Smoked gouda cheese sticks

Today I'm beat! More tired then usual, so today I went with a frozen red barron pizza. I realized I almost always have to or must for my sanity make alittle something even when eating frozen pizza!!  So what goes with pizza garlic and cheese sticks! While eating my pizza I realized I cannot recall eating pizza when I was younger.....maybe my family could trigger my recall but Im coming up with nothing. My first memory of eating pizza out was in New London! Do you remeber your first experience I would love to hear so share below in the comments!? For something I love sooo much I would think I would remember! As I mentioned previously Chris and I use to go out for pizza on Fridays...well this gets expensive and thought I will buy frozen ones to try now! Red Barron definitely yummy! So all I did with the cheese sticks is sliced my smoked gouda and wrapped it in an egg roll wrap and fry! Yummmm so much better then mozzarella sticks out to eat!!  For the garlic I mixed butter with garlic powder...but it was not good so I dumped it out but added ranch to the same bowl so just enough garlic!

Here Fishy Fish!!

Theres so much to say about fish!! Well lets start at the beginning. .. I hated fish for the longest time! I loveeeed and still love to go fishing, but eating it before no way jose! The only other time Fish came up was my cousin Jessie's nickname "fish/fishie"!! Not sure I know why she has that nickname but there two refrences fishing and my cousin. The first positive fish encounter was thanks to Aunt Holly! Aunt Holly is my college roommates Aunt who lived close to Capital University and who had a boyfriend who looked like Bon Jonvi! Two amazing things...especially since Erin and I were obsessed with Bon Jovi. One day Erin asked me to go to her aunts for dinner and she was making Orange Roughy. OMG I was terrified LOL!! Well long story short I liked it. I then would eat the bass out of the pond my mom would cook, tried tuna steak (omg amazing want to buy these soon), then got really big into Salmon when I was going to the gym everyday, about three years ago. Once I met Chris he got me into Tuna..tuna casserole was my first then tuna patties which I will share my awesome recipe in time!! Chris also got me into Flounder (Sams club big bag!!) Tonight I decided to do Salmon.

Maple-Balsamic Salmon

1/4c orange juice or grapefruit juice
1/4 maple syrup (I used good ol Mrs Butterworth)
3T balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves minced ( of course I used 3....ok 4)
1T olive oil
4 pieces salmon. .*I did 2

Add everthing but oil and salmon to kettle. Heat to boiling, cook 5-6 min. Add the oil stir. Salt and pepper salmon the brush with glaze. Broil or grill 10 min. I flipped half way through cooking. Baste often.  I put it on top of spinach and almond salad using the sauce from the fish as dressing. Yummn I also made rice pilaf and added alil bit of syrup!! Very good!!! Must try!! I would like to introduce Mr. Wilson my fishy friend as well!! (In pic)

I also wanted to give a shout out today to Uncle Dave HAPPPY BIRTHDAY!

Tortellini Yum Yum

Ohhh Tuesdays.... so long, especially with the cold weather, not feeling great, and minimal clients. I was well rested after taking the Nyquil and falling asleep by 8pm, but felt like nothing got accomplished!! Since it was my long day I decided to use the crock-pot and Chris's help. I lovvvvvveeee pasta especially cheese filled pasta, manacotti, ravioli, stuffed shells, and tonight tortellini!! I made this recipe once before and fell in love. It is almost like a soup, but you can thicken it up if you want (ill note below).

Tortellini Yum Yum

1 bag frozen cheese tortellini
2 cans Italian styled diced tomatos
1 small bag fresh spinach
1 package cream cheese
4 c vegetable stock ** you can use less for a thicker sauce or add some flour, or cornstarch/water to thicken a bit. I added alil cornstarch water.

You throw it all in the crock-pot and cook for 5 hours on low ***HOWEVER I felt that it was toooo long and I was gonna be gone more than 5 hours.  So I put everything but the tortellini in this morning and put it on keep warm. I had chris add the tortellini when he got home. It was only in 1-1/2hours on low with the tortellini. If you leave the tortellini in too long it gets mushy!! So adjust time accordingly!! Very yummy and makes lots! Enjoy!

Adapting old recipes

Out of all the days to not feel good, I felt the worst this morning before my training. I sounded like a man throughout the training as well. BUT it went well and is over now! After the training I needed to stop at CVS to pick up razors for Chris. He actually asked me for the yesterday.... Well this is what happens when he asks me to go to CVS..

