Pumpkin Spice Muffins **DIABETIC FRIENDLY**

Okay okay...Given the fact that I AM diabetic, I thought maybe it was time to share one of my favorite recipes with y'all. It's super simple. I found the recipe on the American Diabetes website and tweaked it until I liked the flavor.

Whatcha need:

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup white sugar
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon almond extract **vanilla works if you don't have almond**

Whatcha do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside. (I used my large glass measuring cup. Thanks hubby for a FABULOUS Christmas present.) In a large bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, vegetable oil, and almond extract. Slowly add the flour mixture to the large bowl until just blended. Do not over beat. Pour the batter into 18 nonstick muffin cups OR if you use the larger muffin tin, you can do roughly 12.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. When you press the muffins and they bounce back, you're good to go! Remove muffins from the oven, and let cool slightly. Remove the muffins from the pan, and let cool completely. They go fabulously with just simple "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter," or cinnamon butter. I'll be posting the recipe for that later on today! I'm going to make some more muffins :)

**for those that are carb countin' fools like me...the smaller size muffins are 17.2. The bigger ones that I do are 28 carbs :) **

Turkey Soup

Got leftovers? Tired of Turkey? Wanna get rid of the carcass? Well here you are! Turkey SOUP! And it FREEZES great :)

Whatcha need:

1 turkey carcass with extra meat on it :)

lots of water

chicken bullion cubes

2 bay leaves

5-6 diced carrots

4-5 diced celery

1 med onion, diced SMALL

egg noodles

Whatcha do:

Take your turkey carcass (man i hate that word) and place it in a pot. You're going to cover this poor bird with water. You wanna make sure you have at least an inch of water OVER the turkey. Add your chicken bullion. I add roughly 6-8 cubes. If you're using the powdered kind, add enough to make like 8 cups of bullion. Put in your bay leaves. Now walk away and let it boil for a few hours. I always give mine at least 2 to make sure it gets all the good junk outta the bones :) Now, remove the bones. This is the tricky part. I cheat. I strain my broth into a separate bowl and then I can pick through the meat and stuff to make sure I get it all. After you've done that, bring the broth back to a boil and add the onions, celery, and carrots. When they're close to be being done, add your egg noodles. If you wanna be super woman, I am going to include an egg noodle recipe as soon as I get it again from my father in law :) This is where I got the bulk of this recipe. I just tweaked it a little :) If you wanna just freeze the broth, which is what I do, skip adding the noodles. Just let it cool and put in freezer bags OR if you're super cool like Mrs. B, you use your "food sucker" commonly known as a seal-a-meal LOL Seriously kids, if you can, invest in one! Saves my meat from freezer burn and is great for people who still cook like they're cooking for 12 when it's really only 3 :)

**if you have cats or dogs, PLEASE do NOT give them the turkey bones! Turkey and Chicken bones splinter badly and can get caught in their throat. That's no bueno at all!!!**

On the menu!

This week, we're starting our new rules. New recipe posts every Tuesday and Friday! I know that a lot of you want some crock pot recipes. Are there any others you wanna try? I'm down :) This week, I'm making some goulash due to a persistent hubby and lasagna. I'm going to try a new dessert too. But its a surprise :) So, help a sista out!! Gimme some ideas to play with :)

No Fail Pie Crust

Okay boys and berries! I know I'm late on getting this out there, but it's perfect for quiche too!

Whatcha need:

1 1/4 C flour

1/3 C shortening (i love the butter flavored kind)

1/4 tsp salt

4-5 TB of COLD water

Whatcha do:

Combine the flour with the salt. Add the shortening and cut it all up :) You can use a fork, but i LOVE my Pampered Chef pastry cutter-Thanks MaryLou :) My mother-in-law is the bestest! Slowly add the water. I work in 1 TB at a time, moisten some of the flour and keeping it on one side. Does that make sense? If not, ask me. I'll try and clarify :) After all is moisten, form a ball and roll baby roll :) This is perfect for 1 pie crust. If you need the double crust recipe, just let me know! It's a tad different than just doubling the ingredients :)

Yummy Chicken Enchiladas

I can NOT believe I haven't shared this recipe with y'all yet!! i LOOOOOOOOOOVE! It makes my tummy super happy. My whole family loves it! So, make it. You know you want to :)

Whatcha Need:

1 TB butter
1/2 C chopped green onions
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 oz can green diced chiles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 C sour cream
1 1/2 C cooked chicken
1 1/2 C shredded cheese
6 flour tortillas
1/4 C milk

Whatcha Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in medium sauce pan & sauté onion until tender (3-4 mins). Add garlic powder, chiles, soup and sour cream. Mix WELL. Set aside 3/4 of sauce mixture. Combine remaining 1/4 sauce mixture with chicken and 1/2 of the cheese. Stir together. Fill each tortilla with spoonfuls of chicken mixture. Roll and place seam down in 9*13 baking dish. Combine milk with remaining sauce mixture. Spoon over tortillas and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-35 mins or until cheese is bubbly.

