Christina's Guide to Feeding the Family

Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken Burrito

2012-01-31T02:47:00.000-08:00

This is easily the best chicken burrito I have ever had. It's an awesome blend of spices which had just enough hotness for a mild disposition as mine but still satisfied my husband's need for spice. I substituted 1 10 oz can of cream of chicken soup for the cream cheese this recipe calls for and it turned out great.

Makes: 8 servings.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
3 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
Dash crushed red pepper flakes
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
8 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
Optional toppings: sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes

Preparations:

Place chicken in a greased 4-qt. slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the corn, beans, tomatoes, and seasonings; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken is tender.
Remove chicken; cool slightly. Shred meat with two forks and return to the slow cooker. Stir in cream cheese. Cover and cook 15 minutes longer or until heated through.
Spoon 3/4 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla; add toppings of your choice. Fold sides and ends over filling and roll up.

Leftover Turkey Salad Sandwich

2012-01-30T02:41:00.000-08:00

Smith's (Kroger Co) had buy one frozen turkey, get on frozen turkey free. It was too good of a deal to pass up so it's nearly February and I'm still looking for new ways to use up leftover turkey. This made quite the yummy sandwich. :)

Makes 4-5 sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked turkey, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Honey Dijion mustard
4 celery stalks, cleaned and chopped
1/2 cucumber (large), chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/8 teaspoon ground Sage
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper (if you like a little kick)
8 slices of whole wheat bread
A shake of salt and pepper

Preparations:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir really well.
Place mixture on bread slices (evenly distributing it) and serve cold.

Tailgating Recipes

2012-01-27T02:11:00.000-08:00

In previous years, I haven't posted recipes in honor of the Super Bowl so I'm more than making up for it this year. Below is a collection of recipes that is sure to help you keep your "fans" satisfied during the game. (And since the Seahawks aren't playing - I'm not rooting!)

Super Bowl Recipes

2012-01-26T02:06:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl is just around the corner. In honor of the annual event, here's a collection of our best recipes for Super Bowl Sunday.

Kellog's Rice Krispies Treats

2012-01-25T02:58:00.000-08:00

Rice Krispies treats rock! They're easy to make and are an awesome treat for the approaching game day...
I used my giant marshmallows that I purchased for $.99. They really aren't practical for putting in a cup of hot chocolate so this was a very good use for them.

As a tip, I used a cake server (sprayed with butter flavored Crisco spray) to cut the treats after refrigerating them. Hot water helped me get the marshmallow residue out of the pan. Be careful to stir the mallows consistently so they don't burn.

Ingredients:

6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
3 tablespoons of butter or margarine
1 - 10 ounce package of marshmallows

Preparations:

Melt marshmallows and butter over medium heat. Stir constantly.
Remove from heat and add 6 cups of cereal.
Press mixture into 13x9 pan. Cool for a couple of hours (preferably in the fridge) and cut evenly.

Broccoli Bacon Frittata

2012-01-24T02:20:00.000-08:00

Just when I thought I could finally say goodbye to the frittata phase, my husband decides that he just has to have this frittata! (It could be worse, right? I mean, he could be obsessed with liver and onions...)

This was good. A little greasy but still good. I'd label this chick food done the "man" way.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
2 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 oz. Italian cheese blend, grated
Bacon fat, oil or butter, for cooking
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Steam broccoli florets for approximately 3 minutes, or until just beginning to soften. Set aside.
Whisk together eggs, milk, 1/2 of the cheese, salt, oregano and pepper. Add cooking oil of your choice to a small skillet over medium heat.
Toss in broccoli and bacon, tossing several times to ensure even distribution. Mix in egg mixture. cover with remaining cheese and bake at 450 degrees.

Slow Cooker Rocky Road Chocolate Cake

2012-01-23T02:27:00.000-08:00

This cake was so delicious! My only disappointment was in not being able to take a really good picture of the finished result. I made this for company and there just was not enough time to fix the lighting. If you want to see a good picture, check out My Recipes. I don't think this recipe originated there however, it's one of several places it's posted on the web.

I learned one valuable lesson from making this cake - never add melted, hot butter while the mixer is whipping around the bowl on high. It flew everywhere!

Ingredients:

1 (18.25-oz.) package German chocolate cake mix
1 (3.9-oz.) package chocolate instant pudding mix
3 large eggs, lightly beate
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups milk, divide
1 (3.4-oz.) package chocolate cook-and-serve pudding mix
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallow
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Preparations:

Beat cake mix, instant pudding, eggs, sour cream, butter and vanilla. Add 1 1/4 cups milk at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes
Pour batter into a lightly greased 4-qt. slow cooker. (I used a 6 qt since my son broke my 4qt.)
Cook remaining 2 cups milk in a heavy nonaluminum saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, 3 to 5 minutes or just until bubbles appear (do not boil); remove from heat.
Sprinkle cook-and-serve pudding mix over batter. Slowly pour hot milk over pudding. Cover and cook on LOW 3 1/2 hours.
Turn off slow cooker. Sprinkle cake with walnuts, marshmallows, and chocolate morsels.
Let stand 15 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly melted. Spoon into dessert dishes, and serve with ice cream, if desired.

Betty Crocker's Layered Peanut Butter Bars

2012-01-19T02:34:00.000-08:00

I didn't have a peanut butter cookie mix so I substituted a chocolate chip one instead. I figured that made this a little more similar to my Nestle Peanut Butter bars that I have posted previously. As you can see in my picture below, the mix did NOT cover the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. I'd use a smaller one if I had it to do all over again.

Ingredients:

Cookie Base

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 egg

Filling

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk

Frosting

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter

Preparations:

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
In large bowl, stir all Cookie Base ingredients until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan using floured fingers. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
In small bowl, beat all Filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over cookie base.
In microwavable bowl, microwave all Frosting ingredients on High 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Cool 10 minutes; spread over filling. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until set. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows.

Sorry this isn't a better picture. I was pressed for time as usual. :)

Rachael Ray's Banana Chocolate Chip bread

2012-01-18T02:53:00.000-08:00

I love banana bread. I think that I keep buying bunches of bananas just so I have an excuse to make banana bread when they turn very ripe. This recipe is easy and doesn't take long if you're pressed for time. This recipe makes one loaf.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 bananas, mashed (1 cup mashed banana)
1 cup chocolate chips

Preparations:

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F .
Grease and flour a 8 1/2-inch x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan (or use baking spray, such as Baker's Joy brand).
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix in the oil, bananas and eggs.
Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 70-80 minutes.
Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely, right side up.

Food.com's Bacon Potato Frittata

2012-01-17T02:34:00.000-08:00

My husband is still really into frittatas. I think they're okay as long as they are served with salt and salsa. I picked this recipe because I wanted to get rid of some potatoes before they went bad.

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 medium potatoes, cut into 1/4 slices
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 teaspoons finely snipped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
salsa (optional) or sour cream (optional)

Preparations:

Using a large, nonstick skillet, cook bacon pieces until crisp.
Reserve 2 T. of bacon drippings.
Drain bacon pieces on paper towel.
Add potato slices to skillet with reserved bacon drippings.
Cover and cook over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes until tender and lightly browned.
Turn potato slices over and turn down heat to prevent over-browning (if necessary).
In large bowl, beat eggs, milk, pepper, and salt until combined.
Stir in cheese, green onion, and basil.
Set aside.
Spread cooked potatoes in an even layer over the bottom of skillet.
Sprinkle the bacon over the potatoes.
Pour in egg mixture.
Cover, reduce heat to medium low.
Cook 15 to 20 minutes until top surface of egg is set.
Decrease heat to low if necessary, to allow center to cook without over-cooking the edges.
Loosen edges of frittata from pan, carefully invert onto large serving plate.
Cut into wedges.
Put a dollop of sour cream or salsa on top right before serving, if desired.

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

2012-01-16T02:13:00.000-08:00

Jessica Seinfeld wrote a cookbook that encourages sneaking vegetables into whatever food you can. I made this recipe to see how zucchini in brownies tasted. It was good but very rich. This makes an ideal dessert for when company comes over and would be very tasty served with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup dark chocolate baking chips

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan or spray with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until knife cut into center of brownies comes out cleanly.

Better Recipes Easy Chicken Enchiladas

2012-01-13T02:53:00.000-08:00

I love Mexican food! But I'm on a budget and my son is going through this phase where he screams randomly and throws food. So really, I don't want to eat out until he gets some table manners or I get a babysitter. :)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped
1 - 10 3/4 ounce can of condensed cream of chicken soup
1 - 8 ounce package of shredded colby & monterey jack cheese, divided
1 cup sour cream, divided
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
12 medium sized flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups salsa

Preparations:

Mix chicken, soup, 1 cup of cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream and 3 tablespoons of cilantro until it's well blended.
Spoon mixture evenly into tortillas and roll up. Place in baking dish that's been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with salsa and remaining cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes at 350 or until heated all the way through.
Top with cilantro and sour cream.

Mobile Credit Card Processing - $50 gift card giveaway

2012-01-12T03:10:00.000-08:00

Mobile credit card processing is sponsoring a $50 gift card giveaway redeemable at icardgiftcard.com!!!

Rules: You must be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the US in order to enter.

To enter: Comment on this blog and leave your name and email address so our sponsor and can email you the gift voucher if you win. This contest will run from 1/12/12 - 1/17/12. The winner will be announced on January 18, 2012.

Good luck and thanks for visiting us!

Nestle's Pudding Chip Cookies

2012-01-11T02:29:00.000-08:00

I recommend this recipe if you are low on flour and really want some chocolate chip cookies. Also, I learned the hard way why you shouldn't bake cookies on the bottom rack....

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 pkg. (4 serving size) instant vanilla, butterscotch or chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels


First batch that was baked on top rack in oven...

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 350° F. (I baked mine at 375 degrees for 12 minutes)
Combine flour and pudding mix in small bowl. Beat butter in large mixing bowl on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar and baking soda until well combined. Beat in egg and egg white. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop dough by rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool on baking sheets 2 to 3 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool on baking sheets 2 to 3 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Second batch baked on bottom rack. I learned that it makes a difference.

