Pumpkin Muffins (cupcakes)

Fall is here and what better way to celebrate than a recipe with pumpkin! And, an easy one, too!
I first got this recipe from Heidi. When I heard how easy and versitile it was, and it got my kids to eat some vegetables, I had to give it a try. I like to call them muffins, so that I can give them to my kids for breakfast or a snack without feeling guilty, but I guess they are really cupcakes.

1 can pumpkin
1 box of cake mix (any kind)
that is all

Mix the pumpkin and cake mix. If it is too thick, I sometimes add a little water, about 1/4 cup.
Fill muffin tins with mix
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes
They come out so moist and delicious. And, the best part, you can use any cake mix. It works so well with spice cake, but also with yellow, chocolate, whatever you want. And, the girls like it when I add chocolate chips to them. Or, if you prefer, you could make this into a cake or cookies!

Pinto Bean Tacos

Another simple recipe that the whole family enjoyed...go figure!!

1 can pinto beans
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
flour tortillas
lettuce
shredded cheese
chopped tomatoes
sour cream
whatever else you enjoy on your tacos!!

In a medium saucepan, mix and heat beans, chili powder, cumin, and lime juice.
Put mixture on tortillas and add whatever you enjoy!

Lemon Butter Salmon & Broccoli Penne

Simple and good for you...go figure! This is a single serving recipe, so obviously, I made it for 5. It is an easy one to double, triple, or whatever....

4 ounces Salmon
2 ounces penne pasta
1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli
1 tbsp butter, melted
4 tbsp low sodium vegetable broth
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 garlic clove

Broil or grill salmon
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Heat broccoli in microwave safe dish until hot.
Whisk together butter, broth, garlic, zest and lemon juice.
Toss penne with broccoli and place salmon on top (I had it on the side)
Drizzle with butter sauce.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

This one comes from my aunt Carol!

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (14 1/2 oz)
1 pkg stovetop stuffing mix for chicken
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. dries basil leaves
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Place tomatoes with their liquid in med. bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and garlic: stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set asidePlace the chicken in 13 X 9 baking dish: sprinkle with the basil and chese. Top with the stuffing mixture.Bake 30 min or until chicken is cooked through.
Serve with a green salad.

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

From my dad! Cant wait to try this out this week!

Prep time- 10 minutes
2 Cups Stove Top stuffing
4 Small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 slices smoked ham (lunch meat works great)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 cup shredded swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Prepare stuffing and set aside. Place chicken in 13 x 9 baking pan, cover with ham. Mix soup and mustard and spoon over chicken. Top with stuffing and bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for additional 5 minutes.

Egg Rolls

I recieved this recipe from a lady at church a few years ago. Khuanchai is from Vietnam and agreed to do a lesson on making egg rolls. I never knew how easy it was. And, they taste so much better than what you get at the local store.

Even the girls like them!!

Lets get started.
First things first...get your aprons ready, this gets messy.

Ingredients

3 cups cabbage, chopped
1/2 pound ground pork
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped carrots
1 pack clear rice noodles (found in oriental spot at the store)
1/2 cup oyster sauce (found in same spot)
pepper
1 tbsp sugar
1 pack egg roll wrappers (usually found in the refridgerated fresh produce)

Brown pork. Since the recipe calls for 1/2 pound, I usually brown 1 pound and then freeze half of it for the next time I make these!

While browning, remove the rice noodles and place them in a deep dish covered with warm water. when they are done, about 10 minutes, cut up with a pair of kitchen shears, just so that there arent any long strings.

In a large bowl, combine everything, except wrappers. Mix well, with hands is the best!

In a deep skillet, fill half way with vegetable or canola oil. Heat over med heat. (to see if it is ready, I throw in some of the mixture to see if it sizzles or not...so I dont know what emp it needs to be)

Now, get rolling! Take a wrapper, fill with the filling, and roll it up. Use egg white or water aroung the edges to secure them in place. When the skillet it hot enough, carefully drop some in adn cook about 3 minutes each side, or till nice and golden brown. Take them out and let dry on paper towels. Serve with Duck Sauce, or Sweet and Sour.

The great thing is how versitile these are. You can add mushrooms, onions, whatever you want. And, why not try substituting the oyster sauce with thai peanut sauce!!!

Golden Grahams Smores

Growing up, my mom always made the best treats. We always had friends over and she was always on top of things making the latest recipe. When she found this one, we constantly asked for it. I remember one friend in particular, Jenna, and I could eat an entire pan of these. We never waited for them to cool. I dont think we even let them make it into a pan! Anyhow, now my kids love them too!

