New recipes

Chili's Queso Dip - Have you ever had the queso at Chili's? It's good. But in a really bad for you way I'm sure. This recipe can be made lower fat and that is what I did. It call for 1 can of hormel chili so I used turkey no bean hormel chili, 1% milk, and reduced fat velveeta. It was still pretty yummy!

Crockpot Cashew Chicken- Yum. I liked this but it was a bit spicy. I had even halved the 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper to an 1/8th of a teaspoon for the boys. It was still spicy for them. I used chicken breasts ( I don't cook with thighs or tenders) and this definitely had a thai food feel to it for me. I served it with white rice and snow peas.

Sweet & Spicy Cucumbers- I have not made these yet but my sister brought them last weekend to my dad's birthday celebration. They were delicious! I would definitely make these! Yum!

Quinoa Salad - Here is the other recipe Cara brought last weekend. This quinoa salad has mango, avacado, red pepper, black beans and cilantro. It was so good!

Microwave popcorn- This is a way to make air pop popcorn in your microwave without all the chemicals and stuff that is added to microwave popcorn. All you need is popcorn kernals and a brown bag. Easy and tasty. The boys love popcorn and they thought this was really good. I melted a little butter for them and drizzled it on the popcorn and salted it a little bit.

Raw Energy bites- Just made these last night for breakfasts the next several days. Tried them this morning and Wilson and I really liked them. There are a lot of variations you can use to tailor these to your taste buds. Here is the version I tried: (adapted from fooddoodles.com)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup ground flax seed
3/4 cups oat bran
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Follow the link to see recipe directions and all of the other options for mix-ins.

Pinterest Food on the Menu

This week's menu featured a few more Pinterest inspired recipes. I promise I pin lots of things that are not recipes! It's just I have to cook dinner so I might as well make it fun and interesting!

Crockpot BBQ Chicken - This was good. Will make again. It was good as leftovers too! We had this with "the Best Broccoli of your life" and my favorite garlic rice pilaf (from good ol' Annie's Eats). OK so the broccoli was okay, I ate it and enjoyed it but no one else did. And I would be just find not eating it that way again. We decided plain steamed broccoli is enough for us! This one involves roasting, lemon zest, parmesan cheese etc. Good but probably won't make it again. Aleady deleted the pin. Everybody loves the rice recipe. So good. You should definitely try that one!

Easy Breakfast Potatoes - These were pretty good. I might make them again but they weren't spectacular.  But easy! We had these with turkey sausage egg mcmuffins. I learned from Pinterest to cook eggs in a muffin tin and bake them. We like to scramble the eggs before baking so the yolk is mixed in. Then we put them on whole wheat english muffins with turkey sausage and a slice of cheese. Yum! This is my second time to make the mcmuffins.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting- you all, I came home from work on Monday and the house smelled like cake. Andy had made me a birthday cake! It was a surprise though and I wasn't allowed to know what kind. It about killed me. Surprises aren't really my thing I guess. Come to find out he had seen me on Pinterest and saw me pin this icing and I had said something along the lines of cream cheese frosting being the only kind I actually like. While I was at work on Monday he got on Pinterest, found my recipe board, got this recipe, and frosted the cake he made me with it. How sweet was that? Just wait till you see pics of what the cake looked like. I almost cried because he made me feel so special. I'll post pics and tell you about my birthday this weekend.

I have a fish recipe on the menu but haven't made it yet. I'll post it next week if it is good!

Pinterest Project #1

So yesterday I made a Menu Board! This was inspired from Pinterest. I bought a 12x12 frame at Hobby Lobby for $5. It was 1/2 price. I bought a sheet of scrapbook paper for $ .30. I bought 2 packs of scrapbook stickers for a total of $3.00. All together- $8.30! Not bad! The stickers are directly on the paper, so they are under the glass. I just used a dry erase marker to write the menu down. Up until now I used a document I created in word and printed it for menu planning but now I just erase! Saving paper and ink :) .  This helps with my 20 in 2012 post too. In case you are interested in any of the above recipes (other than the sloppy joes and pizza- haha) here are some links.
Pasta alla Vodka- was good last night but when re-heated for lunch today it wasn't very good. Boys thought it was spicy.
Bread with Carrabba's olive oil/spices- YUM - for special italian dinner occasions. (found through Pinterest)
Chicken Fingers
Roasted Green Beans- These were pretty good. would make again or just mix fresh green  beans in with roasted veggies. (found through Pinterest)

Stovetop mac & cheese - finally, an EASY homemade mac & cheese that my family likes! (found through Pinterest)

Veggies= weekly veggie tray

Tomato Mozzarella Salad

This recipe is from my friend, Jenn. She brought this to one of our summer lunch bunch days and it was delicious! I made it this week. Unfortunately I didn't have fresh basil (I subbed 3 t of dried) or fresh mozzarella cheese (just used good old Kraft that I already had) and it was still very good. It is a very simple recipe!

