I'm Back!!!

Okay I know it has been a long time since the last time I blogged and a few things have changed here. I am now helping at the shop 4-5 days a week instead of when I started this blog I was a stay at home mommy!! So it is harder for me to find the time to sit and write a blog post. But I will try and do it at night when the kiddo goes to bed!! And the other big thing is I have started weight watchers so I am trying to cook and eat better for me and my family. So the recipes on my blog will now be healthier then they were before. ( But I love to bake so I will still have a few unhealthy items to post!! ) So tonight I made chicken tacos for dinner.....they were so yummy and just by substituting the beef I normally use with just chopped up chicken breasts it was healthier and I didnt lose the flavor. My chicken taco recipe is as follows:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (diced)
1 onion (cut up)
1 can corn ( I actually had a few left over cobs of corn and cut the kernels off of the cob)
1 packet taco seasoning
lettuce
tomato
salsa
sour cream
shredded cheese
tortillas

I took the onions and corn and sauteed them in a little bit of oil. ( I had a few mushrooms that needed cooked and I added them also) I added a little seasoning to the veggies and cooked till sauteed. Then I took the veggies and put them on a plate and set them aside. Then I took the chicken and cooked them in a tiny bit of oil until almost cooked through and then I add the seasoning packet and the veggies to the chicken. I finish cooking it till the chicken is fully cooked. Then it is ready to serve. I made mine with all the veggies that I could fit without making my taco shell explode!!! LOL It turned out super yummy and it was a healthier alternative to fatty beef tacos. I know this is a recipe thatmany people make but I thought I would share how I make mine!!!

Pizza Bread!!!!

So Life has not slowed down one bit actually it has become more chaotic!!! I cooked last night for the first time in a week because I have been working alot and we have softball twice a week. So we are going to have a crazy weekend because this weekend is my sisters baby shower which means my mom will be in town and staying with us!!! So I have got to finish up some housework tonight. But last nigh after I got home from work I push mowed the front yard and then asked my daughter what she wanted for dinner.......and she of course said PIZZA. I don't know about your house but at my house my daughter and bf could eat pizza for every meal and be happy. Me on the other hand I can eat it alot but not nearly as much as they can. So I decided to compromise......I would make Pizza bread instead. (or as my bf called it a pizza loaf because there was a lot of pizza bread for just 3 people) So this is how I make my pizza bread:

1 loaf italian bread(we used a whole wheat one)
1 roll of sausage
pepperoni (as many as you like)
pizza sauce (or I used homemade spaghetti sauce last night)
mozzarella cheese-shredded


First preheat your oven to 350 and then while waiting for the oven I brown the sausage in a skillet and crumble it as you cook. When the sausage is done drain the grease and sit aside. Next take your italian bread and slice it lengthwise and lay flat on a cookie sheet. Then lay your pepperoni on the bread and add as many as you like. Then I put my sauce on top of the pepperonis and then the the sausage on top of that. I then add my cheese on the very top and stick in the oven for about 15- 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and I like my cheese to be really melted so I stick it under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the cheese starts to look golden.


I was totally in a hurry last night to get dinner on the table so I completely forgot to get pics but I am going to try and get pics of tonights dinner if possible. But I now need to get back to work I have someone coming in to look at a possible pool!!! So I don't think i should be blogging when she comes in!!! LOL

So we have been getting ready for our spring open house this week at work and realizing how much work it has been since I have only made dinner once this week!! :( I really love to cook so this shows how much I have been working. But last night I made my favorite recipe that I kind of created when I was tired of eating the same burgers over and over!!! So the recipe is as follows:

2lbs ground chuck
1 package onion soup mix
3 tbsp of worchestershire sauce (you can add more or less to taste)
season salt
salt
black pepper
cheese (optional) we used American last night but it is really yummy with mozzarella on top!!

I mix everything together in a bowl and form patties to the size desired. I then either grill them or cook them on the stovetop till done to your liking. Add cheese and melt and then they are ready to serve.

 I also love to try new toppings for burgers so last night I had some zucchinni and onions that I sauteed and added them to the top of my burger with a little bit of BBQ sauce instead of the traditional condiments!! It was really good!! What are your favorite condiments on burgers? I like ketchup, mustard, onion, tomato and pickles on a regular burger.

