-05:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that Amy H. was the winner of the POM Wonderful coupon. This means that I will be making this recipe in the near future.I have already been in contact with Amy, and Kristen should be sending her the coupon any day now. Thank you all for participating...there will be another giveaway very soon.

Vegetable Broth

2010-04-19T07:17:00.004-05:00

Good Meatless Monday morning to you all! I'm on my way to take my newly-turned two-year-old to his well-child check, but upon return I am planning to make a big batch of vegetable broth. This broth is great to use in any recipe that calls for broth, and is so much healthier than the canned stuff! You can freeze it in 1.5 cup batches to use in your future recipes.

It's also a great way to use up veggies in your fridge before they go bad. That's what I'm doing. I've mentioned before that my brother is a chef. He's also my neighbor, which comes in quite handy at times! Last week he attended a food show, where they loaded him up with cheesecake and vegetables. Then he gave all of it to me! I now have carrots, turnips, bok choy, fennel, sunbursts (baby squash), and green beans to use up. However, the cheesecake won't go into the broth! Ha!

Ingredients:
any clean, whole, unpeeled vegetable you want
Most veggie broths have celery, mushrooms, and onion...the rest is up to you. I'm putting mushrooms, onion, turnips, green beans, bok choy, and squash into mine.
3 cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed slightly to bring out the flavor)
1 gallon water
salt and pepper to taste
fresh herbs if you have them

Directions:
In a large stock pot, throw in your veggies. There is no need to peel (I am taking the papery skin off of the onion first) or chop them. The skin is full of rich vitamins and flavors. Cover with one gallon of water. Toss in the garlic. Season to taste, and throw in whole, fresh herbs like parsley if you have it. If not, it's fine. Allow it to come to a boil, then lower the heat and allow it to simmer for at least an hour. Strain the vegetables out with a colander. Most of their nutritional value will have boiled out into the water, but they still contain some fiber, so munch on them if you want. Freeze the broth in 1.5 cup batches for later use.

Not a recipe...

2010-04-17T11:09:00.002-05:00

This isn't a recipe, but it is something pretty sweet. My little boy is a two-year-old today! He was born at 34 weeks/6 days and spent five days in the NICU. Today he is a walking, talking, adorable boy who lights up our lives. This is the picture we are using on his party table. We're having a Mickey Mouse party (and were supposed to fly kites, but it's raining!). I just had to share!

Randomness

2010-04-15T13:32:00.003-05:00

Random Item #1--Don't forget to enter the POM Wonderful giveaway. It ends tomorrow, and so far only five entries have been made. Some lucky winner is going to get a coupon for a FREE bottle of pomegranate juice, AND I'll make the recipe that you suggest.

Random Item #2--A photographer for the Oklahoma Gazette just left my house. While we were vacationing in Orlando, a reporter emailed me asking to do an interview about my Meatless Mondays. I obliged, and she sent the photographer out to get some shots of me and my family in the kitchen. It was fun and stress-free, which was awesome. The article will be published in the April 21 edition.

Random Item #3--I'm running out of recipe ideas. I need your help! If you have any tried and true recipes, or one that you don't want to try yourself, email me or leave me a comment. I don't want to stop blogging, but I've pretty much used up my stash!

Random Item #4--I am making these cupcakes for my son's second birthday (in two days!) I'm doing a Mickey Mouse theme for his party, and I made the cutest cupcake toppers to insert into the cupcakes. I used the picture of Mickey at the top of the post to make them. I'll try to share a picture after his party on Saturday.

Random Item #5--I'm in the process of hooking you all up with some more awesome giveaways...look for them in the next couple of weeks!!

Random Item #6--You all need to become involved in my community. I would love to see it become an active forum, but I cannot do it alone. Think of some cool topics and post about them. Ask parenting questions, post parenting tips, share recipes, ask for prayer requests.

Curried Broccoli Soup

2010-04-12T20:00:00.003-05:00

It's Meatless Monday!! I've shared with you before how much I love curry. I'm making my curry chicken for dinner tomorrow. Why not have curry twice in one week?! This is easy and rich, so make it before it gets too warm out!

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen broccoli
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon curry powder (or less to taste)
dash of tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can broth (chicken or veggie)
1 cup half and half

Directions:
In a large pot, cook broccoli in boiling water until barely tender. In a food processor or blender, add the flour, butter, and seasonings. Add half of the broth, broccoli, and the broccoli water to the processor and puree it all. Pour it back into the pot and add the remainder of the broth and the half & half. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

POM Wonderful Giveaway

2010-04-12T13:26:00.005-05:00

Kristen, over at www.pomwonderful.com contacted me recently about her pomegranate juice. She is sending me a sample to use in one of my recipes...thanks, Kristen! Do you have any recipes that contain pomegranate juice? If so, I'd love to have them!

She has also graciously offered a coupon for a free bottle of POM Wonderful to one of my readers!! All you have to do is go check out her site, browse through the recipes section, then come back here and leave a comment telling me which of the recipes on her site you think I should prepare for my blog. I'll choose the winner from random.org, and will make the dish that the winner suggests. Sound good?