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Salad3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup onion - chopped
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese- cubed
1 pint cherry tomatoes - halved

Mix dressing and toss with salad. Enjoy!

More Spring Break :)

It's so hard to see the week coming to an end. It has been wonderful! We have stayed busy around here that is for sure. Thursday was appointment day. Luke had his eye exam for school and Andy and I had a dentist appointment. We went and got frozen yogurt that night with several of the youth kids from CCY. A new froyo just opened near us and I tried pineapple/coconut twist. Not something I would usually pick but it was DELICIOUS!! I want to go back! Friday we took a picnic to the park and hung out for a couple of hours. The day was beautiful. Andy and I read while the kids ran around - it's a small park so there were only a few other people there. Ty came back every few minutes to eat cheez*its. It was funny! Later we started working in the garage and took a load of stuff to Good*will. Today we worked more in the garage this morning. We're making progress! A load to the dump and another load to good*will today and we can see the floor. Lots of organizing still to be done. I've gotten to spend a lot of time in the kitchen this week. The new recipes I have tried: - scones (1/2 blueberry and 1/2 plain for the man and boys in my life) - creamy mac & cheese - it was yummy. of course the rest of my family didn't like it - it's just a classic homemade mac & cheese...I used whole grain pasta but that was the only change to the recipe. This took a long time to make and since my family prefers less creamy mac and cheese I'll be using the boxed kind again... -spring green risotto- my first risotto ever. I've wanted to make one for a long time. It was delicious. It has asparagus, leeks, peas, & chives. I knew no one else would eat it so of course there are a ton of leftovers. It was really good though. It is creamy due to a little cream cheese (or mascarpone) and parmesan cheese. Plus a lemon flavor - perfect for spring! It makes a lot and it a little pricey with all of the ingredients. I definitely want to try more risottos. - dijon vinaigrette - this is a link to a salad with mushrooms. I just made the dressing. It was good. I only used 1/4 cup red wine vinegar and it was plenty tart for me. - smoothies- yum! So many seeds though. That was my only regret. Next time no raspberries or blackberries for me. It really tasted great I just didn't like the seeds! I just bought a mixed bag of frozen berries- raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Also used a banana and frozen fresh pineapple like the recipe suggests. The boys weren't interested in even trying these. Andy had a pineapple/banana, blueberry. It was ok. That's all. I read several cooking blogs even though these are all linked to the same one. Annie's Eats is definitely my favorite site for finding new recipes!

Thanksgiving #2

On Thursday Andy and I hosted the Mc. family Thanksgiving at our house. I spent all day Wednesday cleaning and that evening I prepped my food. Andy cleaned the bathroom, mopped, and worked hard on our downstairs bathroom. Thursday morning I finished cleaning and decorated the table with some fall decorations I borrowed from Cara. The boys had made a sign for the front door, place cards for the kids table, and handprint turkeys to hang in the dining room. They were so excited to have everyone over to our house! My parents showed up for dinner and I was so glad for them to come.

Everyone came over around 2ish. We had some appetizers since no one ate lunch. I made Jalapeno Popper dip and served it with toasted bread. Erin brought fresh fruit and spinach dip. Everything was yummy! I also made Pomegranate Punch which Wilson thought was lemonade and poured half of the juice mixture down the drain... :(

We had dinner around 5ish. I made sweet potato casserole, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. (Next time for the cranberry sauce I would reduce the pomegranate juice to 1 cup and the sugar to 1/2 cup.) I enjoyed trying new recipes for the holiday. With both thanksgiving celebrations combined I tried 5 new recipes!

The food was delicious. We also had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, corn pudding, green bean casserole, and broccoli casserole. Everyone had a great time hanging out. The kids put on their own Thanksgiving Day parade in our basement which was adorable. It was too hot for a fire but overall it was a wonderful day of hanging out, food, and fun! With 9 cousins we have started putting all of their names in a hat. Each cousin pulls out 1 name and that is who they buy a christmas gift for. So the kids all traded gifts since we don't all see each other at Christmas. They were excited to get to open a present!