 So now I need to figure out what I am making tonight for dinner. If the weather stays nice and it is not raining I am thinking that I might fire up the grill. I love cooking on the grill!! And in my house I am the one who does the grilling I find it to be relaxing (that is if I can get it lit without any problems.) We use a charcoal can though because I don't like using lighter fluid and sometimes the can makes things a little hard to light.

Also this week I have been a little crafty because I have a baby shower on the 20th of this month for my nephew. I can't tell you what I have been working on just yet but I am excited on how it is turning out!!! I have a feeling it will be my new go to gift for baby showers because it wasn't as difficult to make once I thought it through and did a little research on how to make it!! So that will be something to look forward to later this month.

And today I have had this song stuck in my head but it is one of those songs that just makes you happy so I don't mind having it stuck in my head!!

http://youtu.be/fWNaR-rxAic


Have a great day and a great weekend if I don't have time to update this weekend. But I think I might try making a few new mexican inspired recipes this weekend so stay tuned.

Take out!!

So tonight was my lazy mom night when it came to making dinner. We ordered Pizza Hut. I know that it is not the greatest dinner but my daughter had a book it certificate for her free pizza. So we ordered the pasta which was 2 for 10 and let me just say I was not really impressed. I love pasta but this was definetly something I will get again because I love my pasta not crunchy!! But oh well I guess that is what I get for being lazy and not making something myself. Well I really want to do some baking the next few days but not to sure what I am going to make. I might make some rice krispie treats for my daughter and my neighbor. I know that is not baking but I haven't made them in a while and my neighbor always gets some because he always requests I make them. LOL We are good friends with most of our neighbors which is what I love about living in a small town. I also am thinking I might try making a few more envelope covers for some of my pillows in the living room. My good friend Wendy taught me how to make them this weekend at our sewing class and now I am hooked I want to make more!! :) I love to sew when my sewing machine cooperates!! ;) Well I have had a long day of working, mowing and dealing with a grouchy kiddo. But the good part of my day was hanging out and relaxing in the hot tub with my kiddo and bf. Oh the joys of having a bf who owns his own pool and spa company we have a hot tub and a pool to enjoy!! :) Well it is off to bed for another busy day tomorrow!! :) I hope I can at least squeeze in one baking project or recipe for veryone tomorrow!!

Alrighty I have been super busy this last week trying to figure out what I was going to be doing this summer. (as far as work and childcare goes) I also have not been feeling well so I haven't really felt like cooking. That is how you know I am sick because I love to cook. So a few tips that help me get through a hectic week are I always try to make more of something and then freeze it if at all possible such as this morning I wanted french toast for breakfast and since I had a loaf of bread and eggs that needed used up I decided to make what was left of the loaf and freeze the leftovers. So I made 13 pieces of french toast and seperated them into 2 bags of four  and threw them in the freezer and then we ate the rest for breakfast. I also was the host of sewing group this month and it happened to fall on this last weekend. So I went to my 2 favorite go to party snacks and that is my egg roll wontons ( basically these are the filling from egg rolls wrapped in wonton shells and baked.) I will post the recipe tomorrow if possible. But I think I may have already posted it before but I will do it again as a refresher. I also made buffalo chicken dip. It is so yummy I could eat it as a meal!! :) The recipe for the dip is so simple. The way I make it is as follows:

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 8 oz package cream cheese (softened)
1 can chicken (drained)
hot wing sauce ( to taste)
shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a cake pan spread the cream cheese on the bottom. Then in a small bowl mix the chicken with the hot wing sauce. I use just enough sauce to coat the chicken. Then add the chicken mixture on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle the cheese on top and cook for 15 to 20 mins. or until the cheese is melted.

