Dinner Salad

Last night I made THE dinner salad.

In a really big bowl put:

(All chopped fine)
Lettuce
1 tart apple
chicken breast
bacon

A handful of:
dried cranberries
pecans
feta cheese

Pour over this some poppy seed dressing.

Toss to coat and let set for about 15 minutes.

Serve & enjoy!

Salad, beautiful salad...

Garden: lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, pea pods, radishes
Mexican: lettuce, tortillia strips (or chips), taco meat, beans, cheese, tomato
Asian: lettuce, chinese crunchy noodles, mandarin oranges, cabbage, shredded carrot
Dinner or meal:
-Pineapple salad- lettuce, red onion, grilled chicken, grilled pineapple
-Fried- breaded chicken strips & any toppings
-Cob- lettuce, diced ham, chopped boiled egg, & any other toppings
Those are just a few. Get creative & enjoy those salads!

Healthier Chicken Nuggets or Strips

Most of us enjoy chicken nuggets until we started hearing here & there about what "bad" things are in them. Then we watched a show called "Kill it, Cook it, Eat it." Well after seeing all the "junk" we have all given those babies up!
Of course, there is a healthier way to make something similar and much tastier too!

Homemade chicken nuggets/strips

Take some boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Cut them into nuggets or strips.

In a bowl mash up cornflakes OR rice krispies OR use bread crumbs.
Add a little onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, & basil.
OR (another OR) just use shake & bake like my mama does. They're good.

Roll the chicken around until covered.

Put on a sprayed cookie sheet. Then spray the top of the chicken with the spray. (Get one of those misters you can put coconut or olive oil in)

Put in oven on 350 for about 30 minutes or until done.

YUMMY!

*In case you're wondering why I have so very many "or's," it's because I use what I have on hand for many recipes & it almost always turns out fine. No need to run to the store for bread crumbs when you have crackers, etc.

Easy Southern Supper

Purple Hull Peas with Ham

3 cups fresh or frozen purple hull peas
1/2 lb ham chopped in little chunks
1/2 small onion (chopped in little chunks)
1 tsp. cajun seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 cups water

Put all in crockpot. Set to low and let cook for about 6-7 hours. Serve over rice & with a big hunk of cornbread on the side!

1,2,3, Easy & Delicious Chicken Dinner

#1-Place some chicken in crockpot (bone in or out). Pour on a can of cream of chicken soup. Then sprinkle on some cajun seasoning (we use Tony's). Cover and cook for about 7 hours.
#2-When almost done, make some noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice to smother with the delicious gravy that this will make in the crockpot.
#3-Open a can of veggies and viola!

Meatball subs

Oven Meatball subs:

1lb ground beef or pork
1/2 cup oats
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder

Also need 1 jar spaghetti sauce, hotdog buns, & motzarella cheese.

Mix all in bowl. Place meatballs in a 9x13 casserole dish. Put in oven at 350* for about 30-40 minutes or until done.
Then pour on a jar of red pasta/spaghetti sauce.
Put back in oven for about 10 minutes or until bubbly.
Slice meatballs in half (or if you make smaller ones leave them whole). Lay on a hotdog bun & sprinkle with motzarella cheese.
Delish!
**As with almost all my recipes feel free to replace some ingredients with what you have. Use fresh garlic, spices, or onions. Use breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs in place of oats. Use cheddar cheese, or no cheese, whatever! lol This is just what we had tonight.

Barley & Stuffed Bell Pepper Recipe

Do you eat barley? I have to admit this grain is one that used to rarely be seen on our menu. Did you know there is such a thing as quick barley? So maybe not as totally healthy as the regular stuff, but it's still good for you. Fiber is one of the main things that our bodies are usually missing. When you don't get much fiber things tend to not "move" as well through our bodies. So we are trying to add much more whole grains to our diets.

So how to use barley? My favorite way is in soups. Add some into vegetable soup, beef soup, chicken soup, also you can use barley in place of rice in some recipes for a change.

The other night we had stuffed bell peppers made with barley where I would normally have used rice. No one ever said anything. They just ate them & even my daughter who normally doesn't care for that ate it!

Here's the simple recipe.

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Barley

4 bell peppers
1 cup cooked barley
1/2 lb ground pork (or beef)
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. chopped garlic
salt & pepper
1 pt. canned tomato sauce (or tomato soup)

Wash, seed, & cut bell peppers in half legnth wise. (to make 8 little pepper bowls)
Set in a casserole dish.
In a bowl mix meat, onion powder, basil, garlic, salt, & pepper.
Then stuff a handful into the pepper.
Pour sauce on top.
Add about 1 cup water to the pan to soften the peppers & so they won't stick.
Bake in 350 oven for about 45 minutes or until meat is done.

