Homemade Cereal Bars/Breakfast Cookies

I got this great recipe for a Breakfast cookie from my friend Marrianne and I have loved experimenting with it.  My kids love these and they are loaded with lots of great stuff and you can mix them up and change them every time you make them.

1 stick of butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of either: pumpkin, banana, or applesauce depending on the flavor you want the cookie to be

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups rolled oats (you can use instant or regular)

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/2 cup coconut

Now this is where it gets fun…..

you can add… 1/2 cup of any of your family favorites to add to the flare of the cookie

Our favs……  craisins, dried apples, dried blueberries, almond slices, pecan pieces, a few chocolate chips, etc.

Mix and bake at 350 for 10 min. 

Sunday Beef Stew

An Easy Crock Pot Beef Stew

1 1/2 lbs.  Stew Beef (I bought a big package from Sam’s and split it in half)

5-6 peeled carrots

6-8 Red Potatoes

1/2 onion

Place Crock pot setting on Low.  Layer Beef in bottom.  Sprinkle, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, and Steak n’ Shake (or other steak seasoning) over beef.  Add carrots and potatoes.  Add more salt, pepper, garlic salt, and steak seasoning. 

Mix together 2 cups beef broth and 1 can cream of mushroom soup.  Pour over veggies and beef.  Cook on Low for 7 hours.

After 7 hours, use 1 pkg brown gravy mixed with 1/4 cup cold water.  Pour into sauce to thicken.  Use a mixture of 1 TBSP flour to 1/4 cup water to thicken as needed until the desired consistency is met.

Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Curd

These muffins are so great and are very easy.  We made them this Saturday morning and it had been probably a year since I had made them last.  The girls were so excited and we devoured them.  I usually make the Lemon curd from scratch but I found this one at Walmart and thought I’d give it a try.  It was really good- as good as the homemade.  It can be found near the Jam’s and Jellie’s.  This time I also changed up my flour combination to try and make it a little “healthier” and it turned out great.  I used 1 cup white flour and 1 cup Whole Wheat flour. 

Here’s the original recipe for Gingerbread Muffins:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup molasses

Combine flour, sugar, BP, ginger, cinnamon, salt and cloves.  In a separate bowl, combing egg, milk, oil and molasses and mix together.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fill muffin cups half full and bake at 375 for 15-20 min.  Serve warm with lemon curd.

Here is a picture of the Lemon Curd I bought at Walmart.  You can find it or try the homemade one.  Here’s the recipe.

Lemon Curd.

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup lemon juice

5 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 tsp grated lemon peel.

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and lemon Juice until smooth.  ring to a boil and sir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Stir in  a small amount of egg yolks.  Return all to the pan and bring to a gentle boil stirring constantly.  Cook for 1-2 minutes longer or until mixture reaches 160 degrees and coats the back of a metal spoon.  Remove from heat and gently stir in butter and lemon peal until blended.  Store in the fridge.

Pizza Pockets

 

This was a product of “What is the fridge that I can whip up for dinner”.  It turned out to be a big hit and will definitely be on our menu rotation.  Totally kid friendly and a great last minute maker.  Takes little to no time to prepare and only 13 min. to bake.  A great idea for those busy and hectic nights.

1 package Reduced Fat Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits

1 package Turkey Pepperoni Minis (found in the lunch meat section)- I didn’t use the whole package

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup pasta sauce

Take a biscuit and smash it out flat.  Spread about a tsp of the pasta sauce, sprinkle on some mini pepperonis and some mozzarella cheese and fold together and pinch together.  I will probably try and and pinch them harder since you can see that they kind of bust open a bit.  That didn’t take away from the taste however.  The kids devoured them and the cleanup was awesome (especially since we also used paper plates). 

Enjoy!!!

Homemade Mac N Cheese

This was a really yummy recipe that I got off of the Betty Crocker website.  It calls for cooking the dish like a casserole once it is finished, however, when I make it again, I’ll probably skip that step.  It seemed to overcook the noodles and the sauce was less creamy than when we tasted it right after I added the noodles and the sauce together.  The recipe also didn’t call for ham, but I added it to give it some more protein and make it a complete meal rather than just like a side-dish.

2 cups elbow macaroni- cook with a little salted water

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground mustard (the dry kind)

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I didn’t measure this out- just poured some in- it was probably more than 1/4 tsp, but it was yummy)

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I actually used a Mexican blend because that is what I had on hand)

Chopped turkey ham (my personal addition if you like)

While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in a large sauce pan over low heat.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, ground mustard and W. sauce.  Mix it into melted butter until smooth- this is a roux (pronounced roo) and is what will make the mixture thicken.  Stir in milk and heat to boiling- stirring constantly so the milk doesn’t scald.  Heat until it is thickened- kind of like gravy. Stir in cheese until melted.  Stir in cooked macaroni and ham if desired.

It calls for baking it uncovered for 20-25 min at 350 in a casserole dish.  I think I’ll skip this part next time.

Let me know if you guys like this recipe too.

Cinnamon Bread

I was reading this GREAT book on being a Mother called “The Mother’s Mite” by DeAnne Flynn.  This book highlights how even our smallest (and what we think are insignificant) efforts matter.   Each chapter has a personal story describing a great personality trait portrayed by a real mother’s life.  It highlights that trait and tells how that mother displayed that certain trait.  One of the chapters had this great Cinnamon Bread recipe in it.  I had to try it because it seemed so easy.  It WAS easy and delicious!!  The personality trait highlighted in this chapter was “Reassurance” and described how a mother baked this bread and then when the daughter was older and off at college she would always have it for her when she would come home to take back to school with her.  When she was lonely or discouraged, she would make this bread or buy some and it would remind her of her mother’s love.

Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon in a bowl and set aside
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup oil

Combine all dry ingredients together and all wet ingredients together and then combine and mix until moist throughout. (It’s thin like pancake batter)
Pour half of batter into loaf pan and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon/sugar mix.  Pour remaining batter carefully over cinnamon/sugar mix and then top with the rest of the cinnamon/sugar mix.  Swirl a knife through batter to marble it.
Bake for 45 min at 350.  Let cool in pan for 10 min.  It’s easier to cut after it cool and been wrapped in foil or plastic rap and refrigerated.  However it’s great warm too, just a little crumbly.  I’ve made it for an after school snack and it’s great for breakfast too.  My kids LOVE it!!

Grilled Lemon Herbed Chicken

We have tried this chicken once this summer and it was SOOOO good!!  Use FRESH herbs to get the full effect.  I really recommend growing them in your own garden if possible.  Herbs are so easy to grow and you don’t need much room.

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 or 4 cloves minced garlic

1 TBSP grated lemon zest

1 TBSP chopped fresh rosemary (just the little needles- don’t chop up the stem)

1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme

1 TBSP chopped fresh oregano (leaves only)

1 handful fresh basil leaves chopped fine

1 TBSP chopped fresh Italian parsley (flat leaf parsley)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

4-6 chicken breasts

Put the chicken in a plastic bag.  Pour marinade over the chicken and mix in the bag.  Put on plate and place in fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight (turning every so often).

Grill to 165 degrees.

I find that if you turn your grill up really high to warm it up for about 10 min.  Place the meat on it and turn it down to Med-Low (I also like to use Grill Spray so it doesn’t stick as easy).  The hot temperatures at first with seer the chicken and keep the juices inside while it cooks at a lower temperature so it doesn’t dry out.  Watch it closely so it doesn’t dry to a hockey puck state.  Take it off just as it hits 165 or even just before.  It continues to cook for a few minutes after you remove it from the heat.