The giveaway will close on Friday morning. I'll post the winner sometime that afternoon. The winner will have 48 hours to email me his/her contact info. Good luck!

Something Old, Something New

2010-04-11T15:41:00.003-05:00

We're baaaaack!! Disney was fabulous; my kids are amazing. It was a great family vacation with great memories made. I do have to admit that I now need a vacation from it, though. Woo...Disneyworld is all about the go, go, go! I'm back in my kitchen, though, so I'm relaxing and making some new things to post about.

Remember me posting the recipe for this quick, sweet bread? I took the old version and made something new out of it!

I simply replaced the pumpkin or banana with 1.5 cups of chunky applesauce. It turned out so moist and delicious that I'm about to sneak back into the kitchen for just one more piece! You could use any applesauce that you wanted, but I had the chunky on hand, so in it went. I also gave it a sprinkle of cinnamon and a handful of chopped pecans for the fun of it.

It's so fun to play around with recipes! Anyone have anything new to share with me? Check back in often, because I plan to be cooking away this week.

On the Road

2010-04-08T12:39:00.001-05:00

Hello all! My family and I are on our way home from Disneyworld. We have had an excellent time and the kids have been amazing during the 22 hour drive.

I just wanted to check in, say hello, and let you know that I'll be back in the kitchen soon. I MUST go grocery shopping when I get home, but then I'll post some new recipes. I'd like to start back up with Meatless Mondays and Frugal Fridays next week, so if you have any ideas for those, let me know!

-- Post From My iPhone

Chicken, Corn, and Black Bean Casserole

2010-03-30T18:18:00.003-05:00

This is a quick and yummy meal that I made for my friend Amanda and her family after they brought home their new baby. It is great served with sour cream on top and a side salad.
Ingredients:
2 cups shredded chicken (more if you want--cooked)
1 package taco seasoning
1/4 cup salsa
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can sweet corn (rinsed and drained)
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 cup shredded cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a saute pan, combine the chicken, taco seasoning, salsa, and just a little bit of water (so it's not too dry). Let it warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the beans and corn and mix well. Spread into the bottom of a casserole dish and top with cheese and tortilla chips. Bake for 25 minutes.

Easy Sweet Bread

2010-03-28T10:47:00.003-05:00

I had a can of pumpkin and some browning bananas that needed to be used up, so I decided to use them to make this easy sweet bread. My kids love to eat sweet bread for breakfast, so when I make this it serves as a simple breakfast meal for several days. It's great to make things like this on Sunday, so that your weekday breakfasts are homemade and easy to access. Just store the bread in a ziploc bag and slice it when you want it.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter (softened)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 can of pumpkin or 1.5 cups mashed banana
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium-sized bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the eggs, and then add the fruit. Mix it well. Add the flour and soda, and stir just until combined. Pour into a loaf pan and bake for one hour, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Bird Nests

2010-03-24T15:37:00.004-05:00

Aren't these the cutest little things that you've ever seen?! My Nonnie sent me a link on how to make these, and I just *had* to try them out. My kids think that they are the greatest things ever. Ha! The best part is that they are oh-so-simple. I think that they would be so cute sitting on top of a cupcake, but we're just enjoying them by themselves. Have fun! If you make them, leave a comment letting me know how they turned out.

Ingredients:
1 package white almond bark
1 bag shredded coconut
food coloring of your choice (It takes several drops to create a rich color, so play with it.)
eggs (I used chocolate eggs, but you could also use jelly beans.)

Directions:
Melt the almond bark in the microwave. Place the squares in a microwave-safe bowl for two minutes at a time, stirring between. Stir in the food coloring until it is the color you like. Pour the coconut in and mix well. Using a tablespoon, scoop out a "glob" and mold it into the nests. Place the nests on wax paper or foil. While they're still wet, place the eggs and press them slightly so they stick. Allow to dry.

Cheesy Crockpot Ham and Potatoes

2010-03-22T10:33:00.005-05:00

I found this recipe just this morning right here. It worked out perfectly because I'm trying to use up food from our frig and pantry before doing my grocery shopping tomorrow. How often do you do your shopping? Do you meal plan? I do, and I find that it saves me tons of money. I shop once every two weeks, with one or two quick trips for milk and bananas.

I know it's Meatless Monday, but for this Monday, we're going with some ham. Ha! I needed to use it and some potatoes up, so we'll go meatless another day this week.

Ingredients:
2 pounds cooked ham (I had 1.5 pounds deli ham that I cut up and used.)
5 or 6 potatoes (I had five that I sliced thinly.)
1 onion (sliced thinly--I didn't have one today.)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups shredded cheese
pepper to taste

Directions:
In the bottom of a large crockpot, throw in your sliced potatoes and ham (and onion if you have one). Season well with pepper. Pour one can of cream of mushroom soup on top, and cook on low for 6-8 hours. About thirty minutes before serving, add the cheese.

