Cinnamon Quesadillas

These are a quick treat my kids LOVE. The kids named them last night when I made them after dinner. Cut up tortillas into strips. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry the strips in the oil. Turn with tongs until the strips are evenly browned. Lay them on a plate lined with a paper towel. Dab off the grease. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the strips. Enjoy!

ETA: Yes, I realize "quesadillas" mean with cheese...but my kids named them this so that's what they'll be... "Cinnamon Quesadillas"

Crunchy Sheet Cookies

These bar cookies are my hubby's very favorite cookies...so as a way to say "thank you" for the kitchen...I had to make them for him. :)
2 eggs
2/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ tsp salt
¾ tsp nutmeg
¾ tsp soda
2 cups oatmeal

Mix all ingredients together. Spread onto a large cookie sheet to within 1” of the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cut into squares immediately. Frost with a lemon frosting, if desired. (I just put about 2 cups of powdered sugar in a bowl and squeeze a fresh lemon into it. Mix and pour over the cookies)

No-Bake Cookies

One of our favorite treats :) They remind me of elementary school...I loved it when they served these for lunch. I remember all the kids lining up for seconds after everyone had gone through. You could buy an extra one for a quarter.

2 cups sugar
1 cube butter
2 TBL cocoa
½ cup milk

Mix and bring to a boil-stir-boil for one minute. Take off heat and add:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup coconut
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats

Stir well. Spoon onto waxed paper or cookie sheets and let set in the fridge. I usually double this recipe because they don't usually last long :)

Garlic Bread

We're back in our kitchen completely as of midnight!!!!!! Last night for dinner I actually was able to use my stove top so I made a very yummy Cheesy Veggie Chowder that I added about one cup of chopped ham to. I also made DELICIOUS garlic bread that I was craving more of all night!!! I didn't even get a picture because it was devoured so quickly.

I bought a loaf of French bread earlier that morning. I preheated the pan I was baking it on at 350 degrees for 10 minutes while I prepped the bread. I laid out a piece of foil, cut the bread in half, and made this mixture in a bowl: 1/2 cup margarine, 2 cloves of garlic pressed with my Pampered Chef garlic press, and about 1/2 tsp parsley. Mix together well and spread on top of each half of bread. I then sprinkled grated Parmesan Cheese on top. By this time, the pan was warm, so I switched the oven to Broil (high) and added the bread to the top of the pan with the foil under the bread. I broiled the bread for about 3 minutes. Checked it and broiled it for one more minute. PERFECT-O!!!!!! The kids ate more soup than they ever have because they had something yummy to dip in it. Give it a try :)

Menu

It's getting harder and harder to figure out what to make...here's what we've had the past few weeks:

26--Fried Chicken
27--Denny's (Kids eat FREE on Tuesday & Saturday nights)
28--Hamburgers & Hot dogs
29--Alfredo Pasta
30--BBQ Chicken w/ Corn on the Cob
1--Tostadas
2--$5 Pizza (kids had a babysitter)
3--Porkchops
4--Hurdsman Chicken
5--Tried to go out for mexican food...ended up at Hometown Buffet
6--Western Burgers
7--Spaghetti
8--Ate out for mexican food since we didn't get any on Cinco de Mayo
9--No cooking at home...we were very busy! :)
10--Turkey (yeah, for my roaster!)

As for the kitchen, we're on hold until the last cabinet arrives. (Hopefully by Friday it will arrive.) As soon as it's installed, the counter tops can be made (which take about 2 weeks) and the flooring can be installed. So...we'll be living like this for at least 3 more weeks. We'll make it!

How you know you're doing a kitchen remodel...

You actually buy cookies from the store. I miss my oven!

Meatball Sandwiches

Remember the meatballs I made before we demolished the kitchen? I used them for meatball sandwiches this week. I put them frozen into my crockpot, added about 2 cups of spaghetti sauce, and heated it up for 4 hours on high. Served them on buns with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Quick and easy! :)

Ghetto Kitchen

Here's my make-shift kitchen in the garage. Everything I need is in here except for the fridge which just gets moved around from plug to plug in the kitchen. I also have a grill and a camp chef on the patio. Some of you have asked what we're eating (I know...I haven't posted my monthly menu like I usually do to my cooking blog...but I wasn't really sure when I wouldn't have a kitchen so I didn't want to plan too far ahead this month...I know, shocking!! :)

Last week I made extras at the first of the week so I knew we would have leftovers by the weekend since I figured everything would be out by the weekend.
Easter Sunday--Ham & Twice Baked Potatoes
Monday--Chicken Enchiladas
Tuesday--Tomato & Garlic Pasta
Tuesday night we started doing electrical work and some of the power was left off...so it began the first day of cooking by other means.
Wednesday--Cajun Chicken
Thursday--Leftovers
Friday--Tacos
Saturday--Hamburgers & Hotdogs
Sunday--Crockpot Roast
Monday--Grilled Salmon
So...my goal is to only eat out once a week. So far we're not doing too bad :) In the next few days, I'll probably post a menu for the rest of the month and next month. I do so much better getting dinner done early when it's already scheduled.

