Cranberry Nut Bread

 This recipe came from my Mom- I have no idea where she got it, but we've had it around for years!

1 beaten egg

2 tbs melted shortening (I usually forget to add this, oops!)

1/2 cup prepared orange juice

2 tbs hot water

 

Add dry ingredients

 

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

 

Mix well, then fold in

 

1/2 cup walnuts

1 cup raw cranberries, cut in half (hint: it is easier to slice them if they have been in the freezer for a while)

 

Dough will be thick and kind of sticky.

 

Pour in greased and floured pan (about 2/3 full)

Bake at 325 for about 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean

Apple Cinnamon and Salt Dough Ornaments

The kids had a blast making these for presents this year. The different doughs work great on their own, but we combined on a few and they turned out great!

Apple Cinnamon dough:

1 C. ground Cinnamon
1 C. Apple Sauce

stir until it is combined thoroughly and roll out.  use cookie cutters and any sort of ribbon or ornament hanger and let dry for a few hours.  Voila!

Salt Dough:

1 C. Salt
2 C. Flour
3/4 C. luke warm water.

Let the kiddos really get ooey and gooey blending this one up.  Same as before, mix it up, roll it out and cookie cut.

Penguin Party!

We "invited" some penguins to our holiday dinner this year!

(olives, cream cheese, carrot)

My apologies

While I haven't stopped creating and stuffing my face with tasty vittles, I have been so busy, I haven't blogged a bit on any of my blogs!  Ah, well.  C'est la vie!   At least we've been with good friends and family.

Come January hopefully you'll see a lot more of the good stuff and maybe a new Vlog ala Madame Lexi and myself.  In the mean time, Happy Holidays! 

Kansas Dirt Cake

I've been wanting to try this for a while and finally found the recipe and a dozen just like it on Cooks.com!  MMMM!

1 lg. pkg. Oreo's
1/2 c. butter
12 oz. Cool Whip
8 oz. cream cheese
3 c. milk
1 c. powdered sugar
2 (3 1/3 oz.) boxes instant vanilla pudding
1 tsp. vanilla

Scrape filling out of cookies and reserve. 

Crush cookies. 

Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth, add powdered sugar and cookie filling. 

Fold in Cool Whip. 

In separate bowl, mix pudding with milk and vanilla. 

Fold whipped cream mixture in pudding mixture. 

Pour over layer of cookie crumbs in 9 x 13 inch pan. 

Repeat with layers of cookies and cream. 

Refrigerate at least 45 minutes.

Easy Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Ham fried Rice

I love Pinterest!

One of my latest finds is this tasty meal found HERE.  It is easy, light and filling and my kids vaccuum it down knowing there is plenty more.  I'm adding this to the label "under $10" because we had every indgredient but the chicken on hand which cost me six dollars to feed 8.

The chicken coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts (I used the stir fry cut packages)

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

The sweet and sour sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

This is about half way done in the oven.  My fully finished golden brown version had a corrupted file.

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs. Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes

Fried Rice : This is so dang easy and it tastes just like restaurant ham fried rice.   

3 cups cooked white rice (day old or leftover rice works best!)

3 tbs sesame oil

1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

(I added ham)

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled. Now add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated!

Toffee Bran Bars

3/4 C all purpose flour
3/4 C 100% bran, divided
1 1/4 C firmly packed light brown sugar, divided
1/2 c. margarine, melted
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C flaked coconut, toasted
1/3 C walnuts

preheat to 350

in small bowl combine

-1/2 C bran
-1/2 C brown sugar
-Margarine

Press in bottom of 13x9x2in pan, bake 10 min and set aside.

 med-sized electric mixer beat these items at high speed until foamy:

-Remaining 1/4 C bran
-3/4 C brown sugar
-eggs
-baking powder
-Vanilla

Spread over prepared crust, bake additional 25 min, or until set.

Remove pan from oven, sprinkle with chocolate chips, let stand for 5 min

spread melted chips around gently before topping with coconut and walnuts in alternating diagonal strips over chocolate.

Cool completely, cut into bars.

Almond Cream Cheese Cookies

3 oz Cream Cheese (softened)
1 C butter softened
1 C sugar
1 egg yolk
1 Tbs Milk
1/8 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 C. sifted cake flour
1 C sliced almonds, toasted

Beat cream cheese with butter and sugar until fluffy.  Blend in egg yolk, milk, and almond extract.  Gradually stir in cake flour.  Gently stir in almonds. (dough will be sticky.)  Divide dough in half; place each cardon large sheet of waxed paper, shape into 12x1 in roll.  Refrigerate until very firm.