1 bag miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
5 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 box Golden Grahams (8 cups)

1. Grease 13x9-inch pan with butter. Reserve 1 cup of the marshmallows. In 3-quart saucepan, melt chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup and remaining 4 1/2 cups marshmallowsover low heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Pour cereal into large bowl. Pour marshmallow mixture over cereal; stir until evenly coated. Stir in remaining 1 cup marshmallows.

3.With buttered back of spoon, press mixture in pan. Cool at least 1 hour or until firm. Or, do as I do and eat them warm!!!

Fruit Dip

I finally tested this recipe and it is amazing. My waistline will not be thanking me in the morning. Maybe the fact that it is served with fruit will cancel out the bad stuff!

Cream together:
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow fluff
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp grated orange peel
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Now, I could just eat this all by itself. But, it is supposed to be served with fresh fruit. I had it with an orange, which was perfect! It is great with pretzels too!

Corn Salsa

This has to be my favorite thing to make. I could eat this for every meal and never get tired of it. It is refreshing, sweet, savory...and not so bad for you!

The list:
4 ears fresh corn, or 2 cans sweet corn
1 12oz jar roasted red peppers, chopped
2 avacados
2 green onions, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 jalapeno
3 tbsp minced cilantro
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cumin

If I am using fresh corn, I like to boil it for a few minutes first, to get the bright yellow color, but not too much so it gets soggy. You still want that bite to it. If it is not corn season, go ahead and use about 2 cans of sweet corn. Let the corn cool before cutting it off the cobb.

Mix the corn with all the other ingrediants. Chill for a few hours. Serve with chips.

I dont use the jalepenos....too spicy for me. That, and I have an obsession with avacados. So I usually add one more. I like to have a piece with every bite!

Hawiian Haystacks

This is such a great dinner, at least in our house, because it gets the kids involved and they get to choose what they like to put on their "haystack".
Begin by cooking 1 lb of chicken, cut up into cubes. I usually just boil it with some rosemary.
In a saucepan, combine 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup milk, and the cooked chicken. Too easy? I thought so! Heat it on med to hot.
Make some minute rice.

On a plate, start with the rice, then put a spoonful of the chicken mixture on top.
Now the fun part.
Pile on as many toppings as you want. Here is a list of what we usually have:
chopped green peppers
shredded cheese
crushed pineapple
sliced water chestnuts
cashews/sliced almonds
shredded coconut
chow mein noodles
if you can think of something else that you like...just add it! That is the great part, you can have whatever you want on it, or dont!
Mix it up and enjoy!

3rd Favorite Dessert...Apple Dumpling Heaven...(can I really keep doing this?)

This is seriously the best thing that has ever happened to apples. Ever. If you are a health nut, please stop reading this now. I know a lot of people who take recipes and try to make them healthy by cutting stuff out of it. PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT HERE! This recipe will never be the same if you cut back. Just skip it. But I suggest you at least try it before you banish it.

The ingredients:
2 granny smith apples, peeled
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
1 can MOUNTAIN DEW

thats right, I said it, Mountain Dew. Who would have thought???

First, cut each apple into 8 slices (that makes 16)
Roll each slice in a crescent roll
Place in a greased 9x13 pan

In a small sauce pan, melt butter.
Add vanilla
Stir in sugar, no need to dissolve, just stir it in quickly
Pour this majically calorie free mixture over the apples
Now pour the MD all around the sides and in between the apples. It will look like a lot of liquid, but it all soaks up, leaving a little sauce after it cooks.
Sprinkle cinnamon on top
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes
Divine if served with vanilla ice cream

Now, go step on your treadmill for a few hours.

Mississippi Mud Cookies

I usually love a good excuse to try a new dessert, any dessert for that matter. Last night, I got the opportunity to try these cookies that I have been wanting to make for a while. I didnt love the reason last night...but that story is for another time.

So, here we go....



1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chocolate chips
miniature marshmallows

In a bowl, melt the 1 cup chocolate chips in microwave for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, or until melted. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar till creamy with an electric mixer.
Add eggs, one at a time.
Beat in vanilla and melted chocolate.
Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually add to chocolate mixture till well blended. Add pecans and chocolate chips.
Drop spoonfulls of batter on a cookie sheet. Place 3 marshmallows on top of batter.
Bake at 350 for 9 minutes, or until set.
Let cool on wire rack.

