Shrimp Tarts

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Digging through my recipe box the other day, I found an old one that I hadn't made for YEARS and funny thing is hubby loves shrimp and these are shrimp tarts!

 

 

If you enjoy the taste of shrimp, I can almost guarantee that you will love these.  Such easy appetizers to whip up when you are expecting company or just for the family.

 

 

These make a large batch....24 tarts....if not more.

 

Ingredients

 

1 1/2 - 2 loaves of white or whole wheat bread

1 cup melted butter

 

Brush the bread with 1 cup of butter and push into the muffin tins.  Bake for 5 minutes at 425F.

 

                                      

 

 

2 tablespoon of butter

1/4 cup of flour

1 1/2 cup of milk

 

Cook over low heat until thick.

 

2 cups broken shrimp

1 cup medium cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon of prepared mustard

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon onion flakes

3 drops of tabasco sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Combine the above with the flour/butter/milk mixture.  Mix well and fill shells. 

***at this point you can freeze some if you wish***

 

 

I sprinkle a little extra cheese on the top.

 

 

Then bake at 425F for 10 to 15 minutes.

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Happy cooking and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Stuffed Peppers

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The other day, the local grocery store had large, organic, beautiful peppers on sale.  They were the perfect size to be stuffed!  Since we will have to wait quite a while for our own peppers to be planted, grow and be picked, I wanted to have that 'garden grown' flavor now.

 

Our method of stuffed peppers is pretty basic and the recipe is never the same.

 

Ingredients  - give or take

 

1 pound of hamburger

3 gloves of garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 (15.5 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

smidge of brown sugar

splash of Worcestershire sauce

small can of tomato paste

1 1/2 cups of chicken broth

4 green bell peppers

 

 

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

 

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add ground beef, stirring constantly, cook until brown and crumbly.  Pour off the grease, , then stir in the garlic, onions, tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook and stir until the onions are soft, about 4 minutes.  Stir about 1/2 of the cheese into the mixture, set aside.

 

Cut the top of the peppers and remove the veins and seeds.  Rinse well.  Fill each pepper with the ground beef mixture and then carefully pour some of the chicken broth over the hamburger mixture.  Place in muffin tins or a bread pan so they stand upright while baking and replace the tops.

 

Bake for approximately 30 to 45 minutes or until peppers are soft. 

 

they were steaming hot out of the oven

 

Remove peppers from the pan.  I then take off the top and sprinkle the remaining cheese.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Just a note:

 

The Rotel tomatoes it adds quite a bit of 'heat'.  If you prefer a 'cooler' pepper just use regular diced tomatoes.

 

 

I hope you have a great day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 



Mozza Bombs

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Cheese.  I LOVE cheese.  Any cheese but Blue and Limburger ..... too smelly for me.  Gouda is my all time favorite, sliced thin and served with hot, homemade bread. 

 

 

Browsing recipes the other day I came across a recipe from Pinterest .... unfortunately the link now does not work so I can't link back but I decided to give it a try.  I mixed mine up a little though.

 

I call them Mozza Bombs.

 

Ingredients

 

2 containers of Pillsbury Flaky dinner rolls

2 - 3 mozza string cheese

little olive oil for brushing the tops

Italian seasoning

parmesan cheese

 

 

                

 

Directions

 

Take apart the flaky dinner rolls and carefully separate each one.  Cut or tear the mozza string cheese into small pieces and lay in between dinner rolls.  Pinch the edges so each roll is sealed. 

 

 

Lightly brush to top of each dinner roll.  Sprinkle the Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese over the olive oil.

 

 

Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Cook according to the direction on the container of dinner rolls.  I watched them carefully and they only had to bake a little bit longer. 

 

                

 

These turned out DELICIOUS!!  So easy and quick.  Perfect for when I need something whipped up at the last minute for unexpected company .... or just when I need a cheese fix.

 

                    

 

Happy baking and remember to give your loved ones a hug!



Wild Rice Pilaf

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We are big wild rice eaters in this house.  Living so close to wild rice paddies helps quite a bit as well.  Our local reservation harvests wild rice less than 10 miles from our home.  We have friends who harvest each year and although there is some concern about the five lakes that supply the local wild rice, restoration is currently being implemented to save this great natural resource.   Wild rice needs to be washed repeatedly before cooking.  It is a very dirty rice.  With the following recipe, I washed the wild rice is cool, clean water four times before I added it to the casserole dish.

