Let's talk Pinterest!

Okay, I'm officially hooked. Like most other things I am a little behind in jumping on the band wagon but now that I have I am glad I did! There are so many great ideas floating around Pinterest and even more than that I love that I have one place to keep them all. My brain could never begin to hold all of the recipes, crafts, decorations, etc that I see and want to remember in the future. And now it doesn't have too! All my future plans are neatly pinned on my boards for just that moment when I am ready to make a new recipe or start a new craft. Brilliant!

Because I am always falling in love with ideas I find there and I have this blog to share what I love, I thought I would start trying to post some of favorite finds from Pinterest. Things I can't wait to try or things I got inspired to try. What do you think? I don't know if this will be a weekly thing or a here and there thing...we'll see! But if you want to see all the things I am finding feel free to hit the Follow Me button to the left of this post:)



This week I am going to share a few of the things I have been inspired to do or make. Click on the caption if you want to see the original source and start creating yourself:)

This Countdown to Thanksgiving turkey from my last post was Pinterest inspired:)

 

 

My boys are loving my twist on the dinosaur hats pattern I found!

 

Matching winter hats for my nieces made out of old fleece pajama pants

Want to know what the number one Pinterest inspired item I have been making lately is? Anything pumpkin flavored!! Here are some links to the recipes my family tried and liked:
- Pumpkin Cornbread - http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2010/10/01/pumpkin-cornbread/
- Pumpkin Fudge - http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2010/10/21/pumpkin-fudge/
- Pumpkin Pancakes - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Pancakes/Detail.aspx
- Pumpkin Gingerbread - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-gingerbread/detail.aspx


Finally, with Thanksgiving a little over a week away (really??) let me share with you all the Thanksgiving decor and crafts I have been inspired by. This will take you to my board full of pins dedicated specifically to Thanksgiving: http://pinterest.com/chrystalscorner/thanksgiving-decor-and-crafts/

Happy Pinning, as they say!

Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps

When I bought 3 heads of lettuce at the store last week because they were on sale for $.48 each, I knew that I would have to come up with something other then salad to put it all to use. Then it hit me....lettuce wraps! I had never made them before so I checked out a few recipes just to get an idea of what could/should go in them and then ran with what I already had on hand. Let me tell you that I am mighty proud of how these turned out. They are really simple, super cheap, and absolutely delicious. And I was able to stretch one chicken breast to feed our entire family! Not to say that we have a shortage of chicken around here...remember our 40 lbs from Zaycon Chicken? But even when we have plenty I like to stretch what we have as far as possible. This will definitely be a recipe that shows up on our dinner table again.

Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Start with the rice. I used 1 cup dry whole grain brown rice which takes longer to cook (about 45 minutes) but is full of fiber and cheap to buy in bulk. Once that was finished cooking I added about 1/4 cup of sweet Teriyaki sauce and let sit.

Then I cut up the chicken (I only used one breast, two would be good if you were wanting more) into small cubes, sprinkled it with seasoning salt, and cooked over medium high heat in a little bit of olive oil until cooked through and starting brown.

Now for the veggies. I used green onion, shredded carrots, and minced garlic because that is what I had on hand. You can of course use any variation of veggies based on what you prefer or have available. Once the chicken was fully cooked I lowered the heat (med low) and added the veggies for just a minute or two. At this point it was smelling AMAZING!

The last thing I added was roasted red pepper flakes. Because of the kids, I only put in 1/8-1/4 tsp which still gave it a slight kick but nothing they couldn't handle. I think this really made the flavor for me. I enjoy sweet with some spice! Once you have stirred in the flakes and let them cook for a minute, stir in the rice and keep over the heat until the entire mixture is heated through. At this point I just layered a few leaves of lettuce to make a cup and then dished up the rice and chicken mixture.

Doesn't get much easier than that!

Roasting Vegetables

One of my favorite ways to prepare vegetables is to roast them. This creates such a unique flavor and can turn vegetables you and your kids aren't particularly fond of into your favorite healthy additions to any meal.

Some of the veggies I roast I do so for the purpose of pureeing and adding to other foods. We love roasted butternut squash in homemade mac n cheese and in turkey meatballs. Roasted beets along with shredded apples and ricotta cheese make for amazingly sweet and delicious pink pancakes. Roasted red peppers can be pureed to make this Roasted Red Pepper Macaroni with Smoked Gouda Cheese I created or can be sliced and used on everything from pizza to chicken sandwiches to pasta.