Preheat oven to 325.  Cut rolls into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 10-15 minutes or until edges are just starting to look golden.  THESE COOKIES SHOULD NOT BROWN.  Cool on wire racks.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Alternative to fried dough

I LOVE fried dough/western scones. I don't love the added oil, grease, splatters, calories, and using an entire bottle of oil I have to dispose of later.

My daughter and I, while preparing a favorite snack of fresh tortillas, decided to experiment a bit.

We liked it so much it was our breakfast this morning and was SO STINKING GOOD!
All you do is heat the uncooked tortillas on a clean dry skillet per directions on the package, butter them, and add your favorite scone toppings.

Lazy dessert...

This is best filed under things I threw together and didn't turn out half bad... :)

1 small bag frozen raspberries, dumped into a glass baking dish that has been sprayed with oil

1 chocolate cake mix, dumped directly on top of the raspberries

1 stick butter, cut into slices and put on top of the dry cake mix

Bake for about 1/2 an hour. You will see it bubbling slightly on the edges when it is done.

It looks like a big gooey mess, as you can see, but was actually pretty tasty. I let it cool for a little while, but served it while it was still warm. Goes great with vanilla ice cream too. Think cobblerish dump cake?

Lipton's white pizza dip

So good! So easy!  Think Really yummy Artichoke dip meets cheesy bread.

1 envelope Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup (8 oz.) ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 oz.)
1/4 cup (1 oz.) chopped pepperoni (optional)
1 loaf Italian or French bread, sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In shallow 1-quart casserole, combine Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix, sour cream, ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.   2. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.   3. Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve with bread.

CHEDDAR-POTATO-CARROT SOUP

CHEDDAR-POTATO-CARROT SOUP

6 TBSP butter or olive oil, or 50/50 of each

1 sm. onion, minced

Saute in a small skillet until translucent, more like sweating than sauteing.

Transfer to a big sauce or soup pot, & add:

6 C chicken broth & simmer for a bit.

Shred 8-10 carrots & 3 to 5 peeled potatoes. (I have used thawed hash browns, which work just as well.)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 drops Tabasco

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Simmer until veggies are tender.

Turn heat to low & add 2 C of 1/2 & 1/2 (can use fat free 1/2 & 1/2). 

Bring up to warm. TURN OFF HEAT!

Gently stir in one handful at the time, 2 - 3 C grated cheddar cheese, stirring in between til the cheese melts, otherwise your soup will "break".

Serve immediately!!!

Mama Rox's Hungry Boy Casserole

1.5 ground beef, turkey or chicken

1 C sliced celery

1/2 C finely chopped onion

1/2 C finely chopped green pepper (or red or yellow or mixed)

1 clove garlic minced  (or equivalent in garlic powder)

Cook the above in a skillet over med heat until veggies are tender. Drain any excess fat, if any.

ADD:

3/4 C of water

6oz. can of tomato paste

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. paprika

Reserve 1 Cup to roll up in biscuits.

ADD:

1 med can undrained pork & beans

1 med can of un drained navy beans

1 med can of un drained beans of choice (i.e. lima, kidney, etc.)

Let simmer while preparing biscuits.

BISCUITS:

1.5 cups AP flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Mix to combine.

Cut in:

1/4 C butter

Add:

1/2 C milk or buttermilk

(option my aunt used was 1 to 2 drops of yellow food coloring in milk)

Mix dough & knead very lightly, & roll out to a 1/2" thick rectangle. Spread the 1 Cup of reserved sauce & roll up & slice like sweet rolls.

Put the meat & bean mix in a greased casserole, & lay the biscuit rolls on top. Bake @ 425 for 25 to 30 min, until biscuits are raised & golden.

Great served with a big green salad.

Liz's Jello Salad

1 (6 oz.) box lemon Jello
1/2 c. hot water
1 (8 oz.) carton whipped topping
3/4 c. grated Cheddar cheese
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, not drained
3/4 c. Miracle Whip salad dressing

 

Dissolve Jello in hot water. Mix in in all other ingredients. Pour into a baking dish or salad bowl. Chill until firm.

Teasdale's Rotini Salad

Generations have enjoyed this salad, from my husband's grandma who served it to her family, including her mother, on down to my own kiddos, and the only difference is the modern ingredients.  My father in law and now my hubby are the chefs and every family BBQ that is of note has Rotini salad.