This is DELICIOUS!

Wild Rice Pilaf

Ingredients

1 - (10.5 ounce) can of beef consomme (or 2 1/2 tablespoons of beef bullion with 10.5 ounces of water, mixed well)

1 - (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup

1 - (2.5 ounce) package of slivered almonds

6 - green onions, chopped

1 - 8 ounce package of mushrooms (sliced)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup uncooked wild rice

3/4 cup uncooked brown rice

cooking spray

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees).  Spray a 2 quart oven safe baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  Melt butter in the baking dish over medium-heat.  Stir in the wild rice and brown rice.  Cook and stir for five minutes.  Stir in the onions; cook for five additional minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in the mushrooms and almonds.  Pour onion soup and consomme over the rice mixture.  Cover with lid or aluminum foil that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray.

3.  Bake until rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Stir before serving.

Recipe makes 15 - 1/2 servings.

If you like wild rice and have access to the cracked type that resembles popcorn when cooked, give this recipe a try ..... you won't be disappointed!  

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

My New Kitchen Composter

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One Christmas gift I really wanted was a kitchen compost holder.  Throwing kitchen scraps into an old coffee can was beginning to wear thin and was just plain nasty.  I tried decorating the can, putting the can under the sink (to be out of sight), tried finding a different type of container ..... everything!

So who came to the rescue?  Good ol' Mom!

Isn't it just a beauty?  White ceramic with a stainless steel handle.  It fits perfectly beside the kitchen sink where I peel and chop the veggies for our meals.

It includes charcoal filters that will reduce the smell if it isn't emptied often ..... although I really don't have to worry about that!  

My kitchen looks sooo much cuter with this new addition.  Thanks Mom!

Have a great week and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Homemade Half and Half

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The internet is just too cool!  The other day I wanted to bake something but something different so I searched and searched and came upon a recipe I had been wanting to try.  No need for cookbooks anymore!

Donning my apron, gathering all the ingredients that were on the list, I then realized that half and half was not in the larder.  Dang!  Does that ever happen to you?  Maybe not with half and half but with another ingredient?  Not to be swayed, I pulled out the big guns ... my substitute list.  I have been collecting substitutions for years and years.  Unfortunately I did not have a substitute for half and half but I knew there had to be one!  Then I found it at About.com so I thought I would share since the baking season is upon us.

Homemade Half and Half

Making a substitute for half and half is as simple as mixing two everyday ingredients.

Ingredients:

• milk   
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

Preparation:

Replace one cup of half and half with 1 tablespoon of melted butter or margarine, plus enough milk to equal one cup.

Note:

This substitute works well in baked goods, soups and other cooked recipes.  It will not whip, and therefore should not be used in any recipe that calls for whipping half and half.

Happy baking and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Pizza Casserole

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Another pizza recipe.  Another casserole recipe ...... combined in one!!!!  How amazing is that?!

This recipe caught my eye and I just had to give it a try.

It was very easy to prepare and put together ... although I switched it up a bit ... but be forewarned, it makes a HUGE batch!

Ingredients

1 bag of egg noodles

1 extra large can of Ragu sauce (or any other tomato sauce you enjoy)

3 cups of mozzarella cheese (I used two full packages because I love cheese!)

1 1/2 pounds hamburger (I used one pound of beef and one pound of pork)

1 package of pepperoni

Other ingredients that could be used

any other cheeses you might enjoy

onions

mushrooms

italian seasoning

other types of pasta instead of egg noodles

pizza sauce instead of spaghetti sauce

olives

or any other ingredients you love on pizza!

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.

I lightly greased my 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray. 

1.  Brown meat and drain.  I then added the spaghetti sauce and added fresh parsley from my windowsill.

Cook the egg noodles as directed on the package.  Strain.

Now to put it all together!

first layer is half of the meat and sauce mixture

then a layer of noodles, using half the noodles

half the cheese

the rest of the meat and sauce

then the rest of the noodles

the the rest of the cheese ...
I had some solid mozzarella cheese left over from another recipe so I added slices of that as well

lastly arrange the pepperoni all over

Doesn't it look yummy?!

Now cover it with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove foil and bake a further 15 minutes or until the cheese is lightly brown and bubbly.

Once you remove it from the oven, let it sit for 15 minutes.  The casserole needs to settle so it doesn't fall apart.  