Roast Beef Sandwiches

We've all got good recipes for roast beef but here's another one. I made this tonight for supper. We shredded it up and served it on toasted hogie rolls with a bit of au jou (or broth) for dipping. YUMMO!

Roast Beef for Sandwiches
1 beef roast
1 bunch green onions
2 cups beef stock
1 cup water
1 tsp. browning sauce
1 tsp. onion powder

Saute onions in skillet for just a couple of minutes. Place in crockpot. Then brown roast on all sides in the same skillet. Put this in crockpot. Pour on the water, broth, browning sauce, & onion powder. Put on the lid & cook for about 6 hours on high.
When done, shred a bit with a fork. Put on toasted hogie rolls with a dab of mayo & horseradish (ohh I love horseradish) Serve a little bit of sauce in a dish for dipping.

Homemade Granola Cereal

6 c. quick oats
1/2 c. whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)
1 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. powdered milk
2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. kosher salt

Mix all of this well in a big bowl.

Then in a small pot put:

1/2 c. canola oil
1/3 c. honey
1/3 c. molasses
1 T. vanilla

Do not boil. Just heat until it will pour easily.

Pour this over your oat mixture. Mix well with a big spoon until it's all covered & turned light brown.

Then put on 2 sprayed cookie sheets. Place in oven at 300* for about 30 minutes. Stir after about every 10 minutes. Watch it because it will burn if you're not careful.

Allow to cool completely. Then you can add dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, or blueberries. Also some sliced almonds are good to mix in too.

I store it in a tupperware type container or a big bowl with a tight-fitting lid.

Enjoy just as you would other cold cereals in a bowl with some milk!

Crockpot soup (Semi-homemade)

Potato ham chowder

1 box scallop potatoes
1 can ham
4 cups chicken broth
3 green onions
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups milk
1/3 cup flour

Place potatoes, sauce packet, ham, broth, onions, & pepper in crockpot. Turn on high. Allow to cook for about 3 hours. Then place the milk & flour into a jar. Shake well to get out all lumps. When potatoes are tender pour this in and stir. Allow to cook for about another 20-30 minutes. Serve.

This was really good! I'm adding it to my recipe binder as an easy meal to have on hand.

Deals this week...CARROTS

It's not advertised, but Super 1 has 5lb bags of whole carrots for $2.50 so that's .50 lb. Anyhow, here's what I did...
1. Bought some carrots.
2. Peel, wash, & slice them into rounds.
3. Blanch in salted water for 3-5 minutes.
4. Allow to dry a little on a clean towel.
5. Place into freezer bags & freeze.
Use just as you would any other frozen carrots but feel happy that you spent way less!
Don't foget that carrots are good for your eyes...Did you ever see a rabbit wearing glasses???

Plain old pintos

Here is a favorite dish around here that's cheap & easy. You can cook these on the stovetop, crockpot, or pressure cooker. The ingredients are the same the time only changes by the desired way of cooking.

1/2 cup of pintos per person
3x the amount of water
(so for our family I put 2 cups beans, 6 cups water)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder or a couple fresh cloves
1 tsp basil

Put all in pot and allow to cook until tender. For pressure cooker this will take about 35 minutes at 15lbs pressure.

I usually double or triple this recipe when I make it. Freeze left overs for refried beans, bean soup, or anything you would use pintos in.

For our meal last night we had a bowl of beans with a few jalapeno slices mixed in and a tad of the pepper juice. Along side we had warm corn tortillias with butter. A big slice of cornbread & rice is good with this too!

Canned fruit dessert

Ok so I've been using up some of the things in my pantry & I've vowed not to shop this next week. Tonight we are having hamburgers on homemade buns, sweet potato fries & pineapple peach dessert.

Canned or frozen fruit dessert

I made this one up and used a cobbler type top.

Today I used abou 2 cups frozen peach slices & 1 can crushed pineapple.

Take 2 cans of fruit or about 4 cups frozen. Put them in a pan with a little cinnamon & 1/2 cup sugar. (if your fruit has syrup then only put 1/4 cup sugar or none at all depending how sweet you like things. So put this in a pan and bring to a boil.
While waiting on this to boil, mix up 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, & 2 tsp baking powder. Mix together and then pour in 3/4 cup milk. Mix until smooth.
Now, grease a 9x13 pan with some butter. Pour in the fruit. Then pour the batter over the top. Bake for about 40 minutes. Then sprinkle with some cinnamon & sugar. Put back in the oven for a few minutes until set & golden.

Locally Grown Sweet Potatoes

We went to the local produce stand and bought 2 big boxes of sweet potatoes yesterday. One was a box of nice pretty medium sized potatoes for $15. The other was a box of "culls" for $5. When I got home I went through the culls box. Peeled, washed, and canned 13 quarts.