The perfect steak

I have always been afraid of steak. I shouldnt be since we had cows growing up and always had meat in our freezer. My mother must have made it about 3 times a week...you think I would have picked up on it. So, I have not done it so much. I came across this easy recipe, it said that the loved one you make it for will fall even more in love with you. I think I fell in love with me!

1-2 ribeyes of good quality...dont go to Walmart...please!
1 tbsp Lawrey's seasoned salt
3 tbsp lemon pepper

Mix spices together and rub into the ribeye. Make sure you really rub them in there...dont just sprinkle it on top.
In a fry pan (I use my wonderful Green Pan that I recieved for Christmas...LOVE IT!) place 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil. Heat over med-high till nice and HOT.
Place the meat in the pan and let it do its work. Dont move it around, just leave it for about 2 minutes. Turn it over and do the same to the other side. Turn the heat down and let it cook for another 2 minutes. It should be nice and seared! Depending on how you like your meat done, cook it longer. I like mine medium/med-rare. So, after I seared it, I cooked it for another minute or two on each side. Take it out of the pan and let it rest for a few minutes. Then, let the love begin.

Fried Corn

I have never heard of this until I watched Food Network over the weekend and decided to try it. Has anyone else? I didnt get the recipe written down, so this is my variation of it. The whole family ate it up and left them wanting more.

2 tbsp butter
2 cans sweet corn
3 tbsp honey
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1/4 cup milk

In a pan, melt the butter until nice and hot over med-high heat.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Let simmer on med-high/med heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
The liquids will evaporate and the corn will brown and caramalize.
Serve hot!

Roasted Garlic

Before we start, a little lesson in garlic. Garlic comes in heads, not to be confused with cloves. The cloves are the parts of the heads that you peel off. There are about 10 cloves to a head of garlic. When it comes to recipes, do not confuse a clove with a head...you will end up with a disaster. I have a cousin who once did this. Her recipe called for something like 10 cloves of garlic, so, she used 10 heads...thats like 100 cloves of garlic. Needless to say, their kitchen smelled pretty good!

OK, so, take one head of garlic and chop the top off so that the cloves are exposed. Dont do too much, or else you will lose most of the garlic.
Peel the excess peel off...but leave the cloves still in the peel...make sense?
Drizzle with a little olive oil.
Wrap in foil.
Place in 375 oven for 30-40 minutes, until browned. Thats it!

Now the good part. The cloves will be nice and tender and you can just squeeze out the garlic. Divine! Use it however you desire. Put it in mashed potatoes or on top of a baked potato. My favorite....take a piece of french bread, or a dinner roll, and squeeze it on their. It spreads like butter!

Frito Taco Salad (or Pimaladas)

We have tacos at least once a week here in our house. Easy dinner, everyone likes them. Sometimes I like to change it up so it doesnt get boring and I make taco salad. Or, I make this dinner. It is all in the sauce. And, the sauce is easy to make.

2 tbsp taco seasoning
2 tbsp flour
mix in a sauce pan and slowly add 24 oz tomato juice. Heat and stir occasionally. If it is too thick, just add more juice!

To make the dinner, start with a plate of Fritos and pile on whatever toppings you want....
ground beef
lettuce
cheese
tomatoes
avacado
onions
sour cream
olives
whatever else you can think of that you would want...the world is your oyster (but I wouldnt recommend them)

Now, the good part, after your plate is full of all the yummy goodness it can handle, pour the sauce on top of it...just lay it on there. The sauce will melt all the cheese and make it gooey and yummy and messy! It is divine! And, it is so versitile! Great for a big crowd. You can easily make the sauce to serve more. Just add equal amounts of flour and taco seasoning and add more tomato juice!!

Edit

I had previously posted on the 2nd best dessert and realized that I made a mistake in the ingredients. I fixed it, but in case some of you wrote it down, make note of the change. 2 packages of cream cheese, not one. Sorry!

Crummy Chicken

Well, not crummy like it sucks, but "crumby" like it has bread crumbs on it! That is just what the girls call it. My mom used to make this for me growing up, and I started it years ago. Now, its about the only chicken Maddison will eat, as long as she can dip it in her baked beans. And, let me tell you...she can eat it! I make it once a week, just so I know she is eating something....Bryan is a little tired of it!
Here we go!