Easy Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

You know me and my pumpkin!! I gots to have it in any way shape or form :) So, here's some SUPER easy bars with even easier frosting :)

What you need:

4 eggs

1 2/3 C sugar

1 C veggie oil

1 16 oz can pumpkin

2 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

FROSTING

3 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 C powdered sugar

What to do:

( i love being bossy lol)

Preheat your over to 350. Mix all the ingredients for the bars in a bowl and pour into a 9*13 pan you've already sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 40 minutes.

Take out and let cool.

For the frosting: whip the butter, cream cheese and vanilla until its mixed well. slowly add the powdered sugar. Frost your bars and EAT :)

And trust me, if you don't wanna sure, you DO NOT have to :)

Mrs. B said so :)

Pumpkin Ginger Bread

I freakin' love fall!! And it's not just because everything is orange :) I love the foods and smells that go along with it! I love the crispness of the air!! Oh my! Sensory overload :) YAY :)

So here's one of my favorite recipes!! It comes from yours truly :)

Whatcha need:

3 C sugar

1 C veggie oil

4 eggs

2/3 C water

1 15oz can of pumpkin

2 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (sometimes i cheat and use 2 tsps :) )

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp allspice

3 1/2 C flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

What to do:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour the loaf pans you're gonna use. In large bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar and beat until smooth. If you have an electric mixer, use it!! Your arms are gonna get tired :P Add water and blend well. Slowly stir in pumpkin. Careful! Clumps can form! In smaller bowl combine ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, flour, baking soda & baking powder. Slowly add to wet mixture. Mix well and divide into 2 regular loaf pans or 7 mini loaf pans. Bake 1 hour and 10 mins for reg. loaves and 45 mins for mini loaves.

**pictures to come** I can't find my usb cord

Taco Soup

Tastiness for the cold in ya :)

What you need:

1 lb hamburger (or ground turkey)

1/4 c chopped

1 can red kidney beans

1 can of tomatoes with liquid

1 can of corn with liquid

1 can tomato sauce

1 package taco seasoning (if you don't have taco seasoning, see my post about how to make your own)

What to do:

Brown the hamburger with the onion. I always add a little garlic powder because that's how we roll at Mrs. B's. Make sure to add salt and pepper to taste. Drain the hamburger. Now, I am a less is more when it comes to doing dishes, so I brown my hamburger in the same pot i'm going to make my soup in :) Add everything else to the pot. Stir will to make sure the seasoning gets evenly mixed in. Cover and let it simmer on low heat for about 30 mins and woot woot! You gots yourself some tasty as soup :) I always serve with cheese, tortilla chips and sour cream. When you put in the cheese and sour cream, it taste alot like Chili's tortilla soup :)

Chicken Noodle Soup

With the weather getting icky, it's time to bust out the 'ole pot and get to soup making. I don't know about you guys, but our weather here on Sunday was cranky! It was super windy and rainy. It definitely was a soup and bread day :) I had invited my parents over the day before and they were more than happy when they got to have some hot soup and warm bread! I made quite a few things Sunday. First-homemade chicken noodle soup! It's so easy you'll be surprised!

What you need:

1 whole chicken, cut up or you can do 4 chicken breasts

all depends on what's cheapest and if you like pulling cooked meat off of bones

chicken bullion ( i use the cheap stuff you find in the "ethnic" part of the store its just pollo stuff :) I use roughly 4-5 cubes

chopped onion

chopped carrots

chopped celery

egg noodles*

water

salt and pepper and what ever other seasonings you dig.

