Baked Oatmeal

This recipe is so easy, fast and delicious! I've made this baked oatmeal before with peanut butter, but my family didn't like it too much, I think I added way too much salt (so my fault). But this was perfect... even for the pickiest eaters. I just topped mine with drizzled honey and chopped fresh strawberries. Serve it with bacon for a yummy breakfast.

Ingredients:
 3 c quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 c milk
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping Ideas:
fruit~ strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, raisins)
drizzled honey
chopped fresh mint (optional garnish)
yogurt, maple syrup and raisins
warm milk with sliced banannas
whipped cream and chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into a greased 9x9x2 baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-40 mins or until set and edges are lightly browned. (My oven runs hot, so it only took about 26 minutes).

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of Little Lovables and Jeweled Ambrosia

Smoky Corn and Potato Chowder Recipe

It is probably one of the best things I made in a long time, plus it's easy and most ingredients you probably have on hand. Even my kids gobbled it up. Really, it's perfect for the chilly weather, since it's a nice, warm, flavorful, hearty bowl of soup with a perfect blend of texture. Next time I make it, I'm doubling the batch. I wonder how well it will freeze?

yummy topped on Ritz crackers

♥ Ingredients ♥ 

-1 1/2 c milk
-1 can Del Monte Cream Style Golden Sweet Corn

-1 can Del Monte Whole Kernel Sweet Corn, drained
-1 c smoked sausage, halved & thinly sliced (or cubed cooked ham)
-1/2 small onion, chopped (about the size of a corn kernel)
-7 peeled, coarsely chopped potatoes, boiled until tender & drained
              (or 1 can Del Monte Whole New Potatoes, drained and coarsely chopped)
-salt and pepper to taste (white pepper if you want to avoid black flakes)
-1 1/2 c shredded smoked cheddar (or swiss or gouda cheese)
-chopped chives or green onion slivers for garnish

♥ Directions ♥

1. lightly sear sausage in large, sprayed saucepan
2. stir in milk, and cream corn
3. add whole kernel corn, onion and potatoes
4. heat through, stirring occasionally, add salt and pepper.
5. stir in cheese until melted
6. garnish with green onion slivers or chives and serve (I didn't have these, so used Mrs. Dash or something)

*full post here*

Birthday Cupcakes

1 box yellow or chocolate cake mix
1 4 serving box vanilla or chocolate instant pudding
4 eggs
1 c sour cream
1/2 c water
1/2 c oil
Mix all together.  Bake 350 for 17-22 minutes.  Frost and Enjoy.

I did steal this recipe from another cooking blog...but didn't write down where I got it from.  I can't give credit where credit is due!  I am sorry about that. Hope it is ok to post this great recipe:)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 1/2 lb shredded chicken (4-5 breasts)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can corn with juice
1 can beans (black, pinto, whatever you prefer)
1 can diced green chili
1 onion chopped
14 oz can chicken broth
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 glove garlic minced
1 t chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper

Throw it all in the crock pot and cook 6-8 hrs on low or 3-4 hrs on high.  You can even put the chicken in frozen and then shred before serving.
Put some Mi Nana's Tortilla strips on top....YUM!

Hope you enjoy!  We sure love it!  Donelle

Fruity Puff Pancake Dessert Cake

This puff pancake family favorite recipe comes from my mother in law. She is an excellent cook and this dessert can be enhanced any number of ways. It is a family tradition to eat this dessert during family get togethers. It's a perfect summer time dessert. Keep in mind, the recipe is temperamental based upon altitude and humidity, so some experimentation may be needed. If you prefer something baking and hassle free, try my graham cracker with fruit and icing treat.

(click on picture to zoom for recipe)

You bake your dessert base, which is a mix between a pan cake and a custard. The sides will brown, expand and curl over the pan edge and the cake will rise all puffy like while baking. When you pull it out of the oven, the cake will fall, so serve immediately while still warm. Cut the cake into slices and place on individual plates.

