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Thanks to all who entered the Yoplait giveaway!!! We have some winners!!!

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Timestamp: 2009-02-13 14:11:00 UTC

Melody said...

I love to go out on a date with my husband. That time away from the kids really helps me relax!

quitecontrary1977 said...

Before I had a family, I'd exercise, meditate, do yoga. Now I think I relieve stress by yelling !

Clair said...

I love to relieve stress by getting a facial. Of course it has to be a frugal one so i go to the local beauty school and get it done there! Thanks for the chance!

Thanks again!!! Email me at rebekahskitchen(at)live(dot)com with your mailing address and we'll get these out to you pronto!!!

If you still want another chance to win...PICKYPALATE.COM is offering the same giveaway. Head over there for another chance to win!!!

Stay tuned for another snazzy giveaway!!!!

So I have to apologize now for being a slacker the past few days. No real reason, just been lazy about posting. I have been cooking however, I just haven't been apt to posting them. So I beg for your forgiveness. Here's a few things I've done over the course of a few days!

Apple Pie Pancakes

Pancake mix
1 can apple pie filling

Mix pancake mix according to directions. Add half can of pie filling. Mix and cook to desired taste. Top with syrup and the rest of the filling as desired.

These are super easy and my kids ate these up.


Sunday we had our missionaries over for dinner. Since you never know what other folks like to eat, a casserole was the way to go. This particular casserole was full of flavor and very filling.

Sausage-Corn Casserole
1 1/2 pounds ground sausage
1 bag frozen peppers and onions
1 1/2 C milk
3tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cans creamed style corn
1 bag egg noodles, cooked and drained
1/4 C sharp cheddar cheese
tortilla chips crunched, for topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cook sausage, peppers and onions until sausage is cooked through and veggies are tender.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter with flour, salt and pepper. Gradually add the milk. Bring to a boil: cook and stir for about 2 minutes until thickened. Stir in corn. Add noodles and corn mixture to sausage mixture. Fold in the cheese.

Transfer to a greased 13X9in baking pan.

Top with crushed tortilla chips. Bake for 3-40 minutes uncovered. I baked this for 40 minutes and it was perfect!


And then of course there is nothing better than dessert, especially when that desert is chocolate and peanut butter in ANYTHING!!! Here are some brownies that will delight you!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
2 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
1/2 C butter
2 eggs
1C sugar
1/2 C all purpose flour

FILLING:
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/2 C peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, whatever you like best)
1/4 C butter, softened
2-3 tbsp half and half cream or milk

GLAZE: (I did not use the glaze-ran out of time)
1 square (1 ounce) semisweet baking chocolate
1 tbsp butter


In a small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add flour and melted chocolate. Stir well.

Pour into a greased 9 in baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool.

For filling, beat sugar, peanut butter and butter in a mixing bowl. Stir in cream until mixture achieves a spreading consistency. Spread over cooled brownies;cover and refrigerate until firm.

For glaze, melt chocolate and butter in saucepan, stirring until smooth. drizzle over the filling. Chill before cutting. Store in refrigerator.


These were so good that I can't even describe it. The gooey mix of peanut butter and the richness of the chocolate were so mouthwatering yummy. Too bad they are all gone or i'd be eating one right now!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Taco Rice Skillet

Sorry no picture with this one. I just didn't have the energy to get the camera out. But this one is easy and I'm sure you'll be able to picture the final product.

Taco Rice Skillet

1 pound mild ground sausage
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 pkg mild taco seasoning (get the hot if you like it super spicy)
2 bags boil in the bag brown rice
1C shredded cheddar cheese
2C shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes, chopped

In a pot, boil water and cook rice according to package directions.
In a skillet, brown sausage and add beans and seasoning packet.

Once rice is cooked add rice to meat mixture and then top with cheese. Let the cheese melt.

Top with lettuce and tomatoes.

You could also top this with sour cream, guacamole, ranch salad dressing, salsa. Just use your imagination. The meat mixture is also really good by itself.

This was a hit with the whole family although some were less than thrilled with the black beans.

HAPPY EATING!!!!

crafty

Now I realize this isn't food, but I wanted to share these with you! As we all know-Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Here are a few ideas for cards that you can make. It just takes some heart/love chipboard pieces and various hues of valentine paper (or really whatever you have will work). I also had some valentine sayings rub-ons that I used. These are blank inside so you can write whatever you want to on the inside. This came in a kit but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to make them with things you have on hand. Have fun!

GIVEAWAY

I am so excited about this latest giveaway!!!
Yoplait has brought about this new flavor of yogurt. Not only is it good for you, but it's super yummy too!!! And now you have your chance to win a Yo-Plus gift bag that includes a coupon for a free 4-pack of Yo-Plus yogurt, Yoplait cooler tote bag, water bottle and a nutrition journal – great for keeping track of your health goals and eating habits. The bag in of itself is awesome. It's a cooler tote with enough room in it for lots of yogurt and other good things. The water bottle is good size, holding 34 oz of water. Perfect for the office or when you are exercising. I have 3 to give away!

All you have to do it leave a comment answering the following question:
what's your favorite way to relieve stress?

This is open until Thursday 10pm MST.

Please only enter once and GOOD LUCK!!!! Spread the word!!

Dinner and a desert that even the kiddos can help with!

