Roasted potatoes and veggies

We love to use yukon gold potatoes for everything. They are so much creamier than your average russet and they are just plain good.

Here's a simple recipe for roasting potatoes. You can add this to just about any meal and it's so much healthier than buying a bag of frozen nastiness.

Roasted Potato Fries:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
I sliced about 4 potatoes into little steak fries.
I threw them in a gallon ziploc bag and added a little olive oil and tossed.
Then I set a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet (this lets heat circulate both sides ) and threw all the potatoes on top and added salt. I sometimes like to add some fresh chopped rosemary to the bag and it gives these such great flavor.
Then let them roast for about 15 minutes or so - you'll see them get brown and a little crispy.

Eat and Enjoy.


Roasted Veggies:

We also love to roast our veggies around here. This particular day I only had broccoli, carrots and onion on hand, so I chopped them all up. Tossed a little olive oil on top, added salt, and did the same thing with them as I did with the potatoes. I let them roast for around 15 minutes. I still like mine a bit crisp.

These are both great side dishes to add to so many different meals: chicken, meatloaf, burgers, the list goes on and on.

Lasagna

(I forgot to take a pretty picture of our meal and ended up just getting a shot of the leftovers in the pan. Sorry.)

I love making lasagna. It's one of my "go to" recipes I use when we have people over because it's one of those things that you can't really mess up. I was given this recipe many years ago by a lady who worked for David. She was (and I am sure still is) very gifted in hospitality and cooking and baking and all things of this nature. She created this little book that she gave out to various women that had some of her staple everyday recipes in it.

This lasagna recipe is one I always use. I serve it with some whole wheat rolls and a salad. Perfect. Simple. Easy. Plus - you hit all the food groups. :-)

Enjoy.

Lasagna:

1 box lasagna noodles (I always use whole wheat and I like the kind that are "oven ready")

Combine 2 eggs, 2 cups ricotta and 1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese.

Brown 1 lb. ground beef with 1 medium onion, drain. Add:
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 tsp. oregano
2-6 oz cans tomato paste
1/2 T. basil
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. parsley

In greased 9X13 pan layer 6 noodles, 1/2 meat mixture, all ricotta cheese mixture, 6 noodles, remaining meat mixture. Top with an additional 1/2 lb. mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let set 10 minutes out of the oven.

Smores Muffins

It's fall y'all! I made some Smores Muffins today and David and I both said "mmmmm. Now that just tastes like fall." I think a lot of my followers have tried these already, but if you haven't yet - make some tonight! They actually are easy, however they have a lot of ingredients in them and they only make 6 at a time if you use the basic recipe. I have no idea why this is, but just thought I would fore-warn you if you are having 7 people over and wanted to serve these muffins. Make a double. You actually won't mind because they are that yummy.

My favorite part is when the marshmallow fluff burns just a little bit and it tastes like a marshmallow roasted out on the fire. Hello!!!! Yummy.

Here's the link to the recipe I use. Enjoy!

Pepper Steak over Rice

It was so fun doing the GIVEAWAY last week. I can't wait to hear what Lynn thinks of her cookie tin she received from Carol's Cookies. I hope they are a yummy treat for her (and her family if she should share!).

Sorry the recipes have been slow this past week, I mentioned the hubs is doing The Daniel's Fast with our church and therefore he eats very little, which means the cooking has been minimal. I did, however, whip up something last week while he was gone one night because I love it and he does not.

My mother-in-law gave me this recipe back when I was a newlywed and I love it because it is so easy and so flavorful! Plus - It's a crockpot dish and you know how I love my crockpot!!




Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 lbs. Cube Steak
2 Tbsp. Oil (I use Canola)
1/4 C Soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
1 tsp. Sugar
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 Large Green Bell Pepper (or whatever kind you like)

Pour oil in the bottom of the crock pot and add your cube steak. Just throw it in. Then add all the rest of your ingredients. Let cook on low all day (my big crock pot can cook it in about 4 hours though - it's fast).

