Caleb's Birthday

So, for Caleb's birthday, I made cupcakes that any boy would love!

They were actually very simple. Simple chocolate cupcake. Chocolate frosting. Then we dipped the top into crushed oreos to look like the dirt. (use a food processor to get a fine grind). The gummy worms went right in. :-) Loved seeing the look of the kids faces when we brought these in.....some were a little unsure....but most couldn't wait to get their little hands on them....and i left totally satisfied seeing all the chocolate goatees. lol.

Claire's Birthday

So the kids are at a new school this year. I was delighted to find out that we can make homemade goodies for snacks, birthdays, and parties! Yay! So here are the birthday treats. I think they turned out adorable. :-)

We made rice krispie treats, shaped them in a Popsicle shape, stuck in a color stirrer (instead of the stick), dipped them in almond bark, and then sprinkles! We made strawberry and chocolate flavors. The kids LOVED them!

Hello friends!

Bet you thought you wouldn't see me again. lol. Truth be told. I love blogs, I still love cooking, I love planning out meals.....my problem is time! My husband is deployed now, and I'm running a military wives ministry. Oh, and we have 3 kids! Yikes!

One of the things I'm trying to figure out is why is it so hard to cook with my husband gone? If you are a military wife, you know what I'm talking about. It's so hard for me to find motivation to cook a homecooked, creative, healthy meal for just me and the kids. Like I said, I'm working on it. Tonight was victorious!

Caleb choose dinner.....speghetti and salad. I know what your thinking....creative???? NOT!

Well, if I can toot my horn for a sec......I made our own tomato sauce. You would think with as much cooking as I have done, I would have made my own tomato sauce. Nope. Tonight was my first....and....it was a success! Did I mention, the tomatoes came from my garden...oh, I didn't....well....tooooot, tooooot. (that was my horn again, lol)

So the recipe......is not going to be precise. It was a dash or this and a dash of that kind of recipe.

5-6 Ripe Tomatoes

4-5 cloves of garlic

Italian seasoning grinder (mccormicks)

Olive Oil

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut tomatoes in wedges. Chop garlic. lightly drizzle olive oil over tomatoes and garlic on a cookie sheet. Use as much or as little Italian seasoning as you'd like. Salt and pepper. Roast for about an hour. (It smells great!) Spoon all into food processor or blender and pulse until smooth or desired smoothness is reached. oh, and salt and pepper again. (if you want)

Granola

I'm re-posting this granola recipe....because....well it's that good. :-)

4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

optional: raisins, cranberries, any dried fruit, coconut, any nuts or seeds.

Combine oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon in a large bowl.

In a sauce pan over med heat, combine honey, oil, and sugar.

Simmer until bubbly.

Pour hot liquid over oat mixture. Combine with hands until all is coated.

Spread the granola on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 20-30 min at 300 degrees until golden brown.

If you like your granola with big chunks, do not stir or touch until completely cooled. If you like it all separate, stir half way through baking and once you take it out of the oven.

Store in an air tight container. Eat with milk, yogurt, or just as a snack.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I'm at my parent's house this week and we've been sifting through old recipes. How can you tell a recipe is good? Answer: When it looks like the one above! This is in my mother's handwriting but came from my Nana which came from her mother, Gram. I'm not even going to try to date this recipe but my mom has had it in her possesion for over 25 years. Love it! This is the Raisin cookies I grew up with. I can remember coming home from school to the smell of these in the house. My mom swears they are the best because you soak the raisins in hot water.

Enjoy.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
3 cups flour
4 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking powder

4 cups oatmeal
1 cup hot water
1 box raisins
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

In a sauce pan over med heat, cook water and raisins until the raisins are full and plump. Do not drain. Cream the sugar, butter, and eggs. Add the raisins to the creamed butter mixture. My mom's recipe says, add the rest of the ingredients. :-) Cook at 350 degrees. Check after 6 min.

Zucchini Brownies with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

NOTE: These brownies are cake like.....I even thought maybe I shouldn't call them brownies....however it uses no eggs and no baking powder....so, I'm calling it a brownie.



The cream cheese frosting is really good, but it does overpower the cake a little, I mean brownie. I'm waiting for a recipe for a frosting that I believe will go perfect. Ok, confession time. I tried to make the "perfect frosting" last night....and it was disasterous. By the end of the night, it was re-named marshmallow chocolate soup. Anywho, this is a good recipe and a good way to use up some zucchini.



Zucchini Brownies

1/2 cup veg oil
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup walnuts (opt)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. set aside. Cream together the vegtable oil, sugar, and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. The mixture will look grainy. Stir in zucchini and walnuts. Let mixture sit for 5 min. The zucchini will add quite a bit more moisture. Bake for 25-30 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool brownies before frosting.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (8oz) cream cheese softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk (or heavy cream)
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a mixture. Melt chocolate chips and milk in a double broiler or slowly in the microwave. Add the melted chocolate to the cream cheese slowly.
Frost the brownies.

Enjoy!

