Side dish #22: Travel tubs

As we anticipate another long trip in February (yay for mid-winter break!), I know I will definitely be pulling these out again!

Everyone has old wipe containers I am sure! I get a new one every time we get our big box of wipes from Amazon (Amazon Mom is the best!) Anyways, over Christmas break we took a trip up to ohio and so I made up these tubs to organize Alex's toys on the trip. I made fun little picture on the front because I knew that these would probably become a permanent fixture on trips! I would pull one out at a time and let him play with the toys. Once he was done with it, I would try to collect as much as possible and put it back in the big basket and give him something else to play with. I had a bag of books too and since he had to be mostly still, he enjoyed reading them more than usual! :) Of course we also traveled with a huge container of animal crackers, gold fish and cheerios. With all of this we survived our trip and feel up to try some more! (Indy and Chicago here we come!)

Recipe #236: Southwestern Hamburger

Today was a horrible day, but fortunately Will's mom left some hamburgers for us. There is something about a good hamburger that makes things seem okay! :) Unfortunately we didn't have any buns, so the Southwestern twist on a hamburger came to be thanks for a tortilla taking its place!

You need:
whole wheat tortilla
1 hamburger patty
cheddar cheese
avocado
lettuce
kettcup

• cook hamburger in a fry pan until juices run clear
• on one side of a tortilla, layer cheese avocado, and lettuce
• cut hamburger in half and put on top. 
• fold tortilla over and enjoy!

opps...blurry picture but you get the idea! :)

Recipe #235: Roasted Pork and potatoes

Well, I need to work on timing well with pork tenderloin because it always takes way longer then I think! But it turned out pretty delicious in the end so it was worth the wait! I found it here!

You need:
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp thyme
salt
1 lb pork tenderloin
3 large potatoes
1/2 red onion
4-5 cloves of garlic

• mix cumin, garlic powder, oregano, coriander, thyme, salt together
• cut up potatoes and onion into big chunks
• stick potatoes, onions and garlic cloves in bottom of roasting pan sprinkle some olive oil and tiny bit of sprice rub on top
• rub spice mix all over pork and pat in so it sticks.
• put pork on top of potatoes
• roast at 450 for about 1 hour or until done

I forgot to take a picture, but the potatoes were so nice and crispy and pork was great too!

Recipe #234: Broccoli Salad

My sister (check out her blog here!) has made this recipe on several occasions and since I needed to make a side dish for my church potluck I thought this would be perfect! I cut up all the veggies and cooked the bacon on Saturday night, then put it all together Sunday morning before church!

You need:
2 stalks broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 red onion, chopped
8oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package of bacon, fried and crumbled
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup mayo
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

• cut up and mix together broccoli, onion, cheese, and bacon
• in a separate container mix together sugar mayo and vinegar
• pour dressing over broccoli mixture and mix well
• chill for at least an hour before serving

Recipe #233: Cappuccino Cheesecake

My church had a potluck after lunch and I needed to bring a side and a dessert! This was a perfect dessert to try out because there was no way were were going to be able to eat it ourselves! This is my grandma's recipe (I  think it was passed along from an aunt), so that definitely means it will taste delicious! :)

You need:
1 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
4 8oz containers of cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp flour
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp instant coffee
1/4 tsp cinnamon

• first make crust: mix together nuts, butter and flour
• press onto the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan
• bake at 325 for 10 minutes

• boil the water, then add instant coffee and cinnamon
• mix well and set aside to cool

• mix together soft cream cheese, sugar and flour. Mix well
• add eggs one at a time, blending together well each time
• mix in sour cream
• gradually mix in coffee mixture
• mix until everything is well blended.
• pour over crust
• bake at 450 for ten minutes, reduce oven temperature to 250 and bake for 1 hour.
• loosed cake from rim, but do not remove until cake is cooled.
• chill until serving, garnish with whipped cream and coffee beans

Recipe #232: Grown-Up Grilled Cheese!

