oatmeal

i have a love love relationship with oatmeal. i can eat it morning, noon and night. i said AND not OR. and i have eaten it that often. a pat of butter, a clump of oatmeal and a sprinkle of sugar. fills my tummy. not instant. no extra flavors. no added fruit or nuts or berries. i passed on my love to rowdy one as well. oatmeal is my go to meal when we are tired, hungry and the pantry is empty. it is my meal when nothing else sounds right. and my meal when we need to be warmed up. oatmeal.......yum. lyn

out of the mouth of rowdy one....

"good food brightens the spirit"

that is what he told me tonight as we ate.

we were watching jamie at home on the cooking channel and jamie was cooking a chicken tomato potato something. rowdy one wanted to go to the store at that moment and get everything to cook it. i told him we could make a quick stir fry. he was good with that.

it is basically pw's sesame noodles and then i stir fry whatever veggies i have and add them. YUM! tonight we had cauliflower, purple cabbage, broccoli, carrots and squash. i have also done the same recipe of hers but instead of noodles done brown rice or couscous. all good.

rowdy one helped me make it. he comments on how colorful it is and then...then....says good food brightens the spirit......i stopped for a second and just stared. did jamie say that? no, i did. i smiled. he is such a blessing to me!

cherish the little moments.

lyn

Favorite at the moment.....

Cinnamon Apples:

Apples, any shape size or variety. We use about 6-7 at a time. Peel them and slice them thin, thick, cube whatever you like. Melt butter in a skillet...plenty of butter. Add apples. Let them sit a bit on high heat. Really get them sizzling. Then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on them. Toss and sprinkle some more. Nudge heat down just a bit and let them sit and sizzle. As they start to get to the firmness/mushiness you like then cover them with brown sugar. And let them sit on low heat. Serve in a bowl, this is how we like them. They could be over ice cream. We have had them with biscuits in the morning. YUMMY!

Make them they way your family likes...more or less of something........

lyn

Can we please have it in the house......

Simple rump roast recipe. Simple ingredients. Simple roast. Simple crock pot. Always missing just one ingredient. One. Usually the major one. Oh just improvise, you say. My brain is to tired to improvise.

Just one simple rump roast recipe with all the ingredients in my house.

I do not ask for much FOOD GODS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lyn

All About Cookbooks

I am on a bit of a kick.....a reading cookbooks kick!

Several that have caught my fancy:

Cookies and Brownies by Alice Medrich (Good but I can't figure out why it is $80!)

The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham

Hallelujah! The Welcome Table by Maya Angelou

I am the type of person that likes to read a book from cover to cover. Like the book jacket, the table of contents, the acknowledgements and anything in the back. I find the best things this way. The extras, the back stories. Well cookbooks are no different. I rather like to read them before I try any of the recipes. Kinda like I have to size the author up before I know whether or not I want to try the recipes. If I can relate to the author then I can relate to the recipes.

I have two more stacks......the journey continues.

lyn

Dinner by Wise One

Wise One had a bit of a frustrating day today. Overly tired. Annoying little brother. Not enough activity. So when I least want to be around him I pull him in the kitchen with me and put him to work and he makes dinner. His whole mood changes and he eats everything on his plate as well as learning some life skills.

Chicken Tetrazzini found at www.leftoverchicken.com (I will be using this site again!)

1 T flour
1 T butter
1 c milk
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t dry mustard
few drops onion juice
1 t lemon juice
2 c cooked chicken, cut into pieces
3/4 c cooked spaghetti
1/4 lb shredded cheddar (can use Parmesan)
3/4 c bread crumbs

Make a medium white sauce of the flour, butter, milk and salt. Add the pepper, paprika, mustard and onion & lemon juices to the white sauce and heat to the boiling point. Add chicken & spaghetti. Fill 2 individual greased casseroles or one larger casserole with the mixture and top with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the crumbs are very brown and ingredients are warmed through.

We used up the chicken from yesterday and talked of stretching the food budget. We did not have bread crumbs but we had one hamburger bun so we toasted it up and made our own. We discussed how some people don't like mustard but still cook with dry mustard and never notice. Same with the onion. Talked at length about a basic white sauce and how you can turn that into many meals. He did it all and he enjoyed the heck out of it.

Plus his daddy and brother thought it was very tasty so he was super proud!

Cook with a kid, even when he is acting his worst.

Lyn

Recipe Thursday

Yummy! Hearty! Warms you up!

Lasagna Soup! Crusty bread and you have a winner of an easy meal.

*I just used regular beef broth, broken lasagna noodles and diced onions and garlic. I also kicked up the seasoning a bit. More Italian seasonings and some crushed red pepper.