One of the veggies I have never liked before I roasted it was cauliflower. In roasting it a nutty flavor emerges and is so delicious. I often do this as a side but it is also amazing in this recipe by Rachel Ray, Roasted Cauliflower Penne with Rosemary Cream Sauce. Broccoli is another great roasted veggie that we eat as a side, sometimes along with the cauliflower.

Because I had such great results with the cauliflower, when I read about roasted radishes in a recent edition of Whole Living magazine, I was open-minded about it even though I don't particularly care for radishes. We hit up our local farmers market and got a great price on several bunches of radishes. I prepared these to go with our BBQ last night and even roasted the leaves. Both turned out great so I thought I would share the recipe with you all:

Roasted Radishes and Greens
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Separate 1 bunch radishes (halved if large) and their greens and arrange on two rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle each with 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

3. Bake, until radishes are tender and caramelized and greens are crisp, 15-20 minutes. Let cool. (This was perfect for the leaves but I had to go quite a bit longer with the radishes..you really want them soft and browning to get the good roasted flavor:)

What is your favorite roasted vegetable and how do you use it in your meals?

Bacon MacNCheeseburger

I realize that I have shared several mac n' cheese recipes on my blog before (Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Mac N' Cheese - Mac N' Cheese with Steak and Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms). Both of those were using boxed mac n' cheese which I happened to have on hand due to a sale but rarely ever use. Ever since I learned how to make my own homemade mac n' cheese I have continued to tweak and play with the recipe and it has changed many times over. We love it plain but it is always fun to jazz it up with new ingredients as well.

Those of you who have been reading my grocery store posts or following Chrystal's Corner on Facebook know that I have recently gotten a HUGE stock of pasta built up. So this recipe doesn't actually use macaroni noodles because I wanted to use some of the penne I had on hand. I had been playing around with this recipe in my head for a little while and it finally all came together as I was cooking it. You could do lots of different things with this recipe like substituting the mustard and ketchup with BBQ sauce or using a variation of toppings. I am excited because I think it is a great summertime/BBQ/potluck version of mac n' cheese that I hope you will love as much as we did.

Bacon MacN'CheeseBurger
Ingredients:
- 1 lb box of pasta (macaroni, penne, shells, etc)
- 1/2 lb of ground beef
- 6 slices of bacon
- 1/4 cup of ketchup
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 4 Tbsp. flour
- 1-1/2 cup milk (more if your sauce is too thick for your liking)
- 3 packed cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (or whatever combination of cheese you like)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 extra large egg yolks
- 2 heaping Tbsp. spicy brown mustard
- toppings of your choice (shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, chopped pickles, additional shredded cheese)

Directions:
1. I start by getting the meat all cooked. Season your ground beef with a little salt and pepper and cook until brown and crumbled. Turn heat way down and add the ketchup, stirring until heated through. Remove from heat. In a separate pan (or on an electric skillet) cook up the bacon, remove to paper towel when crisp. Once cooled down chop the bacon into pieces and then mix it in with the meat mixture.

2. Cook your noodles according to package directions. Only cook until al dente as it will continue to cook in the oven (this would be a good time to preheat that oven to 325 degrees while you are at it). Drain the pasta.
3. Time to make the sauce. Heat a pan over low heat and add the butter. Once melted stir in the flour until all mixed in and then let the mixture sit over the heat for about a minute. Slowly whisk in the milk stirring continuously as it thickens. Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in cheeses. Then stir in egg yolks and mustard. If the sauce is too thick just add in a splash of milk and stir some more.
4. Add the cooked pasta and the meat mixture to the sauce and blend all together. Pour into a 13x9 pyrex and pop in the oven cooking for 20-25 minutes. Dish up and add desired toppings.

**I was kind of writing this as I was making it so sorry there aren't more pictures...but I figure most of you know what cooked pasta and cheese sauce look like! I mostly wanted to come back to add that this really was delicious! My husband ate after the rest of us and just heated up the mac n cheese without any toppings and as he was shoveling in large fork fulls he kept saying, "This tastes JUST like a bacon burger!" I liked it with the extra stuff but it is a winner all by itself too:)

Let's spice things up!

