Thanksgiving Treat

Well, HELLO!  It has been a while, hasn't it?  Lots of things have been going on since my last post in August.  School started for one thing and we all know how exhausting that can be whether your a parent, kid, or teacher.  Then my mom gave us a scare with a trip to the hospital.  Next, we started house hunting, found a house, packed up, moved closer to my mom, and now we are selling our other house.  We moved in to the new house about 2 weeks ago and we're still surrounded in boxes, trying to find things (Hubby found my alarm clock last night!), and trying to find a place for everything.  I hate moving.  It's too much trouble, yet this is the 4th time in 38 years we have done it.  Since it's just the 2 of us left at home, we downsized.  I didn't think it would be so hard, but it is.  Goodwill LOVES us.  We gave away 11 packed carloads of things and we have already started a collection to donate again.  It feels really good to let go of things.  Each of the kids also took some items they wanted.  There were even some things for the Grands.  It took me forever to pack up because I went through things to take out what I didn't need or want and sometimes I'd get stalled because I would start reminiscing.  I found an ancestry project my daughter did in 8th grade.  I found a handwritten recipe from my Grandma!  She made these special brownies at Easter and Christmas every year, but she called them her "chocolate cookies."  Oh, how I miss my Grandma.  The recipe was a special find.

Speaking of recipes, here's one that will be a great one for Thanksgiving or Christmas parties.  You make it ahead of time!  You know how I love recipes like this! Before you get started, run by Wal-Mart or the grocery store and pick up 12  1/2 pint Mason jars.  They are small and the perfect serving size!  You could also do it in a 9x13 baking dish if you don't want to bother with Mason jars.  You could even use juice glasses and top them with Press-n-Seal.  Whatever is easiest for you!  The jars are just so stinkin' cute!

Chocolate Eclairs in a Jar

1-2 sleeves Graham crackers, crushed
2 (3¼ oz.) boxes instant French vanilla pudding
3 ½ c. milk
1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip, thawed
1 can of milk chocolate frosting

Crush your graham crackers up into small pieces.  I usually put them in a ziploc bag and roll over them with a rolling pin. Use about 2/3 of the crumbs in the jars.  Save the remainder.  In a bowl, combine pudding mix, and milk.  Mix for 2 minutes with an electric mixer.  Add in Cool Whip until blended.  Divide mixture up among the 12 jars.  Fill each one about 2/3 full.  Add another layer of crushed graham crackers on top.  If you need more crumbs, crush up more crackers.  Open the can of chocolate frosting and remove the foil top.  Microwave for 1 minute.  Spoon or pour the frosting into the jar to top it off.  Refrigerate for 6-8 hours with the jar lids off so the frosting can firm up.  Guests an pick up a jar and spoon and enjoy.  These would also make nice little take home desserts!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope yours will be AMAAAAAZING!!!
 

Veggies for Breakfast

Mornings are so busy in my house.  Maybe busy isn't the right word because I try to prepare as much as possible the night before.  I am a slow person in the morning.  I hate waking up early.  I like to wake up naturally and lay in bed for a little while before dragging my body out to face the world.  During the work week, I try to get every last second of sleep that I can.  Sometimes I accidentally get an extra half hour to hour of sleep.  Those mornings, I move FAST!  To make breakfast easier, I also prepare ahead.  I lay out everything I can the night before (a plate, cup, fork, vitamins, etc.).  Today I made a veggie breakfast casserole to have for breakfast this week. I can add a piece of fruit and breakfast is complete!  When I cut it into pieces, the 2 end pieces were really small, so the hubby and I had a little snack.  You could also add bacon, ham, or sausage to the mixture if you'd like.  I may add broccoli next time.  If you'd rather have cheddar cheese, you can do that too.  Try this out and let me know what you think.

Veggie Breakfast Casserole

1 Tb. olive oil

1 container of fresh sliced mushrooms

1 small onion, finely chopped

½  yellow, red, or orange bell pepper (optional)

1 tomato, diced (press juice out with paper towels)

¼ tsp salt

1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

8 large eggs

½ cup milk

½ tsp. black pepper

¾ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

In a pot, combine oil and mushrooms.  Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Add in onion, bell pepper, tomato, and salt.  Cover and cook for about another 5 minutes.  Add spinach to the mix and let wilt.  Stir well.  In a quart size Ziploc bag, put in the eggs and squish them up.  Add in milk, and pepper.  Press out the air and mix well.  Pour the mixture of the pot into a 9x13 glass dish that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray.  Sprinkle cheese over the top.  Pour egg mixture on top of everything.  Use a fork to stir everything together.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Peachy Memories

When my kids were small, there was a restaurant close by called Po' Folks.  Most of them have closed, but the few that are left are now called Folks.  When you ordered your food at the Po' Folks restaurant, you had a choice of biscuits, corn muffins, or peach muffins.  YES!  PEACH. MUFFINS.  They were so good!  They would bring a basket full of muffins for the table to share.  Each bite was like a little visit to heaven on Earth. 

 I have some great neighbors.  Today one of them brought us a dozen fresh peaches!  Hubby brings them in and asks if I'm going to make a peach cobbler.  I told him that peach muffins come first.  There are plenty of peaches left to make a cobbler ... tomorrow.  As I type this, I am waiting for the first dozen to come out of the oven. I can't wait to eat one (or two).  I hope mine are as good as the ones in my memory.  I'll let you know in a few minutes.

