Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

Chicken Cordon Blue with Stuffing

Great Make Ahead Meal



This past weekend we had the start of the COLD weather move into Omaha, and since we are still in our temporary housing and I am with out the majority of my pots and pans, I needed to make something that would be warm and delicious for my family but could be done using the basic pots and pans I have kept with me for our move.  My husband is a big fan of casseroles.  He grew up eating them and enjoys them, they are a comfort food for him, so I thought why not try a new one?  I make a chicken and broccoli casserole he enjoys so I decided why not add ham, some Swiss cheese and change my vegetable?  I gave it a try and we will definitely be eating this again this winter.  It was delicious and warm, the ham gave it that special flavor and the use of cream of chicken soup made it taste rich and smooth, the perfect comfort food meal for my family.  On the plus side, it warmed up great the next day - which is essential in my house because I pack a lunch Monday - Friday for my husband!  A true crowd pleaser.  I did make this ahead (I put it together during nap time then let it sit on the oven until dinner rolled around).  It was all done in one pot and was very easy on clean up.  Give it a try!

Here's what you'll need...

Ingredients:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breast cooked and cubed (I boiled mine)

2 large smoked pork chops cooked and cubes (I bought mine cooked from the grocery store)

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

2  1/2 cans of no fat half and half (you can substitute with milk)

1 bag of frozen peas

1 bag of Herbed Stuffing Mix

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sliced Swiss Cheese - about 6 slices

1 cup of cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon of spicy mustard

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of fresh chopped garlic - about 2 cloves

Directions:

Using your dutch oven, I like my Calphalon because of the even heat and easy to clean finish,  warm your olive oil and garlic cloves.  Then add the cooked diced chicken and cooked ham/smoked pork chop.  Brown these over medium heat.  Add your cream of chicken soup, half and half, cheddar cheese mustard, and salt and pepper.  I tasted my base once it was warm and bubbly to make sure I had just enough seasoning.  Stir in the frozen peas then gently fold in your stuffing mix - uncooked.  Make sure the breading is completely coated with the cream base.  Flatten out your mixture and top with sliced Swiss cheese.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until top golden brown.

Granny's Ginger Snap Cookies

Warm and Soft Ginger Snap Cookies

A Family Recipe

Ginger bread is a flavor that just says warmth and love.  It is delicious to eat and makes the house smell like the holidays.  I personally like ginger snaps better than ginger people, basically because I think they are a little softer and I love them in the morning with a cup of tea or coffee.  My daughter, tried Little Debbie ginger cookies last week and loved them, so I decided I needed to make my grandmother's ginger bread for her.  So with some digging I was able to find the recipe and make ginger snaps this morning for her.  This recipe is simple, tastes great, and can be rolled out if you like ginger people (keep in mind cooking time will be on the lower side if they are rolled out based on thickness).  My grandmother used to also dust the top of the cookie pile with confectioner's sugar if you like that, however I think they are plenty sweet with out the extra sugar so I didn't add it.  Hope you give this a try and share it with your loved ones this holiday season.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

¾ cup of margarine

1 cup of white sugar

1 egg

¼ cup of molasses

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 tablespoon of ground ginger

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

2 teaspoons of baking soda

½ teaspoon of salt

½ cup of white sugar – to be used for topping/cookie pressing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  In a medium bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and molasses until well blended. Combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, slowly stir into the molasses mixture making a dough. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets (again I swear by my Calphalon baking sheets) that have been sprayed with cooking spray.  Using a cup and the remaining sugar, press the dough balls.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.



Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Comfort Food... Simple and Tasty

Cool weather is coming, and with that comes soup and comfort foods.  When I was a kid, my grandmother used to take me out to this restaurant every now and again and we would get soup and salad.  I always would get potato soup.  I loved it... and I still do, but I have never tried to make it myself - until yesterday.  My daughter, who just turned 21 months, also likes potato as well as all the fixings for baked potato so I thought why not try loaded baked potato soup.  We live in a one meal house, meaning I don't make anything for dinner that is not eaten by everyone in the house, so soup can be a challenge because we haven't mastered using our utensils just yet - but I gave it a shot. 

So I started the soup around 9am on the stove top and it was done by noon.  Then I let it sit until my husband came home from work.  At dinner time, I just had to warm it up and make the garlic toast and potato fixings.  My husband had two bowl fulls and took another into work today for lunch!  He definitely enjoyed it, and as for my daughter she liked it too - but I can't put as much stock in that since she loves anything with bacon in it!  This was very easy and I believe something that could be done in your crock pot if you have a busy day ahead and want to come home to dinner waiting for you.  Also, often when I make soup for dinner we get hungry around 9:30 - but this stuck to our ribs so to speak so neither of us were looking for snacks post dinner.  Give it a try, I think you'll enjoy it!

Ingredients:

8 large potatoes

1 medium onion

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh garlic (about 2 cloves)

1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 1/2 tsp of salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tablespoon of parsley

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 boxes (32 oz each) of chicken stock - this is approx - you will be covering the potatoes with chicken stock.