I also made turtle brownies but because I was in a hurry I made boxed brownies and I was not happy with the way they turned out but I guess that is because I know how the homemade ones taste.
Well I need to head to bed because I have to work at the shop the rest of this week so I should try to get some rest so I am not grouchy when I am answering phones!! :)

Alright so I promise that I didn't forget that I had a blog but there has been a lot going on here!! Such as my bf has opened a pool and Spa business. We have been busy to the point where I have been in the shop daily, which means I end up coming home cooking, getting my kiddo ready for bed, and then sometimes I go for a walk with a friend or I go to bed because I am exhausted. Another big change is I have made a lifestyle change meaning I am trying to eat better and exercise. I love food so I am learning how to not over indulge but still eat the things that I love. I also am trying to eat more fruits and veggies to my diet and drin more water and less soda. I gave up soda for lent and didn't drink it at all but the day after Easter I started drinking it again. :( But I have been doing it with moderation. Tonight for dinner I had a spinach salad with ham, free ceasar dressing, croutons and a tad bit of mozzarella on top and I made a hot ham and cheese sandwich on Italian bread with mozzarella and cheddar cheese for my bf and daughter and I had a little piece of that because it is one of my favorite sandwiches. I add a little garlic powder to mine and not the whole sandwich because my bf and daughter don't like garlic. Well enough about me tonight and hopefully I can start sharing some new healthier meals as I try them. Have a great night!! :)

Spring Break

This week has been a super busy week since my daughter has been home because she is off for spring break and she has had softball camp every morning!! :) Also with this beautiful weather we have been doing lots of outside time!! Which means dinner is not always planned out really well. So my goal is going to start trying more freezer meals and also making a menu for each week because I want to be able to be more prepared and organized at dinner time. This week the one new recipe that I made was a veggie side dish!!! It was as follows:


4 or 5 red potatoes sliced super thin
1/4 to 1/2 a head of cabbage thinly sliced
1 large onion thinly sliced
1 can of corn
4 pieces bacon crumbled
about 1/2 cup cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Then I sliced all of the vegetables super thin with my mandolin slicer. ( This is something I recently purchased and I absolutely love and don't know how I did anything before I owned it. LOL ) And I layered them in a 13x9 pan. I layered them onion,potatoes and then cabbage. I then added the can of corn juice and all on top of all of the layers. I then added the cheese on top of that and then crumbled the bacon on the top. Bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes of until the potatoes are cooked through.


It was one of the recipes where I had potatoes and cabbage that needed to be used asap so I decided to throw a few things in and see what happened and it turned out to be super yummy!! :) Have a great weekend!! I hopefully can do some more cooking and enjoy spending time with my family!! :)

warm weather

So with the warm weather that we have had I wanted to make a special treat for my daughter for after school. So I decided to make somepudding pops!!!! They are super easy and super yummy!!! And they are kid approved my daughter and the neighbor girl both loved them!!
The recipe is as follows: 
1 Pkg instant pudding any flavor (we used chocolate fudge)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups cool whip

Dissolve the pudding in the milk and then whip in cool whip when dissolved. After it is mixed spoon the mixture into popsicle forms or 3 oz dixie cups with popsicle sticks ( if you dont have popsicle sticks you can fold a straw in half and use them but they are not as stable!!)

The possibilities for this recipe are endless, such as you can make any flavor pudding. Also I thought about using 1/2 cup peanut butter with 1 1/2 cups coolwhip with a chocolate pudding and see what they taste like!! I will let you know when I try it!! If you make them feel free to share your flavors and combinations!!! :)


 Have a great day and enjoy this beautiful weather!! :)

So I just realized I never posted the recipes for the cupcakes that I made last week. I will post the recipes now and then I will post pics and how I made them my own little creation possibly tonight!! :) The recipes for the cupcakes I used are as follows:
For the apple cupcake I followed this recipe.


http://www.marthastewart.com/341937/apple-cupcakes?czone=food/best-cupcake-recipes/our-best-cupcakes&center=276944&gallery=345330&slide=285830

And for the Peanut Butter filled cupcakes I used the recipe from this site!!
http://dinneranddessert.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/chocolate-peanut-butter-cupcakes/


And the frosting recipe I used was similar to this one!
http://www.marthastewart.com/312921/cream-cheese-frosting

I made 2 dozen of each cupcake recipe so that way we would have some to try and the others I made for a friend! Again my family loved both cupcake recipes! So now I have to new untraditional cupcake recipes!! :)

