Holy Guacamole

I posted about guacamole awhile ago, but I liked this version better. I am bad about winging recipes and not writing them down, so I'm writing this one down.

• 1 avocado
• 1 tsp salsa (I used Pace Picante mild)
• 1 tbsp chopped white onion (Do I like onion now??? I think so.)
• 1/2 tsp lime juice
• Salt to taste

Taylor's ever-evolving work schedule has just changed again. Now he'll be working til 8:45 (with an hour drive) two nights of the week, so I'm excited to try out some recipes that can be kept warm all evening until he's home. Soups and that kind of stuff.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes are the healthiest vegetable in quite a few categories, I just read. I also found out that a town in Tennessee called Gleason (which is my maiden name!!) has a Tater Town day and festival which celebrates the sweet potato. How awesome is that? I usually have them baked at Taylor's family's house for dinner, and this Thanksgiving, his mom made really good sweet potatoes in a buttery, brown sugar sauce. Yum! I made some "fries" by tossing a sliced sweet potato in olive oil with a little salt and pepper. Then I baked them for 15 minutes, flipped them over a little and baked them another 15 minutes, at 350. Super easy! They were just a l i t t l e crisp on the outside and hot and soft on the inside. Not really like fries, but very good still!

Also, I like more strawberries than spinach in my strawberry spinach salad :)

Thanksgiving Fruit Pizza

Taylor and I are bringing this to Thanksgiving tomorrow for dessert...

Creamy Tomato Pasta

I made a recipe similar to this a few weeks ago, but this one I just made up as I went along. I had 1 cup of cream to use up from the mac and cheese I made a few days ago. This was so warm and filling for a cold, rainy day!

1. Boil 1/2 lb. mostaccoili pasta.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 can tomato sauce (15 oz.) and stir in 1 cup cream. 
3. Sprinkle in a little garlic powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. I didn't measure! 
4. Pour the cooked pasta into the sauce and stir it up. I served this with a Caesar salad. (Did you know Panera salad dressing is available at the grocery story now? It's yummy.)

Chicken Enchiladas

Not the most glamorous of photos...or foods.

Last week I had a craving for Mexican, so I tried to make chicken enchiladas. They turned out very messy, but good! I couldn't get it out of the pan very well...that's why this one is very sad looking. But, they were really simple to make and Taylor loved them.

1. Cook chopped chicken in a frying pan with taco seasoning. Add a small can of green chillies. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Scoop some of the chicken mixture into a tortilla. Add a little cheese and roll it up. Do this until the chicken is gone. I made 6, and had used about 1 lb. of chicken.
3. Place the enchiladas in a baking dish and pour enchilada sauce from a can over the top. Add a little bit of shredded cheese and bake for as long as you want, probably about 15 minutes. I kept them in the oven on low until Taylor got home for around 30 minutes. I served them with lettuce, sour cream, taco rice, and beans. Super easy!

Kinda Spicy Macaroni and Cheese

(Photo from here.)
I just realized it's been two weeks since I've last posted...eee! This is one of our favorite recipes. It's very easy to make and can be very inexpensive if you buy cheese when it's on sale. I didn't take a picture because I forgot! I got the recipe from here, but I usually change it each time I've made it. Here is the recipe toned down a bit, how I make it. It's not as spicy, and it uses a whole cup less of cheese!

1. Boil 1/2 box of pasta. I like elbow pasta for this. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Combine the spices. I keep these the same as what's in the above link.
3. Put the pasta into the baking dish. Add the creams, spices, cheese. Here's where I make some changes... You can do all half and half for less fat and it still tastes fine! Also, an egg isn't really necessary. At least, I've forgotten it and thought it turned out the same. Cheeses---I use a bag of Kraft (because I haven't seen another brand that has this combo.) shredded cheddar/monterrey jack cheese. Save just a little for the topping. Pepper jack is what they recommend, but that just makes it more spicy. This recipe calls for 24 ounces of cheese...that's crazy. I use maybe 16 ounces, if that.
4. Skip the topping! I'm sure it's good, but it's just butter and breadcrumbs...not really needed with something as delicious and rich as creamy mac and cheese! 
5. Bake it for about 20-30 minutes until it's all warm and gooey.