What to do:

Boil the chicken! :) I rinse the chicken off and remove as much of the skin and fat as I can. If you're using boneless skinless breasts-then no worries. I'm a huge fan of kosher salt (Thank you Alton Brown!) So, I put a few good pinches of salt in the water. Also add some pepper to taste :) Mine's usually about a dime size amount. I boil my chicken for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. I remove the chicken from the pot and let it cool while I add the bullion to the pot. I let the pot simmer for a little bit while the chicken cools. Then i pull the chicken from the bone and tear it into smaller pieces and add it to the simmering bullion. I let the chicken simmer for about 30 minutes while I chopped up the vegetables. You're probably wondering why I didn't put like how many carrots and what not. It's all your personal taste. I like lots of chicken and don't want it to be over powered by veggies. So, I chopped roughly 5-6 carrots and 4 stalks of celery. I chopped, well no, dice a medium sized onion. Add everything to the pot. Simmer for about one hour or until the veggies are tender, NOT mush. Add the egg noodles. Now, you can use homemade and I'll include a recipe for that in a later post. I felt lazy and used just some wide egg noodles courtesy of our local market. Cook the noodles until al dente. You are ready to go! This soup goes GREAT with home made rolls, which I did :) or bread bowls! It warms you from the inside out :)

Pancake & Sausage Casserole

I recently decided to try some new funky ways to do breakfast for dinner. I was cruising some recipes and found one for pancake & sausage casserole. The recipe I found needed some "tweekage", but it turned out pretty dang good :) I got a happy hubby and a happy son :) Josh said it was like a fluffy McGriddle :)

What you need:

1 lb pork breakfast sausage. use bulk so you can break it up easy while it cooks.

2 C white flour

2 TB white sugar

2 TB brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/4 C milk

2 TB oil

2-3 tsps vanilla extract

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray your baking dish with cooking spray. I used a small Pyrex dish. This recipes feeds "4" If you have a bigger family and decide to double it, use a cookie sheet! Brown and drain your sausage. In bowl mix dry ingredients and then add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix WELL! Fold in the sausage. Pour into baking dish and bake for roughly 25 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool for about 5-10 minutes after you take it out. Drizzle or drench with maple syrup-all depends on your likes! It's super tasty. I fully plan on making it for breakfast the next time I have a huge clan for the morning meal.

CARAMEL APPLE PIE

****UPDATE****
HEY GUYS! With the holidays coming up, I've been thinking of ways to update some pies. My buddy Tisha hook me up with a cool trick :) To make this super easy, SUPER tasty pie tastier, add 12 caramels, chopped up, to the apple mixture.!!!! OH SO TASTY :) Caramel Apple Crumb Top PIE! OH BABY!!

Hi ya kids! So again, spoiled hubby :) But this time, he wasn't the only one! We were going to family get together on the 4th of July and I was in charge of dessert. I had no clue what to make. I knew that I was outta cocoa and other fun stuff. I looked in the fridge at least 3 or 4 times. Apples. Apples. Apples. But I didn't want to make the effort to make 2 pie crusts and stuff. It was FREAKIN' hot. How could I do this easy?! I didn't wanna make a crisp...to plain LOL So...I did a google search for one pie crust apple pies. CRUMB TOP was the first thing I saw. So, I went with it! Now, this recipe is strictly a made by Mrs. B's. Some of the measurements are not EXACT. I got that nasty habit from my Grams-no measuring everything :) But, I have faith it will turn out no matter what :)
What you need:
Filling:

1 unbaked pie shell-
you can use either a store bought one, or make my super easy pie crust
1/4 C sugar
1-1 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
1/8 tsp salt
Enough apples to fill crust-roughly 5-6-peeled, cored and sliced. I usually use some red delicious, fujis and at least 1 granny smith.
Topping:
3/4 C brown sugar, packed
3/4 C flour
1/3 C butter, NOT margarine.
What to do:
Preheat over at 375. Combine apples, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Spoon into crust. In seperate bowl, or if you hate during dishes like me, you just use the bowl from the apple mixture :), using a pasty cutter, cut together the brown sugar, flour and butter. Cover entire pie with crumb mixture. Bake for 35-40 mins at 375.
It's super tasty with french vanilla ice-cream.

Easy Meatloaf

Now, I know most of you are thinking-meat LOAF?! Who wants a meatloaf recipe?! Well, Josh has had his fair share of nasty meatloafs. He has from rare meat (like still moo-ing in the middle) to so crispy that it can used as a hockey puck. I've used this recipe I came up with by tweeking my Gram's old one SEVERAL time and NEVER had a complaint :) I'll give you the recipe that feeds a family of 4 unless you have some serious meat-eaters :)

What you need:

1 lb ground beef (i've never tried ground turkey...but it should work)

1/2 diced green bell pepper

1/2 med onion, diced

1 egg

1/2 sleeve crackers ( i used the walmart ritz crackers for added flavor)

roughly 1/2 cup milk

What To Do:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Honestly, just mix it all together with your hands. Put into a bread loaf pan-or if you're super gung ho they have the coolest meat loaf pans at Walmart :) I'm asking Santa for one :) Bake for a minium of 45 mins. Cover with Ketchup and bake for another 10 mins and ta - da :) I always do some kind of tater side dish (100% Idahoan for me and my taters LOL) And either a side salad or whatever veggie your family digs :) I LOVE it with green beans.

