Wednesday, September 11, 2024
No-Bake Pumpkin Oatmeal Energy Bites
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Cheddar, Scallion, and Zucchini Waffles
I came across a picture online that was labeled "Cheddar and Scallion Waffles", and thought they sounded delicious, but there was no recipe. I took to searching and instead came across Zucchini and Cheddar Waffles and liked the sound of that, too...So, here ya go, I mixed together the parts of each recipe I thought made sense and came up with Cheddar, Scallion, and ZucchiniWaffles! These are delicious, dense, savory, cheesy waffles. They would be great served with some hashbrowns and bacon, but my husband has enjoyed just grabbing them "to go" in the morning as a handheld breakfast because otherwise he forgets to eat!
Cheddar, Scallion, and Zucchini Waffles:
Ingredients:
2 cups zucchini; grated(about 2 average size zucchini)
6 scallions thinly sliced
1 cup cheddar cheese; shredded(I shredded a block of cheese, it seems to melt better than pre-shredded)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese(the shaker bottle!)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 Large eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions:
1. Grate zucchini and place in a lint-free kitchen towel or multiple paper towels. Press/wring out as much water as you can.
2. Thinly slice Green Onions and pat them dry with a paper towel(I just press down hard once or twice)
3. Preheat the waffle iron.
4. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined. You may need to add a tad more flour depending on how watery the zucchini is. Let the waffle batter sit for 10 minutes.
5. Spray the heated waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray and place 1/4 cup of the waffle batter in the middle of the waffle iron(or 1/4 Cup in each waffle space if you have a large waffle iron that makes 4 at once)
Cook according to your waffle machine; most take 2-4 minutes per waffle batch- the waffle will be golden brown when it's done cooking. Repeat until you run out of waffle batter. Be sure to spray the waffle iron in-between each batch. And sit on a cooling rack so they don't get soggy on the bottom on a plate.
*Note: This mixture will not look like waffle batter, but I promise it works! 😆
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
It's Finally Soup Season!
In our household, when Fall brings in the cooler temps, Soup Season begins! Cracking the kitchen windows to let the crisp, cool air in and the steamy hot air out strikes that perfect balance of cozy! We love a good soup in the Fall and Winter months and cheesy potato soup is just always a good idea.
I took a recipe my Step-Mom gave me and as I was making it I thought to myself, "Every good soup needs garlic, carrots, and celery!" So I made a few changes that fit my personal preferences, added some things, and BOOM our favorite soup was officially born. It became such a fast favorite that it was gone after dinner because everyone wanted seconds, so we had to double the recipe the second time we made it because who makes soup and doesn't want leftovers the next day??
Friday, December 3, 2021
Crockpot Carnitas [Best Carnitas/Favorite Cooking Method]
Our family LOVES Carnitas... My husband used to smoke the pork on his Weber kettle smoker and we thought it was amazing, but then one day when he was at work(unable to stand at a smoker for hours) so I decided to try a different method and completely fell in love with it! I found a couple of different crockpot Carnitas recipes and combined two of them, but over the years kept changing it up and adding things that made the flavor better each time, so I think I finally have a solid recipe and wanted to share! Feel free to share/change it up/make it your own! I just love sharing food and recipes, not looking for credit! (I blog like once a year or every 3 years, definitely not sharing for exposure 😆
Crockpot Carnitas
Ingredients:
4 lb Boneless Pork Shoulder/Butt
1 1/2 TBSP Ground Cumin
Dried Oregano (1/2 to 1 TBSP, I am not a big fan of oregano so I go lighter)
2 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Garlic
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 Large Shallot, diced (2 if they are small)
4 cloves of garlic, minced (I just use the jarred minced garlic)
2 Jalapenos, de-seeded and finely diced
2 Oranges, juiced
1 Lemon, juiced
2 Limes, juiced
Directions:
In a small bowl mix together cumin, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, salt, and chili powder
Trim excess fat from the pork shoulder (some fat is good, so don't cut it all off!), pat dry, then rub the spice mixture generously on the entire pork shoulder and place in the slow cooker.
Add the shallots, garlic, jalapeno and juice of your Oranges, lemon, and limes in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on the low setting for 8-10 hours, or high heat for 5-6 hours (until the meat falls apart).
Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred the meat. Keep the liquid as you will be using it later.
Crisp in the oven before serving:
Place the shredded pork on a baking sheet. Pour 1 cup of the reserved liquid over the pork to keep it moist and tender while broiling. Broil 5-10 minutes or until the meat becomes golden brown and crispy on the edges
We love to make street tacos, "Chipotle" style burritos, or nachos with our carnitas
**Note**
Even though this is a more Mexican style flavor, the flavor is mild enough that leftover shredded pork can be used to turn into BBQ pulled pork!
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Cowboy Beans and Jalapeño Cornbread Casserole
Cowboy Beans
-A few spoonfuls of diced jalapeños plus a splash of the juice from the jalapeño jar
-2 Eggs
Friday, December 18, 2015
You can't go wrong with cheese, potatoes or soup...
