Sweetbippy Cooks!

Lemon Sunshiny Goodness!

2011-04-30T21:43:00.000-05:00

I'm totally going to make these this week. I've been craving something lemon-y and these I think will fit the bill!

Photo Courtesy of bakingbites.com

Looking forward to sharing my success! Yum!

Obvisously I'm a slacker.

2011-01-04T17:29:00.000-06:00

Oh my goodness you guys! I can't believe it's been so long since I posted last. I am so sorry!!

It's not like I haven't cooked any wonderful food! I have! My 7 lb. weight gain can testify to that. Yikes.

How were your holidays? Ours were spent at home with our kids and for the most part, it was stress free. My parents and Sister {Leslie, who posts here regularly} weren't able to make it to our house for Christmas which made me sad, but not having to cook for 9 people for 2 weeks was somewhat enjoyable. Don't tell them I said that. Hee-hee.

I didn't cook for Thanksgiving, but I DID make a whole turkey dinner for Christmas day dinner. When my parents are here, we cook on Christmas Eve. Usually all the yummy dishes my Sister and I don't get the rest of the year, like Spinach Torta, Wine Cake, and Chicken Cacciatore. Yum! I came to the same conclusion I do every time I cook for hours on end. It almost doesn't seem worth it to cook that much and for so long if it only takes my family 17 minutes to eat it!! I loved it and my gravy was the BOMB!!
One way I can tell I still love cooking despite the time it takes to eat it, is we got a new roasting pan at World Market for 7.99!! With a rack and everything!! I also got a new aqua and green silicone whisk for Christmas from my sweet hubby that I used to make the gravy. It was probably the best gravy I've ever made.

Pretty good looking turkey, huh? First one I've cooked in about 7 or 8 years. It was delish!!

I also made a really yummy cookie/brownie that I found while surfing the internet. Picky Palate's recipe for these little babies made our New Years Eve gathering at our BFF's house THAT MUCH BETTER! I even used Candy Cane "Oreos" from my favorite store, Aldi. Can you see where the 7 lb. gain has come from?!

I don't have pictures of the cookies, and they didn't turn out as pretty as Picky Palate's recipe, but they tasted so good! They were gone before I could snap a picture!

I hope the New Year is filled with many tasty dishes that are easy to prepare and budget friendly! That's my cooking wish this year. Oh and healthy too, but I think I need to work on that one! My pants shrunk!

Love and fudge covered cookies,

Simple is always better!

2010-11-06T20:46:00.001-05:00

This week has been challenging for many reasons. Money is always an issue, but this week is much tighter than usual. Extra expenses and poor choices (eating out when I could have cooked at home) cause a girl to get creative! I’ve planned my menu for the week and set it in motion tonight.

I’ve subscribed to E-Mealz to get some meal inspiration and help with grocery planning. Most things look really yummy and the ease of preparation is for sure a plus. I get the Weight Watchers friendly points recipes and menu so I can help cut down on the fat and shed some pounds. The only down side seems to be too much variety! My kids won’t eat a Feta and Walnut Salad for dinner or a can of Progresso Zero point Veggie Soup! I keep printing them out and filing them away hoping I can use them one day or at least glance at them for inspiration.

One meal they had a couple of weeks ago seemed appealing and super easy. I knew my kids would like it, but as the weeks went by and more and more irritations/roadblocks struck our family, I kept putting this meal off. No more! I made it tonight for dinner.

It was a success!! Everyone liked it and I put a star in my recipe binder as a make again meal. I’ll share it with you because it’s so dang easy and very tasty too! Oh and it’s also economical for a family of 6 because the whole meal cost me about $9.00 or $1.50 per person!! You can’t beat that!

Ravioli bake

32 oz. package of cheese ravioli (you can substitute any flavor filling ravioli you prefer! It would be terrific with cheese and spinach, but my kids won’t eat it! Boo on them!)
2 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 large can crushed tomatoes
parsley flakes, onion powder, minced garlic, salt, pepper, basil flakes

Pre-heat oven to 350. While oven is pre-heating, bring large pot of water to a boil and cook ravioli according to package directions.

Season can of crushed tomatoes with parsley, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper, and basil flakes. I just eyeballed it and tasted it. Use a little of each and taste. If it needs more, then add more. That’s pretty much how I cook, but feel free to use about 1/2 tsp. to start of each and adjust to your tastes.

Spray 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon some sauce on the bottom of the dish. Arrange drained ravioli on top of sauce. Sprinkle about a cup of cheese over the ravioli and then grated parmesan cheese. Again, eyeball it. Add more cheese if you like it really cheesy! Then repeat with sauce, and the rest of the ravioli. Top with last layer of cheeses and cover with foil.

Bake for 30 min. in oven. After 30 min., take off foil and carefully brown cheese under broiler for about 4 minutes, watching carefully so it doesn’t burn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I took some hot dog buns, opened them up, spread them with softened butter and garlic salt and broiled them until brown in the oven. Don’t judge. They needed to be eaten and the store I went to didn’t have any garlic bread! Being resourceful! It’s a good thing! :o)

Voila! Ravioli Bake and garlic toast! All this for under $10 bucks! And I prefer to make my own tomato sauce because not only is it cheaper, but the bright taste of tomatoes and spices remind me of Italian pasta sauce I had in Italy. I’ll never buy jarred sauce again!

I thought about taking pictures, but I was trying to get it on the table before 7pm and the natives got restless! I hope you try it. It was very tasty and way easier to make than lasagna or even my Lasagna Roll-ups.

Here’s a picture I found the internet. That’s just about what mine looked like! It’s not rocket science! Just comfort food!

Picture courtesy of www.tablespoon.com

Love and cheese filling,

Free Menu/Grocery Planner Download

2010-10-02T17:32:00.002-05:00

I know my sister has shared a few of her favorite menu planning sites and I thought I'd share what I use. I use a free download from www.theprojectgirl.com. It works pretty well for me and gives me a visual to mix and match meals. And I like the grocery planning section too!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-09-28T22:43:00.002-05:00

It's getting to be that time of year where everyone craves pumpkin and spice and everything nice. Oh wait, did I say everyone? I probably really mean that I crave stuff with pumpkin. Except that I'm not a big fan of the pumpkin spice hershey's kisses. Anyone else with me on this one? I love the coconut kisses. Alas, I digress. Back to pumpkin.

My first introduction to this recipe was by Rookie Cookie (who has now said farewell to food blogging, sniff, sniff) about two years ago. From the first batch, it was love at first bite.

They are super easy and super yummy. So easy you won't believe it. So easy you have to try them. Promise you will, okay? If you follow Weight Watchers, they are only 1 point each if you use mini-chips and make 36 cookies. Oh, and don't eat all of them at once. That would be 36 points. Unless you haven't used your 35 weekly points then you can eat them all at once. But expect to have a tummy ache. So actually, yeah, still don't eat them all at once.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box spice cake mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 bag chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet, whatever you like)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the cake mix and the pumpkin. Add the chocolate chips and stir well. Spoon mounds of dough onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool. Give one to each person in your family and then hide the rest for yourself (this is Rookie Cookie's advice and I wholeheartedly agree with her)

That’s one a-spicy meat-a-ball!!