Crock pot Stuffed Green Peppers

2012-01-10T02:31:00.000-08:00

Green peppers were on sale for .69 a pound a week ago so I decided to try a new stuffed green pepper recipe. This makes four servings. Use at least a four quart crock pot.

Ingredients:

4 large green bell peppers
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 lb ground turkey
12 ounces of tomato sauce (1 1/2 eight ounce cans)
1 pkg Knorr chicken flavored rice and vegetables
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preparations:

Remove tops and clean out green bell peppers. Cut tops into small pieces.
Brown turkey over medium heat. Drain grease.
Add onion and green pepper and saute until onions are soft.
Pour meat mixture into bowl. Add spices, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and Knorr rice to meat.
Spray crock pot with nonstick spray and turn on low.
Fill green peppers with meat mixture. Cook on low for approximately 4 hours. Top with cheese and cook for ten minutes. Serve warm.

Nestle's Oatmeal Scotchies

2012-01-09T02:42:00.000-08:00

Smith's had a sale on Nestle baking chips and I had a coupon otherwise, I don't think I would have bought butterscotch baking chips. They were really good though. Kind of like eating a butterscotch candy in cookie form.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups quick oats
1 2/3 cup butterscotch baking chips (or one bag)

Preparations:

Mix butter, eggs, sugars and vanilla.
Separately, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to butter mixture.
Slowly add in oats and then baking chips.
Roll into balls and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 13 minutes.

Hershey's Double Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-01-06T02:57:00.000-08:00

This is a great recipe if you have a couple of already opened bags of peanut butter chips and milk chocolate chips. I'm not sure what the kids made with the other halves of the bags but I was happy to use these up! This is a small recipe and makes about 2 dozen medium sized cookies.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter (go crunchy if you like)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips

Preparations:

Combine butter, egg, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla.
Separately, mix flour, salt and baking soda.
Mix both sets of ingredients. Add chips.
Roll into small balls and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 13 minutes.

Hershey's Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie Bars

2012-01-05T02:00:00.000-08:00

Wow! These bars are rich and should be served with vanilla ice cream. :) Note: I made the mistake of cooking the peanut butter chips, butter and condensed milk on too high of a setting. That pot is soaking in my kitchen sink as we speak so make sure to keep the burner just under medium heat and don't get
distracted.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa
1/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter (for peanut butter topping)
1- 10 oz bag Peanut Butter Chips
1 - 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted (to be drizzled on top of peanut butter topping)

Preparations:

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2 baking pan.
Combine melted butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl; beat well. Add flour, cocoa and milk; beat until blended. Stir in 1 cup nuts. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or just until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Melt 1/2 cup butter and peanut butter chips in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Add sweetened condensed milk, stirring until smooth; pour over baked layer.
Place chocolate chips in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 45 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred. Drizzle bars with melted chocolate; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup nuts.
Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Cut into bars. Cover; refrigerate leftover bars. About 36 bars.

I don't drizzle well....

Slow Cooker Ham and Navy Bean Soup

2012-01-04T02:10:00.000-08:00

If you had ham for the holidays, this is a great leftover idea. It's easy and takes very little time. Watch the water level while this cooks because you may need to add more than 5 cups of water. Below is the original recipe from Allrecipes.com. I didn't have time to soak my beans overnight so I cooked this on low for 7 hours and added an extra cup of water. It turned out great. The ham fell off the bone so I didn't have to cut it up it was the perfect soup for a cold day.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. dry navy beans
5 c. water
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/4 c. celery, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (3/4 pound) ham hock, a meaty ham bone, or several pieces of boneless ham
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper

Preparations:

Soak beans for 12 hours and drain. Put beans in Dutch oven and cover with water; simmer for about 30 minutes. Place all ingredients in a 3 to 5-quart slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours. Remove ham hock and discard skin, fat, and bone. Cut meat in small pieces and place in soup. Beans can be mashed if desired.

Easy Eggplant Marinara over Thin Spaghetti

2012-01-03T02:12:00.000-08:00

Spaghetti is the girls' favorite dish and something that will always get eaten. They also like eggplant so this was my attempt to combine a vegetable with their favorite entree. It was mostly successful. Be sure to fry the eggplant until it's soft.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 rolls of Ritz crackers, crushed (use a potato masher or rolling pin)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 large eggplant, sliced into even pieces
1 - 1lb 8 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups mozzarella, shredded
spaghetti, cooked (amount determined how many people you are feeding)
Olive or Vegetable oil

Preparations:

Combine milk with beaten eggs and whisk.
Dip sliced eggplant into beaten eggs and then into the Ritz crackers. Place prepared eggplant on plate. Repeat until all of the eggplant is breaded.
Fry eggplant in oil over medium heat. Cook both sides evenly until eggplant is soft.
Layer eggplant in 9x13 pan. (Coat with Pam or Crisco spray first)
Cover eggplant with spaghetti sauce. Top with cheese.
Bake at 375 degrees until cheese is bubbling. (Approximately 12 to 15 minutes.)
Cook spaghetti according to directions and drain.
Serve eggplant over spaghetti. Salt and pepper to taste.

Creme Brulee from Allrecipes.com

2012-01-02T02:04:00.000-08:00

When my husband gets it in his head to make some random dish - there's seriously almost nothing stopping him. In this case, he made this dish twice because he got it wrong the first time. I'd like to point out that the guy who gives me crap about my lousy food pictures, took the really awesome picture below. (Note the sarcasm!) Happy New Year!!!

Ingredients:

(My husband doubled this recipe, poured into it to one large dish, baked for over an hour and broiled for four minutes to get the result above.)

2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons white sugar

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and line the bottom of a large baking pan with a damp kitchen cloth.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. While water is boiling, combine cream, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally 4 to 5 minutes, until steam rises. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth. Pour hot cream into yolks, a little at a time, stirring constantly, until all cream is incorporated. Pour mixture into four 6 oz. ramekins.
Place ramekins on towel in baking dish, and place dish on oven rack. Pour boiling water into dish to halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover whole pan loosely with foil.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until custard is just set. Chill ramekins in refrigerator 4 to 6 hours.
Before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over each custard. Use a kitchen torch or oven broiler to brown top, 2 to 3 minutes.

Never Enough Thyme - Lana's Cooking

2012-01-01T18:08:00.001-08:00

Hey, here's a new and awesome food website I just came across. Lana has great recipes and beautiful pictures.

She's working checking out - http://www.lanascooking.com/

Easy Banana Cream Pie

2011-12-29T01:44:00.000-08:00

You know what's great about having kids who are old enough to read the directions, use the stove and not burn down the house? They can bake when you literally don't have the time!!! I put our three girls to work over the holidays because it was just too hard to keep my 10-month-old out of the cupboards and bake 10 pies. I would like to add that dealing with an infant who is going through the tantrum phase, is far less stressful than refereeing the battles between my 9-year-old daughter and fourteen-year-old daughter. Sometimes, I'd like to stick them in the playpen for some time out!

If only I could get this kid to brush her teeth without being told she'd be perfect!

Ingredients:

1 pre-made 9-inch graham cracker crust (Serious time saver & there are often coupons for them)
1 - 3.4 ounce box of instant vanilla pudding (serves 4)
3 medium-sized bananas sliced (see above)
1 - 8 ounce container of Cool-Whip
2 cups of cold milk

Preparations:

Use electric mixer to combine pudding mix and milk. Beat/whisk for 2 minutes. (Should be thick.)
Layer sliced bananas onto bottom of graham cracker crust. Pour pudding mix on top.
Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Last step: top with Cool Whip right before serving.

Chocolate Mousse Oreo Pie

2011-12-28T02:50:00.000-08:00

We did something kind of crazy this year for Christmas - we served a ton of pies and no actual turkey. This is just one of many. It's easy to make and is very rich.

Ingredients:

1 Oreo crust
1 cup whipping cream
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Preparations:

In medium sauce pan over low heat, combine eggs, milk and sugar and cook until mixture thickens.
Add chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until dissolved.
Fold in whipped cream and pour filling into pie crust.
Chill for 2 hours before serving and top with Redi-whip.

Korr's Easy Spinach Dip

2011-12-27T02:26:00.000-08:00

Last week we had our office holiday party and I signed up to bring Spinach dip. I considered buying a pre-made container at the grocery store but was shocked to see it was $4.99 for a small container. It may seem way uncool to have a stockpile but it honestly comes in handy when it comes to having people over and attending potlucks. I bought Lays potato chips on sale for $2.00 a bag and bought 16 ounce containers of sour cream on sale for $1.09. You can serve with chips or veggies. This dip is easy, fast and economical. :)

Ingredients:

1 package of Korr's vegetable dip mix
1-16 ounce container of sour cream
1 cup of mayonnaise
1-10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach

Preparations:

Cook frozen spinach in a microwave-safe bowl with 1 teaspoon of water for seven minutes. Stir have way through.
Cool spinach and drain. Stir in sour cream, mayonnaise and vegetable dip mix.

Leftover Turkey Recipes

2011-12-26T08:47:00.000-08:00

Got Turkey leftovers? Then here are ten great recipes for leftover turkey. Check them out at Taste of Home's website - Top Ten Turkey Leftovers

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

2011-12-24T08:34:00.000-08:00

Last night, I went to make the pumpkin pie recipe from Better Homes and Garden's cookbook and realized - I didn't have any evaporated milk. Thanks to Google, we came up with this recipe from allrecipes.com. My 14-year-old did all the hard work. I just made sure it baked long enough. This pie baked up way better than the BHG recipe. I always have a hard time getting that one to bake all the way through.

Ingredients:

1 - 15 ounce can of pumpkin
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 - 9 inch prepared pie crust (can be graham cracker)

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Whisk pumpkin, milk, eggs, spices & salt until mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared crust.
Bake 15 minutes.
Turn heat down to 350 degrees. Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean.
Cool before serving. Top with whipped cream.