Yeahhhh got a little more than just razors! HOWEVER; my total bill was 87$ prior to coupons....after I only paid 37$!!!! Wahoooo!!! that was my best haul, lots of sales at CVS! And note the NyQuil, hoping to sleep better. Also the Puffs with Vicks is the best thing invented! At my stop at Kroger I actaully bought something that gave me money back!! I had a coupon for air wick candles, buy 2 get 2$ off. Well they had a close out sale on these lavender chamomille candles .82cents each!! First time I had that happen! Couldn't smell the candle too much but hey it was free!

Okay now for dinner. The original recipe comes from mom's recipes. It is called Nacho Chicken Casserole, but I decided this morning I was making something with gound meat. I like to take the main ingredient of the meal out in the morning, then it is a challenge/game for me to figure out what to make with it! I love it! Soo I had ground meat and decided I still wanted the casserole so adapted it. Chris LOVVESSSSS Doritos which is another reason why I wanted to make it.  This one is also quick and easy because all i wanted to to all day is cuddle up on my couch with my down comforter!

Nacho Chicken/Beef Casserole

I used 1lb ground beef (cubed chicken/or can or chicken)
Taco Seasoning (ONLY for the beef verison)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup ( Use Cream of Chicken for the chicken version)
1/4c sour cream
2T milk
3/4c crunched up Doritos
1 can mushrooms (I snuck these in...since Chris does not like mushrooms, but he caught me)
1 can diced green chilies.... ( I usually do not have them so I did not use them)
Mozerella and Cheddar Cheese (I used the rest of my taco cheese)
Salt and Pepper

Okay so with the beef you need to brown it and add the taco seasoning. Next you mix everything together.  Just use your judgement for the amount of cheese. I never measure just grab handfuls because I love cheese. The spray a baking dish and add to dish. Then sprinkle more cheese and more crunched up doritos on top. Heat oven to 350 and back 25-30 mintues. Enjoy. The beef version was AWESOME!! It is just as good with chicken though so whatever you have!! Hope everyone in Ohio stays warm tonight!!

Crockpot love

I love my crockpot!! Most of all on the weekends, and especially when your not feeling great! Yes your probably wondering where is the breakfast recipes this weekend, since I usually do breakfast. Well Chris had to work Saturday so breakfast was just an english muffin, but Sunday morning were both home, and of course I made breakfast! I had again sooo many ideas! Well as I was making it I left out something I wanted to do. I wanted to make a breakfast sandwhich, and decided to make it on french toast! YUM! Okay so I did my egg sunny side up then made some crispy bacon. I added some smoked gouda cheese on top of the egg. I cooked my french toast then placed the egg, cheese and bacon. What I wanted to do was chop my bacon up, return it to the frying pan and add maple syrup. I forgot and this is definetly what was missing. So yeah I instead just had a french toast sandwhich with egg, cheese, bacon, and green onion. I also made a sauce from greek yogurt and sirracha sauce. It was good but would have been 100% better with the bacon in maple syrup! Ohhhh well, will do that next time! Here is the picture of it.

So the rest of the day was very lazy and chill. Chris and I watched a movie, The Prisoners... it was a good movie, but way tooooo long! It was over two hours!!! So during the movie I of course clipped my coupons out of the Sunday paper. There were four inserts this week too!! That's good for those of you who do not coupon, usually your lucky if you get two, but four AWESOME! I also realized I have sooooo many coupons. Every week I do clean out the expired ones, and even doing that have soo many. I had to organize my food coupons into sections hoping this will make it easy for me at the store. Lunch came and I made Chris a grilled cheese and roast beef sandwhich, and myself I heated up the Pow Pow pork and made it into a wrap with lettuce, cheese and ranch... very satisfying! Well then Chris took a nap and I attempted to get some work done... yeah right... didn't happen. I have to be in the mood to work from home and earlier I was not! I instead looked over my information about Substance Abuse Assessments since I have to lead a training with my supervisor tomorrow! AHHH, I hate conducting trainings, but I have done gosh who knows a ton of AOD (alcohol and drug) assessments over my three years at Mid-Ohio so you would think I would be relaxed, nope not at all!! I hate trainings! No matter how comfortable I feel I always get nervous and my face turns red... goshhh!! Okay I'm getting nervous talking about it so lets go to FOOD! I decided to watch my shows, Law and Order SVU (which I have watched since college) and American Horror Story, the Second Season. As Chris snored away on the couch I wanted to try these Apple Cresant things. I saw the recipe on Pinterest and had bought cresant rolls this week (.20cents each with coupon). All you do is unroll the triangles sprinkle a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (I also added some brown sugar) then place your sliced apple (yes I used it with the skin on) and roll it up. Analysis.... it was okay... nothing too special but a nice snack.

