3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
One 15-ounce can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup beef broth
12 ounces elbow macaroni with ridges
2 cups shredded yellow Cheddar



Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the brown sugar, vinegar,
Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce
in a small bowl. Heat the EVOO in a large
 skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high
heat. Add the beef and cook until well
browned. Season with salt and lots of
pepper. Add the garlic, bell peppers and
onions and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Pour the tomato mixture over the beef,
add the beef broth and stir until well
combined. Simmer until thickened, 5 to
10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in a
large pot of salted boiling water until
not quite tender, about 5 minutes.
Drain and add to the sauce. Pour the
mixture into a casserole dish and top
with the cheese.
Bake until the casserole is bubbling and the
top is browned.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp

3 ounces cream cheese, at room temp

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

3/4 cup Oreo Cookies, crushed

(about 8 cookies)

holiday sprinkles if desire

Preheat oven to 375F.  Cream together

butter and cream cheese until smooth. 

Add sugar and vanilla and beat until

well mixed.  With a wooden spoon,

stir in flour. Fold in mini chocolate

chips.  Roll dough into Tablespoon

sized balls, and roll in Oreo crumbs

and sprinkles.  Bake 9-11 minutes or

until edges just begin to brown. 

Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes

before transferring to cooling rack.

Allow cookies to cool completely. 

Transfer to a gallon freezer storage

bag, label and freeze.  To serve, thaw

and enjoy!

Baked Pesto Chicken

1 pound boneless chicken breast, sliced into tender size

1/2 cup basil pesto

3/4 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 cups green beans

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

1-8x8 pan

Spread 1/4 of the pesto into the bottom baking pan. Place chicken on top of the pesto, spread on the remainder of the pesto. Add green beans on top of the chicken pesto mix. Cover baking pan tightly with foil, label, and freeze. 

To serve: thaw in fridge. Cook at 375 uncovered for 25 minutes. Remove pan from oven, top with cheese, and cook for another 5-7 minutes.

makes 2 dozen

filling:
1 package (8oz) cream cheese softened

1 egg

1 tablespoon sugar

muffin:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs lightly beaten 

2 cups sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup canola oil
24 pecan halves (i don't use)

 for the filling in a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg and sugar until smooth then set it aside. In a large bowl combine flour pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, & salt. in another small bowl beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil. Then stir them in with the dry ingredients in the large bowl. Mix just until moistened.

divide half the batter into 24 greased or paper lined muffin cups.Drop filling by the teaspoonfuls over the batter. top with remaining batter. place a pecan on each muffin if you use them.

bake at 350 for 20 - 22 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to the cooling racks.

7 cups thinly sliced & peeled tart apples

1 cup sugar

1 table spoon all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

dash of salt

1/4 cup water

1 package (9 oz) yellow cake mix

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

vanilla ice cream (optional)

place the apples in a greased 2 1/2 quart shallow baking dish.  In a small bowl combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.  Sprinkle this mixture over your apples. Drizzle with water. In a large bowl combine the cake mix, oats, butter brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Sprinkle over apples.

bake uncovered at 350*f for 45 - 50 minutes or until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown.  serve with ice cream on top

serves 8

Peanut Butter Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

*2 teaspoons vanilla

*5 tablespoons peanut butter (reduced fat will work too)

*3 cups **old fashioned oatmeal (dry, it sometimes takes a tad bit        more)

*2 cups of brown sugar

*1/2 cup milk (non fat or reduced fate also works)

*1/4 cup butter

1st: mix together the 1st 3 ingredients in a small bowl

2nd: stir together sugar, milk and butter in a medium sauce pan, and cook over medium heat, stiring occasionally, bring to a full boil for exactly ONE minute

3rd: immediately pour over the oatmeal mixture (step #1) and stir rapidly and thoroughly.

4th: spoon cookie size scoops onto wax paper or plastic wrap and let them cool until they are firm (about 6-8 hrs)

Yield's: 8

8 pounds boneless pork chops

2 tablespoon lemon pepper

2 teaspoon olive oil

2 cup sweet and sour sauce

40 ounces pineapple chunks, drained

1.5 cup green bell pepper, sliced

1.5 cup red onion, wedged

Directions:

Top pork chops with lemon pepper seasoning. Heat skillet over medium high. Add oil and brown pork chops and

saute vegetables. Serve over rice or stir-fry noodles if desired.