Very easy AND delicious!  It could easily be made ahead of time and then thrown in the oven when you get home from work.  It freezes just wonderfully too!  This recipe was enough for the night I made the casserole and then had enough to freeze for two more meals!  Wow!

Thanks For Mamas for such a tasty and quick new recipe.  We love it around here and it is added to our meal plan rotation list. So if you love pizza and casseroles ... well I would suggest this one.  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Organizing My Time

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I have been oh so busy lately.  Taking on a new teaching position has left me with very little time to craft and surf Pinterest for new ideas that I just have to try ... right .... now!  My days begin at 5:45 with my feet swinging over the side of the bed and they don't stop until they drop back into bed at 8:30 or 9:00 pm.  Some nights earlier, some nights later.  It really depends on how many cups of tea I need that evening.

Halloween has passed, hunting season is upon us and Thanksgiving is on it's way.  Busy, busy, busy.  Hunters need to be fed, Christmas baking needs to begin soon, Christmas cards need to be written, gifts need to be bought and made, the house needs to be decorated.  Where will I find the time to accomplish all I need to do?!  

Am I stressed?  Not really.  I take each day as it comes and I move carefully, purposefully and focused.  I have a plan each morning as I rise. If that dessert doesn't get made or that card written, I let it go.  I have to.  We all have to.  The holidays are not about being the perfect hostess, baker, gift giver, cook, or decorator.  I am far from any of these so there is no stress.  I don't have any expectation to live up to.  I make things simpler each year.  I have cut my cookie list down to two.  Two that MUST be made.  Any others are a bonus.  I have cut down my dessert list.  Another two.  Any more than that are a bonus.

A schedule.  I created a weekly and daily schedule on the computer and I print out one a week that have the basics and daily chores that MUST be done.  Then the other side is my block of free time.  My free time would include cleaning, baking, sewing, crafting, organizing...anything that needs to be done.

I have been using this schedule idea for almost a month now and it seems to be working really well.  I keep on track and do not let time get away from me .... especially when I start playing on the computer.  I just don't know where the time goes once I open the lid of the laptop!

HOME SCHEDULE

DAILY

FREE TIME BLOCKS

5:45 – 6:00 – awake, start coffee, start washing machine	MONDAYS -
6:00 – 6:30 – drink coffee, check email, get walking clothes on, clean litter box	TUESDAYS -
6:30 – 7:30 – go for hike	WEDNESDAYS -
7:30 – 8:00 – coffee, shower, add exercise to MFP	THURSDAYS -
8:00 – 8:30 – finish makeup and dressing, prepare medication for father-in-law, make and serve breakfast	FRIDAYS -
8:30 – 9:00 – start supper, flip laundry, do morning dishes, sweep floors, run the vacuum, start bread, muffins, cookies for the week
9:00 – 12:00 – free block	SATURDAYS -
12:00 – 1:00 – lunch, do lunch dishes, get dressed for work
1:00 – 6:30 – work
6:30 – 7:00 –  make and eat dinner, do dishes, get coffee ready for morning	SUNDAYS –      -    prepare and lay out work outfits for             following week -        make weekly phone calls to family -          make grocery list and cut coupons -          meal plan for following week -     prepare some make-ahead meals for the freezer
7:00 – 9:00 – update blog, fold laundry and put away.   Monthly book club meeting time slot.

_______________  ____ to _______________ ____, 20___

As time goes by, I am sure I will tweak it a bit.  Remove or rearrange time slots and when I complete my daily tasks.  If I don't get a chance to finish something, I circle it in red so in the evening I can finish the chore and don't forget.  

Dinner is usually prepared in the crock pot or is a meal that was made at an earlier date, had been frozen, was thawed during the day and just needs to be re-heated.  I keep things simple during the week and meal planning really helps with that.  I don't have to worry about what is for dinner.  I already know.  It is just a matter of pulling it out of the fridge, freezer or pantry and get it started before I head to work.  If I want a fresh loaf of bread for dinner, I start it in the bread machine before I leave and I return to wonderful aroma and warm bread, fresh from the machine.  

So far, this schedule has been working well.  I would like to add this idea of Cluttered Mama's.  She has a checklist for keeping the house clean in under 30 minutes a day.  I could squeeze those 30 minutes in during my free block of time or in the evening or I could break it up between the two time slots.  This would free up weekend time quite a bit.  Hmmmm.