I had been wanting a good grilled cheese, but didn't want to have to buy bread just to make it! So I made some bread tonight and had a delicious grilled cheese and avocado sandwich. It was delicious! I probably could have cut the bread a little better if I had let it cool more but I couldn't wait!

You need:
Crusty bread (make your own)
cheddar cheese
couple slices avocado
butter

• butter one side of each piece of bread
• add cheddar and avocado to the middle
• heat until cheese is melted and both sides are browned

Recipe #231: Hamburger Skillet Supper

Will decided on ground beef and then I was left with the decision of what to do with it! I didn't have much time in between my run and needing to leave for Bible study, so I found this recipe here and it seemed easy enough!

You need:
1 lb ground beef
2 large potatoes
2 cups of corn
1 can of cream of mushroom soup

• start browning meat
• peel and dice potatoes
• add potatoes, corn and soup to meat when mostly browned
• stir and cover for 10 minutes
• stir again, turn on low and simmer until potatoes are soft and beef is done.

Recipe #230: Pan-Fried Chicken with Tomatoes and Pasta

We were out at Will's game tonight, and all I knew when going that we would have chicken and I was in the mood for something with tomatoes. An hour later, after a well played game but a loss, we headed home, with about 15 minutes to spare until Alex was SUPPOSED to be in bed. Needless to say he went to bed a little late, but this meal was on the table in 15 minutes and it was pretty delicious at that!

You need:
Two chicken breasts
3 roma tomatoes
olive oil
oregano
basil
parsley
whole wheat spaghetti noodles

• heat olive oil in pan.
• cut chicken breasts into smaller pieces. I cut them into three pieces each.
• season chicken with salt and pepper then put in pan.
• brown on both sides, sprinkle oregano, basil, and parsley on top
• heat until internal temp of chicken is 165. 
• cut up tomatoes and add to pan. sprinkle in a little more basil.
• cook until tomatoes are soft.
• meanwhile boil noodles according to package directions.
• we ate the noodles with our alfredo sauce we made yesterday found here. 

It was delicious! Fast and easy too.

Recipe #229: Low Fat Fettuccine Alfredo

Today was one of those days. 

It was foggy, a long day at school, and Alex was testing me big time (he knows I have trouble resisting that twinkle in his eye). So when Will came home I pretty much handed dinner prep off to him saying that I wanted pasta but not with spaghetti sauce. Well, of course that is not much help. So i googled alfredo recipes that only used milk because that is all we had, and i found a decent one here for him to make. In the end it was quite delicious and Will couldn't believe how easy it was to make! (so I am hoping he is willing to make it again!)

You need:
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
3 cups 1% milk
parmesan
fettuccine
broccoli

• melt butter in medium sized sauce pan (will started off with one too small and it overflowed)
• add in flour and stir for one minute
• add milk, salt and nutmeg
• stir constantly until thickened, about 10 minutes add in a couple shakes of parmesan
• while that is going boil water for noodles
• cook noodles according to package directions. In last couple minutes add broccoli in to heat up.
• drain water
• add noodles and broccoli to a bowl then mix in alfredo sauce
• sprinkle on some shredded mozzarella cheese if you want! :)

It was perfect!

Recipe #228: Peekaberry Boos or Alex's first baking experience!

Well, today was not a great day to go outside thanks to Alex's cold, so when trying to decide how to keep the little man occupied for the afternoon, I decided to make some cookies. Alex loves to be with me in the kitchen, or rather, Alex loves to be HELD by me in the kitchen. That does not always work great. So when I made the pancakes (found here) on Saturday, I decided he was big enough to stand on a chair next to me, under GREAT supervision of course.

 He occupies himself with some measuring cups and spoons and he can see what I am doing which seems to make the world of difference to him. So his part in the whole cookie process was to play with the measuring cups and then get a closer look when everything was mixed together, which of course was very fascinating!

Then, since he was such a great help, of course he got to eat a cookie which was probably the best part to him. He loved them judging by the amount of pointing he did when he wanted more!

wearing his Japanese smock!

fun times!

Alex liked them!