4 cups dry oatmeal

4 cups buttermilk

4 medium eggs

4 tablespoon's vegetable oil

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups blueberries

Directions:

The night before, combine the oatmeal and buttermilk in a large bowl. Cover well and refrigerate overnight. If you

can't wait overnight, it needs to at least soak an hour but the longer it soaks, the better. The next day, add remainder

of ingredients except blueberries. Once mixed well, fold in blueberries. Heat skillet and spray with non-stick cooking

spray. Once it is hot, cook approximately 1/4 cup batter per pancake.

3/4 pound smoked sausage, sliced

8 ounces frozen pepper and onion mix

2 1/4 cups pasta sauce

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

8.00 ounces penne

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, brown sausage, peppers, and onion until brown. Meanwhile cook the pasta in salted, boiling water according to al-dente direction's on package. Combine the noodles in with the skillet were the sausage is. Ready to heat.

Honey Teriyaki Chicken Breast's

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

3 cloves garlic minced

2 1/4 teaspoon's ground ginger

Cut your chicken into serving size pieces and put in a large bowl, In a smaller bowl combine remaining ingredients Then pour over the chicken you cut into servings sizes and placed in the large, let marinate for 2-16 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven at 350ºF 

Place in a greased baking dish and bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until juices are clear.

Serve over a bed or white rice, it is so delicious!!!!

Yield's: 4 Servings

Bite Size Taco's

1/2 cup ground beef, cooked and drained

6 ounces wonton wrappers

2 teaspons taco seasoning

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 ounces chopped green chiles

1/4 cup chopped onion

nonstick cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees *f  

Mix browned ground beef with onion in a pan on the stove and cook for 4-5 minutes. 

Carmelize the onions then add taco seasoning to the meat.

Next spray your muffin pan liberally

with non stick cooking spray. 

Place two wonton wrappers in each muffin cup and fill with ground beef, cheese, and

chilies. 

Bake for 9-11 minutes watching closely so the wrappers don't get too dark brown you want them golden brown.

Remove from pan and let them cool. 

Repeat until all the meat and wrappers are gone.

Yeild's : 2 servings

Hello Everyone,

I would like to start off by saying I hope you all are enjoying the recipes that are posted here, there are so many recipes it will take me a long long time to get them all posted, and I continue to collect more on a daily bases, thanks to my grandma and my friends.  I have cook books all over the place.  I have cookbooks from my Great Grandma Betty (who has since passed away and became a angel) to current books that I have bought recently and things I have found online.

I would love for all of you to add some of the recipes you have in your collection and let all of try them.

I cook at least twice a day, every day.  I make 2 loafs of homemade on Sundays (since I have make 4 lunches a day) then I make 2 more loafs on Wednesday's.  I make breakfast for my 3 children on every day, along with any snack ideas I can come up with for their lunch's, and I will admit there is at least one night a week that we eat left overs, and then one night a weeks we eat out (on nights that we have soccer until 730 its normally a quick trip to taco bell on the way home).  I recently ran across some recipes that are freezer meals, my hope with them is that we can avoid the quick trip to fast food on the night we have a late soccer practice.  Not to include we have many family and friends who stop by and join us for meals, and we always have extra kids around the house. And one night every third week we do dinner and movie night here at our home with the 7 neighbor hood kids. Which means on that night I need to make a kids friendly yet nutritious meal for 12 people along with a dessert (of which I am slacking on recipes (please help) and I need some help).

So here I am adding a few more recipes, but I wanted to stop in and leave every one a quick note and update on the blog.

I hope to hear back from you and I am in need of dessert recipes if anyone would like to share, and please leave your feedback and constructive comments on the recipes you like.

I'm sorry I have been slacking on the pictures but as soon as life its self calms down (i'm hoping with in the next few weeks) I can get back on track with them.

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Blogging :)

This is were we will be buying our meat from now on, its fresh, tender and good pricing!

I am so glad we found this 

Ok guys this is a recipe I just found online and I will be making it soon, not only does it make my mouth water by looking at these awesome pictures that were with it, my hubby loves pasta salad. On top of the fact that I am now being frugal with money and have our family set on a tight budget, I'm saving any way possible.

roasted garlic pasta salad

$8.53 recipe / $1.06 serving

This pasta salad is super easy to throw together and is surprisingly filling! I was also really happy with how creamy and delicious it was, despite the fact that I used part-skim ricotta. It looks and tastes like a really creamy, guilt-inducing pasta salad, when really it's quite innocent!

