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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Little Aprons

I have been busy this week making little aprons for the kids to use in Lindsay's Joy School Class. The class will start this fall. I wanted to get them done so I wasn't under pressure the last minute. They worked up pretty fast and I think they turned out pretty cute. What do you think?


Friday, May 22, 2009

Chicken Chili Verde

This was a little spicey but I think Dad and Mary would like it. Maybe not Mom. Lindsay thought it was too hot.

1 lb ground chicken (I just cut my chicken up into little chunks)
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1 can chicken broth
1 cup bottled green salsa (salsa verde)
2 can great northern beans, rinsed

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add meat, onion, ang arlic and cook over meium high heat til chicken is done. Add seasonings, broth, and salsa. Bring to a simmer. Cover; cook for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally and cook til vegetables are tender. Stir in the bean and heat through.

This came from a Woman's day magazine.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Chicken and Broccoli Alrfedo

This came from the Campbells Soup Website.

1/2 of a 16 oz pkg linguine
1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli
2 tbsp butter
1 lb chicken cut into pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cut grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Prepare linguine according to package directions in a saucepan. Add brocccoli during last 4 minutes of cooking time Drain linguine and broccoli well.

Heat butter in skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken ad cook until well browned, stirring often.

Stir soup, milk, cheese, black pepper, ad liguine mixture into skillet. Cook until mixture is hot and bubbly. Serve with additional paremesan cheese.

Homemade Tortillas

These are made from items you would have in your food storage. They are so good. They remind me of the tortillas you get at Cafe Rio.

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup warm water
additional flour

Rub flour, salt and oil together with your fingers until completely incorporated and fine crumbs form. Pour water into dry ingredients andimmediately work it in with a fork. Dough will be in large clumps. Sprinkle with flour and knead until smooth, about 2 minutes. Divide dough into 12-15 portions and shape into balls about 2" in diameter. Set dough balls on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let dough rest for at least 30 minutes before baking. You may also let dough rest in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, before shaping it into balls. Roll out to paper thin, rolling from the center to the outside. It is helpful to roll the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Bake on very hot ungreased griddle until freckled, about 20 seconds on each side. Serve warm.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Reuben Sandwiches

Budding Beef lunch meat
Swiss cheese
Rye bread
Sauerkraut
Thousand Island dressing
Margarine or butter

Spread margarine on one side of bread. On other side Thousand Island Dressing.
Slice of Swiss cheese, slice of beef, and sauerkraut.Place margarine side on a griddle or in a skillet and grill till brown.

Weeknight Lasagna Toss

This came from a kraft Food and Family Magazine

1 lb ground beef
2 cups chopped green peppers (about 2 peppers)
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 2/3 cups water
1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing
12 oven ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters
1 cup shredded low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese

Brow meat in large saucepan on medium heat; drain.

Add peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing. Bring to a boil. Stir in noodles; reduce heat to medium low, and cover.

Cook, stirring occasionally, 10-15 minutes or until noodles are tender. remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 min or until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings 2 cups each.

(This turned out really good. It was really fast, easy and I didn't have to turn the oven on.)

Homemade Girl Scout Cookies

I have not tried any of these, because I am afraid that I would eat them. But I thought I would post them so if I ever decide to make them, I will know where the recipes are.

Homemade Girl Scout Cookies

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Thin Wheat Crackers (Basically Wheat Thins)

These were made using food storage items.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat four
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbls dry milk powder
3 Tbls sugar
5 Tbls oil
1 cup water

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients until well blended; add oil and water and mix. Knead dough about 3 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll out one piece of dough at a time o a 16" X 12" rectangle. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Cut into cracker size pieces with a pizza cuter. Prick each cracker several times with a fork. Sprinkle with salt. Bake 10-20 minutes untiil golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and cool. Makes about 200 crackers.

(I checked mine after 10 minutes. Some of them got done really fast.)