It was a good time!
Anyways, here is the recipe!

You need:
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup water
1 tsp almond extract (I used vanilla since I didn't have any)
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups oats
2/3 cups jam

• beat sugars and margarine until light and fluffy
• add water, vanilla, and eggs. blend well
• stir in flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 
• drop by rounded tsp 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets
• make an imprint in the center of each cookie and fill it with a 1/2 tsp of jam
• drop a small amount of cookie down over jam
• bake at 400 for 6-9 minutes or until light golden brown

Hope you enjoy them as much as Alex did!

Recipe #227: Supli

Supli is that wonderful italian food that didn't make it out of Italy the way pizza did. Often you will eat them together--perfect street food. You pay for pizza by the kilo and have a supli on the side. It is Italian version of the Japanese Onigiri. Just great food to eat on the go...wish the US had more of that!

You need: (these measurements are all estimates)

2 cups rice

1 cup spaghetti sauce

2 Tbsp parmesan 

9 cubes of mozzarella

2 eggs

bread crumbs

oil

• once your rice is done cooking, mix it with spaghetti sauce and parmesan
• take a handful of rice and form it into a ball (I used a piece of plastic wrap to help form it quicker and it wasn't so hot then
• stick a cube of cheese in the middle of the rice and reform ball around it. 
• dip in egg to coat then in the bread crumbs. 
• Deep fry in hot oil. I used a small pot to use less oil and put two in at a time. 
• makes about 9 supli

It was so delicious!

Recipe #226: Soy-Glazed Pork Chops

I think good recipes need to be reused, or rather, leftovers need to be used. I had a lot of extra sauce leftover from this recipe I made yesterday, so decided to use it up for a quick lunch today!

You need:
pork chops ( I used a small section of a pork tenderloin and cut it into 4 pieces)
soy-glaze found here
salt and pepper to season

• season the pork chops with salt and pepper
• heat on medium heat until both sides of pork chops are browned.
• coat both sides of each pork chop with the soy glaze
• cover and turn down heat. Cook until pork is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• The glaze will be a little watered down from the steam, but it makes a great sauce for rice!

Recipe #225: Soy-glazed Chicken with veggies

Now when I get my new Real Simple magazine I always look at the recipes first now. I knew I wanted to try this one! I have trouble getting everything together for a crock pot meal when I leave for school but it is nice to throw something in on the weekends and not have to worry food but enjoy family time instead! Will told me he wanted rice and chicken with my choice of seasoning so I thought this was the perfect meal!

You need:
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 Tbsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 chicken breasts
for veggies I used: carrots, broccoli, and beans
sesame oil

• mix together brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, pepper in a crock pot. 
• Add chicken and flip several times to coat with sauce
• cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours ( I started late so left it in only 3 hours, I htink it would have been more tender if I had I left it in longer)
• In the meantime make rice. I did a mix of white and brown
• transfer chicken to a plate. Pour liquid into a fry pan. allow to boil to thicken. Add chicken to pan and heat on low, flipping chicken to evenly coat it with the sauce.
• in a small pan stir fry the vegetables with some sesame oil

Will said it hit the spot!

Recipe #224: This-should-be-dessert pancakes

Saturday morning we had all had a wonderful rest, and slept in so before Will left for his game I decided to make pancakes! These weren't just plain pancakes, but an amazing mix of chocolate, fruits and sugar. It was like eating dessert for breakfast! :)

You need:
pancake recipe found here. I am out of whole wheat flour though so just used white)
chocolate chips
coconut
bananas
jam
powdered sugar

• mix up the ingredients for the pancakes.
• pour small amount of batter into skillet, immediately add chocolate chips and coconut
• once you are finished making pancakes, top with jam (we used raspberry), a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and bananas! 