Meatballs

These meatballs are yummier than the first ones that I tried.

2 lb Lean ground beef
1 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 cup dry Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup milk
2 TBL worchestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine all ingredients. Blend well. Shape mixture into 1-1/2" balls. (I used an ice cream/cookie dough scoop to create my balls.)

Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 25minutes until brown.
Remove immediately and drain on paper towels. When cooled put into ziploc bags. Meatballs came be frozen or you can use them immediately. This recipe made about 50 meatballs. For this meal I just added them to spaghetti sauce. We have very yummy spaghetti. I'll use them soon (when the kitchen is down) as meatball sandwiches. Just pour spaghetti sauce in a crockpot and add the meatballs. Cook on low during the day. Serve each meatball on a roll with a slice of mozzarella cheese. (Thanks for the meatball sandwich idea, Tiffany...can't wait to give it a try!)

Cafe Rio Meat

This recipe was shared with me by Annie one of my cousins-in-law. It's super yummy and super easy!! :)

1-2 lbs.of beef or pork or whatever meat you can find that's cheap (Annie's even used elk meat and still claims it's yummy)
3/4 c. salsa
3/4 c. brown sugar

Brown the meat in a skillet on HIGH heat. Only a few seconds on both sides will do. Place the meat into the crock pot. Combine the sugar and salsa in a bowl and mix well; pour it over the meat.

Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7. With 1 hour remaining shred the meat with a fork and knife. Cook for another hour. (Annie think this takes too much time and work, so she skips this step and then cut the meat in little slivers instead at the table. It STILL tastes great!)

Serve with tortillas that have been browned with cheese. Roll it all up with black beans, rice, tomato sauce, salt, lettuce and juice from a lime. Enjoy!

Calling all Cooks!!!!

We'll be in the process of remodeling our kitchen for the next two months...so I'm in a desperate need for recipes that can be made in the crock pot, microwave, stove top, or grill since I'll be without my wall oven. Thanks for any suggestions you can give :)

Grandma's Sugar Cookies

These are the cookies I always remember in my Grandma's cookie jar. They bring back so many memories of Grandma's house :)

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp baking soda
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp vanilla
4 cups flour

Mix all together and put in fridge to chill for 1-2 hours. Roll into balls and dip in sugar (or cinnamon and sugar), place on cookie sheet and flatten with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Mini Pizzas

When dad travels, I have to get creative for dinner sometimes. Mini pizzas were high on the kids' priority list this week. Something about making it themselves makes them eat it :) Find the pizza dough recipe here.

Party Potatoes

This dish has many names...confetti potatoes, funeral potatoes, scallop potatoes, Sunday potatoes, etc. I grew up eating this dish so it's one food that reminds me of home...guess it's a comfort food :)

Boil 3-6 potatoes. Let cool and then grate. OR you can use a package of frozen hash browns (I usually ALWAYS use these...just because of the matter of convenience). Put potatoes in a 9x13 casserole dish. Add 1 cube of melted butter(I usually use 1/2 this amount), 2 cans of cream of chicken, 1 cup of sour cream, and 1 cup of grated cheese. Add 1 to 2 cups chopped ham. Mix together. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Put foil on top after 30 minutes.

I often leave out the ham and serve ham on the side. JR refuses to eat anything w/ potatoes but he likes ham...so if I want him to eat dinner, I choose to serve ham on the side :)

Turkey Pot Pie

This recipe came from my MIL a few years back....I ashamed it it's the first time I've tried it...it's delicious!!

1/3 cup potatoes, diced
1/3 cup carrots, sliced
1/3 cup peas, frozen
¼ cup celery, chopped
1 TBL onion, chopped
½ cup water, boiling
2 TBL soft margarine
¼ cup flour
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp poultry seasoning
1 1/3 cup turkey broth
2/3 cup milk
1 ½ cup turkey, cooked and diced

Add vegetables to boiling water. Cover and boil gently until vegetables are just tender, about 6 minutes. Drain. Melt margarine; stir in flour and seasonings. Add broth and milk slowly, stirring constantly; cook until thickened. Stir in turkey and vegetables.

Some how I totally MISSED putting in the potatoes (which if FUNNY because that's what I was looking forward to the most!!!). I basically doubled the recipe and added a bit more seasoning. I also added white pepper (since that's one of our favorite spices!!). I used chicken broth instead of turkey broth since I didn't have any. The turkey is left over from Christmas time so it was super easy to just pull the turkey out of the freezer, let it defrost, and cut it up with my kitchen scissors. It was VERY yummy. I definitely serve this after we've had turkey again to use up some of the turkey. Since there's no "crust", you could serve this in bread bowls or even add dumplings to the top.