2010-07-30T16:21:00.001-05:00

I didn’t always appreciate my Mom’s cooking.

Let me e’splain.

I used to think it was weird when she would use the same 3 seasonings over and over again. Salt and pepper, garlic salt, and lemon pepper. In every meal, all the time.

Once she mixed spaghetti noodles and de-hydrated onions with scrambled eggs and her signature spices all cooked together. I’m sure I refused to eat it. (I exaggerate…slightly)

I discovered later as a grown up, that sometimes when you don’t have a lot of money and a few staples in the pantry and fridge, that you can cook up a delicious meal for one and it’s not weird! It tasted REALLY GOOD! I had the epiphany that my Mom DID know what she was doing and I could do it too!

That day in the kitchen, I warmly remembered a time when her food was made with love and flavor. I smiled and silently thanked her. (Her cooking is still made with flavor and love today, I just don’t get to eat her cooking all that often. Mom? I miss your cooking!)

Then I ate my yummy dinner!

Some of the most beloved dishes I grew up with-

Mashed Potato Salad
Leg of Lamb on Easter
Spinach Torta
Broccoli and Chicken over Rice
Zucchini and Red Potatoes
Joe Special
Meatloaf (I still can’t make it like she used to!)
Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken Soup with Dumplings
Wine Cake (she did not use those spices, but it’s the best cake ever!)

That’s just a short list of my favorite foods!! I have a ton more!

As an adult, I’ve learned to appreciate the foundation of spices she used to make all those great dishes. I find myself reaching for the garlic salt and more recently the lemon pepper to use in almost every savory dish I make. I’ve added some more to my cooking repertoire and I’d like to share them with you and how I use them.

Garlic Salt, California Style (with parsley flakes)
I used garlic salt in about 80% of my meals. Here’s another bullet list of what I use Garlic Salt in:
- Tuna salad
- Salad dressings- specifically my Mom’s homemade Thousand Island dressing (it’s THE best!) and sprinkled over a green salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar (my Sister taught me the oil and vinegar dressing trick and it’s become my most recent favorite! Thanks Leslie and our trip to Florence!)
- Meat marinades or sprinkled over the meat with grill seasoning
- Anything with a cream gravy or mushroom style gravy or sauce. It has a stronger flavor that minced garlic and I am a salt fiend. I guess that’s why I have high blood pressure.

Wildtree Herbs Dill Blend (dill weed, sea salt, onion, and pepper)
This is a product I discovered a couple of years ago while at a home party for Wildtree Herbs. It makes a wonderful Dill Dip that I adore!! I used it in other recipes or where ever I love that dill flavor. I seem to be the only person I know who loves the flavor of dill in a form other than pickle.
- Egg Salad
- Tuna Salad
- Salad dressings
- Seasoning for Salmon
- Marinade for fish
- Always in sour cream because I LOVE it as a dip!
Lemon & Pepper Seasonings Blend
Lemon Pepper has been in my life as far back as I can remember. I don’t think my Mom has ever cooked without it. She probably has used it in recipes I can’t even think of! Here is what I use it the most for.
- Lemon Pepper Chicken (It’s one of the most requested meals when my Mom comes to visit my Sister. In second place is probably Spinach Torta and it’s used in there too.)
- Tuna Salad ( I use a lot of spices in my tuna salad and my Mom taught me that too. This would be why my husband says I make the best he’s ever had!)
- Meatloaf
- Sprinkled on chicken, beef, and fish
- Pasta dishes with a cream sauce

Ground Cumin
Chili Powder
More recently I’ve been cooking with Cumin and Chili Powder in a lot of my Mexican style dishes. It has a smoky pungent smell and sometimes reminds me of B.O., but I like what it brings to my soups and meat marinades! Here’s what I used it in lately.
- Black Bean “Soup”
- Yogurt sauce for fish tacos (sprinkle some of that in plain yogurt and add some garlic salt and pepper, and you’ve got a YUMMY addition to fish tacos with cabbage slaw)
- Seasoning for Chicken for black bean soup (Mix cumin and chili powder together on raw chicken, with salt and pepper and olive oil. Toss to coat, then cook in hot pan or grill, then add to soups and stews. Have it grilled fajita style-that’s always good!)
- Tortilla Soup
- Sometimes I put it in pico or salsa that I make. All depends on my mood and how smoky I want the flavor.

I’m sure there are a ton more uses for those spices and blends, but those are all I can think of for now! I use them so much, I keep then all crowded together on my counter next to the stove. The other spices tend to migrate there as well, and every once and a while I have to redistribute them all back to where they came from. I used to have the whole upper cabinet, bottom shelf full of spices and seasonings before we did the kitchen makeover.

Are they trying to tell me something? Maybe they all come out at night and have a party next to the stove while I’m sleeping?! That would be yummy! Maybe someday, those spices and seasonings will cook dinner for me while I take a nap! That would be awesome!!

What are your go to spices and seasonings? What can’t you live without?

Love and heartburn,

The Devil Makes Frosting

2010-07-28T13:46:00.003-05:00

Seeing as how I’ve turned a corner on my past unhealthy eating habits and lost 22 lbs, it’s quite confusing why I would be obsessed with frosting lately. Not just any frosting...

Cookie Dough Frosting!!

I should just stop here. But I can't so, you can already imagine what it would be. It looks like chocolate chip cookie dough. It tastes like it too!
Now take that image and plop a thick layer ON TOP of a decedent dark brown fudgy BROWNIE!!

(I think I just fainted.)

Behold the Devil’s temptation…

Picture Courtesy of Beantown Baker

I know right??
Ok, so I saw this recipe and kept dreaming about it. Wanting to make it, but not wanting to be tempted by the 3 sticks of butter!! Just makes my heart hurt thinking about it, but again…the temptation was STRONG and the pull was great.

I broke down and made the brownies from a box mix.

I have no doubt that the Ghirardelli Brownie Mix will be nothing but stellar. I just didn’t want to go through the trouble of measuring everything from scratch to make brownies. I’m lazy. Turns out I’ll have to make another batch of brownies anyway because the frosting makes a HUGE amount!! Way more than should be legal on a brownie.

So onto the frosting recipe! Hang on kids, it’s gonna get buttery!

Cookie Dough Frosting

3 sticks of butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
9 Tbs. milk
3 cups flour
3 cups chocolate chips, semi sweet
*I think it would be tasty to add a teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of salt, just like you would in regular chocolate chip cookies. I think it would bring out the flavors more. I'll do that next time and let you know!*

1. Add 3 sticks of butter and both sugars to the mixer and cream until light and fluffy.
2. Add milk one Tbs. at a time until mixed in.
3. Turn mixer to low and add 1 cup of flour at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl after each cup of flour.
4. Add chocolate chips and mix in by hand.
5. Top completely cooled brownies with frosting. (store the rest of the frosting covered in fridge until ready to use. Make another batch of brownies and give it away to a friend!!)
6. Cover with clear wrap and let set up in fridge for at least 2 hours or until firm. Cut and enjoy!

