Tummy Yummies

Frozen Hot Chocolate....yeah I went there....

2012-01-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

Guess I've been a bit lazy with this blog! I would like to blame the hubs being deployed on it and me not wanting to cook anything more exciting than mac n cheese, hot dogs and nuggets.....so there you go. Ug...But here I am, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, although sometimes it sure does feel like it!

But not to have a pity party, here's something super yum!!!

I recently joined Pinterest. (I spend way too much time there.) I found this recipe and tonight we made it. The kids gulped it up and it was soooooooo good! If you've ever been to Serendipity 3 in NYC then you've no doubt heard of Frozen Hot Chocolate. I believe it was also talked about on Sex in the City? I dont watch that show, but I think I heard that it was. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, like I said, browsing the yumminess that is Pinterest I stumbled upon this lovely copy cat recipe. So here you go!!

We didn't have whipped cream so we just used marshmallows, which worked out just fine. I HIGHLY recommend you stopping what you are doing and making this right now! I'm pretty sure you have everything need to make it in your possession right now. :)

recipe courtesy of Pinterest

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

6 oz. chopped semisweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)
3 cups whole milk, divided
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. your favorite powdered hot chocolate mix
3 Tbsp. sugar
6 cups ice cubes
whipped cream for garnish

Preparation:

Place chopped chocolate and 1/4 cup of the milk in a microwave-safe container. Heat on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir.
Heat on 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir. If necessary, continue heating in 30-second increments until chocolate is melted.
Add hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir.
Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the milk. Stir, and let cool to room temperature.
Pour cooled chocolate mixture into blender. Add remaining milk and ice cubes. Puree until smooth.
Top with whipped cream and serve immediately.

Nutella Peanut Butter Bars

2011-08-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

Stop what you are doing right now and go make these. I'm not kidding. Get up and go to your kitchen! I'm pretty sure you'll have everything you need to make them. We are having a hard time not taking forks and just eating it straight out of the pan. They really are that good. So please for the love of all things gooey and scrumptious, do yourself a favor and make these! You'll thank me...

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups oatmeal (not quick)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Nutella for spreading

Cream first 3 ingredients together. Add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and combine. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together. Spread dough on a greased cake pan (the pan i used is slightly bigger than a 9x13). Make at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown. After baked through, dollup about 1C-1 1/2C peanut butter on top. Put back in the oven (make sure the oven has been turned off) for about 5 minutes. Pull the pan out and spread the peanut butter. Let that set up for a couple of hours or a good 30 minutes in the fridge. I just left mine on the counter while we were at church today and they were perfect by the time we came home. This will allow the peanut butter to stiffen up. Once that has set, spread with Nutella. Dive right in, don't forget the glass of milk.

These are divine....in fact....i'm gonna go have another one! :)

2011-08-04T22:39:00.000-07:00

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Angel Food Cake

2011-05-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

My grandmother used to make angel food cake all the time. It was sooooo good! I have very fond memories of that cake. So when the kids and I were invited to have Mother's Day dinner with some friends I immediately thought of making this cake to bring. I just hope it turns out as good as my grandmother's did!!

Angel Food Cake

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks, and then add cream of tartar, vanilla extract.
Sift together flour, sugar, and salt. Repeat five times.
Gently combine the egg whites with the dry ingredients, and then pour into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan.
Place cake pan in a cold oven. Turn the oven on; set it to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Cook for about one hour, or until cake is golden brown.
Invert cake, and allow it to cool in the pan. When thoroughly cooled, remove from pan.

ColeSlaw with Corn

2011-05-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

This was originally a Paula Deen recipe. I tweaked it (of course) and here's my version!

1 head green cabbage, shredded
1 pkg shredded carrots
5 fresh ears corn,
3/4 cup mayonnaise
garlic powder to taste
seasoned salt/pepper to taste

Directions

In a stock pot, cook corn until completely cooked. Cool and remove corn from the cob.
In a medium bowl, combine shredded cabbage, carrots, and corn.
Mix in mayo and seasonings to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This is better the longer it sits!

It was really good and the corn in it gave it a sweetness. Perfect for a potluck or to serve with hamburgers and hot dogs!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Mushroom Swiss Steak in the Crock Pot

2011-05-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Mushroom Swiss Steak in the Crock Pot
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 bag baby carrots (fresh)
1pkg fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 lb boneless beef round steak, cut into serving-size pieces
2 cans (10.5oz) cream of mushroom soup

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

In 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, layer onion, carrots, mushrooms and beef. Sprinkle pepper over beef. In medium bowl, mix soup and tomato sauce; pour over beef.
Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.
Place beef on serving platter. With slotted spoon, remove vegetables from cooker and spoon over beef. Stir gravy in cooker with wire whisk to blend. Serve gravy with beef.

weight watchers points per serving: 6

This is our dinner for tonight! I love the idea of crock pots! After the crazy busy week we've had there's nothing like putting dinner in the pot and leaving it all day to cook. I can only imagine what the house will smell like when we get home from church. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!!!

This meal is hearty and scrumptious!! You can serve it over noodles or not. I don't think i'll be serving it over noodles this time around. With the veggies cooking along with the meat and sauce it's a complete meal in a pot! No other dishes to mess up!! I like that for sure!!!

Happy Sunday and I hope you enjoy your day!!

*picture courtesy of betty crocker website

2011-04-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter from our family to yours! Amid all the candy and bunnies and fun, let us not forget the reason we are celerating!

Homemade Creme Eggs

2011-04-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

Something fun for Easter. I made these for my boys to give their teachers as well as their bus driver. All seemed very appreciative. If you like Cadbury's creme eggs, then you'll love these!! I saw these and just had to try them. I'm not a fan of this particular candy but my kids are and we had just enough of the eggs left that they were able to have one each and they LOVED them. Asked me to make them again. Not sure i'll be doing that anytime soon as they were not quite as easy as they sound. But they were fun and I am really glad I was able to do them!

*1/2 cup light corn syrup
*1/4 cup butter, room temperature
*3 cups confectioner's powdered sugar
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*yellow food coloring
*1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips ( i would HIGHLY recommend you use the Wilton candy melts here-so much easier to work with!)

Cream together the corn syrup, butter and vanilla.
Sift in the confectioner's powdered sugar and beat until incorporated.

Now it's time to make the "whites" and the "yolks!"
Take out about a third of the filling and stir in some yellow food coloring. Viola! It's that easy!
Put the two bowls in the fridge, as they're easier to work with once they're set up a little.

This step is sticky! Keep some extra powdered sugar on hand to dust your hands with. (This step got me frustrated because the filling is so sticky.)
Make little yolk balls out of the yellow mixture. Place them on some parchment or wax paper. If using wax paper, spray with cooking spray or you'll have a mess on your hands.....again, I should know. grrrr. Put them back in the fridge or even the
freezer to firm up. If it's hot or the slightest bit warm in the kitchen these things will melt in a heartbeat. If it's high humidity when you are doing this, DON'T. They'll melt faster than you can work with them.

When the yolks are set up, you can start embedding them in the whites. Scoop an amount of white filling out and flatten it into a circle. Place the yolk ball inside, and
wrap the white around it. Know what to do next? Stick it in the fridge.

Melt the chocolate + 2 teaspoons of shortening in the microwave in short bursts until just melted.
Either dip fillings into the chocolate with a fork and let set on parchment, or skewer the fillings and dip them that way (a'la cake pops). Stir constantly, you don't want your chocolate to burn. Nothing worse than burnt chocolate, believe me, I know...grrr!

Once the chocolate is set, you can dip them again for an extra chocolatey shell or melt a different color and drizzle over the top like I did. I also found some colored sugar in the pantry and decided the eggs needed that too. I thought they turned out pretty-pretty enough to eat apparently!

Have fun!!!!!!!

Easy breakfast

2011-04-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Good Sunday morning!! (or afternoon as the case may be!)

Here's what I had for breakfast this morning. Super easy and very satisfying and yummy!!!

Waffle Scramble
*1 whole grain low fat waffle
*1/4 C egg beaters
*1 slice american cheese (i used the weight watchers brand sliced cheese-if you use regular american sliced cheese add 1 extra point to your points total-if you care about that sort of thing)
*1C chopped spinach
*1/4C chopped fresh mushrooms

Cook waffle in toaster. While it's toasting heat the spinach and mushrooms in a skillet until warmed through and the spinach has started to wilt. Add egg beaters and scramble.

Top hot waffle with egg mixture and top with slice of cheese.

Enjoy!!!

WW points: 4

Taco Soup

2011-03-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe on my friend's blog. I tweaked it a bit to better suit our family. It was really tasty! Her's called for ground beef but I liked the idea of using shredded chicken. Use which ever you prefer!! You could also add corn and remove the spinach etc. This is one of those fabulous recipes that you can mix and match to your liking! Go crazy with it!!!

Taco Soup

recipe courtesy of my friends blog

1 1/2 lbs shredded chicken
1 large onion, diced
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 pkt original hidden valley ranch dressing (dry)
3 cups water, or more
2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro

for serving:
Tortilla chips
Shredded nacho cheese or sharp cheddar

Saute onion until soft.
Combine chicken, sauteed onions and the rest of the ingredients in a big pot. Simmer for one hour. Stir frequently.

Serve with tortilla chips and cheese.
6 servings

Points per serving: 6

This was so good and hearty and filling I can't even tell you!!! My kids liked it too, which was surprising since I put spinach in it. But they enjoyed it. I'll be making this again for sure!!!

Cheesy Spinach Phyllo Rolls

2011-03-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

I made these today to take to a going away party that was for some friends. They are moving to Ft. Lewis next week so several folks gathered at the park for good food and good talk. This was my contribution. I found the recipe on the Kraft website. It's very similar to spanikopita. They were really good!!!!!

Cheesy Spinach Phyllo Rolls

1 egg , beaten

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained

1 cup ATHENOS Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese

1 tub (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Garden Vegetable 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese

4 green onions, finely chopped

15 sheets frozen phyllo (14x9 inch), thawed

1/3 cup butter, melted

MIX first 5 ingredients until well blended; set aside. Brush 1 phyllo sheet lightly with butter; top with 2 more phyllo sheets, lightly brushing each layer with some of the remaining butter. Place remaining phyllo between sheets of plastic wrap; set aside.

SPREAD 1/5 of the spinach mixture along 1 short side of phyllo stack; fold in both long sides then roll up, starting at 1 of the short sides to make log. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and spinach mixture to make 4 more logs. Brush with remaining butter. Make small cuts in tops of logs at 1-inch intervals. Place in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bags or wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

FREEZE up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove desired number of logs from freezer. Refrigerate, tightly wrapped, several hours or overnight until thawed. Unwrap, then place on baking sheet. Bake in 375°F-oven for 25 min. or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet 5 min.; transfer to cutting board. Use serrated knife to cut each log into 6 slices.

2011-03-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you guys celebrate this day or not. Either way, what we will have for dinner could go with any night. I didn't want to do the traditional corned beef, because, well I'm not a huge fan of it and I knew my kids wouldn't be fans either. So....i looked up some other recipes and found this one. Enjoy!!!

Irish Chicken and Dumplings

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
3 cups water
1 cup chopped celery
2 onions, quartered
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
5 carrots, sliced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen green peas
4 potatoes, quartered
3 cups baking mix
1 1/3 cups milk

Directions

In large, heavy pot, combine soup, water, chicken, celery, onion, salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat about 1 1/2 hours.
Add potatoes and carrots; cover and cook another 30 minutes.
Remove chicken from pot, shred it, and return to pot. Add peas and cook only 5 minutes longer.
Add dumplings. To make dumplings: Mix baking mix and milk until a soft dough forms. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto BOILING stew. Simmer covered for 10 minutes, then uncover and simmer an additional 10 minutes.

points for this are 10 per serving

And for dessert we are doing this lovely little gem:

photo courtesy of oopsie daisy

* Instant vanilla pudding (with a bit of green food coloring)

* Milk

* Whipped cream

* Oreo and sprinkles

* Foil-wrapped chocolate (I used some peanut butter filled dove chocolates)

* Clear plastic cup

Now mix up the pudding.
Combine 2 Tablespoons instant pudding with 3 Tablespoons milk. Stir well. It will thicken up a bit. Place the chocolate in the bottom of the cup.
I transferred the pudding to the cup now. I added some whipped cream, an Oreo, and yes, even some green sprinkles!

If you want full details for the this recipe head on over to oopsie daisy here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Mardi Gras Menu

2011-03-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

It's that time again, Mardi Gras. Now I've never been personally but would love to experience at least once in my life. But since I can't go....I'll eat like i'm there!! This is the first year that I'll be doing a king cake (minus the baby part of it). I'm really excited about it actually. More than I thought I would be! HA!!

Here are the recipes I'll be making tonight:

Bacon and Shrimp Creole

Ingredients

3/4 cup chopped onion
2 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 ounces) tomato Sauce
3/4 cup cold water, divided
1/4 cup crumbled cooked turkey bacon
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1-1/2 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups hot cooked brown rice

Directions

In a Dutch oven, saute the onion, celery and green pepper in oil until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, bacon, parsley, sugar, salt, thyme, curry powder, pepper and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Combine flour and remaining water until smooth; gradually stir into tomato mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; add shrimp. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Serve with rice. Yield: 6 servings.