Baked Potato Soup

This is my favorite soup ever! Most of my favorite foods are ones my mom makes, and this recipe came from her. This soup is especially easy if you do the first two steps way ahead of time. After those steps, it only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.  Enjoy!

1. Bake 6 small-medium potatoes with the skin on. I microwave them until they're cooked thoroughly.
2. Cook 12 slices of bacon. I like to bake it in the oven until it's really, really crisp and done.
3. Melt 2/3 cup of butter in a big stock pot.
4. Add 2/3 cup of flour and continually stir until a paste is made, over low heat. Be careful not to burn it.
5. Bring up the heat and begin adding 6 cups of milk. I add two cups at a time, stirring constantly, as it heats, to keep the temperature hot, but not boiling.
6. Once all of the milk is added and is mixed with the butter/flour, add all the stuff: diced potatoes, chopped bacon, about 4 green onions chopped, 1 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese shredded, 8 oz. sour cream, 1 tbsp chicken soup flavoring (I use Better than Boullion), 1/2 tsp. salt, and1/2 tsp. pepper.
7. Keep it on medium to low heat until it's heated thoroughly and seems ready to eat (maybe 15-20 minutes.) Keep stirring and watch that it doesn't burn at the bottom. Add some more milk (up to two cups even!) until it's the thickness you like. The next day, it will be very thick, so I may wait to add milk then.

Smooooothies

 I was overambitious with the bunch of bananas I bought this week and we decided we needed to get them finished up quick, because they were becoming brown. I love alliteration. Taylor was overly excited to hear that I thought of a way to eat the browning bananas for dinner!! ;)
The first smoothie I made was from the blender recipes pamphlet.

• 2 cups fruit (I used 2 smallish bananas and 2 clementines, a little more than 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp sugar (this seemed like a lot, but it was really good and sweet that way)
• 1-2 cups ice

 Taylor loved this one so much and drank mine too. He thought it was so much better than Smoothie King, which is such a funny and overwhelming place. I didn't enjoy the texture because of the clementine white parts, and they were very prevalent. (Speaking of this, I eat lunch with two students every week in my classroom and we just sit and eat and have a fun lunchtime together. I had a clementine in my lunch and one of the girls loved them, so I shared it with her, but the other girl wouldn't eat it because she doesn't like the white parts of oranges/clementines. What is that white part called?)

The next one we tried was a Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Smoothie. I read several recipes and then I just put this together in the blender:

• 2 frozen smallish bananas
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp chocolate syrup 
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

 This one was really, really good. It was a little rich, so I'd go easier on the peanut butter and chocolate next time.  Taylor liked it so much he accidentally drank most of mine, too! (He said I said it was okay, but I wasn't listening apparently. It was kind of hilarious and I didn't mind because it was so chocolatey.)

Yumms!

Pumpkin Cake

I made pumpkin bars last week, but I put them in a different sized pan and they turned out a little taller and fluffier than they should have, so I'm calling it pumpkin cake instead. This recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, which my mom gave to me for Valentine's Day once. What a perfect gift! (She also gave me the pretty antique plates in this picture!)  Also, this recipe has a little less sugar than most pumpkin bars and tastes just perfect--moist and not overly sweet!

• In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. (Recipe also calls for 1/4 tsp ground cloves but I didn't have this.)
• Stir in 4 beaten eggs, 1 15oz can of pumpkin, and 1 cup of veg. oil until well combined. 
• Spread into a 9x13 pan.
• Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Use a toothpick in the center to check for doneness.
• Spread cream cheese frosting after cooling for two hours. There is a recipe for frosting, but I really think a can of cream cheese frosting is easier and tastes just fine. I used Duncan Hines whipped cream cheese frosting and only used about 3/4 of the can.

