Meatball Sub Casserole

COMFORT FOOD ALERT!!!

My friend Carli who is one of my favorite little cooks posted this great recipe on her recipe blog which is called The Dinner Drama. When I saw this recipe on her site - I started drooling and knew I had to try it.

Here's the recipe from The Dinner Drama


Parents Review: I had a love/hate with mine once I made it. I was in LOVE with the flavors and all the comfort of this dish, but I have to admit that I didn't love the frozen meatballs (I used a name brand italian meatball from Walmart I believe). I think next time I will make my own. Secondly, my bread was a little soggy and texture-wise, it didn't set well with me. I talked to Carli and my friend Julie who made it and they said their bread was crispy. I would lessen the water next time and not put all the sauce on it. I have heard tons of great things about this recipe, but I know I'm not the only one who has had the soggy bread issue. I will make again and give it another go, because seriously, flavor-wise - it was perfect!

Kids Review: Little Girl who is picky beyond belief wouldn't eat it. She asked for leftover Salmon and broccoli, and yes my friends, that is what this child ate for dinner. Baby Boy devoured every single bite and loved it!

I would love to hear if any of you girls make this and what your experience is. Your feedback is so fun to get and use to tweak my recipes!

Thanks Carli for this yummy comfort recipe!

Swiss Cheese & Bacon Quiche

This recipe actually calls for diced ham, but I am a bacon girl, and while watching my wait furthermore, I am a TURKEY bacon girl. No difference to me really. I cook mine up in the oven until it is nice and crispy and I love it all the same.

So, I made this recipe awhile back, like WAY back when we first moved to Indiana and we were staying in an apartment while our house was being built.

It feels like a lifetime ago.

Anyway, I remember making this for Big Breakfast one morning along with some Monkey Bread and we were in love.

I made it this time for dinner and it was a hit.

Here's the link to the recipe.

Oh, and here's a picture of the pan literally 15 minutes after I put it out.


Parents Review: It was so easy and it turned out perfectly. I even used half and half instead of the cream and milk because that is all I had and it was still great.
Kids Review: They both gobbled it up. It was a Christmas miracle!!

Momma's Beef Stew

I have been eating my mom's beef stew since way before I can even remember. When winter time comes, inevitably so does this dish on our kitchen table.

And it MUST be served with home-made biscuits. No question.

I made this for all of us on Christmas Eve and I forgot to get a good picture, so forgive the ones that I am including, they were a last minute remembrance.

It's super thick and a stick to your ribs kind of stew.


Here's the recipe:

2 lbs. lean beef stew meat
Cut into bite size pieces (if they aren't already), dredge with flour and brown well in large pot in a little bit of olive oil.
After meat is browned on all sides - add 4 Cups of Water, a little pepper and 2 tsp. Salt

Bring to a boil - then simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours. Add 1 small chopped onion to pot, along with chopped carrots and cubed potatoes (just enough to make it full of meat and veggies). I think I used 6 yukon gold potatoes and about 1/2 bag of baby carrots - chopped.

Salt again. Cook another 45 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Serve with biscuits. My mom makes them from scratch, but I have to confess and tell you that I love the Bisquick biscuit recipe on the back of the box. They always turn out big and fluffy and they are awesome. We like to throw a biscuit in with our stew to eat, we like to put butter or jelly on a couple on the side and then at the end - NO, I am not kidding - we like to pour syrup over a biscuit or two to polish off this meal. I have no idea how we started eating them like this, but I have done it since I was a kid, and it's so amazing! Can you tell I eat like 15 biscuits with every bowl? Yeah. I was hoping you wouldn't pick up on that.

:-)

You will love this. It takes time, but it is SO SIMPLE and so good.

Parents Review: Yay!
Kids Review: They both love it!

Hershey's M&M Kisses & Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Yes, today is a two-for-one special. Two of my favorite things to bake are some of the easiest. First, the sweet and salty treat.

Hershey's M&M Kisses

Take a bunch of pretzels, unwrap a ton of hershey's kisses and set them on top of said pretzels on a cookie sheet. Pop them in the oven at 275 degrees for exactly 3 minutes. Pull them out, push an m&m down in the middle of each one. Put in fridge to set and cool.