Zucchini 2010

We are visiting my family in Missouri right now and my parents garden is in full swing! We now have 10 cucumbers, 9 zucchini, and a bucket full of beans on the counter.
We have high hopes and plans for these lovely veggies. Today, zucchini brownies.....tomorrow refrigerator pickled veggies! Can't wait!

I posted a huge list of zucchini recipes last summer. Here is the link. Enjoy!

Zucchini Recipes

Here's the plan

Here's my plan for the upcoming week. Recipes to come. (BTW...my camera is not working right :-(

Salmon BLT

BBQ Pizza (on flatbread)

Breakfast

Chicken Alfredo with fettuccine

Hot ham and cheese

Leftovers

The Clean 15

After yesterday's scary dirty dozen post....I thought I'd calm your minds with some foods you can buy and eat and not have to worry about them being organic. This also came from The Daily Green.

1.Onion

2. Avocado

3. Sweet Corn

4. Pineapple

5. Mango

6. Asparagus

7. Sweet Peas

8. Kiwi

9. Cabbage

10. Eggplant

11. Papaya

12. Watermelon

13. Broccoli

14. Tomatoes (this was on the dirty list too) IDK??

15. Sweet Potatoes

The Dirty Dozen!!

Have you heard of the dirty dozen? No, not the movie. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts out a list of our dirtiest foods. I know I can't afford to eat everything organic.....but according to EWG....these are the foods I should try to buy organic. This came from The Daily Green and here is their dirty dozen (or 14). :-)

1. Tomatoes

2. Pears

3. Peaches

4. Apples

5. Sweet Bell Peppers

6. Celery

7. Nectarines

8. Strawberries

9. Cherries

10. Kale

11. Leafy Greens

12. Grapes

13. Carrots

14. Pears

(they also add Meat, Milk, and Coffee to their list)

I was inspired by my friend, Shelly's blog. She is super organic and has great organic recipes!

Smoovy

My family loves smoothies....or smoovie as my son says. We buy frozen berries in bulk from Costco and that seems to be most affordable. By using frozen berries, you don't need to add ice....and it doesn't get watered down. :-)

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (or whatever kind you like)
1/4 cup milk (or juice for a little sweeter)
1/4-1/2 cup frozen berries

Blend and enjoy!

28 ways to save money at the Supermarket

This article is by far one of the best on saving money at the supermarket I've read. The only thing I would add would be how to save on cleaning products. I'll add those recipes another day. ;-)

28 ways to save money at the supermarket

Leftovers

Do you end up throwing out leftovers.....or do you savor every last morsal? Guess it depends on what it is, right.
I like to buy roasts. For one thing, I can throw them in the crockpot and not really have to "cook" dinner. The other reason, they go soooo far.
Take for instance, a beef roast.
Night one, we have roast (made in the crockpot) with salad and baked potatoes.
Night two, shred the beef....add BBQ sauce and you have shredded BBQ sandwhiches.
Night three, Add the shredded beef to plain cheese pizza, add some jack cheese, cilantro, and you have bbq pizza. So easy right?

How about pork roast?
Night one, sliced served with asparagus and fluffy potatoes.
Night two, chop it up and stir fry with some peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli (whatever veggies you have on hand) and rice
Night three, add any leftover pork and rice with peppers, onions, tomatoes, sausage, shrimp, with creole seasoning....and now you have jambalaya!

Chicken? The possibilities are endless!
What do you like to do with leftover chicken?

Healthy Sweet Potato Pancakes

It's snowing.....again. It's definitely an inside day.....so that means.....I'm cooking. :-) (and cleaning a little :-(

We started off our day with Healthy Sweet Potato Pancakes

2 cups white whole wheat flour
4 t baking powder
2 T brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
2 cups milk (plus more for thinning)
1/4 cup milled flax seeds or wheat germ (half and half would be awesome)
4 t butter, melted
2 eggs
1 sweet potato, cooked (a heaping 1/2 cup is good)

Mix well. Let sit for a few minutes and it will get smoother. Add milk for thinner pancakes. (I ended up adding quite a bit) Butter or spray your pan.
Pour 1/4 cup of batter into a med high hot pan. When you see bubbles, flip.

Enjoy!

These take a little bit longer to cook than normal pancakes. You could also sub in pumpkin instead of sweet potato. Yum! Double your batch and/or freeze your leftovers for a quick breakfast during the week.

Veggies....Veggies....and more Veggies....

My husband expressed to me earlier this month that he would love more vegatarian meals. I was surprised.....and that was replaced with fear! I'm not sure I can make some great vegatarian meals. Guess what folks? I can!!!! I picked up Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates cookbook and I gathered up some recipes along with my courage and went for it. First, I made a ratatouille. YUM! Here is the recipe I used (it was adapted with some changes from the Moosewood cookbook. Enjoy!