Recipe #223: Beef Chimichangas

I found this recipe here and of course changed it to use what I had on hand! I think without the sour cream and by using whole wheat tortillas this version is probably less calories! :)

You need:
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp taco sauce
dried oregano
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
whole wheat tortillas

• brown ground beef, and drain oil
• add taco sauce and dried oregano
• remove from heat and add cheese, mix well
• put about 1/3 cup of beef into middle of each tortilla
• fold left and right sides together, then top and bottom to enclose meat. 
• bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until tortilla is crisp. top with your favorite toppings!

Recipe #222: Spicy Mustard and Rosemary Pork Chops

This quick and easy recipe was found on the back of a shake and bake box! I had a busy week at school and this came together in the hour I had at home before rushing out to Bible Study. So a meal you get to bake and eat without feeling rushed is marvelous! :)

You need:
4 pork chops ( I cut up part of a pork tenderloin)
1 shake and bake package
2 tsp rosemary
spicy brown mustard (the original called for dijon but I didn't have any)

• line a baking sheet with foil and preheat oven to 375. 
• mix shake and bake package and rosemary in a shallow bowl or plate
• spread the pork chops with the mustard on both sides
• place in rosemary mixture and coat thoroughly
• place on baking sheet
• bake for 15 minutes or until pork chops are cooked through (internal temp should be 160 I think)

serve with your favorite sides! 

Recipe #221: Pork and Tomato stew

I really need to find time to post more regularly again. If anyone knows how to add hours to their day, please let me know! :)
Last Monday I went out to meet a friend and threw this in the crock pot before I left so dinner would be ready when I got home! Unfortunately I got home later then I expected so I didn't get to thicken up the stew like I really wanted to, but it still hit the spot! I found the idea recipe in a magazine, but online you can find it here, but I changed it a lot.

You need:
1 lb pork loin
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 cup water and 1 chicken boullion cube (or 1 cup chicken broth)
salt and pepper
some broccoli, corn or whatever veggies you want to add

• put diced tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic, pork loin, and salt and pepper in crock pot
• heat on low for 7 hours 
• in last twenty minutes add some veggies
• serve over rice

Side dish #21: Some good reads...

For Christmas Will got me a Kindle Touch. I wanted a good e-reader that was going to make it easier to read. Mind you I am not giving up the beauty of turning real pages, but when you have a rascal wandering the house who finds pages (turning or tearing them) very interesting, it is hard to leave a book out and feel that it is safe! Anyways, Merry Christmas to me, I got my Kindle and LOVE it! It has put me on a reading streak, which is kind of why I waited all week to do my recipes. When you have to choose one activity to do when there are many options but not enough time, you have to make some sacrifices!
Anyways, I have been able to read some fabulous books.

Starting with the second and third books in the Mysterious Benedict Society series. I had kind of given up on this series after the first book. I just didn't love, love it, but I actually enjoyed the second one more than the first and then the third was a good ending to the series. Four kids band together to solve mysteries and have to work together to solve the clues. They are fun to read.



Then I started The Book of Ember. I read it in a day. It is the story of a city underground, but the lights are starting to go out and the city is dying. The author really grabs you from the beginning and I had trouble putting my kindle down! I am reading the second book right now and can't wait to finish the series out with the last two books.

Check out the links below for more info!

I have to say, I love the fact that I can check books out of the library on my kindle! I do wish they had more of a selection, but I am definitely keeping busy with the books I am finding! All of my recent reads have been  library ones! Love that I can read a huge selection of book on my kindle without having to buy each book!


                

Side Dish #20: Tea Wreath

I saw my sister post this one on pinterest so decided to make it for her as a gift for being such a wonderful hostess when we visited over christmas! The tutorial is found here.
It was so fun to make! I tried another way first but it really needs to have a cardboard ring to support the clothes pins! I only had to buy the clothes pins! I had a bunch of tea that I was happy to give to my sister who is NOT a coffee drinker (I guess they really do exist! :) )

Recipe #219 and #220: Japanese Style Hamburger and Sesame Fries

It would be more japanese to eat this with rice, but I wanted fries and Will wanted beef so this is what we came up with! I found the recipe for the hamburgers here, but of course changed it because I didn't have tofu or mushrooms

You need:
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup mirin
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground ginger
sprinkle of garlic powder