Chocolate Cream Cheese-Filled Cupcakes

2010-03-20T10:20:00.003-05:00

For those of you who follow me on twitter, you may remember me tweeting about some fabulous cupcakes that I was eating yesterday. We took our kids out to my sweet in-laws' house to spend some time running outside. They flew kites, wrote with sidewalk chalk, fed some horses, and watched a herd of goats eating. It was a great day, and these cupcakes just made the day a little sweeter. I'm actually going to copy my sister (who gave me this recipe!) and make these for my son's second birthday next month. The batter makes about 30 cupcakes, so prepare to bake for a little while.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Filling:
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Ingredients for Cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and salt until smooth and creamy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for two minutes.

Fill the muffin tins 1/2 full, and then add one level tablespoon of the filling into the center of each cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

White Bean Chicken Chili

2010-03-17T12:38:00.005-05:00

Hello all! Sorry that I have been MIA for the last week. I found myself spending *way* too much time on the computer, and desperately needed a break. I have three young children who need me to be present in their lives, and not glued to the computer screen or iPhone, you know? I am going to continue posting here, but probably not every day. I appreciate those of you who have been checking in on me, though! I'm still here and all is well.

I love to cook during nap time. It gives me some time to myself to really play around in the kitchen. I just put all four (yes, I have an extra today) down for naptime/rest time, and put a pot of this on the stove. I found the recipe here, and it looked too good to pass up! The longer this simmers, the better it is, so it should be perfect by dinner time. We eat around 5-5:30. What time do you all have dinner? Do you eat as a family or do the kids get served before the adults? Tell me about your mealtime routines. I

I'd really like for my blog to be a bit more interactive. I'd love for you all to comment to me. I'll do my best to respond! I also want you to remember my community over on the left side bar. It's been pretty lonely lately. ;) Strike up a discussion about anything you want! I love to interact with other mamas, but you all know how difficult that is when you're raising a family. Let's do it via the internet, huh?

I have taken a picture of the ingredients, and will download it with the finished product later this evening.

On to the recipe, shall we?

Ingredients:
7 cups chicken broth (I used 3.5 cans.)
4 (15 ounce)cans Great Northern beans
1 teaspoon parsley (not pictured)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
1.25 pounds chicken breast (cubed)
1 cup onion (diced--I didn't have an onion, so I used minced.)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 jalapeno (chopped)
1 cup cilantro

Directions:
In a large pot, bring the chicken broth and beans to a boil. Add all of the seasonings, and reduce the heat to medium. Allow it to simmer.

In a saute pan, cook the cubed chicken in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Transfer to large pot.

In the saute pan, add the last two tablespoons of oil, and cook the onion, garlic, and jalapeno for about five minutes. Add half of the cilantro and saute for a few seconds. Pour all of the veggies in the pot.

Allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes, but the longer the better. You can use a potato masher to mash up some of the beans for a thicker soup. Before serving, add the remaining cilantro.

This could easily be a meatless dish by substituting vegetable broth for chicken and leaving out the chicken pieces. Enjoy!

Curry Chicken

2010-03-09T14:01:00.003-06:00

I didn't get a picture of this meal. I completely forgot until it was almost gone. Oh well! Do you like curry? It is one of my favorites, but I only started eating it in the last year. For some reason, I thought that it was really hard to prepare, when if fact it is too easy. It is pretty spicy, so if you're not into spice, then it's not for you. I happen to love all things spicy--the spicier, the better!

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (cubed)
1 onion (diced)
1 can coconut milk (non-sweetened/This is on the Asian food aisle.)
1 package red curry paste (You can find this on the Asian food aisle.)
salt or fish sauce (I recommend just using salt.)
fresh basil leaves (chopped)
rice (cooked)

Directions:
In a large sautee pan, throw the chicken and onions in to cook over medium heat. Pour in the can of coconut milk and add one tablespoon of the curry paste (more or less to taste), and salt to taste. Stir together, and then cover. Cook for about twenty minutes, or until the chicken is done. Throw the basil leaves in and serve over rice.

Roasted Cauliflower

2010-03-08T12:41:00.006-06:00

The spelling of this word is interesting, I think. I've always spelled it cauliflaur, but all of the spellings on the computer are cauliflower. It's acceptable both ways. Hmmmm.

I'm on a roasted veggie kick lately. I love the flavors that roasted winter veggies have. The biggest perk is how easy it is to actually do the roasting. Drizzle some EVOO, sprinkle with s&p, and stick them in for a little while. You can do this with practically any vegetable, so the possibilities are endless!

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower (broken into small florets)
2-3 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
lemon juice (You can use freshly squeezed or from a bottle)
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (shredded)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.

Spread the cauliflower into a large baking dish. Throw the garlic in the baking dish, and sprinkle each piece of cauliflower with a little lemon juice. Drizzle each piece with some olive oil, and then season with salt and pepper.

Make sure your oven has reached 400 before you put the dish in. Roast the cauliflower for 25-30 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the center of the veggie. The tops should be light brown. Sprinkle the cauliflower with the Parmesan cheese, and serve immediately.