Grilled Chicken Panini

I love this seasoning...I put it on chicken, hamburgers, salmon, pita chips, etc. It's just garlic, coarse black pepper, and salt.

Tonight I made Taylor a grilled panini with the George Foreman grill with all the fixins...

And I had mine a little plainer...wah wahhh...

Just kidding, I put on an extra piece of bacon after this picture.

Fetuccini with Tomato Cream Sauce

Yummm! I found this recipe at Pioneer Woman, the best blog ever. Mine doesn't quite look the same because I didn't use heavy cream, I used whipping cream instead (because it has a little less fat.) I also didn't put in as much cheese, but it was still so good. Taylor had thirds even! On the top is grated Parmesan cheese and basil. I don't think I like basil so much, so next time, I'll just skip that.

Veggie Pizza

This is one of my family's favorite foods. We have it on Christmas Eve with other finger food appetizers, but I made it this weekend for a cookout with friends. Everyone loves this.

You'll need:

• 2 rolls of crescent rolls
• 16 oz. sour cream
• 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (not dip mix)
• about 1 cup of cheese
• about 1/2 cup of any cold vegetables chopped finely (or chopped roughly...however you like it!) I used carrots, green pepper, radishes, broccoli, and cauliflower

Grease a cookie sheet and lay out the crescent rolls. You probably won't use all of the second container. Press the seams together, so it's like one big sheet. Bake this according to the package.

While this is baking, mix the sour cream and mix together and refrigerate this. Also, chop up your veggies. I used a chef's chopper because I like when they are really finely chopped.

After the crust is cooled, spread on the sour cream mixture. I think you'll only use about 3/4 of it and the rest can be used to dip carrots or chips. Sprinkle the cheese first, and then the veggies. Cut it up and serve!

See how festive it is? How cute would it be to make the crust in the shape of a Christmas tree or a wreath perhaps...ehhh?

Chicken Broccoli Bake

I found this recipe in this Gooseberry Patch recipe book, which Christine gave me for my birthday this year. There are some good recipes in that book! I should note that Taylor had TJ over for tv watching this week while I was at Back to School night, and they loved this as leftovers. (I also just think it's a funny scenario that they were in the kitchen cheffing this up while I was gone. :))
Ingredients:

• 1 rotisserie chicken (or a few cooked chicken breasts)
• 3 stalks of broccoli
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 box of Stove Top stuffing
• 2 tbsp. melted butter
• 1/2 cup mayonaisse

Steam the broccoli for a few minutes so it's bright green, and lay this on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Chop up the chicken and layer it next. Mix the soup and mayo together and pour them on top. Add the cheese next. Mix the butter and stuffing and sprinkle over the top. You may not need all of the box of stuffing, but I put it on anyway just to use it. Bake this at 350 for about 20 minutes. I served it with microwaved Bob Evans mashed potatoes. Very easy and very good! It was great on a cool fall night.

Miss Honey

Today a parent told me her daughter (in my class and new to the school and area) said I reminded her of Miss Honey from Matilda. Best compliment ever. I always loved that teacher. I taught my best ever lesson today on general ways to act in our classroom I wore an apron and brought in my red smiley spoon and we mixed together a fruit salad. I added each fruit and talked about what each one represents (like good attitudes, nice words, helpfulness, etc.) and then I almost put in a rotten banana, but they all yelled "GROOOSSS!" just like I hoped they would and we talked about how one rotten banana will spoil the mix! It was amazing. They were so engaged and listened so well. They just loved it. It's going to be a great year!

Cuban Pork Sandwiches

Two meals in my first two days of school! And even with plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week. We went to One World last weekend and Taylor ordered and loved the Cuban Pork. After searching around for a little while, I came across an article about the One World Cuban Pork Sandwich and derived a recipe from the article. I found a pork roast from Kroger's on Manager's Special (meat that's about to expire, I think) that was only $3.75. It was small, about 1 3/4 lb., but it was great for us! This makes about 7 sandwiches, so again, this is a pretty cheap meal.