Eat and Eat and Eat until all your sweet and salty cravings are abolished! Yummo!



And Here's your second recipe of the night. I was given this recipe from a friend when we brought Little Girl home. A good friend of mine had thrown me a baby shower and one of the sweet women in this group brought me some chocolate chip banana bread along with her gift....and the recipe.

It's the only one I use now.

Here it is:

1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup Sugar
Cream Together
Add 2 eggs
Mix dry ingredients together
2 Cups of Flour
1 tsp of Baking Soda
1/4 tsp of Salt
Add dry ingredients to butter and egg mixture
Mash 3 large bananas
Add mashed bananas to ingredients
Add in 1 cup chocolate chips
Grease and flour a long bread pan (or muffin tin or mini loaf pans. I've done all 3)
Pour mixture into greased pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes
Melt 2 Tbs of butter
Pour over bread after it comes out of oven
Sprinkle bread with cinnamon sugar mixture

DEVOUR!!

Parents Review: I made extra and put them in my freezer so I can pull them out the night before I want to indulge on this for breakfast! Yummy!
Kids Review: Love!

Check back this week for my Mom's Beef Stew Recipe and Swiss Cheese and Bacon Quiche!

Have a great night!

White Chocolate Crunch Popcorn

White Chocolate Crunch Popcorn

One bag microwave popcorn
1/2 pkg white almond bark
1 tbsp peanut butter, plus a little shortening
1 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup peanuts
1 cup M&M's (i added this)

Just melt the almond bark and peanut butter in the microwave (according to pkg directions)
add a little bit of solid shortening too just to make the mixture a little thinner (I added 1 tbsp)
Pour over other ingredients and mix well.
Spread out on wax paper...
Salt (It calls for it, but I didn't think it needed it)
Let it dry and...yum yum!



I got this recipe from my awesome friend JULIE. She had received it as a gift from someone and they gave her the recipe. One taste made me high-tail-it over to the grocery store to buy the ingredients I needed. Words can't tell you how much I love this popcorn. I would be munching on it right now if I hadn't already eaten a whole batch earlier today. I made about 4 batches when I did it and am giving away a bunch tomorrow.

Oh my heavens. Here's the reviews.

Parents Review: We Love.
Kids Review: They triple Love.

I also made Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (YUM!) and some of my mom's amazing Beef Stew that is so simple and so good. I will be posting those recipes next week.

Enjoy your Christmas break and being with your family and friends. I will be back to post more recipes after the food coma wears off next Monday or Tuesday.

Broccoli, Cauliflower Salad

I really like this crispy, crunchy salad that I found on a blogging browse I was on one day.

I will admit that it isn't exactly the most appetizing dish to look at because of the delicious marinade you pour over it, but one taste makes you get over it. (Actually - it looks pretty on the recipe page, but it looks very brown when I make it.) It makes me feel healthy eating it because there are so many raw and delicious veggies in there, but you also get to be a little bad because there is maple syrup in the dressing. :-)



Here's the link to this yummy side dish recipe.

A couple of notes to all of my awesome readers out there -

Beth - Thank you so much for the tip about me cutting my apples up really small for the Apple Bacon Stratta and that this could be the reason it was so watery and undercooked seeming. I had never heard of that and will definitely make it again and chop my apples a little bigger.

Shauna, Beth, Kelley, Lora and Carli - on the Roast - It seems like everyone thinks I should have cooked it longer. It looked like it was already overcooked, but maybe I should've kept it going for the evening just to see. I let it go an hour and half over the recommended cooking time and it seemed like a brick. I found a recipe on Kelly's Korner's blog for a crockpot roast recipe that I may try next week. I will let you know if I dare to try cooking a roast again. Not gonna lie - I'm scared. :-)

Thank you for your comments everyone! Also, if you are a consistent reader and would like to be on my "happy" list - (no there's not really a list) - I would love for you to become a follower. Just click on the right side of my page on the button that says "follow".