7. Go immediately work out after enjoying 1 brownie!

I’m totally sorry I had to expose you to this type of temptation. I don’t want to be a stumbling block, so I’ll make sure to dispose of them properly! I’ll give them away! One piece for everyone and then the rest go to other people. I promise!!

Jon took a picture of the sinful yet delicious temptation! Again, I'm sorry. You might want to look away. You've been warned!

My husband made a video review of my recipe. Check it out if you dare!

Want to see an even cuter review of my brownie? I give you MJ, the cutest darn brownie eater ever!

I’ll only allow you to make them if you promise to give some away too! Enjoy!!

Love, buttersticks, and chocolate chips!

Baked Mac ‘N Cheese if you please…

2010-07-24T11:09:00.000-05:00

I tried a new recipe last night. It’s a recipe I found on an obscure recipe site and they just happen to have WW friendly recipes, so I wrote a couple of them down.

I’m always looking for ways to spruce up my menu, so I chose a WW version of Mac ‘N Cheese. It’s supposed to be 5 points value per cup. Of course it didn’t specify how many cups it made, so we’ll just go with what it said. “That’s what IT said!”
Ahem…sorry. Michael Scott just creeped in there a little.

Anyways…I followed the recipe. It was fairly simple and I made sure I had all the ingredients.

Baked Mac ‘N Cheese

I’m a Wal-mart kind of gal, but feel free to use any brand you like.

Elbow macaroni, 12 oz – I used 16 oz (that’s 1 lb. for all you crazy math lovers out there! I used my digital scale to weigh the pasta and the cheese), cuz I’m a rebel and I already told you I’m not good at following recipes.
Low fat Sour Cream, 1/2 cup – I used almost 3/4 of a cup. :D
Fat Free Evaporated Milk, 2-12 oz cans
Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese, 6 oz.
Mexican Style Shredded Cheese; Colby Jack, 6 oz
Dijon Mustard, 1 Tbs.
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Plain Bread Crumbs, 2 Tbs.
Parmesan Cheese grated, 2 Tbs.
Garlic Salt, couple of shakes
Paprika, a couple shakes for color

1. Boil the macaroni for about 6 minutes until Al Dente.
2. Drain macaroni and mix in sour cream.
3. Heat Evaporated Milk until scalded ( until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Stir in Cheese until melted, whisking until smooth. Add seasonings and dijon mustard and stir until incorporated.
4. Add to macaroni and mix.

5. Spray bottom and sides of pan (use either 9x13 or I used a rectangle non stick pan. I don’t know what size I used. Sorry!) and fill pan with macaroni. Sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs evenly over the top.

6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 min.
7. Eat and enjoy.

I’ve adjusted the recipe to make more cheese sauce. I found the original ingredient amounts made for a tasty albeit dry outcome as you can see from the picture above. I really like it more cheesy and moist (I hate that word). I think it’ll make it more points, but it’s got to be better than a full fat version of any Mac ‘N Cheese!

It got rave reviews from the boys, which is saying something! They usually only like the boxed stuff!

I sound like a broken record, but try it! You’ll like it! Then come and tell me about it, so I can be happy that my cooking makes other people happy!! Oh and are you seeing a trend here? I make easy stuff. It’s not rocket science, just Good(er) Eats! (Is that copy write protected? Ooops! There I fixed it with parenthesis! I love those things!!

Love, Cheese, and Happiness!

Let’s break this blogs all time record!

2010-07-23T09:26:00.001-05:00

I was looking through the archives, you know, all 15 of the blog posts and I got a wild idea! I’m going to break the current record held in February of 5 posts!! You heard me right…5!

Tying for second place is January and July with 4 posts each. Poor May and June only got 1 and I completely forgot about March and April! They must feel totally unloved.

I would like to make July the month I blow it out of the park with lots of recipes and meal ideas! What do you think??

Here’s what I’m currently working on:

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumps
Baked Mac ‘n Cheese
Taco Casserole
Cola Chicken ( I can’t wait to try this )

I really need to add more desserts to my repertoire, but that is a tricky bag of slippery slopes. I don’t need to be eating desserts…all that OFTEN. So maybe I can whip up something every once in a while and squeeze it in here. That’s my plan. We’ll see how THAT goes!

Here’s to taking what’s left of July and getting in as many recipes and meal plans as I can! I can do it! I know I can!!

See ya sooner!

Love and cheese puffs,

Let's get ready to Rummmmmble!!

2010-07-21T11:00:00.002-05:00

In this corner we have 4 hungry kids and 1 hungry husband.

In this corner we have 1 frazzled Mom who doesn't know what to make for dinner again!

Welcome to the Ultimate Dinner Dilemma!!

Tagging in for Mom is Ultimate Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff- a heavy weight with sour cream!

No seriously, this summer has been a fight of major proportions when it comes to what to make for dinner. I know I'm not the only one right?? I've talked about this recipe before here. It's super easy and economical. I posted a link over in the Recipe Love section to the right. (Let me know if the link isn't working-sometimes bloggers change where they keep their posts and so that means I need to update too!)

I spent $8.99 on 2.51 lbs of beef stew meat. This kind that's already cut up. I could probably save more by buying it in bulk and cutting it up myself, but let's face it. I won't do that. The recipe is so simple, I didn't even have to buy anything else for it but the meat.

ULTIMATE CROCK POT BEEF STROGANOFF

2-3 lbs. beef stew meat, cut in bite size pieces
Salt and Pepper the meat

1 onion finely minced, or sliced (your preference- I finally added onion finely minced and I hope it disappears so my kids won't notice!)
Sliced fresh mushrooms, optional
Sour Cream, optional but recommended

In a 2 cup glass measuring cup mix the following:

1 1/2 TBS of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 1/2 TBS ketchup
1 1/2 -2 cups beef broth - either made by beef granules or canned (depending on how much sauce you want and if you want to thicken it with whatever you have in your pantry *see added notes below*)

1. Salt and Pepper meat, throw in bottom of crock pot. Mix in onions. Add mushrooms if using.

2. Pour beef broth mixture over meat and wait for it....COVER. Turn on High and WALK AWAY for 7-8 hours!!

That's it! Told you it was easy.

I plan on serving it with spaghetti noodles and a small salad. Like I said before, the cost of the meat was $9.00 and I had everything else on hand in my pantry. So my family of six can eat this meal at a cost of $1.50 per person! You can't eat anywhere for that! And honestly it tastes so good, you don't even mind eating it when it's 104 degrees outside because you made it in the crock pot and the house stayed cool from not using the oven!

Here is a picture from the blog I originally got the recipe from-

Via My Kitchen Cafe
all rights reserved

I can't take any pictures of it, because it's all gone!! But it looked a lot like this, but more shredded and we put parmesan cheese on top!