1 1/2 cups of no fat half and half

1 1/2 cups of skim shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of light sour cream

Toppings:

sour cream

cooked and chopped bacon

shredded cheddar cheese

scallions chopped

To start, in a large stock pot, I used my large calphalon pot because I like the way it keeps the heat even and the holds heat, warm your olive oil and add the chopped garlic and chopped onion.  Cook your onion until it is translucent in color.  While your onion and garlic are cooking wash, peel, and chop your potatoes into about 1/4 inch pieces.  Then add them.  Cover the potato with your chicken stock - it takes about a box and a half.  I used Progresso chicken stock because I like the richness in flavour and I also use the low sodium.  Add your salt, pepper, bay leaf and parsley. Cook this on low for about two hours, until your potatoes are soft and ready to be mashed.  Then using a potato masher, mash the potatoes, this makes your soup thick.  I would not recommend using an immersion blender because you still want some chunks of potato in your soup.  Now add your shredded cheese, half and half, and sour cream.  Stir this allowing everything to mix.  Taste for seasoning and it's done.  I let mine sit on the stove top and reheated it at dinner time, but you could serve it right away.

NOTE - if you choose to do this in your crock pot I would say the cook time on the potatoes would be double on low- so four hours.

For toppings, I put out sour cream and more of the shredded cheddar cheese.  Then I chopped five scallions and fried up bacon and chopped that.  We sprinkled it on top of our soup and then stirred it all together for a delicious and comforting meal.

Although this was filling and had all the makings of a fatty meal - the choices I made did keep it lower in fat than it could have been - rather than using butter I used olive oil, I used no fat half and half rather than cream or regular half and half, a light sour cream, and a skim cheese.  You can't always make things fat free but the low fat options in this soup were not detected and dinner was delicious and full of flavor.

Hope you try this out and let me know what you think!



Fleece, No Sew, Car Seat Poncho

Are your kids crammed into their car seats wearing winter coats?

Do blankets fall off when you are carrying the carrier in and out of the car?

Try this simple solution...

My youngest daughter just turned six months old the other day, and she is wearing 9 month clothes for the most part, but some things she is in twelve months - so she is getting to that point where she is starting to grow out of the infant carrier car seat.  Now that fall/winter is here its even more noticeable because of the bulky clothes needed to keep warm.  I have the car seat bunting for her infant car seat carrier, but she gets so hot when I put that on it that she is soaking wet with sweat when I pull her out of it.  So I pulled out a winter coat the other day, thinking maybe it wouldn't be so bad in the car seat.  Wrong.  The poor thing was in the car seat like a stuffed sausage.  I am not ready to move her to a convertible car seat yet, because I really like having the carrier for her when we go places, and she is still a supported sitter so I feel like she needs it.  I can handle the carrier easily with her and my 21 month old, which is also essential at this point.  A blanket doesn't really work either, lets face it one gust of fall winds and the blanket is on the ground in the parking lot.  Since I needed something to keep her warm I decided that I would try making a fleece no sew cape/poncho that she could wear in the car seat.  I thought it wouldn't be too bulky and would keep her warm while not constricting her movements.  I made it yesterday, and she wore it to the commissary for our weekly shopping trip.  It worked perfectly.  Kept her warm, stayed on, and she wasn't stuffed into the carrier and uncomfortable.

What I did was basically make a no sew fleece blanket - on a much smaller scale and cut a neck hole into it.  Here is how you do it.

I bought 3/4 of a yard of two fleece fabrics, the princess one you see as well as a hot pink.
Trim the edges of your fabric- sometimes the brand of fleece will run down the side or there will be a line of fabric with out the fleece softness at the edge.
On a table lay your fabric out, I folded mine corner to corner - this would have made it square if I cut it then. 
Before cutting it, I pulled the fabric 4 inches past the edge, then I marked four inches longer than the fold line on the other end. - This allowed me space for the findge.  Keeping it a square.
Then I cut the fabric on the line four inches past the fold fold mark.
Next I layed out the fabric and placed the other on top of it - cutting them both to the same size. 
I measured four inches on the corners and cut squares out of each corner.
Now, in one inch increments cut fringe pieces all around, four inches long.
Tie your fabric fringe in knots holding the two pieces of fabric together and making a two sided blanket.

Once you are all done with your "blanket" take your fabric and fold it corner to corner - making a triangle.  Trim the tip off the triangle - this is the center of your blanket and will leave a small hole in your blanket.
Now cut one inch finge pieces all around this small hole - this is the neck.
Tie your fringe pieces in knots just as you did with the outside of the blanket.
I did four inch cuts just as I had for the edges of my blanket and this worked perfectly.  My daughter's head fit in easily and it wasn't tight at all. 

That's it you're done and with plenty of fabric to make a no sew fleece hat to match! (I haven't done this yet, but it's on my list during today's nap time.)

Good luck!



Giving Thanks Centerpiece - A Way to Share Your Family's Blessings

Giving Thanks Family Centerpiece

A Count Down to Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I wanted to do something interactive with my kids that could become an annual tradition.  I also wanted to stress the importance of thinking about the many blessings we have in our lives, so I decided to make something I could add to everyday that would display what we are thankful for.  So I thought why no make a turkey centerpiece, we could talk about what we are thankful for at dinner and add it to the feathers for everyone to see on our table.  This was an easy "craft" to make and only cost me $2.29 - the cost of the close pins, everything else I already had!