Update:  These are really good, but they don't have the sticky sweetness on the outside that Po' Folks had.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should sprinkle the tops with sugar when they come out of the oven.  I'll try that on the next batch that comes out.  Next time, I might mash the peaches instead of dicing them.

Peach Muffins

2 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

*2 cups flour / gluten free flour is another option

*1 tsp baking powder

*1/2 tsp baking soda

*1/2 tsp salt

2 cups fresh diced peaches (about 3 peaches)

1 Tb. sugar

Dice peaches and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over them.  Set aside.  Mix eggs, butter, sugar, vanilla, and sour cream. Sift dry ingredients and add peaches. Fold together until blended. Spoon in lined muffin pan. Bake @ 400 for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle tops with sugar, if desired.  This recipe made 20 muffins.

*You can use 2 cups of self-rising flour, but if you do, leave out the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Hubby Had A Birthday!!

Yes, Hubby had a birthday yesterday!  Poor thing got a little overlooked on his day.  My 88 year old aunt was taken to the hospital with a BP of 42/18.  She is not well.  I stayed with my mom and cousin at the hospital for a good portion of the day.  I sat in on the details for arranging hospice care, shared stories, tears, and lots of love.  In the meantime, hubby was at home doing the finishing touches for rebuilding our deck.  It looks beautiful!  The original deck had some problems with rot, but not any more.  Mr. Fix-It took care of it and it's better than what the builder did.  Yep, Hubby can fix anything!  But with everything we had going on yesterday, he didn't get a cake, or a pie, or anything for his birthday.  :(   So today I made him something special.  He is enjoying the heck out of it too!  Here's the recipe so you can enjoy it as well!

Brownie Ice Cream Cake

1 brownie mix (prepared according to directions) 
1 carton of ice cream, softened (I used vanilla)
4 Heath Bars (or candy of your choice)
Caramel or chocolate topping

Prepare the brownie mix according to the directions on the box.  I baked mine in a 9x13 dish.  Bake and let cool completely.  With a plastic knife, cut the brownies into squares.  The plastic knife keeps the brownies from tearing up.  Spread the softened ice cream over the top of the brownies.  Crush the candy bars into tiny pieces.  I used my little food processor for this job.  Spread candy bar crumbles over the top of the ice cream, then drizzle caramel or chocolate syrup/topping on the top.  Cover and place in the freezer for a couple of hours.  Since you pre-cut the brownies, serving this will be a breeze.

Food Frenzy

Today I have been a wild woman in the kitchen.  I have cooked sweet potatoes, butter peas, roasted cauliflower and asparagus, cooked fresh green beans with red potatoes, and sauteed squash and zucchini.  I still need to boil some cabbage. I went to Sprouts Thursday night and came home with tons of stuff.  The squash and zucchini dish is my husband's current favorite veggie so I'm going to share that with you today.  We'll be eating good this week!

Sauteed Yellow Squash and Zucchini

3 yellow squash, sliced
3 zucchini, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
olive oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste 
a little water

Put oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic.  Cover and cook until onions are tender.  Add in zucchini and squash.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.  Add a little water to help steam veggies.  Cook until tender.

Muy Bueno!

I was a little nervous about how this recipe would turn out, but it was really good!!  It wasn't hard to make, but it took a little time because the spaghetti squash needed to cook for 45 minutes.  While it cooked, I got everything else cooked, chopped, drained, and ready to go.  I didn't put all the filling in the squash because it would have been way too much for one meal.  We have enough of the filling for another meal or you could put the mixture in individual baking bowls and feed 4 - 5 people.  Another good thing about this meal is that there is not a lot to clean up.  PLUS, it's less calories than tacos!  No tortilla in this meal!  These bonuses actually makes it MUCHO muy bueno!

*If you are doing food prep for the freezer, scrape out the spaghetti squash and mix all the ingredients together at the end.  You can put these in aluminum pans from Dollar Tree and store them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.  This makes for a quick, complete, and easy dinner!

Spaghetti Squash Taco Bowls

1 medium spaghetti squash, halved, seeds removed

Olive oil

Filling:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1medium onion, chopped

1 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 lb. ground beef

½ pkg. taco seasoning mix

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 diced tomatoes

1 can corn, drained

1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack, plus more for the topping

Sour cream, optional

Shredded lettuce, optional

Preheat oven to 400°. Cut spaghetti squash in half, length wise.  Scrape out stringy stuff and seeds.  Pierce outside of squash with a fork or knife multiple times.  Drizzle cut sides of spaghetti squash with oil. Place cut side down on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool. Using a fork, shred squash into strands.

Filling: Cook ground beef and break into small pieces.  Set aside on paper towels to absorb fat from the meat.  In a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for a minute more. Add ground beef and let simmer for a few minutes as you stir it all together.  Stir in taco seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir in black beans, tomatoes, corn and cheese. Mix in shredded spaghetti squash.

Fill each spaghetti squash shell with the beef mixture.  Top with a little more cheese. Return to oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.   Add sour cream and shredded lettuce if desired.