Of course with my snack I had to have some wine!! Chris bought me a bottle yesterday and I had bought myself a bottle Friday! Last night I had a glass of the wine Chris got me, a Barbara... welll.... I am a wine snob and my father's Barbara is sooooooooo much better. This one was just okay. Sooo today I decided to try my bottle. It was from Blackstone, a red blend. It was soooooooo goood I accidently drank the whole bottle! hahaha. Okay so for dinner I relied on my crock pot. I started this at 2pm so just had to relax the rest of the day. I made my chicken drumsticks, and they were very tasty.

Crockpot Drumsticks

2t salt
1T paprika
2t chili powder
1t onion powder (which I don't have so I used minced dry onion)
1t dried thyme (which I don't have so used 1t extra of garlic powder)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2t black pepper
(I added some chicken rub seasoning my mom bought me from a amish place by her)
Chicken Drumsticks

*** Ive never made a non saucy chick recipe in the crockpot so this was a challenge to me***Okay so mix all the seasonings in a bowl . Bunch up some balls of aluminum foil to put in the bottom of your crockpot. I do this so it does not stick to the bottle of the crockpot and just rests on the foil. Rub the chicken with the seasoning mix and place in crockpot. From this morning I had some bacon grease left over that I heated up and poured over the chicken. I set the crockpot on low for 4 hours. After four hours I turned my broiler on and put the chicken on the pan and let it crisp up, turning a few times. This did not turn out as crispy as I wanted but it was full of flavor and very good! Even had a little spice to it! Chris and I have a weakness for Mac N Cheese so I decided since we have not had it forever I would make some. We literally would eat Mac N Cheese with everything before!! Had to chance that not soo good for ya to eat it as much as we were! And of course the Green Giant corn!! Very good!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and make sure you bundle up for this week Ohioans it's gonna be a cold one!! What better way to get out o the cold funch then to cook something Fabulous!!! Stay tune for this weeks recipes!!! Tomorrow I will need to cook up something good after doing this training!!

Buddy wanted to say take it easy and cuddle up in this cold weather!

Take that Olive Garden!

Still feeling crappy today, and was up super early because I could not stop coughing. I figured out that if I get up and move around I feel somewhat better, so of course that meant cooking!!! Before we start with the meals for the day, I have to give Buddy an appearance on the blog, because yet again this dog cannot get enough of the snow!!! And let me tell you we have soooo much! We have a big snow drift outside the back door as well so Buddy is in heaven! Also what I did all day was watch The Taste, it was on demand free so yes I watched all the episoides thus far! I love this show and wish I could be on it, but after watching it, I have a lot to learn about cooking! Maybe I can take a cooking class that would be awesome!

Here is my new best friend, Dole Shakers! The juice I added was V8 fusion Berry Juice and man this was great!!! I had a coupon for 1.00 off and they were on sale for 2.00 so thought I would try and I must say this was the best medicine yet for me!

Okay so for lunch today I was not sure what I wanted, but I knew I wanted to use the smoked gouda I bought! Now you're probably asking how expensive was that, well I got a nice big wheel of it at Aldi for only about 2.50!! I went with smoked gouda and roast beef quesadillas! OMG I did not want this to be gone that is how good it was!

Roast Beef and Smoked Gouda Quesadilla

I just made one so here is what I did:

3 slices of deli roast beef

Grated Smoked Gouda... I used my cheese gratter for this

Onion sliced thin

2T butter

1T brown sugar

1/4t white wine vinegar

Okay so in a pan on the stove melt your butter, add thinly sliced onion, brown sugar and white wine vinegar. Let cook for alittle. While this is going on melt some butter and brush on the back of your tortilla. Put some of the gouda down on the tortilla. Place some roast beef diced up on top of the gouda then add the onion mixture. Put more gouda on top and then place another tortilla on top and brush with butter. Place in 350 oven for 10 mintues, 5 each side, or until browned!!! OMG is all I have to say! I forgot to take a before picture but here is an after.