Here's what you need:

1  bare paper towel roll (just save one after you finish using the paper towels)

1 paper towel counter stand

construction paper - I used 6 colors - yellow, blue, green, pink, purple, and red 

1 - empty cereal box - I used this to cut out the body of my turkey, its stronger than construction paper and can hold up all the close pins.

1 package of 25 clothes pins

elmer's school glue

Here's how I made it:

Using an empty cereal box I traced a large circle on the bottom and a smaller one right on top of it.  I then cut it out so it looked like a snowman with only two snow balls.  The brown color of the card board worked perfectly for my turkey body.  I then took the construction paper and folded it into four and free hand cut out feathers.  Lastly, I used some left over blue and cut circles for the eyes, some left over yellow paper made a triangle for the beak, and a bit of wavy red for the neck.  Then, I simply glued the feathers to the clothes pins, glued the face on the turkey, and then glued it all to the bare paper towel roll.  Finally, I placed it on a counter top paper towel holder to dry, this will also be what allows it to stand as our centerpiece on the table.

Starting tonight my family and I will talk about what we are thankful for each day leading to Thanksgiving and write one thing on a feather for the day.  By Thanksgiving day the feathers will we filled with blessings!

Mini Meatballs and Arugala Pasta

Mini Meatballs and Arugula Pasta

Trying to keep dinner fresh and delicious can be difficult for any mom, but trying to do it with toddlers is a definite challenge.  I'm lucky in the fact that my daughter is a decent eater when it comes to what she will eat - quantity is what can be challenge in our house.  This weekend we finally really settled into the temporary housing facility that we are staying at while we await our new home being completed so we now have access to a kitchen again, which means our family can get back on track as far as eating healthy goes.  I was a little challenged because the pots and pans that the facility has are not what I am used to, but this meal still came out wonderful.  We all enjoyed it, and my husband never knew that the meatballs were made from turkey meat!  It was quick to make, which I appreciate because it never fails as soon as I get in the kitchen my oldest wants to be right under my feet and the baby needs to be fed.  However, it tasted like I had let it simmer for quite some time - melting all the flavors together.  This one isn't so much a recipe as a quick throw together so I am going to share how I did it below.

Here's what I did:

To start, I decided to make turkey meatballs that were bite size.  I am trying to be a bit more conscious of what we eat when it comes to fat intake so turkey meat was an easy choice to lower the fat in this meal.  To do that I used a pound of ground turkey, one egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh garlic, and 1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs.  Using my hands I mixed everything well.  Then in a deep saute pan I put 1 tablespoon of olive oil and allowed it to warm.  Once the olive oil was warm, I rolled my mini meatballs - mine were about cocktail size.  I let them cook browning them all around.

While my meatballs were cooking I chopped an onion, one 8 oz package of button mushrooms, and a medium tomato.  Then, I added them to the same pot that the meatballs were cooking in.  I cooked these with the meatballs until the onions began to become translucent.  Then I added 1/2 box of Progresso Beef Stock.  I used a rubber spatula to make sure all the drippings from the meatballs and the veggies were picked up from the bottom of the pan and combined nicely with the beef stock to add flavor.  You can use any brand of beef stock, but I find that Progresso is rich and has a nice flavor so it's always my recommendation.  I then added 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese to the sauce in the pan.  I also added 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning, 1 bay leaf, and 1/2 tablespoon of Badia Garlic and Parsley seasoning - again I am sure any brand garlic and seasoning will work, but Badia has wonderful flavor and I personally like it, plus it has no MSG.  I did add a few shakes of course black pepper to taste, but did not add salt since the beef stock had plenty of salt for me.

Finally, I boiled a pound of Barilla white fiber pasta.  While this was boiling, I added 4 cups of fresh arugula to my pasta sauce, allowing it to wilt.  Once I drained the pasta I mixed it with the sauce in the original pan that I cooked everything in.  Then I moved it to a serving dish and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese to make it look nice. 

My daughter, who just turned 21 months and it not a big eater when it comes to quantity ate 4 meatballs and a good helping of pasta and my husband loved it.  In fact he is the one who told me to share this one on the blog!

Hope you and your family give it a try and like it as much as we did.

Cookies and Cream Puppy Chow

Cookies and Cream Puppy Chow

Delish, Easy, and Kid Approved!

Well last week was a whirl wind, we moved out of our house and into temporary housing while we await our new home being finished.  Right in the middle of all of this my oldest daughter had her very first Halloween party at gymnastics.  I needed to make something quick and easy that was kid approved and could be eaten in a gymnastics waiting room by kids 18 months to 3 years old with out too much of a mess.  That's easy right?  Well, after thinking about it and realizing I needed to also be able to make it with the few pots and pans that were not packed and ready to go to storage I thought about puppy chow.  This is a snack I never heard of before we moved to Nebraska but its one that my little one really likes, and it couldn't be any easier to make.  Basically its chex cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and confectioner's sugar.  Since this was a special occasion,  I decided to kick it up with mini oreos making it cookies and cream puppy chow - a twist the kids and the movers liked (since I gave them the left overs I had not packaged for the kids).  I also liked this because I was able to make individual bags for this kids and label them with a peanut butter warning so if any kids were allergic parents/care givers could keep them away from them.  Which is so important when dealing with little ones.  Every packet I made went quickly and everyone asked me how I made it, a surprise since I assumed most people here already knew how.  Definitely recommended as a quick, sweet, picky food!

Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:

1 bag of milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

7 cups of corn chex

1 bag of mini oreos

1 cup powdered sugar

In a large saucepan melt your chocolate chips and peanut butter.  Pour your chex cereal and oreos into the chocolate and peanut butter mixture and stir coating everything.  In a large plastic bag pour your confectioner's sugar then dump your coated cereal and oreos into that bag.  Shake the bag liberally coating everything with the powdered sugar.  Store in a sealed container.

How easy is that?  For the holidays you could definitely add some red and green sugar sprinkles to your confectioner's sugar and serve this in a bowl at your party. 

DIY Christmas Photo Sessions

Who doesn't love having holiday photos done of their little ones?

Who doesn't have sticker shock when you are faced with the price of the photo?

Here is a simple DIY holiday photo shoot!

This weekend was crunch time at our house, not only did we need to finish packing up our belongings before the movers come, we also needed to stage our holiday photos.  Sounds early right?  Well, we plan to be in temporary housing leading into Thanksgiving week then be on the move through the New Year - so if I didn't get them done it wasn't happening this year. 

My oldest is 20 months, so pictures with her are a challenge, especially with a stranger behind the camera.  We were able to get some great shots on our own with some easy staging, then using the link below I did some cropping and photo effects to make our holiday photos look professional.  I can't share the photos of both kids... you'll have to wait for Christmas cards for that, but as you can see by the photo above this method worked wonderfully.  The total cost of prints from Walmart was under ten dollars, and I burned them onto a CD - a cost which is typically $100 or so for free (I already had the CD).

Here is what I did:

For the backdrop I bought some Christmas wrapping paper and hung it from the wall. - $.98

I placed a package of shatter-proof ornaments on the paper (this also occupied the kids with something new to explore) and I plugged in a strand of white lights and turned them on.  $7.94 total

My husband and I thought Christmas PJ's would be fun for our little ones this year so I dressed them up in matching jammies and slippers - and I topped the kids off with Santa's hat.  We just started shooting the camera and talking with the kids casually.  This led to some great photos.  We didn't worry about getting close up or really anything, we just focused on the kids.  After about 10 minutes we were done. 

After downloading the photos to our computer I went onto the following link:
http://pixlr.com/editor/

This is a Free site for photo imaging.  Just follow the directions and play around with it.  It has great shading, editing, tones and much more and was very simple to use.

Here was my original photo:

Here is what I was able to do with it - I just cropped, encircled, and added some shading.

When I printed this out I was in love!  I could not have been happier with the results and will be sharing this with our family this holiday season.

I hope these tips are useful for you and give you some inspiration when you decide to create your holiday photos.  You CAN do, just give it a try! We couldn't have been happier if a professional had done them, and we love the savings!

Good Luck and Happy Holidays.

Pizza Dip

Super Easy, Super Fast

Pizza Dip

This week is the big move at our house, so needless to say very little has been coming out of my kitchen.  However, Saturday was game day and I needed to think of something that I could make that would be quick and easy, while also meeting the game day stamp of approval from my husband.  I decided that I would make a pizza dip rather than make dough and pull an entire pizza together.  This took me no time, in fact I would recommend it if you have somewhere to go but very little time to pull something together.  It was warm and delicious - both on game day as well as reheated the next day.  I served it with garlic toast slices, but it would be great with just crackers - which is how we had it as a left over.  If your family is a fan of pizza I think this would be a great dip to try for your next event.

Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:
1 brick of room temp cream cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Pepperoni Slices
1 - 16 oz package of mozzarella cheese
left over marinara sauce (or if you wanted a half jar of premade marinara sauce or pizza sauce)

Preheat your oven to 350.  In your mixer, cream your cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and mayonnaise.  Then spray a 9 inch pie dish and put your mixture across the bottom of the dish.  I then used two ladles of left over marinara sauce and poured it over the cream cheese mixture as a second level.  Finally, top with the cheese.  I added pepperoni because that is what my family enjoys, however you could add any pizza topping your family loves.  Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until bubbly and your cheese begins to golden.  Serve warm with bread, garlic toast, or crackers.

Enjoy!



Simple Go To Banana Bread

Warm and Fresh

Banana Bread

Every week I buy bananas, and many weeks we just don't get to the whole bunch before they over ripen.  So, I make banana bread at least twice a month.  Its quick and easy to make - I usually make it after dinner, and tastes great along with coffee the following morning.  My husband usually takes a loaf into work with him for the office to share and it seems to always be a hit with his coworkers, but if I make it on the weekend, my daughter loves it with a little butter on top served warm.  This is a can't go wrong recipe that I think you'll love.  You can make it simple just the basic bread with banana in it, or you can add to it with walnuts or chocolate chips.  I do several variations and all are very good.