Flank Steak Marinade

We were first introduced to this delicious marinade several years ago when we first moved to San Diego. Andrea had invited us over for dinner (if I remember right it was Easter) and they made this marinade. We don't just use it on flank steak...although, it's definitely the best with flank steak...but it works for other beef cuts as well :)

1 ½ cup oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
¾ cup soy sauce
½ tsp parsley
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp pepper
¼ cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 TBL dry mustard
1 clove minced garlic

Pierce 3 flank stakes and marinate for 3 DAYS. (very important) Grill. Cut crosswise in thin slices and serve.

Can also marinate other beef steak cuts, but the key is the time (3 days...if you don't have time for 3 days, you must marinate for at least 6 hours) and cutting it crosswise.

Cinnamon Rolls

Give Melissa's yummy cinnamon roll recipe a try. We tried it this afternoon! Yum, Yum!
1/3 cups sugar
3Tbs yeast
1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cups warm water
Mix until dissolved; cover and let stand for 15 minutes.
Mix in 2 beaten eggs to the yeast mixture.
Add 1 1/2 tsp salt and 4 1/4 cups flour.
Melissa mixes this in her kitchen aid for about 5 minutes until it's a soft dough. Roll dough into rectangle shape. Brush with 1/4 cup melted butter, sprinkle with 1 1/2 T cinnamon, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cups nuts (I opted for no nuts), a 3/4 cup raisins (I only used raisins on half the dough). Carefully roll dough, seal edges, and slice. Place on ungreased cookie sheet (I had a few extra so I also put them in a glass casserole dish) and let rest 10 mins. Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes.
Frost with glaze while still hot. Glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup hot water, 1 T soft butter. (I had some frosting left over from something else in the fridge so we just used that :)

Muffin, Muffin, Who's got the muffin??

I made these muffins to go along with the quiche. This is my very favorite muffin recipe.

3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Stir together dry ingredients. In a different bowl, cream together sugar and shortenin. Add eggs and mix well. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Add any additions and lightly fold in. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min.

I've made these with mashed bananas, cinnamon (pictured), blueberries, or chocolate chips. Each of these different additions are AWESOME (of course not all at once, though)...choose an addition or two, and you'll have some fabulous muffins!

Asparagus-Tomato Quiche

Here's a new dish we tried last night. The recipe came from my SIL, Cara. Dave & I enjoyed it...the kids...ummm, not so much :)

1 10-inch pie shell, partially baked
4 eggs, beaten
3 TBL flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp dry mustard
1 ½ cup half-and-half
2 cup Swiss cheese (of course I substituted w/ Mozzarella
10 fresh asparagus spears, divided
1 med. tomato, sliced into 4 - 1/4” slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, flour, paprika, salt, dry mustard, and half-and-half. Stir in cheese. Chop four asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces and lay on the bottom of the pie shell. Pour liquid into pie shell. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Arrange tomato pieces and remaining six asparagus spears on top in a wagon wheel pattern. Bake 20-30 minutes more.

March Menu

Here's what's on deck for the coming month. You'll notice that some meals are the same as February. Life was a bit crazy and everything didn't get made that I had planned for...so we're still having those meals just in March instead :)

1. Garlic Tomato Chicken Pasta
2. Asparagus-Tomato Quiche
3. Salmon Loaf
4. Sloppy Joes
5. Baked Spaghetti Casserole
6. Teriyaki Chicken w/ Grilled Veggie Kabobs
7. Flank Steak Marinade
8. Chicken & Dumplings
9. Canadian Bacon & Pineapple Pizza
10. Turkey Pot Pie
11. Lasagna
12. Santa Fe Salad I just got the real recipe from my SIL so I'll be making changes to this recipe :)
13. Macaroni & Cheese
14. Baked Potato Soup
15. Crockpot Porkchops
16. Tator Tot Casserole
17. Clam Chowder
18. Chicken Enchiladas
19. French Toast
20. Spaghetti w/ Meatballs (I'm trying a new meatball recipe this time)
21. Orange Chicken w/ Fried Rice
22. Cheese Chowder
23. Western Burgers
24. Chicken Salad Sandwiches
25. Chicken Noodle Casserole
26. Fried Chicken
27. Roast
28. Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken
29. Taco Salad
30. BLT Sandwiches
31. Salisbury Steak
Hopefully, I'll get time throughout the month to post recipes for the recipes that aren't already posted. Happy Cooking!