**Add 1/2 Cup cold water and 1 Tbsp. cornstarch to thicken. I only do this half of the time. It's a little runnier if you don't, but I actually don't mind because the rice soaks it up. Chop up the meat mixture with a spoon and serve it over some brown rice.

Easy-Peezy. My kinda meal.

Parents Review: I LOVE it. David hates it and always has. He has issues with it not being thick enough. Whatev-ah
Kids Review: Little Girl tolerates it and Baby Boy loves it.

Give it a try and enjoy!

Drumroll Please

I was a little late on the drawing for the big giveaway, because, well, I was painting and I lost track of time. :-) Sorry.

O.K.

I am so excited about the winner.

She is a great commenter on both of my blogs.

She lives close to where I have lived at one time.

She contributed one of my most recent recipes that I am in love with.

And, She HAS to love cookies, because................she's pregnant right now.

The winner of the Carol's Cookies Giveaway is.....

Lynn from Rohal Call!!!

Yay! I am so excited. Send me an email Lynn at karamak@mac.com and get me your address so I can send these cookies out to you right away!!

Thanks to all of you who entered. This was so much fun!!

It's Giveaway Day!

I am doing my drawing tonight girls for a tin of Carol's Cookies delivered right to your front door to make you smile and all happy inside.

Make sure you leave me a comment on my Giveaway post and ALSO become a "Follower" (over on the right side of the page) - for 2 chances to win!!!

I am so excited to send out some cookies this week. I hope YOU win!!!

Be watching this week for a couple of new recipes. Since we all have COOKIES on the brain - I will post something sweet like Chocolate Chip Scones or Smores Muffins.........

Hungry?

Stay tuned!!

Chicken Crescent Squares

I know I said I was going to post this recipe yesterday, and then we started our women's conference here in town and all computer time went out the window. So, I am back today to share one of my favorites.

I made these little yummy treats for the first time back when we lived in Washington D.C. (shout out to all my NCC girls here!) and I had a "Girl's Night Out" at my house one evening. It was one of the most fun girls nights I have had in a long time and I remember these all so fondly because it was in the pre-children days and I remember we would stay up until like 2:00 a.m. and talk and yak and eat.

Lovely memories. Just lovely. :-)

So, I pulled the recipe out again yesterday to serve to my sweet friend Kelley for a lunch play date here at the house with our kiddos.

I think they were a huge hit and they are very, very simple, which is my favorite kind of recipe. So, have a girlfriend over and whip these babies up so you can look all fancy and domestic and I bet they will love it!

I served these Chicken Crescent Squares up with some yummy hummus, carrots and good ol' Stacy's Parmesan and garlic pita chips.


Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS
1package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1tablespoon LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened
2cups cubed cooked chicken
1tablespoon chopped fresh chives or onion
1/4teaspoon salt
1/8teaspoon pepper
2tablespoons milk
1tablespoon chopped pimientos, if desired
1can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet
1tablespoon LAND O LAKES® Butter, melted
3/4cup seasoned croutons, crushed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, mix cream cheese and 1 tablespoon softened butter; beat until smooth. Add chicken, chives, salt, pepper, milk and pimientos; mix well.
2. Separate or cut dough into 4 rectangles. If using crescent dough, firmly press perforations to seal. Spoon 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto center of each rectangle. Pull 4 corners of dough to center of chicken mixture; twist firmly. Pinch edges to seal. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush tops of sandwiches with 1 tablespoon melted butter; sprinkle with crushed croutons.
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

And, of course, we polished our lunch down with some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that I pulled out of the freezer an hour before they got here. They were perfect and soft and full of calories.

Don't forget to leave a comment on my GIVEAWAY Post to win some cookies of your own from Carol's Cookies (just click comments underneath my post and go from there). Leave a comment and become a "follower" on my blog for a chance to win. Just look on the right side of my page and click on "follower".

Hope you all enjoy your weekend. I am going to be posting some home projects over at me-moddy here in the next week. I'm painting my front door red. Should be fun!!