Happy eating! Tis the week for getting plump! :-)

The ROAST that didn't go as planned

You know when you have this reputation set up that you are a good cook and people start thinking that you don't ever make mistakes? First of all - that is laughable since I make mistakes all the time - ask the family! But, anyhoo.........And, then you invite some newer friends over for a nice home-cooked meal for the VERY FIRST time and they are all excited to try it? You know when you start to panic because you are worried it won't taste as good as they hope it will?

This was Monday night. Our new friends, Meredith and Jason, came over for dinner expecting culinary goodness (poor guys).

I know BETTER than to try out a new recipe when guests come to visit, but I was craving ROAST and I thought it sounded not only delicious but fairly easy. Plus - I had found a recipe that called for red wine in it and, well, you usually can't go wrong with that ingredient in my book. I went to the grocery store and asked the butcher to verify that the cut of meat I was getting was the kind that would fall apart - not the kind that you end up having to slice. I told him how I was cooking it (on 225 degrees for 4 hours in the oven) and what I was expecting. He confirmed my choices and I was on my way. Many dollars later, but I wanted a good roast.

I seared my meat. I added my seasonings. I poured in the red wine, and I added my carrots and potatoes (my favorite part of a roast meal actually). I popped it in the oven and enjoyed the beautiful smells all day long.

I held great anticipation waiting to taste and see what had been cooking all afternoon. I started to sweat when I opened the lid at 6:30 with guests looking onward and I stuck my fork in it.

It didn't budge much when I did this. There certainly was NO falling apart. I started to use my knife and it didn't cut real well either. I tasted a piece and it was tough and flavorless.

I was MORTIFIED!!

Now, listen, if it had been a family member or a friend that I had cooked for many other times, than I wouldn't have been all that bothered, but seriously - they had never been here before!

Plus she knows I have this recipe blog thing! Not that I know what that is supposed to mean! :-)

Again, MORTIFIED!

After I pulled out this slab of meat and couldn't determine if it was undercooked or way overcooked or I don't know what.


We ultimately ordered one of these.


And I know that our friends were super impressed with how Rosati's made their gourmet pizza.

My only redeeming factor was that I had made up some dough earlier that day for chocolate peanut butter cookies and I baked them up fresh and warm and scooped some "Moose Tracks" ice cream over the top for dessert.

The other thing that was good was that my MIL told me that some stores will actually refund your money if you have a bad experience with their meat and I called Price Cutter and told them my sob story of how I followed the directions and I really do know how to cook and I have no idea what happened and blah, blah, blah, and guess what?

I took my receipt in the next day and they gave me my money back! Can you believe it?

So, see there? It looks like it wasn't me after all. It was just a really bad piece of meat.

:-)

Yeah.

Here's the recipe I used. Anybody have a clue what I might have done wrong? I'm officially scared to ever make a roast again.

I won't even bother with Parents Review/Kids Review: We didn't eat it.

The pizza was 2 thumbs up though!!

Check back tomorrow and I will be posting a recipe for cake balls that you may want to whip up for your holiday goodies this year!

Cheesy Apple-Bacon Stratta

I was supposed to make this dish for a yummy brunch treat when my sis and family were in town, however, we ran out of time - as usual. I had my goals set too high for all the baking I was already committed too and I could cook no more!

Soooooo, what I did was make it for our Life Group with our church last Sunday since we were having a Holiday Appetizer-ish theme and I figured this dish would work. I also made BBQ Meatballs, because hello, they are just always a hit.

I am kind of having a love/hate relationship with this new recipe. I found it in my "Betty Crocker's Best Christmas Cookbook" and it made my mouth kinda water.

When I made it on Sunday, I loved the flavor, but couldn't tell if maybe it was....a little under-done? It seemed a little runny or something to me. I didn't see anyone gagging in a corner, but I didn't hear anyone hailing to it either. So, on my first taste tester - it was just o.k., but I will have to say, that I microwaved some up for my lunch today and I ended up having 2 helpings! I think it may have needed to set up a little more or cook some more. I really enjoyed it today.



I know my pics are terrible, but it hit me while we were sitting around the table with our lifegroup friends that I hadn't snapped a picture.
Here's some of our lovely group minus me and Dave and our friends the Lopez's.

