Smore Sandwiches

I decided to treat the kids to a yummy lunch today...Smore Sandwiches! They loved them, and it made the house smell like cookies. :)

Whole Grain Bread

All Natural Peanut Butter, Mini Marshmallows, & Chocolate Chips

Cook under the broiler for 2 minutes...being carefully not to burn!

Perfect Browning on the Marshmallows!

Gooey Goodness...

And now for the test...

A bit messy...

That's a "Mmmm!"...Kid Approved!

Enjoy your Saturday~Heather

Homemade Soft Pretzels....with a Twist!

  Alexis our oldest is always begging to bake something. We have this book called "The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions 2" by John E. & Danita Thomas, that grandma sent them. Long story short...Alexis was begging last week to make these "Crazy Pretzels" and I caved and let her have at it. I figured it would be a good way for her to incorporate some math into her day (besides school work) and most importantly the ability to follow directions! And boy oh boy am I glad she did! These are sooo good. Now this could be the pregnancy talking/tasting, but they just hit the spot when you need a little snack....or the entire batch...it's up to you. If I were you I'd share, but be prepared to make a double batch to make them last! Although if you have a "normal" size family, aren't into devouring an entire tray, or have self control, it might be safe for you to just tackle the single batch. ;) 

 They are super simple...my favorite! Here's how it goes...you ready? There are 6 ingredients. Do you think you can handle it? :) 

1 Package Yeast, 1 Tbsp. Sugar, 1 1/2 cups Warm Water, 4 cups Flour, 1 tsp. Salt, 1 Egg, beaten

(The rest is below in the bottom picture)

The girls watching the yeast proof...

Kneading the dough...

My dough snatchers...

Beautiful baby soft ball of dough...

I used a heart shaped cookie cutter for my "Crazy Pretzel" shape...Brushing it with egg gives it the nice golden look...otherwise they look a little anemic...

Here is the end result...Notice Ty's race car w/ driver...Alexis' flounder fish...Addie's number 3...Gabe's pretzel knot...

*Dip them in good old American mustard while they are still soft & warm and you've got yourself one delicious snack!

Recipe for "Crazy Pretzels"... (click to enlarge photo)

  We've made these 4x's in the last week. It makes a great snack to take with to all the baseball games. Now I know some of you cringed at the fact that I say "dip it in mustard," but it really is a lot healthier than cheese and gives it a nice kick. You can also sprinkle some Kosher salt on top before you bake. 

Hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

Marinated Flank Steak

  This is my mom's Marinated Flank Steak recipe. SO good! I'm not the biggest fan of beef (unless it's in a hamburger smothered in sauce and toppings, or wrapped in bacon a.k.a. Filet Mignon), but this is absolutely one of my favorite meat dishes hands down, ever...well I guess it could be tied with Baby Back Ribs smothered in BBQ sauce, but you get the idea. I was wondering if I should share it, because if you come to our home for dinner, this is probably what I'll serve you.  :) But, in the good fashion of sharing (our mothers always told us to) I will.

Flank Steak Marinade

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp sliced green onion
1 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
3 tsp sesame seeds

*Grab a mixing bowl, gallon size Ziploc freezer bag, and your ingredients.
-Put the Ziploc inside the mixing bowl (this holds your baggie in place while you add the ingredients.)
-Add all ingredients, zip, and shake. Making sure all brown sugar is dissolved.
*At this point, you'll need your flank steak. Cut the steak into 3 even pieces (this allows the marinade to really get into all the meat evenly.) 
-Then zip, and freeze. Freezing is super important...the meat seems to suck the marinade into itself when frozen, and you get so much more flavor then if you were to just marinade in the fridge overnight.

  Super easy and packed with tons of flavor! The meat is tender and you don't even need a steak knife to cut it...unless you are me and forgot to cut against the grain once. Makes for some tough meat! And when you are spending the price of flank steak, you don't want to screw it up. I also serve this with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Garlic Green Beans. Yes, we love garlic in this home.

