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!!