Aren't they cute?
:-)

Here's the recipe for this Holiday Strata:

3 Tbsp. butter
3 medium Granny Smith Apples, peeled and chopped (3 cups) (and I like mine really fine)
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
4 Cups cubed firm bread (I used a loaf of whole wheat french bread)
1 pound bacon, crisply cooked and coarsely chopped (I used Turkey bacon that we cooked in the oven. It was perfect)
2 Cups shredded sharp cheddar Cheese (8 oz)
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp ground mustard (dry)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp pepper
5 eggs

Grease 2-quart casserole. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook apples in butter 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Stir in brown sugar; reduce heat to low. Cook 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender.

Layer half each of the bread, bacon, apples and cheese in casserole. Repeat with remaining bread, bacon, apples and cheese.

Mix remaining ingredients; pour over cheese. Cover rightly and refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Parents Review: Loved it after I nuked it a little in the microwave. Definitely make sure it is cooked through.
Kids Review: They never tried it. Too many foods in one casserole for my kids.
:-)

Tune in tomorrow and I will tell you about my Roast fiasco while having friends over for the first time.

We ordered pizza.

See you tomorrow!

Baked French Toast

I love Breakfast foods. I love our Saturdays that are filled with yummy food for our Big Breakfast weekly celebration.

My dear friend Julie gave me an awesome recipe this past week to make for my sister and her family. I have never made it before, so I was nervous that it wouldn't turn out well.

Let me just tell you - WE ALL LOVED IT!

I actually took my picture above of the day I ate leftovers with some eggs over easy. Perfection. They may have tasted even better because I was home alone right after finishing my 90 minute massage my husband had given me from a spa for mother's day this year. (Yes- I FINALLY got to use it.)



Here's the recipe

Baked Georgia Pecan French Toast

4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 ounce loaf French bread, cut into 12 one inch thick slices
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tbsp. melted butter

Directions
Lightly coat the bottom of a 12x8 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in medium bowl. Place bread slices in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared dish. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle bread slices with pecans and drizzle melted butter over. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes until bread slices are puffed and pecans are deep brown. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6.

Parents Review: We thought it baked perfectly and tasted really great. The pecans burnt just slightly and I actually think I could've done without.
Kids Review: They ate it and said they liked it, but they both only ate a few bites because the cousins were here and they were too distracted to eat!

Motivation - where art thou?

I know I have been absent for........awhile. As I mentioned over at Me-Moddy, I have been tied up with Christmas festivities and then feeling too tired or creative to actually post as of late.

This week I will actually post a few things that I have been whipping up and loving and they are the following:

Yummy Baked French Toast (thanks Julie)

Apple Bacon Stratta

Cake Balls

I may be a little more sporadic over the next few weeks due to extreme eating and less typing abilities, but I promise not to leave you entirely.

Don't forget to leave your comments on recipes you like, you tried, you loved, you hated. I enjoy your feedback so much and it keeps me blogging!

Have a great night and be watching for some new recipes this next week!

3 Thanksgiving Day Recipes

I got up at 4:00 a.m. this morning to go shopping with a friend (hey! hey! Cheri! - there's your shout-out) and then I decorated my house for Christmas all day long before heading back to same friend's house for dinner.

I am running on fumes.

I had so much fun, but I can't see my hand in front of my face.

Her husband gave me a 5 hour energy to drink, which by the way tasted like my worst nightmare of a medicine, and I still feel like crashing hard.

This post will be brief. I know that's surprising since I have already rambled so much in the first few moments of sharing on here, but here goes.

Our Thanksgiving meal consisted of HAM (I know, but Dave really isn't a fan of Turkey, so.....), scalloped potatoes, sauteed green beans, sweet potato casserole, rolls, jello salad, stuffing and for an appetizer we made artichoke chili dip with crackers.

I pulled the recipe for scalloped potatoes off the internet and they were quite tasty. They were crunchy on top with cheese and ooey-gooey goodness and inside they were soft and creamy. Yum.


The second recipe I wanted to share was my pecan pie. Oh my heavens, it's a lot of work, but the end result is to die for - if you like pecan pie that is. We LOVE it over at our house and my husband and I can wipe out a pie in a couple of days on our own if we aren't careful.