2 large cucumbers peeled and chunked
2-3 roma tomatoes (depending on size) diced
1 box rotini (if it is a 1lb box use only 3/4 of the box) cooked according to directions on box
1 bottle of light Cheese Fantastico salad dressing
1 can sliced olives
1-2 table spoons of Salad supreme

Mix all together in a large bowl with a tight lid. 

Shake... a lot.

You can eat it right away, but it is so much better overnight.

Chicken Waldorf Salad Sandwich

Chicken Waldorf Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:
Chicken (1 can chunk chicken or 1-2 cups roughly chopped chicken left overs)
1 gala apple diced small
1 celery stock diced small
1-2 cups sliced red seedless grapes
Optional 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Bread/Crusty Roll/Croissant

Dressing Ingredients: (these are guesstimates as I just added each to the bowl free handed)
1/4 cup mayo (what ever kind you like - lite/fat free/olive oil base/regular/miracle whip)
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup honey
palm full of poppy seeds
S&P to taste

Make dressing in a large bowl first. Whisk together all ingredients and set aside to marinade while getting the other ingred ready.
Chop chicken, apples, celery and grapes and toss in dressing. Check seasoning and adjust here if needed. Add walnuts directly before serving. This is great as a sandwich but it's also great as a regular salad.

Wandering Gypsy Girl Broccoli Cheese Soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients

1 leek sliced

1/4 sweet yellow onion sliced

1 small potato sliced

1-2 heads fresh or frozen broccoli (florets separated from the larger stock-discard large stock or hold aside for making vegetable stock later)

chicken or vegetable stock (enough to cover veggies)

1 stick butter

2-3 tbl flour

cheddar cheese shredded - to taste (at least 2-3 handfuls)

milk or cream 

S&P to taste

 Rinse leeks to remove grit (slice at about 1/2 way up the dark green stem). Remove broccoli florets if using fresh broccoli and slice onion and peeled potato.

 Add 3-4 pads butter to pot and saute broccoli, leeks, onions, and potato until onions are translucent. Season with S&P here.

 Add enough stock to cover the veggies.

 Cover with lid and simmer until broccoli, potatoes and leeks are soft.

 Transfer all but 2-3 tbls of liquid to the blender and pulse until smooth.

 Add flour to stock remaining in the pot and make a rue. Add milk in slowly creating a base for a cheese sauce.

 Add desire amount of cheese (I like a lot!).

 Add veggie puree back into pot with cheese sauce - combine and bring back up to temp.

Serve warm with crusty bread.

Chicken Artichoke Pasta Toss

Chicken Artichoke Pasta Toss

Ingredients:

Pasta of your choice

Olive oil

3-4 pads butter

1 can chicken chunks or any chicken leftovers shredded

fresh tomatoes diced

1/2 sweet yellow onion diced

artichoke hearts (canned or frozen is fine -which ever is on sale)

Thyme

S&P

While water is boiling for the pasta...shred chicken, dice up tomatoes, onion and artichokes (if pieces are large).

 Add butter and olive oil to the pan. Then add onion and saute until soft and fragrant. Add spices, tomatoes, artichokes and chicken to the pan and toss. Cook for just a few minutes to warm ingredients through.
When pasta is ready add pasta directly into pan with the rest of the ingredients and toss.  Add any additional butter, olive oil or spices here to taste.

Plate warm with Parmesan cheese over the top.

You can also add Alfredo sauce to this for a delicious left over makeover that is sure to please the whole family.

Baklava

Tyler Florence's Baklava

(I make this for Easter - my family loves baklava and over the years I have found this is one of the best recipes out there. -Lexi)

Ingredients

• 1 pound shelled walnuts, toasted
• 1/2 pound blanched almonds, toasted
• 1/2 pound shelled pistachios, toasted
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 pound unsalted butter, melted
• 1 pound phyllo pastry sheets

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Finely chop the nuts in a food processor or coffee grinder. Transfer nuts to a bowl and mix in brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and cloves.

Brush a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with melted butter and set aside. Cut a piece of cardboard into a 13 by 9-inch rectangle. Unroll the phyllo dough and lay the sheets flat on a work surface. Set the cardboard template on the stack of phyllo and trim the excess so they fit the pan. Keep the pastry covered with a damp, not wet, towel as you work to prevent drying out.