Directions:
The easiest Chicken Tacos ever!
(Any leftover chicken and the leftover ½ can of corn is great to use in Tortilla soup!)
These are a family favorite in our household, and definitely my "go-to" meal for an easy dinner! On days that I know I will be out running errands/volunteering at the kids' school, etc. it's great to just toss this in the crockpot and it is done when we get home, no fuss-no muss!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
The World's Greatest Hot Cocoa Mix (Seriously!)
(Hands down, no lie, THE greatest.)
yields 60+ servings
Ingredients:
1 25.6 oz. container powdered milk
1 21.8 oz container of Nesquick Original Mix
1 15oz container French Vanilla Coffee Mate Non-Dairy Creamer
3 C. powdered sugar
Directions:
Whisk together all ingredients in a very large bowl. Store in airtight container or package individually as gifts with a handful of marshmallows. To Serve: Add 5 TBSP of Hot Cocoa Mix to 8oz. hot milk or water(I prefer milk!) Sip and enjoy!
*Story behind it: My husband and I were engaged in the coziest, most quaint little coffee shop in town...Harvest Moon. It was picture perfect, comfy couches, jazz music, local art and a very "Central Perk" Friends vibe to it...and best of all, they had the greatest hot chocolate known to man! Well, someone new bought out the little coffee shop and turned it into an Organic, Garden Herb Shop/Restaurant and, quite cruelly, kept the "Harvest Moon" name...One day I went in, seeing the new look and thought, "Oh well, time marches on..." and went inside to order my favorite drink...the young girl at the counter goes to make my hot cocoa and realizes the mix container is empty. No biggie, she'll just go mix up some more..."Ms. Deville(we'll just use that name because it sounds nice and cruel) where did the hot cocoa mix go? I need to mix up some more." Ms. Deville, "Ugh, we aren't serving that anymore, go grab a box of dirt(okay, maybe she said, "organic hot cocoa") if you KNEW what was IN that stuff you wouldn't WANT to drink it!" Me, wide eyed and on the brink of smacking Ms. Deville: "When I go to a coffee shop and order a LARGE hot cocoa, I'm obviously not shooting for 'healthy'..." Ms. Deville: "Sorry, we won't be serving that anymore." Me, after trying said dirt in cup: "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, this stuff tastes horrific. I won't be back." And the wonderful saint of a young woman who saw the slight glimmer of a tear in my eye, reminiscing on the wonderful memories that were and joy of a good cup of hot cocoa, slipped me a tiny slip of paper she had torn off of a piece of a to-go menu and on it she had scribbled the Recipe. ♥ After a few years, I changed it up just a little, the original recipe called for Original Coffee Mate Creamer, however I liked the creaminess of the french vanilla much better, so that is what I've stuck with! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! It is fantastic topped with whipped cream topping!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Deliciousness...
I don't know about anyone else, but every year around the holidays, walking through festivals or the mall my husband and I always get sucked in by that amazing cinnamon-sugary aroma that makes you smile and drool a little...it draws you in and you can't help but follow it to see where it's coming from, well-we know where it's coming from...the amazing roasted-candied almond/pecan stand! My husband lived in Germany with his family as a child and they had a Christmas market every year called Striezelmarkt, he recalls the sights, smells, and tastes-and the candied almonds were his favorite, so every year at Christmastime we always buy them when they are being made fresh at an event.
The bad thing is, come January-they are nowhere to be found! Sad day! Well, now you don't have to be so sad...this recipe is perfect! Not only is it perfect, but it makes your house smell ahh-mazing. I promise-you will be one drooling, happy fool just waiting on them to cool so you can eat them up! They are delicious to chow down yourself, but they also make for fantastic gifts for neighbors, teachers, or anyone else you can think of!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Picture Perfect (and oh-so soft and delicious) Sugar Cookie Cutouts
A few great friends and myself wanted to get together and do something "festive" at Christmas time, so we decided on baking and decorating sugar cookie cutouts! Abbey and Katie offered to provide the dough, claiming it was perfect for cutouts...boy, were they right!! It was beautiful, it rolled out nicely, was not sticky, didn't tear easily, and baked to perfection in 10 minutes exactly. Abbey was kind enough to share the recipe from her friend over at "Food, Friends, and Fun!" http://foodfriendsandfun.blogspot.com/2008/07/sugar-cookies.html and Beth was kind enough to let us invade her kitchen(and spread the powdered sugar love! Haha!) I provided the Fluffy Buttercream recipe(shared below) that paired with cookie decorating perfectly!(Also great for anything else that needs frosting, but that's for another post!) These recipes are not just for Christmas! Valentine's Day, St. Patty's Day, Spring, Easter, Fall, Halloween, all great excuses...err-opportunities, to make some awesome cutouts! Enjoy!