**O.K. I absolutely cannot find my recipe online whatsoever and I do NOT have the energy to make my fingers and brain type it all out tonight. Can I raincheck this recipe? It's coming. It's coming. I will give it's own post very, very soon. Thanks girls.

The last recipe I want to share is one that I got from a friend. I am not sure if I can give the credit to Amber or Julie for this recipe, because they both kind of gave it to me, but thanks girls!! It's called Artichoke Chili dip and it is amazingly good. This recipe calls for monterey jack cheese, but I actually just used one cup of parmesan instead of half and half. It was great.

Here's Dave going for it! :-)

Parents Review on all 3 recipes were that we gobbled them all up.
Kids Review on all 3 were no, no and no. Yeah, well, the tastes were a bit too fancy for them. They just wanted jello!

Thanks for letting me share some recipes in a hurried fashion this week. I will be back with more next week. I have already been pulling out some of my favorites from my Real Simple magazine that I'm wanting to make again, so check back.

I hope your Thanksgiving was blessed and full and wonderful. Hugs and kisses!

MIA, but Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sorry I went MIA a little bit. I can only blame it on Thanksgiving and the shopping and the eating leftovers that my in-laws gave us before they left town thing, so I haven't been cooking.

Sooooooo. I have been cooking a lot since yesterday, so I will be sharing several recipes today and tomorrow based on Thanksgiving. I will be posting a artichoke and green chili dip (it's made with cream cheese, so don't worry if you'll love it) that I got from a friend, scalloped potatoes & pecan pie.

I have to tell you that Stuffing is like my all time favorite thing to eat at Thanksgiving and out of all the things I made yesterday, the stuffing was just plain gross. David actually said, "wow, I didn't know stuffing could taste like beef jerky". So then, ya win some ya lose some.

:-)

But the other stuff I will be sharing turned out divine.

Check back for recipes for your next family or friend get together.

Hope your day has been great!

Gobble. Gobble.

P.S. I am so thankful for this day we have had. We woke up this morning and did the Turkey Trot 5K with the 4 of us, kids played with playdough, we frosted pretzels, they made "Thankful" collages and we watched the parade. Oh - and David and I got to take a one hour nap while Little Girl played on PBS kids and promised to leave us be in the living room. :-) It's been a perfect day. God has been so good to us!

Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed (mild or spicy depending on your preference) - I actually use the ground sausage in the tube. My favorite is the "Sage" flavor.
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef stock
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
28 oz. can peeled tomatoes, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
8 oz. can tomato sauce
3 zucchini, chopped
8 ounces cheese tortellini (I use whole wheat)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tbs. chopped fresh parsley
Grated parmesan cheese for topping

Brown the sausage in a large pot. Drain all the grease except for 1 tablespoon, then add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 more minutes.

Add the beef stock, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the zucchini, tortellini, green bell pepper and parsley. Simmer until tortellini is cooked (about 8-10 minutes). Serve in bowls topped with grated parmesan cheese.
Here's the pasta I use -




Parents Review: This soup is just perfect in the comfort food/full of veggies, grains and protein so you can feel good about it, kind of way. We LOVE it.
Kids Review: Sometimes they like it, and sometimes they snub. Tonight, Baby Boy ate a few bites and Little Girl ate the tortellini, the sausage and the carrots. No zuchinni for her.

Check back next week for more fun recipes!

Risotto with Caramelized Leeks and Red Pepper

I've shown you a Risotto Recipe before, however, I hated that the pictures made the dish look inedible. It was so amazing, but I can't make the camera show you taste. I need smell-o-vision or something. :-)

Well, this recipe is straight from the books from my cooking school I went to in California. It's a favorite in our household, but I will admit, that I don't make it very often because of the time and the calories, but when I do - it's yummo!