It has been months...I think about 9 to be exact, since Jeremy and I have gotten to go out by ourselves. It is kind of hard to round up a babysitter for 3 kids 4 and under. Our nearest family members live over 45 minutes away so that isn't usually an option either. But we don't let things like that get in our way!

We both think it is incredibly important to make time for us as a couple. This is why our kids are in bed by 7:30 every night (with some exceptions) because it guarantees us several hours of time to ourselves without interruption. There is some sacrifice in this, as they are all usually up by 7:00 am, but it is worth it. The other way we make time for ourselves is date night. I know you are thinking that I just said we hadn't been out in a long time, and that is true, but we still make date night happen even if we can't get out. It had been awhile since we had a date night in so I was glad my husband suggested it this week because it was enjoyable as always and much neede. In fact, we are reinstating a weekly date night in and hopefully once in awhile we will even make it out of the house together!

Here is what our date looked like this week (the PG parts anyway!). We fed the kids and put them to bed and then spent time in the kitchen making our dinner together. Cooking with your spouse can be so much fun and we don't get to do it often because he is either at work when I am making dinner or he is keeping the kids occupied. Now this is where we spiced things up....remember, I said PG so I am only talking about the food here! We decided to make Cajun Chicken Pasta, which happens to be another Pioneer Woman chicken recipe, so I will share that with you as well.

Jeremy cooked the pasta and prepped the vegetables:

I cooked the chicken, veggies and sauce. The seasoning called for a Cajun spice mix which I didn't have on hand so I used 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper, 3/4 tsp Paprika, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. It had the perfect amount of heat for us. I didn't get any more pictures of the process as it went fast and we were trying to enjoy the time spent together, but check out the original recipe for ingredients and awesome step by step photos. Doesn't this look delicious?:

We paired this with some french bread. I roasted some garlic and threw it in the food processor with butter and Parmesan cheese and gave it a good whirl. This made a perfect topper for the bread and was especially good when we popped it under the broiler for a few minutes.

Cue candlelight, a little Nora Jones in the background, and a glass of wine or two and we had the perfect dinner date. It was absolutely interruption free which wouldn't have even happened at a restaurant, so I would say that this was even better than getting out!

Butter Chicken and Lemon Garlic Broccoli

As promised, I am going to cook my my through our 40 lbs of chicken using recipes from The Pioneer Woman. Now technically this first recipe isn't from Ree Drummond herself but it is on her cooking blog, Tasty Kitchen so I think it counts (and really, who is going to argue with me?).


Butter Chicken caught my eye because well, it had the word butter in it! But actually there is very little butter and instead it is an Indian recipe. Here is the recipe as the author wrote it. I will say that while this was delicious, I would make some serious alterations to the recipe myself. Everything involving the chicken was great. Great flavor and easy to throw together the night before. And the sauce tasted good but there was such an overabundance of it that I would change the proportions next time. My suggestion is to omit the can of tomato sauce all together and use about a cup of cream. I am guessing this would be a more accurate sauce to chicken ratio.

If you are a rule follower, like myself, and must follow the recipe as written the first time through I can offer a tasty solution to the excess sauce problem. We refrigerated the sauce and the next day for lunch tossed it with a box of cooked penne pasta and then topped with cheese and baked at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. So good!

All in all I would give this recipe a positive review as it was really delicious and I was able to make use of the extra. After serving this atop a bed of brown rice I quickly steamed up some broccoli which I tossed in butter, garlic and a splash of fresh lemon juice. Definitely a flavorful and filling meal!

What we had for dinner (and lunch!)

Last night's dinner was so good that we had no leftovers so I just HAD to make it again for lunch today. Plus, it gave me the chance to get some pictures so I could share it with you all!