Holiday Drinks from Hershey's Kitchens

2011-12-22T02:47:00.000-08:00

Martha Stewart's Spicy Sweet Potatoes

2011-12-21T02:43:00.000-08:00

The first time I made sweet potatoes it was a disaster. I bought them at the store and had the hardest time peeling those suckers. Then I learned that you can just bake them and scoop the insides out. It would have been awesome to learn that four years ago.

If you're assigned sweet potatoes this year, check out Martha's spicy sweet potatoes.

Paula Deen's Deep Fried Turkey

2011-12-20T02:46:00.000-08:00

You won't ever catch me deep frying a turkey for one very simple reason - I'm very accident prone and kind of klutzy. I imagine if I deep fried a turkey, I'd need to have to an ambulance and the fire department on standby. Did I mention I've knocked over my fair share of space heaters and set carpets on fire? (Don't tell my boss. :)

If you are going to deep fry a turkey this year, watch this helpful video from my heroine, Paula, on how to. Note: she has a non-set-yourself-on-fire-and-burn-down-the-house-deep-fryer.

Paula Deen's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-12-19T02:19:00.000-08:00

I chose this recipe because my husband loves oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and because I love Paula Deen's recipes. This is one her 25 days of holiday cookies recipes. It's easy to make and the cookies aren't too sweet.

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon water
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of quick cooking oats
2 cups chocolate chips

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla and water. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
Combine both sets of ingredients. Add flour slowly if using electric mixer.
Add oats and chocolate chips.
Drop dough onto lined cookie sheet or non-stick cookie sheet.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes. (The bigger the dough ball, the longer to cook.)

Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog make Mashed Potatoes

2011-12-16T06:54:00.000-08:00

I'm posting this because it's Friday and we all need a good laugh...

Pillsbury's Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

2011-12-15T01:17:00.000-08:00

The holidays are closing in on us and I can say the presents are wrapped and just waiting for a tree to house them. What? No tree yet? Nope! With a 9 1/2 month old who's already broken a crockpot, we're not putting up a tree until the very last minute - December 21st to be exact. :)

Here's a new take on the holiday tradition of mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

6 medium baking potatoes (2 1/2 to 3 lb), peeled, cut into fourths
1/2 cup milk, heated
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 1/2 cups finely shredded Cheddar cheese (6 oz)

Preparations:

In 4-quart saucepan, place potato pieces and add enough water to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook uncovered 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to saucepan.
Heat potatoes over low heat about 1 minute to dry potatoes, shaking pan often to keep potatoes from sticking and burning. (This will help make mashed potatoes fluffy.)
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Add milk, salt and pepper to potatoes. Mash with potato masher until no lumps remain. Beat in sour cream, chives and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Spoon into baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.
Bake uncovered 10 to 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

Martha Stewart's Easy Cranberry Sauce - Holiday Recipes

2011-12-14T01:03:00.000-08:00

You can buy canned cranberry sauce or you can wow your relatives/friends with Martha's basic cranberry sauce. It's easy and inexpensive to make.

Ingredients:

1 - 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 cup water

Preparations:

In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar. lemon zest, and water. Bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer; cook until cranberries are soft. (Should be about ten minutes.)
Let cranberries cool to room temperature.

Crock Pot Stuffing - Holiday Recipe

2011-12-13T02:49:00.000-08:00

You can use this recipe for a holiday meal or just when you feel like eating stuffing. It comes from food.com.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
1 cup diced tart apple, peeled and cored
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon ground sage
1 teaspoon ground marjoram
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon savory
1/2 teaspoon thyme
12 cups lightly toasted bread, cubes
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Preparations:

In a large fry pan saute onions, celery and apple in butter until onion is just translucent.
Stir in sage, marjoram, salt, pepper, savory and thyme.
Combine vegetable mixture with the bread cubes and parsley.
Toss well.
Pour stock over mixture, tossing well.
Spoon into your crock-pot.
Cover and cook on high for one hour.
Reduce to low and continue cooking for 2-3 hours, stirring every hour.

Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies - Strawberry Thumbprints

2011-12-12T02:25:00.000-08:00

This is one of Martha's easier recipes and it makes a great holiday cookie if you're putting together goodie baskets. The recipe didn't say if butter should be softened or not however, butter straight out of the fridge does not mix well. I let mine sit out so it was room temperature.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparations:

Combine butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Beat well.
Separately, mix flour and salt.
Add flour to butter mixture slowly with electric mixer on low.
Roll dough into one inch balls and place on lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake dough for seven minutes. Remove from oven and make sure well of cookies is still deep. If not, press with end of wooden spoon or baby spoon.
Return to oven and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are firm.
Let cool completely. Spoon jam filling into thumbprints.

Guest Blog Post - Super Mario Birthday Cake

2011-12-10T06:54:00.000-08:00

This is our very first guest blog post! Sadly, Melissa's computer crashed and there wasn't a picture to go with this.

My Son’s Super Mario Birthday Cake

My six-year-old son, Tyler, is a Super Mario fanatic. He would stay up all night playing Super Mario Galaxy on Wii if he could. My husband didn’t make things any easier when he bought a Super Nintendo and started playing the vintage Super Mario games with Tyler. Now they’re both obsessed. For Halloween this year, my husband dressed up as Luigi, and my son dressed up as Mario. They almost convinced me to dress up as Princess Peach, but I thought it would be too over-the-top. Needless to say, my son wanted a Mario themed birthday party for his birthday last month (November). So, we gave him one. Doing so required extensive research of different options of Super Mario cakes and decorative possibilities. We eventually decided to make a Super Mario Cake at home. It actually ended up looking and tasting pretty good, despite my poor baking skills. Here’s how we made the cake:

5 eggs
1 cup of milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups unbleached cake flour, sifted
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 ¾ sticks of butter
3 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles

2. Then we mixed the ingredients together and baked the cake. Here’s how:

First, we set the oven to 350 and mixed the eggs, milk, and vanilla together in a large bowl.
Then we mixed all of the dry ingredients and butter in another bowl with an electric mixer for two minutes.
Next, we combined the wet and dry ingredients and beat them for around a minute.
Finally, we poured the cake batter into two 9” circular cake pans, popped them in the oven, and took them out 30 minutes later. After they cooled, we took the cakes out of the pans and stacked them together.

3. Once our cake base was ready, we started our decorative efforts with icing. We spread regular vanilla icing over the surface of the cake. My husband used red, peach, blue, brown, and white frosting to draw Mario and some red mushrooms on the top of the cake. He used a picture of Mario he printed off the internet to help him with his design. The cake design actually ended up looking pretty good. We could have made the cake fancier overall, but I’m glad we kept it simple, since neither one of us is a culinary or artistic genius.

The cake was a huge hit at the birthday party. The kids loved the design and the homemade funfetti cake. I highly recommend making your child’s birthday special with a themed cake!

Author’s Bio: Melissa is a guest post writer on the subjects of parenting and easy cooking/baking on a time crunch.

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from Chocoh!

2011-12-09T02:25:00.000-08:00

I came across a new website for chocolate recipes. It's pretty cool and the recipes are fairly easy. It's called Chocoh and that's where this recipe comes from.

You can see from my pictures that my cookies were too big and too close together. If you don't want to repeat my mistake, roll your dough into one inch balls and space them evenly apart. The cookies were on the flat side but very tasty. (I used chunky peanut butter. ) Makes 2 dozen small cookies or a dozen large ones.

Ingredients:

1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of butter (softened to room temperature)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp. of vanilla

Preparations:

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.
Combine butter, sugars, egg, vanilla and peanut butter.
Separately, mix flour, salt, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
Combine both sets of ingredients. Add chocolate chips and mix dough until it's completely mixed.
Roll dough into one inch balls, space evenly. Bake for approximately 11 minutes. Let cool before removing.

Peanut Butter Fudge

2011-12-08T02:18:00.000-08:00

Here's a new idea for a holiday treat. It's comes from christmas-cookies.com . (Such a cool site!)

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk
pinch of salt
1 cup marshmallows
1/4 pound peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparations:

Cook sugar, butter, milk and salt to soft ball stage (235° F–240° F on a candy thermometer).
Add marshmallows and peanut butter just before removing from heat. Do not stir.
Cool to room temperature. Add vanilla.
Beat until creamy, thick and holds shape. Pour into well buttered shallow pan.
Cool and cut into squares.

Campbell's Kitchen - Chicken Broccoli Divan

2011-12-07T02:13:00.000-08:00

I made this recipe because I saw a picture of the dish while I was surfing the web (Do people still say that?) and thought it looked yummy. I like to cook my chicken in a crock pot with lots of chicken broth. It's the easy way to get cooked chicken without having to worry about it burning. :) My husband isn't a huge fan of chicken but he liked this dish a lot. It serves four.

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preparations:

Place the broccoli and chicken into an ungreased casserole dish.
Stir the soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour the soup mixture over the broccoli and chicken. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with bread crumbs.
Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling.

Chocolate-Dipped Marshmallows

2011-12-06T02:09:00.000-08:00

I came across this recipe on a christmas-cookies.com and I think it's an awesome idea! This is a recipe that you can make with kids for the holiday festivities. Like any recipe that calls for dipping something in chocolate, it's messy!

Ingredients:

1 cup semi-sweet or white chocolate chips
2 teaspoons oil
1 (10-ounce) package marshmallows
Garnish: mini candy-coated chocolates, candy sprinkles

Preparations:

Combine chocolate chips and oil in a microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave on medium setting for one to 1-1/2 minutes until chocolate is softened; stir until smooth.
With a candy dipping tool or toothpick, dip marshmallows into chocolate to cover completely.
Sprinkle with desired garnish; set on wax paper until firm.

Online Shopping

2011-12-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

Ever since I got pregnant, I've become a huge fan of online shopping. One of my worst shopping experiences was being 9 months pregnant, swollen and the size of the Good Year Blimp as I waddled around Target looking for something - anything that would bring a smile to my ten-year-old stepdaughter's face on her birthday.