Do you work with a schedule or do you just let each day develop as it may?  I would love to hear some other ideas and if they have worked for you.  Remember to give your loved ones a hug ..... between everything else!

Brown Gravy Mix

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I use these Brown Gravy Mixes quite a bit when I am cooking

.... I know, I know ... yuck right?  They do come in handy though. I find them useful for meals like shepherd's pie, hot beef sandwiches (when there is roast beef left over from the previous day's meal), for throwing in a package when a pot of stew is almost ready or even when I am in a rush and need something for mashed potatoes.

The worst part about them however is they are quite expensive.  Sometimes I can get them on sale at 3 packs for .99 cents but usually they run about .50 cents a pack.  I think that is outrageous especially when I know it is probably just cornstarch and some beef bullion.  So I was on the hunt to find a recipe to make my own ....

and I found it!  It was on the Our Country Haven Forum site ... now I have never seen this site before but it needs to be explored further.  It looks fantastic.  So I thought I would share it with you.  Now I didn't figure out the cost of how much it cost to make this batch but I would assume it was pretty cheap ... it makes the equivalent to 24 of those little packages!!!!  So that would run me at least $12.00 and I know it didn't cost that much.

Brown Gravy Mix

1 2/3 cup of cornstarch

6 tablespoons of low sodium beef bullion or granules

4 teaspoons of instant coffee crystals or powder

2 teaspoons of onion powder

1 tablespoon of garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

Combine and store in an airtight container.

To Use:

Use 3 tablespoons of mix to 1 1/2 cups of water in a pan.  

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and stir for one minute.

I love, love, love it!  No more of those expensive pre-packaged mixes.

Now the same site had a chicken gravy mix recipe so I am happy to share that as well BUT I have not tried this one yet so I am unsure of the taste.  If it is anything like the brown gravy, it will be a winner. It doesn't however make as much ..... or at least you have to use quite a bit more to make the gravy so it looks like this recipe is only the equivalent of about 6 pre-packaged mixes.

Chicken Gravy Mix

1 1/3 cups of instant non-fat dry milk powder

3/4 cup of flour

3 tablespoons of instant chicken bullion or granules

1/4 teaspoon of ground sage

1/8 teaspoon of ground thyme

1/8 teaspoon of ground pepper

Combine and stir with a wire whisk to blend.  

Spoon into a 3 cup air-tight container and store in pantry.

To Use:

Combine 1/2 cup of mix, 1 cup of water, and 1 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan.

Whisk constantly over medium heat until smooth and thick (2-3 minutes).

Another great staple to add to the pantry at the fraction of the cost!  I hope this helps some of you as well.  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Kentucky Fried Chicken

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Who doesn't love the taste of Kentucky Fried Chicken?  I would think most of us do but I also think most of us do not like eating the skin of the chicken because of the fat content or grease content or just plain ickiness factor of it but how can you enjoy the taste of the 'secret recipe' that Kentucky Fried Chicken is so famous for without eating the skin?  Baked of course using boneless, skinless chicken breasts!

This recipe has been hitting Pinterest by storm lately so I had to give it a try.  Wanting to give someone credit for the recipe, I will give it to Amy over at Your Life Uncommon where I found the first link through Pinterest. 

Since I was making baked, fried KFC, I just had to have french fries and salad to go with the meal but instead of store bought french fries, I make my own.

First I peel, wash and cut the potatoes up into french fry size and par-boil them for a few minutes.  I find this makes a big difference in how homemade french fries both cook and taste.  I then sprinkle them with olive oil and salt before baking in a 400 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Now onto the chicken!

Place freshly rinsed, thawed chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins in a bowl of milk for approximately 30 minutes and let them soak.

Next add the following ingredients in a ziploc gallon sized bag or in a bowl .....

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon of season all

3/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons paprika

Mix it all together well.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut 1/2 stick of butter into a few pieces and place in a 9 x 13 inch pan.  Melt the butter in the pre-heated oven.  

Spread the melted butter around the bottom of the pan.  Lightly spray the pan if needed to make sure there are no dry spots.

Shake the milk off each piece of chicken and shake in the ziploc bag or place in the bowl making sure to completely coat each piece with the seasoning mix.  

Place each piece of chicken in the pan.  Cook for 15 minutes then flip chicken and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Oh so easy and yet oh so good.  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!