Western Style Turkey Burgers
Ingredients:
* 1.25 lbs ground turkey
* 1/2 cup spinach or broccoli (or veggie of your choice - I used puree since I had it on hand)
* 1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
* 1/2 cup salsa
* 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
* Cheese (whatever you like or have on hand, I used cheddar)
* Hamburger buns
* lettuce
* Crispy Onions (I used garlic pepper flavor)
* BBQ sauce
* 16 oz sour cream
* 1 packet taco seasoning

Directions:
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix together using your hands:

2. Form 6 to 8 equal size patties and cook using preferred method. When making homemade burgers I really like to use my griddle but you can also do them on the stove top or on a grill (with foil underneath or they will fall through the slats). Sometimes we cook up all the burgers so that we have lunch the next day, sometimes I freeze 4 of the uncooked patties for dinner on a different day:

3. While the burgers are cooking, mix the sour cream and taco seasoning together. There will be a bunch leftover, it makes a great dip for tortilla chips or homemade potato fries! Also cut the cheese and prep the buns - on the bottom bun layer lettuce, onion crisps and BBQ sauce, spread the taco seasoned sour cream on the top bun.

4. Once the burger is cooked to your liking, add the cheese and continue cooking until melted. I put a foil tent over them so it melts faster. We paired our burgers with homemade potato salad for a delicious dinner (and an equally delicious lunch the next day!):

No really, I'm getting around to it!

Awhile back I told you all to get ready, that I was going to be dazzling you with some amazing chicken recipes to use up that 40 lbs of chicken we got from Zaycon Foods. I then realized that I hadn't even begun to look for said recipes. Being a woman of my word I decided to get on that and came up with a fabulous solution that was both quick and easy for me and I hope, beneficial to you all. After making those yummy stuffed mushrooms the other night and revisiting the same site to try a chicken spaghetti recipe for tonight, I decided that I would dedicate this box of chicken to The Pioneer Woman's amazing chicken recipes. She has tons of them all ready for me to try and she has yet to disappoint. As I cook through some of these recipes I will be sure to come back and fill you all in on how it goes. So while I am going to end this with another "stay tuned", I promise not to leave you hanging!

This is what it looks like in our house

Valentine's in our house this year was very low key. Jeremy worked so most of the day was spent with my little guys. That being the case, I mostly focused on spoiling them. We started the morning with gifts. I thought it would be difficult finding stuff for boys but we actually ended up putting together some fun stuff. They got monster truck chocolate boxes, Cars and Toy Story tops, magnifying glasses that double as bug holders and monsters that I made them out of old T-shirts. Don't they look excited?

We followed this with a lunch of pink pancakes and that was about the extent of the days celebrations. I did however want to have a nice dinner for Jeremy when he got home. I started out with a simple chicken, red pepper and broccoli that I was going to put on top of some brown rice:

 I knew that I wanted something special to go with it so decided on stuffed mushrooms because let's face it, anything stuffed is pretty much fabulous. I had bought a huge thing of mushrooms at Costco this weekend and knew I wanted to add some sausage but that was as far as I had gotten. Luckily The Pioneer Woman came to the rescue with her amazing recipe. I have loved her blog for sometime and know that her recipes always get rave reviews so I was excited to dig into these yummy morsels. It was hard to stare at these and wait for my husband to get home to share them!:

I pretty much stuck to her recipe but thought I would share some of the changes I made out of necessity and personal taste. I didn't have any cream cheese on hand so instead I used the Mozzarella Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Laughing Cow that I had in the fridge. I also sprinkled some red pepper flakes in with the garlic and onion to give it a slight kick. Lastly, I had no wine on hand so I just omitted that all together. They turned out amazing and Jeremy raved! Seriously, there were only 4 left at the end of dinner and that was because he wanted to take them to work for lunch.

It may not be fancy but at this stage in our life, but this is how we celebrate. Looks like most other days but that's okay because we like to think we make everyday about love!

Get ready...

I have had a lot of people mention how much they liked the chicken recipes I shared awhile back. Well, I hope you all are ready for some more because we are getting another order from Zaycon Foods on Monday and this time we are keeping the entire 40 lb box of boneless skinless chicken breasts for ourselves. That's a whole lot of chicken!

I will be working on a new list of chicken recipes so all of you chicken lovers be on the lookout for an upcoming post. In the meantime, I would love for you to share some of your families favorite chicken dishes. We love trying new stuff around here!

Homemade Whole Wheat Graham Crackers

In the midst of all the crazy holiday food I thought I would take a minute to share a recipe I recently stumbled upon that you will actually feel good about giving your kids. While my effort to move away from prepackaged snacks and try to prepare more at home has taken a back seat to the holidays, I know that this will be a habit I resume when the craziness subsides. My newest discovery is homemade graham crackers. These were really easy and turned out quite delicious. And you can vary them if you prefer chocolate.

Here is the recipe I followed. I replaced the sucanat with brown sugar, making these all ingredients I had on hand. Some suggestions based on my experience:
*If you like these thick, stick to this recipe. If you want to stretch the recipe or prefer thinner graham crackers, split the dough between two cookie sheets instead of one.
*The longer you leave them in the oven after turning it off the harder they will get so keep an eye on them and take them out based on your preference.

This is what my dough looked like before hand (no pictures after cooking but they look like the original posters):

My kids have been eating them up, so they get my seal of approval:)

Christmas Crack

I am starting this post with a warning - If you are trying to lose weight or maintain your figure during this holiday season, this is not the recipe for you. Just stop reading right now because once you know about the crack, you won't be able to go back!! Okay, you've been sufficiently warned.

I stumbled upon this recipe and heard hundreds of raves about it on a baby site I am on. I avoided looking further into it because something about the name made me think it was going to be some white peppermint concoction which, while I don't mind in small doses during the holidays, isn't exactly my favorite. But after having it come up over and over I finally gave in and read the ingredients. From that moment on I knew I had stumbled onto something amazing. Let me just say...I had no idea. This is the end result (trust me, no picture can do this justice...you have to taste it!):

What's in it you ask? Really...you're sure you want to know? Okay, here it is:

CHRISTMAS CRACK
Ingredients:
2 sticks butter (real butter tastes best)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips
1 layer saltine crackers on a greased or lined baking tray (it takes 1 1/2 to 2 sleeves of saltines to fill a 12x17 jelly roll pan)

Directions:
- Grease your pan (it works best to have a cookie sheet or other pan with sides). I tried parchment paper to avoid a mess but the toffee mixture got under it and made it stick to the pan anyway.
- Put one layer of saltine crackers onto the greased pan - set aside

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Melt together butter and brown sugar. Boil for 3 minutes while stirring non-stop

- Pour butter/sugar mixture over crackers and spread evenly across all the crackers

- Bake at 400F for 5 minutes
- Sprinkle 1 bag chocolate chips over the tray and let sit until you can spread the chocolate over the crackers

- Let cool in the fridge or other cool place until chocolate is hardened.
- Break apart into pieces and enjoy!

I have been keeping mine in the fridge because I like it cold but it should keep in a sealed container for up to a week. But I dare you...no, double dog dare you to keep it around that long. I know it won't last in our house!!

Chicken, Chicken, Chicken....did I mention Chicken???

I mentioned awhile back that I was getting a great deal on some chicken from Zaycon Foods. So last Saturday we picked up our 40 lbs and drove 20 lbs of it to my in-laws. I took my 20 lbs home and decided to spend some time getting them meal ready to save me time down the road. All in all I prepped the chicken for 11 meals and had about 5 lbs of chicken left to freeze and use later. Here is the chicken all chopped/sliced/trimmed and separated by Ziplocs:

Here are the recipes I am using the chicken in (this is the list I am keeping on my computer for reference, hence the notes). In most cases I just cut up the amount of chicken needed in the recipe and then wrote on the Ziploc. Those that were supposed to be marinated, I tossed in the marinade as well before freezing. For the fajitas, I even through in the onion and green pepper. Talk about ready to serve! To be even more organized, I used the dry erase board above our chest freezer to write down all the meals so all I had to do was glance at it when doing my meal planning. Anyway, here is the list, hope you find some new things to add to your dinner menu:)

1. Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Cheddar Mustard Sauce (4 chicken breasts)
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/pretzel-crusted-chicken-breasts-with-cheddar-mustard-sauce/

2. Chicken Nuggets x2 (2 lbs cut into small chunks)
Deceptively Delicious (pg. 75) - This is a cookbook I have, you add pureed broccoli to the egg when dipping your chicken...tasty and nutritious!

