Category Archives: Food

I made a pot roast the other day and it was so yummy! I always forget how easy these are to make. But I forget how much food they make! I really need to make it on a night I am having people over to dinner because I have so much leftover!

It’s really simple, though. Put in some carrots, onions and potatoes into the crockpot.

Brown the meat on all sides. It gives it a nice crunchy outside and makes some yummy flavors. This was a huge piece of meat (it was the smallest one they had at the store). I continued browning it more after I took this picture.

The add the meat to the crockpot on top of the carrots/onions/potatoes.

In the same pan you browned the meat, add some water and a packet of onion soup mix. This gets all the tasty bits off the bottom of the pan. (Great picture, huh?)

Then you pour the soup mix over the meat in the crock pot.

Then you cover it and cook for hours! Then the meat just falls apart and everything is soft and yummy!

I didn’t take any pictures after it was dished up because I was too hungry and just needed to eat it after smelling it all day!

I used THIS recipe to make this, in case you are interested.

I have been trying to make more meals and plan ahead for them. I feel like if I write them on a calendar I am more apt to make them for dinner and not just try to wing it. So the other night, I wanted to make some baked potatoes and I wanted to try a new recipe for the chicken. I looked through my cookbook of recipes to try and came across this one. I was too hungry and excited to eat, so I didn’t take any pictures.

It was really simple to make. And it was pretty darn tasty. I was only making two chicken breasts for us, but I used all the sauce and marinated it most of the day before I grilled it on my grill pan on the stove.

Asian Grilled Chicken Breasts

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt,to taste
freshly ground black pepper
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

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1. Mix the oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, mustard, salt and pepper, and brush on the chicken breasts. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

2. Preheat the grill.

3. Grill the breasts for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. Let the chicken rest on a plate for 1 or 2 minutes before serving.

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My substitutions we using minced garlic and ground ginger…because that is what I had. I didn’t really measure them out. Just threw in what I thought was a good amount. It smelled so yummy! I think the only thing I wish is that there was a little extra sauce to drizzle over the chicken or my potatoes. I am sure I could have made a little more sauce and heated it up to use, but thought I should follow the recipe the first time.  

Do you have any food related resolutions this year? Have you tried any new recipes that I should add to my food calendar?

I am a little behind in the food times, but I just recently learned the joy of sweet & spicy chicken. I first learned of this from the sweet & spicy wings from Applebee’s. After having these (and making “mmm” noises the whole time I ate them), I decided to find a recipe and try some sweet & spicy chicken at home.

It was fabulous!

I found this recipe and gave it a try. It was really easy and I happened to have everything I needed already.

mmmm! I’m hungry thinking about it. I think I’ll make it for dinner tonight!

All other ways of cooking…well, they just don’t rule! I have rediscovered the joy of the crock pot. I am not sure why I didn’t use this every night when I was working. It’s the most wonderful thing. It is so nice to put something in the crock pot while Maddie naps…and I have a second when I’m not chasing her around the house….and then have the house smell great all day!

First, I made some spaghetti sauce in the crock pot with the last of my tomatoes. I harvested the last of my tomatoes before the big freeze last week and had WAY more tomatoes than I knew what to do with.

Add onions, peppers, garlic and a little oil to the crock pot and let it cook down a bit.

Then I chopped up my tomatoes (I had cherry tomatoes, so I quartered them). Also, I would use regular tomatoes next time and take out the seeds before I put them in the crock pot. And I would probably remove the skins, too.

After I put the tomatoes in the pot, I added seasonings.

Stir it all together and let it cook for a couple hours.

Then I used my immersion hand blender and mixed it all together. I was happy that when I did this, the blender also removed the skins easily.

It was nice and blended and then I added some tomato paste to thicken it up a bit.

Then I put it in some containers to freeze.

It tasted great, but I wasn’t a fan of the seeds in the sauce. My dad LOVED it, though! I sent some home with him to enjoy!

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That was last week. This week I made these:

Chicken Parmesan

Lime Garlic Chicken With Rice

Herbed Turkey & Wild Rice Casserole (This was a recipe meant for just two people.)

And tonight I made a pot roast and used the recipe off the back of an onion soup mix box.

I think this was my first time making a pot roast (sad, I know), but I am going to make this ALL the time! YUM!

Tomorrow, I plan to make French Dip Sandwiches.

I have a number of other recipes I want to try (Beefy Mac & Cheese, Cajun Chicken Pasta, lasagna…mmm) and I am so very excited!

Do you have any go-to crock pot recipes I should try? Please send them my way!

My dad came over last week so we could make some salsa using some things from my garden. We used a ton of my tomatoes in the salsa as well as garlic, green peppers, other peppers and cilantro. Here are the things I picked the morning we made salsa.

And here is a picture of the salsa we made. My dad even taught me how to can the salsa using my grandma’s recipe! Canning seems like such a lost art. It was so much fun and the salsa turned out fabulous and spicy! I eat it every day! I may need to make more!

Mmmm….just looking at this picture makes me want to eat some!

I made myself some candy! I came across a recipe for hard candy that you made in the microwave. I ran to the pantry and got cooking!

I made strawberry, banana and raspberry.

They turned out really well. The recipe I found was to make suckers. I decided to just pour it all out on a cookie sheet on parchment paper then break it into pieces.

I used flavored extract. The recipe doesn’t recommend it, but I just used a lot more (about a teaspoon or slightly more) to make sure it had good flavor. Then I added couple drops of food coloring into it. I thought they turned out great!

Next, I need to find some cinnamon flavored extract. MMMM.

Oh, I also came across another recipe to make lemon drops. I need to try this again. My first batch I cooked too long and it ended up burning. Carmel flavored lemon drops were not what I was going for. The second batch I was a little gun shy, and I don’t think I cooked it long enough because it never hardened enough to break apart. It tasted good, but wasn’t easy to eat. So I’ll be working on this recipe to make it work. It has the potential to be delicious!

Oh, and I just came across this lemon candy recipe that I want to try. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

I was going to a neighborhood BBQ and I was hankering to bake something new. Then I came across this recipe. It was the strangest, yummiest cookie. It was so unique and such a  hit. I thought it would be a fun summer cookie.

You’ll need:

• package of sugar cookie mix
• 1 package lime jello
• 1 egg
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/4 tsp rum extract
• 1 Tbsp sugar

Mix the sugar cookie mix and 3/4 of the jello. Then add one egg and a stick of butter. Then the extracts.

In a separate bowl, mix the remaining jello and the sugar.

Roll the cookie batter into small balls, then roll the balls in the sugar mixture and put on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-9 minutes and don’t over bake them.

Cool on a cooling rack.

Feed yourself and your neighbors!

I was a little surprised they used peppermint extract instead of regular mint because it would have been more like a mojito drink (which I will admit, I have never had). But I imagine they used peppermint because it tastes sweeter for a cookie. They had a very interesting flavor and I couldn’t stop eating them.

These would be so easy to make with different flavors of jello and different extracts. I will definitely be trying this again for birthdays or gifts for people. What a fun gift. Now I want to bake again!

I found the most delicious cookie recipe online. It has easily become my favorite cookie and I would eat the entire batch! The only change I made was to add a teaspoon of vanilla. But they are really easy. No harder than any other cookies you would make. Here are some pictures I took.

Put everything into a bowl and mix together.

Spoon onto cookie sheet.

Bake.

Put on cooling rack and eat.

They are so chunky and full of goodness!

I highly recommend you make these when you get a chance!

I made some other cookies recently, too. I’ll post those soon. They are unlike any cookie I have ever made. Hint: they have the same name as a drink!