Apple Crisp

 

 

Ingredients:

1 quart apple pie filling
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 c. quick oatmeal
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 c. butter, melted

 Directions:

Place apple pie filling in 8x8 baking dish. In small bowl combine flour, oatmeal, sugar, salt and spices. Add melted butter and mix well; spread topping evenly over pie filling. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Serves 6. Can be served warm or cold.

 

I severed mine with whipped cream and Carmel topping.

 

recipe adapted from: Cooks.com

Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:
1 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Honey
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp Powder sugar
Shredded Coconut

Directions:
Mix peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and powder sugar. Spread coconut on wax paper, drop peanut butter mixture onto coconut and roll. Chill for 1 hour or longer.

Notes:
Your fingers will get really messy creating the balls. To help, you can chill the peanut butter mixture before rolling into coconut.

Golden S'mores Bars

Golden S'mores Bars

Ingredients:

1/4 cup salted butter

1 (10.5oz) bag mini marshmallows

1-2 cup(s) mini marshmallows

7 cups Golden Grahams

2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Over low heat melt butter. Mix in 10.5oz bag of marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in Golden Grahams. Lets sit for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining Marshmallows until combined. Stir in Milk Chocolate Chips. IT will be hard to stir and the ships will melt some but not all the way. (That is a good thing.) Pour into sprayed pan and press evenly. Let cool for 15-20 minutes. (They cool faster in the fridge.) Cut, serve, and enjoy!

So I had 2 boxes of Golden Grahams that were going to expire soon. I knew we couldn't eat both just as cereal in time, So I decided to give this a try. And it was a hit! A little messy for the kiddos, but they loved it, and so did I. I may just have to do this with the other box of cereal. ;)

Black Bean Chicken Salsa

Black Bean Chicken Salsa

So good, and so easy.

Ingredients:
Boneless chicken breasts 4 small or 2 large (frozen)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can corn (drained and rinsed)
1 Cup salsa
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 5-6 hours. (Put chicken in frozen, if thawed it will have a shorter cooking time.)


Serve over rice top with Cheese. I prefer to eat mine by scooping it with tortilla chips, my husband puts his on a tortilla and eats like a taco. For the rice recipe  I used click here.

Notes: I also like to make a little extra and freeze for a easy meal down the road.

Cake Mix Cookies

Cake Mix Cookies

I make these all the time and just realized, I haven't put them on the blog yet. So here it is...

(My favorite cake is any chocolate flavor covered in Coconut Pecan frosting. So here is the cookie version. YUM!)

These cookies are super easy to make. Our family favorite is funfettie cookies with rainbow chip frosting.

Ingredients:
1 box any flavor cake mix
1/2 vegetable oil
1/4 water
1/4 flour
1 egg

Directions:
Mix all together, portion out and put on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.
(Makes about 24 cookies)

Notes: I prefer my cookies to be like cake, FROSTED! But you can eat them plain too. I usually frost them as I eat them because I can't stand when cookies stick together from being frosted and then stacked in a cookie jar.

Cafe Rio Chicken

Cafe Rio Chicken

(The recipe for the rice I used on this can be found here.)

As you can tell I made tacos with this. It is so good. We have had it multiple times. It is a nice change from beef tacos.

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken breasts
1/2 a small bottle of zesty Italian dressing
1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 pkt ranch dressing mix (mixed with 1/2 cup of water)
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on High 5-6 hours OR on Low 8 hours.
Shred with fork and serve as desired.

Notes: You can also double or triple this to make extras for freezing. Then simply thaw and reheat for a fast and delicious meal. To make Gluten Free, make sure to check the lables. All brands are made different. And if making it a taco, be sure to use corn tortillas. NOT flour.

Recipe: make ahead meals for busy moms

Chicken Flavored Rice

Chicken Flavored Rice

(Sorry I didn't get a picture earlier here it is as left overs)

We are having Cafe Rio style chicken for dinner and I needed some rice to go with it. And I didn't want plain white rice for a chicken taco, that would be boring.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup long grain white rice
2/3 cup angel hair pasta broken into small pieces
2 2/3 Tbsp butter
3 1/3 cups water
1 Bouillion Cube
1 1/3 tsp dried parsley flakes
2/3 Tbsp Onion Powder
2/3 tsp Garlic Powder

Directions:

Melt butter over medium heat. Add rice and pasta. Stir constantly to make sure the rice and pasta don't burn. Cook until the pasta is light brown. Add water and spices and stir well. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and cover pan. Cook 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.

Notes: I have adjusted this recipe to serve 4, and to use the things I had on hand. For the original recipe, click here.

Recipe: Food.com

Peanut Butter Cookies

In honor of today being National Peanut Butter Cookie Day, I felt that I should make some PB cookies. I've never actually made PB cookies before, and I'm quite happy with these.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter or margarine (softened)
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.

Heat oven to 375ºF

Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on un-greased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Recipe: Betty Crocker

Frosted Banana Bar

Frosted Banana Bar

Banana Bar

What we need:
1/2 Cup butter
2 Cups Sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups bananas (3 med)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda

Directions:
Cream butter & sugar. Beat eggs & bananas & remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 15x10.
(You can use a 9x13; you'll need to adjust the time accordingly.)

Frosting

What we need:
1/2 Cup butter
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
4 cups powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Cream butter & cream cheese together. Add powder sugar & vanilla and cream together. Spread over cooled banana bars.


These are really good. My kids can't get enough of them, and the hubby and I are enjoying them as well.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

What we need:
2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 beaten egg
4 to six tablespoons cornstarch or flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 cup chicken Broth
7 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoon soy sauce
7 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Directions:
Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt & pepper. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Dip chicken in beaten egg, then in cornstarch or flour. (cornstarch makes chicken crispier). Place in baking dish.
Sauce: Mix sugar, vinegar, chicken stock, katchup, 3 TBSP corn starch, and soy sauce in medium bowl.
Layer raw chicken breasts in glass dish (9×13). Mix all sauce ingredients in bowl, with wire whisk. Pour directly over chicken breasts.

Bake uncovered at 325 for about 1 1/2 hours, or until sauce is thick and dark in color.

Notes: I did mine in the crock-pot on low for 5-6 hours. I also served it over white rice. YUMMY!
If you use cornstarch it becomes gluten-free.
Remember when cooking gluten-free, to always check the lables, each brand makes their product differently.

Recipe & Picture: Get off your butt and bake