3. Breakfast Casserole (2 cups cubed chicken)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Breakfast-Casserole/Detail.aspx
* Use 2 cups chicken instead of ham, mix French onion mix into sour cream instead of raw onions

4. Chicken Tacos x2 (2 lbs cut into ½ inch pieces and marinated)
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/chicken-tacos-52514.aspx
*Cook marinated chicken instead of adding sauce later

5. BBQ Chicken Salad Sandwiches (1 ½ lbs , halved and marinated)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Barbecued-Chicken-Salad-Sandwiches/Detail.aspx

6. Chicken Fajitas x2 (2 lbs cut into ½ inch strips, marinated plus gr peppers and onions)
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/easy-chicken-fajitas

7. Chicken Enchiladas (2 cups chopped)
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-chicken-enchiladas-2/detail.aspx

8. Nacho Chicken Casserole (2 cups cubed) double for 1 meal
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Nacho-Chicken-Casserole/Detail.aspx

9. Chicken Spaghetti (2 cups cubed)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chicken_spaghet/

10. Anniversary Chicken (6 half breasts)
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/anniversary-chicken-i/Detail.aspx

Mac N Cheese with Steak and Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms

On the continued quest to use up the stockpile of Kraft Mac N Cheese I got on sale, I tried out another variation on the tired boxed pasta. Last time it was Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Mac N Cheese. This time I decided to go for steak with sauteed onions and mushrooms. Let me tell you, this was delicious! Hearty too. Throw a salad on the side and it felt like I was eating a real meal.

Ingredients:
2 boxes Kraft Mac N Cheese
1 and 1/2 sticks butter, separated 
1/2 c milk
2 c chopped steak meat
1/2 an onion, sliced
8 oz sliced mushrooms

Directions:
1. Cook macaroni according to package directions.

2. If using uncooked steak (leftovers would work well too), cook in medium pan at medium high heat. I used some flank steak we had from my in-laws cow and it cooked up quickly. Remove to a plate once fully cooked. (Mine was bland so I through it in a ziploc with some steak sauce...delicious!)

3. Put 1/2 stick of butter in warm steak pan. Once melted add onions and mushrooms and saute until soft and brown. (I used red onion since I had it on hand but whatever you prefer works). Turn the heat down to low and add steak back in to warm it up.

4. Drain and stir in 1 stick of butter, milk and cheese packets provided. Add in onion, mushroom, steak mixture and stir. Enjoy!

Leftover Oatmeal Muffins

Hope you all don't mind all these food posts!! Our schedule is picking up around here and I am feeling a little frazzled. Cooking is something that calms me. So is eating actually, so it is no surprise that I don't do so well in the weight department. Anyway, thought I would share this recipe that used the leftover oatmeal from the Peaches N Cream Oatmeal I posted yesterday. I am trying to do a better job of not being so wasteful and while we could eat the leftover oatmeal, it doesn't always actually happen. So I started looking for some recipes that included leftover oatmeal and found this one for muffins. I thought the peaches and cream would add an extra special touch and it did. The bonus was I also got to use my new Kitchen Aid that my in-laws gave me for my birthday. Let me just say I have a new love!! And it gave me the opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen with my two older boys. They like to help whenever I bake and did a great job helping make this muffins. I am excited to try this recipe with some of the other variations of oatmeal I am planning to make.

Ingredients:
* 1 cup leftover, cooked oatmeal
* 3/4 cup milk
* 2 Tbsp melted butter
* 2 Tbsp syrup or honey
* 1 1/2 cups flour (I used white, the original recipe called for wheat pastry flour)
* 1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine leftover oatmeal and milk; using a wire whisk if needed to get lumps out of oatmeal. Add egg and mix well. Add melted butter and syrup or honey, mix well.
3. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add milk/oatmeal mixture and mix until combined, making sure not to over mix. Dived batter in muffin pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on cooling rack.

**In using my mixer I just did all of step two and then mixed dry ingredients in separate bowl. I then added dry ingredients into the wet ones already in the mixing bowl and finished mixing.

Don't they just look delicious? They are, trust me. They smelled and tasted like cake! I am so excited to not only found a recipe that will help me use up that extra oatmeal but also one that tastes so delicious. Planning to make a couple dozen tomorrow with the remaining oatmeal and then freezing them to have later for snacks/lunches/sides.


*EDITED TO ADD*
Okay, I wrote this right after eating them warm out of the oven. Once they cooled they weren't as good. Not horrible, but not good. The kids still liked eating them but Jeremy and I weren't too impressed. I think they need something more than honey or syrup...like 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Also I think I would add in more of what was in the oatmeal, like peaches. Just to give it some more flavor. I am going to mess with this recipe and if I find something better I will repost. Let me know if you try something that works.