Pretty Bowl and Fruit Punch

2010-03-04T14:59:00.007-06:00

I'm so excited...I just won the most beautiful serving bowl from Sarah. She hosted this giveaway a few weeks ago, and since I love pretty dishes, I just had to enter. She emailed me last week to tell me that I had actually won it! Woot!! It was delivered via UPS two days ago, and it is just so beautiful. Don't you think? I used it today to hold a fruit salad at a baby shower that I hosted. It worked perfectly! Thank you so much, Sarah!

At the shower that I mentioned above, I prepared a fantastic fruit punch. It was so simple, and I got quite a few compliments on it. Want the recipe? I thought so! I'll post it in a sec. First, I want to shout out to Heather who made the cake for the baby shower that I hosted. It was all-the-rave among the ladies at the shower, and I am so thankful to her for making it for me! She may have pictures of it on her blog in the next few days, so go check it out!

Ingredients:
1 gallon Hawaiian Punch
1 2-liter ginger ale
2 quarts pineapple sherbet

Directions:
In a very large punch bowl, pour in the chilled punch and chilled ginger ale. Stir gently. When it's time to serve, use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the sherbet and plop it into the bowl. Stir gently again and serve. *This could easily be halved for a smaller group.

Sausage Etouffee

2010-03-02T17:21:00.005-06:00

I spent a few of my childhood years living in South Louisiana. That, my friends, is the land of great food! We ate a lot of crawfish, shrimp, and even alligator tail while living there. Great childhood memories, and a huge reason I love food today!

Last night I made a sausage etouffee. It was easy, cheap, and so delicious. You should definitely give it a try!

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 onion (chopped finely)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 can tomato paste
4 cups water
cayenne pepper (use as much or as little as you want)
dash of salt
sausage link (chopped)

Directions:
In a large pot, melt the stick of butter. Stir in the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are clear. Add the flour and stir it with a wooden spoon. You'll want to brown the flour in the butter to make a roux. The darker the roux, the more flavorful the etoufee will be. Spoon in the can of tomato paste. Add the water (add a little at a time and taste it as you go to see if you need more or less). Season with cayenne and salt. Throw the sausage in, and let it all come to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Egg Rolls

2010-03-01T13:58:00.005-06:00

Meatless Monday is here again! I'm going to try my hand at egg rolls today. My children love Asian food. If you ask them what type of food they would like to go get, they almost always answer, "Chinese!" We are trying to save Disney money, so eating out isn't in our budget right now. Therefore, I need to learn how to make their favorites here at home. I hope they like them! I found this recipe on the back of the egg roll wrappers. Wish me luck!

**Update: These were amazing!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 head cabbage (chopped finely with a food chopper)
1 bag stir fry veggies (defrosted and chopped finely with a food chopper)
1 cup fresh mushrooms (chopped finely with a food chopper)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 package egg roll wraps (You can find these in the produce section.)
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

Directions:
In a large saute pan, heat the oil. Add all of the vegetables, and cook until tender. Drain the juice off of the veggies, and season with salt and pepper and soy sauce.

Spoon the mixture onto 1/3 of the egg roll wrapper. Make sure to leave a small border around the edges. Roll the egg roll up, and brush some of the egg/water mixture onto the edge of the wrapper to form a seal. Fry until golden brown.

*You can also cook ground pork and add it to the veggies for a non-vegetarian version.

Chicken ala Grecco

2010-02-28T10:15:00.005-06:00

It's been a rough week at our house, so I apologize for the lack of posts. Sunday our one-year-old got a stomach bug, which lasted until Monday evening. Friday evening our six-year-old began running a really high temperature, which turned out to be strep throat. Ugh! This was the first time we've had strep in our house, and it has not been fun. Thankfully the antibiotics kicked in super-fast, and she is feeling a million times better already! We've been so healthy all winter; I figured we were due our share of the ickies at some point. No fun for any of us! Needless to say, I've done very little cooking, and a whole lot of rocking...I'm not complaining about that.

It hasn't all been bad, though. My husband and I were able to go the the Billy Joel and Elton John concert on Wednesday evening (in between sicknesses). We saw Billy in 2007, and he is an amazing performer. The two together were awesome; their voices blend so well! So there was a bright spot in our otherwise yucky week.

I do have a recipe to share today, though. I have some feta cheese that needs to be used up, and the other ingredients in this recipe are always on hand at our house. I'm going to whip this up for lunch.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (cubed)
olive oil
Italian seasoning (use as much or as little as you like)
minced garlic (use as much or as little as you like)
fresh broccoli florets
1 can diced tomatoes
thin spaghetti noodles (cooked and drained)
feta cheese

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat a little olive oil. Put the garlic into the oil, and then toss in the chicken cubes and season with the Italian seasonings. When the chicken is almost done, pour in the can of tomatoes, and then throw the broccoli on top. Cover and simmer for ten minutes, or until the chicken is done. Turn off the heat, and sprinkle the feta over it. The heat from the pan will melt the cheese. Serve over spaghetti.