Next, I decided to make soup, since I do not feel great, and it is sooooo cold out! I wanted to use the gnocchi from earlier in the week too! So I found a copy cat Olive Gardner Gnocchi Soup. This as well was very delicious!

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

I used my chicken from earlier in the week as well ( you can use as much as you want)
2T butter
2T oil
1 quart evaporated Milk (or half and half)
2c chicken stock
Celery, chopped
1/4c flour
2 garlic cloves minced
Shredded carrot
1 small onion diced
1 c fresh spinanch
1/2t dried thyme (I did not have any so I used basil)
salt and pepper to taste
and of course my favorite Gnocchi!!! (again used the homemade from earlier in the week)

Melt butter with oil in soup pot. Add your onion, celery, and garlic and cook for about 5 mintues. Add flour and stir until well mixed. Cook for 1 minute. Add evaporated milk.  Meanwhile drop your gnocchi into boiling water until they float. Add the carrots and chicken to the soup pot. It will start to thicken slightly. Add your chicken stock, gnocchi, spinanch, thyme, salt and peper. After I did this I transfered it to the crock pot and put it on keep warm. You can Serve it right away if you would like. I of course had to add bread sticks like the Olive Garden which I got on sale at Aldi for 1.25 a box. Just what I need for this cold!! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Chocolate LAVA

Friday!!!! Yesss!! I'm soo ready to hibernate this weekend. Still not feeling 100%, so got everything I needed to done today. Had my work meeting this morning from 9-11, then off for a background check for my independent counseling license which I will receive 2/14/14!! Wahoooo!! Then lunch with my co-worker Erin. We went to a place called Wigwam and had some awesome Lobster Bisque. Then I got my groceries I need, cold medicine, and filed my taxes!! I had bought steak already in strips at the, which I took out this morning, but was not sure what to do with it. Well I was so focused on chocolate for dessert I just marinated the strips in Caribbean Jerk marinade. I then made these teryaki noodles (pasta side). It actually turned out really good!

Okay so now for the best part. Erin and I were talking about chocolate lava cake at lunch today and I decided I was going to make it. I already had most of the ingredients at home! OMG soooooo gooooodd!!

Crock-pot Chocolate Lava Cake

1 box of chocolate cake mix (I used Devils Food Cake mix)
1 box instant chocolate pudding
1-12oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

You make the cake batter according to the back of the box. Then you pour the batter into the crock pot. Then you make the pudding as directed on the box. You then pour the pudding on top of the cake batter. Then open your bag of chocolate chips and sprinkle on top! It is just like you get at a resturant!! A great end to the week!!! I took a before and after picture as well.

Before

  After

Chinese

Today I needed something quick and easy real bad! Ive been feeling like Im getting sick since Wednesday, scratchy throat, heavy chest, cough, yuck! And not to mention if my voice goes I cant really work! LOL Well this morning started off with the worse headache cough ever!!  Well my day completely turned around as I walked out to my car. See picture below!!! I found a keeper!!  The day didnt turn out too bad, so I was ready to cook when I got home, but quickly. I went with Chinese always east and delicious. 

Sweet and Sour Pork

Sauce: 3/4c sugar, 1T soy sauce, 4T ketchup, 1/2c white vinegar, 1t garlic salt. Whisk

Pork or chicken cubed
Corn starch
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
Oil
Season pork with salt and pepper. Dip in egg then cornstarch.  Heat oil and cook pork. Strain then add sauce!! I made rice a roni fried rice and added an egg to it. I love broccoli and Chris hates it or I would have mixed it in the pork!

Fantastico Gnocchi!!!

Ooooohhhh my was that meal awesome!!! The gnocchi I made a few days ago was fantastic!! I think I may have to make it every week!! Talk about cheap to make, all I had to buy was ricotta and the rest of the stuff is basic stuff I always have!! So when I was deciding what I wanted to do with the gnocchi tonight I had sooooo many choices. Good thing I have more because I already have a plan for this weekend! Today I decided that since I had bacon, which I normally dont buy, Id make carbonara. The first time I remember eating carbonara was when my friend mike invited me over because he was making it, and raved about his carbonara, so thanks mike for the introduction!  After eating, a classic Pastel moment happened. Ready dad?! I asked Chris if he liked it and of course he loved it, but I asked what else about it...he said its really garlicky, and the Pastel response, "what garlic!"  The funny thing was I thought I went easy on the garlic hahaha! Here is the carbonara recipe I used, if you missed the gnocchi recipe from Monday you MUST make it! I took it out of the freezer right into the boiling water and removed when it floated!

