A bit behind...

Hey everyone! Sorry I havn't posted anything for so long! Just wanted to check in and thank everyone that has been posting since I'm obviously behind on the blogging scene lately! Summer is always like this for me -- I never seem to have the time to keep up w/all my blogging and internet loves! So bare w/me and I hope those that can and have been posting can keep it up since I can't!

I am still cooking my dinner's every night which makes me so happy but I wish I could post them b/c they have all been turning out so well but w/our situation at the lake and lack of loading pic's onto my computer kind of prohibits that. I might try to at least post a recipe w/out a picture if it's too good not to share!

Thanks again and I hope to be able to post soon but probably not back to normal until Summer is over!

Make Dinner Easy

I have started using this website for help with my weekly meal planning. Once a week they send you an email with the weekly menu (5 recipes and sides) and grocery list. Super easy and free! I have been cutting and pasting some of the meals into my own menus since I don't want to try an entirely new recipe each night AND I don't do seafood. (I'm a little picky that way!)

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Fruit Pizza

FRUIT PIZZA
allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Mix in egg. combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended.

Press dough into an ungreased pizza pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla until light. Spread on cooled crust.

Arrange desired fruit on top of filling, and chill.

Note: This is great for feeding a large crowd or making with kids. The kids can decorate the pizza, as shown here.

Mac-A-Roni and CHEESE

Every Penning knows this dish, it has been a staple of our family for many many years!

2lbs Mac-a-roni noodles (Elbow)
2lbs Mild cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
milk
salt
pepper

Cook time: 1hr Serves: 8-12 Prep time: 30 min
Pre-heat oven to 350*
Follow directions on the bag to boil the noodles while
noodles are boiling cut the cheese into cubes, and slice
the whole stick of butter into thin slices. Once noodles
are done drain water and set aside. Spray a large casserole
dish with non-stick pam. Now it's time to layer.
First, dump half the noodles in the dish.
Second, lay half the stick of butter over top the noodles.
Third, layer half the cubed cheese on top. Fourth, sprinkle
salt and pepper to your own taste. Then repeat! Once your
done pour milk into the dish. Pour milk until you can just
barely see it through the noodles.

(optional)
Serve with fruit jello

1 large box jello of your choice
1 can fruit cocktail

Follow jello directions after you finish the jello before
you put it in the fridge add the draind fruit cocktail. Then put
in fridge to thicken for about 4 hours.

Creamed Corn

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/creamed-corn-recipe-5540?click=recipe_sr

(And Jaimee you will be so proud of me...this really is a picture that I took!) ;)

Most moms can probably relate to this... Lately I have been having a hard time getting Gavin to eat vegetables. ANY vegetables. So I've tried some sneaky recipes where you put veggie puree in food. Like cauliflower puree in scrambled eggs or mac & cheese. It worked pretty good in the mac & cheese, but the scrambled eggs were not so good (in our opinion)! I am going to try a few more of those recipes and pick our favorites, but in the meantime I found this recipe for creamed corn and wanted to share it with you all because we loved it! At the top it says, "Our take on this classic is subtly flavored and every bit as creamy as the full-fat original." I've had creamed corn before and I wasn't a huge fan. I don't know what's different about this recipe, but it was really good. I didn't grow up on creamed corn so this might be elementary for some of you, but it was new to me!

CREAMED CORN

3 cups fresh corn kernels (I used two 15.25 oz. cans of corn)
3/4 cup low-fat milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place 2 cups corn, milk, cornstarch and salt in a blender; blend until smooth. Transfer the puree to a medium saucepan, and add the remaining 1 cup corn. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture simmers and thickens and the corn is tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

Gavin really likes corn, but probably like most little kids he has a hard time chewing & digesting it ;) I made this to go with lunch today and he LOVED it! It's a rare occasion when Gavin eats all of something. Well he wanted SECONDS of this! I was so happy :)

P.S. This might be the last post you see from me for a while... we are in the process of moving to Bear Lake. :) & :(

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Chicken Enchiladas
By Annette Adams
(This is my childhood friend’s mom & they gave this recipe to me at my bridal shower! It is my all time favorite chicken enchilada recipe.)

Mix together for the sauce:
- 2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup
- 1 Pint Sour Cream

Mix together for the filling:
- 2 Cups Chicken Pieces (canned chicken works great-drained)
- 2 (4 oz.) Cans Mushrooms (drained)
- 1 (4 oz.) Can Green Chillies
- 1 Cup Chopped Onion
- 1 tsp. Chili Powder
- ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
- ½ tsp. Salt
- ¼ tsp. Pepper
- ½ Cup of the Sauce

Spread 8-10 flour tortillas with filling. Roll and place seam side down in a 9 X 13 inch pan. Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered at 450° for about 20 minutes, or until heated through. Enjoy!

Hamburger Helper with a twist!

OK so don't laugh at me... I know what your thinking, "Hamburger Helper, what is she thinking." Just TRUST me!!!

Prep time: 5 min Cook time: 40 min

2 boxes of Enchilada HP
1lb hamburger
2 cans;
canned corn
stewed tomatoes
kidney beans
blackbeans

cheddar cheese
tortilla chips
sour cream

Follow directions on the back of the HP box. In a large sauce pan brown hamburger while browning drain your canned corn, and beans. (rinse beans) When you get to cover and let simmer, add all canned ingredients to the simmering pan. In the HP box is a packet with the word topping written on it, keep that put to the side until the end. Stir occasionally till ingredients thicken. (appoximatley 30 to 40 minutes) Remove from heat and add topping to the mixture. Let stand for a couple minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream.
(For additional flavor add 2tbls taco seasoning while pan is simmering this is optional.)