Here's a tip that I didn't know until a few years ago, when your bananas start to over ripen just peel and place in a Ziploc bag in the freezer until you are ready to use them.  This helps me out because some weeks I may have one banana left and other weeks two or three so I can save them until I have enough to bake.  Also, if you need a quick bake method and you don't have enough over ripened bananas to make a bread, just use banana baby food.  This gives you the same great banana flavor with out having to wait a couple of days on the bananas to ripen.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 c flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-5 ripe bananas - smashed

Optional Additions:
1 cup Walnuts or 1 cup mini chocolate chips


Start by preheating your oven at 375.  With your electric mixer cream butter, brown and white sugar, and vanilla extract. Add your eggs one at a time. Combine your dry ingredients (baking soda, flour, and salt) in a separate mixing bowl, then slowly add this to your wet ingredients.  Finally, add your bananas and mix all together.  This will make a light cake like batter.  If you choose to add nuts or chocolate chips fold them in at this time.  Spray your loaf pan and pour your batter into it.  Place in the center of your oven and bake for 55- 60 min until knife inserted comes out clean.

Good luck!

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

Make Ahead

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

French Toast is something I make for my family, we have a large breakfast each weekend so it tends to find its way to our table about once a month.  I really like to make a french toast casserole because I can make it the night before, after my kids are in bed, let it set up in my fridge and then just have to bake it in the morning.  This weekend, I decided to try and make a Pumpkin French Toast.  Well, it was a big hit, and not only was it great with bacon and orange juice but it was delicious cool as a snack later that day and the next morning with coffee.  I think it would make a great brunch menu item for the fall or even breakfast treat on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning.  The pumpkin and cinnamon mixture is warm and fall like - making this a delicious addition to your fall comfort foods.

Here is how I did it:

Ingredients:

1 loaf of cinnamon bread

1 can of pumpkin puree

3 large eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup maple syrup

Cube your entire loaf of cinnamon bread.  In a separate bowl mix pumpkin puree, large eggs white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup.  In a large bowl coat your bread with the pumpkin mixture, spray your 9x13 baking dish, and then place the mixture in your baking dish.  Cover your dish with plastic wrap and place in your fridge.  You can let this sit over night or for about an hour.

When you are ready to bake this, preheat your oven to 350 and then bake for 40 minutes.  When your are ready to serve, cut into squares and top with syrup and butter or whipped cream- both are delicious.

Hope your family enjoys this as much as my family!

Piled High Apple Pie with Caramel

Piled High Apple Pie with Caramel Pieces

A Delightful Twist to Mom's Apple Pie

Fall is apple season, and I, like many of you, have wonderful childhood memories of apple picking and pie making with my mom and grandmother.  Apple pie has always been a fall staple at our house, one of my dad's favorite desserts, and something my mom would make a few times through out the fall season.  It always lands on our table for Thanksgiving dessert as well.  We all love it, and its one of those things you don't need to fancy up for guests.  This weekend was the first really cool weekend here in Nebraska so I decided to make an apple pie for my family to enjoy.  Since I am trying to clean out my pantry before our move, I did add one thing to my typical recipe - Caramel Bits, they melted nicely in with the apples while cooking and gave just a hint of melted caramel every few bites.  My family enjoyed this dessert and I think it will make it this way to our Thanksgiving with this new caramel addition.

Here's my apple pie recipe, it piles high in a 9 inch pie pan and looks fabulous on your table - it tastes even better.  Hope you try it an enjoy every bite with your loved ones.

Ingredients:

5 Granny Smith Apples Peeled and Cubed into 1/2 inch squares

8 Red Apples - I used Jonah's this weekend and they were perfect, Macintosh are also very good.  Also peel and cube these into 1/2 inch squares

1 cup White Sugar

1 T Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1 T Lemon Juice

1 C Kraft Caramel Bits

2 Packages of Jiffy Pie Crust - follow directions for making (I always use two boxes although the single box says it makes 2 pie crusts I never get what I want out of just one and two gives me a nice thick crust)

1 egg

2 T cinnamon sugar

To start preheat your oven to 350.  Then peel and dice your apples, add the lemon juice to your apples.  Mix your sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small dish then pour over your apples coating all apples.  Toss in your caramel bits.  Let this sit while you roll out your dough.

I use a 9 inch glass pie pan.  I roll my bottom pie crust out and lay it in my dish, then I pour my apple mixture in and cover with my top crust.  Using a fork I pierce the top for air holes.  Then, I also use my fork to seal around the edges of the pie.  Finally I scramble my egg and coat the top crust with the egg wash - this makes a golden shine on your pie.  If you like take 2 T of cinnamon sugar and dust the top of your pie for a cinnamon sugar glow.

Bake in your oven on 350 for 45-53 minutes until golden brown.  I let mine sit for about 30 minutes before I cut and serve. 

Hope you enjoy this delicious apple pie.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Cup Cakes

"Buckeye Cup Cakes"

 

My husband is a graduate of Ohio State, and I usually make buckeye candies for him a few times through out the football season.  Tonight the buckeyes are playing Nebraska, and since we currently live in Nebraska this is a big deal.  This coupled with the fact that we are getting ready to move (PCS) we have a party to attend tonight to watch the game and say farewell to all our Nebraska friends.  So, I was trying to think of something new and tasty to make and bring with us.  In the past I have made milky way cup cakes, which were a big hit, so I thought - Why no peanut butter cup cakes?  They would have the same flavors that buckeye candy has, I could frost them with the same look, and it would be a fun twist.  So I tried them.  I used a box cake for my chocolate cake - how much easier can that be?  I just placed a mini Reese's peanut butter cup in the center of the batter of each cup cake before baking.  This melted nicely into the cake as it baked - leaving a creamy peanut butter center.  For frosting I just bought creamy white Pillsbury's frosting - already made.  In my mixer I added a 1/2 c of creamy peanut butter to the frosting.  This made a nice soft peanut butter frosting.  I piped this onto the entire cupcake.  Then, I used a pre-made chocolate frosting and piped it around the edge of the cupcakes - making it look like a buckeye nut and adding that yummy chocolate flavor.

