Tag: food

  • Pillsbury Bake-Off: 100’s of recipes

    Every year Pillsbury has a Bake-Off contest. Well, did you know that if you visit Bakeoff.com you can get the recipes from 100’s of finalists?  I’ve spent the last week just browsing the site, letting my mouthwater, lol.  I ended up picking 3 different recipes I really wanted to try out soon! 
    Soon came sooner than expected, lol. I went to Walmart yesterday to grab some ingredients.  On the way home, I heard a pop! I thought maybe something just rolled out of the bag, but when I got home I found my Pillsbury breadsticks had popped open (thank sudden heat wave!).  With 20 minutes before I needed to pick up Princess V I whipped up a batch of these Open Sesame Pick-Up Sticks.
    Oh my goodness they were so delicious!!  The kids didn’t seem to care for the sesame seeds on them, but Mark and I sure enjoyed them!  I’ll definitely be making these again!
    Also on my list to try out soon are these
    White Chocolate-Strawberry Yogurt Parfaits
    and this
    Peanut Butter Cookie Granola

    Check out BakeOff.com for many many more yummy recipes. Then before you head to the store, check Walmart’s Everyday Saver for coupons on some of the main ingredients in many of these recipes.

    To get you baking some of these yummy recipes, you can enter to win a $25 Walmart Gift card Here

    *The gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Walmart and General Mills, through MyBlogSpark.  I was compensated with a gift card to try out the products. All opinions are my own!
  • Foodie Friday – Freezer Meals and a Giveaway!

    Foodie Friday – Freezer Meals and a Giveaway!

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    Have you ever put together some Freezer Meals?  For years I’ve heard of freezer meals, and I always wanted to try them out, but I had no idea where to start. I had questions like “At what point in the cooking do I freeze it?” and “Do I cook it longer or let it thaw before cooking?”. 
    Back when I had just Princess V and Princess C, I decided I wanted to try my hand at this freezing idea. So I started with dinner rolls. I actually completely figured them out on my own, and was very successful with my first try.
    And then I stopped. Actual dinners just sounded too difficult to put together, and I really didn’t mind being in the kitchen (I still don’t!).  Jump to today though, and I’ve now got Princess R running around my feet, and Baby Prince getting ready to make his appearance. I decided it was time to stop slacking, and get some food put together so we wouldn’t rely on pizza every night that I don’t have the energy or desire to cook.
    Let me tell you, it has been fun!!  I have been putting stuff in the freezer all week, and I’m running out of room.  A deep freezer would be so nice, except trying to figure out where to put it. So I make do with my little above the refrigerator freezer.  I started with cinnamon rolls, because really, cereal gets old, and warm cinnamon rolls are OH so good!  Then I jumped to some Chicken Tortilla Soup and Chicken Pot Pie. Tonight I made a double batch of lasagna and froze one. Tomorrow I plan on getting some bean burritos in there (they should fit!).
    Freezing Dinner Rolls
    (cinnamon rolls and any other bread will be the same process)
    Choose your favorite dinner roll recipe. Follow the instructions up to shaping the rolls. Normally you will shape your rolls and let them rise before cooking. DO NOT LET THEM RISE! Once you shape the rolls place them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer.  After they’ve frozen sufficiently (2-3 hours), remove them from the baking sheet and put in gallon freezer bags. By freezing separately before the bags, the rolls should not stick together.
    When you’re ready to bake the rolls remove from the freezer. Let them thaw and rise until double in size. Bake according to original direction.
    Freezing Soup
    Make your desired soup according to directions. Leave off any garnishes, or items that could go soggy (in my case, the tortilla chips).  Cool it down in the freezer and then pour into freezer containers – gallon bags work, or air tight Tupperware.
    When ready to eat, remove from freezer, dump into a pan and reheat.
    Freezing Casseroles
    This is similar to the soups. Mix up your casserole according to directions, but do not bake! Once the casserole is assembled, cover with foil, or lid if you have one for your dish (ha, I just realized I put foil on my lasagna, but I have a lid for that pan!).  Place in freezer.
    When ready to cook, heat through. I would use the same temperature the recipe calls for, but it will need extra time to heat all the way through.
    Now you know the secrets to Freezer Meals! It all seems pretty straight forward, but if you’re anything like me, it seems pretty daunting that first time going at it.  Don’t be afraid, and ask questions! There’s a lot of info online too!
    Giveaway Time!
    Link up your recipes on the linky and you will have the chance to win a $25 Walmart gift card. Please make sure to use a valid email when adding your link so we can contact you!  The winner will be announced next Friday!
    *Gift card provided by General Mills and Walmart through My Blog Spark

