Sunshine, Cookies, Bird Houses, & Girl Scout patches

It's almost Easter!!!  All the good family time, yummy food, fun spring crafts, and fingers crossed for sunshine. The kids are excited about dying eggs and of course the hunt.

I love spring time. (mostly because summer is right around the corner)

Today was productive for me. I got up and made coffee, for me, and breakfast for my first grader, took her to school, and came home to the hubby making me breakfast. Wow and YUM!! After breakfast, Lil' Miss M painted a bird feeder that her daddy helped her build.

I got these cool bird house/ feeder crafts from The Rocking Horse, a local toy store, owned by my good friend Mary.  She has great stuff.

lil miss M, hard at work

big miss M's birdhouse for already finished

I finished ironing on Mina's girl scouts patches, boiled three dozen eggs for dying (and egg salad sandwiches), made birds nest cookies, vacuumed the living room, mopped the kitchen, and am still doing laundry.

M's Girl Scout Daisy vest and her hard earned patches. Very sweet

All while the sun was out and warm. It was a good day but now.... I'm done.

I think I've done enough. Hmm... now what for dinner.

A mothers day is never done, who am I kidding.

Oh, and I get to go to work tonight.... well that will be a good break. 

.sigh.

Birds Nest Cookies

1 package Nestle Toll House Peanut Butter &  Milk Chocolate morsels
1 package Chow Mien Noodles
1 package Cadbury Mini Candy Eggs

Melt peanut butter and chocolate chip morsels in a microwave safe bowl, for 30 seconds.

Remove for microwave and stir. Put in for another 30 seconds, take out and stir. Do this until the chips are completely melted. It only took me a total of one minute.

Add in your chow mien noodles. Stir and coat completely.

Spoon onto, wax paper covered baking sheet.

Top with candy eggs, and refrigerate until firm.

Super easy, and the kids love them!! Enjoy!!



my good little helper

ready to go in the refrigerator

Mixed Berry Crepes w/ Fresh Whipped Cream

Happy Monday and April 2nd everyone!!!

(Holy crap it's April)

So, this moring I decided to make my first attempt at crepes. Love to eat them,  had never made them. So here it went.

I found some really great wheat-free and gluten-free baking and pancake mix at my local natural food store, by Pamela's Products. I had some frozen berries in the freezer and some heavy whipping cream that I needed to use.

So that would be my filling.

They were delicious and a damn good first try.

Enjoy!!

Heavy Whipping Cream by Meadow Gold and Pamela's Baking Mix

Whipped Cream

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

1/4 -1/2 cup sugar

Beat with electric mixer until cream begins to stand on it's own. Do not over beat.

Takes about 2-3 minutes for me on high speed.

Berries, filling

2 cups frozen mixed berries

sugar, to taste

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and begin to cook on medium heat.

Cook for approx. 5 additional minutes, on low heat, once they have reached a slight boil.

Turn off heat and let sit until needed.

Crepes

1 cup Pamela's Mix

1 egg(large) I used a duck egg, it's just what I had.

1- 1/3 cup water

1 TBSP oil

Mix all ingredients together, your batter will be very thin.

Preheat crepe pan or large round pan on medium low heat.

Pre-grease skillet before baking every crepe. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into skillet and very quickly spin pan in circular motion to even out batter into a thin, even coat. Air holes will appear, do not try and fill them in. When edges start to brown, lift edges of crepe with spatula, then flip.

not the best picture, but you get it

Take the crepe out of the pan and place flat on a piece of wax paper. Use this as a liner between crepes when stacking. Keep crepes covered to prevent them from drying out.

Fill with whipped cream and berries, and roll. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar.

 

filled and ready to eat

Chicken & Rice Casserole

I finally, finally have internet thats worth a shit!!!! So I'm back to posting things!! This WiFi crap I had previously made it impossible to upload any food pictures!! I was too frustrated so.. that why I tapered off. But hopefully now, I find more time to post, since my upload time is light speed :).

It's been DUMPING rain here and the kids were sick for the last week. Both had ear infections and chest colds. It was a hard week stuck in the house. On top of this I've had a headache for about a week and a half now. Yes... I'm going to the doctor today. So I've been surfing the web for recipes, facebook-ing, ordered a touchless trash can from costco.com, made a wish list on http://sephora.com (feel free to buy me pretty make up things), and helping my little M play games on http://coolmathforkids.com.

It's been lazy rainy days here. Can't wait for sunshine and swimming weather!!

I found this recipe in a Family Fun magazine from Campbell's. Easy and fast, perfect headache food.

M'm! M'm! Good!