 You'll want to BBQ the steak on medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side, depending on how done you like it. This will give you medium, still pink meat, preferred by most. I like mine dead...no pink...at all. So Bob leaves one section on for a bit longer just for me. :) The only area I'm really high maintenance in would be how my meat is cooked and the food I eat (I'm just picky)...give me some slack! lol

 

 

  Yummy Garlic Mashed Potatoes...sorry I don't have a pick of the green beans, but they are heavenly!! Put a little butter and olive oil in the bottom of a pan throw in fresh French Green Beans (get them at Costco) add minced garlic (tons of it) and kosher salt. You want to cook them fast and on high heat so they don't get soggy. The garlic browns a bit and gets kind of caramelized. This is the only way I can eat green beans. They still have their crispness and are infused with tons of flavor. Heavenly I tell you!

  Now that it's getting to be BBQ season, try it out! You won't be disappointed. At least I don't think you would be! ;)

Enjoy~ Heather

Pizza

  Our family LOVES pizza. It's one of those foods that could be eaten here morning, noon, and night. I don't know what it is about this food, but we just can't seem to get enough! 

  Our favorite is BBQ Chicken Pizza. We use Pioneer Woman's recipe. Although, I do not use the hunk of Mozzarella (it's too expensive at our stores), I just buy the shredded package of Mozzarella or the block depending on which is less expensive. We love using "Sweet Baby Ray's" BBQ sauce. It's the best and you can get it in bulk at Costco! ;) Cilantro is used as a topping once it's out of the oven, and some might think "really?" such as my dear husband, but it makes the pizza! Even he agreed after trying it (we are very daring when it comes to trying new things!lol) 

  I did however come across this recipe for pizza crust that is amazing from the Mad Hungry Blog. It's Lucinda's Basic Pizza Dough. It really truly taste like restaurant pizza crust. 

  Now, I haven't used it with the BBQ Chicken Pizza yet, but I think next time I make it, I'll be trying it. Pioneer Woman's Basic Pizza Dough is more my style though. It only takes about 5 min. to prepare and I only have to wait 1 hr while it chills in the fridge before I can roll it out. I'm always running out of time...so this is the perfect recipe for me. Lucinda's Basic Pizza Dough takes at least 3 hrs to rise or overnight in the fridge. But, the wait is well worth it.

  I'm telling you, "You won't be disappointed if you try it!" Yum, it makes me hungry just thinking about it. :)

Tea

Have you all been healthy these last few months? 'Cause these last few weeks a bug has held on strong to my sinuses and throat. Not very good timing with all the fun festivities...Christmas...New Years...and all the cleaning up that goes along with them. 

 This has been my recipe for survival!

"Constant Comment" Decaffeinated tea...with oranges and sweet spices. I add it to a mug of steaming water and a little honey. So sweet and soothing! Ahhh...can you hear the sigh?! :) Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE sweets. This tea is sweet enough to not add sugar. Yes, I know honey is just like sugar, but in a good way, not the white refined sugary, bad kind of sugar, that I usually would add by the spoonful...Gasp...I know that's bad, but I can't help myself! :) 

I think I can add this to my "favorites" list for sure! What are some of your soothing cold tricks? I'm not a big fan of medicating...so I'd love to know your helpful secrets!

Baby Food

After a conversation with the ladies at the park yesterday I was inspired to make something "homemade", and I decided...baby food. You can't really go wrong, right?! Also, my camera battery died so I couldn't take pics, but as soon as it's charged I'll make more and post. :)

*BAKED APPLES

-2 Apples, cored
-A pat of Butter for each
-Cinnamon

*Core your apples, then put your pat of butter in the opening, sprinkle with some cinnamon. Place in a pan (I used a loaf pan) fill with about an inch or two of water. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until soft (I turned them over half way through cooking).

*Once cooked, slice into chunks and place in a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds, look at the consistency and add a spoon full or two of left over water through the top of processor. Continue until desired consistency is met. Spoon into a muffin tin and place in freezer. Let it freeze overnight until frozen. On a sheet pan, fill with an inch or so of hot water, place muffin tin on it and wait a minute then remove, and turned upside down and they should come out just like ice from an ice cube tray!

**I wrapped each "puck" in plastic wrap, then foil and labeled for the freezer. I hear they last for 1 month. Miss Shelby enjoys eating them frozen to relieve teething pains. The big kids tried them, and asked if I could make more and make them into Popsicles...sounds a little gross, but they assure me it's really good. :)

*CARROTS

-As many Carrots as you want to cook (I used 4 or 5 big ones)

*Wash and remove ends of carrots. Chop into one inch chunks. Place a few inches of water into a stock pot, add a steamer pan/basket over top, turn stove onto high, put a lid on. Once boiling, add carrots to steamer pan/basket. Allow to cook for about 10-15 minutes or until tender.