I've grown much wiser and much more tired in the year since then. Between the job, commuting, a baby and housework - I have no time for comparison shopping. I'm dying for a tupperware butter dish and I have no time to physically go shop for one. Being rather frugal as I am, I want to know that any purchase I make is going to get me the most value for my dollar. Which is why I'm excited to come across a site like Become.com. Whether I'm shopping for something like a square kitchen table that seats 8 , a new turquoise table runner or a used wolf stove , this website has something for everyone and it even offers coupons. So if you get a chance, check it out.

Twice-baked Potatoes

2011-12-05T02:47:00.000-08:00

Fresh Market was selling 15lb bags of potatoes for $1.99 last week and I couldn't help myself - I had to buy a bag. You know what you do when you have a 15lb bag of potatoes sitting in your pantry? You make a lot of potato recipes! I've never had twice-baked potatoes before so it was a good chance for me to try a new dish. Turns out they are easy to make and taste surprisingly good.

Tip: My grandfather taught me to clean potatoes by taking a BRAND NEW scotch brite pad and using it to gently clean the potatoes. Save that pad and use it only to clean potatoes.

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes
1/3 cup sour cream (I went for the lite kind)
1/4 cup butter
1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
shredded cheddar cheese
chives and bacon bits (optional)

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Gently clean potatoes and pierce each potato twice with either a sharp knife or fork.
Bake potatoes on center oven rack for 65 minutes.
Remove potatoes from oven using an oven mitt. Cut the top of each potato off so that the remaining potato is in the shape of a canoe.
Scoop out inside of potatoes and put into a medium sized bowl. (Be gently because you need the shell of the potato.)
Add butter, sour cream and cayenne pepper to potatoes. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Place potato mixture back into potato shells. You can top with chives and bacon bits and then add the cheese or just add cheese.
Put potatoes into the oven at 375 for 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and potatoes are warm again.

Paula Deen's 25 days of of Holiday Cookies

2011-12-02T06:41:00.000-08:00

I usually try to keep this blog fairly light-hearted because my grandmother always said that it's better to laugh than cry. It's been a rough week with lots of travel, not enough sleep and an ongoing battle at home though.

Someone was telling me yesterday how his wife doesn't think he does enough even though he cooks, cleans and changes diapers while working multiple jobs. I said to this poor soul, "I was running late this morning because I had to scrub poop out of the carpet while trying to get the baby cleaned, dressed and finish getting ready myself. You know what my husband did to help? He got in the shower so I had to go find some place else to dry my hair. After dropping the baby off at daycare, I came back to the house to grab a warm jacket (because there was a windstorm going on outside) and I found him cooking himself a frittata while I never got breakfast. So send your wife over to my house!"

I try to laugh when I tell that story because I think it's funny that my husband actually took the time to cook himself a nice meal while 90 mile hour winds were blowing. I also think it illustrates that some days - life just sucks.

I like Paula Deen's recipes and I respect her as a person. She's overcome a great deal of adversity herself and she seems more like a "better to laugh about it than cry about it" kind of person. So, in honor of her and everyone else that's looking for a reason to keep moving forward today, check out Paula's 25 days of Holiday cookie recipes.

Happy Holidays,
Christina

Cranberry-Nut Cinnamon Chex Mix

2011-12-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season for snacks and appetizers! Here's an easy one from Betty Crocker.

Check out Betty's website (picture from there) and make it Gluten-free!

Ingredients:

6 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal
1 cup walnut halves
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Preparations:

In large microwavable bowl, mix cereal and walnuts; set aside.
In 2 cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, orange juice concentrate and oil on High 1 minute; stir.
Microwave about 1 minute longer, stirring after 30 seconds, until mixture is hot. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.
Microwave uncovered on High 5 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. Stir in cranberries. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in tightly covered container.

Mark Cuban's Advice for Mom-Preneurs

2011-11-30T10:58:00.000-08:00

If you don't know who Mark Cuban is, he's a self-starter who owns an NBA team, guest stars on Entourage and an all around amazing businessman. Here's a recent article and some helpful links if you are a mom interested in getting started with your own business. Also, be sure to check out HDMoviesScene. They will be giving us two FREE movie tickets to give away soon.

There are many mommies out there that dream of creating their own business but haven't a clue where to start. What advice do you have for them?

Find something you love to do, can do on your own and doesn’t require
any more capital than you can afford to lose personally. The most
valuable asset you have is your time, talents and ability to
communicate. Focus on those strengths and what you can do rather than
what you can’t do.

There are many young moms who are just beginning their lives and can relate to
you when you said you were sharing a small apartment with 6 people and
sleeping on the floor. How can someone keep their eye on the prize when they’re
living on Ramen noodles?

Who cares how you are living today? I loved every minute of living in
that dump. The low rent and utilities and eating Mac n’ Cheese
all the time allowed me to afford the startup of my business. Instead of
paying myself much, I could put it in to my business.

One part in your book I loved and my heart sank at is when your fiance
lost your $7500 ring. What's your advice for those moms out there who are distracted by a relationship? How do you balance a real life with your dreams?

I never was able to balance. Each person has to make their own
decisions. But remember, your competitors aren’t sitting by idly
waiting for you to have a nice dinner with your significant other.
They are trying to kick your butt. So choose wisely.

You encourage entrepreneurs not to hire a public relations firm, Mark. How did you get the word out about your eBook?

I tweeted, posted on Facebook, [used] Google Plus and responded to emails. Nothing more.

Where can we get a copy of your eBook, How to Win at the Sport of Business?

Anywhere eBooks are sold: Amazon, BN.com, and sites that support independent bookstores too.

Food Network's Frittata

2011-11-30T02:43:00.000-08:00

My husband was watching the movie "Morning Glory" when he was inspired to make a Frittata. This recipe comes from the Food Network and you can use other ingredients instead of ham and asparagus. We used cooked potatoes and bacon.

Ingredients:

6 eggs, beaten
1-ounce Parmesan, grated
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 cup chopped roasted asparagus
1/2 cup chopped country ham
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven to broil setting.
In medium size bowl, using a fork, blend together eggs, Parmesan, pepper, and salt.
Heat 12-inch non-stick, oven safe saute pan over medium high heat. (It's very important you use an oven safe pan. Ours wasn't and it came out of the oven making a snap, crackle pop sound like it was a bowl of Rice Krispies.)
Add butter to pan and melt. Add asparagus and ham to pan and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour egg mixture into pan and stir with rubber spatula.
Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the egg mixture has set on the bottom and begins to set up on top. Sprinkle with parsley.
Place pan into oven and broil for 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned and fluffy. Remove from pan and cut into 6 servings. Serve immediately.

My secret sweet and spicy chili

2011-11-29T02:44:00.000-08:00

I won't lie - I'm sick to death of cooking chili however, my sweet and spicy chili has gotten such great reviews that I decided I should share the recipe. It's similar to my other chili recipe but has a sweet taste to it that helps mellow out the spicy-ness. Just as a note, I had to go to two stores to get the Rotel tomatoes with Habeneros and found that only Target carries them in my town.

My brother-in-law (who's 29, very cute and single if any gals are interested) and I swap recipes. He made this with ground turkey and said it was good. I also fed it to my husband's best friend and son who apparently ate all the leftovers causing me to listen to a rant that I could have done without. :) No picture because if you've seen one chili - you've seen them all. :)

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef, cooked and drained
1 cup sweet onions, chopped
1 chopped red pepper
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 – 10 oz can of diced tomatoes with Habeneros (Rotel makes it)
1 – 10 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
2 - 15 ounce cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 - 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preparations:

Pour meat into 6 quart crock pot.
Add all remaining ingredients except cheese. Mix well.

Cook on low for 4 hours. Add cheese right before serving

Easy No bake chocolate peanut butter pie

2011-11-28T02:27:00.000-08:00

We all know I detest pie but that isn't stopping me from finding one that's easy to bake and tastes good. I think this recipe may be the ONE (this was much easier to find than the right guy :). This recipe comes from Food.com and the creator noted two things - 1) if you use pudding that isn't sugar-free then your pie will be grainy (it was still tasty!) and 2) you can rinse the plastic cover that comes with a pre-made pie crust, flip it over and use it to cover the pie while it refrigerates. What a freaking awesome idea!

Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) can eagle brand sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 (1 ounce) package jell-o sugar-free instant chocolate fudge pudding mix (4 serving size)
1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip Topping, thawed
1 (9 inch) Oreo cookie pie crust (I used a graham cracker crust and it was still good)

Preparations:

Mix condensed milk, peanut butter and pudding together.
Fold in cool whip and pour into pie shell. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Chicken or Turkey a la King in a Crock Pot

2011-11-25T02:54:00.000-08:00

Got leftovers? Hopefully anyone who stumbles upon this blog has had a good holiday. If you have leftover turkey or want to make chicken a la king, this is an easy recipe that you can throw in the crock pot and forget about.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked Turkey or chicken, cut or torn into small pieces
2 cans (10.5 ounces each) cream of chicken soup
3/ 4 cup water
2 medium sized carrot stalks, cleaned and chopped into small pieces
1 large celery stalk, split in half and cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparations:

Mix all of the ingredients in a 4 quart crock pot (or bigger if you want). Cook on low for two hours. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

How to Baste a Turkey Video

2011-11-24T02:39:00.000-08:00

For all the people out there who are cooking a turkey for the first, I have a little advice. 1) Try to remain calm at all times and 2) No one is expected to be Martha Freaking Stewart on the first try. (I seriously doubt even Martha was "Martha-ish" the first time she made a turkey.) And 3rd - my last piece of advice is to baste OFTEN. The key to moist turkey is basting and not letting it over cook. To help you out, here's a short video on the art of basting a turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Cock pot mashed potatoes

2011-11-23T02:36:00.000-08:00

There are so many great things about about crock pots! You can leave them on and not worry about them boiling over on the stove, setting off the smoke detectors and waking the baby that refuses to sleep. (Not that I have issues or anything.:) If you are cooking an entire holiday dinner, your stove can easily be taken up with pots and pans so boiling potatoes in a crock pot also frees up stove space. (If you want more crock pot recipes, check out Stephanie's 365 days of crock pot cooking website.) Note: I used a 6 quart crock pot.