Grandma Kroeger's Sloppy Joes

1 lb. ground beef
4 carrots grated
2 tbs. dried onion or onion powder
2 cans of tomato soup
salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef, drain fat. Add onion, and soup to meat . Heat through. Serve on hamburger buns.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Chili's Boneless Buffalo Wings

My friend Michelle had us over for dinner sometime last week. She made this really yummy buffalo chicken salads. She got the recipe out of one of those Top Secret Restaurant recipe books. I cam home and looked in the Top Secret Recipe book I have and saw this recipe. It is a low fat version of Chilis Buffalo Chicken. We tried it last night and it was really good. It is pretty spicey so I am not sure that Mom would like it, but I think Dad and Mary would. Anyway, Pete loved it and I know we will make it again so I thought I would share.

1 cup flour
2 tsps salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 cup egg substitue (we used a 1 whole egg because that is what I had.)
1 cup reduced fat milk
2 skinless chicken breasts
oil cooking spray
1/4 cup Louisiana hot sauce
2 tbsp fat free butter spread (I used margarine because that is what I had.)
2 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 475 dgrees. Combine flour, salt, peppers, and paprika in a medium bowl. Whisk egg and milk together in a small bowl. Slice each chicken breast into 5 or 6 pieces. Working with one or tow pieces of chicken at a time, dip each piece into egg mixture and then into breading blend. Then repeat the process so that each piece of chicke is double coated. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange the chicken on the baking sheet and then spray cooking spray over the top of each piece.
Bake the chicken for 10-12 minutes or until it begins to brown. Then crank the heat up to broil and continue to cook for 2-4 more minutes or until the surface begins to become golden brown and crispy.
As the chicken cooks, combine the hot sauce, butter, and water in a saucepan over medium high heat. Cook just until the mixture begins to bubble, then remove the sauce from the heat and cover until it's needed.
When the chicken is cooked, remove from oven and let them cool for a few minutes. Place in a tupperware and pour the sauce over the chicken in the container. Pup lid on it and gently toss until each piece of chicken is coated with sauce.
It suggest putting the chicken on a plate and serving as an appetizer with celery and bleu cheese dressing. We just put it on top of salads with ranch dresssing.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Banana Oatmeal Drops

I know lately everything I have posted is something to do with bananas, but these are really good too. This lady I used to work with made them one day and they are really good. They kind of remind me of the pumpkin cookies, but with banana instead. Hope you enjoy.

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup mashed ripe bananas ( 2 medium)
1 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cup flou
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped nuts or raisins (optional)
1 cup choc. chips (optional- preferred :) )

Heat oven to 35o. Mix sugar, shortening, egg, and bananas in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls. Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown.

When I had these they just had chocolate chips, no nuts or raisins. And they were delicious!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Easy Play Dough

I saw this in a Parent and Child magazine. It looked like fun and I didn't want to lose it. I haven't made it yet, but I plan too.

2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water
food coloring
essential oils

Mix together flour, salt, and water in a large bowl until it forms a soft dough. Add more water as needed. Divide dough and knead a different color into each portion. Scent each color the same way with a different essential oil like mint, orange, or lavender. Store in clean, empty baby food jars.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Fingerprint frame

My friend Michelle gave me this great Better Homes and Garden's craft book for kids for my birthday. I have been wanting to make some things out of it for awhile, but I just got around to it today. This was super easy. You just get a mat out of any frame. Dip your child's finger in the paint and make little bugs out of them. This picture is kind of dark and kind of hard to see. Lindsay's thumb prints are red and we made them into Lady bugs. I just drew dots and antennae. Then for Landon I used his pointer finger in green paint and made four little dots in a row. I drew a smiley face and antennae and made caterpillars. They turned out pretty cute. Now I just need to find a cute picture of the two of them to put in my new frame.

Classic Chili

This recipe was in a woman's day magazine. We had it for dinner tonight with cornbread muffins. It was really easy, and pretty tasty.

12 oz lean ground beef
1 cup diced green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can pinto beans, rinsed

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add meat and vegetables and cok till mean it browned. Add seasonings and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender. Stir in beans and heat through.