Points for this yummy dinner are 8, serve with a nice veggie to add bulk and no points! Yummy!!!!!

Mardi Gras King Cake
(the original recipe had an almond paste for the filling, i don't like almonds so i changed it to be more like a cinnamon roll. Either way it's cake and you can't go wrong with cake!! -the points I list are based on the cake with the changes that I made)

1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
1/2 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)
1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp I can't believe it's not butter spread
cinnamon
sugar (like a cinnamon roll center)
GLAZE:
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons water
Purple, green and gold colored sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, sugar, salt, egg and 2 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll one portion into a 16-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Spread butter to within 1/2 in. of edges. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. For glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough water to achieve desired consistency. Spread over cooled cakes. Sprinkle with colored sugars. Yield: 2 cakes (12 servings each).

Points for the cake are 5. I know I was shocked too!! But you get 12 slices out of each cake-that's a huge piece!!! Plus since it makes 2 cakes, keep one and give one!

Greek Tortilla Folds

2011-03-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy Greek food. Gyros are my favorite. Sometimes you have a craving and can't get it. We have one Greek place in town and it's a sit down place and not a take out. So there goes that idea. But I found this on the Betty Crocker website and decided it looked good enough to eat! I had ground pork in the freezer instead of beef and I used tortillas instead of pitas. Trying to cut points where ever I can! hehe!

1 lb lean ground pork

small onion, cut in half lengthwise, sliced

cloves garlic, finely chopped

teaspoon dried oregano leaves

teaspoon salt

cup sliced ripe olives

cup finely chopped peeled cucumber

cup chopped seeded tomato

cup Yoplait® All Natural Fat Free plain yogurt (from 32 oz. container)

teaspoon dried dill weed

6 whole wheat tortillas

1 In 10-inch skillet, cook ground beef, onion, garlic, oregano and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked. Drain. Stir in olives.
2 Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together cucumber, tomato, yogurt, dill and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
3 On each of 4 individual serving plates, Spoon 1/4 of beef mixture on half of each pita. Top each with yogurt mixture; fold other half of pita over filling. Serve with remaining yogurt mixture.

Serves 6 and is 9 points per serving

Dr. Seuss Birthday Dinner

2011-03-04T20:40:00.000-08:00

This week we celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday. His actual birthday was March 2. My boys' school held a week long celebration. I decided that the night of his actual birthday we should do something fun to celebrate. So our dinner centered around his books. I printed pictures off the computer and put them up on the wall by our table. I printed small copies of book covers for our cups (we each got a different book) and then printed off bigger copies for our chairs. I also printed up a menu (so we'd know what we were getting) and we had a great time talking and eating all things Dr. Seuss.

Here are 2 of the recipes from tonights feast (the other things we ate, didn't need a recipe)

Pink Yink Ink Drink
1/2 pint fresh blackberries
1C 1% milk (this is what we drink-use whatever milk you have)
6 fresh strawberries
1 tbsp sweetner or 1 tsp honey (I used the sweetner for the points-sweetner has 0 points)

Puree' blackberries
pour into glasses
put milk, strawberries, and honey/sweetner into a blender and blend.
strain mixture (completely optional-i did not do this)
pour strawberry mixture over top of blackberry mixture and enjoy!
*points value....1 per serving serves 4

Dr. Seuss's Sneetch Treats (Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies)
8oz butter
1 1/2C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2C uncooked instant oatmeal
1/2C chopped walnuts
1C raisins
2 hershey bars, broken into squares
6 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to butter mixture.
Add oatmeal, walnuts and raisins. Mix well.
Drop batter by tbsps onto ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie slightly.
Bake 12 min until golden brown and firm. Remove to a rack to cool completely.
Once cookies have cooled, toast marshmallow over open flame. Place chocolate on bottom of cookie and top with marshmallow and another cookies (basically making a s'more).

serves 6 at 24 points per s'more.....yeah I didn't eat one. But the batter was really good, I just had to sample it.The kids really had a great time with this. It was a lot of fun to come up with and I think i'll be doing something like this every year!!

Zucchini and Shrimp Sautee'

2011-02-24T08:09:00.001-08:00

I love zucchini. I mean I really love it! To say it's probably my favorite veggie is probably an understatement. I ADORE it. So I came up with this little dinner thingy...the other night. It was really good and I had a hard time keeping my fingers out of the pot! I'm so not kidding. Make this.....tonight......it's that good!

(i really need to start remembering to take pictures of what I make....but like i said earlier, i love zucchini and well....ate it before i remembered i needed to take a picture. hehe)

Zucchini and Shrimp Sautee'

4 med zucchini's , sliced
2C shredded carrots
2C cabbage, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
8oz small-med sized shrimp (or more if you like)
1 14oz can diced tomatoes with juice
garlic powder*
oregano*
salt*
pepper *
(*the above to taste-i usually don't measure my spices-i just dump and taste and I go)

Place about 2tbsp veg oil in skillet and cook zucchini, carrots and onion until tender and zucchini is browned. remove to a plate and set aside. Add tomatoes and warm through, then add shrimp cooking only for a couple of minutes until pink. Add other veggies back into pot and season to your liking.

Eat and enjoy! This would be good over rice or a pasta. We ate it as is with a side of fruit cocktail. It was so good! I was seriously licking the pot! ;)

For those who are counting, this delightful meal served 5 and was worth 6 points a serving.

Cheesy Chili Mac

2011-02-16T18:33:00.000-08:00

This was really good. 3 out of 4 of us ate it. Not sure why the other one didn't. It was really good, I had a hard time eating my one portion of it!! Yum!!!

This was originally a WW recipe, but I tweaked it with what I had on hand.

Cheesy Chili Mac

29 oz can diced tomatoes in juice (do not drain)
chili powder to taste
cumin to taste
1 pound ground hamburger
1/2 C fat free cheddar cheese, shredded
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 C ketchup
1C cabbage, chopped
1C spinach, chopped
1 can corn, drained
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 1/2C uncooked macaroni (I used shell mac because it's what I had)

In a medium skillet brown beef with onions, bell pepper, spinach and cabbage.
Cook until meat is browned and veggies are soft. Drain excess grease.

In another pot cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Add tomatoes and their juice, corn, ketchup, beef mixture and spices to taste. Heat through. Spoon into bowls or onto plates and top with cheese.

This yields about 1 C chili and 1 tbsp of cheese per serving and it serves 8. This made enough (obviously) that we could put the leftovers in the freezer for another night! I love meals that do that!!! Less cooking later. I'm always excited about that fact!!

Points for this meal are 7 per serving.

I must say again, how good this was. As for spicy, this wasn't because we don't like spicy food, but hey, if you love it, add more chili powder. I thought it was perfect!

2011-02-15T15:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight for dinner we are having tortilla soup. You can find my recipe for it here. It's really good and the more veggies you add, the better for you.

Here are the points value for this soup per serving (it serves 4):

with sour cream added: 8 points
w/o sour cream: 6 points
with shrimp: 7 points (I added this tonight because I had some frozen in my freezer. You could leave this out.)
with chicken (no sour cream-if you add the sour cream add 2 points) as in original recipe: 8 points

that leaves plenty of room for dessert, depending on how you ate during the day!!

I also added some fresh spinach to mine soup tonight for some extra veggies. I bought some fresh yesterday and I could not resist adding it to the soup.

Enjoy it (again)!

Sugar Cookie-Chocolate Crunch Fudge

2011-02-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

Ok so I know this isn't really a "healthy" recipe.....but yesterday was Valentine's Day and I made this for my boys' teachers and their bus driver. I have to say that I haven't eaten any of it (I have enough chocolate that I received to take care of that!) So I was able to pass it out and not feel guilty for making it. But I will give you points at the end in case you are interested.

This recipe is one that is printed in the Pillsbury 2011 Calendar. If you get this calender then it's February's recipe and like me, look at it every day! I made a couple of small modifications for what I had on hand, but otherwise I didn't change the recipe.
Sugar Cookie-Chocolate Crunch Fudge
2 tbsp light corn syrup
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 tsp salt
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk (NOT EVAPORATED)
1 roll ready made sugar cookie dough (in the refrigerated section), cut into chunks
2 bags (12 oz each) milk chocolate chips
5 tsp vanilla extract
6 chocolate chip granola bars, coarsely chopped

In a 3 quart heavy saucepan, cook corn syrup, butter, salt and milk over medium heat 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until well blended. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in cookie dough chunks (they will melt into the mixture so don't be alarmed). Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and candy thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Remove from heat.

Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Add chopped granola bars; stir until well blended. Cook over low heat 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture is shiny. Spread in ungreased 12x8in or 13x9in pan. Refrigerate uncovered at least 2 hours or until firm.

Cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Serve immediately, store leftovers in the fridge.

photo courtesy of Pillsbury

My oldest got to taste them and said they were really good and begged and pleaded for us to keep a couple of them. So I did....but I still haven't had one..

Point for this is: 4 per square (this recipe yields 48 squares)

A new way of eating

2011-02-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

I joined Weight Watchers today. There. It's out for the world to see now. So i'm now going to make sure every thing I make has a points value and any recipe I post, I will post the points just in case you are doing weight watchers or are even interested. Let's just say that now that we are done with having kids I have some much needed weight to lose and I thought the best way to do it was to join Weight Watchers*. I am excited about their new program and I think I'll be able to do well on it. I'm doing the online version because I just can't bring myself to go to meetings. Plus with the hubs being on the other side of the world, that's just not an option. I have to admit i've been playing with it all day. But that's not why you are here (all 3 of you that visit this blog). You want recipes....food......all things yummy for your tummy!!

Tonight's recipe is brought to you courtesy of Stephanie at Fun Foods on a Budget. She made this particular recipe a couple of years ago. I stumbled upon it and decided to give it a try. It was fabulous and I think you need to try it to. Click on the link to take you to her blog for the recipe!! Enjoy!!

RUNZAS

for those interested......points for this meal are 11 (for 1 of the runzas). Yeah that's a lot but if you bank up during the day, it doesn't seem like that many.

*Weight Watchers did not ask me to endorse their product and in no way gave me any incentive to do so.

My new favorite cookie!!

2011-01-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

I'M BACK!

I have had a great time just hanging out with my family and our newest bundle of joy! She's doing great and growing like a weed!! We also got a surprise as her daddy was able to come home from his deployment to meet her. Unfortunately he missed the birth, but he still got to meet her before heading back out into the desert. It was a wonderful holiday. I hope yours was wonderful!!

My parents were here to help out over the holidays and my mom shared this fabulous recipe with me. I just had to share it with you all. It's officially my new favorite cookie. So YUM!!! And really the possibilities are endless as to what you can put in the cookies. This was originally a Paula Deen recipe. I've seen her make it on her show a few times and just never did anything about it. I regret that more than you know!! These are fabulous!!! Hope you try them soon!!

Monster Cookies
adapted from a Paula Deen recipe*
* 3 eggs
* 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
* 1 stick butter or margarine, softened
* 1/2 cup mini m&m's
* 1/2 cup chocolate chips
* 2 heath bars, chopped (or 1/2 cup toffee bits)
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not over bake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags

*We had some fabulous meals over the break and I'll be back soon to tell you all about them!*

2010-12-16T17:18:00.000-08:00

Our little miracle arrived this morning so I will be on hiatus for a while until the new year. If I don't get a chance to say it later, I hope everyone of you has a HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON AND A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Vanilla Bean White Truffles

2010-12-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays! All the baking just puts me in the mood. Put on some Christmas music and i'm in my own little slice of heaven!! So today I decided would be the perfect day to get busy doing some baking! We do neighbor gifts every year and this year instead of just giving a plate of cookies and driving myself crazy with just those I figured I'd go a bit more crazy and do a variety of things for the plates.
This recipe is one that will be on the plates this year and possibly for years to come!!! It's sssooo good and I hope you'll enjoy it as well!!!

Vanilla Bean White Truffles

4 tbsp heavy cream (or more give or take-it took a tad more than that for mine)
14 ounces good white chocolate
1 vanilla bean
1 tsp vanilla extract
sprinkles for topping

Place the cream in a heat proof bowl and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the vanilla bean and the all the goodness from inside the bean. Cook until heated through. Remove the bean pod. Using a wire whisk, slowly stir the white chocolate into the warm cream until completely melted. Whisk in the vanilla. Cover and shill for about an hour until pliable but firm enough to scoop.

With a medium sized scoop make rounds of the chocolate mixture and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Roll in hands to smooth and dredge in sprinkles. Set back on baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes or until ready to plate.

*You could also melt 12oz bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate in a double boiler and drizzle over truffles instead of using sprinkles. Or even dredge in various nuts.

WINNER

2010-11-17T07:18:00.001-08:00

Arya You won the Baby Center giveaway!!!

Email me your mailing info:

rebekahskitchen@live.com so we can get your prize out to you!!!!

Baby Center

2010-11-09T18:18:00.001-08:00

THIS IS NOW CLOSED!

I know this isn't really food related, but since I'm expecting again, it fits.

Are you expecting? Do you know someone who is? Well.....

Whether you´re trying to conceive or are looking for nutritious snack ideas for your preschooler, BabyCenter.com, the Web's #1 global interactive parenting network, is the place to be.