4 cups Eggplant cubed
2 cups onion chopped
1 cup yellow squash cubed
3 cups zucchini cubed
3 cups bell peppers chopped (two colors are prettier:-)
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
3 Tbl olive oil

375 degrees
Prep all veggies. Rinse the eggplant in a colander, drain, and dry with a paper towel. Toss eggplant, squash, zucchini, bell peppers, onions with 2 Tbl olive oil. Spread the veggies in a single layer on a baking tray. Roast for about 40 min until veggies are soft and edges are brown.
Layer half the veggies in a baking pan and top with half the can of Italian tomatoes. Layer on the remaining veggies and the rest of the tomatoes. Cover and bake for 40 min. Serve immediately.
We served ours over some brown rice. It would be great with pasta or polenta. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Meal Plan part 2

So do you have your recipes organized yet? Now are you wondering how to pick and choose? Well, there are a few ways to go about it. Here is an example:

Set up 2 weeks to a month at a time.
Week One:
Monday - Chicken
Tuesday - Pasta
Wednesday - Crockpot Beef
Thursday - Soup
Friday - Vegetarian
Sat - Leftovers
Sunday - Breakfast

Week Two:
Monday - Fish
Tuesday - Crockpot Chicken
Wednesday - Soup
Thursday - Pork
Friday - Pasta
Saturday - Beef
Sunday - Vegetarian

And so on......you could also schedule more specifically.....for example....
Monday - Chicken Italian
Tuesday - Beef Mexican
Wednesday - Vegetarian Soup
...And so on...

By organizing your recipes and planning ahead, you can really save yourself headache and make dinner time simple. See this post on how to display your meal plans.

Happy New Year!

Do you make new years resolutions? I'm not usually too big on them, but I'm making a few this year....mainly cause my husband says that if you write your goals down, it's proven that you are more likely to achieve those goals. So, this year, it's my goal to read my Bible every day, do a quarter triathlon (quarter mile swim, 6 mile bike, 1.5 mile run)(it's a small goal...but I gotta start somewhere), and to get my certification as a personal chef.....and I for sure want to blog more! So...I thought it's appropriate to start the new year off with talking about meal planning.

Ok, if you know me, you know I love to plan!! I don't know why...I'm just a planner and I really enjoy it. I've talked to several women about how they plan meals and how they decide whats for dinner and most of you say the planning aspect is the hardest. I've also found that the way I plan may not work for everyone. It seems that you just have to figure out the best method for you and your family. With that said....here are a few things I found on other blogs and websites that I hope will inspire you with planning your meals.

Have an old picture frame your not using? How about this from Make it and Love it.

Or this chalkboard project from Nannygoat. You could put a coat of magnetic paint under the chalkboard paint for a multi-functional chalkboard!

Put your recipes in a binder as Martha shows. She uses simple photo album sheets.

Here is a pretty and functional way to display recipes. Find out how she does it at Controlling My Chaos.

And...if you need some inspiration and want to see what others are having....check Meal Plan Monday from I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Uh....Hi...

Hey guys.....
so I guess I owe an explanation.....my last entry was Oct 17!!! (yikes)

Well, here goes....
pregnancy......miscarriage (thats the worse part....but now that that is out.....whew)
My husband got year long orders to Iraq.......and the orders just got cancelled.
2 cars have broke down......1 minivan has been purchased.
My father got sick and had surgery.
Choir rehearsals......Christmas concert is over now.

Oh, and did I mention I still have 2 kiddos and a husband. :-)

So please, from the bottom of my heart, forgive me for being absent.

I pray you all have a fabulous Christmas and that you truly experience Christ's love this holiday season.

Merry Christmas,
Shelby

Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Bananas and Pecans

Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Banana and Pecans

6 lbs sweet potatoes
1 ripe banana (leave the peel on)
1/2 st butter, soft
1/2 c maple syrup
2 T grd cinnamon
2 t pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t salt

1 lb pecans
1/2 c butter unsalted
1 T salt
2 T brown sugar

Poke the potatoes with a fork and bake about 1 hour in a 425 degree oven. Roast the banana with the peel on in a dish for 15 min at the same temp. When cooled, peel the potatoes and banana. Put in a food processor or blender and pulse but leave the potatoes somewhat chunky. Add the butter and maple and puree until your desired smoothness. Add the cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice and salt. Transfer to a baking dish and smooth out.
In a skillet, cook the pecans with the butter over low heat and spinkle in the salt. Stir often for about 5 min. Put the pecans on top of the sweet potatoes and sprinkle the remaining brown sugar. Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 min until heated throughly.

This is very similar to a recipe Tyler Florence did a few years ago on Food Network.

Hot Ham and Cheese Sands

We have these with Pumpkin Soup in the fall. You can also freeze these for a quick lunch.

Hot Ham and Cheese

8 sandwhich buns
8 slices swiss cheese
1/2 lb sliced ham
1 t poppy seed
1/2 c butter, melted
1/4 c onion, chopped or 4 T dried onions
1 t worcestershire sauce
1/4 c dijon mustard

Assemble ham and cheese onto buns.
Combine poppy seed, butter, onion, worcestershire, and dijon in a small sauce pan. Warm ingredients on med heat until butter has melted. Spead mix on each bun. Wrap in foil. Bake for 15 min at 350 degrees.
If you freeze, freeze before you bake. Bake frozen sands at 300 degrees for 30 min.