To build the baklava, you will alternate 3 layers of dough with 2 layers of nuts. Start with a stable base of 8 sheets on the bottom, brushing each with melted butter. Spread 1/2 the nut mixture evenly over the stacked sheets. Cover with 4 sheets of phyllo, painting each with melted butter, then sprinkle again with remaining nut mixture. Top the last layer of nuts with 8 layers of phyllo as you did for the bottom. Drizzleany remaining butter over top.

If you have time, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the butter will set and make the baklava easier to cut. Using a sharp knife, make 5 cuts across lengthwise, then cut diagonally to form diamonds. Baklava is more difficult to cut after it is cooked because the pastry becomes so flaky. Bake for about 40 minutes until golden and flaky. If the top browns too quickly during baking, tent with foil.

Orange Scented Simple Syrup:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup orange blossom honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 large strips orange peel
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves

To make the syrup: combine the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and letsimmer for 10 minutes until thickened. Remove the orange peel, cinnamon stick, and whole clove; set aside to cool.

Remove an end piece of the baklava and tilt the pan to allow the butter to collect in the corner. Spoon out the excess and discard. With the pan flat, pour the syrup evenly over the hot baklava. Allow to stand for several hours before serving.

Desert Parfait

Desert Parfait

Ingredients: 

Pinot Noir

Sugar

Fresh seasonal fruit

Granola (your favorite kind)

Yogurt (I used greek goddess, honey flavor) 

 I used almond and raisin granola I bought at Sunflower Market, & strawberries and grapes because they were in season and on sale.

 Add 1cup pinot noir wine and 1/2 cup sugar to a sauce pan and boil down rapidly to create a rich and flavorful simple syrup. (optional -you can also add cinnamon sticks, 3 whole cloves and 1 whole star anise here and simply take them out after simmering and before adding the fruit.)

 Dice up fruit and add to simple syrup. Toss in liquid to coat. (At this point you can either boil the fruit down to make a compote or you can leave the fruit al dente)

 Remove fruit and liquid from heat and cool rapidly (you can also through it in the freezer for a minute)

Once fruit is cooled you are ready to assemble your lovely desert parfait alternating between the yogurt, granola and fruit.

These are a sure crowd pleaser at family meals or parties. Caution if you are making these in advance don't layer the granola into the parfait...hold it to the side and add right before serving to prevent a soggy oatmeal like texture in your parfait.

Jazzed up Deviled Eggs

I personally love deviled eggs year round, I think they are great to bring to BBQ's, family get together's, church socials etc. With these you can almost always guaranty you'll head home from the event with an empty plate. 

I like to make a statement when I bring these delicious little morsels with me...for Easter or any function really...adding a splash of color to your deviled eggs makes a fun statement.

Start by filling a few cups with plain vinegar. Add regular food coloring to each cup and insert peeled hard boiled eggs one at a time. Leave in the vinegar until you have reached your desired color (this won't take long so don't worry...you're not pickling the eggs)

Next...slice eggs in two, remove yokes and create standard deviled eggs filling (use your favorite recipe). Fill each half with the creamy mixture and a dash of paprika for color. Enjoy!

I've also colored the eggs after they were sliced in half to color the whole visible surface area. It's entirely up to you :-)

Chinese Fried Rice via the Mayo Clinic

This is directly from the Mayo Clinic website.  you can see this recipe and the nutrition facts HERE

1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cup rice
3 tablespoons peanut oil
4 green onions with tops, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 carrots, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 egg
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley

In a saucepan, bring the water and rice to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid, about 20 minutes.
In a large heavy skillet or wok, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat. Add the cooked rice and saute until lightly golden. Add the green onions, salt, carrots, peppers and peas. Stir-fry until the vegetables are tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.
Hollow out a circle in the center of the skillet by pushing the vegetables and rice to the sides. Break the egg into the hollow and cook, lightly scrambling the egg as it cooks. Stir the scrambled egg into the rice mixture. Sprinkle with soy sauce, sesame oil and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Carrot Cake Pops and a Lollipop Garden

 With a 3 year old b-day, I decided to go the Cake-pop route.  It seemed (and was) SO much less messy!  That "frosting" isn't gooey, it is firm chocolate.  YUM!  The recipe looked so easy, I couldn't pass it up.

I decided on Carrot cake, since we were going with an Easter/Spring theme. 

1 box cake made per directions on the box and cooled.