*Add cooked carrots to food processor. Pulse for a few seconds, look at the consistency and add a spoon full or two of left over water through the top of processor (I think I read that if your baby is under 7 months of age, you SHOULD NOT use the left over water! Something about NITRATES. Use breast milk, or fresh water instead). Continue until desired consistency is met. Spoon into a muffin tin and place in freezer. Let it freeze overnight until frozen. On a sheet pan, fill with an inch or so of hot water, place muffin tin on it and wait a minute then remove, and turned upside down and they should come out just like ice from an ice cube tray!

**I wrapped each "puck" in plastic wrap, then foil and labeled for the freezer. I hear they last for 1 month.

Super simple and super healthy for you wee one!

Raspberry Parfait

We tried this one for breakfast last week, and Loved it! I honestly didn't think that I would, but it was really good. It was a little tart, so if you try it, you might want to use sugared strawberries, and raisins, or something less sour than plain raspberries, and Craisins. You might also want to cut this recipe in half, unless you want extra.

Serves 8

Ingredients:
*1 cup of Crasins
*3 tsp. finely shredded orange peel (set aside)
*6 Tbsp. orange juice
*2 tsp. vanilla
*2 8oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
*3 Tbsp. raw cane sugar
*2 cups frozen raspberries (fresh when in season)
*2 cups homemade granola (I used the recipe from "Fix, Freeze, Feast" book)
*Honey
*Shredded orange peel (optional)

1. In a small bowl combine Craisins and orange juice. Cover and microwave for 45 seconds; let stand 1 minute to plump Craisins. Stir in vanilla; set aside.
2. In a mixer combine cream cheese and sugar; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in Craisin mixture and the 3 tsp. of orange peel.
3. In 6 tall glasses layer cream cheese mixture, granola, raspberries, and repeat layers. Drizzle with honey and top with additional orange peel.

*I made this big of a recipe so that I could have leftovers. Just put your cream cheese mixture into a sealed container and store in the fridge. It's quick and easy to put together in the morning. We used wine glasses for fun...it looked really pretty, and the kids thought it was a great treat!

Menu

This weeks menu so good that I had to post about it!

Monday-Chipotle Honey Tangerine Glazed Chicken
Tuesday- Ate out
Wednesday-Nacho Ordinary Taco Salad with Creamy Lime Cilantro Dressing
Thursday-Garlic, Lemon, and Herb Rubbed Chicken, with Grilled Flat Bread
Friday-Grilled Apple Brined Pork Chops, with Onion Straws, & Sweetie Pies
Saturday-Fried Chicken Rollups, with Guacamole

Seriously good food! If you want the recipes, comment and I'll email whichever one you want. I know they sound like a lot of work, but as long as you have an orange squeezer, it takes hardly any time for these meals. Chop and throw in baggies. I've been preparing them right after breakfast every morning so that all I have to do is pull them out of the fridge, and grill or fry. Truthfully the kids did most of the prep work! Alexis squeezed tangerines, Ty chopped all the herbs with my Pampered Chef chopper, Gabriel stirred everything and held the bags open for the food to be put in. Addie threw all our garbage away for us. It's been fun letting them do so much. So, I'm not lying about how easy these are! As long as you have a kid that can read, they can make at least 3 of these meals...with supervision of course. :) Plus they feel great for being allowed to do such "grown up" things! It's been a great week....

Meatball Sub Sandwiches

The Meatball Sub Sandwiches we made for dinner were so good, that I had to share! Now I didn't measure anything (I know you who love exact measurements are going to hate this, but guess on your tastes!).