Ingredients:

5 lbs of potatoes, washed, peeled and cuts into fourths
1 cup sour cream (use light if you're watching calories)
1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
1/4 cup of butter, softened
Salt and pepper

Preparations:

Fill crock pot with water or chicken broth. (If you use chicken broth then expect the potatoes to have a bit of chicken-ish aftertaste.)
Place prepared potatoes in crock pot and cook on high for two hours or until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork or knife.
Drain potatoes and either mash in crock pot with a potato masher or in a Kitchen Aid.
Add 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/8 cup of butter. Mix well.
Check the consistency of your potatoes, butter and add remaining milk and sour cream until potatoes are smooth and creamy. If you mash your potatoes in a Kitchen Aid, add a few potatoes to start with and slowly add the others. If you don't, expect to be wiping potatoes off the walls. :)
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Easy Sausage Stuffing outside the bird

2011-11-22T02:23:00.000-08:00

You don't have to bake stuffing inside the bird. If you have a huge group coming (10+) then you might need to make additional stuffing. This recipe is easy and can be placed inside a well cleaned bird or baked in 13x9 ungreased pan. Rather than take the time to cut and toast bread, I bought a 14 ounce bag of pre-cut and toasted bread breadcrumbs at Target for $1.49. Compared to the cost of a loaf of a bread, it was money well spent.

Ingredients:

14 ounces of pre-cut/toasted bread crumbs or a large loaf of white bread, toasted and cut into pieces.
1 lb of Jimmy Dean pork sausage
1 cup onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, washed and chopped
1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
2 1/2 - 3 cups of chicken broth
1 stick of butter, melted

Preparations:

Cook sausage until brown. Add celery and onion. Saute until onions are soft.
Combine melted butter and chicken broth.
In a very large bowl, mix bread crumbs with broth/butter. Add sausage/onion mixture and poultry seasoning. Mix very well.
Either stuff in a bird or bake in an ungreased 13x9 pan at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until stuffing is slightly crunchy. DON'T LET STUFFING BURN. Be sure to check at 30 minutes.

Easiest Pumpkin Pie

2011-11-21T03:26:00.000-08:00

I have pie issues. I suspect they stem from not really liking pie. Alas, I still feel obligated to bake them. If you have NO baking experience, got roped into bringing a pie to Thanksgiving dinner or just want to prove that you can in fact bake without burning the house down - this is the easiest pumpkin pie recipe I could find. Follow the directions carefully.

Ingredients:

1 - 9 inch prepared graham cracker crust
1 - 30 ounce can of pumpkin pie mix
2 eggs, beaten
5 ounces of evaporated milk

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn temperature down to 350 degrees after those first 15 minutes.
Combine pumpkin, eggs and milk. Beat well.
Pour pumpkin mixture into prepared pie crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until middle of pie is solid. (Test by gently putting a knife into it.) Place pie on cookie sheet in oven if you want to avoid spillage and setting off the smoke detector. :)

I think I could have cooked this for 60 minutes. This is what it looked like at 55 minutes.

Buying appliances

2011-11-19T06:15:00.000-08:00

When I got married, I not only got a husband and three kids but I also got a 25-year-old house with crappy appliances. Within the first six months of marriage, our refrigerator completely died. Of course, it happened during the heat of summer while I had three kids who were constantly hungry.

About two months ago, my dishwasher died. At this rate, I figure it won't be long before my oven dies as well. When it does, I'll be much more prepared than I was previously. While I searched my options for a refrigerator and dishwasher, it was extremely difficult to find sites that compared the various choices for these appliances. So I ended up with two appliances that I'm not really satisfied with. The next time around, I'll use a shopping site so I can compare various ovens. Hopefully, it works out better. :)

Thanksgiving Recipes, Menus, Videos and more...

2011-11-18T06:14:00.000-08:00

There are so many different types of recipes and menus that you can use for a Thanksgiving meal, that I could never really cover them all. I wanted though to post resources now so that anyone who is getting geared up, could have plenty of choices.

Check out what Epicurious has to offer. They have it all in one place.

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/thanksgiving/thanksgiving

Better Homes and Garden's Macaroni Salad

2011-11-17T02:37:00.000-08:00

My husband reminded me at 8:30 p.m. last night that I had agreed to make two dishes for his potluck beekeeper meeting. With the food poisoning and all, it really slipped my mind. Like completely and totally - it wasn't even a thought in my blonde head. So, instead of going to bed as I desperately wanted to, I made this salad. No, he did not get a second dish. I was much too optimistic when I volunteered the second one.

Macaroni salads are good for two reasons. 1) They are easy to make and 2) Most of the ingredients on our hand if you do any sort of cooking or have kids. 'Tis the season to bring side dishes and what not to holiday gatherings. If you have a "moment" - try this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
3/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes (I don't like these so I left them out)
1/2 cup frozen peas (I used green peppers instead)
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/4 cup chopped sweet or dill pickles or sweet or dill relish (so many choices!)
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper
2 hard boiled eggs
Cayenne pepper is you like spice. Add to taste.

Preparations:

Cook and drain pasta according to directions. Rinse with cold water and let completely cool.
While pasta is boiling, cook the eggs until they are hard boiled. They need to cool before you chop them into small pieces.
In a big bowl - mix cold pasta, cheese, celery, peas, radishes, and onion.
In a small bowl - mix salad dressing or mayonnaise with milk, pickles (or relish), salt, pepper and cayenne if you opted for it.
Pour dressing over pasta and added chopped eggs. Mix really well. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours in advance. (The "in advance" is the only way to go if you are busy with work and blah, blah, blah.)

Easy Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

2011-11-16T06:23:00.000-08:00

I'm back!!! Yay! In honor of the fast approaching holiday, try a new spin on your green bean casserole. I fed this to my friends and they liked it better than the casserole topped with fried onions.

Ingredients:

2 cans (14 ounces) french style green beans, drained
1 can can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups of water
1/4 cup of butter
1 box of Stove top stuffing (chicken or turkey flavored)

Preparations:

Pour water into large sauce pan and turn to medium heat. When it starts to bubble add butter and remove from heat. Stir butter around as it dissolves. Add stuffing mix and stir until water and butter are completely absorbed.
Separately, combine green beans and mushroom soup in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well. Pour into UN-greased casserole dish and top with cheese.
Pour stuffing onto green bean/cheese mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until stuffing is slightly crunchy.

Servings: 5

Food poisoning...

2011-11-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

I came down with food poisoning on Sunday and haven't been able to cook or blog since. I'm happy to say it wasn't anything I cooked but rather some frozen pizza I didn't bake long enough?

Either way, I'd like to share a clip from a hilarious movie, Bridesmaids, in honor of my recent experience. :)

Betty Crocker's Ultimate Triple Chocolate Bars

2011-11-14T03:57:00.000-08:00

This is a recipe that can be modified. I used dark chocolate chips instead of semisweet chips and milk chocolate instead of vanilla. The butter should NOT be room temperature. They say it should be softened but if it's at room temperature, your crust won't be more than a pile of brown crumbs that aren't cohesive at all. I didn't take a picture because my crust wasn't quite right and frankly, Betty's site makes this look for more appetizing.

The cream cheese gives this bar a nice tangy taste and my husband, who's on a low calorie diet, ate these until his guilt kicked in.

Ingredients:

1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
2 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup white vanilla baking chips
1 bag (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)

Ingredients:

Heat oven to 375°F. In 2-quart saucepan, heat 2 cups chocolate chips, the cream cheese and milk over low heat, stirring constantly, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Cool while making crust.
In medium bowl, mix Bisquick mix, sugar and cocoa. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until mixture is crumbly.
Press half of the crumbly mixture (2 cups) on bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Sprinkle with white vanilla baking chips. Spoon chocolate mixture over crumbly mixture and chips; spread evenly.
Sprinkle with remaining crumbly mixture and 1 cup chocolate chips. Press lightly with fork.

The recipe that almost was

2011-11-11T07:18:00.000-08:00

So I had every intention of baking triple chocolate brownies last night only to discover that I was out of evaporated milk and my stove continues to burn (literally) the remnants of my pie disaster. I tried to get the leftover pie spillage out of the oven but it was just futile. That thing needs to be scrubbed.

In the meantime, I'm asking anyone who stops by this blog today to leave me a comment. Which holiday recipes are you making this year? Could you use a new side or pie recipe?

Happy Veterans day and thanks to all those who serve including my husband and brother-in-law. :)

Betty Crocker's Chocolate Brownie Pecan Pie Recipe

2011-11-10T02:29:00.000-08:00

Something's rotten in the State of Utah...well, it's more like something is burned. Thanksgiving is two weeks away and if you're hosting and cooking dinner, now is the time to start preparing! (Or you can just buy everything pre-made and save yourself the hassle of airing out your kitchen when it's 30 degrees outside.)

I wanted to get a jump on the holiday by trying new pie recipes and something went wrong with this one. I thought as I overfilled the pie shell, that it was just too much filling but I poured it all in anyway. Within two minutes, the filling was burning on the bottom of my stove. I also had to pull this pie out ten minutes early and it wasn't quite done so if you make this - only pour enough of the filling so it's even with the inner pie crust. And put a cookie sheet on the rack below it just to be sure. :)

Ingredients:

3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
9-inch ready-to-bake pie crust

Preparations:

Heat oven to 375º. Place chocolate and butter in microwavable bowl. Microwave uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every minute, until chocolate is melted; cool.
Mix sugar, flour and salt. Beat eggs slightly in large bowl with fork. Stir in sugar mixture and cooled chocolate mixture. Stir in pecans and vanilla. Pour into pie crust.
Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack, about 1 hour. Do not refrigerate. Serve with whipped cream.

Betty Crocker's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

2011-11-09T01:09:00.000-08:00

With the holidays coming up, it's nice to be able to come up with a fast, easy recipe that you can make cheaply. Betty Crocker coupons are easy to come by. You can take a $1.00 off two cookie mixes and combine this with a $.40 coupon for each mix. As long your local grocery store cooperates, you can save $1.80 off two mixes. (Be sure to buy on sale too.) I wait to buy brownie mixes until they are a $1.00 or less.

Frost if you want. I think they are pretty sweet without it.

