BLT SALAD

It's family reunion time- we are excited to get together with my Mom's side of the family once again for family, food and fun- We were all asked to bring a recipe that is one of our family favorites and then the recipe of the dish we are sharing. I am going to take a BLT salad mostly because I need to use up some of the goodies that our garden is mass producing :)

Ingredients
*lettuce-from the garden
*tomatoes-from the garden
*shredded cheese
*baccon
*cesar dressing
*crutons
(you can put in onions from the garden too if you would like but I don't so :) I won't)

Directions
****don't mix ingredients together until you're ready to serve, you don't want things to get soggy****
-wash lettuce and tomatoes
-dry/spin the lettuce so its not soaked
-cut the tomatoes
-make sure the bacon is cooked all the way(we like the kind that you can microwave in 45 seconds and not stink the whole house up)
-Put all ingredients together, toss and serve

this is a very easy salad and extremely tasty :)

salad on!

MEXICAN CHICKEN AND RICE

I saw this recipe on PINTREST and changed it to what we had at home :)

Ingredients
*2-3 chicken breasts (depending on how many your feeding and what size they are)
*easy cook rice
*1 taco seasoning packet
*1 can of tomatoes and green chillies
*shredded cheese- what ever kind you like
*sour cream
*onion is optional- I didn't use one but Lee would have liked it

Directions
-cook up the chicken and cut it into small pieces
-cook rice according to box directions
-mix the taco seasoning packet according to directions on package
-mix all ingredients
  chicken, rice, can of tomatoes and chillies, taco packet and shredded cheese
-heat all ingredients until cheese is melted
-serve in a bowl or in a tortilla if you need more filler for hungry boys like I did

Lee loves sour cream on taco stuff or anything remotely spicy so that was good for him to have

This was super easy and delish!!!!! plus its been great for left overs! - you can put this on a lettuce salad too for taco salad, or even on chips for nachos

served with corn and milk

rice on!

WON-TON STRAWBERRY BOAT

Here is another way I used the won-tons today-

Ingredients
*won-ton wrappers like in the previous recipe
*strawberries
*sugar and lemon
*cool whip

Directions
-bake won-ton wrappers in the cupcake tin at 350 degrees for 8 minutes

-cut up strawberries put in a teaspoon of white sugar, and a squeeze of lemon juice

-scoop into the wonton cups

-put cool whip on top

we discovered that these won-ton cups are best used just to serve out of. Lee did eat his like he was eating a cupcake but it was messy- he said it was good though.

strawberry on!

WON-TON TACOS

here goes a total experiment on food that the worker boys get to test for me :) -
remember to adjust the amount of everything to the amount of people you are feeding- I will be feeding 3 with this


Ingredients
*won-ton wrappers- in the middle of the veggie department in Fareway- kind of a strange place
*1lb of hamburger or chicken breast
*1 packet of taco seasoning
*lettuce
*onion
*tomato
*salsa
*shredded cheese

Directions
-to form the wonton wrappers
  -you can either fry them in a little oil in a pan, or turn a cupcake pan upside down and bake the wrappers like hard shell tacos, you could also stuff the cupcake pan right side up and have the tacos be deep pockets, or stuff the meat and cheese in the raw wrapper and then bake them with meat and cheese inside all rolled up

- if you choose to fry or bake them empty before you stuff then do those steps and then stuff with cooked and seasoned meat and other sides as you wish

-if you choose to stuff then bake it may be harder to add other toppings but it wouldn't be impossible.

- I chose to  put the cupcake pan upside down and pre-bake the "taco shell" at 350 for 8 minutes -open so the guys can stuff them how they please :)

taco on!

GARDEN FRESH GREEN BEANS

Nothing is better than eating fresh out of the garden! here is how i prepared my green beans tonight

Ingredients
*green beans-stemed
*butter
*sea salt
*pepper

Directions
-snap the ends off the beans
-rinse off dirt
-boil water
-toss the beans in
-check for tenderness every once in a while
-once done strain and rinse again with cold water
-place the beans in a tupperware that will hold them all(i do this so that when we are done eating them they are ready to store, don't need to use too many containers that means dishes for me. no thanks! )
-put a scoop of butter in the beans, salt and pepper to taste
-put lid on beans tight and shake up. this will melt the butter and mix everything up :)

ENJOY!!!!!!
we ate this with water and wonder roast


bean on!