Take 1/2 of the cake and 1/2 container of Cream Cheese Frosting and mix together making a dough.

Roll into balls (or carrot shapes) and stick in the fridge 2 hours or the freezer 30 min. (Make them small... like donut hole small, or to your horror, your beautiful creation will slowly make its way down the stick and die a sad death.  With the carrot shapes, you can get a way with more weight because it it distributed differently... still, there was much bellowing and perhaps a few off color words dierected at the demise of some of my best cake pops.)

Melt white chocolate pieces and add desired food coloring.

While chocolate is melting, prepare candy sticks or dowels.  Candy sticks are a lot more pricy. (I used dowels 3/4 covered with floral tape and on the one pictured, I used floral wire covered with floral  tape to make the stem of the carrot.)

Dip the tip of the stick into the chocolate and place the firm, cold dough onto the stick. Hopefully you will have more luck dipping your dough in the chocolate.  Not only did I have to thin my chocolate out with milk a bit, but I spread it with a spatula, as the chocolate kept pulling the dough off of the stick for me.

Place in styrofoam or a candy stick holder, like the one I got at Walmart and I would suggest keeping them cool until use.  As you can see, some turned out MUCH better than others.  But the kids loved them and their faces were CLEAN!

I had seen the idea for a lollipop garden on Pinterest using Tootsie pops.

It looked so cute and all it was, was the candy stuck in a patch of grass.  Cute and easy, right?

Well, not for me.  i couldn't find Tootsie pops anywhere.  So I used dum-dums.  Well, dum-dums are significantly shorter and got lost in the grass.  So I added a mini muffin liner and tied the bottom with emroidery floss, then placed them in the actual flower garden.  Even the boys att he party liked picking these flowers.  :)

Complete with egg hunt, gift bags, coloring printable crowns and

rounds of duck-duck goose, simon says, and a bubble machine, I only spent

$30 on the entire party.

Grilled Potatoes and Carrots

This is by no means an "original" recipe. I have seen variations of it at bar-b-ques and picnics, so I don't really know where the credit for it's tastiness should fall. It is however incredibly quick- incredibly tasty- and incredibly easy to make.

Potatoes
Baby Carrots
(any other veggies you may like)
Ranch Seasoning Packet (or 2!)

Wash and cut raw potatoes. I used approximately 8 medium-smallish Yukon golds, but any type/size will work. Just clean enough for your family. Boil potatoes for a few minutes to soften them. You don't want them mushy, just slightly cooked through so they will cook quicker on the grill. You can even do this ahead of time and have them in the fridge, ready to go whenever you are. (You don't have to pre-boil them, but they will definitely take longer to grill if you don't.)

Combine carrots and potatoes. Mix in 1 Ranch Dips packet (I used Hidden Valley). Sometimes I even throw in some salt and pepper.

Make a foil pouch and dump veggies on it. Roll up tight and take it to the grill.
Flip it a couple times to make sure it cooks evenly.

End result:

 yum

Canned vs. Martha Stewart

There was a comment left on my post about apple pie that amused me no end.  The Anonymous commenter had very obviously not read the recipe post, and furthermore, made the point of this blog more apparent to me.  The comment was: "pie filling from a can. way to go martha stewart. "  While I get that there are always people on the Internet that troll for the opportunity to be contrary and really should be ignored, I thought this was a great opportunity to explain why I began this blog.   

There is always room for easy cooking AND a little "Martha Stewart" or Emeril.

From every angle of our lives as women, homemakers, working women and moms, aunts, grandmothers, etc.  There are high expectations that either push us to frustration or make us just give up.  This is even more true when it comes to the kitchen.  This is so sad.  We are hard enough on our selves with out having to endure more fuel to our kitchen woes fire.  Food is what brings families together. In some families, it is all they do together.  If your choice for feeding your family is a bowl of cereal for dinner or eating out, every single night.... well, you're either trying so hard you can't live up to your expectations so you quit, or just not trying at all.  Yet you also don't need to spend hours cooking and creating, make a gorgeous center piece out of what once was belly button lint to add to an $80 meal your kids won't eat.



When I became a wife and mom, I knew how to make very few things.  Sure, I had enough basics to follow a recipe and I knew a few basic recipes by heart.  It wasn't until I began gaining the collective kitchen knowledge of the family my hubby and I had and our more artsy-foodie friends, that I began to realize how much variety and availability each household and situation has.  Not to mention the camaraderie in cooking with other women.  Some of my best friends have shared a kitchen and their table with me and I have been honored to have them at mine.  We can all learn from each other is we put aside those crazy expectations of perfection and just be one of the girls who knows her way around a kitchen.