2 garlic cloves minced ( I only addes one extra)
1/2c half and half
1c Parmesan cheese
SaLt and pepper to taste
1 egg
Bacon * use as much as u want I did 6 pieces

Cook bacon then when its almost crispy add garlic. In a bowl mix the rest and whisk. Add the hot bacon grease and all. Then add your homemade delicious fantastic gnocchi (I think im in love with the gnocchi or just really had a taste for it or both!). Top with fresh parsley. 

Who needs Chipolte

Crockpot cooking today!!! Last night I planned to do chicken drumsticks in the crockpot, but realized the recipes were only to cook on low for 4-6 hours.....well that wouldnt work for me since Im gone 12, and Chris 9 or 10!! I was so set on cooking in the crockpot and realized I had a meal in the freezer! This was from at least 6-9 months ago too!! It was even better then I remembered!! Taco Chili is what I call it and given this super cold weather, fitting! When I left this morning I put the crockpot on "keep warm" and it was perrfect (12hrs later)!  After eating I realized I had to look for the recipe hahhaa! It was in my recipe box, but after looking at the recipe I cant figure out one ingredient!! It is either short hand or I didnt use it!!

Taco Chili/wraps

1lb ground beef
1 can black beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can corn
DO NOT DRAIN BEANS AND CORN
This is the one- "Hominy" ?? Drained
1 can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg hidden valley ranch mix

Brown beef and add taco seasoning. Mix rest in bowl and mix. Add the beef. I let this cool then divided it into two meals/bags. When ready heat in crockpot til warm.

I made a wrap out of mine. I added sour cream, cheese, and lettuce. I also plan to add rice next time too!! Such a yummy dinner!!

Double Yummy!

I love Mondays!! Have I mentioned that lately?! I usually have Monday's off from work, but I work a part-time job every other week here in Reynoldsburgs for some extra money.  I started off by taking clients here from my group home I use to run, then I obtained an intership here and then after obtaining my Master's Degree and counseling license I obtained the job I have now, but continue to work at this place every other week, for approximately two to four hours. Well today I have did not go in therefore I had the whole day to myself.  I did however have assessments to work on on since I neglected to do so all weekend. I did this until noon today, and then decided to start cooking! I not only made dinner for today, but also for another day this week. First for tonight's dinner. Shallot and Apple Chicken!!

Shallot and Apple Chicken

1 Whole Chicken (mine was 4lbs)
3 shallots, diced
2 apples, diced
3 garlic cloves,  minced
1 Rosemary Spring
A couple pieces of bacon
3T butter
Seasoning of your choosing (will explain below)

Preheat oven 350
Okay so first you chop your shallots, apples, and mince your garlic. Melt 1T butter in pan and add shallots. Sautee for 5 minutes or until browned. Add Apples and Garlic and cook until apples turn a little brown but still firm. (I used HoneyCrisp since that is all I had in my fridge). Once this is cooked, stuff your chicken with this mixture and add the Rosemary Spring inside the chicken. Melt the remaining 2T of butter and add seasoning. You can use whatever you want, I added garlic powder, garlic salt, steak seasoning, and alittle bit of red pepper flakes. Brust this mix on the chicken. Then you wrap your pieces of bacon around the breast of the chicken. I cooked mine for 1 hour and 45mintues. If you use a smaller chicken adjust time.  This was delicious!! We of course had our green giant corn again, and I used the rest of my Spaetzle but added some apple butter and cooked it up in the pan. It actually was pretty good!

Before the oven

After the oven and plated

Okay the next thing I made today, I have not tried yet, but plan to make later in the week. I LOVE Gnocchi!! Whenever we go to the Italian Festival in Columbus I always get the Gnocchi! I once tried to make it a long time ago and it just did not work. Well I wanted to try to make it again. Sooo of course I found a recipe and tried it out!