Last year, 7 in 10 babies born in the United States were BabyCenter babies and more than 8 million moms in the United States turn to BabyCenter each month for information, advice and guidance.

As the world´s partner in parenting, BabyCenter offers moms trusted advice from hundreds of experts around the globe, medical advisory board-approved information, friendship with other moms, and support at every stage of your child´s development.

In an effort to be there for mom during her pregnancy and parenting journey, wherever and whenever she needs it most, BabyCenter continually strives to offer valuable parenting tools. Among the latest and greatest include:

BabyCenter My Pregnancy Today App

This new, free application for the iPhone and iTouch, guides expectant moms through their pregnancy journey, offering award-winning, medically reviewed health content; advice from obstetricians, midwives, nutritionists, and other experts; daily activities and reminders; and conversation and connection with other moms-to-be in BabyCenter´s community.

BabyCenter "Preparing for Labor and Birth" Online Class

The BabyCenter Class is a convenient, at-home option for moms who can´t attend hospital childbirth classes due to hectic work schedules or being put on bed rest. And the price is right, too! For only $39.99, the all-new 2-hour instructional course lets you hear from doctors, ask your questions, and build confidence for your big day. Preparing for Labor and Birth includes: An explanation of the signs and stages of labor; What to expect during labor; Labor and birth stories from new moms; An overview of your pain-management options; A tour of a delivery room; Suggestions for creating your birth plan; A checklist to help you prepare for the big day and more.

BabyCenter Parenting Books (BabyCenter^® Pregnancy and BabyCenter^® Baby)

These two new practical and reassuring books provide pregnant women and new mothers with all of the information and support they need during this exciting new time in their lives, with a blend of expert advice and true "mom wisdom." Both are great, highly visual, reference books to keep on the nightstand for that nagging question or concern that inevitably pops up in the middle of the night.

Mom Answers

This new interactive tool gives BabyCenter moms an emotionally supportive environment where they can ask questions and get answers straight from other moms who´ve had similar life experiences. It´s like having access to 8 million best girlfriends 24/7.

Milestones

The new Milestones tool provides BabyCenter moms the ability to quickly and easily record important pregnancy and childhood milestones and share them with friends and family via e-mail, Facebook, and the BabyCenter Community. It´s a fun way to create an online "baby book."

The folks at Babycenter.com and My Blog Spark would like to provide 1 lucky reader with a prize pack containing: two new BabyCenter parenting books (BabyCenter^® Pregnancy and BabyCenter^® Baby), a package of Seventh Generation diapers, a gift card from BabyCenter partner, Shutterfly and a BabyCenter bib.

I received a similar pack and I am so excited to use the diapers and the coupon. The books have lots of information whether you are a new mom or a seasoned veteran. Even if you aren't expecting, this would be a great gift for a new mom!

Good luck-1 entry per person please and include an email address where i can contact you if you win!! Contest ends

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15 at noon (MST)

Good luck!!!!!!!

Iron Foodie

2010-11-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

1. Why compete?

I love the idea of being creative in the kitchen. I'm always taking a recipe i've found and tweaking it in a way to make it my own. I've also come up with a few of my own recipes inspired by foods i've eaten and loved. I just love being in the kitchen cooking and baking!!

2. Who's kitchen?

I would love to spend the day in Paula Deen's kitchen. She reminds me of the way my family cooks, down home and from the heart. I would love to be around her and soak up her hospitality and love of cooking and just her enthusiasm for eating what she cooks. I love that!!!

3. What morsel would you swipe?

Probably something desert related. Especially if it's chocolate!!!! Maybe also a pasta dish of some sort. I just can't get enough pasta or desert for that matter!!

4. Childhood in one meal?

Fried chicken, boiled potatoes with green beans, homemade biscuits and corn. This is the meal we ate every Sunday at my grandmother's home. There is no one on this earth (except maybe my mom) that can make the fried chicken like she did. It was one of the reasons I looked forward to seeing my grandmother on the weekends. She was the most amazing cook!!!

5.Mainstream food I can't stand?

Sushi.....I just can't get behind the appeal. I've tried it many times thinking it was just me and I had a block, but I just can't do it. Bleh.....

Wish me luck!!!

CandyLand Winner

2010-10-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all who commented!!!

The winner of the Candyland Game is:

KRISTEN J

send me your mailing info asap to rebekahskitchen(at)live(dot)com!!

Thanks!!!!

Candy Land! Wahoo!!

2010-10-24T18:29:00.001-07:00

THIS IS NOW CLOSED!

How would you like to be among the first to set out on an all-new colorful adventure through the magical world of Candy Land? With fun, new lands to explore and fantastical characters to meet, Candy Land has been redesigned for an even sweeter experience.

Travel down the rainbow path on a journey of discovery through enchanted lands filled with sweet surprises around every corner. Create delicious treats at the Cupcake Commons to deliver along the way, participate in a thrilling snowboard race down the Ice Cream Slopes with the Duke of Swirl, take a relaxing train ride through Gummy Hills and climb to the top of Chocolate Mountain. Be sure to make friends with Gramma Gooey, Lord Licorice, Princess Frostine and Princess Lolly of Lollypop Woods throughout your adventure, as you race to meet King Kandy at the grand entrance to the Candy Castle.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this game for our family to try from Hasbro and My Blog Spark. We played it today and it was just as much fun as the original!!! The game board has been completely re-done and there are new challenges and characters to the game. And here comes the great part!!! Hasbro and My Blog Spark want you to have the same kind of fun so they are ready to give one of you a new Candy Land game of your very own!!!!

All you need to do to win and let me know when you first played Candy Land? Make sure you leave a way to contact you and only 1 entry per person please. I hope you will find as much enjoyment in this game as our family did!! Perfect for family game nights!!!

Good luck and this will end

Friday, October 29, at NOON pst.

Sherpards Pie

2010-10-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

This dish gets a bad rap from a lot of people. I am wondering if those of you who aren't fond of it, are that way because of the mashed potatoes on top. I've talked to my mom about this and that is her reason for disliking this dish. She likes the mashed potatoes, but it's something about mixing them with everything else. Not sure. Well I hope you try the way I make it and reconsider. BUt hey, if you just don't like it, then I can totally respect that. There are things out there that I feel the same way about.....

Easy Shepards Pie

1 pound stewing beef that has been cut into small bite size chunks (or you could use ground hamburger, turkey sausage, etc)

1 16oz bag frozen mixed veggies

1 1/2-2C left over or freshly made mashed potatoes

bbq sauce of choice (will only need about half the bottle)

3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese (optional for topping)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Brown off the meat but do not cook all the way through, It will finish cooking in the oven.
Add bbq sauce to liking and add the veggies (I added them right out of the bag-if you do this cut back on the amount of bbq sauce you use or it will result in a very runny pie).

Place all ingredients (except potatoes) into a casserole dish. Top with potatoes. Top with the cheese and then add some paprika for color.

Bake for about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let sit for about 5 minutes before eating

Best served with biscuits but feel free to eat it with whatever your family likes!!

Enjoy!!!

Betty Crocker Winner

2010-10-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

Forgive me being late for posting and thanks to all who entered the contest and for the those of you who read my blog!!

And now for the part you've been waiting on!!!
the winner is (thanks to random.ord)............

MELODY
of cheat day cafe

Congratulations!!!!!!! I've sent you an email!

Betty Crocker Contest

2010-10-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

THIS IS NOW CLOSED

Don't you just love give a ways! I know I do!!! Here's another chance for you to win something!!! Read on!

Gathering the family around the dinner table to enjoy a home cooked meal is a great way to unwind, but there aren´t always enough hours in the day to prepare an entire meal from scratch.

To find a delicious side dish that´s easy to prepare and tastes homemade, look no further than Betty Crocker´s® Boxed Instant Mashed Potatoes, which are made with 100% real potatoes.

With a just-like-mom´s taste, Betty Crocker Boxed Instant Mashed Potatoes go from stovetop to table in just eight short minutes. Based on a scratch recipe, the Homestyle Creamy Butter variety will have your family thinking you spent hours in the kitchen the next time you serve up a hearty helping. If you prefer an extra kick of flavor, give the Roasted Garlic variety a try. And with two pouches in every box there´s plenty to go around.

Be sure to try the Au Gratin flavor variety, too! For more information, visit BettyCrocker.com, and be sure to follow Betty Crocker on Twitter and "Like" the Facebook page to keep up with all of the latest news on your Betty Crocker favorites!

We are HUGE fans of mashed potatoes in this house and these tasted just like homemade to us. We really enjoyed the garlicy flavors the best but they were all fantastic!!!! Please go out and try them and judge for yourself!!! Really yummy!!!!! (My husband could eat them as a meal!!)

I am pleased to offer another wonderful pirze pack brought to you by the fab people at
Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark.

If you choose to participate the winner will receive a prize pack that includes two boxes of Betty Crocker Boxed Instant Mashed Potatoes (one Roasted Garlic and one Homestyle Creamy Butter), a serving bowl, a trivet and a serving spoon. FABULOUS!!!!

All you need to do is answer the following question to be eligible:

What do you like to put into your mashed potatoes? cheese, garlic, sour cream, do you love them plain?

One entry per person please and make sure you leave me an email address to contact you!!

This will end Wednesday, October 20 at NOON pst.

Good luck!!!!!!

winner

2010-10-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

and the Lawry's winner is.......

HOLLY!!!!

email me at rebekahskitchen(at)live(dot)com with your mailing info.

Thanks!!!!

New Giveaway

2010-09-29T09:24:00.001-07:00

THIS IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS!

I have to tell you that I'm totally excited about this giveaway!!!
I love marinades and trying new flavors!!! Through the generosity of My Blog Spark and Lawry's I got to try some of their new flavor marinades! YUM!!!!!!! So excited!!! And I know you will be too!!

A recent Lawry´s survey found that your choice of flavor says more about you than you think. The nationwide poll looked at preferences for tart, spicy, sweet, and savory flavors and found that your choice can reveal some interesting aspects of your personality.

What´s your flavor?

Joyous Joiners - Tart Flavors
If you are one for tart flavors, you tend to be extremely happy overall, particularly with your family, finances, work/life balance and even your health. As a Joyous Joiners you are an extrovert who loves to entertain at home, find it very important to join in social events in your community and are active on the greatest number of social networking sites.

Self-Assured Adventurers - Spicy Flavors If your preference is for spicy flavors, consider yourself a confident, adventurous individual with a passion for travel and cooking. You are the biggest risk taker and although impulsive, you are not reckless - as a Self-Assured Adventurer you also tend to be resourceful, analytical, and most able to "look at the big picture."

The Sweet Lifers - Sweet Flavors
As a Sweet Lifer, home and family are close to your heart. You are the kindest and most loyal, although you probably wouldn´t admit that as you are also the most modest. As an individual that prefers sweeter flavors (honey and fruit-infused), you are influenced by your parents, enjoy family entertainment, and consider yourself spiritual.

The Conventionalists - Savory Flavors
Your passion for savory flavors shows you have an enthusiasm for politics, enjoy camping and hiking and love outdoor barbeques and American cuisine. Along with the other Conventionalists, you tend to be more introverted than the rest of the groups and often describe yourself as a homebody.

Lawry´s has something for you no matter what your flavor is, including two new marinades and four new Seasoning Mix packets that help create simple meals with an abundance of flavor:

Marinades

Szechuan Sweet & Sour BBQ gives meat a delicious sweet and sour flavor with a touch of Szechuan heat

Tuscan Sun-Dried Tomato includes extra virgin olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, sweet red bell peppers and the perfect blend of herbs

Seasoning Mixes

Asian Style Beef & Broccoli - This easy to prepare stir fry meal will remind your family of their favorite Asian restaurant. The dish combines beef, broccoli and seasonings with a hint of garlic. Serve it over rice and you have a complete, satisfying meal.

Chimichurri Burrito Casserole - Lawry´s gives the familiar Burrito casserole a new twist with this traditional Latin American sauce. With a few simple fresh ingredients, mealtime just got a lot more exciting.

Mediterranean Sundried Tomato & Garlic Chicken - Add a taste of the Mediterranean to your family´s casserole. This easy to bake casserole combines chicken, pasta, tomatoes and Feta cheese to easily make a flavorful meal any night of the week.

Tuscan Style Chicken Marsala with Garlic and Basil - Chicken Marsala is a restaurant favorite, but it might not make the menu at home. This effortless version comes together on your stovetop with just a few fresh ingredients. Flavorful garlic and basil gives this meal its own Tuscan flair, perfect for serving over pasta or rice.

So would YOU like to win a prize pack from My Blog Spark and Lawry's that contains a Lawry´s marinating dish, a set of skewers, Lawry´s two new marinades, as well as a sample of each of the four new Seasoning Mixes and a bottle of Lawry´s Seasoned Salt? All you have to do is answer the following question:

what's your favorite flavor marinade and what do you put it on?

ONE winner will be picked at random and you have until this Sunday, October 2nd at midnight (PST) to enter!!

Good luck!!!!

Warm Caramel Apple Cake

2010-09-27T12:41:00.001-07:00

I made this the other day because I had some apples that were in dire need of being used. If you are lucky enough to get the free Betty Crocker recipe calendar then you are in luck and you have this recipe! This is where I got it. It's really good, whether you eat it warm right out of the oven (which I HIGHLY recommend) or a couple of days later -if you have any left that is.. :)
It was really yummy!!!