Ingredients:

1 box (1 lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix
Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting, if desired

Preparations:

Heat oven to 350ºF (325ºF for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray, or grease with shortening. Make brownie mix as directed on box. Spread in pan.
Make cookie mix as directed on pouch, using butter and 1 egg. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter; press down lightly.
Bake 42 to 47 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. Frost with frosting. For brownies, cut into 7 rows by 6 rows.

Gluten-free Cornbread

2011-11-08T02:41:00.000-08:00

The concept of gluten-free was very foreign to me up until about two years ago when a childhood friend of mine was diagnosed with Celiac disease. My cousin's little girl was also diagnosed with it recently. So in honor of them, here is a gluten-free recipe.

To learn more about celiac disease, check out the Celiac Disease Foundation's website.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Spicy and Sweet Honey Chili from Food.com in a Crock pot

2011-11-07T02:29:00.000-08:00

After last weeks hot chili, my husband became convinced that it was possible to make a chili that's both sweet and spicy. I think this recipe calls for at least two cans of diced tomatoes. (Add the 2nd if you agree. :)

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef, cooked and drained
1 cup sweet onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 1/2 diced jalapeno peppers
2 - 15 ounce cans of kidney or chili beans
1 - 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 - 1/2 cup honey

Preparations:

Pour meat into 6 quart crock pot.
Add all remaining ingredients. Mix well.
Cook on low for 4 hours.

Teaching your kids about spending

2011-11-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

When I was fourteen, my grandfather took me to his bank and helped me open my first checking account. At the time, it was rare for a fourteen-year-old to have a checking account of their own but my "Pop" believed it would teach me fiscal responsibility. He wanted to impress upon me the importance of keeping track of what money I earned and how to use it responsibly. My grandfather learned the hard way that you have to educate children regarding money. When my mother was a freshman in college, he received a very unpleasant phone call from a clothing store. They let him know that my mom had bounced enough checks to endanger an entire rain forest. After making an out-of-state trip to personally cover the expenses, Pop was determined to make sure that I would never be overdrawn.

Years later, I find myself in the position of needing to teach my own children the concept of "only spend what you can afford". Of course, now there are neat things like prepaid Green Dot debit cards that help you teach your kids to spend within their limits. How great is that? You can take their allowance and apply to a prepaid card that they can use for online shopping or just to buy an ice cream cone. The fees are affordable and you can replenish the balance as often or as little as you want. (Prepaid cards make it so I don’t have to carry cash for on the spot allowance payment. My 9-year-old can get pretty testy when she’s amped up to buy beef jerky! )

Gone are the days when you have to wait for checks to clear before you can be absolutely certain of your balance as well. With a prepaid card like a Greed Dot debit card, I can rest assured that my fourteen-year-old won't be heading to the mall and spending more than I can afford on her latest "I must have this for my wardrobe or die!" moment. (That leaves more energy for when she starts dating and the constant worrying that comes with that. :)

For more information about prepaid cards, check out Credit Card Guide.com. This site will offer information into fees and help you decide if prepaid cards will help you. Sometimes limits can be a great thing!

You don't have to be an extreme couponer

2011-11-03T07:06:00.000-07:00

Technically, I don't think "couponer" is a legitimate word but as most of the U.S. knows, it's a term that's become very common in the last few years. Why "couponing" has become so popular is really simple. We all want to save money regardless of whether the recession has affected your household or not.

Honestly, I never thought that I'd be a full-time working mom. It wasn't part of my plan for raising children. But alas, our family's finances dictate that we be a two income household. I make a point of telling my stepdaughters, Kess and Kali, that I'm not leaving them with a sitter because I want to buy expensive clothes or drive a really nice car (to each their own!). They know that I do it because I want them to have great healthcare if they're sick and I want them to be able to go to college and not graduate with debt that will take them 20 years off. I want my kids to have the best possible life so I clip coupons, shop for deals on literally everything and I work. It's not ideal and doing both jobs is more than I can handle some days. Still, we do what we must right?

That brings me to my point. The next time you head to the grocery store without any coupons, ask yourself this - is it worth the time to go to http://www.coupons.com and print off some coupons for items on your list? Do you want save a few dollars by purchasing the generic over name brands? Could you use a few extra dollars?

It's food for thought my friends. :)

If you want to learn more about couponing basics, check out the Fabulous Gals at FabulesslyFrugal.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

2011-11-02T02:32:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to get rid of the Halloween candy this year so when adults showed up at my door and said "Trick or Treat", I gladly handed over the candy. (Alright, I was really tempted to say "Hey, lady aren't you a little old to ask for candy?" but I fought the urge. :) Unfortunately, The constant doorbell ringing woke my sleeping baby and I had to turn off my porch light before all the candy was gone.

If you have leftover Reese's Peanut Butter cups and don't want to spend the next week fighting the urge to eat them when no one is looking, here's a recipe for you! It comes from a neat site called "Apples and Twinkies". (Too cute!)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cup mixture of milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips
32 mini Reese’s peanut butter cups, each cut into 4 pieces or use full size Reese's peanut butter cups and cut them into 8 small chunks

Preparations:

Mix the ingredients down to the vanilla. Add soda, salt, and flour. Fold in chips.
Using and ice cream scoop, scoop dough (these are big cookies). Place 6 scoops of dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Use your hand and slightly flatten each scoop of dough. Cook for 12 minutes at 350.
Remove cookies from oven and lightly press 8 cut up pieces of the Reese’s peanut butter cups over the top of each cookie.
Return to oven for 2 more minutes. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes before placing on cooling rack.

Makes 20 cookies.

Crispy Oven-Fried Cod Fish from Food.com

2011-11-01T02:50:00.000-07:00

Cod is like mushrooms - it's really nothing special unless you dress it up. This recipe is fairly easy but I have to warn you - don't make this while multi-tasking! I wasn't paying enough attention when it came time to fry it and I cooked it a little longer than I should have. Also, if you like tartar sauce then I recommend you serve that with this because while the cod is good, a sauce makes it better.

Note that I cooked it just a little too long...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups dry breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 (6 ounce) cod fish fillets (about 3/4-inch thick)
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
6 -7 tablespoons vegetable oil (more or less as needed)

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees (set oven rack to second-lowest position).
In a large heavy ziploc plasic bag combine bread crumbs, cornmeal, seasoning salt, lemon pepper, cayenne and garlic powder; shake the bag to mix (can use a shallow bowl).
In a shallow bowl slightly beat the eggs.
Adding one piece of fish at a time to the bag, coat well with the mixture, then remove and dip the fish in the eggs, then return to the bag to coat the fish again, repeat for all of the cod pieces; transfer to a plate.
Heat about 3 tablespoons oil in a large 12-inch ovenproof skillet (preferably cast-iron) over high heat until hot but not smoking.
Fry the fish until the undersides are golden brown (about 1 minute).
Turn over and add in another 3-4 tablespoons oil; cook another 1 minute more.
Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 5-6 minutes or until JUST cooked through.

Easy Spicy and Beefy Crock pot Chili

2011-10-31T02:21:00.000-07:00

My husband signed me up for a chili cook-off and I can't say I was too thrilled about it. Spare time being short to come by around here and all. He wanted something spicy so I took a basic chili recipe and added to it. Surprisingly enough - it won first place.

Ingredients:

2.5lbs of ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 - 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
1 - 10 ounce can of chopped tomatoes with habeneros
1 - 10 ounce of chopped tomatoes with green chiles
1 - 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of chili powder
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 large green pepper, chopped
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preparations:

Cook ground beef and drain.
Pour beef into 6 quart crock pot. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese. Stir and cook on low for 4 hours.
Right before serving, add cheese and mix. Serve with sour cream.

Makes 10 servings.

Paula Deen's Salmon Salad

2011-10-28T02:05:00.000-07:00

I like Paula Deen's recipes but I try to stay away from the ones that are heavy on butter or mayonnaise. I don't have anything against either of those ingredients, I just like being able to wear jeans. If you want to save calories on this one, just use light mayo. I seem to be saying that a lot this week. :) Happy Friday!!!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked, flaked salmon
2 hard-boiled eggs, crushed
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 to 5 tablespoons mayonnaise, or enough to moisten
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
Salt and pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced

Preparations:

In a large bowl, gently toss together the salmon and crushed hard-boiled eggs.
In another bowl, combine bell pepper, cucumber, onion, and mayonnaise.
Add seasonings and stir to combine.
Pour mixture over salmon, add lemon juice, and toss lightly to combine. Serve over lettuce or as a sandwich.

We sprinkled each individual serving (it makes 4) with cayenne, salt and pepper. It made this salad superb. Also, baking the salmon is the easiest way I've found to cook it.

Easy Grilled Tuna Melt

2011-10-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

Last season Crown Burger in Salt Lake City was featured on Man vs Food. They were featured for their pastrami burger and I thought that was a darn shame because their tuna melt is AWESOME. They grill it on sourdough bread and it's sinfully good.

My tuna melt is a bit on the healthier side but still tasty. This recipe makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

2 6-ounce cans of albacore tuna, drained
1/4 cup mayonnaise (make it light if you're counting calories)
2 tablespoons honey dijon mustard
1/2 of a large celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large dill pickle, chopped
8 slices of whole wheat bread
Sharp cheddar cheese

Preparations:

Combine tuna with mayonnaise, mustard, chopped celery and pickles. Mix well.
Use either a large skillet or an electric fry pan and turn to medium heat.
Butter four slices of bread and place the butter-side down in skillet. Cover with lid.
Let cheese melt.

When cheese has begun to melt, add tuna mixture and cover with another slice of buttered bread. (Put non-buttered side on tuna mixture.) Flip over. Toast until both sides are done. Serve with pickles or chips. :)

The Benefits of Food Storage

2011-10-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

As a kid, I remember the concept of food storage being a strange idea for extremists and type-A personalities. My grandparents used their basement to store food and I considered it my own personal stage for playing imaginary games that involved me being a cashier.