Spiced Applesauce Bread

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since August!! I'm a slacker. Just for that, I'm going to do a few posts this week :) I'm in this funky "bread" mood. I made Spiced Applesauce Bread. I'm making Peach Bread tonight. :) And we're going to try a Pear Bread this week too!

BUT FIRST :) Some of the tastiest bread :)

Spiced Applesauce Bread

What you'll need:

1 1/4 C applesauce

1 C granulated sugar

1/2 C vegetable oil

2 eggs

3 TBs milk

2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp bake powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4-1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

**1/2 C chopped pecans or walnuts

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9*5 loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine applesauce, sugar, oil, eggs, & milk. Beat well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Mix until smooth. If you are using nuts, fold them in now. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for one hour or until toothpick inserted comes out clean :) Let cool for at least 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan.

Chicken Tamales

As promised, here is a super easy TAMALES recipes :) I don't know about you, but we're loca for tamales! I used to buy them from someone. Then one day, I decided, dang it! I'm the Great Mrs. B! I can do anything. So, a recipe was born :)

What You Need:

6 C Corn Masa

6 C Chicken Broth*

1 C Corn Oil

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 whole chicken (or 4-6 chicken breasts)*

2 cans or 1 bottle of Salsa Verde (I'm super picky and will only use one brand, but feel free to branch out :)

1 bag of Corn Husks

What You Needs To Do:

Fill pot with chicken and enough water to cover. Boil for one hour minimum. You don't wanna run the risk of under cooking the chicken :) Once it's done, drain the water into separate bowl and let chicken cool. Now it's time to shred el pollo. You can either use your friendly food processor to shred the chicken or 2 forks and your hands work too :)

Once the chicken is shredded, pour the salsa verde over it and set a side. Next on our list is the maza and the corn husks. Place the husks in WARM water to soak. You need 'em soft :) **Remember that water from the boiled chicken? Now you're going to make some chicken broth :) I use the chicken bullion from the "latino" section of the store. 3 cubes of this tasty stuff is going to make your 6 cups of chicken broth. SOOOO much cheaper than buying it :) In a large mixing bowl, combine the maza and the dry ingredients with the oil and chicken broth. I suggest using an electric mixer, and mix the sheesh to a good consistency :) Now, take out the corn husks. Spoon some maza onto a corn husk. Spread it out evenly onto the husk. Word of advice-use a wet tablespoon to spread it out. Drop a spoon full of chicken onto the lovely maza and fold sides into the center so they over lap. Fold the ends toward the seam. Place into steamer.

Now, I don't have a fancy "tamale steamer" so I just use a colander type thingy and a big pot with a lid. You just gotta make sure you steam 'em good. Steam them for roughly 45 mins. When the maza pulls away from the husk easily, you're golden.

Peel corn husk and serve :)

**Some of you wonder why I use a whole chicken instead of just getting the boneless sheesh. Well cost my love, cost. Your local market will have specials on whole chickens. When I see those specials, I'll buy a few and freeze 'em. It usually ends up saving me roughly $6.

Enchilada Pie (pictures to come tomorrow)

Okay, this one is mostly courtesy of FoodStorageMadeEasy.com Those ladies ROCK!! I made some adjustments to my family's taste. I made the black beans, but you can use canned in you like. I also made the enchilada sauce. I'll include the recipe for that in a nother post :)

What you need:

1 1/2 C cooked black beans

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1 can of cream of chicken soup

3/4 C milk

1 4 oz can of diced green chiles-i just used some salsa verde

1 C enchilada sauce

1 pkg of soft tortillas
1/2 lb of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 lb shredded monterrey jack-i used colby jack
3 shredded cooked chicken breasts

What to do:

Combine everything but the tortillas and cheese together. Spray the bottom of a 9*13 pan and line with tortillas. I used 4 to make sure the whole bottom was covered. Pour half of the bean mixture onto the tortillas. Cover with 1/2 of the cheese. Layer the tortillas again. Top with remaining mixture and cheese. Bake at 350 for 40 mins.