Warm Caramel Apple Cake

1/2	cup butter or margarine
1/4	cup whipping cream
1	cup packed brown sugar
1/2	cup chopped pecans-i omitted this because I am too cheap to buy them and i don't live in a place that grows them, plus I doubt anyone would have eaten it with them in it anyway...
2	large cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 2 1/3 cups)
1	box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix
1 1/4	cups water
1/3	cup vegetable oil
3	eggs
1/4	teaspoon apple pie spice- i just used cinnamon

Topping

2/3	cup Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting (from 12-oz container)
1/2	cup frozen (thawed) whipped topping
	Caramel topping, if desired



	Print these coupons...





	About Concordance™

Heat oven to 350°F. In 1-quart heavy saucepan, cook butter, whipping cream and brown sugar over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter is melted. Pour into 13x9-inch pan. Sprinkle with pecans; top with sliced apples.
In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs and apple pie spice with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Carefully spoon batter over apple mixture.
Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Loosen sides of cake from pan. Place heatproof serving platter upside down on pan; carefully turn platter and pan over. Let pan remain over cake about 1 minute so caramel can drizzle over cake. Remove pan.
In small bowl, mix frosting and whipped topping. Serve warm cake topped with frosting mixture and drizzled with caramel topping.

We did not use the topping, I had some whipped topping in the fridge that we used instead and it worked perfectly. The kids almost preferred it that way. I also didn't invert the cake after it was baked. I just invert the pieces as they are cut from the cake. I didn't have a platter big enough.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Mexican Pizzas

2010-09-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

I love Taco Bell. All things Taco Bell. Unfortunately we don't go out to eat that often so I've been scrounging for copy cat recipes (plus it's cheaper). My favorite thing there I still can't find a recipe for so if you know of a killer copy cat recipe for the Beef Meximelt I'm all ears. But the other night I found a copy cat recipe for their Mexican Pizza. So I decided to try it out. It wasn't a HUGE success but it was tasty. The kids aren't fond of cilantro and tried to be sneaky about not eating it. Otherwise, it was ok. A bit messy but good none the less (at least to me anyway).

Ingredients

12 (6 inch) Flour Tortillas, cooked into crispy tortillas
1-1/2 cups refried beans, prepared
1-1/2 pounds ground beef, chuck, raw
1/2 packet taco seasoning
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons pizza sauce, prepared
1-1/2 cups Mexican Cheese Blend, grated, prepared
3/4 cup Roma tomato, fresh, small chop
2 tablespoons cilantro, fresh, rough chopped

To make the Crispy Tortillas: Place all 8 tortillas directly on the oven rack of a 350 degrees F oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve on your work surface.

Heat the 1 cup of refried beans for 1 minute in the microwave to get hot and reserve for the recipe build.
Season the ground beef with salt, pepper and taco seasoning and saute for 8 minutes in a non-stick pan, drain and reserve hot for the recipe build.
To build 1 Mexican Pizza: Place 1 crispy tortilla on work surface.
Evenly spread tortilla with hot refried beans.
Evenly top refried beans with of the cooked ground beef.
Top ground beef with second crisp tortilla and evenly spread 1 heaping tablespoon of pizza sauce over the tortilla.
Evenly top the pizza sauce with grated Mexican cheese blend and 2 tablespoons chopped tomatoes.
Repeat steps 1 through 5 for remaining 3 servings.
Place all 4 pizzas, at one time, in 350 degrees F oven on a cookie pan/flat pan, and bake for 2 minutes to melt the cheese. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro evenly over the top of each pizza. Serve each pizza whole.

*We didn't cook the pizzas after assembled. And if I were to do this again I would not cook the tortillas before hand but warm them through after assembled. They were very messy!!

Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies

2010-09-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

Pregnant=a never ending chocolate craving. Try these the next time you get a craving!!

Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies

Ingredients

1 -8oz pkg cream cheese , softened
1/2 cup peanut butter - i used a mixture of chunky and creamy
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1 egg, and milk until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, 2 cups white sugar, and vanilla. Mix in the remaining 3 eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; mix into the batter. Stir in chocolate chips.
Remove 1 cup of the chocolate batter. Spread the remaining batter into the prepared pan. Spread the peanut butter filling over the top. Drop the reserved chocolate batter by teaspoonful over the filling. Using a knife, gently swirl through the top layers for a marbled effect.
Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out almost clean. Cool completely, then cut into bars.

Hawaiian Sandwiches

2010-09-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

Our favorite pizza is the Hawaiian. I just love the flavors of the pineapple and ham. I also love it when it has bbq sauce slathered all over it. My mouth is watering just thinking about it-really.Great, now i want pizza!! haha!

Hawaiian Sandwiches

Hamburger buns or hoagie rolls - we used hamburger buns-cheaper and easier!
Deli Ham
Sliced Pineapple
Barbecue Sauce
Deli Sliced Provolone Cheese - feel free to use whatever you family likes best-mozzarella would be fab here as well!!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Assemble melts starting with Ham, Pineapple Slices, BBQ sauce, and Cheese last. Put the top on and individually wrap the sandwich snugly in the foil. Place sandwiches in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Give it 5 minutes to cool and enjoy!! If you are using hamburger buns I wouldn't go the full 15 minutes, maybe shave off about 5 or so minutes. Depends on your oven. Ours were super ooey and gooey. But hey if you like that then go for it (we were split down the middle on who liked the ooey and gooey and who didn't).

Serve these with your favorite potatoe or macaroni salad! SSSSSOOOOOO easy and ssssssoooo good!!!

Pineapple Pepper Chicken (crockpot)

2010-09-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize how far off the radar i've become!!! My sincerest apologies!

I've been cooking and eating and forgetting to do anything about it! Guess it's a big case of the lazies!!

So recently I made this fab dish. I originally found it on FabulesslyFrugal.com. I love reading about all her freezer cooking. I'll be using several of her dishes when we get closer to having this baby! The newest one I've tried was a HUGE hit. I didn't make it as a freezer meal, just made it on the night I had it set on my menu.

Pineapple Pepper Chicken (in the crockpot)
2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice-the juice leftover in the cans I used came up just short, you might want to buy 1 extra can of pineapples to make up the difference
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 whole chicken-cut up or left whole, I left mine whole
1 can (8 oz.) pineapple chunks, undrained - *see above note*
1 medium green pepper (or red as the case may be-they are on a super sale at our store so I substituted those-use what you like)

Place thawed chicken and other ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. 30 minute before it is finished add pineapple and green pepper, cook an additional 30 minutes. Serve over rice (we had noodles with ours).

OR: Place chicken in a 13x 9 pan. Heat sauce on stove until it starts to thicken. Pour sauce over chicken. DO NOT over fill the pan. There will be extra sauce. Pour sauce in a container and freeze so you can make this dish again later! Place pan in oven at 350° and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven place peppers and pineapple on top and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

I recommend using the crockpot, but by all means if you don't have the time then use the oven. I like any excuse to NOT turn on my oven in the heat of an AZ summer. Plus in the crockpot you get to smell it's citrusy awesomeness all day long!! I HIGHLY recommend this dish. It was sssssooooooo good. And like me if you use a whole chicken, save the bones for making stock and add whatever juices you have leftover. I did and the stock it made was heaven for sure!!

Thanks Fabulessly Frugal for another FAB recipe!!

Chocolate and Cheese Tunnel Cake

2010-06-21T15:41:00.000-07:00

I made this dessert for Father's Day. We are HUGE cheesecake lovers and I thought this was a nice twist on it. I copied straight from my email and now I don't remember where I saw the original recipe. The pictures came with the original recipe. Hope you enjoy!!

Chocolate and Cheese Tunnel Cake

Ingredients
1 cake mix, two-layer chocolate with pudding (I don't see why you couldn't use any flavor cake you'd like-I went with the chocolate this time but may try something else the next time around!)
1/3 c butter
16 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp butter, melted
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate
2 tsp corn syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake mix according to package directions, substituting butter for oil; reserve 1 cup of batter.

Pour remaining batter into a 12 cup greased and floured fluted tube pan.

Combine cream cheese and sugar, mixing well at medium speed on an electric mixer until well blended; blend in eggs, one at a time.

Pour over batter in the pan; spoon reserved batter over cream cheese mixture and bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes; remove to a wire rack.

Combine melted butter, chocolate and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until chocolate is melted.

Pour over cooled cake.

Corn dog muffins

2010-06-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

This is lunch for today. I got this recipe from a Relief Society meeting. They showed a bunch of camping type recipes that kids could help with. These were really good and everyone seemed to like them!! So I figured I'd give them a shot today. The boys have a friend over and so I whipped these little gems up!

Corn Dog Mini Muffins

1 pkg golden corn muffin mix
1/3 C +1tbsp milk
cooked hot dogs

Mix corn dog mix as directed on package.
Once the hot dogs are cooked, cut into thirds (I ended up cutting my last one into quarters).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Using a mini muffin pan spray and then put a coating of flour in each of the holes.
Fill each hole about 1/3 full. Place a hot dog piece vertically in each muffin.
Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly before removing from pan or they'll break apart.

Enjoy!!!!!

Funeral Potates

2010-06-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

I had honestly never heard of funeral potatoes until we moved to Utah. Apparently this dish is something people take for the meal after a funeral (hince the name). If you've heard of it and you don't live in UT, well then you get out more than I do! :) But after living in Ut for 4 years I'd never even tried them, much less tried to make them. So I figured now was a good time to try it. I'm ssssooo glad that I did. This is a really good meal. Most traditional versions of this meal do not include the meat or the veggies. I wanted to add some substance to it and make it the main dish. The pepperoni for us was a big hit, but you could absolutely change it for whatever your family likes. Isn't that what this recipe thing is all about anyway? Make how you like it. We loved it and plan on making it again in the near future!!!

Funeral Potatoes

6 c. frozen grated potatoes (I used a mixture of fresh cut potatoes and frozen ones)
½ c. margarine
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pkg turkey pepperoni
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 ½ c grated cheddar cheese
¼ c very finely chopped onion
2 c sour cream
¾ c corn flakes
¼ c melted butter

Mix ingredients in bowl and transfer to a casserole dish. I placed everything in the bowl except pepperoni and then placed half the mixture into dish, topped with pepperoni and then topped off with rest of mixture.
Mix cornflakes/crakers and melted butter, sprinkle over top.
Bake, covered with foil @ 350 for 45 min, uncovering last 15 min. (i cooked mine for 40 minutes covered and then 15 covered-ovens will vary, so just keep and eye on it)

absence

2010-06-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

i wanted to apologize for my absence lately. morning sickness has taken a big hold on me and i'm not doing much cooking. because of this pregnancy i'm now completely lactose intolerant and it's horrible because one of my favorite foods is cheese. i'm looking forward to not being sick anymore!

so please bear with me as I hope to soon have some more recipes for ya!!!
thanks!!

BBQ Pork Ribs

2010-05-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

This was going to be my Mother's Day meal, but after munching all day no one was hungry when it was time for dinner so we made this last night. It was really good!!! It takes some time so be prepared!!

BBQ Pork Ribs (could use beef ribs as well)
however many ribs needed to feed your family
lawry's bbq dry rub mix (or your favorite rub mix)
favorite bbq sauce (we used a mesquite flavor)

If ribs have been in the freezer thaw the day before in refrigerator completely. The morning you plan to cook these, lay out ribs on sheet pan lined with foil. Remove excess fat from meat. Use as much of the rub as you like and make sure the meat side is well coated with the rub. I did not use any oil to stick the rub to the meat but you certainly can. Let the ribs marinate all day.
Once ready to cook, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put pan topped with foil in the oven for 1-1/2 hours or until done through. Once out of the oven slather with the bbq sauce and let sit for about 15 minutes.
Eat and enjoy!!!

These were really good!!! I hope you enjoy them as well!!

Breakfast Burritos for Freezing

2010-05-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!! I hope each of the mom's out there had a great day!!!

Here's a recipe that might make your life a little easier!!!

Freezer Breakfast Burritos
1 pound breakfast sausage
8 eggs
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 flour burrito sized tortillas

Brown the sausage slightly and add eggs. Scramble eggs and finish cooking sausage through. Once cooked it's time to assemble the burritos. Place about 1/4C of filling into middle of burrito. Top with cheese. Fold, making sure you bring in sides so none of the filling leaks out. Once folded wrap in aluminum foil. Once all are assembled, place in ziploc baggie labeled with warming directions.

Thaw completely. Preheat oven to 350 and reheat for about 45 min or microwave 1 minute per burrito.

These were really good!! They are perfect for dinner with a salad and chips or just as a snack. Make a ton of them and just keep them in the freezer for whenever you need a quick lunch or snack!!

Happy Eating! Enjoy!!

Taco Empanadas

2010-04-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

I saw this originally on Down Home with The Neely's on Food Network. I remembered that I had some taco meat in the freezer and viola! Dinner in a pinch! I'm including only the empanada part, you can use whatever meat mixture you'd like best. I left out the corn kernels from mine and they were still really good! I even had enough to freeze for snacks later!