**Added after the fact**
Ok, so I think I may have told you to put too much liquid in this recipe. See, I forget that liquid doesn't evaporate from the crock pot, it only multiplies; like gremlins. So, after it cooked for 5 hours on low, I cranked it up to high and cooked it another 4 hours. It was very tender and shredded as I stirred it, but I like it that way. I added two big dollops of sour cream and some corn starch and water to thicken it. When THAT didn't thicken it enough, I added a package of Garlic Alfredo Sauce and microwaved it for 5 minutes or so. I totally flew by the seat of my pants. It gave it an awesome flavor, so I knew I was pretty much using it as a thickening agent. Then I topped the spaghetti with it and added some parm cheese. Not really the typical recipe for Beef Stroganoff, but it was sure good! And, since I sunburned the heck out of my legs today, I didn't have to spend an hour cooking in the kitchen. I liked that. Liked it enough to take my youngest boy out on a date.
How ever you choose to thicken it, you really can't mess this dish up. I hope you're not scared to cook it! Go experiment, I won't tell!

*****

Peace, Love, and Tender Beef,

Pork and Black Beans

2010-07-13T20:05:00.003-05:00

This is a wonderful recipe from a WW cookbook I got from Angie and/or Jon for Christmas a few years ago. After going through the book and marking all of the recipes that looked good (aka like something Dad would make for me), this one has definitely become a favorite. Pair this with low-carb flour tortillas, corn tortillas or baked Tostitos and fat-free sour cream and fresh cilantro (add points accordingly for the extras). I love this recipe!

Pork and Black Beans
Makes 4 serving
3 WW points per serving

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t. hot paprika (I use regular, non-hot)
1/4 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. salt
5 ounces lean pork tenderloin
1 t. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. white vinegar
One 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 carrot, finely diced
2 T. fresh lime juice
1/2 tomato, diced
1 red onion, chopped
2 T. chopped cilantro

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, paprika, cumin and salt; rub into the pork.
In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Saute the pork until browned, 2-3 minutes on each side. Reduce the heat and cook, covered, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Halve the pork lengthwise, then cut crosswise into thin slices.
Add the vinegar to the pan drippings and simmer, stirring, until the acidity cooks off, about 2 minutes. Add the beans, carrot and lime juice; cook, tossing, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the pork, tomato, onion and cilantro; toss to combine.

I love this recipe because it's so good and so low in points. Even if you eat the whole thing, it's only 12 points! Eat half and it's a lot of food and less points than most other dinners. Gotta love the fiber! I have used more pork and increased the points and then ate only one serving for about 5-6 points.

Try it and tell me how much you loved it!

Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit...

2010-07-12T21:12:00.000-05:00

I won't finish the song, but I know you know it!

Today I want to talk about yummy black beans. I am by no means an expert, but I've come to really like and appreciate this little bean.

The internet says this:

An oval bean with a black skin, cream-colored flesh, and a sweet flavor. Black beans have long been popular in Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and the southern United States. Also called turtle bean. Matches well with: avocados, bacon, cheese, chilies, cilantro, coriander, cumin, garlic, ham, jalapenos, mint, onion, oranges, peppers, rice, sour cream, tequila, tomatoes.

Me and beans haven't always gotten along. It's not because of it's magical properties (although I've been known to make some pretty loud "magic", if you know what I mean!), but more of a texture thing. When I was a little girl, I would sit in front of a pile of stewed tomatoes and gag at the thought of eating them. I may or may not have actually gagged, but you'll have to confirm that with my Mom. I'll never tell.
I had issues with many foods and their textures growing up. Peas (canned- still don't like them. I prefer frozen.), stewed tomatoes (LOVE tomatoes and always have, just not the slimy whole kind. Now I love any kind of tomato, stewed or fresh.), LIVER (ewww, who really "likes" liver besides my parents? I will NEVER grow to like liver...*shudder*) garbanzo beans, kidney beans, any beans except green, and that's really all I can think of now. But other than that, I loved food. Probably why I wanted to be a chef and have been fat all my life. Food is awesome and tastes REALLY good!! And it's fun...but let's move on shall we?

My Sister, Leslie has loved black beans for many many years ever since she was a Missionary in Guatemala and has some great recipes to share. Maybe if we encourage her, she'll post them here for all of us to try?

So, why black beans? Well...I was talking with my Mom yesterday on Skype and she was eating what she called "Speedy Black Bean Soup". I wasn't familiar with that recipe (like if she cooked it herself or bought it that way), and maybe she can guest post on here too and give us all the recipe?!

Anyhoo...this morning after I went to the bank, I got to thinking. "I have to package up some chicken for the freezer, why don't I just cook up some chicken with some black beans and tomatoes? Oooh yum, that sounds good", I said outloud...to no one in particular. I was alone in the room, ok? Like you don't talk to yourself? I do! And viola! Easy-Peasy Black Bean "Soup" was born. Right there in my kitchen. It cooed at me and I tickled it under the chin and put it though college. Seriously though, anyone can make this. It's just that easy.

So onto the recipe right?? I know you are dying to hear my latest and greatest culinary discovery right? Riiiight??!!

No culinary discovery here, but this is some good eats!

Easy-Peasy Black Bean "Soup"

I call it "soup" because you can add more liquid, i.e. chicken broth or water to make it more soup-y, but I liked it thicker like a stew or thick soup. It's all about preference. Yours, not mine. I aim to please.

Serves generously 2 or less generously 4

Time: about 30 min. or 45 if you want to simmer it longer

Ingredients:

Chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces

Onion, chopped

2 cans black beans,

2 cans diced tomatoes

chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper, garlic salt, and minced garlic to taste

Olive oil

*optional* sour cream or plain yogurt and shredded cheese.

Rinse and pat dry chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces, season with chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic salt. Drizzle with olive oil and mix in shallow bowl to distribute spices.
Dice onion. Heat skillet to medium high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Brown chicken for a few minutes and add onion and stir around until it looks good. :o)

Sort of looks like this:

Then add canned diced tomatoes with all the juice. Stir and admire your work.

It'll look something like this:

So far this isn't rocket science and most of my readers (all 3 of you...ok 5 since I know my FAMILY reads this) know how to do basic cooking, like browning meat, and stirring around some canned ingredients.

Then I added the black beans. The first can I kept all the liquid, but the second can, I drained off some of the clear stuff on the top. Probably would have kept that in since I ended up adding some water because I let it cook too long and some of the liquid evaporated.

And it looked like this:

Lower the heat to simmer and cook with lid on until liquid is somewhat reduced and the flavors have had time to mingle and date. You'll thank yourself for it later when you taste its goody goodness!

Here you'll have to use your imagination. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. I know, I'm a dork. I did post about it on Facebook though...without a picture.

Angie said: "I wish you had smell-a-vision or taste-a-vision because I just made killer black bean and chicken soup for lunch!! I impress myself. Thanks Mom for having black bean soup yesterday for lunch so I could today! ♥"

It was really tasty, and very easy to make. My Mom later told me she made hers with corn and balsamic vinegar. I'm thinking to myself, "Why didn't I think of that?" I guess I'll have to do some more experimenting and play with it some more!