COOLWHIP PIE

This recipe was from 4th of July lunch- I love this because it is light and cool and extremely easy!
tips-use the same jello and yogurt flavor, use regular not light cool whip, and let cool whip thaw before making

You can experiment with different flavors if you would like or food color them for fun events- we made them for easter one year and made them blue and pink like easter eggs- great for summer treats!


Ingredients
*1 graham cracker pie crust
*1box of jello (I prefer sugar free) peach
*1 regular container of fat free or low fat yogurt(the size you would pack in a lunch) peach
*1 container of cool whip- not the jumbo tub

Directions
-mix jello (do not make the jello- leave it as the powder, it will have more flavor and less gelatinous in texture- I'm a texture person so that bugs me), yogurt and cool whip into a big bowl
-stir until fluffy and incorporated
-pour into your graham cracker crust
-keep in fridge until ready to serve

pie on!

FOURTH, FAMILY, FUN & FOOD

I start my 4th of July blog with a GIGANTIC THANK YOU to those who serve in our military so that we can celebrate another happy 4th!

Today we had both sets of parents over for a late lunch/construciton/bike ride party :)

Mom and dad came up around 10:00. Mom and I went for a bike ride while dad hung out here with Lee and his dad.

for a late lunch we had
(see the next few posts for the recipes of the dishes listed in this post)

Meat:
Seasoned Sirloin Patties from our local meat locker- DELISH!!!
Smoked Brats

Fixings:
Flat Buns
Regular Buns
Brat Buns
Lettuce From the Garden
Onions
Cheese; Gouda, Mozzarella, Colby Jack
Mustard
Ketchup

Sides:
Pasta Salad from my mommma
Watermelon
Deviled Eggs
Best Roasted Red Potatoes (recipe from my earlier posts)
Chips
Carrots

Desserts:
Cheese Cake Stuffed Strawberries (see older blog post for recipe)
coolwhip pie(will post a recipe later)
Lees moms bars- I have no idea what they were - sorry

Some fun things I used today

An apron to decorate the front of the oven that my grandma used when she was a school lunch lady

tea towels to cover up the stove to so we could use it as a serving surface and not scratch it

white plates with dry erase markers so people knew what was in front of them (yes I tried it on the bottom of them before I wrote all over the top :)  )

the silver ware holder was one of the flower holders from our wedding

I had to use a table cloth on our AMAZING table and bench that Lee and his Dad made(we ordered and stained the chairs) so that nothing scratched it (I will post pictures of the table in full later)

we took a cooler of drinks and kettle corn and twizzlers to the fire works at our local golf course where we met the rest of Lees family that we watch these with every year.


OVER ALL WE HAD AN AMAZING DAY WITH FAMILY, FUN & YUMMY FOOD

celebrate on!

BEST ROASTED RED POTATOES

I have been trying to find a way to roast red potatoes with out having to either scrape them off of a pan from the oven, or peel tin foil off each one-well here is what I have come up with and I must say it is amazing!

Ingredients
*red potatoes (I used 6 med-small for 2 people- there were left overs)
*extra light in taste olive oil
*1 lemon
*1 clove of garlic
*seasonings- see picture for details (you can also use which ever ones you like)

*parchment baking sacks-found near the baggies at Fareway

Directions
-Preheat oven to what ever you want- i cooked at 380 degrees for 30 minutes ish
-two separate bows- or one if you are using the same seasonings- we used different seasonings so we used two bowls
-scrub and wash all potatoes
-dry the potatoes
-cut potatoes into small pieces- try to make them the same size so they cook evenly
-place half of the potatoes into each bowl

-coat all potatoes with olive oil- it's ok if there is extra you don't have to put it all into the bag
-sprinkle your seasonings onto the potatoes- here is what we used

-mine-
     -pepper, lemon pepper mccormick seasoning, greek seasoning, rosemary
-lees-
     -pepper, 1/2 ranch packet, 1/2 clove of garlic, greek seasoning, rosemary, pepper and garlic mccormick seasoning

-mix each bowl by hand
-scoop each bowl into a separate bag

-I put a sliced up lemon on mine to enhance the lemon flavor- YUMMMMMMM!
- roll up the opening of each bag 2 times(directions off the box)

-bake on a lower rack, shake up half way through, open and poke with a fork to see how done they are and adjust your cooking time to their tenderness
-cut bag open(be careful of the steam) and pour out onto a plate, there will be far fewer stuck on the parchment than on tinfoil or a regular pan- LOVE THIS!!!!

when ours were done they smelled and looked amazing!


we didn't make anything else to serve with it; it's been too hot to eat very much. I did have a few slices of turkey though- Lee said next time we will have chicken or steak- and I forgot to put onions in his- woopsies :-/

tater on!