Half of the reason that I wanted to make this pasta salad is that I wanted to try out a technique that I've been seeing around the internet: roasting garlic in the microwave. I ruined one head of garlic in the process, but I think I got it right after that. The end result isn't as caramelized as real, oven roasted garlic, but the flavor is definitely good enough to make this technique worth it when you're in a hurry. Roasting garlic in an oven can take almost an hour and this only takes 2 minutes - literally!

There are a few different techniques that I've seen, some microwaving for a minute or so, and some for up to 8 minutes  (with water added), but I found 2 minutes with no water to be just right for me. I'm sure every microwave is different and each head of garlic will require a slightly different amount of time to cook, so I suggest microwaving in small, one minute increments until you get the technique just right. You want the garlic to be soft, and very fragrant, not brown and hard. Microwaving past the point of softness will only lead you down the road to burnville, and believe me, it doesn't taste or smell pretty!

Oh, one more thing. If you have access to inexpensive fresh basil, it would be to-die-for in this recipe. Just add it on in with the spinach or even in place of the spinach!

Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad

Total Recipe cost: $8.53 

Servings Per Recipe: 8 (about 1.25 cups each) 

Cost per serving: $1.06 

Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 20 min. Total: 30 min. 

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 head	garlic	$0.59
1/2 Tbsp	olive oil	$0.09
1 lb.	pasta shells	$1.29
15 oz.	ricotta cheese	$2.45
1/4 cup	grated parmesan	$0.23
to taste	salt & pepper	$0.05
1 pint	cherry tomatoes	$2.50
3 cups	baby spinach	$1.33
TOTAL		$8.53

STEP 1: Using a sharp knife, cut approximately 1/2 inch off the top of the head of garlic. Place the garlic bulb in a small bowl or dish and drizzle 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil over the exposed cloves. Cover the bowl with an inverted plate. Microwave on high, in one minute increments, until the garlic is soft and fragrant (about 2 minutes). Use caution when touching the dishes, they will be very hot. Allow the garlic to cool.

STEP 2: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add the pasta, and cook for 7-10 minutes or until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water.

STEP 3: While the pasta is cooking, squeeze the garlic cloves from the head and mince well. Add the minced garlic to a medium bowl along with the ricotta cheese, a healthy dose of freshly cracked pepper, and about 1/2 tsp of salt. Add the 1/2 cup of hot, starchy pasta cooking water. Stir until it forms a smooth sauce.

STEP 4: Drain the pasta. Return the drained pasta to the warm pot (the burner should be turned off). Add the fresh baby spinach and pour the ricotta sauce over top. Slice the cherry tomatoes and add them to the pot as well. Stir until everything is well mixed. Add in the parmesan cheese and stir again. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm!

Step By Step Photos

To cook the garlic in the microwave, begin by cutting a little off the top of the head to expose the cloves. 

Place the head of garlic in a small dish or bowl and drizzle about a half tablespoon of olive oil over the exposed cloves. This will help keep them from burning.

Place an inverted plate over top of your bowl or dish. Microwave on high, in one minute increments, until the garlic is soft and very fragrant. Mine took two minutes and after that it began to burn (even when I added water to the dish). The garlic will hiss and pop during cooking, and some of the cloves may jump out of the head! 

When it's finished, it will be soft, kind of mushy, and it will smell really REALLY good. The cloves will be about the same color as they were fresh, but they will look slightly transparant. Allow the garlic to cool. 

Once it's cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic cloves out of the head and mince them. They'll likely be pretty sticky. 

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta shells according to the package directions (boil 7-10 minutes). When the water gets cloudy and starchy (like in the picture), dip in a measuring cup and reserve a half cup of it for the sauce.

While the pasta is cooking, place the minced garlic, ricotta cheese, freshly cracked pepper, and about a 1/2 tsp of salt in a bowl.

Add a half cup of the hot, starchy pasta water and stir until it is all smooth.

Slice the cherry tomatoes in half.

When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it well and then return it to the warm pot (make sure the burner is turned off). Add the fresh baby spinach, the ricotta sauce, and sliced tomatoes. The residual heat will slightly wilt the spinach leaves.

Stir everything until combined, and then add the parmesan cheese and stir again. The reason I added the parmesan at the end is because I didn't want it to melt from the heat. Once everything is combined, the temperature is considerably lower and you won't have melted parmesan cheese clumping up and sticking to the spoon. It just evenly coats everything instead.

Taste the pasta salad and add salt and pepper as needed. I like to add freshly cracked pepper to each serving.

5-8 Family Size Tea Bags (or 12 reg. tea bags)  
 ( I prefer  Lipton's Brand Teas.)
1 Quart (4 cups) Boiling water

3 Quarts (12 cups) - Cool Water

1 1/2 - 2 (one & a half) - Cups Sugar. 