Some nights you are on the run; some mornings you just don't feel like making a big fuss.  There are those days when you are so sick of coming up with lunch ideas that you want to scream and call the pizza guy.  Then you look at how much you've already called the pizza guy and how much you could have spent eating real food.  Here is a place you can grab an idea and whip something up that enriches your family, your health and your confidence as a homemaker.  Now, if you have time to make it look amazing, then more power to you.

A woman who loves to feed her family is a woman who thinks about other people and what is best for them.  The secret is she doesn't have to break her neck or the bank to do it.

So YEP!  Canned is great if that's what you've got.  Because, be it pie filling or veggies or cream of something casserole, it sure beats Del Taco for the umpteenth time this month, is more nutritious and your family will think you care about them... particularly if you make it look nice.  Think about it.  If you take your kids to a fancy restaurant, tell them to order cheap or split a meal so you can eat nice, it isn't the same as making that same meal in the all you can eat form for 8 people at the cost of one plate at the restaurant.  That makes your kids and hubby happy and you have more money left to do an activity with your family.

I have a load of recipes that make my family feel loved and special and it only takes a little elbow grease, 30 minutes and 10-15 dollars to do it.  And they all agree a place setting is so much more personal than the gift bag full of greasy, who knows what's really in it, here just eat, "food."

Happy Cooking, Ladies!  Oh, and to Anonymous:  Eating good food makes you less grumpy.  You should try one of our recipes.  ;)

Apple Pie

Richard's Grandma said she loved apple pie as dessert for her traditional Irish dinners.  She's no longer with us, but the tradition continues.
I have some odd inability to make a decent pie crust, so I buy mine.

You can be lazy and buy canned pie filling, (this way often lacks flavor) but the best way to make the pie filling is finding tart apples, and following on of the many recipes such as this one by Paula Dean.  I find apple pie filling to be like a bread recipe.  Everyone has a recipe they love, but few of them are truly bad.

The bottom layer needs to be poked with a fork to keep its shape and keep from bubbling.  Trim the outside of the bottom crust so it doesn't go over the sides.

dump pie filling into bottom crust and even out as best as possible.

Place the top layer, centered, on top of the fruit.  Use your fingers to "close the lid" and pinch the crust all the way around.  Sprinkle with sugar.

Use a small, sharp knife, like a paring knife to make air holes.  you can be creative or just make large slits.

Cover crust edges with foil. You do this because the crust will brown well before the middle of the pie is done with out it.  By the time the pie is done, with out foil, the crust will burn on the edges.

Bake at 400 for 20-30 min and remove foil.  Continue to bake until crust is browned.

Voila!

Corned Beef and Cabbage with Potatoes

We have to make this every once in a while for my hubby and kids and their Irish heritage.

This traditional dish is surprisingly one of the easiest to make.

Ready?

You need:

A large pot or crock pot

packaged corned beef with season packet

head of cabbage broken up or chopped

peeled and diced potatoes

water

Dump everything into the pot.  Incluing the juices in the meat package and seasonings from the packet.

This is meant to be boiled, so fill with water to the top of the contents of your pot.

Boil for 4-6 hours in a pot or on high in a crock pot

or on Low in the crock pot over night or for at least 12 hours.

When it is done, the beef will fall apart and be stringy.

the cooked cabbage will blend in with the potatoes.

Corned beef is a great source of Iron.  Corned beef and Cabbage has a ton of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, 1/8 your daily value of calcium,  and Potatoes have potassium.This is a high in sodium meal, but they do have lower sodium Corned beef if you look hard enough.

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Farls



Place a large flat skillet, lightly floured on the stove over medium low heat.

2 C Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda (Sifted)

fluff together in a large bowl and make a large hole in the center

1 Cup Buttermilk

fill the hole with the buttermilk and quickly mix into a dough.

Place dough on a floured surface and gently knead into a ball, then press into a disk about 1/2 in thick.

cut disk into 1/4 pieces (Farls)



Place your fourths/Farls on the floured, heated skillet and cook until golden brown (about 5 min) flipping once to brown the other side (another 5-ish minutes)

Think really dense KFC biscuit with butter and jam....but better.  Also, the dough can be fried like a scone or baked into a bread.