My cute little cousin K is compiling a recipe book with recipes from the women in our family.
So okay, cousin K is not so little any more. In fact, she’s close to a grown women. But I’ll still remember her as little and sitting with me at church tracing her tiny hands in my journals when she was no more than my boys ages. And I was her age.
Here is one of the reciepes I sent her. Everyone always asks me to make these when we go to Utah. They are tasty!
Chicken Puffs
2 cups cooked chicken
4 T soft butter
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon pepper
chopped green onions
3 packages crescent rolls
Sauce:
2 1/2 C chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
Combine all ingredients except the rolls and the sauce. Spoon into individual crescent rolls and seal the edges to make a little puffy ball. Dip in milk and roll in bread crumbs. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with sauce.
So consider this a reminder to my mom’s side of the family…get K those recipes!
This week I planned several weeks ago, and I’m not sure I want to continue with a few things. So I’m going to swap a few meals from next week. Hopefully I have all the ingredients on hand.
Monday- Easy Peanut Butter Chicken. Already in the crock pot. This is a new recipe for us so we’ll see if the kids actually eat it.
Wednesday- Bangers and Mash. One of my favorites, and everyone eats it without complaint. This is one of our cold weather recipes that we only eat in the fall/winter. Basically it’s bratwurst and mashed potatoes and gravy.
Thursday- Apple Pie Soup and bread. This sounds SO good!
Friday- Dippy Eggs and toast. Basically it’s eggs over easy and toast to dip into the yoke. Juice will have scrambled eggs and the boys egg whites after they are done dipping their toast.
Saturday- Leftovers. We should have something left (maybe?) but if we don’t my go to meal is hamburgers and hotdogs.
Sunday- Potato soup from the freezer. I made this a few weeks ago and it’s easy to pull out and heat to eat.
Goat Cheese Pasta
1 box bow tie pasta
2 cups spaghetti sauce
8 oz goat cheese
Cook pasta according to the directions on the box and drain. Heat your favorite spaghetti sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the sauce is warm an just starting to bubble, add in the goat cheese and stir to combine. The sauce should be pink (ish). Combine pasta and sauce and serve.
This recipe is so easy and quick and tasty. I’m planning on having homemade bread and baby carrots on the side.
Last Saturday we had a big day ahead of us. And a late night by Juice and I the night before. Butterfly had been begging for oatmeal for a few days so I thought I’d throw in some peaches we bought at the farmer’s market a few days before.
I had none left over.
None.
I even had people begging for more.
Peachy Cream Oatmeal
4 cups water
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 teaspoon salt
4 peaches, pitted, pealed and diced
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cream or half and half (I used half and half because that’s what I had in the fridge)
In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Stir in oats and salt. Boil for one minute, keeping an eye on it so it won’t burn. (Mine was done in about 30 seconds…but my kids like their oatmeal a little soupier than firm.) Stir in the diced peaches, sugar, and cream. Let sit for a few minutes (you can cover it, I forgot) and enjoy!
Breakfast was so quiet this morning. Everyone was focused on eating. Ahh…so nice!
I felt like this breakfast could be a weekday breakfast too, it was easy and only took about 6 minutes to put all together. The longest part was preparing the peaches.
I’ve never really posting our menu on here. Not because I don’t make one. I do.
Sometimes weeks in advance.
I’ve been known to plan even 1 month in advance. Why? When you have your family there that is actually GIVING suggestions without complaining (ahem, Juice) you go with it.
So far, I have this week, next week, and bits of the next week all planned out. Want to know what we’re eating?
Monday- Pancakes. This is what Professor wants to eat every day for dinner. So we have them sometimes. Tonight was especially nice since I had made a ton of pancakes on my birthday (so we could have birthday pancakes too) and I froze the extras. All I had to do was heat and serve tonight. Very nice since Butterfly started swim lessons today and we don’t get home until 5pm.
Wednesday- Left overs. Tacos make more than we can possibly eat in one sitting. Especially since the boys really only eat shells dipped in sour cream. And Butterfly only eats the re-fried beans on hers. And I’m on a diet where I eat my own food. So really, Juice eats tacos for 2 nights in a row.