This is the part where each person experiments. Top the cake with a dollop of sour cream, then any freshly washed, cut up fruit you like. Here, we used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and bananas. Then, sprinkle the fruit with brown sugar. If you like whipped cream or chopped fresh mint, those are good as well. Kiwi, blackberries, peaches and even chopped apple are good too. It seems the one fruit we always use is strawberries though, then whatever else we have, we chop up and add it on top.

Graham Cracker, Chocolate Icing and Strawberry Summer Dessert

This is a simple treat that requires no baking. I simply break the graham crackers along the perforated lines, smear on some chocolate icing (store bought or you can make your own), top with chopped strawberries and a shot of whip cream. If you have fresh mint, that is yummy on top, but my mint plant didn't move with us when we moved.

Easy, fast, no baking involved, simple ingredients and you make the amount you need in one sitting. Oh, and kids love it. Sometimes, I like to spread just a bit of frosting on the graham cracker and eat it without anything else.

Homemade Salad Dressing

1 cup of canola or olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup onion

Put it in the blender and mix.

This salad dressing is amazing with Spinach, chopped bacon, boiled egg, red onion, avocado, feta cheese, and a little bit of shredded cheese.

Salsa and Freezing Herbs and Vegetables

We used to make our own salsa and guacamole all the time, and we eventually just stopped as life got busier. I had a really good food chopper, but gave it to Goodwill (brand new) b/c we never used it. As we've begun cooking more, we have re-realized how fun it is to prepare dinners (and snacks) together.

We love standing at our tiny kitchen counter together, chopping our own herbs and veggies. That 15 minutes or so that would other wise be "saved" by using a food chopper, is one of our favorite parts of these moments. We get busy in our own worlds, with the kids, work... but making a little snack and spending that time talking, laughing, chopping... it's good for us. Almost therapeutic. Of course, snacking on the delicious treat is most excellent as well! Do you have something like that for you or your relationship? It may even be something you do not even realize. Once you figure out what that activity might be, try and cultivate it and make it part of your weekly routine.

Salsa Recipe:

1/2 can well rinsed black beans

1 tomato, chopped

1/4 red onion, chopped

1 poblano pepper, chopped (or jalepeno if you like spicy)

handful fresh cilantro, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 T lemon juice

2 T olive oil

2 T vinegar (though we usually skip this)

salt to taste

Sliced avacodo, shredded cheese and chips for serving. Or serve over rice and cooked cubed seasoned chicken with corn for a "Chipotle" like meal.

Combine all, seal in airtight container and let stand for approx 30 mins for the flavors to blend together. I like to put a slice of avocado on my chip, dip in the salsa and then sprinkle on a little cheese. Delicious.

*tips... I freeze onion and herbs, and some other veggies I chop!! I only use a handful in my meals, but I put it in almost everything I make.  So, when I chop a fresh onion (or bell peper or whatever), I use what I need, then cut up the rest and put it in an airtight freezer bag and freeze. (Some veggies need to be blanched first for the best freezing, and some veggies don't freeze well at all, this link has good advice).  Of course, they are best when going to be cooked in the next meal, as they lose their crispness when they thaw, but still excellent if you are going to be using them soon.

 

gourmet traveler 88 has a great directions for freezing herbs

Freezing makes it easy when cooking, just throw in a little frozen onion and it cooks just fine. For herbs, chop them up, and fill an ice cube tray with them. Cover with a bit of water and freeze. When cooking, just plop in your herbed ice cube, here's an easy tutorial with pictures at bananablender. You can do the same thing with pesto herb mixes (directions here) as well .

Happy chopping!

Lisa ~ of Little Lovables

Vegetable Pork Chop Skillet Dinner

 

This is one of the tastiest and easiest dinners I have made in a while. I just went grocery shopping the night before, but wanted to use up the older veggies before they went bad to make room for the new ones. 