Here's the recipe:

2 oz. unsalted butter (1/4 cup)
3 leeks, white part only, cleaned and julienned
1 tsp sugar
1/2 EACH small red, green and yellow bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream)
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 Tbsp extra virgini olive oil
1 clove garlic, through a press
14 oz. Arborio rice (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup White Table Wine
6 to 8 cups chicken stock, simmering
3 Tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
3 oz. Parmigianno Reggiano, grated (about 3/4 cup)

1. In a large saute pan, heat half the butter, add leeks and sugar, and saute over low heat for about 10 minutes, until brown. Add bell peppers and saute gently over low heat about 1 minute, until tender. Add creme fraiche and saute 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl, and set aside.

2. To the pan, add oil and garlic and saute 1 minute. Add rice and saute 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Still stirring, add wine. When most of the wine has been absorbed, stire in a ladle of stock. When most of teh stock has been absorbed, add another ladle and continue adding stock, a ladle at a time as needed, until the rice is tender but still firm, about 20 minutes. You may not use all the stock. The rice is cooked when it is tender and creamy with a firm center. Stir in remaining butter.

3. Add the leek mixture, stir in the parsley and half the Parmigiano Reggiano. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve in large shallow soup bowls; pass the remaining cheese at the table.

Make it Ahead: Make it up to 2 hours in advance through Step 2, reserving 1 1/2 cups of stock, and proceed with Step 3.

This recipe serves 6-8 and it is a very rich and scrumptious side dish.

Here's some tips on things I wouldn't skimp on in this dish:

I used a box of chicken broth this go around, and last time I used home-made chicken stock. I think I missed the home-made stock.

I used just a "whatever" brand of parmesan this time instead of the almighty "Parmesan Reggiano". I wouldn't ever do that again.

I don't think that creme fraiche is a MUST, but it's pretty amazing if you can get your hands on it. If you are anywhere near a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's or any kind of gourmet shop - you should be able to find it.

I know this dish sounds all fancy schmancy, and it kind of is, but for the girl who enjoys getting in the kitchen and trying new things for fun - this is for you. I served it with my Turkey, Cheddar and Cranberry Meatballs here.


And, in case you haven't used a leek before. Here's what they look like.


I'm making one of my favorite soups tomorrow night - italian sausage and cheese tortellini soup. Come back and check it out!

Thanksgiving Leftovers Shepherd's Pie

I know I'm early with the Thanksgiving leftovers thing, but now you will be prepared when you have eaten turkey, potatoes and stuffing 16 times out of your fridge and you just HAVE to do something different before your mouth dies of boredom.

I have the ticket.

My in-laws prepared an early Thanksgiving dinner at their house before they left to head to California for the holidays. It was super delicious and she graciously sent me home with a little bit of everything.

I posted this recipe last year and it was so good that I made it again. It's kind of the ultimate comfort food in my book, so this is our kind of dish.

Here's the Recipe.



I will be posting a recipe for Risotto again tomorrow. This one has carmelized leeks and red bell pepper in it. If you want to feel fancy, this dish is up there. I have learned that you MUST use quality ingredients for it to taste the way it's supposed to, so I'll talk on that tomorrow.

Design Question: Do you like this new look? It's the first background I have found with a "food" theme, but it may be a little PINK for my liking. Anybody have a preference on this one or should I go back to my red and blue polka-dots?? Thanks girls!

Have a great Thursday!

Home-made Granola & Yogurt Parfait

I have realllllly good memories of my mom's home-made granola baking in the oven late in the evening and then she would pull it out piping hot, we would immediately scoop some in a bowl and pour cold milk over it.

Yum. Mo.

I love to make it every once in awhile for my family as a treat and recently I started making yogurt parfaits with it as a part of our Big Breakfast days on Saturday morning or just for a little something in the afternoon. It's very good.

Here's the Granola Recipe:

(This is a "double" recipe by the way)

8 Cups Quick Oats
2/3 Cup Brown Sugar
2/3 Cup Wheat Germ
2/3 Cup Coconut
2/3 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Honey
2 Tsp. Vanilla

Heat oats in ungreased 9X13 (or larger) pan in preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. I use my broiler pan. Then, combine brown sugar, wheat germ and coconut and stir into oats. Mix honey, oil and vanilla and add to dry mixture. Stir well. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes to avoid burning and sticking together. After removing from oven, stir occasionally to cool. Refrigerate.