Twelfth Anniversary

A meal to celebrate twelve years of marriage:

Steak Pizzaola with the works. Fresh salad, with Chosen One's favorite blue cheese dressing. Roasted zucchini and onions. Dessert served in the glasses we toasted our marriage with.

Served on china that was one of our many decisions we made together at the time. Do you remember picking out your wedding china? Not always an easy thing. Funny, we received enough settings for twelve! Eaten using new steak knives that I gave to The Chosen One. We have never had a decent set.

A wonderful dinner with my three favorite guys.

The most recent smoothie creation.

In all the literature I have been reading Rowdy One and I need to stick to a very similar diet. Me for migraines and PMS and he for ADD. That is a higher protien higher calcium lower carb diet. Let's just say he is my child.......we love chips. I mean love. Really have a strong affection for them. Like we could write *I heart chips* all over our spiral notebooks in rainbow colors. And neither of us are really big meat eaters. Add to that I am lactose intolerant and he dislikes milk and well we are two peas in a pod.

So I have been looking for a higher protein/calcium combo to get some of this in our body in a way that we can handle. Enter soy milk. Not regular but vanilla or chocolate! Yummy!

Banana Split Smoothie

Chocolate Soy milk, we used 8th continent
one container vanilla yogurt, we used Activia
one banana
4-5 frozen strawberries

Blend in blender and enjoy!

Lyn

Dinner

After having several recipes that failed I am so happy that this week the recipes on the menu have been superb!

Last night for dinner we enjoyed Tangy Grilled Pork Tenderloin, rice pilaf( 90 sec Uncle Ben's variety), roasted broccoli and roasted peaches with ricotta and almonds(from a new fav book The Best Life Diet).

Seriously, as we ate Chosen One and I both commented on how nice it is for a recipe to work and be well received by the family. I have tried several things that failed in one or both areas!

Happy Eating!

Lyn

Enchilada Jackpot

I found a new friend! And since she provided me with the best cheese enchilada recipe that I have tasted I will be indebted to her for a long time.

Chosen One and I placed this wonderful creation in our mouths and our eyes met and well......the rest is dinner history. These are the BEST DANG cheese enchiladas this Texas girl has tasted.

Seriously, I wanted to run around the block and give everyone a taste. I called my mother and my sister! We all have a favorite place to get our cheese enchiladas but to be able to create them in your own home, so easily, anytime you want.........well, that is almost to much for a girl to ask for.

I used:
***chicken broth
***regular oregano
***2 cups shredded velvetta and 1 cup shredded cheddar
***and no onion

Go, go now and check out the recipe. Make them tomorrow night. Your family will love you!

Lyn

New favorites

Cashed in on some old books and just had to have these. Not to bad, turn in 15 take away 3.

The Wisdom of Forgiveness by The Dalai Lama and Victor Chan

Betty Crocker COOKBOOK

The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene

****************************************************************

From the last one I found a new favorite recipe.

Berry Smoothie

1 1/4 cup vanilla soymilk
1 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries
1 6oz container french vanilla yogurt, I used Yoplait.

Mix in a blender and enjoy.

This will become a breakfast for me. YUM-O

****************************************************************

Dinner consisted of many new favs.

Beef Tips, one of the best sauces I have tasted.
Rice, this really was that easy.
Veggies, our produce has just not looked good so I checked out the freezer section.

Happy Weekend!

Lyn

Recipe Thursday

I believe this is a recipe from a Pampered Chef recipe book.

Fluffy Peanut Butter Dip

1/2 cup cream peanut butter
1 - 8 oz contact vanilla yogurt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 thawed frozen whipped topping

Mix first 3 items and then gently stir in whipped topping. Serve with apples, pear, celery, crackers...whatever your family likes to dip.

I am trying to keep things handy this summer that are on the healthier side and that will fill my boys up. They are growing which means on most days they are eating pretty much non-stop or at least it seems that way.

Lyn

Recipe Wednesday

This is NOT a food recipe. It is a cleaning recipe.

In an effort to be a little more green, I purchased this book many years ago:

Clean House, Clean Planet Clean Your House for Pennies a Day, THE SAFE, NONTOXIC WAY by Karen Logan

I read it in a weekend and while I do not totally follow it it taught me several things that I refer to often.

This is one of my favorite recipes:

Momma's Earth Soap

This is a nontoxic cleaning basic. I developed it as a simple floor
cleaner, but I found so many uses for its simple scented-vinegar formula that is
has found a permanet spot under every sink in my house. It's so easy.

Ingredients: White distilled vinegar, water and an essential oil for
fragrance

You will also need a squirt bottle. (Or for major cleaning jobs, mix
in bucket.)