Ingredients:
Meatballs:
2 lbs of hamburger meat
1 onion, diced
10 cloves garlic (about a handful), diced
salt
pepper
grated parmesan cheese (about a handful)
Italian seasoning (I used the Pampered Chef bottle that I had in the cupboard)
bread crumbs (about a handful)

olive oil for frying

*usually I'd put an egg or two in to keep it together, but I forgot when I was making them, and they turned out fine. I really should write down the recipe so I don't forget to put things in!

jar of spaghetti sauce
6 kaiser rolls mozzerella cheese
baking sheet

Directions:
1. Smash all the meatball ingredients into a pulp (or just until you think it's mixed in well).
2. Roll into whatever size meatballs you desire.
3. Heat skillet or pan on medium heat with the olive oil.
4. Cook the meatballs in batches. I like mine to be crispy, so just cook it until your liking.
5. Heat the spaghetti sauce in a sauce pan, and as the meatballs are finished put them on paper towels to remove the oil, then add to the sauce. Cover with a lid.
6. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
7. Cut kaiser rolls down the center (don't cut them all the way through, or you'll have meatballs in your lap!).
8. Add meatballs and sauce to the kaiser roll. As many meatballs as you want!
9. Add mozzerella cheese to the top.
10. Put on cookie sheet and place in oven for about 4-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. (you can broil these, but I always burn them because I forget to check them. I know you see a pattern, I forget a lot!) Broiling them does make them nice and crunchy on top!
11. Eat!

Freezer Manicotti

I have been toying with all these freezer recipes from "Fix, Freeze, Feast", and most I've tried have been really good. Tonight we tried the Manicotti. For our family of 6, I split this recipe in half. It left us with some leftovers for lunch tomorrow, which I like!

Manicotti

makes 4 entrees, 4 servings each

1 (48oz) container cottage cheese (6 cups) (I used ricotta)
2 eggs, lightly beaten 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (about 12 oz)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I used grated)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 (8oz) boxes manicotti (12-14 shells in each box), uncooked 12 cups
Basic Red Sauce (recipe below)

Four 8 inch square baking dishes (I used a 9x13 pan for my half recipe)
Plastic Wrap
Aluminum Foil

1. Mix cottage cheese (or ricotta), eggs, mozzarella, parmesan, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. With your fingers or a spoon, stuff filling into manicotti shells.

2. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of each baking dish. Place six or seven manicotti in each dish. Divide remaining red sauce evenly over the four dishes of manicotti. Wrap each dish entirely in plastic wrap.

3. Top with foil, label, and freeze.

To cook one entree:
1. Thaw one entree in the fridge or bake it straight from the freezer.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Remove plastic wrap and foil from baking dish and replace foil. Bake for 45 min. if thawed, 1 hour if frozen (frozen, mine took 2 hours with the 9x13 pan). Remove foil and continue baking the noodles until tender.

Basic Red Sauce: Small Batch

makes about 10 cups (leftover, I had one 1 quart bag to freeze)

1 (12oz) can tomato paste
2 cups hot water
2 Tbsp dried parsley
2 Tbsp minced onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp sugar (I used raw cane sugar)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1 (28oz) can tomato sauce
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes

Several 1 quart freezer bags

1. Mix tomato paste and hot water in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in parsley, onion, garlic, sugar, salt, basil, oregano, and thyme.
2. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes; mix well. Do not cook.
3. Measure sauce into appropriate portions for immediate use. Divide remaining sauce evenly among 1 quart freezer bags for later use.
4. Seal and label each bag with the amount of sauce inside. Freeze.

To Enjoy:
1. Completely thaw one bag in the fridge.
2. Use in a recipe calling for tomato sauce, or simmer in a saucepan over med-low heat for 20 min. and pour over your favorite pasta.
3. To use in a meat sauce, brown and drain 1 lb lean ground beef for every 8 cups of sauce; add cooked beef to sauve and gently reheat.

Next Week's Menu

Hello Again :}

It took me an hour this afternoon to plan and write out my grocery list for this next week (the kids were making a disaster of the kitchen floor with playdoh, but it gave me the time to "plan").

I have found that by planning my menu's I actually save a lot of money. My grocery list always looks awfully long, but I seem to spend less then I would by "flying by the seat of my pants!" We are huge snackers at our house, so it is hard to not have tons of snacks awaiting our hungry hands, but that's where it starts to get spendy! This way, it allows us to actually have a good dinner almost every evening, and possibly get healthier in the process.