Cornbread Dough:

* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 3 cups fine cornmeal
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 cup cold butter, cut in small cubes
* 2 eggs
* 2 tablespoons warm water
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons whole milk
* 1 tablespoons dehydrated lemon peel
* 1 cup roughly chopped corn kernels
* Water, for sealing
* Special equipment: 5-inch round cookie cutter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar and cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and mix in the water, lemon juice, milk, lemon peel and corn. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and combine to form a soft and pliable dough. Knead the dough until fully mixed. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 5-inch rounds.

Fill each round with 1 to 2 tablespoons of meat filling. Fold the dough in half and dab the edges with water to seal. There should be a 1/2-inch of dough to work with to form the seal. For a tight seal, press with the tines of a fork all around the edge of the empanada. Transfer the empanadas to a lightly buttered baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

Banana Cinnamon Cream Cake

2010-04-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

So I know that I'm way behind in posting from Easter. I have no excuse....just been busy and haven't really thought about it. So for the big dinner we really didn't do much out of the ordinary. I made roast chicken and homemade mac n cheese. Chicken was on sale at the store last week and so I went with what was on sale rather than what tradition dictates for Easter dinner (we usually have ham). But I did branch out and made a super yum, banana cream cake. Here is the recipe

Banana Cinnamon Cream Cake
35 nilla wafers, divided
2 C cold milk
1 tub cool whip
2 tbsp melted butter
2 large or 4 medium bananas, sliced
2 pkg vanilla instant pudding
2 tbsp cinnamon (more or less depending on how you like it)

Crush 21 (give or take) wafers and mix with butter. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of round baking dish (9in) Stand remaining wafers vertically around the edge of pan.

Beat the pudding, cinnamon and milk in a large bowl with a whisk for 2 minutes. Stir in whipped topping. Spread half mixture over crust, cover with layers of bananas and remaining pudding mixture. Top with a few extra wafers crushed. refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

I dove into into this like a swimming pool! Soooooo good!! The cinnamon really gives it a great flavor and jazzes up the vanilla pudding! I hope you enjoy!!!

Make Life Sweeter Giveaway!

2010-03-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

Melodee was our winner! Thanks to all who participated!

THIS IS NOW CLOSED....THANKS!

Now that spring is in the air, it´s the perfect time to put a fresh spin on Some of your favorite baking classics.

Using Betty Crocker® SuperMoist Cake and Traditional Brownie Mixes, and with a little help from the Safeway family of stores, you can put your budding baking skills to the test to serve up special treats that will have you and your little sprouts ready for springtime!

For great spring recipe ideas, visit BakeSweetMemories.com today. Bake Sweet Memories has delicious recipes for fun desserts using your Betty Crocker favorites, including Easter Bunny Cakes and even morning brunches, like the Impossibly Easy Breakfast Bake, which are sure to brighten any morning!

In addition, from March 24th through April 6th, visit the Safeway family of Stores to purchase Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake and Traditional Brownie Mixes at the special price of $0.69!

If you miss the sale, check BakeSweetMemories.com for great coupon offers that download right to your Safeway Club card. This Spring, Betty Crocker makes life a little sweeter.

NOw to make things all the sweeter: you have the chance to win a "Spring Sweet Treats" prize pack that includes a silicon baking pan, stainless steel mixing bowl, oven mitt, Betty Crocker mixing spoon, and a $25 Safeway gift card.

Thanks to MY BLOGSPARK, The Safeway family of stores and Betty Crocker one of you will get the chance to win this fab package. Thanks to them I was able to receive the same package to try!! I love it, I love to bake and this really was the icing on the cake for me. I'm really excited about this give away. So to win:

* i'd love to hear what your favorite thing was on the BakesweetMemories website.

for an extra chance
*follow this blog! (separate comment for each)

Good luck and this will end Sunday March 28 at Midnight PST.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

2010-03-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

I have to say this isn't an original idea. I tweaked the original to suit our family and it was AWESOME!!! I hope you'd had a great day doing whatever your family's traditions dictate. We don't do much other than wearing of the green and some sort of fun "green" or Irish themed dinner. For the past few years I've done a green themed dinner, but didn't feel like doing that this year. I had been wondering what on earth to do, when I was watching Food Network a couple of weeks ago and Guy Fieri made this on his show. The moment I saw it, I knew this is what I wanted to do. So tonight I got everything ready and made my substitutions not knowing how it would turn out. Some of my subs were pretty radical. But it was AWESOME! Did I say that already! So I must suggest that you MAKE this and make it SOON!!!! My kids even enjoyed it, which in and of itself is amazing!

Corned Beef and Pasta Toss
2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup small diced carrots
1 cup diced cabbage
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon season salt
2 cups cooked corned beef, sliced
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tbsp relish
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup fresh peas, or frozen
1 pound cooked linguine

Directions

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the butter and 1 tablespoon canola oil. Add the carrots and cabbage and saute until they are just tender and the cabbage is starting to caramelize, about 20 minutes. Stir in the onions and salt and saute 3 to 4 minutes longer. Add the corned beef and black pepper and cook until the beef is starting to crisp, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally during this process. Add in the cream, half- and-half, the mustard and the relish. Let simmer until the sauce has tightened up a bit, about 5 minutes. Stir in the shredded cheese and adjust seasonings, as needed. Stir in the peas and the pasta, then transfer into a serving dish. Serve immediately.

As an added bonus I added food coloring to the pasta water turning it green. It's a little harder to do with whole wheat pasta, but it sort of looked green. Regular pasta probably would've tinted better.

Easy French Bread Pizza

2010-03-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight's meal is brought to you by one tired momma!! I've been baking a cake for a birthday party tomorrow (not one of ours, for a friend) and I'm beat! So we are having pizza-it's usually standard fare for Friday night, but tonight instead of ordering it (and believe me I was sssooo tempted) we are having this!

Easy French Bread Pizzas
1 loaf whole wheat french bread
favorite marinara sauce, pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese
variety of your favorite toppings (or eat it plain like we are tonight-toppings are just too much to think about right now! lol!)

Preheat oven to 375
Slice bread in half, lengthwise and slather with sauce of choice. If you have small eaters like we do, feel free to cute the pieces down to more manageable sizes.
Top with cheese and your favorites.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly!

Enjoy!!

Carribean Chicken

2010-03-04T16:17:00.001-08:00

I do need to apologize for lack of pictures. My computer isn't recognizing the pictures from my camera so I can't download any. I guess until I can get it fixed you'll just have to use your imagination!! :)

So here is what's for dinner tonight. This is making my house smell so good right now. This is glorious! I hope you enjoy it too!!

Caribbean Chicken

1/4 C freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
1 tbsp veg oil
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
2 tsp ginger (or 1 tsp minced fresh ginger)
2 cloves of garlic, whole
1/2 tsp fresh oregano
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, thighs or tenderloins (i'm using tenderloins this time around)

In a small food processor or a blender, combine all ingredients except chicken. Blend into a marinade, making sure that the garlic is in small bits.

Place chicken in a ziptop baggie (gallon sized) and put marinade on top of it. Refrigerate for 2-24 hours. The longer the better.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade at this point) and cook chicken for 10 minutes on each side or until no longer pink (ovens may vary-you can adjust heat as you see fit).

Serve with favorite sides. We are having this with a four cheese alfredo and a veggie. This would be awesome grilled too!!

Easy cinnamon rolls

2010-02-28T12:58:00.000-08:00

My mom use to make these on the weekends and I loved it!! So this morning I got a little crazy and whipped these up. It was so worth it, they are ooey gooey and oh so good!!! Enjoy!

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

* 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
* 3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg, room temperature
* 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* ground cinnamon
* brown sugar

Frosting
powdered sugar and milk, mix until thick and top fresh from the oven rolls!

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the sugar, salt, egg and 1 cup flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well with each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
3. Lightly grease an 8x8 inch square baking pan. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Smear the dough with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Go as liberally as you want. I love it extra gooey so I put a ton on it. The more the better as far as I'm concerned! :)
Roll up the dough along the long edge until it forms a roll. Slice the roll into 12-16 equal size pieces and place them in the pan with the cut side up. I got about 11 rolls, but I cut them very large so you may end up with more or less depending on how you cut them.
4. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake rolls until golden brown, about 20 minutes top with frosting.

Shrimp Salad with Wheat Thins

2010-02-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

Today for lunch I wanted something light and easy. We are all running in different directions and for 2 seconds I wanted to be able to sit down and enjoy lunch with the hubs and the kids. Of course they had cheese, ham and crackers for lunch and that didn't sound good to me so I whipped this up. Enjoy! I would recommend letting it sit for a while before eating, we ate ours right away and it wasn't as good as I'm sure it would have been had it sat in the fridge for an hour. I just couldn't wait that long! :)

Shrimp Salad with Wheat Thins
1 1/2 C salad shrimp, thawed
1/2C mayo
2tbsp garden veggie cream cheese
2 green onions thinly sliced
2 eggs, cooked and chopped
1tsp dill seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
parsley to taste
1tbsp dried celery flakes
(pretty much whatever seasonings you like)

mix ingredients and chill for an hour. serve with wheat thins.

this makes a yummy lunch or snack! would also be good on bread as a sandwich. You could chop up the shrimp for a finer consistency, but I left them whole.

A Quick dip in the mud

2010-02-25T12:53:00.000-08:00

This was for Valentine's Day. We served this with slices of pound cake and nilla wafers. The kids loved it and we had a TON!!!

Dip in the Mud
6 oz (1cup) milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp heavy cream
assorted dippers like cookies, cake, fruit, whatever you like!!

combine chocolate chips and heavy cream in a small saucepan

cook over medium low hear, stirring often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and heated through, about 2 minutes. Divide chocolate dip into 4 small serving bowls or 1 larger bowl for communal dipping.

serve with assorted dippers!!!

Thai for Dinner

2010-01-29T09:32:00.000-08:00

Thai for Dinner Tonight!

My mom and dad sent me this little box set of Rachael Ray recipes a while ago and I've just never gotten around to cooking anything in them until now. Here's the one we did last night! Itw as really good and the kids gobbled this up (well they DID eat all the chicken, weren't so crazy about the lettuce underneath....)

I made a few modifications and that's what I'm sharing with you here.

And by the way did I mention that it's good for you too????

Ginger-Soy Chicken on Shredded Lettuce
3 tbsp veg oil
1 1/4 pounds chicken breasts, cut into strips
salt and pepper
ground ginger (I didn't measure, just dumped in until I thought it looked right)
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp curry powder
6 scallions, cut into 2 in lengths, then cut again lengthwise into thin matchsticks
1/4C tamari (soy sauce)
3 tbsp honey
1 head of iceberg lettuce, core removed, shredded (or just use bagged lettuce-i had it on hand so that's what I used)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat.

Add the veg oil. it should smoke up a bit

Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Stir fry for a minute to sear the meat at the edges, then add the ginger, garlic, and curry powder and cook for 2 minutes more.

Add the scallions and stir fry for another minute, then add the tamari and honey to form a sauce and glaze the chicken. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover a platter with shredded lettuce, top with the chicken, and serve.

picture courtesy of rachael ray's recipe

Snack Mix

2010-01-27T16:09:00.000-08:00

Here's an easy snack mix that even the kids can help with. No cooking, backing, etc, required!!

Snack Mix
1 14.5 ounce box honey, raisins & oats cereal
1 14.5 ounce box cinnamon animal shaped graham crackers
1/2 12 oz bag mini m&m's
1/2 bag mini marshmallows

Add all ingredients to a bowl. Mix and put in an airtight container. Yum!!!

Happy Eating!

Making Your Own Fossil Hand Prints

2010-01-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

We did this today for our preschool co-op. Really fun and the kids had a great time getting their hands into the gooey mess!! The letter of the day was H and I thought making hand prints would be a fun activity. Hopefully they'll harden in a couple of days and the kids will be able to discuss it at home... we also planted "grass" (actually chives because I couldn't find grass seeds) for the letter G. Fun fun fun!!!

Fossil Mix
1/2C salt
1 C flour
1/2C brewed coffee
1C used coffee grounds

and anything you want to fossilize (rocks, play dinosaurs, seashells, bones, etc)

Add ingredients to bowl and stir until mixed. Turn dough out onto a large sheet of waxed paper and knead it until smooth.

Break of pieces large enough for the imprint you want to make, roll it into a ball and use the heel of your hand to flatten it out.

Press the object you wish to make a fossil imprint of firmly into the dough. You can use more than one object if you like. Carefully remove the object to leave the imprint behind. Let your fake stone dry overnight and you have an imitation fossil!!

This made enough to do 3 small hand prints, you may need to double the recipe if you plan on using objects...

Since this recipe uses coffee and we don't drink it in my house I had fun trying to find a small amount to use and not spend an arm and a leg!! So I found a box coffee singles at Target for $1. It worked perfectly!! So for those that don't drink coffee you can find it there for cheap!!

Have fun!!!!

Haiti disaster relief

2010-01-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

If you want to help but don't know how....go here. Every little bit helps!!!

Thanks!