PB&F

Peanut Butter & Fritos- Yep you read it right- holy wow this is an addicting recipe so make only when you plan to take it somewhere so you can't eat it all yourself :)

Ingredients
*1 bag of fritos
*1C creamy peanut butter
*1 C Karo syrup (I use lite)
*1C white sugar (I use 1/3 C-works just the same)

Directions
-get a large cookie sheet or pan with a lid
-lay wax paper in the pan
-lay fritos out on the wax paper/pan and spread evenly
-In a pot mix the pb, syrup and sugar until all melted and smooth(be sure to stir the whole time so it doesn't cook too much)
- as soon as it is melted together and smooth pour over the fritos
-let cool

scarf down :)

PB&F on!

LEMON CAKE/BREAD

I love trying new recipes from people, this one is from one of my co-workers and it is delish!

Its a lemon cake but if you cook it in loaf pans you can serve it as bread- either way yummy!

Ingredients
*1 box lemon cake mix
*1box instant lemon pudding
*4 eggs
*1/3 C vegetable or Canola oil
*1 C boiling water

Directions
-preheat oven to 350
-mix all ingredients into a bowl
-mix for 4 minutes!
  that will make it extra soft

-bake in loaf pans or bunt pan like i used for 30 minutes- ish
  it will be a bit squishy (not gross squishy, but squishier than regular cake or bread)
-use a toothpick to poke the inside and see if it comes out clean- if it does- its done
- pull from oven and let set for a few minutes
-place pans upside down to get the cake/bread out and let cool

obviously not the healthiest but it is soooo fast and easy and good!

sprinkle powdered sugar on top if you are taking it somewhere to share or just cut up and inhale if you are keeping it at home :)

lemon on!

PAN TACOS

Tonight I am making something that is great for leftovers so the guys have something to eat while working

pan tacos is a super easy alternative to tacos- and since all the ingredients are all in one bowl you don't have to worry about putting them out to make one taco 

Remember I am making this for 2-4 people, if you want to make it for more just add more of the ingredients to stretch it, or put some side dishes with it

Ingredients

*tortillas (4-6) shredded up into small pieces - bite size

*1lb of hamburger or 3-4 boneless/skinless chicken breast

*1pkg of taco seasoning

*1/2 jar of black bean salsa (medium is my choice, because sometimes the heat cooks out)

*1 can or 1 baggie of frozen corn

*1 can of tomatoes and green chilies

*shredded cheddar cheese- as much as you would like :) 

*sour cream on the side if someone doesn't like it as spicy as you 

Directions

-brown hamburger/cook chicken in a large/deep skillet- drain! 

-add in packet of seasoning as you would normally if making tacos

-add in salsa, corn, tom/chilies

-bring to a simmer

-add in tortillas

-stir everything well

-add cheese on the top and heat until cheese is melty 

serve-with chips and your favorite fruit,

for an alternative leave out tortillas and add in velveeta for a dip

taco on! 

TORTILLA PIZZA

quick and easy pizza- a healthier option instead of all the dough, or incase you don't have any pizza crust.

Ingredients
*tortillas (what ever kind you like-whole wheat, basil tomato, or plain-each tortilla will be a pizza, so however many you want is how ever many you will need- we make 3 for 2 people)
*jar pizza sauce
*any toppings you want- we use fresh mozzarella, pepperoni or hamburger, onions, basil, garlic powder, spinach(on mine)

Directions
-on an un-greased pan place tortillas
-bake the tortillas for 5-10 minutes 350 (just to crisp them up so the sauce doesn't make them soggy)
-take out of oven and place ingredients on the pizzas
-put back in the oven, top rack and broil until the cheese is bubbly- watch carefully they will toast quickly

serve with apples and peanut butter, and maybe some sun chips


pizza on!