I'd never done this before so I looked on the internet and tried 2 different ways.
The first I just cut up the raw potatoes into chunks and placed them in the jar. Added 1/2 tsp of kosher salt and then filled with boiling water. Put into the pressure canner at 11lbs for 90 minutes....yes it was a long one! This is also how I can regular potatoes.

The second I cut them up in chunks and boiled them for about 5 minutes. Then placed into the jars with 1/2 tsp salt & 1 tsp lemon juice. Filled with boiling water & again pressure canned at 11lbs for 90 minutes.

Here were the results of my canning. Anyone want to know what one looks pretty & what one looks blurry?


The uncooked, salt & water only are to your left. The cooked ones with the lemon juice all look blurry. Of course they are perfectly fine but I think I'll stick with method #1 when I do it again.

So I paid $5 for the box. Ended up with 13 qts. and enough to make about 4 more. So lets say 17 qts. I had the salt & lemon juice (which I won't use again) So let's add the salt in to the price...So I'll be generous and say .30 for that. I already had the jars & seals but you always need new seals so let's add $1.50 for those. I really don't know how much propane it took to cook them so let's add in one more $1. Total would be $7.80.
So per jar would come to: .46 per jar. Not bad when last I checked Wal-Mart was selling their cans for $2.50 each!

Pulled pork sandwiches

1 pork roast
1 can root beer
1 bottle bbq sauce

Place all in crockpot. Cook on high for about 6 hours. Remove roast to a platter. Shred or pull meat with a fork, removing fat & bone. Place meat back into the crockpot & set on warm or low until ready to serve on some homemade rolls.
Delicious!

~Then go treat your favorite dog with the fat & bone!

Pancakes

Yesterday for breakfast I made up a batch of banana pancakes...yumm-O!

See the little green molds? My mom sent these. Aren't they cute?

Banana Pancakes

2 cups flour (wheat or white)

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups milk

1/4 cup oil or melted butter

2 eggs

Combine all in a blender or wisk in a big bowl. Fry on hot griddle or skillet.

Hi Honey

Around here I've switched to using honey in most recipes in place of sugar. But honey is too expensive you may say...I say nope. It may be bee's liquid gold, but I've found a person nearby that sells 2 pints for $10. I use honey in bread baking, to sweeten tea, & in some baked goods.

We also use it as a cough supressent & throat soother.

Just brew a cup of tea...green, camomile, or regular. Then add in a good spoonful of honey and a squeeze of lemon juice. Sip.

If you're looking for some infomation on honey try here: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/

Green Hot Pepper Sauce

6 or so tomatillos, papers removed & washed

3 jalapeno peppers (depends on heat you like), cut off stems & wash

1 big white or yellow onion

Juice of 1 lime

salt

In a cast iron skillet put just a dab of oil. Get skillet hot & then add the peppers, tomatillos, & onion. Allow to char a little. -Where it will turn brown but not burned. This will take no more than 3-5 minutes.

Then blend all together with the lime juice & about 1/2 tsp salt. Taste & you may need to add a tad more salt or lime.

Serve with chips, on tacos, or whatever needs a little heat!

Enchilada Sauce

Upon request I'd love to share my enchilada sauce recipe, but I really don't have an exact one.
What I did is wash & core my garden tomatoes. Then put them into the blender in batches & blended them up very well. I also blend up an onion or two & a couple of jalapeno peppers. Next poured it all into my big stockpot. Then added the following spices:
oregano
basil
chili powder
cumin
garlic powder (or fresh chopped garlic)
salt
pepper

It really just depends on what your tastes are. I used about 3 tablespoons of the spices (except the salt & pepper)

Let this simmer for at least an hour. Taste it & if it's desired, put in jars & pressure can.

Basic Beef Enchiladas

1 lb ground meat
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cups shredded monteray jack or cheddar or mixed
1 jar homemade enchilada sauce
corn tortillias

Brown meat & onion in a skillet. Drain off any fat.
Heat enchilada sauce in a pan.
Dip corn tortillia in sauce to coat (do it fast as the tortillias will break easily)
Then place in a greased 9x13 casserole dish.
Put in a little meat & then some cheese. Roll up or just fold in half.
Continue until pan is full.
Pour extra sauce over all.
Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes until all is bubbly & melted.
*Optional- when done drizzle with a little mexican creama...oh so good!

My Banana Cream Pie

Now I know there are very complicated recipes out there for banana cream pie, but I'm not the complicated type. You can buy all of the ingredients ready made or if you chose to make everything from scratch then good for you. It just depends the mood I'm in...

Here is the quick version:

1 graham cracker crust

1 box banana OR vanilla flavored instant pudding

1 2/3 cups whole milk

2 bananas

1 container cool whip

Wisk up pudding mix with milk for about 2 minutes. Pour into crust. Slice bananas over that. Top with cool whip. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Easy as pie!