I hope you give it a try. It was even better for dinner cold with some tortilla chips! It's like so versatile. And like, so like yummy! Oh muh gosh! For realz! (Did you hear my best valley-girl accent? You did? Yay, that is LIKE so radical!!) Ok, like enjoy your magical beans you guys!! They're good for your colon!

Tootles! (Ha! I said "toot"!!! LOL)

You say Potato, I say HEAVEN!!

2010-07-05T00:11:00.000-05:00

Nothing says 4th of July like BBQ and potato salad. One of my favorite potato salad recipes is from a dear friend of mine, Debbi. She introduced me to this sinful dish a couple of years ago at our annual Kaboom Town Fireworks Celebration. Its creamy, sweet, tender goodness is a welcome addition to any bbq or main meat dish. It's so simple to make and only 6 ingredients!

Debbi's Potato Salad

New Potato Salad
Prep time: 30 minutes
Yields: 6-8 servings
6-8 new potatoes (enough to yield 6 C when cooked and cubed)
1 C celery slices
1/2 C chopped onion (white works best, but you can also use red)
1/3 C chopped sweet pickle
1 C mayonnaise
2 eggs, hard boiled
salt, pepper, and paprika

Cut potatoes into cubes and place in a large pot of boiling water. Boil, covered, for 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are soft enough to prick with a fork. Drain and let cool. (I did not rinse my potatoes, I cooled them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper for about 30 min.)

While potatoes are cooking, dice up onion, egg, pickle, and slice celery. Combine vegetables, pickle, egg, and mayonnaise; mix lightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill in fridge at least 1 hour. Best the next day.

The thing I love about this salad is the ease of prep and the few ingredients it takes to make a creamy delicious side dish. I hope you try it out and I think you'll put it on your favorite list too!

Feel free to substitute fat free mayo or low fat mayo for a WW style recipe. I haven't tried it myself as I allowed myself to have it this holiday weekend without guilt. I made point friendly sweet and spicy beans and had fat free hot dogs (only 1 point each!). Not sure it would be the same with ff or lf mayo, but it sure wouldn't hurt to experiment!

Happy 4th of July!!

Bean Salad in Italy

2010-06-30T23:32:00.006-05:00

While in Italy with SweetBippy and her dad (my dad first but I'm okay with sharing), we whipped up a tasty 3 bean salad consisting of cannellini beans (white kidney beans), cici beans (garbanzos) and Italian red beans. I doctored them up with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, red onion, green olives, garlic and some other stuff which I can't remember right now.

Let me tell you what...SweetBippy is NOT a big fan of beans. She went along with the idea because we were tired of staring at each other while standing in the store and needed to come up with a second side dish and our dad likes beans. I think we were making this as part of our Father's day feast but I may be a little fuzzy on the details.

*edited by Sweetbippy* It was actually the last meal we made on Thursday after we saw David in all his naked glory because we were both wearing dresses that day. And you're right, we were having trouble making decisions that day on what to bring home to eat. Good choice Sister! I bought beans to recreate that salad! I'll be calling you for the recipe!

Anyway, even though she was skeptical, she LOVED the bean salad. Dad loved the bean salad. I declared the bean salad to be my new best friend.

If I had a picture, I would totally post it but it seems that all of the food pictures were not taken by me.

*edited by Sweetbippy*

Instead, I give you a like to a cannellini bean spread that looks like it could be the bean salad's delicious cousin.

And my second new best friend.

Leslie

*edited by Sweetbippy*

I was actually craving some bean salad today so I attempted to recreate as best I could the bean salad we had in Italy. The only things missing was fresh grated parmesan cheese, salami milano from the local store, and this awesome olive "salad" made with 3 or 4 kinds of olives, olive oil, and spices. I may go down to my local market and get some olive salad so I can recreate the best bean salad I've ever had.

Here is my version:

Italian Style Bean Salad

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can great northern beans
(cannellini beans if you can find them or other small white bean like navy), rinsed and drained

olive oil, about 4 tbs.
red wine vinegar, about 4 tbs.
garlic, chopped ( I used bottled)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Veggies: I used white onion because that is what I had, but it tastes wonderful with red onion as well. I added what I had in the fridge ( cucumber, and red pepper both diced) and some campari tomatoes (like large grape tomatoes very sweet and delish!). I also added fresh basil that I pulled off the plant, to taste. About 3 tbsp.
Some grated parm cheese, and some shredded parm cheese.

Mix together and let sit to marinate about 20 min.

Enjoy!

(Leslie, if I've forgotten anything, feel free to speak up!! )

This is what happens when you join Weight Watchers…

2010-05-28T22:36:00.001-05:00

I can’t believe it’s been 3 months since my last blog post! I’m so sorry! I got all excited by the pretty blog template and the cherries, then totally expected that I would blog all my favorite recipes. The best of intentions right?

The truth is, once I joined WW I really changed the way I cooked. I am trying to re-work some of my most favorite recipes, but there are just some that are way too high in points for me to justify cooking.

I’ve been slowly successful with my new way of eating and moving. I’ve lost almost 17 lbs since my last blog post. I feel tons better and have really grown to like Bagel Thins and Fat Free Shredded Cheese! My favorite thing to eat much to the chagrin of my children, ”Grilled chicken again??!!” is grilled chicken and grilled asparagus. I could eat a ton of that yummy charred asparagus!

Don’t worry, this won’t turn into a Weight Watchers blog per say, but I will be sharing healthier versions of my favorite recipes and new ones that I come across along the way.

There are a couple of good WW friendly recipe blogs I’ve been browsing and bookmarking that I’d love to share with you. {Click on the pictures to visit them and browse their recipes!}

Chubbie Chica has great menu’s that she posts with mini recipes and WW point info. If you are like me, I get stuck in a rut and make the same dishes over and over, so I really appreciate someone else’s menu ideas.

Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes is full of wonderful pictures of the recipes she shares! It’s like the WW version of Pioneer Woman Cooks!, well without the cowboys and droopy eared Bassett hound.
My Sister and I drool over the pictures and make mental notes to definitely make that next time!

Don’t give up on me and my cooking blog just yet! Keep checking back and I promise I’ll make more of an effort. Really!!

I’ll leave you with this: a before and after

Taken December 2009 Taken May 2010

I have trouble following recipes…

2010-02-23T21:20:00.002-06:00

So here’s the thing- I love recipes. Reading them, making them up, and using them for inspiration. Problem is, I don’t always do exactly what they say.
Case in point: Lasagna Roll Ups
I looked all over the internet for a recipe for one. They all seemed to call for spinach. While I LOVE spinach, my children do not and even though Jon says he will eat it in a dish, I know it’s not his favorite.
That being said, I wasn’t satisfied with my search results.
So what did I do?
I came up with a recipe all on my own.