• mix ground beef, salt, pepper, egg and nutmeg together
• form into 6 small patties
• mix up mirin, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic powder
• put a bit of olive oil in pan then brown both sides of beef for about 2 minutes a side
• turn heat to low and cover. cook for 5 minutes.
• pour mirin mixture over hambugers. Move pan constantly so sauce doesn't burn.
• turn burgers to get evenly coated. Sauce forms a glaze on the burger.
• burgers are done when there is no sauce left in pan

Sesame Fries:

You Need:

3 russet potatoes

olive oil

sesame oil

ginger

salt

sesame seeds

• Cut up potatoes into long strips and put into a ziploc bag
• add olive and sesame oil, sprinkles of ginger, salt and sesame seeds
• bake for 25 minutes at 450 on a greased baking sheet.

Recipe #218: White and Green Stew

White thanks to the potatoes, sauce, and chicken, green due to the beans and broccoli!

You need:
white sauce recipe or box of Japanese white stew cubes! :)
chicken
potatoes
milk
broccoli
string beans
rice

• cut up chicken and brown in a pot
• add potatoes and 6 cups water
• add in sauce cubes
• allow to simmer until potatoes are soft
• add 1 1/2 cups milk
• add in frozen veggies and continue to cook until vegetables are warm
• serve over rice

Recipe #217: Pizza Ring

You need:

1 tube of crescent ring
ground beef, browned
tomato sauce
cheese
veggies

• unroll crescent rolls, make an overlap them in a circle on a baking sheet
• layer sauce, beef, cheese, and veggies on thick part of ring
• roll up small points and tuck under the ring
• bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until rolls are golden brown

Recipe #216: Messed Up Stromboli! :)

Yeah, everyone makes mistakes! :)
My Stromboli didn't turn out as planned but it still tasted fine!

You need:
1 lb pizza dough
ground beef
tomato sauce
green pepper
tomatoes
cheese

• brown beef
• roll out dough
• top with sauce, hamburger, veggies, and cheese
• roll back up
• place seam side down on the baking sheet
• bake at 450 for about 20 minutes
• hopefully yours will turn out better than mine! :)

Recipe #214 and #215: Chicken Tacos two ways!

This is a variation of another recipe I made found here.

You need:

2 chicken breasts
1/4 cup plus taco seasoning
3 cups (or less if using frozen chicken breasts) water
3 chicken boullion cubes
1can cream of chicken soup
tortillas
cheddar cheese
lettuce
tomatoes etc.

• put chicken, taco seasoning, water, and boullion cubes in crockpot. Heat on high for at least 4 hours 
• take  one piece of chicken out and shred 
• in a sauce pan add chicken and cream of chicken soup and 1/2 cup water from the crock pot, stir until cream sauce is heated
• shred the other chicken breast and put back in the crock pot. 
• choose your favorite chicken and add to a soft taco along with your favorite toppings!

Recipe #213: Chocolate Popcorn

I found an idea here, and decided to make some last weekend.

You need:
1 cup Chocolate melted
4 candy canes
popcorn

• melt chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted
• break candy canes and crush in mini food processor then mix in chocolate
• pop popcorn
• stir chocolate into popcorn 
• allow to cool spread out on wax paper
• Enjoy!

Recipe #212: Tofu Stir Fry

Well, I am VERY behind in posting recipes. I made some good food, but taking the time to blog about it was not on my to do list this past week. It was a long week at school and by the end of the day coming home and chasing Alex, I was too tired to worried about it at the end of the day! Anyways, we will see how far I get on the recipes tonight!

First up...Tofu Stir Fry!

You need:
1 package of tofu
corn
1 onion
1/2 bag of broccoli
3 cups beans
rice
teriyaki sauce

• first saute onions, then remove from pan
• cut tofu into small cubes and heat up in pan with some teriyaki sauce. Add onions, and other veggies and cover.
• Allow veggies to steam lightly.
• add more teriyaki sauce
• eat with rice! 