1/4 teaspoon - Baking Soda (this IS the SECRET Ingredient!!)

Directions - 

1.  Sprinkle baking soda into a pitcher (I use a gallon-size Mason Jar but many people have voiced concerns about pouring boiling water into a glass container, so use whatever container you'd like)

      Add Tea bags to the pitcher/baking soda,  

      Pour Boiling water over tea bags, 

      Cover and allow to steep for 15 minutes.

                    ~*~

2.  Remove and toss out Tea Bags,

     Add Sugar and Stir until completely dissolved. 

     Add Cool Water.

     Refrigerate until cold and ready to drink.

                     ~*~

3.  Serve over ice, 

     Take a nice long sip.

     Swoon.

     Repeat. 

This makes a great snack, or pack it up for lunch :) 

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup brown sugar- packed 

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups milk (or substitute soy or rice milk)

1 egg

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup peanuts (optional)

3/4 cup jelly or jam

1. Preheat the oven to 350*f.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Stir with a wire whisk to combine.

2.  In a separate bowl, combine the milk, egg, and peanut butter.  Stir with a wire whisk to combine.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix just until combined. Stir in peanuts.

3.  Spray a standard loaf pan (9x5 inches) with spray, and pour half the batter into the pan.  Top with half the jelly, dropping it by spoonfuls over the batter and spreading it slightly.  Fill the loaf pan with the remaining batter, top with the remaining jelly swirling slightly.  Bake for 50 minutes.

4.  Cool Completely before removing from the pan, slice and serve.

Breakfast Bowls on the GO

7 potatoes grated

5 / 6 eggs

1 cup meat (i used left over spiral ham or you  use bacon or sausage)

1/4 of a white onion minced

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375

Lightly Spray the muffin pan with spray (non stick spray) 

Fill each muffin whole up with grated potatoes, making like a bowl in the pan. 

Bake the hash brown bowl for about 30 - 35 minutes or until the outsides are golden brown.

Why the bowl's are baking, mix together your eggs, meat, onion and any thing else you want in your on the go breakfast bowl. (i use any left over meats in the fridge, i also add cheese)

After the hash browns are done and golden brown take them out and fill them up (with the mixture above) to the line of the muffin pan and bake for about 18-20 more minutes or until your eggs are done on the top.

The kids love them for school and they are easy grab and go 

  

Summer Pesto Sauce Balls

3 cups packed fresh basil leaves

2 large garlic cloves

3/4 cup pine nuts

1 1/2  cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup extra virgin  olive oil

Combine basil and garlic in a food processor and process to a fine paste.

Add pine nuts and process until smooth.

Add cheese and process again until smooth.

With the machine running, pour the olive oil in the food processor and blend until smooth. If the pesto seems too thick pour in a few tablespoons warm water.

Place ice cube trays or use a cookie scoop and place them on wax paper on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer until they are frozen and then transfer to baggies. May also be frozen in small resealable bags. 

I use the cookie scoop then freeze because when I want to make pesto sauce I don't have to make to much and I can always add more.

Let the pesto cube thaw and then toss with warm pasta or heat it up in a saucepan then add to pasta or veggie.

Use day old white bread for this recipe

4 eggs

2 cups milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound of day old bread

Beat the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and nutmeg all together.  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Dip 1 inch thick bread slices in the egg mixture and fry in hot butter until golden brown about 5 minutes.  Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar or maple syrup.

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats, plus additional for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• • 1 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
  • 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or water, for egg wash

  For the Glaze:

• 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 
  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Blend the cold butter in at the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-size pieces. Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs and add quickly to the flour-and-butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough may be sticky.
  Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4 to 1 inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into 3-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.
  To make the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 5 minutes and drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of the glaze. I like to sprinkle some uncooked oats on the top, for garnish. The warmer the scones are when you glaze them, the thinner the glaze will be.

• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 
  
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 
  
• 2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped
• 
  
• 8 small new potatoes, diced
• 
  
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 
  
• 1/4 cup chicken broth (or white wine is what I use)
• 
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar

• salt and pepper to taste

Place the chopped bacon in a skillet, and cook over medium heat, stirring 

occasionally, until evenly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the bacon pieces on a 

paper towel-lined plate.

Melt the butter in a skillet with a lid over medium-low heat, and cook and stir the 

onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked bacon, green beans, 

potatoes, garlic, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low 

heat until the green beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with vinegar, 

salt and pepper then serve.