1 lb chicken tenders (I use the tenders instead of breasts...they cook so much nicer and even and the kids like having a little chicken finger on their plate!)
1 stick butter
1 cup italian style bread crumbs
1 cup parmesean cheese (I just use the grated Kraft)

Make an assembly line with the chicken, bowl of the melted butter, and another bowl with the bread crumbs and cheese mixed together. Take a piece of chicken and dunk it in the butter, then cover it with the crumb/cheese mixture and then put it in a 13x9 pan. I like to get them covered good...pat those suckers down with those crumbs! A little secret...sometimes, after all the chicken is in the pan, I drizzle the leftover butter on top...so healthy, I know! And, sometimes, if I am feeling real fiesty, I will add 1 tbsp of dijon mustard to the butter before the bread crumbs. Adds a little flavor and kick to it. The girls dont like that so much.
Bake it at 350 for 30-35 minutes, till the chicken is cooked through. Tonight, we are serving ours with baked beans and curried cauliflower (recipe to come tomorrow!).

Wings

I got this recipe from a friend. And, though I have not tried it yet, I can not wait to on SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!
EDIT: I just made these and they are to die for! Bryan loved them. Only thing I didnt do was use tobasco...didnt need to...it was spicy enough. So, I am taking that out of my recipe.




I love the Superbowl. I dont like watching it as much as I like to have an excuse to make finger food and have a party. My parents always had parties growing up, and this just brings back memories. Even if it is just Bryan and I on Sunday, you better believe I am making a bunch of muchie food! Lets get started on the wings, shall we?

Start with a bag of Chicken wing drummetts. I like the drummetts, but you could also get the "wings" if you prefer. Just make sure they are not cooked or breaded or anything. Just plain.
In a deep frying pan, heat about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches of oil on med-med/high heat. When it is heated, throw in the chicken wings/drummetts. Make sure to stir them around so they dont get stuck to the bottom of the pan. Turn them occasionally, cooking them for about 25 minutes, or till crispy and brown. Remove from pan and let them drain on paper towels.

Now, while those are cooking, you can make the sauce. In a large pot, melt 2 sticks of butter. To it, add 1 12oz bottle of Louisiana Hot sauce...not tobasco, not hot wing sauce....it could also be called cayenne pepper sauce. Stir it up.

Take the chicken, in batches, and place in the sauce. Mix it up and make sure every part of the chicken gets sauced. Place in bowl, or platter, or however you choose to serve it.

I like my wings with celery and Bleu Cheese Dressing....my problem is that the dressings from the store never have enough cheese in it. My way of solving this problem...I take Ranch dressing and add to it crumbled bleu cheese. That way, I can make sure it has enough in it!!!

Enjoy, and happy Superbowl!

Corn Pudding

I never had this dish until I met Bryan. Growing up, during holidays, we always just had corn in butter sauce. Not Bryan. This dish is a staple during the holidays. And, if you forget, like I did over Christmas, to make it...boy, you are gonna get it!

Ingredients
1 can of corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 box Jiffy corn bread
2 sticks of butter
2 eggs
16 oz sour cream

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

So, I made these last night and they are so good. Simple, delicious, and great for entertaining!

Ingredients
Jalapenos
cream cheese, softened
bacon
thats all!

Take off the stems and cut the peppers in half. (Use as many as you want...the amount does not matter) Take out the seeds from the inside of the pepper.
Fill the inside of the pepper with the cream cheese.
Cut the bacon into 3rds. Take one piece, and wrap it around the pepper. If you want to put a toothpick through to keep it in place, go ahead. I have found that it works either way!
Place on wire rack on top of a cookie sheet (to catch the grease).
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, or until desired crispiness.
Eat and enjoy!

The 2nd best dessert- Cheesecake Sopapilla

So, the first best dessert, I have not gotten up the courage to let go of. It is a family recipe and only one other person outside of my family knows it (that I know of). So, instead, I will give you the 2nd best dessert. I would call it "Linnea's Cheesecake Sopapillas" but I kinda got it from someone else who made it once, and then I turned around and made it again and again and again. Plus, she got it from someone else. I dont remember the exact recipe, so the original may be different, but this is how I make it!

2 cans cressent rolls
2 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened (dont try fat free, it just doesnt work with this!)
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla

topping
1/2 stick melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

In a greased 9x13 pan, open a can of rolls and roll it out on the bottom of the pan. Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla and spread on top of rolls. Open the next can and roll out on top cream cheese mixture. Pour melted butter on top (by now you are realizing how healthy this recipe is!) and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Now, the important part. You have to let it cool for a while. It is good hot, but so much better cooled off and just slightly warm. I never can last long enough to let it cool. Best served with ice cream and strawberries (to make it a little healthy!)