MY OVEN IS FIXED!!! MY OVEN IS FIXED!!! And just in the nick of time because I needed to make cupcakes and banana bread for a friend!!! :) Today my oven was fixed at about 10:30 or 11 and has been on up until 5 minutes ago (8:50 pm)!! I have been a baking fool!!  I made peanut butter filled chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and reese's pieces on top, banana bread and then I just pulled out apple cupcakes which will get cream cheese frosting on them in the morning!! This momma is tired so I will try and post recipes tomorrow while the kiddo I will be babysitting is napping!! Both cupcakes turned out so yummy and I know this because I had my taste testers try them for me!! My daughter and boyfriend both gave them rave reviews!! Well I see some baking going on in this house tomorrow also because I have the stuff for homemade apple butter poptarts and the stuff for homemade pizza. Yummy. Well have a great night and I will try and post recipes tomorrow because I am off to bed because it will be an early morning!!

So last night we had the teriyaki chicken that was in my last post!! It was delicious!! I have had a sick kiddo in the house so what better way to cook then in the crockpot!! The original recipe that I posted for the teriyaki chicken said to serve over rice but we are not big rice eaters so I just made chicken ramen noodles and drained them and added the seasoning packets and just for something different I scrambled up a few eggs with onions and added them to the noodles. It was really yummy especially when you added the teriyaki chicken on top of it!! :) Well the oven is still broken in my house and it is making me crazy.......I never realized how much I used my oven until now!! The other thing is it of course breaks the week that I am supposed to be making banana bread and cupcakes for a friend!!! :(  The good thing is the parts should be in soon!!! :) Well sorry so short but I have to get back to tending to my sick kiddo!! Have a great day!!

Alright so here is the post about my freezer meals that I have made. Sorry it has taken me so long but on Wed. I started spring cleaning and by the time I was done I was exhausted and yesterday I went and did some shopping and socializing with friends. And now my oven element broke in half so I have had to do all my meals by stovetop!! :( I never realized I used my oven so much till it broke!! So here is how I did my freezer meals and where I got my ideas!! :)


The first thing that I did was just prep work. I cut up all the vegetables that I needed and put them in individual bowls so they were easy to get to when I needed them.


Next I took all the ingredients that I needed for each recipe and set them all together so that I had them all within arms reach.

Next I grabbed the bags I would be placing them in and dated them and wrote what was going in them and then I wrote the cooking directions on the bag so I wouldn't have to look up the recipe later.

Then I looked at the recipes to make sure that I had everything and then I followed all the recipe directions until the point of cooking.


Then I wrapped it or bagged it up and put it in the freezer.


So the first recipe that I made was super easy because there was no cooking involved it was just putting everything into the bag!! :)  It was the Teriyaki Chicken recipe listed below. I followed this recipe the way that it was except in one of the bags I added 3 stalks of celery chopped up!! ;)

Medium – Large bag of carrots
Red Onion into Large Chunks
2 large cans pineapple (undrained)
4 Garlic Cloves
4 Chicken Breasts
1 cup teriyaki sauce
Follow directions above, and split everything into two gallon freezer bags. shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. Instructions for Bag: Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce to crock pot, Cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours. Serve over hot rice.

I found this recipe at  http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/02/freezer-cooking.html
She had alot of different recipes that sounded good but because I was just starting out I wanted to just pick and choose a few recipes that I really wanted to try!! :)




The next recipe that I used was a recipe for Chicken Lasagna Alfredo but I made this recipe my own because I didn't have any lasagna noodles I used rotini instead. I again made this recipe all the way up until it said to put it in the oven. And instead I put it in the freezer. The recipe I used was as follows.


Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
• 3 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, diced
• 32 ounces Creamy Alfredo Sauce
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 pints ricotta cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Cook spinach according to package directions; drain.
2. In a medium bowl, combine chicken and one jar of alfredo sauce, stir together. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta and drained, cooked spinach, and stir.
3. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, place one layer of lasagna noodles, edges overlapping. Pour chicken and alfredo sauce mixture over noodle layer and spread evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella over chicken mixture. Top with another layer of noodles. Spread spinach mixture evenly over noodles. Pour 1/2 of remaining jar of alfredo sauce over spinach mixture, spread evenly. Sprinkle another cup of mozzarella over sauce, lay on the final noodle layer and top with remaining 2 cups of mozzarella and salt and pepper to taste. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until top is brown and bubbly.               