DRESSING

Salad dressing- I always thought this was something impossible to make-WRONGO

Tonight I thought. what would happen if i mixed light olive oil, lemon juice and pepper - voila- yumminess~

Ingredients
*basically i used store bought lemon juice- you can use fresh but I'm saving that for later in the week
*cracked black pepper
*extra virgin olive oil

Directions
-squeeze in the lemon juice- about 1/4-1/3 of a cup
-pour in pepper- roughly 1 Tbs- more to taste if you'd like
-drizzle in the olive oil while whisking quickly
 - add in olive oil until the dressing thickens

-tase throughout to make sure it taste ok- add more of any ingredients as needed- this is a rough  start, I'm sure it could use some changes but I'm not worried(I also did not measure anything while I made this, just poured things in so you don't really need to measure if you don't want to :)

dress on !

MEATLOAF MUFFINS!?

Yep you heard it meatloaf muffins-ok just meatloaf in a muffin tin- they cook so much faster and are fun with kids!  :) -

here is a meatloaf recipe- use your own if you'd like

Ingrediants
*1 lb of hamburger
*seasonings (we use webers grill garlic seasonings, pepper, sea salt)
*1/2 cup of oatmeal
*1 egg
*ketchup-a couple squirts- as much as you prefer
*1/3 cup of milk (skim)
*onion if you choose

Directions
-make sure the hamburger is thawed out
-mix all ingredients in a bowl

-get out a muffin tin
-place mixture into the muffin tins
-chop up onion and place in the ones you wish to have them ( aka Lees half :)
-put more ketchup on top of the mini meat loafs
-I put bbq sauce on Lees

-Bake at 375 for 15-25 minutes or until done
-for fun put frenches onion crunches on top and broil for a few minutes

serve with butternut squash and milk

loaf on!

EASY MONDAY NIGHT DINNER

It's Monday and I didn't feel like making too much so here is what we decided on

Pepperoni Pizza dippers and oreo dessert

dippers
 ingredients
*crescent rolls- fridge kind, 1 pkg
*pepperoni, 1 pkg
*mozzarella cheese- 1 pkg (fresh preferred) -if not just use mozzarella sting cheese, 1/2 stick per dipper
*pizza or marinara sauce to dip in

directions
-preheat oven to directions on the crescent rolls
-cut mozzarella
-open crescent rolls on a baking sheet
-place 3-4 slices of pepperoni into each dipper (more if you'd like)
-place 1 slice or 1/2 of cheese stick onto dipper
-roll up sealing edges if you can
-bake according to directions on the pkg of crescent rolls

heat sauce in the microwave for dipping


oreo dessert
ingredients
*1 pkg of mini marshmallows
*1/2 stick of butter or margarine
*1 pkg of oreos

directions
-crush oreos finely
-melt the butter and 6 cups of marshmallows in a sauce pan- be sure to stir most of the time so they don't burn
-once mixture is melted add in oreos and stir until all is incorporated
-flatten into a greased dish-ENJOY

you may want to use less marshmallows or more oreos- ours turned out kind of interesting but its still fun and sticky and a good batch of sugar for the day

served with milk, and caprese salad (mozzarella, basil, tomatoes and balsamic vinager)


monday on!

YUMMY TREAT

For a change up in a bowl ice-cream - just add a spoonful of peanut butter :) super easy way to mix things up-

treat on!

CROCK POT CORN MAC N CHEESE

Holy carb central- don't plan on this being low fat or anything - this is what we called in our house a "treat" yes I will be working in my garden, running and biking this weekend for this meal!

this recipe is from my Aunt and she brings it to most family functions because we LOVE it !

edit the recipe for how many people you are feeding

Ingredients
*2 cups of elbow macaroni-uncooked
*Calls for 2 sticks of butter- I used 1 stick of butter and 1/4 stick of margarine
*2 cans of cream of corn
*2 cans of whole corn- drained
*Calls for 1/2 block of velveeta- you can use less if you decide to do so


Directions
-stir all ingredients into crock pot
-set on high for two hours
   stir occasionally


Enjoy

Serve with a treadmill :)  just kidding- we had peaches and a lettuce salad-

carb on !

STUFFED STRAWBERRIES

Lee and I got invited to our friends house in January and I wasn't sure what to bring so I found this recipe of cheese cake stuffed strawberries- this turned out DELISH and SUPER EASY!