French Toast Casserole

Mmmmmm, Yummy!

1 loaf French Bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (10 cups)
8 eggs
3 cups milk
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt

topping
2 tbsp butter, cubed
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Place bread cubes in a greased 13x9 pan. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread. Cover and refigerate for 8 hours, or overnight.

Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Dot with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over the top. Cover and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with syrup.

It is great to add fresh fruit, like blueberries or strawberries to the batter!

Penne Pasta Salad

Easy Peasy!

1 pound mini penne pasta (or whatever you want) cooked until tender
1 cup vinegar (red wine or white)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp celery seed (sometimes I sub celery salt and leave out regular salt)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup diced cucumber
1 cup tomatoes
1 green or red pepper, or both

mix all together and refrigerate overnight.
This is a great dish because it has so many things that you already have on hand. Plus, you could put in any veggies that you want. If you dont like one thing, put something else in. Or, you could beef it up a little and add chicken or shrimp!

Lemon Tea Bread

This bread is so delicious that it melts in your mouth. Try it once and you will never be the same!

In a bowl, mix:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

In another bowl, mix:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

To the wet ingredients, add the dry, alternating between 1/2 cup milk and the dry. For some reason, this step is important. If you add the milk all at once or add the dry ingredients all at once, it does not turn out right.

Stir in 1 tbsp grated lemon rind.

Put in greased loaf pan (I like to line the bottom with parchement paper, just to make sure it is going to get out with no problems)

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Take out of pan and let cool. When you are ready to serve, mix...
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
spoon on top of bread
Mix 1 tbsp grated lemon rind and 1 tbsp sugar. Sprinkle on top of bread. Serve warm or room temp...delicious either way!

Meatballs

These are perfect for spaghetti, or at my house, we make meatball sandwiches! They turn out moist and delicious!

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (ground sirloin is great for it too!)
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesean cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I use Italian style)
salt/pepper to taste

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Form into whatever size balls you would like. Place them into unlined cupcake tins. This keeps them from rolling all over the place. Place in a 425 degree oven for 12 minutes.

Cheesy Potatoes

I dont know the real name for this dish. I just knew that growing up, when my mother made this, my sister and I would call it this, so it just stuck. That and I know they are just so delicious!

Ingredients
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 stick melted butter
8 oz Velveeta cheese
1 bag (2 lbs) southern style hash browns

In a large bowl, combine butter, soup, sour cream, and milk
Dice up the cheese and add it to the bowl
stir in potatoes till covered with mixture
Put in 13x9 glass pan
Bake at 350 for about 1 hour, or till browned.

Swamp Stew

Bryan was out hunting one night and some men in the woods fed them some food. Bryan didnt know the exact measurements so we played around and found our own way of cooking it. And, sure enough, its cooked in the crock pot. It is a housewifes lifesaver! Oh, and Bryan didnt know what it was called, so we just named it Swamp Stew...it just fits!

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 stick butter
1 head cabbage
bunch of potatoes...cut up
salt
pepper

First, place the whole chicken in your crock pot.
To it, add the water and vinegar.
Put the butter right on top.
Cover and let cook on low.
Usually by the time the butter has melted over the top of the chicken, about an hour or so, I add as much cut up cabbage and potatoes as I can fit. If it doesnt all fit, which it usually doesnt, then I let it cook down a little and add the rest later.
Cover and let cook for about 6-7 hours. It may look like there is no water or liquid, but remember, the crock pot creates more liquid as it cooks, and the cabbage also creates more.
When the chicken is tender, try to pull out the whole thing. It may fall apart on you, so fish around and make sure there are no bones in the pot. No one likes bones in their stew! Pull all the chicken off the bones (I like to make sure it is shredded and in small pieces), take off the skin and give it to some animals, and put the chicken back in the pot. Add some salt and pepper to taste. It should be ready to go, or you could let it simmer in there for a little while longer and let the juices flow! Serve in a bowl with some nice warm homemade bread! Mmmmmm, my mouth is watering already.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I like easy. I like simple. I like delicious. Folks, this cant get any easier, more simple or more delicious!