Crumb Top Apple Pie

****UPDATE****

HEY GUYS! With the holidays coming up, I've been thinking of ways to update some pies. My buddy Tisha hook me up with a cool trick :) To make this super easy, SUPER tasty pie tastier, add 12 caramels, chopped up, to the apple mixture.!!!! OH SO TASTY :) Caramel Apple Crumb Top PIE! OH BABY!!

Hi ya kids! So again, spoiled hubby :) But this time, he wasn't the only one! We were going to family get together on the 4th of July and I was in charge of dessert. I had no clue what to make. I knew that I was outta cocoa and other fun stuff. I looked in the fridge at least 3 or 4 times. Apples. Apples. Apples. But I didn't want to make the effort to make 2 pie crusts and stuff. It was FREAKIN' hot. How could I do this easy?! I didn't wanna make a crisp...to plain LOL So...I did a google search for one pie crust apple pies. CRUMB TOP was the first thing I saw. So, I went with it! Now, this recipe is strictly a made by Mrs. B's. Some of the measurements are not EXACT. I got that nasty habit from my Grams-no measuring everything :) But, I have faith it will turn out no matter what :)

What you need:

Filling:

1 unbaked pie shell-

you can use either a store bought one, or make my super easy pie crust

1/4 C sugar

1-1 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

1/8 tsp salt

Enough apples to fill crust-roughly 5-6-peeled, cored and sliced. I usually use some red delicious, fujis and at least 1 granny smith.

Topping:

3/4 C brown sugar, packed

3/4 C flour

1/3 C butter, NOT margarine.

What to do:

Preheat over at 375. Combine apples, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Spoon into crust. In seperate bowl, or if you hate during dishes like me, you just use the bowl from the apple mixture :), using a pasty cutter, cut together the brown sugar, flour and butter. Cover entire pie with crumb mixture. Bake for 35-40 mins at 375.

It's super tasty with french vanilla ice-cream.

Chicken Jambalaya

When I lived in Pocatello, I had the wonderful pleasure of sharing a living space with Super Woman, Debbie Cook. Well, she's Debbie Cook now :) Back then she was Deb Christiansen. :) She was honestly one of the best roomies I ever had! She now lives in Colorado with her hubby, Jesse. She's going to be having a baby girl soon and I couldn't be more happy for her! She's an amazingly talented woman and she's gonna ROCK as a mom. But I digress, lol. While we were living together, she made this dish a few times! I LOVED it! I've made a few variations, but it's still pretty much the same! The first time I made it for Josh, he FREAKED and is now just as addicted as I am :) So, try it. You'll like it.

What you'll need:

1/4 C chopped onion

1/4 C chopped green bell pepper

2 TB butter or margarine

1 14oz can of diced tomatoes

1 1/2 C chicken broth (i just make my own using chicken bullion and water)

1 C uncooked rice

1tsp dried basil (not SWEET)

1 tsp crushed thyme

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp of pepper flakes

1/2 tsp hot sauce (i add alittle more bcuz we like it hot LOL)

2 C cooked chicken

**optional**

sour cream

shredded cheese

Saute the pepper and onion and the but er until tender, NOT brown.

Add in remaining ingredients, except sour cream and shredded cheese

Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender.


Serve topped with sour cream and shredded cheese or by itself. Either way, HOLY TASTY BATMAN!!!!

Easiest Lasagna EVER

"Lasagna"

I'm all about cheap and easy. There's days when I really want to make an effort and create a masterpiece for the fam, but most of the time...eh, no. Both Josh and Stevey are huge "red" sauce fans. Stevey has discovered the tastiness of tomatoes. I've been craving Olive Garden "Tour De Italy" and since I can't have that...