Side note: When I made this yesterday, I decided to try and lighten this up a bit. I cut my brown sugar, oil and honey in half. I still thought it tasted wonderful. I also threw in about 1/2 Cup slivered Almonds for the last 10 minutes and it was good. Please feel free to make it this way or to eat all the lovely calories that it calls for. I won't judge. :-)

This is how it looks when I pull it out of the oven.


For the Yogurt Parfait, all I do is layer low fat vanilla yogurt, sliced strawberries, scoop of granola and repeat. Very yummy breakfast or snack. (Also - I have to say that I use the Great Value brand from Walmart and it is by far my favorite yogurt!)


Happy Breakfast eating!

Be watching for more recipes to come. One I will be making later in the week is my italian sausage and cheese tortellini soup. It'll make your hair curl!

Thanks for being a follower if you've already signed up. If you haven't - go do it now while you are printing out this recipe. :-)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones

Is your mouth watering yet?

You'll notice the pictures are a bit more appetizing and a bit more professional this post. That's because my friend Beth, who I know from back in the Washington D.C. days where our hubbies were on staff together, took these awesome photos for me. She has recently started a photography business (of the people variety) and she also shared with me that she really enjoys the food photo side too, so here you go!

Not only did she take the photos, but her and her family suffered for the blog cause by having to make these pumpkin scones, and then..........eat them. :-)

If you'll remember, I posted the original Scones recipe a few weeks back and Beth had mentioned this awesome variation. I am actually going to be making them myself tomorrow morning for our big breakfast, so you will have to see my reviews at my next posting.

Today - Beth is the girl and I will be letting you all know what HER family thought of this fun little treat.

Here's the recipe with the variation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2 cups flour
4T Sugar
1 T Baking Powder

MIX ALL TOGETHER

Then add:

1/2 Cup (1 cube) butter cut in with pastry cutter until crumbly (I cube up my cold butter before I throw it in)

Mix in 1 C pumpkin puree + 1 T of milk + 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves).

YOU CAN ADD CHOCOLATE CHIPS HERE IF YOU WANT TO.

Pat into round on a floured cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Cut into 8 pie wedges. Separate onto cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden brown on the bottom.




Beth's Parents Review: Two thumbs up
Beth's Kids Review: They love 'em too. She said they gobbled the whole batch up before bedtime!
(She has 2 adorable little boys by the way)

Thanks for reading! Don't forget, if you are not already a "follower" on this blog and enjoy the recipes and want to keep them coming, please help me out by clicking the "follow" button on the right side of the screen. It's easy and I will send you hugs and kisses over the internet if you do so! :-)

I am going to be making some home-made granola and turning them into parfaits this weekend. Be watching for that recipe in the next couple of days!

Have a great weekend.

Pepperoncini Roast

I love a meal that requires minimal work, as in, you only have to throw like 3 things in your crock pot and let it cook all day and BAM, you're done.

The smell alone from this dish as it bubbles on your counter top will make you want to cook it every week.

I like to serve this roast shredded up on a kaiser roll with a slice of cheese -cheddar or provolone. Tonight I was running late and literally just ate that as my meal and for the kids they had that plus some applesauce. No veggie. I am a bad chef.

Oh and if you don't know what these peppers are. They are those little peppers in your salad at Olive Garden.

Here's the type of jar you are looking for at the store - over by the pickles.


Here's the difficult recipe.

Pepperoncini Roast.

2 1/2 - 3 lb. Bottom Round Roast
1 jar pepporoncini's - juice and all
1 can beef broth

Throw all these things in your crockpot. Put the lid on. Turn it on low. Let it cook alllllll day long, 7-8 hours. Take the roast out and shred it. It will be falling apart. Serve it up on a kaiser roll, with cheese if you desire and serve it with veggies or a salad or whatever. David and I like to serve it up with some of the juice from the peppers on the side and dip our sandwich in it. It definitely gives it a kick and a little extra spice, but we love it.



Parents Review: Easy, tastes awesome, yummy
Kids Review: Little Girl always grumbles, but she eats it. Baby Boy seems to really like it.