What is wrong with that you ask? Well, nothing really except I’m not good at writing the recipe down for someone else to make it, if I used a little of this and a pinch of that. I’m pretty much flying by the seat of my pants and hoping that it’ll turn out good. Not everyone is comfortable with that method of cooking. Some of you need to be able to follow the recipe to the letter. Me? Not so much. Good thing about what I did is this method is basic. A foundation of sorts. If you use the basic ratio of ricotta cheese, 1 egg, and some cheeses, you can add pretty much whatever else you want to it to make it your own.
So, for your culinary enjoyment, and if you choose to attempt to make these on yourself, I give you….(drum roll please)

Lasagna Roll Ups

Ok, so I browned some ground beef. I happened to brown about 5 lbs worth all at the same time. I browned it with some chopped up garlic.
The reason I tell you this is because I didn’t measure out how much cooked meat I used in the roll ups. See? I told you I made this up as I went along. But lets say for recipe sake, I used 2 lbs of ground beef.

Ok, let’s start over. Tee-hee…

2 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 lasagna noodles, cooked about 10-11 min. in boiling salted water
1 1/2 cups of whole milk ricotta cheese
garlic salt, salt and pepper
1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese (Im guessing how much I used because I didn’t measure, I just used it throughout and mixed it in the cheese mixture and on top)
1 egg
1 Jar Marinara sauce, your choice
1 Jar Alfredo sauce, your choice
Shredded Mozzarella cheese, about 2 cups, divided

Brown beef, drain. Let cool. Boil water, boil noodles, when cooked, set aside to cool on baking sheet sprayed with a little pam so they don’t stick.

Mix ricotta, garlic salt, salt and pepper, parm. cheese, cooled beef, and 1 egg. Mix until incorporated. Before you add the egg, taste mixture and adjust your seasoning. I liked it heavily flavored with garlic salt, but you can use as little or as much as you like.

Spread about 1 cup or so of alfredo sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. I used a deep metal pan with square sides as my pyrex glass dish was in the fridge with something yucky in it from who knows how long ago! LOL ahem…moving on.

Take on lasagna noodle and lay it out long ways. Sprinkle with a little mozzarella cheese and put a spoonful of the meat and cheese mixture onto the noodle. Rolling the end of the noodle around the beef/cheese mixture, roll up the rest of the length of the noodle. Repeat the same steps until all 12 noodles are filled and put in the bottom of the pan. It should look like this:

Sprinkle with more mozzarella cheese. Spoon marinara sauce over the top of each roll. Top with more mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil sprayed with pam, (so the cheese won’t stick) and bake at 375* for about 30 min. I started at 350*, but turned it up half way thru because it wasn’t heating up fast enough. Then I took the foil off and baked it for 15 more minutes to melt the cheese and make sure it was heated through.

oh by the way, this made 12 rolls, and for our family, that means 2 rolls each. If you are one or two people, you could still make the 12 rolls, and freeze the cooked portions for later. Do with it what you will, I know you can do the math. ;o)

Behold the cheesy yumminess that is lasagna rolls.

Like my new tablecloth? Wal-Mart, 4 bucks.

The verdict:

Jon loved them! They were tasty and easy to eat, unlike regular lasagna that oozes out all over the pan when you cut and serve them.
Dan and Lauren ate their 1 piece and along with french bread, they seemed satisfied.
Michael Jon liked the noodle, but not the filling because he heard me say there was a raw egg in it. Oy. Had he not heard that, I think he would have been more willing to like the way it tasted.
I thought they were delish! Easy to eat, easy to prepare given the late start I had to making dinner.
Brenna fell asleep, so we’ll have to ask her another time.

I thought it could have used more sauce on top, but only 1 other thought they could have been saucier. The boys said it was perfect the way it was.

This “recipe” is very forgiving. I ran out of meat with like 5 noodles left, so because I browned up so much at once, I just added more meat and more ricotta cheese and a couple shakes more of garlic salt. Easy peasy!

I think they will freeze well and reheat well also. Don’t you think Leslie?You’ve made them before, and you said they froze well. Chime in Sister!

I hope you try this recipe and let me know how they turn out for you. Remember, you can add thawed and drained spinach, mushrooms, or sautéed onion in the with the browned beef. Don’t feel limited by our bland palates! Go forth and make it your own! I know you can do it!!

This is what happens when I’m sick…

2010-02-21T23:08:00.003-06:00

I don’t cook.

I planned out my meals for the whole month. I think I’ve only executed 2 or 3 of those meals.

I’m feeling somewhat better thanks to anti-biotics and LOTS of rest. Rest is nice sometimes, but eating out fast food all the time, not so much.

Tonight, my hubby wasn’t feeling so well, (he accidentally took 2- TWO- Benadryl tablets hoping it would help his sinuses and all it did was knock him out) so I couldn’t just expect him to go and get our usual Sunday meal out. Oh, did I mention I’m spoiled? Yeah…let’s not go there.

So anywhoo…

I whipped up a yummy meal of salmon filets, rice pilaf, and mixed veggies. Oh, I made a dilled mustard butter sauce to put on the salmon. So yum! I love pan seared salmon with some sort of sauce (usually with dill because I love the two flavors together).

I try to keep staples in the pantry for quick meal sides and I always have some sort of frozen veggies on hand.
For next week, I’ve taken another look at the menu and it looks like we’re on for some

Sloppy Joe’s with Mac N Cheese

Mandarin Orange Chicken

Shredded Beef and Salsa Verde Enchilada Bake

Somewhere in there I need to get in some salads for lunch and a workout or 7. It’s so hard to change your eating habits when you live with 5 other people. Four of those people are under the age of 15 and more often than not dictate what our meals are. I try to provide lots of variety, but if I was as adventurous as I would like to be, I would have some protesters on my hands! :o) Besides, I don’t think my family wants to eat Mexican food every night!

What are you going to make this week??

Tortilla Soup and what not...

2010-02-08T10:30:00.001-06:00

Can you tell I like easy cooking? Can you tell I like lots of flavor without a lot of work?

Nothing is easier or more flavorful than opening a couple of cans from the pantry that you keep on hand to make a super yummy (I'm a word smith I know!) bowl of soup.

One of the easiest tortilla soup recipes I've stolen and adapted just got tastier thanks to my homemade salsa recipe! I dare you to try it and not thank me later! It's so good and super easy to make. Did I mention it was easy?

Ready? Set? Thank me later!!

Angie's Homemade Tortilla Soup

2 large ladles of Angie's Homemade Salsa
1 can chicken broth
1 can chicken breast in water, do not drain
1 can black beans, use 1-2 tablespoons, undrained
1 sm. can sliced black olives, to taste
shredded monterey jack cheese
tortilla chips crushed, or white corn tortilla (1) folded in 4th, and cut into small strips
Feel free to add any other garnishes to the soup like, avacado or sour cream.

Dump all ingredients into sauce pan, or bowl for microwave and heat until hot. Garnish with shredded cheese. The end.

See?? I told you it would be easy!! And guess what???!!!

My girls ate it even tho it had "stuff" in it!! (You know, the same stuff they won't eat on a tortilla chips!)

Stay tuned for a White Chicken Chili recipe using my homemade salsa that'll blow your socks off!!

The best salsa EVER!!