What you'll need:

1 lb hamburger
1 medium onion, diced (or you can used dried onion)
1 TB garlic powder
salt & pepper
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 16 oz container of small curd cottage cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package of oven ready lasagna noodles

Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Spray a 9*13 baking pan with non-stick spray. Brown the hamburger with the onion, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. I also use roughly a tsp of oregano, but that's just me :) Drain and mix spaghetti sauce with hamburger. Heat. Pour roughly 1/4 c of sauce mixture into bottom of pan. Layer noodles and then sauce and cottage cheese. Repeat until your top is a layer of noodles. Pour remaining sauce onto noodles. Cover with foil and bake for 20 mins. Remove foil, top with cheese and bake until cheese is melted. :) Yummy stuff dude :)

Pizza Rolls :)

"Pizza Rolls or Calzones"

Again, cheap and easy :) For that pizza lovin' family (MINE) its a great way to get the pizza flavor without having to take tons of time to make it or tons of money to buy it :)

What you need:

Rhodes rolls (2 per roll)
4-6 slices of Pepperoni per roll
2 slices of Mozzarella cheese per roll
Pizza sauce
Melted butter
Parmesan cheese (i used leftover packets from Pizza Hut lol)

Take the Rhodes rolls out of the oven and thaw according to the instructions. I made 2 adult size rolls and 2 Stevey size rolls, so I used 6 rolls. I got them out at noon and they were ready by 4pm even with my swamp cooler blowing :) I made Stevey's rolls first. You flatten out the rolls and put a TB of pizza sauce then pepperoni and then cheese. Close the ends and roll similar to a burrito. With the adult size rolls, you do the same, only flatten 2 TWO rolls together. You can use more or less cheese or pepperoni depending on your taste.

I brushed them with butter and then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. You can also roll them in the cheese if you want them super coated. Bake at 350 degrees for roughly 10 mins.

Brush with butter when you're done and TA DAH!

They come with the Stevey seal of approval :)

**you can also use other pizza toppings like crumbled sausage and my fave-black olives! :) **

Poor Man's Stroganoff

"Stroganoff"
I am a HUGE fan of Stroganoff. I've usually seen it made with flank steak or cubed stew meat. I can't always find this tasty cuts of meat for cheap, so I improvised.

What you'll need:

1 lb hamburger
1 medium onion, diced
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 16 oz container of sour cream
milk
1 package of egg noodles

Brown hamburger and onions. Drain.

Boil egg noodles. Drain and rinse.

In separate bowl, combine soup and sour cream. Add one soup can of milk. Mix well. Mix with hamburger. Slowly mix with egg noodles. Heat thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste :)
**if you'd like, you can also add fresh mushrooms to the hamburger when it's close to being done.**

Cheap "Steak" Fajitas

"STEAK" Fajitas
Steak can be expensive. But it's soooooo tasty. So, the other day I was in the market, and they had their stew meat marked down for quick sale. I thought to myself, "Self, you could make some tasty fajitas with this." So here we go :)

What you'll need:

1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 medium size yellow onion
1 pkg stew meat :)
Garlic Powder
Pepper Flakes
Salt & Pepper
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Flour Tortillas
Salsa

Start to brown the stew meat. Add the garlic powder, salt & pepper, and pepper flakes to taste.
Thinly slice the peppers and onions. I always do the peppers first. I have a problem. I always seem to eat more of the peppers then I put in the mixture. :)

Add peppers to the stew meat and cook until the onions and peppers are tender.

I warm the tortillas by placing them on top of the meat mixture.

Cold Roast Beef Sandwiches

Cold Roast Beef Sandwiches

Miracle Whip
1 part of roast
diced pickles
cubed cheddar cheese
Mustard (i LOVE the spicy brown mustard)
bread

Chopped up the roast into reasonably bite size pieces. Add pickles and cheddar cheese. Add Miracle Whip and mustard, just like you're making a wet tuna sandwich. Put on the bread and serve :) This mixture makes for great grilled sandwiches too.

Shredded Beef Tacos

Shredded Beef Tacos

Taco Shells, hard or soft
1 package taco seasoning*
1 part of the roast, "shredded"
lettuce
tomatoes
shredded cheese
sour cream
salsa

To shred the roast, I simply use two dinner forks and pull :) Heat the roast. If desired add pepper flakes for some heat. Stir in taco seasoning according to the package. Put in a taco shell and add your desired toppings :)

*if you don't wanna buy taco seasoning, I've come up with my own tasty mix
2 tsp. instant minced onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. crushed dried red pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. instant minced garlic
Use 1/2 cup water and then just mix with the meat :)

French Dip East Coast Style

French Dip East Coast Style

1 pkg hoagie rolls
1 pkg au jus mix
1 part of the roast

Using the remaining water that I left in the crockpot, pour in the package of au jus mix. Stir until completely mixed. The juices from the roast make for a super tasty au jus. Pull apart the roast and put in the crockpot. Cover and let simmer on low for a few hours. Put the roast on the hoagie rolls and eat :) The roast should be "wet." That's what gives the dip it's East coast-ness :) There's a shop in on the coast that serves french dip dipped in au jus :)