So, I typed into google, 'pork chops' and 'red bell pepper', found  this recipe and thought, wow, that's really easy! I added  mushrooms and altered the sauce a bit and it was perfection. The onions were easy, because I just pulled prechopped ones I had in a freezer bag already to go. We served the meal over steamed rice and had (store bought) strawberry shortcakes with fresh chopped strawberries and whipped cream for dessert.

You could substitute green beans or asparagus for the bell peppers in this easy and delicious recipe.

 

♥ Ingredients ♥

• 4 (3/4 inch) thick pork loin chops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 6 mushrooms, sliced thick
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup water or chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons Girard's Caesar Dressing (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves (I used Emeril's table blend instead)
• 1/2 tsp flour or cornstarch to thicken sauce

♥ Preparation ♥

Sprinkle chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in heavy skillet over medium high heat and add chops, onion, and garlic. Cook 5 minutes on one side, shaking pan frequently so garlic doesn't burn, then turn chops and add pepper strips and mushrooms. Cover and cook 5-8 minutes longer until pork registers 160 degrees F. Remove chops and peppers from skillet and set aside, covered to keep warm. 

Add Worcestershire sauce, water, dressing, seasonings and flour, scraping bottom of skillet with rubber spatula to loosen pan drippings. Cook until sauce thickens slightly, then return pork and vegetables to skillet. Cook for 1 minute longer to coat pork with sauce, then serve. 4 servings.

 

Lisa~ of Little Lovables

Herb Crusted Salmon and Asparagus

So, using this recipe as inspiration, I came up with my own ingrediants list since I didn't have half of what was called for. I found this site on substituting for teriyaki sauce and the A1, oj and worchestershire turned out even better than teriyaki. And, even though we have gourmet parmesean cheese given to us by a cheese scientist, I forgot to add it!

♥ Herb Crusted Salmon Steak ♥

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 teaspoon basil
1/4 c water
1/2 cup pulp free orange juice
1/2 cup A-1 steak sauce
1 tablespon worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2  salmon steaks

1. In a shallow, medium bowl mix Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoned bread crumbs, spices.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, blend A1, orange juice, butter, red onion and garlic. Cook and stir until onions are tender.
3. Press one side of each salmon steak egg and dredge into the Parmesan cheese mixture. Place steaks crust side up in saucepan with sauce mixture. Cook over medium high heat until most of the liquid is reduced, 10 to 15 minutes, then flip with a spatula. Continue cooking until crust is golden brown and fish is easily flaked with a fork.

♥ Asparagus ♥

I usually blanch* asparagus first, to maintain the nutrients and green color, and to stop it from turning mushy during cooking, but I didn't this time, though I would usually suggest it.

1 lb fresh asparagus spears
1 tb oilve oil
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
1tb butter (we use smart balance)
salt/pepper to taste
1 tb seseame seeds

1. Cut off woody ends
2. Cut asparagus into 1 1/2 inch pieces
3. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add asparagus, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook on med heat, stirring frequently about 5 mins. Add butter and seseame seeds, cook until done.

*to blanch first:

1. Have a large bowl of ice water ready to go.
2. Boil a large pot of water. Now, place your asparagus into the boiling water. Cook until the asparagus turns a bright green. The time this will take will depend on how thick your asparagus stalks are. Usually takes about 2-5 minutes.
3. Remove asparagus from the pot with a slotted spoon or tongs and place into ice-water bath to stop the cooking process. This will tenderize the stalks a bit more, but they'll remain deliciously crunchy.

We rounded out the meal with steamed rice with a touch of salt and pepper and butter and naan bread (we love our starches around here) and it was delicious... even for people who don't always like fish, like me, I even ate more than 1 serving!

~Lisa, Little Lovables

Herb Crusted Pork Chops, Potatoes & Garlic Bread

My new favorite recipe. I combined a few ideas until I came up with my perfect combination. It's great for picky eaters and quick and easy. You can also use chicken instead of pork, and it will be awesome, but the crust is a little more juicy from cooking. Amazingly, it isn't as dry and burnt up looking as my photo suggests! Serve with potatoes*, greens beans, garlic bread*, salad or fresh fruit for a well rounded meal.