List of Characters
1 pork shoulder
1/2 cup water

no, really, thats all

Trim the fat off the pork shoulder. Place it in a crock pot with the water. (I keep the bone on for now, but if it doesnt fit, you can always trim it off the bone.)
Cook, on low, for 6-8 hours. No stirring, no messing around. After time is up, it will be so tender, it will flake right off the bone. I usually pull the whole thing out and with 2 forks, pull it apart, getting all the fat off (and feeding the scraps to the dogs). Then, put it back in the crock pot to get all the juices mixed in. No need to salt it...pork is salty enough. It comes out just right. Just put it on top of your favorite bread or bun with your favorite bbq sauce (or not) and enjoy!!!

Variation
In the begining steps, you can buy a spice pack from McCormick called "Slow Cookers BBQ Pulled Pork". To it you add 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/3 cup cider vinegar. It turns out great! I am more of a simple girl, I like my pork lightly sauced, and that is why I do it the first way. Bryan likes his real saucy...so I sometimes give in and cook it the other way. Either way, they are easy and a real crowd pleaser, too!

Baby its cold outside....

...and that makes for a good pot of Chili! Now, I am warning you...I dont measure stuff when I make my chili. I just shake and taste! And, the real secret is not to hurry it. You have to let it cook low and slow. The longer the better. In fact...its even better the 2nd day reheated! Lets get started, shall we?

First, lets start by putting on our pretty apons so not to ruin our wonderful Shade shirts. This one was made by my mother-in-law!

Next, brown 1lb of ground beef. While browning, shake on Chili Powder, enough to cover the meat, and ground cumin, about the same. That way, the flavor gets in the beef and stays with it.

Drain the beef. Put it in a big stock pot (or you could use a crock pot) and to it, add:

2 cans red kidney beans

1 bottle of tomato juice

1 small can tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 can cream of celery soup

cumin

chili powder

I like to mix everything and then add the cumin and chili powder...about 5 shakes of cumin, 10 shakes of chili powder. You can always add more later, or less in the begining, depending on how you like it.

Bring it to a slight boil, then reduce and simmer on low, stirring occasionally for 6-8 hours...like I said, the longer the better. Some people like to add peppers, corn, onions, celery, whatever. I like it just meat and beans. Simple.

And oh so good served with warm corn bread. Just be careful...little ones will want some too!

A Request....Sloppy Joes

I grew up with Sloppy Joes...homemade...Bryan HATES Sloppy Joes...because he associates it with Manwich...this is no Manwich, Ladies and Gentleman. Here you go, Lisa!!

1lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
2/3 cup ketchup
2 tsp mustard
3 tsp vinegar (I usually use white or cider)
2 tsp sugar
3 tsp worcestershire sauce

Brown the meat and onion together...drain.
Mix the remaining ingredients and stir into the browned meat.
Simmer for 10 minutes...or till you are ready to eat.
I told you I like simple recipes!

Everyone's Favorite....

Baked Brie

List of goodies
1 weel of Brie cheese
1 jar of preserves (I like to use strawberry or apricot, but anything will do)
1 puff pastry sheet (NOT filo) Pepperage Farm has the best ones.

In a round pie pan (or any glass oven safe pan), lay out the thawed pastry sheet.
Place the unwrapped Brie in the center...its ok to leave the white stuff around the cheese (the rind)

Spoon on 1/2 to 2/3 of the preserves on top of cheese.

Gather the pastry around the cheese, starting with opposite corners, pinching the seems closed.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or till browned.
LET IT REST for 5-10 minutes. It is tempting to eat it right away, but dont!
Then just cut into it, spoon into it, whatever you please. The melted cheese and warm preserves just spill out and it is devine! Serve with crackers...my favorite....Keebler Toasteds. And be careful...you could eat the whole thing by yourself...its great leftover for breakfast...not that I have done that or anything....

Happy New Year

So, it starts. 2008. New Year, new beginings, new blogs. I am starting this because over the years, people have asked me for certain recipes. I have been asked what I cook for dinner for the 5 of us. I have even been told I need to make a cook book. Now, I am no Martha, I am not big on making a dish complicated. I like to keep it simple, with as little ingredients as possible. I have picky eaters here, so the more ingredients, the more likely I am to throw it in the garbage after dinner. So, here you will find simple, hearty, sometimes healthy, meals, side dishes, and others. Let me know what you try, what you liked and didnt like. Not all of these are my own recipes, they come from others. I like to "tweek" them to make them my own. So, enjoy! Recipes will start coming soon!