 

Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Mac N Cheese

Let me start with the disclaimer that this is in no way a figure friendly recipe. You could definitely make it healthier (grilled chicken, turkey bacon) but as is it is super fatty. But oh so very delicious!! I will also say that I typically make homemade mac n' cheese but lately have been stocking up on the boxed version due to sale prices and coupons that have made it practically free. This would also be absolutely delicious with homemade mac n' cheese but since I used the box version that is the recipe I will share.

Ingredients:
* 2 boxes Kraft Mac N Cheese (or your favorite brand/homemade recipe)
* 3-5 slices bacon
* 1 pkg ranch dressing mix
* 2 cups shredded chicken (I used fried chicken leftover from a party, but grilled or rotisserie would work great too)

Directions:
1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Layout other ingredients as listed on box (mine called for 1 stick of butter and half a cup of milk).

2. While the noodles are cooking, fry the bacon in a medium skillet until crispy. Remove to paper towels and chop when cooled.

3. Drain bacon grease, turn down heat and add butter. Once melted, stir in cheese packets and ranch dressing mix. Once mixed, stir in milk until well blended. Let simmer until thickened. I added some cream at this point to make it a little creamier. Put in the chicken and bacon and let heat through.

3. Drain the pasta, add it into the cheesy ranch mixture. Stir and enjoy!

I wish you could taste the ranchy, bacony, cheesy goodness of this through the computer!! Truly yummy:) Be prepared for some continued twists on the plain old boxed mac n' cheese as we have quite a few boxes stored up. There is some serious brainstorming going on around here!

Peaches N Cream Crockpot Oatmeal

A few weeks ago my cousin posted a recipe for oatmeal in the Crock Pot that she was raving about. So I decided to give it a shot. Something I can throw in a pot the night before and have waiting for us at breakfast time the next morning? SOLD!! After trying and loving it the plain way (seriously this is creamy good oatmeal) I decided to spice it up for dinner tonight and make a peaches and cream version. It turned out sweet and delicious and makes me excited to try some other variations.

PEACHES N CREAM CROCK POT OATMEAL

Ingredients:
* 4 cups old fashioned oatmeal, separated
* 9 cups water
* 1/3 cup vanilla creamer
* 1 large peach, diced (could use canned peaches as well)
* brown sugar for topping (optional)

Directions:
1. Combine 3 cups oatmeal with 9 cups water in a 5 to 6 quart Crock Pot. Cook on low for 8 hours.
2. After 7 1/2 hours stir oatmeal and add in additional cup of oatmeal, peaches and creamer. Stir. Top with brown sugar if desired.
3. Replace lid and let cook for another 20 to 30 minutes. I usually turn down the heat to warm at this time as well.
4. Serve and enjoy!

This makes quite a bit of oatmeal but I only have the large crockpot right now so this is the amount I make in it. It could easily be cut in half or third for a smaller crockpot. I also find it nice to have the leftovers. We keep it in the fridge and then reheat it in the microwave, adding milk to reconstitute the oatmeal. I am thinking of trying apples and cinnamon as well as bananas with walnuts and caramel. Any other ideas?

What we had for dinner

Pepper Lover's Pizza
This has become a definite favorite of ours. Pesto, peppers and french bread all make it irresistible! I got this out of a spin-off magazine from Taste of Home called Simple and Delicious. It truly lives up to the name of the magazine being both simple and delicious:)

Ingredients:
1 each yellow, orange, and red pepper, julienned
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (I usually just use a mix of oregano, basil and seasoning salt)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese (I use double, half for mixing with the peppers and half for topping the bread with before putting it in the oven)
1 loaf unsliced Italian bread
1/3 cup prepared pesto

Directions:
* In a large skillet, saute the peppers onion and Italian seasoning in oil until tender.

*Remove from the heat; toss with cheese.

*Cut bread in half lengthwise; place on a baking sheet. Spread cut sides of bread with pesto.

*Top with pepper mixture and remaining cheese (if desired). Broil 4-6 in. from the heat for 5-8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

 This great as an appetizer, cut into 10 or so slices. Or if you are like my husband and I, we cut each side into halves and have at it:)