I found this recipe at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Lasagna-Alfredo/Detail.aspx and decided to try and make it into a freezer meal. I have not had a chance to try this yet but it looked so yummy. And now that my oven is broken I now have to wait a bit longer!!! :(

I also found a great deal on fresh green beans so I took them and snapped the ends off and picked out the ones that weren't good and then took them and placed them in a bag with some garlic and onions and stuck them in the freezer so all I will have to do is pull them out and stick them in a pot to cook.

Twice Baked Potatoes

• 20 to 24 potatoes
• sour cream or french onion dip
• cheddar cheese
• milk
• butter
• bacon bits
   

And the last recipe I made was twice baked potatoes!!! They looked and smelled so yummy when I was packaging I almost cooked one up for my lunch!! The way that I made them was first Ipreheated my oven to 350 degrees and then I washed about 22 potatoes and placed them on a cookie sheet. When the oven was preheated I placed the cookie sheet in the oven and cooked the potatoes for an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes flipping the potatoes every 15 mins. Then when they are cooked allow them to sit and cool till you are able to handle them. Then cut them in half but not all the way through and scoop the insides out into a bowl. When you are done scrapping them out you can add whatever filling you would like to add to the potatoes. I added cheddar cheese, french onion dip, a dash of milk, butter and bacon bits to mine. I then mixed it up till they looked like mashed potatoes and then I took a spoon and re stuffed the potatoes enough that I could still close them and then placed 3 to 4 potatoes into a small ziploc baggie and then placed the small ziploc bag into a large freezer bag to help them from getting freezer burn!! :) On the large ziploc bag I wrote the directions for cooking which is place in a 350 degree oven for 15 or 20 mins or until the centers are warm. Again I have not had a chance to try them but I can't wait till I can.

The mixed up filling.

The filling process!!

Filling The Bags!!!

So I hope that these recipes are helpful and are something you can use!! :)

Have a great day and enjoy!!

Lots to post

So the last two days I have cooked alot!! I have made a few meals for the freezer and I made some banana bread and I have also cooked dinner the last two nights!! So after some talk with a few friends I have decided to try freezer meals and see what works and what doesn't for me. I have been doing lots of looking at recipes and many websites that post recipes and blogs and whatever I could find that would help me with my journey of freezer meals!! :) So I am not doing my freezer meals at this time the way that they usually done which is all in one day because I have been babysitting during the week and my weekends have been busy so I have been trying one recipe a day just to get the hang of what I am doing!! My first tip before even starting is to cut all of your veggies how you need them such as dicing all of your onions or slicing mushrooms or carrots whatever all of your recipes calls for and seperate them into seperate bowls and you can add them to all of your recipes when you need them and you don't have to stop and chop them everytime. The recipes that I started with are Teriyaki chicken, Twice Baked Potatoes and Chicken Alfredo Lasagna (Rotini). And I also prepped fresh green beans to put in the freezer.  I plan on posting all of the recipes and pictures tomorrow because I am not babysitting then and will have time to get it all done and not mess it up because I am getting sleepy!! I also made my go to quick and easy supper Monday night which is sliced up smoked sausages and hashbrowns with onions and sometimes I add mushrooms or peppers if i have them. I usually use this recipe on nights that we get home late or we just don't want to make a huge mess because it is a one skillet meal.

The recipe for it is as follows:

• 1 package of smoked sausage links (cut up)
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 package of shredded hashbrowns
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded  cheese (optional)

In a large skillet I sautee the smoked sausage until it is browned. I then add the butter, onions and hashbrowns and cook until the onions are soft and the hashbrowns are golden. We then add cheese to the top of ours because we are a cheese loving family but that is optional because it is yummy with or without cheese.



Tonights supper was super easy because we just had breakfast for supper which was pancakes and sausage. But the fun part was that we bought a new little gadget that I absolutely love and that is our pancake pen from William-Sonoma. I just want to clarify that I am not getting anything from William-Sonoma for mentioning this product but I wanted to give my opinion on this gadget. It makes making pancakes fun and it is so easy that my 6 year old could use it. She loved it so I now have a little pancake helper.