2010-02-07T15:19:00.003-06:00

I make a mean salsa. Ask my kids. They LOVE it! Well, they LOVE the taste of it. They don’t actually eat the chunks of salsa, they dip their chips into it and shake off the “chunks” so that just the chip is flavored with it. As you can imagine, the salsa gets “dry” after all that dipping. Sometimes I add extra water so that its very loose so my kids can still “eat” it and not siphon all the liquid out.
All that to say, I LOVE my salsa recipe. It’s very easy. It’s almost the same as Pioneer Woman Cooks’ recipe here, but not quite. Go take a look at her recipe with pictures (a food photog I am not!) and see how she does it. If you have a food processer you can use that, but I don’t, so I use my blender. I really need a new one! (Hint, hint!!) I don’t use cumin in my version, but the concept of her recipe and mine are the same. I created mine all by myself. I’m so proud! Mine’s a little different and it reminds me of my favorite restaurant salsa Cristina’s here in Texas. I ate an obscene amount of it over Christmas break in 2008 and vowed I wouldn’t pay 20 dollars for chips and salsa ever again.

Angie’s Homemade Salsa

Put the ingredients in a blender in the order you see below.

After the first 4 ingredients are in the blender, (onion, garlic,cilantro,salsa casera) pulse until almost smooth. If it gets bound up in the blender like mine does, then add some of the tomatoes to get it going. We want all the pieces the same size, so basically just short of pureed. Then add the rest of tomatoes and pulse again a couple of times.

This is the point that I taste and adjust my seasonings. Usually don’t though, it’s always just right. At the end is where I add salt and pepper and lime juice.

Then it’s ready to serve! Easy, take me less than 5 minutes to make and everyone loves it! Keeps in the fridge for about 3 days, but never really makes it that long.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

1/4 medium yellow onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves peeled, depending on how much you love garlic
1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed and patted dry , about a cup
1 small can of Salsa Casera -found in the Mexican aisle of the grocery store and looks like this:

It’s a little on the hot side if you use the whole can, but if you use just 1 to 2 Tablespoons to start out with, you can add more as you go for more flavor and heat. (I’m a wimp, so I don’t use a whole lot unless I’m making a very large batch.)

1 large can or two regular cans of diced tomatoes in juice
the juice of half a lime
salt and pepper to taste

And that’s it!

It’s so good daughter #2’s friends beg her to bring them some in exchange for other goodies. I am seriously thinking about giving them some for the holidays. Can you picture it? A jar of salsa with a tag that says, “You are one spicy Valentine!” Cute, huh?
You can do so much with the salsa too! We like it on eggs, in Chicken Enchiladas, tacos, soup, and anything else you can think of!
Enjoy!!

Tasty and Easy is the name of the game…

2010-02-03T21:50:00.009-06:00

My sister was kind enough to guest post on Saturday! Thank you Sister!! I like the simple format she used; recipe links and then her take on it and how it turned out. I tend to want to do everything BIG and grand. I need to get real (keepin' it real for myself is hard to do, I guess!) and make it easy to post all the yummy wonderful tastes that I come across! So...let's get started shall we??

Teriyaki Meatballs and Rice

Ultimate Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Monterey Chicken Quesadillas

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies* *other pb cookie variations

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Teriyaki Meatballs and Rice-

Ok, so the first recipe is for the Teriyaki Meatballs. O.M.G. My kids adored these and have already asked for them again. They even suggested that I make these in the crock pot and take them to our annual Superbowl party to serve as an appetizer! Smart kids these ones are! Very easy to make and very yummy.
I went a slightly different route in that I heated my meatballs by putting them in the skillet with some water and heated them thru similar to the way Rachael Ray browns bratwurst:

“Place sausages in a cast iron skillet, add 1/2-inch of water and a drizzle of oil. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and let the sausages heat through as the water evaporates. Shake pan and let the casings crisp up until they burst, 3 to 4 minutes, and are golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.”

recipe reference found here

The method is the same even if I didn’t cook the same thing. The point is to heat the meat through and brown it after the water evaporates. The meatballs will give off their own fat, so no need to add oil to the water.
After the meatballs were browned and heated through, I added the sauce and heated until the glaze was hot. I added pineapple, but no veggies because my kids like to make my life hard. Next time I think I’ll add them and they can pick them out! Wouldn’t the meatballs also taste good with a sweet and sour sauce? Try it and let me know!

Ultimate Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff-
Ultimate Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff or UCPBS for short had to be the best thing I’ve made in a really long time. I wanted to drink the broth! I’m not kidding. I told all of Facebook that I couldn’t stop tasting it. I wasn’t joking either. I wanted to just pour it in a cup and drink it. So good!! And so easy!!

I did not add the onions, because well, my children. They like the taste of onions, but not the pieces. I know! I should just make them pick it out, but they would have broken down too much and mixed in with the meat and sauce. Better to err on the side of caution I say and on the side of my sanity!

The gravy was exceptional and I think the next time I make it, I will omit the sour cream and just serve the meat and gravy over rice. That’s my Sister’s favorite way to eat CP roast. I can see why!

Monterey Chicken Quesadillas-
The Monterey Chicken Quesadillas were as easy as the recipe suggests. I used bacon pieces in the little bag already pre-cooked. Enough bacon for my family of six was more than I wanted to deal with that night. It worked well for the recipe. Everything else was the same except you guessed it! ONIONS!! I think I will make some for myself and my husband the next time. They were very well received by all but MJ, my youngest who didn’t like the bbq sauce, so for his, I will leave it out next time. Easy enough to adapt for each person’s tastes since you have to assemble each one to cook it anyway.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies* *other pb cookie variations-

I don’t have a recipe link for these cookies. I don’t remember where I found them either. I think this summer I saw it on TV or something? I don’t know. All I know is they are good!!

How can you not want to eat these?

Basic recipe is this:

1 tube of ready made peanut butter cookie dough
1 bag of miniature peanut butter cups, unwrapped
mini muffin pan

Heat the oven to 350* and use a small cookie scoop to fill mini muffin tins with dough. I took the scoop of dough and rolled it in my hands to make a ball so they were all uniform. Bake for about 11 min. When done, remove from oven and push 1 peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie. Wait 2 min. and carefully remove cookies from pan and transfer to cooling rack. Finish with remaining dough.
PB cups will be melted and liquid after you push them in, see how shiny the bottom right cookie in the above picture is? They are ready to eat when the surface of the chocolate is no longer shiny.
If you MUST speed up the process, you can transfer them into the fridge to harden, but they are better when they cool at room temp.

Click on the link above for variations on peanut butter cookies.

These recipes are all easy easy easy. The Glazed Lemon Bread recipe below seems easy for me, but is a little more involved than just throwing some ingredients in a pot or pan. It looks so darn good that I really need to hurry up and make it so I can stop drooling!

See for yourself and tell me you don’t want to make it, I dare ya!