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  • Menu Plan Monday

    Menu Plan Monday

    It’s another Menu Plan Monday. I’m attempting to clean out the fridge, freezer and pantry this week, to make room for some freezer meals in the budget and in the freezer!
    Wednesday – Chimichungas’s and Taquita’s
    Thursday – Lasagna (plus 1 for the freezer)
    Friday – Baked Potato Bar
    Saturday – BLT Pasta Salad
    Sunday – Leftovers
  • Menu Plan Monday 3/5

    Menu Plan Monday 3/5

    Last week when I went shopping, pork was discounted, so I grabbed a couple packages of it. Since I already had our plan for the week though, it’s been freezing just waiting for some yummy dishes like this Pork with Strawberry balsamic sauce. I think the Princesses will just love the strawberry addition!

    Monday – Meatloaf and steamed carrots
    Tuesday – Potstickers and Fried Rice
    Wednesday – Birthday Dinner for Relief Society. Mac and Cheese for kids and Mark
    Thursday – Chicken Nuggets
    Friday – Pork with Strawberry Balsamic sauce
    Saturday – leftovers
    Sunday – Crockpot Orange Chicken

  • Menu Plan 2/27

    Menu Plan 2/27

    Monday – Hamburger Helper and Salad
    Tuesday – Hashbrown Stacks
    Wednesday – Butternut Squash Soup
    Thursday – Meatloaf
    Friday – Cousins birthday party (not sure about dinner, we may go out to eat)
    Saturday – Girls at my parents. I’m taking Mark to Cafe Rio for his birthday.
    Sunday – Leftovers

    I’ve got a couple ideas for Mark’s birthday cake, but I’m not sure which one to do.  (Hey Mark, what do you want?!). Normally I always make him a carrot cake. It’s his favorite. But with the invention of Pinterest, well, I’ve come across these twists.

    Carrot Cake Cheesecake

    Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Muffins

    Despicable Me Cupcakes (No carrot cake involved, but I know he’d like them!)

  • Foodie Friday – Hot Chocolate

    Welcome to Foodie Friday! Hosted by Home Maid Simple and Simple Living With Diane Balch.
    Each week we will be bringing you tried and true recipes from our home to yours.   We’d love for you to join in the Foodie fun and link up your recipes below.

    I love hot chocolate. I always have. Something about it just warms me up – and not just the fact that it’s hot. It can take a hard day and turn it around for me.  But I am picky. I’m not one for those flavored hot chocolates.  We were at IHOP last week for Princess C’s birthday dinner, and I ordered one of their new caramel hot chocolates. I thought, caramel and hot chocolate would be perfect together, but I didn’t much care for it. Mark thoroughly enjoyed it though. I’ve decided it’s really just a taste preference. I prefer my hot chocolate to be thick and creamy.

    Well, I’ve been stumbling across a bunch of hot chocolates on pinterest lately.  Even though our winter has been more like spring this year, I still wanted some good old hot cocoa to chase away the dreary undecided weather (seriously, it needs to make up it’s mind!).  So today I hit up the local grocery store for some chocolate chips and made this fabulous Crock Pot Hot Chocolate from Real Mom Kitchen.

