Four Score & Seven Years Ago...

is how long it feels since I've done anything with my blog! I do feel really bad about it but unfortunately, life gets in the way and I get a little busy. Sometimes lazy.  To be fair, I did go without internet for a couple days...but, excuses, excuses. No more! I do have a bit to update though!  I tried a couple new recipes that I want to share and I have been having some ideas from some DIY projects for Christmas ideas (and for myself!)...But where to start...? Last week I did make some really yummy M&M cake bar brownies. They were really good, stayed really moist but were gone within the day!

 You will need:

1 box yellow or white cake mix (I opted for yellow)

1 (3.4oz) box instant vanilla pudding

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup choco chips (I substituted mini M&Ms)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Spray 9x13 pan w/cooking spray and set aside

Combine all the ingredients together in one large bowl. The mixture will be very thick.

Pour mixture into the large bowl (it appears to be a very thin layer but it is okay!)

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges are a nice golden brown.  The center will not look to be done but that just means it is done! 

 

 

 I also tried a 3 ingredient BBQ pork dinner in the crockpot last Friday. Came out to mixed reviews. I thought it was too BBQ-ey but my husband loved it as is.  All you take is a pork tenderloin, one can of root beer and a bottle of BBQ sauce (I chose Sweet Baby Rays). Cook the pork and root beer on low heat for 6 hours, take pork out and shred it (set aside your liquid in the crock pot) and empty the BBQ sauce in the crock pot with the pork. I heated the BBQ mixture up for about 10 minutes on low before serving.  I saw there are a couple of different variations of the recipe that I will try also.  I'd love to know if anyone has a good BBQ recipe! Please share if you do!

Ok..one more recipe! And I think I saved the best for last on this one! It's my new new favorite (sorry, Grandma) chocolate chip cookie recipe!

2 1/4 cups flour

1 t baking soda

1 cup soft butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 package instant vanilla pudding

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

1 bag choco chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Stir flour and baking together in small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar.

Beat in instant pudding until blended. 

Stir in eggs & vanilla.

Blend in flour mixture and then choco chips.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Again, these stay soft and gooey and are too-die-for good!

I know I said I've been crafting also but that post will have to wait for tomorrow! I decided to go full speed ahead "housewife" tonight and have started more household chores than I can probably finish tonight. Early morning for this wanna-be Betty Crocker!

Saluting Our Veterans

Thank you to our veterans, to the people who continue to serve and to their families. Without you, we couldn't enjoy the freedoms that we do today.

 

 

I was watching the Today Show this morning and this week they are featuring people that they are inspired by. Willie Geist told the story of a young man, a veteran, U.S. Marine corporal Aaron Mankin, who had been badly burned by an IED.  Willie is a big supporter of UCLA Operation Mend, which is a group that helps veterans wounded in the war.   It is an amazing story; I highly recommend checking it out.  You can read a bit more about the amazing journey he has gone through here and if you would like more information on supporting Operation Mend, click here.

Betty Crocker Strikes Again!

Today was another day that stayed pretty busy.  I raked and burned leaves today; somewhere along the line, I smashed two fingers, sliced open my thumb and made both arms go numb. But I (along with  my dad) finished both the front and back yard. So..SUCCESS! My dad's lab, Daisy, and my lab, Harley, weren't much help.

Once I was done outside, my need to cook/bake struck again.  For dinner I made ranch hamburgers.  They are pretty easy to make; with so many people eating I used 3 lbs of hamburger, 2 packets of Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix and 2 eggs. Just mix it all together, make your patties and cook!  It turned out pretty good. You can't go wrong with a hamburger!

For dessert, I made Apple Pie Cookies.  I mentioned them in yesterdays post and gathered up the ingredients and went to work!

For those of you that would like the recipe, you can find the link here.  They are incredibly easy to make but it is very messy!  I would definitely recommend having a cookie cutter on hand. I couldn't find mine and ended up using a glass jar and that was no fun! They were getting stuck in the jar and getting them out was a chore!  Also make sure you either spray your cookie sheets A LOT or use parchment paper.  I just sprayed them and as you can see, it was very messy and the caramel/apple filling stuck to the sheet.  I ended up with 17 out of my pie crust so they are more bite size but still...YUMMY!!