Round Steak in Tomatoes

2010-02-23T09:58:00.003-06:00

My friend and neighbor, Teri, gave this recipe to me a while back. I love making this easy comfort food. You slow cook it all day, and then serve it over mashed potatoes...love! Round steak is great for families, because it is cheap and serves a lot.

Ingredients:
1 package round steak (cut into large chunks)
1 cup flour (seasoned with salt and pepper)
1 clove garlic (minced--I used pre-minced garlic in a jar. It's my fave!)
1 medium onion (diced)
1 tablespoon beef granules
1 tablespoon worcester sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 can diced tomatoes

Directions:
In a bowl, pour in the flour and season it with the salt and pepper. Take the pieces of steak, and coat each side with the flour. Place the steak in the bottom of the crockpot. Throw the onions and garlic in on top of the steak. Put the worcester, soy, and beef granules in, and then dump the tomatoes on top. Cook on low for eight hours. The steak will break into small pieces, and a nice gravy will form. Serve on top of mashed potatoes or rice.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

2010-02-22T12:32:00.004-06:00

I can hear you all groaning...."bruuuseeelll sppprouuttts, grossss." You might just feel differently about this little veggie after preparing them this way, though. We LOVE them! They are crispy and salty on the outside (like a healthy chip!) and soft and flavorful on the inside. Really, try them just once and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds brussel sprouts
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (the fresher the pepper, the better)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, toss the sprouts with the oil, salt, and pepper. Make sure that all of them get oil on them. Place them on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until dark and crispy. Shake the pan every 15 minutes or so to evenly cook the sprouts. Upon pulling out of the oven, sprinkle with a little more kosher salt. Serve while hot.

It's Friday, Friends!

2010-02-19T07:27:00.003-06:00

You know what that means, right? It's time to link up to Frugal Friday! Would you share your frugal meal ideas? I know that there are many of us living on a budget, with groceries being a big bill each month. I love to find new ways to cut the costs while still providing great food to my family. Please share. Simply write and publish your post on your blog; click on the title of it, which will change the url in your browser; copy the new url, and paste it in the MckLinky below. It will automatically link your blog to mine. Easy peasy!

Oatmeal Cookies

2010-02-18T15:32:00.004-06:00

These cookies have been in my family for years. I suppose that is the reason that they're made with...shortening. Yes, I'm using the white greasy stuff in these cookies, and you know what, they are amazing! So go on, cheat a little on your diet and make these. You'll love them!

This dough can be saved in the fridge for a week or so. Oatmeal cookies for a week!!

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1.5 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
3 cups oatmeal

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Cream the sugar and shortening together with a hand-held mixer. Add the eggs and vanill and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry to the wet mixture and mix well. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Pizza Night!

2010-02-17T16:20:00.004-06:00

It's pizza night here at our house! No, it's not delivery, and it's not DiGiorno either. I'm making pizza from scratch. Neither the crust or the sauce are new recipes, but I thought that I would re-share them with you in case you missed them the first time. I think that the crust is better than anything you could get at a pizzeria!

I'm using this crust recipe, along with this marinara recipe that I just shared yesterday. It made so much that I have plenty for pizza and another pasta later this week! I'm going to top half of it with pizza cheese, and the other with mushrooms and cheese. Yummy!

Carie's Marinara Sauce

2010-02-16T17:43:00.004-06:00

My friend Carie shared this marinara sauce with me. She got it from another mother in her mom's group, and tweaked it to meet her family's needs. I took her version and tweaked it to our taste, also. It makes a huge pot, so I browned a pound of ground meat and added a little of the marinara sauce to it for a spaghetti dinner. I stored the rest of it in Mason jars, and will use it in different recipes in the next two weeks. You may need to change it up a bit for your taste, but I think that you'll be very happy with it!

I loved the way I could add in any veggies that I wanted in order to make sure that my family received the ultimate amount of vitamins. I grated celery and carrots into mine, then used the food processor to make a smooth sauce. The kids never knew!

I'm going to give you Carie's version of the recipe, but I'll note the changes that I made for my sauce.

Ingredients:
1- 28 oz. can of tomatoes (I used crushed to keep it as smooth as possible.)
1 -15 oz can of stewed tomatoes
1 -10 oz can of V-8 juice
1 – 10 oz can of tomato soup
2 – 10 oz can of chopped mushrooms or fresh mushrooms (I didn't have any of these this time.)
2 – 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
2 – 6 oz cans of tomato paste
3 sweet green peppers (chopped finely) I didn't have these, either.
4 large celery stalks (chopped finely) I actually shredded mine, which wasn't easy to do!
4 medium size onions (chopped finely) I only used one, because I don't love onions.
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar (I actually used three, because I found that the sauce was too strong with only one.)
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder
10 bay leaves (I put a couple in, but pulled them right out. I don't like the flavor they give.)
I grated a carrot in, as well.