How to Make: Fill bottle with equal amounts white
vinegar and water. Add 15-20 drops of pure peppermint oil (or your
favorite essential oil). Shake to mix.

How to Use:
Squirt this refreshing cleaner directly onto the floor
and wipe clean with a rag or mop. Can be used on linoleum or tile
floors. Try in the bathroom to cut soap scum. Keep it in the kitchen
to clean the sink and counters.

Lyn

Sweeties for my Sweeties!

A few years ago I came across a recipe that made my husband VERY happy. It was for a cookie he loved. Sweeties. They are tasty and light. Can be colored pink for Valentine's, green for St. Patrick's, yellow for Easter or the prettiest light shade of pink or blue for baby showers. So in celebration of a batch of sweeties I made last night, for my house of sweeties, I leave you with this wonderful cookie recipe.

Sweeties:

cookie
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter - softened
3 eggs
2 tsp almond extract
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Cream first four ingredents. Add dry. Swirl in food coloring to your liking. Roll into balls and flatten slightly with the smooth bottom of a glass. Bake at 350 for 8-10 mins. Cool on wire rack.

glaze
powdered sugar - a cup or so
milk - a tad
almond extract - a tad
food coloring to your liking

This is a glaze not an icing so if you get it to thin add more sugar, to thick a bit more milk.

Glaze cookies while still warm.

Enjoy!

Lyn

Recipe for the weekend

I have no idea where I found this recipe. It is written on the inside cover of one of my favorite recipe books.

Crockpot Taco Casserole

1 lb ground meat, browned and drained
taco seasoning, use the package or your own, either way about a package worth
small can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 can enchilada sauce
can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained or leftover homemade pintos, whatever you have
can of fiesta corn (the kind with bell peppers) or any leftover corn you have
corn tortillas
cheddar cheese, at least a 1/2 lb shredded but we use more!

Combine meat and taco seasoning, set aside.
Combine chicken stock, tomato sauce, and enchilada sauce, set aside.

Butter inside of crockpot. Lay 3 tortillas on the bottom, top with meat mixture. Then add stock mixture. Top with cheese. Layer 3 more tortillas, then beans, then corn and again cheese. Top with 3 corn tortillas and any and all cheese remaining. Cook on low for 6 or so hours.

Serve with lettuce and tomato salad and chips, cause in my house if the kids can "dip" it they will eat it!

Very handy to have the canned goods on hand or use leftovers from the fridge!

Lyn

Lemon Cookies

In need of something to lift our spirits.

Lemon Cookies with fresh lemons from my in laws tree.

Yum!

Lyn

Recipe Thursday

This stuff is a kind of comfort food to me. Any snack food is comfort food to me!

Corn Dip:
2 cans corn (I use Mexicorn that has little bell pepper bits in it)
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1 can grn chilies
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 chopped grn onions
several chopped jalepenos (I like it hot!)

Mix and chill. Serve with chips.

Yummy! I have no idea the origin. My friend made it and passed on the recipe.

Lyn

Recipe Thursday

A family favorite.

Dessert Nachos:

blueberries, strawberries, flour tortillas, cinnamon and sugar, vanilla yogurt and mini chocolate chips/chocolate syrup

Make your nacho chips by cutting flour totillas into chip size slices. Spread them on a baking sheet and lightly spray with water. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. I always have a mixture of 1 part cinnamon to 2 parts sugar on hand. Bake 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Remove from oven once they have reached desired crispness. Move to plate. Then assemble by spooning vanilla yogurt over chips. Then sprinkle mini chocolate chips or chocolate syrup. Top with blueberries and stawberries.

This is no exact science. Put on what works for your family. I like using the mini choc chips if you are eating them still warm because they melt on their own. But I have made the chips earlier in the day and then assembled after dinner and used the choco syrup.

Enjoy!

Lyn

National S'more Day

Go here to learn more.

We are picking recipes, making a grocery list and going shopping. The boys are in control on this trip. Then we are coming home making several recipes and then taking our creations to the bank, city hall and probably the library. Family members work at each stop, except the library but we told them what we are planning and I thought it might be nice.

Here are some recipes we are looking at:

S'more Sandwich Cookies, found in a Taste of Home Cookie magazine
Altering a brownie pizza from a Pampered Chef cookbook to make it S'mores-y
Silver S'mores, from Summertime Treats *recipes and crafts fro the whole family*
Grilled Pound Cake S'mores, from Southern Living magazine
Indoor S'mores, from a cereal box
S'more Clusters, recipe found here
S'mores Cheesecake, found here

The boys will choose and then we will set out to gather our ingredients. First official day of homeschooling. This day was actually on the calendar as the start day. I just tried to push us yesterday and well, we see how that turned out!!!

Lyn