Sweet Potato Casserole

As requested, here is the recipe I use for Sweet Potato Casserole! Enjoy!


1 large can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted

Mix these ingredients together and pour into a 9x13.

Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 stick butter, melted

Mix together and spread over top of sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with pecan pieces.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

This dish is always a hit and now you can see why - it is NOT healthy at all!!

Thanksgiving Dinner #1

Tonight we had Thanksgiving with my side of the family at Cara and Jason's house. It was nice to all be together and the food was delicious! The kids had a great time together. I made a pumpkin pie and Sweet Potatoes with sage butter crumb topping, both new recipes. The pie was delicious. Probably the best pumpkin pie I've eaten before. The recipe was time consuming and I didn't know how it was going to turn out but it was good! Homemade pie crust and homemade whipped cream to boot! The sweet potatoes were not the brown sugar super sweet ones that we are used to. These were good, just not the same. It was just a recipe I'd been wanting to try for a while so I'm glad I did. I'll be making the usual brown sugar sweet potato casserole for Thursday.

Andy's side of the family is coming to our house for Thanksgiving this year! We're excited. Everyone is bringing different parts of the dinner. Looking forward to Thanksgiving Dinner #2!

It was a LOONG week...

This week seemed to go on and on. It was a hard week for me at school. But it's over! So looking forward to two days at home. Nothing exciting planned - just extra sleep and catching up around the house. Last night was good - came home from school and bought my first fresh salmon filets. I made a nice dinner- salmon, rice, steamed broccoli and my favorite wine. But I don't think I'll use the salmon recipe from last night again - the salmon was ok but didn't really care for the cilantro pesto - and I love cilantro! It didn't have much flavor. We LOVED the garlic rice pilaf. Easy - and will definitely make it again. Yum! But I was glad I finally tried fresh salmon! I've always been afraid I might not like it. I had to cook fish with the skin still on one side but like the meat man said, it peeled off very easily once it was cooked. I made sure to not touch or look at it! LOL!

After the kids were in bed Andy's uncle stayed at our house so we could go out. We went to Home*Depot to look at bathroom vanity's. Andy has been working SO hard on our downstairs bathroom (separate post to come). We then went to Star*buck's and had coffee and played checkers. It was fun! Even though he beat me both games. I told him I didn't think I'd played checkers in about 20 years. Of course he has all this strategy and I don't! Anyway, it was fun. Then I fell asleep watching The Closer.

Cathy's Cauliflower Salad

This is an Easter salad tradition with my side of the family! This year was my first year to make the salad. Cara usually brings this salad. It is a family favorite!

1 head chopped iceberg lettuce
1 head chopped cauliflower
Dehydrated onions
2 cups frozen peas
6-7 slices cooked bacon (I use turkey bacon)
1 pkg italian salad dressing mix
light miracle whip (or mayo, etc) - Use a very thin layer
parmesan cheese (heavy layer)

In a large bowl, layer ingredients in order listed. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Toss when ready to serve.

Baked Oven Fries

Finally tried Baked Oven Fries from Annies-Eats. They were good and looked just like the ones in her blog picture. We ate them with her salmon burgers. The burgers were ok but not my favorite. I porbably won't make those again. But you should try the fries!

Latest Kitchen Escapades

Over the last few weeks I've tried a few new recipes. I've tried to plan some easier dinners to make life a bit easier. It's helped, but cooking and trying new recipes is something I really enjoy so I have to squeeze a few in somehow. Andy would totally go for a summer camp menu (Monday night is spaghetti, Tuesday is tacos, etc etc) week after week. But I couldn't do that. I need variety!

The first one I tried was Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies. They were good - definitely chewy and the honey flavor shines through. Not your typical pb cookie which are generally crunchy. I prefer chewy cookies so I thought these were good. And not overwhelmingly peanut buttery. I don't mind a subtle peanut butter flavor in desserts but don't care for a strong pb flavor.

This week we had Crash hot potatoes, with marinated pork tenderloin, green beans and rolls. I really liked them. Basically you boil new potatoes. Then put them on a cookie sheet and mash them slightly so they are flat. Then you brush olive oil on them and add salt and pepper and bake them. They get a little crunchy. I liked the crunchiness, that's what made them good! Andy didn't care for the crunchy so much but ate them.

This morning I tried Dulche de Leche coffee from PW's website. I just made enough for me. Andy didn't want any. It was good. I didn't take the time to do the chocolate on top or anything.