One Pot Roast-3 dinners

Our freezer had a hiccup. So I had to cook some things fast. Normally, when I make a roast, I invite my sister and brother in law over. We can never finish them before they go bad. I never seem to get the right size for our little family! So here I am, a huge roast and no clue. So...it came to me-cook it in the crockpot.That will you give you time to figure it out! LOL I decided to cook it and then figure out recipes for the next week. To cook the roast, I first seared it with seasonings. For those of you that don't know how to do that-i rub the roast with seasonings such as salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion salt or powder.Then I melt some butter in a frying pan. I "sear" the roast by cooking it on each side for about 3 mins or so at med-high heat. While I'm doing that, I put 3 beef bullion cubes in my crockpot with roughly 6-7 cups of water and put the crockpot on high. Yes, I can multi-task :) After all edges are seared, I simply put the roast in the crockpot and turn it down to low. Then, I walk away :) While this lovely hunk of beef was cooking, I sleep! I put it on before I went to bed :) The next day I woke up, checked it. Good :) At like noon, I took it out of the crockpot and let it 'rest'. I divided it into 3 equal parts. I took out 2 cups of the water out of the crock pot and then here's what I did!!

Mom's Apple Pie

As most of you know, my anniversary was yesterday. My hubby was a super romantic. I decided to be nice and make him an apple pie. He LOVES homemade apple pie!! I thought-hey! I'll post this on my blog! :) So here we go!

You will need:

6-8 med size apples

I used a combination of apples, fuji, red delicious and at least one granny smith

3/4 c granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 (ish) tsp of nutmeg

1/2 (ish) tsp of cinnamon

butter to pat

2 pie crusts.

You can cheat and use the already made ones sold in the refrigerated section of your local grocery store. If you want a NEVER fail pie crust recipe, lemme know :) I cheated with this one :)

Preheat your oven for 375. Peel and slice the apples. Mix in sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place apple mixture into a pie shell. Pat with butter ( i use roughly 4 tbs) Cover with other pie crust. If you're feeling fancy, lattice it up baby! If you're somewhat lazy like me, make sure you slit the top crust to allow ventilation.

Bake for roughly 30-35 mins and wal-la! Super tasty pie :)

I AM HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!

I am so sorry!! I have not been keeping on this blog like I wanted to do! I'm so sorry!! Things have been super crazy! Two weddings, family in from outta town, and all kinds of stuff to put together. I think that things are calmed down for now!! I'm going to be rocking on this blog! I've got tons of stuff to share!! I may not have pictures for everything, but I gots stuff to share!!!!

Simplest of Simple Pasta Salad

It's summer time. Life needs to be simple. So this is a simple pasta salad that can be made the night before.

What ya need:

1 box of garden pasta (Great Value for $0.98/box)

1 bottle of Italian dressing (i used zesty fat free Italian)

Ham (the amount is up to you) I always just used left overs or the small inexpensive ham you can get at Wally world

2 small cans of sliced olives, drained

1 cucumber, chopped (optional)

1/2 to 1 lb of cheddar cheese, cubed.

Boil the pasta until it is al dente. Drain and blanch (rinse in ice cold water). Set aside until completely cold. While the pasta is boiling and cooling, prepare the rest of the ingredients, except the dressing and place in a medium-ish bowl. Combine pasta and ingredients. Pour dressing over mixture. Cover and refrigerate over night.

You can also add sun-dried tomatoes, bacon bits...all kinds of fun stuff.

My perfect dinner :) This salad goes really good with BBQ chicken, grilled hamburgers or hotdogs. It's a perfect family reunion dish! Cheap, easy and feeds alot! :) I know you're probably thinking, Jamie, why are you sharing this easy crap? Well, I made it. It was easy. I share. :) I'm sure most of you moms out there are starting to get pummelled with play dates, weddings, , family reunions... I'm just trying to help a motha out :) I'm going to make some BBQ chicken this weekend, I think :) I'll share that with y'all too!!