The best chocolate sheet cake. ever

2010-01-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

Another recipe I've been hearing so much about is this one:
The best chocolate cake. ever

If you are a fan of the pioneer woman than you no doubt have seen this recipe. I made it for the first time tonight (tonight is a night of firsts......) and OH MY!!! You will certainly need LARGE amounts of milk to wash this down, but when is that a bad thing? I mean really???? So here you go! Thanks....no strike that.......

HUGE, GINORMOUS THANKS

to the pioneer woman for making this and bringing it to the world. You rock...seriously.

And if you haven't been fortunate to make this, then I suggest you look in your pantry, gather all the necessary ingredients and get to baking. you'll thank me (and her).

The best chocolate sheet cake. ever

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:
2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
2 sticks Butter
1 cup Boiling Water
½ cups Buttermilk
2 whole Beaten Eggs
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla
_____
FOR FROSTING:
½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
1-¾ stick Butter
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
6 Tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

I just want to add that if you freeze it like we did you won't be disappointed by the taste! It was still just as good as it was the day it was made!! So when looking at this cake and thinking "wow that sure does make a lot" feel free to freeze it and enjoy later!

Frito Pie

2010-01-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

I've heard so many people talking about this and I never tried, well tonight we had it and it was a hit!!!!! So much so that it's almost gone. The hubs may not get any for lunch tomorrow! Will FOR SURE be making this again!!!

Frito Pie

3 cups Fritos corn chips
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2-1/2 cups chili (your favorite -- homemade, canned, whatever)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread 2 cups of Fritos in a baking dish. Sprinkle half the onion and half the cheese over the Fritos. Pour the chili over the onion and cheese. Sprinkle the remaining Fritos, onion and cheese over the chili.

Bake for 15 or 20 minutes and cheese is bubbly. Serve hot.

Broccoli, Cheddar, Chicken and Spaghetti Casserole

2010-01-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

Broccoli, Cheddar, Chicken and Spaghetti Casserole

2 small cans cream of chicken soup

2 small cans cheddar cheese soup

1 1/2 Cups milk

8-10 Cups broccoli florets

4-5 large chicken breasts, diced and cooked in pan. Season liberally (as Emril says...."I don't know where you get your chicken, but mine doesn't come seasoned at the store!")

8oz spaghetti noodles

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook spaghetti until slightly al dente (it will continue cooking in the oven).

Place soup and milk into a large pot over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and heated through, about 5 minutes.

Stir in broccoli and cook for 5 additional minutes to soften slightly. Stir in chicken, salt, pepper and garlic seasoning.

Pour spaghetti into the bottom of 11X7 baking dish that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Pour soup mixture over spaghetti. Top evenly with cheese; bake for 20 minutes then cover with foil. Bake for an additional 15 minutes with dish covered with foil. Remove from oven and serve.

This makes a TON, so I would half the recipe unless you want leftovers. This would also be great to make and then freeze the leftovers for another meal. That's what I plan on doing with ours!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Chicken Bouillabaisse

2010-01-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

My dad's birthday is January 1. We were lucky enough to have them here over the holidays so we got to celebrate it with him. So for the occassion I wanted to do something special for dinner. Around here the birthday person gets to choose their dinner. Whatever they want. Well I did it a little differently this time, I chose for him. Sort of a surprise. I did ask him for his dessert and so he knew about that (peach pie....yum!). So I decided to make him bouillabaisse. He loves it and hasn't had it in ssssooooo long. However, not everyone in my house is a traditional bouillabaisse fan so I planned on something a little different. I'm a HUGE fan of Barefoot Contessa on food network. And one particular day I saw her making a chicken bouillabaisse. PERFECT!!!!!! So I had it all planned. And I made it and we loved it and we ate it all!!! I made some minor changes from the original recipe to suit our taste buds. It was sssooo good. We walked away feeling very full and very satisfied. This one is going into my archives to do again!!!
Sorry no picture.......

Chicken Bouillabaisse

Ingredients

1 (4 to 5-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon rosemary leaves
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 (15 ounce) can tomato puree
2 1/2 cups good chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced

Directions

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it generously with salt, pepper, ground mustard and the rosemary. Place chicken in crock pot.

Place heat on low and add other ingredients except potatoes and carrots. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, checking periodically.

With about 1 hour left add potatoes and carrots to pot.

Cover the pot and let finish cooking until chicken is tender and falling off bone and the potatoes aren't too mushy. Nothing worse than mushy potatoes when they aren't supposed to be mushy! bleh!!

Serve with favorite crusty bread or favorite homemade loaf!!

2010-01-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

If you live in the Salt Lake valley (or know someone who does) check out my friend here: she's an AWESOME cake decorator and will make just about anything you want!!!!!!

2009-12-28T17:07:00.000-08:00

General Mills announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain.

Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children's diets.

Other cereal benefits:

Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children´s diets.

Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child´s diet today.

More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.

For more information about kids and cereals, please visit Cereal Health and Wellness.

If you visit here you will find a $1 off

coupon for one of four General Mills cereals.

Let's get ready for the new year
with eating healthier as a family!

This information and free cereal coupons were all provided by General Mills through My blogspark to me.

Free Batteries for all your Christmas Toys!

2009-12-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

Last week Mummy Deals posted that you could get free batteries at the Dollar Spot in Target. Well you still can!!!!! Go to the site here and enter code: 74016761 to print off more coupons. (type directly in, I don't think cut and paste will work) It's a PDF coupon but Rayovac has given permission to use it so print away and stock up for all those toys!
Thanks Mummy Deals for posting such a great idea!!!!!

2009-12-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

Go here for the chance to win a fabulous cookbook from $5 Dinners!!!!

2009-12-21T14:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!!!

Cafe Rio Inspired Cilantro-Lime Rice

2009-12-19T09:31:00.000-08:00

I've had this recipe for a while and i'm not sure why I haven't made it yet. But last night I stumbled upon it and decided to give it a go. Boy was I glad that I did. So good!!!!!!! And so incredibly easy that I might just be doing this more, just because!!!! But since last night was taco night I felt it an appropriate side. YUM!!!!

Cafe Rio Inspired Cilantro-Lime Rice
1C long grain rice (I used brown rice)
2C water
2 chicken bouillon cubes (I used beef flavored)
1 tsp butter (I omitted this)
2 cloves of garlic, minced (I used garlic powder)
1 tsp lime zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

In a sauce pan, combine rice, water, bouillon, butter, garlic and zest.
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until water is absorbed. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over rice. Eat and enjoy!!

HAPPY EATING!!!

easy neighbor or teacher gift

2009-12-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

I found this in a magazine and decided I'd seen enough folks on the food network making these that I'd finally give it a shot. These were so fun to make and I really think my boys' teachers will love these. I'm going to pair them with hot chocolate and candy canes. FUN!!!!! You can use any flavoring you'd like and any thing to top them, I chose the basic vanilla flavoring and topped them with powdered sugar, red sugar crystals and baking cocoa. These will melt just divinely in your hot cocoa. I can't wait to munch on some of the left overs!!!!

Marshmallows
2 tbsp butter
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin,
1 C cold water
2 C sugar
1 C light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp clear vanilla

line a 13X9 in pan with foil and grease foil with butter, set aside.

In a large metal bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2C water, set aside.

In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and remaining water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 240 degrees (soft ball stage).

Remove from the heat and gradually add to the gelatin. Beat on high speed until mixture is thick and the volume is doubled, about 15 minutes.

Beat in vanilla. Spread into prepared pan. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight.

Using foil, lift marshmallows out of pan. With knife or pizza cutter coated with cooking spray, cut into 1 inch squares. Dip or drizzle marshmallows with toppings if desired; coat with garnishes as desired. Roll other marshmallows in the garnishes of your choice.

Store in air tight container in a cool dry place.

I love how rustic these look. They are far from the perfect little squares and that's how they are supposed to be. The more oblong and funky the better I say! Enjoy these tasty treats!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Broccoli and Cheese Mina

2009-12-12T16:40:00.001-08:00

This dish is for my Jewish friends out there. I am not Jewish but when I saw this recipe I thought it would be perfect for the first night of Hanukkah. I tweaked the original recipe to my family's taste. I've posted the original and I'll put my changes (they were minor) beside in italics. I hope you enjoy. My kitchen smells divine right now!!!!

Broccoli Cheese Mina
Ingredients:

4 cups of bite-sized fresh broccoli florets (or one 14-ounce bag of frozen broccoli)
1 small onion, chopped
8 matzo squares
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold butter, chopped
2 1/4 cups (10 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups cottage cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 green onions, chopped
5 eggs
3 tablespoons water
2 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions:

1. Boil or steam broccoli and onion until broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender. Drain.

2. Wet 4 matzos (briefly) under running water, then set aside to soak. Matzos should be slightly soft after soaking, but not soggy or falling apart.

3. Butter a large baking sheet. The baking sheet needs to be large enough to place all 4 matzos in a single layer. Use two sheets if necessary.

4. Place the dampened matzos on the greased sheet(s). Top with even layers of broccoli and onion, shredded cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and green onions.

5. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and water. Pour slightly less than half of the egg mixture over the broccoli and cheeses.

6. Wet the remaining matzos and place on top, again, in a single layer. Pour the remaining beaten egg over the top. Sprinkle minced garlic, and dot with half of the butter.

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Dot with remaining butter and return to oven. Bake 10 minutes longer, or until the mina is golden brown and crisp on top. Serve hot or warm.

I topped ours with a little more cheese once it was baked.

This was so good! The kids ate it up like it was their last meal. Which surprised me because they aren't huge fans of broccoli. All in all I say this was a HUGE hit and I will be including this into our routine more often!

Mason Jar Recipes E-book

2009-12-11T06:33:00.000-08:00

Go here to download a free copy of Mason Jar Recipes: 34 Holiday Ideas for Gifts in a Jar. This ebook has 77 pages of wonderful and delicious gift-in-a-jar recipes which would be great to make and give as gifts this Christmas season!Thanks Money Saving Mom for posting this!!!

2009-12-07T14:01:00.001-08:00

A little something to brighten your day!!
Happy Holidays!

Strawberry/Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes

2009-12-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

If you have this cookbook then you know the joy that is Juniors Cheesecakes. If not, I HIGHLY recommend you get your hands on a copy of it. Until then I'll share with you a recipe I made today. Can you say OH YUM!!!!!!!!!!! Me and cheesecake....yeah...we're friends.

A friend of mine just had a baby and I thought to go along with the dinner I'm making for her family I'd include these. It's taken everything I have not to eat every one of them! I'm not even kidding!!!

Strawberry/Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes

6 ounces (about 2/3 C) dry pack frozen whole raspberries and strawberries, unsweetened, not in syrup, thawed and drained well (the original recipe is for raspberries only but I used both)
two 8 ounce packages cream cheese (full fat), at room temperature
2/3C sugar
3tbsp cornstarch
1tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 extra large eggs
1/2 C heavy whipping cream
13 fresh raspberries for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13 standard muffin cups with liners. (If you only have 12, use a custard cup for the 13th one or use the silicone "tins").

Pulse the thawed fruit in your food processor until smooth (you'll need about 1/3C puree). Set aside.

Put one package of the cream cheese, 1/3 C sugar and the cornstarch in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl a few times. Blend int he remaining package of cream cheese. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat in the remaining 1/3C sugar, then the vanilla. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one. Beat in the cream just until it's completely blended. Be careful not to overmix!!

Divide the batter among the muffin cups (fill each one almost up to the top). Drop a heaping teaspoon of the puree in the center of each cup, pushing down slightly into each little cake as you go. Using a thin, pointed knife (or a toothpick) cut through the batter a few times, just until raspberry swirls appear (do not mix in the puree completely or the cakes will turn pink and the swirls will disappear).

Place the muffin tin in a large shallow pan and pour hot water in until it comes about 1 inch up the sides of the tin. Bake the cakes until set and the centers are slightly puffy and golden with red swirls, about 45 minutes. Remove the cakes from the water bath, transfer the tin to a wire rack and let cool for 2 hours. Cover the cakes with plastic wrap (do not remove from the tin) and put in the freezer until cold, at least 1 hour.

To remove the cakes, lift them out of the cups with your hands and peel off the liners. Place the cakes, top side up on a serving platter or individual dessert plates. Top each with a raspberry and refrigerate until ready to serve. If there are any cakes left, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Or remove the fresh berries, then wrap and freeze up to a month.

But seriously I doubt you'll have any left!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Helping

2009-12-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

I found The Hunger Site today (thanks to Money Saving Mom!). You can click here once per day and, just by doing so, their sponsors will donate a cup of food to someone in need.

So many this time of year are in need, one little click will help. So what are you waiting for??? Get clicking!!!

2009-11-26T06:16:00.000-08:00

Hope you and yours have a great day!!!!!

Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni

2009-11-15T17:30:00.000-08:00

Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni

1/2 pound turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 in slices (I just used ground turkey-it was on sale)
2 large green peppers, sliced
3C rigatoni, uncooked
1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce
1C mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

(If you are using ground sausage like I did precook it with the peppers until just starting to brown) Place sausage and peppers in a 9X13 in pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until sausage is done (I baked mine for about 10 min since the sausage was already partially cooked). Meanwhile cook the pasta.

Drain pasta. Add to baking dish with spaghetti sauce and stir. Bake 15-20 minutes or until heat through. Top with cheese, bake an additional 2-3 min or until cheese is melted.