For Andy's Valentine dessert he chose a Maple-Butter Blondie. It's supposed to be like the dessert from Apple*bee's. He's eaten that before and really liked it. I get the Food Network Magazine and they always have a "Copy That!" recipe from a restaurant (auntie ann's soft pretzels, panera's broccoli-cheese soup, etc). So I'm making these blondies right now. Hopefully they'll be tasty!

Recipies from Annie's Eats, Pioneer Woman Cooks, Food Network Magazine

Ginger Veggie Stir Fry

I made sweet and sour chicken, rice and this veggie stir fry for dinner on Saturday. We really enjoyed the flavor of the veggies! I didn't use the veggies it called for but instead used sugar snap peas, red pepper, green onions, and water chestnuts. Also I didn't have fresh ginger on hand so I probably used 1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder instead. This is a keeper!

Delicious Pasta Salad

I'm trying to get caught up on blogging, can you tell?! This is a great recipe for pasta salad. It is delicious! I made it last night and we really enjoyed it.

Pasta Salad
1 box bowtie pasta, cooked al dente
1 pkg/jar of sundried tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
4-8 garlic cloves, minced ( I used 4 since they were pretty big ones)
1 cup chopped fresh basil
2 T. chopped fresh mint
1 t. salt
1 t. fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (recipe calls for 3/4 tsp)
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil (I used about 1/4 cup but recipe calls for 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 pkg pine nuts, toasted



Mix all ingredients except pine nuts and add to cooked pasta. Just before serving add in pine nuts so they aren't soggy. When I made this I used 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (original recipe calls for 3/4 tsp.) and it had a bite. It would be delicious with grilled chicken breasts to make it a full meal. Could also add black olives!
I really need to make myself take pictures of the recipes I post.

Weekends are too short!

Friday-
We went to get paint for all the touchups. We needed more paint for the LR and trim work. We found the same color we'd bought at Sears years ago. Drove around and looked at a couple houses. Crossed one off the list! Found out that 2 of the homes we were interested in were having open houses on Sunday. Went to Qdoba for takeout. Planned out weekend. I was so thankful Andy's ski trip for all day Saturday was cancelled because we had a lot to do!

Saturday-
Andy did lots of paint touch-ups around the house (bathroom, master bedroom, living room, hallway, kitchen). It was too cold for me to paint the garage door. I became unconscious in the afternoon (this happened to me last Saturday too!) and could not open my eyes. The lack of sleep from this week sure hit me hard. Made a quick, easy all american dinner of classic hamburgers, homemade fries, and gala apple slices. Got ready for Ty's baptism - outfits, food, etc and watched Hitch on tv with Andy. To make the fries just cut 6 med potatoes into french fries. Put in large ziploc baggie. Toss 2 T melted butter, 2 t oil, 1-2 t seasoned salt and mix. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 450 for 20-25 minutes, stirring once.

Sunday-
Ty's baptism was wonderful. I'll post pics soon! We had an easy lunch afterwards for family. I ordered a 3 foot sub from Blimpie's and then Cara brought chips, mom and Maw brought fruit and cookies. With all of their help lunch was a breeze. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food. After lunch my mom and dad took the boys to their house for a fun afternoon (3 whole hours!!). Andy and I went to one open house, tried to go to the 2nd and it wasn't open even though the sign was posted that the open house was indeed today from 2-4!!, and then came home and cleaned. We got all 3 bedrooms picked up, dusted, and vacuumed. Sheets changed in 2 of 3 bedrooms and the LR picked up but not cleaned yet. It felt so good to get that done. Tonight after I picked the boys up we ran by Target, ate leftovers, built Legos, watched part of Toy Story, and then I gotthem to bed. Now I need to do menu planning/grocery list and get myself ready for school tomorrow.

Oven Roasted Veggies

We had oven roasted veggies tonight and boy were they good! I think I will make this a lot this winter. I found the recipe here. I was planning to make the chicken bundles tonight too but a 5:20 appt at the dr for Tyler changed my mind! (Ty has a bad cold he caught from Luke but as of now it hasn't turned into RSV.) Instead we ate the chicken pot pie I had pulled down from the freezer. But I had really been looking forward to the veggies for dinner so I went ahead and made those. You've got to try this one! I modified the recipe to suit our tastes but you could really use any vegetables your family likes. (The recipe linked above used mushrooms, leeks, carrots, sweet potato and others).