♥ Ingredients ♥

4 boneless porkchops
2 cups Progresso Italian Style bread crumbs

1 packet Lipton Onion Soup/Dip mix
1 c Girard's Light Caesar Salad dressing (this dressing works best)
1/3 c French's Spicy Brown Mustard (any Dijon will do)

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Mix caesar dressing and brown mustard in a bowl.
3. In a seperate bowl, mix bread cups and dry onion soup mix. 
4. Coat pork chops in dressing mix, put in ziplock bag and marinate in fridge for up to 2 hours. Or don't marinate, (I never do) either way, it will be good.
5. Coat the dressing covered pork chops in the bread crumb mix. Place pork chops in baking sish, cover with foil and bake for approx 25 mins or until done.

image via life ambrosia

♥ Garlic Rosemary Roasted Potatoes ♥

Our favorite side potatoes, made famous by my mother in law. They are great unpeeled, or peeled.

Cut into 2 chunks. Put in roasting pan and toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, lots of garlic and basil. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

image via j&d's

♥ Garlic Bread ♥

Soften about 2 cups butter (I use Smart Choice). Add basil and garlic to butter mix. Cut a store bought french bread loaf and butter insides with garlic butter. Place on pan and bake for about 6 minutes.

Cut into slices and fight over the last piece. ~ Lisa of Little Lovables

Snickerdoodles ~ March Cookie of the Month

I know it's late in the game but I finally got around to sending cookies to Todd's teacher. These cookies turned out great and they were really easy to make. Reagan was a huge help and enjoyed rolling the cookies into a ball.

Snickerdoodles

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Using a mixer, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in eggs. Slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until well blended.

Mix the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon.

Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until light and golden. Don't over bake these.

Yields: 3 dozen

February Cookie of the Month

Homemade Oreos: ~ with a Valentine Twist~

1 Box of Red Velvet Cake Mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add oil and eggs to cake mix. Roll dough into balls. (a little larger than a quarter) Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. I baked mine for eight. Remove from oven and let cool until warm. Place on cooling rack.

Cream Cheese Filling:

1/2 cup butter

1 8oz block of sour cream

3 to 4 cups of powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream butter and add cream cheese and mix well. Add powdered sugar slowly until you reach your desired consistency.

To assemble, add about a tablespoon of the filling into the center of one cookie. Place a cookie of similar size on top. Lightly press to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookies.

Icebox Dessert

We call it fried ice cream. It is full of sugar and so GOOD. I promise you won't be disappointed.
3 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup coconut
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cube melted butter
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (I use the box)

Mix together all ingredients (except ice cream), spread on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
Crush 1/2 of this and put on bottom of 9x13 pan. Press ice cream on top. Then sprinkle rest of sugar heaven on top.

If you need, yet more sugar and calories, drizzle top with strawberry, chocolate or caramel topping.

Fondant Icing

Homemade Marshmallow Fondant Icing is very easy and better tasting than store bought fondant.

1 bag marshmallows (DO NOT buy Jiffy marshmallows)
6 cups of powdered sugar (10x) freshly sifted 3 times
1 tsp of butter extract
3 tbsp of tap water

In a bowl heat the marshmallows on high for 20 seconds at a time - stirring each time - total 3 times - after the 3rd time add the water and stir - put back into the microwave for 20 seconds if the marshmallows are not completely melted. Once melted add the butter extract and 2 cups of powdered sugar - stir - keep adding powdered sugar just as you would like making bread - the dough should be a tiny bit sticky - knead the dough for 5 minutes. Add powder sugar to Saran wrap and double wrap the dough then place in a zip lock bag - then bag again - this will insure that the fondant is completely sealed. Place in a dry and dark area to rest for 8 hours min. before using.