Directions:
You'll need a large stock pot. Depending on whether you like chunky sauce or smooth (like me!), you may want to use a food processor. I dumped the tomatoes, onion, celery, and carrot into the food processor to get it to the consistency that I like.

After the tomatoes are to your liking, dump everything into the large pot. Cover and cook on low heat for 3-5 hours. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes. I added a little more sugar after I took it off of the heat to achieve a great flavor. Jar it and use it as needed. It's not preserved, so I wouldn't use it after the two-week mark, but that's just me.

Fast and Hearty Tomato Soup

2010-02-15T10:52:00.004-06:00

This meatless Monday meal is my new favorite soup! My friend Shaun passed this along in our parenting forum. My sister made it and told me how great it was, so I made it on Thursday to go along with the slider burgers and it made so much that we ate it on Friday, too. I served it with grilled cheese sandwiches on Friday, and it was such a quick and delicious meal, that it may become a regular in my rotation.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped/I used jarred minced garlic.)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1.5 teaspoons chopped fresh basil OR 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
6 ounces cream cheese (I actually just used an 8 ounce package, since I had it on hand.)
1 1/4 cups milk
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup
2 (14.5 ounce) cans whole tomatoes (undrained)

Directions:
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter for about two minutes, or until the onion is tender. Remove from heat. Stir in the paprika, basil, and cream cheese. Gradually stir in milk and soup. Beat with an electric mixer or wire whisk until the cream cheese is melted and the soup is smooth. Stir in the tomatoes, breaking them with a fork or cutting with kitchen shears. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently until hot.

Baked Fudge

2010-02-13T19:57:00.003-06:00

Oh yes, I said baked fudge...I never even realized that there was such a thing until I popped over to check out The Pioneer Woman today. She has some fantastic and easy Valentine food ideas that you should definitely check out! I fully realize that it isn't actually Valentine's Day yet, but my sweetheart and I were needing something chocolaty and fudgy to eat while watching the Olympics, so baked fudge it is! I love recipes like this. I have everything that I need right in my pantry and fridge. My hips may not like me after I eat it, but I think it just might be worth it.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, what are you and your sweethearts planning to do? I'd love to hear! I am preparing a "Sweethearts Dinner" for all of my loves. I bought a heart-shaped cheese pizza from Papa Murphy's for my little loves. They'll have this with red Hawaiian Punch (this is a huge Valentine's treat!) and chocolate covered strawberries. My big love and I are going to share a gourmet meal of golden sauteed scallops, filet mignon, roasted brussel sprouts, and some of those strawberries. I can't wait! Enjoy the day, friends!

I'm treating you all to a photo of my little loves. Aren't they precious?

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 heaping tablespoons cocoa
2 level tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter (melted)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300. If your oven doesn't heat well (like mine!), then preheat it to 325.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs until they are light in color. Beat in the sugar. Add the cocoa, flour, vanilla, and butter, stirring carefully. Pour into large ramekins or an 8x8 casserole dish, which is what I used.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the top crust is crispy, but the inside is not fully set. You don't want it overly liquidy, so if you need to leave it in a bit longer, go for it.

Pioneer Woman tops hers with homemade whipped cream, but I'm topping ours with vanilla bean ice cream.

Frugal Friday

2010-02-11T19:35:00.004-06:00

Happy Friday, everyone! Sorry I'm getting this up so late. My friend Tami had her baby last night at 28 weeks, so I had her three children overnight and this morning, which led to limited computer time as you can imagine. Mama and Baby Luke are both doing well...congrats Tami! I am not going to have the opportunity to participate in this today, but I will for sure be reading yours!!

Have you thought of any frugal meals for this week? If so, share them with us in this fun blog hop. Simply write a post on your blog telling us about your meal. Share the cost of it, too, if you want. Click on the title, copy the url, and paste it down there under the MckLinky. All readers will have to do is click on it to be taken straight to your blog. Easy, huh?

Slider Cheeseburgers

2010-02-11T19:19:00.003-06:00

I found this recipe on the Mommy's Kitchen blog. I love looking through her ideas. She cooks the kind of food that I like to eat! She calls them White Castle burgers. I haven't ever eaten a true White Castle burger, but if they taste like the ones that I just made, then I would love them! Seriously, these were so good. The thin cheeseburger and single pickle on a sweet Hawaiian roll...good gracious they were tasty. I ate four of them. *Hangs head in shame.*

Make some and see for yourself!

**Mommy's Kitchen has some great step-by-step pictures to better show you how it's done.

Ingredients:
1 package 80/20 hamburger meat (Mommy's Kitchen says you need this particular meat.)
minced onion flakes
season salt
sliced cheese
pickle slices
Hawaiian dinner rolls (Use this brand. They seriously make the burger!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.

In a 9x13 casserole dish, sprinkle as few or as many of the onions as you like. On top of the onions, press the hamburger meat into a thin layer (the thinner the better, I think). Take a straw and poke holes in several places on the meat. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, and place in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and blot the excess grease with a paper towel. Layer the sliced cheese on top of the meat, and place back into the oven for another 5 minutes, or until the cheese in melted.