Oven Roasted Veggies
Source: Danielle Deskins
1 whole head garlic
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 red pepper
1 or 2 red potatoes
1/2 head of cauliflower
Handful of baby carrots
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425. Remove a few of the paper layers from the garlic, but not enough that you expose the cloves. Cut off the very tip of the garlic so that you can barely see the tops of the cloves. Put the head in the middle of a piece of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Bring the sides up like you're making a package. Put the whole thing in the oven for 30-45 minutes. You can cook this while you are cooking the veggies. Chop all the veggies into bite-size pieces (about 1 inch). Throw in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. Spread all the veggies on a single layer on a cookie sheet (line it with parchment paper for easy removal and clean up). Roast in oven for about 30 minutes, stirring about halfway through, or until vegetables are tender. Remove veggies and garlic. Let the garlic cool and put the veggies in a bowl. Once the garlic is cooled, squeeze the garlic on top of the veggies. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar on the veggies and toss to coat.

A few updates

* I had my 6 week checkup on Monday and I'm all healed and off all restrictions! While I was there Ty was the hit of the office. All the nurses came to see him and Dr. S held him. They couldn't believe how chubby he was! We weighed him and he was 14 lbs! Crazy- My Dr. said he could be the office mascot!!
* Ty drank milk out of a bottle yesterday with daddy! So good to know that the pumping/bottle thing will not be a problem for Ty. He loves to EAT!
* Ty has his first cold :( - he caught it from Wilson who also has a cold. His right eye keeps running. It's pitiful.
* Ty went to the dermatologist today. See separate post soon.
* A couple good recipes I've tried this week- acorn squash with a delicious maple syrup/brown sugar butter (from Pioneer Woman Cooks). Me and Luke liked it! And a pasta dish with fresh mozzarella that we all enjoyed (from Annie's Eats).
* The boys are carving Luke's pumpkin right now.
* Can't roast the pumpkin seeds because our oven is broken. It does this weird thing occasionally where the heating element won't turn off unless the breaker is off. Making dinner yesterday was interesting- I kept turning the oven from off (where the heating element would just stay on, making the oven hotter and hotter) to broil, where the bottom heating element would go off but the top one was on.

Yum-o!

We had a great dinner tonight. I'm sure Andy was glad since he was NOT pleased with the cornbread I made last night. I used my mom's recipe but it was my first time making it and it didn't turn out as nicely as hers. BUT to me it still tasted like cornbread...Anyway! I redeemed myself tonight, with Andy's help.
He put meat in the crockpot today while I was at work for Barbecue Sandwiches. He's so good to me. I left the recipe out and open to the right page and he did it! It saves me from fighting the meat with two large tongs. Both of the recipes I used tonight were from my sister. Try them!

Homemade Mac & Cheese- (Everyone had seconds. Luke kept saying "yum!")
3 T butter (I used margarine)
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk (I used skim)
2 1/2 cups shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
12 0z cooked macaroni (I used the 14 oz box)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 2 qt dish. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook over medium heat, whisking for 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in milk. Whisk well and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until sauce boils and thickens. Reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add cheeses, salt, and pepper. Stir until cheeses have melted. Fold in macaroni. Place mixture in baking dish. Bake 25-30 minutes, until bubbly.

**I omitted 1/2 cup sliced scallions and the following step b/c I was out of bread crumbs: Put 1 T butter in small skillet and melt. Add 1 cup bread crumbs and stir until lightly toasted. Sprinkle over mac and cheese and then bake.


Chuck Roast Barbecue- (made by Andy)
2 1/2 lb. boneless chuck roast
2 small onions, chopped
12 oz. coke
1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 T apple cider vinegar (he used white vin. since we were out of the other)
1 1/2 tsp. beef bouillon granules
3/4 t. dry mustard
3/4 t. chili powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper (Andy used 1/4)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. butter
hamburger buns
1 c. ketchup

Place roast in crock pot. Add onions. Combine cola and next 7 ingredients. Cover and chill 1 cup of sauce. Pour remaining sauce over roast. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or on LOW for 9 hours, or until roast is very tender. Remove roast and onions from crockpot using slotted spoon. Shred roast with two forks.. Combine reserved 1 cup of sauce, ketchup, and butter in saucepan. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thoroughly heated. Pour sauce over shredded meat. Stir gently; spoon onto buns.

**The boys ate both things. Wilson even had some salad as did Andy and I! Mine and Andy's stubborn-ness over Luke's picky eating habits (see here and here) and REALLY paid off!!!!

Thanks to Cara for some yummy recipes!