Ingredients
*2 packages of strawberries
*1 box of cheesecake mix :)   I got the kind that has the graham crackers already crushed up and in the pkg

Directions
-make the cheese cake filling as directed on the box (use skim milk)
-let the mix chill in the fridge for a couple hours and set up
-set the graham cracker crust aside- don't actually make the crust- you will use it later
while the filling is in the fridge
-wash strawberries
(i used a 1/8 tsp measuring spoon for this next part because I had nothing else and it seemed like it would do the job
-take scooper ^ and scoop out the stem and part of the insides of the strawberries- be careful to not get too crazy with it because it will puncture the sides or the bottom- in that case just eat the strawberry and move on :)
- pat all strawberries dry with a paper towel so they don't get soggy and gross

get filling from the fridge
-get a big baggie and put filling in it down toward one end
-cut the end corner of the baggie
-squeeze the filling from the bagging into the strawberries

we had a heck of a time getting them to stand up and stay nice so we used a relish tray- you can also use smaller tupperwares so they sit snug against each other

once all the strawberries are filled sprinkle the graham cracker crust mix on top of them

keep refrigerated until ready to eat

served with WINE- a lot of WINE :)
or on a summer day for dessert or a snack thats not bad for you

stuff on!

BUFFALO CHICKEN TAQUITOS

These were  a shot in the dark that I modified to make it work for us- they turned out AMAZING!!!!!!!

Ingredients

*chicken breast-i used 3 small to medium ones- adjust for amount of people feeding

*tortillas (the thinner the better) as many as you need to feed people- I was full on one taquito

*cream cheese- 1 block

*buffalo chicken sauce

*sour cream-on the side for those who think they're too hot

*onion if you'd like- I only used it in Lee's 

--we are cheese lovers so more shredded cheese of your choice if you feel necessary is totally acceptable :)

Directions

- thaw chicken breast in microwave enough to cut up

-cut into thin strips to cook faster

-put some water in the pan

-put in raw chicken

-cook until done and juices are clear

in a separate pot

-heat cream cheese

-buffalo chicken sauce- to taste-

drain chicken and add to the sauce in the pan. mixture shouldn't be very runny

-spray PAM on a cookie sheet

-lay tortillas out

-spread the chicken/buffalo dip mixture on the tortillas

    remember you will want to tuck the ends in and roll them up so don't over stuff- or do and just use a          fork

-place onions in the ones you wish to have them

-place shredded cheese in at this point if you wish to use it

-tuck both ends in and roll tight

-make sure to have the flap side down so when they cook they don't fall open

Bake

- I put them on the top rack and broiled them until they turned brown

  you could probably bake them regularly but I had to be tractor side quickly so he could eat and run

use sour cream on the side for dipping

Served with MILK of course and pineapple 

left over sauce can be used as dip with chips or in a taco soup or even frozen for another day

bake on! 

Broccoli Pie

This is one of my favorites my mom made for my family growing up so i thought i'd give it a try


ingredients


*1 pkg of pie crust (cold section at store-comes with top and bottom in the box)
*16 oz of broccoli (i bought frozen already chopped and cooked-just thawed it out and drained it)
*rest of the wonder roast chicken from the night before (a wonder roast is something our local grocery store-Fareway-provides-cooked chicken roasted all day-holy amaze balls!- if you don't have a wonder roast use chicken breasts cooked and shredded or can chicken if you'd like- i used about 3-4 cups cooked and shredded)
*1 can of cream of celery
*1 pkg of cream cheese
*shredded mozzarella cheese if you don't want to use the top crust for less carbs or whatever people are worried about these days


-preheat oven to pie crust directions
-place bottom crust in glass pie dish and poke holes in the bottom, cook for 10 minutes before you fill it
-mix fillings in a bowl first
-fill pie crust and place top on, MAKE SURE YOU PUT SLITS IN THE TOP OF THE CRUST :) TRUST ME
-bake until top crust is done and insides are hot -




*sorry I'm not an exact baker person- I go by when it's hot and done looking :) if you want specified directions you can follow the ones on the pie crust pkg


served with peaches, glass of milk and good conversation


ENJOY


here's a pic of mom - Lee doesn't wonder any more where I get some of the craziness-He's crazy by association now :) and he loves it!