These are chocolaty, peanut buttery, and delicious.  So good you don't have to be an Ohio State fan to enjoy them - even a Michigan fan would love them!  Hope you try them, and enjoy them as much as we did!

In the words of my husband... Go Bucks!

No Sew Thanksgiving Turkey Applique

Tom Turkey Thanksgiving Applique

I love the look of appliques on kids clothes, and there are some really talented people out there who can make things that are just outstanding - but can be pretty expensive.  For my daughter's first birthday and for some other special occasions I bought several of this type of clothing and wished I could have done it myself.  Well, I was thinking about my grandmother and remembered that when I was a kid she made holiday sweat shirts with appliques on them that she didn't have to sew.  So I searched my memory and remembered that she used stitch witch to make hers along with fabric swatches, so I thought I would give this a try (but in plenty of time to order my kids one from a "professional" if it didn't turn out like I wanted).  I am more than pleased with how this turned out, I made two, exactly the same so my girls will match on Thanksgiving, and I spent under twenty dollars - total.  What a deal, I spent more than that on one last year!  Not to mention they look like a professional made them.  I can't wait to show my kids off in these shirts come Turkey Day! 

To make the turkey body I used brown fabric - I bought 1/4 yard and was able to make two of these shirts, and have enough for one more.  I took a country crock butter tub top and a sour cream tub top and stacked them like I was making a snowman.  I then traced that onto my fabric and cut my turkey body out.

For the feathers, I took a piece of cardboard and cut out a feather shape.  I then traced this on 6 different color patterned fabrics - I bought an 1/8 of a yard of each fabric and have extra to spare. 

For the beak, I just free hand cut a triangle with one of my orange based color fabrics.  For the neck I used some left over red fabric and again free hand cut that shape.

To make the pattern stick I bought stitch witch - it is sold in rolls of 7 yards a package and cost $4.99.  This is really easy to use, the directions are on the package but you simply put the fabric on the adhesive, bottom side down and run an iron over it.  Then you peel the fabric up - the backside will be sticky, and like a puzzle you then piece your turkey together on your shirt.  The stitch witch does not bind to your fabric until you iron it back on so you can move everything around until you get it just as you want it.  Once you have everything as you want it to look - run your iron over the fabric pieces and its done.

You'll notice I made 2 shirts - 1 is 24 months and one is 6/9 months.  I used the same size turkey, I just spread the feathers onto the back of the smaller shirt, so it looks as if the turkey is wrapping around the body.  Also, I like a more finished look, so I used gold glitter puff paint and trimmed out the turkey and all its pieces.  This dried looking as if it was stitched all around the parts and really gives a nice pop to shirt.  Finally, I did sew two buttons on as the eyes.  To bring it all together I used a gold thread to match my paint trim.  Both shirts start to finish took me just over an hour.  That includes making my "pattern," cutting, ironing the shirts and the applique, completing the outlining in paint, and sewing the eyes. 

If you like this look and don't want to spend a fortune try this.  As I said it was very simple, looks expensive, and is super cute.  I can't wait to dress my girls up in this!  I will definitely be making something for Christmas now that I know I can do it on my own in such a short amount of time with such a professional look.



Light and Fluffy Pumpkin Pie Trifle

Perfect for Fall

Light and Fluffy Pumpkin Pie Trifle

Trifles are always a light and fluffy dessert that can be easy to make and are typically a crowd pleaser.  I have been on a pumpkin "kick" since fall started and wanted to try to make a truffle that would have that pumpkin taste I have craving but still have a light consistency.  This totally hit the mark, and I used things I already had in my pantry, which made it even better, since I am getting ready to move and I am trying to empty everything out.  The pumpkin flavor coupled with caramel sauce and light whipped cream make this dessert delicious and I hope its something you'll try.

Ingredients:

1 yellow box cake

1/3 c vegetable oil

3 eggs

1- 15oz can of pumpkin puree (divided)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 T cinnamon sugar

1 large packet of instant sugar free vanilla pudding

3 C milk

1 sleeve of cinnamon graham crackers crushed

1 -12 oz caramel sauce

1 light cool whip container 

To start preheat your oven to 350, then follow the directions to prepare your yellow box cake.  In addition to following the box directions add to the batter your cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1 cup of your canned pumpkin.  Mix well and bake in a 9x13 baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray for 35 minutes.  When finished remove from the oven and allow to cool.

While your cake is cooling, prepare the pudding by mixing your vanilla pudding mix, milk, remaining canned pumpkin, and cinnamon sugar.  Allow this to cool as directed.  Finally, use a chopper to crush 1 sleeve of cinnamon graham crackers.

Once your cake and pudding have cooled using a truffle dish begin to layer your ingredients.  Break up your cake and line the bottom of your dish, then top it with caramel sauce, then a layer of pudding, a layer of cool whip, and a sprinkle of cinnamon graham cracker crumbs.  Repeat this until your dish is full.  On your final layer, top your cool whip with extra cookie crumbs and caramel for decoration. Chill for at least 2 hours and serve.