This is really good with a crusty italian bread and garlic butter. My mouth is currently watering!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!

Grilled Chicken Adobo

2009-11-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

Grilled Chicken Adobo

1/2 C chopped onion
1/3C lime juice (fresh squeezed if you can and add the zest from the limes)
6 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
6 boneless chicken breasts (I used thighs)
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Combine onion, lime juice, zest, and garlic in food processor. Blend until minced.
Put in ziploc bad. Add spices (except cilantro). Add chicken, turn to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes to 4 hours (the longer the better).

Grill 5-7 minutes on each side. (I put them in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes-we were out of charcoal).

Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with favorite sides.

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Cookie Pizza

2009-11-15T17:10:00.000-08:00

Here's a GREAT way to get rid of all that left over halloween candy. Of course it didn't even put a dent in what we had.... oh well......we just may have to do this again!

It's really easy to make, here's how:

Cookie Pizza
1 tube refrigerated cookie dough (your choice)
caramel ice cream topping (if it's been in teh fridge, put some in a bowl and heat in microwave at 30 sec intervals)
random chocolate candies of your choice
marshmallows

roll out cookie to fit a pizza stone or shape of desire. Ours turned into a blob. Bake for about 10 min until almost done. top with caramel sauce and candies of choice. bake another 10 min until chocolate just starts to melt. Add marshmallows and bake until they melt. let cool and cut accordingly. this NEEDS a tall glass of ice cold milk. I won't lie, our teeth hurt when we were done. But it was ssssooooooo worth it!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!

Happy Veteran's Day!!

2009-11-11T18:23:00.000-08:00

Busy Day El Rancho Pork

2009-11-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

This was dinner tonight! Can I just say YUMMY!!!!! Another one to add to the comfort food list. Cream soup always scream comfort food to me (strange I know, but I am weird and I'm ok with it!).
Hope you enjoy it!!

Busy Day El Rancho Pork
1- 10 3/4oz can reduced-fat and reduced sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup (I just use what ever kind that I have)
1-10 3/4oz can reduced-fat and reduced sodium condensed cream of chicken soup (again, whatever I have)
1-10 oz can chopped tomatoes and green chili peppers, undrained
1 medium green sweet pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
12- 6 or 7 oz corn tortillas, cut into thin bite size strips (you can use flour tortillas)
3 c cooked cubed pork tenderloin (about 1 lb)
2 c shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz)

1 Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine soups, undrained tomatoes with chilies, sweet pepper, chopped onion, chili powder, and black pepper. Set aside.
2. To assemble, sprinkle about 1/3 of the tortilla strips over bottom of an ungreased 3-qt rectangular baking dish. Layer half of the pork over tortilla strips; spoon half of the soup mixture on top. Sprinkle half of the cheese and another 1/3 of the tortilla strips over the soup mixture. Layer the remaining pork, soup mixture and tortilla strips.
3. Bake, covered, about 45 minutes or until bubbly around edges and hot in center. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 3 or 4 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serves 8

crock pot chicken cordon bleu

2009-11-01T11:28:00.000-08:00

This is our dinner for tonight. My camera is acting all funky so no pictures!! Sorry! I will say that my house currently smells good. I can't wait to try this recipe. Enjoy!!

Crock Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu

4 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
4 oz sliced ham
4 oz sliced Swiss cheese
1 (8 oz) package herbed dry bread stuffing mix
¼ cup melted butter

Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour enough of the soup into a slow cooker to cover the bottom. Layer chicken breasts over the sauce. Cover with slices of ham and then Swiss cheese. Pour the remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers. Sprinkle the stuffing on top, and drizzle butter over stuffing. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or 2 to 3 hours on high.

HAPPY EATING!!!

Halloween Cookies

2009-10-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that Halloween is my favorite holiday? Yeah it really is!!!! Tomorrow we have a pumpkin carving activity at the church and were asked to bring chips or a dessert. Well, i'm ambitious (or a glutton for punishment....who knows!) so we are bringing both. But instead of buying cookies I decided to try some decorated sugar cookies (again). I won't bore you with the long and drawn out story that is my trial with sugar cookies. I really love those iced sugar cookies but whenver I tried to make them at home they crumbled and the icing was less than stellar. So I was THRILLED when I stumbled upon this website that helped me. I also got a great cookie recipe from THE HUNGRY HOUSEWIFE . HOORAY!!!!
So here you go!!! The recipes and pictures to go with them!

Halloween Sugar Cookies

1 C real butter(NO SUBSTITUTIONS)

1 C sugar
1 egg

1 1/2 t almond extract (you could use vanilla too)

3 C flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes. Add in eggs and extract and mix to incorporate.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt and whisk to combine. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined.

Shape the dough into 2 flat disks and wrap in waxed paper and place in the fridge to chill for 1-2 hours.

When you're ready to roll out dough lightly sprinkle flour onto your work surface and roll out dough with a rolling pin.

Cut to your desired shape

Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes.

Remove onto cooling racks when you're done and let cool completely.

Decorate as you like.

Royal Icing
(this will cover approximately 3 dozen 3.5 inch cookies)

1 pound powdered sugar
5 TBSP meringue powder
scant 1/2 c. water
a few drops of extract (optional) - I didn't use extract this time around

Combine the meringue powder and water with a whisk attachment using an electric mixer. Beat until peaks begin to form. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. (You should be able to remove the beater from the mixer and hold up and jiggle without the peak falling.) If using an extract, add it then beat for a few more seconds to incorporate.

Cover with plastic wrap touching the icing or divide and color using gel paste food colorings.

(The most important step: sift the powdered sugar!I don't know why....it just works better!!.)

This "stiff" icing is perfect for outlining and even for building gingerbread houses and monogramming. To fill in your cookies, add water to your icing a little at a time until it is the consistency of syrup. This technique of filling a cookie with thinned icing is called "flooding."

and viola you have radically decorated cookies that will thrill the people you give them too!!!

cut and cooled cookies

use the stiff icing to make your outlines

the "flooding" icing should be runny

once flooding icing is placed on cookie-use a toothpick to get into the nooks and crannies

start decorating with the finer details

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!

Halloween Eats

2009-10-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of baking lately for Halloween and haven't been posting it....shameful!! This is always a busy time for us and I just kept forgetting to post the recipes. So here goes...

This first one I made for a Halloween party we'd been invited to. Everyone was supposed to bring something to munch on and I really didn't want to go wtih the standard chips and salsa that the husband always suggests (I seriously think he could live off that stuff!!!). So I found this in the TASTE OF HOME HALLOWEEN edition and couldn't resist.

CHEESENSTEIN

2 packages cream cheese (8 ounces each), softened
1/4 C mayo
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cartons (4 ounces each) whipped cream cheese
Moss-green food coloring
3 large olives
1 pepperoncini
black decorating gel
1 pretzel rod
assorted veggies

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese (not the whipped just the carton), mayo, Worcestershire sauce and pepper sauce until smooth. Stir in the cheddar cheese, bacon and onions. Shape into a 5in. x 4in. x 3in. rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap, Refrigerate until chilled and firm.

Unwrap rectangle; place on serving platter with 3in. side on top.Tint whipped cream cheese green, spread over top and sides of rectangle.

Add pepperoncini for ears (cut in half). Cut one olive in half and place on front for eyes. Slide other olives on pretzel rods and insert in sides for bolts. With black decorating gel pipe mouth, brown and stitches.

Add assorted veggies and crackers.

Next up is what I made for Sunday dinner last week. Also found in the TASTE OF HOME HALLOWEEN edition. I knew that Hallween weekend would be crazy busy so I made this one in advance. Besides, we always order the pumpkin shaped pizza from a certain pizza place for Halloween and I didn't want to interrupt that tradition. ;O)

YUMMY PORK MUMMY
3/4 C heavy cream
1/4 C dijon mustard (I used honey mustard because I already had it)
2 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), however I used a pork roast that was about 4 pounds because I had bought it on sale!
2 tsp oilve oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
10 sheets phyllo dough (14 in X 9 in)
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 medium apple, peeled

In a small skillet bring cream and mustard to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 2/3 C. Remove from the heat and add thyme.

Meanwhile, place pork on rack in shallow baking pan. Brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil 6 in from the heat for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool slightly. Change oven temperature to 400 degrees.
Set aside 1/2C mustard sauce for serving. spread remaining mixture over pork.

Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface; brush with butter. (WARNING: NOT CALORIE FRIENDLY!!!!!!!!) (Keep remaining phyllo dough covered with wet towel to keep from drying out). Repeat layers four times.

Place pork on one edge of phyllo dough; roll up tightly to form mummy's body and tuck in ends.

Plae another sheet of dough on work surface, brush with butter and repeat 3 times. Cut into thin strips; wrap around pork bundle.

Cut remaining dough in half, brush with butter. Cut 1 in. cube from apple;wrap in prepared dough. Position at the wide end of the bundle for the head. Save remaining apple for another use. Discard remaining phyllo dough. (I did not do this part with the apple)
Place bundle in ungreased shallow baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Transfer to a serving platter. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with remaining mustard sauce.

I can feel my arteries hardening with this one!! But the mustard on it made it ssssoooooo moist and tender that you didn't even need a knife to cut it. The husband even praised it's yumminess so it had to be good!!!

Next up..........some halloween cookies!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!!

2009-10-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight I took a recipe from 30 Minute Meals and Rachael Ray. I just happened to be flipping channels a while back when I saw her making this. So I figured I just had to try it. Looked too good to pass up. My family LOVES lasagna and thought this would be a nice twist. She really does come up with some great ideas. Makes me wonder why I didn't think of it you know?!

You'll have to forgive me, no picture. We has a school function tonight and everyone scarfed it down before I realized I hadn't taken a picture. But believe me....it really is that good!!!!

Two Sauce Weeknight Lasagna Bowls

Ingredients

Salt
1 pound Campanelle pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta, a couple of thick slices, chopped
3/4 pound ground beef pork and veal mix or ground beef
1/2 large carrot, peeled and grated or finely chopped
1 small to medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, 2 chopped or grated, 1 peeled
1/2 teaspoon allspice, a couple of pinches
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 cups beef stock
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Nutmeg, to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus some to pass at table
A handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

Directions

Heat large pot of water to a boil, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.

While pasta water comes to a boil, heat olive oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat, add pancetta and render 2 to 3 minutes then add meat and break up as it browns. When the meat has begun to caramelize and develops a nice brown color, 4 to 5 minutes, add carrot, onion, 2 cloves of garlic, allspice, salt and pepper and a bay leaf. Cook 3 to 4 minutes more to soften onions and carrots bits then stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in wine and cook out 1 minute then stir in stock and reduce heat to simmer.

While red sauce cooks, cut remaining whole clove of garlic and rub the inside of a medium sauce pot with it. Melt butter in pot over medium heat. Add in flour and whisk together a minute or so then whisk in milk and bring to a bubble, reduce heat then season sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg, thicken 8 to 10 minutes.

Toss pasta with white sauce and 1/2 cup grated cheese. Serve pasta in individual bowls and top with a ladle of meat sauce in the middle of the bowl for mixing in. Garnish with parsley.

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Eclair Cake

2009-10-19T18:40:00.001-07:00

I signed up to help cook at our enrichment night tomorrow. (Enrichment night is what my church calls the meeting that our woman's group has every quarter) This time we are having a dinner and I was asked to make the following cake. I can't wait to dive into this one tomorrow night. I'll try to remember to take a picture of the slice I get. It is really easy and no fail!!! Just don't forget to add the milk to the frosting like I almost did! I love these types of no bake desserts on warm nights. Since fall in not really present here in southern AZ, this is perfect!!! Yum!! I can see this with a large cold glass of milk!! Super yum!!!!!!!!! I hope I can resist until tomorrow!!

ECLAIR CAKE
Cake
1 (1-pound) box graham crackers
2 (3 1/4-ounce) boxes instant French vanilla pudding
3 1/2 cups milk
1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
Frosting
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Butter the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan. Line with whole graham crackers.

In bowl of an electric mixer, mix pudding with milk; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Pour half the pudding mixture over graham crackers.

Place another layer of whole graham crackers on top of pudding layer. Pour over remaining half of pudding mixture and cover with another layer of graham crackers.

For frosting, blend together sugar and cocoa. Add butter and milk, mixing well. Add corn syrup and vanilla. Stir until creamy. Cover cake with frosting and refrigerate for 24 hours.

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!

Savory Pumpkin Tarts

2009-10-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

I love fall and I love Halloween. Well most holidays for that matter, but especially Halloween. I love all the fun food things you can do!! Tonight for dinner we had these little savory tarts. They were so tasty. They'd make a really good appetizer for a Halloween party or a yummy after school snack for the kiddies. After giving me a weird look, the kids ate these up. They had to get past the color... But how fun were these to make? Seriously!!! Enjoy!

Savory Pumpkin Tarts
1 pkg (15 ounces) refrigerated pie crust
3 tbsp honey mustard
1/2 pound fully cooked ham, thinly sliced, (I used the little packages of deli ham found near the bologna at the grocery store)
1C mozzarella cheese
2 egg yolks
4-6 drops red food coloring
1 egg white
2-3 drops green food coloring

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one sheet of pie crust. Using a floured pumpkin cookie cutter (or any halloween cookie cutter for that matter), cut out 8 pumpkins. Repeat with remaining pie crust. Spread mustard over eight of the pumpkins.