1. Put the pork roast in the crock pot with enough liquid to cover it. I used 1 qt of chicken stock and 1 qt of water. Season well with garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook all day, depending on your crock pot. I had it on low from 7am-5pm, and then I put it on warm until we came home at 7pm. Shred it with forks a little.
2. Use ciabatta rolls (I couldn't find them at the store I was, so I used sub bread.) and swiss cheese. I should have toasted them, but I didn't think of it.
3. Mix 2 parts mayo, 2 parts barbeque sauce, and 1 part something spicy. I used spicy mayo for my something spicy. Spread this on the bread. 

I haven't really had this meal at One World, so I don't actually know how close it was, but I'd make this again for sure. :)

Baked Penne Rigate

I usually call this Baked Ziti, but I've never actually used ziti. I like this kind of pasta better for this dish, plus I like to tell Penny that we're making her pasta and so and so. This is a very easy dish and very frugal. It costs about $6 for the three ingredients and serves about 6!

1. Boil 1 lb. of pasta. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour half of the pasta (with just a little bit of the water left in it) into a 9x13 baking dish. I usually use a ceramic dish.
3. Pour half of a big jar of pasta sauce over the pasta.
4. Pour half of a bag of mozzarella cheese (4 cup bag or 2 cup bag...the more cheese the better) over the sauce.
5. Repeat steps 2-4.
6. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or longer. The cheese will get melty and the pasta will absorb some of the sauce and water, making it pipping hot and delish.

My Favorite Meal: Snacks for Dinner!

Well, maybe it's not my favorite. But sometimes it is! Here are my favorite quick and cold finger food snacks.

• Smoked turkey, marbled cheddar, and apple on toothpicks. Toothpicks are so fun.
• Peanut butter on Pepperidge Farm sesame wheat crackers.
• Hummus with carrot sticks (real carrot sticks, not the nubs) and flat bread triangles seasoned with olive oil, salt, and Italian herbs. 
• Apple and marbled cheddar
• Crispy, crunchy grapes

This kind of food reminds me of spending the night at my good pal Jamie's house one night in high school? or college perhaps. We went to the kitchen late in the night for a snack. I think it all started with wondering what a certain kind of salad dressing tasted like. I hadn't ever had it and Jamie insisted that I should try it. Her parents were sleeping and we tried not to wake them up, but we were also dancing, running, fist pumping, and giving major thumbs up of approval while we ate delicious snack combos like this.  Things like Monical's French with carrots, peanut butter or honey on ev-er-y-thing, and chocolate and butterscotch chips. We were also hysterically silent laughing the whole time. So fun. (Smorgee's Team Cafe!)

Chicken Strips

These were pretty good. I used panko bread crumbs again and followed this recipe almost. I read the comments and changed the oil to butter, and added several seasonings: seasoned salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Mine really didn't look like the pictures, but they tasted good still!

Maple-Glazed Salmon

We like to pronounce the L in salmon. Try it!

This was so delicious. Here's where I found the recipe. This was super easy and only took a few minutes to cook on my George Foreman grill. Even better...while looking at this recipe, I solved the fish scale/skin problem! You take it off after the fish is cooked and it comes off soo easily. I don't know how I didn't think of that. Do you see those brown crunchy looking things on the salad? They are crispy onion things and they are really interesting in a good way. You can find them in the salad topping area of the grocery store.

Paninis--George Foreman Grill Alert!

I forgot that I had a little George Foreman Grill! My brother gave it to me for Christmas when I was in college and I just used it for the first time this week. This meal was Taylor's Ultimate Favorite Meal of All Time. Too bad I didn't take the best picture (actually Taylor took this with his fancy new iPhone)...you can't even see all the goodness in this grilled Panini. I used Panini bread (I don't know what it's really called, I guess it was Sourdough.) from Panera, bacon, turkey, salami, provolone, cheddar, spicy mayo, lettuce, tomato, and red onion. Anyway...I realized how much fun a GF grill is. I used it for another dinner the next night. I love it!