Ricotta Gnocchi

16oz whole milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1T olive Oil
1/4c grated parmesan cheese
Nutmeg to taste
2c Flour, sifted, plus extra for rolling

Add egg to ricotta, add oil and mix. Add cheese and sprinkle with nutmeg. Add flour a little at a time and stir until forms dough. Spread flour on counter and dump dough on counter. Form dough into a ball. Add more flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Once in a ball, cut the dough like you would bread. Roll out into ropes. It said to do two ropes at a time, but I did one or two, didn't see the point or needing to do two at a time. Cut into 1 inche pieces. Roll off the back of a work and place on lightly floured baking sheet. You use the fork to make indentations to hold sauce. This I found difficult to do, but got the hang of it after a while. I then put them in the freezer. You should let them freeze before putting in zip lock bag so they do not stick. There ya go!! Finished! I plan to make a recipe with my left over chicken from today and the gnocchi later in the week so stay tune!!!  Ohh and yes note my counter space.... this is it!! I dream all the time of having a HUGE lovely spectacular kitchen!! Some day! Luckily my lovely awesome fantastic father made me a little stand next to this to have some extra space!

I love Apples

Today was such a great day; however, the cooking plan changed. Last night Chris asked me if I wanted to go to an auction, and of course I was sooo excited! I have not been to an auction in Columbus. Well this auction warehouse happened to be only like five or ten mintues from our house. They were having a bunch of tools, toys, and household items. Well we got there at noon to register and look at all the goodies. They had lots of kitchen stuff so of course I was thrilled! I spotted one of those apple peelers that my mom and dad have, and I have always wanted one but haven't wanted to spend the money! Well as the auction went out the peeler came up and the put it with a tea pot, which I do not have. Chris and I bid five dollars and got both!! What a deal!!! The items at this auction did not get inspected so all items you were taking the chance of it not working, but the apple peeler and tea pot for five bucks heck yes!!! We also got a double toaster for five bucks; however, when we got home one side did not work.... but hey, only five bucks out. We then also bid on this small box of stuff. What caught my eye was a hand strainer. Well we got this for 7.50. It had a shower head, a bunch of air fresheners for the car, a very nice travel mug (kind of like you cool one mom), and a spatula. This was soooo much fun!!! We ended up leaving before the auction was over because we were starving. Chris wanted to take me to a place called Jimmy V's. The reason plans changed was because we did not get to Jimmy V's until 3:30pm. I had planned to roast a whole chicken....but it was already 4:30 when we got home. SOOOO I am not disclosing what goes into this new recipe because I am going to make it tomorrow, but it went along with the theme of this post.... APPLES! Instead of making dinner I made cupcakes, Apple Pie cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

Apple Pie CupCakes withi Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 box Yellow Cake Mix
2 Eggs
1t cinnamon
1c Apple Juice
1 carton of Yoplait Apple Turnover Yogurt
Apple Pie Filling

 In bowl beat on low speed everything except the Apple Pie filling for 30seconds. Then beat on Medium for 2minutes.  Pour into cupcake holders 2/3 full. Chop up the apple pie filling. I put mine in my food processor. Then put a spoonful on top of the cupcake filing. It will sink down which is what you want. If it does not sink down it will bake over it. (I put too much on some and it did not bake over so only use alittle spoonful). Bake at 325 for 17-19 mintues.

For the frosting, 1 container of Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting, 1t cinnamon, and 1T powder sugar. Beat until fluffy.  Once cupcakes are cool frost and Enjoy!!! SOOOOOO yummy!!

I wanted to share another project that I did yesterday. I forgot to add it to yesterdays post. I was bored and saw this on pinterest. I had this lamp shade forever and it was dingy looking so I decided to make this. I learned from making it how to improve the next one, but I love it!!

Back to Cooking

I could not wait to get back to cooking today!! The pizza was wonderful, and luckily I was exhausted yesterday because not cooking didn't bother me! Usually if I do not cook I feel like something is missing! So today I am back at it! I have again three courses for today! Man I love the weekend! Lets start with this morning. Buddy was being even more of a pain then he usually is! I think he knows when there is snow outside, because this dog loves it. He is always wanting to go out and just lay in the snow! Crazy dog! Anyways, we were up early so that gave me time to make breakfast. Biscuits were on sale last week and again this week, AND I of course had a coupon so I wanted to use these up.  I had already made biscuits and gravy last week so I wanted to do something new. I found a recipe for dougnuts!! It was soooooo very simple and easy and DELICIOUS!! All you do is cut a small hole in the center of the biscuit, fry it up in some oil, then when they are browned (which is not very long) roll them in cinnamon and sugar!! They were soo yummy and went along very well with my coffee!