Layer with ham, onions and cheese to within 3/4 in of edges.

With a pastry brush (or your finger) dip in water and wet outside edges of pumpkins. Top with remaining pumpkins, press edges to seal.

In a small bowl beat egg yolks with enough red food coloring to achieve an orange color. In another small bowl beat egg white with enough green to get desired color. Brush colors over pumpkins to get desired effect.

Transfer to a greased baking sheet (s). Bake at 400 degrees for 15 min or until browned. Mine were done at 13 minutes. So just keep an eye on them after about 10 minutes.

These were really good and fun to make. You could easily do this with any type of cookie cutter for any type of occassion! Go wild and crazy!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!

Garlic & Oregano Canned Tomatoes

2009-10-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes were a decent price at the store this morning so I bought some and decided to can them. I found a fun recipe to try in FAMILY CIRCLE magazine. If you subscribe then you have this recipe. (although for some bizarre reason my store was out of basil which is what the original recipe calls for, so I substituted oregano.)
This is my first time ever canning just tomatoes. I've done other things, but this is my first time doing these. I hope they turn out. They look really yummy so I can't imagine that they would taste bad!!

Garlic & Oregano tomatoes
makes 4 pint jars

2 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes
4 tbsp bottled lemon juice
fresh oregano
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in barely simmering water until ready for use. Have bands handy on counter top. Bring a second pot of water to boiling.

Wash tomatoes and score along the top marking an X. (this will allow the skins to peel right off) Dip into boiling water for about a minute or until skins start to peel back from tomato. Keep water boiling and do a few tomatoes at a time. Plunge tomatoes into cool water, then peel. Core tomatoes and cut into quarters or wedges.

Remove jars from simmering water (I just put them in a dishwasher cycle minus the soap and this will steam them perfectly). Pour 1 tbsp lemon juice into each jar. Pack tomatoes into jars, tucking oregano leaves in between wedges, fitting tightly. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp garlic powder into each jar. Ladle some of the boiling water (from the pot you boiled the tomatoes in) over the tomatoes to fill jar leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles from jars, tapping lightly on counter top as needed. Wipe jar rims, then center lids on jars. Screw on bands adjusting until fingertip tight.

Process jars in boiling water bath, covered, 40 minutes. Remove jars to a kitchen cloth and cool. Check lid for seal after 24 hours, when pressed lids should not pop up and down. Keep in cool place up to one year.

Cookie Exchange Party

2009-10-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks Money Saving Mom for posting this!!!

If you like chocolate and hosting parties, you'll definitely want to sign up here to be a host for a Hershey's Cookie Exchange Party in December. There will be 1,000 hosts selected from everyone who signs up. You'll receive notice by email if you're selected.

If you're selected, you'll receive an official event party pack complete with the necessary ingredients to host the ultimate cookie exchange.

You really can't ask for more than that!!! Chocolate and friends all in one room??? Can we say HEAVEN!!!!

WINNER

2009-10-09T07:49:00.003-07:00

And the winner of the Nature Valley giveaway is..............

Stephanie said...

Aside from baking, I love taking walks in the fall. The air is cool and crisp (such a relief from hot summer temperatures!) and everything is just so beautiful.

Stephanie email me your address rebekahskitchen(at)live(dot)com so we can get your prize pack sent out!!

Thanks to everyone who participated! Wish I had more of these to giveaway!!!

Just Because

2009-10-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

Just because everyone needs to laugh

Make Promise

2009-10-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

Make a promise/lunch note and Lunchables will donate a free lunch to kids in need...as a bonus you get a $1 printable coupon!!

GIVEAWAY!!

2009-10-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

THIS IS NOW CLOSED!!!

It's time for another giveaway! I just love these don't you???

Nature Valley is re-shaping snack time with the debut of a delicious new treat, and we'd like to offer you a chance to try it!

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are a bite size blend of 100% natural ingredients that include select roasted nuts, whole grain oats and a touch of honey - a wholesome and delicious pick-me-up any time of the day. If you love nuts, you'll enjoy this flavorful little snack featuring the perfect combination of sweet & salty flavors paired with a crunchy texture that you can see and taste. And with the first unique cluster-shaped granola packaged in a handy re-sealable pouch, it's perfect for sharing on the trails or in your living room!

New Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters come in four easy-to-crave flavors:

Nut Lovers, Roasted Almond, Roasted Cashew and Honey Roasted Peanut.

If this sounds good to you then I would love for you to enter this contest brought to us by the fabulous folks at My Blog Spark. You will be entering to win a prize pack that contains Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters "Snack Pack" prize pack that includes all four (4) varieties of the Granola Nut Clusters along with a sling backpack, stainless steel water bottle, flashlight and binoculars!

I received one myself to try yesterday and I dove right into one of the granola snack packs! They are really good!!!!!! I had to contain myself to not eat the whole bag in one sitting. The flashlight, backpack and binoculars would be great in an emergency essentials pack for your home or to take on bird watches or hikes. These nut clusters are really tasty and give you that sweet and salty satisfaction at snack time. Good luck!!!!

CONTEST ENDS THURSDAY OCTOBER 8 AT MIDNIGHT PST.

Entries:
1. leave a comment on your favorite fall activity, do you like to go hiking, camping, biking, etc...

2. follow me!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Chicken and Stuffing with a Creamy Sauce

2009-09-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

Another one of those comforting dinners. It just can't go wrong and everyone always devours it! At least that's how it is here. Comfort foods always make for the perfect meal. I should really make more of them! haha!

Chicken and Stuffing with a Creamy Sauce
1 box chicken flavored stuffing mix
1 1/2C water
1/4C butter, melted
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs or as many chicken tenders needed to feed your family
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/3C sour cream

make stuffing mix with hot water and butter, set aside. In another pan add a pat of butter and brown the chicken. It doesn't need to be cooked through, just browned.
In a small bowl, mix soup and sour cream. Pour over chicken. Top with stuffing and cook for 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce is bubbly! Serve with your favorite veggie and homemade rolls or bread! YUM!!!!!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

2009-09-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

If you get Kraft foods Food and Family magazine then you have this recipe. If you don't.....hold your horses you are in for a TREAT!!!!!!
These little bars are rich, and DIVINE!!! I made these almost immediately after getting the magazine. So yum!!! (I am substituting what I used in this recipe instead of what the recipe suggested)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
1 pkg devils food cake mix
1 pkg (3.9 oz) chocolate fudge instant pudding
1/2C melted butter
1/2 C cold whole milk
2 Hershey's plain candy bars, chopped and divided
1 C chunky peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 13x9 in pan with cooking spray. Mix first 4 ingredients in bowl. The mixture will be thick. Press half the cake mix mixture into prepared pan.

Bake 10 min. Sprinkle half of the chocolate on top of cake mixture. Top with peanut butter. Cover with remaining cake mixture and chocolate.
Press gently with spatula. Bake 15 minutes. Cool 1 hour. Refrigerate 4 hours before cutting into bars.
This needs to stay in the fridge after it bakes so just be prepared with room to store it.

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Homemade Poptarts

2009-09-21T14:58:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't love Pop Tarts?????? It's a family favorite around here. We could go through a box in one sitting. Love all the flavors. However, we are trying to scale the ole' grocery bill back a bit and unless I have a killer coupon and there's a killer sale, we just don't get them like we used to. Soooooo I pondered how I could make them on my own. I stumbled upon this recipe and here you go:

Homemade Poptarts

1 box refrigerated pie crust-can use the whole thing or just one crust - I just used 1 this time around

your favorite jam or jelly (I used raspberries preserves)

ICING (completely optional but we prefer the iced poptarts anyway so why not go the whole 9 yards!!!)

Milk

a few tsp of Powder Sugar

Colored jimmies

Unroll each pie crust, roll out on a floured surface and then square them off, cut them into equal size rectangles. I was able to get 5 rectangles and 1 half moon shaped poptart out of my crust. Place about 1 tsp. - 1 tbs. of jam or preserve in the center of a rectangle and spread out, stopping just before the edge.

Place another piece of dough on top and using a fork, crimp the edges together to form a tight seal.

Place all of the pop tarts onto a well greased baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden and crispy. Let them cool before glazing. When the pop tarts are ready to be glazed mix the sugar with enough milk to make a thick glaze, spoon it over the top of each tart and sprinkle with the colored jimmies.

Crock Pot Orange Chicken

2009-09-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe for Orange Chicken in the crock pot and thought I'd tweak it to our liking. The house smelled ssssoooooo good all day. This is the perfect lazy day dinner. Not much prep to do, which makes it perfect!

Orange Chicken crock Pot Style
2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks 1C flour for dredging chicken 2 large stalks fresh broccoli 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped 1 large onion, chopped in large sections 2/3 can frozen oj (no pulp) concentrate 4 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tsp soy sauce 4 tablespoons ketchup Coat the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Heat oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. No need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating. 1-2 minutes on each side. Once chicken is all cooked place in slow cooker. Add broccoli, carrots and onions.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, soy sauce, and ketchup. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss to coat. You can add extra juice concentrate if it's not sweet enough for you. I found that 2/3 can was perfect but to each his/her own! :O) Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice. Mine cooked for approximately 4.5 hours on low and it was perfect. Depends on your crock pot. Check it after 4 for doneness if cooking on low and 2 if cooking on high.

We served this with pastry that I cooked in a bit of chicken stock and soy sauce. We have a ton of it in our food storage so I decided to use that instead of the rice that would normally be served with this. I seriously had to stop myself from eating the whole thing....it WAS that good!! Hope you enjoy!!

HAPPY EATING!!!

last minute lunch idea

2009-09-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

For lunch today the youngest wanted the same ole boring bologna sandwich. That really wasn't tempting me all that much so I headed over to the pantry to see what would entice me. I saw that I had some tuna and decided to make a tuna salad sandwich. I realize most folk know how to whip out one of these but I just thought i'd share my little tweak on it today. Turned out yum and there's even some left for chip dipping later on!!

Curry Tuna Salad Sandwiches
1 egg hard boiled
1 can tuna in water, drained
pickle relish (as much as you like, I just dumped some in)
mayo
shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
curry powder
garlic powder

place egg in bowl and smoosh (yes that's a technical term hahaha)in a bowl with a fork. add relish and tuna. add mayo and cheese and mix. add spices, as little or as much as you like. i just added until it tasted right. serve on whole wheat bread with spinach and viola, easy peasy lunch with a tweak!!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!

Fresh Black Been Salsa

2009-09-13T12:33:00.001-07:00

Last night we went to a good bye party for a friend who is heading out to TDY at Ft. Hood. (for all you non-military folk TDY is temporary duty). He'll be gone for 2 1/2 months. So his wife through a little party for him. She asked everyone to bring something. So I made some fresh black bean salsa. The only problem with it was that I accidently grabbed the original Rotel instead of the mild. Soooo it was a bit spicey, for me anyway. The husband thought it was great. I ate a bunch of it, but paid for it later by having to sleep sitting up. Oh well, it was totally worth it. So yum!!!

Fresh Black Bean Salsa
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans Rotal (mild unless you like it spicey), drained
1 roma tomato, cut up
1/2 red onion, chopped
a bunch of cilantro (use as little or as much as you like, me likey a lot so I added more than the average person probably would have)
2 green onions, chopped
2 generous squirts of lime juice

Mix everything together except green onions. Place in bowl and set in fridge for 2 hours. Just before serving top with green onions. The longer is sits, the better it gets!

YUM!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!

Blueberry French Toast Bake

2009-09-05T18:19:00.001-07:00

Tonight I wanted to do breakfast but we were all getting tired of waffles and pancakes. I knew we hadn't done french toast in a while so I thought we could do this. However.....tonight was opening night for college football and there was a BYU game on tv. I didn't want to spend all night in the kitchen over a hot stove making french toast. So I decided to do a french toast bake. I also happened to have blueberries in the freezer. And here you go!!! Breakfast for dinner and a picnic in the living room watching BYU play Oklahoma.

Blueberry French Toast Bake
1 whole wheat french bread loaf, sliced and stale
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
big dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1C blueberries

In bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Cut bread into 1/2 inch slices and spread on bottom of 8×8 baking dish or equivalent.

Pour egg mixture over bread. Let sit for 30 minutes so the bread can soak up the custard.

Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle with blueberries. Bake 35-40 minutes, until golden brown on top and eggs have cooked through. (Mine cooked about 38 minutes to perfection!!!!)

2 of the 3 having fun watching football!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

2009-09-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

I got a hankering for some chocolate the other night and made some "catch-all" brownies. No pictures....they went really fast, sorry!!!! But I will say they were delish and ooey and gooey and super yummy!!!!

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 bag semi sweet chocolate chips (mixed with a tbsp flour to keep them from dropping to the bottom of the pan)
1 bag mini reeses peanut butter cups chopped into fourths

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda. Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water. Mix until well blended and thickened. Stir in the sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup oil. Finally, add the flour, vanilla and salt, mix just until all of the flour is absorbed.
Add chocolate chips and fold into batter.

Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

top with chopped reeses peanut butter cups.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

These will satisfy ANY craving!!!!! Perfect-served with a glass of nice cold milk!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!