Ingredients:

1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup Healthy Request (I prefer this to regular, as the sodium content is lower)
1 1/3 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked regular long grain white rice
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups frozen broccoli flowerets
1cup frozen corn
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thawed
1/2 cup shredded Colby cheese
1/3 cup French's fried onions, crushed

Instructions:

1. In a shallow baking dish, I combined my soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper, corn, and broccoli.
2. Top with your chicken breasts. I seasoned my chicken with a little bit of garlic salt...but this part is all up to you. Season as you wish. Cover with foil.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes. Take out of oven, and top the chicken with the French's friend onions. Bake for an additional 5 minutes then remove from oven. Lastly top with cheese and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.


With a prep time of only 5 minutes and cooking time of 50 minutes, this meal is simply and delicious. Perfect for a busy weeknight. Enjoy!! Happy Cooking.

Easy Stove Top Chili

original recipe: Tennessee Home and Farm via http://farmflavor.com

recipe adapted and photos by: Something Different For Dinner

Easy Stove Top Chili

Ingredients

2 cups red bell pepper, diced

4 cups onion, diced

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

2 ½ pounds ground beef

2 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce

2 cans kidney beans

1 soup can water

4 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and drain the grease.
2. In a large stockpot, sauté the bell pepper and onion in oil until slightly soft.
3. Add the minced garlic and browned beef.
4. Add tomato sauce, beans, water and seasonings.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.

my chili, simmering slowly

Simmer, uncovered, for approximately 1 hour minimum. (The original recipe said to simmer for only 15 minutes. That wasn't enough for me.)

Colorado Peach Cobbler

We had just made a major shopping trip to Costco and my counter tops are overflowing with fresh fruit. Not a bad problem to have.

This recipe was quick, easy, and so delicious. Even with my substitutions, it came out perfectly!!!

Enjoy~

Original recipe: Clara Hinman, for TasteofHome Family Collection Cookbook

Adapted recipe & photos: SomethingDifferentForDinner

Colorado Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg ( I didn't have this so I used Pumpkin Pie Spice)

4 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold butter

1 egg, beaten (I didn't have any eggs either. I substituted 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon oil, and 2 teaspoons baking powder. I found this substitution on a vegan website, worked great!!!!!!)

In a bowl, combine sugar, flour, and nutmeg(pumpkin pie spice). Add peaches; stir to coat.





For topping, combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt; cut in the butter until the mixture looks like fine crumbles. Stir in egg, or substitute. Spoon over peaches

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Serve hot or cold with vanilla ice cream.

Yield: 8-10 servings

Tuna Salad Sandwiches

It's fall!!!! I can't tell you how happy I am for autumn. It's my favorite time of year. The days are shorter, nights longer and cooler, and Halloween is almost here. Food just tastes so much better when the weather gets cold. Summer was great and busy. I had a nice break from my blog, but I missed it and my husband missed all the good food.

It's official, I'm in the kitchen again. Plus, I got a really nice new camera. Canon EOS Rebel T3i. VERY NICE.

Happy Monday!!!

****Here is my grandmother's recipe for tuna salad sandwiches, minus the dried cranberries.



Ingredients:

La Brea Bakery brand, Torta sandwich rolls
Romaine lettuce
2 cans solid white albacore tuna
1/2 an Asian pear
1 hard boiled egg
1 garlic dill pickle
Dried cranberries
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt & pepper

Combine all chopped, diced ingredients into large mixing bowl.

Add mayonnaise to your liking, I used about 3-4 tablespoons, I dunno I don't measure.

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Fill your torta roll with tuna salad and romaine lettuce.

served with Asian Pear

Cheesy Sausage Strata

I'm back again. I've missed you. I've missed blogging.

Truth be told, I really have been cooking... just not posting about it.
Well, I got up this morning and looked around in the frig.

Lots of eggs in there, better use them up. I'm usually not an eggy person, but this recipe caught my eye.

Hope you enjoy it as much as my clan did!!

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!




Cheesy Sausage Strata


Original recipe: Better Homes & Garden Cook Book
Adapted recipe & pictures: Something Different For Dinner

8 ounces bulk Pork sausage
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups Italian style bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 cup sharp cheddar
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In large skillet cook sausage, onion, garlic, and peppers until sausage in cooked and veggies are tender. Drain off fat, and set aside for later.

2. Put bread crumbs in the bottom of a large baking dish. Spoon sausage mixture over bread crumbs. Top with 1 cup of cheese.

3. In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, and salt. Pour egg mix over layers in baking dish. Gently press down on layers. Let stand for 15 minutes.

4. Bake, uncovered at 325 degrees F, for 45 minutes.

You can check if your strata is done by inserting a knife near the center. If it comes out clean, it's done!! Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Let stand for an additional 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy! Happy eating!!