Hope your enjoy!

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Carmel Bark

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Carmel Bark

Making bark candy is an easy and delicious treat.  I love it for the holidays or as a hostess gift because you can put it in a nice box or on a pretty plate and it looks beautiful and tastes sweet.  You also don't need a candy thermometer for bark - which is always nice.  We like sweet and salty combinations in my house, so I thought I would combine my grandmother's cracker candy recipe and a holiday bark recipe I have, but do it with an added twist - instead of using saltine crackers I used pretzels and I added peanut butter chips and a chopped heath bar to the top just to make it look nice.  These additions made for a great salty and sweet combination!  This is an awesome bark, it only took me 15 minutes to make and then my recommendation is to allow it to cool over night before cutting.  This will make cutting easier as well as make sure your candy has completely hardened.  A must try for the holidays!  Wrap this one up for your office party, neighbors' gifts, or a sweet treat on that cookie plate.

Here is how I did it:

Ingredients:

1/2 large bag of pretzel sticks

3/4 c butter

4 squares of chocolate almond bark

1 package of Caramels (approx 50 squares) melted with 2 T of water

1 bag of milk chocolate chips - I like Hershey's, they melt smooth and taste amazing

1/2 bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

1 Heath Bar - crushed for topping

Preheat your oven to 350.  In a small sauce pan melt your butter.  While doing this, line a cookie sheet with wax paper and spray with cooking spray.  Line the cookie sheet with pretzel sticks.

Pour the butter over the pretzel sticks.  In a separate sauce pan melt the caramels and water.  During this time melt the almond bark in the microwave for 1 min and 30 seconds, then stir - it will be a creamy chocolate - spoon this over your pretzel sticks - this adds just a little extra chocolate to your bark.  Once the caramels have melted pour them over the almond bark and the pretzels.  Now take your chocolate chips and peanut butter chips and pour them over the pretzel mixture.

Place this mixture in your preheated oven for 4 minutes - watch closely because you do not want this to burn.  Once you remove from the oven, immediately use your rubber spatula and smooth out the chips, completely covering pretzels and caramel.

Now crush your Heath bar and sprinkle it over the bark.  Allow these to cool completely then slice and serve.

This is SO easy and SO delish!  Highly recommended.

Honey Glazed Pork Chops

Sweet and Savory

Honey Glazed Pork Chops

Pork chops are one of my daughter's favorite things, so this week I thought I would try something new with them.  These came out great, they had a sweet comforting flavor which was perfect for this fall weather we have been having and went wonderfully with the smashed sweet potatoes that I made.  They were very simple and were on the table in 30 minutes.  I will absolutely make them again, and on a side note the were very good reheated for lunch.

Here's how I made them:

5 T Olive Oil
4 thick cut pork chops bone in
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar

Start by preheating your oven to 350.  In an oven safe skillet over a medium heat add your olive oil to the pan.  While doing this season your pork chops with salt and pepper.  Place your pork chops in the oiled pan and allow them to crisp up - flip them only once, this will allow them to be brown nicely.  In a microwave safe bowl mix your honey and brown sugar together and heat them for 1 minute in the microwave.  Stir until the brown sugar has melted into the honey.  Pour the mixture over your pork chops and cover them.  Bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Allow your meat to rest for 5 minutes once finished.  This made a really delicious sauce which I poured over the smashed sweet potatoes we had with our dinner.

Hope you enjoy! 



Blooming Pumpkin - Beautiful Fall Centerpiece

A Gorgeous Fall or Thanksgiving Centerpiece - Made By You!

Try this easy to make Blooming Pumpkin

Last fall I was walking through Michael's and I saw their Blooming Pumpkin centerpieces, I thought about buying one for my table - but then realized I could make one of my own easily, for half the cost and it would be so much more special.  So, this fall when I saw the crafter's pumpkins in the bin outside of Michael's I knew I needed to to get one and make my family one of these for our table.  It was as easy as I thought and I bought the silk flowers, pumpkin, and ribbon on sale - making it even more affordable.  This is quite large so it can fill up your table easily and looks stunning, even my husband was impressed that I made it on my own. 

The project took about an hour to make from start to finish, so for me it was something I did during my kids nap time.  Here are some easy to follow steps on how I made mine:

You'll need the following supplies:

1 crafter's pumpkin - size of your choice (I picked a medium sized one)

wired ribbon you can tie into a bow and shape

fall silk flower bunches - I used 4 flower bunches and 1 bunch of leaves. (I bought the 3 and 5 dollar bunches from Walmart)

1 - 1/2 circle foam flower ball

glue gun

wire cutters

craft knife

1.  Cut a hole in the top of your pumpkin - just like you would a live pumpkin.

2. Using your glue gun, glue the top back on - but flip it upside down.

3. Glue your foam ball to the top of your pumpkin.

4. Begin placing your silk flowers in the foam ball.

5.  Continue placing flowers in the foam ball and add bow if you desire (a bow is not needed, I like it just for the finished look).  Your finished product should look like this:

This is just stunning and looks like it cost me so much more than it actually did, plus making it myself I was able to choose the specific flowers I like and what I felt would match my fall decorations.  This is one of those projects that I just love and know I will display for years to come!  Hope you try it and enjoy it as much as I am enjoying mine.