    Crock Pot Hot Chocolate
    1 1/2 cups heavy cream
    1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed cream
    2 cups milk chocolate chips
    6 cups milk  – I used both whole and 2%
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    Directions
    Put all the ingredients in a crock pot. Turn on low for 2 hours. Whisk every 30 minutes (or whenever you remember).  Enjoy! 
    Although this does make an excellent hot chocolate, and my kids loved it, I’m going to suggest using a bit less chocolate chips, or possibly try semi-sweet instead of milk chocolate. It was very thick and very chocolatey. Almost on the verge of feeling like I was drinking straight melted chocolate, but not quite. I’ll definitely be trying this again with my suggested alterations.
    This week I am also featuring Mrs Mordecai’s Meatless Nachos! Thanks for linking up last week! If you’re looking for a meatless meal, this is it! We had it for dinner this week, and we all ate it up. Just make sure you double the cheese sauce recipe. We could’ve used a bit more cheese for all the lentils we had, but I plan on using the lentils in some meatless burritos for another meal!
    If you have a recipe you’d like to share please add it to the linky list below. All we ask is that you follow these rules
    Instructions for Foodie Friday linky:
    1) Copy the html from this website’s button. It is posted on the left sidebar.
    2) Link to the recipe you want to add to Foodie Friday, not your homepage.
    3) Click on your next.
    4) Past your link and type in the name of the recipe not your name.
    5) choose how you want to download the photo

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  • Menu Monday

    Menu Monday

    I am excited for this weeks menu! I must be in a baking/cooking mood this week. Perhaps it’s because Valentines is over, and Princess C’s birthday is passed, but I feel like I have time this week!
    Monday: Pizza. Texas Chocolate Cake with leftover blackberry buttercream frosting.
    Tuesday: Hambuerger Helper
    Wednesday: Meatless Nachos
    Saturday: Church party
    Sunday: Cheese and Chicken Enchiladas
    
  • Menu Monday

    Menu Monday


    It’s going to be a fun week of baking over here! We started yesterday making some no-bakes, Mark’s favorite.  Mark even joined in the fun, and they were probably the best no-bake’s we’ve made in a long time.
    What are you cooking up this week?

    Monday – Spaghetti and Garlic Bread
    Tuesday – Hamburger Helper. Cocoa Creme Brulee for an “after kids are in bed” treat.
    Wednesday – Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Rolls
    Thursday – Princess C’s birthday. She has planned her menu for the day as follows
                Breakfast – pancakes
                Lunch – Mini Corn Dogs
                Dinner – Pizza
                And of course we’ll be having some cupcakes as well!
    Friday – Crock Pot Fried Rice
    Saturday – Leftovers
    Sunday – Broccoli Cheddar Soup in bread bowls

    For Princess C’s birthday we’re having a morning play date. I’ve got a couple cupcake ideas, I just haven’t decided which to make yet.

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    What’s on your menu this week?
    Did you eat anything fabulous last week? If so, I’d love for you to share on our Foodie Friday linky.
    Tuesday – Bacon Cheddar Bites
    Wednesday – Hamburger Helper
    Saturday – Leftovers
    Sunday – Pasta
  • Menu Plan Monday 1/30

    Menu Plan Monday 1/30

    With our brand new pantry, I’ve been surprised to find a lot of ingredients I didn’t know I had! It’s so nice to be able to see all my food. So this week, I’m cleaning out the ingredients, and keeping our grocery budget on the low!

    Monday – Chicken Bacon Guacamole Quesadilla’s

    Tuesday – White Bean Soup with Garlic
    Wednesday –  Santa Fe Chicken Salad
    Thursday – Family Dinner at my parents
    Friday – Dinner out. We’re going on vacation!
    Saturday – Up in the air. It’s either dinner out, or stopping by my parents on our way home.
    Sunday – Pasta

    What are you dining on this week?  Please come back Friday for our new Foodie Friday link up to add any recipes you’ve tried!