Not that I'm older (and hopefully wiser), I see that food storage is a wonderful concept that can help your family during disaster - physical or financial and it can give you peace of mind that can only come from knowing that if something bad happens, your kids will still be able to eat. Building a solid food storage can seem overwhelming. Thankfully, there are plenty of sites like emergency food storage kits that can help you get started.

The advantage of sites like emergency food storage kits is that they're affordable and there's no hassle - you don't have to worry about preparing meals for storage. The work is done for you. There's also wide variety of food for even the pickiest of eaters and the shelf life is clearly indicated. So if you're interested in preparing for any kind of situation or just want a little peace of mind, check out emergency food storage kits .

Tuna Pasta Salad from Food.com

2011-10-26T02:18:00.000-07:00

Babies make it really hard to do two things - sleep and eat which ironically are the two things they enjoy doing the most. I picked this recipe because it's easy to make and it tastes good cold. (Because my son doesn't care if I'm starving :) If you opted for eating it cold - try adding sugar snap peas and sliced cumbers. The recipe calls for Penne pasta but I had an open box of Rotini that I wanted to use before opening a new bag of pasta.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mayonnaise (use light mayonnaise if you are trying to cut calories)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lb Penne pasta (cook as directed and drain)
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 (6 ounce) can of albacore tuna, drained
1 (15 ounce) can of white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
salt and pepper

Preparations:

Mix may and lemon juice in large bowl.
Add all remaining (prepped) ingredients. Mix well.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Better Homes and Garden's Italian recipes

2011-10-25T06:44:00.001-07:00

I'm a big fan of Better Homes and Garden's cookbooks. My grandmother used one as her bible of cooking and it's awesome that they have even more great recipes online. Check out their wide selection of Italian recipes.

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/ethnic-food/italian/

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

2011-10-24T02:37:00.000-07:00

Smith's has Nestle Tollhouse morsels 2 for $4 through Tuesday. I had coupons for their Dark Chocolate chip morsels which are really good. So I decided to get creative and make something that would be good for the upcoming holidays. It's a rich cookie with lots of flavor. Adding pecans is optional. 1/2 cup makes them crunchy.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup dark chocolate morsels
1 cup dried cranberries

Preparations:

Combine butter, eggs, sugars and vanilla. Beat well.
Separately, mix flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add to egg mixture.
Slowly mix in rolled oats, morsels and cranberries.
Drop dough into small balls onto cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 12 minutes.

Beef Fajitas

2011-10-21T02:23:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in a quiet house with actual time on my hands. It's a rare event so I'm taking a minute to share an easy recipe. My husband loves steak and so does our youngest daughter. (She would rather get beef jerky than candy for Halloween. :) I'm constantly looking for new ways to cook steak not because anyone else cares but because I get bored cooking the same thing over and over again.

This recipe comes from my Super Suppers Cookbook. I love this cookbook and every recipe has turned out really well.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb flank steak or beef skirt
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup Olive oil
2 tablespoons Chili powder
2 cups sliced onion
2 cups sliced bell pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
12 6-inch flour tortillas

Preparations:

Mix lime juice, olive oil and chili powder. Pour into plastic bag. Add meat and shake bag so chili/oil mixture coats steak. Marinate meat for a minimum of 2 hours and no longer than 24.
Remove steak (save the marinade) and cook over medium heat until meat is medium rare. (Can be 10 to 16 minutes)
In separate pan, pour in marinade and add vegetables. Cook until tender and season with salt and pepper.
Slice steak against the grain. Combine with vegetables. Serve on warm tortillas and top with cheese, sour cream or guacamole.

More Pumpkin Recipes

2011-10-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know if all new moms feel like they are going to lose their minds but I certainly feel that way these days. My son is continually demanding to be held and that makes it very hard to get anything done - especially cooking! If anyone has some tips about how to cook and keep a baby happy, please feel free to comment.

The kid that makes it hard to cook!

This is my last big push towards Halloween recipes. If you want a yummy pumpkin dessert for a party or just reward yourself for surviving another day, check out these recipes at Family Circle.

Food.com's 5 Smashing Pumpkin's recipes

2011-10-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

I'm running behind on everything these days - cooking, laundry and cleaning. I didn't realize it would be so hard to keep up with a full time job and an infant. I feel like I'm juggling six balls and only catching two or three. (If you can relate, please comment!)

In the meantime, check out these recipes as we get near Halloween. Food.com

Betty Crocker's Tator-Tot Nachos

2011-10-18T02:57:00.000-07:00

This recipe may sound kind of strange but it's actually kind of a cool take on nachos. It's also very kid-friendly. I made it mostly though because I love tator tots and the only way I could justify eating them was by using them in a recipe I could blog about.

Ingredients:

1 bag (32 oz) frozen potato nuggets
1 can (15 oz) Progresso® black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles, drained
1/2 cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 medium avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup sour cream
Additional toppings, as desired (thinly sliced green onion, chopped fresh cilantro, seeded and chopped fresh jalapeño pepper, sliced ripe olives, guacamole, additional salsa)

Preparations:

Heat oven to 450°F. Arrange frozen potato nuggets in single layer on ungreased large cookie sheet. Bake 24 to 26 minutes until hot and crisp. Line another cookie sheet or pizza pan with cooking parchment paper or foil.
In medium bowl, mix beans, chiles and salsa. Spread half of the potato nuggets on lined cookie sheet. Spoon half of the bean mixture over potatoes. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Top with remaining potatoes, bean mixture and cheese. Bake 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
Top with tomato and avocado. Serve with sour cream. Top with additional toppings as desired.

Pumpkin Spiced Cookies from Nestle

2011-10-17T01:54:00.000-07:00

These cookies turned out light and fluffy and weren't too sweet. I highly recommend this recipe especially with Halloween coming.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy.
Beat in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chip cookies

2011-10-12T04:40:00.000-07:00

I bought these chips because they were on sale for $1.79. (Not a bad price for Hershey's chocolate chips!) The recipe really isn't any different than their regular chocolate chip cookie recipe. The chocolate is touted as being "mildly sweet chocolate". I prefer milk chocolate chips but if you like dark chocolate - you'll like these cookies.

Ingredients:

2 and 1/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of butter, softened (it's best to leave it out for a couple of hours so it can become room temperature)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 bag of dark chocolate chips

Preparations:

Combine eggs, sugars, vanilla and butter. Beat well.
Separately, mix flour, baking soda and salt.
Mix both sets of ingredients together. Blend well.
Add chocolate chips.
Drop batter (around a tablespoon for each cookie) on to non-greased sheet.
Bake at 375 for approximately 10 minutes (or more depending on how big you make them!)

Hershey's Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips

2011-10-11T02:18:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be pumpkin week but my husband (who literally works next to the base commissary that sells groceries) forgot to buy pumpkin. Oh well, here's a brownie recipe instead.

This recipe is pretty easy. Even if you use a brownie mix, it's about the same amount of effort.

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.)
REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips, divided

PEANUT BUTTER CHIP GLAZE

1/2 cup Peanut butter chips
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preparations:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together butter and sugar in large bowl. Add eggs and vanilla; beat with spoon or whisk until well blended.
Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, stirring until well blended.
Reserve 1/2 cup peanut butter chips for glaze; stir remaining chips into batter. Spread batter in prepared pan.
Pour batter into greased 9 x 13 pan.
Combine 1/2 cup REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips (reserved from brownies), 2 tablespoons butter or margarine and 2 tablespoons milk in small microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 45 seconds; stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth.
Gradually add 1/4 cup powdered sugar, beating with whisk until smooth. About 1/2 cup glaze.

Nestle's Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2011-10-10T01:57:00.000-07:00

Halloween isn't too far off so why not get ready with plenty of pumpkin recipes? These cookies are very yummy!!! (I ate three. :) I used pumpkin pie mix instead of canned pumpkin. It worked just as well.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Pure Pumpkin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup raisins

Preparations:

Mix flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy.
Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in nuts and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and set in centers. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Food.com's Easy and Quick Steak Marinade

2011-10-06T02:45:00.000-07:00

If you try "googling" for quick and easy steak recipes, you'll spend more time trying to find one that is actually easy and quick than you would just cooking the darn thing! I picked this one because it was easy and I had every single ingredient (on hand) that it called for. Given how little time I have to prepare meals in advance these days, it was AWESOME to find this recipe.

You can't tell but this steak is cooked medium rare.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons minced garlic, from jar is fine
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Preparations:

Combine all ingredients. Mix really well.
Pour into a zip lock bag (the big kind) add meat to bag.
Seal bag, turn a few times so steak is well coated and let it marinade.

You can let the meat marinade for as little as 30 minutes or even overnight. The original recipe says that the longer it marinates, the stronger the garlic flavor. Cook meat to your taste. The men around here seem to prefer medium rare so I fried this in a pat of butter over medium heat. Covering the pan with a lid helps it to cook evenly.

I was told that it turned out AWESOME. :)

Simply Recipe's Steak Fajitas

2011-10-05T02:56:00.000-07:00

If you are starving, don't make this recipe. It takes an hour for the meat to marinate and my husband's exact words when I told him I still had to cook the vegetables were, "I'd rather kill someone than wait any longer!" Turns out, when some guys diet they can get a little homicidal. :) (It's like living with a model that's eating lettuce and snapping at everyone except for the fact that he's a balding man closing in on 40. LOL.)

This was pretty easy to make in spite of the time constraints. If you don't have yellow or red peppers, green will do just as well. We added green chilies instead of the Jalapeños and it was spicy.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb of flank steak, skirt steak or carne asada
1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced with the grain, not against the grain as one would normally slice an onion. Slice first in half, and then slice off sections a half inch wide at widest point.
2-3 bell peppers of various colors, stemmed, seeded, de-ribbed, sliced lengthwise into strips
Salt

Marinade:

Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 fresh Jalapeño pepper, seeded, ribs removed, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, including stems

Preparations:

Mix all marinade ingredients. Coat the steak with the marinade and let it sit at room temperature for an hour, or longer in the fridge. Before you cook the meat, wipe off most of the marinade and sprinkle the steak with salt. (You can choose not to wipe it off if you want to eat the jalapenos.)
Set a large cast iron pan or griddle over high heat and let this heat up for 1-2 minutes. Add the tablespoon of oil to the pan and let this heat up for 1 minute.
Add the steak, frying on each side for 3 minutes, or to desired doneness. 3 minutes per side will yield approximately medium rare doneness for an average cut of flank steak. (Really you should cook it until the meat is done to your particular taste.)
While the meat rests, cook vegetables in the same pan or a different one if yours was coated with leftover steak seasonings. Add oil if needed. Cook until tender.
Slice meat against the grain into strips. Warm tortillas by placing them over the vegetables and covering with a lid for one minute.
Fill tortillas with equal amounts of meat and vegetables. (2 -3 strips of meat depending on how thick you slice it.)
Top with cheese, salsa and or sour cream.