Monday
Breakfast-Eggs w/ Toast (maybe bacon if I'm in the mood to actually cook!)
Lunch-Hot Dogs & Apples
Dinner- *Chipotle Pork Quesadillas

Tuesday

Breakfast-French Toast & Fruit
Lunch-Turkey & Provolone Cheese Sandwiches & Chips
Dinner- *Panda Express' Bejing Beef

Wednesday

Breakfast-Cereal & Yogurt
Lunch-English Muffin Pizzas & Grapes
Dinner- *Chicken Pot Pie with Mashed Potato Top

Thursday

Breakfast-Eggs & Yogurt
Lunch-Taco Salads
Dinner- *Island Bird: Pineapple Rum Chicken

Friday

Breakfast-Cereal & Toast
Lunch-Turkey & Provolone Sandwiches & Fruit
Dinner- *Eat out! (I have my ultrasound at 4:45pm, so once that is over, we will most likely eat out)

If anyone would like any of these recipes email me (messybunch@gmail.com), or leave a comment below! I just don't feel like typing out or scanning in all the recipes right now:-)

The Best Window Cleaner

So, this morning I have my list of chores to do. The first is to clean all mirrors, and windows. The problem was that I had run out of Windex! I have been putting this chore off for a few weeks (gross I know). I kept forgetting to buy it at the store, these days food is more important to me:-)

Anyways, I decided to look up a natural cleaning solution. I then found a recipe for water, vinegar, and dish soap. I looked in my cupboards, and yes, I had all of those. Well I guess I just looked for the vinegar, the others you obviously don't find in the cupboard! I had the exact amount of vinegar to make this recipe (let's hope I can remember to buy the vinegar next time I'm at the store!) This recipe for window cleaner is a bit different. Most of you probably already use this, and I'm the one behind on this one, but for those of us who have always used the "toxic" stuff this recipe works great. I put a pump of my foam dish soap in the spray bottle to cut the film that the Windex left from all the other window cleanings. It worked great! It's twice as fast to clean em, because you can wipe, then let it dry by itself. I came back to the windows hoping tt the watery look would disappear without a trace of streaks, and it did. They are now all sparkling clean. Such a good feeling, wouldn't you say???

Here is the recipe:

1/4 cup of vinegar

2 cups of water

One pump of foam dish soap (you could probably use one pump of regular, but I don't know how it will turn out, so don't get mad if it doesn't work!)

The best benefit besides being a lot healthier for you, is that it costs like $.25 to make it, instead of the $3.99 the bottle of cleaner costs! Win win in either case if you ask me:-)

Warning: Only Eat Once A Season!!!

Seriously, you can't eat this more than a couple times a year! You will need a cardiologist for your clogged arteries. Bob swears every time he eats it, he feels his heart slow down!

But, it is ohh so goood! Perfect for cold weather days. We eat this every "Harvest Night" in October.

I thought I would post my Baked Potato Soup recipe, for those of you who have asked for it, and I have never followed through with giving it to you. This is Addie's favorite meal, and mine too.

ingredients: serves about 10 adults?
or in our case, 5 adults, and 4 kids, with a couple bowls left over!

*10 lbs of baking potatoes- baked until soft, cool, then remove skin, and chunk into pieces
*1 lb of bacon, cooked until crispy, then chopped up into bite size pieces, topping for soup
(keep about 1-2 Tbs of bacon grease to saute onions, and garlic, i like to keep the little bits of bacon left in the pan too!)
*2 medium sized onions, diced
*4 garlic cloves, diced
*1/3 stick of butter
*4 Tbs of flour
*1 or 2 Tbs of dried basil
*salt
*pepper
*4- 14 oz cans of chicken broth
*quart of half & half
*sour cream
*4 cups of cheese
*green onions, for topping soup when finished


to make:

Saute onions, and garlic, in butter, and bacon grease on medium heat, for 2-3 minutes until translucent, but not soggy. Add, flour, basil, salt, and pepper, to onions, and garlic, stir for 2 minutes. (you might have to add more flour depending on how much moisture the onions have) Then add, chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Turn heat down to medium low, and add potatoes. Do not let them boil! Once potatoes are incorporated, add the half & half, and stir. Then add, cheese, a spoonful of sour cream, and let it heat up on med. low heat.

*At this point you can add any toppings you like. My family likes the sour cream, green onions, and bacon. But, I'm sure you could come up with your own spin on it:) I add these toppings to each individual bowl, just because, I don't like soggy bacon. And if you have left overs, it will get soggy in the soup. Believe me you want left overs! It just gets better with time;)