If you live in a humid climate (like me!) then when working with the dough use a mixture of powdered sugar and corn starch (equal amounts of each) you can also wrap the mixture in a cloth to powder the fondant. The fondant will keep for a long time in a dry and dark area.

Chinese Lemon Chicken

**UPDATE**
We liked this meal but would double the sauce. I accidently cooked it longer than we were supposed to and that also made it a little dry.

Okay, here is a NEW recipe that I am going to try. With my trusty new rice cooker and plethera of rice I found some recipes to use. It sounds easy and with 10 ingredients or less!

Ingredients:
4 boneless, chicken breast
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
6 oz (1/2) can lemonade concentrate, thawed
3 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tsp ketchup
olive oil for browning chicken

Directions:
Cut chicken into strips or largish chunks. Dredge in flour and salt, shake off excess. Brown chicken in a skillet with a bit of olive oil (you are not trying to cook the chicken--just give it some color and get the flour mixture to stick a bit).

Place into crockpot. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a seperate bowl and pour over the top of chicken pieces. Cover and cook of high for 4 hours, low for 6-8.

Snow Day ~ Snow Cream

In honor of this crazy snow day we made Snow Cream. I don't know about you but this just brings back childhood memories. Every time we had a "second" snowfall my mom would send us outside with her largest Tupperware bowls to scoop up some snow. For some reason unbeknown to me, you aren't aloud to use snow from the "first" snowfall of the year. It's tradition so we didn't mess with it. We would spend part of our snow days sitting in the warmth of the house filling ourselves with yummy snow cream, watching movies and playing games.

So, many years later here we are sitting with a huge second or third snowfall, eating snow cream and watching movies in our warm house. We used sweet condensed milk in our recipe growing up but since I didn't have any I found a different recipe that tasted just the same.

*Snow* Cream:

1 Gallon of Snow

2 Cups of Milk

1 Cup of Sugar

1 T of Vanilla

Send the kids outside to get some good, clean snow. In a medium sized bowl mix: milk, sugar and vanilla. In a large bowl combine the mixture with the snow. Mix it up and serve it like ice cream. Enjoy!

Easy Pot Roast

Easy Crock Pot, Pot Roast

I was at a quilting retreat and this is an easy dish that we all loved.

1 pot roast
1 large bottle of V8 (found in the juice section)
potatoes and carrots and onions, to your liking

Add all ingredients into slow cooker. Set on auto until two hours before it is done and then turn to high until ready to eat.

The ladies made this dish and started the crock pots around 9 that morning. Then around 4 they turned it up. You could reverse the time to turn the crock pot to high just so long as you do turn it up. I am told that the tomatoes in the V8 on high helps break down the meat and tenderizes it.

Moms Famous Spinach

My mom went to a restaurant called "Abeulos" she loved their side dish of spinach, this is her rendition of the dish. This is now a favorite at the Killebrew Family Thanksgiving Dinner!

2 lbs of Frozen (or Fresh) Spinach
1 stick of butter
1/2 red onion
8oz mushrooms
handful of frozen corn
handful of shredded cheddar
1 1/2 tsp salt & pepper
1 pkg of cream cheese
6 pieces of bacon (pre-cooked and crumbled)

Saute: onion, butter, mushrooms and corn together, then add spinach cover with a lid and allow to cook down stirring occasionally. Once the spinach has steamed down add salt, pepper, cream cheese and bacon. Put in a baking pan and add cheese to the top -bake until cheese is melted.
Michelle Kirchner

Easy Crock Pot Peanut Cluster

This is an easy treat that Dee Toomey shared with my mom, it makes a lot so it it perfect for sharing!

16oz Salted Dry Roasted peanuts
16oz Unsalted Dry Roasted peanuts
1 package semi sweet choc chips
1 4oz bar German Chocolate
1 package Almond Bark

Put all ingredients in a large crock pot and cook 3 hours on low. Do not remove the lid to peek! Turn off and let cool for about 15 minutes. Mix well and drop by tsp full on wax paper! Let cool and enjoy!
Michelle Kirchner