The white stuff is snow! It doesn't show as much in the picture... but he was covered!

After breakfast we just relaxed and caught up on some of my favorite shows that were back on this week, specifically Criminal Minds, and CSI! Then I needed to hit the store. Well let me tell you if you do not coupon you need to! I not only have my paper coupons, but also digital coupons! I am part of a page on facebook for couponers and knew there were some good deals this weekend. It was like Christmas for me all week waiting to go out and coupon! Well we needed laundry soap and it of course was on sale. ALL detergent was on sale for 2.49 at Kroger and I had two 1.99 off coupons! That is .99 cents for two things of detergent. Then I had a buy two get 3.00$ off so that is two more for 1.98! Set with laundry soap! Ohhhh wait, and Snuggle Fabric Softner was the same 2.49 and I had two coupons for 1.50 off!  One digital coupon and one paper coupon! Get deal. Also on sale was Minute Maid Fruit Punch, 1$ I love this so of course bought a bunch. Hmmm what else.... I got more green giant steamers that were still 1$ each... a big thing of Nestle H20 for 1.50.  Also I got my swiffer refills.  I have not mentioned this before but I am adding it to my list of favorites. I asked Chris to buy me a new Mop and he came home with this swiffer thing... at first I was like what the heck is this little thing?? Well you can buy wet and dry refills, I of course get the the wet. They come scented too with Gain or Febreeze, and work wonders especially having this dog track mud or whatever in. Quick and Easy clean up! These were also on sale and had a coupon! There is much more but those are some highlights. Great shopping trip! I have included a picture of my pink friend! This is where I keep all my coupons!

For lunch, I had Pork Egg Rolls with Yum Yum Sauce... yes homemade! I had made these a few weeks ago prior to my blog and froze them. They were sooo delicious! I will include all the recipes that went into this! I made Puerto Rican Shredded Pork as well in the crock pot and had a TON left over so I used it for egg rolls!  Sorry No pictures for these!!

Yum Yum Sauce

1c. Mayo
3T Sugar
3T Rice Vinegar (I used 2T white and 1T water)
2T melted butter
3/4t paprika
3/8t garlic Powder
Mis them up and put in the refridgerator for at least 30mintues. I feel the longer in the fridge the better. It is even good two/three weeks after!

Puerto Rican Shredded Pork

2-3lb Pork Roast
4-5 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 T Veg. Oil
1 T cumin
1/2t salt
1t dried oregano
4 oranges and 4 limes juiced.

Slit holes in roast and stuff with garlic. Heat oil in frying pan and brown roast on both sides. (6-8) minutes. Then Mix the cumin, salt, oregano, and orange and lime juice in blender. Place roast in crock pot and pour liquid over. Cook on Low for 8 hours. After 8 hours remove most of the liquid... save 1 cup.  Shred your pork and add the 1cup of juice back to the crock pot and cook 15 more minutes. Enjoy!

Now the Egg rolls. I put shredded carrot, teriyaki sauce, green onion, and I bought a bag of cole slaw mix (or you can use cabbage) and mixed all these things together. I also put in a little bit of cumin, oregano, and salt. Heat it up until the cabbage mixture is wilted a little or cooked. I then added the pork and heated this up. Place this in the egg roll wrap and role up! Fry and dip in Yum Yum sauce!! VERY Good!

For dinner I made one of my favorite go to recipes. I could eat this a few times a week and be happy! I love chicken things because they are soo juicy and CHEAP!!! This recipe I passed along to my mother and they enjoy this also! You can do it on the grill or in the broiler. I use my broiler!