Cut the meat into small squares (I used a pizza cutter). Place each square in the middle of a dinner roll, and top with a pickle.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

2010-02-10T16:31:00.004-06:00

It has been one of the coldest & wettest winters on record here! Because of this, I have been making many soups and other warm recipes. I pretty much just threw a bunch of stuff together, and ended up with a really delicious soup.

Ingredients:
1/2 large block velveeta cheese (cubed)
1 package cream cheese
3 cups chicken broth
1 can rotel (I used this to get tomatoes into my kids and give it a kick...it would be fine without.)
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 package frozen broccoli (I used florets.)
pepper to taste

Directions:
In a crockpot, throw in the cheeses, broth, dressing mix, rotel, and pepper. Stir as well as you can. Set the crockpot to low and cook for 6+ hours, stirring occasionally. Feel free to add more cheese to thicken it up as it cooks! About two hours before serving, stir in the broccoli.

Crockpot Breakfast Cobbler

2010-02-09T13:21:00.003-06:00

Remember how I told you to stay tuned for a breakfast recipe using my granola recipe? Well, here it is! This is one of those things that you may have to set your alarm for; get up to turn the crockpot on, and then wake up to a delicious breakfast. You could also just stay up until two o'clock a.m. to prepare it. I'll probably do the first option, but I think it is worth it! ;)

Ingredients:
2 cups apple (peeled and diced)
2 cups granola
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons butter (melted)

Directions:
Spray the crockpot lightly with a cooking spray. Mix together the apples, granola, and cinnamon. Stir the honey and butter together, and then drizzle it over the apple mixture. Mix it all gently, and then pour it into the crockpot. Cook on low for about four hours (or until the apples are tender).

Homemade Granola

2010-02-08T13:13:00.004-06:00

If your family is anything like mine, then you love having snack foods laying around! My husband is a "grazer," meaning that he likes to have a couple of crackers, or a handful of nuts every hour or so. I like to make this granola for him to snack on, to add to yogurt for parfaits, or to eat with milk as a cold cereal. I'm going to share this recipe with you, and then later on share how to use it to make a crockpot breakfast cobbler. Stay tuned...

Ingredients:
4 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium-sized pot, bring the honey, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt to a boil for one minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the oats and pecans. Spread the granola evenly onto a large cookie sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, stirring and flattening the granola every five minutes. Store in an air-tight container.

Superbowl Foods!

2010-02-06T11:39:00.004-06:00

Are you all going to be watching the big game? Any parties you're planning to host or attend? If so, you know you need some good Superbowl food! I love chips and dips like you wouldn't believe! My sister-in-law gave me this recipe, which is simple and delicious! It's called 3-2-1 Dip. You make it in the crockpot (my fave!) and serve it with tortilla chips for a delicious football food!

Ingredients:
3 blocks cream cheese
2 cans rotel
1 pound ground meat

Directions:
Brown and drain your ground meat. Throw everything in the crockpot and cook on low, stirring occasionally.

So, tell me what your favorite Superbowl foods are!

It's Frugal Friday Again!

2010-02-05T09:59:00.003-06:00

What meal can you prepare for $10 or less? Share with us! I was thrilled with the four entries that I had last week...can we beat that this week?

For my Frugal Friday meal, we're having leftover pinto beans (that went with last night's soft tacos) and jalapeno cornmeal flapjacks. I'll post that recipe this afternoon. We're headed out to have lunch with one of our former high school teachers. Should be a fun day!

Texas Chili

2010-02-03T13:22:00.003-06:00

My friend Carie raved about this recipe. She found it on tasty kitchen website. I made it on Sunday, and we ate it after sledding all afternoon. It was so delicious! It isn't your typical chili recipe. Using the chuck roast gives it a great consistency, and the flavor is just fantastic. There wasn't a bowl left in the pot!

I changed the recipe up to fit the needs of our family. I only had one pound of chuck roast, so I lowered the seasonings to meet that. I'll give you "my" version of this recipe. We ate it with Fritos, cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream.

Ingredients:
1 pound chuck roast
2 tablespoons oil
3 cloves garlic (whole, but skinned)
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can pinto beans
1 can beef broth
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
sprinkle of oregano

Directions:
In a skillet, heat your oil and then place the roast into the skillet. Allow the roast to cook long enough to change color on each side, but not brown. Toss the garlic cloves into the oil and let it infuse into the oil.

In a small bowl, combine the flour and all of the seasonings. Mix them together and then use all of the seasoning mixture rub onto both sides of the roast. Dump the seasoned roast, oil, and garlic cloves into the crockpot.

Pour the broth, beans, and tomatoes on top of the roast. Set the crockpot on low and cook for 8 hours. Use a fork to break the meat into bite-sized pieces (it will just fall apart after cooking all day).

Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

2010-01-31T09:29:00.003-06:00

My mom has made this for as long as I can remember. It has become my daughter's favorite way to eat sweet potatoes, and she goes back for seconds and thirds of them! Who wouldn't love a veggie covered in marshmallows??