Martha Stewart's Banana Bread with Sour Cream

2011-10-04T03:16:00.000-07:00

I should really just stop buying bananas altogether. They never get eaten fast enough and I end up looking for another banana bread recipe. I chose this one because the idea of putting sour cream into the mix was rather intriguing.

I found out the hard way that the butter really does have to be room temperature. I tried to soften it but it was still too hard on the inside and I ended up with chunks of butter in my batter that wouldn't quite mix. Learn from my mistake and make sure your butter really is room temperature before you combine it.

This bread turned out very moist.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Martha Stewart's Slow-Cooker Pot Roast

2011-10-03T02:53:00.000-07:00

This has NOT turned into the Martha Stewart blog. I'm just really behind these days and meant to post this last week. I was distracted by my 8-year-old niece ending up in the hospital with kidney failure that was most likely caused by e-coli. They haven't figured out the source of the bacteria but the infection was so bad that she had to be placed on dialysis and given a feeding tube. We are hopeful that treatment will restore her to good health.

A word of caution to the kind folks that read this blog, while I can't say for sure my niece contracted this bacteria from fruit (but there is a good chance), please wash your fruits and vegetables before eating them! And I hope anyone who reads this is in good health. :)

Be sure to season this dish to taste otherwise it could be rather bland. Check out Martha's site for variations on this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cornstarch
8 medium carrots, cut into thirds
2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 beef chuck roast (3 pounds), trimmed of excess fat
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Preparations:

In slow cooker, stir together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth. Add carrots and onions; season with salt and pepper, and toss.
Sprinkle roast with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; place on top of vegetables, and drizzle with Worcestershire. Cover; cook on high, 6 hours (or on low, 10 hours).
Transfer roast to a cutting board; thinly slice against the grain. Place vegetables in a serving dish; pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve, if desired. Serve roast with vegetables and pan juices.

Martha Stewart's Tamale Pies

2011-09-29T02:15:00.000-07:00

It's hard to get good tamales and they are very difficult to make (so I'm told). Here's an easier alternative if you are craving something tamale-ish.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds ground dark-meat turkey
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 minced jalapeno chiles (seeds and ribs removed for less heat, if desired)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
4 cups fresh (from 6 ears) or thawed frozen corn kernels
Cornmeal Crust
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make filling: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. In two batches, brown turkey, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet. Cook onion, jalapeno, and cumin, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes; season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Return turkey to pan; stir in tomatoes and corn until combined.
Make Crust. Pour 1/8 of the crust (1/4 cup) into the bottom of each of eight 10- to 12-ounce ramekins. Smooth tops with a spoon; cool 5 minutes. Top each with turkey filling, dividing evenly; sprinkle with cheese.
Bake on a rimmed baking sheet until filling is bubbling and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.

Paula Deen's Old-Time Beef Stew

2011-09-28T02:08:00.000-07:00

Fall is coming or rather it's here but it's still warm outside and the air conditioning is on so it doesn't feel like fall at all. When it does show up, I'll still be eating Paula's stew which was given 5 stars on the Food network site.

Ingredients:

2 pounds stew beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
3 large carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preparations:

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice.
Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer.
To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth.
Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

Easy Cheesy Ravioli

2011-09-27T02:02:00.000-07:00

We really love this local Italian place but I'm finding these days that I can't justify eating out. It's just too expensive. So here's a quick way to make cheese ravioli that serves 4 for a cost approximately $6.

Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen cheese ravioli (1lb 9oz.)
1 jar of creamy Alfredo sauce (the one pictured is very good or you can grab a cheaper brand with a coupon)
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preparations:

Cook ravioli as directed in a pot. Drain.
Add entire jar of Alfredo sauce to ravioli in pot. Cook over medium heat until sauce bubbles.
Serve and top with shredded cheese.

Martha Stewart's Baked Ravioli

2011-09-26T03:55:00.000-07:00

I thought for the longest time that ALL of Martha Stewart's recipes were hard and time consuming and yet, here's another recipe that proves me wrong. I made this for family friends that just welcomed their first child. (Because really the two best gifts you can give a new mom are sleep and pre-made food.)

Note the honey in the background because it's still overwhelming my kitchen!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, or oregano
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
2 pounds store-bought frozen ravioli
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thyme and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with spoon, until sauce is thickened and reduced to about 5 1/2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water just until they float to the top (pasta will continue to cook in oven). Drain pasta; return to pot.
Toss sauce with pasta. Pour pasta into a large gratin dish or 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with cheeses. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Honey Pumpkin Muffins

2011-09-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

I made this recipe with a 23lb baby in one arm. So it's pretty easy if you have both hands free. :) The muffins turned out really dense and moist. They were so good that I hope to make more soon. (Makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup honey
1 egg
1 cup solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Preparations:

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg; set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light; beat in honey, egg and pumpkin. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just blended; stir in walnuts.
Spoon into 12 greased or paper-lined 2-1/2 inch muffin cups.
Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Remove muffins from pan to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The National Honey Board's Cranberry Oat Bread

2011-09-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup chopped nuts

Preparations:

Combine honey, oil, eggs and milk in large bowl; mix well.
Combine flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl; mix well.
Stir into honey mixture. Fold in cranberries and nuts.
Spoon into two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2-inch greased and floured loaf pans.
Bake in preheated 350°F oven 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Allrecipes Honey Grilled Shrimp

2011-09-21T07:16:00.000-07:00

It's still honey week and I just got back from a two day trip to Atlanta. Cooking is one of the last things on my mind as I came home to find 56 quarts of harvested honey on my kitchen counter and the whole house was in a general state of chaos. (How it can go from reasonably tidy to a disaster in 53 hours - is beyond me!) On the plus side, my husband said to me last night (without any prompting), "Thank you for all you do. I appreciate it."

That made up for the mess I get to clean up later today. :)

Here's a fairly easy recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons Italian-style salad dressing
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails attached
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
skewers

Preparations:

In a large bowl, mix together garlic powder, black pepper, 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce, wine, and salad dressing; add shrimp, and toss to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat grill for high heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade.
In a small bowl, stir together honey, melted butter, and remaining 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce. Set aside for basting.
Lightly oil grill grate. Grill shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque. Baste occasionally with the honey-butter sauce while grilling.

Cinnamon and Honey Hot Drink - for the common cold

2011-09-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

Ever since I had KC, I'm constantly getting colds. He gets sick so then I get sick and every other week this little guy has a cold. I had one so bad in August that even Theraflu couldn't touch it. A dear friend mentioned that drinking hot cinnamon and honey can help. I drank it several times a day for three days and the cold was gone. It worked far better than over-the-counter medicine.

Ingredients:

1 Cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon Honey
1 1/2 cups water

Preparations:

Pour water into pot. Turn on medium heat. Add cinnamon stick.
Let cinnamon stick cook in water for 15 minutes or until water looks brown.
Pour water into cup. Add honey.
Drink while warm.

Honey & Ginger Marinated Flank Steak

2011-09-19T02:51:00.000-07:00

When I was in labor, my husband got the bright idea to purchase bees and set up beehives in the backyard. He asked me if it was okay when my contractions were about two minutes apart. Seriously - who is going to say no when they are completely focused on surviving ridiculous back labor and contractions?

Needless to say, I spent this past weekend in a warm garage helping to harvest honey. In honor of the honey that's sitting on my kitchen counter - this will be a week of honey-based recipes.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons ginger, freshly grated
1/2 cup canola oil
2 lbs flank steak

Preparations:

Combine soy sauce, honey, vinegar, garlic powder, ginger and oil. Mix well.
Make light diagonal slashes on each side of the flank steak in a diamond pattern.
Place meat in shallow baking dish and pour marinade over it. Cover and refrigerate for four hours.
Grill steak for 6 to 8 minutes on each side.
Let steak rest five minutes before serving.

Kraft's Chicken Almond Stir-fry

2011-09-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a recipe that's both easy and healthy. I recommend it if you're sleep deprived and have cranky kids. :)

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing, divided
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen oriental mixed vegetables, thawed
1/2 cup PLANTERS Sliced Almonds, toasted
2 cups hot cooked brown rice

Preparations:

Mix chicken with cornstarch and 1 Tbsp. dressing; cover. Refrigerate 15 min.
Heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 min. or until chicken is done, stirring frequently. Add vegetables and remaining dressing; cook 5 min. or until heated through. Stir in nuts.
Serve over rice.

Makes 4 servings

Better Homes and Garden Fruit Bars

2011-09-14T02:24:00.000-07:00

I'm hiding from my baby as I write this. The house is warm and he is one cranky little man. If he was old enough to eat, I'd give him a taste of this fruit bar in the hopes that he'd stop fussing. He's not crying. He's just really annoyed because it's bedtime.

I messed up on this recipe. You are supposed to use a 9x9 and I used a 9x11. Use a smaller pan because the fruit filling won't cover a bigger spread.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 21-ounce can of fruit filling (I chose peach.)

Preparations:

Combine flour, oats, sugar and baking soda.
Cut butter into flour mixture until it's crumbly. Spread all but 1/2 cup of it in the bottom of an ungreased 9x9 pan.
Pour fruit filling over the top.
Drop reserved 1/2 cup of flour mixture over the top.
Bake at 250 for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Sun Maid's Classic Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

2011-09-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick or old fashioned oats
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preparations:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat butter, sugars, milk, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture; mix well. Stir in oats, raisins and walnuts.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.