Garlic-Soy Chicken Thighs

4 Chicken Thighs (I ALWAYS get the skin on ones, and with this recipe the skin on is amazing!)
1 stick of butter
3T soy sauce
3T/3clove of Garlic minced
1 or 2 T Parsley (fresh or dried.. i used dried)
You can also add a little salt and pepper if you would like

Melt the butter, soy sauce and garlic together. Add parsley and stir. Turn on your broiler. Grease baking dish. Add the chicken thighs. I start with the skin side up. Pour some of the butter mixture over each thigh. Do not use it all. Broil for 10 mintues..do not put it super close to your broiler, the farther down pry the better. After 10 minutes flip the chicken and add the rest of the butter mixture. Broil 10 minutes. I then again flip it over and bast with sauce. I then broil again for another 10minutes....during this 10 minutes the skin side is up so you have to watch it so it does not burn. I then fip it one more time, bast and cook for 7-10 minutes. Enjoy!!!! We of course again had our green giant corn! Stay tune for tomorrow I plan to bake as well!!!

Pizza Party

TGIF!!! Finally, I was so busy this week soo ready for the weekend!! I once again have lots of yummy things planned to cook! Tonight though, we celebrate! Chris was finally hired on as an employee!! We have been waiting for this for what seems like forever, so tonight we decided to have a pizza party!! Early on in our relationship we would try and go to a different pizza place every Friday or every other Friday, so tonight we are trying a place called Vicks Pizza. It is right up the street too! It was sooo good!

POW POW Pork!

I love pork!! It is always cheap and there is so much you can do with it!!  This past weekend Kroger had buy one get one free pork loin roasts. 5 bucks for two nice size pork loin roasts= Amazing! I cut one up today into chops. I love the tradtional pork chop, the eggs then bread crumbs way, but wanted to experiment.  Chris and I were trying to come up with a name and Pow came up. I dont like spicy foods, but do not mind a little kick or POW to food. This has it, just the right amount!

POW POW Pork

4 Pork chops
1c Cornmeal
1t garlic powder
1t onion powder
1/4t cayenne pepper
2 eggs
Oil

Mix cornmeal, garlic and onion powder, cayenne in shallow bowl. Beat eggs in another. Dip in egg then cornmeal. Fry up 2-3 minutes a side in pan with oil. Bake in over for 8 minutes. Enjoy!! 

Sides: We of course had our green giant corn! Also I put some butter and garlic in a pan and heated up the spaetzle from Sunday!! YUMMMM! Not a very colorful dish but delish!!! 

Make it Work!

This week has been non stop for me so yet again quick, easy, and delicious is key! Also, its a great way for me to unwind!! I got a lot of good feedback from people about the oatmeal banana pancakes so I decided to try another new one... healthy apple pancakes!! I absolutely love apples and always have them in the fridge so perfect for me!!

Apple Pancakes

1/3c oats
1/4c flour
1/2t baking powder
1/2t cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/4c milk
1c apple, grated

Mix oats,flour, baking powder, cinnamon.  In separate bowl beat eggs and milk. Add your grated apple and mix. Add both and mix. Heat pan and make your yummy apple pancakes!! You can add nuts, raisins, etc. Also you can add 1/4t vanilla.  I didn't try this, but will next time!

Next dinner! I had planned to make Goulash this morning but by the end of the day I wanted Mexican.  I always make chicken enchiladas, but never beef...so of course that sounded delicious! I hate enchilada sauce so I decide to find a cheese sauce enchilada recipe! Well I thought I had everything I needed...ehhh wrong!! I hade to make it work because the meat was cooking already! Well I first needed taco seasoning so made my own. This recipe will make alot so you will have some for the next few times!! I made half the recipe below and still had leftover.

Taco Seasoning

4T chili powder
1& 1/2t garlic powder
3/4t onion powder
3/4t red pepper flakes
1& 1/2t dried oregano
1/4c paprika
1/4t cumin
3t salt
3t pepper

Soo cook your meat with diced green onion until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning (I used about 2T) and 1/4c water. Simmer until water is almost gone.  Here is where I again had to make it work.  The recipe called for 1c plain yogurt 2c mozzarella and 1 can cream of chicken. Well I had the cheese only..hahha.  Soooo I used a can of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup that ive had in my cupboard for a while and all I had was a 5oz vanilla greek yogurt. ..yeh I was like eww this is not gonna work and it looked ehhh..BUT it was Fabulous!! Mix those three things together.  Then you put some of the cheese mix on a flour tortilla then adf meat roll up repeat... put leftover cheese mix over top. Bake 350 20 minutes!! Add sour cream, lettuce, whatever suits you!! I was expecting it to be bad... but the cheese sauce was definitely a must make again!!! I sure did Make it work....Tim Gunn would be proud!!  Off to practice my singing skils while watching America Idol!! Hahaha