I also forgot to post about another dinner I made earlier in the week.  It's so easy and delicious so I thought I would share.  It's just boneless, skinless chicken breasts (not frozen), chopped/diced red tomato or your choice of vegetable (I either use canned green beans; reg or french cut -or peas) and one packet of dry Italian salad dressing mix.  I use a 9x13 glass pan and get either 3-4 chicken breasts in the pan.  Lay your chicken in the middle, your veggies on one side and your red potatoes on the other.  Melt one stick of butter and pour it over the entire pan and then sprinkle the package of Italian dressing mix all over it as well.  (I stir it in to the potatoes and vegetables).  Bake at 350 for an hour.  The recipe calls to cover with foil but I always end up cooking it longer if I use the foil so I do not.  It may take longer than an hour depending on how you chop your potatoes and how big your chicken breasts are.  I've cooked my dinners anywhere between 1 hr and 1.5 hrs but I like my potatoes to be a bit crispy if I can! =)
It's a really good dinner if you just want to throw something together!

Turning into Betty Crocker...

My husband went hunting today so that left me at home to cook, bake....and sneak out of the house to photograph an old barn I've been dying to shoot for months now. 

I've been driven crazy by my need to craft, cook, bake and photograph so today was a much needed day to get some of those things out of the way. I wasn't able to make it to any craft stores this weekend so I'm just going to pick up one of the many crochet projects I having lying around (will it be a scarf, head wrap, blanket or snood?)  But I have been wanting to try several recipes that I found on (of course) Pinterest.  I'm part of a group of gals who (try to) get together once a month and work on crafty projects and with Christmas coming up, we are organizing our annual Cookie Exchange.  As I was going through my "Sweets" board, I came across two recipes I wanted to try: one is for an apple pie cookie (looks so delish but very messy to make) and the other is a peach cake cobbler thing. And then for a dinner, a home made chicken pot pie! Score! I was busy in the kitchen today! The pot pie is a tried-and-true good recipe...right off a package of Philadelphia Cooking Creme 'Savory Garlic'. Ha ha!  It's super easy to make, all you need is a pie crust, chicken, frozen vegetables and the cooking creme!  The recipe is on the back of the package but if you have to have it here it is! =)

-1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

-2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

-1 tub of Philadelphia Savory Garlic cooking creme

-1 ready to use refrigerated pie crust 

Heat oven to 400F.  Cook and stir chicken in large non stick skillet until lightly browned.  Add veggies; cook 1-2 minutes or heated through. Stir in cooking creme; spoon into 9 inch pie plate (I always spray mine with a bit of non stick spray first).  * Cover with crust, seal and flute edge. Cut several slits in the crust and place pie plate on a baking sheet. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

*** The recipe only calls to use 1 pie crust, just for the top; nothing for the bottom.  It can be a bit messy when trying to serve so you can put the crust in the bottom also.  I've made it both ways, so it is completely up to you as to whatever you would like to do. =)

 Here is the cooking creme for those who aren't sure of what it is and also my before and after of my chicken pot pie !

And...I made dessert!  The peach cake cobbler thing was okay.  I probably wouldn't make it again unless someone tries it and is completely blown away by it. It was easy and didn't require a lot of ingredients but it just wasn't for me. (or my husband either...and he will eat anything!)

Ingredients:

1 pkg dry cake mix (white, yellow or french vanilla) - I chose white

1/3 cup butter, room temp

2 large eggs, divided

29 oz can light peach slices, drained

8 oz cream cheese, room temp

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter and 1 egg; mix with fork just until crumbly. Set aside 1.5 cups crumbs for topping.

Press remaining crumbs on bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 min.

Cut peach slices in 1 inch pieces. Spoon onto partially baked crust.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg and vanilla extract; beat with mixer until creamy. Spread over top of peaches.

Sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Bake 30 minutes. 

Chill at least 30 minutes before serving.

Yield: 12

Somewhere in this day, I found time to sneak out and photograph an old barn.  It's on private property so I was *very* limited as to where I could shoot from but I still love the look of the old place and can't wait for winter to come so I can try it again!

A month to be thankful

Well, it's November.  The month to be thankful. My biggest thanks of the month (so far) have to go to my husband for supporting me in my dream of starting my own photography business.  We went out and bought a new camera and lenses yesterday and I put my name out there.  Eek. Bring on the nerves!

We went exploring for fall colors and I took these.. ( with my Galaxy S3)

Finishing the day with homemade green pepper soup.

I recommend the soup, especially for a chilly day!

2 lbs hamburger browned with one onion & 2 green peppers

Drain hamburger mixture and add:

 2 cans beef broth

2 cans tomato soup (I used one large can)

2 cans stewed tomatoes

Simmer all for 30 minutes

Add one cup cooked white rice

Simmer all for 15 minutes

Enjoy!