Thursday- Spaghetti and Meatballs. Mmm….we only have this meal in the colder months. Our first time this fall!
Friday- Braided pizza. (We actually would have had this today if I had not broken my hand mixer.)
Saturday- Grilled cheese. I’m out with my girlfriends for dinner and a devotional this evening so Daddy is in charge. And when Daddy is in charge, they have grilled cheese.
Sunday- Leftovers. Sundays are CRAZY days for me. I just can’t cook a nice dinner AND do all that I need to do that day. So enter leftovers. Besides, it’s always a good idea clean out your fridge.
This is our pancake mix recipe. You make the dry ingredients first, and then scoop out what you need on the day you need it. This recipe makes 12 cups of dry. I make a double batch of the dry ingredients and store it in the freezer. Then, I use 3 cups of mix for dinner. It lasts me about 2 months.
Buckwheat Pancakes Mix
4 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups buckwheat flour
4 cups white flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
Combine in a VERY large bowl. Using a sturdy wire whisk or a pastry cutter, mix thoroughly.
To use:
1 cup buckwheat pancake mix
1 cup buttermilk OR 1 cup milk with 1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 egg
Combine well and scoop onto hot griddle. Turn over as bubbles form and edges look dry.
Enjoy!
(Juice hangs out around the griddle and eats the tiny ones I make right off the pan. Because they taste like cake. Seriously.)
In a burst of inspiration one night while trying to fall asleep, I decided that our Saturdays needed to change. Normally we just kind of hang around or we go out and do something fun. But I wanted to put a little more structure into the day. I wanted to focus a little more on some family time.
So I thought on something special that we can do together that we don’t do any other day. Something simple that we can make a priority as things get busier and the kids get older. Something that we can start NOW and just do when they are older.
I landed on special breakfasts.
Breakfasts that we all eat together. Breakfasts that are hot, home cooked, and tasty.
Why breakfasts? Butterfly never eats breakfast at home unless it’s on the weekend. You see, everyone at her school gets free breakfast. The joy of being a very poor school. Last year, it was a special thing for her to eat breakfast at home before school. Last week, I made the boys cinnamon toast for breakfast and she begged me for a slice. She said, “I miss breakfasts at home sometimes.”
Oh. Let’s start having those more!
Last Saturday, we had our first breakfast at home. It was early, because Juice has decided (that same week) that he wanted to go play soccer with a bunch of guys from our church on Saturday mornings as well. But it was good and nice to have everyone together!
Saturday Morning Puffy Pancakes
6 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
Directions:
Put in a 9×13 inch baking dish into the oven with the stick of butter while the oven is cold. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, while the pan is in the oven.
In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs until frothy. Add milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk for at least 5 minutes or until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the pan with the (now) melted butter.
Bake the pancake for 20-25 minutes, or until it puffs up and turns golden. Serve immediately.
Toppings:
Lemon juice and powdered sugar
Fresh fruit
Honey
Syrup
Jam
Butterfly was thrilled to have a good breakfast for BREAKFAST. See, we have breakfast for dinner lots of times, but this was nice for actual breakfast.
Stay tuned for next week’s edition!
Safire
PS- No pictures because they ate it all before I thought of it. Oops!
So the past few days I’ve been making a big batch of this Lazy Granola. It seems like every other day I am making this, because the kids BEG me to eat it. Butterfly prefers big hunks of it over cookies in her lunch box.
It’s that good.
So I thought I would share it with you!
Lazy Granola
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c oil
1/2 c honey
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
7 c oats
Mix the honey, oil and vanilla in a small saucepan until they are all melted. (I always forget this step and it turns out fine.) In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir until combined. Spread out on a greased 9×12 pan and cook for 10 min at 375 degrees. Take it out of the oven and stir it. Return it to the oven and then turn the oven off and it let sit overnight. Wake up to a yummy breakfast and a house that smells amazing!
You can add a whole bunch of stuff to this to make it even better. I always use coconut oil and it gives it a very sweet flavor, but canola oil works fine too. You can add almonds, cashews, or any kind of nut that you wish. Shredded coconut, raisins, chopped dates, flax seed, and sunflower seeds.
Now my kids have been eating it straight, with yogurt, and with warmed milk. But I’m itching to try making it into a trail mix, with dried fruit and chocolate mixed in.
If only they would leave it alone long enough for me to try!
This week’s question at the Multiples and More site is all about yummy super bowl food:
What’s your go to Super Bowl/Tailgate recipe?
Honestly, we don’t really get into sporting events at our house. But I love little finger food so I’m excited for some good recipes! Here’s my contribution from my friend Lolli (although I modified it):
Black Bean Avocado Dip
2 cans (15 oz) black beans, rinsed
1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
2 medium avocados, cut into chunks
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
1 package Italian dressing, mixed according to package directions
Mix all together in a bowl and dive in! Tastes even better after sitting for awhile. It is SO good.
Oh, I asked Juice what his favorite game recipe was and he said a carton of ice cream and a spoon. That also sounds good!
Safire
PS- Don’t forget to enter my giveaway! So far, I only have a few entries and your chances to win are good!
This week on the Multiples and More blog there are some really great recipes for something sweet. If you want something sweet. Like I did this afternoon. And these are the cookies (or bars) that I made this afternoon because I was craving just that. I got them at a church function. They are quite good. Even if Pirate won’t eat them (because he won’t eat any cookies…strange child!)
Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
1 1/3 Cup Graham cracker crumbs (about 6 1/2 whole graham cracker sheets)
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
5 oz (half a bag) of melted chocolate chips
Mix the first 5 ingredients together. I find fingers work the best for this. Press the mixture into 1/2 quart pan. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave and spread over the top. Allow chocolate to set before cutting, or set in fridge for 1 hour.
Please try to refrain from eating it too soon. You may burn your tongue, drop the bar on the ground and then have to fight off the dog in order to clean it up. Just sayin’…
In celebration of National Cookie Day, here is something fun for you to watch:
And something fun to make and eat!
Jam Thumbprint Cookies
* 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
* 1 cup sugar
* 3 egg yolks
* 3 cups sifted flour, or more
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
* strawberry or raspberry jam
Preparation:
Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg yolks, flour and vanilla; mix well. If dough is too soft to handle, work in little more flour. Roll dough into little balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Make a thumb print in the center of each. Fill thumbprint with your favorite jam. Bake a small first batch, and if the cookies in the first batch spreads too much, work a little more flour into the dough. Bake at 400° for 8 to 10 minutes, until light brown around edges.
Makes 8-10 dozen cookies.
Every time I visit my Nana in Utah, she makes this wonderful bread pudding to for me. She makes it for everyone, not just me. But I like to think she makes it for me because it’s just so wonderful. Want to try it yourself? Here you go!
Nana’s Caramel Bread Pudding
4-5 slices of bread, broken into pieces and left out to dry overnight
Butter a 9×9 baking pan and add bread. Nana says that she uses the crusts and all, but if you’re picky, I’m sure you can cut them off. I like it with the crusts because it gives it a little texture.
For the Custard:
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
In a separate bowl, mix together until combined. Pour over bread as evenly as possible. If it looks too watery, you can add another slice or 2 of bread. Nana doesn’t, though, because she likes to really see and taste the custard. At this point, you can add raisins to it, or blueberries, or dried apricots. Nana doesn’t but some people like raisins.
Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees until a knife comes out almost clean. That way the bread pudding isn’t too dry. Watch out for it drying out, and put a piece of foil over it if the top is becoming too dry.
For the Butter Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar, half white and half brown
1 cup whipping cream (a can of evaporated milk will work too)
Add everything to a medium sauce pan and heat on med-high heat for 15 minutes. Stir as often as possible! The mixture will turn a golden color and taste like caramel as it gets done. It will be runny.
Poke holes in the bread pudding with a fork and pour butter sauce over. Serve immediately. Smiles all around.
Nana says that the sauce freezes very well. You just have to warm it up before you pour it over the bread pudding.
Hope every one’s Thanksgiving will be as tasty as mine!
Safire
PS- Nana asked me to make it before I put it on the blog. But I couldn’t wait to share the caramelly goodness with you! (Sorry Nana! Love you guys.)