Happy Friday all! I hope your week has been a good one. Our little monkey is now feeling 100% better and running and playing all over the place. Thank you for all your thoughts and concern! We have felt it!
Now onto the food! (My favorite part of the day!)
I have mentioned before that i have this really neat little cookbook called 101 THINGS TO DO WITH RAMEN NOODLES. It's really interesting and I have found some yummy things to make. This one was no exception. I did tweak it a little bit (because that's what I do -hehe) but otherwise I followed the recipe!

Chicken Milano
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp live oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
1/2 C shredded mozz cheese
1/2 C chicken stock
3 packages ramen noodles

In a frying pan, brown chicken and garlic in oil until done. Add tomato paste, sauce and seasonings. Simmer on low for about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over top and let melt.

Cook noodles in water according to package directions and drain. Add 2 of the seasoning packets. Serve chicken mixture over warm noodles. Season with salt and pepper.


And now for an easy and simple dessert.
We got this cookbook for Christmas called Cool Kids Cook My 4 year old was looking through it found these "cookies" and asked if we could make them. I couldn't turn that sweet face down. Besides, they were easy enough that he could help make them. And he did, so did his older brother. Fun!!!

Jam And Cream Stars
1 sheet ready-rolled puffed pastry
1/3 C jam/jelly any flavor (we used strawberry)
1 C cool whip
powdered sugar to dust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out puffed pastry and cut out star shapes (you really could use any cookie cutter you have. We thought the stars were fun-but next time I may use a bigger cutter. These were kind of small). Place cut out shapes on cookie sheet, prick the pastry stars with a fork and bake for 8-10 minutes until puffy and golden brown. Let cool.

Once cooled, slice the shapes in half horizontally and spread the bottom halves with jam and cream. Replace the top half and dust with the sugar.
I was thinking after they were made that these would be really good with brunch or a baby shower....you know fun little munchies for parties. Or like us, you just need something quick and sweet. The puff pastry makes them light and airy and they really did hit the sweet tooth spot.
Enjoy!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!

Lots of Good Things

First off let me apologize for not blogging in a while. My daughter has RSV and we've been taking care of her as a top priority. She's so sad looking while taking her medicine, but she's just such a trooper. She is better now but still on her meds 4X a day as well as antibiotics for an ear infection.
But I have been cooking and taking pictures and i'm here now to share with you what I've done over the past week.

just makes you want to cry-this was taken on
day 1 after we got back from the doctor's office.

So we've been anxious for the super bowl and it was a great game! We rooted for the Steelers and were very excited when they won. My husband just about had heart failure on several occasions!
So without futher interruptions.....the food. I love trying new things and for the big game I wanted to find something to make for dinner that would be authentic to Pittsburgh. So I did some research and found this sandwich. It's funny looking, but it turned out really good!!!!!

Pittsburgh Sandwich
deli style roast beef
hamburger buns
provolone cheese
carrot slaw (recipe to follow)
french fries, hot and crispy

Here's where is gets funny! Layer all ingredients onto bun , eat and enjoy.
Yeah I know, french fries on a sandwich....????? But it was really good. The husband had 3 sandwiches so I guess it worked. He added mustard to his bread and I added a bit of mayo. But you don't' have too. But I have to say, as odd as it sounds, it was really good. And once I found the recipe I remembered that I had seen it featured on a Food Network show. The story behind it that there was a worker who came into his favorite sandwich shop on his lunch break and didn't have a whole lot of time. So he asked the guy behind the counter to just put everything on the bun and he'd eat it that way. So that's how the sandwich was born. Interesting.

Carrot Slaw
1/4 head of cabbage
3 medium carrots, washed and peeled
1/4 medium red onion
garlic powder
oregano
parsley
salt and pepper
1/4 C mayo
3-5 tbsp red pepper italian dressing

*all the measurments are approximate-use however much you like of each ingredient*

In a food processor, grate the carrots, cabbage and onion. Put in bowl and mix in mayo and dressing and add spices to taste.

This was basically, throw it together and see how it tastes slaw, and I think it turned out really well. There's enough left over from the sandwiches for hot dogs later in the week. And I love slaw on my hot dogs. Yummy!!!!!

Next on the list of Superbowl Sunday food was a munchie. It's just not football without the munchies. So I made these and we also had chips and salsa. Easy finger food!!!

Fried Cheese Sticks
12 of your favorite string cheese (I used the cheddar and mozz ones)
italian style bread crumbs
2 eggs, mixed with a little water
veg oil for frying

Cut each of the cheese sticks in half. Coat in the egg mixture and then into the bread crumb mixture. Repeat. Place stick on wax paper lined cookie sheet. At this point place in the freezer for 2 -4 hours until you need them. This helps the bread crumb mixture stay on the cheese stick.
Once ready to cook, heat oil in pan and fry sticks until golden brown.
Serve with favorite marinara sauce (I whipped up my own using 1tbsp tomato paste, 1 roma tomato chopped, garlic powder, oregano, parsely, salt and pepper-cooked on stove top for about 10 minutes until thick). These were really ooey and gooey and so good. I think I made too many for our little family, but we sure enjoyed eating them.
I really liked the cheddar cheese ones. A little different take on the traditional fried cheese stick. Just make sure you plan ahead since these need to go into the freezer.

And lastly I made cupcakes to celebrate. Gotta have something sweet after all that salty. So I whipped these babies up. Just a regular boxed mix with chopped crunch candy thrown in for good measure. The design on top is the steelers logo on top of the grass on the field. Nothing fancy, just good eats as Alton Brown would say!

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