My Daughters initials (except the L is backwards in this pic)

My daughter wanted a smiley face!! :)

I will add all of the other recipes tomorrow along with pictures!! :)

So this weekend has been so busy that we haven't been home for meals! So I do not have any new recipes tonight but something that I did for breakfast turned out to be yummy so I will share. I like having yogurt for breakfast with a little bit of granola. But this morning I discovered that I did not have any granola so I started searching around the kitchen for something to add to my yogurt and I found honey nut Cheerios so I added them and it was so good!! :) I also this weekend discovered greek yogurt and the reason why i discovered it was because it was on sale at Hy-vee!! So this last week I ordered a few new gadgets tat I can't wait to receive in the mail; one of the items is a pastry cutter so I can make homemade poptarts and the other thing is mini pie forms!! Tomorrow I think that I might make some banana bread because I have a few super ripe bananas. So I will post the recipe that I use for my bread machine. And hopefully post pics!! :)

So I found a recipe that I wanted to try but of course I didn't have a of the ingredients and taking two 2 year olds and a 6 year old shopping was not an option. So I decided to just use what I had that could be substituted. And suprisingly it turned out delicious. It was so good that my picky daughter ate 2 helpings!! :) The original recipe can be found at  http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2005/11/cooking-with-kids-recipesophie-makes.html.


The way that I made it as follows:

1.  3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 3rds
2. 1 can cream of mushroom
3. 1 cup light sour cream
4. 1/2 cup light miracle whip
5. 1 cup plus 1/2 cup colby monterey cheese
6. 1 Tbsp onion powder
7. 1 Tbsp lemon juice
8. 1 Tbsp season salt
9. Salt and pepper to taste

I followed the same directions that were in the original recipe which are:

     Preheat oven to 350F/175 C. Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts, then cut each piece in thirds diagonally.

Spray 9 X 13 inch glass casserole dish with nonstick spray and arrange chicken pieces in a single layer. Combine all other ingredients except the 1/2 cup cheese and pour over chicken. Bake 45 minutes, stirring slightly halfway through cooking time.

Top with 1/2 cup reserved cheese and bake 15-20 minutes more, until cheese is melted and top is slightly browned.

Sorry I don't have pictures my camera battery is dead and I am waiting for it to charge!! :)

Tonights dinner turned out to be so yummy!!! We had sirloin steaks on the grill, Italian tortellini's, and corn. The recipe that I am going to share with you tonight is for my Italian tortellini's. It is a recipe that I just decided to try one night and it turned out to be super yummy so we make it and change a few things here and there to go with our meal. The way I made it tonight was as follows:

1 bag cheese tortelini's ( we use Mona's because my grandma works for the company that makes them)
1/2 bottle of italian dressing (tonight I used kraft zesty italian)
4 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheese ( I used colby/ monterey jack tonight) ( another favorite is mozzarella!)
handful of bacon bits

Directions:
Make the tortellini's according to the package directions.
Drain them and put them back into the pan and allow them to cool for about 10 to 15 mins. When cool add all the remaining ingredients and it is done and ready to serve.

Some variations for this recipe that I have used is adding red onion ( uncooked), black olives and tomatoes. Another way I have made it is with pepperoni's instead of bacon and cubed mozzarella instead of shredded cheese. Also you can use these ingredients and use any other type of pasta instead of tortellini's. I have used rotini, macaroni noodles and even bowtie pasta. So you can have a little fun with it and add whatever ingredients you have at the time and change it to go with many different meals. When I make it with pasta instead of tortellini's I have taken it for many cookouts and even when we go camping!! Enjoy and feel free to share what you used when you make this recipe!! :)

So things around here have been super crazy!!! I have been cooking but havent had a lot of down time to sit and blog because we have been so busy!! But the one thing I was going to post is how we sometimes use french fries to make hashbrowns in the mornings. When I make french fries I usually make the whole bag because otherwise they sit in the freezer and get frostbite. So sometimes the next morning I make them into hashbrowns. It is so simple!! What I do is put a little bit of butter in a saucepan and while that is melting I cut the french fries into bite size pieces. And then I just saute them till they get a little bit crispy. Sometimes i add onions and mushrooms to them while they are cooking and sometimes I just eat them plain. So next time you have extra french fries just save them and use them for breakfast!! :)