Glazed Lemon Bread

Lunch on a Saturday

2010-01-30T16:12:00.000-06:00

Since my sister has been super busy with life, I thought I make a guest post here today. Lest you decide you would like to try either of these recipes, I feel it is my obligation to give you my honest opinion:

Butternut Squash Soup with Apple and Bacon

Banana Muffins with Brown Sugar Topping

First, the soup. I've been searching for good butternut squash soup recipe ever since I had it for lunch at a friend's house last Fall. She served it with bacon and these fabulous cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice croutons. This recipe was not the same and, I didn't have any bread to make the croutons.. It's a wonderful recipe if you like bacon. Also, I don't particularly like sage so I used onion in the recipe. Okay, so I didn't follow the recipe exactly. Like I said, I didn't use sage, I added onion and I used a braeburn apple instead of a granny smith. Also, after pureeing the soup, I added another can of chicken broth. The puree was a little too thick for me. Overall, I give this recipe 3.5 stars. Believe it or not, it was a bit too bacon-y. Maybe I should go out and get some bread and make the croutons. It will probably cut the bacon flavor. If that doesn't work, I'm going to have to get the recipe from my friend.

Moving on to the muffins...WONDERFUL!!! They were easy to put together. Despite the fact that I'm not very good at cutting butter and sugar together and I only had two bananas (instead of 3 as the recipe called for). Oh, and I didn't have allspice so I used a 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Maybe next time I will do 1/4 t. of pumpkin pie spice and a 1/4 t. cinnamon. I loved these muffins and will make them again. They were perfect for my cold Saturday afternoon.

I might as well close up shop and go home.

2010-01-19T23:25:00.000-06:00

It's not looking good folks.

This whole blogging everyday thing is a lot of pressure. Wait, I take that back. It's not the blogging that gives me stress it's the COOKING everyday! Desserts is stressed spelled backwards. Coincidence? I think not.
Speaking of dessert... I We ate all the pop tarts already. The kids were not pleased with hubby and I. Ok, confession, there was only 4 left and well...that's not enough to split between 6 people! You understand my dilemma?? Of course you do...you're an understanding bunch.

What did we have for dinner the last two days you ask?? Well... I went out with some friends from the school I worked at and the hubs and the kids went to McDonalds. Gourmet around here you guys! I had Super Salad! or is it Souper Salad...I can never remember. Anyway, I was totally going to make Crock Pot Pulled Pork for dinner today, but yeah, got a little caught up with my list of things to do and dinner didn't make it on there. And dinner tonight? Well...Chipotle was called in as a pinch hitter and scored a home run for the team!! Go Chip!

I really need to cook that chicken that's in the fridge or freeze it before it goes bad. That's another thing I am working on this year, not wasting meat thinking I'm going to cook it and do all these wonderful things with it and then having to throw it away. I know, I know!! (shaking my head in shame)

Anywhoo...that's what I've been up to. Just keeping it real! Wow...that's so real it's scary. Ok, make you a deal. I'll keep it semi-real. How's that? Ok...I'll work on that.

JUST KEEPIN' IT REAL FOLKS

2010-01-17T21:18:00.011-06:00

**How my kitchen looks on any given day.
If yours doesn't, then I suspect you are in fact a

ROBOT. **

So, yesterday I said it was a Pop Tart kind of day...a homemade pop tart. I got a lot of flack for NOT making those pop tarts yesterday. I didn't say I would actually MAKE them, I just said it felt like a Pop Tarty kind of day.

Fast forward to this evening. The kids asked what was for dinner....

**DISCLAIMER**
I'm not the most organized person on the planet. I try, Lord knows I try!! I make a plan and have it on hand. That plan may or may not actually come to fruition. I'm comfortable with the fact that I can at any given moment be ~~flexible~~ lazy enough to decide to make pop tarts and sandwiches for dinner. Just thought you should know so you didn't get your hopes up that I'll be a perfect blogger/Mom/Human!
**END DISCLAIMER**

So...as I was saying, the kids asked what was for dinner, and as I planned, Mandarin Orange Chicken was on the menu. That pesky nap got in the way of thawing the chicken, and hubby had a meeting, so I got a wild hair and made some pop tarts. For dinner....no...just kidding.

Sort of.

Here is what I learned about this incredibly easy recipe.

Go easy on the jelly. If you put too much in the middle it will ooze out all over the pan and infect the other pop tarts and they will bathe. Not the best option if you want the bottom to be crispy.

Don't use parchment paper to line your baking sheet. Seriously. Parchment paper has its place, but this application isn't one of them. The second batch got a dose of Reynolds Non-Stick Foil and they browned up perfectly in about 15-18 min. depending on the size of the tart. They take WAY longer to bake that 10-12 minutes unless UNLESS you roll out the pie crusts a little thinner and use less filling. They taste wonderful, but take a lot longer to brown up.

** Edited to add** One reason it took longer for mine to cook was that I didn't read the recipe before starting the recipe. VERY IMPORTANT- read the recipe once thru again right before you start...I baked mine at 350* and the recipe calls for baking it at 450*. Duh. That would be why it took so long. Just keepin' it real people!! LOL!

The Verdict- ***** 4 out of 5 stars
(unscientific voting here, just one kid was asked)

The kids thought it was the BOMB! I thought it was sweet and gooey and delish. I wouldn't exactly put this in
the breakfast category though. It's more dessert-y. It wasn't hard to make, just messy. Would I make them again? Oh yeah. I didn't say they didn't taste good. Almost too good. The kids wanted to eat them all!

So go on...tease your family like I did and tell 'em you'll make them some homemade pop tarts and then don't! Won't that be fun?? You know you wanna....

Here's the recipe again:

Author/Source:Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com
Homemade Pop Tarts

What should I cook first?

2010-01-16T14:36:00.003-06:00

I think today will be a Pop Tart kind of day. You know, warm, crusty, and gooey in the middle? *Edited* I didn't really make them today, I just said it was a Pop Tart Kind of day...such pressure!

I stumbled upon this recipe while exploring Once A Month Mom's website. Um....yes please! I bought two boxes of pie crusts at Wal-Martz and about 4 cans of pie filling in case I want to make fried pies. Ahem.

So, what brought me to blogger you ask? You didn't ask, but I'mma gonna tell you anyways!

My Sister, my sweet sweet Sister, (you know the sweet runs in the family, her life and my bippy) has a blog. I got a leetle jealous about how cute hers was and how come she can change her template more often than mine because she uses blogger and well....I got a little carried away. I ended up using the SAME EXACT TEMPLATE she was going to use, except I didn't know it and when she saw it, OMGEEE LOL!! She was gracious enough to let me keep mine and go and get her own stinkin' cute one.
She said on Facebook that I we should make a blog about all the fun recipes and cooking tips we have collected over the years. I post almost daily what my family is having for dinner and everyone is always telling me how yummy everything sounds! I kept threatening to make a cookbook, but since I can't really focus long enough to do that, you know with the 4 kids and doing nothing all day but playing on my computer, I figured this was the next best thing!

Viola! Sweetbippy Cooks! was born. I hope you enjoy the recipes and stories. I hope to use this as a way to preserve all the wonderful memories our family has shared around the dinner table, because that's where we all congregate to laugh, eat, and share the love.

In the immortal words of Julia Child, "Bon Appetit!"

Sneak Peek: Tomorrow's Recipe-
Mandarin Orange Chicken
Steamed Rice

Oriental Green Beans