This is such an easy simple meal that is done in no time, and so so yummy! Let me know what you think!

Homemade Lasagna Supreme

This turned out so yummy last night I wanted to post it! I'm a HUGE pasta fan but have always just done spagetti or the frozen lasagna's mostly and I wanted to be a bit more creative! This was fun...I had never made homemade Lasagna before and I loved every minute of it, I also added a couple things to it to make it more my own! It was devine...(Not the best pics, bare w/me still trying to get used to this part of it)

8 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles

1/2 pound ground beef (I added a little more so it was just under a pound of beef)

1/2 pound mild italian sausage, casings removed

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (141/2 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, undrained & chopped

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves

1 can (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained

2 eggs

2 cups (16 ounces) cream-style cottage cheese

15 ounce container Ricotta cheese

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Chedder cheese

3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Mozzarella cheese

Serves 8 - 10

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain.

Cook meats, onion and garlic in large skillet over medium-high heat until meat is brown, stirring to seperate meat. Drain drippings from skillet.

Add tomatoes w/juice, tomato paste, basil & marjoram. Reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 15 minutes, stirring often. Stir in mushrooms; set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat eggs in large bowl; add cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt & pepper. Mix well.

Place half the noodles in bottom of greased 13X9-inch baking pan. Spread half the cottage cheese mixture over noodles, then half the meat mixture, half the chedder cheese & half the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers one more time in same order. Sprinkle w/remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese on top of dish.

Bake lasagna 40 - 45 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

NOTE: Lasagna may be assembled, covered & refrigerated up to 2 days in advance. Bake, uncovered, in preheated 375 F. oven 60 minutes or until bubbly. ( This is another reason I love this dish...if your a mom or just don't have the time to make this all in one shot, it can be done ahead of time and waiting to go in the oven w/in the next 2 days! )

Homemade Seasoned French Fries

I had to post this b/c when my daughter barely eats fries, ever (which isn't all a bad thing I guess) but cleans her plate of these fries, every last one then that's saying something! I wanted to get creative so I made homemade fries instead of the store bought frozen one's I have always used and it turned out so good that I'll probably never buy those again since this was so easy and way cheaper to make than buying them frozen in a grocery store! So have fun and enjoy these greasy yet scrumptious fries!


Homemade Seasoned French Fries
adapted from the Better Homes & Garden Cook Book

Serves 4 - 6

4 medium baking potatoes, 6-8 ounces each (I used red baking potatoes)
Cooking oil or shortening for deep-fat frying
Salt or seasoned salt (optional)

If desired, peel potatoes. To prevent darkening, immerse peeled potatoes in a bowl of ice water until ready to cut. Cut potatoes lengthwise into 3/8-inch-wide strips. Return strips to ice water.

In a heavy, deep, 3-quart saucepan or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 365 degree's F. To prevent splattering, pat potatoes dry. Using a spoon, carefully add potato strips, a few at a time (about 10) to hot oil. Fry for 5 to 6 minutes or until crisp & golden brown, turning once.
Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove french fries from hot oil; drain on paper towels. If desired, sprinkle w/salt or seasoned salt. Keep french fries warm in a 300 degree oven while frying remaining potatoes.

That's it, that's all there is to it!!! So why not save money and make them homemade when they taste way better than store bought!!! That's my new motto :) To add more kick you could sprinkle w/pepper as well or melt cheese on them for cheese fries! There's so many options why not try! ~

Creme Brulee

Well -- here's the infamous Creme Brulee I've been wanting to post since I made it! This is by far my favorite dessert! It was actually not super hard to make like I thought it would be it's just very touchy. It turned out really good but I still need to make it a few times to get the consistency just right. But here's the recipe I followed and seems to be the best from all the one's out there. A friend of ours (Brant) came up w/it and kind of made it his own so I'll give him credit! Have fun w/this one, I know I did and will time and time again!

5 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
fresh fruit (optional)
powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 325. Whisk egg yolks & sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Cut vanilla bean in half down the center & scrape the inside seeds/granules w/a knife & add to the heavy cream. In a saucepan bring the cream to a light boil (just right when you start seeing little bubbles in the cream). Pour cream into eggs & sugar mixture gradually (not all at once) constantly whisking.

Set 6 ramekins into a 9x11 glass casserole dish. Pour very hot water into the glass dish so the ramekins are sitting in the water (about 2 cups of hot water). Pour mixture evenly into ramekins so there all equal amounts. Let sit for 1 minute, then put into oven for about 30 - 35 minutes or until cream is set.

Cream is set when it's mostly firm. Allow ramekins to sit in water dish out of the oven for a couple minutes or until firm, remove ramekins from water dish onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature. Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Just before serving add a thin layer of sugar to the top & torch until golden brown. (I've heard another way to brown if you don't have a kitchen torch is to put your oven on broil and put them in until sugar is golden or dark brown.) Serve Immediately.

It's also good to top w/your favorite fresh fruit either on the Creme Brulee itself or on the side if you put your ramekin on a plate. Then top w/powdered sugar. Just a fun finishing touch to a delicious dessert! Good luck and if anyone tries it comment on it and let me know your thoughts!