Make Your Own No Skid "Grippy" Socks

Make Your Own No Skid "Grippy Socks

Perfect for Toddlers

Having a toddler at home is always busy and with cool weather dancing on my door step I have been looking for new skid socks for my 19 month old.  She tends to slide around the hardwoods with her regular socks and I certainly don't want her taking a dive and hurting herself.  I have been shopping around for new skid socks but was surprised by how expensive they can be, so that go me thinking - couldn't I make these really quickly and very easily for far less money?  The answer was yes I could.  So I walked into the craft section of my local Walmart and found puff paint - a container of it cost $.94, then I bought a package of 6 socks (I got some thicker athletic socks so I knew her feet would be cozy warm).  The socks cost me $4.96.  When I got home, I wrote on the bottom of the socks with the puff paint.  For some I wrote her name (as pictured), for others I did polka dots - what you write doesn't matter you just need the texture for gripping.  This took a total of about 2 minutes to do all six pairs, I allowed them to dry then flipped them over and did the other side.  As easy as that I now have six pair of grippy socks for $6 - and plenty of paint for more should my little one's feet grow this winter or the drier eat them (which happens at my house from time to time).

Here's a tip - this could be a really fun project for kids to make their own socks, with your help.  It may save your floors from shoes and could be a fun low cost project to break up your day.

Good Luck!

Fenway Frittata - Sauage, Peppers, and Onions Egg Frittata

Sausage, Peppers, and Onions Frittata

A Breakfast or Lunch Treat

Saturday mornings at our house I like to try and make a large breakfast, and my family is a fan of sausage.  This morning, I was feeling a little home sick - so since I am a Massachusetts girl at heart I thought why not convert my favorite Fenway Park treat into our breakfast.  This worked out beautifully, not only did it taste great for breakfast but it would make the perfect lunch with a side salad.  My 19 month old ate what I think was her weight in this good morning treat, so in my book that would make this a homerun! 

This is a "two pan" dish, so if your hoping to get away with only a few dirty dishes, this won't work - however if you wanted to partially cook and refrigerate the night before this would make a great breakfast treat if you were expecting guests for brunch and wanted to get things together in advance.  Just partially cook, refrigerate, and finish cooking the next day and you'd have a dish that's sure to impress.

Here's how I made this:

1 package of hot breakfast sausage
1 bell pepper - chopped
1/2 onion - chopped
1 T chopper garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 T Italian Seasoning
8 eggs
1/3 cup milk
2 T Parmesan cheese
3 T olive oil
1 T butter
5 slices of provolone cheese
Cook Top - Medium
Bake at 350

To start preheat your oven to 350.   Brown your sausage and then drain the excess fat from it - set it aside. In an oven safe skillet heat your oil on the cook top.  Add the garlic, onions, and bell pepper.  Cook your vegetables until they have softened and the onions become translucent.  Add your black pepper, salt, and Italian seasoning.  Now add your butter to the pan.  Add the sausage to the pepper and onions mixture and stir.  In a mixing bowl mix your eggs, milk, and Parmesan cheese - whisk until light and fluffy.  Add to your meat and vegetable mixture.  Top with 5 slices of Parmesan cheese.  Now remove from the cook top and bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 20-25 min until cooked through and a light golden color (you can check by inserting a knife into the center).  I slice and serve mine hot. 

Hope you enjoy this treat!

Meatloaf Muffins Stuffed with Cheddar Cheese

Meatloaf Muffins Stuffed with Cheddar Cheese

A Great Twist On Mom's Meatloaf

Meatloaf is one of those comfort meals that my husband enjoys in the fall and winter, so it's what we had for dinner last night.  It's just one of those meals that make you feel like your home and remind you of mom's cooking - something that many military men/women enjoy since having mom's cooking doesn't happen often.  One thing I do, is make my meatloaf in muffin tins.  It makes a crispy muffin top and allows for easy portion control.  Another great thing about making your meatloaf as muffins - you can freeze your left overs for a quick meal later.  I kick my meatloaf up by adding a piece of cheddar string cheese to the center.  It gives you a warm melted cheese taste with every bite - something we love at our house. This is really easy to make and tastes great over mashed potatoes and gravy (another comfort meal we love at our house).

Here's how I make mine:

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 40 min

Total time: 55 min

1 lb of 93% ground beef

1 large egg

4 T Italian seasoned bread crumbs

3 T grated Parmesan cheese

1 medium chopped onion

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 T chopped garlic

1 T Italian seasoning

3 reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese Sticks

Additional Salt and Pepper for topping

BBQ Sauce (optional)

To start out preheat your oven to 350.  In a mixing bowl mix the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, onion, black pepper, salt, garlic, and Italian Seasoning.  Then, using a half dozen muffin tin spray your pan with cooking spray.  Fill your muffin tins with the meat - load them up so they look like cooked muffins that have already risen.  When you have shaped your muffins, take your finger and poke a hole down the center of each "muffin."  Now cut your Cheddar Cheese Sticks in half and push them into the hole you made in the center of the muffin.  Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper to taste.  Sometimes I will cover mine with our favorite BBQ sauce for an extra kick, but this is optional.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes then serve.

Hope you enjoy!