Side Dish #19: The Organized Life

Katie and Organization is kind of an oxymoron! I like to be organized, but piles slowly develop, and the clutter keeps coming back! Plus as a working mom, hours to commit to organization are few and far between!

A couple months ago I was looking at different "family binders" online and thought to myself: WOW some people are overly organized! :) But I did think that having a binder for our finances, meal planning, and projects and such would help my world feel less chaotic! Planning meals also helps me when I am grocery shopping and thinking about what new recipes I need to try! I try and do our big food shopping just twice a month, so plan out meals for two weeks.

So I proceeded to avoid things I really need to do by making these fun sheets to keep me organized. When it is cute that helps with the motivation right ! :) I also liked being able to make them exactly how I wanted.

here is what a couple pages looks like but the rest of them are here. (Hopefully it will work, I'm not skilled enough in blogging to figure out how documents too well :) )



So far I have kind failed at using the chore checklist effectively(I HATE cleaning!), But I do better with the finances and meal planner. I stick a copy of our budget at the front of the finances page too to keep a paper copy of that as well! Hopefully by the end of 2012 I will be a more organized person with less clutter! :) (well, it is a nice wish!)

Recipe #211: BLT Salad

Well, nothing like starting up school again to get completely behind on recipes! Not only that, but when Will is out three nights during the week with games, the motivation to cook goes way down! One of the goals of 2012 is too eat more veggies, so for dinner Wednesday night we had a BLT salad! I know, bacon and cheese are not veggies, but it is good to get more food groups in there! :)

You need:
1 heart of Romaine
8 strips bacon
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
cucumbers
tomatoes
green peppers
corn
dressing of your choice!

• fry up the bacon
• wash and cut your veggies
• layer the lettuce and different veggies, bacon and cheese to make a pretty salad, or toss together if you are in a hurry! :)

Recipe #210: Cheesy beef roll ups

This is a spin off of a chicken dish I made earlier found here. Will liked this just about as much! I wanted to make a creamy tomato sauce for it so had to play around with some stuff because I didn't have any heavy cream. anyways... I think it turned out pretty good!

You need:
1 lb ground beef
2 cans of crescent rolls
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup whole milk with 2 Tbsp Flour and 2 Tbsp melted butter (to help thicken a bit)

• brown meat
• in a small cup make a paste with melted butter and flour, add to a saucepan with milk. then add tomato sauce and 1/2 cup cheese
• add some of the cream sauce and cheddar to meat.
• grease bottom of 9x13 pan, put some of cream sauce on bottom
• unroll crescent rolls and add some of meat mixture to each one then place in the pan.
• add some more cream sauce on top and then top with remaining cheese
• bake at 375 for 25 minutes

enjoy!

Recipe #209: Arrabiatta

A delicious Italian dish that literally means "angry"! Love it. It is angry because of the heat! It is a quick meal that I was fortunate enough to have all of the ingredients on hand!

You need:
pasta of your choice
can of diced tomatoes
8-10 strips of turkey bacon
1 onion, diced
hot sauce
crushed red pepper

• start water for pasta and boil according to package directions
• in a pan fry the bacon
• after taking out bacon add a little olive oil to pan and saute onions
• break up bacon into small pieces and add back to onion
• add can of diced tomatoes 
• once pasta is ready, drain and put back in pot. 
• add bacon mixture to pasta and mix up
• add as much hot sauce and crushed red pepper as you want!

Recipe #208: Baked Soft Tacos

This might look very similar to this recipe, because it is. I needed something easy, and using ground beef actually made it go a lot faster!

You need:
1 lb of ground beef
taco seasoning
salsa
5-6 tortillas cut into 2 inch strips
cheddar cheese
toppings: lettuce, tomato, and greek yogurt (in place of sour cream)

• brown beef, then add 1/4 cup taco seasoning and some water
• put down a layer of beef in a 9x13 pan
• top with tortilla strips, salsa, and cheese. repeat each with another layer
• bake at 350 for 30 minutes
• add your favorite taco toppings!