**for those that HATE olives, you can use pickles**

apologies!! and chocolate

I've been slacking a little this week. For that I apologize!! However! I have a wonderful recipe to share. I made it for FHE this week. Tasty Brownies!! Unfortunately, by the time I got to take a picture, this is all I had left :) In my hubby's defense, we did share with our neighbor :)

Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies

You will need:
1 fudge brownie mix of your choice
10 oz pkg of peanut butter chips
14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup semi-sweet choc. chips
1/2 cup butter
1 TB shortening
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Bake the brownies according to the direction on the box. Cool COMPLETELY before starting anything else!!! Melt butter and peanut butter chips over LOW heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sweetened condensed milk until smooth; pour over cooled brownies. Place choc. chips and shortening in a small bowl and microwave until melted, stirring every 30 seconds to avoid scorching. When melted, mix THOROUGHLY. Drizzle choc. mixture using a teaspoon over brownies. If you want nuts, sprinkle over the top. Refrigerate until firm (about an hour). But into squares :)

I've made it using 3/4 pkg of PB chips and 1/4 pkg of milk choc. chips also. It was super chocolaty!

Am I forgiven? :)

Scalloped Ham and Taters **CROCKPOT**

I don't have any pictures for this one :( But It's a Crockpot idea! :) So I figured I'd get it out there before every one's planning Sunday dinner :)

You will need:
6 or 7 1/4" slices of ham
6-8 potatoes, sliced, not too thin
1 C chopped onion
1 C shredded cheddar cheese (I'm a cheesy kind of lady, so i use 1 1/2-2 C of cheese)
1 can cream of celery soup
paprika (optional)
Salt & pepper

Place ham, potatoes, and onion in Crockpot. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to your liking. Layer half of the cheese over the top. Spread soup over top, making sure to cover potatoes completely. Sprinkle with paprika if you want. Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. I add the rest of the cheese about halfway through.

It's perfect for Sundays! Get it going before church and then you're ready to eat :)

Strawberry Bread

Strawberries are on selling like crazy here! I went to our local Winegars and got 4 lbs for $5. Needlessly to say I bought a few pounds :) I made some jam and then sat down to think of other things I could make with fresh strawberries. Stevey and I like to eat them as is. Josh-he can leave 'em! :) So I googled strawberries. I found a few different ideas. One was bread. I found 2 recipes and they just didn't seem to have enough UMPH. So, I played with some ingredients and came up with something super tasty :) It's really easy. I thought about it after I was done, but you can add nuts if you're a fan of 'em. I think pecans or walnuts would be tasty!

What you're gonna need:

2 cups fresh strawberries (roughly)
3 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar plus 2 TB
1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Slice strawberries, and place in medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle lightly with 2 tablespoons sugar and set aside while preparing bread mixture.

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in large bowl: mix well. Blend oil and eggs into strawberries. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in pecans. Divide batter into pans. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tester (toothpick or butter knife) inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn loaves out, and cool completely

Okay kids, I need some suggestions. Are there any recipes that you've been trying to find, but just can't find 'em? Or anything you really wanna to try? Let me know! :) I'm excited to share all my recipes with you guys! I love to cook! I'm super thankful that my Grandma Ruth taught me well :)

Yummy AppleSauce Muffins

What you need:

1 1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2 TB canola or corn oil
1/4 C honey
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/3 C raisins (i use closer to 2/3, i just grab a handful LOL)

12-17 colorful paper liners

Beat together applesauce, egg, oil and honey. Sift in dry ingredients; stirring just until moisten. Fold in raisins. Divide into 12 muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes at 375. I usually get 17 muffins instead of 12, but I don't fill the cups all the way so I don't have a huge mess to clean off my pan :) :)

These muffins are 143 calories per muffin and 26 carbs, which is mainly complex carbs (the good kind ) I use "Can't Believe It's Not Butter" and sugar-free jam to complete the tastiness. My hubby loves for the morning. They're pretty filling and easy to eat on the go.

Cheap and Easy Sloppy Joes :)

So, I don't know about you, but I'm a fan of sloppy joes. My husband LIVES for his sloppy joes. I know that Manwich isn't super duper expensive, but if I don't have to buy anything-Go me :)

What you need:

1 lb of ground beef or ground turkey
1 med. onion chopped
1 green pepper diced
1 1/2 tbsp. mustard
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. catsup
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Start to brown hamburger. When most of the pink is gone, add the onion and pepper. Cook until hamburger is completely done and drain. In separate bowl mix mustard, sugar, catsup, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.

Combine sauce with hamburger. Heat through and serve on buns :) My hubby says it's not complete without chips :)

Serve and enjoy :)

After a little pushing, I've decided to start a recipe blog :) I've always wanted to own a bakery. I LOOOOOOOOOOVE baking! Heck, I just love cooking! It's a huge stress reliever for me. So, get ready for some tasty crap lol