Well this week has been a long week of not feeling the greatest so I haven't been cooking like I wanted to!! So tonight we had steakburgers, french fries and corn which is super simple because I still have been getting sinus headaches. So I plan on making ribs in the crockpot tomorrow. I am going to try my own little recipe of a little bit of this and a little bit of that so I will post my recipe tomorrow and for a side dish I am planning on trying to make The Pioneer Womans onion strings!!! Yummy and of course we will have a vegetable or maybe a fruit salad if I can get some fresh fruit at a decent price. So stay tned to find out what we actually have!! :)

Well since I have been sick I haven't been cooking so I don't have any recipes to post!! But one fun thing that I learned today was that Jack Johnson on Pandora while cooking leads to dancing and singing while cooking!! LOL My daughter and I danced and sang the whole time I cooked dinner tonight!!! We had cheeseburgers, baked beans and macaroni and cheese. This dinner was what my daughter picked out!! :) Well I hope you all have a great week and maybe now that I am starting to feel better I hope to start cooking more then I have been!! :)

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit but I have been not feeling well the last few days!! The last night that I cooked dinner was Thursday and I made steak fajitis with taco rice!! The recipe I use is very simple for the fajitas and the rice was a pre-mixed package that you just add water so it wasn't a difficult dinner to make!! :) I have laryngitis and an ear and sinus infection so I was told by my doctor to not talk as much as possible which anyone who knows me knows that is very hard for me!! So I have been drinking as many fluids as I can and trying to drink hot tea with honey a few times a day to help!! I also have been using cough drops to help and tomorrow I am going to try to rest and not talk as much as possible and maybe make some good food for the super bowl!!! My boyfriend already made some chilli for tomorrow but not to sure what else we will have I am thinking maybe some baked mozzarella sticks or some queso dip!! Whatever it is it will have to be easy so I can rest as much as possible!!! :) I will post tomorrow the recipe and pics for the fajitas and whatever I cook for the big game!! :) Have a great night!!

My FIRST recipe blog!!

Ok so here is my first recipe blog!! The recipes I will be sharing tonight is honey chicken and poor man's lomein!! Both of these recipes are ones that I came up with and like to make but the problem is I have never measured the ingredients when I make them.

This is a picture of the finished product!!

What you need for the honey chicken is:

• Breaded chicken bites
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2 Tsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce

First take the chicken out and place on a cookie sheet and cook for half of the time recommended on the package. While the chicken is cooking mix the ketchup,honey,brown sugar and soy sauce in a medium sauce pan and heat.

 When the chicken is cooked half way take it out of the oven and place it in the saucepan. Mix until they are completely coated and add it back onto the cookie sheet. Finish cooking the rest of the time recommended.

Now onto the poor man's lomein!!

You need the following ingredients:

1. 2 pkgs. Ramen noodles (chicken)
2. 2 Tbsp butter/margarine
3. 1/2 head of small cabbage ( I have also used a half of bag of coleslaw mix)
4. 4 green onions
5. couple dashes of soy sauce
6. salt and pepper to taste 

 First fill a saucepan with water and allow to boil for the Ramen noodles and cook just the noodles without the seasoning. Drain and sit to the side. While waiting for the water to boil you can start chopping the cabbage and green onions into small pieces. Then add the butter to the saucepan and add the cabbage and onions and saute.

 Towards the end of cooking add the seasoning packets from the ramen noodles and a couple of dashes of soy sauce. When the vegetables are cooked through add the ramen noodles and mix!!!

 This is what it looks like in the end!! You can use any vegetable that you would like!! I have also used mushrooms, carrots, red onion and you can add a meat I usually use sausage. I also have used the veggie mixture for egg roll filling but I didnt have any egg roll wrappers tonight!!

Welcome to my crazy blog!!!!

Alright so after alot of thought and people pushing me.......I created a blog. This blog will be where I can post recipes and recipe tutorials and even maybe some of my craft projects that I accomplish .I LOVE to cook and bake so I am sure that is what I will post the most about is FOOD!!  This blog is basically going to be on a trial basis because I am not to sure how often I will remember to post or how well I will do at posting. For one it will be hard for me because I often do not use measurements when I cook original recipes so I will have to do alot of thinking when I blog about them!! :) But I am excited to get started and see what happens from here!! I also love to take pictures so I am sure there will be lots of pictures as we go along!! I am excited to get started!!