Ingredients:
1 large can sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 bag mini marshmallows

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium-sized bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher until fairly smooth. Mix in the cinnamon and brown sugar. Put the sweet potatoes into an 8x8 casserole dish and pour the marshmallows on top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the marshmallows begin to turn golden.

Roasted Chicken

2010-01-30T08:32:00.003-06:00

I don't actually know if this should be considered "roasted" since it's made in the crockpot, but that's what I'm calling it! Heather posted this and linked up for Frugal Friday last week, and after seeing it, I had to try it out. It was so moist and tender! It literally fell off of the bone. You can eat this plain, and then use the leftovers (if you have any!) in your favorite chicken casserole.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (rinsed)
1/2 stick butter (cut into squares)
seasonings of your choice (I used lemon pepper and onion powder, with some salt.)

Directions:
With a butter knife, loosen the skin of the chicken. Just slide the knife under the skin and it will come away from the meat. In the pocket that forms from the separation, slide the squares of butter. *I mostly slid the butter into the top and sides of the chicken. I didn't worry about the bottom or the legs. Generously sprinkle on the seasonings. Place the chicken in the crockpot, and cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Friday Follow

2010-01-29T11:09:00.004-06:00

Are you looking for more great blogs to read? If so, hop on over to the Friday Follow, which is hosted by Midday Escapades, Hearts Make Families, and One 2 Try. This is a blog hop that helps you gain readers, and gives you the opportunity to find other great blogs!

Here's how YOU can join the celebration:
*This is taken from the Friday Follow homesite.

Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. Only need to add to one blog linky.
Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots. We will follow you back.
Follow as many blogs as you like.
Comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow.
Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow.

Do you have a Frugal Friday meal to share?

2010-01-29T09:23:00.002-06:00

I'd love to hear from you if you do! If you can make a complete meal for $10 or less, then tell us about it! Simply write and publish a blog post, click on the title of the blog post, copy the URL for it, and paste it where it says "You're next." It will link us directly back to your posting.

Poppyseed Bread

2010-01-27T16:18:00.005-06:00

I found this recipe while checking out other cooking blogs, but I forgot to copy the link to the blog...if it's your recipe, let me know and I'll link back to you. Sorry!

This is a simple sweet bread. No yeast required! It makes two loaves, so it would be great to have one for home and give one away. That's what I did!

Ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix
1 package coconut cream instant pudding
1 cup hot water
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup poppyseeds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Dump everything into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for four minutes. Pour into two loaf pans. Bake for 45 minutes, or until done.

Broccoli Slaw

2010-01-26T17:00:00.007-06:00

My friend Kristen made this years ago and I ate it up! It is simple, healthy, and so delicious. You can find the broccoli slaw in the produce section with the other bagged salads. It is broccoli stems that have been cut into fine slivers, along with carrots cut just the same. I love the way the salad is crispy, crunchy, sweet, and sour. It's perfect!

I forgot to put the oil in the picture!!
Ingredients:
1 bag broccoli slaw
1 package ramen noodles (noodles only)
1 package slivered almonds
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar, and oil. Mix well and allow the sugar to dissolve.

In a medium-size salad bowl, pour the broccoli slaw and mix in the almonds. Break the ramen noodles into bite-size pieces and toss them in. Pour the dressing over the top and toss well.

I've seen this recipe with diced green onions added, as well, so if that floats your boat, then go for it!

How To Make a Sourdough Bread Starter

2010-01-26T07:54:00.005-06:00

I have become mildly obsessed with baking my own bread. I love the way it makes our home smell, and especially love the fact that I am controlling the ingredients that my family is consuming. Have you ever had sourdough bread? It. is. amazing. Warm sourdough bread with a glass of sweet tea...I need to just stop thinking about it since it will be several days before I actually get to eat it. I found this starter recipe on allrecipes.com.

Sourdough bread starters have to ferment for 4-8 days before they're ready for use, but the starter can be used over and over again. As you remove one cup for baking bread, simply add one cup water and one cup of flour with a pinch of sugar to keep your starter going.

I'll post my sour dough bread recipe when my starter is ready to bake.

Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
In a large glass bowl, add the yeast, water, and flour. Cover this loosely and place the bowl on a cookie sheet to catch any overflow. Leave sitting in a warm place for 4-8 days. You'll know it's ready when it has a nice sour smell and is bubbly. After it is ready to use, you can transfer it to the refrigerator until you are ready to bake. Note: If the starter has a pink or orange tint to it, throw it out and start over.

Remember that whatever amount you remove for baking, you need to replace it with the same amount of water and flour, with a pinch of sugar. (Example: Remove 1.5 cups of starter, replace with 1.5 cups water & 1.5 cups flour, and a pinch of sugar.) Allow it to sit out on the counter again until bubbly, and then place it in the frige.
You may notice a clear or brown liquid on the top of the starter. This is alcohol that is created during fermentation. Just stir it back into the starter. It will cook out during baking time, so no worries.

Your starter will get better and better as it ages. Enjoy your bread!