Garlic Tomato Chicken Pasta

We first had this at our friends, the Rices, a couple of years ago. We enjoy this yummy dinner even though Dave rarely eats tomatoes. (I've tried it without the tomatoes and he even admitted it's much tastier with the tomatoes...so YEAH I get my tomato fix).

Chicken cooked and cubed
Pasta cooked and drained
1 bottle of Alfredo sauce (We usually use the "Cheesy Ragu Classic Alfredo")
Tomato, chopped
Garlic, minced.

I start by boiling the chicken since it's always frozen. When it's done, I cube it and brown it in a pan just a bit. Boil the noodles (any type of pasta will work) and drain. Pour in one bottle of alfredo, chopped tomatoes (as much as you like), and one minced garlic clove into the chicken. Stir together and heat. Pour over noodles and stir or serve sauce separately from the noodles.

Choc-Oat-Cookies

2 sticks butter, softened
1 ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 TBL milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 ½ cups oats
2 cups chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Add flour, baking soda, salt; mix well. Stir in oats, chocolate chips; mix well. Drop on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 9 minutes. Cool completely.

Tetrazzini Chicken

Another yummy way to have pasta. This recipe is from my mom :)
4 cups chicken pieces
½ lb spaghetti
3 TBL butter
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 ¼ cup chopped onion
4 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated (I've also used Mozz. cheese)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of milk

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Sauté the onion and green pepper in the butter. Mix together all ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until bubbly.

This recipe also freezes well. :)

Creamy Chicken

My mom use to make this dish often on Sunday afternoons. It's very easy...it still doesn't taste the same as my mom's always did, though.

Mix about 1 cup of flour with about 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper. Coat chicken in flour mixture. Do NOT use boneless, skinless...it doesn't taste good at all. Place the coated chicken in a 9x13 pan. Pour a pint of half and half over the chicken. Bake in oven at 350 for 1+ hours. I've found the longer it cooks the better...this last time it cooked for almost 2 hours and was much taster this time around. :)

Chili

I also took chili to our church party. I didn't really follow a "chili recipe"...just kind of added what I felt like :) Again, I forgot to take a picture before we walked out the door...but it must have been taste because it was gone :)

I started by browning two pounds of hamburger. Put it into the crockpot. I then added 2 cans of black beans (rinsed and drained), 2 cans of kidney beans (rinsed and drained), 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 cup of salsa, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, white pepper, garlic salt, and onion powder. Mix it all together and heat through. We would just check it and add a few more shakes of spices as we thought it needed more. It turned out very yummy. I love chili with melted cheese so of course I added to cheese to my bowl :)

Hawaiian Drop Cookies

Friday night we had a church party to attend. I brought these cookies that I use to make all the time (sorry...there's no picture...I forgot to take one before we left the house.)

¾ cup butter or margarine, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups oats, uncooked
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 ¾ cups M & M’s
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy; beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine oats, flour, baking powder, and baking soda; blend into creamed mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake 13-15 minutes.

Blueberry Waffles

When Daddy's away, the dinner menu tends to change. Tonight...yummy blueberry waffles w/ blueberries and whip cream on top served with scrambled eggs!

I just use the Krusteaz pancake mix and add water, tiny bit of oil, and blueberries (about 1/4 cup). Pour the batter into the waffle iron (which it's taken me a long time to figure out how not to have batter pouring out the sides!!!). After they're done, take them out and while they're hot, melt a bit of butter. Add blueberries on top and a dollop of whip cream. ENJOY!!! Also yummy with fresh strawberries!!!

Scones

One of our family favorites with spaghetti or lasagna is scones!!! This recipe is from my mom.

2 TBL yeast
½ cup warm water
1 egg
1 cup warm milk
2 TBL oil
1 tsp salt
2 TBL sugar
3 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Add egg. Add rest of ingredients. Let stand for at least 15 minutes. (Will be a soft, sticky dough.) Dough may be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To cook tear off golf ball size amount and stretch thin and fry in deep fat fryer for a few minutes each side. Drain on paper towels.

Tuna Casserole

This is my mom's recipe. I really don't like tuna much but I will eat this dish...
Boil noodles. Drain. In a 9x13 baking dish, combine noodles, tuna, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (my mom only uses one can...but I add two...I don't like my pasta dry :), and grated cheese. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

Taco Soup

This is another version of taco soup we like. This one is from my SIL, Hilary. It's yummy! The kids love to eat it (and all other mexican dishes) with tortilla chips.
1 lb lean ground beef (could use chicken or go meatless)
1 onion, diced (or 2 Tbsp dried minced onion)
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can tomato sauce
1 can corn
1 cup salsa
1 – 15 oz can stewed, chopped tomatoes
Taco seasoning mix to taste

Preheat pan to sear ground beef as you cook and chop it with the diced onions. Drain and rinse beans. Add ingredients in the order given. Garnish with shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips.